Saturday, August 11, 2007

Of beets, vanilla custards, and restaurants named for women

I have not written for quite some time – and while I would like to say this is due to laziness, that is only partly true. The fact of the matter is that I simply have not had many dining experiences worth annotating in a while – I have been on the road much, and have also had too much taken out of me to sit down and write. But this week is Restaurant Week in DC, and that in itself is probably enough to prompt an entry.

In retrospect, to say that I have not had experiences worth annotating is probably harsh – I did have one meal about a month ago at a place called Acacia in Princeton, NJ at Laura’s recommendation – that was very, very good without being great. The mascarpone polenta that came with my shrimp appetiser was creamy and light and very tasty, and clearly bore the hand of a skilled chef. Also, I was in Torrance, CA recently and ate at a lovely little resto called Restaurant Christine, which was a quiet little place with a greenery-adorned patio and an inside decked in shades of persimmon. I have a weird thing for anything – restaurants, bars, boats – named after women. I sat inside, in a booth on the first floor instead of the mezzanine, and had a delightful salad with beets and duck confit and pecans. It was the best salad I’d had in a long while, and I cleaned my plate. But it also meant that I had no room for my entrée – prosciutto-wrapped beef tenderloin medallions, which came in a rich, creamy sauce and left me completely and utterly defeated. I threw my hands up after three of the six medallions and sighed a sigh of contentment.

But back to Restaurant Week. I had scheduled two dinners for the week, one for tonight and another for tomorrow – and I will write about them – but early in the week I decided that in the spirit of things I would do a Restaurant Week myself, chez moi: three courses, with wine pairings. The idea started as a passing fancy, but slowly grew to take hold of me; and once Kellyn and Hunter had announced that they were down, I sent out the invites.

Hunter wound up not being able to make it – I suspect he was put off by my jokingly announcing that he would have to give me $30.07 for dinner, that cheap bastard. Work dinner, my ass. But Brian and Jenna gave me the thumbs up, as did Amanda and Clayton, and I had a guest list of some of my favourite people in DC.

Everyone arrived at almost exactly the same time as each other – which never happens – and Kellyn hung out with me in the kitchen while I put the finishing touches on the first course. I had made a sherry-glazed filet of cod, and was going to pair it with a blue cheese riso with caramelized onions, grape tomatoes and artichoke hearts. I pan-seared the cod in a pat of butter, flipping it very carefully, and then finished it off in the oven while I assembled the riso. Feeling very self-conscious as Kellyn scrutinised my every move, I tossed the riso with olive oil, then the tomatoes and artichokes and onions, and then folded in the crumbled blue cheese. The pasta took on a silvery, slippery hue as the cheese melted on it, and I could hardly wait to eat it. I had not kept track of time as I did this, but when I checked on the fish I could tell with a single look that it needed about a minute more, no more, and no less. I prodded it with my finger after a minute and, satisfied, plated it with the riso and sprinkled chopped parsley generously over both.

This was the course I was the most satisfied with because the fish was cooked almost to perfection, moist and crumbly and probably just about one shade this side of opaque. I could probably have finished it off with another pat of butter, or adorned it with a sherry reduction, but it turned out very well as it was, and I dare say nobody was disappointed. Also, the colours made for a great presentation, and that always pleases me. We had a 2006 Jacques & Francois Lurton Les Fumées Blanches Chardonnay with it, and it worked pretty well.

I fell back on an old favourite for the entrée – beef in chimichurri. To be honest, the butcher at Whole Foods gave me the idea – we were talking about cost-efficient ways to feed six people without buying six individual steaks or six individual chops, and he suggested searing or grilling a large cut of sirloin, rare to medium rare, and then cutting it into thin strips to serve. This worked so well that I was a little mad I hadn’t thought of it before. Okay, so probably nobody was overly full, but I do speak for myself when I say I was content. I paired it with a 2004 Bodega Norton Malbec Riserva which was in keeping with the Argentinean theme, and had a heft and body that complemented the dish perfectly. As a side I made a potato-beet gratin that I had probably mis-timed and overcooked by about five to ten minutes; and might also have used a little more cream, a la dauphinoise, but was quite tasty nonetheless. I love beets. For the life of me I cannot understand why more people do not like them. To me they are extremely underrated. They are delicious and low in calories, and also very good for you. My friend Laura is vegetarian and hates beets, which amazes me. Really, Laura, I should imagine that the last thing you want to do is to cut down on your already limited options.

For dessert I made strawberry napoleons, which were quite a great hit. I do not typically try my hand at making dessert, for I am atrocious at it. But I had had a conversation recently about Pastiche in Providence and their amazing fruit tarts, and was inspired to make a custard to rival theirs. The one I made didn’t even come close, but it was very good. For good measure I sprinkled a healthy helping of confectioner’s sugar over the napoleons for that professional and aesthetic touch. They were good to look at, and I am kicking myself for not taking a photo, but they were also good to eat, which made me happy. Incredibly enough, there were leftovers, which Clayton and I polished off the next morning for breakfast. They were even better then than at dinner, which leads me to conclude that I should make the custard 24 hours in advance the next time. We live and we learn.

It was a very enjoyable night, with excellent company, and I was very happy with how everything turned out. I wondered what it was that had separated that night from all the other mediocre dinners I had made in the past, and I can only conclude that food always tastes better when you are making it for people that you really care about.

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If you must know:

Acacia
2637 Main St
Lawrenceville, NJ
609-895-9885

Restaurant Christine
24530 Hawthorne Boulevard
Torrance, CA
310-373-1952

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