Monthly Archive for February, 2009

Chocolate-Marshmallow Mousse

Published by Gastronomer on February 27, 2009 in Dessert, Pudding + Custard and Recipe. 2 Comments

To welcome me home after my trip to St. Louis, The Astronomer prepared a four-course feast for dinner. We started off with a fragrant tarragon and artichoke dip paired with crackers, then moved on to potato leek soup. The main course was red bell peppers stuffed with savory goodness. For dessert, The Astronomer prepared this light-as-can-be chocolate-marshmallow mousse. The mousse was so lovely that I felt compelled to make some more as soon as we finished off the first batch. Warning: chocolate-marshmallow mousse can be a highly addictive substance. Proceed with caution.

4 cups mini marshmallows (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup whole milk
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook the marshmallows, milk, and chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat, whisking constantly, until melted and smooth, about 4 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and set inside a larger bowl of ice water. Let stand, whisking often, until cool and thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Whip the cream and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Increase to high speed and continue to whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes.

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, leaving just a few streaks.

Spoon into wine glasses or goblets, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until set before serving, about 6 hours. After being spooned into the wine glasses, the mousse can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days before serving.

To serve, garnish the glass with dollops of fresh whipped cream, sprigs of fresh mint, and fresh berries.

Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works – St. Louis

Published by Gastronomer on February 26, 2009 in Burgers, Restaurant Review and St. Louis. 1 Comment

St. Louisans love few things more than the Cardinals, toasted ravioli, and Fitz’s root beer. Just ask The Astronomer—he’s a native.

Fitz’s root beer was first produced in 1947 and sold alongside hamburgers and fries at a small drive-in located in Richmond Heights, Missouri. The eatery and root beer production shut down in 1970 when the owner retired. It wasn’t until 1985 that the original Fitz’s root beer recipe was resurrected and “St. Louisans once again could enjoy their favorite root beer in bottles.”

Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works opened in 1993. According to the eatery’s official website, “To assure authenticity, the call went out for a vintage bottling line. Incredibly, a 1940’s bottling line was found in an old barn in Shawano, Wisconsin. It was refurbished and installed at the restaurant, where it is visible from every table on the main floor. Fully operational, the bottling line can turn out a bottle every second.”

Wes and I sat on the second floor and thus avoided being treated to non-stop bottling action and unflattering florescent lights during our meal.

To kick things off, Wes ordered a root beer served in an icy mug, while I ordered a cool bottle of cream soda ($2.19). My vocabulary isn’t Swarthmorean enough to describe the cream soda’s nuanced flavors, but I assure you that it was superior to everyday root beers like Mug and A&W. There’s definitely something spicy in the mix that gives the brew a smooth and mellow kick. The secret root beer formula was developed with the help of a flavor house in St. Louis and remains a closely guarded secret to this day.

The menu at Fitz’s features all-American favorites like pizzas, pastas, wraps, sandwiches and burgers. I ordered a bison burger—a lean bison patty grilled and topped with spring mix, a tomato slice and onions, and served with a side salad ($9.99).

The bison patty was as dry as a bone, while the grilled onions were raw and the spring mix was a wilted mess. I kept sipping my cream soda to moisten up the meat and help it down my esophagus.

The side salad served with my burger was substantial and uninspiring. Poorly made salads are why Americans have a tortured relationship with vegetables.

Wes went for a BBQ burger with Colby Jack cheese, BBQ sauce and onion tanglers ($8.19), which really satisfied his burger tooth. In retrospect, I probably should of gone for some fatty cow instead of the bony bison.

We also shared an order of onion rings, the first of many during my stay in St. Louis. The freshly fried ringers were of the mass-produced-in-a-factory variety, which is to say that they were tasty and greasy, but not so special.

Come to Fitz’s for the house special root beer, cream soda, and ice cream floats, but don’t bother with the grub. It’s not worth the space.

–

Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works
6605 Delmar Blvd
St Louis, MO 63130
Phone: 314-726-9555

Secrets of the Red Lantern – Pauline Nguyen

Published by Gastronomer on February 24, 2009 in Book Reviews. 4 Comments

About: In this moving culinary account of her family’s immigration from their native Vietnam, restaurateur Nguyen of Sydney, Australia begins: “In my family, food is our language… when we cannot speak the words “I am sorry,” we give this bittersweet soup instead.” Luckily, Nguyen is also skilled in written language; her moving, honest and painful story follows her family’s dramatic exodus from their war-ravaged homeland to the safety of Australia. There, Nguyen’s parents opened the restaurant that would give Pauline and her brother Luke the foundation for their current enterprise, The Red Lantern, one of Sydney’s most popular dining destinations. Worth the price alone is Nguyen’s masterful storytelling, including a warts-and-all look at her family and the immigrant experience. The book’s arc is entirely film-ready; indeed, color images of people, places and dishes are striking. And then there’s the recipes: more than 275 traditional Vietnamese dishes, all relatively simple to prepare (though some might require some tenacious shopping). Nguyen’s wide net catches classic comfort food like Pho Bo Tai Nam, the traditional beef noodle soup, and slow-cooked pork shoulder; fish dishes like Crispy-Skin Snapper with Ginger and Lime Fish Sauce; easy appetizers like Tom Nuong (Soy and Honey Grilled Shrimp); and exotic fare like Durian Ice Cream. Whether you buy it for the story, recipes or both, this is an essential volume for those interested in Vietnamese cooking and culture. From Publishers Weekly.

My Thoughts: Oh, Pauline Nguyen, you totally owe me a brand new keyboard and a box of tissues because I laughed and cried up a storm while reading your memoir-cum-cookbook.

Food and family go hand in hand in Vietnamese culture, so it makes perfect sense that Nguyen combined them in one cohesive tome. What sets Secrets of the Red Lantern apart from other Vietnamese cookbooks on the market is Nguyen’s heart wrenching and uplifting memoir, which is told in a painfully honest voice. The foods and memories that Nguyen reflects upon in Secrets of the Red Lantern are so intimately intertwined that they each become more meaningful when placed in the proper context of her life. At times I found myself flipping quickly through the gorgeous photos and recipes just so that I could find out what happened next—Nguyen’s life is a literal page-turner.

In addition to sharing her personal trials and tribulations with readers, Nguyen is also generous with her family’s treasured recipes, including her father’s top-secret bo kho recipe that surprisingly calls for soda pop and Laughing Cow cheese. I appreciated how the book’s photographs successfully captured the warmth and rustic quality of homemade Vietnamese food.

As a whole, I found Secrets of the Red Lantern very inspiring. While reading this book, I was not only moved to whip up Vietnamese delights, but also to make time to sit down with my grandparents to record my family’s history and recipes. We’ll always have food, but time and memories are fleeting.

Continue reading ‘Secrets of the Red Lantern – Pauline Nguyen’

The Cupcakery – St. Louis

Published by Gastronomer on February 23, 2009 in Bakery, Dessert, Restaurant Review and St. Louis. 11 Comments

The transition from “trend” to “staple” is best illustrated by Uggs—a plush boot that’s easy on the feet and questionably easy on the eyes. Sometime during the fall of 2003, everyone and their mother, in cold climes and downright hot ones, started donning Ugg boots. Seemingly overnight, every gal from California to Maine was tucking her skinny jeans into a pair of chunky Uggs. Copycats emerged to compete with the Australian powerhouse, but the Ugg brand never lost its comfy edge. Six years later, Uggs are still as popular as ever—their unparalleled warmth and comfort have propelled them from uber-trendy footwear to wardrobe staples.

It’s unclear which direction the cupcake trend is headed, but I hope with all of my heart that cupcakes have Ugg-like staying power. While Los Angeles embraces Sprinkles and New York adores Magnolia, St. Louis has The Cupcakery. With its sparse and modern space, cute-as-can-be packaging, and toothachingly sweet creations, it is clear that The Cupcakery is applying the same successful formula as its East and West Coast counterparts.

During a short jaunt to St. Louis to visit my dear friend Wes, I found myself at The Cupcakery on more than one occasion. On our first visit, Wes picked out a Strawberries and Cream ($2.75) cupcake, while I indulged in a Gold Rush ($2.75). The skewed ratio of cake to frosting on the Gold Rush had me worried initially, but after one bite it was clear that the bakers here know what they’re doing. The classic yellow cake was moist and light, while the chocolate buttercream frosting was rich, thick, and sweet. A yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting is a benchmark for cupcakes in much the same way that the pizza Margherita is the benchmark for pizzas. The Cupcakery’s Gold Rush was phenomenal.

A couple of evenings later, Wes and I headed back to The Cupcakery for a post-dinner nightcap. This time around, Wes ordered a Confetti—vanilla buttercream with French vanilla cake, while I had a Raspberry Beret—raspberry buttercream with French vanilla cake with raspberry filling. The Raspberry Beret was so very sweet that my molars ached. I should’ve stuck with the tried and true Gold Rush.