Fresh Tart

Over this past Date Weekend, great biking (a correctly tuned bike! I'm so into it!) with John and a couple of lovely meals out to boot. As I mentioned below, we kicked off a long weekend together last Thursday, in the uber-romantic bar at Cafe Lurcat (twinkly chandeliers everywhere, pic from their website). No frites this trip - moderation, natch - but when I head back next Thursday, with my minxes, we're all over the frites, oh yeah. Can't wait!

Then Sunday night, pre-Neil Diamond (we were invited by John's client Frank and his wife Christine, total blast, thank you), we had a fabulous dinner at Heartland - yes, the Heartland of our Bizarre Foods Minnesota adventure - in St. Paul. I love everything about Heartland, from Chef Lenny Russo to the Mission-style dining room to the genius wine list to the beautiful, fresh, locally-sourced food. I had two appetizers - the house-smoked bacon-pinto bean soup with tomato concassee and fresh summer herbs, followed by the fried zucchini blossoms with fava bean mousse filling, kohlrabi-dill slaw, and cucumber-walnut vinaigrette. I just...lurved them both, especially the squash blossoms, so crispy and salty, perfectly set off by the tangy slaw and vinaigrette. I kept saying, this is my kind of dish, oh yeah, I love this food, it's all about the contrast, this is so me...blah, blah, blah. John was too polite to not listen, but I realize (um, in retrospect) that I was perhaps a bit monotonous. What can I say? I completely enjoyed every bite, and yes, it was my kind of dish. (No pic, damn it, forgot my camera. Needless to say, pretty, pretty.)

This week I'm mining the riches of my LaFinca veggie share - salad greens, broccoli (to be stir-fried with sugar snap peas tomorrow night), kohlrabi (great sliced thin for dipping in yummy things like olive tapenade), strawberries (which I finished, en pint, after a long bike ride last Friday, OMG good), and kale, which I'll saute for lunch tomorrow for myself and my sis, Stacey. I'm pretty much obsessed with kale sauteed with garlic and finished with lots of salt and lemon or balsamic. Crave-worthy, even in the summer.

This Thursday night, a beefy din at Morton's with the Mack's and Zimmern's, coming right up (pedal, pedal, pedal). Friday, dinner here with the Lynch's (more pedaling or walking or something, Lord help my butt). Not sure how we're fitting in a little post-season baseball tourney as well, but you know, somehow it all works. Nathan's playing tennis, golf, basketball, and now baseball again for a few days, but it's summer in Minnesota, baby, we'll take whatever comes our way. How pretty has this weather been? Ah, these are the days to remember in the depths of winter, as rockin' as those fried squash blossoms filled with fava puree... Just beautiful (the pic is of lovely Maud arranging flowers in Sag Harbor, summer in a pic, as it were). Splash!

Moderate it: it's worth filling out restaurant meals with vegetables. Certainly no guarantee for low calories - restaurants use fat liberally to make veggies tasty, even the steamed, roasted, and grilled versions - but better than starch dishes (like, oh, frites, mashed potatoes, risotto, pasta, bread stuffings), which were practically invented to absorb an insane amount of oil and cream.

Andrew Zimmern wrote a great piece on his Chow & Again blog this week about one of my favorite chefs, Doug Flicker. I don't actually know him (Stacey used to work for him), but Doug used to run lovely Auriga (now closed, sniff) and the food I had there...it blew me away. His was the first truly creative, insanely fresh foodie-food I tasted in Minneapolis, and I will never forget it. Plus, Auriga is where I had my first (blind) date with John, so it forever has a special place in my heart. As much as I love on Lucia's, we'd go to Auriga for our pre-SATC movie date today if it were still there. The rave on AZ's blog is that Doug is leaving Mission American (his post-Auriga gig) - can't wait to see where he lands.

And oh, while I'm mentioning AZ, if you haven't seen Bizarre Foods - Russia yet, you should. We watched it last night and it is spectacular. The scenery is breathtaking (St. Petersburg, wow) and the food is gorgeous - I irritatingly fell asleep with my mouth watering and stomach growling (we watched at bedtime). The killer is a scene where Andrew is downing the freshest of the fresh Russian caviars, with warm blini (basically crepes), rich Russian sour cream, and hard-cooked egg... Lord, help me. I can't believe I didn't dream about caviar - although I'm thinking about it plenty this morning, obviously. Which is too bad, because there is none on the horizon (the pic, above, is from this past Christmas). Shucks.

OK! In other reality-based, non-caviar musings, check out this slideshow on the eight foods you should be eating every day. Not too difficult when you think about it - spinach salad with carrots... Quick black bean soup garnished with tomatoes... Yogurt with toasted oatmeal, walnuts, and blueberries... A little inspiration for healthy, colorful, delicious eating over the weekend. Enjoy yours!

Moderate it: you know the cool things about a diet that includes the eight foods above? It pretty much moderates itself. Thank you, vegetables...

Well, there it is, our Bizarre Foods debut behind us. Whew! I was very nervous watching last night (although not as nervous as I was on my way to film it, ack). I thought the food looked delicious (it was) and not overly bizarre, right? In fact, we lucked out hugely being invited for the lovely Heartland gig - how 'bout those burgers topped with big scoops of peanut butter and mayo? Man, give me brains poached in cream and pickled tongue over that any day.

We appeared much quieter than we actually were, although I laughed out loud - and all day - at John matter-of-factly saying he was happy to have eaten testicle. You can just imagine the comments he's gotten today, at basketball and at the office, funny. All in all, a very cool experience indeed.

Today, I continued with this Mexican food jones I've got going. After white chicken chili last night, I grilled pork tenderloin this evening, to eat wrapped in fresh, warm corn tortillas with "pickled" onions, avocado slices, and a crumble of feta (standing in for queso fresco). Sort of a quicker, lighter take on carnitas. And frankly, just as delicious. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Well, tonight's the big night, Bizarre Foods - Minnesota! I'm very curious to see how our meal at Heartland, with Andrew and our friend Aaron Mack, plays! Yeah, we ate various and sundry parts, but it was all so deliciously and attractively prepared that it was easy to dig in. Chef Lenny Russo certainly deserves the attention - he's a nice man, terrific chef, and has been preparing locally-sourced, best-quality ingredients for years. And Zim and Aaron are charming dinner guests, even off camera (ha). So here we go, wheeeee! Tune in and let me know what you think - Travel Channel 9 pm CST/10 pm EST. For Andrew's thoughts on the episode, check out his Bizzare Foods blog.

Pretty low-key on the food front since my return from San Fran. My usual post-trip, post-indulgence, de-puff plan - lots of hot tea and plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. That means no brains, tongue, or wild boar balls, just a simple souffle for dinner last night (a peek in the pre-grocery-shop fridge revealed a few eggs and a small piece of gruyere), to which I added plenty of tender-crisp broccoli and mushrooms (luckily in pretty good shape in the crisper; funny how John hadn't dug into them while I was away...). I'm also still enjoying the pot of navy beans I simmered yesterday - tonight I made a simple "white" chili with chicken to ladle over them. Spicy, with a hint of cream, nicely hit the spot on yes, another cold day in Minnesota.

Yeah, yeah, dullsville, sorry - but even Andrew has to come home from trips and just eat a salad once in awhile, you know?

Didn't even come close to posting again yesterday, ah well. Even an exhibitionist like me has to hole up for a bit! Not to mention, it's been a mite crazy around here these days, what with being away and having house guests and such. And Nathan and I are outta here again on Wednesday, this time to San Francisco, just the two of us. Way to over-schedule?! But what the heck, it's been a long winter, spring is coming, and we can't wait to fly the coop - yet again!

Speaking of Coop...my nephew Cooper's 2nd birthday party yesterday was hilarious. Cooperstar, in his bow-tie, preppy J. Crew pants, and red Chuck Taylors, completely stole the show. He was the calmest, chillest kid in a group of, well, utter wildness. Screaming, jumping, laughing, crying kids, all under the age of 5, having the time of their lives...as my sister Etta said, Teenage Birth Control, oh yeah. Great to watch Cooper Coolness handle it all with aplomb, have my family all in one spot, eat killer chocolate birthday cake with buttercream icing, and watch Coop's face while everyone sang Happy Birthday. Awwww, Cooper...priceless! And great job Mommy Stace and Daddy Bowen!

Speaking of cute, beyond-hip kids - check out this YouTube video of my friend Maud's nephews getting their first skateboards. (Their dad is having a pretty sweet time too...) Beautifully shot, it's the essence of "kid" and will leave you smiling. And wishing you lived in California, sigh.

So...Mexico! Playa del Carmen, at the Fairmont Mayakoba, absolutely spectacular. Michelle and I had smooth-like-buttah flights (she from NYC), arriving at the same time. Since this was a work award trip for her, we had cocktail parties to attend most nights, but they were lovely and fun. Beyond that, we were totally on our own. Of course we hit the guacamole and margaritasimmediamente - every bit as fabulous as I had anticipated, if not better, especially while over-looking white sand and the turquoise-blue Caribbean, ahhh. As we kept saying, This Does Not Suck!

Our first full day, Thursday, we actually motivated for an activity - riding ATVs! What a dorky BLAST. We rode through the jungle, and alongside the beach, with stops to explore a cave, dip our toes into a crystal clear, freshwater oasis-pond, and splash in the ocean a bit. It was a pretty physical experience - we bumped and jerked over rocks and roots, and through twisty-turny brush. I've never been on an ATV before and I've concluded it's not something I need to do every day, ha - they are hot, very loud, and scarily powerful. But for a one-day adventure, I loved it.

After that, we were all spa and beach, baby. Lunches beachside every day - to me, my very favorite part of the trip. We couldn't get enough of the tomatillo gazpacho, spicy shrimp cocktail, or crab tostadas, rarrr... In fact, the food and scenery on the resort were so excellent and varied that we hardly needed to leave! But we did venture into Playa del Carmen for dinner Friday night. Strolling the festive cobblestone downtown and enjoying an incredible Maya-cuisine meal at Yaxche were definitely highlights, lovely. We shared several plates including shrimp, turkey, vegetable, and black bean dishes, seasoned with achiote, epazote, banana leaves, and bitter orange, among other Mexican/Caribbean flavors. Beyond delicious (and filling)! Definitely check out the restaurant's website, they post simple, lovely recipes.

Saturday night, our last night, we had dinner on the resort, at the seaside Las Brisas. We opted for the tasting menu, paired with Mexican wines, and it was truly spectacular. Michelle and I giggled like school girls through pillowy goat cheese gnocchi in a pool of English pea cream, as well as bites of butter-tender braised short rib, served with adobo sauce, baby vegetables, and a teeny-tiny plantain gratin. With such beautiful food and gracious service, we felt like HRHs Michelle and Stephanie, Princesses of the Caribbean.

Just in time to head back to winter, sigh. Although I have to say, as usual, I'm really glad to be home. The heat + humidity + salty food + margaritas = Swollen Stephanie, seriously, I swelled up like a balloon. I've never experienced anything like it, even while pregnant! Ugh, it felt awful, awful. In my first two days home, I shed more than 10 pounds of water weight, despite entertaining and eating far afield of my usual diet. Turns out I'm not very well cut out for the Caribbean - I can't take the sun, heat, or humidity. But I had an amazing time anyhow, seeing color, smelling flowers and salty air, feeling warmth. It was just what I needed to cure my winter blues and take the edge off my inner-bitch. (Although, like Michelle, it's never too far away - we raised many toasts to the pleasures and benefits of being Occasional Bitches - cheers!) Ah, thank you so very, very much, my dear Mich!

And oh! Speaking of travel, one more YouTube video to check out, our friend Rudy Maxa waxing eloquent on his years of travel adventures and his recent work filming his new TV series, Rudy Maxa's World. (And check out how gorgeous and chic Ana is looking in St. Petersburg!)

And oh again! Speaking of friends and their TV series (I'm starting to feel like everyone we know has a TV series! Who's next, Suz?), John and I will be appearing on Andrew Zimmern'sBizarre Foods - Minnesota episode next Tuesday, March 25, 10 pm ET (9 pm CST). Filmed this past September, in part at Chef Lenny Russo's Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, we're pretty excited to see how it all turned out! Did John and I make nothing but the cutting room floor? You (and we!) will have to tune in to find out... If nothing else, it will be hilarious to see Zim hold court at the State Fair (with his adorable three-year-old son, Noah?!) and sample lutefisk "up north" (check out some preview photos, here).

Oops, I Did it Again! Somehow I accidentally slow-roasted another pork shoulder, this time an Italian version (think fennel seeds, tons of garlic, oregano, and thyme). Same technique as carnitas, same silky, porky result. Rarrrr, LOVE it. Nice to have sitting in the fridge over the weekend, ready to eat as is, or toss with a bit of rigatoni, or enjoy alongside creamy polentaaaaah, or stuff into a warm, soft roll, with thinly sliced onions and pickles, for a killer sandwich. None of those options suck and I'm glad to have them all. Yeah.

I met Susie Silpada Sales for a last-minute Friday Morning Coffee with Suz today (both Kim and I were busy on Tuesday, so Tuesday Morning Coffee with Kim & Suz had to wait for next week, boo). So fun! So necessary! Nothing like the elixir of girly chat (and Almond Joy candy bars - Suz brought Almond Joy candy bars! My very, very favorite, yay!) to wrap up a craaaaz-ow week. What to tell first? About Nathan's new school? Driving through a hailstorm? Eating delicious, strange animal parts, barefoot, in front of a television crew? Cooper's vomiting all over Stacey's car? My parents' new home? My accidental flashing of the Metal sign at a religious event?

And then, what to listen to first? About Suz's impending move? Her kids' new schools? Her new Susie Sales job? Her new kickass fur vest and totally Metal boots? It was too much, there's just too much going on. Life is wild right now, in a good way, guess we'll just have to get together again (hee, hee) - like on Monday to celebrate The Maven's 40th! Yes, that nauseatingly young beyotch is about to join the ranks of us cougars. Hope she can handle it... I'm cooking and haven't quite decided yet what I'm making. Stay tuned...

Holy Storm, Batman! Whoa, whoa, whoa. What a night! First, let me explain why I was foolishly driving around in what basically amounted to a pre-tornado. My Bizarre (Foods) friend Andrew Zimmern invited John and me, as well as our friends Aaron and Carol Mack (although only Aaron could make it), to join him this evening at Chef Lenny Russo's Heartland Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant to tape a segment for his Travel Channel series, Bizarre Foods. Zim's been taping all around Minnesota recently, landing at Heartland this evening, and I was (am!) so excited to be a part of his amazing show! (Won't air until April - but believe me, I'll be pushing the date when the time comes!)

Let me back up a bit. Not being an experienced TV personality (HA), I was a bit nervous about the whole thing (those of you who heard me horrifically giggle my way through a brief interview on Andrew's Chowhounds radio show a few years back will not be surprised). I watched the weather anxiously, not worried about whether it would hamper my ability to get over to St. Paul (which is what I should have been worrying about), but whether the foretold rain would cause my hair to frizz/over-curl. (Good to know I had/have my priorities straight, urgh...) But as the storm forecasts rolled in, I did start to worry about leaving Nathan home alone for even a minute, given how the weather could hold up his dad (who was picking him up) in traffic.

So, after much weather-monitoring, hair-fixing, and consultation, Nathan and I set out to meet his dad part-way between our house and his, to hopefully pare their travel time a bit, eliminate any time alone time for Nathan, and to put me on a less congested route over to St. Paul. We ended up sitting on Highway 100 near 394 witnessing one of the more spectacular - and truly scary - storms I have ever seen in my life. I was actually grateful that we were in parking-lot traffic...no pressure to try to drive in blinding lightning, rain, and hail. We watched black wall-clouds move in, and road-litter begin to swirl eerily around us (shiver), before the heavens broke open and wind rocked over us, gusting rain and hail over the cars like a car-commercial demonstration of aerodynamic engineering. Whoooooooooosh. It was more-than-slightly unreal. Eeek.

We finally made our way to meeting up with Nathan's dad, and when they were safely off, I turned toward St. Paul, already almost-late for our filming at Heartland. I wound my way through downtown Minneapolis, then across I-94 and into the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, all the while feeling my way through torrential downpours and flooded streets. I pulled up across from Heartland, scoped the street-turned-river, and realized I was going in barefoot, baby, no reason to put shoes into that current. So, handbag, camera, and shoes in hand, as well as umbrella overhead, I made a barefoot run for it. And heaved into the restaurant to find a camera waiting for me in the entryway, as well as John, Andrew, and Aaron already merrily eating, a delicious glass of crispy white wine at my place, and pats of Hope Creamerysweet- and snowy-white goat-butters, just calling my name (into which I immediately stuck my finger - oh, how I love Hope Creamery butter!). Ahhhh, and just like that, I was fine, happy, happy.

From there, all I can say is that I had an amazing meal. Wow. Andrew did his thing (very fun to watch), we all ate lots of bizarre (!), delicious tasties (tune into the show, in April, to see/hear the specifics), had our usual lively chat, I strangely didn't feel nervous at all, and it was an absolute blast. Chef Lenny Russo is a lovely and talented man, deeply committed to his mission of serving the best of locally sourced ingredients, beautifully prepared. And what a result, truly scrumptious. Quite a meal, my friends, unforgettable! What a crazy night! Whew! I'm glad to be home, pleasantly (but not overly) full, gratefully dry, and SAFE. Thanks to the Chef and his talented staff, and to his wife for the lovely wine...bon nuit!

Oy. Distant memories, these good times... I have been sick, my friends. The nausea started on Sunday and finally released me from its stomach roiling grip this morning. (I hope!) Thank goodness I felt well for my party on Saturday night! A snowstorm AND stomach flu would have been the complete kiss of death for that party, shiver. As it was, I had to miss Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods debut party last night - NO! I am loathe to miss a party, as you may have noticed, and John said it was awesome (great for AZ, sucky for me, ha). I guess the show outtakes, which are available on the Bizarre Foods site, are absolutely hilarious. Knowing Andrew, I believe it! I didn't dare watch the show, given the state of my stomach, so perhaps I can catch up tonight. Congratulations AZ!

Toasting bread is as much cooking as I'll be doing today, ugh. Stay well out there!