Comments (1) Reader Amanda writes in and asks how to make ceviche. I’m not a fan. That’s me. Anyway, she says she’s intimidated to make it. I say don’t ever be intimidated to make anything in the kitchen. Don’t ever be intimidated by anything in life. Your decisions are half chance. So are everyone else’s.
Click here for a brief overview of ceviche.
Yankees suck!
As I continue on my quest for the perfect fried chicken recipe I come across this one at Simply Recipes. It’s pretty damn good. I tweaked things around a bit, but not by much. I used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme for the fresh herbs in the buttermilk marinade and I added paprika to the coating flour as well. and a tad more cayenne pepper.
Simply Recipes is a wonderful site and an excellent source for a variety of recipes. Enjoy!
Yankees suck!
I’ve posted this recipe in the past, but I just found some pictures I took the last time I prepared it for some friends. So I figured it would be a good thing to update. Don’t let the bacon, butter and cream fool you. This dish is much lighter than it appears.
This is a simple country-style French dish that is hearty, nourishing and wicked, wicked good! It’s origins are in the French province of Brittany. One of the six Celtic nations, Brittany is gastronomically revered for producing some of France’s best beers, white wines, crêpes and seafood.
1 large onion, sliced
4 oz butter
8 oz bacon slices
1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced
1 ½ pounds fresh cod fillets (any medium to firm textured white fish such as haddock, roughy or halibut may be substituted)
1 cup heavy cream
Heat oven to 350°. Sauté the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Prepare in a greased casserole dish which is an appropriate size to pack in all the ingredients firmly. Cover the bottom of the oven dish with a layer of bacon slices, then half of the onion, then half of the potato slices. Layering it all like a sandwich.
Cut the fish into medium sized pieces and place on top of the potatoes. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Reversely, cover the fish with the rest of the potatoes, then the onions and then the bacon. Season well with salt & freshly ground black pepper again. Pour over the cream. Dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake in the oven for about an hour. It will be done when the top is well browned and the cream is bubbling vigorously.
With the potatoes integrated within the dish, all you need is a side green vegetables. I’d suggest roasted asparagus.
Yankees suck!
In December I wrote a rant on some of the worst appetizers in Beverly restaurants. Read it again here. Progress has been made, people. Two of the appetizers I mentioned have been stricken from their menus. And both are at SOMA.
Is it a coincidence these two appetizers disappeared after my posting? Probably. Maybe they were just removed during seasonal revamps of the menu. Maybe public outcry had a hand in it. Maybe they realized how much they sucked. Maybe it really was my literary influence. How cool would that be? One thing is for sure, according to my handy-dandy web stats log, that posting is one of the most viewed articles on this site.
I definitely know of one place where my opinion matters. The Ryal Side Café on Bridge Street in Beverly. I was having a cocktail a week or so ago with the owner of the café and I suggested she add kielbasa to their breakfast menu. I cruised by there for breakfast today and guess what was on the menu as a special … KIELBASA!! She said it was my influence which partially drove her to add it to the specials menu. I know, it’s really not a big deal to suggest a small restaurant offer grilled kielbasa, but I’m flattered anyway! To top it off she says it’s selling so well, they will make it permanent on the menu. Hot dog!
I haven’t written anything up on the Ryal Side Café, but I will soon. I love the Ryal Side Café and it’s very, very pretty owner.
Yankees suck!
No, like for real. I was surfing through my DirecTV channel guide, as I usually do on Sunday mornings, looking for random stuff to TiVo. I see a new show on the Food Network. Then I’m all like, are they friggin’ kidding? Are they for real? I can’t believe I saw a show titled, Rachael Ray Feeds Your Pets. Yeah, I was shocked too. But not really shocked. I mean, we should have seen this coming.
I amazed myself when I actually queued this show in to be TiVo’d. I was further amazed when I actually watched the damn thing. To my own credit, I didn’t watch all of it. But most of it. Some say this is another brilliant display of Rachael’s expansive talents and the Food Network’s programming prowess. Apocalypse now is what I say. I think I hear the red horseman galloping this way!
Rachael lovingly prepares three homemade recipes for her pit bull, Isaboo, who “gobbles them right up!” No shit, Ray-Ray? A dog gobbling up “people food?” Who knew? My ex-beagle used to “gobble up” my dirty underwear. Rachael should do a follow up show where she makes a doggie soup stock from boiling down my dirty underwear, socks, some old tissue paper and anything else we can find in my hamper or garbage can. Dogs love that shit! My beagle actually loved, and I mean LOVED eating used paper towels and snot soaked Kleenex tissues. She even ate whole wooden school ruler once. Seriously. Five minutes later she puked up the wood shards and tried to eat them again. Hey, she’s a dog. That’s what dogs do. They will eat absolutely anything.
Over the years several culinary institutions, including my own Massachusetts-based culinary media lab, have questioned whether Rachael Ray’s recipes have been fit for human consumption. As I have always suspected, her recipes aren’t fit for the animal kingdom either. Rachael made some kind of meatball stew-like thing with ditalini pasta for Isaboo. Rachael called them “mini muttballs” though. How cute. Her recipe calls for onions and garlic cause Isaboo loves the added flavor. Check this out … onions and garlic are generally toxic to dogs and cats. Really. Click here.
She also spends time with some totally hip pet nutritionist. Everyone else calls it a vet. This crap is getting out of hand. I love dogs, but it would be a cold day in hell before I start rolling out meatballs for Boochie. He’d have to learn to vacuum the place and set the table before he ever got that treatment. How cool would it have been if she made some gourmet braised veal osso bucco to feed your goldfish. Cause it would make them soooo happy! I think I’m on to something. I should be one of her writers.
Yankees suck!
Reader Bob writes in seeking restaurant suggestions for fine wine, Chateaubriand and foie gras for a Valentine’s Day date. Thanks for reading and I’ll do anything to help.
Fine wine and great filet mignon shouldn’t be all that hard to find in Boston. Now getting reservations at a nice place on Valentine’s Day is going to be tough. Great place with even great foie gras? Even harder. I just started getting into the foie gras scene lately and I can’t believe I didn’t discover it sooner.
On Christmas Day I attended a large dinner party at my friend’s beach house in Beverly Farms. I helped prepare the food for the party and worked in the kitchen with alongside a world class chef. It seemed like one of the best Christmas presents of my life.
The chef made foie gras that was to die for. Home cooking is always the best, but food prepared by a classically trained chef AT HOME is even better.
As for grabbing good foie gras at a Boston restaurant, I say try Davio’s or Clio. Davio’s is an amazing Italian restaurant with incredible foie gras. Decent steak too, but it’s not what they are famous for. Clio has killer foie gras and an amazing rib eye steak. The Goat Hill Grille in Beverly would be a nice place too (and it’s one of my absolute favorites.) Oh, and Cafe Escadrille is legendary!
I’ve never been to Mistral or L’Espalier, but I’ve been told they have great foie gras. I’m reluctant to go to L’Espalier since I’m not the biggest fan of prix fixe menus. However, if you want to have an amazing filet, I’d go to Gavens in Middleton. No question about it.
Good luck on reservations on Valentine’s Day. I’d rather stay home and cook on Valentine’s Day, but that’s me. Have fun!
Yankees suck!
WICKED GOOD! You know, for $16, I don’t think you’ll find a better bottle of Spanish white. I picked up a bottle of Pazo de Señorans Albariño last week at a random packie. I’ve never heard of this brand before and I rarely turn towards Spanish wineries for a inexpensive white. Live and learn I guess. I’m hooked now. Like big time. And it was only $16.
First off, let me tell you … this wine is clean, fresh and fruity. I’ve been more or a merlot guy lately, but I needed a good strange white. I figured an Albariño would fit the bill. The Albariño variety of wines isn’t all that well known here in the states. Read more about them here.
Light gold-colored, it’s nose displays apple, pear, peach and mineral. It reminded me a lot of an Alsace Riesling. Bone dry, crisp and smooth with superb balance and length. The finish is long with notable citrus flavors. It’s an excellent wine for paring New England style seafood. We had this with some amazing baked haddock.
Wow! Am I becoming a wine snob? Maybe I am or maybe I AM!!! I can’t remember the last time I had such a great bottle of wine for so little scratch! I’m not alone in my appreciation for Pazo de Señorans Albariño. Robert Parker rates it a 92. Which is respectable. Very. Believe me.
Yankees suck!
