My husband popped in, mid-day, to grab his forgotten lunch and to give me a kiss.  Okay, truth be told, I think he wanted another shot of espresso.  So, he hit the grinder button and…nothing.  It didn’t work.  He cleared out the grinds, checked the cord and still…nothing.  “You have got to be kidding!” he said.  “We’ve had this grinder (Cuisinart) for less than a year.”

He gave me a kiss, grabbed his lunch and headed back to work.  I hopped in my ‘burban and went to the mall.  I walked straight in to Williams and Sonoma, directly to the coffee section (I know it by heart) and found what I was looking for…Breville’s Conical Burr Grinder.  I quickly put in my request to the saleslady, she hunted down the box in the storage unit and I swiped my card.

When I returned (ok, after a quick stop at Anthropologie…they are right next to each other in the mall!) I unpacked this baby, threw away the other, placed it right next to my Brev and filled it with beans.  My pulse began to slow down as the liquid love poured out.  Now, all is right with the world.

Thank you once again Breville for coming along with me on my daily journey!

P.S. This is not a paid endorsement.  The above is a genuine expression of my gratitude for all things Breville.

Honestly, I didn’t know what Cherimoyas were a week ago. The Minneapolis Tribune did a tiny “meet and greet” this fruit article. So, I thought it would be the perfect “food toy” (see our definition of a food toy at the end of this post) purchase. At $9.99 a pound, it wouldn’t be my everyday go-to fruit! But, for “the blog” I went to hunt them out. Two grocery stores later, I found them high on a shelf at Byerly’s. When I went to pay for them, nobody knew what they were and it sent managers and check- out people a flutter as to what to charge me. They decided that $2.99/lb. seemed fairer than $9.99/lb. I was agreeable to this version of Minnesota Nice.

We waited until they were slightly dark brown and just a little soft to the touch. I sliced them through and scooped out the white flesh. We ate ours for dessert on top of Sweet Sticky Rice, along with mango and kiwi. A great tropical getaway at your own table!

I was exposed at a young age to mushrooms.  My mom loved them, I hated them.  (Of course, looking back, she prepared only canned, slimy, rubbery mushrooms.)  When I married an aspiring chef, he was bound and determined to convert me.  I thought it was impossible.  I can’t remember the exact dish…or the type of mushroom…probably at that point, portobellos were the mushroom of choice.  All I know is, I was a convert!

I love mushrooms of any shape and size!  But, one of my favorites is chanterelles.  If you’ve never cooked with these buttery, soft fungi, you are missing out!  They can be a bit of a challenge to find.  I finally found them at Whole Foods.  They are a bit pricey, but well worth the splurge!

Devon and I had a date at Whole Foods.  We were having our friends Irene and Albert, from Holland, over for a special love feast.  You see, Albert has been here in the states without his beloved bride for six months.  But, she finally arrived to join him for the rest of the year!  This dinner had to be special!  I had a taste for mushroom risotto.  That was my only request.  As we pursued the store, Devon’s risotto became inspired by what he found.  First were the chanterelles, then the larger than normal, shallots….next the 10 year old aged gouda.  This was shaping up to exceed my expectations, taste wise!  As we wandered looking at all the food toys*, we knew there was one last ingredient needed to set this dish into a new realm…truffle oil!!  Ah!!  My mouth already yearned for that finishing touch on the risotto!  We found it!  It was a fungi love feast, in honor of Albert and Irene’s reunion!  (a great excuse to make chanterelle risotto!)

Menu:

Arugula (rocket) with apricot stilton, roasted pecans and sliced pears, finished with grapefruit vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Chantrelle risotto drizzled ever so delicately with truffle oil

Lemon mousse made with homemade lemon curd, fresh blueberries and whipped cream

Oh…and a few glasses of chianti!

* (definition of food toy: food that is not in your normal grocery budget… we strongly feel that every grocery trip earns one special, food toy splurge!)

After our incredible meal at Momofuku, we geared up…hats, gloves, coats…and braced ourselves for the crisp, frigid New York air.  We were back on the streets with one destination in mind.  Dean and Deluca!  The Food Toy* Museum!  The moment I walked in, all of my senses took over!  Visually, I didn’t know where to rest my eyes.  I found myself walking up to a display of fruit and lingering, like I did when I first cast my eyes on The Birth of Venus in Florence.  The textures, vibrant colors and brilliance were breath taking!  I glanced at Devon and saw the sparkle in his eye!  The four of us then began our tour!  We stopped in front of the beer cooler, where Devon and Todd began to analyze and compare the ones they had already sampled and mentally making a list of new ones to try.  Then we went past the oils and vinegars.  We found balsamics ranging in many different shapes, colors and flavors.  My heart was racing.  The flavors where swirling in my mouth as I envisioned what Devon would create for our Baltimore dinner.

You see, we had come here to be inspired.  When we returned to Baltimore, with Todd and Chris Ann on Monday, we had a dinner planned.  As always, Devon plays the roll of  executive chef (shouting out orders to the rest of us) and Todd, is his sous chef (taking in Devon’s instructions and anticipating his every need!)   It is a must when we are together.  We all fall into rank.  Chris Ann is faithfully keeping the wine glasses full and adding the details to my tablescaping at the same time!  Over the years we have found our rhythm and rhyme (Devon’s sing song approach to cooking is something to experience!) in dinner planning, preparing and sharing!

So, as we perused Dean and Deluca, we were all looking for the “Aha!” moment.  We continued our journey to the back of the store, past the salts…sampled an amazing truffle salt…that flavor stayed with me through the rest of the day!  Then we made our way back to the front of the store.  There were many incredible food toys…but Devon had not yet found his muse.  As we made our way back to the vegetables…my eyes landed on baby cauliflower in shades of orange, purple and white.  Some were round in shape and others spiral!  The plate painting began to take shape in my mind!  I called Chris Ann over, and being a fellow artist, it didn’t take her long to enter into my canvas!  We called the boys over but being practical (and in charge of our weekend budget), Todd and Devon quickly pointed out the price tag.  Ok, it would have been no less then $60 worth of cauliflower to serve at our dinner party.  Our canvas quickly went blank!  Then, Devon pointed to the basket right next to the pricey cauliflower.  The sign read, “Sea beans“.  Devon pinched a piece and went into artist mode.  Before he finished his nibble, he laid out our entree for Monday’s dinner…macadamia encrusted rockfish, with a lime cardamom beurre blanc and sea beans.

We all lingered for a moment, taking in the brilliance of what had just been spoken.  As we came to our senses, we quickly gathered up our treasure and headed back out to the cold.  We were somehow warmer.  The sights outside clearer!  There was a confidence in our steps.  Our visit to the Food Toy Museum* had not failed to disappoint…we left inspired!

*Food Toy definition:  A purchase at the grocery store that is considered a splurge!  Something that you’ve always wanted to try, or just discovered, that is a bit pricey but necessary!  We believe every trip to the market justifies one food toy purchase!