boys' club

So, although I know at least one reader of this blog is very familiar with the situation/environment I'm about to describe, I'll give a little bit of explanation for those who may not be.  To put it simply: the kitchen (and the food industry at large) is very much a boys' club.

Despite a lot of advances and a lot of really talented female chefs out there, the kitchen remains a pretty tough environment for a woman.  Most of the best restaurants in the world (according to rankings lists and such) have male head chefs, most of the sous chefs, line cooks, prep cooks, and even dishwashers in many kitchens are men.  There are certainly kitchens that serve as exceptions but for the industry at large, the kitchen is still a pretty masculine environment.  In a lot of ways it's like a boys' locker room — girls aren't really wanted in there and if you go in there you better prepare yourself because it's a different world and they're not going to censor themselves or take pains to make you comfortable because, after all, you're on their turf.

So needless to say it can be difficult to be a woman working in a kitchen.  There are a lot of challenges.  I've been lucky for the most part because my head chef started his culinary career in the kitchen of a fantastic female chef and he says that she created an environment that was nurturing, educational, and helped him learn how to be a chef that inspires instead of intimidates.  All of this makes him a fantastic boss and it makes me feel very lucky to work with him.  But in a kitchen you aren't just working with one person, you're working with a group and not everyone in the group picks up on those cues from the top and — should that nurturing figure at the top be gone from the kitchen for six weeks — you will inevitably faced with a lot more challenges.

These challenges come in many forms.  And if you're like me (a stubborn perfectionist who hates to be wrong) you'll look at every challenge as an opportunity to prove yourself. Sometimes this leads to amusing results.  Like when you can't pry the lid off of a tub of pickled vegetables and you tell the boys you need help and they make fun of you.  If you're the stubborn sort, once they quit laughing and say they'll come help you, you tell them that, nevermind, you've got it on your own.  So you go out to the walk-in with a meat pounder and a butter knife and try to take the hammer and chisel approach to working the lid off.  When that doesn't work you end up putting one foot on the edge of the lid closest to you, planting your other foot firmly on the floor, and pulling on the other side of the lid with both hands and all your strength.  It works, but you're wearing about a quart of pickled vegetable juice and for the next 6 hours of your shift you will have brine in your shoes.

Sadly, not all of the challenges will be as amusing.  Somedays the boys' club will make you feel angry, frustrated, defeated and maybe it will even make you doubt yourself and your abilities. Without that understanding and nurturing leadership at the top, you have to fight it out with the boys who've been there longer, have been doing the job longer, and are pretty convinced that they don't need you or your input.  

So the head chef is out for a few weeks and you've gotten a promotion to a role of new responsibility and new opportunity...how do you succeed when the boys leave you isolated and out of the loop?  They talk to each other but not to you.  When you offer help or suggestions, they're brushed aside.  When you ask questions, you are ignored or, worse, snapped at and essentially told that it doesn't concern you.  They go over your head, below you, and around you to get work done but it doesn't seem that they are particularly interested in talking to you.  With the head chef out — the one person who hired you, promoted you, and seems to believe in you — how do you sort it out?

...I'll let you know when I figure out the answers.

Getting Ready for Inauguration

Inauguration is upon us.  The madness started yesterday.  We got in deliveries of enough items to last us through Tuesday since most of our vendors are going to be closed Monday and/or Tuesday and with all the road closures, we're not sure deliveries would be able to get to us if they were open.  We got in 20 gallons of mayonnaise and 8 wheels of Hook's blue cheese.  Our bison farmer came up from Madison yesterday and, in addition to getting stuck in some nasty traffic that caused him to arrive at 7:00pm instead of 5:00pm, brought us 6 cases of fresh ground bison, enough brisket and hanger steak to last us through Tuesday, and what has to be the single largest amount of bacon I've ever seen in one place.  I spent 45 minutes last night out in the freezing cold opening the boxes, organizing the walk-in to find space for it all, and then breaking down boxes.  It was not fun.

To add to that, our kitchen is freezing.  The kitchen is in a part of the building that was added on to the original structure so it has never had the best heating and cooling.  So basically cold air pours in to the bottom of the kitchen (which is above our outdoor patio) and then our commercial grade hood pulls all that cold air up through the kitchen.  It doesn't help that we're going through some of the coldest weather D.C. has seen in the last five years.  I've decided that I'm going to need to get a long-sleeved chef's jacket to wear over the many long-sleeved shirts I already wear since the short-sleeved jackets aren't working so well.  I am also going to need to wear two pairs of socks in the hopes that I can keep at least some of the feeling in my feet.  

These next four days are going to be unreal.  The kitchen will be staying open till midnight starting tonight and going through Tuesday night.  The bar will be opening at 1:00pm Saturday through Tuesday and that will include the kitchen having to turn out fries for customers in addition to getting prep done between 2:00pm and 5:00pm.  Thankfully I have tonight off and I'm off all day tomorrow.  However, Sunday the insanity begins: in for prep at 9:00am, prep until 4:00pm and then host from 5:00pm until whenever the wait subsides (hopefully around midnight at the latest).  Monday night is a line shift and Tuesday I'm serving.  Jeebus help me because I'm pretty sure tonight and tomorrow are my last chance for sleep until Wednesday.

Specials

Beef Rib-eye with Balsamic Cherry Reduction: Our "beer guy" (although he's really so much more), Pat, makes these bourbon-kriek soaked cherries for the bartenders to use in Manhattans that are unbelievably good.  So today I decided to use some of them.  Balsamic, bourbon cherries, and steak.  Yum.

Grilled Rockfish with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette:  I loved the lemon basil aioli from last week.  I decided to try it a bit differently since I thought a lighter vinaigrette might work better with grilled rockfish (I think aioli works better with the fried fish).  I liked it, but not as much.  I still need to sort out the exact lemon/basil balance I want.

Reading Materials

I'm still working my way through The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten.  I am sort of reserving that one for helping me survive my Sunday night hosting shifts.  Steingarten's wit makes it easier to answer 58 phone calls about whether or not we take reservations and 15 phone calls that require me to explain that we are NOT located on the 1200 block of H Street NW and that there is a big difference between NE and NW in the District.

So since I'm reserving that for Sundays, I tend to read other books during the week.  Since today has been a long day, I've been enjoying Melanie Dunea's wonderful book My Last Supper which has 50 famous chefs talk about what the ideal meal, setting, music, guest list, and etc. would be for their last supper on Earth.  The photographs are wonderful and the book always inspires me (doesn't hurt that there are recipes in the back including Thomas Keller's perfect roast chicken).  Whenever I'm having a day where I'm tired, frustrated, and starting to question myself, I always look at this book and it reminds me of what I love about the business I'm in and how, even for the most talented chef, it's important never to stop deriving joy from good food, good friends, and, mostly, being able to do something you love every day.

pushing through

Sometimes there are those days when you're on the line and you're just firing on all cylinders and everything is working perfectly.  Those days are rare.  Sometimes you have those days when the occasional snag pops up but you roll with the punches and at the end of the night you realize that nothing was that bad and you made it through all the incorrect tickets, items needed on the fly, and small missteps. Those days are more common.  

And then there are the days like yesterday.  You're feeling good when you show up for your shift.  You knock out the prep you have to do.  You get your station set up.  You get other people's stations set up.  The service starts off slowly and so everyone wanders out of the kitchen.  You're the only person in there when the first few tickets come in and you jump on a station that's not usually yours, get the tickets done, send everything out, and you're feeling pretty good because whether or not everyone else is in the mood to work, you are and you're ready for a good night.  Once things pick up, it's business as usual and you're rolling with the punches and making sure everything is getting out on time - whether that be with the rest of the food on the ticket or on the fly because the server forgot to put it through.

And then suddenly you hit that moment when, regardless of how good you're feeling, someone else isn't and they're determined to take it out on you.  It's amazing how one person's bad mood can bring an entire shift down.  They're having a bad day and so they snap at you.  You in turn get frustrated and maybe you even shut down a little bit.  By the time service is over and you've cleaned the kitchen and are walking out the door, it's obvious to everyone that you're not in the same mood you were in when the shift started.  So what happened?  To put it simply, you hit a block and you stopped.  

I grew up watching and obsessing over college football (War Eagle!) and one of the things that always defined the Southeastern Conference was tough defenses and offenses that relied on a running game.  Because of that combination, one thing that was always talked about was "yards after contact" or the number of yards a running back could gain after the first defender attempted to tackle him.  Often times you'd see a running back get hit by one defender and he would spin, fight and push to stay up.  But it wasn't just staying up that mattered — he kept pushing.  Still on his feet he'd surge ahead to gain more yards.  The really great running backs could do this despite having to break one, two, three tackles.  They simply pushed through.

It's no different when you hit an emotional or mental block in the kitchen.  Sure, the chef snaps at you and you want to shut down.  But you have to look ahead and think about all the yards you can gain after contact.  Sure, it might seem like shutting down punishes the person who yelled at you unnecessarily, but really, you're only punishing yourself and everyone else who wasn't involved.  So no matter how tempting it is to stop when you hit that first block, resist the urge and keep on pushing through because when you do, you're giving yourself the chance to recover the service and have a great shift.

Notes:

— Last night was the night of the braised brisket sandwich and the blueberry salad.

— Lately our hanger steaks look like they were butchered by, as Teddy put it, "a blind 5-year-old with a butcher's knife"; it makes breaking them down and portioning them a real pain in the ass.

— I think rapini is my favorite vegetable ever, which is huge since I'm obsessed with vegetables of almost every kind.  But red chili flake is a must with sauteed rapini; otherwise it just doesn't taste right.

— The closer we get to inauguration week the more I start to think that it's going to kick all of our asses.

a change of direction

So because my schedule is so weird it's been hard to keep this blog focused on what I cook at home.  Mostly because I don't cook at home as often and when I do it's usually pretty simple or I'm not thinking and forget to take pictures.  Based on that reality check, I've thought about refocusing the direction of this blog.

One of my favorite blogs to read is called line cook. and it's become a favorite because of its honest, thought provoking, and hilarious take on the life of a restaurant cook.  So while it's highly unlikely that I will have as many deep insights or hilarious moments to share, I do think that blogging about cooking at work and that aspect of my life will better accomplish the intended purpose of this blog: to chronicle things I discover, learn, and love about food and cooking.  I'll still have some stuff in here about non-work cooking but since work is where I do most of my cooking it makes no sense to exclude it from what I write about.

This week was a long one: 52 hours on my feet, 27 of which came in just two days (Friday and Sunday).  Weeks like this make me feel lucky that I do get one weekend day off and yet, my Saturday still involved a trip to Granville's so I suppose it doesn't entirely count as a day off since I apparently can't seem to stay away.

Despite being a long week, it's been a pretty good one at the restaurant.  This week has been the week of sauces.  Gotta make a sauce for the côte du jour and the poisson du jour each day and, as small as it is, I have to say that this is one of my favorite parts of being the opening chef.  

I've always loved sauces because I think that, while a protein can be perfectly tasty on its own, the right sauce can often add the perfect accent.  I also think that sauces can be difficult and are an important test of a cook's skill for two big reasons.  The first is that making sauce is an exercise in balancing texture and there's a very small area of perfection and a vast ocean of wrongness on either side.  A sauce that's too thin is messy, weak, disappears within the dish and, at its worst, makes everything a soggy wreck.  A sauce that is too thick, on the other hand, is goopy, ugly, unevenly distributes flavor to the food, and has an extremely unpleasant mouthfeel.  But a sauce that has found that perfect niche is heaven: velvety, rich, luxurious, and is the perfect accent to the food.

Aside from the texture issue, there's flavor to contend with.  Making a sauce that tastes good on its own is one thing but it's not necessarily the best thing.  The sauce should be flavored and balanced to suit the food it's accompanying.  Finding the right balance of fat, acid, salt, sweetness, etc. to match whatever the sauce is accenting requires constant adjustment, tasting, and refining.  It's why, in kitchens that operate on the traditional French brigade model, saucier is an extremely important job and is often where one of the strongest cooks will be stationed.

So, that said, I'm taking this new opportunity of being opening chef three days a week to perfect sauces.

Specials for the week: (this part is going to be something I'm using to chronicle the specials I came up with for that week...if nothing else to help me remember those that were really good and which ones didn't work)

Grilled Beef N.Y. Strip with Dijon Cumin Vinaigrette — did this sauce with both the beef ny strip and a bison sirloin; there's just something I love about the tangy flavor of dijon and the smokiness of cumin matched together

Fried Rainbow Trout Filet with Lemon Basil Aioli — probably my favorite sauce of the week; lemon plus fried food = classic, lemon and basil aioli = rich AND refreshing

Arugula, Goat Cheese, Macerated Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Lemon Vinaigrette — strawberries + goat cheese = heaven

Grilled Bone-In Duroc Pork Chop with Chilli Cream Sauce — roasted poblanos, rehydrated guajillos, garlic, cream, cumin, and coriander; this sauce reminded me of something and I can't figure out what it is but I loved the flavor

What I'm Reading: The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten.  He's one of my favorite food writers (his columns are my favorite part of Vogue and one of the main reasons I subscribe) and easily the best judge on Iron Chef America.  A collection of various essays and pieces he's written over the years, the book is funny, smart, educational, and a beautiful tribute to fantastic food writing.

a slice of fall

It's been a while since I've written anything and it's certainly not for lack of cooking.  I worried for a while that if I cooked for a living it might cause me to become less enchanted with cooking at home.  But that's not the case at all.  It's changed the way I cook but in no way has it diminished my love of cooking or my desire to spend time in my own kitchen.

In a restaurant so much of the work is about time.  Sure things need to be done right and they should look appealing and taste delightful but there is always that I take joy in spending 4-5 hours on my days off creating a meal.  While it may not involve me spending every minute of those 4 or 5 hours in the kitchen, I've come to enjoy the little luxuries of home cooking: reading for 45 minutes while a chicken roasts, watching a movie while tomato sauce simmers away for hours, lingering over a glass of wine before doing the dishes, savoring a luxurious dessert wine and not having to worry about the next item on the prep list or the next ticket in the window.

Another way that working in a restaurant has changed the way I cook is that, while I've always enjoyed cooking for others, I'm learning to take joy in cooking for myself.  Restaurant cooks spend a lot of time trying to please others and cook to the tastes of a customer.  Less salt, no salt, add onions, no onions, substitute gruyere cheese for cheddar, add both gruyere and cheddar, no bread, sauce on the side, use oil instead of butter, etc.  With so much time spent trying to make the diner happy, I find that it's nice to come home and cook exactly what I want.

So all of that said, I've certainly been doing a fair amount of cooking.  Some of the things I've made lately include:

- Thomas Keller's Favorite Roast Chicken

- Maryland Rockfish with Oyster Mushroom and Black Truffle Cream Sauce

- Red Curry and Coconut Risotto

- My Perfect 4-hour Red Sauce

- Sweet Corn Risotto

- Eggplant and Zucchini Fries

- Lasagna Bolognese

- Pasta with Tuna and Roasted Pepper and Caper Tomato Sauce

I'll certainly be posting more about some of these items as I continue to perfect my red sauce and my lasagna, however, tonight I just want to mention the dish I had this evening since it was the perfect supper for a lazy Saturday and the fall weather we've been having lately.

Butternut Squash and Rapini Pizza

Another trend in my at home dining is that I've been cooking more meatless meals.  This is largely for two reasons.  First, I work in a restaurant now so I'm kind of poor these days and since meat is expensive, I enjoy creating meals out of vegetables and grains.  Now that fall is upon us, I have been craving butternut squash.  The sweet and creamy taste of butternut squash just says autumn to me.  So this weekend I decided to make a pizza that would celebrate the delicious flavor of my favorite fall veggie.

Since - as I've noted many times before - I'm not too big on the baking, I decided to go ahead and use some pre-made pizza dough.  So I hit up one of my favorite Italian spots, Vace, and bought some of their pizza dough.  When it comes to buying pizza dough, I generally opt to go with a place that actually sells pizzas (and it's always good to sample the merchandise, so you know it's delicious).  Most any pizza place will sell you some dough for a few bucks (cheap huh?) although a lot of grocery stores sell pizza dough as well.

Once I had the dough it was time to figure out the toppings.  I knew I wanted to make a white pizza (i.e., no red sauce) and I knew I wanted butternut squash but what about the rest of the toppings?  First I rolled out my dough on a floured board and then I sprinkled some cornmeal on one side and then, flipping it over so the cornmeal was on the bottom, placed it on a sheet pan (the cornmeal helps prevent sticking to the pan).  Then I spread olive oil and minced garlic all over the crust.  For the cheese, I put on some shredded smoked mozzarella.

Next came the veggies, I added thin slices of butternut squash that I had roasted in olive oil and red chili flakes.  Then I put down some rapini that I had chopped and blanched.  The finishing touches were a little bit of fresh goat cheese crumbled on top and a dusting of red chili flakes.  Right before putting the pizza into a 500 degree oven I brushed the crush with some olive oil and sprinkled it with a little kosher salt.

I baked the pizza on the top rack first until the cheese began to melt.  Then I transferred it to the bottom rack so that it would get nice and crisp.  Once the cheese was melted and bubbly and the crust was nice and crisp I removed the pizza from the oven and let it rest for a minute or two.  I cut myself two slices and took a bite.  The sweet butternut squash, smoky mozzarella, and slightly bitter rapini were a fantastic combination of flavors.  The small, tangy pockets of goat cheese sprinkled all over the top added another layer of flavor and the crust was buttery, crisp, and salty.  In short, it was my perfect fall pizza.

I do think I would change a few things next time though.  For one thing, I would add a little molasses or maple syrup to the roasting squash, just to get another layer of sweetness.  I would also change my cheese.  I love the smoky flavor of mozzarella but fresh mozzarella has too much water I think and the texture when it melts isn't exactly what I'm looking for so next time I would probably use a smoked gouda.  But on the whole, a delicious fall dinner and a perfect way to enjoy pizza without having to go out or order in.

farewell dinner for Taylor

Farewell dinners are always sad, especially when it's for a great new friend you wish you'd gotten to spend more time with this summer, however, if you're gonna send a girl back to the grind of law school (at Harvard no less!) you may as well make sure you send her off with a good meal.  So when it came time to make a goodbye dinner for Taylor this past Saturday night, T and I decided to do our best to make it one to remember.  

Saturday morning T decided to be awesome and procure some fab raw materials for our meal.  He got swordfish and scallops from BlackSalt, perhaps the best fishmonger in the DC area.  The first time I used their scallops, on Degustation Day, they looked so beautiful and smelled so fresh and perfect that I wanted to eat them raw.  But I resisted (although I think they would be divine in ceviche) and so course one of our dinner for Taylor was my bacon-wrapped scallops with serrano chile and garlic sauce.  They turned out delicious, as always.  I generally try to avoid patting myself on the back but I really do love this recipe.  If I had to pick one dish that I'd want to represent the best of my culinary skills with, this would probably be the dish.  They are smoky, sweet, salty, and spicy.  

As a great pre-dinner drink (and also along with our first course), I picked up a bottle of 1 + 1 = 3 Cava.  This sparkling wine is from the same producers of one of my favorite rosés.  It's light and refreshing, not sweet, but not super-dry and intense like some champagne.  And, more importantly, it's the only sparkling wine I've ever seen T drink and enjoy.

But enough about that, on to course two!  So T decided to prepare the swordfish by searing it with a fantastic spice rub and three different sauces.  The first was a delicious relish of corn and roasted red pepper that was smoky, sweet, and super light.  It complimented the fish without competing against the spices in the rub or the meaty texture.  The second sauce was a mushroom cream sauce made with matsutakes.  The mushrooms were dried and then rehydrated which made them a bit tough but the flavor they gave to the cream sauce was smooth and earthy.  The third sauce was the real standout.  T made a gooseberry gastrique that was tart, spicy, sweet, and basically heavenly.  He used similar spices to the mix I put in strawberry rhubarb sauce from Degustation Day since we discovered that allspice, star anise, and cinnamon together with fruit is a wonderful thing.  This gastrique's slightly sweet, tart flavor complimented the spice rub on the fish in a phenomenal way.  I could have had double portions of just the fish and that sauce it was so good.

As amazing as the fish was, we did pair it with two sides.  The first was a salad I made of tomatoes, basil, a sauteed shallot vinaigrette, and chunks of the always amazing fresh mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy (yay local producers!).  This is a take on one of my favorite summer foods, insalata caprese.  A traditional caprese salad is usually just tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella arranged and drizzled with some very good olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.  However, I decided to give mine a bit of a twist by making a shallot vinaigrette.  I minced some shallots and sauteeed them in a bit of butter and olive oil until translucent and soft.  While I let them cool down, I whisked together some dijon mustard and champagne vinegar.  To that mix i added some salt and pepper and then streamed in oil (I was using canola since we were low on olive oil) in the classic vinaigrette ratio of about three parts oil to one part vinaigrette until I achieved a nice emulsion.  To finish, I tossed in the shallots, whisked some more to combine and then poured the dressing over the tomatoes that I had cut up and put in a bowl with some basil.  I let the tomatoes and basil sit in the fridge and soak up the vinaigrette and just before serving I added the chunks of mozzarella.  It's a simple salad but really fresh and it tastes like summer in a bowl.

Our other side dish was one that T made.  He made divinely smooth chipotle mashed potatoes that were creamy and rich with a subtle hint of smoky spice.  But we couldn't stop there.  With the deep fryer sitting on the counter just calling out to us we decided to experiment.  I kneaded some flour into the mashed potato mixture and fried small bite-size balls of the mashed potatoes.  They were the perfect bite and definitely something I would not mind having as an appetizer with any meal (we filed that one away for our restaurant menu).

Once dinner was done it was time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of our time with Taylor.  T fired up the hookah and we enjoyed a serving of one of the most sublimely smooth dessert wines around.  All in all, a fantastic meal and a great evening.  Now we'll just see if it can be topped when Taylor comes back to visit in October.

interesting news from France

Recent news from France shows that rosé is the new favorite wine of the French.  Which makes me smile.

the times they are a-changin'

I've borrowed from Bob Dylan because it quite adequately describes life these days. For those that don't read the non-food blog, this has been a crazy week. Tuesday I was fired from my job working for a food retail trade association. It was a big shock because I've never been fired from anything in my life before, but it was something that I wasn't that upset about and I was pretty okay with. I had been unhappy in my job for a while. Nonetheless, I still needed a job. Fortunately, the week before I was fired I had lined up interviews for Wednesday (the day after I got fired).

Well, the good news is that I got offers from both of those interviews. The even better news is that I have accepted one of them and will be living my dream and cooking at one of my favorite local restaurants, Granville Moore's. If you're not in the area or just aren't familiar with the place, it's fantastic. The best mussels I have ever had (granted, I only just started eating them again a year ago after a 10 year fear) and tons of great Belgian beer on tap. Their chef, Teddy Folkman, recently took on Bobby Flay in a mussels Throwdown (and beat the Iron Chef I might add). He's also one of the coolest people I've ever met and so I'm pretty excited he'll be my new boss. He's someone that did the same thing I'm trying to do (i.e., giving up the desk job life to go into the kitchen full time) and so he's supportive of what I'm trying to do.

I'm super excited about this opportunity and feel blessed to not only get this chance but also to have a super-supportive boyfriend, family, and group of friends behind me. So that's my big news. More cooking posts to come soon...

degustation day: a recap

Most people spend the Fourth of July relaxing, enjoying the company of family and friends, barbecuing, having drinks and fun, and possibly lounging by a pool. Not T and I. Sure there were friends, drinks, and fun. But there was very little relaxing.

While talking during the day on Wednesday, T mentioned the possibility of doing another restaurant weekend. So as the conversation turned to what dishes we would serve for another restaurant weekend, we had so many ideas that we decided to spend Friday cooking tasting portions of a number of dishes we wanted to consider for restaurant weekend. And then we also decided to try out another idea T's been wanting to play with: a reverse potluck. This would involve party guests bringing an ingredient and T and I being charged with preparing a dish with that ingredient. I was on board with both ideas so we decided that Thursday night we'd go shopping for the ingredients we'd need for the dishes we wanted to try and then Friday morning, around 11-ish, we'd start cooking. The only rule was: no recipes allowed. We could use recipes but only if we were modifying them enough to make them completely our own.

I'm going to avoid a long introduction about planning the dishes and shopping and just get right to the food since, between the dishes we planned and the ingredients people brought, we had 15 dishes between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. So without further ado, I'll get straight to the recap. I've put down as much info about the preparation and ingredients in T's dishes as I can recall but with two of us working on multiple dishes at the same time I'm sure there's stuff I missed. However, I've tried to give detailed info about my dishes and hopefully T can go into more detail about his preparations over at his blog.

Course #1 Lemonfish and Halibut Sashimi (Tahir)

This dish involved T preparing 4 thin slices of halibut and lemonfish each with a different flavoring: olive oil, Hawaiian Alaea sea salt, truffle oil, alder wood smoked salt. The halibut made a rich and buttery sashimi while the lemonfish was a bit dense. But the simple preparation let the flavors of the fish shine through.

Course #2: Mussels (Tahir)

T prepared these mussels by steaming them in a divine sauce of white wine, sriracha sauce, pineapple, ginger, and garlic. The sauce gave the mussels a great flavor that was sweet, hot, savory, and addictive.

Course #3: Bacon-wrapped Scallops with Chile Garlic Sauce and Chilled Pea Soup (Alyse)

The scallops were marinated in garlic, serrano chiles, olive oil, and chili powder. Then I wrapped them with bacon and seared them in bacon fat on each side until they were browned, removed them from the pan and placed them in the oven to finish cooking. In the pan I added the olive oil, chiles, and garlic I had reserved from the marinade and a bottle of pomegranate wheat beer and let the mixture reduce until it had formed a glaze-like sauce. I spooned it over the finished scallops and sprinkled on some chopped cilantro.

For the pea soup, I modified a Daniel Boulud recipe for a chilled savory pea soup. His version called for bacon, garlic, leeks, celery, cream, rosemary and a mixture of green peas, pea shoots, sugar snap peas, and snow peas. I modified my version to use green peas and sugar snaps, leeks, fennel, a bit of white wine, cream, and fresh mint. The refreshing and cool soup had a vibrant green color and a smooth taste that balanced well against the spicy scallops.

Course #4: Fruit and Cheese Trio (Alyse)

This plate was about variations on a theme. I decided to pair three different sliced fruits each with a different cheese and sauce. At the top of the plate is a slice of goat brie topped with sliced nectarine and a champagne honey vinaigrette. The bottom right is a slice of Gorgonzola with pears that were poached in tawny port and star anise with a glaze made by reducing the port. The bottom left (and my personal favorite) is rounds of fresh chevre topped with sliced strawberries and a balsamic reduction. The tangy balsamic and sweet strawberries combined to make the fresh chevre taste like sweet whipped cream.

Course #5: Yellow Bell Pepper Soup with Poached Spicy Prawns (Tahir)

This dish was a sweet and savory soup made from roasted yellow bell pepper that was topped with prawns that had been spiced with mixture of Thai-influenced spices and garnished with cilantro. I wish I could remember the spices on the prawns but sadly I cannot. The combination of sweet and hot was delicious though.

Course #6: Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs (Alyse)

For this dish I patted the short ribs with a spice mixture of salt, black pepper, ground red pepper, ground allspice, ground green peppercorns, and coriander. Then I dredged them in flour and seared them in hot oil on the stove until they were browned on all sides. Next, I removed the short ribs and in the same pan sautéed a mixture of carrots, onions, leeks, thyme, and bay until the vegetables were starting to soften. In went one can of beef stock, two cups of red wine, and then I let the ribs braise in a 300 degree oven for about 3 hours. After that I removed the ribs, strained the sauce (reserving the carrots from the vegetable mix) into a pan. I skimmed the fat and reduced the sauce by about half. To serve I placed the carrots and ribs in a bowl, spooned the sauce over, and garnished with chopped parsley. The ribs were super tender, if a little fatty, and the carrots were delicious. Next time I'll skim more fat from the sauce and add more red wine and let the sauce reduce more to develop a more glaze-like consistency. Still, this was a comforting dish that would be great for a cold winter day.

Course #7: Fried Lemonfish with Peach Aioli (Tahir)

Tahir breaded hunks of the lemonfish in panko and a mixture of spices then deep fried them golden brown. They were served with a peach aioli made from egg, peach, and oil. Deep frying the lemonfish made it lighter and it had a juicy and meaty taste. The sweet peach aioli and the crispy fish were a refreshing combination. I actually think I may prefer fried lemonfish over other more traditional options like cod.

Course #8: Baked Halibut with Sautéed Beet Greens and Salad of Watercress and Heirloom Tomato (Tahir)

For this dish, the fish was dusted with spices, and placed in a parchment pouch with olive oil and fresh tarragon and baked in the oven until done. It was placed atop beet greens (from the beets Jazmin brought) and that had been sautéed in some oil and soy sauce. They were served with a salad of diced heirloom tomato tossed with watercress, olive oil, salt, and pepper. The salty, umami taste of the greets went well with the meaty and spicy halibut. The tomato and watercress salad was a refreshing accompaniment.

Course #9: Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad (Alyse)

For this course, I took the beets Jazmin brought and roasted them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Once they were done, I let them cool and tossed with crumbled chevre, champagne honey vinaigrette, black pepper, and chopped tarragon. The result was taste that was a mixture of sweet, earthy, spicy, creamy, and tangy. A very simple salad with a really complex taste.

Course #10: Spicy Stuffed Eggplant with Gorgonzola and Spinach (Alyse)

Both Jazmin and Taylor brought eggplant so T and I decided we would each do one eggplant dish. For mine, I cut an eggplant in half and drizzled the top with olive oil and salt and roasted it in a 375 -degree oven until it started to collapse and the flesh was soft. Meanwhile, I sautéed diced tomatoes and lots of garlic in olive oil then added chopped spinach, salt, and pepper. Once the eggplant was done roasting, I scooped out the eggplant flesh and combined it in the skillet with the tomato and spinach mixture. I let it cook until the eggplant had softened a bit more and taken on a bit more color and then placed the mixture in a bowl. There I added crumbled Gorgonzola, grated parmigiano reggiano, and red pepper flakes. I stirred to combine and then scooped the mixture back into the eggplant halves and topped with panko breadcrumbs and baked until the breadcrumbs just started to turn golden brown. This dish came out creamy, spicy, and rich. It was great on it's own and I would definitely make it again using smaller Japanese eggplants to create individual sized portions.

Course #11: Sous-vide Duck Breast with Orange Jus (Tahir)

For this dish, T spiced the duck breast and placed them in a pot of water to cook. Meanwhile, he created an orange jus that was reduced and plated alongside the duck breasts. The duck was delicious when it first came out but he took the blowtorch to the second duck breast to crisp the fat a bit more. With the crisp fat, the savory meat, and the sweet orange jus, this dish was elegant and rich.

Course #12: Slow-cooked Whiskey Short Ribs with Pineapple, Tomatoes, and Jalapeno (Tahir)

So T and I had discussed doing short ribs, however, we apparently had some miscommunication in Whole Foods because both of us got short ribs at the meat counter and so we ended up deciding that we'd each do our own version of them. I did the oven-braised red wine version that we had for course #6 and T did this version in the crock pot. They cooked for over 4 hours in a mixture of whiskey, pineapple, jalapeno, tomato, kaffir lime leaves and spices. Once they came out they were incredibly tender with a taste that was sweet and hot and smooth. Definitely an interesting and flavorful take on classic slow-cooked short ribs.

Course #13: Fried Eggplant with Mozzarella and Heirloom Tomato (Tahir)

This was the second of the two eggplant dishes. I cut one of the eggplants into large slices and salted them to remove the bitter juices. Then T breaded them and deep fried them. He then topped them with mozzarella and baked them in the oven until the mozzarella melted and turned golden brown. The final garnish was a topping of chopped heirloom tomatoes. The fried eggplant was rich and buttery and with the creamy cheese and fruity tomatoes - this dish is one that I would love to order at any bar after a few drinks.

Course #14: Mango Gazpacho (Tahir)

So, into every life some rain must fall. And into every 15-course tasting meal some smoked paprika must fall. And by "some" smoked paprika I mean "A LOT" of smoked paprika. T started this mango gazpacho by blending mango, jalapeno, ice, cilantro and smoked paprika. Unfortunately, the smoked paprika was a bit heavy and ended up making the first batch a bit overwhelming. However, he added in some jicama and that mellowed things out a bit. This ended up being a fruity and very spicy soup that would be good in a small portion. Although the paprika was overwhelming, the mango and jicama play well together and could definitely work as the base for another cold soup attempt.

Course #15: Vanilla Ice Cream with Blueberry Compote and Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (Alyse)

So Andrea's contribution to the reverse potluck idea was an amazing assortment of dessert friendly goodness: rhubarb, strawberries, and blueberries (and gelatin, which was a good thought). And even more weirdly, I was the one who made it. I rarely ever make desserts. Mostly because dessert usually equals baking and I hate baking. I don't own measuring spoons and I have one measuring cup. For that reason, I generally leave the dessert to T. However, the one kind of dessert I can do pretty well is fruit + ice cream. Usually this is something simple like my mom's trick of cutting up berries and sprinkling with Grand Marnier (or orange juice) and then putting them over ice cream. Or just eating them plain. Lately I've taken to a slightly more advance approach of cooking my fruit. I've had success with simmering peaches in bourbon so I decided to try my hand at this dessert. I love strawberry and rhubarb together and figured I'd try to make something semi-patriotic as well.

In one pot I sautéed the rhubarb with a little butter until it had softened, then I added the strawberries, some sugar, a splash of balsamic vinegar, star anise, allspice, and cinnamon. I let this cook until the fruit was soft and the compote was thick. For the blueberries, I cooked them in butter, sugar, vanilla extract, star anise, allspice, and cinnamon until they started to break down and release juice. Then I added the gelatin and let the mixture cool and thicken. To serve, I plated a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some of each compote, and garnished with mint. The blueberry compote was tart and smooth from the vanilla with the subtle hints of spice. The strawberry rhubarb was tangy, sweet, and really absorbed the combination of the star anise and the allspice and had a subtly spicy taste that balanced well against all the sweetness of the fruit. Both of those are definitely keepers.

So there you have it: twelve hours, fifteen courses, no recipes, a lot of wine, and a lot of fun too. It was exhausting, but challenging and rewarding as well. Many thanks to T for the experience and lending his kitchen and to everyone else who came, ate, and brought ingredients.

summer food favorites: part 1

Okay, so I know after the summer lovin' post I promised recipes. But then Melissa asked about rosés and it gave me a chance to wax poetic about wine for a bit and that is something I just couldn't resist. But now, as promised, recipes!

These are all some of my favorite summer foods and I wanted to be sure and share them. However, one thing about summer is that, with so many great foods in season, not everything needs a lot of work to make it tasty. Sometimes the simplest presentations are the best. So first, my favorite recipe-not-required items and then in Part 2 (a forthcoming post) I will provide some recipes for a few more complicated dishes. Also, as an aside, many of the recipes mention the grill but if you don't have a grill you can always use the broiler (you'll just have to keep an eye on it since anytime I use a broiler I burn things) or you can use a grill pan. I have the square Le Creuset pan and it's great for those times when I'm just cooking for myself or am not able to get out and grill. My mom has the double-burner reversible Le Creuset one and it's ahhh-mazing (it also has a griddle side...which is great).

No Recipe Summer Favorites

1. Fresh corn - There aren't many things that embody summer more than fresh corn. It's bright color, delicious crunch, and sweet flavor pretty much make make it the perfect summer food. There are a lot of ways to enjoy it but one of my favorites is grilled. You don't really need to do anything to it. Elise (great name) over at Simply Recipes has a great post on how to grill corn.

photo by Flickr user Greencolander

Another great grilled corn preparation is to partially shuck the corn (i.e., pull the husks back but don't completely rip them off) then mix some chili power and lime zest in a bowl with some softened butter. Slather the ears with the chili-lime butter and then close them back up in the husks. Toss them on the grill and proceed as before. This is a fantastic way to enjoy corn since it sort of bastes in the chili-lime butter and comes out with a bright, spicy flavor.

2. Asparagus - Here in Virginia, asparagus season is April - June. Sure, you can get asparagus pretty much all year round, usually flown in from California or South America, but there is just no beating the taste of fresh, local, in season asparagus. I'm not sure why but it just tastes better.

Photo by Flickr user dboy

With regards to preparation, there are lots of ways to go but there's really only one way I ever eat asparagus and that's grilled/roasted - my mom got me hooked and I've just never have found anything I like better. And it couldn't be easier to prepare. First, I take asparagus and trim off the woody ends. The best way to do this is to take a stalk and bend it gently until it snaps. Then throw away the bottom portion and save the top part of the spear. You can do this for the whole bunch or, like I do when I'm lazy, do that for one stalk and use that one as a "guide" for where to cut the others. Once your stalks are trimmed, then toss them in some olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If you're grilling, toss them on the grill and move them around occasionally until they are just tender. If you're roasting, toss them on a parchment lined baking sheet, pop them in a 400-degree oven, and proceed. If you think you don't like asparagus, I would ask you to just try it this way once. I have it on authority from a former asparagus-hater that it tastes great this way.

3. Grilled Garlic Bread with Gorgonzola - There are few things in the world that I love more than bread and cheese. And although it sounds like a simple food, there are so many variations on it that it's always easy to find something new and delicious. From slices of baguette with melted raclette to toasted wheat bread with fresh chevre and honey there are many times when I can (and do) make a meal solely from bread and cheese. One of my favorites is grilled garlic bread with slices of creamy, tangy Gorgonzola.

photo by Flickr user kochtopf

I start with a baguette and slice it on an angle. You can make the slices as thick or thin as you like but I generally go with about a quarter-inch thickness. Then I lay the slices on a plate or sheet pan (depending on how many) in a single layer and drizzle them with olive oil. You don't need to totally coat each slice, just a good drizzle over all the bread will do. Then I place the slices on a hot grill, oil side down, and cook until they start to brown on that side. Next I give them a flip and let them cook until golden on the second side and then remove them to the plate/pan. I take cloves of raw garlic that I've peeled and cut in half and I rub the hot slices of bread with the garlic. This is a great way to make garlic bread because the hot bread draws the oils from the garlic and it gives them a good flavor without being overpowering. Once the slices are all done and have been garlicked (yep, that's real word) I top them with a slice of Gorgonzola (you want a wedge that can be sliced, not the crumbles used in salads and such). The crunchy garlicky bread and the creamy tangy Gorgonzola are a fantastic and palate-awakening combination. It's bad for the breath but hopefully you're with someone that's eating it too or someone who loves you enough that even garlic and Gorgonzola can't scare them away.

And there you have it, three of my favorite super-easy summer dishes. Next post, some more complex recipes, including two desserts (for those who know me, I generally avoid making dessert like the plague...since I am bad at it)!

rose suggestions

So after the last post, Melissa asked for some suggestions on rosé wines for those that may never have sampled them before. I only started drinking them a year ago, so my knowledge is far from expert, but I have attended two tastings with the always amazing Christy at Food Matters and so I can share some of what I've learned there. First a few basics about rosé, some that I learned from Christy and some things I've noticed on my own.

1. Always serve them cold. I'm often told that Americans tend to drink our whites too cold and our reds too warm but Christy's suggestion was to serve rosés quite chilled.

2. Age matters. A good rosé is one to two years old. Three years is on the edge. So that means this year you'd want either a 2006 or 2007 vintage.

3. Go with what feels comfortable. These are just a few things I've figured out on my own, not wine law by any means but they have seemed to work for me. Since I don't know as much about rosé as I might about other wines, I have learned to stick with trying new ones from regions with which I'm already acquainted. For me this means France, Spain, and the Pacific Northwest mostly. I'm not saying there aren't outliers. One of my favorite rosés is from South Africa. But I've also had a rather insipid one from New Zealand. I also try to stick with rosé made from grapes I'm familiar with: cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, cabernet franc, syrah. I also have had some bad experiences with some rosés that are on the lighter pink side so I tend to go with ones that are darker colored (think raspberry or deep fuchsia).

On to specific recommendations for wines. I have 4 that I am willing to stake my reputation on recommending. I'll rank them in my order of preference.

1. Vina Aljibes Rosado (100% Syrah, Spain)

This wine is my new favorite rosé. The color is deep and rich and the smell is nearly irresistible. This wine smells like strawberries and caramel and the taste doesn't disappoint. The first taste is full of juicy berry tastes and, after you've swallowed, there's a lingering buttery caramel type taste. This is my perfect rosé for sipping. It's good with food but I enjoy it just as much, if not more, when I can enjoy its caramel and fruit flavors in a pure and unadulterated state.

2. A to Z Rosé (100% Sangiovese, Oregon)

This wine is the only American rosé on my list of favorites. I have tried a few others including a cabernet franc rosé from California but I haven't found any that I've been crazy about. This one, however, is the exception. It's got a lot of ripe fruit flavors - cherry, raspberry, strawberry - and a subtle spice to it as well. It's excellent with food and I particularly love it with grilled seafood.

3. U Mes U Fan Tres (1 + 1 = 3) Rose (100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Spain)

This is the very first rosé I ever fell in love with and it's probably one of the best wines around for summer barbecues. The first thing I noticed about it was it's deep color and intense aroma. This wine hits the nose more like a red than a rosé with a scent of currants, cherries, and a hint of a cocoa. It's got a big flavor to match and I recommend drinking it with food instead of on its own since the flavor is so big. It stands up really well to grilled meats and smoky flavors. Last summer T and I drank a bottle of this with some grilled chicken that had been marinated in our spicy tequila lime marinade and then basted with a bit of T's barbecue sauce (which has been officially named boomshakalaka by the way) and it held up beautifully and was a great compliment to the meal.

4. Mulderbosch Rose (98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, South Africa)

This is the lightest of the bunch. It's from the Stellenbosch region of South Africa which is often noted as the best region in that country for growing wines. The Mulderbosch winery produces some great wines including a really tasty Chenin Blanc. Their rosé offering is no disappointment. It's got a crisp, fruity scent and the taste is a refreshing balance of rich berry and lively grapefruit flavors. This is a pretty easy wine to drink on its own but I also really love this paired with a great salad or some seafood.

So those are just my favorites. I hope you'll try some or all of them and let me know what you think. Happy drinking!!