Tales From A Messy Kitchen

Double Feature: Grilled Pizza on my new Grill/Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat Review

2011-07-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to post about my new grill sooner, but due to operational commitments I was unable to until now.
Last Saturday, Amy and I bought a new grill so we could cookout at the new house.

Behold, the STOK Tower

This thing took about an hour to put together, but the end result was great. One of my favorite features of this thing is that it has a built in charcoal chimney in the base that doubles as an ash canister for easy removal of old ashes.
You fill the wire basket on top of the canister with wadded up newspaper, then the whole thing hooks in under the grate that the charcoal goes on and then you light the newspaper. There's also a charcoal basket that can be inserted from the top to keep the charcoal in the center for quicker and easier heating. Then, when the coals reach a temperature you want to cook at, you can use the insert removal tool to take the basket out and it will spread the coals on the grate for you to use the whole grill for direct heat cooking. You also have the option of leaving the basket in while you cook and use the outer edges for slow cooking or for items that need a lower temp to cook properly such as veggies or for toasting buns and such. As was alluded to with the charcoal basket, this grill also has a great feature of a center grilling area which can be swapped out for different functions such as
a pizza stone


you can see the charcoal basket under the stone in this pic...

Or a chicken roasting pan...with beercan holder for drunken chicken.

or just a regular grilling insert

There is an insert removal tool that is used to safely swap out the inserts, though it doesn't work with the pizza stone. However, the pizza stone is supposed to go in and come out cold anyway, so it's really not needed.

Okay, so enough talk of the grill. On to the pizza and beer.
So, after seeing that you can grill pizza on this thing, i had to try it. It works great! The pizza has a nice firm crispy bottom, but still has a nice chewy crust on the sides. It ends up tasting a lot like a brick oven pizza. Delicious, yet a bit too crispy and cooked for Audrey's discriminating tastes.


srsly?

Yes, her official quote is "I only like pizza while it's raw." What she probably meant was that she didn't like the crispy crust, which I can understand as I'm not fond myself of thin crust pizza. Seriously, it's like a pizza cracker.
Anyway, the grill insert is just the right size for making personal size pizza, but we made some really thick crust, so only half the pizza was actually eaten.
Amy's pizza was not cooperating when I tried to move it from the peel to the grill, so I ended up making it a calzone.

It ain't pretty, but it is tasty...

The pizza turned out really well and I enjoyed mine with a Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat beer.

Yes, I'm eating off a baking sheet. Anyway, the beer was okay. I'm more a fan of darker, stronger beers, so I was a bit disappointed with the flavor. Really, I was expecting something closer to the taste of regular Blue Moon, which is more like a Belgian White. This stuff was more like a Budweiser Select. I was at least expecting it to be as rich as J.W. Dundee Honey Brown, but it was pretty flavorless. I've had Blue Moon's Pumpkin Spice Ale and Harvest Moon and they were both fantastic. So, I was expecting a lot more out of this. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't meet my expectations. If you like Budweiser, but you want to pay more for the taste, try Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat.

Restaurant Review: Rose Garden, Eastport, Maine.

2011-07-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

So I recently returned from my fourth of July trip to the easternmost city in the country, Eastport, ME. While there, I found a great little bar and restaurant called The Rose Garden.

The inside of the restaurant part of the place had all this cool artwork on the walls made mostly of corks, random bit of stuff and spray paint. It honestly reminds me of some of the stuff my brother, Dan used to do in high school. I especially liked the painted plywood pieces.

This is my friend Lara, who was quite fond of the art piece pictured on the wall behind her.

The food at the Rose Garden was very good. I had a steak one night that was delicious, but I failed to take a picture until it was gone. It was just that good. They serve all their dinner entrees with fresh cornbread, ceasar salad and a choice of potato wedges or what they call confetti corn, which is corn, red peppers, bits of bacon, and some other stuff I couldn't identify. It was pretty good, but the steak pretty much did me in. I also had a chance to try some of their ribs, which were excellent. Lara, myself and our comrade, Ryan split a whole rack and it only cost us $18. Due to the small size of the town, things seem to cost more, but they are often large portioned and worth the higher price tag. Their ribs are no exception.
The Rose Garden also features a decent beer selection including a local brew called Andrew's

This stuff is amazing. I'm going to have to see if Total Wine and More carries this brand. They had both a Stout and a Pale Ale. In addition to this great beer, they also had Harpoon IPA, and Sam Adams. Not that I was really surprised. New England is home to some of my favorite microbrews including Magic Hat and Boston Brewing Company.
But the restaurant is only half the greatness of Rose Garden. They also have a side room where live music and DJs play. They have a decently stocked bar (for a tiny town in Maine, it was impressive.) and the ladies who run this place are the nicest waitstaff and bartenders I've ever seen on a port visit. Maybe it's just that this town loves the Navy and it was 4th of July weekend, but they put up with so much drama from so many drunken idiotic sailors (I'm pleading the fifth) and were still glad to have us again and again.

They even let me hook up my guitar and play some songs a couple of the times I dropped by. While there weren't TOO many other places to hang out in town, Rose Garden was still my favorite. The other bars were usually too crowded and loud and the environment was just a bit more chill for the most part. Plus, I loved the fact that they have a local art gallery. You can see the entrance in the back left of the picture above. All artwork in the place is for sale, even the stuff on the walls in the restaurant. So, if you ever have the desire to visit the easternmost point in the United States, be sure to drop into The Rose Garden. Be sure to tell Mandy I told you about the place. She was very helpful and hospitable.

Hopefully, I can add some more stuff before I head out to sea again this week. We'll see.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: BBQ Bacon Four Cheese Pizza

2011-06-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

For the full story to these pics, check out Epic Portions.

Restaurant Review: Domo Sushi

2011-06-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

This is by far one of the best sushi places in Hampton Roads! I'd even say that it's one of the best sushi places I have ever been to. The prices are decent, the staff (at least at the Va Beach location) are friendly and prompt with service. They have a delightful array of various entrees, as well as a full picture sushi menu. The great thing about Domo is that they have more than just sushi. They have traditional Asian cuisine, Japanese steak, as well as a selection of tempura and teriyaki dishes. Their simple rolls range from $2.50 to $5.00 and their house rolls can range from $5-$10.50. My faves are their BlackJack Roll and the Granby Street Roll. I wish I had pics, but unfortunately, I forgot my camera the last time I was there and the inturwebz doesn't really have much to offer.
However, one doesn't need to see it to believe it. You can take my word for it, or you can march your happy ass down there and see for yourself.

Domo Japanese Restaurant
273 Granby St.
Norfolk, VA

Domo Sushi
4540 Princess Anne Road
Virginia Beach, VA

Domo Sushi Chesapeake
109 E. Gainsborough Rd.
Chesapeake, VA

Family Fave Friday: Domino's Pizza.

2011-06-17T03:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this looks like a copout, but I SWEAR Domino's is a Family Fave. Up until about six months ago, every Friday was Domino's Pizza time at our house.


Get the door...it's a college student with no future.

We still do this from time to time, but pizza Fridays has become less of a tradition and more of a special event. But, honestly, Domino's has been a fave of mine since this guy was their mascot...

Yes, me and Domino's have a bit of a history. Not to mention that my parents go to church ON Domino's HQ property. In fact, Tom Monaghan, the creator and former owner of Domino's Pizza funded the building of my parents' church. But I digress...
Most of the time we get Hawaiian Pizza, due to my daughter Amelie's love of ham, which in turn is due to her obsession with thinking she is the title character from the movie Ponyo, who also loves ham.

We often try to take advantage of their $5.99 for two or more medium 2-topping pizzas. The only roadblock we usually have is, of course, our oldest and most food picky daughter, Audrey.

seriously?

Yup, her discriminating tastes often force us to get one of Domino's tasty pasta breadbowls.

Fortunately, Domino's also has online deals for mix and match with three of either sandwiches, breadbowls, or medium pizzas.

The best thing about Domino's now is the new crust. I was a major fan before, now it's near obsession. It almost reminds me of Hungry Howie's,

which unless you are from Michigan or Ohio, you probably have never had...which I find sad.

Anyway, join us next time for a review of one of my new favorite restaurants in Hampton Roads.

What The Eff Is That Thursday: Calamari with Broccoli Rice

2011-06-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering...

"what the eff is that mound of weird green stuff" in the last pic I posted yesterday...

I've decided to share with you one of the most interesting culinary experiences I've had in my travels with the Navy (even moreso than the haggis I had in Scotland which I will most likely blog about next week).

Now, when I ordered this supposed delicacy of Brazil, I was expecting some squid rings with some rice and a few trees of broccoli on the side or somethign of that ilk. Instead, I was served this Half Dome-esque creation that you see pictured here.
My liberty buddies both concluded that it was the weirdest, if not most disgusting, thing they had ever laid eyes on. I, however, being the brave of stomach and open of gastronometric (is that a word? It is now.) mind, thought I really ought to give Iowa a try before passing judgment upon this verily verdant votive of viddles.

Made you think of me...

First off, this thing must have had about half a POUND of butter in it! It was so deliciously "lubricated," that it nearly laminated my mouth. Second, the calamari rings were firm, yet not rubbery. If there's one thing that really bugs me it's rubbery seafood. Be it clams, squid, crab, or shrimp, I can't stand seafood that seems crafted by the Michelin Man. Third, I enjoyed the way this was seasoned with magical ingredients I can't even begin to guess at, though I know there was at least some basil and a copious amount of salt involved. Finally, the portion size was just enough to stretch my stomach without making me sick. It definitely left me wanting to sleep shortly after. I always blamed that on MSG when eating Asian cuisine, but apparently, the rice has something to do with it as well. Anyway, my comrades were so amazed by the oddness of this thing that they also felt compelled to take pictures of me eating it, as if they would doubt its existence if they did not capture it in some kind of megapixel glory. One of them even posted a pic on facebook and tagged me in it, also shamelessly plugging my blog in the process. Okay, so technically, I put the link on there, but he alluded to it.

So that's the story and I'm sticking to it.

Join us next time for the return of FAMILY FAVE FRIDAY!!! (hopefully).

Wordless Wednesday: Dining in Rio De Janeiro!

2011-06-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

New House...New Kitchen! New way to make burgers?

2011-06-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

We just moved into a new house...

with a much nicer and larger kitchen ...

I'm almost afraid we'll have to change the title of this blog! Well...maybe not...
Anyway, today I'm going to share my first cooking experience in our new kitchen. It was not our first meal here, just the first I cooked. So without further ado...

Homemade burgers!!!
But wait, Dave, you are thinking. You've already done an entry about homemade burgers...
True, but that was a Wordless Wednesday...I'm gonna talk about these ones.
As we have just moved in, I did not have my usual seasonings at my disposal...okay, so I once again started prepping the meat before CHECKING that I had everything I needed. So I got creative....

The ingredients from left are nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, Panko breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, "woostah", black pepper, Newman's Own Mango Tango salsa, also added, but not pictured: one egg and crushed up blue corn tortilla chips. Yeah, I know, ghetto, right?

They tasted AWESOME! Despite their Frankensteined creation, they turned out juicy and delicious, especially when topped with Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue sauce.

Join me next time when I talk about some of the foods I enjoyed on my recent trip to Brazil!

IT'S ALIIIIVE!!!

2011-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Wow...look at this poor neglected website. I oughta be ashamed. So, look for this site to be up and running on a semi-regular basis again starting next month. I'll spare you the long story of why this site fell to the wayside and just suffice to say it involved my keyboard of my laptop being destroyed, my laziness with uploading pics and my general lack of freetime to maintain the site. Also, I was working at improving my marriage and not spending so much time online while at home.

But nevertheless, I will return in June with fresh dining experiences from Rio De Janiero, Glasgow and other various places I have traveled to and eaten at in the past year and a half.

I would start this up sooner, but unfortunately, I am at sea and won't return until next month.

So until June, I bid you farewell and wish you a pleasant dining experience wherever you may be.

Fri Fam Faves: Nutty Noodles!

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

I'm about a month overdue for one of these features. Today I'm sharing a recipe that is Audrey approved.

If you haven't seen my previous posts mentioning this, my 5-year old daughter, Audrey, is a bit picky and often fickle about her culinary preferences.

However, she loves peanut butter, cucumbers, noodles, and green peppers. So a dish that combines them is right up her alley.

So, I present to you...NUTTY NOODLES! A delectable dish that is similar to Thai Peanut Noodles without the heat.
Noodles! Peanut Butter! Soy Sauce! Veggies! By these foods combined, it is...

WTF!!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU BEFORE?! Who let you back on my site? Go choke yourself, you weird eco-freak-geekazoid! Ugh...I can see his AREA!

BRRRBRRGGHHHH...anyway, these items combined make a guaranteed crowdpleaser in my house.

To make this you will need:

1 bx spaghetti or other pasta

2 T toasted sesame oil

1/2 C peanut/cashew/almond or sunflower butter

1/4 C low-sodium soy sauce

2 T rice or red wine vinegar

2 t honey (if you spray the teaspoon with PAM, the honey comes out easier)

1 T coarsely chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 scallions or 1 rib celery chopped

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced/sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

Cook noodles.

While noodles are cooking, combine 1 T of the oil with the nut butter, soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, vinegar, honey, ginger, and garlic in blender.

Puree10-20 sec or until thick, but pourable. Thin with water, if necessary.

Drain noodles and return to pot with the remaining Tablespoon of oil.

Add dressing to noodles and toss well, coating noodles thoroughly.

Top with chopped veggies and serve.

And there you have it! I think this recipe came from Rachel Ray, but I'm not sure. I will give credit to the picture of the noodles to www.kateinthekitchen.com, as I did not have a pic of my own version. So, thanks Kate for letting me use your pic without permission. Seriously, she's awesome. Go check out her site and tell her I sent you.

One last note...when I find out who let Captain Loser back on here, I'm gonna force-feed them haggis!

Okay...maybe that is a bit harsh. Maybe I'll just challenge them to a round of the Mr. T board game.

I PITY THE FOOL WHO LET THAT JOKER BACK ON HERE!!!

BEST...FOOD-RELATED BIRTHDAY PRESENT...EVER!

2010-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe not best ever (that honor would be a sixer of HopSlam and a Godfather stuffed deep dish pizza from Papa Murphy's), but very close.

If only the TV show inspired by this book was as good...or any good for that matter. Seriously, I lost interest once I realized that Anthony Bourdain wasn't on the show. So, as alluded to in the title, my birthday is this weekend and my lovely wife is throwing me a party. I will have to post pics next week.

Wordless Wednesday: Prairie Dogs Gotta Eat Too!!!

2010-01-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Drink Review Monday DOUBLE FEATURE: Bell's HopSlam and Dogfish Head 120 Minute Pale Ale

2010-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

So, after a near month's inactivity, I have returned with an as promised Monday Drink Review.

For this inaugural entry, I have decided to copy my co-~~conspirator~~ contributor on Epic Portions and do a review of HopSlam.

First, a little back-story about my budding relationship with Bell's Brewery. I had just discovered this awesome microbrewery last May when I went home to good old Saline, MI for my post-deployment leave. I had some of their Oberon summer ale and quite enjoyed it. It was bittersweet, though, knowing that as a microbrew in Michigan, I would probably be hard pressed to find their offerings once I returned to VA.

Fast forward to October, when my shipmate Tony is trying to find a decent place in town to find some beer that fits his(and quite frankly my) discriminating tastes. His brother recommends a chain store called Total Wine and More, which he then tells me of. I check this place out and discover they carry several varieties of Bell's. I was ecstatic. So,when ol' Johnny Moors spills his guts about Bell's HopSlam, I gotta phone my new bulwark of beer and inquire about it's availability. The manager tells me they DO have it and tells me of the ~~scant~~, ~~inexpensive~~, well-worth-it $22 price tag for a six pack. Yes, I know. $22 is a lot to pay for six beers, but I gladly paid $11 for a single bottle of Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial Pale Ale (more on this one later).

I was seriously trusting Mizzors and his highly refined palate to not let me down.

I was not let down. This is truly one of the best beers I've ever had. It has a strong hoppy front that is delightfully balanced with an apricot-like sweetness crossed with a slight grapefruit sourness and finishes with a dandelion milk tasting bitterness on the backside. A warning to the faint of heart and light of weight, this stuff is 10% ABV. [If I have to explain what ABV means,you don't deserve to drink this beer.] Even my wife agrees this is an amazing beer. It's no wonder Beer Advocate named it #26 on their Top Beers list. I may have another. Excuse me a moment...

Okay, I'm back...man that was good beer.

On to my second feature, the Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial Pale Ale

Oh...My...GEEEEEEE! If you want bang for your buck, this is the one! Now, this stuff ain't cheap! It's $11 a bottle, damn near impossible to find most of the year, and it's ABV is 18%. So, you're talking about 2% per dollar here (but honestly, it the same with Budweiser). It also scores 120 IBUs (once again, if you don't understand the acronym...), so it's definitely not for the faint of heart. Never before have I had a single beer knock me on my ass like this. Seriously, do the math. A bottle of this stuff has the same alcohol content as 6 oz or 4 shots of whisky! No wonder this stuff tastes like watered-down Maker's Mark! Seriously, though, it's very potent stuff and should be handled wisely. Despite its high alcohol content, it is very enjoyable. It pretty much tastes what I'd imagine a handful of hops previously used to brew a 60 minute ale would taste like if you chewed them up. I think that's awesome.

So in conclusion, if you are used to drinking Bud or Miller, disregard this transmission. However, if you seek a libation that challenges your tolerance of bitterness and gravity of a beer, or wish to broaden your horizons, try one or both of these delectable brews. Just make sure you have a decent amount of disposable income first, because like tattoos, great beers aren't cheap and cheap beers aren't that great.

Hot Tamale!

2009-12-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

I admit I have been lax in posting recently for various reasons.
First, my18 month old daughter ripped the space bar, O, and 0 off my laptop so using those keys is very inconvenient.
Second, with the holidays coming, I've been too busy to blog things
Third, I keep forgetting to take pics of food I make and food blog posts without pics are lame.
Furthermore, I have begun posting on another blog that a couple friends of mine have. Most of my regular posts will probably go there now. However, I will continue Family Fave Fridays, and introduce Wordless Wednesdays and Drink Review Mondays. I will most likely not be consistent, but will make a concerted effort to update.

Well, I do find myself a bit lacking in material, so here's something to make you dumber for having watched it...

Good day to you all...

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE OF HORRORS!!!!

2009-12-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

So, this past Saturday, Amy, the girls and I constructed a gingerbread house kit that my aunt send us for Christmas. This is what came in the kit:

So we started things off by kneading the frosting for a couple minutes to warm it up a bit and then cutting a 1/4 inch off the edge of the bag. The first parts to be frosted were the walls and the trench in the plastic stand it would sit in.

We had to use some of the frosting as glue to mend one of the roof pieces that had broken in half.

So, after the sides were frosted along the edges, we put them into the trench and connected them together.

Next came the roof pieces...

While we did this part, Amelie and Audrey decorated the gingerbread men...

And Amelie got hungry and ate part of hers...

As a result of the girls' munching on half of their gingerbread men, this resulted in some very macabre results when placed by the house...

We had a gingerbread man who looked like he was buried head first in the snow!

So here's what the box example looked like...

And here's our final result...

OH GOD!!! THE HORROR!! THE GINGERBREAD MAN IS UP TO HIS WAIST IN SNOW!!! THE CHRISTMAS TREE IS COVERED IN GUMDROPS!!! THERE'S A CREEPY FACE-LIKE THING WITH A BINDHI ON THE FRONT DOOR!!

Actually, I was pleased with the end result. Amy even added some cool icicles on the sides along with a half-melted snowman...

So after it was finished, we had a bunch of frosting left which naturally got put to good use...

Of course, the beauty only lasted for about three days...then this happened.

Looks like Hurricane Andrew hit it...this was promptly followed by a Godzilla-style attack by Davetron and Mecha-Amy

Then the girls joined in...

Overall, fun was had and food was consumed.

I leave you with one image that will certainly brighten MY holiday!

GROOOWWWLLL!!

The Tropical Elvis-wich

2009-12-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

It is well-known or, at the least, often purported that a favorite snack of The King was deep-fried, peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I decided, this past Saturday, that I would upstage the Lord of Graceland and make my own version. I kept the basic elements and decided to add my own special flair. What we have pictured above is a grilled peanut butter-Nutella-banana-coconut sandwich or as I like to call it, The Tropical Elvis-wich. Yes! No healthy vegan alternative in THIS post (although, there are no animal products involved other than the milk in the Nutella spread)! I pretty much took my daughter's request for a sandwich and ran with it.

Audrey asked me for a peanut butter and banana sandwich and I decided to up the ante. "I'll see your PB&B, and raise you an Almond Joy (sort of)! So here's the sandwich in process...

Skippy Organic peanut butter and 'nanners on one side, Nutella and Mounds coconut on the other.

BY THEIR POWERS COMBINED, THEY ARE...

WTF? How the... Dude, you need to get laid...

Anyway, it makes one kick-ass sandwich and made me wish I had had more bread and less willpower. Audrey absolutely loved it. In fact, she wouldn't stop bugging me while making it.

Everyone enjoyed this tasty treat and some would say that someone enjoyed it a bit too much...

How did that pic get in here? Heh, heh well at least I'm not Captain Virgin up there...

Family Faves Fridays: Tofu Mac and Cheese

2009-12-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

This recipe is a family staple. You can ask either of my two oldest girls what's for dinner on Monday nights and they will tell you "MAC AND CHEESE!" This started with Kraft brand, then Amy started making her mom's recipe, then her own variation, before discovering yet another tasty recipe by Nava Atlas for Mac and Cheese with Secret Silken Tofu sauce. The recipe is very simple and with the substituting tofu for milk, soy cheese, and margarine for butter, it's also vegan. However, we stick to god ol' Kraft cheddar cheese and Horizon organic butter.

Cook the pasta of your choice (I prefer cavatappi or shells) as you normally would. Puree one 13.5 oz package of silken tofu in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 Tbls butter or marg along with 2 cups of cheese. We like to use either mild or extra sharp cheddar, shredded. It also pays to buy the Kraft or Sargento brand rather than trying to save 50 cents with the Always Save, Kroger, or Food Lion brands. You're using tofu, people, pamper yourself a bit! You could even go all out and get the "fancy shredded" cheddar.

Anyway, bring the sauce to a simmer, then heat on low until cheese is thoroughly melted. Finally, combine the cooked pasta and sauce in a serving container and stir together, adding salt to taste. The tofu makes the sauce extra rich and combined with the pasta, it creates a complete starch and protein for the meal. So tasty, they'll never know it's good for them.

And don't you dare tell them...

By the way, the beverage in the pic is a Sam Adams Imperial Stout and is so strong, it makes Guinness taste like spring water.

Penne with Enlightened Shrimp Alfredo (sort of)

2009-12-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is a great way to make alfredo that is moderately low-fat, potentially vegan, and quite tasty. I adapted Nava Atlas' vegan recipe to suit my omnivorous tastes, but as I will present to you how I make it, I'll add the vegan alternatives in parentheses.

The shrimp I used for this was deveined, shelled and uncooked. (If you use cooked shrimp, you can skip this next part obviously) Remove the tails from the shrimp while boiling water for steaming the shrimp. A three part pasta pot is excellent for steaming, but a small steamer basket will work as long as the water doesn't come up too high into it. Once the water begins to boil, place the shrimp in the steamer and wait roughly 45 seconds. I'm not even kidding. It works that fast. I put the shrimp in, took the pic above, put the lid on, put the camera down and looked back to find this...

Wow...

I had intended on using the same pot for the pasta, but it was not big enough, so out came my turquoise retro cast-iron pot. While the water for the pasta boils, saute 3 Tbls. butter (or margarine) along with 3 good sized cloves of garlic.

I chose to use a garlic press to save time and to really bring the flavor out of the garlic. I do recommend taking the skins off the garlic before pressing them, though. Makes it a lot easier to clean later. Also, scrape the press with a knife to make sure you get all the garlicky goodness into the pan. After about 2 or 3 minutes, remove this from the heat and pour into a blender along with a package of silken tofu, 2 tsp. of salt, and 1/2 cup of milk (soy or rice for vegan). Pulse until smooth and creamy.

Looks tasty, eh?

You can also add the Parmesan cheese before blending if you wish. I chose to wait until the pasta was cooked and drained, mostly because I was forgetful and the recipe said to do it that way. Once the sauce is a nice uniform consistency, add to the pasta along with the shrimp.

Unless you are serving this right away, I suggest putting the pasta back on the stove on med-low. Add salt, pepper and other spices to your liking. I ended up putting about 1 cup of parmesan into this before I was satisfied.

So how did it taste? Let's put it this way...

Even Audrey loved it.

If my finicky five year old likes it, you're hard pressed to find someone who will turn it down. We usually stock up on chik'n nuggets and Boca Burgers as a contingency for her discriminating taste buds. But she loves tofu for some reason. Always has. She'd bathe in the stuff if it was socially acceptable.

The rest of the fam was also pleased...

Don't be fooled by the iffy look on Amelie's face. She loves this stuff.

Healthy, almost vegan, and the tofu based sauce is a heck of a lot easier to make than traditional Alfredo with heavy cream. It also reheats better since there's no cream to separate from the cheese.

I will be starting a recurring theme of doing family fave Fridays on here, so look forward to that. I'll kick it off tomorrow with another favorite tofu recipe my wife adapted from yet another Nava Atlas recipe.

Here it is, your moment of Zen.

Meatless Shepherd's Pie

2009-12-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

That's right. Meatless Shepherd's Pie. And it's damn good, too. I'm by no means a vegetarian and really desire and almost require some dead animal served to me on a daily basis, but Am y has been trying to break me of this. I resisted at first, but over the past seven months since returning from deployment, my dear wife has convinced me to tolerate meals containing little to no meat or meat substitutes.
Audrey is another story...and yes that IS a Misfits shirt she's wearing.

So how does one make shepherd's pie without beef or sausage? Use great northern beans. You get all the protein of ground beef without the fat, plus with all the other veggies and 'taters, you barely notice. Quick tip on cooking beans: if you run them under water in a strainer until they stop foaming, you won't get as gassy.

We started by preheating the oven to 400, then cutting up three or four medium potatoes and boiling them in a pot. Then we dumped bags of frozen peas, corn, broccoli, and green beans into our awesomely retro casserole dish. For future attempts, I think we'll defrost them as it ended up being a bit watery and also still a bit cold, especially the broccoli. We then added sliced carrots. Once the potatoes were soft, we drained and mashed them, adding butter, milk and cream cheese until it was a nice thick consistency. We dumped a can of great northern beans onto the veggies, mixed it up and then layered the mashed taters on top. After about 30 minutes in the oven, it was ready to serve.

I had a delicious Samuel Adam's Coastal Wheat beer with this. It's like Blue Moon, but with a lemony taste rather than orange.

As usual with our culinary experiments, Amelie and Cassie loved it, and Audrey was not even willing to try it. Not even after asking her to just try the mashed potatoes. Oh well, her loss. There was just enough left for me to have some for lunch tomorrow and get a food coma before going to school at Damneck.

Homemade Sushi

2009-12-01T06:01:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, my mother came to visit us and one of her requests was that we make sushi for her. Now, Amy and myself are by no means experts nor an authority on sushi, nor even skilled enough to do anything fancy such as maki rolls, but we feel fairly competent with the basic California Roll or some fun experiments using imitation crab or softened sweet potatoes. We haven't tried using raw fish yet, though we have extremely fresh fish readily available in Norfolk. Maybe we'll get some from the farmer's market next time we feel like making it.

But I digress...

Sushi is really very easy if you have the right tools and access to a decent Asian food store or a grocery store with a decent Asian food section. The norfolk NEX Commissary is one such place, probably due to the fair amount of Asians in the Navy and the trend of sailors marrying Japanese women and so forth. I digress again...

All you really need to make decent sushi at home is:
a sushi mat (I prefer bamboo)
a very sharp, serrated knife
Rice paddle
short grain white/brown rice (similar to risotto rice)
Rice vinegar
Aji-Mirin (a sweet rice seasoning)
sugar (I suggest organic)
Sushi Nori (the seaweed stuff you wrap it in)
pickled ginger and wasabi
Tamari or soy sauce
and your choice of filling ingredients

First cook the rice as specified on the bag, box, or whatever container your rice comes in.
Add about 1/3 cup rice vinegar and Aji-Mirin, as well as 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt for every 2 cups uncooked rice.
Let this mixture cool to room-temperature in a bowl with a towel over top. DO NOT REFRIGERATE!

While it cools, cut your filling ingredients into long, narrow strips. We like to use cucumber, avocado, imitation crab (or even real lump crab if we can find it cheap enough), carrots (use a peeler to make flat strips), and steamed sweet potato (cut into strips before steaming).

Once the rice has cooled, lay out a piece of nori on your sushi mat and use the rice paddle to spread the rice into a thinnish layer across about 3/4 of the nori from the bottom to the top. Lay the veggies and crab on top of the rice at the bottom of the roll, making sure not to put more than about two or three rows of each ingredient. Wet the top of the nori where you didn't put rice.
This next part comes only with practice and jacking up your first few rolls. Roll the mat from the bottom to the top tightly, making sure you don't roll the mat into the roll itself. Once you have tightly rolled it all to the top, seal the wetted edge to the rest of it like a big tasty rice-filled joint (but don't twist the ends). Wrap the mat around the roll and pull on the other end of the mat to tighten your roll up even more.

The rolls should now be ready for cutting. Use that extra sharp serrated knife you have and cut the roll into 1-inch thick slices. Don't worry if the insides work their way out on the ends, it's nearly unavoidable and it honestly makes for a prettier presentation. Arrange on a plate with a squeeze of wasabi and pickled ginger on the side. We have these really cool square Japanese platters and a saki set, so we use those platters for the sushi and the saki cups for soy sauce.

I will post more pics the next time we make sushi and re-top this post.

15 minute chili

2009-11-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

There are those who argue that a good chili must simmer and stew for at least 3 or 4 hours. I used to be one of these folk until yesterday.

I had about 20 minutes to make food and Amy (my wife) suggested chili. Naturally, I scoffed and repeated the aforementioned food law to her. She rolled her eyes and proceeded to thoroughly prove me wrong.

HOLY CRAP this stuff was good!

And the magic of it is how simple and quick it was to bring about such gastronomic excellence.

Here's how it was concocted:

3 cans of beans of your choice (we used pinto, black, and kidney)
2 cans of diced tomatoes with juices
1 can of Trader Joe's diced tomatoes with fire roasted green chilies
1 can of Ortega Mild Green chilies
about 1/2 cup of chopped green bell peppers (we kinda cheated on the time as these were pre-chopped and frozen, but still from our garden)
two large cloves of garlic, pressed
plus the following spices to taste:
Emeril's Essence, chili powder, cumin, and a dash of cinnamon.

(Texture enlarged to show detail)

The heat and flavor of this recipe rivaled some of the best slow-cooked chilis that I've tasted.

Why A Food Blog?

2009-11-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

So, I told some folks that I wanted to start a food blog and was asked what my reasoning was. Here are several of the reasons (though not all of them):
1. I love eating great food
2. I love cooking new and interesting foods
3. I enjoy sharing my recipes and meal ideas with others
4. My friends Todd and John inspired me with their awesome blog, www.epicportions.com Shameless, I know.
5. I also want to share my opinion of local eateries in the Hampton Roads area (as well as Ann Arbor; Springfield, MO; and maybe even some places in Roseville/Sacramento, CA).
6. I'm a picky eater soetimes and I like being snarky about food.

So, hopefully, this blog will allow me to inspire others to culinary greatness as well as inform others of some great places to eat.

-Dave