Recipe: Cumin Fried Rice

Cumin Fried Rice

Food and Wine Magazine, March 2015, p.60

4 stars

Great, easy side rice dish.

Ingredients:  basmati rice, shallot, ginger, cumin seeds, chickpeas, spinach, salt, pepper oil

Tips:

• Since spinach wilts down to almost nothing, I used almost 10 cups of spinach instead of 4.  I cooked it separately to keep the rice from being too wet.
• Added garlic and red pepper.
• Will try cannellini beans instead of chickpeas next time!

Restaurant: J&G Grill at the St. Regis in Deer Valley

J&G Grill at the St. Regis in Deer Valley, Utah

7452 Mary (Bloody Mary)

Brioche Bread Pudding with Roasted Pineapple
and Condensed Milk Ice Cream

This was my first dining experience at a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, and it did not disappoint.  Even though we didn't have a full sit-down meal (we sat at the bar), I'd rate this in my top 5 dining experiences in my lifetime.

It's rare when I dine at a restaurant and enjoy every single item I ordered and where service is flawless.  To help me remember our amazing experience, here is what we enjoyed:

Drinks:

• 7452 Mary:  At 7,452 feet, Deer Valley's signature Bloody Mary is topped off with a wasabi and celery espuma, cayenne pepper and black lava salt.  
• It was served with a pipette of Worcestershire sauce (fun!).  It's the best Bloody Mary I've ever had in my life.  Super fresh, spicy, unique with the wasabi/celery/green apple foam and the slightly sweet black lava salt.
• Smoke & Fire:  Don Julio Reposado Tequila, High West Campfire Whiskey, Lemon, Spiced Hibiscus, Orange
• Who would've thought to put tequila and whiskey in a drink together?  Smooth and balanced with lots of complexity.  Loved this.

Appetizer:  

• Tuna Tartare with Avocado, Spicy Radish and a Ginger Marinade
• Amazingly fresh;  I could've eaten 3 of this app since it was small; would've been perfect with crostini.

Entree:

• Sichuan Pepper Crusted Yellowfin Tuna
• It was served with 2 Shishito peppers and a soy-miso mustard sauce.  Ordered it rare, and it was amazing just like the app -- suprisingly not spicy even though it had the Sichuan peppers on the outside crust.  I must find Jean-Georges' recipe for the soy-miso mustard sauce!  

Dessert:

• Brioche Bread Pudding with Roasted Pineapple and Condensed Milk Ice Cream
• This is what bread pudding should always be like -- moist and decadent with every single bite.  It was topped with a thinly sliced dried piece of pineapple.  A lovely end to our meal.

Regarding drinks, I think their cocktail list was one of the best I've seen.  I wanted to try all of them!
Here was their specialty cocktail  menu:

I'd HIGHLY recommend dining at J&G grill or going there for apres-ski!  (Apparently, there is a way to ski down to the bar!)  Note that we took a nice finicular ride from the bottom to get to the hotel that's mid-mountain.

Restaurant: High West Distillery & Saloon in Park City, Utah

High West Distillery & Saloon in Park City, Utah

Fun, apres-ski hangout.
Creative strong cocktails.
Comfortable bar with knowledgeable bartenders.
Will definitely be back.

We ordered:

• Le Bouvier:  American Prairie Bourbon, Yellow Chartreuse, Cognac, Fino Sherry
• The Grand Duel:  Double Rye!, Amaro Nonino, Aperol, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, Lagavulin 16
• Pretzel & Beer Cheese:  House Pretzel, Whiskey Whipped Beer Cheese, Mustard Dip & Pickles

Recipe: Skillet-Roasted Cauliflower with Panko

Skillet-Roasted Cauliflower with Panko

Bon Appetit Magazine, Nov 2015, p. 12

5 stars

Someone wrote to Bon Appetit and asked for Chef Stephanie Izard's recipe from her restaurant Girl & the Goat in Chicago;  I'm so glad that they did and that they published this recipe.

If you don't like cauliflower, try this and you may change your mind -- this side dish has tons of flavor and texture and is oh so easy to make.  This will be served at our next dinner party.

Ingredients:  cauliflower, toasted pine nuts, panko, Parmesan, thinly sliced pickled red peppers (such as Peppadew) garlic, butter, Kosher salt, pepper and mint (we didn't add the mint but that would have added yet another layer of flavor)