Foodie Lifestyle by Imtiaz Patel

La Mezzeluna is an Italian restaurant on Witherspoon Street in Princeton. This was my second time at La Mezzaluna and the only reson I went was because I couldn’t get a reservation at 3 other restaurants I tried. I had remembered the food as being decent not great, but this time I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was, but more on that in a minute.

I was meeting Kedar and Swati for dinner. I don’t get to see them as much since they moved closer to the city so we occassionally get together for dinner, After numerous attempts at reservations elsewhere I suggested we go to La Mezzeluna. Neither Kedar nor I could come up with any other real alternatives. I managed to get reservations at 7.

When I got there the place was packed and when we left people were waiting in line for a table. I guess the place is more popular than I realised. I guess I have my finger on the pulse of things in Princeton!

I got there right on time and was greeted by someone in chef’s whites. Was he the chef and if he was what was he doing greeting me at the door and taking me to my table?

The restaurant itself is pretty tired looking. They have a couple of tables at the entrance whihc they kept warm with a space heater yesterday. Then they have a bunch of tables down the center of the restaurant which just seem uncomfortable and in the way. I would not want to sit there. They have a bunch of booths along the wall which is where we ended up and that was fine. The place is in serious need of a makeover.

Our waiter was a pretty friendly and helpful chap. He explained the specials and gave us plenty of time to decide. The last time I was here I had ordered the broccoli rabe and sausage special appetizer. It’s one of those things like pork belly for me. If I see it on the menu I order it. Unfortunately it was one of the worst renditions of broccoli rabe and sausage I had ever had. It felt like it had just been thawed. This time though we did well with our appetizers. We shared a crabcake with pesto sauce and portobello mushroon stuffed with sausage. The crab cake was ok, though sauce was good and the mushroom was pretty good. For the main course both Kedar and I went for the night’s special – linguine (and the waiter actually thought he had to explain what linguine was to us. Did we look that clueless? Maybe Kedar but me?) with lobster, scallops, clams, mussels and shrimps in a red sauce. This dish was outstanding. The seafood was fresh, and cooked perfectly. The sauce itself was light and just right. It did not overwhelm the seafood at all. The shrimp was sweet and lobster and scallops were just perfect. Last time I had the pork osso bucco with risotto for my main course. That too was good, but very heavy. The seafood was the way to go this time. For dessert I ordered the tiramisu which too was very good. The place is BYO so I had taken along a really good Australian cabernet sauvignon.

The chef made a reappearance with our check. He dropped it at our table and went off. I wonder if he really was the chef,

I was apprehensive about going to La Mezzeluna with its tired interior and average food from my previous visit but this after last nights experience I’m going back.

Tags: Central New Jersey Restaurants, Italian restaurant, Princeton Restaurants
Posted in: Italian, NJ Restaurants by Imtiaz Patel
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Priorats are fabulous red wines from Spain, close to Barcelona. Since I discovered them a couple of years ago, I have only had 1 bad one. I love them so much that alot of people buy Priorats as presents for me – they know they can’t go wrong with that for me.

This particular wine was a present, a very thoughtful one at that. I opened the bottle last night and sipped a couple of glasses over a 3 hour period and am finishing it off tonight. The wine tastes great, has so many layered flavors and a wonderful bouquet. The flavor lingers for so long on your tongue, a little at the front and a lot at the back. Just wonderful. The bouquet is not overly fruity or sweet. I find the wine a little peppery, very nice. Over the hours, it just got better and better as it opened up and much more layered.

Here are a couple of professional reviews.

93 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “The 2005 Salanques, a blend of 65% Garnacha, 20% Carinena, and the balance Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, is aged in French oak for 14 months. It has a glass-coating purple-hue with an alluring bouquet of cedar, smoke, slate, blueberry, and black cherry. Youthful and structured on the palate, this potentially complex effort will profit from 5-7 years of additional cellaring. It will be at its best from 2015 to 2030.” (02/08) 90 points from Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar: “Bright red. Zesty red berry aromas are sharpened by white pepper and baking spices. Brisk raspberry and cherry flavors show very good energy and are nicely framed by fine-grained tannins. A focused, nervy example of Priorat, finishing precise and persistent.” (Sept/Oct 07) And, according to Wine Spectator: “This has crisp focus, with bright cherry and berry fruit and lively acidity. The tannins are light but firm, the oak well-integrated. A vibrant wine. Drink now through 2012.” (04/08)

Tags: Priorat, Red Wine, Spanish Wine
Posted in: Priorat, Red Wine, Wine by Imtiaz Patel
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Ingredients:

-4 to 5 pounds pork belly, cut into portions about 4 1/2 by 3-inches each
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1 large onion, coarsely chopped
-2 carrots, coarsely chopped
-2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
-4 1/2 cups chicken stock
-4 cups tangerine juice, divided
-1/4 cup light brown sugar
-4 sprigs fresh thyme
-4 whole cloves
-1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
-3/4 cups sugar
-Bitter Greens Salad, recipe follows

Directions:

Adjust oven setting to broil.

Using a sharp knife, score the fat side of the pork belly, diagonally, and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Place onion, carrots, and celery in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the pork belly, scored side up, on top of the vegetables. Broil until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Turn the pork flesh side up and continue broiling for 10 more minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Turn the pork back to the scored side up and add the chicken stock, 2 cups of the tangerine juice, light brown sugar, thyme, cloves, and allspice to the roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 2 hours. After 2 hours, fold back the foil to create a vent and continue to bake for another 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

While the pork is braising, prepare the tangerine glaze: Using a fine wire-meshed sieve, strain any pulp out of the remaining 2 cups tangerine juice. Combine the juice and 3/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook until the glaze is thick and syrupy, about 30 to 40 minutes. (The finished glaze will form dime-sized bubbles while simmering and will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.)

Remove the pan from the oven and let the pork cool slightly in the braising liquid. Adjust oven setting to broil. Remove the pieces of pork belly from the braising liquid and pat dry. Using a pastry brush, baste the pork belly on all sides with the glaze. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil for 4 to 5 minutes, or until crispy around the edges and golden brown.

Drizzle pork belly generously with any remaining glaze and serve immediately over Bitter Greens Salad.

Bitter Greens Salad:

-1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
-1 tablespoon honey
-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-1 cup olive oil
-1 pound mixed bitter greens, such as dandelion, baby arugula, wild spinach, or baby spinach
-Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Dijon, honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. In a large mixing bowl, toss the bitter greens together. Season greens with salt and pepper. Drizzle as much dressing as desired over the greens and toss to combine

Tags: Emeril Lagasse, Pork Belly
Posted in: Meat, Pork Belly, Recipe by Imtiaz Patel
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Here’s another pork belly recipe I found. Sounds really good. I will be trying this one.

Ingredients:

-1/2 pork belly (approximately 6 lbs)

Rubbing the belly – day one
-1 tablespoon coriander seed
-1 tablespoon fennel seed
-½ teaspoon cumin seed
-1 clove
-1 allspice
-1 teaspoon pepper corns

Brining the belly – day two
-2 quarts water
-1 ½ cups kosher salt
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 bay leaves
-2 quarts ice cold water
-1 large ziploc bag

Braising the belly – day three
-6 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
-1 large yellow onion, chopped
-1 stalk of celery, chopped
-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
-1 cup white wine
-3 cups chicken stock or water

Directions:

Rubbing the belly – day one:

Coarsely grind these spices and toast them in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Trim the fat down to about ¾ inch on the outer layer, if necessary. Score the belly. Rub the spices all over the belly. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Brining the belly – day two:

Heat 2 quarts of water over medium high heat. Add the sugar, salt, and bay leaves. Stir and heat until the sugar and salt dissolves. Add the remaining 2 quarts of water. Place the rubbed belly into the ziploc, add the brine, seal it and let it rest in the refrigerator.

Braising the belly – day three:

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Remove the belly from the refrigerator, pat it dry, and allow it to come to room temperature. Heat a large, heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the belly on both sides.
Add the chopped veg, the wine, and the stock or water. Bring the heat up on this and then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the pork is incredibly tender.
Remove from the oven, take the pork, move it to another pan, and keep it covered. Remove the visible fat from the remaining pan juices by either skimming it off or pouring it through cheesecloth.
Return the juices to the pan, add wine and water or stock if necessary and reduce over medium-high until the consistency meets your needs. Taste for seasoning.
Serve the belly portions in a shallow bowl with the pan juices.

Tags: Pork Belly Recipe
Posted in: Appetizers, Meat, Pork Belly, Recipe by Imtiaz Patel
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Here’s a recipe I found, but have yet to try. It looks interesting. If you try, do let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients:

-2 lb pork belly(boneless), cut into roughly 1 in x 1in squares. Trim all but about 3/4 of an inch of fat the one side of the belly.(Easy to find at Chinese markets)
roughly 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-3 Tablespoons of all purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1 pint chicken stock
-1 cup white wine
-4 large carrots, chopped fine in a blender or food processor
-zest of one whole lemon
-8 oz black-eyed beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
-1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
-1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
-1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
-freshly ground black pepper
-kosher or sea salt
-bread crumbs (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Heat oil in a flameproof casserole or dutch oven over medium heat, add the pork and fry until lightly browned and sealed on both sides. Remove pork and drain on paper towels.
3. Heat the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes or so until soft and translucent. Stir in flour and butter over low heat for 1 – 2 minutes. Gradually stir in stock and wine. Raise heat and bring to the boil for 8 minutes and then simmer, stirring, until thick.
4. Add the carrots, lemon zest, beans and spices, and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Bring back to the boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Return the meat to the pot, cover and cook in the oven for about 2.5 hours. If desired remove cover and add bread crumbs covering top of casserole for final 45 minutes in oven.
5. Before serving, add salt and black pepper to taste.

Tags: Pork Belly Recipe
Posted in: Meat, Pork Belly, Recipe by Imtiaz Patel
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