Out and About: Abacus

Merry Christmas! I hope you have all eaten until your bellies are bursting, I know I have. I’m definitely past the point of having put on a “holiday coat” and am currently into the realm of a “holiday parka.” By the end of the week I plan to be sporting an igloo.

I traveled to Nashville for the week to celebrate Christmas with my family. The food filled time thus far has been documented, but that’s for a later post; however, the night before I left, Johnny and I ventured out to Dallas to eat at Abacus for our own Christmas celebration.

If you’re a Top Chef Miami fan, you may recognize Abacus as the home base for Tre Wilcox; one of the season’s favorite and most talented chefs. Tre was one of our favorites throughout the season (even with the unfortunate bread pudding incident that led to his demise) and he, as well as many rave reviews, promoted us to test the restaurant’s reputation. A reservation is necessary, and ours was made over a month in advance, but I must say the wait was well worth the reward.

The atmosphere within Abacus is upscale without being overly pretentious, and definitely noteworthy. the kitchen is in plain sight and it was not long before Johnny and I spotted Chef de Cuisine Tre(!) hustling about. The wait staff is extremely attentive, and the service immaculate. The menu changes frequently to Executive Chef Kent Rathburn’s liking.

First out was the incredible bread basket.

There were two types of flat bread, a focaccia with carmalized shallots, unbelievably tasty cheddar biscuits, sweetbread with pistachios and pears, and classic french bread. Our waiter warned us you could ruin dinner with th bread basket, and while entirely feasible, nothing could ruin the rest of dinner to come.

Next up was a starter of Abacus’ signature “Lobster Scallion ‘Shooters’”– the only thing on their menu which never changes.

The shooters are comprised of a bit of poached lobster in a wonton. The sauce is a blend of red chile, curry, and sake. The shooters come presented by the chef with the sauce on the side, and he instructs to simply “shoot, then chew.” The sauce is hot, really hot, but it hits the palate with an incredible amount of flavor. The wonton wrapped lobster is perfectly executed, and the flavors and textures marry together to form the most memorable appetizer I have ever encountered.

After such an outstanding starter, it seemed difficult for the entree’s to compare, but they certainly came through in the end. I opted for the seared diver scallops with a black-truffle and celery root puree with a shellfish emulsion. Incredible.

Johnny got the Corvian sea bass over basil gnocchi in some sort of tomato sauce. Another dish that was perfectly executed.

Dessert was the “Godiva Chocolate Soup;” an Abacus favorite. Godiva liqueur mixed with Valhrona chocolate, under an intensely chocolate brownie, topped with chocolate sorbet coated with macadamian nuts, with a wafer cookie and three honey-vanilla homemade marshmallows on top. There are no words.

As if the meal wasn’t perfect enough, we met Tre! After mentioning to our waiter we were big fans, Tre personally presented us with a signed menu and discussed our meal with us. A perfect ending to the perfect meal, and a perfect evening.

Merry Christmas!
-Mel

Feeling Festive: Sugar Cookies and Peppermint Bark

Mel and I got together for a little holiday baking action last weekend, combining our sweet tooths together for one heck of a sugar rush! We started the day with a trip to central market to grab ingredients for sugar cookies, peppermint bark, truffles, and a seafood pasta dish for dinner. The truffles aren’t going to be featured because we made them with bitter-sweet chocolate (as per a recipe we plucked from the New York Times) and they turned out…well, bitter-sweet. Not good. In fact, the exact opposite of good. I can appreciate a good piece of dark chocolate, but not in ganache form. It just didn’t work out. So! Here’s some of the stuff we made:

Naked Sugar Cookies

The icing is homemade. (It was so sugar-tastic that it tasted exactly like cotton candy!)

The lack of finesse or beauty was of coarse my doing.

The peppermint bark was delicious!

Christmas is nearly here! Have you packed on your “holiday winter coat” yet? I’ve got another 2 lbs to go.

-Johnny

Ellie Krieger’s Fried Rice

I love fried rice, but I’m not big into consuming 500 calories and large amounts of fat in 8oz side dishes. This recipe is a great healthy alternative, and the recommended serving size makes a very filling meal. The dish turned out very colorful and, surprisingly, delicious. I might ever prefer this to the calorie laden, artery clogging original!

Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu

courtesy of “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger”

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, greens included, rinsed, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 cups leftover cooked brown rice
3/4 cup finely diced red pepper
3/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame
1/2 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, corn
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet until hot. Add garlic, scallions and ginger and saute until softened and aromatic, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn and tofu and stir until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.

Next time, I might throw the tofu in about 1 minute earlier than the edamame, corn, red pepper and rice. You may also want to add a bit more soy sauce, depending on your taste.

-Mel

This week in wine: Viognier

This week we have an 06′ Vinum Cellars Viognier out of San Benito, California.

Viognier (Vee-ohn-yay) is a fairly rare grape. In fact, during the 1960’s it was actually nearly extinct. Although there are more producers these days, consider yourself lucky if you find a small selection.

Wine Spectator gave this wine 93 points. Let me just say, they’re all earned!

The color was a nice shiny gold with a nose of melon, peach, honey, and vanilla bean. The taste was absolutly fantastic! It was very fruity and sweet with a bit of spice. The finish was miles long with a nice cut of acidity to cleanse the palate.

I would pair this wine with a sweeter seafood dish, possibly lobster or a scallop dish like this one.

I can’t wait to get my hands on another bottle. Delicious!

-Johnny

Apple Crisp (Cont.)

Johnny mentioned the apple crisp we made in our last entry; however, I thought I’d go in to a bit more detail for anyone interested in the recipe.

We started by following a recipe, but after making many changes (some on purpose, some…not) we ended up with a very delicious end product, and our own great recipe. This crisp really needs to be served warm with a topping of vanilla ice cream, but it’s certainly good on it’s own.

Apple Crisp
6 medium braeburn apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (plus extra to taste)
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Arrange apple slices evenly over the bottom of a 9×9 inch baking dish.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in egg and melted butter. Use your fingers to drop batter in small clumps over the top of the apples. Sprinkle evenly with ground cinnamon.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until apple slices are tender when pierced with a fork. Topping will be lightly browned.
Top with more cinnamon to taste. (This is certainly optional, we both really dig cinnamon)
Allow to cool 15-20 minutes before serving.
Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

*Johnny and I later said we should have sprinkled the apples with a bit of cinnamon sugar before baking, and he did so the next time he made it

-Mel

Tomato & Sausage Risotto with Warm Apple Crisp

On today’s menu we have a Tomato and Hot Italian Sausage Risotto followed by a Warm Apple Crisp a la mode. Mel and I teamed up to make both dishes.

The Risotto includes onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, hot Italian sausage, and wilted spinach. We topped it with fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano.

The warm apple crisp was super easy to make. We peeled 6 Braeburn apples and layered them on the bottom of a baking dish and topped that with our crust mixture. Then we just popped it in the oven for about 30 minutes and voila! Warm Apple Crisp a la mode.

I love the smell of apple crisp. Both dishes were great!

-Johnny