A Live One

There are lots of things about my new job that I’m enjoying: the work promises to be both challenging and rewarding, my colleagues (old and new) are sharp, interesting people, and the company culture is a good fit for me (fast paced, imperfect, and untraditional). However, I think that the part of my job I’m enjoying the most currently has to be the amazing cafeteria on our campus.

When I first started contracting (long ago, when I was still at the agency and my current company was then my client), I remember being in absolute and complete awe at the food options offered, the incredible prices, and the way that a central cafeteria made a workday easier and more productive. Whereas at the agency sitting down at lunch was seen as unproductive, my new company has recognized that as much work is done over a salad and a sandwich as is done in meetings, on conference calls, and sitting at a workstation. The cafeteria is so busy each day as everyone from the CFO to the guys from the mailroom comes to eat that there’s hardly a place to sit down at peak times.

Productivity and ease aside, though, the cafeteria warms this foodie’s heart. This is hardly dorm-style food (though, like college, it’s as easy to make the wrong choices as it is to eat healthfully). There are 5 hot “stations,” a huge salad bar (my favorite), a deli, soups, a refrigerator case to “grab and go,” and infinite dessert options. Sodas, coffee, and the best iced tea EVER made are free all day, every day (as are coffee drinks like lattes, cappuccinos, and chai…in fact, each building has its own coffee bar that’s open all day as well). I often go for the salad bar, as I’ve always loved to build my own meals according to that day’s picky taste. It’s by far one of the freshest salad bars I’ve seen anywhere. On any given day I can choose from things like jicama, baby corn, pea pods, an assortment of legumes, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, two types of beets (red and yellow), cheeses, and fresh firm tofu (in addition to the regular salad vegetables). If I have some extra time, the guys at the grill will grill me up a chicken breast and chop it for the top of my salad. If I don’t have time, there’s pre-packaged chopped chicken to go. There’s always fresh fruit, some sort of yummy pasta salad, and a bunch of crunchy toppings, including cheddar cheese Goldfish (my personal favorite).

The deli is much of the same overwhelming abundance as the salad bar: infinite options of meats, cheeses, fresh veggies, roasted veggies, spreads, and breads. The soups are consistently awesome, and there’s always a vegetarian option. When I get sick of soup, salad, and sandwiches, I usually head to the grill which serves everything from burgers to grilled cheese to chicken to fish. You can be as healthy (grilled skinless chicken breast with steamed veggies) or as not healthy (tuna melt! cheeseburger! fries! onion rings!) as you wish. You can get wood-oven pizzas, calzones, burritos or the Mexican specialty of the day. You can get the pasta of the day, or whatever special concoction has been dreamt up. There’s always a vegetarian dish of chickpeas and samosas, a bento box, basic Asian fare, and then an Asian specialty (Vietnamese pho being my favorite).

Given the range of choices, I’m always surprised at how good the food is and how transparent they make the preparation. You can come down to the cafeteria for breakfast (which is a whole other deal…omelets, oatmeal, fruit, cereal…) and watch them chop veggies and meats, prepare the pizzas, and cut trays of the most delicious Rice Krispie treats. The salad bar is refilled consistently throughout lunch and you can see how the food is managed and stored. When the guys at the grill open their fridge to get more tuna salad or what have you, you see Tupperware full of real food, instead of institutional cans of unidentifiable items or preservative-laden choices. Healthy eating is promoted here, and it’s easy to navigate, for which I’m truly thankful.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a Rice Krispie treat every once in a while.

Posted by jmakunas at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Since M and I have been lighting the Shabbat candles with more regularity lately, I've been putting a little more thought into our Friday night dinners. Somehow, Indian food and Challah are a little offputting...not that it doesn't taste good or isn't kosher (we eat kosher meals on Friday nights), but it just seems incongrous to me.

I purchased a Jewish holiday cooking book a few weeks ago (the highly recommended Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan, but haven't tried anything specifically from it yet. There are some wonderful Shabbat recipes, many of which are of Sephardic origin (and hence somewhat foreign to me), and all of which look excellent.

However, yesterday as I contemplated what I was going to do with the rock cod filets that I had taken out of the freezer that morning, I started surfing Epicurious and came upon a recipe for "Braised Cod with Chickpeas" that reminded me of the yummy Sephardic shabbat recipes I had been reading about and could be made with ingredients I already had on hand.

This was definitely one of the better meals we've had lately, even though I can think of some improvements we'd make next time (see notes in recipe). It was spicy (red pepper) and comforting (chickpeas) and a great source of protein. Not to mention that cod is currently one of my favorite meaty white fishes. With some salt on the chickpeas (I wouldn't salt them while they cook) and a sprinkling of cilantro at the end, it looks like we've found another easy comforting dish, and a perfect complement to challah on Friday nights.

Read on for the recipe...

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (you can soak and cook your own, but I've never had much success with that, and canned is SO much easier)
6 or 7 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
4 or 5 hot peppers or 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, ground
2 pounds cod fillets, about 1 inch thick
salt
freshly ground black pepper
cilantro or parsley sprigs (cilantro! use the cilantro!)
lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Combine in a saucepan with the garlic, peppers or flakes, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, and 1/4 cup of water. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove and discard the whole peppers, if you used them. Add the cumin to the chickpeas and spread half the mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch-square baking dish. Place the fish on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and finish with the remaining chickpeas. Drizzle the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the top. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the fish is just flaky but not falling apart; check after 20 minutes.

Serve the fish hot or warm, garnished with cilantro or parsley and lemon wedges.

Note: Our filets were noticeably thinner than an inch, so this went in the oven for 20 minutes and the fish was cooked perfectly. Next time we make the recipe we're going to add half a chopped onion and saute that and the garlic in a bit of oil before we add the chickpeas. I think this will help blend the flavors a bit more. Also, I forgot to put a cover on the dish before we cooked it, and everything was fine. It should be covered, though, so you actually DO braise the fish and blend the flavors.

Recipe from Epicurious.com

Posted by jmakunas at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have never been a picky eater.

When asked, I can barely think of a handful of foods that I actively dislike, and it seems that every time I try one of those foods on that list again my opinions change for the better. Lately Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce) and anchovies have moved from the "won't eat" to the "useful and sometimes tasty" category.

However, one of the foods that remains firmly lodged on my dislike list is squash, zucchini particularly (with many apologies to Clotilde), but also summer, acorn, crookneck, yellow...basically every squash except for butternut and spaghetti. And man, do I ever love spaghetti squash.

I was first introduced to spaghetti squash by my fabulous foodie friend (and former roommate) W, who used to cook us one for a quick, light dinner. While many recipes use spaghetti squash in place of actual spaghetti and top it with a tomato sauce or such, W tossed hers with butter and parsley, and that's the way I've always liked the dish, plain and simple.

However, spurred by a newfound love of tarragon, I came upon a combination of spaghetti squash and herbs that I think far surpasses the parsley and is just as simple, by using a mixture of Fines Herbes that complements the sweetness of the squash perfectly.

To wit: cook one spaghetti squash (of any size) in the oven until it's done. Sorry for the terseness, but it's hardly difficult...you can halve it and cook it face down on a baking sheet at about 375 for about 40 minutes, or just throw it in there whole for a longer time, but the timing and temperature depend on the size of the squash, your oven, and your patience (I've heard of cooking it in the microwave, but that's not for me). When the squash innards shred away from the shell in long strands (like spaghetti!), it's done. I actually like mine a little crunchy. Toss with butter (or faux butter, if you like) and a hearty sprinkling of Fines Herbes (I don't know if all mixtures are the same, but mine - from Dean and Deluca - is a blend of chervil, parsley, tarragon, and chives). Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy a large guilt-free bowl of veggie goodness....

Posted by jmakunas at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So as the lack of entries would suggest, I've been very, very, VERY busy lately adjusting to the new job, new commute (at least 90 minutes each way every day), and new experience of actually having to set an alarm and pay attention to it when it rings each morning around 5am. It's been a long time since I've rolled myself out of bed daily and a VERY long time since I did so at such an ungodly hour.

But I'm happy to report that I'm adjusting to the new schedule and I've finally been issued a laptop (with built-in wireless!) that I'm hoping will allow me to take advantage of the aforementioned crazy-long commute to keep up with my blog.

Because there's a lot of writing to be done about my new food adventures, even if I'm not able to cook on a daily basis. For one, my new company has an incredible cafeteria...somewhere between a grocery store and a restaurant. Then, M and I went out to dinner for his birthday last weekend and had an interesting dinner and an even more interesting service experience. The next night we discovered that a lovely little brasserie in Hayes Valley is open late night (and serving grappa...). We've also found a new take-out Indian place around the corner from our house. And I've finally determined the best way to cook spaghetti squash. All of which I'm eager to detail. (Not to mention the fact that we have new music adventures quickly approaching....)

But the most important food news is that I did manage to remember the baking powder in M's birthday cake last weekend (setting a new land speed record for cake baking and assembly: 1 hour 13 minutes) and that he's pronounced it my "best one yet."

Good thing he likes it, because he's in for Mocha Torte for many years to come.

Posted by jmakunas at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I transformed from "sadly unemployed" into "happily overworked" as I started a new job (contract for now) that has created total havoc on my schedule and my life (as new jobs are wont to do). I now have a 40 mile commute to wrangle each day (train or drive? solo or carpool?), hundreds of new people to meet, and a piece of business (or two) to manage.

I do have good, yummy, foodie-type entries to catch up on, but I'll need to establish a schedule and carve out some blogging time each day (the train is looking like a good option).

Bear with me, s'il vous plait.

Posted by jmakunas at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

No blogs on fire here, but I think that's largely because I only had to use the broiler for 3 minutes at a time in this recipe. I'm still making friends with my broiler, and it's a bit of a tempestuous relationship at times. Which is why self-cleaning ovens are lovely.

But I digress.

First of all, bravo to Clotilde (as usual) for a creative and inspiring idea. I had so many permutations of tartines running through my head that I had to very sternly limit myself, and thus decided to compose a tartine in true California fashion using only fresh locally grown/made/caught ingredients. This might make my recipe hard to duplicate, and I do apologize, however, I'm sure the idea could be easily transferred to any region.

We're at the tail end of crab season in San Francisco which starts around Thanksgiving every year. In fact, for Thanksgiving this year, I made a crab salad hors d'oeuvre that was met with more enthusiasm than the recipe would have initially suggested. I decided to take that crab salad recipe as the base for my tartine, and play with various other toppings and ingredients in various forms. I'll blog about the various forms, but will offer one recipe which really represents the best permutation.

I started with the following ingredients:

(Clockwise from 10 o'clock): cayenne butter, frisee and sunflower sprout salad, crab salad, tomato slices, Acme Bakery's wonderful Pain au Levain (our answer to pain Poilâne), Appenzeller swiss cheese ('cause it was in our fridge), and a sliced avocado.

I brushed each slice of bread with the cayenne butter, and toasted it under the broiler for a bit, then layered on ingredients in various orders:

(From left to right): 1. crab, salad, avocado and tomato, cheese; 2. salad, crab, avocado; and 3. crab, avocado and tomato, cheese, salad.

I stuck the two with cheese under the broiler to melt the cheese a bit, and then was left with the following three results:

All of which were delicious, but led me to a definitive order of ingredients, a few caveats, and one final recipe...(read on)

(continued)

First the raw ingredients:

Crab Salad with Dill:
6 oz jumbo lump crab meat
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Pick over crab to remove shell, being careful not to break up any lumps. Stir ingredients together with pepper to taste (will not need salt). Can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and chilled.

Cayenne Butter:
3 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt if needed, depending on your butter preference

Melt butter and stir in pepper (and salt if you're using it).

Salad:
1 head frisée lettuce
1 package (a handful?) of sprouts - I had originally wanted pea shoots but settled for sunflower sprouts instead. Radish sprouts would be good here too.

Dress salad with a small amount of lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. I would highly suggest not using salt here (the crab is very salty and the salad doesn't need it) and (using more lemon juice than oil) keeping the salad somewhat dry. Don't drench it with dressing.

Slice bread to desired thickness (I did use a good thick country bread here) and stick it under the broiler for a minute to toast one side. Turn bread over, then brush the cayenne butter on the other side of each piece. Stick it back under the broiler for another minute or two. The bread should be toasted, not mushy, or it won't stand up to the wet crab.

Layer the ingredients as such: salad, crab salad, avocado and tomato slices, cheese. Stick it back under the broiler to melt the cheese.

I found that keeping the salad on the bottom helped hold everything together and make it easier to eat. The tomato's acidity, combined with the lemon dressing on the greens help cut the sweetness of the crab. I definitely liked the warmer tartines better (the cold tartine with just avocado on top was booooring), and the somewhat strong cheese was a nice finish. M wolfed down most of these, as I could only bring myself to eat a few bites of each (having snitched crab salad as I was cooking). They're rich, so forewarned is forearmed.

We opened the only bottle of white we had in the house (a too-sweet Riesling), but I'd personally suggest a dry champagne.

But then, I never need a reason to open up champagne.

Enjoy!

Posted by jmakunas at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Just some random bits and pieces....

I am pleased to report that last night's dinner were the tartines that I am planning to write about for the "Is My Blog Burning?" event this coming Sunday. Not to give anything away, but they were actually yummy, and I think I've perfected what I'll submit as my final "recipe" on Sunday. 'Twas fun, though it will probably be my last adventure in the kitchen for a bit if my career fortune changes as I suspect it might in the next few days.

The cafe au lait bowls (discussed below) were fetched and are just lovely - the perfect size and shape for coffee (or just about anything, I guess). The woman at the store told me they're now making plates with the same stripe on them, which I didn't need to hear.

And finally, M and I are currently obsessed with Gerolsteiner sparkling water (or "sprudel" as my father correctly calls it). We've taste-tested many different sparkling waters and keep coming back to this one, which is interesting because it has a very distinctive mineral taste that I can imagine would be somewhat offputting if you weren't prepared. All those minerals are apparently supposed to be good for you, but honestly, we just like the taste. It pairs surprisingly well with food and it's on sale this week at Whole Foods (though Trader Joe's stocks it cheaply all the time). Go get you some!

Posted by jmakunas at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Even though it wasn't a part of my childhood (and, indeed, my parents taught me to drink my coffee black when I started drinking coffee), I have great affection for the comfort of a big bowl of cafe au lait, usually on a Sunday morning with the New York Times spread invitingly out in front of me.

A few months ago, M and I bought a stovetop milk steamer expressly for the purpose of using actual steamed (instead of boiled or heated) milk in our weekly cafes, and a few weeks ago, we went on a search for actual cafe au lait bowls. However, as is our wont, instead of purchasing actual cafe au lait bowls, we used our "search" as an excuse to buy a set of bowls from a company called Iittala that we'd been coveting for a long time. They're from the "Origo" line, and while they're truly multi-purpose pieces, they're shaped perfectly for a bowl of cafe au lait.

Of course, they had to be special ordered, and I've been waiting for them to arrive at the store for a while now. I just got a call yesterday telling me the bowls had come in, and I can't wait to run up there and retrieve them.

My obsession with dishes knows no bounds.

Posted by jmakunas at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)