A Life, Lived

San Francisco in 100 Words

I'm likely en route to San Francisco as you read this - my flight left Buffalo at 6 am, connected through JFK, and then off across the continent. . . sure it's odd to fly east to go west but it saved me $ 400 to spend on other things in the city!

A few years ago the city held a contest where participants were asked to describe the city in 100 words. This was one of the winning entries:

San Francisco in 100 words

San Francisco is often called “Everybody’s Favorite City,” a title earned by its scenic beauty, cultural attractions, diverse communities, and world-class cuisine. Measuring 49 square miles, this very walk-able city is dotted with landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz and the largest Chinatown in the United States. A stroll of the City’s streets can lead from Union Square to North Beach to Fisherman’s Wharf, with intriguing neighborhoods to explore at every turn. Views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay are often laced with fog, creating a romantic mood in this most European of American cities.

I can tell that I am going to have a blast!

Kung Pao Chicken Because I'm Off to San Francisco

I'm off to San Francisco for a conference. The conference itself starts on Friday but I tacked on four days of vacation before it starts. I've been to SF a number of times but usually for a day or two as we fly into our out of SFO. No matter how many times I get to the city there is always something new to see, do, or eat.

Sadly, Paul is not coming. His vacation time is limited so he has to conserve it carefully; with trips later this year to Italy, Denver, and Winnipeg, there were no days left for him to join me in SF. He is NOT happy about this turn of events but being the trooper that he is he is trying to be stoic about it all.

It's almost working.

*smile*

I promise not to have too much of a blast without him. 'A blast' being a relative term I find.

Last night he decided that he wanted to commmemorate my trip by cooking a Hunan or Szechuan dish - it was on our first trip to SF in 2003 that we first had spicy Chinese food and a hole in the wall restaurant . . . of course we LOVED it. In fact, we loved it so much we went back to the restaurant twice. Given the multitude of wonderful restaurants in SF that should be considered high praise.

The recipe he selected was by the folks at Food and Wine - Kung Pao Chicken. With this recipe they have lightened the dish by not requiring the chicken to be deep fried. They have also decreased the heat level (although not to the level that my colleague who is heading to SF with me for the week could actually eat!) but you can make it hotter by increasing the amount of chilli pepper flakes.

This is a delicious (and QUICK) version of Kung Pao chicken!

Kung Pao Chicken

1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup peanuts
4 scallions, white bulbs and green tops cut separately into 1/2-inch pieces (we added some extra green onion as a garnish at the end as well)
1/4 teaspoon dried red-pepper flakes

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sherry, and the 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water, and the remaining 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sherry, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the peanuts and stir-fry until light brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the white part of the scallions and the red-pepper flakes to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken with its marinade and cook, stirring, until almost done, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy-sauce mixture and the scallion tops and simmer until the chicken is just done, about 1 minute longer. Stir in the peanuts.

Later we sat in the living room enjoying a Late Harvest Gewürztraminer from Malivoire which was brilliant. We had Zeppole (an Italian custard filled fried pastry made for  San Guiseppe Day - Saint Joseph's day is the Italian father's day). Of course, Dante had to sneak into the picture and say 'hey!'.

 

Photo Hunt - License Plate

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'license plates'. Another tricky theme given that I don't normally take pictures of cars or license plates. I know that somewhere in my collection there are some random pictures of unusual personalized license plates that I have seen and been amused by over the years but I'll be darned if I can find them.

So . . . I will post random icense plate from a picture I took in Bologna last June. I believe I took this picture because the car was so darn small - imagine the mileage that these guys get . . .

 

St Patrick's Day Dinner

I've said this before - we love any excuse for a dinner party! I know for some folks the work involved with entertaining is just work - for us it is pure, happiness. Apparently we are freaks of the finest kind. *smile*

We missed hosting our annual St Patrick's Day dinner last year because we were in California - there was no way I was going to allow that to happen again.

Like I said, any excuse for a dinner party.

I took the day off of work but with the menu being relatively simple I had everything done by noon so I busied myself with such critical tasks as a nap, a walk through the forest, cleaning the patio, and organizing my music on my iPod.

 
The weather was so nice that we had our first course out on the patio - a first for us. It wasn't warm enough to sit out there without a jacket but it was so nice to be out there with the sun on our faces. AHHHH

 We had this Irish Cheddar and Stout fondue from the fine folks at Bon Appetit magazine. I served it with wedges of apple, par-cooked broccoli and cauliflower flowerettes, mini potatoes, and tiny cooked Brussels sprouts. It was amazing - frankly I would have been happy with a big bowl of this and nothing else -  and to make it even better it is soooooo easy to make.

Paul had made a wonderful edamame dip which was a wonderful green colour. It was a parfect substitute for humus. It was funny - when he made we tasted it and were not overly impressed - the next day I was ready to eat it with a spoon it was that good.

 
We also served some Irish blue cheese and rosemary shortbread cookies. I can't take any credit for them -  bought them from a wonderful shortbread company in Toronto. I have had their sweet shortbread before and loved them - the savoury ones were even better if such a thing could be possible!

 
Paul selected the martini. Normally we have something green (think mint, green apple, pear . . . that sort of thing). He went in a different direction - a martini called the Nutty Irishman - a combination of Bailey's Irish Cream, Frangelico, and cream. It's true - change is good. These were amazing!

 We moved inside for our main course of glazed corned beef, roasted carrots, Irish Soda Bread, and Cabbage, potato bundles. I think we've had this same menu for about 10 years . . . but it works!

 We did switch things up with desert. we have always had something green. I asked Paul to pick a dessert recipe and he selected something from allrecipes.com - an apple, shortbread tart. Many of the reviews suggested to double the apple filling - which we did. This was bloody amazing! We may never switch our dessert recipe again. *smile*

Happy St Patrick's Day

Ah yes, here it is again, the day we all pretend to be Irish, and young folk get stupid drinking green beer. We shall be a tad more refined at our house - with our usual St Patrick's day martinis, corned beef dinner (which I know would NEVER be served to guests in Ireland, if it were served at all). Our menu is pretty much the same year in and year out. Sure it is not traditional Irish fare in the least but we like it. *smile*

I'm hoping that the warming trend continues so that we can enjoy the martinis outside on the patio with our guests. Which reminds me - I had better go and clean the winter gunk off of it.

My mom sent me these pictures featuring Hallmark's cranky Maxine (who I have decided reminds me of a colleague at work - there is even a facial resemblance about the nose and eyes). Have a giggle and have a BLAST today.

 

And it just would NOT be St Patrick's Day without a Savage Chickens cartoon . . .

 

Sear-Roasted Halibut with Blood Orange Salsa

Has anyone else noticed that citrus fruit seem to be far tastier this year than normal? I'm wondering it it is actually the case or if it is a trick of the imagination brought on by a long, cold winter. Whatever we have been eating oranges, clementines, tangerines, and the like daily . . . pooping back as if they were the candy they are sweet enough to masquerade.

This is also the source of some inner turmoil for me too. I've been trying to focus on locally sourced foodstuffs in an effort to reduce the global footprint of our meals. The reality is that if I did this the only fresh food I'd be eating right now would be mushrooms (there is a far about 10 minutes away), meat, brown snow, and mud.  ICK

In fact, if I were fanatic about the 100 km diet I'd never eat an orange, lemon, lime, or clementine again. Happily I reserve my fanaticism for more serious things like cleaning off my desk and recognize my food realities.

This recipe is one that we would never be able to make if I stuck to the 100 km diet. There is no source of halibut (i.e. the deep northern ocean), oranges (Florida and Italy), olive oil (Italy). In fact - the only truly local ingredients int eh recipe are the fresh herbs - all grown in local greenhouses using incredible amounts of electricity  (thereby INCREASING the environmental footprint).

Ahhh . . the ethical dilemmas of a foodie in the 2000s.

Anyway. To heck with ethics. Paul wanted to make this recipe so I duly purchased the ingredients and he pulled it all together on Sunday. It was quick to show up on my plate and the taste was brilliant - just the burst of refreshing citrus that I needed in the waning days of winter.

Paolo followed the recipe exactly as printed and made no changes. He didn't need to as it was perfect as printed! I know the picture below doesn't look like we used Blood Oranges but we did . . . honest.

Sear-Roasted Halibut with Blood Orange Salsa

3/4 cup fresh navel or Valencia orange juice (from 2 medium oranges)
3 small blood oranges, cut into segments, segments cut in half
2 Tbs. minced red onion
1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. finely grated navel or Valencia orange zest (from 2 medium oranges)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. finely grated navel or Valencia orange zest (from 1 small orange)
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
4 6-oz. skinless halibut fillets
3 Tbs. olive oil

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.

In a small saucepan, boil the orange juice over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the reduced orange juice, blood orange segments, onion, cilantro, olive oil, and orange zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the orange zest, thyme, 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Rub the mixture all over the halibut fillets. Heat the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering hot, arrange the fillets in the pan. Sear for about 2 minutes without moving; then use a thin slotted metal spatula to lift a piece of fish and check the color. When the fillets are nicely browned, flip them and put the pan in the oven.

Roast until the halibut is just cooked  through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the halibut to serving plates. Spoon some of the salsa over each fillet.

Jambalaya

I know that last Tuesday was Fat Tuesday and New Orleans was a riot of celebration, drinking, and great food. I should have made this Jambalaya then but in OUR house we have pancakes for Shrove Tuesday (being the of British descent as we are). So yet again I am late to this party.

This recipe comes from the good folks at Fine Cooking. They call it stove-top Jambalaya which I find curious - if the fact that this is cooked on the stove makes this unique where are others cooking their jambalaya . . . on the hoods of the chevy?

Weird.

Jambalaya, a Cajun/Creole dish, is perhaps the most versatile main dish the South has to offer. It can be made with beef, pork, chicken, duck, shrimp, oysters, crayfish, sausage, or any combination or protein. Some of the more standard additions are green pepper, cayenne pepper, tomatoes, celery, and onions. Generally, the vegetables are sautéed and meat(s) cooked, then broth or water, tomatoes, seasonings, and uncooked rice are added. The mixture is simmered (presumably over a stove but eventually I shall move on) until the rice is done, and shrimp (or any other foods which should not be overcooked) are added near the end of the cooking time.

Based upon that description then this recipe wasn't far off of the mark for 'tradition'. It was well on the mark for speed and flavour. We LOVED it. I added extra hot peppers so it packed a wallop of flavour that we enjoyed. I thought that the recipe made more than the 4 servings indicated - likely 6.

If you want a taste of the south you won't go wrong with this.

Jambalaya

1 cup quick-cooking brown or white rice
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced pickled jalapeños
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tsp. Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. andouille sausage, chorizo sausage, or kielbasa, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds
1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
One 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Table salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the rice according to the package directions.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeños and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the Cajun seasoning and oregano and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables. Add the sausage and shrimp and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, bring to a simmer, and let simmer until the chicken and shrimp are cooked through (the shrimp will be bright pink), about 3 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and stir in the cooked rice and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

How Much News is Too Much?

I do believe that I'd like to be monkey # 2 or # 3.

Today, while sweating my fat away (hopefully) on the treadmill, I remarked to my colleague that there was something to be said about the way news was delivered in the early 20th century when folks weren't constantly bombarded with updates, news feeds, twitter updates, video footage and the like. The coverage of the world's events over the past week or so is enough to make you want to hide your head in the sand.

We are inflicting trauma on ourselves.

We read horrific headlines. View distressing pictures. Watch videos where we see and hear mayhem. This stuff is tossed our way in a constant barrage. I get distressed watching this stuff in the movies when I know the death is fake. Watching cars full of passengers flipping about as they are swept away by a tsunami is too real for me.

I used to love the news. I enjoyreading the paper. I like having intelligent conversations about the things happening in our world (notice I said intelligent, thereby cancelling out conversations with anyone who views FOX inventednews).

Tonight I do believe I require a break.  I am going to put on my favourite Jazz CD. Wine will be poured. I will pet the cats. . . read a book . . . chat about life with Paolo . . . and see what tomorrow brings . . .

Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Risotto

The path that a dish might take to get to our dinner table is often a convoluted thing. I am sure that there are some folk out there who wake up, look about, and say 'tonight we're having porchetta, roasted potatoes, and rapini' (that being last night's menu). We are not those people.

Similarly, there are those folks who arrive home after a busy day at the office, open the freezer, pull out a box, and call it dinner. We sure as HELL are not those people. Sadly we are toiling away and paying taxes to provide health care for those people.

Anyway. This was not meant as a rant about people who eat prepared meals and thereby consume all sorts of chemicals, additives, and other guck that wasn't designed for human consumption in the first place.

This is the tale of a wonderful risotto that we made two weeks ago. The first part of the tale involved Paul getting braces. No one really notices that Paul needs braces (me, they would have no doubt about), however apparently it is something that has been eating away at him since he was a wee lad.  So he has embarked upon a two year journey to a straight smile.

We thought that his mouth might be sore after having them on. I figured soft food would be in order. The problem was that, not being 100, I don't cook soft food as a rule. We decided that risotto might just be soft enough for the poor lad - but which one?

The next part in this tale involved me searching through the cupboards recently and finding 6 packages of dried porcini mushrooms that I have brought back from Italy over the years. I don't know if dried mushrooms go bad but I figured that unlike Dick Clark the mushrooms might not last forever so I had better use them up.

Mushroom risotto.

Then I happened to realize that some confusion had set in whilst shopping and we had more gorgonzola in the refrigerator than we were going to use. This, kids, is a happy event. Who doesn't want excess gorgonzola in the fridge? Of course, it too doens't last forever.

Gorgonzola, Porcini, Risotto . . . was there a recipe for this out there for such a combination? To Google I went.

It turns out that there was and it was by Giada De Laurentiis. This was pause for thought. I haven't made many recipes by Giada and I have a wee bit o'snobbery when it comes to those populist food network chefs . . . I mean, if you are selling spoons, coffee, and pasta in Target how serious a chef are you anyway?

Plus - she is a tad too happy for my liking. She isn't manic like that chipmunk on laughing gas Rachel Ray but anyone who ohhs and ahhs over every bit of food she makes can't be trusted!

See what I mean about the complex journey from concept to prepared food on our table? To think you likely thought Lord of the Rings was convoluted. Ha.

Anyway. The reviews were positive (although some were stupid - I hate reviews on the webthat go like this . . . 'I didn't have the right rice so I used regular Uncle Ben's brown rice instead, left the mushrooms out because my guests don't like mushrooms, and used cheddar instead of gorgonzola because DH doesn't eat blue cheese'. You didn't make the recipe then so don't bloody well review it!)  Plus, having read the recipe I liked the technique so the bullet was bitten and off I went. Besides, if Paul really was in pain he likely wouldn't care what he was eating.

OK. Truth be told, pain or no pain he doesn't much care. If someone has cooked for him he'll eat it. It is not by accident that he has received the moniker 'the Human Garbage Can'.

The results were excellent. The mushroom flavour is intense - because the stock is infused with the flavour (the ONE thing I didn't like about the recipe was that she didn't direct you to strain the liquid after the mushrooms had been reconstituted - I ALWAYS strain the liquid because it has bits of stuff you might not wnat to eat - just use a coffee filter to get the fine particles out). The finished risotto is full of that amazing gorgonzola flavour.

In the end this was one of the best risottos we have ever had. Paul liked it so much that he had two portions - pain or no pain.

Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Risotto

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup (3 ounces) Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the porcini mushrooms. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 30 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and set aside.

Reheat the stock to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook until the onions are tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of warm stock and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue with remaining stock, adding 1/2 cup at a time, and allowing each addition to be absorbed, until the rice is tender to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan, Gorgonzola, chives, salt and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl. Serve immediately.

Photo Hunt - Machine

This week's Photo Hunt theme is 'machine'. Machines are something that make work easier. There are few things that make this task easier . . .

 Making pasta is a lot easier if you use a pasta maker!

This is from a cooking class we enjoyed in Florence, Italy in 2006. Our friend Judy showed us how to use this machine properly.

Last year, when I was in Bologna visiting my friend Palma, I learned how to make pasta the 'old-fashioned' way i.e. without a machine . . .

 
It's true - machines DO make work easier!