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This was really a lot of fun!

Potato and Ham Gratin

We went to a pot luck bruch this Sunday and here’s what I threw together for the party.  It was really easy.  Maybe I should rephrase; because I have a mandoline it was easy.  I probably wouldn’t even try this if I didn’t have some way of slicing the potatoes quickly.  A food processor would work, too. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together 2 cups of heavy cream.  A few shakes of fine herbs or any herb combo that sounds good to you with potatoes.  A pinch of cayenne.  A pretty good bit of salt.  The cream with taste salty, but the potatoes will soak it up.  They need some salt.  About a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.  A little garlic.  Whisk to combine well.  Set aside.

I sliced up little chunks of  ham.  Actually, it started as a ham steak about as big as a dinner plate and maybe half an inch thick.

Grated a couple of handfuls of Parmesan cheese.

Then I sliced up one medium yellow onion and about 3 pounds of peeled potatoes.  I used small russets.  Yukon Golds would probably be good, too. 

I greased a casserole dish.  Then I laid down a layer of potatoes, maybe three or four slices deep.  Added a layer of onions.  Some of the cream mixture, a handful of Parmesan and a scattered some ham on top.  Made another layer of the same stuff.  Then I topped it with the last of the poatoes.  When I was done, the cream seemed a little low, so added a little half and half to raise the level until about 75% of the potatoes were covered.   I knew that ham steak was going to release a lot of liquid.  I cooked the whole thing about 45 minutes covered.  Then I uncovered it, sprinkled on a little more Parmesan and ham and cooked it uncovered about 20 minutes.

The dish sat covered for at least 30 minutes before we got around to eating.  It was still warm and super tasty.  Everyone kept commenting on how good the potatoes were.  Of course, we’re a pretty food oriented group.  So, there was lots of good stuff!  An egg casserole with sausage and cheddar.  Einstein bagels an lox with cream cheese, capers, tomatoes and onion.  Donuts from Southern Maid and pigs in a blanket (I’ll alwasys love those things!)  Lot’s of fruit and muffins.  Just a whole lot of great things to eat and mimosas all around.  Want some leftover potatoes?

Leslie Brenner

OK.  It’s been a while.  We’ve seen a few reviews.  Most of you read Eats blog.  Any opinions of Leslie? 

Me?  I like her fine.  But, I was one of those people who was in love with Bill Addison.  So, I can’t help but miss him.  I admire her for sticking her neck out.  I mean, first she said Fuel City tacos weren’t that great.  Now, she’s not impressed with Twisted Root Burgers.  Lots of people are crazy about those places.  She’s calling it the way she sees it, regardless of how people might react.  You have respect her for that.

The people who come to my blog and write are generally a very thoughtful and considerate bunch.  Whether you agree or disagree with what I’ve blabbed on and on about, you guys have left comments that I’ve enjoyed reading.  Only a few have been ugly and that’s OK, too.  But, I think you’ll agree that Dallas bloggers can be a pretty vicious bunch.  Look at Eats or Sidedish.  I don’t totally understand the hostility.  I always feel for the reviewer who has to endure being called names and insulted because someone disagrees with their opinion.  It must take a really thick skin not to let all that get to you.   

So, how do you think Leslie is doing?

BYOB

In these tough economic times, I think be able to bring your own bottle of wine into a restaurant makes a hell of a lot of sense.  Think of how much even a glass of wine adds to your dinner tab.  I usually have two glasses with dinner.  That means Hub and I would be buying a bottle.  I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a bottle of wine that was less than $40.  But, it just kills me that I could go buy the same bottle for half as much or even less in some cases.

What about the restaurant that serves $20 entrees and $8-$12 glasses of wine?  How much better does it sound to be able to bring in my own $20 bottle of wine instead of having a meal that costs less than my wine bill?  The point is that I’d like to go out to eat and spend $50 every once in a while instead of $100.  Recently, we’ve been hitting the less expensive places a lot more often.  Beer goes great with burgers and a margarita hits the spot with Mexican food.  Overall, cheaper.

Yesterday I saw a link to Go BYO and loved it.  It has really extensive listings of local places where you can bring your own bottle.  It tells whether the restaurant sells wine and if they have a corkage fee.  There are quite a few out there that don’t charge you at all.  I think I’m going to spend a little time researching our opportunities this afternoon.

Happy Anniversary to Me

I missed it!  Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of this blog.  I’m shocked that it’s already been a year.  But, I’ve certainly enjoyed every minute of it!

Semi-Homemade, The Show I Love to Hate

I’m sorry, I can’t stand Sandra Lee.  If we were both in 1st grade, I’d make her cry on purpose.  She strikes me as the least genuine person on the Food Channel and I am always astounded at how annoying she is when I actually sit and watch an episode.  I never want to eat any of that food she makes.  The show ought to be called, Jr. High Cooking. 

I pretty much made the decision to leave the Food Channel going while I do laundry and clean the house today.  I thought I’d give it one more chance.  There are a few shows that I like fairly well.  But, a lot of the personalities grate on my nerves and they host shows that seem to be totally without substance.  I mean, I expect to learn something if I watch cooking shows all day or at least be inspired by a dish or technique.  Too many of the Food Channel shows don’t hit the mark.  I prefer a normal cooking show format, as opposed to the contest things or the reality of chefs screaming at people and dropping trays of food.   More often than not, I watch NPR chefs instead of the Food Channel.

What about you?  Do you watch Food Channel?  What cooking shows do you enjoy?  Which make you turn the channel?

I’m Excited about a Couple of Things…

First of all, I read in PaperCity that Penne Pomodoro is opening in Lakewood.  It’s reportedly going into the space that Kitchen 1924 occupied.  I’m just praying that this is true.  I have always found Lombardi places to be reliable.  My favorite thing about them is that all the places I’ve visited, so far, serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday.  The Snyder Plaza location menu also mentions that during brunch they have $1 Bellinis, Bloody Marys and Mimosas.  (Limit 6!)  How can you go wrong with that?  I kind of think I won’t actually be having six though!

I’m also all tickled that Dallas Fish Market is going to be having 50% off for lunch during the entier month of April.  50% off?  How do they do it?  I mean, all of the lunch items are under $20 (if I remember correctly).  I pay $8 to eat at a fast food joint in the court below us called Poblanos just because I can recognize the meat they serve.  It’s not too bad.  But, no one waits on me and there are no white tableclothes.  So, despite the fact that I don’t think Dallas Fish Market is the best seafood I’ve ever eaten in Dallas, it’s a damn good value at 50% off.  The 50% off thing was passed on to my friend S when he learned that he had won a happy hour for 25 people.  In fact, two of the people at our table of 5 won the same deal.  When we went in March we had to bring a coupon for the half priced lunch thing.  So, I’ll let you know if we find out any more about that.   Update:  Evidently, this only applies to certain people.  If you have a 50% off reusable card then you can use it in April.  Maybe the hostess shouldn’t have just offered up the info if there were restrictions.   They also have a fixed price offering for dinner that includes appetizer, entree, dessert and a glass of wine for $30 a person.  Check the website to be sure that’s still the case and for restrictions.  But, that’s a pretty good date deal.

Chopped Liver

 

Sure it looks like catfood. 

It’s actually chopped liver. 

Hub said, “So what does that make me?”

The First Strawberry of the Season

This is the first strawberry from Hubbard’s foodstuff plantings.  He’s got tomatoes, Serrano peppers, cabbage, and cauliflower, onions and tons of herbs going out back.  We’ll see what we get from his farming efforts.  Despite the fact that there’s a freeze watch tomorrow night, this little strawberry tells me that Spring is really here.

Dallas Fish Market Revisited

My friend S came up with a 50% off coupon for lunch.  What else was there to do than send an email out to some of our workplace foodie friends and make a reservation?  The first time we went to Fish Market we were not overly impressed, though it appears that everyone else thinks it’s great.  The media seems to be deeply in love with Dallas Fish Market, showering it with awards and recognition.  I’m still not quite sure why.  It’s good.  But, good isn’t enough to be mentioned in practically every major publication, if you ask me.  A fish restaurant is not super common in Dallas.  That doesn’t make it magical. 

Since we had 50% off, we were all up to order a good bit of food.  We were promptly told that there was no calamari appetizer that day.  This always begs the question…  “why don’t you go buy some calamari?”.  I mean, why say you don’t have something when it’s available locally?  Would you rather let people down or spend a few more bucks to hold up the integrity of your menu?  If anyone knows the answer to this question, please speak up.  I’ve been dying to know for years.  I mean, when I ran a sandwich shop, if we ran out of something we went and bought it retail.  Also, there was no soup of the day because it wasn’t ready yet.  Hey, the restaurant opens at the same time every day, right?  Not ready?

I ordered a sushi sampler that was called the Master Tasting. 

It was quite good.  The California roll (they call it Beverly Hills roll) was pretty typical.  I enjoyed the Tuna Heaven roll much more.  Tuna and spicy mayo on top.  Something they call “crunchy tuna” and avocado on the inside.  Very flavorful.  The sushi and sashmi was good as well.  Needless to say I had to share.  No way I could eat all that and a main course, as well.  S ordered a couple of rolls; Beverly Hills and Cajun.  He said they were good.  But, I didn’t notice him being overly impressed.  This man can eat some sushi and is a big fan of rolls.  I still think that the sushi at Sushi Axiom is better.  This was a beautiful plate and I loved the addition of seaweed salad. 

The other appetizers at the table were oysters on the half shell.  I heard comments like, “This is good.”  But, not necessarily, “These are the best oysters I’ve ever eaten in Dallas”, as the reviews might suggest.  I had some Miso soup, as did Jason. 

I’m very big on miso soup.  I can honestly say this is the only miso soup that I didn’t have the urge to pick up the bowl and drink it.  I love miso.  This was just boring.  I don’t know if there wasn’t enough miso in the soup or what, but I’ve made better at home.  Jason said, “Miso soup is supposed to be boring”.  I agree that it’s a mild soup.  But, this was like water with tofu in it.  In desperation, I added soy sauce.  Still nothing.  This was a new experience for me.  So what?  At $3 a bowl or $1.50 with our coupon, who cares?  I set it aside and waited for my entree.

Eventually, they started rolling out the main courses.  Unfortunately, the service was staggered.  I find it very annoying when the whole table isn’t served at the same time.  They put down a couple of dishes and then walked away.  You think, “Oh, they’re going back to the kitchen to get the rest”.  No.  They’re gone for a while.  They bring a couple of more dishes.    Now, one of our party is without food and it’s a little bit of a wait until it arrives.  We’re an informal bunch and it’s lunch time, so we all dig in.  If I were with guests that I didn’t know as well, I’d be embarrassed at this kind of service.

I got the Japanese plate.  I liked this alot.

Miso glazed sea bass.  Tempura veggies, which could have used a little dipping sauce.  The soy was taken when they took away the appetizer plates.  A few pieces of tuna roll and a salad.  Very nice.  The miso was a distinct flavor on the fish.  Too bad I didn’t have the same experience with the soup.  The fish was also cooked perfectly.  Not too dry, not too raw.  Perfect.

S had the Hawiian Grilled Swordfish.  It’s served with golden raisins, almond slivers, shaved fennel, thyme and brown butter.  He complained that there was too much butter in this dish.  In fact, he said practically all you could taste was the browned butter.   

It’s a little drab looking, don’t you think?  I didn’t taste other entrees.  So, I’m just the reporter here.  Becca had the fish and chips which John and said was good on his last visit.  She didn’t say much about them one way or the other.  Her husband is a chef.  She’ll tell you if she loves something.  She didn’t say it was bad, though.  So, it was probably pretty good.  John got the lobster omelette. 

Looks pretty, huh?  I think that visible lobster was the main clue that there was actually lobster inside.  John said the lobster was overwhelmed by the other flavors (think egg and cheese).  He said the omlette itself was very good, though. 

So, the five of us got out of there for practically nothing ($66 before tip) and I got to give Dallas Fish Market a second try.  It was good.  I’d go again.  But, I still don’t think it’s as great as they say.  I’ve had seafood that was just as good or better in Dallas.  S suggested that maybe it turns into something really special that we dont’ know about at night.  Maybe.  It’s a stretch.  But, maybe.