Problem Solver

So... here we were several beverages into the evening, after a beautiful sunset at Montana de Oro state beach, and I was told, "Here's some halibut, can you do something with it?". Well, here is what I did.... sorry for the lack of photographic evidence, too much wine and beer was consumed...
I buttered a pyrex dish, placed the thick halibut steaks in the dish, salt & pepper, and into a 350 oven for about 15 minutes. Then Andrew finished on the grill. That's it, there was no magic formula, no secret recipe. Just simple, fresh, honest. Some perfectly grilled yellow squash, a steamed local artichoke (with lots of butter & mayo of course), some green salad, and the forementioned wine - Claiborne & Churchill Riesling and Gewurtztraminer to be exact.
What a great weekend!

Japanese home cooking.

I saw this post on Serious Eats (after it came across on my email) and decided to give it a try. I love kara-age at the Japanese market, I figured it wasn't that hard...
I'm not much for frying usually, too messy or I don't do it right, but figured this was something I could do in my Le Creuset with not too much effort or mess. Plus the 2 nice side dishes were a bonus. I had to resort to basmati rice instead of short grain, I had pantry bugs from somewhere... I hate tossing half used bags of pasta but that's where it always starts isn't it?
The cucumber salad & green bean salad came together very quickly while I marinated the chicken, got some rice started (and cleaned out the pantry) and got some peanut oil to temperature in my pan.

The frying actually worked out well for me! I think that as long as I don't attempt my grandma's crisco fried drumsticks, I'll do fine. I can do hot wings & now these, oh and onion rings. It's just the bigger pieces of chicken that I never get right.
Paired with some American lager (couldn't justify spending the high price on Kirin at the regular grocery!), the sides & rice, it was a perfect meal for a weeknight!

Dog days of summer...

Thankfully though, the summer has been fairly mild here this year (so much for global warming...). We did have a hot spell a while back, but it has been delightful, nice enough to finally get outside to enjoy it. Now that our (just turned) 11 year old is back from hanging out with his grandparents and cousins, we can get down to enjoying the last few weeks before school starts. Of course there are baseball practices & tournaments thrown in for good measure, but that has become part of the daily life around here over the last year.
I dusted off the pots and pans for this simple summery pasta that I found on Serious Eats - Sea Shells and Creamy Basil-Tarragon Pistou with Crab and Sweet Peas. Of course, shopping for the ingredients at Trader Joes limited me to fusilli instead of shells, and no tarragon (my garden did not happen for me this year, too busy...), but they have such a good price on the canned jumbo lump crab I didn't want to make more than 1 trip.

It was so easy to put together, the pistou (or pesto if you like) was easy to whip up while the pasta cooked. The guys both said this was "a keeper" and I agree, the lemon zest gave it a nice freshness and the bit of cream stirred in made it less like standard pesto. It went perfectly with our patio, some music, and our "house white", Harmony Winery Riesling.

on the road....

We took a bit of a road trip, from Orange County, through the California Desert, all of Arizona, and to Albuquerque NM. Some gems along the way: The Red Raven in Williams AZ - excellently cooked steaks, nice wine list, great service... in a rather brutal dining scene... - Blake's Lotaburger... green chile cheeseburger, be sure to ask for the chiles to be grilled - Bob's Burgers ... ranchero burger (green chile sauce) and the spiciest frito pie ever --- Little Anita's for brunch, chile rellenos with green, everything else Christmas... we missed out on the Owl, not enough time. Go Isotopes!

So.. about that brisket

Thanks to our friend who is a Stater Bros meat cutter (only lightly trimmed, whole, delivered to our house), we put this brisket in at about 1am on Wednesday, took it out at 3pm on Thursday. No rub, no seasoning, nothing.
Isn't it pretty? It was so popular, the Grillmaster/Smokemaster has been commissioned to do it again for the 4th - which happens to be his grandmother's 85th birthday and first as a US citizen.
There was coleslaw, but something about white cabbage in a white bowl in a photo? Not so much. So here's some more brisket:
.. yes, that little thing in the background is the smoker, cool huh?

Soon to be improved photography as well thanks to a new camera... once I figure out how it works :)

3 great finds in and around SLO...

A kidless weekend found us at the beach house in Los Osos. Arriving late Friday night, we were up Saturday morning wandering SLO. Stopped in at an honest to goodness coffee house, Linnea's, where we had a latte and an au lait, along with a really yummy scone. This place has a laid back vibe that reminded me of my old haunts in Denver - Cafe 13, Paris on the Platte & Muddy's.
A bit more wandering down the block and we noticed this place, Bel Frites. It wasn't open yet, but they had 2 things on the menu - frites and Belgian beer. Ok, we'd have to come back. So we walked around the block, looked at fancy British motorcars, and arrived back. There are traditional sauces and different spice sprinklings that come with the traditionally prepared (blanched then fried) frites. We spoke with the owner while waiting for our order, he was a college professor and this is his retirement. We decided he was definitely the most educated fry cook you will meet! What a treat! I had traditional (sea salt) with a roasted red pepper aioli, and he had spicy cajun with chipotle mayo. And Wittekirke Belgian white beer to wash it down. What a great stop!!
Walked around a bit more, had some salty asian fusion rice bowl things before deciding on a movie time, and then hit the remodeled (yay! clean bathrooms) Frog and Peach for a few beers. Movie was The Hangover, which we heartily recommend. I haven't laughed that hard since Something About Mary.
Then for dinner, TripAdvisor pointed us to Sylvester's right around the corner in Los Osos for burgers & onion rings, which we took back to the house and enjoyed with some Loring pinot while watching the Dodgers win. What a fun weekend!! Next weekend, Hanford.. to pick up the Rabbit.

Keeping it short (like me)

Everything is better with a poached egg on top.. oh, and bacon.. and croutons:



And from the new Jacques Pepin, a yummy popover with jam:



Better yet, there is a brisket in the Cookshack as I type!