David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Pork-a-licious

Rub A Dub Dub

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Ok, ok, I know I can’t just skim over the fact that I haven’t posted in a month and a half but lambs, it’s for a very, very, very good reason…we’re cooking up something that can take oh, give or take nine months. YAY! A baby Kealey! Can you believe it? I know we can’t, and this might get a little personal but I hope this can inspire other couples, since I was told it would be unlikely for me to conceive. I have endometriosis, which as any woman with it knows you’ve probably been told it would be difficult, if not impossible, to have children. David and I had embraced the fact that it probably wouldn’t happen for us, so you can imagine our surprise when we found our little EPT test turned out with a plus sign instead of negative.  We are over the moon but alas things have been busy, busy around here getting ready for him or her…more on this next week.

So now that I have the energy to start cooking again, I’ve been going bananas in the kitchen especially with a coffee. Maybe it was the first trimester no coffee policy but I’ve been enjoying java again in the second and it seems like on everything. One oldie but a goodie I made for a dinner party this past Sunday was the Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce. I knew it wasn’t just me who thought these were amazing, as everyone loved them.  I’m telling you that rub would be amazing on anything but with the smoked gouda, barbecue sauce and coffee-rubbed hamburger patty it is a trifecta of flavor happiness in your tummy: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coffee-Rubbed-Cheeseburgers-with-Texas-Barbecue-Sauce-353870.

Next up, and I’ve made this twice in two weeks so take that for what you will, is the Coffee-Cured Pork with Sunchoke Pickle Relish from Food & Wine magazine. Oh goodness lambs. This was amazing. The baby is kicking me right now as I type this, haha, I love it and maybe it’s recalling how good this was? David was a HUGE fan of this one. What I liked about it was it’s very easy to make and then you just sit it and forget it until you pull out the nom, nom, nommy pork. Now the sunchoke pickle relish is a wee bit more intense but is fun to make or at least I thought so. I guess I’m just a Southerner at heart since I love canning and pickling. This was awesome on top of the pork since it had a hint of vinegar and sweet to it, kind of like a South Carolina style-pulled pork sandwich. I have jars of it to last for a while, unless I sit and eat it all with a spoon this week, which is highly likely.

I’ll be back up and writing a little more frequently now poodles, I promise you that. Big hugs.

Chicken, David Favorite, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears

Perfection

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Sometimes there are recipes that from reading it for the first time, to prepping and cooking and finally enjoying it at the dinner table, it  just makes you incredibly happy. Last night I had the pleasure of this experience which I must say is rare. Let me clarify, that all the recipes I put on this blog I love for many reasons and would never lead you astray lambs, but it’s kind of the equivalent of seeing a double rainbow when you have one that gets it juuuuuust right on every single front if you know what I mean. Enter this Roast Chickens with Pistachio Salsa, Peppers and Corn from Bon Appetit and Chef Jeff Cerciello from FarmShop in Los Angeles: http://www.farmshopla.com/. This was the bomb in so many ways, let’s start counting why shall we?

(1) It’s roast chicken which never sucks in my opinion, especially when the chicken is smothered in a killer marinade and then stuffed with thyme and lemon. The recipe called for the perfect temperatures and cooking times for these little beauts (45o for 30 minutes then 350 for 30 minutes) that led to super-moist and flavorful chickens. All David kept saying last night was “You NAILED this chicken!”

(2) A nut salsa! A while back we made a flat-iron steak with an herbed-nut salsa that we loved: http://cookinginsidethelines.com/2011/09/girl-power/ This got us thinking that we need more nut salsas in our lives and we were more than happy to give this one a try and rate it a 10 out of 10 on the nut salsa scale.

(3) Peppers and Corn! “Really,” you might be saying, “you’re excited over peppers and corn? You might need to get out more.” Well maybe, but still. This was a perfect complement to the moist, delicious chicken, nutty/spicy salsa and the pitch-perfect heirloom tomatoes I served alongside to round out the meal.

(4) This might seem like a lot of prep, but alas, it wasn’t. In fact, I felt it was kind of fun to put it all together and it’s a stunner when it’s plated and ready to go. I think this would be an amazing crowd pleaser for summer picnics or dinner parties since it would be easy to do large batches of chicken and the pepper/corn mixture.

(5) If it’s possible, the leftovers the next day were just as amazing as our dinner. I snarfed it in fact.

As I said, PERFECTION. Please try this one, in fact, I’m making this for Sunday family dinner this week. Can’t wait to try it again, yes, twice in one week!

Cheesy Cheese, French, Global Flavor, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Soup

French Onion Soup – Grandpa Jacques Style

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I’ll paint a little picture of a young Emily for a moment. I grew up loving PBS (I’ve always been a public television and radio junkie) and Julia Childs and Jacques Pepin were two of my favorites. I would sit in front of the TV with my head perched in my hands and a smile plastered on my face as I watched these chefs stir up their magic. Between this and my Mom teaching my all the southern ways of cooking, I didn’t stand a chance to not be in the kitchen did I? With Jacques Pepin I always felt like I was learning to cook from an awesome French grandfather and as I got older and started cooking in the kitchen, I realized just how much I loved his recipes too. Fast forward to now, where I’m cooking each night for my wonderful husband in our own cozy little house…ah, life huh? After a few weeks of random dental surgery, we needed soups, stews or anything soft and palatable for a week. I found Jacque’s French Onion Soup and knew this would be a winner for tender mouths and hungry stomachs.

Cooking Light suggests you can use store-bought broth but I followed their recommendation and made my own. Patting myself on the back for that one. Sure, it’s more work and more groceries but you cannot beat this version with any store-bought brand. I felt so Chef-y as I was ladling my from-scratch made soup into the bowls to boil the cheese and bread. It doesn’t take much lambs, obviously.  I’ve made plenty of French Onion Soups in my lifetime and never have I ever gone “MMMMMMMMMMM!!!! OMG!” and pointed at my soup bowl like a 4-year old who’s learned to tie her shoes. That should tell you enough to make this if you are craving some seriously good French Onion Soup.

Tonight we are making David Chang’s Pork Butt (Bo Ssam) with Ginger Scallion Noodles. If you haven’t read the post here you go, and if you haven’t made this dish, please let my husband requesting it once a week inspire you to do so now: http://cookinginsidethelines.com/2011/06/the-momofuku-challenge/

David Favorite, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, Uber Healthy, Vegetarian

Fantastic Farinata

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What is a farinata you ask? Don’t worry, I didn’t have a clue either but I thought the recipe sounded delicious. Hailing from Genoa, a farinata is a sort of pancake made with chickpea flour. Bonus to all of you gluten-free eaters out there.

This was skosh on the prep side, but I breezed through it pretty quickly and talk about getting your veggies. I felt healthy just by looking at this dish on my plate, let alone eating one, OK two, helpings of this. We both liked the dish for it’s freshness and the farinata was something totally new and unique that it felt like we were having a little bit of food fun for a typical weeknight meal. I could see this being perfect for a wedding or baby shower, or a brunch where you can do the basic farinata recipe and then do a veggie topping of your choice and a meat option with crispy pancetta, onions and cheese. Nom, nom, nom. Mangia y’all and give this one a try, it’s going in as an Emily and David favorite, I guess I should just start saying Kealey favorite eh?

Asian, Chicken, David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Quick and Delicious, Spicy

Spicy Chicken Thighs with Rhubarb-Cucumber Salsa

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It’s that time of year again in The Pie Society kitchen when we make tons of Strawberry Rhubarb pie. I love making this pie not only because it’s delicious and a joy to make in the kitchen, but every time I purchase rhubarb at Whole Foods Market someone makes a comment that they grew up with it in their back yard and have such fond memories of this gorgeous bittersweet root. I love helping bring back memories like that through pie!

David’s reaction to this dish from Bon Appétit was hilarious. He insisted that I place a blog post up about it so all three of you would be inspired to make it and kept going “mmmm!” and pointing his finger at his almost empty plate. The spicy marinade on the chicken was a perfect complement to cool, invigorating notes of cucumber and the bitter and sweet flavors of rhubarb in the salsa. It was extremely quick to make and was so deliciously balanced we couldn’t stop talking about it the rest of the night. This is going under Emily and David favorite and I have feeling will be on rotation in our house for as long as rhubarb is in season this year!

 

Travel

Fredericksburg

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Our gentle friends Kari and Mike are tying the knot in Fredericksburg next month and we had the pleasure of accompanying them for a venue site check for their big day at Kairo’s just outside of the town (beautiful by the way, if anyone is looking for a wedding venue). After the site and food check (nom, nom, nom) it was time to explore Fredericksburg, and explore we did. Of course we always have a blast with our friends Kari, Mike, Raul and Leigh and decided to hit up House.Wine. for a celebratory beverage. I’ve been here before, but forgot how much I love this little place right off the main strip. It’s a little more modern in decor that other spots in the area and they offer some pretty delicious wines, especially from California, including one of my favorites L’Aventura…it’s too expensive to enjoy unless you are celebrating an anniversary or passing a kidney stone but I will admit for about five seconds I was tempted, you know, for Kari and Mike of course.

 

Continue reading Fredericksburg →

Asian, Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Global Flavor, Sandwich

Knock Your Socks Off Meatloaf

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With a slathering of hoisin sauce and other Asian-inspired flavors such as ginger, Chinese five-spice powder, and rice vinegar stuffed inside, this was one of the most unique and flavorful meatloaf dishes I’ve ever made, and definitely my new favorite. In recent years, I’ve been attached to a meatloaf recipe from my beloved Neiman Marcus cookbook but I believe this Hoisin-Glazed Meatloaf Sandwiches from Bon Appetit has officially taken the top spot.

Each time I took a bite of this I’d go “mmmmmm! MMMMMMMM! Can you believe how good this is?” We loved the perfect crispy crust on the outside, the moist and flavorful interior and the fresh and crisp salad of radishes, carrots, cucumbers and cilantro on top (I’m telling you, don’t skip this part!). It actually reminded us of the Bahn Mi sandwiches we had at Elizabeth Street Cafe a few weeks ago. Even though meatloaf can feel a little heavy, I think this one is light enough with the salad on top that it can be enjoyed year round and is going on rotation in our house fo sho.

Chicken, David Favorite, Emily Favorite, Quick and Delicious, Soup

Chickpea Stew

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I really don’t have many words to describe this recipe from Bon Appetit except it’s…amazing, savory, spicy and deep in delicious flavors. This is one of my most favorite things I’ve made in really long time and it’s super simple to boot. In fact it was so good, I was a smidge jealous that David was getting the leftovers for lunch the next day…jealous, over leftovers, now that’s saying something.

 

 

Chickpea Stew (photo by Jonny Valiant)
Asian, French, Pork-a-licious, Restaurant Review, This may contain fish sauce or anchovies

Elizabeth Street Cafe

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On Saturday, we had a few hours to kill before a friend’s birthday party and finally had the chance to nom, nom, nom some killer Bahn Mi at Austin’s new French Vietnemese restaurant Elizabeth Street Cafe. Founded by Chef Larry McGuire who is slowly taking over Austin’s food scene one restaurant at a time (seriously, the guy has Lambert’s; Perla’s; Jeffrey’s and a new restaurant concept, Fresas opening next year). You can definitely tell this has Larry and Liz Lambert’s, what is now, signature touches to it. The curved seating, clean, bright colors, and a blend of Austin funkiness – mismatched wood chairs, eclectic artwork –  to round it out.

Now let’s get to the food. The French influence on Vietnemese food is evident in one item: the Bahn Mi. A French baguette stuffed with the flavors of Vietnam – cucumber, cilantro, carrots, jalapeño,  daikon, fish sauce and yummy pork or pate. We started with the Niman Ranch Pork Belly Steamed Buns with cucumber, scallion and hoisin sauce. Ohh, delightfully good. The buns were steamed to that just perfect pillow-soft texture and with the delicious juicy, soft pork belly it was an A+ bite of food. Exellent way to start the meal Chef McGuire.

 

We saw a lot of things we wanted to try on the menu but we knew our first visit to the restaurant would have to be all about the Bahn Mi. David ordered the House Specialty of Chicken Liver Mousse, Pork Pâté, Roasted Pork and I got the marinated pork. I’ve made my own Bahn Mi at home and had some at eateries here and there, but this by far was my favorite. The baguette was crispy outside (without crumbs falling all over the place), chewy on the inside with some super fresh and crunchy daikon, cucumber, carrot, jalapeño and topped with cilantro, sambal and mayonnaise with the perfectly marinated pork. In fact, they were so good, we ordered a third one to split! The housemade spicy pork meatball to be exact and yes, we snorted it. Total fat kids I know, but completely worth it.

To finish out our meal I had to get what’s being deemed as the new cupcake (honestly, I really don’t think anything is going to be the new cupcake), the canelle.  Given the fantastic house made bread (seriously, amazing stuff) I was super excited about the canelle and it had a nice moist interior with a crunchy caramel crust – it was a perfect sweet bite to end our meal. I’m happy that (a) I work down the street from this place (b) that our home is right not too far either since it’s a perfect grab-and-go restaurant for a quick Vietnamese coffee and pastry or a nice little spot to sit down and eat 85 Bahn Mi. :)

 

 

Niman Ranch Pork Belly Steamed Buns
Marinated Pork Bahn MI
Marinated Pork Bahn Mi

 

Canelle

 

 

Menu Plan

Food Lover’s Cleanse – The Update

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So we are almost through with Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse and let me tell you, we love it. We had to buy more produce this weekend and when we looked at the mound of fruits and vegetables piled in a bowl on the counter and the second mound sitting in the fridge, we both said “no way we are going to eat through all that.” Well, we did and I can tell you, eating that much greens makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something. Odd to say, but we liked the feeling that we were fueling our system with such goodness and the best part, the recipes were delicious. Not once did I feel like I was over or under eating and, I didn’t follow the plan to an exact “T” since well, life happens. For example, I have a standing date each week with my friend Kari that I wouldn’t miss for the world. We don’t exactly go to places that offer up quinoa and kale, but I try to make the best of it with a sensible eating all day and a healthy-ish salad  for dinner and well, frozen margaritas. I’ve always liked a good balance in my diet, by mainly staying on the healthy track with lean meats, lots of fruits and vegetables, but with some breads and cheese in there because I’m not going to deprive myself of those little beauties while I’m still kicking.

Some highlights from the cleanse included the amazing miso dressing that was excellent on every salad I made; the good pot of lentils; Moroccan-Style Lentil and Chickpea Soup with Lamb and Roasted Tomatoes; Carrot and Brown Rice Pilaf with Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Mizuna with Tofu (pictured below from Bon Appetit). We loved this tofu dish so much I think it will continue to be on rotation in this house for the year. Yep, I said it, we love TOFU. While I was menu planning for the coming week, I found myself searching for recipes that had the same lean-protein/greens and/or fruit structure as these recipes did, and that my friends, is what this cleanse is about…continuing to find a happy balance in your diet.  But heck, I really do want a juicy cheeseburger somewhere in the near future. 😉