Meringues and Gougères: getting all Frenchy up in here.

I don't bake.

That being said, this entire post is about... you guessed it: Baking!

Because for a minute there I thought I could.

I mean all you have to do is follow a recipe, for goodness sake.

How hard can that be?

But as most people who know their way around a kitchen can tell you, baking and cooking are NOT the same. And cookie exchange 2011 reinforced my previous conviction that I am not,

and probably never will be, a baker.

But I accepted the cookie challenge head on, and even decided that I would try my hand at meringues. Peppermint ones, dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Sounds divine, right?

These were my inspiration, along with the recipe from my new favorite cooking mag: Bon Appetit.

They should have included some sort of warning that meringues are not for the novice baker.

 Mine were sticky and chewy, not puffy and crunchy.

But I handed them out all the same.

I haven't heard much from those ladies since the exchange...I doubt I'll be invited to next year's.

So after that debacle, you'd think I'd have learned that my talents lie elsewhere, and baking should be left to those more qualified.

But nooooooo, I see a post on one of my fave food blogs while waiting for our flight so SF for something called Gougères and decide that I MUST make them for Christmas dinner.

No time for a trial run.

I've never tasted these things before,

I can barely even pronounce them (goo-jair)

They are French, which I interpret as difficult.

And they require that particular skill I lack: the ability to bake.

But I am compelled, I must have these for Christmas dinner!

Basically Gougères are just pate a choux with some extra ingredients.

Have you ever had profiteroles? That's pate a choux.

So I scour the Internet for a simpler version of these delightful puffs of deliciousness.

Success, thank you food network. I found a basic recipe that I changed up with some rosemary and Gruyere.

Minimal ingredients, simple process.

There they are, baking away...

Terrible oven pic



First attempt: success!

These things were easy peasy! And the bang for your buck and wow factor are extremely high.

Light, airy, cheesy, yum.

And the best part? You can make them ahead, pop them in the freezer and have them on hand when needed.

So sadly, there is no peppermint meringue recipe for you today.

Happily I am leaving you with the much better one for Gougères.

The variations are endless!

Gougères

Basic Recipe

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons sugar

6 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, sifted

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup grated Gruyere
1 Tbsp fresh chopped Rosemary (or more/less to taste)

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (I used a convection oven and was not so thrilled, I prefer the regular kind)

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, and butter to a boil, making sure the butter is completely melted. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a solid, smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Take off the heat and empty the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Little by little add the beaten eggs, beating vigorously in between each addition, until the dough forms a smooth, supple mass. Add the grated cheese, chopped fresh rosemary and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper to the pate a choux. With a kitchen spoon, scoop the pate a choux into approximately 25 (1-inch) round mounds, spaced 1 to 2 inches apart on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (If you are making ahead and freezing, here is where you pop the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes, then remove the semi-frozen gougeres from them and pop into a freezer bag to be used later) Brush lightly with the beaten egg and place in the oven. Cook until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes*. Remove from the oven and cool briefly on a baking rack. Serve hot or at room temperature.

*If frozen, add a few minutes onto cooking time.

I am starting to rethink this baking thing again...

Enjoy!

Soba, Tamari and Mirin, oh my...

Let me begin by apologizing for my absence. I know there is no excuse, but between the time change and my work hours shifting, cooking has not even taken a back seat, it has been stuffed in the trunk. But tonight I recommit to being Susie Homemaker and am trying my hand at a Japanese meal just for my Asian cuisine loving husband. At least I think it's Japanese. Most if the recipe items were found in the Asian food aisle and the recipe has "Otsu" in the title and ingredients like shoyu, mirin and soba noodles...

Somebody stop me, please.

I came across this little beauty in my new favorite cookbook Super Natural Every Day, and it looked something like this:

I think it's a bit unfair that not only is Heidi a wonderful and inspired healthy cook, she is also a professional photographer. Add those things up and what you get is a picture of a dish that looks artistic and

delicious. I guarantee my result looks nothing like the above. But I am getting ahead of myself.

While this meal was quite easy to prepare, mine being a Mediterranean household, I did have to shop for many of the ingredients. What the heck is Mirin? Can I just use white sesame seeds instead of black ones? Is there really a difference between Rice Vinegar and BROWN Rice Vinegar?

Since one of my pet peeves is when people switch up 50% of the ingredients in a recipe and then give it a negative review, I figured I better be exact. No misrepresentin' here!

And off to Whole Foods I go.

Sidebar: I love Whole Foods. I know I know, they are overpriced and bourgeois, but I love them all the same. I love their bulk bins, I love their butcher counter, I LOVE their prepped foods case. When I need meat (unmatched quality, at least in SD) or just a few things, WF it is. Plus I figured they were my best bet for Mirin, since heading to the Asian food market was too far out of the way.

Once I had procured my goodies, I headed home to tackle this unfamiliar recipe. It seemed straightforward enough, but when cooking a food I have never tasted before, I am usually at a loss. If I don't know what the flavors are supposed to be like, how do I know if I am on the right track? I figured, this time, I would just follow the recipe to the T and see what happened.

So I toasted my seeds:

Smashed 'em up real good in my mortar, added all the yummy oils and vinegars and came up with this scary but tasty pasty.

It was nutty, smoky, tangy and sweet. A little heat from the cayenne, salt from the tamari, and crunch from the seeds made it very interesting. I was getting excited to see how all this would come together.

The next step was to boil the soba and fry the tofu. I have never fried tofu, to me it takes all the healthy out of it, but since it was the only unhealthy part of this recipe, I figured we could splurge just this once.

Oooooh Boy. Fried tofu is good.

They look like french fries don't they?

So once the soba was cooked, I drained it and tossed everything together, threw together an Asian inspired salad and eagerly anticipated the pleasure that was about to enter my tummy.

Looks pretty good doesn't it?

Well it wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible. But it wasn't as good as all those rave reviews led me to believe. Unless I missed something. Which I did, green onions, Whole Foods was out (???) but I subbed in tons of chives, trying to get a similar flavor. Maybe that was the key ingredient, but I find it hard to believe that green onions would have made enough of a difference to undo everything that I didn't like about this dish. The noodles were yucky (I've never had 100% buckwheat soba, maybe this is how they are supposed to taste), once the sesame paste hit the heat it took on an overpowering nutty flavor, and all the complexity of the raw paste that I loved disappeared and it just tasted like sesame seeds.

I was so sad. But at least I had my salad to enjoy, now that baby was GOOD. The dressing was so delightful I wanted to slurp it up like soup. So instead of leaving you with the disappointing Black Sesame Otsu recipe, instead I will gift you the much easier, much cheaper, much TASTIER recipe for Asian Ginger Dressing.

Enjoy!

Asian Ginger Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey

Directions:

In a 1 pint glass jar or larger, combine the garlic, ginger, olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and water. Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake well. Remove lid, and heat jar in the microwave for 1 minute just to dissolve the honey. Let cool, and shake well before serving. Store covered in the refrigerator.



Linky Time; Take 2!

Today I am taking a slight departure from food so that I may participate in this month's installment of Pintertest Kitchen Linky Party!

 Last month, I called myself a failure, but this month, I have decided to not be so harsh and just go with it.

Between the new 6 a.m. start time at work, bootcamp 5 days a week, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, cooking has taken a back seat.

Sorry Kitchen! I'll return soon, promise.

So for this month's linky party, I "made" this little beauty.

It's a shoe cabinet. And from the moment I saw it on Pinterest, I knew I had to have it.

We don't wear shoes in our house (ironic, because all the while living in my parents house, I railed against this inconvenience). Shoes bring in yucky, gross dirty I don't even want to think what. Have you ever walked around downtown (enter city here) and then walked into your home? You now probably have urine, vomit and other human excrement on your rugs and floors. *Shudder*

Sorry, sidetracked...

So when you enter our front door, we USED to have this little shelf system for you to stack your shoes.

It was kinda gross too. Messy, unsightly, annoying.

Then Pinterest waved this little beauty before my eyes. I immediately called the husband to get purchasing permission (it costs over $100) and he said, "do you really need that?"

Yes, I do.

So I hustled right over to Ikea and got one that day.

You know what he says now? Verbatim: "That really was a great buy." Ah-thank you.

Now I know what you might be tempted to say: "You didn't Make that, you Bought it!" But I beg to differ. It's Ikea. It came in 2 boxes. It contained 376 parts (almost). It took me 2 hours to assemble. It elicited more that a couple cuss words. It required extracurricular assembly with parts NOT included in the box. And all of the instructions were pictures!

So, yes, I made it.

And I Love IT!

Things I wish I knew Before I learned to Cook

Sometimes, trial and error in the kitchen can be fun. That story about the time I ______, hilarious. However there are some things I wish I had known before I started cooking, especially when I was a poor, starving college student, and ruining dinner (and the leftovers it was supposed to yield) meant I would only be eating $.15 ramen for a couple days.

So here are some tips and tricks that have made my life easier, please share yours!

~ First and foremost, The Always's:
Always cook with a glass of wine.

Always salt your pasta water, A Lot.

Always taste your food! While you're cooking, not when it's plated. By then it's too late to fix anything.

~ Recipes (or cookbooks) with cutesy names never have the staying power that the tried and true standbys do. If you want to add a cookbook to your library and you don't already have all 25 of the ones in this slide show, you have no business buying one titled Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self Loathing (this honestly exists).

 ~ Make way more spinach than you think you need. This way you will not find yourself in the position of having one cupcake-sized mound of sauteed garlic spinach for your whole party of four to share.

~ Buy  yourself a pair of kitchen scissors. I know you think those regular scissors in your junk drawer are just fine, but trust me, it's much better to have a pair dedicated to food. You will use them to chop herbs, cut up those chunks of canned tomato, snip the bones of that gorgeous roast chicken, etc...

~ Sometimes it pays to be Type A: When having guests over for dinner, do everything you can in advance. No matter how easy or mindless the task seems to be, no matter how many times your husband (or wife) says, "Why don't we just do that later?" If you disregard my advice and do nothing in advance, at least do this one thing; start your evening off with an empty dishwasher. You will thank yourself later when you've had one too many and the sight of all those dishes kick starts a headache.

~ Add acid. A drizzle of vinegar, a spoonful of tangy buttermilk, a simple squeeze of lemon or lime will always add brightness to an otherwise boring and flat dish. I believe it was Mario Batali who once said: the easiest way to pretend you know what you’re doing in the kitchen is to talk about the “acidity” level of a dish.

~ Learn the correct way to deal with an onion and avocado. Onions are the staple of so many dishes that knowing how to properly dice one is imperative. And who doesn't like a delicious, creamy avocado in their salad?

~ Be flexible, it’s ok to substitute! Don’t let not having a particular ingredient stop you from trying a new dish. You won’t get arrested if you leave out an ingredient or replace it with something that’s not called for. In fact you might create a version you like even better, and that will increase your confidence in the kitchen. And if it doesn't work, you'll have another funny story to tell.

~ When shredding up a block of cheese, put it in the freezer for 5 minutes before hand. This firms up the cheese and makes the task much more manageable. You can do the same thing with a filet if you want some really thin slices for carpaccio, an ice cold steak will slice much nicer than a refrigerated one. HOWEVER…

~ Always bring your remove your meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Meat will never brown properly if you add it to the pan when it’s freezing cold and wet. (And browning properly is where you’re going to get most of your flavor, brown foods taste good.) It should be patted dry and room temperature.

There you go, a couple tips to make life in the kitchen a little easier. I'll add more as I think of them, feel free to post yours in the comments!

Party Foul

Today I was supposed to participate in my first ever Linky Party!

But I can't read. Nor can I follow directions. So I failed.

The idea was to "Bake it or Make it", from something that you Pinned and pined for.

So I had planned to make this little darling: Cabernet Braised Short Ribs with Gorgonzola Polenta.

Because cooking is making right?

Wrong.

Making means crafting this time. And I failed to read that. Because all I did was look at the pretty little banner up there and draw my own misguided conclusions.

So next week I will be better prepared. I have this beautiful stand mixer that really needs to be switched on so maybe, just maybe, I will cross over to the sugary, carb loaded dark side and bake something...

Simply Perfect Breakfast

I am an early riser.

A very early riser.

During the week I get up for work at 5:15 a.m., and while I agree that

breakfast is the most important meal of the day,

I am not going to wake up one minute earlier just so that I can take time to prepare myself a morning menu.

So my consistent go-to breakfast is simple, quick and checks all the boxes for a healthy beginning to my day.

1/2 cup of 2% Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of berries and a tiny drizzle of honey.

Simple

Pure

Delicious

Chili, meet Pumpkin

Chili (chil-i) noun: a spicy stew of meat, red chilis or chili powder, often with beans and tomatoes.
But who knew it could also be made with pumpkin?!
I know, you are probably thinking, gross. But I was curious, so I tried it. And let me tell you, it ain't half bad. In fact it's pretty darn good. And very easy, another of those 1 pot wonders that everyone loves. You will too. Promise.

Fall blew into San Diego today, feistier than usual. She gave everyone the cold shoulder, cried a few tears, exhaled heavy sighs of discontent that rustled the trees and promised more was to come over the next few days.
For me, this was the perfect opportunity to nestle in my kitchen, and whip up something that would bring a bit of cozy to this sulky autumn weather.
Enter Turkey Pumpkin Chili

When I first read this recipe on Pinterest (hello gorgeous new addiction), I must admit I scratched my head and thought, uh uh. Nope. Couldn't work. But for the rest of the day, my mind kept mulling over the idea. 

Pumpkin is low in fat and calories and rich in disease-fighting nutrients such as: Alpha-carotene, Beta-carotene, Fiber, Vitamins C and E, Potassium, Magnesium. We could all benefit from adding more of this fruit to our diets. 

  A chili whose flavors were subtle, warm and comforting instead of punching you in the mouth and searing your tastebuds with violent heat intrigued me. I kept thinking of what I could do to change up the recipe, make it even more outside the box.
I'll add cinnamon! Cardamom! Oh I think I have some all spice leftover from last Christmas... If I was going to make a chili with pumpkin, I was going to make it unlike any chili I had ever had before.
And so I set to work. 

The ingredients in the original recipe were few enough, so I started there. But then as I was cooking, creativity took over and my spice drawer flew open. A shake of this, a pinch of that, I just kept adding until my nose told me to stop.

Allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cardamom and nutmeg crashed the party. I really wanted this to be something different. Everyone played nicely together for about 45 minutes...

Then it was time to eat.

 The flavors were well rounded; there was some heat from the cayenne, but it was tempered by the velvety pumpkin. The cinnamon and nutmeg seemed to get along surprisingly well with the jalapenos. Garlic and onion go with everything in my book. If I have any criticism, it would be that this chili could use a bit more acid, maybe some lime juice to brighten it up, and I would go lighter (or skip altogether) the cayenne powder. It seemed to overpower the other, more delicate flavors.
All in all, this goes in the make again pile. Any recipe with potential deserves a second try, rarely does one hit perfection the first time.
So when autumn comes knocking on your door, and you're feeling adventurous, give this a try.

Pleaser Teaser

The weatherman is reporting that temps are going to drop below 70 and rain might sprinkle down on us this week. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is true because I have 2 recipes I am dying to make that are just waiting for autumn to really set in. So should we get what is promised check back later this week when I tell the tale of Turkey Pumpkin Chili and her little friend Pumpkin Spice Cake.

Quick and Easy weeknight dinner

I hate cleaning the kitchen, which poses a huge problem since I love cooking. And if you've seen me in the kitchen, I have several times been compared to the Swedish Chef on the Muppets who makes a bit of a mess (bork bork bork). So it should come as no surprise that some of my favorite meals are those that require only one pot.

Last night I made this little dandy: Enchilada Casserole.

Presentation wise, it ain't much to write home about.

But as Dave says, you eat with your mouth, not your eyes. And your mouth will love it.

And so will your dishpan hands for only have 2 dishes to clean.

Enchilada Casserole

-1 Package 97% lean ground turkey (about 20 oz)

-1 large yellow onion, chopped

-1 can sliced olives

-2 fresh jalapenos, diced or 1 can store bought diced green chiles.

-1 28oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (sometimes called Red Chile Sauce) choose your heat level

-1 19oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce

-1 package whole grain tortillas, cut into 1-2" pieces

-1 package corn tortillas cut in 1-2" pieces

-3 cups shredded cheese (I like to use 2 cups sharp cheddar and 1 cup pepperjack)

-1 package taco seasoning or make your own with cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

Optional Ingredients:

Cilantro

Greek yogurt or sour cream

Avocado

Green onion

Preheat oven to 350

In large pot on stovetop brown turkey meat. Remove once brown and add onion and 1 TBSP olive oil. Saute onion until soft. Add meat back in. Mix in taco seasoning until onions and turkey are coated. Add olives and jalapenos. Stir. Pour in both cans enchilada sauce plus 1 cup water. Bring to boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tortillas.* Now get your large casserole dish (I use 10x15) and ladle half of the tortilla mixture into it, spread evenly across the bottom. Sprinkle half of your cheese across then ladle the rest of the tortilla mixture in and top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered until sides start to bubble. Remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes to set. Serve and top with optional items above along with a salad. Makes 8-10 servings

*I don't usually use all the tortillas, I find that it makes the casserole too dry. I use about 8-9 of the whole grain ones and about 15-18 corn. You have to make the call, you want the mixture to be the consistency of thick stew, but not so your fork stands up in it. It will lose more moisture as it cooks in the oven.

Simple Soup, Step by Step (Oooh Baby)

I feel it. Do you? The change in the air? Autumn is coming, and with it, cold nights. For me, cold nights mean soup for dinner. I love soup. It's simple, healthy and delicious. I may have jumped the gun a bit (it only just dropped below 70 degrees) but I miss soup, so tonight's dinner was one of my favorites; Curried Zucchini. I got to break out my old friend Mr. Le Creuset Knockoff, and fill our home with savory smells of chilly nights to come.

Because prep time for this dish takes maybe 20 minutes, it makes it a great weeknight go to dinner. The only real work is chopping the onion, garlic and dicing the zucchini. If you have frozen stock (either your own or a really high quality one you've purchased) this is the place to use it. With so few ingredients, using high quality stock will make a huge difference. But should you not have access to that, I have used Trader Joe's reduced sodium organic chicken broth in a pinch and it works just fine. If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, simply sub vegetable stock instead. 

Mise en place: I used a shallot as well because I happened to have it

To begin

Add some oil to your pot (I prefer coconut oil because it likes high temps, but olive oil works too.) Turn heat to med-hi.

As oil is heating, chop your onion. Add to pot and stir to coat. 

As onions are cooking, chop one clove garlic (and a small shallot if you prefer). Once onions have softened, reduce heat to med (you don't want to burn the garlic, yucky) and add garlic, stir. 

Now dice your squash. I quarter mine then slice in 1 inch pieces. 

Add to pot and increase heat back to Med-Hi. Add salt, pretty liberally, zucchini is a high water content veg and you really want to draw that liquid out. I apologize for not measuring, I just eyeball it. Better to go light, you can always adjust your seasonings later if need be.

Stir.

Saute the zucchini for about 5 minutes to soften it, once it starts to loosen up, add in about 1 1/2 TBS curry powder, and again...stir.

This is when your house begins to smell divine. For that reason alone, I love making this soup. After the veg are all nice and coated in curry, pour in your stock, enough to cover just the top of the zucchini. 32 ounces should do it.

Here is where I encourage you to break away from the recipe. Dave likes things spicy, so I add in a few shakes of chili flakes and some cracked black pepper. Feel free to try your own version.

Now crank that baby up to high, slap a lid on that pot, BTB (bring to boil), RTS (reduce to simmer) and relax for about 25 minutes. 

Once the zucchini get to the point of such softness that they look ready to fall apart, and you look into your pot and think "Man that's one ugly soup", it's time to puree.

There are 2 ways to do this, the easy way and the hard way. The easy way is with this

 This is an immersion blender, one of my most favorite kitchen gadgets.

The hard way really isn't that hard, just use a regular blender, Carefully. Hot liquid and blending can be dangerous. Do it in batches and keep the lid on tight.

Once you have pureed your soup, taste it. 

Does it need more salt? More pepper? More heat? You could add some cream for richness, butter for a satiny finish. Keep it healthy and try Greek yogurt. The options are only as limited as your imagination. I like to finish mine with a little smoked paprika for color.

Finally it is time to enjoy.

Curried Zucchini Soup (basic recipe Ingredients)

2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder

sea salt to taste

4 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices

32 ounces chicken stock

In case you weren't aware...

A friend of mine recently posted in her blog this little nugget of info that I assumed everyone knew. Apparently they don't and I should learn never to assume.
So for those new to the blogging world, when you see those green words in my posts, it means there is a link.
You can click on them and they will transport you to other cyber worlds.

And just in case you missed it, read this (shameless self promotion).

Cheers!

Pensare Globale, Mangiare Locale!

Last night, Dave said something that perfectly summed up how I was feeling:

"Now I understand the allure of a vomitorium."

While Dave had misunderstood the meaning of the word, his intentions were clear; this food is so freaking good, and I want to continue to eat every delicious morsel until my plate is licked clean,

but I am Stuffed!

We continued to eat anyways. Food that amazing can not be wasted.

Last night I took Dave to dinner at a restaurant that I have been hearing tremendous things about.

A restaurant with over 1100 reviews, and none of them under 4.5 stars.

A restaurant that has been heralded as putting San Diego on the culinary map.

Needless to say, I had high expectations, and a concern that I would be met with slight disappointment.

Can anything live up to this kind of hype?



Cucina Urbana: can I just say how much I love the decor?!

 OK, before I get into the food, let me discuss how they do wine. And how I now believe any smart restaurant should do wine. CU is also a wine retail shop, and a pretty decent one at that.

When you dine there, and inevitably want some vino with your meal, you purchase a bottle at their retail price and then simply pay a $7 cork fee. What this means is, no ridiculous restaurant mark-up!  

We were able to enjoy a very nice bottle of Santi 'Solane' Valpolicella Ripasso for a whopping grand total of $27. And it was good. Really good. For those of you that dine out often, you know that a mediocre wine usually runs around $35 on a restaurant menu.

These CU peeps really know how to do things right.

Now on to the food!

We partook in the Prix Fixe menu they were offering. Usually, Dave is not a fan of the prix fixe, he feels that they are too limiting. And they usually are, offering only a couple of choices for each course. But at CU, there will be none of that. Each course had a several options to choose from, 6 for the secondi piatti alone.

What I like best about this type of dining is that instead of trying a couple plates, I got to sample six, Dave's 3 choices plus mine.

We began our tantalizing taste bud tour with a Farmer's Chopped Salad (Dave) and some Sage and Brown Butter Ricotta Gnudi (mine). The salad was quite pleasant; loads of flavors, crisp vegetables, hearty meats all dressed in a nice light roasted garlic vinaigrette. As salads go, it was delightful.

But the star of the starter course had to be the Gnudi. 

I always forget to take the picture in my excitement to eat the food.

I know it doesn't look like much but let me tell you, these little pillows of perfection were heaven in my mouth. The ricotta was so soft and light, with a perfectly crisped exterior giving way to the creamy center, all doused in warm herby brown butter and topped with crispy fried sage leaves and a sprinkling of parmigiano.

That could have been the entire meal and I would have been a happy girl.

But alas, there was so much more wonderfulness to come.

As we relaxed in between courses, I took some time to notice an equally important component that

contributes to a pleasant dining experience: The wait staff.

While I can't speak for the entire entourage, I can say that our server was attentive, friendly and inconspicuous. This last one is important. I believe that a good server is one who can sweep in and out of service without interrupting the conversation of the table. If you can sneak in to refill my dwindling wine glass without me noticing, that is impressive. Our wine glasses were always full, our water never less than half, and when I had questions about menu items, he was there with a true opinion, not just lip service. We were never rushed, the time between plates was leisurely without being too drawn out, and when dinner was finished, they did not present the check immediately to get us out and another table in. Bravo!

Back to dinner...

For our main courses, the decision was tough. Everything sounded incredible.  I chose the roasted 'jidori' chicken with fontina polenta, asparagus, swiss chard, pistachio pesto and a poached hen egg. Dave chose the short rib pappardelle with crimini mushrooms. Both were perfection.

The pappardelle was soft yet firm, and those generous pieces of short rib meat were sinfully flavorful. It was like a rich, hearty stew with pasta. The perfect fall dish to warm your insides and fill you with happiness.

My roasted chicken made me want to cry. Why can't I ever make a roast chicken that moist and tender? The skin was crackly crisp like a potato chip, and the meat cried little tears of juiciness as I sliced it. Under the chicken breast was an array of some of the most wonderful accompaniments I have ever eaten. A polenta so creamy I wanted to use it as lotion. Smoky swiss chard that tasted like it had been kissed by fire. And a perfectly poached egg that looked like a ball of fresh mozzarella, but when i cut into it, oozed a rich golden liquid across the plate that blended with the pistachio pesto to make a sauce that approached the divine.

It was quite possibly one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life.

And I've eaten a lot.

Molto bene Cucina Urbana.

If you have ever dined with me when I am truly enjoying something, you have inevitably heard the audible moans I am unable to suppress. It is totally subconscious, I don't even hear myself until it is pointed out to me. But last night, even I was aware of my noisiness. Every bite was followed by sound. I heard it, I tried to stop, but I was absolutely unable to. The food was that delicious. It actually evoked moans of pleasure.
Every.
Single.
Bite.

As if all this gluttony wasn't enough, we still had dessert to get through. And I say get through, because at this point, I was so tremendously stuffed that I was considering removing my cardigan to place over my belly just so that I could undo the buttons of my pants. But I pushed on and persevered.

Dessert was a confectioner's delight of crisps and cremes. We chose the Granny Smith Apple and Quince Crisp and the Bittersweet Chocolate Bundino (think Pots de Crème). I do not feel that I can properly pay homage to these desserts, as I was so tremendously full that I could not truly immerse myself in them. What I can say, is that they were beyond yummy. The crisp was tart and sweet and cinnamony with a crunchy crumbly top that offered wonderful texture and was softened by a spiced ice cream that melted over the top. The bundino was rich and decadent, and enveloped every corner of my mouth with its chocolaty velvet.

2 spoonfuls of each and I was done. I had reached my limit.

Just in case you missed the point, I absolutely recommend Cucina Urbana. If you live in San Diego, pass through at any point, or are planning a visit in the future, you should make it a point to visit this amazing restaurant.

Keep in mind, all of this deliciousness wasn't even their complete menu, which you can drool over here.

As we were leaving, and feeling of melancholy began to set in with the realization that I may never eat this well again, I remembered that in just a few weeks, my parents are coming to visit. Having learned my appreciation of great food from them, I already knew where we would be dining while they are in town and happiness returned.

Ti amo, Cucina Urbana.

7 Day Vegan Challenge

On Oct 1, Dave and I will be attempting an entirely new dietary challenge. It is called a "plant based diet", similar to a vegan diet where you remove all animal products, but you also remove all processed foods as well. After watching Forks Over Knives, I thought it would be interesting to try this out for 7 days. I can do pretty much anything for one week can't I?

 I quickly found a helpful website called Meatout with an entire weeks worth of recipes designed to simplify the process for newbs; 7 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas ready to go. For breakfast there are tasty treats like Banana Oat Waffles or Apple Harvest Oatmeal. Lunch features delectables such as Thai Vegetable Curry and a Pesto White Bean Bowl. Dinner makes me drool with creations of Asparagus Tarts and Stuffed Acorn Squash.  They have done a great job of providing creative, tasty options to keep a novice vegan from getting bored.



Pesto White Bean Bowl

If you would like to join us in our 7 Day Challenge, feel free to offer your comments about your experience!

The fun begins October 1st!

Dinner: Power Outage Style

Southern Ca and parts of Mexico suffered one heck of a power outage last night. Some Zoni did something bad and caused 1.5 million people to lose their electricity (and 742,805 to lose their minds). The ever resourful Gores were ready though, and we whipped up this amazing meal in no time, saving ourselves and a couple of friends from starvation. Sadly this meal was supposed to be what I was going to serve at my dinner party tonight, but desperate time call for delicious measures.

If you have a grill, make this. I have never had such a delectible (and EASY) pork loin. Just head to your closest Trader Joe's and grab one of their Peppercorn and Garlic Pork Loins (or more, seriously 4 of us chowed through 2, it was so good!). Then preheat your grill, toss it on, wait a bit and enjoy. I wish I could tell you how long to cook it, but you'll have to use the finger test or a meat thermometer to judge.

I always use the finger test, partly because the last thing I need is another dish to wash, and parlty beacuse it works best for me.

Ours was perfect, if I do say so myself. Moist, flavorful, lean. Amazing!

I paired this with the delicious Fennel and Arrugula salad I featured here. I intended to also pair it with this yumyum french potato salad, but no stove means no water to boil potatoes. You should try it though. It goes perfectly with the pork.

I think I just drooled on my keyboard.

This recipe is absolutely NOT ALLOWED. If my weight loss couselor even knew I was just thinking about making it, she would kill me. But my in-laws are coming to town for 5 days, and this quick easy dinner might have to be made. For them, of course. The can't eat out every night... And I would pair it with a salad, to make it healthier. This is so going to happen.


Pasta with Peas, Bacon and Ricotta
10-oz. package of frozen peas
1/2 pound bacon, as lean as possible
salt
3-4 tablespoons fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra for the table
fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound pasta (I like orecchiette, penne rigate or cavatappi, but really this combination goes with any shape.)
1. Fry the bacon until crisp, then tear it up and set aside. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan.
2. Put the frozen peas in the pan with the bacon fat (no need to thaw first, though you can). Cook at medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes (slightly less if thawed), stirring to thaw and coat the peas thoroughly.
3. Put the ricotta in the bowl the pasta will be tossed in, and break it up with a fork if necessary. Add the butter.
4. Cook the pasta in salted water, drain, and place in the bowl, tossing it immediately with the ricotta and the butter. Add the shredded bacon back to the pan with the peas, rapidly warm it all up, and pour the entire contents of the pan onto the pasta. Toss thoroughly, add the grated Parmesan and 2 or 3 grindings of pepper, toss once or twice again, and serve.

I need another cookbook like I need a hole in the head

When I started this blog, I was truly excited by the thought that I now had a place to come and share with everyone whatever had excited me about food that day. Sadly, I have not lived up to my end of the bargain! Life gets busy, I get distracted, my computer takes a dump... excuses, excuses. I currently have 3 unfinished blogs just sitting in literary limbo, waiting to be shared.

1) Wine tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Lovely!
2) Dinner at Flea St Cafe: Amazingly Scrumptious.
3) Cauliflower Fried Rice: Much better than it sounds, I promise.

And share I will, soon. Cox Cable just figured out we'd been getting free tv and put a stop to that pronto, so I really don't have much to do anymore.

But for the time being, this will have to suffice. What I am most excited about today is the discovery of the blog 101 Cookbooks, and a book from the blogs author titled (big breath) Super Natural Cooking: 5 Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods Into Your Cooking. whew!

Just from this excerpt on Amazon I knew I must have it: "There's definitely room for improvement in the average American pantry- the flour is all purpose, the sugar is white, and just about everything else is some combination of chemical-laden, highly refined and nutritionally barren."
Wow.
I mean, Wow. Right on!

So I ordered her book, and the companion that goes with it: Super Natural Everyday that featured this Ah-mayzing recipe for shaved fennel salad. Make this. Fennel is in season right now so you really should take advantage. You won't be sorry.

Shaved Fennel Salad

Mandolin preferred, but if you're using a knife to prep here, do your best to slice things very, very thinly - not quite see through thin, but close

1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and shaved paper-thin
2/3 cup / .5oz/ 15g loosely chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup / 80ml fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
1/3 cup / 80ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
fine grain sea salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls arugula
Honey, if needed
1/2 cup / 2 oz/ 60g pine nuts, toasted (I used almonds)
1/3 cup / 2 oz / 60g / feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the zucchini, fennel and dill in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside and marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
When you are ready to serve the salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. Scoop all of the zucchini and fennel onto the arugula, and pour most of the lemon juice dressing on top of that. Toss gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust with more of the dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt if needed. If the lemons were particularly tart, you may need to counter the pucker-factor by adding a tiny drizzle of honey into the salad at this point. Let your taste buds guide you. Serve topped with pine nuts and feta.
Serves 4 to 6.

Prep time: 10 min

A Real Meal, A Real Mistake

For the last few weeks, I have been following a strict diet regimen in a serious effort to lose the 10-15 pounds that crept up on me during this first blissful year of marriage. When I'm happy, I eat, what can I say? Aside from my closest friends and family members, I have kept word of the dieting on the dl, as to avoid the inevitable "you look fine, you don't need that" placations and hints of disapproval.

I had my 3rd weigh in yesterday, and in what I full well know was an effort in self-sabotage, I had already decided walking into the office, that if the scale had gone down at all this last week I was going to treat myself to a real meal for dinner.

Let me point out that I absolutely expected to see the scale sadly shake it's digital head at me and reflect not even an ounce of weight loss. Truth be told, I'd cheated a bit this past weekend (I love/need wine, which after extensive research I discovered is actually VERY low in carbohydrates, thanyouverymuch). So in reality, I was not really expecting to be able to indulge in anything "off plan". But much to my shock, surprise and disbelief, I had lost another 2 lbs. It seems that wine loves me too!

Immediately after closing the door to what I refer to as the place of stress and trepidation, I texted my partner in crime that we were ON! And what was the meal of choice after 3 weeks of carefully constructed, calorie restricted dieting?

Yes, that's right, I don't just fall off the wagon, I jump. Oh but that's not all, I mean what's a burger without fries right? But even better than fries are these:

Not just any ole tots, Garlic Tots!

And when Bergie says garlic, Bergie means garlic. There must have been at least 3 raw cloves smeared on those tots. So much garlic, I couldn't even watch True Blood last night.

And so I ate. And ate. And about halfway through I pushed my plate away with something akin to a grunt, mumbling I was stuffed.  Then 42 seconds later I changed my mind and ate some more. I managed to polish off the burger, but even I, garlic lover galore, could not manage to eat more than a couple handfuls of those vampire smiting tots.

Why do I do this to myself?

Did the food taste good? No doubt.

Did I enjoy my off plan meal? Hell to the yeah.

Did I enjoy the way I felt for the remainder of the evening? No.

Do I enjoy waking up still stuffed and mildly nauseous? Gag, no.

Will I ever learn? I am still holding out hope that one day I will.

Lesson learned from events on Tuesday 8/16/11: Figure out that thing called moderation, or all this dieting work that I spent so much time and money on will all have been for naught.

But for those of you who have already mastered it, check out Bergie's Burgers in Old Town, so delicious, you'll go off your diet for it!

More Cheese, Please!

I live 5 blocks from here:

You may be thinking, "So, what's the big deal?" And if you are, then you obviously don't love cheese.

Well, I do.

Love cheese. A lot.

And living 5 blocks from an artisanal cheese shop makes my love affair a dangerous thing.

If you've been lucky enough to attend one of my entertaining evenings, you know that my favorite thing to make is a cheese board. Not so much because I know my guests will like it, more so because it gives me an excuse to go to this little devil shop and taste test several of their cheeses.

It's like Saturday at Costco, only 10x better.

Because they have cheese.

And they don't have 7032 people banging carts into you.

My current favorites: Vlaskaas, Port Salut, Fromager d'affinois

My Trip to Chino Farms

Below is the glorious bounty at the roadside farmstand. Chino Farms is the preferred farm of such chefs as Alice Waters, Wolfgang Puck and Martin Woesle. I was lucky enough to pick up some fixins for Monday night dinner this weekend. Here is just a bit of what they had to offer.

 Gorgeous rainbow chard, sauteed with a touch of olive oil and garlic: buonissimo!



Radishes, carrots and turnips, oh my!

Lima beans (got some!), adorable baby brussels, huge shallots, fresh figs and berries

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes

Fresh rosemary and delicate squash blossoms ready to stuff!

Tonight I will be making stuffed poblano peppers and a tomato radish salad using my purchases from this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out!