I keep whining about wanting to cook more, and I realized I've actually done a fair bit lately. Although not all of it was really intended as cooking, it was more preparation for Class 1 Upload, and my infantry friend used to say. However I did make a few things definitely worth keeping, with a few ideas of how to gussy them up a little. Then there was the mediocre coffee cake, which was passable and enough to get my colleagues to see I tried but not really my best work. And finally was the complete disaster of a cake. I'll save that one for last, it merits some rumination on where my extensive thermodynamics and fluid dynamics education went while I was thinking through this concept.
Starting with the Out of the Park hit: Goat cheese stuffed portobellos
4 Large Portobello Caps, cleaned with stems removed
4 oz Goat Cheese
3 oz Cream Cheese
1T Pesto
4 Slices Emmantaller Cheese (or swiss of that's easier)
8t White Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Turn on broiler. Drizzle olive oil on cooking sheet and rub to coat. Put mushroom caps top down on baking sheet. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil across each. Grind salt and pepper onto each cap. Drizzle 2t balsamic vinegar in each cap. Mix goat cheese, cream cheese, and pesto in a bowl. Divide cheese mixture between all 4 mushroom caps. Lay a piece of cheese across each mushroom. Broil until cheese is starting to brown and crisp, about 5 min. Serve immediately.
I like things a little sour. Sourdough bread, sour cream, and buttermilk top my list. I came across the recipe for Cucumber Buttermilk Soup from a Martha Stewart magazine (link not online yet, will add when it becomes available). I followed the recipe almost exactly, so I won't bother to reprint. It was great. I left it warm and added some additional potato flakes to make it more of a puree for Charlotte to eat. But she liked it as a soup, its just hard to feed soup to a 15month old who hasn't figured out the correct orientation of a spoon and yet wants to do everything herself. The cucumber and potato base was great warm and cold. And the buttermilk was exactly my style.
This evening I made Corn and Onion Cakes. They were supposed to be more like fritters, or something, but the first batch soaked up too much oil and were a strange consistency so I added flour and made them more like pancakes, which turned out great. So to the Corn Cakes recipe I just added about 1/2 C flour. And instead of goat cheese I used cheddar and I omitted the bacon part. Charlotte was a fan, so I feel this was a success. Again, it was a little sour, but I like things sour. Others may not, but hey, its my blog so deal with the sour. At least I'm not bitter today.....
The tie was the Apricot Coffee Cake that I made following the recipe from Epicurious. I think had I served it warm out of the oven it might have been good. But having to keep it in the fridge overnight and then take it to work in the morning turned it a little hard. I know, I should have just baked it at work or something like that, but frankly I'm not that committed. I guess it will show on my performance evaluation, but perhaps that day I'll bake brownies or just bring in whiskey.
And finally, the moment you have all been waiting for, the moment I reveal my latest departure from the reality of baking, where I attempt to throw off the chains of physics and chemical laws only to have them come back to flog me with my own failure. I had left over apricots, so I wanted to make something with them. I had no flour in the house, and still don't, but that's punishment for this flagrant disrespect for baking rules. Anyway, my logic went thus "no flour but plenty of cream cheese, I could make a cheesecake." So, away I went, pitting and preparing fresh apricots. Then melting butter and sugar in the bottom of a baking dish to make a caramel sauce such as the one I used for the upside down pineapple cake. Then I layers the apricots in the dish on top of the caramel. Next I whipped up a traditional cheesecake batter and poured it on top. Those of you who bake regularly are cringing in disbelief. Those who don't are thinking "there's something wrong with this picture, but I can't put my finger on it." Well, cheesecake has a particular liquid to fat ratio that makes it the way it is, and apricots, especially fresh ones, have lots of liquid. And since the apricots are under the cheesecake mixture there was no opportunity for the liquid to escape. Resulting in a very big, bubbling, hot, useless, exploding-and-coating-the-oven mess. Why I thought that juicy fresh fruit on the bottom of a cheesecake was going to work, I have no idea, but I think my fluid dynamics teacher should retroactively fail me.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Not your doctor
The second dinner in France was on the last night before leaving, so I had to use what was in the fridge. Kind of the vacationer's version of Iron Chef. The biggest challenge was the 1 kilo of butter that was left. That, and the pineapple. So, the menu was as follows:
Cheese souffle
Rosemary potatoes
World's Least Healthy stir fry
Pineapple upside down cake
I prefaced the meal with making sure people knew "I am not your doctor, I am your cook." It was a pretty heavy, decadent meal. But hey, if you want healthy, ask your doctor. And don't buy butter in kilo sizes.
There was also an attempt at a hollandaise sauce to go with the potatoes, but it turned out badly so we didn't eat it. The rosemary potatoes were simply sliced potatoes, butter, salt, and fresh rosemary ripped from the bush outside. Which I regret not ripping up and taking with us. The potatoes were great. My greatest accomplishment was the souffle from scratch, with no beaters, stand mixer, or any other machine to help. It didn't puff the way I wanted it to, but I also had to bake it in a too-large metal bowl as opposed to a souffle dish. Taste was pretty good though. World's Least Healthy stir fry had good veggies, but I wasn't a fan of how the meats turned out. But then again, I'm not a big sausage or bacon fan to begin with. The cake had the typical problem of not being cooked all the way through, but since it was huge and there were only 8 of us, we all got plenty of cooked portions.
Cheese Souffle
World's Least Healthy stir fry
2 packages Bacon
1 package sausage
1 large onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
Boil sausages until cooked through. Cook bacon in skill until crispy and fat is rendered. Remove bacon slices and place on paper towel. Add sausage to the pan, turning to crisp outside. Add onions and butter to pan, stirring occasionally until almost tender. Add bell pepper to pan, stirring occasionally until almost tender. Add bacon back to pan, tossing to ensure mixture is warmed all the way through.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
For topping:
For batter:
Cheese souffle
Rosemary potatoes
World's Least Healthy stir fry
Pineapple upside down cake
I prefaced the meal with making sure people knew "I am not your doctor, I am your cook." It was a pretty heavy, decadent meal. But hey, if you want healthy, ask your doctor. And don't buy butter in kilo sizes.
There was also an attempt at a hollandaise sauce to go with the potatoes, but it turned out badly so we didn't eat it. The rosemary potatoes were simply sliced potatoes, butter, salt, and fresh rosemary ripped from the bush outside. Which I regret not ripping up and taking with us. The potatoes were great. My greatest accomplishment was the souffle from scratch, with no beaters, stand mixer, or any other machine to help. It didn't puff the way I wanted it to, but I also had to bake it in a too-large metal bowl as opposed to a souffle dish. Taste was pretty good though. World's Least Healthy stir fry had good veggies, but I wasn't a fan of how the meats turned out. But then again, I'm not a big sausage or bacon fan to begin with. The cake had the typical problem of not being cooked all the way through, but since it was huge and there were only 8 of us, we all got plenty of cooked portions.
Cheese Souffle
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 4 large egg yolks
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup (packed) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
World's Least Healthy stir fry
2 packages Bacon
1 package sausage
1 large onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
Boil sausages until cooked through. Cook bacon in skill until crispy and fat is rendered. Remove bacon slices and place on paper towel. Add sausage to the pan, turning to crisp outside. Add onions and butter to pan, stirring occasionally until almost tender. Add bell pepper to pan, stirring occasionally until almost tender. Add bacon back to pan, tossing to ensure mixture is warmed all the way through.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
For topping:
- 1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced in 1/4in rounds
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
For batter:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup orange juice (pineapple might be better)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make topping:
Melt butter in skillet or pan being used for baking the cake. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in overlapping pieces slightly.
Melt butter in skillet or pan being used for baking the cake. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in overlapping pieces slightly.
Make batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (or by hand if you don't have an electric mixer, just make sure it gets light), then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (or by hand if you don't have an electric mixer, just make sure it gets light), then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet.
Friday, July 30, 2010
First dinner in France
I'm working a back-log of entries, so the dates are a little delayed from when I actually cooked some of this. But I thought I'd write about the first meal I made during our vacation in France. This was after I got over the alien infestation in my stomach and was able to stand without doubling over in pain and consume more than two bites of plain bread without my stomach turning into the gastrointestinal version of Mount St. Helen. So, with that mostly behind me, I set out to cook for the 8 of us as I had originally promised to do. Through sheer luck, and Trey's superior planning ability, I had everything I needed for a complete dinner except for vanilla, which was easily aquired at the store.
The first course was Potato Croquettes, not because I set out to make them but because there were 2 types of left over potatoes in the fridge and I hate having leftovers hanging around. So the two leftover potato dishes got mashed up with cheese, butter, and bread crumbs, then dredged in rice crispies and fried. I have to say I was quite impressed with the rice crispy outside. It made a perfect coating. They crisped up very fast, so I definitely wouldn't recommend using rice crispies for something that needs to cook all the way through, but for croquettes it was perfect.
The Panzanella Salad was the first time I had done it, and all I knew was that it consisted of fresh tomatoes, onions, and dried bread. And since Trey likes caramellized onions so much, I decided to caramelize them and add them hot to the salad. The only bad part was that I burned some of the bread, and the salad would have been a little better if I had let it sit for about 20min before serving it, that way te bread would have gotten a little softer and soaked up the juices. But overall I was pretty pleased with the taste.
The chicken with pan sauce turned out fine, nice and tender but kind of unremarkable. Which I guess was good since the kids liked it.
Desert was Croissant bread pudding, since we had a bunch of sweet croissants that we hadn't eaten and needed to be used or thrown out. This one was pretty good, would have been better in a different baking dish. And it DID NOT go well with the coffee icecream that I served it with for myself. But luckily everybody else got to learn from my mistake and eat it without ruining it.
Potatoe croquettes
1 1/2 C Cooked Potatoes, mashed
3/4C Soft Cheese (cream cheese can substitute if you don't have access to really nice fresh cheese)
1/2C Milk (whole milk is best)
3/4C Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 C Rice Crispies, roughly crushed
1/2C Oil for frying
Mix potatoes, cheese, milk, salt, and pepper. Consistency should be fairly stiff. Add milk slowly to avoid making the mixture too soupy. Add more bread crumbs to make it stiffer. Shape into balls about the size of a golf ball. Roll in rice crispies, pressing rice crispies into the balls and flattening the balls into disks. Heat 1/4C oil in a pan until smoking. Fry the croquettes until golden brown, about 2 min on each side. Add more oil to the pan as necessary to keep the level at about 1/2in. Serve immediately.
Panzanella salad
3 Fresh Tomatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 Loaf Bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
3T Olive Oil
3T Herbs d' Provence
1t Salt
2 Medium onions, chopped into slivers
3T Butter
1/4C Olive Oil
3T Dijon Mustard
1T Honey
2t Balsamic Vinegar
1/2t Salt
1/4t Pepper
Place bread cubes in a single later on a baking sheet. Drizzle 3T Olive Oil over bread cubes, sprinkle Herbs d' Provence and 1t salt over bread, tossing to coat. Toast under the broiler until dark brown, but not burned. Remove and set aside. Caramelize onions in 3T butter and set aside. Whisk together olive oil, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in the bottom of a large bowl. Add tomatoes, bread, and onions. Toss to coat with dressing.
croissant bread pudding - Recipe to come later. Here is a link to a good one, just substitute croissant for bread http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vermont-Maple-Bread-Pudding-with-Walnut-Praline-230662. I'll put my actual recipe up later.
The first course was Potato Croquettes, not because I set out to make them but because there were 2 types of left over potatoes in the fridge and I hate having leftovers hanging around. So the two leftover potato dishes got mashed up with cheese, butter, and bread crumbs, then dredged in rice crispies and fried. I have to say I was quite impressed with the rice crispy outside. It made a perfect coating. They crisped up very fast, so I definitely wouldn't recommend using rice crispies for something that needs to cook all the way through, but for croquettes it was perfect.
The Panzanella Salad was the first time I had done it, and all I knew was that it consisted of fresh tomatoes, onions, and dried bread. And since Trey likes caramellized onions so much, I decided to caramelize them and add them hot to the salad. The only bad part was that I burned some of the bread, and the salad would have been a little better if I had let it sit for about 20min before serving it, that way te bread would have gotten a little softer and soaked up the juices. But overall I was pretty pleased with the taste.
The chicken with pan sauce turned out fine, nice and tender but kind of unremarkable. Which I guess was good since the kids liked it.
Desert was Croissant bread pudding, since we had a bunch of sweet croissants that we hadn't eaten and needed to be used or thrown out. This one was pretty good, would have been better in a different baking dish. And it DID NOT go well with the coffee icecream that I served it with for myself. But luckily everybody else got to learn from my mistake and eat it without ruining it.
Potatoe croquettes
1 1/2 C Cooked Potatoes, mashed
3/4C Soft Cheese (cream cheese can substitute if you don't have access to really nice fresh cheese)
1/2C Milk (whole milk is best)
3/4C Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 C Rice Crispies, roughly crushed
1/2C Oil for frying
Mix potatoes, cheese, milk, salt, and pepper. Consistency should be fairly stiff. Add milk slowly to avoid making the mixture too soupy. Add more bread crumbs to make it stiffer. Shape into balls about the size of a golf ball. Roll in rice crispies, pressing rice crispies into the balls and flattening the balls into disks. Heat 1/4C oil in a pan until smoking. Fry the croquettes until golden brown, about 2 min on each side. Add more oil to the pan as necessary to keep the level at about 1/2in. Serve immediately.
Panzanella salad
3 Fresh Tomatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 Loaf Bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
3T Olive Oil
3T Herbs d' Provence
1t Salt
2 Medium onions, chopped into slivers
3T Butter
1/4C Olive Oil
3T Dijon Mustard
1T Honey
2t Balsamic Vinegar
1/2t Salt
1/4t Pepper
Place bread cubes in a single later on a baking sheet. Drizzle 3T Olive Oil over bread cubes, sprinkle Herbs d' Provence and 1t salt over bread, tossing to coat. Toast under the broiler until dark brown, but not burned. Remove and set aside. Caramelize onions in 3T butter and set aside. Whisk together olive oil, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in the bottom of a large bowl. Add tomatoes, bread, and onions. Toss to coat with dressing.
croissant bread pudding - Recipe to come later. Here is a link to a good one, just substitute croissant for bread http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vermont-Maple-Bread-Pudding-with-Walnut-Praline-230662. I'll put my actual recipe up later.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Out of Practice
I had a friend and his nephew over for dinner. And I'm in about as good a shape at cooking meat as the Tin Man after a salt-water bath. It was a great concept, pork loin stuffed with onions and apricots, topped with a mustard pan sauce. I won't even bother to put the recipe down, because it turned out terrible. Well, actually the sauce and the stuffing were pretty good. But the pork was really really tough. I think I mis-handled the braising. However, I did have oven roasted potatoes with homemade aoli and a very good strawberry pudding cake to make up for the mediocre pork.
The farmer's market is one of my vices. Now, you would think that a market with fresh fruits and vegetables would be the exact opposite of a vice. But I tend to impulse buy. And currently the impulse is strawberries. Well, actually it is any type of berry. Which is fine, as long as I practice moderation and only buy 1 container. But of course I didn't, each booth seemed to have better and better strawberries...... So 4 cartons of strawberries later I can't figure out what to do with them. Thus the pudding cake described below. One of the cartons was a little bruised and didn't look very good, so this was the perfect solution to use them.
Strawberry Pudding Cake
(adapted from Rhubarb Strawberry Pudding Cake on Epicurious)
The farmer's market is one of my vices. Now, you would think that a market with fresh fruits and vegetables would be the exact opposite of a vice. But I tend to impulse buy. And currently the impulse is strawberries. Well, actually it is any type of berry. Which is fine, as long as I practice moderation and only buy 1 container. But of course I didn't, each booth seemed to have better and better strawberries...... So 4 cartons of strawberries later I can't figure out what to do with them. Thus the pudding cake described below. One of the cartons was a little bruised and didn't look very good, so this was the perfect solution to use them.
Strawberry Pudding Cake
(adapted from Rhubarb Strawberry Pudding Cake on Epicurious)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Friday, July 23, 2010
New Computer
I don't have any recipes tonight. Or even anything culinary to talk about. But Trey got me a new computer. A Mac Book. So I could watch shows and type emails in bed. And so I could talk to him at night from bed as opposed to sitting in front of the desk in the living room. Which is wonderful. Especially because curling up in bed makes me so much more expressive. Although the tiredness is starting to lay in now. Perhaps it is the Sekt also. Regardless, no matter how much I like the smooth feel of the new keys and the slivery metal computer outside I need to rest. I'm hoping the new computer will help me with writing in this blog. If I ever want to really make something of myself in the culinary world, I need to practice the kind of consistency that I in engineering and wine tasting. Yeah, I said wine tasting, those of you who know me are probably scoffing and asking how many glasses qualify as a taste for me. Ah well, I have my vices. Food and wine among them. And now, to sleep. Perchance to dream.....of sourdough bread, caviar, and angel toe cheese.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Not In Charge of the Guest List
In an effort to minimize the amount of time out at dinners while my boss was in town, I volunteered to host a barbeque at my place. My thought was "hey, I have a grill, I can buy meat and beer, one of the guys can cook, and with only about 10 people it won't be such a big deal." Well, as I indicated in the title, I was not in charge of the guest list. When all was said and done, there were 38 people in my house. Luckily I bought 2 whole tenderloins, started marinating them the night before, brought out the biggest bowl I had for a green salad, and baked a cake. The cake was the only real homemade thing I contributed. But it was a good thing that I did, since only 1 other person brought anything and there were THIRTY EIGHT PEOPLE in my house. Oh, and I also got hotdogs, buns, and fixings for the kids. And the beer.
I think it was a pretty decent success. Especially for a thrown-together barbeque on a weeknight. The cake was an experiment, and in general was pretty tasty. I was pleased. So the total consumed was:
2 whole tenderloins
1 bushel of salad
2 cakes
2 lbs. potato salad
2 cases of beer (24-bottle variety)
12 bottles of wine
1 magnum of sparkling rose
1 bottle limoncello
3/4 bottle jack daniels
1 bottle really good grappa
1/2 bottle really really good scotch
The only casualty was a shot glass. Amazing.
Limoncello Cake
Pound Cake
1/2 C Limoncello
Lemon Glaze
Strawberries
Recipe to come later.... A little one is in need of a snack.
I think it was a pretty decent success. Especially for a thrown-together barbeque on a weeknight. The cake was an experiment, and in general was pretty tasty. I was pleased. So the total consumed was:
2 whole tenderloins
1 bushel of salad
2 cakes
2 lbs. potato salad
2 cases of beer (24-bottle variety)
12 bottles of wine
1 magnum of sparkling rose
1 bottle limoncello
3/4 bottle jack daniels
1 bottle really good grappa
1/2 bottle really really good scotch
The only casualty was a shot glass. Amazing.
Limoncello Cake
Pound Cake
1/2 C Limoncello
Lemon Glaze
Strawberries
Recipe to come later.... A little one is in need of a snack.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Devil in a dish
Caviar.
Mmmmmmm........ Let me savor that for a minute....... c...a...v...i...a...r.........
So there I was, having a bad day. Again. Reminded that I have all this responsibility and constraints by my 23-year-old babysitter who thinks getting up before 9am is stressful and my 20-something-acting-like-16 colleagues who drink until 4am most nights. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my family for the world. But I have those days when I get a little jealous. Ok, so that day I was a lot jealous. With that feeling I headed out to get my good friend a birthday present for her 40th. Since her husband wasn't in town due to the Icelandic volcano I promised her champagne and caviar one night. In preparation to make good on my promise I went to what was purported to be the best grocery store in town.
Here is where the director would cue the suspense music and everyone in the audience thinks "NO! Don't go in that door!"
And in I went. There may as well have been angels and trumpets at the opening of the door. This is my heaven. As I strolled leasurely through the isles, being more and more tempted by the exquisite displays of culinary delights I continued to have this rock churning in my stomach. Next thing I know, as I'm standing at the caviar counter the devil himself walks up. As one would expect, he was tall, dark, and handsome. With a great accent and perfect teeth. As I casually mention that I'm looking for caviar for a friend he smoothly offers me a glass of champagne. Pink champagne. Ohhhhhh that primrose path of dalliance.....
As he begins to explain the different species of fish responsible for the different caviars, the subtle taste difference and the best pairings I feel the pink champagne slowly bubble up to my head. And as the bubbles rise and the rock churns in my stomach that keeps reminding me that I have "all this responsibility" and the tall, dark, handsome, exotically accented man lulls me into a trance about the buttery taste of beluga caviar...... suddenly I find myself chucking the rock out the window, giving in the bubbles, and saying "yes, I'll take 50mg of the most expensive caviar you have."
And in that blissful moment of surrender I realize, I can't just have 1 container. Because as long as I'm being reckless, I need one just for me. So I get another, more moderately priced I assure you. But still more than most people spend on a pair of shoes. And of course 2 bottles of champagne. Because I like mine dry and she likes hers sweet. Or at least that was what I was telling myself.
By the time I completed my selection of champagne and caviar, I'm feeling a little guilty. Almost guilty enough to change my mind. The devil, sensing this, informed me that he would have my package rung up at the VIP register while I had a glass of wine on the house. Well, sitting at perfectly appointed bar at 3pm drinking a well aged french white was exactly what I needed to completely squash that green-eyed monster. No more was I jealous of the 20-somethings with their carefree lifestyle. Because not a one would have the guts to order the best caviar in the place, and then enjoy every last bite.
Which is exactly what I did. With a good friend. Sitting in our pajamas. Talking until the early hours of the morning. That caviar, that champagne, and that night were all together priceless.
Oh, and I made blini's to go with the caviar. Which were the best blini's I've ever had. Recipe to follow sometime.....
Mmmmmmm........ Let me savor that for a minute....... c...a...v...i...a...r.........
So there I was, having a bad day. Again. Reminded that I have all this responsibility and constraints by my 23-year-old babysitter who thinks getting up before 9am is stressful and my 20-something-acting-like-16 colleagues who drink until 4am most nights. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my family for the world. But I have those days when I get a little jealous. Ok, so that day I was a lot jealous. With that feeling I headed out to get my good friend a birthday present for her 40th. Since her husband wasn't in town due to the Icelandic volcano I promised her champagne and caviar one night. In preparation to make good on my promise I went to what was purported to be the best grocery store in town.
Here is where the director would cue the suspense music and everyone in the audience thinks "NO! Don't go in that door!"
And in I went. There may as well have been angels and trumpets at the opening of the door. This is my heaven. As I strolled leasurely through the isles, being more and more tempted by the exquisite displays of culinary delights I continued to have this rock churning in my stomach. Next thing I know, as I'm standing at the caviar counter the devil himself walks up. As one would expect, he was tall, dark, and handsome. With a great accent and perfect teeth. As I casually mention that I'm looking for caviar for a friend he smoothly offers me a glass of champagne. Pink champagne. Ohhhhhh that primrose path of dalliance.....
As he begins to explain the different species of fish responsible for the different caviars, the subtle taste difference and the best pairings I feel the pink champagne slowly bubble up to my head. And as the bubbles rise and the rock churns in my stomach that keeps reminding me that I have "all this responsibility" and the tall, dark, handsome, exotically accented man lulls me into a trance about the buttery taste of beluga caviar...... suddenly I find myself chucking the rock out the window, giving in the bubbles, and saying "yes, I'll take 50mg of the most expensive caviar you have."
And in that blissful moment of surrender I realize, I can't just have 1 container. Because as long as I'm being reckless, I need one just for me. So I get another, more moderately priced I assure you. But still more than most people spend on a pair of shoes. And of course 2 bottles of champagne. Because I like mine dry and she likes hers sweet. Or at least that was what I was telling myself.
By the time I completed my selection of champagne and caviar, I'm feeling a little guilty. Almost guilty enough to change my mind. The devil, sensing this, informed me that he would have my package rung up at the VIP register while I had a glass of wine on the house. Well, sitting at perfectly appointed bar at 3pm drinking a well aged french white was exactly what I needed to completely squash that green-eyed monster. No more was I jealous of the 20-somethings with their carefree lifestyle. Because not a one would have the guts to order the best caviar in the place, and then enjoy every last bite.
Which is exactly what I did. With a good friend. Sitting in our pajamas. Talking until the early hours of the morning. That caviar, that champagne, and that night were all together priceless.
Oh, and I made blini's to go with the caviar. Which were the best blini's I've ever had. Recipe to follow sometime.....
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