Day 347: Celebrating Wedded Bliss

My husband and I went to Spruce tonight for dinner to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary in style.

Spruce is a beautiful restaurant in the Presidio Heights section of San Francisco. We particularly enjoy their charcutterie and cheese platters and so always start and end our meal with them, respectively. In between, I enjoyed branzino (a mild white fish) served over mashed avocado with an olive caper sauce. It was light, savory, and really delicious. But back to the meat and cheese...

Spruce makes their own charcutterie, which we think is pretty cool. The platter tonight included a duck pate (I love it - my husband won't eat it - lucky for me!), a few different pork salamis, soppresetta, and cured pork tenderloin. I enjoyed some of the meats more than others, but that was okay since I had that lovely pate all to myself. We ordered an arugula, fresh cherries, and goat cheese salad to accompany the charcutterie because a little green on the side can make a person feel a lot less guilty about all the fat she is putting in her mouth!

For the cheese course, we ordered the European plate which included five types. The blue cheese (Valdeon Leon) from Spain was my favorite, followed by the crumbly sheep parmesan-like (Durgali) one from Italy and the Italian goat cheese.

All of this goodness was washed down with a really excellent Chateau Montelena Estate cabernet that my husband had acquired for the occasion. He's good like that. Glad I married him!!

Day 285: The End of Passover (thank goodness!!)

Tonight is the last night of Passover and although I've kept to the rules (for the most part), the only Passover specific dish I've prepared this week was matzoh ball soup.  I decided to end the holiday with a Spinach Matzoh Pie recipe that I found on Epicurious.com.

I followed the recipe almost to a T, prepping the dish last night and fridging it until tonight at which point I baked it.  The only changes I made to the recipe were:

- lowfat cottage cheese

- skim milk

- 16 oz frozen spinach and a small bag of fresh spinach (which I chopped and sauteed with the onion) because that's what I had in the house

- 8 ounces of feta

This was a great way to use up all of our leftover matzoh.  And, because it could be prepared the day before, it made it easy to get dinner quickly to the table tonight.

Will I miss Passover?  No way!!  But, this recipe was a great find and I'll definitely use it again in the future.

Day 282: Brownie Points from (Someone Else's) Mom

We have a couple of goy friends who really love when I cook up a Jewish feast for them.  So, in celebration of Passover, I invited ourselves to their house with a feast in tow:  matzoh ball soup, brisket, and roasted butternut squash.  One friend's parents were in town so it was a downright Passover party of six.

This was actually my first time making matzoh balls, so I cheated and relied on a mix.  Considering how delicious they turned out, I may cheat every time!

My soup took awhile to come together but once it was done, it was SO good.  I followed a recipe from Epicurious.com but found that once it was complete, the broth was thin and rather tasteless.  To solve that problem, I simmered the broth (minus the chicken which I reserved to serve with the soup and the veggies which I threw away) for about 2 additional hours, allowing it to reduce, bringing out much more flavor.  Adding more salt helped as well.

My brisket recipe was also from Epicurious.com.  I prepared this dish for others on Hanukkah to rave reviews and it didn't disappoint this time either.

I roasted the butternut squash simply.  After peeling it and removing the seeds, I cut it up into uniform 1 inch pieces and mixed them with olive oil, about 2 T fresh thyme leaves, and a good dose of S&P.  I lay the pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roasted it at 400 degrees for about 22 minutes, or until very tender.

My friends loved the meal, as did my husband and the visiting parents.  They didn't just clear their plates, they gobbled it all up and handed out lots of compliments.  I'm always happy to earn some Mom love, even from someone who isn't my own mom!

Day 278: "Why is Jewish Food So Gross?"

That is the question a friend of mine emailed me today.  She was headed to a family member's house tonight to celebrate the first night of Passover and she was not looking forward to the meal.  Upon further probing, I found out that she doesn't care for the way they prepare the lamb and the peas they serve are from a can.  Ah ha!!  Proof once again that you shouldn't blame the food itself for poor flavor or icky texture.  Blame the cook!

Of course there are foods that each of us simply do not care for, no matter how they are cooked.  However, I firmly believe that at least some of the time, it isn't the food item we don't care for - we just haven't had the chance to enjoy it prepared properly.  Here are some sure fire ways to ensure that you (and the people you are serving) will hate what you (and they) are eating.

1.  Boil (or bake or broil or whatever) it to death

2.  Forget to season it

3.  Buy poor quality ingredients

Take that lamb that my poor friend was forced to eat tonight.  I'll admit that lamb has a strong and unique flavor that may not appeal to everyone.  But I'll bet that a good amount of people who currently say "lamb is gross" could be convinced it's delicious if they try a tender, perfectly seasoned lamb chop set ablaze before it's served - like the ones I enjoyed at Mezes tonight.  Mustard crusted lamb chops are delicious too.

And while canned peas may be a good staple to keep in your bunker, they are simply not very tasty.  Nothing beats fresh English peas, especially if they come from your local farmer's market.  Just do not cook them until they are mush.

Speaking of fresh veggies, I enjoyed a lovely Greek salad along with my chops tonight.  Nothing from a can on my plate tonight!

Day 225: A Day for Sweets and Sweethearts

I do not go gaga for Valentine's Day.  I do like to spend it with my hubby but we do not exchange gifts or make any sort of a big deal about it.  

We like to eat out that night, but carefully avoid restaurants with a special Valentine's Day menus, as they are usually tremendous rip-offs.  This year, we wound up at Salt House.

My appetizer was my favorite part of the meal.  I had a salad of smoked trout, raw fennel, little gem lettuce, and sections of orange and grapefruit.  All of the flavors and textures married perfectly, creating a refreshing dish.  I loved it.

Next, I had the pork loin entree.  The dish was separated in half.  In one half was the sliced tenderloin, laid across a bed of braised red cabbage.  On the other was braised pork belly, sitting on fruit puree with slices of cooked pear.  The two pork elements had totally different textures and flavors - interesting, but it didn't blow my mind.

The dessert, on the other hand, was totally mind blowing.  Unfortunately, I had to share it with my hubby!  It was composed of 3 mini ice cream sandwiches - peppermint ice cream sat between flower shaped chocolate cookies.  Dark chocolate and raspberry puree decorated the dish.  It was a delicious, edible work of art!

I hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day!

Day 212: Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!!

As a foodie, I like to celebrate my birthday somewhere very special each year (2008: Chez Panisse, 2007: Gary Danko, 2006: Babbo). This year's bday dinner on a Continental airplane, however, was a lot less gourmet, but there were no complaints from me, as we were en route to Costa Rica for vacation!

More on that as the week goes on.

Tonight's dinner, as you can see, was a salad, a chicken cutlet sandwich, and a brownie thingy with NO candle poking out of it.

Day 180: A New Year - A New Cuisinart

Happy New Year!!

We spent the last night of 2008 at a dinner party at our friend Julie's house.  She made a delicious lasagna with ground pork and lots of creamy ricotta.  It really was fab.

To accompany the main dish, I made a spinach salad with tiny tomatoes, orange bell pepper, raw mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, and sliced apple.

I also made cheesy garlic bread which, to be honest, was too garlicky.  Next time I'll roast the garlic first to cut down on its sharpness.

Cheesy Garlic Bread:

French baguette, sliced in half lengthwise

1/2 stick of butter, softened

1 T chopped fresh oregano

Several cloves of roasted garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Combine the oregano and butter and mix.  You may find it helpful to do this with a fork.

Fold the bread back to expose the inside.  Be careful not to tear the top from the bottom.  Spread herbed butter liberally on the top and the bottom the inside of the bread.

Add a thin layer of mashed roasted garlic (or finely minced/pressed raw garlic, if you prefer) on top of the buttered bottom of the bread.  Sprinkle a layer of parmesan cheese over the garlic.  Add the shredded mozzarella, fold the bread back over, and wrap tightly in foil.  

Bake bread for 15-20 minutes on 375 degrees.

The last dish I made was chocolate mousse.  Eventually it was tasty, but the preparation was fraught with disaster.  

The recipe called for 12 oz. of imported milk chocolate but I decided to get fancy and use chocolate with hazelnuts.  I broke up the bars into my Cuisinart to chop the chocolate but either I overloaded it, or the nuts were too hard for the machine, or perhaps there was another reason but next thing I knew, the processor was making a strange sound.  I stopped it, opened it up, and realized that the blade had broken in half and the loose piece was sticking into the side of the bowl of the processor!!  I didn't know something like that was even possible!  Guess I'll be welcoming a new Cuisinart to our household in 2009!

My milk was already simmering, but I needed to go to the store for new chocolate, so essentially, I needed to start from scratch.  Once all of the ingredients had been replaced, I still found the mousse somewhat difficult to make.  It's very delicate and there are several opportunity to screw it up by overcooking the milk or overmixing.  It wasn't easy, but it turned out very good.  We served in small dark chocolate cups - bit sized luxury!

I hope you all enjoyed your New Year celebration and wish you all lots of good food and tasty treats in 2009!!

Day 174: Merry Christmas to All!

If you grew up in a Jewish household in the US, you likely celebrated Christmas just as I always did.  Say it with me now - Chinese food and a movie!

Having married someone who is not Jewish, the Chinese food dinner has been replaced with a gourmet Christmas dinner, usually prepared at home.  But I'm not ready to abandon my idea of a traditional Jewish Christmas and so we switched things up this year and went out for a Chinese food lunch.  Or, I should say, we tried to.  I was saddened to find our local Chinese restaurant closed - especially since we phoned them up yesterday to make sure they'd be open.  And so, no Chinese food for me this year - instead, I had a tuna melt.

Fortunately I had an amazing meal in which to drown my sorrows tonight.  Late in the afternoon, we began with sparking wine, shrimp cocktail, and goat cheese with baked whole grain crackers.

After we had enjoyed that, my husband lit up the grill and began to cook a 4-rib rack of pork - low and slow.  We saw this cut of meat prepared by Guy Fieri on the Food Network a couple of weeks ago and decided to give a try as something special for our Christmas dinner.  The best part?  My husband was more than eager to be in charge of this meal - after all, it involved a huge piece of meat and the grill.  A man's dream!

My husband created a yummy homemade marinade last night and the pork bathed in it for about 20 hours prior to cooking.

Marinade:

3 T honey

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder

1/4 cup whiskey

Prior to putting the meat on the grill, he strained the marinade to avoid burning the garlic, added 3 T olive oil, and used that mixture to baste the pork every 20-30 minutes.  In all, the pork spent nearly 3 hours on the grill until it reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

To accompany the pork, I made a simple side dish of sugar snap peas and shitake mushrooms.  The peas marinated for about an hour in the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 T white wine, 1 T olive oil, 1 tsp honey, 2 smashed cloves of garlic, and two shakes of cayenne pepper.  I added the mushrooms to the mix about 15 minutes before I was ready to cook them.

The whole mixture - marinade and all - was sauteed in a heavy saucepan, preheated with about 1 T of olive oil.  As they were cooking I added S&P and cooked everything for 6 or 7 minutes.

All of this was enjoyed tree-side.  Who needs Chinese food.  Merry Christmas to all - and to all a good night!

Day 173: I Am Lucky

I am a Jewish girl that married a non-Jewish guy.  That means that I get to celebrate Hanukkah AND Christmas and that is a beautiful thing.  Monday night we had our awesome Hanukkah dinner and tonight we went out for a fantastic Christmas Eve meal at Capannina, a wonderful Italian restaurant in our neighborhood.

My husband and I actually choose to forego gift giving this time of year and instead, opt to have an opulent night out with good food and fine wine.  Tonight that meal included four courses:

We went "half-sies" on two appetizers:  a beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, and candied walnuts and spicy prawns with crispy polenta (pictured).  After that, we shared an order of wild boar ragu - rich, savory, satisfying, and one of my favorite dishes at Capannina.

My entree was cioppino, which seemed to be flying off the shelf tonight.  I spotted it on several tables throughout the restaurant when we sat down and I couldn't resist the lobster lying across the top of the bowl.   The dish also contained salmon, a giant scallop, shrimp, clams, mussels, and some kind of white fish.  All of this arrived in a delicious tomato broth - so yum.

And because that dish is at least as healthy and low fat as it is tasty, I felt compelled to share dessert with my hubby.  Capannina's profiteroles have rocked my world many times in the past and are always my go-to treat when I decide to indulge in sweets there.  Five soft, cream filled globes of dough are served with two dipping sauces:  melted chocolate and caramel.  Seriously?  I dare you to name something more divine.

All of this delicious plus prosecco to start, a lovely chianti with our meal, and dessert wine when we got home equalled a perfect evening as far as I'm concerned.  Who needs presents??

Day 171: Low Carb Latkes. Yes You Can!

Tonight marked year 2 of our annual Hanukkah dinner celebration.  Like last year, I made a brisket, but this year's recipe was world's better than last year's.  Braised slowly with dried apricots, garlic, and several aromatic seasonings - this dish forced a delicious aroma throughout the house all afternoon yesterday.

Everyone knows that you can't have Hanukkah without latkes, but this year I tried something new - much to my husband's chagrin.  Rather than make carb laden potato latkes, I decided to try zucchini latkes.  I thought they tasted pretty good and they added a nice little bit of color to the table - but my husband thought I should have stuck with the tried and true.

Speaking of tried and true, we of course had a loaf of challah on the table tonight.  Not just any challah - challah from the amazing Noe Valley Bakery - makers of the best challah in SF.

Last minute, I panicked about not having enough side dishes so I dashed out to our local grocery store and purchased some cous cous with raisins and veggies and a stewed white bean salad.

Finally, we capped it all off with some adorable and yummy desserts from the Noe Valley Bakery:  a cupcake with blue frosting and a mini dreidel, a petit four with menorah on top, and blue star sugar cookies.

It was a great dinner and a nice celebration.  Happy holidays, all!

Day 146: Happy Thanksgiving!!

Holy hell.  I'm full!!  

My parents came to us for Thanksgiving this year and my husband and I took care of all of the cooking.  As you can see from our very full table, we went all out.  Our menu consisted of the following, starting from the upper right hand corner of the table.

Main Course #1:  Turkey!!

Rather than cooking a whole bird, we purchased two breasts at Whole Foods and grilled them.  That freed up the oven for the sides and gave my husband something to do (man + fire = happiness).  We prepared each breast differently the night before to give them a chance to suck up lots of good flavor.

One breast got an herb and garlic rub:  1/4 cup each of chopped fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary, a 1/2 cup of parsley, and 10 cloves of garlic.  All of that was ground up in the food processor and then I tucked a thick layer of it underneath the skin of the turkey.

The other breast was marinated in a mix of the juice of 5 oranges, zest from 2 of those oranges, juice and zest from 2 lemons, 1 large sliced shallot, 6 smashed cloves of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, and S&P.

The breasts took about 2.5 hours on the grill on indirect heat.

Side Dish #1:  Cauliflower with Mustard Lemon Butter

Side Dish #2:  Orange Rosemary Cranberry Sauce

Side Dish #3:  Butternut Squash & Creamed Spinach Gratin

Side Dish #4:  Corn Bread (for recipe, see side of Marie Callender package - this was the only thing I did not make from scratch)

Side Dish #5:  Wild Rice with Wild Mushrooms

Mushroom Gravy

Side Dish #6:  Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

All of this was quite delicious and satisfying, but what's a Thanksgiving dinner without dessert?  After a short break, we were ready to dive in.

We had three desserts:

1.  Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

2.  Apple Crisp (made my our friend and dinner guest Julie)

3.  Coconut Macaroons (recipe available on the back of the blue Baker's Shredded Coconut bag)

Everything was enjoyed by all.  We are slipping into a food coma as I type this.  In fact, typing this is becoming increasing difficult.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 101: Celebrating Christopher Columbus

What better to eat on Columbus Day than Italian food? It had been awhile since I made meatballs because they are very time consuming so with a whole day off and nothing else planned I went for it.

This recipe has received stellar reviews from everyone who has eaten my meatballs. They are well worth the time and effort. You can make them with 100% beef, but to achieve the best flavor, I highly recommend a mix of meats.

Ingredients:
2 lbs of ground beef, lamb, veal, and/or pork (I always use 1 lb of the leanest ground beef, and then 1/2 each of two more meats, depending on what is available at my butcher shop)
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup freshly chopped parsley
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 jars of your favorite sauce (or your homemade sauce if you’re really ambitious!)

Crack eggs into a large bowl and beat gently. Add water and breadcrumbs, mix, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients except for the meat, and mix until blended. Crumble the meat into the bowl and mix everything together with your hands. Form balls - whatever size you like. I’ve made small ones served with toothpicks at cocktail parties and large ones served as entrees or over pasta.

Pour 1/4 inch of olive oil into a saucepan and heat on medium-high temperature. Once the oil is hot, place a batch of meatballs in, being sure not to crowd them. Flip them over as their bottoms brown.

Meanwhile, pour the sauce into a large baking dish and place the dish in an oven pre-heated to 225 degrees. After the meatballs are browned on both sides, place them in the baking dish and tuck them into the sauce.

Once all of the balls are in the sauce, bake for 1.5 hours. I like to place a layer of provolone or mozzarella over the top at that point and then serve once the cheese is melted (3-4 minutes later).

From start to finish, this project will take you more than 2 hours. But like I said, it’s worth it - whether you choose to serve bite-sized ones (add another 1/2 hour to your prep time!) or just serve these “as is” for dinner. you’ll be sure to impress. Christopher Columbus would be proud.