Monday's Blue Plate Special

I've been on a new health regimen since January 2nd which unfortunately as it turns out doesn't lend itself to living high on the hog.  Its been 4 weeks of no butter, white pasta, potato's, fatty delicious cuts of meat like succulent Rib Eye, sausages or bacon. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try weight training along with a lean protein/1500 calories or less a day diet. My friend encouraged me to join him on this path since we both work together and he has the background in finding new ways of making your muscles cry out in agony, begging , "Uncle, UNCLE!"
I guess I didn't plan on the impact this would have on my eating and blogging about all the lucious meals I might make.  So understandably it's taken me a few weeks to get my stomach and mind pointed in the right direction. The radical change in my diet goes something like this:

Before Picture
Breakfast = Coffee & maybe a Kashi Bar
Lunch = sometimes nothing other times Naked Green Machine Juice and Almonds
Dinner = ANY GOD BLESSED THING I WANTED including plenty of vino, bread, fatty cuts of meat, bacon, bacon, veggies, pasta, meatballs, cheese, sea salted caramels and...well you get the picture.

Now Picture
Breakfast 6AM = Egg white omelet with lo-fat cottage cheese or oatmeal with stevia and cinnamon
Snack 10AM = Protein shake (which at first tasted like old foot powder, now tastes like chunky chalk paste)
Lunch= Tuna fish, pickles, almonds
Snack = Protein shake with my nose plugged up to choke it down
Dinner = Lean Chicken or Pork or fish with veggies and maybe a carb like brown rice or Quinoa, more pickles
Snack = 4 oz of bourbon :)

Yes its been an amazing 180 on the food front and I will grudgingly admit to the following:

• I feel like I have more energy
• I feel stronger, and visibly can see my muscles popping through my layers of chubby fat
• I don't crave my nightly glasses of vino
• I don't crave sweets, or bread or french fries...unless I really think about the taste of those long time friends.
• I definitely fart more (sorry Mom)  which come to find out is a known side effect so don't go all church lady on me people

So this evening I give you simply my dinner plate, my Monday Blue Plate Special:
Lean Pork Grilled  with spices
Brown Rice
Roasted Peppers
Snap Peas
Oh and a glass of Bourbon for my post dinner wind down snack ;)

Being Good isn't all Bad!

Cooking Away From Home

Allow me a moment for a personal revelation that has nothing to do with food...
I have a new found admiration, respect and general sense of awe for writers. I had no clue the discipline it would take to write creatively and often.  Lets face it, my puny food journal doesn't even begin to float up to the literary heights of say... a homemade comic book or Sally Smiths 8th grade paper on the demise of the dinosaurs.  Props out to those creative masterminds who apply their talent, determination and put pen to paper every day.  My genius? Give me a pot, six ingredients and someone to cook for and I will bang out a meal worthy of a passing mouthful.
Cooking away from home presents a set of challenges not faced in ones own kitchen.  Take for example two separate evenings spent cooking in two different kitchens for people I care greatly about and whose company I wish I had more often.
Night one took place a few weeks ago up in Bath at our friends Ken and Kathy Brill's house.  Simply calling it a "house" doesn't do justice to the complete overhaul they both did to this unique ship captains quarters complete with turn of the century elevator, butlers pantry, and about 50 fireplaces replete with amazing carved mantles which were adorned with beautiful artwork.
The challenge this night was to plan a menu that would allow for little or no cooking/prep time  so that we could enjoy a full tour of the house.  I envisioned our evening unfolding like an episode of Curb Appeal - meets this Old House - meets Dr. Doolittle.  Our friends welcomed the addition of our two dogs as dinner guests and company for their two dogs who made for a lively greeting as we all settled in for pre-house tour drinks.

Dinner prep and assembly began back in Gorham around 2:00 that afternoon and by 4:00 everything was packed uncooked into the car for our ride to Bath.
On the menu: Lasagna Bolognese with fresh local mozzarella, foccacia bread, arugula salad with candied pecans, sliced grapes dressed with sherry vinaigrette.  Before we started the house tour I popped the 50lb pan of Italian rapture into their gleaming oven just hoping the sauce wouldn't boil over into a smoking mess.

Carving out a Slice

Lasagna Brick that could double for a cornerstone at the Portland Museum of Art

Plated and Ready for the Dining Room

The Perfect Setting

 The second evening took place last Friday night at the house of my dearest friend Pam down in the fair hamlet of Arundel.  The challenge here was:

A. It was a Friday night after a long week of work, I had to pick up food and commute down to Arundel

B. Pam has the reputation of being a healthy eater who tends to be picky about things like  mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, ambrosia, liver-n-onions and sandwiches with their crusts cut off.

C. I really wanted Chinese take out

The compromise was to dash into Whole Foods after work and pick up the first 6 things I could lay my hands on:

1. Red/Yellow/Orange Peppers

2 Organic Lentils

3. Local Feta Cheese

4. Local Organic Breakfast Sausage 

5.  Humus flavored with Artichokes & Calamata Olives

6.  Sea Salted Chocolate Caramels

The result: Stuffed Peppers with items 1-4 plus whatever I could find in Pam's pantry

Fetching and Colorful Peppers

Hey Mikey...She Liked It!

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
Thomas Jefferson

Thanks Ken, Kathy and Pam for letting me cook in your kitchens.

Love You

T

Monday's Blue Plate Special

Did anyone ever try to convince you that tofu actually tastes good? That it takes on the taste of whatever you smother it in? That if you close your eyes and pinch your nose it doesn't really taste like a chalky sponge that was left at the bottom of a mop bucket for a few months?
Clearly I am not a tofu fan and this blue plate special is certainly not about tofu, I just thought it important to share my feelings about that particular soy product . Nuff said.

This Monday it was about polenta. That lovely creamy cornmeal mush that when left to cool solidifies into whatever shape you happen to plop it into. My mother in law made a crock pot full of polenta over the weekend and we got to take the leftovers home in a pie plate.  Crock pot polenta I was happy to learn is the no fuss way to make this dish: Water+salt+cornmeal+crock pot for a few hours on low = Polenta  Voila, cest magnifique.
Leftover polenta was the inspiration for this Monday meal. Started with a few uncured chopped bacon slices in the fry pan and cooked until golden.  Added a slice of polenta, the size of a piece of pie, to the bacon and grease in the fry pan. Let it brown up on both sides, seasoned with salt, pepper and good smoked paprika.
While the polenta was taking on the essence of bacon, I slipped some salmon into a 400 degree oven and steamed some snap peas.

Dinner in 15 minutes and it tasted nothing like tofu.

Mrs. Joy of Cooking

New Year's Eve brought the perfect excuse to spend time dreaming up a menu to share with good friends and consequently was also great way to thumb my nose at the scant 2 days left on holiday. Deciding who to invite was the easy part. Johnny, Kristen, James and Max accepted our invitation to New Years Eve Dinner and sleep over.  Next decision...what to eat?
I sat with my ever faithful tutors at Cooks Illustrated and thumbed through the pages of the January issue to find an inspired seasonal menu.  Liking the sounds of a recipe that had ruby port, allspice, ginger, more red wine and thick cut pork I landed on red-wind braised pork chops as the centerpiece and set to finding the other courses to accompany porky-pig to the party.  My menu attention deficit disorder brought me to epicurious.com where I came up with an idea for french lentils. Then I bounced over to food network.com for inspirations around pasta and appetizers. I was now armed with enough menu choices to stuff a turkey with and off I went to a place that nourished me on a deep spiritual and mystical level; I got in the car and floated to Whole Foods < insert gentle harp music here > 
What fun I had talking to the wine "expert", fish monger, gal behind the cheese counter while every now and then partaking in the free samples that peppered the store.  I walked out of Mecca with a fetching cart and the following menu:

Appetizers:
Belgian Endive stuffed with Herbed Boursin Cheese & Sliver of Sun Dried Tomato
Cherry Tomatoes with Cream & Caviar
Buckwheat Blinis topped with Smoked Salmon, Cream & Caviar
Champagne

Second Course:
Raviolis stuffed with Fig and Goat Cheese topped with Browned Butter and Crispy Sage Leaves pared with Caramelized Cipollini Onions
White Wine - Kim Crawford Savignon Blanc

Third Course:
Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets & Spinach dressed in Sherry Wine Vinegar/Dijon/Olive Oil
Red Wine- Big Bear Pino Noir

Main Course:
Red-Wine Braised Pork Chops with Haricort Verts sauteed in Lardons & roasted garlic with fresh herbs
Red Wine- Atalaya Almansa 2008

Ginny Lays on the Charm in Hopes of a Chop

Dessert:
Chocolate Truffles & Salted Chocolate Caramels
More Champagne

Resulting Food Coma Meant no Chocolate Pics

The highlights our evening were kissing sweet baby James goodnight in his PJ's decorated with guitars and the warm conversation  we had throughout the night with special friends who I consider part of my Maine family.  Can't think of a better way to have spent New Years Eve. 

It's So Choice

Ferris Bueller hit the nail on the head with a couple of memorable movie lines. The title of this post highlights one of those quotable quotes and is my opening for this Christmas in Camden extravaganza.
Newly released from my 3 day stint at the Betty Crocker clinic which I found quite helpful in detoxing my body of the rich foods I feasted, gorged and just generally went hog wild over; I can only now turn my attention back to the wonder of Christmas 2011.

Christmas Eve we dined at the Hartstone Inn and enjoyed the multi course menu beginning with pre-dinner martini's and ending with a great cup of cappuccino and a wheelbarrow ride back to the Lord Camden Inn.
I will let the pictures do the talking as long as you all understand I need to get better at actually taking pictures of my food in public and shed the embarrassment that comes with whipping out my camera and snapping away while other diners gawk at me for disturbing their ambiance. This was the reason for missing the shot of our first course consisting of 2 scallops dressed in a light citrus sauce and phyllo toast points.
Second course:

Gulf of Maine Shrimp Bisque

Third course was the palate cleanser

Champagne & Lemon Sorbet Shooter

Main Course

Tender Beef, butternut squash, veggies

Dessert

Ginger bread souffle

Fin

Cappuccino

Christmas Night we dined at Natalies Restaurant  at the Camden Harbour Inn. 
Now I will shamelessly quote from Ferris, again, " If you  have the means I highly recommend it."
Appetites grew throughout the day as we hiked in the Camden hills in a lightly falling snow, very Currier and Ives:

Our dining experience began with cocktails at the bar, I enjoyed a Juicy Lucy and James, of course, a Gin Martini.

We were seated in a great spot where we could enjoy the evening snow falling quietly outside and spy on the other couples dining along with us.

Again, I have to let the pictures speak for themselves:

First Course

Winter Tureen of Meat (Turkey, Chicken, Duck)

Second Course

Ricotta Gnocchi with roasted Brussel sprouts, butternut squash and truffle oil cream

I forgot to mention that along with each course came a new wine...and I will admit by this time I was too far gone down the food moment path to take out my notepad and record what nectar we were drinking. Needless to say it was so choice!

Main course:

The main course deserves more than just a mere caption, it deserves some gushing...
Despite the cruddy picture this was a plate of heaven, there were actual angels flying around the plate that magically lifted the napkin up off my lap to dab the drool from my bottom lip. The beef, oh so tender with a wine sauce that was out of this world and the new potatos were wrapped in the thinnest layer of bacon and misted with truffle oil. OK...need I say more?! Oh, and "some root" vegetables appeared as arm candy to the beef and potato masterpiece.
Cheese Course, or what was left of it after I inhaled the plate:

The only wine paring picture I snapped with the Cheese Course:



Warres Tawney Port

Fin

Some form of chocolate and vanilla with raspberries and tiny marshmallows

By the end I seriously couldn't comprehend dessert, but I ate it none-the-less. Before we got our bill I quietly asked the server if there were rooms available,  "if only to take a nap for a few hours?" Sadly there were'nt. So it was with a reluctant heart I pushed my chair away from the table and went out into the white night to walk the dogs and reminice about the experience we just had.

This year it surely felt like Christmas.

It's a good casserole

It's a double header at Crumb Brulee this day.  Trying as I am to catch up on the culinary delights in my life I just can't seem to pay homage to every moment.  Today  is no exception as I meant whole heartedly to document my forray into the Camden culinary scene... instead I cooked.
I did however start with an amuse bouche of Warres porto and Italian Gorgonzola:

Today was inspired by Cooks Illustrated December issue.  If you don't have a subscription, run out and get one now for god sakes!
Tonight we dinned on Vegetable tart and smoked sausages from Edwards of Surry, Virginia a gift from James manager for Christmas. We got a small ham and sausages, but I decided tonight to tap into the sausages and feather in my vegetable tart as an accompaniment.

Smoked Virginia Sausage Links

Also delivered in today's mail was a documentary about Julia Child and I decided to watch the DVD while I cooked, paying homage to the woman who made French Cooking available to mere mortals. Cooking I was to discover wasn't such a hard thing to do after all, a knife and pot are all you need to kick it in the kitchen.
The vegetable tart was of course the more involved menu item.  I was interested to learn that the recipe called for both white and  whole wheat flour in addition to sugar and white vinegar along with, count em, 10 tablespoons of delightful-decadent butter.
I started it all off with the shitake mushrooms, Cook's called for shitake but I added bella and oyster a choice I would later question.
Began by microwaving the shrooms for 5 minutes and then drianing them. The leeks, honorary vegetable of winter, were cut into 1/2 inch slices and sauted with fresh minced thyme. This made the vegetable portion of the tart. I mixed in some heavy cream, buttermilk and Dijon mustard as a binder to the solstice concoction.

Leek & Mushrooms

Next came the part I dreaded, the tart.  I am not known for my baking, in fact I tend to dread recipes that call for pie crusts. This was no exception. Only, I was happily surprised to find that I could not screw this up as long as I followed the god blessed recipe laid out in Cooks Illustrated.
Duh, why hadn't I thought of this sooner?
The dough began with simple steps:
White & whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, butter-butter-butter,  ice water and white vinegar.

That's right Julia Child's is in the background!

After combining all ingredients I let it rest in the fridge for 45 minutes.  After taking it out and letting it rest for another 10 minutes I rolled it out and piled the veggies on high along with the Gorgonzola cheese.

Mount Veggie

Then I pinched up the sides and brushed with egg and sprinkled with sea salt.

Can you see the butter?

In the oven it went and when done it was paired with grilled sausages thanks to my dear husband.
After taking his first bite he proclaimed, "Great Casserole!"
I wasn't crushed since he has such simple tastes, what he really meant to say was, "Can you say heaven?!"
Me: "Yes, its HEAVEN!!!"
Dish accompanied with Dijon mustard, olives and cornichons.
This evening didn't suck.

Winter Wonder on a plate

Maine, the way life should be.

Monday's Blue Plate Special - Spice Bowl

I obviously have some catching up to do after our Christmas in Camden Maine which was  free from the irreverent stampeding hoards rushing to get that last pair of Air Jordans. But before I try to do justice to our submersion into the decadent fare of the Camden local inns, this post is a nod to what I hope becomes a regular on Crumb Brulee, Monday's Blue Plate Special.
I call yesterdays dinner "Spice Bowl" since both were my muse.

The two and only wonderful gifts I got for Christmas this year were from my Mother and Sister Jacqueline. I am not a consistent gift buyer or card giver so I take no offense when I am not on the receiving end. It's usually mood or inspiration that strikes me into action. So to say my Christmas giving this year was not stellar is a colossal understatement.
Then there are the gracious people in my life who never forget a birthday, holiday, anniversary or recognition for your dog passing her good canine test.  My Mother and Sister Jacqueline are two of these special  people and last night I used their gifts in my dinner. 

Spice

Penzeys Spices, AKA my new best friends.
Really now I swear this is the first time I've ever had Penzeys Love to Cook - Cook to Love spices in my hot little hands. The package arrived  on Saturday about 10 minutes before we were headed out the door to Camden. I decided they needed to come celebrate with us so I stowed them in the back seat to await Christmas Morning.


With Christmas over we returned from our trip and I realized there wasn't a ton of fresh food in the house.  I'd have to make due with the bone in chicken breasts, butternut squash, leeks and whatever else I could find since going back  out to the store was out of the question. Dressing the chicken up for dinner was going to be a breeze and I fancied myself the culinary equivalent of Rachel Zoe who knew just the thing to style those perky breasts in:
33rd & Galena and Forward spices mixed with softened butter and sea salt would do the trick.  Cooking tip, dry your breasts after they are rinsed in the shower sink. The butter will stick to the skin and not slide off or stay on your hands. Paper towels work well as depicted here:

Towel Time: Dry your breasts...

because butter sticks better  to them when you do!

Time for the butternut squash, leeks, baby bella mushrooms dusted with....yes you guessed it more spices. This time Ceylon Cinnamon and Mural of Flavor would make this already eye-catching dish even more appealing.

One

Two

Three

The Bowl
My mother has been adding to my china set for the last 20 years.  (Yes Mom it's been 20 years)  Back in the 90's I fell in love with Botanical Garden by Portmeirion. The china stood the test of time and grew into familiar and comfortable companions at my dinner table.  For my new bowl I chose a tomato & cucumber, dressed with lemon juice, sea salt-n-pepper. Simple ingredients which happened to be the only fresh food I had left.

Portmeirion Rose Bowl

My computer kept me company as I plowed through three more episodes of The Tudors. Finally dinner was ready and I lifted a silent thank you to my Mother and Sister for their generous gifts which I was happy to put to good use.

Monday's Blue Plate Special

Yum!

Pop Quiz Question: What's the Worst Part of Visiting Your Doctor?

Answer: Getting your weight checked!  (If you had to think about this you haven't been to the Dr's in a while)

Seriously, if you've followed my journal for the last five days you'll notice all I've done is stuff my fat face on Holiday Cheer.
So today when I realized I had a physical you could imagine my horror...

Me: OMG, I will be getting weighed today.

Forget the worry about  high blood pressure, skyrocketing cholesterol, gout, leigion aires disease, avian flu or worse a really bad hang nail.

A silent prayer went up to St. Lucy to help see me though this trial. Then not 5 minutes later a wonderful Co-worker who under normal circumstances I would have been glad to see showed up with a bag of Tony's Doughnuts direct from the fair city of Portland.
Fire shot out of my eyes as she opened the bag and offered me a piece of fried molasses heaven. God help me I ate it , I loved every morsel. Two hours later I left for the doctors office and the dreaded scale.
I will spare everyone the details of my physical, this is a food journal not an episod of Oprah. EXCEPT to say I am happy to report I LOST ONE POUND FROM THE LAST VISIT!!!  Now I wasnt about to argue with the nurse practitioner, no siree, I hopped off that scale and gave her a huge hug and proclaimed, "It's a Christmas Miracle suckers!"

On my way home I stopped at my local Hannafords and picked up the ingredients for a Burrito nosh. 

The following speaks for itself:

Roasted Red, Yellow and Orange Peppers

+ Plus Chicken Tenderloins Braised in Chile, Cayanne, Mushrooms,  Onions & Green Salsa

+ Plus Guacamole & Tomatoes

+ Plus the Ever Important Condiments

After all that why bother showing you what my burrito looked like?  
That's like  taking a beautiful woman,  putting her in a Moo-Moo and snapping a picture of her.
How could anyone possibly see the luscious beauty hidden under the robe or in this case a whole wheat tortilla?

Sublime