Feast before the Famine

My son came to visit last week and we had such a great time together. We both love movies and good food. We saw Buck, a great documentary about the real Horse Whisperer, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, a strange documentary about his anger at NBC and his subsequent creation of his live show, Harry Potter 7.2 which was cool (I am not that huge a Harry Potter fan but I can appreciate how one could be) and Horrible Bosses, which was the most hilarious movie I've seen in a while (although very off color), the dialogue was superb.

I have to say that we made some great food choices too, plus he finally had his first shaved ice! My Chicago readers aren't gonna have a clue what shaved ice is. Think of hard packed snow, covered in sugary syrup, then topped with cream. Not like the snow cones we grew up with, icey balls that nearly break your teeth. These are seriously good, really. And I have SUCH a hard time deciding on what flavor to get.  They offer 30 or so and you can mix as many as you want. I tried to get Doug to step outside the box with me and choose something really wild. What about Tiger's Blood and Godzilla and Grape? or how about Wedding Cake and Root Beer and Licorice? He stepped right up to the window and chose, Mango, Raspberry and Peach. How boring.  I know there are some snowie connoisseurs out there. What's your favorite shaved ice combo? I need help deciding!

We had some GREAT food at Vinto (approx 200 S. 400 E.) and Wild Grape Bistro (approx 600 E. S.Temple). I highly recommend both of them for lunch and dinner. Vinto has small gourmet pizza, very creative combos and each night there is a specialty pizza, like the Marinated Flank Steak w Cherry Tomatoes (see picture below). And if you've never tried a food truck, check out Chow Truck and Torta Truck's schedules. They are both superb for a walk up and grab a gourmet meal. We found them at Gallivan Plaza where there is a food truck fair every Thursday between 11a and 2p. And last, but not least, is a local chain, Cafe Zupas which has awesome sandwiches, soups and salads. I love, love, love the Vermont Maple Blueberry salad!

Anyway, after all this binging, its time to get on track. So for the next few weeks, I will be making salads, lots and lots of salads and some wonderful dressings. Make sure to stop back!

Strawberry Salad at Wild Grape.
Very good and very re-creatable. Spinach, arugula, strawberries, feta, candied cashews and strawberry vinaigrette.

Wild Grape's Lobster Risotto. VERY good even though its presentation is a little boring.

Cranberry Rhubarb Tart at Wild Grape Bistro. Sour. Perfect.

Flank Steak Pizza from Vinto

I love this! The Gelato Sampler from Vinto.

Vinto specials.

Tacos and root chips from the Chow Truck.

And Zupas! Always good choices even for a chain restaurant. Their summertime special,  Chicken Pesto sandwich, is delish.

A Fish Story

Lauren and I had our 2nd Annual Mother/Daughter Lunch in the mountains above Deer Valley Ski Resort. It's our new tradition and a real treat. The area is beautiful and the 10 minute lift ride up to the restaurant is relaxing with great views of Park City and the surrounding mountains. Relaxing if you don't think about the fact that you're hanging from a wire 100 feet off the ground.

The Royal Street Cafe has a beautiful, shady porch and award winning cuisine with items such as Sauteed Prawns with Basil Pappardelle and Shrimp and Lobster Margarita. The temperature there is usually 10 to 15 degrees cooler than in the valley where we live. On this day it was 80, while the valley was roaring up to 95 degrees. We were certainly glad to escape the heat.

We asked for a table on the porch which gave us great views of the mountains as well as the mountain bikers descending after riding the lift even higher with their bikes in tow.

As we were waiting for our table, I saw a plate pass by that looked wonderful. It appeared to have avocado and maybe something pink, like shrimp or crab with sauces drizzled on the side. So I stopped a waiter to inquire. He told me it was the Yellowfin Tuna Tartare. Hmm. Well, tartare usually implies the tuna would be raw. But I didn't see anything that looked very raw on that plate. Maybe, like sushi, the raw part was small and not that noticeable amongst all the other ingredients.

So we sat and ordered refreshments. Fresh Cherry Lemonade for me and Arnold Palmer fruit tea for Lauren.

Our waiter came around and I ordered the Tuna Tartare and Lauren ordered a salad with her favorite side dish, Parmesan Fries. A must-have when you are dining at an award winning restaurant on the top of a mountain.

Our plates arrived and my waiter said "Here's your tuna."

Huh?

I said, "Noooo, no, no that's not the Tuna Tartar." My waiter said, "Yes Ma'am, that's the tuna." Hmmm. "Well what's that pretty dish over there with all the avocado and tomato? That's what I thought I was ordering."

"Oh, well, that's the Dungeness Crab Tower."

Uh oh.

I'm a pretty adventurous eater but I have to tell you that all that wiggling, jiggling, raw fish flesh about did me in. It was mixed with small amounts of chopped egg, beets, cucumber, onion and lemon. It was served with herbed toasts points drizzled with lime-caper aioli. But that didn't help. It was still a large wiggly mass of raw fish.

I wasn't sure what to do. My waiter offered to take it back and replace it with the Crab Tower but I felt really wasteful doing that. And besides, Demi Moore eats fish raw.

So I got brave. I would take one bite and if it was awful, I'd send it back. After all, I've eaten sushi. I surely could force myself to choke down at least one mouthful. So I held my breath and took a bite.

OH MY GOODNESS. What a surprise. It was awesome. My brain was completely confused. My eyes were sending one message while my taste buds were sending another. It was so lemony and limey and just plain good. Even the French Fry Lady tried some and liked it. VERY, VERY, good.

So look for a really great recipe with RAW TUNA coming to this blog soon. Yep.

We finished our meal with the dessert special of the day. Green Tea and Cherry Ice Cream on Shortbread. Ah, something safe! It was wonderful.

I ate every bite, even the Orchid flower. Next year it will be a very hard choice between the tuna and crab. Maybe I should just go with something safe like the Eel Tacos.

Huevos Rancheros Mi Amigos

My second cousin, 27 times removed, and his wife are in town this weekend. Besides driving them crazy with my incessant worries about them getting lost in their rental car, I let them buy me breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot. Located 10 miles up a beautiful canyon in the Wasatch Mountains, Silver Fork Lodge has beautiful views, loads of hummingbirds and great food. Ron ordered the famous oatmeal; Elaine and I split Huevos Rancheros and a beautiful fruit platter. Strawberries, kiwi, canteloupe, blueberries and grapes.

Since Fred didn't go with us, I decided to make my own Rancheros last night for dinner! I pan toasted a flour tortilla, topped it with warm, black beans, eggs over easy, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese. I also browned up some hash browns to go with it. The trick to getting your hash browns brown and not too greasy? Use about 3 Tbs oil for 2 cups potatoes, get your oil hot to begin with, but after the potatoes are in, turn the heat on low, flatten them down with a spatula and cook for at least 15 min on each side. I add 2 Tbls butter, cut in small bits, all around the side of the pan and let that melt down into the potatoes. Add salt and black pepper. Adding the butter after you turn the heat down adds flavor and keeps it from burning. Make sure to flatten them again on the second side. Hash browns can't be rushed!!

We chose to sit inside for our breakfast yesteday, the wind was a little much. But the views were fantastic as you can see through that big window!

After breakfast, I took them for a walk around a mountain lake that is just a few miles up the road. We stopped to chat with a fisherman. He was casting for perch.

It was a little grey but so nice. We had a wonderful walk and I look forward to cooking for them tomorrow. They may be treated to Orange Tortilla Soup. Adios!

Crab Asparagus Au Gratin

Let me just tell you this. This dish is RIDICULOUS. It's so close to heaven, I can't even see my house anymore. Fred fell out of his chair and into the dog dish. Seriously, the man is SO in love.

Last week I had a wonderful dinner at a new restaurant in Salt Lake called The Wild Grape. Their menu is marvelous. I sat through dinner trying to figure out how I could weasel my way back again the next night. I couldn't stop thinking about the Crab Au Gratin OR the Cheddar Grits OR the Spicy Shrimp, skewered and doing a great balancing act on the very tip top. Drool.

So here's my version (serves 2 to 3):

(BTW, this was a bit tricky to time. I would cook the grits first, leaving a little loose and finish cooking just before serving the au gratin. You will cook your shrimp immediately before plating.)

Ingredients List:

Crab/Asparagus Au gratin

1 lb - Asparagus, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

1 lb - Finger or New Potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces, then boiled in salted water for 7 min or until just tender to a fork.

3/4 cup - Crab, claw meat worked well (see image below)

Roux

2 TB Butter

2 TB White Flour

1 Cup whole milk or you can use less fat but will take longer to get creamy consistency

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

1/3 Cup grated parmesan

Shrimp and Marinade

I used large shrimp but I might switch next time to jumbo. Less chance of over cooking.

12 Shrimp - peeled and marinaded in

2 TB - Olive Oil

4 TB - Lemon Juice

2 tsp - Chili Powder

--Mix these 3 together then toss with shrimp. Only needs to marinate 15 to 30 min.

Cheddar Grits

White Hominy Grits - Make according to package instructions, enough for 2 cups of cooked grits.

1/3 to 1/2 cup of Cheddar Cheese finely grated.

Wash and cut asparagus on an angle into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Heat oil in non stick pan then add asparagus and stir fry about 7 minutes, making sure not to overcook. The asparagus should stay slightly crisp and bright green.

Add pre-cooked, 1 inch pieces of new potatoes (I like the finger potatoes from Whole Foods) but you can use small red or gold new potatoes (the ones with thin skin). Let the potatoes golden up a bit on the bottom of the pan. Turn off burner but leave on heat to stay warm.

Measure out 3/4 cup (about 1/3 of a 12 oz can) of crab meat, depending on how much you like crab. Set aside.

Next, create a basic roux sauce. To do this, melt butter in your small skillet on medium heat, add flour and cook until it turns a golden color (about 1 minute), then slowly add your milk or cream until your sauce is the consistency of melted Velveeta. If it starts to get too thick just add a little more milk. Add salt, pepper and 1/3 cup grated parmesan. Now add your crab. Again, you may need to add a bit more milk to keep it creamy.

Next, pour the sauce and crab over the asparagus and potatoes and FOLD. Do not stir or you will have a mess. A few folds and you should be done! Put a lid over this to keep warm. Now finish your grits throw in the cheddar and add a bit more milk if its getting to thick. You really want the grits to be soft, not set up into a gelatinous glob.

Cook your marinated shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes on each side on a high heat. Be sure NOT to overcook.

Ladle out a generous portion of the creamy yellow grits, top with your au gratin and settle those perfect shrimp on top. Sigh.

Silver Fork Oatmeal

Silver Fork Lodge is one of my favorite places to take visitors for breakfast in summer. The views from the deck are beautiful and they have some great food. They are famous for their sourdough starter, used for pancakes and waffles. They have fresh mountain perch and eggs, plus homemade cornbeef hash that has generous chunks of corn beef (not ground like the canned variety). I love their oatmeal. Its made from whole oats and they serve it with brown sugar, wild blueberries (you have to ask for these - an extra $1 but worth it), pecans, raisins, milk and butter.

Fred recreated this wonderful oatmeal for Mother's Day brunch. He bought granola with raisins as an extra crunchy topping. The blueberries were thawed from frozen and added a little extra blueberry juice to the mix which tasted delish. I toasted the pecans and chopped. Crunch crunch.

Silver Fork Oatmeal

Prepare your favorite rolled oats (regular, not instant or quick variety)
Serve with:

2 TB Pecans, toasted in a hot pan, then chopped
2 TB Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Wild Blueberries
2 TB Raisins or a favorite granola
Butter, milk and honey to taste.

The Best Pistachio Ice Cream

Tonight we stopped at O'Falafel for a quick dinner before heading to Westminster University for a talk on Great Salt Lake migratory birds. I indulged in the most intense pistachio ice cream I've ever tasted. There were so many ground pistachios, the texture was more like crunchy peanut butter. There was a generous portion of pistachios sprinkled on top as well. I even detected a slight crunch that reminded me of those sprinkles on DQ cones. The girl at the counter offered somewhat of a trade secret; that a powder was used in the making. Fred offered an ingenius guess; possibly they used pistachio pudding mix? I will be working on re-creating this delight in my home ice cream machine. Oh My. I may sneak by for this treat on my way home from work and forget to tell Fred. (Hats off to O' for serving this delight in an ICE COLD porcelain dish.)

The Best Veggie Sandwich

Last summer I found this cute little downtown market that makes a fantastic veggie sandwich. It's one of the last non-chain convenience markets I've seen and the ladies who run it are so sweet. The sandwiches are made by Jan and they've coined them the 'Jan-wiches'. (The Neighbors Market is located at 44 N. State St, Salt Lake City, 801-355-8061)

This veggie sandwich is just the right combo of tomatoe, pickle, onion, mayo, mustard and lettuce on a really great wheat bread that has millet or some other crunchy seed that makes it SO, SO enjoyable. They make meat and cheese sandwiches too, but since I had been trying to cut calories and move toward a more vegetarian diet, this was a real find, especially so close to my office.

I wanted to recreate it for Fred, so I gathered up the ingredients as follows:

• Birdseed bread (Whole Foods 365 brand)
• Vine ripened tomatoe
• Red onion sliced VERY thin
• Green leaf lettuce
• Dill pickles sliced for sandwiches (flat)
• Veganaise (non-dairy sandwich spread) or favorite Mayo
• Yellow Mustard
• Vegan or regular cheese

You can put this together anyway you'd like but I find that keeping the wet ingredients, like tomato, pickle, mayo and mustard away from the cheese is best.

Happy Anniversary

Wow, it's been four years already. Thank you, Fred, for all the love, friendship and adventure you've brought into my life!

We celebrated our anniversary in our usual, non-traditional fashion; hiking two hours to see a nice mountain waterfall and then testing out Fred's new avalanche beacon at Snowbird's training grounds. We also stopped to try a new restaurant in Sugar House called O'Falafel Etc.

Fred and I really miss our little neighborhood Pita House back in Chicago. They had great food and low, low prices. I was so happy to see this little place was opening in SLC.

We had an appetizer plate of Baba Ghanouj, Tabbouleh, Falafel and Jerusalem Salad.

Fred chose lamb kabobs.

I tried Yakni Khudra (carrots, zucchini, squash, onions in a tomato based sauce and rice). I was pretty happy with their food, although their entree prices for a counter-order joint, were a little high. Fred's kabobs were $13.95 and my dish was $10. Mazza is even better, at almost the same pricing.

On Sunday, we continued the Middle Eastern theme with hummus and pita. Buying tip: Costco has THE best hummus for 1/2 the price per pound as the brands in the grocery store. This container is 30oz for $4.99 and the consistency is so much better than some grocery store brands that have the texture of wall paste.

I spread the hummus thinly on large plates, drizzled EVOO in the middle, added fresh lemon juice and sprinkled with paprika. The pita bread is best warmed slightly (if you are doing it in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time so you don't turn it into rubber AND leave it in the plastic bag while warming to trap the moisture).

Here's a picture of me after I successfully prodded my first avalanche 'victim' at the training center. Hopefully we never have to experience a real rescue.