Living and Dining in PDX

Thursday Night Slump

2011-12-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

I know that Wednesday is 'hump day', but sometimes Thursday is the bigger hurdle for me. I've made it this far and Friday is right around the corner. Come dinner time on Thursday I just want something quick and easy. I'm tired of doing dishes, so if I can minimize that too I'm all the more thrilled.

I regularly pick up a roasted deli chicken at my local supermarket. I like the chickens because they can be really versatile and can certainly aid in getting dinner done quickly. You can shred the chicken for pasta or enchiladas, you can keep the breasts or leg quarters whole for quick dinner solutions, or sometimes I save the bones to make chicken soup or chicken broth.

Tonight I reheated one of the leg quarters, cooked up some quinoa, and sauteed some spinach and mushrooms. All-in-all it took me about 30 minutes and it was a really delicious dinner.

To reheat the chicken I put the leg quarter in my cast iron skillet and put them in the oven while it was heating up to 350 degrees. That way the chicken could warm up slowly and retain it's juices. In total the cook time was about 15 mins between the time it took for my oven to heat up and a few extra minutes just to make sure it's warm throughout. I did leave the skin on the chicken, again- it helps retain the moisture and keeps the flavor locked in.

If you haven't tried quinoa yet, you might want to check it out. Its a whole grain with a protein boost. It's also super easy to cook and it doesn't take very long. The typical cooking formula I've seen is a 2:1 ratio. That is 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa. So for example, if you were cooking 1 cup of quinoa, you would use 2 cups of water. Quinoa will expand slightly when it cooks, but not a whole lot so when cooking for friends figure about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup per person.

Once the chicken comes out of the oven, move it to your plate to give a chance to cool off just a little. While the pan is still hot turn your stove to medium or medium high and add some sliced mushrooms and diced shallots. Don't forget the salt and pepper and maybe a little olive oil. Just be sure that the mushrooms aren't crowded in the pan or they won't brown properly.

Toss in some spinach and let it wilt from the heat. I did splash in just a little chicken broth to loosen the delicious brown bits and help finish off the spinach. Put it all on a plate and enjoy!

Happy Thursday!

Pho Sho'

2011-12-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

I love Pho. It's that simple. Pho, for me, is a cross between the warmth of mom's homemade soup and and the exotic flavors of far flung places. I could eat Pho everyday in the winter and most days in the summer. The richly flavored broth paired with soft noodles, spicy peppers, basil, cilantro, and tender meat is, in my eyes, one of the most perfect meals. I unabashedly slurp my way to the bottom of the bowl and ultimately end with a smile of pure satisfaction.

Now, there are a lot of great Pho places here in Portland. You can easily find a local joint serving pipping hot Pho in almost every neighborhood. In North Portland there is Pho Jasmine which is a little hole in the wall kind of place. There is Pho Van on Hawthorne. And there is Jade Bistro in Sellwood, which is just plain amazing. All of these places will deliver on the promise of delicious Pho, but there are just sometimes that I don't want to leave the house. Imagine my delight when hidden within this month's Bon Appetit issue about Christmas cookies there is a quickie Pho recipe.
I had to try it.

Here is the link to the recipe: Bon Appetit Faux Pho

The beauty of this recipe is that it uses store bought beef broth and ramen noodles to speed up the process. What is great is that given enough time, you can develop the deep flavors of the Pho houses without the days of stewing.

Start with 1/2 of a small onion and garlic in a warm pot with some vegetable oil on medium-high. You build flavor in steps- sauteing the onions and garlic, add the broth and water, boil the anise and cinnamon, soften the mushrooms, and let it all steep for a little before adding the beef.

In the meantime, use ramen noodles- yes, the ramen noodles you get 10 for $1 at the store. You just boil the noodles and throw out the flavor packet. You'll have enough flavor building in your broth.

Once the noodles are ready, put a spoonful in a bowl along with your favorite Pho garnishes. I favor cilantro, basil, and jalapenos, but use what makes you happy.

Heat your beef in the broth and then ladle everything over the noodles and in less than an hour you have a bowl of instant happiness.

I can tell this is going to be one of my 'go-to' recipes for the remainder of the winter. The beauty is that it makes enough for 2 big bowls or 4 small bowls. In my case I packed the broth with the peppers, cilantro, and basil and wrapped the noodles in plastic wrap so I can take them to work tomorrow for lunch.

Light and sunny

2011-09-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

When it's hot outside you don't want to heat up the house by cooking too much.

One of my new favorite recipes is this lemon, parsley, and caper vinaigrette from the back of one of the jars of capers I bought. It's dead easy- fresh lemon juice, chopped parsley, a spoonful of capers, olive oil, and salt & pepper.

Once the vinaigrette is ready, toss it with some beautiful tomatoes and set it aside.

While all of that is marinating, heat up your skillet to cook the salmon. I tend to prefer my salmon about medium or even a little medium-rare. Cook a little longer if you prefer yours more well done.

I seasoned the salmon simply with salt and pepper before putting it in the pan.

While the fish is cooking prepare your bowl and dress the lettuce with the vinaigrette. Once it's ready to go, flake out the salmon and add it to your salad.

It's a great dish for a hot summer day. The lemony vinaigrette and fatty salmon are just that little punch the tomatoes and lettuce need. Give it a try!

Party of One

2011-09-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, cooking for a party of one can be harder than cooking for a big dinner party. I find that it takes more thought to scale back a dish to make just one good plate.

But just because you are eating by yourself doesn't mean that you dinner shouldn't be any more delicious. Treat yourself!

I was home alone on a Saturday night and decided to make myself dinner worthy of any of the restaurants that I might have chosen to visit. Since it was just me I tried to keep it simple and keep all the cooking confined to one pan- a cast iron skillet in this case.You don't need a cast iron skillet to do this but it is helpful to have a pan that can go from the stove into the oven.

Bone-in pork chop, roasted fingerling potatoes and cherry tomatoes with sauteed spinach.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

I started with a beautiful bone-in pork chop from Whole Foods. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and paprika. Before you season the chop, put your pan on the stove to heat it up. You need the pan to be hot in order to get a good sear on the meat. Once you get the chop seasoned up, drop it in the pan and sear on each side for about 3 mins per side.

Seared pork chop

Once you've turned the chop over the second time, add some fingerling potatoes and cherry tomatoes to the pan. I like fingerling potatoes for dishes like this because they are smaller than even regular red potatoes so that makes them great for quick meals. They also tend to have a different texture and more subtle taste then other potatoes.

Let all of this cook together in the pan for another 3-4 minutes.

Once the oven is ready put the whole pan in the oven and cook for another 5-8 minutes depending on how well done you prefer your pork.

After the time rings, take the pan out of the oven and remove the pork chop, potatoes, and tomatoes to a plate. That will give the pork chop time to rest before you cut into it. Beware that the tomatoes can be very hot so give them a little bit of time to call off before biting into them.

While the pan is still hot from the oven, add about 1 cup of uncooked spinach to the pan.

The spinach will wilt quickly in the heat of the pan. Once it's at a texture you like, plate everything up.

In may case I piled the spinach on top of the potatoes and tomatoes then shaved a little parmigiano. I like the slightly salty, slightly nutty flavor of the parmigiano- it ads a great flavor to the roasted veggies.

Serve with a crisp white wine or a mild pinot and dinner is served!

Bon Appetit

2011-08-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Summer has finally arrived in PDX! Warm, sunny days are tempered by cool nights. It's the perfect time to take advantage of the seasonal fruits and veggies.

One of my favorite food magazines is Bon Appetit. They've updated the magazine over the years and I find the recipes to be aspirational, yet achievable. We've been paging through the last 2 issues a lot and I finally decided to give some of the flavors a go.

On tonight's menu: Mojo Marinated Bone-In Pork Chops, Yellow Rice, Black Beans, Grilled Cotija with Watermelon and Basil- Mint Oil, and a Lime and Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie

Most of these are Bon Appetit recipes and you can find them on the website or by clicking on the links above.

Let's get started- first thing was to make the Mojo marinade because the recipe suggest that the pork should marinade for 3-8 hours before cooking. So we assembled our ingredients: 3 jalepenos, 10 cloves of garlic (yes, 10), fresh OJ, fresh lemon juice, lime juice, olive oil, salt, oregano, and I added a little pineapple sage from our garden.

Ingredients for the Mojo marinade- 10 cloves of garlic, 3 lemons, 3 jalapenos, fresh oregano, and fresh pineapple sage

Turning lemons into juice

10 cloves of garlic finely chopped

If the jalapenos are too hot, remove the seed and ribs

Once all of the ingreidents are chopped up, add them to a bowl with the oj, lemon juice, lime juice, and oil and whisk together.

Put about half of the marinade in flat dish with the pork, cover, and chill. Save the rest for additional sauce after the pork is cooked. Sometimes I also pour left over marinade like this into ice cube trays and freeze it. That way when you want it again, all you have do is defrost. Marinade: done.

Next up, the lime curd for the Lime and Blackberry Italian Meringue Pie. I've never made a lime curd let alone a pie like this so it was a total experiment for me. More lime juice, 6 eggs, sugar, butter, and simmering water, how hard could this be? Start with a big pot and some water. Get that up to a slow boil or fast simmer. In the meantime, mix the lime juice, 3 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, and sugar together. What they don't tell you in the recipe is to save the egg whites from the 3 egg yolks because you'll need them for the meringue. So as you separate the eggs, keep that in mind and put the whites aside for later. Put the bowl over the hot water and start whisking. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water and investing in an ove-glove or good hot might isn't a bad idea either here. Steam will find a way out from underneath the bowl and it can burn you. It will take just about the full 15 mins they call out in the recipe for the curd to come together so be patient. You don't have to whisk the whole time, but don't go too far away.


Lime curd over the hot water, whisking away

Let the curd chill. In the meantime, get the gelatin started. The recipe only tells you to put 2 TBSP of gelatin into a bowl of water and let it sit. To be more specific, follow the package directions for the gelatin to get an idea of how much water and how long it will take for the gelatin to form. Add that to the curd and chill again.


Chilled curd

The rest of the process was pretty easy. I think I could have whipped my meringue a little more to get stiffer peaks, but this is how we learn.

Mine didn't turn out exactly like this, but you get the idea

As all of this was going on, Dan (my bf and personal sommelier ) started in on the basil-mint oil for the grilled watermelon salad. More garlic, fresh basil, fresh mint, and oil. Rather than grill the watermelon and tomatoes we seared them in a hot cast iron skillet (you really need to own one of these).


Seared watermelon slices

All of that going on and I still found time to make black beans for the rice. I don't mind using canned beans for my black beans because frankly, I rarely have time to soak beans overnight before cooking. At any rate, I start my beans with a few ingredients in the pan- bacon, onions, roasted garlic, Mexican Oregano, salt, pepper, adobochon, and sazon. Adobochon and sazon are spices you may be able to find in your Hispanic foods aisle at the grocery store. They add that little something extra to the mix. Put all of your ingredients into the pan you want to cook the beans in and get them simmering. Let the bacon render it's fat and saute the veggies.

Before you add the beans, deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar. Add the beans, bring to simmer, reduce the heat and let them sit. You may need to add a little water depending on how long you leave the beans to cook, but for the most part you can just let them go.

We served a Spanish Rose with this meal and it was a great compliment.

Once everything is ready- feast! Enjoy the bounty of the summer because before we know it, it will be winter again and we'll be longing for these flavors.

OCBM

2011-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

July is OCBM, Oregon Craft Brew Month, and it's a month full of beer festivals, tastings, pub crawls, and specials on Oregon beers. Just a another slice of heaven. OCBM culminates in the the Oregon Brewers Festival which is always the last weekend in July. The place is P A C K E D every year. They do it at Tom McCall waterfront park and the people pour in. Entrance is free, but you have to buy a cup and tokens to be able to taste. You have to go into Brew Fest knowing that there will be long lines, drunk people, random toasts, and good beer. Just be prepared and know what you are getting in to.

Last year we went on a Saturday afternoon, this year we went on a Friday night after work. For me, Friday night was a little more enjoyable. It was still the same process of getting our cups and tokens, finding the first place with the shortest line for our first sample, and then settling in to watch everything unfold. We staked out some seats on the waterfront side of the big tent and watched everyone go by. The trick to Brew Fest is that once you have claimed chairs you don't want to give them up. So everyone takes turns taking 2 mugs at a time to stand in line for refills. Then you just soak up the sun, enjoy it as the evening cools off, catch a buzz.

Bring your adventurous spirit because there are all kinds of beers here. I had the 10 Barrels Brewing Co.'s Zitrone Kolsh and it was great. A little lemony, but just right for the first beer of the evening. I tried the Rock Bottom Brewery's Zombie Flanders Red Ale- I'm a big red ale fan! I tried the Lompoc Kick Axe Pale Ale- a dry hopped pale ale, and another fave. All of my favorites were represented: Ninkasi, Lompoc, Lucky Lab, New Belgium, Pyramid, Rouge, Widmer, Full Sail, and so many more. They aren't kidding when the tell you that Oregon is Beervana!

Click on the links below the logos to find out more about these guys!

http://www.rockbottom.com/home

http://www.10barrel.com/

http://www.newoldlompoc.com/

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer.aspx

http://www.pyramidbrew.com/

http://www.rogue.com/

http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/

http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/

Nice to Meat You

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know that I've gone on and on about PDX's farmer's markets and fresh food scene. But man cannot live on vegetable alone (sorry vegetarians). So let's talk meat. There are some amazingly meat obsessed people in Portland. They love their meat. Is it grass-fed, grain-fed, cage free, free range, organic- so many options! If you saw the episode of Portlandia where the customers obsess about the chicken's health and well-being before ordering it I'm here to say that they aren't that far off.

Now I will say one of the best things about the farmer's markets is that there are vendors who sell freshly butchered meat and building a relationship with these families has been one of the highlights. Every time I walk up I learn about the freshest cuts, newest options, and best deals. One family that I buy all of my lamb from always has their kids with them. The other is a 3rd generation farm that raises all of their animals with as much care as they can. And no matter what anyone says, you CAN taste it in the meat. We've gotten giant sized pork chops, amazing beef short ribs, lamb shanks, bacon, pancetta, and more.

The one place I hadn't been to in this meat-centric town was Gartners: http://www.gartnersmeats.com/

To hear stories of this place is to hear of a place that is packed every Saturday. People stand in lines that wrap the building waiting for their number to be called. On Saturdays they have as many as 24 people working behind the counters taking orders and cutting meat at a frenzied pace. We went on a Sunday and there was no crowd. Their cases are full of all of the chicken, beef, pork, fresh fish, and bacon you can imagine. If they don't have it, they can get it. And the prices are amazingly reasonable! We got 2 t-bones, 4 bone-in pork chops, a flank steak, and a pound of beef bacon for about $50! Amazing.

Sprinkle a little salt on these guys and let them come up to room temp before cooking and you've got some heaven on a plate!

There are other amazing vendors too! One is Chop Butchery- this place is a close to an old-fashioned butcher as I have ever gotten. The guy sells pates, pancetta, and the occasional foie gras at the farmers market but their retail location also carries a wide variety of meats and cuts.

House-made pancetta and Cornish Game Hens from Chop

This place is also one of a few places that make their own charcuterie- think dried sausages, spiced with the most amazing flavors ready to pair with cheese and wine.

If you are ever in town you have to give these place a try. It's amazing what these people are doing- it's a real craft and it is simply delicious!

It Just Works

2011-07-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time I watched Julie & Julia and thought- "They get it!" After a bad day at the office Julie Powell comes home and extolls the virtues of cooking as both a methodical practice and mood-lightening experience, I thought "They get it!". Just like the chocolate pie relives and revitalizes Julie Powell in the movie, so does cooking for me. Even after a stressful day full of meetings, answering to others, and demanding deadlines, coming home to a stove, some pans and fresh ingredients is an invitation to be creative. While I'm chopping and sauteing the worries of the day melt away. As I put the finishing touches on my dishes there is a warmth and joy inside that is rarely matched.

Today was such a day- a typical Monday wrought with twists and turns. Just when I thought my carefully planned schedule would allow ample time to accomplish my tasks this week with little to no extra time a wrench was thrown into the plans and everything went out the window. As I walked around the neighborhood looking for a little solace the only thing I could really think about was what to make for dinner. My heart immediately went to comfort food, but my brain quickly reminded my heart that we are on a goal to eat healthier. So we compromised. The result is Gruyere macaroni and cheese, roasted chicken breast, sliced fresh tomatoes, and steamed brussel sprouts. I know, not the lightest meal I've ever made, but it fit the bill and satisfied both the heart and the brain.

The mac n' cheese is super easy. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I always start with a basic roux- a paste made from flour and fat (read: olive oil). So I warmed up about 1 TBSP olive oil in a skillet, tossed in some roasted garlic (which I am totally obsessed with right now, but we can talk about that later), and let the two heat up together. Once the oil is warm I added about 1 1/2 TBSP flour to the pan, whisking them together to make something a little thicker than a paste.Get your pasta water boiling and add your pasta so it can cook while you are making your sauce. Keeping the pan hot I added 1 cup of 2% milk and a dash of nutmeg. Whisk again and let that come up to a boil. Once the milk is bubbling add another cup of milk and bring it back up to a boil. After the milk is up to it's second boil start adding your cheese. In this case I added Monterrey Jack and Gruyere. More Gruyere than Jack, but taste as you go to find a balance that makes you happy. Once all of the cheese is blended in and melted reduce the heat. Drain the pasta and give it a second to get all of the water out. I like to use twisty shapes for my macaroni and cheese it sometimes takes a second to get the water out. Mix the pasta into the cheese sauce to cover the noodles. Add the noodle and cheese sauce to an oven-safe dish (typically a small casserole dish will do). Toss some bread crumbs or Panko with some olive oil and then sprinkle on top of the mac n' cheese. Let it back in the oven for about 30 mins.

One of my favorite cheats is buying a whole roasted chicken from the grocery store. I mean, what's easier than just coming up and pulling that apart? Now you have chicken for the week ready to go, no defrosting. Plus I like to put it in salads for work or use it for enchiladas.

Give the mac n cheese about 10 mins to cool after it comes out of the oven. Slice your tomatoes and steam your brussel sprouts or vegetable of choice. By the time you do all that it's ready to eat. Simple, satisfying, and no matter how crazy the day it will all come together just like you thought. What an amazing thing!

Farmer's Market to Table

2011-07-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of talk lately about Farm-to-Table, meaning cooks to get their food directly from the source rather than through a refrigerated truck. I've extolled the virtues and fun of the farmer's markets here in PDX, but one of the best things about them is that it lets me get closer to the farm-to-table state of cooking.

Since it's summer (at least it's trying to be summer) there is a wealth of amazing produce available at the farmer's markets right now. Inspired by a recipe from NPR I went on the hunt for my ingredients.
I made the linguine with slow-cooked zucchini, basil, and cream- it was delish!

First step- went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market for some fresh ingredients: summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Next stop, Fred Meyer (a local grocery store) for some heavy cream, pecorino romano cheese, and pancetta bits. I always keep garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and other basics on hand.

The recipe calls for the squash/zucchini to be cut in equally thick disks and the garlic to be sliced very thing (think Goodfellas when he was slicing the garlic with a razor blade). While this can be done with a knife it can get challenging. So for this job I brought out the mandolin. It's a great tool to have in the kitchen for dishes like this, lasagna, casseroles, pies, etc. It is VERY sharp so watch out. You just slide the food down the plane into the blade and it slices right through it.

The result:

Super thin garlic and evenly sized zucchini.

Once you have the veggies prepped it's time to heat up the pan and get cooking. I started with my cast iron skillet, a tsp of olive oil, and the pancetta on med-high heat. Toss in the pancetta and let it cook out most of the fat (about 8 mins). Reduce the heat and add the garlic- I turned the heat way down on my pan so I didn't brown or burn the garlic. Once the garlic is about translucent turn the heat up again to about medium and add the zucchini and squash.

Let all of that cook down for about 30 mins- check in on it periodically to make sure it's not burning and that everything is cooking evenly. Add some salt and pepper to taste knowing that you can always add more but can't take it out once it's in there.

While all of that was getting to smell amazing I sliced up some fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market and sprinkled them with a little finishing salt from The Meadow. The Meadow is a great little specialty shop in the Mississippi neighborhood in North Portland. The sell finishing salts and salts from all over the world- who knew there was so much salt and that it could be so different? Back to the story at hand- let the salt and tomatoes sit while you finish cooking to really draw the flavors out.

You'll know the zucchini is ready when it looks like this:

Pancetta is browned and has rendered it's fat out, garlic is golden, and the zucchini is soft and flimsy.

Next add 1/2 cup heavy cream and let it thicken. In the meantime, get your pasta boiling so it will be ready once the sauce is finished. Slice the basil and it to the sauce just before adding the pasta.

By the time the pasta is ready it's time to add the cheese (remember the pecorino romano I bought earlier?). Sprinkle it into the sauce and stir to let it melt. Before you dump out the pasta, take 2 scoops of the pasta water and add them to the pan to lighten up the sauce. Strain the pasta and the put it in the pan with the sauce and toss to coat all of the noodles.

My sommelier/boyfriend picked out a great white wine to go with this dish. It was the 2009 Pinot Blanc from VX winery (aka Vercingetorix) in the Willamette Valley. Great notes of apple and fruit with just enough to punch through the rich cream sauce.

The wine is poured, the noodles are coated, and the salt has worked it's magic on the tomatoes- it's time to eat! Serve the pasta warm with a little parmesan on top. Enjoy!

Nostrana

2011-05-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

One of the things we love to do in PDX is try new places to eat. With all of the great places here that keeps us very busy.

We finally make it to Nostrana so check out my review- you should try it!

Nostrana Review on Yelp

Springing out of Hibernation

2011-05-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, it was a long winter. I mean, really long. We just started getting an equal number of days with sunshine as we do with rain. But the rain lingers less every day and the sun seems to shine forever. We were sitting on the couch last night and I realized that it was 8:30 at night and the sun still hadn't set all the way yet.

Dan put the chairs and cushions out on the back porch and I have a bottle of beer just waiting to be opened in anticipation of that gloriously sunny evening where we just sit out there an relax while the grill sizzles with good things to come.

Spring is most certainly one of my favorite seasons in PDX. Of course it's amazing that all of the flowers are blooming and everything is so green. But beyond that, it just feels like the city has come alive again. People are out at every opportunity. My coworkers are anxious for lazy lunch breaks on sun drenched decks, and I'm just soaking it all up.

So here's to spring- a renewal of life, an entree into summer, and a reward for surviving the doldrums of winter.

Dinner Parties of Love

2011-02-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

I love having people over to my house for dinner. Somehow it just makes the place feel warmer. I enjoy the effort of making the meal and preping the house . I grew up in a home where people were always coming over and the house was really the center of everything. I'm glad that we have found friends in PDX that feel the same. Any time I send out an invite for a dinner party it is met with an enthusiastic 'yes' and 'what can we bring'. Sometimes I tell them to just bring themselves, after all that is the point of having you over. But sometimes I tell them to bring something to compliment the rest of the meal. It just depends.

One of my other favorite parts about dinner parties is decorating. It's never elaborate but I like to try find ways to make the table feel special, elevated. I was pretty proud of myself for our Valentine's Day dinner. Some simple carnations, a few cups, and some votives supplied all the glamor for the evening.

I cut the carnations super short and tied them into bunches. Then stuck them in some short glasses and added water. A beautiful result for very little work.

I made sure to polish the wine glasses as we were setting the table to really make them sparkle.

I don't need to be Martha Stewart or any of those other people, but one thing that they did teach me was that you could make your guests feel even more special with a few simple accents. It literaly took me more time to buy the carnations than it did to put these center pieces together. And what a beautiful result.

Derby

2011-02-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

It seems that Rollery Derby in Portland is serious sport. Events regularly sell out and people are pretty psyched to go. I had never been to a roller derby and only knew from TV and movies that it consisted of chicks on skates knocking eachother around. Most of that is true, by the way, but there are other elements too. I went to the roller derby with my friends from work- Calethia and Kari. It reminded me of highschool football. Weird lighting, lots of friends and family there to support the players, well-loved but dingy venues, and beer in a can. The energy was high and people were packed into the hanger at the Oaks Park.

As we watched the girls go round and round it took a while to figure out the scoring. And even though our home team was losing their fans were as rambunctious as ever. In fact, we even booed what we felt was a dirty hit only to be admonished by the injured girl's coach that the hit was legal. Sort of werid.

Warm ups around the track before the match begins

Introducing the teams and their skaters

Brusing Betty- the oppposition's mascot

Lining up for a match

Me, Calethia, Kari, and a Bruisng Betty Skater

Overall it was a good time. Not a shabby way to spend an evening. It lasted about 2 hours and I got to experience something that I feel is part of Portland's mystique. Women racing around a rink, not concerned about their dress size, just having a great time knocking eachother over and playing to the crowd.

I would totally go back again.

Dreary Day, Happy Food

2011-01-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

What do you think of when you look out the window and see this?

It's not very inviting. Football is on and the house is a much cozier option then venturing out in the damp cold. So I decided to make Spanish-braised beef with creamy polenta and steamed brussell sprouts. Dan got so pumped up about it that he invited some friends over so I made a few bacon wrapped shrimp for appetizers.

You might be saying "wow, that sounds amazing" and it is my friends, oh, it is. But it's also so easy to do. Braising is one of my favorite techniques because it produces some of the most flavorful results and requires very little effort. In fact, braising has become such a hit in our household that we now have a 'mother sauce' that we keep resuing over and over again to develop some amazing depth of flavor.

Here's how it works. 1- buy a beef chuck roast (aka pot roast), leg of lamb, or lamb shanks. In all cases make sure there is a good fat-to-meat ratio because fat equals flavor. This time I used a 2.8lb beef chuck roast.

Remove the beef from the packaging and pat it dry with some paper towels. Salt and pepper and set it aside. The next step is to take a whole yellow onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic and start building some flavor. I sliced the onion and crushed the garlic and added it to my Dutch Oven which has been warming up on the stove. Toss in some more S&P and little oil and let them start working their magic.

Once those guys are starting to look more transparent part the seas and add the beef.

Brown the beef on both sides over medium to medium-high heat.

Keep in mind, you aren't cooking the beef here, just browning it to get some juices into the pan. This should take no more than 10 mins total (5 mins per side). Once the meat is brown, start building your braising liquid. A cup or 2 of beef broth, a can of diced tomatoes, olives, raisins, paprika, chipolte, carrots, and water.

In the meantime, get your oven up to about 250 degrees. Add enough liquid to cover the meat, put a lid on the Dutch Oven, and bring everything to a boil. Boil for about 8-10 mins and then put it into the oven. I cooked this one for 3 hours at 250 degrees. The beauty of braising is that it is meant to be sort of 'set it and forget it' cooking. The lower the oven temp, the longer you need to cook. I have found that you cannot quickly braise something so avoid trying to cook something at 425 degrees for half the time. It just doesn't get the same effect. Once the meat is in the oven and you can go watch some football.

As time for kick off got closer I preped my Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp. But these are no ordinary Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp- I like to tuck a little mint leaf into the wrappings so that when you bite into the shrimp you get a little surprise.

Shrimp are often sold by their size so when you go to the market take a look at the lables. You'll notice that they frequently have things like 16-20 or U-15 next to the name of the shrimp. That tells you about how many shrimp per pound. So if you bought a pound of 16-20 shrimp you'd get between 16 and 20 shrimp. Great to know when trying to do menu planning for a party.

I used 16-20 shrimp for the football party. After pealing the shrimp I always double check them for the mud-vein which runs up the back of the shrimp. Most of the time this vein is already removed by the time the shrimp get to you, but every so often it's still there. It won't harm you but it could make your shrimp taste a little muddy or grainy. You can just pull the vein out with your fingers and toss it.

I used maple bacon this time around. Cut the bacon strips in half and lay a shrimp and mint leaf on the bacon.

Roll the bacon around the shrimp and repeat.

Cook the shrimp over medium-high heat. You need the pan to be hot enough to crisp the bacon and cook the shrimp at the same time.

Once they are done, set them on some paper towels to drain the grease, then serve.

Once the beef is done, fish it out of the braising liquid and shred.

Polenta is super easy to make. Just remember that the 2:1 ratio- liquid to polenta. In this case I did 1 cup of water + 1 cup of 2% milk and a little butter. Bring all that to a boil and then add 1 cup of Polenta. Remove from the heat and stir. The polenta will absorb the liquid and be ready to go in less than 10 mins.

To steam the brussel sprouts I trimed the bottoms and then cut them in half. I steamed them for about 8-10 mins.

Once everything is ready, make a bead of polenta and top it with the beef. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the beef and polenta. Add a spoon full of brussell sprouts and you are set! Warm comfort food, good friends, and the NFL playoffs. That is the way to beat a dreary day.

New Year, New Me

2011-01-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

The turn of the year is always an opportunity to look back at the past 365 days and make decisions about how to spend the next 365. The previous 365 days held a world of adventure that I couldn't have imagined and didn't adequately express here. I've done a lot since Jan 4, 2010- quit my job, packed up the Mini, crossed the country, and landed in Portland. I've spent nearly a year here learning all about my new home and the people here. We've been blessed to meet a lot of great people. I landed a new job, Dan's been industriously building his network of wine connections, and we have enjoyed our new epicurean journey.

As we wound down 2010 Dan and I went to Oba! for New Year's Eve dinner with some friends. New Year's Eve was my second visit to Oba and my first in their main dining room.

Previous visits had been for Happy Hour- which is excellent. I'm not a huge martini drinker but their menu of inventive and innovative drinks peaked my curiosity. On the first occasion I had a mojito and my on my most recent visit I had the habanero-infused absolut. Oba creates their own vodka flavors by infusing them with various peppers, herbs and fruit. The habanero-infused absolut might sound like it would burn but in reality it is really tasty. The heat is balanced by a mango puree and house-made sour mix. My boyfriend had the burning orange: serrano chili, citrus, and Mandarin Absolut. It was also very tasty. Happy Hour features a list of tasty tapas that are easily shared with friends.

For New Year's we started by enjoying our favorite cocktails and then moved into the dining room. The place was busy, but the dining room didn't feel that way. Even our table in the middle of the room and near a server's station felt cozy. For a busy night things seemed to moving smoothly. Our server was fantastic. She was happy to explain everything and answer any questions we had about the menu. Oba's corkage fee is reasonable ($15) so we brought our own wine, but their wine list is full of excellent wines from all over the world. They were offering a prix fixe menu for New Year's so my boyfriend ordered that. We also split a bowl of the lobster bisque. It was delicious in all the creamy, decadent ways that lobster bisque should be. I had the Bife a Micalense- Portuguese-style kobe beef topped with carmelized bananas and served with onions, peppers, veggies, and fingerling potatoes. I know, steak and bananas? But it was really good. And the deliciousness continued from there.

Overall Oba! is a great place. The Happy Hour make an easy choice for a quick stop. The dining room is cozy and makes you want to linger in the dark places with the ones you love.

I look forward to many more excellent meals in this new city. Dan and I are setting ourselves up for some adventures by taking on hiking, bike riding, and so much more. Here's to another 365 days of exploration, adventure, and fun!

Fall-ing in love all over again

2010-11-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived in the Pacific Northwest and it is nothing like I have ever experienced. In Florida, fall's arrival means 80s instead of 90s and maybe less rain and humidity. Here it means amazingly sunny days with temperatures in the 60s. The leaves are turning and as we get closer to Halloween I am getting more and more excited. I loved summer, with all of it's festivals and reasons to socialize with your fellow PDX-ers, but fall may be my favorite season yet. It makes you want to be near the ones you love, cozied up on the couch or your favorite local haunt. Scarves, coats, sweaters, and blue jeans are the uniform and those are some of my favorite things.

Home Sweet, Orlando?

2010-10-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

We came back to Orlando for a friend's wedding. As I relate our story over and over again to people here I realize 1- how much I love PDX and 2-how many people want to go there. Everyone I talk to either wants to go to PDX or knows someone who has been and has had a wonderful time. It's pretty impressive. A little more than year ago PDX wasn't even on my radar and now it seems to be on everyone's radar. Maybe I am just ahead of the curve???? At any rate, it has been great to come home. I've been able to see some friends, get caught up, see the pup, and spend some time with my family. I realize that I still have a place in my heart for Florida but PDX is my new home and for all those things I love about Florida I could find equally wonderful things in Oregon.

You can always go home again.

In my Hood...

2010-09-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most enduring images of Portland is Mt. Hood rising above it from the east. Much like Mt. Fuji watches over Tokyo, so too does Mt. Hood look over the city of Portland. On clear days the peak of Mt. Hood can be seen from almost any high point in the city. Coming from the flat lands of Florida it was foreign to me that there even mountains here in Oregon, but to have one as large as Mt. Hood was quite a surprise. Mt. Hood is over 11,000 feet tall and is snow-capped year around. It features 12 glaciers and is the fourth tallest mountain in the Cascade range. True, there is 3-7% chance that Mt. Hood will erupt in the next 30 years (did I forget to mention that it is a volcano?) but then the USGS classifies it as only 'potentially active'.

When I drive to work in the mornings it is a comfort to see Mt. Hood peaking out from beyond the city. You know it's going to be a beautiful day. Surrounding Mt. Hood is the Mt. Hood State Park and some amazing landscape. This time we approached Mt. Hood from the east as we came in from a day spent tasting wine and beer in the gorge (more on that later). As we drove down 35 Mt. Hood would peak in and out of view, each time getting closer and more breathtaking. We made the final steep ascent near Timberline Lodge. In the space of a few miles we went from 65 degrees to 45! When we emerged from the car we quickly donned jackets and gloves. The wind chill most certainly dropped the temperature into the 30s. From Timberline Loge we were able to see the whole valley and the Cascades- there is very little more breath-taking than that.

Frozen but invigorated we climbed back into the car and made out way back down to Portland. After a day of chasing Mt. Hood it was great to finally be able to see it up close.

We finished the day with our first visit to Apizza Scholls. They are an amazing pizza place here in Portland. As with many places in PDX they make everything fresh, including the dough, and when they are out, they are out. Notorious for long waits in a 'Pizza Nazi' reputation, I tell you now that it is worth it. We had some fantastic pizza and beer. After a day of exploring the eastern side of Portland, it totally hit the spot.

If it's an Heirloom does that mean it's old?

2010-08-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Living in PDX had given me a new perspective on produce. You've heard me go on and on about all of the neighborhood farmer's markets but the truth is that I've never been more connected to the seasonality of a regions produce as I am here. I make it a point to get out to the farmer's markets every other week or so to see what is fresh and get inspired to create healthy dishes with what is available.

One of my favorite produce items are heirloom tomatoes. They look like something that's come through a nuclear war with odd shapes, strange colors, and a range of sizes. They are beautiful in their variations and I usually end up picking them based on color more than anything else (which I am sure is not the best way). Inevitably I take them home and make bruschetta, tomato salad, and anything else I can toss them into and liven up with their many varied colors.

But what are heirloom tomatoes? Why do they look like something from another planet? And what's up with other produce that claims to be 'heirloom'. Well CNN's new food blog: Eatocracy had a great entry and I thought it gave a great explanation on what this all means.

Once we get a place with a yard I am going to try my hand at growing heirloom tomatoes and a slew of herbs!

Am I Wine-ing too much?

2010-08-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know Oregon is known for some amazing wine, most notably Pinot Noir. However I am finding that there is much more than pinot noir in them thar' hills and most of it is great! With Dan being in the wine industry (he's a tasting room manager at Wines of Oregon) we certainly get some benefits. We've been able to meet some amazing wine makers and really develop a love and passion for the wine here in Oregon. Don't get my wrong, the pinots are spectacular but there is so much more to love. The wine region closest to PDX is the Willamette Valley. This is THE heart of pinot country. Spectacular pinots come out of this region all the time along with some great whites and blends. Then there is Southern Oregon which is gaining in popularity for it's bold reds and red blends. Of course there is the Walla Walla region up near the Washington border. It's mind-boggling and Dan is much better versed in it all than I.

What I do know is that we have some great wine pretty close. The closest region is Dundee Hills and Newberg. These great little towns have some well known names like Erath and Sokol Blosser and some really small wineries that are gems. We took our latest visitor on a mini-wine tour and tasted some great wines from the Dundee Hills.

We samples some amazing wines and even took a few home. With wine country in my back yard it's no wonder I wine so much.

Summer in the City

2010-08-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

It's summer in PDX and I am finding this city to be more alive now than any other season so far. It seems like every weekend brings new festivals, street fairs, events, and reasons to gather friends around some delicious food and libations and laugh until the sun goes down.

We threw our first big dinner party at the house this past weekend. Coffee and spice rubbed bone-in ribeyes, grilled Walla Walla onions and zuchini, roasted brussel sprouts and tomatoes, pasta salad, cheddar cheese, bacon, and chive biscuits... well you get the idea. It was a great evening full of good food and new friends. Beer was the beverage of the night and with such amazing local ales how could we drink anything else? On hand were Full Sail and Deschutes. Toss in a glass of two of wine from Palotai and/or Hillcrest vineyards and it was a lot of fun.

By the way, if you haven't had wine from Palotai or Hillcrest- you gotta put them on your list. They are located in southern Oregon near Roseburg. Palotai makes some amazing, bold red blends- Bull's Blood is by far my favorite. Hillcrest makes some great warm-weather varietals like syrah and zin. They are both small producers so that makes it even sweeter when you get a taste.

I attended my first movie in the park. It was Pretty in Pink. Basically the city and parks department does these free screenings on Friday night at different parks around the city. You show up with your blanket and picnic food and watch. The evenings are so gorgeous here that it is a great way to end the week. The next one is Princess Bride. The thought that I would miss that is Inconcievable!

Then there is the Bite of Oregon. Its another great food and wine festival. It features hundreds of local vendors sampling their wares.There were food carts, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and people galore! The event benefits the Special Olympics and seems to bring out the best in people.

We took a break from the Bite and decided to walk the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges. The Hawthorne bridge is 100 years old. The middle section of the bridge raises up, in its entirety, to allow tall ships to pass underneath. Both bridges are lit at night with an array of colorful lights.

Summer in the city is turning out to be my favorite time of year. Cool mornings, warm days, and temperate evenings make the days feel amazing. Everyone seems so alive and they are all ready to be out among the fresh air and eachother.

Floating away

2010-07-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

We attended the 23rd annual Oregon Brewers Festival over the weekend. It is always the last full weekend in July and it was quite an undertaking. The festival was located on the southwest side of the river and featured over 80 different craft brews from around the country. So we a grabbed a mug and some tokens and made our way into the crowds to find some good brew. The first stop was the Buzz Tent. This tent featured beers with higher than normal alcohol content. The beer was good, and cold. We met up with some friends and secured seats facing the river and settled in to drink some beer and people watch. We had beers from Pennsylvania, Alaska, Colorado, and of course, Oregon. Each time we found new flavors and favorites. I personally liked the Alaska Brewing Pale Ale and the Victory Brewing Victory Prima Pilsner. Dan had beers from Ninkasi and....well, we lost count.

As we sat looking at the river and feeling quite nice we shared a few laughs with some friends and welcomed sunset.

Sunday morning I woke up much earlier than I would have like for a Sunday morning but it was because there were good things ahead. Sunday was my first experience floating down the Clackamas river. So my friends and I packed up inflatable boats, life vest, sunscreen, and food and headed for McIver park.We inflated our boats and launched in to the river. The water was COLD. The Clackamas is fed by run-off from Mt. Hood and it's glaciers. I encountered my first set of rapids and survived more less successfully. Just a note: even little rapids look big when in a small inflatable boat with no steering mechanism or paddle. After a few bumps from the rocks it was peaceful floating from then on. Several of us strung our boats together and meandered our way down the river. It was an amazing way to see some beautiful landscape. The water was chilly but sun was out in full force and this native Floridian was loading up on sunscreen. We meandered our way down the river and about 5 hours later landed at the Carver boat ramp. Exhausted from dodging rocks, the sun, and lazing around on the river it was a quite ride home. Luckily our fearless leader, Melinda, had thought ahead and had marinated a stack of short ribs. Couple that with some watercress salad, corn, and rice and we settled in for an excellent feast. Another member of the crew, Karen, made homemade whoopie pies- a great way to end an amazing weekend! You should have been there.

Justified

2010-07-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

I think I may have mentioned the PSU Farmer's market more than enough times in this blog, but it appears my affection is justified. PSU was just voted as one of the 10 farmer's markets in the U.S. for travelers.

Check it out America's Best Farmers' Markets for Travelers

Enjoy the Sun

2010-07-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

The weather has been SPECTACULAR. We flirted with 100 for a few days but thankfully we seem to have returned to normal, here meaning 70-80 during the day and mid-50s at night. Dan and I inflated the air mattress and camped out in the living room over the weekend to take full advantage of the beautiful evenings.

Dan took Saturday day off and we were out and about. Hard to believe he's lived here all this time and never been to the PSU Farmers Market with me. But Saturday was his first time. As per usual it was a pretty amazing place. We bought elk and black pepper sausage and beef and thyme sausage. Dan is trying them out as possible options for wine pairings. After the Farmers Market we hit up some of Portland's food cards on SW 9th and Alder. I had a gyro from a greek cart and Dan had a monster burrito from a Mexican one. We were both shocked how big the burrito was- it was huge.

Bellies full and curiosity satisfied we decided to take advantage and enjoy the sun and clear skies and head up to Pittock Mansion. It is this amazing old mansion on the top of one of the tallest hills in Portland. On a clear day, like the one we were enjoying, you can see both Mt. Hood in Oregon and Mt. Adams in Washington. It was pretty amazing. We dropped down on to the trails behind Pittock mansion and lost ourselves for a while among all the trees.

After hiking our way back up, not for the faint of heart by the way, we headed for the most sacred of places, the mall! Just kidding. We did hit up a few stores and decided to see a movie to cool off from our day in the sun.

We decided to celebrate the day with a truly classic fine dining experience at Morton's steakhouse. True, Morton's is a chain but the steaks were exceptional and we happily toasted our fantastic day with a bottle of 2007 J. Scott Cabernet Savignon from the Rouge Valley.

Sunday brought another day of sun in the fun. After a few lazy hours I went to the gym and then headed for a picnic in Laurelhurst park with some friends. As I sat there drinking my beer, eating my pasta salad, and soaking up the sun I was immensely thankful for the wonder that is PDX. All of the amazing things that I have been able to do and see and taste and I know that it's only going to get better from here.

Gorge Yourself

2010-07-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

The last day with Mom in town was by far one of the most breathtaking days yet. We woke up early and headed for Multnomah Falls. If you haven't heard of it, it is the U.S.'s second tallest year-round waterfall at 600'+ high. It is about an hour outside of PDX. So we hopped in the car and made our way out there. Even the hazy clouds couldn't put a damper on our spirits or the scenery. Driving alongside the Columbia river was like taking a trip into Wonderland. It was beautiful. Amazing views and landscapes everywhere really gave us a feel for what makes the Pacific Northwest unlike any other place.

We arrived at Multnomah and promptly decided that we would walk the 1.2 miles to the top. Afterall, the kindly volunteer at the help desk (who was about 70) said it was a 'moderate' walk and that we could probably do it fairly quickly and then continue on for the remainder of the 2.5 mile trail and wrap it all up in about 2 hours. So we thought we would start small and do the 1.2 mile hike. Moderate, it seems, has a different meaning at Multnomah Falls. It is 1.2 miles up some steep inclines with little rest. It was literally 1.1 miles straight up. Our only saving grace was the promise of beautiful scenery and a small downhill section that would provide some sweet relief.

Should you ever decide to visit Multnomah falls and hike the trail a few words of advice: bring water and a snack, 1.2 miles might not sound like a long distance but don't let it fool you; stop and enjoy the scenery-there are some amazing views as you make your way up the trail; enjoy the top of the mountain- there are a few non-paved, although well-traveled paths that take you just a few feet off course but that are totally worth it; go to the overlook-it is spectacular!

After conquering the mountain we headed off to the town of Hood River in search of some grape-y refreshment. First stop was Phelps Creek tasting room. The tasting room is situated next to the country club and offers and absolutely breathtaking view of Mt. Hood from the golf course. They have some great wine and we even got a quick tour of the winery. What I like about wine country is that you start at one place and stumble upon places that you never knew existed. One of those was Mt. Hood Winery. They had some spectacular Syrah and Tempranillo. The whole place makes you want to sit a while on their patio and stare off into the distance at Mt. Hood. We couldn't have asked for a more spectacular day. The last stop on our mini-wine tour was Cathedral Ridge. Surprisingly they had a Zinfandel. Zin is not a typical Oregon varietal so it's always fun to taste it when a place has it available. Cathedral Ridge has some amazing Zin.

Exercised and slightly buzzed from our wine we headed back into PDX for dinner. What better place to wrap up a visit to PDX than to go to one of PDX's hottest new places: Le Pigeon? It was a dining adventure. The place doesn't have more than 40 seats and without a reservation you have to sit at the bar- but that's ok. There is a three man team of chefs who preform what looks like the most wonderful dance as they move about the small open-air kitchen with nearly wordless communication. One is prepping salads while the others get the maincourses going. And just when you think you can spot your dish hitting the grill they turn it into something totally different. We had the Foie Gras Bacon as a starter and it was to die for! Sinfully smooth foie gras with the cooked with bacon fat, piled on toast and served with a wonderfully citrus-y salad is a great way to end a day and to start a meal. The entrees were as follows: Salmon served with mushrooms and veggies, a huge, bone-in pork chop served with chilies and pan seared green beans, and finally beef cheek bourguignon. This was foodie heaven. Everything was perfectly cooked, melt in your mouth delicious, and just what we needed after our day of hiking and wining. The piece de resistance were the luscious desserts. Mom had a creme brulee with an espresso side car, I had a chocolate cherry galouti with vanilla icecream, and Dan had bacon cornbread with maple-bacon icecream- Y U M!

And now it's back to the real world. I dropped Mom off at the airport. The warm days of summer are rolling in and it's time to experience all the summer fun in PDX