Grocery Shopping NYC

So shopping for my birthday dinner alone deserves its own post. It was so much fun and I'm glad my mom was with me to keep me in check because I seriously needed a spending babysitter.

First stop was Ottomanelli and Son's Butcher on Bleecker St. Known for its lamb and venison, I had them butcher me up some large and BEAUTIFUL duck breast fillets. And did I mention duck bacon?! Oh yes.  If you read my blig than you are already well aware of my obsession with bacon. Duck bacon just takes it to a whole new level!

Next was Eataly, and my nerves were so unraveled walking into this heaven that I just had to have oysters and wine. I tried a blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and spulati that was delicious. Acidic and dry. The oysters were small but perfectly salty and juicy. Had a plate of mozzarella di buffala and prosciutto san daniele. And so the rampage began.

First of all, the variety of everything that is available is just so impressive. Secondly, its organized beautifully!

I picked up all my fruit and vegetables, and then moved to the fish monger. This counter is RIDICULOUS. I wanted EVERYTHING. My gourmet imagination ran wild but my mother helped me show self control.

They had some sea urchin left so I had them remove the tongues and package them. Everything was reasonably priced and the mongers were very nice and helpful. Im going back for the octopus, langoustines, and scorpion fish....

Now meal planning on the train home.  Stay tuned for some serious eats!

Into the city tomorrow for OTHER peoples food and cannot wait! Until then!

Fridge Diving: Night One in NYC

So on the train back from downtown grocery shopping for birthday dinner tonight, so figured I'd update on round 1 of my gourmet weekend! Last night we didn't want to do any shopping with the big dinner coming up tonight, so I just collected ingredients already in the fridge and freezer.

Decided to make a rack of goat, which I marinated in lemon wheels, olive oil, chili olives, cayenne pepper, mixed hot peppers, pesto, fresh rosemary and thyme.

Let that sit aside for a few hours, and started a salad to go with the goat. I took fresh carrots and shallots (diced), halved brussel sprouts, and apples and caramelized them in a large saute pan in generous amounts of butter. I let them cool and drizzled a POTENT dijon mustard-balsalmic vinaigrette. The lamb, after roasting in a dutch oven for about an hour (until medium rare) went over the salad with a lemon wheel for garnish. Was DELICIOUS.

When roasting the rack, I rubbed it in finely chopped mixed herbs and placed it over a bed of sliced tomatoes and olive oil in the Dutch oven. 

This was such a delicious dish but problems arose seperating the individual ribs. When I inquired at the butcher today, he asked if the spinal bones had been pre-cracked. They had not, resulting in the slicing fiasco. Just a side note for those of you cooking racks fresh off the farm! They do not always come pre-cracked!

Absolutely giddy after my shopping in the city today...so much fun food to try. Stay tuned for some killer sea urchin...dying I couldn't take home the entire fish counter!

New York: The Prequel

So I'm NYC bound with a five hour train ride ahead of me so figured I'd do a quick post about some of my faves there. I spent last summer in the city bartending and, in my spare time, doing nothing but eating my way through the local restaurants. I won't lie-I have a total bias for West Village. I've had some of my best food in West Village with some outstanding service and quaint environments. I really dislike Time Square....too many people and cheap wine at high end prices because they can. I'm not really a sightseeing kind of girl (unless it comes to food and specialty butchers), so I tend to stay away.

One day over the summer my best friend from college and I decided to pick a "start" location and an "end" location, and just stop anywhere our hearts desired in between. This actually resulted in some pretty great finds, including Eataly and Murray's Wine and Cheese Bar. We'll start with Eataly....

This place is a palace for the Gods. It has a room for every staple-meats, fish, three rows dedicated to pasta and a fresh pasta counter, three-four full service bar/restaurants, fresh fruits and vegetables...anything and everything you can imagine. My friend and I stumbled into this wonderful establishment by chance (we were looking for a bathroom) and ended up spending three hours inside drinking white wine, eating berrata, and shopping for fresh pasta and charcuterie.






























The wines were delicious, and the charcuterie and cheese really top notch. Everything super fresh, you could tell as soon as you got a whiff of it from across the room. There were multiple wine tastings going on at different spots in the shop, and you could purchase a glass to shop with on the spot if you wished.



The venue is spectacular as well, sporting high and large vaulted ceilings and beautiful displays of everything they have to offer.

This is also a great place to get things that might be harder to find. I've recently been trying to get a hold of sea urchin, which apparently they get in twice a week, and if you call ahead, they will hold it for you. And if you have never had fresh of the press pasta....they have an ENTIRE counter devoted to it.

Tomorrow I am going into the city to grocery shop for the big Friday night feast I have planned, and this will definitely be one of my stops. You can check out their website here: http://www.eataly.com/

Another great spot is Aria, in West Village, which is a great little closet of a spot where the sparkling rose is just wonderful and the small plates are DIVINE (and super interesting!). My friend and I went and indulged on two dozen oysters, octopus carpaccio, and the best berratta I have EVER had. In case you don't know what berratta is, it is buffalo mozzarella with a stick outer shell and a gooey center. The berratta came with a generous serving of proscuitto, all extremely reasonably priced. We finished our meal off with a walnut based dessert liquor which was outstanding, both on the rocks and neat. Service was quick and excellent, nothing over the top which I love.





















































The last place I'll review in this post is Murray's Wine and Cheese Bar, and they are my, hands-down, favorite spot in the city. It is owned and operated by the famous New York institution Murray's Cheese Shop on Bleecker Street. In the HEART of West Village, this bar is located in the small lot right next to the cheese shop, and specializes in wine and cheese flights. The menu is reasonable for the quality of the food and wine, but you do need to be ready to drop some change. This place is ALWAYS packed. You have to go super early to grab a spot either at the bar or one of 8 or 9 tables.



The cheeses rotate out seasonally or based on what the store is stocking. You don't have to go with the menu pairings, as I just requested 5-8 cheeses and wines that they thought were interesting and that they liked personally, not necessarily in any particular theme.


They pair each cheese with a spread or topping of some sort which they think will complement it. Rather than the "standard" chutneys or preserved figs, they have a designated pairing for EACH cheese they serve, which shows a great attention to detail that I appreciate.

The service is exceptional, and the staff are so knowledgeable and friendly. You really get the impression that they love their jobs and are there because they want to be, which makes a huge difference in service.

Can't wait to hit it up Saturday, I can't go to New York and NOT stop here!

Finally the snow stopped but it is colder than a witch's *kjfads! outside so time to bundle up and drink something warm.

Adieu from the Vermonter!

Sara's lovely blue cheese balls!!!

So I love doing little plates and hors d'oeuvres before dinners or just as a mid-afternoon happy hour pairing. The blue cheese balls are a great one with some red or sparkling wine. My neighbor from back in the day (who was the queen of all foodies) taught me how to do these. Recently brought them to a family friends dinner party and they went over so well!

Although these are very simple, they are messy to make. I like take a very strong block of blue cheese and whipping it with an entire container of whipped cream cheese. You still get all the great strength of the blue cheese but it becomes spreadable!


Take VERY DRY red grapes (seedless) and roll them in the blue cheese mixture so that the grapes are COMPLETELY covered. I like them to be pretty heavy on the cheese, others might like a thinner layer. They will end up coming out looking like a cheese ball. It's best to do this by hand, and the cheese does get ALL OVER your hands and the surface you're rolling them on. Just fair warning. Wear an apron and have someone around to turn on the kitchen sink for you!


After you roll them, take a gallon Ziploc bag and fill it with crushed walnuts (VERY crushed, this does not work if they are still in big chunks). I sometimes stomp on them in a doubled bag or take a hammer...I'm not even kidding!


Drop the cheese ball into the bag, 3 or 4 at a time, and shake. They won't stick together and will come out perfectly coated in walnuts. You can stack them on a serving tray to finish...you don't have to worry about them sticking to your hands or your fingers because the walnuts cover the sticky cheese!


I would always recommend doing these with red grapes, and not green. The juicy, fruity red grape juice mixes so well with the blue cheese, it just can't be substituted. You could opt for blue cheese crumbles instead of a block of the stronger stuff though, if you wanted to make it a little more palatable to non-blue cheese eaters. Walnuts could also be replaced with another nut, maybe pecans (YUM)!

Chilean Seabass with Seasoned Shrimp and Summer Salsa

In contrast to yesterday, I figured I'd battle the neverending morning snowglobe with a more summer-oriented dish. Maybe it'll convince mother nature...unlikely but a girl can dream.

There's nothing better than seabass and shrimp when its hot outside. I was a massive grill fiend this summer. Everything went on it.

The Chilean sea bass at Whole Foods is expensive, but SO good. I placed six lemon wheels over the top of whole basil leaves on the top of the filet. I cooked a large filet for four people, and cooked it in one piece, cutting it into portions when done. I used toothpicks to make sure the lemons and basil stayed on top of the fish. I then wrapped it in a tin foil (heavy duty) envelope and stuck straight onto a hot grill. If you cook the fish in a tin foil package, it steams the fish keeping all the flavor and moisture. Otherwise sometimes the smoke from the grill can create dryness.

I marinated fresh (cleaned) jumpo shrimp in Whole Foods Tequila lime seasoning (why mess with a good thing?) with a little lemon and lime juice and olive oil. On the grill, I cooked skewers of three until just pink.



When the bass and the shrimp were done, I removed the lemon and basil from the top of the bass and sliced it into four serving portions. On the plate, I placed a skewer of three tequila lime shrimp on top of each piece of bass. Finally, I topped with a summer salsa, made of finely diced strawberries, pineapples, blueberries, jalapenos, mangos, cilantro, lime juice, and spring onions. I garnished the dish with an orange wheel, which I sliced half way through the center and twisted to rest nicely ontop of the heaping pile of grilled fish.Salt and pepper to taste, but I let people season themselves on this one, as I can imagine people having a variety of palate preferences on this one!

Signing out from the snow globe!

The Christmas Finale

I get a whole goat from my grandfather once or twice a year, and its delicious! You can do so much with goat, whether sweet or spicy, but you just have to be careful with preparation so that it does not become tough (this is very easy to do).

So anyhow, I made goat chops for the main for the Christmas extravaganza. I marinated them in cranberry juice, a little red wine, fresh chopped cherries, fresh sprigs rosemary and thyme, and a dash dijon mustard.

Right before serving, I quickly seared either side over high heat in a large pan and then roasted them for 5-10 minutes until medium.



Simultaneously, I reduced fresh cherries in a large sautee pan that had been pitted. When there is quite a bit of cooked juice, I strained out the cherries and put the juice back on to simmer. I added a little bit of balsalmic vinegar and let reduce to a thicker sauce.



I served the goat chops over a winter vegetable mash (fennel, potatoes, leeks, onion) and poured a little bit of the sauce over the top with a few cooked cherries as garnish. Was delicious!



These turned out to be pretty small portions, so it was totally manageable to finish. I paired it with a pretty big cabernet, heavy on the black fruit flavors. I've had a great foradori from work (in hindsight) that would go great with it!

And at that...we were far too full for dessert. We had made individual blueberry pies that would have been delicious...but opted out in the fear we might burst!

Signing out from the snow globe!

Christmas Dinner Part Two

So it probably seems a bit random that I'm posting my Christmas dinner menu, now, but the skies decided to open up and snow on me (no notice) today, so I thought it would be mildly appropriate being so Christmas-y outside. My California native brother would beg to differ, but I'm ammune to his persistent screenshots comparing his 70 degree (F) weather to my 10 degree torture.

So back to food. For the soup course I made a simple butternut squash soup (roasting an entire butternut squash until VERY soft before chopping up and cooking over the stove). I topped it off with a cayenne pecan cream (mincing the pecans in a food processer, spicing heavily with cayenne pepper, and folding into fresh whipped cream).



I served the soup in my mother's collection of china teacups. It's such an easy presentation and keeps the portion size down. It's all about making it through all of the courses! They fit just about a cup of soup.

The one thing I was missing was a blender. I do have a puree wand/machine thing (what do you even call them?!) but it really doesn't do the trick when it comes to getting the right consistency with soup. You really need to blend the hell out of it, and I just didn't have the tool to do so. As a result, the consistency wasn't as velvety as I would have liked but it still tasted great! I served the soup with a small glass of unoaked chardonnay.

For the salad course, I have to admit I copied the chef from my second job's recipe for a goat cheese salad. It's too easy and delicious to not copy. I piled a big heap of goats cheese in the middle of the salad plate, and covered it with arugula (or spinach, or a mix of both works). I then topped it off with diced boiled beets (mmmmm), chopped walnuts, and a sherry vinaigrette. It's so delicious and looks so beautiful on a plate. Not very filling, so perfect when doing multiple courses. I served the salad with a glass of Tattinger Brut Champagne de Reims.



I don't know why I switched these but I actually served the salad BEFORE the soup course. Just as a side note. The wine pairing also went better that way. Always better to start with sparkling and move to chardonnary which is a little more round.

Stay tuned for part three from the snowglobe!

Christmas Dinner Course One

So I decided to share my Christmas feast on the blog in multiple parts because....well...it was a feast. There was a hell of a lot to it but its my tradition every year to cook from early am to night Christmas Day and prepare a multi-course menu paired with wine. For so long we would open presents and then just bum around all day, so I love the new tradition of the formal dinner that keeps you busy the entire day-with great reward!



To start off a menu like this, I always like to have a real small snacking course. This year, I wanted to do my own (cheaper) version of a traditional russian toast. My uncle is Russian, and whenever we eat with him we toast over vodka and caviar/creme fraiche blinis. First of all, it's DELICIOUS. Second of all, the Russians are great toast makers. I wanted to incorporate a little bit of this into our foursome family Christmas table, but more affordably. Alongside with a chilled vodka shot (one per person), I served a tray of smoked salmon and smoked mackerel and creme fraiche blinis (the mackerel was so salty and delicious!) and a small plate of cheese. The blinis were meant to be paired with the vodka toast (you take them together after your toast). The cheese that wasn't eaten, I set aside to put with my dessert cheese in the last course.



When I do big dinners like these, with full menus, table settings are extremely important. It requires a little more work on the serving and plating end, but people get so much more in the mood and the whole experience is improved when a nice table is set.



For this setting, I found real cute "The Night Before Christmas" salad plates with red cloth napkins.





I placed a little nutcracker figurine at each setting with appropriate glassware for the entire evening. Red candles and pinecone centerpieces finished it off...was very fun!

Beouf Bourguignon...Beouf Bourgiugnyum

So beouf bourguignon is one of those pure comfort foods that is best the slower its cooked. Minimal effort required too! Just a little bit (or a lot) of preliminary chopping.

This has been a definite staple in my household over winter because it's super easy and made with general fridge staples. Cheap stew beef from the grocery store, carrots, one white onion (large), mixed herbs, mushrooms, garlic, bacon (chopped up into bits), beef stock, and red wine! Pearl onions also make a nice addition if you can get your hands on some.

First, cook the bacon in a sautee pan until done. Remove and put to the side. In the bacon grease, brown the beef thoroughly. When nice and dark on all sides, remove and put to the side. Chop the mushrooms, onions and carrots with some garlic and sautee in the remaining juice in the sautee pan. The veggies soak up all that leftover goodness!



In a slow cooker, throw in the veggies, a bunch of mixed herbs, the beef, bacon, a few cups of beef stock and a generous pour of red wine. Let cook for a few hours on medium heat. Don't forget to add salt and pepper to taste. You can even let it cook overnight, but it's not necessary.




I served mine over a bed of mashed potatoes, but some people include the pototoes in the stew. The sauce is SUPER rich and delicious and exactly the kind of thing you need to warm  your bones.

Elk Minute Steak Salads

I get elk minute steaks from my grandfather once a year when he shoots his tags up at his mountain property in the Rockies. I LOVE game meat, so this is always very exciting to experiment with straight off the mountain elk meat!

Because of the general sweetness of elk, and its tendency to be tough, marinating it is always going to be a good idea. Cherries, cranberries, mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoran....) always make good marinades. I marinated these particular steaks in cherries and cranberries with mixed herbs. You can do this for a few hours or overnight.

I wanted to do a dish as a starter, so elk over salad seemed to be a perfect combo. The minute steaks are so small, so when cooking for four one steak each over a small salad was a perfect appetizer portion!

When cooking the elk, you have to just barely sear either side to prevent overcooking it. You can also bake it for 10-15 minutes to achieve a similar consistency.

I sliced the steaks and put one steak per salad. The salad consisted of mixed spinach and arugula (rocket for my friends across the pond), walnuts, and blackberries. I tossed a small bit of olive oil and balsalmic over the greens, but as I was making a sauce for the elk as well, I didn't want to overdo it.

For the elk sauce, I took a bag of cherries and pitted them (my brother actually pitted them...I bribed him!) and sauteed in a pan to cook down. I did keep a few fresh cherries on the side to serve with the salad. Once cooked, I strained out the leftover skins so that only the simmering juice remained. I added balsalmic vinegar and let it reduce down further, until the consistency was no longer "runny". You don't want it too thick, but not as thin as the juice when it starts so that it "sticks" to the food.



When reduced enough, I spooned just a little on top of the elk (which was on top of the salad) and garnished with a few fresh cherries.

It was delicious! Loved the cherry balsalmic reduction. There's nothing like fresh cherry juice when making sauces like that. It was super rich but there was so little that it still worked for an appetizer.

Next time I think I would add shavings of a strong sheeps milk cheese. I am tempted to sprinkle blue crumbles in the salad, but think that the flavors might compete. Again, I'm trying to get back to basics. \

Until next time, don't forget the pepper!

Soft Shell Crabs

So I decided to take a whack a while back at soft shell crabs and figured I'd share it in a post. I love soft shell crab tacos, but had never actually tried them straight up before. After making this particular dish, I was taught some handy tricks on how to make them better-but regardless it was still delicious as a first attempt.

Soft shell crabs are AWESOME. For those of you who don't know, you eat the WHOLE thing. Say goodbye to cleaning and picking....the shells are so soft that you can slice right through them and eat everything, shell included, with a fork (or your fingers!). I love the crispy texture in contrast to the smooth texture of the meat, but some people can be off put by this. Sometimes this can be overcome by BATTERING the crab instead of breading it, but this also takes away some of the visual fun! Of course, don't knock it til' you try it.

NOTE: You'll notice, if you follow my blog, that I also cook a LOT of asparagus. I love it. My love for it will not suffer at the expense of variety. I'll even deal with the stinky pee for some delicious green stocks of goodness.

On that note, guess what I paired with my soft shell crostacions?! Yep. Seasoned with squeezes of lime and heavily peppered. That stuff is delicious.



I used Emeril's Cajun seasoning for the crabs and you can find that here: http://www.emerils.com/recipe/14/

After cleaning out the inside of the crab (most fishmongers will do it for you if you don't feel like doing it yourself or don't know how...lungs must be removed, etc), roll the crabs in flour and then in the seasoning so they are fully coated. In about 1-2 cm of oil, fry the crabs until red and crispy on either side.

NOTE: What I DID NOT do in this recipe which I will do in every future one is, right before frying the crab, flip open the top lid of the shell and crack an egg into a shell, and then close again. The egg will cook inside the shell and take away any unwanted fishiness that lovely yellow gooey stuff brings to the flavor of the crab. A chef taught me how to do this since I originally made it...So good! Sometimes I like my crabs fishier, but this certainly remedied the times that you aren't feeling it.

I would pair this with a lime based salsa-cilantro, shallot or spring onion, tomato, fresh red chili, (maybe mangos) and copious amounts of lime juice. The tartness matches quite well with the spice and takes away some of the heaviness.

When plating, I loved making the crabs look mildly alive (sick, I know, but fun!) so that they looked like they were crawling over the asparagus :) The capers from the seasoning looked just like little black crab eyes. Fun stuff! Love freaking out the dinner guests!

Until next time!

Some bird...and a Cornish Game Hen

Decided to try a three course dinner for two tonight featuring Cornish Game Hen as the main. I threw together a caprese as the starter to snack on while I cooked, which was delicious, as per usual. That's another no fail.



I sauteed mushrooms with shallots, butter, a mix of fresh herbs (marjoran, thyme, rosemary, and basil), and bread crumbs. When hot and mixed, I used this as a stuffing for the hens, sealing it in with half of a lemon, and then tying in the legs to close the bird.

I stuffed the skin with small amounts of butter and drenched the outside of the bird in lemon juice. I baked at 375 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes covered, and then uncovered to brown for the last 30. I found the breasts ended up a little dry, so would only cook uncovered for 20 minutes the next time (it was plenty cooked at an hour, could certainly go with less). At the 30 minute point I did add more lemon juice to the skin.

While it cooked, I wilted watercress leaves in garlic, half of a white onion, and a tiny bit of olive oil. It takes a while for the leaves to finally wilt, but once they do they do FAST. They do require attention because of this. I placed the relatively bland garlic/salad mixture in the bottom of a serving bowl in two nests (ha! Get it?!)

I reduced white wine then with garlic, spring onions, parsley, salt, pepper, and finally heavy cream. I finally strained it into a saucer for serving over the hen.

When the hens were done, I placed the entire bird over the bed of watercress and poured two spoonfuls of the white wine, cream and parsley sauce over the top (it is SUPER rich, so minimal amounts go a long way).

I topped it off with freshly chopped flat parsley leaves. It was DELICIOUS. The flavors complimented each other, and although the salad was bland, the sauce overflowed into it making a perfect dressing.



The stuffing inside the bird was so earthy and delicious, and created a nice balance to the richness of the cream and the tartness of the citrus.




Bread crumbs are always an absolute necessity in stuffing. Even in more unique stuffing with beans and chorizo (which are delicious!). The bread crumbs hold the whole mixture together and absorb all the extra moisture, even as the meat cooks.

Dying to try a similar recipe with red wine.....maybe a port based brown sauce with a red wine based stuffing. Stay tuned!

Finished off the three courses with the chocolate strawberries from Valentine's Day and a Gorgonzola Dolce (such a perfect combo). Next time might switch it up with dark chocolate strawberries for a more sophisticated pairing, but milk chocolate was the perfect comfort for the end of this particular meal!



And with that full belly, good night!

Tomayto, Tomahto!!!

Fresh tomatoes are the hors d'eouvres of the Gods. They make such a great ingredient before a meal, whether on their own or as an ingredient. I've been craving salted fresh tomato slices all day, so I figured I'd just post it up so that the world knew!

With pictures of course....

Fresh tomato/basil bruschetta!




Berrata with salted sliced tomatoes and proscuitto :)



Caprese variations....






One of the coolest things I've ever eaten was tomatoes salted on a salt block (a la my grandfather). If you leave them on for just under five minutes, they absorb the salt from the block and taste so yummy! Caspian pinks are also just the most delicious ball of pink on the planet.

Tomato mania!

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

So this I like to make during summer, or whenever I need a taste of freshness in the middle of winter. I originally found the recipe from Jamie Oliver's website, and have edited so that ingredients are a little bit easier to find. This is one of those no fail recipes because nothing has to be too finely chopped or too intricately concocted. No matter what it looks like it always tastes good (unless you overcook the fish, but hey, let's not assume anything there)!








One of the most important bits of this is the necessity marinate the salmon. This recipe works better en masse rather than with individual portions so keep that in mind. I marinate the entire half salmon in soy sauce, honey, lemon wheels, and a ton of grated ginger. Overnight or just two/three hours, a few hours as a minimum definitely.


When ready to cook, brush on a little extra honey on the fish. Place on tin foil over the grill or wrap in a tin foil package (heavy duty does the trick) and bake at 350 Fahrenheit until JUST barely cooked through. Salmon is so unfortunate in texture when it is overcooked, and with a big piece you have to be particularly careful because the thick center will generally take a lot longer than the thinner outsides. I have actually cut it up before when the piece is too large to ensure that it is evenly cooked. In the oven the outside of the fish won't go as golden as it will if you cook it on the grill, but regardless the outside will be a more orange-ish rust color in comparison to the white-pink inside.





When it's all finished, slice into portion sizes and lightly fork the top of the salmon so that you can see the difference in color in the presentation. Cover each individual piece in generous helpings of chopped cilantro, thinly sliced red or green chilies, spring onions, and finally a generous squeeze of lime juice (I love lime juice so I always put a little extra). I generally serve it over lemon and pepper seasoned asparagus. I love asparagus, and I try to pair it with as much as possible. The lemon and pepper seasoning adds a freshness that goes quite well with the dish.







Bon appetite!

Crusted Scallops with Sweet Cooked Fruit

So I wanted to try the sweet scallops thing the other day. I love cooked apples and pears, so I decided to attempt a hot fruit salad to pair with the three jumbo scallops I got from the Whole Foods fish counter.

I started by lightly steaming the apples and pears to soften them, and then tossing them in sugar and balsalmic until fully cooked. I think I would prefer them a little crispier next time, but I didn't have the proper tools to slice them as thinly as I would of likes, so compensated with the length of cooking.



I removed the fruit from the pan and then turned the heat on the burner to its highest setting. I seared the scallops on each side MAYBE for a minute and a half, if not a little less than that, keeping a close eye on the whites of the edges to make sure they were not overcooking. The leftover juices from the candied fruit encrusted either side with this sweet crispy layer, in contrast with the rare center.



I plated the scallops in a big pile over a bed of the cooked fruit with light salt and pepper. They were sweet and delicious, without being like dessert. Was a great experiment :)

Everything's better in bacon fat...

So I love the whole idea of bacon wrapped steak....and chicken, and everything at that matter. I generally find that, unfortunately, just wrapping something in bacon though can lead to texture inconsistency and problems matching the cooking speeds. I'm a girl who likes my steak bloody, so I can't wrap a filet mignon in bacon and wait for the bacon to cook resulting in an overdone steak.

Well, I solved this problem! And it's bacond fat. I cooked a few strips of bacon in a saute pan over high heat until crispy, and then removed the bacon and poured out half of the grease. I then took a filet of beef (filet mignon), and seared for a few minutes on each side, until nice and browned. I then placed in a 350 degree oven just for a few minutes until medium rare. When putting it in the oven, I threw in a few pieces of asparagues, to soak up the rest of the bacon fat :)

After removing the filet, I placed the pan back in the oven so that the asparagus could cook just a little longer.

For sauce, I melted an ENTIRE block of bleu d'auvergne (really potent blue cheese) in a sauce pan and whipped with some heavy cream, salt and pepper. I then finely chopped chives for garnishing.



For plate up, I laid the asparagus as the bed, with the filet laying on top. I spooned on a couple spoonfuls of the sauce (but not too much to overpower any beefy flavor) and sprinkled some of the chopped chives. Finally I laid two pieces of the bacon that I originally fried over the top of the steak. I ended up just dipping those in all the leftover bleu d'auvergne sauce, well, because it was delicious.

I would have prefered for the bacon to be straighter, rather than curled, as to create more of a pork teepee on top of the dish, but unfortunately that's more difficult when frying the bacond. It is easier to shape the bacon as desired when baking it, but I guess that's for next time.

I find pan-roasting steak is the easiest way to get filet mignon to the desired temperature. I always prefer steak as rare as possible, so the cooking process only really lasts a few minutes, and you still get all the beautiful char marks on the top and bottom if you sear them in a grooved pan.

I tried this recipe the next week with a shallot-red wine sauce, and it was ALMOST equally as good. In this particular recipe I added red wine, shallots and garlic to the leftover bacon and steak juices in the saute pan. I let it reduce a while and then served it, shallots and all over the steak.



A good option if you have a difficult friend who isn't adventurous enough to try the blue cheese!

Until next time...put some more fat on your fat!

Restaurant Review: The Green Pig

So I had been dying to go to the Green Pig for dinner for ages now. I had been with my best friend for brunch a few weeks back, which was outstanding, and was looking for any excuse to indulge in their dinner menu.

The brunch is limited but perfect. Has something for everyone...sweet, savory, gourmet and atypical. The menu is outstanding and the bloody mary just perfect in every balance of spicy and sweet. I always ask for extra hot peppers in mine, but my mother was pregnant with me in Korea and my hair is red as fire. It's in my blood and I don't judge if other people don't possess the same need for heat.

As an appetizer (for brunch, yes), they served us cooked to order sweet buns. It was stupid good. The buns came out steaming after about 10-15 minutes, smothered in cream cheese frosting that was not too sweet. I nearly died. And then came course two.



An insanely large piece of fried chicken...in between two belgian waffles...smothered in onion chutney...and DROWNING in a hell of a lot of gravy AND maple syrup. There are few words for the level of indulgence this offered both my friend and I.

So, of course, I had to go back for round two.

Finally got my chance this weekend when my best friend from college came down to visit. He and I had a history on indulging on nice food, so we CERTAINLY indulged.

On a Sunday night this place was jammed. We put ourselves on the waitlist then went for some champagne across the road at my sister restaurant (I am a wine bartender by night). We came back thirty minutes later and I already knew EXACTLY what I wanted.

Now the wine list is good, but not outstanding. I ordered an oaked California Chardonnay (the Reatta) which was good, but nothing special. I prefer a good European chardonnay for what I was eating. French and un-oaked would have been ideal. I'm super picky about wine, but don't judge a wine list that I don't have any say in. The only issue I might have is the limited selection. I work at a wine bar, and I like a little more choice by the glass than this particular list offered.

Regardless, the chardonnay was good! We started with a romaine salad in ranch with blue cheese, fresh grapes, bacon bits, fresh sliced radishes and walnuts. Was seriously yummy and quite refreshing.

We then split a squid dish with gnocchi made with the squid ink, so it was JET black. Was outstanding and totally out of the ordinary.

Now I love atypical dishes, so I couldn't resist the bone marrow toast. They served it IN the bone, so you had to dig it out of the center. This was a little off putting to my friend but I LOVED it. Every scraping moment of it. The marrow was super fatty (well it is fat after all) but made a great spread when roasted. They served it with a sweet and tart onion chutney and garlic mixed with parsley. Insanely rich and well paired. One of the highlights of the night.




For our mains, we ordered a rockfish over pork belly, brussel sprouts and butternut squash. It was delicious. No sauce, just well seasoned, perfectly cooked filet of fish (skin on...perfectly crispy). My friend got roast chicken, smothered in a delicious balance of herbs. It was all just so good. So rich though, that I couldn't make it to the end of my dish, and shamefully, had to get a box.



The service left a little something to be desired. The waitress was very nice, but a little absent. They were quite busy, but even coming from the service industry I felt there could have been a little more attention paid.

The ambiance was exceptional for dinner. Low lit, granite tables, some family style seating and some individual. The open kitchen was great, I love seeing the kitchen at work. I would love to go back and sit at the bar. They certainly find a nice balance of modern and classic.

Can't wait to go back, but hope they do switch out the menu seasonally for some more exciting options!

Experiment A La Boredom: Hot and Creamy Bison Crostini

So I needed a distraction last week and ended up in Whole Foods with no idea what I was going to make. Luckily, Whole Foods has a bar. With a glass of chardonnay to get the juices flowing, I found the last two bison flank steaks, and decided to run with that one. I wasn't feeling like anything too heavy, and wanted to try something that would be easily share-able. And thus was born my hot and creamy bison crostini!

While I was cooking I nommed on some fried family bread with a spread of La Tur cheese with a hot peach chutney. So savory and delicious. Heavily peppered of course.




Back to the really good stuff though. I had heard about mixing guacamole and goat cheese, and figured I would give it a go. And holy crap was it worth it. A 40-60 concoction of goat cheese and a mild avocado guacamole was the perfect base for the spicy buffalo and salsa. Whatever your most basic avocado guacamole recipe, with two generous dobs of goats cheese, thoroughly whipped, create this super creamy and mild (almost cheesy) spread that is perfect to help calm even the hottest of spice.

Anyhow so that's how the "build" started. Fried olive bread, and a GENEROUS spread of the goat cheese guac.

Then came the bison. I rubbed a generous amount of ground pepper and salt on both sides of the raw bison flank steaks, and then seared either side briefly over super high heat, then roasted them for about 5-10 minutes in the oven at about 350 degrees farenheit (until medium). I set them aside to cool and then sliced them thinly over the goat cheese guacamole on the toast.

Finally, the final bit (which I think was the best part) was the sweet and suuuuper spicy salsa that was the final layer. I boiled beets and finely diced them. I combined them with minced garlic, chopped cilantro, finely chopped shallots, a few squeezed of lime juice, and one mined habanero. After mixing the salsa, I placed generous spoonfulls on top of the bison.



After a drizzle of reduced balsalmic vinegar, it was ready for eating! As much as the flavors competed, they did find balance in the extreme. It was a super fun dish. But a LOT of effort. But fun. Yes. Just like my redundant use of language.

Presentation is super important to me, as I feel a dish should look just as pretty as it tastes. Garnishing is a huge part of that, and it only takes a little to go a long way. One of my favorite ways of garnishing dishes is takes lime or lemon wheels (when it has been used in the dish) and slice them once into the center. Give them a twist and let them rest (twisted) lengthwise on over meat or veggies and it looks great!

Until next time!