Vive le New Year!

We went over to friends' for a French-themed NYE dinner party last night. I "signed up" to bring soup and bread... I'll try to update this later to include the outcome of the soup.

I'd never tried to make French bread at home before. No-knead bread is so easy, I usually stick with that, but I wanted to try it today. I started with Amanda Hesser's recipe from The Essential New York Times Cookbook for "An Honest Loaf of French Bread." It seemed like a fair compromise between my usually lazy bread-making practices and the all-out 30 minutes of kneading that Julia Child's baguette recipe requires.

Anyway, here's my version of the French bread recipe... you can see the results above.

1 1/8 t yeast (I used instant because that's what I had in the pantry... if you use normal yeast, proof it in 1/4 c lukewarm water)
1 1/4 c water
2 T unsalted butter
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt 

Combine water and butter in a small saucepan and heat on super-low heat until the butter melts ~95-110 degrees, if you have a thermometer. Combine the yeast, flour and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the warm butter-water and blend for ~10 seconds until the dough forms into a ball and starts to pull away from the sides.

 Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead quickly a few times with floured hands to shape it into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover to rise for 30-40 mins until doubled in size. This works best in a warm spot.

 Turn out onto floured surface again and knead briefly. Return to the bowl for another nap (till doubled in size) ~30-60 mins.

 Turn out and roll into a ball. Let rest for 5 mins. Flatten into a rectangular shape and roll it up into a cylinder. Put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment, seam-side-down with the ends folded under. Cover with a kitchen towel and let her nap again, about 15-30 mins.

As the dough does the final rise, heat the oven to 450. Just before placing in the oven, spray a sharp knife with oil and cut 3 diagonal slashes in the dough. Throw 4 ice cubes in the bottom of the oven and bake for 5 mins. Add another 4 ice cubes, and bake for 10 mins. Reduce the oven heat to 400 and bake for 15-20 mins longer, until the crust is nice and brown. That's 30-35 minutes in the oven total.

Cool on a rack for at least 10 mins. Yum!

Thank you, colony of swine!

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.

victory chili

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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...

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.