Woot to Jennifer James and her eponymous Jennifer James 101.  She’s been toiling for years and years to local foodie accolade but yet only middling success.  This town “ain’t ready for her” is a big problem, but she is loyal to Albuquerque and for that I love her dedication.

A nominee for “Best Chef Southwest”, I was tipped to this by Chantal’s tweet, and had to do some digging to find good links – as for a stint of time yesterday, the James Beard site was pretty much down under the load of a bazillion foodies all wanting to see the nominations list, from regional chefs to restauranteurs to writers and everything in between.

But then, way up in Denver, my old pal Westword comes to the rescue:  List of  Nominees 2010

They even included a link to the pdf, which I’ll post (below) when I can download the darn thing.

[Congrats are in order, as well, to James Campbell Caruso of La Boca (IMO, best fig newton EVER), and Eric DiStephano of Coyote Cafe (IMO, best bacon bourbon cocktail, seriously)]

Here’s the original link to the James Beard site, and a direct link to the pdf file

Did you not get the treats you wanted for Valentine’s Day? Head over to Flying Star with the printed image/coupon below and have yourself a fistful of cake & buttercream!

(Yeah, you do have to buy some real food, too – that’s how this kind of thing works)

I just had occasion to take another look at the menu at Vivace – one of the Nob Hill Italian eateries that has been a mainstay for many years in Albuquerque.

On the menu one of the items listed is a Bruschetta, and I noted that the bread is house made, “Tuscan style”.  I remember having mussels at Vivace some time ago and nearly being unable to stop eating the lusciously grilled hunks of bread that rimmed the brothy bowl.  Now I see why I was hooked – bread made by someone who knows what the heck they are doing is a wonderful thing, especially then when it is drizzled with good olive oil and marked by the grill.

Maybe I need to go back and have more of it….

Yeah, its that time of year again.  Wasn’t it just 2008?  2005?  Sheesh.

If you want to do something a little different but not crazy over Valentine’s Day, head out of town just a few miles to the green pine trees of Cedar Crest and the Greenside Cafe.

The owner/chef Jay Wulf is of the Range Cafe / Standard Diner clan and has been giving those in the East Mountains a better alternative for the last few years, with reliable morning-noon-night hours that keep nearly everyone happy.

On top of that, Jay likes to do wine dinners and special  occasions like he’ll be doing for Valentine’s Day.

Some teaser menu items from the evening pre-fixe meal:  crab cake salad, homemade truffles, pepper steak….

Here’s his info from the website (greensidecafe.net):

http://www.greensidecafe.net/valentine.pdf

Believe it or not, prior to this blog post (and hopefully not for long afterward), you would get zero Google results for the phrase “low fat torta de huevo”.

Given how delicious and traditional the dish is around spring, you’d think someone found a work around for those of us who prefer (even if not always practice) to avoid deep-fried foods.

What is Torta de Huevo?  Simple yet involved, delicious and rich, perfect for days you’re not so much into meat and such.  Take separated eggs, beat the whites to peaks, beat the yolks to frothy, fold together and fry in little patties.  Drown it all in red chile sauce.  Done.

So, the key is how to reproduce the crispy texture that frying imparts, without deflating what is essentially a souffle.  My bet?  Broil the puppies, or REALLY gently pan-sear in a good non-stick.  Or both – pan sear then chuck the whole pan in the oven with no flipping required until it is done.

Haven’t tried this yet, but I know it will work, and if a local restaurant also wanted to try it, that would be super cool.  Let me know!