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Archive for the ‘photos’ Category
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Posted in chanterelles, cumin, dinner, flavor, food, hardcore, mushrooms, organic, photos, seasonal menu, table dance, wine | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
The morning started with sleep! We didn’t have a 10am event, our son didn’t have a 9:30 camp. We got to wake when we woke, slowly get going then walk our son down to the Les Chefs Petits brunch. This was supposed to be the kids making their own brunch in the Seven kitchen. This was bad planning on someone’s part since the Seven kitchen has their regular Sunday brunch happening and they couldn’t pile 30 kids into the kitchen! So they set them up out at one of the event tents on the beach instead. I’m sure this was better for the kids anyway, they got to have great food and still be maniacs.
Meanwhile we headed in to the ballroom for an incredible Champagne brunch. I never have high expectations for brunches. Even the one at the Waldorf in New York City failed to impress me. This one however…WOW. The champagne never stopped flowing, I wouldn’t be surprised if I consumed an entire bottle over the course of the morning. The level in my glass never dropped even though I was sipping the whole time. I piled my plate high with every seafood bit I could find. I don’t think I’d recovered from the meat-heavy Friday night BBQ so sushi, oysters, caviar, they all sounded wonderful and rejuvenating and they were. I basically just kept hitting the oyster bar until the brunch was over!
  
As we are all joyfully noshing away, there is an intense competition happening on stage, Top Chef style. The two finalists from the Cayman Cookoff, Maureen Cubbon and Eric St. Cyr, are frantically putting together a dish and a drink (the twist added to the competition by Richard Blais) for an intense table of judges: Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, Jose Andres, Dana Cowin and the Governor of Cayman. I think I’d pass out from the stress! They are better prepared than me however and they completed their dishes and drinks and thoroughly impressed the judges.  Eric St. Cyr came out on top and after the winner was announced, the crazy judge crew got on stage with bottles of Moet and a huge saber! Luckily, no blood was drawn, champagne just sprayed anyone in the vicinity. All we needed were some umbrella girls…the MotoGP of food celebrations.
We hung out on the beach with our son for some of the afternoon, perused the artisan market, picked up some cookbooks and got them signed by Eric and Tony, then had some time to relax before the Gala Dinner. Unfortunately, the evening didn’t go as planned. I gave my “Food Aversions” card to the restaurant manager. I knew this was going to be an intense, stressful evening for the kitchen and the waitstaff. I thought the card would make things easier for all involved, I mean, that’s why I have them. What it did was make them fuss over every course of mine and over me which I don’t deal with well at all. I did get to enjoy a little before I went into panic mode though.
The first course was Wahoo Sashimi, Ume, Garlic and Shiso by Laurent Gras. Wahoo is just the best fish around. I could have eaten nothing but this. The fish paired with Laurent’s grace was a perfect dish. This is actually where the stress began. They didn’t bring me this, they brought me some sort of veggie salad instead. I didn’t want to be a problem but I wanted the wahoo! I saw them take the dish back to the kitchen…the kitchen activity is being broadcast to the whole dining room…I saw Eric talk to my waiter, look at the card, eventually the wahoo came out. I was humiliated. It was exactly what I was trying to avoid. I was truly bummed that my chef-idol was being inconvenienced by me.
I ran into Eric’s wife Sandra in the restroom after this. She is so incredibly awesome, I love that woman (hell, she babysat my kid!!). Anyway, I told her what happened and she joked with me about it and I felt much better. Then the next course came out and I had a substitute where I should have. The dish was Foie Gras Mulligatawny and I don’t like Foie. I got a gazpacho-like dish just bursting with flavor. We were temporarily back on track.
Then the waiter kept coming up and checking on me, making sure everything was fine, over and over. The service was so incredible, I had an anxiety attack. I took my fabulous glass of wine and sat outside for the next two courses. I couldn’t deal. I was completely blowing an amazing dinner. Then I found out my son was having a meltdown upstairs with his babysitter. I guess it was in the air. This gave me an out. I switched from foodie-mode to mother-lion mode and went to my kid. I said goodbye to Sandra grabbed my wine and headed up to the room.
My husband stayed and said Eric’s Venison was the highlight of the evening and he doesn’t even like venison. I’m sorry I missed it but something wasn’t meant to be. It was too fancy and uptight and stressful for me. I loved that we could be sitting around the table with people we’d never normally associate with. They were from different generations, different occupations and very different political worlds than us but we found common ground in the food. Food can bring us all together. It is a leveling ground.
I wish I could have experienced the full Gala Dinner but I truly enjoyed the courses I had. If we make it back to the Cookout next year, I know the Gala isn’t for me. It was icing on an already sweet weekend, truly not needed to complete the adventure. It was a non-stop bacchanalian escapade. I really hope we can do this again!
Posted in ahi, celebrities, decadence, eric ripert, flavor, food, photos, sushi, table dance | No Comments »
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
The first real day of the Cookout began at 10am. As Jose Andres put it, “Who puts a cooking class at 10am?! You start a cooking class at 3pm so you have the day sleep and then do your things…then cook!” But he didn’t seem to be slowed by the early start. As Dana Cowin was introducing him for demonstration, she was wondering where he was. As she was saying, “He has got to be here somewhere…” he came bounding on the stage straight out of the ocean in his scuba gear with his ten year old daughter. He is a character to say the least. We were all seated in a tent with the people who payed extra with their American Express Platinum Cards having the preferred seats in the front rows. He undid all that (hilariously) by getting everyone up and out into the blazing sun on the beach, around ENORMOUS paella pans over fires built in the sand. He immediately started hollering for volunteers: 2 people for each pan to stir and add ingredients, 4 people to help make the cocktails, 3 people to grill oysters…go go go!!!
 
The fires were hot. The sun was hot. His sous chefs were in jeans. I thought they were going to pass out but they have to be strong to work for this guy. The dish he was making was called Fideo. It’s like paella but made with pasta instead of rice. Much easier to control the outcome of when cooking for 100 people over open flames on a beach! Pork ribs, tomatoes, pasta (short angel hair), lobster, broth. Everyone was sweating like mad in the heat of the day and the fires but the cocktails started flowing. Fruit, mint, champagne…a beautiful, refreshing way to begin drinking at 10am!!
 
I stood next to Dana Cowin and shamelessly plugged my web site. All the while Jose is running around like a madman and then puts a song on the PA, passes around lyrics and has us all sing along. He is amazing and the food was phenomenal. He’s completely insane and a blast to see cook.
Our next ticket was for a Behind the Scenes tour of Blue by Eric Ripert. They don’t ever just call it “Blue”, it is always “Blue by Eric Ripert”. That was making me laugh.
 
Anyway, we arrived and grabbed a front row seat. Luis Lujan is the Executive Chef at Blue (by Eric Ripert) and walked us through the preparation of the dishes we’d be having for lunch. The first was wahoo. If you ever have a chance to eat wahoo, DO IT! This is an incredible fish. It looks like hamachi but it melts in your mouth. He cut it perfectly, seared in perfectly and dressed it perfectly. I would expect no less. Eric popped in to say hello and then we all got a brief tour of the kitchen. It’s not a huge kitchen and in 2 days time would be filled with the world’s best chefs making 164 plates each for the Gala Dinner. Incredible.
  
We then sat on the patio for our lovely lunch. The wine flows continuously at these events. I’m amazed I could walk but something happens on these sorts of adventures and what would result in me being horizontal at home is just par for the course as the weekend goes on. Probably not healthy but this is not an every day occurence.
 
The afternoon treated us to a demo by April Bloomfield of which I only got to catch the end. Then a beautiful green curry ceviche by Laurent Gras. I was so ridiculously full by this point, I was scared of what Laurent was going to present but it was so light and refreshing that it was more like a cocktail with some fish in it than a meal. It was almost a palate cleanser. He took the ingredients of a green curry but instead of making it a heavy dish full of coconut milk, he used coconut water and created a light ceviche. Something I will definitely try at home.
The first of the epic evening events was the Barefoot BBQ at Tiki Beach. They had a shuttle running from the hotel to the event but it was a whopping 2km away, on the beach, we decided to walk. Really for two reasons: one, we were already so full, we needed to work up an appetite and two, we had to pick up our son from his amazing camp at the hotel before the shuttles were going to be running at the end of the event and we needed to time the walk. What a beautiful way to get to the BBQ. I’m so glad we did that. We didn’t have to wait in line with anxious rich folks who complain if things aren’t exactly as they think they should be, we were walking along the white sandy beach of Grand Cayman at dusk. You can’t beat that.
We arrived at Tiki Beach and it was crazy-busy. Our first stop was Tony Bourdain’s station and some sumptuous pork. He’s still got it man. He may be more known for traveling and writing now but 28 years in the kitchen doesn’t just vanish. He makes a mean pig. We worked our way to the complete opposite end of the venue and found Jose Andres being loud and hilarious as usual as his chefs carved thin slices of Jamon Iberico. I will never be able to eat prosciutto again now that I’ve experienced Iberico. Dryer, saltier, damn it was good. It was atop some sliced beef. So now I’ve had pork, I’ve had beef with pork on top and we waltz over to Eric Ripert’s station where he’s serving beef tenderloin. Why not?! Pork, beef and pork, beef….so full. I thought I made a damn fine tenderloin but, as usual, Eric takes it beyond.
We found a table in the back near Jose Andres and relaxed with our plates for a bit. We got to visit with some fabulous people. I wasn’t sure how the attendees would be at this. There is a lot of money here obviously. And there are some people that have more money than I could ever imagine having and are real snots about it. They have their Gucci and Valentino clothes shipped to them to try on because they live an hour from the Galleria and that’s just too damn inconvenient for shopping. Just one example. But the people we visited with at the BBQ were all wonderful. One woman was a coordinator for the event. One couple had been before but brough his mom this year from Michigan. There were a lot of Canadians representing. Maybe because of Paul Rogalski being there or maybe becuase it’s usually 25 below this time of year and it’s a great escape.
After a few nibbles of dessert we headed back to the beach and walked back to the hotel under the stars….many more stars than we get to see in our neck of the woods. Mars was so bright it was reflecting off the ocean. Amazing.
Read about Day 1 and Day 3!
Posted in celebrity, decadence, eric ripert, flavor, food, Le Bernardin, photos, seasonal menu, table dance | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
We arrived a day early and spent my birthday in the amazing waters of Grand Cayman. We snorkled and swam and snorkeled some more. The water is warm and clear and full of some of the cast of Finding Nemo. It was incredible. I snorkeled in Hawaii many years ago but it was not like this. The water here was warmer and clearer.
We were going to be booked solid with demonstrations, lunches, dinners and events so I wanted my birthday completely schedule free. Because of that however, we didn’t make dinner reservations. Once we got in from snorkeling, I realized I really wanted to be able to eat at Blue by Eric Ripert for my birthday. We called. They had a 9:30 table. We have a 7 year old. That wasn’t going to work. My husband had booked it though before we got back to the room and decided that was a bad idea. So we walked down to Blue to tell them we wouldn’t be using the 9:30 table assuming we’d be heading to one of the other hotel restaurants for dinner. We were in shorts, not dressed for an Eric Ripert dining room. They said they could seat us then if we wanted. OK!! We sat and were presented with the many choices for dinner and, surprisingly, a kid’s menu! I never expected that. Le Bernardin sure doesn’t offer a kid’s menu. ;-)
They brought out the amuse bouche which was a tortellini with…honestly I have no idea but it was so wonderful, and a scallop ceviche bite. They gave my son what looked like two tater tots but they called “potato croquettes”. He was not interested. I told them he’d really rather have the scallop and they brought him the “grown up” dish instead. He loved it, they thought he was awesome.
He got tomato soup with croutons and local snapper with rice and vegetables from the kids menu. We ordered the 3 course a la carte menu since we knew that he wouldn’t have the stamina for a full many-course, multi-hour tasting menu. I started with hamachi 3 ways, then the lobster and for my main the tuna. My husband got the conch ceviche, the tuna with foie gras (a signature Ripert dish) and the snapper.
While we were eating, we got to ogle the table full of celebrity chefs and they’re beautiful wives having dinner on the patio outside our window: Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, Jose Andres, Richard Blais, Francois Payard, April Bloomfield and others. It was hard not to stare. The weekend had just started so we hadn’t had our brush with culinary fame yet. This event is so small (compared to most food events) that you are constantly running into a culinary hero as you’re walking the beach, traversing the hallways of the Ritz or at the events.
Dinner was spectacular. The service at Blue is on par with Le Bernardin. The sommelier noticed our son was getting antsy and came over an made him a mouse out of a napkin! They were so incredibly accomodating even though they were also having to serve their boss and some of the best chefs in the world on the patio just outside.
This is one of those meals ….one of those weekends…that it seems silly to “review” the food. It was excellent of course. That’s what we flew many hours on a red eye with a bonkers kid playing 12 hours of video games for. The hamachi was clean and refreshing, acidic and salty, rich and cool and the same time. The conch had no chewiness like I expected, but it also had bell peppers so I only snuck a tiny bite from my husband to see what it was like. The lobster was, well, lobster at Blue! Imagine it and you’ll probably be correct!
I ordered the chocolate death for dessert and it arrived with “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate on the plate. I am not one to hide the fact it’s my birthday. I don’t worry about getting older. I tell everyone I meet it’s my birthday. I revel in my day. It’s all about me. I got a candle and a chocolate wish. And I was in the Caymans with my favorite chef in the world. My birthday was the most amazing one I could imagine. Well, except for the woman who told me her husband flew Eric Ripert to her house to cook dinner for her and 6 friends. That is unbelievable but nevermind that. I would never dream of anything better than the Cayman Cookout for my special day.
And it would only get better.
Read about Day 2 and Day 3!
Posted in ahi, ahi tartare, amuse bouche, chocolate, decadence, dinner, eric ripert, flavor, food, Le Bernardin, photos, restaurant, review, snapper, table dance, tuna tartare | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
To call this a review would be ludicrous. The meal was perfect. I got to meet Eric Ripert. I was a giddy, squealing ’60s Beatles fan girl. You should have seen me! I maintained for my conversation with him but I was jumping up and down once I got outside. I have met many-a-famous-person. I’m a fan girl. I stay after concerts and booksignings in the off chance I’ll get to say hi and take a picture. Never has a rockstar or author had this effect on me. I think it’s because Eric Ripert does something I would love to do: cook seafood *perfectly*.
We were seated near the kitchen and I immediately asked if I could peek inside. I’ve made the mistake of waiting until after the meal and the multiple glasses of wine to head into the kitchen and I’m a bumbling, drunk idiot. So, sober tour for me this time please!
Unfortunately, Chef Ripert wasn’t in the kitchen yet. But it was such a different space than other kitchens, notably the French Laundry. When we went into that kitchen I felt like if I breathed too loudly, I would ruin a dish. In the Le Bernardin kitchen there was a lot of movement and, not chaos, but constant motion. But the chefs (ranking designated by the blue baseball caps) all looked up and acknowledged us, said hello, looked like they were enjoying themselves.
They’re enjoyment came through in every bite. First off, I have to say how much I loved coming to a 3-Michelin star/4-NY Times star restaurant and being given a SPORK! How awesome is that?! The star of the first 3 bites was the fluke. In On the Line it states they can’t take the fluke away, too many patrons would complain. I agree. I made one of the marinades the other night and it was delightful (I used filet of sole, we don’t get fluke here).
Every dish was magic.
CAVIAR – WAGYU
Nebraska Wagyu Beef; Langoustine and Osetra Caviar Tartare
Black Pepper-Vodka Crème Fraîche, Pomme Gaufrette
Champagne Dom Ruinart 1998
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The *only* complaint I had of the entire meal was the smokiness of the dashi gelee. I only ate a very small percentage of the gelee on the plate. The gelee itself was fine but the ratio was off to me. If I had all the gelee, it would have been overpowering.
TUNA
Ultra Rare Yellowfin Tuna; Spiced Dashi Gelée
Green Peppercorn – Iberico Chutney
Yuki no Bosha, Yamahai Junmai, Akita
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Anytime we go to a fancy-pants place like this, I try to get the waitstaff to relax with us. We aren’t uptight. We’d like this food on a plastic table with folding chairs…I don’t care about ambiance and rituals. Every course that came out required a new set of silverware. Including the trowel-like knife which never got used because all the fish was like butter. Every time they brought a new one I laughed! Finally I said, “Seriously, leave the knife!” And he laughed as well and said, “I can’t, it’s my job security, what do you think they’re paying me for?!” He was great.
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LOBSTER
Warm Lobster in a Rosé Champagne Nage
Currant Tomatoes and Hearts of Palm
Chablis, “Vieilles Vignes”, Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2009
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SALMON
Barely Cooked Wild Salmon; Asparagus “Risotto”, Smoked Pistachio Pesto
Château Grillet, Neyret-Gachet, Rhône Valley 2005
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Every dish that came out was amazing but I think the winner of the night was the black bass. It was so wonderfully salty and the mini pork bun was right out of Din Tai Fung in Sydney (my favorite place there!). All elegance and table manners went out the window for me, I was lapping every drop up with my finger.
BLACK BASS
Crispy Black Bass; Lup Cheong and Beansprout
Mini Pork Buns, Hoisin – Plum Jus
Rioja Reserva,Viña Bosconia, Lopez de Heredia, Spain 2003
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KING FISH
“Barbecued” King Fish; Marinated Mango and Napa Cabbage
Sancocho Broth
Barolo, Mirafiore, Piedmont, Italy 2007
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I cook a lot of fish. At least once if not twice a week. I don’t know how he does it. I could take the same ingredients and they would taste good, but not like this. The fish truly is the star of the plate.
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CITRUS
Lime Parfait, Meringue, Avocado Purée, Mint, Grapefruit – Tequila Sorbet
Poire Granit, Pear Cider, Eric Bordelet, France
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CHOCOLATE-TEA
Dark Chocolate Cremeux, Cocoa Pain de Genes, Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream
Pineau des Charrentes Cask No. 2, Paul Marie & Fils
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After the meal, my husband wanted an after-dinner drink so we migrated to the lounge to free up the table. They brought us, what I later found out, is a signature dish of theirs, the chocolate-caramel Egg. It’s in my cookbook but I’ve literally never looked at the dessert section…not my thing. I was so full at that point but the egg was also amazing (tired of that word yet?)
It was then that Chef Ripert walked by…I said hi and that’s when the giddiness hit. I was happy with that but my husband asked the maitre d’ if we could meet and take a photo with Eric. They escorted us back to the kitchen and there he was…just standing there. Squeee! He was so incredibly nice and accommodating. I got to tell him I’m a huge fan, not from Avec Eric or the appearances on Top Chef but from his cook book. Once I started making his recipes I became a big fan. He turned to my husband then and said, “So you get the benefit of this then?” :)
Then he had us move over for a picture so we’d have the kitchen behind us. The photo is now one of my prized possessions. And we got to tell him we’d be seeing him at his Cayman Cookout event in January (on my birthday!). It’s going to be the most amazing birthday EVER!
I know I put the picture at the beginning of the post but it’s worth a second look…it’s me with ERIC RIPERT!!!
Posted in ahi, amuse bouche, chocolate, decadence, dinner, eric ripert, food, Le Bernardin, Michelin star, photos, restaurant, restaurants, review, Salmon, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu, wine | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
 White Sea Bass in Broth I picked up my fish from my Seafood CSA (CSS – Community Supported Seafood) yesterday. It’s fun to have no idea what I’m going to cook until after 1:30 when i pick up my fish! Surprise! I came home and pondered for a while. Stared into my fridge….I had a fennel bulb and a chunk of garlic. I almost always have chicken broth since another CSA I’m in gives me 2 dozen eggs and 2 chickens every 2 weeks. The recipe started coming together in my head.
This serves 2 people and could easily be scaled up.
I put a quart of chicken stock on low heat and simmered it with about 2 inches of ginger root, sliced and one fennel bulb, sliced. That simmered about an hour. Reducing by about 1/4th.
Meanwhile, I took the 2 yellow potatoes I had and sliced them as thinly as I could. I don’t have a mandoline. Well, that’s not true, I have one and haven’t the foggiest idea how to set it up or use it. So I use my wicked sharp knife instead! I put the slices into a bowl of ice water where they remained until I was ready to fry them up.
I whisked together:
1/4 cup white miso
2 T seasoned rice vinegar
2 t soy sauce
a dash of cayenne
 Grapeseed Oil I brushed that over the sea bass fillets. This is not chilean sea bass. It’s locally caught white sea bass. It’s more of a cod texture…actually, it may be a type of cod?? Not sure! Sustainable, green-listed fish :)
Cut the fillet into 1/3-1/2 pound pieces. Brush the miso paste onto the top and bottom of the fillet. Set these aside for a few minutes.
 Frying crisps Fill a semi-high-sided pan with about 1″ or so of grapeseed oil (or other high-heat oil). I love the shade of green that the grapeseed oil has. It just looks cool. Bring the temperature of the oil up to 350°. I’ve had this candy thermometer for years and I don’t think I’ve ever used it. Glad I had it though! While waiting for the oil to heat over medium-high heat, remove the potato slices from the ice water and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. You don’t want them wet or you’ll get splattered with hot oil! Carefully drop the slices into the hot oil a batch at a time. I put about 10-15 slices in at a time and it didn’t drop the temperature of the oil dramatically. Let them dance around in the oil until they are brown. Remove carefully and place on paper towels to drain the oil, I also dabbed the tops with papertowels, then sprinkle with a nice finishing salt. I used Shinkai Deep Sea Salt and it was perfect.
Things got a bit hectic when I was trying to do crisps and fish at the same time. Put the sea bass into a quite-hot pan with a little olive oil. I wanted a nice crust on the outside of the fish and a pretty raw center. This fish was caught the day before, it was beautifully fresh. Sear for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Place the fish in a shallow bowl. Strain the simmering broth into the bowl. Sprinkle with chopped scallions. Serve the crisps on the side.
We drank, oddly, a pink wine with this. I hate pink wine typically but this one was light and citrusy and paired rather well.
Posted in amateur, dinner, flavor, food, photos, recipe, recipes, self pleasuring | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
I host a soup night, ideally once a month, but really it happens when we have a free weekend night. I make a huge pot of soup, customized each time for the number of people coming and the allergies/preferences/aversions of the guests. It’s really, really fun and it gives us a way to actually get together with our friends regularly even when life is hectic. It’s a different group of people each time…and if there is every a time that everyone on the invite list can show up, I’m not sure what we’ll do, our house isn’t nearly big enough!
This time I live-tweeted the making of the soup, just for fun. A sort of step-by-step recipe without instructions! This is enough soup for 16-18 people.
3 onions:
 Onions 4-5 quarts chicken stock simmering on the back burner:
 Chicken Stock Simmering 3-4 carrots (mulitcolored, they looked cool!):
 Added Carrots 1 fennel bulb and 4 stalks celery:
 Fennel and Celery Cooking all that stuff down, entertaining myself with the camera:
 Waiting for veggies to cook down 4 yellow potatoes:
 Potatoes will go in next 3/4 bottle white wine and 6 cloves garlic:
 Added white wine and garlic One bunch kale, somewhat “julienned”…I’d say finely shredded:
 Shredded Kale 6 small zucchini:
 Zucchini Snap peas, halved:
 Lastly, snap peas In there with the zucchini went 3 cans of cannellini beans and then the soup was ladeled over spaghetti that I broke in half before boiling (so it would be possible to eat it with a spoon!)
To serve it was first pasta, then soup, pesto on top of that (basil-walnut-lots of lemon), and for everyone but me, shredded parmesean.
 Topped with pesto for serving Yum.
Tags: soup
Posted in amateur, dinner, flavor, food, organic, pesto, photos, potato, recipe, recipes, santa cruz, seasonal menu, zucchini | No Comments »
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
This week’s box from my CSA is full of so many of my favorite things. Romaine lettuce, Kale, Green Onions, Fennel, Strawberries, Potatoes, Cucumbers. They have an “exchange” box at the pick-up site and I swapped my carrots out for a 2nd head of romaine. I still have a zillion carrots from previous weeks, we just don’t go through them very fast. I am having a Soup Night on Saturday though and I can make a big Caesar salad.
And I can make the potato salad recipe sent to me for the 10th anniversary recipe contest.
Summer produce makes me so happy!
Posted in food, fruit, gardening, organic, photos, santa cruz, self pleasuring | No Comments »
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
I thought the last dinner was good. This one was better. Not that there was anything missing from the first one, I just felt that this one stepped it up.
 Arriving and mingling We went with 4 friends and they hired a driver to take us to and from the dinner so much more wine was consumed than at the last event. So much so, I forgot the menu there and I don’t have all the details of this meal! Therefore, this will be more of a photo tour of the evening.
 A rundown from Jim and Leah We gathered around to hear from Jim and Leah and then we headed around the farm to meet the goats and chickens, see the variety of crops and check out the original apple trees from 100 years ago.
 On the farm tour  The source of the goat cheese Surrounding the entire farm is a deer fence. The farm bumps right up to the Soquel hills so without the fence, the deer would destroy the farm. They still have to contend with coyotes, mountain lions and gophers, but at least the fence dissuades the deer!
 Rows of crops meld into the tree line  300 chickens live here We wrapped up the tour and were lead down to an amazing table setting. We sat along the creek, it was absolutely gorgeous.
 The table is set up by Soquel creek The first course featured farm grown spinach and beets and was topped with goat cheese made from the goats we’d just met.
 Spinach with Goat cheese and beets It’s amazing the kitchen setup they have out in the woods. Backwoods gourmet at its finest!
 The smell of the outdoor kitchen wafts down to the diners The shellfish dish was the highlight of the dinner (not that there were any lows!). We got loaf after loaf of bread to soak up the amazing broth the clams, mussels and squid were in. It was heavenly. I could have had nothing but this all night and been a happy foodie.
 Shellfish and squid stew with crusty bread There was a course in between here of perfectly cooked, lick every bit from your finger, gorgeous quail. So good, I forgot to pull out my camera….I would have gotten quail juice on it anyway.
And dessert by candlelight was scrumptious strawberry shortcake.
 Strawberry shortcake for dessert The whole dinner was paired with wines from Testa Rossa vineyards and Corralitos Brewing Company beer. I even enjoyed the pink wine…it was my least favorite of the evening but I still liked it!
Good food, good friends, good times. Life’s mantra.
Posted in dinner, farmers market, flavor, food, fruit, gardening, organic, photos, santa cruz, seasonal menu, spinach, squid, table dance, tasting menu | No Comments »
Monday, June 13th, 2011
Shred 2 lbs of potatoes, I used the shredder in my food processor, and one sweet onion. I just picked up some walla walla onions that went well. I also used a combination of white, purple and red potatoes to make these look funky :)
Place the potato-onion mixture in a strainer, salt the mix and let it sit over the sink for a while to draw out some of the water. I let mine sit for, maybe, 30 minutes? Longer is probably better.
Squeeze the mixture in some paper towels and get as much moisture out as you can.
Take a bit of the mixture and make a small patty, place some smoked salmon on top of the patty, then place more of the potato mixture on top of the salmon to seal it inside.
Drop this filled potato pancake gently into a small amount of oil and fry it up until it’s brown and crispy…flip it and brown the other side.
Do this on medium heat so they potatoes don’t brown too quickly or they’ll still be raw on the inside!
I realized right as these were finishing that I needed a sauce for them. I’d just picked up plain yogurt so I just minced a garlic clove, mixed that into some yogurt, added a little cayenne and salt and it was perfect! So simple.
Posted in dinner, photos, potato, recipe, recipes, Salmon, self pleasuring | No Comments »
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