Favorite Things Friday: The Dippy Egg

Today’s favorite Friday thing is that beautiful gem of an egg yolk.  Egg yolks and eggs are not the same thing. Eggs encompass the egg white and often come scrambled so you lose sight of which is which.  An egg yolk is self-aware and proud. It commands attention and it commands taste.   I love to eat them atop a bowl of pasta or on a bed of multi-grain toast. My heart sings when I see the beautiful insides cascade out of its protein prison.  I can’t get enough of them.

It wasn’t always like this. In every person’s life, there lurks a dark and confusing time. These are the moments when we’re stuck in a bad relationship, out of work, or maybe our pants just seem to fit a little tighter than normal.  For me, this moment was giving up egg yolks. When my ex-boyfriend broke up with me at the beginning of senior year, I made myself a promise. Get hotter and make him regret it. Looking back on it, this was probably not the best way to cope, but those teenage years are specifically reserved for making mistakes.  I spent long hours at the gym, replaced meals with grapefruit, and worst of all, started eating egg whites.

Now, I don’t hate egg whites. They make a very nice omelet along with some goat cheese and fresh thyme.  But even the most delicious of egg whites can’t replace the beautiful volcano of a sunny-side up egg. Unfortunately, I was still on Google looking up exercise videos and “Under 200 calorie recipes.” The only thing I saw egg yolks good for were baking, a love of mine that I would never abandon.

Upon arriving at JMU I was faced with the harsh reality of not having my own car, and therefore, nothing to bake with.  My friend Macki introduced me to a boy, Jacob, and he offered to give me rides should I ever need one.

“I don’t have anything to bake with,” I said. “Could you take me to the grocery store so I could get some things?” He happily obliged. The next night he invited me a party, and I turned him down to stay home and bake. Looking back on this now, I was well on my way to spinster-hood so I’m glad he convinced me to go out. He said that if I went to this party with him, then afterwards we could go home and bake the cake at HIS apartment. Oh my.  This time I obliged, and the night ended with us kissing in front of the glow of the oven light.

A few weeks later, I woke up in Jacob’s apartment on a Saturday morning.  He offered me breakfast and coffee and I felt so grown up. I wanted to go out on the balcony and scream, “Look at me, everyone! I slept over at a boy’s apartment!”  Instead, I crept into the kitchen with him and he offered me eggs.

I asked what kind. He asked what I preferred. For the first time in a long time, egg white seemed like the wrong answer. In that moment, where I felt so safe and comfortable, I wanted something that equaled that feeling. I wanted an egg yolk.

“Can you make dippy eggs? “ I asked.

He could. The moment that golden smell started wafting through the kitchen, I knew I had made the right choice.   When the egg was ready, I savored its beauty and gave it a timid poke with the tip of my fork.  The yellow lava pooled across the piece of bread it was resting on, smiling up at me and seeming to say, you’re worth it. 

The Importance of Birthday Cake

Heres a tidbit that people may not know. I have eight roommates. When I first tell people that they stare at me with wide eyes and ask, “Are you in a sorority?” I’m not, although I’m actually really jealous of the sorority houses at UNC Chapel Hill because they have beautiful golden houses with white wraparound houses and amazing cocktail parties and probably lots and lots of friends and a dress for every occasion….but I digress.

I love my house of nine. Theres also someone on the couch, always a friend to share a bottle of wine, and always a reason to celebrate.  The other day my handsome roommate Jacob Dickey turned twenty-one years old.  The stereotypical Harrisonburg twenty-first birthday is an evening at Buffalo Wild Wings, the bar that sits right next to the performing arts center.   I ordered lil Jacob the infamous blowjob shot. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the blowjob shot is a classy drink that requires the birthday boy or girl to take a shot of 1/4oz Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur combined with 1/2oz amaretto almond liqueur and topped of whip cream. Oh, and the drinker can’t use their hands. Heh. And it needs to be taken from in between the legs or breasts of a person. Hehhehheh.

ANYWHO, I order the shot and the waiter looked at me with a very confused look.  I repeated myself.

“Blowjob shot?” I asked, trying to be polite but getting more uncomfortable with the fact that I kept saying blowjob.  He nodded hesitantly and wandered away.

A few minutes later a waitress walked over to confirm the order. Apparently the previous waiter thought I was ordering a blowjob.

By now my face had turned quite red.  Although I felt better when my good friend Maddie ordered Jacob a chocolate cake shot and was presented with actual chocolate cake.

In addition to all of this, some of us housemates made Jacob a cake. Red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  We put a lot time, effort, and sprinkles into this baby. Birthday cakes are important. They’re essential. Its a cake that you have all to yourself, that was specifically made FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT.  Sometimes the cake creator even goes as far to make your favorite (what we did in Jacob’s case.) Last year on Jacob my boyfriend’s birthday, I made him peanut butter pie because that was what he so desired.  I even topped it off with a few sparkle candles.  When my brother was in elementary school, he always wanted pumpkin pie. And he got it! It’s your birthday. You’re the boss.

On my birthday, I always asked for yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Theres something about the way those two flavors meld together.   The yellow cake is always moist and buttery and the chocolate  adds the beautiful layer of darkness.  Mish has been making it my official birthday cake flavor for as long as I can remember, though I later learned many children grew up with a the yellow cake/chocolate combination.  I’ve even walked into those trendy cupcakeries and they have miniature versions of those.

Regardless, it seems the important thing about birthday cakes is that they mean something to the birthday boy or girl.   We baked Jacob red velvet cake because it’s his favorite. Even though Aaron’s birthday “cake” was actually a pie, it had a very prominent spot on the table that March 27th.  Our family has a little game that cames along on our birthday.  I can’t remember how old I was when this started but Mish started telling us that the cake had extra vanilla in it. When we went to smell the cake, the person sitting closest to the birthday child WOULD PUSH THE CAKE INTO HIS OR HER FACE.  As years went on, we just turned it into a little pat of frosting. But on my Dad’s 50th birthday, Aaron SMASHED that cake into his face. I love my family.

As evidence of the importance of birthday cake, here is a picture of me with my very first one.  I had my very own chocolate cake, 100% all to myself.

Note: This was also the first time I had ever eaten chocolate. Do you see how I’m just cramming it in there? Yes, nothing has changed.

Do you have any special birthday traditions?

Whats your favorite cake flavor?

Favorite Things Friday: Chocolate-Chocolate Croissants

Hi friends!

Happy Friday. I’m back at James Madison and gearing up for the second semester of my junior year. I got my first culinary job at The Little Grill, a hippie diner in downtown Harrisonburg and just joined the cast of Servant of Two Masters!

Andddddd…… It’s snowing!!!!!

I love the way the snow looks at night. Those little white flecks dance so beautifully across their black canvas, like little fairies.  Being inside feels so safe.

As I notice all these wonderful things, I feel the need to share some of them.  Thus I am now creating…dun dun duhhh! Favorite Things Friday! Each Friday I plan to post one of my most treasured nourishments. And I’m getting the ball rolling with one of the greatest gifts of all time, Williams and Sonoma’s Chocolate Chocolate Croissants.

Uncle David sent us these for Christmas. They’re frozen, so you simply set them out nine hours before baking, let ‘em rise, and slap those babies into the oven!  When they puff up, they resemble deep chocolatey pillows.  Whenever I eat a chocolate croissant, I feel as if I’ve been transported to another world. The flakey richness takes me to a world of countryside picnics, rainy streets, and Parisian bistros with charming waiters. I think of my three days in Paris when I was backpacking through Europe after high school graduation.

I remember  we were there the weekend Michael Jackson died.  I was sitting in our lil 20 euro a night hotel kitchen, (appropriately named Mister Bed), eating a croissant. The television blared footage of Parisians crying and the words MICHAEL JACKSON EST MORT! The day before there had been a gay pride parade throughout the streets of Paris. It was a weird weekend.

POINT IS, these pastries have the power to transport.

When I saw they were chocolate chocolate croissants, my heart leapt. I was hesitant at first, wondering if perhaps the chocolatey flakes would be too much with that thick brick of chocolate on the inside. Oh how I was mistaken.  I can’t imagine how such a variety of textures and chocolatey flavors exist in one little pastry.  The outer shell is crisp, a dark brown that reminds me of leafless winter trees. When I took a bite, the outside cracked and my teeth sank into the buttery interior.  Even deeper into the core was the Belgian chocolate brick, thick and rich and contrasting beautifully with it’s flakey coccoon.

I would trade a hot date for a night alone with a few of these babies.  These are CHOCOLATEY. For any girl who has slightly innapropriate/somewhat romantic relationship with the cocoa bean (like myself), treat yourself to some of these. You can even buy them online! For the sake of my wallet, I  almost wish I didn’t know that. Almost.

What are some of your favorite pastries?

Are there any foods that trigger some really wonderful memories?

100 Foods to Eat Before You Die

Somewhere in Blogland I stumbled upon this lovely little list! I thought that my fellow foodies would get a kick out of it.

I recommend it. Although you may be hungry by the end.

I like to track the foods that I eat as well as when and who I enjoy them with.  It’s a very vivid way to connect memories and fun to look back and think, “that was a good moment” or “man, I drank too much that night.” I’m proud to say that I’ve eaten many of these, and as for the rest, I’ll be there soon!!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros- Ate this dish at the Little Cafe Poco Cosa in Arizona when Jacob and I were driving back from California. Fried eggs and vegetarian chili with fresh flour tortillas? Where was the dish my whole life?
4. Steak tartare-I was SO hesitant to try this, but I ate some at the MoMa restaurant with Jacob and Uncle David. Paired with a poached quail egg and some red wine, it was extraordinary. Raw meat ain’t too bad.
5. Crocodile- Never had croc, but I did eat Alligator Cheesecake in New Orleans! Now I’m curious how they’re different.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue -I LOVE CHEESE FONDUE. I’ve made it before with white wine and I like to dip apples into it.  God. I love cheese
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush-I love lebanese food and little plates. And it has a funny name. Teehee.
11. Calamari- Of course! When I was ten my friends grandma tried to trick us into eating it, thinking she could gross us out when she revealed what it was. Unfortunately for her, I’d been eating squid since I could chew and knew exactly what those little fried squiggles were.
13. PB&J sandwich- A child’s lunchtime meal and college kid’s drunk munchie. Me and PB&J go way back.
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart- Got one in New York City!
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle-I had black truffle oil on the BEST BURGER I’VE EVER HAD from Umami burger in Los Angeles.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns- Ate these babies when I was doing some underage drinking in NYC with Uncle David.
20. Pistachio ice cream- Yes, unfortunately not a fan. The green doesn’t look natural to me.
21. Heirloom tomatoes- I LOVE tomatoes. These ones look like little flowers when you slice them.
22. Fresh wild berries- I had a somewhat Anne of Green Gables childhood so yes…
23. Foie gras- Just a few weeks ago. It’s gonna take some getting used to.
24. Rice and beans- Again. Great drunk munchie.
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche- One of the most luxurious ice cream flavors I’ve ever had. Häagen-Dazs has the best flavor.
28. Oysters- Jacob and I had never had one before, so when we saw them on the menu at Momofuku we both braced ourselves and slurped those babies up. Now I just wanna have a whole plate of them to myself.
29. Baklava- Yep yep!
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas- Hate them bitches.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut- Yummy. I love German food.
35. Root beer float- Not in FOREVER. Now I’m craving one.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot- PLEASE, I’m in college! All different sorts of flavors!
39. Gumbo-
40. Oxtail-
41. Curried goat-
42. Whole insects-
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk-
45. Single malt whisky
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala- When you’re involved in the arts, EVERYONE likes Indian food. It’s engrained in our brains.
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut-I’ve eaten one as a BURGER bun once!
50. Sea urchin- I had with wasabi, so that may have tainted my experience.
51. Prickly pear-I had Prickly pear sorbet on top of a blended margarita last summer when I was in FIre Island. Jacob and I drank them while lounging on a bed that was floating in the water.  I felt so cool back then.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer-Again. Love Indian Food.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal-
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV- Yes! Jacob drinks Blithering Idiot and I had some with him.  What a good name for such an 11% abv beer.
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores- HELLO, I was a girl scout! I bleed S’mores.
62. Sweetbreads- Don’t wanna talk about.
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake- Yes to funnel cake and churros. My dad used to buy me them at Disneyworld. Fried sugary dough is an eight year old’s crack.
68. Haggis-
69. Fried plantain- In Puerto Rico!
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho- My mom has a Barefoot Contessa recipe for Gazpacho and it’s great.
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill- (the fuck?)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail-had these on a cruise my freshman year. I ordered the snails to be cool and actually really loved them. They came in a circle dish covered in butter and garlic, which are two of my favorite combinations in the entire world.
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini-
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky-when going through my asian phase in high school.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef- Turns a good burger beautiful.
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish- Yup! First time I ate it was at a hippie diner in Harrisonburg. I had it with collared greens, mashed potatoes, groovy gravy, and housemade applesauce.
95. Mole poblano- Yes, although my favorite mexican food is fajitas. My roommates and I used to always go to El Charro and get fishbowl margaritas.
96. Bagel and lox-  I love bagels and lox. Uncle David took my to Russ’s daughters to buy some for the beach and I was spoiled off my ass with the deliciousness.
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake

Little Omnivore 2011 Adventures

Happy New Year!  I know I’m two days late, but I do hope that everyone has a wonderful start to 2012. Jacob and I were at my parents for the holiday weekend and rang in with good friends and lemon thyme jello shoots.  Mish and I got creative and mixed lemon jello and citrus smirnoff and then  added a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves. They gave the jello shoots a little bit of a rustic feel, which is saying something because making a jello shoot look natural looking is no easy task.

I won’t lie; this year has been a tough one. Theres a lot of a decision making in a young college students life. Theres some doubt, some disappointments and some falls that we’re not prepared for. I was often standing on the big ol’ map of life thinking “what direction? what transportation? and with whom?” I’m one of those people who can’t always enjoy the present because they’re too busy looking into the future.

Well, IT’S TIME TO THROW MY METAPHORICAL CRYSTAL BALL INTO THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL. I’m ready for a change. I want to embrace the little moments and lick up all those tiny little ice cream droplets of sheer bliss.

I was fortunate to have a bunch of those in 2011. Hello droplet review! :)

Droplet number one! Welcome to Fire Island. My uncle’s ex has a place on the island, and he spends every weekend in the summer there.  Imagine this. You’ve been on a bus for five hours, took two trains, a taxi, a ferry, walked half a mile, and spilled a strawberry margarita all over youe white dress. Rough times. But Uncle David had four pounds of mussels and pinot grigio and the night improved dramatically! Wine+gay uncle=ultimate medicine.  Down below is my Uncle David and Jacob. We took the leftover mussels from the night before and had them with a spicy tomato sauce on top of homemade pizza. Jacob also used his man skills and carved up some delicious pork butt. Meanwhile, Uncle David set the back porch on fire.  Heres another little droplet! This should really qualify as a two thousand droplets. My dad and I drove cross-country this summer. Our first night in a hotel was spent in Nashville, Tennessee. In the morning, we strolled over to Athens Greek Restaurant, and treated ourselves to some soul-warming eggs, grits, and hashbrowns.   Isn’t it beautiful!?! And then heres some of the West Coast. We went to Malibu one afternoon and spent the entire day at the beach. Unfortunately, there was no Leo or Danny Devito sightings, but we DID see a bunch of asian surfers. Very pacific. Foodie adventures included drinking kale lemonade, discovering the holiness of green tea lattes, and eating my very first Umami burger. Apparently they’re building a Umami burger in DC in the spring. I’ll be waiting in line with  a bib. Jacob and I in the middle of New Mexico on the way back. We stopped for Arizona Iced Teas on the way and I put my feet up in the dashboard as we sang 70s rock songs.

And a few states up…New York once again! Gotta love cracking egg yolks.

The view from Alex’s trendy Brooklyn abode!

So, here we go. One more year….and maybe the last if the Mayans have it right. My resolutions are to play more ukulele, give out more compliments, and eat kale. Happy Holidays everyone!

Organic Farming at its Best: Patowmack Farms

Merry Day-After-Christmas-Everyone!!! I hope  you all have had a magical holiday so far.  I’m watching the Social Network and eating pistachios with Mish right now, as our Christmas is continuing to continue. Yesterday Mish woke Aaron and I up at eight AM, and the three of us and Dad ran downstairs like four-year olds high on pixie sticks.  Presents included the new Alice Waters book, 40 Years of Chez Panisse, a lace dress, and Anthropologie Boots.  During the opening of gifts, we had a lovely breakfast of champagne and homemade cinnamon buns. (This combination is a must try. The light bubbles of the champagne and the warm, sticky-sweet dough of the pastry really go together well, and its the perfect way to celebrate.)

SPEAKING of perfect ways to celebrate, we also had a marvelous dinner at Patowmack Farms in Lovettsville the night before. Their philosophy is similar to my own, as everything is straight from the farm to the table, organic, and sustainable.

The restaurant is located up in the mountains, surrounded by oaks and white stars.   We stepped into the restaurant from the biting cold outside and were greeted by a large family-size waiting staff. It was almost as if I was at someone’s private Christmas Eve party, but without the burden of actually having to force polite conversation. Teehee!

The first course (first, as in there were FIVE) was the Amouse Bouche. In French, this basically means the course that gets the ball rolling. Flavors are typically very agreeable and set your palate in the right direction. In this case, it was toasted Italian bread with a very fragrant olive oil, serrano, and mininature black and green olives.  The olive oil really made this Bouche “amoosing”. (Wow, thats a terrible joke.) But seriously, I was amoosed.

The Appertif came next.   Both Aaron and I got Prince Edward Island mussels with Jerusalem artichoke fries and a garlic  mayonnaise.  The mussels were nice and meaty, their natural saltiness contrasting wonderfully with the butter sauce. I had never eaten artichoke fries before, but they’re earthier then french fries, and they HAVE to be healthier, right?  Nontheless, they were soft and hot and delicious, although I do wish they had been salted just a tad more.

Yummy right?! And so incredibly fresh! I just love it when you eat something and you can really TASTE where it came from.  The next thing I ate was a Chesepeake Bay Wild Blue Catfish with soft carolina grits baby spinach, sauce meuniere, and toasted rice puff but unfortunately I didn’t get a very good picture of this baby.

But DESSERT. Holy chocolate goddess in the sky, thank you for blessing us with that wonderful thing called “chocolate foam.” Picture a latte. Now take the foam on top, turn it chocolatey, and multiply the flavor by twenty. You have what I had for dessert.  It was officially titled a Spiked Eggnog Tart, and was comprised of chocolate shortbread, white chocolate eggnog ganache, hot chocolate froth (!!!) and meyers dark rum. I normally think that alcohol in dessert tastes like a hangover,  so I was just gobbling up the foam and the eggnog ganache. We all have our preferences.

The final course, called a Friandise, was a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and a peppermint meringue . The meringue had a marshmallow like texture that left the tastebuds with a sweet, clean feeling. And they looked ADORABLE.

Aren’t they cute? And that Harry-Potteresque scroll is a copy of our menu.  They even print your names at the top of the menu! It was really sweet.

I really admire restaurants like Potawmack Farms, because not only are we supporting our local eating establishments, but our local farmers.   Encouraging the growth of natural, sustainable ingredients leads to a longer and more enjoyable life on a beautiful planet.

I hope everyone had a wonderful, boozy (if you so chose) holiday, and continue to celebrate into the New Year.  Yahoo!!!!

How was your holiday? Anything in particular that you really enjoyed? 

Secrets of the Little Kitchen

Hi everyone! My Madelaine Chocolate Advent calendars says that they’re are only THREE!!!! days until Christmas.  This means copious amounts of cookies, pies, fancy dinners, and champagne.

My family is a little traditional in the fact that Mish and I are the only ones that cook in my family. When I’m at school and Mish is working late, my dad and Aaron have three options. 1) Subway. 2) Five Guys. 3) Starve to death. It’s typically option one or two.

Mish and I had been teasing Dad a bit for not knowing his way around the kitchen, and he was ready to prove us wrong. Last night he made us dinner ALL BY HIMSELF. It was a good night. I even had him put on my lil Anthropologie apron, although he wasn’t too pleased about that.  He made us organic chicken with a maple glaze and I was acted as his lil sous chef along the way. For a first major entree, everything turned out wonderfully and I was very impressed with my dad. Now he’ll have an option number four.

Now for those of you who do have more experience in the kitchen, I have a few of my own kitchen tips that can turn some ordinary things very special. Some of these are things Mish taught me and others are things that I’ve learned working in the kitchen.  A basic one for me is Pinot Grigio and Lemon. Whenever I’m in doubt when I have to cook, these things always inspire me. White wine and lemon are such classic flavors that make any meal really special.

My favorite way to have lemon is a homemade dressing on top of a spinach salad with walnuts and freshly grated parmesan.  As for white wine, I love to eat in a light pasta sauce or seafood broth. It also goes really well all by itself out in the kitchen.

And here are a few more…

Vanilla Sugar-We keep our baking goods (flour, sugar, etc) in bins inside the pantry. Inside the sugar bin, we keep a few pure vanilla beans mixed in. Whenever you open the bin theres this wonderful aroma of vanilla and it really makes a difference when baking.  Sometime when you’re scooping large amounts you do have to sift around the beans a bit, but trust me, it’s worth it.

Vanilla Paste-I just learned this the other day when making sugar cookies with Mish. Instead of using  vanilla extract when baking, we used vanilla paste. Vanilla paste does the exact same thing as vanilla sugar, but vanilla paste has these delicious little black beads of vanilla that look so beautiful in the cookies.  Its the same reason I love Vanilla Bean ice cream; I just love the way the little black dots contrast the pure white of the cream.

Rosemary Oil-This one is especially wonderful around the holidays. I was inspired by this one when I was in Hermosa Beach in a little shop completely devoted to Olive Oils and Vinegars.  Rosemary is such a beautiful herb and does so well when paired with olive oil.  Pour some olive oil into a saucepan and then add a sprig or two of fresh rosemary and simmer on a low heat.  After about ten minutes, turn the heat off. When the oil is cool, pour it into a bottle with the sprig of rosemary and seal tightly. You can put it on anything, but my favorite is fresh stovetop popcorn. This stuff is festive, wonderful, and earthy, and the scent is incredibly soothing.

Eat-In-Your-Jammies French Toast.

Growing up, I was spoiled with breakfast. Mish made me a big breakfast of eggs, pancakes, or french toast and then tote me off to daycare where I would eat another breakfast. Its a wonder I’m not obese today.   I was also one of those kids who had to sit by the teacher in elementary school because of my “massive amounts of energy”, so maybe I worked off all those breakfast calories running around the playground or knocking over easels. Regardless, I have developed a passion for breakfast foods and everything that that encompasses them. Namely, French Toast. 

Most people order French toast at a breakfast restaurant and receive two thick slices of bread, eggy with cinnamon and a fat drizzle of maple syrup on top. Most people are probably delighted when they see this breakfast, or at the very least they are getting what they expected.

Not this girl. HELL no. No, no, no. When I first had French toast that was served like this, I was 9 years old and a friend’s mom made it for me.  Looking back, I should have been grateful, but my 9-year-old mind was thinking, “What the f*** is this s***?”

You see I was raised on a different French toast. I soon saw this version of French toast was not the odd one out, I was. The syrupy stuff was what French toast was supposed to look like. Mine consisted of this: a piece of pre-sliced bread dipped in a custard mixture of egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, then cooked with a thin layer of butter in a pan, and here’s the kicker, a sprinkling of granulated, unbleached sugar across the top. You sprinkle on about a tablespoon, and the heat from the pan slowly begins to melt the sugar into a Brule type substance, along the top.  The butter and the sugar do a magic dance, creating that sweet, rich flavor and a texture that melts on your tongue.

I made French toast for Jacob yesterday morning and mixed it up a bit. Instead of using the traditional wheat sliced bread, I found that we had leftover Cranberry Orange Bread. It was just a bit stale, perfect for French toast. My heart leapt. Dare I mix up this recipe a bit? I reasoned that change could be good, and with Jacob’s enthusiasm, I dipped the cranberry orange bread into the custard concoction.  This recipe deserves to be eaten on a Saturday or Sunday morning when you can sit in your jammies and enjoy. 

 Cranberry Orange French Toast 

(serves two)

Ingredients

-Two organic, cage-free eggs

-1/2 cup of Horizons organic milk

-Dash of cinnamon (we hardly ever measure this)

-Small spillage of vanilla (same thing, never measure vanilla. just pour.)

-Four slices of cranberry orange bread (or any kind! get creative!)

-Organic cane sugar (about a tablespoon per piece)

-Salted/unsalted butter, whatever you prefer. 

-Powdered sugar (for the sprinklin!)

Mix the custard together by combining the egg, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a pie plate or shallow dish. Carefully dip each slice of bread in the mixture on both sides, giving it a nice even coat of custard. Place the bread in a buttered, hot pan  or griddle and let it cook, about a minute on each side. Once the first side has finished cooking and it had been flipped over once, get that tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle it across the top, creating an even coat. Using a butter knife spread a thin layer of butter over the sugar. Watch it melt. When the color of the sugar has turned to a milky color, the French toast is ready. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Top with sliced bananas or blueberries, but only if you want to. This baby is perfect on its own. 

Tis the season to be French: Moules à La Marinière

As I sit at my parent’s glass table after a late lunch of tiramisu, brie, and wheat crackers, I can officially say that Christmas has begun. I’m out of school, my finals are finally over, and I get to drink the good champagne.

Needless to say, I’ve already shifted my diet from Chanello’s late night pizza and beer to cage-free, goat cheese omlettes and mimosas.  Jacob came home with me for the first few days of Christmas break, and we spent a hefty amount of that time in the kitchen putting up paper snowflakes or in the living room drinking spiked coffees.  Note: No one is my family (nor Jacob or myself) is an alcoholic. It’s Christmas and I’m in college. Teehee.

Anywho, to celebrate the Christmas season and the last night Jacob would be here before departing off to his own family, I opened my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This book may look cute in its teal and white paper jacket, but its the most intimidating cookbook I’ve ever read.  I don’t know how that chick who Amy Adam’s played did, but she even cooked everything in this Holy Text.  Me,  I was starting a little simpler. I was cooking Moules à La Marinière.

This is one of the simplest French methods for cooking mussels. When I was in Fire Island last summer, Uncle David steamed up his own version of this recipe and neither Jacob nor myself have forgotten since.   The smell of the white wine brewing with the tomato creates the most heavenly aroma that fills the air like savory syrup.  Mussels, with their dark and shiny brittle shells and wonderful meaty insides are called the poor man’s oyster. In coastline towns and villages, they’re easy to pick during a low tide.  Perhaps one day I’ll live in a place where I can wade out to that crystal, clean sea water and pluck a few of my own..  Until then, I’ll stay in charge of the cooking portion of this meal’s preparation.

The entire recipe only takes five minutes, but cleaning the mussels can take a bit longer.  Make sure you scrub them really well under cold water and remove all the little beardies! The mussels, with the shells, steam in the broth after you have it ready, and then are poured into soup plates along with the broth.  This is a delightful lil finger food, so make sure you supply napkins.

This recipe is from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, though I have edited it a wee bit!

For 5-6 people.

2 cups of light, dry white wine, or 1 cup of dry, white vermouth.

An 8 to 10 quart enameled kettle with cover.

1/2 minced shallots or green onions, or very finely minced onions

8 parsley sprigs

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

6 Tb butter

2 cans of organic diced tomatoes

3 2-lb bags of soaked mussels

1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley.

Bring the wine to the boil in the kettle with the other ingredients listed.  Boil for 2-3 minutes to evaporate the alcohol and reduce the volume slightly.

Add the mussels to the kettle. Cover tightly and boil quickly over high heat. Frequently grasp the kettle with both hands, use your thumbs clamped to the cover, and toss the mussels in the kettle with an up and down slightly jerky motion so the mussels will change levels and cook evenly. In about 5 minutes the shells should swing open and the mussels are done.

With a big skimmer, pour the mussels into a large serving bowl. Allow the cooking liquid to settle and then ladle the liquid over the mussels, or into individual broth bowls, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Along with these babies, serve some good bread (we used Rosemary and Olive Oil) and a chilled light white wine.

When I eat these I like to close my eyes and taste the wonderful combination of the mussels natural saltiness and the wine. It makes me feel as if I caught them myself earlier that morning.

Jack Browns: Harrisonburg’s Finest Hangover Cure.

My Uncle David has played a very large role in helping me in my venture into the food world. I ate at my very first Tapas restaurant with him when I was fourteen years old; we had quail, full prawns, and smoked sausage with a rich, dark chocolate. On a vacation to Fire Island, he taught me how to make my own pizza dough and the perfect pot of steaming mussels. He showed me the beauty of a anchovy and introduced me to the best lobster rolls in Manhattan. He also gave me this little piece of advice that I still hold very close to my heart. “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

This phrase is especially pertinent to college students. Last week two of my friends turned 21 and threw two outrageous parties to celebrate. I’m not a huge partier, and sometimes in the winter I’d just  rather stay warm and watch Sleepless in Seattle. But as the weeks of my college experience continue to dwindle, I find myself taking more and more advantage of these nights out. And moderation, so it seems, slips away like Meg Ryan on a plane to New York City.

Two parties, two shotguns, two spiked lemonades, and one bottle of wine later,  I woke up with a mysterious bandaid on my elbow and the strong need for nourishment. I needed meat and cheese and bacon and I needed it NOW. Being a solely organic eater, this often creates a problem when you live in a college town chock full of cheap pizza and sketchy burgers. Luckily for me, Harrisonburg offers one of the most delicious, and 100% Kobe burger joints in the Shenandoah Valley. Jack Browns.

Jack Browns serves beer and burgers.  The restaurant itself screams Rock Diner, with its barbed wire ornaments and collection of bras dangling from the ceiling. It’s bar-style seating, with some outdoor tables equipped with blankets and heaters from the cooler months.  You can also get some of their infamous sweet potato fries and fried oreos for only a few dollars extra, but the place is known for its burgers. They have the good ol’ traditional hamburger and cheeseburger every day, with two specials every day of the week. These range from the Elvis, a burger with mayo, smoked bacon, peanut butter, and cheese, to the Greg Brady, a burger with homemade mac n cheese and ruffled BBQ chips. But on Sunday, they have a burger especially for those who need a cure from their weekend escapades. The Chiflet.

This is not just a bacon, egg, and cheese burger. THIS IS A BACON, EGG, AND CHEESE BURGER.

When our waitress brought this over to Jacob and I’s barstools, I literally giggled. I’m not sure exactly what about this burger makes it so satisfying, whether its the saltiness of the bacon, the combination of gooey egg yolk with a buttered bun, and the juiciness of the burger itself, but it doesn’t matter.  The burger and fries come with a special sauce that you must not neglect, and dip both your burger AND your fries into this holy basin of goodness.

And guess what? You can order this thing ON A GLAZED DONUT. I didn’t go this far, but Jacob did and nearly went into a food coma afterwards.

So yes. Moderation is a good thing. But even moderation must sometimes take a back seat and be replaced with a weekend of spontaneity and a morning of burgers.  I sent a picture to Uncle David. He was jealous.