tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73415999285190025692024-03-14T03:52:44.794-04:00A New PlaceAdventures in and out of my tiny new kitchen.Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-76834191941063233672011-06-08T16:56:00.001-04:002011-06-08T16:56:43.589-04:00Habanero Pasta with Maitake Mushrooms<p> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After an extremely successful trip to the Strip District, Andy and I were able to create an absolutely delicious meal. The best part was that it only took about five minutes and used a few ingredients! We love cooking meals together, but somehow it always takes us much longer than needed. This quick meal was a nice change.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The first main ingredient was this super-spicy habanero linguine from the public market. We didn’t test it before buying it, so when we got back we were shocked at how awesomely spicy it was. It seriously burned!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vJWVIK7eLM8/Te_gcXcpUbI/AAAAAAAAGL0/YVqgjs4U4IE/s1600-h/DSC00779%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00779" border="0" alt="DSC00779" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LYNkdViWjQg/Te_gpi7IUwI/AAAAAAAAGL4/ElAD2pvDFAo/DSC00779_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="404" height="285"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Strangely, this pasta isn’t made locally (I thought everything at the public market was), but the choices of pasta from this vendor was really great. Lemon basil, red pepper, etc. Yum!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-aTGibr60GJ0/Te_gyQO9lMI/AAAAAAAAGL8/BXLvjDVZip0/s1600-h/DSC00780%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00780" border="0" alt="DSC00780" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3cljzXrVBzw/Te_hA5CYLiI/AAAAAAAAGMA/UDmLIByGdf0/DSC00780_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="329" height="435"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The second great find of the day was this giant hunk of Maitake mushrooms, also known as hen of the woods. This was also bought at the public market from a man that sells different types of mushrooms. At $16 per pound, it was pretty pricey, but the half pound that we bought made two seriously large portions.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bfqkKHuwl00/Te_hFk7MUSI/AAAAAAAAGME/OXp42vZhWQ4/s1600-h/DSC00781%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00781" border="0" alt="DSC00781" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ynVYuF3M1Gk/Te_hLWLksqI/AAAAAAAAGMI/srNXj-3wyOE/DSC00781_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="454" height="349"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This was really lovely and very fresh. It even held up after sitting in my car for a few hours. According to the man who sold us the mushrooms, all of their supply comes from Kennett Square, PA. Kennett Square is outside of Philly and is the mushroom capital of the world. The town smells like mushrooms…seriously.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-iV0kD25wapw/Te_hNHXA4yI/AAAAAAAAGMM/9cNwPQZ3DtU/s1600-h/DSC00782%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00782" border="0" alt="DSC00782" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4y0nyYd1lWw/Te_hb7KLEGI/AAAAAAAAGMQ/tX2o8vZwRDY/DSC00782_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="435" height="334"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I chopped it up into large bite-sized pieces. I didn’t know how much the pieces would shrink while cooking, so I wanted to keep them pretty big.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YnNo3vF0-Do/Te_hlNwDKnI/AAAAAAAAGMU/tLJt41ErfzE/s1600-h/DSC00783%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00783" border="0" alt="DSC00783" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ilZDwTOoDNE/Te_hqB1D9vI/AAAAAAAAGMY/qF55y0JE1yI/DSC00783_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="435" height="334"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Without a side of veggies, I thought it would work to just slip some spinach into the pasta. We also put a dab of minced garlic with the mushrooms while they cooked. I sautéed the mushrooms for only about three minutes, which was the general consensus online for cooking Maitake.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ZCrLKCrmwiU/Te_htN4AXnI/AAAAAAAAGMc/1f9_YLUhJhA/s1600-h/DSC00785%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00785" border="0" alt="DSC00785" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eM6ivUmiwNg/Te_hvqYcTjI/AAAAAAAAGMg/UkIP0KrY2oM/DSC00785_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="313" height="408"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It all came together very quickly! All of a sudden we were out on my patio enjoying the nice weather and delicious meal.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-IrhZYZV5vV0/Te_h16DHr6I/AAAAAAAAGMk/hA8AaIqQklM/s1600-h/DSC00789%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00789" border="0" alt="DSC00789" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1V1r4BsVsvE/Te_h4OQXq4I/AAAAAAAAGMo/PvFbnI1S2og/DSC00789_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="467" height="358"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The pasta lost a little spice from being cooked, but it was still pretty fiery. I loved the mushrooms and spinach together too – it was very earthy and super filling.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-K_PhcK1fIQo/Te_h8_MwkQI/AAAAAAAAGMs/YmCNRAQomWk/s1600-h/DSC00790%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00790" border="0" alt="DSC00790" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_8YNmK9Bppw/Te_iBqa4L9I/AAAAAAAAGMw/f2mK9T7GGrE/DSC00790_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="502" height="385"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Definitely try out these vendors in the Public Market in the Strip District. An almost gourmet meal at home for way less!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-29238999619059255582011-05-19T17:37:00.001-04:002011-05-19T17:37:26.389-04:00Penn Avenue Fish Company<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Yesterday I met my two friends Veronica and Kat downtown for lunch at the new location of <a href="http://www.pennavefishcompany.com/" target="_blank">Penn Avenue Fish Company</a> downtown on Forbes. I’ve never been to the original location on the strip, but I’m so glad we got to try this one out!! The inside is so vibrant and surprising compared to the dull afternoon and downpours we walked through to get here. There are bright greens/blues/purples everywhere. The inside is super tiny, but it never felt too cramped. Veronica and Kat waited in line while I held our table.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNhPW4DlI/AAAAAAAAGHg/asOIfs-niwE/s1600-h/DSC00733%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00733" border="0" alt="DSC00733" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNhT0dFNI/AAAAAAAAGHk/fGkFU0JY_Xg/DSC00733_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="495" height="383"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Their menu is pretty spectacular – not too pricey either. There was a great selection of sushi, and the rolls were very unique.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNh-NrFFI/AAAAAAAAGHo/HRmfRBv7HpY/s1600-h/DSC00734%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00734" border="0" alt="DSC00734" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNiRTtitI/AAAAAAAAGHs/5OiIaJxD4r4/DSC00734_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="372" height="475"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">…and there’s more! SO MANY sandwiches that I just had to stop looking…I would have never been able to decide.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNipeDjhI/AAAAAAAAGHw/DqKP_v1sNlE/s1600-h/DSC00735%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00735" border="0" alt="DSC00735" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNix7BVPI/AAAAAAAAGH0/vCTwjLSk3z0/DSC00735_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="366" height="477"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I finally made up my mind and went with the Chirashi Bowl…a delicious choice! Four kinds of fish (salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and…?) on a bed of sushi rice. A bundle of crab meat graced the top of the lovely mound of fish, and a seaweed salad went with it as well.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNjFP5i1I/AAAAAAAAGH4/VWrDVxiP1Kk/s1600-h/DSC00736%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00736" border="0" alt="DSC00736" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNjQ1o3bI/AAAAAAAAGH8/F1qDzLDi90w/DSC00736_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="365" height="475"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"><font color="#333333">Definitely some of the best sushi I’ve ever had! Super fresh, and the added flavors of the sesame seeds/crab/roe/seaweed mingled perfectly with the fish.</p></font></font> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNjkhuZxI/AAAAAAAAGIA/uy_6n7MyWzo/s1600-h/DSC00738%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00738" border="0" alt="DSC00738" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNkGQbHDI/AAAAAAAAGIE/WMd8ebTe8T0/DSC00738_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="488" height="378"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Veronica chose the shrimp tempura roll which looked amazing.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNkt2CefI/AAAAAAAAGII/bY5wvfIXUew/s1600-h/DSC00737%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00737" border="0" alt="DSC00737" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNk1J-nBI/AAAAAAAAGIM/zLViSfNWrNA/DSC00737_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="436" height="338"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Kat was brave enough to tackle the long list of sandwiches and went with the Sneaky Pete. It had grilled salmon, arugula, hearts of palm, and spicy avocado cream sauce. That’s a bad shot of the sandwich, but the inside looked delicious!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNlH41qZI/AAAAAAAAGIQ/ayuIptd-QLM/s1600-h/DSC00739%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00739" border="0" alt="DSC00739" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TdWNlVXE05I/AAAAAAAAGIU/4I7l7QbbLdk/DSC00739_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="338" height="440"></a></p> <p></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I’m so happy I can finally say I’ve been here, and now that I know how great it is, I’ll definitely be hitting up the original location the next time I’m in the strip. I can’t wait!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-17630753983208980492011-05-13T13:02:00.001-04:002011-05-13T13:02:43.494-04:00Mother’s Day Weekend Part II!<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">If you missed part one, my mom came to visit me for Mother’s Day weekend, and we had a blast! The second part of our weekend was just as great as the first. Early Saturday morning, we ventured down to the strip district. We weren’t going to get an actual sit-down breakfast, but we couldn’t resist <a href="http://www.pamelasdiner.com/" target="_blank">Pamela’s</a>. I had never been there before, and since we were so early, there were barely any people there! Usually there’s a huge line out the door, so we really lucked out.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kHvsNUhI/AAAAAAAAGGE/dw1LD_-CoxM/s1600-h/DSC00694%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00694" border="0" alt="DSC00694" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kH9HC4dI/AAAAAAAAGGI/eLnReTX0C9M/DSC00694_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="358" height="466"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I ordered a bagel and a fruit bowl, which had fresh strawberries and an entire sliced banana. A far cry from your typical grapes and hard melon fruit bowl from a diner!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kIH7mojI/AAAAAAAAGGM/7whod-NjWgU/s1600-h/DSC00695%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00695" border="0" alt="DSC00695" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kIUNzNgI/AAAAAAAAGGQ/uHBEa0ED5y0/DSC00695_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="292"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My mom ordered crepes, eggs, and chorizo (which was burned and the waitress replaced), but we ended up splitting everything. We put the fruit on the crepes, and it was divine! There’s definitely a reason why they call their crepes “famous.”</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kIs-LLnI/AAAAAAAAGGU/Mal9vS5zxu0/s1600-h/DSC00696%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00696" border="0" alt="DSC00696" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kIxjR0vI/AAAAAAAAGGY/O7aEOLKWBQo/DSC00696_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="296"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">In terms of breakfast in the strip district, Pamela’s definitely wins. Our service was so fast that it was almost unbelievable. I really like how they gave us carafes of coffee. We were never without a sip of piping hot coffee! Sorry DeLuca’s, but I’ve found a new favorite.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kJOP6y5I/AAAAAAAAGGc/rXS_fLb8wkY/s1600-h/DSC00697%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00697" border="0" alt="DSC00697" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kJf84ZHI/AAAAAAAAGGg/t6slsS2GtuY/DSC00697_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="429" height="334"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After wandering around, stocking up on spices, and sampling <a href="http://www.eastendbrewing.com/" target="_blank">East End</a> Beer, we made our way to <a href="http://www.ds6pax.com/" target="_blank">D's Six Pack & Dogs</a> in Regent Square/Swissvale. My mom has been to <a href="http://www.roypitz.com/wp/" target="_blank">Roy Pitz brewery</a> and really enjoys their beer, so we were really excited when we saw their Honest Amber Ale on tap!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kJU_zftI/AAAAAAAAGGk/DzpZQkvomJ0/s1600-h/DSC00698%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00698" border="0" alt="DSC00698" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kJladz9I/AAAAAAAAGGo/srQz7RSMLSg/DSC00698_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="423" height="325"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"><font color="#333333">Definitely a winner! This beer was very delicious, and exactly like the description says. This is definitely a crowd pleaser – not too dark, not too hoppy, and extremely tasty – I would seriously be surprised if I found a beer drinker that didn’t like this beer!</font></font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"></font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kJ5R-veI/AAAAAAAAGGs/cX-Nsy_MOII/s1600-h/DSC00700%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00700" border="0" alt="DSC00700" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kKLljWuI/AAAAAAAAGGw/wqSild6YhEg/DSC00700_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="300" height="391"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Cheers!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kKdcGREI/AAAAAAAAGG0/HNIAIMidYNM/s1600-h/DSC00701%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00701" border="0" alt="DSC00701" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kKiE3VdI/AAAAAAAAGG4/oobdGH8JpJo/DSC00701_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="417" height="320"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We ordered red pepper hummus, which came with these tasty pita crackers. We also got a side of their hot wing sauce. What great flavors! Their hummus is delicious.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kKigDckI/AAAAAAAAGG8/yEDFLFbXZLI/s1600-h/DSC00702%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00702" border="0" alt="DSC00702" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kK5fYdrI/AAAAAAAAGHA/uhneCO2fZlI/DSC00702_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="408" height="313"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We sat there for quite a while and eventually decided to split a hot dog. This is the veggie dog version of the Red Alert. It is dusted with habanero powder and covered in a variety of hot peppers. This will seriously make you sweat! It was SO spicy! The soft poppy seed bun offered a little bit of relief, and we of course had our beers to cool our taste buds down a bit. I love when restaurants are serious about their spiciness. When they say hot, they mean hot!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kLH8wPsI/AAAAAAAAGHE/rY7ngdllBeQ/s1600-h/DSC00704%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00704" border="0" alt="DSC00704" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kLaMx3kI/AAAAAAAAGHI/4nZBLhLge_Q/DSC00704_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="335" height="436"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Our next beer stop was close to home, at <a href="http://allegheny6pack.com/" target="_blank">Allegheny Six Pack and Dog House</a>. Don’t you love their classy glassware?</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kLrDFNaI/AAAAAAAAGHM/mhxww0kNVWw/s1600-h/DSC00707%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00707" border="0" alt="DSC00707" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kL2QtvBI/AAAAAAAAGHQ/1s_ZdAZpGu8/DSC00707_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="329" height="429"></a></p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">For breakfast on Sunday morning, we went to the wonderful <a href="http://www.oakmontbakery.com/" target="_blank">Oakmont Bakery</a>. We both had breakfast sandwiches with egg and horseradish cheddar cheese. I had a hot pepper bagel, and my mom went with the onion bagel. Nothing better than this!</font></p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00709" border="0" alt="DSC00709" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kMMKswNI/AAAAAAAAGHU/X9Sh6p_PMrs/DSC00709_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="347" height="447"></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We clearly couldn’t leave without something sweet, so we got and almond and a pistachio macaron. OMG. So amazing. The almond one looks a little sad because I crushed the bottom with my thumb before I took the picture – oops! I didn’t realize how fragile they would be! I fell in love, and I’ll certainly be back to get these beauties again.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kMQpNC0I/AAAAAAAAGHY/-5u-9qgXr6g/s1600-h/DSC00708%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00708" border="0" alt="DSC00708" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tc1kMqGLnDI/AAAAAAAAGHc/YdQ-CLVeJFs/DSC00708_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="409" height="314"></a></p> <p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Phew! What a weekend! We really had a lot of fun.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Thanks Mom! Love you!!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-77009163716360124462011-05-10T21:54:00.001-04:002011-05-10T21:54:12.367-04:00Mother’s Day Weekend Extravaganza Part I!<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My mom drove to Pittsburgh this weekend for Mother’s Day, and we had a REALLY fun weekend! To start off the weekend, we went to <a href="http://www.ichibanhibachisteakhouse.com/index.php?s=i" target="_blank">Ichiban</a> in the Waterworks for sushi. It was excellent, as always. Their sushi is great, plus the atmosphere is warm and relaxing. It’s also the closest sushi place to me, so it all just works out :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsL9UKRjI/AAAAAAAAGEs/RR0rQ85Z44o/s1600-h/DSC00687%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00687" border="0" alt="DSC00687" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsMJO_tMI/AAAAAAAAGEw/3xcTWoh_qHk/DSC00687_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="334" height="435"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">They brought us our miso soup and salad almost instantly after ordering, which was great. We were both starving.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsMfLzfuI/AAAAAAAAGE0/sbDt4C4KSUs/s1600-h/DSC00688%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00688" border="0" alt="DSC00688" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsMnoi5ZI/AAAAAAAAGE4/wk0NAo8HOeo/DSC00688_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="397" height="305"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Up next were our amazing drinks…same thing we order every time. I got the Sake-tini (gin, sake, and cucumber strips), and mom got the Chard-tini (chardonnay, vodka, peach schnapps). They’re both fabulous and dangerously delicious.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsM5J0hYI/AAAAAAAAGE8/KZBoY-fkYOE/s1600-h/DSC00689%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00689" border="0" alt="DSC00689" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsNXJ5AzI/AAAAAAAAGFA/vU0Iz-lg100/DSC00689_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="448" height="348"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We ordered Age Tofu as an appetizer – silken tofu coated in what seemed like rice crumbs…not exactly sure, but they were SO good. Definitely ordering these again.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsNifJqNI/AAAAAAAAGFE/In3JNkunlSk/s1600-h/DSC00690%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00690" border="0" alt="DSC00690" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsN8JcfNI/AAAAAAAAGFI/KSMfhvBmIko/DSC00690_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="429" height="329"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Then our giant plate of sushi showed up…awesome! Each piece was buttery, fresh, and perfect. It must have taken us an hour to eat everything, because we spent so long mmmmmming and omgthisissoooogooding. This is the “sushi for two” but can definitely be sushi for three! We were so stuffed by the end.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsOEl_r_I/AAAAAAAAGFM/b5wlvMI6FVQ/s1600-h/DSC00691%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00691" border="0" alt="DSC00691" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsOfulKtI/AAAAAAAAGFQ/-CEOgZBWmUU/DSC00691_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="434" height="333"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Pretty!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsO3bA5wI/AAAAAAAAGFU/3rDaqJPViQo/s1600-h/DSC00692%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00692" border="0" alt="DSC00692" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsPfQG5EI/AAAAAAAAGFY/SLv97PU3Za4/DSC00692_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="308" height="395"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After a couple gin and tonics at <a href="http://www.oakmonttavern.com/" target="_blank">Oakmont Tavern</a>, we came back to my apartment for dessert made by my wonderful friend Brie. She makes beautiful and delicious cakes, and I ordered one for my mom for Mother’s Day – so pretty!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsPkEMT2I/AAAAAAAAGFc/Si-Vz0LaAwo/s1600-h/photo%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="photo" border="0" alt="photo" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsP5G3mPI/AAAAAAAAGFg/n5q1iHlHFEc/photo_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="392"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It was a lemon cake with strawberry filling. Soooo freakin tasty!!! Thanks Brie! :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsQrXElYI/AAAAAAAAGFk/Xhe59nxYC78/s1600-h/DSC00693%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00693" border="0" alt="DSC00693" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcnsQ6pd8KI/AAAAAAAAGFo/CK03OvX1FCc/DSC00693_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="332"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">More on our weekend later!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-18636799328780995672011-05-05T09:30:00.001-04:002011-05-05T09:30:25.700-04:00Fajitas!<blockquote> <p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Andy and I made fajitas a few days ago…nothing to crazy or original, but man they were delicious. When Andy comes over, we <em>try</em> to make quick, easy dinners (and in theory fajitas are quick and easy), but somehow they always take us forever. We haven’t exactly figured out why yet. We can’t blame alcohol, because these are nights when I have to go to work in a couple hours. No idea.</font></p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmYx2g7MI/AAAAAAAAGD8/u8u1K_ad5As/s1600-h/DSC00679%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00679" border="0" alt="DSC00679" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmZXK6a9I/AAAAAAAAGEA/Nsd_zZvT7S4/DSC00679_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="422" height="324"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">With two banana peppers, one serrano, and two habaneros, these fajitas were bound to be spicy…yum!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmZi_tGQI/AAAAAAAAGEE/PgAq8eu7gVo/s1600-h/DSC00680%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00680" border="0" alt="DSC00680" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmZ-cRIhI/AAAAAAAAGEI/Nk6XNRELUVU/DSC00680_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="406" height="262"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">What a beautiful sight!! Mostly peppers and onions, plus a bunch of itty bitty button mushrooms. They were so cute! Everything got sautéed together for a few minutes.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmacT1jtI/AAAAAAAAGEM/tvK3UbVqzX8/s1600-h/DSC00682%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00682" border="0" alt="DSC00682" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmakZ7LRI/AAAAAAAAGEQ/WCPYvpzahe0/DSC00682_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="322"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I made a mango salsa to balance the heat a bit, and it had mango, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. So easy, yet so delicious. This got way better over a couple of days too.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmawlPUTI/AAAAAAAAGEU/yKGhwmSgacg/s1600-h/DSC00683%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00683" border="0" alt="DSC00683" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmbOehp_I/AAAAAAAAGEY/zX_kbhzRJv8/DSC00683_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="326"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My favorite part of the fajitas were these AMAZING tortillas! Made by La Tortilla Factory, these corn/wheat blend tortillas were phenomenal. Seriously. I have never been so impressed by a simple tortilla. They were moist, thick, chewy…almost like naan! I’m so in love with these.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmbazn7wI/AAAAAAAAGEc/2IccdBuUMhk/s1600-h/DSC00684%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00684" border="0" alt="DSC00684" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmbrFav_I/AAAAAAAAGEg/Pczaob5Fw_c/DSC00684_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="423" height="325"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The tortillas were topped with fat-free refried beans, the veggies, shredded cheddar, and the salsa. We also dabbed some chipotle hot sauce here and there for some extra deliciousness. That’s it! I obviously put way to many toppings on my tortilla, but the difficulty of eating it was worth it. So many flavors…so wonderful!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmb_nW4qI/AAAAAAAAGEk/RmSIXyuUQYc/s1600-h/DSC00686%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00686" border="0" alt="DSC00686" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TcKmcGe5nLI/AAAAAAAAGEo/tk1s1qD0w8Q/DSC00686_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="329"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My mom is going to be here TOMORROW!!! :) Lots to get done before then! I’ll be sure to fill these pages with the crazy amounts of sushi that we’re going to eat.</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-35481955089549636272011-05-02T08:34:00.001-04:002011-05-02T08:34:00.668-04:00Glamour Salmon – Return of the Trader Joe’s Cookbook<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Last night I got to make another recipe from my awesome Trader Joe’s cookbook from Lisa. I haven’t really been cooking for myself lately…just eating crackers and hummus for dinner, etc., so this was a nice change to have a real meal. Well…it was a real meal until it was getting late and I didn’t cook any sides with it. But still, I actually used the oven!</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I’ve had these salmon fillets in my freezer for quite a while. I like them because they seem to be frozen when they’re very fresh, and the skin is still on them. Cheap too!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6koN5p3kI/AAAAAAAAGCs/G0CRSHp6Eb8/s1600-h/DSC00667%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00667" border="0" alt="DSC00667" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6koS1sjzI/AAAAAAAAGCw/rzRdXxegs2k/DSC00667_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="413" height="317"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I used this very simple recipe that the author found in a Glamour magazine years ago. (If it’s illegal to have this picture up, someone please let me know and I’ll take it down – I’m not really sure if that’s a copyright infringement or anything).</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kosXCPyI/AAAAAAAAGC0/XaDpykWN_Ic/s1600-h/DSC00668%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00668" border="0" alt="DSC00668" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ko0rbIUI/AAAAAAAAGC4/oCUsw0OFBMw/DSC00668_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="440" height="338"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I <em>definitely </em>didn’t plan this ahead, so I had to use the trusty running cold water to thaw method. It works!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kpenVRII/AAAAAAAAGC8/5ADOFggtnRs/s1600-h/DSC00669%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00669" border="0" alt="DSC00669" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kpjxKOQI/AAAAAAAAGDA/jvEZNsxPD4k/DSC00669_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="378" height="290"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">While the salmon thawed, I made the super easy and delicious sauce. I added honey to a bowl…</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kp3qJg0I/AAAAAAAAGDE/rJpgE_Gx-8I/s1600-h/DSC00670%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00670" border="0" alt="DSC00670" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kqKGPT-I/AAAAAAAAGDI/hFsRabUycv8/DSC00670_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="283"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">then soy sauce…</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kqerjUjI/AAAAAAAAGDM/F-_HXGkp900/s1600-h/DSC00671%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00671" border="0" alt="DSC00671" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kqgt2pnI/AAAAAAAAGDQ/4yItLkizutc/DSC00671_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="283"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">a few drops of sesame oil…</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6krJ8UPeI/AAAAAAAAGDU/_TQ3b7a2Uv8/s1600-h/DSC00672%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00672" border="0" alt="DSC00672" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6krXN6NtI/AAAAAAAAGDY/OaHQIIaLQPI/DSC00672_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="385" height="296"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">the juice of a half of a lemon, and red pepper flakes.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kry2es0I/AAAAAAAAGDc/Fel0bMSh0yE/s1600-h/DSC00673%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00673" border="0" alt="DSC00673" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ksOoK1RI/AAAAAAAAGDg/rS_yvqgJFOo/DSC00673_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="379" height="291"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The sauce was really great at this point, but I also added garlic powder and fresh ginger.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ksf6gZkI/AAAAAAAAGDk/F5CsNXCNgNc/s1600-h/DSC00674%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00674" border="0" alt="DSC00674" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ksveUpfI/AAAAAAAAGDo/IOIrZOyyn70/DSC00674_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="406" height="312"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I let the sauce soak in the salmon for a few minutes before baking it at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. The thin end of the fillet was done way before the middle, so I cut it off (then ate it), and cut the rest into three pieces so the middle could get done a little bit more. It’s so hard to find that balance between undercooked and overcooked – especially with fish that varies in thickness.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"></font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ktCUUqYI/AAAAAAAAGDs/bzzhLVxoRyU/s1600-h/DSC00675%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00675" border="0" alt="DSC00675" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ktWUfjQI/AAAAAAAAGDw/9-1-bj2n4pA/DSC00675_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="309"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Very very good!! I poured the rest of the sauce on the salmon, which was great for dipping too. The fish was done perfectly, which rarely happens to me. It was flakey, moist, and amazing with the sauce! I can see this classic sauce being great with tofu, chicken, or other veggies and meats. Yay for success!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6ktsSYeWI/AAAAAAAAGD0/EUWe16Eo5Pw/s1600-h/DSC00678%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00678" border="0" alt="DSC00678" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tb6kuM_8tdI/AAAAAAAAGD4/Ksvx_quy90U/DSC00678_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="421" height="327"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-794619681955233752011-04-27T15:59:00.001-04:002011-04-27T15:59:23.002-04:00Back to Blogging – with Curry!<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I’m back from a much needed blogging break, and I’m sharing a delicious meal that Andy and I made a week or so ago. We didn’t follow a recipe, so if you’d like to recreate, just follow the steps – it’s really easy!! This is a red Thai curry and was easily the best thing we’ve ever made together. It was so tasty and a lot more fun than just ordering it at a restaurant. It took us a while to make it, but I’m sure it will go faster the second time we try to make it. Also, my stove is in a very awkward position, so only one person can use it at a time.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">First, we chopped everything we needed: yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, a hot pepper, eggplant, tofu for me, chicken for Andy, and we got out a whole lot of spices!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1gjEn4xI/AAAAAAAAGBk/RDdFyYv6Mck/s1600-h/DSC00647%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00647" border="0" alt="DSC00647" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1g0k7JpI/AAAAAAAAGBo/0q9uOX6nRRs/DSC00647_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="407" height="313"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I pressed the tofu and sprinkled them lightly with flour. I sautéed them with olive oil until they were nice and crispy. Andy chopped up a chicken breast and cooked the pieces until they were fully cooked as well.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1hRyZtOI/AAAAAAAAGBs/j6rw10Xr7eA/s1600-h/DSC00648%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00648" border="0" alt="DSC00648" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1ilSJZUI/AAAAAAAAGBw/6JulxP2W7xY/DSC00648_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="403" height="313"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We set the tofu and chicken aside and sautéed the veggies until they were cooked, but the peppers were still crispy.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1i7yDSsI/AAAAAAAAGB0/lpOsBVHhhdc/s1600-h/DSC00649%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00649" border="0" alt="DSC00649" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1jWnIv3I/AAAAAAAAGB4/HFujzM6e1bE/DSC00649_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="411" height="316"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Next up was the curry sauce. Things got a little crazy with my wok, so I don’t have many pictures. I sautéed some store-bought red curry paste with olive oil until it deepened in color. This cooked <em>very</em> quickly, so I recommend starting on low heat. I slowly added 1 1/2 cans of light coconut milk (plus some water – it was pretty thick) to the paste. This tasted good, but store-bought red curry paste definitely needs some help, and it isn’t spicy at all. We added red pepper flakes, lots of lime juice, sriracha sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and a couple drops of sesame oil. After it simmered for a few minutes, it was getting <em>seriously</em> delicous!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1jrDaSgI/AAAAAAAAGB8/8HeofTFD9as/s1600-h/DSC00652%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00652" border="0" alt="DSC00652" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1j3FAY0I/AAAAAAAAGCA/4rGLBvbAkQE/DSC00652_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="302"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After we meticulously adjusted the sauce to taste, in went the veggies!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1kGrNoeI/AAAAAAAAGCE/2jwOWPrl5jY/s1600-h/DSC00655%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00655" border="0" alt="DSC00655" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1kZpdCYI/AAAAAAAAGCI/QcniyaIOD8Q/DSC00655_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="336"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It was pretty hard at this point not to stick my head in the wok and eat everything inside.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1kn87YTI/AAAAAAAAGCM/tYFoz2mMqeg/s1600-h/DSC00656%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00656" border="0" alt="DSC00656" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1k70Ho_I/AAAAAAAAGCQ/2Yd_3w_X9y4/DSC00656_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="426" height="327"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Just to be extra indulgent, we popped frozen Trader Joe’s garlic naan in the oven. Perfect for sauce dipping!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1lCEtuNI/AAAAAAAAGCU/2Y9-nYNxODI/s1600-h/DSC00658%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00658" border="0" alt="DSC00658" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1lW2We0I/AAAAAAAAGCY/8xLUQi7NPsY/DSC00658_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="422" height="328"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The finished product!! Somewhere deep down there is a small mound of brown basmati rice, topped with the curry, tofu, basil leaves, and crushed peanuts.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1ljFtUbI/AAAAAAAAGCc/hi3YoIgVl8g/s1600-h/DSC00659%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00659" border="0" alt="DSC00659" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1mL7ZFvI/AAAAAAAAGCg/WCy0i-TuE8A/DSC00659_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="322"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This was sooo amazing! Pretty involved, but totally worth every minute…and even though it takes a while, it’s still really easy! Definitely keep another lime on hand to add more lime juice – it tasted so good. The basil and peanuts were wonderful too…the toppings definitely brought it up to restaurant quality curry…yum!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1mXK3OMI/AAAAAAAAGCk/jEWR1jqciVI/s1600-h/DSC00660%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00660" border="0" alt="DSC00660" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/Tbh1miJFJpI/AAAAAAAAGCo/c5vv_El6_68/DSC00660_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="423" height="325"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-39430777035148196132011-04-12T15:44:00.001-04:002011-04-12T15:44:48.324-04:00Sadness<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">For the time being, I won’t be updating.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Our friends lost their sweet baby girl Abbey. She brought everyone so much happiness.</font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TaSrrX0AihI/AAAAAAAAGBc/9zcYg0n9DIM/s1600-h/167509_520719422824_88300078_30715652_5983643_n%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="167509_520719422824_88300078_30715652_5983643_n" border="0" alt="167509_520719422824_88300078_30715652_5983643_n" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TaSrrz9vzrI/AAAAAAAAGBg/59aUvncJ-xQ/167509_520719422824_88300078_30715652_5983643_n_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="348"><u></u></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-27039016535572274112011-04-05T13:28:00.001-04:002011-04-05T13:28:55.700-04:00The Perfect Tofu<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">So the past few days I’ve been kind of anti-internet. It’s been pretty nice actually! Aside from a few clicks of the stumble-upon button before bed, I’ve been doing other exciting things such as checking out a new brewery in the area and making the perfect tofu! I made this tofu yesterday without any plan. I was starving and without much of a variety of groceries…which I have to force myself to go buy today. You know how tofu dishes in restaurants have super crispy tofu that seem to have a crust on them? I wanted that! Usually the tofu I make is browned, but without that great variety of texture. Anyway, I started out by cubing the tofu and getting as much water as possible out. (I really need to invest in a tofu press!) Next, I sprinkled the tofu with a light dusting of flour. I don’t know where I’ve been, but this is definitely genius! So that’s it…flour. All these years I’ve been sautéing flourlessly, when I could have been experiencing delicious crispy cubes of tofu!</font></p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRTV9-AeI/AAAAAAAAGA8/nlF7ra3gdWU/s1600-h/DSC00641%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00641" border="0" alt="DSC00641" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRToV5k6I/AAAAAAAAGBA/ejAgfiywI3c/DSC00641_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="376" height="289"> <p align="center"></a><font face="Trebuchet MS">Ahh look at that beautiful golden crust! I sautéed the cubes in a bit of olive oil and sesame oil on medium until all sides were golden. It was pretty hard not to eat them all out of the pan at this point. </font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRT7u65iI/AAAAAAAAGBE/P98eFjYSfnU/s1600-h/DSC00643%5B4%5D.jpg"></p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00643" border="0" alt="DSC00643" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRULnOM9I/AAAAAAAAGBI/pgl8ceAOquw/DSC00643_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="309"> <p align="center"></a> <font face="Trebuchet MS">I went with a red curry sauce at this point, but really any direction is possible. Simply dip them in hot sauce or peanut sauce? Yeah! I made the sauce by cooking a couple tablespoons of red curry paste and adding a little bit of light coconut milk (don’t worry Andy there’s lots for Wednesday!). Red curry paste isn’t very exciting by itself (or at least the brand that I buy) so I added srirachi sauce, a few splashes of fish sauce and soy sauce, black pepper, and garlic powder. I would have added red pepper flakes if I remembered.</font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRUbkEZWI/AAAAAAAAGBM/dls-kL-4y2g/s1600-h/DSC00644%5B5%5D.jpg"></p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00644" border="0" alt="DSC00644" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRUoxlmrI/AAAAAAAAGBQ/50D_awsVvQI/DSC00644_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="412" height="320"> <p align="center"></a><font face="Trebuchet MS">I added the tofu back in the pan, stirred around until hot, and done! Spectacular! Definitely restaurant-worthy. The outside crust held up very well to the sauce. No sogginess! Next time I’m thinking a light and summery lemongrass-basil sauce would be great.</font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRU0D8lnI/AAAAAAAAGBU/EtVMZ0ckkdk/s1600-h/DSC00645%5B4%5D.jpg"></p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00645" border="0" alt="DSC00645" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZtRVL_7XhI/AAAAAAAAGBY/CAp51AVtZ_8/DSC00645_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="322"></a> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">If you’re a normal person, you might eat the tofu with a vegetable and serve it over rice. If you’re like me, you’ll eat an entire block of tofu with a glass of milk and call it a meal. Delicious.</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-87205914276090147452011-03-29T09:08:00.001-04:002011-03-29T09:08:46.909-04:00One-Pot Pesto Pasta, Potatoes, and Green Beans<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">My friend <a href="www.aliveanddeadpan.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Lisa</a> sent me this <em>awesome</em> cookbook for my birthday – The I <3 Trader Joe’s Cookbook! I <em>love </em>it. It has so many amazing recipes that use ingredients that are all found at TJ’s. There are lots of different categories with a great variety of unique recipes with lots of beautiful pictures! I especially love the “starters and small plates” section – there are so many great ideas for party food in there!</font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZxITpTpI/AAAAAAAAF_4/3OXdZqI5VDQ/s1600-h/DSC00629%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00629" border="0" alt="DSC00629" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZxm41RiI/AAAAAAAAF_8/I_Md0YIxz-o/DSC00629_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="361" height="277"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">For the first-time recipe, Andy and I decided (okay I decided and he agreed) to make One-Pot Pesto Pasta, Potatoes, and Green Beans. I really liked this recipe because it looked easy, delicious, <em>and</em> I had all but two of the ingredients. For the two missing ingredients, (pesto and green beans) we made a quick trip to Aldi to pick them up. So we didn’t go to TJ’s, <em>but</em> Aldi’s brother company (also called Aldi) owns Trader Joe’s, so it all kind of works out!</font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZyPOl8RI/AAAAAAAAGAA/4R50LNQ0dlA/s1600-h/DSC00625%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00625" border="0" alt="DSC00625" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZyR8uC7I/AAAAAAAAGAE/EfRuOi42Rx8/DSC00625_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="460" height="358"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">To start, we cubed, boiled, and set aside one potato.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZyuEtX0I/AAAAAAAAGAI/__xyk2L-mSM/s1600-h/DSC00630%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00630" border="0" alt="DSC00630" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZzo5GOnI/AAAAAAAAGAM/hYrkEYWJToE/DSC00630_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="378" height="290"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Using the same pot/water from the potatoes, we cooked the spaghetti. When it was done, we added the green beans (Aldi’s green beans are seriously amazing. You’d never know that they were frozen. Seriously!) to steam for a minute.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ0EgG8WI/AAAAAAAAGAQ/OuiDzBu2uTI/s1600-h/DSC00632%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00632" border="0" alt="DSC00632" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ0bgCAcI/AAAAAAAAGAU/NCJK3g6PANw/DSC00632_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="367" height="289"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It wasn’t all going to fit in my sauce pan, so we had to transfer it to a wok to mix everything together. We then added goat cheese (I wish I would have had lots more!!), pesto, the cooked potatoes, s&p, and red pepper flakes. We stirred everything around to mix and ended up having to add milk to make it more saucy.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ0vxE5cI/AAAAAAAAGAY/iO-cUhyNA54/s1600-h/DSC00634%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00634" border="0" alt="DSC00634" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ0yqNc6I/AAAAAAAAGAc/R-s2phpa_xo/DSC00634_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="413" height="321"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">As a slightly unhealthy yet totally delicious side, we made these TJ’s Scallop Bites. So good! They took WAY less than 40 minutes to cook in my oven, so just a warning in case you ever make these.</font></p> <p align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00628" border="0" alt="DSC00628" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ1BZSrUI/AAAAAAAAGAg/QI2nQDn6Sq4/DSC00628_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="391" height="300"> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">YUM!! The pasta was wonderful and flavorful. I really liked how well the potatoes and green beans went with the pasta. These flavors were definitely meant to be together! The scallop bites were excellent too. They actually have pretty large pieces of scallops in them!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ1hrxsmI/AAAAAAAAGAk/SkpDFeM9YDg/s1600-h/DSC00636%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00636" border="0" alt="DSC00636" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ1wW7UVI/AAAAAAAAGAo/YtTjyxQJ638/DSC00636_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="419" height="326"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We enjoyed a <a href="http://www.arcadiaales.com/brands/" target="_blank">Arcadia Ales</a> Cereal Killer Barleywine Ale. Andy really loves Barleywines, but I usually think they’re too sweet. This one, however, was not to sweet at all! I could definitely knock back a couple of these by myself. Absolutely delicious.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ2IQez2I/AAAAAAAAGAs/C8IuA8Dgq5I/s1600-h/DSC00633%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00633" border="0" alt="DSC00633" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ22Lud5I/AAAAAAAAGAw/0eFCb--6IYQ/DSC00633_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="303" height="395"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The beer went very well with our dinner. It had a great balance of sweet and bitter. Definitely a winning food/beer combination!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ3P9qAKI/AAAAAAAAGA0/nkz2M0AzXac/s1600-h/DSC00638%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00638" border="0" alt="DSC00638" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TZHZ3STJLfI/AAAAAAAAGA4/vFwfi1B8K7U/DSC00638_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="304"></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I can’t wait to try out more great recipes from this cookbook. It is available on Amazon if you’d like one for yourself!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-28564119409445157942011-03-25T18:25:00.001-04:002011-03-25T18:25:54.059-04:00Mushrooms and Spinach in Wine Sauce<p> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Whenever I buy mushrooms to use in a dish, I always end up with a large amount of leftover mushrooms that end up going bad. I hate that! I paid for those darn mushrooms, and it’s so sad whenever I find them old and wrinkly in my fridge. I made this dish lightly inspired by Pioneer Woman’s <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/burgundy-mushrooms/" target="_blank">Burgundy Mushrooms</a> to solve my most recent leftover mushroom issue. I’ve now fallen in love with these mushrooms and will be making this with every leftover mushroom from now on! Seriously.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">For the recipe I used Red Truck, which is a red blend. I really like this wine! I bought it because it was on sale, but I’m definitely buying it again sometime.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WUWWz1ZI/AAAAAAAAF-Q/iiLaK2y2QTM/s1600-h/DSC00604%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00604" border="0" alt="DSC00604" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WUo4blII/AAAAAAAAF-U/QaUPn4_7Bks/DSC00604_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="332" height="432"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The other ingredients are one package of whole mushrooms or whatever is leftover, 3/4 bag of baby spinach, butter, 1/4 onion, and whatever spices you want.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WUwG12rI/AAAAAAAAF-Y/VANNAfMX73I/s1600-h/DSC00605%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00605" border="0" alt="DSC00605" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WVK1zN3I/AAAAAAAAF-c/v2hAfdfE374/DSC00605_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="425" height="326"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">First I sautéed 1/4 onion in butter for about 7 minutes until they got transparent. Then I added a pinch of curry, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WViczRgI/AAAAAAAAF-g/MAYaYDFzvg0/s1600-h/DSC00606%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00606" border="0" alt="DSC00606" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WVxvHkAI/AAAAAAAAF-k/PtOwfPWZev8/DSC00606_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="416" height="319"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I added the mushrooms plus a couple splashes of water to help them cook.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WWL5S1AI/AAAAAAAAF-o/JPCWyxI-HNs/s1600-h/DSC00607%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00607" border="0" alt="DSC00607" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WWaFxrpI/AAAAAAAAF-s/_GZ-XwnyKeM/DSC00607_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="408" height="316"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The next obvious step was to pour myself a glass of wine, since all civilized people drink wine at 9AM on a Wednesday.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WWka08BI/AAAAAAAAF-w/-IaiI9UYWms/s1600-h/DSC00608%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00608" border="0" alt="DSC00608" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WWyOPZGI/AAAAAAAAF-0/B_ygrJt2InM/DSC00608_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="332" height="428"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I cooked the mushrooms until they were very brown and the liquid was mostly cooked off.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WXPCjBpI/AAAAAAAAF-4/u3beP0jfbZA/s1600-h/DSC00610%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00610" border="0" alt="DSC00610" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WXtQzX8I/AAAAAAAAF-8/S1FuFU3cJOc/DSC00610_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="419" height="322"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Next was the wine. I started off by adding about 1/4 cup, waiting until it cooked down, and adding more.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WX8DkySI/AAAAAAAAF_A/1kD3mTZNLDo/s1600-h/DSC00611%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00611" border="0" alt="DSC00611" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WYJg90pI/AAAAAAAAF_E/-u-D6hb0lCw/DSC00611_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="292"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I did this a few times until the mushrooms looked completely soaked in wine, and the wine was reduced to a syrupy sauce.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WYig9miI/AAAAAAAAF_I/45PyeqgYHzA/s1600-h/DSC00613%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00613" border="0" alt="DSC00613" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WZAuk0oI/AAAAAAAAF_M/Q6neU8GDdWk/DSC00613_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="413" height="321"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I then filled the pan with spinach. This was about 3/4 of a bag. I added a couple more splashes of wine to help the spinach wilt. Did I mention my kitchen smelled absolutely amazing at this point? Well, it did.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WZQuXUTI/AAAAAAAAF_Q/hjxac9sxHnQ/s1600-h/DSC00614%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00614" border="0" alt="DSC00614" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WZqwouBI/AAAAAAAAF_U/juMG27ZOMTg/DSC00614_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="306"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I let the mushrooms and spinach simmer with the wine until it was once again reduced.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WZ1XozzI/AAAAAAAAF_Y/THdtfIOcCmQ/s1600-h/DSC00615%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00615" border="0" alt="DSC00615" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WaJktU7I/AAAAAAAAF_c/C3mmS3rKJJg/DSC00615_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="304"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The perfect bite! It was <em>really </em>good at this point, but I let it sit covered for a few hours hoping more magic would occur.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0Waak3_0I/AAAAAAAAF_g/gr14F0U_5fk/s1600-h/DSC00616%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00616" border="0" alt="DSC00616" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0War-9BjI/AAAAAAAAF_k/ZpVInmTvt58/DSC00616_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="394" height="303"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It worked! After a few more hours, the mushrooms turned a beautiful deep purple, and the spinach was completely drenched in wine and butter. Mmmm wine and butter. Perfect. I turned the heat back on, added a splash more wine and some more red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes gave it a wonderful amount of heat that just seemed to go great with the flavor of the wine. The piece of bread was definitely necessary to soak up the rest of the sauce.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0Wbfc37pI/AAAAAAAAF_o/GVMuGcINa0I/s1600-h/DSC00620%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00620" border="0" alt="DSC00620" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0Wbhsu5MI/AAAAAAAAF_s/vjLGt0d-fJc/DSC00620_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="460" height="357"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Delicious. I can’t wait to make this again. This would be perfect as a side dish or on pasta, or just eat the whole thing by yourself like I did :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0Wb6WEFPI/AAAAAAAAF_w/YNzdhLeRl-Y/s1600-h/DSC00624%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00624" border="0" alt="DSC00624" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TY0WcD9NlAI/AAAAAAAAF_0/lT9wOKttHB8/DSC00624_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="453" height="348"></a></p> <p></p> <p><strong><font face="Trebuchet MS">Mushrooms and Spinach in Wine Sacue</font></strong></p> <p><font face="Trebuchet MS">1 package whole button mushrooms<br>3/4 bag spinach leaves<br>2+ Tbsp. butter<br>1/4 large onion or 1/2 small onion<br>Garlic powder (or cloves)<br>Any other seasoning (I used a pinch of curry, black pepper, and red pepper flakes)<br>1 bottle of dry red wine</font></p> <p><br><font face="Trebuchet MS">Dice onion and saute in butter for 5-7 minutes or until transparent. Add spices.<br>Add mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes on low or med-low. Add 4 Tbsp water.<br>Add a little more butter too - why not?<br>Turn up heat to medium until liquid is gone<br>Turn down heat to low and add 1/2 cup wine. Cook on low or med-low until wine looks like syrup. Continue to add wine and reduce.<br>Add spinach and let sit for a few seconds. Add more wine to help it wilt.<br>Stir around until spinach is wilted.</font></p> <p><font face="Trebuchet MS">Let sit covered for a few hours if desired. Turn up heat again and add more wine. Then eat!</font></p> <p><font face="Trebuchet MS"></font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-24092228487886370792011-03-23T22:09:00.001-04:002011-03-23T22:09:55.516-04:00Trying to Make a Pizza<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Last night I was rummaging through my fridge/cabinets and realized I had the perfect ingredients for a pizza. The only problem was that my pizza dough was over a week old. It looked fine, but it was very liquidy. Kinda weird. Anyway, I googled “week old pizza dough” and the general internet consensus was that it would be fine. My toppings included baby spinach, mushrooms, and hot peppers. Keepin’ it simple.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn4qWWmRI/AAAAAAAAF9Y/mQtNDjSp7OM/s1600-h/DSC00595%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00595" border="0" alt="DSC00595" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn5HEK56I/AAAAAAAAF9c/627-oBGma4c/DSC00595_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="366" height="281"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Oh, and some herbed goat cheese, of course!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn5VTQ6ZI/AAAAAAAAF9g/5fIGBJ6Htcs/s1600-h/DSC00596%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00596" border="0" alt="DSC00596" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn5trGOaI/AAAAAAAAF9k/DvB3-SGB6Vs/DSC00596_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="337" height="259"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">At this point, I put my pizza stone in a cold oven and turned the oven to 425. After the dough sat out at room temperature for a while, I spread it out on a floured surface. This was a mistake. I didn’t really think about how I was going to transfer it to the pizza stone after the toppings were added. Or why didn’t I just plop the dough on the stone at this point? We’ll never know. I’ll blame it on sleeping way too many hours a day.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn5wJn1OI/AAAAAAAAF9o/k8VwkWoA1yA/s1600-h/DSC00597%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00597" border="0" alt="DSC00597" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn6FFdPcI/AAAAAAAAF9s/fk8IhrZFFkI/DSC00597_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="372" height="286"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I added a thin layer of pizza sauce. I was worried about it getting too soggy if I added more, but the end result definitely could have used more sauce. (Let’s keep in mind here that I’m <em>not</em> a pizza-making professional…)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn6oNoJKI/AAAAAAAAF9w/3PITRpcWEmQ/s1600-h/DSC00598%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00598" border="0" alt="DSC00598" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn60Eh56I/AAAAAAAAF90/nu8Zx9BSrOo/DSC00598_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="292"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I added all of the toppings, and it looked great! I’ve seen other people/places add the spinach/lettuce after the pizza is done cooking, but I wasn’t really worried about crispy spinach. Then I was faced with the task of adding this floppy (but pretty) mess to the pizza stone. Let’s just say it was ugly.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn7CGYNgI/AAAAAAAAF94/bvt0vDHl8mg/s1600-h/DSC00599%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00599" border="0" alt="DSC00599" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn7XN5gTI/AAAAAAAAF98/qHsGKS5hsbI/DSC00599_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="395" height="303"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My terribly disfigured pizza came out of the oven 7 minutes later looking pretty sad, <em>but</em> it tasted great! No really, it was actually good. The week-old dough was surprisingly fine, and I think I liked that it didn’t rise as much in the oven. The crust was dense and chewy. The pizza stone also made it perfectly crispy.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn7w25RLI/AAAAAAAAF-A/OBd5o_5eZLw/s1600-h/DSC00601%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00601" border="0" alt="DSC00601" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn8DsTrpI/AAAAAAAAF-E/aGxd2Jqv0Cg/DSC00601_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="389" height="299"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This was a great-tasting pizza! <em>And</em> it provided me with a meal at work for three days for about $4!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn8eGxcpI/AAAAAAAAF-I/V5lKRXn058M/s1600-h/DSC00602%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00602" border="0" alt="DSC00602" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYqn8kSNu6I/AAAAAAAAF-M/JOq4lli3ztU/DSC00602_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="430" height="330"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-73282602391299367342011-03-21T18:42:00.001-04:002011-03-21T18:42:32.586-04:00Lunch at Casbah<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Late last week, my friend Kat and I met up for lunch at <a href="http://www.bigburrito.com/casbah/" target="_blank">Casbah</a> in Shadyside. Casbah is a Mediterranean restaurant (so they say…I don’t really think it is) and is part of <a href="http://www.bigburrito.com/" target="_blank">Big Burrito</a>’s group of six restaurants. I have only been to three of the six, but I can definitely say they have all been great experiences. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so we chose to sit on the covered patio. I’m pretty sure in the summer they open it up a little more. It was a great choice – super sunny and warm with a nice breeze coming from the open doors.</font></p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUQJwszHI/AAAAAAAAF8Q/sxtfPwdRLew/s1600-h/IMAG0907%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0907" border="0" alt="IMAG0907" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUQ-qgRsI/AAAAAAAAF8U/DCZj1x2PkKE/IMAG0907_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="319" height="455"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We were given warm, fresh crusty bread shortly after we sat down. It was delicious!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfURH__HWI/AAAAAAAAF8Y/JHInQQVBmZc/s1600-h/IMAG0906%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0906" border="0" alt="IMAG0906" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfURpgniDI/AAAAAAAAF8c/aZkmCs_xYa0/IMAG0906_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="269" height="390"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">There were lots of great-sounding </font><a href="http://www.bigburrito.com/casbah/menu/pdfs/casbah_drinks.pdf" target="_blank"><font face="Trebuchet MS">cocktails</font></a><font face="Trebuchet MS"> to choose from, but I ended up with the Beet and Potatoes (Beet and tarragon infused Boyd and Blair vodka, orange juice, tarragon simple syrup), and Kat chose the Ruby Red Salty Dog (Bluecoat gin, fresh ruby red grapefruit juice, grapefruit salt). Wow…they were both delicious. My drink was sweet from the simple syrup and tasted very strongly of beets (in a very, very good way). It wasn’t too strong and was perfect for the beautiful spring day.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfURxHf_KI/AAAAAAAAF8g/MJKEWB7d5so/s1600-h/IMAG0908%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0908" border="0" alt="IMAG0908" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUSAUWVmI/AAAAAAAAF8k/8ZrAnChruu8/IMAG0908_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="304" height="440"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We ordered the smoked salmon appetizer which came sprinkled with onions, capers, and egg and was drizzled with aioli. Placed on top was a warm, creamy truffled potato pancake. We were both in heaven. This was the freshest smoked salmon I have ever had, and the additions to it just made the experience better. The potato pancake was <em>perfect</em> with the smoked salmon!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUSSW0IAI/AAAAAAAAF8o/bRPEDUCNBwI/s1600-h/IMAG0909%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0909" border="0" alt="IMAG0909" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUSq8c7PI/AAAAAAAAF8s/pJc_5Z-NULU/IMAG0909_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="320" height="464"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">For my entree (my free birthday meal – thank you mailing list!), I ordered the Piccolo Gusto Menu, which comes with a choice of soup, pasta, and half sandwich. This ended up being too much to eat, but I really wanted to try everything! The first course was a cup of Mushroom and Parsnip Puree. This was served hot with a dollop of rapini-almond pesto on top. This was very earthy and delicious. I think it also may be easy to recreate at home!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUS9PpawI/AAAAAAAAF8w/-SGZqWVTaIM/s1600-h/IMAG0910%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0910" border="0" alt="IMAG0910" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUTTUvd3I/AAAAAAAAF80/4BijblZ1gLM/IMAG0910_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="326" height="472"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Next up to drink was a Lemon Spritzer – prosecco with a splash of lemoncello. Amazing! I think I am definitely going to make this at home as well. I don’t think you can get more of a refreshing drink. It was great.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUTt_HKdI/AAAAAAAAF84/jJ5dBg46jMk/s1600-h/IMAG0912%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0912" border="0" alt="IMAG0912" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUUEA00FI/AAAAAAAAF88/0B23OZTR_eE/IMAG0912_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="330" height="478"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The next course was a half sandwich of jumbo lump crab with lettuce and avocado on a ciabatta roll. I really liked this! You can’t tell from this picture, but there was a <em>lot</em> of crab on this sandwich. I could have gone without the bread, though. After all, there was still pasta to make room for! Ahh!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUUUncMkI/AAAAAAAAF9A/Q9QXDvpfqr0/s1600-h/IMAG0913%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0913" border="0" alt="IMAG0913" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUUh_HsJI/AAAAAAAAF9E/s6mKHY1ri0U/IMAG0913_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="299" height="433"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I meant to order the cauliflower risotto, but I accidentally blurted out this pasta dish. Not a problem though – it was wonderful. It was “Torchetti, hen of the woods mushrooms, roasted tomato, rapini, black truffle butter, walnuts, and fennel-olive oil ricotta.” Heavenly! The hen of the woods mushrooms were divine and tasted very meaty. Everything together made such a wonderful combination. This was something I could eat a giant bowl of for dinner.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUU5mQ2II/AAAAAAAAF9I/g-E6zGPayk4/s1600-h/IMAG0914%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0914" border="0" alt="IMAG0914" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUVbLMzKI/AAAAAAAAF9M/wa_AR5UqH-Y/IMAG0914_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="295" height="427"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Sadly, our indulgent hours-long lunch came to and end. As we left, we spotted <a href="http://www.buffalobluespittsburgh.com/" target="_blank">Buffalo Blues</a> with its front garage doors/windows wide open, so we <em>had </em>to stop in for a beer. We had a nice time enjoying the warmth and the breeze while <em>kind of</em> watching the basketball games. A nice ending to a great afternoon!</font><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUVsZyfQI/AAAAAAAAF9Q/oI69Fq0kjzg/s1600-h/IMAG0915%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0915" border="0" alt="IMAG0915" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYfUV3PFt1I/AAAAAAAAF9U/Znr-Ah4C4Qg/IMAG0915_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="269" height="384"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-9317521895653373932011-03-16T21:07:00.001-04:002011-03-16T21:07:01.069-04:00Birthday Weekend Part II!<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">We had a super <a href="http://kellymr8.blogspot.com/2011/03/birthday-weekend-part-1.html" target="_blank">Friday</a> night celebrating my birthday with fun, food, and drinks, so how did we continue the celebration on Saturday? With more food and drinks of course. My sister’s fiancée had never experienced a <a href="http://www.primantibrothers.com/" target="_blank">Primanti's</a> sandwich, so we started the day with lunch at the Primanti’s in Harmarville. I’m definitely a fan of the suburban Primanti’s (plus the Harmarville location is only 2 miles from me) because they’re way less cramped and less crowded. Definitely no lines around the block here. If you are unfamiliar with Primanti’s, it is the historic restaurant that serves sandwiches with fries and coleslaw packed inside. Some Pittsburghers think they’re overrated, but I personally think the sandwiches are delicious.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I began my afternoon with a Monongahela Mary, which is a Bloody Mary made with Absolut Peppar and served with a pickle spear. I LOVE the pickle spear. They make pretty tasty drinks at Primanti’s!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeje6cKcI/AAAAAAAAF6Y/HtlLk-yD4KE/s1600-h/DSC00555%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00555" border="0" alt="DSC00555" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFejyMA5GI/AAAAAAAAF6c/__wYaCDGtWs/DSC00555_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="301" height="384"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The bar side of the restaurant is inviting and spacious. Andy and I have been here a few times on weekend nights for some beers or to watch a game. I really like that it’s never smoky, and there’s always good food available :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFekFyOFYI/AAAAAAAAF6g/BF7k1-K8S18/s1600-h/DSC00556%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00556" border="0" alt="DSC00556" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFekbkbAHI/AAAAAAAAF6k/94LqsIEEMRo/DSC00556_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="339" height="436"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Emily and Brian got a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich and then traded halves. Andy enjoyed the Pittsburgher, which is similar to a cheesesteak, but made with a beef patty. Everyone enjoyed their sandwiches, but Brian said the corned beef was way better than the pastrami.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFektMsSRI/AAAAAAAAF6o/qLqCvb1o35U/s1600-h/DSC00557%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00557" border="0" alt="DSC00557" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFelDuvv0I/AAAAAAAAF6s/hL2XQrqcWbo/DSC00557_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="443" height="340"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I went with the imported sardine sandwich with the fries on the side. It was amazing! This was definitely my favorite sandwich I’ve ever had there, and I don’t think I’m going to ever be able to order anything else. YUM. The sardines were so delicious. The coleslaw is different that regular coleslaw. It’s all cabbage and had a sweet and sour dressing on it, as opposed to a creamy dressing. I love it.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFelVAsCkI/AAAAAAAAF6w/mnKq4mda6pc/s1600-h/DSC00560%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00560" border="0" alt="DSC00560" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFemLv3nTI/AAAAAAAAF60/UZjwag2W998/DSC00560_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="327" height="426"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Our next stop was the <a href="http://www.pennbrew.com/" target="_blank">Penn Brewery</a>. The Penn Brewery is located on the North Side, just across the river from the Strip District. I think their beer is great to drink, but nothing compares to actually drinking it at the brewery. The beer is so fresh, the selection is obviously great, and the atmosphere is wonderful. The restaurant is set up like a German beer hall. The exposed wooden beams, old light fixtures, and long wooden picnic tables almost make you feel like you’re in Germany!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFemmCclbI/AAAAAAAAF64/d0W4o01cRSU/s1600-h/DSC00561%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00561" border="0" alt="DSC00561" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFem7PafDI/AAAAAAAAF68/T1dv5fi_Aew/DSC00561_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="341" height="444"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We spent a few minutes sampling beers, and the bartender was very friendly and knew a lot of details about each beer. I ended up with a pint of the <a href="http://www.pennbrew.com/data/english/beers_apa.htm" target="_blank">Allegheny Pale Ale</a>, and everyone else picked the <a href="http://www.pennbrew.com/data/english/beers_marzen.htm" target="_blank">Märzen</a>. I really enjoyed both. In fact, I’d say they were the best beers I’ve ever tasted there.</font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFenCIYKLI/AAAAAAAAF7A/YHWHsoRJh84/s1600-h/DSC00562%5B4%5D.jpg"></p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00562" border="0" alt="DSC00562" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFenTJTmjI/AAAAAAAAF7E/q7EwO62kzac/DSC00562_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="421" height="323"></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFenqlPN-I/AAAAAAAAF7I/wX5QCxhokJI/s1600-h/DSC00563%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00563" border="0" alt="DSC00563" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFenyzzzvI/AAAAAAAAF7M/6GDwk1DXzhA/DSC00563_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="444" height="341"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Emily and I (because we were fully committed to this weekend of food) ordered soft pretzels with spicy beer cheese. Delicious! This classic combo was definitely a good choice. The cheese would have been better if it was heated up, but it was still good cold.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeoYCGVGI/AAAAAAAAF7Q/8ym-IL_JCN4/s1600-h/DSC00564%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00564" border="0" alt="DSC00564" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeok1kusI/AAAAAAAAF7U/SfwrNBOrJEo/DSC00564_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="310"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Our <em>next</em> stop was downtown. We somehow avoided all St. Paddy’s parade traffic and only had a short walk to the <a href="http://www.sharpedgebeer.com/location.htm" target="_blank">Sharp Edge</a> on Penn. While the prices are definitely higher than the four other Sharp Edges, I still really enjoy the atmosphere and the fact that it’s downtown.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeoxXmmkI/AAAAAAAAF7Y/PDNPunRY100/s1600-h/DSC00566%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00566" border="0" alt="DSC00566" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFepIG-IuI/AAAAAAAAF7c/CVVM3oqQYoU/DSC00566_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="397"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We snagged the prime real estate: the big comfy leather couches next to the bar and the giant windows. We watched people walk by outside covered in green from head to toe while we sipped our beers. Andy and I enjoyed a mystery beer, Brian had a black and tan, and Emily went with a fresh squeezed limeade.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFepQV7dWI/AAAAAAAAF7g/QttWOfxlOGQ/s1600-h/DSC00567%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00567" border="0" alt="DSC00567" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFepgXJqiI/AAAAAAAAF7k/EowcVVJt6XE/DSC00567_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="452" height="351"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We were getting pretty worn out, so we made a quick trip to Trader Joe’s to pick up stuff to make dinner. We ended up with tons of food, and only spent about $9 a person. Awesome!</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I also paused to enjoy the beautiful day…</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFepxSRYmI/AAAAAAAAF7o/qDxfqR3aKXM/s1600-h/DSC00570%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00570" border="0" alt="DSC00570" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeqdG811I/AAAAAAAAF7s/cMn7gyybp0c/DSC00570_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="303" height="395"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After a well-needed nap, I woke up to dinner being made. My only job was to sit and drink a beer – totally okay with that! Andy made some hamburgers and cooked some chicken sausage with sundried tomato. They smelled amazing.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeqj9R-xI/AAAAAAAAF7w/c2u7iCF-D-g/s1600-h/DSC00571%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00571" border="0" alt="DSC00571" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFeq_ZD2hI/AAAAAAAAF70/8XLocRm_hEs/DSC00571_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="417" height="320"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">He also made some strange-looking (but apparently delicious) beef bacon.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFerQab1-I/AAAAAAAAF74/2uP4Z7ENKBM/s1600-h/DSC00572%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00572" border="0" alt="DSC00572" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFerptnrkI/AAAAAAAAF78/31er0e1RyZo/DSC00572_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="405" height="311"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Emily used the cast iron skillet she got me for my birthday (I love it!!) to roast brussel sprouts. These were awesome, and I can’t wait to make more dinners in this skillet! I love how crispy parts of the brussel sprouts got. Mmmmm.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFesDQi3GI/AAAAAAAAF8A/QND3nApNPvk/s1600-h/DSC00573%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00573" border="0" alt="DSC00573" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFesSmGyPI/AAAAAAAAF8E/EUX8kLu6-tg/DSC00573_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="406" height="312"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">She also made cheesy potato wedges. Delicious. We enjoyed our wonderful dinner and also snacked on more cheese and crackers, of course!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFessZ5kjI/AAAAAAAAF8I/JRj3fQWAgz8/s1600-h/DSC00575%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00575" border="0" alt="DSC00575" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TYFetOaYzoI/AAAAAAAAF8M/ioG4g8dldWY/DSC00575_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="412" height="316"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We ended our night with a short trip to <a href="http://www.houseof1000beers.com/" target="_blank">House of 1000 Beers</a> for a beer and so Brian could pick out some special brews to take home. Oh, and I finally made it to 25 drafts, so I can get my name on the wall :) I bet my parents are so proud!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-23584406978052886212011-03-14T21:41:00.001-04:002011-03-14T21:41:03.715-04:00Birthday Weekend Part 1!<p> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">My birthday was last Friday, so my sister and her fiancée drove to Pittsburgh for the weekend to celebrate! We had an awesome time and ate <em>lots</em> of delicious food. We ate and drank quite a variety of things, and of course I forgot to document it all (including the ridiculous amounts of cheese we bought and ate). So here are a few highlights of our Friday night.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I don’t remember the last time I made a cake, and I definitely haven’t cooked any sort of baked good since college. I saw <a href="http://blog.cookingwithtraderjoes.com/2009/07/09/lemon-basil-cake.aspx" target="_blank">this recipe</a> for a lemon basil cake and thought it would be amazing and decided to give it a shot. The two stores I went to didn’t have fresh basil, so it ended up being a lemon no-basil cake. There really wasn’t anything crazy about this cake other than the lemon zest. I mean, I used a box mix. I did end up using apple sauce instead of oil though, which made it super moist (and healthier I guess).</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DmDseTuI/AAAAAAAAF5Y/Uf3enyPyBqg/s1600-h/DSC00542%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00542" border="0" alt="DSC00542" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DmVGq8wI/AAAAAAAAF5c/AZ-pjuYiXD0/DSC00542_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="459" height="352"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">While the cake baked and I cleaned my apartment in anticipation of my guests, I had a birthday drink of Courvoisier with an ice cube! This was a $1.99 impulse buy at the state store. I love the tiny bottles!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DmrBMRuI/AAAAAAAAF5g/ufbHDOQcRq8/s1600-h/DSC00544%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00544" border="0" alt="DSC00544" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DnL6XONI/AAAAAAAAF5k/AcWbiZO5kAE/DSC00544_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I had every intention of at least making my own icing since it was a box mix, but at the last minute I got a can of vanilla icing and dyed it purple. I’ve never made my own icing, so it probably would have tasted bad anyway! Plus, this store-bought icing was delicious.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7Dnfts_8I/AAAAAAAAF5o/fVWX1_3HwNE/s1600-h/DSC00545%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00545" border="0" alt="DSC00545" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DnsUkzlI/AAAAAAAAF5s/pnOhB89XEa8/DSC00545_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="457" height="351"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Everyone finally arrived Friday evening, and we stuffed ourselves with Trader Joe’s <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aplayfulpalate.com/wp-content/gallery/080719b/IMG_2588.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.aplayfulpalate.com/%3Fcat%3D24&usg=__NI6ULwA37cmByyqm0LixHdsdrig=&h=1536&w=2048&sz=802&hl=en&start=0&sig2=OOvT4qOpRVyPKydorCwgqg&zoom=1&tbnid=F45tj1NkHtM2tM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=167&ei=9r5-TbyZFobB0QGqzdnvCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtrader%2Bjoe%2527s%2Bspanakopita%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DBnJ%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=259&vpy=88&dur=3404&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=170&ty=110&oei=9r5-TbyZFobB0QGqzdnvCA&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0" target="_blank">Spanakopita</a>, cheese, dips, crackers, wine, and beer. Emily and I then made this amazing <a href="http://www.food52.com/recipes/4718_bruschetta_with_ricotta_honey_and_lemon_zest" target="_blank">Bruchetta with Ricotta, Honey, and Lemon Zest</a>. This is the ruler of all appetizers. It’s also ridiculously easy. First, we broiled sliced a sliced baguette with olive oil until they were nicely toasted. Then, Emily rubbed the tops with a halved garlic clove. This gave the bread a surprising amount of garlic flavor!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7Dn1ZSjlI/AAAAAAAAF5w/B_QnT5CnLQU/s1600-h/DSC00546%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00546" border="0" alt="DSC00546" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DoELIdbI/AAAAAAAAF50/hQ60Y1iLvf8/DSC00546_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="300"></a></p> <p> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The toasted pieces then got topped with a nice layer of ricotta cheese and a drizzle of honey.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DobkV9CI/AAAAAAAAF54/WxuNZmLIiDQ/s1600-h/DSC00549%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00549" border="0" alt="DSC00549" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DotoD5RI/AAAAAAAAF58/35H8x5Qn6A0/DSC00549_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="319" height="416"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The last step is to sprinkle on lemon zest. See? Easy!! These were incredibly tasty, and I wish this wasn’t the first time I had this flavor combination. I fell in love, and I’m pretty sure everyone else loved them too. They were also dangerously perfect with dry red wine.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7Do0tb70I/AAAAAAAAF6A/lAlZzcHDoq8/s1600-h/DSC00551%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00551" border="0" alt="DSC00551" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DpDbpjoI/AAAAAAAAF6E/Dt7A0xovcAo/DSC00551_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="493" height="378"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Our night naturally progressed to the <a href="http://www.houseof1000beers.com/" target="_blank">House of 1000 Beers</a>. My first beer (which was on the house!) was a <a href="http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/content.asp?PageName=OurBrew" target="_blank">Dark Horse Blueberry Stout</a>. This is a seriously delicious beer. Not sweet at all, but very strong blueberry flavors! This beer could definitely do some damage – I loved it!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7Dpy0rR-I/AAAAAAAAF6I/0j4TwOeeqJM/s1600-h/DSC00553%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00553" border="0" alt="DSC00553" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DqecDJkI/AAAAAAAAF6M/cBC3gbwNq3c/DSC00553_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="308" height="398"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I’d say by the look of this table that we had a pretty great night! Okay, so the three guys of our group did most of this damage, but I still got to try a couple new beers! Definitely a successful birthday…and a great birthday overall!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7Dq3Sql2I/AAAAAAAAF6Q/jjVBRRldyO0/s1600-h/DSC00554%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00554" border="0" alt="DSC00554" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TX7DrTSZZXI/AAAAAAAAF6U/HDNtOLMn9I0/DSC00554_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="312" height="406"></a></p> <p></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Round two tomorrow! :)</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-79233175949364560412011-03-10T16:34:00.001-05:002011-03-10T16:34:57.932-05:00Seitan Wings with Pineapple Habanero Sauce<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">This is all I could think about for days. Andy and I were so excited to make this meal! We would text each other things like, “I can’t stop thinking about the sauce!!” …and this was before we even bought the ingredients. </font><font face="Trebuchet MS">We scoured the internet for good wing sauce recipes, but most of them were something along the lines of “Add a stick of butter to a bottle of Frank’s.” Well that’s not exciting! We wanted something super spicy, and it had to be extra delicious because we were going to make it to celebrate two years of being together!</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We wondered around the produce section and ended up with these ingredients: 10 habaneros, 2 serranos, 1 poblano, 1 bell pepper, 1 banana, and a container of pineapple. We bought tomatoes but ended up not using them.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD1cwdQvI/AAAAAAAAF4I/qYkXJ1pgm5I/s1600-h/DSC00527%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00527" border="0" alt="DSC00527" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD2RgP27I/AAAAAAAAF4M/jQn8reqKvko/DSC00527_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="473" height="363"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I got to work on making the sauce long before Andy came over to make sure it sat for a while before we used it. It smelled SO good at this point! Well, it was almost kind of dangerous to smell because it was so potent. Oh, and I didn’t wuss out and take the seeds out of the peppers…it’s totally not worth it without the seeds!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD3BlvNSI/AAAAAAAAF4Q/IXZnVMeMUB0/s1600-h/DSC00529%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00529" border="0" alt="DSC00529" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD4Y6m7vI/AAAAAAAAF4U/E5i02Fn82oI/DSC00529_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="342" height="445"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I also added 6 cloves of garlic and about 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD4i1uzOI/AAAAAAAAF4Y/gLp7vUiaY1o/s1600-h/DSC00530%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00530" border="0" alt="DSC00530" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD5oeixbI/AAAAAAAAF4c/Sw52ZqfXW38/DSC00530_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="437" height="336"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">When we were ready to make the wings, I cooked the sauce on the stove with some butter. It simmered on low for about 30 minutes. As it cooked, the flavors got pretty intense, and it started to taste less like salsa.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD6YcV9ZI/AAAAAAAAF4g/7J_P3G6tOmI/s1600-h/DSC00532%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00532" border="0" alt="DSC00532" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD7fqObdI/AAAAAAAAF4k/Ms1W7Pq6djQ/DSC00532_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="435" height="334"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We’ve only had seitan at restaurants and have never bought it in a grocery store. Not really knowing what we were doing, we got this chicken-style seitan. There were quite a few options, but this looked like our best bet.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD7jiiU5I/AAAAAAAAF4o/_e-P5xMxgHM/s1600-h/DSC00535%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00535" border="0" alt="DSC00535" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD8A_c0kI/AAAAAAAAF4s/wyivDqIu7ZY/DSC00535_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="300" height="390"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We were definitely expecting a block of seitan. I don’t know why. They’re actually slightly funky-looking pieces of different shapes and sizes. I guess this is to make them look more natural…?</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD8aII1TI/AAAAAAAAF4w/y354UOyY9CE/s1600-h/DSC00533%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00533" border="0" alt="DSC00533" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD8qPnK4I/AAAAAAAAF40/nrANl57ZJdY/DSC00533_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="304" height="396"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We were pleasantly surprised when they turned a lovely golden-brown in the skillet! Andy cooked them in butter and olive oil until they were nice and crispy (a good while after this picture was taken). We couldn’t figure out who should have the honor of actually cooking the seitan. Andy is a meat-cooking master, and I’m a tofu-cooking master, so who cooks the fake stuff that looks like chicken? Andy took the honors since I slaved away at the sauce earlier.</font></p> <p> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD9C7jVXI/AAAAAAAAF44/JggdVxHzEQs/s1600-h/DSC00538%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00538" border="0" alt="DSC00538" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD9t-BVMI/AAAAAAAAF48/RpV5F_pD1kA/DSC00538_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="459" height="356"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">On the side, I made potato wedges for Andy and sweet potato wedges for me. They were so tasty! I also cut up a TON of celery and carrots. Totally necessary!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD-AgoCEI/AAAAAAAAF5A/Brjm0QX3aNM/s1600-h/DSC00539%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00539" border="0" alt="DSC00539" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD-zftz3I/AAAAAAAAF5E/mcq_42E1dyE/DSC00539_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="346" height="451"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After the “wings” were done cooking, they had a nice bath in the sauce. They tasted SO GOOD!! So it definitely won’t fool someone into thinking it’s actually chicken, but that’s not what we were going for. In fact, I was expecting the store-bought seitan to have more of a tempeh-like texture. I think this is because my two favorite places to order seitan wings must use homemade seitan. It’s like they mush a bunch of grains together. Anyway, maybe next time we’ll be more adventurous and make our own!</font></p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlD_tsOEcI/AAAAAAAAF5I/hQsKh3FcEVQ/s1600-h/DSC00541%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00541" border="0" alt="DSC00541" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXlEAVo78MI/AAAAAAAAF5M/6IlIe1nEQwE/DSC00541_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="494" height="379"></a></p> <p></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I can’t <em>believe</em> I forgot to take a picture of the blue cheese sauce! It was incredible and SO simple. I just mixed together a small container of 2% plain Greek yogurt (thinned out slightly with some almond milk) with a small wedge of Maytag blue and some black pepper. This also sat in the fridge for a few hours and ended up being so amazing. I think I’m going to make it all the time and dip everything in it!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-2067287675232035572011-03-07T21:47:00.001-05:002011-03-07T21:47:53.152-05:00Enrico’s Tazza D’oro<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I met up with my friend Kat for Thai this afternoon. After a few days of cruddy weather, this gorgeous sunny day was a wonderful change! The skies were blue and the air seemed almost warm, so after lunch we headed to Highland Park to walk around for a bit. I’d seen <a href="http://www.tazzadoro.net/" target="_blank">Tazza D'oro</a> around the internet quite a lot – apparently they have extremely talented baristas! We headed in for a warm drink, looking forward to this talent.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWYz3F3hfI/AAAAAAAAF3w/U7RnT5qzyrc/s1600-h/tazzadoroexterior%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="tazzadoroexterior" border="0" alt="tazzadoroexterior" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWY0owR4zI/AAAAAAAAF30/YP8juXfdL00/tazzadoroexterior_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="452" height="268"></a> <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://batdorfcoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/tazzadoroexterior.jpg&imgrefurl=http://batdorfcoffee.com/press/tazza-doro-in-the-press/&usg=__kw8rDsEDAO5v8JBP6dIseakUPzU=&h=332&w=590&sz=131&hl=en&start=0&sig2=tGK90BY2ntygXR4fga1deQ&zoom=1&tbnid=-LVJ5jI4C9KJuM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=233&ei=6Yt1TY3dAoma0QG97a2kBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Denrico%2527s%2Btazza%2Bd%2527oro%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D550%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divnsm&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=143&vpy=112&dur=478&hovh=161&hovw=286&tx=165&ty=61&oei=6Yt1TY3dAoma0QG97a2kBw&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0" target="_blank">source</a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The atmosphere was warm and cozy with beautiful handmade pottery lining the walls. There were students and professionals busy tapping away at their laptops while sipping coffee and refilling it from large personal pots. Aside from coffee and espresso, they offer a menu filled with delicious-looking food all from local sources. Tazza D’oro was already a winner, and I hadn’t even ordered my drink yet!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWY1G6u9hI/AAAAAAAAF34/a2y-NWQ3C6o/s1600-h/IMAG0902%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0902" border="0" alt="IMAG0902" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWY1fDe7GI/AAAAAAAAF38/cgiTRFXpF5Y/IMAG0902_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="322" height="466"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I ended up with a chai latte – and then stared at it for a few minutes! So beautiful! I was way to full from lunch to try any of their menu items, but everything sounded great. A counter full of pastries and desserts also looked amazing, but it just wasn’t happening. The chai latte was amazing though. It was served at the perfect temperature and was just so delicious.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWY1kGuQ8I/AAAAAAAAF4A/y2srfVpQpo0/s1600-h/IMAG0901%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0901" border="0" alt="IMAG0901" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TXWY18l6vmI/AAAAAAAAF4E/BFonkW30ZeI/IMAG0901_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="334" height="484"></a> <font face="Trebuchet MS">A delicious ending to a beautiful day!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-85202658537461637642011-03-02T11:32:00.001-05:002011-03-02T11:32:14.644-05:00Harvest Grains with Spinach and Blue Cheese<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">I came home from work and a post-work workout this morning exhausted and starving. I hunted for something I could make that would stick to my bones and keep me delightfully full while I slept. I found this bag of Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend and my decision was made!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w8yxr-oI/AAAAAAAAF2w/AZW6TU8zRxA/s1600-h/DSC00423%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00423" border="0" alt="DSC00423" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w9QcX4mI/AAAAAAAAF20/cxHLQRRDlwI/DSC00423_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="462" height="355"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Each bag contains “a savory blend of Israeli style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa.” Sounds great, right? You can’t really see the quinoa, but they’re buried in there somewhere. I’ve never had Israeli couscous before, so I was really pumped to get cooking!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w9xWN9kI/AAAAAAAAF24/rgVyaqgi3lQ/s1600-h/DSC00426%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00426" border="0" alt="DSC00426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w-4ugu0I/AAAAAAAAF28/EuvxjOUFd4A/DSC00426_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="465" height="357"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I wanted to beef up the grains a little, so I chopped up 1/4 of an onion, one celery stalk, and one medium carrot.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w_Ahn-FI/AAAAAAAAF3A/KtzUEopt9gE/s1600-h/DSC00421%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00421" border="0" alt="DSC00421" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w_jlMtFI/AAAAAAAAF3E/UFI5u9OM4h8/DSC00421_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="447" height="343"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I sautéed the veggies in a saucepan on medium-high for about 8 minutes. I also added a little salt and pepper.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5w_5w59fI/AAAAAAAAF3I/ugFAUtxA0qA/s1600-h/DSC00427%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00427" border="0" alt="DSC00427" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xALeg3hI/AAAAAAAAF3M/KgLOH68IWQs/DSC00427_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="432" height="389"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I decided to cook the grains in vegetable broth instead of water to give them a little more flavor. This is a little over a cup of broth.</font></p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xARp2mUI/AAAAAAAAF3Q/DylwSDL3Z3o/s1600-h/DSC00428%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00428" border="0" alt="DSC00428" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xAwokU7I/AAAAAAAAF3U/uqLzM_114mQ/DSC00428_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="433" height="332"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I followed the directions on the package – bring liquid to a boil, add grains (I added 1/2 cup), bring to a boil again, turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. It turned out wonderfully! I also added a handful of spinach and a few crumbles of blue cheese. This made the grains super creamy and more voluminous! The more the better, right?</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xBqkkBPI/AAAAAAAAF3Y/NYUo1HiYv-o/s1600-h/DSC00430%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00430" border="0" alt="DSC00430" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xB_CbeFI/AAAAAAAAF3c/YnKx92r2cZs/DSC00430_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="436" height="335"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Ohhh man this was so good. Everything was smooshed together in a creamy mound. The small amount of blue cheese added the perfect amount of tang and creaminess! I also loved the variety of textures. The slight crunch of the veggies and the chewiness of the couscous. Also, the quinoa didn’t cook all the way, so it added a wonderful crunch as well.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xCCWt24I/AAAAAAAAF3g/Af2NaYeX5CM/s1600-h/DSC00432%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00432" border="0" alt="DSC00432" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xCee6L2I/AAAAAAAAF3k/A7J5bvs3pD8/DSC00432_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="445" height="342"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I roasted some asparagus to accompany the grains. This was such a great meal. Easy, filling, delicious!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xC69e7qI/AAAAAAAAF3o/MVbte31ycto/s1600-h/DSC00435%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00435" border="0" alt="DSC00435" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TW5xDdMO9YI/AAAAAAAAF3s/mF-HVG1ryRo/DSC00435_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="458" height="352"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-2237130010046701742011-02-28T09:36:00.001-05:002011-02-28T09:36:50.027-05:00I Cooked A Steak.<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">I don’t eat meat. I haven’t since I was 13. Why? Oh, that’s not important (plus sometimes I don’t really know why). I’m <strong>not</strong> really grossed out by meat. In fact, sometimes I find myself craving a big steak or a crispy buffalo wing. It never lasts long enough to actually go through with it though. I’ve never, however, felt the need to hold a cold piece of bloody ribeye in my hands and massage salt and pepper into it. Ohh the things you do for love.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Andy’s birthday was yesterday (happy birthday Andy!!), so I decided the best thing I could give him (which probably ended up being his favorite present from me) was a steak. Rare. The lady behind the counter at Giant Eagle looked at me like I was crazy when I said it was my first time buying a steak. I also told her I didn’t know how I was going to cook it, but then I lied and told her I had a grill. There was so much pressure!! She told me my best option was “any of these” and basically pointed to every steak there was. I selected the biggest, thickest steak, which was a boneless ribeye. Coincidentally, it’s the same steak that Pioneer Woman uses with her </font><a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/grilled-ribeye-steak-with-onion-blue-cheese-sauce/" target="_blank"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Onion Blue Cheese Sauce</font></a><font face="Trebuchet MS"> recipe that I was going to use, so I was off to the right start!</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I called my sister (she and her fiancé are serious meat experts) and she recommended that I cook it in the oven. I was skeptical at first, thinking that I should use my panini grill, but I’m so glad that I took her advice! I stuck the steak in the oven (10 minutes on each side @ 350) and got to work on the sauce.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy4jsM-jI/AAAAAAAAF1g/frn_wAi8sNk/s1600-h/DSC00396%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00396" border="0" alt="DSC00396" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy5I32OkI/AAAAAAAAF1k/8PfVuJd-68A/DSC00396_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="419" height="325"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Ohhh the sauce. The sauce!!!! PW really freaks out about how amazing her </font><a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/grilled-ribeye-steak-with-onion-blue-cheese-sauce/" target="_blank"><font face="Trebuchet MS">recipe</font></a><font face="Trebuchet MS"> is, and she is SO RIGHT! This decadent, rich, thick, mouth-watering sauce is worth every calorie and gram of cholesterol. It’s freakin amazing.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I melted butter in my skillet and tossed in a whole huge sliced onion.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy5XVaa7I/AAAAAAAAF1o/TbtK9dLj84I/s1600-h/DSC00397%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00397" border="0" alt="DSC00397" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy57NXVAI/AAAAAAAAF1s/fpA2HgL2gcY/DSC00397_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="457" height="351"></a> </p> <p align="center">I cooked the onions on medium for about 10 minutes, then kicked it up to high for a minute so they’d get all brown and crispy.</p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy6BTLJrI/AAAAAAAAF1w/aB18iTDQLXI/s1600-h/DSC00398%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00398" border="0" alt="DSC00398" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy6uexz0I/AAAAAAAAF10/Fjidd_0DwcA/DSC00398_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="446" height="342"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I turned the heat down to low and added in a cup of heavy cream. Ohhhh yeah! After it thickened up a bit, I put in a handful of crumbled blue cheese, plus some salt and pepper. THAT’S IT!! Butter, onion, cream, blue cheese, salt, pepper. OMG. omg. This was amazing.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy68jC9GI/AAAAAAAAF14/tF-nyEPz5Mo/s1600-h/DSC00399%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00399" border="0" alt="DSC00399" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy7Zx-apI/AAAAAAAAF18/NBPvAOASytM/DSC00399_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="467" height="358"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The steak came out of the oven and sent a few splatters of blood flying as I flipped it to check the other side. At the sight of blood droplets, I figured it was done to Andy’s liking.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy7ru7A0I/AAAAAAAAF2A/NN5tSE19mEg/s1600-h/DSC00400%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00400" border="0" alt="DSC00400" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy8DLOVeI/AAAAAAAAF2E/MEDzffBFHSM/DSC00400_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="452" height="350"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I set it nicely on top of the sauce, just like PW did. I also cooked him a baked potato, but it wasn’t done until halfway through his steak. Whoops! As he was cutting into the steak, I noticed it was probably more brown than he would have liked (but he didn’t say anything and said it was great), so next time I’ll probably do each side for 8 minutes.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy8oYxp9I/AAAAAAAAF2I/akgsyP5u70c/s1600-h/DSC00403%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00403" border="0" alt="DSC00403" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy9drsVzI/AAAAAAAAF2M/m-qFR4ZFYfA/DSC00403_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="487" height="374"></a></p> <p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Here is my humble meal. You can’t tell from the picture, but that was one seriously huge sweet potato! I was going to eat them separately, but the sauce and the sweet potato ended up being delicious when combined.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy9_eB5GI/AAAAAAAAF2Q/uC2DXasDoTI/s1600-h/DSC00402%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00402" border="0" alt="DSC00402" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy-Rb0alI/AAAAAAAAF2U/8wSXDvsnUmE/DSC00402_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="481" height="369"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We enjoyed our late lunch with a <a href="http://www.mendobrew.com/brews/imperial_collection.html" target="_blank">Mendocino Imperial Barleywine</a>.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy-rHZjfI/AAAAAAAAF2Y/gTjs-3rmgWE/s1600-h/DSC00401%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00401" border="0" alt="DSC00401" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy_OKn4gI/AAAAAAAAF2c/CAyQW4zHUGM/DSC00401_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="334" height="430"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This was a seriously tasty barleywine with a gorgeous golden brown color. It was very sweet and very strong. It tasted fruity…kind of like raisins!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy_ZiGXcI/AAAAAAAAF2g/omnKfuZKkfM/s1600-h/DSC00407%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00407" border="0" alt="DSC00407" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuy_l37YeI/AAAAAAAAF2k/J1aWlgx6-VI/DSC00407_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="313" height="407"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We both really enjoyed our meals! This is Andy’s mmmmmsteak face.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuzAMVdOdI/AAAAAAAAF2o/ZWyDbAKqtb4/s1600-h/DSC00404%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00404" border="0" alt="DSC00404" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWuzAdDRiFI/AAAAAAAAF2s/ny7_TGroB9A/DSC00404_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="310" height="404"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Honestly? This was kind of fun. I might have to cook meat for him again. Maybe next time I won’t wear rubber gloves the whole time ;)</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-16371223949553392792011-02-25T22:42:00.001-05:002011-02-25T22:42:12.055-05:00A New Beer – Well’s Banana Bread Beer<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Standing in front of the beer cooler, I searched for something new to try. I’ve seen this <a href="http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/home/our-beers/ales/wells-banana-bread-beer" target="_blank">Wells Banana Bread Beer</a> before and have always though “ewwww.” I really love bananas, but I really hate banana flavoring. You know, Runts and other banana candies. Gross! This time, I saw this beer and figured I might as well give it a try. I mean, I love banana bread, so why not?</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2jcf-ZfI/AAAAAAAAF1E/VuTRQigMbeI/s1600-h/DSC00386%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00386" border="0" alt="DSC00386" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2jpGSwhI/AAAAAAAAF1I/z_D24Lu10lA/DSC00386_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="330" height="430"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Having no idea who Wells is (is that bad?), I looked up their website and found out that Wells and Young’s also makes Young’s Chocolate Stout. Okay, that makes sense. But, they also make Red Stripe and Kirin Ichiban? I’m so confused.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2jzCXptI/AAAAAAAAF1M/ls6I2ASShmw/s1600-h/DSC00390%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00390" border="0" alt="DSC00390" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2kLGO0eI/AAAAAAAAF1Q/k4BlQl7ZBR0/DSC00390_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="352" height="438"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">So, how was the beer? I liked it. I didn’t <em>love</em> it, but it was good. After opening the bottle, the banana bread smell is immediately apparent. It smells pretty darn good too! The color is a beautiful gold. The aroma was still strong and delicious in the glass. After being pretty impressed by the smell and color, I was <em>slightly</em> disappointed by the taste. I was expecting a little more depth of flavor. I drank the beer while it was still pretty ice cold though, so maybe I should have let the bottle sit out for a while so that more flavors could come out. Luckily, I didn’t notice any artificial banana flavoring.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2kgzHCrI/AAAAAAAAF1U/U-RvV_hkKE4/s1600-h/DSC00393%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00393" border="0" alt="DSC00393" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWh2k8Kt5rI/AAAAAAAAF1Y/TCzmaq0cCLM/DSC00393_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="386" height="296"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I would recommend buying this beer and perhaps splitting it with someone just for the experience. I wouldn’t buy a six pack of it for myself, but it is truly a unique tasty beer!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-61799068689088935722011-02-23T22:14:00.001-05:002011-02-23T22:14:11.978-05:00Vegetarian White Chili<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Last night at work, the idea of white chili popped into my head…then it wouldn’t leave. All night I had images of creamy beans, grains, and veggies dancing through my head. I couldn’t wait to run home and throw everything into the Crock Pot. I pictured the ingredients in my fridge and cupboards and knew exactly what was going into this delicious soup.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">As soon as I got home, I got to chopping. I used one medium yellow onion, one green pepper, and nine cloves of garlic (some of them were small). I sautéed them on high for 3-4 minutes so that the veggies would get brown and flavorful but not cook too much.</font></p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM3D0soMI/AAAAAAAAF0A/8zUATYBiaFY/s1600-h/DSC00368%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00368" border="0" alt="DSC00368" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM34p1L6I/AAAAAAAAF0E/A7RSDaM85IY/DSC00368_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="441" height="342"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Into the pot went pinto, white kidney, and garbanzo beans. No reasoning to this…just because they were in my cupboard.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM4i9gGtI/AAAAAAAAF0I/KQ4DOmdK9t8/s1600-h/DSC00369%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00369" border="0" alt="DSC00369" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM5nLR_hI/AAAAAAAAF0M/-aIsfXoz6Lo/DSC00369_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="414" height="318"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">They look so pretty all together! The white kidney beans were really soft and fell apart easily, but I think that added to the creaminess of the soup.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM6MPI7tI/AAAAAAAAF0Q/tU8KKx1I5-U/s1600-h/DSC00370%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00370" border="0" alt="DSC00370" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM66qQWWI/AAAAAAAAF0U/qOsTkZw9_XE/DSC00370_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="405" height="311"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Next in the pot went vegetable broth. After shopping around, even at small health food stores, I’ve found that Trader Joe’s has the lowest sodium vegetable broth. For some reason there’s always low sodium beef and chicken broth, but never vegetable. I don’t get it!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM7vB8fvI/AAAAAAAAF0Y/vEmIYoLfcJk/s1600-h/DSC00371%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00371" border="0" alt="DSC00371" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM70KLbJI/AAAAAAAAF0c/Nt-lPqzgsZQ/DSC00371_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="316" height="412"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">For some texture I also used 1/2 cup quinoa and 1/2 cup wheat berries.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM8mg4x_I/AAAAAAAAF0g/qlZ63EsK_T4/s1600-h/DSC00377%5B8%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00377" border="0" alt="DSC00377" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM9aNDloI/AAAAAAAAF0k/jtABm-Mw9qA/DSC00377_thumb%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="405" height="311"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Everything in the Crock Pot! Next I added: a splash of rice vinegar, 3T adobo sauce, hot sauce, salt, pepper, vindaloo seasoning, cumin, and curry powder. Just a tablespoon of each seasoning, then I adjusted to taste.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM-MdSaRI/AAAAAAAAF0o/W9rSyAyhG1Y/s1600-h/DSC00374%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00374" border="0" alt="DSC00374" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM-4CiPbI/AAAAAAAAF0s/tAP2AgWz_bU/DSC00374_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="326"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It cooked on high for five hours. My apartment smelled soooo good. After it was done cooking, I added about 2 tablespoons of cream. </font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">(It doesn’t look very much like white chili in this pic!)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM_BoZWKI/AAAAAAAAF0w/4fIP8A6PEIU/s1600-h/DSC00378%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00378" border="0" alt="DSC00378" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM_q8leUI/AAAAAAAAF00/iqVADLdPe7Y/DSC00378_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="481" height="374"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The wheat berries were deliciously chewy, and the adobo sauce added a wonderful, subtle smoky flavor to the soup.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Served with asiago cheese on top. Delicious!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXM_9Ig9NI/AAAAAAAAF04/nmHnauzSD3I/s1600-h/DSC00380%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00380" border="0" alt="DSC00380" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWXNAtkTfeI/AAAAAAAAF08/W30QZ9GwVhE/DSC00380_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="441" height="342"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This is such an easy put-everything-in-and-press-go recipe. Perfect to eat while watching the snow melt out the window!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-26130632239216701492011-02-22T20:15:00.001-05:002011-02-22T20:15:12.075-05:00North Country Brewing Company<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">Last Saturday, Andy and I were craving something different to do. With the help of Google Maps and a thirst for some microbrews, we drove up to Slippery Rock for the day. After a tasty breakfast of toast and poached eggs with hot sauce and asiago, we started the surprisingly short trek up north.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfHF8tdGI/AAAAAAAAFyo/_KYyk769QZw/s1600-h/DSC00340%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00340" border="0" alt="DSC00340" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfITUfBcI/AAAAAAAAFys/5tEkBoSvg2Y/DSC00340_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="457" height="351"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We took back roads for the fun of it, and the drive ended up only taking an hour. I definitely thought it would take longer. Anyway, our first stop was at the <a href="http://winfieldwinery.ipower.com/index.html" target="_blank">Winfield Winery</a> store, which is located right in the middle of Slippery Rock, PA. Their main location is in Cabot, PA, but they still offer tastings and sales of each of their wines at their Slippery Rock location.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">The wine was fantastic. We sampled about six of their dry reds and whites, plus one or two semi-sweet wines. We both really enjoyed them all and ended up buying a bottle of the Noiret (A dry, dark red wine with spicy black pepper and oak flavors) and the Traminette Dry (A dry crisp white wine with a nice citrus finish).</font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfJC95MMI/AAAAAAAAFyw/KGQadWCo26Q/s1600-h/DSC00341%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00341" border="0" alt="DSC00341" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfJuXRv6I/AAAAAAAAFy0/-t8yi53lb_Q/DSC00341_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="342" height="445"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It wasn’t quite lunchtime (which we had been planning on having at the Brewery), so we dipped into the historic <a href="http://www.gingerhilltavern.com/" target="_blank">Ginger Hill Tavern</a> for a look around and possibly (definitely) a drink. This was such a nice place! The Slippery Rock students are so lucky to have such a variety of nice, clean watering holes in a town that’s pretty far out there. In Bethany, we had literally one choice: Bubba’s. After four years, it got old.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Anyway, I had a Bloody Mary with gin, extra spicy. Our bartender could really make a good drink. She was awesome! Andy ordered a 16 oz Coors light bottle which was on special for $2, but she gave him a 22 oz bottle instead…still for $2. Awesome! The menu looked great too. We were getting pretty hungry, but we held out for the Brewery.</font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfKKuF-JI/AAAAAAAAFy4/2NmlIyig20c/s1600-h/DSC00343%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00343" border="0" alt="DSC00343" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfK6IpEyI/AAAAAAAAFy8/tGZpd4GFkA0/DSC00343_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="316" height="412"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Just a few steps later, we made it to <a href="http://www.northcountrybrewing.com/" target="_blank">North Country Brewing Company</a>. This brewery/restaurant is seemingly made entirely out of hand carved wood. Absolutely gorgeous. The tap handles were especially lovely. Someone definitely did lots of hard work carving them. It was sort of an awkward, tight situation while we were at the bar, so I sadly didn’t get a picture of them.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"></font><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfLiwsb6I/AAAAAAAAFzA/0TXHwjgruIk/s1600-h/DSC00344%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00344" border="0" alt="DSC00344" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfNJbCT4I/AAAAAAAAFzE/8hR9VwaOXdY/DSC00344_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="468" height="350"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Andy enjoyed a Psychedelic Nightmare while at the bar, and I had a Liquid Love Stout. They were 100% different from each other, yet both 100% delicious. Seriously, if you are a beer lover anywhere near Pittsburgh, you’re making a mistake if you don’t make it up here. I just can’t say enough about the beer here. </font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We got a table in about 15 minutes. We would have been fine staying at the bar, but again, pretty cramped. Our waiter was excellent. He checked on us at perfect intervals and was knowledgeable about anything we asked.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS"></font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfOus-UuI/AAAAAAAAFzI/v91U8Bt4wX4/s1600-h/DSC00345%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00345" border="0" alt="DSC00345" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfPK2vLNI/AAAAAAAAFzM/tBZNrONgEBA/DSC00345_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="332" height="433"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I sat next to this beautiful piece of stained glass. The mix of the natural wood and the stained glass was stunning.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfPxOYHTI/AAAAAAAAFzQ/E8vLgbntcZI/s1600-h/DSC00346%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00346" border="0" alt="DSC00346" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfSa2wQBI/AAAAAAAAFzU/jXZbg_Q1KSY/DSC00346_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="305" height="397"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">So many choices! We couldn’t decide what to get next…</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfVaJCRMI/AAAAAAAAFzY/P2V6zbNrNAE/s1600-h/DSC00348%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00348" border="0" alt="DSC00348" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfXq8iDfI/AAAAAAAAFzc/XdwW1cqOa_U/DSC00348_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="342" height="441"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">…so we got all of them :)</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Nine 5oz beers for $9. Not bad! The decent sized glasses allowed the two of us to have generous tastes of each beer.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfYPIHJlI/AAAAAAAAFzg/wnlE8dtGYaY/s1600-h/DSC00351%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00351" border="0" alt="DSC00351" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfbjrj_mI/AAAAAAAAFzk/DqkGJEj9Ggk/DSC00351_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="440" height="338"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Each beer was excellent. Honestly, I couldn’t say that any one of the beers was “just okay.” They were all SO delicious and had individual distinctive flavors. I’m just surprised that such a small brewery can produce so many individual, quality beers.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfcjZvGpI/AAAAAAAAFzo/UweZd2sHejA/s1600-h/DSC00352%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00352" border="0" alt="DSC00352" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfdLn-GiI/AAAAAAAAFzs/KP79YVKHCNA/DSC00352_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="316" height="412"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Up next was the food. I ordered a falafel wrap that rivaled food I’ve had at “real” falafel places. This had homemade, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, piping hot, amazing balls of falafel with cucumber aioli, lettuce, and tomatoes on a warm, soft pita. Delicious. It was so filling, but not too much that I couldn’t enjoy the beer! Andy ordered the chicken tenders and loved them as well.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Lots of great food and excellent beer. We were two happy people.</font></p> <p align="center"> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfeDCTA8I/AAAAAAAAFzw/-Tz-NjMze-8/s1600-h/DSC00353%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00353" border="0" alt="DSC00353" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRflCMHKsI/AAAAAAAAFz0/FfFjQir54PQ/DSC00353_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="441" height="343"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Well, I think I’ve gushed enough about my experience at North Country. We’re already talking about our next trip up to Slippery Rock!</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfmPHpVvI/AAAAAAAAFz4/5f9uJAkvkRg/s1600-h/DSC00354%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00354" border="0" alt="DSC00354" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWRfnrYpaaI/AAAAAAAAFz8/u5FykXcDKqQ/DSC00354_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="336" height="415"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-58821791608376368492011-02-20T21:52:00.001-05:002011-02-20T21:52:29.895-05:00Smiling Banana Leaf!<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">It’s hard to pick, but I think </font><a href="http://www.smilingbananaleaf.com/" target="_blank"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Smiling Banana Leaf</font></a><font face="Trebuchet MS"> might be my favorite Thai restaurant in Pittsburgh. Or maybe it ties with </font><a href="http://www.spiceislandteahouse.com/Homepage.html" target="_blank"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Spice Island</font></a><font face="Trebuchet MS">. Either way, this restaurant in Highland Park is excellent. The inside is super tiny. I’d say there are eight tables, tops. Since the last time I was there, they remodeled pretty extensively. There are new beautiful light fixtures, and wood benches with lovely pillows now line the perimeter of the room. The atmosphere is just so calm and relaxed, like they picked the color scheme out of someone’s heavy sleep. I’ve been here many times, but only for lunch. Usually there are only one or two other occupied tables, but according to online reviews, it sometimes gets very crowded. That must be for dinner I guess.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTYL25hqI/AAAAAAAAFx4/bRN-vHCJzFw/s1600-h/DSC00356%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00356" border="0" alt="DSC00356" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTYfnRdOI/AAAAAAAAFx8/jlzCGoBHaaY/DSC00356_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="526" height="383"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I may not look it, but I was truly happy to be there.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTYv23BPI/AAAAAAAAFyA/ZP5YokARypQ/s1600-h/DSC00358%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00358" border="0" alt="DSC00358" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTY3l7kWI/AAAAAAAAFyE/9lhPtoEYdA0/DSC00358_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="392" height="360"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">We started off with the vegetable spring rolls. Delicious. I let Mr. Imstaaaaarrving have three, ‘cause I’m an awesome girlfriend.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTZCdrSTI/AAAAAAAAFyI/Au96MAOvoIQ/s1600-h/DSC00359%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00359" border="0" alt="DSC00359" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTZuA8vpI/AAAAAAAAFyM/tcKS2JD0Jgo/DSC00359_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="462" height="355"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I ordered the Pumpkin Curry. SUCH a good decision. I have never had pumpkin curry, but I had heard good things. I asked for a 10 out of 10 on the spicy scale, but it was barely a 5. It really didn’t bother me though, because the flavors were so amazing. It was <em>exactly</em> what I needed. There was so much pumpkin and tofu in the dish, and everything just soaked up the curry sauce beautifully. If I wasn’t so unbelievably stuffed at the end, I could have eaten three more bowls.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTZwF0FrI/AAAAAAAAFyQ/9Wa-fHuNkL8/s1600-h/DSC00360%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00360" border="0" alt="DSC00360" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTaQnGB3I/AAAAAAAAFyU/4UJefCinRgE/DSC00360_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="483" height="371"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I love the hefty amount of basil. Everything blended together perfectly. I was in heaven :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTam0wodI/AAAAAAAAFyY/FTzbcy8Ccug/s1600-h/DSC00362%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00362" border="0" alt="DSC00362" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTa0PHZWI/AAAAAAAAFyc/dTsm9zVHTd4/DSC00362_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="500" height="384"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Andy ordered the Red Curry with beef, and he was equally as happy as I was. His dish was also loaded with beef.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">There was nothing negative about our lunch. Well, except for the spice thing, but it really wasn’t a problem. I love coming here – it’s a nice escape. Another plus is that it’s in Highland Park, so parking isn’t ever an issue. HP is also a sweet, quiet neighborhood to walk around in after you’ve stuffed yourself full of delicious food!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTbFHV0sI/AAAAAAAAFyg/sbRyYZjTo3M/s1600-h/DSC00364%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00364" border="0" alt="DSC00364" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TWHTbc4DrFI/AAAAAAAAFyk/euUuVh7jGcI/DSC00364_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="436" height="335"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Try out Smiling Banana Leaf sometime if you’re in the mood for a quiet, relaxed, delicious meal!</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-19355198873527651262011-02-17T22:24:00.001-05:002011-02-17T22:24:17.228-05:00A New Beer<p align="center"> <font face="Trebuchet MS">After Andy’s delicious fried rice meal on Sunday, we deliberated over what to do/where to go for the rest of the night. Go downtown? Walk around Oakland? We finally, of course, settled on <a href="http://www.houseof1000beers.com/" target="_blank">House of 1000 Beers</a>. (If you live in the Pittsburgh area and you haven’t been, you must try it!) Always a delicious choice. Since our recent dinner was spicy and filling, I wanted to try something crisp, refreshing, lighter, and new. Andy suggested <a href="http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/" target="_blank">Stoudt's</a> Pils. As a native eastern Pennsylvanian, I have sadly never tried Stoudt’s. (How???) Well, it ended up being a fantastic decision.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TV3mXCfJ-gI/AAAAAAAAFxo/jwfyvdbElHU/s1600-h/DSC00320%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00320" border="0" alt="DSC00320" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TV3mXlQrqnI/AAAAAAAAFxs/HVVC_lf0NeE/DSC00320_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="470"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I’m usually not one to order a pilsner. I don’t really know why. I guess I just always view pilsners as ordinary. Stoudt’s Pils? Definitely not ordinary. I’m so happy I gave it a try. The color was a beautiful clear gold, and it tasted exactly like a true German pilsner. It had hints of lemon and a slight kick from the hops. It was crisp and nicely carbonated. This would be a perfect beer for a warm summer afternoon!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TV3mX1dOexI/AAAAAAAAFxw/_fL8KOWB-sQ/s1600-h/DSC00322%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00322" border="0" alt="DSC00322" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TV3mYOiEp7I/AAAAAAAAFx0/xI1CtMU56vA/DSC00322_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="488" height="379"></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">This is an uncomplicated, refreshing beer, and I definitely recommend giving it a try.</font></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7341599928519002569.post-46643111739418044912011-02-15T18:01:00.001-05:002011-02-15T18:01:56.629-05:00An Eventful Valentines Weekend<p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">After much confusion all week long as to whether I was working the weekend or not (sometimes my workplace decides to operate throughout the weekend), I was relieved when I was told that I would not have to work. It’s hard to say goodbye to the overtime, but after being sick all week, I really needed the rest. To add even <em>more</em> to my recovery, Andy cooked my favorite dinner of his for me while I relaxed with a beer in hand and laptop on lap.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">He made the most delicious fried rice with so many veggies. We drank a delicious crisp Riesling with our dinner, and just sat an talked for hours…it was great :)</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsFyiB-pEI/AAAAAAAAFwg/gyc7vC-lwIo/s1600-h/DSC00317%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00317" border="0" alt="DSC00317" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsFzFuzP5I/AAAAAAAAFwk/V-dpeP7t09g/DSC00317_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="437" height="396"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">He also surprised me with this beautiful Anthurium planter! I love it!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsFzXK8XpI/AAAAAAAAFwo/RmJIfz5mfAo/s1600-h/DSC00319%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00319" border="0" alt="DSC00319" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsFzu_6kWI/AAAAAAAAFws/_kBSYcGAb8k/DSC00319_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="384" height="500"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">On Sunday, we met Kat and Tyler in the Strip District just to walk around and enjoy the <strong>beautiful</strong> weather we had! Andy and I got there a little bit early, and the smells of the hippie donut shop on Smallman (I forget the actual name!) lured us in. We seriously tried, but we couldn’t resist. We ordered six deeeelicious mini donuts to share with everyone. They were SO GOOD. I’m not typically a donut person, but the teeny size and the awesome toppings totally converted me!</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Raspberry Lemonade (OMG), Smores, Samoa (like the Girl Scout cookie!), Oreo, M&M, and Heath Bar with raspberry icing. Heaven!!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsFz3bYFaI/AAAAAAAAFww/K8eiwwIPQIo/s1600-h/DSC00327%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00327" border="0" alt="DSC00327" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF0uvJIGI/AAAAAAAAFw0/cOVM80kBDXw/DSC00327_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="499" height="388"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Oh hellooooo lovah! This would be <a href="http://www.rolandsseafoodgrill.com/" target="_blank">Roland's Seafood Grill's</a> amazing Bloody Mary (with gin, extra spicy). Roland’s is located right in the middle of the Strip District. I had never been there before (it’s usually jam packed), but since we were there on a Sunday, we were able to be instantly sat. This Bloody Mary was GREAT! Strong, spicy, and filled with horseradish.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF02qskgI/AAAAAAAAFw4/BaD5pdGvmhk/s1600-h/IMAG0885%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0885" border="0" alt="IMAG0885" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF1b3uQzI/AAAAAAAAFw8/1hMmaO_PMKo/IMAG0885_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="319" height="462"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I also tried raw oysters for the <em>first</em> time!! I loved them! I think I loaded up too much on the horseradish though, because I couldn’t really taste anything but the horseradish on the second oyster. Now I can’t stop craving these little slippery guys…I need to find more!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF1usQTiI/AAAAAAAAFxA/_clM1cFyvco/s1600-h/DSC00328%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00328" border="0" alt="DSC00328" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF15EPCPI/AAAAAAAAFxE/3FQK9MJRvj0/DSC00328_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="514" height="399"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Oyster face…yum.</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF23slVyI/AAAAAAAAFxI/RW07KvP4fKE/s1600-h/IMAG0886%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0886" border="0" alt="IMAG0886" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF3ENlsNI/AAAAAAAAFxM/erIJ_awEhyM/IMAG0886_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="311" height="450"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">I also had the Maryland Crab Chowder which was good, but not really <em>great</em>. It was kind of like they added crab to a can of tomatoes. Another negative aspect of our lunch was the server. Sadly, he was really awful. For a table ordering multiple courses of food and lots of drinks, he treated us pretty poorly. Other than the service and the soup though, I really liked Roland’s!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF3U0CyuI/AAAAAAAAFxQ/awvpeTuWkeA/s1600-h/DSC00329%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00329" border="0" alt="DSC00329" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF3gfRY-I/AAAAAAAAFxU/IW56JyNv9Zo/DSC00329_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="437" height="340"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Andy ordered a lobster roll on Mancini’s bread, which he really enjoyed. Kat and Tyler also ordered soups (French Onion and N.E. Clam Chowder), and they also said they were both great.</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">Definitely try out Roland’s sometime, just be wary of the service!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF4Mk7ARI/AAAAAAAAFxY/JhVW_3EoJTM/s1600-h/DSC00330%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC00330" border="0" alt="DSC00330" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF4fjrBEI/AAAAAAAAFxc/UbhXuDhyqoU/DSC00330_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="445" height="342"></a> </p> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS">To finish off our lovely weekend, we had a beer at the <a href="http://www.churchbrew.com/" target="_blank">Church Brew Works</a>. I had their Pepper Porter, which was phenomenal! It is brewed with black pepper, so it was spicy and full of so much flavor. I truly loved it. I hope it’s there next time!</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF4rgz0VI/AAAAAAAAFxg/_sFRUjJWIpA/s1600-h/IMAG0887%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="IMAG0887" border="0" alt="IMAG0887" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_3kBMurl48wg/TVsF49eRvtI/AAAAAAAAFxk/aFsVCoJ-8dM/IMAG0887_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="310" height="438"></a></p> Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15339450335282092555noreply@blogger.com2