Comfort Food!

Today was a cold day for South Florida, and a very typical one for our winter season at a balmy 61 degrees. I decided to take advantage of the weather and make a comfort food dinner. I used a Salisbury Steak recipe from All Recipes that I have used before. I love this recipe, it is easy to make and very flavorful using ground sirloin beef and French onion soup, along with other traditional meatloaf-type ingredients. I added half a cup of red wine to make it more gravy like. I kept it simple and made a pot of white rice and cannellini beans to serve alongside.

Cannellini e Pomodoro sul Polenta!

Yesterday I was in an Italian mood (as I tend to be, 90% of the time). I wanted to try polenta, but since I had never cooked with it before (and eaten it rarely in restaurants), I was apprenhensive to try my hand at slow cooking cornmeal over a simmering pot. I took the easy route and bought a 'polenta log' at whole foods, a roll of pre-cooked polenta you can can break down into creamy polenta or slice into rounds to bake or grill with. I sliced it into rounds and drizzled with olive to bake them up into crispy, salty polenta cakes. I mashed up some stewed tomatoes in garlic along with cannellini beans, and the dish was born.

The couple that cooks together....

One of my favorite aspects of my relationship is how much my boyfriend and I love food and wine. The man actually works in the restaurant industry, so he is constantly in a foodie environment. We love to go out to eat at new places, as well as go food shopping and cook together when we have the time. Thursday night was one of those nights! We're both big seafood-lovers, so our dinner was very fish-centric.

This was my boyfriend's invention. Scallops covered in breadcrumbs and butter, cooked in bacon in all its fat and juices. In other words, heaven!

Next: shrimp cooked in lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, and white wine ... classic and classically delicious :)

And our standard side dish: garlic bread!

Served alongside oven-roasted mushrooms, then doused in an amazing sauce made from butter, marsala wine, and olive oil!

32 East!

My boyfriend I spent a lovely evening in Delray Beach, a cutesy little beach town full of restaurants, bars, and boutiques. It was one of the first slightly chilly, breezy nights and we walked to the beach after dinner. It was so great to wear a scarf! I can't wait for cooler temperatures and the season of boots, scarves, and sweater dresses to begin down here.

As always, we love to order a bunch of appetizer and entrees and then share. We both share a big love for food and love to go out to eat and try new restaurants. The restaurant we went to was upscale American, called 32 East! Here are some of the dishes we tried last night:

Pumpkin Bolognese Rigatoni:

Grilled shrimp with chickpeas, lettuce, and avocado cream (the avocado cream was my favorite part!):

The next dish was my favorite of the night: prosciutto wrapped figs, baked until crispy, over a bed of sliced grapes, walnuts, and melted cheese!

Dessert: rich dark chocolate mousse, croquant, and port-wine pear (that was the best part!):

Delicious! If you live in the area, I highly recommend a visit :)

Good Eats!

I can't believe it's already August! This summer has truly flown by. Between my new job and summer class, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to spend in the kitchen. In the past two weeks I did manage to get in there and cook a bit. One night for dinner, I made chimichurri sauce to go along with skirt steak I picked up at WholeFoods.

Chimichurri sauce is a very versatile marinade and sauce, made with lots of fresh parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a hint of red pepper flakes. It is simple but flavorful, with a lovely vibrant green color. I used a recipe from Gimme Some Oven and it came out great. To accompany, I sauteed some diced butternut squash, yellow squash, and zucchini rounds in a pan with lots of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and white wine. I added some garlic bread and a healthy serving of a Merlot-Sangiovese blend of red wine to finish off the meal.

A few nights later I had some time for dinner, and picked up some gorgeous tilapia filets on my way home from work. I seasoned them simply, with salt and pepper, before dipping them in eggwash (two beaten eggs) and tossing in a bowl of Italian breadcrumbs. I baked them on an olive oil-greased baking sheet until the fish flaked when poked with a fork. I served it with rice pilaf and green beans tossed with sliced almonds and balsamic vinegar (sides not pictured).

This past week was the last day of one of my co-workers, who LOVES Spiderman so naturally, I tried my hand at Spidey-themed cupcakes! The cake part was chocolate with milk and white chocolate chips, and the frosting was a vanilla buttercream mixed with a little cheese cream to cut down on the sweetness.

And last but not least, we are throwing a birthday party today for one of our very good family friends, so I made two savory appetizers - mini corn cakes with sour cream frosting and pea garnish, and brie and jam filled phyllo cups (blackberry, raspberry, and apricot jam).

Mini Corn Cakes!

Brie Jam Phyllo Cups!

New Marketplaces!

I have been on a hunt for fresh new stores to expand my grocery shopping beyond our local chain, Publix. Last week I started going to The Fresh Market, which I would describe as a mini, more organized version of Whole Foods. I've only been to Whole Foods a handful of times and my impression is always the same - too big, too expensive, and too chaotic. Quite frankly, one doesn't need ten different types of quinoa. The Fresh Market seems to be in it's own category. Although relatively small, the selection of fresh produce, proteins, wine, and imported products is spectacular. I spent about an hour last week browsing all the aisles, and I was pleasantly surprised to find many Italian or Swiss food products common to my college years.

I ended up buying two pieces of bourbon glazed salmon, chicken breast wrapped around ricotta and spinach and covered in breadcrumbs, haricots verts, and baby bella mushrooms for dinner. I can't take too much credit with this picture - my boyfriend took over once I unpacked my groceries! Yum :)

I also baked some basic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting (topped with rainbow sprinkles) for my attorney's little girl's birthday - but I made sure to use my favorite chocolate cake recipe which always includes a healthy serving of sour cream, the key ingredient to keeping any chocolate cake rich and moist :)

This past weekend, I made my way to two well-known, New York-style farmer's markets, one called The Boys and the other, aptly named The Girls. The Boys is small but fully stocked with a lovely bakery, cheese, wine, fruit, veggie, protein, and ready-prepared food sections. I had every intention of coming home with a bag bursting with freshly ripe berries, broccoli florets, and whatever else my little veggie/fruit loving heart desired ... however I made a beeline for the wine selection and came home staggering with bottles of Chianti, Merlot, and Marsala. (Fairly typical.) I also bought some lovely linzer cookies with apricot in the middle, but I got a little too excited and forgot to snap a pic. Here is just one section of the bakery side.

Vino!

The Girls was a smaller, more country-type store, with various knicknacks, every flavor of fresh ice cream imaginable, and mile-long shelves of every jam and jelly in existence. I'm not kidding - there was even a homemade fig-jalapeno jelly on stock.

I also had the best strawberry milkshake of my life at The Girls, which is locally known for offering people to pick their own strawberries (sadly not in season on my visit), so their main menu features strawberry milkshakes, strawberry shortcakes, and strawberry ice cream - all homemade with natural ingredients and a comforting lack of preservatives or artificial ingredients, something that seems to be all too prevalent in everyday groceries.

I was in a Mexican mood for dinner over the weekend, so I purchased the usual suspects;  ground beef, sour cream, corn, refried beans, shredded cheese (Mexican 4-cheese blend) corn tortillas, and fresh limes to make one of my favorite recipes - tostadas. I have made them before (here) and my basic recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven, but I generally tweak it each time, depending on the ingredients at hand. In the case of this past weekend, the avocados I had bought were not ripe in time, so I substituted corn to add a sweet element amidst the salt and crunch of the other components.

Delicious! I love how crunchy the tortillas get when baked in the oven, both sides doused with a healthy serving of extra-virgin olive oil. Topping it with enchilada sauce-soaked ground beef, sweet corn kernels, dollops of creamy sour cream, melty cheese, and smooth refried beans - yum! These are filling and so quick to put together whenever you have a Mexican craving.

Crazy About You!

A few weeks ago I was in Miami to watch a game with my dad, and went out to dinner with two of my very good friends afterwards, to restaurant overlooking the bay called Crazy About You. The scenery was gorgeous and it was right about sunset time, so I was able to take some lovely pics.

The menu is eclectic and unique - you pick one appetizer and one entree and the options are varied and fabulous! My friends and I shared white wine and apps first.

My entree was shrimp and mushroom risotto, so delicious!

Dessert was the best part - it was a create-your-own! My friends surprised me with it and I loved it! It was a tray that came with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, a warm brownie, cocoa powder, diced strawberries, and chocolate sauce.

I wrote Portugal because the soccer game I had seen with my dad was Portugal v Spain, a semi-final in the Euro Cup, that Portugal had lost, sadly! The third picture has some beautiful Arabic script done by my friend, who wrote our names :) Needless to say, the dessert was great! And I recommend this restaurant to anyone in the South Florida area for sure!

Panna Cotta!

My boyfriend asked me to make him panna cotta last week and since I know it's one of the few desserts my dad loves, and something I had yet to make, I was instantly on board. Challenge accepted! I used a recipe from Giada and it came out great! I made the panna cotta using heavy cream, whole milk, honey, vanilla extract, and topped with fresh sliced berries (strawberries and blueberries in honor of 4th of July). I set the panna cotta in several ramekins and found that the best one was the last one I served over a four day period, so I believe this dessert really needs time in the fridge, way beyond the minimum overnight hours. The time is so worth it - panna cotta is really just Italian eggless custard, so it is very creamy and rich with just a hint of honey and vanilla. I would like to make it again and omit the honey and go for some fresh citrus zest instead.

I also made a simple meal running home after class; tilapia francese, roasted broccoli florets, and garlicky pearl pasta. I made the tilapia by dipping the fish into an egg wash and then into a flour, old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper and back in to the egg wash before setting it down in a hot pan with olive oil. I got the basics of the recipe from I Was Born to Cook's blog. The broccoli I roasted simply using olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. The pearl pasta I made with chicken stock, white wine, and minced fresh garlic. Yum!

Last week it was another lovely co-worker of mine's birthday, so I made mini carrot cake cupcakes with lemon mascarpone frosting, recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma.

More Birthday Cupcakes and Dinner!

Summer is always so full of birthdays! Most recently, I celebrated my dad's birthday and since his favorite cupcake flavor is vanilla, I made raspberry vanilla mini cupcakes. I used raspberry extract to get the flavoring without changing the airy lightness of the cake or the pale yellow color, and topped the whipped cream frosting with a fresh raspberry. I tried a different basic vanilla cupcake recipe, this time from Brown Eyed Baker.

Dinner for daddy's birthday was at J Alexander's, my favorite restaurant in Boca. I ordered grouper in lemon butter sauce and peppery haricot verts ... yum!

For today I kept it simple; fresh shrimp poached in butter, white wine, minced garlic, and lemon juice; sauteed spinach in olive oil mixed with garicky rice pilaf; and balsamic roasted red potatoes, a great recipe I have been meaning to make for some time from the lovely blog, Words of Deliciousness.

Yum!

Simple Dining!

I have said this before, but my boyfriend and I are TOTAL foodies. We spend alot of time either in grocery stores, restaurants, or even watching Food Network together. Lately we've been on a staying-in streak and have been cooking a far share. We had a very memorable dinner a few nights ago, memorable because it was so simple but so delicious! My man did most of the actual cooking while I was relegated to garlic-chopping duties, but as it turned out, I was okay with that ;)

For the protein, we sauteed shrimp in a heavenly sauce made with freshly-squeezed lemon juice, diced garlic, white wine (Chablis), butter, and a healthy splash of white Martini Rossi, our secret ingredient! The Martini is a brand of herby-aromatic vermouth, and it added a wonderful depth and surprising sweetness to the shrimp that made them so very delicious! The lemon juice added a spark of freshness and the wine, butter, and garlic mellowed it all out and made for a rich, flavorful liquid.

We also cooked some green beans in boiling water and doused them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt - the simplest and best way to eat green beans! A bowl of simple garlic and herb rice pilaf rounded out the rest of our dinner.

Sunshine in a vase :)

Here's a snapshot of our dinner from last week. My man made burgers on the grill (on French hamburger buns - my favorite!), guacamole, grilled shrimp skewers, mushrooms in a sweet red wine and brown sugar sauce, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Dinner Photography....

I am lucky enough to have a lovely man who also happens to be an amazing chef. We love to cook together and we've made some amazing meals thus far...or sometimes he cooks while I watch and drink wine :)

11/17/2011 
Scallops with maple-glazed bacon with roasted asparagus, zucchini, and squash platter.

12/01/2011 
Garlic bread, lobster tails, breaded veal cutlets, mussels, creamed spinach, crab ragu.

12/15/2011 
Garlic bread, breaded shrimp, flounder française, portabella mushrooms in marsala wine.

01/30/2012 
Filet mignon, roasted asparagus, steamed mussels, breaded shrimp, garlic bread, portabella mushrooms with creamy spinach.

Sparkling wine and strawberries for the birthday boy :)

02/02/2012 
Roasted bell peppers and asparagus, breaded flounder filets, garlic rice, crab mix shells, shrimp with peach, orange, and wine sauce.
 

Yay!