Pepe’s and Mito’s Mexican Cafe

We’ve been going to this place for years and I’ve got to tell you that I just love it.  Located in Deep Ellum, it is rarely crowded when we go on Sunday afternoons.  The service is great and they are very accomdating.  “No substitutions” is not a part of their vocabulary.  We always ask for something special.  On Saturdays and Sundays you can choose from a brunch menu or the regular offerings.  Brunch, to me, means drink special.  Sadly, no such thing here.  But, they do serve their own no-pool-of-red-grease-chorizo and some excellent breakfast tacos among other traditional Mexican breakfast items.

The nachos and botanas platter are all good.  My husband’s starter of choice is the plate of three taquitos.  These are actually deep-fried beef tacos with the standard lettuce, tomatoes and grated cheese topping added at the end.  These tacos are a tiny bit drippy, they’re deep-fried after all.  But that savory beef filling is the clincher.  We love them and almost always start with these guys.  He eats two and I eat one.  Unfortunately, I have to say that I don’t care for their queso.  That is VERY unusual for me because I’ll eat sports nachos.  Their queso just has too much of a peppery flavor.  Black pepper, not chili pepper.  I never want it, though I wish I did.

Their entrees are all fabulous.  Nice price on the lunch fajitas during the week.  The draw for me is the poblano wine sauce.  Not so traditional.  But, it brings some of their dishes up to a gourmet level.  You can get it on just about anything.  Very rich and a little smokey, it’s a rusty colored creamy sauce that tastes great with everything.  This may not be for everyone.  I love it and so do all of our friends that frequent Pepe’s & Mito’s.  They have nice fried fish dish with sauce over vegetables and small steaks accompanied by just about anything.  Hub loves the shrimp enchiladas.  You really just can’t go wrong here.  This Sunday I had the Tacos Nortenas.  Four, double thickness, tiny corn tortilla tacos with beef and veggies with the wine sauce.  I couldn’t eat the last one, I was so full.

Generally, we have an appetizer, two entrees and two drinks a piece and it runs about $40-50 before tip.  Not bad for being perfectly sated.  And though Deep Ellum is getting a deservedly bad rap these days.  It’s perfectly safe and almost empty during the day on the weekends.  It ’s also a hopping lunch spot on weekdays.  Plus, you can dash across the street to Rudolph’s Meat Market Mon-Saturday (get there early on Saturday) and grab something fabulous for dinner.   

Go.  You won’t be sorry.

Saturday Morning

 

Virtually every Saturday morning starts the same way for me.  Coffee and a cookbook or food mag.  Grocery list going and menu planning for the weekend, if not the week.  I like to get my shopping done way before noon.  It’s nice to have a little personal space when I shop.  And Central Market is a complete madhouse in the afternoon on the weekends.  Sure, I miss out on some of the samples by going so early.  But, it’s a price I’m willing to pay. 

Every Saturday morning I look for some kind of inspiration.  At least one interesting meal per weekend is basically mandatory.  The weekends are the best time for cooking and I feel like I’ve missed out on something if I don’t take advantage of it.  Last weekend I grabbed some Caledonia shrimp (or is it New Caledonia?).  They still have the heads attached.  A shrimp with his head on is a mean little sucker.  I cooked them according to a Mario Batali recipe atop a Marsala tomato mixture.  The shrimp had a very rich flavor that set them well apart from other shrimp.

This weekend, I still haven’t found that perfect thing…  Hmmm…  what to cook?  We’ll be doing pork ribs and boar sausages later today.  But, that’s a grilling thing and more of a Hub deal.  What would be really fun to cook? 

Yep, another Saturday morning.  Time’s a wastin’.

Taverna

With all this talk of Rome, I got a huge craving for Italian food.  So, I decided to call the husband in from work and go to a late lunch at Taverna.  I had not been there before.  But, got two thumbs up from a couple of food oriented friends.  So, we went for it. 

The first thing I liked about the place is that it’s open all day.  So, you don’t have to squeeze lunch in before 2:00.   They serve lunch until 4:00 and then move on to dinner.  They also have outdoor seating, something I’m seldom interested in.  I was surprised at how much I liked it in Rome because I almost never sit outside in Dallas.  Mosquitoes, wind, unbearable heat… you know the drill.  We sat inside today.  The second thing I liked is that we had really good service even though the place was basically empty.  I have found that going out to eat during “off” hours does not mean that the waitstaff will be falling all over you.  Most of the time they forget to care.  Rocco was on top of his game today.

We started with Taverna Foccacia.  I really didn’t think of this as foccacia.  It was more like a crispy pizza with no sauce.  It was topped with shaved parmesan, pinenuts, arugula, mushrooms and pancetta.  I was surprised by how tasty it was.  It came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.  But, it didn’t really need that. 

We also shared a Fritto Misto.  This consisted of quite a lot of thinly sliced and fried vegetables; shallots, zucchini and carrots, with a maybe 3 shrimp and a handful of calamari.  It was presented with an extremely thick spicy tomato aioli.  I mean, the stuff was like peanut butter.  It tasted OK.  But, it really didn’t lend itself to dipping.  I poured a little chili oil over everything and that pepped it up a little.  It was my least favorite dish, while still being good.

Hub had the sea bass.  It was served atop a clam and mussel brodetto.  The broth was tomato based and really very good.  Hubbard is not a fish person and he said more than once how much he enjoyed it.  I had the tuna with balsamic reduction.  This was served with asparagus and seared grape tomatoes.  Very good.  Maybe a little overcooked for some people.  I don’t happen to only enjoy tuna when it’s raw.  This was very pink toward the center.  But, had obviously seen some grill time. 

We shared a pasta of Fiocchi al Gorgonzola e Pera.  This was basically little Gorgonzola stuffed pasta pouches with pear and walnut in what they call a dolce latte cream sauce.  Very good.  Maybe very, very good.

The wine was reasonable.  $7-12 a glass, we had three and a bottle of water betweent the two of us.  Hub closed with a flourless chocolate cake with cream sauce and raspberry reduction and a cappucino.  I was almost too stuffed to even taste dessert.  The bite I did manage to take was nice.  All of this for $100.  I consider a pretty good value.  We ordered a lot.

All in all, a nice meal that faintly reminded me of Rome.

 

Eating in Rome

OK.  I know it’s not Dallas.  But, I swear all I lived for when we visited Rome was eating.  I did my homework.  Hub was in charge of sightseeing.  I was in charge of food.  I bought a book that was just published called “The Food Lover’s Guide to the Gourmet Secrets of Rome” by Diane Seed.  Seed lives in Rome because she married an Italian and she runs a cooking school.  Who would know better where to eat and shop for food in Rome?  The book turned out to be a gem.  It’s chapters are devoted to individual parts of town.  We rented an apartment for 10 days with a balcony and a kitchen.  I only cooked one meal when I was there.  But, it was nice to have a fridge for snacks and the incredibly cheap wine.  I kept a diary when I was in Rome which I am about to start posting here. 

October 8 – The day we left Dallas
Can you hand me a sedative?  We had a nice day yesterday.  Went to brunch at Monica’s.  Loaded up on the Nano with country music for Hub.  I’ll feel better once Tierney is here and fully entrenched with dogs.  The adventure of a lifetime!

Oct 10 – 1:00 AM
Up at 1:00 eating smoked scamorza, mustard, salami, bread and wine.  It’s raining outside.
We went to bed at 7:00 PM last night.  Our first night in Rome.
The travel here was not so bad other than the endless flight.  We made our connections and all went smoothly.
Our driver, Marco, met us at the airport.  Everything they said about Roman driving is true.  I could barely keep my eyes open.  Very erratic and dangerous seeming, yet no one is dead on the street.  Driver Marco took us to Piazza Rondanini.  Spooky Marco, the landlord, met us on the street.  He paid for us to have cappucino in the piazza while we waited for our apartment to be cleaned.

There is no roof balcony.  But, there is a balcony off the living room and the apartment is just fine.  The lift broke & then it was fixed that first day.
We were exhausted but we briefly visited the Pantheon, which is literally around the corner from us.  Then we saw the little elephant.  Then we went to Despar, the great grocery store.  Bought beer, wine and snacks for our apartment.

Then a brief walk through Piazza Navona.  The Four Rivers fountain is under renovation.  Hub was sad about that.  Very touristy in general with lots of street vendors in the Piazza Navona.  Then we went to L’Angoletto, the little restaurant right below our apartment.  Wonderful!  We had aqua minerale and the house white wine.  Fried anchovies for antipasto.  Hub had the gnocchi with a red meat sauce.  I had carbonara.  The carbonara was wonderful!  Little crunchy pieces of pancetta.  Then we shared the veal saltimbocca.  Fabulous.  Hub had the gelati noccola (or something like that).  Anyway, it was our first full meal in Italy – Lunch, lasting from 1:30-3:00.  Yum!
After lunch, back upstairs for wine on the balcony and another quick run to Despar and the Pantheon.  Then back home and to bed early.  Woke up at 12:30 to rain.  Now, we’re having our snack.
Ah, Roma.

October 11 – 10:00 AM
Yesterday was quite a day.  We went to St Peters the the crowd was incredible.  No getting in there!  Must have been a papal audience because there was a band and we saw the Popemobile.

So, we left and went up this huge hill trying to get to some park.  We never did.  I finally told Hub, “No more” and turned around and walked back to a snack bar where we had a couple of Peroni.  Then we went to Pizza Montecarlo on Sevilla.  Very good.  We had suppli and Hub had a prosciutto pizza.  I had a calzone with ham, mozzarella and egg.  Then back to the apartment for a nap.  We got up and walked to the Trevi fountain at night.  Very pretty.  Threw in some coins.  Went to Trinity College for a Guiness.  Yum.  About 10:30 we went back to L’Angoletto and had a feast!  Carpacio with Parmesan.  Caprese salad.  Fried calamari.  Filettowith balsamic sauce.  Veal scallopini with cheese and tomato sauce.  Hub had panacotta with berries.  Then to bed.
This morning we had coffee at our regular spot.  We’re going to Villa Borghese.  Wish us luck!  I think, for my birthday, I just want to do nothing.  It’s pretty tiring, having this much fun.

October 12 – 6:30 AM
So, we missed our appointment at the Borghese Gallery yesterday.  But, the park was beautiful!

From there to the Spanish Steps where I shed a couple of happy tears.  Then home.  Ate at Night & Day in the piazza where the Pantheon stands.  Totally sucked.  (This place was not recommended in our book)  We went to Giolitti – very famous, very hectic.  The first place people were rude.
I had a nap & then Hub had me walk to the Forum at night, which I did not want to do, but enjoyed very much.  I do think he’s trying to kill me.  We went to Trinity College for a Guiness and a cheeseburger.  Then to bed.
Today we are up early to go to Ostia Antica.  Maybe we won’t miss our boat!

5:00 PM – Same day
Believe it or not, we made the boat!  Of course, it’s in BFE.  So, it wasn’t pretty getting there.  In the end, I wouldn’t recommend it.  The boat ride was 2 hours long & uneventful, other than being full of high school kids & elementary kids.  Then, there was this huge long walk from the dock to the city.  The town itself is adorable.  We stumbled into this tiny restaurant.  We had a little trouble trying to figure out how to order.  But, suddenly the not so pleasant waitress just started bringing out food.  We had lasagna carciofi.  So good! - with tender thin pasta.  Then she brought out a tray of cold meats and what seemed t be burro mozzarella.  Creamy in the center.  Then a vegetable place with baked mashed potatoes, roasted zucchini and eggplant & sauteed mushrooms.  Cappucino after.  We met a couple from Oregon in this tiny place.

The ancient ruins of Ostia were incredible.  It would have taken at least an entire day to go through the village.  Totally stunning with tessera floors and crypts and shops.  An amphitheater.  Very cool.  We blew off taking the boat back & took the train & subway instead.  Much faster.  45 minutes vs 2 hours and much more pleasant, quieter.  I’m really more curious now about taking the boat on a trip through Rome instead of to another town.  Hub kept saying the boat to Ostia was like canoeing down the Trinity River.
Now we’re back in Rome.  Hub is snoozing on the sofa and I’m trying to decide what to do for dinner.  Did I mention that wine is super cheap here?  White wine is only 2-3 Euros at Despar.  You can hardly find a bottle of wine for more than 6 Euros at the grocery store.  Liter beers are about the same amount.  Of course, if you buy a liter beer at a snack cart in Rome it’s 5 Euros.  If you buy the same thing in Ostia it’s 2 Euros.  It’s kind of like Manhattan here, pricewise.
Tomorrow is my birthday and Hub has promised a relaxing weekend.  No death marches.  We’ll do exactly what I want.  Now I guess I have to decide what that is!

• Oh, Hub’s Rome bag broke today.  It’s the one he bought when he came here in college.  It was born and died in Rome.  Kind of made me sad.
• My goal tomorrow is not to wring any sweat out of my hair!
• I wish there were some more comfortable chairs in our apartment.  At least one.
• I’ve seen a lot of dachshunds here in Rome.  One boxer.
• Hub put up a sign in the livingroom that says “Pazienza” – Patience.  No kidding!  Most things are a challenge around here.
• All in all, I really love Rome.  It’s so beautiful.  The history is stunning.  It’s just very different.
• Hub has been a sweetheart.
• There is an amazing church every where you look.  Literally, you can see crosses out of every window.
• The bedroom is very quiet and I prefer sleeping on the sofa.  There is a fan and street sounds in the livingroom.
• Tomorrow I’m sleeping a long time and no long walks!  Happy Birthday!
• It seems to rain here lightly every day.  70’s in the day.  50’s at night.  No heat or AC necessary.

 October 13 – 9:10 AM  Happy Birthday!
Last night we had a wonderful meal.  I sat around and drank wine while Hub went to Despar and then to Armando Al Pantheon to make a reservation for dinner.  The said no.  Hub said he begged and talked about my birthday.  Then they said OK.  10:30 pm reservation.  It was so wonderful.  I don’t even know the names of everything we had.  The waiter brought us cured goose lard on bruschetta.  It wasn’t like lard though.  More like intestine or something.  Anyway, it was wonderful.  Oh, there was a walnut on top.  Then pasta with fish mixed in.  Then I had lamb with rocket and Hub had osso buco.  Potatoes for Hub and mushrooms for me.  Then they brought me a piece of apple cake with a candle in it for my birthday and they sang.  After I blew out the candle, they made me break it in half.  Everyone was so pleasant and happy.  What a wonderful meal!

Same day – 6:00
Lunch almost killed us!  We walked over to Trastevere and went to Sora Lella on Isola Island.  You had to ring to get in and they locked the door behind you.  We had their “Grandi” tasting menu which featured their best dishes.  First, a donut shaped fritatta with tripe, then oxtail ravioli, then a beef filleto with sauce and a piece of sweatbread on top with a salad of bitter greens and anchovy dressing.  Then ice cream flavored with orange zest and anise, followed by espresso.  And wine, of course.  196 Euros.  That was the killing part.  But, it’s my birthday!!!  And it took 2 hours to eat and 3 hours later I’m still almost uncomfortably full, even after my nap.  Ah, Roma.  Va bene.
P.S.  We also saw the kitties at the ruins along the way there.  Fat, happy cats.
After lunch Hub had a nap that he wouldn’t wake up from.  So, I decided to go shopping by myself.  I bought several things from this stationary shop.  They had hand-swirled paper things, for lack of a better way to describe it.  I also bought a purse.  Very nice.  A lot of money.  But, I don’t care.  It’s my birthday!

October 14 – 9:00 AM
My birthday ended with dinner at L’Angoletto.  We had melon and proscuitto, fried baby octopus (very tiny babies) and golden fish with potatoes.  The brought out some lemoncello for my birthday and there were lots of hugs and kisses.  (We had become pretty much regulars there by now)  We’re about to head out for whatever march across Rome Hub has planned today.  The only problem with Hub is that he wants to walk too fast.  I want to stroll and he wants to march.  I’ve started to just lag behind and let him stop and wait for me.

October 15
Yesterday sucked.  I almost passed out in the Forum.  Don’t know if I was dehydrated or had a panic attack or what.  But, I had to go lay down the rest of the day.  In the evening I went to Despar and bought food for dinner.  I made a pork roast smothered with onions, garlic and mushrooms with mashed potatoes.  The meat was a little tough, but it tasted good.

October 16
Yesterday, we went to the produce market at Campo di Fiori in the morning & had cafe.  Then we went to this strange Middle Eastern glass shop and bought a lamp and some tumblers.  Hubbard had gone there while I rested on the day I collapsed.  He bought some glass tumblers for me that day, too.  The shop went way underground.  Pretty spooky.
We went to Armando again for lunch yesterday.  It’s soooo good.  I had to have that goose lard bruschetta again.  It’s really fabulous.  Then we split ravioli with mushrooms.  Hub had teh saltimbocca and I had scallopini marsala.  It’s one of my favorite Italian dishes in the states.  So, I had to try it. Hub had the semifreddo for dessert.  I had formagi misti.  Assorted cheeses with honey and pine nuts on the side.  The pecorino was great with the honey.

We walked over to the bridge to watch the birds at sunset.  Stopped off at a bar called – I can’t remember.  It was an Irish bar where we met an American couple.   She was from Grand Prairie, of all places!
We went to Fortunato Al Pantheon for dinner where I had a minor meltdown.  Basic panic attack.  I think I’m just having sensory overload. The food was very good, though.  We had prosciutto and melon.  Hub had tomato soup and I had straciatella soup.  We both had osso buco & risotto.  Hub had a cream puff covered with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
Today Hub made me get up at 6:00 AM to go to St Peters.  We got in with no problem.  But, the line for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel was around the block and it wasn’t even open yet.  So we decided to go inside the Castel S Angelo.  Extremely cool!  +A bar at the top!  Well, close to the top.

Now we’re back home resting up. 

October 17
After a rest yesterday we went over to a leather shop by the castle and bought a new Rome bag for Hub.  His old one fell apart.  I got a little bag, too.  Then we went home and ate at L’Angoletto again.  It’s terrific to have a great restaurant in the same building as our apartment.  I had caprese, shared some of Hub’s fried calamari and then saltimbocca.  Hub had mussel soup, which was fabulous, and veal steak.  We shared some sauted potatoes and tiramisu.  Then we went home for the evening and drank wine.
This morning we got up and went to the Forum, Colliseum and the Circus Maximus.  It was much more tolerable at the Forum this time and the Senate building doors were open.  So, Hub (lawyer) got to see that.  We had planned to eat over by the Piazza di Spagna.  At 1:30 I knew we would never get there in time, as we had not even gone over to see the Circus Max.  Hub insisted and off we went on some other life or death march across Rome.  Two subway lines, then frantically searching for the tiny street our restaurant was on.  I could barely walk to our table.  I’m sure those people were really excited to see us at 5 minutes until closing.  But, the were really nice and served us some wonderful pizza.  The restaurant was called Pizza L’Archetto.  Hub had prosciutto and mushroom.  Mine was named after the restaurant and I can’t even remember what all it had on top.  But, it was great!
We brought this book with us called “The Gourmet Secrets of Rome” by Diane Seed and it has been a God-send.  Every recommendation has been right on the money.
We came home from lunch and collapsed.  We did actually have a slab of “folding” pizza this morning at the beginning of our adventure or I never would have made it as far as I did.  Hub did not seem surprised when I said “no” to leaving the apartment 45 minutes after arriving home in order to go to the Capitoline Museum and Palentine Hill.  To hell with hills.  The first part of the day was just too exhausting and I still don’t feel right, even after a nap.  Hub is at the museum now, I imagine, and I am resting.  He really is trying to kill me, I believe.  Tomorrow is the last day.  Wonder what it will hold.

 

Observances

• The “Smart Car” is extremely popular.  It’s about as long as my car is wide and actually looks like half of a car.
• Everyone dresses like it is cold here, when it’s actually in the 60’s and 70’s.  Jackets & scarves everywhere and I’m the only one sweating in sandals.
• It’s very nice to sit on our balcony. 
• It’s supposed to be an auto-free zone in our piazza.  But, that is absolutely not true.  Scooters and cars are buzzing by constantly.
• Trash dumping in our piazza is a horrifyingly loud experience.  1000’s of wine bottles and glass breaking.
• The waitstaff at L’Angoletto is so nice.  I bet they love seeing people like us who will be there 5 out of 10 days.  But, the food is sooo good.  The outdoor dining is very pleasant – al fresco.  Actually, I haven’t been inside the place at all yet.
• Many dogs in Rome.  It makes me miss my babies.
• We brought our cell phones.  Hub keeps calling people to say he threw a coin in the fountain for them, etc.
• The rooftops are littered with crosses and TV antennas.
• We have our ipods with us.  But, I don’t feel like listening too much.  I thought I’d miss my music from home.  But, I really don’t.  I kind of miss work, if you can believe that!
• Everything smells in Rome.  Some things smell good.  Some bad.  There’s a certain perfume that is popular.  I don’t know what it’s called.  But, pew.  I always heard that eating asparagus will make your pee smell funny.  No one ever told me about Rome.
• I haven’t cooked as much as I thought I might.  We’re busy so doing other things.  Maybe next trip.  Because then I won’t have to see everything again and I can take some time to plan.
• Hub has been a really wonderful husband.  Not argumentative or anything.  He has made things very nice for me.  Rome is just stressful, though.  I don’t think there’s any getting around that.
• There are not really Gypsies like they told me about.  But there are those junk sellers that drive you crazy.  I wanted to buy some of those cracking things just to throw them at the guy.

October 18 9;30 AM
Went to Myosotis for dinner last night.  Started with some of the family olive oil over bruschetta & cold meats.  Hub had the most tender gnocchi that we had in Rome with a seafood sauce.  I had a little handmade pasta “pie” , kind of a pocket, with veggies an seafood inside in a creamy sauce.  Then I had grilled tuna with a thick hollandaise sauce.  Hub had the grilled calamari.  Everything was unbelievably good.  But, the place was full of “politicians” that were kind of creepy.  That olive oil was really special.

Same day 4:00 PM
Oh my God.  We got up & Hub said, “What do you want to do?”.  I said, “Eat lunch.  Eat dinner”.  So, we sat and had a breakfast beers.  Then we sat and drank some wine.  Then we walked over to the Piazza Farnese and had another beer.  Then we went to Ditirambo for lunch.  Oh my God.
Antipasto – Stuffed zucchini flowers
Primi Piatto – Tagliatoni with rabbit
Secondi – I had pork with olives and Hub had osso buco.  Both were heavenly.
We had potatoes with fonduata cheese and shaved white truffles.  Unbelievable!
Then moscato saboyan with rum glazed chestnuts.
Plus, homemade bread.
Jesus Christi!
Now, I’m drunk and packing to go home.
Hub said at lunch, “This has been one hell of a Restaurant Week!”

(Yes, we went to L’Angoletto for dinner on that last day in Rome.  I cried in the limo all the way through the Centro Historico to the airport to go home.  In fact, I’m crying now.  The adventure of a lifetime.)

 

Anthony Bombaci

Monday night the Hub and I went to see a cooking class given by Anthony Bombaci at Central Market.  It was a fascinating class.  Chef Bombaci is into molecular gastronomy and we got to sample quite a few dishes that I’m certain we won’t be trying at home.  The evening turned out to be like a tapas tasting menu.  Well worth the $65 a piece we paid to see his class.  We would have paid far more to eat at his restaurant, Nana on the 27th floor of the Hotel Anatole.  We have visited the restaurant and it is very elegant.  The view of Dallas at night is stunning.  Bombaci was a very unassuming and down to earth guy considering that the restaurant is very high-brow.  Here are the dishes he created while we sat with our mouths open like little birds…

Biquini of Serrano Ham & Fresh Buffalo Milk Mozzarella- These were basically little grilled cheese sandwiches with “Faux Truffles” on the side.  The truffles were basically dehydrated mushrooms that were rehydrated with Port, Cognac, Madiera and a touch of truffle oil.  They actually tasted like the real thing.  There was another slice of ham draped over the top, much like one would serve prosciutto.  I couldn’t catch the name but they finally mentioned that the ham was over $100 a pound and that it’s exlusive to Central Market.  Bombaci said he couldn’t even get it for his restaurant from any of his vendors.

Salmon with Vanilla Caviar, Trout Caviar & Greek Yogurt with Saffron – The salmon was basically gravlax which he cut into a 1 1/2 hunk for each plate.  Topped it with trout caviar and vanilla caviar.  The vanilla caviar was made with calcium chloride and a mixture of water infused with vanilla and sugar.  He made little droplets that gelled on the outside and were still liquid on the inside.  So, they popped in your mouth just like the trout caviar and were almost exactly the same size at the real caviar.  Then he infused the yogurt with saffron and served a little of that on the side.  This recipe actually takes several days for everything to set up and infuse.  Not something I’ll be trying, though I did buy some Greek yogurt yesterday.

Asparagus “La Plancha” with Lemonade Bubbles, Mandarin and Parmesan – Everything in this dish was pretty standard.  Grilled asparagus, Mandarin reduction, grated Parmesan.  But, the lemonade bubbles looked like a handful of Dawn dishwashing bubbles, though it tasted like lemonade.  Lethicin powder and citric acid went into this dish.  Very tasty actually.

Marinated Manchego Cheese with Almonds, Capers and Texturized Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Nothing unusual about this one except the texturized oil.  He basically froze the oil for 24 hours, let it thaw in the fridge and then scooped it out like little balls of ice cream.  That’s what it looked like.  Of course, it tasted like olive oil.  Yummy.  I might actually try that one at home.

Baby Artichokes with Curried Spaghetto & Lime-Honey-Ginger Vinaigrette – The weird part of this one was the little curried spaghetti strings that he made.  Pushed some kind of gelatin mixture into these tubes that he later blew out of the tube with compressed air, looked like one of those soda water dispensers.  Anyway, if you get carried away the little spaghetto string with fly across the room.  Most didn’t. 

Chocolate Truffles with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Toast – The tiny little truffles were served in a small glass that had a 1/4 inch pouring of olive oil in the bottom.  This was accompanied by a hearty piece of toasted bread and sea salt.  He said the idea was that at some point in his life (forgot when or where) he ate toast with chocolate melted on top and salt.  This was his fine-dining version of toast with chocolate.  It was very pretty to look at, as well as tasted good.

Bubbly Sangria with White Chocolate-Coconut Ice Cubes -  This was pretty much what it sounds like.  Except the sangria was cooked down to a syrup like state and then blasted with a shot of soda water and the ice cubes were added at the end.  Served in a small wine glass.  A perfect ending.

The whole event lasted almost three hours and my only complaint was that they only served two glasses of wine over that time.  I like a little more wine than that if I’m being entertained.  Keep in mind, these are small glasses of wine.  I will say that I was pleasantly full and had a very nice time.  I know I should have brought a camera and taken all kinds of pictures of the food.  But, I just don’t feel right doing that.  Don’t ask my why.

5 Veggies a Day

You’ve probably heard that we’re supposed to be eating at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.  I have found that to be considerably harder than it sounds.  First of all, I usually don’t take my lunch to work and there are very few vegetables to be found at lunch spots.  If you do find them, they’re fried or covered with some kind of very fattening sauce.  Secondly, even on the weekends, things don’t always turn out the way you planned.  Yesterday, we managed to squeeze in 4 servings.  Today, our entrees are going to be friend oysters for lunch and rib-eye steak for dinner.  What kind of healthy vegetable dish goes well with fried oysters?  Maybe a salad.  If I pile on some asparagus or something then maybe it can be considered two veggies.  That leaves three for dinner.  Let’s see if it happens.

Days Later…

I think it’s impossible.  I like vegetables.  But, what I really want is meat.  I plan my meals around it and might just go without vegetables all day long if I don’t make an effort to cook and eat them.  Still trying.  But, four servings a day is about all I can manage so far.

And no, I don’t want fruit for breakfast. 

Damn.

At Least Company Wasn’t Coming

Note to self:

Always remember, even though you are running cold water into a skillet that has been roasting in a 450 degree oven, the handle is still about as hot as a branding iron. 

Flavorful Glaze for Roasted Meats

I use this with pork tenderloin.  Brown the meat on the stove top in an oven proof skillet.  Top with the glaze and roast at 450 degrees for 7-10 minutes.  Tent with foil and let rest on a cutting board for five minutes or so. 

You know, it seems really easy.  And it is.  This recipe is meant for two tenderloins.  Since my husband and myself are child-free, I end up using it all on one tenderloin.  You think that might have something to do with the intense flavor?

Glaze

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
3 minced or pressed garlic cloves
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Good Basic Margarita

This is your basic Tex-Mex Margarita.  Top-shelf Margaritas are an entirely different experience.  But, if you’re sitting on the porch, talking trash in 106 degree weather, then this is the Margarita you’re looking for.

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice lime juice (4-5 limes)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Triple Sec
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Tequila, then an extra splash or two

Let’s Talk About Ramps

I recently visited Spicer’s FM 1410 to grab a pound of ramps the day they arrived in shop.  At $18 a pound I was a bit hesitant.  But, I own Tom Colicchio’s book, “Think Like a Chef” and there’s a whole section devoted to dishes that contained ramps, asparagus and morels.  Never having seen ramps available in a grocery store here in Dallas, I felt like I just had to try them.

So, what is a ramp?  It is an alium that looks basically like a green onion or scallion.  They are also called wild leeks.  I have read that some ramps are stronger than others.  But, mine had a very slight garlic taste to them.  I decided to cook them with potatoes and saute a few in olive oil to see what they tasted like straight up.  I have a few observations to offer after finishing my afternoon with ramps…

 First of all, these were tiny.  Most were thinner than a typical green onion.  So, once I had cleaned and chopped up all the white parts I had about a cup and a half of ramps.  $18 for a that?  The biggest ones were saute’d.  They had a slightly sinewy quality that I didn’t enjoy too much.  They tasted fine, but not $18 fine.  The potatoes were cooked as a gratin-type dish.  Basically, just potatoes, salt and pepper, ramps and a mixture of cream and chicken broth with some cheese tossed on top at the end.  I really enjoyed the flavor the ramps gave this dish.  Very light and smooth.  Reminded me of leek and potato soup.  But, again…  $18?

While I really liked the potatoes, I don’t believe that any side dish should cost more than $20 unless it has truffles or something more substantial involved than onion.  I liked my ramps.  Not sure I’ll be going back for more, though.  I did find a site called Earthy Delights that will ship you ramps for $11.50 a pound.  Of course, the shipping is $28.50!