wine recommendation: cono sur vision pinot noir

So one thing that I feel I've kind of neglected in this space is writing about wine. There are a number of reasons why I haven't written much about it but that is neither here nor there. The larger point is that I plan to make a more concerted effort to write (at least a little something) about the wines I try. With that in mind, I want to take a moment from my day to wax poetic about a lovely wine that came into my life this weekend.

As with so many good wines, I discovered this one at a Food Matters tasting. Having written in both DCist and (more extensively) this blog about the Food Matters tastings and my love for Christy and her incredibly fun, relaxed and welcoming way of teaching people about wine, I will spare you the recap (if you aren't familiar, read the previous pieces to get some background) of what a tasting there is like. Instead, I just want to recognize a fantastic wine I was introduced to at a tasting this past weekend.

The tasting was focused on Chilean wines and, not having tasted many wines from Chile before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Would there be a signature grape (like malbec has become for Argentina)? Or would it be grapes that I recognize? Turns out it was a mix of both. Carmenere is a signature grape for Chile, however, we also tasted a sauvignon blanc, a pinot noir, and a cabernet sauvignon. All of the five wines we tasted were interesting, and I found two of them to be excellent, two to be good, and one I didn't particularly like. Of the two that were excellent, one was so astonishingly good for the price that I feel compelled to share.

The second wine we tasted was a Cono Sur pinot noir from their Vision line. I will admit that when I looked at the tasting notes and saw the price of the wine was about $15 a bottle I was prepared to have a decent pinot but nothing earth shattering. Due to it's burst of popularity in the last few years (thanks a lot Sideways), good pinot noir has gotten pricey. Most of the good bottles I've had have been between $25 and $45 a bottle. There has been the occasional $20 bottle that has been good, but those were usually bottles that had been marked down.

All of that just goes to say that I am not prepared to see a decent pinot noir for under $20. So when Christy poured this wine, I was prepared for it to be drinkable, enjoyable, but not amazing. Once I smelled it though, I started to get excited. The smell was heavy on fruit but with a bit of spice and a pleasing warmth and smoothness. If it tasted anything like it smelled then I had just found a new wine to love. Once I took my first sip, I was shocked. I had to check the price again to make sure I'd read it correctly. The wine was incredibly smooth and warm without a lot of the big, assertive tannins that a lot of American pinots have. This wine was incredibly elegant and complex but at the same time extremely drinkable and could easily be enjoyed without food or with light hors d'oeuvres.

So that's my wine recommendation for this week. An extremely smooth and complex wine for a fantastic price. It's listed as $14.99 but I've seen it online for as low as $12 a bottle. Shipping cost brings the price up to at least $15 so you're probably better off picking it up locally unless you want to order a whole case.

Enjoy!

news

I just wanted to make the announcement that I have been given the opportunity to be a food writer for the DCist blog. My first post went up yesterday.

It just goes to show that if you obsess enough about something, you just might get to write about it and even have people read it and care.

summertime...and the livin' is easy

Okay, so it's not quite summer. In fact, it's only April and this morning weather.com told me that the temp was 42 degrees. However, there have been a few days of late that felt like a hint of summer come early. And so what better way to celebrate the occurrence than with a meal fit for balmy nights and al fresco dining?

I find that some of my favorite meals are meals that are associated with summer. I think this is because, growing up in Florida, summer meant long, lazy nights of eating dinners outside with my parents by the pool, drinking wine, and talking for hours. Everything I loved about living on the Gulf Coast can be summed up in those nights: warm weather, soft breezes, fresh seafood, and a life that was just more relaxed and uncomplicated. Or at least it seemed uncomplicated while sitting outside with great food and wine. So needless to say, anytime the thermostat creeps above 70 degrees, I get to missing life on the coast and feel a need to recreate it. Sadly, I can't bring the soft gulf breezes, white sand, and emerald water up to DC. But I can do my best to recreate the flavors of the cuisine.

To create a meal that would remind me of summer on the Emerald Coast, I wanted, naturally, to use seafood as the centerpiece and compliment it with some intense flavor. I chose sea scallops because their light, sweet flavor would be the perfect base for some of the bolder tastes I planned on using. I started by mincing two serrano chiles and tossing them with some salt, paprika, black pepper and olive oil. I let the scallops "marinate" in this mixture while I worked on prepping the rest of the meal. I knew I wanted to wrap the scallops in bacon so I decided to cook the bacon until it had rendered some fat but was still pliable enough to be wrapped around the scallops. Once the bacon was halfway-cooked, I removed it to some paper towels to absorb the excess grease.

At the store I had picked up an orange bell pepper, a yellow heirloom tomato, some baby arugula, an avocado, and some watercress. I tossed the bell pepper over the open flame of one of the stove burners until the skin was charred. Once the skin was completely blackened, I placed the bell pepper in a bowl and covered it with some plastic wrap to let it steam and loosen the skin. Meanwhile, I tossed the arugula and watercress with some vinaigrette and plated it. After the pepper was done steaming, I rinsed it under cold water to remove the skin, took out the seeds and ribs, and then chopped the roasted flesh and placed it on top of the greens. To that I added some sliced avocado.

But I wasn't entirely sure what to do with the tomato. I have a good number of food quirks (I hate celery) and one of them is that I hate raw tomato in green salads. I don't mind it in Insalata Caprese or tossed with some red onion, feta, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. However, nothing bothers me more than chunks of raw tomato on a green salad. So I knew that I wanted to cook the tomato. I sliced it and set it aside, figuring I'd know what to do with it when the time came.

Once the salad was ready, I went to finish the scallops. I drained all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat from the frying pan and set it over medium heat. I removed the scallops from the olive oil and chile marinade (reserving the oil and chile mixture) and wrapped them with the bacon and then slid them onto skewers. I laid the skewers in the pan and cooked them until the scallops had browned nicely on each side and were just cooked through (about 4 minutes on the first side and about 3 minutes on the second side). I removed the scallops from the pan and plated them alongside the salad.

With the scallops done, I deglazed the pan with a little bit of beer and then tossed in the tomatoes and the reserved olive oil and minced chiles. I sauteed this mixture until the tomatoes were tender but still retained their shape and the beer had reduced into a spicy chili glaze. I plated the tomatoes and spooned the sauce over the scallops. The final accompaniment to the meal was some sliced baguette toasted with raclette cheese melted on top.

Despite the fact that it was created on the fly and without a real recipe for guidance, this meal is one of my new favorites. The sweet scallops work perfectly with the salty, crisp bacon and the spicy sauce. And the light salad, sauteed tomatoes, and cheese bread were the perfect additions. I will definitely be recreating this meal again.

So even though the mercury has returned to late winter-ish temperatures, this meal was a great way to take advantage of the small summer preview we got. And more than that it was a fantastic way to be transported back home to the Emerald Coast.

restaurant weekend: a recap

So after having eaten out for January restaurant week and having been extremely underwhelmed by the experience, Tahir proposed the idea of doing a restaurant week type event of his own. This would involve inviting guests, asking them each to pay $30 (the same cost as restaurant week minus tax and tip) and providing them an extremely upscale menu with some choices. This weekend was when it all came together.

First of all, the menu:

Amuse bouche of Foie Gras and Grape Chutney

Course 1: Salad of Duck Confit with Sherry Poached Pear and Honey-champagne Vinaigrette or Saffron Scented Parsnip Soup with Butternut Squash Coulis

Course 2: Horseradish Crusted Rack of Lamb with Baby Arugula, Sauteed Langoustines, and Cherry Gastrique or White Truffle Risotto with Gulf Shrimp Fondue

Course 3: Pineapple Creme Brulee or Profiteroles with Coffee Ice Cream and Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Sauce

That menu seems ambitious and, let me tell you, it was. I was fortunate enough to get to serve as sous chef for the event and the amount of preparation that went into it was daunting. And I was only involved in part of it. I would also like to note that, for anyone who has ever been to a party where T and I were cooking and seen the usual chaos that occurs in his kitchen, this was a MUCH smoother affair. This may have been because of some advance prep, a smaller number of people to cook for, the fact that T and I are just getting to be better cooks or a once-in-a-century alignment of the planets but, regardless, it was unusually relaxed and on time.

Amuse Bouche
The literal French translation of this term is something that "amuses the mouth". In a more practical sense, an amuse bouche is a one to two bite mini-dish that is serve before the hors d'oeuvre or first course of a meal. It was popularized with the rise of Nouvelle Cuisine and is generally used to both excite the diner's palate in anticipation of the meal and also explain something about the chef's approach to cooking.

That said, the amuse bouche for this meal was a decadent and flavorful course that hinted at the meal that was to come. The foundation for it was thick cut slices of baguette that I removed the crusts from and brushed with olive oil on both sides. I baked them at 300 degrees (relatively low) to ensure that they became crisp all the way through and turned slightly golden from the oil. Once the hot slices of baguette came out of the oven, I rubbed them with raw garlic. The hot bread takes a lot of the oil out of the garlic and creates a garlic scented bread that is flavorful without being overpowering. The next layer was slices of seared foie gras which, alone, would have created a delicious but almost overly-rich course. To balance the decadent richness of the foie gras, T made a light and refreshing grape chutney. A dollop of the grape chutney, a pinch of lemon and orange zest and a small amount of smoked salt were the finishing touches. The final result was an amuse bouche that had a rich and buttery foundation with a fruity and refreshing accompaniment. This alternately extravagant and sparklingly clean course was, to me, the perfect summation of T's approach to the rest of the menu.

Course 1

Salad of Duck Confit with Sherry Poached Pear and Honey-Champagne Vinaigrette
This salad is not for the faint of heart or appetite. It's an impressive plate with a lot going in terms of both flavor and portion size. Confit is a method of preserving a meat in it's own fat and is most common with duck. This preserves the meat but also creates a brown, flavorful crust when seared in a hot pan, which is exactly how this was cooked. I rubbed the legs of duck with a blend of paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper and then seared them on each side in a hot pan.

The rest of this composed salad consisted of sliced pear that had been poached in a mixture of white wine, ruby port, sugar, and star anise (a change from the sherry planned on the menu that, while last minute, turned out to be excellent) and torn leaves of butter lettuce and escarole that had been tossed in a honey champagne vinaigrette. This vinaigrette was my special addition to this dish since I randomly concocted it in an attempt to find a sweet and light dressing to balance the acidity of goat cheese in a salad. It has since become a staple of my repertoire and is probably my favorite dressing.

Saffron Scented Parsnip Soup with Butternut Squash Coulis
This soup was probably, in terms of presentation and taste, among the most simple items on the menu but that simplicity did not make it any less delicious or satisfying. The soup itself was a puree of parsnip, carrot, and celery that had been cooked in chicken stock. Once the vegetables were tender, T pureed them with an immersion blender and then to round out the flavor and add some richness a splash of whole milk was incorporated. Saffron was tossed in at the last minute to provide a light flavor and earthy scent. Topping the soup was a coulis of pureed butternut squash that was flavored by simmering it with some whole allspice for a bit. I garnished the bowls of soup with sprigs of fresh tarragon and then they were set. Although it sounds simple in comparison to the salad, this was a velvety soup that was warm, fragrant, and comforting. This is a soup I would easily eat on a cold winter day with a piece of good bread and be perfectly content with nothing more.

Course 2

Horseradish Crusted Rack of Lamb with Baby Arugula, Sauteed Langoustines, and Cherry Gastrique
This main dish probably had the most stunning presentation of any of the courses and has accomplished the near impossible by dethroning 1789 from it's long-held spot as the best lamb I've ever had. For anyone who says they don't like lamb, I would encourage them to try a truly great preparation of lamb and then get back to me. The majority of people I talk to who say they don't like lamb say that it is tough or that it tastes too gamey. This rack of lamb had zero gamey flavor and was more tender than most filet mignon.

The lamb was complimented by a rich and flavorful crust consisting of two layers. First there was a rub of spices (cumin, coriander, pepper, allspice, cayenne, paprika) and then the racks of lamb were seared in oil just to brown each side. Next they were slathered with a mixture of creamed horseradish, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper and finished in the oven. The oven finished the lamb to a perfect medium rare while turning the horseradish mixture into a spicy crust. The lamb was served alongside baby arugula that had been tossed with lemon juice and langoustines that were sauteed in butter. Finishing the dish was a light and incredibly flavorful gastrique made from blackberries since cherries were not available. I hope T will get the pictures Andrea took up on his blog if for nothing else than this dish. I think the presentation was beautiful and it was an incredibly striking dish. Kudos to him on a fantastic plating.

White Truffle Risotto with Gulf Shrimp Fondue
Not counting the desserts, this was probably the richest dish on the menu. And with a menu that includes duck confit and foie gras, that's saying something. This dish also had a fairly involved preparation that, while time consuming, resulted in a very complex combination of flavors. T started this one by cleaning and deveining the shrimp but saving the heads and tails. The heads and tails were put into a hot pan with olive oil and sauteed until they turned pink. Then chopped shallots, lemongrass, and fennel seed were added. Then came sherry that was added and reduced until almost all of the liquid had evaporated ("a sec" for those wanting to keep up on their French cooking terminology). This was then repeated with vermouth. Once the vermouth had reduced, a generous amount of chopped tomatoes were added and the shrimp heads and tails were simmered in the tomato liquid until a rich stock was starting to form. This mixture was then partially pureed and pushed through a chinoise to extract the rich and flavorful stock. Meanwhile, tomatoes, shallots, and garlic were cooked in olive oil to create a tomato "fondue" that would be combined with the stock to create a sauce for the shrimp.

All of that took place hours before the risotto was to be served and was set aside. When it came time to create the actual risotto itself, the aborio rice was cooked into a basic risotto using chicken stock for the liquid. Once the risotto was done, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and copious amounts of truffle butter were incorporated into the rice. The shrimp themselves were sauteed lightly but not cooked all the way through. The stock and the tomato fondue were combined and simmered until slightly thickened. Then two table spoons of butter were added in to create rich, glaze-like sauce. Finally the shrimp were added to the sauce (where they finished cooking) along with a handful of finely chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon, and chives). I plated this dish as a take on the Southern classic combination of shrimp and grits by putting the creamy risotto down as a base, mounding the shrimp on top, and then spoon the rich sauce over the shrimp. The final touch was a light drizzle of white truffle oil.

Course 3

Since dessert is very much something I try to stay away from preparing (baking involves way too much measuring and paying attention for my taste), I am only going to summarize the third course by saying that both items were incredibly delicious. I trust that T will go into more detail about the preparation on his blog. Regardless of the preparation details, each dish was fantastic.

Pineapple Creme Brulee
I had the creme brulee the first night and the light taste of pineapple was a surprising and welcome addition to the usually rich taste of custard and T's new torch created a perfectly caramelized sugar crust.

Profiteroles with Coffee Ice Cream and Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Sauce
Sunday night I had the profiteroles and, despite our difficulty in making the caramel that formed the base of the Bailey's infused chocolate sauce (note: when sugar gets hot enough to melt, plastic will also melt), this dish was a delicious blend of cool, warm, and light. The profiteroles were soft and light, the coffee ice cream cool and refreshing, and the warm Bailey's chocolate sauce was smooth and decadent.

In summation, this will go down as one of the best meals I've ever eaten and certainly one of the best I've ever prepared. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been involved and also would love to say thank you to all who attended and let T and I use them as guinea pigs for our ultimate dream of one day opening a restaurant.

off the beaten path: wine tasting outside the box in alexandria

When you first walk into the tasting room for a wine tasting at Food Matters in Alexandria, you feel as though you are about to sit down to an intimate dinner among friends. The tasting room is a bright space with floor to ceiling windows that flood the large table in the center of the room with afternoon sun. Each taster sits down to a place with a water glass and four wine glasses. Christy Przystawik, one of the owners of Food Matters and facilitator for the tastings, places tasting notes and pens at each seat.

The tasting notes are the first indicator that you are not at a dinner party but rather are about to receive an education in wine. However, it’s important not to let the detailed notes and maps fool you – wine tasting at Food Matters is not a stuffy, formal, or uptight experience. Christy says that she tries to “give people a forum in which they can relax and taste wine. Make it nice but don't let people get stuffy about it and don't be a snob.”

This emphasis on creating an environment where people feel comfortable is evident in the fact that tasters are seated close together around the table and the hors d’oeuvres prepared by chef Tom Przystawik (Christy’s husband and co-owner of Food Matters) are placed in the center of the table and passed around family-style, forcing guests to interact with one another and helping to stimulate conversation. Although the focus of the tasting experience is on the wine, food lovers will be thrilled with the simple but incredibly fresh and delicious spread. Both Tom and Christy were chefs at Café Atlántico before opening Food Matters, so the food is always thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented.

Once the food is on the table, it’s time to focus on the wine. Christy begins by explaining the basics about the wines, including: the grapes used and what they contribute to the wine, the characteristics of the soil, which years have been especially good, etc. Tastings at Food Matters allow guests to sample wines, thoughtfully chosen by Christy to highlight different characteristics of a particular grape, region or variety while covering a range of prices. Wines can range from $12 a bottle up to $50. Fortunately, Christy is not shy about letting tasters know that sometimes the most expensive wines aren’t necessarily the best nor are they always her favorites (a fact that is comforting in an economy with gas prices approaching $4 a gallon).

Once the wine is poured, Christy’s philosophy on relaxed wine tasting takes over. There is very little wine jargon used – in fact, she describes one wine as having “a funk that I really like.” She encourages guests share their opinions and impressions of the wines, no matter how unsophisticated or rudimentary. You are unlikely to hear anyone say that a wine tastes like lingonberries and beechwood or that the bouquet is a piquant blend of hyacinth and grass. Instead the talk turns to how the taste of the wine compares to the smell, how well a wine exemplifies common characteristics of a particular vintage or grape, and what kinds of meals would best be complimented by the wines selected.

This is where the hors d’oeuvres come in handy. Guests are also encouraged to sip the wines with the food presented and get a feel for the interaction of the flavors. Christy says, “I find [that] people are intimidated by…how to pair food and wine. At each of our tastings we pair food with the wine, giving people several ideas that they can use in the future.”

To explain the importance of pairing wine and food, she says, “To me food and wine are like two people in a relationship. Each can be enjoyed [alone] but the beauty of each is reflected in the other. To be clear, they do not complete one another but rather stand together in their individuality.”

It is this kind of thoughtful attitude towards food and wine that makes Food Matters a unique place. Part-restaurant, part-wine shop, and part-prepared foods shop, the space is bright and airy with no sense of pretension about it. Guests have the feeling that they are being welcomed into Tom and Christy’s home. It’s not uncommon to see Christy’s parents (also part-owners) helping out. One day Christy’s dad is pouring wines for a tasting and explaining his thoughts on French Viognier, the next he may be bringing food to your table.

It’s clear that Food Matters is a long way from working at Café Atlántico. When asked what motivated the Przystawiks to set out on their own and open Food Matters, Christy says, “Short answer – eventually you want to work for yourself. Also, we had a hard time reconciling the use of some the ingredients there given the weather and seasonality of our area. These are very important to us now.” That focus on seasonality is apparent in the menu at Food Matters – as many of the ingredients as possible are sourced locally and the menu is designed to celebrate and reflect the seasons of the Washington area.

While the food is certainly reason enough to make the journey off the beaten path to visit Food Matters in the Cameron Station neighborhood of Alexandria, the wine is a separate and equally compelling force all its own. The small selection of wines available here for sale (make no mistake, this is not a place to come if you are looking for hundreds or thousands of labels) are all personally chosen by Christy. When asked what she looks for in choosing wines to sell she says that she places an emphasis on how well a wine represents the region, grape, or style and also tries to search for value which she defines as “a wine that tastes like where it’s from or presents a new approach that works, all for a reasonable price.”

She also tries to present a variety of labels and wines that guests may have never encountered. “People walk into the wine retail section of Food Matters and say, ‘I just don't recognize most of these labels.’ I take that as a compliment. I don't want you to find our wines at your local grocery store. Stick around and you'll get to know them. We rotate our wines by the glass list regularly so that the wine that you fell in love with while sitting at the bar can later be found on the retail shelf.”

It is this desire to be different, not for the sake of difference, but because of a desire to give people something truly unique and enjoyable – be that in the form of a locally sourced meal or a Chilean wine that no one else is stocking on the shelves – that is the heart of everything Food Matters does. And it is their ability to achieve this with none of the air of carefully calculated novelty some restaurants possess that keeps people coming back. So whether you are looking for great food, great wine, or an education in both, Food Matters is worth a visit.

Food Matters is located at 4906 Brenman Park Drive in Cameron Station in Alexandria. You can find them on the web at www.foodmattersva.com. Wine tastings are available by reservation. Cost is $15 per person for 4 wines with hors d’oeuvres. Guests also receive a 10% discount when they buy bottles of any of the wines served in the tasting. To get news about tastings, dinners, and other events at Food Matters, you can e-mail info@foodmattersva.com or call 703.461.3663.

politically-charged food rant

Okay, so generally I use this space for talking about food in the sense of recipes, ingredients, meals, etc. But I feel like there's an important food-related issue out there that I need to address. So this is going to be a bit of departure.

I'm not sure how many of you keep up with news relating to food and the food industry, but I kind of have to as part of my job. Every day I spend at least an hour reading between four and ten food industry news letters. These cover everything from new products, store openings, hirings and promotions of industry execs, government news (i.e. the Farm Bill, FDA regs, etc.) and pretty much any news that would be of interest to the food retail industry. Over the last week, one story has stood out both for its incredibly disheartening content and for its ever-growing magnitude.

Last week the USDA ordered a recall of 37 million pounds of beef distributed by Hallmark Meat Packing (a partner of Westland Meat). The meat was recalled because it came from "non-ambulatory" cows. Federal regulations require that animals that cannot walk off the truck to slaughter be separated from the rest and a veterinarian must euthanize them and then they should be tested. This is because the inability to walk is a symptom of BSE (also known as mad cow disease). Apparently employees at Hallmark were using forklifts, high pressure hoses, electric shocks, and chains to push, roll, prod, and drag these animals to slaughter.

This week the recall was expanded to include 143 million pounds of beef - the largest recall in US history. Federal authorities have said that most of the meat was probably already eaten - by schoolchildren. Westland was a major supplier to the federal school lunch program. The government says that there is little to no risk of adverse health effects from the beef in question, since most of it has already been consumed. Not that such statements make anyone feel any better. In fact, it definitely raises an important question.

Why did we learn about these violations - which are now believed to go back as far as two years - from a video (warning, this video is extremely graphic and disturbing) made by an undercover investigator and supplied to the Humane Society of the United States???

Slaughter facilities are supposed to be regularly inspected by the federal government. Which means that this was either not happening or the inspectors were turning a blind eye to these incredibly horrific violations of ethical animal treatment and federal law. There have been enough recall issues in the last year to give FDA, USDA, and our entire food safety and defense system a pretty visible black eye. However, this is among the worst because it highlights a blatant failure of federal oversight.

What's more, it's not as though things will be getting better. Despite bipartisan pressure, the Bush administration has only approved "modest" increases in the budget for food safety - most of which will be consumed by pay raises for department employees and nearly half of which won't even be available to the agencies until July. While it may not seem as much of a banner issue as Iraq, the economy, or universal health coverage, I hope that candidates will start devoting more time to detailing a plan for protecting our food and attempting to create a system that will instill some sort of trust and confidence in the food supply.

While I'm not a vegetarian, I don't eat a lot of meat and I generally try to stick with organic (although that term in and of itself is laden with controversy). However, a great number of people don't stick to the guidelines I do and I feel that, while there are a number of problems the slaughter industry, consumers should at least be able to feel confident that their food is safe - regardless of their individual ethical choices.

Hopefully the government gets on the same page and becomes truly invested in creating a food supply that Americans can feel good about.

an ode to avocado (also: random musings on what do do with them)

So I've raved about my adored avocado already (I'm also an avid advocate of alliteration). But I thought it was time to go all out and dedicate a post entirely to this amazing fruit. It should be noted however, that when I refer to an avocado, I am, of course, referring to the Hass avocado, which is the most commonly cultivated in America and also the best tasting. For information on the nutritional content, selection, and storage of avocados, you can check out this helpful article.

Okay, so once you've got your ripe avocados, there are about a billion things you can do with them. In a previous post, I talked about the crucial role of avocado in one of my favorite salads of all time. My grandmother used to eat half an avocado - right out of the skin - as part of her afternoon snack when I was a child (these are the kind of random memories I'll always cherish about my family). You could even make avocado gelato. So obviously, there's a wide range of choices. What follows below are my three favorite ways to eat and enjoy the alligator pear.



#1: BLAT

So lots of people are familiar with the concept of a BLT. It's a simple sandwich with bacon, lettuce, tomato, a light spread of mayo, usually on toasted white bread. Which is all well and good. However, while skiing in Colorado with my family, my mom and I discovered a variation on the classic that would forever change my view of the sandwich.

Avocado is delicious on lots of sandwiches but there is something about the salty bacon, the juicy ripe tomatoes and crisp lettuce that goes so perfectly with the richness of avocado. To provide a recipe for this sandwich would even be overkill. I like mine one of two ways. The classic version involves two strips of bacon, a few slices of red or yellow heirloom tomato, fresh Bibb lettuce, and sliced avocado all on toasted sourdough (no mayo needed). The slightly healthier (slightly because you still have bacon and avocado) version involves substituting crunchy sprouts for the lettuce and using a nutty 7 grain bread.

Simple, superb, and satisfying.

#2: Salmon with Avocado and Sesame Soy Dressing

I have to confess that I'm kind of enamored with salmon. I'm not a total carnivore (I maybe eat meat at 5-6 of my 21 meals in a given week) and I generally end up eating chicken more than anything else. This isn't because I dislike meat in general or red meat specifically. I would consider the lamb at 1789 my favorite meal in the city. However, that said, I eat a lot of vegetables, pasta, and rice at home. So when I want to break out of the box but still stay healthy and light, I go to salmon. There are a lot of different was to prepare salmon but one of my favorites is to bake it and top it with some amazing flavors. And as anyone who's a fan of sushi knows, salmon and avocado play well together.

For this dish, I make a simple dressing of toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, and some grated fresh ginger. Then I brush a little of the dressing on salmon filets and bake them till they are done. While the salmon is baking, I toast some sesame seeds in a skillet over low heat and slice an avocado. I add the sesame seeds and avocado to the remaining dressing and toss lightly and put it in the fridge to chill. Once the salmon is done I top each filet with some of the avocado and dressing and it's ready. The rich creamy avocado and the bright dressing work perfectly with the simply prepared salmon.

#3: Guacamole

In my opinion, any discussion of avocado preparation would be incomplete without guacamole. There are a number of different ways to prepare guacamole. Some people add cilantro, tomato, sour cream, jalapeno, and etc. I for one am pretty picky when it comes to my guacamole. I hate guac with tomatoes in it. This is an abomination in my eyes as part of the appeal of good guacamole is the rich green color. Below is my favorite recipe.

2 ripe Hass avocados, halved, pitted and removed from skins
1/4 - 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime (lemon works too I suppose)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mash to desired smoothness. Eat and enjoy.


So there you have it, my three favorite ways to eat an avocado. I know that I will be counting down the days until the full glory of avocado season is upon us.

Bon appetit!

book report: the omnivore's dilemma

According to the United Nations, "Literacy is Freedom" and this is apparently the decade in which we are supposed to enjoy that freedom (what happens to literacy after 2012, I don't know). Apparently, reading even made it into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In short, reading is good. So with that in mind, I've decided that perhaps it's time to do my part and promote a little reading...about food of course.

Now while not all of the books I read for pleasure are about food, a good number of them are and those are the ones I'll be focusing on in this space (mostly because to review a book about the 1919 Paris Peace Conference or the First Angevin Dynasty on a blog about food would be very bizarre). So without further ado, I present the first edition of The Wannabe Chef Book Report. First on the list of books is Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.




I must admit, I'm a bit late on reviewing this book. The Washington Post was all over this one back in April 2006 and the rest of the known world soon followed. This book became one of many rallying points for the Local Food Movement and also helped to broaden the focus of health-conscious critics beyond just fat, carbs, and sugar and to turn a critical eye towards fats, carbs, and sugars that come in over-processed, ultra-refined forms. So with all the press and all the discussion, I figured it was finally time that I read the book for myself.

As someone that was already familiar with the organic movement, the local movement, and the slow food movement, a lot of the basic concepts in the book were not new or ground-breaking for me. Processed food = bad. Natural food = good. And to be honest, I don't think a lot of people were unaware of these concepts. However, what makes The Omnivore's Dilemma unique is the detail in which Pollan examines each of the food chains he discusses and the personal way in which he engages with the books central question: "What should I eat?"

Too often, books or articles demonizing industrial food have a teachy, preachy air to them. They are full of facts and exhortations. Pollan (thankfully) eschews this method of engaging with his subject matter and instead the book becomes about his own personal attempt to understand, contextualize, and come to terms with the three different food chains he identifies: industrial, pastoral (organic/natural), and personal (local). And the best moments in the book are those times when he describes, in deeply personal detail, his own confrontation with the questions facing the modern eater.

In one chapter he explains his own personal experience slaughtering chickens and in another his feelings about hunting an animal for food. In both instances, the depth of his own personal struggle with the ethics involved makes him, and the book, extremely poignant. Another instance has him explaining how he tried to come to grips with his own feelings about the moral nature of eating meat while reading an important treatise on vegetarianism over a steak dinner and later he recounts his own mental back-and-forth on the rational behind meat-eating. It is the extremely personal portions of the book like the above examples that I found most compelling.

Finally, the end of the book provides an exhortation not to avoid industrial food and become total-local eaters who grow, hunt, and forage for our own meals but rather to become accustomed to the idea of thinking about our food. Not just what to eat but the path it traveled before arriving at our tables, the ethical implications of its production and consumption, and the meaning created by the experience of preparing and partaking in it. He does not encourage readers to never eat another industrial meal but rather to eat all meals with an understanding of them and their context.

For foodies (or anyone who thinks of eating as an intensely personal and provocative experience) this is a must-read. For anyone else, it's an interesting examination of a part of life that many take for granted.

new home, same blog

Well, it was time to find a new home for my blog. Given that squarespace's monthly fee was a bit much and given that I wasn't blogging all that often, I decided to take things to a new, free home.

I've already put up some of my favorite posts from the old site and this week I'll be working to put together some new posts now that I have more time on my hands for such things. I appreciate the patience with all the old posts and I promise new stuff is on the way - I know all 3 of my readers must be excited!

Bon Appetit!

vegelicious (archive from old site, originally posted 10/24/07)

So it's been a while since this event occurred but I figured it's never to late to post it. This summer (late July to be exact) my mom came to visit and, as always, we spent time cooking. It started with a trip to the Dupont Circle FreshFarm Market where I was simply overwhelmed by the amazing display of food. There were cheeses, breads, seafood, meats, honey, herbs, fruit, and oh the vegetables. I have never seen such an abundance of incredibly fresh gorgeous vegetables. Mom and I decided that our dinner that night would be a feast of vegetables. The centerpiece would be a sort of updated take on ratatouille. We decided to roast eggplant, zucchini, torpedo onions, baby squash, and heirloom cherry tomatoes separately and then combine them all with herbs and olive oil. It turned out really well. I didn't get pictures of the finished product (too busy eating!), I have decided to include the pictures I do have. Cooking with Mom was a lot of fun and it's always nice to be reminded that a truly satisfying meal need not include meat.

Mom in the kitchen prepping some of our veggies

Eggplant coated with olive oil and ready to be roasted

Torpedo onions, tossed in thyme, kosher salt, and olive oil, roasting in the oven

Heirloom cherry tomatoes being sauteed in olive oil and white wine