Fire dwindling down
I am a fan of using leftovers. Many times they are better than the first go-around. Whenever I make pizza dough, if there are extra dough balls I pop them in the freezer for later use. Tonight I thawed 3 dough balls and gathered toppings from leftovers in the frig.
Onion bratwurst pizza
The first pizza topping was caramelized onions, marinated spring onions, grilled bratwurst, and goat cheese. Barb pronounced it worthy.
Pesto, turnip, cheddar pizza
Next up was a chance to use some leftover wood oven roasted turnips, which were placed on a dab of pesto, and topped with cheddar cheese and pine nuts. A less resounding endorsement from B.
Beaujolais Blanc from Jean-Paul Brun
About this time our neighbor Linda came over to return some travel books that we had loaned her. She tried a piece of the onion pizza and liked it. In the spirit of the evening we drank some leftover wines – both of which by coincidence were served at our daughter’s wedding 3 years ago.
Finally I had just a couple of ingredients left – some wood oven roasted golden beets and fresh mozzarella.
Golden beet and mozzarella pizza
The beets kind of look like pepperoni, so this would be a good substitute for vegetarian pizza lovers.
While we were in Paris last month, we stayed with my brother and his wife in their beautiful apartment in the 17th arr. They have a well equipped kitchen, a large dining table, and a very generous nature when it comes to entertaining. Barb and I got to prepare a couple of meals, and even invited our neighbors who happened to be in Paris at the same time.
Avenue President Wilson market
The first meal was mostly purchased at the Monoprix grocery next door since it was a holiday with few markets open. Later in the week we went to a favorite market, Avenue President Wilson market. I found some fresh duck legs at the Monoprix, so made a duck leg guazetto served over noodles. The asparagus looked especially good, so that was served on the side.
Asparagus
For a starter I made celery root remoulade with Bayonne ham, which was inspired by a dish I’ve had at Colbert restaurant in London a couple of times.
Celery root remoulade with Bayonne ham
The pears looked ripe, so I poached them in white wine and served them with créme frâiche.
Pears awaiting their wine bath
It was a magical evening, with family, friends, and good food.
On our recent trip to London and France we took advantage of bike shares in London and Paris, and also rented bikes for a ride in the Loire Valley.
Emily riding a "Boris Bike" in Hyde Park
A few years ago the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was instrumental in getting a bike share going in London. He rides his bike to work every day, so naturally the bikes were dubbed “Boris Bikes”. Biking in London is a little more nerve wracking than other cities since they drive on the wrong side of the road.
Blair tooling around the Louvre courtyard
We have long been fans of the Velibs in Paris. Paris was one of the first cities to offer bike shares, and they also have an extensive network of bike paths. One Sunday morning we rode to a little restaurant on the Ile St. Louis for a hearty breakfast.
Barb leading the pack through the Forest of Amboise
On our short trip to Amboise, we rented bikes and rode to Chateau Chenonceau, one of the prettiest in the Loire Valley with an interesting history.
Chateau Chenonceau
Looking forward to getting on the bike trails around St. Louis, now that summer is slowly creeping in from the cold.
We have had many wonderful meals at River Cafe in London, and on this trip I wanted our daughter and her husband to share the experience. Often a recommendation for a restaurant backfires, but not this time.
Open kitchen at River Cafe
We had a choice table near the wood fired oven and enjoyed watching the action. My starter was bagna cauda with asparagus, leeks, and chicory. Barb had bresaola with artichokes for the second time, and loved it again. Emily went for the mozzarella di bufala with tomatoes and spinach, and Steve H had the calamari with red chilli and arugula. In honor of the special occasion, we shared a bottle of Prosecco. My main course was the stinco di vitella, which is better than it sounds: veal shin slow roasted with herbs served with tomatoes and chard. Barb and Steve had tagliatelle con coniglia, pasta with rabbit. Em had linguini con fave, and her fava bean pesto was wonderful. With the main course we had a 2010 Refosco from the Friuli region of Italy. For dessert Barb and I shared the panna cotta with rhubarb, and the kids split the chocolate nemesis. I love the total dining experience at this restaurant – the food is top notch ingredients simply prepared, the service is friendly and professional, and the room is like the film set of a cool restaurant. Hope to get back again.
River Cafe
Yesterday the sun came out for a few hours, and we took advantage of the opportunity to eat outside at a nearby pub. The Phoenix is around the corner from our flat, and we had walked by it many times and wondered how it would be.
Clockwise, from top left: cream of mushroom soup, cheeseburger, prawns and chorizo, and pork belly salad
Good beer, good service, and excellent food. Although the weather has been dreary for most of the week, we are still having a fine time.
A few years ago we were in our last night in Paris after a short stay there, and Barb was craving some good steak frites. I made a reservation at a restaurant known for that, but we were thwarted by a bad case of stomach upset on Barb’s part. Ever since then we have tried to find a good place for steak frites without any success. Finally this week, we hit the jackpot.
Balthazar Restaurant, London
It seems ironic that we got such good steak frites at a London outpost of a New York City restaurant styled on a Parisian brasserie. Balthazar opened in London recently to much hype, and is so far living up to it. Barb’s flatiron steak with Béarnaise sauce and fries (that must have been cooked in duck fat they were so good) was worth waiting for.
Steak frites
When we dined at Balthazar with our friends Rob and Angela some time ago, I remember that Angela’s duck shepherd’s pie was the best thing at our table, so that’s what I ordered. It did not disappoint.
Mission accomplished.
Many of my clients are getting interested in Pinterest. They want to create content for the new media, and there have been some opportunities for me to provide that. I recently did a fun shoot for Naked Branding, whose client Orrington Farms had several recipes to photograph.
Grilled Rib-eyes
The Steak Seasoning was quite good on the steaks above. I need to get going on Pinterest myself.
Saturday evening we had our first wood fired oven dinner with a few friends.
Radicchio and carrots roasting
One of my favorite things to serve is a series of vegetables that are roasted in the oven, and served with olives, cheese, and bread. I tossed in a few radishes with the carrots, and served radishes three ways – roasted, sliced thinly on anchovy buttered baguettes, and lightly pickled. Pickling the radishes turned them pink all over, and they were really good.
Roasted radicchio
Roasted vegetables
After the roasted vegetables, we had an appetizer made by my friend Mark, chorizo over haloumi cheese, both of which were cooked in the wfo. It is something his friends in Australia make, and was really good. Finally, I made a few pizzas. One new topping was cherry tomatoes roasted in the oven. They were really good on the swiss chard, bacon, goat cheese pizza.
Cherry tomatoes from the oven, still steaming
I recently photographed some interiors and food for a new restaurant, Central Table. My friend Matt McGuire is the manager, and it promises to be a most unusual and exciting eatery. It is billed as a “food hall”, which includes a coffee shop, market, deli, raw bar, sushi bar, grill, and hearth. In the daytime, it operates as a casual dining/takeout, and in the evening the space converts to a fine dining restaurant.
Sushi bar with chef
It is a large space, near Barnes-Jewish hospital, so it should draw much traffic from the many people working there.
Steak Tartare
I spoke to the executive chef Nick Martinkovic, who was most recently at Roberta’s in New York City, and was impressed with his creativity. Not only do they use all the parts of the cow or pig, they feel free to sample from all cuisines.
Pizza Margherita
I also spoke to the pizzaiolo Giovanni, who grew up in Astoria Queens and learned to cook from his Italian immigrant Nonna. At least, cooking everything but pizza. He learned that at various pizza restaurants. The pizza we photographed and sampled was a great example of simple ingredients perfectly prepared.
They open officially May 6, so I intend to check it out.
We were recipients of the generosity of our friends this morel season.
Thursday's morel
Starting last Thursday, our neighbors gave us a large beautiful specimen that they had found in the neighborhood. I was grilling that night, so just slapped it on the grill and we ate it unadorned.
Friday afternoon's morels
The next day, Bill came over with a few more they had just found. That night I was making chicken breasts with a mushroom/wine sauce, so they went into that and were wonderful.
Friday evening's morels
While we were eating, my friends Patrick and Françoise came over with a beautiful basket full of morels they had harvested in Gasconade County. Since we were headed to Carmi that night for a visit to Barb’s parents, we took them along and I sautéed them and made scrambled eggs the next morning.
We are lucky to have such generous friends.
