Chilled Asparagus with Vinaigrette and Oeufs Mimosa, Sweet Potato Agnolotti with Sage, Chicken Schnitzels and Sally Schmidt's Apple and Blueberry Kuchen

Ok technically, one of these is a repeat, the chilled asparagus, but it was so easy and so good!  The Agnolotti is my TFL #9, the Chicken Schnitzel is a one of the T. Keller recipe brochures that came with my new All Clad set, and the dessert is TFL#10. 

But what this is REALLY about is my friend Audrey is coming to dinner!

I think we have been friends 20 years now, we started as co-workers and managed to stay in touch as our paths in life diverged. Friends are such treasures!  I have so few I cherish each one of them.

I started a couple of days ahead tackling the Agnolotti first because it was the scariest. I cut the ends off the potatoes and wrapped each in some foil with a bit of butter. Then I baked them until soft, removed the skin and put them through my food mill. While they were roasting I diced up some bacon and cooked it up to render the fat and drained it. The bacon, sweet potatoes, some butter, a bit of nutmeg and some Salt and Pepper all went into the pot. This mixture chilled in the fridge for a day.

See my hand shadows? It's the eensy-weensy spider!.

Next to the pasta. I've made pasta from scratch before but never by hand, I always used the mixer. They make it look so simple!  Dump out your flour, create a well in the middle, add egg, egg yolks some olive oil and milk. Then you mix it with your fingers taking care not to break the wall of the well. Guess what?  Not only did my well walls break, I had a flood. Nevertheless, I continued working it as best I could, bench scraping stray flour and trying to make it come together. No pictures of this as my hands were a doughy mess. Eventually I got it into a manageable ball and the kneading began... and lasted about 25 minutes.

 After the dough rested in wrap in the fridge it was time to roll!

Once rolled out and translucent, I began to pipe the filling in. Some unexpected issues with the pastry bag aside, it all worked fine without using a tip. But boy, he wasn't kidding that this delicate dough will dry out on you! I was working as fast as I could and trying to follow the "pinch" directions; getting a little nervous, when I learned that my rolling crimper, in fact, did not crimp. We went to 2 stores to find this... Anyway I think the dough was too thin for the crimper edge, or else I got the wrong kind. SO! We end up with ugly agnolotti, no, wait we'll call them "rustic"  that I pray will hold together in cooking, It still tasted lovely! Silver linings everywhere...  They went into the freezer on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and later into a sealed freezer bag until dinner time.

So I assembled the chilled asparagus as detailed in the earlier post:

I made the sage cream-butter sauce, a mixture of blanched, chopped sage, creme fraiche and beurre monte, which I strained into a saucepan. Of course I cooked the agnolotti in salted water, and when one broke open Audrey called out "Man Down!"  She cracks me up. I made a beurre noisette and had some fried tiny sage leaves and julienned prosciutto for garnish. The angoletti were'nt pretty to start with but all these goodies helped... like makeup I guess.

This was so so good. Textures and flavors, it was creamy and bacon-y and just all around decadent. I think this was my favorite dish of the night.

Next came the Chicken Schnitzels which are basically pounded butterflied chicken breats, coated in flour, egg, then panko and fried. They are topped with a butter sauce containing chopped parsley and lemon juice. (I left out the capers intentionally) Audrey threatened to post an unflattering comment on the blog if I burned her schnitzel, so I took great care with hers. She got the one shaped like a mushroom.

Finally for dessert we had Sally Schmidt's Apple Kuchen with blueberries. It's like a dense cake topped with fruit and a dusting of cinnamon sugar, then served with heated cream, sugar and butter. It was yummy!

We had a lovely evening with a dear friend which is the most important thing... we also shared some pretty good food. Thanks for joining us Audrey!  I should have taken a picture of her so you could see how great her hair looked, and also know she isn't an imaginary friend. LOL

See you soon!

Love you, A~!

Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamales

No, this is not a Thomas Keller recipe. It's Bobby Flay's. My sister is headed to a convention in Las Vegas and I was suggesting she might try Bouchon in Vegas. We discussed several restaurants and during the course of our conversation, I remembered this dish which I ate at Mesa Grill in New York several years ago when I visited the  city with Audrey. We ate at Babbo on that trip and some other big name places but the dish that I still remember is this one, from Mesa Grill. It was a fantastic mix of flavors and textures. I loved it!  WSH bought me the Mesa Grill cookbook specifically for this dish. And this is my first attempt. Tamales intimidate me.

OK.. here we go, first you soak your dried corn husks in warm water until they are pliable. And also first roast a full head of garlic in a 300 oven with olive oil and salt and pepper for about 45 min.

Now to work on the masa. I have to say this is the most unusual masa recipe I have ever seen. You mix together corn kernels and a diced red onion and puree them with 1.5 c water.

Then you mix in melted butter, honey, salt and pepper and some yellow corn meal, only 2/3 c.  The book says "the mixture will be very loose" no. kidding. Once that's done you assemble your tamales. I looked at several tamale instructional videos before trying this, but it didn't do any good. You see, Mr. Flay uses 2 husks per tamale, not one. So, don't laugh at my aesthetically challenged tamales...

These steam for 45-75 minutes until firm. In the meantime make the sauce by sauteeing an onion, adding a head of roasted garlic and a cup of white wine. Simmer until wine is just about evaporated and add 3 c heavy cream. Let that cook down until reduced by half. Then puree the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.

Get the shrimp ready by seasoning them with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook half the shrimp in 2 T olive oil 2-3 minutes until just golden brown and then remove them to a plate. Repeat with the second half.  Place 1 c corn kernels in the pan you used to sautee the shrimp and cook for about 1 min. Add the cream/garlic sauce and then the shrimp just long enough to heat through.

Now for the plating. And let me just warn you folks, it ain't pretty. At the Mesa Grill this is a beautiful dish, with dots of vibrant red chili oil and deep green cilantro oil, there are cilantro leaves as garnish, it is nearly a work of art. Mine is not. My tamale masa never quite came together, might be better on the reheat, so I just kind of clumped it on a plate and spooned the shrimp/cream/garlic on it.  It was very very tasty, just the right amount of roasted garlic and the sweet shrimp. How could anything with heavy cream be bad? Anyways, it's not a show plate but it was definitely good food.

See you soon!

In case there was ever any doubt...

Wonderfully Supportive Husband sure knows how to treat a lady. Today the UPS truck backed down the driveway and left a very large, very heavy box on our doorstep. It was covered in tape with red letters that said DO NOT OPEN !  SET ENCLOSED! Audrey will understand my dilemma at hand.. I am a rule follower. But how am I to know what's inside if I DO NOT OPEN! Curiosity got the best of me and as WSH came downstairs he said Merry Christmas, sorry it's a little late.  Check it out:

I know it's hard to see but that's an 8 piece set of All Clad Copper Core Cookware and my messy living room.  WOW! These pans are so beautiful and so heavy and just so darn wonderful!   I can't wait to try them out. As a little bonus inside each box came a little brochure with a special recipe by Guess Who?

I am so excited!!! One more shiny pic:

See you soon!

LIZ--Come get your new (gently used) pans!!!  And THANK YOU WSH (mwuahhhh) big kiss

Ad Hoc At Home #1 Fried Chicken

Ad Hoc and The French Laundry (both the cookbooks and the restaurants) could not be any more different; they are like opposites, yet they aren't. Both involve good sound cooking technique but The French Laundry takes everything to a new level of refinement. (I am drawing my conclusions from others' accounts and photos, I've never been to any of the restaurants) From pg. 12 of Ad hoc at Home:

This book is not about restaurant food but rather the kind of food we eat at home: family meals... We're opening the book with the main courses-the birds, the meat, the fish- because when we think about what we're going to make for dinner, we tend to think of the main course that will be at the center of the meal and build from there.

I know that's how it works in my mind... Anyway, I was enlightened by my better half regarding that "best ever" roast chicken. He said not only was it Ashley Farms it was a particular breed: Poulet Rouge. Logically my next thought involved Fried Chicken.  Ad Hoc Fried Chicken.

I approached this recipe with a fair amount of skepticism attitude! After all I've lived in the South all my life (unless like WSH you dont count Virginia as the South in which case I've lived here more than 4 decades). I know a thing or two about fried chicken. It's what we DO here. Everyone in the South has their favorite fried chicken, maybe Grandma's or Mom's.. maybe a restaurant. My Mom didn't make fried chicken that I recall.. I'm sure Bro and Sis will correct me if I'm wrong. I do remember some Shake N Bake.... ick.  But anyway I have cooked and eaten my share of Fried Chicken so I defeinitely had an attitude here.

Nevertheless, I followed the recipe as best I could. You can find it online here.  WSH Cut the bird into 10 pieces. These birds are far smaller than regular supermarket birds. Here are the pieces drying after brining:

Here is the lovely flour coating: lots of colors and flavors, although I took exception to the cayenne. More on that later:

This being the south we had to have greens to go with the fried chicken, in this case, kale and mustard greens

Here is the chicken frying:

The done deal, It really was beautiful chicken, I had the oil a bit too hot on the dark meat pieces.

And the table:

Where there are greens, there is cornbread. This was a really good meal. But as I said at the beginning, Southerners approach Fried Chicken with a sentimentality, with attitude, with personal expectations. As I said, I took exception to the cayenne. To me, it masked the wonderful chicken flavor. This chicken was very juicy, very tender and surprisingly crispy. It's a great recipe. I recommend it, I would just use less cayenne on my next attempt.

I love the Ad Hoc cookbook, it's a great reference book as well as collection of wonderful recipes.

See you soon.

All in a Day's whimsy

I will be making Ad Hoc Buttermilk Fried Chicken tomorrow. (Wish me luck)

But in the meantime, I saw these Blood Orange Caramels on Matt Armandariz's site and had to make them. I feel pretty certain at least 25% of the food blogosphere bought Blood Oranges this week because of his post. Anyway, it's an easy recipe (except for the juicing--i.e. when you have a cheap crappy juicer) but very tasty indeed.

I have learned that wrapping candy is totally off the list of my potential callings in life. But here they are:

These are tart and sweet and chewy and nutty, really a nice taste explosion in the mouth. Wanted: Neighbors seeking candy!

See you soon.

Valentine's Meal Mise En Place from Star Provisions

The Star Provisions Group is probably the primary (as in first and best) restaurant group in Atlanta. Consistently ranked in the top restaurants in the nation, Bacchanalia, their first and flagship restaurant was a leader in New American cuisine in Atlanta. The chef owners and partners, Anne Quattrano and Clifford Harrison, have expanded their offerings to include a variety of upscale dining establishments (the latest being Abbatoir-my favorite restaurant in the city with our friend Rick as GM) at different price points as well as a gourmet purveyor of all things food wise, Star Provisions. Their cheesemonger, Tim Gaddis, is in my opinion, the best in the city, their bakery is fantastic. The butcher shop has a number of items you can't get anywhere else and the meat quality has been excellent in my experience. Their Star Provisions ready-made food to go is well received in all quarters.  ** Full disclosure, Rick, Abbatoir's GM is not a social friend we only know him through his restaurant career in ATL. He is one of the best in our opinion**

Here's how the menu appeared in my Inbox:

Appetizers
- Sweet Maine Lobster Bisque with Lobster Salad

Entrée (a choice of)
- Braised American Kobe Short Ribs of Beef, Glazed Local Root Vegetables, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Natural Jus OR

- Bouride of Virginia Black Bass, Local Fennel, Orange & Fingerling Potatoes, Spicy Broth

Cheese & Accoutrement
- Old Chatham Shepherding Cupid's Camembert
- Marcona Almonds
- Local Honey
- Demi Baguette

Dessert
- Potted Chocolate &Hazelnut Trifle
- Rose Macaroons

$145 for 2 ... a little pricey for take out but what the heck! So we signed up for the short ribs and were ready to go. On top of that we had SNOW the night before, which is like Christmas to me.. I love snow. I get up early to watch it, I stay up late to listen to it. Probably because we only have it once a year or less...

So.. here is the box as it arrived after pickup:

And these are the instructions included with the box:

The first course, Lobster Bisque, garnished with lobster salad:

YUM! This bisque was just right, sweetly lobstery, velvet texture, the salad was a nice mix of lobster and seasoning and some celery leaves. Personally I would have preferred maybe Italian parsley as I find celery leaves bitter but altogether this was a big win in my opinion.

The Main Course:

The vegetables are a mix of potatoes, carrots, a slice or two of turnip, a few brussel sprouts and a nice buttery sauce. Very flavorful and a nice mix of textures, colors and tastes together. The meat is "American Kobe"  which to be honest, I don't know what that means, but I am a newb. I thought Kobe beef came from Japan and the American version was Wagyu. Anyway, it was 2 boneless short ribs with Jus. To follow in Foodie Buddha's footsteps... I wasn't very impressed. (Keep in mind, this is not food from their Restaurant establishments, this is from the Star Provisions to go branch.) The meat was somewhat dry and a little tough in spots. The flavor was OK but nothing to write home about; I was disappointed especially at the price point. So was WSH.

The Cheese Course and the Bread:

Yes, I took a taste from the left ventricle... I couldn't help myself.  And the demi-baguette with cheese, honey and almonds:

This was a grand slam home run. The cheese, honey and almonds were a match made in heaven, and the bread  was a perfect palette for it. I could have danced with this all night.
Bread on the table and a shoe on the floor:

The Dessert (which is still in the fridge):

Chocolate-Hazelnut Trifle and Rose Macaroons. It looks lovely doesn't it? I'll have to report on that either later or from one of our neighborhood reporters on the scene. I'm too full tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day all

See you soon.

Leek and Potato Soup (Take One)

This was to be Bouchon #6. The best laid plans sometimes run off the rails. I was all ready with my mise en place:

Had everything going according to plan and while the veggies were sweating I went away for just 2 minutes! JUST 2 MINUTES! Well, I got distracted and 2 minutes turned into 5 which was just long enough to turn some of the onions dark brown. They weren't burnt but caramelized, which is definitely not something you want in Leek & Potato soup. I went ahead with the soup, and the texture was absolute velvet but it wasn't the way this soup should be. So I will try again another day.  Moral:: "Stand by yor man pan!" 

I can't believe I just said that... 

Anyway on a good note: I found new buttons on my camera.  Well, actually, they have been there all along, but I just discovered them, and through my user's manual and an online tutorial via The Pioneer Woman I am working on better food shots.  It will take a while, this is a whole new language for me to learn, but I thought you might like a little bit of happy news.

We don't do Valentine's Day around here, it's a pressurized commercialized romance competition as we see it. BUT this year Star Provisions is selling a romantic dinner for fixing at home, that we will try and I'll post. We still don't do V-Day, it just so happens this dinner is being marketed as such and I want to try it :)

See you soon! (and Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who think it's important! <3)