Where have we been? – It is April and we have not been on the blog for awhile – it was just a darn busy March. Lots of thing work related, lots of house renovating and improvement projects waiting for spring to break. Well we are back and have some pretty cool things to share over the next several entries as we catch you back up. He is a short list of what to look forward to:
· Lots of dining out: Sala Thai, Jolly Bobs, Sardine, Lombardinos
· Events: A few: Madison Malt Society whiskey tasting – more to come - still recovering
· Travel: Chicago, Milwaukee more trips to come!
· New finds: Templeton Rye Whisky – my (Jim) new favorite
· Best Late night eats in Madison Wisconsin
· Top 10 wines under $10 - why spend $15 to 40 when you can enjoy amzing taste at a value
· Spring recipes for the bounty of the Farmer’s Market – opens 4/18 Woo Woo!
Happy Spring
Jim & Linda
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Spring is coming!!!!! New Fish Recipes - One fish, Two fish, red fish, blue fish
Well come on spring! We have had a wonderful winter of cooking and creating all sorts of new dishes together. This winter we really enjoyed lots of seared, oven roasted and even BBQed fish dishes. Today I am starting a series of feature three new fish recipes with a unique side item to enjoy. As Linda and I continue to work on our cook book (out later this year is the intent) we explore finding ways to eat healthful but with big bold flavors, I think each of the new fish recipes delivers on this expectation. So print one of these out and give it a whirl in the kitchen, make sure you cook with love and from the heart because you can always taste it on the plate!
First Up - Sweet Potato Crusted Mahi - Mahi - a good use for those stored winter root vegetables (you can substitute regular potato if you prefer) . Also I am adding a bonus to this never before seen a Bourbon Butter Glaze to finish the dish off ! Yum! We like to serve this with either Frosted Sweeten Spinach or Braised Swiss Chard - both hearty greens that deliver great flavor from a simple preparation.
First Up - Sweet Potato Crusted Mahi - Mahi - a good use for those stored winter root vegetables (you can substitute regular potato if you prefer) . Also I am adding a bonus to this never before seen a Bourbon Butter Glaze to finish the dish off ! Yum! We like to serve this with either Frosted Sweeten Spinach or Braised Swiss Chard - both hearty greens that deliver great flavor from a simple preparation.
Sweet Potato Crusted Mahi- Mahi serves 4
Crusting
1 medium Sweet potato, peeled
½ c Bread crumbs
1 T Fresh herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, parsley)
2 T Olive Oil
To taste Salt & Pepper
Fish
4 each 6 ounce skinless filets, Mahi- Mahi
(substitutions – any firm, low oil white fish such as: cod, haddock, halibut, corvina, grouper)
2 T Olive Oil
To taste Salt & Pepper
Bourbon Butter Glaze
1/4 cup Bourbon
4 tbsp Butter, cold
To make the crusting – use a box grater with larger holes – grate the sweet potato completely.
Place the grated sweet potato into a bowl and add the bread crumbs, chopped herbs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Add the olive oil to form a paste, mix well to incorporate all the flavors.
Pat the fish filets dry with paper towel and place on a cutting board so the side that had the skin on it is on the board surface (usually the darker side).
Brush the filet with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place about 1/3 of cup of the crusting mixture on the filet and spread with fingers, pressing to form an even layer about ¼” to 3/8” thick.
Repeat to crust all filets, then place on a plate and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
To cook: place a large, non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil and heat. When the olive oil has heated, place the filets crust side down, and allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes until set and golden.
Carefully turn the filets over and cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a roasting or sheet pan.
Place the crusted fish into a 400° oven for 3 to 4 minutes until done – but not over cooked.
General rule of thumb is a total cooking time of 9 minutes per inch of thickness of a fish filet.
Place the saute pan back over medium high heat and add the 1/4 cup of Bourbon be careful it will flame up. Continue to cook until the bourbon is reduced to a bout a tablespoon.
Remove the pan fro the heat and them slowly whisk in the cold butter to incorporate set a side and top fish with a tablespoon of glaze as needed
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 173 g, servings 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 383 Calories from Fat 184
Total Fat 20.5g
Saturated Fat 4.3g
Cholesterol 54mg
Sodium 208mg
Total Carbohydrates 15.6g
Dietary Fiber 1.6g
Sugars 2.7g
Protein 32.7g
WW Pts. 9
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Speck-wrapped Scallops at Lombardino's
Have you ever had a meal when you can actually taste the love and care that went into preparing it? I believe we all have. Contrast that with a meal that was made hastily, perhaps, or one that was slapped together. I believe one of the reasons that chefs are enjoying so much celebrity right now is that food is love. Think about it: food nourishes us, it inspires us, it is creative, close to the earth, and can be an act of love in its preparation. If you've ever watched Iron Chef, you can see the love going into the ideation and preparation of each dish. And so it is with many chefs....
...so it is with Lombardino's. Years ago, Lombardino's built its reputation on the traditional style of Italian food. Darned good Italian food, but traditional just the same. Turns out someone there was paying attention, because they have gradually turned the direction of the restaurant toward a combination of the Italian traditional with nouveau cuisine. ...consider this: pizzas with poached figs, gorgonzola....truffles!
We have become Lombardino regulars- we eat at the bar. Recently, we went back for the scallops, which had caught my eye the first time we spied them on the menu. However, Jim is not a huge fan of scallops, so at that time we feasted on the duck papardelle, which is reviewed in another post. But, back to the scallops....and not just any old scallops, but SPECK WRAPPED SEA SCALLOPS, served on a stew of Borlotti beans & escarole with stracotto of beef short rib & horseradish sauce. Talk about scrumptious! Not for the seafood-eating vegetarian, these are a wonderful combination of flavors, deep and wide on the palate. Just the thing to fill you up- and I feel compelled to add a side note here that we share plates to add variety. One salad, two diners...one entree, two diners....just the perfect amount of food, lovingly prepared and served. This is one example of what I mean when I say "food is love". Just as I have made a beet-loving convert out of Jim, this dish has made him decide that scallops (at least prepared in this manner) are something he loves.
...so it is with Lombardino's. Years ago, Lombardino's built its reputation on the traditional style of Italian food. Darned good Italian food, but traditional just the same. Turns out someone there was paying attention, because they have gradually turned the direction of the restaurant toward a combination of the Italian traditional with nouveau cuisine. ...consider this: pizzas with poached figs, gorgonzola....truffles!
We have become Lombardino regulars- we eat at the bar. Recently, we went back for the scallops, which had caught my eye the first time we spied them on the menu. However, Jim is not a huge fan of scallops, so at that time we feasted on the duck papardelle, which is reviewed in another post. But, back to the scallops....and not just any old scallops, but SPECK WRAPPED SEA SCALLOPS, served on a stew of Borlotti beans & escarole with stracotto of beef short rib & horseradish sauce. Talk about scrumptious! Not for the seafood-eating vegetarian, these are a wonderful combination of flavors, deep and wide on the palate. Just the thing to fill you up- and I feel compelled to add a side note here that we share plates to add variety. One salad, two diners...one entree, two diners....just the perfect amount of food, lovingly prepared and served. This is one example of what I mean when I say "food is love". Just as I have made a beet-loving convert out of Jim, this dish has made him decide that scallops (at least prepared in this manner) are something he loves.
Monday, February 16, 2009
More elsewhere - Milwaukee - Bacchus
Time to chow down with long time friend and fellow chef Kerry Chace. The Chaceman travels a ton, so it was great to catch up with him over a nice meal. Linda and I had a grand time working through a huge and some what over-priced wine list to start. Bacchus is part of the Bartollota restaurant group based in Milwaukee, a collection of high-end, chef-driven venues serving on-trend food with spot on service. The service was fine - a little haughty since the server tried to sell two chefs a $88 porterhouse for two when asked what was a "not miss" on the menu. Come on, I know Tuesday evening is slow, but really read the guest better. We did find him to continue to be a bit competitive as it related to talking about food, wine and beverages through the whole meal (I'm getting this for my house, etc.). The menu was a smart list of starters, salads and entrees that echoed the seasonal goods available.
Linda and I shared the Tuna tartar with Wasabi tobikko as appy. Cucumbers and won ton chips rounded out the dish. The tuna was well seasoned and ice cold perched atop diced cucumbers that really gave the dish a bitter note instead of enhancing the sweetness. The won ton chips were super crispy platform for enjoying the tuna and the wonderful bursts of the wasabi tobikko really made your taste buds stand up and notice, all in all a solid 'B'. Kerry worked over the Seared Sea Scallops “Bartolotta” with sauteed mushrooms, truffle vinaigrette and Parmigiano: two beautiful day boat scallops that were perfectly seared. He must have enjoyed them because they were gone in a matter of minutes. The first course was in the books and all of us enjoyed the beginning of the evening. As far as wine, we selected a bottle of 2004 Paraduxx from Duckhorn - a meritage blend that was damn fine and tasty even though a bit over marked up.
Next up a walk through the garden - salads arrived - Linda and Kerry had Roasted Beets & Hidden Springs Cheese with grapes, Marcona almonds, arugula and “Blis” sherry vinegar salad. I had the Baby Spinach Salad with a grainy mustard dressing, house cured bacon lardons and a soft poached egg . Well, the beets on the beet salad were very one-dimensional and lacked any real seasoning or flavoring - I know beets. Linda is the one who introduced me to the joys of a well roasted beet, and this salad lacked any of the pizazz of hers. I think they both said their salad seemed deconstructed and did not deliver on the description. My salad also fell short of delivering the experience I was expecting. The house-cured lardons ended up being maple-cured, delivering a shock of sweetness I had not planned on. And the poached egg was actually soft boiled, which made the yolk firm and did not allow it to deliver the creaminess to the rest of the salad greens. Give this course a 'C' for showing up. I was hoping that this did not tip the hand for the entrees!
Here comes dinner - and none too soon... we all were very hungry! Kerry had the yummy Red Wine Braised Shortribs with sweet potato puree, parsnips and pearl onions a nice winter braise! Linda and I had the same thing, American Red Snapper with sweet potato puree, caramelized fennel and red wine-honey sauce. Both dishes were plated in an almost old-school style: an over worked and sauced plate that was a step back in time. Lots of demi glace and contrived use of orange, red, brown and white on both plates. Even though we 'eat with our eyes', these dishes tasted far better than they appeared. We enjoyed our entrees and finished the evening with an after dinner cocktail: Oban scotch for us and a Woodford Reserve for Chef Chace. We suggested he try it with a twist of orange to bring out the caramel and orange notes of the single batch bourbon, I think he found a new drink! We wrapped the evening and scooted out the door to our next stop, having a wonderful full tummy, and ready to rock out the rest of the evening.
Would I go back to Bacchus? Yes - I think it is a place worth visiting and getting to know when you go to Milwaukee!
Linda and I shared the Tuna tartar with Wasabi tobikko as appy. Cucumbers and won ton chips rounded out the dish. The tuna was well seasoned and ice cold perched atop diced cucumbers that really gave the dish a bitter note instead of enhancing the sweetness. The won ton chips were super crispy platform for enjoying the tuna and the wonderful bursts of the wasabi tobikko really made your taste buds stand up and notice, all in all a solid 'B'. Kerry worked over the Seared Sea Scallops “Bartolotta” with sauteed mushrooms, truffle vinaigrette and Parmigiano: two beautiful day boat scallops that were perfectly seared. He must have enjoyed them because they were gone in a matter of minutes. The first course was in the books and all of us enjoyed the beginning of the evening. As far as wine, we selected a bottle of 2004 Paraduxx from Duckhorn - a meritage blend that was damn fine and tasty even though a bit over marked up.
Next up a walk through the garden - salads arrived - Linda and Kerry had Roasted Beets & Hidden Springs Cheese with grapes, Marcona almonds, arugula and “Blis” sherry vinegar salad. I had the Baby Spinach Salad with a grainy mustard dressing, house cured bacon lardons and a soft poached egg . Well, the beets on the beet salad were very one-dimensional and lacked any real seasoning or flavoring - I know beets. Linda is the one who introduced me to the joys of a well roasted beet, and this salad lacked any of the pizazz of hers. I think they both said their salad seemed deconstructed and did not deliver on the description. My salad also fell short of delivering the experience I was expecting. The house-cured lardons ended up being maple-cured, delivering a shock of sweetness I had not planned on. And the poached egg was actually soft boiled, which made the yolk firm and did not allow it to deliver the creaminess to the rest of the salad greens. Give this course a 'C' for showing up. I was hoping that this did not tip the hand for the entrees!
Here comes dinner - and none too soon... we all were very hungry! Kerry had the yummy Red Wine Braised Shortribs with sweet potato puree, parsnips and pearl onions a nice winter braise! Linda and I had the same thing, American Red Snapper with sweet potato puree, caramelized fennel and red wine-honey sauce. Both dishes were plated in an almost old-school style: an over worked and sauced plate that was a step back in time. Lots of demi glace and contrived use of orange, red, brown and white on both plates. Even though we 'eat with our eyes', these dishes tasted far better than they appeared. We enjoyed our entrees and finished the evening with an after dinner cocktail: Oban scotch for us and a Woodford Reserve for Chef Chace. We suggested he try it with a twist of orange to bring out the caramel and orange notes of the single batch bourbon, I think he found a new drink! We wrapped the evening and scooted out the door to our next stop, having a wonderful full tummy, and ready to rock out the rest of the evening.
Would I go back to Bacchus? Yes - I think it is a place worth visiting and getting to know when you go to Milwaukee!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Time for some elsewhere - Milwaukee - Steaks
We just got back from a few days of business in Milwaukee and had a chance to dine out a couple of times with good friends. On this sojourn we had a meal at Capital Grille , yes a chain restaurant but a high end one. Capital Grille is part of the Rare Hospitality group that was bought by Darden last year. The atmosphere is high end clubby steakhouse with warm lighting, the dinning room was about 1/3 full - what you would expect on Monday night in this economy for a $60 per person average ticket. As always we are looking for interesting wines to try so we went by the glass - A Fisher Unity Cabernet - it was wonderful -nice depth, good fruit really all round red. We decided to share a couple of appetizers since the only oysters they had were East coast - not that we are snobs we just prefer the sweetness of West coast bi-valves over the briny East coast clan. We opted for a Waygu Beef Carpaccio and the Lobster/ shrimp cakes both enough to share. The carpaccio was good and classic in appearance - dressed baby arugula, shaved Reggiano, drizzle of olive oil, cracked pepper - then when we tasted it surprise - CUMIN. They had dusted the beef before slicing it paper thin - I like cumin but do not expect it on a high end beef carpaccio. It was ok - I have to say we would not order this again. The Lobster/ Shrimp cake was fine - a little fishy but very meaty - served with roasted corn salsa (out of season) and a fairly bland tarter sauce. So far about a B minus for the first courses the wine really opened nicely but then it hit.
The cigar smoke from the bar area became so over whelming I felt I was smoking a cigar the rest of the evening. In this day and age in a restaurant that cost 3 million dollars to build they should be able to separate the air handling. I love cigars but this was out of place and a real detractor from the evening. So after feeling like a smoked ham our dinner arrived
I had the dry aged sirloin cooked medium rare, Linda had the special a marinated filet that was seared and topped with roasted tomatoes and peppers served on two croutons - it was was very tasty. My steak was nice but lacked any dry aged flavor - none of that nuttiness you expect. All in all the steaks seemed to be under whelming I have cooked better ones on the grill in the back yard and at these prices .... I don't know how long the steak segment can have so many players. The best part of the evening was getting to know friends better and focus on life out side of work it was truly great to get to connect with our friend on a new level.
The cigar smoke from the bar area became so over whelming I felt I was smoking a cigar the rest of the evening. In this day and age in a restaurant that cost 3 million dollars to build they should be able to separate the air handling. I love cigars but this was out of place and a real detractor from the evening. So after feeling like a smoked ham our dinner arrived
I had the dry aged sirloin cooked medium rare, Linda had the special a marinated filet that was seared and topped with roasted tomatoes and peppers served on two croutons - it was was very tasty. My steak was nice but lacked any dry aged flavor - none of that nuttiness you expect. All in all the steaks seemed to be under whelming I have cooked better ones on the grill in the back yard and at these prices .... I don't know how long the steak segment can have so many players. The best part of the evening was getting to know friends better and focus on life out side of work it was truly great to get to connect with our friend on a new level.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Saturday breakfast - something new!
Well this last weekend Linda had a craving for pancakes, pancakes? This is a rare occurrence because when she craves pancakes they are usually her light and fluffy ones she has made for me on occasion. Being Saturday meant we have a list of epic proportions of things we wanted to get done, so cooking breakfast was not an option.
So we headed out to Bradbury's coffee house a small place on Hamilton and Dayton that serves coffee and crepes - sweet and savory. What a tiny place with only about 4 tables and 12 window counter seats. The space is a wedge in the bottom of the condo building - the decor is post modern industrial - they really have done a great job with a unique space. Right off the bat the chalkboard identifies the source of the products they use by calling out the 12 to 15 local suppliers or farmers. The group running the place are a nice looking bunch of folks that really seem passionate about the food they are producing. The menu is on a chalk board on the other wall and it highlighted 4 sweet and a couple of savory crepe offering all in the $6 to $8 range including grits as a side. We opted for two of the savory offerings - roast pork with apples and the scrambled egg and bacon with cheddar this way we can share. Both the crepes were hot, fresh and substantial in size - the taste was great - just a little under seasoned. The meats in both crepes were from Fountain Prairie Farms which is known for flavorful grass feed beef and pork. The roasted pork was tender and flavorful against the sweetness of the sauteed apples from Ella Orchards each bite was wonderful. The scrambled egg crepe was stuffed with local cheddar and maple cured bacon that was a nice sweet contrast to the richness of the eggy crepe. The side of grits really lacked a lot of flavor - simple salt and pepper would have helped highlight the side that was doused with Tabasco as a flavoring agent. We enjoyed this wonderful breakfast with a couple of nice skim lattes. It was a great start to the day - expect for the fact that getting a seat here is the tough part of the visit.
We hovered until a few folks left a counter seat and then made our way to the opening. Lesson learned here that if you are over 35 you are not part of the in crowd. We will be back but now know that you need to get your seats as soon as you hit the door to ensure you can have seated breakfast.
You can tell how much love is something you are eating simply by the taste and care with which it is made, here there is some love coming through, stop in for a bite.
So we headed out to Bradbury's coffee house a small place on Hamilton and Dayton that serves coffee and crepes - sweet and savory. What a tiny place with only about 4 tables and 12 window counter seats. The space is a wedge in the bottom of the condo building - the decor is post modern industrial - they really have done a great job with a unique space. Right off the bat the chalkboard identifies the source of the products they use by calling out the 12 to 15 local suppliers or farmers. The group running the place are a nice looking bunch of folks that really seem passionate about the food they are producing. The menu is on a chalk board on the other wall and it highlighted 4 sweet and a couple of savory crepe offering all in the $6 to $8 range including grits as a side. We opted for two of the savory offerings - roast pork with apples and the scrambled egg and bacon with cheddar this way we can share. Both the crepes were hot, fresh and substantial in size - the taste was great - just a little under seasoned. The meats in both crepes were from Fountain Prairie Farms which is known for flavorful grass feed beef and pork. The roasted pork was tender and flavorful against the sweetness of the sauteed apples from Ella Orchards each bite was wonderful. The scrambled egg crepe was stuffed with local cheddar and maple cured bacon that was a nice sweet contrast to the richness of the eggy crepe. The side of grits really lacked a lot of flavor - simple salt and pepper would have helped highlight the side that was doused with Tabasco as a flavoring agent. We enjoyed this wonderful breakfast with a couple of nice skim lattes. It was a great start to the day - expect for the fact that getting a seat here is the tough part of the visit.
We hovered until a few folks left a counter seat and then made our way to the opening. Lesson learned here that if you are over 35 you are not part of the in crowd. We will be back but now know that you need to get your seats as soon as you hit the door to ensure you can have seated breakfast.
You can tell how much love is something you are eating simply by the taste and care with which it is made, here there is some love coming through, stop in for a bite.
Monday, February 2, 2009
He saw his shadow - now it is recipe time!
That is it - I have had it with winter already and now that meaty little groundhog rodent has the nerve to confirm we have 6 more weeks of this, ugh! I have always thought that the perfect recipe for groundhog would be fajitas. Marinate the meat and eliminate that grassy taste, since they are herbivores. Serve it with all the wonderful salsas and condiments to make tasty tacos!!!!! Add a side of wonderful tart margaritas, and you have the perfect...... OK- JUST KIDDING, FOLKS!!!!
After a beautiful and warmer weekend we can feel Spring is peaking over the horizon. We are so excited about the coming months we just want to hold the vision and feeling of the warm sunshine on our face.
So happy Ground Hog Day to everyone - and hey lets hope he got it wrong this time - his average is better than our local weather guy!
After a beautiful and warmer weekend we can feel Spring is peaking over the horizon. We are so excited about the coming months we just want to hold the vision and feeling of the warm sunshine on our face.
So happy Ground Hog Day to everyone - and hey lets hope he got it wrong this time - his average is better than our local weather guy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
