5 Minute Bok Choy : Quick and Easy

The lovely wife works in Chinatown, which has its advantages, the main one being access to all kinds of great stuff to eat and cook. Last week, she went to the market and bought bok choy, but, because you often have to seperate the leaves and stems so it cooks evenly, its a bit of a pain to prepare. However, if you can find smaller bok choy, with smaller stems, you can get around this problem. In that case, just slice of the base, and cook the leaf stem combinations. What follows is a very simple recipe to do this. The proportions may be a bit off: I would wing adding the sesame oil and soy sauce at the end.

INGREDIENTS

10 to 15 small bok choy, with base cut off and well washed
5 chopped cloves garlic
canola or peanut oil

Soy Sauce and Sesame oil (about 1 part sesame to two parts soy but very subjective)

EQUIPMENT YOU WILL NEED

Wok

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the wok and add oil. Add the garlic and toss around in oil. When it just starts to turn brown, about one minute, add the bok choy. Saute furiously, until leaves wilt and stalks are mostly soft. Stirring will help remove moisture. Turn off heat and add sesame oil (about 1 1/2 tablespoons or so) and then soy sauce to taste (2 teaspoon or so). Remove with slotted spoon and add some liquid from bottom of wok back to serving bowl. Serve immediately.

C-CAP Benefit Always a Great Time

C-CAP, the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, is a great organization that works with kids in public schools to train them for college and career opportunities in the food and hospitality industries. To help fund this work, CCAP, holds a great annual benefit at Chelsea Piers every year. Each year, there is a large tasting menu (40 items this year), with dishes prepared by some of New York's top chefs. This year was no exception. Although I'm not the only blogger who went, and not the only blogger who took pictures, I am the only one who is probably pedestrian enough to admit that I like Shun Lee's Peking Duck better than anything, cause its the best. Having said that I also enjoyed quail egg stuffed ravioli from San Domenico, the Morimoto Fishwich, an asparagus salad from Becco, and what appears to be everyone else's number one favorite, a black cherry ice cream float from Olives.

In addition to the great food, wine and excellent coffee by Illy is also served. Al Roker gives an inspirational introduction to the C-CAP student of the year, and the honoree, in this case Lidia Bastianich, is awarded with a statue in the shape of fava bean. This last fact can not be made up.

C-CAP is a great organization and deserves support. They also happen to have the best eating benefit I have ever gone to. So do good. And Eat Good.

Rangers Lose in Shoot Out: May As Well Shoot My Heart Out

Prior to tonights game, I met one of the people I was going to the game with at the Blarney Stone. I fortified myself with Guiness (excellent), chicken wings (always surprisingly good) and fish and chips (new on the menu but straight from the freezer). I should have finished that second beer. The Rangers, as has become almost the norm for when I go to games, started the third period with a 2 to nothing lead, which they promptly lost on boneheaded defense and bit of a bonehead play by Lundqvist. Although they scored a third goal, the Penguins tied it in the final seconds of a power play. This led to an overtime, and finally to the shootout, where the Rangers managed to score zero goals and Sidney Crosby managed to score one. Which kind of ends this tale of the Rangers getting beaten at the Garden. Stay tuned for Monday. Saturday I have a Bar Mitzvah to go to and can avoid the game.

Bleu D'Auvergne: Raw Milk Blue You Get in US (But Shouldn't)

Bleu D'Auvergne is a raw milk cow's milk cheese that was developed in France in the mid nineteenth century. The cheese is from the mountains of South-Central France, where Roquefort is from. The best review I found of the history and making of the cheese is from an article by Janet Fletcher in 2005. The cheese, although made from raw milk, is legal in the US because it has been aged for more than 60 days.

I am not impressed with this cheese overall. It sort of tastes like "blue cream cheese." It's mild taste, which is not overwhelming, might be good in salad, but I think that a cheese this smooth would just look gloppy in this situation. I certainly wouldn't serve it alone. Some web sites suggest melting the cheese after it ages on steak, but, again, I think you have better choices with other blue cheese. In fact, I am now in posession of an entire wheel of the original Maytag Blue, which I will be reviewing soon.

As for Bleu D'Auvergne, I would prefer to use Roaring 40's Blue or Roquefort to serve with a plate, or the soon to be reviewed Maytag for cooking. Its not bad, but there is better.