Balthazar Bar Steak & Frites

As part of Maggie's farewell, we visited her favorite New York restaurant (and home of many a Thanksgiving dinner for her and her mom), Balthazar. The famed SoHo restaurant serves up out-of-the-typical-price-range meals, especially when the raw bar is involved, but as a special occasion dinner...well, it's pretty fabulous. Especially when you can get their perfectly cooked Balthazar Bar Steak & Frites for an easy $25. Not too shabby for a juicy cut of meat in one of the best restaurants in all of Manhattan. Paired with an $8 glass of Shiraz-Grenache, I'd say that this meal was a hit. 

I must tell you that when it comes to steak, I'm a 'medium' kind of girl. While Shaun will go all-out rare, I just find something so...icky?...about meat that's still moo-ing, if you will. And medium can go either way...too rare, too done...but not at Balth (as we like to call it). Here at this delightful French bistro, Balth serves up medium steak the right way...seared on the outside and decadently pinkish red on the inside.

Oh, and I should mention that it was topped off with a giant pat of herbed butter that melted right into the steak...it's the surefire way to make just about any dish sing (and clog your arteries to boot).

Along with the steak were the highly coveted frites. Frites, if you will, is the fancy French term for French Fries...but doesn't it just sound prettier? Frites. Anyhow, they weren't quite the shoestring variety that I enjoyed so much at Skinner's Loft, but Balth dished out crispy potato fries that were perfectly seasoned and oily. Mmmm.

I would be remiss not to mention the absolutely beautiful raw bar. Though the seafood platters ranged from $70 to $115, they were gorgeous and surely a great experience. We, however, stuck to our meat 'n potatoes. But isn't it pretty to look at?

So there it is. A round up of a fabulous meal at a New York staple. There was one downside to the meal however. As I finished my glass of wine (waste not, want not), I noticed peculiar sticks of sediment in the bottom of my glass. Though the matre 'd did remove the item from my bill, I can't help but be disappointed in a place like Balthazar serving sediment-laden red wine. I know that it happens...I was just hoping that it wouldn't in a place like Balth (where they do serve bottles of vino up to $450 a pop). I won't hold it against them in the long run...after all, the meal was that good. But next time? My wine will get a proper scan.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Last week, I detailed my croque madame at the Elysian Cafe in Hoboken. Though it didn't hold a candle to my first croque madame en Paris, it was a delish adaptation. I also mentioned that my brunch companion and long time friend, Maggie, will be leaving me today as she moves back to Missouri to be closer to her fam. Over the last few months, we've developed a tradition of Sunday brunch, followed by multi-hour Castle marathons while enjoying sweet treats, like sugar cookies and Irish soda bread. But for our very last brunch and Castle viewing sesh (we just can't get enough, and the recent two-parter just added more fuel to the fire), Maggie whipped up a Chocolate Pecan Pie for the record books. Adapted from the southern belle herself, Paula Deen, this pie had all the right moves. Both sugary and nutty, this pie couldn't be easier. Let's get down to it...

Chocolate Pecan Pie
*Adapted from Paula Deen
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell
2 cups pecan halves
3 large eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons good-quality bourbon, optional (...since M never developed a taste for the hard stuff, she omitted and it tasted just wonderful sans bourbon)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or as a time saver, you can use morsels)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In unbaked pie shell, cover the bottom with pecans. In mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and eggs. (Note: make sure the butter isn't too hot, or you'll get scrambed eggs) Add corn syrup, bourbon (if using), sugar and chocolate. Stir it all together until combined. Pour the mixture into pie shell, over the pecans. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes more, or until pie has set. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

So there you have it. A pie recipe that's both palette pleasing and super simple to boot. Don't you think this would make a sublime and untraditional Easter dessert? I know I'm considering it, but have other concoctions in mind (stay tuned next week)...

Now, I should mention that Maggie did find one fault with this recipe: that the pie, while deliciously gooey, tended to get a little runny as she cut into it. See what I mean in the photo above? And well...I'm stumped. Is this just a hazard of making pecan pie? Is there a way to avoid the overly runny nature of said fabulous gooeyness? Any takers?

UPDATE: This fabulous pecan pie was recently featured on Serious Eats Photograzing...see it here!

Peep Show

Let's face it. It wouldn't be Easter without the candy. As the skies clear here on the east coast (and apparently the warmth is on its way), I can finally get excited about my favorite Spring holiday (and only one, at that). And while I'm not a huge chocolate and candy eater, Easter is one of two times a year that I do thoroughly enjoy a good Cadbury Cream Egg, jelly beans, and my absolute favorite...the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg (they just don't make 'em like this all year round). Since my recent Avid diet has commenced, this year, I'm only sticking to the favorites.

Peeps. The quintessential Easter food and really, the star of the show. Somehow desserts center around marshmallow during the spring, and these little Peep-ers are there for the ride. And is it just me, or do they really taste better stale?

Cadbury Cream Eggs. The commercial hasn't changed since I was a kid and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I see it. I'm not sure why, but that rabbit just makes me happy. And the super sweet creamy center of the Cream Egg? Pure sugary pleasure, though I've yet to ever eat more than one per season.

Cadbury Mini Eggs. If you're just not that into the whole egg-looking cream-filled thing, you can certainly find chocolatey solace in the mini chocolate eggs with a sugar coating.

Jelly beans. I don't partake in the Jelly Belly variety, but I have downed about two (small) bags of the Brach's variety. And as Shaun pointed out, somehow, the veritable rainbow of colors in our candy bowl has dwindled to mostly the black variety. Ick.

Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. Though I always, always enjoy a Reese's, and anything remotely related to peanut butter, Easter is the one time of year that I just need to get my hands on a Reese's Egg. Oversized and overstuffed with peanut butter, unlike the typical Peanut Butter Cup variety, this is the one piece of candy that I do request show up in my Easter basket.

So there you have it...a little roundup of some of my favorite Easter goodies. Though I'll be baking up a storm this weekend (check back next week for my newest concoction), I'll also be indulging my sweet tooth a bit. But what about you? Are you an Easter candy fiend? Which kind do you look forward to all year long?