Gin Cocktail fit for Spring

        

A great Spring martini I discovered last week combines Bombay Sapphire gin with Lillet and St Germain elderflower liqueur. 

Lillet is a French aperitif that blends white wine with orange and lemon liqueurs. It's very light and mild--not at all like the lighter fluid aperitifs, sambuca and grappa, or the herbal aperitifs, amaro and bitters. Like Lillet, Elderflower liqueur exhibits milder flavors and smells. Made from fresh picked Alpine elderflowers and elderberries, St. Germain has a light pink hue and a sweet floral nose. 

I'm not sure what parts Lillet, St Germain and gin are called for but I don't think you can go wrong with trial and error. Serve in a martini glass with a lemon rind garnish.

Grand Central Oyster Bar's Bourbon & Pecan Oysters

Last week I came across an oyster dish at Grand Central Oyster Bar I've never seen before--broiled oysters on the half shell topped with bourbon butter and pecans. The oysters were cooked just a little--not searing hot like they are when served "rockefeller"--with a dash of the bourbon butter and a small pecan donning each shell. Serving the pecans chopped, not whole, made them more of a garnish than anything. Good move.

Durham Food Makes the NY Times

I told Jonathan a while ago I felt like Durham/Chapel Hill has more "locavore" restaurants than Santa Monica--which is to say a lot considering the fact that Santa Monica hosts 3 farmers markets every week all year long. All of the restaurants that Jonathan reviews on his blog posts seem to take such care to feature local, seasonal products. The NY Times agrees....

Durham, a Tobacco Town, Turns to Local Food

Cooking At Home

My back up for Friday night was a Salmon dish that I also thought up in Fresh Market.  I ended up making it on Saturday for my roommate and myself.  Salmon is one of my favorite foods, and while I prefer Pacific Salmon, I always go for fresh fish and it is extremely hard to get any Salmon other than Atlantic that has not been previously frozen in NC.  And even though I prefer Pacific, Atlantic Salmon is great in its own right. 

-Ingredients: 1 lb of Atlantic Salmon, one Meyer lemon, fresh dill, fresh basil, fresh garlic, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar

-Place Extra Virgin Olive Oil in pan on medium heat

-Add Salmon to pan skin side down, heat for 5 minutes and then turn over for 5 additional minutes

-Top salmon with chopped dill and slice of lemon, and put in 400 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes depending on desired doneness

-Blanch asparagus in boiling water for 1to 2 minutes; add to bowl with balsamic vinegar, olive oil chopped garlic, and juice of one lemon

-Place in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 mins

-Mix tomatoes in bowl with olive oil, chopped basil and balsamic vinegar

-Add cherry tomatoes to oven for 20 mins

This is an unbelievably simple dish, that is easy to make, and even easier to clean your plate!

-J

Cooking At Home

On Friday night I was luckily enough to host a wonderful Colombian woman who I am quite fond of, at my home for dinner. I went back and forth when deciding what to serve, and with some help from my work girlfriend Jenny and the imagination starter that is The Fresh Market, here is how it turned out:

Ingredients: 2 10oz grass fed beef tenderloin steaks, 1 pint of brussel sprouts, 1 pint of gemstone fingerling potatoes, 1 sweet onion, 1 red bell pepper & 1 yellow bell pepper, chili garlic paste, fresh rosemary and thyme, and one lemon

-Cut larger potatoes in half, long ways, use smaller ones whole
-Coat in olive oil, rosemary and thyme
-Place in 400 degree oven for one hour

-Juliane the onion and peppers, coat with worchestire, minimal amount of chili garlic paste, juice of half a lemon, and extra virgin olive oil
-Add to sauté pan at medium high heat, cook until caramelization begins (8 to 10 mins), then lower to medium heat for another 8 to 10 mins
-Peppers and onions will be caramelized and cooked down a great deal

-Heat cast iron skillet to med high with 1 pad of butter, 1 to 2 tablespoon(s) of extra virgin olive oil and worchestire
-Place steaks in hot pan, 5 mins on each side
-Put steaks into 400 degree oven for 7 mins
-Take steaks out of oven; rest on plate with tented aluminum foil for 10 mins

-Cut the bottom off of the brussel sprouts, then cut in half long ways
-Add cut side down to the pan that the steaks were seared in, (add more worchestire, butter, olive oil, if needed)
-Cook for 5 mins on medium high heat, lower heat to medium; add red wine to deglaze the pan and turn brussel sprouts over in pan until wine reduces

-Place sautéed peppers and onions on top of steak, and serve with potatoes and brussel sprouts. You can time all of these elements to come together at the same time, it takes a little forward thinking and the use of quite a few dishes, but it is definitely worth it!

-J

Milltown

After a particularly hard day at work, my friend Megan and I headed to a Carrboro staple, Milltown.  I often shy away from this heavily trafficked venue because of the many bad experiences I have had in the past, but I was in the mood for a good beer and a nice warm hearty meal, two things that Milltown does well. 

I ordered the cheddar and beer soup, which was a comforting warm bowl containing big flavors, served with some crusty bread.  For my entrée I had the vegetarian sliders.  These were wonderful black bean cakes, cooked down and melded with a variety of herbs and spices.  Many times people talk about a meaty flavor and texture in things like a veggie burger or a mushroom dish.  I often laugh this off, nothing can taste like meat except meat, this case seemed to be the exception.  With some melted gruyere cheese on top, and accompanied by sweet potato chips, these sliders were off the meter.  After a few beers Megan and I were ready to go home, unfortunately here comes the rub.  One of the reasons I have such disdain for Milltown is the subpar service.  Milltown is the illustration of all of the negative aspects of Carrboro, waiters and waitresses who feel as if you are lucky to be served by them.  We waited for over 30 minutes just to get someone’s attention and ask for the check, and then it was another 10 before we could get that.  The crazy thing is they weren’t even busy.  I had a great meal at Milltown, and almost forgot why I never go there, but unfortunately the taste left in my mouth was not that of a delicious veggie slider, but that of their usual horrendous service.     

-J

This is Me

First Camera, Then Fork

People Who Photograph Food and Display the Pictures Online....article in the NY Times