s'kat and the food

Movin' On

2006-06-14T08:03:00.001-05:00

Re-update! My new home is at bistro613. Check it out here, or feel free to browse around through my blospot archives.
~~~
Hello, good reader-folk, old and new. Some stuff is about to rock the shizz-bah, and its time to come clean.

A local cornerstone of food-writing and restaurant criticism has finally decided to lighten her load, and hop on up to the upper tier of newspaper editorialism. Good for her- not so much for the public at large.

I received a call from the newspaper, wondering if there may be an interest in picking up some of the detail. My blog, my love of food, had caught their attention. And since I was writing about food and restaurants any way.... the answer was unabashedly yes, yes, yes!

We post-published an article or two from my blog, along with a restaurant review. My view, ha ha, seemed to be different enough on both levels to pull out a passionate reaction from folk. As with anything in the biz, some good, some bad. Either way, it's good that people are finally TALKING about food in a passionate manner- that's what its all about.

For the folks who have followed me since the beginning of "s'kat and the food", it's been an incredibly fun journey. I was already taking pictures of food and wine, and need some outlet to talk about it as well- a blog turned out to be the perfect way to do so.

As with so many other blog-folk, this has rapidly turned into more than I ever anticipated. The people I've met out there in the electronic-foodie world have proved kind, considerate, friendly, and more rockin' than I ever could have anticipated. I love the folk I've met through these tenuous internet connections, whether it be through blogs, comments or emails, I see one common cord shining through: real folk. Real compassion. And a love of good food.

I think this is going to be a good thing.

At any rate, I'm not ending my blog, but I am moving it. From here on out, you'll find me under the umbrella of the Daily Press at s'kat and the food. In addition to regular blogging activities, I'll have a restaurant review every Wednesday, and will put out two 'Taste' stories a month.

Things on the blog will look a little different. Foremost, it will be under the masthead of the paper, and that means adverts. Just scroll down if that type of thing bothers you.

Secondly, the blog will now be hosted by TypePad, and instead of the 2-column layout I use, its shifted to three. Other than that, folks, it will be business as usual. Be sure to update your links/feeds/readers, and hope to see you over there!

Cheers,
Shelley Rauch

Our Italian Tuna Salad

2006-06-13T05:30:00.000-05:00

Last week, my husband and I returned from Virginia wine country with some of the best tuna salad I've ever encountered. Luckily, my Momma didn't raise no fool, and I purchased a few precious cans of the oil-packed Italian tuna for further experimentation.

After much deliberation, DucCat and I did our best to replicate that intense taste memory. Red onion and kalamatta olives were minced. Red wine vinegar was sprinkled judiciously, capers with much more abandon. Then the part I'd been dreading- what had the little chunks of red been? It definitely wasn't a sun-dried tomato, yet it didn't seem to be a roasted red pepper, either. Was this some sort of high-falutin', Italian-packed marinated red pepper? In the end, DucCat chopped up one hot cherry pepper, while I diced a simple marinated red pepper. We mixed, and let the salad chill and meld for a couple of hours.

Oh the sweet glory. While the flavour wasn't exactly duplicated, it was still a fine, full riff on the original. We laughed, nibbled, then finally tore ourselves away to make dinner. I went with the straight-forward sandwich interpretation.

Fresh focaccia, another garden-fresh tomato, and a little lettuce was all this needed to shine.

DucCat chose to mix his with cooled pasta for the perfect hot summer's eve treat.
At any rate, I'm just happy we don't have to travel 2 1/2 hours to get the stuff anymore!

In keeping with the Virginia wine country theme, we enjoyed the tuna with a couple of glasses of Veritas Rose. Light, crisp, cool and imminently quaffable, it was the perfect excuse to linger on the porch for an extra hour.

I know I haven't been posting so much recently, but be sure to check in tomorrow. Some big changes are about to happen!

Italian Tuna Salad
2 cans tuna, marinated and packed in olive oil
2/3 cup red onion, minced
8 kalamatta olives, chopped
1/8-1/4 cup red wine vinegar (taste and adjust)
1/2 cup capers, drained and rinsed
1 hot red cherry pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 marinated red pepper strip, minced
parsley and basil, minced, 1/8 of a cup
juice of one lemon

Drain one can of tuna. Combine the tuna and oil from the other can with the remaining ingredients, and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Overnight, if you can wait that long.

Still Eating Like We're In Virginia Wine Country

2006-06-09T08:46:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on getting the photos back from our trip last weekend. In the meantime, I'll share a few goodies we brought home with us from the road.

Just outside of Crozet sits a building that looks remarkably like a nursery. Do yourself a favour, and pull over. Greenwood is actually an upscale gourmet market/wineshop/coffeshop, and they also sell a variety of fresh, organic local produce, eggs, milk, meat, etc. Oh yeah- plants and flowers, too.

There's also a little deli, where we had some of the best eating on the trip. Before leaving for home, we hit it up one last time, and stocked up the cooler. Back in our own kitchen, dinner was a no-brainer.

There had been one fat slice of meatloaf left; DucCat insisted it return with us. He coated it with a little flour, pan-fried it, then made a quick gravy. Served open-faced on toasted bread, I think it's the best meatloaf sandwich I've ever had. Come to think of it, it's the only one, but at this point, the benchmark has been set pretty high.
Now take a look at this;
Yes, that's right.
We paid $26 for almost 2 pounds of tuna salad. Madness? Only of the brilliant sort.
This Italian-style tuna salad is the best I've ever tasted in my life. High quality, oil-packed tuna is bathed in a marinade of red wine vinegar, capers, pickled red peppers, while hints of oregano linger in the background. Mind-blowingly good stuff, and completely worth the price.

When I saw what had finally ripened in the backyard, it was obvious what was on the menu for lunch the next day.

The ultimate tuna sandwich. Between Greenwood's salad, their own bread, and just-picked tomatoes, it was a fine way to relax and wind down from our journey.

Of course, we weren't the only ones who were salivating over that tuna salad. Let me reveal the full scene from the fork shot.
Yes, she was very good, and waited for permission before diving in with abandon.

So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish!

2006-06-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

It was with many mixed emotions that DucCat and I shared one last bottle with the cowboy. You know, of Cowboy Syd's. It seems that greener pastures call, so he's saddling up, and heading on over to Port Norfolk.

Thanks for all the wine, the great meals, fabulous desserts and thou. You will be missed.

A Few of My Favourite Things

2006-06-05T08:24:00.000-05:00

I forgot to take my camera along on the trip last weekend. Luckily, a friend let me borrow her digital, but it will be a few days before I can get them downloaded.

In the meantime, here are a few random things that make me smile.

Azzzurro Ristorante in Richmond, with killer Italian cuisine, fun atmosphere, and snazzy wine list.

Freshly fried nachos... thanks, Jeff!

BBQ, still warm from the smoker.

Flowers that are slowly drying out.

1999 Chateau Prieure-Lichine Margaux.

Cheese & crackers.

Hosta leaves in the shade.

...and a little toast...

...to the one I love.

Heading out for Holiday

2006-06-01T07:20:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been five years since that first, unexpected time I laid eyes on DucCat at a wine tasting.

Life has been good, so we're packing up the car in a few hours, and heading over to Virginia wine country to celebrate four blissful years of marriage.

Catch you cats sometime next week!

Memorialized

2006-05-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

Like most holiday weekends, this one started out in the smoker. 8 pounds of wings were smoked down into spicy goodness.

Since I've gone over the basic recipe previously, I won't re-hash it again- except to say that the smoking makes it even better.

The wine was a special bottle shared by my father, who received it hand-carried by a friend from Italy. The Tenuta Dell Abate Giffaro 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah is one of those powerful, muscular wines that held an enjoyable balance of fruit and earth. Loamy, berry-filled goodness that stood up nicely to the fire and spice swirling about.

After that barrage of fire, spice, and fruit, it was time to tone things down with a little palate cleanser. Fresh strawberries were whirled through the food processor, along with sugar and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice, before hitting the ice cream maker, then the freezer.
The strawberry flavor shone cleanly through, proving that sometimes it really is best to end the night on a light, bright note.

But the party didn't stop here. While DucCat and I have grown quite comfortable with hosting duties, we couldn't turn down an invitation the following evening at a friend's house. With promises of fresh crab, killer food, and the cacophony of fireworks exploding in the air, how could we say no?

We began with a hearty chili dip, deep in flavour, and complemented by crunchy blue corn chips.

The celebration continued with a wonderfully bright and fresh strawberry salad.

As for the rest of the meal, I'm really not sure what I liked best...

...was it the succulent, crispy soft shell crabs-

...or perhaps the largest and meatiest Alaskan Kinig crab legs I've ever witnessed.

Really, it's too close to call.

But, if I have to settle on something, it would be the perfect strawberries that just seem to keep popping up at this time of year.

Yeah, that's the good stuff.

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 quart strawberries, cleaned and hulled
lemon juice, to taste
Grand Marnier (optional)

Combine water and sugar in small saucepan on stove over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, stirring so sugar dissolves, and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a food processor until smooth, then press through a sieve to remove seeds/pulp.
Add half the sugar syrup to the puree, along with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Taste, and continue adding until you've reached the proper balance of sweet and tart.
If you like, throw in a bit of Grand Marnier as well.
Process according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

The Real Deal

2006-05-31T07:02:00.000-05:00

Click here to read my Daily Press review of "FDR- Food Done Right".

You're Welcome, My One True Love

2006-05-29T19:45:00.000-05:00

I usually steer away from cookies at this time of year, but due to some extenuating circumstances, I've made some exceptions.

Recently, though, it was a late-evening plea from my loving husband. For something hot, a rich, soul-sustaining mouthful of chocolate. Luckily, I had gleaned a cookbook from the second-hand store, and had just the recipe to fulfill such a craving.

Filled with rich, dark cocoa, and sprinkled with white chocolate chips, these cookies emerged from the oven soft, warm, and oozing in comforting vibes. Just the way DucCat requested.

Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cups unbleached AP flour
1 1/4 cups Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/2 pound, plus 4 tablespoons), softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 ounces white chocolate, broken into 1/4-inch chunks (or use chips)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper. You may need to use each cookie sheet more than once. Cool cookie sheet completely after each baking, and reline with parchment.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt
In bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until completely incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer, and fold in the white chocolate chunks with a rubber spatula.
Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cookies are puffed, but still soft to the touch: do not overbake! Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: about 5 dozen cookies
from "Chocolate For Christmas", by Maria Robbins

My First Weekend Herb Blogging Post

2006-05-26T11:42:00.000-05:00

Now that I have some herbs kicking again, I figure it's time to finally join in the fun and festivities- thank you, Ilva, for graciously hosting this weekend.
Now, for the herbage:

Parsley. Frequently used as a garnish, unless you hail from Argentina, where it steps into the starring role of national condiment: chimichurri.

Like many points of pride, the ingredients vary from kitchen to kitchen. Typically, it contains parsley, peppery spices, and enough garlic to keep the vampires far away. Piquant and vibrant, it's the perfect partner for grilled meats, which is just how I used it.

Chimichurri

1 cup fresh parsley
2 large cloves garlic
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 good grinds of black pepper
5 cherry tomatoes (add at the very last, so you can still see chunks of tomato)

Place all ingredients in food processor, and pulse until emulsified and thick. Be certain to taste and adjust as necessary. Make at least one hour before using, but keep in mind, this gets better the longer it sits.

s'kat's notes: This recipe is adapted from 'Eating Well' Magazine. I believe I added a touch more oil than they called for, which is not reflected in this rendition, so be certain to taste it! This tastes really 'green' initially. In time, it mellows and grows in complexity. While I've used it here to slather on meat, it would also be great as a marinade, dipping sauce, or on sandwiches.

How To Eat Like a Local

2006-05-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

Bacon: Double "A" Farms. Eggs: Sassy Springs Farms. Strawberries: College Run Farms. Flax seed wheat berry bread: Annie Thompson Fine Vegetarian Foods & Organic Baking.

Local, sustainable, organic: it's what's for breakfast!

Weeknight Eats

2006-05-25T15:23:00.000-05:00

You know, sometimes life just gets in the way. Instead of being able to coax along a slow, stirring mushroom risotto, you find the day almost done, and dinner still a yet-formed thought. In these cases, like most folk, I turn to the irresistable lure of convenience foods. Luckily, Cavanna Pasta has made those moments much easier to bear.

The stall at the Williamsburg Farmer's Market may be new, but they've been playing the retail game up in Richmond for a couple of years now. Lucky for us Tidewater folk, we get all-access for a few sweet, short hours on Saturday morning. Offerings include fresh cut pastas, tortellinis, pansotis, mini-tarts, vodka sauce, ragus, and an incredibly ethereal-tasting lasgana. Certainly words that I never thought could acurately describe such a typically heavy dish.

Get Domino's off the speed-dial, folks, 'cuz convenience food ain't what it used to be.

Smoke 'em If You Got 'em

2006-05-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

See my Daily Press Taste article here.

(Free registration may be required after today.)

Government Food

2006-05-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

First of all, I'd like to thank McAuliflower for pointing out this project to me.

A group, just going by 'Government Food', put out an open call to photographers. They send you an MRE, you send them back two shots. The first, of the unopened package. The second, with all the contents opened, and prettily plated. The goal is to make these life-sustaining rations look palatable- without adding anything else edible to the pictures (i.e. no cute little parsley garnishes, etc.). 12 people will be selected to have their pictures published in a calendar, proceeds of which will benefit natural disaster vicitms. You can read more about the project here.

And now, for MRE No. 5, "Grilled Chicken Breast".

Fun stuff. You can see the whole set here; or, look here for a photo that contains notes detailing the funky little foods.

A Winning Strategy

2006-05-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

It's a lot like the first day of school. Spiffed out in your shinies, hair parted just so, you stride out with the empowering words of Mom running through your head. Somewhere along the way, it begins to break down. The stomach goes all aflutter. Your breath has a funny cadence, and suddenly your legs seem to jerk like a marionette. Will the cool kids like me?

Lunch hour comes, and you plop next to someone who looks like they may be friendly. Unfolding your brown bag, out comes sandwich (cut on the diagonal), carrots, apple. At the very bottom of the bag- two glorious, fat, chocolate-chip cookies. With a grin, glancing slyly at your table-mate, you offer a cookie towards her. "I have too much- you want it?" She smiles, and accepts. "My name's Mandy," she murmurs through chocolatey crumbs.

So recently, I went walking into my new part-time job. While it's not exactly my first visit, it would be my first time really being part of the team. Thinking of that long ago schoolday, I'd spent the previous day browsing through a cookbook of tried-and true recipes. Cookies have always been a favourite, especially since so many of the ingredients tend to be in my cupboard at any given time.

Finally, my eyes rested upon "Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chunk" cookies. A killer combination, heavy on the peanut butter, and liberally laced with quality bittersweet chocolate. I was certain it would break down barriers, and drum up confidence. Did it work?
I'd certainly say so. Holla!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

adapted from Recipezaar's PetitFour

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup ap flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
11.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chunks

Cream the butters together until completely incorporated. Add sugar, cream on medium. Add the egg and vanilla, mix together. Add the flour, baking soda and salt; mix until no white remains, then add the chocolate and hand mix until everything comes together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets, and bake at 350-degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Mel Walks... With Me

2006-05-19T17:11:00.000-05:00

The garden is good. The garden is wise. This garden- it shall be conquered, and Mel, wreathed in victorious roses.

Check out Kiri and all the other cool cats over with Clare at Eat Stuff.

Crab Redux

2006-05-17T17:27:00.000-05:00

DucCat was only gone for one night. When he returned home, there was still a pound of crab to deal with. "Why not make deviled crab?" he suggested.

While purchasing the fresh crab meat, the vendor also had a hand-lettered sign touting deviled crab cakes. I'd never eaten nor heard of one before, and asked the woman what exactly they were. With a large smile, she listed off several tasty sounding ingredients... at this point, I only remember cayenne, paprika, breadcrumbs, butter, all stuffed back into a crabshell for baking and presentation. DucCat and I glanced at each other with a smile. "We'll take four," he grinned. The woman shook her head, though: they had already sold out.

Since this was a classic dish from my husband's childhood, once home, I pulled out an old, tattered cookbook by the name of "Old Dominion Life Member Cookbook". Amongst the many recipes compiled by home cooks across Virginia, I finally came across an appropriate-sounding deviled crab recipe. There was a little tweaking, including preparing the recipe as crab cakes, instead of baked. Then, that first taste of deviled crab. Pronounced spiciness eased comfortably into the mellow freshness of the crab. Tremendously good stuff, this.

Deviled Crab
from the Old Dominion Life Member Cook Book

2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 cups crab meat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 cup buttered bread crumbs (or just use plain fresh, if making into cakes)

Melt butter, add flour. Stir in milk slowly to make a sauce. Add remainder of ingredients to crab meat, mix well. Stir into sauce. Put into crab shells; sprinkle buttered crumbs on top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

s'kat's notes: I posted the spices as tweaked, but you may want to back off on the cayenne a bit; to me, it was just right. Also, I used fresh breadcrumbs to gently form into cakes, then pan-fried in butter over medium heat until done.

Day Without Food Blogs

2006-05-16T08:43:00.000-05:00

It was only a matter of time before big business came sniffing around Internet access points. Read this, make up your mind, fight The Man, and hey, how 'bout a little Free Bird while you're at it?

Oops. Wrong speech.

Anyway, net neutrality: woots!

tagged with: Net Neutrality+Day Without Food Blogs

Fresh. Crabby. Salad-Like.

2006-05-15T09:32:00.000-05:00

DucCat was off to racing school, leaving me facing 2 pounds of fresh jumbo lump crabmeat. I know, tough stuff, right?

The first batch were made into crabcakes, then frozen. As for the remaining pound, I flipped through a few cookbooks. Finally, 'Very Virginia'offered up a light, simple crab salad; best of all, it was mayonnaise-free.

I mixed everything up, and let it sit for about three hours. I'd been expecting more of a bite from the horseradish and paprika, but the flavours had mellowed remarkably. Next time, I'll add a touch more spice, but for a practically effortless Sunday supper, this was just right.

Dockside Crab Salad

from Very Virginia

1 pound fresh crabmeat, cleaned and picked through
2 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
lettuce leaves

In a large bowl, gently combine crabmeat and celery. In a separate bowl, combine salt with next three ingredients. Add horseradish, oil, lemon juice and vinegar to salt mixture, blending well. Taste and adjust as necessary. Pour mixture over crabmeat and celery, and toss gently to combine. Chill at least two hours, then serve on a bed of lettuce.

Star Hill 1999 Syrah

2006-05-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

To answer Maureen's question, the accompanying wine was this Star Hill Syrah. Notes are gone on that, as well, but I do remember enjoying it thoroughly.

Veal Saltimbocca with Mushrooms

2006-05-12T07:02:00.001-05:00

Some great guesses, and some that were dead-on, but it was terisa who nailed it! Wine! Song! Women! Well, unless that's not your thing.

Still suffering the after-effects of some fiendishly unacceptable 'veal saltimbocca' from a certain local restaurant, DucCat and I set about erasing that tragic flavour from our mouths forever.

While fairly certain of the basics, neither one of us had made it before. As usual, I set off on a wild internet search, while DucCat flipped through a couple of cookbooks. And then, also part of our routine, I lost my print-outs, while DucCat tossed the cookbooks asunder in favour of 'winging it'.

He did indeed do that, and in his usual fine style. Veal cutlets were dredged in flour and a touch of salt and pepper for a quick, browning pan fry. Topped with prosciutto and sage, they went back in 'till the ham, too, turned nicely brown. In the meantime, the mushrooms cooked down in a buttery white wine sauce, made richer by the infusion of good quality veal stock.

All this went into a casserole, topped with mozzarella, and set in a moderate oven 'till the cheese melted just right. The recipe? Sadly, my hastily-scribbled notes appear to have been sucked into some sort of vortex. But the memory of that particular meal is still resplendently rich and soul-satisfying.

Mamma who?

Pop Quiz

2006-05-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

Look at my meez, and tell me: what's for dinner?

Okay, here's another clue:

A full-write up on the finished product is around the corner. Including the wine!

Mama Lina's Ristorante

2006-05-10T07:12:00.000-05:00

Check out my Daily Press review of Mama Lina's here. I'm afraid that (free) registration is required.

I Pita the Fool...

2006-05-09T17:19:00.000-05:00

I've tried making pita bread before, with less than perfect, puffy result. Recently in the mood for gyros, I decided it was time for round two, under the tutelage of baking perfectionist Rose Levy Beranbaum.

Since I was doing this last moment, there would be no time for an overnight flavour-intensification. Encased in plastic wrap, it sat for a quick rise while I worked on a few other things.

Now, Rose warns you that it is extremely important to have a hot oven, and recommends that you let it pre-heat for an hour. I let mine and my pizza stone go for about an hour and a half at 500-degrees, before turning it down to the recommended temperature. The inflated blobs of dough were rolled out, and quickly tossed two at a time into an extremely hot oven.
Success! At long last, baby, the perfect puff is mine! Not so much the perfectly round pita, but it's always nice to have something to work towards.

A friend was dining with us that night, and brought along a ZD Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. This was a busty, big wine that reeked of Nero Wolfe's study. Fine leather, cherry pipe tobacco and a dusting of cocoa waddled around my tongue in pleasing harmony. The finish was smoother and far more sensuous than an Archie Goodwin pick-up line. Well done, Diner-Knight, well done!

Palates tantalized, we gathered around the kitchen counter, slicing DucCat's hot-smoked lamb, shredding lettuce, chopping tomatoes and onions. With a little help from Trader Joe's tzatziki sauce and red pepper spread, the gyros were done.

Pita Bread

from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible

[Ingredients are listed as volume/ounces/grams]

-unbleached all-purpose flour (use only Gold Medal, King Arthur, or Pillsbury) 3 cups,plus a scant 1/4 cup / 16 ounces/ 454 grams
-salt 2 teaspoons/ 0.5 ounce/ 13.2 grams
-instant yeast 2 teaspoons/ --/ 6.4 grams
-olive oil 2 tablespoons/ 1 ounce/ 27 grams
-water, at room temperature 1 1/4 liquid cups/ 10.4 ounces/ 295 grams

Begin mixing the dough about 1 1/2 hours before shaping, or for best flavor development, 8 hours to 3 days ahead.

Mixer Method: In the bowl of stand mixer, combine all ingredients. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed (#2 on a KitchenAid), just until all the flour is moistened, about 20 seconds. Change to the dough hook, raise the speed to medium (#4 on a KitchenAid), and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should clean the bowl and be very soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary. (The dough will weigh 27.75 ounces/793 grams)

Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough in to a 2-quart or larger dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil. Press the dough down and lightly spray or oil the top of it. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape, mark the side of the container at approximately where double the height of the dough would be. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise.

Preheat the oven to 475-degrees 1 hour before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level, and place a baking stone, cast-iron skillet, or baking sheet on it before pre-heating.

Shape the dough. Cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. On a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with oiled plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4-inch thick. Allow them to rest, uncovered, 10 minutes before baking.

Bake the pita. Quickly place 1 piece of dough directly on the stone or in the skillet or on the baking sheet, and bake for 3 minutes. The pita should be completely puffed, but not beginning to brown. The dough will not puff well if it is not moist enough. See how the pita puffs, then, if necessary, spray and knead each remaining piece with water until the dough is soft and moist; allow to rest again and reroll as before. (However, those that are not puffed are still delicious to eat.) Proceed with the remaining dough, baking 3 or 4 pieces at a time if using a stone or baking sheet. Using a pancake turner, transfer the pita breads to a clean towel, to stay soft and warm. Allow the oven to reheat for 5 minutes between batches. The pitas can be reheated for about 30 seconds in a hot oven before serving.

s'kat's notes: Rose doesn't specify what type of salt to use; I used regular ol' table salt. The salt flavour in the finished product was pronounced, but in a good way- it really made the bread. I also didn't bother transferring the freshly-mixed dough into a different bowl. I sprayed olive oil under, around, and on the dough, covered the bowl with a kitchen towel, and tucked it into the oven for rising. The freshly cooked pitas were not only placed on towels, but covered by one as well. Don't forget to get that oven hot-hot-hot!

I want to live this life

2006-05-07T16:19:00.000-05:00

Whether the twain shall meet over a sun-kissed rumpled sweater...

Or tucked away quiet and alone on a cozy couch...

...it's all naps, all weekend around here!

Head on over to Clare of Eat Stuff, to catch up on kitties around the world!

(Mom, enough with the pictures already, I'm tryin' to sleep!)

Wine. Cheese. Tuna. Fire.

2006-05-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

She comes around here
Just about midnight, (er, I mean, cocktail hour)
Ha, she make me feel so good, Lord
I wanna say she make me feel alright
...And her name is G-L-O-R-I-A...

Van Morrison may not have been talking about a sweet little flute of sparkly, but his enthusiasm was spot-on. Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine ($25?)was a fun, berry-bright glass of bubbly that made for easy sipping. Unpretentious and light, it just fit the bill for chatting with friends on weekend's edge.

As it's never a good idea to wine alone, we noshed on DucCat's newest acquisition from The Warwick Cheese Shoppe: a suitably soft and stinky Taleggio.

Purr it out through the vowels, but don't let the lilting cadence fool you- this is some seriously stinky cheese. DucCat likens the scent to gym socks that have been left in the locker over a long, hot summer. While I suppose I concur on the scent, the flavour is by contrast smooth, mellow and nutty. And utterly addictive.

Somewhere along the line, a bottle of Silver Sands Sauvignon Blanc was polished off by the gang, but I never had a glass. The empty bottle leads me to believe that it was, at the very least, palatable.

As the evening was creeping forth, I switched to red: a Robertson Winery Prospect Hill 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16).

Thick, rich and dark are qualities I enjoy as much in wine as I do in sausage, and this well-balanced cab straddled all three quite nicely. Dark fruits were firmly in check with the tannins, settling into a thoroughly enjoyable glass of wine. Go get 'em, South Africa!

While DucCat fired up the grill, I pulled out the main course.
The tuna was lookin' mighty fine at Harris Teeter that day, and DucCat was in the mood for something light, simple and flavourful. Be still my heart. A little lemon juice, a gentle dusting of wasabi powder, some salt and pepper, and he was soon cookin' with fire.

A short grill session later, dinner was on, rounded out by black sesame asparagus.

A new room, a new wine, right? We opened the bottle brought by our friends, a Patton Valley 2003 Pinot Noir.

Oh.
My.
God.

While the previous wine had been no slouch, I literally laughed with joy at my first, potent sip. Awash in a black velvet jungle, where cherries and raspberries languidly gazed at the dark side. In my mouth, a smooth midnight tidepool coiled with more elegant dark fruits and a restrained hint of oak. Each wonderful taste picked up the previous note, and re-worked it passionately, eloquently, and intently.

Once again, friends, our thanks for sharing this!

Sadly, not everyone was on their best behaviour that night.
Miffed at waking up too late to join in the fun and festivities, Shishi exacted some uncalled for revenge.

No tuna for you, little one!

Grilled Fresh Tuna

4 fresh tuna steaks
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder
s+p

Mix together, and drizzle evenly over tuna steaks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over a medium-hot fire until exterior is seared, and interior is still juicy and pink, about 3 &1/2 minutes per side. Do not overcook.
Let sit for a few minutes, then slice thinly. Serve with a drizzle of soy sauce and freshly made wasabi.

Robertson Winery "King's River" Chardonnay 2003

2006-05-02T14:24:00.000-05:00

This golden glass of chardonnay turned out to be quite the palate-pleaser.

Juicy, busty mellons were nuanced with oak: rich, but well-rounded, with a pleasing, smile-inducing finish.

I highly recommend this wine to accompany sitting on the porch to watch the sun set.

Click here for a larger view of the label.

The Asparagus Stalks at Midnight

2006-05-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

There was an odd noise coming from the kitchen, startling me from my book. DucCat was out in the garage, buffing the Ducatis. All three cats were present and accounted for, in varying states of snooze around the den. What, then, was causing the noise?

Again, that odd sort of sliding noise came, and it sounded decidedly green. Carefully, quietly, I crept towards the kitchen, and poked my head around the corner.
Much to my horror, a rogue asparagus was frantically scurrying about. I don't know how it got in, or what mischief it was up to- luckily, my knives were close at hand. Without hesitation, I dealt out a fistful of mercenary-style justice.

Harsh, to be certain, but the laws of the kitchen are swift and without mercy.

I stepped around the counter to clean up the remnants, when I came across yet another surprise.

A fine, fat bunch of asparagi, trussed up, and anxious to be liberated. Cutting them free of their bonds, I dispensed of the woody ends, and sat back to ponder their fate.

Asparagus shines in any number of preparations. Roasted, the edges slightly caramelize, and the flavour melds perfectly with salty cheeses. Steamed, it is perfectly accented with butter and a touch of salt. Dropped into a vat of boiling water 'till bright, draped with pork, and your mouth is going to party that night. So much love from such a little spear.

There is one preparation that, to my taste, perfectly captures that first "Ah-ha- I really do like asparagus!" moment from my youth: black sesame asparagus.

First tasted at a tapas restaurant, I couldn't believe how those simple black sesame seeds made the asparagus vibrantly alive. Toasted sesame, a hint of lemon juice, and the garden-fresh asparagus- I was utterly and inexorably hooked.

Black Sesame Asparagus

1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup black sesame seeds (or more, if needed)
salt and pepper, as desired
1/2 lemon, juice of

Snap off woody ends of asparagus, rinse, and pat dry.
Combine butter and olive oil in pan over medium-high heat until melted.
Add about half the asparagus, being careful not to over-crowd the pan.
Add about half the sesame seeds, a smattering of salt and pepper, and cook, turning frequently, until asparagus is bright green, and gives a little. A little bit of brown on the edges is perfect, just make sure it's still a bit firm. Nobody likes mushy asparagus.
Remove and keep warm while continuing with the remaining asparagus.
When all is ready, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the lot, and serve.

Now that your appetite has been piqued, head on over to Seriously Good for the month-long round-up known as Asparagus Aspirations. By the glory and the power that is bloggerdom, no spear shall be left behind!

tagged with: asparagus aspirations

IMBB 25: Give Us This Day Yesterday's Bread

2006-04-30T15:54:00.000-05:00

Is my blog burning? In a word, yeah, baby, and it's burning with slightly stale, yet perfectly serviceable bread ends.

A few months ago, I would have met this challenge with any number of things. Fondue, French onion soup, bread pudding, panades, and French toast all leap to mind. But with warmer weather murmuring tidings of summer, I found myself glancing yet again at my panini grill.

Stale bread is perfect for toasting or grilling. Simply schmear the exterior with some form of fat- I'm fond of olive oil- fire it up, and enjoy the toasty goodness.

Today's sandwich was a prosciutto, goat cheese, and fig jam panini. The salty pork played straight man to the sweet marriage of goat cheese and jam, while the bread transformed from paltry wallflower, to a show-stealing flavour-hog. Truly, a properly fitting end to those stray slices of aging bread.

Catch the rest of the round-up with Derrick at an Obsession with Food (And Wine).

Tagged with: imbb25 and Pete Wells Loves Cheese Sandwiches

Chicky Goes Grillin'

2006-04-26T15:32:00.000-05:00

Ding! Ding! Ding!

This recipe was selected to participate in the May "I Loathe Sandra Lee Monthly Recipe". Woo-hoo! Can I get a 'hell, no!' to processed and heavily refined products in here?

Seriously, though, go check out Joe's fabulous paen to all things good and natural at Foodie NYC.

A weekend trip to Costco left the refrigerator full of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, jugs of salsa, bags of lettuce, enormous blocks of extra-sharp cheddar, and yes- a bag of garlic whose cloves will begin sprouting before I'm halfway through it. Obviously, the time for grilled chicken taco night had come.

The marinade was a simple affair, equal parts spicy horseradish mustard and white wine, chopped garlic, cayenne, and some ancho powder. Let chicken marinate throughout the day, fire up the grill when you remove it from the fridge, and there it is: tender, zingy chicken touched with a bit of smoke, and surrounded by just enough vegetables to make you feel good about yourself.

Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos

Marinade:
1 cup spicy horseradish mustard
1 cup white wine (it can be fruity and fun, just like me)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
pinch of salt and fresh grind of black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
warmed soft tortilla shells
lettuce, tomatoes, thinly-sliced red-onion, shredded cheddar, and salsa to finish

Combine all marinade ingredients, and add to chicken in large plastic bag. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least six hours, turning bag over once for even distribution.
Grill, preferably over charcoal. Let cool slightly, slice, and serve in soft tortilla shells with desired accompaniments.

Livin' the Lush Life

2006-04-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Lush.

No, not you.

The wine a few nights ago- it could simply and comfortably be described by that one word: lush.

A friend stopped by the house bearing a half-full bottle of wine. "You two have just got to try this!" he said to DucCat and I, pulling and pouring our glasses.

Intrigued, I swirled the Robert Biale Vineyards Zinfandel 'Black Chicken' 2004 around, catching potent whiffs of dark fruit, vanilla, and secret meeting places.

Sipping it was just as smooth, filled with brazen fruits, furiously flavourful, yet riding a velvet edge. The truly amazing thing? This wine came plundering in at 16.5%, easily a couple more points than I typically care to go.

Yet had I not been told, I never would have known. This hedonistic wine was surprisingly suave- and gorgeously lush.

Since dinner was almost ready, I invited our wine-sharing friend to pull out a plate and have a seat at the table.

I'd fallen under the spell of short ribs several years ago, and they seem to keep tripping me up again and again. Their newest incarnation unfolded itself from the pages of Scott Peacock and the Grand Dame Lewis Edna's "The Gift of Southern Cooking".

These are two cooks who couldn't have hailed from more different walks of life, yet managed to find common ground 'round the kitchen hearth. Exchanging recipes, wisdom, and camaraderie, their crossing paths eventually fused into an unlikely friendship. More than that, really, this was two kindred souls finding resonance in the other, and proclaiming that pairing in wonderfully detailed, carefully-wrought recipes.

Most of the cooking had been done the day before, as much to aid in fat removal, as to intensify the flavours. After two days of smelling that rich, thick scent- and admittedly, taste testing for seasoning correction- it was finally time to dig in. The wait was, without a doubt, entirely worthwhile. The short ribs practically slid off the bone, redolent with long-simmered goodness. All in all, it turned out to be the perfect dish to bid farewell to winter's chilly nights.

Braised Beef Short Ribs
adapted from 'The Gift of Southern Cooking', by Scott Peacock & Edna Lewis

8 meaty beef short ribs
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 cup duck fat, lard, or peanut oil
3 large onions, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges (about 4 cups)
3 bay leaves
12 whole cloves garlic, peeled
28-ounces canned whole tomatoes, or 8 very ripe garden tomatoes, cored and peeled
1 cup veal or roasted chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine

Preheat the oven to 325-degrees.
Mix together the salt, black pepper, and thyme: coat the short ribs generously in this mixture.
Heat the fat in a large Dutch oven until hot, then add the ribs in batches to avoid crowding. Cook, turning as needed, until deeply browned on all sides. Set aside.
Immediately add onions to the pan, and stir well. Cook over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any caramelized bits of meat.
Add the bay leaves and a few grindings of black pepper, stirring well to distribute evenly. Add the whole garlic cloves, and cook 3 minutes longer.
Pour in the tomatoes, stock, and red wine, and bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Taste carefully for seasoning- the braising vegetables and liquid should be highly seasoned.
Pour the vegetables and liquid over the browned ribs, and spread the vegetables around so they are in an even layer. Place cover on Dutch oven, and put into the centre of the preheated oven to cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until a paring knife pierces the meat easily.
Remove from the oven, and spoon off any visible fat.
[Alternatively, remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, and refrigerate overnight. Remove the solidified fat from the dish, and continue.)
Place pot on stove over medium-high heat, until liquid is bubbling. Allow to cook down for about 30 minutes, until sauce is slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning once more, correcting if necessary.
Serve hot, with the vegetables and braising juices spooned over as a sauce.

Dining Out

2006-04-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

So, Hampton Roads peeps, watcha doin' this Thursday?

Hopefully, you'll be joining me in dining out for life, at any number of locally participating restaurants.

What is all this, you ask? I'll let HamptonRoads.com sum it up for me.

Dining Out for Life is a one-day restaurant fundraising event benefiting HIV/AIDS service organizations in over 35 cities internationally. Full Circle/CANDII benefits locally from the Hampton Roads Dining Out for Life event receiving a minimum contribution of 25% of the total dinner food sales from the participating restaurants on the day of the event. To support this event, you and your friends dine out at a participating restaurant and 25%or more of the food sales from you meal will be donated to Full Circle/CANDII. Over 60 restaurants are expected to join Full Circle/CANDII in fight HIV/AIDS in the Third Annual Hampton Roads Dining Out for Life. Please join thousands of your friends and neighbors Thursday, April 27th in dining and helping those affected by this devastating disease.

Save the date, raise your fork, and throw some money towards a great cause!

Sittin', chillin', and Sunday afternoons

2006-04-23T20:32:00.000-05:00

Livin' the life, each and every day. She sure has come a long way since being a stray Vet's Office kitty. :)

Please check out all the other fabulous felines with wonderful host Kiri at Eat Stuff.

Strawberry Parade

2006-04-19T15:49:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again, when strawberry-filled plastic containers start stacking up at the supermarkets. Typically, I try to hold off on purchasing any, as strawberry season theoretically doesn't start for another couple of weeks. In the end, the thought of those sweet, juicy berries does me in, and against my better judgment, home they come.

I have two go-to strawberry recipes, one of which is Balsamic Strawberries with Mascarpone Whipped Cream: even early-season strawberries can shine in this.

One evening, my generous neighbor brought over two of these, extras from his dinner party. "They need to be eaten tonight," he said with a smile, handing over the precious berry-filled sundae glasses.

This fit the bill perfectly, as my husband and I were having dinner with friends, and hadn't made any plans for dessert. Each couple shared a spoon and a cup. It was soon evident from the soft gasps of "Oh my god! This is sooo good!", and the frenzied scraping of spoons that this was a must-have recipe. We ended up doing a roshambo to decide who got the last bite. While I lost that battle, the recipe was in my hands the very next day.

BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES WITH WHIPPED MASCARPONE CHEESE

Yes- vinegar and berries: The mellow balsamic, sweet strawberries, and rich mascarpone come together beautifully.

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons plus 4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chilled mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1-pint baskets (about 24 ounces) strawberries, hulled, halved

Combine vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Boil until syrup is reduced to scant 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl; cool completely. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Combine mascarpone, cream, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Whisk until thick soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

Combine berries and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl; drizzle with balsamic syrup and toss to blend. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Divide berries and syrup among 6 goblets. Top with mascarpone mixture.

Makes 6 servings.

Bon Appetit
July 2001

Candy-Coated Goodness

2006-04-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

Easter only comes once a year, and along with it, the much-lauded Cadbury Mini-Eggs. Now, I'm no candyfreak, but these are really special. A thin, crisp candy shell encircles Cadbury's finest chocolate. Simple, yes, but it works, and very well.

I waited until the last minute to stock up this year, and frighteningly, didn't find any until my sixth store. I swooped in upon the rapidly dwindling supply, dodging the frenzied canes of sweet-looking old ladies, and just barely avoiding the boisterous pushing and shoving of possibly rabid young children.

Yep- that's what the Cadbury's does to normal folk. Suitably outfitted, I returned home and began making the Easter Nests.

I saw something similar a few years ago, but never got around to making it. Just recently, Nosheteria posted up a paen to Cadbury's Mini Eggs, and an incredibly cute photo of some egg-filled Easter Nests.

I vowed to make some for my little nieces and nephews, but something was amiss. While Nosh used a thumbprint cookie for the base, there was still some component absent from the equation: coconut.

There are plenty of good coconut macaroon recipes out there, but this was a special day: I turned to Ina Garten for assistance. Equal parts coconut and sweetened condensed milk transformed into tender, rich little cookies; adequate browning ensured a charmingly nest-like exterior.

Thank you so much for inspiration, Nosheteria! There were many a delighted child yesterday afternoon, and I daresay, many slyly grinning adults as well.

Coconut Macaroons

adapted from Ina Garten

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in bowl. Whip egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Emergency Bulgogi Update

2006-04-16T15:32:00.000-05:00

I made this again, and discovered a rather important little adjective left out of my bulgogi recipe.

USE LOW-SODIUM SOY SAUCE! USE LOW-SODIUM SOY SAUCE! USE LOW-SODIUM SAUCE!

If you don't, it's more than likely to turn out so salty as to be pretty much inedible. Trust me on this one.

Weekend Cat Blogging

2006-04-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

When Spot's not busy looking like an over-sized, pale gum-drop...

...he can usually be found looking like a noble white dragon, gazing soulfully into my eyes.

Happy Weekend Cat-Blogging! Catch the rest of the round-up over with Clare, at eat stuff.

tagged with: weekend cat blogging

The Unholy Trinity

2006-04-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

I was poking through some old recipe print-outs... perhaps I could make a scallop this? No. Maybe a catfish that? Nah... then I saw it. Originally spotted at Joe's, I'd tucked it away for an evening such as this: Shrimp, Broccoli, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Pasta!

DucCat was indeed lucky that he was away for Wednesday Poker Night. You see, there are certain food items that are gut-wrenchingly anathema to him. The three I just mentioned- excluding the pasta- are pretty high on that list.

Shrimp? Still can't get over a certain food poisoning incident from his youth.
Broccoli? "That foul weed had best not besmirch my kitchen!"
Sun-dried tomatoes? "Are you kidding me?"

Truly, the antithesis of everything he holds near and dear. I got right to work.

The recipe called for oil-free sundried-tomatoes, but all I had was the tinned and oily variety. I placed a colander over a bowl, and in they went, while I sorted out the rest of the ingredients. The recovered tomato oil was subbed for the olive oil, and I got down with the sauté.

Heedless of Cooking Light's waist-friendly recommendations, I unabashedly used full-fat everything. A little salt and pepper, a nice pinch of red pepper flakes, and I had something that smelled a lot like dinner.

Shrimp, Broccoli, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Spinach (but you can do pasta, if you really prefer)

adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
4 garlic clove, minced
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup good quality chicken broth
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese
salt and pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
fresh basil, chiffonade, for finishing dish
toasted pine nuts
baby spinach

Place tomatoes in a colander, and let drain into a bowl. Set aside, retaining the oil.
Steam broccoli, covered, 4 minutes or until crisp-tender; easily done in the microwave with a bit of water.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add reserved tomato oil to the pan. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add shrimp and red pepper flakes; cook 4 minutes.
Add broth and cream cheese, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and broccoli; stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, as necessary. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, basil and pine nuts.
Serve immediately on a bed of wilted spinach.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Note: See the original recipe for notes on doing this with pasta.

Trader Joe's Rocks the Sandwiches

2006-04-13T13:07:00.000-05:00

I've recently become hooked upon a couple of Trader Joe's products: the Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant & Garlic, and their fabulous Tzatziki.

My first attempt manifested itself as a 'tzatziki sandwich'. Sliced baguette, a generous amount of tzatziki, topped with tomatoes, thinly-sliced red onion, and cucumbers. It was an interesting idea, but ultimately failed in the execution. The bread turned squishy almost instantly from the sauce, and something about the cucumbers in the sandwich didn't quite do it for me.

The second go-round turned out far more tasty, if a bit more hastily photographed: the greek-style panini.

The red pepper spread, tzatziki, goat cheese, and basil were compressed between two thinly sliced pieces of bread on a hot panini grill. All the elements were in perfect harmony, and made for a great luncheon interlude. The only thing I'd do differently next time is to use more goat cheese!

Tzatziki Sandwich: Not really recommended.

T.J.'s Kinda-Greek-Style Panini

2 slices baguette
1 Tablespoon Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic
1 Tablespoon Trader Joe's Tzatziki
1/4 cup goat cheese, or more, as desired
minced basil

Coat 1 slice of bread with red pepper spread; coat the other slice with the tzatziki.
Layer a generous helping of goat cheese on bottom slice; strew with basil, and cover with top slice.
Spray outsides of bread with olive oil; cook per panini-maker's directions.

A Little Marrow, a Little Cake, a Lotta Love

2006-04-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

There comes a time in a man's life when he simply must celebrate his birthday. And hopefully, he'll do so in the jovial, festive atmosphere of s'kat and DucCat's kitchen.

Dad raised a glass to another year, and requested German as his birthday meal of choice. Side dishes were prepared, marinades were readied, and all that was left was to thaw the freshly-caught venison for a fine and fulsome stew.

However, DucCat went to the market, stocking up on odds'n'ends. Passing by the butcher's counter, he paused upon seeing some meaty, marrow-filled veal shanks. Luckily, he had a cell phone at the ready. A brief conversation ensued, and we changed the meal from a hearty German stew to the penultimate Italian delight: osso bucco.

We began the night with a fine, tasty cheese. I'll update this posting once I've tracked down the name of it, but suffice to say, it was rich and complex like a vintage Parmesan. There was no need to sully the experience with crackers; each bit was simply shaved thinly from the wedge, and enjoyed fully as it dissolved slowly upon the tongue.

Prep-work was undertaken in the presence of a Dante 2004 Chardonnay.
Fruity, buttery, oaky, it was a well-packaged chard, and a good enough start to the evening.

Not every dining companion that evening was as enamored of the marrow as I. Ha! I wasted no time in absconding with all the extra bones.

The accompanying risotto was rife with mushrooms, the perfect canvas upon which to taste that rich, slow-roasted veal, and most importantly, the marrow. Yes, let's get back to that.

Black bone butter. Looks kind of icky and slimy, but the taste is closer to liverwurst, the richest cheeses, or pure cream in flavour profile. It slams into your mouth with an aggressively smooth touch, intense, almost too much, and at the very end, leaving you wishing for just a bit more. Pretend it's butter; soon, you'll be right at home scooping, slathering, and enjoying that most intimate of spreads.

We finished with dinner, but of course, still needed a little something sweet and festive. Bring on the Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake, then!

My Dad is a huge fan of the classic German-chocolate cake. As soon as I saw this recipe from Martha Stewart, I immediately tucked it away for his birthday. As the day drew closer, mindful of past Martha-recipes-gone-bad, I did a test-run of the cake layer.

It came out, literally, like a ton of bricks. Make no bones about it, this was a rich, chocolatey, and decadent ton of bricks- but too dense, too thick, too much. In distress, I did a quick search online, and came up with two more recipes that seemed to promise good, wholesome cakiness: the Epicurious recipe, and the Domestic Goddess version.

I'd meant to try both, but time was short, and I went with Epicurious. The cake layers were thinner, but fluffy and chocolatey, like little floating islands. I used the Martha layer as the base, used both of the Epicurious cake layers, as well as it's filling, and finished with Martha's ganache, garnished with coconut Ã la the Domestic Goddess.

It looked stunning, tasted great, and most importantly, let a great guy know how special he is to me. Happy birthday, Dad!

Epicurious Inside-Out Chocolate German Cake (I used the cake layers, and the filling from this; in the interest of keeping things simple, I also used purchased dulce de leche.)

Domestic Goddess Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake (This one was also based upon the Martha recipe, and I borrowed her idea of garnishing with the coconut.)

Osso Bucco
adapted by DucCat from the Gourmet Cookbook

8 (12-14-ounce) meaty cross-cut veal shanks, 6-61/2 pounds total)
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/8 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 California bay leaf
6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups drained canned plum tomatoes (from a 20-ounce can), chopped
4-5 cups beef stock

Preheat oven to 325-degrees.
Tie bay leaf, parsley and thyme with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni.
Pat veal shanks dry and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Dredge shanks in flour and shake off excess. Heat 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 Tablespoon oil in large 7-9 quart heavy ovenproof pot wide enough to hold shanks in one layer over moderately high heat until foam subsides.
Add 4 shanks and cook, turning once, until well browned, 12-15 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Add 1 more Tablespoon butter, and brown remaining shanks in same manner; transfer to the plate.
Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to pot, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Cook until just softened, then add wine, bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up the browned bits.
Add tomatoes, bouquet garni, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add shanks, along with any accumulated juices, and enough stock to barely cover shanks; bring to simmer.
Cover pot, transfer to oven, and braise shanks until very tender, about 2-2 1/2 hours.
With a slotted spoon, transfer shanks to a roasting pan (leave oven on). Keep them warm, loosely covered with foil. Pour braising liquid through a large fine-mesh sieve into a heavy saucepan, pressing on solids; discard solids and skim fat from sauce. Bring to a boil and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 15 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, and remove from heat.
Baste shanks with some sauce, then bake, uncovered, basting 3-4 more times with sauce, until glazed, about 15 minutes.

This Is the End, My Saucy Friend

2006-04-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

Unbelievably, there was some Marinara with Italian Sausage leftover from the other night, and DucCat was no slouch in giving it a fine send-off.

The dough practically threw itself out, intent upon receiving the sausage-laden sauce, halved meatballs, pepperoni and black olives. I've seen many things come sizzling off that peel, but this was truly a breath-taking homage to "Florimonte's, our favourite neighborhood Italian deli.

My own pie was slightly more humble. Mushrooms, onions, sweet red pepper, kalamatta olives and asparagus tips proved a fine foil to the rich sauce, and a hint of piave kept everything from sliding right off.

As an aside, I used to prep some pizza-destined vegetables in the microwave, to get rid of excess water, or jump-start the cooking process. But, my friends, there is indeed a better way, and one almost as convenient: a quick sear on the panini grill. The slight bit of carmelisation amps up the taste nicely, and the water quickly evaporates under the heat of the grill-plates.

The wine o'the night wasn't me, but a 2004 Ironberry Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot. I'd previously tasted the 2003, and while enjoyable, found the fruit to be a bit more forward than I would prefer. The new year's offering was still soft and fruity, but with a bit more character. A touch of spice worked nicely in reigning in the galloping fruits, and it settled down into a nice, cheerful finish.

At about $8 a pop, it's the perfect pizza pairing.

Bulgogi's Back in Town

2006-04-05T15:42:00.000-05:00

When Harris Teeter recently advertised a London Broil special, "Buy one, get one free", I quickly grabbed up two heavy bundles. I paused, then grabbed two more. Bulgogi is serious business, after all.

I had my first bulgogi experience years ago, on the tail end of an anemia-filled vegetarian phase. Slowly, I came 'round to fish and chicken, but hadn't yet dabbled in honest-to-goodness meat. Then a friend invited me over for dinner, where Mom was cooking bulgogi and kimchi.

That night, with wide eyes and fluttering stomach, I crossed the great beef barrier, and never looked back. The 'national' dish of Korea had completely won me over, and I made sure I got the invite any time bulgogi was back on the menu.

Before I moved, I requested and gratefully received the recipe for both treasured dishes. And, almost as promptly, lost them. In my mind's eye, it had been easy enough to prepare, but nothing I did throughout the years came close to lighting those tastebuds with quite the same passion.

Last week, I found this recipe, and shortly thereafter, went on that fateful grocery trip.

Finally, all those years of waiting seemed to have paid off.

Rich, savory, sweet, and untraditionally shot through with garlic-chili paste, it was like being 22 and iron-deficient, all over again.

This time, the recipe's mine. Unless the Internet goes down. Now, to continue my search for the kimchi...

BULGOGI (REAL BULGOGI)
adapted from cooks.com and Tina. I vouch not for the authenticity of the recipe, only it's soul-satisfying flavour.

2 lb London Broil, thinly sliced
1 tbls sesame oil
1/4 cup sugar (or little bit more or less, depending on how sweet or salty you want it)
4 green onions, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2-4 Tablespoons garlic-chili paste
4 cups LOW-SODIUM soy sauce
pepper, to taste

In a bowl mix sesame oil, sugar, both onions, garlic, garlic-chili paste and soy sauce, until everything is well combined.
Add the meat, and make sure it is completely submerged.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Grill to desired degree of doneness.

s'kat's notes: I took the leftover marinade and boiled it for about 5 or so minutes to use as a sauce for the finished dish. While I'm not entirely sure how safe that is (comments?), nobody got sick. We had this with a bit of rice, wrapped in lettuce leaves.

Doo Dah Huzzah

2006-04-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

I'd mentioned that I was in a little parade last week. One photo finally surfaced of our crazy crew, just before readying to strut our stuff down Norfolk's Main street. More photos, and most likely, tales of excess, to follow soon.

You may now continue with your regularly scheduled food blog.

Fun in the Sun

2006-04-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

It may have felt like 2 A.M., but it was closer to 12 P.M. (Let's just say that I had some sleep issues the previous night, and leave it at that.)

Tummies beginning to rumble, DucCat and I hopped on the bike to the Warwick Cheese Shoppe , for a dose of enlightenment and nourishment.

$100 later, we were back at home. DucCat cleared off the patio table while I arranged a little European-style lunch.

From 6 o'clock we have: water crackers, sweet red grapes, sliced Fuji apple, Cheese Shoppe bread, liverwurst, a great cheese whose name I sadly can't recall, a sundried tomato and pesto torte, and a mild, flavourful salami. A bowl of giardiniera sits in the middle to make us feel better about our vegetable consumption.

You certainly can't have a lunch like this without some wine, and George introduced us to a nice one.
The Cortenova 2004 Chardonnay di Puglia is very light-bodied, with lush tropical stone fruits, and a bright squirt of acidity that brings it full-circle.
A real pleasure to drink, I've the feeling that this may edge out Pac Peak as our new house white.

We sat and soaked up the afternoon's abundant sunshine, when suddenly there was a tapping at the door. DucCat opened it, and the Princess Melange made an un-announced, unprecedented visit in the great out of doors.
Sometimes, a girl just needs a good roll in the dirt.

A Carefree Thursday

2006-03-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

After a busy week and an upcoming parade, Thursday had arrived, and I was without a dinner plan.

Luckily, DucCat had a little ace hidden up his sleeve. I returned home that night to two fistfulls of tomato-laden, basil-laced love.

He'd popped by Florimonte's earlier that day, and picked up a couple of containers of sauce: Marinara with Italian Sausage for him, and Zucchini and Sundried Tomato for me. "Va benne!" I said, and with a quick kiss, we got to work.

He got the sauces bubbling away, along with a pot of water for pasta. Meanwhile, I arranged a few giardiniera, blanched some broccoli raab, and wilted some spinach. Dinner was done, and in less than thirty minutes... Rachel Ray would be proud.

We sat down with a new quaff, a 2003 Tusk'n'Red. A wine that, I assure you, was not purchased due to the cute animal-friendly label. No, I think that perhaps- just perhaps- I recognized a little something of myself in that bocce-ball-crazed elephant.

The colour was a carefree garnet, and the aroma intense, heady, like something in last-winter's memory. Late evening dancers kicked their heels up with soft, dark accents, while a languid trio trickled down my throat to triumph with velvet-touched spice. Very nice, and completely arm-in-arm with the food.

Ah yes, the food. Somehow in the excitement between plating and sitting down, I completely forgot to photograph DucCat's dish, which was rife with pasta, meatballs, and a rich, sausage-studded sauce. It was truly a thing of beauty. But, after all, mine was more colourful- let's not forget the zucchini. Or the greens

Even the cats seemed slightly distracted by the vegetables that night. Or perhaps they just felt I was the easier mark.

Zippidy Doo-Dah!

2006-03-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

Hey local folk!

Come out to Norfolk tomorrow, and join us for the Occasional Downtown Doo Dah Parade. Be there at High Noon on Granby Street, and you too can catch a glimpse of a harajuku'd-out s'kat gliding gracefully down the parade route, as part of Cowboy Syd's entourage.

Be there, or be... um, elsewhere! :)

True Blue

2006-03-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

A summery Saturday can often find DucCat and I tooling around on the cool, blue vibe of the ST-4. Unerringly, it always seems to point us in just the right direction for a lovely little lunch nosh. Today's destination turned out to be Williamsburg's Blue Talon Bistro.

It had been some time since our last, rather disappointing, visit, and I was definitely in the mood for another go. A little early for the lunch hour, we were led through a fairly quiet restaurant to our requested patio seating.

DucCat ordered some wine to sip on as we browsed through the new menu.

The Guy Bocard 2002 Bourgogne Chardonnay was a pleasant enough quaff, well-balanced with bright apples and cool glints of mineral and oak. Bistro patio wine, for certain.

After much indecision, we finally decided to each order an appetizer along with our main course, in order to taste a couple of new menu items. Since the ST-4 is equipped with hard bags, it would be no problem to take home any leftovers.

As the patio began filling with an assortment of locals, tourists and students, my first course arrived, with DucCat's following closely behind.

The Parmesan Tart with Bacon & Leeks ($7.95) was curiously delivered hiding beneath a blanket of romaine.

Lettuce aside, the tart was a knockout. The interior was rich, creamy and satisfyingly smooth. Thick chunks of bacon in just the right amount pulled it all together admirably. It was a real effort not to finish it all then and there.

DucCat, bless him, began with the Macaroni Gratin($8.95). Delivered in a fun-sized baking tray, it was the epitome of cheesy goodness. A luscious mixture of Swiss and cheddar were trumped by the thick cubes of smoky country ham on top. I laughed in pleasure as I savoured the bite DucCat proffered.

After such a powerful start, my Grilled Asparagus Salad ($7.95) seemed a touch anti-climatic. The greens were lightly dressed in a zippy sauce that was all the better when mixed with the poached egg yolk. Following the cheese explosion of the tart and gratin, the rapidly softening Brie seemed a touch overboard, and was saved to enjoy another day.

DucCat was inexorably drawn back to that lunch-time favourite, the Bistro Burger($9.95). When the Blue Talon crafts a burger, they get it right: a thick, flavourful beef patty comes with all the fixin's, and is joyously crowned by a poached egg. Accompanied by a cone of frites, it was safe to say that nobody walked away from that table hungry.

Oh, and the leftover portion of Parmesan tart? It was just as delicious eaten surreptitiously out of the fridge later that night.

Zed's dead, baby, and dead's dead.

2006-03-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

Well, not really. Zed's actually right as rain, and living life anew as a tart and saucy 2004 sauvignon blanc.

New Zealand has hit another homerun with its latest screwtop offering- all the classic flavors sing out loud here, along with apples, grapefruit and a teasing shot of lime.

All this for under $10? Looks like I've found a new patio wine for summer!

Upside Down

2006-03-26T13:39:00.000-05:00

Spot loves to be held with all four feet sticking straight up. My big, fluffy, white dorky kitty. :)

Check in with Clare at Eat Stuff for the most recent weekend cat blogging round-up!

weekend cat blogging

Pawn Bon Yay

2006-03-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

So tell me: is it winter, spring, or fall? What with temperatures racing to and fro, I certainly can't keep up with it. So last weekend I locked myself in the house, cranked up the heat, and went full gusto with thoughts of warmer times.

Light sandwiches are a summery staple in my house, and it inevitably culminates in the Mediterannean tuna sandwich. First discovered on summer vacation, with then-fiancee DucCat, when his mother whipped some up one day at lunch.

"It's from a Gourmet recipe called Pan Bagnat," she told us, "and it is just so good!" Boy, was she ever right, and we've been making them ever since.

The sandwich requires a boldly crusty bread to stand up against the juices, or you'll be left with mush. Albeit, good-flavoured mush. I try to stick with day-or-more-old baguettes, with the interior slightly hollowed out. And DucCat, my dear, don't look at me like that- this method simply provides more space for the filling.

What's in it? The basic blueprint is canned tuna, an oil-and-vinegar dressing, onions, tomatoes, capers, olives and lettuce. Missing an ingredient? Leave it out. Have a stray something laying about? Throw it on in there. I've added basil, roasted red peppers, even sliced carrots- it's all good.

To quench our parched palates, DucCat selected a 2004 Delfosse Chardonnay, a little trinket from our last Virginia wine country journey. Classically crafted with buttery pears and warm oak, it was just right for staving off the idiosyncrasies of the season.

Mediterranean Tuna Sandwich
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
1 small red onion, sliced very thinly
capers, drained and rinsed
1 can tuna, opened and drained
tomato, sliced 1/4-inch thick
kalamatta olives, sliced
leafy greens
day old crusty bread

Combine red wine vinegar, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and a crack of black pepper, adjusting to taste as necessary. Place sliced red onion into same container, and let sit while preparing the remaining ingredients.
Slice bread in half, and hollow out a portion of the interior.
Beginning with bottom piece of bread, layer with vinaigrette-drenched onions. Follow with capers, tuna, tomatoes, olives and leafy greens.
If desired, add one more layer of onions, finish with top slice of bread, and press down firmly.

Arm yourself well with napkins, and keep in mind that this is in no way first date food!

Like Buttah, Baby.

2006-03-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

"So George," I purred, casting a knowing eye downwards, "DucCat won't be back in town until tomorrow. Got anything... interesting for me?"

Never one to let me down, he deftly pulled a soft and sultry-looking cheese from the refrigerated case, offering me a taste. My eyes widened.

"I'll take two! And a nice bottle of chard for his return. And, er, some more Alessi. Well, if I only need another bottle for a half case, throw in a Pac Peak as well."

I may never walk out of the Warwick Cheese Shoppe for less than $100, but it's always with an armful of old favourites and delicious new finds.

King Island Dairy's Seal Bay Triple Cream is Australia's sassy answer to brie- rich, creamy and decadent, with a smooth and suave nutty character. A single bite can elicit joyful laughter- two may cause swooning, and by that third luscious taste, it's pure, brazen, cream-fueled ecstasy.

No cheese stands alone 'round here, and the Charles Creek 2003 Las Patolitas Chardonnay was a lovely partner. Rich and buttery in its own right, but with enough sweet pear and pineapple to provide balance and contrast. A sip of wine left a luscious, lingering finish that seemed to come full-circle with each new taste of cheese.

Welcome back from racing school, honey!

It’s Good To Live in the South...

2006-03-20T15:31:00.000-05:00

...where barbecue and the art of smoking are time-honoured traditions.

What better way to begin a blustery Saturday morning?

The saucin' liquid- really, just a blend of Pigman's "Hot" Barbecue Sauce, Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce, and apple cider vinegar- was mixed up, and ready to go, just as the coals hissed to temperature.

A few hours passed, and each plump little butt was judiciously basted.

Meanwhile, I gathered the ingredients for a piquant and properly Virginian side of no-mayo coleslaw.

As the shadows lengthened, the winds shifted, and what had been a blustery March morning turned into an afternoon of howling Northern winds.
The smoker's temperature plummeted dangerously, and DucCat was suddenly in motion, starting two chimney's worth of additional fuel to stoke the fire.

Finally, the temperature stabilized, and with another round of saucin', the smoking continued.

With the setting sun looming, the time had arrived. The butts were pulled, securely wrapped in tin foil, and left for a little rest. The heady aroma of pork and spice was mouthwatering, and it was difficult to resist tearing into one for a little taste.

Restraint rewarded us with meat that split like silk, glimmering with juices, and rouged just right with a magnificent smoke ring.

Chop, chop, chop...
...in short time, 36 pounds of barbecue was dispersed to several containers destined for friends, family, and freezer.

Slaw at the ready, all that was left was the eatin'. With a pile of napkins, and the sweet smell of smoke still in the air, we dug in with relish. True classics never go out of style, y'all!

note: Now, I'm not trying to start anything, but it's my belief that a bun stifles the purity of the barbecue, and I'm nothing if not a purist when it comes to such things. Of course, if you have to go the bun route, at least make sure that its a CWB (cheap white bun)

The Renowned Mr. Brown

"In old Southern slang, "Mr. Brown" is the dark, smoky outside part of barbecued pork, usually the shoulder. This is the traditional cooking style, perfected by generations of pitmasters to give Mr. Brown his deserved renown."
-from Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison

1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoonon cayenne

Link to Coleslaw recipe

I Got Raab-ed, Yo!

2006-03-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

I’d seen this curious plant before, labeled rapini, sitting humbly in the produce section. Long, leafy greens were tied in bunches, with the occasional cluster of broccoli-like florets peeking out. With no earthly idea of what it was, or how to use it, my intention to indulge in some research had generally dissolved between the harried check-out lines, and the ride home.

Then, Alanna from A Veggie Venture threw down the gauntlet with her month-long celebration of all things broccoli rabe. If, like me, you've not been keeping up with the cognoscenti these days, it's actually pronounced broccoli “rob”.

Determined to join in the festivities, I searched through epicurious until a particular sandwich caught my eye: a provolone and broccoli rabe panini. Score!

Having the foresight to do a little research this time paid off: broccoli raab goes by a plethora of names, not the least of which is broccoli rabe, rapine, brocoletto and choy sum. You may have guessed that it is also known as ‘rapini’, which is precisely how I found it.

Contrary to what the name implies, it is in no way related to broccoli: it's actually a relative of the turnip family. The leaves look very similar to turnip greens, while the broccoli-like florets are dappled with small, yellow flowers. Flourishing famously in Mediterranean and Chinese cultures, it's still a bit of a curiosity stateside.

Not after today. Cooking it up was effortless. A quick wash, chop, and plop in boiling water, and I was ready to sauté. Just as the garlic hit the pan with a sizzle, I realized that there wasn’t a single winsome anchovy to be found in the kitchen. I added a bit of Worcestershire sauce and an extra crack of salt to the pan; thinly sliced leftover pork tenderloin stood in for that little extra panache, and then, pure panini-making fun ensued.

The sandwich was a delightful mélange of flavours, and the raab proved itself to be a natural partner for the sharp provolone. The taste was somewhere between broccoli and spinach, but with a delightful, slightly bitter edge, softened by just a hint of nutty sweetness.

Ay, now that’s the raab!

PROVOLONE AND BROCCOLI RABE PANINI

adapted from epicurious

1/2 lb broccoli rabe, tough ends discarded
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½-1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt, to taste
1 (8- to 9-inch) sliced (1/4 inch thick) fine-quality round Italian loaf
2 Tablespoons roasted red pepper paste
1/3 lb sliced provolone

In 4-quarts of boiling, salted water, cook raab uncovered until tender, no more than 3 minutes. Drain well, wring out excess water with tea towel, then coarsely chop.

In heavy skillet over medium heat, sauté garlic in half the oil until just golden- add raab, Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt, stirring for about a minute.

Heat panini grill according to instructions. Brush the outside slices of two pieces of bread with half the remaining oil (or use an olive oil sprayer). Spread half the roasted red pepper paste on inside of two slices, place half the provolone on bottom slice, half the raab mixture, then cover with top, oiled side up. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Place in panini grill and cook until browned and crispy, about 8 minutes.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

s’kat’s notes: I also added some thinly sliced cooked pork tenderloin to this, but it would have been just fine without. And since I had some extra cheese left, I put it on top of the raab as well- it may have been the perfect leaf-to-cheese ratio.

Feelin' Brothy

2006-03-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

The usual Wednesday cooking conundrum struck late that morning, upon final confirmation’s of DucCat’s poker game. What seafood dish to have for dinner? I spent my coffee break thumbing leisurely through crisp print-outs and stained cookbooks.

A Cooking Light recipe piqued my interest, due to the fact that it was fast, and I had most of the items already tucked away in my pantry. The fishmonger happened to be completely out of mussels that day, so I trotted out with a bag of impressively large prawns- hello, Shellfish in Tomato-Wine Broth!

I added some fading mushrooms for a little variety, and was generous with the salt and pepper. As with most ‘stews’, this could easily accommodate vegetable bin odds’n’ends, bulking up if necessary, or keeping it to its most basic components.

While this would easily lend itself to simply whetting hungry appetites, I found it filled the bill nicely as the main course, replete with grilled bread and fresh salad.

Shellfish in Tomato-Wine Broth
adapted from Cooking Light

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 package mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14.5) ounce can no salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
salt and pepper, as needed
1/2 pound jumbo prawns, peeled and deveined
2 Tablespoons mixed chopped parsley and basil

Heat olive oil in large heavy pan; add mushrooms, and cook for about 7-10 minutes, until mushrooms have released their liquid, and begun to brown.
Add minced garlic, sautéing for a minute.
Add wine, and the next four ingredients; add salt and pepper, then bring mixture to a boil.
Add shrimp, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until shrimp have just cooked through. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Taste for seasoning, and adjust as necessary.
Remove to bowl, strew with chopped parsley and basil, and serve with crusty bread and salad.

A Girl's Night In

2006-03-11T06:05:00.000-05:00

Because sometimes, it's just easier (and more fun) to stay in one's own kitchen, laughing with a friend over wine, and badly-thought out appetizers.

Luckily, the entree had been cooked up the day before. Chicken, Shrimp, and Sausage Stew was brimming with slow-cooked flavour, just the right dish to take the edge off the Monday night blues.

As this was the sort of thing that demanded soppin' materials, my friend brought along a garlicky dose of focaccia from the newly-opened Florimonte's Bakery. Betwixt the two, I found the perfect marriage of rich meaty broth, pungent garlic, and fresh, herb-studded bread.

My friend cleared the remnants from the table, as I cleaned the dishes in the kitchen. She came out holding up a spoon. "You didn't use this? How'd you eat the stew?"

I smiled, and said, "Who needs a spoon when you've got such great bread for dipping!"

Chicken, Shrimp, and Sausage Stew

from epicurious.com

1 pound andouille sausage, cut into rounds
6 large chicken thighs, around 2 1/4 pounds
3 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped sweet peppers
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juices
1 14 1/2-ounce can low salt chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Saute sausage in large heavy pot over medium heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pot, and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer chicken to the bowl with the sausage. Pour off all but 1 Tablespoon of the pan drippings.
Add onions and peppers to the pot; saute until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, and paprika; saute for a couple of minutes.
Add tomatoes with juices, chicken broth, and wine. Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Uncover pot. Add olives, and simmer until chicken has become very tender, and the liquid has reduced to a thin sauce.
Add shrimp, and simmer just until cooked through, perhaps 5 minutes longer.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

s'kat's notes: I used 4 Cajun-style chicken andouilles, and 2 chorizo sausages. The peppers were red and yellow, as I find green a bit too overpowering.
A cautionary note about the paprika; if you are using hot, use half the amount, then taste and adjust for potency.
I made this stew the day before serving, and it was definitely better for it.

When Life Hands You Veal Chops...

2006-03-10T08:35:00.001-05:00

...suck it up, and make chops in the style of osso bucco. Mmmmmmm...

...I promise it's almost as good! Thanks, DucCat!

Is That a Rigatoni, or are Ya Just Happy To See Me?

2006-03-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

This was one of those recipes that had literally been in my ‘to-do’ pile for years. For about three years, as a matter of fact. So when the wind took on a distinctly Northern chill last Thursday evening, I finally decided it was time to cook ‘Rigatoni in Woodsman’s Sauce’ .

Everything was bubbling along nicely, and smelling even better. I had hot Italian sausage on hand, so used that to great effect. Just before adding the cream, I took a little taste- oh, and it was gorgeous. I called in DucCat to sample, and we pondered leaving well enough alone. In the end, I decided to trust the recipe, and added the cream.

It was still good, but not as good as before. Future renditions may still see me add a few dribbles, but certainly nowhere near the entire cup that is called for here.

Note that as usual, I had my sauce over spinach, while DucCat mixed his with rigatoni. And he was indeed very happy to see me!

tagged with: Cooking +Dinner +Recipes + Pasta+rigatoni

Wednesday Poker Night = s'kat's Seafood Night

2006-03-04T15:08:00.000-05:00

The newest Wednesday seafood recipe turned out great on all marks.

Easy and truly quick to pull together? Check.
Carries the telltale signs of an 'everything and the kitchen sink' meal? Check.
Huge flavour payoff for relatively little work? Check.

I'm smitten, Daddy-o!

Spicy Sauteed Fish with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes
adapted from epicurious

2 pounds tilapia, red snapper or orange roughy fillets
dried breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and grated parmesan cheese, as needed
1/4 cup olive oil
chopped broccoli florets
sliced mushrooms
white wine, for deglazing
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (I chopped a whole tomato)
1 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
baby spinach, wilted

Combine breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and cheese in a shallow dish, and dredge the fish fillets in the mixture until completely coated. Let sit in the fridge for a bit to firm up while you do your prep-work.

Heat olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of fish to skillet and cook about 3 minutes per side, until nicely crispy on the outside, and translucent in the center.
Transfer fish to platter, and repeat with the remaining fillets.

Add wine to deglaze the pan; add the broccoli, mushrooms and onions, sauteeing until just softened. Add the crushed red pepper, tomatoes, olives, and garlic, sauteeing until tomatoes have softened and become juicy.

Season sauce with salt and pepper. Add fillets back into the pan, and cover for a couple of minutes to warm through.

Top with minced basil, mound atop baby spinach, and serve with crusty bread/rice/etc.

s'kat's note: The tilapia clung tenaciously to the pan, and a good portion of the crust came off; I may try using non-stick in the future.

tagged with: seafood, Recipe

Brekkie for Him, Lunch for the Missus

2006-03-01T09:35:00.000-05:00

It’s Sunday, straddling the hour between morning and afternoon. I’d told DucCat earlier about the whole Peter Wells-cheese sandwich hoopla, and with that in mind, we set about making a little something to eat.

One of DucCat’s employees had visited home the previous weekend, and returned with something called a ‘pork roll’. Neither of us had heard of one before; it looked a bit like a massive, pale salami, and smelled rather like bologna.

After frying up a couple of slices on the stove, he poached some eggs, then added it all to a split and toasted hard roll, each with its own slice of individually wrapped American cheese.

The aroma was tempting to say the least, and since there were two sandwiches anyway, he let me try a bite. I’m not quite sure how to describe the taste of the pork roll itself, except to say it was a bit like summer sausage. This sandwich could have been the genesis for the original Egg McMuffin, an homage which never lived up to the prototype. This was truly delicious, made on great bread, a perfectly cooked egg, just the right amount of cheese, and a good, fatty layer of soft, succulent pork. Yowza!

My own sandwich paled just a bit in comparison, but in its own way was no slouch. Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper Spread, baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, chopped tomato and a mixture of feta and piave cheeses were all squeezed between two pieces of whole wheat bread in the panini maker. The resultant sandwich was excellent indeed, although I had the usual problem of the filling squeezing out with each messy bite.

When all was said and done, though, I found my mind’s eye wandering back to that luscious breakfast sandwich.

tagged with: Pete Wells Loves Cheese Sandwiches

Bookwalter Red Table Wine, Lot No. 19

2006-03-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

Maureen asked what wine I’d had with the Risotto al Ragu, and I’m glad she did.

This bottle of Bookwalter Red Table Wine came to me not through the usual channels, but through the mail. I came home one evening to find a large-ish parcel on my front doorstep, one that had come all the way from Seattle, WA.

Tearing it open excitedly, I found a rich assortment of gifts, a late season of giving from two of my favourite Seattlites. I couldn't have been more surprised or pleased- thanks, Jen and Anthony!

One of the goodies was this sleek-looking bottle of wine. Wait for a rainy day? Ha, not around here! DucCat and I barely made it two days, before unabashedly tearing in.

The wine held a comforting scent of earthiness, with dark loamy fruits, and a touch of leather. The body was mellow and engaging, full, but not overly complex. It was as easy to drink on its own, as it was complimentary to the rich risotto. In short, this was everything an everyday red table wine should be- thoroughly enjoyable.

Delish, guys, thanks again!

Risotto al Ragu

2006-02-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Sure, there has been a touch of dieting in this house, but not without its own bit of relief, full of flavour, and meat-soaked, liver-chopped fun. That's right, I'm talking about Saturday night meat risotto. Or, as Egi Maccioni prefers, "Risotto Al Ragu".

Egi's preference for- get this- 6 tablespoons of butter IN ADDITION TO a half cup of oil, makes for truly soul-satisfying material.

Now, I know I'm still fairly new to cooking, but that's a dizzying amount of fat to fry some veggies in! However, I like to follow the recipe through the first time, so into the pan went an incredible amount of butter and oil. Oh, such a rich, golden colour!

Speaking of colour, we finally have a break in the winter-riffic brown-foods marathon. I wouldn't say these vegetables are sauteeing, so much as deep-fat frying. I'm okay with that.

As this was my first time using chicken livers, it was a bit- odd. At the same time, the cats were quite present and supportive of this decision. With their re-assurance, I pressed through.

For the humans here, the deep red, intense flavour was momentarily disconcerting. Yet, the more the dish cooled off, the more it mellowed into an incredibly complex and rich-tasting version of risotto.

In short order, DucCat and I had quickly scraped our bowls clean. Peasant food was never so good, so right and so clean. Grab your baguette, and hold on for the ride!

Risotto with Meat Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil
6 Tablespoons butter
2 small red onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 pound ground beef
2 cups chicken broth, plus more if necessary
2 chicken livers, finely chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
salt and pepper
2 cups arborio rice
grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a large saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots, and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add the ground beef and cook 3 minutes more, until the meat begins to brown.
Add 1 cup chicken broth, the chicken livers, tomato paste, wine, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add the rice and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has been absorbed.
In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining 1 cup chicken broth. Stir the hot broth into the risotto 1/2 cup at a time, making sure the previous addition has been absorbed before adding more.
Cook until the rice is al dente, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of each serving.

Serves 6

From The Maccioni Family Cookbook, by Egi Maccioni with Peter Kaminsky

Don't forget to share a bit with those you love.

Weekend Cat Blogging

2006-02-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

Weekends are a great time to catch up on napping.

Muddled by the Book

2006-02-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

After renting both seasons of Nero Wolfe, I was completely and utterly hooked. Apparently, Santa also received word, as DucCat found a copy of the Nero Wolfe Cookbook in his stocking on Christmas morning.

Filled with not only recipes, but a great collection of relevant quotes from the books, it was irresistible. It sat on our nightstands for months, making for great bedtime reading. Perhaps it was one of those late-night reading sessions that gave me a twinkle of recognition when DucCat was toying with the idea of chicken and dumplings.

Ah, yes right here on page 177: Chicken Fricassee with Dumplings.

The recipe at first glance seemed straightforward enough, and I set about chopping the veggies, while DucCat hacked apart the chicken. It all went smoothly, until I realized that the vegetables were to be strained out, a pan sauce made, and then put over the reserved chicken.

No veggies? I went ahead and chopped more onions, carrots, and celery, sauteeing them in a bit of butter in another pan. I added them back to the simmering stock, and took a taste.

Heavy cream and egg yolk? It may not be fricassee anymore, but they seemed completely unnecessary additions.

The dumplings proved particularly vexing. Even after almost two hours in the fridge, the balls never seemed to get quite firm enough, and all but 3 completely dissipated when added to the boiling stock. The colour looked good, though, and the aroma was heady, so I checked the flavour once again.

I think we can safely file this one under "cold remedies".

Chicken Fricassee with Dumplings

1 4-5 pound chicken
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 small carrot, sliced
6 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cut the chicken into serving pieces, and place them in a large pot.
Add the celery, onion and carrot to the chicken, along with the peppercorns and bay leaf.
Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender, about an hour.
Add the salt. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the flour. Cook for 3 minutes, and gradually pour in 2 cups of the strained chicken stock, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened.
Blend the cream and egg yolk, and add to the sauce. Heat thoroughly, and season with lemon juice and more salt if necessary. Arrange the chicken pieces on a warm platter, and pour the sauce over.
serves 4

Dumplings

½ pound fresh spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons melted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock

Wash, trim, and blanch the spinach in salted water. Drain well, and chop fine.
Mix with the cheeses, salt, pepper, egg and half the butter. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Shape the dough into balls, roll them in flour, and drop, a few at a time, into gently boiling chicken stock.
As soon as they rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon to a hot buttered baking dish.
Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the dumplings with additional Parmesan cheese, drizzle with melted butter, and broil under a hot flame until the cheese browns.
Makes 12 dumplings

s'kat's notes: I didn't let the stock cook down, nor did I add the heavy cream or egg; this made for a wonderful soup. Also, I just boiled the 'dumplings' in the stock I was already using. Most burst apart, but still added a great flavour.

"Archie, I must thank you"- Wolfe puts his napkin down-"for suggesting the fricassee. It is superb. Only female Americans can make good dumplings, and not many of them."
-from the Nero Wolfe Cookbook

What to do with that leftover steak

2006-02-23T10:08:00.000-05:00

Make a French dip sandwich, baby!

The crucial element is the au jus, part rich veal stock, part red wine, and just enough garlic to give a hint of sass. Simmer the meat in this luxurious condiment until just warmed through. Place promptly on a split roll that was toasted open-faced in the oven, gruyere now perfectly melted.

Before taking that first bite, dip into the au jus with child-like glee.

What a great lunch! Thanks, Kalyn!
tagged with: Pete Wells Loves Cheese Sandwiches

A little chocolate goes a long way

2006-02-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

It’s cold today, baby, but summer’s right around the corner. The hot, unyielding summer, resplendent with wide-brimmed hats, the ocean breeze- and swimsuits. After a season of brown, yet delicious, comfort foods, I’m in no shape to squeeze into an unforgiving lycra bikini.

You’d never guess from reading this, but DucCat and I have indeed been striving for a somewhat more healthy mode of eating. Brekkie is full of satisfying whole-grains and yogurt, while lunch has become green with salads and raw vegetables.

You’ve seen some of the dinners, but those are the ones that have kept us going between evenings of lighter fare. The biggest change has been no desserts. Not a single one has graced our little kitchen since the holiday baking spree.

Taking all of this into account, I found myself unable to say no to DucCat one evening, when he so cleverly ate a salad for dinner- then asked very sweetly for something chocolatey. Something brownie-like. Something delicious, and filled with good-for-the-soul ingredients.

Luckily, I had just the thing: Chocolate-Espresso Cookies.

Now, a brownie would have been great, but I wanted the quickness of a cookie. The compromise came from the dough itself, impossibly loose for scooping out by the tablespoon. Since I didn’t have time to let it firm up in the fridge, I pulled out my mini-muffin tin, and put it to work.

And what good work it was. Each warm mouthful was much like a little brownie, especially since I took care to underbake a bit. Just to gild the lily, I drizzled on a quickie chocolate glaze.

There ain’t nothin’ healthy to see here, folks. *big smile*

Chocolate-Espresso Cups

adapted from epicurious.com

6 Tablespoons AP flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso powder (I used an equivalent amount finely ground coffee)
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl.
Combine bittersweet chocolate and butter in large heavy saucepan over low heat until melted (I did this in the microwave on low power, stirring frequently). Remove from heat.
In medium bowl, beat eggs, sugar, espresso powder/coffee and vanilla until well blended.
Stir egg mixture into warm chocolate mixture.
Stir in the dry ingredients; stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop batter by spoonful into prepared mini-muffin cups, and bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Use a toothpick to test for doneness; the interiors should still release a fair amount of moist crumbs, while tops will look done.
Transfer cups to racks for cooling, and let cool completely.

Optional glaze: I was going to make a ganache, but didn't have any cream, so simply made a glaze of melted chocolate and milk. After doing so, these needed to be kept in the refrigerator. To enjoy again, warm briefly in a low oven.

An Ode to the Verdant

2006-02-19T20:58:00.000-05:00

I was desperate, aching to have something that was not only NOT brown, but light and flavourful to boot. Since DucCat usually had his poker games on Wednesdays, I saved for that night some leftover roasted chicken. Happy, green, and vibrant thoughts of Vietnamese Bun Ga flooded every pore.

I first spotted this recipe on eGullet's Dinner Thread . Specifically, fantastic photographer and gorgeous eater pcarpen made this meal one night. I found the simplicity of the ingredients intriguing, easy enough to understand, yet different enough to captivate. I bought my first ever bottle of fish sauce, and got to work.

Since then, this has remained a favourite on warm days. Light, flavourful, and filling, it was the perfect dish to remedy a season of relentlessly brown and heavy foods.

As I sat down to enjoy this meal, I wasn't the only one eyeing a bowl full of greens.

No, perhaps my lovely little vegan wasn't interested in the bowl full o'chicken after all- that lass has quite the inquisitive nose for wine.

*sniff*

Mum and Dad are so proud.

Vietnamese Bun Ga

(recipe adapted from pcarpen from eGullet. I typically use leftover, roasted chicken for this recipe, instead of having the forethought of poaching it my own self.)

1 package rice stick or cellophane noodles
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
handful of sliced scallions
handful of chopped fresh mint
handful of chopped fresh cilantro
handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
4 carrots, finely julienned
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced
handful of bean sprouts
handful of mixed field greens

for the sauce:
2 tspn. Vietnamese fish sauce
4-5 limes, juiced
4-5 teaspoons sugar, to taste

Prepare noodles according to package. When done, drain in a strainer and rinse in cold water.

Chicken breasts can be cooked in a number of ways, the traditional way is to grill them in a teriyaki-type marinade, but in this case we just dropped them in a pot of salted boiling water and poached them for about 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through, removing from water, and shred. Since the chicken is hot this is done with two pairs of kitchen tongs acting as hands. You could also cook them ahead of time and let them cool before you shred them, but we rarely have the foresight or the time to do this.

The sauce is the tricky part. In a small bowl, you want to add 1 tspn. sugar for every lime that you use. For a batch that serves four, we use about 5 of each. Then, slowly add the fish sauce to taste. The sauce is powerful, so adding too much can overwhelm everything. It helps to have tasted the sauce in a restaurant to know what it should taste like, but if not, just add it until you like the taste of the mixture.

Assembly: Put a pile of noodles in the bottom of the bowl, add the lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, sprouts, herbs and scallions. Add the shredded chicken on top, top with peanuts, spoon over sauce, and add Sriracha hot sauce for a little kick.

Mix it all up, and eat!

***s'kat's notes: First of all, I typically skip the noodles in this salad. I'm sure it's great, but I love the intense, raw taste sans noodles.

Secondly, I pretty much skip the peanuts, as well. I'm sure they'd be awesome, but I never seem to have them 'round when I'm making this.

As far as the herbs, I add what is suggested, but I also really like adding Thai basil. Yum.

This recipe is really just a blueprint. The sauce, especially, is not constrained to any sort measurements. Sometimes, I can follow the guidelines, and its great. Frequently, I'm just tasting and adjusting as I go. Eventually, you get to where you want to be.

Oh, and the Srircha... not optional, in my opinon. Enjoy.

Late Weekend Cat Blogging

2006-02-19T20:49:00.000-05:00

We may not be timely enough to keep up with the official cat blogging postings, but occasionally, we check in with some feline love.

A finicky Mel, who was finally given a little dish from which to enjoy her fishly dinner. Note the fish on the counter, which did not past muster.

A snoozing Shishi, happy now that her human had finally surrendered her fireplace stool.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'd been hoping to make a special V-Day posting, complete with hearts, candy, and flowers. It seems, though, that this is the week my image hosting site is upgrading their servers, leaving me unable to upload any new photos.

In lieu of something new, here's to something very old: the enduring bond of love.
Happy Valentine's Day!

An Offer They Can't Refuse!

2006-02-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, a goodly portion of American folk spent their day noshing on chips and dips, as they cheered on their favourite team to victory, surrounded by like-minded family and friends.

In this household, not so much. We had an anti-super bowl party.

The plan was to spend the day listening to Italian opera, as we prepared all the necessary components of the glorious timpano di maccheronni. Once safely in the oven cooking way, our friends would be welcomed into our home with drinks in one hand, a nibble in the other. In the background, the television would be playing The Godfather series- in Italian, of course.

DucCat woke up that morning, and went directly to the kitchen, forming and cooking the meatballs, and crafting a fine, pungent meat sauce. Shortly after that, as fate would have it, our guests began phoning in to cancel, with many sad apologies.

Before long, we were faced with only having two guests that evening. Much as I love them, I didn't want to go through the whole timpano drama for only two. The mythic pasta dome quickly became a legendary pasta casserole.

I boiled a pound of penne to the barely 'there' side of being done. Once properly strained from the water, it was mixed with the meat sauce and chunks of fresh mozzarella, and poured into a casserole dish. DucCat halved the meatballs and studded them liberally throughout the mixture. The final touch was a layer of prosciutto at the very top, all the better to crisp, m'dear.

Once ensconced in a 400-degree oven, it was time to drink a little wine. I'd chosen two from the area that we'll be visiting in the fall, the first of which was a Soave Corte Giara 2003.

It quickly became apparent this had been a very poor choice. The nose was astringent and tart, while the wine itself tasted grassy, with unpleasant notes of lemon and fetid flowers. One sip was all it took to send this bottle down the drain.

Luckily, there was still the house white to fall back upon, before moving onto something red.

The second of my choices was the Brunello di Montalcino 1999 Casisano Colombaio. An intense looking wine, the nose offered up steeped, intense cherry and leather. Ultimately, it proved to be fiercely tannic on the tongue, so much so that we decided to forego that bottle just for the time being. Sadly, I left it uncorked over night, and we weren't able to go back and taste for another taste. Definitely not a wine for sipping before the meal. Speaking of, lets get back to that.

After close to an hour, this behemoth emerged from the oven, tomatoes bubbling with cheese and sausage. The prosciutto had crisped up nicely, although they leaked a fair amount of fat into the casserole. While it looked impressive with the whole pieces, I'd chop these up into mouth-sized morsels in the future.

We sat down to dinner, opening a wine our guests had brought: a Bardolino Le Banche San Lorenzo 2003. The wine was well-balanced between bright cherry and earthen undertones, and accompanied the meal almost as well as Senore Corleone. Buon appetito!

Click here for instructions on the meatballs and meat sauce.

A Bad Case of Azars

2006-02-13T15:41:00.000-05:00

I actually made it through the tunnel recently, and so it was that I found myself driving aimlessly through Norfolk, tummy grumbling, looking for a bite of lunch.

Turning the wrong way down a one-way street, I found myself facing Azar's Natural Foods Market and Cafe. The name rang a bell... hadn't I read a good review somewhere? I pulled into the parking lot and scurried in.

The interior was fairly large, the area to the right taken up by by racks of shelf-stable goods, and an extensive refrigerated section. Directly in front of me was the lunch counter, and a deli-case, filled with a variety of salads and dips.

Quickly perusing the menu, my eyes stopped at the word, "Shwarma". Usually they're called gyros on this side of the pond, and come in lamb, beef, or chicken. I grew addicted to shwarma over in the Netherlands, and haven't had a really good one since.

I ordered the beef (no lamb available, sadly), and sat in the nearly-empty dining room to wait. And wait. And wait.

After an interminable amount of time, my food was ready. And it looked like this:

Very unpretty. And it bore no resemblance to any shwarma I've ever come across. Suspiciously, I bit into it. The meat didn't even taste like shwarma-meat; it was like thickly-cut, overcooked, unseasoned steak. The rolled bread was crunchy, and shattered when I took a bite.

Eventually, I gave up, and just munched on the hummous with a bit of pita. The hummous was okay, but I've had better.

Looks like I'll continue to wait until my next visit to the Netherlands for a really great shwoarma. No stars upon Azar's!

Alessi Intervineas Scacciapensieri Red Table Wine

2006-02-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

At first, the nose holds just a touch of schnozz-crinkling alcohol.

Thankfully, it skips down the tongue with a parade of laid-back, soft red fruits.

Exceedingly easy-drinking, this is everything a red table wine should be.

Drink it- drink it now!!

Shrimply Marvelous, Darling!

2006-02-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

It’s Wednesday night, and you know what that means. And no, I am not referring to the latest installment of the utterly addictive Project Runway (Nick! I love you, man!).

No, what I mean is:

Poker night! The menfolk gather in the red room for a testosterone-filled evening of betting, drinking, and eating penultimately unhealthful ‘man-food’.

No offense to you menfolk who take the more healthful approach.

What this also means is that I’m on my own for dinner, free to indulge in DucCat-condemned fare. I'm talking seafood, shellfish, cruciferous vegetables, and sandwiches.

Sandwiches? Apparently these are not appropriate dinner-time fare. But I digress.

Since I wasn’t getting home until late, he kindly hit the grocery, picking up my requested shrimp and broccoli. As he set up the poker table, I washed and chopped the broccoli, and quickly peeled the shrimp. With a handful of garlic, and a generous glug of wine (for me AND the shrimp), table for madam was soon ready to go.

If you make this, I would seriously recommend doubling, or even tripling the pan-sauce. The garlicky reduction packed a powerfully rich punch, screaming for bread, rice, noodles, anything, really, that would soak up each and every pungent drop.

Garlic Lover's Shrimp

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry white wine (I added close to a cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add pepper, garlic, and bay leaf; sauté 30 seconds.
Add shrimp and salt; sauté 3 minutes.
Remove shrimp from skillet.
Add wine, parsley, and thyme; bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 1 minute).
Return shrimp to skillet; toss to coat. Discard bay leaf.

Yield: 4 servings
from Cooking Light Magazine

No Dough, Joe

2006-02-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

Since a Trader Joe’s recently opened in my town, I’ve slowly but surely been making an effort to sample a variety of their products. A round of late-afternoon appointments prevented me from arriving home at a decent, meal-preparatin’ hour. Since I was in the neighborhood, I grabbed a couple of T.J.’s pizza dough balls, and got to work.

The dough was not as easy to work with as my benchmark (Florimonte’s). Still, it eventually came out into a nice enough round, which I promptly decorated with sauce, vegetables, anchovies, and cheese.

DucCat was in the mood for something a little different. In the spirit of using up some leftovers (oh, my heart is all a-quiver!), he made a calzone of andouille, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.

He also pulled out an interesting bottle of wine to go with the meal: a Wynns 1997 Coonawarra Michale Shiraz.

The nose was a little oaky, and mottled with dark fruits. Medium-bodied, it turned a bit aggressive on the tongue with candy-coated cherry and magnanimous spices. There may have even been a bit of a licorice whip in the decidedly sweet finish.

It was probably not the best choice to go along with pizza or calzone, and we both let our glasses sit untouched ‘till the meal was over.

Right, then, back to the question at hand- how is Trader’s dough?

It looks like I’m going to take a most unpopular stance, but truth be told, it didn’t do a thing for me. Now, I may just be spoiled by the lovingly crafted offerings at Florimonte’s. Even so, our middle-of-the-road “New York” pizza joint does better dough than this.

The flavour was anemic, the texture very odd. The exterior of the crust developed a chewy ‘snap’ to it that I found unpleasant. It was so bland and unexciting that I actually threw away my leftovers.

I compulsively freeze ALL leftover pizza. Let that speak for itself.

Throntree

2006-02-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

At least, that’s what the menu read.

With the barometer briefly back into the milder side, DucCat and I met some friends for a cocktail on Cowboy Syd’s patio, a 2 years+ tradition.

“The umbrellas of the veld, starkly silhouetted against the breathtakingly beautiful African sunset, is a memory etched in the mind of many a traveller. The Umbrella Thorn (Acacia Tortillis- from the Greek word Acantha, meaning thorn) provides shade and shelter to both man and beast, all year ‘round."

Our evening started with the charmingly mis-spelled South African Thorntree 2004 Chardonnay. This golden little glass was definately on the sweeter side, with soft stone fruits, and a tickle of citrus. As the evening wore on, the sweetness became more pronounced, ultimately ending on an unpleasant, syrupy note.

Ah, well. At least the company was good.

Garlic and Eggs

2006-02-01T19:09:00.000-05:00

Indeed, it was a chilly evening, one that would have been well-served by a steaming cup o’ DucCat’s finest.

However, he had a poker game to attend, and I was home far too late to get a pot on. I poked around the fridge, browsed through a few cookbooks, and finally settled upon Gourmet's “Garlic Soup with Poached Eggs.”

The recipe was simple, fast, and I had all the ingredients close at hand. I began heating the broiler while chopping the garlic and onions. While they were softening in the pan, I broiled a piece of bread, chopped a tomato, and washed a few dishes.

I am notoriously bad at attempting to halve a recipe, and this little experiment proved no different. It was all good, right until I threw in a large pinch of red pepper flakes- the full recipe amount. Thank goodness I like the spice, but it was rather overpowering.

While the egg simmered in the stock, I finished chopping some parsley (sadly, my cilantro had already turned to mush in the fridge), and tidying up around the kitchen. All that was left was the eating.

Even though the red pepper flakes demanded immediate attention, I was still able to discern the simple, soothing melange of flavours in the broth . The bread, toasted extra crisp in the oven, soaked all the garlicky juices right into itself. The addition of the onions and tomatoes made this feel a bit more substantial, and any excuse to work in some extra veggies are fine by me. The perfectly poached egg was the crowning jewel of this little dish, pulling it all together with that wonderfully rich yolk.

With the promise of colder temperatures right around the corner, I know this will be my go-to weeknight comfort food.

Garlic Soup with Poached Eggs
adapted from ‘The Gourmet Cookbook’

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium head garlic (2-inches in diameter), separated into cloves, peeled, and thinly sliced
8 (1/2-inch thick) baguette slices
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 large eggs
salt

garnish: 1/2 cup loosely packed small fresh cilantro sprigs and 4 lime wedges

Heat oil in a deep 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and pale golden, 8-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a small bowl.

Increase the heat to moderate, add bread to skillet, and cook, turning once, until browned, about 4 minutes total. Divide toasts among four large soup bowls.

Add stock, red pepper flakes, and garlic to skillet and bring to a simmer. Break 1 egg into a cup and slide egg into simmering stock. Repeat with remaining eggs, spacing them evenly in pan. Poach eggs at a bare simmer until whites firm, but yoks are still runny, 3-4 minutes.

With slotted spoon, transfer eggs to toasts and season with salt. Ladle soup over eggs and garnish with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

s'kat notes: Added some chopped onions along with the garlic. Due to using what was on hand, I used 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup veal/beef stock. Forgot that I was reducing the recipe, and added the full amount of pepper flakes, not really recommended. Chopped tomatoes were added just before it came off the heat. Used parsely, but cilantro really would have made this sing. Oh, and I toasted the bread under the broiler instead of the pan.

It Finally Turned Chilli Again!

2006-02-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

In a day, we've gone from the mild 60's, to the downright windy and chilly high 40's. It really gets a girl in a particular mood.

I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!

A Knife, A Fork, A Bottle and a Cork

2006-01-31T07:15:00.000-05:00

Pizza. It's a lovely enough thing. One of my favourite foods, as a matter of fact. Just the name alone conjures up that golden crust, topped with vibrantly red and fragrant tomato sauce, melty cheese, and if you're like me, enough veggies to make yo' mamma proud.

But sometimes- sometimes that pizza urge strikes, and you find yourself going down another path.

*cue erie music*

"Man opens the pizza oven door, and pulls out what he believes to be pizza.
But- there is, unseen by most, another way, a slice that is just as real and fresh, but not as brightly lit... a slice from.... the flipside."

That's right- not all pizza is brazenly naked. Sometimes, pizza comes with a bit more class, and with that, a demure top-crust. Please welcome the hearty stuffed-crust pizza.

DucCat came home from Florimonte's one blustery day, toting a large and extremely heavy pizza box. The smell emanating from within was intriguing, and he was all smiles as I pulled back the lid.

There was pizza in there, but one quite foreign, with nothing but crust in sight.

"It's a stuffed-crust pizza!" DucCat exclaimed. "Meatballs, roma tomatoes, onions, fresh mozzarella and basil..." he added upon seeing my derisively-raised eyebrow.

The words "stuffed crust" instantly conjured up terrible images of Domino's and Pizza Hut's greasy-creations. Not to mention that the all important crust-to-topping ratio was bound to be off. No matter, though- if DucCat said it was good, then it must be so.

The peek inside wasn't promising... the ratio looked off in a bad way. But the scent, ah yes, that glorious scent held all sorts of promise.

I laid into it with a knife and fork, as this definately wasn't finger food. DucCat was, of course, absolutely dead-on about this being good. Just the right amount of roma tomatoes had thickened a bit during cooking, snuggling into every crevice. The tender meatballs burst with flavour, not to mention whole cloves of garlic.

In fact, the whole thing reminded me a bit of a sub, but a really well-crafted one. Pizza shaped. And with an ultra-thin shell in place of the bread.

We tried out our second Smoking Loon wine, a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. I liked this one much more that their chardonnay, but can't say it won me over completely. It was toasty and tannic, and went well enough with the pizza, which is all I was really asking of it.

Even so, I probably won't be buying this again, as we've plenty of other inexpensive wines that go well with food.

Stuffed crust pizza. Blustery, blissful manna.

Pick up yours at Florimonte's Fine Italian Deli, up in Williamsburg. Be warned that it is a special-request item, and one that will be made with loving pride.

Quadro-Meme-O-Gamma!

2006-01-30T15:08:00.000-05:00

Miss Hungry Rose tagged me for the 4X meme. Your life, neatly compartmentalized into tidy categories, with four answers.

I thought this sounded strangely familiar, and when I went to open a Word file, found this list already typed out. Had someone previously tagged me? If so, please forgive my Swiss-cheese brain. Without further ado...

Four Jobs I've Had
1. Video/Music Store Clerk
2. Bartender
3. Bookseller
4. Waitress

Four Things I Hope to Do Defore I Die
1. Cook without recipes.
2. Sell my photos.
3. Travel the world with my husband.
4. Find true inner peace.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over
1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Birdcage
3. Waking Life
4. Ocean’s Eleven

Four Things I Cannot Do
1. Cook without a recipe.
2. Stay focused.
3. Be even vaguely interested in sports.
4. Think like a sheeple.

Four Places I've Lived
1. Omaha, Nebraska
2. Amersfoort, the Netherlands
3. Roseville, California
4. Orlando, Florida

Four Things That Attract Me To My Spouse
1. Humour
2. Intelligence
3. Smokin’ sexiness
4. He grokked me (and I grokked him right back)

Four TV Shows You Love to Watch
1. The Daily Show.
2. Project Runway
3. Inside the Actor’s Studio
4. Barefoot Contessa

Four Things I Say Often
1. Cheers!
2. Now where did I put...?
3. Hey, honey!
4. What do you wanna do for dinner tonight?

Four Places I've Been on Vacation
1. California Wine Country (Asti)
2. Duck, North Carolina
3. Vail, Colorado
4. Hope Town, Abaco Island, The Bahamas

Four Books or Book Series That I Love
1. Lavondyss
2. Garlic & Sapphires
3. Harry Potter
4. My cookbooks!

Four Blogs I Visit Daily
1. Cookie Madness!
2. Culinary in the Dessert
3. Mona’s Apple
4. The Amateur Gourmet

Four of My Favorite Foods
1. Pizza!
2. Sushi!
3. Bread!
4. Sugary, bad-for-me coffee drinks!

Four Places I'd Rather Be
1. In the kitchen.
2. Back in wine country. Any of them.
3. A sunny, warm, and empty beach.
4. Charlottesville, Virginia

Four Albums I Can't Live Without
1. Bedrock, John Digweed
2. Sampladelic, DeeeLite
3. BetaBeetle, The Beta Band & The Beatles, mixed by my husband
4. Speakerboxx/The Love Below, OutKast

Four Vehicles I've Owned
1. VW Rabbit
2. Pontiac Sunfire
3. Nissan Sentra
4. Honda Accord

Four Folks Who Ought to Do This Meme
1. Jen
2. Anna
3. Maureen
4. ???

Sneezy, Mopey and Snuffly

2006-01-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Anna tagged me for a little meme cooked up in honour of cold season: name your best cold/flu remedy.

A long time ago, it would have been Campbell's tomato sauce, hot sauce, and crackers. Then, the day came when I discovered Tom Yum Soup. Bursting with chicken and veggies, be sure to get it three peppers hot, to burn through the snot.

In a pinch, though, hot-and-sour soup will work almost as well. Again, ask for the spiciest.

Eat. Drink water. Rest. Repeat.

Got your own? Consider yourself tagged, or leave it in the comments!

[Sorry for the lack of posts around here, I'm still trying to get some of the details of my european vacation fleshed out just a bit more. We'll get back to the cooking very soon!]

Moe's Knows... Me??

2006-01-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

There are a variety of cuisines that restaurants in the ‘blues don’t do well, and sadly, one of them is Mexican/Hispanic.

Along with Trader Joe’s arrival came a whole host of national chains. Trees were razed, the earth was cleared, and up from it sprang Silver Dollar Diner, Red City Buffet, Panera Bread Company, Applebees/Ruby Tuesday’s (they both look the same to me, and I’m not sure which one is actually there), and inevitably, yet another Starbucks.

DucCat and had finished our T.J.’s shopping late one morning, and with tummies grumbling, found ourselves drawn to another recent arrival, “Moe’s Southwest Grill”. This place had chain written all over, but we were hungry and quite curious.

The menu board held a host of classic ‘mexican’ cuisuine choices, burritos, quesadillas, etc. Each meal selection could be beef, chicken, or tofu, and were accompanied by tortilla chips.

We spent several minutes studying the menu, then gave it a go. We lined up and told the girl behind the sneeze guard our orders. I went with the Ugly Naked Guy, basically a veggie soft-taco; DucCat got the “John Coctostan” quesadilla. With steak, of course.

The girl began readying our orders, then asked us what additionals we’d like. The set-up is much like that of a sub shop, with little buckets of cheese, grilled and raw vegetables, salsas, and much to my pleasure, chopped fresh cilantro.

We continued down the line, plucked a couple of icy-cold beers, and paid up. Our order would be a few minutes more, so we sat and waited with a bit of trepidation. DucCat just looked resigned.

The joint began to fill up rather quickly, and everytime the door opened, patrons were greeted with “Welcome to Moe’s!” shouted in unison by the energetic employees. Shortly, another employee came by, and with a smile, dropped our order off at the table.

We both received overloaded baskets of chips. Much to my surprise, they were very fresh tasting and light, a far cry from the local norm.

DucCat’s quesadilla was piping hot, and brimming full. The aroma alone was mouthwatering.

My cold little veggie taco suddenly didn’t seem quite as appealing, but I sauced it up, and dug in. Again, a pleasant little thrill raced through my mouth. All the veggies were very fresh tasting; the lettuce had snap, and the tomatoes were flavourful. The cilantro sauce actually had an assertive cilantro taste, while the hot sauce managed to make my mouth tingle. Colour me impressed.

“You’ve got to try this!” DucCat said, proferring a bite of his mighty John Coctostan.

One bite, and my mouth was again happy with melted cheese, soft black beans, and most impressively, excellent-tasting beef . Succulent and satisfying.

Since that first visit, we’ve gone back several times for an inexpensive, quick and tasty lunch. I hate to say it, but sometimes it takes a franchise to refresh a diner’s tastebuds.

Look out, Plaza Azteca!

Stalking the Oyster

2006-01-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

Oysters are a big deal around here, and many a generation has made their living harvesting and selling these little bivalves from the surrounding waterways. I love them raw, but you know Southern folk, what with their penchant for battering and frying: there’s just no escaping it.

Fried oyster salad is one of those compromise meals ‘twixt DucCat and I. For days, weeks really, I’ve been aching for salad-based meals, while he’s been in fine and full-on comfort food mode.

He used a mixture of boxed fish fry batter and cracker crumbs to coat the oysters, quickly frying them to a lovely golden-brown. I prepped the salad base, and made a dressing based upon an egg yolk-enhanced mustard vinaigrette, found in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

This simple, satisfying meal called for an elegant and classy wine.
Luckily, DucCat had at the ready a Testarossa 2003 Castello Chardonnay.
On the nose, its all airy peachy lightness- on the tongue, it smoothes out with a bit of apricot cream, in just the right amount.

Just the right mixture of heavy and light for a warm winter’s night.

Vinaigrette in the Style of Mayonnaise

adapted from "How to Cook Everything"

1 egg
1/4 cup horseradish mustard
minced onion
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt + freshly ground black pepper to taste

Break the egg into small food processor, and process with the mustard, onion, and vinegar. Drizzle in olive oil with machine running. When the mixture is as thick as heavy cream, add the salt and pepper.

s'kat's notes: I greatly increased the amount of mustard in this, so taste and adjust as necessary.

Feeling Crust-ly

2006-01-20T14:15:00.000-05:00

Slice me up a piece o’comfort, baby! A story in three parts, linked by comfort food’s skin: the crust.

I was justifiably horrified one evening to come home, and discover this... this thing burbling away in my oven.

Frito pie. DucCat had talked about making it for years, but I remained unswayed by the thought: seasoned ground beef, beans, fritos and gobs of cheese baked casserole-style, until heated through. Luckily, I was off the hook, as it was poker night.

Although the pie was destined for the wildly gesticulating, trash-talking men in the dining room, DucCat convinced me that it was my food-blogging duty to try a small bite. It was a bit like taco meat wrapped in Frito’s- and it was, to my great surprise, absurdly good. Great, even, in an extremely unhealthy, greasy, calorie-filled kind of way. Fine fodder for broke college students, and the like. Stoned college students, really.
~~~

A few weeks later, our friend Syd dropped by the house. He came bearing not only wine, but a whole chicken, some apples, and other assorted goodies.

After we toasted with DucCat’s new stemless Riedels, Syd began to get busy. With knife in hand, the chicken was quickly and efficiently portioned out. As he coated the pieces with flour, salt and pepper, he instructed Dave on getting the apples ready for fresh apple sauce. I began heating the oil in a deep-sided cast-iron pan, and soon we were ready to cook this bird true Southern-style, as Syd had promised.

Here’s the part where it all gets a bit blurry. I’d the best intentions to faithfully document the steps, but there was no time. As the chicken fried, the three of us danced around the kitchen in an easy rhythym. Dave continued with the applesauce, while I made biscuits with just-soured milk.

One of the highlights was having Syd show me what the actual texture of the biscuits was supposed to feel and look like. Just like my Mammaw, he measured nothing; it came together gently, purely by feel. Truly invaluable knowledge. No pictures, though, due to my hands being covered in the very sticky dough.

It was starting to smell really good at this point, but the chickens weren’t cooking quite as evenly as Syd would have hoped. A couple of the smaller pieces were almost done, while the bigger breasts needed a bit more time.

Syd pulled out a little stockpot, poured in the still-hot oil, and added the breasts for further cooking.

While that was going on, it was time to make the gravy. Now, I couldn’t really see what was going on here... flour was sprinkled, mushrooms were added, along with a bit of milk. After several minutes of frenzied stirring, the gravy emerged, lightly browned, and full of glorious, chickeny-flavour.

With all the cookin’ done, we sat down like proper folk to enjoy this classic meal.

The fresh applesauce alone was a revelation, as Mott’s has really been my only previous experience. Ultra-fresh tasting, still slightly chunky, and just bursting with ripe flavours.

The chicken was perfectly fried, and the mushroom gravy was a nice complement. Between the rice, the biscuit, and the peas (Le Seur, if you’re curious), it was a full-contact Sunday supper.
~~~

Of course, we ended up with a fair amount of leftover chicken in the fridge. Browsing one afternoon through various food blogs, I hit upon comfort food gold: chicken pot pie.

Now, this ain’t no Swanson’s, baby. I found the recipe over at Food Musings; when you get to the bottom of this posting, take a moment to read her very funny story involving airports and poultry carcases.

The peas were omitted (didn’t have any, and dammit, I wasn’t going to the grocery store again!), and I ended up using duck stock, as it was all I had on hand. I didn’t realize I was making gravy until the flour and stock suddenly began to come together in a silk smooth stream. I called DucCat out to the kitchen to witness and pay tribute to my proud culinary first.

When the veggies and chicken had all been coated in the gravy, it was all dumped into an oven-proof skillet, and covered in a cheddar-filled biscuit dough. I didn’t even bother to cut out the individual biscuits, although that would be cute for single-serving portions.

This was also my very first chicken pot pie experience. Results: like a mouth-watering stew covered in a cheesy crust, this was another delight that I suddenly understood.

Chicken Pot Pie

Meat and Per-taters

2006-01-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

Pot roast. We'd seen something about on television recently, or perhaps it just came up in conversation one day. Whatever the reason, DucCat became entranced with the thought of making ourHIS own pot roast. After looking over a few recipes, he coddled together his own adaptation, and left the roast to while away the hours in the oven.

Frankly, I was a bit suspicious, as pot roast was a since-childhood hated food. However, when I came into the house at the end of the day, the scent that greeted me was full of juicy, slow-cooked love. I followed that demi-glace train right into the kitchen, and stole a little French bread dip. Heavenly.

Consider me converted... now, I just wish that he had written down the recipe!

A few days later, with the temperatures racing back up towards the seventies, it was time for the flipside: steak and potatoes.

While DucCat wrestled with charcoal, fire, and thick slabs of meat, I began boiling the potatoes for a recipe discovered in a recent issue of Food & Wine. The method is one that was supposed to assure a very crunchy exterior, while maintaining the soft interior from boiling. Once they'd cooled, I chopped them into wedges, drizzled rather generously with olive oil and salt, and set them in a hot oven.

That gave me just enough time to make a wild mushroom sauce for the steak. Just as DucCat came in with a platterful of perfectly grilled steaks, the sauce was done, and the potatoes were coming out of the oven. Don't you just love an evening that ends in perfect harmony?

The original recipe calls for a romesco sauce to be served on the potatoes, but I wanted to keep it simple.

Crunchy Potato Wedges

4 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
salt
¾ cup evoo

Preheat oven to 425.
In a large heavy pot, cover potatoes with water, and bring to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt and cook over moderately high heat until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes.
Drain, and let cool slightly. Peel potatoes, and cut into wedges.
Transfer the potatoes to 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil, turning to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and crisp.

Food & Wine February 2006

Italian Dreams UPDATED

2006-01-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm making a plea to any folk who may happen by my little blog. There's some good news in the cats world, and that is this: during the first two weeks of October, we will be traveling to Italy with some friends. The journey begins in Amsterdam (but doesn't it always?), at the lovely PhilDutch houseboat.

After four days, we then head down to Pisa, were we will be picked up by our guide. He'll take us through San Gimangiano, before dropping us off at our accomodations in Siena. He'll be back with us for the next two days, driving us to wineries and a host of Tuscan towns. We've one day on our own to explore Siena.

After that, we'll catch a train into Florence, staying for two nights, then continue up through Bologna. Bologna, as DucCat informed me, houses world Ducati headquarters, so is a must-see!

I've heard the food there isn't so bad either.

We then head up to Venice for the last three days, and then *poof* back home we go.

So that's the idea for our little journey. Any ideas on places to stay, ways to travel, eateries/wineries to visit, I am open to it all. I've never had the fortune to visit Italy previously, and am quite excited.

And at the same time, completely overwhelmed. So big, so much to do, so short a time. We like the food, the views, and the wine. Where to go, where to visit first? Comments are way open here, folks.

Is that a kielbasa, or are you just happy to see me?

2006-01-18T09:11:00.000-05:00

When the increasingly absurd weather took a brief dive back down the thermometer, my thoughts again turned to the comforting, simmering warmth of a stew. In keeping with my intention to cook more out of my own cookbooks, I found myself browsing through Patricia Wells' "Bistro Cooking".

I pretty much honed right on in to "Les Pyrenes Stew of White Beans, Cabbage, Ham and Preserved Goose". Patricia points out that if one doesn't have access to goose confit and goose gizzards, one could easily substitute kielbasa, or some other good quality smoked sausage.

I used Nathan’s “We don’t only make hot dogs” Famous Keilbasa, and put it in about half an hour earlier than called for. This soup uses no chicken broth or stock, yet magically transforms itself into a flavourful and hearty bowl full of goodness. It’ll cure what ails ya.

White Bean, Cabbage and Kielbasa Stew

adapted from Patricia Wells' "Bistro Cooking"

1 1/2 cups (10 ounces/300 g) dried white beans
3 ounces (90g) Parma ham (I used Smithfield ham, cubed)
8 garlic clvoes, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
4 leeks, trimmed, well rinsed, and cut into thin rounds (I substituted green onions)
salt
1/2 green cabbage, quartered
1 pound (500g) potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 14-oz kielbasa, or other smoked sausage, sliced or cubed

Cover beans with water, and let sit overnight.
Drain and rinse the beans the following day. Add cold water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove pan from heat, leave covered, and let rest 40 minutes. Drain the beans, discarding all cooking liquid.

In a large flameproof casserole, combine beans, ham and garlic. Add 2 quarts (2l) of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low, and add the carrots, onions, and leeks. Season lightly with salt. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Add smoked sausage, cover, and continue to simmer 30 minutes more.

Add cabbage and potatoes and continue cooking until all of the vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes more.

Serve immediately in wide, shallow bowls. Even with all the starches present, I must add that thick slice of toasted bread really hit the spot.

Serves 4-6.

Blue Sunday

2006-01-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

This has definately been a season full of rich and hearty seasonal foods, so I welcomed the opportunity to join in Sweetnick’s ‘ARF/5-a-Day Tuesdays’.

And what better way to dip one’s toe into the realm of healthy and conscious eating than with blueberries? Wild Maine blueberries, to be exact. These delectable darlings are little powerhouses, just bursting with amazing antioxidant powers. Now, these are well and good enough popped raw into one’s mouth, but a sudden chilly snap gave me a better idea...

Pancakes!! Delicious wild blueberry pancakes, served with a cinnamon cream syrup, and a side of bacon. Did I mention that blueberries are extremely healthy? And really, I assure you that the bacon was placed there for purely stylistic purposes.

I don’t have a pancake recipe that really buttered my griddle, so a quick internet search found me checking in with Cooking For Engineers.

Basic Pancakes are a classic recipe that utilizes common cupboard ingredients for very tasty results. I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding the juice of one (smallish) lemon to the milk, and letting it sour for about twenty minutes before preceeding- it added the perfect tang to the fluffy cakes.

I also took the suggestion to add the blueberries after the pancakes are spooned out onto the griddle. Nothing appeals more to my Virgoan nature than a perfectly balanced wheel of blueberries in one’s pancakes.

The cinnamon cream syrup is a very special treat from James River Kitchen, my mother-in-law’s cookbook. DucCat and siblings were graced by the frequent appearance of cream waffles and the aforementioned syrup on many a happy Sunday morning. I was more than honoured to pay tribute this time ‘round.

Blueberries. It’s what for breakfast!

Basic Pancakes (Don’t forget to sour the milk with lemon juice... or just use buttermilk, should you have some available.)

Cinnamon Cream Syrup

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
1/4 cup whole milk

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, syrup, water and cinnamon.
Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Cook and stir 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.
Stir in milk.
Serve warm over pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
Leftover syrup may be gently re-heated.

from 'James River Kitchen'

I Dig Sushi and Felines

2006-01-13T08:32:00.000-05:00

After a week of fairly boring food- due to last week's reflux attack- DucCat finally began feeling better.
He surprised me last night by coming home with a platter-full of succulent sushi-love.

I'm sure we'll be back up to speed soon. In the meantime, here's a little pre-weekend cat blogging from Shishi and Spot. Lookin' forward to a great weekend!

T.M.I.

2006-01-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

Mona tagged me for the newest/oldest meme running ‘round:
Too Much Information.

Here's the delly-o: post ten random and interesting facts about yourself (they don't necessarily need to be food-related).

After reading through her own insightful list, I’ve pondered a bit, and finally come up with one of my own.

-My hair has been every colour except blonde.

-In the early 90’s, I DJ’d under the name ‘Velvet Scream’.

-I lived in the Netherlands for three years... and never ate cheese! Didn’t like it, wasn’t interested in trying it. Really regret that one.

-I shared wine and cigarettes with a couple of bums at Jim Morrison’s grave.

-I no longer smoke, but will sometimes inhale deeply when walking by smokers.

-I don’t own a cell phone, and in fact, hate talking on phones in general.

-An F-4 tornado came right between mine and my neighbor’s house; I survived.

-I was practically a vegetarian when I met my husband.

-I’ve met two ‘celebritites’ in my life. One was Ken Ober (MTV’s Remote Control); the other was Nikki Knockers. Two guesses as to how she makes her living. ;)

-I would love to someday make a good living through photography.

Dude, that's like, way too much information!

I'm going to tag Anna, Joe, Deetsa, Clare, and Paul.

A Season at Syd's

2006-01-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

I've had several posts about previous visitations to Cowboy Syd's restaurant, and still managed to have quite a few miscellaneous dining photos floating about. I'm taking the opportunity to do a quick and image-heavy review of lunches, dinners, and the wines enjoyed at Syd's.

Brunch and lunch?

We've had a few...

As always, we begin with
that exciting Southern-classic,
Syd's spin on
neo-pimento cheese.
I don't like mayonnaise,
but I really like this!

The Frei Brothers
2003 Reserve
Chardonnay
is lightly oaked,
and perfectly crafted
for casual Sunday sippin'.

Now, onto the food:
uptown French toast and Surry sausages
Poulet two ways, grilled...

...or wrapped up sandwich style.

My personal favourite, the citrusy and light-tasting crab salad. A first for me, a little cute quail, nesting under a fois gras pancake.

Chicken again, grilled,
and smothered in smoochie-bear ham sauce.

Now, the above wine is the Hendry Chardonnay, and DucCat and I can typically be found beginning our meal with a plate of neo-pimento love, washed down by this elegant little wine. However, there was something different about this bottle... click here for a closer look. Little ice crystals sparkled on the inside, and remained floating in our glasses. Ice crystals, sugar crystals...? Whatever they were, they didn't seem to have changed the flavour.

A random platter of cheese,
and smoochie-bear ham.

The Rex Hill 2003 Pinot Noir- excellent choice, good sir.

This was a cheerful and fun wine,
imminently approachable with red berry love,
and a hint of something like chocolate in the finish.

After dallying with the pefect cracker,
and lingering over wine and coffee,
a surprise was yet in store.

"New desserts!" declared Syd. "You just have to try these, girl-
friends!" Somehow, we sucked it up, and managed to try every one, and yes: they were as utterly delicious as you'd imagine.

Another night,
another course beginning with neo-pimento and Hendry...

let's skip right along to our 'taste'.

DucCat was sent a cute little piece of fried chicken
draped in gravy, and sitting on a bed of grits.
'Cuz that's just the Southern-style love
the Cowboy has for my husband.

My little dish was straight from the sea,
incredibly fresh and flavourful tuna.
Barely insulted by flame, this was rare tuna perfection.

A new wine graced our table that evening, the Graziano 2003 Petite Syrah Old Vines Mendocino. This was a toothsome fellow, barrel-chested and smeared in mashed berries. The finish was leathery smooth, and I knew then that it would go pefectly with...

...a blurry but tasty steak.

And perhaps not so good with...

Grilled rockfish and a pile of juicy seared shrimp. It was no matter, though, this was worth forsaking the wine for what has to be some of the area's best seafood.

Of course, it wouldn't be Syd's style to let us escape without trying some new desserts.

Tonights goodies were a chocolate-bourbon bread pudding (scrumptious!)...

... and a sugarless chocolate tart.
No sugar, no fake sweeteners, just quality chocolate, amongst other Top Secret ingredients. If he hadn't told us, I never would have guessed the truth, it was that decadent.

It certainly was a great and beautiful season of dining at Syd's. Thanks for everything, Cowboy!

Attack of the Reflux

2006-01-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

I was recently sitting in my doctor’s office, leafing through some free phamplets. One in particular caught my eye: “Heartburn & Acid Reflux Disease”. DucCat has recurring problems with acid reflux, and a couple days earlier, he'd suffered through one of the worst attacks I’d seen yet.

Then I came to the page listing dietary triggers. I was so stunned that I began laughing, just as the good doctor walked in. In answer to his confused look, I pointed at the page, and said, “We managed to hit all of these in a single day!”

~~~
It was the second day of the new year, and DucCat and I were going to catch up with some friends over a leisurely lunch. After finishing coffee, we readied ourselves in making a fine Southern-style feast.

Our first guest arrived with a bottle of Paul Goerg’s ‘Lady’ champagne, and plate of homemade fudge. We popped the bubbly and nibbled on the rich fudge until the others arrived.

They also brought champagne, another Paul Goerg, at that.

This was no lady, but it wasn’t bad, either.

Now, this lunch was no ordinary nosh- it featured the last of the summer’s barbecue. Lovingly smoked by DucCat for twelve or so hours, this was the real deal.

What better way to send it off than in the company of friends?

Pulling a classic side from Mom , DucCat made a simple cucumber-tomato salad, liberally doused in white vinegar, and sprinkled with crunchy salt.

You will note in the above photograph that my cue is sans bun. This is no ridiculous Atkinser-fear: I believe that the bun dampens the pure, rich taste of the meat, and I am all about purity in barbecue.

As we chatted and laughed the afternoon away, it became aparent that another bottle of wine was called for. DucCat mentioned something about a special pour he’d been saving, and raced upstairs to dig it out of the wine room.

The Domaine du Pegau "Cuvée Réservée" was indeed an impressive specimen. The nose was very spicy, full of pepper, and a distinct ‘barnyard’ aroma.

I sat and swirled and sniffed for several minutes before taking that first sip. The flavour was intense as well, rather on the ‘much’ side of tannic for me. At the same time, the feel of the wine was smooth and unctuous, and the lingering finish was a real pleasure.

The colour of the wine was very dark and inky in the glass, but once you held it up to the light, an amber sort of glow erupted around the edge.

Beautiful stuff.

This was indeed a special occasion wine, but one that should probably sit tight for a few more years, in order for those tightly-wound tannins to relax down just a bit.

Our friends departed, and we went on with our day. Later in the evening, DucCat had a piece of peppermint bark. Still later, he had a segment of an orange. Shortly thereafter, his reflux started acting up.

We went to bed, but his reflux began burning with a fury. DucCat got back up, and went downstairs for a hearty gurgle of seltzer water. This is the point when he (in his own words), started spitting out battery acid.

Let’s go over that 'dietary triggers' list one more time:

-fried or fatty foods (‘cue)
-tomato sauces (one of the ‘cue sauces)
-citrus fruits and juices (orange)
-heavy seasonings and spicy foods (‘cue!)
-onion (in tomato-cucumber salad)
-chocolate (fudge)
-peppermint (bark)
-drinks with caffeine (coffee)
-alcoholic drinks (champagne and red wine)
-carbonated drinks (champagne and seltzer)

Let this be a lesson to you, kids.

A Quiet Evening In

2006-01-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

Note: this entry just goes to show you how chronically late I am in posting!

New Year's Eve day started out a simple enough affair.

Between a pitcher full of sparkling mimosas,
and a tasty Jewish nosh,
in the form of whole-wheat bagels (we are getting older, you know), cream cheese, smoked salmon, onions and capers-
it was off to a smashing start.

The latter part of the day found me up to my elbows in dough, madly making bagel dogs for a friend's New Year’s Day party. Once all the Nathans hot dogs and spicy chicken sausages had been wrapped, par-baked, and ready to go, it was time for a bit more well-deserved relaxation.

DucCat broke out the caviar sampler I’d gotten him for Christmas, hard-boiling an egg and dicing the onions as I finished cleaning the kitchen.

We sat in front of Christmas tree lights, and the cats were kind enough to join us. Either that, or they just wanted in on the fish egg love, too.

This was my first caviar experience, so I was all smiles as we dug in with our little plastic spoon. After a sip of the chardonnay I’d been working on, I suddenly realized why champagne has such an affinity for caviar. With a quiet pop, that mis-step was soon righted.

Finally, DucCat carefully arranged my first official caviar appetizer. I was so delighted, I ran out to the better light of the kitchen for a quick snapshot.

We giggled, nibbled and sipped our way through the evening, in the midst of our own personal Thin Man marathon. As the hour grew late, the pot I'd left on the stove earlier began demanding I pay a bit of attention to it.

It held the first recipe I selected to cook from my new Maccioni Family Cookbook: Sausage Stew with White Beans.

Another first that evening was using dried beans, and apparently, I didn't use enough water when doing the quick-boil method of softening. They stayed extremely firm through the first step, only softening just a bit after an hour's worth of water had been boiled away. When all was said and done, they still were a bit 'al dente' and toothsome.

The rich flavour of the stew itself was utterly fabulous and deep, belied by the simplicity of the steps, and more than making up for the tenaciously firm beans.

In the future- and you'd best believe there will be a repeat of this, and soon- I may just use canned, unless anyone out there can tell me why I shouldn't.

As the last hours of '05 slipped away, DucCat decided it was time to open our very last bottle of 1996 Chateau De Pommard. He carefully filled our new stemless Reidels, then decanted the remainder.

It was at that exact moment that my allergies exploded in a rage. I hacked, sneezed, and coughed, trying to blow my running nose, suddenly unable to catch even the slightest hint of the wine's character. I popped some medicine, but it was too late, and my allergies ran rampant until the next morning.

The best I got out of that glass was the essence of 'something red', and the stirring of old memories with this same, beautiful bottle. DucCat, at least, enjoyed his to the very last drop.

The ball dropped, we kissed, and turned into bed, happy that this long year was finally over.

Sausage Stew With White Beans

From the Maccioni Family Cookbook (Le Cirque/Osteria del Circo)

1/2 pound dried cannellinni (great northern) beans (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cups hot water
2 leaves fresh sage (I used a good pinch of dry, about a teaspoon)
1 whole clove garlic plus 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 Italian sausages (I used 5
1 large red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 Tablesoons white wine
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes (we used three cups, 28 ounces)
salt
pepper
2 cups polenta (we didn't use)

In a large saucepan, combine the dried beans and hot water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes; cover, and let sit one hour. Drain the beans and return to the pot.
Add the sage, whole garlic clove, and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil to the large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil just until the beans are tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain. Discard the garlic and save. Set the beans aside.

Puncture the sausages with a fork so that they will release their fat as they cook.
In a large pot, cook the sausages with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil over high heat until browned. Set the sausages aside.

Discard the juices from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium high. Add the onion, bay leaf, and remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and cook just until the onions begin to soften. Add the chopped garlic and cook for two minutes. Add the wine and cook for another 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low , add the tomatoes, and return the sausages to the pot.

Cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes, checking and stirring often to prevent sticking. If the stew becomes too dry or begins to stick, add 1/4 cup water. When the stew is almost ready, add the reserved beans and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to tase.

Serve the stew with a large spoonful of polenta.
Note: the stew can also be made without the beans.

Serves 4.

Something's Missing Here...

2006-01-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

Ah. Ah yes, here we go:

Carry on, then.

Cookie Madness!!

2006-01-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

With apologies to Anna, of course.

The holidays have come and gone, and I’ve finally compiled my list of all the last-minute cookie making. These are truly a few of my favourite things.

Christmas-Flavoured Biscotti

I’d been in the mood to make biscotti, but only got around to a couple this year. I’m glad this one was included, as it was perfectly coconutty and crisp. Dipping it in not simply chocolate, but melted peppermint bark, really gave it that Christmas flavour. If Christmas tastes like decadence, that is. Perfect for gift-giving.

These are adapted from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, a book I have the feeling may become my own personal cookie bible. Screw you, Martha.

-----
Marion Cunningham’s Almond Butter Cake

The first time DucCat saw the title to this recipe, he said, “I didn’t know that Happy Days chick wrote cookbooks!” (He was kidding, of course.)

Anyways, Marion says: "Almond butter cake is not to be taken lightly just because you can stir it together in about 3 minutes, pop it in the oven to bake, and serve it within an hour. It's truly a unique cake, because it doesn't rise very high and it comes out moist, sticky, and chewy, like a cookie. It also keeps twice as long as any conventional cake."

-----
Heidi's Peppermint Bark Cookies

These may not be Heidi's recipe, but since I found them on her site, that’s how they’ve come to be known. Picture a deeply chocolate cookie, liberally pebbled with peppermint bark chunks, and you’ve got a recipe for a little taste of heaven.

-----
Susan Betz's Triple-Orange Pecan Biscotti

I’m not quite sure where this recipe came from, but it looks like it was copied from a magazine. These are the second of the holiday biscotti that I made, and at first, I was a bit disappointed. The orange flavour was quite faint, and in the end, the method of forming the biscotti seemed overly fussy.

It turned out I was just a bit impatient. Over the next couple of days, the citrus flavours blossomed. By the time they made it to their recipeients, I’m guessing the flavour was just perfect.

-----
Chez Panisse Gingersnaps

I won't belabour a story that has made the rounds with so many food bloggers; so many thanks to Renee for sharing her story- and this recipe- with the world.

[Note: the link seems to have vanished, so I'm adding the recipe here for safekeeping.]
Chez Panisse Gingersnaps

- 8 oz (220g) salted butter
- 1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (280g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract/paste
- 2 small eggs or 1 1/2 large eggs
- 1/3 C (114g) molasses
- 3 C (360g) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

(Yields about 70 cookies.)

Cream butter until soft. Add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat again. Add molasses and beat until well incorporated.

Sift together the dry ingredients and add into the mixture. Mix until it all just comes together. Line a 9" x 5" (22 x 12 cm) loaf pan with plastic wrap, so that some hangs over the sides. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan, pack it tightly, and try to make the top as level as possible. Cover the dough with the plastic overhangs. Freeze until very firm, preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the pan and unwrap from one side. Slice the "brick" into very thin slices, no more than 1/10" (2mm). Place the slices on the cookie sheet (give them a little room, they will expand) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges turn brown to dark brown (depending on how cooked and crispy you like them). Turn out on a rack to cool completely.

-----
Snickerdoodles

Creloe chef's have their trinity, and my Mom had her own for holiday cookie baking. They included chocolate-chip cookies, chocolate crinkles, and snickerdoodles.

The first two I snuck away with at every opportunity, foiling her attempts to fill cookie gift jars with a paltry couple of batches.

The snickerdoodles, much like the cheese, always stood alone. I seem to remember a mere dozen fully outfitting multiple recipients' jars with ease.

Just recently, I decided it was time to get over my opposition to this simple cookie, and was pleasantly surprised. It's soft, cakey, and doused liberally with cinnamon-sugar. As an adult, it's a great way to break in the morning over a cup of coffee. Not that I eat cookies for breakfast, or anything.

-----
Guittard Chocolate Mint Cookies

I found these chips at World Market, and I'd advise not looking too closely at the ingredients. After all, you only make these once a year, right?

-----
Cranberry-Lemon Iced Drops

You remember these little treats, don't you? Without a doubt, these are my favourite holiday cookies. Fruity and fun- just like me! ;)

Check out my SHFIMBB rendition of these bad boys- and don't forget, they freeze like a dream (before baking), so don't be afraid to do a large batch.

-----
Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

I first made these truffles a few years ago, when hanging out on the Recipezaar boards. These were one of the first recipes to be featured in a fun photo challenge, and one that has stayed dear in this household.

It's very simple to make, reminiescient of a Reese's, yet a bit more sophisticated. Goes great with bubbly, baby, and looks simply smashing in an assortment of cookies.

Now, this comes last because DucCat made me take a picture of the truffle-making cooking process.

"That's truly art!" he marveled, as I piled a little pan high with the ingredients.

I couldn't agree more.

Now that the holidays are over, is anybody ready for a salad?

All the fabulous recipes:

Christmas-Flavoured Biscotti (Chocolate-Coconut Biscotti)
Marion Cunningham's Almond Butter Cake (Almond Butter Squares)
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
Susan Betz's Triple-Orange Pecan Biscotti
Chez Panisse Gingersnaps
Snickerdoodles
Guittard Chocolate Mint Cookies
Cranberry-Lemon Iced Drops
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffles

BBM3: The holiday edition

2005-12-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

My own sweet blogging by mail package arrived from Jess several weeks ago. In the meantime, I anxiously watched for my partner's posting at the BBM3 update board over at Cathy's, to no avail.

The package had a long way to go, all the way over to the Netherlands. At 5 weeks, I was definately nervous. At week 6, I created an annoymous email to let my partner know that she hadn't been forgotten, something was on the way.

Then one fabulous morning, I woke up to the news that it had landed on her front doorstep, a whole seven weeks later. Since my partner didn't have a blog, I photographed everything before packing it up, and offered her this space for a bbm3 posting.

In the meantime, I'll go over some of the package contents.

Click here for a closer look.

The detailed contents, beginning with the back row, and going left to right:

A bottle of Horton’s Norton- Norton is a grape variety native to North America, and one which Virginia has intensively pursued. Pigman’s BBQ Sauce (Regular): this, or actually the hot sauce, is the same that DucCat uses on ribs or pulled pork. While it’s technically from North Carolina, it’s close enough that we consdier it local. Beneath that, Hubs Peanuts. Virginia is known for its large, flavourful peanuts, and in my opinion, Hubs are the best of the bunch. Pure wild local honey sits perched atop Tuscan Seafood Sprinkle. This is some seriously intense stuff- be careful opening that jar, Mickey! A small jar of the famous Fuller’s Mustard, perfect for slathering on ham sandwiches or pretzels. Finally, Rowena's delectable Lemon Curd Sauce, and the hopefully sturdy Rowena’s Genuine Gingerbread Cookies.

Next row: a postcard of the slightly scary Virginia State Seal (is it really necessary to be stepping on somebody’s head?); King's Arms Tavern Sally Lunn Bread Mix , a slightly sweet yeast bread; a state magnet with my location marked upon it; a piece of fudge, the ubiquitious Brunswick stew, once upon a time made with squirrel (though this rendition uses chicken); a jar of hot jalapeno jelly (it’s very southern to serve this as an appetizer on crackers, with a good schmear of cream cheese); First Colony Coffee’s Southern Pecan blend; Crab’In Nuts, seasoned with a spicy Chesapeake Bay style seafood blend; Edward’s Virginia Ham Pate (because I couldn’t send the whole pig; and in front of all of that, a chocolate bar bearing the slogan: VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS.

In front of that, a smattering of local food and city related magazines. The first one on the left is Portfolio Weekly, and the cover features Cowboy Syd’s sous chef, Sara, proudly holding an Easy-Bake Oven (the article was about women working in professional kitchens).

Admittedly, I got a little carried away when creating this package. I lived in the Netherlands many years ago, and have profound and undying love for all things Dutch.

So, everytime I went out and about here, I kept picking up 'just one more item' for my Dutch partner. In the end, what you see in the photo is quite representative of Virginia foods.

Since I already had photos of my kitchen up on the internet, I simply directed Mickey to the album. You can start here, and tick 'next' through the photos. If you're curious, the colour is called 'Bikini-bottom Blue'.

The theme had been holidays and baked goodies, but I didn't have any personal recipes that I felt would make it that far. Before discovering my partner was Dutch, I'd decided to make my Seven Layer Pound Cake, which has been compared to local favorite Rowena's famous pound cake. In lieu of the cake, I sent a package of Rowena's gingerbread cookies, and their rightfully fabulous lemon curd. I also sent the recipe to my pound cake, with personal notes for optimum flavour.

I'll amend this post with whatever Mickey would like to add at a later date. Tot ziens!

...and the debauchery continues

2005-12-27T11:11:00.000-05:00

Looks like posting 'round here will continue to be erratic until next week.

'till then, always keep it merry and bright!

Et Tu, Fondue?

2005-12-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Last month, I discovered a fun little blog by the name of Twelve Tu Tu Fondue. Amidst the very colourful tales lay an invitation to a late December fondue party- 'cuz nothin' says lovin' like toasted hunks of bread being dipped into piping hot, melty cheese. Uh, and not in the oven.

Fondue was something that DucCat and I discovered a couple of years ago, after I returned from a thrifting with not one, but two fondue sets! As it turned out, we even had a great recipe tucked away in his Mom's James River Kitchen Cookbook, the 'Snack Suppers' chapter: Gourmet's Welsh Rabbit.

I can assure you , no actual rabbits were harmed in the making of this dish.

The recipe calls for this to be served drizzled over toasted bread. I mix and melt the cheesey goodness on the stovetop, then pour it into the fondue pot. We dip in rough chunks of toasted bread, and are always amazed at how much we put away.

Since fondue is a touch on the heavy side, I like to keep a bright, crisp salad close at hand, preferably crowned with a spicy batch of pepperoncinis. DucCat pretty much skips the salad in favour of pepperoncinis on their own.

Our wine accompainment was a recent buy at Trader Joe's: the Conte di Bregonzo Amarone Classico 2002.

Click here for larger image.

Now, I've really only experienced one amarone previously. It was some time ago, but I remember, deliciously raisin-y (sorry, MeBeth!), soft mouthfuls paired with luxurious, giggly finishes. It was unusual, fun, and each subsequent sip was happily upheld by a new flood of sensation.

How did this classico hold up? Um, can I just say, "not so much so"?

This wine made my nose crinkle with the alcohol; there was no soft parade, no lingering dalliance. Instead, haughty cherries bearing coiled whips marched saucily by, then promptly exited stage left, leaving not the slightest trace of their passage.

I can't say that I'll be rushing out to pick up another 750 ml anytime soon, but we had already gotten the 3-litre. It's been cellared, and won't be seeing the light of day for quite some time.

But, back to the fondue. What a lovely way to linger over dinner, huddling against the chill in the air, enjoying two of my favourite foods, and one of my favourite people.
I call this 'Retro 70's Self-Portrait'.

Party on, good people of the world, and may your spear never lose its bread.

Gourmet Magazine Welsh Rabbit

Cheddar cheese (or any sharp cheese mixture), grated, to equal 4 cups (this equals one bowl grated in my food processor)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
scant teaspoon cayenne pepper
scant teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup beer

bread. toast it while you do the rest.

Grate cheese, and toss with next four ingredients.
In saucepan, melt butter and add beer.
Add cheese mixture 1/4 cup at a time, whisking until smooth.

Pour into fondue pot, and make sure there's a little fire burning to keep it warm. Look at it lovingly before tearing in.

Cool Beans

2005-12-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

Can I just say that I am head-over-heels in love with Trader Joe's coffee?

Sigh. So dreamy...

Frittata and the Tango

2005-12-20T07:57:00.000-05:00

I've always liked the thought of a frittata, but never quite got around to making one.

Recently, DucCat was out for the evening, and I came home late, hungry and ready for something quick. Something spicy. Something... dare I say... easy and eggy. It was frittata-makin' time.

I loosely followed a recipe from Mark Bittman, sauteeing little odds and ends of veggies before adding the egg component. The best part was layering it with cheese, and toasting it just bubbling under the broiler. As you can see, it was a festive enough sight upon my plate.

Verdict? Not as exciting as I would've hoped. I felt like an Atkinser trying to get their soft taco fix sans carbs. Nonetheless, it was definitely filling, and I can see myself whipping one up some future evening.

What does one drink with a frittata? This night, it was our newest house pour, the 2002 Lo Tengo Malbec Mendoza.

For a larger image, click here.

On its own merits, it's a decent enough wine, very fruity and fun. A little swirl of summertime in the midst of winter's chill is okay by me.

But there's more. Check the label out a bit more closely.

From the right you see:

Now swivel on over to the left:

A holographic tango! It's either one of the coolest labels ever, or I'm just far too easily entertained.

And the Lamb Cried Rosemary

2005-12-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

Wandering around Costco, I came across a saucy little six pack of lamb loin chops, tightly packaged, impatient to come home with me. I had homey visions of quickly searing them, then cooking 'em slowly for hours, much in the manner of beef short ribs.

Obviously, I'd never cooked a lamb loin chop. It seems the preferred method of cookery involves the hot flame of the grill. Not exactly what I'd had in mind for a chilly evening.

Lightbulb. I suddenly remembered the cast-iron stove-top grill plate I'd gotten for DucCat last Christmas.

Epicurious, as ever, proved a great source of inspiration. I finally settled upon Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops - with so many glowing reviews, what could go wrong?

*beat*

Well, it's as simple as not reading the instructions precisely through from start to finish. I could've sworn I did, but had apparently missed the portion that read, "place on grill, then cover".

Ooops. DucCat did his best, and boy did they look great sitting up there in all their rosemary-drenched glory.

The cats began to circle, and even Shishi, our little lacto-ovo vegetarian feline, began sniffing with a curious nose.

Meanwhile, I pulled out my secret stash of brussles sprouts from the fridge, and set to cooking them up. The recipe was simple enough, and taken from Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything" (aka, My Bible).

These were quickly boiled until just tender, then pan-fried in butter with garlic and breadcrumbs. Once removed, they're doused with lemon juice and parsley, and ready to visit the table. In retrospect, I would have followed his suggestion for varying the recipe by topping this with some freshly grated Parmesan, but it was still quite good.

The red potatoes finished roasting just as the lamb was done resting. We sat down with great anticipation.

I sliced into the lamb, and took a bite.

The marinade had perfectly penetrated the lamb with just the right amount of rosemary and garlic.

Even better, DucCat had cooked it perfectly rare, just the way I like.

I dug in with gusto.

Moments later, I noticed that DucCat had sliced through all of his lamb, but hadn't taken more than a bite. He prefers his meat just a little more cooked through, and it was obvious that not a single piece had reached that stage.

Guess that would be due to not having covered them as they cooked away on our impromptu grill...

Luckily, we had a stash of Stouffer's products in the freezer, and the night ended well.

But, let this be yet another lesson to me-

ALWAYS READ THE RECIPE THROUGH!!!

Simmered Brussels Sprouts

1- 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 Tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 Tablespoon plain bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring large pot of water to boil and salt it. Add sprouts, and keeping high heat, boil until just tender, about 1o minutes.
Drain and refresh in cold water.
(can prepare up to this point; refrigerate wrapped well, for up to 2 days before preceedingl.)
Place butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat and add garlic.
When butter foam subsides, add sprouts and breadcrumbs. Stir until hot, about 3 minutes.
Remove garlic, toss sprouts with lemon juice and parsley, season to taste and serve.

Note: to vary this recipe, top sprouts with one-quarter cup freshly grated Parmesan just before serving.

What $100 Will Buy You at T.J.s...

2005-12-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

That's right, kittens, Trader Joe's is finally here!