Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Final Farewell

I'm not referring to anything serious here.  Lucy is still okay as are all my dogs and all the people in my life.  Believe me, I count my blessings every day ....

No, this is about Durham.  One more time.  You may remember my post about the place and about Watts Grocery a few months ago.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/05/bye-bye-durham.html

I still love Watts Grocery.  But we had a memorable "last supper" at Vin Rouge and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about it.

A French bistro in Durham?  Yup, and a damn good one.  This was not our first meal there; indeed it was usually on our list of favorite places everytime we visited, but this meal was particularly wonderful. 

http://www.ghgrestaurants.com/vinrouge/vinrouge.html

It started with our server, Jason.  He is what every server (even the ones at the French Laundry and Per Se) should aspire to.  Professional yet personable.  REALLY knowledgeable about the menu and the wine.  When it came time for dessert, we were too satiated, but Henry lamented the fact that chocolate mousse was on the menu.  Several minutes later, Jason quietly slipped a mini-serving in front of him and we never saw it on our check at the end of the evening.  Now that's what I call exemplary service.

When it came time to order a bottle of wine (de rigueur at every meal for us, duh, no wonder we aren't skinny), General Manager Michael Maller showed up to help.  He and Henry had a spirited discussion about French reds at which point Michael said, "Wait, I'll be right back.  You have to try this."  THIS turned out to be a taste of - you won't believe it - wine FROM A BOX!  Surprisingly enough, it was really good!

It came from St. Joseph in the northern Rhone valley of France.  It is made by Eric Texier who is Michael's favorite producer.  Apparently he only made two barrels of it in the 2008 vintage and all of it came to Durham.  Vin Rouge is the only restaurant in the world to have it in the boxes.  What fun!

I was smart enough to order the Dijon mussels, which were fabulous.  Even more fabulous though, was the bowl they came in.  It was cast iron, slightly tilted and had a grate along the side which allowed for the Dijon butter sauce to flow out unimpeded so you could dip both mussels and bread into it.  Brilliant!  Check it out:

http://www.chefsresource.com/11025.html

The chef at Vin Rouge is Matt Kelly.  I don't know him personally, but I can attest to the fact that he knows his way around a kitchen.

My favorite salad at Vin Rouge involves Bibb lettuce, haricot vert, radishes and Dijon vinaigrette.  Here's my take on it.


BIBB LETTUCE SALAD  (in the style of Vin Rouge)

Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Haricot vert (French green beans), trimmed and blanched
Radishes, thinly sliced

Dijon Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pinch of granulated sugar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive (I like Olio Santo)

Place Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar in a bowl and whisk together.  Add olive oil in a think stream and whisk to emulsify.  Taste to adjust seasonings.

*the above is the classic way to make a vinaigrette.  If you want my down and dirty way, just put everything in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to blend.  I'm just sayin'.

Place lettuce leaves in a bowl with blanched haricot verts and radishes.  Add a minimal amount of dressing (less is more) and toss gently.  Plate and serve immediately.


Note:  in the interest of full disclosure, I couldn't find haricot vert at Whole Paycheck Foods, so I had to settle for locally grown green beans.  Fair enough.

Cooling Cucumbers......and a bit of market life

Yogurt is great stuff especially the kind we get here in Turkey which is absolutely delicious: thick and creamy.It is one of my must-haves in the fridge. Strange to think I used to yearn for the fruity version! Yogurt in Turkey is used mainly as accompaniment to savoury dishes or in something like this cacik. It isn’t considered a dessert. Cacik (difficult to say as c is pronounced j in Turkish) is similar to the Indian raita and the Greeks also have a lookalike. In other words, a side dish made with cucumbers and refreshing yogurt. In the UK I have just about stopped buying cucumbers as they are so tasteless and watery. In this area, they have one local type that is pale in colour, with huge seeds, and bristles to boot. I steer clear of those. But when you see good ones, you know: firm, dark green and not too big.

I thought I would go to the Tuesday market in Ayvacik yesterday. In case you are interested in wild life around here, on the way, I saw 2 dead hedgehogs and then on the brighter side, a tortoise slowly crossing the road. I usually jump out of the car and carry them to the other side to make sure they don’t get hit. Anyway,this market is a mini-version of the Friday one and therefore easier - and quicker - to navigate especially in this heat.


When I saw this minibus stuffed to its rooftop with garlic, I just had to take a photo.


The seller was quite bemused that I wanted a picture but he certainly didn’t mind. I guess he sleeps easy with no fear of vampires! I just hope he knows how to keep all that garlic from drying out. I mean, I only buy about 3-4 at a time for that reason and here he has millions! He says proudly on his sign: these are all mine! 1kg for 4 liras. The mind boggles at how many you would get for a kilo!

Anyway, I proceeded and bought my kilo of cucumbers for the usual rock bottom 1 lira. I had yogurt at home. Pelin goes through bunches of fresh mint at a rate of knots with her teas so I got some more. These are the three basic ingredients for cacik as well as the garlic.

Method

Mix about 6 tbsps yogurt in a bowl vigourously with a spoon. I’ve got this great wooden spoon that I love – it’s got a stunted handle and just seems to fit my hand. The idea is to make the yogurt smooth. Add a little cold water and a swirl of olive oil. Now comes the garlic. Crush about 3 cloves but it does depend on how much you love it! We do! Now, take your cucumbers. About 5 should be enough. With your peeler – I am in love with my IKEA one – peel them and then wash. Dry. Then holding one in your hand, cut through in quarters all the way down. Hold them tight and cut bits off the top into your yogurt mixture. The idea is not to make regular-shaped cubes but more irregular pieces. Some people like to grate their cucumbers which is also nice but different.

Then add either some dried mint or if you have it, as I certainly do, some fresh leaves chopped up. Decorate with a sprig or two of the fresh. You can also add another swirl of olive oil.

In our family, we tend to like our cacik on the thick side. Other people like it more liquid. As with everything, it is up to you and your personal taste! It is served in individual bowls and eaten with a spoon as an accompaniment to the main course. In summer it is considered very refreshing and ice cubes can be added as an extra cooling agent.



Tip

  • This lovely garlicky yogurt mix can be used to great effect with grated carrot or courgette, both of which are uncooked. The courgette is very watery so has to be squeezed, haberin olsun! That means, be warned!

Grandma's Pearls

Hi everyone, Its that time again White Wednesday, I love them. This White Wednesday I wanted to do something different and not show a piece of furniture or anything else like that. I wanted to show you the pearls I bought for my grandmother from the show this past weekend. My grandmother always wanted a set of pearls for as long as I can remember. My grandfather didn't make that much money working as a foreman, and running our small part time farm. Plus us kids and grandkids always needing something. So she put her desires to have a pearl necklace on hold. She never complained and never resented it. We still cooked and cleaned together. We did art projects and sewed, she never once let on. She remained happy, and I one day asked if there was anything she wanted, and she said I have everything I want and need, if God thinks I need more he will give it to me. She never let on about a special pearl necklace just for herself. My grandfather just recently passed, I decided to continue on and finish what he would have wanted to do himself. I hope she loves them.....
Every grandmother needs a set of pearls. This is their medal, not for some great battle, but because of all the little battles in life.
For more beautiful white pieces go see Kathleen at http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/. Have a Wonderful White Wednesday.
See everyone next time......