I seem to have lost my mojo since living in Chile. There I grappled with poorly equipped kitchens, the lack of tools and ingredients I was used to, not to mention having to learn how to measure things from my recipe sources (usually in the silly American system) using metric system containers. 100 grams of butter? I had no idea what that even looked like. Plus, the ovens range from 1-8. I am clueless there. Anyway, since moving back to New Orleans, where there are over 1100 restaurants, not to mention working in a restaurant, I did far less cooking than I have any time in my adult life. So I have lots of misses lately, perhaps I can just blame it on the recipes. On the flip side, there have been a number of hits.
This weekend, I was having a birthday party for my roomie. She's been talking for months about Coq au Riesling, an Alsatian twist on the French classic, so I thought that would be a good choice for our main dish. I found this recipe from Nigella Lawson but then I tweaked it a little, mostly because I was too lazy to walk ALL THE WAY over to the computer to re-consult my recipe but also because my chef boyfriend intervened and who am I to argue with his expertise?
Ingredients
* 1 cup bacon lardons
* 1 leek, finely sliced
* 12 skinless chicken thighs or 2 3/4 pounds thigh fillets
* 3 bay leaves
* 10 ounces oyster mushrooms torn into strips (4 cups)
* 1 bottle Riesling
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill leaves
* Buttered noodles, optional
Heat the oil in a casserole or large wide pan and fry the lardons until crisp.
Add the sliced leeks and soften them with the lardons for a minute or so.
Tip in the chicken thighs, bay leaves, torn mushrooms and wine.
Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, cover the pan and simmer gently for an hour. Like all stews this tastes its mellowest best if you let it get cold and then reheat the next day. But it's no hardship to eat straight off. Whichever, serve sprinkled with dill and with some buttered noodles, if using.
Two nights before the party, Ben told me to "saute no more than half my aromatics," so I cooked down half of the leeks and added a couple carrots too. I couldn't find that darn bulb of garlic but I would have! I added the wine and let that cook a few minutes, turned it off, chilled and put my chicken thighs in the marinate overnight.
I DID flour and brown my chicken, although Nigella doesn't and while I think that gave it a deeper layer of flavor, plus the flour thickens the sauce, it was a pain in the ass. I guess that's mostly since I made over 6 pounds of chicken. Then I continued on, layering the rest of my aromatics with chicken and more wine and some stock. This was done one night before the party because, as I have indicated, I'm lazy and wanted it out of the way. But also I think that these sort of stewed dishes taste best when they've had some time to thicken and mellow. It was indeed a hit and I have REALLY enjoyed it as leftovers for lunch. It would be great over potatoes or rice or with some garlic bread instead of the egg noodles. Next up, strawberry shortcake, both a hit AND a miss!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Baked Asparagus with Tarragon and Shiitake
Tonight I tried Melissa Clark's Baked Asparagus With Shiitake, Prosciutto and Couscous, although I left out the prosciutto because I forgot to pick it up at the store. I'm not sure what her angle is but she writes an article each week for the NY Times and every dish seems like some serendipitous and totally off the cuff success. Naturally, I hate her a bit for that but I forgive her because I always, ALWAYS want to eat what she's making.
She describes a method for cooking asparagus that yielded an asparagus like she's never tasted before (her sentiment), apparently a slow-cooking method made it absorb the other flavors of the dish without getting overcooked. Yes, it was delicious, although I think it would have been equally delicious if I sauteed the whole thing in 10-12 minutes versus waiting a whole hour to slow roast at 200 degrees. I do think the tarragon made the dish, in fact, I liked tarragon before but I don't know if I ever tasted it in a dish that made me like it as much as this one. Actaully, I think the tarragon flavor was such a wow factor, that I have re-named the dish Slow Roasted Asparagus with Shiitake and Tarragon. Couscous soaks the juices up nicely (and I so wish there were more!) but really, does it need to be in the title? I think not. It would be fine over rice or quinoa.
Eat with Marques de Caceres white rioja.
She describes a method for cooking asparagus that yielded an asparagus like she's never tasted before (her sentiment), apparently a slow-cooking method made it absorb the other flavors of the dish without getting overcooked. Yes, it was delicious, although I think it would have been equally delicious if I sauteed the whole thing in 10-12 minutes versus waiting a whole hour to slow roast at 200 degrees. I do think the tarragon made the dish, in fact, I liked tarragon before but I don't know if I ever tasted it in a dish that made me like it as much as this one. Actaully, I think the tarragon flavor was such a wow factor, that I have re-named the dish Slow Roasted Asparagus with Shiitake and Tarragon. Couscous soaks the juices up nicely (and I so wish there were more!) but really, does it need to be in the title? I think not. It would be fine over rice or quinoa.
Eat with Marques de Caceres white rioja.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Hmmmmm
When I was in Chile, the words and the stories were a constant feed running through my head. I also had a lot more free time. I can blame my much fuller schedule or that I am not in a new country, full of prompts for me to comment on. Whatever the case though, I've been feeling remarkably stagnant, missing that steady stream of playful phrases and clever stories. The best way to remedy that, as I know, is just to start. So even though I may not be witty or remarkable in any way, I like to look back on this day last year and know that I went to dinner at Atano with Alberto and had perhaps my favorite wine while I was in Chile, Ventolera, a pinot noir from the Leyda Valley (I didn't know that as I started writing this but was just able to look it up because, go figure, I actually documented it, unremarkable as it may have been that day!). Maybe in May 4th, 2011 I will be interested to know that I enjoyed a glass of Li Veli Passamante today, which I liken to drinking liquid violets.
Tonight, Ben and I went to Cooter Brown's for oysters and they were perfectly salty and not too cold and just wonderful. Add to that the nostril-clanging burst of horseradish and the muskiness of Lea and Perrins and I was in heaven. Eating oysters seems particularly poignant right now, in light of the oil spill in the Gulf. It makes my time in New Orleans seem all the more precious, not just because my seafood consumption may be severely limited very soon, but because this region just seems to be hit again and again, threatening the way of life here in a very permanent way. After our oyster dinner, we walked around the Riverbend neighborhood, quiet, stately, picturesque. I could smell the dank moisture of the river and house after fence after tree was loaded with wild jasmine, making me just want to fall into the blossoms and breathe deeply. We also saw a magnolia tree in its first bloom.
I've been in New Orleans now just over seven months, which is longer than the whole time I spent in Chile. That realization makes me a little sad and wistful. I remember thinking the same thing when I realized I had been back in Buffalo longer than I lived in New Orleans. A good reminder to take it in, breathe deeply, walk enchanted streets at dusk, reflect but mostly, be here now.
Tonight, Ben and I went to Cooter Brown's for oysters and they were perfectly salty and not too cold and just wonderful. Add to that the nostril-clanging burst of horseradish and the muskiness of Lea and Perrins and I was in heaven. Eating oysters seems particularly poignant right now, in light of the oil spill in the Gulf. It makes my time in New Orleans seem all the more precious, not just because my seafood consumption may be severely limited very soon, but because this region just seems to be hit again and again, threatening the way of life here in a very permanent way. After our oyster dinner, we walked around the Riverbend neighborhood, quiet, stately, picturesque. I could smell the dank moisture of the river and house after fence after tree was loaded with wild jasmine, making me just want to fall into the blossoms and breathe deeply. We also saw a magnolia tree in its first bloom.
I've been in New Orleans now just over seven months, which is longer than the whole time I spent in Chile. That realization makes me a little sad and wistful. I remember thinking the same thing when I realized I had been back in Buffalo longer than I lived in New Orleans. A good reminder to take it in, breathe deeply, walk enchanted streets at dusk, reflect but mostly, be here now.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Catch Up
Since I have felt like life is an endless string of unreturned phone calls and emails, I haven't been able to attend to most basic tasks, much less the blog. I have (attempted) to write down little musings daily, which usually end up being about food. Let's catch up on what I've eaten since December.
12-3-09 Languedoc at the Delchaise with Alycia.
12-9-09 New haircut. Dinner at Ralph's. Wagyu beef.
12-13-09 Dinner with Adam and Kristin at Mr. B's. Grouper with crab meat. Pimm's cup at the Roosevelt Hotel.
12-14-09 Snifter of Frangelico, porch, lightning storm.
12-16-09 Oh my god, La Divina Gelateria, chesnut, honey, pinenuts and rosemary.
12-23-09 Package of cuccidati arrives in the mail from Mamma!
12-25-09 Christmas in Slidell with the Boos family.
1-1-10 Life is beautiful.
1-3-10 Dinner with Ben at the Orleans Grapevine.
1-6-10 Horinoya! Black sesame ice cream is my new obsession.
1-7-10 Wake up at the W, order room service, lounge in my robe. Dinner at the Butcher.
1-15-10 Off to Seattle. I love Beatrix!
1-16-10 Besalu for breakfast and afternoon naps, oh yes.
1-19-10 Lunch with Nika at Boat Street Cafe, dinner with Anna-Beth at Quinn's pub and salted caramel ice cream at Molly Moon's.
1-21-10 My Lucy girl turns three!
2-7-10 Holy shit, did the Saints just win the Super Bowl?
2-8-2010 Pho Tau Bay with Ben and Alycia, Sucre, early birthday dinner for Ben at Cochon.
2-13-10 Endymion! Champagne! Smoked meat!
2-18-10 Mahoney's makes a po-boy with fried green tomatoes, grilled shrimp and remoulade.
2-21-10 Ben finally cooks for me! Grilled steaks and shrimp with brie.
2-25-10 Off to Baton Rouge to see Amy, Neely and Donovan. Beautiful day with my babies. Le Chat Noir and sushi.
2-26-10 I'm 31! Doberge cake for breakfast. Oysters and champagne for lunch with Paul and Emily. More oysters and chamapagne with Ben at Luke.
3-2-10 Off. 25 cent oysters at Luke. Chesnut ice cream at Angelo Brocato's.
3-3-10 The view at Second Line movie studio is AMAZING!
3-10-10 Tulane wants to interview me TOMORROW. Holy shite.
3-11-10 Driving down Dumaine to work, I noticed the trees abloom in the early greens, whites and purples.
3-13-10 Went to New Orleans Museum of Art for the "Dreams Come True" exhibit, which details Disney's fairy tales. Favorite was illustrations for Sleeping Beauty,done by Eyvind Earle.
3-15-10 Finally get a nice day when I'm off to eat the first crawfish of the season, sitting on the levee with my baby, watching the sunset.
3-16-10 Ben makes grilled redfish with a crawfish crystal-butter sauce, braised greens with andouille and a cajun hash. Every element perfect. Delicious with Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc.
3-17-10 I got the job!!!!!!!
3-19-10 Viva San Guiseppe! Missing Buffalo and my family. Went to St. Joseph's Cathedral to see the altar.
So I guess that's my life over the past three months. Now, lest you think life is all afternoon snoozes and dinners with my love, please know I didn't want to bore you with savory nuggets like "Time change and a LONG. ASS. DOUBLE." Or "Clocked out with 34 hours in three days. Dead tired." But overall, life is good, I'm eating well. More to come.
12-3-09 Languedoc at the Delchaise with Alycia.
12-9-09 New haircut. Dinner at Ralph's. Wagyu beef.
12-13-09 Dinner with Adam and Kristin at Mr. B's. Grouper with crab meat. Pimm's cup at the Roosevelt Hotel.
12-14-09 Snifter of Frangelico, porch, lightning storm.
12-16-09 Oh my god, La Divina Gelateria, chesnut, honey, pinenuts and rosemary.
12-23-09 Package of cuccidati arrives in the mail from Mamma!
12-25-09 Christmas in Slidell with the Boos family.
1-1-10 Life is beautiful.
1-3-10 Dinner with Ben at the Orleans Grapevine.
1-6-10 Horinoya! Black sesame ice cream is my new obsession.
1-7-10 Wake up at the W, order room service, lounge in my robe. Dinner at the Butcher.
1-15-10 Off to Seattle. I love Beatrix!
1-16-10 Besalu for breakfast and afternoon naps, oh yes.
1-19-10 Lunch with Nika at Boat Street Cafe, dinner with Anna-Beth at Quinn's pub and salted caramel ice cream at Molly Moon's.
1-21-10 My Lucy girl turns three!
2-7-10 Holy shit, did the Saints just win the Super Bowl?
2-8-2010 Pho Tau Bay with Ben and Alycia, Sucre, early birthday dinner for Ben at Cochon.
2-13-10 Endymion! Champagne! Smoked meat!
2-18-10 Mahoney's makes a po-boy with fried green tomatoes, grilled shrimp and remoulade.
2-21-10 Ben finally cooks for me! Grilled steaks and shrimp with brie.
2-25-10 Off to Baton Rouge to see Amy, Neely and Donovan. Beautiful day with my babies. Le Chat Noir and sushi.
2-26-10 I'm 31! Doberge cake for breakfast. Oysters and champagne for lunch with Paul and Emily. More oysters and chamapagne with Ben at Luke.
3-2-10 Off. 25 cent oysters at Luke. Chesnut ice cream at Angelo Brocato's.
3-3-10 The view at Second Line movie studio is AMAZING!
3-10-10 Tulane wants to interview me TOMORROW. Holy shite.
3-11-10 Driving down Dumaine to work, I noticed the trees abloom in the early greens, whites and purples.
3-13-10 Went to New Orleans Museum of Art for the "Dreams Come True" exhibit, which details Disney's fairy tales. Favorite was illustrations for Sleeping Beauty,done by Eyvind Earle.
3-15-10 Finally get a nice day when I'm off to eat the first crawfish of the season, sitting on the levee with my baby, watching the sunset.
3-16-10 Ben makes grilled redfish with a crawfish crystal-butter sauce, braised greens with andouille and a cajun hash. Every element perfect. Delicious with Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc.
3-17-10 I got the job!!!!!!!
3-19-10 Viva San Guiseppe! Missing Buffalo and my family. Went to St. Joseph's Cathedral to see the altar.
So I guess that's my life over the past three months. Now, lest you think life is all afternoon snoozes and dinners with my love, please know I didn't want to bore you with savory nuggets like "Time change and a LONG. ASS. DOUBLE." Or "Clocked out with 34 hours in three days. Dead tired." But overall, life is good, I'm eating well. More to come.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving List
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I'm a week behind on the list. I did write it a week before Thanksgiving, I'll blame it on my rigorous work schedule and general malaise surrounding anything that requires brainpower when I'm off of work. Thanksgiving was a little strange this year as I spent it away form family and friends and waited on rich people for twelve hours. Not all bad though, lest you're feeling sorry for me. My friend brought me a plate from his grandmother's that included some AMAZING oyster dressing and shrimp-mirliton stuffed bell pepper, plus some kick-ass sweet potato pie.
dental floss
discovery of new foodstuffs such as lucuma,merquen and machas
chilean wine and wineries
sunny days in November
learning to live with others again and also the intricacies of living with so many, multicultural people this year
getting unexpected gifts in the mail
all the 2009 baby girls in my life, Beatrix, Neely and Sadie
my beautiful and newly enlarged family
free shrimp boils on Friday nights
hot water heaters that don't need to be turned on with matches
clothes dryers
book-lending coworkers
the brief opportunity to be free and untethered
sunrise over Playa Ancha
clouds
phonetics, syntax, idioms
lentils and their endless yet still delicious iterations
Book: A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's not new but just read it this year.
Album: Javiera Mena and Kid Cudi
Movies: Ummm.??? I'd like to see Precious and the new Almodovar movie but haven't yet.
Meal: Prietas, pastel de choclo and ensalda chilena that Sebastian made for me my last day in Chile. Had some other very good meals in Chile with all my visitors including mango pisco sours, clams with ginger and lime, duck ravioli with port reduction, ostrich carpaccio!
dental floss
discovery of new foodstuffs such as lucuma,merquen and machas
chilean wine and wineries
sunny days in November
learning to live with others again and also the intricacies of living with so many, multicultural people this year
getting unexpected gifts in the mail
all the 2009 baby girls in my life, Beatrix, Neely and Sadie
my beautiful and newly enlarged family
free shrimp boils on Friday nights
hot water heaters that don't need to be turned on with matches
clothes dryers
book-lending coworkers
the brief opportunity to be free and untethered
sunrise over Playa Ancha
clouds
phonetics, syntax, idioms
lentils and their endless yet still delicious iterations
Book: A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's not new but just read it this year.
Album: Javiera Mena and Kid Cudi
Movies: Ummm.??? I'd like to see Precious and the new Almodovar movie but haven't yet.
Meal: Prietas, pastel de choclo and ensalda chilena that Sebastian made for me my last day in Chile. Had some other very good meals in Chile with all my visitors including mango pisco sours, clams with ginger and lime, duck ravioli with port reduction, ostrich carpaccio!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Simple, Elegant, Delicious
I haven't been cooking much lately, mostly because I am working a lot and in restaurants so my meals are cobbled together from various vegetal matter at home, employee meals and eating out. Yet I have been making this super-easy and fast meal lately that I am in love with. It couldn't be more simple. Grill some asparagus. Toss with lemon juice and mushroom-truffle sauce (sub truffle oil if without the sauce). Top with shards of romano or parmigiano and a fried egg. It might be the best five minute meal you've ever had.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Antidote to Craptaculousness
So I'm having this colossally shitty week, certainly the worst this year, in fact I can't remember having a period of time with this many craptacular days in a row in quite a while. In any case, I usually remedy weeks like these by making a parody of it to whoever will listen and then making myself something delicious and comforting.
I'll spare you the gritty details but suffice to say that shuttling back and forth between various offices at City Hall, all manned by surly people who could, quite frankly, use a makeover and perhaps another cup of coffee, is not fun. Did you follow that run-on sentence? Me neither, sorry. Anyway, there was the mess at City Hall, some medical issues and being reminded that anyone I'm attracted to likely has a criminal record and/or borderline personality disorder. I'm not being dramatic, I swear it's statistically significant with a strong confidence level. I mean, I haven't run the regression analysis and I didn't do the p-test and I'm sure this sentence is only relevant or humorous to you if you've slugged through a semester of Quantitative Methods for Public Administration so I digress. Oh, and then someone hit my car and left me a nice big hole in my bumper and blithely sailed on with their day without nary a word or an apology note.
I've been surprisingly unperturbed about things though, which is of slight concern to me. I didn't even cry once and I am usually queen of the Water Works. Wait, I take it back, those snarky bitches at City Hall make me cry every time. Well, whatever, I felt like some comfort food so I splurged on an organic chicken, roasted it with some Yukon Golds, rosemary, lemon and leeks. It was just what I needed. Give it a try.
I'll spare you the gritty details but suffice to say that shuttling back and forth between various offices at City Hall, all manned by surly people who could, quite frankly, use a makeover and perhaps another cup of coffee, is not fun. Did you follow that run-on sentence? Me neither, sorry. Anyway, there was the mess at City Hall, some medical issues and being reminded that anyone I'm attracted to likely has a criminal record and/or borderline personality disorder. I'm not being dramatic, I swear it's statistically significant with a strong confidence level. I mean, I haven't run the regression analysis and I didn't do the p-test and I'm sure this sentence is only relevant or humorous to you if you've slugged through a semester of Quantitative Methods for Public Administration so I digress. Oh, and then someone hit my car and left me a nice big hole in my bumper and blithely sailed on with their day without nary a word or an apology note.
I've been surprisingly unperturbed about things though, which is of slight concern to me. I didn't even cry once and I am usually queen of the Water Works. Wait, I take it back, those snarky bitches at City Hall make me cry every time. Well, whatever, I felt like some comfort food so I splurged on an organic chicken, roasted it with some Yukon Golds, rosemary, lemon and leeks. It was just what I needed. Give it a try.
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