Salt-Cured Pork Jowls?

If you've never tasted guanciale or attempted to cook with it, you're missing out. Drop what you're doing and look for some. Now. Yes, yes, we're talking about pig cheeks (er, jowls). Jowl is a brilliant-sounding word that probably has you imagining Karl Rove, Mark Shields, or Jabba the Hutt, but if those jiggling double-chins haven't revolted you toward another page yet, let the Italians show you what one can do with pig jowls, or guanciale [from the Italian, guancia, for cheeks].

Italians (especially the Umbrians) are fond of curing pig jowls in salt and pepper for several weeks. It's often compared to pancetta, which is the Italian take on cured pork belly. [By the way, if you ever dream of making your own pancetta and have the patience to wait three to four weeks before sampling, you could turn here (gulp).] But pork cheeks are not pork belly, either anatomically or gastronomically. The flavors and textures are different. And since guanciale, like pancetta, is not smoked, it is much more delicate in flavor than most bacons one encounters. For those in the Boston area, there are a few places in Cambridge that offer it, including Formaggio Kitchen, Central Bottle Wine + Provisions, and Savenor's. Also, Russo's in Watertown. If you're interested in curing your own [pig] cheeks, one can turn to Mario Batali or Josh Friedland for instructions and accompanying recipes.

Now, what to do with these prized cheeks? Homemade bucatini all'Amatriciana is a revelatory treat. Not only will you enjoy sampling guanciale, but you can see how a tomato- and onion-based pasta sauce can become infused with this deep porcine flavor. I share here Bon Appetit's recipe from last May, ready in about 45 minutes. It's really worth the extra effort to find guanciale. One word, out loud: jowls!

Thai yellow curry in under 10 minutes

I hosted my brother and his wife for a last-minute dinner this evening and wanted to make something very simple and quick. I turned to Mark Bittman and Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Simple to Spectacular. There I found their recipe for curried sauteed chicken chunks with coconut milk, fresh lemongrass, chopped cilantro, and cashews. Together with microwaveable Trader Joe's jasmine rice, this dish hit the spot for me and for them. I share it here for your replication. As the Thai might say: ขอให้เจริญอาหาร!
 

BIttman/Vongerichten Thai Yellow-Curry Chicken 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2- to 1-in dice 1 tsp curry powder salt 1 tsp minced fresh chile or red pepper flakes 1 Tbs minced lemongrass 3 Tbs butter or neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed 1 cup canned unsweetened or fresh coconut milk 2 Tbs nam pla [Thai fish sauce] 1 cup salted peanuts or cashews 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro 1. Toss the chicken with the curry powder, salt to taste, chile, and lemongrass. 2. Place the butter in a medium skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn the heat to medium-high. When it melts, add the chicken. Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until it loses its raw color. Add the coconut milk and turn the heat to medium. 3. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until cooked through, then stir in the nam pla and nuts and cook for another 30 seconds. Garnish with the cilantro and serve. Serves 4. With rice.

Roasted Duck with Cherries

While wandering through Whole Foods the other day, I came upon a pitting device next to a majestic heap of fresh cherries. I thought to myself about what kind of dish would need so many pitted cherries that one would get fed up pitting them by hand, not so unlike dreaming of a garlic peeler while making 40-clove chicken. Sure enough, this simple recipe from Alice Waters came to mind. Half a pound of cherries may not seem like much, but the $8 investment will have you returning to this dish regularly, if for some odd reason the succulent roasted duck doesn't. To make this, you'll need one 3-4 lb duck, ½ lb cherries, some Madeira wine and some chicken or duck stock.

Too Darn Hot

The heat index is well over 100ºF today and beyond my A/C-chilled windows it looks unbearably balmy. I offer today a few fruit drink recipes to keep you hydrated and distracted from the heat wave. At the end, there's even a Tuscan summer salad that doesn't require any cooking but can definitely serve as a main dish. Then again who has any appetite in this heat? Perhaps the best solution is to eat popsicles and ice cream...

Ginger Limeade


¾ cup sugar
¼ boiling water
1.5 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1.5 tsp grated lime rind
¾ cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
2.5 cups cold water
4 lime slices (optional)


Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Strain mixture through a sieve into a pitcher. Add juice and 2.5 cups cold water. Chill completely. Serve with lime slices, if desired. Makes about 3 pints.


Or if you're heading to the store today to pick up a few things or just to read the newspaper in the freezer section, I'll recommend hunting down the ingredients for these two interesting quenchers: Heidi Swanson's specialty Blackberry Limeade, which calls for fresh blackberries, kaffir lime leaves, and cardamom pod; and also her Lime, Grapefruit, and Ginger Juice, which is quite strong but easily cut with soda water and ice.

Buckets of strawberries

Strawberries are everywhere. From festivals to markets to fruit salads to cobblers, we cannot stop finding them or eating them. To celebrate this deluge of fresh fruit, here are a few recent finds and favorites. Saveur recently offered a bright strawberry cake from Bertha's Kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina, that uses a strawberry cream cheese frosting, while Poires au Chocolat gives a terrific strawberry cream layered sponge cake that's now on my baking agenda. If you have access to Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook, I recommend his strawberry tart with its sweet crust, pastry cream, and fresh berries. And for a cocktail that uses fresh strawberries, try Dale DeGroff's Strawberry Nirvana, which makes use of a slightly fussy (but worth it) *triple* syrup (2 parts agave syrup, 2 parts simple syrup, ½ part honey syrup). 


However, the go-to recipe for piles of fresh strawberries in the summer is and should always be strawberry shortcake. Orangette recently posted a recipe with details on making the biscuits, and here I offer the recipe from Alice Waters's The Art of Simple Food for those with access to or recipes for the perfect sweet biscuit. Happy summer!

When it's all about the broth

For five summers now, I've gone clamming with friends in Rhode Island's quahog-rich waters. Rake in hand and potato-sack tied to our waists, we've waded into waist-high water (or neck-high, depending on the tides and one's competitive streak) of Point Judith Pond for a few hours of digging up quahogs and cherrystones in the bright summer sun. Mind you, wearing shoes and employing a rake can be more cumbersome than efficient. Giving up on the shoes and rake often leads to a routine of barefoot digging (usually blindly in the murky waters) and then gasping and diving, all of which is an adventure in and of itself since this process lends well to churning up all walks of sea life. In the end, it's always good fun and involves a fair amount of laughing at oneself and one's friends (especially when the horseshoe crabs get curious). On the boat ride back to shore, cracking open that first freshly caught cherrystone leaves one unable to do anything but raise a toast to summer.

"Easy yet delicious" green beans

A friend wrote to me asking for "something easy yet delicious and snack-like one can do with green beans." Here's a quick and fresh recipe from Dean & Deluca: The Food and Wine Cookbook.

Haricots Verts with Garlic

1.5 lb small green beans, trimmed
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
a handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook for 3-4 minutes from the time the water returns to a boil. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Set aside. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add the garlic, beans, and salt and cook over high heat for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from the heat, then stir in the chopped parsley and lemon juice, if using. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Almonds: Blanched, Ground, and Baked

My trip to Spain begins in less than two weeks and while I'm sadly not exploring Galicia, I wanted to share a recipe from Claudia Roden's The Food of Spain: Tarta di Santiago-Galicia, a terrifically simple tart of eggs, almonds, sugar, and citrus zest. For a somewhat similar tart that has a pastry shortcrust base, try Maxine Clark's Torta di limone e mandorle, which I share here. When making the tart filling and you're grinding your own blanched almonds, Clark recommends grinding the almonds with half of the sugar, then beating the eggs with the remaining sugar, and finally stirring the two mixtures together. This prevents the almonds from becoming too oily. Whipped cream and fresh berries would accompany either tart well.

Tried and true

Gin and limes have gone hand-in-hand for centuries thanks to traditions and remedies practiced by the British Navy. Here's a short list (and by no means exhaustive one) of gin and lime drinks for those who might want something other than the reliable gin and tonic. Cheers!


Gin Gimlet

2 oz gin

3/4 oz Rose's lime juice

Cucumber slice or lime wedge (or both), for garnish

Combine gin and lime juice, shake well. Strain into small cocktail glass or serve over ice in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with cucumber slice, lime wedge, or both.

Smoking and Searing Tomatoes

At a dinner party recently, I tried for the first time the smoked tomato cream sauce from Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Square (Somerville, MA). It's incredible and would pair well with several of their handmade ravioli and pastas. (I had it with black pepper fettuccine.) Smoked tomatoes were a revelation to me, with their earthy, campfire fragrance, and since trying that sauce I've been eager to smoke my own tomatoes. For years, I've been roasting or drying them in a variety of ways, but now that the tomatoes in my fire-escape garden are getting plumper by the day I'm ready for something new.

School is IN for summer

No. 9 Park is offering a cocktail summer school...

"Love the cocktails at No. 9? Interested in recreating a few favorites at home? Join No. 9 Park Bar Manager Ted Kilpatrick and his team for Saturday afternoon cocktail classes at the bar!

On Saturdays from June 11 to July 2, guests will gather at the bar for two hours to learn how to make fabulous cocktails and discover the fascinating history behind them. Each class will feature several individual cocktail demonstrations and tastings accompanied by perfect bar bites. From making  bitters to creating improvisational cocktails, our summer bar class series will increase the cocktail savvy of even the most seasoned at-home stirrers and shakers.

Classes will be offered on Saturdays from 2:30pm - 4:30pm for $75 per person.

Assembling a bowl of summer

As I get ready to go to a barn wedding on a farm this weekend, I cannot help but think of summer and the ease of bringing together fresh produce in a great dish. This bright salad does not require much direction, rather a mere shopping list for the market (or growing list for the garden). The fresher the mâche and peas, the better. Assemble the vegetables in a bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients in another bowl, then combine and toss well together. The hazelnut oil makes a big difference.

Ay, there's the rhubarb

Since we're in the first week of 2011 that will near 100ºF, it's time to break out the tartness. Head out to the farmers markets and pick up some rhubarb, that delightfully sharp member of the buckwheat family with thick, celery-like stalks. Choose crisp stalks that are bright in hue; the leaves should be fresh and without blemish. Rich in Vitamin A, fresh rhubarb is very perishable and should be refrigerated, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days. Wash and remove the leaves before using since they contain oxalic acid and can be toxic.


I offer here a few different tasty uses for ringing in the heat with rhubarb. Orangette recommends roasting rhubarb with sugar, vanilla, and a crisp white wine. Rhubarb often finds its way into summer-inaugurating crumbles and cobblers, sometimes with brown sugar, often with strawberries. And don't forget the vanilla ice cream. Melissa Clark recently promoted a rhubarb upside-down cake that is now on my to-cook list, and Ken Oringer (of Clio, Coppa, Toro, and Earth fame) just shared his Maine-inspired rhubarb galette. However, nothing compares to my childhood favorite strawberry-rhubarb pie from Bishop's Orchards in Guilford, CT (still an annual treat when in CT). But most intriguing is a stilton cheesecake topped with a rhubarb compote. Yes, rhubarb isn't quite the main ingredient, but how can you turn down stilton cheesecake?

Spain on the mind

I'll be traveling to Spain for the first time at the beginning of July and so in the next few weeks I'll be posting some of the delights of Spanish cooking. If you have never tried these, do not be turned away by the word anchovy. If you have only ever tasted cured and canned ones, trying them fresh will change everything for you. I promise. If you're in the Boston area, go to New Deal Fish Market in East Cambridge. Serve them on very thin rounds of toasted baguette as an appetizer or alongside a salad of fresh greens tossed with simple vinaigrette.


Marinated Boquerones


1 lb fresh anchovies
juice of one lemon
5 Tbs sherry vinegar
1 red chili, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
fresh parsley and thyme, chopped finely
salt and freshly ground black pepper
high-quality olive oil


Wash and clean the anchovies. If you need help, click here. Rinse briefly and set them aside skin side down on a paper towel. Add anchovies to a flat dish and squeeze the lemon juice with the sherry vinegar over the fish, sprinkle with two to three pinches of salt. Allow to marinate for about 30-40 minutes until the flesh is white and no longer translucent. Very gently rinse the fish one last time, pat dry. Place anchovies in a clean flat dish and layer them alternating with chilies, minced garlic, herbs and spices. Add enough olive oil to fully cover the filets, marinate overnight and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Crispy Waffles with Bourbon Caramelized Bananas

This blog post is written by my friend, colleague, and baker John McKay. After tasting these waffles recently, I asked John to share his wisdom, precision and experience of elevating this staple of weekend brunches to a new and extraordinary level. The pictures are from my recent encounter with them. Here's John very welcome offering...

Nothing makes a better breakfast treat than a good waffle, topped with fresh fruit and some dark maple syrup.  For a special occasion, some caramelized fruit, a touch of ice cream, or even whipped cream are great additions.  But while sweet toppings can improve lackluster waffles, the best place to start is with a waffle that would still taste great even when eaten plain.

For most people, the ideal waffle has three characteristics: a slightly crispy exterior, a soft and almost creamy interior, and great flavor.  After many experiments, I've discovered that the most difficult aspect to achieve consistently is the crispy exterior, and there is a lot of good and bad advice out there about how to make crispy waffles.  Here are a few thoughts after cooking close to a hundred variations over the years, which might be helpful if you want to improve your favorite recipe.

Tasting Southern Italy

This week I'm writing a conference paper on a fifteenth-century composer and music theorist who spent several years living in the southern Italian city of Naples. I still haven't visited Naples myself (it's on the very long to-visit list), but I always find cooking is an efficient means for sensory travels to far-off places. It's usually much cheaper, unless of course you're imagining a trip to the Caspian Sea with heaps of Beluga caviar. While writing this conference paper, I'm still enjoying leftovers from last weekend's dinner party, which include my own penne puttanesca. It appears that puttanesca sauce was invented in southern Italy in the mid-20th century and is known for its salty, pungent flavors of garlic, flat-leaf parsley, red pepper, anchovies, capers, and olives. There are some regional variants of proportions and ingredients (including the addition of diced green peppers), but I provide here the recipe that I always use.

Skipping summer

This stretch of rainy and grey weather has led me to believe that the ten days of glorious warm sunshine was spring, summer, and early fall rolled into one brief moment in time and now we find ourselves in rainy late October. In my preparations for cooking dinner for ten people tomorrow, I've been scanning my cookbooks for ideas and came upon this hearty warmer and bookmarked it for the coming days of continued rain. Veal, mushrooms, wine, cream... all necessary to drive the damp out of the house and bones. Zurichoise refers to Zurich, Switzerland and here means the dish involves mushrooms and cream. Good luck staying warm and dry.


Veal Stew (Zurichoise)
Vongerichten/Bittman, Simple to Spectacular
serves 4


2 Tbs canola oil
2 Tbs butter
1.5 to 2 lbs boneless veal shoulder, cut into 1/2-in chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups trimmed and sliced white mushrooms
1/4 cup peeled and minced shallots
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup crème fraîche
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves


Put the oil and butter in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high heat. Season the veal well with salt and pepper. When the butter melts and its foam begins to subside, add the veal, turn the heat to high, and cook, turning only occasionally, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (Do this in batches if necessary). Transfer the veal to a plate and pour off any excess liquid it may have given off. Add the mushrooms and shallots to the pan and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, still over high heat, until it reduces by about half. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the crème fraîche and the veal; cover and cook, checking every now and then, until the veal is tender, another 40 minutes or so, perhaps longer. Stir in the parsley, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

Fishing for a good punch

As my birthday nears (a big one), I thought it would be appropriate to post a recipe that to me immediately signifies a celebration: a punch. And not just any punch. It has been served at birthdays, New Year’s and Halloween bashes, doctoral-exam-passing bacchanalia, and so forth. However, little did my housemates and I know that, for several years, the festive punch we were pouring at our parties was an ancient one. Well, ancient in America. One of my old housemates recently asked for this recipe and I decided to do some digging on its history. Sure enough, it’s legendary.

Eric Felton of the Wall Street Journal reports that Fish House Punch is the official drink of the oldest club in America, Philadelphia’s Schuykill Fishing Company (also known as State in Schuykill), having been served there since 1732 and apparently a favorite of George Washington. While accounts of the original secret recipe are many and varied, Felton offers one in his article, which calls for dark Jamaican rum, cognac, peach-flavored brandy, lemon juice, simple syrup, and water. Esquire’s is similar, but nicely provides a recipe for an individual serving. Then again, who really plans to make only one? These recipes and their proportions don’t quite line up with the one I know, but they’re close. Still though, I will share the recipe passed down to me, one that includes tea. Save it for a good day. Like my birthday.

Fish House Punch

makes 12 to 24  servings

12 lemons

1 liter strong black tea

2 cups sugar (or equivalent simple syrup) or 2 cups honey

1 cup Southern Comfort

1 liter dark rum

½ liter brandy

½  liter soda water

Peaches, oranges, and lemons, thinly sliced

Juice the lemons and thinly slice the peels. In a large pan, heat the tea. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Add the Southern Comfort, rum, and brandy, and stir well. While the mixture is simmering, add the lemon juice and peels. If serving hot, ladle into small heat-resistant cups. If serving cold, refrigerate overnight. Pour into a large punch bowl, add the soda water, and garnish with fruit slices. Or pour into an infusion jar with spigot, add fruit slices and soda water, and serve on ice.

Another version without tea (serves 30):

In punch bowl or infusion jar, combine one of each of the following: 750-ml bottle chilled light rum, 750-ml bottle chilled dark rum, 750-ml bottle chilled cognac. Add 1 cup of peach brandy, ¾ cup simple syrup, 3 cups fresh lime juice. Before serving, add large blocks of ice and pour in 2 liters of chilled club soda. Add slices of 1 orange,1 lemon, and several mint sprigs.

Pearing with Bacon

Over the past few years, I've seen several sandwiches sporting slices or chunks of the native Mexican root vegetable, jicama, often paired with cheese and/or chicken. One of them is at Flour Bakery in Boston/Cambridge. However, I've been trying out the far easier to find, less expensive, and frankly overlooked pear. When in season, a ripe pear can be incomparable. Adding fresh pear along with bacon to a sandwich or salad however can be really splendid.

I recently came across the B.L.P. [Bacon, Lettuce, and Pear] bisected on the great food-art blog Scanwiches, which led me to write this post. The recipe for this BLP is from the food magazine The Runcible Spoon (p.6). Simply Recipes provides a great grilled cheese with cheddar, bacon and pear, while Average Betty recommends aged gouda and caramelized onions. The pairing of bacon and pear can also work well in a salad. Bon Appétit has offered a salad with grilled pear, bacon, and Roquefort cheese, and the blog Brooklyn Supper suggests an endive salad as the base for the salty-sweet duo. Experiment with different types of pears including Bartlett, Bosc, D'Anjou, and the Asian varieties and of course fruitwood-smoked bacon might elevate the blend of flavors.

Chanterelles and Pasta

Alice Waters: Chanterelle Pasta
serves 4 to 6


1 oz dried porcini
¾ cup heavy cream
1½ cups chicken stock or mushroom broth
1 lb chanterelles (or horns of plenty, hedgehogs, etc.)
3 or 4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
1 leek
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper
1 lb fresh pasta
Reggiano Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped parsley


Put the dried porcini in a saucepan with the cream and chicken stock or the broth and heat gently for 30 minutes or so to infuse the mixture with mushroom flavor. Remove the porcini from the cream with a slotted spoon or strainer, and strain the cream through the cheesecloth or a fine sieve to remove any sand. Clean and slive the chanterelles. Chop the thyme leaves. Peel and chop the garlic. Clean and chop the leek and sauté in 1 tblsp of the butter until soft and translucent. Remove from the pan and reserve. Put a pot of water on for the pasta. Sauté the mushrooms in the rest of the butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, and the chopped thyme. When nearly cooked through, add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Pour the strained cream and stock over the mushrooms, add the leeks, and simmer gently while the pasta is cooking. When the noodles are done, add them to the mushrooms. Taste and correct the seasoning. Season garnished with grated Parmesan and the parsley.

The Whole Fish

As spring finally makes its presence known in New England, grilling is on my mind. Warm weather also makes me think of the sea and a summer of fishing and eating great seafood. Red snapper is found in plentiful numbers in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coast of America. Grilled asparagus would be a terrific accompaniment to this snapper.


Grilled Whole Red Snapper
serves 4 (from Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food)


1 whole 3-lb red snapper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 lemons, sliced
several handfuls of fresh herbs (fennel fronds, basil, dill, cilantro, parsley)
extra virgin olive oil
serve with: lemon wedges and evoo


Scale, gut, and trim the tail and fins -- either have your fishmonger do it or try it yourself. Season the red snapper thoroughly with salt and pepper (inside and out). Stuff the inside cavity of the snapper with lemon slices and fresh herbs, then place a few additional herbs on outside of the snapper. Rub the fish with olive oil and let sit for about an hour. Prepare the grill. When preheated (to only medium heat for slower cooking a thicker fish), oil the grill with an oiled towel and place the fish on the grill. Cook until done, turning the fish as often as needed to keep the skin from burning (about 10 minutes of cooking per inch of snapper's thickness at thickest part). The fish is done when the flesh separates easily from the bones but is still moist. Test by inserting a skewer; it should meet little resistance. Remove from the grill and serve whole snapper at the table. Serve with lemon wedges and olive oil. Watch out for bones.

The Thirsty Thirty(-Seven)

Here are the menus to thirty-seven fine cocktail establishments in Cambridge and Boston. Rather than run the course of ranking them, I'll let you decide. Please comment below with additions, changes, or rankings to the list! Cheers!

Cambridge: Harvard Square

West Side Lounge - 1680 Mass Ave (btw Harvard & Porter Sq)

Russell House Tavern - 14 JFK St (Harvard Sq)

Casa Blanca - 40 Brattle St (Harvard Sq)

Noir @ Charles Hotel - One Bennett St (Harvard Sq)

Rialto @ Charles Hotel - One Bennett St (Harvard Sq)

The Red House - 98 Winthrop St (Harvard Sq)

Cambridge: Central Square

Rendezvous - 502 Mass Ave (Central Sq)

Green Street Grill - 280 Green St (Central Sq)

Lord Hobo - 92 Hampshire St (north of Central Sq)

Cambridge: Kendall Square

Blue Room - One Kendall Square (Kendall Sq)

Hungry Mother - 233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave (Kendall Sq)

Dante - 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd (north of Kendall Sq)

Inman Square

Trina’s Starlite Lounge - 3 Beacon St, Somerville (near Inman Sq)

Somerville

Highland Kitchen - 150 Highland Ave (Someville)

Foundry on Elm - 255 Elm St (Davis Sq)

Bergamot - 118 Beacon St (corner of Kirkland/Washington & Beacon)

South End

The Gallows - 1395 Washington St (South End)

Gaslight Brasserie - 560 Harrison Ave (South End)

Coppa - 253 Shawmut Ave (South End)

Franklin Café - 278 Shawmut Ave (South End)

Union Bar and Grill - 1357 Washington St (South End)

Estragon Tapas - 700 Harrison Ave (South End)

Downtown Boston

Woodward @ Ames Hotel - 1 Court St (near Gov Center)

Scholars - 25 School St (near Gov Center)

Stoddards - 48 Temple Place (near Downtown Crossing)

Bristol Lounge @ Four Seasons Hotel - 200 Boylston St (Boston Common)

Marliave - 10 Bosworth St (near Gov Center)

Alibi @ Liberty Hotel - 215 Charles St (Boston)

Kenmore/Back Bay

Eastern Standard - 528 Commonwealth Ave (Kenmore Sq)

Deuxave - 371 Comm Ave (Back Bay)

Island Creek Oyster Bar - 500 Commonwealth Ave (Kenmore Sq)

Citizen Public House  and Oyster Bar - 1310 Boylston (near Fenway)

South Boston

Drink - 348 Congress St (Fort Point)

Franklin Southie - 152 Dorchester Ave (Southie, near Broadway redline T stop)

City Bar @ Westin Boston Waterfront - 425 Summer St (near Boston Convention Center)

Brookline

Matt Murphy's Pub - 14 Harvard St (Brookline Village)

Allston/Brighton

Deep Ellum - 477 Cambridge St (Allston/Brighton)  
.

When traditions divide

I've grown up eating Connecticut-style lobster rolls, which means still-warm cooked lobster and butter served on toasted hot dog buns. To most of my New England friends, this is pure blasphemy. Only recently have I had the cold, Maine-style and I will admit really enjoying it. Allow me to share and have you decide for yourself.

Maine Lobster Rolls

serves 6

3 cups cooked lobster meat, picked over (1.25 lb cooked lobster = 1 cup of meat)

3 celery ribs, diced

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¾ cup mayonnaise

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 Tb fresh lemon juice

½ tsp paprika

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 side-sliced hot dog rolls

2 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temp

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Put the lobster meat, celery, and parsley in a large bowl.
3. Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl and mix well. Fold into the lobster and mix well again.
4. Toast the hot dog rolls in the oven or toaster oven until golden brown, being careful not to burn them. Spread them with butter, if desired. Spoon some of the lobster salad into each roll and serve at once.