Grill-charred beef, sliced into deliciously thick, glistening slabs of soul-saving goodness.

Happy hump day!

You’ve heard that new Fresh Market opened in Newport News, yes?

It’s as vast and tempting as I feared.

Wooden barrels hold a dizzying assortment of coffees. Just beyond that waits a just as impressive array of candies and chocolate.

Rows and bins are abundantly stacked with gorgeous fruit & veg.

There are two very well stocked antipasti bars- be sure not to miss out on the mozzarella & prosciutto stuffed peppers!

Roasted chickens? Check, along with a glistening hodgepodge of other prepared meats.

My sweet tooth looks to be well taken care of here, be it of the chocolate-

-or of the fruit variety.

Then there is the fresh seafood special…

…or freshly cut fish steaks and fillets.

Crusty (and quite good) breads.

Freshly ground meats… sold only the same day they are ground? Nice.

Fairly fresh sushi? It is good for supermarket sushi.

A world of cheeses:

and a wall of ground spices.

Snacks!

Kebabs and salads. The roasted chicken salad, particularly, is quite addictive.

Alliums & gourds.

Fresh green beans.

LOTS o’ parmesan.

Fresh p.b.

Sweets, like the corner drugstores of yore.

Cold (and warm) wine.

Rows upon rows of condiments, sauces, syrups, vinegars, drizzles and oils galore.

Beautiful ugli tomatoes.

Fresh cherries, yellow and red.

Fresh, plump figs.

Sadly and gladly, this is just down the street from me.  It is very much like Disneyland for grown-ups: beautiful, enchanting, and rather expensive. It is a lovely little escape from every day life.

Mary Peepins & the Chimney Peeps

Snow White & the Seven Peeps

The Village Peep-le

Peeping Beauty

Michael Peeps- Olympeep Swimmer

Chicks on the Beach

Chick Magnet… or Snuggle Bunny?

Oh, the fun we have as Library Folk… happy spring holidays, ya’all!

I’ve a friend who has a finger pushed deep into the meaty pulse of the Cleveland corned beef scene (lucky for me & Dave). There have been many nights we’ve clustered ’round his kitchen counter, privy to a succession of sweet scents and savoury tastes.

Proper corned beef takes a few hours to boil down to perfection. Happily, our friend bakes a mighty fine, buttery bread that takes away the edge of hunger.

As we nibble, the food fumes waft around our game of Blokus.  Cabbage and carrots are added to the simmering pot, as we play another round or two.

Then, it’s time to eat.

Nothin’ says lovin’ like a massive platter of corned beef-ready cabbage, carrots & potatoes.  And then, of course, there is the corned beef itself.

It’s a fabulous, intense, meaty meal, full of lovely, lingering flavours.

A day passes, maybe two.  Then the leftovers step up and come into play.

Crusty bread, melty cheese and the tasty corned beef add up to one delicious sandwich.

Proper Corned Beef

• 48-oz dark beer
• 1/2 tablespoon pink peppercorns
• 4-5 peeled good sized garlic cloves
• 6-7 whole cloves
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• seasoned pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• Corned Beef:  It does matter what type you use, and we’ve been seriously
  spoiled by Cleveland’s best.  Ours comes from S&K deli, located in
  the West Side Market (phone #216-781-3354): they will ship anywhere. Put

Place all ingredients in large pot ( 10-12 quarts), cover with water and bring to simmer.  Reduce heat and cook for 3.5-4 hours.
Remove corned beef from liquid boil, place on sheet pan and tent with foil.
(You can also top with brown sugar prior to tenting for those who like it sweet.)

Strain the liquid boil to separate the peppercorns, mustard seed,
etc.  Return strained liquid to large pot and add potatoes; bring to boil.
Cook potatoes for 1/2 hour; add carrots, quartered cabbage and cook for
additional 1/2 hour.  10 minutes before vegetables are done, remove foil
from corned beef and place under broiler just long enough to caramelize the
brown sugar (be careful here because you can over do and dry out the meat).
Slice meat, serve with vegetables and apple cider vinegar.

recipe courtesy Jeff Knight

Crispy French Bread

• Mix the following three items together:
• 1 package bread machine yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup tepid water

Then add:

• 4 cups level AP flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 cup tepid water

Make sure the salt goes on top of flour: if salt hits yeast, it will kill it.

Once all is mixed, cover w/ wax paper & let rise for 1 hour. Push dough down with back of spoon. Divide dough in half and put into 2 round buttered 1 1/2-quart pyrex bowls. Cover again, and allow to rise 45 min.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, Melt 1 stick of butter, pour over dough and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden.

It’s great for soaking up the juice from a fat roast, or for breakfast toasted w/ jam.

recipe courtesy Mrs. Knight

Because some days are just like that.

Hey folks. Here I am, talking about food.

Not death, sadness nor madness. This is good, right?

At any rate, I suddenly realized that we are just a short time away from Christmas! And you know what that means… it’s either time to get baking, or time to pull out old photos from last Christmas that I never got ’round to blogging.

I chose the latter, and that would be the fabulous creation known as “Buche de Noel.”

This is a posh-looking dessert that pretty much anyone could make (hey, I did!), and looks especially festive and grandiose. The secret? Just a little time. It isn’t at all as difficult as it appears.

That said, you can go all out, or just wing it, like I did it. Click the following link to view some good images of finely crafted buche de noels: woodland beauty.

Mine, not so much. I am more of a cake eater, not so much a cake maker. The process wasn’t quite smooth, but turned out flawless in the end. It must be said: the little details really make this dish pop.

To begin with, the cake must be baked, rolled and unrolled. Sometimes that second bit doesn’t go so well:

Oh, man. Totally not promising looking! Suck it up, ignore the cracks, and continue on, my friends.

Once the filling has been carefully spread, the cake will act like decadent, chocolatey- glue, holding everything together.

After some careful frosting application, I was able to produce a log-like shape. Note that the pic is bad, as it was frantically snapped at a dinner party, moments before being devoured.

Yes, perhaps it looks like some sort of steak from this angle. In person, it looked much better, what with the cute little meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries & rosemary sprigs.

Perhaps it’s a bit cheesy, but don’t the holidays follow in much the same vein?

Craft your own fancy-pantsy buche de noel via Epicurious: here!

And for what it’s worth, making meringue mushrooms is one of the coolest confections I’ve had the pleasure of making.

You were loved very much, and we will miss you dearly. 

get out and VOTE!!!

I’ve been going down to Duck for several years now. Faithfully, Dave & I make a pit stop for lunch at The Roadside Cafe, home to an intensely fabulous BLT. Not only are the holy trifecta of excellent quality, the mayo that accompanies it is even better.

I’ve written about this fabled roasted garlic aioli a time or two, including the day we tried to finagle the ingredients from the cranky cook (long story short: he wouldn’t give).

Undeterred, I started with the basics: making my own mayonnaise. And then the tinkering began:

Garlic was roasted, and spices were bandied about. The results were tasty, but not spot-on. Finally, Dave suggested we simplify: use Duke’s Mayonnaise (the best stuff you can get in a bottle), the garlic and a pinch of cayenne.

After one taste, he added in a touch of paprika, and there it was, at long last:

I’m still not sure why some Roadside batches of this came out electric orange, but the flavour was just right: creamy, garlicky and spicy, just like I remembered.

Roadside Roasted Garlic Aioli

• 1 head roasted garlic, squeezed and mashed to a paste
• 1/2 cup Duke’s mayo
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (to begin with)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (to begin with)

Combine all ingredients together thoroughly, then sample. Adjust cayenne/paprika to preferred taste.

I know, I know.  I am being a bad, infrequently posting blogger.  But there has been a lot going on, and here’s a sneak peek at upcoming postings.

This, in particular, has really kept me quite pre-occupied:

Aside from that, Dave & I have finally nailed a certain roasted garlic aioli:

Drank some fine wine:

And discovered that a real order of steak frites actually comes with…

…steak!  Seriously, who knew?

At any rate, this blog is in the process of getting a makeover, and I’m hoping it will soon be all shiny and pretty for this lovely fall season.