Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A fine Repast

Tonight we went to Repast for dinner for my 30th birthday. I was reservedly excited because reviews have been mixed.

The space is industrialish and the Boy rolled his eyes at how delighted I was by the surprising soundtrack of '80s pop music. What can I say? Who doesn't perk their ears and tap their toes for a Raspberry Beret? Our server, Zach and I were both singing and dancing along. We were tucked into a little corner by the door that was cozy and private, though I imagine if the restaurant was busy (i.e. it wasn't Tuesday) that the place could get loud and echoey.

Everything we had was fantastic. We started off with the bacon-wrapped dates and the salmon and goat cheese pizzette. The dates weren't as transcendent as I'd been led to believe by the reviews I'd read, but then again, my obsession with bacon makes me an uncommon audience already familiar with the divine combination of sticky sweetness and savory saltiness that this dish provides. I am the woman who made candied bacon for a dessert garnish in recent memory, so don't mind me. The dates are solid. The pizzette, again, did not incite angel song, but I found myself closing my eyes to savor the simple and balanced flavors of the salmon, goat cheese, capers and shallots. I can taste it now.

We sampled the Repastini and the Sultan's Breakfast cocktails with these starters, and both drinks were great, but layoff the Repastini if you aren't keen on ginger, and off the Sultan if you don't like strega. In fact, the server exclaimed with glee when I ordered the SB--I was scared that this was a bad sign, but he insisted that he was delighted because it's a great drink, but it is infrequently ordered because of its peculiar ingredients. The Sultan also came with a rim of an unidentifiable not-salty, not-sweet substance which I learned was fennel pollen. The pollen was interesting, but at times was vaguely unpleasant in a sandy way. Once I knew what it was, I felt better about it. I thought both drinks were quite lovely with interesting flavor combinations that worked.

We both had the pekin duck, medium rare, and it was fantastic, if guilt inducing over the fat that we didn't want to cut off. The Boy was a bit concerned about the escargot in the red wine risotto, but he had no need to fear -- the risotto was flavorful, the escargot tender, but not slimy. A really brilliant, non-threatening way to pop his snail-eating cherry. The server helped us select a really nice wine that paired with the duck perfectly.

For dessert, they brought us an acceptable (if a little boring) chocolate concoction for my birthday, and we enjoyed the 3 choice dessert with the bread pudding, chocolate terrine with salt and olive oil (AMAZING!!!) and a couple of cheeses (Manchego and Gorgonzola, I think) which were both fantastic.

All in all, Repast was a really wonderful dining experience and fully deserving of the AJC's 4 stars. It wasn't outraeously expensive, but in the special-occasion-only price range for us. Definitely a place that was wholly satisfying for a mid-week occasion.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Pumpkin and leeks and garlic, oh my!

Pumpkin leek soup

3 small leeks, white and light green parts chopped
2T unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 can pumpkin puree
4 c vegetable broth (or chicken if you prefer)
1 c dry white wine
salt
pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 c fat free half and half
1 t corn starch, dissolved in 1 T warm water

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Saute leeks until soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and saute until just fragrant. Add pumpkin and saute, stirring until well combined, about a minute. Add broth and wine, then season with thyme, bay, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves, and puree with immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender) until smooth. Stir in cornstarch slurry and cook for a few minutes till it begins to thicken. Stir in half and half and serve. It was awesome with The Bread.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Smoky, bloody swine


I've discovered that any sort of fruit juice + chipotle canned in adobo makes an amazing sauce for pork. Previously, my favorite that I invented was with some leftover pomegranate juice, but heretofore, the sauce has been a completely off-the-cuff improvisation. I made it intentionally recently because I was inspired by some really beautiful blood oranges at the store, and I hadn't done a pork tenderloin in a while.

Pork Tenderloin with Blood Orange Chipotle Sauce

Serves 4

For the pork:
2 pork tenderloins
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle tenderloins generously with salt and pepper, place together, thin end-to-thick end, in a roasting pan and bake until the internal temperature reaches 141 degrees, about 30 minutes. Remove and cover in foil and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Cut into 1/2 inch medallions to serve.

For the sauce:
7 blood oranges, 3 segmented and juiced, 4 juiced. Reserve juice and segments separately
2 shallots, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
2 c broth
1 chipotle in adobo, minced with about 1 T sauce. Remove seeds for reduced heat.
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute shallots until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chipotle and saute for about 30 seconds. Add broth and orange juice and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add orange segments and simmer for about 2 minutes. Pour the juices from the rested pork into the sauce, stir and serve over the pork medallions.

I served this over polenta which I made from instant and added a little freshly grated parmesan cheese.

The boy gave this dish a standing ovation, so I think it was pretty good. The leftovers were great too.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Watercress, Fennel and Little Bits

While work drains me of my soul...and the energy to be posting more frequently...let me assure you my intentions have been as good as my ongoing exploration of several new cookbooks. I have documented several days of eating, but not gotten around to posting...I will give you a few visual "amuse bouche et yeux", but will focus on dinner this evening.

This evening I made a refreshing and light Tuna and Bean Salad. The dressing was particularly lovely...creamy,docile,yet the tiniest hint of brine and luminous vert watercress for the greens made it all the more "special." The boy allowed it on the repeat list which is always a good sign...actually all the items on this post made it to the repeat list! Yay! This salad tastes luxurious, but is rather simple.

Tuna and Bean Salad (from South beach diet cookbook with a few changes)

2 bunches watercress, tough ends trimmed
1/4 c H20
3 cloves garlic chopped (calls for 1, but ah likes me garlic)
1 can tuna in h20, drained, flaked
1 can cannelini or white beans (calls for 1/2 c, but I used them all)
1/4 chopped onion
1/2 c chopped roasted red pepper
3 tbsp creme fraiche (called for mayo, but I didn't have any)
2 tbsp fat-free sr. cream
1 tb red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp rinsed, drained capers
Salt and pepp

Chop watercress stems and put 1/2 cup of them in a saucepan with h20 and garlic. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.

Add tuna, beans, onions and red peppers and toss.

In a blender, food processor or mortar/pestle combine creme fraiche/mayo with sr. cream, vinegar, capers, salt and pepp to taste. Combine till smooth.

Place tuna mixture on bed of remaining watercress and drizzle with dressing.

Makes 4, but two of us ate it all. We drank a nice guinness with it, but a crisp white would have been better.

Fennel and Walnut soup

Intriguing, no? Fennel must be the vegetable of January since we are all cooking with it this month...This soup was fantastic, satisfying, very low cal and very different. I also made a fennel and swiss quiche, but frankly it kinda sucked. Too bland. The soup was so good, the boy had me make it again the next night and freeze it!

Small plates at home

We frequently like to have small plates as an excuse to eat a little bit of all the tasty things in our fridge.

(Left to Right)

Brie - always love this

Homemade salmon pate - this was amazingly fresh tasting and light

Homemade bread - a regular staple

Tarmasalata - caviar and cream...we decided we don't like it

Olives stuffed with lemon - the newest and cheapest brand at the Dekalb Farmers Market...we are addicted to them

Walnuts, blue cheese and truffled honey - Honey is care of belle bleu and divine.

Bits - dried cranberries, nuts and little bits.

MMMMM...





Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Garlic Fennel Goodness

After much prodding, here is my improvised recipe for Garlic Fennel Soup, inspired by Sr. Rathbun and the menu at his eponymous establishment. This first appeared in la belle mangeuse's post about our New Year's Eve festivities.

Garlic Fennel Soup

makes 4 large servings, 6 small

2-3 T unsalted butter
2 bulbs fennel, cored and sliced thin
10 or more cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1-2 t fennel seeds, ground
2 c dry white wine (You could replace this with broth if you wish)
3 c broth (vegetable or chicken)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 c heavy cream

Melt butter over medium-low heat; saute fennel until soft ~ 20 minutes.

Add garlic and fennel seed and saute until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine and add the rest of the wine and the broth. Add the thyme and simmer for ~20 minutes.

Remove the thyme sprigs and puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Strain through a mesh strainer, and stir in the cream. Serve and enjoy!