Aruba Eats: Madame Janette

On our first visit to Aruba, Jeff and I drove around for hours looking for Madame Janette, a restaurant my mom raved about and told me I would love. We never found it. This time, since we went on vacation with my family, my mom made sure we got there. And we loved it so much that we went back again later on in the week!

Madame Janette is an outdoor restaurant with trees and plants adding natural decor and strings of lights and torches creating ambiance. I was enamored with it the moment we walked in. On the first night, we went with a large group and had two side-by-side tables. We had a waiter and a waitress attending to our table, and they were both incredibly personable, friendly, and accommodating.

Because my family had already been to Madame Janette, they immediately knew some of the must-haves, like the asparagus gratin and the famous almond grouper. I was happy to go along with these suggestions and throw in some of my own as well.

While we were there it was white asparagus season in The Netherlands, so Madame Janette (and some of the other restaurants we went to) had a dedicated white asparagus menu with tons of asparagus appetizers and entrees. The asparagus is flown in regularly during the season and was a wonderful addition to the meal.

After settling in with drinks -- mojitos are a specialty there, so Jeff got a strawberry one, I got a mango one, and my mom got an orange one -- and nibbling on some focaccia, we got down to business.

We started with two orders of the asparagus gratin and the crispy asparagus and got both dishes again on our return visit. (My little sister actually ordered a dish of the asparagus gratin just for her dinner on the second visit.)

The asparagus gratin was simply to die for. I truly enjoyed the tender asparagus bites swimming in a thick cream sauce with bits of ham and Gouda cheese, and I was surprised that we were all able to remain pretty civil about who got the last bites.

While I loved the creamy asparagus, the crispy asparagus was actually my favorite of the two dishes. The white asparagus was coated and fried and served with prosciutto, tomatoes, gorgonzola, greens, and a balsamic basil oil. I just loved the array of textures and the fresh flavors in this appetizer. (I kind of want to try incorporating my panko-crusted asparagus in a sort of salad like this next time I make it.)

On our second visit, in addition to these two appetizers, we tried the beef carpaccio, which no one remembers hearing me suggest on the first visit -- though I know I did.

It's technically called MJ's Giant Kobe Beef Carpaccio and features thinly sliced kobe filet, marinated white asparagus, chopped Portabello mushrooms, arugula, lots of grated Parmesan cheese, and some pumpkinseed oil dressing. This was yet another dish we savored every last bite of. It sounds like a random assortment of flavors, but the melt-in-your-mouth beef worked well with the earthier notes of the pumpkinseed oil and mushrooms.

Onto the entrees... on the first night, my brother, sister, dad, and Jeff all got the tournedos a la "Ramon." My mom and I got the famous almond grouper, and my other sister got the salmon a la florentine. We weren't too adventurous, but we all loved what we ordered.

The tournedos a la "Ramon" are actually two beef tournedos wrapped in bacon and topped with onions and bernaise sauce. The garnish is fried carrots (these were actually the garnish on all of our dishes and I loved them and want to make them now). The tournedos were definitely a hit. So much so that Jeff, my brother, and my dad all got them again on our return visit. (My sister, who had eaten an entire 16-ounce steak at El Gaucho the night before just got her asparagus gratin instead.)

The famous almond grouper... what can I say? My mom has been talking this dish up to me for years. She was so disappointed to find out that Jeff and I never made it in to try this dish on our last visit, so I knew I had to get it. Grouper is served just about everywhere in Aruba and is one of the most popular fish for those interested in fishing in the area.

Grouper is a pretty mild fish, and this preparation of an almond coating and creamed spinach sauce served it well. I made it through about half of mine. And while you might think we were on asparagus overdose by then, I enjoyed bites of the fish with the tender asparagus.

My sister had the salmon, which was sauteed in butter and topped with spinach and cheese.

On the next visit, we got a little more creative with the entrees and still had tournedos and grouper, but I opted for the schnitzel Vienna style, and we got a bowl of pasta carbonara to share. Both of these were featured on the white asparagus menu, so we got the white asparagus versions.

This very thinly pounded piece of pork was so incredibly moist. I almost always overcook meat this thin. I was definitely impressed with this dish, and the hollandaise on top was the perfect complement. (Oh, and when they say plate-size breaded schnitzel, they mean plate-size!)

The carbonara was another winning dish. It was both creamy and garlicky and filled with chunks of asparagus and bacon.

Madame Janette does family style sides, so we got some of the creamed spinach, the famous potato gratin, and roasted potatoes with onions and bacon to share on both visits.

If I hadn't already eaten so much, I definitely would have downed a whole bowl of the potato gratin.

You can probably even tell how good it was just by looking at that golden brown crust on top!

And speaking of eating too much... no matter how much you eat, there's always room for dessert, right? Well, the first night there was. I think the second night we went was hotter and we were probably all at our max after stuffing ourselves all week (that's what vacation's about, you know), so we skipped dessert. But also, once you see what we had for dessert the first night, you might understand a little better.

I mentioned at the beginning that we went with a large group, and that there was another tableful of people with us. These were all friends of my parents who they come to Aruba with often. They were feeding our waiter information, like that my sister Lindsay just graduated with her master's and that my sister Martyann was just named a track scholar and that Jeff and I were engaged.

Well, we put in our dessert order, and our waiter came back and let us know that it was going to take a little longer because he wanted to do something special for us. (This picture doesn't do it justice.)

We all loved it! (It even says "Congratulations" in chocolate on the platter.) But in addition to this platter, we also got the desserts we ordered. The waiter had wanted the pastry chef to put our desserts in this ensemble, but there was a slight miscommunication, and the pastry chef made a platter of all the desserts... in addition to our desserts! We had so much dessert to eat!

Jeff and I had ordered the chocolate mousse to share. It was thick and rich, and I loved the flavor of that middle mousse.

My mom and sister split the chocolate souffle with pumpkinseed ice cream.

And on the platter were mango, raspberry, and blueberry sorbets; apple strudel, more mousse, a chocolate layer cake; and best of all, underneath the sorbet were rum-soaked, coconut-crusted pineapple chunks. Everything was so good.

We all pretty much rolled out of there, completely happy and no longer hungry, not even a smidge.

If you are heading to Aruba and want to dine at a really great restaurant, outside where maybe an occasional leaf finds its way down from the trees onto your plate, then I highly recommend Madame Janette. (If you've never been before, take a cab. You'll never find it on your own.)

Have you ever tried white asparagus?

Vacation In Aruba

I recently returned from a much-needed vacation in Aruba with Jeff and my family. We stayed at Playa Linda, one of the high rises right on Palm Beach.

Jeff and I shared a room with my little brother, and my parents and sisters shared another room. Each room was a studio with a double bed, a pullout sofa with a partition for privacy, a small table in the corner for eating at, and a balcony. The rooms were clean and just the right size for us. There was even enough space for all of us to pile into my parents' room at lunchtime to make sandwiches or heat up leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

We didn't have much planned for the week besides a lot of beach time, so each morning, my mom (and sometimes my sisters) would get up at 6 a.m. (or sometimes earlier) and head down to the beach to reserve us a chickie. Chickies are the little huts on the beach, and they are highly sought after. Some people who come year after year even claim a particular chickie as their own -- even though whoever gets there first each morning can take whichever chickie they want.

Once you have your chickie reserved, you have to wait around until about 7 a.m. for someone to bring around chairs and chaise longues. Luckily, my mom didn't mind rising early to do this. Jeff and I would roll out of bed between 8:30 and 9:30 every morning, throw our suits on, and find the chickie.

We'd all spend each day swimming, playing cards (or Scrabble in the case of my mom and sister), reading, tanning, walking along the beach... and of course eating, but I'll get to that in more detail in some upcoming posts. (This time we found much better food than on our last visit.) There were also tons of little shops to wander in and out of, along the beach and across the street.

One day we piled in the car and headed up the road so those who wanted to snorkel could.

And any daredevils could jump off the rocks into the clear waters below as well.

On another day, Jeff and my sister wanted to go tubing, and I went along with them in the boat and took about a hundred pictures.

It looked like a blast, but I'm a bit too much of a wimp to actually go out on a tube. It's the falling off that I would not like!

Some people go out on snorkeling boats, ride jet skis, or go parasailing. There's a lot to do if you're looking for water sports and activities. Two years ago we climbed to the top of Mt. Hooiberg and looked out on Venezuela and drove out to some of the sights like the Natural Bridge and the Natural Pool.

This year I was happy just spending the day in the sun and knowing that I could relax and veg out. We didn't have plans or schedules, just a few dinner reservations here and there. It was definitely one of those vacations where I actually got to relax and came home feeling refreshed instead of tired.

What was your most recent vacation?

Stone Hearth Pizza Co.

If you are looking for tasty local, organic, sustainable (and even gluten-free) pizza, Stone Hearth Pizza Co. is the way to go. Stone Hearth has three locations -- one in Cambridge, one in Belmont, and one in Needham, with an Allston location on the way -- and I was recently invited to the Cambridge location to sample some food and beer and learn more about Stone Hearth.

I arrived first (after tackling all the stairs at the Porter T stop) and was immediately greeted by Alex Chamberlain, who does Stone Hearth's marketing, and chef and general manager Michael Ehlenfeldt. Soon after I was joined by Daisy, Elizabeth, Emily, and Bianca.

We started the evening with generous mugs of gazpacho, and Dave Aresty poured us Cisco Summer of Lager to go along with it.

The cool gazpacho was the perfect dish on such a pleasantly warm evening.

I enjoyed this beer, but I won't even pretend I know enough about beer to really describe it. It was nice and light and to me, a good summer beer.

Along with the gazpacho and Summer of Lager, we got to sample some of the melanzana, a roasted eggplant spread with Parmesan flatbread. The flatbread is made from pizza dough stretched very thin and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, and Parmesan. I loved it and would definitely go back for more.

Following the lighter appetizers of gazpacho and melanzana, we were served two versions of Stone Hearth's meatball poppers. The meatballs are made from locally raised beef and stuffed with fresh Vermont mozzarella.

We tried some in a spicy tomato sauce...

... and some in a creamy roasted onion and herb sauce.

Both were delicious, but I enjoyed the cream sauce more because, as you know, I'm not big on spice, and I found the cream sauce a nice change. (More often than not, meatballs are served with a tomato-based sauce.) It's made with roasted onions and creme fraiche.

With the meatball poppers, Dave offered Wachusett Green Monsta IPA.

I thought this beer had some floral notes, and when I mentioned that to those at the table, who are obviously more familiar with beer than I am, they agreed and said that it was very hoppy.

Next we were presented with three different salads. The first was called Spear me the Details and was a special that day. I was most impressed to find out that Michael had picked the asparagus for the salad himself that morning. One bite of the tender spears made it quite obvious how fresh they were. The salad also contained cashews, oranges, and a honey-orange-ginger dressing.

The Caesar salad was very good but nothing out of the ordinary. You can order it with anchovies if you like.

And I saved the best for last. This spinach and avocado salad with shaved red onion was my favorite of the three. The avocado was so fresh and ripe.

And, of course, a little Sweet Action complemented all of the salads.

This beer was described as "a harmonious balance of bitter and sweet," and I won't pretend we didn't get a little silly about the name.

While we ate our salads and enjoyed some Sweet Action, Michael asked us if we were interested in trying Stone Hearth's gluten-free crust, and we all were, so he told us he would make us a few different pizzas but not tell us which one was gluten-free.

Can you tell which one it was by looking?

Farm Fresh

The Divine Goddess

Bacon & Blue

The Farm Fresh pizza comes with cherry tomatoes, charred red and yellow peppers, Yukon gold potatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, and fresh mozzarella. It's topped with some arugula and red onion. (Typically there is prosciutto too, but we left it off for the vegetarian in our midst.) This particular one was served on a multigrain crust. The array of veggies and flavors in this pizza was incredible, and I know I'll be ordering it sometime soon. The multigrain crust was thin and crunchy and studded with seeds.

The Divine Goddess is a white pizza with spinach, broccoli, local ricotta, and a topping of blended cheeses and Parmesan. This pizza was served on the gluten-free crust, which turned out to be my favorite crust. It was thin and chewy, and even though I eat gluten, I would definitely eat this gluten-free crust again. For those who can't eat gluten, Stone Hearth tosses all of the pizza doughs with rice flour, so there's never any regular flour in the air or the ovens.

The last pizza, the Bacon & Blue, was my favorite. Rather than just having simply bacon and blue cheese, this pizza was loaded with shredded squash and zucchini, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, provolone, and fresh basil. I think it was really the combination of smoky bacon and fresh squash that did it for me. We had this one on the whole wheat crust.

The pizzas were paired with Pretty Things' Once Upon A Time... East India Style Porter.

We all expected this porter to be on the bitter side, but it was actually pretty light and had coffee and caramel flavors. (On a side note, I'm kind of getting obsessed with the idea of just offering Pretty Things beers -- in addition to wine and liquor -- at my wedding. I still have to get Jeff behind the idea though. He thinks it's necessary to have the regular options, but I bet everyone could find a Pretty Things they like!)

No meal is complete without dessert, and we got to sample another of Stone Hearth's gluten-free offerings: flourless chocolate cake with vanilla gelato.

I loved ending the meal on this sweet, chocolatey note.

I've gotten takeout from Stone Hearth in the past and will definitely be back for more, especially after this dinner! Thanks to Elizabeth for setting this up, to Alex for organizing such a great event, and to everyone at Stone Hearth for providing us with such a great meal!

In addition to Stone Hearth's three current locations and upcoming location in Allston, you can also find their frozen and vacuum-sealed pizzas for sale at some Whole Foods locations.

Have you ever tried Stone Hearth Pizza? What about gluten-free pizza crust?

If you have a moment, please head over to my friend Alicia's blog. She's donating all of her blog revenue for June to the Western and Central MA Red Cross to help with the Tornado Relief. The more hits she gets, the more she can donate!

Also, don't forget to enter my Restaurant.com gift card giveaway!

Restaurant.com Gift Card Giveaway

Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation and doing my best to catch up on all my blog reading (as well as all the real life stuff -- like mounds of laundry!). Once I get a chance to do a little writing, I'll have some vacation recaps to share with you. In the meantime, I thought I'd do a giveaway!

Restaurant.com has offered me four $25 gift cards, so I will be picking four winners! The gift cards are not only good at participating Boston restaurants, but all participating Restaurant.com restaurants across the country.

What is Restaurant.com?

"Restaurant.com offers gift certificates to more than 15,000 restaurants and bars across the country for a fraction of their actual value. That means customers have access to $25 gift certificates for only $10.  From appetizers to dessert, from wine to dinner, Restaurant.com provides diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way."

How to enter

In order to win one of the gift certificates, just visit Restaurant.com, and tell me what restaurant you'd go to (this doesn't have to be the restaurant you actually end up going to).

For additional entries, either tweet about this giveaway (with a link back to this post) or leave a comment on Delicious Dishings' Facebook page. Then come back here and leave comments for each thing you did.

You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 12, 2011 to enter. I will contact the winners soon after. Please make sure to leave an email where I can reach you if you don't automatically link back to your own blog with contact info.

Good luck!

Buttermilk Cake With Strawberries And Lemon Curd

Don't you hate when a recipe just calls for 1 cup of buttermilk and you're stuck with an open carton with tons of buttermilk left to be used up? Sometimes I use dry buttermilk to avoid this problem, but there are certain recipes that I think come out better with real buttermilk. I wish I was better about thinking ahead and picking recipes that would use up all 4 cups of buttermilk in a carton, but I admit sometimes I just focus on the particular recipe I'm making. Most of the time any leftover buttermilk works its way into pancakes and waffles, but recently when I needed to use up some buttermilk, I tried a recipe for buttermilk cake.

As is typical with me, I couldn't simply make the cake though; I needed to pair it with something. The original recipe calls for Riesling poached pears and vanilla creme fraiche, but that seemed a little wintry to me, so I went with strawberries and lemon curd for a lighter, zippier pairing. I'm pretty sure this won't be the last dessert with lemon curd you'll see here. I've developed a slight obsession. I can't deny eating it with a spoon.

Buttermilk Cake With Strawberries And Lemon Curd (adapted from Food & Wine, February 2011)

Ingredients

2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
Strawberries, hulled and quartered, for serving
Lemon curd, for serving (recipe below)
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, line it with a parchment circle, and butter the parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter with both sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

Add the yolks, one at a time, beating well between additions.

Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

At low speed, alternately beat in the flour mixture and the buttermilk until almost blended.

With a rubber spatula, finish folding the mixture together just until smooth.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack to cool completely.

Slice the cake, and serve it with strawberries and lemon curd.

Lemon Curd (adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe)

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 to 4 lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine the lemon juice, butter, and heavy cream. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and bring the mixture to just under a boil.

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolk, and then whisk in the sugar until completely combined.

Remove the lemon juice mixture from the heat, and whisk a large spoonful of it into the sugar-egg mixture.

Continue whisking in one spoonful of hot liquid at a time (this is called tempering) until you have whisked in all of it.

Pour the contents of the bowl into the saucepan, and set it over medium heat.

Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until mixture thickens and coats the spoon. (You can pull the spoon out and carefully run your finger through it. If the trail holds, the curd is ready.)

Strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.

(If you want to try something interesting, take a little taste of the curd before and after the next step to see how the flavor gets elevated by the salt and vanilla -- this is something I learned at Flour.)

Whisk in the salt and vanilla.

Cover with plastic wrap, pressed against the surface of the curd, and refrigerate until cold, 1 to 2 hours. (The curd can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.)

The sweet, tangy lemon curd and juicy strawberries were the perfect accompaniments to the mild, moist cake. For a little something extra, we pulled out the iSi whipper and made some whipped cream too.

What do you do with extra buttermilk?