catch and don't release: fish & farm measures up!

tonight, we went to fish & farm for dinner. i had read about this restaurant on daily candy when it first opened, and have been meaning to try it out for months. now that i've been making all this effort to "eat more responsibly," i was very much looking forward to dinner here because the restaurant says all of its "meats and seafood are sustainable farmed or harvested. [they] serve naturally fed, anti-biotic, hormone, and steroid free meats only....all produce is organic and from within 100 miles of this restaurant. all meats and fish are as local as we can get and still put food on your plates!"

i asked our waiter where the restaurant sources its meats, and he told me golden gate meat company. well, i really, really hope if the restaurant uses them, it make sure the meats come from ggmc's local suppliers. i was looking on the website, and *maybe* only 20% of its suppliers are actually "local" and/or even sustainable farms. but who knows, maybe i'm just being overly suspicious. (this is where kevin nods emphatically and rolls his eyes at me.)

aside from all that, dinner was really good. definitely between a 3-4 out of 5. for a starting cocktail, i had their "fish & farm julep," which was EXCELLENT (made with Buffalo Trace bourbon. i *love* bourbon, as you either already know all too well from our holiday party 2 years ago or will come to realize as you get to know me.). kevin enjoyed a glass of their riesling. as an aside, all their wines are from winemakers who practice sustainable, organic, and/or bio-dynamic methods. fish & farm will also let you have a glass from any of its bottles, as long as you're willing to pay for 1/3 of the bottle. i don't know about you, but i think that's pretty cool.

for our first course, i ordered the farm-fresh poached egg with asparagus tips and a brown-butter bearnaise sauce while kevin had the special, which was "purple asparagus 3 ways." asparagus is in season right now and amazingly sweet, so we knew we couldn't go wrong. i loved mine: the bearnaise tasted brightly lemon-y, the egg was perfectly poached, and the baguette toasts were thin and nicely crisp. kevin enjoyed the purple asparagus, which he'd never had before - i had a taste: yum!

for my entree, i had the fish and chips (although it would have made more sense to call it chips and fish - there was a GIANT MOUNTAIN of french fries, and 3 smallish pieces of fish). it came with house-made tartar sauce and locally produced sherry malt vinegar. it was pretty excellent; the beer batter is made with trumer pils and was fried to crispy perfection, as were the fries. imo, the dish could have used at least one more piece of fish, as they were pretty small, and a lot fewer fries, but that's really my only, er, beef with it. i would definitely order it again.

for kevin's main course, he ordered the house-made gnocchi. unfortunately, he can't remember what it came with except that it had "some green things" in it (i remember it was topped with meyer lemon zest), so i can't tell you much beyond this other than he really liked it and ate it all. (this is why i also can't tell you much about his asparagus appetizer, either. he can't remember what the "3 ways" were, and i can only remember 2: asparagus and potato salad and asparagus spears.... meanwhile, ask him to give you the play by play of his round of golf the same day and he'll easily oblige you and remember EVERY SINGLE shot he made. ;) i snuck a taste of the gnocchi; it was pretty good.

as for dessert, we shared a chocolate pot de creme (topped with caramel and homemade marshmallow) and a glass of milk, engler style. it was pretty good as pot de cremes go, although not the best i've had (unfortunately, the restaurant that made it is no longer around. *sniffles*). i left stuffed to the gills (get it, GILLS? you know...because i had the FISH and chips? get it? hahaha. never mind.). when we got home, i changed into my pyjamas and lay like a beached whale in bed on top of the covers until i felt a little less full. high praise, indeed!

so, in summary, i would definitely go back. the prices were reasonable ($110 for two, including drinks and tip), the food was fresh and delicious, and the service was totally fine. the restaurant's space and the decor were a little off - overly dim, narrow room - but not really deal breakers; i'm not super picky about decor unless the joint is charging an arm and a leg.

btw, the one thing i would note is i thought i overheard one of the restaurant's owners telling the people at the table next to us that the chefs are leaving the restaurant in a couple months (but are training the staff before they go). if this is in fact true, i'll be curious to see what happens to the food once this happens, given that this place is about local food and the menu will have to constantly change to reflect what's in season. we'll see. but try this place out before this happens, so you can at least experience the food the way it's supposed to be (and hopefully stays).

mary had a little lamb

on fridays, i get the luxury of having a little extra time to make dinner. it's been relatively warm out these days, so kevin and i thought it would be a nice change of pace to grill something up. one of our favorite grilled dishes is lamb chops.

i like to serve it with some homemade lavender sea salt on the side for dipping. if any of you think this sounds strange, trust me: lavender and lamb paired together is, in a word, *amazing*. asparagus has just started to come into season (so sweet!) and i had some handy, so along with some couscous, we had ourselves a menu.

one of the nice things about this particular dinner is that kevin and i make it together as a team. he's extremely and uncannily talented when it comes to the BBQ (everything he grills always comes out perfectly). i myself have very little experience in this area except when it comes to ribs and pulled pork (a blog post for sometime this summer), so i stay out of it and let kevin work his magic.

i got the lamb chops from marin sun farms. they were excellent: tender, flavorful, and not at all gamey. we didn't seem to need to change the way we grilled these, even though they're pasture raised. seriously, guys...i'm really starting to think it's a myth that you have to adjust your recipes / cooking for grass-fed meats. they definitely *TASTE* different (i.e., better: there's a lot more flavor), but i haven't yet messed anything up by sticking to my recipes and methods. key takeaway: why don't you give pastured meats a try? they taste much better than even "free-range" meats [yes, really, i'm not just being delusional], and you don't have to change the way you cook.

this meal only takes about 45 minutes from prep to table, but has a "wow" factor associated with it. probably because it's so freaking tasty. seriously, the lavender salt makes this dish memorable. recipe below. try serving this for a dinner party; your guests will be impressed. enjoy!


Grilled Lamb Chops with Roasted Asparagus and Rosemary Couscous

Lamb Chops
12 frenched lamb chops, each about 1" thick, well trimmed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Lavender Salt
1 tsp dried lavender (I like the organic lavender from Lavender Farm)
2 tbsp fleur de sel

Roasted Asparagus
2 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Rosemary Couscous
3/4 cup quick-cooking couscous
1 cup chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 deg. Preheat grill to medium heat. Crush lavender (to crush, just rub between your fingers) and then mix with sea salt; set aside. Sprinkle salt and pepper over lamb chops, drizzle and then rub olive oil into meat; let stand for half an hour.

Place asparagus in single layer on baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, then generously drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat well and rearrange into single layer. When there's 5 minutes left on tenderizing the lamb, place asparagus in oven. They should take about 8-15 minutes total (depends on thickness); test for tenderness with fork.

Begin grilling lamb chops right after you put asparagus into oven. They should take about 10 minutes total (turning once) for medium.

Place chicken stock, olive oil, and rosemary into small saucepan and bring to boil. Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes, discard rosemary, then fluff couscous with fork. Salt to taste, if necessary. Keep covered until ready to serve.

Evenly divide lamb chops, roasted asparagus, and couscous among 4 plates. Serve the lavender salt on the side. Serves 4.

20 minute abs...i mean pasta

today got away from me, so i ended up "accidentally" going to the gym in the evening (6:30) instead of around lunch like i usually prefer ("prefer" is SO the wrong word to use here, b/c i hate going to the gym. "force-myself-to-go-lest-i-turn-into-a-sphere" would be closer to the truth). at first, i thought this would mean no home-cooked dinner, but i realized i had enough stuff on hand to throw together a quick but thoroughly tasty pasta dish.

after fighting with the treadmill (i have yet to win against that f'n thing), i arrived home to find kevin sprawled out on the living-room couch wondering where i was, but mostly wondering what i was going to make for dinner. (yeah, seriously, folks: wtf?!?) it was a quarter of eight at this point, so rather than get into an, er, discussion over this, i got started on dinner. yes, i had come directly home without showering at the gym. yes, so this meant i was still sweaty. yes, this also meant that i was, as a matter of fact, cooking dinner in my (sweaty) gym clothes. but don't worry, yes, i washed my hands first.

tonight i purposely stretched out the preparation so that i could squeeze in a shower while the pasta was boiling (11 minutes), but if you don't need to buy yourself time (or you just don't believe in showering at all after going to the gym), you can easily make this dinner in 20 minutes, prep to table.

oh, and remember that pesto i made a few weeks ago? well, it was still in great shape, so i ended up using it in this recipe. hooray, i used up the basil with no waste!!! (although i suppose i won't know for SURE that it was "in great shape" until about 24 hours from now. i'll report back tomorrow. p, so, like...if you don't hear from me, could you have patrick check on us ;) the pesto totally made the dish. if you don't have any homemade on hand, i suppose you could use the packaged stuff. [insert haughty *sniff* here.] (and no, i'm not unaware of the irony, ok?)


Penne Pasta with Fresh Tomato, Pesto, and Feta Cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp pesto
scant 1/4 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil (I've been using Stonehouse, these days)
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups dried penne

2-3 oz crumbled feta (I love Spring Hill's cow's milk feta for this; it holds up well vs. hot pasta)

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Butterfly the chicken breast so that it's the same thickness throughout. Sprinkle salt and pepper, and rub olive oil on both sides of chicken. Place in a baking dish and bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until breast is done, turning once. Check the pasta's cooking directions. The kind I use takes about 11 minutes, so, I wait until the chicken's been in the oven for about 5 minutes, and then I add the penne to the boiling water.

While you wait for the pasta and chicken, prepare garlic and tomatoes, then combine with pesto and olive oil in a large bowl; mix well (taste and add salt and pepper, if necessary). When chicken is done, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes, then cut into bite-sized pieces. Drain pasta when done. Add penne and chicken to bowl with tomato-pesto mixture. Stir to combine well.

Divide evenly into 4 pasta dishes. Sprinkle feta cheese over tops. Serves 4. Foccaccia bread on the side goes well with this dish, the better to mop up the leftover sauce afterwards. YUMMY!

taco bell, eat your heart out!

in the spirit of trying to prove that cooking dinner during the week isn't hard or time consuming, i'm posting a recipe (posted below) that i made tonight for some pretty awesome beef tacos. seriously, these were really, really yummy. and extremely easy to make: from prep to table in less than 20 minutes. yes, for reals!

in about as much time as it takes to drive to a taco bell, order and eat a beef meximelt (made of mystery-borderline-dogfood meat and god knows what other chemicals...don't get me wrong, *sigh* i miss them), you can instead have a wholesome, i-know-exactly-what-ingredients-went-into-this dinner.

i used prather ranch ground beef, and it was soooooooo GOOD! some of the best ground beef i've had. (is that a dubious honor? like saying, "those were the best pork rinds, EVER!") but seriously, dudes, if this is what pastured meats are like, i think i'll be able to get used to them pretty easily.

kevin and i really enjoyed this dinner. this is a *great* dish to make on a weeknight. try it out and let me know what you think!


Soft Beef Tacos

Taco beef
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup hot salsa
1/4 cup beef stock
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or not...yuck, i hate cilantro)
juice from half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Taco condiments
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup diced tomatoes
4-6 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
salsa
sour cream

12 6" corn or flour tortillas

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over moderately high heat. Sauté garlic for about 2 minutes, then add ground beef and sauté until beef is no longer pink. Drain liquid from saucepan. Add salsa, stock, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until mixture thickens up a bit. While beef is simmering, get the taco condiments ready.

When beef is done, season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in cilantro and lime juice. Heat tortillas one at a time in a skillet on high heat, about 5 seconds on each side; cover them with a clean kitchen towel to keep warm. Serves 4.

how to get your stock on

i used to be the kind of person who thought making stock was a complete waste of time. why should i make stock when i can just buy the canned variety at the supermarket?

well, it turns out that it's a huge myth that making stock is hard. it's also a huge myth that the canned stuff you buy at a supermarket is just as good as what you can make at home. not even close. homemade stock is 1,000x better than canned stock (which more closely resembles broth, anyway).

making your own stock also has the added benefit of maximizing your ingredient usage, since you're wringing every possible morsel of goodness from your food (e.g., leftovers or random bits and pieces like carrot greens) and it's a great way to use up vegetables and herbs you have laying around. (i mean, seriously, how often have you bought celery and actually used the whole thing? yeah, exactly. there's only so many "ants on a log" a person can eat.) it's also about the only way you can be 100% sure whether the ingredients in it are up to your specs (mine: sustainably-raised meats and vegetables).

for chicken stock, i use the carcass of a roast i've finished carving up. if i don't happen to have time that day to make stock, i just store them in a ziploc bag (along with pan drippings, if any) until i do have a few hours to spare.

for beef stock, i use marrow bones and whatever other meaty bones i've managed to save up (i store them in the freezer until i have about 4 lbs worth).

i happen to have a couple tips when it comes to stock.

the first is for when you make your stock. if you own a pasta insert for your stockpot, use it! the insert makes straining extremely simple, since all you have to do is lift it out. you completely avoid any splashing and making a mess in general when you use this most wondrous object. cleanup is just a matter of throwing out what's in the insert. (there'll still be some (negligible) solids in the stock, but i'll tell you how to remove those in a minute.)

the second tip is for when you store your stock. obviously, nobody expects you to make 2 quarts of the stuff and then use it all at once. so what exactly *are* you supposed to do with your freshly-made stock? well, i freeze mine using a jumbo muffin tin. the muffin cups are conveniently about one cup each (8 oz.), which works out pretty well for almost all recipes that call for stock. i pour the stock through a fine-mesh sieve (voila: no more negligible solids!) into a bowl with a spout, cool in the fridge until the fat solidifies, scoop out the fat, and then pour it into the muffin cups. once frozen, i pop them out (just carefully run some hot water under the pan until they loosen), and store them in freezer bags until i need them.

all in all, stock really is simple to make (i promise, you'll see; recipes below), but what it does need is time - about 5 hours. the good news is that you don't need to watch it all that closely, 'cuz you know, your pot would never boil...or something like that. ;)


Chicken Stock
Carcass of 1 roasted chicken
1 large carrot, cut in half
1 large celery stalk, cut in half
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
a few sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
4 1/2 quarts water

Throw all the ingredients into a large stock pot (with pasta insert if you have one). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 4 hours, or until liquid is reduced by half. If a scum rises to the top, scoop out and discard.

Strain stock through fine mesh sieve into large bowl. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until fat solidifies on top. Remove fat, and either use stock within the week, or pour into jumbo muffin tin, freeze, and then store in freezer bags. Makes about 2 quarts of stock (8 cups).


Beef Stock
4 lbs of beef marrow bones (I get mine from Marin Sun Farms)
1 large carrot, cut in half
1 large celery stalk, cut in half
1 large yellow onion, quartered (do not peel)
a few sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
4 quarts, plus two cups water

Preheat oven to 450 deg. Place bones and vegetables in roasting pan and roast for 50 minutes or until bones are browned, turning them once to brown evenly. Place bones and vegetables into stock pot (with pasta insert if you have one) along with 4 quarts of water. Put roasting pan on stove burner, add 2 cups of water and bring water to boil, while scraping up browned bits from pan. Add this to the stockpot; bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 4 hours, or until liquid is reduced by about half. If any scum comes to top, scoop out and discard.

Strain stock through fine mesh sieve into large bowl. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until fat solidifies on top. Remove fat, and either use stock within the week, or pour into jumbo muffin tin, freeze, and then store in freezer bags. Makes about 2 quarts of stock (8 cups).