Lombardino's with Laura

I'm still playing catch-up from fall. These pics are from a dinner at Lombardino's with Ms. L. For my taste, the tricolore salad would've been better without the bleu cheese, but that makes sense because it's not my favorite. It was grand, however, to have more exotic greens: radicchio, frisée, and escarole.

tricolore salad

Evensong Spa

Laura and I channeled our inner divas and went to the Evensong Spa in Green Lake a few weeks ago.

At breakfast

Sorry for the wretchedly dark photo. The sunny landscape wasn't doing us any photographic favors, but it, plus the bare trees and the snowy lake, made for a lovely view.

Labyrinth

This time, I didn't walk the labyrinth, but L. did. It seems a little cheesy, but it really is very soothing. And the bank of windows affords a lovely view of the surrounding landscape.

Richard III

Last Sunday, we went to see Richard III at American Players' Theater in Spring Green. It was very warm, but once I reached a sweaty threshold, I just dealt with it. Besides, we had a wonderful performance to distract us. I'd never seen that play before, and I was very impressed. It's such an intense story, and I want to learn more about the historical figure of Richard III (versus the highly fictionalized account concocted by Shakespeare). Next on my watch list is the 1995 adaptation starring Ian McKellen, which takes place in 1930s Britain.

And of course the food: We had a lovely picnic with soppresata; prosciutto; cold lentil salad (recipe from A Sweet Pea Chef below); broccolini, mushroom, and mozzarella salad (recipe also below and was recommended by Mr. Beau); multigrain baguette;

Break(fast) Dancing

Just a simple little shot of a breakfast (almond butter on an English muffin and topped with sliced strawberries; espresso) I constructed at work one morning.

And this dish (scrambled eggs with mushrooms and kale) paired with coffee to provide us with a leisurely weekend breakfast at home.

Coq au Vin + Concord Grape Juice

Last week, I made an easy version of coq au vin and Concord grape juice with grapes from my backyard. To simplify the coq au vin, I used rotisserie chicken that I'd frozen, but even making it with regular chicken is dead simple. Who knew such a swanky-sounding dish is actually a breeze? I served it over whole wheat cous cous with steamed haricots verts (those slender French green beans). Delish.

Here are some shots of making the grape juice:

A thoroughly blurry shot of the coq au vin. (Sorry. I think I was too hungry to hold the camera still.)

Umami

I just finished my leftover ramen from Umami Ramen and Dumpling Bar on Willy St., and my belly is hippity-hoppity happy. (The hippity-hoppity thing is a belated nod to the Easter bunny. :)) J. and I ate there last night.

We each ordered tonkatsu ramen (with a garlic bomb add-on to share between the two ramen entrees), and we split a small order of the vegetable dumplings. The tonkatsu ramen contained thick slices of delectable pork, ramen noodles, scallions, bamboo shoots, flavor-infused egg, nori, bean sprouts, and last but definitely not least, a sumptuous pork broth.

I say last but not least for a reason. When I ate the leftover ramen at work, a layer of fatty goodness from the pork broth had congealed on the top of the take-out container. I scraped what I could into my soup, but a few tempting, lardy bits remained. For a few moments, I contemplated weaseling my tongue into the cover's grooves to extract the bits, but I refrained. I'd like to claim that self-restraint was the driving force here, but it was more the thought of a colleague catching me red-tongued (like red-handed, get it?) in such a gluttonous pose. But just so you know, I seriously considered it.

The veggie dumplings were filled with smoked tofu, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms. Next time, I'd skip them, though. They were less than stellar and occupied valuable gullet space where more delicious ramen could've lived. The shiitakes were the only discernible flavor; the bok choy and smoked tofu were so muted that they got lost in the mix. And even the shiitake flavor vanished when the dumplings were dipped in the too-spicy sauce.

They get a few points off for taking too long to correct the bungled bill. The waiter added other diners' items to our bill, and that's not such a big deal. I'm willing to forgive mistakes if they're handled properly, but the waiter first implied that our claim was questionable. Then, he and the manager took an additional 15 or 20 minutes to remedy the situation.

I'm going to assume the bill issue was a fluke. When I return, I'd like to try the pork buns, the tuna poke, and the apple walnut frisee salad (tart apple, dried cranberries, walnuts, goat cheddar in a light pomegranate mint dressing). And I might just get the tonkatsu ramen again.

Cooking Up a Storm

I was downloading some photos and realized I hadn't shared some of the dishes I'd made this winter, so here goes.
Cranberry, Honey, and Ginger Biscotti
I made this biscotti for the Partners in Giving (our workplace charitable giving campaign) silent auction and bake sale. Mine contained crystallized ginger, cranberries, and honey, but there are tons of variations on this thrice-baked Italian cookie. 

Aren't they pretty?

When it comes to food, I generally like to keep it simple. (It makes up for other aspects of life that are overly complicated. :)) I will probably never concoct an elaborate old-school French meal, and baking is generally too precise and fussy for me. In that spirit, I use a fusion of basic biscotti recipes and alter it according to my whim:

2 c. flour (For baking, I usually use whole wheat pastry flour instead of bleached white flour. It's not as heavy and drying as regular whole wheat flour, but adds more nutrition than the white.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
2-3 eggs (It calls for 2 eggs and 1 egg white, but unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't separate eggs. I hate having leftover egg components because they usually go bad before I can use them.)
1 c. sugar (I use brown, rather than white.)
generous swirl of honey
~ 1 c. Craisins
~ 1 c. finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, and then combine together. Mix until smooth, then transfer dough to a baking sheet, and shape into 2 logs, measuring about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Bake 25-30 mins. Reduce the oven temperature to 325. Cut the logs into 3/4-inch slices, turn the slices cut side down, and bake for 10 mins. Flip the slices and bake for 10 more mins. The result should be a gloriously crispy, somewhat sweet treat perfect for dunking into your cappuccino.

Spinach, Mushroom, and Feta Pizza with Phyllo Crust
I made this to use up the large box of phyllo dough in my freezer, although some of it still resides in the frozen depths. (It's from the half-successful Nigella's chicken pot pie experiment.) As is generally the case if you have a crust consisting of flaky phyllo lathered with butter, it was decadently yummy. The phyllo was a little destroyed from being defrosted and refrozen too many times, so I layered strips of it in alternating directions, brushing each layer with melted butter, until I had a thick crust. Then I topped it with sliced cremini mushrooms and spinach. I used a recipe from Epicurious.

Spaghetti Carbonara
Jason took the culinary helm on this effort, and I was the kitchen helper. I'd never had this before, but I was blown away by its fantastic flavor. I think this recipe from Amateur Gourmet was the one we used.

Spaghetti carbonara

Sweet Potato Soup with Garlic Chicken Sausage
Here, leftover curried sweet potatoes that I wasn't terribly impressed with in the beginning were transformed into a lovely soup. A spin with the stick blender and the addition of some garlic chicken sausage from Trader Joe's made all the difference.

Sweet potato soup with garlic chicken sausage and a dollop of yogurt

Red Lentil Dal
I've made this dal, originally from Cooking Light, several times now, and it's always satisfying.

The last of the red lentil dal

Ribollita

Ribollita

Ribollita, meaning "reboiled," is a hearty Tuscan stew made with white beans, tomatoes, greens, other veggies, and stale bread (to thicken the soup). The recipe from 101 Cookbooks calls for cavolo nero, which is sometimes labeled lacinato kale, Tuscan kale, or dinosaur kale. Whatever you call it, it's a particular favorite of mine. It has deeply green, curly, striking leaves, and its flavor is more robust than the regular kale favored in southern cooking. Despite that, I used mustard greens because I wanted to use them up. The black olives may seem like an odd touch, but try it. I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised. The salty, briny olives work really well against the buttery cannellini and creaminess of the bread. And sometimes, I feel like the greens overpower the dish, but not so in this case.

While the ribollita cooked, I indulged in smoked gouda on Triscuits
with black olives...and a glass of red wine.

Why celery got the boot

This week was pretty uneventful, although dancing on Saturday was a hoot.

Today I made Mushroom Barley Soup. Here's the recipe: http://bit.ly/9P8Kxg. I omitted the celery largely because after using 2 or 3 ribs of celery, the remainder languishes in my fridge until it's desiccated and sad. And then I throw it out. Omitting it keeps me from killing yet another innocent 3/4 bunch of celery. And I added rosemary because I had some frozen from last season's garden, and it sounded like it'd pair well with mushrooms and barley. And I was right. :)

What else? I did my taxes and met a friend for coffee at Ground Zero. The walk to and from the coffee house reminded me how much I love my neighborhood. Often, I'm either driving or reading on the bus. And there's no better way than walking to truly observe and engage with a neighborhood. I forgot about the funky houses and the fun gardens (they're just starting to peek out) and the vibrancy of people out and about. It was lovely.