My birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant Gjelina.
Gnocci
Pizza with caramelized onions, gruyere, arugala
Asparagus with romesco sauce
Quail
Mushroom Toast
Chocolate and Banana Bread Pudding
Cooking is a commonsense practice, not alchemy. Listening and watching closely while you cook will reveal a richly shaded language understood by all the senses - the degrees of a simmer, the aroma of a roast telling you it is done, the stages of elasticity of kneaded dough, the earthy scent of a vegetable just pulled from the ground - it is everything to mind these details. This is cooking. ~ Chez Panisse Cookbook
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Steak
A few weeks ago, Richard and I went to the farmers market and then our favorite store Farmshop to get ingredients for dinner. Everything we used was from these two places and the dinner was one of the best ones I've had in a really long time.
We boiled artichokes from the farmers market and ate them with melted butter. Then we cooked two amazing new york steaks from Farmshop first in a pan to brown both sides, and then finished them off in the oven. We bought a celery root at the farmers market and made a deliciously creamy celery root puree, and roasted cherry tomatoes to go with it.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Bibimbap
I first had bibimbap at Graze, one of my favorite restaurants in Madison. Bibimbap was described to me as "korean comfort food," and I can't think of a better thing to call it. It is a hot bowl of crispy rice layered with an array of sauteed vegetables, marinated and sauteed beef, and topped with a fried egg. You break the yolk and mix it with the sauce, stir everything together, and then eat it. It's delicious.
The other day Richard and I remembered having bibimbap and Graze, and decided we wanted to try to make it ourselves. We had a little trouble getting the rice crispy, but overall it turned out amazing. We used bok choy, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms, but you can really use any vegetables you want.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Sole and Apricots
Since I'm going to be cooking for myself next year and I'm going to be incredibly busy with school work and other things, I've been keeping my eye open for recipes and ideas for quick and easy meals. This dinner was simple and quick, but really really delicious. I will definitely be keeping these things in mind.
The apricots I made for dessert were delicious, and really easy, and pretty healthy too! All you do is place the apricots in a baking dish, top them with a mixture of chopped almonds, brown sugar, and butter, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Sole with lemon, butter, and white wine
Roasted cherry tomatoes
Sauteed baby bok choy
Quinoa
Roasted Apricots with Almonds
Plan Check
At the beginning of the summer, Richard told me about a new burger place he found called Plan Check. After trying to find the time to go the entire summer, we finally went yesterday! And it was amazing. The food is really yummy and hearty, but with really interesting spins on common ingredients. The best thing is the ketchup leather! Like fruit leather, but for ketchup instead. Awesome.
Mozzarella and Melon Salad
Oysters
(a girl next to us said they were the best ones she has ever had!)
Chef's Favorite Burger
cheese two ways, bacon two ways, ketchup leather, sunny fried egg, hot sauce
PCB (Plan Check Burger)
akaushi red wagyu beef, americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions, mixed pickles, crunch bun
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