Everytime I think about this blog, my mind runs through a debate...
"Should I quit blogging?"
Another part of me says, "No, don't give it up!"
The part that wants to quit points out, "Well, you haven't posted in a while. What kind of blogger are you anyway? Plus, you don't have time for this."
Then the other part says, "Well, you had time to have brunch this morning, read about Michelin inspectors http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/23/091123fa_fact_colapinto, and watch Cal win the big game yesterday (go Bears!)"
And so on...
For right now, then, I'm going to keep my blog, although I can't promise how often I'll be blogging. I'm here today, though!
Culinary thoughts that have been running through my mind...I want to make something with puff pastry this week. I've been thinking about puff pastry for the last few weeks since the leaves have turned and the temperature has been slowly creeping into the 50s. My mom makes great pate chaud (puff pastry turnovers with pork meatballs inside) and I've been craving those. I might do a variation and do a mushroom, sour cream and onion filling or a spanikopita-like filling with feta and spinach. For the pastry, I love the pre-made sheets from Pepperidge Farms--they rise well and are rich and flaky, for minimal effort.
That's all for now!

Interesting link on the art and science of pizza

While I am very much enjoying being a full-time student, it takes a lot of my energy. Consequently, I become lazy during downtime and all the free-time activities I used to be excited about--exploring my neighborhood, blogging, reading for fun, etc.--become sidelined in lieu of other things. Such as sleep and TV. Still, I found this link this morning while pondering what goes into a truly great pizza. See, the past couple of months while on summer vacation, I have eaten some truly delicious things...meals at Providence and Sushi Zo in Los Angeles, visits to the Cheeseboard in Berkeley, my mother's cooking, and various French pastries and breads in San Francisco. As a result, I have grown more critical of other foods that are not quite so delicious. I began wondering how one makes a really great pizza, and found that it was more complicated that I had imagined...

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

Last dinner at Sol e Luna

We had a nice long dinner to end our trip. Highlights were the tuna carpaccio with red curry and seaweed and the lobster bisque with puff pastry. We love the tradition on the island of ending meals with a small sip of flavored rum.

The chandelier in our room

The Lolos, Part II

Guest Editor Jack

The Lolos are a famous institution in Grand Case, maybe even more than the fancy French restaurants which are nearby. The Lolos are outdoor BBQ stands with a variety of food options from chicken, steak, ribs, lobster, fish and shrimp. We ate at the Lolos on 3 separate occasions and were impressed with the food each time. We ended up trying grilled chicken breast, shrimp, red snapper and stuffed eggplant. Not to be outdone, the side dishes were also excellent, from curried rice, red rice and beans to salads. The lolos were a great way to find an inexpensive, yet filling lunch. The two lolos we ate at were Talk of the Town and Sky's the Limit.

Walk to Petite Cayes

One afternoon we went for a beautiful walk over a hill and on a rugged bleached coral trail to a hidden beach, Petite Cayes.

An afternoon at Friar's Beach

Jack and I spent our last afternoon here at Friar's Beach, lounging on beach chairs and watching children run away from the occasional five foot shorebreak.

The lolos, part I

Lolos are casual eateries around the island that serve Creole food with many grilled and seafood dishes. There is a group of them by the waterside in Grand Case. Jack will write about the food we had at Talk of the Town and Sky's the Limit, but I want to recount an entertaining incident we had while walking past one on Wednesday night with our friends Drew and Rachel.

After dinner, we strolled around Grand Case and a gentleman at one of the lolos began to tell us about his menu. After informing him we had eaten, he inquired where we were from. When we told him "Virginia", he launched into a discussion of the Chris Brown-Rihanna incident, becoming so passionate in his vitriol against Chris Brown that a woman at an adjacent lolo asked we wanted to call a taxi. I was impressed with how updated he was with his Hollywood gossip.

Au Grain du Sel

One place that we ended up eating at a couple of times was Au Grain du Sel, a pizza place on the left side of the road on the way to Embarcadere Pinel, which had paper menus and a bevy of flags on the outside but surprisingly good food. The tagliatelle tasted as if it were freshly made, and we enjoyed the carbonara sauce with bacon, although we agreed that we prefer an egg-based sauce to the bechamel-like sauce that we had. The pizza was also delicious and prompted a debate on how many slices of pizza one should eat. Every meal started with a small plate of little spicy olives.

Our home base

We have been staying at a little inn in the hills in Mont Vernon, a few minutes from the beach and situated above an estuary. We have fallen into a routine--wake up, breakfast on the balcony, go out for an excursion or stay in and read, get lunch, and go to the beach in the afternoon.

Le Bistro Nu

One night we had dinner in Marigot, which is the capital of the French side of St. Martin. We had quite a time trying to find Le Bistro Nu. We found it while driving on the main highway which runs from Grand Case to Marigot, and on to the Dutch side. We continued on the highway, past the first turn-off to Marigot and around the round-about. We then found the restaurant hidden on a little alley across from the stadium, close to a Moroccan restaurant.

Inside there were wood paneled walls, ceiling fans, red-checkered tablecloths and modern art posters. Our host created a relaxed atmosphere and we enjoyed a bottle of pinot from Burgundy. We started dinner with oysters on the half shell with a mignonette, then Jack had Boeuf Bourguignon with buttery mashed potatoes and I had tuna tartar with frites. We ended up liking the entree we hadn't ordered better...I couldn't stop eating the comforting beef stew, which reminded me of the Vietnamese dish Bo Kho, except the sauce here was more wine-based. We ended up sharing creme brulee. Dinner was very enjoyable with classic French food as well as low-key.

Flamingo tongue

Flamingo tongue mollusks were everywhere underwater.

The giant puffer

We have seen a number of very large pufferfish during our dives here in St. Martin.

The big swell

The last couple of days the weather forecasters have been predicting 10 foot swells. While the shorebreak was a little rougher in Grand Case yesterday we haven't seen any big waves.

Sunday Dinner at Le Cottage

Guest Editor Jack
We went to Grand Case for dinner which was originally a sleepy fishing village which has become the major dining destination for St. Martin. The majority of the restaurants are French or at least are French-influenced. We went to Le Cottage (http://www.restaurantlecottage.com) for dinner on Sunday and it was probably the best dinner that both of us had since we have arrived on St Martin. Dinner started with a bottle of Château Lagrave-Martillac, 2nd vin du Gd cru 2005 being decanted by the sommelier. We shared an appetizer called "Taste of Quail" which included roasted quail stuffed with foie gras, lentil salad and bacon sauce which was excellent. For main course I had beef tenderloin with cabbage and potato cooked in butter, beef cheek raviolis, vegetable kebab and red wine sauce. Christine had “Taste of Duck” which was sauteed duck breast, red cabbage cooked in port wine, truffle oil on mashed potato, and duck tartar with pear in a glass. For dessert the restaurant is known for their soufflés so we shared a caramel soufflé. We were very pleased with the dinner and off to sleep we went to prepare for a day of scuba diving.

Day 2 - Sunday

Guest Editor Jack
After a lazy morning we headed over to Orient Beach, which is one of the most famous beaches in Saint Martin. We found a restaurant near the beach and ordered breakfast. I ordered a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs with a baguette and jam. Christine ordered an omelet with ham and cheese. Since we both enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning we ordered cappuccinos. We were both very pleased with the breakfast and off to the beach we went. At the beach we walked along the water and viewed the sites. Eventually we ended up at the infamous rocky outcropping (this marks the start of the nude beach- but I forgot to tell Christine about this minor detail). As we got closer to the rocks Christine quickly noticed 2 figures in the distance without clothing and quickly turned around. So then the rest of the time at the beach was spent walking away from the nude beach.

First evening.

Saturday night we were exhausted from being sleep deprived. We had dinner close to our room at Sol e Luna. Highlights were scallops carpaccio in a lemon cream sauce and Chilean sea bass in a mango ginger sauce. The housemade rum at the end in ginger and passionfruit flavors was a nice way to end the night.

Christine found a friend on the way to dinner.

First day, continued...

We picked up groceries on the Dutch side at a well-stocked supermarket. There was everything from lait cru camenbert to salt 'n vinegar kettle chips there. We drove to our inn on the French side and made lunch with prosciutto, baguette, butter, camenbert, hummus and olives.

Arriving

We got here on Saturday. The view from the plane showed the crowded Dutch side.

This morning

This morning began with waking up late and walking down the street for breakfast.

St. Martin

I'll be posting some pictures with guest editor Jack Buckley of our vacation in St Martin. Stay tuned.

A new way to stay connected?

I haven't been that inspired to blog in the last month, despite making some killer butternut squash gnocchi in a butter sage sauce, decent homemade sushi rolls, and having some fun small plates at a local restaurant, Bardo. The endless barrage of tests has attenuated my creative drive. Yesterday, though, I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to various replies in the computer lab, ranging from "I hate Twitter" to "What is Twitter" to "Why are you following me?" My user name is nguyenct, and I hope to be able to post more there, given that I only get 140 characters a post. I'm still blogging though--just when the mood strikes.

It's that time of year again...

...when every channel shows the same thing, from "The Biggest Loser" to "True Life: I'm on a Diet." If you have made it out of the holiday period unscathed, congratulations. For those who have indulged too often in triple creme cheese, Acme baguettes and little chocolates from New York, here are the top five foods for the new year.

1. Fage 0% yogurt. While I have extolled the virtues of this before, it makes a wonderful, creamy and filling breakfast when topped with blueberries.

2. Kiwis. Instead of reaching for that chocolate or buying a Pinkberry, take a kiwi and use a spoon to scoop out the tart, luscious fruit. Add a glass of cold nonfat milk for a snack.

3. Chicken breast. Grilled on a skillet with some lemon, salt, rosemary, and brushed lightly with low-fat salad dressing, it adds nicely to a salad of mesclun greens with salsa.

4. Egg whites. Whether scrambled or boiled (with the yolks discarded), this is an excellent source of protein.

5. Clementines. Apart from being a source of vitamin C, these have a stronger flavor than many oranges and can be quite juicy.