Fresh Tart

Do you know ramen? The "real" ramen, as in the national comfort food dish of Japan, made with fresh noodles, rich broth, and any number of savory toppings?

If the only ramen you know is from your dorm room, then get thee to Eat Ramen Help Japan this coming Thursday at CREATE Catering in Minneapolis! Crazy as it sounds, the idea for the event was born at the Twitter networking event pictured above, a group of us Twitterviewed by Joel Carlson. The meet-up was in February, before the March earthquake and resulting tsunami, but the ramen discussion that day was serious enough to plant the seed that grew into the idea for a Ramen-Off to help feed victims of the disaster.

Yay Twitter, right? Big yay for Kenji Okumura, Stephanie March, and Aaron Ackerman who are working like crazy on this event.

Masu Sushi & Robata, Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Meritage, CREATE Catering, moto-i, and Minnesota Food Blogger Noah Miwa will provide their own signature ramen dishes for you to try, and Jason DeRusha, Andrew Zimmern, Brian "BT" Turner, and Dena Alspach to judge. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time or for cash at the door. Cost is $10 for entrance, which guarantees one bowl of ramen. Additional bowls may be purchased for cash at the event.

Eat ramen! Help Japan! Listen to DJ Nak music. Sing Norae Shanty Karaoke. Drink local Fulton & Summit beer. I hope to see you there!

Recipe for quick, fresh-noodle Tantan Ramen, by Kenji Okumura, at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Thank you. One of my New Year's resolutions was to write more thank you notes, and since this is where I most often write, here's a quick thank you note for reading my blog and passing it along to others. I owe John and Stu the Wine Genius promoter's fees, truly. Stu's forwarded my blog to half the serious Bordeaux wine drinkers in the Twin Cities and beyond - way better than I deserve! He also sent it to Philip Dorwart, which garnered the surprise mention on Cities 97 last Thursday, too cool for school. And you may have noticed comments from "Whatsername" in a few of my posts, which if you follow her linked name, you'll discover she's the anonymous author of a Twin Cities Business magazine blog called Company Time. Why anonymous? Because she writes the nitty gritty - and sometimes girlie! - details about life in corporate Minneapolis. It's a riot, insightful and gossipy and smart. And she loves to eat and cook! Wish I knew who the heck she is, I'd like her in a flash, I can tell! But for now, we'll just know each other online, and that's pretty sweet too. Who knew the internet would be this fun? Crazow.

And for everyone else, thanks for reading, man. Keep cooking, and eating, and telling me about it, and I'll do the same. Cheers!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Nothin' like a little love on VD, we all need some love, right? If you're cooking up love for your honey, which I most often do (although not tonight; more on that, below), it's hard to beat the, uh, aphrodisiac perfume of truffles, even in something as simple as Chicken Soup with Bacon, Asparagus & Truffle Oil (add warm, crusty bread for a fully sensual experience, crunch). Or, it never hurts to bring on a little heat, baby, perhaps in the form of Pasta with Tuna Sauce. And for dessert, chocolate but of course, even something as basic as Killer Chocolate Sauce served warm and melty over really good ice cream. Lick the bowl. Rarrr!

My love already arrived, and not in the form of chocolate (perhaps later), jewelry (not later, I'm quite sure, oh well), a card (certainly later) or flowers (hopefully later?), but in...an email from Baseball Mom Beth.

Huh?

Well, Beth just happened to be listening to Cities 97 this morning, and just happened to catch a segment with "Chef Philip," and Chef Philip just happens to be none other than Philip Dorwart of Create Catering, where we just happened to have our amazing dinner last Friday night... So? Well, after I wrote about our dinner, Stu the Wine Genius sent Philip the link to my blog (thanks man!), and Philip scoped it out (eek! nice!), and in turn gave Ye Old Moderate Epicurean some sweet raves this morning as he chatted about food and dining blogs - and naked sushi! - with hosts Lee Valsvik and and BT. You can listen here, if you're so inclined (the "2/14 Chef Philip" segment).

So gosh, thanks to My Super Surprise Valentines - Beth, Stu, and Philip!

How do I top that VD thrill? Well, I probably don't (sorry John!), although I'm gonna give it the old college try when we whisk off for love=food in the bar at Cafe Lurcat. It's abso-friggin-lutely (to paraphrase Mr. Big from Sex and the City) a pommes frites and vino night for me, my friends. Chocolate to finish (just like you)! Hopefully completely immoderate. (Back with moderation over the weekend, don't worry...) Oh. Yeah.

Wow, uh, wow! That about sums up dinner last night, just... Wow. Stu the Wine Genius arranged a Chateauneuf du Pape wine tasting and dinner at Create Catering, owned by Philip Dorwart and his lovely wife Desiree. What. A. Blast. Create owns a cool-as-hell space in NE Minneapolis, perfect for our table of 12 (Rudy Maxa& Ana Scofield; Stu & Debbie Williams; Joe & Genie Dixon; Karl & Annamarie Rigelman; Louis & Susan Ainsworth), but great for larger parties as well. The space has a spotless, wide-open kitchen so you can chat with and watch Philip and Desiree do their beautiful thing, turning out course after course of perfectly-plated tasties.

As we stood around chatting and sipping bubbly, we scarfed down bite-sized wedges of crispy, paper-thin flatbread topped lightly with sausage, fennel, and just a smidge of salty cheese. I actually heard everyone crunching into them before I realized what deliciousness was going down behind me (too busy talking, shocker, yep). John went wild on the clever little one-bite smoked salmon BLT skewers - ah, my Johnny and appetizers. He always forgets how much goodness is yet to come...

Like our first course of butter-tender duck confit, plated with a fluff of microgreens, alongside a few pieces of creamy blue cheese and fresh fig. Tender/crisp, salty/sweet, all the good stuff, mmm. Few slices of crusty bread and tangy butter sprinkled with coarse salt (right up my alley - salty, tangy butter, woo hoo!). And then on to course two, a warm caramelized onion and bacon tartlet, drizzled with a syrupy wine reduction and just a splash of white truffle oil for perfume, lovely. More crusty bread, more salty, tangy butter. Certainly more Chateauneuf du Pape!

Then our main course, grilled lamb chops alongside soft pillows of homemade gnocchi, garnished with pretty little cubes of fresh-mint jellee, fun touch, so pretty on the plate. And oh yeah, a deliciously cool foil for the sizzling chops.

And then the end (aw shucks, I always hate the end) - a cherry clafoutis, served warm and eggy and tart-sweet, topped with a scoop of melty, spicy ice cream. Desiree commented to Annamarie - one of the top pastry chefs in Minnesota or anywhere, for that matter - that it was mighty intimidating to be making dessert for her. But it was lovely, a perfect finish.

Man, what a dinner! We all dug it hugely - the funky, pretty space, the fantastic wines, chatting with Philip and Desiree and watching them do their thing, and of course, the festive meal itself.

So guys, when are we doing it again????

Not tonight, ha, but that's OK. More tasties - of a much lower key sort - in order this evening when we and Stacey head to our friend Kathleen Day-Coen's exhibit at the Flanders Gallery. I'm thinking a little swoop into El Meson for quick empanadas, either on our way in or out of the exhibit. Yeah, a spicy meat-pie should do me, on this once-again (sigh) insanely cold, blustery day!

Enjoy yours!