The right track
Commuters hurried through, with no reason to dally.
All that changed when the station was painstakingly renovated in the mid-90s. When it reopened in 1998 it had lots of upmarket retail outlets to tempt the 700,000 people who pass through daily. They responded with enthusiasm.
Murray's Cheese Shop, Pescatore Seafood Company and Koglein German Royal Hams are just three of the speciality food shops in the area called Grand Central Market.
New York cheese guru Rob Kaufeld, who runs Murray's Cheese Shop, is one of 90 retailers, food merchants and restaurateurs who have been doing a brisk business since the station reopened.
My daughter Emily spent a summer break "chopping cheese" at Murray's.
She loved the camaraderie between the stall holders and was greatly amused by the frenetic New Yorkers dashing in to buy some low fat cheese on the way home. Murray's, though, didn't sell any low fat cheese so she encouraged them to buy some Irish farmhouse cheese, perhaps a deliciously pungent Ardrahan or a toothsome wedge of Cashel Blue.
This area has become one of New York's hippest areas for food shopping.
It's so blindingly obvious to site artisan food shops in a busy transit hub. Retailers at Grand Central are delighted with their semi-captive audience. The annual return per square foot in Grand Central Market, where rents are about €200 per square foot, is about $2,000, as opposed to malls where the return might be $1,400 or a shopping centre $500-$800.
The station is now home to 22 restaurants, from children-friendly spots like Junior's Dishes to the recently opened Ciao Bella Gelateria in the lower dining concourse. Most, however, like Paninoteca which makes great paninis, offer take-out only. The drawback for the traders at Grand Central is that business is almost exclusively tied to office hours.
Jerry Bocchino of the Pescatore Seafood Company says that 80% of their business is done between 4.30pm and 8pm and weekends are still not where he'd like them to be.
Here are some typical New York recipes From The New York Cookbook, by Molly O'Neill, published by Workman Publishing Co, New York.
The recipes are written in American cup measurements: 1 cup = 8fl oz.
This is a great do-ahead dish for a crowd, keeps well and reheats like a dream.
Serves 4-6
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain flour
725ml (24/fl.oz/3 cups) milk
1 tsp salt
dash of freshly ground white pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
225g (8oz) grated Cheddar cheese
225g (8oz) elbow macaroni, fully cooked and drained
110g (4oz/½ cup) tinned tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 tsp sugar
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease a 1½ quart baking dish.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, then add the milk, salt and both peppers. Stir almost constantly until the mixture thickens and is smooth, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cheese and cook, stirring, until it melts. Remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the macaroni and the sauce. Stir in the tomatoes and the sugar.
Transfer the macaroni mixture to the greased baking dish. Bake until the surface browns, 30-40 minutes.
The secret to this dish is boiling the livers and chopping each ingredient by hand in a wooden bowl or on a chopping board, best served on rye bread.
450g (1lb) chicken livers, cleaned and rinsed
1 white onion, finely chopped
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
About 2 tbsp melted butter (or rendered chicken fat)
Dash of paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Immerse the livers in plenty of boiling water, cover and boil gently until the livers are firm, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain well. Chill in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
Using a sharp knife, chop the livers to a smooth paste.
Using a wooden spoon, mix together half of the liver, onion, and eggs. Add the remaining liver, onion and eggs and stir to combine completely. Add enough of the melted butter to moisten and hold the liver together. Add the paprika.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sirio Macciono of the famous Le Cirque Restaurant in New York adapted this crème brulee from a crema he ate in Spain in 1982, which had a caramelised sugar topping so thick that it had to be broken with a small hammer. This version has a thinner elegant caramel crackle and can be tapped with the most elegant silver spoon.
Serves 8
900ml (32 fl.oz/4 cups) double cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Pinch of salt
8 large eggs
175g (6ozs (¾ cup plus 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
8 tbsp packed light brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 300F. Place eight cup ramekins in roasting pan.
In a saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, vanilla bean and salt. Warm for five minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and granulated sugar. Pour in the hot cream and stir gently to combine. Strain the custard into a jug and skim off any bubbles.
Pour the custard into the ramekins, filling them up to the rim. Place the roasting pan in the oven and carefully pour warm water in the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Loosely cover the pan with aluminium foil and bake until set, for
1¾ hours. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow to cool. Cover individually and refrigerate for at least three hours or up to two days. When ready to serve, preheat the grill.
Uncover the ramekins and place them on a baking sheet. Top each with 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar and using a metal spatula or knife, spread the sugar evenly over the custards. Grill the custards until the sugar caramelises, for 30 seconds to two minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to four hours.
This chutney makes a great dip for cruditées, a topping for rice or baked potatoes, or condiment for grilled meat or fish.
Serves 6
350ml (12fl.oz/1½ cups) plain yoghurt
2 tbsp finely-chopped white onion
1 tbsp finely-chopped scallion
1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely-chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp finely-chopped fresh mint
½ tsp ground cumin
Cardamom seeds from 6 pods
½ tsp coarse salt
¼ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Whisk the yoghurt in a bowl until smooth. Stir in all of the rest of the ingredients, adding more of any to taste.
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour to let the flavours develop.
Serve the chutney with grilled fish, chicken, or lamb, as a topping for potatoes or rice or as a spread inside a pitta bread pocket. The chutney keeps for up to two weeks if covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator.
At one time, there were fine bakeries on every street corner in New York but there aren't as many now. There are still some traditional pastry shops selling handmade pastries like Ruggelach, but Sophie Grigson's version is my favourite.
Makes 16
110g (4oz) cream cheese
110g (4oz) softened butter
150g (5oz) flour
50g (2oz) pale brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
35g (1½oz) walnuts, finely chopped
25g (1oz) raisins, chopped
1 egg, beaten
caster sugar
Beat the cream cheese vigorously with the butter until well-mixed and softened. Gradually beat in the flour. Gather up into a ball and wrap in foil or cling film. Chill for 30 minutes.
Mix the sugar with the cinnamon, walnuts and raisins. On a lightly-floured board, roll the pastry out into a 33cm (12in) circle. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle the filling evenly over the pastry. Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper and run the rolling pin over it a couple of times to fix the filling firmly into the pastry. Lift off the paper.
Divide the circle up like a cake into 16 triangles. Roll up each one, starting with the wider end, as if you were making a croissant. Arrange on a baking sheet, brush with egg, and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake at 200C/400F/gas 6 for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
Makes 9-10 x 450g/1lb jars approx
All over the countryside every year blackberries rot on the hedgerows.
Think of all the wonderful jam that could be made so full of Vitamin C! This year organise a blackberry picking expedition while they are still on the brambles. Blackberries are a bit low in pectin, so the apples help it to set as well as adding extra flavour. If you have some sweet geranium leaves they are a wonderful addition, but it is quite delicious without them.
2.3kg (5 lbs) blackberries
900g (2 lbs) cooking apples (Bramley, or Grenadier in season)
1.8kg (4 lbs) sugar (use 225g (½ lb) less if blackberries are sweet)
150ml (5fl.oz) water
8-10 sweet geranium leaves optional
Wash, peel and core and slice the apples. Stew them until soft with 150ml (5fl oz) of water in a stainless steel saucepan; beat to a pulp.
Warm the sugar. Pick over the blackberries, cook until soft, adding about 100ml (3½ fl.oz) water if the berries are dry. If you like, push them through a coarse sieve to remove seeds. Put the blackberries into a wide stainless steel saucepan or preserving pan with the apple pulp and the heated sugar. Destalk and chop sweet geranium leaves and add to the fruit.
Stir over a gentle heat until the sugar is dissolved. Boil steadily for about 15 minutes. Skim the jam, test it for a set and pot into warm spotlessly clean jars.
Slow Food Cork Festival Food Market in Patrick Street, today, 10am-6pm with more than 60 artisan food producers.
Midleton Farmers' Market. Next Saturday, October 1, Gene Cunningham, who sharpens knives, will attend, so bring your kitchen knives if they need sharpening.
Local Producers of Good Food in Cork by Myrtle Allen. A revised edition is now available. €5 from Liam Ruiseal's bookshop, Crawford Gallery Café, Ballymaloe shop or by post from Myrtle Allen at Ballymaloe House for €6, including postage.
Cork Free Choice Consumer Group meets on the last Thursday of the month at 7.30pm (excluding December) at the Crawford Gallery Café. Admission €6, including tastings. Next meeting, Thursday, September 29; speaker Jean Perry of The Glebe Gardens in Baltimore on winter vegetable gardening: Youghal Through the Ages runs until October 2. The heritage programme features an Elizabethan market at Barry's Lane, Saturday, Oct 1, 10am-3pm.
Tel 024-20170 or see www.youghalchamber.ie.
