Recipes

So I received some feedback that I should post recipes that I discuss.  I will definitely do that from now on! Here is the link to Giada's Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe. Yum!  Hope you all enjoy.  I even made it again for Biz and me the other night.  Just a reminder, this recipe is a SIDE dish.  So don't try to half it to make two dinners like I did the other night.  It's definitely not enough.

Also, Kevin's Grandma gave me her brownie recipe!  Thanks for the recipe, Mrs. Wicklin!

Melt in small pot over very low flame: 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate with two sticks Imperial margarine. While chocolate is melting (keep an eye on it AND STIR TO MELT CHOCOLATE) do the following:

·         Mix four eggs with a whisk or rotary beater (NOT AN ELECTRIC MIXER)

·         Dump in two cups of granulated sugar

·         Dump in one cup of flour

·         DO NOT MIX

·         Stir in melted chocolate and margarine

·         Add one teaspoon vanilla

·         Mix with a large spoon. I use a wooden spoon for leverage.

Grease a 9 x 12” baking pan. Spread batter over entire pan. Batter will be thick.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  Cut into squares right after you take it out of the oven. Wait until cool to take out of the pan.  You can add ½ cup chopped nuts if you wish!

tango sur recap

I am blogging a little tipsy.  Tango Sur was a success.  The boys (Joe and Kevin) really enjoyed it.  Lindsay and I determined that it was good to try, but would probably never return.  The thing is the price.  When you order the filet, you not only get one filet for $24, but you actually get 2 filets plus a salad.  I am not a huge meat eater, so my rating should really not matter, because I honestly cannot rate a steakhouse fairly.  However, their portions were huge and I left feeling fully satisfied.  My one complaint is when I hear "brazilian steakhouse," I automatically think great salad bar with the gentlemen coming around with different cuts of meat (including filet wrapped in bacon...i love bacon!).  Here, I am thinking of Texas de Brazil, which I highly prefer compared to a normal steakhouse.  There's lot of different options such as an antipasto section of the salad bar, rice and beans, and usually sushi (which I must admit is phenomenal at Texas de Brazil).  Plus, I do enjoy trying a piece of everything, including parmesan pork and anything wrapped in bacon.  Where Tango Sur excels is their price point.  Being a BYOB restaurant can save a lot of money on the bill.  Joe and Lindsay and Kevin and I split the bill and for 2 filets, 2 steak dinners stuffed with spinach and spanish cheese, as well as an antipasto appetizer and eggplant appetizer, it averaged out to $77/couple.  Not too bad :).

Plus, Stella enjoyed some leftovers:

the week of gourds and chipotle.

So I was completely wrong.  I have quite a few more restaurants to get to on Southport.  And I have a bar crawl ahead of me as well.  Please, if you'd like to join, let me know!  I have to hit Lange's and Cullens (i believe that's what it's called, but I could always be thinking of Twilight).  Also, I'll be heading to Tango Sur this Wednesday so I can check that off my list.  But I completely forgot about Bull e dias.  Who's up for tapas?

I dragged Biz out last week to go grocery shopping and we ended up watching the filming or the setting of the scenery (fake snow, stunt double for Rachel McAdams in the car) for about an hour instead.  It definitely could've been longer than that.  Anyways, we stood next to the owner of Blue Bayou (where I guess Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams had taken just shots of Grey Goose before going to hair and makeup), and he recommended we come to the bar on Friday night.  It was a good New Orleans style bar that had plenty of seating, a good menu (we just ordered apps) and I loved the clientele.  It wasn't a right out of college early 20's bar, but more of an older 20s, young 30s crowd.  They also had live music and the owner bought Biz a beer.  The fried pickles were amazing.  Biz even agreed even though she's not a fan of pickles.  It could have been the chipotle dipping sauce that they paired them with.  Yum!

Speaking of chipotle sauce, Kevin, Stephan and I went to Orange with a Peel on Roscoe on Sunday morning after my 10k Trick or Treat Trot.  I ordered the Tijuana Benedict which was an english muffin with white bean puree, fresh pico de gallo and a CHIPOTLE hollandaise sauce...amazing!! And their house potatoes weren't bad either.  A nice touch was the coffee that they offered.  You could of course get regular coffee, but they also had orange coffee.  It tasted like those chocolate "oranges" that Kelly used to eat all the time when she was younger.  The service was awfully slow however, and we were in a hurry, so negative points for that.  That could be why there is always a wait there.  I would definitely go back.  

I haven't just been eating out, but I was able to make some meals this past week.  I tried another Healthy Cooking recipe of Pork Chops slow cooked with scalloped potatoes.  Bland.  Healthy tasty.  Another strikeout for Healthy Cooking.  If not for the first recipe I made with Ashley a few years ago, I would think every recipe in those magazines was bad tasting.  (Ash, we need to make that Jalapeno Lemon Cream sauce over chicken again).  The carrot cake I tested for Erin's bday was not moist enough and the Coconut Curry Chicken I made a couple weeks ago was terrible, but that could be because I'm not a huge fan of curry.  I don't know what I was thinking.

On Saturday I made Rachel Ray's Penne-wise Pumpkin Pasta.  Another ok dish, however Stephan graciously said he enjoyed it.  It was just too bland for me.  I don't know if I need super spicy or salty meals to be happy, but another dish that I cannot add to my permanent collection.

However, I redeemed myself by making Giada's Butternut Squash and Vanilla risotto on Halloween.  Yum yum yum!! I have yet to be dissapointed by Giada and will definitely be making this dish again.  The first time I made risotto was a couple months ago with a Sandra Lee Mushroom Risotto recipe.  I think it was just too big a batch so it ended up being really sticky, but the risotto cakes Ashley and I made from the leftovers were worth it.  This time, unfortunately, there weren't enough leftovers to make risotto cakes it was that good! And it could be because it wasn't just Kev and I eating it, but Kevin's parents and friends, Barb and Dan.  Anyways, great success and just solidifying my love for Giada's recipes.  (I still can't stop talking about her turkey meatballs).

On the book front, I'm currently reading A Gate at the Stairs.  A little slow, but maybe I just haven't given it enough time.  I need to force myself to sit down and read a bit.  My what was supposed to be a relaxing last weekend turned out to be an exhausting errand filled weekend.  And until I get a new slipcover that Stella has not chewed through, I won't be stopping.  Hopefully, between the "It's A Baby" tradeshow that I'm working and other things that I'm sure will come up, I'll get to finish the book this weekend.

One quick question if anyone would like to comment.  Kevin and I were listening to some radio show on Halloween in the car on the way to his fam's and Lev Grossman was discussing his book, The Magicians.  It sounded interesting.  Has anyone read it?  Thoughts?