Bookclub

I am a geek, I admit it. I am part of a bookclub. We recently read a book based in Mexico. We also typically bring or cook thematic food for the book if it's possible. So I made Albondigas Soup and Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing. Both were above and beyond my expectations. 

Cooking from the New York Times Magazine

I was wondering out loud yesterday how many people's Monday night dinner is the recipe that runs in the Sunday New York Times magazine. I was inspired to make this recipe from the Times for yesterday's dinner. It was one of the few things I've made in my life that I was more effusive about than my dining companion(s). I was absolutely astounded with it.

Country Captain (from The New York Times magazine)

1⁄4 cup flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons butter

3 pounds (about 8) chicken thighs

4 slices bacon

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 medium green pepper, seeded and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons curry powder

3 tablespoons currants

1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes and their juices

3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted

Cooked white rice.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degr

ees.

2. Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and the thyme in a bowl. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it foams. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, and fry, in batches if needed, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the skillet.

3. Return the skillet to medium heat, add the bacon and fry until crispy. Transfer to a plate. Once cool, crumble and set aside.

4. Add the onion, pepper, celery, garlic, curry powder and 1 tablespoon of the currants to the skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole large enough to hold the chicken snugly in one layer. Arrange the chicken on top. Pour the remaining sauce over and around the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 15 minutes more.

6. Top with the crumbled bacon, remaining currants and slivered almonds. Serve with cooked rice and any condiments you wish. Serves 4.

Choosing dinner for a first date

First dates put us surprisingly out of our element for being so much about getting to know someone else. We clean our houses, change our sheets, shave, put perfume in all the right places, and we go out to dinner. Or maybe we cook. We think all these things in our heads about what the person will be like when he/she does this or the other thing. How will she react when I put my hand in hers? How will he feel about my tipping habits?

I'm going out to dinner for my first date tomorrow. I decided cooking would be a little stressful on top of all the butterflies I'm already feeling. But how to choose a place to eat? I've ruled out a couple options - nothing far from the house lest we get, ahem, distracted. Nothing that involves eating with our hands. Nothing too noisy to hear each other. And that pretty much leaves...almost every restaurant within walking distance of my house. So there shall be some fine-tuning. There shall be some discussion. There will be good food wherever we go.

I had a series of dinners about a year ago with my boyfriend where, entirely by accident, I ended up picking his food for him. It wasn't about taking away his choice. It was about the fact that I was taking him to great places where I knew the great dishes to have. I would recommend a few things, and then a few more things, and all of a sudden, "Oh nevermind. I'll just order and you'll love it." He always loved it, if I may say so. Let's hope this new date enjoys the food, or at least the company. :-)

Here's to first dates. May you have wine to loosen up the conversation and the garments and food to keep you nourished through the night.

The new cafe at work.

Today I had:

**Cauliflower Salad with Nicoise Olives and Crispy Croutons
cauliflower, red onions, red wine vinegar, nicoise olives, olive oil, parsley, bread crumb 

**Lemon, Leek, Parsnip and Pistachio Risotto
arborio, lemon, garlic, onions, vegetable stock, herbs, spices, olive oil, parsnips, leeks

**Spanish Chick Pea Soup
spanish smoked paprika, piquillo peppers, garbanzo beans, garlic, onion, coriander seed, vegetable stock, herbs, spices, tomato

And a side of brussel sprouts and broccoli for a little more ruffage.

All for the low, low price of free.

One of the teams responsible for opening a cafe in Mountain View that just knocked everyone's socks off has come up here. I have been eating like even more of a king than I usually do.

Oh, and they have a heat lamp for the cookies. Why, you ask? So they'll always be warm when you put them on your plate to eat them. It's the little things.

Photo Credit: Scott Giambiastiani, Google Executive Chef

Orson: Restaurant Review

Elizabeth faulkner is my hero. She has an amazing taste and precision in food. I recently found out that she opened a new restaurant where she is the head chef. Being a huge fan of Citizen Cake, I had to go.

Their website: http://www.orsonsf.com/

I had the flank steak. It is on my list of top five steak dishes of all time. 

The 5 Senses of Food

It started with salmonella. Well, more specifically, how to know you are avoiding getting it. You see, I had been cooking chicken for this chicken tortilla soup recipe:

Chicken Tortilla Soup (from evilchefmom)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes (use about 2/3 of the can)

6 cups chicken broth

1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped. Start off with a little and adjust to your taste

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

about 4 corn tortillas cut into one inch squares (this will help thicken up the soup)

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

Options:

crushed tortilla chips

sliced avocado

sour cream

shredded cheese (monterey jack, cheddar jack, mexican blend, cheddar, whatever)

chopped green onions

lime wedges to squeeze into soup

In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn tortillas, jalapeno, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with the above options.

So. As I was saying. The boyfriend was asking me how I know when the chicken is done (and salmonellaless. Is that a word?) without cutting it open. Immediately unsure of myself, I responded with, "I just know." 

"But how do you know?"

"You just know. It's one of those things you just know."

He headed off to the bathroom to relieve some of the Negro Modelo we had been drinking. I thought about it as I started cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces. As I was cutting, it came to me. The chicken *feels* different. It feels a certain way when it's raw, it feels a certain way when it's cooking, and it feels a certain way when it's done. 

Later:

"Is it Soup yet?"

"No."

"How do you know when it's Soup?"

"I just know. It's not Soup yet."

"But how do you know?"

"It smells like Soup."

"You know, you should write a blog entry about this."

Yes, I should. When the flavors have combined and the spices have bloomed and everything is married (merried if you're my mom) it *smells* different. It smells...complete. It smells balanced and pungent and flavorful. It smells like it will be enhanced by the garnish but will stand on its own. 

Are there other senses for food? Yes. Haven't you ever had that moment loooking down at your plate and thought, "this lunch is too brown." Or, alternatively, "this could really use something green." I know I have. 

The sound of bacon sizzling. Or of steamed milk getting close to the boiling point. Every morning when I make a latte, I hear the sound of...it's...just...about...to...boil... I stop it right before and it creates a wonderfully hot but not scalding espresso drink that fills my mouth with milky goodness. Yes, I said milky goodness.

Of course, there's taste. We can all taste when something isn't right. We can all taste when a dish explodes with spices. In fact, the more we eat, the more nuance of flavor we begin to understand. And I think being a cook gives you more insight into the other senses of food beyond that.

Breffix & Supper

Breakfast: I made cream scones with apricot ginger sausage and Niman Ranch bacon. We drank coffee and Pellegrino. We ate like kings, in other words. These scones are amazing.

This is another recipe I owe to smittenkitchen. 

Cream Scones (from smittenkitchen)

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably a low-protein brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup currants (I used dried cranberries, and chopped them into smaller bits)

1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor,remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.

4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by either a) pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife or bench scraper (the book’s suggestion) or b) patting the dough onto a lightly floured work surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle, cutting pieces with a biscuit cutter, and pressing remaining scraps back into another piece (what I did) and cutting until dough has been used up. (Be warned if you use this latter method, the scones that are made from the remaining scraps will be much lumpier and less pretty, but taste fine. As in, I understand why they suggested the first method.)

6. Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For lunch, I had another scone.

Supper:

LAT (Lettuce, Avocado, Turkey) Sandwich with "Country" Greens

Toasted Sourdough bread spread with mayo with 1/4 tsp. chile powder mixed in

Red Leaf Lettuce

Avocado

Smoked Turkey Breast

I got a package of greens from the store when shopping for the above ingredients and loosely following about a dozen different recipes in my head from making greens about a dozen times I did the following:

I sauteed an onion with 6 cloves of garlic (yes, I said 6. I love garlic.) in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil until the onion was translucent and it all looked happy in my skillet. Then I poured in enough chicken broth to cover the onions and garlic, and then in batches mixed in the greens until they were all wilted. I continued cooking for another 10 or 20 minutes, added salt and pepper and a light drizzling of white vinegar after I had taken it off the heat. I ate them while reading the New York Times magazine:

Sometimes I'd Rather

Make food than go out. I know it sounds crazy, it's hard to believe myself, but I actually opted for making dinner for the boyfriend and I the other night than going to Town Hall for dinner. There's something about the meditative feeling of stirring a bowl of chocolate just off the double boiler until it's cool or placing slices of bread in a pan for french toast that just...soothes. I think other people before me have talked about this (in fact I know they have) but still, it surprises me. It is a wonderful thing to provide food for someone else. It is a wonderful thing to put that much love into something that will nourish a person. It is also a brain stimulus - cooking is a little puzzle that starts out on a piece of paper or in your head and ends up in your mouth. You have to have a sense for it, too. You have to smell when the brownies are overbaking or when the proportions on a recipe look suspicious. You have to know. 

It is a skill and an art and I love it.