Local author Ann Pearlman is gearing up for the release of her latest book, The Christmas Cookie Club. It's the story of a group of friends that gather together every year to do a Christmas cookie exchange, and their stories that they have to share from over the previous year. One is facing the end of her marriage, one is facing a high risk pregnancy, and their individual stories wind together throughout the book.
Learn More About It.
Proving that perhaps, it is who you know, Pearlmans youngest daughter works at Zingermans Roadhouse in Ann Arbor (who, incidentally is a regular James Beard nominee).
Enter the partnership with Zingermans to offer the cookies for sale!
Learn more about that!
All the recipes from the book, and a Zingermans original, sold in a hollowed out book, with original artwork on the front. I've not tried them, but they do look delicious!
A suitable gift for the reader or cookie addict in your family!
Showing posts with label good eats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good eats. Show all posts
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Red Lobster Restaurant Review
A few weeks ago, we got the chance to go out to eat at Red Lobster.
We go in the door, and the hostess sends us to someone else to put in our name. I think she said Peter, but there was no one named Peter at the table she sent us to, so that might not be right. We comply, and head to the second person to put in our names. He tells us he's not sure of how long it's going to take to get to sit down, and he'll let us know in about 5 minutes. We were still missing members of our party, so that was fine by us. We didn't mind waiting. Now, our total party was going to be four adults and a child. Keep that in mind, it comes into play later.
Five minutes comes and goes. Ten minutes comes and goes. Our party is all together now, and no guesses for when we're getting seated.
I go ask, again, when we're going to get seated, and I'm not sure, but he was kind of giving off an air like he'd forgotten we were there - he starts stammering "Oh, um...oh", and has to get out the sheet of paper with our names on it, that was IN THE TRASH.
Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Twenty five. Thirty. THIRTY FIVE minutes. Not only had he never told us when he was going to seat us like he'd promised, but he appears to have very little interest in doing so.
So I go back in, again, to ask for an explanation. He tells me that because we're a large party, it's taking more work to find us a table, and he has to wait for a big enough table to open up for us.
I stop now to point out three things, which I also pointed out to him:
1 - since when is four adults a large party?
2 - it's real hard to keep a three year old calm and entertained for thirty five minutes, and he's running out of time before my son is going to start tearing stuff up. If you've ever tried to keep a three year old quiet, calm and entertained in an adult environment for thirty five minutes, you know - I wasn't making a threat. That was a promise.
3 - the entire front section of the restaurant was empty. And we'd been left waiting for thirty five minutes. For a table. In a restaurant that was half empty. Can you say "We straight up forgot to seat you?"
I jab a finger at that table, and go "Um, what about that empty table right there?", he claimed that that was in the smoking section (didn't see a single person smoking), and since we'd asked for non-smoking, he was waiting for a table for us.
I responded "I'll take it. Seat me.", and he did.
Our waiter, thankfully, was much better then our host, and we had a great time. He was quick with the suggestions for good eats (in fact, that's pretty much how I ordered. "Which of these do you recommend?", and he'd tell me one, and I'd order it. Dessert, same thing - "What do you recommend?", and he'd bring it.), he kept the drinks flowing, and he was always easy to find if we had a problem or question. I'd like to mention him by name, but I honestly don't remember it. It was an unusual name. Bennett? Benton? It started with a B, and it was an unusual name. I know that much.
The food was alright. I ordered the Fresh Lobster, and truthfully, lobster just isn't a food that's all that impressive to me. I'm a big seafood eater, and I know that Lobster is supposed to be seafood at it's finest but...it's just OK to me. So that's pretty much all my entree was. OK. I did hear raves from the people around me for theirs though.
The desserts were good, although a bit perplexing. I ordered Key Lime Pie (which you know was a prepared dessert they cut a slice off. Red Lobster doesn't have a pastry chef!), and it came with a raspberry sauce, which seemed a strange match to me. But it was delicious, none the less.
At the end of the meal, the manager got a lobster out of the tank so that my three year old could touch it, which was really fun in its own right. My son loves to stop at the lobster tank at the groucery store, so it was fun for him to get to try to touch one. If your interested, he (the three year old), reported that it "felt like ice".
All in all, the waiter saved the day. Because we had a host that forgot we were there, I had an entree that was only OK, and a flat pop, but thanks to the work of the waiter, I left the restaurant with a positive impression. That was no small feet.
We go in the door, and the hostess sends us to someone else to put in our name. I think she said Peter, but there was no one named Peter at the table she sent us to, so that might not be right. We comply, and head to the second person to put in our names. He tells us he's not sure of how long it's going to take to get to sit down, and he'll let us know in about 5 minutes. We were still missing members of our party, so that was fine by us. We didn't mind waiting. Now, our total party was going to be four adults and a child. Keep that in mind, it comes into play later.
Five minutes comes and goes. Ten minutes comes and goes. Our party is all together now, and no guesses for when we're getting seated.
I go ask, again, when we're going to get seated, and I'm not sure, but he was kind of giving off an air like he'd forgotten we were there - he starts stammering "Oh, um...oh", and has to get out the sheet of paper with our names on it, that was IN THE TRASH.
Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Twenty five. Thirty. THIRTY FIVE minutes. Not only had he never told us when he was going to seat us like he'd promised, but he appears to have very little interest in doing so.
So I go back in, again, to ask for an explanation. He tells me that because we're a large party, it's taking more work to find us a table, and he has to wait for a big enough table to open up for us.
I stop now to point out three things, which I also pointed out to him:
1 - since when is four adults a large party?
2 - it's real hard to keep a three year old calm and entertained for thirty five minutes, and he's running out of time before my son is going to start tearing stuff up. If you've ever tried to keep a three year old quiet, calm and entertained in an adult environment for thirty five minutes, you know - I wasn't making a threat. That was a promise.
3 - the entire front section of the restaurant was empty. And we'd been left waiting for thirty five minutes. For a table. In a restaurant that was half empty. Can you say "We straight up forgot to seat you?"
I jab a finger at that table, and go "Um, what about that empty table right there?", he claimed that that was in the smoking section (didn't see a single person smoking), and since we'd asked for non-smoking, he was waiting for a table for us.
I responded "I'll take it. Seat me.", and he did.
Our waiter, thankfully, was much better then our host, and we had a great time. He was quick with the suggestions for good eats (in fact, that's pretty much how I ordered. "Which of these do you recommend?", and he'd tell me one, and I'd order it. Dessert, same thing - "What do you recommend?", and he'd bring it.), he kept the drinks flowing, and he was always easy to find if we had a problem or question. I'd like to mention him by name, but I honestly don't remember it. It was an unusual name. Bennett? Benton? It started with a B, and it was an unusual name. I know that much.
The food was alright. I ordered the Fresh Lobster, and truthfully, lobster just isn't a food that's all that impressive to me. I'm a big seafood eater, and I know that Lobster is supposed to be seafood at it's finest but...it's just OK to me. So that's pretty much all my entree was. OK. I did hear raves from the people around me for theirs though.
The desserts were good, although a bit perplexing. I ordered Key Lime Pie (which you know was a prepared dessert they cut a slice off. Red Lobster doesn't have a pastry chef!), and it came with a raspberry sauce, which seemed a strange match to me. But it was delicious, none the less.
At the end of the meal, the manager got a lobster out of the tank so that my three year old could touch it, which was really fun in its own right. My son loves to stop at the lobster tank at the groucery store, so it was fun for him to get to try to touch one. If your interested, he (the three year old), reported that it "felt like ice".
All in all, the waiter saved the day. Because we had a host that forgot we were there, I had an entree that was only OK, and a flat pop, but thanks to the work of the waiter, I left the restaurant with a positive impression. That was no small feet.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Pasta Salad...Forever. Pasta Salad Forever.
My mom is in town this week, and I made a couple of pasta salads for the big grill out fest on Sunday.
I made a "summer salad". Saute up some zucchini and summer squash, green onions, parsley, dill and goat cheese, and toss with some orzo pasta.
I also made an Asian pasta, without anything to dress it up. Angel hair pasta, toss it with 1/3 cup of Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, and green onion.
The Summer Salad was terrific as it was (might have used a little lemon zest or something to brighten it up just a touch), but the Asian pasta was too plain. My fiacee asked me if I'd made ramen noodles. Hah! It could have used something to make it a little more fancy.
Incidentally, I've got both of these salads coming out my nose. I didn't think anything about it - I fired up two pots of water to boil, and when they did, I tossed in the pasta. I never guessed that little envelope of dried orzo pasta was going to cook up to like, two pounds worth of pasta. Seriously. It goes on forever!
Is delicious though. :)
I made a "summer salad". Saute up some zucchini and summer squash, green onions, parsley, dill and goat cheese, and toss with some orzo pasta.
I also made an Asian pasta, without anything to dress it up. Angel hair pasta, toss it with 1/3 cup of Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, and green onion.
The Summer Salad was terrific as it was (might have used a little lemon zest or something to brighten it up just a touch), but the Asian pasta was too plain. My fiacee asked me if I'd made ramen noodles. Hah! It could have used something to make it a little more fancy.
Incidentally, I've got both of these salads coming out my nose. I didn't think anything about it - I fired up two pots of water to boil, and when they did, I tossed in the pasta. I never guessed that little envelope of dried orzo pasta was going to cook up to like, two pounds worth of pasta. Seriously. It goes on forever!
Is delicious though. :)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Live Blog Of The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
I'm trying the craziness known as live blogging!
OMG, The Best Thing I Ever Ate Pizza. Are you kidding?!
Ted Allen: Graziella's Pizza in Brooklyn, NY. He prefer the Arugula and Parmesan. Incidentally, he says that's about two blocks from his house, so if your in for a little Ted Allen sighting, hit it!
Duff Goldman: Gino's East in Chicago. Sausage and Pepperoni. Why am I not surprised? He seems like a pepperoni and sausage guy. At any rate, he's FLIPPED over the disk of sausage. Like, FLIPPED. They also ship too, so if your dying to try the sausage disk, you totally can.
Mark Summers: Osteria Pizza in Philadelphia. He's a purist - he likes the Margarita pizza. Talkin' trash about LA too - says you can't get a good pizza there. True?
At this point in the show, I've lost interest in the "fight" aspect they're trying to bring in. Just talk to me about the food!
Tyler Florence: Serious Pie in Seattle. Chanterelle mushrooms and truffle cheese. Why is it not that surprising to me that Tyler Florence likes a pizza with toppings like that? I think they thought that would be more interesting then that. Heh.
Alex Guarneschelli: Five Points Pizza in NYC. The Yukon Gold Potato. Is interesting, yes? I'm intrigued by that. I'd try that. Actually, I'd try all of them, although Duff and his sausage disk flipped me out a little bit.
Adam Gertler: Likes pizza for breakfast. And he wants you to know about it. Little Dom's in LA. The Breakfast Pizza. See - Summers was wrong!
John T. Edge: Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, and the Rosa is the best choice. Pistachio, red onions, and a whole bunch of other stuff I was trying to process. lol! It looks a little intriguing. Hmm. The guy that runs the place insists that he be the only pizza maker. Hmm. I bet that place always has a line! Heh. "Blistered to hell crust". lol!
Commercial note: What Would Brian Boitano Make? How much do I love whatever marketing person came up with THAT?!
Aaron Sanchez: Chocolate Pizza at Max Brener in NYC. OMG. Is anyone besides me a little bit in love with Aaron Sanchez right now? It's chocolate, and marshmallows, peanut butter, hazelnuts. OMG. I just...OMG. That's all I've got.
OMG, The Best Thing I Ever Ate Pizza. Are you kidding?!
Ted Allen: Graziella's Pizza in Brooklyn, NY. He prefer the Arugula and Parmesan. Incidentally, he says that's about two blocks from his house, so if your in for a little Ted Allen sighting, hit it!
Duff Goldman: Gino's East in Chicago. Sausage and Pepperoni. Why am I not surprised? He seems like a pepperoni and sausage guy. At any rate, he's FLIPPED over the disk of sausage. Like, FLIPPED. They also ship too, so if your dying to try the sausage disk, you totally can.
Mark Summers: Osteria Pizza in Philadelphia. He's a purist - he likes the Margarita pizza. Talkin' trash about LA too - says you can't get a good pizza there. True?
At this point in the show, I've lost interest in the "fight" aspect they're trying to bring in. Just talk to me about the food!
Tyler Florence: Serious Pie in Seattle. Chanterelle mushrooms and truffle cheese. Why is it not that surprising to me that Tyler Florence likes a pizza with toppings like that? I think they thought that would be more interesting then that. Heh.
Alex Guarneschelli: Five Points Pizza in NYC. The Yukon Gold Potato. Is interesting, yes? I'm intrigued by that. I'd try that. Actually, I'd try all of them, although Duff and his sausage disk flipped me out a little bit.
Adam Gertler: Likes pizza for breakfast. And he wants you to know about it. Little Dom's in LA. The Breakfast Pizza. See - Summers was wrong!
John T. Edge: Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, and the Rosa is the best choice. Pistachio, red onions, and a whole bunch of other stuff I was trying to process. lol! It looks a little intriguing. Hmm. The guy that runs the place insists that he be the only pizza maker. Hmm. I bet that place always has a line! Heh. "Blistered to hell crust". lol!
Commercial note: What Would Brian Boitano Make? How much do I love whatever marketing person came up with THAT?!
Aaron Sanchez: Chocolate Pizza at Max Brener in NYC. OMG. Is anyone besides me a little bit in love with Aaron Sanchez right now? It's chocolate, and marshmallows, peanut butter, hazelnuts. OMG. I just...OMG. That's all I've got.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Cube Steak Mania!
To give you a idea of why this was such a big deal...I haven't eaten a cube steak in over three years. But I had this recipe, and I couldn't resist trying it out, and so I made it. My fiancee was convinced that I'd lost my mind, asking him to buy cube steak when we went to the store, but he obliged.
Cube Steak Dijonnase
2 12 ounce cube steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks in single layer and cook until browned, turning once, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer to work surface; cut each steak in half.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sage, saute until soft, about 30 seconds.
Add vermouth; boil until slightly reduced, about 30 seconds. Stir in cream and mustard.
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide steaks among plates, spoon sauce over top, and serve.
Busch's Market Recipe Card
I won't lie to you. I substituted my butt off for this recipe. I couldn't find sage, so I substituted thyme. I forgot to get Vermouth. Google recommended that I use a dry white wine, white grape juice or chicken stock. I didn't have any of the three, so I substituted Bourbon. I didn't have half and half, so I substituted milk with a generous amount of butter. And I didn't have whole grain Dijon mustard either.
So basically, I took the idea, and made it my own. :D
First time I've eaten a cube steak in three years! It actually gave me a little bit of anxiety, but I did it!
And the sauce makes good pan gravy for mashed potatoes too!
Cube Steak Dijonnase
2 12 ounce cube steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks in single layer and cook until browned, turning once, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer to work surface; cut each steak in half.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sage, saute until soft, about 30 seconds.
Add vermouth; boil until slightly reduced, about 30 seconds. Stir in cream and mustard.
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide steaks among plates, spoon sauce over top, and serve.
Busch's Market Recipe Card
I won't lie to you. I substituted my butt off for this recipe. I couldn't find sage, so I substituted thyme. I forgot to get Vermouth. Google recommended that I use a dry white wine, white grape juice or chicken stock. I didn't have any of the three, so I substituted Bourbon. I didn't have half and half, so I substituted milk with a generous amount of butter. And I didn't have whole grain Dijon mustard either.
So basically, I took the idea, and made it my own. :D
First time I've eaten a cube steak in three years! It actually gave me a little bit of anxiety, but I did it!
And the sauce makes good pan gravy for mashed potatoes too!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Joes Crab Shack...Oy, Vey...
Yesterday, I convince my fiancee to take me to eat at Joes Crab Shack. I've been seeing their delicious looking steam pots whirl around my TV for a while, and I wanted one like WOAH.
So, we go. And to eat at our local Joes, it's quite a trek - it's not anywhere you'd just go - you have to make a pretty specific trip.
We get seated by a hostess that I can only assume was under the influence of something, because she was looking at the restaurant like she'd never seen it before. Kid you not.
We put in our order. And we wait. And we wait. And we bloody wait some more. Eventually, a manager turns up to explain that because we've waited more then 20 minutes, he'll "take care of it", but offers no explanation for what that actually means.
The food eventually turns up from around the corner.
My steam pot? I won't lie - I got the West Coast steam pot, and the crab legs were so hot that I could hardly touch them, and I probably could have played basketball with the shrimp. And as for the delicious looking pot full of seafood? Don't be fooled. They bring a normal, regular size plate inside the pot. It's just like any other entree, just a little more gimicky. Like I mentioned - the crab legs were so hot I could hardly touch them, everything else was...room temperature? I ate the majority of it (the "majority of it") pretty much consisted of the crab legs and shrimp. And a ear of corn on the cob, which is a food you just can't screw up, even if you serve it cold, which they did)
My sons food was freezing cold. He's pretty temperature sensitive, so it wasn't an earth shaking tragedy, but really? That's pretty gnarly. If I sat there for 20 minutes, the very least you can do is serve me hot food.
The bill comes, it's $58. We were pretty rattled. Food that was OK if you were being optimistic about it, a server that I'm not sure remembered we were there, and cold shrimp - that weren't supposed to be cold?! And you want $60 for that!?
The managers offer to "take care of it" meant my fiancees dinner was free. Which brought the meal down to $31. Which isn't bad. Crab legs for 2, and a kids meal shouldn't be $60.
Every time I go eat at Joe's, it kind of just serves to remind me why I don't go there more often. Something ALWAYS happens - the service is lagging, the food is weird, or like in the case of yesterday, the quality control takes a bit of a holiday. For families in this economy (I mean really. Two adults and a kid, it was $60. I come from a family with five kids. There's no days that we could have afforded to eat at Joe's), Joe's just isn't a practical buy. People these days don't have alot of extra money or time, a fact the good people at Joe's apparently don't understand.
So, we go. And to eat at our local Joes, it's quite a trek - it's not anywhere you'd just go - you have to make a pretty specific trip.
We get seated by a hostess that I can only assume was under the influence of something, because she was looking at the restaurant like she'd never seen it before. Kid you not.
We put in our order. And we wait. And we wait. And we bloody wait some more. Eventually, a manager turns up to explain that because we've waited more then 20 minutes, he'll "take care of it", but offers no explanation for what that actually means.
The food eventually turns up from around the corner.
My steam pot? I won't lie - I got the West Coast steam pot, and the crab legs were so hot that I could hardly touch them, and I probably could have played basketball with the shrimp. And as for the delicious looking pot full of seafood? Don't be fooled. They bring a normal, regular size plate inside the pot. It's just like any other entree, just a little more gimicky. Like I mentioned - the crab legs were so hot I could hardly touch them, everything else was...room temperature? I ate the majority of it (the "majority of it") pretty much consisted of the crab legs and shrimp. And a ear of corn on the cob, which is a food you just can't screw up, even if you serve it cold, which they did)
My sons food was freezing cold. He's pretty temperature sensitive, so it wasn't an earth shaking tragedy, but really? That's pretty gnarly. If I sat there for 20 minutes, the very least you can do is serve me hot food.
The bill comes, it's $58. We were pretty rattled. Food that was OK if you were being optimistic about it, a server that I'm not sure remembered we were there, and cold shrimp - that weren't supposed to be cold?! And you want $60 for that!?
The managers offer to "take care of it" meant my fiancees dinner was free. Which brought the meal down to $31. Which isn't bad. Crab legs for 2, and a kids meal shouldn't be $60.
Every time I go eat at Joe's, it kind of just serves to remind me why I don't go there more often. Something ALWAYS happens - the service is lagging, the food is weird, or like in the case of yesterday, the quality control takes a bit of a holiday. For families in this economy (I mean really. Two adults and a kid, it was $60. I come from a family with five kids. There's no days that we could have afforded to eat at Joe's), Joe's just isn't a practical buy. People these days don't have alot of extra money or time, a fact the good people at Joe's apparently don't understand.
Battle Pineapple The Follow Through
So I guess I was reading the room wrong. Chef Symon won Battle Pineapple pretty handily, with a score of 50 to 41.
Incidentally, he used Speck, which makes this the second time I've seen that on a food show this week. The impression Top Chef Masters left me with was that it was some kind of breading technique, but apparently according to AB, it's actually a form of proscuitto?
Guess what that means it's time for!
According to our friends at Wikipedia:
Speck is a distinctively juniper-flavored ham originally from Tyrol, a historical region that since 1918 partially lies in Austria and partially in Italy. Speck's origins at the intersection of two culinary worlds is reflected in its synthesis of salt-curing and smoking.
...and there you go. Apparently, if your going to google Speck, you gotta be a bit more specific. That was the 6 or 8th result down. But Speck Electronics (shout out!) is doing great. lol!
Incidentally, he used Speck, which makes this the second time I've seen that on a food show this week. The impression Top Chef Masters left me with was that it was some kind of breading technique, but apparently according to AB, it's actually a form of proscuitto?
Guess what that means it's time for!
According to our friends at Wikipedia:
Speck is a distinctively juniper-flavored ham originally from Tyrol, a historical region that since 1918 partially lies in Austria and partially in Italy. Speck's origins at the intersection of two culinary worlds is reflected in its synthesis of salt-curing and smoking.
...and there you go. Apparently, if your going to google Speck, you gotta be a bit more specific. That was the 6 or 8th result down. But Speck Electronics (shout out!) is doing great. lol!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Because I Can't Edit...
I have an Iron Chef follow up...
One of the dishes was especially interesting to me - they took fresh tuna loin, cored out the center with an apple corer, cored out a slice of pineapple, and then inserted the pineapple into the center. Then they took some Thai basil, and wrapped the basil and the pineapple and tuna loin in this big thing that sort of looked like a fajita, but it was thin like a piece of puff pastry. The name is entirely escaping me right now. Grr...
At any rate, they then pan seared it, unwrapped, sliced and served. So you get this delicious piece of bright red tuna with this perfect little spot of yellow in the center. It looked delicious and fun - I'd love to try it!
One of the dishes was especially interesting to me - they took fresh tuna loin, cored out the center with an apple corer, cored out a slice of pineapple, and then inserted the pineapple into the center. Then they took some Thai basil, and wrapped the basil and the pineapple and tuna loin in this big thing that sort of looked like a fajita, but it was thin like a piece of puff pastry. The name is entirely escaping me right now. Grr...
At any rate, they then pan seared it, unwrapped, sliced and served. So you get this delicious piece of bright red tuna with this perfect little spot of yellow in the center. It looked delicious and fun - I'd love to try it!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Tofu Alfredo...I Gotta Say, I Kind Of Love It...
I am nothing, if not open minded. Cloth diapering? Why not? Soy Milk instead of Cow? Bring it on. Tofu noodles instead of regular? Oh, sure.
So my recent culinary experiment was tofu noodles. I don't know if anyone has heard of Hungry Girl, but they are often singing the praises of the tofu noodle - all of the fun of pasta, with none of the bad stuff (gluten, sugar, CALORIES), and I actually found some at my friendly neighborhood Meijer store.
So I got the fettucini noodle, and made some alfredo sauce out of my Betty Crocker cookbook...which I'm madly looking around trying to find, so I can give you the recipe. Alright, found it. Check it out:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream
3/4 cup rated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
In a 10 inch skillet, heat butter and whipping cream over medium heat, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and mixture starts to bubble; reduce heat to low. Simmer 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
That's just almost painful it's so simple!
The noodles, you just drain, rinse, microwave for one minute (or boil on the stove for two to three), pat dry with a towel, and serve. You can have vegetarian - or with a little more work vegan or completely gluten free - alfredo on the table in six minutes. Tell me that that's not completely dangerous information!
With the sauce, I'll admit to taking a bit of a short cut, and having it not entirely pan out. I got green can parmesan cheese, and the sauce had to be RIPPING hot, otherwise you could tell the difference in the texture.
As for the noodles - a little more snap then a noodle might traditionally have (although I'll admit to liking my noodles a little overdone anyway, so that might be why I think that), similar mouth feel, smooth in my mouth, didn't taste any different then I'd expect any other noodle to taste.
I was truthfully impressed with both the sauce recipe, and the noodles. So impressed, that I nearly drowned myself in tofu alfredo last night. Eesh. So it's low cal, but your probably not supposed to eat the whole package by yourself. :D
So my recent culinary experiment was tofu noodles. I don't know if anyone has heard of Hungry Girl, but they are often singing the praises of the tofu noodle - all of the fun of pasta, with none of the bad stuff (gluten, sugar, CALORIES), and I actually found some at my friendly neighborhood Meijer store.
So I got the fettucini noodle, and made some alfredo sauce out of my Betty Crocker cookbook...which I'm madly looking around trying to find, so I can give you the recipe. Alright, found it. Check it out:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream
3/4 cup rated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
In a 10 inch skillet, heat butter and whipping cream over medium heat, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and mixture starts to bubble; reduce heat to low. Simmer 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
That's just almost painful it's so simple!
The noodles, you just drain, rinse, microwave for one minute (or boil on the stove for two to three), pat dry with a towel, and serve. You can have vegetarian - or with a little more work vegan or completely gluten free - alfredo on the table in six minutes. Tell me that that's not completely dangerous information!
With the sauce, I'll admit to taking a bit of a short cut, and having it not entirely pan out. I got green can parmesan cheese, and the sauce had to be RIPPING hot, otherwise you could tell the difference in the texture.
As for the noodles - a little more snap then a noodle might traditionally have (although I'll admit to liking my noodles a little overdone anyway, so that might be why I think that), similar mouth feel, smooth in my mouth, didn't taste any different then I'd expect any other noodle to taste.
I was truthfully impressed with both the sauce recipe, and the noodles. So impressed, that I nearly drowned myself in tofu alfredo last night. Eesh. So it's low cal, but your probably not supposed to eat the whole package by yourself. :D
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Silk Soymilk - Is Good!
At my sons tap class on Tuesday, we were talking about milk, and one of the moms said that she'd started her daughters on soy milk, after one of them had a stomach bug in the fall.
She said that the Very Vanilla flavor was delicious, and you'd feel like you were drinking a dessert. Suffering from an incurable sweet tooth, I figured I'd give it a shot.
I don't know that I'd go as far as saying it was like drinking a big vanilla cupcake, but it was good - smooth flavored, sweet without being overwhelming. A little bit of a different mouth feel then regular milk, but really, if you didn't know you weren't drinking regular milk, you wouldn't know.
If you twisted my arm and told me I had to tell you something was the matter with it, I'd say it's that you can't cook with it. I got the Very Vanilla flavor, and I'm flipping through the recipe index on the Silk site, and don't see a single recipe that says you can use the Very Vanilla. With the sweeter recipes, you could probably get away with it, but none of them are calling for it. At $3 a gallon, I kind of need my drinks to multi-task!
Check them out online!
She said that the Very Vanilla flavor was delicious, and you'd feel like you were drinking a dessert. Suffering from an incurable sweet tooth, I figured I'd give it a shot.
I don't know that I'd go as far as saying it was like drinking a big vanilla cupcake, but it was good - smooth flavored, sweet without being overwhelming. A little bit of a different mouth feel then regular milk, but really, if you didn't know you weren't drinking regular milk, you wouldn't know.
If you twisted my arm and told me I had to tell you something was the matter with it, I'd say it's that you can't cook with it. I got the Very Vanilla flavor, and I'm flipping through the recipe index on the Silk site, and don't see a single recipe that says you can use the Very Vanilla. With the sweeter recipes, you could probably get away with it, but none of them are calling for it. At $3 a gallon, I kind of need my drinks to multi-task!
Check them out online!
http://silksoymilk.com/Default.aspxSilk Soymilk
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Farmers Market Finds!
So, you know I love to come on and talk about all my delicious finds at the Farmers Market.
I was dissapointed that I missed the good people from Zingermans - I look for them every week!
I did find the Sansonetti Foods booth, which I had missed the last time I was there, and I was chatting up the woman a little, as much as the busy farmers market crowd would let me.
I told her that I had gotten their Michigan Apple Glaze, and I know I told you all about it last week, but I'll mention it again. The stuff is crazy good. I've tried it with everything I could think of - I've had it with Mexican food, I've had it with pizza, I've had it with Stir Fry. It's just really never NOT delicious!
Today, my son (my usual partner in crime) was with me, and we selected the Premium Marinara to try. Delicious as always. Smooth, mellow, and really tastes of fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. I know that with spaghetti sauce, saying it tastes like tomatoes is like "Yeah, duh!", but sometimes you get spaghetti sauce that you have to doctor, or sauce that tastes more like chemicals and preservatives then the actual stuff in the sauce, and with my friends at Sansonetti's Gourmet Foods, you don't get that. They tell you tomato, they mean tomato!
It did get the two year old stamp of approval too. In fact, he asked for extra! If you've got any experience feeding a two year old, you know the two year old stamp of approval is no small feat!
I also made a stop off at the Pillar's Tamales booth. I had gone to their booth once before, and gotten Plantains, and kind of didn't understand the appeal. Not because of anything the lovely people at Pillar's did...just because I don't get the appeal of the plantain. If you've never seen one before, they look just like a overgrown banana, but they are a little more starchy, with a mouth feel kind of similar to a potato. If you can imagine a banana and a potato being cross bred to each other, the result would be a plantain. You can't eat them raw, they have to be cooked. So far, I've not come across a cooked plantain that knocked my block off. I've not come up on one I hated though, to be fair.
I got the Saturday Special at the booth. That included 2 tamales, fried plantains, black beans and rice, and a side the seemed to look similar to cole slaw, but was flavored differently. I also had a hibiscus tea to drink.
I gotta say - totally loved it. I finished my plate, and could have had another! I had the Vegan Tempeh for my tamale choice. No particular reason why - I'm not vegan - it just seemed like such an interesting choice. Even the plantains were really good. The only thing I might have taken a pass on seconds of was the slaw. Like I said - it looked like cole slaw, but it had a bit more of an herbal quality to it. I even took a picture of their menu so I could remember what it was, but of course, my camera is not with me right now. Figures.
The Hibiscus tea was a bit of an aquired taste - a little fruity, but with kind of a wooden note on the back of your tounge. It was an aquired taste, but I did come around, and found myself truly dissapointed when my cup was empty. The tea did not earn the two year old seal of approval. He took a drink, wrinkled his nose, and went "No, thanks!"
Two for two! I really just can't speak highly enough of the people from Sansonetti's. Love them, love their products. When I first found their products, I was told that their curry mustard is especially designed to go with Kogel Hot Dogs. Can't wait for the opportunity to have both of them in the same place at the same time!
I was dissapointed that I missed the good people from Zingermans - I look for them every week!
I did find the Sansonetti Foods booth, which I had missed the last time I was there, and I was chatting up the woman a little, as much as the busy farmers market crowd would let me.
I told her that I had gotten their Michigan Apple Glaze, and I know I told you all about it last week, but I'll mention it again. The stuff is crazy good. I've tried it with everything I could think of - I've had it with Mexican food, I've had it with pizza, I've had it with Stir Fry. It's just really never NOT delicious!
Today, my son (my usual partner in crime) was with me, and we selected the Premium Marinara to try. Delicious as always. Smooth, mellow, and really tastes of fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. I know that with spaghetti sauce, saying it tastes like tomatoes is like "Yeah, duh!", but sometimes you get spaghetti sauce that you have to doctor, or sauce that tastes more like chemicals and preservatives then the actual stuff in the sauce, and with my friends at Sansonetti's Gourmet Foods, you don't get that. They tell you tomato, they mean tomato!
It did get the two year old stamp of approval too. In fact, he asked for extra! If you've got any experience feeding a two year old, you know the two year old stamp of approval is no small feat!
I also made a stop off at the Pillar's Tamales booth. I had gone to their booth once before, and gotten Plantains, and kind of didn't understand the appeal. Not because of anything the lovely people at Pillar's did...just because I don't get the appeal of the plantain. If you've never seen one before, they look just like a overgrown banana, but they are a little more starchy, with a mouth feel kind of similar to a potato. If you can imagine a banana and a potato being cross bred to each other, the result would be a plantain. You can't eat them raw, they have to be cooked. So far, I've not come across a cooked plantain that knocked my block off. I've not come up on one I hated though, to be fair.
I got the Saturday Special at the booth. That included 2 tamales, fried plantains, black beans and rice, and a side the seemed to look similar to cole slaw, but was flavored differently. I also had a hibiscus tea to drink.
I gotta say - totally loved it. I finished my plate, and could have had another! I had the Vegan Tempeh for my tamale choice. No particular reason why - I'm not vegan - it just seemed like such an interesting choice. Even the plantains were really good. The only thing I might have taken a pass on seconds of was the slaw. Like I said - it looked like cole slaw, but it had a bit more of an herbal quality to it. I even took a picture of their menu so I could remember what it was, but of course, my camera is not with me right now. Figures.
The Hibiscus tea was a bit of an aquired taste - a little fruity, but with kind of a wooden note on the back of your tounge. It was an aquired taste, but I did come around, and found myself truly dissapointed when my cup was empty. The tea did not earn the two year old seal of approval. He took a drink, wrinkled his nose, and went "No, thanks!"
Two for two! I really just can't speak highly enough of the people from Sansonetti's. Love them, love their products. When I first found their products, I was told that their curry mustard is especially designed to go with Kogel Hot Dogs. Can't wait for the opportunity to have both of them in the same place at the same time!
Correction...
So we all know by now that whenever I go to the Farmers Market, I love to come back, and talk about all the delicious things I saw.
Turns out, I credited one business incorrectly. I named a business called Pillar Farms, and it's actually Pillar's Tamales. And you should totally try her stuff if you see her on the farmers market scene, but I'll come back to that later. :)
Turns out, I credited one business incorrectly. I named a business called Pillar Farms, and it's actually Pillar's Tamales. And you should totally try her stuff if you see her on the farmers market scene, but I'll come back to that later. :)
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