Equal Parts Adventure and Inspiration: How I learned to appreciate what I thought I hated most

Because I am in a food and wine writing class this semester, I thought I'd just go ahead and post what I write for the class on here. This is for our personal essay assignment.

Confession: I am a foodie who despises seafood. You may begin the crucifixion.

Really, it’s not my fault. I blame my parents. The extent of my seafood exposure as a child was limited to Van de Kamp’s fish sticks, and I don’t even think that counts as fish at all. It’s a shame, honestly, because I’m jealous of those who can savor salmon. I’m envious of those who delight in oysters on the half shell. I get green-eyed over those who close their eyes as they bite into a perfectly cooked tuna steak. Because when I eat any of it, my gag reflexes set in and I reach for a napkin. It’s not a pretty picture.

Taste buds are a strange thing. I remember hating tomatoes as a child. I would watch my father bring in homegrown Missouri tomatoes—the best there is—slice them up, salt and pepper them and serve them as a side with dinner. Mostly, I was confused. Why would he offer us a slice of tomato as a side to my chicken? It made no sense until I grew up and found myself doing the same thing.

I wasn’t ever a picky child. I ate my vegetables religiously and never spit anything out. There’s a relatively short list of things I wouldn’t eat: olives, mushrooms, sometimes milk. Of course, today I love all of these. I drink whole milk and wish it were more socially acceptable to just go ahead and drink heavy cream instead. I love the earthy taste of mushrooms—the subtle way they seem to perfectly round out the flavors of almost any dish. And briny, salty, glorious olives? Let’s just say I’m grateful my taste buds decided to cooperate with me before my first travels abroad.

This past summer was the first time I traveled outside of the country. My best friend and I departed on our three-week European adventure ready to conquer the world (all right, maybe not the world, but I was certainly going to conquer any food I encountered). I couldn’t wait to get my mouth around delicious pasta in Italy, gyros and Greek yogurt in Greece and croques-monsieurs from France. What I hadn’t really taken into consideration was this: our adventure consisted of a cruise around the Mediterranean. As in, ship in the sea stopping in ports on the coasts. What did this mean? It meant seafood. A ridiculous amount of seafood.

I hoped I could wrangle my taste buds into loving seafood much in the same way I had for mushrooms or olives. What I found to work, instead, was a strong shot of adventure and inspiration. While in Cannes, a bright, lively town on the French Riviera, I tried steamed mussels for the first time. I probably would not have tried them, but I was feeling bold and daring after stumbling upon the most beautiful outdoor market I’d ever seen just hours earlier. The market was unbelievably colorful and beautiful; it was alive in a way that no market here is. I came away feeling cultured and well, European. So when the mussels were presented to me, I didn’t hesitate. Were they the best thing I’ve ever tasted? Of course not! But it didn’t matter, because I was sitting in a café in the French Riviera opening myself up to a new opportunity.

I spent the rest of the trip trying anything new I could, especially seafood. I tasted grilled octopus and sardines in Santorini, squid in Athens and scallops in Venice. It was liberating to try so many things I’d never tasted before—dishes I would have scrunched my nose at and been terribly dramatic about back at home. In Europe though, I was free to try any of it because I didn’t want to look back on my trip and wonder why I stayed so boring, so safe during such an amazing experience.

Now that I am back at home, I don’t eat seafood. Why would I? I still don’t particularly enjoy it, even though I’m hoping I can learn to love it one day. But that spirit of adventure I picked up along the coasts of the Mediterranean still lives within me. I don’t say no when given the choice to try something new, because you never know—it might just be the best thing I’ve ever had.

Grand Canal in Venice

Taken in Cannes, from a hill with a quaint little church on it

The most delicious Greek yogurt I've ever eaten

Grilled sardines in Santorini

European Eats: Vieille Ville Market

After three weeks of traveling around Europe, I am finally back at home.

Of course, when I got home, I had a long list of things I had to plow through: sister's high school graduation, start my new internship at Missouri Life magazine and move into my new apartment. Now that everything is finished and my kitchen is unpacked, I've started thinking of all of the summer cooking and baking projects I'm going to try and accomplish.

I was immensely inspired by my travels through Italy, Greece, Turkey and France. While sitting down to dinner for two hours every night got a little old near day 19, it was a refreshing break from my every day life. Food is an event there. It is not treated as a ten-minute break for a brief energy source. It is treated as a social gathering -- a chance to sit down, reconnect with your family and friends and most importantly, become connected to what nature has to offer us for the replenishment and renewal our bodies (all the while slowly moving your belt buckle back a couple of notches).

For the next couple of weeks, I will focus on what inspired me most while I was there, and then later this summer I will try to incorporate those things into my daily life. One thing that I've already tried to make a part of my life is the farmers market. While Columbia has an impressive market (seriously, they have Goatsbeard Farm there. Nuff said.), we stumbled upon an absolutely beautiful market in Cannes.

We were walking through the Vieille Ville (Old City) before making our way to the Cannes Film Festival, and we just happened to turn the corner of a small street and see this market. The food was vibrant and looked like actual works of art. I could have stayed there all day. Unfortunately, I couldn't, so instead I took a lot of pictures to remind me what food could actually be.

Eat With Your Eyes

After I make a tasty dish, I always try to take a picture of it. Photographing food is almost just as fun as eating it, and I'm always looking for the practice.

Unfortunately, so is Jim. He borrowed a Nikon digital SLR with a GIANT lens from a friend a couple of weeks ago. Every time I pull out my small Canon, I feel a little silly trying to take a picture. He gets this nice camera out, puts the ridiculously large lens on it, and just when I think he's done he pulls out a tripod. I usually just put my camera away at that point! He's already posted some of those pictures on his Facebook profile.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took with my dinky camera that he hasn't already posted. Now I know to post my food pictures before he gets around to it!

Good news? He won't be able to take all of the amazing food pictures I'll be able to take when I go to Europe next week! I promise lots of great food pics!

Scalloped Potatoes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Herb Marinated Pork Loin

Homemade Pork Dumplings with Edamame

Grilled Eggplant, Endive and Asparagus

Smoked Pulled Pork

Food for Thought

While cooking is undeniably one of my life's greatest passions, I can't forget the pastime I fell in love with first--reading. I remember getting in trouble as a kid for bringing my book to the kitchen table. I finished the last Harry Potter book in 10 hours. And I'm currently wading my way through Anna Karenina.

Reading has always been a comfort to me. I voraciously read anything I could get my hands on as a child. It was a way for me to take a break from the world around me. It's allowed me the pleasure of letting wonderful characters into my life, some of which feel like real people to me. Often, I find myself missing certain characters, and that's usually when I'll pick up the book and read it again. My favorite books can't go more than three years without me reading them once more.

How lucky am I, then, that so many books center around food and cooking? It's with these books that I can merge my passions, which is not only amazing, but very efficient since I am quite busy!

I've managed to read a couple here and there, and when I get the time, I'd love to read more. In fact, I'll probably need a couple for my trip to Europe in three weeks. Any suggestions?

Until then, below are two wonderful books on how food and cooking transformed the lives of two well-known culinary icons.

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme

While this book is mainly autobiographical, it is full of delicious French food. Child's experiences in France and in becoming a major icon is written with such love and enthusiasm, you can't help but be inspired.

Since I am also a fan of French culture, it was a triple delight for me to read this book. The descriptions of French life are lovely and picturesque. If you are looking for a relaxing, and quite funny, read, I strongly recommend this book.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

One New Year's Eve a couple of years ago, Jim and I stumbled across a No Reservations marathon on the Travel channel. I very quickly became enamored with Bourdain's wry and sarcastic commentary on the culinary cultures around the world. From Paris to Thailand to Portland, Ore., Bourdain travels the globe sampling each culture's cuisine.

His personality shines through in this well-written book. Just like his show, Bourdain leaves nothing out in this portrait of how a restaurant kitchen operates. It's dirty, it's gross and it's one hell of a laugh. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about restaurants!

Save the Date: Farm to Table Festival

Let's just pretend I've been a good blogger, and that I've posted at least once a week. Pretending yet? Ok, good.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I am quite fortunate to have the great opportunity of helping with the Farm to Table Festival being held June 12-13. It's being hosted by the University Club, and I'm pretty excited about it. Some of the great things being offered include:

• Cooking demonstrations by local and regional chefs, including Mike Odette (Sycamore), Craig Cyr (Wine Cellar and Bistro) and Jonathan Justus (Justus Drugstore). See all of the chefs and presenters here.


• Seminars and presentations on topics such as: sustainable agriculture, home preservation techniques, cooking with micro beer and more.


• Reception dinners provided by all of the amazing chefs.

As you can see, it's going to be pretty fun. The schedule is still in the works and will be uploaded to their site soon, and I'm pretty sure registration will be available in April.

You can follow them on Twitter and you can also become a fan of them on Facebook (Farm To Table UClub is their fan page name). Look out for a chance to win tickets and t-shirts for the event over the next couple of months!

Tweet Tweet...

...I'm now on Twitter.

After much internal debate, I decided it's a good thing. It will be a good way to stay connected with others promoting food and wine, and a good thing to highlight on my resume since everything is about social media now.

After I use it for a couple of days, I'll know which users are the best to follow for good food articles and will be quick to let you know!

Visit me on Twitter!

It's Cold Outside!

Even though I'm perfectly ready for spring, the weather has other ideas. For the past couple of days, the sky has been spitting drizzle, freezing rain and snow, leaving the streets a complete mess. How do I deal with this? I stay inside and don't do anything. Except cook, of course!

When it's cold and snowy outside, I want something warm and hearty. Pot pies are the perfect answer. When I was little, we would have homemade chicken pot pie, but I decided to play with some ingredients and make it a little more interesting.

Lamb and Pea Pot Pie

1-2 T. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 lb. - 1 lb. ground lamb

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp. allspice

2 T. flour

3 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. water

5-6 small red potatoes, diced

1 c. frozen peas

Pie Crust (homemade or store bought sheets)

Milk, for pie crust

Note: You can use ground beef instead of lamb, but the lamb is really delicious. Try it!

Heat 1 T. olive oil in large skillet over low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and let cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Bump up the heat to medium and add the lamb. Add the turmeric, allspice and garlic. Cook until the meat is browned.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the flour and 1 T. of the chicken stock. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat until it is simmering. Add the potatoes. Simmer gently until the liquid reduces and the potatoes cook through, about 20-25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spoon the filling into a prepared pie shell (frozen or homemade). Add another sheet of pie dough, covering the filling. Gently press the two sheets of pie crust together. Trim off the excess dough. Fold the pie dough over (this is the dough that is hanging over the pie dish) and tuck it under into the dish.

Cut three small slits in the top of the dough. Brush the top of the pie all over with some milk. Bake for 30-40 or until pie is golden.

Date Night

Even though I've been with Jim for three years, we still like to go out on dates or have date nights at home. Food almost always ends up playing a major role in our dates. Most of the time, our dates revolve around food.

In the past two weeks, we went on two different kinds of dates. On one, we stayed at home and made a delicious pasta dish and lemon souffles. On another, we went to Encore!, Upper Crust Bakery's Wine and Dessert Bar. Both were fun and not too expensive.

Date Night In:

Jim's had his eye on perfecting his souffle making skills, so for our most recent date night at home, that's what we made for dessert. For dinner, I found a recipe in Fine Cooking for pasta with brussels sprouts, gorgonzola and brown-butter pecans. I altered the recipe, which I usually do, but this recipe was pretty fantastic. The brussel sproats are roasted, giving them a great flavor.

Pasta with Brussel Sprouts, Gorgonzola and Brown-Butter Pecans

4 c. brussel sprouts

3/4 lb. farfalle pasta (or any other fun-shaped pasta you like)

1 1/2 T. butter

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 c. heavy cream

4-5 oz. gorgonzola cheese*

1 T. fresh lemon juice

3 1/2 T. olive oil

*Note: If you can't find gorgonzola, you can use blue cheese for a similar flavor.

Move an oven rack to the lower third of the oven and place a rimmed baking sheet on it. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Bring large pot of water to a boil.

Trim the brussel sprouts by taking any wilted outer leaves off and cutting off the bottom part. Slice the brussel sprouts lengthwise 1/4'' thick. In a large bowl, toss the brussel sprouts with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Take out the baking sheet and spread the brussel sprouts in an even layer on the sheet. Roast the brussel sprouts for 15-20 minuts. Turn halfway through.

While those are roasting, cook the farfalle until al dente. Meanwhile, melt 1/2 T. butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped pecans and let cook until the butter is brown and bubbling. The pecans will toast as this happens, usually after 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the onions and let cook until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream. While stirring, bring to a simmer. When it is at this point, take the skillet off the heat and add 3 oz. of the gorgonzola cheese to the cream sauce and stir until the cheese melts.

When the pasta is done and has been drained, toss the pasta together with the roasted brussel sprouts, the gorgonzola cream sauce and the lemon juice. Top with the brown-butter pecans and remaining gorgonzola cheese.

*******

The lemon souffles were the perfect dessert. Jim did a great job! I don't think any of them fell.

Date Night Two:

Starting at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Upper Crust becomes Encore, a wine and dessert bar. Featuring a menu almost completely made up of desserts and cocktails, it's for those with serious a sweet tooth. We got the Encore Fantasy, which features five of their most popular desserts: Strawberry Passion (strawberry ice cream cake), Chocolate Decadence (flourless chocolate cake), Seasonal Sorbet, Ultimate Sundae (fudge brownie) and handmade chocolates.

It was pretty good. What I liked most about it was getting to taste a lot of different desserts. If I go again, I will definitely pick from their list of individual desserts.

For a date, it's not badly priced. Of course, this is just dessert, so you'll have to eat dinner beforehand!

Birthday at Lemaire

I'll just start this by saying (two weeks late, by the way) that one of my resolutions is to post more frequently. We'll see if that happens once school and work start up again!

Christmas break was wonderful. Lots of family time and good food! I visited my grandparents in Richmond, VA for a week. For my 21st birthday, they took Jim and me to a very nice restaurant in the city. The restaurant, Lemaire, is in The Jefferson Hotel, which is absolutely gorgeous.

The hotel is around 100 years old. To get to the restaurant, we had to walk up this very large staircase.

My dinner for the evening included: goat cheese and roasted beet salad with smoked honey, pan-seared loin of lamb with mustard spaetzle, and a very delicious chocolate Grand Marnier terrine.

My half-eaten dessert. I tried to eat it all, but by then I was so stuffed I couldn't.

As a special surprise, my grandparents arranged for me to meet the chef, Walter Bundy. It was my first time getting to talk to a chef, so that was pretty cool.

Of course my grandpa wanted me to take a picture with the chef after we met him. Two cameras were in use--that's why we're both looking in separate directions.