WTF Lagunitas from California

Great balanced hoppy beer from California. Had this at Mellow Mushroom
with a jerk chicken sandwich that didn't last long enough to take a
picture of. It's nice to have a hoppy beer that's balanced and doesn't
make your tongue shrivel up into a raisen.

Braised sausage and lentils

Forgot how good lentils are, not sure why I don't eat these more often. I got the recipe from a French cookbook I have, but had to adapt as I had no pancetta and it was too hot to drive to the grocery store.

1/2 red onion

2 cloves garlic

fresh thyme

2 sausages

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups lentils

salt & pepper

add fresh spinach at the end

Spinach and arugula salad

Made this salad for a light lunch today. It has spinach and arugula with orange slices, blue cheese and toasted sunflower seeds. Not much to it other than it was good and a healthy change from all the crap I ate a MerleFest yesterday.

Strawberry icecream

What would make a hot NC day of bluegrass even better, a strawberry
icecream cone. This is the best flavor for hot weather without a doubt.

MerleFest fried rice

There is actually Thai food at MerleFest. At least that's what they
called it. You can judge by the amount of sriracha sauce required how
good it was. Now I can go buy some $3 water.

Vegetarian spaghetti

Quick late night vegetarian spaghetti w/a side of Mad Men. When rummaging through the pantry and fridge didn't produce anything, this came together from the various findings. I don't like using old dried spices, but a quick run through the mortar pestle will go a long way in freshening them up.

Wheat spaghetti

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup red wine

salt, pepper, oregano

1 zucchini

2 Roma tomatoes

1/2 can tomato sauce

dash cayenne pepper

Pecorino Romano

Communion Dinner

Seem to have lost my appetite for some reason today. So dinner is some
fantastic bread and butter at Print Works Bistro which was free. Also
had a Montepulciano d' Abruzzo which is a somewhat dry Italian red
wine. Wine wasn't free, but super cheap and pretty good.

Watercress soup

Had potato watercress soup with my leftover lamb ragu tonight. I really like watercress, and the idea of making a soup with it seemed enticing, not to mention it's super easy. I used a recipe out of this French cookbook I have and here are the basics:

Butter

1 onion

2 red potatoes

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 bunch watercress

1 cup milk

nutmeg, salt, pepper

Lamb Ragu

Decided on a lamb ragu with homemade spaghetti for dinner tonight after reading a very interesting article in the NY Times about Italian cooking today. Not really much to a ragu, just takes awhile to come together and for the lamb to get tender. For the pasta, I used an egg dough which was just two eggs and a cup of flour so pretty easy on that too. Easy does not mean it doesn't create a giant mess in the kitchen however, but not really something I care about anyhow. Actually, two cleanup nightmares were narrowly avoided or I probably would have cared. Didn't really use a recipe, but here are the basics:

1 onion

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1/2 pound stew lamb

1/2 cup red wine

1tbs tomato paste

4 Roma tomatoes

1 can Roma tomatoes

3 cups beef stock

thyme

bay leave

salt

pepper

Spring Grilling

Love NC spring weather, makes for a perfect grilling and lounging outside background. Once again joined my friends Mark and Ashley for a lunch grill of Jalapenos and burgers. The jalapenos have cream cheese and a piece of pineapple inside. They were all tame, allowing us to avoid any fire breathing dragon episodes as is sometimes the case with these things. Grilled the pineapple to add on top of the burgers to make sure we had to disconnect our jaws like a python eating a rabbit to get them into our mouths.

Paella

Enjoyed some paella with friends last night. Never been to a big paella over an open flame, but this version was great. My friend Mark was the creator. Included are arborio rice, muscles, shrimp, bay scallops, tilapia, sausage and veggies. Had it with a bottle of Whitehaven Pinot Noir from New Zealand which is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Timo - perfection on a plate

Had the chance to go to my favorite Miami restaurant this week with work. Timo is a true restaurant gem that tops my Miami list by a margin wider than what would be given to Mike Tyson in a bout with a second grade school girl. The restaurant is dark so pictures were not much of a sight, but I'll do my best explaining the culinary delight that took place. To start the night (after wine of course) were two wood fired pizzas. The first had ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and black truffles with the second having sausage and broccoli rape.

While trying not to act like a savage college freshmen over the pizzas, a true bottle of wine was ordered which was a Cocito Barbaresco Baluchin from Italy. Deciding which single entree to order was dilemma, but ended up with the lobster bolognaise with pappardelle. Zero complaints on the lobster papperdelle which is a first for me and something I'll be trying to replicate at some level. Luckily everyone was in a sharing mood so here is what else I got to try, keeping in mind each was perfection and reason to go back again every time I'm in Miami. Skirt steak, scallops with crab risotto, most tender duck I've ever had, black truffle risotto, homemade gnocci, broccoli rape, and lentils.

May not believe it, but after all this my "desert stomach" was still starving. Thank god for the separate desert compartment in our stomachs that is never effected by loads of appetizers and massive main courses. It's only fitting that my favorite Miami restaurant has my favorite desert, Macadamia Brittle and Gelato with Caramelized Bananas, Pineapple and Toasted Coconut. Not my words, but this desert is "to die for", and I wouldn't even let anyone have a single bite it's that good. Just another example of perfection on a plate. Thank you Timo for a great culinary night.

Tap Tap Haitian Food

Ended up at this Haitian place twice this week, it's that good. Had roast pork the first time, and grouper the second. Both were excellent, but the grouper probably wins out if they were competing which they weren't. Not pictured was the conch seviche which was spicy and tasty as well. Better yet were the drinks to accompany. Had a beer from Kenya, Tusker beer which was malty, but overall pretty balanced. Highlight drink wise was the Rum punch which included several different passion fruit juices and lots of rum. Like lots and lots.

Morbier Cheese

Not everything I eat is good. This is one thing that was with out a doubt terrible. I had two bites to confirm, and the second was just as bad as the first. Morbier cheese is a French cheese in this case made with unpasteurized cows milk. The smell is of dirty feet, and the taste is of rancid meat. Got it to go with a French wine I was having, but would probably pair better with a dog shit milk shake.

La Provence in Miami Beach

Had a tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, and prosciutto on a baguette at my local French bakery for breakfast. This place has some great pastry scenery and a pretty good sandwich too. The bread was tough and crisp. Best part about this place is probably drooling over the French pastries a few of which I've sampled are good beyond my food adjective vocabulary.

Curly Fries

A well trained eye will know where these fries come from. Food completely sucks, but you don't go here for the food anyway.

Key West Snapper

Here is a macadamia encrusted snapper I had in Key West last weekend
at Kelly's Carribbean restaurant. Best part was probably the banana
rum butter on top. Also came with a coconut curry rice that was
perfect with the butter too. That said, banana rum butter is pretty
good on everything.

Coconut Grove

Lunch at a French Bistro in Coconut Grove. Of course you have to get
some wine to accompany. Croque Madame was really good. Love super runny egg yolks, there really is no substitute for this. You can't just use egg substitute, or dried egg powder the real thing is the only thing.

Porterhouse time

Seared mammel flesh and smoke.

Always Keep some cheese around

No reason not to keep a few decent cheeses on hand. Just pare off the mold, and you're ready to go. I like buying these at CostCo b/c it's way cheep and you get a nice giant block that lasts a while. These are aged Gouda, Monchego, and something I bought too long ago to remember. You never know when you'll need something to go with the wine you need to drink that night so buy some decent quantity blocks, and have them ready to go. Had a good Mountain View Vintners Pinot Noir with a thin coat of pollen to accompany.

Five Guys

First try of the Greensboro Five Guys. After long day of yardwork a
grease bomb seemed in order. The burger was so greasy, it had
permiated the bag before I even reached the table. This is a good
grease though, don't think I even set it down before I was down to the
last bite. Fries were good too, but not on the same level as the burger.

Lamb leek stew

Making use of the leftover lamb from Easter, I'm making lamb leek stew. First time making lamb stew, but glad I did. Not sure if the stew was better, or eating it outside on the back deck with the freshly mowed yard. Tried to get a little of both in the pic. Pretty much made up the recipe, but here are the basics.

Brown in butter:

1 leek

3 carrots

3 cloves garlic

Add 1/2 pound mushrooms

Thyme, Bay leaves, salt, pepper

2 tbs flour to make a roux

Cook the roux for a few minutes

Add 2 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

Leftover lamb chunks

Cook for a few hours

Add some potatoes

When almost done add some frozen peas.

PBR Time

This just has a way of going good with the smell of fresh lawn
clippings and gasoline. Not to mention the sun beating down on my
first mow of the season, actually first in the last year or two.

Easter Dinner

Easter dinner cooking again w/mom and Mean Aunt Kathy. Started about 9:00 this morning marinating the leg of lamb, and making the Dulce de Leche for the cheesecake. First time actually making the dulce de leche, but pretty easy really. Just take a can of sweetened condensed milk and put it in some simmering water for a few hours. It turns into a caramel which can go on almost any desert or in some cheese cake.

So for dinner was shrimp cocktail, poached egg salad, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, dinner rolls, leg of lamb, and Dulce de Leche cheesecake. Sounds like a lot, and it was. My stomach is bursting, and feel like I gained 10 pounds today. With all this cooking, you could imagine what that could do to a kitchen, so I've included a picture of that as well. It pretty much blows it up by the way.

Martini shrimp cocktail

Fried poached egg arugula salad with blue cheese and bacon.
Slow roasted leg of lamb with mint and lemon zest.
Dulce de Leche cheesecake

Pre-Easter cooking

Gotta cook a big meal to get ready for a big meal. This was the case for a little pre-Easter cooking with my Mom and Mean Aunt Kathy. Everyone made a culinary contribution which made for an eventful afternoon, and tasty dinner. The meal consisted of a pear & blue cheese arugula salad, vichy carrots, potatoes anna, pork tenderloin with a cream and mushroom sauce.

Potatoes Anna - Nothing to this except slicing some potatoes thinly and layering them with butter and salt. Baked for about an hour.

Pork in Cream and Mushroom Sauce - this is a Julia Child recipe for Beef Saute with cream and mushroom sauce adapted to some pork tenderloin. Turned out excellent with very tender pork and a great pairing with the Madeira in the sauce.

Cherry Cobbler - This was prepared by my Mean-Aunt Kathy with her signature slits in the crust. Grand Junction cherries with some vanilla ice cream, hard not to enjoy.

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad - I made the salad with arugula, pears and blue cheese. Went perfect with a nice glass of sauvignon blanc. I'll be having this salad many more times over the summer, probably with several more glasses of white wine. Great summer salad.

Eggs Benedict

Excellent stop for breakfast in Miami Beach. Way too many choices at
this French bakery, but the eggs benedict with a little balsamic
drizzle didn't disappoint. Most impressing was how fast they could
whip up a perfectly poached egg.

Audit juice

Notice the high speed scanner in the background. The piece of paper
is our lunch menu which is a close second to scanning 50 pages/minute
and creating massive PDF files.

Quick Indian potatoes and Roti

This may be my new favorite way to eat fried potatoes, thanks to my friend Shilpa. Very easy and filled with taste. Also had a roti with some Garlic Pickle. Can't wait to get back to the Indian store to get try some other varieties of pickles.

Add cumin seeds to hot oil

Cook potatoes half way

Then add garam masala, red pepper, coriander, and salt

Nachos

Big giant plate of cheesy Nacho heartburn at Speak Easy in GSO.

Alianca Vinho Verde

Super light wine from Portugal. Excellent choice for this nice spring
weekend.

Morton's

Best deal in Miami. After 9:00, Morton's has $5 appetizers. The list is pretty much all inclusive including these sliders pictured below. Also had some fillet sandwiches, crab cakes, spinach crab dip, lettuce cups, chicken strips w/some fancy French name, and several bites of Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. Overall ordered 10 appetizers for 4 people. This is way too much food, don't think of doing that you will feel like a grease ball for the whole night and next day. Limit yourself to two at most w/room for some Key Lime pie which is much better than the chocolate cake thing.

Arepa

Here is the arepa I got from the company cafeteria yesterday. This one
is filled with cheese and was huge for my normal breakfast intake.
Plowed through about three quarters before giving up.

Chimichurri Sauce

Had this Argentinian sauce on my Churrasco at lunch today. The sauce
is made mostly of olive oil, parsley and garlic. Great on steak, but
definitely spooned the rest out on my rice to get every last drop.

Samuel Jackson

Nice cold Samuel at the CLT airport.

Chicken Nachos

Chicken Nachos at the Miami Heat game.