New Restaurant With Buzz- Is it worth it?

Last week, Dad and Ingrid took Mag and me to Maremma, a new place in the West Village. The chef is a friend of the family so I think we got good treatment or whatever, but I don't think the restaurant is all that. It was good, and spacious. But the pasta Mag and I split (called Moonshine because it had bourbon in the sauce I guess) was really just fair to middling. Also the salad was bitter and hardly dressed. What was good was something in the appetizer part of the meal but it mustn't have been that good because I forget. Something about bean salad? Next time I'll write the review sooner so the important nouns/adjectives etc. come quicker to mind.

One good part was Ingrid asked to ride my bike on the way there. She hadn't been on a bike in years. I was nervous she'd bail but she did great and rode from 6th Ave to the restaurant without incident.



Dad and I found it really funny.



Here's a cute series of Dad and Mag. Dad often opens his mouth when you take a picture of him, or maybe just when food is around. He also says, "Ta DA" whenever a flash goes off.

Nutella Tart Anyone?

Here's something I made once that I highly recommend. Nutella is one brand name I don't mind using in everyday conversation.

As you can see, I made individual ones. But if the dough scares you, use one from the store.

Nutella Tart

1 fully baked 22 cm (8 3/4 in) tart shell*

200 g Nutella (2/3 cup)
140 g bittersweet chocolate (Herme' uses Valhorna Noir Gastronomie) (4 3/4 oz)
200 g butter (7 Tbsp)
1 large egg, room temperature, stirred with a fork
3 large egg yolks, room temperature, stirred with a fork
2 Tbsp sugar
140 g Hazelnuts (1 cup)

Toast the hazelnuts 10 minutes in a 180C (350F) hot oven. Remove as much skin as possible by rubbing the hazelnuts inside a kitchen towel. Chop coarsely.

heat oven to 190C (375F)

Melt chocolate and butter separately. Allow to cool till 40C (104F).

Spread the Nutella at the bottom of the tart shell

Mix the egg into the (cooled down) chocolate. Do this gently to avoid incorporating air. Add yolks, little by little, then the sugar. Finally, fold in the melted butter, always stirring gently. This will take a little time. Pour on top of the Nutella and sprinkle with the toasted hazelnuts.

Bake for about 11 minutes. The sides of the filling should be set but the middle still slightly wobbly if shaken (that's how it's supposed to be). Let cool to room temperature. Eat :-). Any remaining tart, stored in the fridge, will taste great cold, the next day.



*Herme's recipe for tart dough uses 285 g (10 oz) butter, 150 g (1 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar, 100 g (1/2 cup) finely ground blanched almonds, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla bean pulp, 2 large eggs and 490 g (3 1/2 cups) all purpose flour to make enough dough for 4 tart shells, using the standard procedure to make tart dough. This dough tastes great but is quite fragile, i.e. not too easy to work with. You could also use any other sweet tart crust dough.