Channeling my inner Martha Stewart.
Since I’m freelancing, between jobs and spending plenty of time at home, I’m challenging myself in the kitchen.
Thanks to Serious Eats, I tried out this French technique with fish: Cod en Papillote. The foil helped cook the cod fillets perfectly. Unfortunately, I used salted butter. That, plus a generous pinch of salt made this dish too salty for my palate.
Gordon Ramsay’s F-word inspired me to do eggs for dinner.
It took me about ten minutes to finish this Goat Cheese and Peas Omelette. It all came down to timing. My peas ended up a little burnt because I waited too long to add the basil leaves and eggs. Still – the goat cheese, bacon and basil paired nicely for this hearty dinner.
I’m getting a jump start on Spring and I’m working on my green thumb inside my kitchen.
My hubby gave me a Chia Herb Garden for Christmas. I planted Cilantro, Sweet Basil and Chives. Per the instructions, I left the pots on top of the fridge and away from drafts.
Today – I saw the first signs of germination from my Sweet Basil seeds. Woot!
This weekend, Susan introduced me to Guanciale.
Love at first whiff.
In San Francisco, we fried up 2 pounds of porky goodness last night. The fatty smoke warmed up the kitchen and left our clothes smelling yummy.
After saving all the juicy guanciale and bacon fat, Susan showed me how she did Pasta all Carbonara: raw eggs, Parmesan cheese, fried bacon bits and of course – all that rendered fat. We also baked garlic bread and sauteed some mushrooms and onions with garlic salt, thyme and butter.
It all added up to a delicious, hearty, gourmet dinner in the Mission.
Posted in BonVivant on 12/02/2009 04:30 am by Queenkv
Finally. December.
I’m trying to keep track of all the amazing food we sampled over the past few months. So far, I have tweeted several gourmet experiences. Now – I’ll try to sum up some of those dining adventures, beyond 140 characters.
We did a Thanksgiving Lunch at the Bistro in downtown Sonoma. I needed a relaxing afternoon after spending 10-plus hours in the newsroom. This Charcuterie plate had a lovely mix of foie gras, pork tartine and sausage. I loved spreading the rich foie on white bread.
We continue to head east for comfort food in Davis. I enjoy the handmade noodles from the Noodle House. I always order these dim sum plates as appetizers: pork BBQ buns and onion pancakes. These hearty flavors fill me up on a chilly autumn day or soothe my stomach after a night of drinking.
In Berkeley, we celebrated Scott’s birthday at T-Rex BBQ. I had to try the chicken-fried bacon. Crazy! A bit chewy and I managed to sample some hints of bacon goodness in this hor d’oeuvre.
I enjoyed introducing our Bay Area Buddies to the sights, sounds and flavors of Second Saturday in Sacramento. Everyone was quite pleased with this plate of Spanish Tri-tip and garlic mashed potatoes from Tapa The World.
Earlier this month, Susan and Tom introduced us to an amazing spot for sushi in the Mission: The Sushi Bistro. The bistro has a huge selection of sushi – from butterfish sashimi to some more playful sushi rolls with unagi. This monkfish pate melted in my mouth.
Also in the Mission, Susan also hosted a Halloween Feast. We had fun shaping the meatloaf into a scary hand and shaping the fingernails from onion slices. I also loved Mark’s Halloween costume. Brilliant – from the badge to the sunglasses. Next year, I hope I have some flash of inspiration for a costume. Maybe.
(If you’re reading this in the RSS Reader or on Facebook – click on the blog link to see Mark’s costume and a slideshow of our Halloween Feast!)
Posted in BonVivant on 11/29/2009 09:28 am by Queenkv
I had to work on Thanksgiving. I knew I had no energy or patience to cook after producing a 3-hour show. So, we decided to save our Thanksgiving cooking/feast for Saturday.
I always feel guilty about spending the holiday away from our family in So. Cal and in Buffalo. If you sign on to work in TV news, that’s just one of the realities for our schedules. I’m still happy to mess around in the kitchen with my immediate family: Mark and Daisy. This reminded me of our Thanksgiving Meal in Topeka.
On our menu: Rosemary Sausage and Chicken. I found the recipe in our Cuisinart Slow Cooker Recipe book. (The book came with the Slow Cooker). The veggies, sausage, chicken, chicken stock and wine simmered inside the Slow Cooker for 8 hours.
Mark also made the boxed versions of stuffing and scalloped potatoes.
We made a little puppy bowl for the smallest member of our family: Here’s Daisy’s amuse-bouche:
Inside my newsroom, I surprised people with my plans to visit Cleveland on my 2-week vacation.
They thought I was crazy. I rattled off some places worth visiting, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They nodded, but I don’t think I changed any minds. Screw it. I had fun. This city by Lake Erie has amazing food, great drinking spots and compelling cultural institutions.
Plus – it was sunny in Cleveland. That was a welcome change from our soggy days in Western New York.
Cleveland also introduced me to the joy of pierogies. I fell in love with these Beef Cheek Pierogies at Lola. One bite was filled my mouth with savory, rich goodness. I almost ordered seconds.
I wanted to make a foodie pilgrimage to this bistro because of Chef Michael Symon. I followed his TV career on “The Next Iron Chef.” On top of that, Anthony Bourdain added his snarky approval to Symon’s bistro.
“…a dizzying, post-modern riff on traditional Midwestern fare.” – Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations.
For travelers on a budget, Lola’s lunch menu has plenty of dishes under $20. This lunch in Lola’s was my favorite gourmet experience of our vacation. We even had a taste of home from the wine menu. Marked ordered a glass of Pinot Noir from Lodi.
From the pierogies to the Walleye fish – Lola’s offers clean, straight-forward flavors with decadent flourishes. For example, goat cheese transforms the Mac-n-Cheese dish from comfort food to a grown-up entree that satisfies any gourmand’s palate.
On my next Midwest vacation, hopefully I can carve out more than 24 hours for Cleveland. I missed a lot and I can’t wait to see what else I can explore in this city.
And if fingers are to be pointed, surely the greatest blame for the success of fast-food attaches to French cooking itself, for failing to provide any home-grown alternative. – Hugh Schofield, BBC
During the French portion of our Eurotrip, we avoided most American chains. In Paris, I ordered a latte from a Starbucks. As a former barista, I wanted to know if there was any difference in the French version of this espresso drink. Nope. No difference. I was also dazzled that it offered fresh squeezed orange juice from a huge, menacing, orange-squeezing contraption.
We turned up our noses at this McD’s chain near Norte Dame. However – I also noticed it was a busy store. There were plenty of French-speaking customers buzzing in front of the cash registers.
In London, the McCafe became our after-Mass coffee spot. It had cheap prices for decent coffee and pastries. Since we were living on American dollars, that helped us deal with the almighty British pound. The foreign exchange rate was deadly for any budget and Wells Fargo had not problem hitting up my account with additional exchange rate fees.
Ultimately, spots like the McCafe helped us save money for other amazing British day trips: Stonehenge, Bath and beyond.
I have a lovely three-day weekend ahead of me. I’m helping my best friend tie the knot in San Francisco.
So…I have some time to show some lovin’ for Photo Friday.
The topic: “Fast Food.”
I have a healthy/gourmet twist to that theme with this BBQ Buffalo Burger. It’s from Burger Me in Truckee. It has this amazing hearty flavor and it’s all lean meat. The tangy BBQ sauce also hit all the right spots for me.
My first week back in the newsroom felt like culture shock. At 2 AM, I discovered our station was at the heart of two major news stories – Jaycee Dugard and the Auburn Wildfires. I did my best to get up to speed. And as one producer likes to tell me: “Write your ass off.”
So, I think I’m caught up with work and all the death and destruction in the world. I’m also adjusting to my new role as the keeper of the calendar. In addition to producing our morning show, I’m now booking guest segments. Chefs, authors, movie stars, snakes and more. Bring them on, I’ll put them on TV. Just check with me on when and where.
I finally had some time to reflect on our two-week trip to Buffalo, NY. I also carved out some time to go over our vacation pictures.
I never had a two-week vacation. I thought it was time well spent. We caught up with our family – swapping stories about life on the West Coast and life in Western NY.
Oh yes, and the rain sucked. So we took advantage of the sunny days with day trips to Niagara Falls and along the Niagara Wine Trail.
This is the vineyard at Eveningside Winery in Cambria.
Mark’s best friend/man, Kaine, and his family drove up from Pennsylvania to hang out with us. Mark’s mom, Terri, played the role of tour guide on the Niagara Wine Trail.
We zipped around country roads to hit the different wineries. We passed by green lawns and lush farmland. I watched fruit trees, cornfields and aging barns melt into the landscape. Hour by hour, time started slowing down for me. As I sniffed the iced wines and savored the sweet bouquet, I realized I didn’t have to wake up before the crack of dawn. That helped me settle into this vacation.
The $3 wine tastings also helped. A lot.
She’s only sniffing a candle!!!
So, I was wondering how Kaine’s girls would handle driving around and waiting for us as we did our wine tasting. I offered all three of them sniffs of my flights and I got their feedback on wines’ bouquets. Some of their observations synced up with my own. Impressive.
They also decided to help me document our wine tasting experience with my cameras. Some shots were a little shaky, but they also came up with some interesting compositions. I noted who took what in my Flickr notes.
We ended the day with dinner at Pizza Junction in North Tonawanda. I couldn’t stop munching on the honey garlic Buffalo wings. The Pulled Pork pizza hit the spot after a day of wine tasting. Sweet and savory BBQ sauce paired with succulent meat and baked into a cheesy pie. Heaven. No wonder I gained 5 pounds after this vacation!
A few days later, Guy Fieri followed in our footsteps and shot this local favorite for an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
I could barely handle the heat from the gas-fueled flames. Still, I thought it was all worth it. I loved biting into melted marshmallows on blocks of Hershey chocolate and graham crackers. Then we looked for falling stars while I sipped a bottle of Molson’s Triple X.
I also used my new passport at the Canadian border. We crossed the border with Mark’s best friend/best man, Kaine, and his wife, Missy. We spent a lazy Monday afternoon sampling the wine region in Niagara-by-the-Lake.
Our bartender at the Irish Harp said we had to try the Strauss White if we were red wine fans. She said we’d have a change of a heart and become white wine fans after sampling this bottle. It’s a fine white wine, but I didn’t move mountains for me. Bring on the Pinots and Zins.
Home cooking is also a highlight for our vacation. My mother-in-law whipped up this hearty dinner of BBQ pork, peas, coleslaw and macaroni salad. She used a sweet glaze on the meat and I went back for seconds. It paired nicely with the cold pasta and steamed peas. Yummy!
So – s’mores, wine and BBQ. I guess I need to fit in another run this week. Or else, I’m going look like a blimp by the time I get back to Cali.
LOCKPORT, NY — Today, I listened to NPR’s Morning Edition while driving by farms and Lake Michigan. No deadlines, no beat checks, no IFB checks and no scanner traffic. Life outside of the newsroom feels good. I’m a recovering workaholic settling into her vacation. According to the University of Pittsburgh’s Mind-Body Center - my mind and body needed this vacation.
It’s good for you.
We’re visiting my in-laws in upstate New York. We’re in Lockport, near Lake Ontario.
The other day, we went to an outdoor mass with Lake Ontario as the backdrop.
Beautiful.
Lockport is hot and humid. Everyone is quite friendly and they love their steak, potato and wings. Our neighbors are families, farmers, cows, horses and endless fields of corn. I can’t wait to throw some sweet corn on the grill! I also can’t wait to introduce my in-laws to the gourmet wonders of the bacon explosion.
Yesterday, I stumbled on hidden gems in Lockport’s wine region. I was a little worried when people raved about the ice wines. There are so many apple/cherry/fruit fields in this area. So, it makes sense that ice wine would play a starring role in the Niagara Wine Belt.
Still, I fell in love with two wineries on our wine tasting tour.
We stopped at Eveningside Vineyards in Cambria. The wine tasting room was inside a tiny barn. The winemakers played a jazz vinyl record. Iced wine fans were a little disappointed with this spot. As for myself, I was impressed with the reds. The 2005 Merlot tasted fruit-forward, bold, with a nice, jammy finish. I also enjoyed the 2007 Shiraz – smoky nose, complex and finished off with berry tones. Eveningside folks said they’ve been experimenting with Hungarian Oak casks. Plus, they’re getting some wonderful grapes from the Long Island region.
Freedom Run Winery is also importing grapes from Long Island. This Lockport winery has a beautiful tasting room with leather seats for the bus tours. (At times, It felt like we were racing those buses to the next winery. I’m not a fan of crowds at the wine bar.)
I liked the Cabernet Franc at Freedom Run. It’s a well-made red with a peppery nose. It popped in my mouth and it had a smooth finish. The winery folks said the combination of clay and limestone at their vineyard helps build craft the character of some of their wines.