Sunset Boulevard soars

For Christmas, Nicole and I exchange theater tickets. For her gift, we saw The Master and Margarita done by the Synetic Theater and for my gift, the Signature Theater's Sunset Boulevard.  For those unfamiliar with this popular Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, it tracks an aging, mentally-ill silent movie star, Norma Desmond, searching for a comeback in mainstream movies at what turns out to be any cost and the out-of-work 30-something writer who crosses her path.

For this show, the Signature assembled a power-house cast, led by Broadway institution Florence Lacey as Desmond.  Haunting and macabre in parts and sweet and vulnerable in others, this show takes its place in a long line of tremendous runs the Signature has offered these past few years.  The high point, in a performance packed with them, was Lacey's performance of "As If We Never Said Goodbye", followed closely by the moment at the end of the show where you watch her, playing an already weak and ill woman, come completely unglued.

All-in-all, two thumbs up to the Signature's still-running rendition of Sunset Boulevard.  If you're in the DC area and enjoy musical theater, even at the theater's sometimes steep prices, this show will not disappoint.

If I'm being candid, Candide was...

Slow. Plodding. Sluggish. Ick.

With the many cheap theater deals DC has to offer, Nicole and I decided to take advantage of a $15 deal to see Candide at the Shakespeare Theater's Harman Hall.  Neither of us were interested in this at full price since reviews had been mixed.  However, for that price we figured, why not? How bad could it be? And to be a fair it wasn't bad.  It was ceaseless, never-ending, long, but strictly speaking, not bad.  Rife with comedic low-hanging fruit and oddly arranged musical numbers (did I mention this was the musical version?), this show left something to be desired - that something being several hours of my life back. 

But the bright, shiny, star-worthy spot of the show, was Lauren Molina as Cunegonde. With serious vocal chops, her soaring soprano and quirky comic deliveries kept my eyes glued to the stage even as I checked my watch wondering how a novella could take 3+ hours to stage.  Ms. Molina was truly a joy to watch and, moreover, to hear.  And the best part, you ask?  Well, she went to the University of Michigan of course.  Way to represent the Wolverines!

A Healthy Remake on Spaghetti and Meatballs

Mostly, I think the Food Network Magazine is a lot of flash and not a lot of substance.  But I still have a subscription for it for the two odd recipes per month I find useful (Fleur de Sel caramel for example).  This month, I was not disappointed.  With a whole section devoted to lighter options catering to the New Years Resolution crowd, a crowd with which I sympathize with wholeheartedly, I found a tasty Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe made with ground turkey that surprised me with its tastiness.

The recipe claims to be four servings, which for you WW followers translates to 14 points per servings, but can easily make this a six serving recipe which breaks the points down to 9 per serving and it's plenty of food.  The highlight of this meal really is the meatballs, by adding ricotta to the mix the dryness problems that you often encounter with very lean turkey just don't materialize.  This combined with the fact that they are well seasoned makes them very tasty! Oh, and I highly recommend using the Parmesan rind, it adds a great nutty, salty tang to the sauce.  You can buy parm rinds in bulk (10ish per container) at most Whole Foods or gourmet grocery for a pretty small price.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic (4 smashed, 1 minced)
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 cups water
1 small piece parmesan rind (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping
1 slice stale whole-wheat bread, crust trimmed, bread chopped
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
12 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

Directions


Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juice, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup basil, the parmesan rind, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Discard the parmesan rind, if used.

Chop the remaining 1/4 cup basil, then mix with the turkey, parsley, bread, ricotta, parmesan, egg white, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl using your hands. Form into 4 large or 12 small meatballs; add to the sauce and simmer, turning, until cooked through, 6 minutes for small meatballs and 12 minutes for large.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and return to the pot. Toss with some of the sauce, then divide among bowls. Top the spaghetti with the meatballs, the remaining sauce and more parsley and parmesan.

Sweet and salty nostalgia

If asked to identify one memory as the "best" from the week Ben and I spent in France with our friends Alyce and Dave in 2009, I don't think I could do it. The trip was wonderful with incredible company, countryside and cuisine and too many happy recollections to choose just one.  But if you culled down the pool of memory candidates to the best culinary moment that's easy.  Two words - chocolate oyster (huitre in French, perhaps the only word I've retained from that entire adventure).  And not just any chocolate oyster, a dark-chocolate dream of a confection, shaped like the craggy, rough hewn oysters that line the sea beds of the English Channel and filled with mouth-watering salty caramel. This caramel is a Brittany tradition and stands out among the top five things I've eaten in life - ever!

That's why when I stumbled onto a recipe for Fleur de Sel Caramel in December's Food Network magazine, my heart skipped a happy beat.  And the confluence of events was amazing.  No more than a day after I found the recipe, Ben's mom stopped in for a visit, bringing with her several generous house warming gifts including, as tradition would dictate, several varieties of salt, including Fleur de Sel.  Destiny had spoken and off I went to make these delicious treats.  In the end, as I expected, they weren't as delectable as our French favorite, but still a very buttery, salty treat that equated enough to the real thing to make me smile at the memories of times well spent with friends.  Reminiscing aside, these are great to make around the Christmas holidays.  I gave several boxes as gifts and still had enough left over (I made a triple batch) to share a few on Christmas Eve.

The recipe is not complicated but does require a candy thermometer which not everyone has lying around. Unfortunately, there is no substitute, if you want to make these you'll have to break down and buy one. Most grocery stores sell inexpensive combo candy/frying thermometers for around $6. Happy carameling!

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 water
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides.

In a deep saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel is a warm golden brown color. Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end.

In the meantime, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

When the caramelized sugar is the right color (deep golden brown), slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel - it will boil up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm (at least three hours, overnight if time allows).

When the caramels are cool, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board. Starting at 1 end, roll the caramel up tightly until you've rolled up half of the sheet. Cut the sheet across and then roll the second half tightly. You will have 2 (1 by 8-inch) logs. Sprinkle both logs lightly with fleur de sel, cut each log in 16 pieces. Cut wax paper in 6 by 4 1/2-inch squares and wrap each caramel in a paper, twisting the ends. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Christmas Comfort Food

This Christmas, Ben and I spent a week at my parents house helping out.  My mom had her hip replaced and couldn't be left alone for her first week post-op.  With limited mobility that also meant no cooking, no laundry, no household chores of any kind.  That's where we came in.  And since we had to stay close to home for the duration of our week, I passed the time cooking.  While I made a few tasty meals to speak of, one stands out.  That meal, Spaghetti with homemade Bolognese sauce, is allowed to claim fame because my father, the pickiest eater on the planet, couldn't stop eating it.  The recipe is below, courtesy of Tyler Florence. I would STRONGLY recommend halving it.  Even at 50-percent this recipe yields enough for two meals for normal people or one meal in which my brother and dad eat.

(The sauce simmering on the stove. I'm going to concede here that it looks a little like dog food.  However, make it and you won't ever worry about that again, it's so tasty!)

Ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese

Extra-virgin olive oil (one generous turn around the pan)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
8 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt (this is my addition since you're intended to sweat rather than caramelize the mirepoix)
2 pounds ground veal (if you object to eating veal or can't find it ground readily, just double up on lean ground beef)
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
3 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
2 quarts chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk
1 pound dried spaghetti
Large spoonful ricotta cheese
Handful freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Handful fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil


In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and salt and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are very tender but not browned.

Raise the heat a bit. Take the ground veal and beef, break it up into chunks and add it to the pan. Cook, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated. Then add the tomatoes and stock and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer very slowly for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring now and then, until the sauce is very thick.

Now add the milk - the milk will make the meat tender and will give a creaminess to the sauce- and simmer again until thickened, another 20 to 30 minutes. Taste again for salt and pepper. Mash the sauce against the side of the pan to really blend it. Transfer half of the sauce to containers and refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to several months.

Bring a big pot of lightly salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. When you're ready to serve, drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm (al dente) 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and put the spaghetti into a big pasta bowl. Return the sauce remaining in the pot to a simmer and stir in the ricotta cheese. Pour the sauce over the drained spaghetti and give it a good toss. Garnish with a handful of grated Parmigiano, the basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.

Ciao to 2010 with Cioppino

With all the traveling and working and traveling all year long, Ben and I decided that if what you're doing at midnight on New Years you're doing all year, we wanted to be at home, whatever we did.  So we stayed in and enjoyed the quiet and warmth of our own house, with for once, both of us in it.  To add a little of the midnight magic to the mix, we decided to make a special meal to ring in 2011 - Cioppino.  While it finds its roots in San Francisco, Cioppino is also an Italian tradition, and provides a hearty, warm meal perfect for a chilly December night.

I started with a Giada recipe (that's the original in the link), tweaking it as needed to accomodate what I had in the pantry. I also halved it to make it manageable for two people since shellfish doesn't usually reheat well. I served it with roasted garlic crostinis, the recipe (very very basic) is at the end.

Ingredients for Cioppino

1.5 tablespoons olive oil (one generous turn around the pan with the olive oil)
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (this is a best approximation, I just eyeball this stuff)
A generous 1/8 cup tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
3/4 cups dry white wine
2.5 cups chicken stock (the original recipe calls for fish stock, but unless you make it homemade I'm not wild about the fish stock you can buy in the store so without the time or requisite fish parts to make my own, I opted for a tried and true, although different alternative)
1 bay leaf
1/3 pound little neck clams, scrubbed (the original recipe calls for manila and if you can get them I'd go that route, but they can be hard to find depending on the time of year and little necks are a reasonable substitute)
1/3 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1/2 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 pounds halibut, cut into 2-inch chunks

Heat the oil in a very large pot (e.g. dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, chicken stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Crostinis
1 head of garlic
Olive oil
1 half-loaf french baguette

Before starting the Cioppino, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the top 1/3 off the top of a head of garlic, just revealing the individual cloves.  Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle the garlic head with olive oil.  Wrap the foil around the garlic, covering it completely.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove, allow to cool and open.  Squeeze the garlic head over a bowl to extract the roasted garlic.

While the Cioppino broth is simmering, slice the baguette on a diagonal.  Place the slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. During the last five minutes of the Cioppino's cooking, place the baguette slices under the broiler until lightly browned.  Remove from broiler and spread the roasted garlic extracted from the head with a knife over the baguette slices.  Serve two slices with each bowl of Cioppino.

The blog is back in town...

So an eight month hiatus? That seems reasonable. There's been a lot happening in the last eight months, including our big move to the new house, lots and lots of travel (Las Vegas together, Israel for Ben twice and Halifax, San Diego, Orange County x 1000, Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Indianapolis, and El Paso for me), a couple of promotions at work, a few fun adventures in the DC area and I'm sure plenty more.  Since I got so behind I can't possibly recap it all other than to say 2010, like the years before it, was a great year filled with the love and laughter of friends and family.  And with a little luck 2011 will be even better. In the coming months I'll do my best to stay on the blog-wagon, but I'm not promising as many posts as those months when I was really on my game.  But you can still count on lots of food posts with ample side orders of the life that happens between  meals.