While your fish cooks in it's banana leaf snuggie, dice one mango, half an onion, and the flesh of one blood orange. Mix in the juice of a lime and a blood orange and add a handful of cilantro. Drizzle the mixture with a bit of olive oil and season with sea salt. Chill until the fish has finished cooking.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Dim Sum Sunday - Sunny Citrus
While your fish cooks in it's banana leaf snuggie, dice one mango, half an onion, and the flesh of one blood orange. Mix in the juice of a lime and a blood orange and add a handful of cilantro. Drizzle the mixture with a bit of olive oil and season with sea salt. Chill until the fish has finished cooking.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lunch Bag Art

Ralphie would have loved this one.
But dad didn't just do plain brown lunch bags. We've got Tribal Bananas.
We've got Devious Sneakers.
We've even got some snarky commentary on the Star Wars Trilogy movies (with a little Pulp Fiction thrown in for good measure).
You too can follow the daily lunch bag parade at Lunch Bag Art.

Sunday, January 24, 2010
Amuse or Refuse?
You start by peeling a largish Yukon gold potato. Then you make your thin slices on your mandolin. Choose 5 or 6 similarly shaped slices and cut two slits in the middle. This is so you can thread your white anchovy through like a belt through a belt loop. As it just so happened, I had marinated white anchovies in my fridge. I found them at Whole Food's deli counter. (Unfortunately I'm not sure if this is the same as they used in the cookbook version. It just calls for white anchovies.) Once you've placed all the anchovies in their potato slots, brush all with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. It's here that the recipe gets a little funky. It calls for putting the slices on parchment or silpat (on a cookie sheet) and then sandwiching with another layer of silpat or parchment and on top of that another cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. At first I liked the idea of baking them but once the first 15 minutes had passed and I checked on their progress the chips looked like they had barely cooked. Gave them another 10 minutes. A little better but still very limp. I decided to jettison the top layer and let the chips cook unimpeded.
While Tramonto's book is very pretty and a detailed look into how they developed these amuse bouches at their restaurant, I'd definitely check it out from your library first. If it connects more with you than it did with me I'm sure you could find space in your kitchen library to add it to your collection. It would also make a great gift for the restaurant chefs in your life.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dim Sum Sunday - Sunny Citrus



Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What the Heck is Snow Cream


Recipe for Snow Cream
Snow - fresh clean snow (no, yellow snow is not lemon flavored)
Milk or cream
Sugar
some flavoring ingredient (depends on your spice shelf and whether your mom made pancakes every Sunday morning to have maple syrup in the house)
Fold gently together.
Serve to ravenous children.
Repeat until:
A. Snow runs out.
B. Milk runs out.
C. Sugar runs out.
D. Patience runs out.
That, my friends, is Snow Cream.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Dim Sum Sunday - Snow Day
Cream of Tomato Soup
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups juice reserved
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Pinch ground allspice
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken stock, homemade or canned low-sodium
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons brandy or dry sherry
Salt and cayenne pepper
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450°F. Lined rimmed baking sheet with foil. With fingers, carefully open whole tomatoes over strainer set in bowl and push out seeds, allowing juices to fall through strainer into bowl. Spread seeded tomatoes in single layer on foil. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. Bake until all liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes. Let tomatoes cool slightly, then peel them off foil; transfer to small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat butter over medium heat in large saucepan until foaming. Add shallots, tomato paste and allspice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add chicken stock, whisking constantly to combine; stir in reserved tomato juice and roasted tomatoes. Cover, increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour mixture through strainer and into medium bowl; rinse out saucepan. Transfer tomatoes and solids in strainer to blender; add 1 cup strained liquid and puree until smooth. Place pureed mixture and remaining strained liquid in saucepan. Add cream and warm over low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in brandy and season with salt and cayenne. Serve immediately.
Roasting your tomatoes is a crucial step. It definitely adds a depth of flavor that you're not going to get even when using winter fresh grocery store tomatoes. Don't skip this step. Once you get past the tomato prep, this soup goes together quickly and simply. As I finished off the soup I wondered if I really needed the brandy. The soup to that point tasted wonderful, rich with tomato flavor. How would the brandy help? I added the brandy just a little at a time and tasted after each addition. It was with this simple dish that I finally got to taste what Unami means. Unami is often talked about as the fifth taste. My soup was fine before the brandy but after the addition there was a savory depth, a complexity that lingered on the tongue and expanded into my sinuses. I never imagined a can of tomatoes could taste so good. It made a simple grilled cheese into a work of art. It even made my sweet gherkin pickles taste a little sharper and tangier.
As long as you have a decent can of whole tomatoes in your pantry, you will be ready for anything a snow day can throw at you.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Iron Chef - Gardengate

Sunday, January 10, 2010
L'heure du souper, Canadian Style
Even had time to whip up a little dessert.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Snowmageddon 2009 or Would You Like Fries with that Order of Rage
Not sure if you've seen this little gem of Burger Rage that happened here in Kansas City. Two days after Christmas a patron of the Midtown McDonald's decided that the food was not to her liking and found some interesting ways to show her displeasure. Now the video has gone national and she's on the run with the police following her greasy trail...which in the unplowed city streets should be fairly easy. People, if you're going to lose your mind over the quality of your food can you at least make it worth your while to get arrested? Perhaps something a little further up the food chain, like a Red Lobster or an Outback?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
When the Going Gets Tough...
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
It's BAAAACK
