FOOD SHOPPING ONLINE: KEYFOOD

Fresh Direct and Peapod are the two most popular online food shopping venues that deliver.  While Fresh Direct has their own warehouse, Peapod is connected with Stop and Shop.  You cannot, however, pick out your food and therefore have to depend upon them for the shopping.  There are a few supermarkets that do the same including the Keyfood (now called Dynasty) located in Rego Park on Woodhaven Blvd. 

Howard Beach’s Keyfood started selling the delicious goods from Russo’s on the Bay.  At some point you would be able to get some of the products at this Rego Park location.  I went online to test it out on what they choose to see if they shopped well for me. I live in their delivery zone and the minimum is $40 with a $5 charge to do the shopping for me with no charge for delivery.  To compare, Fresh Direct has a minimum of $30, delivery charge of $5.00. Peapod want’s a $75 minimum with a delivery charge of $9.99.

I noticed a few flaws when going online with Keyfood and called the store directly.  Many of the products are not offered and prices are not the same.  On the positive end, you can refer to the weekly flyer for what’s on sale.  I wanted to try something they that totally prepared at their deli counter and opted for two types of chicken wings (Buffalo and BBQ) at a price of $5.99 per pound.  Tears were emanating from my eyes with the Buffalo.  My stomach bothered me for many hours after having both. 

I love shaved steak.  I can usually get that at Trader Joe’s.  I asked if they could get it that thin and Jose, the GM, said that I could.  As for the cut, I chose eye round as it was recommended via online research as being a cheap but excellent cut for that use.  Flyer price was $5.99 per pound.  It takes about 45 seconds for this to cook and goes great in either stir fries or sandwiches.  I tend to use ginger and scallions. 

I called in my list and was gotten back with on what was there or wasn’t along with the total.  I was even able to use my credit card just the way I did for Fresh Direct and Peapod.  It was soon after that the food was delivered.  I did not have to wait for a time slot. 

All was fine except for the beef.  It was cut thin but not shaved.  I called and asked if they are able to do this and was assured by Jose.  He told me to keep it in the refrigerator and someone would come and pick it up while exchanging it for the shaved beef.  The store closes at 10 p.m. and it is almost 9 p.m.  No pick up or phone call.   Yes, I finally called to hear Jose tell me that he had forgotten and complained about how he works 16-hours a day.  I guess this Keyfood doesn’t deliver when it comes to keeping agreements. 

THERE’S SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT CHEF MICHAEL DEGEORGIO

Executive Chef Michael DeGeorgio held a cooking class that focused on fish, The Feast of Seven Fishes, to be exact.  For those of you that are not familiar with the Italian celebration, it is a traditional meal served on Christmas Eve.   Whether you were looking to do your own holiday cooking or just needed some great tips for preparing fish, the sold out class offered both knowledge and the highest quality seafood. 

There might have been some couples that were not even interested in cooking on the holidays.  For a price of $125 per person (all inclusive) you were able to indulge in a relaxed dinner that included three appetizers, pasta dish, entrée, and 3 desserts, plus paired white and red wines and coffee along with the full recipes for everything but dessert.  Hey, it was at least three hours of demo and eating. 

Needless to say, Chef Michael did not work alone as Chef Luis Enriquez did his “sous chef-ing”.   

   

What did we have and what did I learn?  Let’s start with a Frutta De Mare (seafood salad) of poached lobster, shrimp, calamari (squid), pulpo (octopus), dry sea scallops and scungilli (conch).

First things first, prepare a poaching liquid consisting of water, pickling spice, white wine and lemon juice, onions, celery, parsley and carrots.  You can always freeze this in portions for future use as is or it can certainly make for a great poaching liquid with that added seafood flavoring. 

Chef Michael gave us lots of great tips.  For instance, the best shrimp to use would be a 26/30 white, peeled and deveined.  Fresh squid is much better to use.  You can clean it yourself or buy it already done for you.  I used to think that calamari was rubbery due to the amount of time cooked.  Wrong.  Fresh counts the most.  Dry scallops do not have added water and chemicals.  Hint, hint.  

Fritto Misto (mixed fish) consisted of lemon sole, calamari, shrimp, fresh asparagus, and zucchini.  This is of the fried ilk and should be chilled overnight (before frying) to allow the marinade to soak in.  Tip?  Soaking food in milk tenderizes it.  In fact, Michael prepares a turkey by marinating in milk and butter.   Another tip on this is to dust with Wondra Flour.  The fish, not the turkey. 

Baked Clams Oregenata were next.  Littleneck clams baked with bread crumbs and white wine, along with things like roasted shallots and garlic and a few cheeses (I’m not going to give away the secrets).  He suggested that you can either open the clams or have your fish monger do it for you.  

We’re up to the pasta dish.  Personally, I do not like “al dente”.   Chewing pasta is just not my thing and I’m not Italian, so I don’t care.  Linguini Con Granchi contained: blue crab and Alaskan King Crab in a light tomato sauce.   Use a can of imported San Marzano whole tomatoes.  You might be better off having the monger kill and clean the crabs so that they don’t bite your tongue or grubby little fingers.  Alaskan King Crabs are easiest to get the most of the meat without most of the fuss. 

The entrée, hand-carved whole roasted fish with fennel, endive, broccoli rabe and bread crumbs was served with truffle potato croquettes.   Michael’s staff had prepared two different fish in the kitchen; American snapper and halibut.  I tried the halibut and it was extremely tender, but “meaty”.  This was due to the added liquids such as white wine and chicken stock as well as some other tasty additions. Not to miss out on the preparation, Chef Michael showed us how to prepare it using a smaller snapper.    

Seconds of everything were offered.  However, I was getting quite full on the “firsts” and wanted to save a bit or room for desserts.  One was Panettone topped with vanilla gelato and raspberry sauce (seedless). Another was a warm apple cobbler.  Last (and not on the menu) was a fried ravioli.  Fried ravioli for dessert?  It depends on what’s inside.  This one oozed chocolate!!

Here are just some of the folks that attended.

Joining us were the Almonte family, owners of the new Keyfood Supermarket located at 163-20 Cross Bay Blvd. 

Russo’s recently put out their own brand of gourmet food now being sold at this location. All you have to do is heat it up…unless it’s something you would serve cold, such as a seafood salad.  Each day, the food is prepared at Russo’s on the Bay and brought over to Keyfood’s deli department.  Along with salads and main dish items, there is an area just across the deli called “Grab and Go”.  Here you can get two sauces, ala vodka and marinara as well as appetizer sizes of: Russo’s original meatballs (Michael’s recipe), Chicken Francese  meatballs, Asiago rice balls, Potato Croquettes, Stuffed mushrooms, and Mozzarella Carozza (kind of a fried mozz sandwich). 

With Thanksgiving coming up Chef Michael is doing the preparation of turkey packages that you can pre-order at Keyfood and get it delivered to your home.   As an idea, the cost of a $229 (plus tax) would feed 12-15 people.  718-835-4100. 

As for cooking classes, check Vetro’s website of www.vetronyc.com   for future classes and other tidbits of information.