Our friends and I talked a lot about the economics of farming in the 21st century and whether these farms were profitable or just driven by a blind passion towards a better way of living and eating. We didn’t come up with any answers or look at any spreadsheets, but I just know that I’m lucky to live in a community that supports people living their dream of creating the best farm possible.

This however changed a few weeks ago when Carlo was out of town and I had a whole chicken sitting in my fridge that needed to be cooked. It was a Friday night and the thought of a roast chicken and a nice bottle of red wine was just how I wanted to unwind from the week. I found a surprisingly simple Thomas Keller recipe at Epicurious that I thought I would try because anyone who has ever eaten at one of his restaurants knows that he doesn’t mess around with the classics.

50 minutes later and with a whole lot more cooking courage, as well as a fair bit of smoke in the kitchen, I had roasted my first chicken! And it was amazing with super crispy skin on the outside and tender and juicy meat on the inside. In fact, it was so good, I declared myself the official chicken roaster in the house from here on out. Although Carlo still gets to keep his role as the carver of his chicken because everything is better with team work!

Thomas Keller’s Simple Roast Chicken, from Epicurious, October 2004

a 2- to 3-pound chicken
coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. Making sure the chicken is a key step in cooking a super crispy chicken as this prevents the chicken from steaming, instead of roasting.

Salt and pepper the cavity and then use some twine to truss the drumsticks together over the top of the breast. You can also truss the wings and secure them closer to the body of the chicken, but I’ve haven’t gotten the hang of this move and I’ve never had any disastrous results from not doing so.

Place the chicken into a roasting pan and salt the skin liberally. Seriously, just think how amazing salty crispy chicken tastes and go crazy. Then season to taste with a bit of pepper.

Roast the chicken in the hot oven for 50-60 minutes and it looks done. If you want to get all technical, place a thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh and a temperature of 165°F means the chicken is ready to eat!

Due to the high roasting temperature, the chicken skin spits off quite a bit of fat which can create a little bit of smoke in the oven and then the kitchen. One way to lessen this is to roast the chicken on the lower shelf of your oven and place a large sheet of tin foil on the top shelf that can catch and contain some of this chicken fat. Although be prepared for a little smoke and open the windows I’m not afraid of a little smoke.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and add the thyme to the pan. Base the chicken with the fatty juices and thyme, and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Then the chicken is ready to carve! Here is a good video from Gourmet of how to carve a whole roast chicken, although I do think that just pulling chunks of tender chicken and crispy skin off the carcass with your hands is totally acceptable too.

This recipe for Japanese Eggplant with Pimento-Scallion Glaze is from Debbie Lee’s Seoultown Kitchen cookbook that we got for Christmas. Along with David Chang’s Momofuku cookbook, this collection of recipes has been in the greatest rotation in our kitchen lately. The original recipe calls for you to add tofu to these skewers, but I think there is no need to add an extra step or ingredient to what is a really easy and fast Asian-style vegetable dish. Plus the glaze is so tasty, you might want to try it on an accompanying piece of grilled fish or meat for a quick weeknight dinner.

Japanese Eggplant with Pimento-Scallion Glaze, adapted from Seoultown Kitchen
serves 4

2 Japanese eggplants, cut into thin rounds of equal width
1/4 cup red chile bean paste (gochujang) or chili-garlic sauce
3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons white sugar
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped scallions, plus some extra to garnish
1/4 cup sesame oil

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients (minus the eggplant) and blend well to make the glaze. Put the eggplant rounds on metal skewers. Grill the skewers on a preheated grill or in a grill pan on the stove. Brush the glaze over the eggplant immediately and cook for 2 minutes. Turn over the eggplant and brush the other side with the glaze, cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat this process on both sides again until the eggplant is cooked. Remove the eggplant from the skewers and serve immediately with a garnish of chopped scallions using the green bits. You can drizzle any leftover glaze on top for an even bolder flavour.

Even though I’m fairly diligent about going through the fridge on a weekly basis to get rid of sad vegetables left uneaten from our CSA (why do they give us so much kohlrabi?), I still found some surprises. Like that tupperware container wedged way in the back under the shelf with a piece of what was Parmesan cheese before it decided to accessorize with a furry white coat. And seriously, how many extremely expired jars of mayo does one couple need, especially a couple that doesn’t really eat mayo?

One hour later and a trash bag full of old condiments and other uneatable items, I had a gleaming and organized fridge, as well as a smug sense of achievement. Behold the satisfaction of a clean fridge!

And sometimes I’m just having such a good time and enjoying being in the moment with loved ones that photos (of food at least) and blog posts are the furthest things from my mind. Instead photos of Carlo telling a funny story while pouring me yet another glass of wine, or Carlo and my brother Andrew laughing over a pint of a beer are what I want to remember and cherish instead.

So here is a list of places where I enjoyed eating on our trip to the UK and for whatever reason am not doing a full blog post about. But don’t worry, all recommendations come with two thumbs up from me if you ever find yourself over the pond.

London:

St. John Bread and Wine
The above photo of Carlo is from a really fun and delicious night at St. John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields. One of Fergus Henderson’s restaurants, it specializes in his nose-to-tail eating philosophy, but with smaller plates that are meant to be shared. Highlights of our meal included the thickest slathering of foie gras pate on toast, a whole brown crab that I bruised my finger nail eating because I just couldn’t crack it open fast enough with the crab cracker, and grilled ox heart. Oh, and they had the most amazing mince pie for dessert that finally made Carlo a convert to this British Christmas treat!

Pizza East
So I’m a tad bit embarrassed that I got this food recommendation from Gwyneth Paltrow’s newsletter GOOP, but considering she had St. John Bread and Wine and Ottolenghi on her list too, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try it out. Plus it was our last night in London and I was exhausted and didn’t want to travel far from our hotel. Turns out that Gwyneth (or at least someone on her editorial team) has good taste. The bar at Pizza East was the perfect place to grab a few antipasti, share a pizza, and drink a bottle of red wine. Anything with their burrata is divine!

Wagamama (national)
Okay, so technically I ate at Wagamama when I was in Liverpool visiting my family and they also have one in Edinburgh too, but I’ve eaten at Wagamama so many times in London that it counts as a London entry. Yes, it is a chain, but a chain that does noodles well. You aren’t going to have an authentic Asian experience here, but you can always rely on a tasty dinner at not too exorbitant a price in London. Plus it makes the perfect refuge on a really cold and wet day, as it was when we went there in Liverpool. And yes, I totally slurped the dregs of broth out of my bowl just like the Wagamama logo photo. If you want to experience Wagamama at home, check out this recipe for Chili-Marinated Vegetable Ramen.

EAT (national)
I’m super leery about prepackaged foods, especially prepackaged sandwiches, but for some reason I love EAT. Somehow they manage to make prepackaged sandwiches interesting, tasty, and (important for me) not soggy. There is pretty much an EAT on every corner in London. For those corners where there is no EAT, there is a Pret A Manager which is the same concept, but somehow just not as good to me (maybe it is a design thing). Or in most cases, there is a EAT right next to a Pret. If you are looking for a cheap and tasty lunch on the run, picking up a sandwich at EAT is the way to go. I love grabbing a sandwich and taking it to the park for an impromptu picnic, but perhaps my favourite time to stop by EAT is at Heathrow or Gatwick airport and pick up a sandwich or two for my flight back to Austin. I’m partial to the mature cheddar and Branston pickle baguette which I stuff full with an entire bag of salt and vinegar crisps and proceed to make a total mess of crumbs. I’m totally that person you want sitting next to you on a trans-Atlantic flight Why EAT has not conquered the USA is beyond me? Millionaire in the making if you bring that concept to America, or maybe everyone over here is scared of prepackaged sandwiches from their experiences with frightening looking gas station egg salad sandwiches?

Eat the best breakfast ever at the Hawksmoor

I totally have a mad crush on everything Ottolenghi

For serious food porn, check out the Harrods Food Hall and Borough Market

And you can’t leave London without experiencing the classic British roast dinner at Canteen

Edinburgh:

Rhubarb
My dad took me, Carlo, Andrew, and my mum on a lunch date to Rhubarb at Prestonfield House and it was quite the treat. Him and my mum had spotted this beautiful lodge and golf course on one of their walks through Holyrood Park and decided to investigate what it was. Turns out it is the most amazing amazing Scottish country boutique hotel with beautiful decor and a really great restaurant to match. The prix fixe lunch was amazing and had the most beautiful food presentation. Plus coffee came with macaroon lollipops and the most sinful fudge. Definitely a place for a decadent lunch and perhaps some celebrity sightings. My dad swears Sean Connery is a regular, and how awesome would that be to have James Bond sitting next to you! Oh, and check out the upstairs ladies bathroom–enough pink toile to make Marie Antoinette green with envy!

Beirut
On New Year’s Eve, my parents looked after my nieces and me, Carlo, Andrew, my sister Alison, and brother-in-law Craig went out on the town. We started our evening at Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant in the Old Town. Alison and Craig first met when both were living in Cyprus and I remember visiting Alison over there and discovering mezze at this Lebanese restaurant where my dad would always be really into the belly dancer. Sadly there are no good Lebanese restaurants in Austin, but Beirut filled that craving with an outstanding mezze full of all kinds of dips and kebabs. Plus you can smoke shisha outside after dinner which is one of Craig’s favourite past times and I don’t mind indulging every now and then again!

The Oxford Bar
Confession: I have read every single Rebus book published, seen Ian Rankin speak at Book People last spring, and Carlo got recommendations for good record stores to visit in Edinburgh from Rankin over Twitter (Avalanche Records and Vinyl Villains also come recommended from us). Even though I visited Edinburgh as young teenager with my family, it was through Rankin’s books that I really got to learn and explore Edinburgh, although an exploration that was distant and only through words on the page. It wasn’t until my parents moved to Edinburgh part time in September 2010 and my subsequent visits that I got to know all the places the Rankin so vividly describes in his novels. The Oxford Bar is a dive pub–very small, normally has a largely male clientele, and sells fairly crappy Scottish beers (sorry Deuchars is not my cup of tea). That said whenever I visit my parents, I always make the trip for a quick pint and try not to act like too much of a tourist or a Rebus junkie.

The Bon Vivant’s Companion
On our walk to the Oxford Bar, we happened upon the cutest street called Thistle Street in the New Town. Full of boutique shops and restaurants that I want to try on my next visit, we stopped by Bon Vivant’s Companion, a small wine and liquor shop next to its namesake bar which is renowned for its cocktails. Walking into this little shop felt a bit like walking into Cheers. Although we just stumbled across this place, we ended up talking to the people working and buying an incredible fortified Malbec and a few other bottles of wine to drink on Christmas. All the people that work here are super knowledgeable about their products and are willing to help you find the perfect bottle of wine or spirits.

At our first visit, we ended up talking about wanting to do a whisky tasting, but how we didn’t want to go to the touristy Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile. We came back a few days later for a whisky tasting, and despite freaking everyone out at the store because we called to schedule something, it ended up being an interesting experience. Not only did we learn about the different whisky producing areas in Scotland, but got to taste different samples from each area. Things that I learned: I love the taste of single malt Highland whisky and blended Lowlands whisky. And I really don’t like the peat taste of the Islay whiskys. But regardless of your poison, be sure to check out this fun shop whether it is to bring something interesting home or something to just enjoy on your travels.

For a pint in a beautiful Victorian pub, check out Cafe Royal, just don’t order the oysters).

Craving seafood? Go to The Ship on the Shore in Leith.

For the best roasted pork sandwiches EVER, go to Oink in the Grassmarket.

Supposedly oysters were once so abundant in the Firth that they were one of the most eaten foods in the city! Oysters also played an important role in the scientific and cultural life of Edinburgh during the end of the 18th century. The Oyster Club was founded by economist Adam Smith, philosopher David Hume, the father of geology James Hutton, and chemist Joseph Black, and included many other esteemed members during its existence like visiting thinker Benjamin Franklin. The Oyster Club met each week in a various taverns throughout the Old Town to discuss their thoughts on art, architecture, philosophy, politics, science, and economics while slurping down plentiful oysters and ale. It delights me to no end to imagine how this decadent pursuit of intellectual camaraderie impacted each of the participating thinkers in pushing their own research and inquiry forward!

My first stop in channeling a 21st century Oyster Club was Cafe Royal, just off the eastern end of Princes Street in the New Town. An Edinburgh landmark, Cafe Royal has been in existence since 1826 and has been in its “new” location since 1863. Both a bar and a restaurant, Carlo and I went to the bar just after it opened on Christmas Eve ready for some oysters and a pint of beer. My over enthusiasm to get a table since the bar is often packed meant that Carlo and I were the only people in the bar at 11:15!

We ordered a dozen oysters and while they looked and tasted good, whoever had shucked the oysters had not done the best or neatest job. Each slurp of briny goodness was followed by us spitting out a chip of oyster shell which is never pleasant. Maybe it was because we got there so early and the B-list oyster shucker was on duty? I’m not sure, but my recommendation is to skip the oysters and grab a beer at the bar with some of their game pate and enjoy the beautiful Victorian architecture and design instead at Cafe Royal.

In my quest to finally eat good oysters and to fulfill my insatiable desire for seafood, Carlo and I had a date a couple of days later at The Ship on the Shore on the docks in Leith. Purely found by a Google search and chosen by me because they had a Fruits de Mer platter (damn, those just might be the sexiest French words ever), this restaurant was amazing! Basically a cozy little pub with a very strategic use of mirrors, this restaurant knows its local seafood and doesn’t mess around. We ordered the regular Fruits de Mer platter for two (sans the bottle of Dom Perignon) and it was huge in the most awesome way ever: half a Scottish lobster, razor clams, brown crab salad, langoustines, clams, smoked salmon two ways, scallops, oysters, smokes mackerel, mussels, and then a Scottish flourish of some delicious fat chips (fries for people who only speak American).

I ate a lot of really good food on my 2 week trip to the UK, but this was perhaps my favourite dinner. Terroir is something bandied about in wine conversations, but I could taste the frigid terroir in this local seafood that captured the essence of Scotland from the biting wind we faced every day to the ever present threat of rain. It wasn’t a pretentious meal despite the French nomenclature of the dish and the £60 price tag, but just a celebration of Edinburgh’s local bounty and preparing them in the most simple of ways. Always a win-win situation for me and there were no bits of oyster shells to pick out of my teeth either! So The Ship on the Shore is going to be my go to place to eat oysters on all subsequent visits to see my parents in Edinburgh and I can’t wait.

In the front window of Oink lays a large roasted pig with the head still on and a thick layering of crackling covering a pile of pulled pork. It is from this pig that the restaurant makes its sandwiches until they run out of meat for the day. Despite only selling roasted pork sandwiches, you do have a few choices to customize your sandwich.

On a white or brown bun, you can opt to have sage and onion stuffing or haggis smeared onto the bottom of the bun. Since I’m in Scotland, I normally choose haggis and it is good. Then you can choose whether you want chili or apple sauce to top the roasted pork. Last but not least, ask for some crackling to put in your sandwich. The roasted skin of the pig adds a nice crunch to the sandwich and enhances the flavor of the pork. Just be sure to arrive at Oink on the early side as they often run out of of crackling and the sandwiches just aren’t the same without it.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and is surrounded by loved ones and good food. Merry Christmas from Scotland!