Pretty and Yummy

2011 Garden - Seeds ordered and planted

2011-04-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here are all the seeds we have planted this year, some are coming up and doing well... some not so much.

Dragon Tongue Bush Beans

This famous Dutch heirloom bean has an incomparable flavor. The tender and superbly delicious 7-inch pods are yellow, with amazing purple streaks! Also makes a tasty shelled bean. Popular with chefs and gourmets. Compact plants set high yields.

Albino Beet

A pure white, fairly smooth, round, heirloom beet from Holland. Its super sweet white flesh is unusual and tasty. The greens are also good. This beet can be used for making sugar. One of the best eating beets we have tried.

Crapaudine Beet

In 1885, the French book, The Vegetable Garden stated this is one of the oldest varieties. Today some experts feel this may be the oldest beet still in existence, possibly dating back 1000 years. This unique variety is one of the most flavorful, with carrot-shaped roots that have rough, dark colored skin which looks like tree bark. Inside, the roots are very dark, with almost black flesh that is of superior quality and sought after by chefs who want real flavor.

Golden Beet

This variety dates back to the 1820's or before. The beets are a rich, golden-yellow and very sweet. A beautiful beet that won't bleed like red beets. The greens are also very tasty.

Lovely, lemon-yellow roots have sweet, bright yellow flesh. Good for a summer to fall crop; large 8-inch roots and strong tops.

Atomic Red Carrot

Brilliant red carrots are so healthy and unique-looking, sure to add color to your garden. The 8-inch roots are high in lycopene, which has been shown in studies to help prevent several types of cancer. Crisp roots are at their best when cooked, and this helps to make the lycopene more useable.

De Bourbonne Cucumber

Tiny pickling cucumbers are ready in about 50 days. This old French heirloom is used to make the 2" long Cornichon pickles that are so tasty. Still popular in France for this purpose. High yielding vines will be popular with all those who preserve food.

Early Russian Cucumber

This early heirloom was introduced in 1854. It produces loads of short, medium-green fruit over a very long season. They are mild and sweet in flavor and uniform in shape. The vines are quite hardy, making it perfect for northern areas with short seasons; a great little cucumber for salads or pickles.

Gele Tros or Yellow Dutch Cucumber

This is a large yellow cucumber that was popular in Holland for making yellow sliced pickles. The Dutch call this cucumber the “ancient race”. The ripe fruit are quite colorful in their sunny yellow color. A fine old strain that is very rare now even in Europe.

Parisian Pickling Cucumber

The old French gherkin or cornichon pickler. Listed in America in 1892 by Gregory. Great for making tiny sweet pickles. Rare.

Sikkim Cucumber

The historic cucumber of "Sikkim". Fat, large fruit can reach 15 inches long by 6 inches wide. The ripe fruit is a unique rusty red color and is good eaten cooked or raw. In Asia cucumbers are often stir-fried and are quite tasty. This variety is grown in the Himalayas of Sikkim and Nepal. Sir Joseph Hooker first discovered it in the eastern Himalayas in 1848. Here is part of what he wrote about it: "So abundant were the fruits, that for days together I saw gnawed fruits lying by the natives' paths by the thousands, and every man, woman and child seemed engaged throughout the day in devouring them."

Minnesota Midget

This very small, very early heirloom was introduced in Minnesota in 1948. Measuring just 4 inches across, they have sweet, orange flesh and are perfect miniature versions of the "Classic Muskmelon". Compact, 3-4-foot vines produce good yields. I fondly remember these as the only melons our family could get to ripen in Charlo, Montana, about 20 years ago.

Charentias Melon

A famous, superb heirloom. A French 2-3 lb. melon with light grey-green skin. The bright orange flesh is super sweet and very fragrant.

Valencia Winter Melon

A rare old-time melon that was listed by American seedsmen in the 1830's but probably goes back much further; believed to come from Italy. Can keep four months into the winter. Very sweet cream colored flesh and dark green skin; rare and delicious.

Australian Brown Onion

Introduced in 1897 by W. Atlee Burpee; medium sized flattened bulbs, flavorful and pungent, yellow brown.

Bianca De Maggio

Flat, Italian "cipollini" variety. These delicious, small white onions command a high price at specialty markets. Very sweet and mild, used in Italy for pickling, grilling and in salads.

Chinese Five Color Pepper

Screaming hot little peppers turn a rainbow of vibrant colors; from purple, cream, yellow, orange to red as they ripen.

Purple Jalapeno

A large Jalapeno pepper that turns deep purple before maturing to red. Full Jalapeno flavor and heat; great for salsa and other Mexican foods. Plants both productive and ornamental.

Red Mushroom Pepper

Wrinkled, flying saucer-shaped fruit are so unique looking. They are flat, 2 inches
across and a glowing red color when ripe. Very hot with a superb, fruity flavor and unique taste that keeps you wanting more. One of the prettier and tastier peppers you will grow, especially if you like them hot! Attractive plants set huge yields as long as you have lots of warm summer days.

Giant of Sicily

Large 2-inch round summer radishes are bright red in color. Tasty and good quality. We offer pure Italian seed for this heirloom from Sicily.

Long Black Spanish Radish

Long 9-inch black roots have pure white flesh that is crisp and pungent. This long version of Black Spanish is much harder to find than the round. For fall plantings. This is a very old European heirloom.

Round black Spanish Radish

Large 5-inch winter type, probably grown since 16th century or before. Near-black skin and snowy white flesh; will keep all winter in good conditions. Fine, fairly hot flavor, good raw or cooked.

Cocozella di Napoli

Long, slender fruit are ribbed, pale greenish-yellow and striped with dark green; very firm and flavorful flesh; a unique and tasty Italian heirloom.

Seeds

2011-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

All of my seed ordering has been done for about a month. In 2009, Mac and I decided that we would only plant non GMO and heirloom seeds and that we would try and learn to save seeds. We found a site (Council for Responsible Genetics) where you seed companies have signed a pledge as to whether or not they sell genetically modified seeds. So last year we only bought seeds from companies that signed this list. But, there was one particular company I fell in love with - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - and this year all of my seeds came from them, they have the largest collection of heirloom seeds in the country. I am going to do a separate post about what we ordered... but check out their website... they are fantastic.

We also tried our hand at saving seeds...spending the summer collecting some seeds and this year we planted - with our fingers crossed - an entire flat of saved seeds. We have already had success with our seed saving - I let my lettuce bed go to seed at the end of the summer and in the fall I cut all the flowers and sprinkled them into the bed. We now are watching lettuce come up... and will be eating it by April.

Mixed Tape - February 2011 Edition

2011-03-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Yes... it is true... I have been AWOL for a month. Ugh. What a bad blogger I am. I will promise you I haven't been loafing around watching soap operas and eating bon bons. I am creating life here people (Mac tells me he created the life... I am just growing it... whatever). Anyway, been listening to some new music and I made another compilation last month, yeah I am even late with the music. This one is good. I, like everyone else have flipped for Adele's new CD... go get it now people. Another favorite in this mix is Foster the People's Pumped up Kicks... which every time I hear it reminds me of my friend Sara... who always calls 'em kicks. I love that.

One other thing that delayed the posting of last months mix was that I got the brilliant idea that I would start making a widget for the blog on Grooveshark.com that contained that months mix. I thought it would be awesome if you all could stream the mix from my blog and get a sample. Well that didn't work out too well... Grooveshark kept rejecting my MP3's and was not very user friendly. I am going to try it one more time before I give Grooveshark the finger for good... anyone have any tips on using Grooveshark or any better sites for building a musical widget please, please let me know.

1.   Young Blood – The Naked and Famous
2.   Sydney – Brett Dennen
3. Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People
4.   Calamity Song – The Decemberists
5. Love is Endless - MoZella
6.   Rolling in the Deep – Adele
7.   Cat and Mouse – Nickki & Rich
8.   Under Cover of Darkness – The Strokes
9.   Fade Like a Shadow – KT Tunstall
10. Second Chance – Peter Bjorn and John
11. Come Home – Chappo
12. I want the world to Stop – Belle and Sebasitan
13. The Brightest Star – Chazz Valentine
14. I Follow Rivers – Lykke Li
15. Aberdeen – Cage the Elephant
16. My Name is Trouble – Keren Ann
17. Quiet Hours – Wild Nothing

Should of gotten me one of these things years ago....

2011-02-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

My dear sweet husband... last night upon request whipped out a entirely from scratch peach pie... eat your hearts out.

Weeknight dinner: Vegetarian Greek Burgers

2011-02-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

Conversation at the B-Mac household last night....

Mac: What's for dinner
B: Greek Burgers, they are vegetarian
Mac: Tilts his head in confusion, much like Moxie
B: I am trying to cook meatless one night a week
Mac: Ok, as long as we can have a veggie-less dinner one night a week

Funny guy!

I found this recipe while surfing the web last week (sorry to the blogger who posted it... I can't find you again... I will keep trying) and I made it last night. It was a quick delicious burger (say it like Fabio people) and I mean quick, if it weren't for the Alexia waffle fries which needed 30 minutes of oven time... I would have been done with this in 15 minutes. Of course, that is assuming you made your Tatziki the night before, which you SHOULD do.

I am committed to making a vegetarian meal once a week... I can't seem to get a handle on cooking with tofu so I am searching for great recipes (PLEASE let me know if you have some... I would love it if you would help my cause). If you all are interested there is a blog out there called Meatless Mondays... check it out.

Vegetarian Greek Burgers
Next time I make this recipe I will add a bit of chopped scallion to the burger mix... I think it needs a bit of onion.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried dillweed
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (2 oz.) |
4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted|
Tatziki

Toppers such as crumbled feta cheese, plain yogurt, sliced roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and/or sliced red onion (optional)

Directions

1. In medium bowl combine oil, garlic, oregano, dillweed, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Stir in stuffing mix to coat thoroughly. Stir in egg, spinach, and 1/2 cup crumbled feta; mix well. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.
2. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until browned and heated through.
3. Serve in buns with assorted toppers. Makes 4 servings.

They are all mine....

2011-02-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Portlandia clip Put a Bird on It, has made me think a lot the past week about design - particularly the design trends we all get caught up in... like granite; avocado appliances; brass fixtures; mass-produced, over-sized, cheap leather club chairs; laminate wood floors... the list goes on. What always trips me up these days... fake animal heads. Tell me you don't see them EVERYWHERE, I do because when I do see them they always stop me in my tracks. I am sure you are all having visions of my house as being covered in wood and ceramic animal heads, but it is not, most of the reproductions are a bit out of my price range for a tchotchke.

Anthropologie released these beauties in their new spring catalog - they are wall hooks! I bought them today... thank you Piper, I finally used the gift card you gave me a million years ago!

Portlandia...

2011-02-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

So... last night I watched one of the episodes I had recorded of the show on IFC called Portlandia... Oh and what a fantastic little bit of awesomeness it is... yes indeed. I think they should make a show about every city... I could do some serious writing for the D.C., San Francisco and Denver versions...

Here is more info on Portlandia.

Shelly... have you watched this yet?

She & Him - Don't Look Back

2011-01-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

I missed this video while I was away... love the mid-century flavor and of course, Zooey. I haven't been able to talk Mac into naming the baby Zooey. boo.

She & Him - Don't Look Back from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Pillow Love

2011-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

I spied some pillows over at Eat Drink Chic all from Marks and Spencer... is it just me or are there just tons of beautiful pillows around now? I can't find a purse I like... but pillows... they are everywhere.

Pier One Pillows

Urban Outfitters pillows

Resolutions

2011-01-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Found on Etsy... original drawing by bluebicicletta

Well it is a typical January for me... resolutions, fresh starts and goals.   I have been working on my list... it is a bit different this year... can't really add "lose weight" to my list of resolutions and my need to clean and fix my house is in OVERDRIVE.   Poor mac I might just drive him nuts with all of the task lists, increasing Goodwill piles and urge to make everything pretty.

Now... what about resolutions.     Here are mine:

1) Learn and perfect a puff pastry recipe. This my friends is the most versatile dough in the universe.   Just ask the pregnant woman who is constantly pulling dough out of her freezer for last minute cinnamon rolls or cheater pains au chocolat. (Note if you make those sticky buns make sure not to cook them for 30 minutes... start checking them at 20 minutes, 30 minutes is WAY too long).

2) Have more dinner parties.

3) Finish all house projects.

4) Bake bread every week.

5) Take a class.

6) Can something every month as part of the Can Jam.

7) Make and use a compost pile.

8) Build a coop and get some chickens (?).

9) Clean out and PURGE every closet, drawer and room (including Mac's storage unit).

10) Figure out how to maintain a sourdough starter without having to feed it more than my dog.

11) Learn to cook Indian food, that isn't Tika Masala.

12) Cook more tofu.

13) Create some new holiday traditions.   Do you all have any good traditions?

14) Do some group wine classes.

I think that sounds good... and do able.   What are your resolutions?

Recipe: Lasagna Soup

2011-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Image from Culinary in the Country... I found the
recipe here to... go there you will love this blog.

We have actually done some cooking since we have been back from our trip and I say "we" because I actually left this recipe and the ingredients for Mac to make this while I was at work.    And can I say... this is a great recipe, you get all the delicious lasagna tastes without all of the time and mess. Because I don't know about you... whenever I make lasagna I have ricotta everywhere. Try this, it is quick and delicious and if you are missing the ricotta add a spoon to the top of the soup when you serve it.

One interesting note... Mac has a theory that pasta should NEVER be cooked with soups, he tells me that it makes the soup starchy and nasty... so Mac always cooks his pasta separately.   Which I think is a good idea especially if you are keeping the soup for leftovers...

Lasagna Soup (Adapted from Cuisine at Home by Joe (above) and again by mac... I halved this recipe)

16 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 cups chicken broth
14 1/2 ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (I used the full amount of tomatoes... plus I added more when I reheated leftovers the next day)
10 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup dry Campanelle pasta (or any curly pasta... I don't think we found Campanelle, I think we used farfalle)
4 ounces diced provolone cheese
1 ounce fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sliced fresh basil

Boil water in a dutch oven.   In a second dutch oven over medium-high, add sausage and cook until browned - crumble the sausage as you go with a wooden spoon. Add the onions and carrots - cook 3 minutes. Mix in the garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper - cook 1 minute. Pour in the broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, meanwhile add the pasta to the boiling water in the other dutch oven cook until pasta is al dente. Simmer soup until the pasta has cooked add pasta to soup or add pasta to the soup as you are serving to keep the pasta from soaking up all the juices. Remove from the heat.

To serve - place 1 ounce of diced provolone in the bottom of 4 bowls. Evenly divide the soup between the 4 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan and basil.

Dear poor neglected blog,

2011-01-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry I have ignored an neglected you for months, only to stop by occasionally with a few pretty images and a trickle of thoughts like only a deadbeat dad can do. But, I do have an excuse. Well actually a lot of excuses. The last four months have been a whirlwind of emotion, surprise and delights... and let me tell you the hits keep on coming there to derail me right as I think I am getting back on track. But, it is a new year... and I am resolving to overcome everything that life throws at me.... but I also resolve not to feel guilty if I can't quite keep up. But, I am sorry. I am sorry that I had to go away for work during September, only to return home and find out that I am pregnant in October, to then jaunt off to Thailand and New Zealand for the month of November where I got married AND turned forty. December I recovered; tried to get into the Christmas spirit; and into the groove of actually going to work. January came into my life carrying a horrible cold and utter exhaustion followed by prayers for a quick recovery so that I can get on a flight in a week to go to my sister's wedding in Belize. Now, don't get me wrong... I am not complaining. I am so terribly thankful to be so lucky and blessed... just trying to adjust to all of the changes and challenges that lie ahead. I promise to visit more often, but it might not be as often as it was before.

Love,
Brooke

Back to reality...

2010-12-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I am back. I have been back for about 5 days and am just now starting to get my head screwed on straight. You know... laundry, groceries, the job and oh Christmas. Mac and I were pretty diligent this weekend, getting food in the fridge; clean clothes in the closet; suit cases put away; and Christmas decorations put up. I am pretty proud of all we did all while battling jet lag.

I am pretty excited about the holidays, probably because I was SO homesick during Thanksgiving. We don't have much time left to accomplish all of our holiday plans but I am pretty sure what we actually decide to do won't consist of visiting any horrific shopping malls and honestly it is a relief.

We have made a list of Christmas goodies we are going to make and have planned on just staying home and making cookies and candy for an entire weekend. Now, that sounds fun... doesn't it?

I know, I am behind on my trip updates... I will get those taken care of pronto!

P.S. Image above is from a cool blog called bluebison.net where you can print off all sorts of cool coloring pages for you or your kiddos.

Wedding Trip: Update

2010-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... I am behind on my Thailand posts, hey I am on vacation. I am logging in right now (while I am sure I have internet access) to let you all know we made it to New Zealand. We arrived in Wellington last night and had an amazing dinner and zonked out. We are currently on a ferry in between the islands. I am hoping to locate a NZ sim card once we hit land again... keep your fingers crossed... I am worried because I think NZ is ruled by Vodafone.... ugh.

Wedding Trip: Day 9

2010-11-15T23:38:00.000-08:00

Today was the day of our wedding ceremony... and not only did it rain... but it POURED. Jungle, mud-slide rains came down but we had a great time. Took some ok photos and had a great dinner.

Wedding Trip: Day 8

2010-11-13T03:39:00.000-08:00

Today we had planned on visiting the Wat Tham Seua (Tiger Cave Temple). We told everyone at breakfast where we were headed and they all seemed shocked and told us that it was 1200 steps to the top. I thought that wouldn't be a problem... I didn't realize that those steps lead up a Karst that was 300 m high and that some of the steps were almost vertical, much like a ladder leaning up against your house.

There were tons of monkees all around the Wat. Some of the monks had them on leashes... weird

Anyone up for BBQ monkee

Then we started to climb. and climb. and climb. About step 400 is when they got really steep and I didn't think I could go on... Mac told me I was being a puss and that I had to keep going.

Mac also thought it was funny to take photos of me in varying stages of MISERY.

Finally we make it to the top. The view was well worth it. They say that it requires strength and courage to visit the golden stupa.

photos of the top

Monitor vs. Iguana

2010-11-13T03:38:00.000-08:00

Kaylee: I am not sure of the difference between a monitor and iguana and to be perfectly honest with you I haven't really been motivated to do any research on the subject. I believe that an iguana is a desert animal, although we did see them in Costa Rica. Mac and I had a discussion while kayaking that he thought they were the same... I disagreed and yesterday I saw a 70 pound one saunter out of the jungle and into the ocean and I am pretty sure that a) an iguana has a totally different head and cannot swim; and b) an iguana doesn't get as big as a monitor.

Here is the video.... ok I am having trouble uploading video. I will try to post it on facebook. Until then here is a photo.

Update: Facebook is a wash... couldn't load it and had to go through some "security" check because I was logging in from an unknown location.

Wedding Trip: Day 6

2010-11-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

Today we went kayaking thru the mangroves of Ao Thalane. I was beautiful. Mac and I have visited so many mangrove forests in the world that we are practially experts on them and their importance to the ecological systems, most importantly they are vital to the survival of the reefs (just ask Australia) and we love the reefs.. One thing we didn't know, but learned on this trip is: a) they secrete an oil which plankton love to eat; and b) they injest 70% of salt they intake through the water.

Some information on mangroves here and here.

Southern Thailand is covered with Limestone hills, not quite hills they are cliffs that spring up everywhere... on land and sea. These "hills" are constantly erroded by ground or sea water creating fantastic caves (or hong in Thai), this type of topography is called Karst, so sometimes they are referred to Karst cliffs. Never the less they are stunning. These limestone Karst are everywhere which is why rock climbing is huge here.

Limestone Karst in Southern Thailand

The question of the day was... what is the difference between a Iguana and a Monitor?

Wedding trip - Day 4

2010-11-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

view from bed

Today Mac and I woke up at 4 am... I opened the curtains hoping the sun would come up so I could enjoy the view... I read for a bit and dozed off until 8.   We showered and lounged around our hotel room, then went to breakfast.   Breakfast... sweet mother of all meals... was a buffet that included fresh squeezed juices, bircher muselix, homemade granola, yogurt and jams.   I died.

We spent the rest of the day deciding where our wedding ceremony would be held and lounging by the pool.   We ended the day meeting a baby elephant and eating thai food... I was in bed by 9.

P.S. don't tell the Mox I am in love with a baby elephant.   Mac even made out with her, the whole time all I kept thinking about was that woman on the east coast who owned the chimpanzee who ripped off her friends face... ugh.

pool at our hotel

Pool area ato our hotel

Location of where our wedding ceremony will be held. (Wedding will be on 11/11) Hoping it will clear off. Haze is from the Indonesian volcanic eruption.

Wedding trip - Day 3

2010-11-08T04:10:00.000-08:00

We had a bit of sleep... but either jet lag or excitement had us both up by 6:30. We watched an hour or so of Aljazeera TV... which was an eye opener. It is so surprising how "washed" our news is, which is both good and bad as I am not sure I could start everyday watching a man being smothered to death on TV but I would appreciate my news a bit less filtered.

At 9 am we went and had breakfast and then toured the hotel to get a bit of exercise.

Then back to the airport... the thought of getting on another airplane acutally made me sick to my stomach. ugh.   Only for an hour (I keep telling myself).    They served a wonderful drink on the plane made with lemon and butterfly pea, no not butterfly pee... it is a flower, much like the hybiscus but this one makes a amethyst colored tea.   I loved it.    I have to remind myself to ask a Thai person what exactly butterfly pea is.

We rode the airplane to Krabi with a Thai woman who's leopard collared suit was accessorized with a leopard belt, purse, shoes, suitcase and dog carrier.   Her entourage of men carried all her luggage on board and buckeled her pomeranian into its own first class seat!   She had old lady hair... you know set in curlers, then picked our until it resembles a helment and finally shellaced with VO5.   She was cute.

We were quickly picked up by the hotel and escorted through the welcome platform.   (For those of you who want to see where we are staying it is here.)    We were welcomed with lemongrass iced tea and a symbolic thai welcome flower arrangement and there we met our butler, Joy.   I think both Mac and I were in shock.   This place is unusual... no front desk... everything you do is run through your butler.   We were given a tour of the facilities and then to our room.   The hotel and the grounds are stunning.

Hotel pictures here

Welcome platform

We measured the hotel bed it is 12.5 feet long and 6.5 feet wide and fantastic. There are floor to ceiling windows in front of Mac and another set to his right. The set to his right is the door to the villa and the one's in front of the bet are a view to our pool and the jungle. I took a video of the room for dear Kaylee, I will look at it and post it soon.

Wedding Trip Day 1 & 2 aka the longest day ever

2010-11-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

Denver to Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok...22 hours total flight time heading west, chasing the sun... we never saw darkness, until we left Tokyo and by that time we only had 6 hours left of traveling. We spent these first two days eating our way thru every first class lounge and flight from Denver to Bangkok. Thank GOD for Mac and his points... I had never flown first class oustide of the US or Central America... woah that is an eye opening experience. We had our own cubicles, complete with toiletry bags and a full selection of movies and games at our fingertips. Above is a photo of Mac in his cubbie. I am so thankful... I don't know how I would have survived without it.

Once we landed in Bangkok we were suprisingly full of energy. Customs was a breeze, or shall I say wasn't even open? Yes we walked through. We found a few Thai Sim card dealers found the best rate and bought one... 3 cents a minute to the US... AT&T, Verizon can suck it. Our stop over (hotel) was across the airport parking lot. We spent the night at a Novotel which was beautiful... staff was around every corner just sitting there waiting to help. The Thai people have been so nice. We managed to call our families to tell them we arrived and fell asleep.

Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

2010-10-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Oh how did I forget about this recipe. I made it last fall and fell in love, then proceeded to cook it every week until I couldn't stand it any longer. Well we were reunited this week and it is STILL that good. Ina... thank you for being so reliable.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch) diced
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby arugula, washed and spun dry (I also sometimes use spinach)
1/2 cup walnuts halves, toasted
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Roast the squash for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Fall Dinner: Chicken with Morels

2010-10-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hi.   I know you all think I have fallen off the earth.   Not so. My life this fall has been a whirly, crazy mess...there is a lot going on in my life right now... wedding, trip and some secret news.   All of which has been very distracting, consequently I have neglected my blog.   But, enough of all the turmoil in my life... on to food.

Those of you who know me, know how much I love Ina and there are many reasons to love her.   First, she creates (and tests) awesome recipes; second, she and her husband are so cute together I just want to run over to the Hampton's and hug them both; third, her garden and kitchen are so beautiful; and finally, she seems cool.    By the way people, she has a new cookbook coming out in a few day titled - How easy is That?.

Anyway, I love this recipe from her Paris cookbook.   It is Chicken and Morels and not for those who are dieting or on a strict budget (morels are about $14 an ounce).   But, it is a once a year fall treat that we should all splurge on.   I serve it with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables.

Chicken and Morels
Barefoot Contessa

1- ounce dried morels, soaked for 30 minutes in 3 cups very hot water
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
1⁄4 cup clarified butter
1⁄3 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup (8 ounces) creme fraiche
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lift the morels carefully from the hot water in order to leave any grit behind in the liquid. Rinse a few times to be sure all the grittiness is gone. Discard the liquid and dry the morels lightly with paper towels. Set aside.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess. Heat half the clarified butter in a large saute pan and cook the chicken in 2 batches over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to an ovenproof casserole.
Add the rest of the clarified butter to the pan along with the shallots, drained morels, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly. Pour the Madeira into the pan and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the creme fraiche, cream, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3⁄4 teaspoon pepper. Boil until the mixture starts to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 12 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through. To make ahead, refrigerate the chicken and sauce in the casserole and reheat slowly on top of the stove.

Update

2010-10-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hello all. So I have finally caught up on everything that I neglected while I was gone. Whew. Just the amount of tomatoes almost crushed my soul. Now I am busy thinking of other things... in four weeks I will be leaving for a month... to go here

Then here....

And finally here...

Yes. I am one lucky girl. Of course, while I am there I will be getting married AND turning 40, it takes a month to celebrate all of those things... I have so much to be thankful for!

I hope to blog a bit while I am away, because I have never been away from my friends and family that long... let alone Ms. Moxie... I don't know how I will survive that long without her. And I am sure you all will want to know what I am doing.

Canning: Salsa

2010-10-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

aka, Oh my god that is a lot of tomatoes, part deux.

Spicy tomato Salsa
(About 12 – 8 oz jars)

9 dried chili peppers (New Mexico or Cascabel)
Hot water
12 cups diced tomatoes
3 cups red onions
1 ½ cups tightly packed chopped cilantro
6 Jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped
15 garlic cloves finely chopped
¾ cup red wine vinegar
1 T salt

1. remove seeds from dried chilies and cover with hot water. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. Drain off half of the water and puree in a blender.

2. Prepare canner, jars and lids.

3. Combine remaining ingredients in a stock pan and bring to a boil,. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

4. Ladle hot salsa in jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim and add lids.

5. Process for 15 minutes

Jalapeno Salsa
(makes 6 – 8oz jars)

3 cups of chopped tomatoes
2 cups seeded, chopped jalapenos (I only used 2 cups)
1 cup of chopped onions
1 cup cider vinegar
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp salt
½ tsp cumin

1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in a stock pan and bring to a boil,. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

3. Ladle hot salsa in jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim and add lids.

4. Process for 15 minutes

un, deux, trois jewlery club

2010-09-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love the online shop, French General. I haven't been on the site for sometime... but I noticed today they have a jewelery club, which is along the lines of a fruit of the month club, but so much better. You are sent jewelry kits every month to assemble... so fun!

Canning: bruschetta

2010-09-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have an extraordinary amount of tomatoes and jalapenos sitting in my house and since I bought the new Ball Canning book while I was in Montana, I thought I would try a few of their recipes out.

Canned Bruschetta
Adapeted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
(makes 8 - 8 oz jars)

9 cups of roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of water

1. Sterilize your jars

2. Place ingredients into stew pan and bring to a boil. Cook for five minutes.

3. Fill jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, remove all bubbles and placed lids on jars.

4. Process jars in hot water bath for 20 minutes.

I will let you all know what it tastes like in a few weeks.

HOORAH....

2010-09-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

I made it back and boy do I have plans. Since being away from home; cooped up in a hotel working twelve hours a day for two weeks, I have had plenty of time to fantasize about what I was going to do when I returned to normal. Here are a few things I am going to:

cook from Dorie's new cookbook and join French Fridays with Dorie

Can some of the peppers in the garden, this way or this way

Can some Thai sweet and hot chili sauce, so I can make Banh-mi without going to the Asian market

Visit an apple farm

Go to the flea market

Watch a bunch of movies

Focus on my blogging class that I haven't even participated in

Hello... from Montana

2010-09-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

I am on an extended work trip in Montana and have been working HARD! I miss my daily updates to my blog, actually I really miss actually having something interesting to say. These days I am too tired and worn out at the end of the day to have anything at all to say. UGH.

I am hoping things will quiet down soon.

Laboring on Labor Day

2010-09-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Fall Leave Field Guide - I love NY

Well... I have a lot going on and I feel fall in the air, I have pulled out my blankets and am ready for cooler weather. I am leaving soon to go out of town for work for a few weeks, ugh... just ugh. I also signed up for Blogging your Way course, taught by Holly of Decor8 and Leslie from A Creative Mint. I am really excited about it... but I am not quite sure what I was thinking when I signed up... but I really didn't want to miss out and I am sure I can "squeeze" it in.

Hope you all are enjoying your last few days of summer.

Mixed Tape: August 2010 Edition

2010-09-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Picture from The Vaselines MySpace Page

Howdy friends. Thought I would take a minute and let you all know what I have been listening to this past month. As you can see I finally scored Florence and the Machine's cover of Addicted to Love. I am really in love with The Vaselines even though I hadn't listened to them since the 80's after they broke up and really didn't realize they had actually reunited and released any new material.. I know, I know what you are thinking, pshaw what kind of music fan is she? So I dedicated myself to listening to their more recent releases this month. Check them out, on myspace (they did a great little video called The Vaseline's on The Vaseline's). And I added one of their older songs on to this months playlist!

1. When the Sun Don't Shine - Best Coast
2. Addicted to Love - Florence and The Machine
3. Seattle - The BPA
4. Mongrel Heart - Broken Bells
5. Chemicals - Lodger
6. Lights on - The Pierces
7. King of the Beach - The Waves
8. Monster(bleep) - The Vaselines
9. Sex with and X - The Vaselines
10. Miss You - The Dynamics
11. Oh-lala - Saint Privat
12. Memories - Waldeck
13. Le Shin - !Dela Dap
14. To Dry Up - Wax Taylor

Still here... and alive.

2010-08-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Trudging through work... with not enough hours in the day for my sweet blog right now. Hope you all are well!

So...

2010-08-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

illustration from Toothpastefordinner.com

I have been hiding out for a while. Life has been super busy (and messy) and I have a lot of loose ends hanging out in the wind. So many in fact, that I have just wanted to pull the covers over my head and not think about any of them. DENIAL... it is beautiful and has saved my sanity this past two months. But, at some point you have to push for resolution. Mac and I were facing: relocating out of the country for Mac's job; his ever-pending retirement from the military; selling two houses, one of which needs quite a bit of work; going out town for work for an extended period of time; and actually planning our own nuptials. And not being able to go forward on any of them... because making a decision on one required a resolution on another... we have been stuck. So... this weekend we made a decision to not relocate, thus allowing for us to make decisions on the other pending issues. And I am starting to feel better.

Project: Convertible/Infinity Dress

2010-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Dresses above are available at Butter by Nadia

My current project involves (hopefully) making a beachy dress to wear to my sisters wedding. I have been in love with the convertible dress for a few years now... and I have even made one, it was out of jersey knit - not really appropriate for a wedding even if it is on a beach. These dresses are ridiculously easy to make I am now trying to locate some high quality jersey satin, which I am finding is the biggest challenge in reproducing these dresses.

Now there are two options in creating your convertible dress (aside from the fullness or length of the skirt) and one is to create the skirt and attach the top pieces to the skirt OR to just attach a trim piece to a larger cut of fabric and the whole thing becomes your dress (the all in one version). I have made the former and recently stumbled across the other option, which is a fantastic less formal option, read: beach cover up.

Youtube video's below show the different in the two styles AND demonstrate the varying tying techniques.
Also let me know if you know where I can get some nice satin jersey.

Styling instructions for the convertible wrap dress by Barbarella Vintage. (this is the full skirt version). Although each style is demonstrated in a different Youtube video...

Twisted Straps

The Strapless

The Front Twist Halter

The One Shoulder

The BatWing

The Capped Sleeve

Listening to... Lissie

2010-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lissie - Catching a Tiger

I have been obsessed with this album for about two weeks... wandering the internet looking for places to play the not-yet-released-album. I am so happy today that I can finally BUY it and listen at will. This is a great mix of country/blues/folk. One minute she reminds me of Stevie Nicks, the next Edie Brickell and then a moment later Bobbie Gentry and Neko Case. Might have just passed Marina as my summer favorite.

Listen here.

Like her writing or not...

2010-08-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a very interesting lecture by Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing the creative process. It is long... but well worth your time. Also, check out other lectures on TED... this is a fantastic site...Riveting Talks by Remarkable People

4 Goals

2010-08-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

So... it is funny sometimes how things come a long at just the right moment.   I was just having an email discussion with some of my girlfriends about developing future career strategies.   We picked a date and decided that we would each formulate, in our own ways, how we would like our careers to look in the future.   A few hours later I was reading Ms. Elsie's Blog, A Beautiful Mess, where she is proposing a blog challenge: Make 4 Simple Goals to accomplish by the end of the year... the catch is... they have to be activity oriented not result oriented.   Perfect for ME...who needs a bit of inspiration. So... I have thought about mine and here they are:

1) Learn to knit and do it without being anxious.   For some weird reason whenever I have tried to knit in the past it has made me VERY anxious.   I would like to try again, but in a more zen fashion.

2) Learn some (more) french....apprendre le français

3) Take more pictures of everyday life.   (I am taking this from Elsie).   I used to take pictures all the time, I carried my camera in my purse and it was used constantly.   Now that I have a larger non-purse friendly camera ergo I have really gotten away from taking random photos.   Not so good.

4) Do something creative everyday.   Just something small, doesn't have to be perfect, be it post-it note origami... just a bit of creating everyday.    I need to step out of the left brain humdrum of my daily routine... mix it up.

Thanks so much Elsie... you are the perfect muse... motivating and inspiring (like reading your lovely blog wasn't enough!)

Recipe: Carne Adovada

2010-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

The thing from New Mexico I miss the most (besides my family) is the red chile.   You can find it no where else but in New Mexico (trust me I have looked).   Every once in a while I will get a craving and do something crazy like order it in a restaurant and I am always unhappy with what comes out of the kitchen... ALWAYS.   For some reason people seem to think that red sauce means adding tomatoes, couple that with oregano and guess what you have...an Italian burrito... gross.

So... I had another hankering this weekend.   I think it was because I missed out on the Navajo Taco served down in Mora and I was pouting and fantasizing all week about it.   So... out come the dried chile.   Now there are ton's of chile's out there so you can choose your heat level, but make sure they are dried.   Some people get desperate and use chile powder (not the one you add to chili con carne) but I never get it to come out right if I go this route.

Both the sauce and the Adovada can be used in many ways.   Eat it in burritos (both breakfast and main), with tortillas, over some cornbread as a tamale pie, in enchiladas.

Red Chile Sauce
20 dried chile peppers; ancho, New Mexico, guajillo…..you pick your heat level.
6 cloves fresh garlic, smashed with skins removed
1 T dried oregano
1 T salt

De-stem and de-seed chile peppers and place on baking sheet. Put in the oven for 5 minutes at 250 degrees to toast. Remove peppers, cool and rinse.    Blend in sections adding water and chiles until everything is blended.    Strain through sieve.

Carne Adovada
10 pork chops or pork loin, cut into strips
Red Chili Sauce

Marinate pork in chile for 24-48 hours.   Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 1 and 1/2 hours.   If using a slow cooker, I put it on low for 8 hours.

Here is another recipe by Bobby Flay (includes a stacked enchilada recipe)
More New Mexican Recipes, here
Lots of great pictures of the red chile making process here

Recipe: Thai Style Pork Stew

2010-08-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is a great slow cooker recipe to add to your collection and everyone really does need a few slow cooker they are really handy in certain situations! I am always on the lookout for a good recipe that doesn't involve a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup. This one really fits the bill. I was worried about making a Thai-Styled dish that cooks in teriyaki sauce for 8 hours but I trusted the reviews and doubled the sauce (it is reflected in the recipe below). The original recipe also had bell peppers in the mix and I mixed it up by adding a slew of veggies at the end... it was well worth it and I will add even more next time. One thing I would suggest is right after stirring in the peanut butter to taste it and see if there is enough peanut flavor... next time I think I will bump up the peanut butter an additional 2 tablespoons to get a bit more peanutty flavor.

Thai-Style Pork Stew
Adapted from Cooking Light, original recipe here

Stew:
2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
4 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4-5 cups mixed cut veggies, we used cabbage, snow peas, broccoli and green beans, blanched

Remaining ingredients:
6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
8 lime wedges

To prepare stew, trim fat from pork. Place pork and next 5 ingredients (pork through onion) in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid, and cook on low-heat setting for 6-8 hours. Remove pork from slow cooker, and coarsely chop. Add peanut butter to liquid in slow cooker; stir well. Stir in pork and veggies and cook for another 15-30 minutes. Combine stew and rice in a large bowl. Top each serving with onions and peanuts; serve with lime wedges.

Weekend Pictures aka My first all bird post

2010-08-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well... I am not a huge bird watcher... but Mac loves it and I have learned that it is a great way to practice the Macro feature on my camera and practice the up-close and moving wildlife shots. I really need to be better about bringing my tripod wherever my camera goes... I think that would have really made a difference in these shots.

This one might be my favorite... I call it the "Bird Meeting"

Recovering...

2010-08-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well... Mr. Mac and I made it back from New Mexico. It was a great time. I am now busy catching up with work; laundry (god it was muddy); and sorting through the gazillion pictures I took. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

P.S. The slab pies were excellent. I don't think I will make a regular pie ever again... well except for coconut cream pie.

Recipe: Slab Pies

2010-07-29T07:00:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Cook, a oui chef journal

Mac and I are going on a little road trip to see some friends this weekend.    We haven't had a vacation or taken much time off in quite a while - we are desperately hoarding our vacation for our elopement or as I have started referring to it as - "when we run away from home".   Because at this point we don't really know what we are doing... seriously (but my friends that is a whole other post). But I am really looking forward to some time away from the office, I will admit too many consecutive days working has really taken a toll on my attitude... but my attitude wasn't the point of the story, SLAB PIE was the point! Focus Brooke, Focus.

My favorite pies in the world are slab pies, it is like a grown-up pop tart - just enough filling, with lots of pastry and icing (oh yes don't forget the icing)! My favorite and go-to recipe is Martha's Sour Cherry Slab Pie. I have also made a slab pie using peaches, but I have to tell you because of the nature of the slab pie I am always worried it is going to be too "juicy" and spill out all over.   So I have been studying other examples of the slab pie to get a feel for them.

Genius... I even found a recipe for a savory slab pie!   I thought to myself, what a great idea, so simple yet now that I think about it, embarrassingly obvious.

Cheesy Potato Slab Pie
Sour Cherry Slab Pie (this is the slab pie I always make)
Apple Slab Pie
Nectarine Blueberry Slab Pie
Peach Vanilla Bean Slab Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Slab Pie, another recipe
Crumb Topped Apple Slab Pie
Brandied Apricot Almond Slab Pie
Blackberry Apple Slab Pie
Apple Cranberry Slab Pie
Peach Raspberry Slab Pie

Design Files: Loving the library

2010-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

From BookshelfPorn

Since, I am completely devoid of inspiration these days and really don't have much to say... I thought I would share with you some library photos I have collected. I think everyone should have a place to keep their books and I think that place should be comfortable and practical (for them).

There is something for everyone here, whether your library is a wall or an entire room; or hiding a secret passage. Can you tell how much I love bookshelves?

from SplendidWillow.com

From isuwannee

From Apartment Therapy

From isuwannee

From fffound.com

From isuwannee

From Stylebeat

From Splendid Willow

From Khintonslash on Flickr

From After Adornment blog

From Design Babylon on Flickr

From Lakbdesigns on Flickr

From Evergreenhill on flickr

From Sweethomeexchange.tumblr.com

From Apartment Therapy

From Cloudinthesky.tumblr.com

From Graphicexchange.com

From Apartment Therapy

Mixed Tape: July 2010

2010-07-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

1. In the sun - She & Him
2. Don't Upset the Rhythm - Noisettes
3. She Loves Everybody - Chester French
4. Dancing On My Own - Robyn
5. More of This - Vetiver
6. Clap Your Hands - Sia
7. Your Car is On Fire (or things that don't go together well: Cars, Fire, Beer) - Shortwave Sunshine
8. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
9. Mixtape - Tift Merritt
10. ILU - School of Seven Bells
11. Never Had Nobody Like You - M. Ward feat. Zooey Deschanel
12. China Town - Wild Nothing
13. Stop and Stare - Fenech-Soler
14. You Lift Me Up - Blake McKibben
15. Off I Go (2010 Mix) - Greg Laswell
16. My Heart Still Beats for You - Anna Ternheim
17. Me in You - Kings of Convenience
18. The Cave - Mumford & Sons

Love the blog header - from their website

Summer Cooking

2010-07-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

Photo by Banh Mi battle

Last week it was so hot here that I vowed to not to even walk near the stove.   So to accomplish that I was going the have to get creative with my menu planning.    I could cook on the grill or make salads, period. I did pretty well not turning on the oven, of course until I got the great idea that I needed to try Smitten Kitchen's Bourbon Peach Handpies... and on the oven went (I am not very good at following rules). Here is what we ate last week.

Taco's with a Mexican Chopped Salad with honey lime dressing
Dorie's Banh Mi Chicken Sandwich with Confetti Coleslaw (recipe below)
Grilled Pizza's with a side salad
Chicken Souvlaki Salad with Tabbouleh and Hummus

All of it was really great, not a bad meal in the bunch.   I tried to marinate the chicken for tacos, sandwich and salad in advance and then grill everything all at once.    I cooked some Italian sausage and mushrooms on the grill for the pizzas and voila.   My favorite (besides the Banh Mi which I will always adore) was the Mexican Chopped salad... so good!    But my favorite way to beat the heat was with these Blended Golden Mojitos... WOW.

As I am writing this I am facing another hot weekend ahead and am at a loss and completely uninspired in the kitchen... would it be wrong to eat homemade ice cream for dinner every night? I don't know why cooking in the summer is so much more difficult for me... maybe because I love stews, soups and bubbling baked pastas so much.   I let you know what I come up with.   Have a great weekend!

Confetti Coleslaw
I used regular cabbage and left out the bell peppers because I really dislike them
Author: Bob Blumer - Cookinglight bulletin board

2 Tbs rice vinegar*
2 tsp toasted sesame oil*
2 Tbs peanut, canola or safflower oil*
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice*
1 Tbs honey*
1 to 2 pinches cayenne pepper (optional)*
2 carrots, peeled and grated coarsely
1/3 head red cabbage, cored then cut crosswise into the narrowest ribbons possible and separated
1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, then sliced lengthwise into the thinnest strips possible
1 red pepper, seeds and membranes removed, then sliced lengthwise into the thinnest strips possible
1/3 medium-size sweet onion, finely sliced, rings separated
1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, stems discarded before measuring, chopped
2 Tbs finely grated or minced fresh gingerroot, peeled first*
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds plus a little extra for garnish

1. In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, both oils, lime juice, honey and cayenne. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and toss thoroughly. Then toss with dressing.

3. Serve immediately or refrigerate. If you’re preparing more than an hour in advance, don’t mix in the cabbage until just before serving, because it will turn the whole salad purple.

4. Just before serving, toss with sesame seeds and finish with an additional sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Love this....

2010-07-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Letterpress art by Etsy seller tagteamtompkins

Recipe: Sour Cherry Jam

2010-07-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry I have been AWOL. It has been hot and I have been so uninspired lately. I have also been distracted with large projects at the day job that have really sucked the life out of me. I know... no excuse. So... I did actually make jam with my sour cherries last weekend and it is delicious! My favorite uses for all of my jams is to mix them into Greek Yogurt... it is delicious. Try it, I promise you will love it. Anyway, I did struggle with the jam, because it really didn't want to set up at all. I followed David Lebovitz' recipe for cherry jam, which isn't exactly a recipe it is more of a guideline. Which is actually exactly how I like to make my jams... a free-wheeling sort of jam making, that way I am not stuck to the notion that I really have to put three cups of sugar into my peach preserves, when it tastes perfectly delicious at two cups.

So... tell me do you want a jar? I will send you one. Leave a comment by Sunday at 5pm (Mountain Standard Time) and I will pick a winner (randomly of course)... the catch is that you will have to tell me how you like it. (Yes... girls you are all going to have to figure out how to comment on my blog... you know who you are... nice trick, eh?)

Picnic

2010-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Picture from Mary Ruffle at Tumbler

So many times summer passes me by and I haven't done any of the things that I longed to do during those winter months, instead I fill my days with work, gardening and yard work. So... lets all make a resolution to have a picnic this month.

Picture from Martha Stewart

Picture from Soule Mama on Flicker

Here are some ideas to make your picnic planning easier:

Gear (tutorials)

Striped Picnic Basket
Waterproof Picnic Blanket
Origami Picnic Basket
Outdoor Pillows
How to wrap your bottles for easy transport
How to tie up your picnic blanket/mat

Games

Frisbee
Bocce
Croquet
Water Balloon toss
Picnic Games

Items to include in your picnic kit

plates
serving ware
salt pepper
glasses
cork screw
pocket knife
napkins
picnic blanket
umbrella

Food

Pictures from Martha Stewart

Select items that will travel well, are made in advance and can be served cold or at room temperature. Here are a few:

Zucchini Patties with Feta
Cheese Plate with crackers and salami crisps

My favorite Martha Stewart's Pressed Picnic Sandwich

Bonton Fried Chicken (My favorite Fried Chicken)
Thai Chicken Wraps with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Scampi Wraps
Fresh Mozzarella BLT's with Pesto
Moroccan Roast Chicken Wraps
Smoked Turkey and Spinach Rolls (think this is what I will make for my picnic... can I tell you how genius I think this is... savory cinnamon rolls)

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad with Snap Peas
Five bean Salad
Melon and Mint Tabbouleh
Grilled Corn and Shrimp Salad

Bulgur Salad with Cucumber, Dill and Mint
Sesame Broccoli Salad
Antipasto Pasta Salad
Carrot Salad with toasted cumin Dressing
Chicken and Feta Tabbouleh
White Bean and Roasted Chicken Salad
Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad (Love this)

Blackberry hand pies
Coconut sheet cake with Hibiscus Sauce
Bourbon Peach Hand Pies
Lemon Bars

Sangria
Raspberry Iced Tea Punch

Mark Bittman has given us a TON of dishes to think about in his article 101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics, Published in the NY Times on July 2, 2008. I love Mr. Bittman, he takes so much of the fuss out of cooking.

101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics

By MARK BITTMAN

THERE is something both innocent and exciting about a picnic, even if you are only packing a few things at the last minute and heading down the street to the park. It may be nothing fancier than bologna or tuna salad on white bread, but you’re still likely to have a good time, which is probably why many of us remain devoted to the same picnic foods we’ve eaten all our lives.
But at some point, you may get the urge to vary the menu a bit. With that in mind, I’d like to make a few — or, actually, 101 — suggestions, ranging from snacks to dessert. With a little shopping, a little effort, and 20 minutes or less for assembly, you can create the kind of carry-out food that will put the local prepared food shops to shame while saving you a small fortune. No matter how faithful you are to your old favorites, I’ll bet you will find something intriguing here.

1 BEET SALAD Peel beets and grate them (a food processor will keep the juice contained). Add pistachios or hazelnuts; dress with orange zest and juice, and olive oil. Add bits of goat cheese and chopped parsley.
2 PESTO CHICKEN ROLLS Season and grill chicken cutlets. Brush lavash or any other wrap-type bread with pesto; layer with the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and arugula; roll up and cut on the bias.
3 CURRIED EGG SALAD Make egg salad with hard-cooked eggs, mayo, curry powder, Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, red onion and, if you like, diced apple.
4 TOMATOES AND PEACHES Toss together sliced seeded tomatoes and peaches, along with thinly sliced red onion and chopped cilantro or rosemary. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5 ROAST BEEF AND BLUE Start with whole-grain rolls. Smear blue cheese on one side and prepared horseradish on the other. Add red onion and thin-sliced roast beef, pork or lamb. Pack! lettuce and tomato on the side. Potato chips are mandatory.
6 CORNFLAKE CHICKEN BITES Cut boneless chicken breasts into small pieces. Dip in milk or buttermilk, then dredge in seasoned crushed corn flake crumbs, cornmeal or panko. Pan-fry in oil, drain, cool and eat cold with celery sticks, with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
7 GRAPES AND CHEESE Mix feta cubes and green grapes (or grape tomatoes or pieces of watermelon). Add mint, salt, pepper and olive oil. A tiny bit of chopped fresh chili is good, too.
8 COLD PEANUT NOODLES Cook Chinese egg noodles or regular spaghetti. Drain and rinse. Toss with sesame oil, peanut butter (or tahini), sugar, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, black pepper (lots) and chili oil (optional). Pack shredded seeded cucumber, cooked shrimp and chopped scallions separately.

RAW VEGETABLES
9 For gazpacho, combine a couple of pounds of ripe tomatoes, one of cucumbers, a slice or two of bread, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender. Chill and pour into a thermos.
10 Combine tomatoes and cucumber in blender with lemon grass (only the most tender part), cilantro, fish sauce and lime. Voilà: Thai gazpacho.
11 Mix peeled, grated carrots with chopped dates, cumin, minced chili, lemon or lime juice, mint or cilantro.
12 Slice a few bulbs of fennel and some tart apples; dice some jicama. Toss together with freshly chopped tarragon, basil or chervil (if you can find it), olive oil, salt, lots of pepper and lemon juice. Celery is good in this, too, as are oranges and cheeses, especially sheep’s cheeses.
13 Guacasalsa: Mash an avocado (it won’t get brown) into some salsa, even jarred if necessary. Don’t forget chips.
14 Cut day-old crusty bread into one-inch cubes. Just before leaving the house, combine it with chopped tomatoes (seeds are O.K.), chopped cucumber, chopped red onion and fresh basil. Pack dressing separately: olive oil, red wine vinegar, diced anchovies, capers, salt and pepper. Call this panzanella.
15 Toss toasted pita with olives, parsley and mint, salt and pepper, bits of chopped-up lemon (rinds and all; preserved lemon is even better), chopped seeded tomatoes, chopped seeded cucumbers and chopped red pepper. Take olive oil for last-minute dressing.
16 Thinly slice Savoy or Napa cabbage. Toss with thinly sliced red onion, half a diced jalapeño and handfuls of chopped cilantro. Dress with olive oil, lime juice, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
17 Halve cherry tomatoes; toss with equal-size pieces of firm smoked or regular tofu and soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, scallions and a pinch of sugar (or mirin if you have it). Add chopped Thai basil and/or cilantro and/or mint just before eating.
18 Toss cooked couscous with oil, chopped parsley, chopped black olives, capers, red onion, salt and pepper. Scoop out medium-size tomatoes and fill with mixture. Pack carefully.
19 Process a cup or two of cashews, a chili or two, some garlic, a splash of soy sauce and enough water to get the food processor going; fold in chopped cilantro or chives. Fill celery sticks and chill. This is the best celery-filler since cream cheese.

COOKED VEGETABLES
20 Poach a couple of pounds of dark leafy greens, like kale, collards or spinach. Drain, cool, squeeze dry and chop. Then toss with oil, salt and lots of lemon juice. Serve with more lemon, oil, salt and pepper. Call it horta.
21 Brown fresh corn kernels in hot oil with chopped chili and garlic, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and toss with cilantro and lots of lime juice.
22 Cook whole unpeeled eggplant in a dry, hot skillet, turning occasionally, until collapsed and soft. (Or grill, or roast, or hold with a fork over an open flame.) While it’s cooling, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and parsley in a bowl. Chop the eggplant flesh (leave the peel behind) and roughly mash in the bowl. Add red pepper flakes if you like. Serve with pita.
23 Simmer one part olive oil, two parts red wine vinegar and four parts water with herbs, salt and pepper. Add chopped vegetables, firmest to softest — maybe carrots first, then cauliflower, then peppers — and poach until just getting tender. Remove from heat and chill overnight in the liquid. It’s giardiniera.
24 Cut zucchini into big chunks and roast or grill with olive oil (and, if you like, whole garlic cloves). Combine with chopped seeded tomatoes, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.
25 Toss cauliflower florets with oil, salt and pepper, and roast in a hot oven until browned and cooked; while still warm, toss with curry powder and a handful of raisins. Pour on the lemon juice.
26 Soak wakame or other seaweed in hot water until soft; drain and squeeze dry. Toss with chopped celery, sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin (or honey) and rice wine vinegar. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
27 Clean a bunch of mixed mushrooms; quarter any large ones. Steam for about five minutes. When still warm, toss with sliced shallots, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, cracked coriander seeds, chopped fresh cilantro, sherry vinegar and more olive oil if necessary.
28 In a blender or food processor, combine ginger, a half cup or so light miso, a little more than that of walnuts, and enough soy sauce to make a sauce. Toss with cooked green beans or eggplant.
29 Steam or boil a bunch of asparagus; slice on the bias. Toss with orange segments, zest and juice, some olive oil, salt and pepper. Garnish with sesame seeds. Add little shrimp or shredded crab, lobster or chicken if you like.
30 Steam or boil green beans or asparagus; slice on the bias. Toss with thinly sliced red onion, matchstick-size pieces of prosciutto (or lardo if you’re in Colonnata), olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

BEAN, RICE AND GRAIN SALADS
31 Combine cooked or canned (and drained) black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas. Add diced red and green pepper, some corn kernels and a minced jalapeño. Season with lime juice, chopped marjoram or oregano, salt and pepper.
32 Cook lentils with garlic, onion and thyme. Toss with salt, pepper and fresh chopped herbs: marjoram, tarragon, chervil or basil. Dress with vinaigrette made with oil, vinegar and mustard.
33 Toss cooked or canned white beans with chopped seeded tomato, chopped anchovy, chopped olives, oil, lemon juice, lots of black pepper, salt if necessary and parsley.
34 Steam frozen (shelled) edamame or limas. Toss with chopped seeded tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and a suspicion of sesame oil. Salt and pepper.
35 Steam frozen edamame and chill. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, lots of chopped mint, salt, pepper, and as much shaved pecorino or Parmesan as you like.
36 Mix cooked rice and cooked lentils with very, very well caramelized onions. Add sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and, if necessary, a bit of oil.
37 Combine cooked brown rice with small, barely cooked broccoli florets and chopped pecans or walnuts and parsley. Dress with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon.
38 Combine cooked Arborio rice with thin pesto, peas, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper.
39 Soak a tablespoon or two of black beans in sherry or wine; toss with cooked rice, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and cilantro.
40 Mix cooked couscous with olive oil; add pimentón, cumin, salt and pepper, chopped shallot or red onion, toasted slivered almonds and orange zest and juice. Cooked cauliflower is good, too.
41 Toss a load of chopped parsley with a little cooked bulgur — say three to one in favor of the parsley. Chopped seeded tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and lots of lemon juice. Call this real tabbouleh.
42 Make tabbouleh as above and embellish with more vegetables — like cucumbers and radishes — and/or crumbled feta, or bits of cooked chicken. Or smoked tofu, or bacon, whatever you can think of. How can you go wrong?

POTATO SALADS AND EGG SALADS
43 Make potato salad with mustard vinaigrette. Add chopped cooked asparagus, peas, green beans, etc. Or steamed mussels.
44 Make potato salad with mayo and crumbled bacon, and add grated Cheddar, celery, onion and chopped egg. You don’t have to pack much else except blood thinner.
45 Roast or boil sweet potatoes, but not too soft. Make a blended vinaigrette with a little chili, cumin, sherry vinegar and olive oil. Pack separately and toss together with scallions and mint.
46 Make egg salad with sesame oil and seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar, scallions and chilies.
47 Egg salad with chopped seeded tomato, basil and extra virgin olive oil.
48 Egg salad with sour cream, smoked salmon and chopped chives.
ALSO
49 Take cold pizza and lemon. Squeeze lemon over pizza. Really.
50 Mix a couple of cups of cold leftover cooked short-grain rice (if you happen to have risotto lying around, so much the better) with three eggs. Form balls; insert a small cube of mozzarella into each. Roll in bread crumbs and refrigerate if convenient. Deep or shallow fry until golden. Packed carefully, these will be fine. Call them supplì al telefono.
51 Purée roasted red peppers (jarred are O.K., piquillo are even better) with feta, marjoram or oregano and parsley, olive oil and garlic. Serve as a dip.
52 Make burritos, using the biggest flour tortillas you can find: rice, beans, any stewed or grilled meat or chicken, cilantro, salsa.
53 Marinate firm goat or feta cheese in olive oil, with rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, red and black pepper. You don’t need much of this, but it’s good.
54 Make a cheese ball: Mash together equal parts good grated Cheddar, crumbled blue and cream cheese, maybe thinned with a little sour cream. Shape into a ball and roll in fresh chopped herbs and/or hazelnuts. Take Triscuits. You think people won’t eat this?

FRUIT
55 Make simple syrup with rosemary; purée in a blender with watermelon, rum (optional) and lemon juice. Use more rum and call this a cocktail, or omit rum, add a little feta and eat with a spoon. Keep it cold in either case.
56 Use a spoon or melon baller to make equal size pieces of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, or, I don’t know, Charentais. Mix together and sprinkle with lemon juice and salt or (better still) chili, sugar, salt and lime.
57 (A) Make fruit salad, however you like it; pack it. (B) Take seeded papaya halves, well wrapped. Put (A) in (B), drizzle with lemon, and serve.
58 Husk and quarter strawberries; at the last minute, combine with a little chopped tarragon, black pepper and balsamic vinegar. Goat cheese is good, too.
59 Cut melon into wedges and wrap thin slices of prosciutto around them. Stack in a container, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Take romaine lettuce and serve the wedges over the greens, with the accumulated juices as a dressing. It works.
60 Toss cornbread cubes with blueberries, lemon juice, olive oil and hazelnuts. Yes.

SEAFOOD
61 Toss chopped shrimp or shredded crab or lobster with lemon juice, chopped chives, salt and pepper. Use this to fill avocado halves. (If the avocado browns, blame me. It’ll still taste great.)
62 Boil potatoes, corn kernels and shrimp; drain and chill. Serve with crusty bread and lemon wedges along with mayo mixed with garlic and crumbled saffron. Call this Aegean seafood salad.
63 Drain a can of good quality salmon (preferably sockeye). Mix with cannellini beans, chopped tomato, diced shallot, chopped black or green olives, chopped parsley and basil. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve on bread (scooped out ciabatta is very nice) or over greens.
64 Combine a bunch of watercress or arugula with thinly sliced radishes and red onion; add flaked smoked trout or whitefish. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
65 Cut salmon fillets (the skin can be on or off) into serving-size pieces, and sear them in oil on both sides until brown; set aside. Sauté onions, garlic, fresh chilies if you like; deglaze the pan with one part red wine vinegar, two parts each red wine and water. Pour over fish and chill for up to two days. This will work with mackerel, chicken, pork, etc. Call this escabeche.
66 Make escabeche with white wine and vinegar, dill and lemon slices.
67 Pan-cook shrimp in oil. Separately sauté fresh and dried chilies with lots of onions and garlic; add beer, reduce and pour glaze over shrimp.
68 Mix good canned tuna with diced fennel, tarragon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. No mayo.
69 Mix good tuna with mashed anchovies (packed in olive oil), grated Parmesan, bits of lemon and some lemon juice, olive oil and perhaps a thimbleful of Worcestershire. No mayo.
70 You want an idea for tuna with mayo, I know: Mix tuna with mayo and mustard; add capers and dill.

MEAT AND POULTRY
71 Cut chicken wings into two parts, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and grill or roast until crisp and golden. Whisk together mustard, honey and lemon juice, and toss with warm wings. Chill overnight (or eat them and take something else to the picnic).
72 Combine equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake with a little sugar and sesame oil; boil for a minute. Use this to baste chicken thighs, pork or beef while you grill or broil it. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or chopped scallions — ginger and/or lemon are good too — just before serving. Call it teriyaki. Works with mackerel and other dark fish, too.
73 Make chicken teriyaki as above, then toss with a little mayo and perhaps more soy. Awesome.
74 Poach chicken and chop or shred. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil and herbs of your choice.
75 Pack in three containers: grilled sliced beef or pork, with its juices; watercress or arugula tossed with mint, basil and/or cilantro; a dressing of lime juice, sesame oil, fish or soy sauce and sugar. Dress greens; put meat and its juices over all.
76 Thinly slice grilled butterflied leg of lamb; toss with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, mint, feta and chopped red onion.
77 Grind chunks of lamb shoulder in a food processor with onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Make into small meatballs and sauté or roast. Serve sliced with pita wedges or in pita, with lemon, and a dollop of yogurt or tapenade.
78 Split small chickens or Cornish hens; grill or broil quickly, with lots of salt and pepper. Take them whole to the picnic with sandwich rolls, good barbecue sauce (O.K., and mayo) and pickles. Pick off the meat and go to it.
79 Cut quail in half, or not; marinate with salt, pepper, minced garlic, sage and oil for as long as you can — at least five minutes. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes.
80 Chop various salamis, mortadella, etc. and combine with chopped provolone, Parmesan, bell pepper, red onion and fresh oregano. Heavily dress in vinaigrette. Take shredded romaine lettuce for tossing. And bread, obviously.

SANDWICHES
81 Make chopped olive salad (I like onion, thyme, capers, a little garlic). Hollow out a medium-size round bread, or a few rolls. Put in olive salad and cured meats of your choice: ham, prosciutto, salami, mortadella, whatever; and provolone. Call this a muffuletta.
82 Slice open a good baguette and fill it with chopped or shredded cooked chicken tossed with fish sauce, chili, sugar, lime, garlic, scallions and Thai basil (or, in a dire emergency, regular).
83 Fry chopped bacon until half done; add strips of boneless chicken and cook until done; pack. Take pitas, chopped seeded tomato, avocado, sliced red onion and shredded romaine. Assemble sandwiches in situ; dress with olive oil and cheap vinegar.
84 Blanch frozen fava beans in salted water. Pulse in a food processor with some mint or parsley until roughly chopped; season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice. Slice baguette and spread one half with fresh ricotta, then drizzle with olive oil. Spread the other half with the fava beans. Put arugula in there and sandwich-ize.
85 Butter both halves of a sliced baguette. Layer with thinly sliced cured ham — Serrano, prosciutto, Bayonne, York, whatever — and many halved cornichons. Call this une sandwich.
86 Halve a cucumber or two; scoop out the seeds. Slice it thin and salt it for a bit if you have time; in any case squeeze out some of the liquid. Combine it with shredded cooked chicken, ginger, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cilantro. On a baguette, it’s reminiscent of banh mi.
87 Grill a steak; slice it thin. Butter a baguette on one side; put Dijon on the other side. Pile the bread with steak, roasted peppers (canned are fine; piquillos are best), and something crunchy, like radicchio or fennel. A little blue cheese wouldn’t hurt either. Neither would avocado. (But not both.)
88 Cook peeled shrimp; little ones are best. Toss with pesto: lots. Put on small rolls. (In fact: cook anything; toss with pesto: lots. Put on small rolls.)
89 Dredge fish fillets in cornmeal. Sauté in abundant olive oil until crisp. Let cool a bit, then use for sandwiches, packing tomatoes separately.
90 Hard-cook some eggs; slice them. Sauté some spinach with oil and garlic until quite dry; chop. Make mustardy sandwiches with baguettes, rolls or any bread that can absorb some oil.

COLD NOODLES
91 Cook fusilli or other cut pasta; rinse in cool water, but don’t bother to chill. Combine with chopped seeded tomatoes, cubed fresh mozzarella, chopped basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. (Good with olives, too.) Do not call this pasta salad, because pasta salad is no good, and this is.
92 Shred carrots and zucchini. Mix lime juice, soy sauce, grated ginger and sesame oil. Cook soba noodles, drain and rinse under cold water. Toss noodles with the vegetables and dressing.
93 Cook rice vermicelli and drain. Toss with kimchi, lots of cilantro and cooked chopped shrimp or chicken.
94 Cook garlic in olive oil until just sizzling; add clams (you can use canned clams but it will not be the same), and, cook, stirring, until they open. Remove, chop and combine with the garlic, oil, any liquid in pan, chopped tomato and cooked pasta. Add more oil as needed, with lemon juice, parsley, salt (if needed), pepper and oregano, if you like.

DESSERTS
95 Combine equal parts honey and brown sugar with a little oil and bring to a boil; toss with good granola until the mixture is very sticky. You can add more nuts, or raisins and, yes, O.K., you can add chocolate chips. Line a pan with waxed paper or film with oil. Press mixture into pan and let cool. Call these granola bars.
96 Cook a couple of pounds of berries with some sugar and a little water until they break down. Layer in a plastic container with slices of good pound cake. Pour any remaining juices on top. You might want some cream.
97 Make sandwiches of angel food cake and ganache or fruit compote.
98 Mix peanut butter and cream cheese. Spread between two good cookies and make sandwiches. Or mix honey, lemon zest and cream cheese. Make sandwiches with ginger snaps.
99 Put sorbet (make it yourself if you have time) in a really cold thermos; it will be slushy by the time you open it. Add a splash of Champagne or Gewürztraminer if you like, maybe some mint, and eat like cold soup.
100 Take a container of melted chocolate thinned with cream or crème fraîche with strawberries, pineapple or bananas for dipping.
101 Take the makings of S’mores. Build a fire.

cerise

2010-07-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Picked all the pie cherries off my tree this weekend. Yum. What should I make?

Sewing: Girly dresses

2010-07-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

I made my friend Annabel two jumper dresses for her birthday. I really like the pattern I used, Mcall's 5613, but I thought the sizing on the shoulder straps was a bit off, either that or the chest piece was designed to small... I think if I double the size of the chest piece it would be perfect. It could just be that my sewing was off... it has been a few years since I have sewed anything other than a curtain, a cushion or a quilt and it really shows. My gut reaction was to not place the buttons/buttonholes until I had her try them on... but I didn't listen.

I think I am going to try the other version on this pattern. I am also going to check the reviews of the pattern to see if anyone else thought the chest piece came out too small.

Garden Pictures: June 2010

2010-07-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

I know I am late posting this... here are some pictures from my garden last month. I promise not to wait to long on the next garden update... it has changed a bunch... these were taken early June.

Cherries (Montmorency)

strawberries

Lettuce

Chive Blossom

Raspberries

4th of July....

2010-07-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

I don't know who had more fun over the 4th... Mac and the fireworks or Mox and the pool?

Stop here unless you want to look at a bunch of dog pictures
As you can see I really like taking pictures of Moxie... she is always moving so I get to practice the "action" shots.... they are very hard for me.

Design Files: Chalkboard Paint

2010-07-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Picture from Alkemie

I have thought recently that the chalkboard paint trend was over, but last weekend in a design magazine I saw a new picture using chalkboard paint! (Of course, now can't find said magazine nor can I remember which one it was... yes I have a magazine "problem" people but that is a whole other Oprah). Maybe it isn't over... I have to tell you I love it. It combines my love of black walls with a splash of utilitarian purpose. I personally LOVE my chalkboard wall.

How to make your own chalkboard paint:
Apartment Therapy
Martha Stewart - this link also has some great ideas for using it!!!

I have never used anything but the plain o' gray chalkboard paint... but I am fascinated by the new colored paint. Buy it here at Hudson Paint. Although I am wondering how well it works?

I found a ton of great images on the internet... Check them out

Picture from My Sweet Savannah

Picture from Sweet Grace

Picture from Alkemie

Picture from Anne Sage via New York Times

Picture from Anne Sage via Erik Johnson

Picture from Anne Sage via Marie Claire Maison via Erin Wilson

Picture from Make Magazine - tutorial is also available

Picture from Manolo Home

Picture from Little Frame Big Wall

Picture from Ohdeedoh

Picture from ApartmentTherapy

Picture from Little Frame Big Wall

Picture from Rouge Blanc Noir via apartment therapy.

Picture from Anne Sage via Noisette Family via Martha Stewart

Picture from Stylefiles.com

Picture from Desire to Inspire

Picture from Stylefiles.com

Sorry about the random "google" references. I have been using Pinterest to catalog my images... usually assuming that they are going to collect the correct reference information... well they didn't. Arrggh. I will re-trace my steps to find those sources...

Edited to add: Sorry Pinterest... I figured it out. It does just list the source, i.e. google.com on my board but will actually go to the exact reference if you click on the link. So I will apologize for my lack of computer skills... I was just so disappointed because I love Pinterest (and they know I do because I pin things now like it is my job) and really want it to work!!! YEAH... it does work... I am just an idiot.

Upular

2010-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

This video is a collection of all the sounds in the movie Up.

Oh I really, really love the movie UP, although I have recently seen this 2005 French student film and have wondered about Pixar...

Cheater Pain au Chocolat

2010-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from Epicurious

This my friends is an impressive way to cheat and have hot Pain au Chocolat fresh from the oven on a Sunday morning. Now I have made crossiant dough and it is not an easy nor quick task to undergo. I pulled these together on a whim Sunday morning after finding some Puff Pastry lingering on a shelf the night before during a late night dig through the freezer for some ice cream. The next morning I cut them in 12ths; brushed them with egg wash; rolled up some chocolate chips in them; brushed with egg wash; and sprinkled sugar on top. Fifteen minutes of baking and nirvana...

Today when writing the post I found a recipe on Epicurious.

Petits Pains au Chocolat
(Gourmet, April 2004)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package), thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 water (for glaze)
4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2x3/4-inch pieces
Sugar

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze. Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square. Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate. Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate. Place pastry rolls on baking sheet, seam side down. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg glaze.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Outdoor Oven

2010-07-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to build a outdoor oven for years. Maybe it is my memories of the Horno's in New Mexico or maybe I am just too obsessed with all things cooking. I have collected pictures and instructions and product sources in a folder that collects dust in my house. But, I have never had room in my current yard. Then Williams Sonoma came out with a portable one last year that I oogled for sometime, but holy 3 thousand dollars Batman... I can't do it. I can't spend three thousand dollars on an outdoor oven. I did find a tutorial for a portable one, of course, the instructions are in French and they built it on a wooden stand. But, I have to tell you... putting a wood burning oven on top of a wooden stand doesn't sound like the best idea... maybe something is getting lost in translation and they layered the bottom of the wood oven with something BEFORE putting it on the wood stand....

(Picture credits: Maine Wood Heat; TripAdvisor; Masonry Stone Builders; Sunset Magazine; Maine Wood Heat; Masonry Stone Builders; Gear Fuse; Brick Oven Tampa; Byron Lutz.)

Instructions/Research can be found here:

Sunset
The Farm
Renest
Instructables
Mother Earth News
Traditional ovens
Ozark Dreams - there are many resources on this page including links to product sources and recipes
The Brick Oven Page - Tons of links here, including historical ovens
Breadhunter's Blog
Franks Pizza Oven
Network Earth - Building a Horno
Portable Cob (in French) - I have always wanted to build a "moveable oven" but I have always worried about building a wooden table for it... hmmmm
Pizza Oven build photos

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

2010-07-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from epicurious

A few friday's ago I had some friends over for dinner, now friday is a hard night for a dinner party. So I needed something fast and impressive... this is it my friends. It comes together so quickly that you will be waiting for guests to arrive.

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce
(Gourmet, April 2008)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound peeled large shrimp
3 large garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound capellini

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook shrimp and garlic with oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, turning once, until golden, about 2 minutes total. Stir in vermouth and tomatoes, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet. Add cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cook capellini in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta.

Serve immediately, topped with shrimp and sauce. Thin with some of reserved water if necessary.

Design Files: Kitchen inspiration

2010-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from Coastal Living via Centsational Girl

Photo from House Beautiful

Photo from Michael Smith Interior via Centsational Girl

Photo from New York Times

Photo from Country Living

Photo from House Beautiful

These are multiple photos from a spread done a few years ago in House Beautiful... I loved this kitchen so much I even clipped its floor plan

refrigerator that is accessible from ether side...

Fridge is on the left of the photo and this is the other side of the kitchen

Another collection of photos from architect Oviatt and Pratt... this house was newly constructed Gothic Victorian built to resemble the house in Practical Magic... (images originally found on Hooked on Houses)

Swagger Wagon

2010-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yes...I think this is hysterical.

Independence Day

2010-07-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Patriotic Picnic Napins

Red, white and blue garland

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend and Independence Day everyone! I have always wanted to decorate my house with some patriotic bunting... but I never have. Above are a few holiday crafts from Martha Stewart to decorate your bbq... thank you Martha! Have a safe 4th and don't light anything on fire!

Colorado State Digital Archives

2010-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I know... this is WAY off topic here (even more than usual)... but I had to do some research at work and stumbled upon the Colorado State Digital Archives. Now I have been to the actual archives but it isn't quite like the archives of DC fame - it isn't really a place where you can go view the actual returned check for the purchase of Alaska or Monica Lewinsky's dress. It is just a collection of offices and they aren't really displaying anything - it is a place you can go to look up old court records, death records or real estate plats. That being said I never knew they had an electronic archive so as you might expect I have been obsessed with this archive for about two weeks... god I love the internet.

D-Day Radio Broadcasts can be played here

Digital Colorado Postcard Collection, here

Funny the only mention of the Sand Creek Massacre is in John Evan's "Summary of Governor's Term"

Did you all know that there was once a Japanese Internment Camp in Colorado... I didn't....

Aerial Photo of Granada Center from the Water Tower - Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado. Photo by Joe McClelland , 6/20/1943

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war against Japan many Americans believed that the Japanese-Americans were spies or traitors. In fact, very few Japanese-Americans were disloyal but the hysteria revolving around the war led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War to set up military areas where Japanese-Americans from the West Coast would be sent until their loyalty was proven and they could work and live outside the camps.

Evacuees were first sent to assembly centers in California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. People with as little as 1/16 Japanese blood could be sent to these centers. The Japanese-Americans had as little as 6 days notification to dispose of most of their property and possessions before they were transported. Many were forced to sell property at well under market value while assets of the Japanese immigrants (the Issei) were frozen leaving them with few possessions or savings.

The federal government then transferred these internees further in-land to such camps as one near Granada, Colorado. It was located 140 miles east of Pueblo in southeastern Colorado. Since the postal designation for the camp was “Amache” it was called both “Granada” and “Amache”. It was in operation by August of 1942 and officially closed October 15, 1945. At its maximum population it held 7,318 people.

Here is a link to the Colorado State Archives that document the interment camp. They called it a "recreation center" in the government documents... there are great letters included in this collection documenting the Colorado Governor Ralph Carr's disapproval of the camps and the war hysteria...

funny...

2010-06-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

from know your meme

Barbecued Shrimp

2010-06-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from Epicurious

Last week while surfing some of my favorite blogs I stumbled across this recipe from Urban Comfort. This story that accompanied this post is heartfelt and wonderful, coupled with the fact that this is an easy weekday meal that came together in minutes... oh yes and it is delicious. Thanks so much for posting it for all of us...

Barbecued Shrimp
Story and recipe from Urban Comfort
(Serves 2)

1 lb of shrimp with shells still on

Seasoning Mix:
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup of clam juice (I used fish stock)
1/4 cup of beer, room temperature
1/4 lb plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I only used one stick, trying to be good)

Rinse the shrimp and drain, set aside. In a small bowl combine the seasoning mix. Combine 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) of butter, garlic, Worcestershire and seasoning mix in a large skillet over high heat. When butter has melted add the shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes, shaking the pan (versus stirring). Add the remaining 5 tablespoons of melted butter and the clam juice; cook and shake the pan for 2 more minutes. Add the beer and cook and shake the pan 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.

Serve immediately in bowls with lots of french bread to lap up the sauce with. YUM. (PS... it is spicy... with just the perfect amount of kick, but probably too spicy for kids)

June 2010 Mixed Tape: Road Trip Edition

2010-06-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

This month mixed tape is compiled with a summer road trip in mind, so download these beauties and get on the road! I am hoping to get out of work early this week so Mac, Mox and I can take a independence day road trip to the Nuevo Mexico for some fireworks and some red chili.

I am loving the new album from Atlanta Group, The Constellations, especially the song, We're Here to Save the Day... which reminds me of Wolfgang Press (Queer), one of my favorite 90's albums. Listen to The Constellations, here.

Islands - The XX
Perfect Day - The Constellations
You've Changed - Sia
Jail La La - Dum Dum Girls
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema
Out of the Blue - Julian Casablancas
Shampain - Marina and the Diamonds
This Love is F***ing right! - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Young & Hungry - The Jane Shermans
Crash Years - The New Pornogrraphers
Time to Wander - Gypsy and the Cat
Animal - Neon Trees
Audience - Cold War Kids
We're Here to Save the Day - The Constellations
Burning Stars - Mimicking Birds
Are You Satisfied? - Marina and the Diamonds
Answer to Yourself - The Soft Pack
Clear Skies - Keane
Baptized by Fire - Spinnerette

Pin it Forward...

2010-06-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The very talented Victoria, of sfgirlbybay (one of my favorite blogs ever) has organized a blog it forward event to introduce a new website called Pinterest. Some 300 bloggers were organized into a daily blogging event to let each of us take turns expressing, what home means to each of us.

So, for the past month I have been monkeying around with Pinterest - this site allows you to capture images to store in your own electronic bulletin boards, which you can then tag into categories. Pinterest also keeps track of the original owner of the photo, so that you will always know where the image originated from. This site was made for me and I am completely smitten. The internet (and some of these fantastic bloggers in this event) have provided me with so much visual inspiration over the years and my previous method of organizing these images was to print them off, which is messy, time consuming and not very good for the environment. Now I have an easy option to store all of the pictures that inspire me and can look at my pretties whenever and wherever I want.

What does home mean to me....

Home is a place to cook and share food

Home is a place to laugh with your friends and family

Home is a place where you can rest and recharge

Home is a place to dig in the dirt

Home is a place to have parties in the garden

Home is a place to start and continue traditions

Home is a place filled with color

Home is a place to create

Home is wherever these two are...

The blogger that tagged me to be next was Union Jack Creative .
Follow the progress by checking out tomorrow's blogger, The Hidden List.
One side note, one of my childhood friends and the woman who encouraged me to start my blog - I call her my blog muse - is following me in my blogging group on Wednesday...strange coincidence... I think not ,we are soul sisters. Stop by and see her because I love her and her blog.

Here's the low down:

Victoria's own blog post on what home means to her
The entire "pin it forward" schedule and contributors
All of the "What Home Means to Me" boards on Pinterest
Here are all of my Pinterest boards

Photo sources can be found on my pinterest boards, here.

There are places I remember...

2010-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

For the past month I have been pondering the concept: What does home mean to me? I have also been introduced and allowed to tinker with a new internet site called, Pinterest; and joined a blogging group which asked each of us to use that tool to visually describe - What exactly home means to me...

So my official Pinterest "What Home Means To Me" day isn't until Monday... but I had a lot to say on this subject so I thought I would make it a two part-er.

Now aside from the obvious structures and furnishings that make up a home, home is also a place or a smell or a skyline. I have lived in many wonderful places and bits and pieces of them have all felt like home to me.... here is tour, in order of course...

Albuquerque, NM

Flea Market
Roasting Green Chili in the fall
oh... red chili cheese enchiladas
Smell of rain on hot asphalt

Farmington, NM

Smell of Russian Olive Trees
Smell of the Mall
Taste of Lotaburger
Smell of the ballpark

Roswell, NM

Smell of Semichrome and Never Dull
Taste of cafeteria food
Smell of the mailroom
Smell of the Sally Port Hotel
View of the small city skyline while driving into the town after dark

Houston, TX

French Onion Soup
Smell of a Pool Hall
Shoe Stores

Washington, DC

Taste of Chesapeake Bay Seasoning
Smell of a very old school
Smell of the Metro

Row Houses

San Francisco, CA

Smell of very ripe strawberries
Smell of the ocean

Produce on every corner

Denver, CO

Smell of snow
view of the mountains on a clear day
the sunsets and thunderstorms

Wonder where my next stop will be or if there will even be a next stop, but I know where I would like it to be...

Canning: Confiture de vieux garcon or Rumtopf

2010-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from Eating Out Loud

So I have failed the Can Jam Challenge! I haven't canned anything since April... boo. I haven't been very inspired to can... then I came across this recipe: Confiture de vieux garcon on Tigress in a Jam. Here is how she explains it: confiture de vieux garçon (jam of old boy, or bachelor) is a traditional french method of preserving a season's worth of fruit in alcohol. in certain circles north and east of the siene, it's also known as rumtopf (rum pot). So basically you layer fruit in a crock covering it with sugar and booze with each addition, you then let it macerate for 3 to 6 months.

So I started my crock with some strawberries this weekend. Hopefully I will get to add some gooseberries from the yard in a few weeks (birds be damned)!

Rumtopf Info

Whats4eats
Eating out Loud
Answer bag

Confiture de vieux garcon Info

Labelle Cusine
Ducasse Flavors of France

Sunday Dinner: World Cup Edition

2010-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our household's World Cup obsession over the past few weeks, I made Piri-Piri Chicken from next months Bon Appétit, then served with some grilled sweet potatoes and fresh corn... YUM.

Here is what Bon Appetit, has to say about Piri-Piri Chicken: Piri-piri chicken is a spicy dish with roots in both Africa and Portugal. The dish was created in Angola and Mozambique when Portuguese settlers arrived with chile peppers (known as piri-piri in Swahili).

Dinner was perfect... once we got to eat it. Right before we sat down the police knocked on our door, because apparently during a traffic stop the guy got out of the car and started running down the alley jumping backyard fences. So... police came in and found the guy HIDING IN MY GARAGE... seriously! Worst part is my trusty watchdog was too busy in the kitchen salivating beneath the butcher block/resting chicken to realized someone was on her turf... oy vey.

P.S. I am also wondering how I am going to fit both soccer and tennis into my life this week... good thing it is just the early rounds of Wimbledon this week...

Piri-Piri Chicken
July, Bon Appetit

Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons piri-piri sauce or other hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Chicken:
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
1 large shallot, peeled, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup piri-piri sauce or other hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, backbone removed, opened flat

For glaze:
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cilantro and garlic; cook until garlic begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add piri-piri sauce and lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 2 minutes.

For chicken:
Finely chop cilantro, ginger, shallot, and garlic in processor. Add piri-piri sauce, 1/4 cup oil, lemon juice, coarse salt, and pepper; process marinade to blend.
Place chicken, skin side up, on work surface. Using palm of hand, press on breastbone to flatten chicken. Tuck wing tips under. Pour half of marinade into 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Open chicken like book; place skin side down in single layer in dish. Pour remaining marinade over. Cover; chill at least 4 hours or overnight, turning chicken occasionally.
Remove top rack from barbecue. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). If using 2-burner gas grill, light 1 burner. If using 3-burner gas grill, do not light center burner. If using charcoal grill, light briquettes in chimney and pour onto 1 side of lower grill rack. Place disposable aluminum pan on unlit part of grill. Place upper grill rack on barbecue; brush with oil.
Remove chicken from marinade. Arrange skin side up on grill rack above drip pan. Cover barbecue; grill until skin is browned and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, turning often, about 40 minutes. Transfer to platter. Pour warm glaze over.

Hey Ladies...

2010-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeed... your prayers have been answered...Here is your chance to pee standing up with the P-style!

If you really want one... get it here along with usage instructions... eeewww! Don't forget to call me and let me know if you peed on yourself...Good luck.

Happy Birthday Jess... hope you enjoy it! Tee hee hee hee

(Filed under things: NOT PRETTY AND NOT YUMMY AND NOT EVEN TURQUOISE)!

EDITED: Suze brought up a valid point... "like, what do you do: carry it around in your purse after you use it?"

Design Files: Mac's Home Upgrades

2010-06-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

So for a few weeks I have collected some photos for some inspiration for doing some upgrades to Mac's house. Problem is... he has wood cabinets with a golden honey stain on them and we want to put some wood floors in the kitchen... what's the problem you might ask? Well... contemplating design using multiple wood tones makes me want to crawl into a ball and rock in a corner. Ergo, I have been collecting photos using multiple wood tones in kitchens... here they are... (there are also some that are using tile that are also included)

What do you all think about use of multiple wood tones in a room? Let me know if you all stumble upon any more "inspiration" pictures...

All photos from Luxe Source

What do you think Mac?

House of Turquoise

2010-06-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Picture from House of Turquoise - home of one of her readers named Tracy

I found a soul sister a few days ago when I stumbled upon the blog, House of Turquoise. I appreciate her utter devotion to the color and wish that I could be that focused on my blog... alas you poor folks have to read daily about my constant shifts in interests. I really should rename my blog... The Daily Ramblings of a Woman who can't Commit and has Zero Focus. I will now be accepting submissions to rename my crazy blog.

Brooke, played by Doug the Dog.

Argentinian churrasco

2010-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

After my raiding of the meat counter at Edwards on Saturday morning... I wanted to try out a recipe in the new Cooks Illustrated, which demonstrates how to produce your own brand of smoky charred churrasco—even without the aid of a wood-burning Argentine grill...using just charcoal, wood bits and a Weber. Oh... I am in!   (Yes Sara, your Weber and I are still in love)

So Sunday afternoon, Mac and I lovingly rubbed cornstarch into our strip steaks and hesitantly stuck them in the freezer (yes the freezer).   I then passed off the cooking duties to Mac, we then followed it up with an argument because I don't think that he monitors cooking times and temperatures accurately enough... all he heard was: Everything he grills tastes like shoe leather.     I am fully convinced that all couples fight over how long the meat is on the grill.   Some summers ago, while single and hanging out with my favorite married couple: Jon and Randie, I used to wonder why they always had spats over the grilling... well Mac and I now do it too.

What followed is a delicious steak with a fantastic smoky flavor, don't forget to use a thermometer... because after a rest 120 degrees is actually medium rare.   Oh yes chimichurri was good too!!

Charcoal-Grilled Argentine Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

Chimichurri Sauce
1/4	cup hot water
1	tablespoon of fresh oregano
2	teaspoons kosher salt
1 and 1/3	cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2/3	cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
6	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2	teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4	cup red wine vinegar
1/2	cup olive oil
Steak
1	tablespoon cornstarch
2	tablespoons kosher salt
4	boneless strip steaks , 1 1/2 inches thick (about 1 pound each) (see note)
4	(2-inch) unsoaked wood chunks (I used oak)
	Ground black pepper

Instructions

FOR THE SAUCE: Combine hot water, oregano, and salt in small bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften oregano. Pulse parsley, cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped, about ten 1-second pulses. Add water mixture and vinegar and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and slowly whisk in oil until incorporated and mixture is emulsified. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour (if preparing sauce in advance, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before using).
FOR THE STEAK: Combine cornstarch and salt in small bowl. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Rub entire surface of steaks with cornstarch mixture and place steaks, uncovered, in freezer until very firm, about 30 minutes.
Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Arrange coals in single layer over entire surface of grill and, using tongs, place wood chunks directly on top of coals, spacing them evenly around perimeter of grill. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Grill is ready when coals are hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grate for 2 seconds).
Season steaks with pepper. Place steaks on grill, cover, and cook until steaks begin to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover grill, flip steaks, and cook on second side until beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip again and cook first side until well charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip 1 last time and continue to cook until second side is well charred and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of steak registers 115 degrees for rare, about 2 minutes, or 120 degrees for medium-rare, about 4 minutes. Transfer to large plate and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes. Slice and serve, passing chimichurri sauce separately.

Waivin the Flag...

2010-06-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

This video, the song and WC are so addictive... maybe it is just the excitement in the crowds or maybe I am awe struck at these people running non-stop for 90 plus minutes. Where I, on the other hand, am literally using all my Obi Wan Kenobi powers to force the thirty minute tick to pass on the treadmill...

Best Butcher in Denver...

2010-06-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok... I am always on the hunt for new local businesses to buy my goods from, especially meat. It is always difficult when you try out recipes to get the exact cuts you want; it is also difficult leaving most area meat counters without feeling like you just lost your shorts. Well I am here to tell you people I have found the meat mecca of the Rocky Mountain Region... may I present... Edwards Meats

My friends you can buy ANYTHING here... Quail, Pheasant, German Sausage, Picnic Cut to smoke, already smoked Pork butt, Colorado Lamb, Gyro meat, Rocky Mountain Oysters... just in case you like to eat cow balls. I had heart palpitations in this store... Cherry wood smoked bacon... are you kiddling me...running around throwing the freezer doors open; worried I was going to miss some corner of meat nirvana.

It is a bit out of the way unless of course, you live in Golden, but it is well worth the drive.

Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks

2010-06-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

For this recipe I have to thank my friend Randie, she bought me this cookbook ages ago and I haven't really put it to great use, no seriously and I am ashamed. But, I bought some thighs on sale last week and put this on the menu for friday night. Ok, I wouldn't suggest this as a weekday summer meal... as we sat down for dinner I was hot (from standing over the stove in JUNE) and I was hungry (this meal is quite a lot of work)! Yes people I am an idiot... I guess it is called Sunday Suppers, for a reason! So, I didn't really enjoy this meal to its fullest... until I had leftovers... wow-zah... I will be making this again, however it will be on a weekend and it will be cooler outside and in my house.

Devil’s Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks and Dijon Mustard
from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

12 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat
1 cup thinly sliced onion
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 chiles de arbol, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 fresh bay leaves, thinly sliced, or 2 dried leaves, crumbled
3/4 cup dry vermouth
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely diced shallots
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1 extra-large egg
2 teaspoons chopped tarragon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
Braised leeks (recipe below)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl with the sliced onion, 2 tablespoons thyme, chiles, bay leaves, and 1/4 cup vermouth. Using your hands, toss to coat the chicken well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Heat large saute pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons butter, and cook until it’s brown and smells nutty. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the brown butter over the breadcrumbs. Wait 1 minute, and then toss well with the parsley and 1 tablespoon thyme.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Return the saute pan to medium heat for 1 minute. Swirl in the remaining tablespoons butter, and when it foams, add the shallots and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Saute about 2 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Add the remaining 1/2 cup vermouth and reduce by half. Transfer to a bowl and let cool a few minutes. Whisk in the mustard, egg, chopped tarragon, and a pinch of black pepper.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking, to bring it to room temperature. Discard the seasonings, and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. After 15 minutes, season the thighs well on both sides with salt and pepper.
Return the same saute pan to high heat for about 2 minutes. Swirl in the olive oil, and wait 1 minute. Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the skin is a deep golden brown. Turn the thighs over and cook a minute or two on the other side. Place the chicken on the braised leeks. Turn off the heat and discard the fat. Add the chicken stock to the pan, and scrape with a wooden spoon to release the crispy bits stuck to the bottom. Pour the chicken stock over the braised leeks.
Toss the chicken thighs in the bowl with the mustard mixture, slathering them completely, and then rearrange them over the braised leeks. Spoon any remaining mustard mixture over the chicken thighs. Top each thigh with breadcrumbs, patting with your hands to make sure they get nicely coated. (You want lots of mustard mixture and lots of breadcrumbs.) Bake about 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through. To check for doneness, piece the meat near the bone with a paring knife; when ready, the juices from the chicken will run clear.
Turn the oven up to 475°F and cook the chicken thighs another 10 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Serve in the baking dish, or transfer to a large warm platter.

Braised Leeks
from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

6 large leeks
About 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (though I always skimp and use less)
1 cup sliced shallots
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove any bruised outer layers from the leeks. Trim off to the roots, leaving the root end intact. Trim the tops of the leeks on the diagonal, leaving 2 inches of the green part attached. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, and submerge in a large bowl of cold water to clean them. Shake the leeks well to dislodge the dirt stuck inside. Let them sit a few minutes, to allow any grit inside the layers to fall to the bottom of the bowl. Repeat the process until the water is clean. Place the leeks, cut side down, on a towel and pat dry completely.
Turn the leeks over so their cut sides are facing up, and season with 2 teaspoons salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil, and wait 1 minute. Place the leeks in the pan, cut side down, being careful not to crowd them. (you will probably need to saute them in batches or in two pans. Add more olive oil to the pan as needed, for each batch.) Sear them 4 to 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Season the backs of the leeks with salt and pepper, and turn them over to cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer them to a large gratin dish, lining them up, cut sides facing up. (Choose a baking dish or gratin dish that can go from oven to table and that will accommodate all the leeks and chick thighs, or use two smaller dishes.) Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into the pan and heat over medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, until the shallots are just beginning to color. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add 1 1/2 cups stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the liquid over the leeks. The stock should not quite cover them; add more stock if necessary.
Braise in the oven 30 minutes, until the leeks are tender when pierced.

I saw it and I GASPED...

2010-06-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

A Turquoise Chesterfield, velvet no less!!!! Oh my precious....

This couch and its pictures belong to the lucky Mabel and Violet

tee pee building...

2010-06-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I hope to be erecting a tee-pee this summer.

Picture by Sfgirlbybay.com

You can make one too... tutorial can be found on the blog Smile and Wave or in this excellent book...

Photo by Barnesandnoble.com

For Sara...

2010-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Savory Baking by Mary Cech

Picture from cream puffs in venice

I have been reading the Savory Baking cookbook by Mary Cech, and I think it is an excellent cookbook. I haven't had a chance to try anything out but it all looks mighty tasty. However, one recipe caught my eye, but we must first clear the confusion that this book caused. See those little puffs above... well Ms. Cech calls them profiteroles but I always thought profiteroles were sweet and gougeres were savory, if that is true why are these buggers in a book called savory baking? I figured I must be uninformed and of course I was disappointed because I had finally mastered the pronunciation of the goo-jair. So I hit up Google and found out that I am correct.

Profiterole = Sweet Pate choux
Gougeres = Savory Pate choux
Cream Puff = Profiterole for Americans

Ok... enough with I am right and you are wrong lesson for the day and back to the reason for this entire post. Sara, I saw this recipe in this cookbook and immediately thought of you and it is genius and I can't believe we didn't think of it.

Profiteroles stuffed with caprese salad

No recipe really needed here. Whip up your favorite gougeres (ours is Ina Garten's from her Barefoot in Paris Cookbook), let them cool, crack them open and fill them with a chopped up caprese salad, like this one by our favorite Smitten Kitchen, although the bean thing is a little weird for me. Here is another one published in the Washington Post.

ahhh summer

2010-06-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here in Denver... I am ready for some garden parties and picnics!

from Lonny Magazine

from apartmenttherapy.com

from Sfgirlbybay.com

picture from maryruffle on tumblr

Photo from Urban Comfort

Photo from Livingetc.http://www.livingetc.com/

photo from Kathryn Ireland

My Favorite Meal Ever!

2010-06-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

You all know my penchant for Mediterranean cooking, more particular Greek or Middle Eastern foods and this my friends happens to be my favorite home cooked meal. My friend Walshie always makes this for me on my birthday and it is the best birthday present ever... alas my birthday is far, far away and I had a craving so I made it for myself (oh and for Mac and my Pops too). Here was the menu:

Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs
Kefta and Zucchini (this is a new recipe I tried out... and is not normally on the birthday menu)
Spanikopita Triangles
Tzatziki
(don't forget the Pita)

All of these have come from my favorite food blog Smitten Kitchen... love her.

Yogurt-Marinated ~~Lamb~~ Chicken Kebabs
From Smitten Kitchen by Ina Garten

1 pound plain yogurt (regular or lowfat)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing grill
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
5 tablespoons fresh whole rosemary leaves, chopped (we use oregano... because I am not a huge rosemary fan... I think it overpowers everything)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds top round lamb (we use Chicken)
1 red onion

Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large, non-reactive bowl. Cut the lamb in 1 1/2-inch cubes (you’ll have about 20) and add it to the yogurt, making sure it is covered with the marinade. Cover the mixture plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to two days.
Prepare a charcoal grill with hot coals. Spread the coals in one tight layer on the grill. Cut the red onion in 8 pieces and separate each piece into three or four sections. Loosely thread three or four pieces of lamb onto skewers alternately with sections of onion. Sprinkle both sides of the lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning two or three times, until the lamb is medium-rare.
Serve with salad, grilled pitas and tzatziki (below).

Tzatziki
From Smitten Kitchen by Ina Garten

Be warned this is the best Tzatziki ever!!

14 ounces Greek yogurt (Ina recommends Fage Total I used fat free... but on my birthday it is full fat all the way)
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place the yogurt in a medium bowl. Grate the cucumber on a box grater (or in your food processor) and squeeze the grated cucumber with your hand to remove some of the liquid. (Pressing it in mesh sieve with a spoon to extract the extra water or wringing it in cheesecloth also work well.) Add it to the yogurt along with the sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, garlic, salt and pepper and stir. Serve with grilled pita wedges.

Spanakopita Triangles
Adapted liberally from Gourmet by Smitten Kitchen

This might be the real reason I LOVE this meal. I have made spanakopita before but making it in little portable pockets really, really makes this dish!

Makes about 30 pastries
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound fresh spinach (coarse stems removed if ‘grown-up’ spinach; baby spinach can be used in full)
3/4 pound feta, crumbled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt one tablespoon butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, add onions and garlic and saute for a minute, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, an additional 4 to 8 minutes (less for baby spinach, more for grown-up spinach). Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Press mixture in mesh colander (or wring in cheesecloth) to remove as much liquid as possible (I find this more necessary with baby spinach than the heartier stuff, which left almost no excess liquid), then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let filling cool and follow instructions for phyllo triangles (below).

Phyllo Triangles
To make 30 pastries
Filling of choice
10 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then cool. Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel. [I won't lie, as I got more confident with the phyllo I sorta skipped this part, opting instead to work quickly. Proceed at your own risk, however!]
Take one phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.
Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near one corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.
Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.
Do ahead: Pastry triangles can be formed, but not baked, three days ahead. Arrange in one layer in heavy-duty sealed plastic bags, then freeze. Bake frozen pastries (do not thaw) in same manner as above.

Kefta and Zucchini Kebabs
Smitten Kitchen via Gourmet January 2006; originally published 1980

For zucchini
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium zucchini (1 1/4 lb total), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

For kefta (lamb meatballs)
2 slices firm white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 lb ground lamb (from shoulder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted and finely chopped

Prepare zucchini:

Whisk together lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and oil in a large bowl and stir in zucchini slices. Marinate at room temperature while making meatballs.

Make meatballs:

Cover bread with water in a bowl and soak 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of bread to remove as much excess water as possible, then transfer to a bowl.

Pulse onion and herbs in a food processor until finely chopped, then add to bread along with lamb, salt, spices, and pine nuts. Mix with your hands until well blended. Form lamb mixture into 36 balls (1 scant tablespoon each).

Assemble and grill kebabs: (note I grilled these like sliders... I had a hard time with the skewering of the meat... I did skewer the zucchini)

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas; see cooks' note below). Thread 6 meatballs 1/4 inch apart onto each of 6 skewers. Thread zucchini lengthwise onto remaining 6 skewers (5 slices per skewer), so cut sides are on the grill, leaving 1/4 inch between slices. Grill zucchini and lamb on oiled grill rack, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve warm, with yogurt sauce.

Go world

2010-06-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

I love this Discovery Channel commercial.

May 2010: Mixed Tape - Covers

2010-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Inara George and Greg Kurstin - Bird and The Bee
photo from Daily Beatz

So... I am a little late with my May Mixed Tape post... I am blaming Maria & The Diamonds who distracted me for two weeks listening non-stop to her new album... go get it already.

May's Mixed tape is a collection of covers, which started because last month I fell in love with Florence & The Machine's Cover of Robert Palmer's, Addicted to Love. Sadly, I soon discovered that it was an import and not yet available in the US (at least not in the download-able format). Listen to it here -

You can also listen to a impromptu remake of Borderline...

But, I didn't let the Florence and The Machine debacle derail my plans... I continued the quest for covers. Lucky, I stumbled across the Bird and the Bee's - Remake of the Masters Volume I (Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates). Now I am not sure if I would call Hall and Oates the Masters but I do love Private Eyes (probably because of the incessant clapping) and I will admit, I had a hard time choosing which song to include. In the end I chose Maneater, of course. I am also excited about the Volume I implication that there is more to come. I personally hope that they do Def Leppard...Ooooh or how about Loverboy. Go Inara... I love the children of the 80's, re-working all of the muck we had to listen to as teens so we can now play it during dinner parties.

One other delight... AC Newman's A-Ha cover.

May 2010 - Mixed Tape: Covers

Strange Condition - Morgan Page
Maneater - The Bird and The Bee
Heartless - The Fray
Yellow - Jem
Take on Me - AC Newman
All You Need is Love - Nada Surf
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - StarFuc#er
First of the Gang - Zee Avi
The One I Love - Rosie Thomas
Just Like Honey - Headless Heroes
Sweet Child o' Mine - Taken by Trees
Rock the Casbah - Solar Twins
Hot in Herre - Jenny Owens Young

Secret Dinner Club

2010-06-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sometime earlier this year I read an article (below) on a secret dinner club around Denver, hosted by a rotating group of chefs and is by invite only. Which of course made me sad, because I wanted to go and I really had very little chance of actually ever getting invited to an exclusive food industry event. Although, now that I think of it I should have tried to see if my dear old military school friend Brian Freeman, owner of Growers Organics could have wrangled an invite for moi... but I really didn't think about it. But now it seems you can sign up to get an invite... here is the link for those who are interested.

And while we are on the topic of dinner... I also thought I mention this because July reservations are being taken starting Monday (June 5) for the Meadowlark Farm dinners... and they go fast! Don't miss out on this, I went to one last summer and wished that I had gone to one every single weekend! So save your pennies and try to make one this summer. I have heard that they are doing some special mead dinners this summer, but have yet to see them listed on the schedule.

Hush: this new dinner club is a secret - Jason Sheenhan

It's funny to watch the evolution of a restaurant scene from the inside; to track, over time, how the pieces all come together.
The first thing any burgeoning scene needs is a solid groundwork of excellent restaurants and pretty good restaurants. A few is not enough. There needs to be a critical mass so that casual diners can go out for a nice dinner one week, enjoy themselves, then start making plans for their next dinner out a week or a month later, and realize that they have more than one or two or three other places to choose from; that while they weren't paying attention, a dozen or more new places opened that all look interesting. There has to be enough action so that the pretty good restaurants force the excellent ones to be better in order to stay at the top of the heap, and the excellent ones all battle among themselves for what dining dollars are available.
It's a Darwinian, survival-of-the-fittest thing. As space becomes short and resources (read: talented line cooks and FOH staff, boutique product and customer dollars and attention spans) grow scarce, a carrying capacity is arrived at: the precise number of high- and low-end restaurants any city can support before circumstance, available assets and shortage begin to determine restaurant lifespans rather than the same being determined solely by talent, smarts and hard work. No matter how friendly a scene might seem on the surface, in the backrooms and accountants' offices, it's all dog-eat-dog.
This, I would argue, is healthy. Stress and competition brings out the best in the cook and his industry, the same as they do in nature.
Once the core restaurants are in place and the carrying capacity reached, a scene begins to thrive and expand. New neighborhoods are pioneered. New styles are introduced. Openings and closings become generational -- a sous chef, training in a good house, going out on his own and opening his own restaurant, hiring a sous chef who will, in five or ten years, go on to open a restaurant of his own. Local foodistas go from being thrilled at having some nice restaurant at which to celebrate their anniversary once a year to being thrilled at having such a wealth of places to eat on a Friday night, to arguing over whether to eat gourmet, wood-fired pizza or Edo-style sushi on a Tuesday. The swells who once counted coup by getting a good table at the newest, hottest French or fusion restaurants now get their jollies by claiming to have "discovered" the little pho shop or Ethiopian restaurant down the street that has been there for ten years, and argue over which of five or six dim sum restaurants serves the best shu mai.
This is where Denver was last year -- a good place, an interesting place, a fun place for everyone where even the misery of losing the occasional good restaurant to the fluctuations of the market or plain bad luck was tempered by the sure knowledge that the next week would bring another opening somewhere of something that no one has ever seen before. And it is at this point in the development of any scene that a city begins looking outward, at the cool stuff being done in other cities, in other food arenas. It is at this point that the well-traveled foodie starts complaining about not having this or that and the smart chef, owner or entrepreneur starts listening.

And now, it looks as though Denver will be getting something that's been a big draw for the hardcore gastronauts in other big food cities: a (semi) secret, invitation-only underground supper club.
I just got off the blower with Phil Armstrong, a veteran front-of-the-house guy most recently of SugarToad in Chicago, who did time as a partner at Seven on Pearl in Boulder and has been in the restaurant industry since he was thirteen. And he told me about scheduling the very first dinner for his new "underground eatery" called Hush.
"It's a one-night playground," he told me. A supper club that will bring together line cooks, station chefs, stagiers and other working white jackets to cook single dinners for small crowds outside of the traditional restaurant setting.
Partnering up with friend and fellow food-lover Brad Fentress of Studio Como at 2590 Walnut Street, Armstrong will be bringing in line guys to cook the food they want to cook, not necessarily the food their chefs and bosses want them to cook. "It'll be a forum," Armstrong explained, "where rising chefs have a chance to develop their cuisine. You know, when you're staging or working for a chef, it's all about doing what the chef wants. Cooking his cuisine. A lot of these guys don't even know what their cuisine would be."
Armstrong got the inspiration for his underground supper club from working with Jimmy Sneed at SugarToad. "He left a lasting impression that there were a lot of really talented line cooks coming up," he told me. "Guys who worked their hearts out for a bunch of thankless chefs. Hush will be their playground."
The plan right now is to hold the dinners (just one a month to start) inside the Studio Como space, using some of the super high-end commercial kitchens on display at the design studio and serving a very limited number of friends, family and special guests. And for the first dinner, scheduled for January 9, he's got some serious heavy-hitters lined up: a bunch of line cooks he's bringing in from Alinea -- Grant Achatz's award-winning molecular gastronomy restaurant and mad scientist laboratory in Chicago.
The next month, though, Armstrong told me he'd be turning to the local community of chefs and line cooks. He's got a few friends in Boulder who are already interested, and he's poking around Denver for up-and-coming line guys as well, looking for the "undiscovered, unappreciated, or rising stars struggling to hit their stride in a competitive market."
Sounds like a brilliant idea, and something I wish we'd had in Denver years ago, since similar, half-secret, invite-only dinner clubs have been up and running in some of the bigger food cities (New York and Seattle, notably) for a long time.
And what does Armstrong plan to charge for the privilege of a private dinner cooked by some of the weirdest and most talented line guys in the country? Nothing. There'll be a "suggested donation," he said, but it's important to him that Hush not be seen as a money-making venture.
"It's not meant to be profitable in any way," he insisted. "We're not looking to make a buck." He's just looking to bring some glory to the under-appreciated white jackets in town -- a noble aspiration if ever I heard one.
Armstrong told me that he'll soon have a (very simple) website up and running at www.hushdenver.com -- but for the most part, he's trying to keep this whole experiment kinda quiet, kinda private and very exclusive. It's more for the chefs than for the people right now. But if it becomes popular? If people start beating down his doors looking for ways to get on the list? Well, who knows?
"That is why we're calling it Hush, after all."

53% introvert and 47% extrovert

2010-06-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fun personality quiz based on picking your favorite colors. Here are my results...

Guess we all know I am not a careful, organized manager and my decision-making is not very dynamic.

Pretty and Yummy

2011 Garden - Seeds ordered and planted

Seeds

Mixed Tape - February 2011 Edition

Should of gotten me one of these things years ago....

Weeknight dinner: Vegetarian Greek Burgers

Toppers such as crumbled feta cheese, plain yogurt, sliced roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and/or sliced red onion (optional)

Directions

They are all mine....

Portlandia...

She & Him - Don't Look Back

Pillow Love

Resolutions

Recipe: Lasagna Soup

Dear poor neglected blog,

Back to reality...

Wedding Trip: Update

Wedding Trip: Day 9

Wedding Trip: Day 8

Monitor vs. Iguana

Wedding Trip: Day 6

Wedding trip - Day 4

Wedding trip - Day 3

Wedding Trip Day 1 & 2 aka the longest day ever

Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Fall Dinner: Chicken with Morels

Directions

Update

Canning: Salsa

un, deux, trois jewlery club

Canning: bruschetta

HOORAH....

Hello... from Montana

Laboring on Labor Day

Mixed Tape: August 2010 Edition

Still here... and alive.

So...

Project: Convertible/Infinity Dress

Listening to... Lissie

Like her writing or not...

4 Goals

Recipe: Carne Adovada

Recipe: Thai Style Pork Stew

Weekend Pictures aka My first all bird post

Recovering...

Recipe: Slab Pies

Design Files: Loving the library

Mixed Tape: July 2010

Summer Cooking

Love this....

Recipe: Sour Cherry Jam

Picnic

101 20-Minute Dishes for Inspired Picnics

cerise

Sewing: Girly dresses

Garden Pictures: June 2010

4th of July....

Design Files: Chalkboard Paint

Upular

Cheater Pain au Chocolat

Petits Pains au Chocolat(Gourmet, April 2004)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package), thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 water (for glaze)4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2x3/4-inch piecesSugar

Outdoor Oven

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

Design Files: Kitchen inspiration

Swagger Wagon

Independence Day

Colorado State Digital Archives

funny...

Barbecued Shrimp

June 2010 Mixed Tape: Road Trip Edition

Pin it Forward...

There are places I remember...

Canning: Confiture de vieux garcon or Rumtopf

Sunday Dinner: World Cup Edition

Hey Ladies...

Design Files: Mac's Home Upgrades

House of Turquoise

Argentinian churrasco

Instructions

Petits Pains au Chocolat
(Gourmet, April 2004)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry (one 17.3-ounce package), thawed, each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 water (for glaze)
4 3.5-ounce bars imported bittersweet or milk chocolate, each cut into six 2x3/4-inch pieces
Sugar