Friday Food & Wine Finds: September 17, 2010

Once again, it's Friday and I haven't posted a recipe all week. I sort of feel like a slacker, but in my defense, I just got back from San Antonio on Wednesday. That's a good excuse, right?? No? Well, maybe these food and wine links will help...

The Top Chef finale. What can I say (without revealing the winner's name for those of you who DVR like me)?? It was a completely shocking decision, and one that I certainly didn't see coming (neither did he. Padma: "You are Top Chef." The winner: "I am??") Please Pack Your Knives and Go has a recap, and it's clear they're just as befuddled at the judge's decision as I was (when the winner was declared, I shrieked "WHAT???" in an octave which can only be heard by dogs).

Turns out Bravo accidentally revealed the winner a little early. Whoops.

Friday Food & Wine Finds: September 10, 2010

Happy Friday! I'm currently writing this dispatch from the glamorous Des Moines airport, where the vast food and beverage choices would make your head spin. OK, I'm kidding. There's a coffee shop, and that's about all I can say. But luckily, I'm off to San Antonio today and looking forward to some excellent Tex-Mex food. Anyone have recommendations for me? Leave them in the comments!

On to the food and wine finds...

This NY Times article describes the recent rise of boozy ice cream drinks. Um, with all due respect to the Times, I'm pretty sure my roommates and I invented boozy ice cream drinks back in college. Captain Morgan ice cream floats, anyone?

Friday Food & Wine Finds: September 3, 2010

Happy National Grilled Cheese Day!

Seriously, September 3rd is National Grilled Cheese Day. (Would I make this up?? I heard it on Twitter, so clearly it must be true.) Actually, Foodimentary says today is also National Welsh Rarebit Day. Though in this particular case, I'm fairly sure "National" refers just specifically to the nation of Wales. I doubt that anyone in this particular country has taken to the streets to celebrate Welsh Rarebit. Though perhaps they should... it sounds like a slightly more sophisticated grilled cheese. No wonder it shares a day of celebration with my beloved grilled cheese.

Recipe: Risotto with Tomato and Goat Cheese

Risotto gets a bad rap as a laborious and time-consuming dish, but the truth is, I secretly enjoy making it. Maybe it has something to do with the the fast pace and busy workload of a typical weekday, but I find that the whole process of infusing hot liquid into rice is incredibly relaxing. For twenty minutes, all I have to do is stand in front of the stove, wait, and occasionally stir. The best part? At the end, I get to enjoy a creamy, rich risotto.

I almost always have Arborio rice in my cupboard, but I rarely have chicken stock. For a long time, this kept me from making risotto as often as I'd like. For some reason, it never occurred to me that a quick vegetable stock - or even hot water! - could create risotto equally as well as chicken stock. A couple of weeks ago, I read a Mark Bittman article on how easy it is to make risotto with any hot liquid. Lacking chicken stock (as usual), I decided to take his advice and make garlic stock.

Friday Food & Wine Finds: August 27

Hi everyone! I'm off to Kansas City today, but thought I'd throw together a quick round of food & wine finds before I go. By the way, I keep hearing conflicting opinions - really, what's the best barbecue in Kansas City? Arthur Bryant's or Oklahoma Joe's? I know Anthony Bourdain is a big Oklahoma Joe's fan, which tends to sway me. Let me know in the comments if you feel otherwise (or if you have any other fun KC recommendations for me).

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

For a quick summer meal that's fresh and seasonal, there's nothing tastier and easier than gazpacho. The term 'gazpacho' usually refers to a tomato-based soup which doesn't require cooking and is served chilled; beyond that, there are infinite variations. More often than not, gazpacho recipes include liquids like chicken stock, tomato juice, or even water to thin out the vegetable puree. Because it's August and the farmer's market is filled with truly wonderful heirloom tomatoes right now, I wanted to make a gazpacho that would allow their flavor to shine through. I added a little olive oil and red wine vinegar for texture and taste, but all the rest of the liquid in this recipe comes from the tomatoes themselves rather than from stock or purchased juice. Because it highlights the flavor of the fresh vegetables so well, it's the perfect vehicle for my best farmer's market finds.

Friday Food & Wine Finds: August 20

Happy Friday! Today marks the start of Restaurant Week in Des Moines, which means $25 three-course dinners all week long from some of my favorite spots around town. (Most restaurants are also offering 2-for-$25 lunches, but since I'm never in Des Moines during the day, I won't be partaking in any lunch specials and thus I like to pretend they don't exist.) 

To celebrate the best week of the year, I've decided to devote this edition of Friday Food & Wine Finds to highlighting the best-looking Restaurant Week menus around town. Since Restaurant Week actually runs for ten days (August 20-29), I'll choose my top ten destinations, one for each day. Just for fun, I'll also tell you what I would order at each restaurant. Here they are!

Recipe: Caramelized Onion, Shiitake, & Goat Cheese Ravioli

I grew up in a strict no-onion household. My dad has harbored a lifelong aversion to onions, aided first by my grandmother, who routinely makes a small "Scott-only" version of every dish she prepares, and then by my mother, who was never a big fan of onions anyway and was quite happy to ban them from her kitchen.

Recipe: Homemade Pasta

I've written before about how dried pasta is my go-to meal when I'm too tired to put anything else together, but fresh pasta is a whole new level of kitchen mastery. Ever since I first made gnocchi and marveled in amazement at how potato and flour could form a concoction of legitimate shape and texture, a pasta machine has been on my wish list. In awe, I would watch shows like Top Chef Masters where someone whips out a pasta machine and, moments, later, fresh ravioli emerges. I couldn't wait to try it myself.

Travel: Atlanta

I travel pretty regularly for work, and generally speaking, I enjoy it. I love having the opportunity to get lost in a brand-new city: exploring new places, creating new experiences, and leaving with a long list of favorites to revisit next time around. But when I found out I would be heading to Atlanta during the absolute hottest part of the year... well, let's just say I wasn't exactly rushing to pack my bags. Never having been to Atlanta, I didn't know a lot about the city, but you don't need to be a travel expert to know that visiting any place nicknamed "Hotlanta" in late July is not exactly going to be pleasant.

Luckily, I was wrong. Well, kind of wrong; the weather was, in fact, miserable. It was the sort of suffocating heat that steams up your sunglasses the minute you step outside and doesn't let you take a breath until you're well within the safety of air conditioning. But the city itself was full of pleasant surprises.

Friday Food & Wine Finds: August 13

It's the end of another week and time for my weekly compendium of what's new, fresh, and exciting in the world of all things food and wine (but especially beer this week. I should find a way to work that into the title of these posts). Here we go!

Are you a budding food star? Know someone who should be a TV Chef? The Food Network is now accepting applications for Season 7 of the Next Food Network Star. Yes, you too could be the next Dzintra. (No? No one else watches that show? Oh well. Suffice it to say she drove me crazy and got kicked off early.)

Believe it or not, you can now "get frosted" (really) at a new Pop-Tarts cafe in Times Square. While I can't imagine going all the way to NYC to eat pop-tart sushi (yes, that's a real thing), I got really excited at the mention of PUMPKIN pop-tarts. Really? There are pumpkin pop-tarts?? How did I not know about this?

Recipe: Fried Chicken Livers with Tomato and Goat Cheese

I never had one of those "liver and onions" childhoods. (In my mind, being fed liver and onions goes hand-in-hand with "I had to walk five miles to school, uphill, both ways.") For me, liver of any kind was the stuff of legend - never touched it, never tasted it, never even saw it. I had the vague idea that livers were something disgusting served to punish children. Whenever I bought a whole chicken, I couldn't discard the bag containing the neck and livers fast enough. What else was I going to do with those things?? I had no idea how to prepare them. Chicken livers are notably absent from my go-to cookbook How to Cook Everything... and if they're not in How to Cook Everything, well, maybe they're not supposed to be cooked.

Recipe: Avocado Salsa, or "Megan's Dip"

Though it's simple to make, this is by far my most-requested dish. Because I can put most of it together ahead of time and then store it in the fridge, I end up serving it at nearly every party - at this point, I could probably make it in my sleep. It's great with fresh summer produce, easy to put together, and it's even been known to win over a few avocado detractors. In fact, by posting this on my blog, I feel like I'm about to give away some sort of long-held secret recipe (complete with a proprietary blend of thirty-seven herbs and spices!).

There are several well-known variations on this dish (usually called cowboy caviar or Texas caviar), but it's only ever referred to as "Megan's Dip" in my family. At mom's recent birthday party, my sister and I tried to rename it "Avocado Salsa" thinking it would be more descriptive and helpful for party guests, but it didn't take. Mom continued to refer to it Megan's Dip, so I finally gave up - the name has stuck.

This leads to frequent protestations (not to mention eye rolling) from my brother. It was actually Trevor who first introduced a variation of this dip to our family after one of his friends shared it with him. Every time I serve it, I'm reminded of this fact. "Poor Marisa," he'll say with a rueful shake of his head. "The only good thing she's ever made, and now everyone calls it 'Megan's Dip.'" What can I say? Sorry, Marisa. The recipe was too good to leave alone.

Friday Food & Wine Finds: August 6

Happy Friday! It's time for another roundup of my latest finds, articles, and creative kitchen inspiration. I'm sticking to "Friday Food and Wine Finds" for now, though I think it lacks a little creativity. Naturally, suggestions are still welcome if you come up with a better idea!

Tonight, Des Moines is hosting this fabulous-looking al fresco dinner prepared by notable local chefs. Of course, it comes with an equally fabulous price tag, but it looks incredible and I would LOVE to go. Maybe next year! 

Building on last week's post on DIY barstools, check out this dining table made from shipping pallets. I am really taken with this idea... so taken that I am currently fighting the temptation to grab a pallet and build one myself.

I subscribe to too many magazines, which I never get around to reading until I'm traveling and have some serious airplane time to kill. I just finally read my July issue of Food & Wine this week, and I'm now obsessed with this barbecued chicken recipe from Tim Love. I'm not a big chicken person, but this recipe looks so, so good.  I truly can't wait to try it!

Recipe: Rhubarb Ginger Frozen Yogurt

By now, I'm pretty sure my love for rhubarb is well-documented on this blog. Along with asparagus, rhubarb is one of my favorite harbingers of spring. As soon as the first farmer's market rolls around in May, I search out the brightest, reddest stalks and buy pounds of it every week - much to the chagrin of my mother, who is kept in constant, free supply by a generous friend with a garden and plenty of rhubarb to spare. Ahem. Step it up, friends with backyards.

Friday Food & Wine Finds

So... what do you think of the new title? I rather liked Trevor's suggestion on my last Friday post for "Friday Offal Links," but maybe you have nicer things to think about today than dining on the internal organs of animals. 

And now that I've brought it up, I'm sure you can think of nothing else.

Anyway, what do you think of "Friday Food and Wine Finds?" Leave me a comment and let me know!

On to the food and wine finds...

I'm in Atlanta this weekend, so guess where I'll be eating tonight? Oh yes... Woodfire Grill, home of the bearded one. For those of you who don't watch Top Chef, this is the restaurant of last season's Kevin Gillespie where slow cooking rules and pork belly is king.  SO excited. If I survive without blowing a coronary artery, I'll report back on the food.

Recipe: Blueberry Mojito Frozen Yogurt

Last Friday was my dad's birthday, and once again I found myself headed up to Okoboji to celebrate. Because there was no elaborate surprise party involved this time, I didn't have to pull together three kinds of cupcakes. (Thank goodness!) However, my mom did get an entire dessert buffet's worth of food on her birthday; at the very least, dad deserved to have some kind of celebratory homemade dessert.

This post is not about herbicide.

I've got an idea I'd like to pitch to all 17 of my followers (as well as any lurkers who might be out there in the blogosphere reading Peas of my Heart anonymously, probably sitting in the dark while stroking a hairless cat. No? That's just in Bond movies? OK, if you say so).

I'm generally far too exhausted to type up an insightful post or a fun recipe on Fridays; besides which, it's summer and I've usually got an exciting, fulfilling weekend to start. (All right, so I'm just going to pour a glass of wine and binge on expensive cheese from Gateway Market. Don't judge; we all measure excitement differently.) Therefore, I'm starting a regular Friday feature rounding up articles, news, and thoughts from the week. To fit with the theme of my blog, I'll stick to the topic of food, drinks, and restaurants. 

Recipe: Chocolate Chipotle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

I realize what I'm about to say could be offensive to some of you, but I feel like most chocolate cupcakes are just kind of... uninteresting. They can get a little too rich for me, and if they are overly sweet, I get bored and don't want to finish them. Cut that sweetness with the hot, smoky flavor of a chipotle chile, on the other hand, and I'm completely on board.

The first time I tried a Mexican chocolate cake was on my brother's birthday in Minneapolis several years ago. I was sold from the first bite. Especially if you use dark chocolate, the deep, rich sweetness helps to keep the chiles and spices from being too overpowering. Unfortunately, when I tried to replicate the cake later, I couldn't find any recipes with the deep, smoky flavor I wanted. I started playing around in the kitchen, and eventually came up with a recipe of my own.

Recipe: Tres Leches Cupcakes topped with Dulce de Leche

When we started planning food for my mom's surprise birthday party, the main part of the menu was a no-brainer: Taco House. If you have never been lucky enough to visit this Okoboji staple, it's hard to describe the appeal; from the outside, it looks like a dirty, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with too little seating and far-too-long lines (or, at least, that's how Dad describes it). But the food... is... fantastic. Mom eagerly awaits the opening of Taco House every spring and mourns its closing in the fall - for her birthday, it was really the only choice.

To keep the Mexican theme going through dessert, my brother suggested tres leches cake. I'd never made it before, but it seemed like the perfect dessert for our theme. My sister-in-law got me started with a recipe from a coworker, and with minimal adaptation on my part, tres leches cupcakes were born.