Cafe Drake HRV had teaching duties this week at Brooklyn Brainery where once again we had a great group of students enthusiastic to learn home canning and the basics of Kashmiri cuisine. Both classes were tons of fun and we of course used the opportunity to catch up with old friends and indulge in some outer borough ethnic food shopping and gorging!
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| Jen Ruske reads our horoscopes while waiting for our appetizer. Hudson Valley (free) monthly magazine Chronogram provides in-depth, scary accurate astrological guidance. Our favorite bit of advice from the stars for February: That human frailty known as Projection is only possible in the Dark. |
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| And then we turned our attention away from such thoughts uncomfortably close to home. Hey, the walls have pictures of the menu items! |
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| Indonesian grilled chicken with rice, shrimp-chili paste, veggies and fried tofu and tempeh. |
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| A starter of steamed fish cake and cubed tofu, dressed with a sweet(ish) peanut sauce and cabbage. |
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| BOLD flavors. BOLD blogging. That's the Cafe Drake HRV mantra. |
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| Fried Chicken, Jakarta style, with coconut curried daikon and chile sambol. |
and two superb meals courtesy of Jen Ruske & Ben Terziani:
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| Ben's Masterpiece. The best ingredients really do create the best food experiences. Above, the sandwich elevated to an art form with toasted seeded bread, tangy Danish Tillamook cheese, artisanal salami, avocado, mustard and mayo. |
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| Cafe Drake HRV rarely get to enjoy the beloved Italian Wedding Soup; basically we're too lazy. Jen's homemade version was bliss on an arctic evening after teaching duties. |
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| Kitchen Magicians |
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| Arabella always happy to see Unkie Ben. |
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| She equally enjoys resting in bed with Auntie Jen! |
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| And napping on the sofa. |
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| Jen presented a truly impressive lemon cake for dessert, sweet and citrusy and redolent of hopeful notes of Spring. |
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| After baking the cake is soaked in a citrus syrup and then glazed with lemon frosting. |
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| Candied lemon slices are the finishing touch. Amazed. |
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| Mise en place a la Ruske. Note the bottle of bubbly deserves a place on every chef's station. |
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| Cheese Board of Stilton, Tillamook and Gruyere |
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| We hinted, no outright requested, one of Jen's signature dishes, always done to perfection - Green Pea Risotto with Crispy Pancetta. |
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| A glass-topped dining table allows Arabella's Look I'm Cute Please Please Give Me a Bite Face maximum exposure. |
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