Life Moving On

Hey Becky-

Was great talking to you tonight :) After this weekend, I feel like life moves really fast for some people. Take my grad school friend as an example. In 3.5 years, she met her husband, got engaged/married, moved to Canada, and is about to have a baby. I know her life is an odd benchmark, but it's really starting to feel like a long time since we've lived in the same city- we both still watch Lost (for 7 more weeks) and I think we both still nosh at night. Food, even then, was such a huge part of our friendship... the more I think about it, food was our excuse to get together- hardly ever a meeting without a pan of brownies, a pint of ice cream, or a brunch. There was good conversation and the occasional study session, of course- but always with an accompaniment. I haven't changed much- am still attached to popcorn- total comfort food, reminds me of Sunday nights at my grandmother's house when we used to replace dinner with home-made popcorn and a movie. Just had a bowl tonight- like a replacement friend, in a way. What are you up to?

Little Italys

Hey Becky-

Did you see the basketball game last Thursday? I was so excited the first 3 minutes, then downhill from there... at any rate, a highlight for Cornell :)

Was in Toronto for the weekend for a friend's baby shower and ventured over to Little Italy for dinner. I know- Italian two weekends in a row- ridiculous. In Atlanta 2 weekends ago, we celebrated my sister's birthday at a restaurant my dad worked at for 10 years... I remember playing tag and coloring pictures in the courtyard as a little kid, between parent shifts. Anyway, the place looked the same as it did when my dad left in 1996 (and probably when it opened in the early 80's). Purple walls, dim lighting- felt like I was starring in the Godfather. Good food, choked down an entire plate of beef carpacio- note to self, never order that dish for one.

So- Toronto- Little Italy- Marinella. The maitre d' owned the restaurant, and his mother was the chef. The food was amazing because it tasted like it should- perfectly seasoned sauces, nothing overly greasy. I ordered lamb 3 ways: 1) braised lamb shank that tastes just like when I braise at home but with the added benefit of a spicy sauce that I can't figure out how to re-create, 2) grilled lamb chop- juicy, seasoned with salt and lime, 3) hand-made lamb tortellini, stuffed with ground lamb and topped with mild tomato sauce. Restaurant had a simple design, great service. The house marinella sauce (tomato sauce, cream, white wine sherry, bruscetta tomatoes) was really a show-stopper... friend ordered it with handmade fettuccine with lobster tail. Something about the sauce- it was creamy, spicy, punchy- so well-balanced and smooth! Hate to say it, but I might have enjoyed the Toronto meal a bit more... then again, I'm a sucker for cream sauces and absolutely anything braised...

The Sweetest End

Chocolate macaron with chocolate ganache, espresso gelato, and port soaked cherries. The macaron itself would have been a huge treat- the good ones are practically impossibly to find outside of Paris (sometimes even inside Paris). Crispy exterior set off by a moist, chewy interior that sticks and simultaneously melts to the roof of your mouth... all made even more insane by the rich creaminess of the ganache and the milky bitter gelato- set off by the sweet tartness of cherry. We ate this like greedy children attacking a box of chocolate- no mercy, no survivors... the pretty macaron was crushed and the gelato smeared into submission 1.5 seconds after this photo was taken... and we savored every bite :)

Moo

This was my favorite dish- officially called Beef Stracotto with Tomato Concasse, Seasonal Mushrooms, and Sage Butter. More like a beef symphony in a creamy, earthy buttery explosion. The raviolis were impossibly delicate, encased in a transparently thin pasta shell. Seriously, when I roll pasta at home, setting 4 out of 8 is as thin as I go... any thinner, and the dough shreds in my fingers. This dough was at least a 7 out of 8. The filling itself, I know, must have taken hours to prepare. It wasn't just braised beef- it was the marrow bones and overtones of veal stock... rich, deep, complex with a superfine texture that resulted from shredding and pureeing. All finished with the light (but oh so heavy) sage cream sauce and salty ricotta salata.



This one was the boy's favorite- caramelized so well that he called it "beef candy." I honestly don't like filet usually... too tender, lacks flavor. But this one was so well marinated and seared- and the demi glace enhanced the natural flavor of the beef, which was meaty, deep, and soft as butter. Beneath the steak are asparagus and spaetzle. Nothing like a doughy, buttery spaetzle to complement a melty slab of beef. Yum.

St. Louis part 2

I've always wanted to try salmon on blinis with creme fraiche... well, here we go: House-smoke salmon with caviar on buckwheat crepes with craime fraiche and pickled onion. Alone, the salmon was like a bite of salt water- but together, all the ingredients combined and flavors melded, and the coolness of the craime fraiche cut the saltiness of the salmon.

St. Louis part 1

Hey Becky-

Had a fabulous dinner at Cielo in St. Louis last weekend. As much as I love food... it's also really nice when the restaurant also has good service. I'll post one course a day over the next few days, starting with the Raw Bar Plate. Included three different sections, starting with three types of raw oysters with apple vinegar and cocktail sauce. The slippery oysters were salty but the lemon and vinegar cut through to the flavor. Ignored the cocktail sauce. Also, crab claws with saffron aioli (tender, cold meat). Housmade spicy tuna- large chunks of tuna soaked in spicy sauce, though the deep flavor could have been spicier. I've probably been spoiled by sushi places ;)

I need to check the blog more often! I saw this article... can't blame Adria for shutting down, what an insane amount of money to lose- museums are more profitable. That still doesn't mean I'm jealous of anyone who's had a chance to go... must be one of those food epiphany, once-in-a lifetime experiences. But really, with a 4000 person waitlist- what were the chances?

Have you been to the El Bulli website? It's a culinary library in and of itself, full of articles, recipes, and writeups on cooking methods... mwahaha, a food writer's repository! This should be enough to keep us entertained for a while.

Ps on the dinner party- all 15 people showed up, and there were actually 5 loaves of bread, 5 lbs of pasta, and 7 nights of leftovers. And yes, I rolled my own pasta. Would have been worth it had I estimated the recipe properly... instead, I made double the necessary amount and found myself rolling (sweating) for an extra 2 hours. Followed up by 3 very much needed glasses of wine... had a great time at the party but not sure I remember a single conversation ;)