Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Lunch Chez Eve
On the menu Chez Eve today was Leeks en Vinaigrette. I microwaved one washed leek for about 5 minutes. Make sure to use glass and no plastic or saran wrap so as to avoid all those nasty chemicals in plastic. Hard boil two eggs - ten minutes after water reaches a boil. I placed the leeks cut into fours over a vinaigrette - oil, Dijon mustard, salt, lemon, olive oil and chopped the eggs and placed those over the leeks. This is a classic French dish and mighty yummy.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Cask
Last week I enjoyed a lovely lunch with my mother at Wine Cask. Sitting in the warm sunlight of a typical Santa Barbara day I rediscovered Wine Cask's dishes as they have a new Chef, Brandon Hughes (formerly the Chef at bouchon). For me, one of the best ways to experience a chef's cooking is by ordering fish. Fish is a delicate thing to cook, prepare, and pair with. We were not disappointed.
First Course - Carrot soup using orange carrots and red creating this beautiful color wheel.
Second Course - Local Santa Barbara Sea bass over a bed of arugula, fennel, citrus salad accompanied by an olive pesto and zucchini croquettes. The fish was seared perfectly and provided a lovely salty crunch. The flesh was moist and flavorful. The fennel citrus salad made for the perfect bite and with the divine olive pesto, yum. The croquettes tasted so fresh and satisfying. The only problem was that they looked rather harsh and odd on the plate. We did recommend that they change the shape and presentation style of said croquettes so as to be more appetizing. They're delicious and definitely need to remain part of this dish.
Dessert - Chocolate and Goat Cheese doughnuts with a scoop of Cappuccino ice cream. I am not usually one to order dessert, but pair two of my favorite things - goat cheese and dark chocolate and curiosity takes over! The pastry Chef, Rosie, explained her creations to us and wow did she really get the goat cheese in there. You can actually taste both the chocolate and goat cheese perfectly and the doughnuts are surprisingly light and flavorful.
Our waiter, Abe, was charming and attentive and an integral part of the dining experience at Wine Cask. Between the lovely outdoor patio ambiance and the delicious food, our lunch visit was wonderful indeed.
First Course - Carrot soup using orange carrots and red creating this beautiful color wheel.
Second Course - Local Santa Barbara Sea bass over a bed of arugula, fennel, citrus salad accompanied by an olive pesto and zucchini croquettes. The fish was seared perfectly and provided a lovely salty crunch. The flesh was moist and flavorful. The fennel citrus salad made for the perfect bite and with the divine olive pesto, yum. The croquettes tasted so fresh and satisfying. The only problem was that they looked rather harsh and odd on the plate. We did recommend that they change the shape and presentation style of said croquettes so as to be more appetizing. They're delicious and definitely need to remain part of this dish.
Dessert - Chocolate and Goat Cheese doughnuts with a scoop of Cappuccino ice cream. I am not usually one to order dessert, but pair two of my favorite things - goat cheese and dark chocolate and curiosity takes over! The pastry Chef, Rosie, explained her creations to us and wow did she really get the goat cheese in there. You can actually taste both the chocolate and goat cheese perfectly and the doughnuts are surprisingly light and flavorful.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A No Go...
Ah, yes, there are a few restaurants in Paris that you should avoid. There are obviously the touristy places that serve flavorless, poorly prepared classics, but there are also the locals' restaurants that can lead you astray as well. A woman, whom we met through a food tour blog we discovered online, who has lived in the 12th for years recommended La Gazzetta. We saw the restaurant itself after being in the neighborhood the week before and it looked charming and its menu changes daily, which is always fun and interesting...well, almost always.
At 20h45, we arrived on time to our reservation and were asked to wait for our table to be prepared. We sat there for quite a while before someone proposed we have an apperitif, but by the time they brought it to us we were already seated at our table for dining. The menu is set up so that one chooses between a 5 or 7 course set menu. The combination of flavors were adventurous and fascinating and we were ready to discover new things. We chose a Rose to accompany our meal as well as sparkling water whose bottle looked like a vodka bottle. The wine was the best part of our meal...
First Course - Raw langoustine with a veal broth a white beans...You could hardly taste the langoustine due to the broth and the beans were undercooked and dry. Very unpleasant.
Second Course - a white fish over, well, I cannot remember, but I remember this being bland, bland, bland!
Third course - half an onion marinated in olive essence with whipped almond ricotta and a slightly bitter lettuce on top. It's hard to explain these flavors all together...it was too sweet to be in the middle of a set menu and once again, totally bland. Boring!
Dessert - Chocolate gelato over homemade apple sauce. Lacked in creativity. And a lemon tart with a bergamot powder on top with a bit of lavender jam on the side - Way too strong and horribly paired all together. It took us a while to get the bergamot out of our palates! Ick.
Overall, it's simply a no go. They could learn a thing or two from Ze Kitchen Gallery about pairing interesting things together and how retaining simplicity within the new combos is what makes something delicious. It's all about balance!
At 20h45, we arrived on time to our reservation and were asked to wait for our table to be prepared. We sat there for quite a while before someone proposed we have an apperitif, but by the time they brought it to us we were already seated at our table for dining. The menu is set up so that one chooses between a 5 or 7 course set menu. The combination of flavors were adventurous and fascinating and we were ready to discover new things. We chose a Rose to accompany our meal as well as sparkling water whose bottle looked like a vodka bottle. The wine was the best part of our meal...
First Course - Raw langoustine with a veal broth a white beans...You could hardly taste the langoustine due to the broth and the beans were undercooked and dry. Very unpleasant.
Fourth Course - Duck with red cabbage. Sounds like this would taste just lovely. Surprise, surprise even this was done poorly. The duck was lacking in duckiness and the cabbage was uninteresting.
Overall, it's simply a no go. They could learn a thing or two from Ze Kitchen Gallery about pairing interesting things together and how retaining simplicity within the new combos is what makes something delicious. It's all about balance!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Adventures in Snow
Friday I was blown off a ski lift! Up in Mammoth for the weekend, my boyfriend and I went off to the slopes in a full out blizzard, really. Oh, but how epic it was. Fresh powder is really quite a special thing to experience snowboarding. Yes, there were moments of true vertigo when I could not tell where the mountain was and how fast I was really going, but overall, for most of the day, it was amazing. No photos to show for Friday because all it would look like is a mess of whiteness.
Saturday we decided to explore June Mountain. The slopes were quite empty and though the day started out sunny, the snow quickly began to fall again. To change things up on Sunday we decided to cross-country ski. The sun shone brightly that day and we put on our snazzy boots and sleek ski's and took off around Lake Mary. Cross-country skiing is quite enjoyable, except for the downhill part where one gains great speed. Not being a skier at all, I found myself with legs flailing and quite challenged. All in all, it was fun and beautiful.
That evening we dined at the Lakefront Restaurant at the Tamarack Lodge. Cozy and warm in the charming lodge we enjoyed an excellent meal.
Soupe de Poisson California style, though made by a French chef...
Miso glazed Cod with seaweed salad on top. Tons of accompaniments like polenta, bok choy, a beet, brussel sprouts, some sort of potato puree, and a cherry tomato. Excessive, if you ask me. The fish was melt in your mouth delicious and a lovely balance between sweet butteriness of the fish and salty soy and miso of the sauce.
Jeff enjoyed a giant steak with a garlic beurre blanc sauce. Also melt in your mouth.
A super light Tiramisu cake...too light in Jeff's opinion...
The next day we went dog sledding!! Oh what fun to be pulled by 11 bouncy, hyper dogs for about 45 minutes. These dogs are SO delighted to pull you along it is almost comical! Each dog had its own personality and are devoted to doing a good job. What a fine experience.
Saturday we decided to explore June Mountain. The slopes were quite empty and though the day started out sunny, the snow quickly began to fall again. To change things up on Sunday we decided to cross-country ski. The sun shone brightly that day and we put on our snazzy boots and sleek ski's and took off around Lake Mary. Cross-country skiing is quite enjoyable, except for the downhill part where one gains great speed. Not being a skier at all, I found myself with legs flailing and quite challenged. All in all, it was fun and beautiful.
The next day we went dog sledding!! Oh what fun to be pulled by 11 bouncy, hyper dogs for about 45 minutes. These dogs are SO delighted to pull you along it is almost comical! Each dog had its own personality and are devoted to doing a good job. What a fine experience.
Friday, February 18, 2011
A heck of a week!
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."
This quote from Thoreau can be found on many a journal or magnet in Borders or the like. My mother gave me a magnet with this quote on it when I was younger and I feel that right now, in my late twenties, I am starting to get it. I am slowly starting to realize that humans, every human, has it within themselves the power to change things in their lives...for the better or for the worse.
Pura vida.
Monday was Valentine's day and since my Valentine is currently living in a beautiful, snowy town right now, I went out to celebrate with Caroline. No fancy candlelit dinner for us...just burgers and beer. Trying to remember where one can get a good burger in Santa Barbara we realized that we had not tried Union Ale's burger and with their plethora of beers on tap, we did not hesitate another second. Greasy and tasty, this was a fine burger. Side of sweet potato fries and all was well. The meat was perfectly cooked medium rare and tasted fresh and tender. To accompany said burger - Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Awesome. A few games of pool and filling up the jukebox with sappy/angry/funny love songs at another local pub, Dargans, our night was complete.
Tuesday was Caroline's birthday. So as to start of her 30th year of life on the right foot she jumped out of a plane...and so did I! A few months ago I swore to her that I would never, under any circumstance sky dive. Ha! So much for that one. I considered the safety risks and realized that all in all there was not too much to worry about. So around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, at 13,000 feet, I watched Caroline "fall" out of the plane and I followed. We did this tandem, obviously, so all we had to do was go along for the ride. And what a ride! One minute of free fall and whoosh, the parachutes jerked us up and we were flying! During the free-fall I watched the earth drawing nearer and nearer and wondered how to breath with this pressure on my chest from falling up to 120 mph. Truly an amazing experience which I will do again! Thanks Sean at SkyDive Santa Barbara!
Happy Birthday Caroline!
There she went!
Not the most flattering photo... : )
Whirling around.
Flying!
Whew! Crazy!
On Wednesday we ventured out to Wine Country through one of the many tour companies found in Santa Barbara, Coastal Concierge. With Kevin as our guide/driver, we visited three wineries and ate lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe. I enjoyed a smoked sturgeon salad which was lovely, but there was too much bread and not enough salad. We drank a 2010 Palmina Pinot Grigio.
Our first winery had been Foley, which is just too much for my palate. Too much fruit, too much alcohol. Even their Steel Chardonnay manages to be too much. Lovely location though. Dierberg/Star Lane's tasting room is gorgeous and located all by itself between hills and vines. Beckmen also is in a great location and though the tasting room isn't all that fabulous, the grounds are.
Thursday I joined two lovely friends for a quick hike to Inspiration Point. It was stunning. The clouds and the breeze created movement and an intense light over the city. I have done this hike tons of times, but it just never gets old.
And last night I went over to my friend's house to cook up a lovely mini feast. We sauteed pink and yellow potatoes and some parsnips with olive oil, butter, and herbs. We pan seared a pork loin and deglazed the pot with port and finished in the oven. As the pork rested we glazed it with some red currant preserve which added a lovely sweetness and tartness and I made a sauce from the yummy fonds in the pot and more Port reduced. A few buttered peas on the side as well and voila. It was delectable.
As I write rain is pouring down and the wind is moving my large sliding glass doors. Looks like I'll be staying in and reflecting on one heck of a week!
This quote from Thoreau can be found on many a journal or magnet in Borders or the like. My mother gave me a magnet with this quote on it when I was younger and I feel that right now, in my late twenties, I am starting to get it. I am slowly starting to realize that humans, every human, has it within themselves the power to change things in their lives...for the better or for the worse.
Pura vida.
Monday was Valentine's day and since my Valentine is currently living in a beautiful, snowy town right now, I went out to celebrate with Caroline. No fancy candlelit dinner for us...just burgers and beer. Trying to remember where one can get a good burger in Santa Barbara we realized that we had not tried Union Ale's burger and with their plethora of beers on tap, we did not hesitate another second. Greasy and tasty, this was a fine burger. Side of sweet potato fries and all was well. The meat was perfectly cooked medium rare and tasted fresh and tender. To accompany said burger - Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Awesome. A few games of pool and filling up the jukebox with sappy/angry/funny love songs at another local pub, Dargans, our night was complete.
On Wednesday we ventured out to Wine Country through one of the many tour companies found in Santa Barbara, Coastal Concierge. With Kevin as our guide/driver, we visited three wineries and ate lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe. I enjoyed a smoked sturgeon salad which was lovely, but there was too much bread and not enough salad. We drank a 2010 Palmina Pinot Grigio.
Our first winery had been Foley, which is just too much for my palate. Too much fruit, too much alcohol. Even their Steel Chardonnay manages to be too much. Lovely location though. Dierberg/Star Lane's tasting room is gorgeous and located all by itself between hills and vines. Beckmen also is in a great location and though the tasting room isn't all that fabulous, the grounds are.
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