A Perfect Night For Stew

Venison BourguignonOK, not really. It's hot and muggy here. But my brother mistakenly defrosted some venison stew meat for the fajitas, so I had to cook it. It's wild venison and probably a little tough, so I decided to stew the meat. I had opened a less then stellar bottle of wine, so I guess I am making "venison bourguignon." Juniper berries which--you guessed it--grow on Juniper trees are sweet and piney, and work well with game meats. I also added some onion and carrots, tomato paste, garlic, star anise, cloves, rosemary, and thyme. Hopefully it tastes good. If not, there is always take-out!

Whenever I cook venison, I think of Switzerland. I promise, this is not a non-sequitur. I found this restaurant in Zurich that, to this day, is still my favorite restaurant in the world. It is called Caduff's Wine Loft. Caduff, the chef and owner, prepares the day's menu based on what looks good in the market. The restaurant, which isn't in the greatest area of town, is unpretentious. I have to admit, I was unimpressed when I walked in and saw the stark, white-washed walls. This was before I visited the wine cellar. Instead of a wine list, Caduff takes you downstairs to his cellar. It is dark, and candle lit, and the crates of wine are dusty and covered in spider webs. Anyway, getting back to venison. My mom, brother, and I were perusing the menu written in German trying to decide what to have for dinner. Unfortunately none of us speak German. Our waitress tried to explain what each dish was in very broken English. We were doing great until we got to the Rehfleisch.  After she futilely tried to explain what it was, we commenced a game of quasi-charades.  "You know, its like Bombay," she said.  "Curry?" I asked, "no, no, Bombay."  "You mean Bambi?" my mom replied.  From now on, I am on my mom's team.

I better go check on the meat....

A few of my favorite things

A wise old man once said you only need a skillet, a wooden, spoon, and a fire to cook. Maybe that's true, but kitchen accessories are fun and definitely make it easier to cook. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1) Kitchen Tongs. I never used tongs until law school. What a mistake! Tongs are like fingers except you can pick up hot objects without burning yourself. I use them to toss pasta, rotate osso bucco, flip burgers, sautee onions, etc. If you don't already own them, buy a pair.

2) Dutch Oven. I love my Le Crueset dutch oven. It weighs about 20 pounds, but there is something reassuring in its heft. Like the tongs, my dutch oven is the consummate multi-tasker. I use it for soups, stews, pasta, and if I need it, a weapon (although I have to admit, the skillet version is easier to wield).

3) Good knives. I have Shun Ken Onion Knives. I love them. They are perfectly weighted, and very, very sharp. As I mentioned before, people who say that dull knives are more dangerous are lying. I know firsthand. I truly am a klutz in and outside of the kitchen, hence the name of this blog. Ask my neighbor who just happens to be an ER doctor. I have had a couple of run ins with my perfect knives that I wouldn't trade in for anything in the world. Anyway, it was nothing that a little super-glue, albeit applied under the strictest medically supervision, couldn't fix.

4) A cutting board. I leave mine out. I use it every day, and it looks nice, so it seems silly to put it away. I prefer a heavy wooden chopping block. I know I should use a different board for raw meat to prevent cross contamination, but I don't. I just wash it with soap.

5) A wooden spoon with a long handle. I have multiple wooden spoons, but my favorite one is from Italy. I paid $2 for it and it is made out of olive wood. It is hand carved, and square, rather than curved at the end.

6) multiple pot holders. I don't think this needs any further explanation. Use them.

7) Hot kitchen Fashion Accessories. Aprons are kind of reminiscent of the 1950s, but they are incredibly handy. You can wipe your hands on them, stay clean, and even make a fashion statement. One of my friends recently introduced me to Anna Maria Horner's creations. She is a blogger and a fashion designer. You can purchase her beautiful aprons online. I love them.

p.s. There are lots of other "essential" kitchen tools, but those will be the subject of future posts.

p.p.s. I might have made up what the wise man said...

Spring Peas

Sadly it is Sunday night.  Once the torrential downpours ended yesterday, it was a beautiful weekend in DC.  We went to dinner at Oyamel last night, a Mexican "tapas" restaurant.  It was delicious (you can read more about it on the "restaurant reviews" page) and highly entertaining.  As we were walking into the restaurant, two police cars pulled someone over, the guy ran, managed to lose his shirt before he was tackled and handcuffed by two police officers.  Meanwhile another officer (there must have been 10 policemen on the scene) started ripping open the seats of his car and removing a white powdery substance.  I love DC.

Pasta with Spring Peas and MushroomsIn honor of the first day of summer, I am writing a tribute to spring peas.  I love peas.  In contrast to the nondescript, vomit colored canned variety, peas are naturally sweet and not too starchy, and literally brighten up a meal.  You can eat them raw on salads, steamed, or in a multitude of dishes.  Besides peas, I bought some interesting looking "honey" mushrooms in the farmer's market yesterday, and some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella.  I'm going to make a pasta "sauce" with above ingredients as well as some garlic, basil, onion, and chicken broth.  I was thinking about adding some additional spices (mint and peas go great together.  I have an amazing recipe from the Culinary Institute for a cold pea soup with mint), but I didn't want to overwhelm the flavor of the peas.

What a Week!

Grilled Lamb with Potatoes and AsparagusIt's been a busy week in DC--for those of you who follow closely, sorry I am behind on posting recipes!  I'll update them soon.  promise.  I went to the grocery store to get some rib eyes to grill, but they didn't look very good, so I came home instead with a butterflied leg of lamb.  I love lamb.  My mom credits it to the fact that she ate lamb chops the night before she gave birth to me and it was the only food I would eat until I was five. I usually buy a bone-in leg of lamb and roast it in the oven, but it's such a beautiful night and I was working on a relatively tight schedule the grill seemed the way to go.  Leg of Lamb can be a bit chewy (even though it's from a lamb, not older meat or mutton, the leg muscle does a lot of work!) especially if it isn't slow roasted, sEnjoying meat and potatoeso it is important to marinate the meat before it goes on the grill. Since I didn't plan ahead of time and only had an hour and a half to marinade, I increased the amount of acid (rice vinegar and Worcestershire sauce).  Lamb and dijon mustard go well together--ask Julia Childs--and of course garlic, mint, thyme and rosemary enhance the flavor of the meat.  I also added a bit of soy for salt and olive oil for flavor.  Since we were grilled, I threw some baby potatoes and asparagus in the marinade and grilled them as well.

Cooking for a Crowd

Yes, it's bigger then his mouthTonight I managed to pull off a dinner for 7 big eaters even though I didn't get home until 6:30.  Let me put "big eaters" into perspective.  It was my husband, brother, and six of my brother's 20-something friends.  The last time I cooked dinner for one of them, the four of us (including me, and I don't eat much) ate a loaf of bread with 1/2 pound of cheese, a 5 pound rib roast, 3 pounds of potatoes, broccoli, and an entire sweet potato pie.  I don't know if that says more about my cooking or their endless appetites.  As a cook, I don't care.

Given history, I was slightly concerned about the challenge before me.  I relied on my old New Mexico days when I used to cook for lots of people.  There is no substitute for homemade guacamoleFajitas are a great meal--they are relatively easy to prepare, you get to "make your own" which is fun, you can make them in large quantities, and they are delicious.  I do not like pan fried meat--it dries out the proteins and is flavorless.  I prefer to marinate the beef and brine the chicken overnight, grill it, let it rest while I"m setting the table, and then slice it thinly.  I also made homemade guacamole and served the fajitas with cheese, sour cream, refried beans, and sauteed onions and peppers.  I used to make homemade tortillas, but they are a lot of work, and Whole Foods finally makes a delicious substitute.  A New Mexican Feast isn't complete without Margaritas, so I made my favorite summer variety--Watermelon Margaritas!Making Margaritas

oh, and the best thing about cooking for a crowd--I had seven helpers in the kitchen!All of my helpers