Author: Annie

Garden Markers and Springtime

April 25, 2013February 5, 2017

A few weeks ago, Jonah and I ripped up a big bed in our back yard, went to our local farm and garden store, and planted our garden. We planted sugar snap peas, carrots, broccoli, beets, kale, strawberries, sage, chives, and thyme (all this in addition to the arugula, radicchio, fava beans, and garlic that Jonah planted back in the fall). It was really fun to get dirty and plant all these things that, someday, we’ll harvest and make into delicious food. Isn’t that exciting?

Anyway, I’m sharing this with you because we also made these little markers for our garden that I wanted to show you. I know it’s not food or a restaurant, but it is related. There are plenty of cute markers you can buy, but these are so nice and homemade and you can put your own personal touches on them. All you need are some rocks (washed and dried), some acrylic paints, brushes, and then, when you’re done, a waterproof shellac kind of spray so that, if you live in a place like Portland, the paint won’t get demolished in the rain. You can pick this up at any craft shop (think Michael’s or JoAnn Fabrics). Plus, you get to feel like you did an art project that was actually useful and cute.

(P.S. – the link above where it says “plenty of cute markers you can buy” is a link to an article on a blog that I really love called Design*Sponge. They have great recipes and hosting ideas too, be sure to check the whole site out!)

NOLA Trip & Reviews

April 23, 2013February 5, 2017

At the end of March, Jonah and I went on vacation. A while back, Jonah’s cousin Dylan had asked us if we wanted to go to New Orleans (NOLA) with him. He has some lovely friends who live there and were willing to host all of us. How can you turn down an opportunity like that?

Upon our arrival, we learned that not only were these people amazingly friendly and funny, but that they, too, are foodies. Could I have been any happier? Probably not. Emily and Barry (whose house we were staying at) were a wealth of information of where to eat (and where not to eat) and Urooj was just as enthusiastic about eating delicious food as we were. And eat delicious food we did. Here are some pictures and brief statements on what (and where) we ate.

Let’s start with breakfast, shall we? Our first day we ate an amazing brunch at Ruby Slipper, which has two locations in the city, I believe. I had the delicious quiche you see below and Jonah had some amazing crawfish and grits. The shrimp and grits were also delicious, as were the pancakes, which had some combination of spiced rum and pecans, I believe.

Later on in the trip, after hearing Emily and her brother Josh rave about it for days, we went to Gracious Bakery. These pastries were lovely – my particular favorites were the strawberry danish and the cruffin of the day (croissant pastry baked in a muffin tin), which was full of artichoke and cheese. Emily picked up a boule at Gracious (a round loaf of simple bread) and it was perhaps the most wonderful dense, buttery bread I’ve had in a long time. If you’re hunting for pastries in NOLA, I definitely recommend this place.

Now onto snacks: Emily’s brother Josh and his partner Brett took us to Dat Dog, where there are all kinds of creative sausages and toppings, resulting in some delicious and gigantic hot dogs. Below you’ll see my guinness dog with catsup, mustard, and something else, which I can no longer remember…

After walking with the gang through the Garden District (do it, seriously – the place is beautifully breathtaking), we strolled down Magazine Street to a nice little bar called Bouligny Tavern. Sipping kir royales and munching on these gouda beignets and fried gnocchi with truffle oil was not a bad way to spend an afternoon. The decor in this place was very 1960s, and the little food I ate was really REALLY delicious. Next time I’m in NOLA, I hope to go back.

Earlier we had stopped for an afternoon sweet tooth snack at Sucré. Jonah and I kept it simple with 2 flavors of gelato: lemon curd and basil + coconut. Both were incredible and have inspired some ice cream flavor brainstorming for my summer. Emily and Dylan, however, went for it and got a salted caramel chocolate cupcake and a profiterole-type dessert, made with an eclair, 3 scoops of gelato, and as you can see, plenty of chocolate sauce.

Emily, our wonderful hostess, works at a little sweet shop called Brocato’s, so of course we had to visit. Almond macarons and custard gelato were the highlight here. As well as her co-worker Pam.

I won’t talk too much about drinking (I know, I know), but I will say that if you’re going to visit NOLA, I would highly recommend at least walking by Lafitte’s Blacksmith shop, if not going in and having a drink. Reputed as the oldest bar in the U.S. (built in 1730 or something like that…), the building is super cool. When Jonah and I went, we were lucky enough to happen upon a wonderful singer playing the piano in the back of the bar. She knew every cover the audience threw at her, and had this great raspy voice. And the piano was covered in candles, and surrounded by people on stools. The whole scene was pretty neat.

For our big meal out, we decided to go to Root, a new-ish restaurant in the warehouse district. Root’s menu felt like one you could find in Portland, except for very South-influenced. We started with face bacon (it’s exactly what it sounds like) and a ballotine, accompanied by mustards and house pickled onions, strawberries, etc. Next? Grilled duck heart salad, smoked scallops with cauliflower served in an old cigar box, and pork belly served with poached lobster. But my favorite part was probably dessert: The Yorkie. A housemade peppermint pattie and mint chocolate chip ice cream scooped on top of the most delicious homemade coco puffs, with mint infused milk poured over the whole thing. Just like eating cereal for dessert. But really fancy delicious cereal.

And of course, how could we go to NOLA and not go to Cafe Du Monde to eat some beignets (and some beignet mix for our roommate, who was kind enough to recreate the dessert for us about a week after we got back).

Tamar Adler’s “An Everlasting Meal”

April 13, 2013February 5, 2017

I have come across a book that has changed the way I think about food and cooking, and I want to tell you all about it. I’m not sure how I came across it, but somehow I did, and when Jonah and I went to Powell’s with a friend, I made sure to pick it up. It’s called An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler.

Tamar Adler seems to be the perfect combination of writer and cook. She was an editor at Harper’s Bazaar, and still occasionally writes for them. But she also worked at Prune and Chez Panisse, so clearly has some foodie chops. Unlike most of the other food books I’ve written about, Adler’s book isn’t her life story, the tale of the opening of her own restaurant, or even a cookbook. This book is full of tips and ideas on how to use the ingredients you’ve got to your fullest advantage and make delicious food. (One of my favorite tips on roasting vegetables and vegetables in general: “If you need vegetables to share a roasting pan, choose ones that have grown in similar ways. This rule helps when you want to know which vegetables can stand in for which in recipes as well.”)

After having fallen in love with this book, I have read more of Tamar Adler’s articles. I recently read a conversation between her and Kurt Michael Friese. Their philosophies about getting people to stop being afraid of cooking, to realize how simple (and inexpensive) it can be, and how food really brings people together are very aligned with my own. These philosophies are a large part of what led me to create this blog. I want everyone to know that it’s not that hard to roast asparagus with olive oil and salt, or to bake some trout in parchment paper. Anyone can do that.

Heavily inspired by M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, An Everlasting Meal is split into chapters with titles like “How to teach an egg to fly,” “How to build a ship,” and “How to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.” (On Adler’s website, you can find cute little videos to accompany some of the chapters, as well as links to more of her writing.) Subjects like how eggs can be a substantial part of any meal, using bread as a central part of the meal instead of as an appetizer, and entertaining are side by side with recipe ideas and recipes themselves, which are peppered throughout. But her recipes aren’t do or die… they’re more like gentle guidelines or suggestions. Some are written in normal recipe format, and some are in paragraph form amongst the text.

My copy of the book is marked up and dog-eared, with ideas circled and recipes starred on many pages. Jonah is reading it now, and I’ve told so many friends about it who have asked if they can borrow the book when he’s done. I am inclined to say yes, but then I think about how much I’ve used this book since owning it. I’ve used specific recipes as well as referencing sections for ideas and finding favorite quotes for inspiration when I’m feeling too tired to make dinner. And it always revives me, reminding me that all I have to do for a good meal is boil some potatoes and whip up some aioli and eat them with sauteed kale.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from An Everlasting Meal:

“All ingredients need salt. The noodle or tender spring pea would be narcissistic to imagine it already contained within its cell walls all the perfection it would ever need. We seem, too, to fear that we are failures at being tender or springy if we need to be seasoned. It’s not so: it doesn’t reflect badly on pea or person that either needs help to be most itself.”

Talking about making an omelette: “Beat two or three eggs in a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of heavy cream if you want. This is not a trick, but and expresion of the fact that things taste good with cream added.”

And two of my favorites on entertaining:

“We’re anxious about serving, but the simple, blessed fact is that no one ever comes to dinner for what you’re cooking. We are all hungry and thirsty and happy that someone’s predicted we would be and made arrangements for dealing with it. We come for the opportunity to look up from our plates and say ‘thank you.’ It is for recognition of our common hungers that we come when we are asked.”

“I like to serve food family style. It’s pleasurable to spoon a potato onto a fellow diner’s plate. It binds you to her, for the duration of the dinner at least, in a way that makes conversation easy and the atmosphere good.”

She writes a lot about the importance buying locally grown, good ingredients, and most of what she cooks with is good produce. Even though I know it’s a huge part of cooking, I am still in awe of what good fresh ingredients can do. Which is one of the reasons I’m so excited that the farmers market has started again here in Portland. Here are my spoils from today.

Restaurant Review: Besaw’s (for dinner!)

March 28, 2013February 5, 2017

About a month ago, Jonah and I were contacted by a local PR company to join them for dinner at a restaurant that’s a client of theirs, Besaw’s. Now, if you know anything about Portland, you know it’s a brunch city. Everyone goes to brunch, the lines are hours long, and brunch places are known for just that, BRUNCH. Besaw’s is one of these places. It’s known for its amazing brunch. The one time I tried to go, it was an hour and a half wait, and I was on a schedule, so I couldn’t stay. But if a place has an hour and a half wait, and people are WAITING, you bet your bottom it’s good.

When I had long ago looked at the brunch menu, I had also glanced at the dinner menu, and let me tell you, it looked good. So I was pretty excited to have an excuse to drive across town (read: 20 minutes in Portland rush hour, really not so bad) to eat there. Now, I’m going to start with the end of our meal, because the owner, Cana Flug joined us before dessert and told us about how she came to own Besaw’s and the history of the place, and it’s quite cool. The restaurant has been around since 1903, when it was opened by loggers George Besaw and Medric Liberty as a beer hall. When the prohibition rolled around, Besaw became the sole owner and started serving food. Fast forward about 80 years, to when Cana started frequenting Besaw’s (it became a favorite spot and she lived nearby) and became friends with the owners. When they were ready to sell, they asked her if she wanted the place and, at the ripe age of 25, she said yes. Can you imagine owning a restaurant at age 25? I certainly cannot. The restaurant is sweet in the evening – nice lighting, and a very cozy and homey feeling. That, plus the fact that we were sitting with all these awesome, food-loving, powerful women, made the whole evening so comfortable and fun, filled with lots of stories and laughs.

On to the food: we started with cocktails and appetizers, specifically the Besaw’s Board (the house charcuterie board), fried pickles with a spicy aioli dipping sauce, and roasted mushrooms over polenta with marsala sauce. I shared these starters with Brooke, one of the publicists from Little Green Pickle, as well as Rebekah and Bee, two other food bloggers. My favorite of the starters was the mushrooms with polenta – so flavorful and the polenta was perfectly creamy. Yum.

We ordered our entrees while we waited for the rest of our party (Carrie and Jannie, the founders of Little Green Pickle). Our table quickly filled as the plates came out: Mac and Cheese, Fried Chicken over a Cheddar-Chive Waffle, Baked Fish (I think it was trout), Meatloaf, and the Elk Burger with an egg over easy on top. Carrie and Jannie arrived, and then came my favorite part of the evening. As a food blogger, I am constantly taking pictures of my food, which I think can be odd or annoying to the people around me. But surrounded by other food bloggers and lovers, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE at the table, whipped out their cellphones and started taking pictures of the dishes. Jannie even used her flash as a light to shine on the dishes in the dimly lit restaurant. It must have been a scene to the diners around us, but I thought it was hilarious.

All of the food was really lovely, and it was definitely comfort food. But you know how comfort food can be really filling and heavy and make you feel like “oh, I should not have eaten all of that” afterwards? This did not feel like that. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t light, but it was really enjoyable to eat. The flavors were so homey and full without being overwhelming. My favorite dish, the meatloaf, was a surprise to me. I never liked meatloaf growing up, and if it’s on a menu, I never ever order it. But this meatloaf was so good. It had some bacon on it (let’s face it, bacon never hurts) and was served over roasted veggies (which are a serious weakness for me) and drizzled with some pan sauce. Oh gosh it was so good. I could have eaten that whole plate by my lonesome if I hadn’t been sharing with 6 other people. Also, the fried chicken was delicious – not too heavy and so crispy.

After dinner, Cana sat down with us and talked to us about the history of the restaurant and her food and philosphy. She is extremely cool. I hope, should you decide to eat here (which you totally should) that you bump into her. She is enthusiastic, sweet, and very bright. After telling us her story, I heard perhaps my favorite words of the night when, after we had all been poring over the dessert menu, Cana told our waitress, “Just bring us one of everything.” Um, yes please. Again, the table was filled with plates of chocolate cake, bread pudding, apple betty, a chocolate chip skillet cookie (with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream), and my personal favorite, butterscotch pudding. Again, I was surprised by what ended up being my favorite dish – I am not usually a fan of butterscotch and I do not usually order pudding, but here I was wishing I had a jar of the stuff to myself. The butterscotch was perfectly subtle, and the pudding itself was so rich and creamy. A close second was the chocolate chip skillet cookie, which was perfectly crispy and crunchy on the edges and chewy in the center, balanced by the cool ice cream.

Overall, I could not have been more pleased with the meal. The service was lovely, company was fun, and the food made me feel like someone’s grandmother was cooking me dinner. Because the food was so homey, I immediately felt comfortable in this setting and with these new friends. I am of the belief that food should bring people together, bond them, and give them a shared, pleasurable experience.