Today I had the pleasure of getting together with my oldest brother (who is a grandfather and has officially entered his fifties - a sobering thought if it weren’t for the fact that he plays in two bands three nights a week and parades around like he’s in his thirties and still looks it; I have more gray and more of a receded hairline than him) for lunch at P.F. Chang’s to use up a couple of gift certificates from the winter solstice (that holiday many people call kriss-mess or something . . .) holidays. So we went full court press and hodgered some serious groceries, as we like to say in my family.

So we had some hot tea in a lead-encased pot that weighed about 62 lbs and of course the waiter whipped up their dipping sauce which is essentially a mixture of chile oil, rice vinegar, chinese mustard, and soy sauce. Of course to kick that up (as is it could be thinned out with a little stock and eaten as a soup) we added sambal oelek (I love wikipedia) and more chile oil. Then our server told us he would bring out some more spice to kick it up. Scot (my brother) and I dig in with a couple of teaspoons and slurped up the mystery sauce (it was hard to tell with the lighting and the small ramekins) and noted it was simply Sriracha.

Anyway, there was plenty of banter whilst we scarfed on the first two choices for appetizer: salt and pepper calamari and Chang’s chicken wraps. Most of our discussion was BS and catch up since we hadn’t seen each other since the holidays. Some of it was light ranting about dumb-ass drivers in Houston (quick question: why is the speed of a vehicle over rough pavement/rail road tracks, etc., inversely proportional to the size of the vehicle? Why do Ford Ex-screw-me-sions and Cataract Escapades slow to a stop before driving over pebbles? Why? There will be a blog entry about that sometime soon . . . ) including people driving slow while on the phone in the fast lane and other things that perplex me no end.

Anywho . . . . back to the vittles. We had decided upon a couple of dishes we hadn’t had before: Sichuan (i.e., Szech(w/u)an) Beef and Chengdu spiced lamb. The beef was good, but the Chengdu was kick ass. I will definitely be getting that again and urge everyone to try it. It is described on the menu as “Richly spiced marinated lamb, wok-caramelized then tossed with cumin, mint, tomatoes and yellow onions.” It is seriously yummy is what it is. According to the restaurant’s website, we each ingested about 1,760 kcal. With that I should be running, not driving, home . . .

Anyway, I’ve got to get back to wrapping up here at the office (while I’m listening to one of my favorite Internet radio stations: GrooveSalad at SomaFM) so I can get home and get back to cooking for this Friday!

What the f#$*& is Margarita Friday?!? Ok - here’s a very short description (longer one coming soon): My friends and I do this thing called Margarita Friday, MF for short. Now entering its tenth year, it basically is a get together (either physically or virtually) every Friday for happy hour (or sooner) where we all meet at someone’s house, or a bar or restaurant and celebrate the end of the week drinking, yeah you guessed it, margaritas. Even when we all can’t physically be together in attendance, absentee participants usually check in from far, typically using their picture phones to photograph a picture of the margarita they’re enjoying, and sending it to the rest of the crew using MMS (look for article explaining that better in the soon-to-come geek section - for now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service).

All right. Where was I? Oh, MF. So anyway, we’re doing MF this week at Reggie’s Condo where we can discuss plans for our tenth anniversary edition of MF in some distant tropical land (FYI - themed Margarita Fridays are declared editions, e.g., Margarita Friday, Black Tie Edition [yes, we’ve done that]). I was volunteered to cook for the gathering, which I’m always happy to oblige. So, what are we having and why the hell am I writing about it three days in advance, you ask? Well, my friends typically want to actually eat something on occasion and I’ve been known to get a little carried away in preparing a 13 course meal of haute cuisine when all they wanted was hot dogs and chips . . . so, I figured I would get a head start on this one so we can eat at a normal hour and still have really great food. I will let you know the day-by-day play of what I’m working on. For now I’ll actually get with the program and let you know what I did tonight (Tuesday January 22 though this is late so the date will be off on this article).

My friend and sous-chef de cuisine, Paul, who will also be in attendance, came over tonight to assist with tonights duties. In addition to making two trips to Central Market, we prepared three dishes:

1. basic chopped tomato-serrano salsa (salsa mexicana)
2. roasted tomato-jalapeno salsa (salsa de jitomate cocida y jalapeno)
3. chicken tacos with roasted poblano, mushrooms, cream and queso fresco (pollo a la poblana rajas con hongos)

I’ll dive into these in more detail in a proper cookery page article, but I’ve got to first credit Rick Bayless, Mexican food bad ass extraordinaire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Bayless and yes I’ve eaten at his two restaurants in Chicago) for the inspiration and recipe base and techniques from which I’m creating these dishes. What’s in for tomorrow night? Most likely, a roasted chipotle tomatillo salsa, an ancho seasoning paste, and some other spins on tacos, the perfect fiesta food. <Begin Rant>I know most of you know this by now, but chipotle is pronounced chip-OAT-lay, not chipultee or whatever other god awful pronunciations I’m sure you’ve heard.<End Rant>

Ok - post number 2 and climbing! More to come very soon! Also expect a further dissection of these dishes, recipes and techniques in the soon to come page dedicated to all things culinary. Also more to come about MF and other stuff . . . . stay tuned!
Hasta Luego!