Alinea Party Favors a/k/a The Menu

Our Menu at Alinea

Alinea, Chef Grant Achatz's famed restaurant in Chicago, is as much an art installation as it is a restaurant. It's like the best museum in the world because after you observe the art, you get to eat it. Where else can you do that?

Kuzak and I managed to squeeze in our second trip to Alinea last week, while we were in Chicago for a friend's wedding. A meal here is a three to four hour commitment. The service is like a well-orchestrated ballet. The serving dishes are little works of art designed by the chef, many of which require instruction manuals.

Meatless Monday: Spiced Okra

Spiced Okra

Divas, I've just returned from a fabulous trip to Chicago. The food highlights were Alinea (well, duh!), and Urban Belly, an Asian Fusion noodle shop that I'd read a lot about and had been dying to visit. Even better, the Chicago Foodie was my escort there. I promise to share my Alinea menu with you and blog Urban Belly later this week.

In the meantime, here's another great meatless recipe. The bottom line is that Americans are not eating enough vegetables. Just check out this great New York Times Article, "Told to Eat its Vegetables, Americans Order Fries."

A new study concludes that only 26 percent of the nation's adults eat vegetables three times a day. One of the main reasons that people interviewed for the article cite for not loading up on veggies is simply that they don't know how to cook them. And let's be honest, veggies cooked poorly can taste, well, awful. I also notice that many people don't branch out beyond the usual steamed broccoli and iceberg lettuce. However, just hit up your local farmers market, and you'll be blown away by the incredible variety of fresh produce available.

So that brings me to today's main ingredient: okra. Used mainly in Southern and Creole cooking, okra is loaded with health benefits. It's a good source of many nutrients, including vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, and folic acid. However, okra is also one of those vegetables that can come out tasting delicious or terrible, due to its slimy texture, which I always detested as a child and have mostly avoided as an adult.

But while shopping at the West Hollywood Farmers Market last Monday, I came across a farmer with a mountain of freshly picked okra. I remembered an article I'd read in last month's Food & Wine magazine with a recipe that involved seasoning okra with curry spices. I scooped up a bundle and brought it home.

Instead of stewing the okra or putting in gumbo, as is traditional, I decided to roast it with olive oil and salt and pepper, theorizing that it would combat the sliminess. Then, once it had nicely browned, I pulled it out of the oven and tossed it with a little curry powder and lemon juice while it was still sizzling. Then, I served it as a side dish to a chicken and bell pepper etouffee over brown rice.

This spiced okra turned out to be a vegetable revelation. It had none of the sliminess I'd detested from my childhood. Rather, it was flavorful and succulent, a wonderful side dish to any meal. So give it a shot and up your vegetable consumption. I promise you'll love this recipe.

Spiced Okra
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients
4 cups okra, halved diagonally
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, place the okra in a roasting pan or pyrex dish and toss with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until tender and beginning to caramelize.

Remove from the oven. Quickly, toss with the curry powder and lemon juice while it's still sizzling hot. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
okra from the West Hollywood Farmers Market

curry powder and organic extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe's

I Have One Word For You Today: ALINEA!

That's right, I'm headed to Alinea in Chicago for dinner tonight. This is the foodie version of Christmas, and Chef Achatz is Santa Claus. I can't wait to see what culinary gifts he delivers to our table tonight...

Anatomy of a Dessert: Behind the Scenes at Picco Restaurant

Picco's Peach Pies

Divas, I recently had the privilege of dining at my Top Chef Brother's restaurant, Picco, in Larkspur, CA. Here's a behind the scenes photo gallery of pictures that I took while shadowing him during prep in the kitchen. They were making everything from pizza dough, to gnocchi, to churros, to pesto, to the best peach pie I've ever tasted. Bon appetit!

Meatless Monday: Toasted Farro with Zucchini and Tahini

Happy Monday, Divas!

I'm off to Chicago on Wednesday, but I thought I'd make sure to leave you with a fabulous meatless recipe I whipped up last week for dinner. Don't you get tired of eating the same old grains? Well, I've made a concerted effort to incorporate more farro (pearl barley) into my life. It has a rich, nut-like flavor and a chewy, pasta-like, satisfying texture. It's also chocked full of a special type of fiber that acts as food for the "friendly" bacteria in the large intestine and lowers cholesterol.

To make my farro more interesting, I toasted it before I cooked it, giving it an even richer, nuttier flavor. Then, I stirred in roasted zucchini, heirloom cherry tomatoes, shallots, and chopped mint. I finished it off with a delicious lemon-tahini sauce, giving the dish a slightly Mediterranean flare.

This was a satisfying, filling, healthy dish that worked as a main course for dinner. It's also a great side dish for any meal. So give it a try!

Toasted Farro with Zucchini and Tahini
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup farro (pearl barley)
1 1/2 cups filtered water
2 cups zucchini, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper

tahini sauce:
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the zucchini in a roasting pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to combine. Roast uncovered in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until softened and slightly caramelized. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the farro in a dry saute pan and toast it over medium high heat until aromatic. Set aside to cool. Boil the filtered water in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Stir in the farro, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. If the liquid is gone and the farro still uncooked, add a little more water and cook a little longer. Barley should have a chewy texture with a slight crunch. Set aside.

To make the tahini sauce, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, and cumin in a bowl. Add water as needed to thin to a nice consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish, place the farro, roasted zucchini, tomatoes, and shallots in a large mixing bowl. Top with the tahini sauce and toss to combine. Check seasoning (salt and pepper). Finish with the chopped mint. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
organic pearl barley (farro) and organic sesame tahini from Whole Foods

organic zucchini, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and organic shallots from the West Hollywood Farmers Market

Wine Pairing
With this meal, we drank a fabulous bottle of Copain Pinot Noir (Hacienda Secoea, Anderson Valley, 2006).  The 2006's appear to be drinking great right now, and this bottle was one of the better pinots I've tasted recently.