The New Cookbook Experiment

I have ended up with several new cookbooks this season. 

“Big Night In” by Domenica Marchetti (recommended by Panninigirl)
“Olives & Oranges” by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox (another Pannini rec)
“Two Dudes One Pan” by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (heard about it on NPR)
“I Like You:  Hospitality Under the Influence” by Amy Sedaris (DallasEats rec)
“Crescent City Cooking” by Susan Spicer (because her brother has a local business and it was award nominated)
“Barefoot Contessa: Back to the Basics” by Ina Garten (multiple recs and I don’t have any of her books)
“Land of Plenty” by Fushia Dunlop (bruleeblog rec)
“Baked” by Matt Lews and Renato Poliafito (for Hubbard, heard of it on NPR)
“The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison (ran across it on Amazon)

 Thanks so much for the recommendations.  There is really nothing more inspiring to purchase a book than someone else singing it’s praises. 

So, here’s the experiment.  If you are at all like me, you’ll get a book (or several) and sit down and read.  Then, you may or may not use them.  Often, I go back to the old favorites.  Why get the new ones if I’m not going to use them?  Here’s what I’m going to do.  I’m going to take all my old books back to the big shelf in the guest room.  The only ones I’m going to leave close at hand in the kitchen area are going to be the ones I bought over the last year.  Or maybe a few that I’ve never really explored like I should that are a little older.  I’m curious to see how long it will take me to start dragging the old ones all back out.  Hopefully, it will encourage me to try the new ones first.

Anyway, I love my new books and the new Foodie Fight game that my lifelong friend, Tony, gave me.  Might be the only trivia game where I come out ahead of old Hub!!  My favorite food oriented gift was my new Le Crueset pot that Hubbard have me in a size and color that Ididn’t have before, “Cactus”.  I’m a freak for Le Crueset and the more colors, the better.

So, what’s new in your food world?  Go out any place fun?  Plans for New Years?  Food related gifts that you gave or received?  Do tell!

Merry Christmas Eve

I had to work until about 1:30 today.  Not too bad, considering I spent 20+ years in retail.  No more of that for me.  Now I work in a place where things slow down during the holidays.  Much, much better. 

Today, everyone brought in snacks.  My sweet husband got up early, baked a few dozen Christmas snowball cookies and drove them up to my office for all of us to enjoy.  They’re just the best cookies.  Actually, they’re pecan crescent cookies rolled in the shape of balls and covered in powdered sugar.  Hubbard is a wonderful baker.  It was so funny to watch people take a bite and say, “Mmmmmmmmmm”.  They really are great.

My co-worker, Josh, provided tamales that his wife’s Tia made and delivered to the office.  I bought a few extra dozen for my family.  That’s where we’ll be tomorrow, visiting my family in the morning.  In the afternoon, we’ll be having a nice meal with our friends, the Smiths.  We had a wonderful time at Kirby’s Steakhouse with Hubbard’s dad last night.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and enjoy every minute of your time with family and friends (or even just a day off from work!).  Soon we’ll begin a new year.  I’ve been thinking about a few resolutions…

Happy Holidays!!

Margie and Hubbard

What Would You Buy?

I got a little Amazon.com gift card from work last week.  I think I’m going to have to go for a couple of cookbooks.  What do you guys recommend?  Any you’re wanting?  Or would buy for a friend?  I just can’t decide whether to go for something new or something that’s been out for a while that I didn’t get.  What cookbook do you go for the most?

I’ve already got that Amy Sedaris “Entertaining” book on the way!

Brrrrrrrrr… Thanks, Jimmy’s!

Is it cold enough or what?!  A day when it doesn’t get out of the 20’s is a damn cold day around these parts.  Luckily, the driving was not too scary for me and I was able to go to work.  (Did I just say that?)

So, now I’m thinking about dinner.  I’ve got a lot of stuff in the freezer that I really need to thaw and eat.  I’m kind of bad about that.  I buy stuff and freeze it and then go out and buy new stuff when I’m ready to eat.  I’m not going anywhere tonight, though, with our forecast of freezing fog.  (Huh?)  I’m thinking about thawing out that  Jimmy’s sausage and serving it with red sauce over pasta.  A nice salad and toasty bread. 

Just a side note… if you aren’t on Jimmy’s mailing list then you should be.  That’s how you find out about burrata orders.  Our next round of burrata is coming in this week and I can’t wait.  Have you ever tried their housemade meatballs?  Fabulous.  Plus, when I need  a huge hunk of pork for whatever recipe, they’ve got it super cheap.  They’ve got beef sliced for braciole, too.  That’s one of my Italian favorites to make for guests.  I’m a Jimmy’s addict.

Dodie’s New Orleans Seafood Cafe

We had not been to Dodie’s in a while.  It’s been there forever and we kind of got tired of it.  Hub said the fried stuff was a little salty.  We gave it another couple of tries recently and I’m back on board with Dodie’s.  It seemed better than it used to be.  Subtly better, but better.  Maybe they have a new guy in the kitchen.  We didn’t ask.  But, something has changed.

Hubbard usually starts with gumbo and I get shrimp bisque.  On our second visit Hubbard went for the bisque, too.  He said, “It’s really a better example of bisque than the gumbo is of gumbo.”  Does that make sense?  Somehow it did to me.  The gumbo is just fine.  But, the bisque is thick and spicy and kind of rustic.  I really like it. 

We tried the grilled oyster’s on the half shell and fell in love!  They’re grilled in the shell with a butter, garlic and parmesan sauce that I can’t get enough of.  The bread is perfect for sopping up every little drop.  Very tasty, with a faint smokiness.  I’m not sure how they do it unless there’s a grill in the parking lot out back.  I may not be able to visit Dodie’s without ordering these goodies.  In fact, we were on our way to another spot when I thought of these oysters and persuaded Hub to make a detour to Greenville for Dodie’s instead.

He usually has the fried shrimp.  He said the batter was nicely spiced and not too heavy.  The fries are always good dipped in tartar or cocktail sauce.  I usually eat those off his plate because they’re piled so high we never finish them.  I stick with the marinated crab claws as my entree, though they are technically an appetizer.  I’ve been a lover of crab claws since Hubbard introduced me to them when we were first dating.  These are served in a thick, buttery garlic sauce.  Sometimes thicker than other times.  But, always good.  More warm French bread, like they serve with the oysters. 

The last time we stopped in we decided to try a meal of only appetizers.  Bisque, oysters, crab claws and two dishes we had not tried before.  The shrimp remoulade was tasty.  Little shrimp, about the size of rock shrimp, in a mayonaisse based spicy sauce.  The sauce had a nice kick.  Just the right amount, too.  This is the kind of dish that could be ruined by over-saucing.  I’m just not overly wild about tiny shrimp.  It was good, though, for sure.  We also tried the fries with cheese and gravy.  I’ve seen this on the menu for years and never tried it until this weekend.  I’ll be getting that again!  Hubbard typically doesn’t like anything that limps out the fries.  He kept saying, “That’s really pretty good” in a surprised kind of way.  The gravy is dark and Cajun spiced.  No cream here.  Just thick and spicy.  We wondered where else they must use the gravy.  I’ll have to ask next time.  The grated cheese kind of melts in with the gravy.  You definitely need a fork for this plate of heart attack. 

I like the bar atmosphere at Dodie’s.  Very laid back with a neighborhood joint kind of feel.  The service is good.  The TV’s aren’t turned up unless there’s a game or something worth watching.  The music this weekend was straight from the early 80’s.  They also have a patio.  Two beers, two cups of soup and three appetizers set us back $60 before tip.  Not too bad, considering we were full before everything was gone.   I am going to have to say that I’m not tired of Dodie’s anymore.

Holidays

Well, they are certainly upon us, aren’t they?!  I mean, I sort of turned around and ran right into the them.  It just hasn’t felt much like Christmas until I suddenly realized we had four events in four days and Christmas was only two weeks away.  I better get shopping or baking or whatever I’m going to do. 

I know Christmas hasn’t even passed yet.  But, what do you guys do for New Years?  We used to have a party every year.  Later, we tried going to a restaurant for their celebration.  That was fun, but driving on New Year’s Eve is always sketchy business.  So, I tend to want to stay home.  This year, we’ll have friends from NYC as houseguests.  We’re all planning a fun dinner with our friends, Bill and Lori, who live down the street.  Emma and Lori love to cook.  I’m sure we’ll have a great time in the kitchen putting together the grub.  It’s Lori’s birthday, too.  Bill and Lori live so close they can walk home and Chris and Emma are staying the night.  Sounds pretty safe, huh? 

Do you have any traditions?  Champagne or Prosecco?  Watch the ball drop?  Shoot your gun in the back yard?  (Just kidding about that one!  Although we had some neighbors that received a little visit from the SWAT team a few years back.  That was an interesting experience.)  Oysters or black-eyed peas?  I better start planning our New Year’s Eve menu before I turn around and it’s December 30th!

Dining Statistics

Over the last couple of years I’ve been writing it down on my calendar when Hubbard and I go out to eat.  I recorded a few dinner parties and other gatherings.  But, for now, let’s just focus on the restaurant thing. 

 We still have a few weeks to go in 2008.  So, this number will likely increase.  As of today, if I didn’t forget to write anything down, we have been out to eat at a full service restaurant 84 times this year.  This doesn’t count, fast food, wings or pizza delivery type stuff.  I checked last year and if we don’t count the two weeks we were in Rome, 109 restaurant visits.  Looks like our frequency of eating out decreased this year.  Is the economy the culprit?  Might be.  Though, I really haven’t felt like we were eating out less.

This year we visited 45 different restaurants.  Last year, though we went out more, we only went to 36 different places.  So, maybe we’ve branched out a little this year.  There are 60 restaurants in all on my list, 8 of which have closed.  That’s a lot of closures, if you ask me. 

What restaurants did we visit repeatedly?  This year Capital Pub came in first with 11 visits.  Pepe’s & Mito’s had 7 visits.  Monica’s and Sushi Axiom both had 5.  Last year, we went to Campania Pizza 16 times.  Ciudad got 14 visits and Pepe’s & Mito’s had 10.  Sushi on McKinney had 9 visits in 2007 and now they are gone.  Ciudad, too.  So sad.

This list of statistics is interesting to me.  I am having this feeling that if I kept up with every single time we ate a meal that we did not cook, including dinner parties, fried chicken to go, etc., that this list would get incredibly long.  How about every time we went out for drinks or went to a friend’s house for a party?  I buy my lunch almost every day.  And the money we spend at Central Market?  I’m beginning to realize that food might be our biggest expenditure.  Oh, well!  You gotta eat!

Dinner Party!!!

We had the most fun last night!  Dinner party at the Hubbard house!!!  There were seven of us.  Here’s what we ate…

Artichoke Leaves with Basil Parmesean Aioli
Brie with Red Grape Salsa
Filo Cups with Lamb, Mint and Feta

BLT Salad with Maple Glazed Bacon and Roquefort

Braised Beef Short Ribs
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Jennifer brought the dessert.  I don’t know what you call it.  But, it was berries topped with something like Sabayon and Shortcake.  Perfect!  Lori brought a couple of loaves of fabulous bread from Panera bakery.  I think everyone brought wine.  Gotta like that!  Cornelia and Jean even brought their own chairs.  We have a shortage of seating around here.  Luckily, they have extras and a big vehicle.

We had a fabulous time.  Cocktails and appetizers at 7:00.  Dinner about 8:30.  Conversation by the fire pit outside until about… oh, 1:0o in the morning.  Yes, we like to have a good time at the Hubbard house.  It’s great to have friends you can relax with and enjoy good food and drink.  We’re not the “do the dishes” kind of girls.  That can wait until tomorrow.  When it’s time to have fun, why waste it doing a chore?

Lori took some great pictures I wanted to show you…

Hubbard and Margie from across the long table

Brie with Red Grape Salsa and Artichoke Leaves with Basil Paremsan Aioli

 

Filo Cups with Lamb, Mint and Feta

BLT Salad with Maple Glazed Bacon and Roquefort

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Zin (and various other good stuff)

Green Beans with Mushroom Cream Sauce

The Beautiful Dessert a la Jenn

 

And finally, because our dog Roger is such a spoiled little pooch and our friends are so indulgent that they let him jump into their laps at the dinner table… 

Roger Wants Ribs

Just When You Think You’re Gonna Die

I woke up today sick as a dog.  Headcold.  One of those blinding headaches where you find yourself moaning out loud when the dog jumps on the bed.  Miserable.  I finally crawled out of bed around lunch time, knowing I should eat something and go back to sleep.  But, who wants to cook when your head hurts so bad you can’t open your eyes?  I peeked in the freezer, more out of habit than anything.  And there it was…  a quart-sized freezer bag of homemade chicken noodle soup.  The Gods have smiled on me.  I may yet live to see another day.  Two more naps, a handful of asprin and a couple of bowls of chicken soup later I’m starting to remember what it feels like to be a healthy person again.  So, what do you think?  Chicken soup for dinner, too?  Why not?

Lakewood Tavern Burgers

Reporting back on the burgers at Lakewood Tavern, beside Matt’s, by the Lakewood Theater.  (Not Lakewood Landing!)  We dropped in early on a Saturday afternoon and the place was totally empty.  Didn’t stop them from making a great burger though.  Big old burgers with several toppings available.  The burgers come with fries that they obviously cut themselves.  I love this version of fries.  Not too thick.  Seriously golden with a few little crunchy guys that I search out like the tasty treasures that they are.  I had a bacon blue cheese burger and Hub had a cheddar cheese burger.  We agreed that for $25, including a beer each, that these half-pound burgers were a great value.  I love bar good bar food.  Just waiting to see what my next visit holds!