Okay, I know you've been upset ever since you read the review of Avenue. You can't believe that me, a professionally trained cook would make such a mistake. Yes, I am human and I too forget the families of sauces from time to time.
It turns out, Soubise is made from Bechamel (white sauce) and not chicken stock. I referred to my LaRousse Gastronomique when I realized that I just wasn't sure about the sauce's origins. LaRousse says that Soubise can refer to any sauce of pureed onions (or finely dice) especially ones served with eggs.
Did you know that the sauce is named after an 18th century aristocrat and marshal of France, Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise?
No, I'll bet you didn't.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
My Adobo Wings
Every once in a while, I crave Adobo. If you haven't had pork or chicken Adobo you've missed out on a fabulous Filipino treat. It's a simple preparation that melds a few great flavors into one new taste sensation.
Basically Adobo is soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. There are many variations, but they all have at least these three ingredients. I always look around online and find a few recipes and then just make up my own.
Yesterday I had the craving for salty vinegar flavor and decided to whip up a batch of my Adobo Chicken wings. Bruce prefers his Adobo with a bit of sugar in it, leaning more towards a Teriyaki flavor, so I added 1/2C sugar and 1/2C water to the mix. I also used spicy chile vinegar instead of just white vinegar. Bay leaves are another often added ingredient and I used those too. Here's the recipe if you too have the salty/sour craving:
Basically Adobo is soy sauce, vinegar and garlic. There are many variations, but they all have at least these three ingredients. I always look around online and find a few recipes and then just make up my own.
Yesterday I had the craving for salty vinegar flavor and decided to whip up a batch of my Adobo Chicken wings. Bruce prefers his Adobo with a bit of sugar in it, leaning more towards a Teriyaki flavor, so I added 1/2C sugar and 1/2C water to the mix. I also used spicy chile vinegar instead of just white vinegar. Bay leaves are another often added ingredient and I used those too. Here's the recipe if you too have the salty/sour craving:
Vickie's Adobo Chicken Wings
Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as an entree
Ingredients
8 chicken wings
1 C soy sauce
1 C white vinegar
1/2 C water
1/2 C sugar
10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
3 bay leaves
pinch of red chile flakes (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 400F.
Rinse the chicken wings well under cold water and then put them in a saute pan that can hold them all without much overlapping.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and keep the pan simmering. Cook for about 15 minutes until they are cooked through, turning them over in the sauce a few times.
Lightly oil a shallow baking dish. Remove the wings from the sauce and put on the baking dish.
Place the baking dish in the upper third of the oven and bake until they begin to crisp up (about 10-15 minutes).
Serve!
Yum.
Avenue Report for March
Well Avenue has still got it. We had a fabulous dinner there on Thursday. We shared the fois gras as a starter. They always have a fois on the menu. When it is a seared preparation, we love to order it with a glass of Sauternes, both to share now that we're watching our weight. A few bites is all you need and this month's fruity accompaniment made for a savory, sweet and rich sensation.
The owners know us by name now and Teddy was very sweet and gave the two of us the big booth in the corner with mirrors. We had never sat there and while that may not seem an interesting point about our evening... it is. The corner booth allows you to see the whole restaurant surreptitiously. Bruce was spying on everyone, people watching at will. Teddy pointed one of their investors eating in a booth by the front door...all very interesting.
Our waiter's doppelganger, the bus boy, served me the wrong entree and I tore into it before they could whisk it away to the other table. I didn't order the Elk, but wow, it was wonderfully tender and juicy. I had ordered the lamb loin, for the side dish (roasted eggplant and espelette{a small roasted red pepper}), but ended up with carrots and the elk. The staff were very kind and brought me a plate of the vegetables from the lamb dish and they were smokey-licious.
Bruce ordered the two way pork dish. The shoulder was fall-apart tender and the soubise was the star of the dish. Soubise is an onion enriched stock based sauce. The tiny diced onions were cooked down to tender sweetness. The only problem was that the sauce was a bit too sweet to match with the wine.
Yes, we're watching our weight (fluctuate wildly when we eat like this) but we didn't turn down the free dessert Teddy brought us. We had the chocolate cake with marshmallow spoon which is a lovely cup of moist cake and the perfect way to end the meal.
Once again, we are so thankful for the quality of food available at Avenue. Love it.
The owners know us by name now and Teddy was very sweet and gave the two of us the big booth in the corner with mirrors. We had never sat there and while that may not seem an interesting point about our evening... it is. The corner booth allows you to see the whole restaurant surreptitiously. Bruce was spying on everyone, people watching at will. Teddy pointed one of their investors eating in a booth by the front door...all very interesting.
Our waiter's doppelganger, the bus boy, served me the wrong entree and I tore into it before they could whisk it away to the other table. I didn't order the Elk, but wow, it was wonderfully tender and juicy. I had ordered the lamb loin, for the side dish (roasted eggplant and espelette{a small roasted red pepper}), but ended up with carrots and the elk. The staff were very kind and brought me a plate of the vegetables from the lamb dish and they were smokey-licious.
Bruce ordered the two way pork dish. The shoulder was fall-apart tender and the soubise was the star of the dish. Soubise is an onion enriched stock based sauce. The tiny diced onions were cooked down to tender sweetness. The only problem was that the sauce was a bit too sweet to match with the wine.
Yes, we're watching our weight (fluctuate wildly when we eat like this) but we didn't turn down the free dessert Teddy brought us. We had the chocolate cake with marshmallow spoon which is a lovely cup of moist cake and the perfect way to end the meal.
Once again, we are so thankful for the quality of food available at Avenue. Love it.
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