(so that's the secret to happiness....)
Friday, October 22, 2010
Dim Sum Sunday Reminder - Heart Healthy
Don't forget, Dim Sum Sunday this Sunday is all about sharing a Heart Healthy dish. Anyone can participate, just make a dish, take pictures of the process you used making the dish, the finished dish, or a picture of a meal you ate at a restaurant you enjoyed. Write up a description and post on your blog, come back here on Sunday and post in the comments that you're up with your Dim Sum offering and we'll all come around to visit with our virtual plates and forks.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Major Pimpage
The Quickfire from the latest Just Desserts had to have the most blatant Product Pimpage I've seen in a long time and I'm constantly on the Pimpage Alert System. But I'm wondering, did it work? Here we are, after the program has aired and I'm wondering if you can name the product?
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
You're Either In or You're Out
I like this show. I like this show for a lot of reasons. One is the challenges. I don't know much about the world of pastry chefs but now I know there's a thing called modeling chocolate, that there's a chocolate convention every year and that making edible couture is old hat to some of these chefs.
I don't think this challenge is out of line for this show. Making edible dresses does seem a bit silly, erotic almost bordering on cannibalistic but for a Bravo reality show it's pretty tame. It's also a good skills and knowledge challenge. Obviously chocolate work is what they are looking for and your skills at petit fours.
The last reason I really like this show is how at ease Gail Simmons is at her role as hostess. When they rolled this table of shoes out...
...it wasn't just because they love shoes but because they ask Gail to model what shoes she's wearing every morning.
I don't think this challenge is out of line for this show. Making edible dresses does seem a bit silly, erotic almost bordering on cannibalistic but for a Bravo reality show it's pretty tame. It's also a good skills and knowledge challenge. Obviously chocolate work is what they are looking for and your skills at petit fours.
The last reason I really like this show is how at ease Gail Simmons is at her role as hostess. When they rolled this table of shoes out...
...and Team Diva went crazy...
...it wasn't just because they love shoes but because they ask Gail to model what shoes she's wearing every morning.
She obviously plays along and why not. She's having fun and it shows.
So it's a tough challenge and not much time to make mistakes. I would have thought the ladies of the group would have had a much stronger showing but none of them really impressed with their offerings. Zac and Yigit performed exactly as expected and poor Eric I think was lucky to have something on his dress form. The biggest surprise was Morgan, apparently a woman's shoe freak from way back.
He's done early enough to stand around and fantasize about whatever woman he can get in and out of his dress. Still it's a beautiful simple piece and I love the way the chocolate discs look like actual large sequins.
However my personal favorite was Yigit's white chocolate dress. I loved that he used white with splashes of color to continue the color from the shoes he chose.
Morgan wins the challenge and $20,000. As beautiful as Yigit and Morgan's dresses were, Heather, Eric and Danielle's dresses were a disaster.
Eric's I understand. Just not his challenge and he's lucky the other two standing up there with him were just so off the mark. Yes, in theory, you can eat Heather and Morgan's dresses, ideally if you were a goat but this is still a pastry contest. Danielle's dress from a distance looks like a bad version of the meat dress Lady Gaga wore not long ago. Except Danielle's added a what looks like a tube of intestines as a necklace.
Yet as bad as that was, poor Heather is auffed yet again only to re-enter the condo of shame and Zac is left to brood at being beat in the edible couture challenge by a straight guy from Texas. Oh the shame...
So it's a tough challenge and not much time to make mistakes. I would have thought the ladies of the group would have had a much stronger showing but none of them really impressed with their offerings. Zac and Yigit performed exactly as expected and poor Eric I think was lucky to have something on his dress form. The biggest surprise was Morgan, apparently a woman's shoe freak from way back.
He's done early enough to stand around and fantasize about whatever woman he can get in and out of his dress. Still it's a beautiful simple piece and I love the way the chocolate discs look like actual large sequins.
However my personal favorite was Yigit's white chocolate dress. I loved that he used white with splashes of color to continue the color from the shoes he chose.Morgan wins the challenge and $20,000. As beautiful as Yigit and Morgan's dresses were, Heather, Eric and Danielle's dresses were a disaster.
Eric's I understand. Just not his challenge and he's lucky the other two standing up there with him were just so off the mark. Yes, in theory, you can eat Heather and Morgan's dresses, ideally if you were a goat but this is still a pastry contest. Danielle's dress from a distance looks like a bad version of the meat dress Lady Gaga wore not long ago. Except Danielle's added a what looks like a tube of intestines as a necklace. 
Yet as bad as that was, poor Heather is auffed yet again only to re-enter the condo of shame and Zac is left to brood at being beat in the edible couture challenge by a straight guy from Texas. Oh the shame...Monday, October 18, 2010
You Can Soufflé If You Want To
So the ambulance and Seth have faded into the distance. I thought for sure we'd see much more celebrating back at the condo.
While there might have been a wild party commemorating a Seth-free life, we the viewers did not get to see it. Instead we are treated to a classic clique envy.
It seems Team Go Diva is causing some resentment among the folks not part of Team Go Diva.
I'm resentful that Team Go Diva has given itself such a lame name. Despite all this resentment, we still have a Quickfire to attend to and our guest judge is all over that like white on whipped cream. I give you Sherry Yard and The Soufflé Dance.
"First we start off with what I like to call Surprise Jazz Hands..."
"...then we go right into the Soufflé Booté Bounce..."
"...and then big big ending with the Flying Bakers Back Kick."
While there might have been a wild party commemorating a Seth-free life, we the viewers did not get to see it. Instead we are treated to a classic clique envy.
It seems Team Go Diva is causing some resentment among the folks not part of Team Go Diva.
I'm resentful that Team Go Diva has given itself such a lame name. Despite all this resentment, we still have a Quickfire to attend to and our guest judge is all over that like white on whipped cream. I give you Sherry Yard and The Soufflé Dance.
"First we start off with what I like to call Surprise Jazz Hands..."
"...then we go right into the Soufflé Booté Bounce..."
"...and then big big ending with the Flying Bakers Back Kick."With that inspiration, the chefs run off to make their soufflés. I can't tell if this is a creativity challenge or more of a skills challenge? Most head down the road of traditional soufflés while Zac decides to go the soufflé glacé route.
With tiny green apple pixie balls. Naturally.
She is one soufflé loving judge.
With tiny green apple pixie balls. Naturally.
She is one soufflé loving judge.As for judging, two thirds of Team Go Diva ends up in the bottom, which makes Danielle very happy.
But that happiness is short lived when the remaining third takes the immunity, the Quickfire Win and....
...sticks the Dismount.
And damned if there isn't a uncanny resemblance between Yigit and his own dessert.
But that happiness is short lived when the remaining third takes the immunity, the Quickfire Win and....
...sticks the Dismount.And damned if there isn't a uncanny resemblance between Yigit and his own dessert.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Dim Sum Sunday
Did you see? The Food Network has a new show called Meat & Potatoes.
Will the madness ever stop? So despite the clamoring for a Souffle Dim Sum (look for that somewhere down the road) it's time for a Heart Healthy Dim Sum Sunday. WHAT? This has nothing to do with the high blood pressure reading after my last doctor visit. NOTHING!
Anyhoo....a heart healthy dish is one that is at least low in fat and sodium. Hopefully not lacking in flavor. Let's meet back here on Sunday October 24th with our best heart healthy dishes.
Will the madness ever stop? So despite the clamoring for a Souffle Dim Sum (look for that somewhere down the road) it's time for a Heart Healthy Dim Sum Sunday. WHAT? This has nothing to do with the high blood pressure reading after my last doctor visit. NOTHING!Anyhoo....a heart healthy dish is one that is at least low in fat and sodium. Hopefully not lacking in flavor. Let's meet back here on Sunday October 24th with our best heart healthy dishes.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Do you Soufflé
Yigit's Soufflé was beautiful and delicious and really showed his experience with the dish. Have you mastered the mystery of the Soufflé?Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Fall of Seth
The Fall of Seth all starts innocently enough with the rather disgusting practice of Seth shaving in the kitchen sink. Two observations.
Could those shorts be any bigger on him and damn, what's up with the pink kitchen? Apparently Seth is finding any way possible to grind away at the other contestants attempts at camaraderie and cohesion. Meanwhile upstairs...
Malika is having her own doubts about staying in the competition (more than likely caused by the brightness of her pillowcase keeping her awake at night) and really missing her kids. Who knew making desserts was so stressful. It's OK, really, because there's a softball Quickfire Challenge coming up.
Time to Pimp Some Product. Today's pimpage? Breyers Ice Cream with the lovely Gale Gand as Guest Judge.
It's simple, bling up an ice cream sundae. That's all. Well...except for Seth. Despite the presence of a huge table of....ice cream, Seth wants to know if he can make his own ice cream. Gail Simmons firmly answers no and somehow resists the urge to throw a carton of Breyers at Seth. The twitchfest begins.
Seth starts muttering something about weak sauce and seems to be unable to JUST STAND STILL. Suddenly we're cutting to the stew room. What? Stew room? Don't be fooled, the chefs spend a lot of time there especially when everything has to be set up and the rules of the challenge have to be reviewed.
It's here that Seth gets into some kind of argument with the Producer with No Name about cupcake liners. Yes, you read that right, cupcake liners. Seth's persecution complex has exploded to the point of demanding his passport (according to Zac). Now at this point, one has to wonder, what kind of detention camp do these reality shows run if they demand your passport upon entry into the competition? After much yelling and drama Seth leaves the Stew Room to go have his panic attack in private.
Because let's face it, having a fainting spell/panic attack in front a group of people you've done everything possible to alienate is not the best plan of attack. Then again it will also get you kicked off the show. A little note to future contestants of Just Desserts and Top Chef. It's a very fine line between being the annoying chef dedicated to grating on your fellow chefs nerves as a method to win the game and being a total prick that the producers can't wait to get rid of. Seth crossed the line, never to return. I'm not sure he could even handle a reunion show. How will this affect the rest of the chefs?
Zac, Yigit and Erika look like they are taking it in stride. Morgan looks like he's wondering who he can manly bond with now. The ice cream challenge goes on with Morgan winning it but Zac coming in a close second with a panko fried ice cream. Having actually fried ice cream before I'm thinking Zac should have won it. But really, with Seth's departure, didn't we all win?
Could those shorts be any bigger on him and damn, what's up with the pink kitchen? Apparently Seth is finding any way possible to grind away at the other contestants attempts at camaraderie and cohesion. Meanwhile upstairs...
Malika is having her own doubts about staying in the competition (more than likely caused by the brightness of her pillowcase keeping her awake at night) and really missing her kids. Who knew making desserts was so stressful. It's OK, really, because there's a softball Quickfire Challenge coming up.
Time to Pimp Some Product. Today's pimpage? Breyers Ice Cream with the lovely Gale Gand as Guest Judge.
It's simple, bling up an ice cream sundae. That's all. Well...except for Seth. Despite the presence of a huge table of....ice cream, Seth wants to know if he can make his own ice cream. Gail Simmons firmly answers no and somehow resists the urge to throw a carton of Breyers at Seth. The twitchfest begins.
Seth starts muttering something about weak sauce and seems to be unable to JUST STAND STILL. Suddenly we're cutting to the stew room. What? Stew room? Don't be fooled, the chefs spend a lot of time there especially when everything has to be set up and the rules of the challenge have to be reviewed.
It's here that Seth gets into some kind of argument with the Producer with No Name about cupcake liners. Yes, you read that right, cupcake liners. Seth's persecution complex has exploded to the point of demanding his passport (according to Zac). Now at this point, one has to wonder, what kind of detention camp do these reality shows run if they demand your passport upon entry into the competition? After much yelling and drama Seth leaves the Stew Room to go have his panic attack in private.
Because let's face it, having a fainting spell/panic attack in front a group of people you've done everything possible to alienate is not the best plan of attack. Then again it will also get you kicked off the show. A little note to future contestants of Just Desserts and Top Chef. It's a very fine line between being the annoying chef dedicated to grating on your fellow chefs nerves as a method to win the game and being a total prick that the producers can't wait to get rid of. Seth crossed the line, never to return. I'm not sure he could even handle a reunion show. How will this affect the rest of the chefs?
Zac, Yigit and Erika look like they are taking it in stride. Morgan looks like he's wondering who he can manly bond with now. The ice cream challenge goes on with Morgan winning it but Zac coming in a close second with a panko fried ice cream. Having actually fried ice cream before I'm thinking Zac should have won it. But really, with Seth's departure, didn't we all win?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Precious Cargo
I love traveling. Meeting new people, eating at restaurants that can only be found in the city I'm visiting. But most of all I love getting things I can't get at home. Like say for instance....
You know what happens from all that scratching and grub consumption?
Gorgeous fresh eggs. How could I combine the two into one dish that would make stars of both? An omelet seems too pedestrian. Crab egg foo yung briefly skittered into the picture but let's face it, it's just a Chinese American omelet. I finally decided on a Crab Benedict.
Eggs Benedict is one of those rare dishes I eat out more than make for myself. Whipping up hollandaise for one seems excessive. However since I had already made the crabcakes, poaching some eggs and making hollandaise wouldn't be that much of a stretch. I pulled out my trusty Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes and started the hollandaise thrown down.
I like the way they poach the eggs (break egg into cup, pour egg from cup into barely simmering vinegar water, immediately cover and remove from heat and allow egg to cook for 5 minutes), mine came out perfectly cooked. The hollandaise, while smooth, was bland. Even after a liberal addition of Old Bay. And instead of using an english muffin I whipped up some cornbread as my base.
Let me tell you, while the hollandaise was lacking, the fresh eggs and jumbo crabmeat more than made the difference in this exquisite dish. Thank you Chickory for the eggs and the opportunity to bring this little part of your world home to Kansas City. If you'd like to see more of the The Girlz and their very theatrical life, check out this video.
Thank you, Whole Foods Atlanta, for having Jumbo Lump Crab nestled deep in a bed of ice, just waiting for my greedy little hands to snatch it up and practically RUN to the checkout line. Yes, it's true, it wasn't Chesapeake Bay crab but it was still blue crab and even if it was from Florida it wasn't the horrible crap that sits behind the seafood counters in Kansas City. Some damn day someone will have to explain to me how it's easier to get international crabmeat (Thailand, India) in the Midwest than it is to get real crab from the East Coast. But I digress.
The pound of jumbo lump rode the highways and byways to finally land in my refrigerator at home and it's eventual destiny as crabcakes. However crab wasn't the only precious food cargo I came home with. No, I got to meet some real live free range chickens, scratching and pecking in the good Georgia dirt.
The pound of jumbo lump rode the highways and byways to finally land in my refrigerator at home and it's eventual destiny as crabcakes. However crab wasn't the only precious food cargo I came home with. No, I got to meet some real live free range chickens, scratching and pecking in the good Georgia dirt.
You know what happens from all that scratching and grub consumption?
Gorgeous fresh eggs. How could I combine the two into one dish that would make stars of both? An omelet seems too pedestrian. Crab egg foo yung briefly skittered into the picture but let's face it, it's just a Chinese American omelet. I finally decided on a Crab Benedict.
Eggs Benedict is one of those rare dishes I eat out more than make for myself. Whipping up hollandaise for one seems excessive. However since I had already made the crabcakes, poaching some eggs and making hollandaise wouldn't be that much of a stretch. I pulled out my trusty Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes and started the hollandaise thrown down.
I like the way they poach the eggs (break egg into cup, pour egg from cup into barely simmering vinegar water, immediately cover and remove from heat and allow egg to cook for 5 minutes), mine came out perfectly cooked. The hollandaise, while smooth, was bland. Even after a liberal addition of Old Bay. And instead of using an english muffin I whipped up some cornbread as my base.Let me tell you, while the hollandaise was lacking, the fresh eggs and jumbo crabmeat more than made the difference in this exquisite dish. Thank you Chickory for the eggs and the opportunity to bring this little part of your world home to Kansas City. If you'd like to see more of the The Girlz and their very theatrical life, check out this video.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Woodfire Grill
Took a little Southern road trip recently and found myself in the capitol of the New South, Atlanta. Atlanta holds many fond memories for me of playing in Fourth of July softball tournaments. Yes, I did say fond despite nearly suffering a heat stroke that comes with playing any outdoor sport in Atlanta in July. Happily the end of September is much less oppressive in the heat and humidity department. I had one dining out night and despite my good friend Chickory's suggestion of Richard Blaise's Flip, my friends and I made reservations at the Woodfire Grill.
Yes, Kevin Gillespie's Woodfire Grill. Kevin's restaurant is the perfect example of The Top Chef Effect. From the background I could dig into, Woodfire was an ok restaurant but not exactly setting Atlanta's culinary scene on fire with it California country menu. Flash forward to the chef owner selling to the group of current owners and add Kevin's huge run of success on season 6 of Top Chef and suddenly you've got a restaurant that's getting decent reviews, full tables and a ton of buzz during an incredibly tumultuous economic downturn. However with that popularity and recognition also comes huge expectations and pressure. Will the food still measure up? Time to find out.
It was a relaxed Wednesday night when we plunked down in our booth. I had driven in from KC the night before while my friend Jenny had flown in from Seattle to visit with her friend Lynn who lives in Atlanta. They had both eaten here before and loved it. But what to get? We could have ordered à la carte or we could go with the 5 or 7 chef's tasting menu with wine selections paired up with each course. However if one of us wanted to do a tasting the whole table had to do the tasting. We chose the 5 course but even better, Woodfire is very attentive to the specific needs of it's diners. We had one guest who is a vegetarian and one who keeps kosher but neither request was a problem for the kitchen, each menu was easily adjusted to each diner's requirements. So the night's grazing begins with drinks and bread.
Jenny's martini, so pretty and made Jenny oh so happy. Yours truly stuck with ice tea, not the sweet tea mind you but regular tea. A basket of rustic, hearty slices of bread soon appeared. It was wonderful bread, with that deep crusty flavor perfect for dipping into soups.
A warning about the night's photos. It was fairly dark inside the restaurant and I have yet to find the right Karmic balance between shooting restaurant photos with flash and not disrupting other diners with my crack monkey antics. So my photos are not as crisp and sharp as I generally like to post for you, my readers. I apologize.
Back to the food.
Back to the food.
An amuse bouche of peaches and cheese. A quick delicious little bite taking Georgia's signature crop and pairing it up with a smidgen of goat cheese. Next up for me was the Chinese Long Beans.
A perfectly cooked scallop on a bed of pesto parsnips and black eyed peas. Cannot remember what the sauce was but a well cooked scallop is a thing of beauty, crispy edges on the outside, tender flavorful flesh on the inside. Heaven.
Slightly spicy boiled peanuts (another Southern foodstock) on Chinese long beans with a hint of citrus paired up with a smokey sauce. Excellent.
A perfectly cooked scallop on a bed of pesto parsnips and black eyed peas. Cannot remember what the sauce was but a well cooked scallop is a thing of beauty, crispy edges on the outside, tender flavorful flesh on the inside. Heaven.
A shot of celery juice with an apple cider vinegar foam. I love servings like this, something you would never think of pairing on your own but after trying it finding yourself smiling at how good it is.
Ah yes, the man and his muse, the mighty pig. When I look back on my sequence of photographs of the night, there was only one shot of this dish. Because when pork belly is waiting on your plate, you don't make it wait long. I had to restrain myself from gobbling it all down like Oprah on a Krispy Kreme. The cube of pork was seasoned with salt and a hint of pepper, the crust was succulent and the ribbon of meat was smoky and tender. I think I sucked the silver right off the fork. Not to forget the quail...it was tender and juicy but let's face it, the star here is the pork belly. The next course for me was the duck breast. The photo sucked so I'm not posting it and it was the weakest dish of the night in my menu. It was still good but mine was a little tough, tiptoeing ever so slightly into rubbery territory. I'm not sure if it was prepared a la sous vide or if it was roasted. I'm guessing the former. Or it could be that nothing after the pork belly is going to measure up.
Happily the dessert course picked up the slack from the duck offering. A blueberry corncake with blueberry ice cream and a limoncello ganache. The corncake was amazing combination of fresh corn niblets and plump blueberries, letting the corn and the blueberries provide the sweetness as opposed to sugar being the sweet component. Balance that with the tart smooth textured limoncello ganache and you've got some pretty happy campers and a wonderful ending to a wonderful meal.
Did I get to meet the man himself? Sadly no, he was traveling in France, I'm sure learning the ways of the Pig, French style. Still his kitchen more than held up their end of the night with amazing food, prepared with style and flare. If you find yourself in Atlanta, definitely give Woodfire Grill chance to rock your pig loving world.
Did I get to meet the man himself? Sadly no, he was traveling in France, I'm sure learning the ways of the Pig, French style. Still his kitchen more than held up their end of the night with amazing food, prepared with style and flare. If you find yourself in Atlanta, definitely give Woodfire Grill chance to rock your pig loving world.
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