tweet

I recently joined Twitter. I'm still not sure I really understand it--or rather, understand the hype, but I'm in. I can't stand to be left out.

One of the people I follow is China Millman, the restaurant critic for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Thanks to her tweet this morning, I saw that she has a new blog on the PPG site. You can find it here. The most recent post is about more accolades being heaped onto, as you know, one of my favorite restaurants ever...Eleven, how I love thee. I work for the same parent company as Eleven, and speak to and email the chefs there pretty often. Sometimes I send them fan letters. Sometimes I let it slip that I have a chef-crush on Chef Derek Stevens. Sometimes then he doesn't write back, and possibly is afraid. I have that effect on people.

I'm actually visiting another of our restaurants this evening--Kaya, here I come! It's always delicious. I've been looking at the menu this morning trying to decide what I'll enjoy later. It's hard to decide. The tuna dish that I tried of E-dawg's that pushed me into pescatarianism is on the menu. I might have to get that. But the Edamame and Shittake Risotto sounds pretty fantastic, too. Oh, dang.

In other news, Barbara and I went down to the WV/PA border last weekend, and met up with my parents to visit a ramp festival. It was great to see them, and the ramp offerings were yummy (well, most of them--I suggest you avoid the ramp wine). I got sunburnt to a crisp, and forgot to buy fresh ramps when we were leaving, but it was a success apart from that. I just realized that my pictures are on another computer, so I'll have to post them later.

Anyhow, have a nice weekend, folks. xoxo

the best of times, the worst of times

It really has been a mixed bag lately. On the positive side, things with my lady have never been better, I got my tax refund within 5 days, and bought myself a brandy-new laptop, had a stellar dinner out at Kaya the other night, and am still slowly making progress towards my goal (15 pounds down). But, now I'm laid out with the slow and steady descent of a kidney stone through my system. Luckily, it's not this kidney stone (thanks, Kramer). But, I just feel pretty cruddy. And, I had a dream last night that I passed it, and it already had a little thingy on it so that it could be put on a necklace. Weird.

I want to write more, and show off my new laptop, but I just don't feel very well. So, I'll do that later.

yikes!

Wowza. I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd blogged. I've thought of it often, and have wanted to, but life kept getting in the way.

Work, as always, has been kind of insanely busy. And, non-work, too. Barbara, my number one lady, was hit by a car while biking to work at the end of August. She's okay, but had some broken bones, some sprains, and lots of bruises and scrapes. It was so scary. If you're a biker, please always wear your helmet. If you're a driver, be cognizant of bikers on the road. The week before Barbara was hit, the E-dawg was, too. Just three blocks up. In the bike lane. By an uninsured driver. Effed up. She's okay now, too, and back to running races.

Also, in the meantime Hurd celebrated her big 3-0, and Mags celebrated her 30-something. A big wish for a lovely year for both these fine ladies. They've enriched and enhanced my life in countless ways, and I'm forever indebted to their mothers for birthing them, and raising them up right.

In other friend news, Nowlzie is going to be doing some birthing herself soon! I cannot wait to meet this little guy. He's going to have the best parents in all the land, and undoubtedly going to be quite the handsome fella.

And, for food, I've been doing some fabulous eating over the past few months. I've been hitting the Kaya Veggie Dinner monthly. I've known about this for a couple years, but had never made it. Now I'm completely hooked. August's dinner was seriously yumazing. September's dinner was not quite as good as August's stellar offering, but it was also really great. And, it's just always a fun night with friends over a leisurely dinner. And, it's always extra fun that the chef, Danielle Cain, stops by to say hello. She's super sweet, as well as a really gifted chef. Her two sous chefs are also really fantastic, Dave and Jason always put out some great dishes also. in fact, we're still all talking about Jason's dessert from August--grilled local peaches with a Point Reyes blue cheese ice cream, candied pecans, and blackberry coulis. Really, really great. The next dinner is next Wednesday, October 15th. I think (hope!) they're going to publish the menu today or tomorrow. I can't wait to see what they have planned. It's always fresh, largely local ingredients prepared in really interesting and beautiful ways. Yum.

And, one more big Burrito-related item, and I'll be done plugging. big Burrito is hosting an event, big Benefit, supporting the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank this Sunday, October 12th. 100% of the food revenue for that night's dinner will be donated for this third annual event. It's a great way to have a lovely evening with fantastic food, and also support a super local organization.

Okay. Enough big talk.

I'm excited about the season change. I love--LOVE--summer produce and the bounty, but I'm thrilled that the weather is changing (although not the early darkness; that's a bummer), and I love the new seasonal additions to my CSA and the farmers market. Winter squash, apples, pears, the last of the foraged mushrooms, and the cutest vegetable of all--the brussels sprout. I haven't seen any sprouts yet at the market, but I'm hoping they'll be here soon. They're best picked after the first frost. I can't wait.

In the meantime, I've renewed my love affair with the butternut squash. Last night I prepared a big one, by slicing it in half, seeding it, and cutting out a big hollow in the stem part (the most difficult and time-consuming part of this dish. everything else is easy-peasy). I did a small dice of the squash flesh I'd removed, tossed them with a little splash of olive oil and a little splash of balsamic vinegar, and some sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and covered them with foil, and baked at 350 for about 20-25 minutes--until it was tender, but not falling apart. And, with the two whole halves of squash, I put a little honey and cayenne into a baking dish, and put them cut side down, and put about 2T of water in, covered them with foil, and cooked them for about 40 minutes, until very tender (the time depends on the size of your squash).

In the meantime, I cooked some red quinoa (you don't have to use red, it just looks really pretty with the other ingredients). Then I tossed about 3 c. of the quinoa with the cooked, diced squash, about 1/4 c. of freshly grated parmesan. While the quinoa was cooking, I lightly sauteed about 1/3 c. of chopped onion, about 1/4 c. of this gorgeous fragrant celery (with the leaves) that I got at the market, a clove of garlic, a splash of olive oil, some chopped fresh sage (about 2T), and some chopped fresh parsley (also about 2T). I folded that into the squash-quinoa mixture.

I melted some butter in a pan, and browned some whole wheat panko bread crumbs, and put that on top, and popped the whole thing back into the oven for about 15 minutes. When that was done, I scooped it into the halves, and served it with some chopped fresh chives on top. It was beautiful, seasonal, and absolutely delicious. I wish I was a better photographer.


Welcome, Autumn. I salute you.

oh, life.

I've sure you're sick of reading me say it, but I've been so busy! Work is kicking my ass, there are always a million things to do around the house, a million things to do with family and friends and assorted obligations and responsibilities and the like. In sum, I'm tired and no end is in sight.

But, I have been eating and cooking a little along the way. Some highlights along the way have been...

1. this Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake from (guess where!) 101cookbooks.com, Heidi Swanson's blog. Barbara and I, along with the E-dawg, went to dinner at some friends' house last week, and had a lovely evening with lovely food. One friend eats a gluten-free diet, so when I saw this recipe I knew it was the winner. Even those among us that hate goat cheese (I know! Blasphemy!) loved it. My photo of the cheesecake right out of the oven isn't as pretty as Heidi's, but it smelled so good I almost dug in right then.


2. While I was on a zucchini-grating bender for the cheesecake, I decided to play around with making some veggie pancakes with all my zucchini. I grated a few zucchini, drained them (and squeezed more moisture out for good measure) and a couple potatoes. Threw in some minced onion and herbs (dill, parsley, chives and basil), a couple beaten eggs, some freshly grated parmesan, salt and pepper and about 1.5 cups of flour. Mixed it all together, and dropped it by heaping spoonfuls into a skillet that was over medium-high heat with some olive oil. I served these with a drizzle of crema, and they were really tasty! And, they were so easy and nice, I have been thinking of all sorts of variations with different vegetable and herb/spice combinations.


3. Roasted Quinoa with Potatoes and Cheese from Mark Bittman's, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. He said that boiling and then roasting the quinoa would give it a crispy, nutty texture. Some of it on the edges was, but mostly it was just like quinoa when you just boil it. However, I did take it out halfway to go pick up Barbara (and loosely covered it with foil), and then put it back in the oven, so it definitely was user error. It was pretty and colorful (would've been more colorful if I'd had red bell pepper; I used green), and tasted really good. It was plain-ish, but nice in a stick-to-yer-ribs way. The cheese definitely made this. I just used a straight-up cheddar because my lady doesn't like smoked cheeses. I had some gorgeous baby purple potatoes from the farmers market, some red potatoes and a Hungarian hot wax pepper from my CSA, so I used all those.

Roasted quinoa with potatoes and cheese (from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman)
(4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb small waxy potatoes, like fingerling, new red, or Peruvian purple, peeled if you like, and cut lengthwise into wedges
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
salt
3/4 cup of quinoa
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup scallion, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1-2 tbsp minced fresh chile (like jalapeno or Thai) or add hot red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste
6 oz cheese, preferably smoked like gouda, cheddar, or mozzarella, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup minced parsley for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Grease an 8 x 10 inch roasting pan with a tbsp or so of the olive oil.

2. Put the potato wedges and garlic into a large pot with water to cover, salt it, and turn the heat to high. When the water begins to boil, stir in the quinoa. Adjust the heat so that the water boils assertively and cook, stirring once or twice, for about 5 minutes.

3. Drain the quinoa, garlic, and potatoes in a strainer, but leave them fairly wet. Spread them into the prepared pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and gently toss with a spatula. Spread them out again. Roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Gently toss again, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender on the inside and golden on the outside.

4. Add the scallion, bell pepper, and chile and toss everything one last time. Taste and adjust the seasoning, keeping in mind that the cheese will add some saltiness. Spread the cheese over all and return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

4. Peach ice cream. I'd already made some peach frozen yogurt, but last week we had a great scoop of peach ice cream at Kaya, and had been thinking of it since. So, I made some yesterday with the recipe from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I mean, it tasted good, the texture was nice, but with the sour cream in the recipe it just made it taste tangy like frozen yogurt. I wanted strictly sweet creaminess this time. I LOVE frozen yogurt, and the tanginess is the biggest selling point for me, but I wanted ice cream this time. In fact, I still do. I might have to do another batch this week because I made some delicious blackberry syrup that is crying out for ice cream.


6. Blackberry Soda. As I mentioned, I made some blackberry syrup yesterday. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I got two pints of gorgeous blackberries from the farmers market, and had read some recipe for a fresh blackberry lemonade or cocktail or something a few weeks ago. So, I cooked them down with a little water, some sugar and a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and decided to make a blackberry soda. The syrup tastes fantastic on its own, but then I realized you can't just add that to perrier and expect a miracle. You have to add a lot more sugar to sweeten up mineral water. So I did. It was good. But, next time I'll just use a ginger ale or something. I'm having some friends over for drinks and a game of Foodie Fight on Wednesday. I'm going to make some kind of Blackberry Fizz.


And, after we have drinks and game fun, we're heading to the monthly Vegetarian Dinner at Kaya. The menu looks fab. I can't wait! (and will report back...).

more summery goodness

Last week a co-worker got to talk to Lynne Rosetto Caspar! He'd called in with a question, left a message, and then got a call back with a time to call in and speak to Lynne herself, to possibly be aired on The Splendid Table. So cool! He suggested I call in about my mint conundrum/fascination. Speaking of, I asked a farmer from Goose Creek Gardens (a local herb farm) at the Firehouse Farmers Market (where he was selling spearmint, peppermint and chocolate mint--and who'd supplied the spearmint in my CSA last week). He said that spearmint was his default, and he felt like it just went better with most things. So, the debate continues...

And, speaking of the Firehouse Farmers Market, I got some delicious stuff this week in the Strip:
-Next Life Farms: poona kheera cucumbers, a mix of baby tomatoes, a bunch of red and purple (I think Cherokee Purples?) tomatoes
-Blackberry Meadows: a big basket of white (?) potatoes with this odd peel-y skin (pretty starchy and really tasty, yellow-y flesh), a bunch of parsley, a bunch of Thai basil
-Goose Creek Gardens: some little greens that I was really excited about, and now can't remember what they are for the life of me
-Mushrooms For Life: chanterelles
-Najat's Cuisine: the best hummus EVER
-Puckerbrush Farms: some really fantastically sweet bread and butter corn and a small bag of fresh figs

And, not at the market, but also in the Strip:
-those unbelievable flour tortillas from Reyna
-some Cheddar-Onion bread still hot from the oven from Sunseri
-yummy coffee from 21st Street Coffee

In a word: Mmm.

So, beyond just hunks of bread, and thick slices of tomato, I did a little cooking this weekend. More from the vein of my summer cooking style--don't mess with it too much because it's hot in the kitchen and already pretty perfect the way it is.


D'oh, that dinner got rabbit ears!


dessert:


That dinner is potato taquitos--based on the Mad Mex version that I constantly crave, tomato salad, cucumbers with dill, Mexican street corn (Ellen calls this "goopy corn"), and carrots with a honey-dijon glaze. Fresh peach frozen yogurt with blueberries for dessert. And mint iced tea (spearmint, fyi).

The peach frozen yogurt is SO easy, and it's a peach party around here right now! To make yourself some...

4-5 ripe peaches
1 32oz container of your favorite organic plain whole-milk yogurt
about 1 cup of sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
1/2 t. vanilla extract
a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Puree in a blender or food processor most of the peaches (save a couple for the end so you'll have some chunks) with all the rest of the ingredients. When the mixture is well blended and the sugar is dissolved, add in the last 1-2 peaches and puree for just a few seconds so you have some fruit chunks. If it's already well chilled, put it right into your ice cream maker, and follow your manufacturer's directions. (mine takes about 20 minutes!). If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can follow David Lebovitz's instructions here.

Wow. I was just looking around this site, and this recipe jumped out at me. Dang. (E-dawg--this sounds like one for you, too). Barbara got me his book (along with my fantastic ice cream maker--mine actually came with two freezer canisters. so awesome) for my birthday. It's so amazing. I need to make some ice creams--I've been fixated on frozen yogurt for months, but ice cream's good, too, right? I need to make this SOON.

Oh, and the corn that I mentioned above--in the style of Mexican Street Corn? I think I've mentioned this before (recently), because I'm obsessed with making corn this way, but here's what you do:

Boil some water (I put in a bit of salt and sugar in the water; I'm not sure why), and cook the shucked corn for about 5 minutes in boiling water. Remove it, and slather on some crema (Mexican sour cream. You can find it locally at Reyna--make sure to get the sour, not the sweet, kind), crumble or grate some cojita cheese (again, you can find this at Reyna--2031 Penn Ave in the Strip; don't forget to get some of their housemade tortillas while you're there), sprinkle with some kind of chili powder or cayenne (I've been using a chipotle chili powder), and serve it with wedges of fresh lime. Give it a squirt, and eat it up until you're too full to move. Such a wonderful flavor--the sweet corn, the sour, creamy crema, the saltiness of the cheese, and the bite of the lime. Perfection.

I had some great goopy corn at Kaya last week, too. The corn was roasted, and given a generation slather of chipotle aioli, sprinkled with Idiazabal cheese and served with lime. I'm going to (finally!) check out the Vegetarian Dinner at Kaya this month on the 20th. The menu has me drooling already.

yum.

Sorry about my lame post yesterday. I started it, then got busy, then was having connection problems, so I just gave up. Eh.

Things have been busy lately (when are they not?)--new job, pet-sitting, cleaning up my act at home (my apartment--now looking great!), out-of-town friends visiting, upcoming mini-break to NYC, etc, etc, etc. All good stuff, but I still have been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything. However, getting my apartment in shape is definitely helping with the mental clarity. And, I feel more like cooking when I have a clean place, for sure!

I've been really into sandwiches lately. For a long time I was sort of anti-sandwich. For no particular reason I can think of, but they never sounded good to me. But now, it's all sandwiches, all the time.

On Monday evening I used my brandy-new employee discount at Kaya to have dinner with my old pal Jen and her husband, Errol--here in town for a clay convention. Even before I mentioned that I was now part of the bB family, we were already getting amazingly friendly and fast service from our server, Chaz (who, incidentally, the next day had a new baby with his gf - welcome to the world, little Violet!). After I did mention that I was part of bB, the manager, the chef, and the chef from Soba all came over and introduced themselves to me. It was so nice! They made me look like rock star in front of my friends. And, the food was amazing. We started out with some Mango Mai Tais and tofu cracklins. I don't know what they do to the tofu cracklins, but they're the most amazingly fragrantly delicious little nibblets. Some kind of barbeque-peanut lightly sauced on perfectly pert and just a tiny bit crispy tofu cubes. They are awesome. And, then I had an avocado-egg sandwich, which was also fantastic. And, the chocolate-banana bread pudding is off the hook! I got home afterwards, sat on the couch, and was immediately asleep. Visions of delicious Carribean-inspired dishes dancing in my head. Yum.



I made a sandwich for dinner last night, too. I had some lovely fresh shittakes, so I sliced them thinly, and sauteed them with some onions in a little olive oil and salt for about...maybe 12-ish minutes? Until the onions were soft, translucent, and just starting to brown, and the mushrooms were golden. Then I set them to the side, and grilled some wheat bread with some smoked cheddar. Spread that with some roasted red pepper-eggplant tapenade-ish stuff. Had that with some Russian Banana fingerling potatoes that I roasted with a little olive oil, pepper, and a salt-spice blend I made with some herbs de Provence, tarragon and grey sea salt, served with a dollop of aioli. Washed down with a cold glass of cinnamon sweet tea. Yum.


Okay, now go home and make yourself a sandwich.