Salt Chic

Of Thanksgiving

Every year I help my mom out with Thanksgiving and come up with a few dishes to make, ok so it's a bit selfish too in that I get to play with the whole Thanksgiving recipe thing but she claims I am helping. I always send over my shopping list for her in email because we show up pretty late Wednesday night. This year, there were a few spices I own already that I offered to bring if they didn't have. I also wanted to help my dad make Pisco Sours with the Pisco we brought him from Peru at some point this weekend so I sent him the recipe.

This is the response I got from my dad on email:
Alas, of seed of the cumin, have we but none. Methinks we must partake of your goodly stock. As for our blender, O blender of Avocado Green Hue, that most electrical appliances of the late 70's were coloured, engagement present of yore, earlier even than the Harvest Gold of the Brady Bunch Age, 'tis but of distant mem'ry now, last blending sweet elixirs during the reign of Reagan. I pray that you canst transport your blender from your humble village to ours so that we canst partake of the Peruvian Nectar.

Oy. Anyway I am not as filling this as much as I hoped I would, will hopefully fix that soon. I also have a Peru post with lots of food photos that will be fun.

Salt Chic and her Muse

A muse?  Well I guess normally the muse is the woman, no?  But when it comes to food in my home, all the good stuff comes from me.  Let's face it, if my husband doesn't like it then I'll eat the whole thing and that's never good.  So I guess you could call him my muse.

He's a great ego stroker, he even says "I LOVE THIS!" when I end up concocting a little white trash-ique type meal.  If he looks in the refridgerator and sees only ingrediants but no prepped foods then there is "nothing to eat."  So yes, he's an ideal person to please.  But we've been sharing a roof for almost 10 years so there is some challenge there.

On the list of things to come I've got a review of a fab restaurant we went to south of the equator this summer, an actual dessert (gasp!) of a chocolate cake which was deemed the best chocolate cake a friend of mine has had (potentially exxagerating but it was really good), and some healthier but tastier foods I have been experimenting with.  Good nutrition is the wave of the future but who doesn't need to watch their health?

Anyway, we've definitely groomed each other in certain ways over the past years.  I consider it a total coup that I can convince him to share dishes with me that have sea urchins, oysters, ramps and other items like that.  I needed a partner in crime and I daresay he doesn't love the hell out of it. 

Romantic Dinner for Onion Loving Husband

Boy its been some crazy weather, hot, cold, hot.  I can't say I didn't enjoy it though having at least one more weekend to traipse through colored leaves and take a run outside without an ear covering.   Its so cool to be in a Fall mood and not actually be cold yet! 

And yes, if I put onions in the food it pretty much guarantees he will love it.  I'm a big lamb lover so I decided to combine the 2.  Well honestly mushrooms work too but I didn't include any here.  Next time!

Stuffed Onions and Greek Lamb ala the Brits.  (adapted recipes from Jaime Oliver and Nigella Lawson)  Definitely serve this with a green salad, red wine and candlelight followed by some breath mints!)

Autumn Transitional Meal

Considering we got everything from light snow to an Indian Summer in my neck of the woods this weekend, I wanted to do my first food post about a great transitional weekday menu.  It's getting cold and butternut squashes are featured in your supermarket but you aren't about to let go of tasty salads from the summer, try this transitional meal.

Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut and Ginger

Arugula Salad with roasted vegetables and blue cheese

The essence of Salt Chic

I've been avidly reading food blogs for quite some time and (obviously!) I have decided to start my own. I am ready to chronicle my adventures with cooking, entertaining, dining out, travel and best of all drinking a lot of wine.

The essence of Salt Chic: I am attracted to great taste in food and wine, but I am especially attracted to food when the final result allows the basic elements to shine through. Flavor and style are the keys here, I hate drab! Who doesn't? (but don't hold me to being classy all of the time, I'm human and if I want to eat mayonnaise on a saltine because its damn tasty then I might just do it...) Any restaurant is fair game whether at home or abroad, one of the best indulgences in life. Again, my favorites are simple like Japanese and Northern Italian--but no limits here I promise. I love to try a neighborhood hole in the wall and I live to try 4 star cuisine. Wine is necessary at dinner, Port is better.

But truly I'm getting away from my point: I am a savory kind of gal and I like my salt better than my sugar. I can enjoy a dessert with the best of them but please load my meals with mouth watering appetizers and tasty entrees first as they are my true food joys.