Indulgence. Simple and Sweet.
Oops...forgot - that's still in the fridge?
Persian Coutlets...the recipe you've been waiting for
The recipe is really quite simple:
1 onion, grated - keep the juice
1 pound ground beef - a lean kind
3 to 4 grated potatoes
1 egg
ground cornflakes (for breading)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, turmeric
Boil the potatoes and grate them into a bowl
Grate the onion into the bowl as well, keeping the juice because that's where a lot of the flavor comes from
Add the meat and spices - normally, we add a Persian spice here, but the recipe is fine without it
Add the egg and mush everything together with your hands (or a fork)
Form into patties and roll in cornflakes seasoned with turmeric and salt and pepper
Fry in olive oil until they turn golden brown - because of the turmeric they will turn pretty dark when they fry, but be sure they don't burn!
Louisiana Flair - Great Food, Better Company
Jump On the Bandwagon...
My brother loves pumpkin pie but I never completely fell in love with it. Something about the texture, I think. And the fact that if I wanted to eat a pie that tastes like pumpkin, why didn't I just roast some dang pumpkin? Cheesecake, though. I can do pumpkin cheesecake. One of my favorite things to do is experiment with different flavors of cheesecake until I get the right combo for the filling - I hate using only cream cheese because it is so one-dimensional and fattening. Switch to the 1/3 fat kind, add a few spoons of ricotta instead, and a dollop of sour cream and you've got an amazing concoction that will make people wonder how come there own versions are so bland.
Easy Orzo with Sundried Tomatoes and Garlic
For that past....well, I can't even remember how long it's been - months, let's say, I have had a pound of orzo sitting in the cupboard. I bought it with Weston many moons ago when Bush's was having a sale on pasta and we were sick of spaghetti and thought we'd be ambitious and try to make something with orzo. But here's the thing with orzo - it can't take heavy sauces - so things like Mac and Cheese or a simple meat sauce are just too overpowering. And since we both are BIG mac and cheese people, we never got around to our little experiment.
But since I am by myself now, I take great joy in tying up loose recipe ends such as this. So, thank you to Nino, the head chef of the villa I stayed at in Italy, for being the inspiration for the following recipe. I think I found the perfect meal for any occasion - from a summertime BBQ to a family gathering crowd pleaser.
FYI: this recipe makes A LOT - probably 8 to 10 servings worth so cut it in half if making for less, or invite a whole bunch of friends over for a potluck :)
1 pound orzo - cooked in salted boiling water until just soft to the bite
2-3 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs (or more if you'd like) good olive oil - a light, a fruity olive oil would be good, nothing too heavy
Make the orzo and set aside to cool.
Add all the mix-ins - no dressing yet.
Make the dressing by whisking the lemon juice and olive oil - amount adjusted to your liking. Add the spices and pour over the pasta.
The dressing will seep into the pasta over time, so I like to do a preliminary coating and then coast with more dressing before serving, so you get two punches of flavor.
Please please please do not take this dish and throw on some of that Kraft ready-made balsamic or Italian style vinaigrette. Nothing against Kraft but it just makes the dish taste...artificial. You'd be surprised how wonderful a little olive oil and lemon juice are together.
Something Old, Something New
...oh yes. Winter is the time. The time for soup. I've gotten quite good at perfecting the art of soup, if I do say so myself. I used to think brewing up a pot of homemade goodness was such a hassle, but really it couldn't be easier so long as you have some type of stock and veggies/beans on hand.
Do Over Surprise... Congrats Carrot Cake
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
Group B:
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. cinnamon
2 cups flour
½ tsp. nutmeg
Group C:
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
½ cup crushed pineapple
½ cup pineapple juice
Mix Group A in a large bowl
Mix all B in medium bowl
Add A & B together
Add Group C one at a time and mix
Bake: grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan
350° 35-40 minutes
½ stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese (room temp so there are no lumps)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream (optional, but tasty)
1 cup chopped pistachios (to sprinkle on top)
Cream butter and cream cheese together
Add remaining ingredients
Frost, sprinkle with nuts
* let cake cool BEFORE frosting otherwise you'll have an unsightly mess
Now, this particular cake was created to surprise my friend Sharon, who you will remember from the plan that failed only a month ago - when I made her chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. This time, I was able to deliver her surprise with (almost) no hitches.. dang lab meetings running over all the time and sitting alone in the Student Center with a tiny cake in front of you :) Congrats to you for getting into VCU Med!!!!!!!!!
Eating Out: Part Three - Tastebuds American Bistro
Menu
Acorn Squash & Goat Cheese Brulee with Salad of WheatBerries, Pears, Dried Cranberries, and Baby Greens
Duck Leek spring roll with Ginger Pear Dipping Sauce
Second Course:
Shrimp and chili rubbed sirloin kabobs, squash with hominy, and coleslaw
Sirloin with squash risotto and green beans
Looking back, I think it would have done our pocketbooks a great deal if we had skipped the entree because we were both pretty full from the "small" plates. Ok, maybe I should just speak for myself because my babe has got about 4 stomachs. His shrimp was cooked perfectly and was a tad spicy which added some extra flavor. I think we did a trade so I could finish his leftovers of that. As for the beef, also cooked perfectly and spiced nicely. The risotto didn't knock my socks off and neither did the coleslaw for Weston. But he was in love with their hominy side dish and you really can tell that the chef uses local ingredients.
Third Course:
Dessert time!!! If you live close by, I'd say come here whenever you are craving anything particular because chances are, they've got it covered: fruit, chocolate, ice cream, etc. Tastebuds is known for their bread pudding and after sampling it for myself, I can honestly say it is the best I've ever had. Nice and crunchy on the outside and creamy and luscious on the inside - I could taste the butter. Up until this point I'd say the best bread pudding I've had was in Chicago at the Grand Luxe Cafe, if that gives you any comparison. This version was a tad more sophisticated. The other dessert we tried was their chocolate cake which was a nice large portion of basically, pure chocolate. But it didn't get old bite after bite which was a pleasant surprise.
So service and atmosphere aside (which weren't bad to begin with), Tastebuds offers superb cuisine at an affordable price, it'd say. Tips from me would be to just order small plates and if you're really eying an entree, order one and split it. Split everything. Except maybe the bread pudding. Because that, my dears, is just too good to share.
One Oven = Chicken Two Ways
Homemade Granola Bars with a Twist
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup crushed corn flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon (change the amount up or down depending on how much you want to taste this)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. I used a Pyrex dish and that worked really well to get the bars out.
- Mix all the dry ingredients, make a well in the center, and add the wet. If the mixture looks too moist, you can add some more oats or corn flakes, but keep in mind that the moist mixture will soak into the dry ingredients over time. If the mixture looks too wet, add a bit more honey. I kept adding cardamom until I could smell it well - if you add too much it overpowers the flavor and too little will just taste like nothing.
- Using your hands, press into the baking dish.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. I cut mine into nice large squares - don't try for thin strips because the dough is a bit crumbly when warm.
Ghanaian Hash
What to do:
The first thing that surprised me was the spice factor and the way her spice mixture really complimented the plantains. You HAVE to eat this dish with plantains, nothing else will do. All you do is wait until they ripen and then boil them until they are cooked through. Don't be impatient like me, though, and let them cool a bit before eating :)
Eating Out: Part Two - Ginger Thai
No pictures so sorry about that - but I promise, here is a very detailed review for you.
Atmosphere: BUSY BUSY We were waiting in the "foyer" for a good while. But the smell was awesome. If you're claustrophobic this might not be so good for you because we could literally bump elbows with the couple next to us and I definitely heard a possibly illegal conversation going on at the table to my right.
First Course:
We ordered their spring roll - not fried. It was alright - not worth $7 in my opinion, even if it came with a side of some pretty good peanut sauce. The filling was lackluster: a few mint leaves, some noodles, cabbage, and about 5 slivers of carrot. But it was enough for 2 to share.
Second Course:
Dish A - Yellow Curry:
This was wonderful, in my opinion. Chicken cooked in chili infused coconut sauce - you can't go wrong with that. The curry also had pieces of potato and carrot in it. The carrot tasted a bit off - acid-like almost and the potato seemed like it had been baked and then put in the curry, so it had a slightly hard crust on it. But the chicken was cooked well and the flavor of the sauce was very good.
Dish B - Pad Thai:
Initially I thought this was very good, too, but then I spotted a flaw that I couldn't get over... The flavor was nice - on the spicy side which both Weston and I enjoy. And I loooove it when they serve that little wedge of lime because I think it adds so much flavor. There wasn't a puddle of oil under the noodles either, which I was grateful for. So what ruined the memory? The noodles. They were brittle. I don't know if it was because they weren't cooked through all the way or maybe that was how the restaurant intended to serve them. It just didn't do it for me. But I will say this: although the ingredient usage is not perfect, Ginger Thai does deliver on flavor.
I suggest you order the Thai tea because it is really wonderful - not too sweet and not orange. The bill cost about $50 which seemed a tad high- but each entree was enough to share and we had a lot of leftovers. If you do decide to go, I'd stick to one appetizer and one entree. Then hop down the street to Bev's for a nice ice cream nightcap.
For your enjoyment and a little added extra review - earlier in the day we tried that little bakery in the Carytown shopping center near CanCan - Jean Jacques, I believe it is called. AMAZING!!! I ordered a lemon poppy seed muffin and it was perfect - I have been dreaming about them since. Just enough fat to hold a nice crumb, lemon zest throughout, and the occasional pocket of baking soda so you know it's homemade. The way people were googling over their tiramisu, I am guessing this bakery has quite the following. Weston got a strawberry danish and since he didn't offer me any I'm guessing it too, was very good. In his defense, I don't think I shared my muffin either ;) Love you, sweetie! If you're looking for a cute place for breakfast tasties or entertaining delights, I suggest you give this bakery a try.
Just Fry It
I couldn't help it - I had to try the plantain raw - it tasted delicious! I loved how it was a little starchy and had some bite to it. My mom and I share a weird love of under-ripe bananas and mealy nectarines.
Eating Out: Part One-Acacia MidTown
Alright, y'all, I have decided to try my hand at restaurant reviewing. After all, I have been eating at some very lovely restaurants and it would be improper for me to withhold my findings from you.
Blog Archive
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2010
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December
(8)
- Quick and Healthy Cream Sauce
- Indulgence. Simple and Sweet.
- Oops...forgot - that's still in the fridge?
- Persian Coutlets...the recipe you've been waiting for
- Louisiana Flair - Great Food, Better Company
- Jump On the Bandwagon...
- Easy Orzo with Sundried Tomatoes and Garlic
- Something Old, Something New
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December
(8)