Blackie's Hot Dog Stand: a night to remember

Last Friday, my uncle and I made the more-than two-hour trek to Blackie's Hot Dog stand in Waterbury, Ct. This was a really big deal because Blackie's is usually NEVER open on Fridays. It was owned by a Catholic family back in 1928, and according to the Catholic church, you weren't allowed to eat meat on Fridays, so Blackie's, being a hot dog stand, was closed on Fridays. In the 60's when the church said it was ok to eat meat on Fridays, Blackie's still stayed closed on Fridays just until a few years ago when they would open for private parties.So when my uncle's business colleague opened the place up for this past Friday and invited us, I knew I wouldn't be missing it for the world. I had never been to Blackie's before then, just heard stories telling of its greatness and its vaunted hot pepper relish(which did not disappoint).

Upon arrival, I knew I was in for a treat when i saw the big, old school red neon lights spelling out Blackie's. With the more then two hour wait, and mountains of anticipation built up, I couldn't wait for get inside. The interior was just as retro as the exterior, I felt as though I stepped right into a 50's diner, with leather stools and a Happy Days esque jukebox.

Now, to the food. Blackie's is famous for their hot-dogs, smothered in hot pepper relish and mustard, its a hot dog enthusiast dream. I'm pretty sure the dogs are boiled to the point where they blister, slapped on a soft, chewy roll. The dogs are a combo of beef and pork as I was informed by the extremely pleasant server. You then have the choice of mustard and the renowned hot pepper relish. Once I loaded it up with mustard and relish and took that first bite, I immediately thought, "Oh my god, this relish is amazing!!". This isn't your ordinary relish, its got a nice kick to it from the hot peppers, perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, its simply sublime. It was so good, I just had to buy a jar of it, and i'll be putting that stuff on every dog I eat!

Blackies also serves burgers and cheeseburgers. My uncle and I each tried one because as we saw them being served they looked like they were worth a try... they weren't. They weren't bad necessarily, they were just average. They did, however, ruin our quest for 5 dogs apiece for the night, we ended up with 3 each and a burger each, very satisfied though.

Blackie's Hot Dog Stand

2200 Waterbury Road Cheshire, CT 06410

203.699.1819

Review: new Frank Pepe's Pizza opens in Yonkers

Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Ct is legendary. It is widely regarded as one of the best pizzas in the tri-state area, and it just so happens that they have just opened a new branch of the vaunted Pepe's in Yonkers on Central Avenue this week, so I just had to go. I have not been to the one in New Haven, so I can't give a fair assessment in it's authenticity, but damn, this pizza was pretty awesome

Pepe's is best known for the white clam pie which started when Frank Pepe himself came up with the idea as a lark. The local fishermen in New Haven always had bushels of clams on hand, and Mr. Pepe had the idea of putting them on pizza. After baking one up, he was surprised it worked and hence the clam pie was born.

Here is the renowned white clam pie. A white pie studded with perfectly cooked nuggets of clams, with an array of garlic, oregano and other herbs. A truly unique combination for pizza that all melds together to form a mouth-watering slice of pizza. The crust itself is reason enough to go to Pepe's, its simply amazing. It has everything you want in a pizza crust; light, airy, crispy and a nice char from the new coal oven. all these elements come together to form a fantastic slice of pizza that live up to the extreme amount of hype that surrounds Frank Pepe's.

Here's the half sausage and pepperoni pie we also got. Overall, it was pretty average. the sauce was well done, sweet, savory, herby and tangy, all good characteristics of a good tomato sauce. The cheese was your average pizza cheese, with a slight sharpness, its nothing to write home about. The sausage is nothing special either, its got nice fennel undertones, but thats about it, the same can't be said for the pepperoni as it was very good quality pepperoni, it had a nice smoking flavor to it, kind of like bacon, which was very delicious.

Overall, you go to Frank Pepe's for the white clam pie because its awesome. Its something different, unique and one of kind and it taste great.

Frank Pepe's Pizzeria Napoletana

1914-961-8194

1955 Central Avenue,Yonkers,NY

Ricotta Gnudi's with a brown butter sauce

Gnudi's are basically the inside of a ravioli briefly sautéed in butter. I first discovered Gnudi's at The Spotted Pig in downtown New York, and it simply blew my mind, I just had to make them, so soon after I found a recipe, doctored it up a little and have been making them ever since. This recipe is adapted from esteemed chef of The Spotted Pig, April Bloomfield. I will admit, the Gnudi's at the Spotted Pig are better then mine, but mine are definitely up there. I have made some changes to the original recipe with the addition of pancetta and rosemary.

SPOTTED PIG'S RICOTTA GNUDI
Ingredients:
1 egg

340 g fresh ricotta cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
113 g freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup semolina flour

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp chopped rosemary

1 Tbsp cubed pancetta

2-4 Tbsp butter for sauce

Directions:
In a small mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, one teaspoon rosemary, egg, Parmigiano, half of the flour and the tbls of all-purpose flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix until the ingredients are well combined. Salt and pepper to taste.Place the remaining flour in a shallow bowl. Using floured hands, pinch about a tablespoon worth of mixture and form into a little football or gnocchi shape. Dredge each through the flour in the bowl and onto a baking sheet. Continue this until you've made as many gnocchi shaped pieces as you can. You can either immediately poach them or cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a few hours.
While the gnudi are boiling, melt the butter in a saucepan until it has foamed and the foam has subsided and the butter starts to turn a honeyed sort of brown. Add pancetta and sauté until super fragrant and a bit crisp. Once gnudi is cooked, place them in pan with butter sauce for 30 seconds on each side. transfer to plate and top with browned pancetta butter and a serious grating of Parmesan.

Frickles: fried pickles

Fried pickles are a very traditional southern dish and taste a lot better then they sound. They have great textural contrast from the crust that forms from the frying and the slight crunch from the pickle itself, and who doesn't like pickles? So, why not deep fry them?

Fried Pickles

2 pickles cut into approximately 1/2 inch circles,(I had spears, doesn't matter though)yields around 15-20 slices

1 egg

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

1/2 cup panko or any other type of breadcrumbs

dash of hot sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

oil for frying, you want about 1/2-1 inch worth of oil in your pot

Directions

1. Lay pickle slices on a paper towel and pat dry.
2. In bowl whisk together egg, milk, a couple drops of hot sauce and 1/4 cup flour.
3. In another bowl mix together remaining 1/4 cup flour, panko bread crumbs, garlic powder and some salt and pepper.
   
   
4. Dip a dried pickle into batter then dredge into panko mixture to coat completely. Transfer to a plate, repeat with remaining pickles. Allow to sit while the oil heats.
5. Heat 1 inch of oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, sprinkle in a pinch of flour. If it sizzles the oil is hot enough. Fry pickles in batches until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt if desired or any type of herb like parsley or rosemary. Serve immediately.

Breakfast of Champions: Spicy Home Fries

There is no better way to start off your day then with a big pile of buttery, crispy, spicy, fried potatoes. These home fries have it all; bacon, shallots, garlic, jalapeno and a fried egg to top it off!

Spicy home fries

2 small potatoes

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 shallot, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, diced

1 slice bacon, chopped

1 tsp rosemary

2 Tbsp butter

Directions

1) chop and dice all ingredients, cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes

2) season potatoes with salt and pepper, melt butter in pan over medium heat, put potatoes in, let cook without touching for 10 minutes, then flip a few times.

3) put in bacon, shallot, garlic, and rosemary. Let cook together for another ten minutes.

4) After checking if the potatoes have softened, put them on a plate and fry the egg, keeping the yolk intact so you can use it as a "sauce" for the home fries.

Home-made Dulche De Leche

Dulche de Leche is like caramel on steroids. It goes great on any type of dessert; cakes, ice cream, brownies, etc. Also, while you can buy it already prepared, it's a very easy thing to make: all you do is boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for about 4 hours.

Dulche de Leche

2 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 pot boiling water

Directions

1) remove labels from cans and submerge in pot of water that has been brought to a light boil

2) simmer the cans for 2-3 hours if you want a runny sauce or 4 if you want a thick one, check on cans every half-hour, keep the cans completely submerged, add water if nessicary

3) after 2-4 hours cooking, let cool to room temp. and remove cans and enjoy the gooey goodness

Scallion Pancakes with Dipping Sauce

Since I had some left-over scallions from last night's dumplings, I decided to make my brother Alex a snack he has always liked, Scallion Pancakes. These are very common in most Chinese restaurants and it is a very simple list of ingredients: dough, water and scallion. Very simple and yet delicious!.

Scallion Pancakes

2 cups flour

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup scallions

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt and pepper

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1 clove chopped garlic

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

1) combine boiling water and flour, knead until combined

2) take 1/4 of the dough and roll out into a rectangle

3) Place scallions in dough, spread around, roll it up into a log shape and then into a pinwheel type shape

4) Flatten pinwheel of dough into a thin disk, around 1/2 inch

5) fry in a pan with the sesame oil until golden brown on both sides, approximately a few minutes on each side

6) repeat with the rest of the dough

7) for sauce, combine soy, vinegar, garlic and sugar.