Help and Helpings

Kitchen Day

2011-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Some days I just love to futz around the kitchen; getting stuff in order, planning my meal for the night, sizing up how long the leftovers have been sitting in the fridge, figuring out what to do with the odds and ends of food, chopping up and freezing any produce that is about to go bad, blah blah blah.

Today was a kitchen day. I started off using up the rest of my basil, spinach,and arugula in a pesto, using the basis of a Giada De Lauretis recipe from Everyday Italian

Next up I poached some chicken breasts to make a pesto chicken salad. The Nantucket Open House Cookbook has an incredibly easy method where you add carrots, celery leaves, parsley, onion slices and a dash of salt and pepper to water, pop in the breasts and bring it to a boil. Then you turn the heat off and let the mixture cool, the breasts come out super tender and the liquid can be used as a stock.

The rest of the breasts I brined so I could grill them up later, since I love having cooked chicken in the fridge. How to Grill is my go to source for basic barbecue.

I threw some wrinkly potatoes in the oven, and then finished them off on the grill. So good and crispy.

Nigella Lawson will always cop to hating to waste food and many of her recipes in Nigella Express

So upon finding some stale muffins in the fridge I turned them into.....

this, caramel bread pudding for my husband of the voracious sweet tooth.

And to finish off the day, I added some trimmings to my compost, which is part of my "Zero Waste Kitchen Project" (More on that later)

So, that is a day in my kitchen, nothing earth shattering or cancer curing, but it's like yoga for me. Relaxing and cleansing.

Well, hello there!!!

2011-07-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

This picture of me (on the left), my mother, and my sisters; I think rather correctly displays our dismay at my having fallen off the blogging wagon. My apologies my friends, I just fell out of the blogging habit without even realizing it. Apparently there is this thing called discipline, and not only have we stopped speaking, I have a feeling that discipline has left the building.
Well, not to worry all, I had a good talking to my old self and we are back in the game. I won't even try to bore you with litany of all the "obstacles" I have been dealing with in the past few months, because, truly, I was the only obstacle in the way of this getting back on track. So today I decided to set the wheels in motion by doing the following things:
1) Make a list of all the stuff I want to blog about: My killer bloody mary, my unhealthy obsession with making shabu shabu, a listing and links to some of my favorite party cookbooks, etc, etc
2) Start getting back into reading food blogs and sites (Gawker, Jezebel, and Crazy Days and Nights are SUCH time suckers)
3) Making a Broccoli and White Bean Soup that my newly found food twin Julie Sanders suggested on my catering company's Facebook page, and then posting the pics on the blog.
4) Doing one, two and finishing three and then realizing that I forgot to take pictures.

Oh, well. I am still a bit rusty.

Broccoli and Bean Soup

2-3 cloves of garlic
1 32oz bag of broccoli
5 cups of water
1-2 cans of white beans (depending on how thick you want your soup)
Salt and pepper
Cumin

Take skin off garlic and throw in whole or a little crushed up into a large soup pot. Add water, salt and broccoli to pot, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and let the broccoli cook until it's mushy. Turn the heat off and drain about 1 cup of the water out and reserve. Dunk a hand held mixer into the pot until all the broccoli is pureed, add the drained and rinsed beans and mix again, adding the reserve water if it needs to be thinned out a touch. You could also add some white wine (Thanks Julie!) instead or as well. Add salt and pepper to taste, add a dash of cumin if you like and serve with some sour cream or plain yogurt.

NOTE: I made this tonight and it is delicious. I see no reason why this wouldn't work as a cold soup, but am am not sure. So I will hold off calling it a hot or cold soup until I try in the morning. Those beans might turn on me if I don't get them completely pureed and no one likes little bits of cold beans in anything (A sweeping, but I feel universal, statement).

NEXT DAY NOTE: Double win! This soup is both better the next day and excellent cold.

In Honor of My East Coast Brethren, I make a nice warm Chile Verde

2011-02-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

I had a 3.75 pork loin roast staring at me from the fridge, seriously, just looming on the second shelf giving me the old hairy eyeball. Via the Facebook page for my catering and personal chef business; Tasty Bites-Cocktail Party Catering I mentiond my conundrum and was given the suggestion of makeing chile verde, DING! I consult my handy dandy Essentials of Slow Cooking by Williams Sonoma and break out the crock pot.

Chile Verde ~ Julie Style

3.75-4lb boneless pork cut in one inch cubes

S&P

6-7 4oz cans diced, roasted green chiles

6 tomatillios, roughly chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

4 tablespoons garlic paste (my cloves ended up looking pretty gnarly, so I improvised)

1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped

2 cups chicken broth

3 firm, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp cumin

Place pork cubes in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tsps salt and 1 tsp pepper, toss to coat well

Place pork and the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker (note, this is a large amount so you will need to use a big-ole crock pot. Either that or halve the recipie). Cover and cook until the pork is tender. 4 hours high-heat or 8 hours low-heat setting. Salt and pepper to taste.

If you are doing a stove top version, place all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 2-3 hours.

Serve with warmed corn tortillas, sour cream, and chopped fresh cilantro

Shortcrust to perfection

2010-12-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Martha Stewart has this fantastic little publication called Everyday Food that is one of my absolute favorite cooking sources. It's a cooking magazine, not a food one. That sounds strange but let me explain; most food magazines have some test kitchen recipes with a similar theme (Pies! Family Dinner! Braising!), a dinner party article, a chef fluff piece (sometimes they are the same article), one or two advice columns, and perhaps and article on artisan _____ in Podunk ______ that the family has been making for 200 years. (Frankly the blanks are interchangeable from one article to the next). Everyday Food is just about cooking and it holds a place of honor in my tiny kitchen as I utilize the magazines as much as I do my Nigella Lawson library.

In the November issue I nearly fainted with joy upon seeing the the headline "Easy Savory Pies and Tarts" so I made a few. But the real treat was the pastry recipe they have and it does not involve hunks of cold butter and delicate hands or using the Kitchen Aid mixer.

2 Cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup cold water
1 tsp Salt

Combine flour, oil, water, salt and combine with a fork. Knead dough for 1 minute, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. Roll out dough.

I have used this for pizza, a broccolini and feta tart, and as the crust for turkey pot pie. So easy and fast and the perfect recipie to keep in your arsenal if, like me, you have a secret wish to dominte the world with your fabulousness.

Green Screen

2010-12-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

My favorite cookbook author Nigella Lawson has instilled in me a new obsession with peas. She likes them frozen, fresh, or canned and has lots of nifty options for them all. This recipe came from Nigella Express, an amazingly fantastic resource for home cooking as well as super easy catering ideas. At my cousin's baby shower I made this fantastically creamy and delicious avocado and pea puree that I served over crackers with a dash of paprika; genius.

This being winter* in southern California I have been breaking out the soup recipes. (And yes, I said that with a straight face, please see note.) Soup is the ultimate comfort food (after mashed potatoes of course) so I love to whip up a few batches at a time and pretty much just have that for lunch and dinner with some crackers or bread being the variant. So this soup was a no brainer and it used stuff I had around the house, which is a killer move. Nancy Silverton, had a cookbook out a while back, called A Twist of the Wrist, that kind of had that same idea, but who the heck has stuff like "truffled Italian cheese", "jarred onions", or "mostarda" sitting around the house? I don't even know what "mostarda' is much less use it in my cooking. But I digress.....

So...peas and soup. Here's how it goes, Take one can sweet peas, one cup water and 2 cubes frozen pesto which I found in the nether regions of my deep freeze.

Throw them all together in a sauce pan until the pesto thaws and it starts to look soupy, add some more water if it looks too thick. As this is cooking throw in the juice of 1/2 a lime. When the soup starts to boil turn it off and throw in the emmersion blender until its all one, smooth texture.

Top with salt and course pepper and enjoy. Serves one.

Nigella's Original is as follows.

3 cups water
3 cups frozen peas
2 scallions, coarsley chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 cup fresh pesto (not jarred)

Bring water to a boil, add the peas, scallions, salt and lime juice and let everything boil together for 7 minutes. Discard the scallions and blitz the peas and their liquid with the pesto in a blender. Makes 2 hearty bowls.

*No, its true, we do have seasons here, and it's a little more drastic than "Sunny"; we also have "Mostly Sunny" "Partially Sunny" and "Mostly Sunny and Breezy" bitches.

P to the Umpkin, Chiffon to the Izzay.

2010-11-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

This is a straight bite from Penzey's website. A few years ago I grew tired of making the same rich pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. As nice as it is, cheesecake is too damn heavy after you've gotten your turkey on. This pie, though labor intensive, is worth the effort, especially with the wonderful crust. It's a bit lighter than a traditional pump-pie, and not at all heavy like a cheesecake. It is sweet as hell, so those who are afraid of sugar should beware!

My Tips:

- They tell you to use a 9" pie plate. I use a 9" pyrex and it is way too small to accommodate all of the chiffon filling (I seem to forget this every year). You will be left with a LOT of extra filling, so you could either make this into 2 8" pies (though you'd need more crust) or do what I do: put the extra filling into ramekins and crumble cinnamon grahams over it for a midnight pudding snack.

- The graham crumbs for the crust should be super fine. If you can't get them very fine, you'll need to press the crust VERY flat against the plate or else you'll lose the ability to get a lot of filling volume in there.

-You may get carpal tunnel from stirring the filling constantly for 15 minutes. It's the only part of this that I hate.

-As usual, I never make anything that I can't make non-dairy. I used soy milk and it came out fine.

Pie Shell :

11/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs (graham cracker crumbs are sold in the baking section and a 131/2 oz. box equals 3 cups–or use a rolling pin to crush whole graham crackers)
1/3 Cup sugar
1 tsp. CINNAMON (we used KORINTJE)
6 TB. butter, melted

Pie Filling:

3 eggs, separated
1 Cup sugar, divided
11/4 Cup canned pumpkin (most of a 15 oz. can)
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. PUMPKIN PIE SPICE
1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
1/4 Cup cold water
1 envelope Knox gelatin

Preheat oven to 350°. Place the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and CINNAMON into a bowl, drizzle with melted butter. Mix by hand until blended. Press into an ungreased 9” regular or deep dish pie plate (we prefer glass), using your fingers to gently guide the crust up the sides of the pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes in preheated oven until crust is golden brown. Remove crust from oven, let cool before filling.
While pie shell is baking, prepare the filling. Separate eggs into yolks and whites. Set egg whites aside. Place egg yolks in a small, heavy saucepan or a double boiler, beat lightly. Add 1/2 cup sugar, pumpkin, milk, salt, PUMPKIN PIE SPICE and VANILLA. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. The filling should be hot enough to thicken, but it shouldn’t be bubbling. Remove saucepan from heat. Pour water into a mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin powder over water. Don’t do this more than a minute before adding the pumpkin mix, or the gelatin will set and won’t blend well with the pumpkin. Add hot pumpkin mixture, mix thoroughly. Cool. While filling is cooling, whip the egg whites until frothy, then gradually add 1/2 cup sugar. Use the highest speed on the mixer and beat until the mixture is glossy and stiff (3-5 minutes). Combine the cooled pumpkin mix with the egg whites by very gently folding together with a flexible spatula until creamy and blended. When blended thoroughly, the filling will be a creamy, light orange (see photo). Pour into the baked pie shell, smoothing the top with a spatula or butter knife. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours before serving. The pie will be fine made a day ahead of time. Serve with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Serves: 8-12
Prep./cooking time: about 1 hour from start to finish

That's IT!

2010-11-24T15:14:00.000-08:00

My breakfast companion and I got a "make it yourself" batch of mimosas this morning and he poured. But since I have this nasty "foodie" lable that hangs over my head he was nervous about meteing out the drinks (so he told me). He, very sincerly, asked me what the porpotion was in order to make a perfect mimosa. The answer is: whatever tastes good to you.
And that is the problem with the foodie revival: we sometimes forget that food is just about eating. Please remember this when you try something new in the kitchen, when you apologize to your friends for ordering the plain rice, or when all you just want is the chicken. Do it. Life is short and food should always taste good...to you.

Julie

It's that time of year!!!

2010-10-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hurst's beans has a soup mix that will make you HAPPY! I have found this at every last supermarket I have ever been in and have never seen it for more that $4.00. There are a few means of making this mix, the package has these instructions:
1lb of ham, ham hocks, or smoked sausage
1 cup onion, chopped
1 15oz can stewed or diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

You can go one of two ways:
1)Soak the bean mix overnight, or at least 8 hours, drain and and 2 quarts of water with the meat. Bring beans to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 1/2 hours. After add onion, tomatoes, chili powder, lemon and garlic. Simmer for another 30 minutes.Salt and pepper to taste. (There is a flavor packet, but I don't use it considering that there are 15 beans in the mix all of which I can pronounce and the of the 6 ingredients in the packet I can pronounce "salt" and artifical flavorings".)

2) Rinse the beans, place in a pot with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat, cover and continue to boil for 70 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add meat, onion, tomatoes, blah blah blah. Simmer for 45 minutes longer, salt and pepper to taste.

This can be made vegan, by eliminating the ham. There are lots of variations to this soup and stovetop is just one option. This cute blog has a fantastic recipie that involves chicken and sausage all tossed in the pressure cooker. Its a fabulous crock pot option as well.

This is amazing with crusty bread and a bottle of wine. Serves 4 hungry people for dinner and 6 with a 1/2 sandwich or a big salad.

How to put a hangover in its place

2010-09-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

*I don't have any pictures so I will pull stock photos to illustrate my point. What? I was hungover and ate the entire thing in 2 minutes.

I will admit this is a rift on my Favorite cookbook author Nigella Lawson and her Bacon and Tomato hash. In her show she makes it as a late night, after drinking snack and eats it straight out of the frying pan. The episode is Breakfast at all Hours, take a look see. She is fantastic.
Initially I was thinking about a nice fat breakfast burrito, but wanted to include potatoes. California Burritos are pure gold in that they include fried potatoes wrapped up with all the other ingredients. I'm sure they relate to surfing convenience, but there is no better combination for soaking up all that leftover vodka in your system after you have guzzled a gallon of water and taken a handful of Advil.

Take 2 small potatoes and microwave them on high for 5 minutes. Make very strong coffee steeped with cinnamon and cloves. When the potatoes are done rough cut them up into big chunks. Make sure you use a fork to handle them since they will be hot and a hangover means you need to eat NOW, so no waiting for them to cool dangit!
Sautee with chopped garlic and shallots in a little glug of olive oil or a splash of chicken broth if you want them to be a little softer. Throw in some chopped up bacon and roasted tomatoes or plain old fresh tomatoes and cook until the bacon is crispy and the potatoes have a nice little crust. Drink water and pull up chair by the stove if you need to sit or the room is still spinning. (please note this was not me this morning, but I do know how bad it can be)
At this point you can add the eggs one of two ways:
1) Fry separately, over easy and throw on top of the hash so when you cut into them to yolks slowly seep into the mix.
OR opt for the faster so you can go back to bed
2)Crack two eggs over the mix and scramble until firm.

Heat up a burrito size tortilla over an open burner, make it about 10 seconds max on each side. Shove all ingredients inside and add cheese (optional), Trader Joe's Salsa Verde

Which I keep at least 3 bottles on had since I am an admitted addict. Atop that add some heaping spoon fulls of Chili Garlic Sauce (if you dare, this stuff is HOT )

You also might want to make a puddle on your plate of a mix of the two for dipping and or spooning on to the top of the burrito after each bite. Eat with relish and make sure there is no one watching since it may get a little messy and you have been waiting a full 10 minutes to eat this baby.

Get back into bed or hop on to the sofa with the remote, a blanket, and your wet bar; which should consist of
~coffee
~a jug of water
~your soft drink of choice (mine is Orangina, my boo prefers Coke)

Watch crappy TV

Pulau? More like PuWOW!

2010-09-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a rice/potato household, meaning those were our go-to choices for starch. My mother' being from the Midwest, thinks potatoes are it, and always has a 10lb bag in her larder. because of her I am such a potato freak I still have a baked potato as a snack every once in a while. Dad hails from Senegal where the base of all meals is a huge, communal bowl filled with rice and covered by the meal; it carried over to mom as she admitted that she has a rice jonze about once a week and loves having a pot of cold rice in the fridge to make ground beef and rice stir fry.
I am nothing if not a product of my upbringing, we go through a week of potatoes and then a week of rice. My friend Ann Mayo, was a straight up pasta girl, I even witnessed her order a side of pasta with her salad. And I know people who consider tortillas a side dish. To each his own, I say, but then I am married to a bit of a finicky eater. He likes what he likes, sigh. Apparently there is his thing called "compromise" that makes a marriage work nicely.
Zach is a rice guy, however it took a lot of effort to convince him that "Rice-a-Roni" is not, in fact, a rice dish. (well it is in that it has rice in it, but boxed sides are not my bag baby). So after much backing and forthing and a trip to the Indian market we are left with a 10lb bag of rice and a Pulao Spice rice mix that is spec-freaking-tacular!

Like any curious food person who wants to know what I am eating (Food, Inc has left me obsessed) as well as one who has to be on the prowl for unmentioned, anaphylactic shock inducing ingredients; I read the back. And it is almost as good as this little number http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=3913

Not sure if you can read it, but this makes for some mind blowing rice. I quickly devise a mix of my own since Zach LOVES this rice, and I need a break from white rice (and from my husbands eating habits, but that is a topic for another day)

Pulao Rice Spice Mix

1heaping TSP each of

Ground Cumin

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Cloves

Ground Cardamom

2-3 Whole Bay Leaves

(After experimenting A LOT, I found that whole cinnamon sticks or whole cloves don't coat the rice and the flavor is less intense, so if you want to ease up on the flavor and have the rice be a background rather than the side try that method)

Soak 1.5 cups of rice in water for 20 minutes and then drain and rinse until the water runs clear.

Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a medium sauce pan and add spices and bay leaves and saute for 3-5 seconds, basically until they all mesh and you can smell the spices.

Add drained rice to pan and mix it up, you are trying to get the spices to coat the rice. This should not take long but will take some vigorous stirring. Make sure to get those sneaky grains at the bottom or the pan and on the sides.

When the rice is completely coated, add 1.5 cups chicken broth and 1.5 cups water (note, I make my own chicken broth and mine is pretty concentrated, if you are using store bought just use 3 cups of that stuff, it will still contribute to a mouthgasm)

Bring this all to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

(And now for my favorite recipe direction) Fluff with fork and serve.

Or just follow the picture directions!

Savory Scones

2010-09-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Zach and I are, palate-wise, completely polar opposites. Breakfast can be a big challenge since most breakfast options are either savory or sweet and I have hit my scrambled egg wall, I needed a new wake up call and since we are moving, cleaning out the kitchen has been a big priority as well. I check out my cupboards and here is what I have.

I whip these up but, Paula Deen style; double the amount of butter.

It's a no brainer for sweet toothed Zach R, I have some fresh raspberries that are about to go and I need to use them up quickly. I divide up the batter 1/3 for Zach and 2/3rds for me. I toss the whole pint into the smaller batch and start mashing away.

They look nice and studded with the raspberries, and the dough has taken on a nice pink hue. I get a total of 4 scones to bake up.

Now on to me, the savory Queen, and I'm making sure there is little to no added sugar in my breakfast of champions.

Sauteed shallots and some oven roasted tomatoes are going to make this lady DANCE!

I let the shallots cool down a little and really I'm only softening them,brown em up a bit. (I know, I know, tomatoes are a fruit and I brown the onions to get some sugary caramelization going; and yet I blather on about no sugar added, but work with me people, there are not really sweet ingredients.)

Yes, in fact, the pan I used was that gnarly. Zach scrubbed that crap out of it after this experiment so it no longer looks that bad. This was early morning and I am not a "scour the pans like a maniac" type of girl.

And the results....

You can't see it but I finished of the raspberry scones with sugar in the raw and the roasted tomato and shallot ladies had a dusting of sea salt.

Hers

And His

Garlic Lovers, Take Notice!

2010-08-27T03:59:00.000-07:00

Garlic lovers, I'm putting you on alert for one of the tastiest and simplest dishes I've ever made. It's another Bayless variation, but it is so worth it.

Mojo de ajo can be found in most Mediterranean, Southern European, and Latin American dishes in some form of another. It is huge in Spain with tapas, for example. Basically you simmer sliced garlic in olive oil for a while until the garlic is toasty and the oil is infused with flavor. Lime and chipotle round it out. I've found that you can do most anything with the abundant leftover oil: sautee fish, put it in a salad, mix it into rice, even use it as a dipping sauce for french bread. It's so delicious you won't even know what hit you.

Makes about 2 cups of mojo.

Peel two heads of garlic for about 3/4 cup of cloves. Cut the cloves into thin, but not too thin slices, about 1/8th inch. I've cut them too small and they turned to mush; keep it so the slice will maintain its structure. I cut about 4 slices per clove, as a guideline.

Put garlic in a small pot with 1 cup of olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower your stove to the minimum heat you can to sustain a simmer. Stir occasionally. The cloves will slowly turn a deep brown, like brown sugar. After half an hour, add the juice of one lime, let it simmer in for 5 more minutes, then add 2 canned chipotles, seeded and cut into small strips. Let it sit off the heat for a few minutes, then remove the garlic and chile bits with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl.

To make the shrimp dish, saute 2 lb shrimp in two separate batches in 1 1/2 tbl of the mojo oil until they're pink, then add in 2 tbl chopped cilantro to the pan. Stir and remove to a serving dish. Serve the shrimp with extra oil, the slow-cooked garlic and chile bits on top (or mixed in), and lime wedges. You are about to eat one of the best dishes of your life. And look at all that extra oil you have left over!

Time to Feed the Kids! It

2010-07-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

Time to Feed the Kids! It

Right before my eyes

2010-07-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

You ever notice how once you "discover" something, it seems to be there all the time? Take Eritrea, for example, I am ashamed to admit I had never head of the country until about ten years ago. I'm looking at a map of Africa and I see it, just above Ethiopia. That very day I'm talking to the guy who works at my parking garage, and guess where he is from? Eritrea. Life just works that way.

Last night Zach and I had dinner at Barrio Star in Banker's Hill and we are served the most amazingly delicious salsa with our halibut. Hunks of radish, cucumber, and avocado tossed in a cilantro lime dressing. The cukes give a delightful crunch, as do the radishes which give a little bit of tang too, tempered by the creamy avocado. It was some bitchassness (to quote P.Diddy) and I leave there determined to throw some together asap.

This morning I open my email from SD Weekly Markets, and guess what is the recipe du jour? You guessed it!!! RADISH, CUCUMBER AND AVOCADO SALAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its fate I'm telling you. I'm also telling you to try this salsa, it will make anything you pair it with stand up and sing!!!

"RADISH, CUCUMBER AND AVOCADO SALADThis crunchy, zesty salad combines some of our favorite summer produce and makes a great side for grilled fresh fish from Poppa's or World Famous.

Start by thinly slicing French breakfast radishes, halve some baby Mexican sour gherkin cucumbers, and dice a couple of ripe but still firm avocados. Use a knife to remove the peel and pith from a lemon and an orange. Separate the citrus sections from the membrane and add them to the salad. Now it"s time to choose an herb – we lean towards cilantro but basil, mint, parsley and sorrel all have their fans. Add your chosen herb and a splash of extra virgin olive oil, toss and enjoy"

Recipe courtesy of SD Weekly Markets Newsletter

Cheese Fail

2010-05-16T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, the Great Cheese List Challenge of 2010 has finally led to a fail.

I knew it was inevitable. Trying all these cheeses has been great, but I knew sooner or later that there'd be one that I just don't care for at all. I didn't realize, though, that it would occur so soon.

I made it through the first two cheeses: Comte and Taleggio. The Comte is like any basic raw milk cow cheese: it's a little bit of salty, sweet, nutty, etc. The Taleggio was a risk, but it was on sale, perfectly ripe, and delicious. It smells like yeast and tastes like heaven, like a very sour cream cheese.

I went with G to the Farmstead last Saturday and fell in love with the place. It's a cute lil cheeseshop/deli/cafe in Wayland Square (the Newbury Street/Rodeo Drive of Providence). She got some Valdeon, a Spanish blue cheese that was electric on the tongue, but good. I thought about it and then supposed I'd never buy such a spicy cheese. I didn't get anything last week because I hadn't polished off the Taleggio, but I'd been dreaming about the Colston-Basset Stilton all week (literally, I was sampling cheese in my dreams. It's amazing what a "foodie" will dream about!).

So I made a special date with the wife to Wayland to walk around and enjoy each other's company. She would never dream of entering a cheese shop, so I gleefully went inside myself.

Now here's the lesson to be learned. I shoulda sampled the C-B like I did the Valdeon. If I had, I'd have known that it has that strong blue cheese mold and taste (can I give myself a "Duh!" in retrospect?) and that it's not the kind of cheese that I'd like with a schmear and a port. Next time, I sample before I buy. This is now a non-negotiable rule of the Great Cheese List Challenge.

The Colston Bassett cheese itself, I'm sure, would appeal to anyone who loves blue, pungent cheese. It's salty, creamy, with that sharp blue mold running through it. It is way, WAY too much for me.

So now I'm stuck with two fingers of Stilton that I need to either eat or integrate into recipes before I can get more cheese on my list . I've been thinking about how best to do this. It would work well in a apple/walnut/spring greens context with some vinagrette. I can see it over potatoes or even as a high end juicy lucy hamburger on the grill.

Anybody got suggestions for me? Post a comment or email me at jstrunin at hotmail dot com!

Lemons and Lemonade

2010-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best part about working with food is the leftovers, and the creativity with which they are both used and in some cases, disguised. In my case I had a full fridge and a finicky husband so basically I had to make good use of some food, fast. Here is what I started out with:

White dinner rolls, a grip of them if you will.

The foodie world has gone Ber Zerk over Bah Minh. Basically they are Vietnamese sandwiches, usually on a baguette, with some sort of tureen or pate, pickled vegetables and cilantro. NOTE! I am no expert but they are plastered all over Chowhounds' boards so I got a hint of the frenzy, and then my copy of Momofuku came and that just sent me right on over the edge of happiness.

David Chang's, as per the rest of the cookbook, is extremely time consuming, layering flavor on top of flavor. Making the sandwich involves pickling the veggies, making two kinds of tureens, and calls for Kewpie Mayonnaise. Mine does not. In nutshell:

(I know, gross, but there is zero surface to use this thing anywhere else at my job)

Slather Sriracha on a toasted bun, I am not a mayo eater but I am a sauce person as well as a hot sauce fanatic so this is a perfect fit, and is an actual part of the non bastardized, American version that I am showing you here.

Then smear a nice big hunk of pate on to one side of the bun. This one is pork and chicken and does not have dairy in it (sweet). Most call for 8 Tbls of butter per pound of livers so t
his is a rarity.

Stack on some pickled stuff, I had green beans and carrots, but I get the feeling it could be anything and add to that a hand full of cilantro.

Smush it all together and you get the following

I confess, this was my lunch for three days last week.

Edam? Shazzam!

2010-04-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

I consider myself pretty well educated when it comes to food. Let's see my qualifications: 1. human being 2. who eats a lot 3. and who could stand to lose 10 or so pounds 4. who will also spontaneously cook or bake at the drop of a hat (ie. midnight brownies) 5. who also once worked with Julie S. Viola! (Seriously, I wouldn't know my wines nearly as well if it weren't for Julie and Gwen...but I digress.)

However, it came to my attention lately that I really don't know my cheeses as well as I should. This makes sense somewhat, as I have a family member who is deathly allergic to all dairy. Until recently, I didn't even keep cheese in the house. This all changed when I read Cheesemonger, by Gordon Edgar (links and info elsewhere on this blog). Not only did I learn more than I even wanted to know about cheese, I got the bug in me to try a whole bunch of selections on Gordon's hit parade list. I now carry a short list in my wallet just in case I find myself in a cheese shop...or some similarly gourmet purveyor of the curd.

Here is the list, just in case you want to try some of the good stuff. My rules on this are that a. I can only buy one small block at a time, b. I have to finish one before I buy the next one and c. I will avoid the seriously stinky soft cheeses for now, lest I vomit on the dairy-free member of the family. My first cheese off the list is Comte, and I am enjoying this very much. It's a French cheese, very much like a Gruyere (though don't tell that to any Swiss or French you meet; apparently the Comte vs. Gruyere war has been going on since around the time of Charlemagne and does not seem to show any signs of ending soon). It's raw milk, sorta sweet, salt, slightly sharp. It reminds me of Ascutney that I get at the farmers' market in Vermont.

Here is the rest of the list, submitted for your approval. I have no idea how easy or hard it will be to find these, but I'm giving it my best shot.

Listed by cheese name and producer, if applicable:

Humboldt Fog Chevre
Gran Canaria - Carr Valley
Dante - Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative
Winnimere Raw Milk - Jasper Hill
Antique Gruyere
Vacherin Mont D'Or (Alpine, apparently the Mercedes Benz of cheeses, mucho $$)
Black Butte Reserve - Pedrozo
Ocooch Mountain - Hidden Springs
Pleasant Ridge Reserve - Uplands
Golden Bear Dry Jack - Vella
Blue Stilton - Colston Basset
Rogue River Blue
Montgomery Cheddar
Widmer Cheddar

And one last plug for Cheesemonger...no food fanatic should be without this book.

Mazto Mania!

2010-03-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Ah yes...Passover is here again! And the yearly struggle of trying to matzofy everything begins anew. Matzo brie. Matzo pancakes. Matzo stuffed in your favorite meats. Matzo pudding. Matzo chop suey. Matzo Bolognese style. Double stuffed matzo filet in matzo reduction with a side of matzo fries and freshly squeezed matzo juice to drink.

Now, personally, I'm a big fan of the matzo. I eat it year round instead of filling my bod with chemically injected Cheezit and Ritz Bits. It's basically flour and water. How can you go wrong? I like a brie at least once a week.

(Don't get me started on "matzo" vs. "matzah". Use whichever the hell one you want.)

The peak of the matzo year is when the Yehudas come out in the spring. If there's a better mazto out there, I have yet to find it.

So today I was at the Whole Foods and they had a nice matzo kugel in their sample cups. I tasted it and really loved it: it was deep, custardy, and sweet. I only had a quick chance to see the ingredients, but I noticed sour cream and cream cheese as an additive. Ok, so it's not parve, but who cares? I needed to duplicate this immediately upon return home.

So, with a little help from Moms, here's what I came up with:

Apple-Raisin Matzo Kugel

Break up 6 matzos into small pieces in a 9x13. Cover with enough boiling water so that they soften but don't become overly mushy. Allow the water to absorb. Press and drain excess if they're too soggy. Cut up a peeled apple into cubes, toss into the matzo. Add in a generous amount of raisins. I put in about a half a cup, but more would have been better. Toss the mazto, apples and raisins until everything is distributed evenly.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs. Add in 1 cup of milk*, 1/4 cup sour cream*, 1/4 cup cream cheese*, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (Saigon, yo), 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Beat well until all the ingredients are well combined and smooth.

*I used non-dairy soy substitutes for all of these and it came out fine.

Pour the egg mixture over the stuff in the baking dish and toss evenly. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees or until browned.

Post baking taste test: This came out mighty fine, but it wasn't sweet enough for me, even with the apples and raisins. I'd probably add a bit more sugar to it. The custard was perfect, and I'd even consider whipping in a bit more cream cheese to make it richer. But I was using substitute, which tends to be a bit less in flavor. Also, I neglected to bust up the matzo enough; there were largish shards of it that rose up to the top. This needs to be broken into very small pieces; anything larger than a quarter should be broken down to dime size. Enjoy!

Postscript: It was suggested to me that I may want to put 1-2 tbl margarine or butter melted in the bottom of the dish before I drop in the fruit and matzo. This sounds like a great idea and I'll try that next time.

Secret Menus revealed

2010-03-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

3/3/2010 in In-Store Shopping, Trends | 91 Comments

Mention "secret menus" and many people think of hidden functions on Blackberries or Xbox games. Actually, secret menus refers to items you can special order at restaurants that aren't mentioned on standard menus.

Some places, like Chipotle Mexican Grills, have a whole secret menu that's limited only by your imagination. On the other hand, In-N-Out Burger's secret menu" is so unsecret it's posted on their Web site. Kind of takes the cool factor out of having the inside scoop, doesn't it?

If you're looking to impress a date or just like that feeling of "knowing the chef," here are 24 restaurants that offer secret menus. Remember, not all may participate in the hidden menu. However, if you try to order something and the server looks at you with a blank look, don't give up. Describe the dish and usually they'll make it for you anyway.

Just keep it under your hat.

1. Arbys

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich - This spin on the cordon bleu is a chicken breast with a piece of ham on top of it with melted Swiss cheese.
Wet Fries - Hot fries smothered in cheese sauce.
French Dip – This is a classic Arby’s menu item that is off most menu’s but can still be ordered.

Left to Right: French Dip, Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich.

2. Blimpie

Cheese Trio - This sandwich is a no meat alternative to the normal Blimpie sandwiches, and combines three different types of cheese.

3. Burger King

Mustard Whopper - This is a normal Whopper with one difference, mustard is spread onto the sandwich instead of mayo.
Veggie Whopper - A great alternative for vegetarians who love the flavor of Burger King, the beef is substituted for with a veggie patty.
BLT - A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich that comes in either a small or medium size.
Ham and Cheese - A classic sandwich option that you can have served either hot or cold.
Frings - An order of frings will split your French fry order with onion rings.
Suicide Burger - This is a large burger including four meat patties, four slices of cheese, bacon and special sauce.
Rodeo Burger - A burger assembled with onion rings and bbq sauce on it.
BK Club - This sandwich is the Original chicken sandwich with bacon, tomato, and cheese.

Left to Right: Rodeo Burger, Suicide Burger.

4. Chick-fil-a

Fried Club - This is their normal club sandwich with the fried chicken substituted for the grilled chicken.

5. Chili’s

Chili – This food is the name sake of the company, so even though it has been off the menu for many years they will still make you a bowl of chili if you request it.

6. Chipotle
Chipolte will make you any combination of ingredients they have available to them. Listed below are some of the favorites.

Nachos - Made with tortilla chips, your choice of salsa and meat, beans, and topped with a layer of cheese.
Quesadilla - These come in two sizes, the children’s size which is made with two soft taco shells layered with your choice of fillings, or the full size which is a normal burrito tortilla folded in half with your choice of fillings. You can get a side of salsa or sour cream for no additional charge with these.
Quesorito – A quesadilla with any of the fillings used in a burrito, rolled together and baked in the tortilla warmer. This is a crispier version of a quesadilla.

7. Dairy Queen

Chocolate Chip Blizzard - This blizzard sounds like your basic chocolate chip ice cream, but its not. It is made with quick to harden chocolate usually used on the dipping cones.
Banana Split Blizzard - All your basic banana split flavors blended together into a blizzard.
Jack and Jill Sundae - A classic Sunday with marshmallow and hot fudge.
Lavender Blue Sundae - This is a blueberry sundae with marshmallow.
Frozen Hot Chocolate - In some places this is still on the menu seasonally, but basically it is hot chocolate blended with ice to give it a frozen crunch.
Peanut Buster Parfait - This is a multi level Sunday combining fudge, vanilla soft serve, and peanuts.

Peanut Buster Parfait

8. Dunkin Doughnuts

Turbo Hot Coffee - An extra shot of expresso in your coffee.

9. Fat Burger

Hypocrite - A veggie burger topped with bacon.

Hypocrite Burger

10. In–N–Out Burger
Famous for its not-so-secret menu, all In-N-Out Burger employees should be aware of these options.

Double Meat – Two beef patties, lettuce, tomato, spread, and bun. You can always order onions either grilled or sliced.
3 by Meat – Three beef patties, any veggies and sauce you desire with no cheese.
3 x 3 – Three beef patties, three slices of cheese, veggies and bun.
2 x 4 – For those who love cheese this is a great option, two meat patties with four slices of cheese.
4 x 4 – Four beef patties, four slices of cheese, veggies, and a bun. A cure for anyone’s hunger
Grilled Cheese – 2 Slices of cheese melted with lettuce and tomato and a bun.
Protein Style – A low carb alternative to any burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun
Animal Style – A beef patty smothered in mustard before its cooked, with lettuce tomato, pickle, extra spread, and grilled onions.
Animal Style Fries – Cheese, spread, grilled onions, and pickles piled high on top of fries.
Flying Dutchman – Two meat patties and two slices of cheese, with nothing else not even a bun.
Fries Well Done – Fries cooked extra crispy, almost like potato chips.
Fries Light – Fries cooked less, they will be more tender and oily.
Neapolitan Shake – Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream blended together into one shake.
Extra Toast – Buns that have been left on the grill longer until they are extra crispy.
Veggie Burger / Wish Burger – This burger has no meat or cheese, but lots of grilled onions lettuce and sauce along with double tomatoes.
Cheese Fries – Fries with a layer of cheese melted on top.
Untoasted – Any burger with a bun that has not been toasted.
Mustard Grilled Patty – A burger with mustard spread on it before grilling.
Chopped Chilies – Diced jalapenos can be added to any burger.
Large & Extra Large Shakes – Although they are not on the menu they are available upon request.
100 x 100 Burger – Although they are not on the menu they are available upon request.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Animal Style Fries, 4x4 Burger, Neopolitan Shake, 100x100 Burger, Flying Dutchman.

11. Jamba Juice
Since Jamba Juice keeps the ingredients that create their hidden menu drinks under wraps all we have for you are the titles.

Pink Starburst
Raspberry Dreamin’
Pineapple Dreamin’
Bluetopia
Sourpatch Kid
Now and Later
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Apple Pie
Fruity Pebbles
Strawberry Shortcake
Red Gummy Bear
White Gummy Bear
Chocolate Gummy Bear
Push Pop
Skittles

Raspberry Dreamin'

12. KFC/A&W

Putine - This is a Canadian favorite that includes French fries, fried cheese curds, and gravy layered together.

13. Little Caesers

Stuffed Crust Pizza - If you ask for it they will make you a pizza with the cheese stuff crust made famous by Pizza Hut.

14. Long John Silvers

Side of Crumbs - This is a (Free!) box of fried batter parts that have fallen off the fried fish or chicken. Great to put on top of salads.

15. McDonalds

Biscuits and Gravy - This one may only be available in the South – but it’s the classic combination of gravy smothering hot biscuits.
McKinley Mac – A big Mac with quarter pounder patties.
Grilled Cheese - A bun grilled with American cheese inside.
Big Mac with Quarter Pounder Patties - This is great if you are looking to decrease the cost and calories of the classic Big Mac Sandwich. You get the entire flavor with less meat.
All American - This is a normal sized hamburger with only pickles and ketchup.
Big McChicken - This is a huge sandwich in which the chicken patties replace the bun.
Fries with Big Mac Sauce - Fries smothered in the secret and special big Mac Sauce.
Chicken and Waffles - This is a McGriddle sandwich with chicken in the middle.
Neopolitan Milk Shake - 1/3 vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice creams blended together into one shake.
McLeprichon - This shake is only available in March and is composed of the shamrock shake mixed with the chocolate shake making a mint chocolate shake.
Pie McFlurry - If you purchase a pie you can have it blended into your McFlurry.
McGangBang - This is a double cheeseburger with a chicken patty in between the two beef patties.
Land, Sea, and Air Burger - The Land, Sea, and Air burger, has a beef patty, chicken patty, and fillet-o-fish patty all piled high onto a bun.
Root Beer Float - You can pick any size of root beer and they will add the vanilla ice cream on top.
Coke Float - Any size of coke with ice cream. You can even get it with chocolate ice cream.
Monster Mac - A big Mac composed of 8 meat patties.
2 Cheese Burger Meal Mac - Two cheese burgers, fries and a drink.

Left to Right: Monster Mac, Grilled Cheese, McGangBang.

16. Popeyes

Naked – Any Popeyes sandwich you can order “naked”, meaning their will be no breading on the meat.

17. Potbelly’s Secret Menu

Cheeseburger – This is a meatball sandwich with ketchup replacing the marinara and the addition of mustard, cheese, and pickles.
Fireball – A meatball sandwich with chili on top.
Wrecking ball – A combination of both the meatball sandwich and the wreck sandwich.

18. Sonic

Frito Pie - This is a southern favorite with layers of chili and fritos.
Grilled Ham and Cheese - This is your basic warm gooey ham and cheese sandwich.

Frito Pie

19. Starbucks – With the large variety of different Starbucks franchises it is important to know what’s in any hidden menu drink you order. Many should know these options however, since they are not all the same just remember the ingredients in case they do not know and they will be happy to make the drink for you.

Biscotti Frapuccino - This is a typical frapuccino but it has a biscotti blended inside. You will have to purchase the biscotti separate when you are checking out, but you can have it in any flavor frap.
Short Drink - This is a less expensive version of any Starbucks drink. It is smaller than a tall with a lower price.
Red Eye - This is a shot of espresso in regular drip coffee.
Black Eye - This drink has 2 shots of espresso in regular drip coffee.
Green Eye - This drink includes 3 shots of espresso in regular drip coffee.
Poor Mans Latte - We recommend you do not tell your Barista you are planning on creating this drink when you order. Order an iced Americano with no water and half ice, then use the free milk on the side to mix it up to your standards.
Poor Mans Chai Latte - Same recommendation as above applies here. Order a Chai Tea Misto with extra foam, two tea bags, and half cinnamon and half vanilla syrup.
French Pressed Coffee - If you want coffee served fresh from a French press you may have it with any variety in the shop.
Chocolate Cream Frapuccino - This is a frapuccino made with chocolate syrup and chocolate frapuccino base.
Cake Batter Frap - Order a vanilla frappucino and ask for both the vanilla bean and almond flavorings. It will taste just like cake batter.
Crunchberry Frap - Flavored like the crunchberry cereal, this is a strawberrys and cream frappucino with hazelnut flavoring.
Strawberry Blended Lemonade - Although this had been taken off the menu, most locations will still blend the strawberry flavoring with lemonade for you.
London Fog - This is made with vanilla flavoring in Earl Gray Tea.
Zebra Mocha (also called a Tuxedo or Penguin Mocha) - This is a mix of the white chocolate and regular chocolate mochas.
Red Tux Mocha (also called Bleeding Penguin) - The same mix of white chocolate and regular chocolate mocha with raspberry flavoring.

Left to Right: Chocolate Cream Frapuccino, Strawberry Blended Lemonade, Short Drink.

20. Subway

Pizza Sub – This sub was taken of the menu in most locations when Subway began marketing itself as healthy alternative to fast food. However, upon request you can get the Pizza Sub which combines cheese, tomato sauce, and pepperoni.

Pizza Sub

21. Taco Bell

Cheesy Gordita Crunch – This is a seasonal favorite for many, however it can be ordered year round.
Green Sauce – Although this sauce is still available in most South West locations, if you request it at your local restaurant usually they will have it on hand.
Double Grilled Quesadilla – An extra crispy quesadilla.
Chili Cheese Burrito – A burrito filled with chili and cheese instead of the usual mixes.
Enchirito – This is a enchilada of beef, beans, cheese, diced onions, and red sauce.

Cheesy Gordita Crunch

22. Taco John’s

Ranch Burrito - We’re not certain what exactly is in the ranch burrito, however it appears to have either a beef or chicken option.

23. Wendy’s

Grand Slam - This burger has a total of four meat patties.
Big Bacon Classic - This is your classic burger with bacon.
Value Crispy Chicken Club – A reduced price Crispy Chicken sandwich with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe – This value sized burger includes lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and ketchup.
Barnyard – A spicy chicken sandwich with ham, bacon and beef separated by cheese.

Grand Slam

24. White Castle

Seasoned Fries - Classic fries with additional seasoning for flavor.

Going Bananas

2010-03-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Picture it: Sicily, 1932. A girl leaves her farm with a dog, three chickens, 2,000 lira, and a dream.

Wait. No. That's not my life. Picture it: New York City. Greenwich Village. 2008. A beautiful day in the city. Kris steers us in the direction of the famed Magnolia Bakery. I was loathe to have a "Sex In the City" moment, but I got talked into it. Magnolia is nothing special, in my opinion, though it's always fun to rub shoulders with overly made-up rich bitches who "want a little something sweet". I don't know about you, but those are my favorite people! (Magnolia's is NOT recommended for those who are claustrophobic or line-o-phobic.)

I wasn't dreadfully impressed with the chocolate cupcake...it was good, but the frosting was a little too sweet. I'm sort of over chocolate in my old age, to be honest.

But the banana pudding...

...

Amazing.

If I only could eat crackers, water, and Magnolia's banana pudding for the rest of my life, I'd be a happy man.

The pudding is the perfect creamy blend of vanilla pudding, bananas, and chunky Nilla wafers. I ate a mere half pint of the stuff. Next thing I knew, I was seeing rainbows, fluffy clouds, and unicorns. I'm not even lying. I had a crowd of kids around me in the park and we played in the sand box for an hour. I've never been so happy. I even saved the spoon...it's my special banana pudding spoon. Of course the stuff is a million calories a bite, but who cares?

So of course I got home and needed to duplicate the pudding IMMEDIATELY. I fished online and found a link to the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Here is the recipe (my annotations are in italics):

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)
3 cups heavy cream
1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!) (This is the absolute truth!)
4 cups sliced ripe bananas (This is at least 4 bananas. I try to cut a somewhat thin slice.)

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. (This part is absolutely essential to get right. If you overwhip the cream, it turns into soup. I follow the directions on my Kitchen Aid mixer for whipped cream, using well-chilled cream and a freezer-chilled metal bowl. ) Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain. (Be careful here. Fold the pudding in a bit at a time. The whipped cream will lose a bit of volume as you fold, but it should look like pudding, NOT like soup. )
To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving. (On this step, two things are important. First, keep the pudding mixture in the fridge as you layer the dessert; it should remain as cold as possible. Second, make sure that you conserve a good amount of pudding mixture so you can hit all three layers. )

This pudding is a lot of work, but it is totally worth it. Your friends will fall to their feet and lick the ground you walk upon.

Monday Off ~a photo Essay

2010-03-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

His and Hers!!

2010-02-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Twinsies!!

Your Stinky Herbal Friend

2010-02-14T02:13:00.000-08:00

No, today's not Hempfest here on Help and Helpings. The herb pictured above is epazote, one of the most useful edible weeds in the world. I grow epazote in my garden during the summer months (and it can almost always be grown year-round in warmer climates) and I always try to keep a grip of the dried stuff in my herb cupboard.

Epazote is also known as pigweed due to the way that the plants will hog all of the space in your garden if they're left unchecked. Case in point: I grew epazote in a planter just fine one year; the next year it was growing wild in my garden, the seed-heads no doubt having dropped their bounty in the soil. Epazote desperately wants to grow. The more, the better, I say. The leaves dry easily and, if you make bean dishes as often as I do, having plenty of it around is no bad thing.

The drawback with epazote is that it smells seriously foul: to my nose, it smells just like gasoline. Curiously, I don't think it's a bad smell, just a really strong one. The odor will turn some people off, sure, but when added to beans, epazote is the difference between average beans and really tasty beans. You can add several leaves or a large branch of fresh epazote, or 2 tsp dried, to simmering beans just as Mexican grandmas have been doing for centuries. The addition gives regular beans an earthy, well-rounded flavor that is not to be missed! Even if you aren't making Mexican style beans, adding epazote to barbecue beans or any nicely spiced bean dish will just up the ante on the tasty factor. Also, epazote is a natural and effective way to, uh, cut down the undesirable flatulence factor of beans. Trust me on this.

Submitted here for your approval is a basic bean recipe for your slow cooker. (It is easily adapted to stove top: just prepare the beans in a heavy pot as indicated, add the onions, epazote, and fat, then simmer for 2 1/2 hours until tender.) You can use pintos, black beans, or any small dried bean that you fancy. I know...it's more convenient to crack open a can of black beans for dinner, but once you see how easy it is to make these and once you taste them, you'll never go back to canned!

In a large heavy pot, bring 4 to 6 quarts of pure water, along with 16 oz dried beans, to a rolling boil. The beans will float to the top as it boils. As you wait, chop up 1/2 large white onion into chunks. If you're using a slow cooker, add them to the insert along with 2 tbl oil (any kind is fine) or fat (I love to use leftover bacon fat in mine) and a large branch of fresh epazote, about 6 big leaves, or else 1-2 tsp dried epazote. Once the beans are boiling, remove from the heat, pour into the slow cooker insert, and cook on high for 4 hours. Just leave them alone and let them do their thing. At the end of the cooking time, add 1 - 2 tsp salt for flavor. Cool, then pour into a large storage container (they keep well for a week in the fridge). This will give you a brothy, versatile bean that is ready to go for any purpose!

Fried Jalapenos

2010-02-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

These are good! Like really good, but more than two handfuls and the start to taste greasy. I hear they are also good on sandwiches but I like them as a snack with a beer. Actually I mean I cram a bunch in my mouth after I have had a few beers and the salty, spicy, greasy combination works nicely with the cold beer.

Man-crush, Marinades, and Machaca, Part II

2010-02-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now you've got a big pretty pile of shredded Mexican style beef jerky. You could eat it, but, honestly, it doesn't taste great as is.

Now take two big ole fresh poblano chile peppers. Roast them over an open flame or under a broiler until they burn and blister all over, turning the peppers so they cook evenly. Drop them into a plastic Ziploc bag and seal it for five minutes. The skins will mostly steam off; scrape the rest when they cool a bit. Stem, seed, and chop the peppers into tiny bits.

Heat a large heavy pan with 5 tbl oil, or, if you can get it, fresh lard. (I did this with fresh rendered pork lard leftover from a tamale-making session and the addition gave my machaca an added lift to an already amazing dish!). Add 1 large diced onion and stir-fry 5 minutes. Add in the jerky and stir-fry 7 more minutes. The trick here is to keep the meat damp-ish with the oil, but it should very clearly be browning and crumbly.

Add the chiles, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, and one can of diced tomatoes and their juice, preferably roasted. Stir and cook a few minutes until it is well-mixed. Finish with 1/2 tsp salt over the top, mix it, and serve it up with big burrito sized flour tortillas. Refried beans or a garlic-y white Mexican style rice, and a Corona or two round out this meal nicely.

The taste: It's hard to describe, but the chewy jerky has fried and absorbed the flavors of the added vegetables, with a hint of lime and oregano. It sounds weird. Ok, the whole thing is weird, but it is truly a superior gustatory experience! Enjoy!

Cheeeeeeeese

2010-01-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

I'm still in process on part two of the machaca post, but I wanted to quickly pimp a book that I'm currently reading by Gordon Edgar called Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge. I have followed Gordon religiously for years on Live Journal because, in addition to being a cheese maestro, his writing style is simply excellent. In the book, I've already learned, in bewildering depth, more than I ever thought I could know about cheese, and I'm only on page 58 so far! The book, however, is more than a manual on cheese: it's Gordon's memoir of how he went from 80's Bay Area punk anarchist to master cheesemonger at SF's Rainbow Cooperative. It's funny, engaging, and worth the read for anyone who's serious about the blocky dairy combustibles.

Beet Me!

2010-01-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

Come colder weather, I start jonesing for anything that is sweet and savory together. If that something happens to be primarily carbs and goat cheese, I start shoving it in my mouth. Since the nature of my work means that I'm hanging out with chefs and/or walking through a kitchen with a constant array of sweet/savory morsels all over the damn place, I pretty much spend all day shoving said morsels into said mouth, alternating with various expletive-strewn exclamations of how good it all is, and oh, by the way can I have another one? Great! Love you! Mean it!!

One of the things I love most about working around people who love food and its preparation/consumption as much as I do is trying all kinds of things I've never tried before. Like beets, for instance. Growing up, my only exposure to beets was through my mother, who has a minor pickled beet addiction. I don't know if you've ever smelled pickled beets, and I apologize to those who love them, but words fail me. NO, thank you! Then, I started my current job and I saw beets used in all kinds of awesome ways: sliced into matchsticks and combined with pears and feta for a fall salad, used as dye and flavor for fusion summer rolls, fried up and combined with fried potatoes, and--my favorite-- pureed with other yummy winter vegetables and served with meats as an alternative to mashed potatoes.

When fate conspired to provide me with an obscene amount of beets and a couple butternut squash, I decided it was time to really embrace my newfound love for winter food and attempt a vegetable puree myself. It took a little experimenting, but the result-- and its subsequent reincarnation into a hors d'oeuvre sent from heaven itself were completely worth it.

Now, in addition to being a potty-mouth, I am one of those jerks who doesn't specifically note how much of any given ingredient she adds to her dishes. That's right, I kick it old school and do it all to taste. This pretty much ensures that whatever I cook or bake, I love. It also makes me grit my teeth whenever someone asks me for recipes. So rather than make up amounts, I list ingredients and steps and trust that whomever is reading the recipe can handle their business in the kitchen. Don't let me down.

Winter Vegetable Puree

-Beets (I like red for the color)
-Butternut squash or any sweet squash, about one 3-4 lb squash for every 4-5 beets (This will take that "earthy" edge off of the beets and temper their sweetness without eliminating it altogether)
OPTIONAL: Celeriac, turnips, etc.
-fennel
-red onion
-olive oil
-stock (I used chicken, but vegetable would be good, too)
-bacon drippings*
-Herbes de Provence*
-salt & pepper, to taste

Caramelize onions and reserve. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash, peel and cube beets, squash and other roots/squashes, if using. Toss in olive oil and season with salt & pepper and Herbes des Provence. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for about 40 minutes or until soft enough to mash with a fork. Remove from oven, set aside to cool somewhat. Chop fennel, toss in olive oil and season if desired. Broil in oven until quite soft, turning to ensure it's cooked all the way through. Puree fennel and caramelized onions together, reserve.

In a food processor or blender, combine the roasted vegetables and 1/3 of the stock. Blend, slowly adding more stock until mixture is free from lumps and reaches a consistency you like. If you've used up your stock and it's still a bit lumpy, cook for about 15 minutes as is in a pot on the stove until the lumps break up. In a pinch you can also add a bit of canned pumpkin if you've got it on hand to help things along.

When puree is smooth, Add fennel and caramelized onion mixture to taste. Season with bacon drippings, if using, salt, pepper and more herbes, if desired. Serve.

With leftovers, I decided to experiment and try a modified version of the dish my mother-in-law makes with leftover mashed potatoes, garnished with an herbed chevre, because, um, it's awesome. This kind of fritter combines two of my favorite things: vegetables and frying.

Winter Vegetable Cakes with Rosemary Chevre

-winter vegetable puree
-eggs
-flour
-oil for frying
-chevre
-fresh rosemary
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar

Beat eggs, add to puree. Add flour until mixture forms a very thick paste. Heat a 1/8" layer of oil in a skillet until hot. Drop puree mixture by spoonfuls into skillet. Brown on both sides. This should happen very quickly. Drain and reserve in a warm oven. Meanwhile, soften the chevre. (I usually just place the package on the stove near where I'm cooking and let the ambient heat soften it. Alternately, remove it from its package, cover in aluminum foil and place in a warm or hot oven for a few minutes.) Mince the rosemary, combine with the olive oil and fry for a few seconds in the hot skillet. Remove from heat, place in a bowl and add balsamic vinegar to taste. Place softened chevre in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or electric beater, whip chevre until completely uniform in texture and a little fluffy. Blend in rosemary mixture to taste.

When ready to serve, place chevre in a piping bag or a ziploc bag with one corner cut off. Squeeze a small amount onto each vegetable cake, and serve garnished with a leaf or two of rosemary on top.

*I put bacon drippings and herbes de provence in pretty much any kind of comfort food I make. Because, really, what's more comforting than bacon? Nothing. Also: Herbes de Provence on french fries with salt & pepper. Try it now, thank me later.

Genius post from Eater.com

2010-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Man-crush, Marinades, and Machaca, Part I

2010-01-22T02:22:00.000-08:00

My obsessive man-crush on Rick Bayless is well known by all who have stepped into my kitchen or listened to me pontificate about food. Forgive the twangy Mid Western accent for a minute; the dude knows his authentic Mexican. In the two years since I've started cooking religiously out of his books, I've discovered a delicious, spicy, and mo' bettah healthy way to eat.

Bayless' recipes focus more on simple ingredients and flavor combination than an overabundance of showmanship. This is primarily everyday cooking, though the results are easily adapted to the party and social level. You know, the social level that's appropriate for the down to earth friends you actually like versus the snooty ones you might invite to a cocktail party but not a barbecue. You know who I mean. You can't stand them for more than five minutes. Capische?

Anyway, I highly recommend Bayless' "Mexican Everyday", which has become my daily go-to. Thanks to this book, there's always homemade salsa in my fridge and an array of previously unheard of ingredients in my cupboard. An amazing but simple meal is an hour away every night.

On the not so simple side, I have recently re-discovered machaca. Machaca, which is called carne seca in Tucson, first came to my attention years ago in said Arizona pueblo, at El Charro Cafe. Machaca is basically marinated and dried beef jerky, made from a tough beef roast and dried in the sun. El Charro's website would have you believe that the drying in the Tucsonan sun is an integral part of the recipe. While I admire their flair for hyperbole, especially as a marketing tool, I call shennanigans nonetheless. I've been able to duplicate this amazing treat here in Rhode Island with a two-day process that, if followed, is so totally worth the treat at the end. The recipe (actually, it's spread inefficiently across three separate ones in the book) is adapted from Bayless' "Authentic Mexican", but I've condensed it below.

WARNING: this recipe requires the use of a food dryer and mad knife skillz!

1. You are going to accordion-cut a 1.5-2lb beef eye round roast, or other tough round or chuck roast. Remove fat and square off the roast as best you can. Optimally, it will be shaped like a small bread loaf. Make a cut across the top of the roast, shaving off about 1/4 inch (wishful thinking for me, but I do my best). Do not cut the end! Turn the roast 180 degrees and do the same cut in the opposite direction. (See photo below.). Keep doing this, unraveling the meat in a long thin ribbon as you go. Don't worry if you screw up; the whole idea is to keep the meat in the 1/4 inch thick range.

2. Brush meat with marinade: Bayless writes to mix 1 1/2 tsp lime juice with 1 1/2 kosher salt and 1 tbl oregano. I find this woefully inadequate for my purposes and usually triple the amount of salt and lime. Brush the meat liberally on both sides with this mixture and reassemble the ribbon of meat back into a loaf shape. Allow to marinate one hour. Slice meat and fit onto food dryer. Dry 6 hours at med-high heat. You can also do a slow low roast on a cookie sheet for the same general amount of time at 200 degrees in your oven.

3. So now you have about 8 - 12 ounces of prime beef jerky. Lay it out on a cookie sheet and put it under a hot broiler for about three minutes, until the fat in the jerky begins to bubble and sizzle and the edges are turning brown. Let it cool. Tear the jerky into thin strips, as thin as you can get them.

4. Now it gets weird. In small batches, put a portion of jerky into a blender. Yes, a blender. Puree the meat until it's sort of fluffy/hairy looking. Put this aside in a bowl.

You're now done with part one. In our next installment, you turn all of this weirdness into one of the tastiest dishes you've ever tried!

Picnic Time!

2010-01-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

We love road trips, it just triggers an instant symbiosis in us that makes for an incredibly mellow time. We have driven to San Francisco, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Mammoth, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Ventura, Tuscon, Santa Rosa, blah blah blah.

One of the things we always bring with us is a cooler and a picnic bag chock full of all kinds of treats:

Prosciutto
Emmentaler
Rye Crackers
Roasted red peppers
Cornishon
Olive oil brined olives
Dijon Mustard
Dry roasted almonds
Greek Caviar spread
Mayonnaise
Coppa Ham
Salad mix
Lemons
Avocados
Dried Mangoes
Dried apricots
Eggplant Hummus
and Tomatoes
Upon occasion some smoked salmon or some local treat is discovered (Red wine, blue cheese butter at the Bi Rite market makes for some orgasmic sandwich spread).

Plus some bottles of red wine and perhaps a bottle of cava.

Then we look for a local bakery courtesy of Yelp and buy a loaf of the darkest, crustiest, most delectable loaf of bread they have to offer and even stay for breakfast sometimes.

Road snacks, picnics, late night munchies, impromptu dinner parties, breakfast, lunch, and dinner ALL covered (Also, my obsession with small neighborhood markets can be justified as it's "research").

I still have a sickness for restaurants, but in this economy, I need to do this in order to keep the party going plus it fun to turn every road trip into some drive in the French countryside.

Cheers!

Burger Bonanza

2010-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

Now and forever, of all my food obsessions, my main obsession is for hamburgers.

I grew up in Southern California, which is, according to Eric Schlosser, the proper home of the fast food burger. From the youngest age I remember going to McDonald's birthday parties on Ventura Blvd. At YMCA day camp, geeky counselor Ron's even geekier little brother Gary was an ASSISTANT MANAGER (Holy crap! How amazing!) and actually got us a TOUR of the McD's on Glenoaks in Sylmar (and FREE BURGERS!).

Onward and upward to the Sherman Oaks Galleria (Ridgemont High!) and movie weekends with Bractune, where we'd gorge on Raisinettes and Red Vines in front of classics like "Ferris Bueller", "The Lost Boys" and "License to Drive" (the days when Messers Haim and Feldman were actually cool). Invariably, we'd end up at the Galleria McDonald's or a new intriguing place down on the Boulevard called Johnny Rocket's, which was TOTALLY FIFTIES with shakes, vanilla cokes and the burgers were actually tasty**.

Then the high school years at In 'N Out Burger (which most non-Californians don't understand is a near-religious experience for people from the Southland) and Don's Burgers in Burbank (which sadly burned down during college and Don's widow never saw fit to rebuild). Even after I moved to Boston, it was an off week that didn't see me at Bartley's in Harvard Square, trying a new burger off their expansive (and expensive) menu.

I gave up fast food burgers not too long before I met my wife. My roommate Brooksie and I used to eat at Wendy's in Chelsea three times a week and I found that I was unable to digest the food anymore. Even my usual pre-concert DQP w/cheese got to be too much for my conscience, even though I told myself it was a tradition. "Fast Food Nation" and "Super Size Me" solidified this avoidance for me with their tales of corporate greed, exploitation and poor health. I haven't set foot in a fast food restaurant for years.

(I do have to give a shout out, however, to the independent Oinkster in Eagle Rock, CA. Best burger in Los Angeles, even better than In N Out).

So on days like today, when I'm home and craving burgers, I have to plan accordingly. Instead of patronizing one of the 7 fast food restaurants in the immediate vicinity of my house, I'm instead going to muster myself up out to my garage freezer and take out a pound of ground from our local beef farm. We're lucky here in New England to have such a great source for local beef. (Shout out to Dufort Farms, Rehoboth, MA. ) It's clean, tasty, and I can shake the hand of the farmer who raised it. Yes, I'll cook my own damn burger.

Burgers should be cooked simply, with salt and pepper, over medium heat on an oiled grill or pan. Five minutes a side will get you a medium rare burger cooked to perfection. The secret with burgers is to let it be the canvas on which you add the artful toppings; I'm not one to add a lot of stuff into the meat.

One last note: Julie's cilantro mayo has become a "must have" for Burger night in the JStru household.

Yes, I'm having it my way and I'm lovin' it.

**Even at eleven years old, we thought that McDonald's burgers tasted terrible and knew they were probably made from stuff we didn't want to know about. But like everyone else, we ate them anyway.
*** I've also tried to go vegetarian on numerous occasions over the years, but it never seems to stick.

New Kid on the Block

2010-01-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

As I have fallen so far off the blogging wagon I can almost see it in the distance, I opted to do a few things:

1)Swear that I will sit down and do at least two blog entries a week (Hopefully)

2)And, to boost ratings (ha!) and to inject an bit of a wry, food loving energy; add another blogger: Ladies and Gentleman... Chef Jeff

Jeff and I worked together ten years ago at Bar 10 in the Copley Square Westin and instantly had a friendship that felt like we had known each other for years. He's smart, funny, very in touch with his spiritual side, bears a stunning likeness to Kevin Youkilis, lives on the other side of the country, has a beautiful wife who, like me, has a dairy allergy, and (also like me) loves making, eating, talking about, and reading about food.

So I have given this lowly blog a little boost of energy and get to hear about Jeff's culinary adventures on a whole new level!

We love the hippie cuisine

2010-01-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year where it's bum-numbing cold up here in New England, so we need us some hot and spicy hippie-style cuisine to get the blood flowing. That and some dancehall...ah, I can almost feel the summer sun shining.

(Props where they are due to Mama Darrell, from whom I've thieved and adapted this dish)

Indian Dal

This is non-dairy, totally vegan, etc. etc. Impress your friends.

Bring to a boil in a large 8qt pot:
1 1/2 cup yellow lentils with water to cover 1 inch.
Lower heat to low, simmer for an hour.
If lentils are really mushy, remove them from heat and let them stand while you do this next part in a medium skillet. If the lentils are reasonably firm, you can transfer them to a bowl and do the following in the large pot.
Cook 1-2 cups chopped onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add 3 cloves minced garlic and stir until fragrant.
Add 1 tbl or more to taste of crushed hot pepper (I use star Red, but you could do anything)
Add 1 tbl curry powder* and 1 tsp cumin power and stir.
Return lentils to large pot or stir onion mixture into lentils.
Add 2 tbl chopped fresh basil (I said FRESH, muthaf**ker!), 1 tbl soy sauce, 15 oz can of coconut milk.
Simmer for a half hour.
Make some white rice.
After a half hour, the lentils are mushy and break up when you stir them. You should have a lumpy yellow gruel left over.
At this point you could throw in some cooked greens if you want.
Serve over the rice and marvel at how cool you are to make such good tasting food.

*Any kind of curry does fine here, Indian, Thai, or Jamaican. You may want to avoid a curry that's volcanically hot; the whole point here is to have it be very flavorful, not inedible.

Time machine in a jar

2010-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

I had one bite of this amazing relish yesterday and it was all the things you want a dill pickle relish. Crunchy, mildly briney, a little salty. It's perfect on sandwiches and my secret love...hot dogs. Bubbies has a wide array of pickled stuff, and anything pickled is an instant hook for me.

The absolutely best part is that one taste took me straight back to Posin's Deli on Georgia Avenue in Washington DC, about 10 blocks away from the house I grew up in. My dad would go in and buy tubs of chopped liver, coleslaw, challah bread, bagel chips, egg salad, lox, cream cheese and sliced meat. I was not a fan of the chopped liver (still am not) but I kept trying it as my dad would make these big sloppy sandwiches on a slice of fresh challah bread with a smear of chopped liver and a big dollop of creamy coleslaw. But he always got me the huge dill pickles that floated in glass vats of brine sitting on top of the deli counter (I'm a pickle lover from waaaaaaay back).

I have yet to find a good kosher dill like that one this coast, but I haven't made my pilgrimage to Canter's in LA, or even to D.Z. Akins in San Diego. And the ones at City Deli scare me as they sit on the table all day and you never know if some nose picking fanatic has had their hands in that mix. I will admit to slumming it with those pickle in a bag every once in a while when I'm on a road trip, but with those you know you are getting an overbrined and oversalted pickle in green tinted liquid (that s&*t stains by the way), so I don't expect anything more than that. So I'll stick to Bubbie's relish for now. And perhaps I'll charter the Great American Pickle Tasting Tour for next summer.

Arnold Palmer making an Arnold Palmer

2009-12-22T10:26:00.000-08:00

Bloglovin

2009-12-12T14:46:00.001-08:00

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The Most Amazing Shrimp Ever

2009-11-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

You will note that this post has no pictures, the reason being that the shrimp we made was so amazing we ate it all.

"The Splendid Table" is not a show I listen to on the radio, but when I stumbled across the cookbook I was so happy as it is full of anecdotes and kitchen tips. Faced with a glut of unpeeled shrimp in our freezer we opted to brine them first then shell them. The result was plump and spicy shrimp that we could not eat fast enough.

Plumped Ginger-Caramel Shrimp

BRINE
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup medium-hot chile powder
2 quarts (8 cups) warm water
1 1/2 pounds large frozen shrimp (in or out of the shell)

SAUTE
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
one 4 inch piece of fresh, peeled ginger
4 tablespoons mild oil, like grapeseed or walnut oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
salt
4 teaspoons sugar

1. In a medium glass bowl (so the shrimp won't make the bowl smell), mix the salt, sugar, and chile powder in the warm water. Drop in the shrimp, and let stand at room temperature for approx 20 minutes. Peel off the shells and keep the shrimp in the brine until they are all naked.

2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat and saute the garlic and ginger along with the pepper and a sprinkle if salt. Cook for one minute and then add the sugar. Stir until the garlic is pale golden.

3. Drain the shrimp, pat dry and drop them in the pan. Saute until the shrimp are pink and are barely firm. You will get a nice sauce too so be sure to ladle that out with the shrimp.

4. Serve over rice and try not to eat so fast that it takes you longer to cook it than eat it.

Looks like my condiment obsession has caught up with me...

2009-11-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

Note from Zach

Lets spice up this holiday people!! Chipotle & Cumin Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-28T12:04:00.001-08:00

I hate cranberry relish, never touch the stuff, it's gross. Especially nasty is that gelatinous stuff right out of the can, that still has the rings in it from the packaging. However, I am always up for some food fun and came across this recipe from whatweareeating.com which was featured on the SpecialtyProduce.com website as fresh cranberries are hot right now.(whew, did that even make sense?)I have to admit the mention of the words "Cumin" and "Chipotle" intrigued me, so I knew I had to give this simple recipe a try. I did tweak it to create a nice SPICY relish, but it does mellow out as it cools and makes for a fantastic kick with any poultry.

Chipotle & Cumin Cranberry Sauce-(Original recipe Courtesy of Amanda Simpson)

2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 12oz can chipotles in adobo sauce (you can use less, depending on your spicy tolerance)
2 tsp cumin
1 cup water
12oz fresh cranberries

Place all ingredients into a sauce pan and cook over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for approx 25-30 minutes until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has thickened considerably, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool and serve chilled.

2009-10-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a common denominator in my kitchen.....

The soup that saved me

2009-10-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have basically been confined to the couch for the past two days and since my loving husband is in Wyoming I have had to find really quick recipes since standing too long wipes me out. This has been my view for almost 48 hours

I have been able to catch up on my Facebooking as well as my business plan and just basic correspondence. And I always have time to peruse cookbooks, my first love Nigella Lawson seems to come to the rescue more often than not. And she has a new one out, Nigella Express, well not new but newer than the others.

She has a fantastic recipe for 10 minute minestrone that not only does the job but seriously tastes like I simmered all day so here goes:

Take 3 cups hot bouillon and add

1 can canelli beans, add one cup tomato sauce

Bring to a boil and add 4 oz pasta and cook according to the pastas directions (approx 12-16 minutes)

2 minutes before the pasta is done add frozen mixed veggies

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the pan from heat and let sit for 5 minutes (If you can stand the wait, I cannot) Grate parmigiana on the top and enjoy!!

Ghetto Sangria-It's hot people

2009-08-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Basicaly,this is how its done.

In a pitcher or large vessel combine the following(any can be omitted aside from the wine)

1 bottle crappy red wine
2 whole citrus fruits(Orange, lemon, lime)one cut up and dropped and one squeezed into the mix
A few of the following:Soda water, Orangina, Orange soda, cranberry juice, Monavie, Orange juice, apple juice, ginger ale, (Pretty much any thing juice-like in your fridge)
Any of the following: Apple slices, Orange wedges, grapes, pitted cherries, frozen mango chunks, frozen berries, hibiscus iced tea
Cinnamon sticks or powder
Serve with ice cubes so you don't have to wait for it to get cold

Happy Summer People!!!!

Sweetbreads: scalloped, cutlets, or mousse

2009-07-29T17:13:00.001-07:00

I do not hide the fact that I am addicted to cookbooks, luckily for me I have an aunt in the book biz who funnels esoteric cookbooks to me when she happens upon them. The most recent one is a real gem.

This is a Good Housekeeping publication from 1927, giving it the dual distinction of being my oldest cookbook as well as being one that I consult on a daily basis.

The pages of charts for Baking-Powder biscuits, butter cakes, sponge cakes, etc. are incredibly useful. And this on page 104: "Unless care is taken the valuable mineral constituents, as well as much soluble protein and sugar are lost in the cooking water. Particularly is this true of the boiling methods. For this reason, steaming is far better than boiling." Which just proves what I suspected all along-we have known this stuff for a while, but ignored it for the sake of new fangled gadgets and TV Dinners.

There are indeed some dubious recipes(Multiple "Loaf" concoctions), an inordinate amount of scalloped items (among then cauliflower, sweetbreads, sardines and rice, tomatoes, cabbage and celery), and the amount of butter used would put Paula Deen to shame.

I have a feeling the "Tuna and Apple salad" P.160 will not be served anytime soon,the same goes for "Soy-Bean Loaf with Tomato Sauce" P.113 and "Creamed Cucumbers" P.120. But the "Salt Codfish Balls, Perfection" P.88 just might make it's way into my repertoire.

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles

2009-07-29T17:11:00.001-07:00

I have a garden. This statement in and of itself is a miracle, considering I have been known to kill cacti. Zach has a lot to do with this as he is from good farmer stock so he can tell me what I should do in order to maintain my lush green herbs.I water the rosemary and the sage periodically while the basil and the time are more thirsty guys. my mint likes to be kept on the shady side of the door next to my poinsettia (I'm aware that is NOT edible, but still like to grow it.

I found a delightful website called YouGrowGirl which has also aided me in not over analyzing every last nuance of my plants behavior. It;s been amazing to actually find that I have the patience and the ability to do this.

It's quite a treat to pop out side my front door should I need a fresh herb or two. Wow, watch in two years I'll be like Jessie Nadler at RurallyScrewed.com or Pioneer Woman. HA! I doubt it, but who knows I could actually be good at this whole patience thing....I'll keep you posted.

Iron Chef Dinner-Tomatoes

2009-07-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

Glorious Tomatoes

2009-07-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is essentially a horn of plenty when it comes to tomatoes. They are everywhere you look; on restaurant menus in the forms of gazpacho and caprese salads, piled up in mounds at the farmers markets, and are so plentiful that even Whole Foods offers them at a reasonable price. My local market in Ocean Beach is the Apple Tree (Zach and I have dubbed it the "Crapple Tree", what can I say? I'm still 14 years old at heart) the selection is pretty good and the produce is really plentiful. They are offering Roma tomatoes for $.99 a pound which triggered a memory of the book I'm reading "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg, who is one of the first food bloggers to make a buzz and make it big with Orangette. Her recipe for Slow -Roasted Tomatoes with Coriander" is incredibly easy and the results are insanely delicious.

Molly Wizenberg's "Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Coriander"

3 1/2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes (About 20)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Ground Coriander

Preheat oven to 200 Degrees
Wash and dry tomatoes, trim off the stem end and slice in half. Place them in a bowl and toss with olive oil, a few pinches of salt and some shakes of ground coriander.
Place the tomatoes, cut side up on a baking sheet, they can touch as they will shrink to about 1/2 their size after a few hours. (you did indeed read that right)

Place them into the oven and walk away for 4-6 hours. They should crinkle on the edges and look like the before picture of a shrinky-dink.

(Note: there are indeed tomatoes missing from the baking sheet as I smeared goat cheese on toasted baguette and nestled a few warm roasted tomatoes on the top. Once I started I cold barely stop to take a picture)

Curry in a Hurry

2009-07-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

There are times that we absolutely have to rely on the bags of frozen stuff in your freezer to get us from stove to table quickly: Your spouse has committed you to hosting a dinner party but forgot to tell you, your show is coming on and you don’t have Direct TV, you have a sudden yen for something other than take out Mexican, blah blah blah. One of my go to solutions is this quickie curry recipe, it’s really easy and one of the entrees I whipped up the other day to make some frozen meals. This is pretty much utilizing what you have on hand so measurements are approximate, there is no right way to cook this, and improvise away.

Quickie Curry
• ½ onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• The ¼, ½, or whole bags of frozen veggies you have in your freezer, feel free to mix and match (1 portion is about ½ a bag)
• Curry powder
• 1 cup broth (chicken, veggie or beef)
• Light coconut milk
• A protein (if you have a little time, but this is optional)
• Potatoes (since my larder seems to be chock full)

In a soup pot, sauté the onions and garlic in a tablespoon of oil over medium heat until the onions are soft and the garlic is a little brown. Add the veggies straight from the bag into the pot and mix them around, make sure that they come straight from the freezer as you want the ice crystals to melt in the pan. Toss the veggies, onions and garlic together and cook for about 2 minutes getting the ice to melt a little. Coat the mixture in curry powder, making sure to keep stirring to get all the ingredients evenly coated.
Slowly add your broth, making sure not to get the mix too soupy and then add ½ can of the coconut milk to the mix (Basically I’m adding broth to the curry to boost the flavor since the cook time is minimum, use the coconut milk to thin it out, and make a nice creamy curry). Let simmer
Meanwhile, cook your protein, I like the frozen chicken tenders from Trader Joe’s as the take about 7 minutes to cook in the microwave and you can then chop them into bite sized pieces and add to the mix. You can also toss in leftover meats you might have in the fridge because your spouse is grill happy. Also nuking potatoes for 6 minutes and then chopping them up is an excellent boost, just make sure that they cool off a little before you administer your mad knife skillz.
Serve over couscous or rice both of which can be made in tandem with the curry.

Leftover Quiche

2009-07-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to help out a neighbor who is recovering from breast cancer by making some meals for her to freeze so could easily re heat, I was under the constraints of not being in my own kitchen it all turned out fantastically. Here is pretty much what I started with in the fridge:

I sauteed onions, garlic and mushrooms, put those in the pastry shells, along with frozen spinach, shredded Swiss cheese, and sun dried tomatoes. I whipped six eggs with some milk and salt and pepper and loaded everything up on to a baking sheet.

Every body in the pool!!!

350 degres and about 45 minutes later and I'm serving up these babies!!

Next project is Greek Quiche: Spinach, feta, sun dried tomatoes, olives.

Refridgerator Roulette: Please help

2009-07-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

My neighbor is recovering from breast cancer and I am coming in to help her cook a few meals that she can freeze or easily re-heat. I wanted to make shopping a minimum so here are the things I have readily available to me:

Eggs
Prosciutto
raw garlic
Sheep's milk cheese
String cheese
Whole chicken breast
Red cabbage
Green apples
black beans
salsa
olives
fresh basil
cottage cheese
frozen veggies
tons of spices

Suggestions....

Kristina-

I would make pizza with the garlic, basil and prosciutto, cook it for her then freeze it, make burritos with some roasted vegis with black beans and salsa and cheese and maybe a cole slaw with the cabbage, apples, carrots and fresh herbs? Side of grilled chicken...i have an awesome pizza dough recipe if you want it...and other suggestions, as I have been doing the same thing for a friend too. Good luck...

Roast-a-rita

2009-07-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

I have a new cooking obsession: roasting vegetables (it pretty much stems from the grocery store next door to my job foisting bruised veggies on me). Essentially I crank the stove up to 400, rough cut any veggies that are about to go bad and some thtat ar e really border line and put them in a bowl.
here comes the fun part, mix...

olive oil
shredded fresh ginger
shopped garlic
sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
cumin
nutmeg
curry powder
herbes de provence
garam marsala
Mexican saffron
balsamic vinegar
blah, blah blah
basically any thing you want but be sure to include a touch of oil

mix it all together, to make a coating and toss the veggies around.
spread them out on a baking sheet and let them brown. When they start to smell, check on them but the amount of doneness is up to you.

Toss them in Pasta, wrap them in tortillas, fry up polenta and serve them up on a huge platter, offer them as a side dish.

NOTE: if it's too freaking hot to turn on your oven this can be a grilled option as well.

Buon appetito

Alone Eating

2009-07-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

The LA times has an article today about a cookbook called "What we eat when we eat alone" by Deborah Madison. Frankly I find this to be a little odd considering eating by your self gives most people the opportunity to eat all the crap you would never let on that you ate in the first place.

When I am alone I have what I like to call "Reverse Nachos". It's pretty gross, I eat it with a spoon, upon occasion have licked the bowl, and only crave it when I have the house to myself. On the other hand my secret snack of sardines on Triscuits with mustard is always done solo simply because the aroma is unmistakable, and you have to like the trio in the first place for the smell to not bother you.

Reverse Nachos

1/2 can of re-fried beans
As much cheese as you can handle, shredded
1 cup Chili (optional)
Pickled jalapenos
Salsa
Tortilla chips

Put re-fried beans, cheese, and chili in a bowl, nuke until the cheese melts.
Sick in chips until the surface is basically covered
top with jalapenos, salsa
Eat with spoon in front of TV, preferably an embarrassingly bad reality show such as "Rock of Love" or "Real Housewives of New Jersey"
Drink 2 cans Coors Light
Enjoy

Julie S and Julia

2009-06-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

I once waited on Julia Child and she was as wonderful as everyone says. This was about a year before she moved to California, and was doing a book signing for her last cookbook at the Williams Sonoma in Copley Mall. She was polite, gracious, and genuinely real. I was entranced as she pushed aside her finished entree and ordered a cappuccino while the other women at the table pretended to eat, and insisted I call her Julia since she discovered my name was Julie. As the anorexic and jittery Williams Sonoma execs took care of the bill, Julia stood up, linked her arm around mine and chatted with me about the food and the lovely room as she walked to the door of Bar 10. Towering over me and warbling to me in her signature bray it was one of those moments in which you have to pretend you are ok with as the absolute sureality of it will simply floor you.

I suppose that is an odd statement since I didn’t really eat with her, but you would be surprised how genuinely horrible most celebrities, hell most people, are to wait on. So when you are sweetly surprised by someones behavior it sticks with you. Not to worry as I include myself in that fussy eater category, I want what I want, but I know I’m at least polite about it.

Damon Wayons wouldn’t even let me set down his salad before he complained that there was too much cheese on top and promptly sent it back.

Patti Lupone made a big dramatic (and frankly slightly scripted) deal about how big the steaks were at Morton's and couldn’t she order a half portion and donate the rest to a homeless shelter (seriously) and left a 10% tip.

Chris Slade, while he was playing for the Patriots, would bring his cousin to dinner each week. He talked on the phone while he ordered and ate and completely ignored his cousin.

Oh, here is a good one, Ethan Hawke coming to dinner with a fellow actor (the kid who player Brad in Pulp Fiction) and both of them smelling like urine, BO< and cigarettes.

So, while my stories are no where near as scandalous as Gawker or CelebrityRoundup. I do like to share the wealth of waiteress gossip.

Patti's favorite shrimp

2009-06-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

I first made this for Patti and Muz' open house, it's ridiculously easy and so good. We make it everytime Ralph's has a sale on jumbo shrimp. So yummy and even better the next day.

1 3/4 pounds raw, jumbo shrimp

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger root
(you can very easily use garlic ginger paste, about 2 tbsp)
4 green onions finely chopped
6 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup low-fat coconut milk
1 red chile, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam marsala
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sugar

1) Place shrimp in a wide shallow dish and turn on the oven to 400 degrees

2) Put the rest of the ingredients in a blender, starting off with only 1/2 cup coconut milk until you get a nice course puree (you don't need to use the whole cup) Spoon this mixture over the shrimp and toss to coat them evenly.

3) Make squares of foil and divide the shrimp mixture between them. Seal the shrimp by crimping the edges together, tightly.

4) Lay the parcels on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven . Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and are cooked through.

Julie Note: The recipe says to serve them hot, but I find the flavors set in much better when they are room temp or cold.

2009-06-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Things We Hate--Overused Food Words
By Robert Sietsema in Featured, Sietsema, Things We HateTuesday, Jun. 2 2009 @ 12:24PM

Certain words are so overused in food writing, that they make our skin crawl. Which is not to say that we don't use them ourselves, we just don't like it when other writers do. Maybe you know some food words that put your teeth on edge.

Dollop

Slathered

Homey

Wilted

Toothsome

Resy

Nosh

Drizzled

Garlicky

Crispy

Eatery

Well-Browned

Mouth Feel [does this really belong?]

Moist

Flavorful

Delish

Terrific

Tuck Into

Gently Priced

Decadent***

Guilt-Free***

Toppings

Napped

Amazing

Mouth Watering

Luscious

Sinful

Unctuous

Comfy

Perfect

Fork-Tender

Well-Spaced

Rustic

Tuscan

Nom

Yummy

Boite

Resto

Sammy

Homemade

Tapas

Satisfying

Enjoy**

Toque*

* - when referring to a chef

** - when spoken by a waiter, and repeated endlessly every time something arrives at the table

***- thanks to Francis Lam (gourmet.com) for these

I have to say I agree with all of these, especially the word moist, just typing the word makes my skin crawl. JSR

Presto Pesto

2009-05-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

This being SoCal we have boatloads of cilantro at the ready, they practically give it away as there is an abundance of it everywhere. At the 99 Cent store I managed to get 6 bunches of cilantro for...you guessed it $.99, and that was the standard bag size. Some people might think cilantro tastes like soap or dirt, but they are idiots with untrained palates (I kid I kid)I for one am a fanatic about it, I put it on everything from salads, to salsa, to baked potatoes, I love the earthy, fresh flavor of cilantro. Needless to say I often have green stuff lodged between my teeth.

I remembered a pesto recipe using cilantro rather than basil and that also had no dairy, both key components as 1) I'm swimming in cilantro and B) I can't eat dairy (traditional pesto has parmigiana) so here it is and it is amazing, we had it last night tossed with fresh spinach linguine and chicken:

CILANTRO PESTO

1 bunch cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. pine nuts (or walnuts)

Wash cilantro, dry. Mix ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth.

This is enough for a large portion (say pasta for 4 people)you can very easily freeze it in ice cube trays and toss a pesto cube into hot pasta for a quickie meal.

Kick ass potato salad (sorry it took me so long Jeff)

2009-05-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

I made this really incredible salad for Mother's Day, we had a picnic and a sail with my new parents-in-law, and Cheryl kept sneaking this off of all of our plates. We also served sliced tri-tip sandwiches with red pepper hummus, sliced onions, and organic greens on grilled pita for dessert we had cupcakes with whipped cream. Jack insisted on adding Miracle Whip (nasty)to his sandwich, some people simply refuse to be helped.

Kick Ass Mother's Day Potato Salad

2 Lbs small red potatoes
8 strips of bacon
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used white, but prefer red)
1/2 cup cilantro mayonnaise*
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 heaping Tbsp Dijon mustard (or more if you prefer, I like it a little tart)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Fresh Dill

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and when they are cool cut into quarters.
Meanwhile cook the bacon until crispy, drain on paper towels and break into small pieces
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and add bacon and onions.
Whisk together mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and dill in a separate bowl and then toss over potatoes to coat, if it is too thick cut it with more vinegar and a dash of mustard. Toss with dill.

*Cilantro Mayo: I keep a grip of this in the fridge all the times

1 18 oz squeeze jar of full fat mayo
1 large bunch of cilantro
3-5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped, depending on your preference and how badly you want to keep away vampires

In food processor empty jar of mayo, add the whole bunch of cilantro (take off as many stems as you can) and the garlic. Whip until it turns green, but you still see small green pieces. Transfer back to jar and use in lieu of regular mayo in savory dishes.

Bounty

2009-05-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

Upon occasion life is more than good, to note my table the day after a catering gig in which the host opted to not keep the extras. Now I have to figure out what the heck to do with all these veggies.

Membership Has it's Privileges

2009-05-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have a San Diego County Library card. Sexy, I know. But it gets me in the door of some pretty old school places, like the Pacific Beach library's book sale, and there I find some doozys. Take for example the "Say Ah-h-h-h! Cookbook "A collection of favorite recipies and ideas from the Womens Auxiliary the the San Diego County Medical Society: founded in 1870, the cookbook is published in 1973 the year of my illustrious birth.the book has an amazing combination of "Gumdrop Cookies", "Chop Suey with any kind of meat" and my new favorite on page 54 found by my buddy Anthonywho loves cookbooks as much as I do:

"Elephant Stew"
1 elephant (medium size)
2 rabbits (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown gravy (lots)
Cut elephant into bite-sized pieces. This will take about 2 months. Add enough brown gravy to cover. Cook over kerosene fire for about 4 weeks at 462degrees. This will serve about 3,800 people. If more are expected, the two rabbits may be added, do this only if necessary as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.

Mrs George R. Turner (Valeda)

*Paging Valeda Turner-I love you

Desert Island Cookbook and Vegetable Soups

2009-05-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

National Public radio used to have a program called "Desert Island Discs". Each week they had a guest on who would tell them, when stranded on an island, what music they would take with them. I would have to change my choices to cookbooks (I have over one hundred) because that is what I could spend days reading and cookbooks make a much better flotation device than cd's. My number one choice would have to be the book that never gets shut, it's always open on my counter. Linus has his blanket, Victoria Beckham has her 5' glasses, I have Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything".
I refer to Posh spice and a cartoon character who have a signature appendage. In the kitchen mine is "How to Cook Everything", I simply cannot live without this tome. I have referred to it to get the recipe for boiled eggs(true story), the perfect baked potatoes, quiche, pot roast, soups, lamb chops, etc etc etc.
It's simply the best reference for basic cooking I have found. Being a creative cook as well as a person who has trouble being ordered around, I never follow the recipes to the letter, but Bittman, in fact, encourages that. He gives the basic recipe and then suggests variations, so really its a nice jumping off point to turn basic food into fancy food. His recipes are easy to follow, he clearly knows food, and there is never that bizarre need some cook book authors have to pretend something complicated is easy. He warns you ahead but explains why you are taking the time and or effort, so I turn to Bittman in the end, I call him my kitchen boyfriend.
Recently, I have been inundated with lots of veggies. Some leftovers from catering as well as clearance items at my beloved Fresh and Easy. And I was at a loss as to what to do. I thought I could make a soup and cream of broccoli is one of my favorites, so I figured I would take a look. Sure enough, on page 62 there is the recipe for " Cream of Broccoli(or any Vegetable)Soup" Here is what Bittman says in the introduction of the recipe:
"...Basically, you cook the vegetable you want with good flavorings until it's done. Then you puree it and reheat it with cream...The options:
-The original cooking liquid may be water or milk, but it's best of it's stock.
-The cream may be replaced by milk or yogurt, but again, it's best if it's cream.
-The seasonings can be varied infinitely: Use whatever fresh herbs appeal to you, and take advantage of spices as well-garlic, of course, but also chiles and Indian and Asian spices." Genius! I was swimming in broccoli and cumin soup last week and am just finishing off a batch of ginger, cilantro carrot soup (pictured)
Cream of Broccoli (or Any Vegetable) Soup

-Take 4 cups loosely packed broccoli, or carrots, or cauliflower, or celery (etc.)
-1/2 cup rice or 1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into quarters (this makes the soup smooth without "outrageous amounts of cream")
-4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock or water
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/4 to 1 cup heavy or light cream or half and half (frankly I leave this step out as the soup is amazing with out it)

1)Combine the broccoli, rice or potato, and stock in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are very tender.
2) Cool slightly, then puree in a blender or with a handheld immersion blender (THANK YOU AMY!!! I love mine)You can do this step up to 2 days in advance.
3)Reheat over medium low heat. Season with salt and pepper, then add the dairy (or in my case soy yogurt)heat through again, garnish, and serve.

OBSESSION

2009-04-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

I'm convinced Israeli salad is the perfect food. It's a side, a relish, a salad (duh), a perfect late night snack, low calorie, and just plain delicious. We used to make it once a year for Passover dinner, and every time we ate it we would ask why we never made it more often. Well as a big time cater (HA!)I have tons of leftover veggies from my signature deconstructed crudites display. So I made salsa, a starter for my bologonese sauce (that recipe to follow), cream of broccoli soup (recipe to follow as well), and a big old vat of Israeli salad. I eat it with chicken, on my waffles, as a snack, over dry greens as an instant salad, blah blah blah. It's 30 minutes of chopping but well worth it, so here goes:

3 peppers (preferably one red, one green and one yellow, but it's more for color rather than taste)
1 carrot or a handful of baby carrots
1 cucumber (no need to peel it)
6 tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
3 scallions
2 tbsp each chopped fresh cilantro, dill, mint, and parsley (go hog wild if you like more)
1 chili or jalapeno seeded and chopped (optional)
3-4 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 or 2 lemons
salt and ground pepper

Chop up peppers, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and put them in a large mixing bowl
Add garlic and chopped herbs, toss together
Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the vegetables season with salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly,
Chill before serving (both you and the salad)

Words that need to be retired: Foodie

2009-04-27T15:25:00.001-07:00

I suppose the word in and of itself is not so bad, but I'm finding recently, that people who use the word to describe themselves are kind of anything but. It's some sort of visceral thing in me that cringes when I hear it introduced as "the new buzzword". My favorite blogger and mentor (she does not know this) Alice Q Foodie might beg to differ, but she started blogging when the actual definition of the word was cool. Or not cool so much as a legit label, now people run ramped with this word and I for one have HAD it!

Answers.com defines it as such:

n. Slang.

A person who has an ardent or refined interest in food; a gourmet: “in the culinary fast lane, where surprises are expected and foodies beg to be thrilled” (Boston Globe)

And in fact Alice Q Foodie has this very definition in her blog header. But, I suppose, my real issue are the people who claim to be a "Foodie" because they claim to love food, which, I feel to be a small part of the whole definition. "Ardent or refined interest" even sounds a little mild for how I feel about food. It's what I love but don't saddle me with the label of foodie, because that makes me seem sort of elitist and stupid.

Ok, I need to back up. I have had a few conversations of late that have spurred this rant.

1) My cousin Jeffrey, who believes Panda Express to be the best restaurant in L.A. and, if they go somewhere else, tries to get his wife to share an entree regardless of what it is simply because he wants to save money insists on calling himself a "Foodie" (although knowing Jeffrey the way I do I have a feeling he just says that to get my goat). He likes to eat, he says, thus he is a Foodie. In a weird way I get his point, there are some people who find eating to be a chore, among them Supermodels and stupid ass picky eaters.

2)An acquaintance came over the other day raving about how he and his other "Foodie buds" had this amazing "ganocki" at a restaurant in Ventura. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking about gnocchi and then I nearly bit off my tongue as I wanted to see what other pronunciation gaffes he was going to produce. Sorry, I'm a snob, but how can you call yourself a "foodie" and not even know (or enquire about) the pronunciation of the food you are eating (and bragging about)?

I avoid be labeled a foodie because it sounds sort of snobbish (I"m a hypocrite as well) but it makes people clam up on you. They won't invite you to dinner, are embarrassed to admit they eat junk food, think that you look down on their eating habits, and hate to order food in front of you or almost instantly apologize for what they do get. sigh.

My friend Jay is a florist, who did a bitch ass job creating flower arraingements for my wedding on a $300 BUDGET, btw. He literally used cuttings from his friend's house plants as filler, because he knew how they worked with the orchids, how they fell in the bouquets, how they photographed, etc. That's talent my friends and a true flower person, not just a florist. We got to talking about how he sees flowers and it is really the same way I see food. What can I do with this? How do I use this? What is the origin of this? It's more intrinsic than a hobby, and I feel like folks who are labeled by other people as foodies are in that same mental realm.

So my long, winded point being; foodie as a concept is nice, foodie as a lable...pass.

Curried Hummus: Yum Yum Pigs Bum

2009-03-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Shawnee Thornton is the food master; she was the first person I met who was thin but who thought about what she was eating. She read labels, had strong food preferences, and was open about the fact that she was watching her weight and everything counts. I specifically remember her asking to buy hummus with no oil, which seems sort of odd considering olive oil is a big part of the "healthy" aspect of hummus, but the oil is, in fact, what gives hummus it's so-so rep as a diet food. On average hummus can pack in 50 calories for 2 tablespoons this is bad news for a dipper such as myself. So I turn to baba ganoush to help my cravings (Trader Joe's calls it Eggplant Hummus) it's delicious, has only has 35 calories per 2 tablespoons and has no oil. I go through one tub a week.

Well, I do like to put my spin on things and read "Curried Hummus" on a menu recently and had to make my own, Sandra Lee style. I took one container of Trader Joe's Eggplant Hummus (7 Oz) and added 1 tbsp of curry powder. Mix it up and enjoy, it is INCREDIBLY good. That is it but let me tell you it packs a flavor punch and it's perfect for dipping, spreading, or licking (HA)

Cake in your eye!!!

2009-03-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I find evidence that EVERYONE should work in a restaurant at one point in their life. The one glaring exception being the people who wait tables because their parents feel that its good for them to earn a living and it's pretty clear that they are going through the motions rather than actually experiencing the hand to mouth existence that is working in a restaurant, but the lesson is imbued on about 90% of the service industry work force. It always amazes me how ignorant some people are about general restaurant etiquette or feel that in some way restaurants are out to gouge them of their hard earned money and their only recourse it to fight back. What? Sorry jackass, if you bring your Two Buck Chuck in to drink at the restaurant because you are protesting the gross mark up of wine lists, well you are still going to be charged a $15 corkage fee.

Zach and I had the pleasure of dining with a couple who made a point of not ordering wine. She explained it this way: "I refuse to order wine from a restaurant because I know how much they really cost." I'm sorry sweetie, do you think you have some sort of inside information that the rest of us are ignorant of? If you go out to eat thinking that everything is suspect, then stay home buy your wine at Costco and forage for food by the side of the road, you are missing the point. It's about the ambiance and what you make of your experience, a table in the dining room is no guarantee of a positive experience. I have no qualms about eating at the bar (frankly I prefer it) as the service is more personalized and you almost always get a little perk like a free drink or dessert, advice on the best offerings on or off the menu, and in one case a job offer (I am a schmoozer by the way). But make sure you are an active part of what is going on or you will always feel like you are the victim of some dining out Ponzi scheme.

This week Eater LA posted the following complaint from a diner who had NO idea as to what bringing a cake to a restaurant involved:

From: [an eater]
Date: Thursday, March 19th
To: eater complaints dept.
Subject: Questionable Cakeage Experience
______

I am writing to tell you about a horrible experience I had this past weekend at The Wilshire restaurant in Santa Monica. I am still shocked thinking back at the course of events. My family had made reservations a couple of weeks ago for a birthday dinner for 8 people on Saturday, March 14th. We forewarned the hostess that we would be bringing in our own cake. They made no attempt to explain any kind of fee for this. About two weeks later, we arrived at the restaurant with our cake in hand, handed the hostess our cake and again they did not mention any kind of fee for having our own cake. After we finished a barely mediocre meal (definitely not worthy of a #14 ranking on LA Mag’s “Top 75 Restaurants in LA”), we were brought the check and were appalled to find a $64 charge for cutting our cake!

They had the audacity to charge us $8 a slice for the cake. The restaurant had not 1, not 2, but 3 chances to warn us about this charge, but at no point felt obligated to tell us. We did not ask the restaurant to cut our cake, nor did we expect them to do so. It was simply whisked away as soon as the candles were blown out. One of our party members kindly asked for the charge to be taken off of our bill. Our waitress told her that she would need the General Manager to do that. She then brought out [the GM], who then proceeded to defensively and condescendingly explain to his female dining guest that she was stupidly assumptive that The Wilshire had to disclose of this fee. He explained that it was her responsibility to ask and had three different opportunities to do so, but since she neglected to ask, she was responsible for the charge. He then asked her if she expected the cake to be cut for free, did she also expect her food to be free? Two more members of our party went up to explain that if you plan on charging someone a fee (i.e. a corkage fee) it needs to be disclosed. They were both lawyers and said it was illegal to charge a fee without properly displaying it (again, like a corkage fee). [The GM] still would not back down and repeatedly blamed us for the misunderstanding. He finally said that he would gladly reduce the fee to $25, but for no apparent reason. Especially during such a terrible recession, I am shocked that [the GM] was so adamant about the cake cutting fee.

I do see one glaring oversite on the part of the diner, they only spoke to the hostess. I know that no mater the caliber of the restaurnat the hostess is , by and large, the least informed and trained of anyone in the front of the house. And people bringing in cakes is not something that is encountered often. Talk to the manager if there is anything other than the ordinary in your reservation, you aren't bothering anyone, it's their job.

The G.M. Nick Fielding evedntually responded on Eater LA with this letter:

Dear la eater readers and bloggers,

As the GM of Wilshire Restaurant, I would like to respond to the cake cutting scandal that recently graced the front page of la eater. Ironically, during our weekly managers meeting 3 weeks ago, we discussed the issues of corkage and cake-cutting, and agreed to investigate how other local restaurants approach these fees.

Our Pastry chef called over 15 restaurants and found cake-cutting charges varied between $4 - $15 per person. Some restaurants did not allow guests to bring in cakes at all, others without baking facilities offered to buy one for you, and charge a fee for plating. We tried to create a policy that would encourage guests to take advantage of our outstanding full-time pastry chef, while not charging excessively in the rare instance of diners bringing in there own cake.
To be clear, we greatly value all of our customers, and tirelessly work to ensure they always have a wonderful dining experience. We understand that there are hundreds of restaurants in L.A. and we are truly appreciative of guests who choose to celebrate at Wilshire for a special occasion, or simply come in for a great meal.

There are two sides to every story, and we collectively do not want to get into ‘blog wars’ over this matter. We realize that it was upsetting for the party involved, and I will personally reach out them and try to rectify their experience.

Finally, on a positive note, Wilshire Restaurant is proud to announce FREE CAKE WEEK. During the week of March 23 – 29, our pastry chef, Jenn Shen, will be hand crafting delicious cakes. A free slice of her cake will be given to every dinner customer along with their meal. No cake cutting fee will be applied, we promise!

Thank you.

Nick Fielding
General Manager
Wilshire Restaurant

What he, essentially, did not say is that the fee is in place for a few specific reasons: One, to discourage this practice in the first place as you can't guarantee that this is going to be a quality product that might taint your kitchen, two to compensate for the money lost on both the table not being turned when you are hanging out for almost another hour and thirdly you are not ordering dessert from the menu that makes them money. Fourth they have a pastry chef who can produce a cake for you so why would they want you to bring in another persons work when you have that same resource readily available to you? And fifth you are still using the restaurant's labor to cut it and put it on plates that they are going to have to wash when you leave. Sounds petty but it is still a business,no matter what they offer you.

Which leads me to my most favorite comment on Eater LA regarding this issue written by the world most asinine diner. Sir please remove your head from your ass prior to socializing in polite society.

I had a similar problem recently. I really love foie gras and filet mignon, but I feel that most restaurants don't cook either dish correctly. A few weeks ago, I was going out with friends so I brought along a foie gras app and a filet. I would have brought an amuse too, but I didn't have time to make it.

When I arrived, I made very clear to the captain that while my friends would be ordering off the menu, I would be eating my dishes, and asked him to please keep the steak warm and give it a very quick sear prior to serving. Well, I can't believe how rude he was. I mean, I am the customer here, right? You'd have thought that no one had ever done this before.

After much huffing and puffing, he finally agreed, then, when I get the bill, I find out that they charged me FULL PRICE FOR THEIR FOIE GRAS APP AND STEAK ENTREE!!

I'm sorry, but this is just absurd. They didn't cook my food or cut it or anything. Granted, they briefly seared the steak, so I'd pay $3 or $4 for that, but $55 for my own food!! Well, as you can imagine, after being insulted and cheated in this way, I told them that I would not be returning, and would be posting a very negative review on Yelp!!

I would have charged him double that! No self respecting restaurant wants that type of patron no matter how many times he darkens your door. Please eat at home and order water with lemon while you watch your friends eat or order something else that you think we can do correctly. You sir are an idiot!

Oh HELL yeah!

2009-03-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

I open my Daily Candy Chicago on March 19th only to discover that there is a bakery in Chicago offering these! What what?

EAT
Foie Gras Cupcakes
What: Briochey flavored cakes topped with foie gras mousse and filled with sour cherries.
Why: Who would ban this?
When: Fri., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: More, 1 E. Delaware Pl., at N. State St. (312-951-0001).

Oh my goodness, and they also offer this: fig, port, and bleu cheese; BLT; and caramelized onion.

Yet another reason to visit Jenn, Becky, and Dawn in the Windy City. I want a Chicago style hot dog, a thick crust pizza and dinner at Charlie Trotter's. Ladies let me know who we are staying with because I'm booking my tickets NOW!!!!!

Eating Crow or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Fresh and Easy

2009-03-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't changed my diet as I am not aware that crow is even an edible bird, no no what really happened is that I changed my mind and THAT is one amazing feat. When I first discovered it I was not a fan of the Fresh and Easy, but that first meh impression has turned to borderline obsession mainly because of their sale section (Hey, I still have a black belt in shopping).

The clearance section has allowed me and Zack to eat like mother fucking kings! It's proteins that is about to "expire" but honestly I like aged meat, plus it forces me to be creative which I live for. And they also have kick ass specials each week, it's amazing. I kept a food journal and this is what I have been throwing down, stuff that we didn't buy from Fresh Easy is in italics and the initial entry is what I bought initially and created a menu around:

*Tilipia-on sale for $1.99 for 10 ounces

-Fish Tacos with cabbage, soy yogurt(instead of sour cream), sliced radishes, and salsa verde on whole wheat tortillas.

*Chicken breasts-on sale for $1.77 per pound

-Garam marsala rubbed grilled chicken breasts, grilled zucchini and saffron rice with chopped mission figs. Garam marsala recipe from Fresh Indian cook book

-Baked tandoori chicken, with steamed asparagus and saffron rice with chopped mission figs, and red cabbage slaw

*New York strip steaks-in the sale section, 2 8oz steaks for $4.73

-Cajun seasoned grilled beef fajitas with red and green peppers, yellow onions, soy yogurt, saffron rice, whole wheat tortillas, and harissa.

*Ground beef-80/20 for $1.99 a pound

-Bolognese with penne pasta, french bread, and arugula salad with strawberries, red onion, shaved pecorino and homemade champagne vinaigrette. Bolognese recipe courtesy of Anne Burrell

*Frozen peas $1.25, Baby bella mushrooms for $1.89 a pint, 1lb bag of baby spinach for $1.89

-Pene pasta with spinach, peas, and mushrooms tossed with truffle oil and sheep's milk feta cheese crumbled on top.

*Rack of lamb-10oz for 1/2 price at $7.25

-Grilled mini lamb chops crusted with Herbs de Provence, garlic, and olive oil, sauteed baby bella mushrooms and cumin flavored Israeli couscous.

*Fillet Mignon-2 5oz steaks for $5.35

-Grilled fillet Mignon, corn, and Israeli couscous.

*Green beans $2.25 for a 11oz bag, cherry tomatoes for $.98 a pint, fingerling potatoes at $2.25 for a 1lb bag, California salad mix at $5.95 for a 1lb container and large eggs for $1.49 per dozen

-Deconstructed Nicoise salad with new potatoes, steamed green beans, tuna belly in olive oil, salad greens, chopped tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, sliced red onion, kalamata olives, anchovy fillets, with homemade champagne vinaigrette.

Shock & Foie

2009-03-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

Eat Me Daily reports that chef Chris Cosentino of San Francisco's Incanto recently received a video and letter from anti-foie gras protesters, urging him to stop his signature culinary move: animal organs.

In response, the restaurant put together a 3,000-word piece called Shock & Foie, which defends foie gras, one of the few debates in the food word that is so "controversial, emotional, and fraught with moral peril."

Shock & Foie

The War Against Dietary Self-Determinsm

Part of Incanto's mission is to offer our diners an opportunity to connect with the food we serve: who raised it, where it comes from, how it is cultivated, distributed, prepared, and consumed. One such opportunity comes with our annual Farmers' Dinner. 2009 marked the sixth year we have hosted this celebratory event, at which we seat the dining public at communal tables with the farmers and ranchers whose products are featured throughout Incanto's menu every day. This is always an occasion for discussion and debate about the future of farming, cooking, and the role of food in our lives.

Many who attend this dinner each year have shared the thought that they are trying to live their lives more sustainably. Sustainability has been the buzzword in food (and many other circles) for years. What does is really mean? For many, the word conjures up bucolic images: a cow standing in a pasture, a red barn, a farmer tending to an idyllic field of plants, leaves glimmering in the breeze. Sustainability engenders warm and fuzzy feelings. I have had guests ask pointedly whether or not a product we serve is "sustainable" - ready to pounce on the slightest stutter in our response. To which I usually respond (only half-jokingly) "I don't know, that depends on what you do after you eat it." This brandishment of the concept of sustainability partly explains what has transformed it into a powerful word for marketers, to be approached with care.

The reality is that bringing a forkful of food to the mouth of a human in our world, be it meat or plant, is usually as much about destruction as it as about creation; sustainability merely speaks to whether there is a balance between the two. Animals are raised for human consumption, then unceremoniously slaughtered, butchered, and packaged into sometimes unrecognizable forms. Vegetables are ripped from the soil or cut from the stalk at harvest, sometimes by machines that unintentionally claim the lives of innocent wild animals along the way. Remnants are tilled under to make way for new crops. The cook takes ingredients and submits them to knife, fire, and all manner of further manipulation to transform them into something that is chewed, digested, and passed into oblivion, usually with little thought of the significance.

Make no mistake: with the possible exception of the small number of practicing fruitarians – bonus points if you know what that is – some amount of destruction is inherent to the process through which most of us derive our nourishment. If we can manage our journey through the food cycle without leaving the planet worse off, we pat ourselves on the back, give ourselves a cookie, and call ourselves sustainable.

But sustainability does not change a fundamental fact: that the food system almost all of us are a part of not only tolerates violence – and yes, sometimes even cruelty and death – it anticipates and embraces it. Though one can appreciate the argument that a vegetarian diet imposes a smaller footprint on the world, the responsibility for this relationship rests not solely with carnivores, but with all of us who feed at the trough. Even the farming of grains and vegetables is undeniably responsible for the loss of animal life: farms displace natural habitats, farm equipment unavoidably intersects with wildlife, and even organic fertilizers may contain animal products (blood, bone meal). Food morality is not as black and white as we like to believe: it's possible to raise animals sustainably and it's possible to raise vegetables unsustainably. Neither side has a monopoly.

The notion of a society accepting an unpleasant trade-off between something valued within that society and death of innocents is not exclusive to food production. It is virtually a defining characteristic of collective social order, whether among humans or other animals. Each year in the United States, for example, more than forty thousand people are killed and more than two million injured in transportation-related accidents. Yet we accept the level of violence and suffering wrought by this human activity, with little or no ongoing debate. Why? First, because vehicular travel is convenient and interwoven with our way of life. But also because our country is founded upon the notion of personal liberty, which includes freedom of movement and freedom to choose how one travels. Even when that activity carries with it the certainty that thousands of people, including innocent by-standers, will die each year directly as a result, we implicitly accept this terrible cost in exchange for the opportunity to move around fast with relatively little hindrance. I have searched for an association of human rights activists that is protesting this senseless violence and calling for a ban on all mechanized travel. I have not yet found one.

This brings us to an issue – on the philosophical basis of pragmatism, at least – of less significance: the debate over whether our society should permit the force-feeding of ducks and geese, for the purpose of enlarging their liver for human consumption. In short: the debate over foie gras.

Few debates within the world of food are more controversial, emotional, and fraught with moral peril. The amount of money, time, and attention devoted to something that 99% of Americans did not eat last year is astounding. Just as veal was in the 1980s, foie gras has become the current litmus test for culinary political correctness. High-profile celebrity chef/businessmen such as Charlie Trotter and Wolfgang Puck gained national attention for publicly disavowing it. Even those who've never had any direct experience with foie gras voice strong opinions. Roger Moore is on the record against it; Sean Connery has not yet commented publicly (but is presumably pro-foie gras). And, in one of many uncanny parallels with the debate over a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, these opinions are often expressed forcefully, using graphic visual aids, personal condemnation, and at times vandalism and the threat of violence as tactics. Altogether, a puzzling way of demonstrating one's moral superiority over someone who happens to hold a divergent belief.

Ironically, were it not for the streak of deeply destructive vigilantism present within the anti-foie gras movement, Incanto and many other restaurants may not have actively chosen a side on this issue. After all, Incanto is an Italian restaurant, not French. And the brand of carnivorism we espouse at Incanto tends toward championing the lesser-appreciated offal cuts, rather than the few like foie gras that are already regarded as being worthy of alta cucina. In the past, foie gras never really fit in at Incanto. Even if it had, with Incanto's daily-changing menu, it would hardly last for more than a few days.

Nonetheless, after San Francisco chef Laurent Manrique was targeted in 2003 by anti-foie gras protestors, this equation changed. Unknown persons vandalized Chef Manrique's home and shop and sent threatening letters, along with a videotape taken of him with his wife and child at their home, directly threatening their safety. The sheer depravity and hypocrisy of this attack served as the catalyst for first considering foie gras for Incanto's menu. It did the same for other restaurants around the country, raising the other side of the issue: whether or not as a society we will permit the views of a vocal minority to trample our personal right to choose what we will and will not eat.

Reasonable people can disagree over the ethics of one's chosen diet and the various practices of farmers, whether those farmers produce meat, fruits, or vegetables. Fundamentally, we believe that individuals ought to be free to determine how to live their lives, including their diet. If we live in a society that tolerates the death of 40,000 people to die each year for the right to convenient travel, how can we sacrifice our right to taste, to choice, and to dietary self-determinism?

We respect the right to oppose the production and consumption of foie gras. We relate to many of the reasons that some choose to do so. However, we no more cede control over our morality than we would presume to compel someone else to conform to our notions of how they ought to live their life. We do not grant permission to someone who has no legal, moral, or spiritual authority to impose their beliefs upon us, whether that person is demanding we adopt their point of view regarding foie gras, abortion, or what books we should read. These are all personal choices and should remain so.

In recent years, the attention focused on this issue has caused many of those who enjoy eating foie gras to regard it as a guilty pleasure. We do not. We believe that dispassionate examination of the practices of the handful of small American foie gras producers supports the conclusion that their methods are neither cruel nor inhumane.

Much of the outrage being stirred up over foie gras production centers around the practice of gavage, the use of a funnel inserted into the duck's esophagus to force-feed grain to the duck over the final 15-21 days of its life. Those who oppose gavage assert that the ducks choke, vomit, and suffer greatly because of this process. This sounds reasonable. After all, how would you like to have a tube stuffed down your throat three times a day?

However, this approach is the crux of the problem with an argument meant to play upon human empathy: it anthropomorphizes an animal whose physiology is fundamentally different than ours. Ducks and geese are waterfowl. Their digestive tracts evolved to accommodate swallowing of whole fish, the occasional amphibian, and rocks for the gizzard to assist in digestion. They lack a gag reflex and their esophagus is lined not with the delicate mucus membrane found in humans, but a thick cuticle. Their windpipe opens in the middle of their tongue and they do not breathe using an abdominal diaphragm as humans do. Air passes through air sacs located in the upper torso, prior to entering the lungs. Ducks are able to breathe, even during the brief 10-15-second process of gavage.

Dr. Jeanne Smith, an avian veterinarian who investigated Incanto's foie gras supplier, Sonoma Foie Gras, in 2004 testified before the California legislature that tube feeding is the medically accepted way of feeding ill or injured ducks and geese, a practice she regularly teaches her clients to perform for home care of their birds. The principal difference between the feeding she saw at Sonoma Foie Gras – compared to her clients' injured tube-fed birds – was that the foie gras ducks were unstressed by the process. This is inconsistent with the picture of tortured, abused birds enduring an inhumane feeding procedure. Similarly, a delegate from the American Veterinary Association who visited Hudson Valley Foie Gras in 2005 announced that his personal position on the foie gras issue changed to the positive as a result of his visit, indicating that "tube feeding is less distressing than taking the rectal temperature of a cat." As recently as last month, a journalist from the Village Voice ran a lengthy expose on American foie gras and concluded there is little evidence to support the argument of cruelty and suffering among the ducks.

The key to understanding the foie gras debate is to recognize that the issue has less to do with science, fact, or finding the truth about whether the treatment of these animals is humane, inhumane, or somewhere in between. Quite frankly, all of that is distraction. The only way to understand this issue is to regard it for what it truly is: naked political opportunism.

On a per-capita basis, the average American eats approximately 220 pounds of meat each year. Of that total, foie gras represents approximately four one-hundredths of an ounce per person. This is less than a smudge. On that basis, eliminating all foie gras consumption in the United States would be the equivalent of converting a paltry 3,800 meat-eaters into vegetarians. Put into context, auto fatalities already eliminate - every year - the equivalent in meat consumption of more than ten times the entire U.S. market for foie gras. This may explain why the anti-foie camp is noticeably silent on the issue of traffic fatalities. Car crashes are actually working in their favor.

Foie gras serves as a spearpoint issue for anti-meat activists not because the practices of foie gras producers approach anything close to the worst within the world of animal husbandry, or because the industry itself is significant in size or growth. By comparison, Americans ate more than ten times more bison meat last year than foie gras. Really, it's that small.

Foie gras farmers – and those who serve it – are targeted for simple and eminently practical reasons: This is quite literally the smallest and most defenseless segment of the U.S. meat industry. There are only three producers in the U.S. Fewer than one in a hundred persons ever eat foie gras, and when they do, it is infrequently and in small amounts. Thanks in part to Walt Disney, the lovable duck serves as a great mascot for a publicity campaign. And, while it is of dubious validity as a physiological comparison, it's easily within the grasp for most of us to empathize with the horror of being force-fed through a tube.

Working to ban something that 99% of people never eat is not an act requiring great moral or physical courage in the same vein as was, say, the fight for civil rights in the U.S. or the fight for self rule in India. By comparison, the anti-foie gras movement is – at best – founded upon a shrewd political calculation in which the professed indignation of a few is used to harness the indifference of the many to the inherent political cowardice of elected officials, in order to achieve a desired political outcome. In essence, it's a confidence game in which participating meat-eaters, by agreeing to condemn something that they don't care about, receive the equivalent of a get-out-of-jail card, i.e., the right to feel slightly less guilty as they bite into that factory-farmed McNugget. Guilt and moral superiority are tradable currencies; the anti-foie gras camp exploits this to the hilt. And we let them.

The attack on foie gras consumption in the United States is therefore a tactic, similar to the bombing of Baghdad. This is a relatively easy target, intended to shock the American public into putting animal rights at the forefront of public policy. Don't start with a full frontal assault on a food that everyone eats – that would be futile. Better to pick off an easy target first and to make a public example of it.

As a political tactic, it has proven very successful. Here in California, it exploited our elected officials' abundant willingness to waste precious time and resources on the issues least relevant to the future of our state. In 2004, when our elected representatives could have been making progress toward political reform and improving the financial security of California, they instead spent thousands upon thousands of hours addressing the scourge represented by one small business, located in one corner of the state. Instead of saying, "This is a waste of our time, we have more important problems to solve" our brave politicians instead made the heroic choice to burnish their legislative record by knocking down a straw man. Fast forward to 2009: Rome/Sacramento is burning, Californians suffer, and these brave champions of duck rights have offered no solutions to the real problems we confront on a daily basis.

The great success of the anti-foie gras movement has been based its ability to carve foie gras off as a distinct and separate issue from the rest of food production. Regarded in isolation, with no personal experience and without a balanced representation of the facts, of course most people oppose it. But lump it in with hamburger, chicken, and the rest of agribusiness, shine a light on all the discomforting practices within our food world and it would be an entirely different debate. Foie gras would be seen for what it is: less than a blip. Small groups of people dissecting the food world into socially acceptable vs. unacceptable categories is a recipe for terrible public policy and the worst in relativist ethics.

We do not purport to have all the answers about foie gras. Incanto continues to serve it because we believe both that individuals ought to decide their own morality and that those who dedicate so much energy and animosity toward fighting it simply have their priorities wrong. If someone really wants to make a difference in the world, we can easily suggest a list of 10 other food-related issues each of which are at least an order of magnitude more significant than foie gras. A small amount of progress in any of which would improve more lives than will wiping the scourge of foie gras off the planet. Let's start with the fact that more than 12 million children here in the United States live in households where there is risk of hunger or malnutrition every day. How about tackling that one?

Our (naïve) hope is that someday our country will have a constructive dialogue about food, in a calm adult voice and considering our food systems in their full context. We hope that more people will be in a position to consider the impact their food choices have on the world. We recognize that the cynical political choice to use a wedge issue like foie gras to divide and conquer public opinion is easier, faster, and more effective at promoting a bigger cause. But it's a mistake to confuse success in a political campaign with being on the right side of an issue. If the argument against foie gras and against the consumption of meat in general boils down to "the ends don't justify the means," then for goodness sake don't prove your point by the backwards manner in which you achieve your political victory.

415-641-4500 - 1550 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94131, usa

Jeff Strunin's Jalapeno Fire Salsa

2009-03-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

"Easiest thing ever. 4 oz chiles. Jalapenos habaneros or anything stemmed and halved. 4 cloves garlic peeled. Place under broiler flame for 2 minutes until everything is blistering and borderline burnt. Scrape into processor. Add 2 tbls fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup of water. Process until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Now eat it...carefully."

Champagne Supernova

2009-03-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

Bubbles, both a fantastic nickname for a crazy, slightly overweight waiter I worked with years ago, as well as the description of my favorite drink. Ah sweet bubbles, the sound of your cork popping is among my favorite. Cava, Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Prosecco, I like it all.

I have found that price is no guarantee of quality (surprise) and that some need a little...boost if you will, sometimes to sweeten it a little and sometimes just to add some joy. My favorite addition is frozen raspberries, my friend Danielle described it like this: "They look really pretty in your glass and it adds some color. The only problem is that by the end of the night you have raspberry seeds stuck in your teeth, but you are so shitfaced you don't even care." That's poetry people.

Watching Tyler Florence's holiday themed cooking show one time, I caught the tail end of his champagne cocktail syrup. It's light and refreshing and it does well to mask the slightly sour taste a really crappy bubbly can have. Here is his recipie:

"Cranberry Kir Royal
* 2 cups frozen cranberries, plus 1/2 cup for garnish
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons orange juice
* 1 teaspoon orange zest
* 1 bottle Champagne

Directions

Add cranberries, orange juice, zest and sugar to a large pan and set over medium heat until berries break-down slightly and liquid is syrupy, 12 to 15 minutes."

I vary it by using mixed berries, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel in addition to the sugar and the orange juice. He suggests throwing it in the blender but I find it easier to strain it into a bowl and really mash it all around so you get all the flavor but not the bits. Plus blending hot liquid can be a touch tricky. Let it all cool and then put about 2 TBS into the bottom of a champagne flute, pour the sparkling wine and then garnish with the extra fruit.

I keep this little concoction on hand at all times, because you never know when there is going to be a Prosecco sale.

CHEERS!!!

Ode to "Chopped"

2009-03-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

I was trying to be a food reality show purist and just stick to Top Chef since I watched it from season one, I have been dedicated. It's a rule that when the show is on air you are NOT to call me as I am caught up in all the glorious, chef ego drama that comes along with isolating 12 control freaks and plying them with alcohol and food challenges. Oh I do relish in the sweet bitch-tastic glory that is Marcel, Hung, or that back stabbing, incompetent blunderings of Casey

When "Chopped" premiered I was skeptical. While I was a fan for years I find that now the Food Network is hit or miss. How many times a day can you show an airbrushed woman talking down to you about how easy this all is whilst throwing around pots and pans in a country style kitchen? (Sandra, Paula, Ina, Giada, Sonny). And I squirm every time I see "Throw down with Bobby Flay" because 1) I think he a fire crotched midget 2)The show is one big doubled edged sword for him: if he wins he has to eat crow, and laud the non professional chef whose ass he just kicked by making a variation of the vary food that got them famous in the first place or if he looses he looks like an untalented butt munch who needs two kitchen assistants to do anything, but I digress.

The concept is not new,as I have heard that the final in some cooking schools is similar. But it's pretty interesting to see the creative juices flowing in chefs who usually helm their own resto and the variables that throw them are usually the small things. Not knowing how to use tamarind paste, under cooking the meat because the oven is unfamiliar, serving up 1/2 a dish because the mise en place is askew.

Ted Allen is his usual stiff self, but he is a pretty good host. I believe that the panel changes by one or two food celebrities, but they have chosen, for no reason that I can tell, Alex Guarnaschelli, the executive chef at Butter in NYC. Her cooking show crashed and burned since she has a bizarre combination of a perpetually condescending tone coupled with zero stage presence. It's really grating listening to her critique people.

Anyway, the show is great fun and I have been looking at the food lists and thinking what I could come up with given the chance to compete on Chopped. Perhaps there will be an amateur one along the way.

Octopus, Duck, Animal Crackers Competition

Tofu, Blueberries, Oysters Competition

Avocado, Tahini, Bran Flakes Competition

Banana, Collard Greens, Grits Competition

Yucca, Watermelon, Tortillas Competition

Canned Peaches, Rice Cakes, Beets Competition

Quail, Arctic Char, Beer Competition

Coconut, Calamari, Donuts Competition

Mac & Cheese, Cola, Bacon Competition

Oh Sweet Nastiness

2009-03-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

From the blog of comedy writer Julie Klausner:

Easter is tantalizingly around the corner, quoth the candy aisles of Duane Reade (which has Whoppers Robin's Eggs) and Walgreen's (which has Milk Chocolate Praying Hands). But according to my friend Jocelyn, who has BEEN TO ENGLAND, our candy may as well be pushpins and gravel. Because across the pond, come Easter, the Brits are doing what they do all year round: making us Americans look like potato salad-shucking morons. Behold, the CADBURY CREME EGG McFLURRY.

M.I.A. (idea courtesy of my mentor Alice Q. Foodie)*

2009-03-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

I have been out of the blogging loop for a little while, and for that I apologize. I have had a few things going on and I wanted you to be updated as to my food whereabouts, of which I am positive you are dying to know!

1)Lunching on Moule Frites and Stella Artois at Pomme Frite in Palm Springs.
2)Tinkering with the spices in my larder to make a Garam Marsala: Equal parts Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cardimum, Peppercorns, and Cumin. I have some powdered and some whole so I had to mix it up baby.
3) Sampling every champagne, cava, prosecco, and sparkling wine under $10 at Eli's, Trader Joes, and The Olive Tree Market.
4)Grilling nearly every thing I can get my hands on since we got a set of grill tools for our impending nuptials (Thank you Jeffrey and Elise!, including using my Garam Marsala mixture as a dry rub on chicken breasts.
5)Attending my lovely cousin Patricia's wedding shower tea party, complete with finger sandwiches, clotted cream, scones, and a massive tea selection at Tea-Upon-Chattsworth in Point Loma
6)Trying to muster some hate but not finding it for the Food Networks new reality show "Chopped" (see next Posting)
7)Pouring over my new cookbook: Wine Bar Food, let me tell you it is up there, top 10 favorites!! The authors advocate canned foods, noting that canned foods in Europe are regulated by the govt, thus you get the best.
8) Making low-fat broiled fish tacos with the Tilipia on sale for $1.99 for 10oz at the Fresh and Easy
9)Keeping up with my, count em', 54 food blogs on Google reader. Including Alice Q Foodie, LA Foodblogging, Serious Eats, and The 99 Cent Chef
10)Adding restaurant reviews on my Yelp.com account.
11)Making cucumber pickles using my homemade taragon and garlic vinegar. Literally sliced cucumbers soaking in a bath of vinegar.
*12) Practically crying because I discover THE Alice Q Foodie has made a comment on my litte blog.
13) Looking for a produce delivery service in San Diego that I can sign up for. I want a basket on my door step every week

Alice Q. Foodie's list of 100 things to eat and drink in San Diego

2009-03-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Alice Q. Foodie is a San Diego food blogger that I have been following religiously for about a year. She is really funny and keeps current on food trends, cooking mags and blogs, and fun little restaurants in and around America's Finest City;in other words I want to be here when I grow up. She also has a jewelry line, an etsty store and is a lawyer. I heart her!!!!Here is one of her newest posts:

"Who says there's nothing good to eat in San Diego? Just for fun, I put this list together inspired by 7x7's recent list of 100 Things to eat in San Francisco before you die. How many of these have you tried, and what would be on your list?

1. Mussell bisque en croute at Dobson's
2. Espresso gelato at Gelato Vero
3. Huitlacoche quesadilla at Aqui es Texcoco
4. Baked Alaska at Oceanaire Seafood Room
5. Falafel at Mama's Lebanese (esp. the wrap)
6. Smoked marlin taco at Mariscos German
7. Carne asada burrito at Sarita's
8. Chicken liver mousse at Farmhouse Cafe
9. Birria tacos at Tacos El Paisa
10. Croissants at Opera Patisserie
11. Coconut pancakes at the Thai stall at the Hillcrest Farmers Market
12. Coast Toast at the Brockton Villa
13. Crab sandwich at Point Loma Seafoods
14. Tortilla chips from El Indio
15. Fish and chips at Shakespeare's
16. Salted caramel chocolate cupcake at Eclipse Chocolat
17. Bacon cheeseburger at Hodad's
18. A Turkey Avocado Jack sandwich at The Cheese Shop at LJ Shores (not Downtown)
19. Duck confit with grapefruit marmalade at Market
20. Roast Pork Bahn Mi and a Cafe Sua Da at K Sandwiches
21. Duckaroni (mac and cheese with duck confit) at Urban Solace
22. Uni bisque at Sea Rocket Bistro
23. Italian Sub at Mona Lisa
24. Ahi and Tomato salad at Saladstyle
25. Roast beef sandwich with red onion and goat cheese at Con Pane
26. Green papaya salad at Sab E Lee
27. Choucroute at the Linkery
28. Plain yogurt at Yogurt World
29. Cannelloni at Sante
30. Fried oyster tacos at South Beach Bar and Grill
31. Confit tangerine with chocolate ganache at Cavaillon
32. Drugstore Burger at the Torrey Pines Lodge
33. Pierre Robert cheese at Taste
34. Mussels with creme fraiche at Vagabond
35. Cheese Crisp Special at Casa de Pico
36. Steak Frites at Cafe Chloe
37. Lefty's Pizza
38. Egg Salad sandwich at Cafe Zinc
39. Peanut Butter ice cream at Oasis in Imperial Beach
40. Lentil soup at Athen's Market
41. Sage fried chicken with maple reduction and bacon mashed potatoes at Hash House
42. Chocolate Chipotle Cake at 1500 Ocean
43. Heirloom tomato salad at Nine Ten
44. Lemon souffle tart at Market
45. Abuela Hot Chocolate at Chuao
46. Barbacoa at Vallarta's in Otay Mesa
47. Broham Sandwich at Phil's BBQ
48. Vietnamese spring rolls at Dao Son
49. Fresh uni from Catalina Offshore Products
50. Wood oven roasted mussels at Napa Valley Grille
51. Jidori chicken with currant and pine nut couscous at Jayne's Gastropub
52. Chocolate pot de creme with brandied cherries at Cafe Chloe
53. Burger and Fries at Starlite
54. Corned Beef Hash (with the coffee cake) at Hob Nob Hill
55. Jade Mistress cocktail at Red Pearl Kitchen
56. Red velvet cupcakes at Influx
57. Grilled cheese sandwiches at Bite
58. Fish torta at El Pescador
59. Donuts from Mary's
60. Torte Belge at Michele Coulon Dessertier
61. Pomegranate and watermelon salad at Urban Solace
62. Mole at Cantina Mayahuel
63. Alesmith "Old Numbskull" Barleywine
64. Shrimp and Scallop Potstickers with Tobiko Caviar Sauce at Roppongi
65. Scones at Rebecca's
66. Thai-Grilled Chicken and Cambodian Cucumber Salad from Saffron
67. Charcuterie plate at Starlite
68. Fried Oyster Cobb Salad at Market
69. Ceviche at Latin Chef
70. Velvet Diablo cocktail at Starlite
71. Honey Doughnuts at Honey's in Encinitas
72. Tuna tartare at Wine Sellar Brasserie
73. Fruit tarts at Extraordinary Desserts
74. French tuna salad sandwich at Bread and Cie
75. Peanut butter and chocolate creme brulee at Urban Solace
76. Rocky's chicken salad at Waters
77. "Funky Roll" (softshell crab and crab) at Cafe Japengo
78. Hot fudge sundae made with creme fraiche glace at Extraordinary Desserts
79. Cheese course at Blanca
80. Guanni chocolates at the Hillcrest Farmers Market
81. Triple berry jam from Jackies Jams
82. Carne asada tacos and a Cadillac Margarita at Old Town Mexican Cafe
83. Burger at Ritual Tavern (with housemade ketchup and mustard)
84. Carpaccio at Blanca
85. Fish tacos at Don Chuy in Solana Beach
86. Lemon ricotta pancakes at Crest Cafe
87. Summer corn and tomatoes from Chino Farms
88. Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale
89. Fresh mint and cocoa nib ice cream at Farmhouse Cafe
90. Liverwurst at Sausage King
91. Espresso at Pappalecco
92. Cannolis at Cafe Zucchero
93. Kefta pita sandwich at the Hillcrest Farmers Market
94. Orange vanilla bean white hot chocolate at Eclipse
95. Lobster avocado and grapefruit salad at Bertrand at Mr. A's (lunch)
96. Crow's Pass strawberries
97. Chorizo at Las Cuatro Milpas
98. Carnitas at Carnitas Uruapan
99. Bo La Lot (beef wrapped in grape leaves) at Saigon
100. Patatas Bravas at Costa Brava"

Sweet Cracker Sandwich

2009-02-25T20:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a nasty little secret, some are career ending (Eliot Spitzer) and some career boosting (Clay Aiken and Neil Patrick Harris), trust me when I say I have a few freaky deaky secrets in my past, this is a food blog however so I'll stick to the more pedestrian gastronomical confessions that I harbor.

So what triggered this post is that I had blue cheese and sliced radishes on crostini tonight and it is way better than it sounds. The key is that I had really sharp, goat's-milk blue so then the almost tart and crunchy radishes completely tempered the almost aluminum taste some blue cheese can have. It is refreshing and addicting and just gross to smell and watch, and I would have it for dinner three nights i a row if I could.

But then I got to thinking about all the other "nasty" things do I love to eat. Sorry, please don't judge.

Popcorn and milk: Yes, I take a glass of cold milk and throw oil popped popcorn into it. Spoon it up into your mouth and continue to add popcorn until the milk is gone. The third and fourth cup, naturally, taste better than the first one.

Sardines and dijon mustard on woven wheat crackers: It smells realls strong, but I like how the tangy and creamy dijon smooth out the salty sardines and the bumpy texture of the Trisqits work so nicely together.

Breakfast: Sheeps milk feta and smoked salmon, again working sharp dairy and a smooth counter point.

Ring-tum-diddy: I have no idea where the name came from, or the idea. Saltines in a bowl covered with tomato soup; not soggy, just covered. The salty and stiff crackers get softend up by the soup, but the crunch is key.

Meat and rice: I suppose it's self explanitory but the secret is day old rice, and about 1 cup of rice to every 1/2 pound of ground beef. Cook the ground beef with lots of salt and then throw in the rice for the last five minutes. My sister Miriam went through about 1/2 ton of this during college. And it is an unexpected comfort food.

McDonalds filet o "fish" with extra pickles, small fries and a vanilla shake: I have no idea why it is the relish and mayonaise mix in the "secret sauce" along with the fried fish and the fries don't need a thin drink (like a soda) to cut it but the milk shake brings sweetness to the combo that creates a sort of crack-like addiction.

Taco Bell bean burritos: Nuf said

So there it is my friends, I am letting it all hang out.

Leftovers Please

2009-02-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

We are literally swimming in leftovers and I have eaten enough pesto chicken salad to choke a horse. Unfortunately it has the right amount of salt, chicken, and pesto to make it somewhat addicting, in fact I found myself popping up a scoop the other morning when I want to look for milk for my coffee. (Oops)

I got the recipe from Giada DeLaurentis' show on the Food Network but of course never wrote the exact measurements but here is the gist:

4 whole cooked chicken breast (poached, broiled, grilled, etc) shredded
2 cups pistachio pesto:
2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup pistachios
salt to taste
1/2 cup Pecorino cheese
throw all ingredients in food processor and pour in a a thin stream of olive oil until smooth and green

Toss chicken with pesto until thoroughly coated adding more pesto or olive oil or salt until nicely coated (preferably using your hands and tasting the whole time)

Serve:
-Over round slices of polenta topped with dried cranberries
-In sun dried tomato tortillas as a wrap
-Over leafy greens
-Tossed with cooled and rinsed pasta for a pasta salad (the water will thin out the pesto and make it spread over the pasta as well)add olives, sundried tomatoes, tuna, or what ever else you have in your larder
-On toasted bread with a melted slice of swiss or ementhaler cheese, for a nice crunchy sandwich
-Straight from the dish with a side of sliced tomatoes

I have more so I need suggestions ASAP

Grand Opening

2009-02-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

I got my ass kicked on Thursday. I catered the grand opening of a design studio/furniture store (MY FIRST!! I popped my big party cherry)and it was a serious high. I did get some incredibly varying numbers from the manager Ross: "we sent out 2,000 emails", "I'm expecting about 500 people", "our last wine party had 250 at it", "we are looking to feed about 300 people". Thus my nerves were shot to hell even before I even put knife to cutting board and I was petrified about running out of food.

Long story short, I hit that shit out of the park. To wit, the menu:

Fresh Cheese for Mona Lisa Market
rolled Salumi (from Mona Lisa)
In house Mortadela in 1" chunks (per the suggestion of the staff, and a home RUN)

-Chicken Pesto salad on polenta slices topped with dried cranberries
-Thinly sliced Crusted beef tenderloin on crustini with a shot of horseradish cream
-Crackers with a touch of "Mexican cream=fresh made sour cream", smoked salmon, and a shot of black fish roe
-Marinated artichoke and hearts of palm salad topped with sun dried tomatoes in olive oil in a Tostito cups
-White bean and rosemary salad on crostini
-Fig jam, with pecorino and gala apples on a crostini
-BLT poppers: Hollowed out Cherry tomatoes with a shot of cilantro mayo, thick cut bacon and an arugula leaf
-Goat cheese topped with roasted red pepper and caper relish in a Tostito cup
-Pound cake with a smear of lemon curd, topped with a macerated raspberries

Just eat three bites....

2009-02-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

I read an article in the Washington Post today about couples with polar opposite palates and it got me thinking; would I put up with a person who ate only 10 things? Frankly, my gut instinct is to say no way, I love food way too much. And not only do I love to eat it I love teaching people about food; I get an overwhelming sense of satisfaction converting an olive hater into a tapenade lover or finding a new method of cooking, even something as minor as discovering a new spice to throw in my rice, I worship food. So I see it as more of a personality indicator; because someone who is crippled by their limited eating habits shows they are clinginging to comfort zones, are stubborn, perhaps even harbor a fear of change and have a huge level of immaturity, it indicates personality red flags, rather than quirky eating. Hell, vegetarians even make me a little cranky and I was one for years.

One man, engaged to a holistic health counselor, eats only "spaghetti, pizza, steak and milk" another woman is literally crippled by her limited eating "For most meals, she eats a chicken sandwich (just chicken and bread), a ham sandwich or chicken tenders. Vegetables, with the exception of mashed potatoes, are out. Apples, watermelons and oranges are the only fruits she will eat." This woman has anxiety about dinner parties since she is worried that she won't like the food or that her husband will rat her out and tell the host his wife won't eat what is being served. At her wedding, guests were offered steak and paella, she ate the steak and a plate of mashed potatoes. And another woman went to Paris with friends rather than her husband because she knew he "...wouldn't have appreciated the restaurants and food markets she longed to visit."

I know that people have a hard time dealing with my dairy allergy, my in-laws and fiance being the loving exceptions. I get eye rolls and people asking me if there is a pill I can take (for the record Claritin keeps it at bay, but it's just easier to not eat it at all)and endure the sheer frustration of having to explain I can't have milk OR butter OR cheese. So in that sense I can relate to these picky eaters in that you will always run into issues in any dining situation other than the ones you control. But by discovering what I can't eat I have also discovered what I can and that has given food back to me because I was devastated when I realized that I was going to live a life with no pizza, ice cream sandwiches, lasagna, hollandaise, or cheesecake ever again. But then found out I was able to eat goat, sheep, and buffalo cheese pizzas, Tofuti Cuties, and vegan lasagna. My point being I don't let my food issues destroy or define me or my relationships; as I have learned that flexibility and experimentation are what I need and what I have sought out in a mate.

Zach does not have a history of adventurous eating, but I am proud to say that in our year and a half together he has tried mushrooms, nicoise salad, carpaccio, Gorgonzola cheese, and pesto, all of which he loves. For my steak and potatoes man I have made variations of his old school favorites including low-fat, dairy-free turkey pot pie, meat balls (which he covers in Pecorino cheese)and herb-crusted pork tenderloin. My pasta will have peas in it (which he hates) and his will have a mound of cheddar cheese (gross) but we found common ground in the pasta and in our love of eating it together.

(Reading this just now I see that I have already answered the question in the language of my first sentence, "put up" is what I said, which means that I am the closed minded one)

Fresh and Easy

2009-02-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

While it sounds like a feminine hygiene product, Fresh and Easy is a new market concept on the West coast. I had heard about it from my brother and sister-in-law, who have one in their Las Vegas neighborhood, and then, you know how it goes, once you hear about something it's everywhere. I started getting coupons in the mail, hearing from other people who had shopped there, and actually went to a dinner party where the host bought all the ingredients for our meal at Fresh and Easy.

They are all about convenience and locally sourced food. Note there Quality you can trust section from their website www.freshandeasy.com:

"Our fruits and vegetables are hand-selected from farms we know and trust, and we date-code our produce so you always know when it's fresh.

Our meat, fish and poultry are always high-quality. We carry a range of beef raised right here in the USA.

Our fresh&easy™ milk and butter come from cows that have not been treated with rBST, and our eggs come from cage-free chickens.

Our fresh&easy™ kitchen products are made with our own high quality ingredients, and like all our fresh&easy™ products, they contain no artificial colors, flavors and no added trans fats. They're all delivered daily to our stores, so they're always fresh.

Whenever possible, fresh&easy™ uses local farmers and suppliers. Why wouldn't we? After all, there is such a wide variety of farms and growers located right here."

It's an odd combination of house packaged products and brand names. See the ad below.

In theory it sounds cool, but in actuality, meh. They had everything on my list, including the sheep's milk feta I eat everyday and reasonably priced smoked salmon, I was not wowed. Since they are really big on keeping their house brand in sight you see rows and rows of the Fresh and Easy logo which turns it into a store directly out of a sci-fi movie. All perfectly stacked and aligned and tweaked to look uniform, but it's all too...sterile for me. Not to say that my beloved Trader Joe's is dirty, but they emphasise personality along with the sustainability so I suppose that atmosphere was what I was comparing it to. Nary a stupid Hawaiian shirt in sight or the clang of that stupid brass bell just quiet and green. Pass

I don't consider myself to be terribly loyal to one store (Other than H&M and Anthropology) and this store is closer to my house than the Trader Joe's or Von's that I frequent but in this case even the multiple pros of location, convenience, selection, and quality, I still won't go back.

Savory Oatmeal

2009-02-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

As some of you may or may not know, I do not have a sweet tooth, any way of making a savory version of a sweet dish I am all for. One of my favorite side dishes is mushroom bread pudding and I am the Francophile jackass who has the cheese plate for dessert.

This week Mark Bittman, who has a colum in the NYT food section, was on NPR talking about oatmeal variations and he suggested adding soy sauce and green onions to the cereal. HELLO!!! I'm in baby.

I made it this morning and am here to report it is good, like really really good, and like nothing you have ever had. You get a crunch from the onions and the salty tang of the soy sauce mixed in with the creamy oatmeal, it's simply a mouthfull of joy (to quote the Honey Bunches of Oats ads). I used shallots as that is the only onionish thing I had in the fridge, but I can't think that it is that big of a difference. I am in love my friends and just might have it for lunch too.

Mark Bittman's Oatmeal with Scallions and Soy Sauce
- serves one -
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats (steel cut is my personal recommendation)
2 cups water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon scallions for stirring, 1 teaspoon for garnish
A couple shakes of sea salt
1. Combine water, salt, and oats in a medium saucepan and turn the heat to high. When the water boils, turn to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the water is just about absorbed (about 5 minutes).
2. Turn off heat, stirring in 1 tablespoon of scallions and soy sauce while the pot cools down. Sprinkle that last teaspoon of scallions on top for extra crunch.

Note: You can also do this in the microwave. Some will call this sacrilegious, and sure, maybe the texture is compromised a tad, but if you're in an office or getting anxious thinking about a pot, it's fine. Just cook the oats, water and scallions for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, and add soy sauce and extra scallion garnish after.

Larder Raid

2009-01-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

We are on a budget so my goal is to only eat what is in the house, not to worry as I have a nicely stalked larder. Thanks to my notoriously frugal, former roomate James, I have found that you happen upon some really yummy food combinations when you are forced to keep in the family. My lunch for the past week has been-penne pasta, tuna belly packed in oil, sundried tomatoes marinated in olive oil, pickled caperberries, fresh spinach, peas, a splash of lemon juice and a dash of sea salt. I mix that all together and snarf it down by the pool along with a mimosa or two (Hey I am unemployed). Writing about this is making me crave it and there is no way, at 12:45AM, I can justify that amount of calories before I go to bed.

The key elements of the dish are the tuna and the tomatoes, both of which I just recently started buying in oil. Years of watching my weight have steered me clear of anything floating in oil but I am a Convert and I am here to preach the gospel to you.

That jarringly annoying/incredibly knowledgable/just plain crazy Alton Brown had a show on tuna and he talked about...tuna. Alton (we are buddies now) explained that this is the only way to eat packaged tuna and since its so flavorful there is no need to dress it up. Huh, makes sense because that eliminates the need for mayonaise, or mustard or relish or any of that other crap you load on to tuna to make a salad. Observe the label of my favorite brand.

I pretty much feel like I am being held up at gunpoint when I buy it as the price is in no way reasonable, but one large jar lasts me a week.

There is no need to add any other dressing to the salad, its got tang from the caperberries and the lemon, the tuna, spinach, peas, and tomatoes boost the protein and nutrients and the pasta brings them all together with a nice little carb kick.

Lets see, now that I think about it it is the next day, surely I can have a small one now.

Avocado popsicles

2009-01-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

I went to cooking class today at Williams Sonoma with my friend and fellow blogger Bridget (theglamorousgourmet@blogspot.com). She and I are both Boston girls but met here and discovered that we had, in fact, worked the same event at the Boston Symphony a few years ago. The class is not as hands-on as I would like, but it's free (hello) and I get to spend time with my cutie foodie friend.

We learned about bisquits, pulled pork, pizzas, and guacamole. But the best part was that she told us how to freeze avocados, which is important info here in Cali as everyone seems to suffer from a glut avocadoes at one time or another. I always buy too many, as I have a fear of running out of anything. Anyway here is the drill:

Take avocados and mash or puree them
Add 1 tbsp juice of lemon or lime or white wine vinegar for every two avocadoes
Put the mixture in a ziplock bag and remove the air in the bag as best you can
This will last for about 4-6 months
Bonus: You can go in and snap off pieces of the mash as you need it

Arroz con magic

2009-01-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

Thom and I used to eat like little piglets all over Hillcrest (the "artistic" read gay neighborhood in San Diego, surprise I am the ultimate hag). In fact our credit card statements for the first month I lived there was as follows: Taco shop $12.00, Starbucks $9.00 , and Absolute $28.00, every 4 days. Thom and I, being equal opportunists, started to frequent Chipoltle restaurants since we could steal the chipotle Tabasco (They don't have a house brand, Tabasco makes a chipotle flavored hot sauce that will make you slap your grandma) Needless to say I blew up like a tick on an obese dog.

Looking for those sneaky ways to cut calories out of our diet we opted to start eating burrito bowls, which is burrito filling with no tortilla (1 burrito size flour tortilla=350 calories=big behind)meaning rice, beans, salsa, cheese, protein, guacamole. Thom may have moved but the burrito bowl obsession is still alive and well in me and Zach.

There is the even better option of making it yourself and it's really a good leftover boost. Zach and I made steak last night and had burrito bowls tonight, the key is the rice and here is my favorite Mexican-Style rice recipe. A touch time consuming but SO worth it.

1 1/2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
8oz tomatoes (whole, choppes, raw, stewed, no matter it all tastes good
1/4 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp coriander or 1 tbsp fresh cilantro (apparently it's the same thing)
olive oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup frozen corn or peas or carrots or green beans or a little bit of them all
1 tbsp green chilies(or more depending on taste)
salt and pepper

Soak rice in hot water for 15 minutes, drain, rinse well, drain again
Put tomatoes, onion, garlic, and coriander (or cilantro) into a blender or food processor and blend.
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a sauce pan and then pass the tomato mixture through a strainer into the sauce pan and then bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Add the stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and keep warm.
Heat 1/8 cup of olive oil in a pot and saute the rice, stirring constantly until the rice is coated.
Pour in the tomato mixture, add the frozen veggies, and the green chilies.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving

For the burrito bowl stack rice, beans, salsa, cheese, and chicken/steak/pork/nothing

Don't eat two bowls or that negates the whole no tortilla attempt.

Salt..good god ya'll..what is is good for...absolutley everything

2009-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

No, I admit it I am that obsessed with salt. I found out a few interesting facts about salt. Such as Kosher salt is ideal for cooking because it's milder and has flat sides. Sea salt is perfect for finishing the chunky crystals don't disolve as fast and therefore you get the mouthfull of salt you crave when you saly your food.

So in my house I have the following salts:
*Hawian pink sea salt-because it's pink, my favorite color
*Black Hawian Sea salt-I like it but the black color leaches on to my food and then it looks like I have poka dotted pasta
*Smoked Salt-My mom once dscribed it as tasting like leather. It is an aquired taste but so delicious on everything
*kosher salt-for cooking
*Grey sea salt-I'm an ass, and it had "french" on the label
*KLAS- I bought it at a Greek market, only because I had never seen it before
*truffle salt-Zach hates this so I make sure to put it on only my food. Truffles taste a little like mold or armpits if you aren't a fan or prepared for the taste.
*Sale alle erbe-herbed salt with rosemary, garlic, sage, and pepper.

Food Movies

2009-01-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

There are a few and I for one have some favorites (surprise in no particular order, here are the ones that make me want to eat and cook. Also I tell you why...

1) Tampopo:it is virtually impossible to watch this 1985 Japanese movie and not crave ramen, immediately
2) Eat, Drink, Man, Woman: Directed by Ang Lee in 1994,I recommend that you see this on DVD as after the first 20 minutes you will want to pause it and eat everything in sight.
3)Mostly Martha: A 2002 movie that you can't help but love. It makes you understand the temperamental chef a little more and love the fuck out of food.
4)Ratatouille: Duh, I did like this movie already and then I read an article in the New York Times about the Parisian food critic who Anton Ego was modeled after.
5)Moonstruck: This 1984 Norman Jewison gem has a few little nuggets. The corner restaurant, the eggs in a hole breakfast with the roasted red peppers, and sugar cubes in the champagne.
6)Goodfellas(Thank you Alan)where they talk about slicing the garlic with a razor blade in prison, Joe Peci's character kills someone and then goes his mother's house and she feeds them, and "Half that movie is the Gangsters eating at a restaurant with their girlfriends" *Alan Parker again
7)Harold and Kumar go to White Castle: This movie might be a little over the top but I remember driving 25 minutes to Montgomery Mall with Priscilla Rawlins (Nee Bacon) to go to Taco Bell
8)Gosford Park: Not really a food movie, but I love the below stairs scenes, and how the cook and the housekeeper brawled.
9)L'auberge Espagnole:There is this scene where all the roommates are eating on the balcony with a few tables pushed together and drinking wine in juice glasses...and I want to be young and bohemian again.
10)In Her Shoes: Toni Collete and Anson Mount have this groundbreaking lunch where he orders this kick ass sushi lunch and he promises to take her to a dinner that will make her "weap". Oh please, please, please, me likey.
*trust me this will be updated, but go see Mostly Martha

Prospective lunch menus for San Diego Magazine

2009-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Every month San Diego Magazine has a TGIO lunch for their staff, meaning (Thank Goodness It's Over), they ask for menu submissions and it's paid in trade. Meaning I get free advertising and they get to eat some of my amazing food. I submitted these a few weeks ago and haven't heard back yet(must be some sort of email glitch, I sure of it). Regrdless I like the practice of menu planning. It seems to be one thing I'm having a really hard time just sitting down and doing.

"April-

Happy New Year!!

I'm a friend of Jennifer, and I had told her that I was interested in coming in and catering your TGIO lunch one month. I'm not sure as to the size or breadth of your TGIO lunches so I included a few menus that show a variety of options you can pick from.

Danish Sandwich Buffet
1) Blue cheese, potato and green apple sandwiches
2)Salami Sandwiches
3)Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
4)Radish and cucumber sandwiches
5) Shrimp and Egg sandwiches

Tossed green salad
Olive oil potato chips

Ice cream sandwiches

Greek Luncheon
Greek almond dip with home made pita chips
Grilled Skirt Steak with red pepper, feta and oregano salad
Composed Greek salad
Fresh fruit with Greek yogurt, honey and lavender

Deconstructed Salad Bar
Apps:
Crackers with olives, carrots and radishes, salami, chips and dips
Entree:
Beets
Toasted nuts
Spicy rubbed chicken with two sauces
Green beans
Tomatoes
Crostini with creamy feta cheese
lemon scented chickpeas
Salad Greens

Amaretto cookies and chocolate pretzels

Thai Lunch Menu

Pan-Fried fish cakes
Lemongrass beef skewers
Rice noodles with scallions and herbs
Gingered Lychees with sesame cookies

Hope these look ok, let me know if you have any questions. I can flush out any menu and can alter it based on allergies and food preferences.

Julie Schwarz
Help and Helpings Personal chef and caterer

And I miss you....

2009-01-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

There are certain foods that I have had to give up for various reasons, like allergies, weight control, or they just make you feel plain nasty the second you stop eating them. But truth be told there are some things that I still miss regardless of the bodily detriment. I suppose it's because I don't eat this stuff anymore that I still feel a touch of nostalgia for them.

Mac and cheese for instance, it brings me right back to childhood and that orange powered cheese from Kraft. So nasty and yet...delicious. But I'm finally coming to the conclusion that I'll eat anything that is hot regardless of the taste, I digress. I once had a southern style mac and cheese that made my toes curl it was so creamy and delicious. I made the mistake of asking for the recipe and kicked myself for having had three heaping servings. 3 sticks of butter, 1 cup whole milk and 4 cups of cheese were the fist three ingredients...OH MY GOODNESS. But if you watch Paula Deen's cooking show you'll know that's how she rolls, everything has a "stek a budder". Thus I'm not quite sure why I was so surprised, ignorance is bliss I guess.

And cheeseburgers, uuummmm, so good. The Childe Harold in Dupont Circle had a Black and Blue burger, that was stuffed with blue cheese and then blackened. So good with pickles and mustard. Slap some bacon on that baby and I am in heaven(is it any wonder I weighed 200 pounds in high school?)

Oh man, now I"m on a roll, a cinnamon roll that is (HA!)...Armand's pepperoni pizza, Popeye's chicken and biscuits, Bryers ice cream, mayonnaise (however we have been recently reunited), Croque Monsieur and Croque Madames, Cuban sandwiches, mozzarella sticks from TGIFridays, Hardee's and McDonald's bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, sausage with peppers and onions from street vendors in the North End of Boston, Grill 23's Roquefort mashed potatoes, Cottonwood Cafe's enchiladas verdes, Sara Lee's pound cake, Johnny Rocket's chocolate milkshakes, butter cream frosting, In N' Out Burger double double animal style and cheese fries animal style, chicken pot pies, fettuccine Alfredo, my mother's boiled potatoes with butter and fresh parsley, spaghetti carbonara, Krispy Kreme glazed donuts, the double stack grilled cheese with tomatoes and sharp cheddar that I ate everyday for the summer I worked at Joe's Bar and Grill, buffalo wings with chunky blue cheese and crunchy celery...I could go on for ever.

Wow, believe it or not that was actually cathartic. And it also made me realize that I am doing pretty well avoiding foods that will make me blow up to the size of the white house because I have a dairy allergy and because I gain weight eating lettuce. Oh hell, I'm going to Popeye's right now, 2 piece and a biscuit, with red beans and rice...come to momma.

Chef Charming

2009-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

I am planning a wedding (Yippee). I had no interest in a church or a temple, but if you know me, you know restaurants are my religion so this is a perfect location for me. Part of the planning is talking to the chef so we can get a menu that jibes with the event, thus when I called to talk to Sammy, the executive chef at this venue I had high hopes. Oh no. I explained that I have a dairy allergy, and not lactose intolerance so I really need to negate butter, milk, and cheese from cows otherwise I break out in hives and itch and sneeze. You can say it...SEXY, especially with a wedding dress.
So Sammy keeps saying stuff like "Can you give me a list of the people who are allergic?" "How about we give some grilled chicken and dry greens?" "and my personal favorite "You don't want your other guests to suffer because you can't eat that stuff?" Excuse me? Would you tell a vegetarian that? A person who eats Kosher that?

Sammy...you can suck it!

So my sister Anna and I had a discussion about the nightmare I could have given him.

January 8, 2009
me:oh, get this...
Anna: jes?
me: I was talking to the chef at the restaurant where we are getting married and I told him about the dairy allergy we have so I asked if there could be an option with no dairy and I swear he was so put out then he kept saying "well you don't want you guests to suffer"
Anna: oh. I was about to be excited for a second there. What a BABY.
me: suggesting shit like grilled chicken on a dry salad
Anna: More like, no one wants THE BRIDE to break out in hives
WTF?
me: Seriously?
Anna: Lame. Can't he play around with Goat or Sheep milk options??
me: Is making pasta with olive oil rather than butter that much of a process?
Anna: for reals
me: jackass, would you say that shit to a vegetarian?
Anna: yeah, he gets a FAIL. And just because half the world has mistakenly decided they're lactose-intolerant doesn't change the fact that you and I have an ANAPHYLACTIC reaction to cow's milk. I just straight up say "it gives me hives and makes me swell" because people thing dairy allergy= lactose intolerant these days
me: he wants me to give him names so we can get separate plates, plus he kept joking that it probably keeps me thin.
Anna: if he keeps this shit up you should tell him the whole meal needs to be Kosher
and then find a crazy Lubavitcher rabbi to stand in the kitchen and scold him
while he's prepping the food
me: I actually found myself explaining three times that I can have sheep, goat, and even buffalo milk products
Anna: what a DUMBASS! ooo! Plus it will be around Passover, so you could be like "Kosher Parve BITCH! HA!"
me: or I could insist that the grooms family only eats for their blood type
Anna: Ha!
me: and that my mom and dad only do raw food
Anna: and that one of the guests-- but don't say who--is Vegan
me: because no cows milk could be the least of your problems
Anna: AND that one of the maids of honor just converted to Hinduism so all of he food has to be cooked separately from any areas where beef is cooked
me: nice
Anna: but that one can have butter on everything, so does THAT make you happy??
me: they teach you THAT in the CIA*?
Anna: How you like THAT Mr CIA man?

*By CIA I mean the Culinary Institute of America, and by writing this I feel like an ass but I'm all about same page and all so you can appreciate how funny I am.

(Not sure how this post will work, but experiemnting is fun)

Water Wings

2009-01-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am a water drinker, but still need a push in the right direction when water...I guess, starts to taste like water. So I have been experimenting with ways to spruce up my H2O and have been pretty happy with the results. I usually just put stuff in my glass and be done with it, but I have been known to produce a whole pitcher; however because this is me, by the time I'm gone with the pitcher, I'm also done with the flavor and move on to another ingredient to get me to drink water.

*The old standby lemon/lime slices or wedges: I prefer lime, but I think it's a holdout from my teguila and margarita guzzling days.
*Cucumber slices: this gives a slight hint of cucumber to your all day cocktail
*Cucumber and thyme: I use either dried or fresh thyme but I found that the dried thyme imbues the water faster, I think it's re hydrating and soaking up water faster than the fresh, but this gives water a distinct herbal taste.
*Frozen cranberries or raspberries: Drop a few of these in your water so they give it a pretty color and a slightly sweet taste.
*Fresh cranberries: These create a subtle and slightly bitter flavor, they have to soak for a while, so this is a good idea for pitchers, and the water looks a little pink which I also find to be a nice incentive.
*Crystal Lite: A good little standby, if I use too much it gets WAY too sweet, so I can get one little tub to last me a whole day, but it gets expensive and I don't like to pump all those chemicals in my body in my (I save that roll for alcohol)
*Star anise: Again, this is a distinct taste, but if you like that unmistakeably liquorice flavor it's a great alternative.
*Orange slices: Give a nice tang, depending on how juicy the orange is, but it doesn't get as sweet as orange juice.
*Pomegranate Pips-These give a really pleasant, juicy flavor, to me it tastes like summer
*A splash of your favorite juice: Juice has a lot of calories so I try to avoid it, but approx a tablespoonful in a 16oz glass gives you the flavor (mild), you can save on money since you don't go through juice as fast and wean your self if you have a juice habit.
*Herbal tea bags: I know this isn't really an alternative so much as a whole other drink, but you can toss a teabag in your water glass and it does flavor it, therefore, since it's not brewed tea, I'm saying its a water enhancer.

Oh Crunchy, Delicious, Yummy Yummy Frog Balls

2009-01-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't gone completly insane, nor have I lost a bet, gone to a cajun resturant with a back room, or decided to one up Andrew Zimmerman in his show "Bizarre Foods". I found hot, pickled brussel sprouts. Black Sheep Gourmet Foods produces these:

Gourmet Atomic Frog Balls
Spicy, dill pickled Brussels sprouts, with garlic, Jalapeño peppers and FAT FREE!
heat level 3-4

This is a home run for me:Pickled, Spicy, Brussel Sprouts. I actually opened and consumed an entire jar in 12 minutes and my lips are burning, I'm thirsty, and I want more more more. Now I want to put them in a dirty martini, serve them with a charcuterie plate, and eat them as a late night after drinking snack.

Oatmeal Specs

2009-01-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

I am by no means a food expert, so I rely on research and cool websites to keep me in the know. I had a bizare obsession with oatmeal recently and turned to one of my favorite sites HungryGirl.com, to give me the rundown. The majority of the info I found to be a little diet obsessive, but she does an exhausting amount of research so I can always find something about what I'm looking for. To note her research on oatmeal.

Oatmeal ABCs

Oats are a great power food. They're high in fiber (so they keep you feeling full for a long time) and packed with B vitamins. Plus, studies have linked oatmeal (when eaten regularly) to lowered LDL cholesterol levels, reduced risk of heart disease, and lowered risk for type 2 diabetes.

Confused by the different types of oatmeal? Everyone is. Here's a quick rundown:

Steel-Cut (Irish) - Coarse, chopped up oats. Take longer to cook, but yield chewier oatmeal.

Old-Fashioned (Rolled) - Oat flakes that have been steamed, rolled flat, and toasted. Minimally processed for maximum health benefits.

Quick-Cooking - Old-fashioned oats that have been rolled thinner and cut into smaller pieces, so they cook faster.

Instant - Thin, precooked oats with less natural flavor and t exture. Often contain added salt, sugar, and/or other flavorings.

My entry for a foodie contest to win a breakfast cookbook that I lost, WEAK!

2009-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Scrambled eggs: they are my ulitimate comfort food and the very first thing I ever learned to cook. My grandmother had a wood burning stove at our summer house that would throw off insane amounts of heat, a life saver since summers in Maine are pretty cold. Every morning my grandfather would light the stove a few hours before I got up so I would wake to the sound of popping wood, laughter, the snap of newspapers, clinking dishes, and frying bacon.
By the time I got up most of breakfast had been consumed so my grandmother decided that, rather than make more I would learn to make it myself. And so on that blue speckled stove, in a 6″ iron skillet I discovered the magic of cooking. The incredible alchemy of cracking an egg into a sizzling, butter filled pan, and watching white and yellow opaque liquid turn to a solid mass of creamy, slightly brown, fluff. And then scarfing them down, blowing out as you chew since they are almost too hot to bite into; the sensation of red-hot food sliding down your throat so that you could almost swear you feel them hit your stomach. Amazing.
My recipie has since varied (the butter is no longer) and the cast iron skillet has dissapearred, but the motions are the same and thus my initial reaction to the goat cheese studded or cumin scented scrambled eggs I whip up in my own kitchen, is sheer happiness.

Crap...I'm one of THOSE women

2009-01-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

So I saw this recipe for poached chicken breast in this old cookbook I got at the second hand store up the street from me. It's SUPER simple.

Fill a saucepan with about three cups of water and any or some of the following, a splash of white wine,onion slices, carrot slices, celery tops, bay leaves, parsley, cilantro, salt and pepper. Cut up the chicken breasts in big pieces (I had whole breasts so I cut them into three pieces, don't go any smaller or you'll dry them out)and add them to the mix, bring to a boil, then turn it off, letting the heat of the liquid finish the cooking process. Let the mixture cool and then remove the breasts with a slotted spoon or fork. If you have a few breasts that are about to go bad (like you see discounted chicken and it is recession friendly: IE CHEAP!)cook them all, so you can have ready cooked chicken in your fridge. This chicken makes a good diet-food staple as you can pair it with rice, pasta, or make a nice shredded chicken salad.

So, I strained the stock and put it in my freezer, making me one of those cooking bitches who has chicken stock in their freezer. Damn it! I AM a cooking snob.

Whore Food

2009-01-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

My lovely sister Miraim once told me that Puttanesca was what dirty whores made in Sicily because it meant quick and easy, as in they were quick and easy and thus they needed to come home to make something for dinner for their families that was quick and easy. (I am so riding that phrase into the ground, but its funny) I researched it and found some pretty silly explainations, but this one had three so I posted it here for you.
One more thing: it's one of my favorite sauces but I am so NOT quick and easy (at least not any more)
Happy Monday!

"Puttanesca sauce, most often employed for pasta, originated in Naples. It is made from tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies, onions, garlic, and herbs, usually oregano and parsley but sometimes also basil. It is an easy sauce, briefly cooked, and is very fragrant and spicy. Puttanesca translates as “in the style of the whore.” The name derives from the Italian word puttana which means whore. Puttana in turn arises from the Latin word putida which means stinking.

Now I’ll bet your wondering how this tasty dish became associated with such sordid content. As is often the case when sifting through culinary history, there are multiple explanations. The first interpretation is that the intense aroma, (harking back to the “stinking” Latin definition), would lure men from the street into the local house of ill repute. Thus, the Napolese harlots were characterized as the sirens of the culinary world. Three additional accounts all hinge on the fact that Puttanesca sauce is easy and quick to make. The first is that the prostitutes made it for themselves to keep the interruption of their business to a minimum. The second is that they made it for the men awaiting their turn at the brothel. And the final version is that it was a favorite of married women who wished to limit their time in the kitchen so that they may visit their paramour.

Whatever its origins, Puttanesca is a tasty and vibrant sauce. I like it best with spaghetti or on top of chicken breasts. There are many different recipes, most of them varying on the amounts of the ingredients. Indeed, the basic recipe is flexible. Below is the recipe I use but feel free to alter individual items according to taste.

SPAGHETTI PUTTANESCA

1 lb spaghetti or the pasta of your choice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (2 oz.) can of anchovies
Pinch of hot pepper flakes, (more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil as needed
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can of plum tomatoes, including the juice.
2 tablespoons capers
½ cup chopped black olives, (about 25 small olives)
Oregano, chopped, to taste
Parsley, chopped, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Boil the pasta while making the sauce but try to time it that the sauce is done first. Better the sauce simmer for a few extra minutes waiting for the pasta than the reverse. Remove the pasta just a little before it is done so you can finish cooking it in the sauce. Sweat the onion, anchovies, hot pepper, salt and pepper in a generous amount of olive oil until the onions soften and the anchovies disintegrate somewhat. Break the anchovies up with a wooden spoon as they sweat. Go easy on the salt since many of the ingredients are already salty. Add the garlic and cook one minute more.
Next add the tomatoes and their juices, breaking them up with a masher or wooden spoon as you bring them to a boil. Add the capers and olives, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Add the almost done pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Check for additional salt and pepper. Finish with the oregano, parsley and cheese and serve. Oregano by the way is one of the few herbs that aren’t that bad in dried form. Fresh is always best but you can by with dried oregano. The parsley however, must be fresh.

Interestingly, black olives are an ingredient in numerous recipes considered to have aphrodisiacal properties. Moreover, they are rumored to specifically increase the female libido. Maybe that’s what put the eroticism in Puttanesca sauce?"

Mark Vogel @ Epicurious.com

Herb Crusted Pork Loin

2009-01-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

Zach used to be a butcher, so he goes ape shit when ever there is a sale on meat in the grocery store. Needless to say our freezer is chock full so I look forward to big crowds so I can clear it out. We used this recipie for a party of 8 and because I have a fear of running out of food, we doubled this and made two loins because, yes, we had two in the freezer.

Herb Crusted Pork Loin
(Adapted from License to Grill)

1 3-4lb pork loin
1 cup roughly chopped mixed fresh herbs: Any combination of parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, and/or marjoram
¼ cup minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons red pepper flakes depending on your taste for heat
1/8 cup salt (this is less than the original recipe which calls for ¼ cup, but I found it to be a little too salty when I used that much)
¼ cup cracked pepper
½ cup olive oil

In a bowl, combine the herbs, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and olive oil and mix well. Rub the loin generously with the all the herb mixture. Wrap in tinfoil and seal well. Cook on the grill away from direct heat for approximately 45 minutes or in the oven at 300 degrees for the same time. I discovered this touch test note on the Turf Club menu and it seems to be pretty right on albeit somewhat bizare:
Rare feels like your cheek
Medium rare like your chin
Medium like the tip of your nose
Well done like the bottom of your shoe

The sauce on the side is tomato and artichoke bruschetta (which Trader Joes no longer makes, but Jimbo’s might have something like it.)Note:1/15/2009 The dumbass at Trader Joe's lied to us! They still make our favorite bruschetta, holla!!!

I found that Trader Joes does make a Sun Dried tomato Bruschetta, and then I chopped pickled artichokes up and mixed them together, reserving some of the brine to thin out the sauce if need be. It’s almost as close as the original.

I served this with polenta that I blew up with butter and some of the extra fresh herbs. yummy!

Don't Try This at Home

2009-01-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catostrophies from the World's Greatest Chefs

This book is a RIOT, and for anyone who has been in the industry, all too real. The one catering story about the spun sugar doves shattering and the chef siced the clients dogs on to the rest in order to blame them is dead on! I was on the staff of a catered birthday party and the dogs got a hold of the custom made cake. The pary planners almost lost their shit, but our chef reinforced it with cardboard and covered it with whipped cream and flowers. Needless to say we let the birthday girl blow out the candles, ran it back to the kitchen, and sliced up what we could to serve on plates. It's one of my favorite books

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Try-This-Home-Catastrophes/dp/1596911573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231638717&sr=8-1

25 Food Related Facts About Moi

2009-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

1)My favorite meal is brunch
2)I don't like hot drinks when I'm eating a meal (eg.coffee with breakfast)
3)My first cooking memory is making scrambled eggs on my grandmother's wood burning stove
4)I used to drink coffee with milk and sugar, then milk and Splenda, now it's just milk
5)I could eat burritos three times a day
6)Duck is my favorite fowl
7)I will try anything that has been grilled or pickled
8)I knew someone who didn't like sandwiches as a means of eating (what?)
9)The combination of Trader Joe's green salsa and their plain Soy and Flax seed chips has become a twice weekly habit for me
10)Everything tastes better when eaten with your fingers
11) I can only eat 1/2 of a banana, any more and I start to gag
12)You can tell I'm drinking alcohol if there are ice cubes in my glass, otherwise I prefer my drinks room temperature
13)Eating outside appeals to me, in theory, but more often than not I opt to eat inside
14)I have packets of hot sauce in my wallet at all times
15)The only condiments I put on my food are salsa and hot sauce, otherwise I dip
16)In times of high stress I crave mashed potatoes
17)The majority of cookbooks I own I have never used, but I have read every single recipe
18)I never ate cottage cheese until I was 20 years old
19)Three bean salad will never pass my lips
20)Dijon mustard is the perfect french fry condiment
21)Basil and cilantro are always in my refrigerator
22)Egg based desserts gross me out, flan and souffle specifically come to mind
23)I'm on a quest to find a savory ketsup
24)The concept of tapas is perfect for me as I prefer to snack rather than have a balanced meal
25)My dream pantry includes olives stufed with jalapenos, salted capers, harissa, and dark chocolate chips
25)When no one is around I eat sardines on Triscuits with mustard

Moroccan Chicken Stew for my boys

2009-01-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

Zach and I have a bunch of guy friends whom we feed at least twice a week. We both love to socialize but are having a love affair with our apartment so this has become a nice little compromise. Last night, when faced with a total of three extra people to feed, all of whom Zach invited over at about 6:00PM, I really had almost no time to get it together. I opted to not go the pasta route for no reason other than I'm stubborn, and promptly found this recipe in my Martha Stewart "Everyday Food" cookbook. Its divided up by seasons so I flipped to winter (I know I know here in Southern California we have "Winter") and found that all the ingredients are cheap and readily available at the grocery store this time of year. I modified it based on my larder and whipped this up in 45 minutes flat. This serves 5 with plenty of leftovers.

California Wintertime Moroccan Chicken Stew with Spiced Couscous

10 chicken tenders (Approx, I found a 5lb bag in my freezer and used about half)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped up into hearty chunks
1 yellow onion thinly sliced
1 can cannoli beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans whole tomatoes, drained and broken up with your hands in the strainer (you can leave the beans in the strainer, it's all going in the same pot)
1.5 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
4 zucchini cut into quarters
1 box sliced mushrooms

In large pot combine chicken, carrots, onions, tomatoes, beans, chicken broth, 1 cup water, the ginger, turmeric, Cinnamon, paprika, 1.5 teaspoons of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the zucchini and the mushrooms, cover and cook for 15 more minutes, or until the chiken is tender.

Meanwhile make the couscous (I use those big jars of "instant" couscous from Trader Joe's, it saves me mucho time)

In a sauce pan combine:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
approx 3 bay leaves

Turn on the burner to medium and mix the spices until they combine and start to get fragrant (About 10 seconds, at the most).
Add 1 cup dry couscous and mix it in until it looks coated, keeping the heat on.
Add 1 cup of water and mix just until the couscous has soaked up the liquid.
Take the pot off the heat and cover
let sit for 5 minutes
fluff with fork
One thing to note, in order to really give everyone a hearty helping I had to double this couscous recipe, so this one serves about four people.

To serve the stew place couscous in bowls and spoon the chicken, vegetables, and broth on top. Serve with crusty bread, a leafy salad and vats of red wine.

Give me a Quickie

2008-12-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

I am competitive, there, I said it. I like to pretend I'm not but I'm actually so competitive I like to hone my skills to the point that being good looks easy. There are certain scenarios that I can kick ass in without any practice (my favorite). This particular situation got triggered by Grandma Bruns saying that the only way she could get quiche was to go to the Country Buffet, and then about six years ago they stopped selling it. Oh hell yeah I can make a good quiche EASILY!!! So here is the recipie.

-1 9 " unbaked pie shell
-9 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
-1/2 lb cubed swiss cheese
-3 eggs
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1 tsp chives
-1 1/2 cup cream or milk

Half bake the pie crust for approx 7 minutes at 350 degrees.(Remember to poke the crust a few times with a fork) Put all ingredients, except for bacon, in blender and whip it good. Crumble the bacon in the pie crust and then pour the mixture into it. Bake for 40 minutes, until the custard is serttled and the crust is brown. This can freeze easily and can be reheated at 350degrees for 25 minutes

Pink Salad

2008-12-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

I'm going to hell for saying this but this is a "salad" that got served at my fiance's grandmother's house for Christmas Dinner and, frankly, I'd rather toss a salad than eat this one ever again. But I don't have a sweet tooth, or a pink tooth for that matter so perhaps I'm a little biased. That being said I'm still posting this because you never know, this might create a holiday tradition or trigger some memory of holidays gone by.

8oz of cream cheese
2 cups of cool whip
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp of sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 packet red jello
2 sleeves graham crackers, crushed

Make Jello with 2 cups of hot water and let set until almost firm. Crush crackers and add 1 tbsp of sugar and 6 tbsp of melted butter. "Squarsh" them down into a 9X9 pan, reserving approx 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top. Meanwhile mix cream cheese, cool whip, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla with the beaters until smooth, then mix in the jello. Spread mixture over the crushed crackers crust, top with remaining cracker crumbs and put in fridge until firm.

Warning this will turn your tongue pink and will ruin your child's appetite for green salads.

Salty VS. Sweet Breakfast

2008-12-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

I am a savory girl no doubt about it; I have been known to pass up breakfast if there is only sweet stuff to eat. In fact I am such a purist I'll drink my coffee black if they only have creamer, hmmmn that's incredibly bitchy but considering I only have my coffee with milk, I am allowed to put my foot down. Poached eggs and toast seriously trumps pancakes and syrup every time.

Every morning I eat the same thing: Multi grain toast, sheep's milk feta cheese, and smoked salmon, Coffee with skim, Lactaid-free milk. My breath is horrendous afterwards but I make a point of brushing my teeth prior to talking to anyone.

I never realized that I was so anti-sweet breakfast ( I suppose I should explain what I consider sweet: cereal, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal) Other than poached eeggs, what else is considered a savory breakfast? Oh, salmon and bagels, huevos rancheros, spinach omelets, grilled cheese, stollen, grits, green eggs and ham.

Bring it!

Well, I feel that this obsession came to a head (ha) when I opted to not buy salmon and bread since we were leaving for a week. Mind you, Zach has so much cereal I call it the cereal bar, so I decided to empty out the fridge and try to transform everything I could into breakfast. Oh man, scrounging the fridge I had sauteed portabella mushrooms with feta cheese and put it on polenta, truffle mac and cheese and crisped up the top in my broiler, and discovered my California favorite: sliced avocado with a squeeze of lemon on saltines.

The best part is is that I am in Wyoming right now and Zack's grandmother just fed us "salad", and was excited that there would be leftovers for breakfast: Cream cheese, cool whip, mini marshmallows, canned tangerines, fruit cocktail juice as well as the fruit cocktail. Mix it all together and then you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. (It's just as nasty as it sounds). There is leftover pot roast so I'm sure I'll finagle a way to make steak and eggs.

Good Eating

Help and Helpings

Kitchen Day

Well, hello there!!!

In Honor of My East Coast Brethren, I make a nice warm Chile Verde

Shortcrust to perfection

Green Screen

P to the Umpkin, Chiffon to the Izzay.

That's IT!

It's that time of year!!!

How to put a hangover in its place

Pulau? More like PuWOW!

Savory Scones

Garlic Lovers, Take Notice!

Time to Feed the Kids! It

Right before my eyes

Cheese Fail

Lemons and Lemonade

Edam? Shazzam!

Mazto Mania!

Secret Menus revealed

24 Secret Restaurant Menus Revealed

Going Bananas

Monday Off ~a photo Essay

His and Hers!!

Your Stinky Herbal Friend

Fried Jalapenos

Man-crush, Marinades, and Machaca, Part II

Cheeeeeeeese

Beet Me!

Genius post from Eater.com

Man-crush, Marinades, and Machaca, Part I

Picnic Time!

Burger Bonanza

New Kid on the Block

We love the hippie cuisine

Time machine in a jar

Arnold Palmer making an Arnold Palmer

Bloglovin

The Most Amazing Shrimp Ever

Looks like my condiment obsession has caught up with me...

Lets spice up this holiday people!! Chipotle & Cumin Cranberry Sauce

The soup that saved me

Ghetto Sangria-It's hot people

Sweetbreads: scalloped, cutlets, or mousse

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles

Iron Chef Dinner-Tomatoes

Glorious Tomatoes

Curry in a Hurry

Leftover Quiche

Refridgerator Roulette: Please help

Roast-a-rita

Alone Eating

Julie S and Julia

Patti's favorite shrimp

Presto Pesto

Kick ass potato salad (sorry it took me so long Jeff)

Bounty

Membership Has it's Privileges

Desert Island Cookbook and Vegetable Soups

OBSESSION

Words that need to be retired: Foodie

Curried Hummus: Yum Yum Pigs Bum

Cake in your eye!!!

Oh HELL yeah!

Eating Crow or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Fresh and Easy

Shock & Foie

Jeff Strunin's Jalapeno Fire Salsa

Champagne Supernova

Ode to "Chopped"

Oh Sweet Nastiness

M.I.A. (idea courtesy of my mentor Alice Q. Foodie)*

Alice Q. Foodie's list of 100 things to eat and drink in San Diego

Sweet Cracker Sandwich

Leftovers Please

Grand Opening

Just eat three bites....

Fresh and Easy

Savory Oatmeal

Larder Raid

Avocado popsicles