Arthur Schwartz
The Food Maven
About Arthur: The New York Times Magazine called Arthur Schwartz “a walking Google of food and restaurant knowledge.” As the restaurant critic and executive food editor of the New York Daily News, which he was for 18 years, he was called The Schwartz Who Ate New York. Nowadays, he is best known as The Food Maven, the name of his website. Whatever the sobriquet, he is acknowledged as one of the country’s foremost experts on food, cooking, culinary history, restaurants, and restaurant history.
Get Arthur's brand new cook book: Arthur Schwartz's
Jewish Home Cooking:
Yiddish Recipes Revisted
The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
15% off Extra virgin olive oil handcrafted from Villa Cappelli in Puglia, Italy. Experts say that the olive oil from Puglia is some of the most palatable in the world, characterized by its digestibility and high vitamin content.
1/2 Liter~16.9 ounces, regularly
$20.00, now $17 for tomatoes. Buy now.
Seven-Layer Dip and a Chinese Dipping Sauce
Some people make this entirely with convenience products – canned refried beans, frozen guacamole, canned tomatoes. And some people build the dip in a baking dish so they can put it under the broiler briefly and melt the cheese. I prefer it when at least a couple of the layers are fresh – like the avocado and the tomatoes – and I hate it when it is put under the broiler because the melted cheese cools quickly and becomes far less appealing than unmelted shredded cheese. Do whatever … . Obviously, you don’t have to take the proportions too seriously either. Super Bowl watchers don’t notice anything but the game anyway.
1 16-ounce can refried beans (or equivalent amount of homemade)
3 large avocados
3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
2 cups sour cream
1 1-ounce package taco seasoning
1/4 cup (or more) chopped green chili peppers, pickled jalapenos or diced, fresh jalapenos
1 cup sliced, pitted black olives
1 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes, or finely diced fresh cherry tomatoes
2 cups grated Cheddar or jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and green
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a glass serving dish (so you can see the layers) or a deep platter.
Peel and pit the avocados, then, with a table fork, in a mixing bowl, mash them with the lime or lemon juice into a slightly coarse paste. Spread the paste over the beans.
Mix the sour cream with the taco seasoning and spread it over the avocado.
Distribute the chiles over the sour cream, then the olives, then the tomatoes.
Make a top layer of cheese, then sprinkle with the scallions and cilantro.
Serve with corn chips for dipping.
Chinese Ginger-Scallion Dipping Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
2 rounded teaspoons very finely minced fresh ginger root
3 rounded tablespoons very finely minced scallion (white only)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
In a small, heatproof bowl, combine the ginger, scallions and soy sauce.
In a small pot (a butter warmer or Turkish coffee pot is perfect), heat the oil, pulling it off the heat just before smoking.
Pour the oil over the ginger-scallion mixture. It will sizzle violently. Let the sauce stand at least 10 minutes before serving.
