Tuesday, November 29, 2011

East African Hot Sauce And Whoopie Pies

I made chicken wings with the hot sauce my sister-in-law sent. They were yummy and unlike any others we've had. The dates in the sauce give a bit of sweetness and thickness while the jalapenos and tamarind provide zing and pep. We'll use the bottle up soon, I'm sure.

We baked up white chocolate fudge with nuts and dried fruit as well as gingerbread whoopie pies to give to family over Thanksgiving.  The whoopie pies rocked my world. It seems like others had the same reaction ;).

 

What If Virginia Woolf Had Been A Food Writer?

Well, this is what she would have written.

Monday, November 14, 2011

There Are No Words...

 ...which is why I have pictures:

Lisbon
Cervejaria Ramiro
frango assado
Ginjinha shots (cherry liqueur)
Salema fishing boats
neon orange caiphirinas
When in Portugal, drink Sagres lager.
Perhaps he caught some of the ingredients in my fish stew...
afternoon snack

And now for what we did during our STUPENDOUS culinary extravaganza weekend up in New York (Hyde Park and Manhattan). Friday: Everready Diner, CIA tour, drinks at American Bounty (one of the student restaurants), dinner at Medici (another student restaurant); Saturday: "CIA Favorites" class (I'm planning to return asap to take another course; it was quite an experience), drive to NYC through fall foliage, Palace Hotel, Burp Castle, Lakeside Lounge, St. Regis King Cole Bar, Chef's Tasting Menu at La Bernardin; Sunday: Jane for brunch. Plus we got two cookbooks at the CIA: "The Professional Chef," which is the students' primary textbook, and "The CIA Cookbook." AND we received a copy of the menu at La Bernardin. The courses were so intricate, I couldn't remember everything we ate even right after we left. Now I can stare longingly at the menu and salivate, remembering how AWESOME it was. (BTW my favorite dish was "Crispy Black Bass with Pickled Cucumbers and Black Garlic-Persian Lime Sauce.")

main building

"Wearing" a toque
cafeteria
1/2 of what our class made
the other 1/2
buffet!
King Cole Bar mural by Maxfield Parrish
La Bernardin

Next up: a report on Sadia's Gourmet sauce, sent to us by my sister-in-law, direct from Minnesota. (She works for Sadia.) Think I'll try it with chicken wings.