I moved my blog! This ole blogger blog was breaking a lot, and Blogger wouldn't let me update the analytics, and then I broke the layout somehow. I got tired of dealing with the fact that Blogger never fixed it, so I moved to Wordpress.
New address is:
It still looks a little weird, but I'm confident we'll all survive this move. So update your RSS feeds, bookmarks and brains!
If you need convincing why you should start following me on Wordpress, my first new post is about a beach we went to in Hawaii. A nude beach. That's right, nude.
I'll see you at Wordpress, y'all.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
I'm not dead
I'm not dead, really. But I went to Maui last week, and I'm going to a conference this week, and I somehow managed to break my blog and cannot fix it right now. So it's broken, which doesn't matter because I have no time to blog right now. But I will. Soon. Because I went to Maui and it was awesome! And I must tell you about it. But later.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Man, I used to be funny
Here's a story: my senior year of college, I was looking for a job. A job in New York. I wanted, more than anything, to work at Entertainment Weekly. I worshiped Entertainment Weekly. So much that I threw all of my dignity out the window, and wrote the ballsiest cover letter I've ever written.
Because of this cover letter, and my persistence, and the fact that I called everyone at Entertainment Weekly begging for an interview, I did indeed get an interview. I was going to New York anyway to interview at a different company, and someone at EW agreed to meet me.
I was beyond excited. I was going to actually achieve my dream.
Well, it didn't happen. They called the morning of the interview and canceled, and I didn't get the other job either. I wound up staying in San Antonio, getting a job here, meeting John, getting another job, marrying John, buying a house, getting two dogs, the whole nine yards. It worked out, that I never got that job at Entertainment Weekly.
I ran across that cover letter I sent them, and I thought I'd share it with you. I think it pretty well encapsulates my sense of humor, how desperate I was for this job, and what awesome writing skills I have.
Because of this cover letter, and my persistence, and the fact that I called everyone at Entertainment Weekly begging for an interview, I did indeed get an interview. I was going to New York anyway to interview at a different company, and someone at EW agreed to meet me.
I was beyond excited. I was going to actually achieve my dream.
Well, it didn't happen. They called the morning of the interview and canceled, and I didn't get the other job either. I wound up staying in San Antonio, getting a job here, meeting John, getting another job, marrying John, buying a house, getting two dogs, the whole nine yards. It worked out, that I never got that job at Entertainment Weekly.
I ran across that cover letter I sent them, and I thought I'd share it with you. I think it pretty well encapsulates my sense of humor, how desperate I was for this job, and what awesome writing skills I have.
Dear Mr. Tetzeli,
All I’ve got is snark. I thought I had other skills, but it turns out it all comes down to snark.
Fortunately, snark is a good quality in writing. Specifically, it’s a good quality in Entertainment Weekly. EW has snark in spades. And so do I. Which is why I think I would be a perfect match at EW, as a writer, designer, editorial assistant, or lackey.
As a former Reed Business Information intern, I have written about pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing, and bulk processing. You probably don’t know about these industries, but I didn’t either when I started at RBI. I learned quickly and was given multiple stories to write. In fact, I’m still writing freelance pieces for RBI.
For the past three years, I have been the yearbook editor at my university, meaning I have produced a 240-page yearbook in 8 months with only 7 layout artists and 1 cranky managing editor. I have done this, and managed to stay sane and to keep up with my studies.
So I have the writing experience, and the managing experience, but I also have the design experience. In the 6 years I have been dealing in design, I have worked with Adobe PageMaker, QuarkXPress, Adobe Photoshop, and InDesign. I could double-page spreads in my sleep. I can eyeball picas from a mile away. I can throw 15 spot colors on a page with one hand tied behind my back.
I can do all of these things. But why do I want to work for you? Simply because Entertainment Weekly is my Bible. Every Monday, I read it cover to cover, and pine until I can read the next issue. I have incorporated elements from the designs into my own designs because they are simply that good.
Essentially, I love Entertainment Weekly. I would love working for Entertainment Weekly, no matter the capacity. I can be at your beck and call in August.
Sincerely,
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Shortbread with Lemon Curd and Whipped Cream
So for my April Fools dinner club, I made these shortbread cookies with lemon curd, whipped cream and citrus marmalade, from Bon Appetit.
When you read this recipe in the magazine, the title says Citrus Marmalade, but the marmalade recipe is actually separate, on the next page. This is a critical misstep on BA's part, for I completely forgot about the marmalade until I'd bought all of the ingredients and made the lemon curd. Then I noticed the marmalade recipe and swore. Loudly.
Then I regrouped and bought some Bonne Maman orange marmalade. It worked fine. Actually, it was a little too tart for my taste. So the next time I made this recipe, I added some orange zest to the whipped cream and it tasted great.
So when you get to the marmalade recipe below, keep in mind that I have no idea if it's good. I mean, it looks good. It sounds good. But I haven't made it yet, so I have no idea. Plus, it sounds really time-consuming.
I made the lemon curd two nights before dinner club, the cookies the night before, and the whipped cream right before serving. The lemon curd is super easy and goes great with any kind of berries. Everyone loves lemon curd.
From Bon Appetit
Meyer Lemon Curd
When you read this recipe in the magazine, the title says Citrus Marmalade, but the marmalade recipe is actually separate, on the next page. This is a critical misstep on BA's part, for I completely forgot about the marmalade until I'd bought all of the ingredients and made the lemon curd. Then I noticed the marmalade recipe and swore. Loudly.
Then I regrouped and bought some Bonne Maman orange marmalade. It worked fine. Actually, it was a little too tart for my taste. So the next time I made this recipe, I added some orange zest to the whipped cream and it tasted great.
So when you get to the marmalade recipe below, keep in mind that I have no idea if it's good. I mean, it looks good. It sounds good. But I haven't made it yet, so I have no idea. Plus, it sounds really time-consuming.
I made the lemon curd two nights before dinner club, the cookies the night before, and the whipped cream right before serving. The lemon curd is super easy and goes great with any kind of berries. Everyone loves lemon curd.
From Bon Appetit
Meyer Lemon Shortcakes with Meyer Lemon Curd and Mixed Citrus "Marmalade"
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
- 1/4 teaspoon (generous) coarse kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Biscuits
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated Meyer lemon peel or regular lemon peel
- 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
Topping
- 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Mixed Citrus "Marmalade" (see recipe)
- Powdered sugar
Meyer Lemon Curd
- Whisk eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, and coarse salt in medium metal bowl to blend well. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Whisk constantly until mixture thickens and instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 170°F to 172°F, 5 to 6 minutes (do not allow to boil). Remove bowl from over water. Whisk butter into curd, 2 to 3 cubes at a time, allowing butter to melt before adding more and whisking until curd is smooth. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd and refrigerate overnight.
Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and coarse salt in medium bowl to blend well. Stir in lemon peel. Add butter cubes and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 cup cream and stir just until dough begins to clump together. Gather dough together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and press out to 7-inch round (about 1 inch thick). Using 2 1/4-inch-diameter cookie cutter dipped into flour, cut out rounds. Reshape dough scraps and cut out additional dough rounds for total of 8.
- Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush top of biscuits with remaining 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream; sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until biscuits are golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer biscuits to rack and cool completely.
Topping
- Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until peaks form.
- Cut biscuits horizontally in half. Place bottom half of each biscuit on plate. Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon lemon curd, then generous spoonful of Mixed Citrus "Marmalade." Top with whipped cream topping. Cover each with top half of biscuit. Dust shortcakes with powdered sugar.
Mixed Citrus "Marmalade"
- 15 medium kumquats
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 30 very thin Meyer lemon slices or regular lemon slices (about 1/16 inch thick; from about 2 to 3 medium)
- 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular fresh lemon juice
- 6 blood oranges
- Cut ends off kumquats, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, removing seeds. Place kumquat slices in medium saucepan; pour enough cold water over to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove from heat; strain. Return kumquat slices to pan; repeat blanching 2 more times. Transfer kumquat slices to medium bowl. Combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in same saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to boil, brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush. Add kumquat slices; press gently to submerge. Reduce heat so that mixture barely simmers. Cover surface with parchment round. Cook without stirring until kumquats are translucent, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes.
- Using slotted spoon, transfer kumquat slices to medium bowl. Add lemon slices and lemon juice to syrup in pan, pressing to submerge. Bring to boil. Reduce heat so that syrup barely simmers. Cover surface with parchment round. Cook without stirring until lemon slices are translucent, occasionally pressing on parchment to submerge slices, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Transfer lemon slices to cutting board; cut each into quarters. Add lemon quarters and syrup to bowl with kumquat slices. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.
- Cut off peel and white pith from blood oranges. Working over bowl to catch juices and using small knife, cut between membranes to release segments. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
- Drain syrup from kumquat-lemon mixture, reserving syrup. Drain orange segments. Combine fruit in medium bowl, adding some syrup if mixture is dry.
Tada! I have plenty leftover, so please come to my house and eat some so I will stop eating this for breakfast!
Friday, April 2, 2010
French Onion Soup
So, remember when we made all the veal stock? We had to cook something with is, and John loves French onion soup, so we made French onion soup.
This recipe is from the same cookbook as the veal stock, Staff Meals. There were some weird things about this recipe. I'm going to give you the recipe and then tell you what I would change.
French Onion Soup by Staff Meals
OK, so the recipe didn't work out quite like it was supposed to. The onions didn't brown enough in the time allotted, because there were a lot of them in that pot. We wound up using two pots to brown them and it took us about 60 minutes, not 30. Also, we topped our with French bread and gruyere and broiled them for a minute in individual soup bowls, like they do in restaurants.
The onions had a lot of liquid in them, which I think prevented them from browning properly. My advice would be to brown them for a few minutes in a big skillet so they can cook evenly, just to cook some of the liquid off first. Then, transfer them to a pot to slowly brown some more.
I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but it looked kind of like this:
And now we have 21 cups of veal stock remaining. What should we make next?
This recipe is from the same cookbook as the veal stock, Staff Meals. There were some weird things about this recipe. I'm going to give you the recipe and then tell you what I would change.
French Onion Soup by Staff Meals
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 tbs canola or other vegetable oil
- 5 large onions, peeled and sliced lengthwise (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 cup port
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 8 cups veal stock, beef stock or chicken stock
- Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- Crisp croutons and parmesan for garnish
- Combine the butter and oil in a medium-large stockpot and heat over low heat. Add the onions and cook, uncovered, until brown but not crisp, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to medium high and cook the onions, uncovered, stirring often, to further brown and caramelize them, 5 to 10 minutes more.
- Stir in the port, white wine, and brandy and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stock and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the soup for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve. Top with croutons and parmesan.
OK, so the recipe didn't work out quite like it was supposed to. The onions didn't brown enough in the time allotted, because there were a lot of them in that pot. We wound up using two pots to brown them and it took us about 60 minutes, not 30. Also, we topped our with French bread and gruyere and broiled them for a minute in individual soup bowls, like they do in restaurants.
The onions had a lot of liquid in them, which I think prevented them from browning properly. My advice would be to brown them for a few minutes in a big skillet so they can cook evenly, just to cook some of the liquid off first. Then, transfer them to a pot to slowly brown some more.
I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but it looked kind of like this:
And now we have 21 cups of veal stock remaining. What should we make next?
April Fools!
Yesterday was April Fools day, and also our turn for dinner club. We'd made grilled lamb, so I asked everyone to bring a red wine. Kate and Sam brought this:
But we knew they were pranking us. I mean, that is just a ridiculously huge bottle of wine. Also, it says "100% grape wine" on it, which is hilarious.
It's funny that they pranked us at dinner club, because I had my own prank in the works. A dessert prank.
I had made some lemon shortbread cookies for dessert, but I decided to prank our guests with a different dessert.
I bought two round cakes at HEB and cut the middle out of one of them and put two water balloons filled with water in it. Then I put the second cake on top and iced the whole thing. Since it's Easter this weekend, I wrote "I Heart Jesus" on the top.
I needed someone other than me to cut the cake, so I could take video. I told Jarret that he loves Jesus more than anyone else, so he had to cut the cake. There's some discussion in the beginning of this video about what song to sing for Jesus. I hope you don't think we're too sacrilegious. I know Kate was concerned about that.
You can tell from the audio that I freaked out when Jarret first cut into the cake, because the water balloons didn't burst. He'd actually cut right in between the two balloons. But the next cut punctured one of the balloons. You can't really see the water, but you can tell by everyone's reaction what happened.
Kate was very sad that the cake was a prank. She really wanted some cake.
Here's what the cake looked like after we cut it.
For the real dessert, I'd made lemon shortbread cookies with lemon curd, orange marmalade and whipped cream (blog post with recipe coming soon). Kate was happy to hear that there was a non-watery dessert.
So that was my April Fools prank! It worked pretty well. It made me happy. It was fun and no one got hurt, and then we had cookies! All pranks should end with cookies.
But we knew they were pranking us. I mean, that is just a ridiculously huge bottle of wine. Also, it says "100% grape wine" on it, which is hilarious.It's funny that they pranked us at dinner club, because I had my own prank in the works. A dessert prank.
I had made some lemon shortbread cookies for dessert, but I decided to prank our guests with a different dessert.
I bought two round cakes at HEB and cut the middle out of one of them and put two water balloons filled with water in it. Then I put the second cake on top and iced the whole thing. Since it's Easter this weekend, I wrote "I Heart Jesus" on the top.
I needed someone other than me to cut the cake, so I could take video. I told Jarret that he loves Jesus more than anyone else, so he had to cut the cake. There's some discussion in the beginning of this video about what song to sing for Jesus. I hope you don't think we're too sacrilegious. I know Kate was concerned about that.
You can tell from the audio that I freaked out when Jarret first cut into the cake, because the water balloons didn't burst. He'd actually cut right in between the two balloons. But the next cut punctured one of the balloons. You can't really see the water, but you can tell by everyone's reaction what happened.
Kate was very sad that the cake was a prank. She really wanted some cake.
Here's what the cake looked like after we cut it.
For the real dessert, I'd made lemon shortbread cookies with lemon curd, orange marmalade and whipped cream (blog post with recipe coming soon). Kate was happy to hear that there was a non-watery dessert.
So that was my April Fools prank! It worked pretty well. It made me happy. It was fun and no one got hurt, and then we had cookies! All pranks should end with cookies.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Happy Anniversary!
John and I have been married a year now and been together for 3.5 years. We have made pies, laughed a lot, taken trips, helped each other through heartaches, and tried, above all, to be kind to one another. He is my best friend and the person I want to talk to, without fail, every day.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we reached the open farting stage. Like, 3 years ago.
A whole year has gone by, and while we are not wiser, we are definitely older. We've had a lot of fun this past year, getting a new dog, taking trips to see family, going to upteen weddings, eating way too much food.
Also, it's my one year blogiversary! I've been blogging for about a year now. Well, less than a year, but we'll call it a year because I'm only doin one anniversary post and this is it.
To commemorate all of these wondrous occasions, I've got something exciting in the works. Probably going to post it this week or next, so come back and check!
Thank you all for reading! Your comments and feedback make my heart go pitter-pat! Blogging is such a solitary thing that you forget that people are actually reading your words, but you guys always let me know what you think. And for this, I thank you.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we reached the open farting stage. Like, 3 years ago.
A whole year has gone by, and while we are not wiser, we are definitely older. We've had a lot of fun this past year, getting a new dog, taking trips to see family, going to upteen weddings, eating way too much food.
Also, it's my one year blogiversary! I've been blogging for about a year now. Well, less than a year, but we'll call it a year because I'm only doin one anniversary post and this is it.
To commemorate all of these wondrous occasions, I've got something exciting in the works. Probably going to post it this week or next, so come back and check!
Thank you all for reading! Your comments and feedback make my heart go pitter-pat! Blogging is such a solitary thing that you forget that people are actually reading your words, but you guys always let me know what you think. And for this, I thank you.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sandbar
John and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on Friday. To commemorate this, we went to Sandbar, Andrew Weissman's seafood restaurant in the Pearl Brewery.
We've been to Il Sogno, Andrew Weissman's Italian restaurant at the Brewery, many times. We'd been to Sandbar once before, when it was next to Le Reve (back in the old days before I had this blog). We've gone to Le Reve, before it closed, and Big'z. So yeah, we're fans of Andrew Weissman and his food. And we hadn't gone to the new Sandbar location yet. And it was our anniversary, which is always a good excuse to eat excellent food.
We went early, because they don't take reservations and it's a small place. And we're old. We immediately got a table. When the hostess seated us, she told me I could put my purse on the tiny ottomans, which I recognized from Le Reve.
We started with some sashimi of the day (hamachi) and lobster bisque. I've heard great things about their lobster bisque, but they frequently run out of it, so we jumped at the chance to order it.
I got the skate wings in coconut curry sauce and jasmine rice. I love curry, so I knew I would like this. I think the red thing is a sweet potato. The fish was very crisp and buttery.
John got the wild bass with potatoes and bacon. I knew he would because it has bacon in it. I had a bite of his, and it was very good, moist and not overly fishy. Nice char on the fish too.
I'd heard that we should get the box cake, which is literally cake mix from a box. But I think they make it with sweetened condensed milk, because it tastes very moist and sweet. The icing is ganache. I don't know if you can tell, but the cake is enormous. They serve it with shots of milk. It's so big, we barely made a dent in it and had to take it home to eat for breakfast the next day.
Now, I'm going to rant a bit. Andrew Weissman does great food, but he doesn't put enough effort into marketing. I mean basic things, like a website. There's no website for Sandbar. There's supposed to be a page on the Pearl Brewery site, but nothing happens when you click on it. Il Sogno has a website listed on their matchboxes when you go there, but there is no website. Le Reve has a website, but it's not freakin open anymore. This is 2010. How can you not have a website? This is very irritating to me as a customer, when I can find many high-end restaurants on the Internet. Sure, I could go to Yelp and Urbanspoon to find the hours and whatnot, but those are not reliable sources. This just frustrates me because I know Andrew Weissman is making good food and it doesn't seem to be hurting his business to not have a website, but it makes it harder for consumers like me to talk about his restaurants since I have nothing to link to.
Anyway.
It was a great dinner and we enjoyed looking at all the Alamo Heights cougars trying to emote through their Botox. We had a good time and we'll be back!
We've been to Il Sogno, Andrew Weissman's Italian restaurant at the Brewery, many times. We'd been to Sandbar once before, when it was next to Le Reve (back in the old days before I had this blog). We've gone to Le Reve, before it closed, and Big'z. So yeah, we're fans of Andrew Weissman and his food. And we hadn't gone to the new Sandbar location yet. And it was our anniversary, which is always a good excuse to eat excellent food.
We went early, because they don't take reservations and it's a small place. And we're old. We immediately got a table. When the hostess seated us, she told me I could put my purse on the tiny ottomans, which I recognized from Le Reve.
We started with some sashimi of the day (hamachi) and lobster bisque. I've heard great things about their lobster bisque, but they frequently run out of it, so we jumped at the chance to order it.
I got the skate wings in coconut curry sauce and jasmine rice. I love curry, so I knew I would like this. I think the red thing is a sweet potato. The fish was very crisp and buttery.
John got the wild bass with potatoes and bacon. I knew he would because it has bacon in it. I had a bite of his, and it was very good, moist and not overly fishy. Nice char on the fish too.
I'd heard that we should get the box cake, which is literally cake mix from a box. But I think they make it with sweetened condensed milk, because it tastes very moist and sweet. The icing is ganache. I don't know if you can tell, but the cake is enormous. They serve it with shots of milk. It's so big, we barely made a dent in it and had to take it home to eat for breakfast the next day.
Now, I'm going to rant a bit. Andrew Weissman does great food, but he doesn't put enough effort into marketing. I mean basic things, like a website. There's no website for Sandbar. There's supposed to be a page on the Pearl Brewery site, but nothing happens when you click on it. Il Sogno has a website listed on their matchboxes when you go there, but there is no website. Le Reve has a website, but it's not freakin open anymore. This is 2010. How can you not have a website? This is very irritating to me as a customer, when I can find many high-end restaurants on the Internet. Sure, I could go to Yelp and Urbanspoon to find the hours and whatnot, but those are not reliable sources. This just frustrates me because I know Andrew Weissman is making good food and it doesn't seem to be hurting his business to not have a website, but it makes it harder for consumers like me to talk about his restaurants since I have nothing to link to.Anyway.
It was a great dinner and we enjoyed looking at all the Alamo Heights cougars trying to emote through their Botox. We had a good time and we'll be back!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Veal Stock
Hey, remember waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in November, when John got that sauce book and veal bones and the ENORMOUS pot and we said we were going to make stock? Ha, that totally didn't happen in anytime soon. We had holidays and marathons and weddings to go to and restaurants to patron and TV shows to watch and dogs to adopt. We had lives, people. LIVES.
But people kept reminding us that we hadn't made the stock yet, even though we said we would. We felt a little bad about that. John tried to get his mother to make it for us (actually, she volunteered). But I insisted we do it. It's our veal bones, our book, our huge pot. We should do it.
So we did! We didn't use the Saucier's Apprentice recipe. Rather, we used one out of Staff Meals, our first real cookbook. Because we loved Staff Meals so much, we got the Chanterelle cookbook to use as our guestbook at our wedding. I've always wanted to go to Chanterelle, but we missed our opportunity, since they closed last year.
But this is a post about stock, not restaurants. This recipe takes a good 8 hours, minimum. But the good part is that it will sit for 6 hours, undisturbed, simmering away on your stove. At some point in the simmering, take a peek and skim the fat off. If it's like my stock, you'll want to do more than skim. There was a good 2 cups worth of fat on the top of it.
We're going to make french onion soup, also from Staff Meals, later this week to try out the stock. And here's a tip: don't get too fussy with the vegetables. They're going to get strained out, so you're adding them for the flavor, not their looks. And I didn't have a big roasting pan, so I used 3 glass casseroles. They worked fine.
About the time - We started at 10 am and just finished doing the dishes and freezing the stock at 10 pm. Sure, we did other stuff between then - I went to the store, John went to poker, we ate dinner, played with the dogs, watched Desperate Housewives. But this is not a short recipe. Make sure you have a day to do this before embarking on this adventure. And make sure you have a enough tupperware to contain it all.
Beefed-Up Veal Stock- 10 lbs veal bones, preferably with some meat left one
- 1- to 2-lb piece beef shin
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 3 large onions, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
- 4 carrots, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
- 3 heads of garlic, cut in half through the cloves
- 12-15 quarts of water
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place the veal bones and beef in a large, flameproof roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Place the pan in the oven and roast the bones for 25 minutes, turning them halfway. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic, distributing the vegetables evenly amongst the bones. Continue to roast until nicely browned by not burned, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Transfer the bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Discard the fat in the pan and add 4 cups of water. Place over high heat and deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up the browned bits. Pour the liquid from the roasting pan over the bones and add enough of the remaining water to cover them well.
- Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, skimming the surface as the foam rises to the top. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 6 hours, skimming occasionally and adding water if it evaporates enough to uncover the bones.
- Remove the bones and the meat and strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. At this point the meat and vegetables won't have much flavor, but if you're a fan of overboiled food, by all means nibble away; otherwise, discard them.
- Let the stock cool before transferring it to storage containers. The stock will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days, and in the freezer for 6 months. Skim the fat off the top before proceeding with recipe.
Bones and veggies.So we wound up with 29 cups of stock, in the end. Here's what it looks like:
Yeah. It doesn't look totally impressive, because it's just stock. But it's a lot of stock! And I'm sure you'll be impressed when I blog about my French onion soup. Later this week. Once I've had a nap.
Yeah. It doesn't look totally impressive, because it's just stock. But it's a lot of stock! And I'm sure you'll be impressed when I blog about my French onion soup. Later this week. Once I've had a nap.Thursday, March 18, 2010
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Vegetable Curry
Maybe you love curry. Maybe you don't. Even if you don't, I bet you'll like this curry. Regardless, it's a great recipe. And good for you, what with all the kale and sweet potatoes in it.But before we begin, I gotta talk a bit about how I'm a really efficient cook. Like, I read through the recipe and figure out how much I gotta chop first before I can start cooking. I consolidate pots and pans, I wash the collander while the water's boiling. I'm good.
So let me help you out here. You're gonna need to chop and measure all of the ingredients up to the lime juice. There's a lot of fine chopping and mincing in there, and things are cooked in rapid succession until you get to the lime juice. Also, the ginger, garlic, jalapeno and scallion can go in one bowl, sweet potatoes and bell pepper in the second bowl, zucchini in the third bowl. You can reuse those bowls for the kale, because you can destem the kale during the 20-minute simmering in step 2. You can also chop up the cilantro then too, and start the grill and cook the pork.
And! The coconut water and sour cream are used to cut calories. But the thought of having to halve and drain god knows how many coconuts to get 2 cups of coconut water filled me with dread. So I just bought 2 cans of coconut milk and called it a day. I also used way more sweet potatoes, so I needed the extra milk to portion it. Also, I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, because I like the tang.
OK, now for the recipe.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Vegetable Curry
from Food & Wine
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced jalapeño
- 2 tablespoons minced scallion, plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
- 1 small sweet potato (about 5 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 cups pure coconut water
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 cups coarsely shredded stemmed kale
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons full-fat sour cream
- 4 center-cut pork tenderloin medallions (about 4 ounces each), pounded to a 1-inch thickness
- In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño and minced scallion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and sweet potato, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until barely softened, 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and curry paste and stir to coat the vegetables with the curry.
- Add the coconut water and lime juice and simmer over moderate heat until the sweet potatoes are nearly tender and the liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Stir in the kale and cilantro and cook just until the kale is wilted. Add the sour cream and season with salt and pepper.
- Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Rub the pork with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper; grill over moderate heat, turning, until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes, then slice and arrange on plates with the vegetable curry alongside. Garnish with the sliced scallions and serve.
Notes
- One Serving 310 cal, 13 gm fat, 2.5 gm sat fat, 20 gm carb, 5 gm fiber, 28 gm protein, 590 mg sodium.
Thank you!
I am overwhelmed and touched by your responses! I know I sound like I think I'm hot shit, but I don't really think that. In real life, I am in awe that I was selected and put on the same level as some of the more established blogs in San Antonio. Thank you all for your awesome comments and encouragement, thank you readers new and old for reading, and thanks for being awesome!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hello new followers and visitors!
Yesterday, Bob Gamber (@bobgambert), put out a call for interesting local blogs. He works at WOAI and was putting together a segment for SA Living, their morning show. Debi Pfitzenmaier (@MomOnMars) recommended my blog and a bunch of other blogs. And I made the cut!
So many of you are here now because you saw the post on WOAI's site, or follow me on Twitter, or found me on Twitter, or are friends of mine on Facebook. If we've never met before, welcome! I do review a lot of food, restaurants and recipes, but I also blog a lot about my life. I think I'm pretty funny, mainly because I won "Most Witty" in high school. But other people have told me so as well.
Facts: I have two dogs, one husband, and countless pairs of earrings. I like pie. A lot. I really don't like it when people don't know the difference between loose and lose. I really wanted to work at Entertainment Weekly, and tried like crazy to get a job there. I went to college at Trinity University. I think my grandparents are awesome. A friend of mine once told me that I have small fingers, like a carny. We are still friends. I made weird faces in photos. I am addicted to lip balm. I hate Kevin Costner, and flaky people. But I love flaky crusts, in a pie. (See how I brought that full circle?)
So that's me. And here you are, reading about me. I hope you like what you've read here. Let me know if there's other things I should be writing about, if you know any cool places I should be going, restaurants I should be eating at, recipes I should be cooking.
Cheers!
Lauren
So many of you are here now because you saw the post on WOAI's site, or follow me on Twitter, or found me on Twitter, or are friends of mine on Facebook. If we've never met before, welcome! I do review a lot of food, restaurants and recipes, but I also blog a lot about my life. I think I'm pretty funny, mainly because I won "Most Witty" in high school. But other people have told me so as well.
Facts: I have two dogs, one husband, and countless pairs of earrings. I like pie. A lot. I really don't like it when people don't know the difference between loose and lose. I really wanted to work at Entertainment Weekly, and tried like crazy to get a job there. I went to college at Trinity University. I think my grandparents are awesome. A friend of mine once told me that I have small fingers, like a carny. We are still friends. I made weird faces in photos. I am addicted to lip balm. I hate Kevin Costner, and flaky people. But I love flaky crusts, in a pie. (See how I brought that full circle?)
So that's me. And here you are, reading about me. I hope you like what you've read here. Let me know if there's other things I should be writing about, if you know any cool places I should be going, restaurants I should be eating at, recipes I should be cooking.
Cheers!
Lauren
Monday, March 8, 2010
Molecular Gastronomy at Bin 555
Chef Jason Dady tweeted the other day that he now has liquid nitrogen to make food with. Of course, I had to be there to witness this. Melissa and I ventured out to Bin 555. When we came in, they seated us at the bar, which was great because that's where Jason Dady had set up the liquid nitrogen. That's him up there, making us some white wine sangria. It looked like a Slushie, but kind of melted immediately in your mouth. Like cotton candy.
Another dish I got, not made with liquid nitrogen, was the steak tartare. I don't normally like steak tartare, but I do when Jason Dady makes it. It had whipped cheese on top and was served with flatbread, a play on Philly cheese steak.
For the piece de resistance, deconstructed strawberry shortcake. The strawberry ice cream and some of the nuggets are made with liquid nitrogen. The rest is graham cracker crust, sour cream, and jam.Someone said on Foodspotting that it doesn't look pretty, and food should look pretty. I disagree. In photos, it doesn't look pretty, but it is quite striking. I think, for most chefs, they want their food to be presentable and intentional on the plate. They don't want it to look thrown together. I don't think food always has to look beautiful, because that's so subjective. This looks really haphazard in this photo, but it looked very presentable in person.
Anyway. It tasted great, which, if you've ever had my food, always makes up for presentation.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Food Memory
Do you have foods that evoke specific memories? I'm eating Cheez-Its right now, and they remind me of my grandmother, my mother's mother. She lived with us one summer, and I would watch TV with her in her bedroom. We had these small rice bowls that we used for ice cream, and I'd fill one with Cheez-Its and watch TV with my grandma. She preferred unsalted peanuts.
She liked to watch old westerns, Wheel of Fortune, even Nickelodeon. She didn't understand a great deal of English, so she liked programs she could understand by the images. Westerns, it's pretty clear what's going on, no dialogue needed. We used to watch a lot of Hey, Dude!, because it was on a ranch and you could figure out what was happening pretty easily.
I remember that my grandma was there, but not particularly warm. I know now that she showed her love with food, that when she was trying to force you to eat a rack of ribs, she was saying "I love you." When she let me watch TV with her in her room, she was trying to be closer to her grandchildren. I didn't know that then, but I know it now.
Another food that takes me back are grilled cheese sandwiches and pickles. Plain wheat bread, plain American Kraft singles, and sweet pickles. My dad would make this for us after church on Sundays. It makes me think of the sweet relief of being home again, after sitting through church, of getting to wear non-formal clothes. It was a meal that prepared you for the chores you'd have to do on Sunday afternoons, dusting and weeding and mulching and washing cars.
We always ate grilled cheeses with sweet pickles. I'm not sure why. I think it's because my dad liked sweet pickles. To this day, the combo makes me think of a respite, a time to breathe a bit in between Sunday duties.
Beef with broccoli. My mom used to make simple Chinese dishes, meat, veg, brown sauce, white rice. I remember watching TV in the other room while my mom hacked a piece of meat into pieces, cooking it in the red electric wok. She'd take a few pieces out and lay them on a cutting board for my brother and I to snack on while we waited for dinner. In the rice bowls, soy sauce and cornstarch would mix to make a flavorful brown sauce. In goes the broccoli, in goes the meat, out comes dinner.
When I was really little, my parents tried to get me to eat broccoli by dunking it in the brown sauce. I would suck the sauce off of the broccoli, and then hand the broccoli back to them. I knew then it was the best part.
What are your food memories?
She liked to watch old westerns, Wheel of Fortune, even Nickelodeon. She didn't understand a great deal of English, so she liked programs she could understand by the images. Westerns, it's pretty clear what's going on, no dialogue needed. We used to watch a lot of Hey, Dude!, because it was on a ranch and you could figure out what was happening pretty easily.
I remember that my grandma was there, but not particularly warm. I know now that she showed her love with food, that when she was trying to force you to eat a rack of ribs, she was saying "I love you." When she let me watch TV with her in her room, she was trying to be closer to her grandchildren. I didn't know that then, but I know it now.
Another food that takes me back are grilled cheese sandwiches and pickles. Plain wheat bread, plain American Kraft singles, and sweet pickles. My dad would make this for us after church on Sundays. It makes me think of the sweet relief of being home again, after sitting through church, of getting to wear non-formal clothes. It was a meal that prepared you for the chores you'd have to do on Sunday afternoons, dusting and weeding and mulching and washing cars.
We always ate grilled cheeses with sweet pickles. I'm not sure why. I think it's because my dad liked sweet pickles. To this day, the combo makes me think of a respite, a time to breathe a bit in between Sunday duties.
Beef with broccoli. My mom used to make simple Chinese dishes, meat, veg, brown sauce, white rice. I remember watching TV in the other room while my mom hacked a piece of meat into pieces, cooking it in the red electric wok. She'd take a few pieces out and lay them on a cutting board for my brother and I to snack on while we waited for dinner. In the rice bowls, soy sauce and cornstarch would mix to make a flavorful brown sauce. In goes the broccoli, in goes the meat, out comes dinner.
When I was really little, my parents tried to get me to eat broccoli by dunking it in the brown sauce. I would suck the sauce off of the broccoli, and then hand the broccoli back to them. I knew then it was the best part.
What are your food memories?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Living Alone
John recently went to Cincinnati for a week to visit his sister. When he was gone, I realized a lot of things about myself:
Basically, I suck at being alone. I'm not good at it. I don't really like it. Sure, there are times when I do want to be alone, or do things by myself. But most of the time, I want someone to see a movie with, or talk about my day, or cook for, or go out to eat with.
Some people crave being alone. I'm not one of these people. If I go to long without talking to people, I fall into a funk. I noticed I was falling into funks in the evenings, because no one was home with me.
What does this say about me? Maybe I would get used to it over time, adjust to it. But maybe I just really like other people and want to talk to them and hang out with them. I'm just a sociable person.
I also seem to lose my mooring when I'm alone. When John is here, we have a pretty regular schedule - get up, get ready, let dogs out, go to work, workout, cook dinner, eat dinner. When I'm by myself, I'll do things out of order, or not at all. One day after work, I was starving and eat a bunch of cheese and crackers standing up in the kitchen. Then I decided that since I wasn't hungry anymore, that was my dinner. I stayed up much later than I normally would, because there was no schedule for me to go by.
Sometimes I feel bad that I don't like to be alone, like it makes me a bad feminist or something. But that's just the way I am and the way I feel.
What do you guys think? Do you like living alone?
- I stay up a lot later when there's no one there to regulate my schedule.
- I hate silence. I have to have the TV, the radio, my mouth, something on.
- I can watch hours of bad TV that I don't even like, if it means no silence.
- I won't cook if there's no one to cook for.
- I find it very hard to do housework if no one else is there.
- I don't like going places by myself anymore.
Basically, I suck at being alone. I'm not good at it. I don't really like it. Sure, there are times when I do want to be alone, or do things by myself. But most of the time, I want someone to see a movie with, or talk about my day, or cook for, or go out to eat with.
Some people crave being alone. I'm not one of these people. If I go to long without talking to people, I fall into a funk. I noticed I was falling into funks in the evenings, because no one was home with me.
What does this say about me? Maybe I would get used to it over time, adjust to it. But maybe I just really like other people and want to talk to them and hang out with them. I'm just a sociable person.
I also seem to lose my mooring when I'm alone. When John is here, we have a pretty regular schedule - get up, get ready, let dogs out, go to work, workout, cook dinner, eat dinner. When I'm by myself, I'll do things out of order, or not at all. One day after work, I was starving and eat a bunch of cheese and crackers standing up in the kitchen. Then I decided that since I wasn't hungry anymore, that was my dinner. I stayed up much later than I normally would, because there was no schedule for me to go by.
Sometimes I feel bad that I don't like to be alone, like it makes me a bad feminist or something. But that's just the way I am and the way I feel.
What do you guys think? Do you like living alone?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Writer's Block
I am really having problems writing lately.
Writing for this blog, I mean. Writing for work, no problem. Writing when I have a clear goal and a purpose, where someone gives me the task, no problem. But writing here, when I have to come up with the topic, well, that's gotten hard for me. I don't know if it's because there's a lot of other things going on in my personal and professional life, but this blog has gotten tossed by the wayside.
Not that I have a lack of things to talk about. Things that have happened recently, that I haven't blogged about:
Why haven't I told you about them? Back in November, during NaBloPoMo, I was craving anything to talk about. I rambled endlessly about my life and its minutiae. Have I lost that? Have I forgotten how to talk to you, readers?
Or am I just tired, and can't seem to find the energy and motivation to sit down and talk to you? Or am I more cautious about what I write? Maybe I only want to write about the restaurants I go to, because I don't want to open myself up too much.
I don't really know the answer to these questions. I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten this blog, that I do want to write, I just can't seem to muster up the will to do it.
So instead of talking to you about all of those things, all the things I've been doing and realizing lately, I talk to you about how I can't talk to you.
Look at that. How meta.
Writing for this blog, I mean. Writing for work, no problem. Writing when I have a clear goal and a purpose, where someone gives me the task, no problem. But writing here, when I have to come up with the topic, well, that's gotten hard for me. I don't know if it's because there's a lot of other things going on in my personal and professional life, but this blog has gotten tossed by the wayside.
Not that I have a lack of things to talk about. Things that have happened recently, that I haven't blogged about:
- John left town for a week, during which I realized that I can subsist on cheese and crackers, I can watch bad reality TV for hours, and I suck at living alone
- I had a glass of sangria made with liquid nitrogen
- I had to get a crown, about which I am both angry and ashamed
- I went to the Social Media Breakfast and Business Media PR meeting (BMPR)
- I had a really depressing experience and realized that all things in life have a mourning period
Why haven't I told you about them? Back in November, during NaBloPoMo, I was craving anything to talk about. I rambled endlessly about my life and its minutiae. Have I lost that? Have I forgotten how to talk to you, readers?
Or am I just tired, and can't seem to find the energy and motivation to sit down and talk to you? Or am I more cautious about what I write? Maybe I only want to write about the restaurants I go to, because I don't want to open myself up too much.
I don't really know the answer to these questions. I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten this blog, that I do want to write, I just can't seem to muster up the will to do it.
So instead of talking to you about all of those things, all the things I've been doing and realizing lately, I talk to you about how I can't talk to you.
Look at that. How meta.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
T'afia in Houston
I was in Houston last weekend for Lyla's bridal shower and bachelorette party. She loves T'afia, where chef Monica Pope works. I wanted to go to T'afia because I knew that Monica Pope is going to be on Top Chef Masters next season, where chefs from around the country compete for charities.
The underlying concepts of T'afia are season and place. The menu changes frequently because they strive to cook local food that is in season. They brought out fresh bread and butter, and chickpea fries to start us off. If you've never had chickpea fries, you should go to T'afia. They are crunchy and spicy and served with housemade ketchup.
We were sitting pretty close to the kitchen, and Lyla had spotted Monica Pope herself, so I flagged Monica down and introduced myself and Lyla and talked to her a bit about Top Chef Masters.
And then, she sent us out some food! Caper berries with red peppers and anchovies, and some cheese and honey. I'm not a big anchovy fan, but I love caper berries. They actually weren't that salty to me.
I also got the Mediterranean plate. They have a wide variety of plate sizes - appetizers, small plates, entrees, proteins + sides. It seems like a great place to go with a big group, because you can eat whatever size meal and whatever kind of meal.Also, they have free valet.
So, if you're in Houston and want a different dining experience, go to T'afia. I hear Monica Pope also does cooking classes at the farmer's market in Houston, so go check that out too.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Auden's Kitchen
Bruce Auden is the chef at Biga on the Banks, a highly respected and well-known Riverwalk restaurant. He recently branched out into the Stone Oak area, which is a good thing for me, because I never go to the Riverwalk.
Auden's Kitchen opened on Wednesday last week. I want you to take a second and go look at that menu on their site. Go on. I'll wait.
Isn't it fantastic? Comfort food done awesome, I say. But I was most impressed with the prices. The prices! Not an entree over $20! Where can you get short ribs for $15?
On Saturday, we had to try it out. We trekked on out to Stone Oak with Sam and Kate. Inside the restaurant, it's a mix of fine dining with burger joint. The waitstaff wears T-shirts, but they change out your silverware for every course. There are paper table cloths, but lots of wine on the walls. It's not a bad thing to have a mix of styles, I just thought it was interesting.
You wouldn't really have known it was their first week. There were a fair number of people there, in everything from little black dresses to trucker caps. The waitstaff was waiting, the chefs cheffing, the patrons eating.
On to the food!
We started with an order of Scotch eggs and the duck confit pizza. I didn't know what Scotch eggs were, but Kate informed me they are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, deep fried. These eggs were served with jalapeno aioli. They were divine and exactly what you'd think deep fried sausage and eggs would taste like.
The pizza had a smoked gouda and sweet notes from green grapes. Also delicious and creamy.
I ordered the cheeseburger, because I'd been craving one. It was messy, gooey, crusty, sloppy. Delicious, in other words. It came with crispy shallots on it, which somehow tasted like bacon, which made it 17 times better to me. John got the pasta with lamb, which he said was good, but needed a stronger sauce on it. Kate got the fried chicken, which was better after it had been chilled in the fridge. Sam got the turkey burger, which comes with a yogurt dill sauce. He ate almost all of it.
The wine list! I forgot the wine list! I so appreciate that Auden's Kitchen's wine list is organized by price. So there's a page for white wines at $25 a bottle, a page for red wines at $40 a bottle, etc. I know that there are great wines at all prices and you shouldn't judge a wine by its price, etc etc etc, but when I'm going out to eat and being overcharged for wine anyway, I tend to get the cheapest bottle. I found this wine list practical in organization.
For the last course, we all split an order of toffee pudding. We were all pretty full at that point, but the toffee pudding is pretty small, so we weren't bursting.
So: 2 appetizers, 4 entrees, 1 dessert and 1 bottle of wine = $100. I told you it's a great place.
Also, we saw Andrew Weissman, of Il Sogno, on our way out! He came in with his family, holding a basket of greens. Maybe a housewarming gift? I have no idea. But Andrew Weissman!
If you live in SA, go there now! My only con is that it's too far away for me to go for lunch!
Auden's Kitchen opened on Wednesday last week. I want you to take a second and go look at that menu on their site. Go on. I'll wait.
Isn't it fantastic? Comfort food done awesome, I say. But I was most impressed with the prices. The prices! Not an entree over $20! Where can you get short ribs for $15?
On Saturday, we had to try it out. We trekked on out to Stone Oak with Sam and Kate. Inside the restaurant, it's a mix of fine dining with burger joint. The waitstaff wears T-shirts, but they change out your silverware for every course. There are paper table cloths, but lots of wine on the walls. It's not a bad thing to have a mix of styles, I just thought it was interesting.
You wouldn't really have known it was their first week. There were a fair number of people there, in everything from little black dresses to trucker caps. The waitstaff was waiting, the chefs cheffing, the patrons eating.
On to the food!
We started with an order of Scotch eggs and the duck confit pizza. I didn't know what Scotch eggs were, but Kate informed me they are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, deep fried. These eggs were served with jalapeno aioli. They were divine and exactly what you'd think deep fried sausage and eggs would taste like.
The pizza had a smoked gouda and sweet notes from green grapes. Also delicious and creamy.I ordered the cheeseburger, because I'd been craving one. It was messy, gooey, crusty, sloppy. Delicious, in other words. It came with crispy shallots on it, which somehow tasted like bacon, which made it 17 times better to me. John got the pasta with lamb, which he said was good, but needed a stronger sauce on it. Kate got the fried chicken, which was better after it had been chilled in the fridge. Sam got the turkey burger, which comes with a yogurt dill sauce. He ate almost all of it.
The wine list! I forgot the wine list! I so appreciate that Auden's Kitchen's wine list is organized by price. So there's a page for white wines at $25 a bottle, a page for red wines at $40 a bottle, etc. I know that there are great wines at all prices and you shouldn't judge a wine by its price, etc etc etc, but when I'm going out to eat and being overcharged for wine anyway, I tend to get the cheapest bottle. I found this wine list practical in organization.For the last course, we all split an order of toffee pudding. We were all pretty full at that point, but the toffee pudding is pretty small, so we weren't bursting.
So: 2 appetizers, 4 entrees, 1 dessert and 1 bottle of wine = $100. I told you it's a great place.
Also, we saw Andrew Weissman, of Il Sogno, on our way out! He came in with his family, holding a basket of greens. Maybe a housewarming gift? I have no idea. But Andrew Weissman!
If you live in SA, go there now! My only con is that it's too far away for me to go for lunch!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Samwar's DUK
What can I say about Samwar's DUK that Kate hasn't already said?
I think I will let Kate say it all, because it was her DUK, at her apartment. I would just like to add some facts:
-Jason Dady wanted me to bring my puppy. But Kate told him Tuck would have utterly stolen the show. He is just that cute.
-Jason Dady called me "puddin."
-The server, Josh, cut himself on a glass, but kept working through the bleeding and the pain. We toasted him for his trouble.-People draw lewd things when they're drunk.
-9 bottles of wine between 10 people will get you as drunk as 10 bottles.
-John is also now obsessed with getting a home immersion circulator, much to my dismay.
Internet Infamy
Awhile ago, John and Kate and Sam and I went to Restaurant Insignia. I'd made reservations and tweeted Chef Jason Dady to ask him what we should get, because I knew he'd changed the menu up. I called and made a reservation. All pretty standard for me.
When we were eating, our waiter, who knew who we were, asked me if I was ohmypuddin. Indeed I am, I said. He told me he'd read my blog and heard about me, presumably from Jason Dady and his staff. I knew from our Arts & Eats experience that some of Dady's chefs know who I am, because they ask Jason Dady "is that ohmypuddin?"
Last year, the sommelier at Il Sogno had read my blog post and remembered me.
While my particular bit of Internet fame is nowhere on par with major blogs and web personalities, it is still interesting. It's kind of weird to be known by your username instead of your actual name. It's weird when people know you by your handle and not your face. When they know things about you because they read your blog, or follow you on Twitter, and yet you've never met them and never spoken to them.
Internet writing is such a bizarre thing, in some ways. I feel like I'm not completely revealing myself on the Internet, but I am putting a lot of information out there. You could get to know me pretty well without meeting me. But I'm writing this here at home, by myself. Writing is such a solitary act that I forget I'm putting it out there for everyone to see. And I'm startled when I find out people are reading it, processing it, remembering it.
I'm not quite sure what my point here is. I guess I'm saying that enough people are reading this and then meeting me in real life for it to become clear to me.
You're out there, reading me, judging me. Better start watching what I say.
Nah, fuck that noise.
When we were eating, our waiter, who knew who we were, asked me if I was ohmypuddin. Indeed I am, I said. He told me he'd read my blog and heard about me, presumably from Jason Dady and his staff. I knew from our Arts & Eats experience that some of Dady's chefs know who I am, because they ask Jason Dady "is that ohmypuddin?"
Last year, the sommelier at Il Sogno had read my blog post and remembered me.
While my particular bit of Internet fame is nowhere on par with major blogs and web personalities, it is still interesting. It's kind of weird to be known by your username instead of your actual name. It's weird when people know you by your handle and not your face. When they know things about you because they read your blog, or follow you on Twitter, and yet you've never met them and never spoken to them.
Internet writing is such a bizarre thing, in some ways. I feel like I'm not completely revealing myself on the Internet, but I am putting a lot of information out there. You could get to know me pretty well without meeting me. But I'm writing this here at home, by myself. Writing is such a solitary act that I forget I'm putting it out there for everyone to see. And I'm startled when I find out people are reading it, processing it, remembering it.
I'm not quite sure what my point here is. I guess I'm saying that enough people are reading this and then meeting me in real life for it to become clear to me.
You're out there, reading me, judging me. Better start watching what I say.
Nah, fuck that noise.
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