Olé! Olé! (cheese) Olé!

KH and I rarely get much time to hang out because we generally have opposite schedules. We both had a free Monday afternoon and I had an all too exciting and generous gift certificate to the South End Formaggio!

We went right to the cheese case and the man working there had us sample many many different kinds of cheeses; he told us what he thought of the cheese, good or bad; he listened to our tastes and made suggestions. We bought 4 kinds of cheese and then wandered the little shop and picked up a grape syrup, salted caramels, lomo, and Terroir coffee. So many delightful things! I'll be honest though, if it weren't for the gift certificate, I would find it hard to justify buying what I did. If you need to buy a present for a friend who loves food, or are preparing for a special occasion, or know how to exercise restraint, than I absolutely recommend a trip.

We wanted to visit a few more places in the south end but didn't have much direction. We got some coffee and treats at Flour bakery and Cafe and decided to walk around and look at all of the menus of restaurant nearby and pick one. KH had invited SM to meet us after the lecture she was giving but we didn't realize there would be such a lapse in time. We looked up the address for Toro and decided to check it out first because it had been recommended by Ana Sortun of Oleana.

We didn't get to any other places. We went in and sat at the bar soon after the restaurant opened for service and realized we wouldn't see SM for a couple hours. We saw that they had Tinto de Verano, ordered two and then settled in with the menu and planned what we would order...in two hours.

This Ken Oringer restaurant features the chef, Jamie Bissonette, and so many Spanish tapas. We ordered the charcuterie plate after our first Tinto de Verano, just to tide us over while we waited. After another Tinto de Verano we ordered two more pinchos, beef heart with romesco, and dates stuffed with almonds and blue cheese wrapped in jamon. Oh, these dates were such heavenly salty, sweet bites.

From the start the bartender was less than warm but not neglectful.

Finally, SM made it and we got her a Tinto de Verano and finally ordered everything we wanted, or at least as much of it that we thought we could eat in one night. We eventually had monk fish with mint and yogurt, foi gras with pear and bacon chutney, the juiciest ribs, delicate, salty, bone marrow, some of the tastiest brusselsprouts and best of all, grilled corn on the cob dripping with a lime-pepper-cheese aioli.

We wished a few flavors were stronger on a dish or two, but nothing I would say not to try.

We effortlessly spent 5 hours in the warm restaurant with a roaring fire, long banquet tables and delicious food while a late wintry mix iced the streets. My only regret is not trying the churros at the end. I long for when this restaurant will be the answer to a hot summer night.

Myers and Chang!

If you do the math, one trip to Rialto is worth more than a week with a car, so to even things out I took SM out to Myers and Chang in the South End. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I didn't know that my dining partner was skeptical of "nice Chinese food" until after the meal and she confessed how wrong she was.

This restaurant is the product of Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery and Cafe and her husband, Chris Myers. The atmosphere is very funky, fresh, kitschy and contemporary. With pink bar stools overlooking the open kitchen, Chinese newspaper place mats and folded paper menus tucked in the tops of the disposable and reusable chopsticks stuffed in a canister on the table this restaurant welcomes the diner in to its fold. They take reservations but leave half of the dining room open for walk ins.

We started with fizzy cocktails. For some reason we didn't take the plunge right away into the scorpion bowl about which we were so curious. I've never had one, but this seemed like the best place to try my first version of this tacky, exorbitant and delicious cocktail for two!

Everything is family style, so we tried several things. The pork pot stickers were so scrumptious and probably my favorite thing. I adore fresh spring rolls and the ones here were very satisfyingly crisp and refreshing. We also had Lion's Head Meat balls that were tasty. We order a few things that said spicy, and if we liked spice they would have been so delicious, the darn thing of it is, we were just too sensitive. The Dan Dan noodles is one of these dishes. On a previous trip, I remember loving the basic tofu steak with soba noodles. In fact, after that trip, SS and I found it the perfect thing to have in a leftover bag being toted at our sides as we made the long, joyous walk home after a long night.

Desserts were recently added to the menu and we had simple, sweet banana creme caramel that we found room for in our very full bellies and did our best with a delicate and tall spice cake with ginger buttercream.

Myers and Chang just changed chefs actually. The night SM and I were there was the original chef's second to last night. Alison Hearn just moved to the brand new Ten Tables in Cambridge that I can't wait to try out! However, the word is that the Myers part of the equation is a bit heavy handed. So, even with a new chef, the food will probably be the same.

While, I haven't had one yet, I hear wonderful things about their homemade sodas. This is another reason it might be high on the list for pop's birthday this year! (He knows how good the food is, but he doesn't even know yet about the sodas. It might put him over the edge. We haven't yet talked over all the options though).

The thing about this food is that it satisfies the part of you that craves Chinese/Asian food without compromise but also without that gross, tired feeling. The customer gets to be in complete control of how expensive or not the dinner is. Myers and Chang is fresh, delicious, satisfying, comforting and stylish.

Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!

I had never read any MFK Fisher and on my most recent trip to the Boston Public Library I decided it was time. Two Saturday mornings ago I woke up late (for me) and without a plan for the day. After lounging in my bed and red lit room for awhile I moved down to the chaise lounge and began reading The Gastronomical Me, this first major book of Fisher's.

I was taken in by her descriptive language and honest approach to her gastronomical experiences pieced together from an early age. She so clearly illustrates the way that food weaves through our memories, relationships, and experiences. The following passage resigned me to thinking about only one thing for the rest of the day, cakes.


After taking care of a few things and spending time with my roommates, I set to work on a simple vanilla cake with pastry cream and fillings of pureed fruits.

Here is the thing about cakes, they are actually easy and fast to make from scratch. There are so many different kinds to try and different ways to decorate and put them together, without being the daunting endeavor I fear you may think them to be. Start small and embellish!


Two weeks later I used part of another Saturday dedicated to the glorious business of cakes.

I had never made an "Emergency Cake" or "Blackout Cake" before and this one in the most recent Cook's Illustrated magazine. This cake gets the name from the WWII era when eggs and butter were scarce and before those cake mixes took over. Mayonnaise was the cheap and available substitute, it is eggs and oil after all. I topped this one with a quick whipped cream to which I added caramel.

I actually love a nice moist chocolate cake with just a cold glass of milk. I thoroughly enjoyed it with the whipped cream but this cake had the perfect consistency to be effortlessly enjoyed in its purest, unadorned form.



I received a mini pan of 6 bundt forms and then another pan of miniature-mini bundt forms over this past Christmas. On this cakely Saturday I also came across a vanilla cardamom pound cake recipe and knew I had to put the pans to use. Of course, the flavors come through just as beautifully in a regular bundt, loaf or square pan.





Here is a wild cake that GP made for her birthday in February. This one takes a little more time, but the technique is easy and the wow factor is huge, huge, huge.


In summary, if you have a little time one Saturday, try making a cake, enjoy the fruits of your labors and before the memory becomes bilious, bask in the glow of sharing your cake with a
friend.

If you want to know every little thing about making any kind of cake there is no one better to turn to than Rose Levy Beranbaum and The Cake Bible. She also has her own website:

www.realbakingwithrose.com