Tales from a Weehawken Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 01:42:00 +0000

Check out the guest of honor, Benson, who was not-so-secretly hoping for the ham to take a nasty spill.

Easter Brunch Complete!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:57:00 +0000

What a whirlwind of weekend cooking! Stay tuned for pics coming very soon. Here's a hint of one of the highlights -- a handwritten recipe for cheese grits I found in my grandma's recipe box. A further teaser--it contains a pound of cheese and a stick and a half of butter. Paula Deen, take that!!

Easter Brunch Planning...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:33:00 +0000

So I spent yesterday trying to contain my excitement while I planned a menu for next weekend's Easter brunch. I'm cooking for a few friends, and, as usual, I can't wait to go all out (my husband: "you're doing too much;" me: "it's Easter!!") My good friend and downstairs neighbor Meredeth gave me this awesome brunch cookbook, Bubby's Brunch Cookbook, and although I've never visited the restaurant from which the book is derived, I think I would be a fan based on the recipes inside. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm planning for Sunday (and, of course, photos and videos of the ensuing insanity will be uploaded soon after):

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Biscuits Deviled Eggs (my grandma's--and, oh yes, they will be dyed beautiful Easter egg colors courtesy of PAAS)

Cheese grits (also a recipe I stumbled upon in my grandma's recipe box)

Silver dollar Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Glazed Ham

Asparagus Leek Frittata

And definitely all the mimosas and bloody marys one can drink. Sooo stoked!

Back in the saddle...er, kitchen...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:48:00 +0000

So I'm back. I know it's been awhile, but my New Year's resolution (I know it's March) was to begin blogging again. The truth is I spent all day yesterday cooking, which made me long to tell you lovely people how it all went. I tried out this Turkey Pozole soup recipe from the Today Show. I highly recommend it--it's relatively healthy (for those of us who are trying to be slaves to our Weight Watchers points), and very tasty. And we all know I have a soft spot (my belly, ha!) for anything related to Mexican fare. The recipe calls for turkey meat, so I took it upon myself to purchase a frozen turkey breast, which actually worked just fine (although it did clock in at 3 lbs, a little more than the 2 lbs. the recipe calls for). Just make sure your turkey meat is fully thawed (unlike mine)--it was definitely tough to get the browning going. More soon...hope you missed me and my musings on all things food!

Ladies' Night

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Every lady needs a ladies' night now and then to keep her sanity. Usually this involves meeting at a restaurant and chatting over a bottle (or three) of wine, but this time around, my friend Danielle suggested the more economical approach--cooking at home. Hence the Weehawken kitchen moved to Danielle's apartment in, well, Weehawken.

The dish of choice? Mac and cheese. And what's a stick-to-your-ribs hearty dairy bonanza if it doesn't come from the countess of cream herself, one Barefoot Contessa.

Listed as a "kids' recipe" in her Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook (who are you trying to kid here, Barefoot), this is the most indulgent whole-milk-and-cheese-explosion version of mac and cheese you'll ever need. For those who dare, here's the recipe.

To balance the meal, first we made a salad, and Danielle made some delicious eggplant croquettes (note them sitting on the stove adjacent to the QUART of whole milk warming up for the mac and cheese). Check out the recipe here.

Then we began the heavy eating, er, cooking. Katie started grating mountains of cheddar and gruyere as Emily drooled.

The hardest part of making this dish is at every step, you want to stop and taste the velvety smooth cheese love. It calls out as it's cooking, like a Siren. Here's Danielle sneaking one before we poured it into the baking dish.

Once I fended away the fellow females, I got the dish ready for the oven and "made" some (frozen) cheesy garlic bread. (I know, I know, but you can never have too much cheese).

By the time the buzzer went off, to say we were ready was an understatement.

Now as if the night could not get any better...

Over dinner, Danielle asked my opinion on Cablevision's (Weehawken's SOLE cable provider) decision to yank the Food Network. My inarticulate grumbly growl was the only response I could muster. At that moment (I kid not), Danielle got a text that Scripps and Cablevision had made up.

This called for a celebratory dance around the television.

Oh, Food Network, how I had missed you!!! I'll never again underestimate the joy in an all-day marathon Food Network cake challenge on a cold and lazy weekend.

Sidebar: Danielle and I share a love for our Weehawken kitchens. In her spare time, Danielle crafts the cutest refrigerator magnets, with everything from cuts of meat to fruits and veggies. Check out her Etsy store here and pretty up your kitchen.

40 Cloves of Garlic and Couscous--Not Your Mother's Fried Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:35:00 +0000

Jeff's parents came to visit this past weekend, and I love nothing more than cooking for the family. But cooking for those who have been cooking since before you were born (and someone who cooked for 3 boys!) is a daunting task. What did Jeff's dad want? Fried chicken. And Jeff's mom makes killer fried chicken. Where does this leave me? Good question.

Enter my hero (drumroll please), the Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten. In her Barefoot In Paris book, Ms. Garten gives a French alternative to the batter-fried American chicken (although there is NOTHING wrong with that)...make a creamy delicious sauce with cognac and an absurd amount of garlic. Need I say more? Check out the recipe here. (PS--to those of you planning to make this--the grocery store sells whole chickens that are already cut up--who knew?)

Here's my chicken frying, and Jeff's mom peeling the garlic (yes, all 40 cloves. She is a patient woman.)

One for me and...

Now, what to make with French chicken? Glad you asked. According to the Barefoot, Moroccan Couscous. Sounds pretty exotic, right? The combo of saffron threads and cumin filled the kitchen with an irresistible aroma, and the taste perfectly balanced the 40 cloves of garlic. Check out the veggie variety prior to roasting:

Here we are sitting down to dinner after the Saints victory against the Cardinals.

Geaux Saints!!! (Sidenote--the Weehawken Kitchen will be all New Orleans food all the time on Superbowl Sunday if the Saints win next weekend! Who dat!)

Cold Weather Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:11:00 +0000

My husband claims I have an aversion to chili. I don't really--it's just that his definition of chili is taking everything going bad in the refrigerator and putting it in a crock pot. Not so appealing, eh?

While Jeff complained to one of our friends (who is an amazing cook in her own right), she insisted on sending me a recipe to try out. I agreed to try it last weekend at my husband's urgings. It was delicious. Adding the fresh cilantro and basil at the end especially lightens and brightens the rich chili flavor.

Here's the recipe. It's an adaptation from the "Pinto Bean Chili" recipe in Great Good Food by Julee Rosso (Crown Publishers, 1993).

Olive Oil
2 Diced Onions
6 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 Pounds Lean Ground Beef
2 Teaspoons Paprika
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano
2 Tablespoons Chili Power
2 Cans Plum Tomatoes, Corarsely Chopped w/Their Juice
1 Chopped Red Bell Pepper
1 Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Chopped Orange Bell Pepper
3 Cups Beef Broth
3 Cans Pinto Beans (drained & rinsed) - NOTE: I only use canned b/c it's easier for me - you can use dried beans if you have the time to soak them overnight. In that case you're looking at 3 cups of beans
1/2 Cup Minced Fresh Basil
1/2 Cup Minced Fresh Cilantro

1. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the meat and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until browned. Sprinkle with the paprika, cumin, oregano, and chili powder, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomatoes, peppers, broth, and beans. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and simmer 2 1/2 hours.

2. Taste and adjust for seasoning; stir in the basil and cilantro.

I also add salt, pepper, extra chili powder and a little cayenne during the 2 1/2 hours simmering.

Now Jeff swears that where he's from (the Midwest), people eat peanut butter sandwiches with chili and dip them into the chili bowl. I think that sounds gross, but he insisted I put a picture of it in here.

He is one happy husband.

New Year's Eve with Kim and Chris

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:55:00 +0000

This year's New Year's Eve, rather than hosting a dinner here, we were invited over to our friends Chris and Kim's place.

My contribution--a raspberry cheesecake (recipe by guess who--Barefoot Contessa.)

Check it out, crust to raspberry topping.

A Very Merry (and filling) Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:39:00 +0000

After some party poppers (an old English tradition where we got our crowns), it was time for dessert.

Below is my mom's chocolate cake, Ms. Thea's apple pie, and my (or, rather, the Barefoot Contessa's) croissant bread pudding. Now I add a little touch to Ms. Ina Garten's near masterpiece--a whiskey sauce, in true New Orleans style. It's pretty easy--just throw butter, dark brown sugar, and whiskey in a pot and keep adding what each until the taste and consistency is right.

A Merry Christmas it was. Cheers to that.

The Sides and a Full Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:21:00 +0000

Here's the spread...

Barefoot Contessa's Parmesan Smashed Potatoes (recipe here)

Barefoot Contessa's Spinach Gratin (recipe here)

Ms. Thea's cornbread stuffing (I can't do everything! This was super-yummy. I'll try to get the recipe.)

Barefoot Contessa's Cranberry Conserve (recipe here, although I took out the raisins--not a fan.)

Naturally, it took a team of champions to get all this done. Here's Megan stirring...

And her sister Paige on the gravy train (every year she bails me out of gravy prison.)

Things got a little crowded.

To Brine or Not To Brine

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:51:00 +0000

The Marathon of Cooking continued into Christmas Day.

Last year, one of my coworkers was singing the praises of brining--oh how moist and flavorful his turkey was. So when I found a recipe for a brined turkey, I was all about it. All you had to do was soak the turkey overnight in a refrigerator with a brine that had a bunch of seasonings and salt. Easy, right? Ok, think about this for a minute--soak an 18 pound turkey overnight completely submerged in a liquid in a refrigerator. Right.

Thus began my fervent internet searches. What in the world will hold an 18 pound turkey and enough brine to completely submerge it that will also fit in the refrigerator? Then I found a recommendation that sounded reasonable--buy a styrofoam cooler that will fit in the refrigerator. Well, that worked fine...until the side broke off the styrofoam cooler and brine soaked the refrigerator floor and garage. Check it out.

Eventually I settled on brining the turkey breast side down in the roaster. Not completely submerged, but I couldn't take it anymore.

I'll tell you this, though. Not thinking, I left the turkey breast side down when I put it in the oven the next morning. Everyone was laughing when I took it out of the oven. Yet when we cut into it, it was the most moist turkey I've ever cooked. Brining or cooking it upside down? I can't tell you why it was so good, but I might just try both again!

Here's Jeff doing the carving honors!

The Meal and...Tres Leches!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:26:00 +0000

I guess my savory palmiers weren't that bad, as you can see my aunt caught in the act of snacking on them here. (Sidenote: the present on my lap from my cousin, Darren, here? John Besh's cookbook. Expect to see those recipes on here soon!)

Finally we sat down to dinner. Here's a snapshot. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

However, we definitely saved the best for last. Tres leches is far and away one of my favorite desserts of all time. Heck, my wedding cake was a tres leches cake. Yet I have always been afraid to try it myself. I have had dry tres leches cake before, and it is nothing nice. The first rule of tres leches is it has to be dense, soaked and full of rich dairy love. So I found this recipe in a recent Food & Wine, and despite my doubts, it was quite possibly one of the best desserts I've ever made.

Mmmm....what is not to love cake soaking in evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream topped off with rum?

The Fear of Phyllo and All Things Dough

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:01:00 +0000

I admit it--one of the reasons I picked the mixed green salad with goat cheese wrapped in phyllo dough (aside from the festive way that goat cheese resembled a little present) was to overcome my fear of phyllo. The last time I attempted to use the dough was disastrous--dough crumbling and breaking all around me. Now I was determined to at least get through the phyllo dough. Even if my goat cheese gifts didn't turn out that pretty, I had to prove to myself that all hope was not lost on phyllo. I very carefully set up my station of wet towels to cover the dough, melted butter, and the other tools advised by all the articles I had read on phyllo. And then I started.

And the result? Not bad, semi-acceptable. I'll take it.

So surely after my encounter with phyllo, I thought the puff pastry for my savory palmiers would be cake. So much so, that apparently I didn't read the recipe very well, and baked the pastry whole instead of slicing them and then baking. Y-eah.

They were a lot greasier as a result, and when I did slice them, I smushed them down. The "puffing" part of the "puff pastry" would have worked much better if I had actually followed the directions.

Pork Shoulder and Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:33:00 +0000

Without a spice grinder, we mashed up the rub for the pork the best we could--ziplock bag and hammer style. Yet I didn't get the powder I really wanted, so the pork rub had a few chunks of peppercorn and such. Ehh, flavor.

Here's my sister stirring up the garlic paste made from 6 (!) cloves of garlic with the half and half for the sauce to pour over the potatoes. The whole house smelled of roasted garlic--yum.

Off To Houston--Christmas Eve

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:45:00 +0000

Every family has their traditions, and in the past few years, I've cooked a formal dinner on Christmas Eve and then a full-on Thanksgiving-style food bonanza on Christmas Day.

This year for Christmas Eve, I chose a slow-cooked pork shoulder from Food & Wineas the main course; a Barefoot Contessa recipe for a mixed green salad with goat cheese wrapped in phyllo dough; another Barefoot Contessa recipe for Savory Elephant Ears as an appetizer; and a potato gratin with roasted garlic and manchego from Food & Wine as a side. I know what you're thinking--this is a lot of food. But, as a said in a previous post, there is a reason I started 2010 8 pounds heavier.

Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. So I recruited a sous chef, my sister, and we were off.

Fudge for the Office Folks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:15:00 +0000

One of my holiday traditions is to make fudge. I always use the recipe on the back of the Marshmallow Fluff jar. It's called "Never Fail" fudge, but for me, it's "Usually Doesn't Fail" fudge. (I have been known to burn the sugar in the past).

Anyhoo, when I was a kid, every year we would make fudge deliver it in Christmas bags to neighbors, school friends, and teachers. Now I've continued the tradition by making it every year for my coworkers. Each year they hem and haw about being on a diet, but ya know what? At the end of the day, the fudge is all gone. Here are a few fun pics. Note the Mexican vanilla left over from our wedding--good stuff.

Check out that stick of butter...mmm....

Beef Bourguignon for Mom and Aunt Reida

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:07:00 +0000

December began with a much-anticipated visit from my mom and my lovely Aunt Reida. As my friend (and fellow dinner guest) Katie proclaimed, nothing beats dinner with some sassy Southern ladies.

Ina Garten's version of Beef Bouguignon is (like most of her recipes), a simplified and amplified version of a classic, Ms. Julia Child's. Let's face the facts here, people--the Barefoot Contessa never fails.

The evening got off to a bit of a rocky start--I'm pretty sure we got the wrong cut of meat (below), and before I knew it, the kitchen was full of hungry people watching my every move and blocking the appliances. Add on top of that a cadre of paparazzi (my husband and mother), and I was fearing the worst.

Eventually the crowd dispersed, and Aunt Reida stuck around to keep me company. Thus she (thankfully) was the only one to bear witness when I nearly set the house on fire lighting the cognac in my Beef Bourguignon. It was impressive. I'm sure I wouldn't have been nearly as impressed if I did ignite the ceiling, but because I didn't, Reida and I share a fond memory of me with a butane lighter following the Barefoot's instructions to "STAND BACK," and then letting 'er rip with a 3 foot flame blazing from the top of the pot. I think our hearts skipped a beat, but it really was fun with fire. The photographers had since left the kitchen, so no photographic evidence exists (they did come running in when we started screaming, though.) Here's the final result.

And then I forgot my tomatoes in the oven. After the success of Julia Child's Tomatoes a la Provencale at my Julie & Julia dinner party, I thought they'd be no brainer home run for this shindig. When I finally remembered to take them out of the oven, they looked sad--saggy, runny, deflated like someone stuck a pin in them and drained out the joie de vivre that my dinner party tomatoes had. Here they are pre-oven (much prettier than the final product).

Luckily I also made the Barefoot Contessa's Garlic Mashed Potatoes, which was the hit of this meal (hello, 1 head of garlic. Garlic, like cheese, is something I can't live without. Seriously, I would put it my survival pack if ever I was banished to a remote desert island.

Here's the final meal on a plate.

Although the food turned out alright, the highlight of the meal was definitely the company. We had too much fun sitting around drinking wine and reminiscing. Here's to the next visit!

Good Gourd!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:53:00 +0000

In my adulthood, I have grown to love squash. I do have memories of my childhood turning my nose up at it and pushing it around on my plate, mashing it with a fork while muttering under my breath "squash the squash." But since then, I have grown to appreciate it's starchiness and versatility. You can do anything with different types of squash--roast them, stuff them, make ravioli. Nothing like a good gourd.

So when I saw some intriguing varieties of autumn squash at the store, I decided to make an all-squash dinner. I made Autumn Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce with stuffed mirlitons on the side (more on that later). Not sure what variety of squash this is (maybe kabocha?), but when I roasted it with fresh thyme, the kitchen smelled like fall. Delicious.

Here's what it looks like on the inside.

As for the stuffing of the wonton wrappers, I know this is the easiest way to make ravioli (I have tried to make and press pasta dough before--let's just say it will be awhile before I attempt that again). But even with this "ravioli for dummies method" I still manage to make ravioli that explodes in hot water, oozes out the sides, and basically self-destructs once I try to cook it. This attempt was no different. I know I get too excited about the filling and probably put too much in each one. But no one wants a wimpy ravioli with only a little filling, especially when it is roasted squash with vanilla beans and nutmeg. I managed to salvage a few to make the pic look pretty.

Now onto my stuffed mirliton...

Those of you not from New Orleans will know mirliton as chayote squash, but we like to speak a language all our own ("She lives across the neutral ground. When I was making groceries this morning, the clerk gave me an extra loaf of bread as lagniappe." neutral ground = median, making groceries = buying groceries, lagniappe = a little something extra.)

I used a recipe from a New Orleans cookbook I inherited from my grandmother's kitchen called La Bonne Cuisine. I can't find the same exact recipe online, but this one is pretty close. I had to eliminate the shellfish from my version, though, as the husband is allergic (bummer for him).

I'm not known for my dexterity with a knife, so (no shocker here), I destroyed a few of the mirlitons when I attempted to hollow them out to prepare for the stuffing. Oh well. The finished results may not have been as pretty, but were savory and rich (oh, my friend cheddar cheese, how great thou art).

At the end of the day, you don't taste food with your eyes, so if my meal was less than pretty, I'm ok with that. Squash dinner may be a repeat occurrence.

Holiday Highlights...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:18:00 +0000

With December comes insanity, and I haven't had a chance to post on all the cooking I did throughout the month and the holidays. Here are the highs (and a few lows) on the deliciousness of December. (And I wonder why I started 2010 8 pounds heavier--umm, check out one of my fave repeat desserts of Christmas trip--my mom's chocolate cake with Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream.)

Sidebar on Blue Bell--it really is "the best ice cream in the country," as they advertise. But, alas, it is not available in the Northeast, so I have no choice but to gorge myself on it when I am in Houston visiting the fam. This is a common theme for me in Texas--getting while the getting is good. I have been known to eat TexMex over several consecutive days, pile up large plates of barbeque brisket, and consume entire gallon tubs of Blue Bell over a 3-day visit (it doesn't travel well, so what are you going to do?).

Food Network vs. Cablevision

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:30:00 +0000

I promise there will be more cooking adventures coming very soon, but I had to express my support to the Food Network in the battle with Cablevision, who is unfortunately my current cable provider. Now, one never knows the true story, but the Food Network certainly has its finger on the pulse of what its fans are thinking.

After whining to my husband that I wouldn't get to see Michelle Obama on the super Iron Chef competition that kicked off the year, he found this.

All I can say is, we're getting Direct TV. Life without the Food Network is not an option at this point. Yes, Cablevision, I am willing to cut off my 7 years of service with you for one network. It is THAT important.

My Return and Cyndi's Goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:17:00 +0000

To any readers out there (if you do, in fact, exist), my apologies on my absence--I broke my foot and subsequently gave up cooking for the last few months. Here's a pic (courtesy of my husband who is a little obsessed with documenting everything).

Luckily, I recovered in time to send off my good friend Cyndi to LA the right way (no, not karaoke--that was a few nights earlier).

No, the final send-off was a vegan dinner party--which, if you are Cyndi, is awesome.

As I've alluded to before on this very blog, a vegan meal can have a bad connotation to us meat-eaters. But I was determined to create a tasty meal that all of us would enjoy, with or without meat and dairy. And, not to toot my own horn, but a tasty meal it was.

We started with a salad of celery, pear, and roasted hazelnuts. I combined two recipes, one of them being from Food & Wine. Instead of the cider vinegar, I used white balsamic vinegar, and I eliminated the whole grain mustard. Also I used olive oil instead of hazelnut oil, as Pathmark is not always my friend and partner in gourmet-type foods. Check me out rubbing the skins off my freshly roasted hazelnuts.

Next I cracked open Giada's Everyday Pasta and found a rigatoni recipe with roasted red peppers, almonds and breadcrumbs. It was a hit. Here I am roasting almonds. Seems to be a common theme in my trials of vegan cuisine--roasted nuts. (I could insert a vegan joke here, but I will spare it for the sake of offending my non-meat-eating friends, of which there are many.)

Ok, here's the gratuitous shot of the table. If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with pulling out the "good" china. So, I couldn't help myself here.

Following dinner, we had a toast of prosecco to properly send off Cyndi to the West Coast. We will miss you, Cyndi! There will always be a spot for you at the Weehawken Kitchen dinner table.

You know it's a good dinner party when your friends end up missing the bus and sleeping on the couch. I'd say my return to cooking (and blogging) was a success!

Just for the "Halibut"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:03:00 +0000

So after hours of julienning (butternut squash, leeks, zucchini), I cut my carefully measured parchment paper rectangles into hearts, and went about assembling.

I had way too many vegetables, and when I put the halibut on top and tried to fold over the paper, it didn't close. Typical. So I made my own adjustments and took yards of parchment paper, wrapping everything up (very carefully, so the steam didn't escape, like Anne said. No one wants dried out fish.)

When all was said and done (around 11:00 PM), the meal turned out ok, considering the preceding few hours. There wasn't really a dramatic steam escape when we opened our little parcels, but it wasn't dry, so maybe I did something right. Note to self, though: just because you know the secrets of a restaurant chef doesn't mean you can actually use them.

Saturday Night Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:34:00 +0000

I love the Food Network. I do. I love to watch Ina and Giada and all my faves make delicious and seemingly easy meals, and I say to myself, "I can do that!!"

More often than not, though, when I try to recreate their masterpieces, it goes, well, bit rockier than I anticipate.

Case in point: "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef"'s Anne Burrell's Halibut in Cartoccio.

One lazy Saturday, I sat on the futon and watched Anne fold up parchment paper around a mouthwatering filet of halibut on a bed of beautifully julienned vegetables. She poured a bit of white wine into the little creation wrapped up in the paper. It looked like such a special and fancy treat as she put it into the oven, telling us, her viewers hanging on her every word, how lovely it would be when you took it out and unwrapped the paper for a "wow" moment of escaping steam and fish cooked to perfection. How hard could it really be, right?

Uh-huh.

Since that episode, I've been waiting until a humid summer night to attempt the dish. I am a big fan of heavy food (I don't like being hungry), so for something as light as fish and vegetables, I like to wait until it's so hot outside that I can't bear the thought of lasagna or steak.

So Saturday night, I decided it was time. I told my husband not to snack, because the recipe said the fish only cooked for 8-9 minutes, so I just had to spend a few minutes prepping, and we would be good to go.

Two hours later, his stares were throwing daggers my way.

It all started with the julienn-ing. I know what a julienned vegetable is supposed to look like--long and skinny like matchstick potatoes. I get it. But there HAS to be an easy way to do it. I remembered seeing Ina, the authority for me on useful kitchen gadgets (she has a measurable pepper grinder!!), use her Cuisinart chopper with an attachment that I had that I never used. So I dug through my pantry and found the attachment, only to find that it had been put away slightly dirty and had a bit of rust starting. Genius that I am, I decided I could pick the rust off the blade with my thumb nail. Well, we all know what happened next.

Here I am trying to stop the bleeding.

After searching online for the owner's manual, which I couldn't find in the kitchen, I set up the attachment and got going--only to find that it chopped my zucchini, not julienned.

Finally I gave up and decided to julienne the old-fashioned way, with a knife. Which took FOREVER. Notice the alcoholic beverage and wrapped up thumb.

Magnolia Bakery Treats Topped off by the Jersey Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:18:00 +0000

After dinner, I brought out some goodies that I picked up at Magnolia Bakery by the office. Since we're always eating Magnolia's cupcakes for office birthdays, I thought I'd try something different, including red velvet cheesecake, vanilla cheesecake, a brownie, flourless chocolate cake, and, best of all, a cookie filled with a rich cream. That was the hit of the desserts.

The highlight of the evening, though, was not the cream-filled cookies, the Daniel Boone wine, or even the truffle-infused olive oil. It was an unbelievably spectacular sunset. Say what you want about Jersey, but I haven't seen a sunset like this since our honeymoon in Fiji.

Thank you Katie and Anthony for a delicious meal, good times, and a great evening!

Field Trip: Jersey City

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Friday night, Jeff and I hopped on NJ Transit to Jersey City to see our friends Katie and Anthony for dinner.

The two of them recently got back from a trip to Italy, where, among other goodies, they purchased a bottle of truffle-infused olive oil. If that doesn't sound like bottled deliciousness, I don't know what does.

Anthony cooked up some whole-wheat pasta with vegetables fresh from the JC Farmer's Market, including a strangely shaped yellow squash. Now, if you're like me, a strangely shaped Jersey squash is just SCREAMING for jokes. But, it was so tasty, that I can't justify making wisecracks about Jersey water or genetic mutation resulting from Jersey soil (Sorry, sometimes I just can't resist.)

Here it is, showcased with a few bottles of red wine (you can tell this was early in the evening).

Anthony cooking up goodness:

Here's how it looked on the plate: