Recipe: Thomas Keller's ad hoc meatballs with pappardelle

Last night, we spent 3 hours cooking the meatballs with pappardelle recipe from Thomas Keller's ad hoc at home book.  We followed the recipe exactly and were, well, disappointed.  It was ok, but certainly didn't justify the amount of time it took to make it.  The sauce called for leeks and fennel which we thought would lend itself to a unique sauce, but in the end, it was flat.  The meatballs also needed more oomph.  I would've been disappointed had I paid an Ad Hoc price for this dish. 

The grandcruman (blog contributor) agrees.

Restaurant: Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria

I am in love with Grimaldi's pizza. 

There are a lot of specialty pizza places in Dallas -- Coal Vines, Picasso's, Fireside Pies, to name a few, and they're all fine.  Basic.  Nothing to write home about.  (At least to me.  I know others would argue otherwise.)  So, I wasn't planning to be blown away by the pizza at Grimaldi's when we met friends for dinner there on Friday.  Grimaldi's has been around in Dallas for a while, but I'd just never been.

The pizza was exceptional.  The crust was thin but not too thin;  chewy but just the right amount of chewiness.  And the ingredients were fresh, fresh, fresh.  I've not tasted tomato sauce and mozzarella on a pizza that was that good, ever.

I'd gone to the restaurant's website beforehand, and kind of chuckled at the fact that they go to such great lengths to make sure the composition of the water is similar to that in Brooklyn (even hiring a chemist to analyze and recreate the mineral content via a New York water pumping system) so that the pizza dough's integrity is maintained.  Apparently, the secret to true New York style pizza is the water.  They also have a special signature brick oven and use special coals (anthracite) from Pennsylvania.

I'm a believer that it makes 'the Grimaldi's difference.'

I'll be going back there soon since I just finished the leftover pizza today.

http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/pizza

Recipes: Chicken Au Champagne; Cauliflower Gratin



I mentioned the book French Women Don't Get Fat in an earlier blog post and the recipe Chicken Au Champagne.  Voila!  We made it last night for the second time along with Mireille's (the author) Cauliflower Gratin.

The chicken is so flavorful and easy to make -- here is the recipe:
http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/content/chicken-emau-champagneem
Note: We didn't use Champagne but instead some inexpensive sparkling wine.  I believe that cooking with good Champagne is such a waste!

For the Cauliflower Gratin, I threw in some broccoli as well and doubled the amount of cheese (so in the end, it wasn't low fat).  Interestingly, the Cauliflower Gratin recipe in the book is different from what's on Mireille's website. 

Cauliflower Gratin recipe on her website (looks tasty; is cheese-less; we'll try it next time):
http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/content/cauliflower-gratin

Cauliflower Gratin recipe that we made that's in her book:  http://www.goodcooking.com/ckbookrv/spring_05/fat_bu05/fat_rev.htm

This is an easy meal to make during the weekday.

Drinks: Fever-Tree Ginger Beer

Do you love ginger?  If you do, read on!

I've found the most amazing ginger beer I've ever tasted.  Note:  ginger beer is non-alcoholic.  I was strolling down the 'ethnic' aisle in our local grocery store (Kroger) and found it there of all places, near the Italian food section.  I'd heard of Fever-Tree before, having had a drink made with its all-natural tonic but had no idea they made ginger beer as well.

I've had a hard time finding ginger beer in Dallas, only finding Reed's Extra Ginger Brew (all-natural Jamaican style ginger beer) at Central Market.  Fever-Tree's Ginger Beer blows it away by a long shot if you like a very strong, almost spicy, ginger flavor.  It makes Reed's taste like water.  Fever-Tree's Ginger Brew is made with all-natural ingredients and is only 88 calories per 6.8 oz bottle.  The only drawback is that it was $6.49 for 4 bottles, but it's well worth it.

For more info on Fever-Tree, go to: http://www.fever-tree.com/drinks.php
They tout Ferran Adria of El Bulli saying, "Fever-Tree is an outstanding mixer" and that their products are used in 7 of the 10 top restaurants in the world.

I'm going to have to try the Ginger Lemon Drop Sprizer recipe (ginger beer, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, vodka, lemon juice, minced ginger) tonight.  The recipe is within an article about chefs using ginger more and more in their cooking because of its great versatility.

Book: French Women Don't Get Fat

This book came out years ago, and while I bought it back in 2004, I only read it just recently as recommended to me by a friend.  I really enjoyed it -- it's a FUN, quick read and has changed how I view food.  In addition, the book has some wonderful, easy and tasty recipes like 'Chicken au Champagne.'

The author, Mireille Guiliano, is the former CEO of Champagne house Veuve Cliquot and relates the story of how she changed her relationship with food with the help of 'Dr. Miracle' who helped her easily lose weight when she was younger.  She gives tips on how to stay slim without dieting.

The premise of the book is all about changing your lifestyle bit by bit but still indulging in life's pleasures.  There are trade-offs you can make ~ for instance, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or cutting out a dessert if you're going to have a sweet after-dinner drink.  Little things added together (cutting a few calories here and there and gradually increasing exercise) can lead to easy weight loss.

While I'd encourage you to read the book, here is a summary of what Mireille thinks French women do differently compared to American women:

1. French women eat smaller portions of more things (each meal averages 3 courses).
2. French women eat more vegetables. 
3. French women love chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
4. French women honor mealtime rituals and never eat standing up, on the run, or in front of the T.V.
5. French women eat what's in season for maximum flavor, and know availability does not equal quality.
6. French women don't care for hard liquor.
7. French women walk wherever they can.
8. French women drink water all day long.
9. French women don't eat anything "fat-free", "sugar-free" or anything stripped of natural flavor. They go for the real thing IN MODERATION.
10. French women choose their indulgences and compensations.

Recipe: Thai-Style Beef with Noodles

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner on Saturday and went on to epicurious.com to get some ideas.  They have 'top-rated recipe' categories like 'Best Burger Recipes,' 'Best Chicken Recipes,' etc.  I found the following recipe under 'Best Steak Recipes' which sounded really delicious but wasn't as flavorful as it could be (but then, we really like BOLD flavors).

The recipe has potential but wasn't great as-is.  I think the meat needs to marinate longer (a couple of hours rather than 20 min), and my husband suggested adding more sugar and also ginger to the marinade.  Next time, I might add some other vegetables as well and more scallions and more Thai green-curry paste.  As you can see from the photo, we used Sriricha sauce which added spice and helped saved the dish.

We'll make it again, and I'll update this post with our additional recipe tweaks.

Thai-Style Beef with Noodles
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/bestof/toprecipes/beststeakrecipes/recipes/food/views/Thai-Style-Beef-with-Noodles-241478

Recipe: Potato and Celery Root Mash

We didn't do too much cooking this past week, but we did make this Potato and Celery Root Mash recipe to go with some brisket (that we'd previously made and froze).

I don't know if I can eat regular mashed potatoes from now on without thinking about this recipe.  It's easy to make and only involves 7 ingredients: potatoes, celery root, horseradish, sour cream, Dijon mustard, butter and salt.

We made half the amount (the recipe is for 6-8 servings) and used horseradish cream that's easily found in the grocery store instead of actual horseradish which our store was out of.  It was my first time cooking celery root -- which we had to go to Central Market, our specialty grocer, to buy.  It along with the horseradish added a nice dimension.  We'll definitely be making this again!

Bon Appetit Magazine, Dec 2011, p. 93
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-and-Celery-Root-Mash-368964

A Cool Gift: Alcohol Art

A research scientist at Florida State University tried to find novel ways to fund his research, and decided to take photographs of various alcoholic drinks under the microscope and sell them as art.

Here's how this unique art is made according to the website:
"BevShot images are made by first crystallizing the drink of choice on a lab slide. Using a standard light microscope with a camera attached, the light source is polarized and passed through the crystal. This creates the magnificent colors we see in our favorite drinks featured on this site."

Rum and Cola is my favorite, and I received it for Christmas.  I think it's a cool and unique gift!  You can buy them at:  http://bevshots.com

Recipe: Italian Wedding Soup

We've been eating leftovers (the Rick Bayless enchiladas I posted last weekend, more Martin Yan dumplings I made, and a beef daube stew my husband cooked up last weekend).  So, today it was time to make something new.  I was craving souffles and since we had some gruyere in the fridge, we made Gruyere and Parmesan Cheese Souffles.  I still get excited when the souffles rise beautifully.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gruyere-and-Parmesan-Cheese-Souffle-103223

We also had some spinach that we needed to use up, and I'd seen Grace Parisi's recipe for Italian wedding Soup (that calls for spinach) in the new Food and Wine Magazine (Feb 2012) we received the other day.  On a cold day like today, it was perfect and a nice complement to the souffles.  We decided that the soup is  perfect if you need something hearty, basic and quick. 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/italian-wedding-soup

A few suggestions:

• Add herbs
• Saute the meatballs first to give them more flavor and color
• Use 3/4 orzo and double the amount of celery and carrots (we like hearty soups that can stand alone as a meal)

All About Champagne

While Champagne is especially apropos today (and of course, last night), I think it's great any and every day of the week.  Why not?

Don't know much about Champagne? 
Do you know how Champagne gets its bubbles? 
What are the 3 primary grapes used in Champagne? 
Did you know that Champagne was "invented" by a monk. . . Dom Perignon?

This informative article "Bubble by Bubble" by Lettie Teague at the Wall Street Journal is a nice primer:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204879004577108771968650542.html?KEYWORDS=bubble+by+bubble

Happy New Year!!!!