North Carolina: Iron Chef Challenge--Battle Triggerfish!
It was an intense battle. Sous chef Molly and I against Chef Terry and Sous chef Kate as well as Chef Katrina and Sous chef Steve. The set up: we were each to prepare an appetizer sized dish for our 3 judges. We each had a half hour in the kitchen to cook, where immediately after, the dished were judged. At the end the points were tallied and the winner was announced! Molly and I did a traditional "fish n' chip" with our local triggerfish (think tilapia). Molly made her grandma's famous homemade fries and I was in charge of the beer battering. Even without a mixer to whisk my whites, we made the challenge in 30 minutes. We served the fish n chips with a whiskey mayo in a basket with newspaper served with a British Ale! Sounds like a winner right?? WRONG! :( Unfortunately we were beat out by Katrina and Steven who cooked a delicious pecan crusted triggerfish with saffron and tropial fruit rice. Coming in third, was a delicious pan-fried trigger fish with a beurre blanc (I don't know how to spell that) and a prosciutto crisp.
Montreal: A Vegan Nazi and the Jean Talon Market
I went to a very odd restaurant in Montreal called, Spirite Lounge, where the owner is a self-proclaimed Nazi about food waste. His belief is that restaurants waste too much food. So, if you don't finish all the food on your plate (and I mean ALL), you don't get dessert, are charged extra, and asked not to come back. Needless to say, I was a little nervous! There is no menu, you pay a set price for a soup, entree, and dessert (if you're lucky). We asked for the "smaller" portion size, which was still incredible large. We had a delicious curry soup and a Crepe featuring Red beans and Eggplant...there were so many vegetables that constituted these dishes, I felt like I was getting all the fiber one would need in a lifetime. Dessert was something cake like with chocolate...very good!
The outdoor market was wonderful. Farish and I ate a ham, cheese, onion, and mushroom crepe which was my favorite thing I ate in Montreal. I also sampled a tasty sausage sandwich and some venison and bison sausage on a stick.
Labor Day back at the Ranch (if a row house in Philly can be referred to as a ranch):
In the past week I have had a couple of domestic triumphs:
Saturday night I cooked Ratatouille with ingredients from my own garden!! I was so excited to return from vacation to see two beautiful eggplants. I also included some of our tomatoes, and a green pepper. Whole Foods was out of zucchini (grr), so I used yellow squash instead. Served it with a hearty roll from Whole foods...sooo good on a dark stormy night! I've decided that Ratatouille is the French's version of Caponata (or perhaps, Caponata is the Italian's version of Ratatouille). Either way, I love stewed eggplant!
In crafting news, my sewing machine came!!! I am now the proud owner of a Brother 4000, thanks to my good friends at Overstock.com and my parents (happy birthday to me ;) ). I was proud of myself for figuring out how to thread the bobbin and the machine, and am now ready to get sewing! I've cut out the pieces for my first project: A yoga bag. I got the fabric at the oh-so-cute store, Spool, I just need to get some more interfacing before I start sewing. Hoping to finish it by this weekend so stay tuned!!
Happy beginning of fall!!
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