Food Photo Extravaganza: Ramsey's, Lexington, KY

Please pardon the inclusion of approximately forty-two photos in this post.  It may seem excessive, but just assume that the number of photos is directly proportional to the absurd happiness this restaurant made me feel.

Fig. 1. Very, very happy.

Last week, I had to travel to Lexington, KY for an academic conference (Riveting! Thrilling! Hold on to your hats!) and had the distinct pleasure of my mom's and sister's company on the trip.  On our first evening in town, we debated whether we ought to try one of the yuppie/hippie/foodie restaurants in the area, but all of us agreed something slightly less fussy was in order.  So we looked around and found Ramsey's Diner, near the university.  (It turns out there are four locations of this restaurant in and around Lexington, but I'd bet good money this one was the original.)

Now, before you start thinking this was a diner diner, just hold your horses.  Ramsey's is more tenderloin sandwiches and $5 bourbon than burgers and shakes.  This was a diner specializing in Kentucky Cuisine - a.k.a. The Food of My People (nods to Blue Jean Gourmet, whose series of this name is a joy to read).  No, I didn't grow up in Kentucky, but most of my family comes from the Hills of Eastern Kentucky (a phrase so often-repeated in my youth that I sometime hear it in my sleep) and my blood runs UK blue (thanks to my grandpa for instilling in me a true and deep respect for Wildcats Basketball).  I grew up with the smell of ham hocks melting into pots of green beans, cornbread puffing up (but not sweet, Yankee style) in the oven, and fried green tomatoes dredged in cornmeal hitting pans of sizzling oil.

Fig. 2. Clockwise from Mac & Cheese: Pinto Beans, Green Beans, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Cornbread.

It's these tastes that I remember and crave when I've gone just a little too long between visits home.  So, imagine my delight when Ramsey's served up all my favorites (Green beans like my mom makes and her mom before her!) just like I like them!

Fig. 3. Clockwise from pinto beans: fried okra, collard greens, stewed tomatoes, and cornbread.

They also served me another favorite of my childhood - the great, the legendary, the incomparable, irreplaceable, so-rich-you-might-keel-over Kentucky Hot Brown.  When I was little, I occasionally went over to Henderson, just across the Ohio River from our hometown to have lunch with my dad, who was working over there in those days and we'd mostly go to Wolf's Tavern, a semi-dingy tavern whose walls were lined with portraits of the great racehorses (Secretariat, Man-O-War, Citation).  Every time I ever ate there I ordered the Hot Brown, an open-faced 'sandwich' that involved bread, ham, turkey, tomatoes, and a seriously delicious Mornay sauce.  Oh, and BACON - how could I forget?  I don't want to blow this all out of proportion, but it might just be the most delicious thing in the entire world.

Fig. 4. Kentucky Hot Brown.

Well, I ordered up one of these for dinner at Ramsey's and it blew precious Wolf's attempt clear out of the water.  It brought tears to my eyes, something that food does to me on occasion - the most memorable of which involved Blood Orange Gelato at a really sweet gelateria in Trastevere.

Fig. 5. Clockwise from Green Beans: Cornbread, Corn Oyster, Apple Fritter, Mac & Cheese.

This was almost a two-hanky situation, but I calmed myself down enough to enjoy tastes of my sister's "veggie plate" (Ramsey's is the kind of place that counts Mac & Cheese as a vegetable), which featured these ridiculously delicious apple fritters - I don't know how in the world they made the batter stick or managed to cook them so that they were crisp on the outside and the apple cooked through, but with a little crunch and not burned.  Amazing.

Fig. 6. Chicken & Dumplings, Creamed Corn, Green Beans, Cornbread.

Anyway, I could go on and on.  Suffice it to say that we went back for lunch the next day.  Chicken and Dumplings.  Creamed corn.

Fig. 7. Lemonade that was squeezed to order at the bar.  

Utterly amazing, this place.  If you find yourself in Lexington in the near future, you know what to do.  I'll be envious.

So many odds and ends... and a wee clip show

Figure 1. They like straight lines in Indiana.

Yesterday I winged my way home to Indiana for a brief, but much-needed visit. Since then, I've been wallowing in puppy-love, eating too much good Mexican food and my mom's mushroom soup (Stay tuned for THAT recipe. It will make you weep.), going to the movies (which is the official pastime of my home town), and sleeping in my old bed. All in all, the perfect first twenty hours home.

Figure 2. The Liberty Hotel. Perfect place to toast your own personal ball-and-chain.

But! Before I came home, there was an anniversary to be celebrated. My dear Brit and I have been married (legally, though not with huge, froufy fanfare) for one year and two days now and it still seems like the best decision we could ever have made. To celebrate on Saturday I did not cook. So I have no nuptially-themed recipe to share. But we did go to Clink at the Liberty Hotel and eat a lot of really delicious food, drink a couple of delicious cocktails, and some really delicious wine. Figure 3. Seared scallops with lobster, mushrooms, parsnips (puree), and dates. Holy. Crap.

This all followed a lovely day spent at the ICA and wandering downtown and snapping photos. You can see the initial results here, with medium format goodness to follow when I'm home and developing again.Figure 4. Boston view from ICA.

For now, though, I'll share with you the recipe for the World's Best Banana Pudding, courtesy of my mom. Again. She's getting accustomed to my frantic, last-minute "Please tell me how you make x dish!" emails and is responding with aplomb. I only hope one day I have the memory for recipes that she does.

(The occasion for this recipe was my sister FINALLY coming back to town after being away for altogether too long. She's always been a sucker for banana pudding and I thought it might be appropriate for some welcome back comfort food. She approved of the end result, as I'm sure you all will, too.)

Banana Pudding (courtesy My Mom)
Figure 5. I used miniature trifle dishes.

• Combine 2 small packages of Instant Jello pudding—French Vanilla Flavor (sometimes hard to find—but def. better than regular vanilla) with 3 cups of milk (I use skim milk!)
• Add 1 can of Eagle brand condensed, sweetened milk and beat with mixer until it starts to thicken.
• After you stop beating and as the pudding thickens add a 9 ounce container of Cool Whip (I use the light variety) Fold this in gently to avoid deflating The Cool whip (the purpose of this is to lighten the pudding).
• Layer Vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, and the pudding mixture to create the finished product. It looks pretty to do in a trifle bowl. I usually crumble some vanilla wafers on top for panache! Do not leave bananas on top—as they will darken when exposed to air.

As ever, I suggest you note the ingredients (and quantities) before going shopping. If, however, you find yourself at home with, oh, I don't know, only one (1) package of French Vanilla Instant Pudding, you can halve the recipe. The proportions are very approximate and really, short of using stale vanilla wafers or rotten bananas, I'm not sure how you could screw this up. I recommend it for hot-weather colds, broken hearts, or warm welcome-backs. Also, as my mom suggests, pot-lucks.

Last night, I had some friends over. One of my really good friends is moving from DC to Boston and was in town briefly, so we decided to have a bit of a celebration. The only problem was that our apartment was (as it is today) keeping at a steady 85+ degrees. The only solution for it was to make fizzy sweet drinks and huddle around a candle on the roof. Pardon the blurry photo, but you can take it as representative of the activities of the evening.
This morning, we were in the mood for hangover food and, having a car at our disposal, hied ourselves hence to Sofra, where we indulged in not one, but two rounds of delicious food. Try the Shakshuka next time you're there. It's divine.All in all, it's been a pretty great day (and night). Much love to all who attended and imbibed. Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go snack on some Moroccan style goat cheese that I brought home with me.

Summer Fare

The heatwave of this week has put me in mind of an issue I face every summer. What to eat?

Necessary background information: I am pathetic when it comes to heat. For all my bitching about winter this year, I would rather have snow than blinding heat any day. I spent entire summers of my youth wilting on a sofa waiting for fall. Things have not improved.

On Sunday we were in Northampton, sitting down to eat after a day of gallivanting (mostly in an air-conditioned car) in the 80-some degree heat. I ordered my favorite dish in my favorite restaurant (Chicken Piccata served over Lemon Fettucine) and found, to my dismay, that I was too hot and wilted to have an appetite. A feeble attempt at mustering hunger left me with a little over half of my food leftover and a fridge for left-overing nowhere nearby. Alas.

So, I'm asking you all: do you have delicious recipes for tasty, yet light dishes for the summer? A few preferences: salads are well and good, but not considered by myself or my husband to be much of a meal most of the time (this may change come summer in our new third floor walk-up). I have never (not even once!) cooked fish, and it seems like a good hot-weather option, so send those recipes along! Otherwise, I'm open to suggestion.

Also, any tips on container-gardening are also welcome.

Clip Show - Springtime edition

In the weeks since our last Clip Show, Spring has arrived in Boston (limping and undecided, but at least the snow is almost all gone), grandiose decisions have been made regarding a new abode, and work has been put ever further off. Here are some highlights from the last three months.

Figure One. Daffodils from Russo's and the little red calendar that could.
Figure two. I am not an egg fan, but I have taken a fancy to bagel breakfast sandwiches featuring scrambled egg, sharp cheddar, and rosemary ham. This one had the extra benefit of avocado.

Figure three. The Fraktail. This is a drink I made in honor of the end of a particular television show that I came to adore. Recipe adapted from the "Creole Lady Cocktail" in Old Mr. Boston's De Luxe Official Bartender's Guide (1951 edition).

My recipe:

1 oz. Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz. Madeira Wine
generous splash no sugar added cranberry juice (to remind us of the bittersweet goodbye)
shake over ice and serve in a martini glass with a cherry.

So say we all.

Figure four. Sofra. This is a very surprising little lovely middle-eastern bakery and coffee shop. They serve the most astonishing and delicious things.

Figure five. The delicious Mezze platter I had for breakfast (outside) on the first warm Sunday of 2009. From left to right: Bean plaki - braised with tomato, garlic and green peppers; Moroccan carrot salad (harissa, ground ginger, olive oil, and vinegar); smokey eggplant with pine nuts; Armenian bean and walnut pate (red kidney beans, walnuts, butter, olive oil, and pomegranate molasses); Moroccan style goat cheese with almonds, raisins, and cilantro. Also, flatbread with black sesame seeds.

Figure six. Lucy had a visitor. Gerta came to stay for a long while.

Figure seven. After making a beautiful pork shoulder, I used the leftovers to make a gorgeous pork ragu served over creamy-dreamy polenta. Recipe from Fine Cooking.