LadyConcierge

2009 Books

2011-11-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hey! Want to know all the books I read in 2009? Here ya go!

January
Lisey's Story - Stephen King
The Mist - Stephen King
Nights in Rodanthe - Nicholas Sparks
The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon
The Coma - Alex Garland
The South Beach Diet - Dr. Arthur Agatston
Brisingr - Christopher Paolini

February
Just After Sunset - Stephen King
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz
The Host - Stephenie Meyer*
You Suck: A Love Story - Christopher Moore
Divine Justince - David Baldacci
The Boleyn Inheritance - Philippa Gregory*
Odd Hours - Dean Koontz
Storm of the Century - Stephen King*

March
A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore
A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenberg*
The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King*
The Husband - Dean Koontz
Sleeping with the Devil - Vanessa Marlow
Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon

April
Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove - Christopher Moore
Skinny Legs and All - Tom Robbins

May
Along Came a Spider - James Patterson
The Virgin's Lover - Philippa Gregory
The Constant Princess - Philippa Gregory
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

June
The Queen's Fool - Philippa Gregory
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

July

Fluke - Chrisopher Moore
Blackwood Farm - Anne Rice
Harry Potter & the half-blood prince
Harry Potter & the deathly hallows
eleven on top - janet evanovich

August

Full Speed - janet evanovich
The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory
The Island of the Sequined Love Nun - Christopher Moore

Sept

The Prometheus Deception - Robert Ludlum
Remember Me
Second Child - John Saul

Oct

Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris
The Magic Kingdom of Landover - Terry Brooks
The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
The Black Unicorn - Terry Brooks
Wizard at Large - Terry Brooks
Club Dead - Charlaine Harris

Predator - Patricia Cornwell

Nov

Book of the Dead - Patricia Cornwell
A Kiss of Shadows - Laurell K Hamilton

Black Rose - Nora Roberts

A Caress of Twilight - Laurell K Hamilton

Seduced By Moonlight - Laurell K hamilton

A Stroke of Midnight - Laurell K Hamilton
A Kiss of Shadows - Laurell K Hamilton
A Lick of Frost - Laurell K Hamilton
Mistral's Kiss - Laurell K Hamilton

December
Swallowing Darkness - Laurell K hamilton
Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K Hamilton
Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris
My Soul to Lose - Rachel Vincent
Irresistible Forces - Brenda Jackson
Hide in Plain Sight - Marta Perry
Double Cross - James Patterson

* The starred books are the ones I consider favorite books read of all time.

Some of these books had been read before. I love to re-read good books.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

2011-02-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is the recipe I've been so excited about the last week. This is the Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, adapted from a New York Times recipe.

I got the idea from a salad I've eaten on the Portland Spirit.

Normally, I would use fresh tomatoes, but I subbed quality canned tomatoes due to the season. I can't wait to try this in the summer. For this version, I used frozen artichoke hearts, WHICH I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND AGAIN. Use marinated artichoke hearts or ones stored in water. The frozen ones have no flavor if they are not cooked. Also, contrary to the picture below, I only used one jar of kalamata olives, but 2 cans of tomatoes. Keep this in mind, although it can be a preference rather than a recipe requirement.

I forgot to take a pic of the cucumber, so here it is.

The dressing is only lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Use the proportions you prefer. Usually recipes call for 2:1 oil vs. acid, but I like a 1:1 ratio instead. Make a dressing you like.

A pic of the final dish. Not too colorful, but so tasty. Full of protein and veggies, it's an easy side or dinner entree.

Recipe:

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad: adapted from The New York Times

2 cans chickpeas
8 oz artichoke hearts
1/2 red onion, chopped,
1 jar kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves (optional, mine were from the olive bar and tasted of anise)
3/4 cup feta
2 - 15 oz cans good quality chopped tomatoes, or 2-3 summer tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped herbs ( I used parsley and basil, but tarragon, chives or any other fresh herbs may be added to your taste)

Dressing

juice of one lemon
2-3 T good olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste.

A Recipe to Come

2011-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

I had given up blogging for the past year or so, since I moved away from Portland, into the boonies they call McMinnville. There are few good restaurants here, and, considering my new job, even fewer opportunities to try new recipes at home. However, we seem to have developed a routine where I have some time to cook and some time to write, so I hope to revisit the blog.

The recipe to come is my inspiration to continue blogging. It's a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, and it's all I want to eat this week.

I hope to make it again in the next few days and take some pictures to post.

The idea came from a salad I had on the Portland Spirit, which usually has terrible food, but redeems itself with this salad.

See you soon!

Lisa

"Fix"ing Dinner

2010-06-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

Who says "fix" dinner. Like, "I am going to fix dinner". Is it broken? Why are you going to fix it? You make dinner, or you prepare dinner. Duh.

La Rambla

2010-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Long time no see! I have moved to the town of McMinnville, Oregon. I am no longer working as a concierge. Instead I am co-managing a small pizza shop with my husband Brian. It's a big change, but a good one so far.

Here in the midst of wine country, there are a handful of quality restaurants using the fresh, local meats and produce this area is known for. So far we have tried Cuvee, Thistle and La Rambla. Didn't have my camera at the first two, but here are some shots of our lunch at La Rambla. It's a Spanish tapas place.

First up was this partially-devoured chef's choice meat and cheese plate ($12). It came with housemade chorizo, serrano ham, a hard cheese, a bleu cheese and some candied walnuts. We had this with some good bread and olive oil.

Next up was the manila clams with chorizo, sherry, garlic and herbs ($7). I could eat these all day. We used the clam shells to scoop up the rest of the juice left over in the bowl.

These were one of the best things we ate here: Piquillo Peppers stuffed with northwest crab, goat cheese, harissa ($12). Tons of crab spiked with the spicy harissa wrapped in a roasted pepper. Mmm, mmm, good.

The Willamette Valley mushrooms with garlic and white wine ($7) were nothing special. Needed more salt and more garlic or lemon or something. Also they were white or crimini mushrooms. We were hoping for something more wild.

Fried green beans ($6) with aioli. Scrumptious. A tempura-like batter.

Spice-rubbed Tri-tip with romesco and marinated onion. These were good, especially with the pickled onion. I loved the romesco with the smoky steak.

Our last dish was the chorizo empanadas with a roasted red pepper cream sauce ($8). I was really too full to enjoy this. The flavor was bold and a little too salty.

I thought I'd show the pics of the room. I really liked the lamps and the paintings. And the signboard outside.

Overall we liked our meal at La Rambla. They have a bunch more tapas and even a burger I'd like to try.

La Rambla

238 NE Third Street

McMinnville, Oregon

503.435.2126

Mmmm, Carnitas

2009-12-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Baby, it's cold outside...actually, today it is 31*F, much warmer than the 14*F of a few days ago. Still, the crispy weather just begs for something hot and slow-cooked in a flavorful braise.

A few weeks ago we picked up a whole pork shoulder for about 11 bucks. I had a thought of making pulled pork, but decided on carnitas. Both are slow-cooked pork, but I associate pulled pork with barbecue and carnitas is definitely mexican. Anything that can be folded into a tortilla has my vote.

I scanned some recipes online and eliminated any that called for orange juice. I have a dislike of fruit or citrus with flesh. I spotted one from David Lebovitz that looked good and easy to adapt to the crockpot.

It was my first pork butt. Why is it called pork butt if it is from the shoulder? I don't know, but it's fun to say "pork butt". Let me tell you, pork butts are huge. I decided to just work with half of it at a time, since I wanted to use my crockpot.

Carnitas, adapted from David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris

4-5-pounds boneless pork shoulder (pork butt!), cut into 5-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons canola or neutral vegetable oil
water
1 cinnamon stick (omitted)
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (omitted)
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly-sliced

1. Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate for 1- to 3-days. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat in the next step.)

2. Heat the oil in a roasting pan set on the stovetop. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around. If your cooking vessel is too small to cook them in a single-layer, cook them in two batches.

3. Once all the pork is browned, remove them from the pot and blot away any excess fat with a paper towel, then pour in about a cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits. I poured this liquid into the crockpot with the pork.

4. Heat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees. If you are using oven instead of crockpot.

5. Add the pork back to the pan and add enough water so the pork pieces are 2/3rd's submerged in liquid. Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powders, bay leaves, cumin and garlic. I added the juice of one lime, too.

7. Braise in the oven uncovered for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking, until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter. OR - cook in your crockpot on low for 8 hours. The liquid won't evaporate, but I just pulled out the pork with a slotted spoon and transferred it to a sheet pan.

8. Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches (7 cm), discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish.

9. Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. It will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how crackly you want them. I browned my carnitas for 20 minutes in a 375* oven.

These were delish. We had some in tortillas the first night, and then I had the idea to try to recreate a carnitas bowl from Chipotle.

I started with the cilantro-lime rice. I browed one cup rice in a tablespoon of oil for 10 minutes, or until it smelled nutty, almost like popcorn. Then I added chicken stock and cooked covered for about 20 minutes.

I juiced some (way too many) limes and added the juice to the rice. Next was chopped cilantro.

In a bowl, I layered rice, carnitas, lettuce, tomato, salsa and sour cream. The only thing missing was the black beans.

Brian's Clam Chowder

2009-11-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my honeymoon in Cancun and have lots of pictures. I'll get to that a little later. I don't know if you know this, but I Love Clam Chowder. I have since I was little. Not the red Manhattan style, but the creamy, buttery-rich New England kind. As far as I'm concerned it's the only kind.

I've sampled my share. Here in Oregon, most restaurants serve a version on Fridays. Mo's on the beach is often touted as the best chowder out there, but no way, Jose. It uses frozen potatoes. You can buy it as a mix. Disqualified. My favorite in Portland is at Salty's on the Columbia. It is thick and clam-by and buttery. I like it with oyster crackers.

The one that blows them all away is my husband's recipe. He used to be a professional cook, so it's probably a conglomoration of recipes he's used in different workplaces.

He made it for me last weekend. I paid attention and took lots of notes. However, like many soups, it is different every time, depending on time and what ingredients. The last time we used fresh clams; this time it was canned. We use tarragon, but you don't have to. Lemon juice will suffice when champagne vinegar isn't available. Etc.

One thing I learned from Mo's is that a pat of butter melting atop a steamy bowl of clam chowder is a must. Try it.

Brian's Clam Chowder (makes about 4-5 quarts)

3 yellow onions, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
7 stalks celery, chopped fine
2 shallots, sliced
1 head garlic, cloves sliced thin
6-8 oz bacon, diced
1 lb fingerling potatoes, in one inch chunks
1 cup vegetable stock
4 cans chopped clams (6.5 oz cans)
1 bottle clam nectar (8 fl. oz bottle)
10 oz. can whole clams
2 bunches green onions
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons dried thyme
4 bay leaves
fresh tarragon
1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley
freshly ground pepper
pinch celery seed
pinch salt
juice from one lemon (or 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar)

In a large soup pot, head 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add bacon and saute until fat is rendered. Drain fat and transfer bacon into another bowl and set aside.

Deglaze pot with stock and reduce a few minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter, then shallots and garlic.

Saute briefly, 1-2 minutes. Add another tablespoon of butter, then onions and celery.

Saute over very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

After 30 minutes, add potatoes and stir. Add the chopped green onions.

Drain clams, reserving juice. Add clams to soup.

Add bacon back to the pot, along with cream, milk, clam nectar from cans & bottle, bay leaves and thyme. Stir well and cook over low heat.

Meanwhile, chop fresh tarragon.

Add tarragon, parsley, fresh ground pepper, celery seed, salt and lemon juice. Stir and heat for about 30 minutes. Stir often so a skin doesn't form.

Serve with celery leaves, crispy bacon and/or green onions as a garnish. Eat!

Mmm, look at that. All that is missing is a nice chunk of butter.

Thanks, honey!

*note: you may notice the pictures show two soup pots. That's because we made this batch in two pots, adding half the ingredients to each pot. Maybe it's time to get a great big stockpot.

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This is my 100th Post! Whoo hoo!

October

2009-10-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Best Dishes or Meals of the month so far:

Bechamel - topped lasagna (my own kitchen)
Duck - the London Grill
Seafood Dinner - Taste of Jakarta (my first Indonesian food!!!)
Cabbage Chicken Salad - Bambuza
Bun Bo Hue - Chino Saigon

Best Birthday Gift:

iPhone - my favorite app is Kindle for iPhone. I've already read 3 books on my phone and am halfway through the 4th.

What should I post about next? I may need to bake something...

Rockaway Beach Wedding 9/19/09

2009-10-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hiatus

2009-07-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am officially giving myself a break for the next 2 months while I finish planning the wedding and actually get myself married off. I may post now and then, but don't look for me back until October.

Wish me luck!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

2009-07-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Asparagus, the harbinger of spring. It's a little past spring now as summer is just getting started in the Rose City, but asparagus still has a strong showing at the local markets. Asparagus is one of Brian and I's favorite vegetables and we are always looking for new ways to prepare it.

Earlier this year, when we were planning the menu for my dad's dinner, I wanted to make some kind of soup. We thought about a shrimp or lobster bisque first, but a lot of our menu was already so rich that we wanted something clean and fresh for the soup.

After browsing the various food recipe sites, I came across this recipe from Emeril. It looked simple and refreshing. I especially liked the idea of simmering the woody ends of the asparagus stalks (the part you don't eat) in the chicken stock, infusing it with asparagus flavor.

Creamy Asparagus Soup courtesy of Emeril via the Food Network

3 pounds fresh asparagus, rinsed
8 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced shallots
1 cup minced leeks, whites only, well rinsed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, garnish

Trim the attractive top tips from the asparagus, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in length. Cut the woody stem ends from each spear and reserve. Cut the remaining tender stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.

In a medium pot, bring the stock to a boil. Add the tough woody stems, lower the heat and simmer to infuse with asparagus flavor, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and discard, reserving the stock.

Add the decorative tips to the stock and blanch until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove with a strainer and refresh in an ice water bath. Drain on paper towels and reserve for the garnish. Reserve the stock.

In a medium stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. When foamy, add the shallots and leeks and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped asparagus stalks, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the reserved broth and simmer until the asparagus are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

With a hand-immersion blender or in batches in a food processor, puree the soup until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. If serving right away, return to medium heat and add the cream and reserved asparagus tips. Cook, stirring, until the soup is warmed through, about 3 minutes.

Alternatively, if serving the soup later, do not add the cream and let cool at room temperature (or in an ice water bath). Cover and refrigerate. Before serving, add the cream and asparagus tips, and warm the soup gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

To serve, place the soup in a soup tureen and sprinkle with cheese. Ladle into demi-tasse cups or small coffee or tea cups, and serve.

Sel Gris

2009-07-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

This post was written in November 2007 but never published. Why, I don't know.

As the new home of Portland favorite Chef Daniel Mondok - formerly of Carlyle and Olea, Sel Gris has to live up to some lofty expectations.

Ris de Veau: crisp sweetbreads, apple butter,“bacon and eggs”11. Melty-crisp sweetbreads were delicious. The "exploding egg pancake" that came with it impressed me with presentation, but I didn't care for the flavor. Too sweet. Brian scarfed it up happily.

Calamari “fritto misto”: Oregon rock shrimp, preserved lemon, green beans,Italian parsley, halibut gujonette, and walnut bagna cauda 10. I loved this - big chunks of halibut and shrimp lightly fried till crisp mixed with fried lemon and green beans sprinked with parsley. And the walnut bagna cauda is a warm dip of garlic, anchovies, walnut oil and cream. Luckily Brian was busy with the sweetbreads and let me have most of it. Hee hee.

Cauliflower Panna Cotta. Our server Tim brought this out gratis. Yes, it's Tim, the same server from Carlyle. He actually remembered us from our Valentine's Day dinner. That's a good server. Anyway, I loved this! It was cold, creamy and rich, tasting of cauliflower and cheese.

Duck Confit with baby chicories, Roquefort, sherry-shallot vinaigrette 12. Wow, great salad. I love duck, especially confited. This was the perfect venue for it - spicy chicory, intense Roquefort and the acidic dressing.

Endive salad with toasted walnuts, arugula, red wine spiced poached pears, Muscatel vinegar, under a "Humboldt Fog"9. What does under a Humboldt Fog mean? Something about cheese? It was good, too.

I wanted to order the salmon (pan roasted, crevette risotto, foie gras melted leeks, squid and crab "salad", butter poached prawn, coral oil), but I found I wasn't really hungry anymore. God, ya think? Brian went and ordered what would have been my second choice.

Diver Scallops: seared and bacon wrapped, polenta, foie gras béarnaise, figs and fennel 24. Decadence on a plate. The scallops were perfectly rare in the center, as expected, and the polenta and béarnaise gave each scallop bite a blanket of richness.

Daniel Mondok has hit his stride with Sel Gris. We are looking forward to seeing what other amazing creations come out of his kitchen.

Sel Gris
1852 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 517-7770
Dinner Monday - Saturday, 5:30 PM to close

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Note: Sel Gris has recently been under attack by foie gras protestors. Please go as often as you can this month to support them. I will. (If you are anti-foie, don't bother spamming the comments; I won't publish your mis-directed diatribe.)

Chocolate Mousse Tart (& more Pâte Sablée)

2009-06-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite dessert to bring. Bring where? Anywhere! Potlucks, picnics, dinner at dad's, baby showers, and the like.

There's two sticks of butter in the crust. And one whole pint of heavy cream in the tart. So don't make this to keep at home and risk eating all the leftovers for breakfast. You'll thank me for this later.

I made this with Hershey's Special Dark chocolate. I usually go for the Ghirardelli or ScharffenBerger for fancy desserts, but the Hershey's was on sale and I wanted to try it out. I was a little iffy when I tasted the chocolate on its own, as it was too grainy and had that epitomous Hershey's flavor. But, once it was mixed with an ungodly amount of whipped cream and chilled into the sweet, cookie crust, the flavor was exceptional.

The recipe I based this on didn't really work out, so I had to improvise. At first, I made it worse, but it turned out great anyway. The recipe calls for chocolate and half the cream to be heated together in the microwave until the chocolate melted, then cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, I whipped the remaining cream until stiff peaks formed.

Then, I was to fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate/cream mixture. Even at room temp, the chocolate/cream mixture was too liquidy to fold the whipped cream into.

So I mixed it the best I could, then thought I could throw the whole mix back into the mixer to re-whip the cream. No, not happening. And then the whole mix was even more liquidy. I poured it into the crust anyway and threw the whole lot into the freezer. And lo and behold! It firmed right up and even had that velvety mousse-like texture I was going for. Whoo hoo!

please ignore my finger marks

The second time I made it, I melted the chocolate and cream using the double-boiler method instead of the microwave, let it cool, then folded the whipped cream in. Worked much better and was definitely a mousse and not a liquid.

double-boiler method is better

A note on chocolate mousse: Julia Child seems to have the go-to recipe, according to my limited on-line research. However, I was making the first tart for a very pregnant friend of mine and Julia's recipe (and most out there) feature raw eggs in the dessert. And raw eggs & pregnant women do not mix. So that is why I chose this simple recipe.

Also, I used the Pâte Sablée crust for this again and it was so good. So, so good. So good that I am going to include that recipe again since I have more pictures of it.

Pâte Sablée from Martha Stewart

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

With a standing mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low. Add flour and salt, and beat until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix).

Shape dough into a 9-inch round disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days), or freeze for up to 1 month.

satiny dough

For this recipe, you'll need to fully bake the crust before filling it. I bake it at 400* for about 25 minutes, then check for doneness. Doneness can be however dark you would like your crust to be. The first time I made this, it was pretty dark.

The crust browned nicely in the oven. This was the crust that was too crumbly for me to roll out; I picked up pieces of sandy dough and patted them into place in the tart pan.

You can see the rest of the dough on my cutting board in the top right of the photo. It was very crumbly.

The next time I made this, I chilled it just for a couple of hours instead of overnight. The crust rolled out nicely and baked up a little lighter.

This dough was still very soft. I couldn't pick it up all at once to place in the pie pan.

I used a bench scraper to lift pieces of the dough into the pie plate, then patched them together with my fingertips.

This crust was a little flakier.

Also, after I get the dough into the tart pan but before I bake it, I place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This helps firm it up a bit and prevents it from shrinking in the oven.

Now that you know how to make a perfect pâte sablée tart crust, let's move on to the chocolate mousse part.

Chocolate Mousse Tart adapted from Very Best Baking

1 recipe pâte sablée tart crust, baked and cooled
8 oz. dark chocolate, 62% cacao, chopped finely
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 T confectioner's sugar

To begin, set a saucepan with 2 inches of water over medium heat until it simmers. Reduce the heat to low. Place a stainless steel or glass bowl over the saucepan, making sure it doesn't touch the water.

Add chocolate and 1 cup of heavy cream to the bowl. Heat slowly, whisking as you go, until all the chocolate is melted and combined well with the cream.

beginning stages of chocolate melting into cream

When chocolate is thoroughly melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool. You want it to cool to room temperature, but still be melted.

Meanwhile, add the remaining cream and the confectioner's sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.

Add the whipped cream to the cooled chocolate mixture. Carefully, gently, fold the whipped cream into the chocolate.

It should look like this.

Scrape chocolate mousse into the prepared tart crust.

Place tart in the refrigerator for 4 hours or until firm.

Slice and serve. I serve this plain, but it would pair well with a fruit sauce or liqueur-flavored whipped cream.

A Dad Dinner

2009-06-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Last week Brian and I gave my dad his birthday present. His birthday is in April, but for the second year our gift was a dinner. Dad gets to invite some friends over for a fabulous dinner party, and we cook. Dad's no slouch in the kitchen, so we really have to bring it for these dinners.

The menu this year was as follows:

Appetizers:
Spinach Dip with crispy baguette
Assorted Olives

First Course:
Creamy Asparagus Soup with Crab Cakes

Second Course:
Romaine Salad with goat cheese, walnuts, grapefruit & orange supremes, and Lemon-Tarragon Vinaigrette

Third Course:
Seared Sonomoa Foie Gras with challah toast and honeyed walnuts

Fourth Course:
Lemon Sorbetto

Fifth Course:
Smoked Pork Loin with bacon-wrapped scallops and lentils

Sixth Course:
Yin-Yang Dessert - cheesecake and chocolate mousse tart

I didn't take pics of all the courses, but I wanted to share some.

Here's Brian chopping garlic and/or shallots...and the kitchen behind him.

Creamy Asparagus Soup, plated and ready to be served.

Crab Cakes hand-formed by moi - Brian likes them in the cylinder shape. Sear them in a pan and finish in the oven.

The huge scallops. Wrapped in bacon, they resemble calf nuts.

This is one lobe of foie gras. We had 2 lobes, but only used one. Each person received a generous portion.

The first one is my little plate of foie that I threw together for myself. It isn't pretty. The other one is a plate that Brian made up for us last month and was more like what we served to the guests.

The real star of the evening: Dad's smoked pork loin. Look at that smoke ring!

Luckily, Brian and I got to take a smidge home with us. It was probably the best pork I've had, in any form. The best part was the crispy, crackly outside mingling with the fat pockets inside. Made for some excellent pig sandwiches the next day.

Last, but not least, my dessert duo. I made a cheesecake, slightly lemon flavored. And my new favorite dessert: chocolate mousse tart. I thought we should just give everyone a taste of each. Then we took the rest home...bwuuuhhahahaha.

Happy Blog-iversary!

2009-05-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

3 years of LadyConcierge! I have to give mad props to everyone at http://www.portlandfood.org/ for their support and Michelle at Je Mange la Ville for being my inspiration.

And now, strawberry shortcake! Seems like it's a popular topic right now. We're right in the middle of California strawberry season and waiting eagerly for the Oregon berries to arrive. Our strawberry plants are taking over the side yard, and boy are we glad!

This recipe comes from the guys at The Bitten Word, who try out the best recipes from the food magazines each month. This one comes from Everyday Food, May 2009 issue. The original recipe was for rhubarb instead of strawberries.

What I like about this recipe is the shortcake is the biscuit-scone type and not the foamy cake type. Brian disagrees, but will suffer through it somehow. He tried to get me to buy some angel food cake at the grocery store yesterday, but I would have none of it. I love the flaky texture of these shortcakes. I halved the recipe since it was just us two, and I sprinkled turbinado sugar over the tops.

Macerating strawberries in balsamic is one of my favorite preparations for the sweet little gems. Alas, our balsamic was gone! So I used a splash of cherry brandy instead. Not the same flavor, but a nummy one just the same. Next time I will make sure to have balsamic on hand.

Balsamic Brown Sugar Strawberries
The Bitten Word

1 pint strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar, depending on your preference

Cap and quarter strawberries and place in a large bowl. Mix with balsamic and sugar. Cover and refrigerate, two hours to overnight. If the strawberries are not sweet enough for your tastes, add more brown sugar.

Shortcakes
Everyday Food (May 2009)

Prep: 25 minutes
Total: 55 minutes, plus cooling
Ingredients

Serves 8

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, butter, baking powder, salt, and 1/3 cup sugar and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and pulse just until moistened, 4 to 5 times.

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands, gently pat into a 4-by-8-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 8 squares and transfer to a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let biscuits cool on baking sheet.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until soft peaks return. To serve, split biscuits with a serrated knife; sandwich with rhubarb compote (or strawberries!) and whipped cream.

Toro Bravo

2009-05-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

It is seriously sad that we don't head here more often, when it is a mere 6 blocks from home. And we've only been once, I think. We walked down last night just after 5 and snagged seats at the counter.

We started with drinks - Borio (?) for him (a tequila cocktail) and a Sage Seville for me (like a gin mojito with sage instead of mint). Tasty and balanced for both.

We started with the Singing Pig salad which featured grilled asparagus, chopped egg and hazelnuts, and the sherry chicken liver mousse. Both were big portions for the price. We were expecting maybe a votive of chicken liver mousse, but it was a very generous cup. Served with quartered ciabatta bread slices and crispy baguette. The salad was served in a mixing bowl with salad tongs. I tossed it around a little and served us up a big scoop each and still had enough left in the bowl for seconds. I love egg in salad so this was a winner for me. It was very lightly dressed in a mild vinaigrette.

Next we ordered the oxtail croquettes and drunken pork with fresh shell bean stew. I thought the oxtail croquettes were a ripoff for $14. Three, two-inch croquettes? Oxtails are from the tail of a cow, right? They were rich and crispy, though, with a great spicy aioli. I'm glad we tried them, and because the first two dishes' portion size was so generous, this one being skimpy didn't really matter. Actually, maybe that was why we expected a little more on that plate, because of the size of the first two. The drunken pork came out next. Tasted like a smoked pork chop chunked up with great northern beans and a tomato-pepper stew.

We passed on dessert and Brian had one more drink instead. 3 drinks + 4 dishes = $67 before tip. Not bad considering we can spend $30 for breakfast in the area pretty easily. I think we'll probably pop in more often now.

Toro Bravo
120-A N.E. Russell Street
Portland, OR 97212
503.281.4464
torobravopdx.com

Whole Lemon Tart and Pâte Sablée

2009-05-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

aka Tarte au Citron for you francophiles. I got this idea from the fabulous Deb at Smitten Kitchen. If you haven't met Deb yet and have no idea what Smitten Kitchen is, go there now and visit. I think I have bookmarked more recipes from Deb than from any other site.

I first made this tart last year. At the time, I was using a tart crust recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It worked ok but was kind of blah. Then I tried the pâte sucrée (from Martha, of course), which is a richer dough made with egg yolks and a little sugar. This was better, but still not quite what I wanted.

I was interested in trying a pâte sablée (a sweet shortbread-like crust) with this lemon tart to counter the bitterness from the lemon peel. Most of the recipes call for ground almonds, which gives the crust that delicate, sandy texture. I don't like purchasing ingredients for one dish (or rather, a piece of one dish) so I put off trying it until last weekend. Mother's Day was coming up, and I was bringing dessert over to my Dad's for our family celebration. I was once again checking out recipes for pâte sablée online when I came upon Martha's recipe, which doesn't use any ground almonds! Why I hadn't seen this before is a mystery to me. Her recipe uses butter, confectioner's sugar, flour and salt. Perfect.

The best part about the pâte sablée recipe is that it comes together in the mixer. No cutting the cold butter into the flour necessary. That's always the hardest part for me. Instead, you use softened butter (2 sticks!) and cream it with the sugar, then add the flour and salt. Easy!

After chilling, the dough is still very soft, so I patted the dough into the tart pan instead of trying to roll it out. The recipe says it makes a 9-inch tart shell, but I had more dough than I needed. Of course if you like an extra thick crust, go for it! **On second thought, I think my tart pan is only 8 inches, so that may have been the issue.

In making tarts, I find it best to pre-bake the crust almost all the way before adding the filling. That way the crust is nice and brown and not gummy on the bottom. This is called blind baking. I learned a little trick from Deb: freeze the crust before baking it. That way the crust doesn't shrink down the sides of your tart pan. You can also line it with parchment and fill with dried beans or rice or pie weights, but I've found freezing works just as well, if not better. Then pop it into a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes. When it is a light golden brown, remove from oven and let cool all the way before adding the filling.

This tart recipe uses a whole lemon, as you may have guessed from the title. Except for any pesky seeds that might be hanging out. Just cut the lemon into small pieces and add it to the blender with the sugar and blend until smooth. Whisk in a whole egg, an egg yolk, corn starch and melted butter. This time I just blended everything in the blender and it worked fine. The color was a little cloudier but it still tasted great. The filling is intensly lemon with a good mix of tart, bitter and sweet. I've called it the grown-ups' lemon tart. With a pretty dusting of powdered sugar on top, it is a sure winner for brunch, picnic or family dinner.

Pâte Sablée from Martha Stewart

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

With a standing mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low. Add flour and salt, and beat until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix). Shape dough into a 9-inch round disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days), or freeze for up to 1 month.

Whole Lemon Tart from Smitten Kitchen

1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) sweet tart shell
1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1 stick (4 ounces; 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven 325°F (165°C). Line a trimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.

Slice the lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes.

Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter.

Pour the filling into the crust but be sure to leave 1/4 inch between the top of your filling and the top edge of your crust.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling, lightly browned and set. Don't overbake - tart will continue to set as it cools.

Transfer the tart, still on the baking sheet, to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. The tart is ready to be served when it reaches room temperature.

*this photo and the top one feature a tart made with pâte sucrée

H50

2009-04-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Brian and I had dinner here about a month ago in the new Hotel Fifty. They've done a great job with renovating the space that used to be the Sheraton. There's not many restaurants where you can stare at the river whilst you dine, and H50 happily fills this gap. Here's a rundown of what we ordered.

1. Bread Service - comes with romesco and whipped butter. That's Brian's Diablo cocktail - something with vodka and chiles and orange.

2. Amuse - Dungeness Crab with wasabi foam, soy pearls over orange puree. Delish.

3. Peruvian Crab Napoleon - purple potato, avocado, red onion marmalade. Too sweet. We originally wanted the Dungeness Crab Fritters, but they were out.

4. The Caesar - baby romaine, garlic, white anchovy, crispy bread. Loved the presentation. Dressing was just to my taste - balanced garlic, lemon & anchovy. There was a whole anchovy hidden under the lettuce.

5. My entree - Seared Salmon, braised pork belly, leek and marsala cous cous, cherry gastrique. Salmon was flaky and moist but was overshone by the perfect pork belly. It was like pork belly lasagna with alternating layers of meaty and fatty. The sugar snap peas underneath gave a fresh, crisp counterpoint. The froth on the salmon was almond-flavored, which I didn't really notice. Also dug the cous cous, which had cherries mixed up in there.

6. Brian got the NY Strip, med rare, asparagus, oven roasted roma tomatoes, mornay sauce. The only problem with this was Brian could make it better at home himself. The steak didn't have enough blood. It was par-cooked and then finished when we ordered it. B was of the opinion they cooked it too long the first time 'round. He really liked the oven roasted tomatoes with the asparagus, which, again, is something that I make at home.

7. Lemon Mascarpone Tart - the crust was fantastic, much flakier that I have been able to achieve at home. Didn't really need the mascarpone, but the lemon kicked ass.

8. Sen Bao Profiteroles - there were 3 - one each filled with chocolate, peanut butter and salt caramel. I liked the caramel one the best, while B went for the peanut butter.

Also, we were served sesame brittle mignardises with the check. The only flaw with our evening was the drinks. Pass on the cocktails. Each one was unbalanced, either too sweet or too acidic. I would stick with wine next time.

Service was peachy, nothing to complain about. I also want to mention portion sizes as they were perfect. We ate every bite of every plate and left perfectly satisfied, not stuffed and definitely not hungry.

I was very pleasantly surprised with H5O and will return.

H50 (inside Hotel Fifty)
50 SW Morrison
Portland, OR 97204
503-221-0711

Veggie Lasagna!

2009-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Vegetable Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes. I first had it at a Raleigh Hills restaurant called Ernesto's, a homey red-sauce Italian kind of place. It contained mushrooms, zucchini and spinach and was smothered with hot, melty cheese. I used that as my model when first creating my own veggie lasagna.

I've been eating fewer carbs, so for this batch, I used horizontally-cut zucchini strips in place of the noodles on my half. Brian doesn't believe in noodle-less lasagna, so I used the no-boil noodles on his part. Aren't I nice?

Sauce - I make my own marinara sauce. Saute onions in olive oil and butter, add red pepper flakes, canned tomatoes (San Marzano if possible), thyme, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and let simmer on lowest setting for a few hours. Sometimes I stir in some tomato paste if I want it a little thicker for lasagna. This batch I stirred in some fresh basil as well, but dried is just as good. I often make the sauce the day before and let it sit overnight. Cold sauce is easier to work with, plus the flavor has time to develop.

Veggies - I use frozen spinach, zucchini and mushrooms. I pre-cook the mushrooms so they don't leak water throughout my lasagna. Zucchini gets cut the long way for this batch. The spinach I thaw and drain and squeeze as much water out of it as I can. This takes many, many tree-killing paper towels.

Cheese - Ricotta and parmesan play a key role here. I mix the ricotta with 2 eggs and about 4 cups of shredded parmesan cheese. Next time I might mix the spinach in there, too and see how that turns out. Mozzarella cheese is shredded and goes mostly on top. Sometimes I might throw a little cheddar in there for kicks. I think fontina would be good, too, for its exceptional melting quality.

Layering - I never get as many layers as I should, probably because I don't have a deep enough pan. Three layers are just about average for me. First, spread a cupful of sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Add noodles or zucchini strips, covering the whole bottom.

Then, spread ricotta mixture thinly over the noodles/zucchini. Sprinkle with mushrooms, spinach and a little mozzarella cheese.

Repeat as your pan allows. For the top layer, I just use the ricotta mixture, sauce and cover it with cheese. Use your hands to smoosh it down a little.

Cover with foil and bake about an hour and a half. Check it to see if the middle is completely cooked. Sometimes I have to throw it back in for another 1/2 hour. When it's done, remove the foil and bake about 10 minutes more to get the cheese brown and melty.

Let cool and eat!

I often make this on Sunday afternoons as it makes great work lunches for the week. We never get sick of lasagna!

Dinner 4.2.09

2009-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

It seems we are following my family's tradition - I do most of the day-to-day cooking, while Brian takes over for special occasions. Sometimes special occasions are just Thursdays and a gift of morels.

fresh halibut from Whole Foods

morels from Brian's friend Matt

searing halibut then finishing in the oven

mushrooms - morels and button. asparagus in the background.

seared halibut over asparagus and roasted potatoes and a mushroom cream sauce

mmm.......flaky

Soup Month: Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder

2009-03-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this is a chowder. It's a blended soup. It has some of the elements of chowder - potatoes, butter, cream, garlic, onions. But, it's a blended soup. I didn't name it, however, so I'll just leave it alone. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Michelle over at Je Mange la Ville. Michelle is a wonderful cook and writer, and she is the one who inspired me to start this blog in the first place.

She used sweet potatoes instead of a russet; I changed it up again and used two Yukon Golds. But, I might use just one potato next time. And, of course, I added a touch more garlic. I had to add quite a bit more salt to my pot; this may have been the result of the extra potato.

I enjoyed this soup, particularly the warm cumin flavor. Broccoli-cheese soup is one of my favorites, and this was great with the sweet red pepper added.

Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder based on a recipe from Gourmet Magazine, via Je Mange la Ville

1 small head broccoli
1 Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large garlic cloves, grated
2 T unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
2 T flour
3 cups Cheddar, grated
couple dashes of Tapatio or other hot sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional

1. Cut off the bottom of the broccoli stem. Finely chop remaining stem. Cut the rest of the broccoli into florets. Cook florets in 2 CUPS of lightly salted, boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, place the broccoli florets in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain. Save the cooking water. (I didn't read closely enough and missed the part about using only 2 cups of water to cook the broccoli florets.)

2. Melt the butter in a 3-4 quart heavy pot over medium heat. Add potato, onion, red pepper, broccoli stems and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8-10 minutes.

3. Add cumin, salt, pepper, and mustard and cook, stirring, one minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add reserved broccoli water and chicken stock and simmer (partially covered) for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and continue to cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the hot sauce to taste.

4. Puree 3/4 of the chowder in a blender or food processor until smooth, and then return to pot. (I used my immersion blender, but I think in this case, an actual blender would yield better results.) Add reserved florets and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in cream. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.

*****************************************************************************
Soup Month has been great. I tried some new recipes and found some new favorites. I learned that cauliflower can be a luscious treasure. However, I didn't seem to find time to tell you about my go-to soup. It's my trademark. It's the first soup I learned how to make, though it has grown and changed just like I have since that time. I promise I will share it with you soon. After all, Soup Month may be over, but the soups must go on!

Soup Month: White Bean Soup with Sausage and Red Chard

2009-03-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

This was the first time I made this soup. I based it on a recipe from Recipe Zaar, but added way more beans and garlic, used chard instead of kale, and 2 kinds of sausage.

There are so many kinds of white beans. I bought some dried navy beans last time at the store because they were the cheapest. So that's what I used here.

The original recipe was for more of a brothy soup containing the beans, sausage, etc. I was going for a more bean-y soup loosened with a little chicken stock.

A note on soup preparation: Rarely do I get a mise-en-place set up. I usually start by chopping an onion (all soups start with onion) and let the pot heat up at the same time. Then, I let the onion cook over medium-low heat while I prep and add the rest of the ingredients. This time I was waiting for the beans to soften, so I got my chopping out of the way.

Now that's some garlic! I wish I had bought more chard. The sausage almost overwhelms it. Speaking of sausage, I used some mild Italian sausage and some elk kielbasa that I had hanging around my freezer (Thanks, Dad!!). I liked the contrast of two different textures - the soft ground sausage melting in with the beans, and the drier, more toothsome, kielbasa.

White Bean Soup with Sausage and Red Chard based on this recipe from Recipe Zaar

1/2 lb mild Italian sausage, ground
2 T olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
9 large garlic cloved, minced (or grated)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (if using full-sodium, skip the salt)
6 cups canned white beans (or 3 cups dry, soaked overnight)
1 lb kielbasa (elk or otherwise), sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 lb. chard, stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces (I only bought one bunch chard; should have gotten 2-3)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, working to break into bite-sized pieces, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate, leaving any rendered fat in the pot.

2. Add the remaining olive oil to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high, and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the celery and cook about 2 minutes more.

4. Stir in the garlic, pepper flakes, salt & pepper and cook about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce the heat to medium, add both sausages and HALF the beans.

6. Mash the remaining beans with a fork or potato masher and add them to the pot, stirring to distribute.

7. Stir in the chard. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and continue to cook until the chard is tender, about 20 - 30 minutes. (You may cover the pot loosely to prevent too much reduction in the broth.)

8. Stir in the lemon juice and zest just before serving.

Soup Month: Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Prosciutto and Parmesan

2009-03-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make cauliflower soup when I was young. I didn't know what was in it, and I didn't care. I loved the velvety-smooth texture, the rich, buttery flavor and the sharp, peppery bite. I always meant to get the recipe from her (and I'm sure I did, but lost it before I ever made it).

She gave me a soup cookbook for my last birthday. I made a chicken chili from it last fall and then kind of laid it aside. I picked it back up again the other day, looking for a new recipe to try. Aha - cauliflower soup! It's almost stupefyingly easy. The flavor mostly comes from onions, cauliflower and chicken stock. And maybe a little butter...

The recipe calls for leeks, but I made it with yellow onions one time with great results. Also, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper is just a tease. I used 1 tablespoon. And, instead of crème fraîche, I used sour cream. Okay, and I used turkey bacon in place of the prosciutto (but didn't get a picture), and maybe I drizzled it with a little truffle oil and topped it with green onions at one point.

This is a good one, kids. We made a batch, ate it ALL in 3 days, and promptly made another one.

Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Prosciutto and Parmesan from Sunday Soup by Betty Rosbottom

4 T unsalted butter
3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (or onions)
12 cups cauliflower florets (from 2-3 large heads)
8 cups chicken stock
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup crème fraîche
Kosher salt
4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto (okay, I used turkey bacon)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy deep-sided pot (with a lid) set over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and sauté, stirring, until softened, for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower florets, chicken stock, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer and cover pot. Cook until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Purée the soup in batches in a food processor, blender or food mill, and return soup to the pot. (Or use an immersion blender to purée the soup in the pot.) Whisk in 1/2 cup of the cheese and the crème fraîche. Taste soup and season with salt as needed. (The soup can be made 2 days ahead; cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat over medium heat.)

3. Cut the prosciutto into julienne strips 3 to 4 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. When hot, add the prosciutto and sauté, stirring constantly, until crisp and browned, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer prosciutto to paper towels to drain.

4. To serve, ladle soup into 6 soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with some prosciutto, chopped parsley, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Soup Month: Taco Soup

2009-03-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from my soon-to-be cousin-in-law, Maggie. I made it with ground elk instead of beef (Thanks, Dad!!!). This is a very hearty soup great for the cold rainy weather we've been having. It's also very easy - most of it is made by opening cans! You can make it in the crockpot or stovetop. Yeah, baby!

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel
1 can hominy, drained
1 can of corn, drained (or frozen)
1 can each of kidney beans, pinto beans and ranch-style beans (any kind of beans will work)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
2 onions, chopped
cheese, hot sauce and sour cream for garnish

Brown the ground beef in a heavy skillet. Drain fat if you want to. Add the taco seasoning and stir till combined. Add to Crockpot if using, or a heavy soup pot for stovetop cooking.

Open all the cans. Drain the hominy and corn, then add to soup pot. Add the beans and tomatoes with their juices. (Instead of Ro-tel, I used a third can of stewed tomatoes with chiles and tomatoes. I also added a can of diced green chiles for fun.)

Add the chopped onions and stir in packet of ranch dressing mix. Stir very well.

Simmer for about 1 hour on the stovetop or 8 hours on low for the Crockpot.

To serve, place in bowls and add garnishes as desired.

I liked this with lots of hot sauce. Next time I may add some jalapenos to make it spicier. Or stir in a jar of salsa.

Soup Month: Black Bean Soup

2009-03-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a very satisfying, easy Mexican black bean soup. Made with cumin, lime juice and jalapeno, this soup is great with a little dollop of sour cream on top and some cilantro scattered around.

The recipe is from my first soup cookbook ever: Twelve Months of Monastery Soups. This was given to me by my step-grandmother JoAnn, who now has Altzheimer's and will always think I am dating my ex-boyfriend Kenneth. It was one of the best gifts I have ever been given - you know how it is when someone actually *listens* to you and picks the perfect thing? I love peeling back the front cover and seeing her little inscription: Hope you like trying the recipes- JoAnn. I wish now I had made some soup for her.

You can make this soup with canned black beans, like the recipe states, or with dried black beans. Just soak them overnight first and prepare for a longer cooking time.

And, a big plus for me, this soup is great for the South Beach Diet. Just skip the potatoes.

Mexican Black Bean Soup by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette

1/3 cup olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped [ I used 1 large can diced tomatoes with juice]
2 - 15 oz cans black beans [30 oz. dry beans that have been soaked 24 hours]
2 potatoes, peeled & diced [I skipped the potatoes this time]
7 cups water [or stock]
1 bouillon cube [omit if using stock]
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped [cilantro from a tube]
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice [to taste; I use plenty more]
salt & pepper to taste
sour cream as garnish with freshly chopped cilantro all around

1. Pour the olive oil into a good-sized soup pot and saute the onion for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno pepper and tomatoes, and continue sauteing for another 2 minutes over medium heat, until it turns into a regular sauce. Stir often.

2. Add the beans from their cans with their juice, potatoes, water and bouillon. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to low-medium. Cook slowly, covered, for about 20 minutes. [I cook it uncovered because I like it thicker than this recipe makes. Cover it when it is at the desired consistency. I cook it much longer than 20 minutes, depending on on the beans.]

3. Add the cilantro, cumin, lime juice, salt & pepper. Stir well and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and let the soup rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve hot and garnish each serving with a teaspoon of sour cream in the center and freshly chopped cilantro around the sour cream.

Soup is Good Food

2009-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, soup is one of my very favorite foods. I learned how to cook so I could make my own soup. I used to throw "Sunday Soup Night" dinner parties at least twice a month. In the past 3 months, I have participated in two Soup Exchanges.

And now, we will have Soup Month.

March sounds like a good soup month, doesn't it?

All of my posts in March will be about soup. I will post a new soup recipe once a week. If I try a new soup restaurant, I will share it with y'all!

Oh, boy.

Bunk Sandwiches

2009-02-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

Brian and I finally made it in a few weeks ago and have now been twice.

First visit:
Meatball Parmigiano Hero

Italian Cured Meats with Provolone & Hot Peppers
Second Visit (cell phone pics)
Pork Belly Cubano

Roast Beef with Sweet Onions & Horseradish

Brian likes the Meatball and the Roast Beef the best. I liked the Cubano (it was all about the bread) and the Italian Meats.

It's a little spendy ($8-$9) per sandwich, but with this creativity and quality, we will make this a regular stop.

Bunk Sandwiches
621 SE Morrison
503-477-9515

Open Monday - Saturday 8-3

Valentine's Day Cheesecake

2009-02-16T00:13:00.000-08:00

My man loves cheesecake, while I don't care for it. So it really is an unselfish gift that I made him one for Valentine's Day.

I used a recipe from a blog called What We're Eating. It's a recipe I've used before with the luscious caramel spilled all over the top, but this time I opted for a melted berry sauce. Berries obviously aren't in season, so I used frozen ones.

I also added the juice of one lemon plus the zest to the cheesecake batter, as per Brian's request for lemony goodness.

This cheesecake is dreamy, just like the title suggests. It is smooth and rich with a delicate tang that offsets the nutty crunch of the Nilla wafer crust. The crust was a little tough to break through with a fork, so maybe I wouldn't press it so tightly into the pan next time. Being Valentine's Day, I decorated it with a red-food-coloring-heart that I fingerpainted in the middle. Brian was mine with this valentine.

Classic Dreamy Cheesecake based on a recipe by What We're Eating

3 (8oz) packages of Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp good vanilla extract
3 eggs
juice of one lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp salt

For the crust:
about 1/2 a box of Nilla wafers
1 stick (1/2 cup)unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place Nilla wafer cookies in a large (gallon-sized)freezer bag. Smash and roll them with a rolling pin until they are finely ground. Place the cookie crumbs in a small bowl. Add sugar and flour and stir to combine. Add in the softened butter and stir until the butter has coated all of the cookie/sugar/flour mixture and there are no dry bits in the bottom of the bowl. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor.

Pour the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Using a flat-bottomed measuring cup or a glass, press the cookie crust firmly in the pan, creating an even layer. Some folks work it up the sides, too, but I think this is frustrating and also unnecessary.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for half an hour before adding filling to the crust. It will smell heavenly.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Position the oven rack in the center of the oven.

Start on the filling while the crust is cooling. Beat the cream cheese with an electric beater or stand mixer at medium speed until softly smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and then add the sugar and continue to beat at medium until fully creamed together, another 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined and smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides frequently.

Once the crust has completely cooled, wrap tightly with 2 layers of foil. This is very important or else water will seep into your cheesecake while it is baking. When wrapped, pour the filling into the crust. It should be liquid enough to spread out on its own, but if not, give it a nudge with a rubber spat.

Place the cheesecake into a large roasting pan. Add enough water to the roasting pan to go halfway up the side of the spring form pan to create a water bath. (I don't have a large roasting pan, so I use my broiler pan with the top part removed. The water does not come up more than 1/4 of the way up the sides of my springform, but it works!) Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for about 1 1/4 hours. At this point, turn the oven off and leave the oven door open to let the cheesecake cool slowly.

After 20-30 minutes, carefully remove the pan from the oven and the springform pan from the roasting pan. Allow the cheesecake to cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Transfer the cheesecake to the refrigerate and chill for at least 12 hours before serving.

***************************************************************************

This month's theme for Weekend Cookbook Challenge is love. I think my cheesecake qualifies. The challenge runs through February 28, so get your posts ready and send them to iliketocook AT shaw DOT ca.

And the dark horse takes it.

2009-02-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the kitchen counter at the beach house with Brian on Thursday, we started talking about Ciao Vito. He has never been there, although I have two times. He has heard me rave about the sugo of pork over crispy polenta ever since. And lo! We have a Valentine's Day destination. I think a small neighborhood restaurant is just what we want this year.

And maybe we'll just stay in and cook...

2009-02-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

So how do you like the new template? I like it cause it's wider. And I like blue.

Carafe called back today in response to my Valentine's Day reservation message. They are full already, except for the outside part. Which, they assure me, is enclosed and nice. Brian is having none of it - we must eat inside in February.

So, looking down at my list of restaurants, what about Simpatica? I checked Ben's latest newsletter, which mentions that they will release the V-Day menu next week (which is this week). I attempted to fill out the reservation form, but apparantly one cannot make a reservation so far in advance. I guess when they release the menu it will be ok to make a reservation. If that doesn't work, I give up and we will cook at home like we did last year, only this year I will actually clean off the dining room table so we can use it.

It's good to have a goal.

Valentine's Day Again..

2009-01-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

I checked out the menus to both Lincoln and Lovely Hula Hands and while both looked good, neither jumped out at me. Going back to my 10 Restaurants-I-haven't-eaten-at-but-want-to list, I checked out Fenouil and Carafe. Whoo boy, that is more my style. Fenouil shot to the top of my list with the Coquilles à la Poitrine Fumée (seared sea scallops. smoked bacon. leek fondue. verjus butter), Magret de Canard Rôti et son Oeuf (roasted duck breast. poached duck egg. toasted brioche. clementine hollandaise. escarole) and Foie Gras au Torchon (foie gras mousse. toasted brioche. fleur de sel). No word yet on a special Valentine's Day menu. Carafe looks pretty good too, with Steak Tartare (Raw Oregon Country Beef seasoned with capers, Dijon, onions and parsley), Crispy Pork Belly (Patatas Bravas, onion-garlic puree), and Braised Short Ribs Bordelaise (red wine sauce, roasted marrow, potato parsley puree & carrots). Carafe may win this contest purely on price, however. Entrees are priced about half of those at Fenouil.

Valentine's Day

2009-01-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

is on a Saturday this year. Which means Brian and I will probably actually go out on that night. So far we have bandied about a few ideas: Caffe Mingo (because Brian has never been), Ten 01 (because Chef Jack Yoss is leaving), Nostrana (because Brian has never been). I know we definitely will get to Ten 01 before Jack leaves in March, but I don't want it to be Valentine's Day. We spent our last anniversary there and I want to try something new this holiday. I'm thinking I want to cross one of those restaurants off my list in the sidebar. The two that jump out at me are Lincoln and Lovely Hula Hands. Of course, we have been talking about going back to Toro Bravo soon - and we can walk there! What do you think? Where should we go for the big V-day?

Hungarian Pot Roast

2009-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

This is my second post about pot roast, and my second Hungarian recipe. Hmmm. I don't know anything about Hungarian food, but I have discovered it usually includes paprika and sour cream. That's not a bad thing.

I've been mostly sticking to my South Beach Diet plan, with lots of help from Kalyn's Kitchen, a blog out of Salt Lake City that includes lots of SBD recipes. So that is where I came across this recipe. It looked really good and, it was made in the Crockpot. As you may have guessed from my last post, I received a Crockpot from a good friend named Michelle, and I am having a blast with it.

Cooking with a Crockpot is easy, but deceiving. This recipe has lots of out-of-the-Crockpot steps. But, it all came together easily enough with the help of my other good friend, Mr. Dutch Oven. (My favorite Christmas gift from last year.)

First, I browned a rump roast in the dutch oven, making sure to get a nice brown crust. I plopped that in the Crockpot and dumped in the onions into the dutch oven with some paprika. I had to add a little more olive oil than was listed because the paprika was starting to burn.

Once the onions were just beginning to brown, I added them to the Crockpot, along with a can of diced tomatoes and a couple of cut-up red peppers.

I poured half a box (about 2 cups) of organic beef stock into the dutch oven and let it boil over medium heat until it reduced to about 1 cup.

Maybe it was a little more than 2 cups. Anyhoo, when it was reduced, I poured it over the rest of the stuff in the Crockpot and seasoned it with a lot of black pepper.

Kalyn says to cook it on high for 4 hours, but my schedule didn't work out that way, so I left it on high for about 3 hours, and then turned it to low for oh, another 8 or so hours (overnight). Slow cooking is slow cooking, right?

So when I got up the next morning, I scooped the roast out and strained the broth/juice into the dutch oven, catching the vegetables and setting them aside. Then I again simmered the broth over medium heat until it had reduced by half. I also skimmed some fat off the top.

Kalyn says to whisk in 1.5 cups light sour cream, but I just used my whole pint. I think I had more gravy than she did anyway. *Shrug*

I heated up the sour cream gravy for about 5 more minutes, whisking often and scraping all those yummy brown bits into it. We weren't eating it right away (it was morning, after all!), but I had a few tastes and it was rich and beefy. I plated one up for the camera, then packed the rest in containers for work lunches.

It's not the prettiest dish, but it sure tasted good. The vegetables melted into a kind of mush due to my overcooking, so I wouldn't recommend that necessarily. On the other hand, it was nice to bend it to my schedule and have it still turn out rather good. I added the rosemary sprig in the title picture for color, but it turned out that a couple rosemary leaves added some brightness. Brian also thought it needed some acid, so I suppose you could squeeze a lemon wedge over it.

Please see Kalyn's blog for the recipe.

Peace!

Michelle's Queso Dip

2009-01-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the queso dip. This spicy, Mexican-Style cheese dip is a hit at parties and with kids of all ages. An all-around winner.

Michelle's Queso Dip

1 onion
2 jalapeños (or 1 small can diced jalapeños)
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 pint 2% milk (or half & half, or whipping cream)
6 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions, chopped & divided
Frank's Red Hot sauce, to taste
salt & pepper

Mince the onion as fine as you can manage. I tried to grate it, which was a mess. Mincing/dicing will be fine.

Mince the jalapeños (wear gloves!), removing seeds and ribs as needed. I used the can of jalapeños because that's what I had, but I would use fresh next time.

Sauté onions and jalapeños in a little butter, about 5 minutes or until tender. I used a 5-quart saucepan. (Warning, spicy steam is hard on the eyes!)

Cut the cream cheese into cubes. Add to the pot with the onions and jalapeños. Turn down the heat under the pot to medium-low (3 or so).

Using a wooden utensil, stir the melting cream cheese and combine with the onions, etc. Before it is all melted, add the milk or cream.

Keep stirring until all is melted and combined. Make sure it doesn't get too hot - curdled dairy is no good.

Add the cheddar cheese all at once. I started with 4 cups, but added 2 more as it wasn't cheesy enough and the color wasn't right.

Stir the dip constantly until all the cheese is melted and the dip is combined well. You may want to use a whisk for this.

Add hot sauce if using and salt & pepper to taste.

Continue to heat and stir for 15 more minutes. The dip will continue to thin out as it heats. You will know it's done when there are no more strings of melting cheese and it is a uniform consistency. And, you know, it will be as hot as you want it. Add the green onions at this point, saving a few for garnishing purposes.

Alternatively, you can scoop some into your Crockpot "Little Dipper" that Michelle gave you for Christmas, plug that baby in and let it heat for 30-50 minutes.

To serve, simply unplug the Little Dipper and move it to your coffee table. It will remain at the optimum dipping temperature for at least 2 hours.

We had this with tortilla chips, but it could be good with chunks of bread, fruit, pretzels, kielbasa - anything that goes with cheese, really.

This recipe makes about 4 pints. Now what am I going to do with the other 3 pints?

Guess I'll have to throw a party!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T07:44:00.001-08:00

Wow, 2009 already. I'm getting married this year! Guess it's time to start looking for a dress...

Two new things on my sidebar: a "What I'm Reading" section and my Top-10-restaurants-that-I've-never-been-to list. I'm looking forward to crossing some of those off this year.

I am starting the South Beach Diet on Monday, so that means no sugar, no butter, no carbs, no fruit for 2 weeks. And no alcohol! If anyone has some SBD recipe suggestions, I would love to have them.

My sister Jen (of Hungarian Mushroom Soup fame) is visiting from Berlin this month with her sweetie Michael. One of the things I have planned is to do the omakase dinner at Tanuki. Oh Lord, am I excited about that!

Hope everyone has a great New Year!

Jen's Hungarian Mushroom Soup

2008-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

I love it, but had never made it before last weekend. Almost absurdly simple and just about fail-proof, this soup will be added to my short list. I used plain white button and cremini mushrooms this time, but may jazz it up with some chantrelles, porcini or shiitake mushooms next time.

Jen's Hungarian Mushroom Soup
serves 4

1/4 c. butter
2 c. chopped onions
1 lb mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 tsp. dried dillweed
1 T. paprika
1 T. soy sauce
2 c. chicken stock
1 c. milk
3 T. flour
1 tsp. salt
pepper
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. parsley
1/2 c. sour cream

Sauté onion & mushrooms in butter over medium heat about 5 mins.
Stir in dill, paprika, soy sauce, chicken stock.
Lower heat to simmer, cover for 15 mins.
Whisk milk & flour together to make a slurry, add to soup, stir and cook 15 more mins, covered.
Stir in salt, pepper, lemon, parsley & sour cream.
Optional: use immersion blender to blend*
Heat thru. Eat!

*or, transfer to blender and blend, in batches.

Couple things:
I mistakenly added 2 tablespoons dillweed instead of teaspoons. It was a little more dilly than normal, but not in a bad way.
Advice - use your fingers to blend the milk and flour; the whisk just makes it harder.
We had the first bowls of soup unblended. I really, highly recommend blending it to combine flavors.
No pictures - I can't find the camera battery charger!

This kid's starting early....

2008-11-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

12-Year Old Food Critic

Roasted Squash Soup

2008-11-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Zucchini being the exception, I have never been a fan of squash. I hated the bitter yellow squash often sautéed along with my beloved green zucchini and the cloying sweet butternut squash soups that were more suited for dessert. One soup I tasted this summer changed my mind. It was from Genoa, that paragon of Portland dining that is nearing its last service. The menu called it "Summer Squash Soup with Marsala and Cream". To my delight, it was savory, not sweet. I ate it up and started to reconsider my squash qualms.

Last week a nice lady from the John Ross gave Brian a butternut squash. Then, a delicata squash arrived in my Organics to You box. I decided to try my hand at roasting the squash and making a soup.

After perusing the web and asking my ex-linecook fiancé, I determined the best way to roast these squashes.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or your Silpat and preheat the oven to 400° F.

Slice the stem end off of the squash, then cut it in half the long way. It will smell like pumpkin! Scoop out the seeds with a sharp spoon. Make sure to clean it well and get all the threads.

Place the squash halves cut-side down on the parchment. Add water to the baking sheet. I didn't know how much to add, so I just dumped about 2 cups on it.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven. I set the timer for 30 minutes to start. After 30 minutes the delicata was ready to take out of the oven. Since the butternut was bigger, it took an extra 15 minutes. You'll know when they are done when you can pierce them easily with a fork and they are kind of squishy. (Or squashy.)

I set the squashes to cool on the cutting board. When they were cool enough to handle, I began to remove the skin. I mostly tried to scrape out the insides with a spoon, but they broke apart into smaller pieces. I found it easiest to peel the skin off with my fingers. Some stubborn pieces wouldn't budge, but they were tender enough to eat, so I just left them. After skinning the squash, I placed them in a container and froze them till I was ready to make soup.

Roasted Squash Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced small
4 celery ribs, diced small
2 roasted squash, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock*
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 cup evaporated milk**

Place a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, onion and celery. Cook about 10 minutes until tender. Add the roasted squash and pepper, stir to combine and heat. Cook 5 more minutes. Add the chicken stock and parsley, salt and pepper. Let it come to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.

When the squash has broken down and all the vegetables are tender (it should look like bubbling mush), use your immersion blender to puree the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a regular blender. (Don't fill the blender more than 1/3 full lest you burn yourself.) I like the texture a bit rough, so we didn't puree it until absolutely smooth. Also, you don't want to overdo it. Like potatoes, squash are very starchy and can become gummy if over-processed.

When the soup is pureed to your preferred texture, stir in the evaporated milk. Turn the heat back up to medium-low and heat it through. Don't let it boil.

We served it plain, but it would be quite good with some herb oil, gremolata or even walnuts.

*Add more stock for a looser soup, and less for thicker.

**Don't get it mixed up with sweetened, condensed milk! Half & half or cream would work here, too.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

2008-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I've never tried them before! It's the simplest thing. Not even a recipe, simply a method.

Acquire 3# Roma tomatoes.

Slice off the end and in half lengthwise, creating tomato soldiers*.

Scoop out the seeds with your finger over the sink.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or your Silpat.

Place tomatoes cut side up, 12-16 halves to a sheet.

Use a pastry brush to apply a thin lacquer of olive oil to each tomato.

Sprinkle each tomato with salt.

Optional: Add rosemary leaves, whole garlic cloves, black pepper or tarragon.

Roast in a 200°F oven for 6 hours. Yes, six hours.

Eat. Plain or on toast, with pasta or on pizza.

*Tomato soldiers is what I called them while prepping boxes and boxes of tomatoes while working at Papa Murphy's through my formative years.

Inspired by Orangette

Genoa Closing

2008-11-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Now this is a surprise. After 38 years, Genoa closes. I am glad I went in August for the first time. It was truly a first-class restaurant. And that Boccone Dolce! Man....

The story is here via Egads at PortlandFood.org.

Organics to You

2008-11-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm doing my own version of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, where dedicated folks post every day in the month of November). I'm going to try to post ONCE a week.

My first Organics to You bin arrives tomorrow! This is what will be inside:

3 sm. Gala Apples
2 Anjou Pears
2 HoneyCrisp Apples
1 Hosui Asian Pears
1 bunch Kale
1 Peppers
1-1.5lbs. German Butterball Potatoes
1 Onions
1 Garlic
1 Winter Squash(mixed types)
1 bunch Parsley
1 Celeriac(Celery Rt.)

I also added a loaf of bread from New Seasons and a dozen farm-fresh eggs. Yippee!

Also yay for kale and celeriac! Sounds like a good soup for fall.

WCC#32: Garlic

2008-09-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

This month's Challenge is hosted by Carla of Chocolate Moosey and the theme is Garlic. It was a toss up between Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic and 44-Clove Garlic Soup. Can't go wrong either way, in my opinion. I've been trying to work my way through my Del.icio.us recipe bookmarks - I now have 198 - so I checked out what I had tagged under garlic. The soup sounded good, too, but Brian (no longer bf and hi, I'm Lisa, by the way) loves chicken, so I went with the classic Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. I had been wanting to try this recipe since seeing Ina Garten make it on her Barefoot Contessa show. This one I found from smitttenkitchen, who in turn got it from the NY Times.

The recipe is pretty simple, especially if you can find those already-peeled garlic cloves. This was the first time I tried them, and I am officially a fan. These we picked up at Fred Meyer near the bagged salads and mushrooms.

I used my Lodge Dutch Oven for this with good results. I made some changes, though - I didn't use the chicken stock called for in the last step because I didn't have any made. It seemed to have enough liquid - and what's the point of browning chicken, creating perfectly crispy skin, and then sogging it up with too much liquid? I used chicken thighs instead of a whole cut-up chicken as well. Next time I make this I won't start with the heat on high like the recipe suggests as my garlic got a little browner than I wanted. It was still good, though. The recipe's a winner, especially served with Brian's mashed potatoes.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

from "Bistro Cooking" by Patricial Wells via the NY Times and Smitten Kitchen

1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
About 40 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned broth (optional)

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Place a deep, nonreactive skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add oil and butter. When fats are hot but not smoking, add chicken pieces skin side down and cook until skin turns an even, golden brown, about 5 minutes. Work in batches, if necessary, and carefully regulate heat to avoid scorching skin. Turn pieces and brown them on other side for an additional 5 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Bury garlic cloves under chicken to make sure they settle in one layer at bottom of skillet. Saute, shaking or stirring pan frequently, until garlic is lightly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add wine and stock (if using), scraping bottom of pan.

3. Cover and continue cooking until juices run clear when a thigh is pricked, 10 to 15 minutes more. Check this after 10 minutes, because mine was definitely done then. Serve chicken with garlic and pan juices and, if desired, rice or potatoes.

Belly Timber

2008-09-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Seems like most of the brou-ha-ha over Belly Timber has to do with the name. For all y'all who don't know, it is "Victorian slang for all sorts of food". I get it. You stoke a fire with timber, you stoke your body with food. I kind of like it, even. So there.

Belly Timber resides in a big Victorian house on Hawthorne. This place popped to the top of my must-go-to list with the mention of pork belly eggs benedict. So you might say I knew what I was going to order right from the get-go. However, I had a hard time passing up the roasted mushroom & herb omelette with sheeps milk feta, the smoked sausage and potato scramble with chive sour cream, the fried chicken & waffle with bacon butter and maple syrup, the potato frittata sandwich with romesco and arugula on toasted sourdough, and the BT burger with housemade fries and bone marrow aioli. Yes, all of those sounded divine (and still do), but I ultimately decided to go with my original choice, the Belly Benedict - poached eggs, roasted pork belly and hollandaise. The decision was made even easier by the recommendation from the only other occupied table in our room. "You must get the benedict. The hollandaise is the best I've ever had." You had me at hollandaise. I'm a big fan.

And it lived up to its promise. Thick slices of delicately roasted pork belly sat atop a nicely crisp English muffin topped with perfectly poached eggs in a slip of hollandaise. I was feeling extra decadent and ordered an extra side of hollandaise. Once or twice a year isn't going to kill me... An interesting thing to note: the benedict came with a salad on the side. Very nice. The tangy dressed greens were a nice foil for the richness of the benedict and that luscious hollandaise.

My friend ordered the bacon and banana stuffed french toast with honey mascarpone and pecans. Not my thing, sweet breakfasts, but she seemed to like it just fine. I had a bite and liked the bacon in it.

The next time I go, I think I may have to go for that mushroom omelette and try a side of grits with it.

Belly Timber
3257 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 235-3277

http://www.bellytimberrestaurant.com/

What to do

2008-08-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

We are jaunting off to the White River Amphitheater to see Radiohead on Wednesday and then camping on the Puget Sound. Like many others this time of year, I am contemplating camping meals. I have a flat-iron steak in my freezer. Will we eat that? Or should I stick to hamburgers, sausages and BBQ chicken?

Farmer's Market and Clafouti

2008-08-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's my favorite time of year. From April to October, Portland is awash with farmer's markets in every part of the city. Most weeks, I hit the one at Ecotrust in the Pearl.

My favorite booths are Rogue Creamery, Nonna's Noodles, and the berry and tomato vendors.

I also enjoy the flowers,

the produce,

and the seafood.

Most recently, I shared a half flat of berries with my friend Allie.

With it, I created clafouti.

Mixed Berry Clafouti adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

1 teaspoon butter
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups mixed berries, such as raspberries, blueberries, and/or sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate or eight 6- to 8-ounce custard cups or ramekins with the 1 teaspoon butter; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine whipping cream, milk eggs, melted butter, vanilla, almond extract. Combine flour, sugar and salt in another small bowl. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Beat until smooth (batter will be very loose and liquidy and may have some small lumps - it's ok).

Arrange mixed berries in prepared pie plate or custard cups. Pour batter over berries. If using custard cups, place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes for pie plate; 25 to 30 minutes for custard cups or ramekins, or until puffed and light brown. Cool for 15 or 20 minutes on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over top. I also used turbinado sugar once - it added a nice, sweet crunch. Serve warm.

Makes 8 slices.

Bowie Post

2008-07-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

KINK FM 101.9 is playing 4 David Bowie songs at the top of each hour. I don't know why, but it's making my day!

Lucca

2008-07-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Chef Crush sent me to Lucca. I confess, I do follow the site. The next best thing to checking out hottie cooks in person is to see them through the eyes of the Chef Crush Girls!

Lucca hasn't really been on my radar. There's plenty of Italian restaurants in Portland, after all, and there have been a couple of restaurants in Lucca's spot that have failed, so I'm used to ignoring that corner as I go by.

One night Bf and I were thinking about going out somewhere casual and cheap, and I was surfing the interwebs as usual, trying to get an idea of somewhere different to go. Somehow I landed on Chef Crush, and immediately saw people I knew: Mike and Jordan from Ten 01. Yay for those cuties! On the second page, there he was, the ultimate blast from the past: Kjell from Lucca. Junior year in high school, my friend Beth and I took two brothers to our semi-formal dance at St. Mary's Academy: Kai and Kjell (pronounced "Chell"). In the Chef Crush pic, Kjell is standing in front of the wood-burning pizza oven. Okay, so I knew where we were dining that night.

Lucca is situated on the corner of NE 24th and Fremont. Six patio tables provide a quiet spot to enjoy your food outside. The main dining room and bar are divided by a low wall, with two-tops lining the bar side of the wall, where Bf and I sat. Right in front of the pizza oven, in fact. You may think this was my doing, but no, this was the hostess' whimsy. I just have good luck like that.

Right away I saw that Kjell was indeed working the pizza station that evening. Of course I had to go over right away and say hi, I haven't seen you since I was 16, but here's a picture of that dance we went to, remember? Of course he did remember me and we had a chance to catch up. Ahh, memories!

So on to the food. The menu is simple and broken into categories: Antipasti, Soups and Salads, Mains, Pizza, Pasta, Sides. Okay, that's a lot of categories, but there are only a few options under each and it all fits on one page.

We bypassed apps and had a cocktail each instead. I ordered the chopped salad (romaine, radicchio, crostini, pine nuts, Rogue Creamery blue cheese vinaigrette) and we ended up sharing it. Very flavorful.

For mains, Brian ordered the Bucatini and Meatballs while I just had to have a pizza. I chose the Arrabbiata and added sausage.

The pizza was fabulous. The only thing I would change would be a little more browning/char on the bottom. That's it. The crust was thin and mostly crispy with a good flavor, the sauce accented the toppings and was of the proper amount, and the cheese was that absolutely perfect melty consistency. To tell the truth I have been craving it ever since!

Brian's bucatini was ok, but I thought the sauce needed more salt and herbs. And maybe wine. The meatballs were tasty, though.

Verdict: Will return to Lucca in heartbeat for the pizza and salad. And cute boys.

Lucca
3449 NE 24th Ave (at Fremont)
Portland, OR 97212

Open for dinner Tues-Thurs 5-10 PM, Fri-Sat 5-11 PM, Sun 5-9 PM
Newly open for lunch Tues-Fri 11:30-2 PM
And for brunch Sat-Sun (no hours on website)

Ten 01 Anniversary Dinner

2008-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

Oysters on the half shell - apple-pink peppercorn mignonette
House made duck prosciutto salad - date puree, toasted oregon hazelnuts, endive, smoked oregonzola
Pea tendril salad - lemon ricotta, pickled ramp, radish, oranges
Crudo of hamachi - grapefruit-green peppercorn vinaigrette, shaved fennel, radish, orange
Crab salad - fava beans, English peas, cucumber noodles, caviar
Sweet corn bisque - maitake mushrooms and scallops with brown butter and truffle foam
Lorinon Rioja Reserva 2003
Bacon wrapped braised pork belly - pickled spring onions, chorizo, lentil-parmesan vinaigrette
Foie gras mousse - blood orange pistachio moutarda
Sauteed Alaskan halibut - poached shrimp, chickpeas, asparagus, green garlic broth
Pan roasted sea scallops - spring vegetable-farro risotto, shaved asparagus salad, crispy sage leaf
Roasted spring lamb chops - confit artichokes, garlic puree, goat cheese gnocchi, lam jus
Roasted palmetto squab - stuffed with foie gras, bacon-wrapped with a barley-turmeric vinaigrette
Flight of ice creams - salted caramel, Dutch chocolate with toffee crumbles, mint chocolate chip, dulce de leche
Chocolate peanut butter mousse with caramelized bananas
New York cheesecake - balsamic roasted strawberries and hazelnut scone

Big thanks to Chef Jack Yoss, Sous Chef Arturo, Sommelier Erica Landon, Pastry Chef Jeff McCarthy, mixologist Kelley Swensen, Didier, Meghan and all the staff at Ten 01 for making it a special, wonderful evening.

My favorites were the halibut, scallops, foie mousse, corn bisque, hamachi crudo and ALL the desserts. Seriously, I'm not much of a dessert person, but I ate all of mine and most of Bf's.

Funny: my notes on the sweet corn bisque say it includes "scappol". That's one way to spell scallop..

Two Anniversaries!

2008-05-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Stupid me forgot my blog-iversary, which was May 25! Happy Blog-iversary to me.

Bf and I celebrate our two-year anniversary today. We are going to Ten 01 for a special dinner that bf arranged with Chef Jack Yoss. I am looking forward to an amazing meal and a wonderful time with my honey. And many more...

Pastry cream from hell

2008-05-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

Pastry Cream: 3
LadyC: 0

For Easter I was asked to bring dessert to my family's dinner. No problem, I'll make the Chocolate Cloud Cake and a blueberry tart. I still have blueberries in my freezer from last summer. I made the pastry cream the night before, using the recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. I have made pastry cream before with this recipe. It turned out fine, like a thick vanilla pudding. This time, when I had risen the next day, baked the tart shell, rinsed the blueberries and picked through them, got out the pastry cream from the fridge where it was chillin' all night, it was still runny. Okay, well I'll just use it anyway. It will probably be fine. Nope. Not fine.

First I overfilled the tart shell. Probably only needed to use about 2/3 of the cream. Then I arranged the blueberries prettily on top of the cream. It's more time-consuming than one would think. It looked pretty for about 15 minutes, then we had to transport it over to my dad's house. The runny pastry cream sloshed before we had even reached the car. I was screeching with anxiety about it, yelling at bf not to spill it as I was driving (as smoothly as possible). Once we reached my dad's, I looked at the tart and realized it was no use worrying about it anymore. The blueberries had sunk into the cream and there was cream spilled over the edge of the crust. I set it on the counter and fussed over it a little bit, then let it go....it's just a tart, just a dessert, after all. When it was time to cut into it, it was a soupy pile of creamy blueberries. Everyone did seem to enjoy it, though. At least it tasted good.

A few weeks later I was making a fruit tart for a lady at work. I found a different recipe online for pastry cream and decided to use that instead. Well, this one had a different problem. It seized up so fast it was like hard jello, all in one molded clump. Okay, so I went back to the BH&G version. After all, I had made that successfully before the Easter disaster; maybe I just forgot the cornstarch? Uh, no. I made it, chilled it and it was still soupy the next morning. At that point I gave up and went for my backup plan.

That's right, I had a feeling this might happen.

So, I got up at 5 AM and combined mascarpone cheese with heavy cream and vanilla in my mixer till it was very thick. I spread that in my perfectly baked tart shell and topped it with sliced strawberries, red plums and blueberries. For a shiny effect, I melted apricot jam with water a saucepan over low heat until it melted, strained and cooled it, then brushed the cooled glaze over the berries. It looked perfect and was a hit.

I aim to try again. Pastry Cream, I will not let you defeat me!

Here's some pictures of my beautiful tart crust. At least I got that part down.

Confidential to Uncle Brian

2008-05-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

Through a little Googling, I found this interesting tidbit:

From Freaky Trigger, a UK blog:

"Sweetbreads: culinary term for the pancreas or thymus. However a lot of people (myself included) still think sweetbreads are testicles...But the culinary term for testicles is sometime sweetmeats.

Wikibooks has the best definition I have ever seen: Sweetmeat is the culinary name for testicles. Despite the name, sweetmeat is not sweet and is usually not considered to be meat."

The moral of the story is sweetbreads = glands &
sweetmeats = testicles.

I Won! I Won!

2008-05-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

My dear Lizzy from Lizzy Dishes Portland hosted a contest giveaway and I won! I won a $50 gift certificate to the new Pearl restaurant Mercato.

Thanks, Lizzy!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2008-04-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

The WCC Vintage Cookbooks entries are due tomorrow! I'm sorry to say I probably won't make it and haven't even cracked the book.

My time has been spent cruising the farmer's market every Saturday, cooking pot roast after pot roast (bf can't get enough of it) and doing a little baking for some nice residents at work (Hi Lynne!)

Last week I bought some heavy cream at the market, intending to make butter with it. But, I haven't gotten around to that, either.

It's the season for change in the LadyConcierge/bf world. Bf has decided to take a break from cooking professionally and has landed a sought-after position with good benefits. Who knows, it may turn into another career entirely.

I had a pretty nice dinner last week with the Portland Foodies at OCI. No one can really beat that deal: 4 courses for $14. At lunch it's 3 courses for $9. Of course, students are cooking and serving for you, so there's some missteps that go along with it. But at $14, who cares? I chose the oysters on the half shell, romaine salad, veal saltimbocca and chocolate dream tort. We were treated to a tour of the kitchens, where mini chefs-to-be were cooking up stock, perfecting grill marks on eggplant, and baking oodles of bread.

Tonight I hit up Biwa for some ramen and pork belly skewers with my friend Allie. She was another pork belly virgin converted. Whoo hoo, that makes two for me! The ramen was good as usual, but not as good as the first time I had it. The noodles are very creamy-tasting and rich, and I loved the addition of the Chinese BBQ pork. It's the broth that was a little off. Just not as charred-tasting as before. Still really good, though.

Next weekend I'm heading to Rockaway Beach for a little getaway. Can't wait.

Bambuza

2008-04-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

A new Vietnamese restaurant opened down at the South Waterfront near work. Having a third option for lunch is cause for celebration in of itself, but that it's Vietnamese and I can get my beloved pho, well, break out the fireworks. So far I've just had a few things: crispy spring rolls, salad rolls, fried shrimp, lemongrass beef bahn mi, and green papaya salad.

The restaurant just opened on Tuesday (2 days ago) but I was lucky enough to be invited to the sneak preview last Saturday. Both the crispy spring rolls and salad rolls were great - I missed the dipping sauce, tho. The salad rolls had a generous portion of herbs. I did not like the bò lá lốt (grilled steak wrapped in grape leaves) though - too dry and bitter. I don't know if I've ever had them before, so it might just be my taste. The fried shrimp had a little bit too much batter, but it was tasty and hot.

My lunch yesterday was the lemongrass beef bahn mi and the green papaya salad. The bread was awesome and crispy crusty outside and the beef was flavorful if a teensy bit tough. It had lots of cilantro, carrots and daikon, not enough jalepenos for me, tho. There was a little too much mayo on there. I don't know if that is the norm. The mayo is made in-house according to the menu, and tasted good. The whole combination was tasty and filling. It is a 'premium' bahn mi in size and value. The papaya salad was really good, too. It came with 4 "Tiger Prawns" on a skewer (I would call them 3-inch shrimp), crushed peanuts, fried shallots and basil and cilantro in a fish-saucy lime vinaigrette. It was a very generous portion, but at $6.50 I hope so. I had half of it left over, making it a good deal for me.

Today I'll order the pho.

**Update: Just came back from lunch. Got take-out combination hanoi beef pho with lean steak, brisket and meatballs. Very nice overall - good broth, lots of meat and lots of noodles. Garnish a little skimpy - no culantro. :( Noodles were a smidge overcooked. Pho Oregon still has the #1 place in my heart, but this one is pretty good, plus it gets a billion punk-rock points for convenience.

**Update 4/18/2008: Tried the wonton noodle soup for lunch today. From the menu - "shrimp and pork dumplings, fresh garden vegetables and egg noodles in chicken stock". Overall a good dish. The dumplings were the best part - so flavorful and plump. I was pleasantly surprised to see the egg noodles were akin to vermicelli noodles in size. I like skinny noodles! In this case the noodles were perfectly cooked, but maybe too many? Bright carrots and broccoli along with bok choy made up the veggies. My only quibble is with the broth. I needed more salt and I thought the broth wasn't hot enough. Those are both very minor and easily fixable things, tho, so I would definitely recommend this soup. Next time I might order extra dumplings and fewer noodles.
________________________________________

Bambuza Vietnam Bistro
3682 SW Bond Ave.
Portland, OR 97239
503-206-6330

Open Mon-Thurs 10am-9pm
Fri-Sat 10am-10pm
Closed Sun

Lunch is limited menu/take-out only.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge Round-Up

2008-04-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! The round-up for WCC26: Pressure Cookers, Dutch Ovens and Crockpots is up. Thanks again to Lis from La Mia Cucina for hosting (and for thinking my pot roast looked good!)

April's theme is Vintage Cookbooks and is hosted by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. Pick a recipe from a cookbook written earlier than 1980, make it, blog about it, and send it all to Carla at mooseymoosecc AT hotmail DOT com. All entries are due Saturday, April 26.

I'm especially excited about this theme because I received Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and haven't cooked anything out of it yet. Guess I got some reading to do...

Mom's Mac-n-Cheese

2008-04-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

My mom did all the cooking when I was a kid. Good, homemade meals where nothing came from a box and there were no concessions to finicky kids’ developing taste buds. We ate a lot of baked chicken and fish and steamed veggies. There was salad at every meal. My favorite food was artichokes, steamed whole and eaten with melted butter and lemon. I still like anything with melted butter and lemon. Mom was a health nut, though, so we didn’t see a lot of fatty comfort foods. When she did bust it out, she did it in style.

My brother’s absolutely favorite dish was and still is Mom’s Mac-n-Cheese with salmon. We always had crates of jarred salmon in the pantry, courtesy of family fisherman friends happy to share. Tucked in amongst cheese-cloaked noodles, the salmon elevates the humble dish to rock-star status.

Mom's Mac-n-Cheese with Salmon

6 tbls butter
6 tbls flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 cups milk
3-4 cups (i use 4) grated medium cheddar cheese

1 tsp (or to taste) Tapatio hot sauce
3 cups cooked noodles

1 tall can good salmon

1 cup green onions (optional)

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat (add salt). Add flour. Cook for a minute until a little bubbly. Add milk slowly! Turn heat to medium.

Meanwhile, cook noodles.

When the sauce thickens and starts bubbling, take off heat! Now add the cheese and the hot sauce.

Finally, combine cheese sauce, macaroni noodles, green onions (if using) and de-boned salmon together in a large oven-proof bowl or casserole dish.

Sprinkle top with another cheese layer. Or just use slices of cheese like I did.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

We cut the middle out cause it was fun.

A couple suggestions...Next time I make this, I would cut down the noodles to 2 cups. 3 cups of noodles made for a dense dish and I like a lot of sauce. Also, I think adding garlic and topping this with toasted breadcrumbs would be tasty.

San Francisco eBay

2008-03-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

My new camera arrived in the mail today. I'm no photographer, so it's not a fancy one, just another point-and-shoot. It's got some more megapixels so hopefully that will translate into better detail and quality. Or maybe I just have to practice. I got it brand-new on eBay for less than 1/2 of the retail price. Yay!

Speaking of photos, here's a few from bf and I's trip to San Francisco:

(Why don't we have public toilets in Portland?)

It was a nice trip. Bf has all the food photos; I still have to get those.
_________________________________________

Just being lazy about writing up the Mac-n-Cheese. I'm almost done, I swear!

WCC#26: Not Too Romantic

2008-03-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

...but it's pot roast.

It's supposed to be something using a Dutch Oven, Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker, according to the rules of Weekend Cookbook Challenge Number 26. So, I pulled out this random piece of meat from the freezer and gave it a go.

The recipe is loosely based on this one from Tyler Florence's Ultimate series. I guess I'm not really following the spirit of WCC by not using a cookbook, but I'm doing it in the spirit of making something I've never made before! Plus, I got to use my wonderful Lodge Dutch Oven that bf gave me for Christmas.

The roast I used was a shoulder roast, I think. Actually, I'm not sure at all what cut it was. It was on sale and I grabbed it up for the freezer. Use any big bone-in roast. I took it out of the freezer 2 days early and it still wasn't completely thawed, so I stuck it in the sink under running cold water for 20 minutes. (I also overflowed the sink and flooded my kitchen doing this, but that's another story.) Then I patted it dry with a multitude of paper towels and let it sit for about an hour to warm up.

Now, I was ready to rock! I generously salt-and-peppered the meat on all sides and rubbed it in a little. Then I set the oven to 200 degrees and set my Dutch Oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. I dumped some olive oil (NOT EVOO) in it, enough to coat the bottom, plus a little more. I let that heat up a few minutes, then got ready to brown the roast.

Problem. It was a little too big for my Dutch Oven. Oh well, I just smooshed it down with my tongs and hoped for the best. Anyway, it browned up just fine and smelled good, too. Go me.

After the browning, I turned the heat down and added one big can of crushed tomatoes, a cup of water, two onions, a couple celery ribs, a bunch of baby carrots, an equal amount of button mushrooms and plenty of baby Yukon Gold potatoes to the pot. The onions and celery I cut into big chunks, but the rest I left whole. I grated a couple-three garlic cloves and tossed them into the pot as well. I seasoned it with rosemary and thyme and more salt and pepper. Use fresh herbs if you've got 'em, but I didn't and it was fine. Also add 2 bay leaves and another glug of olive oil and kinda stir the best you can to try to coat the veg.

I covered it with my tight-fitting Dutch Oven lid and slid that heavy thing into the oven. You probably should cook it 4-6 hours or so and baste it a lot. Mine wasn't quite done after 3 hours and I had to go to bed, so I just left it overnight.

What? Pot roast is good for breakfast, too.

And it was good. The meat broke apart and combined with the tomatoes and liquid from the veg and created a kinda stew-like mess. I loved it. I was going to give some away, but bf refused to let me. It'll be gone by tomorrow.

Thank you to this month's host of Weekend Cookbook Challenge, Lis from La Mia Cucina!

____________________________________________________

I know I said it was Mom's Mac-n-Cheese next, but I had to get this up before the deadline of March 26th! So forgive me, please.

Also waiting in the wings are Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo and a Blueberry Tart.

Coming soon...

2008-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

All right, Mom's Mac-n-Cheese up next.

Bf and I had a great time in San Francisco. Went to Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, the Ferry Building and had two great dinners at Boulevard and Postrio. Bf took some pictures so I'll try to get those up soon.

Tom Kha Gai

2008-03-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is the best soup I've ever had in my life - at least how Jack Yoss at Ten 01 made it last month. It is tangy, smooth, complex and a little sweet. He created it for family meal and made quite a lot; so, knowing I love soup, he offered me some in a take-home container. I took it home and opened it as soon as I stepped in the door. Lemongrass and chiles and lime and coconut, oh my. I didn't bother to heat it up again but slurped it up. Jack made his with some roasted pork still clinging to the bone and left the inedible bits of lemongrass and ginger in the broth. Oh, the broth! My favorite part of any soup, this broth shone with citrus cut with coconut creaminess and finished with a spicy kick.

I tried to re-create it with this recipe, but the results were not the same. Oh - it makes a good soup, though, don't get me wrong. It was easy and flavorful and I would make it again. But, I'm working on getting Jack's recipe.

This recipe is based on one from another blog I recently discovered: Tigers & Strawberries. It's a cinch to put together after you locate the ingredients.

Tom Kha Gai adapted from Tigers & Strawberries

2 14-ounce cans coconut milk (I used the 'lite' version)

1 quart chicken stock

3 stalks lemongrass, the bottom third only, outer layers removed, cut into 2-inch chunks and smashed slightly with the back of a knife

5 slices galangal, 1/4 inch thickness

5 kaffir lime leaves

5 dried red chiles

fish sauce

6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

green onions for garnish

In a large pot combine the first 6 ingredients and bring to a boil. Add fish sauce to taste. (I used about 4 teaspoons but could have used more. This soup has no salt in it, remember, all of the salty taste comes from the fish sauce.) Reduce heat and let simmer for one hour.

Remove lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal from broth. Take out the chiles and squeeze the insides into the soup. You can add the pods back in, too, or discard them - it's your choice.

Add chicken and mushrooms and simmer until chicken is cooked through. I cooked mine 10 minutes, but less would probably do it.

Remove from heat and add lime juice. Ladle into individual bowls and top with cilantro and green onions.

Outta Here

2008-03-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's been the busiest week! I have a Tom Kha Gai recipe post all ready except for the pictures. Of course, it's been ready for a week and I haven't uploaded the pics yet. And then I have my mom's mac and cheese recipe to share with y'all, too. Well, that one will probably have to wait a week or so. Bf and I are heading to San Francisco next week for a much-needed break and to celebrate bf's 30th birthday. Wow, we are getting old...

I'm planning on getting the Tom Kha up by this weekend, so as not to leave you high and dry while I am gone.

Ciao!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

2008-02-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

You Are a Fortune Cookie

You're a rather normal person, except that you have extraordinary luck in life.

People want to be around you (even when they're a little sick of you), in hopes of being lucky too!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

This is funny because I hate fortune cookies.

Country Cat Revisited

2008-02-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

Bf had a burger-and-fries craving. I did some research on PortlandFood.org's Best Burgers Thread and found a couple mentions of the Country Cat's burger being a favorite, with a special note mentioning the exceptional fries. Another popular one was Pause, but we tried Pause once and really didn't like it and weren't quite ready to give it another shot.Country Cat was packed; we only saw one empty table and five empty seats at the counter overlooking the cooking line. I asked to sit at the counter. We always like to watch the cooks bust it out. Perusing the menu, bf latched onto the fried chicken option, tempted in no small way by the view we had of the two cast-iron skillets full of juicy boneless chicken bubbling away on the back burners. What happened to burgers-and-fries, you ask? He's easily swayed. He had passed the craving on to me, however, so we decided to get one order of the chicken and one burger and share. Looking at the menu again, guess what I saw? No fries! The burger came with onion rings. Oh well. I tried the rings last year and remembered loving them.

It was fun watching them put everything together. Bf noted “No salamander” so to melt the cheese for the burgers, they used a skillet. The cheese got all hot and melty and gloopy. Perfect. A small ciabatta (?) bun held the medium-rare burger, along with a smear of garlic mayonnaise and some kind of smoky red sauce and a little lettuce and red onion for crunch.

Yum, look at that. I wish I could eat it again now. The fried chicken was very yummy, too. I have publicly voiced my doubts about boneless fried chicken, but I was very, very wrong. The pieces are juicy and the absence of bone isn’t missed. Whatever coating they use is brilliantly crispy and flavorful. I noted that they twice-fried the chicken – maybe that’s what the secret is. I’ll have to try that at home someday. The chicken plate came with collards and a cream biscuit perched up on top. The usual drizzle of honey came on the side as requested. (It’s good we were sitting at the counter as the menu had no mention of honey. I would have freaked to get chicken with honey on top. Blechh, yucky.)

WCC25: Chocolate Cloud Cake

2008-02-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

First things first. WCC25 stands for Weekend Cookbook Challenge Number 25. Each month a different food blogger picks a theme, other bloggers post their recipes and the host collects the results. February's theme is Nigella Lawson, hosted by foodiechickie. Ideally one would choose a recipe from one's library of cookbooks, but I found a great recipe online from her book How to Eat. A word of warning, Nigella is a sassy Brit gal and so uses the metric system. Grams and millilitres don't convert so well to cups and spoons. After consulting an online conversion site, I gave up and purchased a digital scale.

The recipe I chose was a Chocolate Cloud Cake, a version of flourless chocolate cake finished with mounds of flavored whipped cream. I've made flourless chocolate cakes before, however, this one folds in beaten egg whites just before baking. This creates a delicious, light texture to a cake that is usually dense and fudgy. (Not that dense and fudgy are bad!) The cake's texture is smooth and quite similar to the whipped cream topping but with a little more substance.

Chocolate Cloud Cake à la Nigella

250g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
125g unsalted butter, softened
6 eggs: 2 whole, 4 separated
175g caster sugar: 75g in the cake, 100g in whites ( I used Superfine Baker’s Sugar)
2 tablespoons Cointreau – optional (didn’t use it)
Grated zest of an orange – optional (didn’t use it)
23cm springform cake tin

Cream Topping

500ml double cream (used heavy whipping cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Cointreau (substituted Kahlua)
.5 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder for sprinkling

Method: (these are pure Nigella with my notes alongside.)

1.Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. (This converts to 356F – I used 350F with great results)

2.Line the bottom of a 23cm Springform cake tin with baking parchment.

3. Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or a microwave, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate. (First time I used the microwave. 30 seconds at a time is a good pace to let the chocolate melt a little, stir, and let it go again.)

4.Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 75g caster sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture, the Cointreau and orange zest. (I hate how fruit and chocolate tastes together, so I omitted the Cointreau and orange zest in the whole recipe. I added nothing in place of it in this step.)

5. In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 100g of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but not too stiff. (I saw Alton Brown and his egg whites episode the night before, and he recommended not using a stand mixer for your egg whites, as it tends to leave a pool of unbeatened whites at the bottom of the mixing bowl. I attempted to whip these to a ‘soft peak’ state by hand, and couldn’t do it in 15 minutes. My advice is to do it by hand as long as you can manage, then transfer it to your mixer. If you have a hand mixer, by all means use it.)

6. Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.

7. When you are ready to eat, place the still tin-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its tin. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here.

8. Whip the cream until soft and then add the vanilla and Cointreau and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Fill the crater of the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder pushed through a tea-strainer. ( I decided on Kahlua for the whipped cream; however, bourbon would be good, too)

Uh, I obviously forgot to dust with cocoa powder, too. It was a great cake, though!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Flowers from my Daddy. Making the Chocolate Cloud Cake tonight!

My, What a Busy Week

2008-02-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

And by that I mean, boy am I a lazy blogger. This week I promise a Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake just in time for Valentine's Day and maybe a hot -n- sour Tom Yam soup.

Bf and I do not have Valentine's Day reservations this year as he has to work. So we're going to celebrate just for fun on the following Sunday at Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill. I really want the Chef's Whim dinner, but bf is hesitant to relinquesh control of his dining. I still have a week to work on him, but regardless, I'll take some notes and a menu and post about it.

Have a good week!

(Special shout out to my supporters Toby, Michelle, and Allie! Thanks, guys!)

Quiche It Up!

2008-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

My first "Mom" recipe I ever tried my hand at was her Italian Zucchini Quiche. It was for a high school French club gathering, and man, they ate it up. I have since figured out that quiche is simply an egg-and-cheese pie, and you can throw whatevah you have on hand in that bad boy. Last week, it was bacon and shallots - little twist on the traditional "Quiche Lorraine" but I used cheddar instead of swiss. I'm calling it Bacon-Shallot Quiche. Quite original, aren't I? Oh yeah, and I used store-bought pie crusts because....that's what I had in the freezer. I don't want to hear any lip because we all know I can bust out the Pâte Brisée with the best of 'em! My secret ingredient to any quiche is Dijon mustard spread onto the pre-baked crust. It really adds great flavor.

Bacon-Shallot Quiche

One pie crust at room temperature
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 large shallot, diced
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pie crust into pie pan, pressing firmly on the bottom and sides. Form the edges into a raised crust - flute if you'd like. Place a square of parchment or waxed paper over the pie crust and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights if you have them. Cover the edge with a pie ring or foil. (Also, DON'T use foil to line the pie crust with its weights. It tends to stick.) Slide the pie crust into the oven on the middle-lower rack and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave the oven at 425 degrees and set the pie crust somewhere so it can cool a bit. When it's cool, remove the parchement and weights. Spread Dijon over the cooled crust.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, brown the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Drain fat off as needed. I find it gets crispier if you take out some of the extra fat. Scoop out bacon bits onto a paper towel on a plate.

Turn the heat down a tad. Add shallots to the pan with the bacon fat, stirring often to prevent burning. Cook for 5 minutes or so. Remove from pan into a bowl or plate (they can share with the bacon, if you want) so they cool off some.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs until thoroughly mixed, then add milk and whisk until combined. Add the cheese, bacon and shallots to egg mixture. Carefully pour egg mixture into prepared pie crust.

(The crust here is a little darker than I wanted because I *forgot* to cover the edge in the first baking. Do as I say, not as I do.)

Cover the edge with the pie ring or foil. Place in the 425 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. I usually have to bake it another 5 minutes or so, but ovens vary.

**Edit: My mom helpfully pointed out that I didn't include any seasonings. Well, duh, I did add a teaspoon of salt and a generous amount of pepper. I neglected to include that, so, sorry. ADD SALT AND PEPPER.

Apizza Scholls

2008-01-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

After an annoying day of work, a bothersome trip to the laundromat, and a necessary application of Rain-x on my car windows, some comfort food was in order. I had my heart set of Apizza Scholls over on upper Hawthorne. For those who don't know, Apizza is the New Haven pizza style. What does that mean? Hmmm...Wikipedia has this to say: "New Haven-style pizza, also known as apizza, [is] popular in southern Connecticut. It has a thin crust that varies between chewy and tender, depending on the particular establishment. The default version is a "white" pizza topped with only garlic and hard cheeses; customers who want tomato sauce or mozzarella cheese have to ask for them explicitly. Apizza has a very dark, "scorched" crisp crust that offers a distinctive bitter flavor, which can be offset by the sweetness of tomatoes or other toppings."

While I don't know that Scholls' "default" pizza is the white pie, they have one on the menu, and the crust descriptions are certainly accurate. Imported upskirt photo from their website:

See those charred spots? They do not taste burnt - they impart a smoky, deep flavor that I haven't experienced before. The crust is this perfect mix of chewy-crunchy with a malty-sweet-smoky taste. I really haven't had better anywhere.

Two things that are always mentioned in connection with Apizza Scholls are the wait and the rules. I will mention them, too. First off, the wait can be horrendous. Don't show up on the first balmy night of the summer at 6:30 - everyone else will be there, too, and you will wait 90 minutes to get seated. Space is limited. It is *much* better than it used to be, though, since they took over the space next door and outfitted it with another bar, a private dining space, 5 or so tables that can hold parties of eight, and a nice, comfy waiting area with window seats. The best way to go is to show up right at 5pm when they open. You'll either be seated right away or very soon. Now, there are rules for your pizza and they are in place for your own good. Only three ingredients per pizza. Only one meat per pizza. No, you cannot order pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and olives. And you don't want to, really. It would mess up the delicate balance of crust+sauce+cheese+toppings. You want to taste the crust and sauce in every bite, don't you? Of course you do.

In my 3 or 4 visits in a year-and-a-half span, I've tried a few different pies. 'Margo'rita - Tomato sauce, mozzarella (whole milk & fresh), grana padano, pecorino romano, fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil; Amore - the 'Margo'rita plus hot capicollo; Sausage - house made sausage!; Clams Casino - no longer on the menu, but I think it was a white pie with clams in the shell, guanciale (unsmoked bacon from the pig's jowl), garlic; and Tartufo Bianco - Mozzarella (whole milk & fresh), grana padano, pecorino romano with Truffle Oil & sea salt.

My favorite is the sausage with mushrooms, and second place is held for the Amore. Last night we ordered a half-and-half of both and I couldn't have been happier. I was glad to try the Clams Casino the one time. It's a very intense and rich flavor and I couldn't imagine eating more than one piece. Surprisingly enough, I didn't care for the tartufo. I love truffle oil, but this combination came off dry and salty for me. Some folks go ga-ga over it, so try if you think you'd like it.

[Sausage pie photo from the website]

The menu also features a great Caesar salad. Get the anchovies. If you're into it, the Barbera d'Alba Deltetto 2004 is a great match with any red-sauce pizza.

Apizza Scholls
4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
503-233-1286
Open Tuesday - Saturday 5 pm - 9:30 pm
Reservations taken for parties of 8-12 only; one per night

Happy Birthday, David Bowie!

2008-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

A New Blog I Like to Read

2008-01-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

...is Jeff McCarthy's. He is the new Pastry Chef at Ten 01 and has been at Carlyle, Roux and Fenouil most recently. I can't wait to try his desserts. Maybe even the Irish Car Bomb will make an appearance???!!!

Long Time No See

2007-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know. I've been lazy. It's the Christmas season (not holiday) and I'm just swamped at at work, and so on and so forth....

I've been baking and cooking a ton! Braised brussels sprouts, lemon-dijon chicken, sugar cookies, minestrone soup...

I did venture out to Sel Gris recently (in November) and am in the middle of a post about my experience.

After the new year, I'll finally have access at home and be able to load my photos and post more often. Don't forget about me!

Chesterfield and Thatch

2007-11-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

This week I hit two places I'd never been before, Chesterfield over on Burnside, and Thatch on NE Broadway. My friend J and I met at Thatch at 4:00pm, and they didn't open till 5, so we headed over to Chesterfield. You might know Chesterfield by its big red paint job. It's in the same building as rocket - Chesterfield on the bottom floor, rocket on the fourth. Still haven't been to rocket but it doesn't sound like I'm missing much. Chesterfield is brightly decorated, with plastic stools. I didn't like them at all! Stupid stools.... Upstairs there's a round coke den table in black leather. It looks just like the ones at SubTerra, only not white. There's also a counter lining the loft ledge with more plastic stools, perfect for sipping solo, gazing down at the pretty young things below. Speaking of pretty young things, there were none in sight. In fact we were the only ones in the whole place when we walked in, and then a table of 3 showed up. The space is a lot smaller than I'd imagined, and I would not like to be there on a busy night. The best surprise was the bartender Russell. He's an old friend from my Red Star days back in 2000, and a terrific bartender. My friend had a perfectly balanced Pimm's Cup and I tried the Wendelini - peach bitters and prosecco with an lemon twist. J and I shared some curried mushrooms and a greek salad. Good portions for cheap. It was happy hour, too, so our drinks were $3 off. I will go back, soon, to see my friend Russell and try more drinks, like the Miss Sassy Rack or the Queen Bitch.

We had made a commitment to get into Thatch, so we headed back to my 'hood just after 5pm. It, too is smaller than it appears. Maybe 6 tables, and the bar. To enter, walk over the little wooden bridge spanning the "grotto". Some people find it annoying, but I love the tiki motif. It reminded me of being in Mexico. Sniff. There are tiki idol gods everywhere, and a thatched roof and a private table in it's own little hut. I can see heading there in the depths of February when ya just need a little cheering up and a mai tai is what the doctor ordered. J dared me to try a Donkey Punch, a drink so dangerous they are limited to two per customer. And the ingredients aren't listed, but the main one is Bacardi 151. And I drank two. I felt pretty good when I left. The food menu is pretty limited and there isn't much of a kitchen, so I don't know if I'd make it a food destination.

Chesterfield
1101 E. Burnside
Portland, OR 97214
503.236.6133
Open Daily 4pm - 2am

Thatch
2733 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
503.281.8454
Open daily 5pm-close

Helser's on Alberta

2007-11-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, we slept in. Like until noon. A slothly morning begets a late brunch. After debating where to go, bf and I hopped in the good ol' Hyundai and headed north to Alberta, vaguely thinking of Francis but not committed. Passing Tin Shed and Helser's, both looked busy so we continued on up to Francis. Parked the car, went inside and found...a zoo. I didn't know Thursday at 1:15pm was so popular for breakfast/lunch. Don't these people work? I don't like to wait, plus I never thought Francis was THAT good, so we drove back down to Helser's. Never been there anyway and wanted to try it. There was only a group of 2 in front of us, so we were seated within 5 minutes.

Right off, I liked the menu. Breakfast is served all day, a bonus for those who break their fast after noon, like me. It wasn't your standard bacon-and-eggs-and-benedicts menu. I wish I had one to post. Pancakes were on there, and maybe waffles, and a mushroom hash, bacon hash, a breakfast sandwich with crumpets, uh.......Oh wait, the menu is on their website. Clever. Ok, so no waffles. Potato pancakes, three hashes, steak and eggs, brioche french toast, scotch eggs, three different bennies, a Louisiana Hot Sausage Scramble wrap, the breakfast sandwich, a pear and Havarti pie, black bean chili scramble, and a dutch baby! Lots of things I might want to try for future visits. On the lunch front I spied a shrimp ravioli and a potato cake torta that looked interesting. Also, for the early birds, Helser's offers a $3.95 breakfast special from 7am-9am daily. Why can't there be a "late birds" special? I'm just sayin'.

Did I mention adult beverages for breakfast? Bf ordered a coffee nudge, and I was persuaded to get a hot buttered rum. We are lushes.

It was one of those times when I saw what I wanted right away, and only read the rest of the menu for kicks. Mushroom hash with criminis, scallions, garlic, Yukon Gold potato hash tossed with melted Havarti cheese. I added two poached eggs because, oddly, it was the only hash that did not come with eggs. And a side of hollandaise, just cause.

This was after I finished. It was huge! The mushrooms were more than plentiful, they were abundant. The scallions added a bright crunch to each bite; they didn't skimp on those either. Different from most hashes, the potatoes were sorta smashed and fried. I liked the soft texture. The cheese held everything together, although it didn't really need cheese. Next time I would sub the Havarti for chevre and add spinach. That would be perfection. I didn't really need the poached eggs, either, but it was good to have some protein.

Bf ordered the spinach, mushroom and tomato benedict. The eggs and veggies came atop a nice crumpet, but with very skimpy hollandaise. He was glad I had some to share. Speaking of, the hollandaise was heavy on the butter, but had no lemon taste at all. Not the best but at least it wasn't Knorr's. Bf liked the benedict, especially the crumpet. I "helped" him with some stray clumps of spinach. Very good. He commented that the tomatoes were especially good. Wonder where they get those this time of year?

At $28, it wasn't the cheapest breakfast, but it was really the drinks that did it. Otherwise it would have been under $20. A standout breakfast all around.

Helser's on Alberta
1538 NE Alberta St.
503-281-1477

Autentica

2007-10-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Having just returned from Mexico, I decided to hit Autentica's brunch on Sunday to see how it stacked up. I had read many great reports over at PortlandFood.org, so I had a couple things in my mind to try. First: shrimp in spicy broth. Well, not really what I expected. It was 4 big shrimp, butterflied, tail and shell-on with legs in a bowl of red broth that was surprisingly, not spicy at all and very fishy. One thing I have never mastered is peeling hot shrimp with utensils, so I made a mess of myself removing the shrimp to a napkin, peeling them and returning them to the hot broth. Besides not being spicy, the broth was one-dimensional. It was a little better after adding some red chili table salsa and lime, but I didn't finish it. The shrimp were cooked well and tasted good. Bf got the huevos rancheros that came with ham and black beans. Pretty yummy, though also very mild. The ranchera sauce was great and I ordered tortillas to help him scoop up the sauce. The ham was very thin and so-so, while the eggs were done right and the beans very flavorful and just salty enough. For apps, we had the shrimp and octopus ceviche and a chicken sope. The ceviche was was in a cold tomato broth and the seafood was tender and flavorful. The saltines on the side were good with it, tho I wish there were a few more. The sope was the clear winner. A small, thick tortilla-like base topped with shredded chicken, beans, cabbage, crema, avacado, onions, cilantro and maybe some other things I'm forgetting, piled on a plate. Each bite was the perfect bite. Next time I'm ordering a pile of these.

It was expensive. The 4 dishes above, plus 2 spanish coffees came to $48. (How did it compare to Mexico? Who knows, since I ate very little "authentic" food while I was there - our all-inclusive resort featured mostly buffet meals. I had a few carnitas tacos that rocked, and some good scrambled eggs with chorizo.)

Autentica
5507 NE 30th Ave

Portland, OR 97211

(503) 287-7555

into the sunset...

2007-10-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am flying to Ixtapa, Mexico for a one week vacation. It's my birthday October 18th and I'm going with my family. Should be a fun trip! Here's some pictures I found online to help get the drool going..

Apple Pie

2007-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

I made the first apple pie of the season last night. For the first time, I used Martha Stewart's pâte brisée recipe for the pie dough. I am now officially a big fan. It was easy to assemble in the food processor, rolled out beautifully, and the buttery flakiness can't be beat.

Martha's Pâte Brisée

Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Tried-and-True Apple Pie

1 recipe Pâte Brisée

3 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out one disc pie dough to 2 inches larger than diameter of pie plate. Transfer dough to glass pie plate, pressing into corners. Trim dough to 1/2 inch past edge of pie plate.

Combine apples and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the apples and toss to coat evenly. At this point I like to let it sit for 5-10 minutes, so the sugar mixture and the apple juices form a caramel-like syrup in the bottom of the bowl. This is a good time to roll out the other pie crust.

Stir apples, then pour into the pastry-lined pie plate. This amount of apples should create a generous mounded pie. Scrape the bowl to get all the caramelly goodness into the pie. Dot with butter.

Lay the other crust over the top. There should be some overhang. If it's too long, trim it, but I usually just tuck it under the bottom crust lip and press to seal. At this point, you can flute the edge or use a fork to make a pretty design. I'm a fluter. (If you don't know how to flute, here's a video!)

Use a sharp knife to cut a couple of small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Some people like to brush the crust with milk or an egg wash and sprinkle some sugar on it. Me, I leave it plain.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips. Cover crust edges with some foil or a pie ring to prevent burning or overbrowning. Now it's ready to go in the oven.

Bake for 40 minutes, then remove the foil or pie ring and bake for 20 minutes more. Pie is done when the crust is golden brown and the apples are soft (but not melted like applesauce!).

Let cool on a rack for an hour or so before cutting into it, if you can. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream, or my favorite, freshly whipped cream.

The Country Cat Dinnerhouse

2007-09-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! Last Thursday I attended a dinner at the Country Cat with the Portland Food.org folks. I love getting together with these people. Finding this group of food-obsessed-even-for-foodies totally rocked my world, and now I have tons of willing dining partners whenever I need them. These people are like instant family, eating off my plate and offering bites of their own, dishing about new restaurants and favorite recipes. The family-oriented Country Cat was a hit with the group.

The owner/chef Adam Sappington dropped by to welcome us to the restaurant and sent out some starters for us to enjoy. The house made jerky was a spicy, sweet surprise, spicy wings crackled with flavor, and the heirloom tomatoes were fresh and summery drizzled with olive oil. After all those munchies, I decided to forgo a salad and just ordered the "Whole Hog" entree ($19). That featured a slab of pork belly, a brined pork chop and a nugget of deep fried head cheese atop a pool of grits. The head cheese was my favorite, although I admit I didn't know what I was eating. It tasted like liver or another organ or pate, all of which I really like. It was crispy and creamy and rich all at once. The grits were out of this world; I ate all of them first and took home a bit of pork belly and chop for bf. The chop was a little dry; I missed the little ring of fat that can juice it up a bit. I also prefer chops that are bone-in. Just a petty quibble, and it was quite enjoyable regardless. Someone ordered a plate of onion rings ($4) for the table and boy did I like those. Shoestring-skinny and piled on the plate, these were made for sharing. There's no way one or even two people could finish that plate.

Others tried the lamb ($22), beef roast, bacon-wrapped trout ($16), goat cheese and onion hand pie ($13), boneless fried chicken ($18) and duck leg ($18). The only bummers were the trout (needed salt) and the tarragon sauce on the fried chicken. The lamb got rave reviews, as did the whole hog for others that ordered it. I think we all appreciated the flawless service. My water glass was full the whole time and the servers were there when we needed them before we had to ask or look. Some have opined that the place is a little too upscale or expensive for the area, but I disagree. I lived 10 blocks from there last year and would have loved to have it as an option. It might not be what folks are used to as a "family restaurant" in the area, but the neighborhood can, I believe, support a quality eatery.

I had a great time overall and can't wait to return.

The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar
7937 SE Stark
Portland, OR 97215
503-408-1414

Open daily 5pm - close
Brunch Sat-Sun 9am-2pm

Nutshell

2007-09-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Who hasn't thought of a good title pun with Nutshell? Nutshell in a... , Nutty for Nutshell, Nutshell's Sweet Meat, Where's the Beef?, Nutshell Deshelled, etc, I could go on and on. It's a good name, not just for a vegan restaurant, but a Portland one, a Northwest one. Portland's more than a little nutty and the area is known for hazelnuts after all. More to the point, Nutshell fills a niche. A good vegan restaurant? There's Veganopolis, but I wouldn't call it good. Calendula was pretty well-liked, but they're out of business now. Tired of Old Wives' Tales and Kalga Kafe? Run, don't walk to Nutshell.

Of course, it's not all moonlight and roses. What would be the fun in that?

Spacious and slightly industrial, the place is personalized with giant renderings of the signature gorilla on one wall and some interesting art-on-vinyl kickin' it in the back along with an oversized, comfy couch. Booths line the wall opposite the very open and very small kitchen, and a good number of tables pile in front of the huge garage door opening (just above) to the street.

We picked a booth midway down with a good view of the action. Greetings from our red-haired server came quickly, with a request for drink orders. Bf and I both ordered Downtown Brown from Lost Coast Brewery. At that point we were waiting for our friend, so we sat back to explore the menu. This point was a little lost on our obviously new server (new to the food service biz, perhaps?) who came back multiple times to take our orders even though our friend had not arrived. (He was only about 8 minutes behind us.) The menu is broken into sections: Starters (2), Salads (5), Soup (2), Entrees (10), and Dessert (4). There's a list of Liasons (salad dressings) near the salad section and choices of vegetables and starches below the entrees. Many of the items are gluten-free or could easily be made gluten-free. There are no fake meats, tofu or soy anything. Hallelujah, praise Jesus! Also on the table was a slip of paper to tick off choices of bread, olive oils and salts. We picked an assortment of bread, along with a Spanish and a Chilean olive oil, a smoky volcanic salt, along with one I have no memory of, other than it was salty, which is good enough. The bread was good and I especially liked the rye. The olive oil pours were a little skimpy for $1. The smoky salt rocked - get it? Ha ha, Sean the Vegan would approve. (Chef Sean Coryell is a fan of lame puns.)

When it was time, we decided what to order. However, our server didn't tell us that the restaurant was out of many items. Six, to be exact. Both starters, the Vichyssoise, jamiacan barbeque, tandoor skewers, and the maple chocolate tart dessert. As we had been there for a good half hour, and she had been to our table like 10 times, it seems she would have mentioned that. Oops. So, it would have to be shots of creamy french lettuce & chervil soup, warm yukon gold potato pancakes, Nigerian akras, Bigfoot's raw living lasagna, and the imported spaghetti. Oh, and an order of 155-grain naan.

The soup shots came out quickly - cold, refreshing, and reminiscent of cucumber. It was what I would imagine a lettuce soup to taste, and it was delicious. I couldn't wait to try everything else.

Well, we chatted, saw some friends, talked, and waited...and waited....and waited. It says front and center on the menu "This is REAL slow food. So be patient, it might take a while." Or something like that, anyway. Boy, they weren't kidding. I was getting pissed when it was approaching 7:00 and we had been there for an hour and a half, had ordered an hour before, and still not even the naan had come out. I wasn't getting pissed; I was pissed. In fact I said to my friend and bf, "This is ridiculous, I'm never coming here again." Of course, then someone came and told us they were having problems with the tandoori oven, so sorry for the wait. They were very apologetic and sent over a special Bob Marley shot: Black Boss porter, sarsaparilla, brown sugar and peanut butter - a surprisingly yummy combination. But, only the naan is cooked in the tandoori oven, so wouldn't they send out the rest of our food and tell us the naan would come later, or maybe wouldn't be available at all? Seems like that would have been a more customer-oriented thing to do.

And then they had to make me eat my words. Never come back? Yeah, right, I want to return tomorrow, if not sooner! In one swoop, everything was laid in front of us. The naan, the bane of my visit, was spicy and grainy and dark - and delicious. I started with the potato pancakes ($11)in front of me. More like potato pillars than pancakes, each of the three supported kale and big, meaty mushrooms and there was caraway cream drizzled along the outside. Interesting flavor. The imported spaghetti ($12)was bathed in a generous porcini-cream sauce and sported fresh veggies and black & white truffle. I know it wasn't dairy cream, but there wasn't any difference in taste. The akras ($9) were chickpea fritters, quite tasty if a little heavy and filling. The lasagna ($12) was definitely the prizewinner. Stacks of heirloom tomatoes, pine nut ricotta, marinated mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes with a little salt, vinegar and olive oil. Served cold cause it's 'raw, living lasagna', meaning not cooked. Think of it like a hearty, stacked salad. Those of you readers who are counting might notice that we ordered 4 entrees for 3 people. Yes, yes we did. Take three bites, pass to the left. It worked out pretty well, except I might have snuck an extra bite or three of the lasagna.

After a while someone noticed a plate of one of the starters going to a table - Tunision brik, a phyllo-and-spinach dish that had been reported as "out". We checked, and it was available, so we ordered that, too. The menu described it as three-day spinach, which maybe accounted for the strong and slightly bitter spinach taste. It came as two big triangles, kinda like spanikopita with no cheese. The pastry's flaky butteriness perfectly offset the muscle of the spinach. Along side were two harissas of varying heat. Naturally, I liked the spicier one best.

Oh, yes, I have pictures. This is the best one, of the lasagna:

They're all really dark:

Akras

Imported Spaghetti with porcini cream and truffles.

Naan with olive oil. (So good I took the rest home. It was the only thing leftover!!)

Yeah, the pictures don't do it justice. Blame the cell phone camera, not the food.

We sampled two desserts as well. Pone ($6), a coconut-corn pudding with grilled pineapple, brown sugar sherbet and raisins, was very good if a little heavy, like a dessert oatmeal. Definitely need to share. The Argentine empanada was the favorite, a flaky, crispy crust filled with banana, coconut and quince, piping hot with a tangy lime sorbet.

Verdict: Service issues need to be addressed, but the creative, flavor-filled cuisine saves the day.

Nutshell
3808 N. Williams
503-292-2627

Open for lunch and dinner.

Riley is Found!

2007-09-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

He was stuck in the house across the street. He's hungry, but fine. Thanks for the (imagined) support.

Coming soon, a visit to Nutshell.

Help! Riley is missing!

2007-09-16T09:16:00.001-07:00

This is not Riley, but a picture of an almost identical cat. I last saw him Wednesday, Sept. 12th. He is a neutered male, 4 years old, with a short, chocolate/cream colored coat and bright blue eyes. I'm posting flyers and talking to the neighbors. I posted a "lost cat" notice on the Dove Lewis site and the Multnomah County Animal Services site. He's never been gone from home before; he is very attached to me and our other cat Bella. Please wish me luck and I'll keep you posted.

Genie's Cafe

2007-09-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning with no water at our house, just air coming through the pipes. Turns out the people next door were having sewer work done, and they broke the water main. Good going, guys. I used this as an excuse to go out to breakfast. Milo's City Cafe is our usual haunt, but we were in the mood for something new. I tried Genie's a few months ago alone when my girlfriend stood me up. That time I went for the scrambled eggs with black truffle, potatoes, toast and a side of hollandaise. The eggs were blah, the truffle not very fragrant nor the flavor I expected, but I really liked the hollandaise.

This visit was more successful.

Bf and I ordered the same thing: a special of the day wild chanterelle mushroom frittata with bacon, spinach and topped with feta for $10.25. And of course a side of hollandaise. The frittata was very good, baked gently with lots o' mushrooms. The bacon was good and meaty, the feta plentiful. I did add just a touch of salt and a few shakes of Cholula. About 8 pieces of breakfast potatoes were artfully arranged around the frittata, giving it the appearance of a sunburst. I actually don't much like their potatoes. They are ones I wouldn't eat without something to dip them into, like ketchup or hollandaise. The hollandaise wasn't as good as last time. It had a flour-y mouthfeel to it that I didn't like and couldn't figure out where it came from. Maybe they switched to a mix? It was lemony enough, though, and I ate it all, so that tells you a lot about me. Genie's is good enough; I will return to try the benedicts and biscuits & gravy.

The coffee is Stumptown and sufficiently strong.

Genie's Cafe
1101 SE Division
Portland, OR 97202
503-445-9777
Open 8-3. Coffee shop opens at 7. Long lines on the weekends for breakfast.

Hamachi and Scallops at Ten 01

2007-09-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Just a couple photos of my solo dinner last night at Ten 01's bar.

First, Sashimi of Hamachi:

Hamachi with green apple-celeriac vinaigrette. There's also some kind of tasty oil coating the fish. Soooo buttery is all I can say.

Next: Scallops

The scallops were slated to come with smoked salmon risotto, trambancino squash and whole-grain mustard aioli, but I was in the mood to change it up, so I ordered it with the quail set-up. Those are cranberry beans with melted cherry tomatoes and pieces of smoked ham hock. I was in *hog* heaven!

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

2007-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

10 medium-sized tomatoes
3 red peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large or 2 smaller sweet onions, like Walla Walla, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
tablespoon dried basil
pinch red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 2 lemons
salt
pepper
1-2 cups heavy cream
avacado, diced (optional)

Turn the broiler on high. Stem the tomatoes and cut in half. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. It might take 2 batches to do all the tomatoes; it did pour moi. Broil carefully, till the tomato skins have black charred blisters and look pretty wrinkly, 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and slip the skins off the tomatoes with tongs or your fingers (be careful, they're hot!). Place the tomatoes in a non-reactive bowl. Repeat as necessary.

Cut the tops off the red peppers. Or do as I do: using thumbs, press the stem inward till it breaks from the flesh, then remove it. Cut the peppers in half the long way, removing the seeds and white membranes. Place cut side down on the baking sheet, and repeat broiling process. The skins are a little harder to remove than the tomatoes. Enlist the help of a knife if necessary. Cut the peppers into strips, then add to the bowl of tomatoes.

In a large, non-reactive stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often, then add basil and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until onions are just about translucent, about 5 or so more minutes.

Add tomatoes, peppers and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.

Puree soup in batches in a blender. When working with hot liquids, never fill the blender more than 1/3 full. Some recipes now strain the soup, but not me.

Return the blended soup to the pot. Add orange and lemon juice. Taste. Salt and pepper it, and taste again. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Add as much cream as you are comfortable with, then bring the soup up to a gentle simmer again. You might want to taste it again and add more salt.

Serve in a shallow bowl with diced avacado mounded in the center. This soup would go well with a green salad, or even a toasted cheese sandwich.

Le Hana

2007-08-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

The first restaurant just opened in the South Waterfront district. Le Hana is an interesting mix of Japanese and French cuisine. I was leery till I checked out the menu and found it's mostly a Japanese focus where you can also order a Kobe tenderloin, a Strawberry Mountain ribeye, sake diver scallops, and pan seared Copper River salmon. The menu has a lot of sections:

Appetizer
Salads
Soups
Seafood Entrees
Meat Entrees
Vegetable Entrees
Fusion Sashimi
Assorted Sashimi
Nigiri Sushi
Nigiri Sushi Combination
Hand Maki
Regular Rolls
Specialty Rolls
Baked Rolls
Meat Lover's Rolls

Bf and I ordered a lot. Miso (didn't order, it just came), tempura shrimp, the small assorted sashimi platter, hamachi sushi combo, Iro Iro Maguro roll, and the Scent of Shiso roll.

The miso and tempura were good, on par with most sushi places in town. Assorted sashimi came with 2 pieces each of hamachi, salmon, albacore, escolar, octopus, maguro, shrimp and snapper. Salmon and hamachi are my favorite, they were both buttery and smooth. The fish was cut a little thicker than I'm used to, but I viewed it as a plus. High quality, though I've never been to Murata or Hiroshi, so I can't say how it matches up. I really loved the pure-white escolar, although recent health warnings gave me pause.

The hamachi sushi combo was supposed to include 8 pieces hamachi roll, 2 pieces of hamachi nigiri and 3 pieces of chef's choice nigiri. What we got was 8 pieces spicy salmon roll, and 6 pieces of assorted nigiri, luckily most of it tuna. I was not at all upset, as the spicy salmon roll was outstanding. The spicy sauce gently coated the delicate salmon pieces without overwhelming the mild fish.

The Iro Iro Maguro roll consisted of blue fin tuna, avacado inside, lightly seared toro outside with a lime caper sauce and tobiko on top. Loved this and would order it again in a heartbeat, despite the $18 price tag.

The Scent of Shiso roll was just as good. Salmon, avacado and dungeness crab with shiso and halibut on top. Shiso is an herb leaf that reminded me of mint or cilantro with lemon notes as well. It added a little fresh crunch and burst of brightness to every bite.

The interior has booths along two walls, a sushi bar and a regular bar. Big, round, creamy-colored lanterns hung above the entry beckon from blocks away. Red lamps hover over each booth at varying heights. Watch out for those booths; they are definitely built for little people.

Le Hana
3500 SW River Parkway
Portland, OR 97239
503-467-7501

Heirloom Tomato and Bread Salad

2007-08-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

I really was inspired by Molly at Orangette on this one. She mentioned, in passing, in one of her old, old posts (I'm going through the archives) from 2005, about a great summer pastime, eating tomato and bread salad. I have heard of such a thing, but never thought much about it. Shame, shame on me. It's so easy and delicious. Just do this:

cube some good bread (can be day-old or not)
toss bread in a bowl with olive oil and some halved garlic cloves
toast in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes on a sheet pan
dice heirloom tomatoes in large chunks and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic
mix croutons with tomatoes and season with salt & pepper
add some cheese (fresh mozz, shaved parm, whatever) and basil
*edited to add: let sit for 5 minutes
eat (Orangette says to eat aggressively)

If I knew how to get my pictures from my camera onto my computer, I would add a picture here.

Le Pigeon again..

2007-08-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Finally took bf to Le Pigeon last night. We showed up at 6:45pm and were told there was a short wait. No problem, we'll leave our cell number and head over to Doug Fir. Oops, before we could order a drink at Doug Fir, Le Pigeon called back! That was fast. So this was my first time sitting at the bar. This is the way to go, folks. Talk about an open kitchen; at this bar, you're right on top of them. We ordered:

Beets, cucumbers, lemon creme fraiche
Foie terrine, brioche, truffled apricots
Beef Cheek Bourguignon
Flat Iron, tomato, leek, anchovy

I like how simple the menu is. It doesn't mess around with wordy descriptions. Of course, you have to ask how the pork is prepared, but that doesn't bother me.

Beet salad rocked, but I can't think of a better combination than beets, cucumbers and lemon creme fraiche. I hogged this to myself. The foie terrine was interesting. I'm not to sure about foie yet - it's the texture. Anyway, it came as a big slice layered with fat with a spoonful of truffle apricot jam on the side, and a plate of brioche. Bf ate almost all of this. It was really rich, with a hard butter texture, and I liked it with the brioche. I actually would prefer a crostini with it, something crunchy.

The beef cheeks were served with a couple slices of potato, a bunch of carrots, and some onions or fennel. It all blended so it was hard to tell. The cheeks are huge, though, and with your fork you can pull off a bite of thready, juicy, beefy goodness, spear a carrot and a bite of potato, swirl it around in the burgundy reduction and try to make it to your mouth before it drips on your new blouse. Ahh, bliss. Bf's flat iron came a very red medium-rare (all the better) sliced and stacked on a pile of sliced tomatoes, leeks and anchovy. It was very good, but I liked mine better.

That we were going to order the apricot-bacon cornbread with maple ice cream was a given. It was the whole reason I brought bf there! It was just as good as last time. I am quite enthralled with the flavor of the maple ice cream. Maybe next summer I will buy an ice cream maker.

Our dinner, including one beer and one glass of pinot noir, came to $87, and I took home more than half of my beef cheeks. Also, the cook burnt our cornbread and had to remake it, unbeknowst to us, so they comped it! Totally unnecessary, but a nice gesture.

We look forward to visiting Le Pigeon often. The menu changes all the time, and you are guaranteed to find something that you've never had (pigeon cherry tart, anyone?), or something put together in a way you never would have done.

Cadillac Cafe

2007-07-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Cadillac Cafe is just like Florida - filled with wicker, palm trees and old people. I had never been there before this morning, but had heard good and bad. Funnily enough, no one mentioned the decor, other than to mention the big pink Cadillac set behind windows. Well, let me say, the place is pink with stenciled palm trees. We sat in a sun porch area in big wicker chairs. I'd say it was the prime seating area. And we both noted that it was the "younger" section - no retirees in golf shirts here.

I didn't peruse the menu like I usually do, probably because I saw something I wanted immediately on the specials menu. Huevos Rancheros. Now I'm sure I've never had "real" or "authentic" huevos, but I've liked most versions I've had anyway. We did get both the breakfast and the lunch menus, very much appreciated. Bf ordered the Eggs Mazatlan.

My huevos came as 2 corn tortillas laid flat, stuffed with shredded pork and black beans, topped with eggs over easy, ranchera sauce and cheese. On the side I had subbed sauteed veggies for potatoes. The veggies were okay but had too many carrots. I liked the huevos quite a bit - pork was tasty, tortillas slightly crisped, eggs runny, and cheese melted. I tasted cumin and chili powder and a few sprigs of cilantro were on top. The ranchera tasted like enchilada sauce to me, but I confess I don't know what ranchera sauce should taste like. I imagine a place like the Cadillac wouldn't either. The dish did, however, suffer from a lack of salt.

Bf's wasn't as good and it looked bad enough that I didn't want to try even a bite. There was a folded-up yellow flour tortilla that wasn't warm nor toasted at all. He said it also was salt-free. The accompanying housemade salsa looked good, tho.

The worst thing is the drinks. We opted for 2 "lunchtime cocktails" at a whopping $6.75 each, for a 1/2 shot at most weak-ass drink. Boo.

In spite of the pretty good huevos, I doubt we will go back.

Pho Harry Potter (Fairy Potter?)

2007-07-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday I grabbed my Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and headed up the way to Got Pho? The storefront exterior hides a large, bright and nicely decorated space. I got my usual, pho tai chin. It came a steaming bowl with lotsa meat and noodles. The garnish plate was not up to Pho Oregon's level, but whose is? There was enough basil and bean sprouts, jalapeno and lime, but I missed the culantro. The broth is spiced heavier than Pho Oregon's; I wasn't sure if I liked it at first. The clove and cinnamon (?) outdid themselves, covering up the meaty flavor. It got better the deeper I dug into my bowl, though. Note to self: don't try to read a new book while inhaling pho. It gets splashed. Oh well, Harry's baptized. Verdict - Not as good as Pho Oregon, but good enough. And closer.

My heart broke when I read the last page of my Harry Potter. I can't believe there are no more! It was a great book, full of action and magic and revelations on every page. All questions were answered and pieces fell into place. Aww..Severus Snape! I'm not going to give it away, but I liked the ending. I am going to read it over again right away.

If anyone hasn't read Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials, go grab the first one! It's called The Golden Compass and the movie will be released soon. I liked his books as much as the Potter series.

Saucebox

2007-07-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I hit Saucebox with my family. We consider it an old favorite, where everybody can find something they like. The biggest decision, of course, is what to drink. The 'cocktail catalogue' has pages and pages of house creations divided into sections by spirit. I was into rum that night, so I went with a Coconut Lime Rickey. Very good, tart, coconutty and frothy. The next one I tried was the "Pom" Beach. It was similar to the first one but had pomegranate juice and no cream. Maybe that's why I liked the first one better.

For apps, we had a half dozen oysters, the Thai Beef Salad and spicy corn fritters. I loved the zingy beef salad - especially the mint/cilantro flavors. I ordered the ribeye medium rare for an entree. It was not medium rare. It was juicy enough and had good flavor, but I was not pleased. I like it bloody. I probably would have sent it back if I had been with other folks, but for a family night - nah. I ate most of it anyway as well as the fingerling potatoes and sesame beans. Two at my table ordered the Thai Red Curry with chicken. It looked and tasted fabulous. I might get that next time! The other entree was the Korean Baby Back Ribs. I didn't try them, but I did have a bite of the house made kim chee. Not bad. Besides the overcooked steak, it was a good night. We could have stayed and talked for hours after we were through. I love my family!

Saucebox
214 SW Broadway
(503) 223-3393

Tuesday - Friday 4:30pm to close
Saturday 5:00pm to close

Beer Potato Chips

2007-07-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

They do have a hint of beer flavor, but basically it's kettle chips with a malty, sour aftertaste. Bf pointed out, "They probably taste more like beer if you're not drinking beer at the same time." Brilliant.

Beer Chips website

Fratelli and Bar Dué

2007-07-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Fratelli recently expanded into the space next door, creating Bar Dué. It's dark, candle-lit, has a small bar and a long bench seat with 5 or 6 two-top tables. I tried two cocktails that I really liked, a pear-tini (Grey Goose Pear odka, fresh lemon & Amaretto) and a Mezzaluna Orange Martini (Mezzaluna vodka, Grand Marnier & fresh squeezed orange juice). The Happy Hour menu is broken into Pizzette and Small Plates. There are four pizzettes with various simple toppings. I tried one with tomato, fennel and salami. Yummy, crisp and slightly sweet. From the small plates section, I had the veal meatballs with gorgonzola and the braised beef panini. The meatballs rocked. Veal and gorgonzola - what a combo. The panini was pretty good, too, especially the spiced pickle and onion marmalade spread. Also on the menu is roasted lamb with salsa verde, polenta with mozzarella and prosciutto, squash wrapped in pancetta, beef and pork lasagna, and a mixed green salad. Happy Hour is 4:30-6:00 and 9:00-close; $2 drink minimum. Pizzettes and small plates are $5. The regular bar menu includes pizza, antipasti, bruschette and formaggi. Prices range from $3 (one antipasti) to $16. Try it!

Fratelli
1230 NW Hoyt
503-241-8800

Summer Hours: Sun-Thurs: Bar 4:30-9:30, Dining room 5-9:00
Fri & Sat: Bar 4:30-10:30, Dining room 5-10:00

Ten 01

2007-07-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: I have friends/family that work at Ten 01.

I have a drink or appetizer at Ten 01 at least every other week or so. The bartenders are great, always ready to suggest a drink I might like, or describe the new offerings on the bar menu. I haven't had a full dinner there since opening weekend in November (under a different chef) until last night.

A server at a neighboring table described the changes since Executive Chef Jack Yoss took over in May as "like working in a completely different restaurant". That's certainly reflected in the menu. Where previous menus were divided into mulitiple confusing sections, current ones are simplified into straightforward "Appetizers" and "Entrees". Instead of funky combinations like a kamut berry entree or crawfish pasta with kumquat cream, there's a roasted jumbo quail with wild mushroom stuffing and brown-butter potato puree and grilled spring lamb chops along side goat cheese gnocchi and fava beans. Yum!

My aunt and I sat upstairs in a comfy corner booth. Five or six booths line the wall of windows overlooking busy Northwest Tenth Avenue, with a few more interior booths and tables. The primo spot is the corner table that seats ten people or so and has a lazy susan for easy family-style meals. There's also a private dining room on that level that can hold 28 people.

We downed glasses of champagne while perusing the menu. Love those bubbles! We ordered and shared:

Sashimi of Hamachi with green apple-celeriac vinaigrette
Heirloom Beet Salad with arugula, belgian endive, shaved radish and tangerine oil
Glazed Carlton Pork Belly with pickled spring onions and asparagus
Sautéed Alaskan Halibut with fingerling potatoes, chanterelles, pearl onions, smoked bacon-sherry sauce
Alaskan King Salmon with mussels, braised fennel, fregola sarda, lobster sauce

The chef sent out an amuse of sweet corn bisque, made with smoked mussels, chives, lemon-herb crème fraîche and served in a shot glass. Very sweet, fresh, corn flavor. It was piping hot, a nice change from the tepid soups I am usually served. The kitchen was nice enough to split every order into two plates for us. It really made the whole experience more enjoyable. The hamachi came first. Four or five slices of fat-marbled hamachi with a good amount of small dice green apple and celery root piled on top and scattered around. After the first bite, my aunt and I's eyes met in amazement; it was wonderful. The buttery fish melted in the mouth. I could eat this for days, truly one of the best things I've eaten this year. The beets in the salad were plentiful; I liked the golden ones best. The tangerine oil was a good flavor match. Auntie had never tried pork belly, so we had to order it. What came was a three-inch rectangle wrapped in bacon. I quite like the pork-on-pork action going around these days. The fat was all melty and good with the crisper bits.

The last two items we ordered as entrees, although we really didn't need any more food at that point. I really had good intentions of taking part of my salmon home, but that didn't happen. Damion, our server, had mentioned that it had been in the water not more that forty hours ago - that was pretty much the clincher. I had been leaning toward the stuffed quail or the rib eye. The salmon was cooked perfectly medium rare. "Slippery salmon," I called it. The skin was seared crispy with just a touch too much salt. The surrounding fregola were good but I wasn't so keen on the lobster sauce. It's hard to tell what lobster sauce is, as a diner. Is it creamy, is it brothy? In this case, it was tomatoey, brothy, salty. And there were mussels that tasted good, but I didn't think really went with the salmon. The fish was definitely my favorite part of the dish. My aunt's halibut was a winner all around. Very nice seared crust with a pile of chantrelles, onions and fingerling potatoes.

For dessert, we shared a slice of the flourless chocolate cake with chantilly cream and raspberry sauce. It was very dense, very chocolate-y and very perfect. A nice something sweet to cap off a mostly great meal.

Ten 01
1001 NW Couch Street
Portland, Oregon 97209
(503) 226-DINE

Dinner: Monday - Saturday from 5pm to close,
Lunch Monday - Saturday from 11am to 3pm
Happy Hour from 3pm - 7pm Monday - Saturday.

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro

2007-07-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Walking into Tabla feels like coming home. Bf and I have been friendly with the owners and people who work there for a few years now; it's nice to go in and see familiar faces and be welcomed with genuine enthusiasm. Of course, we get treated extra special.

The 3 Course Prix Fixe dinner is a good deal and includes an appetizer, half pasta and an entree for $29. We upgraded this by including wine pairings. However, we let our server Lia choose our wines so I have no idea what those were, except that we started with a most excellent Prosecco. I like me some bubbly.

There was an amuse, a crostini with blackberry spread and either sheep or goat cheese. Very tasty. I chose the Cucumber & Bell Pepper Salad (local cucumber & bell peppers salad on cucumber puree with sheep milk feta cheese) for my first course. The puree was a little blah on its own but perked up when eaten with the bell peppers in the same bite. Bf chose the Butter Leaf Lettuce Salad (served with creamy lemon vinaigrette, shaved grana padano & spices), which was pretty basic. The creamy vinaigrette was extra garlicky, a plus for us.

Choosing a pasta was the most difficult. Tabla makes all their pastas in-house and they are by far my favorite pasta in town. I have always enjoyed the Tajarin with truffle butter as well as the signature Tabla Ravioli (stuffed with chard, ricotta and a poached egg, finished with poppy seed butter), but this time I spied a new option: Calamari (house made noodles tossed with white wine, cherry tomato & fresh calamari). Beautiful dish, as pictured above. Toothsome calamari rings and tentacles atop a small mess of fresh, wide noodles and cherry tomatoes. I gobbled up every bite and then wished there was bread to soak up the wine sauce. My other half can't get away from the Pappardelle with Rabbit Ragu, but this time he chose the Bison Ragu (house made pasta with bison braised in red wine & fresh thyme finished with crushed chilies).

To me it tasted quite similar to the rabbit ragu, maybe a little meatier. The chilies lent a nice kick.

I zeroed in on the Halibut Cheeks for my entree (pan seared & served over fregola sarda with Spanish chorizo, cilantro & tomatoes) and never looked back.

(Sorry for the cell phone pics.) As you can see from the size of the cheeks, it must have been a big halibut! My line cook bf was quick to inform me that fregola are toasted, hand-rolled semolina pasta from Sardinia. Seared fish are a favorite of mine; my cheeks did not disappoint. The seared crust was buttery and full of good flavor, while the fish was slightly firm and moist. Triangular little chunks of Spanish chorizo added depth when eaten with the smoky, slippery fregola and cilantro. The tomatoes were little cherries bursting with sun-ripened flavor.

Bf went with the Moroccan Peanut Stew (braised lamb, yams & zucchini with grilled flat bread), something I never would have chosen as I'm not big on peanuts or yams. I do, however, love lamb and zucchini enough to venture a bite. Verdict: earthy, spicy, peanutty with a touch of sweetness. A little too peanutty for me, but that's me.

The flat bread was undercooked/doughy in the middle but wasn't bad. Bf and I ended up polishing off my halibut cheeks and boxing up most of his stew (we were full at this point and figured it would keep better than the fish). Ah, but then dessert menues appeared. For once I felt in the mood. I went with the Cocoa Caramel Panna Cotta (whipped cream, vanilla bean, amaretto & chocolate cigarettes) and bf got the Staccato Gelato of the day, blackberry mint. The panna cotta was very good although I don't remember much caramel flavor. The gelato tasted of fresh berries, and the mint was a nice accompaniment. Finished off with a shot of espresso and a Kyle's Smoky Martini (scotch instead of vermouth), the night was just fabulous.

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro

200 NE 28th (at Davis)

Portland, OR 97232

503-238-3777

No Food, Bad Food, Food Porn

2007-07-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

No new places to report on from the last week, although I'm heading to Tabla tonight. Every time I go (with the exception of the last time) I sing the praises of this simple Mediterranean bistro.

I did eat at Russell Street BBQ recently, though, but it wasn't that good. I'm not interested enough to post about it. Maybe later when I'm really bored.

Food porn. Photo courtesy of Alinea restaurant in Chicago, where I would really like to eat someday. This item is entitled "apple". The menu states it is served with horseradish and celery.

Birds and Bees

2007-07-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

My horoscope today in the Oregonian.

Libra: The birds and the bees do it. The pursuit of intimate pleasures could be foremost on your mind. Someone could play hard to get.

;-)

Summer in Margaritaville

2007-07-03T11:30:00.001-07:00

I am blessed in many ways. Not least is that I have a very loving bf who is a master in the kitchen and makes great drinks. All of his cocktail creations are made with fresh-squeezed lemon, lime and orange. His favorite liquor is tequila, so, not surprisingly, we enjoy many versions of the classic margarita.

This is one he whipped up last night. I can't post the recipe - I don't know the amounts. He used lemon, lime and orange muddled well with sugar, ice, tequila, triple sec, cranberry juice and grenadine shaken furiously, then topped with a little splash of RockStar energy drink. Bottoms up!

Toro Bravo

2007-07-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

"The Brave Bull" is walking distance from our place. Here's a quick rundown of our dinner the other night:

Green beans with lemon and tomato puree. Nothing but yum!
Fried Anchovies - came with fried lemon slices and fried onions with Romesco. Very good and fresh, not fishy. I liked eating the whole fish, the head and all. The fried lemons rocked.
Crab & Pork Croquettes - fried crab balls with a little bit of pork with olive oil and a small dice of tomato, onion and parsley. The pork dominated the flavor, which to me made them not as good as they could be, but very good nonetheless.
Scallops with Romesco - The Romesco sauce is great and went very well with the Scallops. Bf thought the scallops were a tad overcooked, maybe medium instead of medium rare. I disagreed. I love scallops, but there were nothing special about these, in that we could've had them anywhere.
House-Smoked Coppa Steak - came with carmelized onions and kalamata olives. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. At least 2 inches thick, pink in the middle, crusty on the outside. I found it chewy, and so smoked it tasted like ham. Bf thought it was great and it was his favorite dish of the evening. Me, not so much. The texture was so chewy it was hard for me to eat. There was quite a bit of connective tissue and fat that hadn't rendered. It was also hard to cut with the knife provided. The flavor was enjoyable, especially the middle pinkest part. I don't think I would order this again, but bf definitely would.

Very good service and timing. Dishes came out one at a time for the most part, and the ten minute or so break before the steak came was appreciated to get our tummies caught up. We came in just before 6:00pm when it was just about half full, but it was completely full when we left after 7.

Toro Bravo

120 NE Russell St.
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 281-4464

Open Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday 5pm-10pm
Friday & Saturday 5pm-12am
Closed Monday

The Famous Apricot-Bacon Cornbread with Maple Ice Cream

2007-07-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday night at one of the hottest restaurants in Portland? Usually that's a hell no. But, I was dining with the lovely folks from Portland Food who had kindly arranged a reservation for our party of 6. I had driven by Le Pigeon many times, but had never looked inside. It's teeny. There are 3 community tables seating eight or ten, and an L-shaped bar that seats another eight, perhaps. I really didn't get a sense of decor if there is any to speak of, just a lot of....people. It's like a seated rock concert, with Gabe Rucker headlining night after night.

Shared: Asparagus with fingerling potato and pigeon aioli, Butter Lettuce salad with bacon & blue cheese, Pickled Pig's Ear with fettucini and artichoke, and Crispy Frog Legs with Picked Garlic Remoulade. The salad and asparagus were tasty if not earth-shattering. I did not care for the pig's ear or frog legs. I commented at the time that the frog legs tasted like nothing, not even chicken. The pig's ear was mixed with a bunch of fettucini (not my favorite) and tasted strongly of vinegar. The artichoke was good, though. For my entree, I ordered Scallops & Swine - 2 rich marshmallow-sized scallops, crusty on the outside and med. rare on the inside paired with a generous slab of pork belly with oyster mushrooms and asparagus tips on the side. Oh yeah, and smoked pork fat hollandaise. Swoon. Words can't do justice to the combination of sweet scallops and smoky pork belly. I wanted to lick the plate. I tried a bit of Beef Cheek Bourguignon - stewy, meaty beef cheeks rich with Burgundy wine. Lamb looked great atop a white bean puree, and the sweetbreads were that perfect mix of crispy and creamy.

The dessert options were scrawled on a big chalkboard on the East wall. Our choices included Creme Brulee, Espresso Pot de Creme, Foie Gras Profiteroles, and the famous Apricot-Bacon Cornbread with Maple Ice Cream. (All of which we ordered for the table.) I'm not a very big dessert person, but I deigned to have a bite or two. As expected, the Cornbread was a hit! Salty, smoky and sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and the cornbread itself had a very rustic texture with a large crumb. The ice cream's creamy smoothness set it off wonderfully. I can't wait to go back just for this dessert.

No wonder Gabe was named one of the Best New Chefs by Food and Wine Magazine.

Speaking of the Chef, he was there in full-force, busting it out in the tiny open kitchen. He came personally to deliver a course to our table; I noticed him doing the same throughout the restaurant. What a great touch. Tattoos of the namesake bird play on his forearm, and he's quite good looking in a David Arquette kind of way. The next time I go, I want to sit at the bar and watch the action.

Le Pigeon
738 E. Burnside
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 546-8796

Open 7 days a week for dinner beginning July 8th.

Andina

2007-06-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a big eat-out day for me. First, a lunch at El Gaucho with the Portland Concierge Association turned out to be a huge amount of food: lobster rolls, crab cakes, filet mignon, burnt sugar cream. Then, I had a dinner date with my dad.

Wow, Andina was packed; I'm glad we had a reservation. It was very smoky when I entered. Cook-fire smoky, not cigarette smoky. The booths lining the windows are a prime place to sit and watch the traffic on Glisan. However, being a two-top, we sat at a two-top in the middle. The service was very good, especially since they were so busy. Then again, this is Andina. They are always busy, so they must be used to it by now.

Dad and I started with cocktails: a mojito for him and a caipirinha for me. In case you don't know, a caipirinha is a Brazilian drink made with cachaca (sugar cane liquor), lime and sugar. In this case, it is "shaken ecstatically" and served on the rocks. Dad's mojito was fresh and minty.

After listening to the specials, we decided on some apps. We went with the special cebiche, made with red snapper, mango, onions and habaneros, and a half dozen oysters. The cebiche rocked! A perfect blend of tart and spicy, served with a slab of sweet potato on the side. Something crunchy would have been nice to break up the texture. The oysters came as a selection of tiny Kumamotos and another that I cannot remember. Instead of the usual champagne mignonette, Andina's oysters come with 3 little salsas. A cucumber one, a mango one, and a spicy jalapeno one (I think). I had a different salsa with each oyster and they all complemented the fresh, ocean-y bivalves in a different way.

For entrees, we continued with the seafood. He had the quinoa-crusted scallops with wilted spinach and potato parsnip puree, and I decided to go with two tapas, bay scallops with lime butter and parmesan, and also yuca rellena. I did not try Dad's scallops, but they were beautifully presented on a long, rectangular dish holding three scallops each perched on it's own little bed of spinach and puree. Drizzles of some sweet, red fruit reduction artfully decorated the plate. I imagine they tasted good, too. I had had the bay scallop dish before, but it had been served in the scallop shell the last time. I thought there was too much parmesan cheese melted on top. Too much parm is not good. It has a weird texture. So I scraped most of it off and enjoyed the scallops in the lime butter on their own. Next time, if I'm in a scallop mood, I will go for the other choice, the grilled diver scallops in lime butter sauce. The yuca was quite tasty, though I would've enjoyed more heat. I didn't realize the chile flavor was in the accompanying sauce until later. The yuca is really filling, and came as four, 4x2 inch "logs". I ended up giving one to Dad and taking the last two home. (By the way, what is it with servers not including the sauce when wrapping up your leftovers? Sauces are very important! Scrape that sauce into that clamshell!)

No dessert for us, although the chocolate-cinnamon cake sounded yummy. It was a very fun night overall, with good food and company. Thanks, Dad!

[photo from Andina's website]

Strawberries and Star Wars

2007-06-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

I'm late, I know. Everyone's been bragging about all the Oregon strawberries they've been scooping up from the markets. Well, today, friends, I got my hands on my share. A nice lady who lives in the Meriwether was going up to the Marquam Hill farmer's market (Tuesdays 3-7) and brought me back a basket! They are dark red, sweet and sun-warmed. Seascapes, they're called. Thank you, nice lady!

Listen up, hoteliers! Getting rid of concierge service at your properties is a bad, bad idea. The front desk, bellman and valets cannot provide the level of service concierge do. Neither can a virtual concierge website. A full-time concierge is necessary and valuable. The largest convention hotel in the state is discontinuing their concierge service after the current concierge retires at the end of the month. Good luck, hotel-that-shall-not-be-named.

Funniest thing I've seen today is Robot Chicken Star Wars. Thanks, G.C.! Second funniest is this guy in my building who walks his cat on a leash. But only when it's nice out.