Camacho Watcho

A couple years ago, I made a resolution to try any food that was offered to me. When I made the resolution, I knew there was a chance I would be trying some interesting things. There was a possibility that I would try things that I never would have tried before and that I might actually like them…which happened. There was also the possibility that I would try things and rediscover the fact that I don’t like them…which also happened (I’ll never like pickled herring).

What I was not prepared for, however, was to try something as simple as cherry pie and discover that I actually do like it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have always loved cherries. In the summer when they’re ripe, there is nothing better than a juicy bing cherry. But somewhere along the way I had turned up my nose to cherry pie and decided that I didn’t like it. And because I had made that decision, there was no convincing me otherwise.

Enter my friend Kate. In the past year, I have watched Kate become a mother, tackling the very challenging job of taking care of a little one all day. And in the midst of those early days of motherhood, I watched her discover a passion for pies. She is the type of person who follows her inspiration and does the very thing she sets out to do in every case (even with a one month old at home). In this case, it was to master the art of pie making. She makes her own crust and tries all sorts of new recipes…it’s really too bad we don’t live in the same city to reap the benefits of a pie-making friend.

This summer, however, I was the recipient of such a reward. We were vacationing together at a house on the beach and she treated me to the fruits of her labor…a sweet cherry pie. I was very much looking forward to trying it because of my resolution, but also because I knew that she had put many loving hours into pitting the cherries by hand, rolling out the pastry and baking the pie. What I was afraid of, however, was that I wouldn’t be able to open my mind to the possibility of liking cherry pie. Happily, I absolutely loved it. In particular, the crumble crust with coconut was outstanding! (Perhaps Kate would share the recipe?)

Because of this new discovery, when my sister brought home tart cherries over Christmas that had been frozen since their harvest in the summer, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on a bag. Packed into a cooler in the trunk of our car, these cherries traveled over 400 miles home with us after the holidays and made it safely into my freezer. Unfortunately, our freezer had a minor blip the next day. While most of our refrigerated and frozen goods went directly out onto our patio (sometimes it is helpful to live in the tundra where the outdoors can literally be your freezer), I didn’t want to risk it with the cherries so I let them thaw.

The next day I went for it and decided to bake a cherry cobbler. Tart cherries with a toasted walnut crumble topping….wow! Pure heaven. When the last bite made it past my lips, I sent a message to my sister to put in my order for her father-in-law’s harvest next year. I needed more of those perfect cherries. The response I got sent me into a day long funk. They had cut down the tree and those were the last of the cherries. As sad as that made me, I was glad that I had treated them right…baking them into a perfect cherry cobbler.

Cherry Cobbler
Adapted from Alice Waters: The Art of Simple Food
3 cups tart cherries
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. flour
Mix all together in an 8×8 in. greased baking dish and let set for 10 min.

1/3 c. toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. flour
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. granulated sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
Mix well and then add 6 T. butter (cut into small pieces). Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture comes together and has a crumbly texture.

Spread topping mixture over the cherries and bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.

To ring in the New Year, Kyle and I decided to try something new and fun for our dinner party. Kyle had seen a recipe on the Food Network for salt crusted whole red snapper and wanted to try it…a perfect opportunity to start the year with an adventure. So we invited some friends over for dinner and games but didn’t tell them what we would be serving so it would be a surprise.

The first order of business was finding whole red snapper. Unfortunately I waited until New Years Eve day to start calling around to stores so the supply was limited. I lucked out, though, and found a couple 1.5 pound beauties at the Midtown Global Market. They were already scaled, gutted and had the fins cut off so when I got them home I just needed to rinse with water and dry to finish up the cleaning.

We stuffed them with lemon slices (an alteration from the original recipe) and laid them on a bed of lemon slices (to keep them from sticking) and rubbed a bit of olive oil on top. We then whisked egg whites until they were stiff and folded in kosher salt. Then came the fun part…encrusting the fish with the salt mixture. Kyle got to do this since I was taking photos, but it was all I could do to keep myself from helping. It looked like fun! We popped them in the oven just before our guests arrived and set the timer for 30 minutes.


When our guests arrived Kyle turned on the oven light so they could see what the surprise was. Of course, they continued to be baffled, which was a lot of fun. After 30 minutes, we opened the oven to find two lovely browned lumps, ready to be broken into and eaten. After peeling back the salt crust, we transferred them to a serving platter and dug in.


The meat was incredibly moist and fresh tasting and tucked into tortillas with the mexican rice and mango salsa salad, it made the perfect meal. We ate and ate until there was nothing but bones left on the platter. It was both a delicious and fun meal to serve at a dinner party! I would definitely like to try it again and to try different types of fish as well.

After dinner we put out a buffet for desserts (i.e. I put out all my leftover holiday candies and sweets and told my friends they had to be gone by the end of the night) and we snacked on these for the rest of the night. Carly’s chocolate oat cookies were sweet and crispy. My friend Kate’s mom’s cookies were like pure butter and sugar melting in my mouth. And the juicy, ripened pears that Jason and Sue brought over were the perfect complement to my brie, honey and fig jam.

The rest of the night we played games, toasted with champagne and celebrated to good friends, good food and a great year!

I love to eat eggs for breakfast. Most of the time I eat them when I go out and occasionally I’ll whip some up on a weekend morning. I don’t usually do anything fancy with them when I’m cooking them up at home, usually just some fried eggs and toast to quickly quench my egg craving.

A little while back, however, I was in Chicago and had breakfast with a friend. The restaurant was a cute place with a great menu, including an item of eggs and chorizo with cornbread. It had all the ingredients for a great breakfast…and I loved it!


That weekend I decided to break my usual routine and to replicate my chorizo and egg breakfast at home. I had picked up a little chorizo at the store and had some leftover cornbread from a few nights before. I sauteed the chorizo with some onions and diced potato, then added the cubed cornbread. All this was piled onto a warm tortilla and then topped with poached eggs. Just as I had remembered – savory, spicy and sweet…at home on a Saturday morning.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, our Cooking Club got together for brunch. We usually try to hold our club on Friday or Saturday nights, since a lot of alcohol is usually involved, but with the holidays brunch was all we could manage in our schedules. Kyle and I were hosts, so we got to pick the theme. After much thought, my sister came up with an idea…New Orleans Brunch! We would have spicy, rich food and bloody mary’s to boot!

New Orleans Brunch Menu
Eggs Benedict
Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Frittata
Pecan Waffles with Pecan and Banana Syrup
Cayenne-Candied Bacon
Baked Cheese Grits
Cajun Bloody Mary’s
OJ and coffee

I found the recipes all on the Food Network recipe list. Actually, most of the recipes are from Emeril, which I hated to do but knew if I wanted some “kicked up” food from New Orleans, Emeril was the man to consult. I’m still not a fan of Emeril the personality, but after eating this brunch, I am definitely a fan of his recipes.

My favorites of the morning were the bloody mary’s, the frittata, the grits (which were amazing as leftovers with plenty of Louisiana hot sauce) and the cayenne-candied bacon. Honestly, spicy-sweet bacon? I’m in love.

The biggest disappointment for me were the eggs benedict. I don’t know what happened. The muffins were good, the eggs were cooked well (with runny yolks), the steak was seasoned well, and the Hollaindaise was tasty…but the sum of all the parts just didn’t add up for me. I’m beginning to wonder if I just don’t like eggs benedict. Does anyone know where I should go to put this to the test? Where are the best eggs benedict in the Twin Cities? I really need to figure this out.

Back to brunch…The morning was a lot of fun. We even got to do some cooking together, which usually doesn’t happen in our club. Vickie whipped up the syrup at my house and Katie (not me, the other Katie) was awarded the “utility cook of the day” by helping me with the waffles and the eggs benedict.

Looking back, perhaps it wasn’t a great idea to have this huge brunch the Sunday before Thanksgiving, since we had some big meals coming up. But in the moment that Sunday, I wouldn’t have changed a think. Then again, after two bloody mary’s on a Sunday morning, everything seems like a good idea!

As I’m writing this, I am on the countdown to go home for Thanksgiving…and I’m so excited! I haven’t been home for this holiday in several years so I absolutely can’t wait for the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes…and all the fixings! In preparation of all this comfort food, I made some comfort food of my own, mac ‘n cheese, on Monday that was so good that I had to share it with you.

I don’t actually eat mac ‘n cheese much. I’ve ordered it a couple times at restaurants (Maxwell’s and McCoy’s both have great versions on their menus), but not often. And when cooking at home, I usually try to stick to red sauces for pasta, as I always have canned or fresh tomatoes, onions and herbs on hand. The heavier creams just usually aren’t in my refrigerator. But when I got my Bon Appetit in the mail this month and saw what was waiting for me within its pages, I just had to try it out.

From the get-go, this mac ‘n cheese looks anything but normal. It’s made with two cheeses – sharp cheddar and goat cheese – (which is the perfect marriage between mine and Kyle’s favorite cheeses) and is topped with caramelized shallots. Yes…I said it. Topped with caramelized shallots. Is your mouth watering? Mine is.

Now, you might not believe this, but it wasn’t too long ago that I turned my nose up at goat cheese and wouldn’t even try it. It wasn’t until my coworker (thank you, Julie) tricked me into eating goat cheese that I discovered my obsession with this soft, creamy wonder. Now I am known to put goat cheese on and in everything – salads, scrambled eggs, pizzas…you name it. I love the stuff. So when I saw this recipe, it was as good as made.

As promised this mac ‘n cheese was fantastic! The sauce (made with the sharp cheddar and a little hot sauce) was creamy and a little sassy and the toppings, well, they were simply amazing. We kept trying to put words to the effect that the caramelized shallots had on the dish, but just kept coming up with “they are soooo good.” We put down half of the bowl for dinner and then we ate it for lunch as leftovers the next day.

While mac ‘n cheese can’t compete with my mom’s Thanksgiving meal as the ultimate comfort food, this version is definitely a recipe that has earned a regular spot for my comfort food cravings.

Mac and Two Cheeses with Caramelized Shallots
adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2008

* 3 tablespoons butter plus more for baking dish
* 6 sliced large shallots (about 6)
* 8 ounces elbow macaroni (2 cups)
* 1 1/4 cups half and half
* 2 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce (such as Cholula or Louisiana)
* 2 cups (packed) coarsely grated extrasharp cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
* 1/2 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 9×9-inch square (or large round) glass baking dish. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until shallots are deep brown, stirring often, about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook macaroni in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain well. Reserve pan. Bring half and half and hot sauce to simmer in same saucepan over medium heat. Toss cheddar cheese and flour in medium bowl to coat; add to half and half mixture. Whisk until sauce is smooth and just returns to simmer, about 2 minutes. Mix in pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread pasta mixture in prepared dish. Top with shallots, then goat cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.

We stayed in on Sunday night and made a feast of scallops. They were so good that I just had to share the recipe with you. The scallop recipe itself was from Epicurious, but I did make a few tweaks to it, following some suggestions from the comments on the site and also adding a few serving tweaks of my own. The result was a meal of tender scallops served over silky udon noodles with a creamy, tart ginger lime sauce and a side of spinach. Not bad for a Sunday night.

The link to the recipe for Sea Scallops with Cilantro Gremolata and Ginger Lime Beurre Blanc is here. The changes I used were: 1. Use half the amount of butter for the beurre blanc, 2. Used three large sea scallops per entree (it was plenty), 3. Serve the sauce over udon noodles and 4. After cooking the scallops, deglaze the pan with white wine and quickly wilt spinach in it for a side dish.

It’s no secret that I absolutely loved the three months I spent in Uruguay! I shared many a story last year on my blog about it and I continue to long for the good times and good food that I had there. Therefore, when I heard that Anthony Bourdain had travelled there this past February and No Reservations would be airing the show in late July, I was excited! I DVR’d the show and sought out some friends for an Uruguay party!

The scene was set to happen at my house this past Sunday with our friends Ed and Carly. They had joined Kyle and me for the last ten days of our trip and had travelled in Uruguay and Argentina with us. We were prepared to eat and drink like Uruguyans and to enjoy the show! In true Uruguayan fashion, we started out the night with some beverages and appetizers. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from Pulenta Estates in Mendoza, Argentina. We had drank that wine in Mendoza as we stood under a trelise in the dappled sunlight, looking out at the Andes Mountains in the distance. Ahhh…that was the life. Our appetizers were twofold, a chorizo wrapped date wrapped in bacon and the typical melted provolone with oregano. Sweet and salty – I love that combination! If you’re wondering, the provolone platter was a purchase in Uruguay; you see these everywhere there!

We then started the show and began our asado (the Uruguayan terminology for grilled meat fest…my translation). A few tears came to my eyes as I watched Anthony drive around La Plaza Independencia, where I ate lunch every day when I was there. And we were overall happy with his choices for locations – Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio, Cabo Polonio, Montevideo (of course). I longed to be there with him. I was a little disappointed, however, that he kept hooking up with non-Uruguayans to get his tours and information. He made a comment at one point that he had not met any true Uruguayans…uh, try talking to some of the locals. I promise, they are very friendly and many speak English. The best part of it all was he and his brother eating at el mercado del puerto…at the same parilla where Carly, Ed and I had eaten just eight months prior! The show ended and our food fest began.

A quick overview of the food we grilled and how we prepared it. A true asado is not really a grill like we know it. I wrote about it last year when I was invited to an asado by an Uruguayan, so if you’re interested in the grill and technique, I’ve linked to it here. In true Uruguayan fashion, however, we did keep the preparations simple. Just sliced some veggies (peppers, onions, sweet potato) and threw them on the grill (parilla) along with corn on the cob, a large steak and some sausages. Although we were missing the typical blood sausage and sweet breads, we were pretty proud of how our asado turned out.

We broke open the second bottle of wine, a cabernet sauvignon from Finca Familia Cassone and again we were taken back to our wine tour in Mendoza. We had wondered if the wine would taste as good as it did that day in the sun, and we were not disappointed. Wow. For dinner, we served up our food family style, with a big platter of veggies, a platter of meat and, of course, a side of chimichurri. I am in love with this chimichurri (I’ve included a link to the recipe here). The food was simple and delicious.

The only non-South American part of the evening, besides the fact that the party ended at 10pm instead of the usual 4am that would happen there, was the dessert. I had previously bought some key limes that I didn’t want to go to waste. So, although this is not typical to Uruguay, we ate homemade key lime pie for dessert. And I have to admit that it was good!

A trip down memory lane on a wonderful Sunday night. Both Kyle and I said that we can’t wait to go back to Uruguay. Punta del Este…here we come! Well, maybe not now…but soon.

After our binge in Napa and our long, beer-filled week in Hilton Head, Kyle and I have decided that we will attempt to have a healthy July. This means eating in and eating fresh ingredients, at least when we’re not traveling.

Our first week was filled with grilled meats and salads, which I think is the best eating there is. I didn’t get too fancy on the seasoning for meats, using just thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil for both. The salads were both tossed in a red wine vinaigrette with a touch of lemon. Just simple, fresh ingredients that make for great eating. A few pictures are below of this week’s goodness.

No, this isn’t some reference to the Saturday Night Live skit. Fish in a box is actually one of the foods that I absolutely crave from my experience in South America. The actual title on the menu was pez en un caja hierro, translated ‘fish in an iron box’. And it was just that. Simple and delicious.

This dish is served in a restaurant right next to the hotel where I stayed in Montevideo called S. de Sarten. From the outside this restaurant was unassuming however, upon entering the courtyard, you realize it is anything but. Open, modern, and decorated with warm lights and natural materials, I loved this restaurant immediately for its atmosphere. Then I read the menu and the pez en un caja hierro demanded my attention right away. Although I didn’t quite know what this would exactly turn out to be, I was sold.

The dish arrived, served in a caste iron box (of course) with a lid and fitted inside a wooden holder. They placed it in front of me and removed the lid, letting the steam rise from the box and fill the air with smells of fresh fish and vegetables. I was in love from the first smell and enjoyed every bite. I also enjoyed it on the several other occasions when I returned to S. de Sarten during my life in Montevideo.

The other night I was craving ‘fish in a box’ so I decided to try to replicate this recipe, using my large stainless steel saute pan with lid instead of an iron box. I was surprised at how simple it was to make and how similar the results were to the original. The original recipe called for linguado (sole), onion, pumpkin, and green and yellow bell pepper. I used orange roughy, green bell pepper, onion, snap peas, sweet potato and carrots. In reality, any mix of veggies that meets your fancy will work just fine. I used olive oil to grease the bottom of the pan, then placed the fish inside with the cut up vegetables on top. Then I lightly drizzled more olive oil and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper and course ground salt. Placing the lid on top, I steamed this on the stovetop for 9 minutes over medium-high heat.

Tasting the light but rich flavors and experiencing the varied textures, I again enjoyed every bite. A little trip down memory lane and a new favorite recipe for me. And, hey, if you’re ever in the neighborhood don’t forget to try the original at S. de Sartens in Montevideo, Uruguay.