Greetings from TMF'H

So last weekend, the LOML and I took a mini-vacation to the Tri-State Region. We haven’t been up to see my grandparents since their 50th Wedding Celebration (a little over two years ago) and really wanted to fly up to the Garden State for a visit. We had a FANTASTIC dinner at Reggiano’s Thursday night (I really want to recreate the prosciutto and fontina wrapped asparagus) and also went to my Aunt & Uncle’s Friday night for a cook-out with my cousins.

In addition to being two kind, generous, and loving people, Mimi & Op are both really hip and “with it” (Mim is an avid Facebooker (and Blog commenter!), and although Op can’t stand Conan or Dave, he thinks Craig Ferguson is pretty funny). Friday afternoon, Mimi took the LOML and me on a tour of NJ (Montclair, Glenn Ridge, Livingston, etc.) where we drove past my grandparents’ old homes, and also stopped at a Border’s (Mim said we could each pick out two items). I don’t care if you’re 7 or 27, it’s still exciting to pick out a toy (or book, rather) with your grandmother. I picked up When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris and A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

This was my first foray into David Sedaris, but I’m sure everyone else has been reading him for years (Did you know his sister was Amy Sedaris from Strangers with Candy??). I was walking through the store, contemplating my next choice, when I told the LOML I was thinking of getting this book, because I heard he was funny. One of the Border’s employees was like “OMG, he is hilarious, you have to get this book!” so I took the plunge and picked it up. He is known for his dry, self-depricating humour and reminds me a lot of Larry David. As a bonus, Mim also gave me her old copies of Barrel Fever, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Naked!!! (I told you she was “with it”)

Molly Wizenberg is the author of the popular Orangette food blog. I added her to my Google Reader last Fall, and although she’s taken a hiatus from blogging (as of 5/18/09), you should still poke around there for some good reading. I didn’t really know if this book was going to be a memoir or a cook book (it’s kind of both), but after the food blogging community was raving about it a few months ago, I thought I’d check it out. I read the first 4 or 5 recipes (each has a 2-3 page background story) and I’ll try and post some recipes here in the (near?) future. Also, if you’re (blog-stalkers) ever in Seattle, Molly and her husband are set to open a sweet pizza joint, Delancey, in the “late spring”??

Thanks again for everything, Mimi & Op!! We love you!!

Anybody Seen Michael Jordan??

Last night we went to a Birmingham Barons baseball game with our church small group. It was $.25 Hot Dog night, and the perfect example of “You get what you pay for” (I had three).

In addition to a rousing AA baseball game (the Barons lost 1-6), we also noticed a number of “old timers” in front of us scribbling down minor league stats in spiral notebooks. Having finished about 80% of Moneyball (I’ll finish it by July!) I assumed these sabermetrics were scouts (looking for the next Jeremy Brown???). Various members of the Baron’s staff came over throughout the game to discuss players, the MLB Draft (started last night), and one of the old guy’s sweet baseball card shirt!

There's a Magazine Called Sunset

Last night whilst the LOML was watching the Bachelorette (no, I was not paying attention), I was catching up on a magazine when it hit me . . . we subscribe to a TON of magazines!!

Runner's World

Real Simple

Cooking Light

Journal of Accountancy

Self

Inc.

Gourmet

Everyday Food

YOU'RE WELCOME, PRINT MEDIA INDUSTRY!!

I will point out that two of these were gift subscriptions, two were reward point subscriptions (expiring United sky miles), one comes free with membership in the AICPA, and one is a trial subscription that ends soon (?)

Anyways, just a boring nuance in the lives of TMF'H . . . thought I'd share since there's not too much else going on right now . . .

Sorry, Ladies

This weekend Handsome Rob is getting hitched. Tonight we'll be at Niffer's doing this:

The e-mail chain that started last week amongst his groomsmen has now topped over 400 (we are all very diligent employees). This weekend will be fun. I know a lot of ladies will be crying in their Pitu Saturday night . . .

On the Back Patio

Over the past couple years, most of the bushery (or shrubbery) in our back yard has gotten away from the LOML and I, leaving our flower beds dead and barren. We talked a few months ago about expanding the little patio area off our back deck (home of dead shrubbery), and this past weekend, we commenced the tackling of this DIY/HGTV/FLN/TLC project.

Our good buddy, Craiger, gave us a tip about Alabama Wholesale Stone Company, and we were able to pick up 3,200 POUNDS (that’s over a ton and a half!) of Blue Flagstone at a pretty reasonable price (at least I thought so). This picture doesn’t do it justice, but we were riding low (and dirty).

I also rented a 5 HP Tiller from Huffstutler’s Hardware to till out the area where we would lay the patio. This thing was a BEAST!! After tilling the Earth, JD came over and helped move 15 or so wheel barrow loads of dirt to the back of our yard. I kinda want a tiller now for my Birthday.

Most of the instructions I read online said you should lay an inch or so of sand before placing your flagstone. I picked up 8 bags of sand (.5 cu ft each) from Lowe’s which was not near enough. The Mrs. and I “sprinkled” what little sand we had, and then started to lay some of the stones to see how it looked (we came to the conclusion, that we really did need that extra sand). Here is what our patio looks like now:

Luckily, Cahaba Heights Hardware Store has a pretty good deal on bulk sand (wish I had known that early Saturday morning!), but it may be a week (or more) before we can finish this project. Don’t worry, we’ll have it ready for the 2nd annual 4th of July Bash. Here is what you missed last year!! (the slide that is)

Boom!!

and by "New" (REMIX)

Hehehe (awkward laughter)

I totally did not check out any cd’s from the library and burn them to my home computer . . . that would be illegal . . . don’t do it, kids!!

When it Comes to Getting Bread I Lost the Keys to the Bakery

Sadly, I am not a Bread Wizard (I don’t even think I’m a half-blood). Sunday was my 2nd attempt at bread baking, and, well, you’ll have to see for yourself . . .

Last year, the LOML and I came back from visiting the Bridgers in Chicago (where Stephen grew up) all psyched about baking bread from a Sourdough Starter. I did a bunch of research online and found multiple websites/instructions for making your own bread starter (obviously, I was too proud to get my starter from someone else). I “fed” my starter according to plans and after a week, tried to bake a loaf. I was pretty excited . . . except the bread didn’t rise and the finished product looked (and tasted) like a bagel brick . . .

A month ago, I looked up Mark Bittman’s recipe after JCCVI said I could impress my friends and become a Bread Wizard. This recipe sound good. I already pictured us getting a larger Le Creuset as obviously, this recipe seemed fail-proof, and we’d soon be baking artisanal bread semi-regularly and supplying Chris Hastings with our home-baked goods.

The recipe starts easy enough: Bread, Water, Salt, and Yeast. After combining, covering and leaving alone for 18 hours, the dough was dotted with bubbles. Sweet!! That meant the yeast worked!!

Next the receipt called for folding over the dough once or twice on a floured work surface and then covering with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. I’m not sure how you can fold over really runny dough, but I did my best. As you can see, the dough ran pretty flat, but I still had hope for our bread.

Since this recipe was supposed to fit in a 6-8 quart Le Creuset (and we were working with a 2 qt) I tried to divide the dough in half and let rise separately. After two hours, I saw no noticeable rise. Oh well, I pulled my dough from the cloth towel (WHY could this not have been something else?? parchment paper, plastic wrap, etc.), poured it in the pre-heated dish, and put it in the 450 degree oven.

I will say it had a good crust. I’ll give it that. But it was small. And it was dense. And it kind of tasted like a bagel. As you can see, there were some pockets of air in the bread, but still dense. Very dense.

What did I do wrong?

Will I try this again?

Will any blog-stalkers out there give me bread-baking tips?

** Unbeknownst to me, there is an on-line Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge that just started over at Pinch my Salt. While I don’t have the book, I’ll be following along and may (or probably not) try a loaf or two along the way????

TV ON THE RADIO

I can’t say I was that familiar with their music before the show (I burned a couple cd’s from Stephen and D, and saw them on SNL and the Colbert Report earlier this year), but TV on the Radio put on a ROCKING good time Wednesday night.* This band oozes New York City cool and makes you want to move to Brooklyn and participate in a literary collective or slow food co-op. Kyp Malone also makes you want to grow a very, very large beard.

Any blog post re: this show wouldn't be complete without mentioning the fact that TVOTR played before an intimate crowd of 300 at Bottletree (tickets sold out back in February) whereas they've been accustomed to playing shows to audiences of hundreds (thousands?) more! The sign on the door said no photography or video equipment allowed, so you’ll have to settle for this really blurry/crappy camera pict!

* If you’ve got an extra $.99 on an old iTunes gift card, go ahead and download "Staring at the Sun," last night’s closer!

Fried Oysters and Remoulade

So a few months ago I stumbled upon this post on Friday Oysters. The LOML and I always enjoy a good Fried Oyster appetizer if we’re at a “nice” (Little Savannah, etc.) restaurant, and since reading that post, I’ve been itching to fry up some ourselves (Note: we fried these up about 3 weeks ago)

First, I have to say that the Fish Monger at Whole Foods was very friendly/helpful when I went to buy these oysters, but he didn’t know about how many were in a Pint. I told him, they’d be for about 10 folks, and he said there were “probably a dozen (12) or two (24)” in a pint??? I think in the future, I’m going to double quantities if I’m not sure.

How much time do you need to finish up the audit?

Oh, probably 5 or 10 days.

But I digest. Being overly ambitious, I thought I’d make my own breadcrumbs from a loaf of French bread . . . except when we got back from Publix, I picked up a whole wheat loaf!! I threw in a little corn meal as well, and you could definitely see it in the batter, but I agree with C&L that breadcrumbs were a good choice (and the whole wheat tasted pretty good, too). The blending Wondra flour was worth the investment, and I’m looking forward to battering and frying something else in the near future (Mmmmmm, CFS). I had not heard of this kind of super-fine flour before, but I think it helped with the Crispiness.

To go along with these ambitious oyster appetizers, I also wanted to make my own remoulade. I couldn’t really find a recipe on the interweb I liked, so I winged it and threw this little beauty together. I would have loved to throw in some chopped capers, but didn’t have any in the fridge :( All in all, I thought it was pretty authentic and tasted good with the Oysters.

TMF’H Remoulade
1.25 C Mayo
.5 C Sour Cream
Lemon Juice (.5)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
.25 C Ketchup
10 shakes Tabasco/Texas Pete’s
Chives

Directions: Combine/Mix, Chill, Serve

We took these to our church’s Small Group as an appetizer and I thought they turned out well . . . BUT, our kitchen/house smelled like Captain D’s for a solid 36 hours afterwards!!!

I Will Possess Your Blog

Catching up on the ole blog (blah, blah, blah) . . .

Went to Death Cab for Cutie last Tuesday night. Scored a photo pass and took some close-up picts. Still waiting for Zooey Deschanel to confirm my Facebook friendship request . . . You know the drill . . . head over to BHAM.FM for more

PS – In case you were wondering what else I do besides cook, go to concerts, and take pictures of both, I’ve got two more shows to look forward to (this month):

Wednesday (5/13/09) – TV ON THE RADIO
Monday (5/18/09) – COLDLPAY (with the LOML)

Pork Barrel Spending

The LOML and I met our friends for drinks (don’t we sound so cosmopolitan?) Friday Night at the new Dram Whiskey Bar in Mountain Brook Village. The Menu/Drink list was pretty impressive (pricey, but impressive) and I ordered the Smokehouse (Bacon-infused Early Times, Honey, and a Bacon Garnish) . . .

Although I couldn’t taste any sweetness/honey, you could definitely detect a smokey bacon scent in the bourbon. Looks like someone in Mountain Brook has been watching Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives????

Check out Bhamsandwich for some other thoughts/photos on Dram/AVO.

The Avett Brothers Should Be Your New Favorite Band

The Avett Brothers were SWEET!!!

Go buy their records!! Go see them live!! Go to BHAM.FM to see some other picts and thoughts from the show!!

Déjà Risotto

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but Gourmet and Cooking Light both ran pretty similar recipes in this month’s issue(s): Lemon Risotto with Shrimp and Asparagus (though Cooking Light did put a Greek spin on it with Feta). Since we had some leftover Asparagus and Risotto, I thought it was a sign we should try it out.

I par-boiled the Asparagus first then shocked them in an ice water bath. Then I added chicken stock to the “asparagus water” to use as the base of the risotto. My shrimp also took a while longer to cook than the recipe said they would (I thought the residual heat from the risotto would cook them through in 3 minutes, but it took closer to 8 or 9).

I roasted some Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic as a side. We had a little herb planter on our deck last summer, and were really surprised when the Chives, Oregano and Rosemary started growing back a few weeks ago. So I thought I’d be a green, “slow food,” organic farming foodie and use our Oregano in these (I also put our Chives in the risotto). I roasted them at 450 for 25-30 minutes (shaking the pan every 10 minutes or so) and they were really good!

PS – just want to thank all the commenters out there! Not sure if taking the blog private for a few weeks hurt “my traffic”, but I’m glad y’all have stuck with me. To all your lurkers, don’t be afraid to come out of the shadows and post your thoughts, I already know who most of you are!

WILCO

I went to WILCO last night at Sloss Furnaces. It was AWESOME!!!

They played over 2 hours and really worked the crowd (they won a Grammy the last time they were in town, so I guess they're fans of the Magic City). AND Jeff Tweedy referred to the folks from UAT as "Tusca-losers"!!! In ya face, Saban!!!

I didn't take my camera, so you'll have to settle for this REALLY crappy phone pict. I'm glad I didn't because I found out after the fact that Sloss was turning away anyone with a SLR . . .

This was my 2nd time to see a show at Sloss, but I'm going back this Saturday for the Avett Brothers!!!

Welcome to City Wok, Would You like some City Beef?

How did I celebrate the end of Busy Season (and our office closing on Friday)??

Korean food at Seoul Restaurant with Grantham!!

AND

A trip to the “International Market” around the corner from our house!!

For lunch, Grant had Korean BBQ’ed beef and I ordered some other type of Korean stir-fryed beef. In keeping with true heterosexual, food-blogging tradition (No Homo!), we traded plates half-way through and also broke out our camera phones to capture the meal! Lunch also came with various pickled vegetable appetizers. I’ve never had kimchi, and even though it gets a bad rap (rep? wrap?), I thought it was pretty good.

From the looks of the outside, you’d expect sketchy cock fighting inside the International Market. I don’t know if I’d trust the “fresh produce”, but I’d go back the next time we’re making stir-fry. Here’s the aisle with every brand of Soy, Hosin, Fish, Sirachi, etc. sauce you’d ever need!!

Unfortunately, the folks at International Market don’t take credit cards, so be sure to bring Cash or Check the next time you need salted cuttle fish.

Baked Sausage Pasta Party

So, we had my mom and sister in town for Easter (two weekends ago), and made a “Baked Pasta with Spicy Tomato and Sausage Sauce.” It’s from a cookbook the Mrs. got a year or two ago called Seriously Simple (I think they sold it at Anthropologie?).

It’s a pretty simple recipe and starts off by browning some Italian Sausage in a Dutch oven (or trusty Le Creuset). The recipe said to keep on cookin’ with the rendered sausage fat (flavor!), but I went ahead and drained it. Looking back, I’m thinking this would have been tastier with the grease. I mean, if I was gonna eat an Italian Sausage on a bun, I wouldn’t drain it first, right?

After you brown the sausage, you basically add Onion, Garlic, Pesto and Marinara sauce and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Then you throw in baby spinach, cooked Penne/Rigatoni, and diced Mozzarella or Smoked Gouda cheese (next time I’d shred it). Have any of you (ones of readers) ever bought Smoked Gouda cheese?? It smells like Summer Sausage which is AWESOME!!

You top it with Parmigiano/Reggiano and throw it in the oven at 375 for 30 minutes or so. This recipe makes a ton of food, so we ended up freezing a smaller (loaf pan) portion for us later.

My CPA's got a Beard like a Billy Goat

Things I won’t Miss about Busy Season

Working until 10 pm

Required Saturdays

Spending more waking time with my office plant (it came back to life), than my wife

Tax checklists

Review notes (these are year-round, just multiplied during Busy Season)

Things I will Miss about Busy Season

Dippin’ Dots (unlimited in our office kitchen from March 30th until April 15th)

Thisiswhyyourefat.com

Iron Chef Results

Ten days later, and I’m finally posting the pictures and results from IRON CHEF BRIDGERS/LEE (errr, ARGYLE)! As mentioned earlier, the secret ingredient was Lamb. Stephen had a butcher in Sylacauga (Sylvest Farms?) process the various lamb cuts, as I’m sure our wives would never look at us or a helpless baby lamb again if we had to SLAUGHTER it ourselves.

There were three teams (Mark, Murray and Stephen) competing and each team was to prepare three different courses, with the assistance of their Sous Chef (David, Mary and myself).

First, I have to give props to Team Mark for coming out, guns a blazing with the Lamb Tartare. Very aggressive, and while I think this may get rave reviews at Highland’s, I think it was a little too haute cuisine for our group! Great presentation!

Team Murray (the Winner) was OUTSTANDING and some of the best food I’ve ever tasted! Of course, I am a sucker for (good) ethnic cuisine, and when they started adding ingredients (curry, ginger paste, coriander, mint, etc.) to their Moroccan/Indian-inspired dishes, I knew we’d be in trouble. Here is their Lamb Shish Kebab stuffed tomatoes. I could eat this for a week straight!

Our theme was “Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner” and we prepared:

Eggs Benedict with Lamb Sausage on Rosemary Biscuit with Pan Fried Apples. It was my first time using a meat grinder attachment on a Kitchen Aid, and I think I want one now. Side Note: I ordered Creole Shrimp Eggs Benedict for brunch yesterday, and noticed the yolk was not runny . . . a sure sign it had been prepared beforehand. Still tasty, just an observation!

Lamb BLT (Atkins friendly, no bread . . . no picture). We grilled Lamb Sirloin, and served with a sweet (as in cool, not sugary) Tomato Terrine Stephen made the night before, and Arugula and Pancetta. So I guess it should’ve been called a P.A.L.T.

Braised Lamb with Risotto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cracker. We weren’t (grammar?) sure how braising Lamb for only 90 minutes would turn out, but I think it was a hit (and surprisingly tender).

Here is everyone hearing the results. Stephen and I came in 2nd, but I think Team Mark should have at least earned a tie. Until next time . . .

A la cuisine!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

We've got less than one week til freedom (aka 4/16) !!!!!! I know, I know, you want to hear about Iron Chef, right??? I've got some picts to post (thanks, Kim!) but first I have to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE 21!!!!

Ok, I've got another M-1 calling my name, but here's a teaser pict of Steve-O and I, before we battled last Friday!

Wake up, Wake Up, Wake Up, It’s the First of tha Month

You know what I did when I woke up this morning (at 6 am)??

Poached 14 eggs for tonight’s IRON CHEF BRIDGERS/LEE!!!

That’s right; tonight I have the privilege and honour of serving as Sous Chef to Stephen “Big Dog” Bridgers as he takes on his In-laws (Father and Brother) in BATTLE LAMB!! Since we’re only allowed 2 hours to cook, prepping some of the ingredients in advance was allowed. After a quick skim through the Joy of Cooking, I found out you can poach eggs up to 24 hours in advance if you keep them in an ice water bath and gently reheat before serving (probably how most restaurants prepare all those Eggs Benedict for Sunday brunch).

I’ve never cooked with an Organic brown egg before and they kinda remind me of Jurassic Park . . .

Anyways, hopefully someone will be capturing the heat of the battle whilst we’re cooking tonight, and if so, I’ll post the results and pictures next week.

PS - Sorry you have to settle for crummy camera phone picts . . . Didn't have time to break out the DSLR this morning . . .