Healing Liquor

How funny that being a bartender has changed my view of alcohol for the better. I used to walk around with my bottle of Guilty Pleasure tucked inside my overcoat. As I learn more, however, I see a history of drink as healer, reviver, and important social symbol, and I am proud to be a lover of liquor.
Our society sees alcohol as Bad. You will really be looked down upon for drinking during the day, for example. Drinking around kids? Terrible influence. Drink everyday? Alcoholic. Yet, it has not always been this way. There was a time when people went to monks for their healing "waters": beers, liqeurs, and wines, and when a day without wine was considered unhealthy. Does the modern sorority girl think about health as she does her shot of Jagermeister? Probably not, but when taken appropriately (apertifs before meal, digestifs after, restoratives when the energy sags)alcohol plays a very key part in human health. Sure, a big part of this is not drinking to excess, but, oh well.

Can I change this blog?

Gosh! Ever since I started working 4 nights a week, I don't cook much. I really miss dinner! Now, my non-cook husband is in charge, and I think the kids are healthier for it. It's beans and rice every night. Sometimes I go all out and prepare dinner before I leave, but not often. The night life ain't no good life, but it's my life!
In light of this, I think I'll change this blog to talk about my new position as bartender! I really enjoy the work. It's not so far removed from cooking. You follow a recipe, taste the result, and make people happy (hopefully!). Cocktails have been in my periphery more and more, with a renaissance underway in the food world, and several of my foody friends "going over" to the bar. I am still very much a novice, but I love mixing the drinks at CLN.
Right now, I'm at work to memorize drinks, but keep your eyes peeled for my style to arise! Rose champagne cocktail anyone?

La Batterie de Cuisine

La batterie; all of the implements used in the battle against food: pots, pans, whisks, knives,cutting boards, and scales. A good one can make everything more smooth, and a lousy one can be the death knell for your dish.I have an adequate collection of pots and pans, but my knives are terrible. I sometimes think that if I had a good knife, I would be a much better prep cook than I ever dreamed possible. There are some things that I would like to get like a meat mallet, a fat separator, a bread machine, a turkey rack, etc., but they are so fluffy that I continue to make do without them. It would be nice, but in the end, you don't need all that.

The Death of the Dinner Party

My best friends and I love to get together and have dinner parties. It's an intimate way to be with the people you love; spoiled by fine libations, intelligent conversations, and beautiful foods. It's the best way I know to show someone that I care about them. You come over to my house, I clean it, and light candles. I spend the day in the kitchen for you, I can't really call it work, since I'm thoroughly and happily immersed in my favorite art and craft. We get to spend quality time and learn more about each other. After the party is over, we've strengthened our reciprocal social bonds, and hopefully, we're better off for it. So why is this wonderful tradition on the decline?
Society seems to be more superficial these days. The concepts of speed and convenience are so embedded in our culture, that hardly anyone takes the time to really cook anymore. Ironically, it can cost more to make a nice dinner at home than it would have to eat out, or buy prepared meals. It also takes a lot of time. Still, I always feel it's time and money well spent.
Hopefully, more people will learn to Cook, and throw dinner parties for me. People really worship you when you feed them and give them a moment of luxury.

Lamb Love

I've made magic with lamb lately.
I cooked spezzatino agnello con gremolata (lamb ragout) and roasted potatoes for the Randoms. What a lovely dish! I love the way ragouts happen. They just flow. I really feel the love radiate into the food. This one had lamb, onions, garlic, ginger, citrus zest, and fresh parsley, green beans, zucchini and carrots. So nice.
A few nights ago, it was potato gratin, Jack Monaco's green bean salad, and broiled lamb leg steaks. It was one of those meals that falls together perfectly, is not difficult to execute, and which positively dances on the palate. That's how dinner should be! Too often I get mired down in menus; trying to find foods that are seasonal and that will harmonize with each other. Other times, the menu is easy enough, but the prep time is monumental, and even a full day in the kitchen doesn't feel like enough. Then, of course, there's the meal that just tastes lousy.
An easy, delicious dinner is the prize. Sit down, relax, and toast your blessings! Thanks lambies!

delicious risotto

I made a tasty mushroom risotto for dinner. I love risotto, but I always walk away from it, and she's a very jealous mistress. You have to stir that pot constantly for 20 minutes, no messing around. I am a butterfly in the kitchen. A little bit of this, a little bit of that- turn, drink wine, dance, chop parsley, sing, saute. So risotto and I don't work that well with each other. It came out well anyway.
Ed and Louis harvested about a pound of our green beans, too. I made one of my favorite's, a green bean salad with marinated onions and tarragon.
That was it. It's been nice to recover from a meat heavy vacation by being mainly vegetarian.

food my great grandma used to cook

It's funny. I barely remember my Nonni, but the memories I do have are all wrapped around food, like prosciutto around a melon.
She was Italian, and spoke no english, after 75 years here. Our shared language was food. Cheerios with banana sliced painstakingly into the bowl by her wizened old hands. A soup of beef broth with pastina, egg and parmesan. Homemade marinara gravy with roasted sausages simmered in it all day long.
This woman never left the kitchen. God forbid she should set foot in the pristine parlor, or rest her haunches for a minute on the living room couch in front of the t.v. No, her t.v. was a smaller one she watched in the kitchen while cooking. I think that Italian females of this and successive generations felt like less of a woman if they were not constantly and steadily supplying nutrition in the form of bread with plenty of butter, tiny handmade pastas, endless vinegary anti-pastas with peppers and onions, canoli, wine(yes, even as children, we would get wine with ice cubes), and cake from the excellent bakery down the street. I can't help but to love this form of attention. It is pure heaven to sit at a formica table and watch your flesh and blood bustle about as they prepare a meal for you. Even better to sit in a noisy swirl of family at the table; women constantly flowing back and forth from kitchen to table, menfolk drinking liquor between courses, grandma hiding the bottles, eating, talking, and being together. I should have been born an Italian man.

real food

The other day, I offered a friend a chip, and she said, "No, thanks, I only eat real food." It really made me think. There is a whole lot of crappy "food" out there. Maybe we need a new word for this stuff we cram into our bodies in the name of consumption. Many of the items we offer our children, and eat ourselves are de-nutrified, overprocessed junk. Most of what is sold as "food" is pretty borderline. So, what is real food? I've narrowed my idea of real food down to 3 factors; speed, origin and vibe.
It doesn't have to be slow-food to be real, although it usually is. The whole slow foods movement originating in Italy is fantastic, and I support it whole-heartedly, but that is the other extreme of junk food. Real food lies somewhere in the middle. You have to be able to make it after a long day, when the kids are nagging at you that they're hungry. Jacque Pepin's "Fast Food My Way" series is a great example of expedient real food. Also, those instant water boilers. Something is wrong with water that boils in less than a minute, but I LIKE it!
Another part of the reality of food is the who. Who made it? Yo mamma? The Honduran woman at the burrito stand? Am I the only one who tries to picture the guy behind the scenes at McDonald's, and exactly what scary preparations he pulls on my meat? You have to be aware of who made it. Were they happy or cross?
A deeper aspect of real food is to know the origin of the ingredients. It scares me that I have no idea where most of what I buy comes from. You really have to search to find tuna from the Oregon ocean, rather than Thailand, or eggs from just one state. It is the ultimate in authenticity to grow your own, but who can grow there own grains? Just think how much grass you would need to support your baking habit for a year. Do you know where your wheat comes from? I don't.
Real food boils down to vibe. You can just feel it when it's genuine. It's the opposite feeling of when you eat a Twinkie. It feels like friends and family around a table, candles and wine. The smell and sound of onions frying. The hard work of dishes and prep. More bread and salad, and less crackers and chips.This is what keeps it real.

The Garden

My garden is booming right now. The sunshine agrees with it. I have the happiest tomatoes, just set with fruit, and my chives are tall and fat. The basil, celery, parsley and lavender want constant pinches to stay healthy, but the zucchini and pumpkin could give a damn, as long as I water. Everyone's happy.
Now the pressure is on to cook up all this good greenness.
I can't wait for breaded, fried zucchini with tomato sauce and parmesan. It's so light, yet hearty. This year, for the first time, I plan to can tomatoes. Then there is tomato/ basil salad with chive tart. Otherwise I will just plain stuff them in my face. The invasive mint that some people complain about is a wonder to a lousy gardener like me. I randomly wrench it out in big masses, and there is always enough. Mint steamed carrots, hibiscus/mint tea. Chocolate mint. Lavender ice cream anyone?

Learning to Cook

It seems as if my entire life has been spent learning to cook. It's only in the past few years that I've consciously tried to become a better cuisinier. Along the way so many people have touched me. My mother, with her familiar refrain of "Come and watch me cook", her sauteed mushrooms and baked macaroni with 7 cheeses. My Italian grandmother, who I don't remember, but who taught my Irish mother how to cook. The owner of The Blue Heron in Reno, NV who taught me how to cut an onion CORRECTLY (turns out he was right on, Jacque Pepin uses the same technique). Steve at my first food job, soda jerk, who showed me the correct way to make espresso drinks.Lee Zucker of The LocoMotive Restaurant right here in Eugene, who taught me everything, but above all else, instilled a drive for perfection (damn you Lee!), a scientific approach, and an appreciation of flavor. Also, Julia, Jacques, and my other heroes at PBS, my favorite foodie friends, Robin, Jessica and Lisa, and countless others.
Some things I had to learn by myself, of course; how to get a good crust (higher heat than you'd think!), how to make the genoise rise and the cream puff puff, but without all the help, where would I be?

Curried Chickpeas

I made a delicious dish of curried garbanzos at work last night. I sauteed onions, garlic and ginger with the "garam" (hot) spices, toatoes and chickpeas, and served it on a bed of rice with chutneys and cucumber raita. It was a hit.

Here's to You, Mrs. Jaffrey

I've switched from obsessing on Jacque to obsessing on Madhur Jaffrey. The cabbage rolls stuffed with potato were Divine! I did the tomato, garbanzo flour sauce and served them on a bed of rice with cilantro and chutney. Heaven! Note to self - visit India someday. The subtle spicing, the healthiness cum cheapness, the exoticism, all are so fantastic. I am a cook at an Indian restaurant, and I plan to work my way through her revolutionary cookbook.

What's up, homey?

Why is it so damned hard to get a decent home-fry? This is a question I've been asking myself for years. They're either mushy lumps or as dry as those forgotten sneakers in the garage. I think it's one of the ironies of cooking- the easier, the harder. Like biscuits, which are only 4 ingredients; should be simple, right? Yet any cook will tell you that it takes years to morph that flour, butter, salt and cream into a light, fluffy paddy of goodness. Even before I knew I wanted to be a good cook, I knew I wanted to make a good home-fry. The trick seems to be boiling the potato VERY al dente, then frying it in prodigious amounts of butter and oil. I don't muss it up with herbs or overt seasonings, just salt and pepper. I think the thing that can make or break your potato chunks is the crust. Ahhhh, the crust. Another elusive element of cookery. Let that little puppy frizzle and sear! Saute the crap out of it, but not too far, lest you be left with a dried out moccasin of a breakfast spud.

Bayless Rocks!

Damn! I am falling in love with the simplicity and flavor of real Mexican food a la Rick Bayless. Last night's meal featured delicious chicken enchiladas in a creamy roasted poblano sauce; very simple, yet over the top good! I am excited to delve more deeply into this cuisine. The health kick we are on does not mesh with my love of all things French, so I am happy to have cultural cuisines that do! Next, I want to do the raw seafoods marinated in lime juice. Oh yeah!

entre nous

Between us, I think that cooking is the ultimate alchemy. You take a puny seed, give it water, earth and light, and it becomes a plant. You take the plant, give it water, salt, and fire, and it makes a meal. You take a meal, put it in your mouth, and the world is created. It's a real kind of magic.
I haven't been musical lately. Haven't touched my paint brushes. The carpet I started to hook last year is still unfinished in the garage. But I cook every day. This is the true art. Survival. Not in a feral, scuff through the brush way, but in a moment of luxury amidst the chaos. I do it to keep my family alive, sure, but I must keep them happy, too. It is the greatest art I know, and I continue to grow in it; meal by meal; menu by menu. I have to do it, so I will do it well, and I will do it with a magical mind.

Belly

Our long awaited date night is finally here!~ With 2 little boys in our lives, the US time is tough to snatch. We are psyched to FINALLY get to check out our friends' restaurant, Belly. It is all the rage here in Eugene. What plaisir to be able to sit back, relax, and let someone else do all the work!

Meal Schedule

We created a night by night genre schedule for dinners. Tuesday is Mexican. I love the freedom from thought that this gives me. I don't feel constrained by it, yet, just focused. For tonight, I want to try some of Rick Bayless' recipes. He's so annoying, but an amazing cook.
Right now, I'm baking Martha's banana bread. It's delicious, the main difference from other recipes being the sour cream. What is up with the modern craze for sour cream in everything? I guess it's a great baking acid, and lends that tang, that je ne sais quoi. It healed my pastry crust, which used to be brittle with only butter (I'm not down with lard) and is now more akin to flaky pie flesh.

This might be good for me...

I thought that this whole nutritious dinner kick would kill the progress I've made on my mission to become a better cook. This year has seen huge improvements to my menu design, knife work, and meals in general, and I don't want to lose that. Yet, the informality of "health" food prep has given me freedom in the kitchen. I'm not so tied to the recipes, for one thing. I've cooked hippy food for most of my life, and it's pretty easy. Now, I don't even know for sure what's for dinner, I just go into the kitchen, start juggling ingredients, and see what happens. It's liberation, in a way. I must admit, my body likes the absence of tons of cream, meat and butter, but I yearn for custards, tarts, roast beef and sugar. We'll see how long this lasts.

getting healthy

For people like me who love to cook "gourmet", it's not easy to try and prepare healthy food. What does healthy mean? Less dairy, meat, sugar, bread... in other words, less of all the good stuff. It's tough, because after all of the effort that cooking takes, I want it to taste delicious! I secretly stick pads of butter on vegetables before they go to table. I reach for the salt too many times. I sneak bacon into dishes. I do enjoy health food for it's vitality and simplicity. It's just that I get used to a certain style of cooking, and it's hard to change. Dinner last night was baked halibut with herbs and lemon (and butter), blanched broccoli and plain brown rice. It was very good.

ahhhh, steak

My Mother's Day gift to myself was a lovely New York steak, broiled to perfection, a green salad with beets, carrots, tomatoes and pine nuts in vinaigrette, and fried smashed mini-potatoes. All washed down by a declicious bottle of bubbly supplied by the father of my children. Yummy! I still have a lot to learn about meat, so i used a thermometer to 135, then left the steaks tented for 5 minutes. PERfect! God, I love steak!

the Last Supper

Raenie's going away dinner turned out swell. The brined pork loin can be safely filed away now, under "perfect foods". It's the 5th time I've made it in a few months and I'm sick to death of roasted pork loin! I need to make a dish several times, though, before I can call it my own. The cream puff month may be responsible for my jutting gut! Anyway, yes, roasted pork loin and root vegetables with a spicy mango chutney. Again, cannelini canapes for appetizer, and rice pudding for dessert. I may have to retire the canapes for awhile, too. When I get excited about a new recipe, I make it constantly!

Simple Genius

I've always thought I was smart, but when it comes to an apparently easy task, like a dinner menu, I'm an idiot. Complicate this with friends who don't like this, or are "avoiding" that, and you have one obstinate cook! For example, I'm pulling an onion tart out of my butt tonight, when Ed comes home and tells me in a roundabout way that he'd like to try "non-dairy" for a few weeks! Non-freakin' dairy! Give me a break! I can't even go there right now! I freak out, he retrenches. "Nevermind!" So, I think about it, and, yeah, Mediterranean food has a lot that I can do in this vein, but, seriously? Non-dairy? Because of some article you read? O.K, settle down, Tina. I have other friends give up bread, sugar(the Worst!), meat, you name it. It's not a bad idea to simplify. With the Icelandic volcano, maybe I won't even be able to buy my coveted French and Italian cheeses, anyway. I can do this. Yeah, I'll give it a try, but it makes me feel even stupider. How can it be so hard to simplify?

A Goodbye Dinner

Our longtime pal and fellow musician, Raenie, is on her way out of town for good. Ed set up a dinner for her, and invited Billy and Chantal as well. What do you cook that says goodbye?
Just a brainstorm list: mussels, bruschetta, lots of wine, pork, chocolate... That's tough. Raenie is a hard-hitting drummer, and a classy broad. Maybe a hearty soup? Something epic, for sure. Something to remember us by.
It looks to be a busy spring for dinner parties. I'm feeling like the past year has seen a huge leap in my kitchen skills, and I want to keep progressing. Entertaining lets me stay social, and practice menu creations. Jacque has been such an inspiration and teacher through his new OPB series. I'm very excited to do a dinner with Robin with his recipes.

The london broil

So, the red wine pasta was Amazing last night. The most deep, rich burgundy color with the red of the tomatoes and the white pine nuts, and so easy.
My problem tonight is what to do with a london broil. Pat is coming over, and I'd like to fancy it up a bit. Maybe a pan sauce. I think the menu might look something like this;
*Bruschetta with cannelini spread

*london broil slices on a bitter green salad
*broiled leeks
*potato something or other

*dessert? chocolat pots de creme a la Julia
I'd better get my butt in gear! Before I cook, Louis and I want to do some work on the garden that is our front yard.

What's for dinner?

That IS the question, isn't it? I don't know... I just came off of a strike, I'm broke, and everything I can think of to cook bores me. Hubby gets home in an hour, babies are sleeping, so I can't shop, and I'm already 3/4 of the way to Drunk. Scheisse! I'm leaning towards "Pasta a la vina rossa" because A.) it's easy, B.)it's cheap, and C.) i've done it a million times before. It's a really charming dish! You cook the linguini super al dente, them poach it in red wine, with cherry tomatoes, pinenuts, and garlic, until it's a deep red; a great dish for Valentine's, or just when you were mean to your man in your sleep last night. Sigh... It ain't easy being both the world's best wife and the shittiest!