Salt and Pepper

Thank you, colony of swine!

2011-09-05T22:44:00.003-04:00

We were in the mountains this weekend with a bevy of friends and relatives. We ate at least a full pig between the bacon, sausage, ham and this pork shoulder:

Crock Pot Smoky Braised Pork Shoulder

4 t. smoked or kosher salt
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. ground cumin seeds
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. black pepper
1 5-6lb. bone-in pork shoulder
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 T. canola oil
2 onions, chopped
7 cloves garlic, smashed
2 c. orange juice
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
4-6 c. low sodium chicken broth
3 oz. 62-65% cacao dark chocolate
Italian parsley, snipped

1. Heat Crock Pot on high with water.
2. Combine smoked salt, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, pepper.
3. Rub pork with spice mixture, then rub with 2 T. cocoa powder.
4. Heat oil over medium heat... add onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Brown pork on all sides.
5. Add orange juice, 3/4 c. cocoa powder and 4 c. stock. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Place pork in Crock Pot (cut, if necessary). Spoon sauce over pork until 75% covered.
7. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 10 hours.
8. Remove to serving platter, and reserve juices in Crock Pot... shave chocolate on pork and sprinkle with parsley.
9. Serve, with reserved juices.

Mmmm... good.

2010-07-09T17:58:00.001-04:00

victory chili

2008-10-26T19:47:00.003-04:00

The boy and I went to a football game of all places on Saturday evening, an ACC match up between my alma mater and his (soon-to-be). My school were major underdogs, but pulled out a phenomenal upset! It went down to the wire... the best football game I've seen in a long time. When we got home, we had wonderful, hot, steamy chili waiting for us in the crock pot.

Pumpkin Chipotle Chili

2 T olive oil
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1-2 red bell peppers, chopped
2-3 chilli peppers, chopped (or 1 can diced chillis added with canned ingredients)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 canned chipotles in adobo, chopped fine (remove seeds for less heat)
1 lb ground turkey (or frozen veggie crumbles)
2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes (with juice) or 1 big can (highly recommend Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted)
1 can 100% pumpkin
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz frozen corn kernels
0-1 T chilli powder (to your spiciness preference...and to balance your chilli peppers)
1 t ground cumin
dash cinnamon
dash nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic; cook, stirring frequently until tender (7ish minutes). Stir in chipotle. Add turkey (or frozen crumbles) and cook until browned.

Add rest of ingredients to crock pot, stir in meat mixture. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6. You can't really cook it for too long.

Makes 6 generous servings. Leftovers get spicier as the flavors meld, and your team may upset the favorite, so watch out!

Top Flr is Tops

2008-10-12T11:57:00.001-04:00

Wow I felt not hip here. Well, maybe I am just being hormonal, or maybe because it is hard to pretend to be young and sexy when you look like a big pregnant blimp. This place was totally cute and hot. Read about it in Bon Appetit, and my girlfriend had told me it was to die for, so four of us came out for a little dinner.

I love the decor. Totally my style. I wish I had not been so busy hiding my gut and stealing lewd glances at hot twenty-ish boys and had taken pix of the interior. Loved the use of wallpaper, and the graphic elements contrasting with clean sparse spaces. The style of the place was mirrored in food presentation, and I dug it.

And the food was totally amazing. And the prices were totally amazing. And the bartender was very nice as well.I will start with him.

We were waiting for our two other friends to arrive and I sidled up to the bar and realized sadly I could not really have a drink, so I ordered an Angostura and soda which is rather refreshing (and helps settle a tummy), and my pal had a vodka tonic which looked more refreshing. He kindly asked if I was queasy, and I said no, just pregnant. He congratulated me and gave me a big smile. I gulped down my drink, and to my surprise, at some point...he refilled it! That is a kind bartender. He knew I wasn't going to order more drinks or rack up a huge tab, or even eat there, but he went ahead and gave me a refill, unasked for. I was honestly startled. How nice.

Then we went upstairs to a meal of:

Lamb skewers w/daikon taziki, and cauliflower couscous
Tender, sexy lamb, creamy taziki -mmm good

Tuna tartare flatbreadI wasn't allowed to eat this, but my friends hushedly discussed how heavenly it was MORE THAN ONCE during the meal when they thought I couldn't hear.

Duck Confit Pizza
Goodness this was rich and ducky. Had to take some home for the duck fiend husband.Mixed greens with figs, chevre, pistachio and honey-lavender dressing.This is my top favorite of the evening. It was ethereal - and it was just a salad! I felt like I was eating some sort of aphrodisiac. My one friend said to me "Can you figure out the dressing for me" and I was totally racing though ideas in my head already about how to duplicate it. Food for the gods. It was...ambrosial.

In an effort to shorten this review, the entrees:
Grilled hangar steak with shallot demi-glace
Roasted salmon with house made gnocchi
Pork tenderloin
Grouper with succotash
andTop Flr Mac and Cheese

were also perfect. "I'm so happy" was the oft repeated catch phrase of the evening. And even though it seems like alot of food - no one felt stuffed - just pleasantly sated.

Two more highlights: A super well priced Easton Zinfindel was lovely and though they only had one dessert to offer, it was wonderful - a chevre cheesecake - rich, creamy, only the slightest bit sweet. I could do without the pomegrante seeds on it and the olive biscuit, which just tasted like shortbread, but still - the cheesecake was a perfect ending.

The only thing I disliked was that I could barely hear my fellow diners in the tiny dining room upstairs. It was very loud and very filled with loud giddy semi-drunk fabulous emo-kids with expensive haircuts. Okay...again, maybe just being a jealous hormonal freak. But I really couldn't hear. And service was good, but not great. They forgot a few things and failed to bring the requested port menu, but I think I will be back, to dine at the bar, in about seven months...when I look a little less blimpy and can wear something a little more skimpy. :)

Jo-el Needs a little So-ul

2008-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

This place was interesting. The food was definitely five stars. It was amazing, rather pricey, and at the same time a bit boring. The service was good, the noise level was good, it just didn't have that "je ne sais quoi." I did not feel FABULOUS eating there. Maybe it was the design of the space, which, while comfy and elegant, was not interesting or helpful in setting the stage for the beautiful culinary show we were about to indulge in. It was kinda like a classical opera cast with incredible voices, but on a modernist stage set. It was beautiful to one sense, but a bit conflicting to the other. And it left me wanting.

But not in my tummy. Quite frankly it was the many ways we could have foie gras that drove me here in the first place. And eat foie gras we did. Though we did exercise moderation.

We had:
Seared foie gras with rum and pineapple
Totally expecting to not like the pineapple/rum, but it was amazingly balanced flavors...they played off each other very well.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Criminis
This was to die for and I purposefully got the risotto because I am not fond of them and wanted to see if this would be different. Holy doo doo was it good. This frothy mushroomy broth floated over the creamy rich risotto and hunks of meaty mushroom clustered like a forest over it all. Beautiful - again a perfect, and rare combination of different textures and flavors that balanced and played with each other perfectly.

Smoked hangar steak with green peppersorn sauce
The husband ordered this and it was delightful and the sauce was rich and dark. Almost coffee-winey like. Really a masculine steak, and his choice of wine, a California Bordeaux named Unity, was all tobaccoey and earthy - god a perfect match - to my dish too...

Venison with foie gras ravioli
I love game, but I almost wondered what planet this came from - I have NEVER had venison this tender in my life. I can't explain it. It had the flavors of a wild mountain, I mean you could taste the wild life of the deer in it (of course, mine probably came from a farm!), that gamey wildness, but it melted in you rmouth like butter. Juicy, meaty butter. And the ravioli were perfect little al dente pockets with a tiny surprise of rich soft foie gras at first bite.

Delicious.

Supreme Fish Disappointment

2008-10-12T11:52:00.000-04:00

I used to go to the Supreme Fish Delight on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta all the time. It was a beautiful crispy whiting dream. Then I moved to Decatur. I was craving SPF really badly, and it was my b-day so I broke down and went into the SPF near my house on Wesley Chapel. I was starving, and it was like 100 degrees inside, but I waited patiently the 15 minutes for our "family pack" of fresh, hot, crispy, fishy goodness. I had no problem waiting as I knew everything was cooked fresh, even though there was only one other customer in the joint.

We got our sack and jumped in the car to drive the one mile home. I couldn't wait and opened the bag, grabbed some fries and stuffed them in my hole. eeech! They were cold. I was dumbfounded - but...how? I stammered. I felt around desperately for the fish and hush puppies...they burnt my fingers satisfyingly...I quickly pressed my sore digits into the cold fries to soothe them. Eeech! Nothing worse than inexplicably cold krinkle cut fries. Or so I thought.

When we got home, the husband calmy took the fries to the microwave, and I turned away with tears in my eyes, unwilling to watch the soggy warm nightmare I was about to eat. I dug a shaky hand into the fish sack and took a huge bite of my piping hot whiting...Eeech! It was gross. Wrong. It didn't taste like fish even, it was over cooked and the fish was rubbery and dry, not teasingly flakey and moist like my memories on Moreland. I slathered on the SPF tartar sauce, which WAS still tasty, and choked down the piece anyway. I grabbed another fish, hoping that was just a fluke, but no. It was even worse. The grease must not have been changed in fifty years, the coating flaked off at your touch and was an ominous blackish brown. I wasn't even sure it was whiting anymore. I sighed and pushed my food away. I couldn't eat it. The husband admitted he found it all quite vile as well, and we gave up...resorting to Toblerone and ice cream for our meal instead.

Disgusting. Fifteen minute wait and fifteen dollars for hot and cold disgusting food. Not to mention the zombie like service when we were there picking up our food. I am very disappointed. I can never ever go back there.

CSA experiment #5: Three Ways with Arugula, or How to serve your husband (and yourself) 2 whole bunches of arugula at one sitting and remain married

2008-10-05T16:18:00.004-04:00

So, I got sort of behind on cooking the CSA veggies...to the point that I had *3* bunches of arugula in the fridge yesterday, one of which was dangerously close to becoming compost heap feed. Yesterday, I aimed to use as much arugula as possible for dinner. I had already planned to grill some tuna steaks, so that part of the meal was pretty much set. With the help of my trusty Culinary Artistry, I made a tasty, and relatively light, 3-course meal that used up 2 full bunches! And that the grudging vegetable-eater I'm married to enjoyed as well.

Happily, there were no salad greens in this week's share, so I think we will conquer the mountain of arugula within a couple of days. :)

First course:

Rocket* Salad with sliced avocado, dried cranberries and sliced almonds

Avocado Vinaigrette

1/8 avocado, mashed
1 T olive oil
1-2 t. white wine vinegar
1-2 t. water
touch of lemon juice
salt & pepper

Mix well, toss with salad ingredients. Serves 2.

* arugula...but rocket sounds more fun (and less like arugula)

Second course:

Lemon Arugula Soup

1 bunch arugula, washed, destemmed and chopped roughly (this is where I used the stuff that was already a bit wilty)
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c vegetable broth
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice, divided
1 c milk
salt & pepper

Heat oil over medium heat, saute shallot and garlic until soft. Add arugula and a little salt and saute until wilted. Add broth, bring to a simmer; simmer for ~7 or 8 minutes. Add 1 T lemon juice. Simmer for 1 minute more. Turn off heat. Puree with immersion blender in pot or in blender/food processor in batches. If you want it really smooth, this is where you would strain it, but for every day, I don't see a point. Return to pot on med-low heat. Slowly stir in milk and season with salt, pepper and remaining lemon juice. Serve ASAP...careful not to let soup get hot enough to simmer or the milk might break. Serves 2.

Third course:

Grilled Yellow Fin with Thyme Butter, served over arugula and mashed potatoes

A big spoonful of your standard mashed potatoes: a couple potatoes scrubbed, boiled for 25 minutes and mashed with milk, butter, salt and pepper

Topped with a bed of fresh arugula leaves,

The fish,

Preheat grill to 500-550 degrees & clean grates.

2 yellow fin tuna steaks, fresh or thawed

Coat with olive oil and sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes per side.

and the herb butter.

1 T unsalted butter, room temperature
2 t fresh thyme, chopped fine
salt & pepper

Mash together; put half on top of each tuna steak.

Hopefully I'll remember to add the photo of this when I can, but I've been so bad about posting, I thought it best to get the menu out there while the getting was good. :)

A Rift with Swift

2008-09-22T12:56:00.001-04:00

Headed to 4th and Swift with a few friends for an annual b-day dinner. Atmosphere was nice, rustic, open. I wish I sat on the patio, it was so gorgeous out. I have mixed feelings about the place. The food was out of this world, which is most important, but I have a few gripes about our experience that I will mention after I extol the virtues of the food.

We started with a few good beers - they do have a great beer selection: Rogue Dead Guy, Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale and a coke.

The most beautiful thing happened next:Truffle Butter & Parmesan Popcorn: This was exquisitely salty and decadent...all of us were licking our fingers and praying for it to never end.

A second appetizer of “Lasagna” of Braised Lamb Shoulder with Wild Mushrooms, and Hand Dipped Ricotta did not disappoint either. It was so rich, even split three ways. A companion noted she would never be able to make lasagna the same way again. The ricotta was heavenly, light and grassy.

For our main courses we devoured “Three Little Pigs” - Loin, Belly, & House Made Sausage, Macaroni & Cheese - All of the pigs were flavorful and rich - the mac and cheese heady and decadent.

House Made Pappardelle with Summer Vegetables, Arbequena Oil, Red Pepper Flake was so surprising. I rarely order a non-meat dish at these prices, but I was craving vegetables. The Pappardelle was SO light and flavorful, the spiciness of the pepper and the crisp youth of the vegetables combined perfectly. I loved this.

Oak Roasted Harris Ranch Flatiron Steak with Crispy Potato Ribbons, Crushed Olive “Chimi”, and Watercress - I had a bit of the steak and found it perfectly cooked. The birthday girl found it perfectly great and cleaned her plate!

Sweet Corn Risotto- a bit of an aside side (ha! sorry, that was lame) was very creamy and very sweet.

Dessert was a peanut butter tart which I found too intense, but companions adored, and a marscapone mousse which was agreed orgasm-worthy by all.

Wine was a moderately priced Four Vines Zinfadel - very tasty.

Humpf. Everything was so tasty, but I had service and experience issues. We tipped for the sake of the food, and my companion hoped our server was new, but well...I have to admit I didn't like our table which was next to a giant red pipe and across from the bathroom tucked in the back. A strange choice as the restaurant was not full at 9pm, and there were plenty of comfortable tables in the main section. Our waiter, while sweet, had to be asked three times for something to fix the wobbly table, forgot our first appetizer order, took our second order and then returned fifteen minutes later to note they were out of it, and actually notified us that the proper way to order was to order everything we wanted at once, and he would manage the timing. I'm pretty easy going, but I was a bit perturbed after all this.

Nonetheless, the food was great, the bill was a happy surprise, and I hope to come back and find service and experience that matches the quality of the plates.

Fabulous Foccacia

2008-09-20T16:02:00.002-04:00

It's been a while. I apologize. Life has been topsy turvy.

The husband loves foccacia. It is expensive (or what I deem expensive) to buy at teh Farmers Market and frozen will not do. For years it has been a special treat I only buy when it is marketed down. The husband has been very good lately and I told him if he kept it up I would make him foccacia from scratch. Today I did. And who knew it was so easy! I am thrilled. It was fairly quick for something that has to rise, quick baking, no fancy ingredients...a great thing to make. I found a basic recipe and then added a few things. It came out moist, crisp, fresh...lovely and savory.

The Basic Foccacia Recipe from Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

MY ADDITIONS
1 cup krinos oil cured olives, pitted and chopped coarsely
1 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 roma tomatoes thinly slices
1/2 c parmesan/romano
pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. (I put mine in the sunshine!)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. **Pat or roll the dough into a sheet and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on desired crispness. If you like it moist and fluffy, then you'll have to wait just about 10 minutes. If you like it crunchier and darker in the outside, you may have to wait 20 minutes.

** At this point I folded in 1/2 of my olives and 1/2 my basil into the dough. After I flattened it out I put the the remaining ingredents of mine on top and pressed lightly into the dough and ground fresh pepper/sea salt over top. We ate it wiht a little olive oil for dipping - a perfect weekend lunch.

CSA experiment #4: In my pickinic basket

2008-07-27T20:55:00.004-04:00

Inspired by this recipe, on Friday I made a summer salad with feta.

Summer Salad with Feta

4 generous servings

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 large cucumber, seeded, quartered and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 c red onion, chopped (mine was a full super tiny one, half of a normal small one would be about right)
20 or so chopped kalamata olives
salt and pepper
2 T sherry vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c crumbled feta (I used Trader Joe's fat free feta, and I couldn't tell the difference)
1/4 c fresh mint, chopped

Toss together the tomatoes, cuke, onion and olives. Mix vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss with the veggies. Add the feta and mint and toss again. Adjust seasonings to taste.

This salad was delicious! My normally anti-vegetable husband was so taken with it that he had seconds, and I caught him standing in front of the fridge eating leftovers out of the bowl.

Tonight, we decided to have a picnic in the park, so to the leftovers of this salad, I added 1 1/2 cups of chopped leftover cooked chicken. I put big leaves of green leaf lettuce in whole wheat pita pockets and stuffed them with the chicken salad mixture. It was divine! The boy noted that it tasted so good that one might have thought that I made the salad for this purpose. I served the pita sandwiches with leftovers of this chilled cucumber soup made with mint instead of basil.

We had a great time. The food was refreshing and light, the park was beautiful and remarkably empty, and it was a perfect end to a relaxing weekend.

The Husband's Hash

2008-07-26T12:46:00.005-04:00

The husband frequently brings me coffee and breakfast in bed on weekends as I do the same for him every weekday. A great simple breakfast was served this morning, deserving of a recipe and a little backstory.

The husband was very excited about what he had made. He told me he had been fantasizing all week along about making this for me. Ahh Hash. The husband and I are great admirers of hash. Every time we go camping, and on special occasions, we permit ourselves to indulge in canned corned beef hash and all its wonderful salty fatness. It is an assault on the eyes and the stomach, but the taste buds are blind to the ugly depravity of the dish. We also attempt healthier and fresher homemade hashes -- usually when there is leftover beef in the fridge, admittedly a rarity. We have made it a million ways, but this was the best one ever. I think it had to do with the quality of the ingredients an the specific manner of preparation.

Now one of my secret passions at the Farmer's Market is the "Meat Bags" you can buy. They come in beef, turkey or ham and are basically all the ends or scraps of every sort of deli meat available at the deli counter (hundreds). This is perfectly good stuff, and frequently you get a bunch of high dollar deli (think a wad of prosciutto or parma ham) for like $3 instead of $7/#. Well, I had recently brought home a beautiful bloody bag of roast beef. The husband had taken all the slices for sandwiches and saved the ends for his weekend breakfast. Economy and good taste...what more can I ask for!

The Husband's Hash

2 yukon potatoes diced 1/2"

1 yellow onion sliced

5-6 butt end roast beef, cut roughly into slender chunks

1/8 c veg oil

Wash and dry the diced potatoes with paper towels or dish towel.

Heat the oil in an iron skillet till shimmering. Add taters and turn to coat with oil. Keep heat medium to low, don't let it smoke.

Put onions in and turn contents of pan again. Turn contents frequently till onions are almost caramelized (soft) and add beef. Continued to turn contents gently till potatoes are tender. Serve.

A good roast beef will have enough salt in it, not requiring any additions during cooking, however, taste your hash and add salt and pepper if you like.

We enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee and a little Willie Nelson.

La La Laarb

2008-07-26T12:30:00.003-04:00

I love laarb. I don't remember when we first had it. I have been making my own for years and order it every time we go somewhere Thai. It is basically a cold spicy, herby, juicy meat salad. I have had both poultry or beef versions, but I can imagine that you could make with just about any meat except fish. I have made it with chicken, beef and pork before.

We recently had some at dinner with some friends and their children. They all loved it (kids too) an asked for me for the recipe. Here goes:

La Belle Laarb

1 # ground meat (I usually use turkey or chicken)

1 cup cilantro or more

1 tb fish sauce (or soy sauce with a little anchovy paste or just soy sauce)

1/2 tsp splenda or sugar

3 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 lime

Pinch cayenne

3 tb soy sauce

Lettuce or cabbage leaves to accompany.

Cook the ground meat. I usually grill so I get rid of all the fat. Chill in fridge till cold.

Put everything in a food processor and pulse. Don't grind too fine as it will be pasty - ech.

I usually use the above ingredients as a guide, but add more of less of anything depending on personal tastes and my mood. Leave out cayenne if you don't want any spice, add more sweet if you wish, add more juice for a juicier flavor. You can also substitute mint instead of cilantro if you so choose.

You can then serve right away with lettuce or cabbage leaves on the side, or you can make little lettuce leaf wraps filled with the laarb, or serve like a salad. If you let the laarb sit over night in the fridge, the flavors meld even more and it is delightfully piquant. Very refreshing summer meal.

Pilgrimage to a Sage

2008-07-26T12:12:00.003-04:00

Our first time at Sage on Sycamore was half-price bottles of wine on a Tuesday, but I can't remember what we ate - it was a long time ago. This time it was a quick on-the-way-home stop for dinner.

We were a little bummed because we were really hot, and I don't think they have a/c (or if they do it is seriously tired), the ceiling fans were running, but we were looking forward to coldness that was not there. The mojitos we ordered were f-ing awesome and very cold and refreshing so that made it a little better, the second one made it even better than better.

We like to sit at the bar, and sit we did and nibbled on:

Fried artichokes
These were cornmeal encrusted. I liked them and the spicy sauce they came with. They were not greasy at all, and the portion was a good one. The husband did not like so much.

Mussels Provencal
I admit it. I spooned out every last drop of cream from the left over broth. I would have licked the plate if we were sitting closer to the back, but we were right in front of the picture window. The grilled bread that came with it was buttered and perfect. We eat mussels a lot, cooked every which way, and I haven't had ones this rich in a while. Good Stuff.

Caper Ceaser Salad
I was a bit pissed cause it was served as a wedge with dressing which is irritating to chop up, but maybe I am just lazy. The flavor was excellent though. The capers were a fantastic acidic addition. I scraped at this plate for a while as well trying to get the dressing off.

hmmm. I don't know what the sum up is. The food was pretty darn good. The drinks were perfect. But somehow it didn't feel right. They served all our plates at the same time which was a little awkward when you are eating at the bar. Not to mention we were racing to eat the hot stuff before it got cold, and it cut our dinner (and therefore pleasure) time in half. There also was no music playing when we got there - kinda weird to sit in a big place like that, at the bar, on a Friday night, and not have the music on. Just didn't feel right.

But we'll be back anyway for 1/2 of wine Tuesday night!

Hmmm

The Great Tuna Caper

2008-07-21T12:42:00.009-04:00

This was a fabulous dish I made for the husband for dinner. I had spent the morning assembling a new grill, and crowned my satsifaction with a beautiful grilled tuna steak salad.

Caper-Rosemary Tuna with Herb Salad

(Adapted from Bon Appetit recipe)

Serves 2

1 large tuna steak

3 tb olive oil

juice from one small lemon

1 tb capers

2 tsp caper juice from jar

finely grated peel from one small lemon

1 tsp fresh minced rosemary

1/2 tsp sea salt

small pinch crushed red pepper

small pinch of splenda

1 small onion sliced thin

Put tuna in plastic bag with all ingredients and marinate for 1 hour on counter or 4 in fridge.

Turn grill on high. Scrape marinade off tuna and pour remaining - including onions- into small saucepan - simmer. Go to put tuna on grill. I use tinfoil on the grill sprayed with non-stick and put fish on that, sticks less. Cook for 3-5 min each side, keep pink in middle.

Toss for salad:

handful or so of fresh parsely

1/8 c oregano

celery leaves

lettuces

or other herbs and greens

Dress with a squirt of fresh lemon and some olive oil. Slice tuna steak and place on top of salad, top with warm tender onions and marinade.

This was really really good. The capers, the herb more than lettuce salad and the warm onions and sauce on top really made this a different dish. Rich yet light flavors, and the freshness of all those herbs! Lovely.

Yay Yasang!

2008-07-20T21:44:00.002-04:00

For once I was grateful for the technolgy that is a palm. Desperate for non-chain dinner ideas in Roswell, fellow YELPer Rebecca K. googled on her palm and we ended up at Rasa Yasang for Malaysian. I think she even used the YELP thing on-line. WOW, these reviews were right-on. This place is a gem.

The decor was lovely, understated, clean and classy. The service was impeccable. Our waiter took the time to answer questions and make special requests happen. When we asked him what he liked on the menu, he had specific things he liked and didn't just fumble around and point out the most expensive thing on the menu. Both Rebecca K. and I took his suggestions.

We had:
First Course
Roti Cana - I had only had Carib Roti - but this was great, and one of our friends with us said it was yummy and authentic.
Shrimp Toast - This was the best I have ever had. Actual shrimp, crispy, covered in an interesting crust of sesame seeds.
Rasa Sayang Special Coconut Soup - I liked this - but prefer the Thai version with its spice and tang. Rebecca K. gulped hers down!
Lobak Roll - This was yummy. Tofu skin, kind of like phyllo, gently held a stuffing of shrimp and meat.

Main Course
Singapore Fried Noodle - Our friend loved this, and requested not spicy, and they had no problem accomodating.
Spicy Garlic Eggplant - This was my recommendation, and boy howdee it was good. I don't know how many times I have ordered something "garlic" off an asian menu only to have it taste nothing like garlic, and more like some innocuous thick "asian" sauce of indeterminate flavor. Not so with this. The eggplant was rich and tender. The Garlic was so full flavored, carmelized....the depth of flavor. It was like heaven.
Basil Beef - Rebecca K. had this. I liked it, and I think she did too, but I honestly was more concerned with my eggplant.

The only thing I felt bad about this place was that we didn't clean our plates! The food was really good, but we were really full of appetizers and sunshine and beer from earlier. I was so excited to eat the leftovers, and the husband and I enjoyed them thoroughly the next day...I could consider driving all the way back up to Roswell for this. Good Stuff.

I shed a tear for the Shed at Glenwood.

2008-07-18T21:49:00.001-04:00

I really want to love the Shed. I mean, it's the closest eatery to our house, and it's trying to be much nicer than the other establishments in the vicinity. But I think maybe they're trying too hard.

We arrived around a quarter past 7 on a Friday evening. There were a fair number of parties already seated, but also open tables. The space was attractive, and the soundtrack was '60s pop music. The crowd was pretty diverse--a lot more baby boomers than I generally see in Grant Park.

We sat on the patio since this is the time of year in Atlanta when one must seize the rare opportunity to dine al fresco when one won't sweat one's ass off.

The service was outstanding--dishes were well-paced and attractively plated. They sent out some fresh potato chips with a blue cheese dip and two small cups of boiled peanuts for a quite hefty amuse bouche. The chips were good--thin and crisp, but the dip didn't taste like blue cheese at all. I love boiled peanuts; my husband does not, so I polished off both cups. They were tasty, but I would have liked them to be a little more seasoned than they were.

We had an order of the marinated olives, which were fine, with these two while we were in negotiations over what to order. He had a Stella Artois on draft--they had a long list of beers on draft which is pretty cool. I ordered a glass of the weekly red wine. The server actually brought the bottle to the table to pour my glass which is cool so I could actually see the label. The pour was also extremely generous--probably slightly more than 1/4 bottle.

After a delicate weaving of our inclinations and the server's recommendations, we ordered to share:

the charcuterie plate: mostly good, but a lot of the cured meats were duck, and I think I decided that I like cured pig better than cured duck. The chicken liver pate was quite tasty. The whole think was a little dry...maybe a little olive oil or a vinaigrette would loosen it up?

the roasted beet salad: the best thing we had all night. The creaminess of the goat cheese complemented the tang of the beets. It was beautiful--a blend of yellow and red beets with oranges and some little sprigs of watercress or some similar green leafy stuff. Apparently after 30 years of shunning them, this is the summer in my life where I start to like beets.

the braised short ribs:LOVE LOVE LOVE that they split this and plated each half separately, but that was kind of the best part about it. The broccolini was good, but the meat and the grits were oddly flavorless. I felt like the whole dish needed salt...or something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was definitely disappointed. I ate it and it was fine, but in my opinion, an $18 entree should be more than fine.

the truffled fries: tasty, but not crispy enough.

By the time we left, the patio was completely full. I didn't peek inside, but it seemed like the restaurant got pretty busy.

The service was fantastic, and we got out of there for about $70 including the tip. At this point, I should also probably factor in that our total travel cost to the restaurant was $0 since we walked. With gas at $4+ a gallon, that is a luxury that made me think about giving the Shed an extra star.

We'll definitely be back. I love the concept, I love that they are starting a Saturday morning farmer's market, I love the staff. The importance of food trumps all that for me, though. Get your menu up to snuff, Shed, and we'll be BFFs.

Summer in a bowl, or CSA experiment #3

2008-07-14T21:00:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I've actually done more than three experiments with my lovely CSA produce, but I've been dreadful about recording them for posterity...

I've been really grooving on my Culinary Artistry book since it basically has lists and lists of flavors that mesh well. I got more cucumbers this week when I still had one left from last week, and as I've got a full container of cucumber onion salad marinating in the fridge, that was out. I checked the pantry and found a can of light coconut milk and I thought--ooh, a cold cucumber soup would be perfect for a hot July evening when I got home from work after 7pm. The recipe below chronicles the experiment.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

2 medium cukes, chopped (I left the peel on)
1 can light coconut milk
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 fat doobie of basil, minced fine (about 1/8 c.)

Put cukes, milk and garlic in blender. (Nothing fancy is necessary. I use the Osterizer Galaxy that my parents got as a wedding gift in 1975.) Puree for a minute or so until pretty well blenderized. Add basil and a little salt and blend. Taste.

It still needed something so I added:

1 T lemon juice
4 good shakes of white pepper
more salt

Blend. Taste.

At this point it still wasn't quite right, so I added a little more salt and pepper.

There was still a place in the back center of my tongue that the soup was missing. I decided it needed something tangy, so I added:

1-2 T. white wine vinegar
a couple more shakes of white pepper
a touch more salt

Blend. Taste. Perfect! Chill for a few minutes (or more) before serving--in retrospect I probably should have added a couple of ice cubes to help with the chilling process. But it was still good only a little cool.

Makes about 3 servings, 2 generous servings.

The boy called this "the best cucumber I've ever eaten." It was crisp and cool and the flavors meshed really well. I'm not always that into cold soups, but this was excellent, and also super easy and quick.

No love for Noche

2008-07-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

I met an old friend for dinner at Noche tonight. I hadn't been since a good friend who was hooked on $1 Dos Equis moved to Africa a few years back.

From memory, Noche was squarely in the Srat/Frat-People-with-Real-Jobs category for me. Not really my scene. A lot of VaHi is like that these days. Seems that as they age, they migrate south from Buckhead.

Anyway, the atmosphere on a Wednesday evening was nicer than I remember. It wasn't too crowded for us to be seated immediately a little after 7. I liked the soundtrack (though it was definitely in the aging Srat/Frat genre), but after about 8, it got too loud. I guess as the restaurant filled up, they were trying to convince folks not to linger.

The server was friendly and gave us a bunch of recommendations--especially important when eating tapas as there are so freaking many choices! I was a little concerned because 75% of the recommended items were breaded and fried, but we had plenty to work with, at least.

We started with drinks--I had the Noche margarita and my companion had the pineapple upside-down martini. My margarita was kind of watery, and left not a whiff of tequila on my tongue. I hate weak margaritas. My friend reported that her martini was good, though. Maybe I just picked the wrong drink.

First course:
Chicken ravioli special-solid. It came in a nice cream sauce with roasted corn. The filling was more spinachy than chickeny, but it was tasty.
Calamari-mediocre. The big loops of squid look promising! But the flavor didn't deliver. The breading was bland, it was slathered in this heavy aioli and the salsa dipping sauce didn't work. It also needed salt. With salt and a squeeze of lemon, it was better than mediocre, but I don't think it achieved average.

Second course:
Fried green tomatoes-Breading was gritty and too-dry, sauce was thick and kind of dry and the manchego was wasted, I thought. Mmm...manchego.

BBQ salmon-the fish was cooked well, but the BBQ sauce kind of tasted like Kroger brand or something. The jicama salad that came with it was AWESOME, though. Very summery--cold, crisp, well-seasoned. The jicama salad was the best thing we ate.

Third course:
Dessert trio-
Bread pudding-Delicious. Moist, caramely and everything a bread pudding should be. The ice cream improved it, but again, it was sort of Kroger brand.
Flan-Ick. The texture was okay, but it had a really strong liquor bite to it that was not at all pleasant.
Chocolate mousse-like stuff-Respectable and wholly worth the calories I ingested for it. Chocolatey, creamy, really nice texture.

The price wasn't too bad--check was about $48 pre-tip. So, yeah, in the scheme of the neighborhood Noche is probably pretty decent for the type of food since it's pretty much surrounded by a sea of bar food, but for destination dining, get thee to Eclipse di Luna.

Open Sesame...

2008-07-05T17:04:00.002-04:00

and get in my mouth!

Had a great brunch today - brazilian avocados (very rich) and a lovely light salad. I will share the salad as it is so easy and will definitely become a regular around here.

Oriental Watercress Salad
Adapted from Diana Kennedy's Nothing Fancy

Toss
1 bunch watercress
2 tb chopped cilantro
3 scallions white and green parts chopped

Mix
1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1.5 tb sesame oil
3 tb rice vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
1.5 tp toated sesame seeds

Toss greens with a bit of dressing and enjoy! I think the dressing would be stellar with spinach and mushrooms as well.

A Spoonful of Love

2008-07-04T13:10:00.007-04:00

What beautiful day I am having. Very domestic, but very beautiful. I feel very loved and at peace today...and no I have not been drinking, and I am not high. It is a very soy day, in many ways, but let me walk you through it.

The day began with a soy massage from my lovely husband. We got this candle from our friend which smells wonderful and as it melts creates warm soy oil/wax, which you then use in massage. A beautiful and multipurpose item. I won't detail what happened next, but you can guess...

Then the husband brings me coffee and makes me a delicious breakfast of turkey sausage and fried potatoes which I frown at because I am trying to eat healthy, and he assures me it is okay as he cooked the potatoes in the iron skillet with non fat spray. I am breathlessly in love with this man.

After breakfast I set about doing laundry. I hang wet clothes on the line practically humming a damn tune to myself. I go inside and start the soy milk maker. While it is doing its thing I set to roasting eggplants and ironing clothes at the same time. Nat King Cole plays on the record player.

A bit later, soymilk is done, and I flavor with cinnamon, Splenda and vanilla. It tastes SO fresh. I love it. Then I make fresh babaghanoush from the eggplants. While slightly more complicated than making homemade hummus, this is definitely worth it.

Babaghanoush
2 large eggplants
4 cloves garlic
4 tb tahini paste
juice of one lemon
Handful of fresh parsely
Salt and pepper to taste

Roast two large eggplants over open flame or broil in oven till skin is charred all over and flesh is obviously mushy. Place in a paper bag to cool for a bit. Run eggplant under cold water and slide skin off, put flesh in food processor with the other ingredients and voila! Put in fridge to chill...sooooo good.

Then I make vegetarian bites from the leftover okara from my soymilk.

Crab cake okara bites
1 c cooked rice (i use basmati)
1 egg
4tb Parmesan/Pecorino/Romano
1 tb tomato paste
1 tb brown mustard
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp garlic powder
a couple shakes of dried minced onion
2 tb horseradish
1 tb cornmeal
1 can green chilies chopped
1 tb flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tb chives
1 cup okara
2 tb fish sauce or combo of soy sauce and anchovy

Mix and chill for about 20 minutes. Make little balls, flatten slightly and dust with flour. Fry in iron skillet or other fry pan till crisp on both sides. Enjoy! I think I will try to bake these next time...

While my husband love and cooking love was great today. I have to share that a huge part of this love was from a family friend, Mr. Richards.

I grew up with Mr. Richards, whom was a good friend of our family. He and my parents were culinary adventurers and played a huge role in my young development as a food lover and cook. I watched them make sausage together, wine, beer, bread, all sorts of things. Mr. Richards, throughout my life, even when I moved far away, always had presents for us of homemade liquors, oils, soaps, lotions and all sorts of things. All of these things are his gifts of love. He is a lot like me in that we are not traditionally affectionate, but show our love and joy through the things we make and give the ones we care about. All of these things were pieces of his heart.

As we grew up, my little sister, much more affectionate, was closest to him. However, as I got older, I felt in my heart, the quiet love I have had for years for this kind, generous and gifted man. So fast forward to today -- For my wedding, Mr. Richards gave us the soymilk maker. Which I obviously love, and today has played a huge role in my happiness...a smaller, and perhaps more metaphorical gift from him was a set of measuring spoons shaped like hearts. I also used these today. As I looked at them, covered in tahini and powders and other cooking smegma, I think in my heart, how they remind me that every time I use them I am adding his love to whatever I am making. It also serves as a reminder to myself to never measure out my love in fractional amounts, that it is always okay in life to use a heaping spoonful, life will come out better for it.

Peace and love to you.

Edible Sunshine

2008-06-29T15:11:00.009-04:00

Two thoughts - both citrus related.

First - I love citrus, it is edible sunshine. however, getting at ti sometimes can be a bit of a pill. If you have fingernails or you don't for that matter - you are familiar with the tiresome and often frustrating act of peeling a citrus with your nails/no nails. It is absolutely fruit drudergy and the impatience you feel rising as you attempt to access the sweet flesh inside is often unbearable. Behold - the citrus thingy. Not sure where I got it..I think maybe ma put it in my stocking one year, but I am totally enamored of it. Only an inch or so of plastic, you run in downt he side of a citrus several tiems and it makes peeling fast and easy. God bless you cirtus thingy.

I found it online for $1.50 at Amazon - It's worth it: http://www.amazon.com/MSC-Citrus-Peeler/dp/B000FRZCKQ

Note my husband giving me a big orangey middle finger for making him be my hand model. Yes , he is very clever...

Second - while in France we had the combination of grapefruit and avocado. It was delightful. Who knew? So I attempted to recreate it the other day with a decent amount of success. Probalby because there is little involved with the combination. Here is it served with chicken burgers which were a nice light main with the avocado/grapefruit with it.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
(serves 2)
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 avocado
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of ginger

Slice grapefruit in about four circular slices.
Cut avocado in half and twist slightly to seperate. Gently remove the pit fromt he second half with a knife tip.
Mash avocado with a bit (about 1-2tb) grapefruit juice, pinch of ginger and salt and pepper to taste. The consistency should be thick and textured versus thin/puree.
Place a little avocado on plate, place a piece of grapefruit on top, add another dollop of avocado, another slice of grapefruit and one mor dollop...Volia! Sweet, rich, tangy, bright...lovely. Nice with grilled fish as well.

Nice Tryma Kyma

2008-06-27T12:56:00.002-04:00

The husband and I ventured out on our first date as spouses to Kyma. A BLG card initiated the experience.We stylishly arrived at 4:30pm on a Friday...much too early to be seated, but were welcomed nonetheless to sit and have a drink at the bar. The drinks were well poured and enjoyed.

I imagine that the place is gorgeous in the evening hours,and fabulous in the dark...very sexy nooks and what not, but with the summer sun shining in...let's say white hides not age. I feel the pain of attempting to have white anything in my life...I can't imagine trying to keep that place immaculate...but that said, it should have been.

The service, while attentive, was appreciated though the staff in general were a bit tiresome as a whole as they were grouped about canoodling and texting and whatnot. This place is not a diner, so I would have hoped for a more refined approach to the atmosphere. (Canoodling is okay pre-opening...I realize we were early, but after 5pm on a Friday, a no-no...especially in Buckhead!)The food had its high points and low. I loved the option to have a series of meze for the meal as I love to taste everything...that is a high point. Now onto the food itself.

Melitzanusala (eggplant, mint, walnut)Good, loved the hint of mint, but think I like babghanoush better with its smokiness.
Htipiti (red pepper, feta)A-ight.
An unnamed bright yellow spread (yellow split peas, lemon)I really liked this one, super bright flavor.Grilled pita that accompanied was warm, delicious and retained just a hint of grilled tste - very good.
Dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with bulgur, tomato, onion. mint, cumin-yogurt)We are a huge fan of dolmades, and every culture makes them slightly different. These were quite lovely and different. Plump, fresh and the cumin-yogurt I think really was beautiful with it.
Baby Maine Calamari These were very good. Similar to the kind I make at home...super light with only a hint of crisp - no heavy breading, the squid itself, meltingly tender. Well done.
Saganaki (pan fried cheese)This was overwhelmingly salty, rich and warm. I loved it. The build up on our palates from the meze in this order peaked here.
Braised Rabbit mousaka And the crescendo descended. This dish was light and creamy...but that is kinda all you could taste...there was a nuance of nutmeg floating about, but by this time in our dinner, our tastebuds had been focusing on bright, acidic lushness...and this dainty lactic dish could not compete. I would serve this earlier in the meal if one hoped for proper praise of it.
Lambchops (3day marinade, wood grilled, oregano, tzatziki and greek fries)Very good. Cooked perfectly medium rare. Mine was better than the husbands. It was smaller and burst with flavor. I admit I gnawed the bone a bit (I NEVER do this, not even with ribs). He gave a piece of his thicker chop, and sadly it contained not the herbal boost of mine...understandable, as it was a thicker cut..but avoidable. Still good though.

Overall, a reasonable evening. Reasonable price. Not our favorite of the Buckhead Life Group restaurants.

how many Guys does it take...

2008-06-24T21:51:00.001-04:00

I'm going to come clean--I'm a burger snob. In fact, it was an overwhelming craving to eat a cheeseburger that broke my 8-year streak, changing my status from "pescatarian" to "omnivore" 5 years ago.

I'd been resisting going to Five Guys because I'd heard way too many people raving. I mean, really...if they don't cook my burger until I order it, and I can't have it bloody as hell, what's the point?

I finally gave in today, and the point is that this place is competing with McDonalds, not with the Vortex. Yes, it is better than Mickey D's, but not that much better. And, to be honest, I like McD's fries better. There were things about the Five Guy's fries that I liked -- that they were obviously made from real unpeeled potatoes, that the establishment offers malt vinegar (don't ask me where this Southern girl picked up a thing for malt vinegar). But they didn't have enough salt, for starters, and they weren't all that crispy. I think I ate about 10 and threw the rest out.

And so, the illustrious burger. I got the small cheeseburger. It was juicy, especially for a well-done burger--I will give them that--and I liked the array of toppings offered, especially the grilled onions and mushrooms. But they got my order wrong. I waited for 10 minutes for this thing, and it had mayonnaise on it. The only thing I asked them NOT to put on it. I hate mayonnaise.

I hate mayonnaise in a passionate way in which it is impossible for me to ignore the mayonnaise residue on my sandwich after I wipe it off. As infrequently as I order there, McDonald's always gets my no mayo order correct.

My receipt clearly stated "NO mayo"--that was it. Everything BUT mayo. Gah.

So, yes, Five Guys was okay, but I don't really get what the fuss is about. If they had gotten my order correct, they might have earned one additional star, but I really can't see myself going back. It would be one thing if it was a great value, but it's not that much cheaper than the Vortex (considering there is no beer involved).

Score: Lobby 1, Harrison Ford 0

2008-06-14T23:40:00.000-04:00

We dropped into Lobby at Twelve for a pre-movie dinner tonight. The dinner was much more successful than the movie. The new Indiana Jones is...kind of bad. Even Cate Blanchett can't rescue it.

Anyway, so the restaurant. It was really dead at 6:30 when we arrived for our reservation and we were seated at a huge booth by ourselves. So huge, in fact, that we quickly made the decision to sit on the same side of the booth together. Schmoopiness aside, I kind of like it when empty restaurants don't try to put you in the window so that passersby will think there are people in there. The seats were kind of uncomfortable, especially for my tall husband, but the decor of the restaurant was understated and spacious. The kitchen is huge and open with bar seating overlooking the workspace. I guess these guys want the customers to have confidence that they are above board!

We started with glasses of wine--he the XYZin, me the Trivento Malbec. Both were good, and the pours were generous. The glasses were a little on the pricey side, so the generousity was definitely necessary for them to be a decent value. First course arrived quickly -- the shrimp ravioli, which our server recommended. It was really good, topped with a shrimpy beurre blanc sauce, peas, asparagus and tomato. It was very spring-y.

Entrees were appropriately timed, and attractively plated. He had the duck breast which was served with a mushroom egg roll. Both the duck and the spring roll thingie were really tasty--well seasoned, not greasy. My Boy doesn't normally like mushrooms, but the preparation really took advantage of the earthiness of the mushrooms. I especially liked that the cabbage and mushrooms in the roll weren't minced beyond recognition as they often are in stuffings for Asian dishes.

I wanted a recommendation from the server who did the thing that I hate the most when I ask for a recommendation--he asked what I was in the mood for. Um...I want to know what the specialities of the house are and your personal favorites. If I was in the mood for something in particular, I wouldn't have asked for a recommendation. Gah. That response makes me think either that the servers don't like or haven't tried the food. Anyway, other than my personal hang ups, the service was great.

I ended up having the prime rib which wasn't really anything to write home about. It was strangely bland and came with a horseradish sauce that really overpowered the meat in a weird way. It was tasty, of course, but I liked the duck dish better.

Sides are served to the table, and appear to be seasonal. We had beets, english peas, Israeli couscous and mashed butter with a little bit of potatoes in it. All were tasty, even the beets, and I really don't like beets. The peas were especially good. And my prime rib was really good slathered with the butter...erm...potatoes.

The bill came to about $90 which seems reasonable for the value that we got from the meal, and the service was attentive, but not rushed. The convenience of having a nice place to have a solid meal and go to the movies (or any of the other attractions in Atlantic Station) makes the creepiness of Atlantic Station worth it. Give me good food and H&M, and I can handle feeling like I'm walking around a fake movie set of a deserted city. There probably won't be zombies wandering in during dinner...I hope.

We made our movie with time to spare, and our bellies were satisfied, though our nostalgia for the original Indiana Jones trilogy was a bit tarnished. Harrison Ford is pretty spry for a senior citizen, but it's not exactly a newsflash that swashbuckling adventurers/archaeologists don't chase aliens. Le sigh.

Food Diary #5 Paris

2008-06-10T21:48:00.010-04:00

Whew...it's been a while since I wrote. Well, only about a month, but it feels like forever...in the meantime I got married and the husband and I ate our way across Paris. Of course I chronicled it all...though we were crippled by the nasty euro/dollar exchange, we still managed to gain about ten pounds each despite walking all day every day for two weeks. I digress...

Wed May 21

Lunch - Chez Germaine, Montparnasse area

Beef tartare, lentil salad, Marinated herring and potatos, roast duck and a cote de rhone

Ate on patio, perfect in every way

Dinner - Le Gymnase, Montparnasse

Escargots, croque monsieur, pommes frites and a cote de rhone

Ate on patio, read our books, best snails ever, watched Chelsea/Manchester game

Thursday May 22

Lunch - Au petit bar, Champs Elysee

Camembert, Bleu de Auvergne, Saucisson plate and a cote de rhone

Ate at a tiny bar inside, extremely expensive neighborhood, this was a little gem. The bleu

cheese was amazing...and as we found out auvergne and camembert are on every menu.

Dinner - Sucky and not worth mentioning

Friday May 23

6am - Our hotel, Montparnasse

A bottle of champagne

Lunch - Forgot to write the name down, somewhere near Les Invalides

Veal, steak, beer, pommes frites, cappucino, creme brulee and cognac de Napolean

A very nice lunch at a table on the cusp of outside, watched little girl feed the pigeons, the PBR of beers served in France, Kronenberg, is rather sweet and fruity. The owner couldn't make their credit card machine work so the husband trekked to the nearest ATM, only to return to an apologetic owner who then bestowed cognac on us and bade us relax. Very nice people.

Dinner - Restoration Bar, Montparnasse

Nutella and Bannana crepe, Chevre and Potato crepe, many many beverages.

The only time we hung at a bar for hours. Bizarre combo of american seventies love ballads alternating with modern hip hop for music. Had a wonderful conversation with a Moroccoan gentleman in stunted french. He was thrilled and surprised that we neither threw our cigarette butts on the street nor were offended an older gentleman declared he did not like americans at all.

Sat May 24

Lunch - A Gyro Stand near Notre Dame

Gyro and Falafel sandwiches rolled up and stuffed cone like with fries

Ate partially standing and then crouching on rocks in the street. Really tasty and cheapest thing there...though crepes are pretty cheap too.

Dinner - Our hotel/La grande epicerie

Grocery store dinner of caviar, creme fraiche, bread of course, camembert de calvados, lives, terrine sud-ouest and echine des porc seches with champagne...all laid out beautifully on our bed and ate with a pair of scissors and our sugar spoons while watching CNN.

Sunday May 25

Lunch - A repeat of last night's dinner! "Aw ma...caviar and champagne...AGAIN!"

Dinner - Le Bec Rouge, Montparnasse

An alsacian brasserie - Foie gras, salmon tartare, flamekueffe ( a sort of piece of cheese baked), lamb shank, veal kidneys, champagne and a kir alsacian, cherry, vanilla and cafe sorbets.

Everything was good, thought the kidneys will not be visited again by me...just not my style. The sorbets were excrutiatingly flavorful. There was a cheese plate as well, but we had to take it and some lamb home we were too full with the evening's prix fixe.

Monday May 26

Lunch - Le Bruant, Pigalle

Smoked salmon, eggs with homemade mayonaise and salad, spaghetti bolognaise and the fish of the day, which I took to be sea bass and a pitcher of rose...

Ate on super cramped patio and followed lunch with a visit to Sacre Coeur and a Peep Show...good times.

Dinner - Leftover cheese plate and lamb andd bread!

Tuesday May 27 - Normandy

Lunch - D-Day Museum, Caen

Steaks, pommes frites, apple tart - quite nice for museum fare

Dinner - Gyros before we jumped back on train in the rain!

Wednesday May 28

Lunch - La Coupole, Montparnasse

Our most expensive meal

A huge silver tray on an ice pedestal with raw oysters, sea snails, mussels. clams, oysters, and shrimp

Salmon and eggplant wrapped in a roasted eggplant "sleeve"

Lobster ravioli

Fois gras escaloppe

Crepes suzette flambe and ile flottante with cappucinos
This was a beautiful long lux meal in a lovely art deco restaurant that was massive in size. The sea snails were delightful...everything in fact, was delightful.

Dinner - Grocery store Fixins

Lentil salad, bananas, bleu cheese, bread, champagne

Thursday May 29

Lunch - Versailles

Bad and expensive paninis followed by a very bad snack later of gross potatoes

Dinner - La criee, Montparnasse

"Crisply prawns", Prawn and Sea Bream rolls, moules mariniere, moules creme and pommes frites

All was fantastic...I think they served us 5 pounds mussels each...I have never gotten stuffed on mussels till then...french fries included for dipping in the delicious broth...we waddled home

Friday May 30

Lunch - Place de republique

Grapefruit and avocado puree with crepes and dill (to die for), baked goat cheese, escalope to veau with leek and anisette, "salade orientale" with a bottle of sauvignon blanc...a wonderful "last great meal"

Dinner - Montparnasse

Goat cheese and potato crepe from outdoor stand and a "speed rabbit" pizza which the husband enjoyed with a bottle of champagne while wearing no knickers...we finished our grand french trip by watching the new "King Kong" in french...neither of us had seen it before, both of us cried horribly.

It was a good eating time...some bad, some good, all very expensive...I will keep USA and the ability to have a fabulous meal at $10 or $200. God Bless America!

We are grateful for: each other, and our love which has lasted so long now.

surprisingly popular sangria

2008-05-25T20:42:00.002-04:00

I made sangria for a cookout this afternoon, having signed up to bring wine to a mostly red-wine-drinking crowd and realizing that it's WAY too hot for anyone to really want to drink red wine. The ingredients were inspired by the Internets and prior practice, but the proportions were made up on the fly (and are approximate, so taste and adjust), so here goes:

Sangria

1 two quart pitcher
1 750 ml bottle cheap red wine (I used Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 cup orange juice
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c superfine (confectioner's) sugar
1/4 c brandy
1/2 c triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
1/2 liter club soda
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Mix juices, liquors and sugar in pitcher and stir until sugar is well dissolved. Add wine and club soda and stir. Add fruit, cover and refrigerate. Best if refrigerated overnight, but still good if made just ahead of time. Taste and adjust before serving.

a study on food studio

2008-05-25T20:22:00.003-04:00

The boy and I went to Food Studio last night to use the $50 gift card I won at a Yelp event a couple months ago. I spent a bit of time ruminating on whether we should go to Food Studio or Ecco, which we had previously gone to and enjoyed. We'd been to Food Studio for the event before, but never for dinner.

We arrived for our 6:45 reservation mostly on time and were seated immediately in a secluded table by the (blessedly not lighted--it was hot outside) fireplace. There weren't really very many people there. Our server was engaging and helpful. We started with cocktails--he had a margarita-like concoction that also included vodka and was much less sugary than a traditional margarita. I had the rosemaya, a mixture of rosewater and a cucumber/rose flavored gin. I liked both quite well, and I thought that my drink was especially interesting as it sort of tasted like perfume, but not at all in a bad way.

We skipped appetizers and ordered entrees directly. He had the rosemary garlic lamb with pureed potatoes with a glass of Zinfandel, and I had the scallops, greens, crispy potatoes and a mustard saffron sauce with a glass of Oregon Pinot recommended by the server. Our dishes arrived much sooner than expected--neither of us had finished even half of our cocktails. We also had to wait quite a while for the wine we had ordered with our entrees after they arrived.

Both entrees were solid. The lamb reminded my husband that there are a world of meats out there much more flavorful than the beef, chicken and pork that we are accustomed to, and I thought it was incredibly flavorful, but a little on the tough side for a medium rare loin. The scallops were well-prepared with moist centers and not at all rubbery. The accompaniments to my dish were also tasty--the crispy potatoes, greens and mustard sauce.

For dessert, we had the creme brulee sampler and a cheese plate. As others have noted, the cheese plate was nothing to write home about, but it was solid. Each cheese came with a pairing--pecan, arugula, fig, pear. Most of them were lovely, but the pecan in particular overpowered the cheese it accompanied. The creme brulees were interesting...definitely a generous portion--we had a tahitian vanilla, coconut lime, blood orange and chocolate cinnamon. All were tasty, but the coconut lime was really top notch--the astringent lime paired with the creme for a really perfect summer flavor. The others were nice, but I thought the quartet left something to be desired as a set. They just didn't mesh well. The chocolate was especially heavy and not summery (though it was tasty!)

All in all, we had a lovely experience at Food Studio--even better because it was $50 cheaper than it might otherwise have been. We'll give it another chance, for sure, but for the money, I think I would rather go someplace else.

Up a River without a Paddle

2008-04-30T13:10:00.002-04:00

Would be just fine with me if I was stuck in this canoe.

The boy and I have always wanted to try Canoe, but have never made it there for some reason or not. Well, after almost 10 years in Atlanta, we finally went.

Since we had early weekday opera tickets, our reservation was for 5:30. We were early for our seating, and the hostess suggested we have a cocktail or wander the gardens. We did both. The weather was cool and perfect, the sparkling white pinot we sipped was crisp and clean. The vista, charming, green and cheery. The boy's hand, soft and warm in mine. Though with all this waxing poetic I did struggle a tad in my 3 inch heels on gravel paths...c'est la vie I suppose, it meant more clinging to the boy's arm tightly...

The service was attentive and knowledgeable. The bread delicious...soft butter, always a good sign. Black napkin for my black dress, white for the boy's khakis...always appreciative of that.
Loved the view from our cozy and roomy booth, did not love as much the waiters hanging at the wait station directly next to us. There should be a law about wait stations in promximity to diners in restaurants. I remember when the boy and I worked in 5 star, we were foribben to hover and to congregate on the dining room floor. We were to "appear when needed and disappear when not"...magically. I appreciate these nuances of fine dining. Though it did not kill the expererience.
Luckily, I was for the most part distracted by the food.

We had:
Duck stuffed crispy Georgia Quail with blackberries, roasted vidalia onion puree and cilantro: This was WONDERFUL. The tart of the blackberry,. the sweet of the onion, the fresh brightness of the cilantro contrasting with the crisp light crust and the tender rich complexity of the two birds...just wonderful.

Salmon Creek Farms BBQ Pork Belly on english pea terrine and jicama vanilla slaw: I like pork belly. I think this could have been very good. But it was cold, and cold congealed fat is unsettling. Now perhaps a hot belly would pair nice with the chilly cool of the pea terrine and the crisp slaw...but it was not hot.

Whole crusted sea bass with garlic, lemon, fennel, capers and olives with fresh green beans: Cooked perfectly, tender sweet flesh was light and firm, buttery in contrast to the bite of the caper...perfect.

Slow Roasted Carolina Rabbit with swiss chard-applewood smoked bacon ravioli, candied garlic jus: I had rabbit about six months ago and was wholly disappointed. Inspired by some darlings romping about my yard this weekend, I decided to give them another chance. I am so glad I did. This was beautiful, meltingly sweet and tender. Redolent of rich dark forests bright with springs youth,heavenly and transporting, yet held to earth by the perfectly paired jus and ravioli. The boy had chosen a tempranillo for me to accompany, and it did so with grace.

I was distressed that we had no time for coffee, dessert or aperitives. I was sure there would be a fascinating cheese plate just waiting for me to discover it.

Overall, the place was lovely, romantic, the food and service top notch. I look forward to dining there again...hopefully that cheese plate will be there!

for beets' sake! or, CSA experiment #2

2008-04-28T20:24:00.004-04:00

Okay, so... I hate beets. Or, at least I thought I did. So, I'll admit it wasn't entirely unintentional that the veggie from our CSA that I decided to experiment with for a dish I was taking to a party to share was the bunch of beets we received.

Turns out that apparently beets can be pretty good. So many people asked for the recipe that I am posting it here. I'm pretty proud of myself given that I made this for the party in hopes that at least *someone* would like it, and I wouldn't have to take the offending beets home with me. I had no idea the dish would be completely empty by that evening! It was inspired by an epicurious recipe, but is substantially different because I had different ingredients and proportions.

Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese

6 large or 8 small servings

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch baby red beets, diced (Mine were a combination of red ace and chioggia, about 1" to 1.5" in diameter. You could probably also use a couple of large beets, peeled and diced)
1 c (or so) arborio rice
3-4 c vegetable broth (low sodium if not homemade)
1 T (or so) balsamic vinegar (I used a 10 year aged O brand one. I think the more expensive aged vinegars are worth it for uses like this. I didn't really measure, so you may want to add more to taste.)
Salt & pepper
3-4 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add beets and onion and sprinkle with salt. Saute for a few minutes, until onion is soft. Mix in rice and saute for about 1 minute until rice is coated and translucent. Add 3 c. broth and vinegar. Increase heat slightly and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat slowly to keep the pan at a simmer constantly. The whole dish should be brilliantly red! If the rice starts to look dry, add more broth. Stir frequently to ward off sticking. Simmer uncovered until rice is tender and creamy and beets are still barely crunchy. This took me about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed. I'll admit I skipped this part because I was scared of the beets, so it's a good thing that it turned out for the best. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese.

My goat cheese got sort of warm in my purse while I was walking to the party where it was served, so it didn't really crumble very well, but it was just as good with a little hunk of goat cheese cut off the log on top. :)

It was really pretty--I'm kind of sad that I don't have a photo. :) I have beets again this week, so maybe we'll have beet risotto again next weekend!

CSA experiment #1

2008-04-22T22:02:00.004-04:00

The Boy and I started receiving a weekly CSA (community-supported agriculture subscription) last week. It is clear that I'm going to have to get creative with my preparations because (to be honest) I've never cooked with a lot of these things before.

Aside from the fact that I couldn't quite identify what the rapini (a.k.a. broccoli raab) was that we recieved (even though it was delicious and had pretty yellow flowers), we have been pretty mundane with it. Salad and that sort of thing. Yesterday was my first major CSA experiment:

Orzo with Spinach and Green Garlic

serves 2

2 c. fresh spinach, chopped
1 green garlic, chopped
1/4 c. orzo
1 T. olive oil
salt
pepper

1/4 c. grated parmesan

Boil water, heavily salted. Cook orzo to package directions in salted water. Meanwhile, cook green garlic sprinkled with salt and pepper in 1/2 T. olive oil in nonstick skillet for a few minutes until soft. Add spinach and 1 t. oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and cook until done, about 4 minutes. Drain orzo, and reserve a few Tbs. of pasta water for later. Combine orzo with spinach mixture. Add remaining oil and parmesan. Add pasta water to loosen as needed.

This recipe turned out well--it was fast enough for a weeknight dinner, but tasted quite complex. I think I like green garlic.

Today, I made a midweek pizza concoction with Trader Joe's premade pizza dough, jarred sauce, pregrated light mozzarella cheese, Morningstar Farms soy sausage crumbles, chopped green garlic, chopped rapini and chopped fresh basil.

I had, as always, a little trouble with the step where you transfer the prepared pizza from your "peel" to the stone in the oven, but it ended up working out okay, and I got compliments on the topping choices!

The rapini had even begun to bloom (which I wasn't aware that it did) so we had adorable yellow flowers on our pizza. Cute cute cute!

Not a Watershed Moment

2008-04-09T14:17:00.003-04:00

I took the mother and the boy to Watershed for dinner recently. I have mixed feelings about it. The mother and boy loved the place. I found it nice, good, pleasant, but not orgasmic. The cuisine is southern, and honestly probably some of the best, freshest of these sort of things Service was steady though not mind blowing. Space is modern, fresh, clean and kinda crowded iand noisy in the main dining room.

The chef sent over an amuse bouche of the soup of the day, an english pea with mint which was quite lovely both in delicate flavor and vibrant hue.

To begin with we had:

Special appetizer of the day: Softshell crab I am not a crab enthusiast, and my mother was not impressed with previous softshell, but this was pretty juicy and nice.

Southern Cheese plate
Three local cheeses, one from south carolina and two from Ga's sweetgrass...all three were delicious.

Main courses
Pork chop with collard greens and mac and cheese
This was one of the biggest pork chops I have ever seen. It was cooked to perfection and the greens were bright and fresh. The mac and cheese was decadent and one of the highlights of the meal.

Salmon Croquettes
These were okay. The grits that were served with them were creamy and tasty, but something lighter like pickled vegetables, salad or slaw would have been a better accompaniment to something as heavy as croquettes.

Mushrooms on toast
These were a bit bland.

Fried oysters
These were crisp, hot, plump and juicy. Perfect. They were also served with two delightfully different sauces for dipping.

Dessert
Rhubarb crisp
Tart, warm and huge. Delicious.

Cookies and Milk
Pecan sandies and an icy glass of milk were good. Cookies were very nice, but I expected the milk to be rich and creamy like my favorite organic.

It was good....but not orgasmic.This is ultimately a nice place to take the family and whatnot. A bit pricey but acceptable.

Breaking news...

2008-04-03T18:07:00.003-04:00

Harold McGee, the food science god, reports that you actually can use metal and aluminum foil in the microwave as long as it doesn't touch the sides. Who knew?!

I'm really tempted to microwave an egg in the shell now to see it explode...but I think the Boy might disapprove.

A Meal Fit for a Sultan

2008-03-23T18:01:00.001-04:00

I literally threw up about five minutes before having a business lunch at Sultan's Restaurants on Roswell Road, and I am thrilled to report that this did not effect my experience. In fact it kinda made it better.

I wasn't feeling very well, and when I walked into the Turkish/Lebanese restaurant, I was wary and sad. I love ethnic food and I love eating, but to be honest have been more of a thai/indian type gal and was not as familiar with turkish and lebanese. I was afraid the food would inflame my troubled insides, and I was teary at the thought of not eating at all...I nodded meekly at my lunch guest and ordered a hot tea while we waited for another guest to arrive. Luckily for me, she was late and my tummy calmed down after 15 minutes or so of tea sipping. My guest and I waited no longer and dove into the well priced buffet, and only option, for lunch ($8.95).

Well, as for ambiance, style and service, the place has little to offer, but the food was wonderful. The fact that 80% of the guests appeared to be of the same ethnicity as the restauarant bodes well for the cuisine's authenticity. There were no menus, so I am only sure of some of the things I ate, all of which were delicious and not as highly spiced as indian/thai...

I think I had:

A delicious lemony chickpea soup
Fresh tomatoes, onions, olives
An awesome hummus
The best ever babaghanoush I have ever had...you could tell they charred the eggplant before making it...it was so delicately smoky...
Some sort of cabbage salad that was unexpectedely different and delicious
Perfectly cooked basmati
Some sort of lamb with potatoes and vegetables in a rich creamy sauce
A basket of fresh warm bread, not quite pita, but not quite roti

Everything was good. I ate seconds of everything, and even on a sad tummy nothing hurt me then or later...it's always a crapshoot with buffets, especially with ethnic ones, so I was thrilled. Cheap, great and didn't hurt.

As an aside, our waitress was breathtakingly beautiful, it made up for the fact that we could only minimally communicate with her. i think I will go back. PS this place is hard to spot from Roswell road, but here is a tip: it is in the shopping center directly behind Whole Foods (roswell/hammond) ON Roswell road.

Squid, Books, Friends

2008-03-18T12:36:00.006-04:00

The other day I received a pleasant surprise in the mail from a college friend. It was a total food porn cookbook by the appropriate title "salt and pepper." If you know me well, you know that I LOVE beautiful food photography...(No, I don't care how useful it is, I don't like Cooks Illustrated because there are no pictures!!) and I also have a tendency to both read cookbooks cover to cover and cook my way through them as well. (Note: if you like this idea, read "Julie and Julia"...I can not claim to have cooked my way through the french masterpiece...but I am now inspired to try).

Well after I read my way through, "salt and pepper." I have tried two recipes the past few days with much success, pleasure, and of course, modification due to my cheapness/laziness. I owe all this foodie pleasure to my good friend, who reminded me of sweet memories of cooking shenanigans when we were younger and shared at one point a studio apartment with each other and another gentleman in Chicago...I hope to someday be cooking again with her...this time with her family in a big ole house. Thank you.

Squid and I go back further than my college days. My parents brought it home when I was a kid, much to my horror. I even got to clean mid sized ones, popping their eyes out and cleaning their grotesque alien bodies. As I got older of course, my love for the spineless delight has grown, if in a quiet way. I remember baby squid sauteed by a boyfriend with balsamic in the one pan he owned and eating it by itself while sitting on the floor. I remember squid ink pasta...rich and naughty in it's blackness, and of course there are the numerous plates of calamari, most cooked to imperfection. So the first recipe I tried from this book was one for calamari..I have never cooked with it before, and found it easy, surprisingly with total and delicious success.

Adapted from J. Vassallo's "salt and pepper" cookbook

Salt and Pepper Squid (serves 2)

1/2 lb fresh squid rings

1.5 tb sea salt

1.5 tb pink peppercorns (whatever kind is fine though)

2 tsp splenda (or fine sugar)

1 c cornstarch

2 egg whites slightly beaten

corn oil for frying

Combine dry ingredients except cornstarch and grind in mortar.

Mix with cornstarch. (I also made this with flour...it was good, but not as good as the cornstarch)

I put about 1.5 in of oil in my cast iron skillet since I was too lazy to get the wok out...but the wok works well too. Get it shimmery hot.

Dip squid in egg whites and then the cornstarch mixture and toss in oil. Cook for about 2 minutes till golden and remove.

Serve with lime and lemon wedges.

God this was good. I served with Baby Bok Choy tossed with dark soy and olive oil and then grilled. Perfect. Served with a Redwood Creek Sauvignon Blanc I believe.

The next day I made Peppered Salmon with Herbed Lemon butter, and I am now in the process of herbed yogurt cheese...I will update soon.

I am grateful for: Squid, Books and Friends.

A second chance for Shaun's

2008-03-08T20:15:00.001-05:00

I've been holding my breath, hoping that the not-so-great experience we had at Shaun's for our anniversary back in October was a fluke. I'm pleased to say that I'm glad we gave you a second chance last night, Mr. Doty!

I fell in love with Shaun Doty through his menu at Table 1280, and I was more than a little disappointed when our first trip to his eponymous establishment was less-than-stellar (to say the least), all of our friends (including belles mangeuse and bleue) love this place and keep raving, so we gave it a second shot -- this time on Friday night instead of a Sunday (when the service was mediocre, we waited for ages for our drinks and each course and our food came out cold -- my shrimp and grits were kind of rubbery. Yuck! We got the impression that perhaps there was someone in the restaurant more important than us.).

I grabbed a reservation on OpenTable yesterday afternoon for that evening on a whim. I love restaurants that are on OpenTable as I have a weird phobia of calling strangers on the phone. We parked on the street (no need to tip the valet!), I gave the host our name for our 7:15 reservation, and we were seated immediately way back in the cozy dining area past the restrooms which I didn't even realize existed the first time we ate here. Our table was directly under a sort of ominous, though quite lovely metal sculpture of autumn leaves. The effect of the art in the simple, masculine room was really nice, and the room was very romantic and intimate.

We were a bit dismayed that we had the very same server from our first visit, but her perky blondeness was the only similarity between the two trips. We ordered cocktails -- him, the Ruby Red Eye, and me a concoction of pine-flavored liquer, salt, pepper and gin (I think) whose name I don't recall. I'm clearly a sucker for the bizarre cocktails. It was really very tasty and didn't make me think of cleaning the kitchen floor in any way.

We noted immediately how many duck dishes were on last night's menu...a good thing since the Boy loves duck. It made me wonder if they have to prepare so much of it to use up the rest of the duck in whose fat they cook their frites? Anyway, no complaints here. He had the duck sausage bangers and mash which were really solid with just the right amount of spice. I was intrigued by the mustard in the mashed potatoes as well -- a well-constructed dish. I had the fish and chips, and experienced the food orgasm I'd been hoping for from the duck-fat fries that everyone has been raving about. I also really liked the tartar sauce, and I actually hate tartar sauce and anything generally resembling mayonnaise.

We finished off our meal with a late harvest Zin for him and a limoncello for me. We also feasted on people watching -- I have a nasty habit of creating complex stories about the people who are seated near us in restaurants. Last night's was a particularly amusing tale of a first date going very badly. Good times.

We got out of there for about $90, including the tip, which seemed utterly reasonable to me for a restaurant that my brain puts in the "special occasion" category.

Keep this up, Mr. Doty, and you might make me forget all about that bad first impression!

Simply Delicious

2008-03-02T20:07:00.003-05:00

So a couple of us head up to the mountains this past weekend on a free pass. I have to see a client, and they put us up in their generosity at a lovely three bedroom lodge overlooking the river. We hit the spa, then hit the hot tub and several bottles of wine.

All three of us have been working 10 hour days and are very tired. Our usual obsessive compulsive cooking feats that take place on mountain "girls" trips are conspicuously missing. We eat random things that taste good. Cheese weighs in heavily as do olives, nuts and a pound of bacon between us. The wine, mostly care of Trader Joe's was all very good. Right before we left for our trip up, I did grab two of my favorite simple things to make, and belle requested I post the recipes...they are quite good and very simple.

Lentil Lemon Soup

Bring to a boil , cover and simmer for at least a half hour...or till lentils are tender

1 cup french green lentils, rinsed and cleaned
4 cups of broth, any kind
1 tsp red chili paste, or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Before serving add
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Cabbage Salad with Lemon and Herbs

Mix together and chill, or serve immediately

4 cups of shredded cabbage (I just use one bag of pre-shred)
1 lemon, sliced into thin wheels and seeded
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar or splenda
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped dill, mint or cilantro
1/4 cup currants, raisin, or pomegranate seeds

*Note the intensity of the lemon dressing increases as it sits.

Mmmmmm. The first time I made this, the boy and I ate the entire batch.

Today we are grateful for: The boy enjoyed a positive college sports moment, NCAA basketball was great...even though he usually never watches it. I am grateful for my lovely friends and our quiet weekend, even though I had to work for a little part of it. It was beautiful and I feel refreshed.

A fine Repast

2008-02-19T22:05:00.003-05:00

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.

Pumpkin and leeks and garlic, oh my!

2008-02-18T23:02:00.002-05:00

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.

Smoky, bloody swine

2008-02-10T15:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Watercress, Fennel and Little Bits

2008-02-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

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...

Garlic Fennel Goodness

2008-02-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

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!

A return to Agave

2008-01-21T12:52:00.000-05:00

My boy and I made an impromptu Friday evening appearance at Agave for dinner last week, and as we walked in we both thought "we used to come here all the time...I wonder why we haven't been here in so long?"

I'm guessing his thought process ended there. My brain, of course, tagged on "well, because we *used to* be dating and now we've been married for 3 years. meh."

Anyway, surprisingly little has changed at Agave since the last time we ate there which is probably 3 years ago. The space is really lovely -- they do Southwestern decor without making me feel like I'm in the gift shop at the Alamo. The service is top-notch. They were busy, but not busy enough to scoff at our no-reservation-having selves. Our waiter was enthusiastic about the food and made great recommendations. I even heard him telling a woman at a table near us when she asked his opinion of her two top picks to steer clear of a dish that I sampled a couple years ago and didn't really enjoy (the enchiladas--the smoked chicken just doesn't work for me). I appreciate that.

And, so the food. Their margaritas really are that good. We went for the traditional, and the boy added the optional $0.50 splash of Grand Marnier that the server offered. It was good both ways. Even their cheapest margaritas taste like well mixed cocktails -- no powdered limeade in these suckers, folks. And there is definitely tequila in there (another pet peeve of mine).

Their chips and salsa are among the best in the city -- the chips, a mixture of white and blue corn, are fried fresh, but not too greasy, and the salsa is fresh and well balanced with a little spice (they could kick it up a notch to suit me, but I understand that I do live in Georgia).

The boy had the burrito and stew, and I had the pork chop special -- both were good, and I felt that the blue cheese grits that came with my dish were exceptional. Apparently, they prepare these with different specials relatively frequently, so if you hear "blue cheese grits" come out of your server's mouth, order it. You won't be disappointed.

From prior visits, I can also recommend their fried chicken and the shrimp and grits dish.

I am a huge fan of Mexican food, but this isn't Mexican food. It is, however, good solid southwest-inspired American. Nothing terribly adventurous, but Agave will always be a really lovely dining experience.

Oh, and get on their e-mail list. They send out a monthly message that always has really great discounts -- usually $10 entrees any evening when you are seated between 5 and 6 and 20% off your entire bill Sunday through Thursday. Definitely worth it!

Swimming up stream

2008-01-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

Upon request, I am sharing this light, healthy delicious recipe for Salmon pate. It tastes really luxurious, but it not bad for you at all!

Serve with crackers, bread, or assorted vegetables.

1 can salmon, bones and skin removed
OR a nice piece of fresh steamed and chilled (no bones/skin)

Ultimately either = 2 cups of flaked salmon
8oz reduced fat cream cheese or neuchatal
1 tb chopped onion
1 tb lemon juice
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1/4 tsp liquid smoke

Mix all of the ingrediants together and form a ball. Chill for at least an hour.

Serves 16.

Note: The boy and I ate off this for about a week. We had it with other bits for dinner one night. I had some for breakfast on toast one day and then some on toast for lunch. The boy had some for lunch as well. Then we shared the last of it with some friends who finished it up and asked for the recipe. It was very flexible even if you are not making it for a party...

Hi-YA Keen-Wa!

2008-01-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, that was a lame title...what I am really excited about is Quinoa (Keen-wa). I have had it a few times in a green tea reduction at R. Thomas...I really loved it. And picked some up at the Dekalb farmers market, but never got around to cooking it. Well I finally did this week, and 100% of taste testers agree it is a wonderful addition to our diets and palates.

Though it looks like a grain and acts like a grain, it is actually not a grain. It is the botanical fruit from a plant in the goosefoot family. This stuff is lighter than rice and pasta, has huge amounts of protein, a lower sodium content and is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn. Some call it vegetable caviar, to the Incas it was the food of choice...

The first recipe I made was really simple, basically:

Quinoa Risotto

1/2 onion chopped
2-3 clove garlic, minced
1 tb olive oil
1 cup Quinoa rinsed three times in fresh water
1 cup water
1 cup fat free half and half or soy milk
1 cube bouillon either veggie or chix
1 cup parmesan or veggie version

Saute first three for a couple minutes on med heat.
Add Quinoa and saute about 1 minute.
Add milk, water, boullion and bring to a light boil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Remove lid. Fluff with fork and let sit for a minute to dry out a bit.
Gently toss with Parmesan.
Gently toss in mouth.

The other version I made yesterday was just boullion, h20 and quinoa and it was wtill awesome. No need for any butter, salt or anything.

My Heart Hurts

2008-01-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

There is a Simpsons episode where Homer demands that Bart "butter his bacon", and Bart replies "But Dad, my heart hurts." This is how the boy and I felt last night when we had a most wonderful thing: the East Atlanta Gravity Pub's "The Mullligan".

We had been healthy all week and decided with whimsical glee to undo it all with a visit to the Gravity Pub. After several beers, a couple shots of jack and some video crack, we tucked into an all beef hot dog wrapped in cheddar cheese, wrapped in 1/4# ground beef, deep fried, laid gently on a hoagie roll and then topped with chili and cheese. Oh and we had some french fries and tater tots too.

Gawd it was so good. And my tummy doesn't hurt this morning, but we did decide to skip breakfast and wait till lunch still we are still full. The most suprising thing was our ability to play Dance Dance Revolution after consuming that beast till almost 1 am. Amazing the versatility of our bodies...Maybe the DDR reversed the damage of the beast, but I doubt it.

I Love Sunflowers

2008-01-12T11:43:00.000-05:00

I've eaten at Cafe Sunflower in Sandy Springs several times, and it has always been wonderful.

The decor is cozy. It kinda reminds me of what I wished I could dress up some of my earliest apartments like, kinda a youthy-arty-bohemian feel. The staff is lovely. Like the staff at R. Thomas...good looking, healthy looking folks. They radiate it. Our waitress recently was just amazing. Of course we embarassed her by telling her. She was also a good waitress.

I was on business, and no one seemed snarky when my friend and I pulled out files and spread them across the booth. I appreciate that...and we did come early so we wouldn't cut their tippage by hogging the table (And I like to tip high if I do this.)

In any case, I had:A lively Berry Zinger hot tea
So nice - I wish more places served more varieties of tea.

A warm zucchini soup
Usually I have had this cold. This was very nice. Creamy, nutty, touched with cilantro. Very very nice.

Tuscan Portobello sandwich - Portobello mushroom, goat cheese, spinach, onions on whole wheat ciabatta...rich, filling,great textures, the softess, nicest bread. The side of sweet potato fries (which I hate) were REALLY good. More like steak fries, thick, which allowed for their flavor to shine, and their richness to be enjoyed...the skinnier versions I usually find fall flat and far from the sensuality of the humble sweet potato. The little salad thingy also on the side was not so hot...but everything else was.

Always a repeater. Always great vegetarian...Try the little box thing in the appetizers as well...that is totally rad and fun! I am pretty sure even non vegetarian and picky meat monger boyfriends would like this place.

To every season...

2008-01-08T20:36:00.000-05:00

Turn. Turn. Turn. Everytime I need something light and heathy to eat, I will go to Season's 52.

This was my second time eating here. Both times I was generally impressed with, well, everything, especially for a rather new chain in the ATL area. The service is efficient and not pushy. It is quick and accurate, attentive. The atmosphere is cozy considering it is pretty massive.The food is well priced, flavorful and good for you. The first time I was here I was initially feeling snobby due to the over abundance of aging yet bouyant bosom, very high heel wearing, very blond haircut coiffed and rather tight bodies of the Cougars here, but then I realized the food was so good for you, in order to keep their bodies, they eat here. Well, for once I will take a tip from them, everyone can use some bouyancy as well as some tightness, and here you don't have to sacrifice taste for health.

Truly, it feels like you are indulging. The menu changes every season as well, so there is always a reason to come back. Every item on the menu contains less than 475 calories, and each meal is nutritionally balanced to include the highest quality lean meats and seafood, good carbs and beneficial oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

I had:Edamame w/ Green tea salt - I love soy beans...and this salt was very nice and soft, not as harsh as standard sea.

Wasabi soy salmon salad - This was REALLY nice. I almost cried it was such a perfect salad. It was huge. It was crunchy and sweet and spicy. It had wasabi peas in it. The salmon was moist and not overcooked. The yellow beets that came with it were a sweet and beautiful side note contrasting visually and flavorfully with the main salad. Truly it was a work of art. For a meal salad, and I rarely order them because they always make me sad...this was exceptional. and Yes I ate it all. While my companions coyly packed up "leftovers" I licked the plate clean.

Last time I was here I had a steak and blue cheese flatbread which was also super yum.

I will be back again...

Life's a Beach

2008-01-06T16:46:00.000-05:00

Or at least we we hope it is. I mentioned before that belle bleue gave us some cookbooks to sort through. One I picked up was The South Beach Diet Cookbook. Both the cuisine and the people in Miami were delicious when I visited last year, so I figured maybe there is something to this. We will try some of it out.

First recipe was a lentil and chicken soup...it was okay, but not impressive.

Second recipe we tried was a five spice salmon on spinach. We both found it very light and flavorful. The spinach they had us cook in the microwave;this was a new and surprising thing for me...It came out really well! The recipe was quick to make and not complicated either. A keeper, and a repeater.

1 large salmon filet

3 tb lime juice

2 ts olive oil

4 tsp finely chopped ginger

1tsp Chinese five spice powder

1/2 tsp sugar substitute

4-6 c fresh spinach

2 cloves garlic finely chopped or pressed

Marinate the salmon with the five following ingredients in a glass bowl for 30 minutes.

Place the spinach in a 3 qt glass bowl and toss with garlic and 1 tsp olive oil. Cover and microwave for two minutes. Drain and cover to keep warm.

Grill salmon on a well greased indoor or outdoor grill until flaky. 4 minutes if filet, longer for steak.

Place salmon on spinach and serve! I served with some tabouli on the side.

yum!

A Happy New Year in Six Courses

2008-01-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

This year we were joined by three other couples to ring in the new year with cream, duck and more...Our six courses began around 8:30 and went till 11:30. Perfect timing for a little pre-countdown fireworks, champagne, and in the boy's case, setting all the fireworks off at once on a table in the backyard.

7:00p Hors d'oeuvres

More cheeses than I can count including an inspiring applewood smoked cheddar, the gooiest goat I have ever had drowned in truffle honey and olives cooked in duck fat, and a triple cream brie that tasted like butta. A Target tapenade and an assortment of lemon and almond stuffed olives rounded out the plate and sadly four of us managed to eat almost all of this prior to the other guests arriving, luckily they had cheese in reserve, including a British favorite that I can not remember the name of, but was good.

8:30 Le Grand Repast

Amuse Bouche - Smoked salmon steak, creme fraiche with meyer lemon peel and chives

First Course - Fried veal stuffed olives

Second Course - Garlic fennel soup with homemade bread

Third course - Salmon mousse (in an traditional mold!)

Fourth course - Spinach salad with pear and gorgonzola

Main course - Cassoulet: French white bean, duck and sausage stew with mashed potatoes

Dessert - Tarte Tatin with homemade cinnamon ice cream and carmelized bacon

I can't really comment individually because it was all perfect. Everyone's courses were lovingly prepared and shared.

I am truly blessed to have such gifted cooks for friends!The portions were wonderful, I didn't even get full, and no one had a hangover! However the dessert was taken by folks at random times...some of us, not till breakfast the next day!

11:30
Fireworks, champagne

Midnight
Everyone removed their holiday finery and jumped into pajamas. For the next two hours or so, we worked on the champagne and worked off the fat we just consumed by playing "Dance Dance Revolution" a PS2 game that involves dancing on little pads to techno music and following dance steps...I loved it, but whew it was hard!

11:00a
Breakfast is pumpkin roll, cherry orange scones, more bacon!, fruit, coffee, tea, a bizarre mimosa concocted from Cold Duck and Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice and Sausage pinwheels.

Everyone goes around the table remarking on what they were grateful for in 2007, and we all wish each other a wonderful 2008. It truly was a great way to start the year. It ended with yet another bottle of wine being opened and Belle Bleue whipping out about 20 cookbooks for us to rummage through before they went off to Goodwill to make room for her new books. After a dinner like ours, I stuck to the "light" cooking books.

After napping all day with alternatively the boy and the dogs on the couch and then finally getting up, cleaning all the party stuff up, the 400 bottles for recycling and the various guestrooms, we opened one more bottle of red and tucked into some reheated cassoulet. I can only hope 2008 will be this nice (and delicious!) everyday after.

Impromptu Soup

2007-12-30T12:52:00.000-05:00

It will take forever for me to write about everything we've eaten and cooked over the last week or so, but here is a really quick recipe that resulted from arrving back at home after the holiday to a fairly empty kitchen except for leftovers...I didn't write a recipe while making it, so I hope this is about right. We were looking for something with a little less fat in it!! The boy liked it so much he insisted I try and write it down so I could make it again. I swear, I am trying to practice to write for other cooks. It's hard, most of the time I just improvise. Well, here goes!

Impromptu Black Bean Soup

Saute in 4qt pot:
1 small onion chopped
1 tb olive oil

After 3-4 minutes add:
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 gentle shakes of chili powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin

After 1 minute add:
1 can black beans drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can H20
2 bouillon chicken cubes

Bring to boil then cover and reduce to simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Turn off heat and puree ½ of mixture + 2tb neufchatal/cream cheese
Return to pot and stir.

Add and stir:
¼ Meyer lemon squeezed
3tb chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish with any of the following
Sr cream, cilantro, slivers of Monterey jack or cheddar

Gently squirt a little more Meyer lemon over top before serving.

YUM!

French Kissing a Mexican

2007-12-17T20:12:00.000-05:00

Intriguing title no?

What really happened was Belle Bleue and her husband and the boy and I visited Mi Barrio the other night in Grant Park. It came to us with great reviews. The kissing reference alludes to some fantastic tongue I had. I had never had tongue...well beef tongue... and I am glad I have now.

In the interest of time I will review what the boy and I ate since I did not taste our friend's meals. We had:

Guacamole
Good! Simple! Not crammed with stuff that belongs in salsa, picante or pico de gallo. Just avocado whipped to its sexy personal creaminess and a hint of lime and salt.

Beef Tongue and Steak "Soft" Tacos
I loved both these tacos. They are the simple, real Mexican style taco with cilantro, a little onion and lime juice. The tongue was rich and moist; the steak flavorful. The tortillas are hand made, and I wonder if they are white corn because they tasted like corn, but were not the pale yellow of regular corn tortillas. They were delicious and light in any case.

Pork Tamale
Too dry and tasteless. Steaming these babies should keep them moist and flavorful, especially if they are not slipped out of their corn husk embrace until right before serving. I used to buy some from the guys in my old neighborhood in Chicago for $1. They would pull them steaming from the pockets of their coats, and I would unpeel the corn husk and nibble on moist tenderness while I waited in the snow for the train...that was good tamale.

Chile Relleno

Aiight. The poblano probably should have been charred a little more or blanched a little longer. It was a little too al dente and was still more hot than roasty rich spicy poblano-ey.

Coctel de Camaron (small)
Bizarre and very huge. Especially for a small. It was layered cilantro, tomatoes, onions and shrimp in faintly lime scented watery stuff. The shrimp were the right firmness and tasted fresh; they just bored me. But perhaps it is my own fault for sharing this and not getting the ceviche...I was craving the crisp burst of lime marinated seafood and the floral dance of cilantro around firm flesh, but this was hardly the coctel. Though to be fair, the boy liked it and so do Bleue and hubby.

Beverages: A Tecate and a Modelo

The service left something to be desired. It was very busy and confused. Every table was filled, and we had four different people attending to us, but none of them seemed aware of the other. I have no idea whom we tipped at the end. Sadly all of us had eaten most of our supper before the boy's chile relleno even arrived. I am assuming the place is just having growing pains as they seem wildly popular, and this could explain some of the disappointing dishes as well as the haphazard service. Neither were bad per se, just nervously ill prepared. I wish them luck and may be back for another little kiss sometime in the future.

No, they don't pay us

2007-12-13T10:28:00.000-05:00

This morning, I received this message in my inbox from the proprietors of Bacon Salt reminding me that a gift of Bacon Salt is a gift of love! It's perfect for everyone on your gift list: no calories, no fat, vegetarian, kosher, and, the best part -- it makes everything taste like bacon!

From Bacon Salt HQ:

The holidays are rapidly approaching and buying gifts for all of your family members, friends, co-workers and acquaintances can be a challenge.

Here's a stocking stuffer that we know they'll all love - Bacon Salt. After all, is there anyone in your life doesn't love the taste of bacon (and if so, can you really count on their love)?

It may have been awhile since you bought Bacon Salt, so we just wanted to make you aware of some special holiday packages we're offering on our website for last minute shoppers, stocking stuffers and holiday gifts. These include a "12 Days of Stocking Stuffers" package and an "8 Days of Kosher Bacon" package, and are perfect for all of the bacon-lovers in your life.

We hope you and yours have a happy, safe and delicious holiday season!

Justin and Dave
Bacontrepreneurs
passthebacon@baconsalt.com

A modest celebration with Kevin

2007-12-12T04:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, my boy and I had a lot to celebrate, but as one of the things we were celebrating was the fact that we are likely buying a house that is slightly more expensive than we can comfortably afford, we were torn. The other thing we were celebrating was me receiving an offer for my dream job today -- a huge, huge deal. What to do?

So, we decided to cheap out on a fabulous place instead of heading to a loud, unwashed masses kind of place. First, we tried to eat at the bar at Shaun's -- everyone else raves about it, but the one time we went it wasn't that great. I'm hoping it was just an off night for them. Well, turns out that Shaun's is closed on Tuesdays, apparently, so we headed for Rathbun's, the original, one of our mainstays.

We chose to sit on the patio, rather than at the bar. Their patio is both covered and enclosed on the sides, so that it was quite comfortable in the balmy December weather even with the heaters off. It's also quite a bit quieter and less claustrophobic than the inside. Two thumbs up on the patio, Kevin!

We came with the intention of sharing small plates, but there are so many delicious and decadent things to choose from. What to have? We settled on:

First course: Garlic Fennel Soup -- this soup was creamy, flavorful with just a hint of fennel flavor (I am not a licorice person, so subtle fennel=good fennel in my book). Extremely delicious. We were soaking up every last drop with our bread.

Second course: Eggplant Steak Fries with Confectioner's Sugar Tabasco Dipping Sauce and Krog Street Mozzarella with Hot Cotto and Black Olive Vinaigrette. We had one order of each of these. The eggplant fries were divine, as usual. These fries never fail to make the boy say "But I don't like eggplant!" The dipping sauce sounds scary, but the combination of the sweet spiciness and the crisp eggplant is genius. The server had the kitchen split the cheese dish into two portions which were beautifully plated. The cotto (which is sort of like salami) was a nice complex, not-too-spicy flavor that complemented the mild, creamy mozzarella well, and the black olive vinaigrette pulled it all together by adding a little moisture to both loosen up the cotto and hold it all together.

Third course: Dark Chocolate Flourless Cake with Coffee Ice Cream and Raspberries. This was beautifully presented, and quite tasty. Moist, not-too-rich. I only had a bite of it, but the boy, the sweets connoisseur in the family, was very happy.

Libations: A bottle of Vina Robles, Syrah, Paso Robles, California ‘03. This wine was in the cheapest category of reds on the menu, but it was utterly respectable, especially once it opened up and lost its tartness. Luckily, it dropped the tart note while we were eating the creamy, creamy soup, which stood up to the wine just fine in its pre-mellowing moments.

Initially, I wasn't sure if what we had ordered was going to be enough food, but we were thoroughly satisfied, and even left 3 or 4 eggplant fries orphaned on the plate. We were also very pleasantly surprised by how inexpensively we were able to have such a satisfying, delicious meal with such wonderful service and atmosphere. The bill came to about $55; so for under $70 (including tips for the server and the valet), we achieved our celebratory goal at one of our favorite restaurants in town. I think we've spent more at the Vortex before. Wow! Thanks, Kev.

Green and Sprightly

2007-12-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

Well perhaps inappropriate in what should be the cool weather of December, coddled and comforted by thick meaty stews, chowders and creams...the celery soup I made yesterday and ate today was green, light, and sprightly. The recipe was a surprising riff on celery soup, and I've made more than a few. I found this illuminating. And served with one of the best canned dolmades I have ever had.

The dolmades were Aegean Brand, I think we bought them oddly enough in the Blue ridge mountains at an apple orchard. They are much better than the canned variety sold at the Farmer's market, and the fresh versions at fancypants intown Krogers (yes a bit of bitterness sensed there) and Whole foods.

The soup was very easy to make:

2-3 small Potatoes, chopped

1 bunch Celery, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Curry Powder

1 tablespoon fresh Ginger, chopped

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Chilipepper

1 1/2 quarts Broth (chicken, veggie or bouillon)

Salt -- Pepper

3/4 of a fresh Lemon

2 tablespoons Butter

Saute the onion and potatoes in the butter, add the seasonings. Stir well till soft. Add celery and everything else up to salt--pepper. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Carefully puree warm soup. Finish by squeezing the 3/4s of lemon over soup and mix in the butter. Serve.

Feels Good:Inside and Out

2007-12-09T21:08:00.000-05:00

Today was a nice day. It's been a while since I have been able to get back in the yard and do what I need to do. With today's beautiful balmy weather...for December...I was able to go out, turn the compost pile, pull all the old plants out of the vegetable garden, compost it and pull a nice warm blanket of leaves and mulch over it for the winter's rest. The garden surprised me with a last gasp harvest of chives, sweet potatoes, green peppers, arugala and jalapenos. Interesting, as I haven't watered it in months, and goodness knows I haven't tended it, thinking it was "done" for the season. In any case, Otto the pitbull hung out with me in the yard all morning, and we both came in happy, tired and sweaty in that "yard labor earthy" way that is so satisfying.

I cooked up a storm this weekend as well, but I will tell that story piecemeal. Right now I want to talk about the banana bread I made for breakfast and the empanadas (photo) I made for dinner.

The Banana Bread

I am not a fan of banana bread. I prefer non-sweet items in the morning and as you know, usually make savory items, even with bananas, such as my banana soup...when I have overripe bananas to deal with. Today I decided I would do the bread thing. Well, I came up with a highly successful, low fat, low calorie, moist result. I honestly could care less. It was almost too rich for me, but the boy raved, and I am sure others who like this sort of food would really love this recipe. Here goes:

This was adapted from allrecipes :

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter & 1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 cup sugar & 1 1/2 cup Splenda or Aspira (Generic Splenda)
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container reduced fat sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans ( I used 1 giant loaf pan and 1 giant muffin tin, having nothing else). In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, cream butter, applesauce and sugar/splenda. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The Empanadas

It occurred to me in retrospect that empanadas have always been part of my history, and it is bizarre that I would try to make them now. Bizarre, yet timely. You see, we have always had Christmas dinner at my parents' house in Cleveland my whole life. Christmas consisted of some 30+ extended family members, children and the Torres family. The Torres, Dr and Mrs., shared a duplex with my parents when all four of them were young married couples. Ever since then, having no stateside family, the Torres spent Christmas with our family. My parents had three daughters who practically mirrored their two boys and one girl. My parents kids grew up to be a lawyer, doctor and an advertising professional...so did their three kids...Weird huh? In any case...Every Christmas, Mrs. Torres always made empanadas for Christmas dinner. This was the only time of the year we had them. And we always fought over their exotic richness. The hints of latin american spices, the combination of the sugary sweet crust, the light dough, and the savory filling. Getting an empanada for breakfast, the day after Christmas, was an honor like no other. That is, if there were any leftovers.

Last year was the last Christmas at my parents' house. The little ones who sat at the kids table are all in their thirties and have children of their own, so my mother has passed our tradition on to my oldest sister who welcomes it with much enthusiasm. I look forward to our first Christmas in Charlotte this year...and we start there with 15 people for five days...so that should be interesting. But I also realize, I will probably never have Mrs. Torres empanadas again, and possibly may never see the family I have known for the past, ahem, 30 something years.. This makes me overwhelmingly sad, but is probably why I decided to try and make these now, two weeks before Christmas, for the very first time ever. I am happy and proud to report they were wonderful. They did not taste like Mrs. Torres', but they taste like Aunt Ree's (Me).

Black Bean, Sausage and Cheese Empanadas

12 oz. ground spicy Italian (or chorizo) (turkey , pork or vegetarian) sausage in a tube

1 small onion, chopped

1 15 oz can of black beans

3/4 cup grated jalapeno jack cheese

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped

1 15oz package pre-made pie crusts (soft, from the canned biscuit section)

1 egg, beaten

1/8 cup sugar

I cooked the turkey sausage on the foreman grill and set it aside. Saute the onion for a few minutes till soft and add the can of beans, and the bean liquid. Cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing the beans a bit till the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes or so. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

Preheat oven to 400. Take two shallow baking sheets and spray with nonstick or grease.

Grate your cheese and chop cilantro. Mix both into the cooled sausage mixture.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the crust circles as thin as you can. Using a 4 1/2 inch bowl (standard small soup bowl) press out circles on the dough. Between the two crusts in the package you should be able to get at least 12-18 circles.

Place about a heaping tablespoon of mixture onto each circle. moisten the inner edge of the circles with water and fold over half of the circle to make a crescent. Press gently to seal. Use a fork to crimp edge of seal. Place on prepared cookie sheet. After they are all done brush each with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool for 5. Eat!

It occurs to me, as the boy moaned and groaned while he ate both breakfast and dinner, that I made him feel good in his tummy, but also in his heart. I like to cook for him and others, as well as myself because for me, it is my gift. I love to please people. I love to make them happy and content and smiley. I remember eating those empanadas and being sooo smiley. I remember dozens or Christmas pasts...And I remember smiling in the garden this morning, smelling the air and gazing over at my Otto von rolling in the grass. Marveling at the worms squirming about as I got to "the black gold" of the compost pile and took it bucket by bucket to the veggie garden. I felt like today I smiled and gave smiles inside and out to me, to Sam, to the puppies, to the garden, to my memories. And I hope with this new recipe to Christmas family memories for years to come.

Tapping into the Simple

2007-12-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

I have been to Highland Tap, hid away on Highland Avenue underneath the little strip containing Fontaines, Mitzi and Romano's and other's, for multiple reasons over the years. I have had family meals in the dining room, but mostly it has been the bar that has brought me in out of the light and into a very very dark cozy bar. You almost feel like you stumbled into a private club or something. And some of the patrons certainly act like it is a private club...The first time I came here I made a young little friend of mine try escargots for the first time; her recently post-vegetarian self was horrified and excited at how good snails could taste. The last time I was here, the escargots were ordered again, honestly, they always are. I'm reviewing this slightly from memory as I found my notes in the bottom of my purse from a month or so ago. I believe this time Belle Bleue and I were having a post shopping high drink/pre meeting friends at the bar bite. A perfect place to recover, and brings one's pulse back to normal after an exhilarating afternoon of sales and purchases. Bleue is great as she and I always order small plates and share it all.

To drink:
Me, a Pimms Cup, because this is also a place that has Pimms!
Bleue is a wino.

We nibbled on:
Escargot in puff pastry, scampi butter and crusted in asiago
I always order this, because it is (a) very rare to get escargot in puff pastry in this town and (b) rarer still to have cheese involved....and it really is sooo good, especially when you are picking the burny/crisp cheese off the edge of the escargot dish...mmm.

Shrimp & Lobster "Corn dogs" with House Honey Mustard
I had to order these simply because they sounded deliciously bizarre. They were both. And the seafood was surprisingly not over cooked; the batter was that luscious corn dog puffiness you forget about when you leave the world of cordogs and baloney around age 12...

Serrano Ham and Arugala Salad with Asparagus,
tomatoes, crispy potato croutons and aged sherry vinaigrette
We always order a salad of some sort to pretend to cancel out the other high calorie things we indulge, but it is also a way to calm and cleanse the palate and refresh the appetite. This particular choice was very nice, and if I remember correctly I adored the potato croutons.

Highland Tap is weird, I never seem to plan to go there, but sometimes just end up there. And each time, it is the perfect choice. I haven't talked about it here, but they are a steakhouse, and the steaks and sides are quite good as well. Great place for an illicit meeting, sexy date, break from the harsh cheeriness of the holidays or a steak without the steakhouse attitude and glitz so prevalent these days.

Che bella appetito Nino!

2007-12-04T20:14:00.000-05:00

For la belle's b-day, she chose a special little place nestled amongst the peep shows and sex shops of Cheshire bridge...the old school Italian gem that is Nino's. Opened in 1968, it is Atlanta's oldest Italian restaurant.

I loved it. I do not think I have been in a restaurant in Atlanta that felt like it had hardy roots. Nino's reminded me of the Italian restaurants in Chicago. The decor was understated, if a bit out of style. The lights low. The paintings on the walls had age to them. There was no techno music playing, no model thin waitresses carrying minuscule portions on triangular trays...no "scene" to be spoken of. Now if you want Italian and scene, go to Pricci, the food is great and everyone wears Dolce & Gabbana..If you want food that is delicious, a comforting "part of the family" atmosphere, and a charming, well aged waiter who knows the difference between a chianti and a sangiovese and whether one goes better with the veal stuffed olives than the other....go to Nino's.

Our waiter was wonderful. I swear he made all three of us blush, and it wasn't because he was wearing the latest skin tight Diesel jeans...no, he was probably a 50ish gentleman about half my height, but he spoke of the specials as if he was making love to them. He squealed with delight as he put down our dishes in front of us, murmuring "bella! bella!" Could have been an act, but it felt good to us. When we asked about how they made the veal stuffed olives, he actually knew they were stuffed inside and out and said the breadcrumbs were from the very rolls on our table. He KNEW the food. Only once have a met a waiter so in love with and knowledgeable of his food, in New York's Rockefeller Center restaurant, The Sea Grill. (And I swear we had to warm him up before he would trust us with his knowledge and love for the menu! But when he did! Oh Boy!) I digress...we had:

Pre dinner cocktails: 2 vodka/1 gin martinis up, dirty with olives

Amuse bouche: tiny warm crostini with fresh tomato and herbs
These were perfect! Warm! Petit! Fresh...the best I have have. You could taste just the ingredients for their pure individual flavors.

First course:
Fried green olives stuffed with veal
These were amazing. So crisp, not a bit oily...the firm tang of the olive contrasting with the rich, moist veal...mmm I thought I had a recipe for these...Olive all'Ascolana...I found it and will have to try and make now...maybe for new years.

Main course:
Fish Special
Fresh Grouper in tomato broth
She cleaned the plate...a rarity for this ami.

Fettucine alla Michela
Fettuccine with fresh shrimp and scallops in a light Pernod and saffron cream sauce
Holy doodoo I liked this. It was not a ginormous portion...for pasta it was the most approachable of quantities. The creaminess was not heavy and rich. It was light, savory, transporting... and the saffron and Pernod gave it the most delicate escalation of flavor. The seafood was cooked perfectly: the shrimp firm and the scallops heart wrenchingly tender (and huge).

Vitello Saltimbocca
Veal sautéed in seasoned white wine sauce, fresh sage, topped with prosciutto di parma
Also a clean plate member...the birthday girl adored this, and I found it rather rich and delicious myself.

Dessert:
Cappucino, tiramisu and a special birthday trio of desserts, including the most wonderful, moist marzipan I have ever tasted. I didn't know they made it like that.

Wine:
A carafe of the house red, a Montipulciano.

Nino's was a surprising delight for me. A hidden gem. It just felt different than most restaurants in Atlanta. It wasn't all sparkly. I like sparkly, but I love different, interesting and charming. I had always heard of Alfredos...a mere stone's throw from Nino's, but will happily pass on by, sight unseen, for another table at Nino's.

Food Studio

2007-11-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

I have so many things to write, but haven't had time to. I guess I will start with a birthday dinner for the boy and his parents as the preamble to our Thanksgiving gluttony. We chose the Food Studio located in King Plow Arts Center. We had early reservations and they were decidedly empty, but the service was ready and the ambiance was lovely. It was a little bit dark on entry...leaving us grasping for the nearby hand rail, but once seated, I felt kind of enveloped and warm. A fireplace flickered in a nearby hearth, casting shadows on the rough walls and aged industrial design...somehow it made the two story ceiling seem not so tall. The service included, to my delight, not only crumbers and gentlemen who pulled out chairs, but also upon seeing we all wore black, the waiter brought us black napkins instead of white ones!

While the boy's father, not accustomed to high falutin' dining, was a bit uneasy upon entry, he quickly assimilated and began an animated discussion about football with our waiter while we waited for the first course. He relaxed for the rest of the evening and I dare say enjoyed himself.

We had:

Amuse Bouche
Mini brie toasted cheese sandwiches

First Courses
Duck Confit Agnolotti with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil
This was rich and luscious, the broth was eagerly and unashamedly soaked up with bread
An Artisan Cheese Tasting
While this was nice, I was not wowed by any cheese.
Almond Dusted Foie Gras with roasted plums and sticky bread
This was also just nice. The lobes were large, but a bit too firm. The consensus was that we had had better. I don't think it came with plums, more like a fig cake, but I could be wrong. The little cake was good, but didn't seem to want to play with the foie gras. on the plate the items just seemed too big, there was no visual balance inviting you to pair the flavors.

Main Dishes were:
Roasted Monkfish with fennel, leeks, shitakes and a coconut-curry broth
I felt this was too bland and and the monkfish a bit overcooked. I am used to it melting in my mouth.
Atlantic Salmon with celery root puree, bok choy and soy ginger butter
The mother enjoyed this very much. She commented that the fish was perfectly cooked.
Braised Pork Belly with smoked gold potatoes,Tuscan kale and tomato vinaigrette
The boy moaned and groaned over it. I thought it was pretty good as well.
Maple Glazed chicken with chestnut-chorizo bread pudding and caramelized onion jus
The chicken was nice, but the bread pudding was the sort of dish I like...something that surprises and excites you. It was rich, spicy, firm and creamy all at the same time. Very good.

Dessert was:
Pressed Coffee
An assortment of mini creme brulees

Wine was:
A Cote de Rhone I can't remember the name, but we got it at the Farmer's market for $7 the next day!
We had a glass of sauternes with the foie gras as well. Still lovely.

Overall I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. The service was great, the atmosphere great, the food good, just not stellar. I just am okay with this place.Probably about three ***.

Zen and the Art of Cooking

2007-11-25T14:45:00.000-05:00

I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta and I had the pleasure to write and deliver this reflection as part of our worship service this morning. Eventually there will be a podcast and audio here.

Julia Child noted in her delicious memoir My Life in France that she often encountered many a sophisticated American who was too busy to spend his or her precious time preparing food only to have the fruits of this labor devoured within moments. "How quaint," I imagine them saying to all 6'2" of her as they witnessed her sweating over the groundbreaking Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Of them Julia said, "Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, well, so is the ballet."

Julia Child knew the power of preparing a good meal by hand. When I cook, this power flows through me in waves like the spiritual energy I feel in my body during meditation. Well, not just LIKE the energy of meditation. For me, cooking is meditation. When I'm cooking, I breathe in peace and I breathe out love. It is, in a lot of ways, easier to let go of the noise in my bustling brain when I'm guiding an 8-inch-long, razor-sharp, forged piece of steel millimeters from my knuckles; when I'm carefully trying to flip a delicate fillet of fish; or when I'm watching for the exact moment when the broccoli turns that perfect shade of brilliant green. When I'm cooking, my mind, body and heart are one, like the Holy Trinity. The idea, the flesh and the spirit. I breathe, chop and season my love into even the simplest of dishes. I remember and fully experience the fact that I -- my true self -- am not just a brain-in-a-jar. (I think that this is an important reminder for UUs everywhere.)

Cooking is also teaching me two important lessons. First, releasing my ego; that is, letting go of the importance of the judgments I place on myself based on my perceptions of how others view me. Parker Palmer writes in his book Let Your Life Speak that he once heard Dorothy Day say this: "Do not give to the poor expecting to get their gratitude so that you can feel good about yourself...Give only if you have something you must give; give only if you are someone for whom giving is its own reward." Or to paraphrase for my purposes, "Cook only if you are someone for whom cooking is its own reward." Palmer goes on to write "When I give something that I do not possess, I give a false and dangerous gift, a gift that looks like love but is, in reality, loveless -- a gift given more from my need to prove myself than from the other's need to be cared for."

The action and all I receive from it are the rewards, not the outcome. When I cook my love into a dish, it is a gift that I need to give, not a hollow, needy cry for attention, compliments or thanks. I love to hear them, of course, and I even enjoy constructive criticism, but, you see, this is why my grandmother (and grandmothers everywhere) insisted, when I entered her home, that she make me a plate. No matter how recently I'd eaten lunch, how soon it was till dinner or the fact that her next sentence often was "Honey, you sure look like you've put on a few pounds."

"Yeah, thanks for the pie, Grandma."

The thanks aren't the point. If it were about the pay-off, cooking wouldn't be worth it because sometimes the potatoes are too salty, the yeast doesn't rise, the sauce is too spicy, or the meal takes waaaay longer to cook than I was expecting. Sometimes I intuitively know the exact instant that I put too much pepper in the soup, but that way has closed. I can't take it back. I have to accept that too much pepper is now a part of my soup and move on. Sometimes I can make it better, but whether the end result is delicious or we end up ordering take out, the response of others to my products does not dictate the quality of the way I cooked my life that day. It does not diminish what I got out of the act of mindfully preparing the food: the peace I breathed in and the love I breathed out.

This leads me to the second -- and the hardest -- lesson cooking is teaching me: I have to set aside some of that love I'm breathing out for myself. Through cooking my life, I suddenly realized not long ago why, for all these years, food prepared for me by someone else always tasted so much better than when I made it myself. In restaurants, of course, it's the butter. But in the case of my grandma's enchiladas, my dad's grilled cheese, my mom's lasagna, it's because I couldn't, wouldn't taste my own love when I replicated these dishes. This awareness shattered a kind of glass ceiling in my spirit that is slowly, slowly letting me become generous, gentle and loving with myself. Bite by bite, I'm learning to taste not just a pale shadow, a remembrance of my Great Grandmother's love when I recreate the warm blackberry cobbler she made for me as a child. I'm learning to open up my awareness to taste the vast ocean of love that generations of mothers and fathers have passed on -- the love that is now MY love. I'm working on keeping just a little, sweet, savory bit of it for myself.

The beautiful thing about cooking, too, is that you don't have to be a child-prodigy-raised-in-ballerina-boot-camp to do it. Julia Child didn't learn to cook until she was nearly 40. You also don't have to stage a full-blown production of Swan Lake to give this gift: while I advocate fresh, sustainably grown, seasonal food, you can breathe as much love into a box of macaroni and cheese as you can into your annual Thanksgiving blowout if only you feel the love flowing through your mind, body and heart, the holy trinity of your true self.

Thanksgiving: No Knead Bread rising to new heights and "Oh, the squash is IN the mac and cheese?!?"

2007-11-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday after my birthday, which is not yet recognized by the federal government, so I guess Thanksgiving is my favorite bank holiday. The getting together with family, the celebration of all that we have to be grateful for, the food... We should have Thanksgiving every month, I think.

This year, we went to my sister-in-law's house in the wilds of the exurbs, Cumming, Georgia, a place where people only choose to live if they either work somewhat north of Atlanta or value shoddily constructed megasubdivisions more than hours that could be spent with their families instead of in the car. I imagine there are also some folks who have lived there since the pre-sprawl era when it was actually a separate town, but every time we make it up there there's another strip mall, so I imagine the rows of corn and the livestock will be replaced by Starbucks and 5,000 square foot homes "From the high 300s" soon enough.

My in-laws are in the former category, happily, and their home, though it looks pretty much the same as all the others on the street, is really quite lovely. Not lovely enough to convince me that in-town living isn't the way to go, but it's certainly a better venue for Thanksgiving for 15 than our "cozy" 1,200 square foot, 1 bathroom place.

I "helpfully" volunteered Alton Brown's turkey how-to from the 2003 Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit which last year yielded the most delicious, juicy turkey I've ever eaten. Happily, my sister-in-law, who at age 32 had to consult Dr. Google to find out what the "self-clean" function on her oven did, accepted the gospel and ran with it. Down to even accepting the difficult verse: "Stuffing is evil!" Much to the chagrin of a few in the kitchen, but to the delight of my, and soon the other guests', taste buds. It was truly a beautiful bird. The other side dishes were also deliciously and competently prepared from terrific recipes. We'll turn sister-in-law into Martha Stewart yet. :)

Sadly, this was my first Thanksgiving of all time without mashed potatoes, but the carbohydrates that I provided more than made up for that oversight. I think I can forgive her.

So, my contributions. La belle mangeuse and I have been obsessed with No Knead Bread, a genre of recipes tweaked in the last year after Mark Bittman introduced the world to the secret of making great bread at home over a year ago in his New York Times column. Its creator insisted that it is so easy to make a 4-year-old could do it, and Jaden over at SteamyKitchen.com proved it recently. So, I knew that this bread needed to grace the Thanksgiving table this year, and, intriguingly, the folks over at America's Test Kitchen had been toying with the recipe and put their "best" version of it in the January/February issue of Cook's Illustrated that arrived in my mailbox on Tuesday. Given my obsession with both the bread and the Test Kitchen, I knew I had to try it even though they did add a brief kneading step and some additional ingredients. For Thanksgiving and delicious bread, I can knead it 10 times. And any excuse to buy beer is a good one in my book. I adjusted their recipe slightly, but the basics are the same.

Nearly No-Knead Bread

Makes 1 large round loaf (two were plenty for 14 folks)

3 c bread flour

1/4 t instant dry yeast (the "Rapid Rise" kind)

1 1/2 t kosher salt or sea salt

3/4 c plus 2 T water (that's 7 ounces)

1/4 c plus 2 T mild-flavored lager (I used Amstel Light)

1 T white vinegar

For whole wheat variation: Replace 1 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour and add 2 T of honey.

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a shaggy, messy dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap. At this point, I advocate drinking the 9 ounces of beer that you have left. Let the bread sit on your counter for 8 to 18 hours. The blue bowl is white and the green one is wheat just after being mixed.

2. Put a piece of parchment paper inside a 10 inch skillet and spray the paper lightly with oil. Flour your work surface (I like to use a big tray instead of the counter because it's easier to clean up), wet your hands and dump the dough out on the work area. Knead 10 times, rewetting your hands if necessary. By "knead" I mean to smush the bread with the heels of your hands, then fold it over on itself to get it back to its original size. Kneading helps to develop the gluten, long stringy chains of goo that will make the bread chewy. While part of the appeal of this bread is the no kneading aspect, 10 times didn't even make me break a sweat. I can handle this. Pull the edges of the dough into the middle to form a ball and lay it seam-side-down on the parchment paper. Lightly spray the top of the bread with oil and cover it loosely with plastic wrap for a two-hour nap on the counter.

3. With about 30 minutes left in the dough's beauty nap, adjust the oven rack to its lowest position, put in a large oven-safe pot with a lid and preheat the oven to 500. I use my 8 quart stainless pot. In a pinch (when baking 2 loaves at once), I've used my 3 quart casserole and it worked fine, though all the recipes say to use a bigger pot. If you're lucky enough to have a beautiful enameled dutch oven (which I don't), that would be just perfect too.

4. When it's time to wake the dough, remove the plastic wrap, lightly flour the top of the dough, spray a sharp knife with oil and make a 6 inch long, 1/2 inch deep slit in the surface of the dough. Carefully remove the screaming hot pot from the oven and, using the parchment paper as a sling, put the dough in the pot and cover it. You should hear sizzling when the dough hits the pan. Mmmm...crusty. Return the pot to the oven and reduce the heat to 425. Bake covered for 30 minutes.

5. Remove the lid and bake uncovered for another 20-30 minutes until the crust is deep brown and the internal temperature of the bread reaches 210. I usually go by look and sound (the dough will sound like a hollow drum when you tap on it), but it's a good idea to use a thermometer if you're baking more than one loaf at a time. When I made the T-day bread, it was only to about 204 after 30 minutes uncovered, so I baked it an additional few minutes until it reached the proper temp. Carefully remove from the oven, and place the bread on a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before you slice it.

The verdict? I think the small amount of kneading and the beer is worth it. It's just as easy as the truly no-knead recipes, and it tastes even better. That there is a beautiful loaf of bread.

My second contribution was butternut squash macaroni and cheese, a recipe that is widely renowned among a group of imaginary internet friends of mine that I adapted and, I think, took to new heights yesterday.

When I told my sister-in-law I was making butternut squash mac 'n' cheese, she assumed that it was 2 separate dishes, despite the fact that she knows I have a superior command of punctuation. It's not. And despite the Boy's protestations over my adulteration of macaroni and cheese with a vegetable, it is one dish full of cheesy, savory deliciousness that ultimately won him over. Mac 'n' cheese for grown-ups, though the kids really liked it too. Everyone wanted the recipe, and I, unfortunately, forgot to take a photo before it was almost entirely devoured (and then we ate the small amount that was left for breakfast this morning). I'm thinking of trying this with canned pumpkin in place of the squash to see if it could be a reasonable weeknight creation.

Ms. Saveur's Yes, the Squash Is in the Mac 'n' Cheese

Makes a very full 13" x 9" dish: can be halved successfully, but it makes really wonderful leftovers so why bother?

1 large butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

1 lb gruyere, shredded (about 4 cups)

1 lb macaroni of your choice (I used cavatappi, which are like little 1-inch spirals. The traditional elbow would be just fine, but Your Dekalb Farmer's Market didn't have any. I liked the grown-upness of the cavatappi.)

Nonstick spray (I use grapeseed oil in a pump-action mister)

1/4 c butter (1/2 stick) plus 2 T for the topping

1/2 c flour

2 c milk

1 T dijon mustard

1 3/4 c chicken or vegetable stock

1 c breadcrumbs (I threw 1 big wheat sandwich roll we had in the bread box into the food processor, and it yielded slightly more than a cup of crumbs. I used all of it, and I think that the fresh crumbs were superior to packaged ones. No need to toast first because the topping gets browned under the broiler at the end.)

salt

pepper

cayenne

nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray the squash and a rimmed baking sheet with oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg, and place the squash cut-side-down on the sheet. Roast for 50-60 minutes until it looks pretty squishy and the skin wrinkles up. Set aside.

2. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions in heavily salted water. The water should taste flavored, but not salty. This is probably a lot more salt than you usually put in your pasta water, but your macaroni are going to suck up this water: you want it to taste good. Disclosure: I usually put in a good shake of bouillon to flavor the pasta water. It makes a big difference in the flavor of the pasta. In a good way. Drain the macaroni, and set it aside.

3. Peel the skin off the squash and mash it with salt, pepper and another pinch of nutmeg.

4. Melt 1/4 c butter in a large saucepan and slowly stir in 1/2 c flour to form a paste. Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until the sauce fully blends and thickens. SLOWLY whisk in the mashed squash, wait for sauce to thicken again. Add mustard and a large pinch each of salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Stir in 3 cups of cheese (set aside 1 cup for the topping) and 1 3/4 cups of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Stir slowly and taste sauce frequently until it warms up and the cheese melts smoothly. Adjust seasonings -- it should taste slightly spicier than you want the finished dish to taste because the spice will get diffused when you combine with the macaroni.

5. Combine pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl, toss to coat evenly. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish. Mix remaining cup of cheese with 2 T melted butter and breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the macaroni. Place macaroni under a low broiler until topping is nicely browned - about 2-4 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Notes on traveling with this dish: Don't broil before you leave the house if your destination will have an oven. Cover the dish with foil and a lid (if your baking dish has one). Warm the dish covered with foil for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven (we just stuck it in there with the dressing), then remove the foil and broil for a few minutes to brown the topping.

Rustic Potato Leek Soup

2007-11-21T19:02:00.000-05:00

After my folks were here for the weekend, I ended up with a leftover leek and some potatoes, so I decided to make soup. Incidentally, I always put leeks sauteed in butter in my mashed potatoes for special occasions. SO good.

Anyway, my soup adventure started with cleaning and chopping the leek. This resulted in streams of tears running down my face. I have never before experienced leeks that made me cry like onions! See those pesky suckers above on the right. I made it through, but it was rough.

Once I had the offensive leek chopped, the rest of the soup came together brilliantly and relatively quickly. The leftovers also froze really well (don't add cream before you freeze). Leeks and potatoes are such a perfect couple...like Fred and Ginger or Bert and Ernie. I served with leftover No Knead Bread for a delightful light supper which we were able to eat out on our porch. Quite a nice cap to an otherwise blah Monday, though it just seems wrong that we can eat on our (unheated) porch in November.

Rustic Potato Leek Soup

This recipe is the love-child of The New Best Recipe and Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food.

6 good sized servings

1 big leek or 2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, washed well and chopped
2T butter or extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1.5 lbs of potatoes, coarsely diced (I oppose peeling potatoes generally, but you can if you want)
5-6 c of broth or water
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
optional: 1/3 c heavy cream or evaporated milk

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the leeks, thyme and bay. Add a fair dusting of salt. Saute until the leeks soften, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, salt them and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the broth/water and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, but not quite mushy, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs. Using either an immersion blender in the pot or ladling the soup into a blender in batches, puree about half of the soup and return the puree to the pot. Stir in the cream if desired, taste the soup and add salt and pepper until it is just right. You can see in the photo that my soup had a little bit of pepper and red sea salt as a "garnish" (really, it was because I didn't put enough in the soup before I served it!)

Enjoy! This is especially good sopped up with delicious warm bread.

A Hot Fuss

2007-11-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

Last night the boy and I embarked on #2 of our opera series to see Hansel and Gretel. The production was just wonderful. It was a whimsical, new, refreshing, harmonious, surprising, and well priced evening of entertainment. Much like our second meal at Muss and Turners.

Well, I know for sure now, the place is not a one hit wonder. It was just as spectacular as the last time we were there. The staff was as friendly, just as helpful. Beer explorations were fun prior to sitting down to dinner. The cheese counter was enchanting. Our meal choices exciting.

As usual we over indulged, but this time our senses were only aided by wine in moderation rather than obliterated by gluttony. We had:

Wagyu Beef Tartare - Fresh, raw ground beef, capers, shallots, chives and mustard oil.
This was absolutely the best beef tartare I have ever had in my life. It sang in my mouth. So piquant. So lively. We swore it was laced with wasabi, but perhaps it was the mustard oil kicking the flavor into high gear. It was the boy's first beef tartare ever, and he declared it a permanent addition to things he like to eat. I was pleased that his "first" was so good. Gawd know that is rare... (heh heh)

Antipasto - Meditterranean Pasta Salad, Greenless Greek Salad, Shrimp Remoulade and Mushroom and Hobb's Smoked Bacon Salad

Pave Sauvage -French goat's milk cheese with peppercorns, tarragon and Black pepper truffle honey
I swear, this should be the year of the milk if there was a food zodiac. I have never had so many innovative, fresh, inspiring cheeses in one year! This one was so grassy and fresh while still creamy. And the truffle honey is going on my christmas wish list. It is SOOOO good with cheese.)

Hudson Valley Camembert - New York cow and sheeps milk cheese with fruit preserves
While this was very mellow, creamy and had the most delicate rind, the Pave still shone brighter. The HV soothed, the Pave swooned.

Grilled Lamb Tenderloin - Medium rare with local radish, celery root, frisee, house made bacon and red wine sauce
Perfectly prepared. The naturally herb flavor of the lamb danced gently with the earthy root vegetables. The frisee was a warm and interesting surprise. ( I love cooked and braised greens when done well.) The sauce was supremely dark and rich with almost a hint of coffee in its complexity, or bitter chocolate...a pleasant contrast to the grassy lamb and perfect for sopping up with Pommes Frites.

Muss and Turners is officially in our top three with Rathbuns and Shauns. It is different as it so much more casual, and has the added bonus of the deli. I wish only that I could (a) eat lunch there, and (b) buy cheeses and meat there. Alas we live too far away to partake on a regular basis. Though as we drove from M&T's to the opera, the boy and I found ourselves wondering how much it costs to live in that neighborhood...It think it is Vinings? Surely this could only have been inspired by the fantasy of living in close proximity to such a wonderful place. The neighborhood is a little too "new" for our tastes and erm...pocketbooks we surmise.

Again...Cold Sassy Tree as an opera in February...Muss and Turner's we will be back! And a good thing as the menu is seasonal!

Love in Manchester's Arms...

2007-11-14T12:07:00.000-05:00

I don't often venture this close to the Perimeter, or to the southside of town, but I met some girlfriends at the Manchester Arms pub for a weeknight dinner last night. I am now intensely envious that this place is in College Park.

The pub is housed in a really lovely converted Tudor house with a large patio nestled between a wooded area, a church and a residential neighborhood on Virginia Avenue. The atmosphere is as charming as the architechture (which includes a stunning arch-shaped entry door). I walked in to find a small bar, cozy tables and friendly, laid-back, attentive staff.

We were seated in the upstairs space which has exposed beams, but, somehow, feels cozy and not at all echoey. We ordered beers which came quickly (impressive considering how many times the poor server had to climb the stairs!), and then ordered fish and chips and the steak-and-Guinness pie. Our dishes arrived quickly, and they were hot and delicious. The fish was crisp on the outside with just the right proportion of breading to cod and not too greasy. The chips (i.e. fries) were also crisp on the outside, but soft and steamy on the inside. The fish needed a little salt for our taste, but it was perfect with a drizzle of malt vinegar. I haven't had fish and chips like this since I was in London.

I didn't try the steak-and-Guinness pie, but it looked and smelled amazing, and my companion's plate was nearly licked clean, so I think it was also excellent. We then ordered the bread pudding and the Guinness brownie, the two desserts our server reported are prepared on-premises. The bread pudding was decent. The Guinness brownie was transcendent. Soft, chocolatey, not-too-sweet. I'm not a sweets person, but this brownie is everything that a brownie should be and more. The kind of brownie that two bites is enough to satisfy because it's so rich and gooey and perfect. *drool*

Our server happily split our checks, and the meal was more than reasonably priced for the excellent service, the homey atmosphere and the high-quality food. I was skeptical about the experience I would have venturing down south, but I left with a happy belly full of delicious food and happy memories of a place that is ideal for a get-together with good friends. Even if it is nearly OTP. ;)

Free and Easy

2007-11-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

So I was doing my shopping this weekend and my checkout gal turned out to be my neighbor. In neighborly fashion she pointed out to me that pumpkins were free if I wanted one. At first I hesitated, and the bag-girl said "I'll get it!" and so I decided why-not. I suppose I could do something with it. Keep in mind (a) I have already made no less than 8 pumpkin related dishes from canned pumpkin over the past two months. I was not sure how the boy would react to more pumpkin. (b) I had never tackled a raw pumpkin, and this one was of rotund waist.

After a little bit of online research and a little bit of questioning from the boy, I began my free food journey with his critical eye hovering near. I decided to make pumpkin seeds and roast pumpkin flesh. Turns out both were pretty easy, but required a bit of perseverance and upper body strength.

Pumpkin Seeds
Preheat oven to 400. Then I cut open my pumpkin jack-o-lantern style and pulled the guts out, separating the guts from the seeds. I rinsed the seeds a few times in a colander, brought a 4 qt pot of salted water to boil and threw the seeds in for about 10 minutes. Then I drained them. I drizzled some oil over a shallow baking pan, threw the seeds in there and messed them around with my hand till they were coated and spread evenly across the bottom in one layer. As for seasoning, I chose a few sprinkles of smoked paprika, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes, but really keep an eye on them. Let cool before you eat, and save the rest in air tight container.

Roasted Pumpkin
The boy and I really really enjoyed this. The flavor is very different from canned and puree...Closer to sweet potato plus squash. Plus I have enough for the whole winter.

I started out by struggling to cut the big vegetable up and was quickly brushed aside as my "man" made short work of the pumpkin. He then proceeded to show me how he would clean the remaining guts from the pieces if HE was going to do it. Prep work not being my favorite, I cooed and encouraged while I made myself a drink. When he finished, I handed him a drink as well.

We placed the pumpkin pieces flesh up on baking pans and rubbed them with olive oil. I seasoned with crushed dried rosemary, sea salt and ground pepper, but I bet thyme would be good too. We put this in the same 400 oven as the seeds and let it cook for about an hour. Stick a fork in the flesh to see if it is tender. After it cooled off, I pulled the skins off the large pieces of pumpkin (easy) and roughly chopped them into large chunks.

I portioned away a bunch in ziplocs and put them in the freezer. When I served them with dinner last night I sauteed the chunks to warm them up in a tablespoon of butter with a dash of olive oil so it doesn't burn. Then I sprinkled with more salt, rosemary, pepper and the juice of one 1/4 lemon. MMMMMMMM good. I think there is caramelizing going on somewhere, and then the comforting rosemary, the rich texture of the pumpkin, the freshness of the lemon juice...good. I think I will serve with some roast chicken and potatoes later this week.

We were grateful for: The boy was grateful he had a friend who would come help him figure out a problem for school. I was grateful I didn't have to run an event for work tomorrow.

Delicious Mushy Goo (with Kale)

2007-11-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

The Boy had a come-to-Jesus moment about a month ago when he had a guest speaker in his philosophy class. The speaker discussed the ethics of the corporate food industry and the political and nutritional implications of eating meats produced on industrial farms. The major take away (that I learned about as he sneered at the delicious meal of pork tenderloin I put on the table that evening) was that there are a lot of really terrible things happening in the world -- poverty, famine, genocide, torture, war -- that we really can't do much about in our day-to-day routines, but we do have control over what we eat, we can choose to eat differently, and eating ethically makes a difference. The environmental impact of meat-eating is dramatic and appalling no matter what your take on the animal cruelty angle. In fact, some researchers recently calculated that meat-eaters going vegan would reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions more than car-owners going hybrid. Yikes!

"So, what are you trying to tell me?" I ask. "No more meat?"

This possibility isn't much of an issue for me as I was vegetarian and pescatarian (fish only) for about eight years, but the Boy...the Boy is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy; I was pretty shocked (and delighted) at what this could mean for my mostly ineffective attempts to open his eyes to the delicious world of plants. Getting five-a-day in him has always been a struggle.

I see bacon cheeseburgers flash before his eyes, and he hedges, "Weeell, more like significantly reduce, but yeah."

Since, I've been expanding my repertoire of meat-free dishes for the meat lover. The Boy, on the other hand, keeps mentioning that he wants to find a local farm where he can kill his own chicken. Kind of a gruesome twist on picking your own apples, I guess. As long as he dresses and plucks the thing too, more power to him.

Anyway, on to the point of this post: the Mushy Goo. I got turned on to an Orangette recipe by a friend last week that sounded interesting so I thought I would try something like it. What I made is a modified, slimmer version of this recipe, if you're interested in the original. It calls for chard, not kale, and more oil and cheese.

My version was delicious, and the bread comes out tasting exactly like saltines crushed into soup, one of my all-time top comfort foods.

Kale, Onion, and Gruyère Panade

Makes about 5 main-dish servings and takes about 2.5 hours start-to-finish.

1 1/2 lbs. onions, thinly sliced
About 1/4 c. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, slivered
Salt and pepper
1 lb. dinosaur kale, thick ribs removed, ripped into manageable bits
Water (2 c. plus enough to drizzle on the kale)
10 ounces day-old yummy bread (i.e. not WonderBread), cut into rough 1-inch cubes
2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. of grated gruyère cheese

To prepare the onions:
Place the onions in a large, deep saucepan, and toss with about 1/8 cup olive oil. Cook on medium-high heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the onions on the bottom start to turn golden on the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir and cook until all the onions start to color. Reduce the heat to low, and add the garlic, about 1 t. of salt and pepper to taste. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and tender, another 20 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 325.

To prepare the greens:
Place handfuls of kale in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with olive oil, mist greens with olive oil, and sprinkle with water and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Set the pan over medium heat until the leaves begin to cook; then reduce the heat and stir and fold the leaves until they are all just wilted, 2-4 minutes. Set aside.

To prepare the bread:
Toss the cubed bread with 2 or 3 T. olive oil, ¼ cup of the broth, and several pinches of salt.

To build the panade:
Using an oven-proof and stovetop-safe casserole dish or dutch oven (I used the 3 quart stainless casserole that I use for almost everything), assemble the panade in layers. It's all going to get mixed up, so it doesn't have to be pretty or exact. You should end up with 2 or 3 layers of each ingredient, so each layer should be 1/3 to 1/2 of the total amount you've got. You'll want the top to have a little of each ingredient showing. Start with onions, followed by bread cubes, greens and cheese. Lather, rinse, repeat until you have no more ingredients or no more space in your dish (mine was full to the top). It's okay to pack it down at the end.

Bring the remaining 1 ¾ cups broth and 2 cups water to a simmer in a pan of your choice. Orangette used a medium saucepan, I used the skillet I wilted the greens in to cut down on dishes. Whatever works for you. Pour the warm liquid slowly, in doses, over the assembled panade, drizzling it down the sides of the dish so you don't lose all the cheese on the top into the casserole.

Set the dish over medium heat on the stovetop, and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the top of the dish with parchment paper, then loosely cover the top again with aluminum foil or the lid to the dish if it's not too full. Place the panade on a baking sheet to catch drips, slide it into the oven, and bake it until hot and bubbly, about 1 hour.

Uncover, raise the temperature to 375, and bake for 10-20 minutes to brown the top. Once out of the oven, give it a couple of minutes to calm down before serving. Enjoy!

Several reports indicate that it is also delightful when reheated.

We served it with an earthy, fruity Carmenere/Merlot blend, courtesy of Trader Joe's Chilean Collection ($4.49), and it was a wonderful meal.

Ruhlman in Atlanta tomorrow

2007-11-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

Michael Ruhlman, author of lots of books including the new The Elements of Cooking, is coming to Atlanta tomorrow to do a demo at Viking. It's pricey (therefore I'm not going), but rumor has it that he may be making an impromptu appearance at the Borders near there to sign books around 4:30-5:30ish. I'll try to confirm tomorrow whether this is actually happening (as I've been harrassing him about it).

I got my copy of Elements yesterday, and it's an opinionated run-down of everything the home cook should know about the stuff that they teach people in culinary school: the Strunk and White's Elements of Style for cooks. I've read the first 15 pages or so, and I've already learned about things that I will definitely try in my kitchen, and I haven't even gotten to the encyclopedia bit. He's also funny and doesn't take himself too seriously, two qualities that I appreciate greatly in both writing and life. I'll post a review once I'm done reading it.

Ruhlman is also one of the judges for the Next Iron Chef America on the Food Network. I would know what that is if I watched television and had cable, but I figured that some of you might be less popular-culturally challenged than me.

The Zen of Cooking

2007-11-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

For me, even when I come home from work very late (resulting in 8-10pm dinners) I usually take off my coat and head straight into the kitchen. I usually have general meal ideas built out per shopping, but often when my work schedule is overwhelming, like in the fall/winter season, I am often facing frequent creative approaches in the kitchen with bleary eyes, a sad tired back, and quite frankly an exhausted brain. I have several burns and cuts on my hands from minor cooking incidents over the past few months to show for it. Though I think I am either developing "chef's hands" or I am just drinking too much while cooking since these minor emergencies rarely cause me physical pain anymore, though they do cause bleeding and blistering!

Tonight was a wonderful marriage of fresh and convenience. Quick, flavorful and just enough chopping to soothe me. Just enough experimentation to satisfy. Quiet rhythms in movement and music. My stress melts away.

I played Imaad Wasif, a great artist we discovered as an opening act for a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert. He is brilliant, a sort of nouveau Bob Dylan sort without the bizarre voice. I sat drinking wine post dinner at the dining table by myself just unwinding, thinking, melting. Good stuff.

But I put him on to begin my tai chi movements through the kitchen...

I made:
Trader Joes Masala Burgers - A wonderful veggie burger that had a lovely light masala flavor as well as the flavor of all the individual vegetables in it. More like a potato pancake than a soy based burger...in fact almost no soy in it at all...and only 120 calories a piece...even the boy loved them. They came well reccommended by belle bleue as well. We grilled them on the indoor grill.

One small zucchini and one small yellow squash - Sliced and tossed with fresh ground pepper, sea salt, and olive oil and then cooked in foil packet on grill (easy cleanup). Cook burgers and veggies together for 10 minutes. (Flip burgers once).

Basmati rice cooked as usual, but garnished in a new way. Right before serving tossed with pepper, salt and a drizzle of dark sesame oil...soooo lovely.

That's it. Good. Tasty. Quick. Simple. Healthy.

Our wine wasn't so hot though...Sicilia Nero d'Avola...drinkable, but nothing to write home about. Not sure where I got it, but I think Trader Joe's.

We are grateful for: The boy did well on an exam. I was grateful for the boy. I couldn't stop thinking on the commute home how happy I was to have him to go home to.

As an aside: Trader Joe's brand edamame is the best I have had. Much better than Kroger's, DeKalb Farmer's Market and Whole Foods' brand. The soy beans are plump, crisp, and pratically bursting with healthy green joy. Not to mention they cost half as much. Now I am listening to Traveling Wilburys, and I am happy even though I have to do some work now...

Pleasant High Calorie Dreams Y'all...

A Visit to the Georgia Aquarium

2007-11-04T20:19:00.001-05:00

They say Japanese Spider Crab...Auntie Saveur says delicious! Can you say crab bisque, Bug?

Turkey Day, Three Weeks Early.

2007-11-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

My family was in town for the weekend, so I decided, since the Boy and I aren't making it up to see them at Thanksgiving this year, that I would prepare a mini-turkey day meal on Friday night. Yes, because when you are looking forward to housing six adults and an 18-month-old in a 1200 square foot house with only one bathroom, cooking a big, labor-intensive meal is obviously the most logical choice. [insert self-directed eye roll here.]

It was a huge success, as you can see from the happy Bug photo at right. The cranberry sauce was her favorite, and it was super easy. I made it in the morning while I was eating breakfast. I sort of made it up as I went along, using the basic proportions for the cranberries, water and sugar from The New Best Recipe Basic Cranberry Sauce as the base. Proportions weren't exact, though, because the original recipe calls for 12 ounces of cranberries, and I had 16, so I multiplied a bit. In the recipe below, I'm sticking with the original recipe proportions to avoid confusion. Once you read past the cranberries line in the ingredient list, you can blame me for anything that goes wrong with your sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

makes enough to cover a 22-lb. baby from head-to-toe

3/4 c. water

1 c. sugar

1/4 t. salt

12 ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over to remove any that are bruised, bloated, soft or otherwise yucky. White ones can stay. Do not thaw if you use frozen; you'll just have to cook for a bit longer.

1/4 to 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

7 or 8 allspice berries

1/2 t. whole cloves

2 T. brandy or cognac (I used extremely cheap stuff)

Put the allspice and cloves in a tea ball or tie them up in a pouch of cheesecloth. Bring the water, sugar and salt to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the cranberries, nutmeg and cinnamon stick, and dunk the sachet of allspice and cloves in too. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until saucy, slightly thickened and about two thirds of the berries have popped open. TNBR says this should take about 5 minutes, but in my experience, it's more like 10-15. Your mileage may vary. Transfer the sauce to a nonreactive bowl, remove the sachet and the cinnamon stick, stir in the brandy and cool to room temperature. You can make this up to a week ahead of time -- an excellent idea for actual turkey day! You could also replace the brandy with Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. The orange flavor works with cranberries too.

We started the meal with a curried sweet potato soup, recipe courtesy of la belle mangeuse. I changed it a bit because I was experiencing an onion shortage, and I forgot to put in 2 c. of milk that her recipe called for... I first tasted this recipe at our cabin extravanganza in early October. It's easy and a lovely blend of fall flavors. Everyone, including Bug, loved it and asked for the recipe. Okay, the kid didn't ask for the recipe, but her mama did.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

serves 6 1/2 small servings, 4 normal servings

4 T. unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1/8 to 1/4 t. crushed red pepper

2 t. curry powder

1/2 t. ground coriander

2 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced, boiled and mashed

5 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more. Add potatoes and broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor OR blend with an immersion blender in the pot (much easier. I love my immersion blender!). Blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan. With the soup on low heat, add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The centerpiece of the meal was delectable, moist turkey. I brined and roasted an almost 5-lb. turkey breast using Alton Brown's fabulous recipe/how to from the 2003 Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit. I used his techniques last year and ended up with the best turkey I've ever eaten, bar none. It's good stuff, folks. I divided the recipe, of course, and the main deviations I made to accommodate the needs of the breast-only roast were to put 1 c. of water in the bottom of the roasting pan before I stuck dear Tommy in the oven and to cook for 30 minutes at 425 and then turned the oven down to 325 until my probe thermometer registered 161 degrees.

A probe thermometer with a wire that goes in the oven or a wireless set up is a godsend for preparing wonderful, perfectly done meats. I use mine all the time, and it was under $20 at Target. Now, you'll read that white-meat turkey needs to cook to 165, so isn't it dangerous to remove it at 161? NO. It's very important to the flavor and moistness of your turkey. As the bird rests out of the oven (for at least 30 minutes), it continues to cook with residual heat, and the juices redistribute throughout the meat. You can expect that your meat will rise in temperature at least 5 degrees -- sometimes as much as 10 -- so, if you wait to remove Tommy from the oven until his internal temperature hits the "safe" mark, you're going to be eating a dry, overcooked bird by the time it hits the table.

The roast took about 1.5 hours once it was in the oven. Definitely a great alternative to doing a whole bird if you're short on time and aren't expecting an army, and you don't have to deal with the challenge of the temperature-requirement differential between dark meat and white meat.

Our meal was rounded out with my mom's cornbread dressing (made with day-old fresh cornbread), green beans sauteed in olive oil, no knead bread and mashed potatoes with leeks. We served it with a lovely not-too-sweet German white wine and a needed-a-few-minutes-to-wake-up Zinfandel.

This early-bird Thanksgiving, I'm very grateful for my family, preparing and eating delicious food, and the abundance of joy in my life.

Baby Loves Bacon Salt

2007-11-04T17:18:00.001-05:00

This is my sort-of niece, Bug. She loves Bacon Salt too! She got very angry when I tried to take it away from her. Goes to show you: EVERYONE, even toddlers, knows that everything should taste like bacon!

MMM Headcheese. Thanks to Diana Kennedy.

2007-11-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

1/2 pig's head weighing 5-6 pounds, cut into 4 pieces
1 1/2 tbls sea salt to taste
Water to cover
1/2 med onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbls good dijon mustard
2 heaped tbls roughly chopped misxed fresh herbs; baisl, marjoram. thyme, tarragon, parsley
A lot of fresh ground pepper
1 rounded tbls green peppercorns, drained.
Cornichons

Rinse the pig's head well, changing the water 3 times. Singe off any remaining coarse hairs on the pig's head. Put the pieces of head in a large saucepan, add the salt, cover with water and cook until tender but not too soft about 2 1/2 hours. The meat should come away from the bone faily easily. Drain the pieces reserving the broth, and set aside to cool. Strain the broth, return to saucepan and reduce to 3 cups.

As soons as the meat is cool enough to handle, remove the eye and discard. Take all of the meat (rind, tongue, brains, and ear, etc.) off the bones and chop roughly. Put the meat into the reduce stock, ad the onion, garic, wine, and mustard, and cool over a fairly high flame for 15 minutes. Add the herbs and pepper and cook for 5 minutes mor. Adjust the seasoning. Stir in the peppercorns. Pour the mixture into a 7 cup mold, cover, and refrigerate until set into a thick jellied texture. You can eat it right away, but it is even better if allowed to ripen for another day before cutting. Serve with cornichons and hot mustard.

Food Adventure #1: LA

2007-10-30T16:47:00.000-04:00

Last week, I took my first trip to the Left Coast for a work conference in Los Angeles. Conferencing usually presents sparse opportunities for experiencing the local food scene, but this trip far exceeded my expectations. I stayed at the historic Biltmore hotel in downtown LA which is an absolutely spectacular, over-the-top building (seriously, every surface of this place is carved, gilded and frescoed to within an inch of its life) where the Academy Awards were once held. There are photos all down the hallway to the ladies' room of celebrities in the times that celebrities were classy: Clark Gable, Shirley Temple, Bette Davis... *swoon*

Well, I arrived in this grand location mid-afternoon (Pacific time) on Sunday having left Atlanta on a 10:30am flight and having eaten nothing but "discount airline pretzels" and Biscoff (which I hate) since about 8am (Eastern time). I was ravenous, but was meeting up with a friend from college later in the afternoon, so I needed something light. Not ravenous enough to go to Quizno's, the first place I walked past, or to Domino's, Quizno's next-door neighbor. I approached a tiny shop labelled a "superconvenience" and wrote it off as a candidate for my first meal ever on Pacific time, but as I walked by I spotted a large refrigerated island that appeared to have sushi and prepared sandwiches and I thought, "Famima!!, we have a winner!"

Famima!!, she is amazing. Part convenience store (one aisle of minitoothpaste and one-sleeve packs of Oreos), but the rest... Famima!! is to organic-eating young urban professionals what Sheetz is to rednecks and frat boys. Seriously. They have the largest array of unsweetened, calorie-free beverages I've ever seen. Having recently sworn off of aspartame after reading this book, this was key to my late lunching happiness. They've got Diet Coke too, mind you, but I have -- literally -- dozens of choices that won't put holes in my brain. I selected a delectable-looking seaweed salad, a brown rice cucumber roll and a bottle of "green tea drink" with no English on the label and 160 percent of my daily allowance of vitamin C. Other options included lovely premade salads (southwestern, greek, chef, etc), minimally soggy-looking sandwiches and Indian dishes which the Famima!! clerk will heat up for you behind the counter. At the counter, there was also a case of "steamy buns" filled with concoctions of pork, veggies or chicken. I decided that I would have to come back to try one of these delights (this will have to wait until my next excursion out west).

I settled down at a bistro table on the sidewalk to tackle my lunch. (Finally!) My (admittedly fish-free) sushi was phenomenal. The rice was moist and sticky with a slightly sweet hint of mirin, the cucumber crunchy. The seaweed salad was delightful: spicy and crisp with none of the sliminess I associate with seaweed salad. The "green tea drink" was great too. Famima!!, I think I love you. You should move to Atlanta!

I returned to the hotel and finally managed to corral my old friend, and we met for a drink at the Gallery Bar, a contender for the nicest hotel bar in America, I think. I had a gimlet; he ordered a Negroni (which Dr. Google informs me is a fancy concoction of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth). The bartender was subtle, classy and mixed a damned good cocktail. A far cry from my usual digs, but I could get used to this! I learned later that this bar is the last place the Black Dahlia was seen alive... so, the good, the bad and the ugly of Hollywood are all connected to this hotel. Way to go, conference planners!

From the bar, College Friend and I drove around town. LA is really quite beautiful, especially in the dark, but it has a certain plastic, groomed quality about it that I associate with model train villages. LA's beauty is all lights and sparkle and kitsch, not the older, wilder beauty of the East Coast places I'm used to.

After a turn through the jazz section of Amoeba Records (the most amazing/overwhelming record store I've ever been in), we settled into an adorable seafood restaurant called the Hungry Cat near the corner of Sunset and Vine. The decor was hip, and Loretta Lynn's Walk-of-Fame star was just a few feet outside the door. (Disclosure: Harry Carey's was too, but that doesn't sound nearly as hip as Ms. Lynn in her Jack-White-produced renaissance.) We immediately ran down the cocktail menu -- LA seems like a cocktail kind of town -- and I ordered the cucumber martini, a traditionalish gin martini blended with cukes. College Friend ordered the Hot Tamale, confidently selecting the "On fire" option rather than the less manly "Hot" version. This drink was a mixture of chile-infused tequila and some other stuff. HOT HOT stuff. They weren't joking with the "On fire" moniker. We discovered that the cool cucumber martini was an excellent chaser, and eventually ordered a second round of cuke-tinis (yum!).

This cat was pretty hungry at this point, so everything on the menu sounded even more delicious than usual. We had College Friend's odd (and lifelong) refusal to eat fruit to accommodate, so that took a few choices off the table. After rolling our eyes at the folks around the restaurant eating burgers at a seafood joint, we settled on sharing both the scallops and the ling cod. Entree #1 arrives, roasted scallops with fregola sarda, Smithfield ham and harissa aioli. OMG. The scallops were succulent and tender, perfectly paired with the spicy, tomatoey sauce and the fregola sarda, which are little puffs of pasta that roughly resembled chick peas. We were practically licking the plate by the time entree #2 arrived, ling cod with merguez sausage, potatoes and kale. This dish was just as delightful as the first, and by the time I placed the last forkfull in my mouth and lapped up the last drip of cucumber martini, I felt the internal sigh of the culinarily sated. If it hadn't been after midnight in my brain, a cat nap would have been in order (ba-dum-bum).

I went on to put away lots of fish (including some amazing happy-hour-special sushi at the Monsoon Cafe in Santa Monica), surprisingly good hotel/conference food and some middling microbrews. All in all, LA is a place that I would like to visit again. Maybe next time without the talking about education data to distract me from the food. ;)

The Cook's Library

2007-10-29T18:50:00.000-04:00

Every cook, and even some lovers of food, but non-cooks, collect cookbooks. I have alot, and I only hope I amass more over the years. Some of them I received as gifts. Some I bought at yard sales. Some are classics and some are unknown treasures. I'm the sort of person who will sit down and read a cookbook cover to cover, imagining the parties I will have, or who I would cook a recipe for, or what time of year something would taste good. I also read food and cooking magazines, and they get a cover-to-cover work out as well. I used to tear out the pages of stuff I want, but now I share the wealth and photocopy and bind my findings, and then leave the magazines at work for my co-workers to play with. But back to the books. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Bible
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck
I have a 50th anniversary copy and just recently received a 1966 edition which belonged to my grandmother, then my mother, and now me!!!

Older than Dirt
What to have for Dinner
Fanny Farmer 1905
My boy bought this for me. I am afraid to open it as it has a leather spine. whoever owned it didn't cook, cause it is spotless, the paper smells so good and old. The typeface, makes me feel all cozy.

The Beloved
"Unnamed"
Fanny Farmer, sometime in the thirties
I have had this cookbook for a little over ten years. It is unnamed because the cover, and the first and last 25 pages have disappeared over the years...I have no idea what it is called.It has taught me all the basics about cooking and is filthy, falling apart and gross. I refuse to get rid of it, and it is the only cookbook that is allowed to stay in the kitchen. (The boy and I had a long discussion of how my books were taking over precious space in our less than 10 x 10 kitchen. The result was my cookbooks were banished to my library, but I got to keep the Beloved by my side)

The One Course
Splendid Soups
James Peterson
I belonged to a cookbook club for a bit, and this was one I picked. I guess deep down, I love soups, because I have cooked my way through this book, delighting in all the strange, homey, casual, decadent soups. Plus it has a lovely clear varnish spoon on it's solid black cover, and playful alternatives along the way with recipes.

The One Ingredient
One Potato, Two Potato
Roy Finamore
This was also a cookbook club purchase...and it's a little moldy cause I have used it alot. I always cringe when I open it up again after a while. But I LOVE potatoes, and they are sooo amazing and versatile. This book is a treasure, and answers everything you wanted to know about all varieties of potatoes, troubleshooting cooking them and every sort of possible way to prepare them from around the world.

I have some of the modern heroes: Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain...but the aforementioned are my best loved. What's your favorite?

Don't even get me started on Culinary novels...whew...I am overwhelmed with how many good ones I have read lately...that's a post for another day.

The Girls Just Want to Have Fun

2007-10-29T16:56:00.000-04:00

A most memorable evening in the company of Dames C and Z. The liquor was flowing and the conversation loud. Just what you'd expect, unless you are at The Albert. The dowdy brunette approached us from the side and announced that the management gave her the okay to tell us we were being too loud. Our jaws dropped, since when could you be too loud in a bar? We were not yelling, just a conversation between three dames... When we asked the bartender, he confirmed that we were talking loud and he neglected to remember or include but you're in a bar. As we were leaving, we saw the dowdy brunette talking to the owner. That is when I announced that I'd never go back and I let the dowdy brunette know just what I thought of her.

As for the food, The Wok Seared Green Beans are good, but not good enough to lure me back.

By the way, I'm familiar with the bar business since my husband is a bar manager, and he said that he won't ask someone to quiet down until they are literally screaming and I mean screaming.

Help SRH Win an MRI!

2007-10-29T08:39:00.000-04:00

Not related to food...but important nonetheless..

Sumter Regional Hospital, a small hospital in rural Georgia and friends of mine, was destroyed by a March 1st tornado. The hospital serves a 10-county area which is one of the poorest regions in Georgia. Seimens is currently offering a free MRI in an online contest, and SRH wants to win this machine for its community. To vote, all you have to is go to www.winanmri.com and vote for SRH. You must go to the site and view the video to vote. You can vote once a day until Dec 31, both at home and at work. Please spread the word and thanks for your support! So far, our campaign has gotten 18,000 votes in one weekend through viral efforts...let's make sure we stay no.1!!!!

Herbi vs. Carni

2007-10-26T22:04:00.000-04:00

This is a funny contrast of a post: herbivore vs. carnivore bliss.

Herbivore Bliss
The other day the boy wanted to make pizza. This is one of "his meals" and he normally makes the dough and dictates the toppings without any fuss from me. However, he never came home. So I worried he would be sad and went ahead and made his special dough recipe for him. When he came home very late and realized there was no pizza dough (it has to rise for like at least an hour), he was so sad...then I surprised him and said "it's ready to go!" He was happy, and I had also made a veggie crumble tomato sauce and gathered yet another eggplant from the garden, two tiny green peppers, some fresh basil and oregano and some onions for toppings. He decided midstream that we should make calzones instead of pizza. So we did. Just using the same dough and placing ingredients inside and folding over the dough . I brushed egg yolk on top to make it golden...oh, they were sooo lovely when they came out. And they were even better to eat. Though the boy determined I should never ever put cumin in the sauce again (even though it tasted great) because it "started to taste like chili"...but the veggies, cheese and sauce, the moist inside and crisp outside bread, were just wonderful. Wonderful.

General Notes on Preparation of this meal

Use this dough recipe

Our ingredients were: 1 eggplant, sliced, sprinkle slices with salt and let them sit while waiting to join the calzone ingredients, two small green peppers chopped, 1/2 onion chopped

Sauce: simmered 1/2 chopped onion, 3 gloves chopped garlic, 1/2 bag of Morningstar veggie crumbles, sauteed in olive oil till soft and moist. Add 1 13oz box or can crushed or diced tomatoes, (I used two cubes of frozen fresh herbs from my garden) but you can use as much basil, oregano, parsley fresh or dry as you like. Simmer for at least a half hour. If too wet, take lid off and simmer a bit till thickens up.

After you roll the dough per recipe and add ingredients (make sure not TOO wet) folded over top and brush with one egg yolk beaten.

Cook in preheated oven at 420 (heh) for 20 minutes. Handle carefully when you take it out and let it cool a bit before you dig in...

Carnivore
Today I got sucked into Trader Joes, and they really do have nice prices on fine meats, wine and some veggies. Amongst other things, I got two filet mignons, some haricots vert and a bottle (okay several), but this one was a $6 Il Valore Red Zin...very drinkable. I found the most genius way to prepare the filets, blanched the verts and whipped up (literally) a bearnaise to go with the steak. It was all PERFECT. Okay, not perfect, but sooooo good. The boy took too long coming to the dinner table, so the bearnaise broke emulsion, but it still tasted decadent; it just looked like a train wreck. I am still impressed by the steak. I never splurge on beef. I don't know why, and because I always buy poor cuts of it, we tend to always be dissatisfied with it. This time I bought a good cut, prepared it in an appropriate way, and the result was the best steak I have ever prepared in this house, perhaps the best ever. I sat and drank wine for a while contemplating the meal at the dinner table, even after the boy had left to work on school things. In this case, it really was the technique of preparation that made all the difference.

Steak
Take two filet mignons and rub them in olive oil, bring to room temp. Heat a heavy pan with 1tb olive oil in it to "screaming" hot. Meanwhile soften 2 tb butter and chop two garlic cloves, mix together. Drop your filets in the pan and cook exaclty 2 min on each side. No more. Take the pan off the heat, top the steak with the butter/garlic, and place tinfoil in a tent over the steaks. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Touch to test doneness. If it leaves a fingerprint it is rare. If it leaves a fingerprint which springs back, it is perfectly med rare, how you want it.

Easy Bearnaise
2 tb tarragon vinegar + 2 tb sherry or red wine vinegar in saucepan
Simmer until reduced to 1tb, remove from heat and cool.
Whisk 3 egg yolks into vinegar.
Place pan over another pan of boiling water (of if you have a double boiler, use it)
Whisk 1 stick softened butter, 1 tb at a time into the yolk mixture.
After all butter is in, add 1 tb tarragon, 1 tb parsley and a tiny pinch of cayenne.
Serve immediately. If you let it sit, it may break. It is a persnickety sauce, but soooo good,

Haricots Vert
Snip ends. Wash. Bring pot of water to boil. Plunge beans for two minutes. Drain and serve, or drain and rinse with cool water, and then reheat when needed by sauteing with butter in a pan.

Today we are grateful for: the boy was grateful for his paycheck which he lost and then found again. I am grateful for the recent opportunities I have had at work as well as the good prices on this filet mignon and the joy of shopping at Dollar Tree.

A Better Bean Soup

2007-10-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

When we first discovered this recipe for white bean soup we were absolutely awed by how amazing it was... and how laborious the recipe was. The boy made it first, and I was floored by what a good job he did. Later he admitted he had skipped steps and got mad it was taking so long. Later, I made a double recipe for a football party, met with the same irritating length of preparation, but felt redeemed by the overwhelming compliments and requests for the recipe. Well, to usher in fall this year, I asked the boy what he wanted me to make and he immediately requested "the white bean soup." I decided I was going to make it easier and healthier this time around. I also include options for a veggie version. This is what I came up with:

Creamy white bean and chorizo soup

3 cloves garlic

1 large onion

1 large carrot

2 celery stalks

2 tb olive oil

4 cups chicken/veggie broth

2 cups H20

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed

1 sprig rosemary

2 tsps fresh thyme (or dried)

1 bay leaf

1 # chorizo (remove casings), ground Italian turkey sausage or soysage crumbles

1/4 c heavy cream, half and half or milk (richest flavor will be cream)

pinch of thyme, salt and pepper

Chop or throw in cuisinart first 4 ingredients. Chop coarsely.

Saute in olive oil about 8 minutes till veggies are soft. Watch the garlic so it doesn't burn.

Add next six ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for at least 1/2 hr and up to 2 hrs. The longer, the richer the flavor.

Meanwhile, cook your sausage in a pan and drain;I did mine (I use Italian turkey sausage) on the foreman grill. Let it cool and then chop up.

When you have determined your soup is done simmering, puree it carefully so you don't burn yourself and return to pot. You can leave it lumpy for a more "rustic" puree.

Add the sausage, pinch of thyme, cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately.

If you need to have it wait a bit before serving, do everything but add the cream right before you serve.

Perfect for fall supper, with a crusty hot loaf of rustic bread, or toast. Better even with a good rich beer.

I am grateful for: beating the boy in fantasy football and being 6-1. The boy is grateful for aceing his test yesterday on research techniques.

Cripplingly Good

2007-10-21T18:01:00.000-04:00

So maybe the title is not PC, but it is how we felt at our dinner at Shaun's in Inman Park the other night. I was worried because I have eaten there a million times, always had a superb meal, and recommend everyone to visit. A friend recently went and had a less than thrilling time, so I had to check in to see how things were. Now mind you I always seem to eat at the bar here, and the service is always wonderful, not sure how table service is.

I love the decor of the dining room and the patio though I have never made it physically into either...so light, airy, organic. Suits me. Somehow I just never make it past the bar. (Please no jokes.) I started with what turned out to be the best Pimm's cup ever. I love Pimm's and most places just don't have it. This version of the drink was so crisp, lemony and refreshing. I couldn't believe it, but we opted not to have wine with dinner,and we both ordered another drink. The boy had a Brooklyn Brewery Pumpkin Ale and a shot of jack...I admit I had a shot of Bushmills also.

oh goodness it was good. We had:

Cheese (Cripplingly good...we were doubled over groaning with lactic pleasure. We both agreed this has been a very good year for cheese for us.)
They had the Georgian sweetgrass green hill, so of course we got it.
The bartender also recommended the humboldt fog, a californian goat ashy cheese. We loved it, finding it somewhat less "footy" than my beloved cambazola, but with an ever more delicious rind, and several varying layers of complexity...
A single little flaky pastry bursting with raisony/datey/compotey stuff was a beautifully fruity rich accompaniment to the cheese.

#1 tuna tartare with dill cream, trout caviar and quail egg
...and it was #1. Our first thought was yay! It is the "toad in the hole" from Trois, but we were wrong. It was far superb. The tuna was the freshest we have had in town, including sushi joints. And there was even a hint of chopped pine nuts in this dish that lent a surprisingly pleasant little crunch texture...just a hint, but perfect.

Pommes frites "graisse de canard"
I get this every time I come here. Hand cut fries cooked in duck fat. I've had these elsewhere. But here they are like little ducks dancing around your tongue. The boy indicated they were not only as good as he imagined but "transporting" when sinfully dipped in fresh creamed butter. (I count the days to our first heart attacks.)

Homemade Biscotti with olive oil ice cream
Reminiscent of the "reconstructed olive" we had in Washington DC at the 20 course "Minibar", it was everything sensual about olive oil, and the very best of them, paired with cream. Soft and silky on the tongue, the biscotti was subtly sweet (and not teeth chippingly hard), soaking up the flavors and crumbling in the mouth at just the right moment. We are not big dessert folks, but mmmm...

And wow. That's it. It was enough. We couldn't believe it, but it was so rich and good. Just those few things. As an aside, I have also had the Flatbread, beef tartare, and wagyu burger, amongst others, but they do vary the menu seasonally. I have never been disappointed.Also, the sangria here is great in the warmer months, and I had a fabulous Pinot Noir, Samantha Starr here as well. I do believe Shaun's is in my top two restaurants in Atlanta.

I am bummed my friend's experience was not perfect, but I invite them to join us at the bar for a second chance.

la belle mangeuse's birthday eats: wasabi cake

2007-10-16T21:21:00.001-04:00

La belle mangeuse requested months ahead of time that I make green tea ice cream for her birthday. I decided, since we were going up to the mountains for a girls' weekend, that I would try to find an appropriately Asian-ish flavored cake to give her a proper birthday, hopefully something not-too-sweet since both of us solidly prefer the savory spectrum. I wanted something rich and interesting. When I searched for "sesame" and "cake" on Epicurious, the first response was the Black Pearl layer cake, which contained, of all things, a WASABI ganache. This clearly was the one. I adapted a little from the original.

Black Pearl Layer Cake

This, like the ice cream, is a plan-ahead kind of dish. The ganache needs to be made a day ahead of time, and the ginger syrup needs to rest for at least an hour before use. All the ingredients can be prepared ahead except the whipped cream frosting. I made all of it at home and whipped up the frosting and put it together once we got to the cabin. The ganache needs about 4 hours to set after you assemble the cake.

serves lots and lots because it's super rich and flavorful -- a tiny piece is enough!

Black pearl ganache
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 t ground ginger
1 T wasabi powder or paste (You can probably do even more than this. I didn't think the wasabi flavor was that pronounced in the ganache, though I tripled the amount of wasabi called for in the original recipe.)
2 T black sesame seeds (I couldn't find black seeds, so I used brown ones. Not as pretty, but still delicious!)
1 T corn syrup
2 T (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature

Ginger syrup
1 c water
1/2 c sugar
5 T fresh ginger, peeled and coursely chopped
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Cake
2 c boiling water
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 1/4 c sugar
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract

Whipped cream frosting
2 c chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 c plus 2 T powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t ground ginger
Additional black sesame seeds

For black pearl ganache: Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream, ginger and wasabi to boil in small pot. Pour hot cream over chocolate; cover with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes. Whisk cream and chocolate until smooth. Mix sesame seeds and corn syrup in small bowl to coat; stir into chocolate mixture. Let cool to lukewarm. Stir in butter. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight to set.

For ginger syrup: Place 1 c water, sugar and ginger in small saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan; add bean. I find it's easiest to do this with my fingernails. Don't worry, they're compulsively clean when I'm cooking! Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer 2 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend.
Strain syrup into small bowl. Chop ginger finely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate ginger and syrup separately.)

For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch-square cake pans (or spray with Pam for baking). Line bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk 2 c boiling water, cocoa powder and reserved chopped ginger in medium heatproof bowl. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with cocoa mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter among prepared cake pans; smooth tops.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely. (Cakes can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)

For whipped cream frosting: Beat cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar, vanilla and ginger. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops off cakes to create flat surfaces. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on plate. Brush top with 1/2 the ginger syrup. Spread the ganache over top of cake. Place second layer, cut side up, atop first layer. Brush with the rest of the syrup. Spread sides and top with whipped cream frosting. Sprinkle top with black sesame seeds. Refrigerate until ganache is set, about 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

I've never made a cake this complicated before, but it was 100 percent worth it. It was delicious and perfect with the green tea ice cream. *drool* Happy birthday, Ms. Mangeuse!

la belle mangeuse's birthday eats: green tea ice cream

2007-10-16T20:24:00.000-04:00

I made the green tea ice cream and the cake for la belle mangeuse's birthday. Here is what I did:

Homemade ice cream is SO worth the time. It is unbelievably better than commercial ice cream. This recipe is not an evening-of endeavour. You'll need to prepare the custard the night before in order for it to chill enough to properly freeze. You'll need an ice cream churn of some kind for this. I use the KitchenAid stand mixer attachment. The churning should happen at least a few hours before you plan to serve. If you don't have an ice cream churn, you can use two bowls, one that fits inside the other. The smaller one should be metal to facilitate cold transfer. Fill the big one with ice water and lots of salt, and stir the custard till your arm is about to fall off. By the time you've got ice cream, you'll have worked off enough calories to have earned it, and you'll have one set of buff biceps. :)

Green Tea Ice Cream

makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 c heavy cream

1 1/2 c whole milk

2 standard tea bags, green tea

3/4 c sugar

1/4 t salt

4 large egg yolks

2 T matcha (Japanese ceremonial powdered green tea*)

1. Position a strainer over a medium bowl set in a larger bowl containing ice water. You will use this in step 3. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 c of the sugar and the tea bags over medium heat until steam appears and the milk is about 175 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture (be sure it's not too hot, or it will curdle the eggs) into the egg mixture 1/2 c at a time until combined. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan; set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until steam appears, foam subsides and the mix is slightly thickened ~ 180-185 degrees. DO NOT let this boil or the eggs will curdle.

3. Immediately strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath, and cool it to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until it reaches 40 degrees or lower, 3-24 hours.

4. Prepare your ice cream churn. Remove the custard from refrigeration and stir well. Turn on churn and pour in custard. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it resembles soft-serve ice cream. Transfer to a freezer-safe container with a rubber or silicone spatula (to minimize the amount lost to the sides of the freezer). Cover (some folks recommend covering closely with plastic wrap). I save the containers from Chinese takeout soup for this purpose. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Will keep for a few days. If you freeze the ice cream solid, let it sit out for an hour before serving.

* In Atlanta, I found this sold by weight at Sevananda. It's freaking expensive -- about $45 a lb., but at Sev, you can just get the amount you need. I paid about $2. Sweet!

Eat at Cafe Lily!

2007-10-16T19:58:00.000-04:00

Hi y'all. A number of things that I've cooked have been mentioned here, so I figured I'd give it a twirl writing about it myself. So, here goes.

Restaurant review: Cafe Lily, Decatur.

After our friend's book signing, we went to Cafe Lily on Sunday night with a party of about 12. My boy met us out. It was quite lovely. We sat in the Moroccan room which was cozy and just quiet enough to make conversation among a large group exciting. We started off with grilled toast with spiced olive oil, followed by their signature mussels which we ordered in a lovely spicy tomato-broth concoction. My boy gets freaked out by mussels...but he actually ate more than one of these!

I had a nice sauvignon blanc since I was eating shellfish and chicken. I should note that I don't usually care for whites, but this one was quite perfect for my food. I think it might have been from New Zealand, but I'm not sure. The boy tried one of their Zins with his lamb dish -- he was in heaven -- Cafe Lily specializes in Zin, his favorite grape, and easily half of their wine list was Zinfandel.

My chicken saltimbocca was great -- juicy, stuffed with proscuitto and fontina, served over a mound of mashed potatoes as big as my head. It looked like I hadn't even put a dent in them when I was done. They were slightly lemony, which was nice with the chicken and the mushroom-wine sauce and kind of surprising given that mashed potatoes are usually just sort of earthy. I also tasted the boy's lamb, which was quite good. It was served with these potatoes that tasted like apples, but I didn't remember reading about apples on the menu, so I went back to the menu as we were paying and noted that they were white sweet potatoes!

The friend who arranged the dinner noted that the reason they wanted to frequent the place is because the restaurant owner is very ill with cancer (in addition to it being yummy). So, go to Cafe Lily the next chance you get!

Food Diary # 4 Blue Ridge Mountains

2007-10-13T20:46:00.000-04:00

Errgh. I can't express enough what a wonderful weekend this was. It was my birthday and another friends, so six of us headed up to The Last Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I stay here alot. The weekend started with massages on the porch in the lovely mountain air and was followed by days of cooking and drinking, laughing and drinking, eating and drinking, hottubs and drinking...and surprisingly no hangovers!

The TV never got turned on. Though the place was totally wired with speakers outside and over the hottub. This allowed us to have moments such as Marianne Faithful and memories with lunch, OutKast and Gorillaz for dancing maniacally in our socks and of course, Elvis Gospel with coffee Sunday morning on the porchswing...perfect.

To the food! oh..sigh...the food. We cooked everything fresh...We outdid ourselves. It makes me almost teary.

Friday lunch
Smoked Chicken (From my spatchcock!) wraps with edamame

Friday dinner
Pizza Dough for pizza and a giant misshapen calzone
Toppings: Basil, tomatoes, sheep's milk feta, garlic, olive oil
and Cappicola, fontina, garlic
Arugala salad with lemon

Friday birthday cake and ice cream
Homemade green tea ice cream with homemade chocolate cake with wasabi ganache and fresh whipped cream and sesame seed frosting (SOOOOOO GOOD, and I am NOT a cake or big chocolate freak)

Saturday early riser snack
Coffee and Candy Corn!!!

Saturday breakfast
L's famous Polish Potato Pancakes with sour cream and apple sauce
Kielbasa
Fried Eggs
Champagne

Saturday lunch
"No Knead" bread fresh out of the oven (gosh this was good)
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
I don't know if I can remember it all, but I will try: Cappicola, Busetto, krinos olives, cornichons, goat cheese, cheddar with whiskey, buffalo mozzerella, artichoke pate

Saturday dinner
Curried Chicken and Lamb Josh Rogan with basmati rice (This was good for dinner, lunch and breakfast...Not too spicey...perfect!!!!)

Sunday breakfast
Creme Brulee french toast (recipe from my boss!)
Kielbasa

To Drink...well I forgot to write them down as I was drunk the whole time, but about 25 bottles of wine, red and white, a bottle of jagermeister, three bottles of premium tequila and an assortment of beer including Dale's Pale Ale, a pumpkin ale and Bass.

I couldn't be more grateful for my friends. I love them very much and thank them for all they give me, their hearts, their ears, their friendship...and the joy of cooking and eating...and drinking with each other. I also thank god for how amazingly beautiful the mountains were...as usual. I swear I will live up there yet...

Rain and Sprigs

2007-10-10T19:27:00.000-04:00

I took a client to lunch at Rumi's Kitchen on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs last week. It was pretty nice. The valet happily took my car in the rain and ushered me into a cozy little restaurant. I ordered hot tea, and though I was surprised that a Persian restaurant would only have earl grey to offer, I was delighted with the saffron sugar cubes that came with it.

The best part of the meal was the rather large amuse bouche: a plate of fresh sprigs of tarragon and basil, olives, walnuts, radish and cheese. Everything was almost cartoonish in flavor in this raw state. Bright! Bright! Bright! the fresh herbs were, especially in contrast to my sleepy tea and the fall rain.

An appetizer of Dolmeh (pictured)- freshly mixed ground beef, rice, and mild herbs hand wrapped in grape vine leaves and simmered in a zesty sweet and sour pomegranate sauce, was very rich and succulent. Different in texture, temperature and flavor from the mostly greek dolmeh I have eaten.

My client had the Bodenjoon - pan fried eggplant slow cooked on a special tomato based veal stew, served with a side of saffron Basmati rice and seemed to enjoy it. I had slow cooked lamb shank served with saffron Basmati rice mixed with dill weed and fava beans which was very good, but a little mild in seasoning for me, and I prefer my fava beans more alive then dead...they were a little gray and mushy for me. I really liked the rice, it had never occurred to me to mix dill with basmati.

The leftovers were of grand proportion, I had 1.5 shanks to take home to a happy boy. The meal, like Indian food, tasted even better the next day. I wonder how they can afford to be so generous in portion and amuse bouche at their prices which were surprisingly low. The service was excellent, if a tad bit overeager, but mostly the staff seemed like they were perhaps family members, or at least very much invested in their business.

I enjoyed myself. And obviously so do others. While I waited for the valet to bring me my explorer whose doors don't open and side mirror is glued on, a series of Mercedes parked in front shone harshly in my eye...I think Rumi's will do just fine here.

Definitely a "Muss"

2007-10-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

Bizarre early weekday reservations followed speedracer like dodging of traffic in order to fill one's tummy prior to "Turandot" at the Atlanta opera. We were out of breath and pleasantly surprised by Muss and Turners located nearby the new Cobb Energy Arts Center.

Dang them, they were everything we had read and more. My only question was why hadn't I heard of them before? Our waiter was pleasant, thoughtful, attentive and more than helpful without being too visible. (Difficult as we were the only early diners.)

We decided, as usual to eat too much and drink too much. Note to self: Do not drink several beers and a bottle of wine prior to weekday Opera...coffee and Rockstar couldn't even keep us alive. Now to the food!

First course
Antipasto Plate of:
Roasted Beets with Laura Chanel Goat Cheese (Delicious, though I felt the beets were pickled versus roasted...more firm and piquant than sweet and luscious)
Asian Sesame Cucumber Slaw (Refreshing, Crunchy, Sweet, Light)
Greenless Green Salad with Feta Cheese (REALLY Good, Clean flavors allowing all ingredients to shine through, no overwhelming vinegar dressing...nutty feta...)
Domestic Jumbo Shrimp Salad Remoulade (Juicy, firm, light, not too saucy/creamy, the delicate marine flavor hinted at sea treasures)

Cheese Courses
Rocchetta - Sheep's milk from Italy with House made black truffle honey (The Sweetgrass Green Hill may have been replaced. This was orgasmic. We dueled with forks over it.)
Sweetgrass Thomasville - (Firm and flavorful, though doesn't beat the Green Hill.)

Main Course (More small plates)
Enslada Escabeche - Spanish mackeral, arugala, red wine vinegar, fingerling potatoes, basil, chimichurri, marcona almonds (Pungent, savory, clean...definitely something I have not tasted before, and would like to eat again.)
Charcuterie Plate - Chef's selection of cured meats (We have had tons of these, but usually there is only one, if one, standout on the plate...This entire plate had, robust, flavorful, meats, each with their own superb and unique personalities...delightful...and you can buy them in the case five feet away!)
Marinated Olives - Chef's Mix (Again...outstanding and for sale. We love olives, and there was several varieties here that we had not tasted before.)

To Drink
St. Bernardus Blanche Belgian Beer
Left Hand Oktoberfest Bavarian Beer
Trevor Jones "Boots" Grenache, S. Aussie, '03 (Describes as a "sexy gem" on the menu...it does not disappoint...I wish we could have sat all night...with a second bottle.)

In addition to the four star food, the excellent service, and the proximity and convenience of the charming deli, the interior was cheerful and clean. We loved the paintings in the dining area and as an added bonus, the boy excitedly pointed out that they included Chateau Yquem on the wine list, the wine Hannibal Lector gives Clarice Starling in "Hannibal." What more could you ask for?

We were charmed. And we will be back.

Spatchcock, I love you

2007-09-30T19:38:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a beautiful wonderful burny day. The weather was perfect. The sun shone, and a friend of mine had just given me his smoker as he had recently upgraded. I had spent years in my neighborhood jealously sniffing the wind, praying for an invitation to partake in the smoky glory that could only be achieved through hours of battle with flame and charcoal, airflow and rub...We had become friends with the neighbors across the street who would blatantly smoke in their front yard, teasing us, until we finally won our way into their hearts with beer and touch football games with their three boys. Golly it was good. Smoky. Flavorful. Messy. Unfortunately they had moved.

And now it was my turn. Upon my friend's advice I decided to smoke chickens since they are the cheapest meat to smoke, and if I ruined them it wouldn't be a 20$ pork loin, just $10 worth of chickens. I decided to use a cajun style rub, and I spatchcocked my chickens to help them cook more evenly. Spatchcocking is basically ripping out the spine, spreading the chicken and smashing it so it lays flat. I let the chicks rest in the fridge while I prepped the smoker. I learned quickly, or rather slowly, that you need to really get the fire hot when you are trying to get it up to temp (225)...I wasted about an hour with my semi hot fire, and had to resort to calling my friend, admitting I was already drunk, and that I hadn't gotten the fire up yet. With his advice I managed to stoke it up and had the smoke box up to temp in about a half hour. Now I had to check the fire every hour for abut 4 hours...

What to do? I drank some more beer of course and listened to a Prince album. Then I did my gardening. I checked and stoked the fire. Then I drank another beer and listened to an Eagles album. I played ball with the dogs. Then I passed out on the chaise lounge to Neil Young's "Trans". I had bizarre dreams involving cumin and robots. Then I woke up, stoked the fire and went inside and fell asleep in bed. When I woke up again, it was about an hour to go time. I had regained my strength and prepped some carrots from the garden and the potato salad I had made the night before. I checked the fire and settled into a couple episodes of "Cops". I knew when Cops was over I would be charged with creating too delicious food. And boy was I right.

I had spent all day being teased by the smoke curling proudly out of MY smoker. I even checked out how it looked from the street. "Yep, she's a bit rusty, but boy howdy she can smoke." I practiced this in my head to say to any neighbors passing by, but alas everyone was already in their own yards also smoking. I had napped outdoors with smoke surrounding me. It had followed me into my house and into my dreams. This morning, the boy commented that we smelled like smoke. And it was true.
I think smoking is not just food, its an experience. One I enjoyed thoroughly. However the food itself...It was spicy, juicy, smoky...It was perfect. When I ripped a hunk off a leg this afternoon for a snack, it was even better. I can't wait to smoke more. To invite friends to sit all day and drink. To enjoy the outdoors, the fall air.

Overall smoking is a metaphor for how want to live: Slow. Hot. Juicy. And worth all the hard work.

We drank a mixed case of JW Dundees, which is one of our favorites, then the boy stocked up for Sunday football with Bavaria and a little treat of "Jack's Pumpkin spiced ale" Which was really quite good. I think I will make some pumpkin soup and buy some more to drink with it. With dinner we had a grenache/syrah blend from Penfolds. It went pretty well with it.

Mmm. I am grateful for smoke and sky.

Just FAB

2007-09-23T18:01:00.000-04:00

Celebration for a good friend's birthday began with a few very well made martinis at Manuel's Tavern (Yes, martinis at Manuels!). And then off to FAB - French American Brasserie. It is the new incarnation of Brasserie le Coze which formerly resided at Lenox Mall. The boy and I are fond of the old version, and I was looking forward to the new location downtown and revisiting some french favorites.

We had:

First course

Ahi tuna carpaccio (ABOVE - actually a carpaccio whereas too frequently it is called this on menus but you are actually served a tartare or just slices of sushi grade tuna)

Escargots a la bourguignonne (RIGHT - I love these; their preperation was parfait!)

Fois gras au torchon, brioche croute, pickled bing cherries and vanilla scened gastrique (sigh. It's fois gras, so it's awesome, but with the cherries especially, and a lovely glass of sauternes the waiter brought...it was just beautiful.)

Main course
10 oz Mishimi Wagyu Flank Steak with Frites

10 oz Mishimi Wagyu Flank Steak Perigueux with seared fois gras, asparagus, truffle whipped potatoes, black truffles, and Madeira sauce ( the steaks were perfectly cooked and melt in your mouth - the frites sinfully crisp and rich, the truffle whipped potatoes disgustingly good...I almost licked my friends bowl clean...)

Flounder and Manila clams, jerusalem artichoke, pancetta ragout and Pernod Broth with garlic frites on the side (I never order the humble flounder or clams for that matter, but I adore pancetta and J artichoke, and quite frankly was intrigued by the combination of such earthy flavors with fishies and a pernod borth...my curiosity was rewarded with a complexity, tenderness and nouveau preperation...I enjoyed it wholeheartedly)

With the meal we had a bottle of Bourgogne Faiveley 2004. Good. Perfect with our meal.

Dessert was a creme brulee, pistachio profiteroles, cafe au lait, cappucino and a glass of port.

The service was outstanding. The decor charming and very french bistro...supercool black and white movies played at a small set at the bar. We were itnrigued. The ladies room was strangely located on the fourth floor, but it was lovely and we really look forward to when the rooftop bar opens...we shall be back.

OOOOOhhhh! So nice and happy. Didn't even want a night cap afterwards...went home and straight to bed to rub my belly and contemplate its contents.****

Pilau et Bordeaux

2007-09-19T21:32:00.000-04:00

When I was in college the first time in Chicago, I was also working full time at the local Dunkin Donuts. I became very good friends with my co-worker, a young Pakistani woman named Rubina. One year she honored me by inviting me to spend the day and night at her house for her birthday.

I remember the party fondly. I was the only non-pakistani, and the only one over 5'5 (I am 5'10). They were very honored to have me. We sang songs, danced and ate. My goodness, the food. It was the first time I had proper pilau rice. (And I grew up with Indian friends, but their parents always made us American food) I remember seeing and smelling it as her mother pulled it out of the oven, an enormous amount of rice baked in what appeared to be a roasting pan. The whole house was filled with the lovely smell of that golden rice studded with cloves and little magic stars. It is such a delicate an ethereal dish. Not overpowering, not intense like curries, but the most perfect, gentle accompaniment...to anything.

To this day, I am transported by pilau. And there are a million and one ways to make it. I favor easier ones and you can pretty much alter this general recipe to taste or to what you have in the pantry, but the general idea is:

Saute 1-2 chopped onions in olive oil or butter
Add 3-4 cardamon pods cracked slightly
a stick of cinnamon
5-8 whole cloves
3-4 star anise
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
Saute the spices with the onions for about 2 minutes, don't let them burn.
Add 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice (though normal rice is fine too)
Saute for about 1- 2 minutes till rice is opaque
Add two cups water or broth and bring to boil
Turn down heat to 1-2 and simmer with lid on for 20 minutes
Remove from heat and let sit with lid on till ready with the rest of your meal
**Pick spices off top of rice before scooping or stirring...otherwise you will have the unpleasant experience of biting into a cardamon or whole clove!***
If you want add 1 tb of butter for richness

The flavor is so light, so transporting...I don't even use the butter I like it so much. Thank you Rubina for sharing with me.

Tonight we had pilau with dal (though I doubled garlic and ginger and added tomatoes...mmmm), smashed avocado, and wheat tortilla crisps ( Just cut up a wheat tortilla, brush with olive oil or fat free cookspray, sprinkle with fave seasoning and broil under low broil. Keep an eye on it and flip when brown to brown the other side . Literally takes 1-3 minutes. 1 tortilla per person is more than enough.)

The boy had a job at Watershed today and ended up bringing home a delightfully different bordeaux, Chateau Gaillard Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2003. This wine is not normally in our price range, but was not terribly expensive at $25. It had almost no fruit in it, so didn't pare well with our spicy vegetarian food which could have used fat plums or raspberry to land on, but it was remarkable nonetheless. A truly masculine wine consisting of mostly cigar, woody, smoky notes. It immediately conjured thick smoky steaks. I longed for a proper cheese or a piece of dark chocolate. The boy settled for snickers. I settled for another glass solo. A lovely surprise.

On the stereo:Beatles "Sgt. Peppers", Jimi Hendrix "Axis:Bold as love" and Bowie "Heathen."

One of our dogs, Heidi, likes pilau too.

We were grateful for: The boy was grateful for the wine, I was grateful for the food and the memories conjured.

Garden Party for One

2007-09-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

Okay. I am a dork. I love my garden. I was lamenting earlier this month about how growing season is over, blah blah. But I spent a while in the garden this weekend (had to catch up cause I missed last weekend) and was pleasantly surprised to see all sorts of pretty babies in my little plot.

Let me first do a shout out to my boy's dad who introduced me to the concept of "Square foot gardening." The general concept is very tidy small gardens with an emphasis on variety and vertical growth. It worked perfectly for me. And the way it is laid out makes it easier to tend. I have unhappy knees which can make it impossible to crouch for long periods of time. With this style garden I could "scoot scoot scoot" on rear end and tend to my green haired gal's frequently changing needs with ease.

So I am scooting around in the mid day sun, the mosquitoes are ravaging me, and I am happily picking this and staking up that. I am blissful. Sun drenched. Surrounded by green happy. The air is gorgeous and about a sunny hour in, the sweet boy brings me an unsolicited beer (reading over my shoulder now he notes that it was "The LAST" beer in the fridge) and then runs back inside away from the mosquitoes. I take stock of my now fall garden where I have growing: sweet potatoes, nasturtiums, jalapenos, bell peppers, TONS of eggplants, arugala, radishes, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme and carrots. I have so many danged eggplants that I decide to pull some stuff and give to my girlfriend who is treating us to beer-can chicken tonight. I put it in my hat to make it look cool. Not sure if I succeeded. Maybe.

I finish in the garden and go to repot one plant when "huzzah!" I spot red on black. I run inside breathless to get the boy "It's red! That's bad right!?!?" I am jumping up and down like a five year old. He goes
outside with me and mutters "I hate those @#$-ers. It's a black widow." Wow...I have never seen one in real life...it really is kinda bizarre, quite large, and that red spot! I've seen brown recluses but never black widows. Yikes. I let him kill it while I looked out the kitchen window at him. I have determined I have gardened out back enough for the day and move to the front to mow the lawn.

Of course, there I meet the Latter Day Saints, and they patiently wait for me to turn the mower off when I can I fill the bag no more. I smile and learn I can reach heaven if only I read this pamphlet. Not to make too much fun of course. They only mean well.

God bless nature and all of our religions!

A Dang Hippie

2007-09-15T11:05:00.000-04:00

A few tips from this morning's cooking. Now, I hate waste. We recycle everything and compost our vegetable trash. I feel like I am becoming a dang hippie, but really I am just trying to do my part. And it works.

We have to take out the one trash can maybe once every three weeks! My garden used NO fertilizer this year, just compost and grew like crazy, even in the drought. Anyhoo, on the weekend we eat leftovers from the week, and usually, if there are any vegetables or fruits that didn't get used, I will try to use them up, versus letting them go bad and throwing them away.

This morning we had five apples. So I peeled, cored and chopped them. Sauteed in a little olive oil (butter would be richer, but I didn't have any) I put half in my pancake batter. The other half I mixed with a little brown sugar and threw back in the pan and then served it on top of the pancakes with a little honey.

Other observations:
Soymilk makes a fluffier pancake that regular milk. I even used chocolate soymilk today. No it didn't affect the taste at all.

My girlfriend gave me a mortar and pestle for my b-day a year or two ago, and everyone always makes fun of me claiming it a rather decadent kitchen tool. Well, I actually use it alot. This morning I wanted to use some dark brown sugar in the pancakes and the apples, but of course it was hard as a rock. Mortar fixed that in a second. Thank you mortar, and you too pestle.

As a segue, a good tip if you need a "mash" or "paste" but have neither mortar/pestle, blender or cuisinart, I used to put items to be squished in a ziploc and either smash it with the bottom of a beer bottle or wine bottle, or step on it. Take to remove air bubbles though as you will explode food all over.

A final tip with my "end of the week vegetables" is that you can always make a soup. I just look at what I have to use and then type it in google with "recipe" and something will come up. Who knew there were zucchini and apple soups? Now I do! Eat half and freeze the other half for a night when you are too tired to cook.