Three Strange Days

So the past three days were a trial. I post this so everyone knows that every meal is not perfect. I experiment alot, and I had a good run, but got a serious thumbs down on Sunday's meal. Of course the luxurious Sat. meal pretty much set me up for a fall.

Sunday I personally loved what I made, but I really like vegetarian food and cilantro. The boy likes vegetarian food, but not so much cilantro. Sunday's meal of Asian eggplant in coriander (cilantro) sauce (he hated it) was served with Basmati rice (of course this was fine), tart mango (ewwww! too tart), a sesame cucumber salad (Actually really good flavor wise, but I prepared it wrong, and it was super wet and gushy.) and a pretty bad cold sake. I am spoiled now that I have had the nice sakis from Geisha. My goodness it was lovely to look at, but did not go over well.

Monday was basically an apology meal of a favorite and simple New Orleans special Smoked Sausage with Red beans and rice. Applause all around. Everyone under the sun makes it different. This dish is so fun because if you make it without a recipe like I do, it tastes a little different each time.

The basic ingrediants are a whole smoked sausage, an onion, as many garlic cloves as you want, and a green pepper sauted in olive oil or butter. Then you would add your beans (2 cans or 4 c soaked dried; black or red), tomatoes (5 fresh chopped or 1 large can), some liquid to cover it all with (about 1 cup broth and/or liquor such as sherry, wine or beer) and various spices, in combinations as simple as thyme and bay alone or this time as complex as thyme, bay, oregano, smoked paprika, and a chipotle pepper to finish off the combo. Of course don't forget to salt and pepper...bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat to simmer for about 25 minutes. Taste for seasoning, I often add some hot sauce to it and then serve a scoop or two over warm rice with hot sauce on the table as well. It is a meal better suited for nip of fall or the chill of winter, as it tends to make you sweat and your nose run...but dang its good. A bizarre $3 wine from Kroger by Lost Vineyards of Italy, a Lambrusco, was bizarre, but I think I liked it. We served it chilled.

Tuesday, today was very simple. A potage froid (cold soup) made on the weekend and finished with yogurt, fresh thyme and chives and a salad of spinach, mizuma, a few krinos olives (we are becoming addicted), and a dressing of a few drops of white truffle oil and sea salt. A Sweetwater 420 finished off the meal perfectly.

We are grateful for: doggies and garden (check out those tomatoes!).

It's getting late now, and I think I need a fat free splenda creamsicle! Please let there be a grape one left...

An A+ Meal

The boy is doing very well in school and following his third A in a row, he is rewarded with whatever he wants to eat. He had originally asked for lobster and champagne, but changed his mind in favor of surf and turf. It really was a fabulous meal. We had:

Steak and Scallops salad with Avocado

Make dressing from 1/2 c red wine vinegar, 3tb lemon juice, 2 tsp honey, 2 tsp salt, ground pepp, 1 c olive oil.

Toss handful fresh spinach with handful of arugala (we used mizuma), handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half, 6 oz gorgonzola crumbles.

Grill 1# sirloin/filet/whatever steak med rare with chopped garlic stuck in slits. (About 5 min)

Saute 1/2 # large scallops (We had an obscene 1#, but 1/2 is enough.) Slice in half, salt and pep both sides, saute 3 min each side in olive oil.

Toss salad with a few tb of dressing and plate, place scallops on top. Place steak next to it. Slice avocado in half, remove pit and place n plate; sprinkle with lemon/lime juice so it doesn't discolor.

To Drink: Barefoot Bubbly, Brut Cuvee, six dollars. Wow! We were surprised by (a) that Barefoot made a champagne (Though if you are unfamiliar, champagne can only be called such if it is from the French region of Champagne...it is really just sparkling white wine.) and (b) that it was pretty darn good. It did not quite measure up to the Veuve Cliquots and Doms I've had in my time, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, we were frequent imbibers of J. Roget, a 3-5$ bottle which in contrast is really rather @#$#y. (Of course we were pairing it with Cheetos, and not as concerned with taste.)

Dessert: A rarity in our household, but we splurged on Ciao Bella's Green Tea with White Chocolate Gelato.

We were grateful for: I was grateful for the happiness that studying seems to bring the boy. He grateful for my love and support and the food I cook. (I know, I know...we are SOOOO cheesy.)

Use your noodle

So the boy and I had a random mid week supper with another couple at Noodle ***in Decatur. The atmosphere was very nice. Interior Design very mod, clean and airy asian simplicity. Service was reasonable if a bit absent-minded. (Forks didn't come till after we were served.) Portions were extremely large for the noodles and salad, for entrees, a bit more reasonable.

On their menu they note that "if you don't know what you are ordering to ask" which is a good note, but a rather vague note of "Any menu item may be more or less spicy" might have served the cusotmer better had it been the traditional "this many chili peppers" indicating how hot a dish might be to a customer. Two of the dishes were suprisingly spicy, and we love spicy, but were not expecting it quite at that level. The boy could not eat his food for fear of the wrath o' tummy. Overall, pleasant, but not super fanatastic. And a tad bit pricy for not super fantastic on a weeknight.
We had:

Noodle's rolls and dumplings: curry rolls, shrimp basil roll, spring roll, veggie dumplings
These were the best I think of all the dishes. And they gave you the option of ordering veggie or meat, and fried or steamed...a nice touch. The dipping sauces were all full of flavor, as were the rolls...no bland cabbage only items here.

Sichuan Tofu Salad: greens, tofu, scallions, zucchini, soy beans and spicy sichuan sauce. (Good but spicy, may be better with more select greens, the plebian ones on the plate kinda distracted you from the great taste of the tofu.)

Crunch grouper in thai sweet chili-sauce: Grouper, lightly fried and wok taossed with tomatoes and scallions, braised in a sweet chili-sauce. (This was extremely tasty and very very spicy. The boy was sad. )

Wok tossed udon noodles wih seafood: Fish, shrimp, calamari and mussles in a soy-garlic sauce with onions, mushrooms, carrots and brocoli. (This was nice; the fish was flavorful, but the overall dish a bit blah. )

Miso Udon noddle soup: Japanese miso broth with udon noodles, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas with tofu. (What you'd expect. )

To Drink: Vodka sodas, Vodka tonics and a 420. Though they had a pretty nice asian beer selection.

Food Diary #1 New York City

So it took me several days to assemble my notes, some poorly written and type up the first Food Diary #1. I have several other "reporters" gathering their notes from far away places as well. I won't fuss about, let's get to the good stuff. My goodness what a heavenly four days of eating...

Food Diary #1
Place: New York City
Home: Decatur, GA
Length of Visit: 4 days
Hotel: Hilton, Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan
# in party; 5.5

I apologize if some of the meals are misspelled or slightly askew…we ate and drank a lot…One thing about NYC: man is it expensive, and man is it good. Almost every place we visited was great service, food, drink and often offered amuse bouches, little extras and palate cleansers…lovely.

Thursday Dinner at 7:30
Madison Bistro ****
We ended up here as a fluke. We had confirmed reservations for a restaurant nearby only to find it closed when we arrived. We walked around the corner and into this restaurant. It was a wonderful way to start our meals. They sat us in the back in a private little corner, which allowed us to be as silly as we wanted and tend to our 5-month-old companion without annoying folks. We appreciated it. Everything was sublime. We ate:


Foie gras and apple mini-burgers (Had to order a second order it was so good.)
Charcaturie Plate with homemade pate, dry sausage, saucisson l’oil and prosciutto
Green asparagus wrapped in dry prosciutto with chickpea
Camembert and Scallion Crepe
Crab Cake
Escargot
Mussels with shallots and white wine
Bottle of Chateau Neuf de Pape

As you can see, our young foodie protegee offered to pick up the tab since she was a bit ornery during the meal.

Friday Dinner at 7:30
Victor’s Café***
We had reservations for 20 here on a Friday night, and the service was very very attentive and patient with all of us. Overall the appetizers were much better than the main courses, but the Sangria, great company and obliging service more than made up for any culinary shortcomings. We had amongst our 5.5 of the 20:

Bartolito – Sweet ripe plantains filled with roast pork, olives, and raisons over zesty black bean sauce and goat cheese
Yo quita fita con salsa de cilantro – crispy cassava fingers with aromatic coriander dip
Ceviche de Pargo – Fresh red snapper ceviche marinated in lime, onions, chiles and garlic. (Had to order a second one it was so good.)

Lechon asada an Estilo del Puerto Boniato con Moros Cristianos – Roast Pig marinated in sour orange, olive oil, garlic and herbs
Churrascuro con salsa chimmichuri – grilled angus skirt steak with chimmichuri sauce
Rabo Encendido con Fufu de Plantano – Fork Tender oxtail braised in savory stew of tomatoes, peppers, garlic and burgundy wine
Ropa vieja – Shredded Angus skirt steak simmered in garlic, tomatoes, onions and peppers
Vaca Frita al mojo Agrio con platanos Pintones

Several pitchers of Sangria and a few bottles of wines I forgot to write down

Saturday Brief but Delightful Lunch at 3:00
Chat Noir***
My sisters and I had not yet eaten, so following a chocolate tour of Manhattan shops (another post in and of itself), we eagerly sat down to sustenance at around 3pm at this little bistro. Super cute waiter in a darling suit. "High Falutin' Super Hangover Cure" I call it.

Steak tartare with arugala
Pommes Frites with Truffle Oil and Parmesan (This is the sort of thing that leaves you with your mouth hanging open you are so knocked out by how good it is.)
Haricots vertes
Fromage de la jour
Cassis, Coconut and Cherry Sorbet

Champagne

Saturday Dinner at 7:30
Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center*****
This was perfect. Every single thing we had was five star. Our waiter was knowledgeable; the rest of the staff obliging and helpful. We never wanted it to end. Each course was just as perfect as the preceding. Additionally there was the delightful bonus of calm and steady service. We were never rushed, but left to meander our way through the menu, pausing to savor and delight in our choices. Each dish was delicately prepared allowing for the natural marine flavors to shine through.

Lobster salad with asparagus, cape gooseberries, pea leaves and tomato vinaigrette
Fresh tagliatelle pasta with sweet Main shrimp, basil pesto and spring vegetables
Jumbo crab cake with grainy mustard sauce (One of the best I have ever had in my life)
Miso glazed diver sea scallops with asparagus and mushroom ragout
Shropshire blue cheese with local strawberries and Marcona almonds
Grilled fresh Calamari with garlic-pine nut crust and arugla (This was one of our overall favorite, amazing, “I must try to make this at home” recipes from the entire trip.)
Tempura of zucchini blossoms
Sea Grill chowder with lobster, shrimp and clams
Monkfish ‘ossu bucco’ with fricassee of squash and pine nuts
Special of the Day – Skate crusted in herbs and glazed with miso, served with chanterelles, asparagus and crème fraiche

Rasberry soufflé with thyme ice cream and raspberry reduction
Lillet, Martinis, a nice “Hog” Pinot Noir and Pressed Coffee

Sunday Brunch for Father’s Day at 8:00am
Norma’s at the Parker Meridian****
Good Lord this was a filling and delightful meal. Everyone who recommended this place, and all reviews are accurate. We had an exhausting meal of:

Hudson Valley Duck Confit Hash a Cheval (My god there was seriously 4 ducks killed for the mound on my plate, which 4 other people helping we still couldn’t eat it all)
Artychoked Benedict w/ Truffle Porcini Sauce
Waza- a waffle with fruit inside and out and a brulee top
Huevos Rancheros (I think we liked this best of all)
Mango and Papaya Crepes with Brown Butter

Fresh Squeezed Oj
Two Pots of coffee (Left on our table!)
Pot o Chocolate with those crispy fried bread latin things

Sunday Afternoon Lunch at 1:00
Bouley*****
This was the crown jewel in my culinary adventure in NYC, and the perfect way to finish off the trip.I was treated to this lavish, 3 hour lunch by a dear friend of mine from high school.

Sashimi Quality Tuna with Shaved Fennel Dressed in Herb Oils and a Spicy Marinade
Wild King Salmon with Arrow Leaf Spinach Parsley Root Purée, Clémentines, Mandarines and Blood Orange Sauce
Phyllo Crusted Florida Shrimp, Cape Cod Baby Squid, Scuba Dived Sea Scallop
Sweet Maryland Crabmeat in an Ocean Herbal Broth
Pan Seared Chatham Cod with Peas, Hon-Shimeji and Porcini Mushrooms Truffle Flavored Dashi and Braised Fennel
Roast Pig

Grapefruit Gelée, Elderflower Foam, Greek Yogurt Sorbet
Hot Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé,Vermont Maple Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sorbet

Chilled Lillet, a lovely Alscasian Pinot Noir and Coffee

Cucumbers, eggplants and snow peas, oh my!

So this week has been insanely busy. Conferences and travel and late nights and "galas" and whatnot.

Last night we slowed down for a sec to have Poblano and chihuahua burritos for veggie night, and tonight we had a spectacular cold smorgasbord. Both were "non recipe nights" just made up from cooking experience. And once you have messed around and have a good idea about the chemistry involved in cooking and standard flavor combinations, you can make alot from nothing or everything in your fridge.


Poblano and chihuahua burritos w/ blue corn chips and spinach, mushroom and vidalia salad

Burritos

2 poblanos
1.5 c cooked rice
1 c Shredded Monterrey jack or about 5 pieces of chihuahua per burrito
3 whole wheat tortillas
nonfat sr. cream
chives or scallions (a few)
lime

Put poblanos whole in hi broiler or over gas flame is you have a gas stove and char the outside skin all around. Remove and place in a paper bag and close for 10min.

Meanwhile bring to boil 3 c of water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or use chicken broth from cans, or veggie if vegetarian). Add 1.5 cup of jasmine , but regualr long grain rice will do). Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Take poblanos out and remove charred skin and top with seeds and discard. Chop coarsely.

When rice is finished, take about 1.5 cups of it and mix with about 1 cup of sr. cream, poblanos, chives/onions, salt and pepper to taste.

Lay out tortillas and spoon mixture along center, place cheese along rice. Squirt fresh lime over it all. Wrap up tortilla into burrito, if necessary use a skewer or toothpick to hold it together. Place on foreman like grill and press for about 5 minutes to melt/crisp tortilla.

Serve with salad of chopped fresh spinach, mushroom and vidalia (or normal yellow) onions and blue corn chips.

We like fresh salad dressings so I make a tiny bit that mimics the flavors of what we are eating each night...it take like a second. The basic idea to remember is something acidic + olive oil. Tonight's was a dash of soy sauce, ground cumin, a squirt of lime juice, salt, pepper and olive oil.



Tonight we had a lovely "clean out the fridge" and "use most vegetables" night since I am going out of town for a few days. Our cool and refreshing smorgasbord included:


Giardinara (pickeld vegetables)
French Cornichons (little pickles)
Cucumber salad with dill, yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper (Our first cuke from the garden!!!!)
Lox with snipped chives, cream cheese and lemon wedges
Cold Chilled celery and snow pea soup with sourdough croutons
Another Redwood Sauvingnon Blanc

The only thing really requiring work was the soup which I had make the night before and left to chill over night.



Chilled Celery and snow soup
1 bunch celery chopped (except tough root)
2 c snow peas with ends snipped, string removed if annoying
1 onion chopped
1/2 c fresh oregano chopped
2 potatos peeled and chopped
1 quart broth
1 c yogurt
snipped chives for garnish
2 TB butter + dash of olive oil


Put butter, olive oil and all vegetables in to large soup pot and saute over med high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Add broth and oregano and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, or if you live dangerously move to next step.


Puree soup till smooth, salt and pepper to taste. Chill for 2-4 hours or overnight. Stir in yogurt (or sr cream or milk or heavy cream if you like) before serving and garnish with chives. Good Stuff.

Today we are grateful for: the boy is grateful for beating his buddy at Cricket (darts) for the first time ever, and I am grateful for the cool things that come out of the garden!!!

Saffron and Kangaroos

Today was interesting. It was a friend's birthday and so we all went up to Dawsonville, Georgia to visit a Kangaroo Conservation Park. 300 Kangaroos, so close, and I didn't even know it. They have more species of Kangaroos there than in Australia! And some of the other animals, the world's largest pigeon, for example (It was huge! and blue!) and the boy's favorites "lorries" and "Lorrikeets" were absolutely stunning. The day was very hot, but very beautiful.

Our friend's birthday was very nice, and I happen to know the couple is off to dinner at Kevin Rathbun's new steakhouse which opened only a week or two ago. I can't wait to hear how it was! Prior to kangaroo adventure, we had a lovely picnic of: a dry chardonnay, a selection of cheese, olives and cornichons; some lovely sandwiches, a simple mesclun salad and a ricotta salata, herb, almond and tomato salad that was quite refreshing. Dessert was fresh cherries, dark chocolate and a two bite brownie hot and gooey from the sun!

Brief descriptions of versions of the salad:

Toss:

3 tomato chopped (or 2 cups watermelon)

About 1.5 cups chopped ricotta salata (or feta)

Handful of mint/basil/parsley or mixture thereof

1 cup toasted almonds (or pine nuts)

2-3 tb olive oil

2-4 shakes of the red wine vinegar over it all

Let sit and chill. Dinner this evening was very southern and very good. It was homey and simple and the boys were happy. We had Grilled Pork, saffron and corn mashed potatoes and mustard greens.

Pork

1 1-1.5 inch thick butterfly chop rubbed with dry sage, two cloves chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Grilled for about 9 minutes on foreman type grill and split in three.

Saffron Corn Mashed Potatoes

Boil 4-5 potatoes in salted water till tender (about 20 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Saute 1 cup corn, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 3/4 onion in 2 tb olive oil for about 4 minutes. Pour in 1 c milk and bring to boil. Throw in a pinch of saffron, stir, remove from heat. Put lid on and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, get your taters and mashed them in their pot. Let them dry out a bit over low heat. Throw in about 4 tb butter. Mix in saffron/milk mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mustard Greens

Wash these a bunch of these bad boys REALLY well. Usually you plunge them in water and swish 'em around, then drain the water and repeat. Chop rough, or just tear a couple of handfuls up.

Put about 1 inch water in a stock pot with a bouillon cube and bring to boil. Throw greens in and put them under the water. Put about 1-2 tb red wine vinegar (or some other vinegar in) and swish around. These cook fast, but keep an eye on, every minute or so take a piece out and taste it to see if it is tender and not bitter. When it hits that point, drain. You can save the water or "pot likker" and drink it later if you want. It is a really rich with nutrients and flavor broth. MMMM good. Put your greens back in their pot and toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and juice of 1/4 lemon.

We are grateful for today: The boy is grateful for the kangaroos; he thought they were the bee knees. I am grateful for a last minute massage appointment I managed to squeeze in; I pulled a muscle in my back...erg. The other boy is grateful for dinner.

Happy Fava's Day

Veggie night tonight was totally awesome. We didn't even use forks. When do you get the chance to do that! And we had several very good things, some new, some old, that all complimented each other very well and really filled us up with vegetarian goodness.

We had: Curried Carrot Fritters, Grilled Fava Beans, Butter Lettuce Salad and Pappadums.

Curried Carrot Fritters
4 carrots, with ends trimmed off, leave skin on
About 1/2 cup flour
About 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tb curry powder
salt

Make your bread crumbs first and then shred your carrots either with a grater, or this time, I just threw all the ingredients into the cuisinart and pulsed till mixed, but not gooey. Put about 1/2 c oil (I used Canola, don't use olive)in pan on hi heat till shimmering, and then drop tbs of batter into oil and cook about 1-2 minutes then flip and repeat, should be browned on both sides. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

Grilled Fava Beans (Revolutionary Concept!)

About 15 pods of Fava Beans fresh
2tb olive oil
crushed red pepper
lemon
kosher or sea salt

Wash the pods and toss with olive oil, throw on a hot grill for about 5 minutes with lid down. They should be charred, flip em over if you want and let cook for about 1 min more. Remove and toss with pepper and sea salt. Squirt with a piece of fresh lemon if you like. Eat them whole or pop our the beans. We found the pods to be tender with a lovely charred taste, though the weird "spine" running up both sides can be annoying.

Salad
Just some butter lettuce, tomatoes and fresh lemon

Pappadums!
I love Indian breads and whatnot, but these things are a pain in the you-know-what to make from scratch, not a weekday menu item. However, I had read about a kind of premade one that you can just throw in the microwave. I have looked for it ever since at the market and the grocery and finally they carry them at the Farmer's Market! Vimal is the brand. You just throw one in the micro for 1.5 minutes and Voila! A Hot crispy pappadum. It's like a lentil crispy tortilla, or tostada.

Wine: We drank the other bottle we got the other night with this meal, and it went down very well also. It was a Redwood Creek $6 Sauvignon Blanc. Since I love the Redwood Pinot Noir so much, I decided to let the winery try to woo me with a white, not an easy task. I much prefer red wine. However, this was just plain great. It was crisp and clean and refreshing, especially in contrast to the warm flavors of our meal.

We are grateful for: the boy was thankful no one got hurt in the bus crash he was in today (sigh Marta). I was grateful for the Fava Beans, um, I mean I was grateful he didn't get hurt!

Kebabs and Canoodling

The boy and I went to Kroger to run errands; somehow that ended up including two bottles of wine and two different ice creams. The tone for the night was set.

Supper was fun and another exercise in new flavors. Since again I barely followed the recipe, I will just describe what we ate. We had kielbasa, vidalia, red pepper, sourdough skewers grilled with a rosemary marinade and served over arugala. Each of us also had half a beautiful emerald green avocado with a tiny squeeze of lime over it and a bit 'o kosher salt. (It's okay, avocados are GOOD fat!)Right before bed we indulged in a scoop each of root beer float and mocha chocolate ice cream...of course they were low fat, splenda! Why do you ask?

Wine: Tonight's wine was Twin Fin, a cabernet running about $9 at your local grocery store. I always admired the label, and broke down to pay the ten bucks for it...it was worth it. it practically leaped out of the bottle and said "I'm ready!" A rare thing for a lower priced cabernet. It was good stuff. Sadly though, the lovely boy was "helping" by opening the bottle and cut himself. He was using a classic wine opener with much expertise, however it turned out it was a screw top. I think this is the first one we have run into, but I have heard of them. It was an easy mistake to make.

What we are thankful for: Frankly, we had a few drinks after dinner, and I can't remember what we were grateful for then, but I know that the rest of the evening was spent on our front lawn laying on a blanket in the cool night air with our dogs. We talked and drank and blasted every Beatle album we own loud enough so we could hear it outside on the lawn. I am thankful that we can still feel like we are on a first date even now after all these years.

All spiced up and nowhere to go

Took the train home and got into my car at the station only to realize I left my keys on my desk at the office. Sigh. Thank goodness there is a bus I can take, so I ran and jumped on it. I was perturbed to say the least by the time I got home, not to mention kinda sweaty.

But as usual, cooking soothes me. I was intrigued by this recipe for Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce. It has fennel and leeks in it, something I had not put in pasta before, though I adore leeks. So I gave it a shot, only to discover half way through that I really didn't use/have a lot of the ingredients, so I just used what I wanted, and it still came out really delightful and new. Here's my version:

Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce
served with Arugala and Garlic toasts (originally from Bon Appetit)

For Pasta
1/4 c virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only, chopped, rinsed)
1 1/4 # plum tomatoes (okay here I just used about 3/4 of leftover chopped can tomatoes -the big can, and two diced fresh Romas)
1/2 c dry white wine (here I used some horrid vermouth not worth a martini...I know I am supposed to use best quality liquors in cooking, but really, I am not throwing it in the trash, and it has done really well in pasta sauces)
1 tb white wine vinegar (I used red)

12oz linguine (I used 8)

1 3/4 c freshly grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)

Saute first five ingrediants over med hi heat about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; stir 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar; bring to boil. Put lid on and cook till tomatoes fall apart, stir often. In meantime put pasta on to cook. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. (I forgot that step) Toss Pasta, sauce, 3/4 c of cheese. Use pasta water to thin if too dry/sticky. Serve.

For Salad: Handful of Arugala, a few krinos oil cured olives, a few drops of olive oil and lime juice, dash of salt.

For toasty cheesy guys:
This came out really awesome, now I am pretty sure that most people do not have a mortar and pestle, but I do, and this is the first time I used it for this purpose because I was too lazy to clean the food processor. I threw 1 peeled clove of garlic chopped in with 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c pecorino, 5 twists of pepper mill, a bit o' salt and squished it around with the pestle. Obviously you can blend it with the machine or if you feel violent put it all in a baggie and smash/hit it with a rolling pin/baseball bat/hammer, whatever. Smear it on a few pieces of bread (french being common or some sort of crusty loaf; I had neither and used sourdough) and Broil for like 1 minute on low broil.

You can make the toasts with pretty much any dry italian cheese and oil/butter/margerine, and even experiment with adding olives or tomatoes or nuts or herbs.

Beverages were an excellent 2007 Big K Diet Cola with lime and a Citrus Drop.

Today we are grateful for: the boy is grateful for his multiple papers being finished and this class being almost finished; I am grateful for my Otto, my pitbull, who always lays at my feet when I am in my office, and Heidi, a fat beasty girl, who lays on the floor by my head when I do pilates and pants in my ear.

Oh Boy! Bok Choy!

Whew. These late nights are killing me. I am too old to being staying up that late. Went to the Farmers Market today to shop. I shop one week at Kroger and one week at Farmer's Market each month. It works out pretty well. The produce and meats are so much better and cheaper at the market, but you can't buy things like TP there...

Dinner tonight was SO easy and really nice for a hot June night.

Grilled Salmon & Baby Bok Choy with ginger and garlic and cabbage

I adapted this from a Bon Appetit recipe which serves 12, mine serves 2

1 large skinless salmon fillet
2 tb asian sesame oil
4 large garlic cloves
2 tb chopped peeled fresh ginger
6 baby bok choy washed and cut lengthwise in half
5 tb sherry
1/4 c soy sauce
handful or two of shredded cabbage
lime
tinfoil

Turn barbecue on med hi. Make two big rectangles of tin foil. On one place the salmon and rub it with sesame oil both sides. Salt and pepper it. Sprinkle half the ginger and the garlic on it. Drizzle with half the soy sauce and sherry. Fold up the little packet.

On other rectangle place the baby bok choy. Drizzle with sesame oil; sprinkle with garlic, ginger, remaining soy sauce and sherry. Close up packet, if you have to use another peice of tinfoil to make a "cover" for it, that's cool.

Put Bok Choy packet on grill for about 10 minutes. When that 10 minutes is up, leave it on the grill and add the salmon packet to the grill as well. Grill for 10 more minutes. Keep an eye on the bok choy, if it smells burny, take it off the heat. After that 10 minutes, turn off heat, open grill and open the packets a little. Let them sit about 10 minutes.

Place bok choy on plate, cut fillet in half lengthwise and place over choy. Add a handful of of cold cabbage to plate. Drizzle everything on plate with a little lime juice. Drizzle cabbage also with soy sauce and pepper.

Fresh, light, no dishes, and no extra heat in the house...what more could you want from a summer meal?

Today we are thankful for: the boy finished a paper he was working on; I am happy I finished some invitations I was working on.

Getting High and Bowing Low

Today began with a visit to Atlanta's High Museum to catch the Annie Leibowitz exhibit. It was exquisite. I came to tears several times at her beautiful photography.

We headed from the museum to have dinner at Geisha at Atlantic Station. We had very early reservations, and they seemed perplexed as to why we were there. We had noticed there was a lovely terrace upstairs and since it was a beautiful day, asked if we could go up and have a drink on it. We were informed it was not open yet for today. So we asked if we could have a drink at the bar, and were informed the bar didn't open for another half hour.

Very bizarre. Why would you have reservations accepted before the bar was open? So we looked around and then asked if we could be seated since there really wasn't much else to do.

The ambiance inside Geisha is lovely. It is very modern, vibrant and dramatic decked out in rich red, luxe upholstery, mod light fixtures, and extremely high ceilings. Though I had to admit it was pretty dark in there. One guest just could not read the menu unless she held the table's candle over it! And as sexy as the atmosphere was, they couldn't seem to decide on their music selection as it moved from smooth jazz to rock in roll and back and forth. Strange.

The food and the service however were fabulous. Our server, Chrissy, was extremely friendly and helpful. She went out of her way to find a mundane piece of information for us, and frequently checked in on us as the meal progressed. The timing of the courses was steady, but not rushed. Presentation was clean and minimalist. She didn't balk when we asked her to split the bill.

All of us started with a flight of cold saki. All three were light, refreshing and balanced the flavor of our meals nicely. A little chilled edamame was served while we tried to decide what to order. First courses were individual: the miso with tofu and scallions was exactly that, a miso with shitake mushrooms was heavenly, the smoky flavor of the mushrooms delicate and aromatic, and a special hand roll, the Marilyn Monroll, salmon tempura, chiles and avocado was okay.

Second course was beef Robata-Yaki, or skewers of filet mignon and asparagus served with three sauces. The beef was juicy and tender, cooked medium rare and flavorful all alone. The mustard sauce was a favorite while the teriyaki was pretty much ignored and the chile sauce painfully spicy.

Third course was Pacific Tuna with Crispy white onions and an asian mustard sauce. This was fresh and light. And quickly gobbled up by my companions, however the snowfall of onions could have been a little lighter.

Finally we shared three types of sushi:
Heaven:Chopped Toro, Special Tuna, Spicy Tuna and cucumber
Red Samurai: Spicy Tuna and cucumber with Avocado, grape tomatos, serrano and a vinegarette
Pink Lady: Bobu Arare Shrimp, cucuber, Tobiko and Spicy crab with eel sauce

All three were delicious. Pink Lady was hands down the favorite, and I thought the Red Samurai with the vinegarette was very unique. One thing about Geisha is that the rolls are thankfully not overloaded with rice, and in fact you can order them with less rice or none at all. Additionally, they are wrapped in rice paper versus nori, which the consnsus was that we liked the change as it allowed the flavors of the fish to shine brighter without having to compete with the salty sea flavor of the seaweed.

For dessert we sampled a trio of creme brulee including a green tea version which was creamy and luxe, and a ginger pudding with green tea ice cream. The pudding was brightly flavored and paired nicely with the richness of the ice cream. A sugared ginger and fresh strawberry garnish was a surprising compliment.

Overall, the food at Geisha was very good at every stage of the meal. Everyone remarked that the whole experience was very pleasurable. While the prices may be a bit high here for those whom enjoy gorging on sushi, the extra cost is every bit worth it as the flavors were delicately blended and a step above most sushi restaurants. The saki also was a welcomed accompaniment to the meal. I am a changed woman; I will never drink warm saki again.

Ironically, about 6 hours later, I ended up at the Majestic, where I finished the night off with the french fries I was craving the night before, alas no gravy again...so I suffered with cheese and corned beef hash on my fries...The Majestic by the way is just that, majestic. It was the first restaurant I ever ate at in Atlanta, and we have visited many times, always late at night. Another 24 hour institution.

Waffle House

Sometimes you just need a classic. Last night I got home at 9:00 and was too tired to cook. The house already smelled of popcorn, so I knew the boy had given into its quick and 94% fat free delight. I followed suit and made some for myself, though that was the beginning of the sinning.

You see, a couple weeks back I needed some pasta so a stole some from a box of mac n' cheese. I threw out the box and saved the cheese packet because I thought I could use it "for something." That something ended up being sprinkled over the 94% fat free popcorn which quickly morphed into 94% fat popcorn. And boy is it good. You only need like a tbs from the little packet, and it is wonderful.

My brain was pretty tired so I tried to soothe it with a martini or two, and I must have relaxed it too much because several episodes of Law and Order later I was starving. So was the boy. We were practicing french and thinking about what food we wanted to eat there when we visited when I remembered a french version of french fries, cheese and gravy called poutine. (Something we used to eat in New Orleans alot.) We decided we need to eat this right away. So we headed to Waffle House.

Mind you, the martinis conveniently hid the fact that Waffle House does not serve french fries or gravy...but we didn't care. We walked in to a packed Waffle House at midnight, and on the Waffle House jukebox JT informed me that while I ate, he would be 'bringing sexy back." There was no turning back.

First we ordered: the boy had coffee, a philly cheesesteak melt, chili with cheese and hashbrowns smothered and diced. I had a diet coke with a philly cheesteak melt and hashbrowns covered. Then we hit the jukebox and played: Johnny Cash, Usher, Marvin Gaye, Jan and Dean, Barry White, Al Green, Death Cab for Cutie, Gnarls Barkley, John Cougar Mellancamp and Gretchen Wilson.

We dug into our food and finished it all. In a fit of madness I ordered a double order of hashbrowns all the way, and in a guilty and increasingly painful silence, we ate them all as well.

It was, as all our meals at Waffle House are, delightful in every way. We are such fans that I have written the corporate headquarters extolling the virtues of their organization, and gone so far as to inquire about franchising opportunities, which interestingly enough are available only to employees. I love that. A company with a heart. A company that is centered around nurturing and encouraging their employees from the ground up, and they serve great food at great prices by a great staff 24 hours a day. No wonder they are so successful and so prolific.

It was a good night. I promptly went home and immediately went to sleep.