Not Very Detailed Restaurant Reviews, by Holly

The past month and a half or so has been a busy time around here. We've been traveling around doing the first leg of our convention schedule and, while it hasn't really afforded me time to cook much more than basic pasta and take-out pizza, I've been trying out some fantastic restaurants.

The highlights so far:

Sky City at the Space Needle in Seattle, WA - This was not my first time at the Space Needle, I had been once before duing the same convention last year. Sure, it's touristy to go to a revolving restaurant but you know what? The food is wonderful, the portions are generous, and the staff is lovely. Highly recommended for a splurge. We started with the Carpaccio and the Prosciutto Wrapped Flagship Cheese, and my entree' was the Seafood Pasta. It was rich, and delicious, and such a large portion that I couldn't finish.

Junior's in Times Square, NYC - Guys, I'm not going to lie to you. I love diner food. I love deli food. Junior's will give me those things, they will give me a huge pile of those things. They give you a selection of complimentary pickles before your meal. My chicken salad was simple, just like I like it. Chicken, mayo, celery. Perfect. I would be remiss not to mention the cheesecake, which is as heavenly as cheesecake gets.

Mercat a la Planxa, Chicago - The ideal review of this place would just be a recording of the gutteral noises that we made while trying the food. High end tapas shared between the six of us, we tried about 20 dishes and I could honestly not pick a favorite. Excellent cocktail menu, as well.

I also updated my flickr stream with some shots of various things including our lovely Easter feast, most of which was provided by Kaliis, all of which was scrumptious. Ogle away.

I will leave you with Food and Wine's recipe for a pitcher of Limoncello Collins, a light and lovely cocktail for the current warm and lovely weather. We drank these with Easter dinner.

Limoncello Collins

• SERVINGS: Makes 8 Drinks

Ingredients

1. 16 ounces limoncello
2. 12 ounces gin
3. 8 ounces fresh lemon juice
4. 24 paper thin lemon slices
5. Ice
6. 16 ounces chilled club soda
7. 8 mint sprigs
8. 
   

Directions

1. In a pitcher, combine the limoncello, gin and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. Press 3 thin lemon slices against the inside of each of 8 collins glasses. Add ice to the glasses. Stir the limoncello mixture and pour it into the glasses. Stir 2 ounces of club soda into each drink and garnish with a mint sprig.

Goat Cheese, Yes Please

Thursday night is often Pasta Night around here, because it's a kind of hectic evening. I do car pool after school and then hustle E off to tap class while C has guitar lessons. So I need to either have something in the crock pot ready to go, or I need to cook something that takes less than 45 minutes start to finish. (That's the window between dropping E off at the studio and having to run back to get her.) I like to mix it up; as good as marinara and meatballs are, we get sick of them pretty quick.

While browsing online for ideas, I found out this: when goat cheese comes in contact with hot pasta it melts into a perfect sauce.

Why the hell did this not occur to me before? OF COURSE it does. Goat cheese is so soft that it will melt at a much lower heat point than cheese made from cow's milk. Just leave some out on the table in the summer and you'll see what I mean. Bonus: goat milk is higher in protein than cow milk and gentler on people who have lactose intolerance.

So I stuck my head into the fridge and came up with this pasta dish. It was a huge hit, and I will definitely make it again.

Rotini With Sausage And Goat Cheese

16 oz whole wheat pasta
10.5 oz package goat cheese
28 oz can of diced tomatoes in juice, drained
1 head's worth or 1 package broccoli florets
1 small red onion, diced
1 T chopped garlic
2 T chopped fresh oregano
1# sausage (I used lamb), casings removed, crumbled
1/4 c reserved cooking water

Cook pasta according to package directions. Right before the pasta is done and ready to drain, dip a measuring cup in and pull out some of the cooking water. (You want the starch and salt in the water to help make the sauce.) Set aside. Toss the broccoli florets right in with the cooking pasta, lower the heat to medium, and cover. Cook for about a minute and drain the whole deal.

While the pasta is cooking, brown the sausage in a large skillet or wok - while breaking it up into smaller with a spoon. When the sausage has browned, add the onions and garlic. Cook until soft, 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir, cook another minute or so. Add fresh oregano. Toss the pasta/broccoli with the sausage/tomato. Crumble in the goat cheese, give it a couple tosses with a spoon, add the cooking water, and stir until all of the goat cheese is evenly melted. Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Depending on the fat content of your sausage, you may want to drain the pan before adding the vegetables. Mine was really lean, so I didn't have to do that.

Tuna Casserole Of The Gods

"I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. Tuna Fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock." - Barbara Grizzuti Harrison


It's cold. It's dark. It's been cold and dark for months. It's winter in New England, my Vitamin D level is low, I'm so pale and the bags under my eyes are so huge that I look like a fat Lindsay Lohan, and all I want to do is lay on the floor and watch crime shows until the sun comes out and it's at least 55 degrees again. I suck at winter.

It comes down to this; I love comfort food. Meatloaf, mac and cheese, beef stew, and mashed potatoes, and that skillet chicken that you make with rice and cream of mushroom soup all have a special place in my heart. So when it's February and it's gross out and I've lost all will to go to the gym anyway so I might as well have a glass of wine and cook something that is mostly carbs I turn to my absolute favorite: Tuna Noodle Casserole.

The kind of tuna casserole that most of us grew up with was made popular by the Campbell's Soup company in the 1940's, as part of their campaign to show that their cream soups made a quick and easy sauce. Do you actually know anyone who eats canned cream soup as soup? Maybe the Cream Of Broccoli but not Cream Of Celery and certainly not Cream Of Mushroom. It gets turned into something else before consumption.

My problem is that canned soup is terrible. It's got a ton of sodium, for one thing, and the leading brand has an ingredient list a mile long. Last time I checked, one of those ingredients was MSG.* It is also in my personal opinion that canned soup tastes like ass. I eat pretty clean, and it's made me hyper-aware of the taste of preservatives and artificial colors and chemical tastes as such. (This is not always to my benefit; such as when we travel and the only place to eat is Outback Steak House or Applebee's or some such strip mall horror and I just want to have dinner and not feel like a giant douche because I can't choke down my salty salty food with my overly sweet margarita.)

On top of this, tuna casserole is not very good for you. Most people make it with egg noodles (bleached flour, fat, cholesterol), the aforementioned canned soup, and Ritz cracker crumbs. Ritz crackers are a big giant fat and salt bomb. Crackers should not leave me wiping grease off my hands like I'm eating bacon. So gross.

I figured out how to make really excellent tuna casserole that has no preservatives, is low-fat, and is just as yum as you remember. It's pretty easy, too! Not as easy as opening a couple of cans and dumping them together but come on guys - you gotta work for the good stuff sometimes.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/2 small onion, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c unbleached flour
2 c low-fat or skim milk
2T butter or margarine
2T olive oil
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 cans tuna packed in water
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/2# (half package) frozen peas
12 oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 c breadcrumbs or crushed crackers

Preheat the oven to 375F. "Grease" a 9x12 casserole dish with pan spray or oil and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, set your colander in the sink and throw the frozen peas in the bottom of the colander. That way when you drain the pasta, the hot cooking water will defrost the peas and they'll be good to go for mixing in the rest of the ingredients.

While waiting for the pasta to cook, saute' the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium high heatuntil the vegetables start to soften and turn translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir. This will turn to a paste-like consistency, and you want that. Lower the heat to medium and cook for one minute while stirring. Continue to stir and slowly add the milk in a steady stream. Stir and cook for another minute or two until the sauce sarts to thicken. Add the dill. Remove from heat.

When the pasta/peas are done, mix (in a bowl) with the tuna and sauce. Transfer mixture to the casserole dish, and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs or crushed crackers. Bake for 20 minutes, let stand five minutes before serving.

Happy Valentimes Day!

We insist on saying ValenTIMES day, much to the chagrin of my eldest.

I am happy to report that my infused vodka came out wonderfully! I used the cherry/vanilla/ginger with a tiny splash of Frangelico in a chocolate shot glass. I think next time I'll put one of the vodka-soaked cherries in the bottom of cup, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. I regret not taking pictures of the finished product..... but let's just say that it was not my first drink of the evening and leave it at that.

I love Valentine's Day! I think it's sweet and I adore all the tickey-tackey pink and red and sparkly decor. I'm also into the chocolate aspect of the day LADIES AMIRIGHT

This morning I made special Valentimes pancakes for the fam.




Here's my pancake recipe; 1) purchase Krusteaze instant pancake mix 2) follow package directions 3) add a bunch of pink food coloring left over from your kid's birthday cupcakes. The end.

Not pictured: Berry Compote

The compote is very simple. I almost always use frozen fruit - it's easy and I usually have it in the house already. This should make enough for four people.

Quick Berry Compote

2 c frozen berries
1 T sugar
1/2 c juice or water, divided
1 T cornstarch

Place berries, sugar, and 1/4 c. liquid in a small saucepan on medium heat. Simmer until berries are heated through. Whisk cornstarch in to remaining 1/4 c liquid to make a slurry. Gently stir slurry into hot berry mixture. Keep stirring for about a minute until compote has thickened. Remove from heat and serve.

This is not a traditional compote by far, but it's a fast fix and right tasty. Top with whipped cream, or sour cream with a little lemon zest.

I am not cooking anything else today because we have been invited to an eight course dinner party with full wine pairings (!) and I am saving my appetite. Did I mention how much I love my friends?

Haiku: Brussel Sprouts

why do they boil me
down to a mushy grey blob
I taste best roasted

Okay so maybe poetry is not my forte', but you get the point.

There is a subconcious list that we all carry around with us;

Things That Are Yucky

1. Lima Beans
2. Meatloaf
3. Liver
4. Brussel Sprouts

Where did we get this list? TV? Can't you just hear Bobby and Cindy Brady's little voices in your head bitching about what Alice made for dinner? Or, maybe your mom was like mine and would cook the hell out of everything - dry meat, formerly green vegetables boiled down to an unappetizing, soft, khaki mess. The woman could make a shaker of Italian seasoning - the only herbs we had in the house - last a year.

I like brussel sprouts. In all honesty, I like all four things on the above list. I figured out how to cook each of them so that they don't taste like poops, so that helps. I am going to tell you how I cook brussel sprouts so that they look like this:



...and taste nothing like the horrors of your youth.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Boil a pot of water, with a small handful of salt added.
Take each sprout, and slice in half the long way (as shown). Remove any outer leaves that may be dried out or brown.
When the water comes to a boil, add the sprouts. You will notice that they almost immediately become a more vivid green, isn't that pretty? Let them boil for about a minute, then drain.
In a large bowl, toss the sprouts with 1T olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. A little fresh garlic would also be very nice, here!
Spread sprouts on a baking sheet, put in oven.
Check after ten minutes, stir sprouts around on baking sheet so that they roast evenly.
Ten more minutes should do it, but if they don't look browned enough to you then by all means put them back in the oven! At this stage I would check every five minutes, and stir every time you pop them back in the oven.

So what is happening, here? First, you're parboiling the sprouts in the water. This cuts down on your roasting time, keeps the veg from drying out while they roast, and gives you that brilliant green color. The salt in the water brings out the flavor of the sprouts and helps maintain the green for the duration of the cooking process. Roasting the sprouts in the oil caramelizes the naturally occurring sugars and creates a wonderfully sweet nuance to the taste.

If you're not normally a fan of cruciferous veg anyway you may not like this, but you never know! I always thought I hated asparagus because my mother would boil it to limp and lifeless and then pour melted Velveeta all over the poor things. The first time I had it steamed I became a convert - then I had it grilled and it moved to the top of my List of Favorite Vegetables.

Yes I have one.

I make a lot of lists.

Don't judge me.

No Longer Confused About Vodka, Infused

I have been a little trepidatious about alcohol and vinegar infusions. It seemed that it could not possibly be as simple as dropping stuff into liquid and then ignoring it for a few days. Apparently it is? Then why have I waited so long? The lesson here kids, is Carpe Diem (or something to that effect).

In honor of Valentine's Day, our cocktail club theme is "Pink Drinks". I am currently infusing vodka with cherries to achieve the necessary blush. I have two set up: Cherry/Vanilla/Ginger and Cherry/Lime.




The next step is to create a cocktail. I don't care for very sweet drinks; I will partake of an occasional chocolatini and call it dessert, but I tend to go for simpler tastes like vodka tonics and dirty martinis. I am also fairly new to mixology. When learning to cook, you don't jump right from toast to rack of lamb - I'm not ready to attempt anything too complex. I've decided to make a Rickey* with the Cherry/Lime Vodka. I know that Rickeys are traditionally a summer drink, but I could use a little taste of summer right about now. I'm still deciding with what to blend the Cherry/Vanilla/Ginger. I kind of want to try it with cola, but that won't be pink.

In addition to the vodka, I am infusing white vinegar with garlic, rosemary, and lemon peel. I am trying to eat mostly salads for lunch, and I prefer oil and vinegar over most salad dressings. Infusing the vinegar and/or oil adds a nice punch of flavor. Zeke, my crystal skull, is working on it for me:


I didn't measure anything for these infusions. I "eyeballed" it (yes, that is the scientific term) and am hoping for the best. The vodka should be ready in five days, I'm going to test the vinegar after two weeks, because that it what The Internet told me to do.

I'll post the cocktail recipes after I try them out!


*Basic Rickey: Lime juice, simple syrup, club soda.

Wheaty Baked Ziti

This weekend, after a crazy dinner party that left me with four dishwasher loads of dishes and six kinds of cheese in the fridge, I found myself hungrily eyeing my slow cooker and trying to think of what I could make that would involve as little prep and as few dishes as humanly possible. If I could use up some of that cheese, even better. The answer, my friends, was baked ziti.

I will admit that I was skeptical about slow-cooked pasta. The very nature of the noodle is that it's a quick, easy, meal. If you know how to boil water, you're pretty much good to go. I was afraid that the long cooking time would make the noodles mushy and unappetizing, and that they would absorb too much of the sauce. I found that as long as you don't leave it in too long ad you keep an eye on it, it works perfectly. This isn't a recipe for a workday when you'll be gone for eight or nine hours, it's more for when you're home but otherwise occupied.

I highly recommend the use of whole-grain pasta in this dish. Because they are denser than refined noodles, they're less likely to lose integrity during the slow cooking process and you are less likely to end up with a crock full of glop.

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

1 box of whole grain ziti, or shape of your choice
1 jar of prepared marinara sauce
1 cup water
2-3 cups assorted cheese (I used shredded mozzarella, crumbled goat cheese, and a grated hard cheese - Roth's Private Reserve)

Spray the inside of the crock with pan spray, you'll thank me when it's clean-up time. Layer as such: One third of the sauce, half the pasta, half the cheese, one third of the sauce, the remaining half box of pasta, the rest of the sauce, the cup of water, the rest of the cheese. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about the size of the inside of the crock, spray one side with pan spray, and place it (spray side down) lightly on the ingredients. Like this:





This will keep the moisture down in the lower half of the crock, where it belongs, and the top layer of pasta will cook but not get all crunchy. Cook on high for four hours. Keep an eye on it, if it looks like it's drying out but the noodles aren't cooked through, sprinkle another 1/4 of water over the top.

This was a big hit with the family. I served it with chewy whole grain bread, and mixed greens.

P.S. My current favorite salad dressing is a sprinkling of tamari and a sprinkling of orange muscat champagne vinegar. I find the vinegar at my food boyfriend's place (Trader Joe's). It's zesty, sweet, and a little tart on the finish, and works perfectly against the subtle salt and umami of a nice tamari. Did I mention it's fat free? Because it is.

P.P.S. I started a Twitter account for notices of updates and random blurbs that won't fill a whole blog post. You can follow @mouthfull_blog, and I will attempt to be entertaining.