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genericeric

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Everything posted by genericeric

  1. Two dinner parties, two nights in a row. Friday was a Pea Salad with Spinach Mint Pesto Pistachio and creme fraiche from Apricot Lane farm (Sancerre), Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with carrots and asparagus (Stone Tower Hogback Mountain from NoVA), and a Citrus-sented Barsac Sabayon over fresh berries (Pineau des Cherantes). The first two I make quite often and are hits ever time. The Sabayon was new - next time I'd cut the sugar, but the sweetness was offset well by the berries. I inverted the ratio of berries to cream that is shown in the recipe picture linked. Saturday started with cocktails and Foie Gras Macarons from the Eleven Madison Park cookbook. Excellent flavors but the macarons became soggy within minutes of touching the foie mousse. Winter Citrus Salad with Pistachio and Castelvetrano Olives (Erbaluce) sounded like such an odd combination was but knock-out good. Braised Pork with Prunes and Citrus (git link) (Tenuta Terre Nere Etna Rosso - a fantastic pairing) was easily the best dish I've made in months. Finished with chilled port and melon, which I commonly serve after a heavy meal and when I run out of capacity to cook and entertain. A fair amount of trying new recipes went into the planning for this meal, but I was thrilled to get two new recipes to add to the permanent roster. On the menu for tonight - take out!
  2. Broccoli and Lettuce Salad with Huck's Accidental Ranch, from Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon, lightly adapted. Roast broccoli for 15 minutes, toss over baby romaine, add sliced green onion, pine nuts (I used sliced almonds), a squirt of lemon juice and some homemade ranch - 2 mayo, 1 buttermilk, garlic powder and green onion. Hopefully Ms. McKinnon will forgive me for topping with some sliced grilled chicken.
  3. Following the Super Bowl gluttony, I lightened things up with Sweet and Sour Eggplant with Garlic Chips (gift link). I did add some chopped red pepper to the mix about half way through the eggplant cook and served over basic jasmine rice. Delicious and on the table in ~20 minutes.
  4. Swordfish briefly marinated in lemon, evoo, s/p, seared with a pat of butter, a few capers and more lemon juice. Asparagus and mashed squash. I wish swordfish didn't have as much mercury, I could eat a swordfish BLT every week (I guess if I care about mercury I should check myself on the bacon...) Super Bowl included this Bacon-Cheddar dip which was fine, a little too indulgent but when eaten with fresh vegetables was good enough. My first attempt at making Buffalo Wings at home was somewhat successful. I'm not sure I would call these "ultra crispy" but for a wing that wasn't fried, it was worth the effort.
  5. Ludo Lefebvre's Carrot Salad (gift link) is one of those recipes that looks much more impressive on the plate than it is challenging to make, and it gets rave reviews every time. There are a number of components, but most can be pre-made to an extent with the final product assembled right before serving family style. Last night was a more-or-less standard chicken noodle soup with Jenn Segal's Ham Sliders. Nothing earth-shattering but fed 6 in under an hour for about $40 all in, meaning the food was significantly less expensive than the Georges Vernay Condrieu it was served with...
  6. I'd love to take them and would happily pay shipping, but no worries if there is other interest. Thanks!
  7. Delayed post with the holiday activity ramping up... Hosted a Friendsgiving for Foodies two weeks ago. Started by stuffing some small sweet peppers with a mix of stovetop stuffing, minced jalapeno, and cheese, then topped with more cheese and broiled. Surprisingly good. Then did mashed potato croquettes with a molten gravy center and cranberry dipping sauce. It's Friendsgiving, calories counts were abandoned... Main course was a turkey ballotine from Food and Wine. De-boning a turkey is no joke, and I don't believe it can be done by reading text instructions. This youtube video did a decent job of walking through the process, which took me over an hour, and left me with a bird that looked like it had been mauled by a pit bull, but WAS deboned and still intact. The stuffing itself was so-so, next time I would add some acid or perhaps dried fruit, but after drying the skin overnight and roasting, this had some serious crackle. It was impressive and unique, and I'll never do it again! Also sous vide a whole beef tenderloin - 138 deg for about 2 hours until my Meater said it was at temp, then seared off in a pan with a port wine reduction sauce. Served with hasselback creamed potatoes and a brussels sprout salad. Poured a 1993 savennieres, a delightful chenin that I forgot to write down before the bottle was tossed, and a Sta Rita Hills Pinot. Dessert was my first attempt to cook out of the Eleven Madison Park cookbooks, which I've owned for years and was too intimidated by to cook from. I made the Chocolate Palette with Peanut Butter and Popcorn Ice Cream. This dessert took me most of two solid days to cook. The palette was layered with peanut butter shortbread, a chocolate peanut butter mousse with sweet crispy french crepes (like the crispy kitkat filling but... better), a salted caramel layer, and some peanut butter chocolate situation, then draped with liquid chocolate that hardened when cooled. Served with a homemade peanut caramel corn, popcorn ice cream (which I will make again, daaaaamn), a cocoa nib syrub, caramel corn powder, topped with a chocolate curl, and gold leaf. There were about 10 times I was ready to walk away from this dessert, but it was fantastic. Served with a Schloss Johannisberg Trockenbeerenauslese. Then I ate salad for three days straight.
  8. With friends in town for the fantastic Steve Martin and Martin Short performance on Sunday evening, dining options were limited. Bookbinders has a bit of a reputation for being your grandparent's special occasion restaurant, so we hadn't been before. The crowd at 5:15 on a Sunday was... non-existent. The hostess could not have been more clear that she didn't love her job so we made our way to the bar to wait for our guests, and had two well-made cocktails (with tip, $44. It's the going rate these days it seems). The decor is dated, the menu's are worn and dirty, the servers wear branded shirts. The Jumbo Lump Crab Cake ($22) appetizer was comically small, and was definitely backfin crab meat. But then our entrees came. My Herb-grilled Swordfish with white beans, arugula and bacon jam ($35) was marvelous. My wife's grilled salmon with white wine and citrus was similarly well received. Our friends split Cider-Glazed Double Cut Pork Chop with Caramelized Apples ($38) and declared it the best pork chop they'd ever had. Wine list markups are in the 'hard to swallow' range and I'm fairly sure the desserts are out of a freezer box, but I'll be honest, next time I need a nice place on a Sunday night, I'd be tempted to stick to the entrees and revisit.
  9. After having a fantastic dish of grilled swordfish topped with bacon jam over a broth with white beans and greens (Bookbinders in RVA) over the weekend, I tried making myself last night with promising results, though it still needs tweaking. Onion, garlic, celery, thyme soften for a few minutes, wilted some greens, then boiled in chicken broth for 15 minutes. Squeezed in some lemon juice and parmesan, topped with crispy pancetta. After I dished up for my non-spice loving companion, added a few healthy glugs of tabasco. Served with parmesan toasts. Overall it was a solid B effort, but I made the classic mistake of tasting for seasoning before I topped with pancetta and without the toast, which boosted the salt level more than I would normally like. Next time I'll know... Note: Could easily be vegetarian without the pancetta and using veg broth.
  10. We saw Steve Martin and Martin Short's latest touring show last night, and it was two of the most entertaining hours I may have ever seen. Set up as sort of a variety show, it is part stand up, part conversation, part look back, and part music concert. I've known of Steve Martin's banjo hobby for some time but he's an amazingly talented musician, and the bluegrass interlude they had was top notch. Hard to remember these guys are in their mid-70's (except they frequently poke fun at their age during the show). If you have a chance and are into that sort of thing, I'd highly recommend finding a ticket (our show was completely sold out).
  11. Fresh flounder was on sale at Whole Foods - 2:1 ratio of parmesan to bread crumb, a little lemon zest and garlic. Salad with honey citrus vinaigrette. Not a bite left and took <15 minutes.
  12. Last night was a turkey burger recipe from NYT. Simple and straightforward, but was the first time I've had a turkey burger that didn't have that turkey tang to it - these were delicious. Since its behind a paywall, its just a pound of ground turkey, 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp grated onion, 1 tbsp worcestershire, salt and pepper.
  13. I cook from Jenn Segal all the time and for some reason had never made her Beef Stew with Carrots and Potatoes until last night, which is the top ranked recipe on her site. It was a really good beef stew. I think there are probably limits for how good a dish like beef stew can be, but if in the market for a recipe, this was a good one.
  14. Longoven, 2 time winner of Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurant Award, has closed in Scott's Addition. In the article, one of the partner's cites a lack of support from Richmond for the restaurant. Personally, I felt the restaurant lost a step after Covid and the partners started exploring other opportunities, including a yakitori restaurant at Veil Brewery and the Italian restaurant that started in, and eventually took over, the Longoven space. I hope a similar concept, albeit with better execution, takes root in Richmond. I do think the support exists if the experience can match the price point.
  15. Was cooking for a potato and wine situation on Sunday night for some friends. Some dishes were less successful, but Anthony Bourdain's vichyssoise from Les Halles was absolutely delicious and not terribly difficult to make. I did use the recommended additional broth to thin it a bit, but was a great indulgence on a warm day. Paired well with the 2020 Michael Shaps L'Accord (65% Chard, 35% Aligote) Speaking of indulgences... I decided to combine a fondant potato and a Croque Madame, which turned out surprisingly well. Made a Mornay Sauce with Gruyere and spooned some onto the plate, then topped with a small round of french ham. On top of the ham went the potato fondant, and an over-easy quail egg. I was a little hesitant about the Cote Du Rhone Villages pairing but it worked nicely.
  16. Dinner party Saturday night started with some basic canapes - salmon with whipped cream cheese and fresh dill, and seared, thinly sliced steak with a gorgonzola cream and balsamic glaze (prosecco). Salad was the always fantastic spring snap peal salad with spinach pistachio pesto and creme fraiche from Apricot Lane Farms (Bott Geyl Points Cardinaux Métiss Alsace). Entree was Ina Garten's Baked Rigatoni with Lamb Ragu and some roasted broccoli with pine nuts and parmesan (Chateau de Segries Secret de la Grange Lirac). Dessert was another Ina - chocolate terrine over orange sauce, garnished with candied kumquats, which were a pain in the rear to make but turned out delicious and cut nicely through the richness of the terrine (Marfil Molt Dolç). I had initially made a panna cotta with summer berry reduction from the NYT but the panna was boring and desperately needed a textural variance, so I pivoted to the terrine. Extended family dinner yesterday was an oven-roasted pork shoulder with brown sugar glaze, my own version of Clyde's corn chesapeake (fresh corn, cherry tomato, onion, garlic, parsley, splash of rw vinegar), cucumbers and onions in vinegar, watermelon, some heavily doctored baked beans (which were the big hit of the meal) and homemade strawberry shortcake. I'm both exhausted and severely in need of a light salad for lunch.
  17. Celladora continues to put out, in my opinion, some of the best food in the city. Father's Day lunch brought shared bites of Sub Rosa bread with cultured butter, steak tartare (pictured below), sirloin sliders with a beet nduja, swiss chard gratin and a strawberry and pistachio panna cotta (pictured below). The steak tartare was not only visually stunning, but was quite unique - the beef was cut with tabbouleh, topped with spiced pine nuts and served over what seemed like a greek yogurt sauce. It was absolutely delicious, and while not for tartare purists, my wife, who I NEVER thought would eat it, took a bite and declared it delicious. All paired with organic wines by the glass chosen by the owner/server.
  18. A busy few days of cooking started Friday night with Momofuku's Bo Ssam recipe. The pork itself was delicious, with a crispy, almost candied exterior following a brown sugar coating and a few minutes under the broiler. Be careful - a full day of work can be ruined in 30 seconds of over-broiling! Sunday brought a Mississippi Roast - seared chuck roast cooked in the crock pot for 6 hours with ranch dressing, pepperoncini and... butter. I served on potato buns with salad. Tuesday my inner cardiologist recommended I lighten things up a bit with an oven-roasted chicken schwarma. This was a NYT recipe (pay wall) but it was a marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and schwarma spice (which you can buy in a jar at Wegmans or make your own with salt, black pepper, paprika, cinnamon, cumin and sumac). In goes the chicken and some red onion, then bake 425 for half an hour, followed by 2 minutes under the broiler to crisp up the edges a bit, then chop. Served with a turkish farmers salad and some pita.
  19. We had a pleasant experience at Monticello over spring break. If you're interested in visiting area wineries, Basecamp 151 is a new boutique lodging option that is getting some positive buzz (its sort of a mix between airbnb and hotel). Near Veritas and Flying Fox, among the breweries, but more of a 30-40 minute drive to Charlottesville. The booze hours were disappointedly limited during a recent visit, would check the website if you're hoping for the tavern experience and not the tour bus cafe that you get at lunch (the chicken was still good though). Was a shame, a cold beer after walking around in 85 degrees for three hours would've been excellent, though there are some limited options in the shop.
  20. Spring Snap Pea Salad with Spinach Pesto and Creme Fraiche - a delicious, unconventional salad recipe that is springtime on a plate. Sourced from the Apricot Lane Farm Cookbook - which at $45 is pricier than many, but so far has provided great content. A thick schmear of creme fraiche with dollops of the pesto sit under seasoned snap peas and pea shoots, topped with chopped pistachios. I went a little scant on the mint (I didn't have quite enough) and wish I'd had the full half cup, but I enjoyed every bite of this dish. The recipe portions this for 2 on "small plates" - this salad could easily be split into four as a side, or kept to two as a main dish. Not sure how long Whole Foods will have pea shoots, but I hope to make this again.
  21. I've been working my way through some of the NY Times recipe collection, with mostly very positive results. Maybe its because I don't normally cook or eat this indulgently, but last Tuesday I had the first dish that I've ever made myself that also made me involuntarily swear in front of my children, because it was that good. And it was a lowly tuna melt. Made exactly per the recipe, the diced cornichon and fresh dill, with good quality canned tuna, a little lemon... it just worked so perfectly. Admittedly if I made again, I would go a bit scant on the mayo, leaning more toward 2/3 cup than the prescribed 3/4. But let's face it, you're eating a mayo-based meat salad sandwich with cheese that is then fried in butter. It's merely a consistency preference. The cucumber salad with roasted peanuts and chili was also fantastic - unique, fresh, spicy, comforting... but it was no tuna melt.
  22. This Cucumber Salad with Roasted Peanuts and Chili from the NYT, made exactly according to the recipe. Only adjustment I would make would be to let sit for 30-45 minutes before serving. Served with some red snapper marinated in soy, sauteed with just a bit of thai peanut sauce added toward the end of cooking. Also some Momofuku pre-packaged soy and chive ramen. I wish I had a lime wedge to squirt over the top, but a solid plate of food.
  23. It sort of depends on what problem you are trying to solve. There are a number of paid products out there, but there are also free products like Adobe Express that have templates set up specifically for this. Canva is another free site option. Honestly I have a simply template that I've set up in Word that allows me to modify some basic formatting and style printed on a decent card stock, using a $10 Target paper cutter. It isn't fancy but prevents me from re-inventing the wheel each time. If you want to be more fancy, one of the above options should work.
  24. Have recently dined at two of Richmond's most esteemed southern-themed restaurants that can be a challenge to get into. Shagbark in the Libbie Mill is an upscale variant on the theme that feels, both in menu and atmosphere, just like you're sitting in Charleston. Service is prompt and professional, with one notable exception I'll come back to. Overall it feels like a restaurant run by people who know how to run a restaurant. The wine list is also extensive, with some great finds (albeit quite the markup). Fried Green Tomatoes ($16)with field peas, ham hock, arugula and tomato broth are a bit cliche but were very well done, with us fighting over the last bite. Seared duck breast ($37) with cress, onion, oven cured tomatoes, baked fennel, beluga lentils and foie gras emulsion was prepared (in my opinion) flawlessly, with the duck cooked perfectly having a crispy skin. That being said, the whole dish ate heavy with muddled flavors - I would have gladly traded the "foie gras emulsion" for some acid to brighten things up. The feedback from my wife on her Pumpkin Seed Crusted Salmon ($34) with brussels sprouts, bacon and squash risotto was similar - the apple cider jus couldn't quite lift the dish up despite a perfect cook on the salmon, and both ended up going back partially eaten. Side note - a table of 6 next to us ordered before us, and received their meal just as we were leaving. Dishes were nearly thrown on the table before the server ran, as if he was afraid of the feedback - it was almost comical. His approach likely didn't help... Feedback for the The Stables at Belmont is somewhat similar. Somehow the Cast Iron Baked Pimento Cheese and Collards Dip ($16) managed to be fairly light on its feet, with a slick of hot sauce on top that wasn't too spicy. The Smoked and Stuffed Acorn Squash ($29) with wild rice, golden raisins, pine nuts and pickled peppers got credit for being a somewhat unusual vegetarian dish, but didn't quite come together. The Lamb Lollipops ($23) with fennel rub and whipped chevre (appetizer as my entree) was decent, but the meat itself wasn't well-trimmed and was quite fatty. Service was friendly and prompt, and my wife declared it the best martini she'd ever had - so perhaps everything else was superfluous. I'd head back to both for a drink and appetizer, but wouldn't rush to either for dinner.
  25. Celladora is a wine bar/wine shop/pseudo restaurant that I must have walked by at least 20 times on my way to another wine bar (Jardin) and didn't even realize it was there until I read a profile in Wine Enthusiast on the best wine shops in the United States. Honestly even after I'd parked with an address it took us a hot second to realize it was right across the street. Intended first and foremost as a wine shop, the shop focuses on natural wines. As such, the llean toward central and eastern Europe is heavy - certainly the largest share of Austrian wines I've seen in a retail space. But, I also recently snagged a 1988 Arbois magnum and have been enjoying spatburgunder bottles from the modest, but not tiny by an means, collection. The wines by the glass menu runs 6-10ish glasses with offers of more if you don't find just what you like, and any bottle in the shop can be opened with a $10 corkage. To call in a wine "bar" would be disingenuous as no bar exists, but a few small tables or the chance to sip while you stroll around the shop. The owner admits she started offering some "snacks" and small dishes to offer guests a nibble while they sip on a glass, hoping they would then buy the bottle. Now, it seems she's a very happy "victim" of her chef's talent, as the brief dinner menu is pumping out some really incredible food. Our visit earlier in the week brought a trio of Mediterranean dips with toasted Sub Rosa bread (and several requested refills). I've eaten at a number of 2-3 star Michelin restaurants over the last 12 months, but the Braised Fennel in a parmesan cream was the most delicious, most satisfying dish I've had all year. Braised Short Rib pasta was a deceptively short description for a dish that was packed with little surprises, and Pork Belly Sausage with spinach had an almost kimchee slant to it. Fluke stayed on the lighter side but had a crumble topping that I've been dreaming about since. The only menu disappointment was that descriptions are so scant, its hard to do the dishes justice in writing. Not bad for a "kitchen" that is behind a divider and manned by one person. While still somewhat hiding in plain sight, Celladora is starting to gain notoriety - there was another photo shoot the evening we visited. Frequent pop-up events are very popular with the local crowd. That being said, its still possible to text for a reservation one night and be seated the next (its becoming harder to just pop in on a Sunday afternoon and find a seat).
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