Grounds for Divorce

Aside from the obvious such as adultery or abuse, Bill and I have grounds for divorce. Well, only one actually, we used to have two but forgot one. If either of us becomes a vegetarian (doctor's orders due to health reasons excluded) it's grounds for divorce. You may laugh or be disgusted in shock but it's true. Bill feels more strongly about this than I do because he has a saying - a meal without meat is just a snack. I, on the other hand, am more than content to have cereal or a grilled cheese for dinner. (Side note for the remainder of my blogging days - if ever discussing "meat" in general, it likely means any protein including fish.) It sometimes becomes a sticking point for us because he's so adamant about it. It can be hard to whip up a meat meal at 9:00 on a Saturday night. Just give me my Raisin Bran. I do, however, have a very strong love for meat. Did you see when Jessica Simpson wore that "Real Girls Eat Meat" shirt that she bought from a Texas steakhouse? Now, I have friends - some of whom I am very close - that are vegetarians so I would never wear a shirt that said that. I am also not one to go around purposely offending people but I have to admit, I thought the shirt was cool. Bill and I have already talked about what will happen if one of our children wants to become a veg (it's just easier to type) or is allergic to any foods for that matter. After a very quick chat, we decided that adoption would be the best option. KIDDING. Allergies aside because we can't control that, we plan on bringing our kids into the kitchen at as early an age as possible to teach them about food and cooking. We hope that if they grow up involved and with an appreciation for all foods, that they will be more open. Maybe one would even go on to be a world famous chef. Our only fear is that we'll turn them into such food and wine snobs that they'll die in college. (Yes, this was a serious conversation we had. Now you can imagine what dinner's like at our house - fun!) I think if done right, and if we're good parents, they'll be good kids and understand that what type of food you eat doesn't make you better than anyone else because food, afterall, is ultimately just sustenance for energy and life that all people share. 2 am pizza and beer included.

V-Day Top Chef Style

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun we had doing this. It didn't hurt that the food turned out really well too. To recap, Bill and I drew proteins - B drew fish, I drew pork. We kept our dishes a secret until after we were done grocery shopping yesterday. Bill gets credit for coming up with his course on his own, without the help of a recipe. I used a Top Chef recipe (Richard Blais season 4) for inspiration but changed it up a bit with my own greens and some other substitutions. We served Delta Vineyards Pinot Noir.

Bill's course - Three fish three ways at three temperatures: Salmon sashimi over rice with a ginger lime soy sauce, seared yellowfin tuna encrusted in sesame and poppy seeds over a mixed greens salad with a honey ginger balsamic vinegarette and parmigiano-reggiano encrusted baked cod with roasted rosemary squash and zucchini.

My course - Braised BBQ and coffee pork shoulder in an apple cider reduction with bacon and onion brussel sprouts and cilantro, corn and white truffle oil salad.

Course 3 - Toasted coconut and honey pecans over sauteed bananas with ice cream and homemade caramel sauce. And coffee, of course.

Bill wins for creativity. I loved his lime ginger soy sauce and the tuna was my favorite of the three. I definitely think we'll be making that again. Overall, my dish won for it's flavor. It was excellent and the meat was so tender, we couldn't believe it was pork.

We think we're going to start doing this regularly, possibly even once a month. It really forces you to try new things and go outside of your comfort zone. Bill had an idea for next time that we would again draw proteins but that the other person will tell you what dish you're going to make. I like it.

V-Day Proteins

Last night we drew our Valentine's dinner proteins. I drew pork, Bill drew fish. We decided ahead of time that fish includes shellfish too. I have no idea what I'm going to make but I think I'll incorporate bacon because bacon makes everything better. Apparently Bill knew immediately what he is going to make but only mentioned something about raw fish. While we're keeping our actual entrees a secret, we did agree to be each other's sous chef if needed and to open a Pinot because the varietal can work well with both proteins if we plan for it. We also agreed on toasted coconut and pecans with caramel sauce over bananas and ice cream for dessert. Stay tuned!

Wine Country

I really, really want...scratch that....NEED to win HGTV's 2009 Dream Home. It's in Sonoma County and you get your own little zinfandel vineyard. Could it really be heaven? Our trip to California's wine country rivaled our honeymoon in gorgeous St. Lucia. I actually preferred Sonoma to Napa, although both were fantastic. I know that HGTV is just giving you the opportunity to win the American Dream and doesn't actually expect the winner to live in the house. Oh yes, it's true, I'm sorry to break it to you. HGTV even released a press release about their intentions for the winner and isn't it a shocker that I scoured the web and couldn't find it. It basically just said that they really expect you to take the money and run because a simple fool like you could never really, actually expect to live in a house like that. The taxes would kill you and don't even think about renting it out. It's against the rules. MUAH HA HA! In any event, I have to win.

 

We were there in May 2007 from a Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning. Stay away from the weekend. We basically had each winery all to ourselves and got preferrential treatment such as one-on-one staff and bottles that were off-menu and opened just for us. Once Friday afternoon hit, the place became a zoo, you could barely get your glass under the pourer's bottle and it was such a turn off. On Saturday afternoon, we actually gave up and headed back to our hotel for the rest of the day because we were so disappointed. One bonus that I didn't know (silly me) was when you go to the tasting rooms, you don't just get one glass and that's it. No, no. You get the whole tasting menu of about 7 wines on average. Of course, you don't have to try them all but who would really be lame enough to do that. We stocked our rental car with water, Gatorade and crackers but that wasn't always enough. We also weren't expecting to buy any wine. Looking back, that was just plain dumb. Be prepared to have a nice big wine box to check in on the plane with you.

Wednesday afternoon, we started in Napa at Opus One.

We really just wanted to see if the hype was true. While the wine was good, we didn't think it was worth the $150 price tag. Also, the winery was very unwelcoming and boring. Very sterile. From there we headed over the mountain (a scary, winding, two lanes on the side of a cliff, road) to my favorite spot of the trip - St. Francis. Here we had an appointment to have a wine and food pairing. What we didn't know is that we were the only ones to sign up for the time slot so the pairing was held in a private room for just the two of us. The food was really, really good and the woman serving us opened an off-menu bottle just for us that we actually ended up buying (introducing bottle #1). Afterwards, we were free to roam the grounds with our last glass of wine. There were breath taking views of their vineyards and the mountain that we almost died driving over.

For dinner, which was a little rough since we just had all that yummy food from the pairing, we went to a delicious little restaurant that served small plates - Willie's Wine Bar in Santa Rosa. We did skip the wine though because if you can believe it, we were wined out. The server said it's actually really common.

Thursday, we headed into Healdsburg where, if we ever go back, we will make our home base. Imagine a small, quaint downtown that looks rather unassuming until you learn that in about 5 square blocks there are 17 tasting rooms. Insane. We already knew we were going to go to La Crema - where we were alone and who also opened an off-menu bottle for us (bottle #2). While we were there, we stopped in at Rosenblum. Later that night before dinner at Zin, we went to two unknowns - Sunce and Chateau Felice (bottles #3 & 4) whose wine club we ended up joining. A note about wine clubs, each winery has one and unapologetically forces it upon you. We just graciously took the information to review once we got home. We decided to join a different one each year to get a variety. Also, friends of ours were told to tip, and subsequently did, the person pouring the wine at each place. We did not witness any of this nor did we feel compelled to tip. Many of the tastings were free too, but mostly in Sonoma. Later that day we stopped at Ridge which had gorgeous views

and we had an appointment to take a tour of Francis Ford Coppola's winery. Again, we were the only ones who signed up for that time slot so we got an hour long private tour of the vineyard while sipping a glass of Sofia Blanc de Blancs. We walked out with bottle #5.

Friday morning was what we were most looking forward to. We had an appointment at Seghesio winery, which is one of our absolute favorite wine makers, for a food and wine pairing. Here we sat with 2 other couples and tried 5 wines. Sadly, the food was not impressive. Afterwards however, I chatted up one of the employees and she took me and Bill down into their cellar for a little private tour. We ended up buying two bottles (#6 & 7) including a zinfandel port which was like nothing we had ever had. We are currently in their wine club and were recently able to buy more which was fantastic. From here we headed back over the mountain, but on a much less scary road,

to Rombauer which was nestled in the side of a mountain.

  Aside from pretty views, not much to say.

This is where we first encountered the crowds and we were sad. We ended the day at Sterling Vineyards. Nothing much to say about this place except that it had the most fantastic views.

They are located at a very high elevation (for a price, you take a cable car to get to the top) so the views were stunning.

Overall, it was a tourist attraction at best. We had dinner this night at our favorite restaurant of the trip - Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen. A foodie's dream.

Saturday started off well before we gave up and went to our hotel. We started the morning at Merryvale where we had two appointments. The first was a component tasting that took place within a fermenting barrel. We sat with 3 other couples and tasted acetic acid, alcohol, tannins and sugar water to learn how to pick these flavors out when tasting wine. It was a really great class because I never knew that tannins tasted like black tea. Our other appointment was a barrel tasting.

The barrel they opened was a 2005 vintage but they also had bottles of the same wine open in 2004 and 2003. The difference in the vintages was very interesting and, not surprisingly, we walked out with a 2003 (#8). This bottle became the most expensive wine, at $75, we had ever purchased by almost double. I won't lie, we had minor heart attacks. We then headed to Silver Oak. Again, we were more interested in seeing if they were worth the hype and were pleasantly surprised. Their Alexander Valley isn't anything special but we would pay the $100, shoot at this point, what's another $25??, for Napa Valley.

Sadly, this is where we really experienced the commercialism of Napa. I can't tell you how many limos were at Silver Oak with about 5-10 girls each, scantily clad and celebrating bachelorette parties. It was extremely annoying. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Twomey which I did not want to do. Bill kept talking about it so I finally caved. Turned out to be one of the best decisions of the trip. Twomey is a sister vineyard to Silver Oak. We liked it because we actually got a little more attention here, ate up all of their rosemary bread - YUM - and the wine was amazing. They only make Merlot, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The Merlot drinks like a Cab and is the best Merlot I've ever had. As I'm typing this I realize that I should probably add this to my list of Favorite Food Things. No hesitation - bottle #9 - the second $75 bottle of the trip. I believe we temporarily lost our minds. Dinner that night was at Go Fish and was not very impressive. We were going to go to French Laundry or the Culinary Institue of America but decided to keep things more laid back. Next time though, the foodies within us will win out.

So now you see why I must win the HGTV Dream Home. I know I'm not going to but I think I'll still be sad and have a twinge of jealousy when my door bell is not rung. I just hope whoever wins realizes what they are getting. Did I mention the gourmet kitchen.....

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is this Saturday and we actually don't celebrate the holiday but we do use it as an excuse to have an awesome dinner. Last year we did the prix fixe dinner at Atlas and it was actually really, really good. We were very pleasantly surprised and agreed to make it a tradition. That was before we knew what the word "budget" meant. Now, while we'd love to spend $150 for deliciousness, we really shouldn't. Instead, I think we're going to go Top Chef. Bill had the idea to write down proteins (lamb, duck, beef, fish, etc.), put them into a hat and we'll each draw one. We will have to make an entree based on our protein and then we'll collaborate on a dessert. A fun, 3-course meal on the cheap. Or at least cheaper than $150.

We did a similar thing with our good friends Matt and Sara for New Year's Eve this year.

Faced with the prospect of spending around $200/couple for a prix fixe dinner, we decided to stay in instead. Each couple took two courses and it was a blast.

Laura & Bill course #1 - Lemon shrimp over roasted garlic and goat cheese risotto with tomatoes. A slightly modified recipe from the Wine Lover's Cookbook.

Laura & Bill course #2 -Broiled lobster tail over a crab cake and bed of spinach with a spicy remoulade sauce.

Sara & Matt course #3 - Fennel crusted pork chop in an apple cider reduction with apple fennel salad and raisin emulsion paired with artichoke risotto. A Top Chef recipe.

This course was my fave and I am not ashamed.

Sara & Matt course #4 - Molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream paired with Little Death by Hot Chocolate with Godiva liquor and homemade chocolate whipped cream.

I'm excited to see what creations Bill and I come up with this weekend!!

My Favorite Food Things (Again)

This post has been around the block a few times but I still love it so I will post it yet again. So, for the third time, here is my post of my favorite food things with a few additions....

If you know me at all, you know I have a slight obsession with all things food. I do, it's true. It's embarrassing actually. I have told co-workers that I think I'm the only one at the gym who runs on the treadmill while watching Food Network. What's worse is that I eat more than most men I know. I've seriously been out to eat with guys who will say "I'll have the lettuce" and I'll, in turn, order one of everything. This really happened a while back but it involved sushi. Ah, sushi. I order 3-4 rolls for myself and that may or may not include the miso soup, salad and complimentary edamame. What you may not know about me is that eating is a hobby. Not some emotional, I eat because I'm not loved, hobby. An actual, I appreciate good food in all its glory, hobby. Now, that's not to say I don't also really appreciate Taco Bell, specifically, the double-decker taco supreme, nachos supreme and bean burritos with no onions. Not only do I appreciate good food, I also really enjoy cooking. There's just something about sipping some amazing red wine, listening to jazz and creating a masterpiece over your gas stove. To say that cooking can be an aphrodisiac is an understatement. Cook me a fabulous dinner and I'm yours. Hell, I'll cook for you, same thing. I decided to write up a list of my favorite food things, not that you care, but I'm using this as a journal of sorts for myself. So here I go in no particular order:

• Ratatouille - the movie not the food, although I have had some killer ratatouille, this is honest to God my favorite movie now. I want Little Chef.
• Wine Lover's Cookbook by Sid Goldstein– aka Bill's best Christmas present to himself. It was for me, of course. Hands down the best cookbook in the world. It revolutionized the way Bill and I eat, cook and drink wine. Fabulous!

• Raw oysters on the half shell with a hint of horseradish in the cocktail sauce
• Hand-packed burgers grilled medium rare. In Iowa City, I recommended Sluggers (RIP Sluggers - victim of Flood 2008). In St. Louis – the best burger I have EVER had is at O'Connell's Pub. Did I mention that it was only $5?
• 8 oz. dry-aged filet mignon cooked medium - always hoping it's slightly medium rare
• Francis Ford Coppola's Sofia Blanc de Blancs – sparkling white wine, slightly sweet, not dry. Can get it in (gasp!) a can for romantic picnics.
• Mashed potatoes - never artificial. Even better if they're made with whole cream and have a touch of garlic.
• Porcini mushrooms
• Portobello mushrooms and their mini-me Crimini mushrooms.
• Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats cookbook and Just in Time cookbook. Honestly, for anyone who wants to break into the cooking thing and have some really excellent meals. I highly recommend these. This is how I got my start.

• My gas stove. I'll never own an electric range again.
• Balsamic vinegar
• Crusty soft bread paired with a personal dipping bowl of extra-virgin olive oil with parmigiano-reggiano cheese and freshly ground pepper. Thanks to my sister-in-law, an almost nightly event in my house.
• Parmigiano-reggiano
• Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County
• Duck breast – I have an amazing recipe from Wine Lover's CB if anyone is interested.
• Lamb chops grilled medium rare – ditto
• Sam's Club because they seem to understand and value my obsession, allowing me to buy all of my favorite foods for a mere fraction of the Hy-Vee price. Not to mention, their wine selection is pretty good.
• Binny's Beverage Depot in my beloved Chicago because they understand my need for quality wine.
• Napa Valley/Sonoma – one of the best vacations ever and I can't wait to go back
• Freshly ground pepper and salt
• Fresh herbs but I love my dried ones just the same
• Shallots – I had no idea what they were until R Ray but I use them all the time now
• Jazz because a meal is never complete without some sweet music
• Bordeaux – a must with a good steak
• Sam Adam's Light
• Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab and no, this is NOT Joe's Crab Shack. That's the one thing I'll get pissy about. I've never been to a restaurant that can do both a great steak AND great seafood but this place has gone above and beyond.
• Stone crab – harvested between October and May of each year, fisherman only take one claw from each crab and throw them back to regenerate. Eaten cold with a yummy mustard sauce. Delish!
• Whole beef tenderloins. We get these from Sam's and carve them ourselves. We usually get 6-7 filets mignons, 1 roast and enough extra meat (called chain meat) to make 2 meals of fajitas or Philly cheesesteaks. Much more economical than buying all of that separately – trust me.
• Toasted walnuts
• Ice cream – best dessert there is. Specifically, pralines and cream. I'll take ice cream over any cake, pie or crème brulee you can throw at me. The best ice cream I've ever had is right here in Iowa City – Heyn's on 1st Ave. If I ever live in a different city, I will pay to have them ship me some in dry ice. I'm not kidding.
• Buttercream icing – the old school kind that is kind of crunchy and is so sweet it makes your teeth hurt. None of this creamy, whipped icing they make today. Blah!
• My cookbook holder. It's my friend.
• Large bamboo cutting boards
• Good knives, especially my Furi Santoku knife
• Iron Chef America and the original
• Good Eats – Alton Brown is goofy but is a genius
• Throwdown with Bobby Flay
• Goat cheese
• Sushi – Oyama is the best in Iowa City followed by Takanami
• Mexican – In Toledo, Ventura's and Magdalena's. For the number of Mexican restaurants in Iowa City, none of them really do it for me.
• Thai food – one of the things I miss most about Chicago, although, Osha in San Francisco is the best ever.
• My mother-in-law's Filipino turon – bananas and cheese wrapped in pastry dough and fried. I think she's appalled at how many I eat when she makes them.
• Cherry cobbler a la mode
• Frushi – fruit sushi at Orange in Chicago
• Peanut sauce
• Mint mojitos – In Iowa City, I recommend Atlas, especially when they use spearmint
• Wendy's fries, and as an honorable mention, Wendy's fries dipped in a Frosty
• General Tso's Chicken - the best is at No. 1 Chinese in Columbus on High St.
• In-N-Out Burger
• Chipotle
• Big breakfasts on the weekend, homemade or at Hamburg Inn in Iowa City
• Seattle’s Best coffeeshops
• Caribou Coffee's specialty drinks – Turtle Tracks and Campfire Mocha are my faves.
• Intelligensia coffee
• Java House in Iowa City - their German Chocolate Mocha latte is like heaven
• Bacon sandwiches – that's it, just bacon on buttered toast.
• Bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwiches from McDonalds or Bruegger's Bagels. Not necessarily because they are high quality, because they're not, but because they fulfill my breakfast comfort food requirement.
• St. Francis vineyard – my favorite stop in wine country
• Water with a cucumber slice – so much more refreshing than lemon water. You have to try it!
• Anything my mom makes
• Italian sausage
• The McDonald's menu song – you know, Big Mac, McDLT, a Quarter Pounder with some cheese…. I'm mostly just impressed that I can still sing the whole thing. Try me.
• The now defunct Café Luciano's in Chicago – best Italian food paired with live jazz and cigar lounge. What more could you ask for? Has anyone been to their location in Evanston?
• Foie gras - best I've had is at Pangea in Toronto
• Coconut shrimp with an orange remoulade
• Red beans and rice at Remoulade's in New Orleans
• Rain in Toronto - this is the restaurant featured on Food Network HD's Made to Order. The most amazing food experience I've ever had. Too ridiculous to even try to explain.
• After an awesome meal, smoking a great cigar on our patio with port or coffee
• Sour cream
• Tabasco's Habenero or mild Jalapeno sauce
• Caramel sauce
• Chocolate truffles - in Iowa City, Motley Cow makes them on site for dessert. They are awesome!
• Marco's Pizza - headquartered in Toledo and a location up in Cedar Rapids!! - you'd think that I would have found better pizza living in Chicago but not being a deep dish fan, that was not the case. Marco's wins hands down every time. I recommend the crust toppers.
• Fat Tire beer
• Ken's Chunky Blue Cheese dressing - a must with hot wings
• Imo's Pizza in St. Louis
• Skyline Chili from Cincinnati
• The Hummus Yummus omelet from The Local Yolk in Manhattan Beach, CA - sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, green onions, spicy hummus and diced tomatoes. Sounds weird but it was SO good.

End of the list for now…. I'll keep adding bullets as I think of them. So do I sound like a food snob? Maybe. Do I care? Not really because I know that it's not that I'm a food snob, because trust me I'll eat anything, it's just that I seek out and appreciate good food. It's all subjective, of course, what I like is totally different than the next guy. I have a food motto, I'll try anything once. It kills me when people won't even try a food because they claim not to like it and yet, shocker, they've never even had it. I'm sorry, but you're missing out. Give it one chance and if you don't like it then fine, gloat because you were right, but you just may discover your next favorite food.