Cafe 909 Tasting Menu

This week at Cafe 909, Mark did a Wine Pairing Tasting Menu. I did a little bit to help get it ready and then stood next to him watching, occasionally holding something or getting something. I got to see him really show off his talents, which are among the finest. He's been nationally recognized for a reason and I got to see it first-hand.

It is a true shame that his restaurant is closing next week. Cafe 909 is a gem of a restaurant in a sandy bowl of pebbles. It has been my pleasure to work there and learn from Mark Schmidt. I have only been working there a short nine weeks, and I don't remember it being so awesome when I worked there last year, but I have grown very fond of and close to the people I work with. David is the pantry guy, the professional baker who has been cheerfully guiding me in my sourdough journey. He's also my political tutor, updating me on statistics and answering so, so many questions. Mike is a worldly loner cook, back from 18 months in Ireland, about to go to NYC to cook with the very best, in Marble Falls for only one reason, which is to learn from Mark. I fit in someplace in the middle, inwittingly exposing how truly naive I am, making everyone laugh sometimes, being a chatterbox and keeping pace all the while with the two awesome cooks on either side of me. Mark can be a [jerk], but for the most-part, he is a kind and respectful leader, happy to help in so many ways. I am very sad to see this restaurant close, to be losing my job and to see the friendships that were developing end. I have warned them all that I'm not "Amy the Crying One" for nothing, I never fail to deliver tears in any (even slightly) emotional situation. I have the utmost respect for Mark and his wife Shelly for the way they run their business and the knowledge they have about what they do. It's been a while since I felt that way at work.

These pictures aren't in the right order and I am not smart (patient) enough to put them in the correct order right now. You get the point though. The man for whom the tasting was is the owner of a winery, and he brought some incredible vintage wines (1970-1992). The courses in the order they were served was this:
Japanese Flavors -oyster, escolar & kiwi tartar, eel, tuna sashimi
Seared Foie Gras, candied butternut, ginger
Sturgeon, grilled sardine, blood sausage risotto
Squab breast, carrot puree, most delicious sauce
Smoked lamb, lamb chop, roasted baby leeks, artichokes and cauliflower
Marcona almond stuffed fig, honeycomb, bleu cheese, olive oil

And those are David's cloverleaf Brioche rolls!

Chili

I'm on a cold weather kick. It's finally gotten to feel like fall around here and our air conditioning has been off for a solid week, the longest stretch since March. It's been in the low 80s during the day and dipping into the 50s at night. I do occasionally feel slightly nostalgic for fall in Ohio... huge piles of leaves in the yard, crisp breeze blowing through the windows at night, apple orchards & pumpkin patches and giant pots of chili on the stove all day...


It was delicious, the best chili I've ever made, we think. Here's the recipe:

In 2 T olive oil saute for 10 minutes: one onion diced, two stalks celery diced & one carrot shredded.

Then, add one tablespoon of each: chili powder, paprika, blackening spice & cumin, as well as one teaspoon of cumin seed, cinnamon & black pepper. Allow this to toast on the bottom of pot, releasing the aroma of the spices quite a bit, about 5 minutes.

Next, add one pound of ground beef and one pound of diced stew meat. Season with kosher salt. Coat meat with spice mixture in pot and brown for several minutes. Add two bay leaves.

Add one small can tomato paste and one cup water. Stir to evenly coat. The add one can crushed tomatoes and two cups beef stock. Simmer one hour, or longer.

Winter Fashion

I had a semi-drunk fashion show for myself on Saturday night. As I have mentioned before, I like to try on clothes to moniter my size, because I don't like scales. I only got thru two outfits before I wound up on the couch watching SNL, uninterested in finishing the "show" or putting the clothes I'd worn away. I did realize how lame I was and also did laugh at myself the whole time. I only got this picture. I am such a DORK! But really, how cute is this outfit!?

Lucky Me!

A Girl and her Dog

This will become much less important when we have human children, but until then, let me tell you all one more time how much I freakin' LOVE my dog. He is the sweetest and nicest dog I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. (Laura was great, Mom, but not quite the same) He would be happy to spend each and every day with me outside, running, hiking, swimming or just relaxing. He's super athletic, patient and gentle with children, protective when necessary and so so loving. Everyone loves him, even though he kind of resembles an 85 pound wolf. At our old condo, he made friends with our older neighbors. It was months before I found out that he had been sneaking out of our place and going to their back door, where they would let him in and give him snacks and treats. He was always back before I knew he was gone.

I'm not sure how I ended up with such a wonderful and well behaved dog, because I had no prior dog-training knowledge before his "adoption", but I did and I am very happy that I did. He's my best buddy and it's hard to believe he's been mine for almost seven years. We've been through alot, several moves, an Ohio winter, a few plane rides in cargo... all worth it. I don't think that any dog will ever compare to my sweet, lovable, obedient companion, Cooper.

Here we are before a run. I take him with me when I'm wearing my Obama shirt, it's a dangerous Republican neighborhood, you know...

Baby Boy Marsh

There has not been a new Baby Boy Marsh since 1984 when my baby brother, Mike was born. My dad has three brothers and three of the four of them had at least one son. From those sons, there have been three Baby Girl Marshes and to date, no Marsh boys to carry on the name. Well, that's about to change. Mike and his fiancee Kristin are expecting a baby in the spring... and IT'S A BOY! Mike could not be any happier!!! So of course, I am thrilled for them both. Yeah for babies everywhere I look!

Ribeye, Red Wine & the Dodgers

That's our Monday night in a nutshell. Here are some photos.




Joseph grilled this giant bone-in Prime Ribeye and some jumbo Gulf shrimp. I whipped up mashed potatoes, broccoli, satueed mushrooms and a fabulous rosemary/redwine/butter sauce. We also had some of that terrific sourdough, slightly toasted with butter. We drank an old dusty delicious bottle of wine, a 2000 Margaux, which had to be strained thru a coffee filter into a decanter, because it was full of sediment. Our toast "To the Dodgers and to us!" We ate dinner in the living room while watching the Dodgers come back against the Phillys. It's 3-2 now in the 6th inning and we hope they can pull off a win. I've developed a crush on Andre Ethier, a young, handsome Dodger, whom Joseph now refers to as "your little boyfriend". Ooops, now the game is tied. I hope the boys in blue can make this happen. I know a few Higley Boys who would never ever forget their team finally making it back to the World Series.

****Update***
The Dodgers did not win. Joseph is very sad.

Oliver Stone Quote

It's as simple as this, if you ask us.

"Whoever wins this election, Bush's impact has changed the world. This man has left us with three wars — in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror — and the legacy of the pre-emptive strike. These are legacies that will haunt his successor for years. It's good for people, before the election, to think about who they elected eight years ago and about where we are as a country right now."

Is it paying off?

Is what paying off?

The hours I have spent hauling myself around the track and up and down the lanes of the GHRC pool in the last few weeks. I'd like to think so! The scale STILL says I haven't lost much weight, I fluxuate between the same 3 pounds, and Joseph says I look good no matter what. I can't really tell just by looking at myself in the mirror, so I have come to rely on trying on clothes to determine my size. Saturday after work I decided to take photos of my fashion show to study. I may as well post them and get both of your opinions too. :) Is it paying off? Please, don't comment about how crazy and unhealthy this all sounds. I am healthy and of very sound mind, I promise.

Little Miss Baker

I also made a loaf of sourdough today. If you follow this blog regularly (and I think there are only 4 of you who do), you know that I have had some trouble with the sourdough bread baking. Not real trouble, just some growing pains and getting to know my sourdough starter. Tonight was my night, I GOT IT PERFECT! I adjusted the recipe slightly and the oven temp and baking time by a few degrees and minutes. And it came out so BADASS! Crusty on top, light and airy in the center, sourdough goodness all the way through! We enjoyed hot sourdough with our turkey cannelloni for dinner.

I also made a pineapple upside down cake. I make this dessert fairly often. It's easy and really delicious. I usually follow the recipe in the Joy of Cooking (my bible), only replacing yogurt for buttermilk. Tonight I followed the recipe in the Cake Bible (another gift from JHIG), which called for sour cream, which I replaced with low-fat vanilla yogurt. Lately, I have been trying to capture my own spin on the few recipes I do follow, in case I have to turn in the 30 original recipes that TNFNS calls for upon acceptance to the show. (Really, I know they aren't going to call, I'm just trying to be prepared in case) My recipe is lovely!!!

Turkey Cannelloni

In the recent weeks economic downturn, Joseph and I have been feeling the pressure. We're wading into new territory together, the poorhouse. Not really, but we are definitely aware of what is happening around us and the certain uncertainty about everything. In an effort to not end up poor and stuck here in this "dustbowl" (JHig) we are trying our best to cut back spending in every way possible. The first luxury to go, eating out. This isn't really a bad thing, because my cooking is better than most restaurants, but the pleasure of ordering and then getting up and leaving the mess is a thing of exciting dates now, and it used to be a regularity.

Anyway, because we're being "thrifty" and trying to make the most of eating at home, we have stocked our freezers and pantry well. Last Monday we shopped at Costco and the Asian Market, just about filling our freezers to the max. We have ribeyes, filets, shrimp, fish, turkey, chicken, bacon, sausage, mini pizzas and some pot pies for Joseph's late nights. That, combined with the bags of stocks, sauces, muffins and breads that I have piled away in there and the pantry FULL of rices, pastas, beans and canned tomatoes I have make it almost impossible for us to go hungry before 2010. We're slowly adjusting the way we live and spend to that of financially responsible adults.... so old, so old.

Left over from the Amy's Late Night Deli days I had a package of three turkey breasts in the bottom of the freezer. I thawed them out in the fridge all week and then baked them off this afternoon. I seasoned all three differently, one spicy blackened, one basil and tomato and one with garlic & Lawry's.
I used the basil tomato one for tonight's dinner, and sliced the leftover for sandwiches. The other two are frozen for another meal. Hence the title, we had Turkey Cannelloni tonight. I sliced the turkey breast longways, filled it with a ricotta/parm/spinach/artichoke filling and rolled it up. Then I covered it with marinara and mozzarella and baked it till it was bubbly and the cheese was melted. Add a bottle of Simi Russian River Chardonnay and it's on! Lucky us. I know it's true, we are lucky to be where we are, doing what we're doing, even if it isn't what I wish we were doing right now. A few days ago, giving in to the stress and pressure of adulthood, I was having a rough afternoon. Joseph sat me down and said, "This isn't even hard. This life we lead, it's a vacation. Babies, houses, a family, that's when it's hard. Enjoy this time, Amy, enjoy it while you can." So smart, so smart, he's right again. This picture isn't awesome, but you can imagine rolls of turkey breast, stuffed with cheese and goodness under all that sauce and cheese.

We're watching the Dodgers game now. They're up 7-2 in the 7th inning right now. If they win this game, they'll be 1 and 2 in the series against Philadelphia. The next two games are in LA, so hopefully they'll win tonight and then the next two. GO DODGERS!

Obama-Rama ... Sarah Falin'

I was super happy when the Obama stuff I ordered finally came in the mail on Monday. Before I even left the post office, this new bumper sticker was stuck on the car.


This tshirt came too. I wore it yesterday to the pool. An older woman stopped me and said, "Do you feel safe wearing that here in Republican Country?" and I said, "Yes, I'll tell anyone who asks why I think Obama is better." and said said, "Well, good for you, maybe I should start wearing one too." and I said, "Yes, you should."


Out here in Llano/Burnet county it is full-on McCain/Falin land. There are signs everywhere. I've seen several McCain/Falin bumper stickers placed right next to W'04 stickers. Really, you're not completely embarassed to tell people you voted for that mooseknuckle? You should be! You just can't help the stupid, I suppose. Lucky for us, Austin isn't too far away. Austin is the only liberal city in this whole stupid state, and it was very refreshing to finally see some Obama supporters while we were there on Monday. I saw two stickers I really liked... "OBAMANOS, TEJAS!" and "End this Endless War. Vote Democrat"

Our yard sign is coming. It will probably be stolen the first night. My friend Joe and I have decided we're going to use red spray paint and change the P to an F on all the McCain/Palin yard signs around our neighborhood. We will need alot of cans of paint.

Dodgers Sweep Cubs

Yeah! The Dodgers are headed to the NLCS.

DODGERS WIN AGAIN!

The Los Angeles Dodgers are making Joseph VERY VERY happy these days! Anything that makes him happy makes me happy, and as a result I find myself actually really caring how they do. I am becoming a true Dodger fan, and I love to wear my pink-on-black LA hat around Texas.

The Dodgers embarassed the Chicago Cubs twice, in Chicago. Wednesday the score was 7-2 and last night it was a whopping 10-3! Now they're traveling back to LA, the next game is Saturday. They only have to beat Chicago one more time before they're headed to the National League Championship games. There they will play the winner of the Milwaukee-Philadelphia series, in which Philly is currently up two.

The Dodgers have not been great in recent years. In fact, 2-0 is their best post season record in 20 years, since they won the World Series in 1988. Joseph was 13 the last time they had a team do so well. Naturally, he is really excited!

Keep your fingers crossed for another win on Saturday! I wish we weren't so afraid of spending money right now, because I think a surprise trip to Philly would be SO MUCH FUN!

Food Network Star; Season 5

Do you think I have what it takes to be the next Food Network Star?

That toolbag Guy Fieri has like 10 shows, and he SUCKS. I'm pretty sure I'm nicer on the eyes than that goober too. There is nothing Rachael Ray can do that I can't. I could cook the Neely's under the table. So.... that's right, I am applying to be

THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR!

I am fully aware that this is a very very long shot and I will most likely hear nothing back. But it's worth a shot and I've got a good of a chance as anybody.

My culinary point of view would be something like this:
Three things that are important to every home cook/mom:
TIME, NUTRITION, MONEY
How to effectively shop for/stock your fridge and pantry &
Economical ways to create healthy original meals in a short amount of time

It's silly, but it was silly when the other winners applied too. I have nothing to lose. Wish me LUCK!!!!!!!

And don't worry, I'll remember all of you when I'm rich and famous. xo