AH HA. HA. HA. HA.

Almost eight months have passed since my last post here.

A lot can happen in eight months.

Some people change jobs
move across the country
buy a house
sell a house
start a family…

I did not do one of these things.

I did all of them.

Let’s give credit where credit is due:
my husband helped.

Since I last wrote
we found out were expecting our first child
only two days after we discovered we would be moving across the country for Husband’s residency.

Husband graduated from medical school
(and I may have resembled a puffer-fish I was so proud),
we secured a contract on our house in Houston in three days,
we found a house in Pennsylvania in two days,
and finished up all the miscellaneous projects around the old house
some big, some small.

WE ALSO TOOK A VACATION IN THERE.
Somewhere.
It seems like it was a very long time ago.

The major project we finished before we sold our house was the kitchen.

Before:

During:

(You do not see the dirty dishes in the sink.
You do not.)

After:

Husband did almost everything
except the granite installation.

He made the cabinet fronts
reconfigured the under-cabinets and installed drawers from Ikea in almost every space
laid the tile
put up crown molding
installed recessed lighting
and installed the appliances.

He’s pretty good to have around.
He DOES take forever to get things done, though.

(Pfft.
Like being in school should be an excuse.)

I took the After photo about a week before we moved
since that was when I finally had a complete kitchen for the first time in five years.

It was a long process.

Since we LEARNED SO MUCH from our last kitchen remodel
we decided to give it another go in Pennsylvania.

We start the remodel in October.

This is what the kitchen looked like at our first viewing of the house:

Perfectly livable
but not what we (I) want.

The appliances are being delivered TOMORROW
and I am almost as excited for them as I am for this baby to get here.

(Am I kidding?
Hm.)

Husband’s schedule is less crazy in October
and we anticipate getting the project done within the month.

We’ll install wood floors
(pre-made[!]) cabinets
counters
tile backsplash
open shelving
appliances
and have someone install gas lines for the range.

The baby
whom we call Tiny
is due in November
so the kitchen really, really,
REALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE BY THEN.

While I can deal with the kitchen as it is now
I can not manage a tiny Tiny and a kitchen in shambles again.

For a time
I was worried that redoing the kitchen here would be pointless
because when I first got pregnant I couldn’t eat anything.

Mint gum and cereal were two of the very few things I could eat
without looking quite Kermitey colored.

I couldn’t even look through my cookbooks.

I spent a few nights agonizing over my cookbook collection that sat there
full of everything that made me want to cry.

I felt like I had lost a big chunk of who I was since I couldn’t cook.

After about four months
I could start eating and cooking a few things again.

Potato things, mostly.
French fries, tater tots, mashed potatoes…
but I felt reassured and had a hope that I wouldn’t have to sell off all of my cookbooks and eat cereal every day.

The smell of coffee still makes me feel a little ill
but I am back in the kitchen again
no apron
making things other than potato-based dinners.

The produce in Pennsylvania is fantastic
and since we live out in Da Countray
there are a lot of produce stands near our house
all open every day.

I imagine this is to compensate for the impending DOOM of six straight months of blizzards
but I’ve been living the high life for as long as I can.

In the first few months of this pregnancy
I had daydreams that Tiny would be born made of Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Lucky Charms.

Now I am worried that Tiny will be made of these breakfast delights
all bound together by tomatoes.

I’ve been eating a lot of tomatoes.

Their season is winding down here
so I bought half of a bushel today
(26 HONKIN’ POUNDS)
and will make marinara.

This is the second time this season
(and in my life)
that I’ve bought that many tomatoes.

For the previous rendezvous with this many tomatoes
my sister was visiting
and we made sun-dried tomatoes and the marinara recipe for which this batch is destined.

For the sun-dried tomatoes
there was a lot of chopping

and seeding.

After a million hours in the dehydrator
I packed the tomatoes in jars with olive oil
made some tags
and gave most of them to neighbors

My sister had already returned home to Texas
or else I would have sent some home with her.

The marinara was bright, zippy, and fantastic.

I hand-peeled the tomatoes instead of blanching them
a first for me
and I was surprised at how easy it was.

They looked like giant rubies by the time they were all peeled:

and when they were done
they did not look like rubies
but they tasted like a million bucks

Fresh Tomato-Basil Marinara
Serves 2-3 people who like saucy pasta.

Quantities are approximate. Technique is the main thing here.

3 pounds of tomatoes, peeled (I used romas)
4 cloves of garlic
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
8-10 fresh basil leaves
salt

1) Place tomatoes in a non-reactive saucepan with garlic cloves over medium heat
2) Cover saucepan with lid and let tomatoes cook undisturbed for 30-40 minutes.
3) Using a wooden spoon (or a potato masher to help you along), stir the tomatoes and garlic to break them down.
4) Add basil (chop if you like), olive oil, and salt. Serve hot.

The next 26 pounds will end up the same way
just stored in the freezer for a dinner or lunch component down the line.

I didn’t get roma tomatoes this time
so I’m interested to compare the flavor difference.

Originally I came to write a post about a Homesick Texan recipe I tried out
but I think this post is long enough.

I will try to include kitchen remodel updates as they go along.

It’s not cooking
but it is quite integral to the process
and I love peeking in on other people’s remodeling
so why not?

Homesick Texan post will be saved for another time
and I promise it won’t be another eight months.

I construct grand entries
witty one liners
things that happened I want to remember
or I take a million photos of something to document later.

Then the kitchen needs cleaning
the dogs keep bringing me their toys to play fetch
hair needs washing
and I fall asleep, exhausted and feeling behind,
again.

At least, that’s how I feel
until December rolls around.

December holds the key to self-redemption in the Blog Universe.

I can dump everything I wanted to write about
(but was too busy throwing slobbery, dirty Kongs around for our dogs to get to)
in a grand ‘look back’ entry
and no one will think twice about it.

In fact
people may hope that January will see a turn around the bend
and that I’ll post more often.

It’s nice in my head you know.
Lots of puppies and dandelions.
No alarm clocks, either.

Without further ado/procrastination
I present to you the things I did this year and didn’t write about:

I saw my family a lot
which a bit out of the ordinary.

I ended up eating Pappasitos more than should be allowed, though
so hanging out with the family has its downsides.

There are redeeming qualities:

like how they are not afraid to give you a really stupid look
when you ask a question that deserves it.

I also started taking a lot more photos this year.

Of everything.

Having a phone with a camera made for innumerable impromptu photoshoots
exponentially increasing documentation of cooking projects.

I can’t decide if having a camera on my phone is a good thing or a bad thing.

One part of me is glad that I’m documenting
the other sees it as lazy.

If I used the More Advanced Camera
my photos wouldn’t look so grainy and dark
but I am spoiled by the instant gratification of one-click shoot, upload, and post.

So, I’m split
but I will stop with the agonizing and post the damned photos.

Italian Creme cake for a surprise party in April or so.

I was obsessed with panna cotta in the spring and summer.
Thinking about it still makes my mouth water.

Breads also took over most of my brain.
I grew and killed a starter

R.I.P., R.I.P., R.I.P., and R.I.P..

After a period of mourning
I received the gift of mature starter.

Dead starters notwithstanding
breadmaking is going swimmingly.

This year I made the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had

and possibly the worst bread I’ve ever made
(that actually made it into the oven instead of the disposal).

It was terribly dry and dense.
I was not the only one that had a problem with this bread
so I felt a little bit better about wasting all that chocolate.

Both shots are pre-baking.

In my bread making mania
I also tackled croissants
(armed with the More Advanced Camera).

I can’t stop laughing at this picture:

If you know what is about to happen
then you can imagine the little pats of butter in there crowded together
saying
‘OH NO!’

Pull out a cookbook and find out the ending
’cause I’m leaving you with that cliffhanger.

They turned out alright but I will be revisiting croissants with a different recipe and better lighting.

One can only eat bread alone for so long
so it was fortunate that my other obsession this year was sandwiches.

Red wine braised skirt steak with peppers and cheese on ciabatta

Grilled guyere on rye with butternut squash soup

Pork shoulder with cabbage and jalapenos on cheater (purchased) bread

Roasted eggplant with tomato sauce, red peppers, and basil on sourdough

Roasted eggplant (again!) with mozzerella and pinenut-anchovy relish on ciabatta

Of course
of course there have been cakes almost every Monday:

I need to remember to never again employ whatever technique I used to decorate the top.

Yep.

Not all the cakes turned out beautifully.
Some of them were too ugly to even photograph.

I’M LOOKING AT YOU, BOSTON CREAM PIE.

I am getting better at the frosting
slowly
so I need to keep pushing myself
no matter how frustrating.

Lest the stream of poorly lit cameraphone photos lead you to to think that I ignore my More Advanced Camera
I have photos to prove that I did haul it around every now and then.

Sometimes I had it with me in my kitchen:

Other times I toted it around town.

Caesar Salad Class with Carla Cardini:

Photography Workshop with Penny De Los Santos:

Taco Truck Crawl II put on by this guy, this place, and these guys:

Actually, it was probably best if you didn’t follow the bus.

Unless you like doing U-turns.

One of the several trucks that took credit cards.

It was a grand year for food
in my house and about town.

Next year, I think it will be much the same at home
although I can’t say the same for what it will be like out the door.

In three months we’ll get word on if we move from Houston or not.

Medical school ruled our lives for the past five years
and I can hear residency stomping around the corner.

To make a short list:
we could move to Pennsylvania, New Jersey or West Virginia.

We could also stay right where we are.
Match Day is in March
and we’ll know at the same time as the rest of the U.S. where we will be spending the next three years of our life.

I hope those years will be filled with cakes, sandwiches, and fun things to learn, though.

It is comforting to know
that if good food is hard to come by in our new locale
I’ll just stay in and make it on my own.

And write about it
of course.

I grew up in Massachusetts
and figured it would be fun to rent a car and drive past my old houses
especially since the foliage was supposed to be pretty in those parts of the state.

I’m a sucker for red, yellow, and orange leaves
and those just don’t happen in Houston.

We were to leave on Friday morning and stay through Monday evening.

It almost worked out that way.

We missed our flight on Friday.
Well.
They wouldnt let us board the plane
but that’s not the point of this entry.

I am watching my mailbox for vouchers though
because you better believe got all up in Continental’s business after having to deal with the GATE GUARDIAN IN RED
and customer service
WHICH WAS NOT SO CUSTOMER SERVICEABLE.

::huffs and puffs::

Onwards.

We spent most of our Friday sulking in IAH
and arrived in Boston too late to really do anything.

It was about to start raining
and to top it all off
I thought my eardrum ruptured on landing.

Luckily this turned out not to be the case
but it still hurt tremendously
and I couldnt hear out of it for about ten hours.

I concluded that the only way the day could get better
was to end it
so I went to sleep while Husband frolicked at the first night of his conference.

The next day
it was still raining
Hub went back to the conference
and I was left to figure out what to do.

With all the rain
I decided that renting a car was not going to happen.

Getting around in Boston proper was a little crazy
and I wasnt comfortable driving around on unfamiliar highways in a rental car
especially in the downpour.

Instead I picked up from where I left off on researching Boston restaurants
and decided to try Marliave.

I made reservations on Opentable.com
and commented that I would like to do a three course meal
chef’s choice
with the only restriction being no seafood.

I don’t like seafood.
I’ve tried and tried to like it
but it all tastes disgusting to me.

I’ve had fresh seafood of all types
and no matter how hard I try to fall in love with it
it always tastes like something at the bottom of a freshwater fish tank to me.

Say what you will
but thats how I roll.

I made reservations for 1:30p
and when I got there
the hostess didn’t seem to be aware of my reservation.

The hostess asked where I would like to sit
either upstairs or downstairs
and I chose upstairs for the light.

In the upstairs dining room
there were only two other tables with patrons
both of which were paying their checks.

The server came by and introduced herself and asked if I’d like a drink or anything to start with.

I guess no one was aware of my reservation or request.
I asked if I could do a three course meal
chefs choice
(sans seafood)
and she looked a little confused.

“Like… appetizer, main, dessert?“
“Yes, that would be great.”
“Ok, let me go check with the chef.”

She came back a few moments later
and by that time the two other tables were gone.

“The chef says that’s no problem.”

So it began.

Standard nibble delivered to all tables.

Bread panfried in olive oil
with olive oil
and olives.

It was a bit olive-y
if I do say so myself.

1st course:

Duck rilletes with brioche toast and apples.

I thought the rilletes were a little muddy tasting on their own
but when put together with the apples and mustard or brined items
they were quite good.

The caperberry was best with the duck however,
and I would have been happy for a few more of those on the plate.

2nd course:

‘Hand-stuffed’ ravioli in roasted tomato sauce.

I could tell the ravioli were made earlier in the day
because the edges were a little tough
but the tomato sauce and filling were outstanding.

I thought this was my main course at first
and was a little bummed that they forgot about the wine pairing
but it dawned on me halfway through
that this was the pasta course
and this was going to be a four-course meal.

I began to pace myself accordingly.

Sure enough
the server cleared my plate
and set down a big steak knife and new fork.

iPhone photo, sorry

3rd course:

Pancetta wrapped stuffed rabbit loin with leg, whipped potatoes and mushrooms

The only downside of this dish was that the salt in the pancetta
took away some of the thunder from the rabbit loin.
It was just a little too much.

The wine that was paired with the entree was
(at least what the sever said)
a 1994 California Cabernet.

I can’t find that on their wine menu
so the world may never know.

I am not a huge wine drinker
but enjoy a glass when it is paired properly with food
and such was the case at this meal.

4th course:

Pumpkin pie with cranberry relish

The pumpkin pie was straight out of the fridge
and I like mine better.

The cranberry relish was very good though.

I appreciated the fact that the chef let the tartness of the berries play a role in the dessert
instead of trying to make the whole thing sweet sweet sweet.

After I managed to eat almost all of the dessert
I asked for the check.

Between the time the server cleared my plate and brought me the bill
Chef Scott Herritt came out to see what I thought of the meal.

I was struck by the fact
that he was wearing a perfectly starched and unwrinkled blue shirt
and all I could think was that he kept that in a closet somewhere
specifically for occasions when some random chick comes in alone
and orders a massive lunch.

SOMETHING’S UP AND REQUIRES FORMAL ATTIRE.

He spent only a few moments at the table
(literally. Like five seconds)
but I remarked upon the cranberry relish
and also that I loved the caperberry with the duck rilletes.

He looked at me warily and smiled,
said he was glad I liked it and thanked me for coming in.

When I got the bill
I saw they comped me one course
which was nice
and fair
since I only asked for three.

During the meal
I wasn’t sure if I needed to say something
“Scuse me, am I supposed to be getting four courses? I only asked for three… BUT DON’T TAKE IT AWAY! I LOVE THESE RAVIOLI!”
or leave it be
and I opted for the latter
waiting to see how they would handle it.

That being said
I was something between touched and flattered
that the chef would want to share his work with someone that walked in and said
“give me what you think is best.”

That or he thought I was a restaurant critic
and was trying to ply me with as much excellent food as I could eat.

I’ll take it either way
thank you very much
because it was quite delicious.

Marliave
10 Bosworth St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02113
ph. 617.422.0004

Not-so-fancy-pants edition of eating in Beantown to follow.

On Saturday night my husband and I finally decided to give Brisa a try. They have plastered more menus on our car windshield than we can count and Restaurant.com had a listing for them on their site. Taking advantage of the opportunity, we purchased a $25.00 gift certificate to the restaurant at a discount.

We arrived at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. There were seven tables occupied out of about 25 (not counting bar seating, where I swear I saw a tumbleweed roll through), mostly two tops. You could see into the kitchen beyond some glass and everyone was standing around back there, unoccupied. In short, the restaurant was not busy at all.

When we arrived, the hostess passed the menu onto our server, and we were instructed to sit anywhere we wanted. We sat ourselves and wanting to avoid any problems when presented the bill, I asked if we could use the Restaurant.com gift certificate towards alcoholic drinks. Our server, I believe his name was Ronny, said he would check with his manager. He returned a few moments later saying “I have some bad news. The manager said we don’t take these.” I asked him to bring the manager over, wondering why the manager didn’t advise us of this himself. Daniel arrived at our table and reiterated that he could not accept the gift certificate. I asked why and he launched into a story that changed a few times. He repeated several times that it was out of his hands and that the owners were having problems with Restaurant.com. He said that they “cancelled their agreement with Restaurant.com six months ago” which I found hard to believe since the restaurant has only been open since May (that would be four months for anyone counting). Then towards the end of the conversation he said that they had been having problems with Restaurant.com for ‘a while now’ and then ‘a month’ popped up somewhere in there too. He also seemed to imply that we bought the certificate a while ago and were now just trying to honor it. I drew his attention to the date printed on the certificate and also told him that they were about to get inundated with these certificates due to the big sale Restaurant.com had on them.

He asked us if there was anything he could do to which my husband, irritated after listening to an ever changing story, retorted that he could honor the gift certificate we bought just last week. Daniel said he could offer us a free appetizer or dessert and at that point I thanked him, but said politely that we would leave. It had the feeling of a bait and switch operation, especially since Daniel’s story kept changing the longer we talked to him. I’m sure it truly was out of his hands, but the whole thing just seemed shady. I didn’t want to patronize a place where I felt that we were being taken advantage of or not being told the whole truth, even if it was ‘the public’s version’ of the whole truth.

At that point Daniel said he would honor the gift certificate and he apologized profusely for all the problems. He said he would still give us an appetizer or dessert for free. We thanked him and set about to ordering our meal.

We asked our server for chips and salsa (to which he replied: ‘we only bring it out if you ask, and you just asked… so… I’ll bring it out’ Uh, thanks!)

For an appetizer we got the cheese ‘tortilla’ stuffed with beef. Husband enjoyed this but I found the cheese wrapping kind of tough. The skirt/flank steak was tender and well seasoned though. The guacamole perched on top of lettuce was tasty too.

For an entree I got the chile relleno and Husband got the Gulf red snapper fillet, recommended by our server.

(Chile picture did not turn out)

Fish:

Husband enjoyed his fish and said the sauce on top of it was quite good. However, the beef in the poblano chile was terrible. It tasted old and was loaded with lard (I think?) that tasted almost rancid. The upside was that all the sauces/salsas were delicious, especially their tomatillo sauce and what I think was an ancho sauce on my plate– the server didn’t know, said he thought it was a chipotle sauce but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Beans and rice were unremarkable.

When the bill came, Daniel came back out with a business card and explained that he couldn’t offer us our free appetizer because that would reduce the total bill below $50, which is what we had to spend in order to use the certificate. He presented the business card to us with a handwritten note that our next app/dessert would be comped for us when we returned. We thanked him and didn’t complain because that was what the fine print said on the coupon, but goodness. You’d think he would try to focus more on making our visit NOW good than our next one…?

Given the hassle it was to use our certificate, the attitude of the manager, and the hit or miss entrees, we won’t be returning any time soon. Our server was spot on and wonderful, but I need more than a nice server to get me back to a restaurant. The same goes for chips and salsa. I think the only reason our gift certificate was even honored was because it was a graveyard there that night. Better to have $25 come through the door (plus tip) than nothing at all I guess. Too bad it won’t be coming back.

The challenge for Chowhounds (besides eating all that pork) was to turn out the best pot of beans.

The event was held at Catalan and the crowds came out.

Some dressed to turn a head, others wearing wife beaters that said ‘I [heart] pork belly.’

All types make for a happy event
especially when the food is outstanding.

The top three choices from the judges for pork belly:
Cody Vasek of Voice with pork four ways
Randy Evans of Brennan’s with a pork torta
and Manubu Horiuchi and Jean-Phillipe Gaston of Kata Robata with pork three ways.

See, us Chowhounds know how to have fun. Four ways and three ways are what its all about.

On the beans side
Karen Rittinger took home first place for Fabada Asturiada.

Some pictures from the event:

Red velvet cupcakes from Jody Stevens.

These were great, and I’m not even a huge cake eater.
(Making them is another story.)
Jody also does vegan and gluten free cakes and is a lovely, lovely person.

My plate. The salad was great.
(Seriously!)
From Cullen’s I believe.

Dessert from Chez Roux.

Inside Catalan.

Contestants being their beany selves.

Tasty bread and snackables.

Like I said; we know how to have fun.
Sometimes this means getting a little dirty.

Winning beans.
Loved the presentation.

Judges and some luckly Chowhounds who secured a spot next to the judges’ table for leftovers.

You need good wine to go with pork belly and beans
and good wine there was.

Next throwdown involves oysters prepared by the professional chefs.

I’m lobbing for #okra for the Chowhound side
although there are a few haters out there who might swing the vote.

I’ll keep you posted.