Sugar and Thyme...

What to order when in Mecca?

 

I'll head to Mecca in a few short days - no, not the actualy city in Saudi Arabia but the Mecca of my food world, Del Posto. It's Mario Batali's masterpiece. By joining forces with Lidia and Joe Bastianich, Mario and friends are tempting us with a veritable black hole of food awesomeness. The sheer magnitude of of their talent is almost blinding, almost otherworldly. Almost.

And so I'll be there this Friday night.

And I'm totally excited and intimidated by the menu. Honestly, I don't know what I'll order. What sounds good to you?

Lunchtime yums

That would be the fruit and nut salad from my beloved Red Oak Cafe (check out www.redoakusa.com). The idea is pretty simple - a few dried fruits (apricot, raisin, cranberry) mandarin oranges, some nuts, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, it's total deliciousness on a plate.

Bonus: Red Oak is committed to sourcing locally and feeding healthily. Think Whole Foods but without the attitude.

On Occasion

 

Every now and then I dream of starting a small-scale catering business. Nothing fancy, just offering delicious lunches for bridal showers or a night's worth of warm bites for an intimate dinner party.

And it's hard to avoid getting caught up in that dream with beautiful inspiration such as this

 

Julie and Julia

Set the date, people! The movie that all food bloggers have been dreaming about:

Culinary MacGyver

 

With an evening full of reading and writing, dinner wasn't high on my priority list tonight. But I was pretty pleased with myself to have MacGyvered this great soup.

The players:
1.5 cups leftover couscous, roasted garlic flavor
1/2 of a leftover wrap filled with grilled chicken and baby spinach
2 cups of chicken broth
1 pinch of italian hard cheese (Parm or Romano)

After de-robing the chicken and spinach (getting rid of the wrap) I dropped a few pices of chicken into the bottom of a big mug and set aside all of the spinach. The couscous went into a small pot and was mixed with the chicken broth. Because the couscous was a few days old, I brought the entire mixture to a boil (just to make sure I killed any bacteria that may have been brewing). After reaching a rolling boil I removed the soup from the heat and dropped in the spinach leaves. Stir, stir, stir for a minute or two and then I poured the soup into the mug that held the chicken bits. After a pinch of cheese dinner was served. And because most of the ingredients were left over from previous meals, nothing had to be prepped or seasoned - it was all ready to go!

What's your best MacGyver meal?

Can you recommend…

From M, my co-worker:

 

 

E,

 I’m taking Chris out to dinner tonight.  Can you recommend someplace in the area (Oakland/Shadyside/Squirrel Hill) that would be reasonable and conducive to conversation?

M

 

 

My response, which got me thinking that I need to sit down and craft a review for each of these places. That will come in time, but for now: 

 

 

 

Hey M,

What a nice idea! There are a few places you guys might like depending on what sort of food you’re looking for.

 

   

The Green Mango Noodle Hut is on S.Braddock in Regent Square. They have about 12 tables and serve the best Thai food I’ve ever had in Pgh. Everything is reasonably priced (9-14 dollars for a dinner entrée). Check out http://www.thegreenmango.com/. I heartily recommend the chiang mai noodles with beef.

 

There’s a killer Caribbean place right in East Liberty off of Penn Circle called Royal Caribbean. The service is slow and disorganized but the fried plantains and jerk chicken are great. Check out http://www.yelp.com/biz/royal-caribbean-pittsburgh

  

There are a few great places just off of Walnut Street – Girasole has fantastic Italian, and the ambience is really special, but their menu (especially their daily specials) can get a little pricey, with pasta/polenta/risotto running around $17 per plate. Check out http://www.733copeland.com/There’s another Italian joint off of Walnut that’s a little more relaxed and less expensive than Girasole but very delicious called Pizzutti’s. I’ve been there a few times with my family and we all really enjoy ourselves. Check out http://www.yelp.com/biz/pizzuttis-restaurant-pittsburgh

 

And the old standbys here in Oakland, Lulu’s and the Union Grill are great. Also, Ali Baba’s on S. Craig will forever be my go-to for middle eastern food. If you want Indian, check out Tamarind on N. Craig. My sister had her birthday here and it’s a beautiful old house that they’ve converted into a restaurant. The Dal is awesome. See http://www.tamarindpa.com/tfi/index.shtml

 

Hope this helps! Have a great time tonight.

E

Easy Weekend Lunch: Stuffed Peppers

 

Normally I don’t write much about “quick and easy” meals – I figure everyone has watched a few requisite Rachel Ray episodes and has at least two or three of these recipes up his or her sleeve. I don’t really need to add to this conversation. But today I was so pleased to be able to throw together these stuffed peppers in literally five minutes (thanks to some leftovers and standard pantry items), I had to share.

These can be made with or without meat, but I started with about 10 ounces of leftover ground sirloin. Then I grabbed a bag of pre-cooked brown rice (something that’s always good to have on hand), a jar of tomato sauce (ditto), some mixed Italian cheese (Asiago, Fontina, and Parmesan, all in one pre-mixed bag), and three green bell peppers. After rinsing them clean and cutting the top off the peppers I removed the core and ribs, leaving three clean green bowls ready for stuffing. Then I mixed together the beef, rice, and about 1/3 of the tomato sauce, giving the filling a nice rosy hue. I tossed in a handful of cheese, gave a final stir, and packed the filling into the peppers.

After they were stuffed I placed them in an oven-safe dish (I wound up using a soufflé dish, which was nice because it supported the sides of the peppers) and poured over the remaining 2/3 of the tomato sauce. A little water went into the bottom of the dish (just enough to keep the tomato sauce from scorching) and then I covered it with aluminum foil and placed it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. The peppers basically steam in there while the filling gets warmed to hot, gooey perfection.  

This would be just as good without the beef, using brown rice and cheese while maybe adding some other veggies – corn, or chopped carrots or onions. Either way, it’s a quick and tasty weekend lunch. Enjoy!

Go NORTH!

Though not food related, I recently contributed to North: A graphic guide to Pittsburgh’s Northside. This fresh take on the traditional visitor’s guide introduces the reader to the Northside’s historic destinations and people via the cartoon stylings of American Splendor contributor Ed Piskor, editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers, Paulette Poullet, and THE PLAIN JANES creator Jim Rugg .

For my part, I compiled a list of 10 notable Northsiders and crafted a short bio for each person on the list. 50-word bios are a lot tougher to write than you’d think, especially when you’re trying to distill the life story of someone like Martha Graham or Josh Gibson down to three sentences. But the final product is cooler than I could have ever anticipated thanks to the amazing artwork of Scott Hedlund.

 

I’d like to extend special thanks to Brian “Mr. Northside” O’Neill and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. For more information on NORTH, including ways to get your very own copy, visit http://toonseum.org/exhibits_north.html.

Mmmmmguacamole

My previous aversion to guacamole can be partly blamed on, yes, my picky eating habits. I will admit that the idea of eating salty, creamy fruit didn’t really get me too excited.

But fussiness aside, I think that I can speak for most of the non-guac-eating public when I say, “It’s not our fault!” We’ve simply crossed paths with some bad dip – either a runny green puree wallowing at the bottom of a 5-layer dip or a brown chunky afterthought plopped on top of Nacho Mountain. Either way, not good.

But there is a different world out there! A world of cool, creamy, flavorful guacamole made from real avocados with garlic, lime, onions, salt. It’s a delicious counterpoint to your (okay, my) black bean burrito, steaming with rice and beans and spicy salsa. And while avocados might be high in calories, they’re also high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats (“good” fats) as well as fiber and potassium. This recipe is based on one that my colleague Amelia very generously shared with me. I took it to a friend’s house for dinner last night and it was a big hit. Here’s what you’ll need:

4 ripe avocados*
3 limes
2 medium to large cloves of garlic, minced or passed through a press
¼ of a large red onion, minced
2 large pinches of salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper

Slice the avocados in half lengthwise, scoop out the flesh and place it in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice from two of your three limes over the avocado wedges. To really get as much lime juice as possible I jab the cut side of ½ a lime with a fork and then twist. Lime pulp is a-ok by me, so if some makes its way into the bowl, let it be. Mash the fruit with a fork until the avocado is broken down into large chunks. Don’t over-mash the avocado because there’s more mixing to be done!

Add the garlic, onion, salt, and cayenne pepper, mix the ingredients, and then taste. Try to achieve a balance of flavors – you should taste everything, but one ingredient shouldn’t overwhelm the others. Adjust by adding more of whatever fades into the background. If the flavors taste like they’re well balanced but the mixture is still flat, try adding a little salt. Stir the ingredients with a fork until the texture is to your liking.

Place the mixture in a serving bowl and squeeze another ½ of a lime over the top to prevent browning. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic actually touches the surface of the guacamole. Refrigerate for at least one hour, then enjoy!

 

* Buy your avocados a few days before you plan on making the dip to allow them to ripen. Store them at room temperature. A ripe avocado, when poked gently, should feel like the fleshy part of your palm – the spot right below your thumb.

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

It's been a cold winter. I mean really cold - yesterday it was TWO DEGREES when I left for work. [shiver]

 

Leek and Potato soup is one of the best things to eat on a frigid day. This version is warm, comforting, filling, flavorful, and best of all vegan. Now I'm not vegan or veg by any stretch of the imagination, but it's nice to have a few recipes on hand that warm you up without weighing you down (especially if they taste as good as this one). Here goes:

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, whole

5 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed thoroughly and sliced to about 1/8”

5 medium to large Yukon gold potatoes, cut to 1” dice

4-ish cups of water (see below)

½ cup soy creamer (optional)

Salt and pepper

 

 

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of a stock pot. Add the leeks and garlic clove along with a pinch of salt and sweat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the leeks from browning. The leeks will take on a warm gold color and smell fantastic. In the meantime, peel and dice your potatoes. Drop the spuds into the stock pot, stir, and pluck out the garlic clove. Cover the leeks and potatoes with water (4-ish cups should do the trick, but add more if needed) and simmer for at least 20 minutes or until the potatoes fall apart when you poke them with a fork. Add a second pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, then puree the soup (I use an immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender, a food mill, or a food processor). Add the soy creamer, which brings a nice richness to the soup and will help if it’s not the right consistency. Water will also loosen the mixture if needed. Taste your masterpiece and salt if needed. Enjoy!