The Best of The Year

Was 2019 a good year food wise? It was the year Beyond Beef hit our tables and palates We found ourselves trying different foods and rediscovering the classics. There were some good restaurants and wand much loved recipes that made 2019 special. Maybe it was a very good year.

That was the idea of today's New York Times Food section. Many of the contributors and even readers weighed in about this last year of the teens. Pete Wells, the paper's restaurant critic. If you're in New York for the holiday season, please try some of his recommendations. Odo is one of his three star favorites. This is a kind of fusion restaurant that features soba waffles and Wagyu beef burgers (there's also veggie and chicken ones too).There's also a sushi bar at this trendy Flatiron District eatery. Another three star fave is Rezdora , creation of famed chef, Stefano Secci, who spent time working for another famed chef, cerebral experimentalist  Massimo Bottura. Mr Wells raves about the interesting uovo ravioli which spurts egg yolk when you cut into them and the handmade maccheroni al pettine, that's raked with a comb , made that way to have the sauce adhere to the pasta. It too is in the Flatiron  District. Another fusion restaurant, Llama San is the third three star eatery which nods constantly to Peru and Japan. nThe star dish is the nigiri, a hand rolled ball of rice with a duck breast draped over it. Another three star is Benno, created by Jonathan Benno, which features such lush dishes as risotto with truffles along with caviar and lobster dishes.

Home chefs also had their favorite recipes. The top number one dish was the vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing. Alison Roman came up with this turmeric laced chicken baked on a sheet pan. Crushed Castelvetrano olives make up the sauce. Samin Nosrat gives us the second most popular ,a thrice (!!) washed salad that has five different kinds of lettuce and a honey, garlic, and Dijon dressing. It was inspired by  Via Carota, Insalata Verde. Pork lovers nominated the pork chops in lemon caper sauce which is also spiced with thyme and parsley. A Hawaiian dish, Huli Huli made it to number four. It originated in 1954 when a Honolulu businessman, Ernesto Morgado served a group of farmers chicken that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce. The sauce has been updated to include ketchup, soy sauce, and light or dark brown sugar. Garlic and ginger give it spice and bite as it's grilled for half an hour on a hot barbecue. It's worth dragging out the grill for this tasty dish.If you prefer a more indoor dish, then try number five, creamy chickpea pasta with spinach and rosemary. Alexa Webel created this blend of chickpeas, heavy cream, garlic, shallots and spinach. The chickpeas are browned first , and then half are removed   to break down and thicken the sauce. It can top either spaghetti or bucatini.

Was 2019 a good year in food. Yes. There are some good eateries and recipes out there that will definitely please the palate. Visit these three star restaurants  Cook these top five dishes. Enjoy what made this year a good food year.

The Perfect Sushi Cookbook

Ask people if they want to go out for sushi, the response is an enthusiastic "Yes!". Ask them if they want to come over for homemade and they'll look at you like = well-you;ve grown fins. Yet making your favorite California roll or sashimi is easy to do. There's a new cookbook out there to help you navigate through the various types and techniques.

Sushi chef and Rising Star chef of 2013 Robby Cook and Jeffrey Elliot , author of the book Zwilling Ja Henckels Complete Book of Knife Skills have collaborated to create The Complete Guide To Sushi andSashimi(Robert Rose Publishers 2015). This is the perfect book for sushi lovers who want to make this Japanese standard at home. The book is an extensive guide , giving readers the history of the dish (from the Third Century BCE) to how to sharpen knives.The cookbook has  a picture by picture how to of every assembly and decorating technique needed to create the perfect platter.There are detailed guides to ingredients too. Both Chef Cook and Chef Elliot also include pages on the equipment from the rolling mats to the rice cooker. They also include pictures of the necessary tamago pan which is used to making those large  square omelets used in sushi and the pressed sushi boxes or Oshizushihako. Another plus is the chapter on how to create a photogenic sushi plate for guests.

I like this book because it shows home chefs exactly what fish to use and how to filet them. Many of the pieces are very elaborate with some having as many as nineteen steps.There is a very detailed section on deboning with removing the fish' pin bones or vertebrae. Home chefs will appreciate  the elaborate guide on removing a fillet's skin while. tempura lovers will appreciate the how to prepare shrimp for this tasty dish.Both chefs also include how tos on shucking crabs and oysters. Sushi 't just eel and  tuna wrapped in rice and nori- dried seaweed. There are hand shaped sushi or nigiri, which are small bite sized balls along with scattered style sushi, the perfect dish for neophytes.It's just cubed raw fish scattered over a bowl of sushi (or white rice)There is a vegan version that features shredded omelets along with shiitake  mushroom caps and tofu. for the more advanced  there's the rococo like decorative square roll or shikaimaki. For a fun spin try the shiso ginger stuffed sushi which can be taken on picnics. It's stuffed with ginger and green onion pieces.

Sushi lovers should definitely buy  The Complete Guide To Sushi and Sashimi.it's the perfect guide for recreating those yummy sushi bar morsels. They'll be able to make beloved rolls at home for themselves and for friends.