What's for dinner (6/28)?

My sister and I have been going back and forth about Ferran Adria lately...I'm still mesmerized by his creations (not to mention the works of others such as Grant Achatz), and find myself more and more tempted by a career change.  I often think that there are a number of "great engineering challenges" that I'd like to solve first, but that's a finite set that slowly grows with time as I become more invested in my career.  Conceivably, if I made a conscious decision to change, I could happily toil away on those problems and no others as I transition to a life of culinary magic.  I suspect, though, that the glamorous life of a chef, complete with smoke breaks, late hours, and rushing around madly in order to fulfill orders promptly, would never agree with me.  I'd have to take the slow food movement to a different level entirely, or else learn to work differently.  So, to make a long musing short, don't expect to see me switching careers any time soon.  However, do expect to see me start to have some fun in the kitchen now that I'm happy with the repertoire of recipes at my disposal (which includes Thursday night's dinner)...

Thursday night I had Mark over to watch the US Track and Field Olympic qualifying championships.  Given the short notice and late departure from work, I fell back on one of the old standards that I developed in grad school.  General Tso's chicken (or as Mark called it, General Matt's chicken since I pretty much just made up the recipe to be what I wanted it to be), is one of those dishes that can be a lot of fun with two people...one getting their hands caked with so much egg and flour batter that they look like bad props from a 60s era movie, and the other person whisking and stirring the sauce before it decides to burn or settle out of suspension.  In all, it's a relatively quick meal to do...about an hour...and usually has great results:

General Tso's (Matt's) Chicken

Chicken, sauce, broccoli, and whole grain rice.  Yum.  I generally judge the success of a dish by how quickly it gets eaten or by how many bowls full my dinner guests take.  And while dinner was successful in that regard, dessert was even more so.  I finally got around to using the last of my home made green tea ice cream to make green tea almond milk shakes.  After I gave Mark his, I turned around to frame and take this next photo, then turned back around and sat down, at which point I noticed that Mark's milk shake was empty.  So, by definition, that is a resounding success.  Sorry everybody, there's no more green tea ice cream left in my freezer, and I'm going with a very different flavor for the next venture into ice cream  making land...

Green Tea Almond Milk Shake

BBQ - Williamsburg Take #2

(June 25th, 2012) In case you didn't pick up on my last food-related post, I have a soft spot in my heart for soul food.  I suppose that's the Southern upbringing in me coming out, or perhaps it's more rooted in shared bonding experiences with my father.  Whatever the case may be, I planned on breaking up the drive from DC to Kitty Hawk with a stopover at Pierce's Pit BBQ for lunch.  Pierce's is a, well, used to be a tiny, road side dive off of I-64 in Virginia near Lightfoot (the first Williamsburg exit if you're headed East from Richmond).  Now, as you can tell from that website, it's grown into something a bit larger and fancier, but the soul of the BBQ is still there.  Nothing aesthetically fantastic, it's simply some good eats.

Jumbo sandwich (coleslaw on the bottom, out of sight), and sweet potato sticks.

What makes it so good?  Well, what makes any great pork dish so good?  Slowly cooking the meat for a looooong time (and sometimes in a scrumptious sauce).  Isn't that the secret to a good carne adovada?  For this BBQ, it's no different.  And, as this is a Southern institution, it's complete with coleslaw hiding on the bottom side of the sandwich...the contrast of the sweet, hot tender meat is met perfectly by the cold, crunchy, crisp taste of the coleslaw.  Paired with it was a side of sweet potato sticks.  I broke one open in the photograph for you to see how the insides are, essentially, molten sweet potato just waiting to ooze out.  So good.

Training Log, 6/18-6/24

Travel week.  Typically, these are my favorite weeks for running - an opportunity to try new trails, run to new destinations, and enjoy the insanely abundant amount of oxygen present at sea level!  This week, however, was a bit different.  It took me all week to figure out that the seats in my rental car were exacerbating an IT band problem that I've been having...something that normally would work itself out during the first quarter mile of a run was now persistently bugging me for six, seven, or even eight miles.  Just not fun.  On top of that, the heat and humidity were oppressive...how did I ever manage to grow up in that climate?  There's no question about it, I'm totally spoiled by New Mexico.  Last, but not least, my watch had no idea what was going on either.  By the time I got to DC, so running along forested trails with highly overcast skies, it just kept telling me that I was running a minute a mile slower than I normally do...was I getting sick or injured?  I just couldn't figure it out, so I did a loop that I've done dozens of times in the past and, lo and behold, my watch said it was magically a mile shorter than it normally is...so maybe I'm not going crazy, or I've just gone so crazy that it's reached the point where I don't know where that reality line is anymore...I'm guessing the former though...

Aside from all of that neurotic/incessant worrying about how I was feeling and running, it was a nice trip.  I gave myself a thorough tour of the game trails of William and Mary's campus in Williamsburg, VA, in addition to seeing some old, familiar haunts of yesteryear.  It'd be really nice to revisit that area during the spring or fall (and with a rental car that does not make me cringe at the thought of sitting in it...).

Now, without further adieu:
M: Pole line Pennsylvania loop on base (9.9)
Tu: The stables - golf course run on base (8.4)
W: Tramway from Academy to County Line and back (6.1)
Th: Around colonial Williamsburg and William and Mary (13)
F: Around William and Mary's campus trails (7.9)
Sa: Holmes Park Run in Alexandria, VA (7)
Su: Off
Total over 7 days: 52.3
Last 365 days: 3115.3

A little low this last week due to no long run, but my legs feel a lot fresher as a result.

Dining in DC

(June 23rd-24th, 2012) Stop three of my whirl wind tour of the East coast (stop 2 was back in my home town of Culpeper, VA! to visit the God parents) is in our nation's capitol, Washington DC.  Why do I always find myself describing life as whirl wind-esque?  Now, Kafka-esque...that'd be pretty surreal, but whirl wind-esque?  I do enjoy taking a moment in life to catch my breath and watch the clouds pass over the mountains...but it just seems that the opportunities for that are growing fewer and farther between as the years pass.  It's not been active decision on my part either...just the way life develops, or so I'd like to think.  Who knows, maybe if I were to sit down and apply the standard psychobabble to my condition, I'd see a deep seated pattern of restlessness within the physical confines of work that I felt a strong an intense desire to abandon.  Maybe I really did miss my calling to be a chef?  Well, I'd like to think that it's not too late to become a gastroengineer.  I think I'd want to do an internship with one of the chefs like Ferran Adria (Matt, what do you mean one of?  There is only one Ferran Adria! But, for your edification, there are two links...) before I could go down that road completely, and the chances of that happening are pretty low...would need to probably learn Spanish, move to Catalonia, somehow convince him to take me on (probably as a dish washer at first, then slowly work my way up), and, well, yeah...

Anyways, where was I?  Oh yes, DC.  Isn't that the whole purpose of this blog, to answer that simple question: where was/am I?  I don't even know half the time.

Contrary to what y'all might think, not every restaurant that I give my patronage to owns a Michelin star or James Beard award.  Just most of them. ;-)  Friday night was focused on getting me some good ol' soul food.  So, right after coming into town, I found myself sitting down at King Street Blues.  For all of you in Albuquerque, imagine the Range if it did ribs.  That's right, include the paper machee and all.  Nothing spectacular, but good, soul food, complete with hushpuppies and other fried goodness.

King Street Blues.  Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Saturday was a bit more culinary-centric...I started off by going to the farmer's market in Olde Towne Alexandria.  A few tempting morsels, but since I'm traveling the temptation was never too great (save for the seasoned and cured pork side meat that didn't need to be refrigerated).

Farmer's market in Olde Towne Alexandria.

Following that, I met up with Jeb Bernabucci, whom I've known since second grade.  Our original plan was Ethiopian food, but we felt inspired by a German beer garden by the name of the Standard, so we happily diverted ourselves to enjoying landjager (German jerky), brats, beer, and corn on the cob.  Good, simple food.  Oh what I have to look forward to in just a few months!

Hofbrau, Mexican-style corn on the cob, Bratwurst with kraut, and stone ground mustard.

From there, to continue cooling off from the hot and humid day that seems to be so prevalent on the East coast right now, we continued down 14th St. to Pitango Gelato Company.  I think that my visits into DC are either harried (by the nature of my company), or constricted (by the nature of the function, e.g. a conference), so I never have an opportunity to just *be* in DC.  Well, this time was different...we were just walking around DC and having a chance to enjoy city living.  It seemed a heck of a lot better than I remembered it being from yesteryears, but not enough to pull me back...

Mmmm, gelato.

As Saturday night rolled around, I found myself headed to Cheesetique, over in Del Ray.  Just picture what you think a restaurant/specialty grocery store called Cheesetique would be like, then double the amount of cheese.  And yes, it *is* that good too.

Some of Cheesetique's selection...

As you can imagine, we had to start with a cheese plate...a smokey/ashy soft cheese called Humbolt Fog, a pair of harder, milder cheeses called Montasio and Ossau Iraty, then a stinky blue cheese (the best!) called Valdeon, followed by a stinky brie-like cheese called the Stinking Bishop.  Scrumpdiddlyumptious!

Cheese plate:  top row: quince, olives, cherries.  2nd row: Valdeon, Humbolt Fog, black olive tapenade.  3rd row: Montasio and cornichons. 4th row: Stinking Bishop, Ossau Iraty, and bruschetta. Last row: grapes.

For the actual meal, I ended up with a grilled caprese sandwich, topped with pancetta and accompanied by a Duchesse Sour Ale.  Have I mentioned before that I love pancetta?  Especially when it's fried in duck fat and truffle oil?  I think that I have.  This pancetta was not prepared that way, but it was pancetta, served on tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil.  So pure and delicious.  And the sour ale...wow...that had quite a bit of a sour kick at the end.

Duchesse Sour Ale

Caprese Sandwich with pancetta added and potato salad.

Sunday saw a trip to Virtue Feed and Grain for brunch.  The previous time that I had been there was for their normal menu...think pates, plowman's meals, shepherd's pie, etc.  Terrific, though whole-hog type food.  The brunch menu, sadly, was not as adventurous, but still good.  I ended up with Eggs Benedict, Chesapeake style, which meant crab instead of ham.  Mmmm, how I enjoy being on the East coast again to enjoy sea food regularly.

Eggs Benedict, Chesapeake style.

Previous visit: Shepherd's Pie, with Engine Oil to drink.

Last stop for the DC dining experience was somewhat unexpected (at least from the stand point of including it in this blog).  Sunday afternoon I went into the city for Fr. Steggert's (my old biology teacher from high school), going away celebration.  After the mass, we moved into the school for a couple hours of finger food.  Well, the finger food selection was amazing as you can see below:

From left: lemon meringue in a lime, cake pop, cheesecake in a strawberry, caprese (yes, those are balsamic filled pipettes!), and pulled beef slider.

In case I didn't emphasize it enough in the caption, that is a tomato stuffed with mozzarella, basil, and *A BALSAMIC VINEGAR FILLED PIPETTE!*  Not shown were the bite sized crab cakes, vegetable shots, chicken kabobs, shrimp skewers, beef tenderloin sliced ontop of croutons with blue cheese and tomatoes, a soup spoon filled with water mellon and balsamic vinegar, amongst many other delectable treats.  I think these dishes are going to revolutionize how I do caprese salad from now on!

The Fat Canary Sings in Williamsburg

(June 21st, 2012) Southern Virginia, land of magnolias, colonial architecture, and constant reminders of the war of Northern aggression...ah, how the sweet memories of childhood are coming back to me.  I'm in Williamsburg today for a conference...that in and of itself is a bit of a fiasco, but that's another story not for this blog.

Colonial Williamsburg is a charming though odd juxtaposition of historical relics and modern finesse.  Interspersed throughout the town are pastures, ponds, and barnyard animals.  In the middle of the historic district, though, is the college of William and Mary as well as an ouppie (as opposed to yuppie) shopping area, complete with a Talbot's, Williams Sonoma, and the types of stores that sell the gaudy clothes that I can only imagine my grandmother's friends donning...one positive to this commercialization is the presence of a few unexpectedly divine (yes, divine) restaurants.

But first, let me take you on a three minute walk around part of Colonial Williamsburg.  Starting with the end of Scotland St (could I start anywhere else, really?), we come to this picturesque meadow, pond, and a few barnyard animals running around out of sight of the camera:

East end of Scotland St. in Colonial Williamsburg

On the other side of those trees, we find the aforementioned shopping district.  The Fat Canary, which I'll get to shortly, is just off to the left.  Williamsburg must have imported a few Englishmen, because there was an astoundingly large number of English gardens per capita...

Colonial Williamsburg's shopping district

Then turning around 180 degrees and walking two blocks (past more meadows filled with barnyard animals) brings us back to the colonial architecture.  Cannons are off camera to the right.

Colonial architecture, how I miss thee.

My sole culinary foray into Williamsburg found me dining at The Fat Canary.  After having my high expectations for places that are supposed to be good shattered by my lackluster visit to the Boulevard two weeks ago, I had reasonably low expectations for this dining experience.  Having learned another important lesson in San Francisco: always ask for the chef's table if dining alone, I was slightly let down that they had no idea what I meant by a chef's table.  After explaining, they did their best to try and accommodate me, but still...no view of the food being prepared let alone chances to talk with the chefs.

For starters, I had rabbit fricassee, with wild mushrooms, leeks, sage, and a buttermilk biscuit.  Oh, what a delightful surprise!  With flavors reminiscent of my Southern childhood, but in combinations hitherto unexperienced - the way the biscuit melded with the savory sauce, which could best be described as a buttery gravey with hints of savory.  The rabbit, succulent and falling off the bone into my belly. Mmmmm, so good to start.  I fear that this set an unattainably high bar for the next course though...

Rabbit fricassee over wild mushrooms, leeks, and a savory sauce with a buttermilk biscuit.

The fish of the day, a flash fried grouper, was a dish about contrasts...the tender Carolina shrimp playing off the semisweet tomato basil garnish, the asparagus giving the crunch and flavor to compliment the succulent jumbo lump crab, and the grouper itself providing the mellow flavor to balance out the strength of the lemon and pesto sauces.  Alas, though, it couldn't meet the bar set by the rabbit fricassee as the sauces too quickly dissipated into the tomato garnish...everything in this dish was fantastic, save for the grouper-sauce pairing.  With the sauces not holding together on their own, the grouper was left standing at the prom without a dance partner.  Poor lonely grouper, you had such potential...

Fish of the day: Grouper.  Maybe I should have set about eating that yellow sauce before it went poof instead of photographing it...

And this brings us to the dessert, the defining moment of the meal.  The dessert, Amish cake with goat cheese ice cream topped with a huckleberry sauce, was simply exquisite...the cogs in my head are still spinning relentlessly as I try to figure out how to make the goat cheese ice cream.  I think that I've finally found the incentive that I need to empty my tub of green tea ice cream so that I can start the goat cheese experiments!  Nothing in the dish was particularly sweet, save for the ring of honey drizzled around the edge, but that's what made it just right. Ahhh, I shall sleep happily tonight with visions of goat cheese ice cream covered in huckleberry sauce dancing in my head.  After the rabbit fricassee, I didn't think that anything could top that, but this dessert proved me pleasantly wrong.

Amish cake with goat cheese ice cream and a huckleberry sauce.  Divine.

I feel that I have only just begun to crack the delicacies that exist within the Fat Canary.  Too bad I've no clue when I'll be back by this area to try a round two...

What's for dinner (6/18)?

Every so often I get asked what I normally cook for dinner.  I generally am pretty ho-hum about my response...some type of pasta with my home made arrabiata sauce and maybe chicken parmesan with home made bread sticks, or unagi-don or some other rice based dish, etc.  I suppose I have a warped definition of what's a quick meal (I mean, heck, I have two dinners a night - the first to tide me over, and the second two hours later when I finish in the kitchen), but I enjoy it and that's what's important.  Anyways, since my meals rarely are aesthetically pleasing (if it's just for me, the taste is all that matters), I don't normally feel like sharing, but last night was yummy enough that you get to see it anyways:

Pancetta, andouille sausage, basil, rosemary, porcini oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh grated mozzarella, colby jack cheese, my arrabiata sauce, and a whole wheat crust...I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight already!  One lesson that I always struggle in learning (i.e. I've yet to learn it despite experiencing this dozens of time) is to throw the basil on when the pizza is almost done.  You can see in the photo that it's wilted from being baked for 10 minutes...one of these days that lesson will sink in...until then I'll enjoy it all the same.  As a side note, my new favorite guilty pleasure is pancetta fried in duck fat and porcini oil.  I need to start working that into more dishes...if it every lasts that long!

Training Log, 6/11-6/17

Recovery week...sort of.  I fear that I've become too impatient in terms of resting after races.  I just feel, though, that the last month has been resting and recovering from races...starting with tapering for Acoma, recovering from Acoma, tapering for Valle Caldera, and now recovering from Valle Caldera.  I'm ready to start putting some serious miles back on my legs now!  But, the first obstacle is to actually try to recover from Valle Caldera before I do that.  I know that I like to use the excuse that 'I train to recover quickly,' but I think that both you and I know what two letters best describe that...

As usual, Mark and I did far too many runs together.  At some point you'd think that we would run out of things to discuss, but there's always the easy topics of food, women, spirituality, weekend plans, week night plans, etc. etc., and, biggest of all, running.   Just in case we don't get sick of it, we talk about it ad nauseum.  'Dude, where'd you get those kicks? Do they come in a color other than neon orange?' or 'What type of track work out do you want to do tomorrow?'  Of course, that last question I ask every day to myself...if only I could go to the track that often.  And yes, I do know that I have a sickness about that, but I've got it under control!  Honest!

Of course, our latest conversation topic was the diatribe on whether we'll run out of things to say...just in case that possibly happens, I now have a plan.  As inspired by Shirley Jackson's short, "The Lottery," one person each day from our 823 running crew will be selected (presumably by casting lots or some other semi-random but totally fixed methodology) to run with us at our pace and to provide conversation topics in case we run out of them.  I don't think it's come to that just yet, but any runners from 823 can consider themselves warned!

Anyways, on to the weekly log:
M: Off
Tu: Aimlessly running around base (5.3)
W: The stables - golf course run on base (9.1)
Th: The Truman gate run on base (9.5)
F: The Eubank-Wyoming-Gibson gate loop (8)
Sa: Tramway: Montgomery/Manitoba - County Line loop (9.1)
Su: Bosque from Alameda south, with 2x2.5 mi at 6:20 pace (17.1)
Total over 7 days: 58.1
Last 365 days: 3134.9

I don't think that I did a very good job of taking it easy...