Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Leftovers.

I'm kinda late on the "What To Do With Thanksgiving Leftovers Post" but 1) I've only figured this out in the last day or two and 2) I'm no good with formal recipes anyway.

We usually roast our turkey atop a mountain of orange things, mainly carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and the odd white onion or two. They cook away into a delectable mush that makes the most wonderful beta-carotene-filled soup if you add some chicken broth, apple cider and maybe a swirl of cream. Buzz that immersion blender for a few seconds and eat a bowl of healthy.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato-Roasted Turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm busy making pies (pecan pie from Craig Claiborne's recipe!) so no new blog post today. But here's an oldie but a goodie, first run way back in November 2008. I figure it might be new to most of you, and anyway, this food story contains the biggest, bestest Thanksgiving discovery made by Hubby and me to date. How we turned our turkey into a mouthwatering bird with a Peking-duck-like skin totally by mistake using sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Enjoy!

So, our Horse and Buggy free-range turkey turned out even better than we hoped. I wrote about our excitement at finally getting one of these things already, but now that the bird has been cooked and mostly eaten, I'm still reeling. Because without even really trying, hubby and I created something magical.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Scarier Than Spider Hair Monday.

A weekly feature where I present something culinary that *might* just have you saying, “WTF?" Yep, it's even scarier than spider hair.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year we're gonna party like it's 1950! Remember, polishing the silver candlesticks is part of the fun....just don't whack Mom in the head with it because you have to spend your time off from school polishing silver LOL.....Cheers!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Friday Food News.

Every week, a listing of food-related news and events happening in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. This week? If you're nervous about holiday food preparation, there are TONS of classes this month! Plus the last few weeks of the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Do you have Cville Food News you’d like to share? Email me! Bon appétit y’all!

Edible News

In Peter Chang news, The Hook reports Mr. Chang has leased the Wild Greens space and plans to open Peter Chang China Grill in January 2011. After opening a restaurant in Atlanta in December, he's going to open a second 500 miles away.....in JANUARY? Maybe he should call it The Tiny Spoons Club. Yeah, The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy says "President Chang is in the neighborhood to stay," but I ain't so sure. And I ain't placing no bets.

Relay Foods is helping the hungry! While you shop for your favorite foods online, you can also donate food to the Blue Ridge Food Bank. They've designated an entire page of items you can send as a donation while you shop. Relay handles delivery. Way to go Relay! Way to go technology!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Kale.

Years ago my aunt and uncle hosted Thanksgiving. This was a huge affair, not just family, but friends and friends of friends. The house was crowded with strangers, not something I was used to. Our family gatherings were intimate, with maybe one or two drop-bys. Not a knockdown dragout. It was loud, in a cocktail party kind of way. And I’m horrible at small talk. I filled my plate and wandered awkwardly through the room trying to find a place to sit. Later over coffee and dessert, a guy with an uncomfortably thinning pony tail read my palm and told me I’d always “wear the pants” in my relationships. I smiled politely while whispering “douchebag” under my breath. Not my favorite Thanksgiving. But I’ll always remember it because of an Italian couple. They’re the ones who helped spark my unbridled passion for greens.

The Thanksgiving was a potluck, so of course everyone brought something. The Italian couple brought a side dish of kale and a small stove espresso pot. The espresso was delicious, my first really authentic demitasse of the stuff, but it was the kale I’ll always remember. I was one of those weird kids who ate kale and spinach without protest. But this preparation made me love it. And now I find I can’t prepare greens any other way. Garlicky, peppery, with a toasted flavor in the back and a touch of salt at the front. The fruitiness of the olive oil bringing everything together and rounding it out. It’s outstanding.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Escape Cville - Guinness.

I have a love/hate relationship with blogs. Part of me wants to think of this space on the Interwebs as a book. I'll have food experiences, jot them down, then immediately post once I get home. But life gets in the way doesn't it? Sometimes they make it up here, sometimes they languish in my little frayed-around-the-edges-notebook lying at the bottom of the chasm that is my purse. Then sadly, I forget them.

Inevitably though, something will happen to remind me of a great story lying in limbo and I'll think, "Damn, I should've written about that! That's a GREAT story, why didn't I write about that?" Smack self in forehead. My linear mind wants to write them all down one by one, as they happen. Pretty little food stories all in a row. But my real mind jumps around. I remember certain things, forget others - only to remember again in a flash much later when I'm lying awake at 3am. Or doing laundry. Or listening to the radio. Which I guess is what a blog does, jump around, offer some insight into how a person's mind can work.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Scarier Than Spider Hair Monday.

A weekly feature where I present something culinary that *might* just have you saying, “WTF?" Yep, it's even scarier than spider hair.

Last week I wrote about Cakesgiving, but I forgot to include probably the scariest Thanksgiving cake of them all. Baskin-Robbins Thanksgiving turkey cake. Highly glazed with sugar cone legs. There are no words. None at all. Highly glazed? Um, yeah with PLEDGE!!!!!!! No wax buildup on this baby. None at all. Excuse me but just looking at this thing has put me in a sugar coma and I need to go lie down.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday Food News.

Every week, a listing of food-related news and events happening in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. This week? Oysters, wine, chocolate, and PHO! Plus the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Do you have Cville Food News you’d like to share? Email me! Bon appétit y’all!

Edible News

Brookville Restaurant is giving back! Every Tuesday and Wednesday Chef Harrison has pledge to give $1 for every guest he serves to 4 charities important to him: Local Food Hub, V Foundation for Cancer Research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Nice!

I've prayed for it, I've dreamed it, and today it's actually happening! PHOFEST 2010! Eat pho for charity today at a benefit to end human trafficking. 5-8pm today on the UVA Campus, 100 Alderman Road. Sponsored by the Vietnamese Student Association. A description from the event's website:
"Authentic Vietnamese food to end human trafficking. Proceeds will go towards the Vietnamese Student Association's 2010-2011 Collective Philanthropy Project, Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. BDCF reaches out to kids in crisis throughout Vietnam. The residential facilities, centers, and programs give children and youth a new chance in life: the chance to have a home, a good education, and a happy, stable life. They aim to break the poverty cycle by offering education, training, and job opportunities to those who need them the most. Menu: $5.50 Pho, $1.50 Summer Rolls, $1.50. A pho-eating race will take place. Tshirts will also be sold."
 A pho-eating race? Tee shirts? Eat pho for charity? Were four words ever more delicious?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Blue Ridge Country Store.

Back around Halloween I started craving candy. This isn't odd, but I didn't want your typical chocolate bar. No, I was feeling nostalgic, remembering all those summer bike trips to our local corner store to spend my hard-earned allowance. I craved gummy coke bottles. The coke bottles shaped from the stuff you find in gummy bears. Except they taste like soda. And they're really good. But where would I find an old-fashioned, classic candy like this? I knew of only one place. The place that saves me every time I have a food crisis of this sort. The store that lifts me with its offerings when I'm having a bad day, a good day, or just a day. Blue Ridge Country Store on the Downtown Mall.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Lonely Chicago Pie.

I've become completely obsessed by pie baking. I blame it on the fact I was a pie judge for the Cville Pie Fest back in October. I bought a bright red deep dish ceramic pie plate and am on goal to wear it out by the end of the year. I found a pie crust protector even though I'm still too scared to make actual handmade pie crust, and I've been perusing websites galore looking for ultimate pie recipes.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Scarier Than Spider Hair Monday.

A weekly feature where I present something culinary that *might* just have you saying, “WTF?" Yep, it's even scarier than spider hair. This week? It's Cakesgiving!

Happy Cakesgiving everyone! Yes, that hallowed holiday of fattening food is upon us, and this year evidently this means us creative foodie types must not only make the holiday even MORE heart attack inducing, but at the same time include the latest food trends. Namely cake. My inbox and newspaper have been completely full to the gills lately with frightening Thanksgiving creations. Were they meant Halloween? Behold! Below are three attempts to include cake into this hallowed tradition of gastronomic indulgence and supposedly thankfullness. Be forewarned. These caloric creations have been known to inadvertently spike sugar levels just by gazing at them.


Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday Food News.

Every week, a listing of food-related news and events happening in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. This week? A Jim Baldi-esque drama involving a local CSA, plus raw food, slow food, gumbo, and of course, PIE! Plus the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Do you have Cville Food News you’d like to share? Email me!
Bon appétit y’all!

Edible News

Peter Chang will NOT (I repeat not) be opening a restaurant here in Charlottesville. His new place, "Peter Chang's" is set to open in Atlanta in early December. Atlanta Cuisine has the sad news. No word on how Mr. P.F. Chang feels about the new place...

I'm very happy to report that the high-falutin' muckety-mucks who report on food trends are saying PIE IS THE NEW CUPCAKE! Yes folks, pie is a 2011 trend. Woot woot! It's about time. And I'll be first in line should someone decide they desperately need to open a pie shop. *hint hint*

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Escape Cville - Ski Food.

Just back from Georgia and getting back into the Cville food scene. There's a lot happening! While I try to fit my mind around it all, here's a food story from Colorado. Because when there's a chill in the air, I start to think about ski food...

I’ve made a recent rather sad discovery about traveling. When I was younger I used travel and vacation-time as an excuse to eat every bad food on the planet from burgers to nachos to mile-high sundaes. Plying myself with everything I had denied myself back home, and washing it down with an armada of boat drinks. But now, I find I just can’t do it. Not even a little bit. My whole body rebels. It's awful.

I tried to do it in Breckenridge, Colorado during our ski trip last year – loading up on burgers, chili, mashed potatoes. Carbing it up for the snowboard lesson the next day. Hey, doesn’t matter right? You’ll burn off all those calories anyway. But when I tried it, my body freaked out. When into rebellion. Instant carb coma. It was yelling at me things like, "Go a day without fruit? A day without some sort of vegetable? All right - just TRY it, and see what happens. And TRUST me, it won't be pretty."