Flocko
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Hi Kerry:
Great blog. What terrific scenery..............kinda different from my neck of the woods
.Blog on,
Bill
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This afternoon I was invited to a popluck picnic at our "other" City Park, which is located about 5 miles south of Moab. I made shrimp remoulade as my contribution:
There was a lot of good food:
The park was lovely:
And a good time was had by all:
Well, gang. It has been fabulous doing this blog..........absolutely wonderful!!
I had so much fun, blogging should be illegal 
. I appreciate all of the great comments and questions. I hope I was able to address all questions; if not, please feel free to PM me anytime 
.Thank you all for the opportunity to have this experience. Thanks to Susan, Ronnie, and Chris for offers and help on technical matters.
IT HAS REALLY BEEN A BLAST
So I am off Tuesday for my "city fix" in San Francisco.............and more food adventures of my own. If any e-Gullet members ever come out this way, give me a shout, please!
I leave you with:
Bill
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My cousin and friend, Gina, was drawn to the eGullet Society by your blog and joined so that she could ask you a question; however, your blog might be over before her waiting-period-to-post is. So, I'll ask. Do you know of a restaurant in SLC called Lamb's? She lived in SLC with her first husband and her daughter was born there, and she worked at Lamb's for several years. She said it's not fancy, but really, really good.
Hi Susan:
Yeah, Lambs is still there and still very good. It is THE old venerable restaurant in Utah. Kinda like Tadich's or Sam's in San Francisco; or Gallitoires in New Orleans.............not as old as them (circa 1920), but with the booths, coat and hat hooks, mirrors, etc. I go in for breakfast quite often...............liver and onions, finnan haddie, trout and eggs. It's still a breakfast power broker kind of joint..................all the old time lawyers and pols hang out there. Many of the Mormon pols go there and drink coffee with impunity.
Lunchs are very good as well. It's not much of a dinner place though they do serve it. It's right in the business district so not much dinner traffic. Good lamb
, good rainbow trout.It is owned by a Greek family who I know. The patriarch recently died, so there was speculation if it would continue, but so far it's going strong. A good friend of mine is married to the patriarch's daughter.
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Great Blog Flocko! Is it too late to find out what a Love Nugg is?
As I understand it from Melissa, they are chocolate, peanut butter, other nuts, crushed fruits, all sort of emusified. They are less firm than a cookie or candy.............more like pemmican......................very rich, very high energy source, very good, very special
...............I think I'll eat this one now -
Greetings all from the heart of the canyons: Moab, Utah.
We are about 250 miles from Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, and the only real "city" in the state. I travel there about twice per month on business and ..............TO DINE
Bill,
What are your some of your favorite Salt Lake City restaurants?
Kay
Hi Kay:
My very favorite SLC restaurant is a sushi bar called Takashi. It honestly is on a par with any I have eaten at anywhere, London, San Francisco, New York, D.C. etc.
For a steak house I like Spencer's in the Hilton downtown.
The New Yorker is excellent. As are other restaurants owned by the same people: Market Street Grill, Market Street Broiler, The Oyster Bar.
Martines is a great tapas place downtown.
Metropolitan is very pricy and can be excellent, but not always "on". Very trendy.
For Thai, I love Monsoon on Foothill. Pretty upscale for Thai. Great wine list. Keith Chan, the owner is a treasure.
Cafe Trang on Main St. at 9th S. is THE place for Vietnamese.
Lamb's downtown is great for breakfast: liver and onions, finnan haddie........in addition to regular breakfast fare.
Also Market Street Grill has great breakfasts, as does Finn's on 11th E, about 9th S.
Bambara at the Monaco Hotel is a great Nouvell California type place. Great Bar there as well
I hope these help,
Bill
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East coast Louisiana ex-patriate piping in on the nuked roux. Make SURE you cook at ever shorter units of time and stir, stir, stir. Otherwise you'll have a nice lump of coal (or several itty bitty ones) in your roux. Ick.
I'm not bothered by the microwave technique, but it's never seemed to really be any more convenient for me -- maybe having the scalding pot on the stove is just better for my visually-centered brain than trying to remember what the heck I have in the microwave that went off 10 minutes ago.
Bavila, Hi:
Yeah, you're absolutely right. When it starts to get real lumpy/grainy and brown, I reduce my time intervals to 40 seconds then to 30 and 20 and whisk each time hard.
I like this method, cause I never had the guts or skill to do my cast iron roux at high heat like Prudhomme or others more skillful than I. I was always afraid of burning......Therefore 2-3 hours of slooooow browning...........my back would give out before the roux got dark as delta gumbo mud
I still use a skillet for lighter roux when I need that color, or need a roux that'll thicken better.Bill
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Last night while I was prepping the courtbouillon, I took a ride down the river again.............this time on the west side of the river about 10 miles downriver from Moab.
I found a few petoglyphs along the way:
And here is a shot of our fair town from about 300 feet up one of the cliffs above town, looking down into the valley and town and the cliff opposite.
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That explains why your skillet is so shiny! I'm going to try your microwave roux trick tonight.
Loving the blog, and especially your house!
Then today I made a nice dark roux:
...Take a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup. Put 2/3 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of oil/butter/fat. Stir with whisk, Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Whisk, Microwave for 2 minutes. Whisk, Once more. Then go to one minute intervals whisking in between till the color roux you want is achieved. In about 20 minutes you have a great roux without burning.................and much quicker than the 2 hours it used to take me.
For this courtbouillon I made two batches. For a big gumbo
to cook in my big stockpot, I will make 4 batchs.Give it a try. It's never failed...................and like I did here, you can fool your "foodie friends" by making it ahead and putting it in a skillet before they arrive so they can see you slaving over the finishing stages of your roux
←Edsel:
The other reason is that is my newfangled nickel plated cast iron skillet. When I was outfitting the new digs, I saw this in a cooks catalogue and had to try it. It is certainly easier to clean and keep clean and rust free than the old kind.......but I still have several sizes of the old Lodge ones Bill
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Thanks to Susan I have an extra day to blog
This morning we went to the Eclectica Cafe for breakfast again. The lovely Chelsea served our coffee:
This morning I had the lox and bagels. My companion had a breakfast burrito.
Before I left the house this morning, Fred came over for a visit. I was informed yesterday by Mary, Fred (Pesto)'s true owner that he had apparently gotten into a fight and had an ear infections caused therefrom. He looked no worse for wear this morning however as he cheks out my other two pets, Shadrak and Mishak.............er, they're not real dogs
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Gorgeous. It's all gorgeous. The 'coobeeyon', the scenery, the markets, the SM grill. When/how do you decide which grill to use? Are some foods better prepared on one vs. the other, or is it more a matter of time and convenience?
When I look at your photos of the markets and shops, I'm struck by how much the food options in this country have changed over the last, oh, 20 - 30 years. I expect mixing and changing in cities: New York and L.A, for example, have had so many waves of immigrants that the food scene must be fluid. I think the contrast between "then" and "now" in the interior portions of the country - Moab being a fine example - seems much more drastic. What do you think?
Finally: it's not nice to tell us you have a secret method of making your roux....
....unless you want us to beg.
So?
I thoiught you'd never ask
It's really not a secret...............It's a variation of a techniqueI got from a spiral bound cookbook I picked up on my annual jaunt to New Orleans about 25 years ago. The book is called "Tout Suite a la Microwave". After making roux the conventional way for years, and watching my mother and cook slave laboriously over it............all with mixed results, I decided to give it a try.
Take a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup. Put 2/3 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of oil/butter/fat. Stir with whisk, Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Whisk, Microwave for 2 minutes. Whisk, Once more. Then go to one minute intervals whisking in between till the color roux you want is achieved. In about 20 minutes you have a great roux without burning.................and much quicker than the 2 hours it used to take me.
For this courtbouillon I made two batches. For a big gumbo
to cook in my big stockpot, I will make 4 batchs.Give it a try. It's never failed...................and like I did here, you can fool your "foodie friends" by making it ahead and putting it in a skillet before they arrive so they can see you slaving over the finishing stages of your roux
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For my courtbouillon, to the roux, trinity, and fish stock I added fresh heirloom tomatoes I had picked up at the Farmer's Market:
I also added some allspice, bay leaves, thyme, worstershire, sherry, tomato paste, salt, tobasco. After a coupe of hours of simmering I ended up with:
Then I added some assorted fish fillets I found and some scallops:
I cooked the courtbouillon for an additional 20 minutes and made some rice and ended up with this:
It was really good.............one of the best I've made
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For my courtbouillon, to the roux, trinity, and fish stock I added fresh heirloom tomatoes I had picked up at the Farmer's Market:
I also added some allspice, bay leaves, thyme, worstershire, sherry, tomato paste, salt, tobasco. After a coupe of hours of simmering I ended up with:
Then I added some assorted fish fillets I found and some scallops:
I cooked the courtbouillon for an additional 20 minutes and made some rice and ended up with this:
It was really good.............one of the best I've made
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Thanks
I thought it turned out great. I have a secret way of making it. 
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I smell seafood gumbo.... (oops, you said courtbouillon...I missed that the first time around)
Nice roux. What fat did you use? Are you from Louisiana? I thought that roux looked pretty native.
Moab looks gorgeous, but all that lush turf next to the "beyond organic" produce looks a whole lot less than organic, methinks...
For this roux, since it is going to be soley fish, I used olive and salad oil. I usually use part bacon fat for most of my gumbos.
I was "bred and buttered" in Louisiana..........till about age 11...........still visit regularly. I'm 6th generation Louisiana/Mississippi stock
Yeah, the Farmer's Market takes place at our "well manicured", lush, City Park
. It sure makes a great surface to lie on when I listen to the bluegrass and folk music However, knowing the powers that be in Moab City Government, I would be willing to bet it is "organic"...........or at least naturally fetilized and pest controlled. We have had a lot of controversy over such matters, especially in the field of mosquito control. The "Greens" won!! -
After the Farmer's Market, I stopped by Moonflower Market to pick up a couple more things, including "Love Nuggs" made by the lovely Melissa. I'm addicted to them
:
And to look over their additional produce:
Now I'm home working on my courtbouillon.............This is a Louisiana dish, of my roots. This in Louisiana is pronounced not like in French, but "coobeeyon". It is a seafood soup, made with a roux, usually a little thinner than gumbo, and unlike most gumbos, usually has tomatoes in it.
The day before yesterday I made a fish stock out of leftover shells, scraps, bones etc.
Then today I made a nice dark roux:
Then I added the onions, peppers, and celery:
I trasferred the mixture to a large pot
And added the stock I had previously made:
Tp be continued.........
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Here is the Santa Maria BBQ. My former father-in-law, who lived in Cuyama, up in th e hills from Santa Maria had it made for me.
It looks a little worse for wear, but after 25+ years of cooking, so do I
. The crank on the side raises and lowers the firebox by means of a timing chain (some Santa Maria BBQs have a chain to raise and lower the cooking grate instead. There is good ventilation by the vent at the side, and more red oak logs (which is unavailable here 
...........I uses whatever hardwood I can get) can be added through the doors at front.Whoa--I had never heard of this style of barbecue before! Of course I immediately went looking for the previous topic here on eGullet, and also out on the web ... wow, that's fascinating. (And yummy sounding!) And the grill apparatus looks really cool too--real folk-arty. Next time I take a trip up the California coast, I am definitely going to hunt around in the Santa Maria area and see if I can score me some Q.
Mizducky, Hi:
Yeah, it's great Q! My son, who is sadly deceased, was an inspired young chef, and made some of the best Santa Maria BBQ ever..................He lived and cooked around Santa Maria and the central coast, and thus had access to the wood and ingredients. I do have some of his recipes
Bill
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It's a beautiful Saturday morning in the canyons. It's Farmer's Market Day. The Market is pretty small, but has nice produce and baked goods..........and great music every Saturday, so off we go: First stop, Otter and Son Frybread, Yummm:
Then to Karuna Farms' Stand:
Then to Oh Susanna's Bakery:
Then to Manzana Farms:
And then on to the music
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When I got up from my nap this afternoon, the internet and phones were still down...........so nothing to do blogging-wise, so why not eat.
I went to The Desert Bistro. I didn't have reservations, but with the Moab Music Festival in full swing, I thought I could get in, but it was very crowded inside. I was able to score a table on the porch for my companion and myself:
We each started with the special appetiser, which I have had before and love: ahi tuna tartare with a ponzu like marinade:
Then I had a special of bullalo roulade, marinaded, wrapped around a cornbread stuffing and mozzarella cheese, on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, with anaheim chiles, in a quite hot ancho sauce..........Great and spicy:
My companion had another special of striped bass with chiles and asparagus on potatoes. It was also said to be terrific:
For desert my companion had a fresh raspberry sorbet:
I could't pass up the fresh Utah blackberry Napoleon:
Great dinner, as usual; great service; great view of the Colorado River Portal.....where the river re-enters the narrow canyon after just leaving it for about a mile in Moab Valley:
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Pine nuts go great with apples. I use them in apple/applesauce quickbreads and in place of other nuts in any baked goods featuring apples.
SB (from the lush and willowy North Woods?)
Ha, I wondered if that would get a rise out of you! But it's true! Well, it was true last month.
We're closer to autumn than to summer and green willow smells now, aren't we?Thanks for that tip.
What a wonderful house. I started by admiring the interesting roof, and then I noticed the paintings. Wow!
Can you expand a bit on "earth bag adobe"? What does that mean?<snippo>
I too would like to know whether and how downsizing has affected your cookery. Your kitchen looks spacious and nicely laid out. Your grill outside looks as though you could handle a lot of tasks there, too.
Nancy, Hi:
Downsizing hasn't affected my cooking at all..........except in perhaps increasing my enjoyment of it. Though this is the smallest house I have ever lived in, it has the largest and, to my taste, the nicest, kitchen...........large amounts of counter space, room for a big cutting block, nice gas range. Even in my largest house, the kitchen was a postage stamp, and no counters at all. It is a pleasure to cook here. I have two large BBQs as well, the gas one and a big Santa Maria style one for oak logs or charcoal; and a little Smokin' Joe by Weber...............so I'm set
Sounds like my first house, which was even smaller than your present house. I bought it because of the kitchen (not nearly as large as yours, but the biggest room in in the house, with wonderful cabinetry) and the outbuildings (a really-o, truly-o, big Finnish sauna). I still miss the sauna, but the present kitchen is better.
Please show us the Santa Maria-style BBQ, preferably in use. I read about that a while back, courtesy of Russ Parsons and eGullet. I'd like to see it in action.
I forgot to expand on earthbag adobe. Basically bags of dirt are stacked for walls and calked and covered with adobe. There are several homes of this type in the Moab area, as well as ones of strawadobe, which is bales of straw similarly covered. The straw ones seem to have even better insulation, but the earthbag ones have more mass. Both are now code approved here.What precautions do they have to take, if any, to ensure that the bag contents (earth or straw) don't settle? Does it not matter, once the adobe has set?
I remember some years back when Dennis Weaver
built a house from used tires that formed the walls, with adobe in and out. It sounded very efficient, and a pretty cool design. That was down in New Mexico somewhere, IIRC. Have you seen anything like that?Nancy:
Here is the Santa Maria BBQ. My former father-in-law, who lived in Cuyama, up in th e hills from Santa Maria had it made for me.
It looks a little worse for wear, but after 25+ years of cooking, so do I
. The crank on the side raises and lowers the firebox by means of a timing chain (some Santa Maria BBQs have a chain to raise and lower the cooking grate instead. There is good ventilation by the vent at the side, and more red oak logs (which is unavailable here ...........I uses whatever hardwood I can get) can be added through the doors at front.P.S. I've seen Dennis Weaver's house of tires. It's in Ridgeway, Colorado.....about 2 hours due east of us...............just over the mountan on the way to Telluride....Pretty neat. One fellow tried to build one here about 10 years ago, but couldn't convince the building inspector to approve it. I think it would pass now, perhaps.
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Hi Steve:
I've never tried them with apple related things..................sounds good..........Thanks
The Pietown Cafe in... (where else?) Pie Town, NM has a Green Chile Apple Pinon pie that is quite amazing.... Here's a mouth-watering photo, despite the Costco paper plate (note the pine nuts on the bottom and flecks of green chile throughout):
Andrea
God, Andrea
That pie looks great! I want it. Gotta try to make that with the chiles and the pinons
Bill
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The elk looks great. Did little Fred join you during cooking?
And, AGAIN with the Fiestaware!
The cookbooks pix are very inviting. What books have you relied on the most in your cooking life?
Hi Priscilla:
My most used cookbooks over 40 years of cooking have been: A Treasury of Great Recipes, by Mary and Vincent Price; the Time/Life Foods of the World series; River Road Recipes, by the Baton Rouge Junior League; Cook Until Done, by_______ (I can't remember......It's still packed in a box
; China Moon; Mastering....., by Julia; Craig Claiborne's collection of columns from the NY Times.....4 volumes, and many others -
Hi Gang:
What a night and day. Last night there was a thunder and lightning storm here that literally knocked me out of bed about 2:00 AM. I was afraid the sand in the walls was going to shake loose
. Then the rain came, and the creek came up. I got back to sleep fine though. However this morning, though beautiful, showed us how damaging the storm was.................It knocked out our internet, phone, and cell phone connection to the world . Therefore no blogging, no reading e-mail, no phone calls, etc. So, at our office building we had a barbecue in the alley
Jim, a software designer, and Samantha, a video producer, supervise the cooking of the burgers.
Jim, aka, Emeril, applies the cheese with a BAM
!
A good time was had by all
And here is my office, in stark contrast to my adobe abode:
So, since I couldn't really work, or blog.....................I went home and took a nap
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Thank you for telling us about the counters. I was also wondering about the floors. They're the color of saltillo tiles but are not tiles... Is it a tamped down earthen floor or something else?
I've seen many adobes in New Mexico and your's is particularly unique and special as well as the setting near the cottonwoods. A wonderful kitchen too. Thank you for sharing it with us. The petroglyphs were very special as well; the birthing one was amazing!
I really liked elk the few times I've had it (in New Mexico). I guess I'd be hard pressed in trying to describe the taste other than a more complex beefy flavor. It would be interesting to taste it directly alongside venison for comparision. Your dinner last night looks great!
Ludja, Hi:
The floors are adobe...........just the mud..........cured by drying.......just like on the walls you can see the little pieces of straw embedded therein
. It has been sealed and thus is pretty impervious. I clean it with a substance called "Floor Milk" that I get at the Natural Foods market, and seal it every few months with another Floor Milk" product that has coconut wax in it. It feels almost as hard as concrete, except with a more natural, softer feel and look. It has hot water pipes in it for heating.Bill
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Tonight I grilled some elk steaks
I marinated them for a couple of hours in red wine, olive oil, onions, pomegranite molasses, and worstershire
I grilled them and served them with some canned
beans sauteed in bacon fat with bacon, chopotle tobasco, and a sprig of rosemary from the bush outside my front door 
It was very good
It sure looks it.
But what does elk taste like?
Did you hunt the animal yourself, or is there a butcher in Moab that carries unusual meats?
Sandy:
The elk taste similar to venison but better, less gamey...........like very good lean beef with a slight difference.
This was given to me by a friend. I still have some hunting contacts...........no longer the cops, necessarily. More like the "other guys"
....They hunt too . One of my "better" clients just brought me some moose, and another brought me some great salmon fillets.............That's why I need a bigger freezer.This morning these guys were down in the creek to greet me and Fred for breakfast:
I felt pretty having eaten the elk the night before, and having this in my back door way:
An elk skin given me by another client
eG Foodblog: hathor - Carpe Diem
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Hathor:
I'm really looking forward to this blog!!