Man vs Cakes

Well, I promised drama in this wedding "Cake Week", and now I'm starting to wish I hadn't. I wish I had said something like, "Wedding cakes are a very simple process and are usually baked and assembled in a very calm and easy manner where nothing goes wrong." As it were, I have been a total self-fulfilling prophecy.

Today I finally began baking the brazillion sheet cakes I need for the weekend. Mind you, sheet cakes are not something that need to be left to the pastry chefs or even the especially talented baker. They are just sheet cakes- cakes that are baked on sheet pans. Somehow today these sheet cakes did not go very well- and when I say not go very well it is an understatement, but the words that would most accurately describe my time I do not use because they are not befitting of a lady.

See, what happened was this: today I discovered that MY OVEN IS SLANTED!!!!!!!!! How in the !#$#%#^%$ it took me this long to notice I do not know. I guess I just havent made very many kinds of dishes that exaggerated the angle. Well, the chocolate cake batter I used is delicious, but very liquidy before being baked. Soooo the first two sheets of chocolate cake ended up paper thin on one side and way thick on the other. I supposed I could have ran with it and made some awesome sculptural wedding cake, but I really just want squares- not triangles.

So I cleaned everything up, washed out my mixing bowl and set out to begin again with the intention of giving all my sheet pans a 1/4 turn to make the slant a little less *$#@#@$#. Good news: it worked well enough. Bad News: when I set out to mix another chocolate cake I ran out of flour AND vanilla AND cocoa powder AND milk AND lemons all at the same time. I guess I just didn't notice my supplies of all of the above dwindling at the exact same rate.

Anyhoo, it was getting close to "throwing the cake against the wall" time all too soon. I hadn't even begun decorating! So, I took a deep breath and embraced the opportunity to go on a windows down summer evening drive to the grocery store while listening to bluegrass on a local radio station. I came back, sucessfully made 4 beautiful sheets of vanilla cake and some lemon curd and called it a day.

Now I'm going to try my hand at my prophetic skills again....There's no need to even read my blog anymore this week. This wedding cake is going to be sooo easy and perfect and go so well that I'm not even going to have anything else to write about.

****************************************************************************************

Seattle's Gem for all Pastry Careers

I know that I have yet to begin to bake, but I HAVE gotten a lot done.  Yesterday and today I have been doing my supply shopping.  Goodness knows I am not the only "foodie" in Seattle, and this snobby city is full of posh, upscale cooking stores.  It's the home of Sur La Table, has good handful Williams Sonomas, and also a number of City Kitchens.  I went to none of these. I do not need nice displays, fancy lighting, and a mall setting to make a good cake.  I need good cake making supplies for a decent price.

For this I drive north past downtown to the "hardcore" shopping: Home Cake Decorating Supply Co.  This store is not only popular among bloggers and amateurs, but professional chefs with Pastry Careers as well.  Why, you wonder?  The store is set up in roughly 600 square feet of the biggest organized mess you have ever seen.  When you walk in, you have to squint your eyes just to make out a narrow walkway through the store.  What's stuffed in here is everything you can imagine that would have anything to do with baking cakes.  I kid you not- anything from half naked Barbie Dolls for princess cakes to pig shaped sprinkles to chess piece shaped cookie cutters.  

As much fun as it would be to see the wedding couple's faces when their cake was covered with piggie sprinkles, I avoided that section and went right for what I needed- the owner (or I assume is the owner, since she is always there).  I have no idea how to find anything in there, so it's Greil I find and annoy with all my "Ok, and also where is the...." And she knows, oooh she knows every inch of that store.  It's really amazing.

Actually, today my needs were simple so I didn't need that much help.  A few cake boxes, a couple piping tips and bags, some ribbon just in case I need to cover a big mistake in the last minute.  Now I feel most confident to start my actual baking and decorating!

Home Cake Decorating Supply Co

9514 Roosevelt Way, NE

Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 522-4300

Hours:

Tuesday- Friday 10-6

Saturday 10-4

Closed Sunday and Monday

Procrastination

I had great expectations for this week. Starting Monday, I would begin my slow and steady process of this wedding cake, and every day I would share with you my experiences. If you know me well enough you are now laughing your head off and thinking, "When does she EVER do anything slow and steady!" My college career serves as evidence that I function by doing everything in the last minute. This- combined with the fact that when I feel overwhelmed with too much to do I end up doing absolutely nothing- has prevented me from beginning my baking. Also, the fact that today it was a perfect 85 and sunny out. Seriously, who can do anything when it's that nice?

Don't get me wrong, I had a very productive day. I cooked a huge pancake breakfast for my husband, went on a hike, cleaned, read a book, wrote a blog....The GOOD news is that most of my shopping is finished. I need a few more tools, but I went to Costco yesterday for all the baking supplies I needed (I wonder what the checkout guy was thinking when I bought organic burritos and eight pounds each of butter and sugar...) So that's a big check off my list.

It's really OK, though, because the longer I wait the fresher the ingredients will be, yes? So, what I am taking an entire blog to say is that I have pretty much nothing to write about today. I am sorry that this isn't near as exciting as Shark Week, but I promise that things will pick up. I'm sure that the more I procrastinate the more dramatic the end of the week will get.

So don't give up!

This week on The Discovery Channel was Shark Week. Since I have a wedding cake to do next Saturday, I have decided to make next week "Cake Week." Wedding cakes, you see, are not a one day event. They take planning, shopping, piping, mixing, and baking ahead of time all week- especially if you don't want a cake that was previously frozen.
Of course I learned a ton in pastry school, but there are a lot of things that can only be acquired by field experience. For example, the woes and triumphs of making a wedding cake for 100 people at home in my very non industrial kitchen. This includes baking 5 sheet cakes one (possibly 2) at a time, and many, many batches of buttercream icing in my 5 quart Kitchen Aid stand mixer.


Another thing I never learned at school was where to find one of these cake stands on which to place the finished product. They are bloody expensive and I don't want to have to buy one. I called the reception site, and they said they had a round one- a lot of good that did me since I need a square one. I think I can rent one somewhere.... I am also looking forward to the challenge of transporting all the elements of a three-tiered wedding cake from my house to the reception site without smashing it all into bits.
Needless to say my blogging next week will probably be insanely dramatic with all the bi-polar ups and downs, victories and failures, baking and baking again.....I will take lots of pictures, hopefully none of them consist of my crying and/or throwing my cake on the wall. Shark Week, step aside. This will have you gripping the edge of your seat!


And God bless the UK!

Why I Love...Cereal (or "Ode to my O's")

My goal with this blog is to post 4 or 5 times a week. I've decided not to leave a recipe every day, because I want to make sure the ones I post are really special. I have been thinking of other things I can write about like restaurant reviews, culinary school, baking experiences, etc.... I've decided to include a continuing post called "Why I Love...." where I will simply blog about food that I love to eat.

So without further ado... Why I Love Cereal

I really think I may eat cereal more often than anything else. I can eat it any time of day, and it's perfect as a snack or meal. Here are some reasons why:

1. Cheap and easy: I'm definitely not always all about cheap and easy when it comes to food, but, hey, when it's also good and often healthy, I'm not going to turn my nose at it. Even if a box of cereal costs $5 (and it's usually less), there's at least 5 or 6 bowls to be had in that box. That's quite a deal!

2. Healthy: Or at least sometimes. I am not a big breakfast eater. Well honestly, while I'd love to eat oatmeal and eggs, I usually just never get up on time to make myself a good breakfast. BUT every morning I try to have a bowl of Trader Joe's High Fiber O's, or maybe some Shredded Wheat, with fruit on top (berries or a banana). I think that's a pretty fibrous way to start my day, and it keeps me full. Lastly, cereals are usually fortified with lots of vitamins and minerals. This is pretty much the crappiest way to get your vitamins and minerals, but still it's better than not getting them.

3. Satisfying: It's not all fibers and grains with me. I love a good sugar cereal. As a matter of fact, it's my guilty pleasure. My favorites are Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, and Cocoa Puffs. (sometimes I buy organic versions of these and tell myself that they're healthy...) These I don't eat for breakfast. They are crunchy and sweet and so good with 2% milk, that I usually have them for dessert. Sure there's calories and sugar, but a lot less than a piece of cake or a bowl of ice cream.


4. Comforting: I have childhood memories of my mom giving me cereal before bed, and once I saw my cousin giving her kids cereal before bed also. I don't know if it's a family thing or just practical, but when I want to wind down at night I reach for the box. It's perfect to eat while I watch stupid sit com reruns or check my email before bed. It's like my story and milk.

So there you have it. Why I love cereal. I know you will be looking forward to further editions of this blog. Thank you.

A Baby Girl Cake

For me, the most stressful thing about being a pastry chef isn't actually my job. It's doing cakes for friends. You'd think that I'd me more freaked out about making things perfect for paying customers, but you'd be wrong.


Of course I love it, because I love my friends and I am so happy to have a way to show that love. But I think sometimes I subconsciously feel like my friends will rate how much they think I love them by how nice my cakes are. Or perhaps it's just my ego wanting to show off. Hmmm....

In the course of one month, I have had two baby shower cakes and a wedding cake to do for friends. I have finished one and have two to go.

The first one was for a friend who is having a baby girl. I have noticed that most women don't eat much cake (what's up with that, ladies?), so I opted for baby cupcakes and one small 6 inch cake for a centerpiece. Normally speaking, my talent lies in making delicious cakes rather than extravagantly beautiful ones, so I was a little hesitant to go at it with fondant. I am very glad I did. It turned out oh so cute, and also was commented on by someone who's often hard to please as being, "The best cake I ever tasted." That made me feel good!




I actually even surprised myself at how good the cake tasted, even with the fondant. Being that the shower was for a baby girl, I opted for a strawberry cake in order to stick with a pink theme. Moms take note- this caked used for a birthday could seriously make a little girl flip her lid. The recipe didn't have a recommended icing, so I used a basic cream cheese icing, and all I have to say is mmmmm.



I can't believe I didn't take any photos of the finished cake table. I forgot about it all when the shower started, and if I keep doing that I'm never going to build up a decent portfolio. What I do have for you today is the recipe for that surprisingly delicious strawberry cake.

Normally I am a purist, and would not support putting something as unnatural as Jell-O brand gelatin in anything that I am making. However, a good strawberry cake is hard to find, and the Jell-O adds a lot in color and strawberry flavor- especially during the times of year when vibrant, sweet fresh strawberries might be lacking. It's fairly simple to make a 1/2 cup of strawberry puree. Just trim roughly 8 ounces of strawberry and stick them in a blender til there's no chunks left.

Strawberry Cake

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree made from fresh strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely.

Since My Mum Asked....

Sooo the Atkins diet is pretty out of style now. It was never really something I adhered to, being that I can barely even go an hour without eating something made of wheat (plus when it was all the rage I was in jr high, 5'7" and 105 pounds). And anyway, as far as I know all those avid Atkins dieters have had quadruple bypasses at this point.

However, there is something to be said about taking some carbs out of your meal here and there, especially when it doesn't seem like anything is missing:

1. As long as I don't follow the example of Kip and Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite and eat only steak, I usually end up eating a few more veggies than I would have.
2. I can have bread or dessert later.

I found this recipe a few weeks ago while I was looking for "summer lasagna" online. What I had in mind was maybe something with no meat, but what I found was lasagna with no noodles! Zucchini takes the place. I thought it would be a nice contrast to the all pasta dish I last shared, and today my mom asked me for the recipe, so here it is for you!

This is a great meal for my dad, who is diabetic and can't really have white pasta (also it's good for people with gluten intolerances). The best part, though, is that you don't eat it thinking, "Something is missing here..." It's just really darned good. It has ground beef in it, which can actually be really good for you, so long as you are eating organic, %100 grass fed beef (I will preach on this often).

I should warn you- something about this recipe that I am working on is that it is really watery because of the zucchini and there are no noodles to soak the water. I haven't figured out a way to fix this yet. It doesn't change how good this dish is in the slightest- the liquid just kinda pools in the empty spaces in the pan after you've dished up your lasagna. Any comments or ideas would be nice. So far, I have used dry mozzarella instead of fresh, and skim ricotta to lessen the moisture. I also tried to "sweat" the zucchini with salt a little bit before layering them. Oh, and make sure you drain the beef well.

Mr. Atkins, you would be proud of me!




Summer (or what I like to call "noodleless") Lasagna

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick strips.
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
  
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup shredded, part skim, low moisture mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until evenly brown. Drain juices. Mix the onion, green bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and tomato sauce into the skillet. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
2. In the bottom of the prepared baking dish, layer 1/2 the zucchini strips. In a bowl, beat together the cottage cheese and egg, and spread over the zucchini. Scoop 1/2 the beef mixture over the cottage cheese and egg mixture, and sprinkle with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining zucchini, beef mixture, and mozzarella. Top with Parmesan cheese.
3. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow to sit 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

The Night Shift

There are two kinds of people in this world- those who wake in the morning with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts ready to face the day, and those who hate the world for the first two to three hours after waking up. I am the latter. My first job ever as a baker required me to be at work at the ungodly hours of the morning that mentioned in my previous post. I had to be at work at 5 am, which I know is nothing to some, but for me it was a living nightmare. For those who do like to rise early, I highly recommend this shift. I must admit it’s very nice getting off work at 2 in the afternoon. But for me, I was tired all the time and was pretty much a robot zombie at work until about 9 every day.
Fortunately there is hope for people like me- it's called the overnight. As I was weighing my options in my career as a pastry chef I decided that my talents were not being fully developed in those early morning hours, and that I could utilize the time of night (usually around ten) when I come alive and become very productive. For me, it was a LOT easier to stay up until four than to get up at four.
I baked overnight for a while, and then quit to start baking on my own. As glad as I am to be in my own bed at night, I still value my nighttime experience, because I learned a lot about myself during that period (for example, just how many inhibitions leave you at 3:30 am).

My husband, who is not a chef, baker, pastry chef, or anything related to culinary careers, is now working a night shift at his job. He leaves for work at about 4 in the afternoon, which means that most days of the week we do not have the luxury of sitting down to dinner together. He eats a LOT, and I need to figure out what to send with him to work every night. Each meal needs to be portable, easy to reheat, and complete with in itself (seared scallops and risotto need not apply). Most importantly, it needs to fill him up without putting him to sleep. For some reason, when I worked the night shift my favorite midnight meal was chili, but right now it’s summer and I want to send him with something lighter.
A few evenings ago, I stumbled on the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network making this little dish of pasta and vegetables with a creamy lemon sauce. It fits all my criteria, and is also quite tasty and (at least sort of) healthy. It’s also quite lovely, which is a plus in the doldrums of the middle of the night. When I made it, it turned out especially great because I lucked out with an insanely sweet batch of cherry tomatoes. I used penne instead of fusilli, simply because it’s what I had around.


Lemon Pasta with Arugula
(Courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa)

1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 cups heavy cream
3 lemons
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound dried fusilli pasta
1/2 pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of common arugula, leaves cut in thirds)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest from 2 lemons, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets and discard the stem. Cook the florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4-inch thick crosswise, and add it to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste, and serve hot.

Prepare to Meet Your Baker

People expect fresh pastries in the morning. Scratch that- people demand fresh pastries in the morning- and while you stumble into a bakery at 7:00 am, feeling like no one should have to get up as early as you did, guess who's already been up for five plus hours? That's right, I have! I have already snoozed five times, gotten mad at the world for making me get out of bed, gotten ready, driven to work, and been through nearly an entire work day long before you walk through the door in search of your morning coffee and carby breakfast.
I'm not bitter. On the contrary- I love it! Well, honestly the getting up early part bites (haha, bites), and I don't exactly get up that early anymore (more on that later). But no matter what the time of day, for me, and many other baker folk like me, there is nothing more satisfying than the joy on your face when you bite into the pastry that you have been craving all morning. It sounds cheesy, but goodness knows I'm not getting paid by the millions, so that is the real reward for the work (that and the leftovers I get to take home).
It has only been about two years since culinary school for me, but this baker, who has been in the industry for two decades, gives another, more "seasoned" opinion. Don't let us fool you though. The job is full of smiles and sprinkles, but being a culinary trained baker has its downfalls. The worst part is that I now know what high-quality baked goods are supposed to taste like, and this severely limits my options of recipes to use and places to buy pastries. In short, I am a food snob.
I do solemnly swear that I will continue to keep you (my fellow food snobs) updated on all the good food places and recipes that I find. Unlike morning pastries, however, I can't promise that they'll always be waiting for you when you wake up…
For those of you who have already subscribed to, and enjoyed this blog, fear not! As much as I wish we could live on sweets and bread, I know that dream will never become reality. In the future will have many other savory bits of food goodness to share with you as well.
It was nice meeting you!

Hawk and Dove

For one of the big primary nights, we we decided to head to the Hawk & Dove for some political debating, cheering, and consoling. The Hawk and Dove prides themselves on being "Washington DC's oldest Irish Bar though it's reputataion among locals is probably more for being a hotbed of young politicos.

Allow me to preface my review of the place by acknowledging that it was a busy night with all of the political hoopla. That said, it was not busier than many other bars/restaurants I've been to around here.

We were fortunate enough to grab a table in the back of the bar early on, fairly enclosed in the political center of the bar. The first problem that arose was that for some reason there was but one single bartender for the entire room to make every single drink, take every person's food and drink order, hand every person their individual dish and of course close out every tab.

For dinner, Kym had the veggie burger while I, on the advice of a friend who had been there a few times before, ordered the chicken nachos. Ordering this food required me waiting at the bar for around ten minutes amongst a vertiable mob of people until I could flag down the bartender to place an order for the four-person table.

Kym was the first to receive her order. The veggie burger came with lettuce and...nothing else. No tomatoes, onions, pickle, absolutely nothing else, The burger seemed microwaved and the bun looked and tasted cheap. Really, it was appallingly pathetic for an eight dollar burger--probably even worse than the burger at Brickskeller. The fries the burger came with were not much better. The paltry 15 or so puny fries that did manage to make their way to the plate were shriveled and not very warm.

My nachos came about 10 minutes later after Kym had pretty much finished her burger. Less-than-fresh nachos are even worse than burgers and fries of the same state. By clearly letting a good amount of time pass between melting the cheese and serving it to me (well by 'serving' I mean the bartender shouting my name so I could wade through the mob again to grab my plate from him) the chips don't melt together, they meld together like fired clay. The chips were slightly stale, cold, not well covered with cheese, and for some reason all the other condiments came on the side-- in very small quantities I might add. Making nachos is really not a tall order, so to speak, for a chef. For them not to even add the ingredients themselves is a bit pathetic.

Another person in our party placed an order of nachos on the same ticket as ours, yet still didn't have his by the time we had both finished our dishes. At that point we again waded through the sea of people to ask the bartender about the missing order and sure enough, 5-10 minutes later it arrived.

What put the hilarious icing on the cake of the whole night was when the check arrived and they had added an automatic 18%! So just to recap, I had paid for two people's food and ordered pitchers with two other friends, and they counted that as a four person group which according to their policy necessitates an automatic 18% (since when is 4 people a 'large group'?) even when they serve each dish at different times, completely forget one dish, and neither take your order nor serve you at your table.

Really I think this sort of behavior is an insult to servers who actually perform a task well to receive an 18-25% tip while these jokers think that their 'service' (if you could call it that) not only deserved, but required at the minimum an 18% tip. For the first time ever I was actually tempted to cross out the 'included gratuity' and write my own, although I don't know the actual legalities of the situation.

At the end of the day, of course it was just a few bucks so I let it go, but the overall poor service combined with their cheeky policies will make me hesitant to head there again.

Tuscana West

Last Friday a couple friends of ours were in town from Boston so we met up with them for dinner in DC. Not sure exactly where to go in DC, we left it up to the other two friends of theirs they were visiting who were a bit more familiar with the area. With two vegetarians in the group and some naysayers of Asian cuisine, we weren't left with too many options for cuisine and decided on Italian.


Apart from delivery pizza, I never seem to end up going out for Italian. Certainly its not that I don't like Italian food, perhaps it's just that Italian often seems like something I could cook fine for myself at home without even having to get that many different ingredients--certainly not having to go shopping anywhere out of the ordinary which isn't the case with a lot of other foods I go out for. Kym's often complains that her problem with Italian food for vegetarians is that you usually end up with a pasta dish where virtually every bite is the same. Personally I'm okay with that if each bite is a good bite, but I can see her point.

Tuscana West has a convenient location near the McPherson Square metro as well as a pleasant view out onto Franklin Park. The dining area is a very elegant setting. Our party of six was able to get a perfectly-sized round table which is always preferable to a rectangular set-ups when it comes to conversations. I was most pleased of all to find live jazz piano music right next to our table for the entire evening which I absolutely love during a meal at a restaurant.

The service was particularly attentive throughout the night--although this might have been due to the very small number of diners there that night even though it was a Friday. There's also something funny about having a waiter pronounce the Italian dishes using Spanish pronunciation rules, but I'm sure most people don't pick up on that.

Kym had a fresh pasta and mushroom dish that flew in the face of her worries and was delicious. I went with an Italian sausage and onions pizza that was in the style of classic Italian pizza but didn't quite hit the mark of what real Italian pizza tastes like. It was still very good though. The rest of the party seemed very happy with their dishes as well.

Considering the location in downtown DC, elegant atmosphere and sophistication of some of the dishes, I think the prices were definitely fair. Not a bargain, but fair, and we all had an enjoyable meal which at the end of the day is of course what you are going for!

South Austin Grill

For some reason it was a while before I checked out the Tex-Mex restaurant, South Austin Grill, even though it is very near my work on King St. After eating there, I only regret I didn't try it sooner.

The standard tortilla chips and salsa they start you out with were fresh and tasty. Definitely good salsa, although it might have been a bit too runny for trying to keep some on your tortilla chip without spilling (my poor shirt did not appreciate this).

Along with the chips and salsa we ordered a couple of margaritas which again, were very decent tasting and always great to complement spicy salsa.

The menu was ample, though not so big that it made deciding a chore. I was deciding between the 'Tex' Austin Burger and the 'Mex' combo fajitas. In the end I decided ordering a burger was a bit boring so I went for the fajitas and was glad I did. Kym had a few vegetarian options available and went with cheese enchiladas.

One of the best touches at Austin Grill is the option to choose from six different freshly prepared sauces to go with your entree. Drawn in by the '19 different ingredients' slogan I had the delicious mole while Kym's tomatillo went well with the enchiladas.

The service was quick, friendly and attentive. Absolutely a big positive of the restaurant.

South Austin Grill is definitely an above average Mexican restaurant. Comparing to San Diego Mexican restaurants it might be a different story, but for now, this is a great place to get Mexican food at a decent value.

Cosi

In my search to find some good places to grab lunch around my work, I wandered into Cosi the other day. Cosi is a chain that's starting to gain in popularity amongst the growing numbers of lunchers looking for something fresh yet quick. With freshly baked signature breads, a plethora of different salad and sandwich ingredients, soups and pretty reasonable prices, they are gaining a lot in popularity.

I've been trying to find a lunch entree that I can eat on a regular basis that is still healthy--not an easy task when going out!--so after combing the options (their website has assortment of nutritional data for their menu), I went for the Bombay Chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I can't comment on the bread, but it certainly looked and smelled delicious.

The salad was made extremely quick, although it's always annoying when you have a question for the person taking your order and they don't understand English beyond names of different menu items so you have to wait while they wait for another co-worker to finish what they are doing to come over and listen to your question by which point your insignificant question makes you feel like you're really needlessly holding up the line.

The salad was decent with some interesting ingredients though maybe a bit too bitter lettuce although I know some prefer it that way. However, the only glaring problem with the salad was that all of the ingredients were being kept in stainless steel buckets buried in pile of ice making all of the ingredients icy cold. As any good chef knows, most flavors are subdued when they are too cold. It's why expensive cheese is allowed to sit on the cheese board before being eaten, why ice cream is best when it is soft and just beginning to melt, and why college students will throw cheap alcohol they want to taste as little of as possible into the freezer.

Tomatoes in particular is an example of a food whose flavor benefits greatly from being at room temperature and when they along with the other ingredients are icy cold, it really brings down the whole salad. I know this might make it more difficult to provide lots of different fresh ingredients if you can't keep it stored in ice buckets all day, but the fact remains that the salad itself suffers. Really though, I don't see why they can't at the very least heat the chicken up slightly before adding it to the salad at the end. Even Subway will throw it into a microwave.

Petits Plats

A family friend of Kym's is in town on a week exchange from England so we met up with her for a Sunday Brunch (since it seems to be increasingly seen as an American thing to do). While looking for a good place to go in DC, I seemed to constantly run into the problem that any popular brunch place tends to have a long waiting line. That wouldn't exactly be a great introduction to the practice so that was a firm criteria when I eventually found Petits Plats.

One of the best parts about Petits Plats is its location directly opposite a metro stop, not to mention the short walk to our free National Zoo (which we happily took advantage of after the meal). Immediately upon entering a friendly waitress asked if we'd like her to take our coats. This was a very nice touch, however it made me quickly feel I was a bit underdressed for the place. I had thought based on its prices it would be a fairly casual brunch, however my t-shirt and jeans looked a bit out of place when people in suits and Sunday dresses began arriving. Admittedly, I think I might have still been in San Diego brunch-mode where people drag themselves out of bed and drop in for a strong coffee, either still in their clothes from the night before or whatever scruffy clothes they found lying near their bed.

The decor of the place was fun with lots of bright colors and some nice paintings on the wall. The two girls ordered omelletes while I went for a non-breakfast lamb sandwich with roasted peppers and goat cheese. It was nice that they had a bit of variety on their menu as brunch can get a bit boring with the same breakfast ingredients at every venue.

We were given warm baguette pieces to start off with which was a French touch, however they had the distinct taste of having been just warmed up in the microwave. The coffee was particularly tasty though we had to wait a while for refills at first (I think because we got there just after service had started).

The dishes were...good. Nothing spectacular, but certainly nothing poor. All in all for the location, price, service and atmosphere Petits Plats was well worth it.

Mai Thai

In our common search for a vegetarian-friendly delivery place, I'm not exactly sure how we missed Mai Thai. Somehow it just wasn't coming up in our internet searches, hopefully this post will get the word out a bit! Fortunately for us, the delivery menu popped up in the lobby last week.

We knew of Mai Thai since it is located along our common wandering path, at the very end of King Street, right next to the river. It was only due to plans falling apart at the last minute a couple of times that we hadn't eaten at the actual location before and before seeing the menu in the lobby, we hadn't even though to see if they did delivery, probably because it looks much more like a sit-down restaurant than the typical Asian delivery joint. And certainly they don't see themselves as that sort of establishment as they have a policy not to even do deliveries after March 31st each year. My only guess is that they use the delivery service to help alleviate the reduction of dining-in customers during the bad weather season (not a policy we ever encountered in San Diego for some reason).

What also caught us by surprise were the prices of the dishes. Given the location by the river and the elegant-looking dining room, I expected to pay $12-$18 a dish. Instead the vegetarian entrees were more in the $7-9 range, which is certainly a change of pace from many overpriced restaurants in close proximity to it.

Delivery was prompt (and free), but what really impressed was the food. The dishes were easily the best Thai food we've had since arriving on the East coast. The Pad Thai in particular was extremely tasty, better than most I've had on either coast. It was distinctly reminiscent of freshly cooked Pad Thai as opposed to those that taste like they've been scooped out of monstrous vats of Pad Thai and lack a bit in flavor like some others we've had.

We also opted for the mango salad which was a wonderfully fresh complement to the spicy and savory entrees. I'm sure we'll order from Mai Thai again soon, before the March 31st deadline comes up and I imagine we'll try out the dine-in option in the summertime coupled with a walk along the Potomac.

Brickskeller

My very first experience with Brickskeller was a brief, albeit poor encounter with the bar and restaurant. We were wandering Dupont Circle and happened to run into a friend who knew the area better than us and pointed us in the direction of the establishment. It was a bit of a walk but on his recommendation we headed over. When you first walk through the door you're greeted by a hybrid staircase/hallway/waiting area. The area was full of people our age who seemed a bit agitated at how long they had been there. I went to inquire about the waiting time with the man at the door with the clipboard. Apparently they have fairly strict regulations about how many people they let in the bar at once. Not because it was particularly packed inside or that they want to keep up a status as a VIP place, they just seem to prefer it that way from what I could tell.

I stood in front of the doorman, looking straight at him for about a minute before he even acknowledged me while he was talking with a co-worker. When I began to ask about what sort of waiting time we were looking at, he suddenly interrupted me and started saying something else to his co-worker. I was taken aback by the rudeness enough that I just turned around and told the rest of my party (to their chagrin) that we were leaving (even though we didn't have a great idea of where we were headed to after that).

Fast forward a couple of weeks later and a larger group of friends who were quite keen on the Brickskeller made a reservation for all of us there. With little other choice, we went to give it another chance.

The Brickskeller's obvious appeal when you get there is the gigantic list of beers. I do like trying interesting new beers, but there gets a point when you can have too much choice. Reading the menu was like combing through the index of a college textbook. With small font (hopefully at least the trees appreciated that), no line-spacing, many similarly-named beers and at least 8 chock-full pages, choosing was not quite the pleasurable experience I would have hoped. What really made the menu obscene however, was the complete lack of descriptions. I mean seriously, how many of the people who come there actually know the difference between that many beers by name alone? Sure one knows the general difference between hefeweizens, india pale ales and stouts, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Eventually with the help of a friend who had spent a year in Germany, we ordered. For the most part, the beers were very good quality. There was only one beer that someone outright disliked and the broad range allowed some people to get sweeter ciders and others to get dark double stouts.

The food there was disappointing. I ordered a medium-rare burger that not only arrived medium-to-well-done, but sat on top of what looked like a Wonderbread bun! I'm no hamburger bun connoisseur, but it was pretty pathetic how cheap and tasteless of a bun it came on. No matter how fresh they are, those types of buns always taste a bit stale. It was the sort of bun you'd receive at a school event where they were giving out free burgers. Certainly not what I expected from a $9 burger--just signs a really cheap chef or owner from what I could tell.

The service was what I guess I should have expected based on my first experience at the place. To be fair, the waiter seemed like a genuinely nice guy who was knowledgeable about the beers, but over the course of the night he: spilled our beers (at one point onto someone's clothing), forgot a beer, messed up the check (which is a big hassle when you have a large group) and it always took a very long time to get an order in when someone wanted another drink. At some point you have to blame the owners though--I could not understand why they had hardly any staff on a busy Friday night.

So Brickskeller is great purely in terms of the number of beers they offer, but overall seems like a poorly managed establishment. If you're targeting the beer enthusiast, is it that hard to think you might want to describe the beers you're selling?

Le Pain Quotidien

A new sandwich shop opened up just down the street from me recently, and after having to endure the jackhammer sounds from my office and falling dust as I walked by, I felt obliged to try out the end result of all this work.

Le Pain Quotidien, as you might imagine from its name, is a french-inspired eatery. Their concept appears to start with first and foremost with its bread which they make fresh using very high quality organic ingredients. The ingredients that follow are far from shabby as it uses high quality fresh cheeses, meats and vegetables. The sandwich choices are pleasantly eclectic and varied which is always nice as often I can get in a rut of finding something I like and ordering it again and again even though at the same time I do enjoy experimenting.

The service there was top notch. I ordered at the counter, but after that it was waiter service where the very professional looking waiter was very eager to get me any condiment or utensil I might like for my sandwich.

The seating is a refreshing departure from the norm. Instead of individual two and four-spot tables, most of the dining area is taken up by a large communal table where everyone sits down 'together' in a sense. It's a nice change from my desk and office I sit in for the rest of the day.

As you might imagine from the description, the major drawback is the price. It's a bit hard to stomach $11+ for an open-faced sandwich that quite frankly didn't really fill me up. Perhaps I am simply not the demographic they are shooting for as the venue seemed filled with female middle-aged professionals. Maybe some day I'll be two-thirds of that demographic and enjoy this type of food more often!

Rocket Bar

Although we were originally slated to meet up with our friends in Old Town last night, somehow the venue got changed to Chinatown in DC so after a quick stop for happy hour at Chadwick's (by far the best happy hour we've found so far) we jumped on the metro and headed into DC.

The venue was Rocket Bar which had been talked up pretty highly to me with its pool, shuffleboard and other games. Rocket Bar is one of those bars that I think heavily benefited from the recent smoking ban in DC (at least from the perspective of a nonsmoker like myself). The bar is located underground and has a dark cellar-like atmosphere. Were it full of cigarettes, I'm sure the ventilation would not be sufficient to keep it from looking like a dark fog at night. Instead, it was a much more relaxed atmosphere where the bar was pretty full, but not too full--a nice balance.

The beer selection was nothing extravagant like Rustico, but still pretty decent with about 10 different beers on tap, mostly microbrews and imports. It was also a relief that they had a well-organized tab system since the past couple of times we've been out with friends we've ended up with a 12-inch receipt that felt like a calculus problem.

While there was a lot of talk about playing shuffleboard all night, the reality was that by the time we arrived, all of the shuffleboards were taken. Furthermore, as you would expect given the limited supply and high demand, the rental rates were fairly expensive--$18/hour for a pool table. I don't want to get on a "back in my day" rant, but that still seems like a lot to pay for a bar pool to me. Still, I'd like to go back some time and try to grab one of the shuffleboard tables before they all get taken.

One complaint we all had was the music. The selection came from a jukebox which is usually leads to a fun mix, but the balance on the speakers were completely off. The bass seemed to be turned up to 11 which would be manageable if the speakers could handle it, but instead it sounded like one of those people driving around with their windows down in an Geo Metro trying to blast 2pac on a factory installed stereo.

Still the music wasn't too loud, the place wasn't too packed and the air was relatively clean but the bar was still lively and we all had a fun time. It did lack food service which disappointed some in our group, but they had an interesting policy of allowing any outside food in at all which is fairly plentiful with of the restaurants nearby. This isn't quite as convenient as hailing down a waiter, but it does lead to a less messy and less crowded bar without waiters carrying plates and drinks everywhere. We ended up opting for some tasty chinese food afterwards which honestly was probably tastier and cheaper than your average bar food anyway!

Chipotle Mexican Grill in Old Town

The concept behind the popular Chipotle chain is very interesting. While on the one hand it is Mexican fast food, on the other hand it places an emphasis on criteria where fast food joints tend not to focus. The ingredients are touted to be high quality with fresh vegetables and meat that is steroid and hormone free and fed a vegetarian diet. If how they treat animals their animals isn't enough for you, they also are impressively involved in philanthropy. In fact when my wife worked at a non-profit organization back in San Diego, Chipotle was consistently one of the most helpful local businesses in the community, seemingly always happy to provide help with food and money. As you would expect, Chipotle is not exactly Taco Bell when it comes to their pricing, but I feel it's money well spent.

What makes Chipotle especially interesting is that McDonald's used to be a large stakeholder in the company. It was as if McDonald's had recognized the inevitable decline of its unhealthy greasy food and was creating something of an escape hatch for itself. For whatever reason, they have since sold their stake and chosen to focus on its questionably healthy salads and new 'gourmet' coffee. It remains to be seen how their strategy will work out, though personally I'm skeptical of their ability to straddle two fairly separate demographics. However, if I'm that confident in my restaurant managerial talent, perhaps I should go to school for it.

Also nice at Chipotle is the ability choose exactly how you want your meal. It almost seems strange that Mexican food hadn't already gone this way when you consider that nearly all Mexican dishes are just slightly different combinations of meat, cheese, beans and rice. In a way, Chipotle really reminds me of when Subway first came out and the sandwiches were made with a little more care and the vegetables were much much fresher than they are today. Hopefully Chipotle doesn't go down the same path.

Since I've started to go out a bit more at lunch, I've been searching for places where I can find something reasonably healthy, tasty and not too expensive. This is where chipotle fits the bell pretty dang well. With their 'burrito bowls' you can easily forgo the carb-laden tortilla and being able to choose the ingredients I opted for the vegetarian black beans over the greasier pinto beans and no sour cream (though I did go for some of the tasty guacamole--its fat is monosaturated after all right?)

The food is pretty tasty and filling. It's hard to say whether the slightly lacking in flavor was due to a step-down in quality from a full-blown Mexican restaurant or whether it was just the lack of cheese, sour cream, etc. Regardless, for its price and speed of service Chipotle is a great place to grab lunch.

Old Town Deli

With a recent raise at my job, I find myself more and more going out and grabbing something at lunch instead of bringing something in. When the exist, leftovers are ideal to bring in, however, I often end up trying to throw something together in a half-awake dazed rush. When in this state, it is always tempting to walk out the door with a bit of rationalization instead.

Often I would end up going to Red Mei at lunch since their value for money can hardly be beat in the area--for anyone going there, I especially recommend the Thai Ginger Garlic Chicken and the Spicy Chicken!

After looking around for some reviews, I came across Old Town Deli which seemed to have good reviews, and boy am I glad I did.

It's hard to say whether I would have discovered this place were it not for the positive reviews online. The location isn't great as it's a bit off King street which can often cause oblivious me to not notice it. When you look at it from the outside, it hardly catches your eye. It's a bit of a hole in the wall with a nondescript sign and storefront. Finally, the name itself, 'Old Town Deli' really does not do it justice. For me, that name evokes a combination convenience store and butcher who cuts up some ham on an electric slicer and slaps it on some bread with mayo.

Instead the place is nothing like that. Instead it is full of freshly cooked mediterranean food (which I'm always a sucker for) and seems to be a family-run establishment where even in the middle of extremely hectic lunch hours (hectic is an understatement, its very popular at that time and gets packed), they manage to have a smile on their face and get you through the line with impressive speed.

I read several reviews that mentioned their Sampler Salad, so I went with that and was not disappointed. Listening to other people in line, I was far from alone with my choice. The salad is fairly simple--lettuce, onions, cucumber, grilled mediterranean chicken, pita chips, and a delicious lemon vinaigrette. I'm actually glad they resist stuffing it with too many different flavors that would distract from the great flavors already within.

I've already been back there a few times now and am sure I'll be back for more!

Los Tios Mexican Restaurant

Last night we decided to do a bit of wandering in the opposite direction of the always-alluring King Street and walked into Del Ray up through Mount Vernon Ave. Even on a chilly winter night there was plenty of people bustling about. Though Del Ray does not have the density of restaurants and bars as Old Town, there is still fair number of places to explore.

It seems like when we go out without a specific place in mind we always end up going somewhere at the end of the street. It usually goes something like "Ooh that place looks good, let's just go a bit further and if we don't see anything better, we'll come back." Cue to 30 minutes later of wandering and our stomachs convince us to refrain from backtracking.

Friday night was a similar situation and we ended up going to Los Tios Grill, a Mexian restaurant at the Northern end of Del Ray. Encouraging us to go there were some reviews we remembered referring to this place as one of the best Mexican restaurants in the city.

The service was friendly and reasonably quick. Kym started off with a margarita as she is prone to do at Mexican restaurants whereas I began with a bottle of Negra Modelo. I was little disappointed that they didn't have more Mexican beer on tap, but it might just be hard to find a distributor in this part of the country. At least the salsa was tasty while we waited for our entrees.

For our entrees, Kym went with a spinach enchilada and I ordered the Chicken, Beef and Shrimp fajitas. Kym was happy with the enchilada, it tasted good...but nothing special. I had a similar reaction to my fajitas. Perhaps our expectations were too high due to the reviews we had heard in addition to coming from San Diegan Mexican food.

A good meal with good service but nothing we'll be running back to.

The Subjectivity of Wine: Part II

I came across another intriguing study on the subjectivity of wine tasting. Cal Tech found that the simple act of telling someone that a bottle of wine was expensive made them judge the wine to taste better and the converse of telling them it was a cheap bottle of wine caused them to judge it poorly.

What made the study even more enlightening was that it was not, as I assumed, merely a form of the Emperor not wearing any clothes where people fear sounding unknowledgeable about wine and thus simply lie and say the more expensive wine tastes better. Instead, the conductors of the survey measured the actual brain activity of the subjects and found that the pleasure centers of the brain really did show increased activity when tasting a wine they were told was expensive.

This is one of those studies that really demonstrates how much we underestimate the brain's power. The question is, should this make us more or less cynical about wine tasting. On the surface, there is the obvious observation that 'it's all in our head'. Why should we spend $90 on a bottle of wine whose main attribute is its extravagant price rather than the actual contents of the bottle. Yet on the other hand, if we are ordering wine for others--particularly those who are not aware of these sorts of studies--it appears that they will truly get more enjoyment out of a bottle of wine they know to be pricey. It's a fascinating conundrum.

Carl Warner Photographs

I just found these beautiful food photographs from Carl Warner on the BBC.


Each photograph has been painstakingly made entirely out of different pieces of food.

They are truly amazing- I can't imagine how long it must have taken to set these up!




They are truly mazing- I can't imagine

A new green pasta invention

When we have the time and the energy there is nothing we enjoy more than experimenting in the kitchen- when we moved from San Diego this became a little more tricky due to the fact that we had to sell a lot of our kitchen equipment and also had to put a lot of recipe books into storage. This Christmas however, not only have we rescued the recipe books from idling away in boxes, but we have also been given some great new kitchen equipment to replace that which we had to give up.

Here's recipe we came up with last night- using different things we hd around, and mainly inspired my a yummy looking recipe of Jamie Oliver:


First we took a bunch of peas- we mashed up half of them in a food processor and then mixed in the rest of them after the event. We cooked this much in some olive oil- added in some garlic, seasoning and some chopped fresh mint. We then added in arthichoke hearts (cut into eighths), capers and some sliced red onion.

We then boiled up some pasta (wholewheat spaghetti), once it was cooked al dente we drained it and added it to the pea concoction. After mixing all this up well we served it up onot two plates and topped with hard boiled egg slices, goats cheese and some walnuts.

Delicious!

Brunch at Bilbo Baggins

We used to go out for Brunch all the time in San Diego but it hasn't been so much of a habit here. One reason is probably the weather- brunch seems like a thing for a nice sunny Sunday morning- which of course was all the time back in California, and well, hardly ever here. Mainly though it's because Kym nearly always has her study groups on Sundays and so there's not usually time for brunch.

Anyhow with a friend from San Diego in town and Kym on a break from School we decided to walk down to King Street for a morning meal. we checked out the range of options (Majestic looks like somewhere we should definitely try in the future). In the interests of economy coupled with good reviews plus the sheer quirkiness of the place we decided on Bilbo Baggins.

We have never eaten at Baggins before- just popping in for their delicious beer instead. the place was bustling when we arrived, but nonetheless we were seated straight away by a slightly brusk waiter. Reviews had talked a lot about the raisin bred that is served whilst you wait. Ours was cold, but was still very good- doughy and soft.


I as recommended by several reviewers ordered the Frodo French toast whilst the two women got vegetarian omelettes with the house potatoes. (Sadly the names of the food were really the only hobbit like touches to this restaurant.) Kym got some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice -(which she said was amazing), and we all got coffee. The waitress who took our order was not
exactly friendly (certainly nothing on the great Bilbo himself). The food came almost too quickly- this was not the second breakfast type relaxing Sunday morning meal i had hoped for, but instead a rather rushed affair. The French toast was pretty good- although certianly nothing on that i used enjoy at the Mission. The vegetarian omelettes had no cheese in them- which rather disappointed the girls and made for slightly bland food.


All in all nothing to get excited bout-next time we'll be looking for something little more interesting- even if it means paying few extra bucks.

Lunch at the Smithsonian

With an arty friend in town we've being doing the rounds at the different art galleries and of course all the usually Washington places, monuments and what not. This weekend we went up to the Reynolds center- part of the Smithsonian's American Art museum. Planning to be out the entire day we needed to grab lunch at some point and so we took lunch at the courtyard cafe- which sounded like it would be cold given the name- but in fact was at this great covered courtyard part of the Smithsonian called the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard. The design is absolutely stunning, with a beautiful wavy roof, gorgeous water features and tall ficus trees.

The food was pricey, but then we were in a tourist trap in the middle of DC. I got roast beef sandwich- which in retrospect was the wrong choice for me. Kym got a portabella panini which she thought was fantastic (although again probably not worth the price.
Still we enjoyed our lunch- the art was fantastic too.

Vegetable Lasagne

Kym is making Lasagna today- hopefully it will last us through the week. She makes it a little bit different each time but I got her to write down her basic recipe to share.

Ingredients:

1 large onion (diced)
2 courgettes (diced)
2 peppers (diced)
10 cloves garlic
2 cans chopped tomatoes
handful torn basil
1 cup red wine
cinnamon to taste

1 pack lasagna sheets

1 pint bechemel sauce
2 cartons mushrooms (chopped)
2 cups frozen peas
3 large leeks (chopped)
grated nutmeg to taste
3 eggs

3 handfuls grated cheddar cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 handful of pine nuts.

Basically for this recipe we are making 2 different sauces- the first is a tomato one, and the second a creamy vegetable sauce.

For the first sauce saute up the onions, garlic courgettes and peppers. Then add in the chopped tomatoes, red wine and some balsamic vinegar- simmer for 25 minutes. With 5 minutes left to go add some cinnamon and torn chopped basil.

For the second one- saute the chopped mushrooms in some garlic and white wine and set aside. Steam the leeks and then defrost the peas. Take the bechemel sauce and stir in some grated nutmeg and crack in 3 eggs. Stir in the mixed vegetables.

Layer the lasagne starting with tomato sauce, then sheets of lasagne, then some ricotta and the creamy vegetable sauce. Keep layer and top with grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. A culinary delight which will last for days and days-especially whilst you are in school and don't have time to cook each night!

Great Customer Service

Wow, I had a really great experience with Z-pizza last night, (although perhaps it only seemed great after the most awful experience we had with Pizza Nova back in San Diego.)

As noted before in this blog we really have come to love Z-pizza- great fresh toppings, interesting combinations, the availability of a wholewheat dough and the ease of the online ordering system unite to make this our first choice any time we want some easy take-out.


So last night we placed an order for half a Napoli pizza (great vegetarian combination) and half a chicken and sausage creation of my own, (the fact that we can do half half pizzas is another reason we love Z- why was pizza nova so staunchly in opposition of this practice?). We also ordered Z-pizza's deal of the month- a free apple pie pizza (more on this later).
When the pizza arrived it was unfortunately- for once- a bit of a disappointment. The two halves had not been kept separate and sausage and chicken were strewn all over Kym's half. Furthmore the fresh basil she had been eagerly anticipated was just not present- nor was the truffle oil I had ordered on my own half.

After our awful experiences with Pizza Nova we were in two minds as to whether to call Z and point out the problems with the pizza. However I am so happy that I did so- they couldn't have been more apologetic. No questions were asked and a credit for the entire pizza was immediately put on our account for the next time we ordered. What a contrast with the lame free $5 dessert and the arrogant argumentative attitude we got from Nova.

Now we come to the next part of our great experience- the apple pie pizza. It was absolutely fantastic! Ordinarily I am not at all fan of dessert pizzas. I remember a place in Brazil Kym and I used to go to when we first met. It was one of these places where you sit down and people come around with every type of pizza you can imagine, and you just eat as much as you want. (For whatever reasons Brazilians seem to love these all you can eat, or food by the kilo restaurants). They had a selection of dessert pizzas at this restaurant and they were all absolutely awful- quince jelly with cheese (gross) and chocolate (overly rich). So we couldn't have been more surprised at how great this apple pie pizza actually was! The apples were cooked in sugar and cinnamon and were absolutely perfect. The dough was sweet and fluffy and the topping of toasted almonds and caramel made for just the right compliment to the apples.

Anyway all this to say- we love you z-pizza. Why can't places see that great customer service will earn you money. Z has our loyalty- Nova completely lost our business

Leek Thai Green Curry

Leeks are Kym's very favorite vegetable. Back in England her parents grow them in the garden, huge juicy leeks which the family use to make leek and potato soup, leek and cheese pie, and a wonderful pasta dish with mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes among others.

Leeks seem to be far less used over here in the US. Quite in contrast to the somewhat 'peasant' feel they have in Europe, here they seem to always overpriced, and in fact many supermarkets don't even stock them. Despite this I sometimes treat Kym and bring her some home to play with. This presented an interesting challenge recently which ended up demonstrating the culinary power of the Internet.

The day before I brought home the leeks we made the unfortunate mistake of opening a can of coconut milk when we meant to open corn! Coconut milk is unfortunately not something you can throw into a dish willy-nilly, so the following day presented a challenge to find a dish that included both leeks and coconut milk. After a quick google search we were presented with creamy tartlets, Sri Lankan dishes, a plethora of soups, and the dish we finally settled on: a leek thai green curry. It sounds a little odd perhaps but we are all about fusion--and adding potatoes into Indian cuisine certainly did no one any harm.

Here's the recipe (we substituted Quorn for chicken):

1.Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
2. Add the leeks and sauté until caramelised.
3. Add the garlic and curry paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the coriander pesto and chicken. Cook for 2 minutes, until browned.
5. Add the stock and coconut milk, and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
6. Add the coriander

I highly recommend the recipe--it turned out delicious!

Zucchini Rolls and Beetroot Salad

I thought it would be good to post some of the great new appertizers we tired out for Christmas. Definitely will be on display at our next dinner party. Thanks Ramsey!


Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

Thinly slice up 4 zucchinis with a peeler or a mandolin

Season the bottom of a baking tray with olive oil, salt and pepper, lay zucchini slices on top and drizzle more olive oil on top. Leave to marinate for about 10-15 minutes.

Filling:

Take 1 1/2 cups ricotta and add in about 2 T of olive oil plus the juice of half a lemon and some fresh basil chiffonade.

Dry roast 1/4 cup of pine nuts in a pan, tossing them constantly. No oil is required in the pan, remove from heat when pine nuts begin to brown. Leave them to cool down on a plate and then add to the ricotta mixture.

Go back to the courgettes, take the thin end toward you and place a dollop half an inch from the bottom of the slice, then fold over and over with a knife and roll up.

Arrange rolls on a platter and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top.


Beetroot Salad

Take 6-7 beetroots- baked or pre-boiled. Cut them in half and then each half into three.

Heat 2 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the beetroots and a pinch of salt.

After 1-2 minutes, add 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar to the pan and allow the vinegar to reduce while carmelizing the beetroots. Beets should turn a dark and rich ruby color. Allow to cool down.

Then get a dry pan and toast 1/4 cup sesame seeds while being very careful to toss frequently in the pan as they can burn easily. Allow them cool down.

Arrange the beets on a plate and take about a 1/2 cup of Roquefort and crumble it over the top. Then take the seeds and sprinkle them over everything.