Girl Friday

Udi's Gluten-free Bread

Though I'm only about 50% gluten-tolerant and not even close to as allergic as my friend Janelle, I've still taken an interest in seeking out alternatives to the occasionally gut-churning ingredient that is wheat flour. I can and do enjoy pasta in moderation, but it's the fluffy, doughy stuff that kills me for the most part. If I'm gonna eat pancakes, cinnamon rolls, muffins or any kind of bread, it's pretty much a guaranteed gluten fast afterwards until the stuff it out of my system and my abdomen returns to its normal size.

It's my understanding that my tolerance will start breaking down as I age, gracefully mind you, so I figure I might as well keep an eye out for good products now. My friend Heather recently tipped me off to Udi's gluten-free bread, which I have been trying in various forms over the last couple days. 

      
Udi's website boasts a great bread product that can be eaten right out of the bag, with no need to toast. To that, I'll agree for the most part. It is a softer, airier bread compared to many of the rock hard, foul smelling, only-edible-if-toasted-and-then-just-sorta gluten-free options out there.

I made a cold half-sandwich with the whole grain bread (haven't tried the white sandwich version yet), some raw milk cheddar and dijon mustard and was satisfied. Untoasted, the bread is soft, but dry and disintegrates in your mouth quickly. Toasted and as a vehicle for peanut butter, though, this stuff was awesome. The texture reminded both my cousin and me of the English muffin toasting bread we grew up eating with butter and jam. A light toasting will suffice for texture; if you go too dark, the outer layer will get pretty hard. I have the mouth roof puncture to prove it.

It was also good toasted and topped with an egg and yellow mustard, and it made a great plain grilled cheese sandwich by the standard, skillet-and-butter preparation. I'm pumped to try a hot slice of Udi's toast with fresh hummus, and to grill some up panini-style sandwiches, piled up with spinach, tomato, provolone and spicy brown mustard. Oh! And I bet it makes great French toast.

I haven't bought bread in months, so I'm kind of excited about this find.

I found both varieties of Udi's bread at The Wedge. The product website lists other local stores that carry it, though beware: they do not have it at the Whole Foods on Excelsior Boulevard, so the list could use updating.

Avocado Egg Salad

Wow, it's been kind of a long time since I've posted a recipe. Please don't love me any less. If it's any consolation, I've been working on assembling them all together in book form for your culinary enjoyment. I'm about ready to roll with that, so I'm looking hard at publishing options. I know my friend Mark has used Lulu.com to publish his books; anyone else?

Here's a zippy little egg salad that's great on toast, pita bread or even with tortilla chips. As always, if you hate cilantro, use flat leaf parsley instead. Or nothing. See if I care.

Avocado Egg Salad
© 2010 by Alexis McKinnis
Yields: 2 cups

4 eggs
2 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
4 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Hard boil, peel and chop the eggs*. Pit avocados, scoop flesh from skins and gently mash in a medium-sized bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix gently until combined. (I say gently because it's nice to have a little extra texture from the avocado.)

*Helpful link: Perfect hard boiled eggs

Yikes

This photo scares me.

From today's Star Tribune article about a few local women who use coupons obsessively. I don't see a single thing there that I would actually put in my cart at the grocery store, let alone clear out a room in my house for storing all of that crap. Call me old fashioned, but I like to bake my own cookies, tend to avoid GMO foods and would never even consider buying cases of single-serving water in plastic bottles. 

This photo is much less scary.

A chance encounter with prolific blogger Johnny Northside at Donny Dirk's Zombie Den. It's true, Alexis on the Sexes really does hang out there. Pretty regularly. Not only does Donny Dirk's stock Strongbow and one of the most impressive spirits selections in the Twin Cities, but they also have a kickass staff. One particularly sweet young man that works the door at night gave me a cookbook last Thursday.

I love it. The recipes are pretty basic but there are several ingredient combinations that are new to me and have inspired me to riff on them in my own little way. Last night I made Middle Eastern-style zucchini stuffed with cheese, pine nuts, parsley and cumin. I'm also loving a simple Colombian egg salad with avocado and a splash of white vinegar, and a Malawian banana soup with cinnamon and orange zest.

The recipes are fresh, simple and almost all of the ingredients are regular produce and pantry staples. For most of us, anyway.

Simple, Good and Tasty

Despite having been bestowed with a sort of awful name, the new-ish Simple Good and Tasty local food lovers' program is such a great concept that I just ordered up a membership. $29.00 gets you both one-time and ongoing offers at several restaurants and markets around town.

A few examples:

Brasa Premium Rotisserie: Buy one entrée, get a second entrée of equal or lesser value free. One time offer.

Craftsman Restaurant: Buy one entrée, get a free glass of wine. One time offer.

Galactic Pizza: 10% off all orders. Ongoing offer.

Red Stag Supperclub: Complimentary wooden nickel drink special, Sun-Thurs, 9:00pm-2:00am. Ongoing offer.

And there are many more specials -- from desserts to coffee to groceries to services -- with more vendors being added as the program becomes increasingly popular. 10% of sales from the program go to support the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, with the program's overall goal being to encourage sustainable farming. They started out small, but have recently expanded to include several of the Twin Cities' most popular restaurants and co-ops. Check it.

Restaurant Week in D.C.

Sadly, I did not see any national monuments or museums while I was in D.C. last week. In my defense it was really cold! Unseasonably so. Too chilly to be wandering around without layers, and I'm a carry-on-only kind of traveler. I'll save the sightseeing for next time, once I assemble a new list of restaurants to try out there.

I did check out three places during Restaurant Week last week:

Rasika - The tawa baingan haunts me. Slices of tender eggplant layered with fluffy spiced potato, served over a tangy and fragrant peanut sauce with a touch of tamarind. It's only January and I'm saying this could go down as my favorite entree of 2010. The palak chaat is a pile of crispy, flash-fried spinach drizzled with savory-sweet sauces. Each bite just melts in your mouth. The dal makhani was hands-down the best I've ever had, a perfect balance of buttery and spicy. It was made even better with a side of fresh, hot naan drizzled with truffle oil. The nutty fig kulfi failed to bowl me over -- I like my Indian desserts a little creamier and fruitier -- but my bartender Brad gets serious snaps for his mango cosmopolitans. Wow. I need to teach that recipe to a few of my barkeeps here. Rasika is sexy but cozy, with an inventive, contemporary Indian menu.

Co Co. Sala - They were only serving the Restaurant Week menu, which was fine because they were considerate with the vegetarian options. For some reason, I don't remember the tomato croustade amuse bouche. I mean, I remember that I ate it but I don't remember if I liked it or not. I'm sure it was great and I was just too distracted by my Co Co Jito to pay attention. The cocktail is made with chocolate-infused vodka instead of rum, then blended with the requisite muddled lime, mint, sugar and splash of soda. Some dark chocolate curls are dropped on top -- Co Co. Sala is a chocolate-inspired restaurant, right down to the decor -- and there it is: the Co Co Jito. I was apprehensive at first, but after the first sip it was clear they know what they're doing over there. My dinner's highlight was actually the salad; peppery arugula tossed with fresh orange, chewy dates, thin slices of apple and shaved manchego cheese. The thick coffee vinaigrette was an unexpected replacement for a standard balsamic reduction, but totally brought it all together. No surprise that the desserts were to die for: a platter of caramel-centric treats included an almond-apple tart, caramel corn gelato, toffee praline and a caramel-cinnamon "shooter." The chocolate version had a malted milk "shooter," bananas foster, a fudgy mini cupcake and chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. Incredible.

Asia Nine - I'm gonna go ahead and obey Thumper's Rule here and not say too much about Asia Nine. The vegetarian menu options are actually vegetarian and not sketchy, fish-saucy vegetarian, so that was a plus. But the green curry could've used a lot more flavor (not to mention heat, since it was marked with 2-stars) and the spring rolls were as ho-hum as anything store-bought.* The sake selection was decent and the dining room and raised sushi bar were beautifully decorated. Except for the fake plastic tea lights. I really hate those things. Our server either curled up in the kitchen and died or just forgot about us after the entrees were delivered. Asia Nine's only redemption of the evening was another server who stopped by the table to tell me how pretty I was. What can I say, it's that easy.

*With the exception, of course, of Lotus egg rolls, which are perfectly delicious.

I'm Back

Bet you didn't even know I left.

Weekend blog post coming up soon; I skipped town for a few days (like four) and had some great food while I was gone. In fact, I can still taste the tawa baigan I ate at Rasika. I'll tell you all about it soon, but right now I have to go get my hurr did.

Girl Friday's 2009 in Review

My babies. I know I slacked off a little towards the end of the year. I know Girl Friday hasn't been jammin' like it has in the past. But I've been busy; I've been busy trying to wrap up a cookbook for publication by spring 2010. I've been busy finding the right investor for my business partner and me in our next venture, which will be food-related. Details to come on that, but for now it's tucked pretty tightly under our hats.

Since it was a sorta quiet year for blogging for me -- unless you follow me on Twitter, then I'm sure there were days when you wish I'd just shut the f**k up -- and since I've run out of time to compile a lengthy end-of-year post encompassing the works and highlights of all my fellow bloggers, writers and otherwise creative artists, I'll just post some pivotal Girl Friday moments from 2009.

January: I lost two pets. Coco and Steve, the most awesome goldfish in the world, may you rest in peace.

February: I finally hit the big time. In North Branch. I was profiled on the front page (above the fold!) of my hometown paper.

March: Fugaise, the best restaurant in Minneapolis, closed, but at least I got in for one last meal. (And someone else picked up the tab.)

April: Johnny Michaels and I threw a fundraiser for the animals and raised $1,178.00 for Home for Life. We've since had trouble securing a liquor sponsor for future events, but we definitely still want to turn this into a regular, roving event.

May: Star. Trek. 

June: Gabby's Saloon and Eatery fought the law... and Gabby's won! Score one for the businesses of Northeast Minneapolis.

July: I became a Nintendo brand enthusiast -- yes, we all hate the term and, no, I've never once been under obligation to blog, Tweet or Facebook about it -- and I'm glad I did. They send me free stuff all the time, including over $50.00 worth of LORAC makeup.

August: I joined forces with two other lovers of Tego Calderón to create the crusade to bring Tego to Minneapolis. He will come, because we will bring him here.

September: I got a new tattoo! It's a kitty.

October: October sucked. Let's talk about something else.

November: I participated in Erik Janzen's "Stories from Exile" short film series, and it was a hit. Erik's just been invited to screen the series at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he will speak on a GLBT panel, and Erik is also planning to take the films on a Midwest tour.

December: I was reminded just how much fun being a freelance writer can be.

Have a great night tonight, everyone! And a wonderful new year! 2009 sucked for a lot of us for a million different reasons, but 2010 looks pretty promising already.

Weekend Hodge Podge: Local Gifts, Fancy Jewelry and Cheap Drinks

The Sequin and Badgely Mischka Sample Sale is going on today through Saturday:

What: Jewelry will be 50-80% off retail prices. (Retail prices range from $40-500.) Great for holiday parties and holiday gifts. Cash accepted.
Where: International Market Square, Suite 436
When: Today December 3rd, 11:00am-7:00pm
Friday December 4th, 11:00am-7:00pm
Saturday, December 5th 10:00am-3:00pm

The fourth annual No-Coast Craft-O-Rama happens tomorrow through Saturday at Midtown Global Market:

What: The No Coast Craft-o-rama (NCCOR) is a craft event that began in December 2005 as a way to feature a variety of designers, artists, crafters and other talented creators of unique handmade goods.
Where: Midtown Global Market. I already said that.
When: Friday December 4th, 3:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday December 5th, 9:00am-5:00pm

Also starting tomorrow and also featuring local artists is Three-Day Local Artist Gift Mart:

What: More than 20 local artisans will display their one-of-a-kind jewelry, personal and home accessories, tee shirts, artis books, toys, letterpress cards and more. All members save 20% on their purchases.
Where: The Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave
When: Friday December 4th, noon-4:00pm
Saturday December 5th, noon-4:00pm
Sunday December 6th, noon-4:00pm

Toys in the Attic happens tomorrow night at Soo-VAC, featuring toy-inspired art for sale from local and national artists. Guests are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots (no military toys, please). Suggested donation at the door is $1-5, with all door proceeds and 25% of the evening's sales going to Toys for Tots.

What: Toys in the Attic exhibition benefiting Toys for Tots, featuring toy-inspired art in the form of limited edition signed poster prints and custom one-of-a-kind toys.
Where: Soo Visual Arts Center, 2640 Lyndale Ave S
When: Friday December 4th, 6:00pm-9:00pm (silent auction ends at 8:30pm)

Thom Pham has remodeled and renamed his Anemoni Sushi Bar, now it's A25 Anemoni Sushi + Sake Bar. This weekend is the official grand opening to show off the new space, which is now equipped with a full bar, more sake selections than ever before and a list of specialty cocktails from Brad Smith. A25 retains its huge sushi menu but has added an array of traditional hot and cold Japanese dishes. I've spent a lot of time in the new A25 space the past couple of weeks and I find it to be really warm and cozy, despite Thom's intent of recreating a Tokyo streets and subways feel. The closed-circuit TV over the sushi bar that shows you what's going on at Azia's front bar is a nice touch.

What: Grand opening weekend, featuring non-stop happy hour for the next three days. Half-price sake and select bottles of wine, discounted specialty drinks and appetizers.
Where: A25 Anemoni Sushi + Sake Bar (at Azia Restaurant), 2550 Nicollet Ave
When: Friday December 4th, 4:00pm-2:00am
Saturday December 5th, 4:00pm-2:00am
Sunday December 6th, 4:00pm-2:00am

Finally, happy birthday to The Herkimer! The Uptown brewpub celebrates its 10th anniversary this Saturday (I feel old) with $1.00 beers all day. Congratulations to proprietor Blake Richardson and all his amazing staff for defining restaurant longevity.

What: Celebrating 10 years in business with $1.00 beers from open to close, free birthday cake, trivia with prizes all day long and DJ Double Trouble from 10:00pm-close.
Where: The Herkimer, 2922 Lyndale Ave S
When: Saturday December 5th, 11:00am-2:00am

Il Gatto Now Open

If you're looking for the website for Il Gatto, the new Parasole restaurant in the former Figlio space at Calhoun Square, you can find it at IlGattoMinneapolis.com (or even Figlio.com for the time being). Browse the menus and you'll see that Il Gatto is carrying on the legacy of Figlio's famous $3 happy hour as well as the same emphasis on Italian specialties (in case the name didn't tip you off already).

I was fortunate enough to get invited to a test run dinner at Il Gatto on Saturday and I was wholly impressed. I tried the artichoke appetizer, which was a small glass jar of chopped artichoke hearts, mint and red chile flakes. Scooped up and piled atop the accompanying olive oil grilled bread, it was snappy and satisfying without being heavy.

The pasta and entree menu is not overly vegetarian-friendly but I found solace in the standard cheese ravioli with marinara. Nearly all the pastas at Il Gatto are made in-house, and my ravioli had a pleasant chewy texture that only fresh pasta can have. The pureed marinara was very reminiscent of Figlio's ravioli but, thankfully, the 3-cheese blend inside was mostly ricotta and not the cream cheese situation previously presented at The Fig. Also, props for dusting the plate with a little bit of parmigiano as opposed to the heaping handful of mozzarella most mid-priced restaurants gob on top of an already cheesy dish. The other vegetarian pasta option was a tagliatelle with beets, however I loathe those vile root vegetables and await the day when our beloved chefs who are endlessly (and admirably) dedicated to cooking seasonally realize that I am far from alone.

My dining companion ordered the baked oysters with shrimp, pancetta and parmigiano, as well as the boiled gnocchi with lamb ragu. I tried neither, of course, but the man had no complaints.

We attempted to order the limoncello tiramisu for dessert but it was completely sold out, leaving us completely heartbroken.The pain subsided when the chocolate budino arrived at the table, courtesy of the always-amazing Adrienne Odom. It's a warm chocolate pudding cake with a gooey crown of molten chocolate, served alongside a scoop of heavenly salted caramel ice cream. I barely had room for a bite of the spumoni (much less three bites), which was a trio of chocolate, strawberry and pistachio ice creams from Sebastian Joe's topped with hazelnuts, maraschino cherries and pistachios, respectively.

I think it was about this time that the limoncello made its way to our table, served Italian-style from a smiley server toting a freezing cold bottle of the house-made concoction. The presentation here is noteworthy: the bottle is fused inside a small steel bucket of frozen lemons and lemon leaves. The digestif itself is also noteworthy, as it's an ideally sweet, tart, and icy finish to a great meal.

Our server recommended the Pistol Tease cocktail, a sweet citrusy rocks drink with St. Germain elderflower liqueur and a muddled edible orchid. I loved the floral flavors but was a little too sweet for my taste. I did fall in love with my friend's Smitten Kitten, though: a martini of pineapple-infused vodka, cracked black pepper and a kiss of simple syrup.

Price points at Il Gatto are ridiculously reasonable, particularly for a seafood-focused restaurant, with small plates at $4-9, wood-fired pizzas at $9-13 and entrees at $12-25. Martinis top out at $10, house wines (served in Il Gatto's soon-to-be-famous "glass and a half" are just $5 glass/$14 bottle/$26 double bottle, and even top shelf scotches and brandies will only run you between $8 and $11.

Even on a test run night, the service was seamless, friendly and well-versed in the menu, and the course arrivals were timed perfectly, with nothing cold or out of order. We can safely chalk this up to Il Gatto retaining much of the same overall staff as Figlio, not changing the kitchen layout one bit, and putting Executive Chef Matt Kempf at the helm.

I'm not so good with the quantitative math, but I'd say the space's remodel added a metric assload of seating. The main dining room feels about the same, but the bar has moved completely (it now divides the restaurant in half, stretching from the main entrance to the bathrooms), making room for a string of 4-tops in the bar proper, as well as creating an entire second dining area, complete with booths, along the windowed side of the restaurant that overlooks Lake Street.

Oh! And you no longer have to walk through the service stand to get to the bathrooms. They're still in the same spot, but with a less-intrusive entrance that doesn't suddenly make you feel like you should start rolling silverware with the wait assistants.

Dude, Parasole got skillz. Il Gatto will be around for a long, long time; as long if not longer than Figlio's 25-year run at one of the most historic corners in Minneapolis.

Il Gatto: 3001 Hennepin Avenue South, 612-822-1688
Hours: Monday-Friday, 4:30pm-2:00am
Food served until 1:00am Sunday-Thursday, 2:00am Friday-Saturday
Happy Hour: 4:30pm-6:30pm daily, 10:30pm-12:00am Sunday-Thursday

Pantry Check: Veggie Moroccan-style Curry

I haven't done a full-on grocery shop since moving into my new place a few weeks ago, so I haven't been able to do the amount of cooking that I like to do and hence haven't posted any recipes lately. Tonight I wanted home cooking for dinner that was slightly exotic, but I didn't want to leave the house (still wearing pajamas at 11:00pm, thankyouverymuch). The result was delicious -- savory, sweet and fragrant -- and, best of all, made with simple ingredients I already had on hand. This recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

Veggie Moroccan-style Curry
© 2009 by Alexis McKinnis
Yields: 4 servings, with rice

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup dried Mediterranean apricots, cut into thin strips (raisins would also work well)
3 handfuls fresh baby spinach (very scientific measurement, I know-- it was one of those plastic cartons minus a salad's worth)

In medium skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil until soft. Add all remaining ingredients except spinach. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in spinach, cooking for 2 minutes or until it fully wilts. Remove cinnamon stick and serve over rice.

*****

I posted the question to Twitter a few days ago, but I want to ask it here: What coffee shops offer rice or almond milk as an option?

My body hates cow and soy milk equally, so I'd love to know about a place I can go for yummy coffee drinks and not feel like total crap afterward.

megacita suggested The Wedge's coffee bar, since they have both rice and almond milk, and kjtten suggested Dragonfly Coffee at 50th & Penn, which offers hemp milk. Anybody know of a place in or closer to Northeast, or am I asking too much? Not being a regular coffee drinker, I'm not super hip to the scene.