Chicken in Morel Sauce

The New Years Eve/Day weekend is always a pretty crazy time for me and my coworkers. The work we do is very deadline oriented, and a lot of deadlines come in around the 3rd or 4th, which means the days leading up to those deadlines are ridiculous. This has - in tandem with my own reluctance to set myself up for disappointment - in past years led me to simply stay in on New Years Eve. Last year a nice balance was struck when I joined M. and A. and S. and A.'s family in the country. I was able to enjoy myself and feel like I was part of a group, but without the crazy crowds or, let's face it, the expectation that I would be kissed as I rang in the new year...and also with the ability to get up relatively early and get down to doing some work. So I was glad when I learned that M. and A. were once again going to be on the east coast for 2012, and happily joined the same bunch for another new years weekend. I arrived Friday evening, just moments before they sat down for dinner. M. and A. had made chicken in Madeira cream sauce with morel mushrooms. It was delicious. Delicious! We also had a salad and cheese course, but I was too busy enjoying it to photograph it.

Grower Champagne and Truffle Dinner c/o McCrossen's

In the last days of 2011, LW and I made our way to McCrossen's for their big champagne and truffle event. We arrived on time, but a lot of other folks didn't, so I ended up getting a glass of wine while we killed time. This was a nice red, I liked it very much.
Eventually it was go-time. The first course was Champagne Thierry Triolet, NV paired with a roasted sea scallop with citrus, Bordier seaweed butter and julienne truffles. I believe LW said of the first champagne "it tastes like money" but that may have been the second? I took photographs of most of the bubbly, but they all looked pretty much the same, so I'm not bothering. The scallop was similar to other scallop dishes we've had at the cheese/wine/food events. Good, but not quite hot...like it was one of the first plated, but last to be taken out or something. Still tender and tasty, but I would have liked it more if the temperature had been up just a bit. Of all the courses, this was the one where the truffle element didn't come through quite as much. For me, anyways.
Next up was a Champagne Brut Reserve, Henri Billiot Fils. Paired with Coeur de Cochon Pithivier with creamed salsify and Perigueux sauce. The sauces on all of these dishes were off the hook. It doesn't look like a lot in any of the photos, but each slurp or scoop was just rich, rich goodness personified. Only not personified. Foodified.
Hearty and rich, wonderfully flaky outside. Mmm. I think I may have literally used one of my fingers to get the last of the sauce from the plate to my belly.
On to the Champagne Brut "Tradition," Gaston-Chicquet paired with sauteed foie gras with picked prunes, Sauce Foyot and sliced truffles. I'm a sucker for foie gras, so it probably won't come as any big surprise that this was my favorite course. I also liked the prune element, as I'm most familiar with foie being paired with cherries or balsamic...or both in some combo, so trying something slightly new and different was neat-o. Rich. Fatty. Melty madness. Just. So satisfying.
The final course was Champagne Rose de Saignee Brut, Rene Geoffroy, and went along with Wild Scottish Pheasant "Demi-Deuil" with potato fondant and truffles. The potato fondant. My goodness me. LW asked T. what he had done to them, and he said something about cooking them in butter for six hours. This made me laugh and laugh, partially because of the champagne, and partially because of course butter made it so good...but also of course if I tried to cook potatoes in butter for six hours, I would get nothing like the results of this dish. Butter is your friend, but only if you know how to wield it. Because we all wield friends. The pheasant was plentiful and tender. Perhaps not my favorite game/fowl, but that's a reflection of my preferences.
Last up were assorted desserts including pistchio brittle, a truffle, a macaron, and something else. I was so stuffed and champagne giddy by this point that I didn't really have the wherewithal to properly investigate. I recall the brittle being tasty and crunchy. I need to develop a better appreciation of macaroons, so many other people love them and yet I'm just sort of 'meh.'
A whirlwind. It was very cool to try some above average champagnes, and the dishes that shined, shined bright. Thanks to the whole McCrossen's staff for a great meal and evening.

Work Meals and Dragon Flight

The free lunches kept rolling at work. This particular day was hot and sour soup and some chicken dish. The dragon really wanted to bathe itself in the thick viscosity of the soup, but lost control in its approach, ultimately parting with a wing. Soup dreams dashed.
The next day, however, the dragon was renewed and had far more success when landing on my salad from Luigi's (complete with fried zuchini sticks).
The dragon really is a little sneak and a mooch. Always getting bites of my meals. But what has it ever done for anyone! Nothing. Just sits and stares at me til lunch time. That's it.

Onion Soup c/o McCrossens

At some point I also went to McCrossen's with LW. I ordered their onion soup with tripe. I haven't really ever tried tripe. This mostly just tasted like an above average french onion soup, didn't really pick up on a new taste, positive or negative. Which then begs the question, if you try tripe but your tongue doesn't really register it, have you really tried tripe?

Primo's Hoagie

The busy work times continued. At some point I enjoyed this hoagie from primo's. From the look of it, it's probably a 'Big T' with pickles, long hots, tomato and mayonnaise. I don't remember being disappointed.

Night Flying

The day after Christmas I worked, then we all visited an old friend of my father's and his wife ... and their GREAT DANE DOG. Then we regrouped at NCC's before all piling into a car to deliver me to the airport. There was a little delay between when I was supposed to depart and when we actually did, but it wasn't too bad. I like night flying. It's all dark and cozy. It's much easier to forget that you're surrounded by strangers thousands of feet in the air when all the lights are off. Unless, of course, you look out the window and take photographs.

I have no idea what state this is, or why so many lights were still on so late in the evening. Humanity really is weird from above.

Christmas Dinner

For Christmas dinner NCC cooked a standing rib roast and grilled asparagus...and made rolls. I contributed slightly by mashing up some garlic mashed potatoes. It was a good holiday meal.

Christmas Breakfast

After a rousing round of present opening and mimosas, we enjoyed bacon and sausage and monkey bread. Then I think I pretty much took a nap until dinner.

Christmas Eve Dinner

I flew into Greensboro on Thursday night. During my work day I got a text from NCC about the status of her house and while I understood the words, I didn't really understand what the picture would be once I got there. Said another way, NCC let me know that they had a pipe explode earlier that morning, which resulted in copious amounts of free falling water spilling out and all over, seeping from the second floor's floor to the first floor's ceiling. The result was three big machines and lots of little tubes sucking out moisture from the first and second floors. I meant to take a lot of photographs of this situation, but got accustomed to it so quickly that I never actually took those series of photos. The most proof I have is this...me making friends with the alien tube that extended from a new whole in the kitchen ceiling.
On Christmas Eve day, after the lunch and visit, we returned to the house and I think I took a serious nap. I napped like I never napped before, I tell you. And I awoke to the always wonderful smell of a long cooking pork shoulder. I forget what J. had said or done to warrant her mother giving her the middle finger, but it was entertaining.
Getting a photograph of J. properly smiling when you ask her to smile is a challenge I have yet to meet, but taking a photograph of her smiling when her mother's hamming it up is quite a bit easier.
This is usually more how it goes.
NCC and J. were watching their neighbors' dogs over the holidays, which was great because that meant they had an auxiliary oven. NCC had diligently prepared the dough for a "monkey bread" and had popped it into that oven, forgetting that the neighbors' oven simply wasn't as nice as her own. This resulted in the tragedy of a good monkey bread gone bad. NCC really didn't want me to take a photograph, but I did anyways. Though it was blackened on top, it was still a pretty thing - you could imagine quite easily what it could have been.
So the dinner that night was pork shoulder a la NCC based on my amazingly non-specific recipe for the same. What? I'm at a mechanic's and I stayed up too late last night, you should be amazed that I'm writing full sentences at all.
A nice little salad.

Dad and me after dinner. You will note that my dress's belt is unbuckled due to how full I was. I'm a sexy beast.

Salad c/o Filling Station

Other than doing work and hanging out with my Dad, NCC and J., I didn't really have much on my agenda for my brief Greensboro trip. The only added thing that needed to be done was meeting up with my cousin, S., for lunch. We decided a Christmas Eve lunch at a New Orleans-themed restaurant was the way to go, but neither of us actually checked to see if it was open. I walked there - just a little over a mile - which was the only thing resembling exercise I did the entire trip. It quickly became apparent that the place was closed, but there were a few other restaurants at this specific intersection, so when S. arrived we just went to the Filling Station instead. I became very excited when I saw a salad that included fried oysters, then became very disappointed when our server told me that they were all out of oysters. I went with a salad sans oysters, which was certainly the healthy choice ... but not as satisfying as the fried oyster salad I had already begun to dream about.
S. and I weren't cousins that really grew up together. I think I met her once when I was very small and then not again until many a year later, at a relative's wedding when I was still in college. We share an interest in writing, so we've kept in touch. She only recently returned to Greensboro after a few years' stint in New Orleans. It was good to catch up, talk about writing and jobs a little and enjoy a pint or two of beer. Afterwards we walked to another cousin's house and met up with Dad, NCC and J. at M. and A.'s house. M. and A. have border collies. I'm sorry, but border collies are crazy dogs.
Way too smart and weird for their own good.
A nice visit was had. M. had made self-published books of her mother's 1940s/50s/60s recipes, which I enjoyed seeing very much...it's fascinating how the average concept of dinner has changed. I also now have a booze-filled punch recipe that would serve 50. I wish I knew 50 to serve booze-filled punch.

Mac n' Cheese Night, Slightly Adult

In an era before this blog existed, I lived in Red Hook, New York. Not the Brooklyn Red Hook but the country Red Hook. I lived there for about two years after I graduated from college because my boyfriend at the time still had some schooling to finish up and I loved him and wanted to stick around. I also had no idea what to do with my life, so living in the country and working at a sheep farm seemed like a pretty good plan. Of course, many of my closest friends went on to greater things after graduation. Is that true? Not really. Sort of. A lot of people actually stuck around - K., C., P., and A.&R. among them. In any case, I soon found that while I lived close to campus, I didn't really want to spend time there...but I did still want to have friends and drink with them. So I created what became a pretty regular event for at least a year: Adult Macaroni and Cheese Night. No, this wasn't a night with penis-shaped pasta or porn. My thought was that it was 'adult' because I used at least four or five different kind of fancy cheeses in this mac n' cheese (sometimes bacon), and there would always be booze. This event also solidified some acquaintances into deeper friendships. K., for example, is someone I had always known, but didn't really totally befriend til he started being a regular. E. often arrived early and helped me grate the cheese while we watched rerun episodes of Buffy on my pirated cable. At its prime I think I had about 6-10 people showing up to my house on Mondays. We always made our way through two Dutch ovens of the pasta (I soon began making one of mac n cheese and one of baked ziti) and at least one bottle of Smirnoff vodka. Often enough someone would bring beer to boot. It was a lot of fun, those times. Maybe a little too saturated in fat and alcohol...but we were young. In any case, once I left that location and time in my life, I didn't really continue making what at least one person has called 'the best macaroni and cheese of my life.' It fell by the wayside in grad school, where instead wine nights usually featured copious amounts of cheese and other types of snacks. All to say that a few years back I did make the dish for C. and J. And when it was decided that my father and I would join them for Christmas this year, young J. (who recently got into her top college choice!) requested that for one of our meals I create the dish that I had made once before for them 'lo so many years ago. And that I did do on Friday night.
Paired with a helping of broccoli to make us all feel better (Dad had arrived in the later afternoon).
I'd say I hadn't completely lost my touch, and it certainly made me think about those early aughts in Red Hook and the many folks whom I hung out with then, and still hang out with now...and those I don't. The whole bunch of them were in my mind. This was, of course, a much more subdued mac n' cheese occasion, but we were certainly all adults. In addition to her college success, J. also turned 18 the day before. It's weird that I remember her being born and being a wee one and now she's, like, a fully formed person.

Nachos and Reuben Burger c/o Natty Greene's

On the Thursday before Christmas I flew down to Greensboro, where NC Catherine and J. picked me up and drove me back to their place. After some visiting we all went to bed. The next morning I woke up early to get some work done (busy season negates possible vacation days around the holiday). At a certain point I was pretty caught up and then the three of us went to Natty Greene's for lunch. I totally forget which variety of beer I chose to try. Something light and not too hoppy. Something that pleased my palate. Ugh. Memory fail.
We all shared 'The Big Nasty," a walloping pile of nacho goodness properly adorned with a festive holiday cap of sour cream and a red tortilla.
I chose to go with the special burger of the day, the Reuben Burger. Except instead of Swiss cheese I chose cheddar. It was ok, but not outstanding. The sauerkraut didn't have too much of a tartness to it and I could barely taste the corned beef or Russian dressing.
Still and all, a good meal and a nice break from the work load.

Last Minute Plan Brigade c/o Tria and Varga

Some time in December I was at home, all cozy with a new hair cut and plans to make chocolate chip peanutbutter cookies while watching Vampire Diaries, when my phone rang. It was BC, who recently moved to Philly and whom I have veritably stalked with suggestions for last minute things she might enjoy doing. She was calling to throw a LMP my way, as another high schoolian was going to be in town and they were planning on meeting up. Though the cookie/vampire plan was still very appealing, I thought it might be good for me not to sink so softly into that kind of comfy when conversation and new places beckoned. In the end I met up with BC and LS at Tria, where I enjoyed a glass of '06 Nebbiolo Blend and '09 Malevolent Kaiken Malbec. We then decamped to Varga Bar, where beer was enjoyed and we tried three of their snackies: fried pickles, fried calamari and the sliders.
The calamari was above average in its breading flavor and tender crispiness.
The sliders, which I had once before so long ago, held up pretty well to my memory of them.
This was a blackout stout I enjoyed. I managed not to blackout. Though I did end up going to the Bards and meeting up with LW.
And looking like this.
And this: Drunky McSquinty Face. I got a new hair cut that afternoon, and was reasonably pleased with the impact it had on, um, me?

Drinks and Such c/o This Place and That

On a Friday some time before Christmas A.S. and I made a plan to go to El Rey for happy hour. The problem with that plan is that we wanted to go around 5:30 ish, but the establishment was having a private shin dig, which we didn't know about until we were both already in Center City. We regrouped and went to Tank Bar instead and thoroughly enjoyed their happy hour. I went with peach flavored martinis. Judge me. After that we met up with LW at The Bards, but it was too crowded. So we regrouped and finally got our margarita and taco fix on at El Rey, but not at happy hour rates. AS had the nachos.
I believe I had the chicken tacos. We both enjoyed margaritas.

December Cheese, Wine and Foooooood

Well, hello there. It's been a while and I have quite a lot to report since my last real entry. I wish I was one of those people who could just jump ahead, but I'm not. I'm diligent like that. And perhaps slightly compulsive. Who knows. In any case, a little bit before the Christmas time holidays (the 14th of December, to be exact), LW and I made our way to McCrossen's for that month's cheese/wine/food event. The theme of the wines this time around was that they were all sparkling, which was exciting because I love me some sparkling wine/champagne. It's been so long I don't have much to say about it. I think I had tried two out of the four cheeses, so I wasn't as surprised by each pairing or discovering new things in that regard. I enjoyed the sparkling combos. The first course was a Prosecco di Valdobbiadene "Crede" from Italy paired with Humboldt Fog as the cheese and Emerald Cove Oysters with spicy pickled cucumber as the food. You can't go wrong with Humboldt Fog, it's a good cheese.
I loved the look of the oysters, but the spicy cucumber element didn't pop too much and I wasn't overly fond of the Emerald Cove variety. LW thought perhaps they were past their prime, as they had more of a fishy note than a salty one. I agreed that they were a bit on the fish side, but couldn't determine if that was simply how they tasted or not.
The next pairing was Blanquette de Limous "Le Bercau," from Domaine de Martinolles. I remember digging this one, but I can't tell you anything about it. The cheese was Gorgonzola Cremifacato, and new to me. I think I was surprised by it...creamier or smoother than what I usually associate with a Gorgonzola. Or creamier in a different way? I really need to start taking notes.
The food pairing of this section was roasted jumbo sea scallop with orange, tomato and bordier seaweed butter. Of the dishes served that night, I think this was the most successful. Crisp flavors, nice sauce, perfectly tender scallops.
This, I believe, was the Delice de Bourgogne, a French cheese I often choose when trying to impress people with an above average triple-creamy cheese. Though it wasn't a revelation, it was nice to have a mouthful. It was paired with Cava Brut, Avinyo, of which I can tell you nothing.
The food entry here was Delice Risotto with chanterelles and truffles. Creamy and rich, but not altogether mind blowing.
The last cheese was Rush Creek Reserve and was paired with Vino Spumante Brut Rose, another Italian entry. The food was Wild Boar Ragu with handmade gnocchi and nutmeg. I took a few pictures of the dish but it really didn't lend itself to photographs, or at least not the photographs I was capable of taking.
While I wouldn't say this was my favorite wine/cheese/food event, I will say that it was relatively smooth sailing as far as the turnaround time between courses, which can be a little long. I understand why, of course, as Rocco and Lauren -the cheese monger and sommelier respectively- come around to each table to talk about their picks, which is totally cool but sometimes leads to long delays between the time you've gotten the drink/food and they talk about it...or between the time you hear about it and you get the next one. On the whole it seems like they're ironing that out pretty well.

Apologies and Promises

Apologies for the long delays between posts, dear five people who read my blog :) Work has been very go-go-go these days, and then there were the holidays. I plan on trying to make a dent in my backlogged meals soon. Don't give up on me. No matter where I go. You will find me. What? I just bastardized a movie quote - can you guess which movie?

Best of 2011: Meal Edition

Another year is wrapping itself up and I've been meaning to cobble together a look back on some of the meals I enjoyed most throughout the year. I finally sat down to do so was struck by what seemed to be a lack of new places to choose from this year, as it seems I relied more on a few old standbys. There are, of course, some notable exceptions to that general trend. I also found that the meals I enjoyed most that weren't out on the town usually were not created in my own Philadelphia kitchen, but in the country kitchen of M. and S. , which makes a fair amount of sense; I feel more connected to my own cooking abilities when I'm in a kitchen with enough counter space and outlets that I don't feel like I'm bumping into myself every ten seconds. As I looked back I remembered all sorts of activities that, while not being the best meals I enjoyed, were certainly memorable and meaningful moments. Perhaps one year I'll create a list of those top events ... but perhaps not. In either case, happy holidays to one and all and happy new year to boot!

The jerk chicken I so enjoyed in Jamaica last year was succulent, juicy and made all the more special by being consumed on a lounge chair right by the sea in 80 degree weather. You could count on me to be queuing up for my fair share each lunch time day.
Pho usually makes the list, but this year ushered in the era of Ha Saigon as king of the Philly pho joints, as far as I'm concerned. A little bit more of a trek than the Washington Ave. locations, its staff and pork rolls just added value to its already sumptuously beefy broth.
Hanging out with my erstwhile friend G. introduced me to at least two veggie-friendly restaurants, but I particularly enjoyed the extremely intimate experience of Hardena (maybe six tables total in a very cramped, non-descript space) - as well as its obscenely bountiful buffet plates. I keep meaning to go back to try their satay.
While I wasn't 100% wowed by their generous portion of scallops, D'Mitri's grilled octopus appetizer was some of the most tender and flavorful that I've had in my lifetime.
Another annual favorite that pops up is softshell crabs, and this year was no exception. I very much enjoyed frying a gaggle of these guys up in order to introduce them to L. and Fatty during our early Spring country soujourn.
The country made another appearance when I went up there solo for the July 4th holiday times. Did I cook skewers for six when I was just one? Yes I did. But were the two different kinds - Chipotle/Coca Cola and Soy Sauce/Garlic/Ginger/Lime/ - a revelation to me, even though I was the one who made them up to begin with? Yes.
My father's and my omakase experience at Morimoto may have been a challenge to my camera adjusting abilities and stretched my ability to appreciate neon and white leather, but the food itself was no joke. I particularly enjoyed this salmon morsel - as well as the sushi, of course.
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when L. and I made our way to Manhattan for my first-ever ramen experience at Ippudo...but this meal surpassed whatever expectations I might have had. The rich, fatty pork broth and tender pork and spring noodles. Oh man. Just thinking about it makes me want it.
While my summer adventure with M. featured copious meals worth of a nod, I think the one that stood out the most was our extremely early-bird dinner at Au Pied de Cochon, especially our foie gras dish served simply with balsamic and bread. Though her steak tartar was not anything to turn your nose up at either.
Though one of my two early birthday beach adventures was derailed by Hurricane Irene, I can say that the one b-day dinner that I was able to enjoy at Fin's was quite something. The rockfish was a revelation and the company fantastic....I was also quite glad to try my first (and so far only) pickle martini.
While sometimes the lighting of restaurants prevents me and my limited skills from really taking the best of photographs, the food is still worth applauding. In this case, it was Cochon's charcoute garni - with its nicely grilled and slightly smoked pork ribs, backed up with sausage, pork belly and sauerkraut - that suffered the wrath of my camera ineptitude. It may not look like much, but it was good stuff indeed.
I log enough time and spend enough money at McCrossen's that it would be a damn shame if I wasn't recognizing and appreciating the place. I especially enjoyed the monthly cheese/wine/food pairings that T., L. and R. concoct for their guests. But it was this Rabbit "Porchetta" with speck, swiss chard, PX and lavender dish that really just blew my brains - and palate - away. The man knows his way around the kitchen, the woman knows her way around a cellar, and the other man knows his way around a cheese cave. Or something. Kudos.

Brunch at Bolete was another country meal I enjoyed quite a lot. The fried oysters had flavor and crispiness, the eggs perfectly cooked but still runny, the sauce delightful and not too heavy. There's something comforting about a restaurant of this caliber seemingly capable of thriving outside of a heavily urban environment.
I went to Modo Mio a lot this year, more than I really realized until I paged through the blog. And once I went through it all I was confused about which meal I wanted to highlight the most. There was that especially splendiferous raviolo, bursting with yolky goodness but there was also the greatness of a simple amatriciana with tomato and pancetta. In the end, however, I decided to go with what was freshest in my mind and most delectable on my tongue: the complimentary special beef cheek ravioli from my meal there just last month. Or earlier this month, maybe.
And that's the list for this year. Thanks to all who contributed to each one of the dining experiences that so tickled my tongue, warmed my heard and soothed my belly. I already have a few ideas of places I'd like to try in the new year, and hope that I will be just as amazed in the next 365 days as I did over the last ones.

You can see past years' wrap ups here: 2010, 2009, 2008.