Maybe it's the new spring weather that has inspired me...or maybe it sounds better to me to blog than do work...or perhaps I don't feel like tackling what is perhaps the largest laundry pile in Gaebler history. Regardless of the reason, I'm finally finding the time for a new post after quite a hiatus! Lots of winey-glittery-cheesy things have happened in the last few months, but here are a couple of highlights:
Phil and I went to a chocolate gala event (one of his volleyball teammates scored us a discount ticket) this winter. As if a night devoted to gourmet food, chocolaty goodness, and unlimited cocktails wasn't exciting enough...I also got to meet Rick Bayless! THE Rick Bayless! Ok, so I know that it is extremely geeky that I am that excited about meeting a PBS cooking show celebrity, but it's true. Here's me stealing a quick photo before he ran out the door:
I also have a great granola recipe that I have been tweaking for the last few months. Cherry almond, but honestly, you could make any kind. Or if you're in the mood for a sweet granola that is particularly good on vanilla ice cream, this Martha recipe turned out great. It was in the April 2011 Everyday Food, but this blogger posted it: Banana hazelnut granola. I added some semi-sweet Belgian chocolate chips that we received in our chocolate gala goodie bag and they really made it fantastic. I usually poo poo Martha recipes because they generally require some extremely expensive imported essence of something or other, but this was an easy, tasty dessert granola. However, I think "my" cherry almond granola recipe (adapted from a recipe I found online somewhere a million years ago) is pretty rad with Greek yogurt, fruit, and honey:
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped dried cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp flavorless oil (I use canola)
1 Tbsp water
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or just use parchment paper or a Silpat instead). Mix all of the dry ingredients except the fruit in a bowl. Then add the wet ingredients and combine (I just pour them right in rather than mixing them together first in a separate bowl and it seems to work out fine). Stir to combine (still leave out those cherries!). Pour the whole pile onto the pan and spread evenly. Then, working across the pan, make small little clumps of mixture (just pinch it together- this is not an exact science, it just makes it so that you have big clumps at the end instead of individual bits of oats). Bake for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle the dried cherries on top (and kind of mix them in if you can without burning yourself- I'm usually not very successful at mixing them in and it turns out fine) and bake for another 15 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container- it stays tasty for 2 weeks.
Other highlights: Phil and I took a vegetarian French cooking class (affordable thanks to Groupon). This pic shows the over sized, super-powered immersion blender they use (makes ours look downright wimpy!):
Went to wine country, visited several wineries, and joined a wine club at Peterson (we should be getting our May shipment soon!)
Ate at Chez Panisse (and yes, it lived up to the hype). Here we are:
And this was the menu that evening. I don't think I'll be eating cardoon and miner's lettuce again soon, but it was interesting to try:
And found the best winter salad recipe on Earth (Giada DeLaurentis). Basically arugula, roasted beets, avocado, goat cheese, walnuts, and dried cherries. Tossed with a shallot balsamic vinaigrette. It has made several appearances at dinners this season. Most notably, out in San Francisco at our friend Kat's house:
Coming up...morel hunting (hopefully!), leopard print toenails, and a recycled spoon cup holder from this month's issue of ReadyMade.
