Corned Beef Hash with Poached Egg March 29, 2008

I apologize for the awful photo. Sadly my camera of five years [Canon Powershot S50] broke last week. This is the camera I take all my blog pics with. It was working fine then the next minute it wasn’t. Of course I discovered this after I plated my corned beef hash. What a disappointment! But the Canon D30 was around and I tried to use that, very unsucessfully so. I just can’t seem to make it work.

So that’s why my corned beef hash doesn’t look too appetizing. Only if you saw it in person. And ate it in person. As I’ve mentioned before corned beef hash is one of my favorite dishes and since I had so much corned beef left over from St. Paddy’s Day I had to make my own batch of hash. I sauteed the beef in butter and added salt, pepper & scallion. I browned the potatoes in another pan so as not to crowd one pan and then plated them together. I topped that with my first poached egg ever. Just a slight pressure to the egg yielded a river of warm yolk over the meat and potatoes.

Next up after corned beef hash was corned beef melt. This got rave reviews although it was the simplest of the corned beef derived dishes. The components were white hamburger buns, sliced corned beef, strong English mustard, gruyere, salt and pepper. You’re probably wondering why hamburger buns but they were sitting in my freezer begging to be used.

Finally with the last bits of corned beef I made an omelet filling. That would be corned beef, red onion, scallion, peas, and sharp cheddar. I made that this morning and it was awesome. Hello, my name is Susan. I am a corned beef addict.

Dinner for the Folks March 28, 2008

Often when my parents have relatives or friends visiting they ask me to cook dinner for them. My immediate answer is usually maybe since I would have to give up a chunk of my leisure hours to undertake the project. But then my mind gets churning with ideas and I start thinking of menus. There’s no turning back at that point. Plus since my parents would be paying for the ingredients I have an opportunity to be a bit more extravagant than usual [although trying to convince my parents they must have Champagne and caviar on their menu hasn't come to fruition]. My great aunt and uncle were visiting recently and here is what I cooked for them and my parents…

Gougere – Lillet Blanc

I started off the meal with hot gougeres straight from the oven accompanied by a glass of lillet blanc on ice. Gougeres will be the death of me – I inhaled three as soon as they were puffed, browned, and crusty on top. As you can see these were huge.

Scallops, Forbidden Rice, Braised Endive, Vandouvan Butter – Donna Luna Fiano

Next was seared scallops served on forbidden rice with braised endive and a drizzle of vadouvan butter. To my delight Julie got me a bag of vadouvan, a French curry mix, from Le Sanctuaire for my birthday which inspired this dish. I paired this with Donna Luna Fiano which I previously had with my truffle butter pasta. The medium body of the fruity wine and the touch of acidity paired well with the butter sauce and the touch of citrus in the curry spice mix.

Romanesco Veloute, Foie Mousse, Crispy Pork Belly – Domaine La Bastide Roussane

For the third course I served romanesco veloute with a quenelle of foie mousse and deep fried slivers of pork belly. I was planning to make the foie mousse myself but once I got to the store they told me I had to preorder them. Duh! So instead I got premade foie mousse I think from D’Artagnan, which actually saved me some time and sanity. For the soup I made a light veloute sauce in which I simmered the romanesco florets. Once tender I put the mixture through the blender and sieve to ensure a velvety texture. Then finished it with butter, cream, and egg yolks to enrich and thicken it. This dish was inspired by the veloute and royale I had a Manresa. Taking a cue from their wine pairing I wanted to pair my veloute with a Roussanne also. Simon over at Larchmont Village Wines chose the inexpensive Domaine La Bastide for me which went great with the velvety soup and the bit of rich foie mousse.

Red Wine Braised Beef Tenderloin, Aligot, Shiitake Frites – Red Shed Cabernet Franc 2004

The final savory course was beef tenderloin that I had seared and braised in red wine and beef stock. I served it with aligot potatoes and “frites” for a meat & potatoes or steak & frites kind of deal. Aligot is a potato dish from Auvergne, France, made with tomme cheese and beat into an elastic texture that leaves it with a cheesy-stringy texture. I substituted Cantal since I could not find tomme d’Auvergne. I didn’t achieve the correct texture perhaps because I didn’t put enough cheese in. For about 2lbs of potatoes I put in 1/2lb of cheese. However the potatoes were soooo tasty. I mean really tasty. The “frites” were made my dredging shiitake slices with panko and deep frying them. I salted them when they came out of the oil. Simple as that and also very addicting.

Cowgirl’s Creamery Red Hawk & Gruyere

I added a small cheese course and served Cowgirl Creamery’s delicious triple creme Red Hawk and Gruyere.

Boca Negra with Dark Chocolate-Orange Ganache, Pistachio

Then finally dessert. I stick to easy things when baking since I’m really more of a savory person. I baked a boca negra which is a flourless chocolate cake loaded with chocolate and eggs and also a good amount of booze, in this case it was whiskey. I topped it with a warm dark chocolate ganache flavored with orange zest and sprinkled toasted and chopped pistachios on top.

There was a lot of room for improvement but in the end I was happy with what I cooked because more importantly the diners were happy.

SF – Coi March 27, 2008

Another memorable San Francisco meal was eaten by Boy and I at Coi. They do a eleven course tasting menu for $115 in their dining room but also have a lounge where diners can order off the lounge menu and even off the dinner menu a la carte. Boy and I chose to hang out in the lounge to have a light dinner and just to chill out. We had already done our huge tasting menu meal for the trip so we just wanted to relax. I started off with a glass of lillet blanc and Boy a glass of Duchess de Bourgogne.

Warm dinner rolls soon graced our table which we gladly gobbled up spread with creamy butter and sippin on our aperitifs. Then came our cheese plate (not pictured) which featured a cow’s milk, goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheese. Sorry I didn’t write down the names.

First dish to arrive was roasted beets with smoked salt, Bellwether sheep’s milk yogurt and cilantro. Boy and I have a chef friend who works part-time a Coi so we got this on the house. Although I’m not a huge fan of beets I still enjoyed the dish, especially the tanginess of the the sheep’s milk yogurt foam and the crunchiness of the smoked salt. I might try this combination out on a different vegetable.

Another gift from the kitchen was local wild mushroom raviolo with celery root, perigord truffles, hazelnuts and chervil. Delicious and the texture of the celery root puree was so smooth. The combination of the earthy mushrooms and nutty hazelnuts worked well together.

Next up was sea bream with citrus sauce and wilted lettuce. This was soo good! The skin was nicely browned and the acid in the sauce was just the right amount to complement the mild fish. I spooned all the broth into my mouth. Not a drop left.

Then came the highly anticipated (by me) slow-cooked soul food farm egg with chard, wheatberries, and brown butter-parmesan sauce. Eggs are one of my favorite foods ever and when they are slow-cooked with yolks warm and runny I am a happy girl. That’s exactly how this egg came. The yolk broke deliciously over the chard and wheatberries. Perhaps the foam can be repositioned because it makes the dish look kind of weird and I would love to see more of the egg. The hearty texture contrast that the wheatberries provided to the dish was lovely.

Lastly we had the pork loin with a variety of grains. The og name is lost to me. But more importantly that pork loin was so moist and tender. You can tell just by looking at it. The juices are practically bursting out of its seams. A mixture of grains was served with the pork to provide a variety of textures. I thought that was really clever. One of the grains was popped rice I believe.

I asked the sommelier (and Coi partner), Paul Einbund, to help me pick a wine for the meal that would be good to drink with all the dishes I ordered. After a brief discussion he was really excited to present me with Thiel Rotgipfler 1997, an Austrian white. It had a medium body that paired nicely with the egg and pork, and a touch of acid and nice fruit flavor.

Your Wine Lady describes it so:
This varietal is a Traminer and Roter Veltliner cross. This wine surprises one with its pleasant acidity, which makes this high-extract, high-alcohol wine harmonious and well-balanced. Its greatest quality is reached in good years with a late harvest or grape selection; then it has the greatest probability of gaining a fine mature level of acidity and a fine, sweet, and full-bodied taste.

I really enjoyed the Thiel Rotgifler with the food and Paul was great about answering any questions I had. He is so passionate about wine and also very fun and lighthearted about the whole thing. Coi lounge was a fun time with great food and wine.

SF – Stormy Saturday Adventures March 26, 2008

I knew it was going to rain the whole time Boy and I were in SF but was pleasantly surprised when we got up there on Thursday and got beautiful sunshine. Friday was also beautiful and I thought to myself what good luck! Then we woke up on Saturday… it was dreary, windy and cold and our LA butts were freezing off. But we were on a schedule – my schedule to be exact. Breakfast was to be had, the Ferry Building to be visited, salami to be picked up, and bahn mi to be eaten. Boy, I and friends braved the storm and headed out..

Canteen

I missed out on eating at Canteen the last time I was in SF but my plans were not going to be thwarted this time around. Dennis Leary, the chef, serves up top quality food in the most unpretentious environment ever – a tiny hole-in-the-wall old school diner. I would have loved to also have dinner there but only got to fit in a brunch which I gotta say was one of the bests I’ve had. I ordered the Chupacabra which was black beans, braised pork and eggs with salsa. I have a hard time passing up on a meaty dish like that even for breakfast. The beans and pork were tender and full flavored and the eggs cooked just perfectly, soft and fluffy.

Boy predictably ordered the Eggs Benedict. As you can see this one was a winner. Perfectly poached eggs and frothy hollandaise. Frothy! I really loved that part. And the fingerling hash had some pieces that were super crunchy and even a few that were “impenetrable” by a fork. Awesome.

Natasha ordered the Curried Fish Hash which came really saucey. The spices added warmth to the creamy sauce and the mild halibut. This was tasty. (I got to taste a bit of everyone’s dish. Yay.)

Brett got this gorgeous plate of Blueberry French Toast. The custard was rich and sweet and the bread nicely toasted on the griddle. The blueberry sauce was warm and the sweet cream cheese whipped and just completely mouthwatering.

The dinner menu sounds great right now too – Crab Quenelles with spiced onion puree and sorrel; Smoked Duck with duck liver toast, sweet and sour rhubarb, barley; Bigeye Tuna poached in olive oil, with spring vegetables and mint. I’m sorry I missed out on the dinner part. Only if Canteen was in LA!

Food & Wine Article on Canteen

Ferry Building

After our lovely brunch we headed out to the Ferry Building. I was supposed to pick up my order of salami from Fatted Calf but they had left 30 minutes early that day. I was so disappointed. Of course when I called them frantically while running like a headless chicken around the farmer’s market in the SF storm they said they are always there until 2PM. Hrmph. So the end of the story is I was soaked and salami-less. I was still going to enjoy the ferry though, starting with $1.50 oysters from San Francisco Fish Co.

I absolutely love perusing the goods at the Far West Funghi. I feel like LA is lacking in a really good mushroom vendor. Last time I bought mushrooms at the Santa Monica farmer’s market I paid $24/lb for chanterelles. That is just ridiculous. Whole Foods prices are also ridiculous and quality very lacking sometimes.

But look at these beautiful mushrooms. Great quality, variety and prices. I should become a spokeswoman or something.

I had to stop by the adorable Miette Patisserie. I was completely addicted to their shortbread cookies before but this time I am addicted to their peanut butter cookies. I could not stop eating them once I opened the bag. Very dangerous I tell you. I also tried a few of their macarons which had a stronger crust than other ones I’ve tried but no less tasty.

The Miette store is filled with not only adorable edible treats but also cute little cake stands and tableware stuff. Which although I would love to bring back to LA (along with a cake) it might prove difficult.

Saigon Sandwiches

Our stop after the Ferry Building was Saigon Sandwiches. You guys are probably feeling very full by now. Trying to eat good food all day is not an easy job!

But look at this sandwich.. would you pass up on it? I got the bbq pork bahn mi which was nicely spiced and cooked so tender and moist. It was a good little (perhaps not so little) snack before our evening nap and dinner. I thank Boy and friends for being such troopers and accompanying me on my mission on such a nasty weather day!

SF – Delfina Pizzeria March 23, 2008

During our arduous beer day in SF we did not forget to nourish ourselves in between all the delicious beverages. We stopped in at Delfina Pizzeria for a few thin crust pies and extras and noshing on the breadsticks while we waited for our food.

I love the simplicity of a margherita pizza and that it really depends on the quality of a few ingredients to make it shine. Delfina’s margherita was delicious with its sweet tomato sauce and super thin crust that was charred in spots. I wish the basil was torn up and distributed more evenly because the three wilted and mangled looking leaves looked kind of sad the way it came. We also got a clam pie which was good but just made me crave Pizzeria Mozza’s white clam pie which is amazing.

I was in need of some fresh and refreshing vegetables after our gluttonous dinner the night before and a very satisfying diner breakfast. The tricolore salad hit the spot – crunchy raddichio, endive and arugula was topped with generous shavings of parmigiano reggiano. Since we were sitting at the bar we got to watch the cooks in action makin their pizzas, deep-fried mozzarella en carroza skewers and beautiful cannoli. We could not find room for the amazing looking mini mozzarella sandwiches although we were dying to try them but there’s always room for dessert right? The sweetened ricotta, chopped pistachio, and crunchy shell was delicious but perhaps too much anise for my taste. I’m not too big on licorice flavors.

We stopped by at Tartine next door which was super crazy busy. I got a few cookies and got to gawk at their beautiful creation while waiting in the long line. I knew I wouldn’t have time to enjoy a huge gruyere gougere but wish I did! And the beautiful meringue cake caught my eye too. Love the big sweeping swirls.

SF – Beer Day March 19, 2008

ANCHOR BREWING

Boy’s and my second day in SF was full of beer and fun. It started at 11AM at Anchor Brewing where we went on their popular brewery tour. The brewery has history way back to the late 1800’s which is pretty amazing. It’s been through a list of different owners and in 1965 it was purchased by Fritz Maytag (of the Maytag appliances family) who saved it from going under. We even saw Fritz working in his office!

The tour was informative and fun as we got to walk through the whole brewery checking out each process in the beer making. And it ended with the highly anticipated beer tasting. I was surprised at how generously they were pouring their pours. Six beers about 8oz each. I didn’t get through all six – it was too much. The first beer poured was Anchor Steam and man was it good. So cool and fresh straight from draft. It was definitely a nice morning treat.

CITY BEER STORE

After our fun little brewery tour we were off to our lunch destination and Boy suggested we stop by City Beer Store saying “it’s on the way.” Beer establishments are often “on the way” it seems. Anyhow I’m glad we stopped by because it’s a cute little store with over three hundred beers for sale along with a few beers on tap for you to sip on while persuing their selection. An ingenious idea. I had a glass of Marin Brewing’s White Knuckle from their draft while gathering a bundle of lambics and gueuzes not readily available in LA. White Knuckle is Marin’s double IPA and we were pretty lucky to come across because Marin Brewing is distributed only in a few places these days. It was so frickin good and now I’m sad we can’t drink it in LA.

TORONADO

After lunch we had to stop by at Toronado, possibly Boy’s favorite beer bar ever. A few years ago when we were hanging out here sippin on our La Folie we witnessed the awesome beer drinking dog. I was hoping we’d see him this time around but no such luck.

However we drank some quality beers. I had a glass of Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, one of my favorite beers, and Moonlight Brewing’s Reality Czeck. Pliny the Elder is a double IPA. I’m a big fan of IPAs and DIPAs. I was hoping Toronado would have Pliny the Younger which is a triple IPA (although generally catergorized as DIPA). Both the Elder and Younger have an intoxicating hops aroma, floral and piny. The Reality Czeck was great too – nice malt flavor. It really reminds me of Victory Brewing’s Prima Pils, an excellent pilsner.

Corned Beef & Cabbage March 18, 2008

Hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!

My goal is to make the corned beef and cabbage meal an annual tradition for the Irish holiday. I’m only two years in but tradition is in the making. This year I tried out Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s recipe (last year’s was Suzanne Goin’s). The corned beef turned out ok but I wish the brine was a bit saltier and not so clovey. The meat wasn’t as moist as last year’s but not tragic at all. I made Goin’s mustard parsley sauce to go with the corned beef cuz I’m a condiment girl and cuz boiled meats need a punch. Now that I think about it Goin’s pairing of the mustard parsley sauce to corned beef reminds me of the classic Italian pairing of boiled meats with salsa verde. I wonder if that was her inspiration. As you can tell I didn’t use any pickling salt for my beef, mostly because I didn’t want to go look for it.

I also cooked up some parsnips, carrots, turnip and cabbage in the broth once the meat was done to get my fill of vegetables. Now I can’t have corned beef without some fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits. The first batch was horrible – the worst batch of biscuits I’ve ever made. However the second batch of the cheddar-scallion biscuits, which I cut up like a round of scone dough, turned out delicious. And it looks delicious too doesn’t it?

Now I have tons of corned beef in my fridge now and probably will have to eat it for an eternity. I’m looking forward to making some corned beef melts and corned beef hash though. Hooray!

SF – Dottie’s Tru Blue Cafe March 17, 2008

When Boy and I woke up Friday morning after having the spectacular dinner at Manresa the night before (and also not very smartly stopping by a bar for a very strong glass of beer) we were in desperate need of a hearty breakfast. In a few hours we would be off to the popular tour at Anchor Brewing which ends in a very generous beer tasting so a full tummy was in order. Dottie’s was pretty much engraved in stone into our SF plans because we love this hole-in-the-wall quirky diner and the uber delicious comfort food. Last time we were there I had the one of the best breakfasts ever – grilled Louisiana hot link, home fries, scrambled eggs, and griddled cornbread.. Just thinking about it is making me hungry.

This time around Boy got the Louisiana hot link and I chose the chorizo scramble off their specials menu. My eggs were no doubt delicious but I was disappointed because it wasn’t really a chorizo scramble. The sausage was barely seasoned with any spices at all. Once I read “chorizo scramble” on the menu I had started really craving it. Delicious still but not a chorizo scramble. I had a few bites of the hot link though and that made me super happy.

The portion sizes at Dottie’s is huge and you can see from our plates. Well the delicious food and the free coffee did their job. Feeling refreshed, full and awake we went off into the city for a beerfull day.

SF – 21st Amendment Brewery March 15, 2008

While I have my food needs Boy has equally important beer needs. After Manresa (my need) we stopped by 21st Amendment Brewery for a beer (his need). They are the brewery that makes that not so tasty watermelon lager. However they brew some damn good IPAs too which are right up my alley. I went with their double IPA, Hop Crisis. It’s got hops and it ain’t shy about it.

It’s also got some alcohol. At 11.8% ABV it was going to put me over for the night. I couldn’t finish my glass. After all I did have a few beers and twelve courses of wine beforehand. The Hop Crisis was tasty but I wouldn’t recommend it as a night cap.

It’s hard to believe now but having the Hop Crisis at the end of the night kicked up both Boy’s and my appetite! Unfortunately at that hour we could not successfully locate anything good to eat. Or even anything bad to eat. But it was a fun end to our first day in SF!

Tapas & Cocktails March 13, 2008

I apologize for the lack of posting! My head’s been loopy between the SF trip, my birthday weekend, and having relatives over. Yes I turned one year older! Twenty-seven to be exact. My friends Matt & Andrei graciously hosted a party in my honor. I decided to make it a tapas & cocktail party. You may be thinking I’m crazy for cooking on my own birthday but cooking for my friends always makes me happy.

Here was the spread…

pimenton stuffed olives, olive oil toasted almonds with fleur de sel

manchego, cabrales & honeycomb
(thnx tash!)

bacon shortbread, salchichon & chorizo

tortilla espagnol

romesco onion tart

arroz negro-shrimp croquettes, saffron aioli

cocktails:
*tangerine juice, maker’s mark, limoncello, cava
*asian pear puree, gin, elderflower liquer, lemon wedge, cava

Yes I made those irregularly large ice cubes. My friend Imani volunteered to make the ever so popular tapas, deviled eggs. It was seasoned simply with mayo, salt, pepper, and paprika, and topped with chopped piquillo. The party was also graced with Bunny’s delicious Champagne sangria.

All in all, a good party filled with good food, drinks and of course good company.