One of these days I’ll get a decent camera

First off, a quick caveat.  I am currently working my way through a bottle of Dogfish Head Red and White, 10% ABV.  I was really looking forward to cracking this one open but it’s not all I had hoped it would be.  I mean, it’s not bad but not ….SPECTACULAR.  But still…..10% ABV so if the typing skillz go downhill, y’all know why.

So. Dinner tonight was yum.  I took inspiration from this post but decided to tweak it up a bit.  First, because I don’t like water chestnuts so I left ‘em out.  And second because my printer is out of ink and I didn’t feel like copying down the recipe by hand so I was working from memory.

I took two chicken breasts (I was only cooking for me and Jack – if you’re serving more than two you’d want to increase this of course) and pulsed ‘em in the food processor until they were nicely miniced.  I pulled some ginger I had in the freezer (’bout a half an inch) and microplaned it and then added about another teaspoon of jarred fresh ginger.  Big ol’ tablespoon of garlic.  Drizzle of sesame oil.  Salt and pepper. 

Then I had to deal with the cilantro.  I only grocery shop about once every three weeks so my cilantro was a little squiffy.  But I was able to save about a quarter cup.  Threw in a couple of chopped green onions and a large dash of dry mustard.  And an egg.

Mixed it all together.  Formed two patties plus a little extra I cooked up to test for seasoning.  Tasted good, but I knew I’d want some type of sauce/spread.  I tested it with mango chutney and then with soy sauce.  Both were good.  And then I thought HEY!  Let’s add a little soy to the mango chutney!  And how about some Chinese mustard?  So this I did and it worked perfectly.

So I cooked up the chicken….about four minutes per side but another four minutes covered with lid over medium.  Served on buns with the chutney/soy mixture,  Fabulous although next time I will serve without buns because Jack said it was too much bread.  (Oh yeah…..speaking of bread, I threw some fresh breadcrumb into the mixture to bind it all together)

My side dish bears mentioning.  Again, I only grocery shop every few weeks and last time I went shopping, I decided to buy some frozen veggies.  I am a total snob when it comes to veggies.  I hate using canned or frozen.  Only fresh for ths girl.  But….I also hate throwing stuff out so I caved and bought some frozen asparagus.  I cooked up some sliced shallots in butter with some salt and defrosted the asparagus in the mic.  Then I tossed the asparagus in the butter until it was hot through and added a quick splash of lemon juice. Didn’t taste frozen at all.  Wish I could say the same about last night’s green beans.  Sigh

Anyway.  That was dinner tonight.  I figgered it was wotth blogging about because it was that good.

I’m going to be making some design changes around here soon.  I need something more zippy.  But for now….I need a bath.  ‘Night y’all.

Excitement Abounds

So I have been asked by mi madre to take her shopping tomorrow since she is currently unable to drive due to surgery.  Unbeknownst to her, prior to my arrival at her home, I am going to make a pitstop for donuts.

But not any donuts.  Noooo……I am finally going to the donut shoppe I have heard so much about.  Ye Olde Fractured Prune. It’s been about a year since I first heard of them and for a while, they were near the top of my to-visit list…..but then I got sidetracked by the whole “getting married” thing and then the moving thing and then the holidays and then of course there was the breakdown in all coherent thought processes when I decided it would be a BRILLIANT idea for me to quit my job (of eight years) without having anything else lined up so while all that was going on, there really wasn’t any room for thinking about donuts.

But about two weeks ago, something, I can’t remember what, reminded me of this place, and I pulled up the website and did some drooling and have been trying to find a time to stop in and try a donut for myself.  I actually lingered outside their door last Friday, sorely tempted, but I had the kids with me and my ten year old son has a real sensitivity to sugar so we have to limit his intake and I somehow thought he might object if me and his sisters had donuts and he didn’t get any.

But tomorrow!  No kids!  And I’m going to be in Columbia!  So hello donuts!!!

Tonight I took a brief detour from my road to 100 beers and tried a new libation created by Alice, Barmaid Extraordinaire at Jack’s restaurant.  She made up a very tasty raspberry mojito with fresh raspberries.  Very yum.  Do try this at home.  And, because it was all chunky with fruit, it was kinda like a meal too.  Bonus!

Speaking of meals.  A report on the peach-jalepeno chicken from last night.  It LOOKED beautiful and it tasted….well, like chicken.  But the sauce, although very tasty on its own, added no flavor to the finished dish.

Next time, I’m going to do it differently.  The sauce was simply two heaping tablespoons on peach preserves, warmed in the mic which I then added about half of a diced jalepeno.  The flavor was perfect – just enough heat to make it interesting.  Then, I browned the chicken in butter and olive oil, butterflied it to cook the center and then spread the sauce over and around which made it all beautiful and glistening.  ‘Cept the chicken was all the way cooked through so I finished it in the mic (something Jack convinced me was okay.  I’d always been violently opposed to cooking meat in the microwave but he said in the restaurant kitchen, they do it all the time.  As long as you start the chicken on the grill, you can finish it in the mic without it getting rubbery.  Cool)

The only change I’m going to make next time will be to make sure I save enough sauce to serve on top of the chicken once it’s done.  Then it will be beautiful AND tasty.

Okay, I’m off to dream of donuts.  Ta!

So much for committment, eh? Also? Apparently, I can not spel.

Wait.  Did I spell committment right?  Committment?  Comittment?  Commitment?  Ah shite.  Hang on.

Fook.  New laptop.  Doesn’t have Word yet.  No spellcheck.  Damn.  Maybe I should retitle this entry and skip the whole thing. 

Blast.  Carrying on.

Yeah….I had planned in writing here daily but then I kinda….didn’t.  Those (few) of you who have been reading me in one place or another for years (many!) aren’t surprised.  But…..see…um….I has reasons!  Monday I had major major family drama go down and by the time I got home and cried to hubby it was too late to write and then Tuesday I gots my new laptop set up but I was still familiarizing myself with it and the different feel to the keyboard and you know how when a keyboard is all new to you it’s real awkward and I just didn’t feel like writing extensively under those circumstances and again, some of you know that I rarely write in anything less than extensive fashion and WEDNESDAY I was crippled with a mega migraine that had me 1) leaving work early and collapsing on the couch and 2) worried that said migraine may have been caused by some lack of ergonomic ease with said new laptop or maybe monitor issues and I tried to change the refresh rate but apparently since this is an LCD screen that doesn’t apply but THEN Jack pointed out that said headache was probably due to withdrawal from teh Vicodin which I have stopped taking.

Whew.  Now THAT was a run on!

 But today!  I feel mostly fine!  Huzzah!  I am sitting here sipping on my beer which is a very tasty Lagunitas (spelling?  again!) Lucky 13 Red Ale and is very very tasty.  Over the past several months I have been journeying into the world of craft beers and really liking most of what I find and fine tuning what I like and what I don’t like.  It’s been really interesting and aided by the fact that my husband works at one of the best beer bars in Canton and I’ve joined their 100 Beer Club (I’m at 62 now!) plus I’ve found some really good beer stores in and around Columbia (which is where I grew up.)  The other night, following my blowout with my aunt, I enjoyed a big ol’ bottle of Dogfish Head Black and Blue (malt beverage brewed with blackberries and blueberry puree) which knocked my socks off but which also threw me for a loop because of it’s high alcohol content.  If you saw my MySpace bulletin that night, you know what I’m talking about.

Last night I made one of my favorite comfort meals – chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn.  I’ll admit to taking shortcuts because the potatoes came from a box and the corn came from a can, but the potatoes were enriched with a little bit of goat cheese (just enough to add some tang, like sour cream would have if I hadn’t been OUT OF SOUR CREAM thanks to my teenage daughter CONSUMING all of it on her tacos last Saturday), plenty of parm and of course lots of butter, cream, salt and pepper (I said it was good, I didn’t say it was good for you – bonus points to whoever recognizes that quote) and the corn….well, it was corn.  But the steaks…..OMG they were good.  Pan fried till they were golden brown and delicious (another quote!) and I made a cream gravy (duh!) overtop.  Yum-O!  (SHUT UP!  I love Rachael)

Tonight, I’m making chicken breasts and I’m making a glaze with peach preserves and jalepeno pepper.  It’s a riff on a dish from Rachael Ray (again with the Rachael) that I made a few weeks ago.  THAT dish was a chicken sandwhich with sliced peaches and an aioli made with pickled jalepenos.  There were other items on that sandwich as well, including, I think, cukes and radishes.  I decided that it was just a bit much and I wanted to try it with just the peach and jalepeno.  So I’m going to make a sauce and serve it atop sauteed breasts.  I’ll try to remember to update tomorrow.

Okay, I’m off to finish my beer.  Ta, y’all

PS:  Courtney?  There’s another clue for you up there. 

My husband and his place du emploi

So, Courtney asked where my husband works.  I’ve wrestled over the past few days over whether to keep this blog anonymous.  I’ve decided to continue with the anonymity to a point.  The point at which I need to fear Googling and Doocing.  (Dooceing?).

So, I’ll say this much.  My name is Vicki, my husband is Jack and my kids are Melissa, Ben and Susanna (from oldest to youngest).  My ex husband is Dave and his wife is Inez.  My best friends are known as Tea and Krumpet (not their real names, but that is one level of anonymity I’m keeping).  I work for a financial services company based out of Columbia although I actually work from my home which is the best thing ever.  We live in Fells Point

Jack is the chef at a beer bar in Canton (which is a neighborhood in Baltimore).  (I’m not naming the bar but if you’re familiar with Canton, and especially if you’re a beer aficionado, you can probably figure it out).  Before that, he had stints at a crab house in Canton (and I typo’d stinks for stints, which tells you how much he loved that job) and well a respected seafood restaurant in the Inner Harbor.  Prior to that, he was Chef de Cuisine at Kiss Cafe for three years.

I’m choosing not to name the bar where he works because once that particular barn door has been opened, it’s impossible to close again.  He loves it there and I love the place as well, but I reserve the right to one day write bad things about them if they piss me off….so that’s why I’m not naming the joint.

And onward to another topic, briefly before I head to bed.

Tonight I made the tuna burgers I read about here.  They were delish.  I had to tweak the recipe a bit because I had no lemon zest and instead used lemon juice.  Also, cooking for two minutes per side resulted in a burger that was all the way cooked – not mid-rare.  Normally I prefer my tuna as rare as can be but in this case, they worked out fine.  I did serve them with the cole slaw (unlike the original poster) because I love me some cole slaw, and it worked out well.  For my veg, I just served some quick cooked snap peas, sauteed very briefly in butter with some salt and pep.

Jack was happy.  He’s said many times that I’m a better cook than he is.  I don’t 100% agree with this, but I do feel I’m a more organized and methodical cook….but I’d never make it in a restaurant kitchen.

Anyway.  Off to bed.  Ta!

Marriage to a chef

I first met my husband on MySpace.  Yes, yes, I know.  Hush. 

At that time, I was usually getting 10-20 messages a week from random menfolk – some illiterate, some skanky, other proclaiming undying love.  Very very rarely did I write back to any, and even more rarely were they worth my time when I did.

But when I got that first message from Jack, my now husband, there were two things that piqued my interest and caused me to respond.  First, he went to the same high school as my brother and judging from his age, probably graduated around the same time.  Second….he said he was a chef.

Um?  Score!

We wrote back and forth for about a month before finally meeting in person for our first date.  (Dinner at Henniger’s on Bank Street in Baltimore – a restaurant I highly recommend!).  For our second date, he made me dinner.  And as time went on, and we got more and more serious, I thought I was the luckiest girl around.

But……life with a chef isn’t all caviar and foie gras (not that foie gras is all it’s cracked up to be).  I remember the first time I was in his apartment by myself, the first thing I did was open all his kitchen cabinets, his cupboards, refrigerator….and discover he had NO food…..and very little in the way of cookware and equpment.  The man lived off of Beef-a-Roni, eaten straight from the can.  Blech.

This should have been a warning.  But still, I loved being able to go to the grocery store, pick up whatever looked good and be able to bring it home and have him create something.  It reminded me of that old show on Food Network, remember that?  Ready, Set Cook!  Guest competing chefs were each given five items to work with.  Something like that.

But as time went by, he pretty much stopped cooking at home.  He cooked his heart out at work and never had the energy at the end of the day.  I don’t complain too much because I enjoy cooking and whenever I go into his restaurant he’ll make whatever I want, even if it isn’t on the menu.  So there are perks.

But the other downside is that he’s worked with so many chefs here in Baltimore and there are a few that he just can not stand.  To the point that he will not go to their restaurants.  And one of them, Cindy Wolf, is one of the best chefs working in Baltimore today, with one of the best restaurants, Charleston.  And I’d love to visit Nancy Longo’s tapas joint.  But, just not happening, not with him. 

Gonna have to rally my girlfriends, that’s all.

This post, like most, begins with a “So”

So the husband called me yesterday and asked me whether I wanted to do something “special” today.  His weekend helper needed some extra hours and asked whether he could work for my husband today.  At first, I didn’t know what we could do since I work until 10pm and by the time I’m off work, there really isn’t anywhere to go.

I mean, we could go to a bar, but we do that anyway, heh.

But then I remembered that Jack’s Bistro serves food until 1am and there food is GOOD.  And super-inventive and cool and stuff.  I wrote a review of them in my old blog.  You should read it. 

So I had my tastebuds all set for something neato nifty peachy keen.  Thai coconut curry mussels or something like that.  We walked all the way down there (a good half hour walk)….only to find out they’re closed for the week.  Vacation! 

Much pouting ensued.  Plus, consternation.  It was 11pm and we needed food, badly.  And there just isn’t much open……plus, there was the issue of my demanding tastebuds.

I quickly evaluated our options.  We could walk back home and I could try to come up with something for dinner on the fly.  But I really did not feel like cooking.

Or.  We could go to the Sip ‘n’ Bite.

Yeah.  So I hit the reset switch on ye olde tastebuds and told them they wanted a pizza burger sub and they protested mightily but we had a good half hour walk back to the diner where I was able to wrestle them into submission and by the time they got their sub they were very happy and made “Mm-mm” noises.

Except, when it came time to pay the tab, we found out that we couldn’t put the tip on our card.  And neither of us had any cash.  I don’t get that at all.  What type of restaurant doesn’t let you put a tip on your card?  Have any of you ever heard of such a thing?

But, we are not the sorts to walk out without tipping so I sent the husband scurrying down to Canton Market to get some cash while I tried to avoid finishing the rest of my french fries because really, who needs an ENTIRE side order of fries?  Why did I even order fries?  It’s not like their fries are particularly spectacular. 

So that was my night.  I wanted a tuna sashimi martini, I got a pizza burger and I was happy to have it. 

Happy Fourth, y’all.

All hail….

Soooo….a few weeks back, I was blearily watching TV in a Vicodin induced coma (DAMN YOU DENTAL SURGERY OW OW MOTHER F***ING OWWWW!) and saw the ubiquitous ad for A-1.  You know the one I mean, the one with the two guys dining separately, and the one guy puts A-1 on the other burger and the other guy questions him on this and then asks to borrow it and of course the one guy assumes he means the A-1, but no, of course, he meant the burger.  Comedic hijinx ensue.

That ad.  You know you’ve seen it.  Incidentally, hijinx?  Hijinks?  Hijincks?  Whatev.

So…..something about this ad, combined with the Vicodin, set off my artistic juices and I decided I wanted to create a burger.  I wanted to do something I had never seen before.  I decided to evoke the flavors of Ceasar salad in a hamburger.

I discussed this idea with my husband the chef who initially thought I was proposing to put this burger on the menu at his restaurant.  I said, “No, no, this is something I want to try myself.  For, you know, US.”  Although I told him if it worked he could certainly run it as a special.  He’s done that a lot.  Taken my dishes for his restaurant.  Few weeks back, he called me while I was at a baby shower and left a message.  Said he needed to know how I’d done the pineapple rice from the night before.  Of course, given that I was AT A BABY SHOWER!!! I didn’t get the message until after the dinner rush had started.  I called him back and he said that he’d had to come up with something else.  WELL, THAT’S WHY YOU’RE THE CHEF, ISN’T IT????

But I digress.

So after a few weeks of mulling this over, I actually made said burgers tonight and they were good.  I meant to take a picture but when it comes to anything getting between me and my dinner…well, I fail.

(Sidenote – I’ve also been failing at keeping this blog up to date.  That is going to change.  I have made a Half Year Resolution to write here everyday.)

Onward.

I decided I didn’t want to do too much to the meat itself.  When it comes to making burgers, the less you handle the meat, the better (heh heh…I said handle the meat).  So I just salt and pepper’d and mixed in a little bit of Worcestershire and lightly formed ‘em into patties.

I chiffonaded some leaf lettuce (shut up – chiffonaded is TOO a word) and set it aside.  The plan was to dress said lettuce with Caesar dressing but not until right before service.  I made up an aioli with garlic and anchovy paste (to taste).  I’d never used anchovy paste before and really had no clue what it tasted like on its own.  I was surprised.  It really added something to the mayo/garlic mixture but didn’t taste anything like itself once it was mixed in.  Neat.

So I grilled the burgers on my handy dandy grill pan and smoked up the house in the process.  I spread a little butter on the buns and toasted them up.  Then, assembly.  Bun, burger, aioli, dressed lettuce, generous grating of parmesan and fresh ground pepper, eat it up eat it up yum yum yum.

I was pleased.  Husband was pleased.  Grill pan is still smoking.  Someone call the fire department.

A message for Spike

I understand that you are concernicus about your cats. But it’s okay, Spike-not-Andrew.

<

Tomorrow….a rant against the restaurant industry. Because I is PISSED.

Need I remind anyone?

Season four of Top Chef begins tonight!  Party time!

I’d never seen this show before I met my husband.  Husband, in case you don’t know, is a professional chef so he of course is very into Top Chef.  Matter o’ fact, he’s on the sofa now, watching the marathon on Bravo.

I didn’t tune in until midway through the second season and was instantly hooked.  The show often enrages me, especially the cheftestants who rant against other cheftestants for not being “team players.”  Uhhh…excuse me, this is a competition.

I’m sure this is true for most “reality” shows but since this is the only one I watch, I wouldn’t know.  The only other reality show I ever watched was the very first season of Survivor and I remember then how hated Richard Hatch (the eventual winner) was…but I also remember how well he played the game and how really, he deserved to win BECAUSE of his cunning and deviousness.

 Seriously.  This isn’t a family game of Monopoly.  This is a cut-throat competition.  Sure Marcel and Hung were assholes….but they played the game.  I still believe Marcel should have won over Ilan.  (Although Sam should have won over all of them)

 To be fair, I do understand that to be a real chef, leadership and teamwork are essential.  And that’s why Top Chef has many team competitions.  But at the end of the day, each chef is being judged individually.  Tom Colicchio even said (in response to Elia’s season two whining), “We don’t care what goes on in the kitchen”.  (I may be misquoting slightly but you get the drift.)  It’s all about the food.

So bring it on, Chefs.  Show us what you’ve got.  I’ll be the one on the couch, drooling.

In keeping with the emerging custom….

Herewith, a list.  With a twist.  As this is to be a mostly food blog, so shall be the list.

1. I love reading menus.  I will rarely go out for dinner without pulling up the menu for our destination online.
2. I’m a sucker for anything with cranberries, goat cheese, pistachios or beets.
3. One of the great sadnesses in my life is that my husband does not like root vegetables.  No carrots, no potatoes, no beets, NO SWEET POTATOES! 
4. As for myself, I can’t say that I’ve ever met a vegetable I dislike
5. Beans do not count as vegetables.
6. Having said that, I am a steadfast carnivore.
7. I love Food Network
8. In 1995, while in Rochester NY for business, I had the opportunity to visit Niagra Falls with some coworkers.  Instead I choose to stay in my hotel room and watch Food Network because at the time, it was not available to me at home
9. I’ve been watching cooking shows since I was wee.
10. Julia Child, Jeff Smith (The Frugal Gourmet), Justin Wilson (“How y’all are?) and Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook) were my idols growing up
11. I dreamed of one day going to culinary school and imagined an audition of sorts.  My nine year old self thought I would blow them away with my Chicken Tetrazinni recipe
12. My Chicken Tetrazinni IS darned good, y’all.
13. Growing up there were a lot of foods I thought I didn’t like, but I found out later that I was prejudiced by my parents’ dislike for those foods
14. Among them were sour cream, whipped cream, mayonaise, cream cheese (courtesy of my dad) and lamb (courtesy of my mom)
15. I’m still not overly fond of mayonaise.  I always ask for the thinnest smear.
16. I love lamb but I DON’T like lamb with its traditional accompanyment of mint jelly
17. My first taste of smoked salmon was at my aunt and uncle’s house following my grandmother’s funeral in 1996.
18. I still love a good New York style bagel with smoked salmon, tomato, onion, capers and cream cheese.
19. When I watch TV, I keep notes on recipes that I want to try and add them to my online recipe box when I get to the computer.
20. On tap for next week are recipes from Sandra Lee and Rachael Ray
21. My husband thinks Sandra Lee looks like a Barbie doll
22. I don’t much care for her but I do think she has some clever ideas.
23. Rachael, on the other hand, I adore.
24. Especially her giggle.
25. Lately, I’ve been testing my willpower by keeping a jar of Nutella in the pantry.
26. I allow myself one spoonful per day (about 100 calories)
27. My rationale is that one spoonful of Nutella is the equivalent of those 100 calorie packs, and I don’t feel guilty about having one of THOSE per day
28. But I can’t have a 100 caloire pack AND Nutella in one day
29. My other indulgence is the Bacon Chocolate bar from Vosges au Chocolat
30. Hey, don’t knock it until you try it.
31. Smoky salty bacon + deep milk chocolate = divine indulgence
32. My love for food combined with my love for fashion have forced me to the gym
33. Because I just can’t find cute clothes in my size
34. I’ve been going for a month now.  I get weighed and measured on Wednesday. 
35. My home scale is broken because I dropped it so I have no idea how much I weigh
36. But I think I’m doing well.  I’ve gone from a size 20 jean to a size 16.
37. Admittedly, the size 16 is a little tight but not too bad.
38. I’m not actually dieting though.  Just practicing moderation
39. One thing that is helping is I’m not drinking as much beer.
40. I used to have three per night from my husband’s nightly 12 pack, but he is not drinking as much these days, so I am not drinking much either
41. I DO like beer though.
42. And Irish Mist
43. Last weekend, my daughter made a batch of iced tea.
44. Later that evening, she came into the kitchen as I was making dinner and asked whether she could have a snack
45. I told her no, that I didn’t want her to fill up before dinner
46. She said, “But you’re filling up on my iced tea.”
47. I started to say, “No no, that’s not iced tea, that’s Mommy’s booze”
48. But it was too late.
49. She’d already taken a swig
50. And immediately spit it into the sink

Next entry, my experiment with making a 30 minute meal….in 30 minutes.