smashed purple potatoes

Posted by the Blind Cook in cuisine American, For the Cook, Sides & salads, Tips & techniques, Travel eats, VegetablesJan 17th, 2012 | 2492No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F2012%2F01%2F17%2Fsmashed-purple-potatoes%2Fsmashed+purple+potatoes2012-01-17+17%3A08%3A48the+Blind+Cookhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F%3Fp%3D2492

Back in October, I had taken a trip to the Bay area and upon a dinner at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Restaurant, I came across these wonderful purple potatoes that were the highlight of my evening meal. They stole the show even next to the Wagyu beef skewers. After returning to home sweet home in Houston, I had to find and cook these purple potatoes myself.

Indeed I found them in the potato section of H-E-B, and John kindly reminded me that he’d suggested I try these purple potatoes long ago but that I was initially repulsed by the idea of my spuds looking like Barney. Alas, I’ve changed my mind.

I was so enamored with purple potatoes that I wrote a Ingredient of the Week post for Eating Our Words, and now I present to you a simple yet delicious method for preparing these smashingly good smashed purple potatoes. Remember, if the Blind can Cook it, so can you.

: Smashed Purple Potatoes

1. 1 lb. purple potatoes, scrubbed
2. 1/3 c. whole milk
3. 2 tbsp. butter
4. 1 tsp. salt
5. 1/2 tsp. pepper

1. In a med. saucepan, boil potatoes in salted water for approx. 15 min. or until tender but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, combine milk and butter in a sm. saucepan. Heat to a simmer and set aside.
3. Drain potatoes and return to low heat to dry.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Line potatoes in a single layer in a baking dish. Using a fork, lightly smash each potato, making sure each potato remains whole. Then in a med. bowl, toss potatoes with buttermilk mixture, salt, and pepper. Re-line potatoes in the baking dish. Roast for 10 to 15 min. or until slightly crispy.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30 minute(s)

eating my way through the bay (part 2)

Posted by the Blind Cook in ...and the Drinker, cuisine American, cuisine Chinese, cuisine French, cuisine Italian, For the Eater, Travel eatsNov 17th, 2011 | 2399No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F2011%2F11%2F17%2Feating-my-way-through-the-bay-part-2%2Feating+my+way+through+the+bay+%28part+2%292011-11-17+23%3A21%3A06the+Blind+Cookhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F%3Fp%3D2399

With less than two full days left in the Bay area, John and I tried to cram everything food-wise into our schedule. We woke up early Monday morning to a dreary, drizzly day and made our way north to wine country. We meant to drive across the Golden Gate bridge since we were heading to Russian River in Santa Rosa first, killing two birds with one stone so John can finally see the acclaimed bridge he’d so often seen in photos and on TV. But being heavily dependent of the GPS, we ended up crossing the Bay bridge instead. Oh well.

On the way to Russian River, we stopped by Lagunitas which was only a tiny store. The brewery wasn’t open that day for tours so John quickly ran inside to grab a few bottles while I waited in the car where it was nice and dry. We idled up the highway and finally came upon the famous Russian River who makes two of the top beers in the world (according to Beer Advocate). The place was filled with the lunch crowd. We immediately ordered the flight of beers which gave us a 2 oz.-serving of every beer on tap that day from both the California-style hop ales and the Belgian-style ales. It was a perfect marriage as John liked the hoppier beers while I preferred the sweeter Belgian ones. We also ordered two pizzas: one with mushrooms, the other with corn and cilantro. Both were very good and complemented the different beers. When it came time to check out, John bought half a dozen Pliny the Elders and one Damnation (or was it Salvation?). We left satisfied and full.

Our next stop was the Joseph Phelps winery, recommended to us by our friend Stan whom was kind enough to house us for our visit. Admittedly, John and I know very little about wine, so while we paid $80 for a tasting, we liked them all but couldn’t define what it was that we liked about each one. I thought about buying a bottle, but the prices were too steep, and thinking about transporting them and all the other money we’d been spending on food discouraged me from dishing out the dough for a bottle of their pinot noir.

Two months before our trip, we had tried to get reservations at French Laundry. I actually called the restaurant back in May when I knew I’d be coming to the Bay area for my friend’s wedding, but they laughed at me and said reservations are only accepted two calendar months ahead of time. So I put it on my calendar, and on August 9, John and I began calling the restaurant to get our names on the list. We both got busy signals for quite some time, and I gave up after a few minutes. John got through a few hours later and was on hold for twenty minutes. Finally, he spoke to a live person who only told him we had to go on a waiting list. I also got through the next day on August 10, but I was disappointed again: October 10 is also full.

So fast forward. We never heard from French Laundry. I ended up making reservations at Thomas Keller’s other more casual restaurant, Ad Hoc. We showed up right as they opened, and our entire meal from start to finish was delightful. The restaurant had a casual cozy yet modern feel from the decor to the furnishings to the staff uniforms (John told me they looked like simple Dickies work shirts). The menu is set, and the food is served family style. For that Monday, the first course was a mixed greens salad with sunburst tomatoes, prosciutto, and pomegranate seeds. The second main course consisted of Wagyu beef skewers, pork ribs, cole slaw, and smashed purple potatoes. The meat was good, but the things I could not get over were the purple potatoes. They were lightly smashed with a fork and roasted with what tasted like rich buttermilk, making the bite-sized purple things so simply delectable. I could not stop oohing and aahing about the purple potatoes, and ever since then, they have become my latest food obsession. (Stay tuned for a recipe.)

The third course was a cheese and apple mostardo platter, followed by the fourth and last course: cornbread topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and candied cashews. The service, like the ambience, was attentive but not at all stuffy. Best of all, it was a fraction of what we would’ve paid had we gone to French Laundry. Only regret was not coming on the day they had the fried chicken.

We drove back to the city with plans to eat a second dinner. We were pretty tired so decided to order it as take-out. Delfina Pizzeria is famous for their Neapolitan pizzas. We didn’t care that we just had pizza for lunch; we were going to eat it again for dinner. They had run out of the clam pie so we ordered one with a tomato cream sauce and another with prosciutto and arugula. Delfina was nice enough to pack the prosciutto and arugula on the side so they wouldn’t be wilted by the time we opened the box at home.

Never before in my life did I like arugula, but twice today I had it accompanied by prosciutto. There’s something about the fatty saltiness and mildly sweetness of the prosciutto that cuts so well into the bitterness of the arugula. Ever since I returned from our trip, I’ve been dreaming about prosciutto and arugula, combining the duo on top of homemade pizzas and salads.

We also hit up Bi-Rite, a creamery known for interesting flavors. I sampled the honey lavender and balsamic strawberry, both of which were amazing. We ended up walking out with pints of honey lavender and salted caramel. Lucky for us, it was a rainy Monday night so the line was short—only a five minute wait instead of the usual wraparound-outside line. After we pigged out, it was time for bed. Another day of eating ahead of us before catching our flight back home.

The next morning, we stopped by Tartine Bakery to see what the hype was all about. Lucky for us again, there was a short line. Upon the bakery’s recommendation, we purchased a morning bun and the bread pudding. We also threw in a regular croissant and a chocolate pain (“bread” in French, not that we were getting punched by the chocolate). Surprisingly, the two things we picked out on our own turned out to be the best in the bunch. The bread pudding, while good, was not something phenomenal or new to me. And the morning bun, which was like a fancy cinnamon roll, was also too rich for me. Maybe I preferred something simpler.

For lunch, we hit up Koi Palace in Daly City for some West Coast dim sum. We noticed everything, to our astonishment, was larger here than in Texas (at least when it came to dim sum). The xiu mai were larger, the shrimp in the dumplings were huge. Everything was so tasty, but we were seriously splitting our pants by this point. We had some time after lunch before our flight so we parked at a park overlooking the water and took a short nap in the rental car. It’s been several weeks since our trip, but we still talk fondly of the Bay area and all the awesome things we ate. Expensive, yes. But totally worth it.

eating my way through the bay (part 1)

Posted by the Blind Cook in cuisine American, cuisine Italian, cuisine Japanese, cuisine Vietnamese, For the Eater, Travel eatsNov 7th, 2011 | 2350No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F2011%2F11%2F07%2Feating-my-way-through-the-bay-part-1%2Feating+my+way+through+the+bay+%28part+1%292011-11-07+12%3A00%3A29the+Blind+Cookhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblindcook.com%2F%3Fp%3D2350

My childhood best friend got married last month in Montery, and it was an opportunity for me to revisit the lovely Bay area. It would be John’s first time to northern California so naturally, we made a list of all the things we wanted to see and do. You would think our list included the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, or riding a true cable car. But no, being the foodaphiles we are, we saw none of those. Each day was about getting from one food item to the next. It was insane but in an awesome insanity kind of way, as much as insanity can be awesome. Needless to say, we are already missing the Bay area: the weather, the atmosphere, the nature, and especially the food. Here is a little tribute to our recent trip to lovely NorCal.

We arrived late Friday night so of course we hit up the In-N-Out by the airport. I was not terribly hungry because I’d caved on the plane and bought a cheeseburger (which, surprisingly, was not bad for airplane food—thanks, Continental/now United), so I just ordered their animal-style fries. Now if you’re not familiar with In-N-Out’s secret menu, animal style just means adding caramelized onions and thousand island dressing on whatever it is you ordered. Thus animal-style fries means this topping on top of fries. In-N-Out is good but honestly, I prefer Five Guys to In-N-Out. I know, blasphemy…but hey, I have my opinions. Maybe there will have to be a future post on this topic.

Saturday morning, we immediately hit up the Ferry Building farmer’s market for we’d heard so many great things. I remember on John’s first trip to NYC, he came upon the Union Square farmer’s market and was in awe; it was the first farmer’s market he’d ever been to, and he was so happy gazing at all the vibrant produce and interesting local eats. Of course, the one in SF’s Ferry Building would be that much better. And better it was. Blocks of booths and stands and food venues. Asian pears, samosas, oysters, coffee…it was a food paradise. We tried New Orleans style coffee from Blue Bottle which we’d also heard about. The lines were long but there were two locations within the venue, so we got our orders after fifteen minutes. The coffee is very fresh—the beans are ground on order (which explains the wait). We also tried a few different types of oysters from Hog Island Oysters which also had two spots in the area. We opted to order ours from the farmer’s market stand rather than the restaurant inside the Ferry Building. At $2 each, they are not cheap, but they were definitely fresh, smaller and sweeter than the Gulf Coast’s larger and brinier variety. Here oysters tend to be eaten with just a little olive oil and shallots rather than cocktail sauce and horseradish, a method that supposedly preserves the taste integrity of the oyster. Either way, they were delicious.

We saw another long line at RoliRoti, a mobile rotisserie unit. The couple in line advised us to try the porchetta, a slow-roasted pork served on ciabatta bread. After the dude behind the counter chops up your pork, he takes the bread slices and mops up the pork juices so all that fatty goodness soaks into your ciabatta. A little sweet onion dresses the sandwich, and voila, you’ve got yourself a $9 sandwich. We ate the porchetta (which was featured in Men’s Health for being one of the 10 Best Street Eats in America) on a bench facing the bay with the sun smiling down on us. Life is good, man.

On Sunday, we returned to the Ferry Building to eat, this time, inside the Hog Island Oysters restaurant. John and I shared a flight (“flight” sounds better and less Applebee’s-like than “sampler platter”) of oysters with our friend Stan: a variety of 24 for $60—steep, but hey, we were on vacation. Upon Stan’s recommendation, we also tried the clam chowder. It came in a thin creamy soup that tasted heavily of bacon, and the small clams were swimming inside with their shells still on. John, who is used to thick chowder, made me happy when he said it tasted a lot like my clam chowder with the exception that I’d used canned clams instead of fresh—next time, I’ll have to try using live ones. We also ordered the oyster stew which wasn’t bad but wasn’t great. The portions are small (perhaps I’m used to huge impossible Texas dishes); and 24 oysters, three stews/chowders, and three non-alcoholic beverages set us back $130. Ouch, but as usual, when we’re on vacation, we eat like our wallets are bottomless.

Next we grabbed ice cream at Mr. And Mrs. Miscellaneous in Dogpatch. I had the jasmine green tea on a cone while John tried both that and browned butter. Mr. And Mrs. Miscellaneous is one of the many ice cream shops serving up creative flavors in SF, e.g. candied violet (which tasted like a purple Skittle exploded in my mouth). The ice cream is served in a perfect ball on top of a skinny cone; it looked just like a toy and was so adorable that it made me love the shop even more for presentation. What is it about ice cream that gets your heart pumping? The scientific answer is probably all the cream and sugar that goes in it, but the romantic side of me prefers to say it’s the sweet coolness of it hitting your tongue that causes the endorphins to go out of control.

For our first supper (that’s right, I said first,/em>), Stan took us to Kabuto Sushi where I had the best sushi I’d ever had in my life. Even when I went to Japan in 2007, the sushi was not as delicious as Kabuto’s. Okay, so there’s a huge caveat: when I went to Japan, we couldn’t afford to eat at the real sushi joints because they were way expensive so we only ate at the kaiten sushi bars which, yes, are considered the fast food of Japanese sushi. I’m sure if I’d had the better sushi in Japan, it’d be comparable if not better than what I had at Kabuto. But regardless, Kabuto had the best sushi I’d had this side of the Pacific. Everything was ordered a la carte, and each piece was roughly $5 a pop. The traditional sushi we had was blue fin tuna (my favorite bite that evening), butterfish, escolar, Tasmanian salmon (which was disappointingly lavorless), and sea urchin. We also had some of their more creative sushi like the fatty tuna seared with a blowtorch; foie gras with raspberry on top of sushi rice; yellowtail paired with pear and hot mustard; a twist on the classic ceviche served on seaweed; and last but not least eel tossed with pear, foie gras, and chocolate sauce served in a martini glass. The presentation of this last one was a bit over the top for my taste but in terms of taste and creativity, it was the winner among the creative line.

Supper #2: Crab & garlic noodles at Thanh Long

Immediately after we settled the bill at Kabuto, we made our way across town to Thanh Long where we had our second supper of salt and pepper dungeness crab and garlic noodles. We also tried their shaking beef which used ribeye steak and came so flavorful that it didn’t need the traditional dipping sauce.

I left stuffed and was sad that I could not enjoy more of Thanh Long. That is what I get for being a glutton. We went home and while waiting to fall asleep, looked up where to eat the next day. We knew we’d be heading to Napa: more good food and drink. Stay tuned for more of our SF eating adventures.