Wedge Salad

Happy Halloween everybody!  In this night that is a ode to candy, I thought it would be nice to make a big salad for our dinner to offset all the junk food.

This is basically food porn to me. I have to ration out our bacon into different portions and freeze the bulk of it. If I didn't, I would find a reason to cook some every night of the week. And I know my physician wouldn't approve of that kind of damage to my cholesterol.  So I wrap several slices together in aluminum foil and toss them into the freezer. It also works well if you want to slice them into little bacon bit pieces. When the bacon is semi-frozen it is much easier to slice.

I crisped up a few slices and blotted them with a paper towel to remove some of the grease.

We had these really bright cherry tomatoes to use.

The classic wedge salad uses iceberg lettuce, but I bought hearts of romaine because I think there is a little more flavor than iceberg. I cut it lengthwise down the middle and then topped it with blue cheese dressing, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and bacon.

There is a reason this dish has been on restaurant menus for decades. It has about everything you could ask for in a dish. There is a great texture from the crisp lettuce and crunchy little bacon bits.  Then you get acidity and sweetness from the tomatoes, and a great tangy zip from the blue cheese. Sweet, salty, tangy, crunchy, ...what more could you want?  Plus, there is something so gratifying about needing a steak knife to cut into your salad.

Now excuse me while I indulge myself on near-lethal amounts of sugar.

Vegetable Cream Cheese Dip

I love chips & dip! I could seriously have just that for dinner and be perfectly happy (but not very healthy). The combination of the salty chips and a creamy, flavorful dip is a match made in Heaven. So when I got home from work tonight, I decided I would make my own dip for an appetizer.

I came up with this dip recipe as a way to use that delicious vegetable cream cheese I bought for brunch. I knew I wanted to use mayo to make it smooth & creamy, but then I was worried it could be too rich.  So I used lemon juice to add some acidity and cut through the richness. I thought the salad topper would add a little of that bacon flavor and a nice textural crunch.  Finally, I used just a touch of seasoning salt & some pepper to round out this great dip.

I tasted it several times and then added a little more of this, a little more of that, until I was happy with the creamy texture and the flavor. Be careful you don't end up with something too salty or too sour.

My wife & I ate the whole bowl, and then she said "this dip is delicious".  I said thanks, and that I could easily re-create it any time ... and now you can too.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Prosciutto & Chimichurri

This dish was inspired by a desire to make something healthy, and something that my wife would like. Sweet potatoes are really rich in nutrients, and my wife loves them! So I thought this would be a great idea.

I started with two larger sweet potatoes.

And then sliced them lengthwise into wedges.

Toss them in olive oil, or use the olive oil mister/sprayer that I have described many times. Then season them with salt & pepper and roast in a 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, 1/8 cup fresh oregano, 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme, 1 clove of garlic, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, and 1/8 cup olive oil in a food processor and pulse until combined and smooth. Season with salt & pepper.

Spread your chimichurri sauce out on a plate and then top with thinly sliced prosciutto or speck.

Place your roasted sweet potatoes on top, and serve. The salty & sweet potatoes go really nicely with the rich prosciutto and briny chimichurri. The fresh herbs and tangy vinegar make a wonderful sauce to cut through all that richness from the dense potatoes and fatty pork.

But since there is only a small amount of pork and a huge amount of fresh veggies & herbs, I know I can feel pretty good about myself.  (and I think my wife liked it -- which is all that really matters.)

Deep Dish Taco Pizza

A while back I posted a deep dish Chicago-style pizza that I baked in my home oven, but it was made by a good friend of mine whose family owned a pizzera for three generations. One of the things I miss most about her restaurant is the deep dish taco pizzas they made on Wednesday. They used to make these little personal pan sized delights and I haven't had anything like it until tonight.

The good news is you can all make this at home pretty easily.  It starts like you might suspect by browning 1 lb of ground beef with taco seasonings.  I made my own using cumin, chili powder, seasoning salt, and chipotle seasoning.  I bulked it up a little by adding green bell pepper, some onion, and diced green chiles.

After you have cooked the meat through, reduce the heat and add 3/4 cup of salsa and simmer for five minutes.

For the crust I used a crescent roll tube. You can buy un-perforated dough from Pillsbury. I sliced off a strip of it to line the edges of my pan and create the deep dish crust.  I also poked some holes in the bottom so it could release steam and wouldn't bubble up.

Spoon your filling into the crust and top with some shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake it for 15-17 minutes at 375-degrees. You already cooked the meat through, so you really are just crisping up the crust and melting the cheese.

Assemble your toppings. You should at least have shredded lettuce and tomatoes. But I also wanted green onions and cilantro.

Then I topped it all off with sour cream, some more salsa, and a little hot sauce.

The sweet and flaky crust is a great vessel for all that taco filling.  There is a real richness in the crust, then you get acidity from the tomatoes, salsa, and vinegary hot sauce.  Finish it all off with some cool crisp lettuce and sour cream and you've got yourself a winner of a dish!

Nothing will replace the Charlie's Pizzeria void in my heart (and stomach), but this certainly goes a long way toward creating a new go-to dish when we have company over. I'm sure this will be a crowd pleaser.

Sunday Brunch

One of our good friends was in town from Chicago this weekend. We usually meet him out for breakfast/brunch on Sunday before he heads back across I-80; but this weekend I suggested he come over to our place for some home-cooked  food before his journey.

I got this idea from another good friend when we ate at his house -- and it is amazingly simple.

Bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It is seriously refreshing. Normally I like to make some salty egg & pork breakfasts, or some sweet pancake/waffle/French toast offering.  But this is super easy, and a really nice change of pace.  I even tried that fancy preparation of the cucumber slices that I see at restaurants by slicing down with a peeler before running it through the mandolin.

Everything bagels and vegetable cream cheese is my preferred combination. The cool crisp vegetables are paired great with that seasoned bagel to make a great open-faced breakfast sandwich.

Of course I couldn't resist making some staples. This time I opted for Vermont maple syrup sausage links and my skillet hash browns.

I tied it all together with some fresh-ground coffee, passion fruit juice, and champagne.  Not a bad home offering, right?

Minestrone Soup

It was snowing yesterday in Iowa -- on October 22nd~!  Thankfully it wasn't actually cold enough for any accumulation; but it was still plenty cold with an overnight low of 28 degrees.  So I thought a warm, hearty soup would be the perfect dinner.

I found this recipe online from our grocery store Hy-Vee.  They called it "Speedy"; but I actually took my time with it.  As you can see, this dinner was brought to you by Hy-Vee:

And since I had some fresh celery and carrots in the house, I decided to add them to the recipe too.

The recipe didn't call for any celery at all. But I have seen other Minestrone recipes that use a variety of vegetables. And I thought it would be a nice addition. You may notice that I used the celery leaves as well. I thought that would be another level of seasoning and add some more depth to the soup.

Combine green beans, corn, carrots, diced tomatoes, and in my recipe celery, together in a Dutch oven.  I have said before that frozen vegetables are actually really good for you because they are flash-frozen to lock in all the good nutrients. You will not get the same benefits from canned veggies.  Saute it all together with some Italian seasoning for flavor.

Then add a can of kidney beans, drained & rinsed, 32 oz of low-sodium chicken stock, and 3 cups of water.

You can see the celery leaves on top here. Also add salt & pepper to taste.  That is key. Taste this a few times to be sure you know how much to add.  But be careful not to burn your tongue. Bring it up to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  The recipe says it will be ready in 12-15 minutes. But I put the lid on and let it go for about an hour and a half.

I was giving it plenty of time for all the flavors to get to know each other and bubble around. Notice that I hadn't added the noodles yet, though. I didn't want them to get soggy.  I also added a decent amount of fresh cherry tomatoes toward the end.  About 15 minutes before you're ready to serve, add the shell pasta and remove the lid.

Look at that great steam!  This soup is chalk full of vegetables so I can feel good about myself after all the vacation dining I have been doing this month. Top it with some Parmesan cheese (and maybe some crackers or crushed tortilla chips) and you're all set.

This was a perfect dinner for a cold & dreary day. The tomato & chicken broth were really flavorful, and even though there wasn't any actual meat in this soup (aside from the broth), the beans and tons of vegetables made it a very hearty dish.

Vacation Absence

I have been gone from home the past four weekends. That included a solid 10-day period where I was only home for 12 hours. I got to eat out at a lot of great restaurants ... the most recent being a great steak at Folklore in Chicago followed by salted chocolate mousse at Maude's.  Yum.

But it also meant that during the week my wife & I were on a self-prescribed "detox" of all the high-calorie binge eating from our travels.  We were mostly just eating salads and cereal at home.  That is why there has been a lack of new postings on this blog. I offer my sincere apologies to anybody that has been checking here regularly, only to be disappointed by my inactivity.

I assure you I am getting back to cooking this week and some new posts will be up soon!

Non-Traditional New Orleans

My last post was about some New Orleans staples. But everything I have read & heard tells me there are plenty of things to try in the Crescent City other than po-boys and gumbo.

My wife and I stopped for some beer samples at Crescent City Brewhouse and decided to try the Seafood Cheesecake.  The name sounded gross, so we weren't even considering it -- but I'm glad the waiter explained it. We were persuaded. It was really tasty and a great appetizer.  It was made with crawfish, shrimp, and imported cheeses. The it was topped with crab meat, red pepper mayo, and a fried shrimp. Tell me that doesn't sound good.  I dare you.

Next was tapas at Mimi's in the Marigny on Frenchman's Street. A friend of our had heard about this place, and we were told it was a very cool neighborhood just East of the French Quarter.  We had patatas bravas, goatcheese croquetas, calamari con chorizo, mushroom manchego toast, lollipop lamb chops, alcachofa confit pinxo, salmon pinxo, Spanish cheeses, and marinated olives. Yum, yum, yum! They were all fantastic. Definitely try the muschroom & manchego toast and the alcachofa confit pinxo. They also have life music and this is in a very cool part of town.

Bon Apetit magazine suggested we go to James Beard Award winning Cochon, and a well-eaten traveler told us to get a sandwich at the adjacent Cochon Butcher.  It was fantastic, let me tell you. Yum. It was packed at 2:30 in the afternoon. And it is worth a line, wait, or whatever may be in the way of you and one of these awesome sandwiches.  I had the Buckboard Bacon Melt with collards and it was a good thing I was sitting down.  My wife had the Cuban and it was also really quite good.

Finally we had our last meal at Merchant in the Warehouse District, based on a recommendation from the coolest bartender in the world from the 21st Amendment bar.

I had a duck con fit crepe with blue cheese and balsamic. I really shouldn't have to say any more. The peppery greens served along side gave a nice counter-point.  My wife got a savory crepe and it was nice too. Enjoy some Illy coffee and a fantastic crepe if you make it over to this neighborhood.

Four nights was barely enough to scratch the surface of this great eating city. But I thoroughly enjoyed each & every bite. And I'm really looking forward to going back in two years.

Now I'm inspired to do some cooking!

New Orleans Staples -- Travel Review

I recently tagged along with my wife at a convention in New Orleans so I could explore the city ... and more importantly, the cuisine. After an obligatory stop at Pat O'Brien's for a hurricane (which is just a sugar-bomb and only ordered out of obligation), I went to eating my way through the French Quarter.

We just popped our heads into the first place "without flashing strobe lights" as my wife put it. That happened to be Pier 424 Seafood Market.  I was able to knock off three items on my NOLA food bucket list in one fell swoop.  I had The New Orleans Trio of red beans & rice, seafood gumbo, and crawfish etouffee.  I'm glad I did too. They were all tasty and ticked all the boxes. This isn't anything to seek out of your way; but it hit the spot for sure.

The next morning I went straight for Cafe du Monde to sample some beignets and cafe au lait.  

I burned my tongue taking a hasty drink of that coffee & chicory blend. But thankfully it wasn't bad enough to ruin the rest of my trip. Phew! It was a great way to start a peaceful morning of walking & taking photos. The beignets were tasty -- but nothing more than a funnel cake in a different shape. I love funnel cakes; but I guess I was expecting something a little more. It is worth a stop for sure, though. And you can bring the coffee home with you.

My first stop for lunch was at Johnny's Po-Boys for a true New Orleans staple. I had a half oyster & half shrimp po-boy sandwich. 

(stock photos -- mine got deleted somehow)

Now this is what I'm talking about! These were fantastic. A po-boy is nothing more than a sub sandwich or a hero by a different name. But with the fresh-baked bread, and local seafood, it was fantastic. I added some Louisiana hot sauce for added flair and authenticity -- and it was awesome. You could get by with just a half sandwich, by the way.

After scoping the scene all day, I was tasked with finding a nice place for dinner. We settle on the Bourbon House because it looked really nice. The good thing is most places have their menu posted outside for you to check out first. Bourbon Street is kind of a gross place, if I'm being honest. But this is toward the beginning before all the debauchery really sets in. I feel a little stupid for not knowing that a place called "Bourbon House" located on Bourbon Street had an amazing bourbon selection. So I was in Heaven. I had the catfish pecan with gulf shrimp and it was fantastic. This place lived up to the recommendation if you ask me.

I skipped breakfast the next day because I was pretty full. But then I got what I was looking forward to most of all: a Muffaletta sandwich from the originators themselves at Central Grocery.  

I had seen this sandwich on an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" years ago and had been dying to try the real thing. The fresh ciabatta-like bread is great, they have all their own house-cured Italian meats, and then an olive spread to top it all off. I thoroughly enjoyed this delicious and salty delight. You must go here if your'e in the area!

Another source of restaurant inspiration for me comes from the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The website www.flavortownusa.com has a map of all the places Guy has been. I used that to find The Old Coffee Pot restaurant where I tried the calla cakes.

These are rice-filled, sweet-spiced, balls that are fried and topped with powdered sugar. They are served with grits and maple syrup and are much more satisfying than the beignets, in my opinion. 

On the last night of the trip we went to Oceana Grill and tried the gator bites (both blackened and fried), and I had the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with shrimp and gator sausage.  I had to get jambalaya in some form before I left, and a pasta was a nice change of pace. The gator was tasty and this rich pasta really hit the spot.

New Orleans is known as a melting pot of Southern, French, Cajun, Creole, and Spanish cooking.  I had a really great time and had some fantastic food. Honestly, nothing I had was disappointing. I should thank the concierge at the Sheraton for some great recommendations.

Check back in tomorrow and I'll show you a couple of non-traditional places we went.