Bonjour!

After reading Julia Child's autobiography "My Life in France," I got so inspired to cook French food--heck, any food. I went crazy and bought a casserole dish, stainless steel bowl, and a whole bunch of groceries. Last week, I was able to cook for both Brad and I for only $40 each. We did not eat out once (ok, maybe just once for lunch). I was amazed that we were able to find such good quality ingredients (a lot of it organic and/or from farmer's market) for a good price.

This week, it cost a little more, but this also counted essential pantry items that we were in desperate need of and that will last a long time (e.g. spices, butter, and grains). We also spent a little bit on kitchen utensils (that casserole dish, stainless steel bowl, etc). Opening my fridge and seeing all of the great ingredients I bought this week makes me so happy. Cooking for my guy and seeing how much he enjoys my cooking experiments (even if they flop: see "Raspberry Clafouti" below), also makes me really happy.

Today I made an amazing recipe from Hubert Keller's appearance on Top Chef Masters. It was one of the most delicious things I've ever made.

On the menu for later this week are Figgy Piggy Cornish Game Hen (from this month's Gourmet) and Julia Child's famous Boeuf Bourguignon. I cannot wait!

Below are some of the "Hits" of the past week

CORN CAKES WITH SALMON AND SALMON ROE

This is a Top Chef Masters recipe by Chef Hubert Keller. It is AMAZING. Probably the most gourmet thing I have made so far. It's so easy to make because there's a video on the Top Chef Masters website on how to prepare the dish from start to finish. I used fresh organic white corn, not canned corn like the video suggests. I think it makes all the difference.

Recipe:
http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/thinly-sliced-salmon-baked-in-tender-corn-pancakes-with-watercress-sauce

Video:
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/videos/hubert-kellers-scottish-salmon

Corn Pancake Batter
3 to 4 ears fresh young corn, husked
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Salmon
8 ounce salmon fillet
4 tablespoons Caviar, such as whitefish, salmon, or sturgeon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon virgin olive oil

Watercress Sauce (Optional--I didn't use this)
1 small bunch watercress, stemmed
1 teaspoon virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish
30 blanched asparagus tips, about 3 inches long, fanned
30 1/2- inch-wide slices tomato, fanned
1 teaspoonmixed black and white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

My plate:

Brad's plate:



A NOT QUITE PERFECT RASPBERRY CLAFOUTI

This was my first attempt at clafouti, and I made two mistakes: too much batter in the ramekin and too much whisking of the flour mixture. The taste was great, but it was rubbery and took way too long to cook (I poured out a lot of the batter).

http://aveceric.com/category/recipes

1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup sugar + more for ramekin
1 large egg
6 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup fresh raspberries
Vanilla ice cream (optional)





FRUIT SMOOTHIE

Brad has been making fruit smoothies every day for breakfast. It's just fruit (bananas, peaches and berries are his faves right now) and a couple of cubes of ice. I also add coconut milk. We calculated that each smoothie costs us just mere cents.


EGG ON EGG ON EGG

I made this dish up. It's asparagus with egg (a poached egg would be nice, but the ones in this picture are scrambled) topped with a mustard hollandaise sauce (I make this from scratch, hence the second "egg" in the title of this dish) and topped with salmon roe (hence the third "egg" in the title)

-asparagus on bottom
-sunny side up/poached/scrambled eggs on top
-mustard hollandaise on top of that
-salmon roe on top of everything



ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

This is so good by itself, or with hollandaise sauce.
-cauliflower (450 degrees for 25 minutes in lower 1/3 rack)
-olive oil
-pepper, salt



SAGE SWEET POTATO SOUP

This is something I just whipped together. The sage in this soup makes it special. I didn't really go by a recipe, but here's the ingredients:

-homemade chicken stock
-yam (450 degrees for 25 minutes in lower 1/3 rack with olive oil, pepper and chopped fresh sage)
-butter
-water



THAI CURRY WITH FRIED STICKY RICE

This is also something I just whipped together. I didn't go by a recipe, but here are the ingredients:

THAI CURRY
-thai chili paste
-coconut milk
-curry powder
-tamarind paste
-cumin powder
-honey/sugar
-ginger
-garlic
-veggies and meat of your choice

FRIED RICE

-day old rice
-onion
-carrots
-sesame oil
-soy sauce
-water chestnuts
-garlic
-ginger



CHICKEN WITH MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
The chicken is from the farmer's market, which makes all the difference. We cannot get enough of this chicken.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roast-Chicken-with-Mustard-Vinaigrette-1800

1 6- to 7-pound roasting chicken
1 large shallot
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 fresh sage sprigs
1 cup Mustard Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage


PAN DRIPPINGS HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Serve this sauce with the chicken!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Poulet-Saute-aux-Herbes-de-Provence-354343

2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry white wine or dry white vermouth
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, fresh fennel fronds, or fresh parsley (optional)

Balsamic Sticky Ribs

I made balsamic sticky ribs from Gourmet's recipe, and they were unbelievably amazing, even without the grilling. Here's the recipe:

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/07/sticky-balsamic-ribs

Ron and Fran's Housewarming Crepe Party

I made a crepe! It was ugly, but still delicious with ham, cheese and a sunny side up egg. The hardest part is forming the crepe itself--making it thin enough, yet with no holes. Later we added nutella, chestnut paste, jam and fruit. Yummmm!

My favorite Farmer's Market finds

Farmer's Market chicken

This chicken has never been fed corn or soy, is free range, and organic! Soooo moist and flavorful!





Lemon Cucumber... It tastes like cucumber, but with an even "fresher" flavor.

Omnivore's Dilemma

Like others who have read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and seen Food Inc, my commitment toward eating healthy organic local food was reaffirmed and I decided to set some goals for myself.

1. Do the majority of my shopping at farmer's markets
2. Buy organic whenever available
3. Only buy free range organic meats not fed corn or soy
4. Eat out very minimally (~once a month)

Here's my first week's shopping spree at Whole Foods ($40, it lasted 3 days :P Definitely too expensive!).



I also went to the SM farmer's market and for $60 got:

-2 tomatoes
-2 avocados
-2 bunches of kale
-1 bag of mixed greens
-1 bag of collard greens
-3 frozen buffalo patties
-1 frozen buffalo sirloin
-1 whole chicken (OMG so good!!!)
-2 bunches parsley
-1 bunch cilantro
-3 peaches
-1 onion
-2 lemon cucumbers (drooool)

It was a bit pricey. The buffalo and chicken cost the most.

Here's the stuff I've been cooking this week. It's all homemade--nothing premade. WF = purchased ingredients from Whole Foods, FM = purchased ingredients from Farmer's Market.


Whole Foods (WF) Lobster raw



WF Lobster cooked



Farmer's market (FM) Kale Chips


FM Buffalo


FM Bok Choy and Buffalo


WF Salmon and Broccolini


FM Salad with lemon cucumber and heirloom tomato


FM Guacamole


FM baby shiitakes and onions, salad, and WF skirt steak


Skirt steak/egg/bok choy stir fry with salad, heirloom tomato


FM Guacamole


WF Burger


WF Salmon

Dinner in Los Feliz

Last night Ron and Fran made us a great dinner of sirloin steak, rosemary potatoes, brussel sprouts and tossed salad. We brought over fruit, but were so stuffed from the dinner we couldn't eat it. Dinner was followed with "How to lose friends and alienate people". Great title, great movie. The highlight of the night was Brad realizing that he likes brussel sprouts after all.

Dinner in Silver Lake

Last night, Edie and Michael made us a wonderful meal of vegetable stew with puff pastry. Ron and Fran brought a tossed salad, and we finished the meal with baked goodies from Porto's and Trapped In the Closet. A great night!








B and goth baby Vincent:

Amy and Ed's Wedding in Vail, Colorado

My first trip to Vail, Colorado... Brad's sister, Amy married Ed on the mountain top (we took a Gondola to get there!), and it was truly the most gorgeous wedding I've ever been to. Pushing the wedding over the top was all of the delicious food we were served. From a homemade meal of perfectly grilled chicken, rice, beans, salad, and guacamole, to an outstanding down home BBQ rehearsal dinner, to a wedding dinner of the softest and thickest filet mignon steak I have eaten, with *2* desserts--tiramisu and the chocolate wedding cake. What a gastronomic paradise.

Homemade guacamole. I couldn't stop eating this...



Grilled chicken, brown rice, black beans, salad... A homemade meal!



Rehearsal dinner



My BBQ plate (I went back for seconds, of course!):



Brad's BBQ plate:



Wedding dinner flowers



The Wedding dinner menu



The gorgeous cake!



a HUGE slice of tiramisu

Shibuya at the MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas

On my second trip to Vegas, I won some money, lost some money, did a little outlet shopping, but the best part of the trip was when we were treated to an AMAZING meal by B's sister and husband! There isn't much to say except "wow". We started with edamame, which was brought out warm and lightly dusted with feathery salt crystals. It was followed by a delicious lobster miso soup. I had to try this soup because it had Maitake mushrooms in it--and ingredient which I always heard about on Iron Chef Japan. It was a very delicate mushroom--think Shiitake, but not quite as earthy. The soup broth itself was perfectly balanced--not too salty like most miso soups are. This was followed by the kobe beef tataki, which was perfectly melt in your mouth, and came in a nice sauce. The white fish sashimi was the highlight for me--it came garnished with crispy rice balls, and had a light citrusy yuzu sauce. Finally, we topped the dinner with a bunch of specialty rolls and sushi. The standouts were the Mifune and the Dragon. Who would have thought to put mango in an eel roll? genius. Furthermore, the soft shelled crab in the Mifune, as B's sister pointed out, was not overwhelmed by the other ingredients--it really let the flavors of the crab shine through! What a treat this dinner was. Can't wait to go back to Vegas again :)

LOBSTER MISO SOUP
Maitake Mushrooms and Lobster



EDAMAME
Okinawa Sea Salt



WHITE FISH SASHIMI

Miso Yuzu Emulsion, Crunchy Rice, Black Hawaiian Salt


MIFUNE
Soft Shell Crab, Tobiko, Scallion, Daikon Katsura With Spicy Aioli
NIJI (RAINBOW)
Crab meat, Avocado Wrapped in Tuna, Yellow Tail, Salmon, Fluke, Shrimp and Young Yellow Tail
RYU (DRAGON)
Freshwater Eel, Cucumber, Mango with Avocado
SPICY TUNA
MACKEREL



Plums on the side



AUSTRALIAN KOBE BEEF TATAKI

Red Onions, Lemon Tamari Soy and Tarragon Oil