I’m not the world’s biggest fan of turkey. I am not sure how many people actually love stuffing, sweet potatoes, and green bean casseroles without the nostalgia attached to Thanksgiving. With only two this year, I decided to do something we’d really like than stick with tradition.
I’ll start with the [...]
Since Patrick O’Connell has been called the pope of new American cuisine, then I believe John Shields is food’s Saint Peter…
This weekend I had the ultimate pleasure of dining at Town House in Chilhowie, Virginia. This restaurant is owned by the Bishop Family, but all the culinary expertise is [...]
It wasn’t that long ago, now, that Kitchen 64 hit the Richmond scene with a lot of buzz and happy diners. Recently I ate here for lunch and found the enthusiasm for this eatery as strong as ever. Having arrived at 1:00 PM, the major lunch crowd was winding down [...]
Since this summer, I’ve been waiting (but why?) to make this browned butter, raspberry tart.
You start by making a tart crust (simple, really, just sugar, flour, flavorings, and melted butter). Then, place inside (after baking) [...]
While in London, I visited Shanghai Blues, a Chinese restaurant (that also has live music (jazz, blues) on select nights).
Ever feel like dim sum cuisine for dinner? These folks have it.
Just about everything we ordered here was tasty and [...]
Paris, October, 2009
Menu Decouverte
L’Amuse Bouche Le Caviar Le Crabe (softshell en tempura) Le Foie Gras aux haricots cocoverjutés L’Œuf cocotte et sa crème l’égère de girolles La Sole en tronçon L’ joue du Bœuf à la bourguignonne El Andalous (fraises de saison) La perle du Chou (chocolade)I had many good things to eat when traveling recently to Paris, [...]
I’m not sure where to write this post (the subject matter is something that fits well into the food scene, but it also borders on my other areas of interest, as well.)
Food blogger the Amateur Gourmet took issue with a recent column by Christopher Kimball, and it generated a [...]
I’m not sure where to write this post (the subject matter is something that fits well into the food scene, but it also borders on my other areas of interest, as well.)
Food blogger the Amateur Gourmet took issue with a recent column by Christopher Kimball, and it generated a [...]
A bottle, that’s what it takes for Chef Daniel Boulud’s short ribs.
I had some mistakes, however, when making what was otherwise a tasty, but sadly costly, dish.
I went to the [...]
Today I made my first cheese puffs, made from the classic French dough known as pâte à choux. While I have had these served to me before (they are, in small amounts, a rather special small appetizer, but also a welcome nibbler for parties), this is the first time I [...]
There’s a giant old bank in Philadelphia known previously as the Girard Bank (you can see it here, circa the 1930s) that is capped with a giant dome. Inside, today, the dome is the hallmark of the Ritz Carlton hotel, with a posh lobby, and adjacent to the left, [...]
I recently got to eat at the Parc Brasserie located at the Parc Rittenhouse hotel, in downtown Philadelphia.
First, the place reminded me exactly of Can Can here in Richmond. I guess both places took the same inspiration. The only difference was the absence of the paper as “table cloths” [...]
This past Saturday, some neighbors in the ‘hood were hosting a big party outdoors. I could smell the barbeque smoker, and no doubt, they were enjoying food in the outdoors. In my kitchen, I was busy preparing a French meal that required indoor tools. I had invited two friends who [...]
There’s something interesting about this dish I made in a recipe by Mario Batali from his latest cookbook, Spain.
I made a filling with chorizo, peppers and onions. Very simple. But then you make a type of closed pizza pie: two crusts. The flavors were simple, but somehow really came across [...]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about learning more about French preparations. I’d always heard good things about the cookbook that came out, oh, about 10 years ago, a collaboration between Julia Child and her French friend, chef Jacques Pepin. This cookbook still looks good, and I came to enjoy [...]
I recently dined at Citronelle at the Latham Hotel in Washington, D.C. This is one of Michel Richard’s restaurants.
Amuses of Salmon, Mushroom Cigar, and mini Ratatouille tacoThis was a nice start to the meal and came with champagne. I especially liked the salmon, which came with crispy bits on [...]
A mostly dim sum restaurant located near the so-called seven corners area in Falls Church, Mark’s Duck House is located in a shopping area, tucked next to stores of all persuasions.
We were a bit late for lunch during the week, so [...]
There’s a little empire growing in the DC area, among tapas restaurants. The man behind this little empire is José Andrés, who started with Spanish flavors and has now branched out. His Jaléo now has multiple locations, but I visited the very busy one in Penn Quarter this past week.
This weekend we made soupy dumplings, a favorite that can be eaten for any meal of the day. A shrimp, pork, and gingery mixture gets mixed with a flavorful aspic in a Chinese dumpling wrapper before getting [...]
Again, inspired by Mark Bittman, I made my own baked ziti recipe, this one deliciously rich with the use of dried porcini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and a three-cheese blend with tomato sauce.
The picture looks this way because [...]
In leafing through Bittman’s vegetarian cookbook again for dinner, I came across his suggestions for quickly-seared tomatoes and another for raw beets.
Born was my new salad with bacon, ham, turkey, thinly-sliced raw beets, and Hanover tomatoes seared in bacon [...]
Simple salad with prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, grana padana croutons, with a balsamic dressing.
This cauliflower soup uses the cheese croutons. I grabbed the recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to [...]
Interesting advice from New York Magazine:
As conventional wisdom goes, there are three golden rules that are fundamental to being a Regular.
Go to the restaurant a lot. Don’t be a pain in the ass: Show up on time, say please and thank-you, respect the house and its rules (such as dress [...]
I made this recipe based upon an idea I procured from my “Epicurious” app on the iPhone.
I seared a large piece of sea bass with little pieces of bacon on top. They covered the entire [...]
I recently had dinner at Eurasia in the Gayton Crossing shopping center, next to an old favorite, Chianti.
Evidently this place has roots in a restaurant with the same name in Virginia Beach. I like the wine bar + restaurant idea, but missing from this one which I liked in [...]
The Source is located in Washington, D. C. adjacent to the Newseum. A Wolfgang Puck restaurant, it’s theme is on Asian-influenced, new American cuisine. Of course Puck is always known for mixing food up, and here it was no exception.
The meal started with some Chinese-inspired beans in [...]
I recently visited City Zen at the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel in Washington, the gustatory playground of chef Eric Ziebold. It seemed fitting to re-visit City Zen after trying his mentor’s work at the French Laundry last year.
The evening’s 6-course tasting menu was augmented by 3 additions, including a mushroom amuse bouche, [...]
The Kona Grill is one of the new flagship restaurants that has come to the greater Short Pump area of late. Flanked next to grocer Whole Foods, the Kona went up quickly and gave off airs of being a chain restaurant with a little prestige. From the understated yet modern [...]
This article details how to maintain a fresh loaf of bread throughout the week… by mixing up a master recipe that’s kept in the refrigerator. An interesting read.
[...]I took to the streets this Sunday to visit Richmond’s food festival, Broad Appetit. I also snapped some photos of the event.
There were many tasty treats. The last thing I had were these tempura-fried shiitake’s from Acacia. The whole ride home, my mouth was overwhelmed with significant mushroom flavor. [...]
I love salad. I’ve loved salad since I was young, when my mom used to take me to the Ponderosa Steak House and I’d get mounds and mounds of salad from their salad bar.
Of course, today I’ve grown up and I like making my own special salads. I thought I’d [...]
Tonight’s supper came from Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s famous cookbook of northern Italian cuisine, The Splendid Table.
She has a recipe for simple asparagus. After blanching it, you quickly sauté it with butter. I added one clove garlic to the [...]
This recipe was loosely followed from one that appeared in Bon Appetit magazine. The idea here is that you cook asparagus, topped with oyster mushrooms (cooked with shallot or garlic), then you top the asparagus with [...]
I’m tempted to try, although my pains for baking have never been stellar.
Baguette winning recipe from Chewswise.com.
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Dinner tonight consisted of some great sourdough rolls from the Fresh Market, a discussion about visiting Argentina, and this salad.
Bitter lettuces are mixed with sweet grape tomatoes in a dressing consisting of minced garlic, red wine vinegar, a [...]
Acacia Midtown is located at 2601 Cary Street in Richmond, just east of Carytown.
Inside you will find an inspired menu, minimalist decor, delicious eats, and a dining atmosphere that’s [...]
Would you like a very most excellent chocolate chip cookie?
(The only problem is, you’re going to have to wait a bit…)
Take your favorite recipe, and make a few adjustments.
Instead of using room-temperature butter, melt your butter to [...]It was a week ago last Sunday that I watched a program on television, CBS Sunday Morning, that featured a story on Going Cold Turkey from Meat.
The basic idea was this: a fire station’s crew went vegetarian to stay fit and healthy. I like vegetables and salads. Would going [...]
Despite the odd coloring on the outside of the building, we were drawn to the lastest Short Pump magnets like the rest of the far west-enders. We visitied Mimi’s Café on a busy weekend night.
Mimi’s is a chain, and in regards to our Mimi’s, is so new that wrinkles were [...]
I had the pleasure this week at dining at Le Yaca, a French restaurant located in Williamsburg, Virginia. It’s located in a shopping center, and while it was pretty empty at night (the shopping center), Le Yaca is alive and well.
I’ve eaten lunch here a number of years ago, enjoying [...]
A scrumptious dinner can be had with not a lot of fuss, should you decide to take the advice of one radio host, Mrs. Lynne Rosetto Kasper.
This evening I made her chicken with tarragon and buttered leeks [...]
Mama Cucina is located at 4028 Cox Rd in Glen Allen, VA in the “Shoppes of Innsbrook.” I’ve probably been there now 7-9 times, and my last trip pretty-much summed up my experience with them over the years. Each visit has been surprisingly consistent.
MC seems like a place you might [...]
Crab Omelette
Beat eggs with a few teaspoons of water and white pepper together, and add to a nonstick pan with melted butter. Create an omelette. No not scramble the eggs, let them come up to heat slowly by shaking the pan.
Add minced red peppers, and when eggs are set, lump [...]
Restaurant cooks prize thick pasta water. In “Heat,” his best-selling account of working in Mario Batali’s restaurant Babbo, Bill Buford describes how in the course of an evening, water in the pasta cooker goes from clear to cloudy to muddy, a stage that is “yucky-sounding but wonderful,” because the [...]
Located in Richmond’s far west end in the Food Lion shopping center along Ridgefield Parkway you will find Little Venice, an Italian restaurant that comes across as a “nice place” to eat. I’ve never been when it hasn’t been busy, and sometimes when I’ve called for a quick reservation, they’re [...]
Located on Franklin Street in downtown Richmond amid the enclave of VCU, this Mediterranean and Moroccan-inspired restaurant challenges those coming from the ‘burbs with a place to park. Yet, locals might just as well walk up to the dark-interiored eatery, complete with some otherworld decorations, and find a comfortable table [...]
A recent edition of Gourmet magazine featured rolls. I am a sucker for a good roll.
I made their parmesan-cheese “pullapart” rolls. Yeast, honey, and milk make up the base, to which we add copious amounts [...]
Clio is located in Boston, Massachusetts.
I had high expectations for Clio, being touted as one of the few places in Boston to enjoy the fruits of molecular gastronomy. While tenets of this cooking philosophy were on the menu, the majority [...]
This weekend I had the occasion of dining at Sandrine’s Bistro, an Alsatian/French restaurant at 8 Holyoke Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I like the atmosphere and “feel” of Sandrine’s even before I tasted their good bread, or before I sampled [...]
As the snow fell outside blanketing the Richmond area, I was busy making a three course meal that turned out… delicious.
Smoked Mozzarella and Oven-Roasted Tomato Salad Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushrooms Apple TartThe salad starts with a base of lettuce [...]
Ina Garten’s cookbooks are often filled with simple dishes with enough variety to pique the interest of almost anyone. Tonight, the MessyChef tried her tuscan white bean soup, and then I made a salad to complete the meal.
I don’t find myself in Virginia Beach often, but I recently was there on business and sought out good cuisine. My search led me to an area of new development in the city of Virginia Beach (far from the water, this is far from Atlantic Avenue). Located at 189 Central [...]
I know two ways to make beef short ribs, and both utilize the same cooking technique: braising. You can do a wine-based sauce, or a vinegar-based sauce. Tonight I tried the vinegary approach, tempered with sweet vegetables and brown sugar.
I think several components make up a great salad.
Texture, Color, Dressing, FlavorsThe flavors of the different components need to “meld” and “mesh” well together. A dressing can make a salad of simple greens, or overwhelm a more complex, composed salad. Variety of color and texture is important, too.
Tonight I tried something novel based on three variations I spied in Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s book, How to Eat Supper. She has a recipe for a summer tart with grapes that uses puff pastry dough [...]
The lunar year begins Monday in the U.S., Sunday in China. This is the year of the ox. To celebrate, we made some Asian dishes.
For dessert, we made the Ina Garten apple tart. Not Asian, I know, but it was [...]
Today, after reading about many positive experiences to David Chang’s recipe for brussels sprouts, I thought I’d give them a try.
The basic idea is to roast them until they turn brown, mix [...]
Located off Ridge Road in Richmond in the former location of Graffiti Grill is River’s Ridge Restaurant and Bar. On a Friday evening, the bar was in fact hopping with quite a crowd, while the dining room, adjacent, was far more tranquil. Diners ranged in age, many in their senior [...]
I came across a short, yet interesting story about fish soup.
The year? 1978. The place? Venice, Italy.
The owner returned in about half an hour with a huge fish overlapping both sides of the basket, which also contained a mass of greens and several bags of clams and shrimp [...]
Veal chops are tasty. There’s likely a hundred ways to dress a nice cut like this. For me, I chose a very simple preparation. Like many steaks or chops, I began by searing the outside in EVOO after it had [...]
Tonight in search for a delicious dinner, it was once again Ina’s newest book, Back to Basics, where we turned. We again were not disappointed.
MenuDessert came later in the form of espresso-enhanced hot cocoa. Ina recommends the addition of flavorings [...]
I had planned doing a recipe earlier this week from Ina Garten for roasted leek and potato soup. I ended up changing her recipe some, based on what I did and didn’t have. It was delicious, despite the modifications.
Chinese in the know know (say that a few times, why don’t you?) that the better food nowadays is in other areas of Washington, D.C., not Chinatown. Rockville, Maryland, typically is cited as the best place for “authentic” and “excellent” Chinese cuisine.
Yet, [...]
I found Farrah Olivia by Morou by accident, really. I was in D.C., and I was at the Springfield Mall, looking for a place to eat dinner. That’s what happens when you get in your car after getting off the Metro. With nothing but fast food there at the [...]
Ever since coming to Richmond, I’ve read and heard about Lemaire. People I know who have gone always had the best things to say. I made a deal never to go there, until I was ready to leave Richmond. It would be some kind of ceremonial last meal, “Richmond’s best,” [...]
My mother got me one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks for Christmas, Back to Basics. It’s my first from one of my favorite TV personalities for food.
We started with her roasted tomato caprese salad, here with mozarella, basil EVOO, [...]
I had almost forgotten my now-packaged cake. I began to walk out the door, but my waiter stopped me. “Thomas wanted you to have this,” and he gave me Thomas Keller’s new cookbook. That’s a $75 cookbook! I was in shock; I didn’t know what to say. I thanked [...]
My mom bought be that cult book, The Secret some time ago, and while I tried it for the first 10 pages, it wasn’t my thing. But I have something to tell you: I have a secret of my own.
Roast ChickenI’ve made roasted chicken before, sure, who hasn’t? It can [...]
I’ve been eating at the Full Kee restaurant off West Broad Street here in Richmond now for almost 8.5 years. I’d say I’ve been a loyal customer. I’ve reviewed it plenty, but I feel I have to share details of my last experience there.
Something bad happens when you start to get multiple magazines, new cookbooks, and you can’t remember where you saw that particular recipe.
I picked up some bratwurst sausage today, thinking of a recipe I’d read: it had apples, onions perhaps, not sure what else. So, I created my own recipe. I’ll [...]
This year I wanted to try something different… I’ve been learning so much about wine, I wanted to showcase how it can match and pair with various foods. On the few occasions I’ve eaten tasting menus that pair with a wine, I’m always overwhelmed with how some wines just seem [...]
In a recent trip along Cary Street in Richmond to Can-Can, I passed a vacated store that is now occupied: Penzys Spices now has a Richmond outlet!
Some friends of mine have used their catalog for a number of years to procure high-quality seasonings from them. Of course, I [...]
On November 30, 2008, I was privileged to eat at the French Laundry in Yountville, CA.
I’ll cover each course and what I thought.
Menu Amuses BouchesA cheese puff: tasty, great match to the blanc de blanc champagne. And of course the salmon coronet. It tasted precisely [...]
Once again, we made beef short ribs. I learned a thing or two, listening to Lynne Rosetto Kasper on American Public Media via podcast: can’t braise your beef above 170 degrees for too long, or else you won’t [...]
While in the D.C. area recently, I had lunch at La Chaumière, which as you may have guessed, serves French food.
As other descriptions may foretell, the atmosphere here is a little cozy. We got to sit adjacent to the fireplace which sets in the center of the restaurant, [...]
Some weeks ago, I visited Chapel Hill, NC, and their venerable fancy food store, A Southern Season. I stayed long enough for dinner at their restaurant, The Weathervane.
I didn’t much care for where we were seated. The best room, I think, is the first one, with a view of the [...]
I’ve been shamelessly listening to the most excellent radio program, The Splendid Table now for a couple of months, relishing in host Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s more recent episodes, and of course, going back for more that were previously recorded. You can listen to her Saturday American Public Media show [...]
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Here’s the deal:
I picked up an aged steak, a ribeye, and got some nice marks on it using a grill pan. I also reduced an entire bottle of cabernet, and at the end, mounted a bit of butter [...]
If you’ve made risotto before, it’s the same basic idea here. Start with a mixture [...]
We recently decided to try the new Japanese steakhouse west of Short Pump Mall, along Broad Street, adjacent to the new Ethan Allen furniture store.
They offer a more traditional dining area “for sushi” orders, and the larger part of their dining room is available for Teppan table dining. The fold-out [...]
Today I visited (for the first time) the fun at Brown’s Island at the 2008 Richmond Folk Music Festival.
I came across this tasting-menu review of Bo Innovation, a Hong Kong restaurant. I’m intrigued.
It sounds like an Asian version of molecular gastronomy. I’d really like to try some of this!
[...]I keep hearing about mac and cheese. It’s the comfort food everyone’s talking about, and trying to re-invent. So, I made my own version.
This one used applewood smoked bacon. That made it… great.
Start by making a cream sauce. Bacon fat, [...]
I recently cooked an Italian meal inspired from two sources.
For one, I consulted some magazines at the library, and found a quick and easy recipe in Gourmet for veal in brown butter and capers. I made this pretty much the way they suggested, after pounding the scallopini.
My only addition was [...]
Recently, our friend Greg celebrated his birthday, and the Messy Chef was in the kitchen.
Menu
The bread and cake were simple - we procured them from the new Whole Foods in Short Pump.
Tonight I made a dinner that was inspired by a delectable magazine cover shot from almost a year ago—Bon Appetit had a simple recipe for short ribs, one of my more favorite dishes.
The [...]
Ingredients:
Procedure:
Make a “sauce” out of cooking oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, fresh [...]
I’ve been several times already to the new Whole Foods market in Short Pump. I love a lot about what I see. But the store also needs to work on some issues.
First the bad.
This weekend I had dinner at MoshiMoshi, an Asian fusion restaurant in Richmond’s Carytown.
You might like first to read about Moshi elsewhere:
It’s been hot this weekend, and we were looking for a place that was cool. After arriving, [...]
There are not too many weekends that I don’t find my way down at Vietnam-1 on Broad Street (adjacent to Horsepen), ordering one of my favorite noodle dishes, including this one, the infamous N6 (pork dumplings). I always add a touch [...]
I couldn’t find an entry about this. But this past July I made this dessert, inspired from a recipe in Gourmet magazine. They called it “Blueberry Fool.”
It’s still appropriate for late August… early September… the temperature today was about 84 degrees. A [...]
It’s been awhile! Phew, busy, busy.
First, I wanted to share with you another salad I made.
It was going to be a Cobb, but I decided at the last minute not to include the bacon. And besides, the lettuce mixture [...]
Tonight I made some fish. I’m always looking for simple preparations; full flavors are good too. Here, I used a soy-based gingery, garlicky sauce with some heat. I covered an orange roughy filet with the sauce and baked it in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes until fully cooked, [...]
Top Chef Hung is up for the prestigious Bocuse d’Or later this year.
[...]Our wonderful dinner started with a special salad, hinting with garlic, but highlighting delicious summer tomatoes in red and yellow.
Toasted pine nuts added crunch, and Maytag Dairy blue cheese was tucked away in all the [...]
It was Saturday. That means Belmont Butchery on Belmont in Richmond is open! Time for some good, quality meat.
Oven roasted asparagus with garlic was one item up for the plate; another was some butter-basted garlic potatoes. More attention was devoted [...]
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