Restaurant Widow

Happy Birthday, Mom

I know you'll forgive a little sentimentality every once in awhile, right? 

Today is my mom's birthday.  You might be wondering, what's with the candy hearts?

Well, once upon a time, when I was in Kindergarten - right before the end of the day Valentine's Day party, my parents came to pick my sister and I up at school and whisked us away to West Virginia.  At the time, my mother was learning to make stained glass windows, and we were going to tour the glass factories there. 

Once we were on the road, my mother gave each of us a box filled with conversation hearts and a box of Barbie doll clothes she sewed herself.  My mother will tell you she isn't creative, but she is certainly resourceful and knowledgeable about how to keep a 5- and a 9-year old quiet on a long car ride.

It only occurred to me years later that the trip was probably a birthday gift for my mom, and not, as I suspected, a Valentine's treat for my sister and I; but to this day, each Valentine's day when I see conversation hearts, I think of my mom and the doll clothes she made for me.

So for you, Mom, maker of handmade doll clothes, maker of the best fluffy pancakes with sour cherry sauce, inventor of car games extraordinaire (our whole family once traveled from Ohio to Colorado in a Volkswagen Rabbit, in August, without air conditioning), the patient woman who taught this strong-willed wild child how to sew and cook, and who tried to teach me patience, and to be nice (I'm still trying).  Who forced me to learn how to read when I couldn't be bothered, who tried to teach me not to roll my eyes when I thought everyone was more stupid then me (again, still trying to learn), who always made sure I got the over-easy egg without the broken yolk, whose organization I will always strive to achieve, and who always believes in me no matter what,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

with love,

Lisa

ps - don't worry folks, I'll have one for Dad, too.

Spaghetti with Things from Tins and Jars

Once again, a good reason to have a well-stocked pantry.  I thought this was one of those standing-before-the-boxes-uninspired kind of lunches I like to make until I saw a similar recipe in the Silver Spoon Cookbook.  Vindication!  If it's good enough for an Italian housewife, it's good enough for me.  This is a good recipe for the wintertime, since the bright Mediterranean flavors can trick you into thinking you're eating something fresh and summery, when you're really only having pickled things from tins.  Don't be afraid of the anchovies; they melt right into the oil, creating a savory sauce with really none of the fishiness with which they are sometimes associated.  I have used whole wheat pasta here, but you can use traditional bleached pasta as well.  Preserved lemons are available in Mediterranean stores, or on the antipasti bar at some well-stocked grocery stores (I found them at whole foods); they have a strangely rich flavor not usually associated with lemons, and add a subtle flavor.

Spaghetti with Various Things from Tins and Jars - serves 2

4 ounces whole wheat or regular spaghetti, cooked in salted water and set aside

1 tbsp canola or other neutral oil

1 1oz tin anchovies

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup white wine

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/4 rind from preserved lemon, pulp discarded (optional)

6 ounces rock shrimp, optional

1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup mixed olives, pitted and roughly chopped

1 tsp crushed red pepper, optional

salt and black pepper

Good extra virgin olive oil

2 ounces feta, crumbled

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the anchovies.  Crush the anchovies with a wooden spoon and they will begin to disintegrate; when they are almost gone - about 3 minutes, add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir.  Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and stir until evaporated, then add the lemon juice and zest, and the preserved lemon.  Add the shrimp and cook until almost cooked through, then add the capers, olives and crushed red pepper.  Taste to check for salt need, although many of these ingredients are salty enough; add a little black pepper. 

Toss in the pasta, then top with the feta and drizzle with the olive oil.  Serve with toast!

Confessions of a So-Called Foodie::Confessions 1-4

A funny thing happens when you have a website such as this, no matter how humble you might think your recipes (seriously, I'm no Stephen): suddenly, no one wants you in their kitchen.  No one wants to cook for you anymore (except chefs).  Everyone wants those brownies or pots de creme (sorry, haven't written about them) you made last spring.  Everyone wants to go out to eat with you, and complains that you don't visit enough restaurants (Josh, I think that's 3 now).  Friends shake their heads when talking to you and say things like "boy do you guys eat great at home."  And so, this is for all of you.  And for any other foodies, chowhounds, or whatever else you call yourselves, (and I know you're out there) who secretly eat Cheez Wiz and White Castle sliders, and for all you chefs who love iceberg wedge salads (and I definately know you're out there). 

Confessions #1 - 4, in a series

1.  I love the packaged food at Trader Joe's, particularly their pasta sauces, 2 minute potato gnocchi (it's $1.69 a bag!?), and their dried tortellinis and raviolis.  I have eaten so many packaged food products from Trader Joe's that I could give you a dissertation on which are the best and why (Savory Thin rice crackers), which are the most nutritious (chicken chili, Marinated bean salad), which are strange tasting (beef chili), and which are unbelievable values (these don't really count I guess, but olive oil).  I have given serious consideration to giving up all the glamour of serving to become the food demonstrater at Trader Joe's.  I could be next Rachel Ray!  I could be Rachel Ray's cynical, eye-rolling, less-perky, snobbier evil twin sister (just kidding, she's older than me, but creepily, also a Virgo).

2.  I eat some form of instant Asian noodle - udon, ramen, fried ramen, pho bac, about 4 times a week, usually right before bed, as a snack.  I'll refer back to this when, in later confessions, I'll discuss my love of MSG.

3.  When I'm too lazy to make a full pot of coffee in the morning, I drink International Foods instant coffee with a few spoons full of instant espresso thrown in for good measure and foodie street cred.

4.  Even though I worked at Williams Sonoma for 2 years and extolled, to wealthy suburbanites, the virtues of Wusthoff over Henkel, and Shun over anything, I do not own a decent knife.  Our kitchen is full of Dexter Russell safety knives (available in restaurant supply stores), which, in the professional kitchen, is reduced to the lowliest possible chore; typically given to a server with no knife skills, in search of a knife so they can cut lemons with no cutting board.  My current favorite is a $12 Santoku, made in Japan, which I purchased at Kamei superstore in San Francisco (seriously, anyone in the bay area needs to go there ASAP).

So there you have it, now you need not be afraid to invite me over to dinner.  I'll bring the noodle casserole.