Restaurant Widow

WCB #45 - Wake Up, Abe

Is it that time already?  Our cat Abe insists on sleeping under the covers, just like we do.  See the always adorable Kiri and everyone else over at Eat Stuff.

The Great Brown Cow Conspiracy

I hesitate to mention my love of this product, as it has lately become apparent that I am not the only one obsessed with it, and I don't need any more competitors.  It is Brown Cow non-fat chocolate yogurt.  I really like all of the Brown Cow products I've tried so far - their cream top, full fat yogurts are so rich and delicious, but for those of us who are trying to eat lower-fat dairy products, the fat free are the best flavored fat-free yogurts I've tried (nothing beats Fage for fat free plain yogurt).

Here's the problem - the entire city seems to be out of stock.  My last three trips to Whole Foods turned up only 2 cups.  I even went to Wild Oats and they were sold out as well.  Notice to Whole Foods - please, please increase your stock - gas is getting more expensive and I can't afford to drive out to the suburbs every day to hunt for yogurt.  And to Wild Oats - please remove the Stoneyfield "Chocolate Underground" fat free yogurt from your shelves, as I tried it as a replacement and found, to my horror, there was NO chocolate underground. 

On this day last year, I was getting a sugar high and discovering the new Fresh Market.

Halibut Cheeks

I think I might have mentioned before how much I love cheeks.  Veal cheeks, beef cheeks, pig cheeks - all delicious.  Fish cheeks are no exception.  Halibut is one of my favorite members of the fish family - a giant cold-water dwelling behemoth that yields tender and sweet white meat.  It can tend toward the expensive side, so when I saw Halibut cheeks at Whole Foods yesterday for $14.99 a pound, I jumped.  I always view cheeks as something sold primarily to restaurants; they can be hard to find on the retail market.  Halibut cheeks are sweet and tender, with a fine, thin flake and a texture similar to lobster; they are so sweet that the simplest preparations are best.  Just a little salt is all you need, although the squeeze of lemon is nice to cut through the richness. 

Simple and Delicious Halibut Cheeks - serves 2

1/2 pound Halibut cheeks, about 6 pieces
olive oil
salt
2 tbsp butter, optional
lemon wedges

Preheat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and coat lightly with olive oil, or with cooking spray. Liberally sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt, and place the cheeks in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd.  Cook 2 minutes and turn over, then cook for another 2 minutes.  Turn the heat up to high and add the butter, allowing it to sizzle and brown; turn the fish over to coat both side, cooking for an additional minute or 2, being careful not to overcook - they only take about 5-6 minutes total.  Remove to plates and squeeze with lemon juice.

Perk up Tragic Winter Tomatoes

At the restaurant, we sometimes have to serve tomatoes in the winter, even if they're out of season.  Our sous chef gave me this method of perking them up to edible; they are good in pasta and salads, and as a garnish to just about anything.

Winter Tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch salt
1/4 cup sherry, champagne or muscat vinegar

Place the halved tomatoes in a heat-proof bowl.  Bring the sugar, water, red pepper and salt to a boil and boil for about 3 minutes without allowing the sugar to color.  Add the vinegar (it might boil rapidly at this point, so stand back) Bring back to a boil and boil for another minute; pour over tomatoes and stir.
Refrigerate the tomatoes for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.  These will keep for about 4 days, submerged in the liquid and refrigerated.

CoCo's Grill - Good Cheap Chinese

It has long been a lament of mine that the Chinese food I have now is nothing like I remember it when I was little.  As a child I was fascinated with Chinese food, probably because my mother used to take us to Mark Pi's China Gate restaurant, where we once saw Mark Pi making noodles - truly an amazing thing to behold.  It was on a tour of Mark Pi's China Gate - I think I was about 9 - where I learned to use chopsticks, where I learned to level them by discreetly pressing the bottoms against my teeth instead of into the rice bowl.  It was also where I learned to drink water with chopsticks - but I'll save that for another day.  I was amazed by Mark Pi's - the gaudy, over-the-top interior with the giant dragons, the waitresses clad in old fashioned Chinese silk dresses, with a scandalous slit going all the way up the thigh, the little carrot flowers which accompanied every dish.  I realize this is American Chinese food, and I probably had sticky orange sweet and sour pork every time I went there, but it was culinary heaven for an adventurous 9 year old.  (By the way, that China Gate - 3641 Fishinger Rd in Hilliard - is now the newly-opened Tropical Bistro, opened by former Kahiki employees, which features the same menu and smoking drinks in skulls.  I'll definitely be there, fear not.  For those new to Columbus or who don't live here, you can read the sad story about the Kahiki here.  The legendary landmark was bulldozed to build a Walgreens.)

But I have, of course, digressed:  lately, I have been craving some good Chinese, and have since become addicted to the strangely-named CoCo's Grill.  While this isn't necessarily gourmet Chinese, per se, it is really good lunch food.  They have all the usual suspects, and some of the best Pad Thai, lightly sauced and full of nice crunchy shrimp, I've had in Columbus - better than both I've tried in the North Market, sorry guys.  Here's a sampler:

Fried dumplings (also available steamed) pork meatball surrounded by dumpling wrapper, accompanied by nice salty soy-based sauce: 

Hot & Sour soup - a classic, not too hot; the perfect thing to chase a rainy-day cold away:

Beef with Broccoli - no scary bits so far with the beef or chicken, covered in nice brown gravy and tossed with fresh broccoli:

General Tso, I will never stop loving you, no matter how much of a cliché you've become:

Info:  CoCo's Grill  845 W. 5th Ave in Columbus (West of Olentangy River Rd, just west and further back from the street than Burger King)  614.429.0790.

From the archives - on this day last year I was experimenting with Snickerdoodles.

Restaurant Widow is 1!!

Today is the anniversary of the day I launched my site.  My archives go back to March because I wrote for a month before going public.  Happy birthday to me!  Now I can recall what I did a year ago today, which was buy Murray River Salt Flakes.

Here's what we can (hopefully) look forward to this year:

• learning to can
• growing a kitchen garden
• maybe working on a farm (more on that later)
• learning to make jam, jelly and pickles galore
• more restaurant reviews if fiscally possible
• stay tuned . . .

Green Thumb Hopes

For someone whose ancestors were farmers, and who grew up working a garden larger than most suburban house plots, I have a surprisingly brown thumb.  I find it nearly impossible to keep anything alive, inside or out.  Outside, this is only about 80% my fault - the stray cats sleep in my flower boxes, and squirrels tear everything up hunting for or burying treasure.

But this year, everything will be different (if Husband were here, I know he'd be laughing at me); this year, we are planting a yard - at this time, we have only a few weeds and a lot of mud.  There is one small area, just outside the kitchen, where the sun hits almost all day in the summertime.  This will be my new kitchen garden, I hope.  I will keep you updated for better or worse.  My guess is that if I can manage to grow anything, the squirrels or raccoons will promptly eat it, but we'll never know unless we try.  To read about someone who will actually be able to grow something, visit FarmGirl's Garden Blog.  Here is the future site: