Blow torch

So, many people have asked me if the blog is over. And I think for now, I'm keeping it up. Sure, it won't be as rigorous or as glamorous as traveling through France. But I'd like to recreate a few recipes I encountered there, and along with a few other culinary adventures, we'll see how it goes.

There has been a long-standing debate in this household about getting a blowtorch for the kitchen. Last night, the need revealed itself again. I bought some Brown Turkey figs (mostly because all you usually see are Mission). Sure, it was hard to shop at Whole Foods after the Park Slope Food Co-op. I suffered down every aisle, thinking of the fresh, cheap produce in Brooklyn. I surpressed the urge to bag my own groceries at the check out. I better get to Berkeley Bowl quick.

So, for the figs, I looked at a French Laundry recipe for roasted figs. First, I didn't make my own vanilla-honey ice cream, as Mr. Keller instructed. And I didn't have any vanilla beans to roast them with. But with a little butter, sugar, and honey, they didn't come out too bad, with a little Straus famlily creamery ice cream on the side. But even at a high temp, little carmalization. That's where a blow torch would have been perfect. Nice crispy sugar on the outside. I'll have to keep convincing my little brother he needs one before college.

For dinner, I tried out the NY Times recipe for tacos - their shredded chicken. Ok, mostly it was an excuse to eat 4 avocados myself. Aside from being the easiest way to cook chicken ever, it wasn't that great. Left out the chili (for family members), so maybe that would have helped, but it didn't really have a kick. It was certainly moist, but when you're dealing with thigh meat, it's hard to go too wrong. Gotta go for the real stuff - stay tuned for the annual tour of Bay Area mexican food places.