Follow The Foodventure on Twitter!

Follow us @TheFoodventure for live updates about the first episode of Top Chef Las Vegas!

Hands-On Learning: Sur La Table’s Sushi and Hand Roll Workshop

For part of my birthday gift this year, Frank enrolled the two of us in Sur La Table’s Sushi and Hand Roll Workshop–and I’d highly recommend it to anyone, even the reluctant cook.

Photo: Homemade spicy tuna roll Frank and I made after the class

During the class, which lasts nearly three hours, we learned how to make sushi rice, California rolls (hello, inside out!), spicy tuna hand rolls, eel rolls, cucumber rolls and tuna rolls. (Note that the menu may vary in different cities or with different teachers.) Everything was hands-on; this was not a lecture class. Every student receives a copy of recipes and tips prepared by the individual teacher of the class, and I recommend bringing a pen to add notes in the margins of the paper; one of the most valuable parts of the class was having the teacher walk us through where and what (or what not) to buy to equip our homes for sushi preparations. Our teacher and his assistants were extremely patient, there was more than enough supplies to go around in case we made mistakes, and we left with many tips and tricks to aid our future sushi-making Foodventures!

It wasn’t the first time the two of us attended a class at Sur La Table. Read more »

Thermo Dynamics! Get excited!

“Temperature can’t hold sway over density and conductivity.”

Lost? About a year ago, I would have been. But thanks to the brilliance of Alton Brown, I understand thermo dynamics–and you can, too!

Thermo-wha?

Here’s the deal: If you’re looking to thaw/defrost something and a microwave is either unavailable or, well it pretty much ruins your food so I wouldn’t bother, what would you do? I won’t try to explain it because I can’t do a better job than Mr. Brown himself.

This is a snippet of the Good Eats episode, “What’s Up, Duck?” but I’m not interested in the duck part–today. Fast forward to 5:00 into the video for the most important cooking lesson every amateur chef needs to know. You can stop at 9:35 if you’re too aren’t into duck for the time being.

I will only add that at this very minute, I’m trying this technique by myself for the first time, and it’s working like a charm. (I’ve seen Frank, who introduced me to this, do this over and over again, but I wanted to give this a shot on my own.)

Can we cook a whole fish?

Despite the fact that I don’t like things with bones (thanks for sharing that with everyone, Frank), I manned up over the weekend so we could attempt to cook a whole fish. And I’m happy to say it wasn’t half bad.

We decided this first effort should be undertaken with rockfish–or striped bass, as it’s called outside the Mid-Atlantic area–because it’s one of Frank’s favorites. And who doesn’t like a local specialty? Read more »

Recommitting and Picadillo Photo-blogging!

Blog updates have really trailed off on the site and for that, both Frank and I are very sorry. Things have been busy and all things Washington depress us lately, but we are recommitting to this blog! More Foodventures await! I even have some photos of various adventures over the past month or so that I’ve forgotten to post, so there may be some Foodventure posts from the vault. Get excited.

In the meantime, my friend Karen seems to be taking up the banner of food-blogging–and doing it quite well. I am embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know what picadillo was before I saw her post, but I’m excited to give it a try sometime after reading her post and seeing her pictures. She and I are also looking around for a food photography class, so stay tuned for the details on that.

Has anyone ever taken a food photography course? Any recommendations for class locations or other resources?

TheFoodventure.com Hits the Road Again

I just posted some thoughts on the Italian food I ate in Chicago last week. Tomorrow, Frank and I are meeting some friends in Philadelphia for the day. I don’t know where we’re going to have lunch yet, but we’re definitely open to suggestions. Dinner, however, is non-negotiable; in fact, eating at Villa di Roma is about 75 percent of the reason we’re driving 2.5 hours each way to Philly in the first place. (I hope our friends are not offended by that comment. I suspect that they would agree and thus will let it pass.)

Stay tuned for a post on Sunday about our Philly Foodventure. If you have any suggestions for a great lunch spot (remembering that we can’t hit a cheesesteak-only spot because of Lent, sigh), please post a comment below.

Italian Foodventures in Chicago

I’ve long criticized the fact that it’s hard to find good Italian food in Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia. The best I’ve found–excluding the Italian sub scene, which is for another post–is at La Piazza, next to the Braddock Road metro stop in Alexandria, and Alberto’s on Barracks Row.

Because the Italian food in D.C. is famously below par, I sought out Italian food on my business trip to Chicago last weekend. I ate three different Italian restaurants and wanted to share some brief thoughts about those restaurants here.

On Thursday night, I had dinner at Vivere, one of the three “Italian Village Restaurants” that boasts the largest wine selection in the entire city. I started with a small Caesar salad and my entree was the oh-so-delicious Linguini con Gamberi e Pomodori Secchi, which featured linguine, sauteed shrimp, toasted garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chili flakes, and Sicilian sun-dried tomatoes. In our group of 8, three people ordered this and if you could taste it, you would understand why. Read more »

The Death of Baconmania?

If you ask me, bacon has never been better. Bacon at breakfast is great, but bacon isn’t limited to the first meal of the day. Just ask Frank, who has said famously, “Bacon is my favorite vegetable.” Or my brother Mark, who says, “Bacon is meat candy.”
The cool folks at Slate.com who put the following video together, however, think bacon has had its 15 minutes of fame. (Hat tip to Grub Street)
Read more »

The Obligatory Top Chef Reunion Post

Editor’s Note: Frank and I are big fans of Top Chef and try to watch the new episodes together when we can. Frank didn’t want our first Top Chef post to be about the reunion show, so I’m (briefly) addressing tonight’s episode on my own.

The most recent season of Top Chef just ended last week, but Bravo is airing a reunion tonight. Now, I recognize that it’s taped in advance, so maybe the cast is ready to reunite. I understand, more importantly, why Bravo might not be ready to let go of the Top Chef audience that doesn’t care for most of its other programming, Frank and I included. Not enough time has passed, however, for me to miss the characters and I have no interest in actually watching a reunion episode. I want to know if Leah and Hosea are dating, but I’m sure I can read about that tomorrow morning.

I’m much more interested in speculating about where next season will take place. I’m pulling for D.C., St. Louis or Denver–where I live, where I’m from and where Frank is from, respectively. Where do you think the next season will take place? Where do you hope to see it? Post a comment below if you’re a Top Chef fan, too.

Update: In other news, Fabio is hawking frozen pizzas.

Foodventure Fail: Shrimp Fried Rice and Veggie Egg Rolls

Knowing I had some odds and ends at my house that didn’t amount to much in and of themselves, I stopped at Trader Joe’s last night to pick up some things to supplement what was already in my pantry and fridge. I had big plans for a fun meal that would make for a great post, but I was too hungry to engage in a big project, so I went with Plan B. I picked up frozen shrimp fried rice and vegetarian egg rolls, in part because I was craving Chinese takeout but didn’t want to pay for it and in part because I wanted immediate gratification. In the end, I was less than satisfied.

The egg rolls were supposed to cook for 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven and be turned once after about 10 minutes. I put them in a lightly oiled pan, as instructed, but when I went to turn them, they were stuck in a bad way and fell apart. When the entire cooking time was up, they were not crisp and the insides that ended up on the pan were burned in such a way that made the pan almost impossible to clean.

The shrimp fried rice wasn’t terrible, but it took much longer to cook through than the bag said it would. After heating a little butter in a pan and getting the pan very hot, the food should only have taken about 2-3 minutes to cook, but after 3 minutes, the shrimp were still frozen solid. Plus, I’m not sure why this didn’t occur to me before I bought it, but the idea of frozen egg pieces did not sit well with me and I never got past that. I was too filled with anxiety wondering if the shrimp were really cooked enough and praying that I didn’t bite into a semi-frozen piece of egg to enjoy what was otherwise an ok meal.

What’s worse though is that because this was all so unsatisfying, I’m still craving Chinese.

Yes, I’m embarrassed to admit all of this, but I promised Frank a post about my Tuesday dinner. It was an official Foodventure Fail. But hey, for those of you who don’t like pretentious food blogs, know that I’m big enough to admit that I’m not above a fast, frozen option, particularly on a weeknight.

If you have a better suggestion for a cheap, takeout alternative–or weeknight meal in general that doesn’t disappoint–please pass it along in the comments section.