Tuesday Afternoon Cooking Class

It's a Tuesday afternoon and I am standing in the kitchen of my favorite restaurant Baru 66!

Baru 66 is offering Ecole De Cuisine cooking classes and today we focused on meats and sauces. Eleven students crowded around Chef David Baruthio as he prepared Moroccan Style Lamb Tagine, Chef Baru's Rustic Ratatouille, and Eggplant Caviar.

With a cup of coffee in hand (dashed with a bit of bailey's) and a piece of paper and pen here are some of the tips and tricks that Chef David shared...

• Always leave some of the fat on as this will help flavor the meat during the cooking process. 
• When cutting the meat follow the muscles. 
• Use a blend of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil. EVOO burns fast, so having a mixture of the two helps with reducing burning and smoking.
• Organic veggies have better flavor.
• Toss meats in oil mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper than cook on a med/high pan that has been drizzled with the oil mixture.
• Use finishing salt rather than salting during the cooking process. 
• Ratatouille needs to be wet all the time. Don't caramelize (no golden veggies). It's all about the herbs and veggies. If you see a chef add water, then it's not Ratatouille. 
• When cooking couscous put in a shallow pan and drizzle with olive oil. Pour boiling hot water over the couscous (just enough to cover). Then put a piece of plastic wrap over the top (steaming effect).

At the end of the class, we all gathered around the table and were served a beautiful plate of Moroccan Style Lamb Tagine, Chef Baru's Rustic Ratatouille, and Eggplant Caviar. For dessert, we had roasted chestnut ice cream.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!

Foie Gras in South Dakota

I recently visited the Black Hills for a family reunion. One of our favorite places to go for breakfast is “Tally’s”. The restaurant recently went through an owner change and became “Tally’s Silver Spoon”. The décor was updated with dark grays and blues (very chic) and the menu had a “French” makeover. One particular item that caught my eye was “Really French Toast: Foie Gras, berries, granola, and maple cream”. One of my favorite foods is Foie Gras, but I was a little hesitant about ordering it in South Dakota. I decided to live on the wild side and give it a try and boy was I glad I did! It was absolutely wonderful and the flavors paired so well together. The foie gras was chopped into small pieces and sprinkled on top of summer berries and perfectly browned French toast. Then to finish the dish, maple cream was poured over the foie gras, berries, and toast. The maple cream was subtle and not too over powering. The dish was divine and each flavor paired beautifully. Way to go South Dakota… I think you found your inner French-self.

How much will you pay for secret knowledge?

On Thursday night, my husband and I attended our first art auction. The Des Moines Art Center opened up their vault for one night only, where wondrous works of art awaited our bidding. The theme of the auction was "Letting Our Guard Down". Artists donated works of art for this "never-to-be-repeated" fund raising event. Something neat about the auction was that the names of the artists were unknown at the time of bidding.

The vault was full of art loving folk, amazing appetizers, and drinks. We wandered the aisles looking at the contemporary pieces and had our eye on two pieces. We placed our bid on a sketch of a giant robot with a blond girl laying on top of his shoulders. We thought it would fit perfectly in our TV room. We placed our final bid 10 minutes before the auction closed and unfortunately someone outbid us. Bummer.

The other piece we bid on was a small suitcase with pictures of Paris and the title "Eco Chamber: Belbo's Secret". On top of the suitcase is a small viewing hole. When you look inside, there is a small room with tiny treasures. I started the bid and noticed some other lady also had her eye on it and tried to outbid me. But we got lucky and won the final bid! When we received our mixed media artwork, there was a "story" behind the piece.

"Eco Chamber: Belbo's Secret" is a meditation on the idea of esoteric secrets, guarded things and hidden ideas created for the Des Moines Art Centers "VAULT: Letting Our Guard Down" fundraisers. It was inspired that for one night, the general public will be allowed into a space which is otherwise to be off limits as a necessary precaution to protect objects'd'art in the museum’s collections thus "occult" in the sense of being hidden from view.

The subject matters is based on the book “Foucault’s Pendulum”. The story is about three friends working for an Italian vanity publishing company who, as an amusement, create a novel mystical hermetic system based on the ideas of several real historical groups, such as the Templars, the Rosicrucians, and the Masons as well as concepts such as Telluric Currents and Gematria- and they end up paying a high price for the distractions. “Belbo” is one of the three friends who create “The Plan”.

The viewer is invited to "peak" into the secret internal world of the work but cannot enter it. Inside is a tiny mixed-media installation consisting of a photo containing physical manifestations of various symbols, riddles, and a visual linguistic joke related to the book onto which are mounted bulbs, sticks and a golden thread which form a "tree of life". Behind each sephirot in the tree is hidden a word which, when all are linked in the correct order, reveal the secret which Belbo Kept. The winner of this piece may choose to remove the golden bulbs to elucidate the secret, but in doing so must destroy the piece-an "echo" of the "high price" paid for secret knowledge."

French Food in Des Moines

For our wedding anniversary this year, we decided to celebrate at the French Restaurant Baru 66. To kick the night off right, I put on my new hat (compliments of the Royal Wedding) and bright red lipstick.

We decided to let the expert decide and had the 6 course “Chef’s Choice”. The flavors and presentation of Chef David Baruthio is absolutely amazing!

Starter Course: Apple Carrot palate cleanser with blue cheese whipped cream in a puff pastry.

2^nd course: Escargot with sweetbreads sautéed in garlic and pistachio butter, poured on top of a biscuit and spring greens. I was kind of nervous and excited when this dish came out. It was sweet and succulent. I really enjoyed this dish.     

3^rd course: Seared scallops on top of cream risotto with parmesan crisp. This dish had some complex flavors. The risotto was creamy and smooth and gave you a warm feeling of eating mac and cheese.

4^th course: Prawns in tomato bisque with olive oil and sea salted breadstick. Two prawns were cooked to a bright red and paired perfectly with the tomato bisque. I think my favorite part of this dish was dipping the 12 inch sea salt breadstick into the bisque.

5^th course: Filet mignon, whole morel mushrooms, morel mushroom sauce, and dauphine potatoes. This dish was amazing! The filet was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and the mushrooms and sauce were subtle and creamy. The buttery potatoes were mashed and then deep fried to perfection.

6^th course: 3 cheeses, fruit compote, and French baguette.

7^th course: Chocolate brownie with melted hot caramel, rhubarb crisp with anise ice cream, and rose macaroon with berry ice cream and raspberries. The rhubarb crisp and anise ice cream was a treat! The two flavors complemented each other perfectly. The macaroon was light, crispy, and gooey all at the same time. True perfection!

8^th course: Salted brownie, lemon macaroon, and madeline.

We spent three hours in the quaint restaurant enjoying the 6 courses (technically 8) and left full and satisfied. It was truly an amazing meal!

Happy Anniversary To My Husband, To My Love ~ May 1, 2007

I married the love of my life four years ago today. It was a beautiful spring afternoon and 19 of our closest family and friends gathered in the Candle Lit Way Wedding Chapel. As I was putting on my dress, I was thinking about the day we first met and all the wonderful memories we had leading up to that point.

I met James in September of 2002 and I felt an immediate attraction. I called him a week later and asked him out, hoping he didn’t forget who I was. Thankfully he remembered! I remember the first night he told me he loved me. After he left, I ran upstairs to my parent’s room in the middle of the night and woke up my mom and told her I was in love! We enjoyed being with each other. We would go for walks around Grey’s Lake, watched foreign and independent films at The Fleur Cinema, made dinners at James’ apartment, took road trips to Chicago and Kansas City, and attended concerts. I loved dating him… I enjoyed his company.  

Labor Day weekend of 2006, James proposed to me. We decided to spend the weekend in Chicago. We arrive to our favorite hotel and I was shocked when we stepped into a beautiful King Suite. James told me the smaller rooms were booked and this was all they had left. We got dressed and headed to my favorite French restaurant and had a wonderful meal. As we are walking back to our hotel, we stopped at a music store and bought a French CD. Back at the hotel, James told me to go and get a bucket of ice to chill our wine. Typically he gets the ice, so I knew something was up when he pushed me out the door and I heard the deadbolt and locks. I was giddy and walked a little faster than I should have. I was back in a matter of minutes and when James opened the door for me, he was on bended knee, with candles flickering, rose petals thrown on the floor and bed, and French music playing in the background. I fell in love with him all over again.

As I walked down the aisle, I looked at James and my heart smiled. I couldn’t wait to start our life together as husband and wife.

Traveling is very important to us and we make it a priority whenever we can. Understandably, for our honeymoon we spent a few days in Paris (I am a French girl at heart). We started our honeymoon trip in New York City, then over to Paris, France; and finally to Vienna, Austria. In 2009 we called it our “year of travel”: Hawaii, Washington DC, Chicago, and Tokyo, Japan. Earlier this year, we spent a wonderful week visiting friends in London, England. We love exploring new places, shopping, meeting new people, eating amazing foods, and loving life.

James ~ These past four years as your wife has been a dream come true. I can’t wait to see where our lives lead us. I look forward to exploring the world with you. But as long as I am besides you, that is all that matters. I love you!

The Lovely Audrey

Audrey Hepburn is the true definition of lovely.

I admire Audrey and her elegance, grace, and charm. She inspires me to the woman I am meant to be.

I recently read a book called “The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life - How to be Lovely”, by Melissa Hellstern.

I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes of Audrey from that book:

HAPPINESS…

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – that’s all the matters.”

            Happiness is not about the things we own or do; it’s about how we look at it.

“What would be awful would be to die and look back miserably – seeing on the bad things, the opportunities misses, or what could have been.”

            We are who we are because of our past. Embrace that!

HEALTH…

The New York Times article after Audrey’s death: “Nearly forty years later Audrey Hepburn’s face was that of someone who’d squinted into the sun, laughed a few laughs, shed a few tears. The forehead showed some wrinkles, the eyes showed some more, and the strong jawline was softening around the edges. As unwilling to fake youth as she had to fake voluptuousness, she looked like the 63 year old woman she was. Which is to say, better than any 63 year old woman who’s pretending that she isn’t. Would that she were going to be around longer, to teach us all how to grow old.”

            We need to age gracefully. Wrinkles around my eyes remind me of my happy life. I don’t regret one of those “smile” lines.

HUMANITY…

“Mothers are the best social workers of all.”

I couldn’t have asked for a better mother. My mother has made a difference in my life. I can’t wait to have children so I too, can make a difference in their life. 

FRIENDSHIP…

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

There is nothing better than having a good laugh, especially ones that involves tears. I crave moments like that and it’s what makes life worth living. 

FULFILLMENT…

“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, and looking it up in a book and remembering – because you can’t take it all in at once.”

            Live simply. Focus on things that make you happy and cherish every moment.

“Anyone who does not believe in miracles is not a realist.”

Things happen for a reason and I know that beyond a shadow of doubt.

 “What I always wanted, what I still want, is to create a warm and loving atmosphere for those I care about – my family and friends.”

            I always make sure the guests in my home feel welcome. I want everyone to have a delightful time.

LOVE…

“The best thing to hold on to in life is each other.”

            I can’t imagine my life without my husband. I know he loves me and that is all I need.       

Thank you Audrey for showing me how to be lovely…

Alpaca Farm

A few weeks ago, I attended an Arts & Craft Show. A local farm had set up a booth and was selling Alpaca yarn. I stood by watching the farmer spin fibers with a spinning wheel. I struck up a conversation with him and told him I have always been interested in spinning. I bought some beautiful gray yarn and was handed a brochure on "Hand Processing Fibers". Each month the farmer and his wife hold a class up at their farm and teach people how to work with Alpaca fibers from beginning to end. I was very excited and signed up the next day.

Sunday morning, my mom and I hoped in our car and headed north to the little farm. We joked about being city girls going to hang out with Alpacas. With black coffee in our hand, we were given a brochure that discussed Laserscan Micron Testing and the standard deviation of Alpaca fibers. I have to admit that I was a little shocked and impressed by this farmer. Although I thoroughly enjoy Statistics, I don’t think the other visitors appreciated it at 9 AM.

The farmer went on to explain that there are two different types of Alpacas: Huacaya (fluffy) & Suri (dreadlocks). Alpaca fiber is softer, yet stronger than wool; comes in 22 natural colors; lighter and warmer than wool; and contains no lanolin, yet feels silky. Alpacas originate from South America and have a similar personality to cats.

We then all headed out to the barn to begin the day's work. We spent the morning working through the process of skirting, tumbling, washing, picking, and carding. With a finished product in hand, we went back into the farm house and worked on dying fibers, spinning, needle felting, wet felting, knitting, and weaving.

The farmer took us for a tour around the farm and to meet his 88 Alpacas. Some were very interested in the new guests and ran right over to see us, while others stood back and watched. One particular Alpaca loved to have his nose petted and followed us around. Another one didn't like all the visitors and tried "spitting". Thankfully we were not hit.

It was a delightful way to spend a beautiful spring day and I came out with a greater appreciation of hand-made fibers.