And back in the kitchen! Sort of.
Here’s the weekend:
Friday night:
6:50 pm: Matt and I arrive at Feast for dinner. I broke his heart the night before when we ate at home; he was looking forward to braised lamb neck with apricots. We had braised rabbit shoulders with garlic alioli (I send you to Misha’s blog for photos of these gorgeous specimens) as an appetizer. Mmmm. I love rabbit to begin with (sorry, Mom!), and this was perfect. The skin was caramelized, the meat was soft and falling off the bone, and the alioli (nothing more than garlic, salt and olive oil) gave enough astringency to offset the meat. (I am a garlic fiend, so I was eating this by itself.)
Matt ordered the cassoulet for dinner, and I ordered crispy pork belly (aka foodie catnip). My pork belly was…oooh. So good. Crispy skin, oozing fat right underneath that, and perfectly cooked meat. My one quibble with the dish was the underplayed acidity from the red cabbage and apples, served as an accompaniment. I wanted a splash more vinegar or lemon juice to help cut the richness of the pork, fat and skin. The potato mash cake was perfectly crispy and fluffy. Matt’s cassoulet was good, and he devoured the duck confit (I was lucky to get even a small piece). I can’t wait to get back, especially since the restaurant took pictures of the beef necks they’re going to prepare soon. This is the kind of place that is sorely needed in the States, a place that uses the entire animal, and is not afraid to show it off (you could see the tracheae in the photo of the beef necks).
First, congrats to the awesome K on her great announcement!
Second, my friend/college roommate/amazing musician Doug Falk is playing tomorrow with saxophonist and clarinetist Frank Gratowski and Thomas Helton from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Avant Garden, 411 Westheimer. I’ll be there; I may even try to wrangle some people for food beforehand. (EDIT: Matt and I decided on Feast.) You wanna join us? Leave a message or tweet me! My Twitter page is here.
Okay, back to dinner and a movie. Have a great night!
Or Cylons. Or whatever has kept me away from this blog for almost three months.
Must get back to writing. And eating.
I have been reading Mark Bittman’s latest book, Food Matters. It’s very interesting and realistic. I’ve been doing it for two days now (I need to lose weight. I will not say how much, because it’s embarassing. What? My five-year college reunion is this fall, and I’m on the reunion committee!) Not only that, but I am riding in the MS150 next month. (Think of it. Reviews of Gu, Camelbak Elixir and bad ride food.) Plus work is crazy, as usual. In other words, a normal time.
BUT! On the plus side, I found my dream dish. Finally. I am obsessed with a Thai beef dish that is served on the lunch buffet at Patu in Rice Village. I have hunted for it on the regular menu, to no avail. But finally, I found it. I ordered it with shrimp, but it’s it!
Basically, it’s basil beef with a savory, spicy sauce and lots of basil and veggies. The shrimp was nicely cooked, the veggies were crisp-tender (mmmm…) and the sauce has a nice balance of sweetness, saltiness (from the nam pla, no doubt) and spice from the chiles. It starts out sweet, then turns salty and spicy that stays on your tongue and lips after you finish. Jasmine rice is lovely for sopping up the sauce. Matt had pad thai (of course; I can rattle off his order for him). And cucumber salad, with carrots and red onion in a sweet sauce, served with pork-topped fried toast. Mmmm. Comfort food at its finest.
Also on my to-try list: Feast (NO, I haven’t been there yet. Quiet!), the mussels at the Black Labrador, and Little Big’s. And I may have to grab a burger after the Tour de Houston this Sunday in Discovery Green.
Kinda like The Colbert Report, but without Stephen Colbert. And Tek Jansen. And sadly, Alan Colmes.
Anyhoo, Matt and I decided to honeymoon in DC! (We are perfectly allowed to call a trip 2.5 years after our wedding a honeymoon, especially since we were so poor when we got married that we couldn’t afford it.) Anyway, we did a lot of the touristy stuff (the Capitol, Air and Space Museum, the Mall), we saw Arlington Cemetery (every American must see it), and we ate. We avoided a lot of the touristy places (I hope).
This is not a good thing for the restaurant. I wonder how long it will take for the health department to shut them down.
What could possibly go wrong?
Nothing, and there was some great tailgaiting food!
So when will the kitchens of Houston’s fine restaurants take up this challenge? Imagine it: t’afia vs. Beaver’s. Arcodoro vs. Dolce Vita. Steakhouse vs. steakhouse. I want grudge matches, dammit!
So, we have another cold front going through the area. In fact, there are freezing rain advisories for the northern parts of Houston tonight. Sounds like the perfect night for osso buco!
Osso buco usually describes braised veal shanks, but I was able to find beef shanks for a reasonable price at Whole Paycheck. (I was considering Roman-style braised oxtails, but they were more expensive than the beef shanks. What gives?!) With these, I’m cheating: I bought pre-made braising base at Williams-Sonoma (full disclosure, as always: I am a sales associate at W-S, but all opinion regarding product is mine) and I’m cooking them in the slow cooker. Matt will have dinner when he gets home from work, and I’ll have my dinner for Tuesday. I’ll just need to cook up some polenta tonight when I get home. Pictures are forthcoming. I can’t wait for marrow. Mmmm…marrow.
Other items I’m in the mood to make: homemade baked macaroni and cheese, and quiche. (What? I have French blood in me, plus it reheats well.) I also want to roast an entire chicken (said chicken is sitting in the fridge right now, waiting for its date with some compound butter and my chicken roaster). A batch of marinara sauce needs to be made, too, and if I get another chicken, stock.
(Ooooh, the chicken stock I made a few weeks ago is wonderful! I used it to cook rice this weekend and it was so delicious!)
I also need to bake some cookies and freeze them. Or bring them to the office and the store. Or send them with Matt to his office. Or all of the above.
So with the advent of our cold weather (trust me, this is not very normal for Houston), what is everyone making?
I needed to clean the pantry today. So I’m baking some chicken breasts in barbecue sauce. I also made this quick sauce, which could also be described as a sugo.
Mmmm...tomato sugo.
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
Crushed red pepper, oregano, other herbs as desired
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm the oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve over pasta, or with some fresh basil and mozzarella as a bruschetta topping.
Classes, work, work trips, family visiting, the holidays, SNOW(!!!), a life…I need to write more!
Some links:
- Congrats to the lovely K over at She Eats, who, in addition to writing at Houstonist and her own blog, is now writing for the Houston Press! She is most deserving and will give everyone over there hell (and I see collaborations between her and fellow Chowhound Jay Francis in the future).
- MC, at the blog Shibooya, is dealing with the economic woes and general angst of a 20-something the best way I know how: By baking sugar cookies. Trust me when I say I’m right there with her. Except for the baking part. I need to do that more.
- Shannon at Shabak’s Kitchen puts me to shame. Everything she makes and photographs looks so yummy! Plus, she’s very sweet, so you need to pay her blog a visit.
- SOUP!! Lots and lots of SOUP!! (Can you tell I like soup, too?)
What have I been working on recently…. I am playing with a recipe for chicken meatballs with spaghetti. I’m thisclose to perfecting it. Plus, I am growing little basil seedlings right now, and they are so cute! I have pictures to post. I made Thanksgiving dinner, to the raves of my in-laws. A couple of reviews of places (including Rice University’s Cohen House) and some obsessions du jour. Oh, and planning a trip to Washington, DC for the end of the month. Got any restaurant recommendations?
…Or is it the long recession?
In any case, people are not going out as much as they used to. They’re not spending as much as they used to on goods. People are discovering the joys of cooking at home again. Including me!
I cooked over the weekend. I had chicken bones in the freezer, which I used to make a stock on Sunday night. I also made a pasta bake; these would get me through a week of grad school without cooking. Add a salad, maybe a glass of wine and you’re done! (Matt made fun of my and my large amounts of pasta in the freezer when he first moved in with me.) The pasta was a complete hit with Matt; he never eats tomato sauce and he willingly did with this. The secret was to mix in some ricotta cheese. I also added fresh sauteed spinach and mushrooms to the mix. It keeps well in the fridge and can be frozen and microwaved for a quick meal.
Here’s the recipe:
1 lb. pasta, such as bow-tie, wagon wheels, or rigatoni
2 cups pasta sauce (I used jarred, because I had none made); if you like extra sauce, add more
1 container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 package hot turkey Italian sausage
8-10 oz fresh baby spinach
8 oz. fresh cremini mushrooms
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the pasta until slightly firm; you do not want to go completely to al dente. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, mix the sauce and ricotta together and let warm on the stovetop. If the sausage is in casings, remove the casings; cook until no longer pink. Drain and add to the sauce. Saute the spinach; add to the sauce. Saute the mushrooms; add to the sauce. Stir the pasta into the sauce and pour into a baking dish; I use a 9×13″ Pyrex dish. Place the slices of mozzarella on top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned. Let sit for 10 minutes, cut into slices and serve, topped with pasta sauce if desired. Makes 8-10 servings.
My problem is that I like to pick the melted mozzarella off the top, so it looks worse when I heat it up. It’s healthier than getting a big plate of lasagna (no vast amounts of cheese and fatty sausage), and a small slice usually fills me up. Whole-wheat pasta would be a great addition. I like the turkey sausage, but chicken sausage would be really good in this, too. I think next time I’m going to add broccoli to it, and possibly zucchini and peppers. There are lots of possibilities to this dish, and you can really load it up with fresh veggies so it’s healthier. Plus, by using fresh mozzarella and ricotta, you limit your salt content (I find the shredded mozzarella tastes salty). And if you get a dried-out piece, you can add a little extra sauce on top and get the feeling of eating a big slice of Nonna’s famous lasagna. (I never had an Italian grandmother, so I’m completely guessing here; both my grandmothers are Irish.)
