Brandon Eats

Yuck, I Hate It

Most nights, I just can't help myself, I just have to fix that perennial favorite, "Yuck, I Hate It."  Ann Hodgman* originally coined the term and I think every parent is an instinctive master chef when it comes to this dish.

Originally entitled, "Maybe They'll Eat It If I Add Enough Butter,"  I realized my folly before I even set down the plates.  "Wild Salmon with Zucchini Butter Sauce, Topped with Butter-Sauteed Crabmeat" is the more descriptive name and I decided to make it because:

1. Everyone likes zucchini.
2. Everyone loves crabs.
3. Everyone would eat butter by the stick if they could do it without being caught.
4. Everyone used to like salmon (and some still do).
5. Crabmeat was on sale.

Above is a photo of a lovely, untouched plate.  Perhaps it's the angle,but it was really just a "tasting" plate of the main dish, plus a little spinach sauteed with garlic (everyone's always hated that), and couscous (everyone actually used to like that). I failed to document the empty cereal bowl with a few lonely bran flakes left swimming in the remaining milk.

However, here's a recipe for the rest of us by Rozanne Gold.  It's amazing on salmon--don't be put off by its simplicity.

Zucchini Butter Sauce

2-3 slim zucchini

1/4 c. water

2 Tb. cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Cut the zucchini in large, 1-2" rounds and place in boiling water. Lower heat to a simmer and cook very slowly for 10-15 minutes, adding more water as needed, until very soft.  When done, place in a blender, food processor, or with immersion blender (best), blend until smooth and then add each butter cube, one at a time until incorporated.  Season with salt to taste and carefully spoon onto each plate, placing salmon fillet on top (I marinate my salmon in a little tamari sauce for about 15 minutes and then either grill or broil until done--don't expect a firm time from me; fish is a crap shoot and I'm very grateful when my husband, a former line cook, takes over this particular task and fires up the grill).

*Hodgman also wrote that "your dishwasher works for you; you don't work for you dishwasher," which is almost akin to Laurence Fishburne and the eye-opening, blue pill in The Matrix: "Free. Your. MInd."

Chicken Bones

  Buff Minorca 
  Originally uploaded by newleaf.

I swore I'd never post about my dogs or children (well, not exclusively about my children) so I apologize to all about the previous post.  I don't know what came over me.

Concerning me at the moment and directly related to food--that is, local food--is the lack of choice in the organic meat section of all grocery stores in the Richmond metropolitan area.  I've complained about this before (see here and here), but I haven't seen my concerns addressed.  I've been frustrated for some time with the lack of bone-in chicken pieces (particularly thighs), bone-in cuts of pork, and less expensive cuts of beef like flank steak, skirt steak or even hanger steak (granted this is more of a restaurant cut but it would be nice to see).  I've talked directly to the butcher at Ukrop's and I've emailed the meat manager at Ellwood Thompson's (I don't shop at Kroger and really don't care what they're up to because it would take a complete personnel change and a lot of bag boys to get me in there on a regular basis).  The meat guy at Ukrop's was noncommittal and said he didn't know why the selection wasn't better.  And below is the response I received from Ellwood Thompson:

"Mr. Fox

Thanks you for our e-mail and in fact we are expanding our meat room to offer more fresh sustainable seafood and more natural beef and pork. We unfortunately do not have the room to add a meat saw.  This limits us to only boneless meat.  We will be adding as much boneless variety as we can and hope to have the open in 4-6 weeks.

Thank you,

Wade Carmichael
General Manager"

Let's just ignore the horrendous spelling for the time being, it is e-mail after all.

Gagging in My Kitchen

When your dogs roll in something  dead you can't find for the third day in a row, it's time to get new dogs, isn't it?

Lookee Here . . .

Don't you wish you thought this first???

Chocolate for Your Sweetie

Chocolate truffles are ubiquitous around Valentine’s Day and although I love them madly, because I make my own, I have standards that can"t be met by those available in Richmond—mail order is the only way.  I love my chocolate deep and exotic, with exciting flavor combinations, like ginger, or lemongrass, or cayenne.  Real cream is a must and although the Leonidas line carried by For the Love of Chocolate is Belgian and made the old fashioned way, the boring flavor selection really just makes it a slightly more expensive version of the Godiva you can pick up at the check-out counter at the bookstore. 

In Richmond, chocolate bars are the way to go, and I talked about some of my favorites in Style Weekly this week.  I didn’t talk about my very favorite (for now) version however, because somehow hot chocolate doesn’t really seem to say “Valentine’s Day.”

Non-Stick

Anyone who tries to take away my Calphalon non-stick pans will have to pry them from my cold, dead hands.  Thank God there's Robert L. Wolke and he says you won't have to: see The Washington Post