Thirteen Reasons to be Thankful...

Thirteen things for which I give thanks today...

1. He can dance. He's at home in the kitchen. Twelve years later, I find new reasons to love him with each passing day. I'm thankful for the man in my life.
2. Easily accessible year-round farmers' markets... I know who is growing my food. And how.
3. A home I can share with my friends.
4. Our restaurant family.
5. Those who've come before me.
6. Nephews and nieces with whom to share the legacy.
7. The truly international flavor of the bay area.
8. The ability to travel, experiencing new flavors and cultures.
9. Strawberries in sprintime, sun sweetened summer peaches, autumn apples, Christmastime clementines.
10. Rainy Sunday afternoons, fresh baked bread, a wool blanket, a fireplace and a good book.
11. Sunsets.
12. Chocolate. Cheese. and wine. Not necessarily in that order.
13. Turkey with all the trimmings... and loved ones with whom to share it.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens:
1. (leave your link in comments and I'll add you here)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted.

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

A year ago we explored Larkspur's Melting Pot.

Technorati Tags: Thursday 13 NaBloPoMo 2007

Thursday Thirteen in love

John and I celebrate twelve years together today. Twelve years of good and bad, happy and sad. We've made some amazing 'food memories' along the way. In celebration of us, I offer you today's Thursday 13...

Twelve Memorable Menus in the last Twelve Years (and the recipe that started it all)
1. I find the memories I've retained from our first interactions amazing. We're at a restaurant (I don't remember the venue or even the part of the bay we were in). I'm sitting with the people I came with, and he's across the table with the people he came with. I have no idea what I ordered. He had a ceasar salad, onto which he was shaking copious amounts of pepper. My first words: "Dude... I can taste that pepper from here!"

2. I introduced John to eggplant and mangoes. He introduced me to sushi. First Koji and the 'hotdog' roll. Then Komatsu and crunchy-sweet tempura. And Yuki. And scores of others along the way. Sensational saba. Buttery hamachi. Warm and comforting unagi. In exchange for a fruit and a vegetable. I got the better end of the deal. Forget pork fat Emeril...we've decided FISH fat rocks.

3. He thought I'd lost my mind. A hundred-some people from all over both of our lives. Many of whom had never met. What would they have in common? How could this possibly work?!? I couldn't tell him. But history told me it did. Hovering over the buffet table for another ravioli, another slice of ham, another bite of spinach dip, people would find their own connections, beyond their connections to us. Seven years later, our open house has become a bit of a legend.

4. I'm told that the saurbraten recipe is an adaptation of a Betty Crocker recipe with a little bit of Frugal Gourmet thrown in for good measure. No one's quite sure where the cabbage recipe came from (or they're not telling me if they are). The mashed potato pancakes are 100% Grandma F. And while I'm not normally fond of stews and slow-cooked meats, this menu is the exception that proves the rule... it's become a critical part of the ritual of summer sliding through fall into winter.

5. The first Thanksgiving we hosted, we turned to Alton Brown for advice. AB offered this. We procured a turkey-brining bucket and a separate ice chest just for this purpose. Some fourteen hours, one 15 pound turkey, a quarter box of kosher salt and a dozen or so other ingredients later, two families gathered for one tasty tender bird. The rest of the world can do the deep fry thing... we'll stick to brining.

6. Flash back to 2004. N & K have announced they're goin' to the chapel and they're gonna get maaaaried. But first they'd like to break bread together with both halves of the family and some close friends. Would we be willing to 'cater' their engagement party? Well... sure. We did what we do best: finger food. Most of the experience has been washed from memory by a steady flow of imported Belgian beer. But memory indicates that a good time was had by all most.

7. No matter how I write #7, I think it's going to suffer a bit from 'you really had to be there'. We'd decided to check out Berkeley's legendary Fondue Fred's (for the first time as an adult for me). The challenge: to get the most out of the experience you really need to go in a large group. So someone in our party got the bright idea to invite a bunch of socially-stunted math geeks. Whose first language appeared to be Klingon. And discovered that melted cheese and chocolate made interesting body art. We weren't sure if we'd crashed a freshman fraternity party or a kindergarten arts project... we just knew we didn't belong -- and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

8. If the potato pancakes featured in #4 are John's paternal grandmother's contribution to our culinary arsenal, his mother's Belgian Frites round out his history with solanum tuberosum. Add my grandmother F's gnocchi and my great grandmother C's potato bread, and we'll have Dr. Atkins doing post-mortem cartwheels, but I digress...

9. AB had already taught us turkey...we were eager students of Roast Beast. While we nixed the flower pot in favor of a roasting pan, we followed his instructions for choosing and aging the beef before roasting it low and slow. The result: a carnivorous Christmas Eve dinner our guests are still raving about nearly a decade later.

10. Menu browsing is one of our favorite activities. It's the food version of window shopping. We pick a neighborhood with a high concentration of restaurants. Stroll up and down the streets constructing the perfect dinner the way other people would put together the perfect outfit or design a beautiful bedroom. In this case, I'd recently moved out to the suburbs. It was time to see what our dinner options were going to be in nearby Walnut Creek. And after a half mile of Italian establishments peppered with the occasional burger joint or brew pub, we found Ono Maze. We found great food in the miso-mirin marinated black cod, the tempura "spider" roll and the molten chocolate cakes. We found good friends in Kelly & Kai, Randy, Mandy, Ryan and Lisa. We rediscovered our love for each other as we fell in love with the restaurant and its people.

11. It all started with a flu bug that left us couch-bound and four or five episodes of David Rosengarten's Taste. Followed by Two Hot Tamales kvetching over how to construct the perfect guacamole. And Robin Young Sissy Biggers Ainsley Harriott pairing two audience members with two professional chefs, a bag of groceries and a thirty minute time clock: Ready, Set, Cook. Sure, the furry little troll is still there and we still tune in to watch some of our favorites... but the Food Network's balance between education and entertainment has shifted significantly through the years...

12. Seven courses of seafood. And a chicken breast, because one of our six guests isn't a fish fan. Can you see where this is going? We were hosting Christmas Eve again this year. And decided to pay homage to my Italian heritage with the feast of the seven fishes. Most normal people accomplish this with a big bowl of cioppino... tossing in seven varieties of shellfish. Amateurs! We planned shrimp cocktail (Alton Brown again). Crab cakes. Bacalau salad. Cioppino. Fish sticks for the kids. And three other seafood courses I've forgotten now. Then the guest list erupted. My brother had to work, so his family wasn't joining us. Scrap the fish sticks. "Um... didn't we tell you K doesn't eat seafood?" Well, no you didn't. But we'll work around it. In the end we had a great meal... and John and I rang in 2004 with three courses of seafood.

and 13... the recipe that started it all:

Garlic Pasta

Cook 1 pound pasta as directed on package.

While pasta cooks, pulse 1/4 cup pignoli, 5 large cloves of garlic, and 1/2 cup fresh basil in a small food processor until finely ground. Add garlic mixture to 1 softened cube of butter. Blend well with a fork. Add 1/2 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, blending well.

Drain pasta and toss with garlic butter sauce.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens:
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Technorati Tags: Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen sheets of leftover puff pastry

Those of you who've been around a while remember our open house in November. A pre-Thanksgiving Saturday afternoon we turn off the heat, fire up the grill, the oven, and virtually every other heat-producing appliance in the kitchen and prepare a finger-food feast for nearly 100 of our closest friends.

In our sixth year, we've worked most of the kinks out of the menu and found ourselves a rhythm that works for us. This year we worked with our contacts in the restaurant business to procure some of the staples. Cheeses. Mini phyllo shells. Puff pastry. In restaurant sized packages. Which brings us to my second edition of the Thursday thirteen:

Thirteen creative uses for leftover puff pastry...

1. Breakfast just doesn't get any better than this. Based on how yummy this was with commercial pastry, I can't wait to try it using her recipe for pamesan pastry.
2. Sweet tooth? Check out Food Network's Puff Pastry, Apple & Raisin Strudel. Assemble it Saturday night and toss it in the freezer overnight for a no-fuss addition to your Sunday brunch menu.
   
3. Tonight's cover recipe comes to us from The Wednesday Chef. I love leeks. I love goat cheese and mushrooms. Fennel's a bit of a stretch, but I've learned to trust Luisa. If she says I'll like something, I usually do. A wedge of Leek, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart with a cup of mushroom soup was exactly the antidote for a long cold winter day.
4. Puff pastry plus a few extra ingredients and you have yourself a sensational weekend lunch. I'm particularly fond of my friend Haalo's Potato & Onion Tart -- and I don't LIKE anchovies. (Rocket? That's arugula in this part of the world).
   
5. Having friends over on Friday night? Brie kisses and a bottle of wine are a great way to start the weekend off right. A mini muffin tin, a sheet or two of puff pastry, a small wheel of brie and a jar of your favorite jam/jelly/preserves is all you need. Prepare your muffin tin with the nonstick spray of your choice. Cut the pastry into 2-inch squares, putting a square into each muffin form. Top with a 1/2 teaspoon of brie and a 1/4 teaspoon of the preserves. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool briefly before you enjoy -- the contents get molten.
6. Don't want to work that hard? Forget the slicing and stuffing -- top your brie with several tablespoons of the preserves. Wrap it in puff pastry, brush with beaten egg wash and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes before serving.
   
7. Last week's Salmon Fillet in Puff Pastry with Citrus Beurre Blanc was absolutely sensational, and not nearly as much effort as I'd initially expected.
8. For a hearty appetizer, try my Sassy Savory Tarts, inspired by Australia's answer to Martha Stewart - Donna Hay. I like to serve these over balsamic-dressed spring greens.
9. Or Bron's Caramalized Onion, Goat Cheese & Fig Tarts -- pornography on a plate.
   
10. Chocolate/Puff Pastry/Cream Cheese cookies feel like cheating, they're so simple. But they are consistently one of my most popular contributions to cookie exchange parties.
    
11. Another yummy entree using mostly kitchen staples: Spinach-Stuffed Chicken in Puff Pastry. Again, unless I'm serving serious company, I tend to skip the decorative extras. It tastes just as good without "decorative stems and leaves."
12. These Mini Savoury Tarts aren't nearly as fussy as they look. They taste amazing and they make a gorgeous plate. I'm particularly fond of the mushroom ones.
13. This variation on soft breadsticks pleases even my finicky "he won't eat that, it's not chicken" nephew.
    

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I'’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants


Technorati Tags: Food | Leftovers | Puff Pastry | Recipes | Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen

I discovered this Thursday 13 thing through the Holidailies Portal and I thought I'd try it out this week. Who knows, it may end up being a regular weekly feature...

You can learn a lot about a person from what they eat. So my introductory contribution to Thursday Thirteen centers around thirteen things I tasted this week. Gourmet things. Homemade things. Extravagant things. Simple things. Good things.

1. I picked up a couple of gorgeous salmon fillets at Trader Joes, and we still have a ton of leftover puff pastry in the freezer from November's open house. Gotta love Google. We had a romantic dinner at home Friday night: Salmon Fillet in Puff Pastry with Citrus Beurre Blanc and a salad of butter lettuce and avocado. The salmon dish is a *whole* lot less fussy if you dispense with the fishy shapes and just cut the pastry in squares.
2. Saturday's dinner was tasty, if not quite as successful. We were set to make steamed mussels with Belgian frites. We braved the mandoline to slice the potatoes. We broke out the new deep fryer that Santa gave me. Read the instructions carefully. Plunged the potatoes into the oil as instructed and --- spent the next hour cleaning oil off the counters, the cabinets, the floor, the ceiling. And being very thankful that neither of us were hurt in the process. So I head to the closest fast food joint for takeout fries while John steams the mussels. We settle down with our makeshift meal and a bottle of Belgian brew -- and John breaks out in hives. Which return periodically over the course of the weekend -- as near as we can tell, some odd allergic reaction to the mussels.
3. Nothing says "lazy Sunday afternoon" like French toast with preserves and powdered sugar and a marathon of Top Chef episodes queued in the Tivo. The perfect way to say goodbye to 2006.

4. New Year's Eve. Farewell 2006, hello 2007. What better way to celebrate than with good food in the company of good friends? We closed the year with our friends at Nibblers. I selected the Champagne tasting menu: five courses of celebratory cuisine paired with sparkling wines from around the globe. John stayed closer to home culinarily -- going with a taste of Napa. Because we believe the joy of food is largely in sharing it, we ended up experiencing a ten-course tasting menu.
   
5. Regular readers are already aware of Monday's adventures with ravioli, detailed here.
   
6. While we assembled the aforementioned ravioli we snacked on mushroom & goat cheese tarltettes hot from the oven and a selection of cheeses and crackers.
   
7. St Benoit yogurt can be rather difficult to find in my part of the bay area. So when I saw it last week at Whole Foods I eagerly stocked up. And I've been enjoying a crock of honey flavored yogurt for breakfast all week.
   
8. Sometimes a simple seasonal Satsuma Mandarin orange or two IS the perfect ending to an evening meal.
   
9. I'm indulging in an obsession with broccoli this winter. Steamed. Roasted with lemon. Sauteed. Stir fried. Creamed in soup. I can't get enough of it.
   
10. Panera's new Turkey Caprese sandwich is a great antidote to lunch-on-the-go, and even at over 600 calories, it *feels* more virtuous than the drive-thru.
    
11. After a morning full of mind-numbing meetings, a little sashimi salad is just the ticket to decompression. Buttery hamachi. Firm, flavorful tuna. Soft unctuous salmon. Shredded lettuce & sweet rice. A splash of soy sauce and a small dollop of wasabi. Better than Calgon. Less risky than a liquid lunch...
    
12. Christmas Eve with John's family several of us were still medicating that stubborn winter cold and weren't sure we wanted to indulge in champagne. Enter Trader Joes' Blood Orange Soda. Which now has a permanent home in my refrigerator. The perfect foil to everything from a four course Mexican holiday menu to a sandwich and kettle chips.
    
13. And lucky thirteen - Reed's Ginger-flavored ice cream -- Sweet but not sickly-so -- this is a great grown-up ice cream.
    

And now for the Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Take the time to follow the links below... you might discover some great new blogs!

1. Lisa shares 13 ideas for tackling insomnia on her Scenic Road to Joy.
2. Laura expands our reading list: 13 titles to add you your Amazon wish list.
3. Taking "obsession" to a new level, Nathalie agonizes over 13 frustrations planning a vacation.
4. Sanni's recently remodeled her blog, and shares the 13 add-ons she enjoys the most in her new space.
5. Janie (who shares my obsession with Top Chef) introduces us to 13 famous people she's met. Sadly, none of them is Harold Dieterle. :)
6. For those of you who need to catch a nap in your cubicle, Raggedy provides 13 ready-made excuses if you get busted.
7. Get an iPod for Christmas? Looking for upbeat music as you trudge back to the gym in January? Samantha's got 13 songs guaranteed to get your heart pumping.
8. Thomma Lyn shares 13 stupid words and phrases that drive her nuts. A neat list. I'm not sure I could stop at 13. :)
9. Caylynn offers her 13 favorite leisure activities. What resonates with me about her list is the balance she achieves through a variety of hobbies that fuel her mind, her body and her spirit.
10. Aimee offers 13 more ecclectic musical selections for new iPod owners.
11. In a fascinating psychological study, Christie ponders 13 of the oddest Google searches that have led readers to her blog.
12. Michelle explores the magical world of strange baby names.
13. Suburban Mum seeks balance through her insightful resolutions for a happy & fulfilling 2007.
14. Pam posts an ecclectic list of online reading material sure to keep you busy as you web surf through the lunch hour.
15. Crystal shares her goals for 2007.
    
16. In an ode to my favorite pastime -- procrastination, teachergirl ponders the things she should have gotten done.
17. My maternal ancestry is Pennsylvania Dutch, so I read Gem's list of superstitions with great interest.
18. Moma's World's list defies verbal explanation -- you'll just have to go see for yourself.
    
19. You could be here. If you're participating in the January 4 Thursday 13, leave your link in comments, I'll add you here!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: Food | Cooking | Recipes | Dining Out | Memes | Thursday Thirteen