Bear Cuisine

Osteria

Our choice for a different restaurant splurge this trip was Marc Vetri's Osteria. His eponymous restaurant Vetri has received rave reviews, but Osteria was suggested by our server at Morimoto's. She told us that her boyfriend had left the post of head sushi chef at Morimoto's to broaden his experience at this premier Italian restaurant. What a great reciommendation.

Located on North Broad Street in a former textile manufacturing plant, Osteria is a bustling place with a clientele of all ages. We weren't even the oldest people there. Chef Jeff Michaud proved to us that he deserved his 2010 James Beard award for being the Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic

Roasted Vegetables served as our first course and for us these stole the show. Fresh and intensely flavorful--these were just fabulous.

Roast Suckling Pig

Skate Wing "alla piastra" with cockles, zucchini and tondini beans

Whole roasted pork rack with fresh plums, fennel and celery

stoudt barvarse with cherries and chocolate struesel

polenta budino with gianduia mousse and candied hazelnuts

Il Viaggio de Vetri is Marc Vetri's first cookbook. A combination of autobiography and recipes which will make your mouth water and create an immediate desire to book a plane to Italy.

Pearl's Oyster Bar in The Reading Terminal

Back in Philadelphia, we made our way to The Reading Terminal. We were fairly hazy about what we wanted for lunch until we spotted Pearl's Oyster Bar just inside the door. Our haziness cleared and we found two seats at the counter. Of course, there were the obligatory oysters on the half shell. These were followed by oyster stew--rich, savoury and completely satisfying.

oops. we've eaten every one.

 

We walked off lunch by touring the market and feasting with our eyes.

 

Our last stop was The Cookbook Stall where author Celeste Morello was dropping off copies of her latest book,Philadelphia Cooks Italian.She kindly offered to sign it. What a great day.

Blood Orange, Fennel and Olive Salad

This is another of Christine Hickman's beautiful salad recipes. Blood Oranges are Sicilian as it turns out. Not as sweet as other oranges and refreshing addition to this salad.

BLOOD ORANGE, FENNEL AND OLIVE SALAD

(serves 6)

1. 4 large or 6 small blood oranges (Navel oranges are a reasonable substitute)
2. 2 fennel bulbs
3. 1 purple onion
4. 1/2 cup pitted black olives, preferably oil-cured
5. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel the oranges removing the white pith as well as the skin. Slice oranges. Work over a bowl to catch the juice which should then be reserved.

Trim, quarter, core and thinly slice the fennel. Place in a bowl of acidulated ice water until ready to use.

Thinly slice the purple onion and add it to the bowl of ice water along with the fennel.

When ready to serve the salad, drain the fennel and onion, pat dry and set aside.

Arange the orange sections and fennel on 6 plates. Top with the oinions and decorate with the olives. Drizzle with the reserved orange juice and the olive oil, season with the salt and pepper, and serve.

Alternately, you can toss the fennel and oinion in a large bowl; add the orange sections  and olives, and dress with the orange juice, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Caponata

Christine Hickman, my Italian food guru, spent time in Sicily this past summer and came back with some great recipes for Sicilian classics. Among them was this recipe for Caponata--the all-time favorite eggplant appetizer.

CAPONATA

1. 2 pounds small egg plant cut into large cubes
2. Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
3. 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4. 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
5. 1 anchovy fillet, chopped
6. 4 medium celery stalks, including leaves, sliced 1/4-inch thick
7. 1 pound ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
8. 2 tablespoons tomato paste, or 4 sun-dried tomatoes, plumped in hot water, drained and chopped
9. 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
10. 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
11. 2 tablespoons finely grated dark unsweetened chocolate
12. 1/2 cup large green Sicilian olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
13. 1/3 cup capers (prefereably Italian salt-packed) rinsed and drained
14. 2 tablespoons golden raisins
15. 1/4 cup pine nuts or toasted almond slivers
16. Freshly ground black pepper
17. 1/3 cup finely minced flat-leaf parsley and fresh basil or mint for garnish

Set the eggplant cutes in a colander and sprinkle heavily with salt. Set a plate on top of the eggplant and weight it. Set the colander in the sink to drain for at least 30 minutes, then rinse the eggplnt cubes thoroughly in running water and pat dry.

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large skillet, add the eggplant cubes and cook until they are golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl.

 

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and cook the onions and anchovy very gently until soft and pale golden, about 8 minutes.

 

Add the celery and cook another 5 minutes until the celery and onion are a deep golden brown.

 

Add the tomatoes and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently until the tomatoes have give off their juice and start to soften into a sauce.

 

Stir in the tomato paste or sun-dried tomatoes, then the vinegar, sugar and chocolate. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes, during which time the sauce will thicken and darken. Stir in the olives, capers, raisins and nuts along with plenty of fresly ground black pepper, then add the reserved eggplant cubes.

Mix well, transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the chopped herbs.

 

Serve immediately or set aside to serve later. The flavor improves if kept overnight, but always serve it at room temperature. It loses a lot of complexity when served chilled.

 

Arugula, Radiccio, Ruby Grapefruit Salad

Grapefruit season is almost at its end, but you may still have time to make this beautiful and refreshing salad.

ARUGULA, RADICCHIO, RUBY GRAPEFRUIT AND ALMOND SALAD

(serves 6)

1. 2 medium ruby grapefruit
2. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
3. 2 teaspoons honey
4. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint plus leaves for garnish
6. 8 large handfuls arugula, tough stems removed (about 8 ounces)
7. 1 head radicchio, cored and cut into thin strips
8. 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

With a sharp knife, cut away both ends of one of the grapefruit. Stand the fruit on one of it's cut ends and slice off the skin in strips, trying to get all the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut the segments free from the membrane, letting each segment fall into the bowl as you go.

When you've removed all of the segments, squeeze the membrane over the bowl to extract all of the juice. Repeat with the second grapefruit Spoon out the grapefruit segments from the bowl of juice and set them aside on a plate Remove any seeds from the juice.

Measure out about 4 tablespoons of the juice into a small bowl. Whisk the lemon or lime juice and honey into the grapefruit juice and set aside.

Combine the arugula, mint, and radicchio in a large bowl. Toss with enough olive oil to lightly coast all of th leaves. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and toss again. Drizzle with the honey and juice mixture, toss evenly, taste for seasoning and arange on salad plates. Garnish with the grapefruit segments, slivered almonds and a few mint leaves.

(recipe from Christine Hickman)