While I was in New York, a new acquaintance took me out for drinks. We ended up at a small spanish place so forgettable that I can't even recall the name or the neighborhood. The only thing I remember about the place was the cucumber sangria, which was brilliant. Well, at the time I thought it was brilliant. Cool glasses of bone dry white wine featuring crisp rounds of cucumber seemed like perfection.
And it really was, until a few weeks ago when I stumbled on an episode of Cooking for Real with Sunny Anderson. I'm not a huge Food Network fan, but she was making cucumber juice, so I stopped to watch. Intrigued, my mind reeled back to the cucumber sangria. "This would make the sangria so much better," I thought to myself. I had to try it.
That's exactly what I did this weekend. After a quick jaunt to Whole Foods, I settled into my boyfriend's kitchen and started my experiment. The result was slightly murky (because I haven't mastered the art of filtering with cheesecloth) but beautifully green, sweet sangria. The juice couldn't be easier to make and it paired perfectly with the sauvignon blanc I chose to use for the wine base. And the best part is, the juice makes a great mixing liquid. Next time, I plan to use it with sake instead of wine. But for now, here's my recipe for sangria.
Emerald Sangria (cucumber juice courtesy of Sunny Anderson):
2 english cucumbers
3/4 sugar
1 cup water
750ml dry white wine of your choice, like sauvignon blanc
Peel the cucumbers and reserve the skins. In a medium pot, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Grate the cucumbers and add them to the boiling syrup. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cucumbers are tender, about 10 minutes. Allow mixture to cool slightly then add to a blender with cucumber skins. Blend until smooth and bright green. Line a bowl with cheesecloth and pour the mixture into it. Wrap the cloth tightly around the dregs and squeeze out the juice. Allow the juice to cool, covered in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Add about half of the juice to a pitcher and pour the white wine over it. Stir and rechill for another 20 minutes.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Low Country Contentment
Charleston, South Carolina might be one of my new favorite southern treasurers. I spent the weekend there repaying my friend for visiting Florence last weekend. And I must say, the city exudes charm. The weekend was interrupted by a death in my family, but my friend made sure I still had an enjoyable weekend in the downtown area. If you've never been, there are a few places you absolutely must check out. First on my list is a little place called Five Loaves Cafe. There are two locations, and I only made it to the one on Cannon St, but oh my goodness am I in like with it.
For one thing, they place huge emphasis on fresh, homemade ingredients. This place makes their own mozzarella. For another, they are extremely gluten-free friendly. When I told my waitress that I was gluten intolerant she didn't even flinch and instead pointed out to me that all of their salad dressings and soups were free of gluten. And when I asked if I could, on future visits, bring my own bread for sandwiches, she described one regular who did just that. And most importantly of all, I loved this place because, quite simply, the food is delicious. I had a salad of mixed greens, tomato, asparagus, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella with a walnut and shallot dressing and I also had a bowl of their carrot and ginger soup. The soup was so thick and comforting that I spent the first few mouthfuls with my eyes closed, just taking in the flavors. My friend ordered the tomato, basil, and goat cheese soup, and that too was creamy and comforting. Combine the excellent food and friendly staff with reasonable prices and bright and lively, local artwork, and you get Five Loaves. I plan on spending a great many meals there with new friends.
Another recommendation is the Old City Market. There are a bunch of quaint little shops and restaurants. My friend took me into one of the candy shops where they made pulled taffy and homemade pralines. This is also the section of town that offers horse-drawn tours of the downtown area. Horses make me sneeze and I was with a local, so I can't comment on the quality of the tour, but I imagine it's a fun way to see the city. I much preferred meandering in and out of the little shops and admiring the colonial architecture.
We also stumbled on a lovely little chocolate shop, run by Christophe and Carly Paume. Christophe is in charge of crafting the equally beautiful and tasty chocolates and treats and Carly runs the shop. I didn't get to meet Christophe, but Carly was a delight. She explained to me how Christophe gets his chocolate bunnies and shoes to look velveteen. And she excitedly told me that they are looking to expand into a larger kitchen space soon, so I expect bigger and even more gorgeous things to come from this couple. If you stop in, I highly recommend the lavender caramels.
I plan to spend a good many weekends in Charleston in the future, and I'll keep everyone up to date on my new discoveries, but I think that I did well for my first weekend in town. Check back with me soon for more!
For one thing, they place huge emphasis on fresh, homemade ingredients. This place makes their own mozzarella. For another, they are extremely gluten-free friendly. When I told my waitress that I was gluten intolerant she didn't even flinch and instead pointed out to me that all of their salad dressings and soups were free of gluten. And when I asked if I could, on future visits, bring my own bread for sandwiches, she described one regular who did just that. And most importantly of all, I loved this place because, quite simply, the food is delicious. I had a salad of mixed greens, tomato, asparagus, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella with a walnut and shallot dressing and I also had a bowl of their carrot and ginger soup. The soup was so thick and comforting that I spent the first few mouthfuls with my eyes closed, just taking in the flavors. My friend ordered the tomato, basil, and goat cheese soup, and that too was creamy and comforting. Combine the excellent food and friendly staff with reasonable prices and bright and lively, local artwork, and you get Five Loaves. I plan on spending a great many meals there with new friends.
Another recommendation is the Old City Market. There are a bunch of quaint little shops and restaurants. My friend took me into one of the candy shops where they made pulled taffy and homemade pralines. This is also the section of town that offers horse-drawn tours of the downtown area. Horses make me sneeze and I was with a local, so I can't comment on the quality of the tour, but I imagine it's a fun way to see the city. I much preferred meandering in and out of the little shops and admiring the colonial architecture.
We also stumbled on a lovely little chocolate shop, run by Christophe and Carly Paume. Christophe is in charge of crafting the equally beautiful and tasty chocolates and treats and Carly runs the shop. I didn't get to meet Christophe, but Carly was a delight. She explained to me how Christophe gets his chocolate bunnies and shoes to look velveteen. And she excitedly told me that they are looking to expand into a larger kitchen space soon, so I expect bigger and even more gorgeous things to come from this couple. If you stop in, I highly recommend the lavender caramels.
I plan to spend a good many weekends in Charleston in the future, and I'll keep everyone up to date on my new discoveries, but I think that I did well for my first weekend in town. Check back with me soon for more!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Perfect Weekends
When I was younger, my parents would pack me into the car and we'd go exploring around town. Sometimes there was a specific goal in mind, but more often than not, it was just a matter of driving until something looked interesting. And most of the time, interesting happened downtown at the antique stores. I love antique, vintage, and retro items for one reason: the history. Even if I don't what an item's story is, I know that the story exists and that I become the guardian of that story when I bring it home with me. Those weekends are the ones I remember most fondly and those stories are the ones I cherish most.
This weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to experience such an idyllic weekend again, this time as an adult. A friend of mine from Charleston came to town to see me. While pulling up directions to my house, he found that there are quite a few pawn shops in the area. He's an amateur historian specializing in WWII firearms, and pawn shops present some good opportunities to find hidden treasures. And because the weather was absolutely perfect (my favorite thing about spring in the south), I decided that we should have an adventure of our own.
He arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and we set out to gather supplies for our adventure and also stuff for dinner. Mum requested that I make my great aunt's pot roast recipe, which is easily the simplest, yet most comforting meal I know how to make. All you need is a nice marbled cut of beef, preferably sirloin or brisket, but any piece of roast will do, and some root vegetables. I like to use carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cut the veggies into big chunks, sear the beef, add everything to a roasting pan with a little oil, diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper to taste. Pop everything into a 400 degree oven and let it cook until the meat is just starting to fall apart. As good as that is the first day, it's even better the next. And nothing says "welcome" better in my opinion.
The next morning, bright and early(ish) our adventure began. First a breakfast of tea and orange-chocolate chip scones (the basic recipe for which is posted in my archives), then out into the sunny, bright day. Most of the pawn shops ended up being a disappointment, but the fun wasn't in finding interesting guns for his collection so much as riding around, getting a little lost, and laughing until our sides hurt at trying to get unlost. During one such instance, we passed a cake supply shop sitting attached to an antique market. If I were a puppy, my ears would have perked up and my tail would have wagged furiously. As it was, I squealed with unrestrained delight at the find and we promptly stopped to explore. The cake shop was fairly nondescript, although the owner is running cake lessons for a reasonable rate.The antique shop, though, was utterly lovely. I made several happy discoveries, including two complete sake sets, one complete tea set, and my favorite find of the day- an enamel tea kettle for a mere $10. It was filthy, but I love enamel kettles, especially ones that don't whistle, so I scooped it up and brought it home. After a good, hard scrub, it looks just like new again and I can't wait to use it. And I'm going back soon to pick up one of the sake sets and possibly the tea set as well.
After the antique shop, we headed across town for lunch. I discovered the existence of a Vietnamese Pho restaurant right here in Florence. It turned out to be pretty much what I expected inside. No real atmosphere, but pleasant enough food at a reasonable price, so I'm certainly going back as much as possible. The barbeque pork over rice noodles was delicious.
When lunch was over, we stopped back at the house to throw a few pieces of fruit and some chai cookies into a bag and headed back out to check out a few trails I knew of in town. The trails run throughout town for about nine miles or so, and consist of a lot of new growth and man made swamps. They're charming enough, but I want to see them ten years from now when the wilderness takes over a bit. The sun was bright, but the weather was a gorgeous low to mid 50 degrees and there was a light breeze to tug at our clothes as we walked. Nibbling on a cookie and walking hand in hand with my friend as we chatted, I thought to myself of the weekends like this that I spent as a child and how wonderful it felt to have one again, just when I needed it most.
This weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to experience such an idyllic weekend again, this time as an adult. A friend of mine from Charleston came to town to see me. While pulling up directions to my house, he found that there are quite a few pawn shops in the area. He's an amateur historian specializing in WWII firearms, and pawn shops present some good opportunities to find hidden treasures. And because the weather was absolutely perfect (my favorite thing about spring in the south), I decided that we should have an adventure of our own.
He arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and we set out to gather supplies for our adventure and also stuff for dinner. Mum requested that I make my great aunt's pot roast recipe, which is easily the simplest, yet most comforting meal I know how to make. All you need is a nice marbled cut of beef, preferably sirloin or brisket, but any piece of roast will do, and some root vegetables. I like to use carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cut the veggies into big chunks, sear the beef, add everything to a roasting pan with a little oil, diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper to taste. Pop everything into a 400 degree oven and let it cook until the meat is just starting to fall apart. As good as that is the first day, it's even better the next. And nothing says "welcome" better in my opinion.
The next morning, bright and early(ish) our adventure began. First a breakfast of tea and orange-chocolate chip scones (the basic recipe for which is posted in my archives), then out into the sunny, bright day. Most of the pawn shops ended up being a disappointment, but the fun wasn't in finding interesting guns for his collection so much as riding around, getting a little lost, and laughing until our sides hurt at trying to get unlost. During one such instance, we passed a cake supply shop sitting attached to an antique market. If I were a puppy, my ears would have perked up and my tail would have wagged furiously. As it was, I squealed with unrestrained delight at the find and we promptly stopped to explore. The cake shop was fairly nondescript, although the owner is running cake lessons for a reasonable rate.The antique shop, though, was utterly lovely. I made several happy discoveries, including two complete sake sets, one complete tea set, and my favorite find of the day- an enamel tea kettle for a mere $10. It was filthy, but I love enamel kettles, especially ones that don't whistle, so I scooped it up and brought it home. After a good, hard scrub, it looks just like new again and I can't wait to use it. And I'm going back soon to pick up one of the sake sets and possibly the tea set as well.
After the antique shop, we headed across town for lunch. I discovered the existence of a Vietnamese Pho restaurant right here in Florence. It turned out to be pretty much what I expected inside. No real atmosphere, but pleasant enough food at a reasonable price, so I'm certainly going back as much as possible. The barbeque pork over rice noodles was delicious.
When lunch was over, we stopped back at the house to throw a few pieces of fruit and some chai cookies into a bag and headed back out to check out a few trails I knew of in town. The trails run throughout town for about nine miles or so, and consist of a lot of new growth and man made swamps. They're charming enough, but I want to see them ten years from now when the wilderness takes over a bit. The sun was bright, but the weather was a gorgeous low to mid 50 degrees and there was a light breeze to tug at our clothes as we walked. Nibbling on a cookie and walking hand in hand with my friend as we chatted, I thought to myself of the weekends like this that I spent as a child and how wonderful it felt to have one again, just when I needed it most.
Chai Tea Cookies (adapted from kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com)
1 cup butter, room temp
3/4 cup instant chai mix
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3 1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's of course)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling (optional)
Cream together butter, sugar, and chai mix until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, then add the flour slowly ( I did it in thirds). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drop tsp sized balls onto a greased cookie sheet (and roll in sugar if you're doing that step. I didn't) and bake for 10 minutes. Cool in pan for another 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Cookies will come out soft, and a little chewy, with just a hint of chai flavor. The original recipe calls for a full cup of instant chai, so if you want more flavor use that, but I only had 3/4 of a cup and I think they came out fine.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Should Bad Tips Earn You the Boot?
I read an article today about Kanpai Japanese Steak and Seafood House in Winston-Salem, NC banning a woman from the restaurant for not tipping well. There's been a lot of division in the food community around here about whether this is acceptable behavior or not. The establishment claims that since none of the staff was willing to serve her, they were forced to refuse service to her. The woman, who is black, claims discrimination.
I'm of two minds on this. On one hand, restaurants pay their servers below the minimum wage and expect them to make up the difference in their tips. Which means that if this woman truly didn't tip, or tipped below the socially accepted 20-25% all the time, the staff has a right to be upset about it. In that sense, the management team was looking out for their staff's well being and congratulations to them for it.
However, there are two problems I see with this philosophy. Firstly, the business the establishment drove away by banning a patron over tips is likely to affect their bottom line. I would certainly think twice before dining somewhere if I thought my tip was subject to inspection and approval. The article doesn't state whether the woman habitually didn't leave a tip or if she just grossly under tips, but the point is irrelevant. Tipping is NOT required. I understand all of the arguments servers want to make for condoning her banishment from the restaurant, but at the crux of the argument, she was banned for not performing what is still technically a voluntary action.
Which brings me to the biggest problem I have with the entire argument. Tipping is voluntary, yet servers depend on tips for their livelihood because of the way the system is set up. They are under-paid because the system expects customers to make up the difference by tipping the server. Most patrons feel a sense of entitlement though. As if good service deserves a good tip, while what they perceive as poor service deserves a poor tip. Which means that, basically, you are left with a system in which payment rendered is based solely upon the customer's perception of how well the job was performed. Why do we accept this as a valid system?
Think on it some and tell me what you think? Keep the tipping system, ban the patron, or fix the system?
I'm of two minds on this. On one hand, restaurants pay their servers below the minimum wage and expect them to make up the difference in their tips. Which means that if this woman truly didn't tip, or tipped below the socially accepted 20-25% all the time, the staff has a right to be upset about it. In that sense, the management team was looking out for their staff's well being and congratulations to them for it.
However, there are two problems I see with this philosophy. Firstly, the business the establishment drove away by banning a patron over tips is likely to affect their bottom line. I would certainly think twice before dining somewhere if I thought my tip was subject to inspection and approval. The article doesn't state whether the woman habitually didn't leave a tip or if she just grossly under tips, but the point is irrelevant. Tipping is NOT required. I understand all of the arguments servers want to make for condoning her banishment from the restaurant, but at the crux of the argument, she was banned for not performing what is still technically a voluntary action.
Which brings me to the biggest problem I have with the entire argument. Tipping is voluntary, yet servers depend on tips for their livelihood because of the way the system is set up. They are under-paid because the system expects customers to make up the difference by tipping the server. Most patrons feel a sense of entitlement though. As if good service deserves a good tip, while what they perceive as poor service deserves a poor tip. Which means that, basically, you are left with a system in which payment rendered is based solely upon the customer's perception of how well the job was performed. Why do we accept this as a valid system?
Think on it some and tell me what you think? Keep the tipping system, ban the patron, or fix the system?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Take that Teddy Grahams
Store bought graham crackers are out. Homemade ones are in.
Ok, so I'll admit that's partly because I've had one hell of a time finding gluten free graham crackers in any store. All that searching got me so frustrated though, that I decided to make my own. I used Elissa from 17 and Baking's recipe. That girl is way talented and I've been dying to try one of her recipes. I was absolutely not disappointed with this one. I followed it exactly, only switching the 2 1/2 cups of gluten free flour base (Pamela's as always in my kitchen) for regular flour. Because of how sticky the dough was, I probably picked up another 1/4-1/3 cup of flour for dusting the table, the pin, and the dough.
These cookies came out sweet, light, and just like graham crackers should be. I intended to use them for a rose cream cheesecake, but not having access to a spring-form pan put a damper on that plan. Instead, I've been snacking on them as is. They bring back wonderful childhood nostalgia. I think they might be my favorite thing to make so far. Check back with me when I make that cheesecake, though. I have good feelings about it.
Ok, so I'll admit that's partly because I've had one hell of a time finding gluten free graham crackers in any store. All that searching got me so frustrated though, that I decided to make my own. I used Elissa from 17 and Baking's recipe. That girl is way talented and I've been dying to try one of her recipes. I was absolutely not disappointed with this one. I followed it exactly, only switching the 2 1/2 cups of gluten free flour base (Pamela's as always in my kitchen) for regular flour. Because of how sticky the dough was, I probably picked up another 1/4-1/3 cup of flour for dusting the table, the pin, and the dough.
These cookies came out sweet, light, and just like graham crackers should be. I intended to use them for a rose cream cheesecake, but not having access to a spring-form pan put a damper on that plan. Instead, I've been snacking on them as is. They bring back wonderful childhood nostalgia. I think they might be my favorite thing to make so far. Check back with me when I make that cheesecake, though. I have good feelings about it.
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