Consumed with Discretion

1.03.2011

BBQ and demolition.

Here's photo evidence of the mess we made of our kitchen yesterday. The dirty mushroom tile motif and putrid shades of brown from the 70s wasn't cutting it. We absolutely love our kitchen and because we spend a ridiculous amount of time in it — we decided to treat it right. Everything should be wrapped up in a few weeks and we're very excited for our custom made maple cutting board and black granite counter.

After destroying the nasty, old kitchen countertops — dining out at Black Dog hit the spot. Since our kitchen is definitely not in working order and all we have is a microwave, we ordered lunch and leftovers: Cup of gumbo, Texas caviar ($2.95), rib tips with jumbalaya ($9), smoked chicken and 1/3 spare ribs with a side of pit beans and more jumbalaya ($12 combo plate with 2 sides).

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1.01.2011

10 hours for a smoked pork shoulder.

Our New Year's Eve dinner was top notch with an eight pound dry rubbed, smoked pork shoulder ($25). It cooked on our grill, with smoke chips ($10), at an average of 225 degrees for a little over ten hours. A dark, perfectly seared and crispy exterior crust (just look at that texture!) kept the meat warm and juicy on the inside. Enough said.

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12.31.2010

Succulent, sweet meat.

Now that I enjoy crustaceans, I wish I could eat them all the damn time. Yesterday, after the 7 pm showing of Black Swan, Marissa and Logan came back to our place and we made a dinner fir for kings. Oh, what a meal it was. We dined on two 2 lbs. and one 1.25 lbs. Canadian lobsters ($56), clarified some Kerrygold Irish butter, and served up a hearty portion of whole-grain Dijon mustard green beans ($4). It's taken me five years to even get the courage to try lobster! I, however, do not like the texture of lobster tail — I prefer knuckle and claw meat only. I'll get there eventually...

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12.27.2010

Detox.

Half an organic grapefruit ($1.50) with a dusting of fennel pollen ($6 for a 1/4 oz.) and sea salt.

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12.26.2010

Smitten with @ScarpettaNYC @ConantNYC #foodporn

Back in October, as soon as we landed in NYC, I surprised Seth with a late-night birthday dinner at Scarpetta. He had been talking about going to Scarpetta for months, so he was elated.

We ordered a bottle of Toscana La Spinetta Colorino 2005 ($52) and his birthday dinner consisted of: Creamy polenta — fricassee of truffled mushrooms ($15 and so worth it), crispy fritto misto ($17), cavatelli with braised rabbit, parsnips + mint ($22 and to die for), duck + foie gras ravioli with a marsala reduction ($25 — so decadent and rich), and a chocolate + vanilla parfait with a shot of a hazelnut milkshake and two biscotti ($11 — dolce. Perfecto.)

It was the greatest meal we've had all year. We were the last ones out of the restaurant...it was difficult to leave such a lovely, inviting place. Ever since we got back to Illinois, we've been creating our own polenta with goat cheese and wild mushrooms. Now we're just waiting for some recipes to show up on Scarpetta's website...

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12.25.2010

Mmm, merry, merry. #iphoneography @ShakeItPhoto

Icicles, snuggles, and our Christmas dinner.

Our own version of a decadent dish borne of The Big Easy: Oysters Rockefeller ($40 for 30), homemade chowder with wild-caught, fresh salmon, clams, mussels + haddock (all ingredients $75 for 11+ bowls) in a sourdough bread bowl ($1.75 per bowl), and a whole roasted organic salt + peppered chicken ($10).