Recipe: Tomato and Watermelon Salad

If you love watermelon and avocado as much as I do, you will LOVE this easy and refreshing summer salad we made last night.  It basically calls for watermelon, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, fresh herbs (we used cilantro and basil), a pinch of ground coriander, and olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper.

Try it before watermelon is goes out of season!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-and-Watermelon-Salad-352389

Innovative QR Code

This is old news, but we were talking about QR codes with our friends last night, and I mentioned Taco Bell's code made of avocados in an ad I'd seen in one of our food magazines we subscribe to.  They also have one made of lemons.  Use your QR code scanner on your phone and scan the image right here on my blog -- it works! 

By the way, Taco Bell's new Cantina Bowl (try the chicken one) is pretty good for what it is, being fast food.  However, I still prefer Chipotle.



Recipe: $4 Spaghetti That's Almost as Good as $24 Spaghetti

I was reading Food & Wine's August 2012 issue last weekend and came across the recipe on p.56 called '$4 Spaghetti That's Almost as Good as $24 Spaghetti.'  It's Lesson 8 in the article called Summer School:  Easy Chef Lessons.  It sounded intriguing. 

"'The $24 spaghetti from Scott Conant's Scarpetta in NYC is so delicious,' says Roy Choi of L.A.'s Kogi empire.  'My $4 version tastes almost as good.'  Roy's trick:  flavoring tomato sauce with a quick mushroom broth and slow-cooked garlic."

What does $24 spaghetti taste like?

The recipe was delicious, but not $24 per serving worth delicious.  Maybe $10 per serving.

A few tips:

• The recipe itself is really easy -- it just takes a lot of TIME. Make sure you have 2 and a half hours to hang around the house and cook. Or, if you make this during the weekday, prep the mushroom broth and garlic the day before.
• We used bucatini pasta instead of spaghetti.  I just love bucatini.  There's something about long, hollow pasta that is fun.
• We added meatballs (obviously from the photo) stuffed with mozzarella to add some protein to the dish.
• We were scared to use so much garlic.  We should've used all 4 heads and will do that next time.  We used about 3, and I couldn't taste much of the garlic.

OpenTable's Top 100 Scenic View Restaurants

Yesterday, OpenTable announced the Top 100 Scenic View Restaurants in the U.S.

Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck (one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas) was a winner.  And I'm not surprised that Seven Glaciers in Alaska makes it on the list every year.  Blog contributor the woman who ate everything and I dined there a while back, and the view is amazing.

Happy National Tequila Day!

Today, July 24th, is National Tequila Day.  Tequila is not exactly my favorite spirit, but I do like it in the occasional margarita or other cocktail. 

Just a quick primer on this spirit:

• Tequila comes from the blue agave plant
• It must be produced in the state of Jalisco in Mexico to be called tequila  (Note: There is a city called Tequila in this region)
• There are 3 main types of tequila you'll see in the liquor store:
• Blanco (white)/Plata (silver):  un-aged or aged less than 2 months; is usually clear in color
• Reposado:  aged a min. of 2 months but less than 1 year in oak barrels; not clear but has a slight yellow tint
• Anejo:  aged less than 3 years but a min. of 1 year;  usually dark yellow tint and complex in flavor because of the aging

What is your favorite tequila?  Do you have a favorite margarita or cocktail recipe to share?

Recipe: Toast for Dinner

Friday night. . .we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner, and I didn't feel like a major cooking endeavor.  I flipped through a few of our cooking magazines and had marked p.16 of Bon Appetit's July 2012 issue.  It was Adam Rapoport's editor's letter called 'The Toast of Summer' where he recalls a backyard dinner party where he forgot to prepare an appetizer/munchies to eat pre-dinner.  So, he frantically rummaged through his kitchen and ended up grilling some bread and layering the toast with avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and red pepper flakes.  This simple dish was the highlight of the meal.

This was the inspiration for our dinner which included the grilled toast below -- as well as burrata (didn't get a photo of that since I ate it with a spoon).  All of the toast was lightly rubbed with garlic.

Ricotta, lemon zest,drizzled with honey

Avocado, extra-virgin olive oil,
sea salt, red pepper flakes
Next time, we'll dice up the avocado.

Tomatoes, basil, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt

Ricotta, lemon zest, figs

Truluck's Carrot Cake Haiku

I'm not a poet, but dessert last night made me want to write this haiku:

Truluck's Carrot Cake

No other dessert compares

Each bite is heaven

If you even remotely like carrot cake, you must go to Truluck's to try theirs.  It is an amazing, craveable dessert -- one of the best desserts in Dallas.

Defending Wine Snobs

I love this article by Lettie Teague at the Wall Street Journal that defends wine snobs:  Think While You Drink: In Defense of Wine Snobs

Foie Gras Retaliation

I thought this was interesting  -

California foie gras ban prompts French call for California wine expulsion
Source: Just Drinks by Stuart Todd 7/4/12

"A politician in France has called on retailers and restaurants in the country to stop offering Californian wines to their customers.

The call to arms follows California's ban on the production and consumption of foie gras in the state from 1 July. A law passed in the US state in 2004 declared that the act of gavage - the force feeding of corn to geese and ducks - was harmful to the animals' well-being."

Recipe: Double Cheeseburgers with Caramelized Onions

Our single (not double) cheeseburger
with caramelized onions

The Fourth of July. . . you have to have a burger (or a hot dog), right?! 

I had flagged the 'Double Cheeseburgers with Caramelized Onions' recipe in Food and Wine Magazine's June 2012 issue (p. 32), and only upon closer reading, realized that this is a recipe from Chef Ron Boyd who works at Daniel Patteson's Plum in Oakland, CA.  Plum is a wonderful restaurant that I dined at and blogged about back in September.

After making this burger and the Triple Smoke Burger , I just can't bring myself to order a burger in a restaurant anymore.  These recipes are out of this world, seriously, and beat any restaurant burger I've ever had.  Try them and you'll understand why.

For this recipe:

• We left out the cornichons and the fresh flat-leaf parsley, but I think we should include them next time to add additional flavor dimensions.
• As you can see from the photo, we made these with single, not double patties.  (Trying to be healthy!)
• We grilled the burgers instead of cooking them on a griddle.
• We used just a little EVOO -- the 1/4 cup isn't necessary.
• The fresh brioche buns and the mix of cheese along with the paprika mayonnaise make this burger incredible.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/double-cheeseburgers-with-caramelized-onions

Recipe: Spiked Pretzel Chocolate Caramel Martini

Just a commentary about the dessert situation in Dallas.  Last night, we wanted dessert but not just any dessert, a phenomenal dessert that was worth the calories.  We racked our brain, thinking of all the places we've had dessert in Dallas;  looked at the Dallas Observer and D Magazine dessert "winners" (from their annual polls);  read suggestions on Chowhound. . .

The only phenomenal desserts we could think of were Truluck's Carrot Cake and their Chocolate Sack, La Duni's Quatro Leches Cake and the desserts at Fearing's, Abacus and Marquee Bar & Grill.  While we haven't been to Lucia or Bolsa (for dessert), both won many best dessert awards from Dallas publications recently.

Our big realization was how mediocre and unmemorable the desserts in Dallas are.  For instance:

• Stephan Pyles:  Heaven & Hell Cake;  Coffee & Doughnuts
• R&D Kitchen:  Carrot Cake;  Ice Cream and Banana Sundae
• Ocean Prime:  Carrot Cake;  Baked Alaska
• Wolfgang Puck's 560:  Sour Cream Apple Crumble
• Toulouse:  Beignets & Coffee;  Pear Tart
• I can't even think of other desserts we've had since they weren't memorable at all.

If you know of any desserts that are amazing, craveable, memorable, and all in all phenomenal here in Dallas, please post a comment with your reco!

All of that to say that my hubby suggested we resort to making our own dessert and try recreating the spiked milkshake that he had at The Cheesecake Factory recently -- Twisted Salted Caramel Pretzel made with ABSOLUT Vodka, Licor 43, caramel, pretzels and ice cream.  Using the provisions we had at home, we made our own version using vodka, Godiva Caramel, pretzels, chocolate ice cream and milk.  It was worth every sip.

Sushi on Fire

Pink Panther Roll
(tuna, salmon, avocado and cucumber
topped with salmon and tuna and served on fire)

We love sushi so much and have tried lots of restaurants around town.  One of our favorites is Hibashi near the Galleria across the Tollway.  The restaurant is very large so we never have a problem getting a seat, though it's always pretty busy (which is a good sign);  prices are reasonable;  they have a nice drink list; and their rolls are very fresh and flavorful.  Service was a little off last night, but we think the server was brand new.

We tried the Pink Panther Roll pictured above which was presented in a fun, non-kitschy way.  I'd never had a roll served on fire before.

A few other things about the restaurant -- they offer hibachi (they have 14 tables), they're in a very large and what they call 'Texas-style space' so it feels a little Vegas-y, and their lunch menu is completely different, having reasonably priced bento boxes and power lunch bowls. 

I've been to the restaurant about 8 times and haven't been disappointed, so I highly recommend it.

http://www.hibashi.com/
13465 Inwood Rd #100
Dallas, TX 75244

Recipe: Ice Cream Cake

I made an ice cream "cake" for Father's Day ~ didn't really use a recipe except for the crust.

The crust recipe is from epicurious.com:

Crust Ingredients

21 chocolate sandwich cookies (I used mint Oreos)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

Crust Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add butter and process until mixture is evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan to form thin crust. Bake crust 5 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool completely.

After the crust cooled completely, I took Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream that had softened, swirled in some Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream and then topped it with more vanilla ice cream.  After freezing the ice cream again, I topped it with mint chocolate ganache, quickly sprinkled it with chocolate chips and then froze it again.  The ganache was made by melting a bag of milk chocolate chips over a double broiler, adding half and half and a splash of creme de menthe. 

 

I think next time, I'm going to add a cake component so that it's not just solid ice cream.

 

Note to Food Fiend:  Perhaps you should make this for Steve -- I think he liked the dessert a lot!

 

 

Recipe: Spinach Salad with Pear and Avocado

Spinach Salad with Pear and Avocado

5 stars

Start the week off right with this DELICIOUS salad!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 6-ounce package ready-to-use baby spinach, stems removed
• 1 ripe Anjou pear, peeled, cubed
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, cubed
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 2 ounces)

Preparation

Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Mix spinach, pear, avocado and onion in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola cheese. Serve, passing any remaining dressing separately.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-Salad-with-Pear-and-Avocado-985

Rare BLUE Lobster

A blue lobster was caught in Canada last month.  According to the University of Maine Lobster Institute, blue lobsters are a one-in-2-million phenomenon. A genetic variation causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein that gives it that azure aspect.  Interesting!

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/11/a-catch-straight-out-of-the-deep-blue-sea/?hpt=hp_c2

Recipe: Easy Cheese & Steak Enchiladas

This evening, we made enchiladas based on a recipe from a friend, Tracy G.  Here is my take on the recipe which is super simple.

Ingredients

• flour and/or corn tortillas
• 1 medium white or yellow onion
• 2 serrano peppers (I like heat)
• mozzarella and monterey jack (and/or pepper jack) shredded cheese
• can of black beans (optional)
• jar of Rick Bayless' Frontera salsa -- tomatillo or roasted tomato works great
• cotija cheese
• 1 small white onion
• cilantro
• avocado
• 1 1/2 lb of skirt steak

Preparation

• Marinate the skirt steak using this recipe from epicurious.com (Note: I'd add more salt) and grill the steak 10 minutes before the enchiladas are done  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Fajitas-13589
• Saute a medium white or yellow onion in olive oil
• Mince 2 serrano peppers
• Mix the shredded cheeses, sauteed onion and serrano peppers in a bowl
• Take fresh flour and/or corn tortillas and fill with the cheese/onion/pepper mix and roll and place in a baking dish that has been lightly greased with olive oil
• Top it with the salsa and black beans
• Bake at 400, covered with foil about 20-25 minutes until the cheese inside the enchiladas has melted and is bubbling
• Garnish with crumbled cotija cheese, cilantro and avocado and sliced skirt steak

I 'liked' KFC on Facebook . . . to get the free downloadable autobiography of Colonel Sanders

If you saw that I liked KFC on Facebook, I debated for over a week whether to like the page or not (I try to keep my brand fan pages I like to a minimum), but I was just too curious about the Colonel Sanders autobiography & recipe book that launched exclusively on Facebook  . . . I just downloaded the entire book for free.

The book is called "Colonel Harland Sanders: The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef” and was written by the Colonel himself in 1966.  The original manuscript was found recently by accident. 

The book is centered around the Colonel's passion for food, his work ethic, and his thoughts on the importance of home-style country cooking and includes 33 never-before-published recipes.

I do like autobiographies, so I'll eventually read it -- it's on my list, and I'll write a review at a later date.  (But quite honestly, I think the fact that the book is FREE and isn't available in bookstores or even via online booksellers was a little intriguing and made me want to download it just to have it.)

I'll probably end up cooking something from the book before I actually read his story.  The French Fried Parsnips and Cauliflower looks interesting, and the Upside Down Peach Cobbler sounds delicious.  Maybe I'll make a Colonel Sanders dinner sometime soon.

Recipe: Three-Cheese Mushroom and Spinach Calzone

Massive calzone

Again, I was looking for a quick recipe for dinner this evening that used ingredients we already had in the house.  I found this recipe (4 forks on epicurious.com) for a Three-Cheese Mushroom and Spinach Calzone.  It was good, but not 4 forks-worthy with the recipe written as-is.

Here are my tips:

• Strain the mushroom and spinach mix.  I'm shocked the recipe didn't say to do this.  There was so much water from the spinach, the calzone would've have been soggy had I not strained it.  I think I strained out a half cup of water!
• Instead of just pressing the garlic, mince the garlic so someone doesn't bite into one of the 2 garlic cloves and to add a stronger garlic flavor.
• Spread some cornmeal on the parchment paper under the calzone.
• I added some cooked spicy Italian sausage.
• I was afraid to overfill the calzone so I had some leftover filling.  Overfilling it was not a problem, so next time I'm going to fill it to the max.
• The recipe calls for making one massive calzone, but next time, I'm going to make 4 smaller ones.
• Prepare a marinara sauce on the side.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Three-Cheese-Mushroom-and-Spinach-Calzone-359251

Cupcake Camp 2012

Here are photos from Cupcake Camp today which was so fun and benefitted a great cause! 
http://cupcakecampdallas.com/

Become a fan of their Facebook page to get updates on Cupcake Camp 2013 and to sign up to bake next year:  http://www.facebook.com/cupcakecampdallas

Our table - I think ours was one of the best
amateur baker tables if I say so myself

A close-up of our table

The cupcakes I made: Hot Cocoa Marshmallow

Meyer Lemon with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Champagne Cupcakes
with White Chocolate Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Food Fiend's Peach Bellini Cupcakes

Cupcakes we got to taste

Fancy cupcakes from a professional baker

Cupcakes from another professional baker

Cake pops seem to be the 'new thing'

Recipe: Asian Salmon Bowl with Lime Drizzle

We wanted fish for dinner this evening, so yesterday I searched epicurious.com, and under their Quick & Easy recipe section, this recipe for Asian Salmon Bowl with Lime Drizzle came up that was rated 4 forks by 2 reviewers.  I was a little wary of the recipe because 1) there were only 2 reviews and 2) it's attributed to SELF magazine. (While I believe in cooking and eating healthy foods, I don't usually cook recipes from 'health' type magazines because their recipes seem to always cut out significant flavor or texture -- and they tend to use low fat/fat-free and artificial sweeteners which I refuse to use.) 

This recipe turned out quite nicely and was definitely FAST and healthy.

Tips:

• Because we love spice, I added double the amount of red pepper flakes. 
• Instead of 4 salmon fillets, I bought one large fillet, so it took longer than 12 minutes to cook.
• I used butter to cook the spinach instead of canola oil.  Butter makes everything better!
• We had white sesame seeds on hand, so I used those instead of buying black sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Asian-Salmon-Bowl-with-Lime-Drizzle-51101210