StyleNectar

Lemongrass Thai Cuisine, Greenville, SC

Vegetarian Massaman

A recent trip to visit family brought us to Greenville, South Carolina, a historic city of cozy neighborhoods with mature oak-lined streets and a downtown overflowing with culture and great restaurants. During our stay, we were treated to a wonderful Thai dinner at Lemongrass Thai Cuisine on North Main Street downtown.  

The food at Lemongrass is delectably fresh while delivering the diverse spices and aromas of Thai cuisine- salty and sweet, fiery and mild, sour and bitter - into perfect harmony.  The presentation of the meal was colorful and authentic, incorporating the rice tureen, clay pots and artful yet not-too-fussy arrangements.

Keeping it a little lighter, I ordered the Vegetarian Massaman Curry, a combination of mixed vegetables, potatoes, onions and pineapple sauteed in coconut milk and - of course - massaman curry, (a fragrant yellow curry that incorporates ground peanuts, lemongrass, and tamarind together with warm spices such as cardamom, bay leaves and fennel), topped with cashew nuts and avacado.  Absolutely phenomenal.

In fact, everything we ordered was terrific.  Fluffy jasmine rice.  Tender, perfectly cooked squid, muscles and shrimp flavored with basil, lime and ginger in the Tom Yum Talay (soup).  Crisp vegetarian spring rolls served with a tantalizing Thai sweet and sour sauce.  Hungry yet?

So, not only do I recommend the city of Greenville, SC as a great place to visit, but a stop into Lemongrass Thai Cuisine is essential while you're there!

Do you have a favorite Thai restaurant or Thai dish?  Do share :-)

Madama Butterfly

Puccini's Madama Butterfly

Last Saturday, Jim treated me to Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Kennedy Center Opera House. The sold-out performance was absolutely magnificent, closing to a standing ovation, bravos galore and me (and a whole lot of other people) in tears.

Set in Japan, depicting the love affair between the 15-year-old Japanese geisha, Butterfly, and a young American naval officer, Madama Butterfly is beloved by music lovers everywhere for its wealth of melody and poignant, heart-on-the-sleeve emotionality.  Take a peek at the opera through its spellbinding aria Un Bel Di Vedremo (note; same opera, different production than one we saw).    

Perhaps the roots of my love for opera go back to my maternal grandmother who was a trained opera singer.  My parents, avid opera patrons, first exposed me to performances via the Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcasts, aired each weekend, spicing up our family's weekend chores.  However, it wasn't until my late twenties, during a performance by Placido Domingo, that I became permanently transfixed, on a whole new level, by the passion and power of opera.

It delights me to see the appreciation of opera on the incline, perhaps due in part, to the Met's high definition simulcasts, making first-rate opera available in theaters around the world. Have you been to any of these fabulously up-close productions?  If so, which opera did you see?

For an extra treat, here is footage into scenes and music from a very old production of Madama Butterfly, featuring the glamorous Maria Callas, one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century.

Oil on Archival Linen Covered Board (Click Image for better, larger view)

Favorite Snacks Fridays

Gorgonzola with Fuji Apples

Often, I'd rather have a snack than a meal.  Err, multiple snacks instead of a meal.  I have lots of favorite combos...

Favorite Snacks Fridays is born!  (Well...not every Friday, maybe once or twice a month.) 

Gorgonzola Blue Cheese and Sliced Fuji Apples never disappoint.  (However, the apples must be Fuji- sweet yet tangy, always crispy, never mealy).  And, aside from your choice of apples, there's a lot of wiggle room...

Sliced pears and smoked Gouda?  Amaze.  Sliced Fujis and Pecorino?  To die.  Looking to spice things up?  Add a little Dijon to your apple or pear instead of the cheese.  Tasty.

Clearly the combinations are endless.  

Jim and I browse through the mammoth cheese display at our local organic market as if we're at the library selecting books.  Fun stuff.

I'd love to hear about some of your favorite snacks.  What might they be?

Take Me Home, Country Road

Country Road, 12"x16" Oil on Windsor Newton Paper (Click image for better, larger view)

This painting of sunny pastures is from a sketch I did last year.  I enjoy its simple, warm and breezy feel.

 

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Whoopie Pies with Mint Filling and Chocolate Ganache

Whoopie Pies with Mint Filling and Chocolate Ganache

In case you weren't notified, whoopie pies are the new cupcake.   

And, if you're a fan of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies or chocolate-chip-mint ice-cream (like Jim) you'll love these Whoopie Pies with Mint Filling and Chocolate Ganache.  The moment I saw them featured in Bon Appetit I knew I had to give them a try.  Well, actually my husband subtly pointed them out to me :-)  

Don't let the fancy name fool you, these are seriously simple to make and oh so delicious.  Plus, they're perfect for St. Patty's Day.

Let me know how you like them!

Instructions (makes about 15 sandwich cookies)

Ingredients  

cookies

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening or unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk

mint filling

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening or unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup egg whites (from about 2 large eggs)
• 3 to 4 drops green food coloring

chocolate ganache

• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

• special equipment (I used a corner-snipped ziplock freezer bag)

  Pastry bag or resealable plastic bag 
  Medium-size star pastry tip

Preparation

cookies

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat shortening, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating until blended after each addition.
• Drop dough by very rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are slightly puffed and spread but are still soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. DO AHEAD Cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight in single layer at room temperature.

mint filling

• Using electric mixer, beat shortening, peppermint extract, and vanilla in large metal bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar, egg whites, and pinch of salt; beat until light and fluffy. Add food coloring drop by drop for desired shade of green; beat until well blended. If mixture looks curdled, place bowl over low heat several seconds and beat until smooth. Repeat as necessary until smooth.

ganache

• Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring cream to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool until lukewarm but spreadable, about 15 minutes.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon ganache onto bottom (flat side) of half of cookies. Place cookies, ganache side up, on prepared baking sheet.
• Spoon mint filling into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip (or spoon filling into resealable plastic bag, squeezing filling into 1 corner of bag, then cut off 1/4 inch of plastic bag corner to allow for piping). Starting at outer edge of bottom (flat side) of remaining cookies and working toward center, pipe mint filling in spiral. Place 1 mint-filled cookie, mint side down, atop each ganache-topped cookie, pressing slightly to adhere. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
  Recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine Jan., 2011
  
  
  
  
  
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A Gardening Affair

The first day of spring (March 20th) is only two weeks away!  

(Surely Old Man Winter must be looking forward to a good loooooong rest following the blockbuster of snow, ice and below freezing temperatures he produced for us this year.)

Miraculously, the ground has finally thawed and the soil is now workable...the equivalent of a personalized invitation to my nature loving husband to go outside and get dirty preparing our two small gardens...tilling, removing moss and rocks, carefully creating neat rows and planting our spring veggies:  Rainbow Chard, Peas, Spinach, Radishes, Russian Fingerling & Yukon Potatoes, Beets, Turnips and a few herbs.

The fruits of our gardens will be available in 8 or more weeks (depending on the weather).  At which point we arrive to my part in the equation.  And while, yes, a simple drizzle of olive oil and sea salt are often best with these fresh jewels of the earth, I'll be sure to share a couple of my favorite recipes honoring my sweet gardener.

Do you have any gardening plans this year? I'd love to hear about them!

A caddy-corner view of the freshly tilled and planted gardens through the sweet pea trellises.

City Streets

(Click image for better, larger view) 

Our recent warm, sunny weather and a case of spring fever inspired a trip to the city and this quick watercolor of the busy streets.  (16" x 12" on Winsor Newton paper)

 

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