Grilled Black Bass, Rhode Island Squid and Cardamom Cream Pie

And that's all that was left - bones and aromatics.

Ahhhh, that looks more like it, eh?

Holy Cow!  Jill and Chris and Chad were on tonight! Mr. Bass here was stuffed with citrus and Thai basil (from Hamilton Crop Circle - rock on, Sir Arthur!), served with roasted veggies, including melting little gold 'taters, and spiced up with a tangy kalamata tapenade.  Oh, my! This bass was so darn sweet, I was sucking on the few bones that didn't willingly give it up. The fact that there wasn't anything left of, well, anything, kinda says it. Go on over to Clementine get yourself some!!

Now I know most folks don't like tails and fins, which is why restaurants remove them, but for me, that's part of eating a whole fish. It's an aesthetic thing - fish look so sad without their tails, don't you think? No matter, he tasted just as good without it! Glad they left the head, though.  If you haven't discovered them, fish cheeks are delish!

I kinda started in the middle of the meal 'cause I had that fun pic of the skeleton... workin' backward, the evening started off with:

Yes, boys and girls, that's succulent squid.  And zingy jalapenos (the RI component, I believe!), more of those yummy 'taters, and hiding inside, where you can't see it is shaved fennel. Have I mentioned how much I love squid???  No, of course I haven't - I just started writing this blog! But back to the appetizer - this was done properly.  So tender - perfect with the crunchy freshness of the fennel, the smooth ramp dressing and the bite of the chili. 

Have you ever seen The Mirror Has Two Faces? There's a scene where Rose is creating "the perfect bite" of her salad and Gregory notices, winning her over with his understanding.  I ate this whole appetizer that way - being sure I got a bit of each flavor into each bite, playing with proportions.  Come to think of it, I've done that with my meals here on more than one occasion. Fun! Don't you love playing with your food?

And, as if that wasn't enough (I mean look at the size of those portions!), with a glimmer in her eye, Caitlin said she'd choose my dessert.  Oh boy! Can't say no to that! Well, Caitlin's choice proved that Miz Amanda could once again outdo herself. Meet Cardamom Cream Pie:

See those chunky little things on top? Those are pistachio brittle.  OMG! What a garnish for this lovely scented bit of Mid-East (cardamom and pistachio) meets Mid-West (the flaky pie). Perfect with a cup of hot, full bodied joe.

And, if anybody cares, yes, I do eat at other places and I do cook. Time has just been short and I haven't blogged the way I'd hoped to... and I won't apologize - I love Clementine, so I eat there a lot. I'll try to get up that 3 Pepper Skillet and report on my evening at Tooloulou soon!

I love shots of folks working so, on a pass to the ladies room, I waited for the kitchen door to open a got a pic of the maestros in action:

Thanks, folks - I'm a happy camper!

PS - Chad, I don't know your last name or I'd give you a label and a shout out, too... and Jill, get a FB page or website or something, so I can link to you, gal!

Honey Brined Chicken Tikka Masala

Do not be fooled - that knife is monster big. This was a honkin' portion of chicken.

Oh, yeah, back at Clementine tonight!  Actually I went there every day last week. Why? 'Cause Romey is leaving (*sob*) and Jill is new and I was having a crappy week - so I got myself an endorphin bath every night by treating myself.  (Better for ya than any number of mood altering substances, eh?) Blew my budget and don't even want to step on the scale. What can I say?  I'm a Clemgirlfan.

And yes, you will get to hear about other places, too. But with the upcoming change in kitchen staff, there will be a lot of Clementine for a while. Besides, this blog is for me!!

I want to catch Jeremy while he's close. Papa J and Chris were manning the kitchen with him tonight and I went home full and warm and happy.  They're using Zahradka's chicken, which I've come to love.  Yep, chickens that have been running around are more muscle bound but, man, are they tasty.  I'll trade exercising my jaw muscles just a scoch for flavor from decently raised birds any day. This one was brined with Pristine Valley Farms honey.  Gents, the bird tonight was just a hair drier than usual. Do not take that as a complaint, just an observation - it's just that usually I'm astounded by the juiciness of your free range birds. You know you can count on me to be straight on this stuff so the abject compliments you rack up mean something!

Instead of floating in sauce, as you see so often, the airline breast was napped with the Tikka Masala.  At first I wondered if there was enough sauce to make me happy (I know, Romey, I should have never questioned your wisdom).   Yes, indeed there was.  Beautiful balance between the roasted veggies (also from Zahradka), basmati rice, the poultry and the sauce.  Look at the browning (read flavor) on that bird! And the sauce. Oh, so score!  I told Carrie Ann I run out of words to compliment this kitchen. Wonderfully savory, velvety on the tongue, with clean bright veggies, in a nice mouth-full dice, and that lovely rice for contrast.

Oh, and I should mention the meal started out with Chicken Liver Pate with Rum and Cranberries and a rockin' St. Andre... and, of course, Lucille's pickles (Winston's grandma's recipe).

I'll catch you up on last week's meals tomorrow.  Some yummy, yummy stuff! Oh, and Tuesday I made my 'ol standby, 3 Pepper Skillet, which isn't so much a recipe as a weekday dump'n'stir to make use of an over abundance of sweet peppers - I'll get that up, too.

The Bacon Taco of Awesome

Via friend Sue Hayes, the Bacon Taco of Awesome. No recipe, but I gotta try me this. Layer up some bacon in a pan, let it fuse together whilst frying. Bend it at the crisp but not brittle stage.  OMG! See, I'm really not a foodie if this is making me fantasize!

Clementine has got a new chef and soon we have to go to Highlandtown to eat Romey's food

I went to Clementine on Wednesday and host Andy told me that there was a new chef in the kitchen. I froze and tried not to panic. Andy, always observant, was quick to assure me that Jeremy was still with the Clempire - on May 17th, they'll be opening up a new spot at the Creative Alliance.  Whew!!  And yay for Jeremy!  A new adventure for him!

The wonderful Jeremy Price.

Those who know me know I think a lot of Jeremy and all the guys in the kitchen here, so this was no minor bit of panic.  Fortunately, the Creative Alliance is only a small schlep down to Highlandtown, and I need not deprive myself of Romey's cooking (about which I will undoubtedly wax poetic in future posts).

The new chef is Jill Snyder - and Wednseday was her first night.  She's been around B'more - the Red Maple, Woodbury Kitchen and even made an appearance on Top Chef.

Do I have any pics of the food at this auspicious occasion?  Did I take good notes about the food? Of course not!  I didn't know I'd be starting this blog! C'est la vie.  (And heck, I don't know if I'll even be any good at blogging about food!) This particular post is more to let you know about Jeremy's great opportunity and to welcome Jill to the kitchen at Clementine.

A little background - I have a tendency to just let the kitchen send out whatever it wants to - the first time I did it was because I was brain dead after work and couldn't make a decision - and I got something fabulous in return.  It got easier and easier after that to turn it over to the pros.  Besides, how much risk is there really? You know the chef isn't going to send something that stinks and I've now tried, and loved, many a dish I might not have ordered otherwise!

I heard Jill was a little nervous about this but that the staff told her not to worry, I'll try anything. (Besides, Tim, Chris, Chad and Matt were backing her up that night! Relax, you've got a good crew!) She whipped up a bluefish with crackling skin and melting interior and laid it on a bed of amazingly dressed dandelion greens.  Excellent!  And, as is so often true, I wanted to keep eating, but not something sweet - so I asked that she recommend an appetizer... and she made something not on the menu!  It was a really cool little toast, house made bologna and egg concoction.  Sounds simple, was sooooo much more.  They need to get that on the brunch menu!!  Yummm!

Jill Snyder - from the Red Maple, to Woodbury Kitchen, 

to my very own neighborhood Clementine.

So, welcome to Jill, I'm looking forward to you working with the Clemteam. And Romey, I'll be by Clementine as often as I can until you make me hike down to Highlandtown to enjoy your cookin'!!

Two People I'd Never Met Before Told Me to Start A Blog, So I Did

Last night I was having dinner at Clementine, struck up a conversation with the table next to me (you're soooo surprised, I know), and these nice ladies encouraged me to start a blog about eating in beautiful B'more.

Alexa and Debbie

This isn't the first time the suggestion has been made, however, I resisted. Frankly, I don't feel qualified to write about food.  I'm just not well educated on the subject. But, I like to eat (a lot!), I like to cook (a lot!) and I like to tell friends to try places where I've gotten good meals so, what the heck, I'll give it a shot.

That lack of education led to the title of the blog. I'm not a foodie.  The term implies a level of effort I just don't put into following food - trends, learning about ingredients and sourcing, following food professionals and all of that.  I just eat.  Too much. But, damn, I sure do like it!