Dinner in Richmond

I mentioned earlier that I would return to the travel part of things later. Well, later has become now. I suppose I should start with the fact that I am based out of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I am a nationally ranked fencer, which means that I often have to travel to competitions around the country, as well as around the world (although, I usually stick to Europe).

Well, this past weekend I was in Richmond, VA for the first of three qualifying events for the Olympics in Beijing. The first night in Richmond, we ate at the Penny Lane Pub, http://www.pennylanepub.com/. We waited for about fifteen or so minutes in the crowded and smoky bar while a table was cleared and made ready for us. This was definitely an English style pub trying to make it in the US. Many of the TVs were tuned to soccer games for those wishing to feel like they are in London. If, however, you are too tired to make the trip across the pond, you merely need to turn to a different TV and you will see whatever basketball games happen to be going on at the time.

We were seated and eventually got to order (2 orders of the Dijon Baked Chicken, and one of the Fish 'n' Chips). I can only speak to the Dijon Baked Chicken, which was actually quite good, yet a bit small when compared with the size of the fish in the fish 'n' chips. The sauce was a lemon and dijon sauce which meshed quite nicely with the vegetables, a mix of Yellow Squash and Zucchini. They looked as though they had seen better days, but still tasted pretty good when eaten with the sauce. And then, on the side, there was a scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy, which tasted like mashed potatoes and gravy should.

Many people never get past the bar at Penny Lane Pub, with its numerous draught and bottled beers (of which, I am not even going to begin to describe at this time).

Penny Lane Pub is a good place to go if you happen to be in Richmond, VA, and looking for a faux British pub with decent food. That being said, I probably wouldn't go into the city specifically to eat there.

Penne and Italian Sausage in a Vodka Sauce

I have been working on developing recipes that could possibly be put into a book someday, assuming that I can come up with more than just this one. I have been toying with a penne and sausage recipe ever since I ate at D'amico and Sons, and I think that I have come up with something. I will begin by putting the ingredients out there with some preparation steps and see if that generates any interest. If so, I will add amounts and such to flesh out the recipe. But, in a nutshell, here it is:

Italian Sausage - I like it spicy, but it also works with mild as well
Penne Rigate - Smallish tubes of pasta
Onion
Tomato Paste
Diced Tomatoes
Heavy Whipping Cream
Vodka
Chili Flakes
Oregano
Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Start by boiling a large pot of salted water (It should taste like the sea, or at least that's what they always said in school).

Saute the sausage in a non-stick pan with a little bit of olive oil (Trust me on the non-stick part). Remove the sausage and saute the onions until cooked to the desired tenderness, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Add the tomato paste and mix it with the onions, cooking for about a minute.

Your water should be boiling now, so go ahead and start cooking your penne.

Return the sausage to the pan and add the tomatoes. Cook for another minute or so. Add some cream, vodka, chili flakes, oregano, and salt, letting it simmer for about five minutes. Once the penne is cooked, drain it and toss it with the sauce and cheese. You are now ready for dinner. Bon Appetit!

If you are interested in getting more info about this, please let me know. To me, it is a quick and easy dinner idea, which comes up every couple months or so.

Who is the man behind the mystery

I figured that I should begin with a little bit of an introduction as to who I am and why I feel like I have any right to be a part of a blog that, hopefully, will have much to do with food, wine, and travel. Any number of things are bound to come up in addition to these topics, but as these are some of my favorites, I will start with them.

So. Why do I want to be a food writer? Well, I went to the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Does this mean that my taste in food is any better than yours? Probably not. Does this mean that I have any better idea of good food than you do? Probably not. All that this means is that I did put in some time behind the scenes learning about techniques used to prepare food. It also means that I spend too much time looking for that ever elusive perfect burrito that I could always get in the Mission district (if anyone has suggestions for something that might compare to that, please let me know).

In terms of wine, I am still quite the neophyte. I did my internship at the San Francisco Chronicle, in their wine section. Every 2 weeks we were tasting up to 80 different wines. While there, I did learn an appreciation for good wine. I do believe that any varietal has the potential to be great, therefore I don't just make blanket statements such as "I hate Chardonnays". I have actually had quite a few decent ones, including the ones at Buena Vista vineyards, where I spent a week working with them to get some insight into the wine making process. That being said, if I am going to drink a red wine, Shiraz is my favorite, and if you are pouring whites, give me Gruner Veltliner.

I will get to travel in more detail later, but I have visited most Western European countries (the big ones, anyways), as well as a few Central and South American countries as well.

Stay tuned for more to come.