From Soup to Bat Nuts to Charcuterie – Happy New Year!

The end of the first week of the new year is already around the corner, and I realized that I hadn’t done my year-end retrospective. So here we go!

We’re Baaack!  After the server meltdown of nearly a year ago, I had seriously considered just letting MirePoix Vegas die a quiet, unheralded death.  Digging through confusing databases for old posts is a pain, and recreating a site from scratch is time-consuming, especially when you’re a stickler (read nit-picky) about color and design. However, a few  food-related posts on Vegas Wineaux told me that I needed to resurrect the site, and so I did.  However, instead of having a complete site like Vegas Wineaux, I decided to create a basic framework and just add as I go.  As a result MirePoix Vegas was up and running, even though we look a little skinny now.  And I promise to go digging through those confusing databases to find some of my old posts that are still relevant.

The good stuff’s comin’!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in my own kitchen this winter, and as a result, some of my plans for reviewing restaurants, discussing food topics, and general local food news have fallen away as I’ve been taking my readers through my cooking adventures.  It’s been largely different varieties of soup, but the fine art of Charcuterie is coming soon! Yes, I’m that adventurous!

I’ve spent a lot of time in ethnic, health, and specialty markets over the last year.  I’ve discovered butcher shops, a Whole Foods wannabe market (Glazier’s), and I’ve rediscovered offal. There were Bat Nuts, which for some strange reason, seemed to generate a lot of interesting remarks. I’ve also realized that my oft-teased habit of obsessive research has resulted in beautifully prepared dishes that could be called competition-level eats.  I really enjoy the “atta girl!” comments I’ve been receiving.

So what’s up for the new year?  More adventures and more experimentation, of course!  Along with my treks into the wilds of Charcuterie, I plan to tackle more complex dishes including the use of offal in ethnic dishes, such as Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, American South, and French.  Looking at a small pile of sheep’s eyeballs carefully packaged in the Hallel market on Spring Mountain made me think about using “out of the box” ingredients.  Oh – don’t worry.  I can guarantee that there will be no “100 Exciting Ways to Cook Eyeballs” anywhere in the Vegas Wineaux universe.  Well, I can *mostly* guarantee.

My features on Local Joints will finally be introduced as I do reviews of places where locals like to eat.  Bar food or gourmet, it’ll all be the same – good food and service.  Or not.  Honestly, I will only review a place if I think it’s somewhere that people might like to check out.  The so-so will go unmentioned.  The outrageous will be skewered.  Remember Sweet Water?

I love getting out there and enjoying food and wine.  I didn’t get this butt by snacking on rice cakes and lemon water!  This is the year of my bicycle, and I will be rolling off the pounds for two reasons:  I want to eat well and I want to stay healthy!

Look for us later this year as we jump – once again – into Foodbuzz competition for best food blog.  I entered Vegas Wineaux (big mistake – crash and burn), but this year will be all about MirePoix Vegas.  We will rock 2011.

Related articles

• The charcuterie wine-pairing challenge (theglobeandmail.com)
• Fin de siecle: Has French cookery had its just desserts? (independent.co.uk)
• 20 Best Cooking Blogs for Extremely Adventurous Eaters (bestcollegesonline.net)
• The Queen of Foie Gras (thedailybeast.com)