My Christmas list

With only 2 days until the big day, I thought I would post a little list of wants just in case any of you out there are planning a last minute gift for me. 

1. Returning from last years list...Miss Sylvia.

2.  Panasonic Lumix DMC - LX3, this is the new version of my current camera the DMC - LX2 which has been hands down the best camera I have ever owned.

3. And finally for those big spenders out there...the Volkswagen Tiguan....in black....with 19" wheels...and a roof rack.

finally!

I was fully planning on posting about my recent trip to New York. I have been a bit absent lately and thought that the blog deserved a post that was thoughtful and interesting. I did have great time in the city. I enjoyed some great food, had some good spro...well, one at least ( its amazing how hard it is to find a good espresso in that city), and enjoyed the sites. However, I am not feeling especially thoughtful or interesting this evening, so I have decided to post my first batch of photos extracted from the iphone. Actually, this post isn't at a complete loss, I took a couple of photos at the brasserie restaurant in NYC with my iphone, you will see them below. I hope you enjoy.

the brasserie, nyc

hoffman orthodontics...sneak peak of the open house.

and of course, the hux.

Latte art

It has been a while since I have posted any photos of my latte art. I think it is slowly progressing, there is still a LOT of room for improvement but its not completely terrible.

Here is a list that I found on another food blog I read, tabicakes. This list contains food that a lot of people have probably tried and some that I can't imagine a lot of people have ever even heard of. The group that put this together is the very good taste blog and they are calling this the top 100 foods every omnivore should try. So, here is what you do.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (in salsa, does that count)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (jello shots?)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

photos

For lack of posts and also the lack of time to write anything interesting, I am posting two images. The first is a shot of my Friday morning coffee from Broadway. I like this photo because it not only shows all the magnificent coffee oils in the drip but also all the bubbles have little reflections of me in them. The second photo was a bumper sticker I saw at a little coffee shop in Fort Collins, CO this past weekend. I would have bought one for myself but they were all sold out.

Ahi tuna and a scallop caprese salad

This past Saturday night, the wifey and I celebrated our second anniversary. We decided, since we are in the middle of remodeling our home (which will eventually include a big kitchen remodel...YES!!!!!) to save a little money and just have a fantastic night in with good food and good wine. So, I started thinking of the many dishes that could be made on such an evening and finally settled on something I had never prepared before. Plus, I decided that since I am so bad about updating the blog, to have Abbey photograph the whole process from opening the first bottle of wine to the first bite. I hope you enjoy.

First thing first, I started the night off by opening one of my favorite bottles...Benegas Syrah - 2005, an Argentinian syrah that melts my face right off. I took a swig and then lit the grill.
For the food. I started us off with some grilled lemon garlic shrimp as a bit of a teaser for what was to come. These are prepared with a simple lemon, olive oil, kosher salt, and minced garlic marinade. They don't really need to marinate for more than 30 minutes or so, and then they are ready to go on the grill.

While we enjoyed the shrimp I placed my piastra (a smooth cast iron or other metal or stone surface) on the grill to heat up. I prepared 6 deep sea diver scallops with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. I then scored the tops of the scallops about a quarter of an inch and set aside. I then prepared the caprese part of the salad with fresh heirloom tomatoes which I thieved from Jerad's tomato plant while he wasn't looking (haha) and a LOT of fresh chopped basil. I then placed the tomatoes and basil in a large mixing bowl and drizzled with some high quality olive oil.
Next, the ahi. I should at this point mention that both the scallops and ahi recipe has been altered a bit but originated in Mario Batali's book Italian Grill. Ok back on track. I made a rub for the ahi that consisted of chopped fresh rosemary, kosher salt, pepper, and sugar. I rubbed the ahi steak in olive oil and then generously patted the fish with the rub (see photos on flickr). It was at this time that the seafood was ready for some heat. The scallops went on first, they were placed on the hot piastra scored side down. These guys get cooked primarily on one side for about 6 minutes or so. After I placed the scallops on the piastra I put the ahi on the grill directly over the heat. The ahi wants to be cooked rare so it only took a couple minutes a side. I let it cook about 2.5 minutes a side and then pulled it off and set it inside to rest. By the time I was back at the grill the 6 minutes was up and the scallops got flipped and seared on the opposite side for another minute. I tossed the scallops in with the tomatoes and basil, drizzled some good olive oil on top, cracked some fresh black pepper and now its ready to be plated.

Back at the ahi, now that the fish has rested and the juices are perfect, I sliced it into about 1/4" slices and plated it. All this time I had some broccolini steaming with kosher salt, pepper, and a bit of butter. After all of this was plated I drizzled a tiny bit of my best olive oil on the ahi and sprinkled it with the smallest pinch of kosher salt.

Below you will find a few select photos from the process, I hope you enjoy. If you want to view all of the cooking photos please visit my flickr site by clicking here.

the noshery in Ink.

This morning, my wife and I made it into ink magazine as a foodie couple for a bit they did on cheap dates. Anyone who is a reader of this blog knows of my love for Broadway coffee, so naturally I spoke of Abs and my Friday morning coffee dates. The photos are funny and they through a little plug in for the nosh. Check it out: Click here