Ashley's at the Capital Hotel

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We have a really nice hotel in our downtown area, within walking distance of our pretty River Market Dsitrict - where there is always so much going on and so many things to do.  The service is impeccable throughout the Capital Hotel.  Would you like a bottle of water to go on your way out?  Grab one at the door as the valet brings your car around.  Then there's a restaurant inside called Ashley's at the Capital Hotel.  For any dinner celebration, this atmosphere is elegant and formal enough to punctuate whatever your accomplishment.  It's also a nice place to have lunch with friends.  You can enjoy the sunshine coming in through the large windows on a pretty, sunny day.  For lunch, you can choose from an Express Lunch option or you can choose from the Prix Fixe menu of two courses for $20.  I love a good Prix Fixe menu.

For starters, you get homemade pimento cheese and wonton crackers to whet your appetite while you wait for your meal.  It's very "New Americana."

If you order iced tea, it's accompanied by fresh lemon and a simple syrup.  It's Southern.  It's Midwestern.  (I always considered Arkansas to be Southern, but in our regional breakouts in the pharmaceutical industry, they always had us in the Midwestern division!)

The table is adorned with fresh flowers, silver salt and pepper shakers, and a sugar bowl. More Southern Chic.

Kristi and I both started with a smoked chicken salad with avocado.

Then we enjoyed the pork chop plate with an apple slice, mini corn bread loaf and purple hull peas.  The meal was delicious, the service impeccable, and the atmosphere perfect for catching up with my friend Kristi on a pretty day in downtown Little Rock.

The executive chef of Ashley's is Chef Lee Richardson who won the Food and Wine magazine People's Best New Chef in the Midwest.  The Capital Hotel is one of Little Rock's nicest hotels in the downtown area.  I love that I can get valet service so that I can just pop in and out for lunch here.  It's also very convenient for people like Kristi who is extremely limited on how long she gets for lunch, especially during the weeks surrounding election days.  And I know it's going to be another fun election year...

Foie Gras

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There was a time when I ate a lot of foie gras.  I travelled to NYC often and enjoyed it in restaurants like L'Atelier at the Four Seasons Hotel and Asia de Cuba where Carrie once ate in an episode of Sex and the City.  I've had foie gras in every course - in ravioli, in soup, as an appetizer with matchstick apples, and in several different tasting menus.  When Jereme and I visited Budapest for my winning Presidents Club, I ate it everyday, except it's just called goose liver on their menus.  The sidewalk cafes were the best along the cobblestone streets of Hungary! 

There's a small controversary surrounding foie gras.  I purchased the D'artagnan presliced fresh moulard duck foie gras.  This compay produces natural and organic food, and they're listed in my Thomas Keller Bouchon book as one of the companies that he recommends.  The ducks are fed corn only, and they like to stuff themselves just before they migrate, so their livers are naturally enlarged.  I found a package of 2 slices at the meat counter at Terry's Finer Foods.

Some people are in love with foie gras - I know I developed my interest in it from hearing about it on Iron Chef and other Food Network shows.  Some people are heavily against it for the way that some people produce it, and yet others have no idea what it is...

So with our tax return money, my husband got a new set of tires for his big truck.  I got some foie gras!  It costs $99 per pound, but I certainly didn't buy an entire pound.

 I scored the foie gras on each side, then seared it over high heat in my flat cast iron skillet for just about a minute on each side.  It shrinks up quite a bit.  I also drained them on both sides with a paper towel.

The little seared medalliions are so rich, I plated them with some fresh mango salsa and toast points.  The flavor is really buttery, and the texture is silky.  I feel privileged to have enjoyed so much of this stuff!  It feels like living in the lap of luxury to have foie gras on my plate again.  But it's not something that I could eat on a regular basis.  I just live a simple life now, so I really don't mind that I'm not travelling the way that I used to.  Sometimes I miss it, but I think that knowing that I have those experiences to remember are good enough.  Life is really good just having more face time with the kids and my husband.

Smoked Salmon Won Tacos with Mango Salsa

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I had a copy of Guy Fieri's book Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It for a while, and I loved it!  One thing that surprised me was the amount of Asian recipes he had in it.  One day Jereme saw The Neelys on Food Network making Asian food, and he said, "They can't do Asian!"  I told him everybody does Asian, half of Guy Fieri's book is Asian.  He even made Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup) in his book!

So he did Ahi Won Tacos, but I don't make Ahi too often due to the overfishing of yellowfin tuna.  I won't say that I'll never eat Ahi, but for now I decided to do this dish with Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon.  He also drizzled his with some cream sauces that he made from scratch, but I decided that I liked mine with the mango salsa alone.  This is one of those really, really rare moments in my life when I actually deep fry food.

Ingredients:

• 1 package Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon
• Round wonton wrappers - you can find in the Organic Dairy aisle at Kroger Marketplace
• Mango salsa
• Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, pour in enough oil to cook half of a wonton wrapper.
2. It's ready when you put the end of a chopstick in, and it sizzles.
3. Dip half of the wonton wrapper into the oil, and hold the other half with a pair of tongs so that you can get that taco shape.
4. Once the edge is browned, cook the other side.  Drain on a paper towel.
5. Cut the smoked salmon into small pieces, stir into the mango salsa, and fill a won taco with it!

You see mine didn't turn out to be perfectly taco shaped!  I also ended up just frying a few rounds to make won tostadas.  Guess what Sasha ate!  Just the fried won tostadas alone......no surprise.

Chocolate Brie Basil Panini

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The idea came from watching Giada de Laurentis on Food Network.  Otherwise, I don't typically have an urge to make something sweet.

I do love brie!  The idea of sandwiching it with some basil and chocolate chips sounded adventurous!  I knew I would want a bite for my own!

You just toast your own bread ahead of time a little!

Then put your ingredients on one side, top with the other side, and toast.  I don't have a panini maker,so I used a flat cast iron skillet with a bacon press.

Gianna said, "Mom, are you going to put basil on my chocolate brie panini?"  I replied, "Do you want me to put basil on it?"  "Yes!" was her reply.  Some days, I just don't know what my kids want!  It's always a good idea to double check!  The outcome was delicious!!  You can see Giada's recipe here.

New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp

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Tonight is "Fat Tuesday," and the well known French translation for this day is Mardi Gras.  That means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent for us Catholics.  And that also means I'm supposed to give something up that I love, or add something...I need to think fast!

In honor of this widely celebrated day, I decided to make the best dish that I ever ate in New Orleans, since New Orleans is the hub of Mardi Gras celebrations with parades, beads, King cake, and masks.  I first had this barbecue shrimp at Pascal's Manale in uptown New Orleans.  I was with King Pharmaceuticals at the time, and our district meeting for the Specialty Cardiovascular team was going to be in New Orleans.

My best friend in the district was Kay Dussouy, and she lived in Metairie, just outside of New Orleans.  So our manager Phil let Kay pick our destinations for district dinners.  Kay and I used to have great talks about what we were cooking for dinner and share recipes with each other, so I knew that I would love any restaurant that she loved.

First you make the sauce.  I read in one cookbook that European butter is best for this dish.  So that's what I used.   Add some worcesteshire, lemon, and garlic and you will practically want to drink the sauce with a spoon!

I also used Meyer lemons.  The chefs on Food Network are always lovin' on these things!  The Meyer lemon is a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon.  The skin is really thin, so the meyer lemon is really easy to squeeze to extract juices.  I always squeeze in a small ramekin, discard the seeds, then pour the juice into my mixture.  I got mine at The Fresh Market on Surf 'n Turf Tuesday!  I Love the great deals on this day!!

Once you combine all the sauce ingredients, you layer your shrimp in a pan and pour the sauce over it.  Cook for about 20 minutes for 400 degrees if you have 2 pounds of shrimp.  You see the irony now?  they call it barbecue shrimp, but you cook it in the oven?! 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. wild American shrimp, unpeeled, head on if possible
• 8 oz. European butter, or regular if not accessible
• 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
• 2 lemons, Meyer lemons if possible
• fresh cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt butter with worcestershire, juice of 1 lemon, pepper, salt, and garlic in a pan over medium heat.
3. Layer the shrimp in a 9 x 12 pan.  Slice the second lemon, discard seeds, then add to pan.
4. Whisk the sauce.  Turn off the heat.  Pour over the shrimp.
5. Cook in the oven 20 minutes.   
6. Serve with French baguette.

I am so crazy about the extreme flavors in this dish!!!  If you're in Little Rock, try this dish at The Faded Rose.  Read the story of how it was inspired by New Orleans' Pascal's Manale - originator of New Orleans barbecue shrimp!!  Thanks to my friend Kay for introducing me to this deliciousness!!!  XOXO

Prosciutto and Provolone Panini

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This Italian ham and cheese sandwich is easy to build with the main ingredients purchased from Whole Foods.  The addition of roasted garlic grape seed oil on the inside of the baguette makes it even more delicious.  The prosciutto is tender and silky.  The provolone cheese is warm and soft.  And the fresh basil gives it Italian flavor.  It's simple, rustic, but so delicious!

The Fiorucci pre-sliced prosciutto is by far my favorite packaged prosciutto.  Whole Foods also has the best baguettes in West Little Rock!  We are very particular about the crisp, outer texture and soft inner texture of our baguettes.

Ingredients:

• French baguette bread
• Provolone cheese
• Roasted garlic grape seed oil spray
• Fiorucci prosciutto
• Fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. Slice the baguette the length that you would like your sandwich.  I usually slice it about the length of a slice of prosciutto.  Then slice it in half lengthwise.
2. Spray the bread with the grape seed oil spray.  If you don't have this, you can also rub the bread with a garlic clove and then brush the bread with some olive oil.
3. Fold the provolone cheese in half to split it apart, then lay it on a slice of bread.
4. Turn on the broiler, and when it's ready, broil the baaguette slices until the cheese is melted.
5. Place several slices of prosciutto on top of the cheese, then top with basil.
6. After assembling, you can dip the panini into bread dipper before taking each bite.

Jereme loved dipping his panini in a Mediterranean bread dipping oil with sundried tomatoes and garlic. 

Pork and Shrimp Dumplings

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When my husband shows his friends my food blog on his iPhone, they say things like, "Man, how are you not just huge??!"  He says it's because my wife tries to make healthy food.  I don't fry food often, I use very little oil, butter, or sugar, and I try to use lean protein when I can.  One of my favorite ways to cook is to steam.

I found this contraption at Sam's Oriental on South University.  It's not actually a wok, it seems closer to a Japanese tempura pan.  Sometimes, you don't know what you're getting from Sam.  He's Korean, but his store finds are quite universal.  The pan was $14.99 and the lid was about half as much.  If you don't see a knob for the pan lid, take it to Sam.  I see so many possibilities for this pan, but steaming is in the top of my mind for now.

You can fit a bamboo steamer inside the pan.  You can also cover the steamer with your lid!  Love it!

Sasha loves to help cook, so I was happy that there were so many things that she could help me do!  She could use her little knife to cut the shrimp, then chop it all together to make a little paste.  She then mixed the pork mixture as I added the ingredients, and she also made little circles out of the square wrappers.

If you start with square wrappers, you can cut them into circles if you'd like, or leave them square.

The way to steam these dumplings is to turn the heat up to high until boiling.  Then turn down to medium high heat, and let it continue to steam for 20 minutes or until cooked.  Make sure to have enough water.  I usually start with 2 cups, then watch...

Ingredients:

8 oz. ground pork

4 oz. shrimp, finely chopped and diced into a fine grind

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

sesame oil, as needed, about 1 teaspoon

freshly grated ginger, about 1/2 teaspoon

1 tsp organic reduced sodium tamari
Chopped green onions or chopped cilantro

Wonton or dumpling wrappers

Directions:

1. Mix the ground pork with all the other ingredients except the wrappers.
2. Add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp filling onto each wrapper.  Moisten the edges of a wrapper.
3. Fold, crease, pressing out the air bubbles.
4. Steam as long as needed, about 20 minutes over medium high heat, with lid on.
5. Serve alone or with optional sauce, ponzu is a nice choice.

Charcuterie Plate with Creminelli Tartufo Salami

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I have Thomas Keller's book Bouchon that my friend Christy first introduced me to because she saw a dish on his web site that looked good, and she wanted me to make it.  After I enjoyed the book with a Grande Caramel Brulee Latte at Barnes & Noble, I let Jereme know that I'd love to have it.  It was one of my presents for Christmas.  Seriously, ladies, let your man know what you want!  In light of yesterday being Valentines Day....for years I would say, "Oh, don't get me anything" in hopes that he would read my mind and go out to get me Gerbera Daisies.  He didn't know what they were, up until a few years ago when I showed him a picture.  Now I get them for Valentines, Anniversaries (the day we met and the day we wed), Mothers Day, Birthday....all important days and therefore capitalized here.  I find that it's best to give him 3 gift ideas, and he can choose for himself.  That way the element of surprise is still there for me when opening my gift!  I've also created a Pinterest board titled "Gifts I'd love" so that I can post the pins to his Facebook. 

The salami is made with black summer truffles, found by specially - trained dogs to sniff them out in northern Italy between June and October.  Creminelli Tartufo Salami has been a finalist for two national specialty food awards including Outstanding Meat Product and Outstanding New Product.  With all the growing concern about what our food is eating - I read an article in Saveur magazine about acorn fed pork - I haven't had time to research what these are fed, but I know that the salami ingredients are pretty natural with no added nitrates or nitrites.  My family loved this stuff!

I picked up the Creminelli Tartufo Salami from Hillcrest Artisan Meats on Kavanaugh in Little Rock.  My friend Jay from kitchenco. told me about the new store's opening a few months ago.  When I stopped by the store to feel them out, I found that they were really knowledgeable about all the food I loved, and I found that they have the same passion for utilizing local organic farms. 

So my family really enjoyed this little charcuterie plate that we often do with so many different ingredients.  According to Thomas Keller (from his book Bouchon), a charcuterie plate is the name given to a range of sausages both cooked and dry - cured, pates and terrienes, and cured ham, a centuries - old craft in France.      

We chose to use the Creminelli Tartufo Salami, some St. Andres cheese (very similar to brie), some sliced radish, and some chive crackers that we picked up at Capers Market.  Oh how we love to browse all the different markets!

Classic American Chili

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Last Sunday there was a big 2012 championship game between the Giants and the Patriots.  During times like this past year's Cotton Bowl, and then during this big bowl of the NFL, chili is my husband's choice.  Our household chose to root on New York, so we were all in our New York attire.  Meaning I was in my Juicy Couture track suit that I bought at Henri Bendel the last time I was in the Big Apple, and the rest of the family had on athletic wear that reflected they were also fans of New York.  I heart NYC!

I made this a while back, froze it, and brought it back out for the big game.  This is because lately I've been cooking 4 or 5 meals in one day, then I'm storing them in containers in the freezer (with cute little Martha Stewart labels from Staples).  So we got up last Sunday morning, threw the defrosted chili into the Crock Pot, and let it heat up all day on low for about 6 hours.  Now, as I write this post, we're getting snow, and I'm thinking how nice it would be to warm up something else that I have in the freezer for a good comfort meal today...

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
• 1 white onion, finely diced
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 cup of bottled V8 - Gianna doesn't like tomatoes, and I don't want to used canned.

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven.  Add the white onion.  Drain.
2. Add all other ingredients, increase heat to high, bring to a boil while stirring.
3. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer about 30 minutes.
4. Top with cheddar cheese, diced green onions, sour cream, diced radish.

Chili is really so easy!

Leaf - wrapped Beef Rolls

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If you like to make your own meatballs, or meatloaf, or if you enjoy those lettuce cups with chicken filling, well you would probably love these!  I made 24 of these last night, and Gianna absolutely loved them!  I first saw my friend Ginger make grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground lamb back in the late 90's or early 2000 years, and they were sooooo good...then one day I saw my mom wrap some kind of herb leaf around some beef, and grill it to delicious perfection.  Since then, I have not made enough of these! 

I got these leaves from K Oriental in the fresh produce area during the weekend when the fresh stuff comes in.  They aren't labeled, but they rang up as sesame leaf.  Some web sites say that sesame leaf, perilla, and shiso are the same or related.  Yet others disagree.  I haven't found a reliable enough source to be sure yet.  Traditionally, Vietnamese beef rolls are wrapped in wild betel leaves.  Whatever these leaves are, they worked.  If anyone knows the answer, will you let me know?  In the meantime, I'll see if I can email Anthony Bourdain or Luke Nguyen!  Or maybe my brother Huy...

Lay the leaves glossy side down, or dull side up.  Place a tablespoon of the beef mixture towards the end.  Shape into a small sausage shape.

Soak the skewers in hot water for about 30 minutes to an hour.  Skewer 4 rolls each onto the small skewers - this makes it easier to turn, and saves time.

This recipes makes 24 rolls...

Put them onto a foil lined pan for easy cleanup.  Spray them with oil - if you have the roasted garlic grape seed oil that I love, it really adds to the rolls!  But if you don't, regular canola spray is fine!  Then turn and spray the other side.  Place them onto a broiler rack next before placing in the oven to drain the fat. 

Serve with some garlic lime chili sauce, another favorite of Gianna's!

Okay, last picture!  Clearly, I'm obsessed with taking pictures of food!!  I've been reading a digital photography book that I picked up from the library.  I'm really looking forward to getting to the Photoshop instructions, too.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
• 2 packages of sesame leaf from the Asian market (each has 12)
• 6 bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water 30 minutes to an hour
•  garlic lime chili sauce

Marinade:

• Marinate the ground beef in 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 2 teaspoons all natural turbinado sugar, 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce (optional), 2 cloves of minced garlic.  Mix lightly without overworking the mixture, then cover and refrigerate.  Overnight is best.

Directions:

1. Wrap the beef rolls as directed above.
2. Slide the rolls onto skewers that have been soaked for 30 minutes minimum so that they don't burn.
3. Spray with oil on both sides.
4. Place onto a broil pan that is set on a foil lined pan for easy cleanup.
5. Broil 5 minutes per side.
6. Serve with the garlic chili lime sauce above, link to recipe provided.

Caribbean Calamari Noodles

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I love Chef Anne Burrell for featuring calamari noodles in a cookbook that I flipped through recently!  She said that she is always looking for more ways to cook squid, and here's the thing.  Me too!  I love it!  When I was little, I ate a lot of squid a lot of different ways.  How many of my friends of L.A (Lower Arkansas) enjoyed it?  I don't know...but then a Macaroni Grill opened up in Little Rock, the center of the state, and they served Fried Calamari.  So sophisticated sounding...when you call it calamari instead of squid!  Many people fry it, but I haven't yet in my own house.  I've always sauteed it instead in light oil.

Barton Seaver is another chef - Esquire's Chef of the Year - who loves calamari as a sustainable seafood option - who has many recipes for it in his book For Cod and Country.

Also Sam Talbot, diabetic chef author of The Sweet Life, who insists on healthy proteins, has many calamari recipes.

These guys happen to be some great entertaining celebrity chefs, but I love them more for their respect of healthy and sustainable eating. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package Private Selection calamari, dried and cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons rum, vodka, or white wine
• juice of 1 lime
• jarred roasted red pepper strips, diced

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic, chili, and squid.  Season with kosher salt and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
2. Pour in the rum or wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Add the roasted red pepper strips.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lime juice.

Serve with salad and fresh radish.

Tuscan White Beans and Chicken

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My husband converted me into a bean lover.  They're high in protein and fiber - with zero fat.  I love that!  What I knew of beans before Jereme were the ones on the cafeteria tray at the school from my hometown of Nashville, Arkansas.  From what I remember, they were brown, mushy, and they lay in a broth or sauce in the corner of the tray, and they did not appeal to me.  Then I started waiting tables at Romano's Macaroni Grill during college, and they were making lentil bean soup all the time.  I loved the Italian flavors in the broth, and the lentils were a nice chewy texture that weren't mushy at all!  Actually, I thought they were delicious!

You can get a one pound bag of Great Northern beans for about a dollar, and that bag will go a long way.  I can make this dish for our family of four, have some leftovers to eat the next day, and then have more to freeze for another day!  The dish is healthy, light, and filling!  It's so much like a bowl of chicken noodle soup, except the beans replace the noodles.  And the beans offer so much more nutrition. I've read that soaking the beans and adding the bay leaf should reduce gas - known to be common with beans!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bag of Great Northern Beans
• 2 quarts (8 cups) of chicken broth
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 organic carrots, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight or via quick soak method per package directions.
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium stock pot.  Add onion and carrot and saute until soft.  Season with some coarse kosher salt.
3. Add the garlic, saute for about 3 minutes so that it doesn't burn, then add the chicken broth.
4. Over medium high heat, bring it up to a boil.  Once boiling, add the chicken, beans, bay leaves, oregano, and basil.
5. Bring up to a boil, then simmer for an hour and a half, covered, over low heat.
6. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and shred with 2 forks.  Then add the chicken back to the pot.  Add salt as needed.  Top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Mexican Torta with Carnitas

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Follow the recipe here to make the pork carnitas.  You'll slow cook the pork shoulder meat, then you'll crisp the outside. 

Torta is Spanish for the word sandwich.  Typically, the bread used is bolillo, which is oval, or telera, which is round.  I used a baguette because it's similar - crusty outside and soft inside.  The Vietnamese version of this is called banh mi, which also means sandwich.

You can spread some light mayo or some fat free sour cream on your bread.  Layer your meat on, and choose some more of your favorite Mexican toppings for your torta.  Guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, Mexican cheese are all great on a torta!