| same ol same ol 'round here... by Lara October 31, 2009 |
spicy bat wings and eye of newt to start...
witch's wart stew & ghoul goulash for the main.
mounds of candy corn and warm bug juice to finish. |
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| Jamie's Italian by Chad October 25, 2009 |
So what does one do for dinner on a Sunday night when at Canary Wharf in London? Well, how about dropping by a celebrity chef's restaurant? In my case, I chose "Jamie's Italian" by Jamie Oliver.
My dinner started with mini sweet chili peppers stuffed with tuna, capers and anchovies, and drizzled with a relatively light olive oil. Much to my surprise, the seafood and caper stuffing with its inherent saltiness was a great foil to the chili peppers' bite. Only once did a pepper surpise me with extra heat, but that was quickly swept aside by the delightful filling. I was off to a great start.
For my main course, I opted for pasta -- carbonara, to be exact. I know I should have had something more exotic like lamb lollipops, but I didn't. My brain locked on to the carbonara and that was it -- mind made up. All in all, it was quite good. I had a human-sized portion that didn't let me overstuff myself, the sauce was thicker than I had expected, and the spagehetti was nice and heavy. It was good verging-on-comfort-food finish to a long day. Good match for the chili peppers? Not really, but I didn't care.
For dessert, I had tiramisu. In this case, the exotic dessert options didn't resonate with me at all. I'm not a berry nor compote guy, so the proliferation of such dessert options didn't appeal to me. The tiramisu was pretty good, but I've had better. On the upside, a nice touch was a sprinkling of orange zest over the entire slice as it added some unexpected lightness to a traditionally heavy dessert. On the downside, the liquor didn't soak evenly through the ladyfingers, so I would go from moist cake to liquor sponge. It was fine, but I did expect better.
Overall, I had a very good dinner despite the slight misfire on dessert that was saved by a perfect after dinner cappuccino; and yes, I do mean perfect.
At the end of my meal, I looked back into the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the head chef. A young, fair-skinned guy with blonde curly hair and a black cap twisted backwards commanded the line. Could it be? Naw... then again... Jamie?
I'll never know.
(cross-posted on Yelp!) |
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| yummy by Jennifer October 20, 2009 |
| taco salad |
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| yummy by Jennifer October 20, 2009 |
| taco salad |
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| BBQ Pork Sammies by Lara October 20, 2009 |
| this crocked allllllllllllll day! very good on toasted little mini wheat rolls. served up with some homemade cole slaw and bread and butter pickles. side of baked beans. |
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| Acorn Squash by Marc October 19, 2009 |
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Assemble acorn squash on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 and a half tablespoon brown sugar in each half. Add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg in each half. Bake until golden and tender, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, basting flesh of squash several times.
Twenty minutes before the squash is done, sprinkle edges with raw sugar. Serve squash warm.
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| Chicken Piccata by Lara October 19, 2009 |
yea... before you say, 'wow' - this is courtesy of trader joe's canned piccata simmering sauce. i know. i let you down.
cooked up some chicken breasts... simmered them in this awesome TJ's piccata sauce and let it sit for a while. added some yummy artichoke hearts for the last 10 minutes and served it up with some white rice (family fav). side salad completed the meal that EVERYONE had seconds of! |
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| Mushroom Festival... by Becky October 13, 2009 |
The wind is howling and the time is right for fear
In the emergence in the phosphorescent tears
And all the hippies gonna lick the mind of god?
They've already been immersed in the wad
The wind is howling and the sea is boiling down
The mind is the water, the mind is the water
'cause it's a mushroom festival in hell
'cause it's a mushroom festival in hell
(from "Mushroom Festival in Hell" by Ween)
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Baked Chicken Breasts with Thyme and Truffle Salt
Braised Kale with Shiitake Mushrooms
Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto
To make the risotto in a pressure cooker (virtually NO STIRRING!):
Saute minced shallot in butter and olive oil in a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 lb. chanterelle mushrooms. Saute until softened. Add dried thyme and 1 cup arborio rice. Stir to coat. Add a good swig of sherry, followed by 2-1/2 cups of warm chicken stock. Sprinkle in a little truffle salt and lock the lid of the cooker in place. Bring to high pressure; maintain for 10 minutes. Release pressure and remove lid. Stir risotto. Continue to cook over medium low heat, uncovered, stirring gently, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is as tender as you would like. Adjust seasonings, adding parmesan cheese if you would like (I just did a squirt of lemon juice and a little more truffle salt - perfecto!). Lick the mind of god.
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| Goodbye Summer Shrimp Risotto by Marietta October 11, 2009 |
1 lb shrimp
1 small (garden) jalapeno
1 c peas
1tbls butter
1 tbls butter
1 tbls olive oil
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1.25 c risotto rice
1/4 c white wine
3.25 c chicken broth
1/2-1 c Asiago cheese shreds
1 tbls chopped (garden) oregano
garlic salt + pepper
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| Chicken and Mushrooms by Lara October 11, 2009 |
not so good lookin in the pic - or in person - but VERY VERY yummy!!!!
used costco rotisserie chicken... they sell it already off the bone in a big 3 or 4 lb chunk... super convenient!
sauteed up some button mushrooms with butter, S&P and a dash of red wine. added the chicken to warm it through. tossed in a warmed up can of mushroom soup and half a can of milk. served over jasmine rice and a nice side salad - VERY yummy.
everyone had seconds!!! :D |
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| September 30, 2009 |
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