After a Long Day's Work...

...Some are comforted with an ice cold beer or tall glass of red... others, alongside a wedge of room temperature d'Affinois and toasted sourdough.


Fromager d'Affinois is a French double-cream (cow's milk).  As soft as a triple cream, with slightly less fat content characterizing it technically as a double (cream).  It's smooth, mild, buttery, and when the day demands a cheese-pit-stop on your way home, a great go-to with rarely a bite leftover.


So tonight I did end up enjoying it with this incredible Sauvignon Blanc; but really, I just needed the cheese.

I'm Sorry.

While I realize approximately 6 people check this blog (and have probably given up by now), I felt the need to apologize for my lack of posts in 2012.  With tragedies and wedding planning I put this on the back-burner until we return from our ITALIAN honeymoon mid-may.  I haven't given up on this blog!


I came across this great little write up about pairing blue cheese with blackberries today, and I wanted to share it.  If you do not check thekitchn.com regularly, you should!  It is one of my favorites.


So enjoy some blue cheese and blackberries and please cross your fingers for good weather in Southern California on April 28th.  I'll see you in June.

Necessary Cheeses.

My deepest apologies for not following through on my New Year's resolution.  The truth is, 2012 has not been kind to us so far.  At the end of January Matt and I lost our ever-faithful sidekick, our third musketeer, the light of our little family, our pup Zoe.  Needless to say it's been a difficult road to recovery.

I have been continuing to snap photos and will have plenty to share with you soon.  It's just going to be a moment to get them all in blog-form.

In the meantime I saw this article on The Kitchn recently, and had to share.

View full article here.

Seared Ahi.

A number of years ago my boss came into work with freshly caught ahi tuna from her husband's latest fishing excursion.  I proudly took a piece of it home and for the very first time made a tuna tartare of sorts.  Only once finished, I left it in the prep bowl and ate the entire batch with a bag of Tostitos in one sitting.  Not my finest moment.
I can gladly tell you I have acquired far more restraint over the years, and have also turned the dish into a more presentable meal, adjusting the ingredients a bit along the way according to my likes.  


It's a pretty simple recipe, and spending the extra few minutes on presentation makes it look all the more special. Unfortunately I did not take those extra few minutes when cooking this the other night, however you'll get the idea.


Ingredients:
1 small to medium red onion (or 1/3 of a large one).  Sliced thin or chopped, however you prefer.
1 avocado thinly sliced or in chunks (again, however you prefer)
1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro (my favorite)
1 lemon (cut in half)
2-3 limes (cut into wedges)
Soy sauce
Sushi grade ahi tuna, 1 lb.


Prep:
Prepare all of your veggies/fruit ahead of time
Once ready, brush olive oil on either side of your tuna, and add freshly ground pepper.
Heat a frying pan on high with a drizzle of olive oil until extremely hot
Quickly sear the tuna steak (about 5-10 seconds per side, the tuna will be raw on the inside) 
Remove the tuna from the pan with tongs and set on cutting board.
Cut into small slices, and lay flat on a plate or standing in a row on a long platter (see photos below).
Layer the red onion slices, avocado, and cilantro.
Drizzle with soy sauce and then lemon juice.
Keep lime wedges to flavor as you eat.
Serves 2.


Can be served with white rice and lime juice (if I do this I'll toss the remaining cilantro in the rice).


So good - and healthy!

If I could only choose to smell one scent for the rest of my life... it might be cilantro.

This is the third and final lemon our dwarf lemon tree has produced the ENTIRE season.  So disappointing.