Post Wedding Diet Splurge

Now that I’ve been married for just over a month, there are a couple things I’ve been indulging in. Foods that I’ve had to deprive myself of in order to look my best on my wedding day. I’m not really a supporter of this method, but when your engagement is only a couple months long – you do what every bride needs to do! Anywho – more importantly – on to the food splurge…

Rao's Vodka Sauce

I think the foods I have missed the most have been sausages/red meat, cheese and pasta. I think that if I had to have one meal before I die – it would have to be Rao’s Penne alla Vodka with their famous Meatballs in Marinara on the side. The key ingredient to Rao’s vodka sauce – I think – is the addition of prosciutto. The sauce is creamy and luscious and if I could I’d probably get a spoon and eat it like soup! And pasta is always that much better when you add meat! And I think anyone who has had Rao’s meatballs would argue they are THE best. They are large, plump, juicy, moist and just so so tasty.. Sigh.. It’ll be awhile before I get the chance to have them again, so I’ll stop myself there.

Rao's Meatballs

But onto the dish I wanted to share – Sausage Chilli Pasta Bake. When I first started coming to the UK to visit my then-boyfriend, now-husband, I was surprised to learn of what were some of the “traditional” British dishes. I think Americans have this image that the Brits eat fish and chips and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding all day. What many don’t know is that Brits love their Chilli Con Carne often served over plain, boiled rice, their Indian curries and their Chinese ‘take-away’ (aka not to be mistaken for ‘take-out’).  When I think about what British foods I love (and also peruse my British Food Bible), I think of Toad in the Hole, Cornish pasties, Shepherd’s pie, Steak & Ale pie, Coronation Chicken, bangers & mash and scones with clotted cream.. Mmmm.. Just to name a few..

Bangers & Mash

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My Ongoing Love Affair With Meat

As you all know I am quite carnivorous. I do love my veggies and am improving on my fruits, but nothing can really beat a juicy steak or Sunday roast (except for maybe anything fried).  So I thought I’d share a little slide show of the meat I’ve been eating. Hope you enjoy! 

Sunday Roast - Rosemary Garlic Lamb

Perfectly crispy, fluffed, roast potatoes

So many people give the Brits a hard time about their “plain” food, but as I’ve come to learn plain is just another word for simple. And if you have good quality ingredients, you don’t always need a whole lot of them. The above is courtesy of Mr. Chris Hutton (the boyfriend). Lamb was the very first thing Chris ever cooked for me, and three years later I’m still around! He stuffs garlic cloves and rosemary into the meat and rubs English mustard powder and a bit of flour on the outside. Since rosemary is such a fragrant herb, it can really stand on its own. (Tarragon and sage are other unique, distinct herbs) Be sure to keep it covered ~75% of the cooking time so moisture isn’t lost. It’s SO simple, but when done right it’s such a comforting meal.. Especially when it’s accompanied by perfectly crisp, fluffed potatoes! It’s not fair the Brits get such good potatoes. I have neeever been a potato person, but I’m definitely a convert! A classic trick is to use some goose fat to brown your potatoes in. It’s a natural product and will give you super crispy results! For crispy fries/chips, ensure you have dried, cooked potatoes before frying. Stick them in the oven for just a minute or two to finish off the drying process and voila! 

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A Bit Of MY Soul Food

As the weather begins to turn here in England, I find myself craving for really hearty, comforting, food for the soul. The kind of food you smile at or smile thinking of. The kind of food your fork lingers over. Most importantly the kind of food you finish then curl up onto the couch and sleep a blissful sleep… 

For now I’d like to share three examples of the kind of food that makes me just simply happy… 

• Chorizo Fried Eggs on Ciabatta
• Classic Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas
• Steak Au Poivre with Pommes Darphin

Let’s get right to it, shall we? As I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite weekend pastimes is to cuddle up with Chris and watch BBC’s Saturday Morning Kitchen. Just a couple weeks ago, we watched the well known British chef Sat Bains (who runs Nottingham’s only Michelin-starred restaurant “Restaurant Sat Bains”) whip up one of his family’s favorite brunch dishes – Chorizo Eggs with Scallops and Coriander Salt. As neither of us had had breakfast yet, Chris got inspired to run out to the store and make us breakfast. He came back and did a wonderful job of whipping up this incredibly satisfying breakfast below. It’s incredibly simple but made even better with high quality sausage and high quality bread. Any spicy sausage would really do. For the bread, Chris nipped to our local Italian delicatessen (Filippettos) for some ciabatta. Believe it or not this little delicatessen is perfect. The owner is actually Italian and many of his products are imported directly from Italy (with the packaging written in Italian only!). If you’re ever around, you must have some of their ice cream… But more importantly they have a wide variety of cured/smoked meats and fresh bread. 

Chorizo Fried Eggs with Sauteed Mushrooms on Ciabatta

As you can see Chris added his own little addition of mushrooms sautéed in butter… I think any egg-lover will agree with me when I say there’s something SO satisfying about breaking a perfectly runny yolk. The gooey liquid spills out everywhere and drips off your bite of egg, spicy/smoky chorizo, buttery mushroom and crispy but light toasted ciabatta. And that’s when I look over at Chris and remember why I love him 🙂 Because he knows exactly how to make me happy! 

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Exploring Arizona – Part 1

A beautiful Arizona desert sunset

Hi All – Hope everyone had a great weekend. This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my sister’s good friend Kristen who was in town from Seattle with strict instructions to help her explore the area. After picking her up from the airport Saturday afternoon, the first place that came to mind (within my very limited knowledge of the area) was Sapporo in Scottsdale. I currently live far enough from Scottsdale and Tempe to not be able to go out and taxi-it home (sadly). However, Kristen was staying at a hotel so we went all out. We headed to Sapporo for happy hour. And despite being hungry we somehow got caught up doing sake bombs at the very very crowded bar instead. (It was the end of the Phoenix [golf] Open so the place was rammed). Although we mostly had a couple drinks at this place, I mention it because it’s a great sushi place (and I absolutely looove sushi), with a great happy hour, and a really good scene. So if you’re ever in town, I recommend it! Next time I’ll actually eat and take some pictures. 

I’ll skip through the rest of the night since it didn’t exactly involve a lot of food, but it was loads of fun and filled with dancing and lots of laughs. The next day, however, WAS filled with lots of food – food required to make me feel a whole lot better. We met up with a friend of Kristen’s – Tyler (a local) – who was so nice and gave us a few recommendations in town. 

We ate so much at the first place though, we only made it to one – LA GRANDE ORANGE in Arcadia (suburb of Scottsdale).  We were completely shocked when we walked into this place. First off, it was completely packed on a Sunday early afternoon which is always a great sign. It’s tucked into this really cute neighborhood and just had so much character. 

 I mean who sells little cactus plants at their grocery/restaurant/cafe? Of course this is Arizona… But seriously, this place is amazing. I wish it wasn’t so far away because I definitely would be there every day if I could. So this place looks like it took over two restaurants. The left half is filled with tables and an open area on the right wall where they make pizzas (so probably a former pizza joint). The right half is where you order food and buy mini cactus 🙂  Of course they, in fact, sell a variety of items from cook books, to clothes/aprons/etc with their logo, and loads of specialty grocery items. To be completely honest, I was starving and the amazing smells coming from the open kitchen and the long line prevented me from exploring. Before I get to the food, one last note on this place – the people/crowd were really really surprising to me because it was completely different from anything I’ve seen in my experience in Arizona thus far. There was actually an urban feel to it. Or maybe it was what I would expect at a place on Main Street in Venice? That blend of people from Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice? I saw very little bleach blonde, a lot of no-makeup-laid-back Sunday faces, no cowboy hats and even some dread locks! 

 

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The Real Reason I Moved To Britain

While my dear boyfriend is handsome, loving and always full of interesting (sometimes completely useless) information, I must confess there might have been something else that lured me over the pond. Having known me for only a couple of months, he proved how clever he really is by where he took me to dinner on my first trip to the UK.

Now let me begin by saying my love affair with Yorkshire pudding began long ago. Christmas Eve dinners or the occasional visit to my aunt and uncle (Bac Oanh and Uncle Jack) often consisted of roast beef and my aunt’s famous Yorkshire pudding. They often looked like this – made in a cupcake tray.

Now it’s been a few years since I’ve had them made by her, but I can still remember how light, crisp and rich they were. You know how you can have a childhood memory or even an adult memory of something you ate that you absolutely loved? As in, your mind can distinctly remember the exact way it looked on your plate, the exact way it tasted and the way it made you feel completely satisfied? Well that’s how I felt about Bac Oanh’s Yorkshire pudding. It was always a treat. I remember being just tall enough to watch them rise in the oven (although depending on whose kitchen I’m in now, I can barely reach the oven)…

But then… I met Chris. And on my first trip to the UK ever, Chris took me to Rules (http://www.rules.co.uk/), London’s oldest restaurant. And this is what we ordered:

As you can see, this Yorkshire pudding takes up half my plate and almost all of Chris’. It’s more than twice the size of his hand for crying out loud! You can only imagine how wide my eyes got when all this came out to our tiny little table for two. Everyone around us stared. I was a little embarrassed (not really). What I was really thinking was – why did I let him have the bigger portion?? Needless to say I devoured the entire thing. It wasn’t very lady-like, especially considering it was technically our second date/visit. But maybe that’s why he loves me? Let’s just say yes for now.

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