Verjuice

Abra, I shouldn't say this since my store sells it, but (for the most part) only tourists buy piñon coffee. When my spouse drank it he became ill. It has a great aroma, and I love when people grind it in the store, but its not something anyone would serve as a house coffee in a store or restaurant. ← I'm glad you said it and not me. I have seen it at Jackalope, and on the Plaza, and in a couple of supermarkets as well.

I actually don't mind the texture of the rice so much, but it's definitely something to get used to. One way of looking at it is to consider dishes that are equally rich and heavy in the Occidental arsenal, such as cassoulet, spaghetti alla carbonara, mac and cheese etc. I think that what makes machbous seem more difficult to warm to in concept is the fact that it is served in such hot, humid weather, and also that it is most often cooked with mutton, which has a very strong flavor (though I suppose it's no stronger than stilton or guanciale!). It''s a very rustic, bland dish, made with inexpensive cuts of meat. The fat in the rice is intended to make the meal stretch in order to feed a lot of people. As far as NM Pinon Coffee Company, the beans are sold in supermarkets and a couple of retail outlets, but they do not have a retail shop of their own. I don't buy beans to brew my own coffee so I've never tried it; I usually get my coffee at Ohori's, Wild Oats (Aroma), Whole Foods (Allegro) or the place up the street from me (also Allegro). The reason I don't brew my own coffee here is the fact that water boils at 92 degrees. It never quite tastes right to me when it's made at home (neither does tea, but I'll take improperly brewed tea over improperly brewed coffee). Coffee shops are equipped to brew the coffee as best they can at this altitude, but most home kitchens aren't. And if you prefer a French press for coffee, as I do, you end up with a lukewarm cuppa. It is impossible to keep anything hot at this elevation. I'll talk to my parents and finagle some recipes I think you'll like. Emirati dishes are my father's department.

Wow, thank you.

Just got back from dinner at Sleeping Dog Tavern, which is downtown on the Plaza. I don't hit that part of town very often, so it was a treat. Chimay Triple and some monkey bread: A Silver Coin for yours truly... rocks and salt, of course. Oyster corn dogs. Tragically, I cannot eat these. I adored oysters until I suddenly became allergic to them a few years ago. Wedge salad with stilton: White chili with Great Northern beans and New Mexican green chile: And my main, a Harris Ranch flank steak with horseradish butter. And fries, natch. Not bad!

I wasn't going to say so, but since you asked: the pastries sucked! They didn't look good too me to begin with, so I wasn't surprised. A lot of people disagree, but I think that high-end dining in Dubai is grossly overpriced and overrated. You've been to the Lime Tree Cafe, right? Best value in town, and it's not cheap (the brownies are amazing, though). Emirati law dictates that all places that serve alcohol must be part of a hotel, which, to me, gets extremely tedious after a while. Same scene; valets and lobbies and elevators, everywhere you go after dark. After a while, they all look the same, in spite of the fact that Dubai is all about one-upmanship in the the opulence department. At Bar 44 at the Grosvenor House, a champagne cocktail runs the equivalent of 30 dollars and the cheapest bottle of red is 80 bucks. Give me a break. The restaurant I visited most often Prasino's/Indigo at the Jumeirah Beach Club, because my colleague was a member (I wasn't) and we'd meet there all the time. I generally dislike the exclusiveness of private clubs, but I appreciated the elevated level of privacy afforded there as a result. At the end of the workday in Dubai, I could not wait to get out of this: And hit the new Emirates Road for an hour, crossing the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman and Umm-Al-Quwain... until I got to my beloved hideaway here: Rona, I believe you've been to this magical emirate! While growing up, we'd run down to the water and fish our hearts out on this island at the bottom of the cliff where our house sits, but it has since been developed into a platform for an up and coming waterfront hotel. See here: : Ras al-Khaimah is also home to one of the best Lebanese restaurants anywhere: Al-Jazeera at the Al-Hamra Fort Hotel. Strange, but true.

I figured I'd launch my tour of the UAE with a recent tea rendezvous at this iconic structure in Dubai, which I'm sure many of you will recognize: Everything that looks like gold is real gold. Al-Muntaha, the cafe at the very top, and the view from one of the seats near a window: The elevators are wrought of gold, and travel at 20 ft/second: Some pastries. Check out the leopard-printed cake!

Hi Kim! Blogging over Christmas is no big deal for me; I work my own hours for the most part and don't have any family (read mandatory engagements) in the area- just good friends with whom I can enjoy this whole experience from a non-denominational perspective. An off the grid home is one that is completely self-sufficient, with solar or wind power, private wells for water, the whole nine yards. Basically, it means you get a lot less bills in the mail!

I agree! Emirati recipes! When I was there I browsed through cookbooks looking for any kind of information on Emirati food, but I couldn't find much of anything. Are there any special Emirati foods, or is there a cookbook that you might suggest? My friends there tell me there isn't really a distinct Emirati cuisine...is that true? ← Oh, dear... time for the inevitable confession about Emirati food. I've been dreading this moment because it will display my bias, and I don't like admitting that I have it- but I do. Prasantrin, you are mostly correct about Emirati food not having any distinct roots. There is not one restaurant in the UAE (actually, I would be surprised if this was not consistent throught the Gulf) where one can go and order Emirati food. You would have to eat it at someone's home. There are many reasons for this, but one in particular really challenges, for me, the popular notion that eating locally and seasonally is invariably the best thing for everyone. Keep in mind that for six months out of the year, the weather in the UAE is just plain oppressive, and that you've got a peninsular strip of land that is quite hostile to animals (besides camels, goats and deadly reptiles) and greenery (besides dates and the inedible and highly allergenic ghweifat, acazia and eucalyptus). In short, the food my father and his forefathers ate was really not what people want to eat today, now that they have been exposed to variety, and of course now that there are more options. Emirati food can be quite heavy and bland. Some people actually crave the taste; other people I know eat it because it reminds them of home. But I don't think it is a cuisine that could ever really gain popularity internationally. Local standards include the ever-present breakfast/lunch/dinner dish, harees (wheatberries boiled with a young goat, bones and all, and crowned with a slick of cumin-scented ghee), machbous (a mild-mannered, clove-enhanced version of biryani, with rice that is traditionally fudgy with the fat of the animal (mutton/goat/whatever) that it has been stewed with), saloona (a thin, red stew of root vegetables with fish or meat), balaleet (rice vermicelli with honey, saffron, ghee and a fried egg). Also, people in the UAE typically have huge families and even broader social circles, so dishes that can be stretched into gigantic portions and served that way are always favored. Of course, we have fish too, but I never eat it when I'm home. With all of the development activity along the coast, I worry about the health of the marine life. Besides that, I'm not a big fan of warm saltwater fish; they're just not my favorites-- varieties include the beloved, endangered hammour (Gulf grouper) jesh (red snapper) and yellowfin tuna. As far as red meat goes, because of Halal dietary restrictions it tends to be very, very bland and fibrous. Desserts are usually made with lots of sugar, ghee, and even gelatin, the objective being that they should be able to stay out at room temperature in order to always be visible in case a guest arrives.

Ah, Las Cruces. 280 miles away and 20 degrees warmer.

Sandy, I haven't a clue how to do that multiple quotes reply thing, so forgive me for taking your quotes and purplifying them (well, purple is closer to crimson than that neon red right?) And I'd love to hear your take on living in a place where money apparently can buy anything, including love. I am going to be diplomatic by saying that it's just classic, textbook Nouveau Riche Syndrome. But I definitely have some very strong opinions about all of that. The only things I found redeeming about New Haven on my several visits there were the pizza and Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges (Yale's two Modernist undergraduate colleges, designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1961. Edited to modify my description of these structures as Modernist -- while Saarinen is one of the lions of modern architecture, the inspiration for these two very handsome conjoined structures is actually Gothic). I'd say you made the right move in forsaking southern Connecticut for northern New Mexico. I will withhold comments about Yale itself beyond those made in this paragraph out of respect for the Member Agreement. You know, the first thing they tell you as a Yale freshman is to never, ever, listen to anything a Cantab tells you... so carry on, my friend, carry on... Adorable pooch, BTW. Might we be able to see some shots of the Canyon Road? The photos of all the farolitos/luminarias on Christmas Eve were taken on and around Canyon Road, but I will go back in daylight, Sandy, if that is what you so desire. I aim to please. Are the local coffee roasters in Santa Fe other than Ohori's lacking in some way? I mean, it's not like Allegro is overroasted like Starbucks or anything like that, but I wouldn't necessarily put it above good local roasters in most of the places I've been, including local roasters that have become regional/national chains like Peet's (Berkeley, Calif.) or Bucks County Coffee where I live. There aren't too many local roasters here. Actually, I can't think of any, other than Ohori's, Las Chivas Roasters out in Eldorado, and Aroma, which does not have a retail outlet or coffee shop but sells to local markets and coffee shops. So by virtue of having no real competition, Ohori's wins! I should qualify my earlier statement about Seattle/Allegro coffee by saying that although I like Allegro coffee, I wouldn't go out of my way for it (I don't have to; the coffee shop a block away form my house brews it). I was really excited to see it in Seattle though, because it's so familiar to me. In fact, a police officer (and native Seattleite), who was waiting for WF to open its doors one cold morning in Seattle, commented that he thought it was the best coffee in town. I didn't want to ruin it for him by telling him it came out of Colorado. Who was this Stamm fellow? I assume he worked in the adobe style that IIRC is mandatory in Santa Fe? Stamm was a legendary engineer, builder, planner and architect who designed and constructed several notable subdivisions in Santa Fe in the 50s and 60s. His homes are all very different from one another in terms of floor plans, however they are all stucco frame (which looks similar to adobe but isn't; true adobe is wonderful and practical, but labor-intensive, expensive, and increasingly difficult to find here). All of his homes are very solidly built, with crawl spaces, oak floors, and flat tar and gravel roofs (another gripe... don't get me started). Some of the homes, like mine, have vigas and kiva fireplaces. I tend to like bright and airy spaces myself. Your place strikes me as in keeping with Southwestern colors and norms, but now I'm curious: are there any interiors in Santa Fe that would be more my liking? Frankly, I prefer bright and airy spaces myself, however after looking at 72 homes on the market, I began adjusting to the notion that my aesthetics would require a little more flexibility if I was indeed determined to buy a home in Santa Fe. There are certainly a few places that do adhere to a sleeker and less busy design philosophy, however these places are invariably lofts or condos, and I was not about to share a wall or a parking space with anyone else. I also really wanted a garden. The first thing I did when I bought my house was have a 7 ft high coyote fence built all the way around the property. Privacy for me, but to each their own. Any reason why some kitchen designers confuse the counter for the floor? , right? When you figure out the answer, let me know, because I have no idea! The symbol on this house should be familiar to rail fans, as it very closely resembles the logo of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, the legendary route that (almost) connects my forever hometown with your current one ("almost" because the terrain proved too difficult to build the Santa Fe main line through Santa Fe; instead, a spur from nearby Lamy served the city). Its use here suggests to me that it is native to one of the peoples or cultures of the Southwest (and adopted by the ATSF for that reason), but I have no knowledge of its origins or significance. Do you? Nope. But I will do my homework and get back to you.

Onto the food and the cooking. I want to say up front that remembering to take pictures was not intuitive at all and I forgot to photograph a lot of the food and all of the wine (I just got my first digital camera a couple weeks ago, so this has been a crash course in learning to use it)... Random photo taken while prepping: The restaurant's General Manager popped this prime rib into the Alto-Shaam, and came back four hours later to retrieve it: We served 13 people, including 3 vegetarians. The meal was served family-style, which somehow seemed appropriate for Christmas dinner. We served a case of this with dinner: Um... no. Not this time. I carted over my liquor collection, plus Gruet Brut and Gruet Blanc de Blancs (go NM!), various Belgian-style ales, and the Tokaji. R supplied the wine from his personal collection, and guests were given a cocktail or a glass of wine before being escorted downstairs to the Abiquiu Room, where this was waiting: Brie en croute, fried sage, apple compote with port syrup, candied walnuts. Served with cranberry-walnut toasts. And yes, spoons and other silverware was provided right after the photo was taken. We'd have eaten with our hands but that would've meant getting fingerprints on the champagne flutes, and we couldn't have that! After everyone had met, noshed, toasted etc., they were seated and served a vegetarian-friendly French Onion Soup, blanketed with a delicious raw milk gruyere: The piece de resistance, a boneless "Lego Lamb", as it was called more than once, to the amusement of some: And then we ate! And ate... There were several desserts, all of which I had made before dinner-- and I forgot to take pictures of all of them except for this, as it was cooling. It's Nigella Lawson's Clementine Cake (flourless, made with ground almonds) but I made it with Meyer lemons instead and added a lemon glaze. There's a whole pound lemons in this thing! cake Also for dessert: Tarte Tatin, Pumpkin Custard Torte. Everyone got a small white porcelain bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and bowls of caramel sauce (I use Chef Neil Wyles' peerless recipe) were passed around the table. Royal Tokaji 2001 for those who were interested and had been good this year.

Rio Chama, which neighbors the Pink Adobe and the Capitol, was already one of the most spacious restaurants in Santa Fe before it underwent a very recent expansion. This included a new wine cellar, attached to a private dining room replete with Malcolm Varon's exclusive collection of photographs taken of Georgia O'Keeffe and her Ghost Ranch (I have photos of these I'd love to share, but would like get permission to show them before I go violating the law in a public forum), gorgeous walnut tables, leather chairs and armchairs, a fireplace. The table at the back seats 14, and so it made sense that we should dine in here, and that is just what we did. First, though, some pictures of the room: I love the bar because, to me, it is classic Santa Fe; legislators, old-timers, grad students, filmmakers, you name it; it's comfortable and accommodating to everyone and locals love it. The bartenders rock. This picture does it no justice as it was taken on Christmas Day, the only day of the year that the bar is vacant. While we were working in the kitchen, the phone was ringing off the hook with people asking what time the restaurant opened.

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long wait between posts. I promise to overwhelm this thread with photos and psychobabble over the next few posts to make up for it. Yesterday morning began with this delicious extravagance: And it yielded many wonderful things, some of which were related to food and cooking: Afterwards, there was some snacking. For me, Whole Foods' wild unagi, a Pink Lady Apple, and a cup of PG Tips with milk: For my partner in crime, the better part of a spiral-sliced honey-baked ham: At noon, I left my house for the Rio Chama, armed with seventeen bags of groceries. By the time we had unloaded the car, unpacked my stuff, been acquainted with the kitchen, and started cooking, it was about 1 pm. Two lovely friends (and dinner guests) came an hour later to volunteer their skills. They hadn't seen the restaurant since the expansion, so it seemed only right to show the new rooms, outdoor bar, and of course the wine cellar and Abiquiu Room where we'd be dining later...

Howdy back atcha! A Silver Coin is a type of margarita. Silver for any silver tequila (Milagro silver is the standard at my most frequent haunt). Coin for the cointreau.

Wasn't the moon amazing? When I was driving out from Canoncito, it had cast an eerie glow over the mountains that made them look like part of a theatre set. It took my breath away. Guess I just got lucky with the tepee? I was standing on the brick walkway that leads to Nathalie... And I'm totally with you on Christmas. I can never choose; they're just too different.

Hi! You're so sweet! I know you were in the Emirates because I followed the thread- and your beautiful photos- with great relish . The traffic between Sharjah and Dubai is really something else, and I'm sorry you had to experience it more than once. Gag. As for Ras al-Khaimah, you would not believe what it looked like a few years ago, before Sh. Saud bin Saqr began his extreme makeover. I have PM'd you some details on that. When I'm here, I miss my family and my dog. I talk to my family every day, and I have three younger siblings whom I adore beyond words. When I'm in the U.A.E., I miss my privacy. Nature, mutability, and the freedom to enjoy the occasional cocktail tie for a close second. Finally, are you and your mom going to be in Las Cruces, or will you be further north? In Las Cruces, have yourself some steak fingers from Hiebert's! A few years ago, I drove all the way there and back (eleven hours) just to eat these things, which I'd read about in Saveur 100, and sounded so delicious that it was keeping me up at night. . So we went. I guess I could leave town during the week, but I wasn't planning on it! Taos bores me... any suggestions? I would be going to the dances a Santo Domingo Pueblo today, but I have to prep for dinner!

Later, I met up with a few friends for the Canyon Road Walk. It was cold out, but there are random bonfires on the sidewalk that you can warm yourself with (plus a plastic apple where you can presumably get a cup of cider): The night ended with a couple of these; my go-to cocktail here in Santa Fe, the Silver Coin: Merry Christmas, everyone!

Last night, I had dinner with Virginia and her family at their 25 acre off the grid home. It's in Canoncito, about a twenty-five minute drive from town. Her home is absolutely stunning and was built almost entirely by Virginia and her husband, Lauri. Old Las Vegas Highway: A storm was brewing at midday the last time I visited, a few days ago. They have several dachshunds. Here's mama Fanny with her 8 week old son, Savi. This picture was taken at Virginia's place. She and I went hiking in Cappadocia a few years ago, and while we were there she fell in love with the 'Tree of Life' motif in the tile mosaics and carpets: They also just put the finishing touches on this traditional Finnish sauna: On to dinner! V made broccoli-cheese soup and lasagne, which I neglected to photograph, as well as her famous green chile cornbread, which looks dry and crumbly here, but is moist and addictive in reality: I was very proud that Virginia, a lifetime vegetarian, does not shy away from the task of cooking meat for others. She roasted this chicken herself. Sorry- forgot to snap it until it was too late. Salad... Did I mention a passion for dachshunds? Salt and pepper: Duvel and Chimay Red to drink.

Ohori's Coffee has two locations. The one off of St. Francis (on Pen Road) is closer to I-25 and it has a drive-thru, in case you're pressed for time. I've never heard of Rio Grande Roasters, but that's probably because I never brew coffee at home here, so I don't look at the beans at the store. As for Allegro coffee, it's very hit or miss, but I adore the Vail Blend. I really do not like the special holiday one they have been serving everywhere these days; I think it's called Celebration Blend.

My t-t-t-t--teeth have been chattering intermittently since I left the house this morning. I think my bones froze!

I know! There are days when my sparsely filled shelves bring a pang of grief to my heart. I have shots of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the greatest emirate of them all: Ras al-Khaimah, the northernmost one that borders Oman. I'll try to find some far-fetched way of making it relevant to the blog, and then I'll post them.

Heck, no! That stupid Thanksgiving turkey almost made me cry when I took that first bite. Blah! Not worth the effort or the enormous amount of oven space it consumed. This time, I have no such space constraints, but I'm doing a boneless leg of lamb. I've never done one, but I have a feeling that the reward to effort ratio will be much more... rewarding. What do you think of that?

Hi Racheld! Well, I actually started when I was sixteen and graduated at twenty. But I remember distinctly that I started cooking on a daily basis during my senior year of high school, and that really influenced my attitude until I left for college. I ended up getting a full college scholarship from an investment agency, which, at the time, seemed instrumental in my desire for independence. edited for melodrama

Okay, I just had a cup of tea and an entire bag of blueberry-acai gummy pandas, intended as a stocking stuffer. Whoops. Notice the unsightly gash that accidentally disemboweled the bag of gummies. No, I am not proud of my inability to control my appetite for sugar. They were pretty good! I was still hungry, so I made lunch. That is not whole wheat pasta, it's radicchio pasta from Chefshop.com. I had to use up these shiitake mushrooms that I originally bought for miso soup, so in they went. As I was photographing it, I was reminded of my unspoken pledge as a blogger to gild the lily whenever possible, so I added a nice thick wodge of porcini butter. That's better! And yeah, I'm pretty full.

I bought my home eight months ago. It's a 50 year-old Stamm house, single-story like nearly every other home within city limits. The previous owner was a wine merchant from Northern California, and she was responsible for the major renovation that was done on the property, including turning most of the original part of the house into an open kichen/living/dining area. The dining area used to be a bedroom, for starters: I like a balance of rich, time-weathered textures with bold colors and an overall clean, contemporary look and feel. I hate clutter, but I love warmth, and sometimes I think the two can be confused with one another. My dining setup seats eight, and includes two glossy black Panton chairs and two IKEA benches (painted black) with a table made by gifted Uruguayan woodworker, Leonel Capparelli, who owns Hands of America out on Rodeo Road here in town. I had always loved his work but it was priced out of my range, so I made him an offer on the table he had been using as a desk for many years. He removed all the drawers and dropped it a few inches and voila!- my fantasy table at a price I could afford. Some kitchens look more inviting to me after dark, and I think that mine is one of those. This room was completely walled in, and had vinyl cabinetry and pink shag carpeting. Pink, I tell you! These pictures were taken last night: Love: farmer's sink, downward drafting stove, floor, storage space, slide-out shelves. Hate: Countertops, countertops, countertops. I'll replace them with granite this spring. I put off the things I disliked about the house (counters) in favor of dealing immediately with the stuff that I found downright intolerable (the yard). The re-landscaping project began with demolishing and dumping 9 tons of concrete over the summer with nothing more than a sledgehammer, a chisel and a wheelbarrow. I've sloooowly been bringing my books back from the U.A.E. with me in a suitcase every time I go back. It was easy enough getting all 2,000 lbs of books there a few years ago because of this wonderful American thing called Media Mail Freight Shipping, however no such thing exists in the U.A.E., and it would cost me close to 10k to ship my books back! No thanks. So I've been carrying them in myself. It looks sparse, but as evidenced by the fuller shelves on the right, my food-related books are a top priority. I still have another five suitcases worth of cookbooks and food magazines waiting for me. And I bought all of them used, with the exception of Dorie Greenspan's wonderful book, "Baking: From My Home To Yours" and a couple of others I just couldn't wait for.