The Refectory: 27 years of Frenchiness

To say that I am very blessed is an understatement. On a Tuesday evening, when the skies are looming with rain, I had the privilege to attend one of the top restaurants in Columbus. It is not trendy. It is not filled with blinking neon lights and techno music. It is, though, featuring the latest trends in fine dining cuisines, but with such restraint and finesse that it leaves you feeling on the edge of a culinary precipice.

The Refectory has been in business for 27 years, and it exists as a "special occasion" restaurant. However, it would seem the staff wants you to become a regular. Or maybe it was just me and my dining companion; I mean, we did look GOOOOD. Dressed in our nicest dining ensemble and the waitstaff in their tuxedos, it seems a bit upsetting to see a man walking out in shorts and golf shirt. But if that guy is accustomed to dining like that SO MUCH that it doesn't seem like an occasion to dress up, well I guess the more power to him!

I love a server who asks if you'd like to start the evening with a cocktail or glass of champagne. THANK YOU for suggesting we ease into our meals and not rush us in and into a salad or appetizer. I absolutely took him up on his subtle champagne nudge, and it was the wisest choice. My dining companion sipped on scotch throughout dinner, but of course could not resist the Wine Show that our server put on for us. Special Show. Ask for the show.

You see, I got caught. I was taking a picture with my cell phone of our first course. And man I wish everytime I got caught doing something wrong it had this result! Our server saw and said, "Do you have a blog!?" I think I must've blushed, because he came back and apologized. I was just hoping I was unique, but immediately it is assumed there is a blog. Now, he did inform me that a previous employee's wife is a blogger, and so perhaps she does the camera phone thing too...so he is just equating me with her. The previous employee now works at Rosendale's, which I hope is next on the fine dining list. So not only did we chat about my blog, they wanted the website, the owner came over and talked about the blog, we talked about food, we had star treatment!

So onto the food:
Course 1: MARBLE OF ESCARGOT
God Bless him, he made sure we knew it was not the standard escargot, bathing in the butter and garlic. I did not mind this, as the idea it was not standard made it even better. The only thing I missed was that standard texture of the escargot, but all of the flavor still existed. Perhaps though it was a little dry, but compared to the Butter Bath, what wouldn't be? And compared to the creaminess of the second course, the escargot didn't have a chance in hell of standing up to it!
Course 2: Sea Scallop with pan seared Foie Gras
OH
MY
God.
If Foie Gras is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Upon placing this interesting piece of duck in your mouth, it just "evaporates". There is no chewing, it is just setting it on your tongue and letting the flavor fill the expanse of your pallet. Adding a small bite of the seared scallop just places such a perfectly paired texture to the dish that you don't really want to swallow. And I may have said an expletive, causing my dining partner to look around to see if anyone heard, and have to decide if he wanted the check or to continue to watch my face in peaks of culinary pleasure.
Course 3: CRABMEAT AND ARTICHOKE CRUSTED HALIBUT After scooping my goo-like body off of the floor so that I could enjoy something other than this foie gras, we moved onto a fish dish. Now to call this dish 'flimsy', it creates a negative connotation. But the fish is not a firm fish! It is moist and mixed with crab meat, it is incredibly, well, WHITE! Splitting this dish between two plates was impossible, understandably, and so they brought an extra plate and two gravy terrines of the lobster butter sauce. HEAVEN is Lobster Butter Sauce. It runs out of fountains. There is of course endless amounts of bread in heaven. And the fountains are there to coat this bread in lobster goodness. One of my dining quirks is that I choose things for the sauce. This sauce stole the show for this dish.
Wines: Three Whites consisting of a California Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc of bananas, and a third that I can't think of!! grr!!
Course 4:PAN SEARED CRISPY MILD SPICED DUCK MAGRET I am a girl who had never had duck. Well I think I had a little sliver on SOMETHING somewhere, but never had a whole breast of duck. I was leaning toward a steak course, only because it had a truffled butter on top (again, with the choosing things because of the sauce). Our server said he would just bring the butter on the side, so that we could enjoy the duck. And enjoy we did. I hate to keep harping on textures, but for so many people, food is just about taste. And to me, it is every sense creating an experience. The texture of duck is unlike chicken. It is unlike steak. Perhaps most similar to a medium rare steak, when you are eating the warm red center. I didn't even notice the sauce on this, because duck just has a flavor to itself, that is complimented by the cherry sauce, but not masked. I didn't want to drown it in anything.

This course indeed was split into two plates and the portions were still large! If you've never dined like this, one entree at a time, go do it tonight! So relaxed. So peaceful.
Wines: Three reds, featuring a Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Merlot that exploded like a canoned Cab.
Course 5: PEAR FEUILLETE AND CHOCOLATE CREMEUX
If your meal is a ride, I think it should start slow have a peak and then come back down. I felt going to the poached pear next would be a nice gently stop to the meal. It is not too rich. It does not carry you out with a mouthful of heavy chocolate mouse. It gently places you at the end of your meal, on a cloud of whipped Chantilly cream and a bite of light puffed pastry. (Note: I hate the cliche of a cloud and cream. I'm upset I even typed it.) But God bless our server, he wanted us to have some chocolate! And I think my dining companion was relieved. You men like chocolate just as much, if not more than some women, I swear! The chocolate dessert was good, but I think my choice of pear was better. I win!
Wine: Moscato

Wine Show: I did not order a single wine. I requested--well actually he suggested this and I beamed at the thought--the server bring a 2 ounce pour of two wines for each main course. He brought three. And with dessert, we ordered the pear, and he brought the chocolate and two tastes of the moscato dessert wine.

Before my personal experience at The Refectory, I had heard from people who had heard from people that it "isn't THAT great." I consider this to be the spouting off of morons. People who will not take the chance of the experience and therefore cope with their ignorance by pretending they are not missing much. They are missing a lot. But honestly, some people may not be ready for the experience, and to The Refectory I say, you didn't want them there anyway!

To finish, it has been nothing but stressful thinking of how to put this all into words. It is really a consistent thing for my last week or two. So to have this dining experience fit into the place that I feel I am right now, is just so, well, FITTING. And we will be returning and creating even more experiences that leave me speechless.

Porky Pink

I made something up last night!

Spinach and Spanish Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with an Maple Mustard Apple Chutney
Holy long title Batman!

Ingredients:
Pork Tenderloin sliced carefully to make flat and rollable
Bagged Baby Spinach
Grated Mahone and Roncal Cheese
salt and pepper

Chutney:
one granny smith apple, diced
2T diced onion
2T butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1t dijon mustard
1t whole grain mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
splash of milk
1 t butter

Place spinach and cheese inside pork, and roll. Use toothpicks or twine to bind, but it is not necessary. Grill on all four sides, about 4 minutes a side.

Melt butter and add apple and onion, let saute until soft. Add chicken broth to syrup and whisk. Add butter and milk to desired thickness. Place chutney over or under pork on a serving plate.

I served this with a side of sweet potato and white potato cooked in foil, also on the grill.

For dessert, Vanilla Crepes with Strawberries and Dark Chocolate Sauce. Crepe recipe is from allrecipes.com.

Vanilla Crepe
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons melted butter
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together the milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt and melted butter until well blended.
Heat a crepe pan over medium heat until hot. Coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and tip to spread the batter to the edges. When bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry, flip over and cook until lightly browned on the other side and edges are golden. Repeat with remaining batter.
Fill crepes with your favorite fruit, cream, caramel or even ice cream or cheese to serve.

A couple tips:
-Pork is usually dry because it is overcooked. Do you KNOW how many antibiotics are in pig feed these days to prevent crazy pig borne illnesses? Lotsa. So eat your pork medium-medium well. A little pink makes things so much better!
-Find friends/dinner guests who enjoy your food and then say, "You are not doing anything else! I am cleaning it all up!" These people just come from a better ilk than other people. And they probably are very thoughtful in other ways too.
-Crepes are easy. Don't let the french fool you! They are tricky like that.

Happy Fourth of July!

I feel like every July 4th for the last 6 years have been SOMETHING. Last year, it was spent with my husband, after a couple months of minimal time spent together. The year before that, it was in California. Before that, I was on my honeymoon, or at least just getting back. And always there was a bit of a struggle about going to see fireworks or not. I'm not sure why I am not always gung ho on the fireworks thing, but it has never wowed me. In fact, the owws and ahhs kinda make me laugh.

This year, it is truly an Independance Day. I did laundry, independently. I watched The Next Food Network Star Marathon, independently. I then made my standard Independent Dinner. Spaghetti, meat sauce, red wine...and I rented The Departed. Because my independent nights are generally mafia themed. Whaddaya gonna do about it??

Foods that are SCARY

Growing up, my reoccurring nightmare involved a crocodile. More specifically, the crocodile that chased Ernie in the song on the Sesame Street Album. In this song, he goes over a mountain, because "You can't go under it. Can't go through it! Gotta climb over it." And then he goes through a spooky swamp (because you can't go over or around it), where low and behold, a crocodile is lurking and then we had to RUN! Run with the speed of a gazelle!! Run or we will be EATEN! Go go go over the mountain and the grass and whatever obstacle the twisted sadist decided to put into this children's song!

I would only have the nightmare of the crocodile chasing me after drinking hot chocolate before bed. Because generally, hot chocolate was not permitted in the evenings by my mother because, "If you drink it you will have nightmares." So why, did occasionally, I get this nectar of the gods (I like to think Buddha is a Hot Chocolate Lover)? I have no idea. But indeed, it would cause nightmares.

Last night I discovered another nightmare inducing food. Similar to how after eating the Boneless Teriyaki Wings from Buffalo Wild Wings you sleep dreaming only of drinking endless amounts of water, eating Level 4 Chicken Tikka Masala from Amul India causes dreams of a Female Wellness camp that encourages wrestling matches amongst the girls. And there were colorful painted faces and costumes. One of the ladies had this interesting blue feathery outfit, with blue eye make-up.

Now how is this a nightmare? Because of my wrestling match. Oh I was good. I was dominating in my match (note: nothing sexy about this...no mud, or grease, or bikinis). Because as many know, I am indeed freakishly strong. But I got bored and just wanted it to end, so I jumped and yanked the legs of my partner, causing her to fall out of the ring and onto her neck area. I, because I jumped, was then looking down on her. And it was SAD! I really wounded this person! And I woke up, so horrified that I had caused damage to someone! So bizarre. I was shaken.

I prefer the crocodile dream. No more Indian food after 9.

The End.

Grillin'

My grill usually becomes the home for wasps. As it was all leaky at the beginning of the season, I was thinking it would be a wasp hotel yet again, but my dad in his fix-it-ness saved it!

So I have cooked a couple things out there. Last night, I did a sad hamburger for one, some sweet potatoes in foil, and thought I'd give bacon on the grill a try. Just put it in foil. And NO NO DON'T YOU TRY THIS TOO!! I don't know what happens to bacon in that environment, but it almost liquifies and then catches fire. True Story.

Marcella, I love you.

I took pictures!! How do I get the little fuckers off of my cell phone? I figure it out. They'll come soon!

Marcellas sits on High Street, in the short north with parking being my only complaint. There is a long bar along the right side of the establishment, and lacking a patio, it has a large window wall that opens up. You cannot sit outside, but you can definitely sit and hear the traffic whiz by and feel the breeze.

I am going to just list out all I love. Because I loved a lot.
1. the napkins are dish towells...the white with green stripe down the middle.
2. the placemats are maps of Italy.
3. there is a stack of appetizer plates in the middle of the table, all mismatching, just like the silverware
4. the wines come out in carafes: one glass, half bottle, and full bottle carafes
5. there are small cold plates, small hot plates, 6 cheeses and a list of meats.
6. pasta dishes that would please my father who wants to go to an Italian place and get PASTA. not ravioli, not tortellini, but spaggheti.
7. the cheeses came with TRUFFLED HONEY. This stuff was amazing!
8. the servers wear jeans and white shirts that have things on the back like "Sprinkle some parmesan on me." "EVOO" "Everybody loves an Italian Girl". And one guy had on a white snapped shirt with TEX on the chest. Yes, he was from San Antonio...because as he walked by, in true Kristy style, I read aloud what his shirt said and he turned around. Of course.
9. water did not have ice.

So our dinner was:
three cheeses: goat, buffalo mozarella, and one that starts with T that I don't remember. (started with a glass of prosecco)
fried risotto balls: these had a surprise of cheese in the middle, came with marinara to dip in. (shared a half bottle of Nebbiolo)
shrimp pesto pizza: with goat cheese and roasted tomato...good!

No dessert. But they looked interesting!

This place was busy! And it was a Tuesday. Get there at 6 and you'll get a table. But you won't get to sit by the windows. There were people lined up outside when I left at 7:45. I plan on going, oh, once a week. And if I go with my friend that I went with last night, we may get as good of a deal on the bill everytime.

Trader Joes Hates Me

I made pork tenderloin kabobs last night, and they were so incredibly excellent. I used the marinade from a Cooking Light recipe. I wanted to serve them with a fruit salsa, like a pineapple mango jalapeno chunky thang. Well Trader Joes USED to have one that was decent. So I trucked down there.

Nope.

Discontinued.

So I wung it. Winged it. Gave it a wang. :)

one chopped roma tomato.
About 1/2 cup chopped pineapple.
2T chopped red onion.
1 chopped green onion.
5 chopped jalapenos rings (from the JAR).
juice of half a lime
chopped cilantro (I like a lot)

It was perfect. Yes, perfect. And spicy! I figure this is about 2 servings worth.

Here is the marinade for the pork: (linky poo up there)
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

This marinade is for 8 servings. I cut it in half. It says to reserve marinade for brushing while cooking, but the pork is so tender and I think it would be marinade overkill.

Marinade Overkill...my new band name. Rock on!

Evolution of a Blog

New Cell Phone New Cell Phone! Which means, I can take photos of my food and post them on the blog.

So what did I do? I went to Scali's, and forgot to take a picture of anything except a half eaten stuffed mushroom and the bottle of wine we ordered. Nice Work Kristy. Nice Work.

Priorities

I have been planning my budget. As I am hoping to have a loan and take over the ownership of my house sometime this week, I have been trying to figure out the whole real life thing called BILLS. Basically, as long as I find a second job, I can still eat and have gas for my car. Great! Right?

Here is where my priorities come into play. Good food (i.e. not ramen, pizza rolls, hamburger helper) or television. Or more importantly, an occassional glass of wine, nice dinner, and in general keeping up my food snob habits.

Currently, I am choosing food over television. If I can actually make enough money to include the tv...well then that will be a nice addition. But it isn't a necessity.

So Friday night I stayed in, made a pizza, and watched a movie. And I had a couple beers. If I had not been saving money, I would've had some spaggheti with meatballs, Chianti, and movie. But I opted for cheese, turkey pep. and banana peppers pizza with Miller Lite. I am so responsible! And really craving that Chianti.

Buy the Chicken

If you are like me, you've looked at those roasted birds at the store and contemplated throwing them in your cart. For whatever reason, I always resisted. Since I began cooking for one, the individual birds have been the greatest purchase in my cart.

I pick it. (get about three meals worth)

I then put it into the crockpot on low for the day and gain about 10 cups of broth.

So three meals, about $2 a meal.
10 cups of broth, about $7 of boxed broth.

So I save $3 and a lot of time! And my broth is better than the box. And that chicken is damn good!

Here is my broth recipe:
one small onion
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
sprig of sage
sprig of thyme
dried herbs
salt
pepper

Chop the vegetables in larger pieces, so they strain easily. Cover with water, about 10 cups.

Last night I took the chicken and made a curry simmer. I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com.

In the recipe, it calls for uncooked chicken. The roasted chicken got so tender and good, and I simmered it for about 20 minutes. Here is the recipe the way I used it, sans chicken. It made 2 servings.

1 onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 itty bitty bay leaf
1 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pinch salt
1 T cup olive oil
water to cover
DIRECTIONS
Fry the onions in olive oil until browned. Add the cinnamon and the bay leaf. Continue stirring and add the ginger, paprika, curry powder, sugar, salt, and garlic. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Mixture will become much like a paste.
Add chicken pieces and tomato. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Simmer until chicken is done, about 20 minutes.

I ate this chicken with brown rice, cooked in lime juice and water, and tossed with chopped cilantro.

YumYum gets under my skin.

More on the yum yum debacle.

Sure, mayo exists in Japanese cooking. Or at least as a nice swirly decoration on the greatest sushi roll ever.

If you people SAW what the woman across from me was DOING with the yum yum, you'd be horrified and tweaked as well. I'm talking POURING it over rice, vegetable, and meat. I have to think this is NOT what the gods of Japanese chefery (I made that word up. Suck it) intended as the usage of this condiment.

If they ("they" being Morimoto on Iron Chef when he defeated Bobby Flay) get pissy when someone jumps on a cutting board, I have to think they would throw a samurai sword at your head if the mayo was poured over so excessively.

Gengi...yum yum sauce, For serious!!??

Yum Yum Sauce=Mayonnaise and Sweet Mustard

Please tell me...what Japanese recipe books includes a recipe for such a sauce? None. That is the answer. ZIPPO!

So the fact that a Japanese Steakhouse, which yes, may be an oxymoron in itself, offers such a sauce is so incredibly condescending and insulting. You crazy Americans who think it is amazing, please realize, you are putting MAYONNAISE on your asian-esque food!

I would consider myself an expert on the House of Japan cuisine. It is something I have experienced multiple times (like, lots) and it has always been the same. Soup, good. Salad, good (sometimes two salads). Chicken and Steak, very good.

At Gengi, I got the same entree. The salad tasted fine; although I like the ginger dressing at HofJ a little better. The soup, tasted like straight up beef broth, which to me can have a bit of a rodent cage flavor. Like, it tastes like a gerbil cage smells. I had a couple slurps and was done. The steak was excellent. My dining companion had the scallops and they were just fine. The chicken was a little dry. Vegetables good. Bean sprouts, fine.

Interesting note: The servers have ear pieces like they are in the frickin' Secret Service. I imagine, "We are going to need some chicken and a steak...but this girl is a BITCH, so make sure it is a crappy piece of chicken." Of course I was not the bitch in this scenario. My chicken was fine!

Vaqueros doesn't Compare-Os.

In my quest to find the perfect all around Mexican food location here in central Ohio, here is what I have found:
Salsa: Senor Antonios
Queso: Senor Antonios
Bean Dip: Vaqueros. I have not had it elsewhere...so a wee skewed.
Enchiladas: Chile Verde
Margarita: Senor Antonios...but it is EXPENSIVE/Chile Verde is good and reasonable!
Service: Chile Verde
Atmosphere and Cleanliness: Senor Antonios
Feeling that I will NOT get food poisoning: Chile Verde. (I have heard horror stories about Senor Antonios).

Vaqueros in Dublin Center was 'meh' to say the least. I ordered something different than I normally do to go along with my whole "try new things" thing. So I got the Yucatan Chicken, which had a large portion of vegetables and small portion of CRAPPY CRAPPY chicken. Like, chicken parts. With funny shapes and tendons running through them. I put it all to the side. And still did not eat all of my meal. Maybe they could put the shredded chicken in it next time?

There was salsa on the walls. And they sat us by the kitchen, where I could see servers pull of squares of toilet paper and blow their noses. Nice, huh?

I'll end it with that lovely visual.

I'll take irresistable things that end in O, Alex.

The Daily DOUBLE!!

I'll bet my ability to grade essays and urge to spank people.

The answer: When consumed together, these two food items seem to be impossible to stop consuming.

What are Risotto and Prosecco!

Correct!

(And the result: I couldn't stop eating this amazing risotto I made which included garlic, shallot and onion, as well as roasted chicken that I tossed in pesto before mixing into the saute pan. And an entire bottle of prosecco went bye-bye. Oh. And I wacked TJ in the ass when he was standing in the kitchen. And then just laughed. Yes, he knew I was drunk. I'm a delight! I'm sure at that moment he knew he was making a huge mistake...joke. Obviously.)

Overthinking It

When you think as much as I do, it is so difficult to not think. Just put things in your mouth, just walk around the neighborhood, just watch tv. Everything is fairly planned out. Incredibly intentional. And moments that are unintentional, that are done with little thought, generally cause regret. "Why did I do that!" "Boy I wasted time there." "What a waste of money!"

Some people regret eating things, usually because of the quantity. Or the contents. I regret eating things that I really didn't want and the fact that there was something I wanted more. Or I could've had something even better. So I live in fear that what I am eating, isn't the absolute best choice. This is why I plan my dinner at 9am.

It has to do with what might spoil. What I could then use the next day. What would be good leftovers. What I might eat later in the week.

We were discussing OCD last night. It to me includes cleanliness, but I think I may be a little food OCD. Standing in front of a spread of appetizers and munchies at a party, I must scan the whole table, weigh the possibilities, feel the air for a breeze, check my taste buds, and then choose ever so carefully.
-That cheese is too big
-That chip will break in that dip...need a smaller chip.
-Brocolli floret is too big, carrot too boring, grape tomato too squishy
-That dip is cold now
-If I dip that stick-lookin-thing into that sauce, I'll want more sauce and that stick is too long. I can't double dip! I just met these people!
-In order to get to that piece of pineapple, I must move that large watermellon piece.
-This thing has too much dough, not enough filling
-Beer and Brownies?? I'm not ready for sweets.
-Pigs in a blanket? Really?
-Bowl Of Nuts...I call those "Poop Nuts". Just like the "Poop Mints" in the bowl at restaurants.

All of these thoughts, in the time it takes to wiggle my fingers as I'm trying to choose. Impressive. Insane.

Chile Verde: Spanish for Green Spicy Sauce

My dinner event last night included one of my most favorite things in the whole entire world. That would be MEXICAN food and margaritas! In the aftermath of my insane spring, there are multiple things I am thankful for. To repeat things: sleeping with the windows open, cooking whatever I want just for me, using onions willy-nilly, trying new restaurants and one of my most thankfullnessed things is EATING MEXICAN FOOD! Next week I'll get to blog about El Vaquero, but for now, I am blogging Chile Verde, a Mexican restaurant in a strip mall. And it has been there for a very long time.

Three of us ate and drank for 55 bucks. We had a beer and a pitcher of margaritas, as well as three entrees. The menu consisted of fairly standard fare. C.V. is known for their green sauce (Chile Verde) and it is very good, but some find it spicy. Me, notsomuch. One neat thing about their "Pick your combo" option--seen on most menus of this ethnic genre--on the menu is there are the usual: burrito, enchilada, chimichanga, and then there are chile relenos and crab cakes! One of my dining partners chose a crab cake, and she did not share a bite with me...shame!!!! It was a nice sized cake, looked good and crabby...but that is all I can say about that.

The second entree ordered was the grilled fajita burrito. It comes with a queso sauce, which is excellent. The beef is sliced and flavored, seemingly marinated, and very tender. Great choice and as this particular dining partner is known for announcing, "Now I have lunch for tomorrow" after most dining events, indeed there was enough for lunch the next day.

I chose two enchiladas. One shredded beef and one chicken. The chicken was cubed, not shredded, and seasoned with a tomato like substance. Beef was great and beefy. The green sauce was noticeable, but I would've preferred less cheese on top and more sauce. I wasn't in a rice mood, so I chose the sauteed vegetables which were outstanding! I really only order fajitas for those veggies, and here I got them along with the standard menu accompaniment of pinto beans (NOT refried beans).

It is the norm for complete and utter STUFFING at mexican restaurants. I tried not to STUFF myself, but I finished my whole meal nonetheless. This is by far one of my favorite restaurants for mexican fare in Columbus, and I can't wait to compare El Vaquero next week. Chile Verde, I can already say, has a much smaller menu, but like I said about La Tavola, it means they do everything right...or at least have a better chance to!

Claddaugh: Irish for Overpriced Salads

I went to Claddaugh last night with friends. I hate complaining about restaurants that I attend with friends because I don't want to be a negative nelly. And in no way is it a reflection on the company I dined with.

My complaints about Claddaugh?
prices
grilled chicken in my salad was suspect
dressing pairing on the salad menu were bizarre-o

That's all. Their patio is nice, but bugs were amok (pronounced: a muck...I bet you didn't know that was the spelling of that word). Despite the bugs, there was the requisite old guy with three guys around him who in turn bought our whole table a round of drinks.

I giggle at myself, because I chose my salad based on the goat cheese. There was also sun-dried tomato and pine nuts. Here is the weirdness: Tarragon Mustard dressing. huh? What part of those ingredients makes you think a thick mustard dressing is appropriate? And the mustard was good with the creepy chicken, but didn't really match up with the goat and sun. I ordered a second dressing, because I am high maintenance like that, of maple vinegrette and it was much more suitable for this salad.

My advice...order an appetizer. Cheaper, although still overpriced, but the amount of food is sufficient.

Tips for the 'Ginners

As in BEginners.

1. pans/pots on the stove, hot and empty, for too long, will scorch, smoke, and ruin the pan/pot.
2. adding oil to a too hot pan/pot will cause a fire or splatter burns
3. mushrooms should be cooked in minimal liquids, or they taste weird. IF they carmelize and let go of their OWN juices, it tastes substantially better.
4. burnt garlic is G-ROSS. Sautee intelligently in enough oil, or often WITH something else to prevent burnt, bitter, barlic. (b's hee hee)
5. don't move your meat too much.
6. the more you cut into your meat, the more juices are lost and flavor goes buh-bye too.
7. the broiler is an excellent tool! It keeps the smoke and smell of using a grill pan to a minimum, as it is cooked within the stove.

Some things I learned recently:
1. Wooden cutting boards should be washed/submerged. Otherwise, getting them wet only in ONE part will cause the cracking and warping.
2. Indeed, Calphalon should NOT be put into the dishwasher. It ruins the calphalon coating, and then they DIE!

Food Plan!

Here is where I think I am going this week with my foods:
1. Meatballs from the freezer
2. Trader Joe's Pizza dough, fashioned into some sort of pizza. Maybe with chicken?
3. Happy Hour scheduled at Claddaugh Irish Pub.
4. Shrimp with Pesto Risotto
5. Fajitas!

Last night I tossed together a Tuna Orzo salad for my lunch. It looks beautiful! My goal this week is to use up some things in the freezer. So I grocery shopped last night, only buying a red onion, grape tomatoes, and basil. I used leftover orzo, a can of white tuna, red onion (about 1/4 of the onion, sliced), a handful of grape tomatoes, quartered, chopped red pepper, two large basil leaves (chiffonade), red wine vinegar and about 1 T of olive oil. I think it will be two servings. In the tupperware container, it looks even cooler, as I placed the serving atop a bed of baby spinach leaves.

Jason's

And no. It is not the name of the guy's house I stayed at last night. Jason's is a restaurant in Dublin, on High Street, near some other faves: Tuccis, Brazenhead, and now a La Chatelaine. It is a funky place, with an asian fare and an italian fare section on the menu. I have indeed tried some of the asian dishes, and they are excellent. Still have not ventured to the italian side. Although, last night we came close.

My dinner companion and I started with the Flirtini. And no, it was not the girliest drink on the menu. They had a whole section of what could be boat drinks. Even with a boat drink glass. Their Flirtini is made with Raspberry Vodka, not Chambord, so we were a bit surprised when it was not pink. We both looked at it a little suspiciously. I even smelled it first. In essence, it is Raspberry Stoli, Pineapple, and Champagne. Easily could put me under in 5 minutes flat if I didn't sip and ordered 5.

We followed the martini with an order of spinach dip with garlic toast points (not chips) and a bottle of Pouilly Fuse. We were splurging. The spinach dip was excellent, seemed a little lacking in the spinach, actually. But often, that would be preferred for people.

After the dip and the bottle, we moved onto a Margherita pizza, which was super fresh and great, and fried calamari. Calamari was prepared perfectly, dipping sauces were k-rappy. There was an aioli which was really more of a dijon mustard and dill sauce. The red sauce was a cocktail sauce. Weird. So we commented on the abundance of mustard and our server brought out a new dipping bowl, which still tasted like mustard. But she also brought a hoison barbecue, and it was much preferred! Kudos to her and the chef for noticing two people with excellent taste and recommending something new and even better. It probably helped that we ordered a SECOND bottle of wine. This time, it was a Pinot Noir from Oregon.

The wine prices here are not great. The Pouilly was $20 MORE(!!) than it was at Thom's in Grandview. And to think around the corner is Tuccis and that conglomerate who charge only $5 over retail. I can't imagine upcharging and surviving.

I also can't imagine drinking two bottles of wine again tonight and surviving. So since it is Cinco de Mayo, it will be margaritas bitches!