Monthly Archives: September 2008

The Flying Fig

September 5, 2008 | by Ben 4

Sarah and I recently visited The Flying Fig and wondered why we’d never done so before. The atmosphere was great, the service is excellent and the food is outstanding: original, local and satisfying.

We started our meal with salads. Sarah ordered the heirloom tomato, which was unbelievably good. The portion was generous and the fresh flavors were dramatically highlighted by lemon oil and a little very high quality balsamic vinegar. I had one of the specials, a poached pear and maytag blue cheese salad over greens, which was good but not quite as notable as Sarah’s.

Sarah had the seared scallops and proscuitto for her entrée, which was perfectly cooked and flavorful. I chose the “three smalls” option, which offers an almost overwhelming amount of flavor in a meal. I really liked the seared pork belly with McKenzie Creamery goat cheese (the berry / habanero flavor) and a mini-biscuit with pork jus. The herbed ricotta gnocci was also … continue reading

CFT’s Snapper Provencal

September 3, 2008 | by Ben 1

We recently tried out the Cage Free Tomato’s recipe for Snapper Provencal from Cleveland.com’s food groups:

The results were very flavorful and satisfying. The red snapper and the jalapeño-stuffed olives came from Trader Joe’s, the tomatoes were largely from our garden, and the jalapenos were from the Coit Road farmer’s market. The tomatoes and olives (and Goya olive oil) dominated, but the jalapenos added a mild spiciness that somehow upped all of the other flavors. The broiled bread (suggested by the CFT) was a perfect and simple accompaniment. This is definitely a great way to prepare snapper.… continue reading

Plum Tart

September 2, 2008 | by Sarah 2

On Labor Day Ben made some yummy ribs (subject of a future post) and I made a plum tart. I haven’t made a tart in forever, in fact I sent Ben on a tart pan finding mission. We tried the standard big box stores with no luck — but Williams Sonoma was open on Labor Day and of course had tart pans.

The recipe was straight forward, although it took a bit longer than I originally thought it would. Between heating/cooling and prep/rest times it wasn’t ready until after 8pm. I used the recipe for a Plum Tart with Lemon Shortbread Crust from this months Fine Cooking. I had a hard time arranging the plum slices in concentric circle in the tart pan, but over all I think it turned out good. The crust was pretty sweet, but a nice contrast to the slight sourness of the plums. Ben and I really enjoyed it, but J seemed to prefer to eat only the crust. I am looking forward … continue reading