Week of August 31

Hope y'all are having a great Labor Day holiday.

What a fun week I've got ahead! First, I have some baking great clients I'm doing work for this week and I am really looking forward to making beautiful, yummy treats. Then, I have a birthday dinner out with my hubby at my favorite restaurant. And then, I'm going away for a girls' weekend. Whoo hoo! I'm not sure I can handle that much fun in one week.

Menu for the Week
Sunday - Labor Day Grillin'
Hot dogs with all the fixings
Cole slaw
Corn on the cob
Peach galette (using the galette dough from here, the baking method is the same as for the vegetable tart)

Monday
Grilled pizza (made with my new birthday pizza peel)
Green salad

Tuesday - Indian night
Curried cauliflower
Fresh shell beans with tomato
Swiss chard
Chapati or rice

Wednesday
Pasta with eggplant and tomatoes

Thursday
Super duper birthday dinner

Friday
Girls' weekend!

Labor Day Coolers

If you're having folks over for a cookout this weekend, may I recommend a fun beverage?

Aguas frescas ("fresh water") are Mexican and Central American drinks that are an ideal pairing for grilled or spicy foods, especially on a hot day. Traditionally aguas frescas are made from fruit, vegetables and grains. For our discussion, I'll stick to fruit-based aguas frescas.

The technique is simple: puree cut-up fruit with with water until smooth (let your blender run for a minute at least). Add a little lemon, salt or sugar to taste. The texture should be smooth and watery - an agua fresca should be on the watery end of the spectrum, not the juicy/pulpy end. Dilute your puree with more cold water if needed to get a drinkable consistency. Serve your agua fresca very cold.

An agua fresca is an ideal way to use up dead-ripe fruit. You can also use the fruit purees you find the freezer case (Goya sells passionfruit, mango, guabana, and other exotic-to-me fruits). Some fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums) will start to brown after they've been pureed. Add extra lemon to these, but drink them the same day you make them for best visual results.

These aguas frescas are made from strawberry, plum, passionfruit and blackberry purees. Good fruits for you to try:

• Cantaloupe or Honeydew
• Peaches or Nectarines
  
• Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries
• Watermelon

I may be stating the obvious, but ... these drinks are wonderfully refreshing on their own, but it won't be a tragedy should some tequila or rum happen to fall into your glass.

Drink of the Week: Tomato Martini, Take Two

A few weeks ago, I made a cherry tomato martini. Since then, I've read of a few other takes on this cocktail. Inspired by Dash of Bitters, I thought I'd try a new version.

For this cocktail, you need tomato water, which you make by chopping up fresh tomatoes, putting them in a strainer and letting the liquid drain out. The liquid is tomato water.

This drink was more subtle than the one I made before. I made it with Plymouth gin because it's such a good mixing gin, and I am going to try it once more with Hendricks (I am guessing that the cucumber notes in Hendricks will marry well with the tomato).

Tomato Martini Two
Make your tomato water - for 1/2 ounce, you'll need 1 medium tomato. The draining takes a little time, so give yourself 10 minutes or so for this step.

In an iced cocktail shaker, combine:

• 3 ounces gin
• 1/2 ounce tomato water
• 1/2 ounce dry vermouth

Stir until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry tomato.

Skillet Souffle

I was going to make a souffle for dinner but I waited too long to get started on supper. I remembered this recipe and thought it might work instead.

This recipe is one I must have clipped back in the early eighties (I think it's from Young Miss magazine and it's in my first "Recipe Book", taped next to a cookie recipe from a 1978 issue of Family Circle). You make it by whipping egg whites to stiff peaks and then folding in the egg yolks, herbs and salt and pepper. You then pour a cheese sauce over the omelette. (I used to make this version for myself in junior high and high school.) To make it lighter and simpler, I thought I would just fold the cheese into the eggs instead of making a sauce.

This version worked well. It was much faster than a traditional souffle and I'll definitely be trying this method out with other cheeses (I used cheddar today) and will also try adding in more flavors (like finely chopped spinach or ham). This omelette will be a lot prettier if made in a small skillet. I used a 10" skillet to make enough for two. It worked out ok, but I lost some beauty points since I had to flip the omelette in four pieces.

Skillet Souffle (Puffy Omelette)
Serves 2-3

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (nothing too runny: cheddar, Monterey jack, or parmesan are all good choices)
• 2-3 tablespoons minced herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, chives, cilantro, etc.)
• pinch of cayenne or dash of Tabasco
  
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a smaller bowl. Using an electric mixer, or a strong arm and a whisk, beat the whites to stiff peaks. (See picture to the right.)

Gently beat the yolks with a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper. Fold the yolks, grated cheese and herbs into the whites.

Meanwhile heat a non-stick 10" skillet over medium heat. Add the oil or butter to the skillet. Heat the skillet is hot, pout the egg mixture into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the bottom of the omelette is set.

Now the hard part: flipping the omelette. I had to cut the omelette into four pieces with my spatula and then flip each one. This resulted in a relatively unattractive presentation. (What I will try next time is sliding the omelette onto a plate, inverting the skillet over the plate, and flipping.) Cook for another 3-5 minutes, depending on how firm you like your eggs (for a souffle-like texture, go for the shorter cooking time).

This makes a very nice supper for two or three people. If you're dining alone, make a half portion in a 6" or 8" skillet.

Field Trip: Providence Wrap-Up

This is my last Providence post for a while, methinks (at least until we visit the city again). I had a few more items I wanted to share and they all didn't warrant their own posts. So, here are some basic logistical tips gleaned from our three-day weekend for you:

Lodging
We ended up at the Providence Biltmore. The Biltmore is the oldest hotel in Providence (built in 1922) and thanks to a recent renovation, is actually a pretty nice place to stay. It's built in an "L" shape which means that every rooms has a view of downtown (this can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about gazing into office windows).

As is frequently the case in old hotels, our room was quirky and tiny. I got our room through Hotwire and we only spent $75 per night, so I didn't really mind. Had we been spent the rack rate of $170, I mighta been annoyed. The pluses: the staff was (mostly) friendly, there is a Starbucks attached to the hotel, and the location is central and very easy to get to by car or Amtrak.

Dining
We ate a lot. I recommend a visit to every restaurant we went to. Chez Pascal was a nice splurge (although during the week there is a very reasonable prix fixe menu), Troup House had a gorgeous setting and great home-style food, and we happily walked (you can take a taxi or the bus) the mile and a half to Nick's for brunch (twice!).

We had sandwiches from Farmstead Downcity for lunch on Saturday. They were prepared to order and were quite yummy and interesting (albeit pricey). The breads were fresh, the tomatoes were heirloom and the cheeses were delicious.

Our only disappointment was Haven Brothers' diner truck. I wanted it to be great; the tradition behind Haven's is so appealing. They've been setting up in virtually the same spot near city hall since 1888. They serve from around 4:00 in the afternoon until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Clearly, intoxication to a level nearing the risk of blood poisoning is required to enjoy food from this cart. The hot dog we shared made up for its lack of quality with its staying power: we both woke up with indigestion and relish-flavored burps (charming, I know).

Sightseeing
On the day we arrived, we visited the Johnson and Wales Culinary Museum and Archive. It's really worth a trip and is an easy place to get to if you're coming in on Route 95.

We did a lot of walking about. I strongly recommend a stroll up Broadway (perhaps on your way to Nick's?). The architecture of the homes is just gorgeous. There are a few abandoned looking blocks on your way out of the downtown area, but perservere! Beauty awaits.

We walked from Nick's up into the Federal Hill area. Atwells Avenue is the historic center of the Italian population of Providence. Great food and coffee abound. We bought some wine from the well-curated selection at Gasbarro's. Broccoli rabe-stuffed ravioli was one of the prizes we brought home from Venda Ravioli.

We visited the Rhode Island School of Design's art museum. It's a fairly large collection, and I confess were a little fatigued by the time we'd strolled through most of it. What I would do next time is a pick one part of the collection and send my time there. The collection itself was fairly extensive and covered everything from ancient Egypt to Asia to portraiture to antique homes .... oh and there was some Modern Art too.

What We Missed (That I know of)
We are planning to head down to Providence again - we loved what we saw (and ate!) and still have more to see. Next time we'll be sure to visit the Brown University campus and explore a few more parts of the city. There are walking tours that sounds quite interesting. They are offered by the Rhode Island Historical Society.

On the food front: I must have a New York System hot weiner (can't believe I missed that - and yes that's how they spell "wiener"), we will probably want to visit Al Forno, La Laiterie and Gracie's.

How about you? Have you been to Providence? What should we see and do next time?