San Francisco: Nigella Style

My dearest friends Stacy (above) and Cat (below) toast to a lovely evening at TWO!

A night of pure, lusty food was had at TWO, a relatively new SOMA restaurant. You've already gotten a preview of the bone marrow from this restaurant, which was so delightful it required its very own posting.

My lovely friends Cat (book publishing editor) and Stacy (web channels manager) met me for an evening of total debauchery (food-wise), and I think we can all agree that it was absolutely worth every calorie and fat gram. I'll save the long descriptions for your imagination and leave you with an array of photos plus comments on the food from Nigella Lawson:

"TWO's 'bread basket' consists of warm, luscious, buttery chive biscuits and deliciously hot and naughty cayenne crisps. One might feel utterly sinful devouring these little devilish morsels of pastry but, quite frankly, I can give myself pleasure without feeling guilty, no?"

"This is an example of taking something very simple and turning it into a brilliant work of food art. Shaved asparagus, lemon zest and a sprinkle of nuts serve as a cozy bed for a delicious, fried hunk of sheep's milk cheese. The texture is slightly springy and chewy but in the most appealing way; I quite like to tear into this dish late at night wearing only a pair of my best stilettos and a cashmere scarf. I beg to ask, 'What more do you need?'"

"Some people are frightened by the thought of eating pigeons, but I can honestly say I don't discriminate when it comes to matters of the flesh. Any flesh will do, so long as its plump and exquisitely juicy. This ravioli filled with squab is perfection in my book; each is like a little treasure, wrapped in a golden moist skin and bursting with mounds of scrumptious meat...each bite bursting with savory liquid. It's quite gratifying to eat, really." [*winks*]

"Now I'm not a fan of fussy pizza as pizza is meant to be a delicious, higgledy-piggledy mess of the right flavors. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that we tore into this duck confit and caramelized onion pizza with reckless abandon. The oily, silky duck flesh and the aromatic, sweet onions - the combination was utterly pleasurable to the palate. The best way to eat something this luxurious is to toss your hair to the side, throw down your fork and grab a slice with your bare hands and get down to it. Forget the napkins and use your tongue to simply lick any excess duck fat that may remain on your lips - we wouldn't want to waste now, would we?"

"I'm not a skinny woman and I shall never be, and my love of chocolate far outweighs any desire to fit into a sample-size piece of clothing. So for our last course we ordered the bittersweet chocolate fondue with graham crackers, biscotti and candied fruit. There's something about dipping a strawberry in rich, bittersweet chocolate and watching the shiny, dark liquid drip off the tip of the voluptuous red flesh that is fully mesmerizing. This fondue provides pleasure to literally all of one's senses, so that makes it the perfect dessert in my book."

-Nigella Lawson*

*Not really Nigella Lawson, but because the food at TWO was so decadent, I thought it fitting that I get into the spirit of the world's most lusty chef to describe our experience eating there. Needless to say, I am a fan of hers and this is not meant as a slag.

Chefography Reviews: Food Network

Tyler Florence = YUM

I managed to catch four out of the five Chefography shows this week on the Food Network. Here's the rundown, with my thoughts:

Rachael Ray: I will admit to being a RR hater. She's just too...cutesy, and it bugs me to no end that she uses both the acronym AND the full word/phrase when she talks. Like "EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil!" As if we don't know what EVOO means after hearing it a million times per episode. Another annoying factor is that she always calls her food "healthy" when most of the time, it's far from it. There's a difference between "fresh" and "healthy" but little Rachael doesn't seem to know this. A cheesy enchilada made with fresh ingredients is fresh, but not necessarily healthy, Rachael. Oh, and the fact that she tips $1.82 for a $15 meal bugs too.

However...[long pause]...[sigh]...[groan], I have to admit that, after watching her Chefography, I kind of sort of maybe hate her a bit less. The girl has worked hard to get where she is, and she seems like a relatively nice person. I'll be talking less smack about her, and that's all I can give right now. But I'll still laugh heartily whenever Anthony Bourdain makes a RR joke.

Bobby Flay: People either love Bobby or hate him, and I definitely luuuuuurve the guy. He makes grilling sexy and pretty darn fabulous. He knows how to eat, and he takes big bites of food. Yeah, he's cocky, but for some reason that makes him even sexier. His recipes work, and he just has that lust for life that I admire. His Chefography didn't disappoint, and only confirmed what I already know: Bobby is da man.

Sandra Lee: Clearly the Food Network chose to skip a huge part of Sandra's career: Her rich, now-ex-husband who helped fund many of her projects. They made her out to be some Mother Teresa, struggling to make ends meet, helping her "grammy" and all that other sappy crap. Bottom line: She still sucks, her curtain kits are only good for creating fugly decorating disasters and her boobs are still down to her waist. And knowing how to make 100 dishes out of Bisquick does not a chef make.

Tyler Florence: Is it just me or was Tyler a spitting image of River Phoenix when he was younger? The resemblance is a bit eerie, in fact. I didn't know much about Tyler until seeing his Chefography, so I found it to be very educational and entertaining. Plus this guy knows food - I crave everything he makes. Now I know there's all this talk about how he's putting on a few pounds, but he's still a hottie potattie in my book.

Nigella Lawson: I will no longer make fun of Nigela's oversexed cooking techniques after seeing her Chefography. Though born into a life of privilege, this woman has overcome numerous tragedies and obstacles in her life and I truly admire what she's achieved. She is an inspiration to me and countless others. She's a wonderful cook, mother, wife and an all-around domestic goddess. Actually, she's just a goddess. Period.

Sunday Cooking: Spicy Pan O' Goodness

I have always had a thing for spicy food. Not the burns-so-much-you-can't-taste-anything-except-hellfire-hot, but the kind that makes the skin under your eyes and above your cheeks get moist with tiny beads of sweat. I love me my curries, and I have the tendency to put Tapatio, Tabasco or Sriracha on just about anything (FYI, Sriracha on Trader Joe's Veggie Enchiladas is heeeeeeeeeavnly).

So, for my lunch "main" course this week, I decided to make a hearty Mexican grain dish of some sort - vague, I realize. I can't really have couscous anymore, since I'm trying to do that whole anti-inflammatory thing. And rice, well, that's not the best choice for every-day eating. After rummaging through my pantry and realizing I had three unopened boxes of quinoa (sometimes one can become forgetful during a list-less TJs shopping excursion), I settled on this sprouty grain.

Washing quinoa has always been a daunting task. First, it's hard to find a strainer that has small enough holes to keep the quinoa from escaping. Second, the quinoa becomes like little balls of Styrofoam, sticking to your fingers, palms, sink - whatever gets in its way. But after some trial and error, I have found these Japanese woven strainers work the best at both keeping the quinoa inside and keeping it somewhat in one place:

Tightly woven = good at keeping little quinoas from jumping ship

I started with some onions and celery, then added some chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Next I threw in some pinto beans, water, a small can of diced jalapenos and some canned tomatoes. Now technically tomatoes aren't the best for anti-inflammatory diets, but it was a small enough amount so I'm going to overlook it. Besides, they certainly got their fair share of abuse before going into the pot: I didn't notice that I bought canned, whole tomatoes instead of diced, so I just poured them into my hand over the pan and started squishing. Squish, squish, squish. I was definitely having a Nigella Lawson moment. [In thick, English accent]: "I have no time for messing with a knife - fussiness equals musiness, I say! Just yank those hearty, fleshy tomatoes out of their can and let their fabulous, luscious skin ooooooooze through your fingers as you joyfully squish and squosh and griiiiiind them like so."

Is it just me or do you feel like having a cigarette after watching an episode?

"Scrumdeliumptious" - a la Nigella - veggies in a pan

After dumping all those liquidy ingredients into the pan, I feared I put too much liquid and not enough quinoa (there was more liquid in those squishy tomatoes than I had planned for).

C'mon little quinoa, you can do it! Soak up all those delicious juices!

Luckily after a good 25-minutes, all those spicy jalapeno juices and tomato liquid were nicely sopped up by the quinoa. This'll make a great main dish with a lovely salad for my lunch this week...oh, except I totally spaced that I have to take a new employee out to lunch today. Dang it! Isn't it nice when you actually find yourself wanting the food you make over a meal out? Bonus too when it's healthy like this dish.

A spicy pan o' goodness

With a few slices of avocado and a sprinkling of cilantro (in my haste to try this I forgot to add the cilantro), this one-pan meal is pretty near perfection. Oh, and not that I was trying but this dish happens to be vegan.



Spicy Mexican One-Skillet Quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery or green or red bell peppers, depending on your taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup quinoa, washed thoroughly
1, 14-16 oz. can of pinto beans
1, 4-oz can of diced jalapenos (or if you prefer less spicy, use mild green chilies)
1, 14-16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken or vegetable stock
Sliced avocado and chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery (or peppers) and cook for about 8 minutes or until onions start becoming translucent. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add in quinoa, pinto beans, jalapenos (or chilies), tomatoes and water (or stock). Stir all ingredients together, lower heat to medium low, cover pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa. Serve with sliced avocado and chopped cilantro.