Best Beers of 08 - 2004 Cantillon Iris

I meant to make some notes on this beer when drinking it with my friend DS. Didn't happen. Just let it be know that this beer was pretty damn amazing. Sour, tart, complex. This bottling was finished with a cork, then a cap, in a 375 ml bottle. Totally worth tracking down. I got my bottle at John's Market. Clearly the image above (from the Brewery's site) has a different vintage than the bottle I consumed.

Feliz Navidad - Mole pt. 3

The day of reckoning. I've got a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it. Honestly, it wouldn't have gotten done without a lot of help from LP and DS. Many thanks...

First, blend up the chocolate, nut, seed, and bread mixture with a little turkey stock into one sauce. Then, blend the dried and fried chiles and a bit of stock into a second sauce.


Second, brown the turkey in lard.


Third, in reserved lard, warm, darken, and thicken chile sauce before adding chocolate mixture. Finally, add 5 cups stock, and simmer for about an hour.

Fourth, bake the turkey, covered in the finished sauce, in a roasting pan. Then, after baked, pull meat out of sauce, cool, remove skin and debone.


Finally, place the deboned turkey in serving dish, pour sauce over, sprinkle with sesame seeds, garnish with a little cilantro, and serve with rice and tortillas.


CC (from The Devouring Woman) and her father made a tortilla soup, and BC made a tres leches cake. We had Negro Modello and Tequilla Rickeys to drink.


All in all, a fantastic Christmas meal with good friends...

Goat Curry

Time again for EP, my quasi-monthly dinner group, to reconvene. This time, it was my turn to host, and spurred on by my insanely late 'discovery' of Lee Scratch Perry, I settled on a Jamaican theme. Inspired by a trip to Montego Bay years ago for Scoop's birthday, the dish of choice was curried goat.

Other dishes present: Jamaican beef patty with Sauce Chien (Caribbean spicy dipping sauce which, as you can guess, means dog sauce), accras with black eyed peas, mofongo, red beans and rice, and banana-bacon skewers in brown sugar with avocado ice cream. To drink, rum punch and Red Stripe. (As EP evenings wear on, and more alcohol is consumed, in this case the punch and beer, fewer and fewer photos are taken. For this reason, unfortunately, most dishes were not photographed.)

I'll spare you the boring details, and simply give you a peek at the day of cooking and evening of eating with this selection of photos.

Sunday Night/Monday Morning

Sunday Night

jerk chicken
coconut/allspice/cinnamon rice
sauteed garlic shoots
red stripe


Monday Morning

goat cheese omelete
(eggs, purple haze goat cheese,
scallions, fresh garlic, s&p)
nutella toast
coffee

Apotheke

Man, I like this place. Yeah, it's white. Yeah, it's very hip. Get over it.

Go in for some fine Belgian beer (they use correct glassware), cool and esoteric liqueurs, European estate made wines, and some killer food (I'm partial to the French fries that are fried in duck fat...). Also, cool ambient music from live DJs most nights of the week.

Upstairs from Andina in the Pearl.

Eating...

Here's a little recap of some of the more interesting things I ate last week...

Sat 5/5/07 - Le Pigeon (plus pre-meal drinks at Rocket)
with BC
a-Leek carbonara, in which leeks took the place of pasta
b-English pea risotto
c-Apricot bacon cornbread dessert
d-Bottle of Gruner Veltliner

Mon 5/7/07 - East Side Dining Club (hosted at Le Pigeon)
with BC, Y, and N
a-Grilled skewers, one with chorizo and banana, one with pork belly and watermelon
b-Ceviche with ancho popcorn
c-Venison "Tamales"
d-Black bean chilaquiles with a poached duck egg *
e-Grilled quail with mango, chiles, and prosciutto blanco (aka lardo)
f-Mexican drinking chocolate and housemade choco-tacos...
g-A couple of Spanish wines

Tue 5/8/07 - Rocket
with SS, GA, DJ, EK, and BC
a-Pork "Pocket Rocket"
b-Fries
c-Ginger pea shoots
d-Braised beef ribs
e-Some cherry dessert
f-Nut covered ice cream bar on a stick
g-Beer

Wed 5/9/07 - Clyde Common (opening night)
with BC and Y
a-Butter lettuce salad with rhubarb, aged balsamic, and parmesan
b-Asparagus with caul fat wrapped egg (poached)
c-Chitarra with nettles, walnuts, and pecorino
d-Whole roast fish with preserved lemon, olive sauce, and chickpeas
e-Charred hangar steak in harissa with grilled onion salad (mushrooms make an unannounced appearance)
f-a bottle of Gruner

Fri 5/11/07 - Pok Pok (plus post-meal drinks at Victory)
with CC
a-Khao man som tam
b-Khao soi kai
c-Mango and sticky rice with coconut milk
d-Cha manao

Honestly, a pretty serious week of eating.

* - Best thing I ate all week

Le Pigeon image nicked from http://www.ianlynam.com
Other images from the restaurants' web sites

Five

Thanks to Guilty Carnivore, you will now learn 5 things about me. Some loyal readers may know a few of these things, but even the most devout fans may learn a thing or two (or maybe not, who knows)...

#1 - j'aime la Nouvelle Vague
Yep, I like me some French new wave cinema. I tend to like all things French (wine, cheese, language, etc) and am an admitted Fracophile. While I've enjoyed Gallic gastronomy for years and years, my love of French cinema is somewhat new. At any moment, you'll find at least one French New Wave flick from Netflix at my house (hell, my queue is full of 'em). Right now, I'm getting ready for a little Melville double feature this weekend (Un Flic and Le Samourai). In the planning stages: a full screening of Eric Rohmer's six Moral Tales over the course of an entire weekend (I'm planning to show My Night at Maude's before The Collector, preserving the director's original plan for the films, not the order of their theatrical release). Enough already? That's what most of my friends say.

#2 - Music snob, guilty
I don't like mainstream music, mostyl because it's typically no good. But my bias goes deeper. I'm one of these people that can love a band for years and years in obscurity, and then, when they make it big, I'll turn my back on them. Like the opposite of a fair weather fan. Foul weather fan? I like to root for the underdog, I guess. I'm not saying I was ever a fan of Modest Mouse, but they'd make a fine example. If I had liked them back in the 90's (which I didn't), I would almost certainly despise them now. I mean, how many times was Float On on (insert popular radio station name here)?!? I am VERY frightful that the day will come when everyone figures out what really good music sounds like and The American Analog Set, Yo La Tengo, and Destroyer will go triple platinum. What will I listen to then?

#3 - Picky Eater
In the realm of food, I know what I like and what I don't like. Some may call this picky, I think of it as discerning. There are 2 things that I really don't like, mushrooms and seafood. People have pointed out that I can't possibly be as into food as I am and not like those two things. It's not like I'd flat out refuse, but given another option, I'll most always take it.

#4 - Food Snob
Contrary to what fact #3 may have led you to believe, I am more or less a complete food snob. I only like the best. Thank god Albina Press isn't too far from my house because I swear I'd drive across town for good coffee if I had to. I once dated a girl who lived near on MLK near the convention center. She had just moved to town. I went to great lengths to tell her about the fareless square and how Stumptown was just across the bridge, on the max line, and was the best coffee in town. She continued to go to Starbucks just down the street. Clearly that relationship didn't work out. My snobbery goes beyond coffee, though. Wine, cheese, cuts of meat, anything consumable, really. Does that make me a bad person?

#5 - My Past Life
Although I work in the wine field, I went to grad school for Forensic Anthropology. Took a lot of classes in skeletal biology, archaeology, forensic sciences and the like. I've worked with the FBI and local law enforcement teams on murder investigations in Montana, Florida, and Georgia. I spent a summer in Guatemala working a human rights forensic team uncovering, excavating, and anazlying mass graves. But now I sell wine. Sometimes I think I should be doing more for the public good.

So, I guess that's that. I'm throwing the challenge out to my pals lavendersoda at The City by mouth, CC at The Devouring Woman and Miss Tasty over at the cafe...

Bird Bottle Opener

I needed a new bottle opener. The one I'd been using was one of those 99 cent grocery store church key deals. It did the job, but wasn't anything to look at. I kept it atop the fridge for easy access. But, the cheap metal began to bend, and with every bottle I opened, it became more and more misshapen. Hell, the metal looked like it was about to snap in two.

So, when I ran across this beauty at Canoe, I knew I had to have it. My new bird opener wasn't inexpensive, but it looks damn good. This was designed be legendary Japanese iron artist Tadahiro Baba. The beauty if this lovely piece is that the beak opens tin tans (like pineapple juice or like product) while the back of the foot and the tail feathers work in concert to open bottles (like beer or the bottle of ginger beer for Moscow mules).

Here's the rough translation I was given at Canoe of the booklet that came with the opener...

Without speaking of "material," we cannot talk about "craft." Because, character of Iron and Copper have been decorated people's life with craftman's knowledge and skills. We could say that we need space for "crafts" in current society which had broaden and materialized lifestyle. However, "new relationship between human and things" must be created with harmony of design and material. In the past, we had almost lost wealth of our spiritual life to industrial society. We should not lose our humanity to civilization.

Pizza and Beer

Friday night. I'm exhausted. Long week at work. What I want is a little comfort. Pizza and beer pop into my head, and it seems so right.

On the way home, I swing into New Seasons to pick up some supplies. Lagunitas IPA, pizza crust dough, some fresh mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, a bulb of fennel, and a little Pastaworks marinara. Oh, and a cucumber for a little salad. It ends up being a pretty full bag of food.

So, once I get home and get the mail, I put on some music. My friend J.R. has recommended 2 bands for me to check out, The Hold Steady and The Walkmen. I like the Walkmen better, and put them on to cook to. To me, the sound a little like French Kicks, but good...

I preheat the oven, put the sausage in a pan to cook, and get to chopping. I'm tempted to pull out the mandolin to cut the fennel, but I still fear this tool after a mishap years ago that left me, at least temporarily, without a fingerprint on my right index finger... I end up with my big, trusty chef's knife instead. I don't get the fennel as thin as I'd like, but I think it'll be good enough.

Next, I slice up the two balls of mozz I have. I wonder if this is going to yield to much cheese, but it ends up being just right.

Finally, I knead and roll out the dough on my lightly floured counter. I pull out the oven rack (which is supporting the pizza stone) and assemble. Crust, light saucing, mozz all over, thinly sliced fennel, Italian sausage, salt, pepper, and oregano.

I put the whole thing back into the oven, and 15 min later, I have a tasty little pizza.

I've been debating buying a peel for making pizzas. Any one have experience with these at home? Is it worth it? I find that by dressing the pizza on the stone, the crust gets a little hard on the bottom before the top is crisp and the cheese in melted.

I eat the pie with a few beers and watch the excellent, riveting documentary Unknown White Male.

All in all, a nice evening.

Trip to LA - Part 1

So, little weekend trip to LA with M.

We leave Friday afternoon. Pick up sandwiches at New Season on the way to the airport. Running VERY late, and I begin to panic a little as we hit traffic and I-5 and I-84. We make it in time to inhale our sandwiches before boarding the plane. Apparently, a little mayo and mustard on a sandwich can still make it through security. I had roast beef and swiss on sour dough. M had turkey and swiss on sour dough.

We get into LA, and catch a cab to get M's mom's car. Then, over to Father's Office for a little snack. Nice beer selection. We get fries. They come in a cute little shopping cart. Here's a photo someone else took. These are sweet potato. We go the plain ones. Thinner and crisper, just the way I like 'em. Served with garlic herb aioli. These guys don't have ketchup (don't even ask), but you can apparently bring your own, if you are thinking ahead (and if the TSA would let you carry on tomato based liquids).

Somewhat satiated, we head to M's mom's place to unpack and relax a bit. Although we only made coffee and bagels in the kitchen, I've put a few photos here 'cause I like it so much (especially the labeling).

We pick up M's mom, and meet G at Le Petit Bistro. We get a 375 ml bottle of some tasty little 2001 Bordeaux. I start with celery soup while M gets endive salad with candied walnuts and hearts of palm. Salad was great, reports M. I wish the soup had more celery essence. As for the main course, we get a lot of [insert name of meat here] frites. I get what's listed as baby lamb chops and frites (aren't all lambs babies?). They are a little undercooked for my taste. M gets roasted chicken and frites, perfect. M's mom gets steak frites, again, for me a little underdone. G gets a Moroccan roasted halibut with harissa. All in all, good, but not exceptional. If nothing else, certainly filling and satisfying. I am tired and full, and nap a little on the way home.

Saturday AM, we have coffee and bagels. We brought Stumptown's Columbia La Virginia down to share, and onion bagels (from Vicente Foods) with Pulgra salted butter.

Lunch. Langer's Deli. Right across from MacArthur Park. This is the sandwich I'd been hearing about for months. Juicy hot pastrami (by their definition, "HOT PASTRAMI is a select cut of beef, sugar-cured and seasoned as corned beef, then slowly smoked for tenderness and tantalizing taste and flavor, then covered with choice and costly spices."). It's good, but it is still (in my opinion) just a sandwich. Pastrami, swiss, slaw, and Russian dressing on rye. M gets and egg cream (which has no egg and no cream, can someone please explain this to me?), and I get Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray (celery) soda. We also get a side of pickled tomatoes, crisp and vinegary. M is a little disappointed that the 'hot' pastrami is merely warm, not nearly hot enough to melt the swiss. We get a loaf of rye to take with us (it's sitting in my freezer right now).

I get a nice driving tour of the City of Angels. We make a brief stop into Amobea Music (I'm trying to track down Destroyer's "Theives," no dice here), buy some shoes, and the head to my pals Mike and Debbie's place.

I haven't seem Mike for a year and half, and I haven't seen Debbie for like 5 years. And, I'd never met their adorable son Ben. Ever. They know of a little Oaxacan place within walking distance. M and I are a little skeptical, as this place is in a strip mall. Boy were we wrong. The food was AMAZING!

To start, we get 3 kinds of tamales: tamal de mole (leaf wrapped tamale with chicken and black mole sauce), tamal de salsa (chicken with mint salsa, corn husk wrapped), and tamal de rajas (veggies and cheese, also cork husk wrapped).

Main courses include mole negro (chicken with black mole sauce made from 30+ spices, peppers, chocolate, and seeds), chilaquiles (tortillas in a tomato sauce with chicken and cheese), enfrijoladas con tazajo (same as chilaquiles, except with a black bean sauce in place of the tomato sauce), and ceviche (which is quite spicy). Ben gets a grilled cheese and chicken quesadilla.

I wish I had gotten photos of the food, the place, anything. I can't seem to track down any images save the generic pic of mole on citysearch. If you are in LA, you should check this place out.

And that ends days one and two of my LA adventure. Part 2 of the report (days three and four) should appear here soon...