Beets Salad

One of our favorite salad by Girogio who owns an Italian restaurant in Minnesota.

GIORGIO RESTAURANT WARM BEET SALA (Servings: 4)

4 medium beets
1 small red onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup crimini mushrooms, halved
1/2 cup goat cheese (blue cheese works well too)
pinch of salt and pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Roast beets with skin on for 45 minutes or until they are soft all the way through. Cut the onion in half, pour a small amount of olive oil over onion and roast 15 minutes. Toss the crimini mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil and roast 5-10 minutes.

When beets are done, peel and slice them 1/2" thick. Cut red onion into 1/2" dice. Combine beets, mushrooms, and onion on a cookie sheet. Add small pieces of goat cheese on top, salt & pepper to taste; bake 5 minutes or until cheese has browned.

To make dressing, combine the mustards and honey in a bowl of a food processor. On high setting, pulse the ingredients. adding olive oil slowly in a pencil-thin stream. The dressing is done when all ingredients are well emulsified together. Makes about 1 cup.

Coat the bottom of a plate with the dressing and slide the warm salad on top. Serve warm.

We normally roast when we find nice beets and make the salad later. This way, all you have to do is make dressing and serve cold. Some fresh basil is a good match for this salad. This sliced cucumbers add some crispy, refreshing flavor too.

Gutter

Some smart people came up with an idea to further invigorate the Brooklyn’s hipster neighborhood by opening up a bowling center. A cool bar and short lanes with old score monitor seem to get easily packed even during the weekday. I felt like doing something more than just a bike ride one night. Past 10 pm on Wednesday, the lanes are all taken and we had to wait a bit. I didn’t expect that. Come to think of it, this neighborhood is full of non-9-to-6 lifestyle people. $7 per game per person is expensive, but the fun is guaranteed.

The Gutter
http://www.thegutterbrooklyn.com/

July 4

In the past, we’d thrown a party on July 4. First year, we humbly grilled on the fire escape by the kitchen window—a semi barbecue party. Our building roof peeked through other buildings and surprisingly had a really good view of Macy’s firework. The next year, our super informed us that he wouldn’t be able to open the roof. Apparently, some idiots threw bottles from the roof previous year. It must have been at another building our landlord owned. We told our guests about the news and still ended up having over 30 people in our tiny apartment. Our signature chili-rubbed beef tenderloin was sold out in less than five minutes! There's no better feelings than cooking for people and seeing the dishes all empty at the end of the party.

To most NY residents, July 4 isn’t all about firework. It’s about gathering with friends. Plus, to me, firework in the states is nothing compared to what we have in Japan where it is a traditional craft. This year, we were invited to our friend’s high-rise mid-town apartment. Although the “Spider Man” building blocked the view, we enjoyed the food and friends—and that’s all you need.

New Italian in E W'burg

Il Passatore, a charming, small Italian restaurant on Bushwick Avenue is my new favorite. For a good pasta in the hood, I usually go to Aurora, Bacci and Abracci or PT. But at Il Passatore, the price is much more reasonable, nothing is over 20 dollars. Their lam ragu pasta was the best pick in my group. I had gnocchi in sage and butter sauce. It was not my favorite gnocchi but liked the flavor. My friend had a pasta with ham from special; the simple butter sauce has a hearty flavor with ham yet not greasy at all.

If you are in the area, I highly recommend this place. As expected, they took no credit card.

Il Passatore
http://ilpassatorebrooklyn.com/

Block Music Party

One of the things I love about Brooklyn is that you can find really talented people play for free. This was International Day of Music and there were couple block parties in my neighborhood. This one was right outside the live bar that always feature really good bands and DJ. All four groups features different types of musics from around the world.

In this hood, it's not just hipsters or young people who enjoy such an event. This Puerto Rican guy from around my apartment passed by on his signature bicycle with a big horn.

Grand Sichuan

Shabu-shabu is probably my favorite Nabe-ryori (hot pot dish). The only drawback is that you have to get really fresh ingredients, especially the meat and seafood, which makes this dish usually expensive. Although the ingredients may not be the freshest, Shabu-shabu in Sichuan style is very reasonable, and most importantly, comes in two broth.

The clear soup is simply flavored with scallion and ginger. On the other side of the pot is the spicy broth. Red chilies and the red chili oil cover the surface of the broth. We usually order 1 seafood (squid or scallop), 1 meat (pork or beef slice), 2 vegetables (mushroom, greens) and tofu. Each side is between 2- 7 dollars.

Since the pot comes with two broth, you can share it with non-heat enthusiasts.