I Did Not Fall Down a Well....

...but I did go dry.

As in, I stopped drinking. BUT WAIT...before you call 911, I started again.  Drinking--- so it's all good.

But for two weeks-OK, 13 days- I stopped drinking, eating sugar and bread. Yeah, I know, it was as miserable as it sounds. But, I did it to lose a few holiday pounds and to prove I could do it. So I did it. Big whoop. How much fun is to write about drinking water and eating eggs and Canadian bacon and low-fat Swiss cheese? No fun- and that's why this blog has been dark since the World's Best Sandwich. (Which is posted twice by mistake..or is it?)

Anyway, it just so happened that the last day of my purge, was my birthday and we had friends and family over and I cooked and we ate and we drank- oh THANK GAWD!

It was a beautiful day and I dove headfirst into entertaining. I whipped up a giant bowl of Cali-Mex guacamole, and a fantastic dip made from Plum-Rosemary jam Ms. Lydia sent me for Christmas poured over cream cheese- oh yummy

I served a spicy and hot albondigas soup I made early in the morning, Salad Nicoise with grilled tuna which I  Tossed on the B-B-Q, Dutch Boeter Koek (that's butter cake if you can't figure it out) some other stuff and, well, lots and lots of wine.

After dinner we headed to town where they celebrate my birth every year with something called Fire & Ice- wine walks, ice sculpturing, a parade- ha- and fireworks- lots and lots of fireworks. Which is how every one's birthday should be celebrated, don't you think?

“I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating, and in fourteen days I lost two weeks” Joe E. Lewis

 

Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball)

Ingredients

Servings: 8

Meatballs

• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb chorizo sausage, casing removed (not the fully cooked kind)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 carrot, minced
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaf, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Albondigas Soup

• 6 cups chicken broth 
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 3 stalks celery, cut in chunks
•   2(16 ounce) can diced tomatoes-Ro-Tel is the best
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• salt
• pepper 
•  
•  

Directions:

1. 1 Make the meatballs first: Combine everything and mix thoroughly.
2. 2 Form meatballs and roll between your palms (Otherwise, meatballs will fall apart in the soup).
3. 3 You should make around 20 to 24 meatballs, set aside.
4. 4 Combine chicken broth, onion, celery, tomatoes and their liquid, cumin, oregano and cilantro leaves in a large pot.
5. 5 Bring to broil, and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. 6 Drop meatballs in the soup (Make sure the soup is slightly boiling, the meatballs need to be cooked quickly).
7. 7 Return to simmer and cook another 10 minutes.
8. 8 Add zucchini and cook 10 minutes.
9. 9 Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
10. 10 Serve with cooked rice, or just by itself.

The World's Greatest Sandwich. Not Kidding!

Did you see the movie, “Spanglish” back in 2004 about a chef, his crazy rich family and the hot nanny that comes to live with them? 

It was a good film, but you know what the best part of the movie was? The sandwich. That’s right. A sandwich. 

Here’s the scene. Adam Sandler- the chef- has had a hard day at work. He comes home to a quiet house and builds this beautiful egg sandwich. When he cuts it in half the yolk oozes out of the middles and oh my… (but he’s interrupted by the pissed-off nanny, and doesn’t get to eat the damn thing. Or does he? Like I can remember anything that long ago.)

Moving on.

So, I thought New Year’s Day deserved to come into my kitchen in an impressive way. So I did the ‘Google’, and found the recipe- Oh, Happy New Year, baby!

I whipped up a batch of my infamous Champagne Passion cocktails and re-created this glorious sandwich. The Husband actually momentarily walked away from the football to partake in a sandwich that he had been dreaming about since 2004.

2011 is going to be a great year if this sandwich is any indication!

“I quit drinking weeks ago! No one noticed, but I guess that's a pretty good indicator that I conducted myself quite well when I was drunk. But this isn't about me right now.” Quote from the movie, “Spanglish.

World's Greatest Sandwich- created by famed chef, Thomas Keller
3-4 slices of bacon
2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
2 slices of toasted rustic country loaf (pain de campagne)
1 tbsp of mayo
4 tomato slices
2 leaves of butter lettuce
1 teaspoon butter
1 egg
Preparation:
1. Cook the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels
2. Place slices of cheese on one side of toasted bread. Place in toaster oven or under broiler to melt.
3. Spread mayo on other slice of bread top with bacon, sliced tomato, and lettuce
4. On non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Fry egg, turning over briefly when the bottom is set (keep yolk runny)
5. Slide finished egg on top of lettuce, top with other slice of bread (cheese-side down genius)
6. Place sandwich on plate and slice in half, letting yolk run down sandwich

Champagne Passion Cocktail

2 bottles of Brut champagne (no need for the expensive stuff!)

¼ cup of vodka

¼ cup of Triple Sec

¼ cup of orange juice

Dash of orange flower water. (Note- they have stopped making this ingredient so if you don’t have any you can make it.* The recipe really needs it, but if you’re too lazy I understand. Sigh.)

Pour into a large pitcher. Lock the doors and start sipping.

Orange Flower Water-

Time Required: 1 hour preparation, plus several weeks steeping time

Here's How:

1. Use flowers that have not been sprayed with herbicides, pesticides, or insecticides.
2. Flowers should not be hybrid varieties as the smell and essence may have been bred out of them in favor of "showiness."
3. Pick blossoms early in the morning before the sun gets too hot, about 2 to 3 hours after sunrise.
4. Wash the blossoms and petals in cool water and rinse thoroughly to remove insects and dirt.
5. Macerate petals using a stone or porcelain mortar and pestle and let sit for several hours.
6. Place petals in a large glass jar with lid and cover with distilled water. Less is more. You can always add more later.
7. Let stand in the full sun for a couple of weeks. Check the scent. If it is too weak leave it in the sun for another week.
8. Strain the blossom water into several smaller sterilized jars with lids.
9. Store in a cool dark location such as the refrigerator.

What You Need:

• Orange flower petals, preferably from Seville orange trees
• Distilled water
• Bowl, strainer and fresh water for washing the petals
• Stone or porcelain mortar and pestle
• Large glass jar with lid
• Small sterilized glass jars for storing the orange flower water

Then again, this really is a pain-in-the-ass, so you can leave it out. Just drink it already!

Bonne Année et Bonne Santé

The last time we were in Paris- about five years ago dammit- we went to Relais de l'Entrecote, on Rue Marbeuf. We waited outside for the doors to open along with a handful of other Americans and quite a few French. This huge restaurant pretty much only serves steak frites (steak and fries people, it's not Greek you know.) and they kept bringing the meat and fries out on huge platters to our table. Servers dressed smartly in black marched the food out of the kitchen like the French military. I remember that it was all- you- can- eat ( but nothing like the Golden Corral-ugh)  or they kept bringing more than one portion as we ate. Whatever, we ate a lot of steak and fries!

Anyway, they also served a mean-ass cocktail. We had been drinking wine in Provence for two weeks so were hankering for a shot of booze-booze. Be careful what you wish for- which brings me to New Year’s Eve.

This is our 35^th New Year’s Eve together and I somehow thought it would be boring- WRONG! We laughed, we danced, and we played a hilarious game of Scrabble (someone cheated as usual.) I whipped out my frying pans, put on the same outfit I wore in the kitchen of our pied-a-tier in Paris and created a fantastic (that’s a French word)  meal consisting of steak au poivre, pommes frites, a Caesar salad and crème brûlée. 

We poured wine and booze-booze.  We danced some more, we put on silly hats and laughed until we passed out. When we woke up- it was 2011. We’re still laughing.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. Virginia Woolf

Steak au Poivre

Ingredients

    * 2 whole Beef Fillets- fat trimmed.

    * 2 Tablespoons Butter

    * Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

    * 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

    * ¼ cups Brandy or Cognac

    * ½ cups Heavy Cream

    * 1 Tablespoon Good Peppercorns, Crushed

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter in a medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, brown steaks on both sides, about 45 seconds per side. Place skillet into the hot oven for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and remove steaks to a separate plate.

Return pan to stovetop over low heat. Add Dijon and booze, then whisk together. Add heavy cream and crushed peppercorns, whisking to combine. Allow to bubble for about 45 seconds, then remove from heat. Spoon sauce over steaks and swoon.