Lunchtime: Pad See Iew

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I'm a regular at Thai Star on Boren and Madison because their Pad See Iew is amazing.  They know me there since I come in at least once a week and as soon as they see me, they confirm with me that I want the Pad See Iew, chicken, 4 stars, brown rice. 5-10 mins later I'm chowing down. So good! 

Quick Dinner: Carnitas and Warm Corn Salsa

Just a quick post for what I made for dinner tonight:

Chicken Carnitas with wilted Red Chard served with a warm Corn and Red Chard Rib salsa.

Over the weekend I went to the Top Banana fruit stand and they had some good looking corn and red chard.  Chard is becoming one of my favorite new vegetables. The leaves are buttery with a little bitterness.  The ribs can be a little tough and fibrous, but if you chop them finely they cook up just fine and have a great, sweet, herbaceous crunch.  They were a good complement to the fresh corn.  I wanted to add some green to the mix so I decided some peas would look good and they definitely added to the dish both visually and in taste.

I had some leftover carnitas meat from a chicken I bought over the weekend so I decided to make some little tacos.  Fresh. Light. Delicious.

Warm Corn and Red Chard Rib Salsa:
3 ears of fresh corn off the cob
~1-1.5 cups Red Chard Ribs finely chopped
1 Medium Onion chopped
1/3 cup Frozen Peas
2 cloves of garlic minced
Salt, pepper
Olive Oil

Sweat the onions with a pinch of salt in a cold pan over medium low heat.  Once translucent add the garlic and chard ribs and turn to medium high.  Cook for a few minutes to soften the ribs.  Then add the corn and then turn to medium high.  Stir and saute until the corn is cooked through, about 3 mins.  Add peas and warm them through.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

Try the dish out and let me know what you think!

We have a winner

I just finished the filling for the raviolis and its pretty damn good. Every aspect comes out perfectly. Doesn't look like much now, but the finished product should be amazing.

Tomorrow I'm going to make the pasta fresh, fill them, and finish them off with the brown butter and sage. The flavors are definitely there, and if my pasta skills hold up, the texture will come through too. ::crossed fingers::

Simply stands out

Roasted Chicken seasoned simply with salt and pepper. So moist that there is almost no difference between the dark and light meat. The Dijon mixed with a bit of the drippings makes for an excellent sauce to enhance a perfectly cooked piece of chicken. Salt, earthiness, a bit of sour, and the slight piquancy of the mustard all plays a role...I now understand why the French call mustard the King of Condiments.

I went to Cafe Presse for the first time last night for my friend's birthday, and I was really happy with the food. Doesn't surprise me though since she graduated from the CIA and has always had a keen palette. Amongst the steak tartare, fries, mussels, squash soup, pate and oysters stood a dish apart from the rest. The roasted chicken served with fries and mustard. It was unabashedly chicken, and the jus was its soul, distilled and concentrated just for my consumption. It's good to know that simple food can shine so brightly if done right.

I'll have pictures up from my adventures up in later posts. iPhone doesn't really do justice.