“All I can say is fabulous, fantastic, and incredible and WOW! Thank goodness I didn’t come here first and then go to Shanghai as it would have been very depressing. And hallelujah! There are blue skies here. I spent 7 busy days in a brown Shanghai haze and I just want a shake and some fries (in case you missed it that was my current rendition of Come Monday).”
That is what I wrote home upon my first time arriving in Singapore (2005). I have had the pleasure of visiting Singapore only on three occasions and I was greatly (and personally) disappointed when we closed our office there officially removing it as a stopping point during our two week business travels in Asia.
That first trip I stayed at the conference hotel off Orchard Boulevard. Orchard is a like the 5th Avenue of Singapore with lots of high end shops: Prada, Channel, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo and so on. The similarity ends with the stores because unlike NY, Singapore is a different pace, calm, reserved, friendly. It is without a doubt the safest place I have ever visited. Beyond the high-end shopping there are other options and I spent most of my time in Lucky Plaza, a multiple level shopping center, which had mostly tourist nick knack boutiques, jewelry and electronics. And the Takashimaya department store is fun to check out and is located in a multiple level center called Ngee Ann City. On subsequent trips I have stayed in the Raffles City area which is very nice and has access to all kinds of shopping and restaurants.
As for food, Singapore has many wonderful things to offer considering the mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian influences. One of the first nights there I ended up lighting myself up with a very spicy pepper shrimp dish. I had heard that they use peppers we haven’t even begun to approach so far as spice and heat index. One shrimp took my breath away and it was several minutes of eating rice before my mouth recovered. I think this is when I began to develop my taste for spicy food. Sadly, I never got to actually try one of the best known dishes, chili crabs, and I never partook of street food. And I also neglected to make lots of notes about specific dishes I had but do recall really enjoying the food overall each and every visit there.
Since I was with a conference group that first trip I got to experience a banquet dinner at the Divine Society located in the Parkview Square building. The building’s location is interesting considering the extreme importance of Feng Shui because it is located exactly between the hospital and a building with two X’s on it – both bad omens in Asia. It is a members only place and I don’t know that I have ever seen anything like it before or since. They have a courtyard which is surrounded by statues of famous people from great leaders to famous artists such as Abe Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mozart, etc. Inside the “lobby” is a three story room that is decadent 1920’s decor with gilded iron-work everywhere, an area for the band overlooking the floor, painted ceiling with antelopes and clouds, and a three story wine bar “cellar” on one end where they had – get this – a tiny little waitress in an angel costume who they would strap in and send up into the air to retrieve the wine bottles because she is the “wine angel”. And the angel costume was more Victoria’s Secret than Walt Disney so all the men were having their photos made with her (poor thing probably doesn’t get exposed to rowdy Texans too often).
I rarely ever turn TV’s on when I travel, even domestically. That first trip to Singapore is one of the two times I have ever watched TV outside the US and I was thrilled to find Malaysian Idol was on. It was really fun to watch even though it was only partly in English and partly in Malay. The show had the same opening with the silver idol and the same music theme and judges similar to the original configuration of American Idol. Most interesting was that the episode I was watching was the group number part of the try outs and not everyone in all the groups all spoke the same language so that made it even more challenging for those contestants.
That first trip I also got to take a day tour to visit parts of China Town so stay tuned for details about that in my next post.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Biaggi's November 2012 Wine Dinner
Well, after too long of a delay I am back to blogging and back to attending things like wine dinners. The hiatus on wine dinners can be blamed on the extended period when Brad worked evenings but even since then it seems that when the menu looked good we already had other plans or when we were available the menu did not appeal. Finally the stars aligned and we were both available and found the menu to be appealing.
There were a couple things we noted right away after having been "gone so long". First, there was a different vendor involved which was really nice to see after having been exposed to the same vendor over and over during previous dinners. And the dinner was not as excessively crowded as when we used to attend but still had a decent crowd. I would guess that maybe the new has worn off and since they are offering these dinners virtually every month the "packed house attendance" is being spread out over the greater number of opportunities.
The vendor for the November dinner was Wines D'Italia and the hostess was very pleasant. I am afraid; however, that we were not huge fans of the wines presented overall. Of course we are not huge fans of Merlot (even before the emphasis Sideways reference to Merlot) and the reds offered were all Merlot blends.
In case you did not know, most wine dinner pairings are created by the vendor bringing the wines to the chef and managers and then the chef works to create dishes to best complement the wines. Having said that it should be obvious that if you do not think the meal matches well with the wine then that could be either the chef's fault or just a very challenging wine to pair. However, if you don't like the wine and find that you don't really care for the dish either it is more likely a reflection of the chef trying to bring out something nice in the wine and I would not fault the chef for a dish I disliked in this kind of situation. I can fault the chef or kitchen staff for poor execution - more on that later.
Antipasto Freddo - Walnut Gorgonzola Bruschetta
Candied walnut and Gorgonzola bruschetta with a port-cranberry reduction.
Featured Wine: Nobilvite White - Trebbiano, Malvasia and Chardonnay Blend
This was our favorite of the wines, very light, crisp with a clear citrus flavor that was mildly sweet. The bruschetta was wonderful and paired nicely and I in particular loved the port-cranberry reduction mixed with the gorgonzola cheese.
Insalata - Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Romaine
Grilled prosciutto wrapped hearts of Romaine with a citrus vinaigrette and shaved Grana Padana cheese.
Featured Wine: Innato - Trebbiano, Malvasia and Chardonnay Blend
This wine contained the same trio of grapes as the first wine in different ratios. I thought it was a bit flat tasting and was not as sweet; however, most at our table preferred this wine to the first one. The salad was nicely grilled and very pleasant to eat.
Primo - Baked Lobster Ravioli
Baked lobster ravioli with shiitake mushrooms and vanilla butter sauce.
Featured Wine: Vigne del Borgo - Sauvignon Blanc
I detected strong mineral flavors in this wine, almost earthly and it was very light. I am not a fan of Sauvignon Blancs but thought this was pretty good in comparison to others of the type. The dish had the potential to be my favorite food item of the night but the ravioli was too crunchy like it had dried out during baking. In fact, Brad with his braces could not eat this pasta due to the texture. The sauce on this dish was fantastic. Note here my earlier comment about execution and me wondering if this sat out too long or "baked" longer than it should have.
Pesce - Maple Glazed Scallops
Maple glazed scallops with mashed sweet potatoes and spiced corn purée.
Featured Wine: Rudestro - Merlot Sauvignon Blend
Thus begins the Merlots and when wines transitioned from being likable to dis-likable to my tastes. It was very light with tannins but tasted mostly like Merlot. I thought this was one of the best dishes served of the night, scallops cooked perfectly, but did not care for the wine with it at all.
Secondo - Herb Espresso Filet
Herb and espresso rubbed filet with a cabernet porcini demi-glace, truffle mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
Featured Wine: Barriano - Merlot Cabernet Blend
This wine was 35% Cabernet and 65% Merlot. I thought it had a slight sour taste, was smokey and light. The steak was cooked perfectly but seemed like it had tons of pepper on it which could have been my taste buds reacting to the spice of the dish before. Normally I enjoy a peppery steak but maybe this was too much back to back for me but as a heat/spice lover I think I just needed a strong red to pair with it. Would have loved to have had an Old Vine Zinfandel or a bold Cabernet.
Dolce - Roasted Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Homemade roasted pumpkin bread pudding with spiced crème fraiche.
Featured Wine: Bludigaia - Sangiovese Merlot Blend
The final wine was very tart (again I thought it was sour tasting), dry and a tad fizzy. The dessert was fantastic. This was the one recipe I asked about when the kitchen staff got to visit the tables at the end of the meal. Once again I learn that the secret to excellent bread pudding is using brioche bread.
There were a couple things we noted right away after having been "gone so long". First, there was a different vendor involved which was really nice to see after having been exposed to the same vendor over and over during previous dinners. And the dinner was not as excessively crowded as when we used to attend but still had a decent crowd. I would guess that maybe the new has worn off and since they are offering these dinners virtually every month the "packed house attendance" is being spread out over the greater number of opportunities.
The vendor for the November dinner was Wines D'Italia and the hostess was very pleasant. I am afraid; however, that we were not huge fans of the wines presented overall. Of course we are not huge fans of Merlot (even before the emphasis Sideways reference to Merlot) and the reds offered were all Merlot blends.
In case you did not know, most wine dinner pairings are created by the vendor bringing the wines to the chef and managers and then the chef works to create dishes to best complement the wines. Having said that it should be obvious that if you do not think the meal matches well with the wine then that could be either the chef's fault or just a very challenging wine to pair. However, if you don't like the wine and find that you don't really care for the dish either it is more likely a reflection of the chef trying to bring out something nice in the wine and I would not fault the chef for a dish I disliked in this kind of situation. I can fault the chef or kitchen staff for poor execution - more on that later.
Antipasto Freddo - Walnut Gorgonzola Bruschetta
Candied walnut and Gorgonzola bruschetta with a port-cranberry reduction.
Featured Wine: Nobilvite White - Trebbiano, Malvasia and Chardonnay Blend
This was our favorite of the wines, very light, crisp with a clear citrus flavor that was mildly sweet. The bruschetta was wonderful and paired nicely and I in particular loved the port-cranberry reduction mixed with the gorgonzola cheese.
Insalata - Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Romaine
Grilled prosciutto wrapped hearts of Romaine with a citrus vinaigrette and shaved Grana Padana cheese.
Featured Wine: Innato - Trebbiano, Malvasia and Chardonnay Blend
This wine contained the same trio of grapes as the first wine in different ratios. I thought it was a bit flat tasting and was not as sweet; however, most at our table preferred this wine to the first one. The salad was nicely grilled and very pleasant to eat.
Primo - Baked Lobster Ravioli
Baked lobster ravioli with shiitake mushrooms and vanilla butter sauce.
Featured Wine: Vigne del Borgo - Sauvignon Blanc
I detected strong mineral flavors in this wine, almost earthly and it was very light. I am not a fan of Sauvignon Blancs but thought this was pretty good in comparison to others of the type. The dish had the potential to be my favorite food item of the night but the ravioli was too crunchy like it had dried out during baking. In fact, Brad with his braces could not eat this pasta due to the texture. The sauce on this dish was fantastic. Note here my earlier comment about execution and me wondering if this sat out too long or "baked" longer than it should have.
Pesce - Maple Glazed Scallops
Maple glazed scallops with mashed sweet potatoes and spiced corn purée.
Featured Wine: Rudestro - Merlot Sauvignon Blend
Thus begins the Merlots and when wines transitioned from being likable to dis-likable to my tastes. It was very light with tannins but tasted mostly like Merlot. I thought this was one of the best dishes served of the night, scallops cooked perfectly, but did not care for the wine with it at all.
Secondo - Herb Espresso Filet
Herb and espresso rubbed filet with a cabernet porcini demi-glace, truffle mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
Featured Wine: Barriano - Merlot Cabernet Blend
This wine was 35% Cabernet and 65% Merlot. I thought it had a slight sour taste, was smokey and light. The steak was cooked perfectly but seemed like it had tons of pepper on it which could have been my taste buds reacting to the spice of the dish before. Normally I enjoy a peppery steak but maybe this was too much back to back for me but as a heat/spice lover I think I just needed a strong red to pair with it. Would have loved to have had an Old Vine Zinfandel or a bold Cabernet.
Dolce - Roasted Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Homemade roasted pumpkin bread pudding with spiced crème fraiche.
Featured Wine: Bludigaia - Sangiovese Merlot Blend
The final wine was very tart (again I thought it was sour tasting), dry and a tad fizzy. The dessert was fantastic. This was the one recipe I asked about when the kitchen staff got to visit the tables at the end of the meal. Once again I learn that the secret to excellent bread pudding is using brioche bread.
Monday, August 6, 2012
My First Chinese Banquet
My very first time traveling outside the U.S. was in the summer of 2005 and I traveled alone. Yes, it was a bit unnerving not knowing what to expect, never having been on an airplane for more than 4 or 5 hours, never having dealt with any country’s immigration and customs, and traveling to a place where English is not the first language - China. I attended a conference for a week in Shanghai and then another conference for a week in Singapore. Although I traveled by myself while in China I did meet up with researchers that I had previously been introduced to who are now very good work acquaintances. In Singapore I only knew of our foreign staff and did not interact with them at all during this trip.
Among various events and excursions during the conference in Shanghai what I remember most is attending my first Chinese banquet and that is what I want to share in this blog. This was a classic banquet arranged for the 500+ attendees of the conference complete with many large round tables set up with the large lazy susans for sharing food. I lost count of the number of courses and the number of dishes in all those courses so what follows is a partial accounting. The menu was all in Chinese and many of the items our Chinese friends were unable to translate. All night I simply ate one or two bites of nearly everything I dared to eat. I should also go ahead and tell you that since we were all American or Chinese American at our table we did not partake in the normal drinking rituals. I have had the “pleasure” of that many times since but only saw it across the room on this first trip.
It began with eight cold dishes including rice noodles, something similar to water chestnuts, green beans, smoked fish, smoked eel, duck tongue, jelly fish, shrimp, and a soup. I was doing really well until I got to the duck tongue. Yes folks I actually took one bite and managed to swallow a piece of duck tongue – ewwwww!! Who knew ducks had tongues and they served them whole so they looked like tongue and were about 1.5 inches long. Something crunchy like cartilage was inside and it completely grossed me out when I bit the end of the tongue off but I swallowed it. Ick! After that I was more hesitant of the food. I have issues with texture and that has been the hardest thing for me to overcome when it comes to Asian food. I tried to eat a piece of jelly fish but ended up discretely spitting it into my napkin to avoid a gag reflex. And then was afraid to try the shrimp because I could see that the shell was still on and I had no idea whether to eat the shell or how in the world I was supposed to remove shell with chopsticks. I have since learned that many of my seasoned fellow travels avoid items like the whole shrimp in shell simply because they have not found a polite way to eat them. I also did not try the soup and learned latter it was a fish soup with shark fins and mushrooms. If I had known it was shark fin I might have tried it but this was right after spitting out jelly fish and I wasn't sure I could handle another funky texture right away.
I should mention at this point that we were eating with the decorative ceramic chopsticks, the really slick, round ones. The kind that someone who has not used chopsticks extensively has no chance at all in being able to pick up slippery things like noodles. My boss once told me to buy a set and practice picking up shelled peanuts and that when I could do that I would have perfected my skills enough not to be embarrassed at banquets. I still have not perfected this skill but do now know my limits both for what I can eat and what I can pick up and control with chopsticks. I am now proud to turn down forks when they are offered because I am American.
After the cold dishes the main entree dishes were served one at a time. First was large prawns in a sticky sauce which was very good but I am sure the Chinese were horrified by us Americans using the soup spoon to try and break the shell off before eating them. Scallops with sautéed celery came next and was appreciated for being both tasty and easy to eat. This was followed by a brown rice mold with pieces of some very expensive shell fish that no one could give an English name to. I had the rice but skipped the unnamable fish. Then came beef tips and onions served in a basket made of fried noodles, also very good. Then a couple of items I could not bring myself to try simply because I did not know how to handle: whole fish and steamed whole crabs (no one but the true Chinese at the table tackled the whole crab). This was followed by something we first thought was a whole cooked turtle but it was pieces of pork and turtle meat under a large mushroom decorated to look like turtle. I had a piece of one of the meats and liked it. Next up was another rice mold which was decorated like the yin yang sign with black and white rice over a sweet bean curd which was not bad. Then some sort of paste in a pastry which I didn't try and finally the fruit (watermelon) which is always served last.
I know I did not make a note of everything so there were easily another five or six dishes not mentioned. As I said earlier we did not take part in the normal drinking festivities so I did not get to try traditional Chinese liquor Maotai on this trip. Instead I had red wine called "Great Wall" and would say it is a red table wine and not too bad. And I tried the Shanghai beer Reeb and thought it tasted a lot like a Heineken.
Now I will try to describe the entertainment which was taking place during most of the meal. It started with dancing lions like a lion taming act with a man in funny face costume making two lions dance and get up on stands. The “lions” each consisted of two men inside traditional costumes. Then came the ballerina followed by what I would call the "Chinese Dixie chicks". My travel notes state: “they certainly are the new Chinese woman who has probably had surgery to look more European”. Two played electric fiddles and one played electric bass and they shimmied around so much I was would guess the music wasn't being played live. It sounded like synthesized bluegrass with a Chinese twist. Next up were the acrobats, a man and little girl. She balanced bowls on her head and feet as he held her up in all kind of poses. They were followed by the magician and I was tickled to see it was a woman in a tux with a male assistant decked out in sequins! Her trick was to take a fishing line and shake it like she was fishing and suddenly reel in a live fish. She started with a little line and little fish and worked her way up to a rope and a very large fish. And they were real gold fish because as the assistant put them into water and you could see them wiggling around. Then came the traditional face mask dance which was a very masculine character wearing a face mask holding a fan. When this person would whip the fan or twirl with their cap, the mask would change and at the end when the mask was removed we were all surprised to see it was a woman. Last up was the Chinese band who mainly played American jazz and even played New York, New York.
I have not attended a banquet of this size since but every nice meal I have been treated to in China has consisted of the large, round table with large, round lazy susan and many, many courses of food.
One major mistake I made as new traveler was not taking a real camera to the banquet. Here are some horrible cell phone shots.
Among various events and excursions during the conference in Shanghai what I remember most is attending my first Chinese banquet and that is what I want to share in this blog. This was a classic banquet arranged for the 500+ attendees of the conference complete with many large round tables set up with the large lazy susans for sharing food. I lost count of the number of courses and the number of dishes in all those courses so what follows is a partial accounting. The menu was all in Chinese and many of the items our Chinese friends were unable to translate. All night I simply ate one or two bites of nearly everything I dared to eat. I should also go ahead and tell you that since we were all American or Chinese American at our table we did not partake in the normal drinking rituals. I have had the “pleasure” of that many times since but only saw it across the room on this first trip.
It began with eight cold dishes including rice noodles, something similar to water chestnuts, green beans, smoked fish, smoked eel, duck tongue, jelly fish, shrimp, and a soup. I was doing really well until I got to the duck tongue. Yes folks I actually took one bite and managed to swallow a piece of duck tongue – ewwwww!! Who knew ducks had tongues and they served them whole so they looked like tongue and were about 1.5 inches long. Something crunchy like cartilage was inside and it completely grossed me out when I bit the end of the tongue off but I swallowed it. Ick! After that I was more hesitant of the food. I have issues with texture and that has been the hardest thing for me to overcome when it comes to Asian food. I tried to eat a piece of jelly fish but ended up discretely spitting it into my napkin to avoid a gag reflex. And then was afraid to try the shrimp because I could see that the shell was still on and I had no idea whether to eat the shell or how in the world I was supposed to remove shell with chopsticks. I have since learned that many of my seasoned fellow travels avoid items like the whole shrimp in shell simply because they have not found a polite way to eat them. I also did not try the soup and learned latter it was a fish soup with shark fins and mushrooms. If I had known it was shark fin I might have tried it but this was right after spitting out jelly fish and I wasn't sure I could handle another funky texture right away.
I should mention at this point that we were eating with the decorative ceramic chopsticks, the really slick, round ones. The kind that someone who has not used chopsticks extensively has no chance at all in being able to pick up slippery things like noodles. My boss once told me to buy a set and practice picking up shelled peanuts and that when I could do that I would have perfected my skills enough not to be embarrassed at banquets. I still have not perfected this skill but do now know my limits both for what I can eat and what I can pick up and control with chopsticks. I am now proud to turn down forks when they are offered because I am American.
After the cold dishes the main entree dishes were served one at a time. First was large prawns in a sticky sauce which was very good but I am sure the Chinese were horrified by us Americans using the soup spoon to try and break the shell off before eating them. Scallops with sautéed celery came next and was appreciated for being both tasty and easy to eat. This was followed by a brown rice mold with pieces of some very expensive shell fish that no one could give an English name to. I had the rice but skipped the unnamable fish. Then came beef tips and onions served in a basket made of fried noodles, also very good. Then a couple of items I could not bring myself to try simply because I did not know how to handle: whole fish and steamed whole crabs (no one but the true Chinese at the table tackled the whole crab). This was followed by something we first thought was a whole cooked turtle but it was pieces of pork and turtle meat under a large mushroom decorated to look like turtle. I had a piece of one of the meats and liked it. Next up was another rice mold which was decorated like the yin yang sign with black and white rice over a sweet bean curd which was not bad. Then some sort of paste in a pastry which I didn't try and finally the fruit (watermelon) which is always served last.
I know I did not make a note of everything so there were easily another five or six dishes not mentioned. As I said earlier we did not take part in the normal drinking festivities so I did not get to try traditional Chinese liquor Maotai on this trip. Instead I had red wine called "Great Wall" and would say it is a red table wine and not too bad. And I tried the Shanghai beer Reeb and thought it tasted a lot like a Heineken.
Now I will try to describe the entertainment which was taking place during most of the meal. It started with dancing lions like a lion taming act with a man in funny face costume making two lions dance and get up on stands. The “lions” each consisted of two men inside traditional costumes. Then came the ballerina followed by what I would call the "Chinese Dixie chicks". My travel notes state: “they certainly are the new Chinese woman who has probably had surgery to look more European”. Two played electric fiddles and one played electric bass and they shimmied around so much I was would guess the music wasn't being played live. It sounded like synthesized bluegrass with a Chinese twist. Next up were the acrobats, a man and little girl. She balanced bowls on her head and feet as he held her up in all kind of poses. They were followed by the magician and I was tickled to see it was a woman in a tux with a male assistant decked out in sequins! Her trick was to take a fishing line and shake it like she was fishing and suddenly reel in a live fish. She started with a little line and little fish and worked her way up to a rope and a very large fish. And they were real gold fish because as the assistant put them into water and you could see them wiggling around. Then came the traditional face mask dance which was a very masculine character wearing a face mask holding a fan. When this person would whip the fan or twirl with their cap, the mask would change and at the end when the mask was removed we were all surprised to see it was a woman. Last up was the Chinese band who mainly played American jazz and even played New York, New York.
I have not attended a banquet of this size since but every nice meal I have been treated to in China has consisted of the large, round table with large, round lazy susan and many, many courses of food.
One major mistake I made as new traveler was not taking a real camera to the banquet. Here are some horrible cell phone shots.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
What Not to Eat In Asia
One of the primary rules of travel can be one of the hardest rules to follow: don’t eat non-local food. What I mean is that for the most part the best food will be the native food not their interpretation of your food.
Best example of this is the Mexican restaurant Casa Loca in Seoul, Korea. For some reason the people we visit think that it will be a welcome change for us weary travelers and that it will remind us of home. I have seen reviews of really good authentic Mexican restaurants in Korea but this place is not it. Their Korean interpretation of Mexican food is so not good.
Likewise beware of ordering classic American dishes (or any regional dish other than the local) from any non-chain restaurant. It will not taste like home. It will taste how the locals want the dish to taste with the ingredients they have available to them.
There are exceptions and the key to this is when the owner/chef is from the place of the food origin, has access to appropriate ingredients, and has not modified things for the local palate. There is a wonderful Italian restaurant, Pomodoro, within walking distance of the Caravelle hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. But it is good because the guy who owns it is direct from Italy doing it all his way not some modified Vietnamese interpretation of Italian food (we actually quizzed him about his recipes and whether the food was tweaked for Vietnamese palette before we ate there).
And there are some decent “almost like home” options but you will find great disagreement among travelers about whether these items are really good or not. Hamburger/cheeseburger at nicer brand name hotels can be hit or miss (Westin, Ritz, Intercontinental). After a week of Asian food maybe their version of a cheeseburger is just want you need and often works just fine for me. For my boss, a major hamburger snob who is critical as to what toppings are precisely allowed, this is always a sore disappointment. He rightly points out that the meat has more of a meatloaf texture than hamburger texture. But fries are hardly ever messed up at these major hotel chains and as such are an almost always perfect and very satisfying reminder of home.
And there will come a time when you cannot stand one more Asian dish no matter how good it is and you need something, anything that reminds you of home. So beyond an okay burger at the hotel what can you do?
Chain Restaurants? Starbucks and other coffee meccas are a definite yes. McDonalds, etc. well, yes it can taste pretty much the same as back in the U.S. but I desperately avoid in U.S. so why would I go there overseas? The few times I have had my arm twisted to eat at some sort of U.S. fast food based chain overseas I have gotten sick shortly after. Could be coincidence or timing of trip in general but the two times I have been really sick both of those times I had eaten at a fast food chain within a day of the “event”. “Moderate to higher end” chains seem to do better. I have had decent meals at both Outback Steakhouse and Tony Roma’s in Korea.
Pizza in Asia? It depends. Pizza Hut in Jinan, China was just weird. The menu had nearly everything but pizza and then a small section on pizza. Keep in mind that cheese is not a staple of Asian diets. The toppings were also tailored for the Asian palate. So what we ordered was kind of like home but just off enough to really taste wrong. On the other hand, California Pizza Kitchen in Hong Kong was just like being at one in U.S. and tasted just like home.
Of course Hong Kong seems to be an exception in general. One of the best Thai restaurants I have ever eaten at outside of Thailand is in Hong Kong - Sweet Thai Basil located in Harbor City on Canton Road.
In general it is best, especially the more remote you get, to stick with local cuisine. And let a local order for you! Give them some basic input on your extreme like and dislikes and then be open minded. When you do need an American fix – be careful what you pick!
Best example of this is the Mexican restaurant Casa Loca in Seoul, Korea. For some reason the people we visit think that it will be a welcome change for us weary travelers and that it will remind us of home. I have seen reviews of really good authentic Mexican restaurants in Korea but this place is not it. Their Korean interpretation of Mexican food is so not good.
Likewise beware of ordering classic American dishes (or any regional dish other than the local) from any non-chain restaurant. It will not taste like home. It will taste how the locals want the dish to taste with the ingredients they have available to them.
There are exceptions and the key to this is when the owner/chef is from the place of the food origin, has access to appropriate ingredients, and has not modified things for the local palate. There is a wonderful Italian restaurant, Pomodoro, within walking distance of the Caravelle hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. But it is good because the guy who owns it is direct from Italy doing it all his way not some modified Vietnamese interpretation of Italian food (we actually quizzed him about his recipes and whether the food was tweaked for Vietnamese palette before we ate there).
And there are some decent “almost like home” options but you will find great disagreement among travelers about whether these items are really good or not. Hamburger/cheeseburger at nicer brand name hotels can be hit or miss (Westin, Ritz, Intercontinental). After a week of Asian food maybe their version of a cheeseburger is just want you need and often works just fine for me. For my boss, a major hamburger snob who is critical as to what toppings are precisely allowed, this is always a sore disappointment. He rightly points out that the meat has more of a meatloaf texture than hamburger texture. But fries are hardly ever messed up at these major hotel chains and as such are an almost always perfect and very satisfying reminder of home.
And there will come a time when you cannot stand one more Asian dish no matter how good it is and you need something, anything that reminds you of home. So beyond an okay burger at the hotel what can you do?
Chain Restaurants? Starbucks and other coffee meccas are a definite yes. McDonalds, etc. well, yes it can taste pretty much the same as back in the U.S. but I desperately avoid in U.S. so why would I go there overseas? The few times I have had my arm twisted to eat at some sort of U.S. fast food based chain overseas I have gotten sick shortly after. Could be coincidence or timing of trip in general but the two times I have been really sick both of those times I had eaten at a fast food chain within a day of the “event”. “Moderate to higher end” chains seem to do better. I have had decent meals at both Outback Steakhouse and Tony Roma’s in Korea.
Pizza in Asia? It depends. Pizza Hut in Jinan, China was just weird. The menu had nearly everything but pizza and then a small section on pizza. Keep in mind that cheese is not a staple of Asian diets. The toppings were also tailored for the Asian palate. So what we ordered was kind of like home but just off enough to really taste wrong. On the other hand, California Pizza Kitchen in Hong Kong was just like being at one in U.S. and tasted just like home.
Of course Hong Kong seems to be an exception in general. One of the best Thai restaurants I have ever eaten at outside of Thailand is in Hong Kong - Sweet Thai Basil located in Harbor City on Canton Road.
In general it is best, especially the more remote you get, to stick with local cuisine. And let a local order for you! Give them some basic input on your extreme like and dislikes and then be open minded. When you do need an American fix – be careful what you pick!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Squirrels - Love Them or Hate Them?
To be clear this is not a blog about cooking or eating squirrel. While I understand it can be done in a tasty manner it is not something I have yet experienced nor do I intend to catch and cook one myself. Although I do know someone who accidentally discovered that catching a squirrel using peanut butter can lead to squirrel asphyxiation and they are now collecting a number of peanut butter killed squirrels in their freezer for some yet to be determined purpose. Seriously. Instead this post is more about the relationship with squirrels when you have bird feeders and gardens.
In general there seems to be three types of relationships: constant war, resigned acceptance, and loving encouragement. The relationship can transition from status to status so I am not sure if these really are true relationships or just phases like the five phases of grief.
When we were new home owners with our very first yard and the opportunity to finally have bird feeders we started somewhere between war and resigned acceptance. We tried greasing the hooks on which our bird feeders hung but were not in a location where we could hang feeders out of reach of tree limbs so the squirrels either slid down the hangers or simply reached out and pulled the feeder to them. We would bang on the window and run out on the deck yelling only to watch the squirrels return as soon as we came back inside. After a while they simply looked at us with “what you gonna do” looks on their punk little faces.
Then my in-laws gave us a twirl-a-squirrel. It is a device that when the weight on the feeder exceeds a certain level it starts making an alarm noise and spins. It spins in one direction for almost two minutes then reverses and repeats for what ends up being a very wild ride for squirrels. With this device I actually began encouraging the squirrels to get on the feeder simply to watch their skill levels. Squirrel starts with all four paws clinging, then as the rotational force increases suddenly one paw lets go, then another, and so on. I have seen squirrels clinging with two paws on one side, clinging with just front paws and my favorite, desperately hanging on with back paws. Even better is when it stops and the ones who have managed to hold on are then tortured by Brad. He waits till it stops and then yells and runs at them. They are so dizzy you can see their heads wobble as they try to figure out how to run up a tree to get away from the deranged home owner. So this device actually kept the squirrels from knocking down the feeder or eating significant amounts of bird seed.
Well, by this point I felt bad for the squirrels and actually got them their own feeder. It was one of those that attaches to the side of the tree and they have their own perch and can open and close the lid to access the food inside. We had fun with this, too. More than once when going to refill this feeder right as I reached for the lid out would pop a squirrel who had decided to nap inside the bin after gorging. And then there were the really creepy encounters where we would hear a constant banging noise and look out the window to see a squirrel repeatedly opening and closing the lid of the empty feeder while staring menacingly at the house. Pretty sure he was the same one that gave us the “what you gonna do” looks.
So I guess we had actually transitioned to somewhere between resigned acceptance and loving encouragement. We even started naming squirrels for a while based on looks or personality: Patches, No Ears, Psycho Punk, Harold…
All this changed again when we started our first vegetable garden. I had anxiously awaited our very first homegrown vine ripe tomatoes. I picked the very first one so excited to see we had three more that would be perfect in another day’s time. That next day I went to harvest my perfectly grown tomatoes and all three had bites taken out of them! Same thing happened to the very first roma tomato that ripened and I had had enough. It was back to war with the squirrels.
Numerous tips were provided on how to handle the situation. Pellet and BB guns, setting my in-door only cats upon them, using red pepper on everything, and consulting with the animal trapper guru were all suggested ideas. Recall the peanut butter asphyxiated frozen squirrels? I decided I would have to take a more humane approach; after all we had named the darn rodents. So I finally strung a clothes line across the top of my raised bed garden and draped bird netting over it. I then “secured” the netting to the ground with large rocks and tucked the ends of the netting inside itself. I then poured a 3 inch wide border of “critter ridder”, which turned out to be a very expensive bottle of black and red pepper (should have read ingredients and just bought dry pepper in bulk), around the base of the raised bed.
And then I waited. I waited anxiously because worse than the squirrels tasting my tomatoes would be finding some poor critter trapped inside the netting that would end up in traumatizing both the animal and me and likely put me off doing any future gardens. So I awaited and checked the garden every day. No trapped critters and rapidly ripening tomatoes was all I found. Finally, I harvested one, then two more roma tomatoes. I think I may have beaten them for now but until I have harvested more than the squirrels ruined I cannot count this as victory. Time will tell.
Now does anyone have ideas on how to prepare peanut butter stuffed frozen squirrel?
In general there seems to be three types of relationships: constant war, resigned acceptance, and loving encouragement. The relationship can transition from status to status so I am not sure if these really are true relationships or just phases like the five phases of grief.
When we were new home owners with our very first yard and the opportunity to finally have bird feeders we started somewhere between war and resigned acceptance. We tried greasing the hooks on which our bird feeders hung but were not in a location where we could hang feeders out of reach of tree limbs so the squirrels either slid down the hangers or simply reached out and pulled the feeder to them. We would bang on the window and run out on the deck yelling only to watch the squirrels return as soon as we came back inside. After a while they simply looked at us with “what you gonna do” looks on their punk little faces.
Then my in-laws gave us a twirl-a-squirrel. It is a device that when the weight on the feeder exceeds a certain level it starts making an alarm noise and spins. It spins in one direction for almost two minutes then reverses and repeats for what ends up being a very wild ride for squirrels. With this device I actually began encouraging the squirrels to get on the feeder simply to watch their skill levels. Squirrel starts with all four paws clinging, then as the rotational force increases suddenly one paw lets go, then another, and so on. I have seen squirrels clinging with two paws on one side, clinging with just front paws and my favorite, desperately hanging on with back paws. Even better is when it stops and the ones who have managed to hold on are then tortured by Brad. He waits till it stops and then yells and runs at them. They are so dizzy you can see their heads wobble as they try to figure out how to run up a tree to get away from the deranged home owner. So this device actually kept the squirrels from knocking down the feeder or eating significant amounts of bird seed.
Well, by this point I felt bad for the squirrels and actually got them their own feeder. It was one of those that attaches to the side of the tree and they have their own perch and can open and close the lid to access the food inside. We had fun with this, too. More than once when going to refill this feeder right as I reached for the lid out would pop a squirrel who had decided to nap inside the bin after gorging. And then there were the really creepy encounters where we would hear a constant banging noise and look out the window to see a squirrel repeatedly opening and closing the lid of the empty feeder while staring menacingly at the house. Pretty sure he was the same one that gave us the “what you gonna do” looks.
So I guess we had actually transitioned to somewhere between resigned acceptance and loving encouragement. We even started naming squirrels for a while based on looks or personality: Patches, No Ears, Psycho Punk, Harold…
All this changed again when we started our first vegetable garden. I had anxiously awaited our very first homegrown vine ripe tomatoes. I picked the very first one so excited to see we had three more that would be perfect in another day’s time. That next day I went to harvest my perfectly grown tomatoes and all three had bites taken out of them! Same thing happened to the very first roma tomato that ripened and I had had enough. It was back to war with the squirrels.
Numerous tips were provided on how to handle the situation. Pellet and BB guns, setting my in-door only cats upon them, using red pepper on everything, and consulting with the animal trapper guru were all suggested ideas. Recall the peanut butter asphyxiated frozen squirrels? I decided I would have to take a more humane approach; after all we had named the darn rodents. So I finally strung a clothes line across the top of my raised bed garden and draped bird netting over it. I then “secured” the netting to the ground with large rocks and tucked the ends of the netting inside itself. I then poured a 3 inch wide border of “critter ridder”, which turned out to be a very expensive bottle of black and red pepper (should have read ingredients and just bought dry pepper in bulk), around the base of the raised bed.
And then I waited. I waited anxiously because worse than the squirrels tasting my tomatoes would be finding some poor critter trapped inside the netting that would end up in traumatizing both the animal and me and likely put me off doing any future gardens. So I awaited and checked the garden every day. No trapped critters and rapidly ripening tomatoes was all I found. Finally, I harvested one, then two more roma tomatoes. I think I may have beaten them for now but until I have harvested more than the squirrels ruined I cannot count this as victory. Time will tell.
Now does anyone have ideas on how to prepare peanut butter stuffed frozen squirrel?
Sunday, July 22, 2012
One Night in Bangkok - 2005
I compiled this blog about Thailand from records of emails sent to family during my travels.
I visited Bangkok in November of 2005 as the midway point of a two week, multi-country trip (between stops in Hong Kong and Vietnam). I regret that I have only been to Thailand once. Due to anti-government protests during the timing of my travel in Asia we have had to drop this designation from my list. That may change this coming fall. I also regret that my boss was sick for the two days we were there and since this was early on in my travels I was too timid to go exploring on my own.
We stayed at the Bangkok Peninsula and as always in tourist cities in Asia I recall being impressed with the staff and facilities. My room was a luxurious haven that overlooked the Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok from what I saw from the interstate drive to the hotel is a mix of very modern sky scrapers with old mosques and buildings nestled between them. The view from my room let me see that the river was busy with lots of boat taxis and barges would go by every so often.
For dinner we took a hotel taxi to my boss’s favorite eating spot using a business card for the restaurant as directions for the driver and let’s just say I was so glad to be with a male coworker I trusted on that ride. Exhilarating is a nice way to say scared silly. Not only do they drive crazy but there were people out everywhere and there was a big difference between the sights in town versus what I saw on the interstate on the way to the hotel. We barreled past people riding elephants. At one point the taxi was less than two feet from a baby elephant and then a short block ahead there was a full grown elephant toting things. There were vendors and open markets everywhere and lots and lots of traffic and people. I have since learned this is the norm in Asia and with few exceptions today am not phased by hurtling through masses of people and traffic with no apparent traffic laws being used.
The place we went to for dinner was called Ban Klang Nam Fodor's Link (at least the names in Thailand don’t all sound like bad words in English like they do in Vietnam). It was down a long, dark alley but thankfully the taxi drove all the way to the door. Our reservations were for a river side table right on the rail so we ate dinner just feet from the water and watched barges and boats go back and forth. The weather was perfect with a nice breeze, not very humid and thankfully no bugs. This is an open air seafood restaurant where pretty much every table has a good view of the river. Sort of like eating on a very large covered deck right over the water.
We ate crab fried rice, sautéed veggies in oyster sauce, shrimp pad Thai, spicy curry prawns, fried pork, scallops, and had mango for dessert. It was fantastic! I recall loving everything and being thrilled with getting to try a wide variety of dishes. Everything was so fresh tasting. Before this trip I had never tasted mango like it is really supposed to taste - RIPE. It had the texture of butter and was so sweet. Some of the better Asian places here in the U.S. do a good job of only serving mango when it is ripe but it is not the same as what you actually get when in Asia. Think of it as eating a tomato ripened in green house versus tomato ripened on the vine.
Ordering beer was an interesting experience since they had a different girl (dressed in short shorts and tank tops with the beer brand label on their tops) to represent each beer brand to come and pour the beer.
At the end of the meal we had the restaurant manager arrange for a water taxi for us and we paid 800 baht (around $20 at the time) for a water taxi ride back to the hotel. Normally you do not ride the river at night because it is too dangerous but with a private taxi we were safe. The water taxis have Toyota tundra engines attached to long metal poles as the power to run them so they go very fast. We scampered over the rail of the deck of the restaurant and walked across a small plank held in place by the water taxi driver. It was certainly an experience to remember.
I visited Bangkok in November of 2005 as the midway point of a two week, multi-country trip (between stops in Hong Kong and Vietnam). I regret that I have only been to Thailand once. Due to anti-government protests during the timing of my travel in Asia we have had to drop this designation from my list. That may change this coming fall. I also regret that my boss was sick for the two days we were there and since this was early on in my travels I was too timid to go exploring on my own.
We stayed at the Bangkok Peninsula and as always in tourist cities in Asia I recall being impressed with the staff and facilities. My room was a luxurious haven that overlooked the Chao Phraya River.
Bangkok from what I saw from the interstate drive to the hotel is a mix of very modern sky scrapers with old mosques and buildings nestled between them. The view from my room let me see that the river was busy with lots of boat taxis and barges would go by every so often.
For dinner we took a hotel taxi to my boss’s favorite eating spot using a business card for the restaurant as directions for the driver and let’s just say I was so glad to be with a male coworker I trusted on that ride. Exhilarating is a nice way to say scared silly. Not only do they drive crazy but there were people out everywhere and there was a big difference between the sights in town versus what I saw on the interstate on the way to the hotel. We barreled past people riding elephants. At one point the taxi was less than two feet from a baby elephant and then a short block ahead there was a full grown elephant toting things. There were vendors and open markets everywhere and lots and lots of traffic and people. I have since learned this is the norm in Asia and with few exceptions today am not phased by hurtling through masses of people and traffic with no apparent traffic laws being used.
The place we went to for dinner was called Ban Klang Nam Fodor's Link (at least the names in Thailand don’t all sound like bad words in English like they do in Vietnam). It was down a long, dark alley but thankfully the taxi drove all the way to the door. Our reservations were for a river side table right on the rail so we ate dinner just feet from the water and watched barges and boats go back and forth. The weather was perfect with a nice breeze, not very humid and thankfully no bugs. This is an open air seafood restaurant where pretty much every table has a good view of the river. Sort of like eating on a very large covered deck right over the water.
We ate crab fried rice, sautéed veggies in oyster sauce, shrimp pad Thai, spicy curry prawns, fried pork, scallops, and had mango for dessert. It was fantastic! I recall loving everything and being thrilled with getting to try a wide variety of dishes. Everything was so fresh tasting. Before this trip I had never tasted mango like it is really supposed to taste - RIPE. It had the texture of butter and was so sweet. Some of the better Asian places here in the U.S. do a good job of only serving mango when it is ripe but it is not the same as what you actually get when in Asia. Think of it as eating a tomato ripened in green house versus tomato ripened on the vine.
Ordering beer was an interesting experience since they had a different girl (dressed in short shorts and tank tops with the beer brand label on their tops) to represent each beer brand to come and pour the beer.
At the end of the meal we had the restaurant manager arrange for a water taxi for us and we paid 800 baht (around $20 at the time) for a water taxi ride back to the hotel. Normally you do not ride the river at night because it is too dangerous but with a private taxi we were safe. The water taxis have Toyota tundra engines attached to long metal poles as the power to run them so they go very fast. We scampered over the rail of the deck of the restaurant and walked across a small plank held in place by the water taxi driver. It was certainly an experience to remember.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Asheville Brews Cruise Adventure
Asheville Brews Cruise
First a note of caution: if you have never done a Brews Cruise it is nothing like visiting multiple wineries in a given day. We consumed way more alcohol doing this than we ever have doing wineries. The Brews Cruise coordinator comes around with pitchers of beer and will refill your cup so it isn’t like a normal walk-in tasting where there are reasonable limits to what is given to you. My tasting notes go from highly detailed information about the character of the beer to indecipherable nonsense.
The premise is that someone else does all the driving and gives you the inside scoop as to what is going on in brewpubs. The size of the group was about 12 people and we just barely fit into the van. Due to the amount of alcohol consumed we went from being strangers to being best friends to completely forgetting each other’s names in a period of about 4 hours.
First stop on our cruise was Highland Brewing Company. The coordinator of our Brew Cruise was quite surprised to find a major event taking place when we arrived. I was thrilled to see it was a class on fermentation hosted by NCSU. On the large screen I could see chemical reactions of carbohydrates and considered ditching the cruise to see the lecture but since it was the first stop I figured I better stick with the group. We had a really great tour of the place with extensive details on the process and a chance to talk to some of the guys working on fixing the bottling line. We tried:
Asheville Brewing Company (downtown location) was actually the meet up location for the cruise and then the final tasting stop. The downtown spot is a pizza/sandwich spot which serves their beers as well as others. We tasted:
First a note of caution: if you have never done a Brews Cruise it is nothing like visiting multiple wineries in a given day. We consumed way more alcohol doing this than we ever have doing wineries. The Brews Cruise coordinator comes around with pitchers of beer and will refill your cup so it isn’t like a normal walk-in tasting where there are reasonable limits to what is given to you. My tasting notes go from highly detailed information about the character of the beer to indecipherable nonsense.
The premise is that someone else does all the driving and gives you the inside scoop as to what is going on in brewpubs. The size of the group was about 12 people and we just barely fit into the van. Due to the amount of alcohol consumed we went from being strangers to being best friends to completely forgetting each other’s names in a period of about 4 hours.
 |
| Highlands Brewing Company |
- St. Terese’s Pale Ale – light and citrusy, very crisp and mildly bitter
- Gaelic Ale – everyone surely has had this beer
- Kashmir IPA – very light for IPA, British style with light hops
- Oatmeal Porter – light porter, good burnt caramel flavors
- Black Mocha Stout – great coffee flavor, not too much chocolate, nicely bitter
In addition to the above list tasted during the tour we also got one beer at the bar as part of the tour package. I am fairly sure Brad and I tried different things but I neglected to make a note of it.
 |
| Highlands Brewing Company |
French Broad Brewery was the next stop. Much smaller place compared to Highlands but we had a chance to actually talk with one of brewmasters, Drew Barton. We tasted:
- Gateway Kolsh – very light, not bad at all for a kolsh
- 13 Rebels ESB – floral, light and grassy
- IPA - American Style, very bitter, hoppy, grassy
- Weeheavy-er Scotch Style Ale – very smooth, sweet caramel flavors but 7%
Asheville Brewing Company (downtown location) was actually the meet up location for the cruise and then the final tasting stop. The downtown spot is a pizza/sandwich spot which serves their beers as well as others. We tasted:
- Shiva IPA – light and citrusy, very good
- Ninja Porter – very light, very good
And after that I am afraid things digressed. There was a pale ale but I do not know which one. I noted it was “not bad”. And then there was a jalapeno beer which we vividly recall as being absolutely horrible (was not Asheville Brewery beer).
The Brews Cruise was a lot of fun and was a great way to visit multiple breweries without the risk of drinking and driving. Just pace yourself and avoid accepting multiple pours of beer even if it does taste really good!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Downtown Asheville Spring 2012
Finally, some highlights from our April trip to Downtown Asheville.
I turned in my American Airline Miles to pay for part of our stay at the Hotel Indigo. This is a really interesting hotel within easy walking distance of everything downtown. The mountain view rooms do have a fairly nice view but also look over the highway so we noticed some traffic noise one morning when it was rainy and rush hour was bad. The other side of the hotel looks over the edge of downtown so not as pretty but I think I might prefer that next trip. The hotel has its own parking deck which is a nice perk.
Once again, Barley's Taproom was one of our first stops. This bar was where Highland’s Brewery got started (in the basement) and has a wide selection of local beers. And their pizza is fantastic - so good we never manage to eat anything else when we visit. We shared the All American Pizza with sausage, onion, mushroom, green peppers, and pepperoni. I had the Catawba Valley Brown Beer, which was very good; Green Man Porter, which was like a really good mocha; but my favorite was the Fox Hill Spiced Mead mixed with Original Sin Cider. I tried the Traditional Mead (13%) and found it too be too heavy but did like the Spiced Mead which reminded me of Christmas seasonings. The bartender recommend having it mixed with the cider and I enjoyed it so much we came back to Barley’s numerous times during the trip so I could drink this wonderful concoction. Brad had the Catawba Valley Firewater IPA, which he did not like, and French Broad IPA which was a good “solid 7 out of 10” on his IPA likeability scale. He also had the Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA, which turned out to be his favorite beer of the trip but at 12% he had to limit himself. This is what he chose to have on our repeated returns when I was enjoying my cider/mead.
One of the new to us places we tried for lunch was Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB). We really liked this bar and think it would be nice to enjoy their "outside area" in pleasant weather. The menu really impressed me as it had interesting versions of bar fare. We split the Beef Sliders with bleu cheese, bacon and truffled frites as well as the Grilled Chicken and Brie sandwich with bacon, brie, ranch, and roasted red pepper jam on house-made focaccia. Both were extremely yummy! To drink I had the Chocolate Stout Nitro, which had a wonderful dark chocolate, bitter but creamy flavor; followed by American Ale Nitro, a pale ale that was hoppy and due to the nitrogen was tight and very creamy. Brad had the Black IPA and was very happy it was the pint special of the day so he stuck with it.
Jack of the Wood was a stopping point so we could continue to try more local beers. It is one of the places to drink Green Man beers, whose main brewery location was not open when we were available, so we stopped into this pub instead. I had the Green Man ESB which actually is not so bitter and I found to be quite nice. Brad had the Green Man IPA and said it was very good. And although we had had a good lunch Brad could not pass up ordering the Scotch Egg as a snack. I think this is one of the Cardinal Rules of pub visits – if they have Scotch Egg we must try it. It did not disappoint.
A funny moment of the trip was at this pub. When Brad was in the men’s room a gentleman came in and sat next to me at the bar. He turns to me and says “Well, HELLLLOOOO there”. Bartender walking by without breaking stride says “She brought her own Sausage”. Anyway, once Brad came back we ended up having a very fun chat with this interesting character.
The Lobster Trap (home of Oysterhouse Brewing Company) was where we ended up for dinner. We started with a dozen oysters on half shell and the fish dip. Brad drank the Oysterhouse IPA, very good, and I had the Oysterhouse Upside Down Brown, also very good. For entrée’s Brad had the special which was trout with pork belly served over lentils and I had the Blue Ridge Shrimp and Grits with side of Lobstah Macaroni and cheese. My food was good but just okay not must order again; however, Brad really liked his. Finally we tried the Espresso Stout but found it to be waxy, peppery, and very bitter so we were not fans.
Going to post next about our Brews Cruise adventures - stay tuned.
I turned in my American Airline Miles to pay for part of our stay at the Hotel Indigo. This is a really interesting hotel within easy walking distance of everything downtown. The mountain view rooms do have a fairly nice view but also look over the highway so we noticed some traffic noise one morning when it was rainy and rush hour was bad. The other side of the hotel looks over the edge of downtown so not as pretty but I think I might prefer that next trip. The hotel has its own parking deck which is a nice perk.
Once again, Barley's Taproom was one of our first stops. This bar was where Highland’s Brewery got started (in the basement) and has a wide selection of local beers. And their pizza is fantastic - so good we never manage to eat anything else when we visit. We shared the All American Pizza with sausage, onion, mushroom, green peppers, and pepperoni. I had the Catawba Valley Brown Beer, which was very good; Green Man Porter, which was like a really good mocha; but my favorite was the Fox Hill Spiced Mead mixed with Original Sin Cider. I tried the Traditional Mead (13%) and found it too be too heavy but did like the Spiced Mead which reminded me of Christmas seasonings. The bartender recommend having it mixed with the cider and I enjoyed it so much we came back to Barley’s numerous times during the trip so I could drink this wonderful concoction. Brad had the Catawba Valley Firewater IPA, which he did not like, and French Broad IPA which was a good “solid 7 out of 10” on his IPA likeability scale. He also had the Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA, which turned out to be his favorite beer of the trip but at 12% he had to limit himself. This is what he chose to have on our repeated returns when I was enjoying my cider/mead.
One of the new to us places we tried for lunch was Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB). We really liked this bar and think it would be nice to enjoy their "outside area" in pleasant weather. The menu really impressed me as it had interesting versions of bar fare. We split the Beef Sliders with bleu cheese, bacon and truffled frites as well as the Grilled Chicken and Brie sandwich with bacon, brie, ranch, and roasted red pepper jam on house-made focaccia. Both were extremely yummy! To drink I had the Chocolate Stout Nitro, which had a wonderful dark chocolate, bitter but creamy flavor; followed by American Ale Nitro, a pale ale that was hoppy and due to the nitrogen was tight and very creamy. Brad had the Black IPA and was very happy it was the pint special of the day so he stuck with it.
Jack of the Wood was a stopping point so we could continue to try more local beers. It is one of the places to drink Green Man beers, whose main brewery location was not open when we were available, so we stopped into this pub instead. I had the Green Man ESB which actually is not so bitter and I found to be quite nice. Brad had the Green Man IPA and said it was very good. And although we had had a good lunch Brad could not pass up ordering the Scotch Egg as a snack. I think this is one of the Cardinal Rules of pub visits – if they have Scotch Egg we must try it. It did not disappoint.
A funny moment of the trip was at this pub. When Brad was in the men’s room a gentleman came in and sat next to me at the bar. He turns to me and says “Well, HELLLLOOOO there”. Bartender walking by without breaking stride says “She brought her own Sausage”. Anyway, once Brad came back we ended up having a very fun chat with this interesting character.
The Lobster Trap (home of Oysterhouse Brewing Company) was where we ended up for dinner. We started with a dozen oysters on half shell and the fish dip. Brad drank the Oysterhouse IPA, very good, and I had the Oysterhouse Upside Down Brown, also very good. For entrée’s Brad had the special which was trout with pork belly served over lentils and I had the Blue Ridge Shrimp and Grits with side of Lobstah Macaroni and cheese. My food was good but just okay not must order again; however, Brad really liked his. Finally we tried the Espresso Stout but found it to be waxy, peppery, and very bitter so we were not fans.
Going to post next about our Brews Cruise adventures - stay tuned.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Tale of Two Burger Joints
This past month we visited two good burger places in the area: Chuck's in Raleigh and Bull City Burger & Brewery in Durham.
Chuck's is another one of Ashely Christensen's places and is located right next door to another of her places Beasley's Chicken & Honey which we enjoyed back in January. The waitress walked us through the menu since it was our first visit and there is a lot to cover. Choice of burger size, meat or veggie, special combinations with explanation that they would not make some substitutions if the combination was not going to be flavorful (important point considering the intensity of the cheeses and other toppings), explanation about the fries and details about the various fry sauces. Finally, a review of the limited draft selections that did include some good local beers.
We both opted for the larger half pound version of the burgers with the idea that we would take home leftovers and we shared an order of the half pound Belgium fries. The sauces we selected were Espelette Aioli and the Comeback Sauce. The fries were worth fighting for and next time I think I would opt for a sharing one burger and each getting our own half pound of fries. They are the good, hand cut, steak-style true Belgium fries meaning large and "meaty". And the choice of sauces was fun but we definitely preferred the Comeback Sauce (horseradish, mayo, ketchup blend) over the Espelette Aioli.
Notice I started with the fries and that is because while the burgers were good, the fries were the stars of the meal at least for me. Brad ordered the High and the Valley which has avocado, bacon onion jam, and blistered red peppers. I had the Spirit Animal which has cream cheese, roasted poblano chilis, grilled tomatoes, and tortilla dust. The burger toppings on both were very tasty and the meat was cooked perfectly, tender and juicy. We had heard several people complain that the burgers are too salty but we did not think that at all but maybe it depends on the toppings. One other note about the burgers is that my sister-in-law got the smaller size and it came on the same size bun and about the same amount of toppings as what I had only it had a much smaller burger patty. The ratio of the toppings to bun to burger is certainly better on the half pound so I recommend ordering that and sharing if you prefer smaller amounts of food.
Not long after visiting Chuck's we paid a visit to Bull City Burgers & Brewery. There is definitely a difference in style and decor with Chuck's being a small basic eating place and Bull City being a working brewery with a large bar and picnic style seating. Chuck's has table service for ordering while Bull City is an order at the counter and take a number to your table for food delivery. We opted to sit at the bar and the bartender gave us a walk through the beer selections as well as the menu options.
First off if we are just talking about a cool place to hang out then Bull City wins simply for being a brewery with a full bar with a great selection of beverages. Brad started with The Bulls IPA and I had the Clay Street British Style Ale from the beer engine. Both were very good. The bartender had recommended the Clay Street as a highly drinkable beer and I agree. Second round Brad stayed with the IPA and I went for the Boar's Russian Imperial Stout which I much preferred to the Ale not only because I prefer stouts but also because this was a very good stout.
Another area where Bull City wins is the selection of bar snacks and a selection of hot dogs on the menu. To go with our beers we opted for the Bull Nuts which are NC peanuts heated with their house cured bacon, sugar and salt. YUM! Meaty pieces of really good bacon with really fresh peanuts. For the main feast we decided to share the Southwestern Burger which was the special burger of the day: onion loaf, gruyere, house bacon, bbq sauce, lettuce on poppy seed bun. Third area where Bull City wins is the house baked buns versus purchased potato rolls at Chuck's. The burger was fantastic and once again I loved the topping combinations but what is more I enjoyed the flavor of the meat. This burger was much more flavorful than what I recalled having at Chuck's. I was disappointed to be sharing the burger because I wanted more.
On the downside, I was not a fan of the Duck Frits. They were fine but they are the very thin fry crisps in duck fat with rosemary and salt. The rosemary and salt flavors were great but I prefer meaty fries so next time will order their Dirty Fries instead. To be fair the menu does describe them as skinny fries but I felt they were more like potato crisps than fries.
Both places are fun for trying interesting burger toppings but for us we would prefer to go back to Bull City for the flavor of the actual meat in the burger and the use of the house baked buns and of course for the nice beer selections. However, don't be surprised to see me happily wolfing fries at Chuck's!
Chuck's is another one of Ashely Christensen's places and is located right next door to another of her places Beasley's Chicken & Honey which we enjoyed back in January. The waitress walked us through the menu since it was our first visit and there is a lot to cover. Choice of burger size, meat or veggie, special combinations with explanation that they would not make some substitutions if the combination was not going to be flavorful (important point considering the intensity of the cheeses and other toppings), explanation about the fries and details about the various fry sauces. Finally, a review of the limited draft selections that did include some good local beers.
We both opted for the larger half pound version of the burgers with the idea that we would take home leftovers and we shared an order of the half pound Belgium fries. The sauces we selected were Espelette Aioli and the Comeback Sauce. The fries were worth fighting for and next time I think I would opt for a sharing one burger and each getting our own half pound of fries. They are the good, hand cut, steak-style true Belgium fries meaning large and "meaty". And the choice of sauces was fun but we definitely preferred the Comeback Sauce (horseradish, mayo, ketchup blend) over the Espelette Aioli.
Notice I started with the fries and that is because while the burgers were good, the fries were the stars of the meal at least for me. Brad ordered the High and the Valley which has avocado, bacon onion jam, and blistered red peppers. I had the Spirit Animal which has cream cheese, roasted poblano chilis, grilled tomatoes, and tortilla dust. The burger toppings on both were very tasty and the meat was cooked perfectly, tender and juicy. We had heard several people complain that the burgers are too salty but we did not think that at all but maybe it depends on the toppings. One other note about the burgers is that my sister-in-law got the smaller size and it came on the same size bun and about the same amount of toppings as what I had only it had a much smaller burger patty. The ratio of the toppings to bun to burger is certainly better on the half pound so I recommend ordering that and sharing if you prefer smaller amounts of food.
Not long after visiting Chuck's we paid a visit to Bull City Burgers & Brewery. There is definitely a difference in style and decor with Chuck's being a small basic eating place and Bull City being a working brewery with a large bar and picnic style seating. Chuck's has table service for ordering while Bull City is an order at the counter and take a number to your table for food delivery. We opted to sit at the bar and the bartender gave us a walk through the beer selections as well as the menu options.
First off if we are just talking about a cool place to hang out then Bull City wins simply for being a brewery with a full bar with a great selection of beverages. Brad started with The Bulls IPA and I had the Clay Street British Style Ale from the beer engine. Both were very good. The bartender had recommended the Clay Street as a highly drinkable beer and I agree. Second round Brad stayed with the IPA and I went for the Boar's Russian Imperial Stout which I much preferred to the Ale not only because I prefer stouts but also because this was a very good stout.
Another area where Bull City wins is the selection of bar snacks and a selection of hot dogs on the menu. To go with our beers we opted for the Bull Nuts which are NC peanuts heated with their house cured bacon, sugar and salt. YUM! Meaty pieces of really good bacon with really fresh peanuts. For the main feast we decided to share the Southwestern Burger which was the special burger of the day: onion loaf, gruyere, house bacon, bbq sauce, lettuce on poppy seed bun. Third area where Bull City wins is the house baked buns versus purchased potato rolls at Chuck's. The burger was fantastic and once again I loved the topping combinations but what is more I enjoyed the flavor of the meat. This burger was much more flavorful than what I recalled having at Chuck's. I was disappointed to be sharing the burger because I wanted more.
On the downside, I was not a fan of the Duck Frits. They were fine but they are the very thin fry crisps in duck fat with rosemary and salt. The rosemary and salt flavors were great but I prefer meaty fries so next time will order their Dirty Fries instead. To be fair the menu does describe them as skinny fries but I felt they were more like potato crisps than fries.
Both places are fun for trying interesting burger toppings but for us we would prefer to go back to Bull City for the flavor of the actual meat in the burger and the use of the house baked buns and of course for the nice beer selections. However, don't be surprised to see me happily wolfing fries at Chuck's!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
January's New Place for Us: Beasley’s Chicken + Honey
So our new place for January was one of Chef Ashley Christensen’s Restaurants: Beasley's Chicken + Honey. We had heard really good things about this place via newspaper and friends so wanted to give it a try. We went early on a Thursday night and had no issue getting a spot inside but opted to sit at the bar because of how short the stools were at the tables. That would be one word of warning about the place itself (not the food). It is very down to earth or rudimentary for lack of a better description: metal stools with no backs, sparse décor and just the basics for dinnerware/plates and mason glasses for drinks. It is a part of the ambiance but I have seen it and the prices complained about on some review sites. My take is know why and what a place is about and either accept it as part of the experience or don’t bother going.
The menu is written out on a large chalkboard above the bar and focuses on basic comfort foods centering on fried chicken. Options included a quarter fried chicken with choice of white or dark meat, chicken and waffles, chicken biscuit, chicken pot pie, a pork shoulder meatloaf, and an entrée salad. Sides are a la carte and the night we were there included items such as cabbage, snap beans, greens, potato salad, sweet potatoes, a mac and cheese item, and more. We asked about portion size and it was recommended that if we each ordered something such as the quarter fried chicken that as a couple we could easily share the veggie plate option which let you pick three sides to share. So I ordered the quarter chicken white meat, Brad the chicken and waffles (white meat) and we picked snap beans with garlic and toasted peppercorn, cider braised greens, and the Ashe County cheddar pimento mac and cheese custard. Iced tea comes unsweetened but you are given sugar syrup to sweeten it to your liking. They had a nice range of beers on tap and an interesting listing of wines and champagnes to select from. When we were there I was not able to drink alcohol so I cannot wait to go back and try fried chicken and honey with a glass of champagne!
Our order came out really quickly and was served on metal plates which according to Brad were just like the ones used in the kitchen where he works for staging foods before plating. The chicken breasts were huge and had a really nice crispy crust that was drizzled with honey and the meat was tender, moist, and flavorful. Who knew honey on fried chicken could be so tasty? Brad’s also came with maple syrup on the side in addition to the honey drizzled on the chicken which was sitting on top of a very nice sized waffle. His was also very good and for me the first time I had tasted chicken and waffles. I am glad I tried it but since I am not a fan of waffles it is not something I would personally order but he loved it. The braised greens had a nice cider vinegar kick to them and were cooked right, tender but not mushy. The snap beans, which were the recommendation of the bartender serving us, were peppery and had a nice al dente texture. My absolute favorite of course was the mac and cheese. It was a casserole style with layers of the pasta with pimento cheddar that was rich yet light at the same time. Brad had to fight me for his portion of the serving. I enjoyed it so much I would love to have this recipe for myself.
Brad noticed that the kitchen appeared to be shared with her place next door, Chuck’s. We have that our on list of places to try soon but in the meantime we hope to make Beasley’s part of our regular rotation when we can.
The menu is written out on a large chalkboard above the bar and focuses on basic comfort foods centering on fried chicken. Options included a quarter fried chicken with choice of white or dark meat, chicken and waffles, chicken biscuit, chicken pot pie, a pork shoulder meatloaf, and an entrée salad. Sides are a la carte and the night we were there included items such as cabbage, snap beans, greens, potato salad, sweet potatoes, a mac and cheese item, and more. We asked about portion size and it was recommended that if we each ordered something such as the quarter fried chicken that as a couple we could easily share the veggie plate option which let you pick three sides to share. So I ordered the quarter chicken white meat, Brad the chicken and waffles (white meat) and we picked snap beans with garlic and toasted peppercorn, cider braised greens, and the Ashe County cheddar pimento mac and cheese custard. Iced tea comes unsweetened but you are given sugar syrup to sweeten it to your liking. They had a nice range of beers on tap and an interesting listing of wines and champagnes to select from. When we were there I was not able to drink alcohol so I cannot wait to go back and try fried chicken and honey with a glass of champagne!
Our order came out really quickly and was served on metal plates which according to Brad were just like the ones used in the kitchen where he works for staging foods before plating. The chicken breasts were huge and had a really nice crispy crust that was drizzled with honey and the meat was tender, moist, and flavorful. Who knew honey on fried chicken could be so tasty? Brad’s also came with maple syrup on the side in addition to the honey drizzled on the chicken which was sitting on top of a very nice sized waffle. His was also very good and for me the first time I had tasted chicken and waffles. I am glad I tried it but since I am not a fan of waffles it is not something I would personally order but he loved it. The braised greens had a nice cider vinegar kick to them and were cooked right, tender but not mushy. The snap beans, which were the recommendation of the bartender serving us, were peppery and had a nice al dente texture. My absolute favorite of course was the mac and cheese. It was a casserole style with layers of the pasta with pimento cheddar that was rich yet light at the same time. Brad had to fight me for his portion of the serving. I enjoyed it so much I would love to have this recipe for myself.
Brad noticed that the kitchen appeared to be shared with her place next door, Chuck’s. We have that our on list of places to try soon but in the meantime we hope to make Beasley’s part of our regular rotation when we can.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Food Resolutions - A Recap of 2011: New Recipes
In 2010 I managed to make 35 new recipes. In 2011, I did 43 new recipes, which I personally think is amazing especially considering my recent increased travel schedule. Granted not all of them are elaborate, complicated attempts and unless they ended up being a keeper, I honestly don’t recall details. My inspiration comes from a constant clipping of recipes from magazines but also now the wonderful world wide web. Coming up with something new to make is so much easier with Google! So in 2011 I made the following dishes:
Beef Bourgeon from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. Brad does not like carrots but I assumed it would be a none issue since he could just not eat the carrots; however, after simmering for hours the beef, while extremely delicious to me, took on the flavor of carrots and Brad did not like it at all. And he was honest about not liking it. That is important but what a bitter disappointment after having made something so special. Sadly, while this dish turned out perfectly it cannot be a keeper if the husband will not eat it.
Onion Soup Gratinee from Cooking Light Magazine (aka French Onion Soup). This version finally made my keep list (after trying different versions of French Onion Soup over the years). I still need to work on having the patience to really take the onions to a perfect level of brownness. This is one of those things that I find takes a lot longer than recipes actually indicate.
Jalepano Slaw from FoodNetwork Magazine, which Brad made. This keeper has become a go to whenever we are doing fried catfish sandwiches.
Pimento Cheese, I tried a new version that was more classic southern style and did not like it was much as the recipe that I have been using.
Chicken Roulade from the Fresh Market Flier is when I discovered that I am not really a huge fan of lots of goat cheese and this had lots of goat cheese in it. I did keep the recipe because that is something easy to alter and otherwise it had really nice texture and flavor and Brad loved it.
Mini Mac and Shrooms from FoodNetwork Magazine. Another keeper, but then not too many good mac and cheese recipes are not keepers. This one makes use of brie cheese and with the combination of mushrooms is a real treat as a side dish with steak.
Creamy Potato Salad with Celery Seeds from Williams Sonoma Kitchen Library: Potatoes. This has a wonderful spring/green taste to it with both fresh celery and celery seeds. Potatoes are something that I am always excited to find a new twist on a classic and I have two cookbooks just on potatoes (the only link in my cooking to my Irish heritage).
Runny Eggs in Creamy Grits ended up not being a keeper only because another version (later in the year) was so much better. Essentially this was a hearty grits with bacon and cheese topped with a poached egg.
Roti Di Porc Au Lait, another from Anthony Bourdain’s book where you simmer pork in milk with various herbs and it gets so tender and has a wonderful flavor. This was a huge hit with Brad and definitely a keeper.
Sausage Escarole Bean Soup from FoodNetwork Magazine. This is a chicken broth based soup with spicy sausage, white beans, escarole and an extra richness from simmering with the rind from good parmesan. Another keeper.
Gnocchi and Mushroom Ragu, was my first time making gnocchi from scratch and it went extremely well, the sauce however was a big disappointment. Essentially the sauce ended up being a bit too bland. In hindsight I realized that most of the time I have gnocchi in restaurants it is always with a very rich sauce. We did learn through this process that you can freeze fresh gnocchi and when cooking frozen gnocchi a quick pan sear in brown butter brings the texture back.
Sausage Stuffed Mushroom Purses from Cuisine at Home Magazine. This is a really yummy appetizer taking the concept of sausage stuffed mushrooms to a new level by then wrapping them in phyllo dough. They also freeze really well so worth the effort of making a large batch and then heating up a few at a time as needed. Obviously a keeper.
Cheeseburger Roulade, I saw this one on TV show with Robert Irvine. It uses puff pastry, a meat mixture to mimic a burger and wrapped with cheddar and goat cheese, and served with a nice dipping sauce. Definitely a savory keeper.
Deviled Egg Endive from Women’s Health Magazine is a healthy keeper recipe where you make a deviled egg salad and serve it in endive leaves. Great for times when you want a twist on the classic deviled egg.
Macaroni Salad, I am still searching for a recipe that tastes like the salad I used to get from a deli that no longer exists. I have tweaked it to being every close to what I recall but it needs a tad more tweaking to be perfect.
Light Ranch Dressing was okay but not a keeper. It did however add to a base for the macaroni salad I was tweaking.
Southern Eggs En Cocette which I saw on TV done by Claire Robinson (her Five Ingredient show). This one turned out to be a real surprise as Brad, who does not like grits, LOVES this recipe. I have made it quite often ever since that first time and Brad now tastes grits more often in restaurants. The key to this one is making a very good real grit or polenta base, top with a breakfast meat, cheese, egg and bake till egg is cooked to the preferred level of doneness. We have done this with both sausage and bacon and with both parmesan and gruyere cheeses so it is very adaptable. I fry Brad’s egg first a little so it is done enough for him and for me I like it runny and just barely cooked in the grits.
Pommes Fondant, another Anthony Bourdain recipe that did not turn out right and as a result was just so so. This one was likely a failure in my technique as the potatoes cooked too long and it ended up more like mashed potatoes instead of the pretty football shapes it was supposed to be.
Chicken Riesling from Food & Wine Magazine is a oh my – yum yum keeper, where you cook the chicken in Bourbon, Riesling, cream and mushrooms.
Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin from FoodNetwork Magazine is a wonderful keeper grill recipe where you sauté a garlic, mushroom, lemon zest mixture then roll in a pork loin and grill.
Zucchini Tomato Ricotta Tart from Shape Magazine was a surprise hit. This was such a fresh dish with the ricotta as a custard base topped with the zucchini and tomato. A great summer keeper.
Squash Lasagna was a self-creation based on ideas for using up squash where you sub thinly sliced squash for noodles. Otherwise we used our traditional lasagna recipe and it was absolutely wonderful.
Squash Cornbread was a recipe from a coworker. I had not actually tried this dish but heard rave reviews from others. It was not what I expected and while very good Brad did not like the texture.
Summer Squash Gratin was pretty good but did not keep or reheat well at all which was disappointing and kept the recipe from being a keeper.
Shrimp and Grits was a self-creation using leftover grits from another recipe and then part of Paula Dean’s technique for the shrimp from her shrimp and grits recipe. A first try ended up being a successful combination and Brad really liked it.
Red Beans and Rice from Emeril Lagasse. This was one of those times where I had some core ingredients and realized I probably could make this kind of thing and then I looked up several versions before deciding this one sounded best considering the items I had on hand. It was very good and ended up being a keeper.
Mango Salsa Bean Dip was a recipe I picked up from one of Brad’s high school friends when we were at a mini reunion. It is such a nice change compared to the classic layered bean dip and can be done with either mango or peach salsa.
Apple Tart from Fresh Market Flier is a keeper using puff pastry to make simple apple tarts.
Classic Bolognese Ragu from Bon Appe’tit Magazine. I have a quick version of this pasta sauce but have continued to try classic long cook versions and finally settled on this version as being simple yet worth the cooking time.
Pepperoni Bread from News & Observer is a tasty keeper appetizer. Layers of cheese and pepperoni rolled up in dough and baked.
Spinach and Cheese Quiche, a Paula Dean recipe turned out to be way too cheesy and we ended up eating it like a cracker spread instead of a dish. It was not a keeper for us.
Spring Shells and Cheese from FoodNetwork Magazine was a fantastic way to use excess summer zucchini. The zucchini with lemon zest and fresh thyme with a light cheese sauce is definitely a keeper.
Gouda Mac and Cheese was okay, kind of mild and ultimately even though is a mac and cheese is not a keeper.
Amaretto Pumpkin Pie involved two versions: one from FoodNetwork Magazine and one from Cooking Light. Side by side comparison ended with the verdict as yes for the non-light FoodNetwork version with whole eggs, heavy cream because of the texture even though the Cooking Light version had good flavors but less desired texture (egg whites, skim milk).
Potatoes en Papillote (in parchment) from Potatoes (from Pancakes to Pommes Frites) was a huge hit and a soon to be repeated keeper. Such a simple preparation of putting small new potatoes inside parchment paper packets with just a little butter and fresh herbs and roasting till tender.
Brined turkey was a miss. I followed the FoodNetwork Magazine instructions for dry salt rub and while the inside of the turkey was wonderfully tender and juicy the outside was too salty.
Spinasse Ragu from Betty Crocker is a keeper. Same basic concept as a Bolognese but subtle changes in basic flavors.
Apple Pancake Bake was a recipe we got from the Perry House B&B in Banner Elk and it turned out beautiful when I finally tried it at home. Similar to an upside down pineapple cake only it is apples and pancake batter in a cast iron pan.
Cappallini al Forno from Giada De Laurentiis is layers of pasta, cheese, and meat and looked beautiful but I learned I don’t care for smoked mozzarella so next time I will substitute the cheese.
Tuna Salad by Martha Stewart is made with apple and celery with lemon juice and was a favorite of Brad’s.
Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry by Ina Garten is another keeper. It is a simple layering of ham and cheese inside puff pastry.
Buffalo Turkey Sandwich was a from memory concept based on a FoodNetwork Magazine recipe where you make a bleu cheese mayonnaise and drizzle turkey with hot sauce and then build a Panini from those two items. We made this from turkey leftovers over and over this holiday season.
Well, that is it. After some upcoming travel I hope to start on new recipes for 2012. Looking back at this list there are some that I am also anxious to repeat so at some point being able to do new recipes all the time will have to compete against our favorites.
Beef Bourgeon from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook. Brad does not like carrots but I assumed it would be a none issue since he could just not eat the carrots; however, after simmering for hours the beef, while extremely delicious to me, took on the flavor of carrots and Brad did not like it at all. And he was honest about not liking it. That is important but what a bitter disappointment after having made something so special. Sadly, while this dish turned out perfectly it cannot be a keeper if the husband will not eat it.
Onion Soup Gratinee from Cooking Light Magazine (aka French Onion Soup). This version finally made my keep list (after trying different versions of French Onion Soup over the years). I still need to work on having the patience to really take the onions to a perfect level of brownness. This is one of those things that I find takes a lot longer than recipes actually indicate.
Jalepano Slaw from FoodNetwork Magazine, which Brad made. This keeper has become a go to whenever we are doing fried catfish sandwiches.
Pimento Cheese, I tried a new version that was more classic southern style and did not like it was much as the recipe that I have been using.
Chicken Roulade from the Fresh Market Flier is when I discovered that I am not really a huge fan of lots of goat cheese and this had lots of goat cheese in it. I did keep the recipe because that is something easy to alter and otherwise it had really nice texture and flavor and Brad loved it.
Mini Mac and Shrooms from FoodNetwork Magazine. Another keeper, but then not too many good mac and cheese recipes are not keepers. This one makes use of brie cheese and with the combination of mushrooms is a real treat as a side dish with steak.
Creamy Potato Salad with Celery Seeds from Williams Sonoma Kitchen Library: Potatoes. This has a wonderful spring/green taste to it with both fresh celery and celery seeds. Potatoes are something that I am always excited to find a new twist on a classic and I have two cookbooks just on potatoes (the only link in my cooking to my Irish heritage).
Runny Eggs in Creamy Grits ended up not being a keeper only because another version (later in the year) was so much better. Essentially this was a hearty grits with bacon and cheese topped with a poached egg.
Roti Di Porc Au Lait, another from Anthony Bourdain’s book where you simmer pork in milk with various herbs and it gets so tender and has a wonderful flavor. This was a huge hit with Brad and definitely a keeper.
Sausage Escarole Bean Soup from FoodNetwork Magazine. This is a chicken broth based soup with spicy sausage, white beans, escarole and an extra richness from simmering with the rind from good parmesan. Another keeper.
Gnocchi and Mushroom Ragu, was my first time making gnocchi from scratch and it went extremely well, the sauce however was a big disappointment. Essentially the sauce ended up being a bit too bland. In hindsight I realized that most of the time I have gnocchi in restaurants it is always with a very rich sauce. We did learn through this process that you can freeze fresh gnocchi and when cooking frozen gnocchi a quick pan sear in brown butter brings the texture back.
Sausage Stuffed Mushroom Purses from Cuisine at Home Magazine. This is a really yummy appetizer taking the concept of sausage stuffed mushrooms to a new level by then wrapping them in phyllo dough. They also freeze really well so worth the effort of making a large batch and then heating up a few at a time as needed. Obviously a keeper.
Cheeseburger Roulade, I saw this one on TV show with Robert Irvine. It uses puff pastry, a meat mixture to mimic a burger and wrapped with cheddar and goat cheese, and served with a nice dipping sauce. Definitely a savory keeper.
Deviled Egg Endive from Women’s Health Magazine is a healthy keeper recipe where you make a deviled egg salad and serve it in endive leaves. Great for times when you want a twist on the classic deviled egg.
Macaroni Salad, I am still searching for a recipe that tastes like the salad I used to get from a deli that no longer exists. I have tweaked it to being every close to what I recall but it needs a tad more tweaking to be perfect.
Light Ranch Dressing was okay but not a keeper. It did however add to a base for the macaroni salad I was tweaking.
Southern Eggs En Cocette which I saw on TV done by Claire Robinson (her Five Ingredient show). This one turned out to be a real surprise as Brad, who does not like grits, LOVES this recipe. I have made it quite often ever since that first time and Brad now tastes grits more often in restaurants. The key to this one is making a very good real grit or polenta base, top with a breakfast meat, cheese, egg and bake till egg is cooked to the preferred level of doneness. We have done this with both sausage and bacon and with both parmesan and gruyere cheeses so it is very adaptable. I fry Brad’s egg first a little so it is done enough for him and for me I like it runny and just barely cooked in the grits.
Pommes Fondant, another Anthony Bourdain recipe that did not turn out right and as a result was just so so. This one was likely a failure in my technique as the potatoes cooked too long and it ended up more like mashed potatoes instead of the pretty football shapes it was supposed to be.
Chicken Riesling from Food & Wine Magazine is a oh my – yum yum keeper, where you cook the chicken in Bourbon, Riesling, cream and mushrooms.
Mushroom Stuffed Pork Loin from FoodNetwork Magazine is a wonderful keeper grill recipe where you sauté a garlic, mushroom, lemon zest mixture then roll in a pork loin and grill.
Zucchini Tomato Ricotta Tart from Shape Magazine was a surprise hit. This was such a fresh dish with the ricotta as a custard base topped with the zucchini and tomato. A great summer keeper.
Squash Lasagna was a self-creation based on ideas for using up squash where you sub thinly sliced squash for noodles. Otherwise we used our traditional lasagna recipe and it was absolutely wonderful.
Squash Cornbread was a recipe from a coworker. I had not actually tried this dish but heard rave reviews from others. It was not what I expected and while very good Brad did not like the texture.
Summer Squash Gratin was pretty good but did not keep or reheat well at all which was disappointing and kept the recipe from being a keeper.
Shrimp and Grits was a self-creation using leftover grits from another recipe and then part of Paula Dean’s technique for the shrimp from her shrimp and grits recipe. A first try ended up being a successful combination and Brad really liked it.
Red Beans and Rice from Emeril Lagasse. This was one of those times where I had some core ingredients and realized I probably could make this kind of thing and then I looked up several versions before deciding this one sounded best considering the items I had on hand. It was very good and ended up being a keeper.
Mango Salsa Bean Dip was a recipe I picked up from one of Brad’s high school friends when we were at a mini reunion. It is such a nice change compared to the classic layered bean dip and can be done with either mango or peach salsa.
Apple Tart from Fresh Market Flier is a keeper using puff pastry to make simple apple tarts.
Classic Bolognese Ragu from Bon Appe’tit Magazine. I have a quick version of this pasta sauce but have continued to try classic long cook versions and finally settled on this version as being simple yet worth the cooking time.
Pepperoni Bread from News & Observer is a tasty keeper appetizer. Layers of cheese and pepperoni rolled up in dough and baked.
Spinach and Cheese Quiche, a Paula Dean recipe turned out to be way too cheesy and we ended up eating it like a cracker spread instead of a dish. It was not a keeper for us.
Spring Shells and Cheese from FoodNetwork Magazine was a fantastic way to use excess summer zucchini. The zucchini with lemon zest and fresh thyme with a light cheese sauce is definitely a keeper.
Gouda Mac and Cheese was okay, kind of mild and ultimately even though is a mac and cheese is not a keeper.
Amaretto Pumpkin Pie involved two versions: one from FoodNetwork Magazine and one from Cooking Light. Side by side comparison ended with the verdict as yes for the non-light FoodNetwork version with whole eggs, heavy cream because of the texture even though the Cooking Light version had good flavors but less desired texture (egg whites, skim milk).
Potatoes en Papillote (in parchment) from Potatoes (from Pancakes to Pommes Frites) was a huge hit and a soon to be repeated keeper. Such a simple preparation of putting small new potatoes inside parchment paper packets with just a little butter and fresh herbs and roasting till tender.
Brined turkey was a miss. I followed the FoodNetwork Magazine instructions for dry salt rub and while the inside of the turkey was wonderfully tender and juicy the outside was too salty.
Spinasse Ragu from Betty Crocker is a keeper. Same basic concept as a Bolognese but subtle changes in basic flavors.
Apple Pancake Bake was a recipe we got from the Perry House B&B in Banner Elk and it turned out beautiful when I finally tried it at home. Similar to an upside down pineapple cake only it is apples and pancake batter in a cast iron pan.
Cappallini al Forno from Giada De Laurentiis is layers of pasta, cheese, and meat and looked beautiful but I learned I don’t care for smoked mozzarella so next time I will substitute the cheese.
Tuna Salad by Martha Stewart is made with apple and celery with lemon juice and was a favorite of Brad’s.
Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry by Ina Garten is another keeper. It is a simple layering of ham and cheese inside puff pastry.
Buffalo Turkey Sandwich was a from memory concept based on a FoodNetwork Magazine recipe where you make a bleu cheese mayonnaise and drizzle turkey with hot sauce and then build a Panini from those two items. We made this from turkey leftovers over and over this holiday season.
Well, that is it. After some upcoming travel I hope to start on new recipes for 2012. Looking back at this list there are some that I am also anxious to repeat so at some point being able to do new recipes all the time will have to compete against our favorites.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Food Resolutions - A Recap of 2011: New Places to Eat
We plan to try to continue our usual food resolutions in 2012, which includes making a new recipe a week and trying one new (to us) restaurant a month. We don’t always manage to get to one new place a month but that one is a bit easier than the one new recipe a week. Often I go weeks at a time without having time to focus on cooking and then will have a weekend where I will make three new recipes. Here is a glance back at 2011.
For new restaurants our efforts went well until October. Then things got off the rails slightly. We did manage a new place in October but it was out of town and then our November outing really took place in December. We never did get to some place new in December, but we did two new places in June so that has to make up for it. An addition to our resolution this year will be to actually blog about these dinners as we have them versus attempting a year end recap.
January we started with Bella Mia, a wonderful brick oven pizza place. They have unusual offerings and my favorite is the Bleecker Street with fresh mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto di parma, extra virgin olive oil. We also recently discovered that their chicken wings, soaked in lemon and then oven baked, are incredible.
February was Jibarra, a contemporary Mexican place with a focus on classic dishes done in a modern style. The guacamole sampler was fun and I recall getting a pasta special which was very rich.
March was technically only new to Brad, Havana Grill. My favorite is their cuban sandwich and the fried plantains. For another opinion check out this site: Triangletastebudz.com
April was Boylan Bridge Brew Pub, which gets a big plus for the view. The menu has significantly changed since we were there shifting to more sandwich/burgers which I will go out on a limb and say is probably very wise since the best of what we had fit more into this category while the “fancier entrees” such as lobster mac and cheese, etc. were just so so. Back when we went you had to be prepared to wait for servers due to the seat yourself picnic table design but I am not sure if that is still an issue or not now.
May we finally went to Roast Grill. This is a Raleigh institution where they only serve hotdogs with options of yellow mustard, homemade chili, cole slaw and onions. Sounds boring but they are the best hotdogs and have a huge fan base considering the length of lines around lunch time.
June was Chow and then Mura. Chow is one of those places we would go to more often if it was closer to our house. We went a couple times with friends on trivia night. The burgers are fantastic. We did Mura on one of the Triangle Food Nights and some in our party did not get to order what they had planned off the set menu because the restaurant was out of it. They have a wide selection of options from bento boxes to sushi to chicken teriyaki.
July was Five Guys, again, new to Brad not to me. He described it as gut busting burgers which if you aren’t aware of their portion sizing that is certainly the truth. We also did Draft for the first time in July and that was new to us both. Draft became a place we would gather with friends until Brad’s work schedule made going out at night a challenge. Like Chow they have great and interesting burgers plus focus on NC beers on draft.
August was Ruckus Pizza, where we made use of a Groupon and had fun sitting at the bar chatting while our to go pizza was made. We opted for the Ranch Bacon Chicken Pizza (Applewood bacon, chopped chicken breast, roma tomatoes, fresh garlic, Romano and mozzarella cheeses on a homemade ranch base) and it was very yummy, too bad they are not more convenient to us or we would be eating there on a regular basis.
September was another Groupon deal leads to trying a new place month and we went to Vino Ristorante and we loved the mix of old world and new world menu options. They passed my Bolognese test and Brad loved the pan seared pork loin. We were concerned that the place was empty on a weeknight and hope they can make it.
October was Boardwalk Billys in Charlotte which was part of our Nascar Driver Experience weekend. We had really good smoked meats and bbq.
November was Rosatis Pizza where we had a margarita pizza, thin crust that was not bad. I think we should go back and do a Chicago pizza sometime for a real assessment of this place.
Stay tuned for part 2 where I will highlight the new recipes I made last year.
For new restaurants our efforts went well until October. Then things got off the rails slightly. We did manage a new place in October but it was out of town and then our November outing really took place in December. We never did get to some place new in December, but we did two new places in June so that has to make up for it. An addition to our resolution this year will be to actually blog about these dinners as we have them versus attempting a year end recap.
January we started with Bella Mia, a wonderful brick oven pizza place. They have unusual offerings and my favorite is the Bleecker Street with fresh mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto di parma, extra virgin olive oil. We also recently discovered that their chicken wings, soaked in lemon and then oven baked, are incredible.
February was Jibarra, a contemporary Mexican place with a focus on classic dishes done in a modern style. The guacamole sampler was fun and I recall getting a pasta special which was very rich.
March was technically only new to Brad, Havana Grill. My favorite is their cuban sandwich and the fried plantains. For another opinion check out this site: Triangletastebudz.com
April was Boylan Bridge Brew Pub, which gets a big plus for the view. The menu has significantly changed since we were there shifting to more sandwich/burgers which I will go out on a limb and say is probably very wise since the best of what we had fit more into this category while the “fancier entrees” such as lobster mac and cheese, etc. were just so so. Back when we went you had to be prepared to wait for servers due to the seat yourself picnic table design but I am not sure if that is still an issue or not now.
May we finally went to Roast Grill. This is a Raleigh institution where they only serve hotdogs with options of yellow mustard, homemade chili, cole slaw and onions. Sounds boring but they are the best hotdogs and have a huge fan base considering the length of lines around lunch time.
June was Chow and then Mura. Chow is one of those places we would go to more often if it was closer to our house. We went a couple times with friends on trivia night. The burgers are fantastic. We did Mura on one of the Triangle Food Nights and some in our party did not get to order what they had planned off the set menu because the restaurant was out of it. They have a wide selection of options from bento boxes to sushi to chicken teriyaki.
July was Five Guys, again, new to Brad not to me. He described it as gut busting burgers which if you aren’t aware of their portion sizing that is certainly the truth. We also did Draft for the first time in July and that was new to us both. Draft became a place we would gather with friends until Brad’s work schedule made going out at night a challenge. Like Chow they have great and interesting burgers plus focus on NC beers on draft.
August was Ruckus Pizza, where we made use of a Groupon and had fun sitting at the bar chatting while our to go pizza was made. We opted for the Ranch Bacon Chicken Pizza (Applewood bacon, chopped chicken breast, roma tomatoes, fresh garlic, Romano and mozzarella cheeses on a homemade ranch base) and it was very yummy, too bad they are not more convenient to us or we would be eating there on a regular basis.
September was another Groupon deal leads to trying a new place month and we went to Vino Ristorante and we loved the mix of old world and new world menu options. They passed my Bolognese test and Brad loved the pan seared pork loin. We were concerned that the place was empty on a weeknight and hope they can make it.
October was Boardwalk Billys in Charlotte which was part of our Nascar Driver Experience weekend. We had really good smoked meats and bbq.
November was Rosatis Pizza where we had a margarita pizza, thin crust that was not bad. I think we should go back and do a Chicago pizza sometime for a real assessment of this place.
Stay tuned for part 2 where I will highlight the new recipes I made last year.
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