Young "Foodies"

I really hate the term foodie. Everyone has to eat. The word "foodie" does nothing to illuminate the manner with which people like me enjoy food, or the quality of food we enjoy. This article from New York magazine captures the vibe of my generation's affinity to food from an outsider's perspective.

"On the food-as-indie-rock matrix, I have just accidentally confessed to loving the Dave Matthews Band."

Likening food to indie music, this article describes the rise of food as a counter-culture (heavily tattooed chefs, the rejection of Food Network in favor of shows like Top Chef) and might help others understand how we can live in squalor and spend most (or all) of our money on food!

Happy First Birthday, The Finer Things

Today marks a year from the birth of The Finer Things, and I couldn't be happier about it! I've learned a lot along the way, not just about food, but also about taking pictures. I think we can all agree that the food photos have improved greatly since I began, thanks in part to a new camera.

I'm taking this opportunity, because I've since relocated to Cleveland, to honor a different blog...100 Days in Cleveland, which helped me become optimistic about living here, through colorful, whimsical drawings of places in Cleveland I previously saw in black and white.

Corned Beef Hash

The best thing about making corned beef is the leftovers. I made myself corned beef hash with the last of it. And just like making the corned beef, this is really easy. I even fried an egg to put on top!

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel towards eggs. Mostly, I find them revolting. But occasionally (like, once every six months) I'll eat a scrambled egg if it has lots of stuff in it, like lax, goat cheese, tomato, herbs, meat, or any combination of those. Part of me, though, reveres them for their versatility, richness, speedy cooking times, and nutritional value. Not to mention the whole food craze these days to make everything "better" by putting a fried egg on top. I've watched enough Top Chef to know, this is usually (but not always) a good thing, so I figured I'd give it a try since there was going to be plenty of salty, meaty flavor going on in the hash.

You'll need:
2 Tbsp butter
a small chunk of leftover, cooked corned beef
2 leftover red potato halves
a few leftover carrot chunks
1 egg

What you do:
Chop the corned beef, potatoes, and carrots into tiny pieces.

Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet. Add the meat and vegetables to the butter and stir, letting the potatoes brown. Push the hash to the side. Add more butter to the pan if necessary, crack the egg into the center of the pan. When the whites set, flip the egg and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer everything to a plate and serve with the egg on top. Season with salt and pepper.

When you cut into the egg the gooey yolk will bind the hash underneath together somewhat, coating everything in richness. This was my first time frying egg, and it got pretty brown since the pan was so hot, but the yolk inside was perfect, not too runny, but not solid either. Kind of like a loose gel. I don't mind my eggs brown, but apparently that's frowned upon. This breakfast of champions tasted delicious anyway and kept me satisfied for most of the day.

St. Patty's Day: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Last weekend my parents were in town to see the opera so I took them to the West Side Market. Corned beef was a holiday special among the vendors, so we bought one and a cabbage too, and I made myself some corned beef and cabbage.

My mom usually made corned beef and cabbage once a year for St. Patrick's day, and although it is simple to make and made of "cheap" ingredients, it still special, which makes it taste especially good. My spring break at Northwestern was always too late to make it home for some corned beef, so my parents would save me some leftovers. Now I can make it myself. Like I said, it's pretty simple.

As far as healthy, chemical-free eating goes, corned beef is probably not the way to go...the packages tell you what it's tenderized with, and the fact that I can't remember what it's called is probably warning enough. Once a year can't hurt too much though, right?

As for cooking it, it's pretty easy.

You'll need:
1 corned beef (about 2 lbs)
5 red potatoes, scrubbed and sliced in half
8 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 in pieces
1 head of cabbage, cored and cut into eighths

What you do:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Put the corned beef and the spice packet in a Dutch oven and fill with enough water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil on the stove and simmer, covered for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Add the potatoes and carrots and simmer for 15 minutes, then add the cabbage and cook for another 15 minutes. When the vegetables are tender, remove the vegetables to a plate. Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven, uncovered (making sure the meat is fat-side up) and cook until the fat is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.

When the pot comes out of the oven, remove the meat to rest for 5-10 minutes, and add the vegetables back to the broth to keep warm and absorb more flavor as the liquid cools.

Slice the meat crosswise and serve with the vegetables.

I got this done a little early this year so I can share it with you in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Opera: Hansel und Gretel

The last few weeks have been filled with opera and a whirlwind trip to Chicago. I've also been trying some new recipes, none of them terribly original though.

CIM's opera production, Hansel und Gretel, was a huge success. After a long rehearsal last Friday, I drove through the wet snow with a few friends to spend 36 hours in Chicago with Jacob. It was a short trip and a tiring drive, but it was definitely worth it. We had a belated Valentine's dinner at m henrietta, a cozy place with unpretentious, but definitely delicious, food. It was a refreshing change to my usual unrealistic food requests when I visit. Usually it's "let's drive an hour and a half to the heart of the city to try this really expensive restaurant!" This place was on the north side, so the drive was much shorter, and we even found parking right in front of the restaurant.

We ordered a pancetta-wrapped shrimp appetizer which was surprisingly light and served on a bed of fresh avocado, grape tomato, and shaved cucumber with some slices of lemon and lime. This dish awakened my hibernating avocado-eater (something I never ate as a child, btw. I always picked it out of my california roll). I've been recreating this salad for lunch: avocado chunks, grape tomatoes, cucumber chunks, dressed with lime juice, salt, and pepper. You can't get any fresher than that.

Jacob's mom sent me some food magazines for Valentine's day. Some Bon Appetit and Food & Wine. I tried this recipe for sweet potatoes with mirin and honey, which basically turned into candy. I kinda wanted more asian-y flavor, maybe some rice vinegar instead of white vinegar and a dash of shoyu.

I also tried this pasta recipe from Tasting Table's winter collection, which you can download here. If you don't subscribe to Tasting Table, you should. It's less applicable to me now that I live in Cleveland, but they send me daily restaurant emails about Chicago (and other big cities). The linguine with cod, given the fancy name "Bavette in Guazzetto," was delicious and authentic. The instructions were kinda unclear on how small to cut the cod, and I probably cut it too small, because it all flaked, instead of staying in chunks. It still tasted delicious though, reminiscent of a spicy linguine with clams.

Maybe it was the subtle conditioning of the story of Hansel and Gretel, but something has activated my sweet tooth, and I can't get enough chocolate. Especially the toffee and almond variety. Yum.