This Week in Food: Tres Leches

I've skipped a few "weeks" here, I know, and I'll probably skip a few more with moving and everything. (It doesn't follow that we're not eating, just not as much time to experiment for reasons you well know.) We've gotta dwindle down our food supply!

Alas! Tres leches, or Three Milk Cake [Tres = three, leches = milk (in Spanish)]. It comes from the Latin American region of our globe, and it is absolutely delicious!

This isn't my photo - I forgot to take my own - but it looks the same.
Wait, who am I kidding, their photo would be so much better than
 mine anyway!

Here's the gist: combine heavy cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk, and pour mixture over a sponge cake - let cake absorb. Top with whipped topping and serve chilled. Variants include cream of coconut instead of condensed milk and some even add Dulce de Leche as a fourth milk. Despite the (ahem) healthy contents, the dessert is deceptively light...and dangerously good. To give you some idea, it has a sort of custard/flan type flavor.

Happy eating...and enjoy!

The Kitchen. An Incredible Dining Experience

If you're from the Sacramento area, you may have heard of The Kitchen. If you're not, you probably haven't. So let me tell you what it is not. It is not a restaurant. It is not a hurry-up-and-eat-so-I-can-seat-the-next-growling-stomach. It is not like anything you've ever done before. No, what The Kitchen is is an experience. And two of our favorite people in the entire world (Troy and April Franklin) took us there for a mystery date.

We stepped foot into a beautiful dining room, tables littered about with white linens, a U-shaped bench  around the cooking area (also where we sat), candles, a wall of wines, a full service kitchen in back (they encourage you to walk through it too!). Once all ~50 people arrived, they locked us inside, pulled the draperies closed, and the entertainment began.

Me and Ben

Me and April with Troy in the background

Ben and Troy

The menu is fixed, organized into Acts like this:

ACT I was an overview of our evening, with introductions, and information about food. The food began with ACT II. Thai Style Bisque and Quail Confit with Black Rice, Coconut Milk, Fresh Turmeric, Fuji Apple and Chives. Sound good?

It was heaven.

ACT III came along. A Warm Salad of Sanger Lamb Sausage, Good Egg, Artichoke, Blood Orange, Frisee, and Brioche.

They prepared every dish before us.

Voila!

That, also, was heaven. Did I mention you can order more servings? Of anything? Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Then came INTERMISSION. A beautiful spread of Sushi and Sashimi awaited us. There was even real wasabi. 

Oysters!

By the way, this real wasabi was over $100/lb!

ACT IV. Maine Lobster Carbonara with Lardo, Tarragon and Duck Broth. Okay, just so you know, Carbonara is one of my favorite things. If you've ever had it, you know it's usually paired with a pork product. Needless to say, I was overwhelmingly curious to know what it would taste like with lobster. The answer? AMAZING! Also, in case you're wondering, Lardo is pork fat. Croutons of fried pork fat.

I didn't think anything could trump bacon.

Live lobster!

Masters at work...

Remembering the flavor makes me salivate.

ACT V (no, we're not done!). Brown Butter Poached Beef Tenderloin with Potato-Gruyere 'Puffs', Porcini Mushrooms and Cabernet Reduction. You could opt to add Fois Gras, which April and Troy did. It tasted like butter.

ACT VI was a nice 'pause' for our stomachs: a white-gloved tea service and fresh brewed coffee.

Until ACT VII came along with Bittersweet Chocolate Tart, Sweet Lime Custard, Candied Pecan 'Dos Leches' Ice Cream and Strawberry Cream.

Then midnight chimed, and we turned into pumpkins. Well, not really. But we certainly felt round!

What an incredible dinner. After such an experience with so many incredible flavors, Ben and I decided we are forever ruined. Thanks April and Troy for an amazing night!

This Week in Food: Quiche

I know. Not that exciting, but one of our absolute favorite food groups. And making one has been looong overdue. We like ours with bacon, onion, spinach, swiss, and mozzarella. We also aren't opposed to trying new versions, so if any of you have any recipes to share, SEND, SEND!

This Week in Food: Socca

Layered Casserole with Beef, Cabbage, & Potato

Since I've been on this unintentional trend of "one-pot-meals", I thought, "Hey, why deviate?" So, rather than change that trend, I opted for changing the region. ITALY! The recipe brought to you buy Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (thanks for the beautiful Italian cookbook Uncle A!)

Socca is from Valle d'Aosta, a region located in the northwest corner of Italy. It's nestled right in the western Alpine range surrounded by infamous peaks like the Matterhorn. (Yes, the inspiration for the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland. I wonder if that's also where they got their inspiration for the abominable snowman...)

The dish itself is exactly what the English name says (see above): a big casserole with slices of beef, shredded cabbage, and sliced potatoes (all nicely seasoned with a sort of homemade pesto). It bakes for a couple hours, then bakes again, covered with a layer of shredded fontina, which then bakes into a crusty cheese topping. Needless to say, the smells saturating our home made my mouth water for 2 hours straight.

Could it get any better? Yes. It could. We ate it.

And we'll definitely be making this one again. Anyone interested? :)

This Week in Food: Beef Wellington

Some say it's named after the famous Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, known for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo. It's rumored he loved a dish of beef, mushrooms, truffles, Madeira Wine, and pate' cooked in pastry. And some say the Duke of Wellington was indifferent to food, and the dish is actually named after a highly polished Wellington boot. And still others say it was a actually a French dish called "Filet de Boeuf en Croute"renamed by a patriotic English chef--which holds more credibility especially since the recipe doesn't actually show up in a cookbook until 1966. (I'm sure there are more rumors...I think three is enough, don't you?)

But whatever the history may be, the result is a very rich and hearty dish. The meat, a cut of beef tenderloin (aka filet mignon), cost a whopping $14.99/lb. Needless to say, I read the recipe about 3 times through before attempting anything with that beef. It was then seared, covered in dijon mustard, coated with a layer of duxelles (mushrooms, shallots, and garlic), then wrapped with slices of prosciutto; all of which was wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven. I know what you're thinking. A dinner right from Cooking Light. Of course there's a side of a creamy (heavy whipping cream to be exact) Green Peppercorn sauce to accompany it. The result was overwhelming for our taste buds and a little thick for our stomachs.

It wasn't really as bloody as the photo looks. The meat was cooked 'just right'. It's just that my camera doesn't think so.

The flavor of this was very unique and interesting, although I can't say it's on our list of food keepsakes. The cut of meat was excellent (really...it would have been fabulous on its own), but the flavors were a little heavy for us. But it was fun to try!

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

The first time I ever tried making it! See, vacations prove fruitful for my culinary exploits. And very unfruitful for my diet. It was...dee-lish! So rich, I couldn't even eat the Klondike bar for dessert. And I NEVER turn my head away from dessert. Still recovering...

A Very English Feast

I know what you're thinking: "Isn't that an oxymoron?" And I won't disagree with you. However, our recent discovery of Strongbow Cider has led to a bout of exploring British cuisine (yes, such a thing exists). So, we found a place nearby that sells the Cider, and then had the idea to make a dinner out of it. And what was on the menu? Shepherd's Pie.

Shepherd's Pie is Ben's new favorite. It's meat (ground lamb, to be exact), simmered in broth, rosemary, thyme, and Worcestershire with sauteed onions, garlic, carrots, corn, and peas, all topped with mashed potatoes and then baked in the oven for about a half hour. Traditional English--all food groups in one pot. You got it. Comfort food. And it has earned a rightful position on our list of favorite recipes.

We fell asleep soon after.