religious experience

For Sanne's birthday on Wednesday, 9 of us gathered at Blue Ginger in Wellesly for some Asian-inspired tapas and cocktails. To say it was good is an understatement, the biggest of the year. Because it was, quite possibly the best meal most of us had had all year. Talking about it now, it's still difficult to decide on a favorite dish. Please, if you are within driving/walking/public transit distance, GO TO BLUE GINGER.

Not wanting to miss and key ingredients, I've copied and pasted from the menu everything we tried. Take a gander...

pictured:
Thai Coconut Martini: Cilantro & chili infused vodka, Coco Lopez & lime ~ creamy, spicy, delicious.
Between the 9 of us, we had about 4 of these... and were still talking about it the following day. Have any of you ever had a spicy cocktail? What a delight.

Blue Ginger Gimlet: Russian Standard Vodka, fresh lime, house made ginger syrup & a splash of sweet & sour
This was really tasty and classic.

we also tried:
Blood Orange Honey Smash: Makers Mark, Blood Orange, pomegranate purée “Smashed“ with our House made Honey Syrup – a winter delight

pictured:
Seared Scallops and Bacon-Scented Risotto Cake with Fennel Cream and Endive-Orange Salad
Holy. Crow. I'm not sure what they meant by bacon "scented". Did they seal it in a room full of bacon? spray it with bacon perfume? Whatever they did, this Eau du Bacon inspired me to conquer my fears and tackle rissoto.

we also tried:
Goat Cheese-Mushroom Rangoon, Watercress-Beet Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette
Mouth-wateringly good. It had sort of a truffle-y taste to it. And the sauce was so rich.

pictured:
Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna Poke* with Crispy Sushi Rice Cake & Peppercress-Tosaka Salad
I could have eaten 9 more of these (and of everything else, if we're being honest here...)

we also tried:
Braised Shortrib and Manchego Grilled Cheese with Thai Tomato Soup
grilled cheese and tomato soup is, in my humble opinion, the food of the gods. This Asian-twist on an American classic was really good. Manchego and ribs dipped ion a spicy soup... yum.

Garlic Black Pepper Shrimp with Edamame Sticky Rice and Pea Tendril Salad

 

pictured:
Blue Ginger Charcuterie Plate: Duck Prosciutto, Foie Gras Torchon and Beef Cheek Terrine
Honestly, I've never tried duck anything before, and this things has duck two times, so obviously I'm trying it. It was reeeally good. Especially that little pate disc of duck butter.

the perfect bite

I take it back: this is my favorite thing in all the land

pictured:
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Cardamom Ice Cream, Spiced Sugar Wafer and Chocolate Ganache
There are no words. I mean, just, yeah.

birthday hobbs

birthday cake:

Sesame Macadamia Caramel Nut Tart, Toasted Coconut Ice Cream, Housemade Hot Fudge and Goslings Rum Caramel Bananas

cupscupscups



I'll get this one...

Happy Birthday, Sanne! So glad you were born!
m

turning a new [cabbage] leaf

I'm trying to remember the last time I ate a brussels sprout, and I can't. Its been at least 15 years, and I  didn't like them. So imagine my surprise when all week long, I kept coming across recipes featuring these nasty little cabbages, and wasn't repulsed. I was curious.

I don't like not liking foods. I pride myself on being open to new experiences and foods; not being a picky eater. That's when I decided to face my childhood aversion to these shrunken-head-looking vegetables

I had to do a little research, because I not only hadn't the foggiest idea what to do with them, but I wanted my first experience with them in over a decade to be the most pleasant one possible.

So, I washed and quartered about 2lbs (not all for me, of course, there was a dinner party...), and sauteed them in olive oil and butter. I added some red pepper flakes as seen in this recipe, and some diced chorizo, for a kick.

I thought a side salad would be a little too much green, so Elizabeth put together a caprese salad.

flowers from Kasia <3

And Kasia took care of the fish. I bought some salmon, which we baked for about 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees. Then, she covered it in a sauce of 1/4c whole grain mustard, 2T olive oil and minced chives and broiled it for another 10 minutes or so, until the fish was done and the mustard mixture made a nice crust.

And Ann's mother sent some baked egg pastries and kingfish coquettes, which were ahh-mazing.

Made complete by a delicious Savignon Blanc, crusty french bread for soaking soak up all the remnants, loud music and old friends.

...and new friends.

After dinner, while I baked mocha brownies (boxed, don't judge), Kasia whipped up that gorgeous ganache from last weekend. After what seemed like an eternity, the brownies were ready, so we topped them with the ganache, let it set for a bit and then scarfed them down with some espresso. I don't think I need to tell you that this was the most delicious thing I have eaten since last Saturday.

Oh, and the brussels sprouts... I liked them a lot. I might even make them again. So there. I bested you, sprouts!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat a brownie for breakfast, and I'd like to see one of you try to stop me.

m

undead inspiration

My friend Kasia and I somehow started talking about Interview with a Vampire last weekend, specifically, how badly Kasia wanted to watch the movie. I told her that I owned it and she declared that the following Saturday would be dinner and a movie at my house, research paper be damned!

I decided this movie night needed a theme, and tonight's dinner would revolve around the dessert. Here is Kasia making the ganache...

After that was finished, we put it in the refrigerator to set, and Elizabeth served us some wine with raspberries.

of course

The second course was a spinach and arugula salad with bleu cheese, pecans, and a blood orange vinaigrette. I whisked together some of the orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a little honey. I always forget about salads when I'm planning a meal. Making my own dressing is something that I want to do more of, though. This one turned out really good.

The next dish was supposed to be bone marrow, but I couldn't find any. :( So we went with scallops. We sauteed those in some butter and white wine. 

I wish this picture was scratch and sniff

I couldn't help but notice you admiring my new all-clad frying pans... nice, right?

When they finished cooking, I added a little more wine to the pan, scraped up the crusty bits and made a nice little sauce for the scallops.

So, that was dinner. Not exactly Vampire-y, more of a subtle nod. But delicious, nonetheless.

On to dessert...

With the ganache set, we started on the cake. Kasia heated a cup of butter and 8oz semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile, Elizabeth mixed 4 eggs, 4 egg whites, 1/2c flour, 1/2c sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract.

Once the chocolate mixture is room temperature, Kasia folded it into the egg mixture.

And poured it into 4 buttered and sugared ramekins.

THEN, we scooped out little ganache balls and carefully put them in the middle of the cake mixture. Do you see where this is going?

There was a little batter leftover, so we filled an extra ramekin, and baked them for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Next came the raspberry sauce, aka vampirizing the cakes. I smushed a little less then a pint of raspberries through a sieve.

To that, we added ~2T of sugar and 1 1/2T liquor.

Finally, the cakes came out of the oven. I topped them  with a little powdered sugar, a couple of raspberries and some blood vampire sauce raspberry liquor.

a proud moment

These molten chocolate cakes are probably the most delicious things I've ever tasted, let alone baked in my own kitchen. Kasia, Elizabeth and I decided that this should probably become a regular occurrence. 

What movie/food theme should we do next? Do you want to come? What has been your proudest cooking moment thus far?

m

comfort and joy

Winter has finally decided to grace us with her presence, and we have snow of the ground! 

the view from my bedroom window

But busy girls like us can't just sit around all day waiting for a nice winter soup to cook, so Sanne decided there was no better time to test drive her brand new crock pot, a gift from friends Rita and Michael. We pulled together the winteriest ingredients we could think of and left the crock pot on low while we took a trip to Ikea.

Carrots and potatoes, of course...

Celery, which Sanne is finally warming up to...

...some garlic and onions...

swiss chard, a can of stewed tomatoes (+ juice), some homemade chicken stock, thyme, sage, s+p, drained and rinsed garbanzo beans cooked while we shopped.

When we got home, we added a package of Trader Joe's harvest grains and cooked for another 20 minutes.

THEN the real fun started. The other day on smitten kitchen, Deb made salted caramel sauce. I immediately sent the link to Sanne; she had made some of her brownies a few nights ago and we were talking about how great they would be with salted caramel in them. So tonight on the way home, we grabbed some chocolate ice cream on which to put this magical salted caramel sauce.

She followed SK's directions exactly...

SO EASY! I've copied and pasted SK's directions, but you should check out the link, too. Her pictures are gorgeous, and she makes crepes for her sauce.

You will need: 

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or, salted but ease up on the sea salt)Two pinches flaked or fine sea salt1/3 cup heavy cream

Make syrup: Melt the sugar over medium to moderately high heat in a larger pot than you think you’ll need–at least two quarts, whisking or stirring the sugar as it melts to ensure it heats evenly. Cook the liquefied sugar to a nice copper color. Add the sea salt and butter and stir until the butter melts. Lower the heat and slowly drizzle in the heavy cream, whisking the whole time. The sauce will foam and hiss; just ignore it and whisk until the sauce is smooth. Set aside until needed. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Rewarm gently to thin it out. 

Oh, and I picked up this espresso maker for $20. And a milk frothier for $5. So along with our pure sugar dessert, we had lattes. Yep, we did.

And they were awesome.

So between tonight's meal + dessert, Friday's Chic-fil-a + movie, and yesterday's big breakfast and chicken quesadillas, it's been a pretty scrumptious weekend. 

How was yours?

m&a