It's A Wonderful Night For Oscar!

Here's a little bit about me. In my family, Oscar night was a big freakin' deal! I grew up in Los Angeles and both of my parents worked in the entertainment industry for many years. So any award show, but particularly the Oscars, was a night to celebrate big time. I know that most people watch the Oscars and enjoy it and have parties, so I'm not claiming I'm special. I'm just sayin'... it was a big night for us.

Every year on Oscar night, we would wear cocktail attire, order Italian take out and tune in for the big night. So this year for Oscar night, I thought I'd try an Italian favorite that I've never made before today. Lasagna!

This dish has another bit of nostalgia attached to it because my father, who passed away nearly three years ago, used to make it for our family on Sunday nights. So tonight's culinary endeavor was extra meaningful, and I believe I did it justice.

Here is the recipe I used from Barilla, but I made my own tomato sauce and added Fontina cheese and chiffonade of basil to the ricotta cheese mixture. I also used a blend of Sweet Italian and Hot Sausage for the meat.

beginning the layering process

Ingredients:
1 box of barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
2 eggs whipped
1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 lb. of buffalo mozarella cheese
1/2 cup of fontina cheese grated or shredded
1 lb sausage browned
tomato sauce
basil
salt and pepper

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375*.

she's ready to hit the oven!

In a bowl combine ricotta cheese, eggs whipped, fontina cheese, 8 oz of mozerella cubed and chiffonade of basil. Add 1/2 tsp of ground pepper and 1/2 tsp salt. 
Take your pyrex dish and line the bottom of it with 1 cup of sauce. Then place down four of the lasagna noodles. On top of that spoon or pipe the ricotta mixture (about 1/3) smoothly over the noodles. It doesn't need to be perfect. Then spoon a layer sauce and meat on top of that. Layer again four noodles, ricotta mixture, then sauce and meat. Do this three times and then put a final layer of noodles on top which you will cover with the sliced mozarella cheese. Bake at 375 for 50-60 mins or until the cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown. 

gorgeous!

A Twist On Some Peanut Butter Favorites

It's a cold day here in New York City. There is some residual snow on the ground awaiting tomorrow's rain which should wash it away. Chris is in California and is preparing to board a Mexican Rivera Cruise tomorrow with his two best guy friends.  So with my boyfriend gone for two weeks with limited contact while abroad, and this seemingly never ending winter outside my door, I turn to baking.

This morning while investigating my pantry, I was delighted to discover that I had everything I needed to make Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies.  I decided to do two twists on peanut butter favorites; peanut butter and jelly and peanut butter and chocolate. If you have peanut allergies, I apologize in advance for this post!

Here is my recipe for the cookies which I filled with Raspberry Preserves and also with Nutella.

Ingredients:

Ready to go in the oven

1/2 c. butter, softened 
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1/2 c. peanut butter smooth
Nutella and raspberry preserves.


Recipe:
Mix sugar and butter together until smooth, add vanilla and PB, continue beating. Add flour mixture and oil slowly until a dough is formed. 

Roll into small balls in your hands and make a thumb print in the middle. Place each cookie on a cookie sheet and spoon a small amount of nutella or preserves into the thumb print.
Bake at 350* for about 15 mins.

Finished PB&J Cookies

Finished PB & Nutella Cookies

All in a morning's work!

American Food Is Back With Mac

I'm celebrating my return to American Grub from French Cuisine with a heaping portion of Mac n' Cheese!

Another confession of mine. I have never successfully made a cheese sauce until today! I was scared out of my mind about attempting it, but after reading the directions about seventeen times to make sure I had it memorized, I braved the world of the unknown... creating a Bechamel sauce.

A Bechamel sauce is a white sauce made from flour, butter, warm milk, salt and pepper. Once you create this, then you add the shredded cheese with the pot off the heat.  Now in years past when I had tried to make this recipe, I always either used milk that wasn't hot enough or had too much heat under the sauce when I stirred in the cheese, or didn't know to use flour and butter. Maybe I didn't whisk it fast enough? Who knows! It was always a separated, odd looking mess! But what I learned today is that creating this cheese sauce was so much easier than I thought. I just needed to follow the steps correctly.

The Mac turned out to be delicious! I used a blend of four cheeses. Gruyere (which is a favorite of mine), Monterey Jack, Fontina (from Italy) and Sharp Cheddar.  I used all but the cheddar for the cheese sauce and then topped the mac with the cheddar once in was in the oven.

Here is the recipe: (adapted from Mr. Geoffrey Kidwell, adapted from Ina Garten)

Ingredients
• Salt 1 tbsp for salting pasta water 1tsp for seasoning
• Olive oil
• 1 pound elbow macaroni, cavatappi or cellentani
• 1 quart milk - That's 4 cups, in case you didn't know.
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces grated Gruyere, Jack and Fontina cheese grated.
• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed) made in a food processor.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle olive oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Jack and Fontina cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 10 minutes until bread crumbs brown slightly and then sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese on top. Return to the oven for 20 to 25 mins, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top. YUM!

The Powerful Influence of Chefs Robert Irvine and Anne Burrell

Anyone who knows me, knows that my go-to channel on any given night is the Food Network. I guess the title of this blog should have tipped you off, even if you don't know me.  Chris was resistant at first, or maybe skeptical is the right word? But it wasn't long before he was enjoying shows like Iron Chef America, Chopped, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and most recently...Worst Cooks In America.

This was the show that I was most surprised to see he enjoyed, but what I came to realize is that he was actually learning along with the contestants. The difference between Chris and I, is that while my fabulous cook of a mother inspired me to want to learn, his fabulous cook of a mother inspired him to want to eat! While both worthy ambitions, it leaves our relationship a bit one-sided when it comes to culinary knowledge.

(Side note: both of our moms make great dishes and I feel very lucky to have some of their recipes in my arsenal!)

While cooking comes naturally to me after years of practice, trial and error and Food TV viewing, Chris loves the idea of cooking, but doesn't always understand the proper techniques to use. For example, cooking everything on high was something he always did. The result one night was dry, caramelized Terriyaki Chicken. He's now learned that cooking meat under a low flame in a nice tasty liquid makes for tender and moist meat! That lesson might have come from me, but let's talk more about the show.

So Worst Cooks In America, if you are unfamiliar is a show hosted and taught this season, by Chefs Robert Irvine of Dinner Impossible and Chef Anne Burrell of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef . The show begins with  a large group of contestants, who are all nominated by a loved one as the worst cooks in America. The show then takes the "recruits" splits the into two teams (one for each chef) and takes them into Food Boot Camp, sending one contestant home each show. In the final round each chef chooses a final recruit to compete in an Iron Chef-like battle.

Each episode however, they learn very basic things. They start with how to make an omelet, or how to cook rice, very basic things that everyone should know how to do. Chris has been really interested while watching the show. His eyes glued to the TV, he often otters a "huh!" or "I had no idea!" or "hmmm". It's music to my ears!  The difference between this show and other cooking shows, is it really breaks it down into basic knowledge and techniques. Instead of saying "braise the pork chop" they'll say "this is how to braise a pork chop" and then show it! It's brilliant.

So thanks to Chef Robert and Chef Anne and all you Food Network Execs for inspiring my man to learn to cook better!

Equipment Envy

I have a small confession to make. I cook in a kitchen that is the size of a walk in closet. Yep! - I live in New York City. My dream is to one day move to a swanky loft apt where I'll have a bigger kitchen with an island that doubles as counter and eating space.  At present the surface on which I chop, dice and peel is about the size of my laptop. This is not an exaggeration. And while I get by with a little creative ingenuity, it is far from easy. Now this is not to say it will be like this forever. As we have no immediate plans to move, Chris is going to build a counter table that we will all be able to use for cooking! Huzzah!

So I guess on my "To Have" list for the future is a big kitchen, but let's talk about some of the cookware I'm dying to own even before that time arrives.

My number one impending kitchen purchase is a Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven. An absolute classic piece of cookware made of enameled cast iron. This gorgeous piece of equipment can go on stove top, into the oven, or into the freezer and it's fabulous craftsmanship insures an even distribution of heat so that ingredients don't burn, but release all of their natural flavors!

The next piece of equipment no cook could not envy is a KitchenAid Mixer. Another expensive but fabulous investment. This mixer has multiple mixing attachments you can put on to beat, mix and whisk anything to utter perfection! It also has attachments you can buy to make pasta dough and ice cream! It's a home cook's dream!

Moving on! While we have a lovely backyard behind our apt building, (a rare treat that we relish!), the building management does not allow outdoor grills. Such a pity, but there is a remedy for such a conundrum!  Le Creuset Bistro Round Grill Pan! Perfect for grilling in doors or outdoors. 

Who in New York City doesn't like Pizza? And while we can walk three blocks to a great Pizza joint, sometimes it's even more fun to make it yourself. A great Pizza Pan is essential to making a tasty at-home pizza, but a Pizza Stone is far superior! Giving your pizza that "brick oven" taste and crispness to your crust. YUM! Check out this Emile Henry Pizza Stone. 

Le sigh... while it may be years before I own all the fabulous kitchenware I desire, I'll keep browsing William Sonoma online and drooling- I mean dreaming.  Happy Presidents Day, by the way!

Channeling Julia Child Part II

Winter Culinary Adventures Part III

1:00pm

Boeuf Bourguignon is simmering away on my stove top right now! I've been cooking since 11am and now it will cook for an hour before I leave for work and then it will cook for another hour and a half tonight before we eat it.

So a few special things about this recipe. If you've seen Julie & Julia, then you know that you have to dry your beef before you saute it, or it won't brown! And you definitely want your meat to have a nice crust on it so that it remains tender in the middle while stewing.

Here is a picture of my meat browning nicely in bacon fat! yum!

Another is that you have to pour in almost an entire bottle of wine to the stew before it cooks. Thank God there are places in NYC that deliver wine at 10:30am and don't think you're an alcoholic! $10 for a bottle of Chianti to arrive at my doorstep in half an hour! Amazing! I love this city!

Here is a picture of my Boeuf Bourguignon ready to begin it's long bath in wine and beef stock.

Now Julia's recipe requires that you cook the stew in the oven for two and a half hours in a Dutch oven in your oven. But sadly, I don't own a Dutch oven yet, so I'm simmering it slowly on the stove in a regular pot. I think it will be fine.  So basically I'm gonna let it cook and then I'll continue this post after I get home from work and we're ready to eat it!

*************
Later That Night:
9:30pm

OMG, People!!

Ok I have just consumed a huge plate of Boeuf Bourguignon! Blogosphere friends, if you are into cooking, even in the slightest, you need to make this dish! It was rich, it was fresh, it was succulent, it was tender. It was amazing! Now keep in mind I've also consumed a couple glasses of wine with the meal, but I highly recommend this one. Even more than Coq au Vin. Here are some pictures of the finished product!

Channeling Julia Child

So tomorrow morning I will attempt Julia Child's Bouef Bourguignon, to be cooked in time for an early dinner tomorrow night. It's a bit ambitious I know, but I believe it's time to give it a go. The nice thing about this recipe is it's quite similar to Coq au Vin, so I'm feeling less intimidated than you might think. Also I recently began reading the collection of letters between Julia Child and Avis Devoto as well as "My Life In France" by Julia Child, so I think the time is right!

I know it seems a bit crazy that I've become milding obsessed with cooking gourmet food, but I really think it's about the fact that it's winter. It's cold outside and there are fewer hours of light, so the idea of dining out and eating al fresco is out the window. I have enjoyed cooking hearty dishes that are hot and comfort the winter-worn soul. When Spring and Summer arrive, I know it will be time to make fresh salads and grilled meats, crack open a bottle of Chardonnay and hit our backyard, or Ashley's rooftop down the street. Until that time however, I will continue with my "Winter Culinary Adventures" So Bouef Bourguignon will be "Winter Culinary Adventures Part III".

STAY TUNED! Here's the recipe:

Boeuf Bourguignon 

Ingredients:

   * 6 ounces bacon
   * 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil *
   * 3 pounds lean stewing beef , cut into 2-inch cubes
   * 1 sliced carrot
   * 1 sliced onion
   * 1 tsp. salt *
   * 1/4 tsp. pepper *
   * 2 Tbsp. flour *
   * 3 cups full-bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti
   * 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon*
   * 1 Tbsp. tomato paste*
   * 2 cloves mashed garlic*
   * 1/2 tsp. thyme
   * Crumbled bay leaf *
 
Directions
Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and  herbs. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

When the melt is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Valentine's Day Pillow Talk

I love Gnocchi.  It is a love that began when I was in High School in South Pasadena, CA when my girl, Vikki and I used to go on dinner dates to Carmines Italian Restaurant. It was she who introduced me to my very first bite of Gnocchi, which I believe, as teenagers we mis-pronounced as "no chi".  Carmines' baked Gnocchi Marinara was incredible and it opened my eyes to a lifelong love for the soft, delicate potato pasta pillows known to Italians as Gnocchi.

Gnocchi loosely translated from Italian means "lumps" and that's kind of a crass-sounding way to explain exactly what they are.  Made from a dough made of cooked potatoes, eggs and flour, Italian chefs form a long thin tube shape from the dough that is then chopped with a knife into small one inch lumps that boil for a quick minute before floating to the top (like ravioli) to announce they are done!

So when Chris and I started dating, we went out for Italian Food on one of our first few dates. It was there at Arte Cafe on the Upper West Side, where I confessed my love for Gnocchi and ordered the dish for my dinner entree. (By the way, Arte Cafe has fabulous Gnocchi if you are ever in the neighborhood.) We also frequent Don Giovanni's Restaurant in our Hells' Kitchen neighborhood, and their Gnocchi Siciliano is fantastic.

After more than a year of dating, it's basically commonplace knowledge in our relationship, that if we dine out for Italian, I'll be ordering Gnocchi, and we'll most likely share it. So for our Valentine's Date, Chris did some research on "NYC's Favorite Gnocchi". He did this more than a month in advance and made a reservation at a small, quaint little Lower East Side Cucina aptly called "Gnocco".

We came to find out after opening the menu that Gnocco is actually a dish made of fried dough and cold cuts, but no matter, it sounded like a place for Gnocchi and that's exactly what we ordered. Along with Beef Spazzatina on a bed of polenta, it was a fabulous and decadent meal for a cold night. YUM!  The gnocchi was fabulous! Soft, buttery, delicate and luscious! Perfect little pillows of potato pasta and now another favorite Gnocchi added to our NYC list!

Here is a picture of the dining room at Gnocco and the contact information below. And if you are daring enough to attempt this pasta on your own, here is Michael Chiarello's recipe for Homemade Gnocchi

A Sunday Morning Classic

Who doesn't love a great Sunday morning breakfast? Generally you get to eat them around noon. You're not in a hurry because you don't really have anywhere you need to be, (except maybe the gym.) And the best part... you get to eat it in your pajamas!

So this morning I decided to make French Toast. While I was growing up in Pasadena, California, French Toast was an absolute regular affair at our house on the weekends. My mom began making it when I was barely in pre-school. I remember very clearly how she would mix the eggs and milk and cinnamon and then she would pour in the vanilla which would create this sort of chemical reaction as it hit the custard. It would bubble and the color of the vanilla would dance around our bowl. We called it "Vanilla Magic!"

Not only is French Toast delicious, but it holds a ton of nostalgia for me, so I love it. So this morning as Chris and I are trying to drag our lazy butts up an' Adam, I suggested I'd make breakfast and he was into that idea. Gotta love a supportive man who is always excited when you're planning to feed him! :) He's actually out buying eggs and cinnamon right this moment! Meanwhile, Wikky our dog is sitting in the windowsill patiently awaiting his "Daddy's" return.

I love cooking meals that sort of utilize ingredients that I need to "use up" or that are taking up space in the pantry. This morning while gathering ingredients for our breakfast, I noticed we still had a can of pumpkin puree (which is good for years) from the holidays, so I decided we'd make Pumpkin French Toast. Thank goodness we both love pumpkin!

So here is how you make Pumpkin French Toast.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 c. milk
1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1tbsp honey
6 slices bread


Directions:
In a large bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, milk and eggs until a smooth custard. The custard should be thin enough that you can dip the bread it it, but thick enough to coat a spoon. The add the cinnamon, honey and vanilla. Whisk again until all ingredients are fully integrated. Then put a small palette of butter in a warm pan or skillet and then dip a slice of bread in the custard until fully coated on both sides. Shake off an excess custard and then place the bread into the buttery pan.  Heat should be Medium/Medium High. Cook for about a minute on each side, depending on how soft you like your toast. The custard should turn opaque and there should be a light crust around the edges of the bread.

Chris went nuts over this breakfast. He took his first bite and then gave me a full mouthed- thumbs up! I have to say I thought it was pretty good myself! Happy Sunday Everyone!

Why Gruyere Cheese Is Grate!

Winter Culinary Adventures Part II

So, this is a post about the night I made my absolute favorite winter comfort food: Onion Soup Gratinée! More commonly know as French Onion Soup, in my opinion there is nothing better than a steaming hot bowl of this gooey, cheesy, bready, oniony goodness! 

I must admit that French Onion Soup, while a favorite, was not something I always loved. I actually discovered it last Spring on a trip with Chris to Cape May, NJ. I had always known of its existence, but as a child, the idea of onion soup doesn't appeal to you. Not to mention my adult family members always ordered it from Mimi's Cafe in Orange County, CA and I was always far more interested in chicken fingers and fries when we ate at Mimi's. 

But I digress... There we are, Chris and I, having a romantic getaway weekend in Cape May, which if you live on the East Coast and have never visited, you must go! We stayed at this great B&B that fed us breakfast, afternoon tea and cakes and then unlimited wine and cheese hour at 5pm. So we only went out twice our entire trip and one of those meals was where we discovered French Onion Soup. Seeing it on the menu as an adult, I had this urge to give it a try. As God is my witness, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but I do remember the "holy shit" feeling I had when I tasted my first bite.

I finally decided to make Onion Soup Gratinée myself recently, after nearly ordering it at a pub at midnight and then deciding against eating so late. The next day I stopped by the store and bought the ingredients I needed to make this classic. I also used Ian Garten's Recipe from Barefoot Contessa.com, but changed it up slightly.  

The soup is very simple. It's basically caramelized onions in a rich broth of beef stock and booze. Again, I love the French! Okay, so it starts with caramelized onions which you caramelize in butter with a touch of olive oil to prevent the butter from burning. You also add a bay leaf, which gives it a wonderful herbaceous scent and flavor. Then once the onions caramelize, about 20 minutes later, you throw in some cognac and white wine. You let that simmer a minute or two to burn off the booze and then you add a copious amount of beef stock. This mixture simmers for about 20 minutes covered while you work on your croutons.

Well, the croutons is where I made an error the first night I ate this. I couldn't find Gruyere cheese at the store, so I settled for Swiss Cheese which I grated and then sprinkled on the crouton, (basically a large piece of toasted french bread.) Well the damn Swiss Cheese didn't melt correctly so when I took the crouton out of the oven, it looked sort of pathetic and I felt a little bit defeated. The soup still tasted great though, so Chris and made an allowance for the mediocre crouton and just tried to enjoy the soup as best as we could. Here's a picture of what it looked like the first night.

The next day, the weather was still cold and dreary so I went to a different market in search of perfecting the recipe. I was not going to give up until my French Onion Soup tasted as good or better than what I order at our favorite French restaurants.  So I found actual Gruyere Cheese, grated it and put it on top of the crouton. I also found that we had oven safe bowls and went ahead put the bread and cheese on top of the left over soup and then heated the entire bowl in the oven. The result was perfection! Here's a picture of my improved soup.

The lesson here that I learned is use the proper cheese when making this recipe. Gruyere is simply a fabulous cheese and it melts perfectly. It has a mild nutty flavor and is also made in Switzerland so you know it's a neutral cheese. (hehe)

Here is the recipe I used: 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 onions, sliced
• 1 bay leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine,
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 2 quarts beef broth
• 1 baguette, sliced
• 1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Directions:
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, bay leaf, and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the cognac and wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.  Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top. If you have oven safe bowls you can put the uncooked bread topped with cheese on top of the soup and melt in the bowl.

Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Why We Love Chopped

So last night I watched an episode of Chopped with Chris and our awesome friend, Ashley. We had the usually gutural reactions to Chopped which is "how the hell will they make a dessert with that?", i.e. tomatoes, jalapenos, crema and some root vegetable I can't even pronounce.

Chopped, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a newer show on Food Network. It is hosted by the very sweet Ted Allen and it involves four chefs competing for a $10,000 prize. They have a 20 minute appetizer round, a 30 minute entree round and a 30 minute dessert round. Each round they whittle the contestants down to the final winner. For each round the chefs that remain have to compose their dish out of the "mystery basket" (oooooo!), which contains four brutally difficult and obscure ingredients. Or at least four ingredients that you would never think of combining in anything...not even pig slop. It's a crazy showdown and irresistible to watch. 

We were rooting for this very sweet southern chef named Jeffrey. He was so sweet and courteous to everyone and just seemed so jovial in his commentary. In the end he was pitted against this guy named Marcellus who was a total jackass. He said things in his commentary like "I looked at their plates and it looked like crap. I was totally going to win this." The sad thing is that he actually did win the $10,000 prize while Jeffrey probably trotted off happily back to Mississippi, happy that his friends and family would see him on TV.

The interesting thing about Chopped is that it literally reduces incredible chefs to frustrated, confused shreds of their former selves. People come in cocky, which you should never do on a challenge show, and they just fall to pieces. I mean seriously 20 minutes to make an appetizer with four ingredients from East Jesus?! I would probably have a panic attack in the first minute and just start eating the ingredients while shaking uncontrollably and speaking in tongues.

The judges are always super intense and honest with their criticism. Usually Aaron Sanchez (adorable!), Alexa Guarnaschelli (craziest last name ever!), and Geoffrey Zakarian (who I almost worked as a nanny for.) And then there is Ted Allen... Remember him from Queer Eye?? I love Ted and it makes me so happy to see he has successfully transitioned into a great career on Food Network. He always has the best suggestions on Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Okay, so all that aside. What is it about watching these amazing chefs fall to pieces that we love? I mean it was obviously designed for exactly that purpose. "How can we mess with them?" Ya know? I mean there is nothing easy about Chopped and it's not like a normal Food Network challenge where you get to plan and create something amazing within certain parameters... it's friggin' brutal! So I wonder then why I love it so much? It's definitely in my top five shows on Food Network. (Other contenders are Iron Chef America, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Best Thing I Ever Ate, and Ace of Cakes, which just recently ended and will now go into syndication.)

What is it about watching these chefs struggle under seemingly impossible circumstances? Is it the appeal of knowing that one of them will ultimately win? Is it the curiosity of wondering what the heck will they come up with? Or is it that sick part of every human being that laughs when someone trips and falls?  Not to get too deep and existential here, but do we really like watching people fail? Is that the appeal of Chopped? Or is it the self satisfaction of watching people who are ridiculously more talented than you in the kitchen, fail? That little inner voice that says "Oh, I could totally do that better!" Because we do ultimately see one victorious winner in the end, but we also get the sick pleasure of watching three other talented chefs fall to pieces. To this very point, after the episode was over, Chris kidded that it would be awesome if they actually chopped a limb or finger off the failing chefs each round, ala the Roman Collesseum, Gladiator days. Ashley and I both laughed and chimmed in with  "That would be hilarious!" Maybe we are just sick people...

The Night I Made Coq au Vin

Winter Culinary Adventures Part I

Like most Food fans, I have a food crush on Julia Child. I didn't know a whole lot about her until I saw the movie "Julie & Julia", which inspired me to learn more about her life and subsequently more about French Cuisine. Maybe it's pathetic that I didn't know more about her before, and it took a chick flick to introduce me to her life, but I guess we take life lessons wherever we can find them. 

I think what inspires people like me most about Julia Child, is the fact that she was fearless and determined in the kitchen and never shied away from a recipe that seemed complicated. Incidentally she is most famous for her book "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" which she wrote along with a couple gal pals from Paris. The cookbook takes complex French recipes and puts them in simple terms that any ordinary cook can understand.

I wasn't exactly ready to tackle Julia's famous Boeuf Bourguignon, but, I did want to try my hand at French Food. It was a random cold winter day when I decided that I would make Coq au Vin. A traditional French dish which translated actually means "rooster in wine". It was a dish I had never tasted, nor had I ever cooked it before. I had only heard the word and decided to research what the recipe was. It is basically chicken cooked in a rich reduction of red wine, herbs and bacon fat. WHAT?! Okay, yes it was time to try this baby!

I had no idea, because really this was my first brush with cooking French fare, how complex the recipe was. First of all, you begin with salt pork or slab bacon and you saute this until it becomes crispy. Easy enough. Then you add pearl onions... if any of you have ever attempted to peal 35 pearl onions, then you know what an arduous task it was. That actually took the longest out of any step in the whole recipe.

Then you saute the onions in the bacon fat, with the crispy bacon set aside. God, I love the French! Okay, so after the onions have "released their juices" you set those aside with the bacon and then start browning your chicken, which was dredged in flour. Oh, mama! This recipe is not for the faint of heart. Okay, let's skip through it rather quickly because I'll post the recipe below. So you brown the chicken take it out of the pan, and then in a pot or dutch oven create this elaborate sauce with chicken stock, red wine, onions, carrots, bay leaves and then you put the chicken back in, and simmer it for about a half hour. Finally you take the chicken out... turn the heat up, reduce the wine sauce by half, throw the bacon back in and finally pour it over the chicken, and onions before serving. Phew!

This whole process took me about two and a half hours, but when it was plated, and I had five very supportive guests who were eager to love it, I felt masterful! This was the hardest dish EVER! Well maybe not ever but it was tough.

I took the first bite of my Coq au Vin and I had an instant flashback to my short visit to Paris last year. I think it's something about the depth and complexity to French food which I love. The fact that you can't just take a bite and know what's in it. There's that moment of "What is that??" that I love. I'm always trying to teach Chris, my darling boyfriend about complexity of flavors. He says he could probably eat Chipotle every day, but he's beginning to understand what I mean. Bon Appetit!

Here is the recipe: Coq au Vin by Julia Child 

I also consulted Alton Brown's Recipe 

So that was the first of my Winter 2011 culinary adventures! I'll be back with more stories soon!

Iron Chef America

It's a good thing that I don't have a 9-5 job, because most weeknights around 12:30am, you will find me in bed watching none other than Iron Chef America. Whether it's Bobby Flay making some random mystery ingredient like squid, or gruyere cheese (my favorite) into some exquisite Southwestern dish, or Mario Batali wearing his signature orange Crocs. Or the most hilarious way they insist on using a translator for Masaharu Morimoto when he is clearly speaking English... It's all good.

I love the show. I love watching these masterful chefs make a five course meal in 60 minutes. The way they move around their kitchen with dexterity while directing their sous chefs makes my culinary-loving heart sing! (If you think this is a cheesy description, you haven't watched the show, or you don't understand it.) Another aspect of the show I love is Alton Brown. Anyone who knows Food Network knows how educated he is about food. He always has interesting things to say and fun facts about the ingredients and dishes being made.

Now, I've heard a few things about the show that may or may not be true.

First off, I've heard that the "secret ingredient" isn't so secret. According to one source, the chefs do know what the ingredient will be and can therefore plan a menu in advance. (Doesn't it ever seem odd the way they just know what they're going to make so instantly and their sous chef's just start cooking on their own?)

Secondly, I've heard that the Iron Chef and Challenger only have to plate ONE plate of each dish by the end of the hour and then they have extra time to prepare three more plates before serving the judges. Either way, it's still so fascinating to me and inspiring to watch people do such amazing things with food.

Someone once asked me, "Why do you like watching food shows? You can't taste the food?" I guess this is a fair question, but for me so much of what I see ends up being replicated in my own kitchen, or inspires me to try something a certain way. While I do often salivate while watching the show, the visual stimulation and inspiring culinary talent is enough to keep me satisfied and from making a midnight snack. Allez cuisine!