A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

The obsession to recreate the perfect gorgonzola stuffed date has led to a new obsession:

Find as many creative and delicious uses for a 700ml bottle of Kalvert Rose Sirop I purchased from the Indian market down the street last Weds.

I was on the hunt for rose water for the simple syrup in my date recipe (phase II), but they only had cosmetic use rose water.

The suggested use for "NON ALCOHOLIC SWEETENED BEVERAGES" : mix 1 part sirop to 4 parts "chill milk, water or soda"

But why not alcoholic beverages? Vodka rose tonic anyone? With lime?

As a glaze for savory foods? And, might I add, it made a delightful addition to the simple syrup for the dates in place of the rose water! Any other ideas? I have the rose sirop, let's try 'em all!

Thanks for the Date, I had a Lovely Time

It was at a friend's B-day dinner at a fancy restaurant several years back that I became aware of the deliciousness which is the bacon wrapped gorgonzola stuffed date. The perfect combination of salty, savory and sweet. They melted in my mouth. It was love at first taste. I vowed to someday recreate this recipe.

Two things have gotten in the way of realizing said vow:

1. I am lazy

2. I went vegetarian over a year ago. This pretty much puts a damper on bacon wrapped anything (sob- Leslie's prosciutto wrapped asparagus)

But I finally did it. I was invited to a potluck, and realized, "Oh shit. That means I have to cook something). So I decided to compromise and create veggie and non veggie version (I was vastly outnumbered).

I searched the interwebs and found the two most cohesive, legible recipes I could. This one appeared painfully easy, but used paprika as the one and only spice, and I wasn't much into that.

The other seemed a bit fancier, and involved making the gorgonzola into a paste by processing it with almonds, whiched sounded like a fantastic idea. The problem? It involved making a glaze out of reduced sugar & rose water. a) rosewater required specialty store shopping, which I didn't have time for. b) a sugar syrup seemed superfluous as the dates are already so sweet.

Naturally, I combined the two recipes, and experimented with my best judgement.

I used slightly more cheese in the gorgonzola to almond ratio than the grouprecipies.com recipe, and the powdered sugar to taste. And of course, no syrup.

don't forget to use toothpicks to secure your proscioutto/fakin' bacon. This is really mostly important for the veggie bacon, as it doesn't want to stay wrapped. The prosciutto could get away with going pickless.

Also, I ended up cooking the veggie bacon and proscioutto wrapped dates at about 400/425 degrees, for almost 10 minutes (I checked them at 5 and 8 minutes and the cheese wasn't melty, the dates were not bubbly and the bacon did not look crispy)

The result of this experiment in taste?

The veggie bacon needs more cook time than the proscioutto, which ended up a little overcooked, but still plenty edible.

Veggie bacon isn't really known for it's ability to crisp.

I swallow my know-it-all-ness. The syrup was probably more for helping the morsels stick together, and adding moisture. I think in the long run, that's what they needed more of.

But overall, the date experiment was a success. I made instant friends with people and didn't make it across the room without loosing several off the tray to some hungry folks.

Tomorrow: Date experiment #2

I will implement the sauce this time, and make the necessary time adjustments. Also, I will use slivers of tofurky slices in place of the veggie bacon, which had the disturbingly artificial coloring and resembled play-doh food just a bit. Also, I think it will be more similar in thinness to the proscioutto.

Stay tuned, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

image pirated, erm, I mean... borrowed... appropriated! from: http://www.epicurean.com/featured/crispy-bacon-wrapped-stuffed-dates-recipe.html

Update: Experiment part 2!
The second batch of dates were more successful than the first! I avoided overcooking the proscioutto , and the syrup made the bites more succulent, the slightest hint of rose was lovely.

I asked my new culinary guinea pigs, erm, friends, for some honest feedback, and It was agreed that the fake meat was not necessary for the veggie option, as it added in texture, but not so much to the flavor. Not a bad idea at all.

The Road to Domesticity

I personally love cooking for my friends and roomie Viv, but it was pretty nice having her cook me breakfast for the first time. Viv wanted to start learning how to cook, so I challenged her and Chase to cook me a poached egg. With the help of Martha Stewart and my oversight, we ended up enjoying a brilliant breakfast of poached eggs on a bed of tomatoes and spinach. I must say, Viv's poached egg was beautifully executed.

VIV LOOKING COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN
SECRET IN KEEPING THE EGG'S SHAPE IS CONSTANTLY STIRRING THE WATER
ONCED POACHED, PLACE THE EGG ON A PAPER TOWEL TO SOAK UP THE WATER
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
CHASE'S POACHED EGG

Culinary Crush

Chef Ludovic (Ludo) Lefebvre
Age: 38
Status: Married (to an attorney/playboy)
Career: Rebel French chef

My first bangs of affection for Ludo occurred while watching Iron Chef. What can I say, I"m a sucker for the French and even more so for tattoos. Although he can be rude and cocky, as seen in his two failed attempts at becoming a Top Chef Master, he is remarkably charming in person. But his charm wouldn't affect me this much if it wasn't for his amazing cuisine. When I missed him at Breadbar, I was determined to experience his culinary craft the next time at Royal/T. His fusion of french and asian flavors was one of the most amazing things I've tasted. From the foie gras beignet to the udon soup, everything was delicious. But Ludo out did himself at Gram & Papas for Ludobites 4.0. Here, the cuisine was more french. The tartine with lavender honey and lard made me a fan of lavender, something I though made things taste like lotion. My favorite plates were the foie gras "pina colada", the lamb with artichokes, and the dark chocolate souffle. If I had more money, I would have ordered the entire menu. But I digress...

NIGHT 1:
SNAPPER CEVICHE, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, JALAPENOS, RED ONIONS, MEYER LEMON PASTE, OLIVE OIL

RACK OF LAMB, FRESH GOAT CHEESE, SMOKED EEL, ARTICHOKES, MINT
STEAK AU POIVRE, SHALLOTS, POLENTA BONE MARROW, ROASTED EGGPLANT PUREE
POTATO MOUSSELINE


DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE


MACARONS, ORGANIC STRAWBERRY & CHANTILLY



During my second visit, Ludo caught my eye and gave me a playful wink! I'm sure this small act is common for all his groupies, but I still believe I was a little more special than the others. I know, I know, self-delusion. My night's apex shifted towards the end of my meal when Ludo approached me and Viv --asking if we had a good time and reassuring us that he'll win Top Chef Masters one day. I seriously got goosebumps when he gave us a hug and posed for our pictures. Check it out.

NIGHT 2:
WILD STRIPED BASS, FRESH SANSHO PEPPER, FRESH PEAS, LETTUCE, SPRING ONIONS, YUZU
SCALLOP, SPINACH, YOGURT-CURRY, SPRING GARLIC, VIOLET FLOWERS
SANTA BARBARA PRAWNS, AVOCADO, COCKTAIL SAUCE

See how wonderful he is at the next LudoBites.

http://www.ludolefebvre.com

First post of 2010!

If this page took a shower, this is what it would sing: http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=thedinetteset.blogspot.com

When simple ain't easy

Wikipedia - Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which he subsequently extended to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is predetermined in order of importance. It is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose. Deficiency needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy growth needs drives personal growth. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

Reading Leslie's post the other day, my mind became fixated on the concept it raised and launched into this tangent that's affected me for the past 48 hours. I started thinking about "simplicity" and its utopian promise of halcyon days... The thought of it all made me anxious -- the notion that once you are able to reduce something to basic numbers or equations or any systematized routine you will have achieved some finite degree of self-actualization and greater emotional intelligence. I do believe in the restorative power of simplicity, but surrendering oneself to the simple life entirely? What would that be like? If simplicity was the means to our end, surely we'd be bored out of our minds, less interesting, and less in touch with ourselves and our surroundings.

I dug up my last moleskine notebook and started flipping through all the quotations and aphorisms that I'd collected mostly from books and movies for the last couple of years. I got into collecting various quotations and aphorisms, hoping that each one might allow me to better understand and organize the world around me and be more aware of my own potentiality within it. The running list I've collected ping pongs back and forth between skepticism and faith. A recent line: "...but the universe is indifferent..." was uttered by the character Don Draper of Mad Men :). Take that line and it could all be so simple. It would allow one to both accept and reject everything at the same time. It could free one to do or believe as one pleases if one accepts [that]:

"The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random among the profusion of the earth and the galaxies, but that in this prison we can fashion images sufficiently powerful enough to deny our nothingness." - Andre Malraux

Life as one big boardgame. Dada life.

But every time I find myself peering over the edge of the existential black hole of nihilism, that instinct for life rises and I once again am inspired to continue exploring the "Practice of Everyday Life" (a positive nihilism?). I'm fascinated by what people are doing, everything that's happening, connections, interactions. I hate missing out. I become obsessed with understanding our modern folklore.

I remember that simplicity does not equal simple-mindedness, rather, it is what we seek as the reward for our persistence and undying curiosity. I guess a little anxiety isn't so bad after all.

A fitting quote that sums it up comes from one of the most famous (positive) nihilists out there:

"To those human beings in whom I have a stake, I wish suffering, being forsaken, sickness, maltreatment, humiliation--I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, and the misery of the vanquished: I have no pity for them because I wish them the only thing that can prove today whether one is worth anything or not--that one endures." - Nietzsche

waiting for autumn

In anticipation of fall I've been really into end of summer tunes -- the ones that just leave you with your thoughts..

like this one!


the album version is less distracting but i love this part of the movie..



and i'll just throw this classic in too...



anyone else have any?!?!

Best,
Viv