We've Moved!

We are very excited to share with you our continued dining experiences in the same small kitchen, just a different look and feel.

Come dine with us at ... Chez Us!

French Cab Franc

We have been wanting to par-take in a WBW event for sometime, but never have had the chance. Not only is this our first one; but, it is also about an area we love - French Wines. Gary, from the Wine Library is our host for this event - thanks for picking a great region! We are not sure how to really write about a wine as we usually just drink a lot of it and write about food, so we decided to break it up with each of our comments!

We chose a 2005 Cuvee de la Chevalaerie Bourgueil at the price of $16.00

We opened the bottle and let it sit for about 15 minutes, to "breath". I did take a sip after opening, mind you, only a baby sip. It was hard on the palette - lots of rough tannins and a strong alcohol scent.

15 minutes of breathing ....... I thought the color was a rich ruby and the first smell was earthy almost that of wet dirt. The Tannins were still pretty strong and the alcohol scent was still there. L. (who loves to drink all wine, but really does not know much about them) also thought it was a bit tannic and rather light. He did taste some berries and thought the bouquet was wonderful and well as the powerful color.

30 minutes of breathing ....... I thought the smell was not as intense but still somewhat earthy/mossy. I was getting a bit of a plum scent as well, rather jammy actually as well as a bit of spice, maybe pepper. L. still tasted the tannins and felt the smell was not as pungent and he did taste some earth at this point.

1 hour of breathing and time for dinner..... I thought the wine had really softened up and you could really taste the fruit (berries/plums) as well as a bit of spice that was somewhat green, maybe a bit of a bell pepper. L. thought we should just eat dinner and enjoy the wine!

Overall, we both loved the wine, it really softened up and had lots of flavor, a rather complex wine by changing so much during the evening. We gave it a 3 wine glass rating (out of five)and would definitely drink it again. I feel that it would be a good wine to cellar and try in one year and again in two years - I see it really developing even more.

Fried Dough .... again

at least the recipe! With reference to my post about fried dough; otherwise, known as Malassadas or Filhoses, I have received many requests for the recipe. I have to apologize as I was waiting for approval to leak the secret recipe. Drum Roll please ........ Malasadas!

March Click Event

Here is our entry for the March Click Event!

Great Grandmother's Silver for everyday because everyday is special for us.

The Perfect Party Cake

Moven over at Food Art and Random Thoughts is the hostess for this month's Daring Baker Challenge. I was going to sit out it out as it has been a challenging month for me in so many other ways .... did I really need another challenge this month? As well, I was scared to have a big beautiful cake sitting around the house for L and I to devour. When I woke up yesterday morning I told L how I was going to use this months challenge as one of my two, to not do. Even though I felt it would be the easiest one I have done as of yet. Well ...... he convinced me that I should not give up and I should do it.

So, yesterday at 5pm, I was making Dorrie's Party Cake, to take over to an impromptu dinner party at our friend's J and A's home. Was I crazy to try to make a cake at 5pm for a 730pm dinner party!?!?! Kind of.......

The recipe is so simple to follow, everything just started falling into place, so easy. The house smelled of sugar, buttermilk and sweet Meyer Lemons - was delicious! Then came the time to whip up the buttercream .... I could not keep my fingers nor my sweet little god-daughters out of the shiny meringue and buttery goodness - we were being pretty naughty over the kitchen aid!

I used tart raspberry preserves for the filling as the recipe calls for. I was worried I may run out of buttercream to frost the cake so I did skimp on the buttercream between the layers - now I know better. I opted out of the coconut part of the challenge only because I am not a big fan of flaked coconut.

I was finished with the challenge by 645pm, just enough time to wipe off the flour from my hands and pretty up for a dinner party. The cake turned beautiful and what a wonderful combination of flavors. The tartness of the buttermilk, the sweetness of the raspberry preserves and the freshness of spring that came from the Meyer Lemons was really nice. The cake was light and not to dense and the buttercream was amazing light and fluffy. We served the cake with a chilled glass of Lemoncello - everyone loved it!

Thank you L for convincing me not to give up on this challenge and Thank You Dorrie for creating a beautiful recipe - we will be using this more often!

Down Under again ...

I was enticed to jump on the Donna Hay band wagon, again! Vanessa over at Vanessa Frida's Journal, enticed me! As well, I just had to make this Coconut and Basil chicken, again, as Diane and Todd over at white on Rice Couple sent us this fantastic care package, which had the missing ingredient from the recipe - Kaffir Lime leaves!

All I can say is ... these leaves made all the difference! I halved the recipe and put two leaves in, while I was yoga'ing all I could smell was lime. My stomach was a grumbling! I was simply amazed at what a difference this made. Bursting with flavor almost too much flavor - maybe just one leave next time. Sorry Honey, you missed a great dish tonight; but, I will definitely make it again for you!

French Onion Soup

I have been DYING to make French Onion soup - don't ask me why, because I do not know. Maybe it is the looming French Gourmet magazine on our counter ... not sure. L. was getting ready to leave town so I figured I would load him up on onions and garlic, not sure why I decided to do that either!

I have this recipe from Moosewood cookbook, that I use. I found it about 20 years ago and love how simple it is to make and how rich it tastes. I have tweaked it over the years ... I now slow cook the onions until they are caramelized and I add some garlic to it as well I do not make it vegetarian. I use a good rich beef stock - I love the richness of the beef stock and the color the soup turns.

To serve I toast slices of baguette, that have been drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with crushed garlic. The richness of the stock and onions really compliment the garlicky goodness of the toast!

Breakfast for Dinner

We did not make a big Easter breakfast, brunch or dinner, like we normally do. I did have a dinner planned; but, then after waking up, we decided to be low-key and just relax.

So for dinner last night, I made what I had intended for Sunday night - Eggs Benedict and roasted Tarragon Asparagus. I stole the idea from a post I saw on White on Rice Couple's blog - Sunday Breakfast. I also associate Easter and Spring with Roasted Asparagus and Eggs Benny and what the heck, breakfast for dinner is always something fun to do!

Definitely was a nice change!

Happy Easter!

From our kitchen to yours!

Virgin Pork Tenderloin Chef

I have never made pork tenderloin, even though it is one of L.'s favorite dishes. I found this recipe for a pork tenderloin with arugula endive and walnut vinaigrette in the March issue of Gourmet magazine (which is dedicated to French Bistro cooking - one of our favorites!!!). Since I was not working yesterday, I decided to make a special dinner for L.

I was a bit nervous for some reason. Maybe because it was my first time or maybe because it is one of L.'s favorite meals or maybe because he talks about how great his mother's tenderloin is. Not sure why, but I was a bit nervous.

After I laid out all the ingredients, I even read through the recipe, which is something I never do - I usually pull everything out and just start cooking. This quick read through definitely put my mind at ease and I was excited at this point, this would be easy and I was confident very good. L. poured a brandy and relaxed and I started doing what I do best, cook. The recipe was really easy, you sauté the pork with a little olive oil and then put it in the oven to continue roasting. While it is cooking you make a salad of Arugula (I used spinach, mishap at the market) and endive. After the porker is done, you make a really nice caramelized vinaigrette using the pan juices, some red wine vinegar, toasted and crushed walnuts and garlic - the garlic really gave this vinaigrette a great deal of flavor with the pork and the salad, together.

I was so happy, my tenderloin came out ultra moist, you did not even need a knife to cut it, and it was very flavorful with the salad and the vinaigrette. L. did say it reminded him of pate, maybe because the pork was so fresh? Or maybe he is use to his mother's recipe. Regardless, I am not afraid anymore and we will be eating the "other white meat" more often!

Lemon Risotto with Chili Shrimp

with Bill Granger, well, not Bill Granger himself but one of his recipes. You must be thinking that L. and I have taken Chez down under these days, first a week of Donna Hay and now Bill! I have not made on of his prized recipes, in awhile and decided that I would make this for Goretti and Patricia's last meal with us; something special.

I love this risotto recipe as not only is it light in flavor; but, with ingredients as well - no cheese and no butter. Just the basics here, stock, olive oil, onion and rice and then flavored with lemon zest and lemon juice at the end. Served with it is a spicy garlic and chili shrimp. You quickly sauteed the shrimp with some olive oil just until golden and a nice pink, then at the very end you add this wonderful paste of garlic and chilies. The finished result is a nice spicy garlic shrimp (the hot part of your dish) cooled off with a warm and ultra creamy lemon risotto. I love to serve a simple oven roasted asparagus that is lightly drizzled with olive oil and sea salt with this dish, it really compliments the lemon in the risotto.

Definitely takes you down under for a night!

Whoo Hoo

I have been meaning to blog about this great package we got in the mail last Friday; but, have been so busy with family in town and work, that I have not had a chance until now.

I had mentioned in a previous post, about Coconut and Basil Chicken, that I could not find Kaffir Lime leaves so I have to use Lime Zest ...... well, Diane and Todd over at White on Rice Couple (you should be reading their blog for some great fun!!) read our post and offered to send us some lime leaves. So NICE!!! Well, even nicer, was receiving this great package in the mail - full of Kaffir Lime leaves, Kaffir Limes, Mandarins and Meyer Lemons and all from their yard!! We were super excited to receive such a great package and we can not wait to use everything - well, everything that is left. Mandarins did not last long - not past one night in fact!

Bloggers are great - Thanks Diane & Todd!!

Tarragon and Pancetta Roast Chicken

L.'s aunt Goretti from Boston and his cousin, Patricia, from the Azores are visiting us for a few days and I decided to try out a new dish on company; which, mind you is something I usually never do. I have a standby roasted chicken dish that I seem to serve whenever we have people over for dinner from out of town. After all, you can not go wrong with the chick, everyone loves a good chick, right?! Well, MOVE ON OVER stand-by chick, you have just been replaced by the new chick in town - Tarragon and Pancetta Roasted Chicken!

This chicken is not only SUPER easy but it is so darn good. The skin is raised on the chicken and lightly stuffed with a breadcrumb, tarragon and pancetta mixture and then cooked to perfection. The stuffing sealed in all the juices, making an ultra moist and juicy chicken - so succulent! I usually do not care for tarragon; but, with the saltiness and flavors of the pancetta it was just like spring time in Italy!

You have to try this one, it will be your new favorite dish to fall back on.

Thai Basil and Beef Salad

Donna Hay, again! Love Love Love this recipe! You can tell by this recipe that we are in the summer edition of her magazine. Very tropical tasting with the lime and ginger in the dressing and cool and refreshing with the bite of the cucumber with just enough kick from the spicy red pepper - kind of grabbed you at the beginning and then just drifted into your taste buds! The beef fillet we used was from Marin Sun Farms - can you say BUTTER???!! The beef from this farm, has to be the best there is, at least in this area. Melt in your mouth, no need for a steak knife beef, just melted onto the coolness of this salad! YUM!

You will definitely be tasting more of this over at our house.

Roasted Fennel Rice (otto)

The past few months we have been big Fennel fans - love it so much that we are going to attempt to grow it this year, eeks! We love it sliced up raw in our mouths or in a salad, slow cooked with a chicken or now, roasted with shallots and garlic for the topping of a rice (otto) dish I had been dreaming up while on the treadmill - I do some of my most creative cooking thinking while working out!

Risotto also known as Arborio is a staple in our house. I ALWAYS have at least a cup of it in the "pantry" so that I can whip up a nice basic Risotto when in a pinch as what we should eat. Why should this night be any different?

I poured a nice glass of wine, turned on some Sade (it was just that kind of night) and started the prep work of roasting my sweet little fennel. Smells of licorice, garlic and shallots filled our house and they were caramelizing perfectly! Now it was time to heat up my stock and start the meditating process of cooking the risotto.

Where was it? Not where it should be. It should be somewhere is our tiny pantry. I tore it up, no where. Just a cup of brown rice. S#*&! I had a great filling and hot broth, what the heck I would give it a whirl. After, what seemed liked minutes, I realized this would never work. Rice does not make risotto. Tossed in the broth and slow cooked it. Luckily, it was somewhat soft and creamy rice so I tossed in a pat of butter and a little Parmesan at the end and topped the mixture with the lovely caramelized fennel. On the upside the nuttiness of the brown rice went nicely with the fennel and cheese. Not risotto but a darn good dish of rice (otto)

Hay Hay Hay

Another fantastic Donna Hay recipe was cooked at our house last night. I am in love with her recipes - so simple and so good!

Thursdays are our late night to eat so I am always looking for something simple to cook, that is not a left over, from a frozen box or can; something fresh, easy and delicious. The Asparagus and Mint Pasta was just perfect.

This dish SCREAMS Spring and Easter. A light cream sauce made of minced garlic, lemon juice, asparagus, mint and sweet peas (okay they were frozen, but I imagine fresh ones would be pretty fantastic as well). I was afraid that the sauce may be a bit heavy with all the cream that is added; but, it was exceptionally light, very refreshing with the Meyer lemon and mint undertones. We use whole wheat pasta which is not as pretty, but I like to think it is "healthier" as well it added a nutty flavor which blended very well with the sauce and salty pancetta chips that garnished the dish.

This is a great dish to add to your Spring menus - flavorful and easy, dinner in under 30 minutes!

Coconut and Basil Chicken ....

Donna Hay style!

I was not going to blog about this as we were having a pretty crappy evening last night and I have come down with this nasty cold, again; but, I just looked at the photos that L. took and I just had to tell you all about it! Not only is this dish incredibly easy to make but it is so tasty.

Just imagine it ..... Lightly seared chicken breast which have been seasoned with only salt and pepper, then you rip them to shreds while making this ultra creamy broth of ginger, lemongrass, garlic, coconut milk and fish stock (I used chicken stock, fish stock freaks me out!!!). When everything is cooked (only takes a mere 30 minutes) you ladle the broth over the shredded chicken and top with diced spicy peppers, Thai basil and Kaffir Lime leaves (I can not find them in the bay area) but we used zested lime instead. Oh my .. just thinking about it makes me hungry all over again! I served some simple brown rice along side it, just in case we needed a filler, but you really don't, the dish is plenty!

Here is the recipe ... more Donna Hay on the menu for tonight!

Lemon Pork

The past few days have been very busy and have left us very little time in the kitchen. When I read Tartelette's post about her fruit salad with Blood Orange Syrup, I knew exactly what we had to do! So our day started with us having our friends, the M.'s over for breakfast - MEM gave me a waffle iron for breakfast and I was anxious to break it in! Perfect way to start our day ... good friends, homemade waffles with Blood Orange Syrup and lots of coffee!

The past couple of months, I have been visually inspired by Donna Hay. We own a couple books and I have recently discovered her magazines - a must have if you love to cook! Unfortunately, I do not cook from them that often, mainly because I just forget. This week we have declared it Donna Hay week at our home.

What I love about her recipes are that they are simple and use very fresh ingredients. Tonight we decided to go with a Lemon Pork dish. I did adapt it a little. I used eggplant instead of tomatoes, did not have lemon thyme so I zested Meyer lemon on the top. The dish came out beautifully. Bursting with flavor - the milkiness of the pork, saltiness of the pancetta, a bite of garlic, the savoriness of the thyme and the zing of lemon created a wonderful marriage of flavor. The taste was very fresh, clean and likable!

Daring Baker's February Challenge - Pain Francais

The Daring Baker's challenge for February was hosted by Breadchick Mary over at The Sour Dough and Sara over at I like to Cook. Drum roll please! It was Julia Child's Pain Francais. (click here to see more photos of this challenge)

When I first read the recipe given to us by Breadchick and Sara, I was scared, very scared, 15 pages of instructions! WOW, this was going to be the mother of all challenges for me thus far. I was sure I was going to use this as one of my two I could bail on. Then I stared reading other comments from fellow DBs and I became inspired, should we say very inspired or just DAMN INSPIRED! I could not wait!

There was only one weekend in the entire month that I could do this and we were kind of busy - friend in from Hawaii, errands, dinner with friends - but, I knew I could make it work. So, Saturday rolled around and I did errands, worked, picked up the house, blah blah blah and dinner time hit! "Damn, I forgot the bread and now I had plans on Sunday with the friend!!!" But, I was confident that I could make it work ......

I got up early Sunday, started the lengthly process. So, far very good! The first rising was perfect and right on my tight schedule! Got it all ready for the next round of keeping warm and headed out for lunch and shopping with friend. It was hard to cut it short and fast because of a loaf of bread, so it ran a little late. Got home, still perfect! All was working out so well. I was very confident and very happy. Proceeded with the remaining steps and then molded the dough with my new pastry canvas and tucked it all in next to a warm heater and headed out to dinner! We had a fantastic dinner with friends but once dessert ended I started watching the clock and thinking about my perfect little breads at home. Again, I did not want to bolt over a pan of bread, so I held out as long as I could and finally told L. we had to leave. Then they started talking about after dinner drinks - NO!!! Thank god the host decided to kick us out since it was a school night!

Got home and all still looked perfect! I could not believe I had done it and still had a day of fun without sitting at home waiting for all the rising to take place. Now was time to unmold the beauties and get them ready to bake! Only 30 minutes until I could call it a wrap and head to bed!

Well, let's just say - never be over confident when baking bread, especially this bread! They collapsed! They were flat baguettes! The color as beautiful! The texture was fantastic! The flavor was well, very french! But, something happened when I unmolded them - lost all their air, they were flat!

Moral to the story ..... Never be over confident until they come out of the oven! Was it a challenge - of course! Was it fun - definitely! Will, I make them again - on our next rainy weekend!!

Pizza

We had some left over dough from a Jamie Oliver night - tossed it into the freezer, thawed today and then let it rise for a couple hours tonight, while we were at spin class. It came out wonderful! Topped it with some caramelized shallots and garlic which I added some crushed fennel seeds and chili peppers to while it cooked. I topped the crust with a very small amount of mozzarella and then tossed the shallot mixture and some arugula over the top. The finishing touch was some pancetta, crushed pepper, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil!

Was fantastic!