May 13th - Coriander night, landscaping plans, and the Civil War

I'm a bit late posting (again). My parents came up to visit on the 14th, and I've been busy showing them the sights. But here I am, with a belated run-down of coriander/cilantro night. The guests tonight were Paul and Erika Mabrey, Clayton Johnson, and Sohrab Najafabadi. I know that the menu said coriander was the featured ingredient, but it really turned out to be somewhat cilantro-heavy. As you likely know, the leaves of the coriander plant are variously called both coriander and cilantro, but when I wrote the menu I was thinking of coriander more as the spice, or the seeds of the plant, and not the herb, or the leaves of the plant. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when Clayton pushed back in his chair and asked, "Was there one ingredient common in all of those dishes?" Obviously, Clayton is the type who makes his Cafe Davis reservations based on schedule availability, and not the menu options. :)

Now that we've gotten past that drawn-out bit of introduction, the menu for the night was chick-pea falafel with coriander dip; tomato, cucumber and coriander salad; cumin-coriander crusted salmon; and cilantro potatoes. Here's a picture of the falafel in progress:

It was just ok. I think it's something that I'm willing to tinker with though, because when falafel is good, it's *very* good.

Now on to the featured recipe of the day - the only one that actually had coriander spice in it:


Cumin-Coriander Crusted Salmon
(from Cooking Light)

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fish fillet and 1 lemon wedge)

Ingredients

•      2  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh cilantro
•      1  tablespoon  finely chopped shallots
•      1  teaspoon  olive oil
•      1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
•      1/4  teaspoon  ground coriander
•      1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
•      1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
•      4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets
•      Cooking spray
•      4  lemon wedges

Preparation

Combine cilantro, shallots, oil, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, stirring to form a paste. Place fish, skin side down, in a shallow baking dish. Coat top of fish with cilantro mixture. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange fish on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray, and place rack in pan. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with lemon wedges.

As far as guest photos go, I somehow only managed to get pictures of Clayton. He was at Cafe Davis, however, to begin his 35th birthday celebration. Erika had the foresight to bring absolutely delicious cupcakes from Shank's Bakery as dessert. We cracked open a bottle of champagne, threw a "3" candle on top of a cupcake, and had an impromptu birthday party. Hopefully the rest of his birthday weekend only kept getting better!

I spent the following three days hanging out with my parents. On Saturday we drove almost 200 miles around the Valley, taking in sites we had never seen before. Somewhere near Bryce Resort we stumbled across a little store with an awesome inspiration for our backyard. We have plans to construct a shaded rock-garden next to the beer shack, and this is what I want to build in it:

As you can see, Mike is already relaxed just thinking about it.

Finally, today we headed to New Market to see the Civil War battle reenacted. It was a breezy, cool, overcast day. The reenactment experience was interesting, but it seemed to be more satisfying for the people participating in it than than for the spectators. Here's an amusing anecdote: We were in the shopping village area where people can buy Civil War-era buttons and really expensive period costumes. There was a man in full uniform talking to a couple in one of the tents, and he was making fun of people who dress up and go to Star Trek conventions. Really? Because dressing up and hanging out in a pasture is that much better ....

I love that the guy in the foreground is dressed in his naval uniform. But at least he's not a Trekkie.

May 11th - Shrimp night

Yummy. Tonight was shrimp night. I joked on Facebook that "shrimp" indicates the featured menu ingredient and not the stature of our guests. :) For a meal centered on shrimp, though, I didn't feel like it was too much. Definitely not a journey to Red Lobster's "Endless Shrimp." The menu included Vegetable Shrimp Cocktail; Butternut Squash Soup with Star Anise and Ginger Shrimp; Shrimp Wellington; and Roasted Asparagus. There were three sizes/types of shrimp in the meal - salad shrimp in the cocktail, large shrimp in the soup, and jumbo shrimp in the Wellington. 


I think both the shrimp cocktail and the shrimp Wellington were fantastic - probably my favorite dishes of the season so far. I had to make sauces for both that I did not originally anticipate. The shrimp cocktail called for chili sauce instead of cocktail sauce, and I really have no idea where to find such a thing in the grocery store. I did find a substitution recipe for it online though. The Wellington called for bechamel sauce. I don't know if you can actually buy that pre-made or not, but the recipe I found by Mario Batali is delicious. I seriously could have eaten it like soup (I admit - I had a few spoonfuls in the kitchen. So what if it's made of butter, milk, and flour? That's good for me, right?!) I have a bunch of bechamel sauce left over - tomorrow's goal is to figure out something to do with it. Suggestions?


Without further adieu, here are the recipes (plus the sauces) worth sharing from tonight:


Vegetable Shrimp Cocktail
From www.finedinings.com

Serves 5, generously


Coat Martini Glass Rims (or a cordial glass, whatever you have on hand)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp parsley, minced
5 martini/cordial glasses


Put lemon juice in a shallow wide soup bowl. Put minced parsley in another shallow wide soup bowl. Turn martini glass upside down and dip rim in lemon juice, then in the minced parsley to coat the glass edge; set aside. This can be done ahead.


Ingredients
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced
1/2 cup English cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
1/2 cup red or green bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp green onion, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Chili Sauce (see recipe)
3/4 cup salad shrimp
5 celery sticks, 4-inches long


Preparation
In a large bowl mix celery, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, green onion, salt and pepper together, fold in the salad shrimp reserving some for the top, spoon vegetable into martini glasses.  Top each glass with 1 tablespoon chili sauce, add a celery stalk for a "swizzle stick," garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.


Chile Sauce Substitution (from www.recipezaar.com)
1 cup tomoto sauce + 1/4 cup brown sugar + 2 Tbsp vinegar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + dash of ground cloves + dash of ground allspice = 1 cup chili sauce


Here's a picture of the bechamel sauce in the making - this is approaching the "straw color" required before adding milk:

Shrimp Wellington
(from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

•      2 tablespoons olive oil
•      4 cups fresh spinach leaves
•      salt and pepper to taste
•      1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
•      4 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
•      4 ounces crabmeat, drained and flaked
•      1/4 cup bechamel sauce (see recipe)
•      1 tablespoon chopped shallots
•      1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
•      1 egg, beaten

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet 
2.      Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach; cook and stir until wilted, about 3 minutes.     Season with salt and pepper. Drain off any excess liquid; set aside.
3.      Lay the sheet of puff pastry out on a clean surface, and cut into 4 squares. Prick lightly with fork.
4.      In a medium bowl; mix crabmeat, bechamel sauce, shallots, and tarragon until well blended.
5.      Cut prawns lengthwise and open them up to form a butterfly shape. Lay one shrimp in the middle of each pastry square with open side facing up. Stuff each shrimp with an equal amount of spinach and top with a heaping tablespoon of the crab mixture. Fold over pastry to make a triangle, and press the edges to seal. Place on the baking sheet, and brush with beaten egg.
6.      Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

The parcels can be frozen prior to baking for up to 2 weeks before you need them. Thaw in refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours before baking.

Bechamel Sauce (from Food Network)



Ingredients
5 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg


Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.


Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.


And now, last but not least... the guests for the evening - Erica Clarke, Nancy Rollman, and Steven Rollman. Erica is a first-time guest to Cafe Davis, and despite the fact that she's about to leave the 'Burg for another 'Burgh (Pittsburgh, that is), we hope she'll be back in the future. Nancy and Steven, on the other hand, are three-peaters. Nancy made a delicious dessert with strawberries, whipped cream, pecan sandies-like crunchies, and dark chocolate candy sticks. Many thanks for that! Also, just to put a plug out there for her, Nancy is a co-owner of an adorable gift boutique in Dayton called The Cottage. If you are in need for a one-of-a-kind gift, make sure you check it out! (and my apologies for posting a picture of her with her eyes closed... I guess this is why people take more than one picture most of the time).

May 9th - Avocado night

This is how it starts... I'm one day behind on blogging, then two... then this whole blogging facade is blown out of the water. I'm really trying to stay on top of things though. May 9th (two days ago, if you're counting) was avocado night. There were 9 diners, and 10 pounds of avocados used in the meal. Wowzers. At least we got our daily dose (or weekly, perhaps?) of mono-unsaturated fatty acid.

The menu tonight included avocado eggrolls with duck sauce; baby lettuce salad with carmelized avocados; roasted pork tenderloin with avocado and apricot sauce; and ginger garlic green beans. In addition to the obvious overload of avocados, there was also a ton of pork in this meal. The salad called for me to carmelize a slab of bacon and then to cut it into 1-4 inch lardons. Luckily, I had a huge slab of bacon/pork belly from a Polyface hog butchered a while back. Here's a picture of it:

The dimensions of that hunk of meat were probably about 12" by 14". I roasted it for two hours, and once it was all cut down to size I had maybe a cereal bowl worth of pork for the salad. The dogs enjoyed their bites of fat, and the pork was a tasty addition. I think learning more about cuts of meat and how to prepare them would be a worthy endeavor if I ever wanted to pretend to be a real foodie. In the meantime, though, I think I'm getting by alright.

Now for some more food pictures - first, this is the stuffing for the eggrolls:

The eggrolls were good, but I thought that the sundried tomatoes clashed somewhat with the apricot in the rest of the meal. I'd make the eggrolls again, but perhaps paired with something more savory. 

The pork loin turned out really well, and the odd combination of apricots and avocados was surprisingly good. Here's a picture of the pork coming out of the oven:

As you can see, I made a TON of meat for 9 people. Mike bought the tenderloin at Costco, but he didn't write down how much I needed. I asked for 3 pounds, he bought 8. Leftovers are one of the perks of Cafe Davis, though, so I'm not sad that I have two delicious pork loins in the freezer.

Here's the finished product, and the recipe is below:

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Avocado and Apricot Sauce
(recipe from the California Avocado Commission)

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 (3/4 lb.) boneless pork tenderloin
Garlic powder
White pepper
2 Tbsp. apricot spreadable fruit or jam
2 Tbsp. apricot nectar
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
1/2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup dry wine
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and thickly sliced
1 (8-ounce) can unpeeled apricot halves, drained (liquid reserved) and cut in half
1 cup cooked rice

Preparation
1. Lightly sprinkle pork with garlic powder and pepper.
2. Place pork on rack in aluminum foil-lined shallow baking pan. (** Before I did this, I seared the pork in an cast iron skillet with apricot nectar. I think searing tenderloin before roasting it helps make everything more moist, personally.)
3. To make glaze, combine apricot spread with first measure of apricot nectar.
4. Brush all sides of pork with some of the glaze.
5. Roast at 425 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on meat thermometer.
6. Brush with remaining glaze several times during cooking. Let roast stand with preparing sauce.
7. In a non-stick skillet, saute green onions in butter for 1 minute. (**I forgot to buy green onions, so I used a yellow onion and about 1/4 cup of chives)
8. Add remaining apricot nectar, wine, paprika and ginger, heat.
9. Combine cornstarch with drained apricot liquid. Stir into skillet mixture.
10. Cook, stirring until sauce thickens.
11. Add avocado and apricot quarters; heat briefly.
12. To serve, thinly slice pork and arrange on rice. Serve sauce over pork and rice.

And finally, here's a picture of tonight's avocado-loving guests (from L to R: Dmitri, Matt H., Sohrab, Matt Y., Erin, Jake, and Amber):

May 7th - Sweet Potato night & May 8th - Sean and Shruti's Graduation Party

I completely forgot to take pictures tonight, and it was an important night! Alas. We had first-time guests, Lindsay Brubaker and Matt Robinson, and our very first Cafe Davis anniversary dinner. Peter and Christy Norment decided, out of all of Harrisonburg's romantic offerings, to spend their 5th wedding anniversary with us!  I hope it was all they wanted it to be!

The dinner ingredient of the night was sweet potatoes. The menu included sweet potato sausage balls; yellow and green bean salad with olives, cherry tomatoes, and summer savory; sweet potato ravioli with brown butter; and homemade bread. Or, that was the plan. In reality we only had green bean salad - there was no yellow to it - because I couldn't find yellow beans anywhere. I also forgot to put the olives in the salad, mostly because the ones I had in the refrigerator spilled, and then I forgot to look in the pantry to see if I had more (which I'm pretty sure I did). We also did not have homemade bread. Mike is the baker in the house, and I completely forgot to tell him that his skills were needed for the evening until late in the afternoon when he was already engrossed in yard work and Sean and Shruti's graduation party preparations.

On the whole, I thought dinner was fine, but I wasn't a big fan of the "ravioli" made with won ton wrappers. The filling was really tasty, but the won ton wrappers are just the wrong consistency for me to truly believe them as ravioli. I *could*, I suppose, make my own pasta, but that seems like a lot of work. Maybe it's something I can work on in the Cafe Davis "off-season." The best part of the meal, in my opinion, were the sweet potato sausage balls. They reminded me of something that I used to eat as a kid (maybe at my grandmother's house? or at covered dish suppers in the church Fellowship Hall?) I can't really place the taste memory, but they are delicious and worth revisiting if you too vaguely recollect some kind of cheesy pork biscuit tasting thing from your youth. Plus, they're easy to make (bonus!). I'll definitely be adding these to the Christmas party line-up this year, even if that does make a lot of my favorite appetizers pretty pork-heavy.

Sweet Potato Sausage Balls
(from About.com)

Ingredients

• 3 cups biscuit mix
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes*
• 1 pound hot sausage, uncooked
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preparation
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and lightly grease or spray with nonstick cooking spray. 


Combine biscuit mix, cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, sausage, and salt until well blended, using hands. Add chopped pecans. Wet hands with cool water and shape the mixture into 1-inch balls; place on the prepared baking pan. Moisten hands from time to time as needed to prevent sticking. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on tops and deeper brown on bottoms.


* To make mashed sweet potatoes, microwave two large sweet potatoes in high for 6 minutes. Turn potatoes over and microwave for 6 additional minutes. Remove and let cool. Peel by cutting off the skins, and mash in a medium bowl.

Mustard Dipping Sauce
Mix together 1 cup mayonnaise, 2-3 teaspoons ground mustard (Dijon or other preferred flavor) and 1/4 tsp fresh dillweed.


So, that's the scoop on Cafe Davis for the evening. Now on to what I tried to do next.... After all of the guests left, Mike prepped the hamburger patties for Sean and Shruti's graduation party, and made some tasty pasta salad. I got to work making what was supposed to be an awesome cake. The intended cake was a jelly roll style cake - the plan was to only roll it partially, frost it with white cream cheese frosting, pipe decorative swirls on the side and "Class of 2010" on the unrolled part, and then tie a bow on the "diploma scroll" with a fruit roll-up. The picture of the finished cake I found on the internet was adorable. I mixed up the delicious cake batter, made the cake, rolled it out in a cocoa-dusted towel, and was about to start on the frosting when I decided to unroll the cake and add the creme between the rolled layers. That's when it all fell apart... literally. First a small tear, then a gaping hole. Apparently, size does matter, and my jelly roll pan was significantly larger than what the recipe required. The result was a too-thin cake that wouldn't hold its shape. Oh well. By the time I created my delicious pile of disappointment, it was pushing 1am and I decided to just go to bed. The following are all pictures of the graduation soiree, and even though the festivities were graced with a 1/4 sheet cake from Food Lion, I think everyone still had a good time.

Graduate (and roommate) Sean Lowry:

Some of the debaters, hanging out on the patio:

Sean and his dad - maybe sharing wisdom upon graduating?

Christy and Elliot (she's half of the aforementioned anniversary guests). Kids love playing with the patio gate:

Elliot, suspicious of the paparazzi:

View through the hammock fibers. I just like this picture:

And finally, yours truly, catching up on some R&R in the hammock:

May 4th - Pepper night!

My head is just not in the game. I looked at who was coming to dinner tonight before I went to the grocery store - 7 guests, counting Sean. So then I only bought 4 poblano peppers. Huh, that didn't make sense. So I sent Mike back to the grocery store to buy 3 more peppers. Then, as I was in the kitchen, I asked Mike to set the table. He came in and said, "You know, I think we can really fit 7 people around the table. We don't need to set up a folding table." I agreed, and kept on chopping one of the millions of peppers I cooked for the meal.

Time flew by - me, furiously chopping, stirring, frying. Guests started to arrive. First, Lesley, then the Dang-Marrs, Meris.... Mike came in and asked if all of the guests were there just as I was finishing up the chiles rellenos. I answered, "Yep!" But I was wrong. A few minutes later, Lindsay and Jeremy walked in, and there I was with 9 people, 7 seats, and only 7 chiles rellenos. Oh yeah - there were seven guests alright, but there was also me and Mike. 7+2=9. Luckily we were able to scramble quickly to set up the folding table. I also fortuitously (for me, maybe not so much for her) forgot that Meris is a vegetarian and can't eat the meat-stuffed chiles, so all the carnivores got at least half a serving of the main dish.

This story leads me to a promise of planning ahead for Friday's Cafe Davis. No snafus - just the well-oiled Cafe Davis machine I know that I'm capable of somewhere deep, deep down inside. There is no Cafe Davis tomorrow night - May 6th. Mike isn't really sad about that because the featured ingredient is supposed to be tofu, but we're all excited about Friday's sweet potato meal!

Now about the pepper cooking - the menu tonight was Cuban black bean dip with habanero peppers (kind of blah, but better with lime juice - thanks to Sean for the suggestion), red pepper soup (I forgot to strain it, so it was a little chunky), chipotle and roasted corn salsa with homemade tortilla chips, chiles rellenos, and sweet pepper rice. The homemade tortilla chips are one of my personal favorites and definitely a staple for most parties at our house. I got the recipe years ago (about 12 years ago, actually), out of a Martha Stewart cookbook. I'll have to dig it out and share the title at some point in this blog - I use the cookbook all the time, and it has rarely disappointed me. Regarding the tortilla chips, though, they are one of the easiest, most delicious, and probably least healthiest, things to make in the world. Here's the (paraphrased) recipe:

Tortilla Chips

Ingredients
Corn tortillas
Vegetable oil
Sea salt

Preparation
Cut the corn tortillas into quarters. Place gently into hot vegetable oil (about 1/2 inch in large skillet). Fry on one side for about 1 minute until light golden brown. Then flip over each tortilla quarter and fry for about another minute. (You may need to play with the frying time a bit). Remove and let drain on paper towels. Salt lightly, and place in a paper bag to store for no more than 1 day.

Tortillas in frying process:

Tortilla chips chilling in the paper bag - a picture of health food!

And now to the guests of pepper night - all seven of them! (not counting your hosts, which makes nine....)

From left to right: Sean Lowry, John Marr, Thanh Dang, Jeremy Aldrich, Lindsay Aldrich, Meris Mandernach, and Lesley Brown.

Finally, I wanted to share Mike's newest garden creation - raised garden bed #3. He's planting sweet potatoes in the picture, which of course will not be ready by Friday's meal. But if the recipes for Friday turn out decently then perhaps we will have home-grown sweet potatoes to make them again some day. We can only hope!

Cafe Davis opens! May 2nd - Chickpea night

Wow, I was wholly unprepared for Cafe Davis to open. It wasn't even on my radar until late last night. I even had plans to meet my colleague to grade this evening until Cafe Davis reservations dawned on me last night. I went to bed resolved to have a productive day, beginning with getting up early this morning to clean the house. I rolled out of bed, however, at 10:30am. Whooops. Luckily I had time to get to the grocery store and Mike took care of the cleaning after his softball game. I promise I will have my act more together the rest of the month....

Tonight featured chickpeas. The menu was hummus crudite, seared salmon and chickpea salad, roasted apples and onions with thyme, and ginger garlic green beans. The hummus, I think, was the star of the meal, although the rest was definitely edible. I took pictures of the hummus evolution, so I'll include that here with the recipe:

Hummus (from www.epicurious.com)

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• two 1-pound 3-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup well stirred tahini
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted lightly

Preparation

On a cutting board mince and mash the garlic to a paste with the salt.  In a food processor puree the chickpeas with the garlic paste, the tahini, the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the oil, and 1/2 cup water, scraping down the sides, until the hummus is smooth and add salt to taste. Add water, if necessary, to thin the hummus to the desired consistency and transfer the hummus to a bowl.

In the food processor, cleaned, puree the remaining 1/4 cup oil with the parsley until the oil is bright green and the parsley is minced. Transfer the parsley oil to a small jar. The hummus and the parsley oil may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Divide the hummus between shallow serving dishes and smooth the tops. Drizzle the hummus with the parsley oil and sprinkle it with the pine nuts.

 

Finished product!

The guests tonight were Kaitlyn and Oliver, two of Mike's debaters. 

Kaitlyn's roommate kindly made some half raw brownies for dessert, but we were able to firm them up with another half an hour or so in the oven. Sean, our ubiquitous Cafe Davis guest/roommate, took charge and turned the brownie sludge into a delicious end to a fun meal. Hanging out with the kiddos was a great way to start off the Cafe Davis season, and we're looking forward to seeing all of our friends over the course of the month!

Now onto some other non-Cafe Davis news... this is what Mike found in the flower garden yesterday when he returned from the Farmer's Market: 

Mike and Oliver both made the same joke - what kind of plant grew that?!? I told Mike that whatever it was, he should get a more mature plant next time and see if we can grow an SUV. Apparently the owner of this Porsche left it in neutral in the parking lot next door. It rolled out of the parking lot, across the alley, and into our yard. Mike said that the car didn't suffer any damage, despite rolling over some big rocks in our flower garden/weed patch. I just thought I would share because it's not everyday that one can say: huh, there's a Porsche in the yard....

That's it for now. I'll check back in for Cafe Davis #2 - Peppers!!! 

QR Code for Cafe Davis

I recently found out about QR codes. Since I don't have a smart phone and I don't work in an auto factory tracking parts, they haven't really been relevant to me. But then today I stumbled across a free QR Code generator and I figured I may as well get one for Cafe Davis. I mean, I know people with smart phones. They might want to take a picture of my QR code so that their phone automatically links to the Cafe Davis website, right? Sure, it's redundant technology... they could just type www.cafedavis.com into the browser on their phone. But isn't it so much cooler to take a picture and then get the link? Yeah, you know it is. You can admit it.

Maybe some day I'll make myself business cards or something with the QR code on it so that when I meet people I can say, "Hi! I see you have an iPhone! Come have dinner at my house!" (Not that I want to be exclusive or anything - even the cell phone-free are welcome at dinner). That seems a bit ambitious for me, though, to be honest. So until then, just make do with the code below. Or print up the QR code and pass it around to your friends. Friends that I would enjoy having over for dinner, that is. :)

QR Code for your viewing pleasure:

Poised for Cafe Davis 2010

Cafe Davis is in May this year. May starts in like a week and a half. I swear to God it was March just yesterday. I don't know where the time has gone, and I'll admit that I'm not really mentally ready for the beginning of Cafe Davis, but I'll get there. The website is up, and reservations are rolling in. And just as I do every year, I SWEAR that I will keep up with blogging (uh huh).

I'll admit that I have a secret dream of some media outlet picking up a whiff of Cafe Davis, sending out a staff reporter for a free meal, and then writing an amazing story about my great idea to grace the pages of their fine publication (something like this will do). But, I also figure that will never happen unless A) I get to know more influential people, or B) I actually write in this blog more often with a fun, fresh, creative voice so people want to follow my entertaining shenanigans. Until the influential people reveal themselves, I'll go with option B.

So what's the state of Cafe Davis preparation thus far? Uh, nothing beyond writing down reservations and making sure the menu is out there for the world to see. This year's theme (as decided by our webmaster, Derrick Gable) is "2010: An Ingredient Odyssey." I've never actually seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, so I can't make any bad culinary metaphors to the plot of the film. But I can tell you about my thematic inspiration. A couple of Christmases ago, Mike got me a cookbook called "Starting with Ingredients." It basically has chapters with a featured ingredient, and then 5 to 10 recipes with that ingredient in it. The cookbook is supposed to help people figure out what to cook if they have, say, artichokes on hand and they are lacking in culinary inspiration regarding what to do with them. To be honest, I've never found the cookbook to be all that helpful for last minute cooking because while I may have a can of artichoke hearts, I don't have all the other 15 ingredients needed for the featured recipes. Ideally, this cookbook and one of those 5-ingredient cookbooks should procreate and maybe the offspring would be useful for everyday cooking. I digress, however. I still like the idea of starting with ingredients, so I asked former Cafe Davis attendees to suggest ingredients for the menu this year. We got an interesting array of suggestions:

• Chickpeas
• Peppers
• Tofu
• Sweet Potato
• Avocado
• Shrimp
• Coriander
• Nopales
• Cornmeal
• Mushrooms
• Chipotle and Cinnamon combo
• Squash
• Basil
• Eggs
• Wasabi
• Pineapple
• Barley

I wanted to do Cafe Davis for less days this year, mostly so that I can devote more time to working on my dissertation, and as luck would have it, we got exactly the same number of ingredient suggestions as I had dates in mind. Serendipity. I'm glad that no one got left out, and I'm excited about some of the interesting suggestions. I guarantee, for instance, that I would never have made anything with nopales otherwise (especially considering I didn't even know what they were).

So now that you know why people suggested recipe ingredients, what's your next step? Easy - tell me what day you plan to show up! You can make reservations on the Cafe Davis website: www.cafedavis.com

July 16th

The menu: Tempura Dill Pickles, Stuffed Summer Squash, Buttermilk Biscuits, Cherry Tomato Salad, Barbecued Spareribs. Ice-Cold Beer

The guests: Meghan Donley, Thanh Dang, John Marr, RJ Green

I forgot to make the tempura dill pickles. Epic fail. I also ruined the first batch of biscuits and Mike the Baker had to intervene and make some palatable bread. I seriously don't know why I can't master biscuits. Again, something for me to practice.

Regarding taste, I thought that the ribs were decent and that's saying a lot since I usually don't like meat with bones in it. It's just one of my weird peculiarities. The standout of the meal in my mind, however, was the stuffed summer squash. Enjoy the recipe, below.

Stuffed Summer Squash (From Southern Living, August 2002)
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cups cornbread, crumbled
1 cup Italian-seasoned croutons
4 to 5 saltine crackers, crumbled
1 cup chicken broth
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
8 to 10 yellow squash, halved and seeded

Preparation:
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.

Combine cornbread, croutons, and crackers in a large bowl; stir in onion mixture, broth, next 3 ingredients, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Microwave squash halves on HIGH 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.

Sprinkle squash halves with remaining 1 teaspoon salt; place in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup stuffing in each squash half.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until stuffing is lightly browned.

July 15th

The menu: Spoon Rolls, Marinated Vegetable Salad, Frogmore Stew

The guests: Steven and Nancy Rollman

The guests were terrific, but I thought the Frogmore Stew was a little bland. Perhaps I overcooked it. Maybe that means that I'll have to try cooking it again... darn it!

The spoon rolls were yummy, and I think they'd be a great go-to bread for family dinners.

Nancy and I talked about whether we could come up with the amenities necessary to create a $1 million kitchen. I'm up for the task if someone wants to front the cash. Just an FYI.

Spoon Rolls (from Southern Living, February 2004)

Yield: Makes 14 rolls

Ingredients
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water (100° to 110°)
4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preparation:
Combine yeast and 2 cups lukewarm water in a large bowl; let mixture stand 5 minutes.
Stir in flour and remaining ingredients until blended. Spoon into well-greased cast-iron muffin pans, filling two-thirds full, or into well-greased cast-iron drop biscuit pans, filling half full.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

Note: Unused batter may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

July 14th

The menu: New South Jalapeño Pimento Cheese and Toasted Bread, Tomato and Onion Salad, Shrimp and Grits. Ice-Cold Beer

Guest: Sean Lowry

Sean is going to live in our garage remodel, and spent the day helping Mike finish hanging drywall. I spent much of the day cooking, and as such felt unfulfilled when dinner only took 15 minutes to complete. The lesson learned as that I only like doing Cafe Davis when we all at least shower for dinner and linger over our dirty dishes for a few minutes.

Regarding the food, however - my, these grits were FANTASTIC. I think that this might still be my favorite meal of the entire month. The pimento cheese was pretty good too - Mike apparently made it through 36 years of his life without ever trying it. Those crazy Yankees.

Crook's Corner Shrimp and Grits (from Southern Living, April 2004)
Yield:Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
3/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup regular grits
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3 bacon slices
1 pound medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Lemon wedges

Preparation:
Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in grits.

Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened. Add Cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients. Keep warm.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour.

Sauté mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes or until tender. Add green onions, and sauté 2 minutes. Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly brown. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.

Serve shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits. Top with crumbled bacon; serve with lemon wedges.

Cafe Davis 2009 Recap

Cafe Davis 2009 had a lot of good, and a lot of artery-thickening deep fried foods. Unfortunately, none of that was documented here. I was swamped, I tell you. It is difficult maintaining two blogs (the other one is 100 Days), working all of my random part-time jobs, renovating the garage, and cooking up a storm practically every night. Whew. It makes me tired thinking about it. I'm going to go through a blog day-by-day for all of the Cafe Davis reservations we had, commenting on the food and stuff I learned. Better late than never, I suppose.

As far as my musings about next year go, there will be some drastic changes. First, I think we're going to go to a W-F, T-Th-S schedule. Essentially I'll take every other day off, plus Mondays for softball. I'm not as young as I used to be - I need a recovery day between dinners to keep my mental health in tip-top shape. Second, I am going to pay more attention to food preparation when I develop the menus. There were too many times when I was trying to fry a million things on the stove top at the same time while the oven sat by idle. Third, while still staying committed to local ingredients, I'm going to add a commitment to healthier entries. While fried goat cheese and fried green tomato salad was awesome, I'm not sure it was awesome for our health. Even Paula Deen doesn't eat her own cooking every night of the week, so some fat has to go. No worries, though, I promise everything will still be high on taste!

Now to answer the question I know you all have... what will be the theme? On my bookshelf at home I have a cookbook titled "Starting with Ingredients." It gives recipes based on one starting ingredient. What can I make with eggplant? Look in the book and I have at least four recipes to guide me. Taking that premise, then, I will ask all of this year's guests to submit an ingredient suggestion. That suggestion will be the centerpiece of a meal for next year's Cafe Davis. I'll be contacting everyone ASAP for their suggestions! If you came to dinner this year, put on your thinking cap (but please, no Beluga caviar).

Cafe Davis 2009

Invitations are starting to go out! Reservations are starting to come in! The Cafe opens in just a few weeks! I am so excited!!!

This year's Cafe is a bit shorter than past years' - only 24 days. That means that you shouldn't dilly dally in making your reservations becasue the end will be here before you know it!

I want to give a special thanks to Derrick (AGAIN) for designing and maintaining the website. I think he did a wonderful job, in particular, designing this year's image on the front page. Of course I AM partial to my house, but he made it look amazing. If I ever publish a cookbook (unlikely, but if I ever do) that will totally be the picture on the front cover.

And in case you haven't figured it out yet, this year's theme is Southern cooking. I had *the best* time coming up with the menu. Everything looked so delicious to me - I had a difficult time making choices. That's why some of my favorites are on the menu more than once - like fried green tomatoes, for instance. I did find different recipes, so they'll be a little different each time. Maybe when everything is said and done I'll have a clear winner to proclaim and share here on the blog.

Another note about Southern cooking - I am biscuit baking challenged. I really feel like a Southern failure sometimes because I'm just not good at it. You may have noticed that biscuits are on the menu a few times. I'm going to give them my best shot, but if stuff doesn't work out I may have to resort to plan B or C. Plan B is frozen biscuits. Plan C is Red Lobster on speed dial and a quick trip across town for cheesy biscuits. Alright stop it... I can tell there's a bunch of you out there rooting for Plan C already! Give me a chance - maybe I'll figure this biscuit thing out! :)

Recipes submitted so far

Only a couple of people have chimed in with recipes so far (thanks to Mary and Leslie!). Mary's recipe for a delicious soup is below. I haven't tried it yet, but Mary vouches for it!

Sweet Potato, Corn and Jalapeño Bisque
Serves 2 if that's all there is for dinner, or 4 as a first course

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Scant pinch ground cinnamon
Finely chopped scallions, green parts only, or minced parsley

1. In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until just soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and stock and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, purée contents of pot, in batches if necessary, until smooth.

3. Reheat soup, stirring in jalapeño, corn, molasses, salt, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve, topped with scallions or parsley.

Thinking about this year's menu

Summer comes on quick, even though that's hard to believe when it's 19 degrees outside and there's still snow on the ground. This week I'm going to place my seed order from Southern Exposure to ensure that my plants are ready to put in the ground come April. Last year I got a late start and only ended up with just a few delicious pineapple cossacks and one plant that I thought was a cucumber, but was really just a weed.

Sizing up our summer schedules and in an attempt to maximize the availability of home-grown produce, Cafe Davis must unfortunately be slightly shorter this year - 23 days instead of the usual 28. There's typically at least 5 days when people don't show up anyway, but the constricted schedule means that all of you procrastinators will need to be on the ball and come on the early dates as well! With that, I think that Cafe Davis 2009 will begin on July 14th (right after we get home from our beach vacation!) and end on August 8th. The Cafe will not meet on Mondays so that Mike can play softball. Everyone is welcome to meet us out at the ballpark for hotdogs, though, and root root root for the Profs!

Now on to the menu - this year I'd like to throw it out to you all for suggestions. I always try to be creative and try new things, but if there are recipes out there that you're jonesing to try or that you want to share, bring 'em on! If you want to check out past menus, you can do so at the Cafe website.

I'm going to continue the theme of eating local/sustainably, so I'll include some suggestions/ground rules for choosing recipes below.

1) Think about ingredient availability. Try to choose veggies that are in season. We typically grow a wide variety of tomatoes and peppers, eggplant (although not with much success), yellow crookneck squash, zucchini squash, cucumbers, assorted berries (although our plants are young and not producing much yet), kale, a variety of leaf lettuces, and most common herbs. We're open to new things, though, so if you submit a recipe before I place my seed order, I'll be happy to give a new fruit/veggie a whirl. You can also check out seasonal veggie availability online for more info.

2) Think about value. We feed A LOT of people in 23 days. Caviar, while delicious, is not really a viable ingredient choice. We also tend to buy pork and beef in bulk from local producers, so it might be more cost effective for us to make dishes that involve less popular cuts of meat or slow-cooked meats than to dish up a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

3) Think about ingredient substitutability. Harrisonburg has a lot to offer, but sometimes specific ingredients can still be difficult to find. If the recipe includes a footnote to look for a particular ingredient in a specialty food store, avoid it or do some research to see if something more common can be subbed in. Going to the grocery store is the only part of this whole experience that I don't like, so make it easy on me!

4) Be creative. One of the cardinal rules of throwing a dinner party is to NOT make something new for guests. Recipes should be tried and true. I wholeheartedly disagree. Besides the chance to hang out with so many delightful people, the real reason I do this is for the culinary adventure. I like trying new things. Testing myself. Overcoming odds when I don't have a clue of what the recipe is talking about. Broadening my horizons. You get the idea. Beyond aspic, I'm pretty open.

That's it! I'm looking forward to what you all might stumble upon and submit for consideration. I won't guarantee that I'll choose your recipe, but there's a good chance that I will. The next step for you, then, will be to join us in the fruits of our collective labor this summer. I can hardly wait!

I'm a terrible blogger...

For those of you who may check in here, oh, every 6 months or so hoping for new content, you have my sincere apologies for sucking so bad. I kind of have a lot on my plate, what with trying to write a disseration, teach a bunch of classes, work on an NSF grant coding state legislation, dig my out of a never-ending pile of laundry, renovate my house.... the list goes on and on. But despite being busy, my dreams of being a successful and respected blogger are still lodged somewhere in the folds of my brain. So, I'll give this another go-around.

First, with regard to food and living simply, the most recent issue of "Bon Appetit" is their "value" issue - a response to the fledgling economy, and a thoroughly enjoyable read. Those of you who have been paying attention to my musings know that I critiqued the snobbery of the foodie movement a couple of posts back. Well, this month there's an article about the home bar and suggested basics: Smirnoff Vodka, Gordon's Gin, Flor de Cana Rum, Sauza Blanco Tequila, Jim Beam Bourbon, and The Famous Grouse Scotch. Not a bottle over $20. Absolutley reasonable.

I think it's more important than ever to keep value in mind when thinking about how we eat. Food prices are high. They are even higher if one chooses not to eat sustainably. There's no reason to sacrifice enjoyment and taste just because we're tightening our collective economic belts. I keep reading these articles about how people are cutting back, and more than one article has indicated that people are choosing to use their "dinner-out" dollars at McDonald's or other fast food places instead of going to other types of restaurants. That makes me sad, and not because I'm anti-fast food. Two alternatives: 1) support your local, downtown restaurants that need loyal customers now more than ever, and 2) eat at home with good, quality, inexpensive ingredients and close friends or family.

I recently went to a breakfast town hall meeting at my town's local brewery, Cally's. It was a campaign event for Virginia gubenatorial hopeful, Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe mentioned in his presentation a conversation he had during the breakfast period with the brewery owner - apparently, the brewery, which is also a pretty popular downtown restaurant, is down 20% in revenue this year. That's a pretty significant amount. That figure struck me because since the New Year, I've been to Ruby Tuesday's at least once or twice, but haven't been to Cally's at all. In fact, I eat at Ruby Tuesday's fairly often. I'd eat at Chili's all the time if my husband didn't hate it. Red Lobster is something that both of us can usually agree on. And the truth of the matter is that I can take or leave any of those restaurants. Save the cheddar cheese biscuits at Red Lobster, there's really nothing special about any of them. I can get a better meal, better ambiance, and feel better about myself by going to the local places.