“My dear, since Eve picked the apple no woman’s ever been taken entirely unawares. When a woman’s kissed it’s because, deep down, she wants to be kissed.”
I’m Back …
October 10, 2008 by
… and ready to blog!
So I haven’t posted anything to this blog in over a month … what can I say … life happens. And really, who’s counting anyway? Wait. You’re not counting are you? Stop that! Stop counting!
I guess in the big scheme of things, this little ‘ole blog isn’t that important. I mean, check out one of the latest “Demotivators” from Despair, Inc:
While it is funny, I think that blogs do have their place in this world. While some of them may not be that important, I’ve grown to love mine … and I’m glad I’m back.
P.S. Slow Food Nation posts coming soon …
Art of Food: The Recap
August 19, 2008 by
So … for all of you who didn’t make it to Slow Food St. Louis’ Art of Food, you missed out! I enjoyed some amazing food and went home with three pieces of food-themed art. Did I need three pieces of art? No … but they are going to look really good in my house!
Here are some photos from the event and a recap of the delicious, local food we enjoyed …
Matt Herren and Debbie Sultan of 222 Artisan Bakery/Goshen Coffee showed us the carbohydrate/caffeine love with a variety of artisan rolls, including bacon (mmm … bacon!), brioche, and sun-dried tomato, olive, and feta and Goshen-roasted Costa Rican pour-over drip coffee.
Joshua Galliano of An American Place created a delectable ballotine of Prairie Grass Farms lamb and foie gras with apple mustard, chickpea salad, and saba dressing.
Annie Gunn’s Lou Rook brought us my favorite dish of the night: Duroc pork belly confit on a Companion brioche roll with “atomic horseradish mustard” and house-made local peach chutney … it was out of the world.
Mark Curran of Araka whipped up a tasty appetizer of Prairie Grass Farms house-made sausages and local heirloom tomato salad.
Robin Murphy of Bailey’s Chocolate Bar and Rooster hit it out of the park with a Fruitland roast beef sandwich with red onion marmalade and herbed Heartland Creamery goat cheese on a housemade roll, served with Bailey’s buttercream chocolate bar cake for dessert.
Kevin “Dreamy” Willmann (okay, okay … I added the “dreamy” part!) of Erato on Main tantalized our tastebuds with house-smoked Guthrie Farms chicken with house-made, local vegetable chow chow … which I want the recipe for!
Local Harvest Grocery’s Clara Moore served up house-made hummus on local cucumber circles plus local tomatoes tossed with fresh pesto served on Companion crostini.
Eric Brenner of Moxy Bistro provided a yummy duck breast with grilled peaches.
Food and Wine Best New Chef Gerard Craft of Niche brought us my second favorite dish of the night: slow-roasted Greenwood Farms pork butt sandwiches with brussel sprout slaw on Companion bread … yum, yum, yum.
Matt Bessler of Schlafly Bottleworks showcased Schlafy’s “Gardenworks” beet and arugula salad, Troutdale Farms smoked trout mousse with English cucumber cups, and bacon-wrapped Hinkebein Hills Farm smoked pork tenderloin with Schlafy Pale Ale raspberry BBQ sauce … whew!
Sidney Street Café’s Kevin Nashan scored big with Hinkebein Hills Farm smoked pork butt on cornmeal “toast,” which was topped with Eilerman Brothers Farm peach BBQ glaze, Claverach Farm & Vineyard greens, and pickled peaches.
Kevin’s second offering was a very interesting gazpacho made with On the Wind Farms watermelon and jumbo lump crab. This tasty treat was served in shot glasses made of ice. My only regret? Not having a picture to show you!
Last, but most certainly not least, Mathew Rice of Sidney Street Café and Veruca Bakeshop & Café finished us off with local peach and lavender trifles … mmm, mmm, mmm.
We’re doing it again next year, folks. Be there or be a circle.
[Editor's Note: A slideshow of amazing photos from Art of Food, taken by my good friend Jonathan, is available at J Pollack Photography. Enter ARTOFFOOD2008 in the code box below the slideshow and press Go! Thanks, Jonathan!]
From Russia With Love
August 12, 2008 by
It’s time for another installment of “Kimberly’s St. Louis Restaurant Round Up” … and I know you’ve all been waiting with breath that is baited (some of you may recall that line from Sex and the City … mmm … Mikhail Baryshnikov!).
Speaking of yummy Russians …
On the advice of my friend and colleague Angie, she and I, along with two other coworkers, recently ventured to Astoria European Cuisine, located in a strip mall in Creve Couer. In this case, “European cuisine” is an all-you-can-eat Russian buffet.
I sampled a number of items on the buffet … beef stroganoff, cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice, and herbs, orzo with lamb, some sort of angel hair pasta/ground beef dish, and pickled cabbage … and it was all tasty. My favorite? The latkes with sour cream. No, they aren’t pictured … I ate them all before the camera came out. What can I say? I heart potatoes.
Dessert found us sharing “Bird’s Milk Cake” … a traditional Russian cake. The bottom was a layer of sponge cake, the middle was a chocolate mousse, and the top layer was marshmallow, topped with chocolate icing (almost like a ganache) and pastel icing flowers.
The cake had a very interesting texture … not really my cup of tea … but the flavors were good. So … not completely remarkable, but still tasty.
The service at Astoria was great, and all in all, it was a good meal. If you find yourself near Astoria, give it a go.
