When we were in Traverse City for Matt and Bridget’s wedding, Judy had the most delicious strawberry jam out. She said it was “freezer jam” and so incredibly easy to make, just follow the directions on the box. I decided I would give it a try…I was a little skeptical though, because Judy is an amazing home baker/canner/you name it!
I bought a package of Sure-Jell Certo Fruit Pectin, followed the directions…and what do you know…amazing jam!!!!
Canning is something I’ve always wanted to try–but–was afraid (for all the silly sanitary reasons.) I purchased two books this summer that gave me the courage to give it a go. The first is Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods by Eugenia Bone. The second is Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2 by Pam Corbin and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I recommend them both, but if you have to choose one over the other…go with the River Cottage book, many more recipes and techniques to try. Plus Pam & Hugh are fabulous writers.
I dove head first into catsup (or ketchup if you prefer) — the recipe was from the River Cottage Handbook. I took pictures of (most) of the process…slides show below :)
Next on my list…I’m going to try making my own pickled horseradish & sauerkraut…all in preparation for tailgating season in a few weeks!
So, we tried Cincos Lagos tonight. It was their 3rd day in business, however, it is a reincarnation of Five Lakes Grill which was in business for 14 years. Where do I start…I’ll try to channel my good teacher side (as opposed to my Frank Bruni side) and start with constructive criticism. We were seated right away. Now transition to restaurant critic. We were seated right away, in error. There were 6 other couples waiting ahead of us…and it all goes downhill from there.
It took approximately 25 minutes for our waitress to come to our table to take our drink order. I do not fault her, I fault the almost non-existent GM who is responsible for the floor. Luckily, she had a pleasant personality unlike the other server who was working the tables around us. The whole waitstaff and front of house staff was obviously stretched thin. What’s the old adage — “don’t let them see you sweat” — this is something the staff did not take to heart. It was extremely obvious they were over stressed — this seeped into service and left a general air of tension and unhappiness around the restaurant. The only members of the staff who were on top of things were the bus boys (I would say bus people, but they were all male.) These kids were sharp and extremely friendly…put them in charge.
I ordered Green Chile Enchiladas, Scott ordered Carne Asada. Enchiladas, bland. Tortillas, mushy. The sauce on the Carne Asada was the only redeeming factor in the meal, very well done, great depth of flavor.
So, who am I to complain? Those that know me, know some of my passions center around food, cooking and dining culture. Name a local restaurant, chances are I have dined there. Name a local farm or farmer’s market, I shop there. Name Michelin 1-2 & 3 star restaurants, I have dined there as well. Name any book about cooking and chances are I have read it. In this particular instance, two books come to mind – The Soul of a Chef and Charcuterie. Let me address the first — the proprietor of the restaurant, Brian Polcyn is prominently featured in Soul of a Chef. For someone who is so passionate about cooking and who was trained at the Culinary Institute of America to let so many small details slide at such a crucial time for a restaurant is appalling. Second, for someone who wrote a BOOK on CHARCUTERIE to not offer chorizo on the menu in a Mexican restaurant…absurd.
The website claims “Chef Brian Polcyn’s Cinco Lagos will follow the same high quality traditions as his other restaurants – fresh ingredients, great flavors, and exciting food.” First impressions are so important…for someone who has been in the restaurant industry for so long and at such a high level and for someone who has built a base of “high-end” local clientele to feel comfortable associating his name with mediocrity is disappointing.
Suggestions? Have someone dedicated to cleaning the silverware, put chorizo on the menu and convince your staff that your restaurant is their restaurant. Do all you can to ensure passion oozes from every part of the restaurant from the kitchen to table and connect with your clientele. This does not cost a lot of money, nor does it require Michelin stars…make your customers feel welcome and wanted…make them want to talk about you and share your passion.
This year's Menu for Hope will again benefit the school lunch program in Lesotho,
as well as support the WFP's local procurement initiative, which
contracts local farmers to grow food to supply the feeding program. Learn more at chezpim!
http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/
75/100!! (Well, 75/99 – not gonna do roadkill)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Looking for non gross ways to integrate the recommended 30 of fiber a day into your diet? Forget Benefiber or other gross powders! You only get about 3g of fiber for mixing something gross and unnatural into your water/soup/whatever.
HERE are some SUPER AWESOME fiber packed foods!
Fiber One Chewy Oats and Chocolate Bars – 9g
Fiberful Fruit Leathers – 6g
Kashi Vive – 12g
Kashi Good Friends Original Cereal – 12g
La Tortilla Factory Low Carb/Low Fat large wraps – 14g
Aunt Mille’s Fiber for Life Bread – 6g/slice
Switch to whole wheat pasta – usually about 4g/serving!
When in season –
Blackberries 1/2 cup = 4g
Pears = 4g
Fiber – yum!
Back from another lovely summer abroad. This was was great…but a little soggy. Had some faboulus food adventures as usual. Here is a random list of things you may like as well!
If you are ever in London, you MUST visit Borough Market. It may very well be one of my favorite places in the world.
Almost every morning I ate a bowl of Dorset Cereal. I tried the following flavors:
berries & cherries
super cranberry
fruit nuts & seeds
really nutty muesli
simply delicious muesli
super high fibre
organic fruit, nuts & seeds
toasted spelt
pomengranate & cherry
Keep your eye out at Whole Foods Market…they’ll be carrying the cereals starting at the end of this month!!
I did visit the London Whole Foods store…it was ok. I was very disappointed that you could not take pictures in the store.
I also went to the Taste of London festival. What a treat! Here is a list of some really good things I tried there…unfortunately, I don’t think I can get anything in the US :(
Dress Italian
Firefly
Gu Puds
Innocent Drinks
Kenzai Green Tea
M. Chapoutier, Rhône
Rachel’s Organic
The Serious Food Company
The Garlic Farm
Finally, on the home front – you may want to visit the following farmer’s markets:
Sunday – Birmingham or Howell
Wednesday – Allen Street (Lansing) and Meridian
Thursday – Northville
Saturday – Eastern Market or Farmington
Dear Ms Wolf,
Please accept this email as
confirmation of your reservation at The Fat Duck.
We
will call 3 days prior to your reservation to reconfirm the details of your
booking.
Please note that new reservations
cannot be made through this email address but by telephone only.
We
very much look forward to welcoming you at The Fat Duck
Kind regards,
Lindy Gilbey
Reservations
at The Fat Duck
T: 01628 580333
F:
01628 776188
For some reason I get a lot of hits on my blog for the brined chicken post…I decided to document the entire process this time, so hopefully it will help others. I’m going to work on an instructables page soon with more detail! For now, I hope the pictures/brief descriptions in this flickr set help!
GREAT new food website from the bbc!>> BBC Good Food.
