The Day Pinot Was Replaced by Porter

As most of you know, Adam is a beer guy. And he's getting more and more obsessed every day to the point where I'm certain he's going to start homebrewing in our bathtub, thanks to Sam Calagione (the head of all things Dogfish Head) putting ideas into his head. Or he's going to leave me for Sam.*

Adam is also notoriously difficult to shop for and, as such, our families have bombarded him with beer and its various accoutrements for birthdays and holidays. This includes magazine subscriptions. So Adam is reading the latest Beer Traveler and there's a list of the 150 perfect places to drink a beer. One of them is Henry's 12th Street Tavern in Portland (it's #25). So we go there for lunch a couple days ago.


The beer list was insane. Here's a glimpse:


Even I found lots that I wanted to try. Like this Laurelwood Organic Tree Hugger Porter (Portland, OR):


I also tried a sample of the Oakshire Amber (Eugene, OR), which I loved - it was unique and complex in its flavor.

But the STAR of the whole experience? The gorgonzola fries:


I could use all kinds of flowery language and purple prose to describe them but I just can't. Crispness: perfect. Seasoning: perfect. Amount of gorgonzola: perfect. We had one plate of these among five of us, but we could just had two plates and called that our lunch. Next time, no doubt.

The dessert wasn't half-bad either:


That's the creme "brewlee" sampler. They use Widmer Hefeweizen to make the one so there's lots of clove and ginger and spice in it. The chocolate one uses Black Bear XX chocolate stout (of course) and it's so rich that one bite will suffice. Shortbread finishes it out.

Our hope is that Henry's is going to become a tradition - it was fantastic.

Eat, drink, and be open-minded about beer.

Note: The server told us that the waffle fries used in the gorgonzola fries are not housemade but that the fries that came with the burger were. The waffle fries were better by leaps and bounds. The house fries were lukewarm and rather soggy. Stick with the gorgonzola appetizer.

*While visiting the Dogfish Head Brewpub recently, Adam actually met Sam Calagione's son who isn't much older than our Bug. Adam is thinking of arranging their marriage...

Texas Library Association conference recap

As mentioned before, April was a bit...um...hectic. Two conferences in three weeks? Awesome*.

The first conference was Texas Library Association in San Antonio. Having never been to San Antonio - nay, never having been anywhere in Texas - I didn't know what to expect. But Texas delivers, man. The people were super nice, the cabbies were uber-chatty (in a good way), and the conference organizers are some of the best I've encountered so far.

I have a ridiculous amount of highlights to share with you so stay with me, folks:

• Hanging out with my fabulous publishing friends at Liberty Bar. It's hard to describe but it's this bizarre building, almost an Old West homage to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was introduced to Shiner Bock, which all my Texan friends told me I had to have, and it was every bit as awesome and refreshing as I had heard. But the stand-out was the venison burger - holy crap, it was out-of-this world.
  
  
• Meeting the ladies of Oops...Wrong Cookie. I've been a fan for awhile and it was fantastic to meet them in person. When I say to all of you, "Hey, stop by and say hi to me in booth #2222", I have to confess that I never believe anyone will. Shows me that I need to stop underestimating bloggers! This was a huge highlight for me, as evidenced by the happy-dance I did when Patti introduced herself!
  
  
• Meeting Ryan Smithson, author of Ghosts of War, who signed in our booth and spent quite a bit of time with us during the week. I've met people that served in Iraq before but, for some reason, meeting Ryan was just incredibly poignant for me. He's incredibly smart and bright and has so much to say and so much to add to the conversation (the conversation, of course, being teens serving in the military). It was an honor for me, truly, to spend time with him.
  
  
• Dinner out on Thursday night. A couple of us took out Sophie Jordan for dinner ( What, you haven't read Firelight yet?! The directions are easy: get yourself to a bookstore come September and buy a copy. You won't regret it. Or if you've read an ARC already, let me know what you think). But our reservation was canceled because we were too late. So, long story short, they were ridonkulously accomodating and set us up in their "sister" restaurant, Zinc. And we had our own little table in this little alcove on the patio while the rain fell five feet away - it was private and fun and intimate. In short, everything you want an author dinner to be. It's a HIDEOUS picture but feast your eyes on the truffled Parmesan fries:
  
  
  
  Need I point out that this photo does NOT do them justice?
  
  
• This is a walking town. Seriously, you could walk everywhere, which was just heavenly. I can't say the same for my next conference recap...
  
  
• Lastly, the Watermark Hotel. I can't recommend it enough. Remember the line in Ferris Bueller's Day Off? "I love driving it - it is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." He could have been talking about the Watermark. Is there a better place to stay on the Riverwalk? I doubt it**.

San Antonio, I love you...just as others who have come before me have declared. I will gladly return...in 2013! Can't wait!

Eat, drink, and look forward to your next Shiner Bock.

* When will someone finally perfect the sarcasm font?!

** Keep in mind that it's the only hotel I've ever stayed at anywhere in Texas. So no disrespect to other San Antonio hotels.

Thanksgiving: In Photos

Lest you read my previous post and think that I didn't document everything about Thanksgiving, I am here to reassure you that I took LOTS of pictures (or Adam did).  Here was our menu:

- Pork Loin Roast with Chestnuts (from The French Kitchen)

- Apple-Turnip Mashed Potatoes (from Southern Living)

- Wild Rice with Roasted Grapes and Walnuts (from Bon Appétit)

- Blackberry Crisp (the Soul Twin brought frozen wild blackberries

 that she gathered herself and used them in place of the apples in Ina Garten's recipe from Barefoot Contessa's Parties)

Now I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves:

For goodness sake, I have the most ridiculous hair!

"Would you like some fresh ground pepper with that?"

"Oh, honey, I think we could ALL use some fresh pepper."

(My eternal love if you know where this line is from)

The finished product.  Think we're a fancy schmancy family?  Check out the plastic wine glass with water for Kiddo.  You gotta agree that un-glams the table a bit!

I swear, this looked much more beautiful in person!

The motley crew (bottom left, clockwise): my other husband, the Soul Twin, Kiddo, yours truly, and the Husband.

Eat, drink, and happy holidays!

Cleaning up Bloglines: the Food Edition

So I was completely off on my Bloglines count…I had about 200 in my “Children’s Literature” section and almost 400 in my “Food” section…most of them as a result of Mr. Ruhlman who had 140 posts or so alone (which I think might have been a mistake...because when I went to his site, there were only 2 posts I hadn't read). Phew! But this concentrated, fast reading of all the posts has been rather fun…though I will try in the future not to repeat it.

On one hand, I know I’m not the most consistent, most articulate blogger out there, or even remotely close for that matter. However, in my sassier moments, I satisfy myself knowing that the biggest reason I’m not a blogging star is because I totally have a life away from the computer. So…um….there. Yeah.

Here are the standout foodie posts:

-- Book Club Girl has a post about Bastille Day and some book recommendations for Francophiles (though it’s a very brief list…I’d like to add Gastronomical Me, Paris to the Moon, From Here You Can’t See Paris, among many others…). You have ONE MORE DAY to take advantage of wine.com’s 1-cent shipping on French wines, in celebration of Bastille Day.

-- Confections of a Foodie Bride has a queso dip recipe that sounds like the perfect thing to eat on my balcony on a hot summer day. With a mojito.

-- Cream Puffs in Venice pimps her new favorite cookbook: Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden by Jeanne Kelley. I have bumped this cookbook to the top of my list – I’m such a sucker for beautiful food photography.

-- Speaking of beautiful food photography, La Tartine Gourmande wins my award (the one I just made up) for Most Beautiful Food Photograph Posted in my Absence. Click on the link and feel your blood pressure immediately go down and feel yourself whisked away to simpler days when your only plans for the day were to ride your bike and sell some lemonade. Aaaaah…

-- I’ve been obsessed with MFK Fisher lately, but I missed her birthday. Check out Cooked Books' great post on her…and be envious that you don’t work at NYPL. I might give up children’s to be able to work with NYPL’s culinary archives. Even if I’m not qualified for an archival job…

-- Need yet another reason to buy local produce?

-- For the Love of Food has a recipe for Baked Sweet Potato with Maple Jalapeño Sour Cream that looks yummers and sounds so weird that it probably tastes awesome. She also has a recipe for Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad. Rachael Ray also has a very similar recipe that I really like: Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders and Salad with Tangy Maple Dressing. Nevertheless, I won’t be working either of these recipes until summer is over and my kitchen gets some ventilation from those 30-degree winds…

-- We Are Never Full, once again, has me in stitches…even when asking a legitimate ethical question about our food and humanity. And who says there's no wildlife or nature in the Big City?

-- This isn’t necessarily food-related, but I’m in love with Simple Things Made Great. Amy talks about two things we could all use more of: great summer music and improved life quality. I'm madly in love with anyone who names their playlists "The Sky is Open" and "My Heart is Bursting."

Last but not least, the kiddo is being delivered by my mom to JFK airport tonight and I am ecstatic. Even if that means I now have to give an explanation for every speck of green in every dish I make.

Eat, drink, and be thankful for time with your family.

Pasta with Balsamic Tomatoes & Jamie Oliver's Pan-Fried Steak with Olive Oil Mash

I've had a couple of successes lately, which is always a boost to one's ego. Especially since I've had quite a few misses, which I suppose is a sign that I'm growing confident enough to take more risks...thus creating more failures!

The weather is so deliciously wonderful here in New York, and I couldn't resist buying some Campari tomatoes at the nearby crappy grocery store the other day. The oddest thing was that the tomatoes came from Canada. Canada??? How can Canada produce such pretty jewels but I can't get anything local except for root vegetables and micro cilantro? Nevertheless, I bought the tomatoes, telling myself that buying tomatoes from Canada was better than buying them from Mexico or California - I mean, at least New York shares a border with Canada! So here' s what I made:

I marinated the tomatoes in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Then cooked up some fresh linguine. Tossed it all together, shaved some parmigiana reggiano on top, and - presto! - I had the most delicious meal on the patio to celebrate spring! And so easy!

Here's another good one:



This one is from Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie: Pan-Fried Sirloin Steak with Simple Chianti Butter Sauce and Olive Oil Mash (you can see the cookbook picture in the background). The dish was very good, but I think it could be better - I'll keep working on it. First, I used Yukon Gold potatoes so I didn't peel the potatoes, like Jamie recommends. I actually really like the texture of the skins so I try to keep them in mashed potatoes when I can. The potatoes turned out excellent. Here is what I would change: I didn't get a very good cut of meat (thanks again, Fresh Direct). Fresh Direct only had choice cut in the antibiotics-free steak, and the lower quality cut really showed here - it didn't have that buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It was too chewy. The other unfortunate thing was that I wasn't sure I would have enough sauce for both servings so I really skimped on my sauce but dumped it on Adam's plate (the picture above is Adam's). As a result, mine was a little bland and dry. Adam moaned over his serving. So I'll have to be a little less stingy with the sauce next time...or give the plate with less sauce to Adam!

Bon appètit!

Quack Quack here and a Quack Quack there*

A couple weeks ago – yeah, I know I’m a little late on this – I found this recipe for braised duck legs on one of my favorite food blogs, Amateur Gourmet. I love duck with a passion, and I’m always looking for super simple new recipes. So I was intrigued by this one. It just sounded like the perfect accompaniment to the chilly winter weather: earthy, simple, and colorful.

Amateur Gourmet wasn’t lying – this really is the simplest dang recipe in the world to make. The AG says you need one onion, one stalk of celery, one carrot, and a knob of ginger. It looked like too little to me so I added another carrot and another stalk of celery. Even then, I could have added more veggies – I’m always a fan of more fresh ginger. The point is that this recipe is ideal for improvisation, which is always a plus in my mind. I didn’t have the lemongrass, which wasn’t missed at all, and I also didn’t have “five spice powder.” Instead, I used the “Thai seasoning” I had on hand and that worked brilliantly. You simmer all the vegetables, put the duck on top of them, and into the oven for 2 hours. Done. That simple, really. And WOW it tasted perfect.

The only problem was that I got my worst kitchen burn to date making this one. I used my stainless steel skillet so I could go from stovetop to oven without any problems, and I pulled the skillet out of the oven with my oven mitt and placed it on the stovetop. Then I put the oven mitt back in the drawer. But I’m so used to grabbing pans on the stove that I went to pick up the skillet with my bare hand, lifted it up, and received burning skin in return. Adam sprayed a ton of Bactine anti-burn stuff on my hand, I ran my hand under cold water, and I said every swear word in the book through clenched teeth. And I spent our entire meal with an ice pack on my hand to stop the throbbing. So not fun. But I don’t know – is it completely nuts that I sort of take pride in these moments? Like it’s a battle scar. It means I’m a serious cook because, you know, I’ve sustained injuries. See? Look, how hard-core I am! Yeah, I even got blisters. Rad, right?

And as if this amazing meal wasn’t enough, I was able to skim off all the rendered duck fat and keep it in the fridge for those roasted potatoes I had been dying to make. I roasted some Yukons up, all crispy with their duck fat-infused smokiness…and topped it off with crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Yeah, it was just as good as it sounds.

Bon appétit!

* God, I loathe coming up with titles for my blog posts. I'm going to start naming them like Friends episodes, i.e. "The One about French Milk" or the "The One about the Random House Summer 2008 preview."

This Week's Menu: The MLK Weekend Edition

So I was going to chat about today’s NYT Dining section, but I’m just not feeling like it. Because those posts are rather time-consuming, the Husband is working late, and the kiddo is in bed…I’m feeling like watching “House Hunters International” rather than sitting at the computer. I just finished a Fresh Direct order and made a grocery list for Adam to take to Chelsea Market. Here’s what I’m making this holiday weekend:

FRIDAY: All-Day Breakfast Salad. It’s an all-Jamie-Oliver-Cook-With-Jamie weekend, as it’s my newest cookbook and I’m having fun tinkering with it. This has salad greens, a poached egg, sautéed bread, bacon, and chives all mixed up together. Doesn’t sound too shabby for a Friday night meal!

SATURDAY: Fish Lasagne. Intriguing, no? Lots of veggies, shrimp, white fish (I’m going to try skate with this – god, I love skate), cherry tomatoes (I know they’re out of season, but I’m being sucked in…), Parmesan, pancetta…I’m telling you, this is going to rock. I can feel it.

SUNDAY: Potato rosti and salad. Like I said, all-Jamie-weekend. I’m intrigued by this – apparently it was a “classic potato dish of the 1980’s”??? But I assure you my mom never made this. It’s sort of like a very thin, crispy hash brown pie. With whole cloves of garlic. Need I say more? Doing a simple salad on the side with white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and goat cheese.

MONDAY: Filet mignon with “Best Onion Gratin”. It’s a holiday so I can still go the more elaborate route. I’m doing the filet mignon, but the gratin is Jamie’s. Apparently I’m doing all the root vegetables to alleviate my guilt over the totally non-seasonal tomatoes in the lasagne. The gratin has red onions, white wine, garlic, Gruyere, crème fraiche, and Parmesan. How can I possibly go wrong?

Bon appetit!

Eat Our Brains Turned Me on to Duck Fat!

Like I need another blog to read! Nevertheless, thanks to Shaken and Stirred, I just discovered Eat Our Brains. And my first exposure to the blog is a brilliant and hilarious discussion of the virtues of roasting potatoes in duck fat. Swooooooon! Seriously, don’t read the blog entry unless you’re prepared to immediately go out and buy duck fat and potatoes for dinner tonight.