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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Spicy Weeknight Supper

I decided it was time to make another batch of chipotle pork burgers since they were so successful last time. I bought most of the ingredients almost a week ago, but for some reason, I couldn't find ground pork anywhere. Three different stores didn't have it in stock so I finally caved and decided to try the recipe out with ground turkey. Luckily, it worked beautifully. My burgers grilled up juicy and with a wonderful crust on the outside. Again, I couldn't get over how well the chipotle flavor meshes with the grilled meat.

Burgers cooking away

To go with the burgers, I found the perfect recipe by Mark Bittman in last Sunday's New York Times.
It was one of those recipes that I didn't even have to read through to know I would like it. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Chili Dressing would undoubtedly compliment the burgers fabulously. Once more, Mark Bittman did not let me down. I never would have thought to mix the ingredients that are in this salad - roasted sweet potatoes, bell pepper, black beans, cilantro, and a dressing made with jalapeno - but they tasted like they were made for each other. The dressing was particularly delicious and had a great heat. In fact, I still have a bit of burn in the back of my throat.

A colorful and healthy salad!

All in all, the meal was a huge success! Filling, but not too heavy,
and still healthy. It was so good that Ken did all the dishes!

The complete meal

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese

I can't seem to adjust to my new football watching schedule after so many years of starting the day at 10am on the West Coast. So, football tends to make me crave breakfast food. Very often my friends and I used to get a dozen bagels and a box of coffee, or make breakfast egg sandwiches. Having a couple pieces of the really delicious bacon we'd used for BLTs earlier in the week left over, they seemed to be screaming to be put into an egg sandwich.

And egg sandwiches we made. Big toasted English muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon and muenster cheese. They really hit the spot!

Photo courtesy Ken's I-Phone


Later I snacked on these amazing black grapes. I thought they were so pretty they warranted a picture.



Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Mmmm Bacon

BLTs for dinner tonight. Good whole wheat bread, romaine lettuce, surprisingly ripe tomatoes, and thick-cut apple smoked bacon. Yum!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Review: Dorado Tacos & Cemitas

One of the things I miss the most about California is authentic Mexican food. While there are a fair amount of places in Boston to get a good burrito, there are few true taquerias in the area. Luckily, I've found one in Dorado Tacos & Cemitas. I'd heard only good things about the small restaurant that just opened in the JFK Crossing area of Brookline, so tonight seemed like a good night to take a walk and try it out.

Dorado doesn't have burritos on their menu, just a wide array of different tacos. The best deal is to get the taco plate, which includes any two tacos with a side of decent rice and very spicy black beans. I went with their housemade chorizo and the Ensenada - a more traditional take on the fish taco. The chorizo was well-spiced and sort of sweet, and best of all, not too oily. It came with pico de gallo and obviously fresh-made guacamole. The Ensenada was delicious as well, with a big piece of lightly fried fish, crispy cabbage, pico de gallo, and a very light crema. The fish was delicious and not oily either. The batter reminded me of a tempura. All of the flavors meshed so well, and nothing overtook the other. The whole meal was wonderful, inexpensive, and not heavy like some Mexican can be.

Chorizo taco with rice and beans
(Thanks to Ken and his trusty I-Phone for the photo!)


I'm excited to go back and try a few other taco combinations. I noticed someones shrimp tacos looking really good and Ken loved the swordfish taco as well. Dorado also makes cemitas - which are a type of Mexican sandwich. The ingredients sound similar to the tortas I ate constantly in Los Angeles and miss desperately, so I can't wait to give one a try. I highly recommend Dorado!

Dorado Tacos & Cemitas
401 Harvard St.
Brookline, MA
617-566-2100

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Garlicky Shrimp

I bought some frozen shrimp at TJ's last week and it felt like I better get to using them. I decided to go with pasta and based on what I had in the pantry, whip up a sort of faux-scampi, which in my mind basically just meant use a lot of garlic. While the pasta cooked, I chopped up a massive clove of garlic, then placed it in a skillet with about a half cup of olive oil and some red chili flakes. I started it cold, then brought the heat up slowly, to infuse the oil with flavor.

Meanwhile, I defrosted the shrimp by just running some water over them for a few minutes. To my dismay, I'd accidentally bought unpeeled shrimp but it didn't take too long to peel them. When the pasta was almost done, and the garlic was beginning to brown, I added the shrimp and sauteed them until they were just cooked through. I had a random jar of sun-dried tomatoes in the pantry (bought with a recipe in mind that I'm yet to get to and didn't have the ingredients for), so I mixed in a good helping of those. When the pasta was al dente, I tossed it directly into the skillet, adding a small pat of butter and some salt and pepper. A little parm finished it off.

The result was gloriously garlicky and very tasty. The frozen shrimp isn't anything special, but it is a nice change of pace to chicken or tofu. I have to admit I am getting pretty good at making up dishes on the fly. I used to make pasta often but I always felt like it would end up bland. I am really learning how to make my dishes have a lot of flavor and punch. Here's the recipe as I made it. Enjoy!


Garlicky Penne with Shrimp and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 2

1/2 pound penne pasta
8-10 medium shrimp, peeled
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. red chili flakes
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 jar sliced sun-dried tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top (optional)

Cook pasta is salted boiling water until al dente. Place olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes into a large cold skillet and turn heat on medium-low. Allow oil to lightly bubble and cook garlic until golden brown. Add butter and then shrimp, salt and pepper, sauteing until just cooked through. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes to heat through, then add drained pasta, and salt and pepper if needed. Toss together and add Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Monday Night is Right for Baking

I was really bored today (leave it to me to have a really busy weekend and get a holiday off and still be bored) so I was looking for a project. Baking seemed like a great project! It didn't take much to persuade Ken to join me in a baking adventure, and we settled on Blueberry Boy Bait from Smitten Kitchen. Smitten Kitchen is one of the most impressive home cooking blog out there, and her photography blows me away. I'd seen this recipe for a fluffy blueberry cake (Smitten Kitchen's Deb shares the story of the original name of the cake) and been instantly drawn to it. It reminded me of one big blueberry muffin! The cake was quite easy to prepare, and it sure doesn't hold back on the butter. I knew it would be good, though! I actually pulled a little of the butter out and added a slightly larger amount of milk. We also realized that I'd only purchased a 6 ounce container of blueberries instead of the 12 ounces that the recipe needed, so instead, we added some raspberries I had on hand. What could be bad about more berries? It smelled delicious and looked perfect!

Oh delicious blueberry cake!

This cake is SO GOOD. I can't say one bad thing about it. It is so moist and fluffy that we actually weren't sure if it had cooked all of the way through while cutting into it, even though we'd tested it before taking it out of the oven. The cinnamon and sugar topping caramelized and made a little bit of a crispy top, and the berries were sweet and tart. I could have eaten the whole pan in one sitting. It would be good with almost any light fruit - thinly sliced apples, peaches, or strawberries - just nothing too heavy or chunky because it would fall straight through the cake. I cannot wait to make this again. I'll be eating it for breakfast all week!

Review: Gaslight Brasserie du Coin, South End

I visited Gaslight Brasserie this weekend with a group of friends to celebrate two of my dearest friends' birthdays. The French bistro-style food was quite delicious, though I would have appreciated a bit better service and accessibility. Gaslight is in the South End, but all of the way down almost to Boston Medical Center. It isn't very close to any T station, which doesn't make it very easy to reach.

I loved the styling and atmosphere of the restaurant. There is a large bar and then a separate dining room, where we sat at a long dark wood table. It is quite dark inside, but I think it set the mood. I can imagine it would be a good place to go for a romantic date. I was happy to find that their wine list was reasonably priced, but it sure took a while to get it. We did have a couple members of our party arrive slightly late, but our waitress took very long time to take our drink orders, and oddly, didn't take them all at the same time. For the entire time we were there, she seems very disengaged and uninterested. It did look like they were possibly understaffed, but the waitress seemed to avoid us at times. My vegetarian friend asked her very early on about what the chef could make for her, and the waitress didn't really answer her. From reading a few other reviews on Yelp, it seems as though the service has been a constant issue. But, we were having fun on our own, and luckily weren't in a hurry, so we could mostly ignore the bothersome service.

The food, on the other hand, was wonderfully French. We started with cheese plates for the table, and I am such a sucker for bread and cheese. The plates featured a brie, a goat cheese, and an incredibly creamy blue cheese, with both an apricot and fig spread. They gave us 3 warm, fresh baguettes wrapped in paper, just like you would get on the street in France. There is little better than fresh crusty bread with goat cheese and fig.

Almost everyone at our table ordered steak frites - either the traditional with Bearnaise sauce, or what I chose - the bar steak. The bar steak was a strip steak covered with caramelized shallots and a mustard cream sauce, served with delicious skinny french fries. The sauce was incredible and not too rich or thick with cream. I haven't always been a big steak eater but I am happy to be introducing it back into my life more. Turns out you just need to eat properly cooked and seasoned meat. Everyone was pleased with their meals, it seemed, even the vegetarian, who made an easy meal of side dishes, including some really delicious roasted parsnips that I tasted.

We were pretty full for dessert but they did bring us a couple dishes with candles so we could wish our friends a happy birthday. The chocolate lava cake was just fine for me, but the cherry clafoutis was much richer. I would go back to Gaslight again, but probably not with a big group. I would much prefer dinner at the wine bar.

Gaslight Brasserie du Coin
560 Harrison Ave.
Boston, MA 02228