The Top Chef Tour

One of my favorite things is to park myself in front of my television, dinner made cocktail at the ready, watching Top Chef. I love it. My mom loves it too, it’s one thing we share and we sit, phones at our sides to call during commercial breaks to dish and theorize and recap, but mostly to lament that we don't get to taste all that wonderful food. The folks over at BTC asked for volunteers in several US cities to go to the Top Chef tour when it rolled through town and I jumped at the chance to spend a half a Saturday getting some more Top Chef in my life. Saturday was a scorcher in Denver. The thermometer reached 99 degrees and I was plenty grateful to be in shorts and ball cap and not in long pants and a chef coat like Antonia and Ryan. They were both extremely nice and friendly and spent the fifteen minutes leading up to the demonstration signing autographs, posing for photos and talking to fans. You could tell they were both really enjoying their particular slice of fame. Having spent ten years working in the restaurant industry I can understand that. Rarely is this a glamorous business. Usually it is hot, sweaty work for long grueling hours. Antonia had prepared duck lettuce wraps for an earlier demo, and quipped about the difficulty of finding the ingredients she wanted, likening it to a quick fire challenge. Though it might be an inconvenience to pick up in the middle of their lives head out to Denver for the weekend, you'd never know it. Both chefs were extremely gracious and friendly. There were three shows scheduled for Saturday, I was fortunate to attend the third demo, hosted by Chef Ryan Scott. Throughout the demo he gave tips, sharing every trick he could think of to make us better cooks. For instance, make sure proteins are at room temperature before cooking. He was also sure to mention that when cooking meat in a hot pan, be sure to lay it in away from you as scars are stupid, not a badge of honor. To test doneness push the meat from the sides instead of the top, and slice against the grain Another tip, in response to a question from a lactose intolerant member of the audience, for a great corn chowder; after cutting the kernels off the cobs milk the cobs with the back of a knife, use the "milk" from the corn instead of cream. For great mashed potatoes add the potatoes to cold water, bring up to boil and then add salt. Instead of adding milk (cold milk can make potatoes gummy) add some of the reserved potato water and butter when mashing. Ryan, grinning ear to ear and talking a mile a minute made crostini topped with pickled cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and flank steak. Ryan's Crostini: 1 c. vinegar (any kind you like) Boil w/ 1 c. sugar and set aside Bring 1 c. oil up to temperature and throw in some slivered garlic and ginger (not paper thin!) Bring the oil off the heat and add the vinegar mixture Chiffonade some basil, add to the tomatoes, and pour the hot mixture over the top Crostini is toasted baguette with olive oil, salt and pepper Whip one pound of goat cheese with one cup of cream, some parmesan cheese and salt Spread on toasts, top with a thin slice of steak and some pickled tomatoes It was a great Saturday, and it was amazing to taste the food, I can't wait to try out this recipe at my next party.

Living A Bit Above Our Tax Bracket For The Weekend

Friday night Jill, Shelly and I piled in the car ( Murph too!) and headed up to a little town called Aspen. It was the weekend of the Food and Wine Classic and we were planning on hanging out in town, hitting the pool at The Sky Hotel, and volunteering to set up and tear down tables at a charity event at the Belly Up in exchange for tickets. All that would have made for a great weekend in itself, but then Katie went and did us one better. While she and Jill went to set up tables for the charity event... Mak and Jill went to Snowmass to see Mick Fleetwood and have a little faux-date... They snapped some photos... And shared a bottle of wine... Shelly and I went to the Saturday afternoon tasting! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever. We had wine, small tastes of food, enjoyed the A-MAZ-ING weather and unbelievable people watching. I swear I almost peed my pants when we saw Wiley Dufresne (then again sitting next to us at the worst breakfast ever the next day, shame on you Little Nell...), and Shelly practically jumped up and down screaming when we saw Hung. We met up with Jill and Kate and ended up at the concert later that night (a super fun Stones cover band), it was quite the debauched evening... Which ended with us at the Hotel Jerome acting like kids at four in the morning (the room was comped, we never, and I mean never, could have afforded a room at the Jerome on Food and Wine weekend) Capped the weekend off on Sunday with a very posh pool party, and then, when we finally made it back to the house Sunday night... The charming Mak had a gorgeous Thai dinner waiting for us.

More Chicago Stuff

I'm kind of torn between telling you guys about how great my weekend was and keeping it all to myself. I had the best time in Chicago with Josh and I can't wait until I live there, I really think I'm going to love it. Well, in the summers at least. Saturday morning after the Lincoln Park farmers market we whittled away the morning at the zoo and the conservatory. Josh bought me a Sponge Bob Square Pants Popsicle for breakfast. We made some little kids jealous, they had to wait until after lunch, oh it's good to be a grown-up. When Josh's brother told us that Amber was in the bar I got all nervous and excited. I know, I know, pathetic. He said I should go say hi, but I stayed put on my bar stool. Instead she came to us. I didn't ask her any questions about Rock of Love, but I wished her good luck. Josh sat back and rolled his eyes at me, but humored me nonetheless. Josh took this picture of me at the conservatory. I know it's little cheesy and glamor shots-esque, but it's still very pretty. It cracks me up just how often Josh has his eyes closed when we try to take a picture. There is one picture from his trip out to Colorado in May where his eyes are closed and I'm making a ridiculous face that he has framed in his apartment that just cracks me up. Oh Berg. As cliched as this sounds, drinking coffee and sharing the Sunday paper outside on a beautiful morning is a little bit of heaven. Thank god for umbrellas, though we were still all wet when we arrived at our destination. Public transportation is also the tops. The trains and buses just run all the time. Wonderful. I was a little nervous about meeting Josh's best bud Byron. I'd been reading his blog, and I'd kind of assumed he'd been reading mine. He was every bit as charming in person as I'd expected. We ended up at a neighborhood RibFest, drinking beer, sampling ribs, willing the rain away... Oh the rain, just look at that crazy frizzy hair!

Where DO You Think We Are, Exactly?

Josh: Do you have Greek food here? Me: Um, yeah. Josh: Do you have Ethiopian food here? Me: Um, yeah Josh: Do you have... um... I can't think of anymore Yeah, and I'm the uncultured bumpkin. (We're in Denver)

Last Night's Win

Rockies 13- Diamondbacks 5 Thanks Rockies, that means Taco Bell is having 4 tacos for a dollar. And that means I'm having tacos for dinner tonight.

Hmmm

Do you think melted cheese tastes different that cheese that hasn't been melted yet? I can't decide. I know that toast tastes different than bread because toasting the bread actually changes the chemistry. I love toast. But I can't decide about cheese. The texture is different, sure, but the taste? I just don't know.

Sushi and Sunshine

This is what I woke up to (bright and early) Monday morning: Like every morning, brush the teeth, walk the dog, head off to work. It looks like a closet bomb went off in my bedroom. Vow to do laundry and clean up this mess when I get home from work today. And I would have, I swear I had the very best intentions.... But the circumstances and the amazing weather conspired against me. And instead of laundry and vacuuming I opted for a nice walk with these two lovelies. Our walk took us down to Cherry Creek for sushi at Sushi Tazu. The weather was so nice in fact, that we opted to dine on the patio in the sunshine. I was clearly channeling 1993. A little tempura.... A crazy roll with eel, avocado, tomato, yellow pepper and mozzarella cheese (!!!!)... And a soft shell crab roll later we strolled back to Suzie's house. Overall I feel that one less thing crossed off my to-do list today is a worthy price to pay for such a lovely afternoon spent with friends.

Tuesday With Jill and Sarah

On Tuesday night I actually made it up to Boulder. Sarah volunteered her much more winter in Colorado appropriate SUV and drove us up. The drive up was a little treacherous, but by the time dinner was over the roads were fine. Sarah and I met Jill at The Kitchen [Upstairs], a comfortable space in what used to be a small book store, we had some wine and snacks. We all started with a glass of the red Vin du Jour ($5) Tuesdays wine was a palatable Shiraz-Grenache blend, and shared House Cut garlic Fries ($3) and Macaroni and Cheese ($4) and The Kitchen Tomato Soup with olive oil ($3). The fries were perfect, thick cut and piping hot topped with shaved garlic, the mac and cheese left a lot to be desired, the soup was silky and tangy. We talked about boys and work and made eyes at good looking college boys at the next table. The Bartender joined us after a bit and was charming and funny and friendly. The four of us shared three entrees for supper. Flat Bread – with la quercia prosciutto & burrata cheese ($15) So good, the flat bread was really light and crisp, the prosciutto nicely salty, and the cheese creamy and fresh. Red Snapper – with parsnip puree, baby spinach & preserved lemon tapanade ($26) The snapper was replaced with some gorgeous tuna, grilled medium rare, it was good, but the potatoes with tapenade stole the show. I'd never considered this flavor combo before, but I just may throw some lemon zest and kalamata olives in nest time I make mashers. Coleman Ranch Hanger Steak – with french fries & greens ($24) I was french fried out at this point, but the marinated hanger steak was so good that I actually moaned aloud when I took my first bite. I wish I had the recipe. I have certainly been enjoying The Bartender's company lately. He is fun and funny and thoughtful. But the thing is, and I was the same way when I was in the industry, he's just a little too... "I'm the guy" if you know what I mean. We go out and he knows everybody and has to schmooze, and a lot of these everybodies are hot young women. I'm not jealous, because we're just getting to know each other, and he is so obviously interested in me, and so cute about it. We said good night and he kissed me on the cheek, then later sent me a text asking if that was OK. Cute.

Dinner, an Experiment of My Own Design

1. Navy beans take a really looooooong time to cook. Even after you soak them overnight and then boil them for 10 minutes before throwing them in the crock pot like all the recipes say. 2. Chicken sausage on the grill is delicious. 3. I am a genius when it comes to creating a flavor profile. Really, you should be jealous of my natural abilities.

Hump Day?

Well, not for me, maybe we should rename it "I can't believe it's only Wednesday" day. Ach, listen to me bitch all the time. I have a great life, so shut me up. I have felt nothing but guilt about those potatoes from yesterday, so tonight I had a piece of meatloaf and a huge serving of spinach for dinner. The potatoes I portioned out and froze. I figure next time I'm hungover and I'm just going to eat junk food all day I can bust out these potatoes. They'll hit the spot (I'm all about what hits the spot when I'm hungover), and I won't feel guilty, because I'd be eating a billion calories anyway. As for the Blondie's, I think I'll cut them up and bring them to work tomorrow, that way they'll be out of my house and I won't eat them all.

My Week in Food

Last night I felt like cooking up a storm. I decided to make casserole-y dishes that I could reheat and eat all week. I was also apparently in the mood for some old fashioned comfort food, and before you send me a bunch of e-mails concerned for my health and my cholesterol, let me just say I know, I know. I don't usually eat like this. I'll just have to put in some extra time in the gym this week. And next week. Now for the food: First I made some cornbread. It was OK, not spectacular. In defense of the cornbread, the bottom was nice and crunchy and the inside was nice and crumbly (but moist). It may have just paled in comparison to the riches ahead, read on... Next, Potatoes Au Gratin. I'd never had this before, as it's not the kind of food my mom ever made, and I usually have enough common sense not to cook up a big batch of potatoes drowning in cheese. Holy cow Potatoes Au Gratin are good. So good in fact that I have vowed never to make them again, lest I weigh 200 pounds by next summer. But I would not begrudge you some Potatoes Au Gratin: INGREDIENTS * 4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices * 1 onion, sliced into rings * salt and pepper to taste * 3 tablespoons butter * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 2 cups milk * 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1 quart casserole dish. 2. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the onion slices, and add the remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil. 4. Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Really you should cook this as long as necessary for the potatoes to be cooked all the way through. Mine took 2 hours, and I took off the lid for the last 1/2 hour. These potatoes are amazing. Make them soon, just don't make them often! Oh, some awesome spinach. A little bit of half and half (thickened with a roux), sauteed shallots, a dash of nutmeg and a drizzle of truffle oil, bake until bubbly, best spinach ever. This I will also not be preparing often, too much fat in half and half. I usually prepare spinach with sauteed garlic and a dash of red wine vinegar. Just as good but without the added fat and calories. Meatloaf. In my family we have this running joke about how bad my mom's meatloaf is. When I was growing up she made one terrible meatloaf after another (then threw them out and ordered a pizza) until she just stopped trying because my dad and i refused to try anymore. It turns out that this inability to make a good meatloaf runs in the family. I can't make a good meatloaf to save my life, and I can cook anything, usually very well. So in the past few years we've been joking about our failed meatloaf attempts, and trying out some new recipes. My mom made this meatloaf that she really liked, forwarded me the recipe and I tried it out. I think it's Paula Dean's Recipe, so thanks Paula! 1 pound ground beef 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper 1 egg, lightly beaten 8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats Topping: 1/3 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon prepared mustard Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix all meatloaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf. Topping: Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour. Pretty good, basic recipe. We topped with bacon for a little more flavor, but for me something was still missing. I'm not sure what, a little tweaking and time will tell. I'll definitely use this as my base recipe from now on. Finally, dessert. I never make dessert. I don't bake, I don't have much of a sweet tooth (I prefer salty or cheesy), but I read this recipe in an old issue of Food and Wine (it's kind of like my porn) and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I finally gave in and made a batch. I wish I hadn't, they are absolutely heaven, and it made a really, really big batch so now I'll probably eat the whole thing and get really fat. It might actually be worth it. Ingredients * 1 stick unsalted butter, softened * 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar (1 pound) * 3 large eggs, separated * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract * 2 cups all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces) * 1 cup salted toasted pecans (4 ounces), coarsely chopped directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-inch jelly roll pan. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with 1 cup of the brown sugar at medium-low speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until moist crumbs form. Add the chocolate chips and pecans and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed. 2. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and press to form an even layer. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase the speed to medium high and beat in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, a small handful at a time, until the meringue is soft and glossy, about 7 minutes. Spread the meringue all over the dough and bake for about 25 minutes, until the meringue top is golden and crisp. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Would anyone like to come over for dinner this week? I have plenty, and it's all really good, come on over, I'll heat you up a plate...

Yum

Thursday of last week Jill came over for dinner. Because Jill is my favorite guinea pig, I tried out 2 new recipes. The first was cold steamed cauliflower with a white wine vinaigrette, the second, linguine in the easiest (and delicious) clam sauce you could think up. Both of these recipes are (adapted) from my most favorite cookbook, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks With Wine. It is my favorite of Jeff Smith's (The Frugal Gourmet) books. It has really great recipes and suggested wine pairings. Did I mention really great recipes. I haven't made anything yet that I don't like. White Wine Vinaigrette 3/4 c Dry White Wine 1/2 c Olive Oil 1/4 c White Wine Vinegar 1 t Oregano 1/2 t Dry Mustard Salt and Black Pepper Shake it all up in a jar and keep in the fridge. NB for Jill, the reason we thought it needed more acid is because it did need more acid. I accidentally used rice wine vinegar (too sweet) instead of white wine vinegar. Spaghettini in Clams and Cream Sauce 2 Garlic cloves (I use more, refer to my well documented love affair with the garlic) 4 T olive oil (I use a little less) 2 cans minced clams (Definitely use minced, better texture with the sauce than chopped) 1/2 c half and half (Don't eat this every day) 3 T dry vermouth (my absolute favorite ingredient this year) Salt (I don't use it) Pepper (I use tons) Parmesan cheese (the reason I omit the salt, I like a lot of cheese) Saute the garlic in the oil, add clam juice (but not the clams yet) and reduce it way, way down Add the rest of the ingredients, toss with pasta when cooked. I prefer linguine to spaghettini, so that is what I use. It is so good.

Cheeseburger!

Mmmmmm. Big Jim (Ancho) Chili's and tomato from my parents garden, grilled onion, lettuce and cheddar. My friend Frannie came to visit, and all of the other pictures I took were overexposed, but at least I got this photo of dinner. I'll see if I can mess with one of the pics and salvage it, I know Frannie was excited about his Maiden Metallurgist debut!

The Highlight of My Week

On the weekend, I worked a bit, but mostly relaxed. And I needed it. I can't believe how much I slept. When I wasn't sleeping I sat outside and read, or turned on the A/C and watched movies. I had a Harry Potterathon and hung out with my buds. Ever since I got the patio furniture, if I can't find my cat I check outside, and lo and behold there she is curled up on the seat. When the A/C is on, Murph and Kitty both hunker down and snooze. My folks came over yesterday, and prior to their arrival I was making my bed. Kitty was sitting in it and wouldn't move, so I began to make the bed over her (usually gets her moving). This time though, I tossed the sheet over her and tucked it in, followed by both a blanket and a coverlet, but she wouldn't budge and didn't for about two hours. Not until I came in with the vacuum. I thought it was funny, and I don't have a lot going on right now, give me a break. My parents brought with them some of the bounty from their garden. Tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, anahiems, jalapenos, kuta suqash and a baby eggplant. The kutas are going to be great on the grill. Those jalapenos will spice up an omelet on Saturday morning. And this is probably the coolest, a Black Beauty, a black bell pepper.