Brandy's dandy

Here's the product of this year's holiday craft binge: cranberry and pomegranate cordials. I mixed the liquor; Scott made the labels.

The recipe is simple, and comes courtesy of Molly W.: 6 cups cheap red wine, 5 cups sugar, one bag of cranberries. Simmer together until cranberries pop. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for a few days to let berries steep. Strain, stir in 3 cups brandy, then bottle.

For the pomegranate mix, I used white wine, a mix of POM juice and fruit, and a little less sugar. Unfortunately, I wasn't measuring as I did this, so you'll have to wing that one.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy holidays

Here's a photo of the croquembouche that Jessica of Feed and Supply served at her Christmas party last night. It was stunning, and nothing's more fun than pulling your very own creampuff off a sugary tower.

Jessica is the most relaxed host I know. Where I'm always racing around at the last second ("Plates! We need plates to eat on!"), Jessica comes to the door smiling and serene, even when she has a little bit of cooking to do. I always leave her house feeling contented and cared for. Isn't that a nice gift?

Here's a photo of J's tree, just to give this place some sparkle...

But enough about you

Apartment number one tagged me a couple of days ago, and I've been remiss. Here are the rules:

Post 10 weird and random facts about yourself, then at the end, list the names of 5 more suckers bloggers.

I do enjoy a good meme. Here goes:

1. I hate overhead lighting.

2. I like to cultivate a handful of quirks like #1.

3. Not that I made them up, but I'm not doing much to get over them, either.

4. I TiVo Starting Over every day, and when Scott's out of town, I watch it for hours.

5. I was in the cast of the first American musical to tour China.

6. I love Cream of Wheat.

7. If I had to choose between a 7-course wine dinner and a drive-in movie, I'd take the drive-in every time. A 4-course dinner? It's a toss-up.

8. I think all desserts should have salt.

9. Mark Bittman is my culinary role model.

10. Some day, I want to sell pies out of a reconditioned ice cream truck.

Now I'm tagging:
McPolack Inc.
Feed and Supply
cuarentayuno
Mona's Apple
and Rachael of Fresh Catering

The buck stops where?

I went to Mijita for the first time this Sunday and tried their signature quesadilla Mijita, a thick, fresh, handmade corn tortilla stuffed with Mexican cheeses, chiles, and epazote, then folded up like a calzone and cooked on the griddle. It came with a fabulous sweet-smoky-tangy tomato salsa and good guacamole. More than any dish I've had in San Francisco so far, this captured those hot earth flavors that I love in Mexican cooking. And Traci Des Jardins makes a point of sourcing local produce and using organic meats. Great view of the Bay, too. The price: About $25 for lunch for two: 2 tacos, a quesadilla, beans, and two aguas frescas. And the quesadilla was overkill, really. We were stuffed.

Then I stumbed across Mijita's reviews on Yelp.com. Reviews ran mixed-to-negative, which was surprising, but maybe there are consistency problems. What did shock me is that 14 out of 22 reviews complained about the prices. "Waaaaay overpriced," one said. "Too pricey," said another. Then the capper: "There's no reason for a taco to cost $5."

Wha?

WTF?

Don't mean to get all soap-boxy, but this stupidity is hard to take, especially from San Franciscans. I bet half these folks read Fast Food Nation and boycotted McDonald's for ethical reasons. But don't take away their cheap burritos! Mexican food isn't supposed to actually cost money. Forget what it takes to make a profit on a $3 super taco.

Everybody needs a little time away

Wow. Ten days since my last post. Sometimes you just need a break, you know? Especially when you think about food for a living. My friend Julia calls it "being fooded out."

My other excuse is that we had my sister's family here for ten days. We did all sorts of fun things, very little of which was food-related, thanks to my niece and nephew. Unless you count the cotton candy at Disneyland.

But last night I made a really nice pan-roasted monkfish on mushroom ragout. Here's the recipe:

I minced 4 cloves of garlic and 4 shallots, finely chopped 1 yellow onion, and diced 3 portabella mushroom caps and about 5 large chanterelles. Then I rendered 3 diced strips of thick-cut bacon (I like Niman Ranch) over medium heat until browned. Removed the meat, but left the fat, increased the heat to medium-high, and browned the garlic, shallots, onion, and mushrooms. Added a bay leaf and a handful of halved pear tomatoes. Seasoned with salt and pepper, Portuguese allspice and a tiny bit of regular allspice. When everything was nicely caramelized, I deglazed with a little chicken stock.

In a separate pan over medium-high heat, I seared the salt-and-pepper-sprinkled monkfish in a little olive oil, then roasted it at 425 for 7 minutes. Took it out, realized that wasn't enough time, and put it back in for another 5. Took it out, realized it still wasn't enough time, and put it back for 4 more.

The monkfish looked a little pale on the ragout, so I sprinkled it with some dried tomato powder that my mom had given me. Pretty! Unfortunately, I didn't manage to pull out the camera before we dove in. But this is a photo of the lovely Masút Pinot Noir I drank with it. This is a small biodynamic winery in Mendocino County founded by Robert Fetzer (yes, that Fetzer). If you can get your hands on a bottle (about $32), you'll be happy indeed. As my boss said when she tried it today, "This is true Pinot Noir."

The olive project: Week 2

The olives are now in their fourth day of the more concentrated brine. All in all, they've been in the mix for 12 days. Just 78 more to go!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. Didn't have time to use the camera, so I used my cell phone. But you can se that some are still purple, some are green, and some are turning a nice shade of brown.

Favorite food-related fainting stories #3

My apologies: This is probably the most unappetizing post I'll ever write. But the fainting stories were such a hit, and this one really is funny.

Remember the woman who faints when she eats too much?

We’ll call her Katy. Being a fainter, she has a few good stories up her sleeve. This is one of my favorites:

Katy and her husband were at a wedding in Vermont last July. It was perfect: a beautiful meadow, mountains in the background, bridesmaids in cornflower blue, and a line of tuxedoed groomsmen, including the bride’s younger brother.

So baby brother had been out drinking with the guys the night before, and had skipped breakfast that morning. Naughty brother! (That's the food connection, btw).

Suddenly, standing up for the groom began to seem like a very tall order indeed. The bride’s parents watched as he turned green and began to sway. By the time he actually hit the ground, they were ready. They raced in, propped him up, and dragged him to a chair in the front row.

Flustered, but determined, the young couple resumed their vows.

That’s when the dry heaves began.

Overwhelmed by all those tequila shots, baby brother’s system was doing its damnedest to shake off the poison. But the well was dry, so all he could do was put his head between his knees and roar.

Now the entire wedding party was beginning to look pale. So the bride’s father did what had to be done, and dragged baby brother off across the meadow. The wedding resumed, and the couple got hitched without another hitch. But the caterers couldn't help noticing that the guests were unusually restrained at the buffet line.