Chris Blaug

Planting the Garden

2009-05-16T17:14:00.001-04:00

Here's what we started with in the garden...mainly some sort of flowering tuber. We pulled them up and enriched the soil with a few bags of good dirt.

Elizabeth is showing off her green thumb inadvertently here. We've got pea plants running up the wall, with zucchinis in front of that...the first flowers are already showing.

To the right of that is a row of sweet basil and some arugula in front of that.

Elizabeth ran a row of flowers in front of the veggies...a mix of sweet william, coxcomb/towers, dahlia and a few coleus.

Here's the thyme planter...a cool mix of regular thyme, orange thyme and creeping thyme.

Herb Row...we've got a mix of tomato and herb plants here...Elizabeth's cleaning up after the plantings as well. We've got some cilantro, basil, fennel, basil, rosemary, oregano and one I'm watching closely...winter savory...we used some with a rack of lamb dish last weekend and it reminded me of a cross between sage and oregano...less oily pungent than sage and a bit more aromatically peppery like oregano.

Stay tuned for the yields...zucchini flowers will probably be first up on the menu.

Flea Market Finds

2009-05-03T21:45:00.003-04:00

We were up at the flea market by the old Eastern State Penitentiary a few weeks back and I'm just now getting around to posting some of the more interesting finds.

This one just cracks me up...it's a shredder...it's a chopper...it's a slicer...it's La Machine. I wonder when this was an 'incredible new food prep system'.

A quick googling on the web reveals that this Miami-Vice era machine does not hail from France, but rather Virginia Beach, VA and could be bought at JC Pennys.

Highlight of La Machine history was the 1986 recall for over a million of these things for multiple cases of hand lacerations and finger amputations...mon dieu!

Here's what we really were on the hunt for...Bakelite bangles for Elizabeth. She spotted a little old lady sitting on a treasure trove here.

This is a close-up of a different display case of carved Bakelite bangles....what you're looking at would probably fetch between $10K - $15K. The lady who owned it makes appearances around town at local festivals and flea markets...her name escapes me, but she was very helpful and friendly.

Walking back down Green St. we saw the remnants of some pink blossoms scattered about like snow...thought we'd get one last look at the blooms.

Spring Weekend

2009-04-28T22:20:00.002-04:00

Park in front of Elizabeth's office

Long walk to the Art Gallery

Reverse shot from the top of the museum stairs...the "Rocky POV"

Iron fence detail surrounding the Spring Gardens

Spring is Here! What have we been up to?

2009-04-12T17:47:00.002-04:00

Even the Eagle at Macy's is getting into the season.

Spring arrived in Philly this month. Here's a few pics from around the neighborhood.

So what have we been doing? Actually, most of our blogging has been over at CE Phood. Hop over there for a quick peek of what's been coming out of our kitchen and some of the kitchen's we've been visiting.

Snowy Day in Philly

2009-02-08T18:51:00.003-05:00

Snowy Night

2009-02-03T23:27:00.001-05:00

Christmas Dinner: Ricotta Gnocchi with Butter & Olives

2009-01-14T00:20:00.001-05:00

Ahh...pillowy soft ricotta gnocchi. Elizabeth has always done a great potato gnocchi and got a grip on the techniques you need to keep them light, fluffy bites of pasta instead of small, gummy bullets of dough, but when she tried the ricotta gnocchi at Mercado last month, she knew that potatoes are second fiddle to the wonder that is cheese.

We were visiting my family in D.C. and wanted to share with them our new-found primo pasta. I waited in line nearly 40 minutes the day before Christams at Claudio's just to make sure we'd have the freshest ricotta to use for this dish...after all, it's all about the cheese.

Since we were going to do Ricotta Gnocchi with Olives & Browned Butter, I splurged and bought some Italian butter as well. It ended up making a slight positive difference...more on that later

The recipe itself is simple and fun to make. But getting the right dough consistency was crucial and you cant' do a straight potato-to-ricotta swap. After perusing the internet for consensus on how to get a light dough that won't break apart we came to the conclusion that:

ratios vary because of the moisture content of the ricotta...start with a firm ricotta (Claudio's FRESH ricotta from the case does it for me) or drain the store-bought stuff over a strainer for at least several hours
alot of people load up the dough with extras to overcome runny cheese or to avoid excessive flour...a favorite is to use finely grated Parmesan, some potato or eggs.

We decided to keep it simple and only use ricotta & flour...no matter what, you season the ricotta (salt, pepper...some people use nutmeg).

Elizabeth dumped out 1 cup of flour then slowly added it, 1/4 cup at a time, to 2 lbs of Ricotta...I don't think she used all the flour, but I could be wrong. The main thing to remember here is that you get the dough firm enough to be rolled out like a 'snake' or a pretzel...Elizabeth & Taylor played with the dough until it got to that stage, then got to work.

It was great watching Elizabeth and our niece Taylor mixing the ricotta & flour together, then rolling the dough out and cutting it.

Drop your little pillows in a pot of GENTLY boiling water, then pull them after they've floated to the top and bobbed about for a minute. I offered to be the lifeguard and taste them to make sure they were ready to get out of the pool.

So I bought some 'Parmesan Reggiano' butter from Claudio's and sauteed the gnocchi in it as they came out of the boil. The butter added a little more flavor than your average Land O'Lakes...it didn't seem as cloying...more subtle. Plus, it didn't foam nearly half as much, so I guess it has less solid fats in it, which was nice because I didn't have to worry about scorching it.

I apologize for the blurry photo here, but we were plating for a party of 9 and I rushed it...still you can make out the snowfall of Parmesan, the glistening butter-coating and meaty slivers of Cerignola olives all resting on fluffy pasta pillows.

After the pasta course, we served a side of Broccolini & Plucked Brussel's Sprouts, roasted in garlicky olive-oil.

Along with the roasted greens went a heavy dose of veal sausages I picked up from Martin's Meats in Reading Terminal Market.

We had started the meal with a Seared Scallop, Arugula & Clementine Salad...the scallops were bought from Johnny Yi's in RTM as well...and ended it with a Strawberry Panna Cotta.

That's the basic run-down of our "All-Philly Ingredients" dinner that we cooked for the family in D.C....all of which was good...but the gnocchi were my hands-down favorite.

Brother-in-law Scallops

2009-01-09T21:51:00.005-05:00

The Thai have a dish called son-in-law eggs in which an egg is boiled then deep-fried...recipe search begins here...the story goes that this was the only meal that a young suitor knew how to make when he cooked to impress the family of his prospective bride.

We seem to have developed a dish that our brother-in-law loves to drool over, judging by his comments on our blog...the seared scallop.

We cooked a Seared Scallop & Arugula, Clementine Salad over Christmas for the family and we couldn't help but tease him a bit. We splurged & bought some dry packed U-10's from our source in Reading Terminal Market, Johnny Yi.

This one's for you Chris!

If a blogger blogs in in the woods...

2009-01-09T10:16:00.011-05:00

Hooray! We finally made were made mention on the foodie scene with a few nods on one of the definitive Philadelphia food blogs, Foobooz

December-
Is this the economy? CE Phood is writing up Under the C at the Comcast Center food court. Best of all, 50% off prepared foods at the end of the day. [CE Phood]

January-
Don’t read CE Phood’s roundup of dinner at Apamate on an empty stomach. Candied sausage, oxtail, cheese and pepper on a plantain, Iberico ham thinly shaved & sweetened figs. It goes on and on. Luckily we’ve got Spanish wine in the rack. [CE Phood]

It’s good to hear good things about the latest items coming out of the kitchen at South Philadelphia Taproom. [CE Phood]

Thanks Foobooz!

Ok, so we were credited with spotting a deal...no big deal...and we're glad that we could share some great in-town eats. Nice to know that people are actually reading the blog.

Snowfall in Philly

2009-01-05T23:15:00.000-05:00

Here's the mustang wearing her first coat of snow...time to get a car cover

Winter Lights

2008-12-29T23:36:00.000-05:00

Here's a few shots of the last holiday lights around Headhouse Row...

Prosciutto Ham & Hirtenkase Cheese Pastry

2008-12-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth saw this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and changed up the ingredients a bit.

Here's the link to the original...

We bought some prosciutto and a German cheese called Hirtenkase to replace the ham & Gruyere. The Hirtenkase is a super-strong cheese, like an Emmentaler or strong Swiss cheese with the crunch of a Parmesan. Elizabeth left out the mustard because the cheese was so strong and had that bit of zestyness that Dijon would've brought.

This came out of the oven golden brown and delicious...we sliced it up into pieces to have with some wine, but saved some an reheated it for breakfast.

Christmas in Philadelphia: Christmas Village @ City Hall

2008-12-14T16:06:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we noticed that a small village of stalls had set up shop around City Hall near the City Hall Christmas Tree.
During the daytime it's a little low-key, but at night it comes to life.

They call it Christmas Village and it's filled with food vendors, holiday gifts & ornament shops and a small stage.
Here was one of the Christmas-ware vendors...a Russian nested doll shop.

Yelp Review: Under the C @ Comcast Market

2008-12-13T17:48:00.000-05:00

Comcast Market & Under the C

Lots of options here for lunch, but there were some good take-home after-work stores too in this upscale food court.

Of course you've got some good sweets to take home with Termini Bros. and there's Di Bruno Bros. for everything else. I also saw a produce stand with your basics and quite a few asian ingredients.

Under the C was a seafood market (clever play on words) that sold pre-made food as well as fresh seafood.

We sampled their shrimp toast (layered in cheese, the shrimp nuggets were good...they nearly sold out while we were waiting), shrimp dumplings & coconut shrimp.

Because it was the end of the day we got 50% the prepared food...the seafood looked fresh...they had a good deal on skate wing when I was there but I can't say if the fish was overpriced.

Yelp Review: Cedars Middle Eastern Restaurant

2008-12-13T17:38:00.000-05:00

Cedars Middle Eastern RestaurantA very clean atmosphere...suitable for dinner, not just a little lunch or grab and go establishment.

My wife & I dropped in to sample some appetizers for a light lunch and were pleasantly pleased. The service was attentive & friendly.

We ordered:

Dolmades - The rice-stuffed grape leaves were served warm with lemon...perfectly seasoned.

Foul Moudamas - This is a blend of cooked fava beans, lemon and garlic. The beans had been cooked to a semi-soft consistency and made a rich broth. I'd never tried this before and was pleasantly surprised.

Falafel - A simple well crisped patty of beans, served with pickle, tomato & a tahini sauce...this went great with the pita bread they serve at the table...we rolled them up and had mini-falafel sandwiches.

I'm not sure if the prices are reasonable or not for the entrees, but I'd keep coming back for the appetizers, which comprise about half the menu...they even have a meze tasting that is nothing but a cavalcade of apps...might be the next thing we try.

Seared Scallop & Clemetine Arugula Salad

2008-12-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

We saw some great scallops at Johnny YI's @ Reading Terminal Market and wanted to pull a simple salad around some seared scallop goodness.

We had just bought a case of Clementines last week from Whole Foods Elizabeth remembered seeing a salad recipe using some citrus.

Here's the link to the recipe.

We left out the pomegranate seeds and grapefruit, but the result was still a good balance between the bright citrus and the sweet caramelized sear of the scallop.

The arugula & red onion gave it a peppery background; make sure you cut the onions as thin as humanly possibly...like see-through thin...so that you won't get any overwhelming onion bite. You can also soak the red onion in cold water for about 10 minutes to lift out the more offensive flavor.

Making Room for More See Food

2008-12-12T00:35:00.003-05:00

I noticed that food blogging is starting to emerge in Philadelphia.

Rick Nichols of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article after attending a local food blogger potluck that does a great roundup of some of the local food blogs I've been following and it got me thinking that I need to shift the food-focus of our blog away from this all-purpose personal blog to one that's a little more food-oriented.

Elizabeth & I will be posting the more food related stuff to our new blog CE Phood in the hopes that we can contribute our little camera cookery to the scene.

Those of you reading this outside the Philadelphia metro area are probably groaning at the blatant appeal to Philadelphians with the 'Ph' or the throwback old-school Phat-ness of the Ph as F, but stop to consider this...

why photo, why not foto?
why fine, why not phine?

Ok, now that we've resolved nothing, onto the new website address.

http://cephood.blogspot.com

Xmas in Philly: A Comcast Christmas

2008-12-06T22:29:00.001-05:00

While Macy's is your go-to for a retro-holiday organ & light show, the Comcast Center's is the modern jaw-dropper.

Here's a shot of the lobby. The ocean that you see is really being projected on the wall of the four-story lobby. Notice the trapeze artist...she's also a projected figure made to look live against this sprawling background.

For the holidays they run soothing orchestral holiday tunes while holiday appropriate videos play out across the wall. Here I grabbed a blurry shot of giant ice-skating couples flying across the lobby in a simulated snow-shower. There was a huge crowd packed into the lobby of the Comcast Center watching this show.

We had to descend into the market in the basement to get these shots and the motion was so real and fast that I had trouble getting a clear shot.

While I marveled at the technology involved in this simulation (towering video screens captivating crowds...I imagine myself being in Tokyo or a cheery Blade Runner Xmas) I couldn't help thinking that the simplicity of the Macy's approach really was more fitting for the season.

Still, I can only imagine plugging that four-story wall into a flight simulator or the latest space-battle game.

XMas in Philly: Macy's Tree

2008-12-06T22:25:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot of the Christmas tree in Macy's downtown. The Wannamaker building a huge multi-story old building with a cavernous central atrium. I feel like I'm back in the 1940's surrounded by all the colossal architecture and decor.

This shot is looking up from the shoe dept...yeah, the shoe dept has a view like this! There's an organ that plays periodically throughout the day. We happened to be here just as a large crowd was gathering to hear the show...apparently this is a tradition.

Thanksgiving Leftovers: Smoked Brisket, Blue Cheese & Beer-Braised Leeks

2008-11-30T22:36:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth's parents gave us some Thanksgiving leftovers to take home...the crown jewel was a chunk of smoked brisket.

Elizabeth's father smoked the brisket with applewood I think and kept it moist with a mixture that included apple juice. The end result was a smoky richness with a hint of sweetness...perfect flavors to build on.

I sliced the smoked brisket thin against the grain, then seared them to get a bit of crisp around the edges.

Next, I sliced a huge leek from the farmer's market, sweated it off in some olive oil & salt, then braised the leeks in a Belgian blonde ale. The ale gave the leeks a flavor similar to the smoking process of the bitter-sweet brisket...main flavor of slight hoppiness with malty sweet undertone. I let these caramelize and kept adding the beer in small doses to prevent burning.

We had some Danish Blue Cheese from Whole Foods that would go great with the smoky-sweet brisket & bitter beer-sweetened leeks. This is similar to a Saga Blue...very firm and salty to balance the pungent 'blue' notes.

We pan-toasted some flatbread to get a cripsy base for the toppings. We then arranged the three components with a bit of parsley before enjoying these smoky bittersweet meaty cheesy appetizers.

Eastern Shore Excursion: Metompkin Seafood Market

2008-11-29T22:15:00.000-05:00

On the opposite end of the cooking spectrum from The Machipongo Clam Shack 'lighter fare' is the Metompkin Seafood Market...fried (fresh) seafood that's so good you know it's bad for you!

I love the way that the menu is hand-lettered, crossed out and taped over. I noticed that the price of french fries has been dropping steadily from the scribbled out prices.

There's no dining area inside, just a counter full of fresh seafood and a register. We ordered up some fried clams & fish and browsed the seafood while we waited.

While we waited there was a steady flow of locals coming in and out picking up crab cake sandwiches...one guy grabbed a sack of 8...I think his family had sent him on a crab cake run.

These little beauties smelled like the ocean...salty and fresh, with no bad wiffs.

We should've ordered only HALF of this...the portions were enormous. The fish batter was your standard corn-meal base, the fish was flaky & tender...it tasted like flounder but I didn't remember to ask what they used until we had left. Plus, I recalled seeing they had alot of fresh flounder for sale.

Fried clams were good, but we'll try the crab cake sandwich next time as it seemed to be the local's pick.

Eastern Shore Excursion: Chatam & Holly Grove Vineyards

2008-11-28T21:53:00.001-05:00

I always knew that the Eastern Shore grew grapes to sell to large-run Virginia wineries, but it's only in the last few years that wineries have begun to spring up on the Eastern Shore.

We stopped at two of these on the way back from Thanksgiving...one of them we had tried before, the other was brand new.

This is the view as you approach Chatam Vineyards. We've tried Chatam's wines before and we really liked their Rose.

The tasting room was bright, clean and friendly. There were several good whites and a decent red (Virginia reds are a little more anemic...but this thinness helps the aromas to come out). We ended up buying a bottle of the oaked Chardonnay.

The second vineyard was Holly Grove and it's rather new.

This is a family-run vineyard with a small tasting room, warm & friendly. He invited us back into the production area, shown here, and went through the stages and techniques of winemaking.

Holly Grove has some delicious Chardonnays that have won a few medals...most prominently a Gold in the Virginia Cup. Our favorite was the '07 Chardonnay.

Stop in and visit...Holly Grove is easily accessible from Rt.13 and is located south of Exmore a few miles from Chatam.

Eastern Shore Excursion: The Great Machipongo Clam Shack

2008-11-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

We drove down to Virginia to spend Thanskgiving with family. Wanting to avoid traffic, we took Rt.13 down the Eastern Shore. On the Virginia side of the Shore you'll find one of the best seafoood markets & restaurant...The Great Machipongo Clam Shack.

The GMC Shack is located just south of Exmore in a vacated fast-food restaurant but is lightyears away from the greasy offerings you usually find on 'The Road'.

Fresh steamed shellfish, grilled & broiled fish, soups & sandwiches, you can find a great healty & lite lunch offering and walk away with fresh ingredients for dinner.

Elizabeth ordered a bowl of Maryland-style (red) crab soup; made with claw meat & brimming with vegetables & potato, it was reminiscent of Brunswick Stew.

Here you see my clam-fritter sandwich...similar to an quiche. Served with a fresh 'slaw, this sandwich was an interesting way to have a warm seafood sandwich that wasn't deep fried & battered.

Veggie, Noodle & Shrimp Bowl

2008-11-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice little weeknight noodle dish that Elizabeth usually makes for lunch...I threw some pan-seared shrimp on to to make it a dinner.

Ingredients in no specific amount:

2 sticks of Soba buckwheat noodles
carrots, matchstick cut
edamame beans, steamed
cilantro leaves
seasame seeds
sauce (order in lessening amount) - sesame oil,rice wine vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar

Unique Philly Sandwich: Roast Garlic Pork & Broccoli Rabe

2008-11-24T22:57:00.000-05:00

We grabbed this sandwich from Steaks on South St. It's made with roast garlic & pork, filled with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone.

It took a little longer to make that your average cheesesteak, but it was worth it. The guy serving it up asked me "Are you ready for an awesome sandwich?!?!"

If you like sharp strong flavors then this sandwich is for you...biting bitterness of the rabe, the cheesy sting of provolone, the deep sweetness of juicy roast pork & garlic all melded together perfectly.

Butternut Squash Risotto Redux

2008-11-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

After the success Elizabeth had with her last Butternut Squash Risotto, she decided to amp up the presentation factor.

We cut the neck off a medium sized Butternut squash; then we split the bottom sphere in half. IMPORTANT! Slice a small bit off the bottom of each bowl so that the halves will stand up without rolling over.

While I peeled and cubed the neck, Elizabeth scooped out the seeds, then scooped out a bit more flesh to make room for risotto.

Place the squash bowls in a 375 degree oven, cut side down and coated with a thin layer of olive oil on exposed squash.

While the squash cooks, begin making your risotto. Here's the basic ingredients for that step:

2 cups chicken stock & 2 cups water, simmering in a pot
1/2 onion diced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 tblsp butter
Parmesan cheese to taste

Here's how you make risotto...but if you now how to 'risotto' then go to it!

Also Elizabeth toasted some pumpkin seeds (pepitos), then sauteed the reserved squash cubes for 10 minutes and finally crisped some whole sage leaves.

By the time your risotto is ready, your squash should be done. Pull it out, stuff it in the bowl, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, Parmesan cheese and diced squash.

Brussles Sprouts Technique - Pluck the Leaves

2008-11-18T21:35:00.000-05:00

Here's another example of how you can introduce Brussles sprouts to people who may have been turned off by the little green globes in the past.

Here we sprinkled in some pine-nuts and dried currants and drizzled with olive oil.

Same technique as before:

Pull the first four or five leaves off each sprout, then cut the base off what's left of your sprout-nub.
Cut the remaining nub in half and pull it apart with your fingers. Discard any chunky bit.

Weekday Dinner: Savoy Cabbage, Sausage & Whole Wheat Penne

2008-11-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a recipe we've been fixing for a long time after spotting it in an edition of Cooking Light. I usually halve the amount of pasta they call for..it always seems like carbo overload.

This easy for a weeknight because you can make the leek, cabbage & sausage mixture all in one skillet and boil your pasta at the same time. It all comes together in the same pan.

This is Cooking Light's version...I think our cabbage was a bit greener and cut in larger pieces, which gave it more chew.

Fast Apps: Seared Diver Scallops on Pancetta & Brussels Sprouts Leaves

2008-11-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

After a spectacular couple of weeks cooking with autumn greens, we were left with three lonely Brussels sprouts. Strolling through Whole Foods, we spied some U-10 Scallops that would make a perfect appetizer.

Elizabeth manned the scallop station here, creating a perfect sear on the humongous U-10s. Cook them on medium-high heat, keeping a close eye on the scallop.

Don't bother with cooking according to minutes...sear your tops & bottoms, then watch the side of the scallop...when the watery, translucence goes away and you get an elastic touch, wait a moment or two more then it's time to pull them off the heat.

The sprout leaves to me are the coolest thing about this recipe. I always hated Brussels sprouts (whole, halved or quartered) because they were green chunks of semi-sulfurous bitterness. But if you peel the sprout, leaf by leaf, the eggy sulfurous character goes away and you're left with a mellow leafy-green.

Pull the first four or five leaves off each sprout, then cut the base off what's left of your sprout-nub.

Cut the remaining nub in half and pull it apart with your fingers. Discard any chunky bit.

We rendered some chopped pancetta in a hot pan (you could use thick-cut or slab bacon), then added the Brussels sprouts leaves.

Once the leaves wilted and took on a slight char, turn off the heat and splash it with a scant tablespoon or so of an acid...we used sherry vinegar, but red-wine vinegar or apple cider would work.

The final result...sweet seared scallop, salty crispy pork bits and slightly sour & bitter bite from the leaves.

Recipie Research: Hillbilly Eggrolls

2008-11-17T00:31:00.000-05:00

One of the things I miss most about the Norfolk restaurant scene is The Taphouse...a great mix of good food, beer and outdoor patio kickback dining. The greatest thing they ever served on their menu were Hillbilly Eggrolls.

Hillbilly Eggrolls disappeared for a short while from the menu and although we wanted to try and decipher the mystery without using chunky eggroll skins, we didn't have access to good spring roll wrappers...until we moved to Philly.

Hillbilly Eggrolls are your standard eggroll/springroll made with:

1 lb. Cooked Ham
1 can Black-eyed Peas
4oz. Gruyere Cheese
10oz. Cabbage
1pkg. Spring Roll Wrappers

Serve with Texas Pete or Tabasco dipping sauce

(Beware! This yields about 1 1/2 to 2 dozen rolls)

A quick Google search revealed that nobody has a good recipe even more reason to try and figure this one out.

Attempt #1

-Ham & Cheese were sliced into large matchsticks
-Cabbage was wrapped uncooked

You can see roughly the amounts added to a single roll.

Deep-fried in 375-400 degree peanut oil (canola is fine, but peanut gives more flavor) here's the results.

Attempt #1 was decent, but when the cabbage cooked down in the wrap, it left alot of vacant space in the roll...not very satisfying. Plus the cheese didn't' really blend in well.

Attempt #2

Elizabeth had a better idea...cook the cabbage beforehand so that it wouldn't wilt in the wrapper.

Next, we diced some of the ham a little smaller to match the size of the black-eyed peas. Also, we shredded the cheese so that it would fold into the cabbage and flavor it without running out.

The end result was perfect. The rolls came out of the hot oil bath plump withHillbilly goodness...chunks of ham, strong cheese flavor and little punches of beany texture, all dripping with hot sauce.

Now that we've got the third and final member of the Decadent Springroll Trio...Duck Confit & Dried Cherry, Philly Cheesesteak, & Hillbilly....although the Duck confit is a little too upscale...maybe we'll try the Redneck Eggroll...pork BBQ, cabbage and pickles.

Road Trip: Sly Fox Brewery

2008-11-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

We'd planned on going to Winterthur Gardens but the grounds were absolutely drenched from a week of rain, so instead we stuck to the byways. After having some great craftbrew from Sly Fox, I wanted to check out one of their two breweries, so we cruised out to Phoenixville in the Mustang.

After cruising up the Main Line, then doing some 'car-commercial' quality driving through a few hollows, we landed in the parking lot of the Sly Fox brewery.
It wasn't that interesting on the outside. Located in a shopping mall, it had a small patio ourside...but it's what's inside that I was after.

Here's Mini-Guinni...the O'Reilly Stout served in a small sampler glass...look at the perfect pour on the glass. The nice thing here is that you can get a sampler of 5 beers for $6.

Here we have, from left to right:

Aurora IPA - A very hoppy ale, with a lot of body...try it once just to say you had it
Berliner Weisse - A summer sipper...thin, smooth, slightly sour/citiric
O'Reilly Stout - A dry stout for Guinness-drinkers
Black Raspberry Reserve - Not terrbily sweet at all...which is a good thing
Saison Brune - Had that good 'barnyard' character that comes from saison...malty goodness

You can tell from the uneven pours in the picture the first two we went for...Elizabeth took a sip on the Raspberry and I went straight for the Saison Brune. I have to admit, my favorite beers lately have been those you'd find in N. France/S.Belgium...saisons and biere de garde...welcome diversions from German wheats.

When Google Sneezes, the Country Gets the Flu

2008-11-12T13:07:00.001-05:00

I ran across this article on the New York Times describing how Google was able to predict flu outbreaks by looking at how many people searched on words that describe flu-like symptoms.

The blue band is actual reported cases from the CDC and the yellow band is Google's frequency of keyword searches.

Assuming Google retains it's share of the search engine market, the day might not be too far off that Google metrics become a sort of sociological Dow Jones Index, as well as an early warning system for global phenomenon in the noosphere.

Celeriac & Brussels Sprout Risotto w/ Proscutti Leaves & Lamb

2008-11-11T20:38:00.000-05:00

Here's the inspiration Elizabeth ran across.

...and here's the result of some farmer's market finds...celeriac & brussels sprouts. Elizabeth whipped up her signature risotto recipe and we then added the ingredients to the finished risotto. Here's the components:

Risotto
1 cup arborrio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 leek, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups chicken stock & 2 cups water, boiling
salt & parmesan sprinkles to taste

and here's what you do with that...but if you now how to 'risotto' then go to it! To give it a theme, just throw in any ingredient when the risotto is 5 minutes from being done.

This is the FIRST time we actually used ALL FOUR eyes of the gas stove here. On the main eye, (lower left) we've got your standard risotto recipe going....and the accompanying pot of broth that you use to ladle your stock into the rice one cup at a time.

Top right is a pot of celeriac root, cubed and boiled. Bottom right is a pan of brussels sprouts with 1 tbs of olive oil sauteed, then a 1/3 cup of water to steam it.

The main trick to the sprouts is to pluck each leaf off the sprout individually; I cut the base off of the sprout and peel off the layers like an artichoke. I chop the remaining nubs up or discard the knobby part. Now you've got a nice pile of leafy sprout goodness instead of quartered hunks of green gobs.

To give a meaty foil to the leaves of brussels sprouts, we pan-crisped some proscutti and then served it with the risotto. Finally, we seared up a slice of lamb leg ($1.69 @ Super Fresh...yum!) cooked rare and sliced on the bias.

WE ALL LIVE ON A YELLOW TREE-LINED STREET... A YELLOW TREE-LINED STREET... A YELLOW TREE-LINED STREET...

2008-11-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

A friend of ours visiting happened to mention the name of this tree so we looked it up...the Ginkgo tree is a rather ancient and odd tree known for it's bold fall color and it's smelly fruit.

Here's more info on the tree.

It definitely makes an impact on the senses... a magnificent sight and a tremendous stench walking by it every day in Autumn.

Halloween...Let's Put a Smile on That Face!

2008-11-01T14:07:00.001-04:00

OK, I admit after seeing The Dark Knight who DIDN'T want to be the Joker for Halloween. But I knew that there would be a lot of jokers running around out there tonight and this week's episode of the Office only confirmed that. There's even an article I read that talks about how this version of the Joker will be iconic.

<--- Here's the way you want your Joker costume to turn out...Creed from the Office is creepy enough.

And here's what you don't want to do. --->

Here's the final result.

Funny thing though, my batteries were dead in my camera, so we had to go to the supermarket down the street and buy some more.

The guy running the register was startled and actually yelled out "What the?!?!" when I came through the door.

When Elizabeth and I walked out, a woman outside gasped and jumped back. I never realized how jumpy this costume would make people.

In several places we went that night people actually got nervous when I was standing next to them.

One lady actually wouldn't sit down in her seat because I was standing so close and her boyfriend had to coax her back.

It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer ran into Crazy Joe Divola dressed as an operatic clown.

I guess some people never lose their fear of clowns.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:08:00.000-04:00

The Curse of Billy Penn is No More...So Says Google

2008-10-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

Phillies Won!!
The Curse of Billy Penn is Lifted!!

Elizabeth and I took to the streets minutes after the Phillies struck out the last Tamp Bay hitter. The city is literally erupting with reckless joy...honking, fireworks being thrown into the street, random cheers and backslapping complete strangers. I'm not even a 'phan' and I have to admit there's a once-in-a-lifetime energy flowing through the crowds tonight.

News channels have been pointing the camera into the streets for the last hour just watching the mayhem. Over 5000 people alone have begun piling onto Broad Street, probably to have their picture taken in front of City Hall and celebrate breaking the Curse of Billy Penn.

How does the rest of the world feel? Let's ask Google...

Found a new Google feature when searching around for info on the Phillies parade...Google Trends shows you the hottest search trends...search for any phrase and see how popular it has been...or look at the top 100 searches in the last hour.

More Leaves for Jen & Other Autumnal Bits

2008-10-27T00:41:00.000-04:00

My sister Jen, who lives in Austin, put in a request for some more fall colors...since Texas probably doesn't get it's fair share of foliage, we will be more than happy to oblige her request.

We snapped these on a little exploration trip out into the suburbs around Philly...this one was in an area called Haverford.

Elizabeth snapped these...she saw the contrast between the dark bark and bright leaves and we pulled over to grab a shot for Jen.

Here's a bonus feature for the Fall theme...odd, warty pumpkins from a pumpkin patch outside the city. We bought some apples to make candied apples and a pumpkin to carve up this weekend. I'll post a pic of the jack-o-lantern when I get some more batteries for my camera.

We made candied apples too, but those didn't survive long enough to get a picture of them...here's somebody else's picture but it looked about the same. We used Cameo apples, but the main ingredient? SUGAR!!

Lucky for me the Phillies game ran late from rain delay because we spent most of the weekend jacked up on a candied apple sugar rush...thanks to the bright red apples (Phillies colors? Hmmm) I had no trouble staying awake and was able to watch the Phillies win game 3 around at around 2A.M.

Dmitri's - Good Cheap Eats

2008-10-27T00:35:00.000-04:00

They pack 'em in here at Dmitri's but it's worth the tight quarters and the wait; grab a drink at the bar across the street (New Wave Cafe) and the waitress will come and get you when a table opens up. Elizabeth and I arrived just after 9 on a Friday and ended up spending a half-hour waiting across the street. It's worth it though.

We ordered the grilled octopus, which seemed to be a must based on the reviews here. It was so-so..good grill flavor and swimming in olive oil & vinegar. It seemed a bit too tough and hard to cut with the dull knives...maybe it was tougher & dried out because this order was later in the night? I'll have to go back and try it again to see if it was a fluke.

The smelts were delicious...lightly dusted and fried crisp, it was like seafood french fries. Just as good as fried anchovies at Amada. The portions here are on the gargantuan size. Elizabeth witnessed the table behind us receive a pile of feta cheese blocks the size of a small brick.

We split the lamb entree. Roasted, sliced and grilled, the lamb was full of char-flavor...only regret was the lack of decent knife to slice it with. Notice in the photo above Elizabeth furiously sawing away with a butter knife.

The lamb rested on a bed of roasted peppers and was served with a cucumber-yogurt sauce that smoothed out the intense smoky flavor of the grill. The warm olive oil drizzle greens and rice was a decent & simple side.

Service was friendly and fast. Great night out for under $45...this is a BYOB that's cash only...and if you're ordering the lamb, make sure you BYOK...Knife!

Thanksgiving Tryouts! Turkey & Sage Sauce w/ Brussels Sprouts

2008-10-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

We just received the Thanksgiving edition of Cooking Light and decided to try out a few recipes. Here's Turkey Cutlets with Pancetta Sage Sauce with a side of Brussels Sprouts with Currants & Pine Nuts.

These recipes were fast and easy. We had them done in under 40 minutes for under $15 bucks

Recipe for Turkey Cutlets with Pancetta Sage Sauce

The turkey cutlets came in under $5.00 at Whole Foods (no hormones).....................$5
We substituted pancetta with thick-cut bacon...you'll need only one piece...................$1
Also, we used salted water instead of chicken broth
You could substitute the 3/4 white wine with 1/2 cup apple or white grape juice.......$3
Sage came from the garden, but you could substitue with Thyme.

Recipe for Brussels Sprouts with Currants & Pine Nuts.

The sprouts were less than $3.00 at the farmer's market..........................................$3
The currants & pine nuts were from Trader Joe's ...the best place to get good nuts & dried fruits for cheap...$8 for both bags with PLENTY left over...................................................$2
You could substitute with raisins (golden or not) & slivered almonds.

Random Fall Foliage

2008-10-17T10:49:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic I snapped up in Doylestown last weekend. Doylestown is a day-trippers town, with a good blend of antique shops, lunch stops and walkable streets.

Here's Three Bear Park, a little playground in our neighborhood. I snapped this on our after-work walk. I love the way that the tiny little yellow leaves are filling in the gaps in the cobblestone streets around here, like a kind of snow.

Butternut Squash Risotto

2008-10-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Here's the recipe we used for the farmer's market squash...Butternut Squash Risotto. Elizabeth adapted a version of the risotto from the Barefoot Contessa. She left out the saffron and added in toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitos), sprinkled over the final dish.

Making Pesto

2008-10-15T10:29:00.000-04:00

The nights are getting cold in Philly, which means not much more time before the basil goes...time to make pesto!

Elizabeth's trimmed the basil way down, then rinses and plucks the leaves. We blend the basil leaves in a food processor with enough olive oil to give them a luster.

The final paste goes into an ice-cube tray that we've sprayed with non-stick oil. Freeze the pesto-starter cubes, then store in the freezer. Whenever you need a shot of pesto or basil, you can just reach into the fridge for a chunk of green summer goodness.

Farmer's Market Haul

2008-10-12T10:19:00.000-04:00

Fall is here...which means apples, leeks, butternut squash and pumpkins at the market.

One the left is everything Elizabeth carried in her market bag. On the right, my haul...I actually stole the cucumber from Elizabeth's pile too...notice my three little pumpkins? I jokingly said our place is so small that those were the only kind of pumpkins we had room for.

Weekend Road Trip - General Lafayette Inn

2008-10-11T09:42:00.000-04:00

A perfect fall weekend ...we took the Mustang for a run out of the city. We dropped in on the General Lafayette Inn, a tavern up in Lafayette Hill that brews it's own beer.

This place is OLD! It dates back from the 1700's. The Inn above the bar is haunted (read the stories at thier website). With the low ceilings, small rooms divided by heavy-timber posted doorways it drips with charm. I imagine snow covered hills outside, roaring fire inside and enjoying a warm bowl of soup tucked into one of the corner booths. This weekend however, it was sunny and 75...no soup for us!

Of course, the best part about the General Lafayette is the bar. There were a few locals enjoying pints when we seated ourselves at the long , low bar. A few other day-trippers and locals dropped in while we were there...the place had good traffic flow for the middle of the day.

Here's a listing of thier brews

The General brews its own beers, true...but this isn't your average brewpub. Here's a brew that caught Elizabeth's eye...Lafayette’s Bière de Framboises. This beer is made with pounds and pounds of raspberries, which give a great aroma and tang. Mercifully, this is not a sweet frambozen lambic...just crisp clean raspberry goodness with a little effervescence.

I opted for Chocolate Thunder...a thick porter with an inky coffee & dark chocolate character.

We were already doing pretty good, both of us enjoying the unique character of the brews. This was a real find though...Cheesesteak Springrolls! The Taphouse in Norfolk served up Hillbilly Eggrolls, ham, black-eyed peas, cabbage and Gruyere cheese. These were thier Philly counterparts. Small slivers of steak, a little bit of cheese (Provolone maybe?) fried in a crispy pastry roll and served with Cheez Whiz dipping sauce.

Yo! Crostini-ize My App! Flammenkuche

2008-10-08T22:28:00.000-04:00

Here's a photo of a delicious appetizer I had at a new French-style restaurant that opened on 6th st., La Minette. Here's our review.

This is Flammenkuche...an Alsatian 'pizza' consisting of heavy cream, caramelized onions, cheese and lardons (bacon croutons YUM!).

Not having time the other night to make a real crust and not wanting to eat alot of calories, we decided to do a crostini that mimiced the flavor profile...but was alot faster and cheaper.

Components
Baguette; sliced along the bias into crostini and toasted lightly

Thick-cut or Slab bacon

1 Medium Onion
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Butter
1-2 tablespoons Cream Sherry

Neufchatel Cheese or light cream cheese

I cooked off the bacon in the pan, drained the grease, reserving about a tabelspoon.

Slice your onion into long slivers, from pole-to-pole, dust with a pinch of brown sugar and a tablespoon of butter then allow them to caramelize in a pan over medium. When the onions are starting to get brown and gooey, splash in about a table spoon or two of cream sherry to punch up the gooey caramelized sweetness

Spread the Neufchatel over your toasted crostini, top with onion mixture and sprinkle with bacon.

Tool Time - Crispy Chicken Thighs

2008-10-07T22:03:00.000-04:00

Whole Foods has been doing some good specials on skinless thighs, so we've been trying to get them extra crispy without using a lot of oil.

Here's an example of a chicken thigh cooked WITH the skin on...cripsy, golden brown and delicious! We seared it off in the pan, topped it with thinly sliced lemons and then baked it off on a 375 oven for 30 minutes.

We sliced the thigh pieces in half, soaked them in buttermilk and then dredged them in rice flour.

Next I heated up two pans...one had some peanut oil in it, the other dry.

We seared off the thigh pieces, getting them slightly browned on each side; the rice flour, while crispier, will char faster then regular breadings.

Once each side of the chicken pieces was browned, we lowered the heat to med-low and placed the other pan on top, now super hot.

We found this brick laying on the sidewalk...I washed it up and double-wrapped it in foil...the Society Hill Chicken Press.

We added the foil wrapped brick to the top to weigh the pan down and press the chicken flat; this slowly squeezed out the chicken's grease & moisture to continue the browning while avoiding the charring.

Here's the end result...a good crispy coating on tender boneless chicken thighs. The heat and weight of the second pan helped to cook the chicken off faster while keeping it from becoming dry or charred.

Although this technique didn't use skin-on chicken, I think it's similar to the Italian Brick Chicken, Pollo al Mattone, which uses the weight of a brick to keep a splayed whole chicken flat on a hot plate.

Vegetables Without Borders

2008-10-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

Some of our good friends from Virginia visited last weekend bringing a shipment of veggies straight from Elizabeth's parent's garden...a late summer aid-package from our friends and families.

We all went down to the Italian market for some foodie foraging; we cam back with some fresh ricotta. Elizabeth made her signature eggplant parmesan...discs of eggplant, breaded lightly and sauteed, layered with ricotta and smothered in tomato sauce using fresh Romas (again from Norman & Judy!) and basil grown on the patio...and also a gift from Norman & Judy. You can pretty much say that 3/4 of this dish was homegrown start to finish!

Sunday Night Italian Dinner - Hazelnut Pesto & Pasta

2008-09-28T21:23:00.000-04:00

Sunday night gave us a bit of time to do some home-cooking.

Elizabeth had been playing with some hazelnuts the last couple of weeks (Nutella influenced), so we decided to try and use the hazelnut for both an entree and dessert. Our basil is going strong so what better to make than a pesto.

I kneaded some pasta dough while Elizabeth toasted the nuts.

My basic dough recipe is about 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour to every egg, with another 1/4 cup of flour reserved. Here's a decent site that covers the technique.

Isn't that roller beautiful? It may take a little extra time but hand-made pasta is like no other.

Don't be fooled...this is a two person operation...The level of coordination involved in rolling and cutting several sheets of pasta is a true test of your communication skills as a couple.

Here Elizabeth is cranking the pasta press and I'm the dough-boy. Kind of like an organ grinder, the pace is set by the grinder while the 'monkey' has to make sure the dough doesn't fold over and loads straight.

The result? a nice set of noodles. Let them dry while you bring your biggest pot of water to boil. Make sure the water is salty like seawater...you will hardly need to season the pasta if you salt the water properly.

Here's a little stack of basil-mozerella-tomato...the last of the summer tomato.

While the noodles are cooking, throw the pesto ingredients into a food processor; we used 2 huge cups of washed basil, 1/3 cup of shaved pecorino romano, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, and 3 tablespoons of toasted hazlenuts and a pinch of salt & pepper. Place in large bowl.

When the noodles are al dente, pluck them from the boil and throw them into the pesto bowl and serve immediately

OK, for dessert Elizabeth wanted to try something new...panna cotta or "cooked cream". The recipie itself is rather straight foward and she adapted it from this one.

This version was a cream & yogurt gelatin dessert. We decided to top it with hazelnut "snow" and sugared lemon peel. I rolled some lemon peel in sugar....

...while Elizabeth used a microplane to shave hazelnut "snow" atop the surface..it imparts a toasty nutty hazelnut flavor over the panna cotta without ruining the creamy smooth texture. We saw this technique used by Jose Andres on a Cabrales & apple salad.

Here's the finished product... hazlenut dusted lemon panna cotta.

Fante's KItchen Supply

2008-09-27T21:01:00.000-04:00

We dropped into Fante's Kitchen Supply store in the Italian Market this weekend. Although we easily could've walked away with 20 lbs. of equipment, we opted to get something more portable...this little olive jar!

Birthday Happenings

2008-09-26T21:04:00.000-04:00

My best friend Kevin came up to Philly over my birthday weekend and we had a great time showing him around Philly. We had a great wine tasting at Restaurant Panorama and were lucky enough to get a table at Amada for some awesome Spanish tapas.

Saturday we hit the museums...the Crumb exhibit at the ICA was worth the trip out to West Philly, but I love the Rodin museum...here we are doing the tourist pose by the Thinker.

Kevin spied this great shot of City Hall coming out of the subway station...he didn't have his camera on him, so I snapped the shot for him...it turned out really good...he saw the sweep of the staircase against the formal lines of City Hall.

This is the EXACT opposite of City Hall. This is called the Magic Garden and is a South Street treasure. Follow the link to learn more about a local artist's passion to re-use cast-off materials to create these dwellings.

Not only did the artist re-surface his entire house and courtyard with ceramic tiles, bottles and mirrored chips, if you live within a half-mile of the studio, he'll decorate your exterior wall. When we first moved here I wondered what was up with all the strange wall murals and mirrored frescoes in the neighborhood...the Magic Garden is the source of this recycled decor.

Finally, to end out the birthday happenings, here's shot of a breakfast that Elizabeth surprised me with on my birthday...notice the hazelnut "snow" that has fallen across my Belgian waffle and the Asian pear "heart with wings".

Do I, Like, Repeat Myself? GREAT! - Wordle Data Visualization Tool

2008-09-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

In doing some research at work on data visualization & graphing, I stumbled upon this gee-whiz tool called 'Wordle' that lets you paste a block of text in and it spits out an stylized word cloud showing the frequency of your word choice.

http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/209967/ChrisBlaug_Wordcloud

You can also throw an RSS feed at it and it will analyze your blog posts. Here's what this blog looked like...

Not that I consider myself a Shakepeare, but I was horrified to see that two of my three biggest words were 'like' and 'great'.

GREAT!!!! That English degree is, like, really paying off, huh?

Some better examples of 'Wordle'-play are the acceptance speeches of Barak Obama and John McCain.

Obama

McCain

I threw Tina Fey's hilarious impression of Palin from SNL into Wordle and this is what popped out.

Dead Poets Society

2008-09-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Laurel Hill Cemetery...overlooking the river below (see more pics here)...a great way to start a Saturday night.

The Philly Fringe Festival is a series of artistic events that happen throughout the city. The group was doing a dramatic reading of the Spoon River Anthologies.

I'd never heard of this book, but Elizabeth pulled her copy off the shelf and took out her notes to fill me in on why this is a great read. Here's a quick excerpt about the book.

Spoon River Anthology (1915), by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of unusual, short, free-form poems that collectively describe the life of the fictional small town of Spoon River, named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' home town. The collection includes two hundred and twelve separate characters, all providing two-hundred forty-four accounts of their lives and losses.
Each poem is an epitaph of a dead citizen, delivered by the dead themselves. They speak about the sorts of things one might expect. Some recite their histories and turning points, others make observations of life from the outside, and petty ones complain of the treatment of their graves, while few tell how they really died. Speaking without reason to lie or fear the consequences, they construct a picture of life in their town that is shorn of all façades. The interplay of various villagers — e.g. a bright and successful man crediting his parents for all he's accomplished, and an old woman weeping because he is secretly her illegitimate child — forms a gripping, if not pretty, whole

The actors were perched about this large mausoleum, dressed in black and waiting silently as we spread out a blanket and sat down on the lush green grass of the graveyard. One by one, each actor came up to a microphone and read one of the epitaphs from the fictional town graveyard of Spoon River. A solo clarinetist piped out a mix of somber and wistfully swinging tunes between readings.

Sitting there, surrounded by seriously grand gravestones in a Victorian necropolis, you could easily imagine that these people were channeling voices of the dead who, now that they are freed from the artifice & smallness of everyday life, reveal an inner intimate voice.

There's a great website that has links to each of the epitaphs so that you can imagine yourself walking through a graveyard, stopping at each stone and listening for a minute to the voice of it's owner.

Here's a list of some of the epitaphs the players performed, as well as some of Elizabeth's favorites. You can find them all at this website.

Zenas Witt

Serepta Mason

Georgina Sand Miner

Schroder the Fisherman

Dora Williams

William Goode

2nd Anniversary

2008-09-16T22:35:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary in Philadelphia tonight. I brought home some flowers that matched the colors from her bridal bouquet and Elizabeth greeted me at the door with a plate of home-made fortune cookies. I unwrapped a few as we had coffee and talked about our plans for tonight...she had hand written each fortune and placed them in the cookies after baking them.

My parents sent us a great anniversary gift...a framed map of Scotland from the 19th century! I love maps and Elizabeth loves Scotland so it was a great reminder of our wedding. Here it is placed above our tiny mantle.

For dinner I made reservations for an Italian restaurant called Osteria. It won a James Beard award last year, so I figured it'd be a great splurge to celebrate with.

This was Elizabeth's fava-bean soup...in the center is a piece of crustini with lardo...seasoned, cured pork-fat. Wow..this was creamy smooth and full of wonderful "meaty" fava flavor.

For her entree Elizabeth ordered a goat cheese and beet 'plin' or 'pinch'...served with tarragon and butter sauce. The sweetness of the beet played off the tarragon..like vanilla but different. Topped with the goat cheese that held the two flavors together, it was an awesome pasta style neither of us had tried before.

This was a Sardinian fregola ... a pasta similar to Israeli couscous served with a seafood broth, mussels, clams, octopus (YUM!) and lamb sausage. Every bite held a different punch of flavor and the chewy pasta made for an easy way to eat shellfish (no messy noodles).

Here was dessert...a double serving of toffee and candied hazelnut semifreddo filled cannoli topped with a chilled pear and pear-sauce. The candle was a nice touch for our anniversary...totally a surprise to us.

Thanks to all of our friends and family who made our wedding such a great moment in our lives. We had a great time at dinner talking about all the wonderful memories, from our friends and family that came to Scotland to those back in Virginia who showered us with thier warm wishes and good cheer.

Simple Summer Goodness - Basil & Tomato Pasta

2008-09-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

Nothing could be better on a warm summer evening than a dish swimming with summer flavors.

Looking at the basil springing up in our garden every day inspired us to dig out a recipe that Elizabeth's friend Anna gave her several years ago.

Look at the size of these leaves! This recipe uses about 1 cup of basil leaves, loosely packed.

Summer Tomato & Basil Pasta

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chiffonade or thinly sliced.
3 cups Roma or Plum Tomatoes, fine chop or dice
5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to season
1/2 package your favorite pasta; fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti.
1/4 cup shredded parmesan reggiano

Chop your veggies and combine them all in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil, salt to season. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour...THIS IS THE SECRET to the recipe...giving the mixture time to marry. If you don't like strong garlic flavor you can pick out the garlic bits once you've waited for the flavor marriage...they've done their job...I pulled about half out of this batch.

Cook your pasta, throw it in the bowl with your tomato & basil mixture, sprinkle with parm...and enjoy!

Elizabeth made another veggie treat to go along with it...pan-cooked simlins! On the right is what a simlin looks like uncooked...I'd never heard of them, but Elizabeth spotted them at the market this weekend.

Dining in Bizzaro World

2008-09-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

There's an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine befriends a group of guys who are the exact opposites of Jerry, George & Kramer...they look just like them but they're kind, considerate and all around "swell". Here's the run-down of the episode.

Friday night we had our own little bizzaro moment at La Minette, a new French bistro. We were seated at a table with a long couch running along the back wall; Elizabeth sat facing me across the table.

Just as we were getting our dessert, a couple sat down right next to us (La Minette leaves about 18 inches between diners...so I do mean right next to us) in the exact same configuration. They were our bizzaro twins.

The wife was tall, brunette and dressy...after that, the similarities with Elizabeth ended. Her husband looked almost exactly like me, except older, like The Dude from Big Lebowski...and with glasses.

He had on a white button-down shirt rolled to the sleeves, jeans & sketchers...just like me. Even his opening dinner conversation echoed my run-down of the bistro scene in the neighborhood. Elizabeth kept giggling because it was so eerie.

They say you have an opposite twin out there...I've met mine and he lives in Philly too.

Tourist Moment - USS Olympia

2008-09-01T12:44:00.000-04:00

After work most days we like to go for a walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes we zip down to the riverfront where they have alot of old historic ships open for tours.

Here's a historic ship, the USS Olympia. It's the oldest steel warship still afloat...over 100 years old! Read all about it here It was part of the fleet that knocked the Spanish out of the Philippines during the Spanish-American war.

This picture was taken at dusk, but you can see that this ship looks much different than most Navy ships.

Compared to all the grey hulled Navy ships docked along the Delaware, the white sideboard of the Olympia is a stunning sight. Notice the shield painted on the bow; This was America's first real steel warship and they really emphasized the national symbolism.

OBQ - Lamb Osso Bucco Barbeque Sandwich

2008-08-24T15:46:00.000-04:00

Here's the inspiration...the Lamb Osso Bucco open-faced sandwich we ate at Ansill Friday night.
To me it reminded me of an upscale lamb barbeque with a twist. Since tiny is chic, we wanted to do these as mini-sandwiches or sliders.

The dish needs three components, the meat, the gremolata topping and the brioche bun.

"osso bucco"
1 lb. Lamb Shoulder
1/2 medium onion sliced
1 garlic clove

gremolata
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup almonds, roasted
1 organic lemon

4 mini-brioche buns

I threw the lamb shoulders in a hot pan to put a sear on them, turning after a few minutes. Then turned the heat down, added the onions and garlic to get some carmelization going, maybe another 4 or 5 minutes. Finally, I added enough water to nearly cover the shoulders, got it going to a full boil, then covered and simmered for 30 minutes. Add a little salt to season.

Once teh meat was cooked, you pull the meat from the bone to create a pulled BBQ consistency. (Next time, I"ll use a shank to get longer pieces of meat)

I strained the braising sauce, skimmed off the fat and reduced it down to a gravy-like consistency. I stirred that back in to flavor the pulled lamb

To make the gremolata "slaw" of the OBQ sandwich, chop parsley and add some organic lemon peel; make sure it's organic, that way you don't get any nasty pesticides on your peel. Finely chop the almonds and combine everything together with a pinch of Kosher salt.

We bought these mini-brioche buns at Di Bruno Bros. , perfect for OBQ sliders. I hollowed out the top of the bun to make room for the pile of meat & slaw.

Simply top the bun with a generous portion of each and you're ready to dig in! Next time, I'll probably leave a little more stock sauce to drizzle like a gravy over the meat, but the lamb is moist enough and won't dry out. The parsley & lemon give the meat a clean flavor and the crunch of the almond in the gremolata is a nutty balance to the lamb...plus it reminds me of those charred little chunks you get in North Carolina pit BBQ.

Basil Basil Everywhere!

2008-08-24T15:35:00.000-04:00

Check out the size of the basil Elizabeth's parents gave us! We knew that we had to do something with it, so we picked up some fresh handmade mozzarella from Di Bruno Bros. ($9) and finished off the heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market last week.

Once we plucked and cleaned up the basil, Elizabeth sliced the mozzarella up and stacked it precariously high with the yellow & red heirlooms.

We also picked up some 2% Greek Yogurt, Fresh Dill and cured Salmon. Served atop a kettle-cooked potato chip, you've got a crunchy, tangy, aromatic salmon snack.

Make sure you don't assemble these until you're ready to eat...the yogurt quickly turns the chips soggy.

BYOB + Google = Philly Mealtime Mashup

2008-08-22T16:30:00.000-04:00

I ran across a link to this site while surfing some local foodie blogs; GoPhila has created a clever little mashup to promote the odd and wonderful dining category that seems to flourish in Philly, the B.Y.O.B. Here's our neighborhood for example:

Some people think the spike in BYOB dining is linked to the state's monopoly on wine (non-PA residents: you have to buy every drop from a state store or go across the border). The margins on a bottle at a restaurant are so thin that serving wine becomes an obstacle to serving great food. There's been alot of great BYOB "start-ups" in town, chefs who were catapulted into the mainstream from the tiny kitchens of neighborhood BYOBs.

I have to admit, having been a tourist and now a new resident, I was a bit skeptical about the whole concept of the bring-your-own-bottle dining. The idea of dragging along your own wine to a meal seemed kinda cheap.

I thought this link would be a good way of getting other skeptics like me to explore your BYOB options if you're coming to visit Philly...plus, I love useful Google Mashups.

Gamer's Forum - Q&A with AI Programmer

2008-08-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

I went to an unusual place this evening...Independents Hall...not to be confused with the tourist-encrusted Independence Hall. A senior AI programmer, Chris Jurney, with Relic was giving an impromptu presentation on his involvement with Company of Heroes...game of the year 2006.

Indy Hall seemed like a proto-business incubator for tech-saavy individualists. The offices were located on the 2nd floor of an apartment in Old City. The room with high-vaulted ceilings, contained a scattered melange of stylish office furniture covered over in power-strips and CAT-5 cables. I was settled in amongst a dozen or so visiting video game enthusiasts and about the same number of Indy Hall regulars.

Just some background, Relic was the company that brought us the awesomely visionary 3-D space combat game Homeworld, then followed it up with the smashingly bloody Dawn of War from the Warhammer 40K genre. Chris' first project was Company of Heroes, a game which took over 4 years to develop. Think of "Band of Brothers" or "Saving Private Ryan" meets Sudden Strike or Starcraft and you get the drift of how revolutionary COH was.

Chris' presentation was great..he went over the overarching design behind COH, showing some concept videos of a US squad escorting a Sherman down a narrow street straight into a Nazi ambush. Chris explained how COH used multiple, hierarchical layers of mapping to create sectors and "signposts", by which each AI unit could map it's way toward whatever objective it's human commander orders it toward.

Chris had lots of great video clips, demonstrating how every piece of terrain was able to be destroyed and how the map kept a persistent concept of the map up to date for AI pathing. He showed videos of infantry combat with the designer's aides enabled...you could actually see the lines of advance and zones of cover each component of the infantry squads use to advance on the enemy.

I didn't realize that if you clicked once on the enemy, the squad would figure out a way to advance and destroy them enemy. I felt like an idiot...here I had been playing COH like a regular "mob-in-the-middle" RTS game, micro-managing targets for each squad, when here he showed us all how he programmed the AI to for a squad to advance and take out a target .

A bonus to the presentation was a look at his current project, Dawn of War II, a followup to the ground-breaking Warhammer 40k RTS. Alongside the Total War series or World War II Online, I think that the work guys like Chris and Relic are doing is pushing the envelope and keeping PC gaming alive.

Proud Mary Keep on Rollin' - More Spring Roll Experiments

2008-08-18T21:48:00.000-04:00

We picked up some real Spring Roll wrappers at Hung Vuong for .75 cents; these aren't your supermarket eggroll wrappers, but real Spring Roll pastry dough rolled out.

Here's a link to the recipe we used. In attempt to make them healthy, we baked the rolls and brushed them with olive oil. The results were just as crunchy as a fried spring roll.

Here they are laid out...fill them with your favorite stuffing ( I used shredded cabbage and pork OR shredded cabbage and chicken) 20 minutes later at 425 degrees you're ready to go.

Here's Elizabeth's mis-en-place...cucumber, bean sprouts, cilantro, carrots, seaweed and Thai licorice basil. Wrapped all together in a soaked rice spring roll wrapper and you've got a perfect summer roll.

Served with 5 kinds of sauce to span the 4 flavors...super hot Srirachi (HOT), hot mustard (hot), soy sauce & orange marmalade (Sweet), Ume plum vinegar (salty), and soy sauce & lime juice (bitter).

Grill Season - Head-On Shrimp

2008-08-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

Looks shocking, but if you can find it, you need to try grilling head-on shrimp.

The flavor is amazing compared to regular shrimp and they tend not to dry-out as much because they're still sealed in the shell. Plus, the liver-bits inside provide that "shrimp" flavor when you pull it apart. Sounds gross, but trust me, it's good.

We bought these (30-40) at Hung Vuong Asian Market down on Washington & 11th for about $5.50 per lb.

Dressed with a simple drizzle of olive oil and a drop of sesame oil, throw them on the grill until pink.

Spamalot

2008-08-18T00:11:00.000-04:00

Spamalot came to town this week, so I grabbed a few cheap-seats for the Sunday night show at the Kimmel Center

Studded with some classic Python skits and references, the show was pretty good...I was a little worried about how the musical would go...seeing as how the movie used the clever twist ending I was hoping the play would try something similar. I won't spoil the ending, but it involves some audience participation.

One awkward moment...they recreated the French taunting scene and at one point the actor paused on his lines, maybe forgetting them, normally excusable but it was during the the memorable "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries" quip. Sitting there wincing as the actor stumbled over the delightfully disgusting stream of insults, I was certain that I was among the dozens of (dorky) audience members that could recite the line perfectly from memory

watch it here

Cake Wrecks...the blog of cake disasters

2008-08-15T13:44:00.001-04:00

OK, I've never had cable TV before moving to Philly and now Elizabeth & I are hooked on Food TV. Watching many, many episodes of Ace of Cakes has given me a greater appreciation of cake decoration...and this blog really drives it home.

Behold Cake Wrecks

Look at some of these cakes...

Now anybody can screw up a cake like this...

But I really savor the particular blend of "botch"found here...I'd file under the heading mis-communication.

FLAVOR PROFILE: IRONY
This is why we need the Standards of Learning...

This is funny in so many ways:
- Punctual Overload...quotes AND parenthesis
- Subject-Verb disagreement
- crappy thin piped lettering that's slanted

Apparently this is the cake that started the whole blog...

Snapshot - Chris as an Office Worker

2008-08-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of the Intermediate Unit where I work. It employs about 1000 educators, but the office here is the central office and houses not nearly that many employees.

When I said that I preferred to work with Windows, I think they misunderstood me. (uuugh corny joke, yeah). I kinda miss the sheltered security of the Technology Center bunker and it's florescent familiarity...but then again, I liked to go caving.

The environs are very nice...but I feel like I used to when I was temping in my father's bank headquarters...everything is just clean enough and professional enough to make me uncomfortable like that teenage kid working amongst adults. There's even a real water-cooler, not a stack of jugs slung in the back of the fridge.

More Market Fare - Spring Rolls & Summer Seared Mahi Mahi

2008-08-05T21:31:00.000-04:00

With wonderfully flavorful cucumbers & tomatoes, we had to build something around them.

Elizabeth broke out her spring roll skills tonight for starters. Here we've got a cucumber, crab & avocado spring rolls, laced with ginger, carrot and cilantro.

Served with three sauces, each of the complexity of the rolls could be tasted; salty Ume vinegar brought out the cucumber, while the sweet tomato sauce highlighted the crab and the heat of the srirachi-soy sauce was cooled by the avocado.

The Mahi-Mahi was on sale at SuperFresh for 6.99. I coated the fillets with a blended mix of shallots (3 parts), basil(2 parts), parsley(1 part), ginger(1 part) and olive oil (1 part), dash of salt & pepper, letting the mix sit on the fish for 15 minutes.

We top the fish with a diced mix of summer-fresh tomato (3 parts), cucumber (2 parts), onion (1 part), ginger (1 part), soy-sauce (1 tblspn), Sesame Oil (1 tblspn), and 1 lime squeezed and two squirts of srirachi hot sauce, and a dash of salt & pepepr. Let the sauce meld...your fish should be ready to sautee.

Carefully lay the fish into a hot pan with oil to sear on the herb crust, about 2 minutes on the first side, then turn the heat down and sear on the other side for 5-6 minutes. Get a nice semi-blackened crust and you're good to go. Smother the fish with your cucumber-tomato salsa and serve.

Fiori di Zucca Fritti - Fried Zucchini Blossoms

2008-08-04T22:50:00.000-04:00

OK, first thing from the farmer's market to hit the pan will be those awesome zucchini blossoms. We enjoyed these during our honeymoon in Amalfi and came back with a mission to make the perfect fried zucchini blossom. Elizabeth's dad has supplied us with some great blossoms in the past and we were fortunate to find them at the farmer's market Sunday. Look at the size of these things?

Ok, the recipe is pretty simple and it's mostly technique. I changed a few things to make the batter crispier. First, you have to pluck the stamen from the center of the blossom and clean of any ants bugs or dirt that like to inhabit the blossom.

Make the batter...use about 1 cup of rice flour (you can find this at Asian markets or some Latin markets) and then 2-3 tablespoons of water...mix up a slurry/paste..,keep adding water in small doses until the batter clings to a fork and fills the spaces between the tines. Sprinkle in about 2-3 teaspoons of salt..the more salt you get into the batter means less salt on the finished blossom.

Dust each blossom in regular flour...this will help the batter stick. On the stove, get a pan of oil going with about a half inch of oil (olive or canola..your call)...not too hot (under 350 for sure if you're using olive oil).

When your oil's ready to go, place the blossom in the batter and spoon the batter over the delicate flower..coat the entire zucchini.

Place carefully into the hot oil. The batter will spread out a bit in the pan, but then firm up. As the batter edges brown, carefully turn the blossom to brown the other sides. It's all technique at this point...be patient and try not to keep turning the blossom...when in doubt, let it go a little longer to get that crispy light brown color.

Rice flower will not get as brown as wheat flour batter, but it is so much crunchier and seems to create a flavorful coat.

Pull the blossoms and enjoy! You can stuff the cavity with goat cheese or mozzarella for an extra surprise...I like it, but sometimes it makes for a messier, tougher fry, so you may want to start with plain blossoms before stuffed.

Market Day

2008-08-04T22:47:00.000-04:00

Went back to the Headhouse Row Farmer's Market this Sunday. Vendors start selling around 10AM, so we went early this week to get in on some of the best produce.

The market is never a dull scene...the place is literally packed with people shoulder to shoulder. The only downside to the market are the families that plow their way down the aisle with strollers...these things are 4 wheeled monstrosities that create huge human traffic jams...it's like the SUV of the farmers market and it's highly annoying being nailed in the heel every three steps by a stroller.

However, the pain is worth the reward...here's a snapshot of our bounty this week...center stage are the zucchini blossoms. A box of 10 blossoms ran about 4.50..these things are beautiful.The melons, blue berries, peaches, romas and heirloom tomatoes are all Jersey grown...the herbs are all organic.

Here's a snapshot of the big gelato place in town...think ColdStone Creamery but Gelato...flavors like Mojito, Basil, and Mexican Chocolate were interesting, but the best were the simple flavors. Here's a dark chocolate & pistachio cup...we walked about 15 blocks to get to the place, so I'm thinking we burned up the calories getting there and back.

Healthy Squash-Zucchini Mini Cassaroles

2008-07-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

Buried under by summer squash? Here's Elizabeth's signature side-dish that's healthy and fun because it's tiny (personal sized) and works great as a side.

For 2 people you'll need:

1 Medium-sized Squash & 1 Medium-sized Zucchini; cut into quarter-inch slices
1 small onion diced (about 1/3 cup)
1 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumb); divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup.
1/3 cup greek-style plain yogurt
2 - 3 tablespoons Italian breadcrumbs
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp butter
salt & pepper to taste
Two small (6oz?) ramekins

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter then mix in with 3/4 cup Panko; make sure they're evenly coated and set aside.

Add olive oil to heated pan and sautee onion. Once onions become translucent and soften, add zucchini & squash. Add salt and pepper to layer flavor. Sautee over medium heat until squash mixture is soft and a golden brown color has formed over the onion & squash mixture (10 minutes). Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl.

Immediately add your yogurt and stir to coat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of Panko to the mix and stir. Depending on how wet your mix is, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the Italian breadcrumbs to form a stuffing-like mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spray your ramekins with olive oil. Now, divide the mixture into two ramekins and top with the 3/4 cup buttered Panko. Lightly coat with olive oil spray and place in the oven. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until squash mixture bubbles through the golden topping.

You can place the ramekins under a broiler to get them toasty topped as well. Serve with your favorite protein. Here we've pan-seared some lamb chops (on sale 6.99 lbs at Super Fresh) and placed some olive-oil fried sage leaves.

Yard Work...Philly Style

2008-07-28T21:26:00.000-04:00

I've got Monday's off during the summer so what better to do with your day off than some yard work! We left a huge backyard behind in Portsmouth and while I don't miss the mowing, we spent a lot of time outdoors and I was afraid we'd miss that in Philly.

Here's some pictures of our only yard (front? back? dunno what to call it) The beds that run along the side of the yard were filled with weeds. Elizabeth cleared out this bed last week. Here you can see we've potted a lot of herbs up for cooking...basil, thyme, oregano, chive, sage and parsley.

On the other side of the yard we had a bed completely covered over with, of all things, catnip. I bet we'd have had cats climbing over the fence for this stuff if we'd let it go any longer. We pulled it all out, except for some day lilies and some kind of spider plant.

Here's the view from the other end by the gate...you can see part of our patio and the front door. This is the front of the house...if you look down the alley, past the bikes, you can see the other house that shares this lot. This is John & Carletta's house...they're really friendly. When he first met me, he came running out with a $50 bottle of champagne as a welcoming gift and has invited us to dinner when they come back from the Jersey shore for the summer.

Duck Spring Rolls

2008-07-28T21:06:00.000-04:00

Inspired by the Bahn Mi sandwiches we had Saturday and driven by my obsession to cook Duck, we decided to make a Vietnamese Duck Spring Roll.

I seared a duck breast we bought at the farmer's market in a sizzling pan, fat-side down first to render out all that good fat. Then I turned the breast over to brown on the flesh side, while an oven heated to 375. Once I'd seared off the breast, it went into the over for about 10 minutes.

While I was playing with my duck, Elizabeth was showing her knife skills off and was chopping veg up for the rolls. Tiny carrot and cucumber matchsticks, hand-torn cilantro and some bean-thread noodles cooked and cooled.

I sliced the duck breast into thin strips, taking a few strips of that good fat & skin and re-frying it crispy-crunchy good. Next it's time to play with the food. We soaked the spring roll wrappers in lukewarm water till they were pliable, then laid an equal mix of carrot, cucumber, cilantro, bean-thread noodle and duck into each wrapper. Roll them up like a cigar, cut in half and arrange on a plate.
To accompany the spring rolls, we took soem of the Blueberry-Chipotle salsa we bought at the market and Vietnamized it...a drop of toasted sesame oil, dash of Soy Sauce, drip of Fish Sauce, squirt of Sriracha hot sauce and you had a sweet summer berry sauce perfect for duck.

Antique & Farmer's Market Weekend

2008-07-28T20:33:00.000-04:00

Saturday was wonderfully sunny, so we decided to go for a walk around town to hit three or four markets. I was looking for some used ties (my collection is getting stale) and Elizabeth was on the hunt for Bakelite...apparently she's developed a habit thanks to a gifted bracelet from her friend.

First, we dropped by Headhouse Row to breeze by the open air vendor stalls. One stand had a cool array of jewelry made from recycled typewriter keys.

Check out these cufflinks! If only I had more French cuff shirts.

I like the rings too, but it's a little to punk-rock for me...cool for a librarian..or a typist.

I found a few other interesting places. One is called the Philadelphia AIDS Thrift and it' spretty much a hodge podge of everythign you could imagine...clothes (picked up a pair of designer ties for $5)...glassware (got a Warstiener gold-rimmed pilsner glass for $3)...and every other peice fo junk imaginable.

We ended up at a re-converted Jewish synagogue and inside vendors had set up little stalls. One place had a literal box full of Bakelite. The lady that ran the place was very knowledgeable and has been collecting Bakelite since shewas a kid. She asked Elizabeth how long she had been a Bakelite addict! Elizabeth ended up getting an orange-white mix bangle and I bought a pair of Bakelite dice for $8.

Another place was playing old swing music and had display cases spilling over with toys, pin-up girls and 40's memorabilia. Check out the Star Wars spread here.

Here's a funny salt & pepper shaker Elizabeth spotted. Apparently this gal's seen better days, as she seems to have shaken loose her pepper pot.

All that shopping got us hungry, so we dropped into a little Vietnamese sandwich shop. The store was the size of a large bathroom and a little old lady was behind a massive cooler cranking out Bahn Mi. Imagine a Spring Roll on a hoagie bun and you've got a Bahn Mi...fresh from bean-thread noodles, crunchy with veg (carrot, cilantro, lettuce) and savory with a shredded pork or sliced meat filling...and only $3!

Later on we went down to the Italian Market and picked up a fresh Pineapple for $3...I was on the hunt for Duck, but didn't find anything read to go that night that looked decent.

Sunday was the farmer's market at Headhouse Row, where we picked up all this fresh local grow product; Duck Breast, French Bread, Jersey Tomatoes, Blueberry-Chipotle Salsa, Goat Cheese, Peaches, Cilantro, Tomatillos and a bunch of other veggies.
Here's my favorite thing we found at the market...a huge bunch of sunflowers...it's like having a blast of sunshine with your breakfast every day.

Supersize my Scallop (summer shellfish linguine)

2008-07-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

Remember us mentioning that we bought some nice scallops from the Reading Terminal Market Monday? Here's the result...Elizabeth seared up this scallop to perfection, resting atop a bed of summer shellfish linguine.

Take a look at this scallop! They were going for $14.99 per lbs. at John Yi's Fish Market at RTM. Four sold for about $7 or $8...the cost of a cheap steak.

To go along with the scallops, we went to Whole Foods Market today and picked up a half-dozen clams for about $2.50 and a half pound of mussels for $1.80...total cost on seafood is under $13 and it's good quality. Once you scrub the shellfish, soak it in some ice-water to help release any last grit.

To make the base of the summer pasta sauce, dice up red-onion, garlic, a large tomato and the outer edge of a small zucchini...best way to get the zucchini edge is to chop in half and scoop out the middle with a spoon.

Start a pot of water boiling...add enough salt so that it tastes like seawater. Garlic and onion go into a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil. Once the oil has picked up the garlic flavor and BEFORE the aromatics begin to brown, add 2 tblspoons of butter, reduce to medium heat and let the onion soften and starte to caramelize.

Next start your pasta, add the tomato and zucchini and let everything start to come together. After about 5 minutes, add a handful of chopped fresh basil, oregano and parsley, throw in a half-cup of white wine and the shellfish into the saucepan, then put on a lid and let it steam.

Now you're going to want to get those scallops in a greased pan and searing on med-high heat; I used a little bit of bacon fat mixed with olive oil to get some flavor. Elizabeth minded the scallops and put a perfect caramel sear on the sweet meaty discs.

By the time the scallops were cooked through, the lid came off the saucepan, the pasta gets ladled out of the pot and directly into the saucepan with the shellfish. Finally, we plated up the dish...noodles and sauce studded with shellfish and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Then, resting atop the pile, a near filet mignon sized set of twin seared scallops.

Sopes at Home

2008-07-22T20:39:00.000-04:00

One of our new favorite restaurants is a traditional Mexican place on Headhouse Row called Xochitl Check out the menu...this isn't El Burrito stuff...this is derived from authentic ingredients.

We tried their Sopes trio and needed to re-create this at home; basically they're little masa pancakes shallow-fried in oil and topped with a dairy cream and a savory. Xochitl has duck and goat cheese sopes. Tonight, we opted to use some leftover salmon-zucchini cakes and yogurt for our sopes, topped with a sprig of bacon lardon.

Ok, bacon first. Using my hunk-o-salted pork-belly, I chopped up some lardons and cooked them off in the pan to render some grease. Pull those little guys out and reserve...resisting the urge to snack on them.

Next, we bought some Masa from Whole Foods...a fine-milled corn meal you can find in the latino area of the market. Mixing roughly equal parts with water and a pinch of salt. It makes a sandy paste, which you then roll and form into balls.

Smash the balls flat into little discs, then throw in the pan of bacon grease.

Cook equally on each sides, browning the sopes. I've added the salmon-zucchini topping here to reheat and crispify.

Remove from heat when GBD (golden brown delicious) and then smear some yogurt, crumble the salmon-zucchini cake mixture atop, place a sprig of fried bacon and voila!

The next version we're going to make this weekend? What else, Duck Confit and Goat-cheese....because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (thanks Xochitl!).

Calamari Success with Rice Flour

2008-07-21T20:56:00.000-04:00

OK, the photo's a little blurry...but I was rushing to put down the camera and pick up my fork!

Imagine popcorn shrimp coated with KFC extra crispy topping. I used soda water to soak the squid tentacles, stirring it about with my hand to whip up a froth and plump up the squid.

A small pot of oil was going at 350, I placed a handful of squid into a large plastic container filled with rice flour, shook it about to completely coat the squid. Then, into the oil bath for 30 seconds back out and salted. The trick is to move quickly between the water, rice flour and oil and not give the rice flour a chance to clump up. Use a spider or wire mesh wok strainer to move your product safely.

Served with lemon garnish, some diced pickled peppers and some awesome marina sauce we made last week and froze it was a wonderful mix of crunchy goodness and bright acids.

Street Murals

2008-07-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

Another thing that the area of Philly we live in is known for are these huge murals painted onto the sides of buildings that have been torn down.

I'm not quite sure what the theme of this mural is, but it's about 3 stories tall.

You can see the size relative to the cars parked just below it.

Go North! Exploring Chinatown and Reading Market

2008-07-21T14:07:00.000-04:00

We took a walk up to the Reading Terminal Market today, passing by the tourist-area (Liberty Bell & Independence Hall).

Doesn't this look odd? It looks like they chopped the back off an old colonial.

Here's the Philly skyline approaching Chinatown...I loved the way the blue sky blended with the gray glass & steel.

We found a huge Asian market, full of noodles and other goodies. They had some tiny fish we hadn't seen since our honeymoon in Italy, as well as baby octopus and other shellfish.
If it wasn't 94 degrees outside, we'd probably loaded up on all the great stuff.

Afterwards we headed to the Reading Terminal Market, or RTM as the locals call it.
The RTM is a great mix of a food court and a farmers market, with a stand for just about everything. We picked up some chevre coated in dill, a selection of veal sausage, some monster scallops and a pound of squid tentacles for calamari. Last minute we grabbed a jar of pickled pepperocini...one of our favorite places in Norfolk used to serve the sour and spicy little peppers with their calamari in lieu of lemons...very nice!

There were lots of office workers eating lunch at the stalls; they've got just about anything you could want, from heavy duty sandwiches to oysters or fresh chinese. We stopped by Kamel's, a Mediterranean place and grabbed a spinach pie with wrapped grape leaves and a sweet pistachio "nests"

I had to my heart set on a slab of smoked, cured pork belly to take back home; I've been dying to get into the charcuterie and pork-belly craze, so I figured I'd see how the pros do it first.

This little old fellow behind the counter was reading the horse-racing pages when I asked for the meat...how classic. He was so tiny he just about fell into the case reaching for the pork! Still, he lopped off a hunk for me lickety split.

Society Hill - Walkabout

2008-07-21T13:42:00.000-04:00

We walked down to the Farmer's Market this weekend and I snapped a few shots along the way to give you all an idea of the neighborhood.

This is Headhouse Row...you can see the arcade attached to the back of the building...this is where the farmer's stalls are set up.

This is a old churchyard with the grave markers covered over in ivy; a tour guide was riding by and I overheard that this was the church George Washington attended for a time. This graveyard was quite old...according to the guide, some of the trees on the ground were planted from cuttings brought back from the Lewis and Clark expedition.

How to get crispy hashbrowns at home

2008-07-20T21:57:00.000-04:00

Watching an episode of Jacques Pepin reminded me of the importance of technique, so I wanted to post one for hashbrowns. Before I figured out a better way to cook hashbrowns, my potato hash would turn out gray and gluey.

Step #1 Shred your potatoes (russets) directly into a large bowl of ice-water. Make sure it's a big bowl or pot and that there's plenty of water, as this is going to pull all the gluey starch off your hash.

Step #2 Drain your hash and then in small handfuls squeeze all the water off...do this twice to make sure every every bit if water is out of the hash. I know it's an extra step, but that's the trick...super-dry hash.

Step #3 Get your pan of hot oil going, maybe three or four tablespoons, then sprinkle your hash in clumps...this lets the hash settle in and prevents it from become a compact hunk

Once your hash is golden brown and delicious, flip it and repeat of the other side...you may have to drizzle some more oil if the pan is empty. Then enjoy...restaurant quality hash from home

Walk to the store for what else...cheese & sausage!

2008-07-17T20:52:00.000-04:00

OK, here's some pictures of some of the sights we see along the way to one of the four grocery stores we've been frequenting.

Here's an example of some of the window boxes that proliferate on the row houses...we like the tumbling effect of the bright green leaves against the red door.

This is another sight you'll see walking the streets of Society Hill...gated church yards dating back from the 19th century. This one is particularly striking, as the garden has the 9 foot tall statues of some early church leaders I'm guessing.

Crossing Lombard St., you approach South St...think Virginia Beach boardwalk meets Granby Street. It kind of reminds me of a mall without walls.

Tonight we went to Chef's Market to pick up some good melting cheese like an Aged Provolone and some sweet Italian sausage...the menu is a broccoli rabe and sweet Italian risotto served with a zucchini & sausage tuille.

Before we got started, we needed to finish up some mozzarella and fresh tomato we had laying around the fridge. Elizabeth's knife skills are on display here...taking inspiration from our little walk down South St., she gave this salad a Philly twist...check out the picture!

Let's see...94 degrees outside...it's time to stand over a steaming pan for half an hour stirring risotto right? While Elizabeth went to work on her signature risotto, I started working on the zucchini & sausage tuille...an vision that came to me last night when looking into the veg crisper of our fridge.

I used a mandolin slicer with a julienne attachment to make teeny matchsticks of one large zucchini. While I did this, I had a skillet of sweet & hot sausage browning in a pan over medium.

I salted the zucchini hash with about a half teaspoon of salt, then I went to work squeezing the moisture out of the hash. Going one handful at a time, I squeezed as much liquid as I could out of the zucchini hash.

With the hash dried out, I shredded some aged provolone over the hash, then doled in out in six equal piles on a baking sheet. I pressed the "tuille" down ( this is quickly turning into a minicakes) then topped it with some crumbled sausage, which I'd pulled off the heat and allowed to drain on a paper towel. Next into the oven 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Peeking in I noticed the cakes just weren't forming up as I'd hoped. I upped the temp. to 400 to try and crisp it up some. It didn't help, so I pulled it out of the oven and threw it in a skillet to crisp up the base.

The final result was so-so...good for a substitute hash-brown using zucchini instead of potato. It just didn't have the crispiness that I'd imagined like a parmesan tuille would be. Next time I think I'll not only mix in the cheese with the hash, but also lay down a base of cheese on the baking mat and then spread less hash atop that...maybe eight cakes instead of six.

Of course, Elizabeth's hard labor paid off...sweating over the stove for nearly 45 minutes, she added the sweet sausage and steamed broccoli rabe to her risotto; it was creamy & flavorful...the rabe giving a bitter hint and the sausage providing a meaty bite to the creamy rice grains.

Served with an affordable Cote D' Rhone we were loving it. Normally Thursday is Taco Night, but I'm thinking Risotto 'Rhursday (said in Scooby Doo voice) may be in order.

okra okra everywhere

2008-07-15T21:14:00.001-04:00

The farmer's markets around here seem to have everything going on except for one thing...OKRA. Elizabeth brought up a whole mess of okra from her parent's veg patch and we decided to cook up some fried okra and gumbo.

Super Fresh on 5th and Spruce had a sale on some massive 16/25 shrimp. We shelled it and boiled it to make a stock. While Elizabeth chopped the celery, onion and garlic for some aromatics to sautee, I cooked up the sausage, reserving the grease for her to sautee. I made a simple roux, which I then blended with the seafood stock. We threw in the stock with the sautee and added a bunch of chili and cayenne. Throw in a can of crushed tomatoes and close the lid. 10 minutes later, toss in the shrimp and okra to simmer for another 15 minutes while the flavors marry.

(One note...Throwdown with Bobby Flay was on the TV tonight and the Gumbo queen of New 'Awlins said you should ALWAYS sautee the okra before adding it to the gumbo)

Elizabeth started chopping her okra. She has a special technique; don't cut pinwheels, but simply chop the top off and leave it whole. Dip in milk then salted flour and you're ready to fry.

With the rice-maker bubbling away in the corner and the okra frying away happily in the pan, we were all set for our okra dinner.

I can't wait to take some of these leftovers into work tomorrow for my co-workers to drool over; I don't think okra and gumbo are everyday foods in Philadelphia.

Italian Night

2008-07-14T21:38:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth's parents send up a care-package full of fresh veg...okra, tomatoes, squash, zucchini blossoms and eggplant. We started off by stuffing the blossoms with goat cheese and pan-frying them in olive oil.

Tonight, we went down to Chef's Market and bought some fresh mozzarella and Cento canned tomatoes. Passing by the deli, I couldn't resist picking up some sopressata.

For starters, we had a fresh caprese salad of mozzarella, basil from the plants Elizabeth's parents sent us and fresh, juicy tomatoes...accompanied by some thin-sliced sopressata.

Her parents had both regular and blanc eggplant; we thin sliced the blanc, which was milder than regular eggplant, and fried it in some olive oil...the result was halfway between a potato chip and an eggplant sautee...very delicious.

We finished up the starters and then got down to the business of creating some eggplant parmesan. The Cento tomatoes were some what seasoned in the can already and needed only a dash of salt, oregano, fennel seed and red pepper. Elizabeth baked the oil & bread crumb-coated eggplant slices at 350 for 15 minutes, turning once, until al-dente, then she stacked and layered with her savory red sauce. She sprinkled little bits of fresh mozarella in with a shred of good quality parmesan...20 minutes later at 350 we were ready to dig in. it was so good I forgot to take a BEFORE picture...here's the AFTER with the dent I put into it.

Week One

2008-07-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

Week One in Philly is just about at a close. I've spent most of the week scouting out the basics; market, bank, post office, dry cleaners, etc. One of things I love about living down town is that everything is within walking distance...so you get home, it's a nice summer afternoon and running errands becomes pleasant.

Elizabeth and I unpacked the kitchen last weekend, but the bedroom is still pretty crazy; I'm still living out of a suitcase and getting dressed every morning pulling ties out of the cardboard box that I stored them in for the move.

We spent 4th of July downtown; down at the waterfront (Delaware River) they have fireworks. We walked the half-dozen blocks down there and were met with a mob of people. Unlike the regular mob-scene, it was awesome knowing that we had no parking to fight or car to deal with. Just as the fireworks started, it started to pour down rain...not just little rain, but big chubby raindrops. We ducked into a doorway in the old city and managed to see part of the show, before giving up and ducking into a Belgian restaurant for some mussels and fries.

Next day, we went down to the Italian Market on 9th St. This place is normally pretty low-key, with street stalls selling vegetables & fruit and a butcher on every block. We stopped into Di Bruno Brother, THE cheese shop of Philly. In terms of floor-space...if Wegman's is an 18-wheeler, Di Bruno brothers is a Smartcar...good food abounds in both, but we had to literally elbow our way through the Saturday shoppers to check out delicious aged cheeses and cured meats. Note to self...come back on weekdays. We picked up some chocolate truffles from Anthony's chocolate and headed back up the block for some deli subs.

Funny thing, there have been at least three different bands playing in town that Elizabeth and I really wanted to go see, but couldn't arrange. First, the very day we drove up to sign our lease, Devotchka was playing at a concert hall a few blocks away. We missed out on , a trance that. Then, this week Dengue Fever played Monday and Fleet Foxes played Tuesday; both bands have really original sounds...check them out at Hype-Machine here. (Fleet Foxes Dengue Fever Devotchka )

Here are some pictures from around the neighborhood, so that you can get a feel for what our daily routine will be like.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisbaugh19/PhillyPics

The great thing about our neighborhood is that it's right between the quiet calm of brick-lined antique rowhouses and the rowdy, color of South St. If you want to walk tot he store without a lot of hassle, you shoot down one street...if you're in the mood for some people watching and window-shopping, you go one block over on your way to the store.

Elizabeth's last day at Suffolk Library was today, and then she's headed up to Philly. Her co-worker pulled out ALL the stops and lavished her with flowers, food, and gifts. Best of all, they made a little scrapbook for her that is beyond words in it's thoughtfulness. I'll let her post about it.

Well, that's all for now. We've got some friends from VA coming into town this weekend, so those of you who are interested or will be in the area, drop us a line...we'll meet for dinner/brunch what ever. As much fun as discovering a new place is, we're still a bit lonesome for our friends in VA.

2008-07-03T12:52:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

It was only one week ago that Elizabeth and I loaded up the U-Haul with half of our worldly possessions (the other half wouldn't fit in our our new place in Philly, so they went to the Craig's List crowd) and headed out for Philly.

It took about 9 solid hours of hauling boxes, sofas, and oddly-shaped appliances into the back of a 26ft. truck. This thing was probably the biggest truck you could get from U-Haul without having a CDL. By Thursday night we were exhausted. Friday we took off early for Philly, going up the Eastern Shore via Rt.13.

Along the way we passed a run-down motel with a sign that always made me chuckle; On your Way to Adventure! Keep in mind that as I pulled over to take this picture I had what looked like the Delaware version of the Manson family watching me from the only room in the motel that seemed to be in habited...so if it's poor quality, you know why.