Agatha the Aga meets holiday cooking

Before I turn the page on the 2010 holidays, I wanted to review how Agatha handled the holiday cooking frenzy. A couple of emails have asked me about her oven size. Because the Aga Legacy's ovens are much smaller than a standard 30" range's, it's a sensible concern. In my small kitchen, it's wonderful having two ovens (plus separate broiler) without sacrificing much-needed counter space. The ovens can definitely handle everyday cooking. But, the big question remained. Could it accommodate the Thanksgiving turkey?

The moment of truth: Agatha meets 21-pound turkey.

Cooked perfectly. Incredibly moist and tender (although brining probably contributed to this).

It was wonderful to be able to do a couple of side dishes in one oven while the turkey cooked in the other. With the six burners spread over 44", there was plenty of space for the mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Plus room for the turkey to rest and rolls to sit.

Agatha even handled my last-minute cookie baking frenzy with aplomb. Although her ovens are small, I was able to bake multiple trays of cookies at once. Because the ovens are convection, each tray came out evenly baked.

Well done, Agatha.

Review: Hearst Ranch grass-fed flank steaks

After reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, I shifted my food shopping habits toward locally grown produce and grass-fed beef. If you haven't read Pollan's book, put it on your must-read list. Simply put, cows are herbivores, born to eat grass. However, most cattle today are fed corn. Sadly, a corn diet turns cows' stomachs acidic and makes them sick. No problem. Just pump them full of antibiotics. It's a sad, disturbing cycle.

However, even in Austin, it wasn't easy to get grass-fed beef. I can only imagine how difficult it is to find in small towns or more rural areas. When I read about the opportunity to try Hearst Ranch's grass-fed and grass-finished flank steaks, I leaped at the chance. Hearst Ranch provides the opportunity to shop online for their beef so that anyone, whether in an urban center or tiny town, can eat in a way that's healthier for both their bodies and the environment.

Disclosure: Hearst Ranch provided its flank steaks free of charge. Whether or not I reviewed it in my blog was strictly left up to me.

Hearst Ranch has been raising cattle in central California since 1865. Their cattle are free-range foragers, munching native grasses on 150,000 acres. Hearst Ranch utilizes sustainable agriculture and management-intensive grazing to take care of their cattle and their land.

Their steaks arrived beautifully packaged in a styrofoam cooler with dry ice nestled in a cardboard box. At the time I received them, I didn't yet have a working kitchen. So off they went to the freezer. A few weeks later, we had a functional kitchen and dinner guests. A perfect time to try the flank steaks!

Flank steak, package #1 - steak fajitas:
For our casual dinner party, the menu was Tex-Mex, perfect for steak fajitas. We marinated the flank steak for several hours and grilled it.

The consensus? Delicious. The fajitas were moist, tender, and intensely flavorful. We and our dinner guests, including the children, devoured every single bite.

Flank steak, package #2 - stir fry:
Now, grass-fed beef tends to be leaner than corn-fed beef. It also has 10 times more beta-carotene as well as 3 times more vitamin E and healthy fats. I wondered, how would the flank steak fare in a simpler preparation, without the benefit of marinade. So for our second flank steak package, we chose to stir fry it in an adaptation of a Mark Bittman recipe. The meat was simply cut against the grain in thin strips and stir fried in vegetable oil. Later, it was combined with stir-fried fresh vegetables and a soy-hoisin-curry paste sauce.

Consensus? As my daughter yelled, "Forty-nine thumbs up!" It was somehow lean, yet tender. I gobbled up...gulp...two servings. Pure gluttony.

I'll be sharing these recipes in future blog posts. Many thanks to Hearst Ranch for two delicious meals. I plan on coming back for more.

Idyll at Castle Hill

Castle Hill. Just the name brings back memories of an old Austin favorite, now sadly closed. Castle Hill Cafe off Lamar Blvd. You are missed.



But this Castle Hill. This inn and resort in Newport, Rhode Island. Our place to create new memories. From the minute you drive past the little gatehouse and are greeted by name at the front desk, you feel coccooned by comfort and privilege.

The 1874 main mansion built as a summer cottage for Harvard marine biologist, Alexander Agassiz, sits on a 40-acre peninsula. We chose to stay in a beach cottage, a bright, airy space with its own deck and a stunning ocean view.



The cottage with its interior white-painted planks and beams was perfectly beachy. The view unparalleled. But the bath. Oh my word. The bath. Easily four times the size of our tiny master bath at home. With an enormous jetted tub and separate shower. The delight of showering without banged elbows or concussions. Frabjous joy, that bath!



Every detail from the L'Occitane toiletries to the Frette bedlinens to the Perrin and Rowe and Grohe fixtures bespeaks luxury. Every afternoon, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and icy bottles of water are placed in your cottage. The evening's turndown service leaves a tiny gilt box of chocolate from a local chocolatier.



The complimentary breakfast is no sad buffet of cold cereal, oily pastries, and congealed scrambled eggs. Not at all. Served in a room with panoramic views of the water, this week's menu items included lobster hash, eggs Benedict, and a couture french toast. With a miniature fruit smoothie and slice of banana bread. The complimentary afternoon tea was a lavish spread of savories and sweets with crustless sandwiches, scones, biscotti, fresh fruit, and clotted cream.



We enjoyed one dinner at Castle Hill's restaurant. This was the only meal for which jackets for gentlemen were gently encouraged. Otherwise, attire was quite casual. Not flip flops and shabby tees casual, but polo shirts and chino capris. During this meal, the kitchen didn't put a foot wrong. Every flavor. Every texture was perfection. Their interplay delightful.

In the evenings, we sipped cocktails, on crisp white Adirondack chairs dotting the manicured green lawns. We watched the sun set, casting rose-gold glimmers across the rippling water. Sailboats glided past, noiseless in the breeze. We sat on the private beach steps from our door, watching the surf tickle our toes. Or we walked on sun-dappled, wooded paths to the historic lighthouse on site.





All our stresses. Work, renovations, last year's cross-country move, children. These simply melted away. Bliss.

(Very important note: This bliss would be impossible without Grammy and Pop. Who flew from Texas to feed, wash, chauffeur, and love the littles while their parents went to play. For this and much more, many, many thanks.)


A very relaxed blogger

Imperial Danby, meet Barkeeper's Friend

This morning, I scoured my kitchen sink with Barkeeper's Friend. On a whim, I sprinkled some Barkeeper's Friend on my Danby sample and scrubbed. No change. I made paste with Barkeeper's Friend and water and left it on the red wine stain for about thirty minutes. This is what happened.



Don't see anything? Yep. That's the point. Pretty impressive, isn't it? Here's the before. The red wine stain is clearly visible.



Conclusion? Imperial Danby is good stuff. Because Danby marble is denser than the average marble, stains don't penetrate deeply. So they're quite easy to get out. Our fabricator said that highly acidic material etches the sealer away. So our sample was essentially not sealed during the second stain/etch test. Pretty impressive.

Marble of any sort will etch. So it isn't the material for someone who wants her countertop to look pristine and brand new. However, if you accept the level of etching that my tests and photos show, Danby marble will make a wonderful countertop. Natural and classic. Easy to get stains out. Beautiful.

Imperial Danby sample test, round two

Brief recap.

First test: We tested our honed and sealed Imperial Danby sample with several items: tomato sauce, coffee, red wine, soy sauce, yellow mustard, a strawberry, and a lemon. After an hour, most of these items have left a very distinct splotch or etch on the marble. The red wine was the worst by far and had left a faint stain.

Patina test: We slathered the sample with fresh lemon juice. After an hour, there was etching over the entire tile. More patina than splotches.

Today, I put the test materials back on the sample. All the usual testers were back, except for the strawberries. Those had been eaten. Remember this sample was initially sealed before testing began. However, we did not seal it again after the first test.



After an hour, this was the result. The colorless lemon juice had left no marked change. Any further etching was disguised by the previous lemon juice etching. However, almost everything else left a slight stain from the soy sauce (slightest stain) to the red wine (most obvious stain). I don't know why the marble was more prone to staining after the overall lemon juice etching. Perhaps the lemon juice had taken off the sealer? The overall impact was lessened by the etching that was previously on the marble. Also, the stains are somewhat disguised by the color variation of the Imperial Danby.





Red wine has proven itself to be the "marble killer." Very interesting. Does this bother me? Not really. Maybe a little. But I do wonder if repeated etchings take a toll on the actual stone. It does support our decision to not use marble as our main prep countertop.

We haven't tried to clean or sand the sample yet. That's still to come.

Imperial Danby patina

Who knew it would be so easy to turn unsightly marble splotches into patina?

Squeeze the juice from a lemon. Slather it over the sample with the lemon rind. Wait an hour. Instant patina.



And that wine stain? Barely detectable. It's more obvious in this photo than in real life. I had to hunt and hunt for the spot.



We're okay with the patina. But it's too high maintenance a material for the heavily used L-run with stove and sink. So I think we're going with soapstone (or maybe Pietra del Cardoso or honed Jet Mist) for the L-run and the Imperial Danby for the 36"x48" fridge wall.

Next, we're going to try etching/staining with wine et. al. to see if the new etches blend into the patina. Then we'll try scrubbing with Comet or the 200 grit sandpaper. Just to see how what happens.

Fun with marble! This is turning into a science experiment. Oh, and Sabjimata did a similar etch test on polished carrara. See how it turned out!

Imperial Danby sample test

As promised, we put our honed Imperial Danby sample through a rigorous test to see how it would fare in our messy, three-kids-and-two-enthusiastic-cooks kitchen. We eat at home for almost every meal (husband and son excepted). My oldest is learning how to cook, and the little ones love to help. So our countertop must endure careless handling and emerge in reasonable shape.

First, we applied sealant twice as called for in the instructions. This is an unnamed, top-of-the-line sealer purchased at a specialty store. Unnamed because my cautious spouse doesn't want to invite legal trouble.

Here's the sealed sample before testing. It's absolutely pristine with some natural and beautiful texture variation.



Here are the test items (left to right): (top) pizza sauce, soy sauce, a decent and cheap shiraz, (middle) strawberries, coffee, (bottom) lemon, and yellow mustard. We smushed, poured, and otherwise put the test items on the sample.







We left the items there for one hour. Here are the results. This is the most serious etch. Surprisingly, it was the red wine. You can feel the much rougher texture with your fingertips. There is also a visible color change. I don't know if it's actually a stain or if it's a very severe etch.



This angle catches the etching best. Unfortunately, our countertop will have a window behind it similar to this. So the etching will be very visible and pronounced.



Result. Well. You can't believe it until you see it. I'd heard that marble etches. It does. Seriously. These photos were taken right after the sample was washed and dried. It remains to be seen whether the marks fade. I'll let you know.

I'd mentally downplayed the etching, thinking to myself how much I love patina. There is patina which reads as natural texture. And then there are large splotches. Maybe after time, the splotches blend together to become patina. I'm going to have to think this through. It may be acceptable or we may be back to the starting point. The latter would be very, very disappointing. I've been obsessing over cabinet color choices paired with the white marble. Ditching the marble would be a huge design setback.

Review: Shark Steam Pocket Mop

I blame it on Costco, that Shangri-La of impulse buying.

I guess I wasn't completely fulfilled by my Swiffer WetJet. It did its job well enough, but throwing away the disposable mophead after each use felt wasteful. Also, I wasn't comfortable using the Swiffer cleaning fluid on my marble floors. So I'd clean those on my hands and knees with a mildly sudsy sponge. I admit that this meant I rarely cleaned those floors.

So the Shark.



Maybe it wasn't all emotional. The Shark makes practical sense. It cleans with steam so I can use it on all my bathroom floors. I can wash and reuse the mopheads. It uses water and not noxious chemicals. It was under $100 cash and carry at my local Costco. During my last Costco trip, I fell for it.

Nitty gritties. The Shark's lightweight. Its cord is quite long and doesn't seem prone to tangling. The little well is easy to fill, and the mopheads are fairly easy to attach and detach. I started in my kitchen. The Shark gave a satisfying little hiss of steam (but not loud enough to set off my dog whose nemeses include the vacuum cleaner and the coffee bean grinder). I ran it over the battered vinyl. This version steams with every push of the mop. It seemed too easy. Was it doing anything? I stepped back, and wow. The grungy old vinyl looked really white. Whiter than it had in awhile. It was still scarred and scraped (nothing steam can do about that). But it looked noticeably better. Notably cleaner. Apparently the old vinyl was gross partially due to my poor housekeeping.

When I encountered particularly stubborn schmutz, I'd place the mop directly over the stain and steam for a little while. Extra steam and a little gentle scrubbing got everything up. I also love the little triangular mophead, perfect for maneuvering in tight spaces. It cleaned all the nooks and crannies in my pocket-sized powder room. One tankful of water was enough to clean my breakfast/kitchen (210 s.f.), one short hallway, and three small bathrooms. We're close to Boston so when I say small bathroom, think really, really, really small. Phone booth-sized.

So far, thumbs up for this little machine.

Liberty of London

I've been anticipating today's launch of Target's Liberty of London line for weeks. I wasn't certain when the online launch would occur so I stayed up til past midnight. No launch. I awoke later then usual. Well. I awoke at my normal time, but because we'd all sprung forward in our sleep, it was later than usual. I headed sleepily to my laptop to check the Target website. To my dismay, the things I wanted were already sold out.

Fueled by coffee, I hauled myself through the cold rain to a local Target where Liberty of London items were literally flying off the racks in front of me. It was an amazing sight. Women were grabbing dresses by the armload and whisking them away. It was two steps shy of a frenzy.

Why the ruckus? Well, the prints, for one. Charming and cheery. And I was happily surprised by the fabrics. Nothing stiff or cheap feeling. I loved the cotton used for the men's shirts, the girls dresses, and some of the women's items. The men's shirts and boxers felt lovely, very fine and soft. I was less fond of the slippery polyester used for some of the women's tops, but I'm not a big fan of slick, satin-like material. I felt the same way about the two throw pillows left on the shelves. However, they did have beautiful prints, and I loved the velvety material they used for the backs and trim on some. The material on the quilts and bedding felt luxuriously soft. The umbrellas and bags were sadly long gone, but the couple of straggler hats were adorable and made from a fabric with a very nice hand. Fantastic for the price points.

I was lucky enough that my wonderful mother-in-law headed up to Round Rock, Texas, to pick up some housewares for me. My kitchen will be graced by these cheery prints.

Theberton set of three prep bowls:


Dunclare teapot (and matching mugs):


I hope that you all got the Liberty of London items that you wanted. It looks like Target and Liberty collaboration was a huge winner.

Review: Zinsser Perma-White Mold & Mildew-Proof Interior Paint

Reminds me of that old elementary school prank call:

Caller (muffling giggles): "Excuse me, but is your refrigerator running?"
Person who answered: "Yes?"
Caller (bursting into guffaws at own cleverness): "You'd better go catch it then!"

And that, in a nutshell, is how I feel about the Zinsser. Now I'm an old hand with a paint brush and roller, but I haven't done many ceilings. That said, I was stunned at how runny and thin the Zinsser was. I was caught between not having enough paint on the brush and having paint drip off the handle. I'd see paint drips down the walls when I'd barely coated the ceiling above. The coverage was also poor, possibly because I feared overloading the brush. This seemed to happen all too easily.

The guy at the paint store sold me this formulation because I was doing a bathroom ceiling. It's supposed to be great at resisting mildew. I hope so. It wasn't fun to apply.