Product Description

More than five hundred recipes collected from the five boroughs of America's kitchen by a New York Times food writer celebrates the passion for food with New York specialties ranging from Codfish Puffs to Braised Lamb Shanks to Kreplach. Simultaneous. 50,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39082 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

From the Back Cover
NIBBLES AND NOSHES

Falafel, fritters, and the Four Seasons' Salmon Rillettes. Grandma Dora's Chopped Liver and Lupe's savory Empanadillas. Steamed pork dumplings, a caviar primer, smart cocktails by the borough. SOUP AND BREAD Mai Loan Bass' Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup and Spring Street Prosciutto Bread. Lord & Taylor's Scotch Broth and West Indian Coco Bread. Plus Eli's Orwasher's, and the return of the neighborhood bakery. MAIN STREET MEATS The "21" Club Burger. The New Your steak. June Bobb's Garlic Pork, and Leg of Lamb with Oregano Potatoes. And oh, the brisket! CHICKEN TOWN Andre Soltner roasts it, Laurie Colwin bakes it, Mrs. Pearl Colwin cacciatories it, Yvonne "Lola" Bell fries it, Mrs. Hathansel paprikashes it, Allan Vernon jerks it, Kaneeze Fatima tandooris it, and Carmen Luisa Reyes turns hers into soulful Arroz con Pollo. SEAFOOD Grand Central Oyster Bar's classic Oyster Pan Roast. The genius of Gilbert Le Coze and his Shellfish Stew. Anne Rosenweig's signature Lobster Club Sandwich and Ed Bradley's spicy Shrimp Creole (takes less than 60 minutes). VEGETABLE SOPHISTICATION Edna Lewis' Greens and Marvelous Marrakesh Carrots. Abyssinian Baptist Church's Slow Cooked Green Beans and Union Square Caf,'s Mashed Turnips with Crispy Shallots. THE WAYS TO LOVE PASTA From lasagne to pastisio, pierogi to wonton, pad Thai to cold sesame noodles. With Puttanesca a la Andy's Colonial Tavern, Turkey Day Spaghetti Carbonara, and Horn & Hardart's Baked Macaroni and Cheese. 63 SPECTACULAR ENDINGS Sally Deitz's Outrageous Chocolate Cake. Junior's Cheesecake, Lindy's Cheesecake. That famous Carrot Top Cake. Le Cirque's CrSme Brulee and Greek Diner Banana Cream Pie, the pie that reaches the sky. PLUS hundreds of photographs, walking tours, shopping tips, cooking hints, feature stories, anecdotes, and where-to-find-its throughout. CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELS In the true spirit of a community cookbook, a portion of the royalties earned by this book are donated to CityMeals-on-Wheels.

MOLLY O'NEILL The Damon Runyon of the New York food world, Molly O'Neill is food columnist for The New York Times Magazine. She spend five years on THE NEW YORK COOKBOOK.

About the Author
The Damon Runyon of the New York food world, Molly O'Neill is food columnist for The New York Times Magazine. She spent five years on The New York Cookbook.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Confessional Chili

David Durk, whose career in law enforcement has spanned 23 years and included a stint as the partner of the famous Frank Serpico, purports to have served this atomic chili to tight-lipped prisoners and potential informers, many of whom he claims "would never talk to a New York Cop." How soon after consumption did they start gabbing? "Immediately," he laughs.

2 to 3 large onions, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

3 to 4 small Indian green chiles, chopped, or 4 jalapeno chiles, chopped (including the seeds), or 3 tablespoons extra-hot ground dried chiles

3 tablespoons peanut oil

3 pounds lean chopped sirloin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon ground coriander

3 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano

2 cans (28 ounces each) imported Italian whole plum tomatoes

4 bay leaves

2 cans (16 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 bunch cilantro or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, rinsed and chopped.

1. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sautS the onions, garlic, and chiles in the oil until the onions are translucent, 5 minutes.

2. Crumble the chopped sirloin over the top of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper; stir in the coriander, cumin, thyme, and oregano. Cover and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

3. Pour the tomatoes into a small bowl and coarsely crush with your hands. Pour the tomatoes and juice on top of the chili mixture. Stir in the bay leaves. Cover or leave uncovered, depending on the consistency you prefer (a covered pot with yield a thicker chile), and simmer until the flavors are well married, about 30 minutes.

4. Stir in the pinto beans and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve at once.

Serves 8 to 10

Subhir's Aloo Parantha

Subhir Seth learned to make this bread in the Khyber Pass on the border of West Afghanistan and North Pakistan. He recommends serving it as a first course with cumin-flavored yogurt for dipping.

BREAD

3 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ teaspoon salt

STUFFING

1 pound potatoes

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

teaspoon gound cumin

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

teaspoon salt

COOKING

About 1 cup vegetable oil

1. To make the bread: Combine the flour, vegetable oil, salt, and 1 ½ cups water in a large bowl. Knead to make a smooth dough, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 10 equal balls. Place the dough on a tray and set aside to rest in a cool place while you make the stuffing.

2. To make the stuffing: Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, 30 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly.

3. Peel the potatoes, then rice or mash them by hand in a bowl. Stir in the cilantro, chile, cumin, ginger, and salt. Divide the mixture into 10 equal balls.

4. Use your finger to make a deep indentation in each of the dough balls. Place some of the stuffing in each and seal the dough over the stuffing. On a lightly floured board, use a rolling pin to gently flatten each stuffed dough into an 8-inch disk.

5. To cook: Place a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and coat with 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, place 1 bread in the pan and fry for 1 minute on each side. Sprinkle the bread with additional oil and fry for another minute on each side. Continue frying the breads one at a time, with additional oil. Srve immediately.

Makes 10 paranthas

Customer Reviews

Great food from just about everywhere
I haven't always been impressed with Molly O'Neill's food column in the New York Times magazine: while it's always interesting, the food is frequently complicated and relies heavily on expensive, obscure ingredients. This book came as a pleasant surprise, therefore. This is one of those rare cookbooks that is both a joy to read and a genuine source of recipes. I'm a pretty novice cook, and everything I've cooked from this book has been a success. This is also one of the few all-purpose cookbooks I've encountered that's genuinely international. And Katherine Hepburn supplied O'Neill with the best brownie recipe I've ever encountered. I keep this cookbook on my kitchen counter, and I've given a copy to my mother. I can't think of higher praise than that.

Excellent!
For years, Molly O'Neill wrote the food page of the New York Times Magazine, and this book is essentially her collected wisdom, a valuable addition indeed to any culinary shelf.

The cookbook looks and feels like it should be a more modern version of an American staple-food cookbook such as The Joy Of Cooking. It isn't glossy or elaborately photographed, but once you open it up, you realize you're in a different league of cuisine. Thanks to New York's immigrant traditions it doesn't focus on any particular national cuisine - instead giving recipes for the food you find in the City; everything from latkes to jerk chicken to asian-influenced noodle dishes. Every recipe I've tried has worked marvelously, and few of them are terribly difficult. The recipes are broken down by course/type of food (e.g. pasta) rather than region of origin.

She's included little anecdotes about food, life in New York, and the lives of some of the chefs whose recipes she's included in the book. Unlike many, this cookbook is actually amusing to read.

On a side note, the cookbook had a cameo in the recent movie "Proof of Life."

New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants
Cooks Magazine recommended this cookbook as being very authentic. I bought it because of their review. They were absolutely right. The recipes are original/authentic New York complete with history and original photos. It's a great read even if you never make any of the recipes.
I highly recommend this book.