What's New

Oh yeah its been a while since the last post. So what's new? Well, besides having a kid and getting married ? Not much.

But we are, having a baby. And we are, getting married. So it hasn't left much time for cooking. Or so it seems. A full year of wedding planning gets crammed into two months, and suddenly nothing gets on the blog.

Was it planned. Yes, er but no. Ok now that you don't have to think about that question anymore, how about are we happy. Yes.

Anyway, cheerio, carry on, and don't look for any posts about making baby food, at least until the kid starts eating solids.

J

bouillabaisse

Boullibaise is a complex French seafood soup. I don't like seafood too much, just being a good midwesterner, I'll stick with sausage thanks, but the Boullibaise was so good, it even got me.

Noel and I wanted to cook with her grandma Char (that's her at the top of the page), for the blog. Char suggested the Boullibaise, so Noel and I went to Dirk's in Chicago for fresh seafood. The fish there is sushi grade, with sushi grade prices. We were going to get lobster tail, but at 60 dollars per pound, we opted for the live guy instead. A bargain at just 18 dollars per. The Dirk's guys people really helpful though. We even got to do an Oyster shooter - fresh Oyster in its own juices.

The Boullibaise also included grouper, mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops. Making the dish involved not only Noel and Char, but her parents, Chuck and Sue too.



Here are the Frickes in action!

Whole Lotta Nothin'

I can always count on Jesse to help clean up after meals. I'm such a lucky woman. I came home from a meeting tonight and they were all done. What a relief.

So yeah, it was hard for us to contort our faces for this photo, but with some practice and facial yoga, this shot turned out pretty well.

I've got nothin'.

For all the hundreds of you out there anxiously awaiting the bouillabaisse post, it is on the way!

Stuffed Grapefruit

Have you ever wondered why some vegetables can be stuffed and others cannot? Last night, I found out after making a crucial error in my stuffing methodology. Folks, grapefruit rinds cannot be stuffed. The bitterness that seeps in from the soft, white interior of the peel is the most unpalatable flavor you can imagine.

You see, I was joyfully making stuffed bell peppers for Jesse and I. I had done this before and had no problem preparing the quinoa, tomato, onion, egg, and garlic that made up the stuffing mixture. The problem arose when I realized that there remained an ample amount of stuffing after the deed had been done.

It occurred to me that while I was out of other stuffables - pepper, tomato, zucchini, and squash - I did have one other thing lying around that could theoretically serve as an oven-proof container. A grapefruit rind. And why not? In my mind, it would add a citrussy zest that might never have been discovered before in the minds of stuffers everywhere.

The look on Jesse's face as he tasted the black sheep of the bunch could be described as nothing short of horror. Why wasn't I able to predict the serious flaw in this idea ahead of time? I guess because I'm only human. And I learned something from that mistake too - you can stuff yourself with citrus fruit, but it cannot be stuffed by you.

Friday Night Sushi

Friday night is a great night for sushi. Ok, every night is a great night for sushi, but, the work week being, well work, Friday night usually leaves us tired, and inclined to let someone else do the cooking.

On this Friday, we went to a gallery opening with our friend Jerry. Jerry leans towards modern art, and truth be told, so do I. So we saw some paint slashes and cross-hatches in the west loop, then headed for dinner.

The west loop is home to many restaurants, from good to trendy to overhyped to overpriced. One thing it guarantees is high concept and high design. In some settings that can be annoying, but I usually expect both from a sushi joint anyway.

This night found us at Starfish, which is high design. I thought it was also a cut above my neighborhood sushi haunts. I'll be the first one to admit however, that I don't know that much about sushi. Suffice it to say the fatty tuna did me right, and the Kamikazee er, crashed my plane.

I dream of eating at every sushi restaurant in the city. Well one more down.

Jesse