I love my baby and my baby loves quiche

There is nothing more satisfying than an egg pie. It's like a blank canvas that you can throw a plethora of ingredients into and it always seems to come out tasty and delicious. Originally of german decent, damn french taking all the credit, only became popular in America in the 1950's. At which time was known more as a feminine dish and trademarked as "unmanly". Ahh poor quiche. Regardless of its past, I always find that if I'm not in the mood for food somehow I'm in the mood for an egg pie. Me like the eggs.
Here's a couple key ingredients to get your creative wheels turning.

goats cheese whipped with some goats milk and fresh herbs (thyme is the key)
eggs
a nice pastry tart crust
sauteed red and yellow peppers
sun-gold tomatoes
carmelized onions (basically good in everything)

Too Rich for My Blood

I am accustomed to nice things, but these nice things often have to be at a bargain for me to fully enjoy them. Okay let me explain. I ate at Chez Panisse blah blah blah, point is I had this pear cider at $6.50 a glass. Nice price for something that I found to be very tasty. We came back to Brooklyn and found the same exact wine (or cider I should say) for $15 a bottle, even better. I'm addicted to this stuff which is something that commonly happens with things that I really like. I become a cult leader asking all to join the wagon for what I will always profess as "the best thing I've ever had". So I went to Marlow and Sons and was very excited to see that once again my pear cider that I so lovingly adore was once again on the menu. The catch, it was a whopping $9 a glass, a little flat, and served to me in a champagne glass. Now I know I might sound like an ultimate cheapskate and snob, but come on. Had I never tasted this cider before I might have liked it but not have been as vowed. I beg to ask then why at a much cheaper price am I having this cider served to me the way it should be. What was I paying the the extra $2.50 a glass for? The ambiance? The prestige? Word to the wise, BEWARE! If you want to try this tasty morsel of a cider(and I most certainly suggest you do) go to UVA and pick up a bottle, serve it super chilled and in a white wine glass.

Dan d d dann diggy diggy

OH the county fair, the event that a town looks forward to nearly every year. A place where young teenies can come an exploit young love affairs, a place where you come with your fellow friends getting smashed at the beer garden only to talk about how smashed you were for the next year, and the place where you can simply enjoy a belgian waffle cooked on a stick dipped in chocolate and covered with sprinkles and nuts. Ahh nothin like it. Its amazing how similar county fairs are cross national, doesn't matter where you go. One thing was oddly dissimilar this year, the corporate carnie. Yes, its true, the ex-vietnam vet carnie we were used to growing up, is an extinct species nowadays. What happened to those crazy kats who slept underneath the ride that they called there own? I'm extremely saddened by this cause they were reason number 4 of why I attended these fairs. Glad to see The Lions Club still going strong (largest volunteer organization worldwide).

Hold On To Your Rose Glasses

With the weather being chilly outside and the loom of fall around the corner, its hard to believe that just one week ago I had chosen to eat at Chez Panisse. Naturally, in the summer we harvest and eat the best produce of the year, which is why I thought it would only be the best time to go to a restaurant that prides itself on the fresh quality of its produce. In all honesty it was not the best meal of my life ( which made me ask the question of what was), but the ingredients were definetly deeply cared for. In fact it was so fresh that the buttery yukon potato tasted unfamiliar. I also ordered salmon which is highly uncommon due to the boring nature of ordering salmon, but turned out to be the best salmon I had ever tasted. Wrapped in a fig leaf and served with a morel sauce. You can never go wrong with morels really. There were flaws in some of the dishes, the Californian Sea Bass for instance was slightly over-cooked and a bit bland. I can't expect that a restaurant that changes a menu nearly everyday could be spot on with every dish that they create which is why the bits of the meal that weren't fantastic were excusable. I feel that sometimes we have to work with a dish to get it really right. All in all it was great, especially since I was able to end the 5 year quest of eating there. I've included the key ingredients for my favorite dish of that evening a simple and elegant salad. With salads you can always mix and match the green as long as you don't throw in a bitter green as that may throw off the balance of ingredients.

Bibb Lettuce (or some other type of buttery green)
Toasted Whole Almonds split in half
Fried rosemary(frying it takes out the strong nature of this herb)
Fig Vinagrette( oh lucious, lucious figs)

Beach + Lamb = Good Time For All

In the middle of the week we start planning for the weekend, if not sooner. This weekend is especially important because it incorporates two of the most important facets of summer, the beach and a leg of lamb.
Lamb, the least popular among its contemporary red-meat competitors, actually has had a resurgence in the United States. Gradually people are overlooking their horrified memories of grandmothers over-cooked lamb they were used to being served. Currently there are some who have taken the time to understand the complex and tender nature of the lamb and want to glorify its delicious taste and texture, and those that are willing to experiment and learn this dynamic. Giving lamb a second go at moving up in the rank of red-meat lovers.

I butterflied the leg of lamb and split it down the middle. I remembered doing this only once before, but oh the joy of being able to butcher this size of meat again. I often find that we aren't required to do this type of butchering anymore. In an era of pre-packaged food we often don't even know what certain sections of meat look like, let alone how to attack butchering it. There's something about it though, the smell of the raw meat, feeling the texture in your hand, and manipulating it to your liking that really erks me.

One portion each was given to the gourmands/chefs for the occasion. Each portion was left to marinate in a concotion, one residing as a more traditional mix of herbs du provence, mint, etc... , and the other in a mix of red miso paste, anise, cloves. Each prepared on the grill to a medium temperature. My favorite ended up being a piece of the loin that had been wrapped around pieces of ginger and slowly grilled to perfection.

Had I been one of the ones preparing a section of the lamb I would have chosen the red miso marinade and added a ton of grated ginger and mint. I feel that this would have given the lamb a good kick in the ass and left a tingling sensation on the tongue. I was not chosen for this show-down, so alas we will have to wait for the next session where I'll ride in like a real Butch Cassidy.