Easter Sunday is a lovely day. It started off with 8:00 mass at OLOV. The visiting priest said the mass (a -) but they opened with my favorite Easter song (a +). We went to Sandy's after church. It was surprisingly dead in there. I tried the biscuits and gravy. I have to say, it was quite delicious. I like the gravy better from Pop's, but this gravy was pretty good. It came with two eggs and potatoes but it was too much for me. Next time I'll just get the biscuits.
Later on that afternoon, we went to Biagetti's. First, let me give you a little background info. My Auntie Verna used to have everyone over house for Easter dinner. She used to make leg of lamb and get a Honey Baked Ham. As the years went by, less and less people came to Easter. My cousins went with their in-laws, people had babies, and it got to the point where it was just my mom, dad, Auntie Carm, brother, Elena, Verna, and me. So Verna took us to Gabriele's instead of making a big dinner. That only lasted one Easter I think. At some point we decided to give Biagetti's a try. It's a very nice experience. Then all of a sudden, everyone trickled back to our Easter gathering. That's okay though. I love a big family gathering.
This Easter it was particularly mobbed. We were seated at a big L-shaped table in the front room. Biagetti's always puts out a special Easter menu with a few appetizers and about 12 entree choices. 1 waiter of the trio of waitstaff working our table really pissed me off. Maybe I rubbed him the wrong way, maybe I reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, who knows? He didn't bring me my food, he never refilled my bloody, and when he did ask me if I wanted a refill, he asked me if I wanted a coke. What the hell was the issue? Did he think I was young? Never mind that I'm there with my cousin who is 4 years younger than me and she is getting drinks with no question. Never mind that it's Easter Sunday. What am I trying to do- get away with ordering a bloody Mary? He was terrible. Tall, ape-looking. Terrible.
Back to the food.... I ordered fried calamari for an app., and rack of lamb for dinner. The calamari was tasty. No little octopus-looking things, just the rings. Biagetti's is great because they always serve a full-course meal. They had bread and pizzagaina (which is nowhere near as good as mine ;), we ordered the apps, but then they serve soup and salad. Not soup OR salad- soup AND salad. So nice. The soup was perfect. It was Italian wedding soup. My favorite soup from Biagetti's is, I'm not sure how you spell it, pasta te? Then the salad came out. I love their balsamic dressing. Then came the lamb. It was perfectly cooked. 4 or 5 big racks of lamb came on a bed of mashed potatoes with a mint gravy. It was wonderful. They also serve vegetables and mashed potatoes family style. Everyone was satisfied with their meal. DJ had pork tenderloin, my dad had surf and turf, Lindsey had chicken ricardo, Cat had stuffed shrimp, Nancy had Italian Tilapia. There were some other dishes that I don't recall but everyone was happy. I was stuffed when we left.
After Biagetti's, we go back to Verna's for dessert. She gets pies from Lucibello's- wheat, ricotta, and cream. She made a rice pie and also bought assorted Italian pastries. I don't really like any of that stuff. I'm not big into dessert. I did try the wheat pie. I was curious about this. I still really don't know much about it, except it was good. It tasted almost like a softish graham cracker. It was good. Well that's all for now. I have to go make my lunch for tomorrow. My most hated task. Until my next bite...
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Jimmie's / On the Border
Friday was a busy day. Not only did I have to make the crust for my pizzagaina, but I also had to teach my Uncle Paul how to make the dough. He was a good student but it was like making two pies instead of one. It came out lovely. It looked absolutely perfect. The recipe I follow is entitled "A and C's Tried and True Ham Pie." I joked with my uncle and said we should change it to "P and B's Tried, True, and Better Ham Pie." It doesn't seem like a lot of work when you look at the recipe but it is actually quite a bit. I feel like I have Popeye arms after rolling out the two crusts. We never cut our pie on Good Friday because it's a meat pie. It's like the devil himself baking away in that oven. So I decided I wanted have a nice meal for my last Lenten Friday. DJ and I went to Jimmie's.
Whenever I think of Jimmie's for dinner, I always associate it with waiting. Of course we went in and were told it would be a 40-45 minute wait. It actually went much faster than that. There were quite a few large parties waiting while we were. The view in Jimmie's is absolutely beautiful. It inspires me to keep working hard, becoming a principal and hopefully, owning a home with a similar view some day.
There were no specials, just menu highlights. I found that to be disappointing. I like to order a special. Our waiter came over and started us off with something to drink. I had pinot grigio and DJ had a Stella. The waiter was fine but not particularly friendly. The restaurant was crowded but the tables were separated enough that it gave an intimate feel. For dinner, I ordered the grilled swordfish with a baked potato and salad. DJ ordered the fried shrimp platter. The salad at Jimmie's is delicious. I love the base-10 block of cheese that comes with it. So delicious. My favorite salad. I chose the French dressing. My swordfish was pretty good. I mean it was exactly what it said, grilled swordfish. It was simply seasoned. I was a little perturbed when the waiter asked me how I wanted my fish cooked. I eat sushi and I know that some people eat their fish on the rare side, but I don't want to have to say I want my grilled fish fully cooked. So I told him I wanted it medium well. Ironically enough, I think it was a little dry. I probably should've went for medium. I tried one of DJ's shrimp. They were good. I think that also was a little bland but most places serve very plain fried shrimp.
The bill came and it was less than my bill at Lisiano's. I was shocked! The meal was much better, included more, and we both enjoyed an adult beverage. I will never go to Lisiano's again. I was so full that I couldn't even think about coffee or dessert. I was a nice way to end the Lenten season.
Now on to Saturday.... Today was a beautiful day. DJ and I had such high hopes for exploring but everything turned out to be a bust. After all was said and done, we decided to go to On the Border for dinner. I'm not really a fan of Mexican food. It always kills my stomach. I like chain Mexican restaurants because they tend to be more Tex-Mex than just Mex. I ordered a Borderita to drink. Luscious. It's my favorite margarita. I get it on the rocks with salt. Absolutely perfect. To eat, I had a combination of chicken and pulled pork (carnitas) fajitas. Oh my word was it delicious. The fajitas came with three tortillas. (I think there could've been 4) I had one fajita with just chicken and veggies, one with pork and veggies, and the final with pork and chicken with veggies. That pork is absolutely divine. I don't know what is done to it, but it's delicious. I love Mexican pork, Cuban pork, Dominican pork. I just love it. I couldn't finish all of the meat because my stomach was so full I felt my pants stretching. DJ had a chicken fajita (nothing to report) and for dessert we ordered those sopapillas or something like that. They were very tasty as well. They were like square, light donuts with cinnamon and sugar. It comes with two dipping items- honey and chocolate. I prefer the sopapilla plain.
Overall, a very nice meal. It's been about 4 hours since I ate and I am still stuffed. That's all for tonight. Tune in for a special Easter addition of Betsy's Bites. Until then.... keep on eating! (PS- If there's a place you would like me to try, feel free to comment!)
Whenever I think of Jimmie's for dinner, I always associate it with waiting. Of course we went in and were told it would be a 40-45 minute wait. It actually went much faster than that. There were quite a few large parties waiting while we were. The view in Jimmie's is absolutely beautiful. It inspires me to keep working hard, becoming a principal and hopefully, owning a home with a similar view some day.
There were no specials, just menu highlights. I found that to be disappointing. I like to order a special. Our waiter came over and started us off with something to drink. I had pinot grigio and DJ had a Stella. The waiter was fine but not particularly friendly. The restaurant was crowded but the tables were separated enough that it gave an intimate feel. For dinner, I ordered the grilled swordfish with a baked potato and salad. DJ ordered the fried shrimp platter. The salad at Jimmie's is delicious. I love the base-10 block of cheese that comes with it. So delicious. My favorite salad. I chose the French dressing. My swordfish was pretty good. I mean it was exactly what it said, grilled swordfish. It was simply seasoned. I was a little perturbed when the waiter asked me how I wanted my fish cooked. I eat sushi and I know that some people eat their fish on the rare side, but I don't want to have to say I want my grilled fish fully cooked. So I told him I wanted it medium well. Ironically enough, I think it was a little dry. I probably should've went for medium. I tried one of DJ's shrimp. They were good. I think that also was a little bland but most places serve very plain fried shrimp.
The bill came and it was less than my bill at Lisiano's. I was shocked! The meal was much better, included more, and we both enjoyed an adult beverage. I will never go to Lisiano's again. I was so full that I couldn't even think about coffee or dessert. I was a nice way to end the Lenten season.
Now on to Saturday.... Today was a beautiful day. DJ and I had such high hopes for exploring but everything turned out to be a bust. After all was said and done, we decided to go to On the Border for dinner. I'm not really a fan of Mexican food. It always kills my stomach. I like chain Mexican restaurants because they tend to be more Tex-Mex than just Mex. I ordered a Borderita to drink. Luscious. It's my favorite margarita. I get it on the rocks with salt. Absolutely perfect. To eat, I had a combination of chicken and pulled pork (carnitas) fajitas. Oh my word was it delicious. The fajitas came with three tortillas. (I think there could've been 4) I had one fajita with just chicken and veggies, one with pork and veggies, and the final with pork and chicken with veggies. That pork is absolutely divine. I don't know what is done to it, but it's delicious. I love Mexican pork, Cuban pork, Dominican pork. I just love it. I couldn't finish all of the meat because my stomach was so full I felt my pants stretching. DJ had a chicken fajita (nothing to report) and for dessert we ordered those sopapillas or something like that. They were very tasty as well. They were like square, light donuts with cinnamon and sugar. It comes with two dipping items- honey and chocolate. I prefer the sopapilla plain.
Overall, a very nice meal. It's been about 4 hours since I ate and I am still stuffed. That's all for tonight. Tune in for a special Easter addition of Betsy's Bites. Until then.... keep on eating! (PS- If there's a place you would like me to try, feel free to comment!)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Palm Sunday Dinner
Today we had some family over for Palm Sunday dinner. When I was younger, Palm Sunday was always a holiday in my family. We always went somewhere, ate a meal filled with traditional foods and of course, brought palm. Palm Sunday is quite different now, although today was very nice. I always loved holidays because it was a time to be with family. It was a time to reminisce about the good times while making new memories. These days it seems everyone is too busy to be a part of a family. I think it's one of the things that are damaging society. My mom was running around getting things together and she went all-out by using her nice dishes table cloth. My dad and brother were making fun of her a bit but then it occurred to me, people are not going to be like that anymore. I love to cook. But in today's world, that's a rare trait. Who's going to continue these traditions if we don't make a fuss? Do people still register for China? Do they still have a hutch and fancy things that they break out for company? Or has everything become so casual. People don't even dress up anymore when they go out to dinner. It's become such a common thing, to go out to eat, that people wear sweats and pajamas out in public. I think it's a shame. I love my family. I love hearing about all of the stories from when my mother was younger and she lived on Putnam Street with all over her cousins. Fast forward 30 years- what are the stories going to be? It kills me that I don't have those kind of stories. I mean I have some, but it seems as though many of those chapters ended early. I don't like the distance that's between me and my relatives. When I get a home of my own, I plan on having dinner parties and cookouts often. My favorite memories are the ones that involve my family and food. I want to be the one to continue that tradition.
I apologize for ranting. I just got on a topic and had to get it all out. So for dinner, we had manicotti, a pork roast (on the bone), pastade (pronounced pahstaid), peas, asparagus, corn, and bread. Delicious. We got the manicotti from Durante's in West Haven. It's a great little place. It's very small inside. I like that when you walk in the door you can see the people making the pasta in the back room. The pasta is delicious. So light, so flavorful. I want to try the spinach manicotti next. The pork was very simple. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onions. It was very moist and flavorful. The dinner was very good.
Now let me explain the pastaid (I don't know how to spell this). It's spaghetti, eggs, parmesan cheese, and pepper. You boil the spaghetti and mix up all of the other ingredients. After the spaghetti is cooked, you add it to the egg mixture, then put into a pie plate and bake in the oven at 350. I'm not sure how long, but the top gets nice and crunchy. For dessert, my mom made some little fruit tarts with lemon curd in phyllo dough. My uncle brought over an Italian cream pie from Julia's and my cousin brought over a sweet bread from Apicella's bakery. I'm not a fan of desserts, so I had one tart and the sweet bread. (not brains but an actual sweet tasting bread) The bread was delicious. Everyone else raved about the cream pie. My Auntie Carm used to make a cream pie that everyone loved. I want to make it soon. After Easter, but soon. I want to be able to pass on all of her traditions. It's funny. Most of her pie recipes came from her mother-in-law. She passed down her in-laws' recipes and I am now the one who continue their traditions. I'm sure they never envisioned a Sorensen passing on a Cavallaro's recipe. But here we are. If I make the cream pie, I'll be sure to write about it.
That's the other thing; I don't like sweets but I want to make this pie. I never was really crazy for pizzagaina but I loved making it with my mom and aunt. I loved it even more when my younger cousins would come and help with cutting the meat. It starts with cutting the basket cheese, then you move to cutting the ham, then you can cut the sausage, and no one else really ever made it to the important part (the crust) except for me. I make it now every year, not because I love the way it tastes, but because it keeps those memories alive.
Palm Sunday was great this year. My mom, my dad, my brother, DJ, Judy, my uncle and my aunt. We had a great time. The stories came flooding out. We were all laughing. I'm so happy that my mom decided to have a few people over for dinner. It's not the same large crowd like when I was younger but it's a start. Another memory made. Until my next bite.....
I apologize for ranting. I just got on a topic and had to get it all out. So for dinner, we had manicotti, a pork roast (on the bone), pastade (pronounced pahstaid), peas, asparagus, corn, and bread. Delicious. We got the manicotti from Durante's in West Haven. It's a great little place. It's very small inside. I like that when you walk in the door you can see the people making the pasta in the back room. The pasta is delicious. So light, so flavorful. I want to try the spinach manicotti next. The pork was very simple. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onions. It was very moist and flavorful. The dinner was very good.
Now let me explain the pastaid (I don't know how to spell this). It's spaghetti, eggs, parmesan cheese, and pepper. You boil the spaghetti and mix up all of the other ingredients. After the spaghetti is cooked, you add it to the egg mixture, then put into a pie plate and bake in the oven at 350. I'm not sure how long, but the top gets nice and crunchy. For dessert, my mom made some little fruit tarts with lemon curd in phyllo dough. My uncle brought over an Italian cream pie from Julia's and my cousin brought over a sweet bread from Apicella's bakery. I'm not a fan of desserts, so I had one tart and the sweet bread. (not brains but an actual sweet tasting bread) The bread was delicious. Everyone else raved about the cream pie. My Auntie Carm used to make a cream pie that everyone loved. I want to make it soon. After Easter, but soon. I want to be able to pass on all of her traditions. It's funny. Most of her pie recipes came from her mother-in-law. She passed down her in-laws' recipes and I am now the one who continue their traditions. I'm sure they never envisioned a Sorensen passing on a Cavallaro's recipe. But here we are. If I make the cream pie, I'll be sure to write about it.
That's the other thing; I don't like sweets but I want to make this pie. I never was really crazy for pizzagaina but I loved making it with my mom and aunt. I loved it even more when my younger cousins would come and help with cutting the meat. It starts with cutting the basket cheese, then you move to cutting the ham, then you can cut the sausage, and no one else really ever made it to the important part (the crust) except for me. I make it now every year, not because I love the way it tastes, but because it keeps those memories alive.
Palm Sunday was great this year. My mom, my dad, my brother, DJ, Judy, my uncle and my aunt. We had a great time. The stories came flooding out. We were all laughing. I'm so happy that my mom decided to have a few people over for dinner. It's not the same large crowd like when I was younger but it's a start. Another memory made. Until my next bite.....
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Gabriele's Comfort Food
Today was a very stressful day. I needed to cure my blues with some shopping and food. My mom agreed to go with me. I went to the Loft and Barnes and Noble. We were going to get something simple like Chip's. Something with flare like On the Border, but we decided tonight was a night for Gabriele's. It was a wise decision. It was still somewhat early when we got there. There were only two other tables filled. The specials list looked fantastic. I was thinking of ordering several different things off the menu but then I decided to order from the regular menu.
We started with bread dipped in olive oil with grated cheese and hot pepper. Then came salad. Mom had oil and vinegar, I had creamy garlic. Delicious! That could have been my meal right there; Bread with creamy garlic dressing. Our waitress was very nice. She spoke with an accent, which made everything feel more authentic. I ordered the NY Steak Gabriele. Fabulous! It was a steak in a sherry sauce with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella. Oh I loved every minute of it. It just melted in my mouth. I got a little side of pasta. Very good. Mom ordered the salmon off of the specials. It was salmon with tomatoes, capers, and onions over spinach. She loved hers as well. It was a great meal that cheered me up for a few hours. I'll need a cup of tea to get me through the rest of the night.
I don't have too much else to say other than the steak Gabriele is like butter. Melts in your mouth. So flavorful, so tasty, and so tender. The meat was cooked with a decent amount of pink. Very good. Another great meal from Gabriele's. Until my next bite..
We started with bread dipped in olive oil with grated cheese and hot pepper. Then came salad. Mom had oil and vinegar, I had creamy garlic. Delicious! That could have been my meal right there; Bread with creamy garlic dressing. Our waitress was very nice. She spoke with an accent, which made everything feel more authentic. I ordered the NY Steak Gabriele. Fabulous! It was a steak in a sherry sauce with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella. Oh I loved every minute of it. It just melted in my mouth. I got a little side of pasta. Very good. Mom ordered the salmon off of the specials. It was salmon with tomatoes, capers, and onions over spinach. She loved hers as well. It was a great meal that cheered me up for a few hours. I'll need a cup of tea to get me through the rest of the night.
I don't have too much else to say other than the steak Gabriele is like butter. Melts in your mouth. So flavorful, so tasty, and so tender. The meat was cooked with a decent amount of pink. Very good. Another great meal from Gabriele's. Until my next bite..
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Momo
After my recent experiences at Lisiano's and Rainbow Gardens, I've been leery about venturing out for food. Saturday I went to lunch with Catherine before she returns to Boston. She said that she had recently gone to Momo, a Japanese restaurant in Milford near McDonald's. I wanted to give it a try so we decided to go for lunch. Normally we go to Tengda for sushi but we needed a change of scenery. We walked in and it was nearly empty. The was a young couple practically making out in a both while decked out in SCSU's finest sweats, and an older woman sitting at the sushi bar alone. She was doing something on her IPad while she ate. My opinion was torn at that moment. We were seated and then I got a chance to look around the place. It was nice inside. Very small, dark floors and walls, but it looked clean. There is a sushi bar at the back of the restaurant and a regular bar on the side.
As usual, I started with some soup. I tried the shrimp tom yum soup. Now this is one of my favorite soups. I usually order that from Tengda- where it's delicious. I decided to be open-minded. Cat ordered the miso. It came and what is the first thing I see? TAIL SHELLS ON THE GODDAMN SHRIMP! How in the world are you supposed to eat shrimp in a soup with shells on it? I used the spoon to break the tails off. The soup was okay. Tengda won in the soup department. It tasted like the miso soup broth with three shrimp and some hot pepper floating around. I ate it. Not bad but not the best. Cat enjoyed her soup. For lunch we both ordered sushi. I got spicy yellowtail (not crunchy) and the Alaska roll (salmon, cucumber, and avocado). Cat ordered spicy yellowtail and spicy salmon? I think she did. It was fabulous! I could not get the sushi pieces into my mouth fast enough. So good and so close. I loved it. I can't wait to go back another night or even for takeout. Fabulicious.
Overall rating: Excellent sushi. Bad soup. In comparison to its Post Road sushi neighbor, Tengda, it has better sushi, nicer people, but worse soup. I would go to Momo before I would go to Tengda. Although after all this talk of shrimp tom yum soup, I may go to Tengda. It all depends on what you like. They have cooked dishes, udon noodles, and hibatchi but not hibatchi where they cook in front of you. I definitely recommend!!
As usual, I started with some soup. I tried the shrimp tom yum soup. Now this is one of my favorite soups. I usually order that from Tengda- where it's delicious. I decided to be open-minded. Cat ordered the miso. It came and what is the first thing I see? TAIL SHELLS ON THE GODDAMN SHRIMP! How in the world are you supposed to eat shrimp in a soup with shells on it? I used the spoon to break the tails off. The soup was okay. Tengda won in the soup department. It tasted like the miso soup broth with three shrimp and some hot pepper floating around. I ate it. Not bad but not the best. Cat enjoyed her soup. For lunch we both ordered sushi. I got spicy yellowtail (not crunchy) and the Alaska roll (salmon, cucumber, and avocado). Cat ordered spicy yellowtail and spicy salmon? I think she did. It was fabulous! I could not get the sushi pieces into my mouth fast enough. So good and so close. I loved it. I can't wait to go back another night or even for takeout. Fabulicious.
Overall rating: Excellent sushi. Bad soup. In comparison to its Post Road sushi neighbor, Tengda, it has better sushi, nicer people, but worse soup. I would go to Momo before I would go to Tengda. Although after all this talk of shrimp tom yum soup, I may go to Tengda. It all depends on what you like. They have cooked dishes, udon noodles, and hibatchi but not hibatchi where they cook in front of you. I definitely recommend!!
Rainbow Gardens
I have a lot to blog about. I'll post them in separate blogs but just be ready for quite a few posts to pop up soon. I would like to apologize for my misspelling of shepherd in the last post. For some reason it's not recognized on blogger. Moving on... On Friday I went to Rainbow Gardens. I've heard good things about this restaurant and I thought that it looked very cute from the outside.
DJ made a reservation and we went at 6:30. When we first walked in it was basically dead but filled up incredibly fast. I recommend a reservation if you'd like to try it there. It appears that they have a nice setup when the weather is warm. (Linds, we need to go there in the early summer. Sit outside for lunch with a nice bloody to wash it down!) The inside was confusing. I thought it was elegant, but then the tables weren't. We sat in a room near the takeout portion of the restaurant. Who knew they did that much takeout business? It reminded me of a floral shop rather than a takeout spot. There were big glass cases and different trays wrapped in cellophane. We were seated and asked about drinks. I wasn't sure of my mood yet so I started with water. The menu has a bit of variety. Salads, sandwiches, and entrees. I thought about getting a salad but then I decided against it. (Mistake) I ordered something with a fancy name- Legend of the Sea or something like that. It was described as shrimp, scallops, spinach, and Roma tomatoes in a lobster infused tarragon sauce over angel hair. What came to the table was shrimp, scallops, shrimp, and huge chunks of tomato in a flavorless milk sauce. It wasn't creamy it was just wet. The shrimp of course had their damn tails on which made it difficult to eat because it was served in a bowl so I couldn't just cut the tails off. If any of you readers decide to open a restaurant or catering business, please take those tail shells off. I ate all of the seafood out and left the angel hair latte in the bowl. DJ ordered steak. Can't go wrong with steak but because I'm the good Catholic girl, I just had to watch him poorly eat the steak. Whenever I eat with him I always am reminded of the line from "Fatso" when Dom is telling his brother Jr. that he doesn't know how to run his plate. It was a beautiful cut of meat. The man at the table next to us even commented about how good it looked. It came with mashed potatoes, fresh veggies, and a few onion rings on top of the steak. He said that it was very good.
We did not get dessert or coffee. Overall rating: If I go back here again it will be for the ambiance, not the food. The inside was odd. Some people were dressed up while other had clearly just come from the gym. The waitress was good. The food came out fast. No bread while we were waiting. My meal was lousy. I don't know. It wasn't for me. As I have said, I would go there again to sit outside and get a bloody Mary and a salad. If those aren't good, I'll never go back. I'll be sharing my other weekend bites very soon...
DJ made a reservation and we went at 6:30. When we first walked in it was basically dead but filled up incredibly fast. I recommend a reservation if you'd like to try it there. It appears that they have a nice setup when the weather is warm. (Linds, we need to go there in the early summer. Sit outside for lunch with a nice bloody to wash it down!) The inside was confusing. I thought it was elegant, but then the tables weren't. We sat in a room near the takeout portion of the restaurant. Who knew they did that much takeout business? It reminded me of a floral shop rather than a takeout spot. There were big glass cases and different trays wrapped in cellophane. We were seated and asked about drinks. I wasn't sure of my mood yet so I started with water. The menu has a bit of variety. Salads, sandwiches, and entrees. I thought about getting a salad but then I decided against it. (Mistake) I ordered something with a fancy name- Legend of the Sea or something like that. It was described as shrimp, scallops, spinach, and Roma tomatoes in a lobster infused tarragon sauce over angel hair. What came to the table was shrimp, scallops, shrimp, and huge chunks of tomato in a flavorless milk sauce. It wasn't creamy it was just wet. The shrimp of course had their damn tails on which made it difficult to eat because it was served in a bowl so I couldn't just cut the tails off. If any of you readers decide to open a restaurant or catering business, please take those tail shells off. I ate all of the seafood out and left the angel hair latte in the bowl. DJ ordered steak. Can't go wrong with steak but because I'm the good Catholic girl, I just had to watch him poorly eat the steak. Whenever I eat with him I always am reminded of the line from "Fatso" when Dom is telling his brother Jr. that he doesn't know how to run his plate. It was a beautiful cut of meat. The man at the table next to us even commented about how good it looked. It came with mashed potatoes, fresh veggies, and a few onion rings on top of the steak. He said that it was very good.
We did not get dessert or coffee. Overall rating: If I go back here again it will be for the ambiance, not the food. The inside was odd. Some people were dressed up while other had clearly just come from the gym. The waitress was good. The food came out fast. No bread while we were waiting. My meal was lousy. I don't know. It wasn't for me. As I have said, I would go there again to sit outside and get a bloody Mary and a salad. If those aren't good, I'll never go back. I'll be sharing my other weekend bites very soon...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Duffy's - Dine In
I've been in a St. Patrick's Day mood lately. I don't know why. I've always hated St. Patrick's Day. When I was in school, I would wear red on St. Patty's Day out of protest. Ever since I became a teacher I've been more involved with holidays. I think it's because kids still like life unlike adults. I think it also has to do with the fact that I love holiday socks and they sell quite a few socks with shamrocks and pots o' gold. Continuing with the St. Patty's mood, DJ and I went to Duffy's for dinner.
While they had tempting specials, I wanted to order something considered Irish. My choices were: Smithwicks fish and chips, leg o' lamb, and shepard's pie. I also want to take this moment to highly recommend the Irish Wolf Hounds. It sounds odd but is wonderful. Two boiled hot dogs are split and then piled up with mashed potatoes, bacon, and cheese. There's no bun it's just served on a plate, usually with a side of vegetables. I love hot dogs and I just love this dish, but let's get back to my dinner the other night. I wanted an actual dinner, not a "sandwich." I was originally pulled toward the leg o' lamb because I love lamb, but Duffy's dinners have a tendency to be bland. I decided the most flavorful of the three would be the shepard's pie so that's what I ordered. Very good. This was my first time ever having shepard's pie. Chopped meat (meatloaf) is on the bottom covered with carrots, corn, celery, gravy, and mashed potatoes. The meat was very tasty. I would have liked peas or a vegetable other than celery but what are you gonna do? I am happy with my choice. It came with the choice of a soup or salad. Of course I chose soup. Rhode Island clam chowder. Excellent. Before I can proceed to tell you what DJ ordered, I need to inform you of something quite devastating.
Peschell's Bakery has closed. And although I can only think of one time I actually went there to purchase something, I am upset for one reason. Duffy's bread. Duffy's always served Irish soda bread and I'm not sure how you spell it- Crecia bread? I adored the soda bread. Absolutely divine. Unfortunately, Pechell's bakery made this delicious bread and apparently took the recipe down with the ship. You think they would have sold the recipe to the Duffy's people or something. I'm all out of order tonight. Let's take it from the top. We went to Duffy's and it was very crowded. I guess everyone is in a St. Patty's mood like me. I am strongly against restaurants having a back door entrance. I had my first mishap at Lisiano's and now on this night we were being seated by the owner, when a couple came in the back door and just sat at one of the tables on the side of the bar area (the dining room was full). I suppose anywhere close to the bar is up for grabs, but he was just on his way to sit us there. So there was another table but it was very close to the bar. I didn't want some drunken old man dropping bombs in my face while he was at the bar, so we were going to go to a table at the very back of the room. While he was clearing off the table, another couple paid and left. It worked out great. We sat in a booth. Very clean. I love that Duffy's is so clean. We placed our order and our waitress asked if we wanted bread. I took her up on that offer because I was so curious to find out about the soda bread. The waitress brought us some sliced brown bread. Confusion flooded my mind. Was it wheat bread? Was it sweet? Banana? Was it diet bread? I have no idea. The slice I had was fine but I was in no hurry for a second piece. I have no idea why they chose that bread, or where it came from. There must be some other bakery that could make them their wonderful bread. Emerald Bakery- it's an Irish bakery. Sounds good to me. Nevertheless, my bread is gone forever. Things like that always make me sad. I'll never have the pancakes from Gianotti's, the Irish soda bread from Duffy's, or my Auntie Carm's beef soup. Three heartbreaks.
DJ ordered the fish and chips. I was surprised by that choice but he liked it. I had to have a piece of it for my blog. Very tasty. The batter was light and crispy. We wanted to order the Bailey's Irish cheesecake but they were all out. We were going to get some brownie thing but they were all out. We ended up ordering the raspberry cheesecake. Not bad. The coffee was very good. All in all, we had a nice meal. Here's hoping that Duffy's gets new bread. Until my next bite..
While they had tempting specials, I wanted to order something considered Irish. My choices were: Smithwicks fish and chips, leg o' lamb, and shepard's pie. I also want to take this moment to highly recommend the Irish Wolf Hounds. It sounds odd but is wonderful. Two boiled hot dogs are split and then piled up with mashed potatoes, bacon, and cheese. There's no bun it's just served on a plate, usually with a side of vegetables. I love hot dogs and I just love this dish, but let's get back to my dinner the other night. I wanted an actual dinner, not a "sandwich." I was originally pulled toward the leg o' lamb because I love lamb, but Duffy's dinners have a tendency to be bland. I decided the most flavorful of the three would be the shepard's pie so that's what I ordered. Very good. This was my first time ever having shepard's pie. Chopped meat (meatloaf) is on the bottom covered with carrots, corn, celery, gravy, and mashed potatoes. The meat was very tasty. I would have liked peas or a vegetable other than celery but what are you gonna do? I am happy with my choice. It came with the choice of a soup or salad. Of course I chose soup. Rhode Island clam chowder. Excellent. Before I can proceed to tell you what DJ ordered, I need to inform you of something quite devastating.
Peschell's Bakery has closed. And although I can only think of one time I actually went there to purchase something, I am upset for one reason. Duffy's bread. Duffy's always served Irish soda bread and I'm not sure how you spell it- Crecia bread? I adored the soda bread. Absolutely divine. Unfortunately, Pechell's bakery made this delicious bread and apparently took the recipe down with the ship. You think they would have sold the recipe to the Duffy's people or something. I'm all out of order tonight. Let's take it from the top. We went to Duffy's and it was very crowded. I guess everyone is in a St. Patty's mood like me. I am strongly against restaurants having a back door entrance. I had my first mishap at Lisiano's and now on this night we were being seated by the owner, when a couple came in the back door and just sat at one of the tables on the side of the bar area (the dining room was full). I suppose anywhere close to the bar is up for grabs, but he was just on his way to sit us there. So there was another table but it was very close to the bar. I didn't want some drunken old man dropping bombs in my face while he was at the bar, so we were going to go to a table at the very back of the room. While he was clearing off the table, another couple paid and left. It worked out great. We sat in a booth. Very clean. I love that Duffy's is so clean. We placed our order and our waitress asked if we wanted bread. I took her up on that offer because I was so curious to find out about the soda bread. The waitress brought us some sliced brown bread. Confusion flooded my mind. Was it wheat bread? Was it sweet? Banana? Was it diet bread? I have no idea. The slice I had was fine but I was in no hurry for a second piece. I have no idea why they chose that bread, or where it came from. There must be some other bakery that could make them their wonderful bread. Emerald Bakery- it's an Irish bakery. Sounds good to me. Nevertheless, my bread is gone forever. Things like that always make me sad. I'll never have the pancakes from Gianotti's, the Irish soda bread from Duffy's, or my Auntie Carm's beef soup. Three heartbreaks.
DJ ordered the fish and chips. I was surprised by that choice but he liked it. I had to have a piece of it for my blog. Very tasty. The batter was light and crispy. We wanted to order the Bailey's Irish cheesecake but they were all out. We were going to get some brownie thing but they were all out. We ended up ordering the raspberry cheesecake. Not bad. The coffee was very good. All in all, we had a nice meal. Here's hoping that Duffy's gets new bread. Until my next bite..
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Catastrophe at Lisiano's
Any positive comments I made in my last post about Lisiano's, I take back. Last night my cousin, Catherine, came home from school on spring break. We decided to go out to dinner and catch up on all the latest news. It was sort of a last minute idea so we never made any reservations. We were torn between going to Tengda for some sushi or Lisiano's for some comfort food. Keeping in mind that it was a Saturday night at 7, we thought that Tengda would be mobbed and judging on my last experience at Lisiano's (tumbleweeds were rolling by) we decided it would be better to go there.
To our shock and surprise of every customer there, Lisiano's was mobbed. There was a party of 5 and a party of 4 in front of us and apparently another party that snuck in through the back door. Every single table was full. I've never seen it like that in there before. Cat and I waited to be seated for about an hour. Yes, we could have left, but we figured wherever we went we would have to wait. Worst decision ever. While we were waiting to be seated, customers already seated at the other tables were complaining about the terrible service. Mostly all of the table tops were empty. It appeared that no one had gotten their food yet. The same waiter from the middle of the week was there with two other people. He looked like a disheveled mess. Having attractive (and I don't mean physical appearance of their face) waiters in important. Who wants to get their food from someone who looks like the grumpy old troll from under the bridge? He was sweating bullets, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were just ugly.
There was almost a riot among the customers. Two separate couples ended up leaving. One old man had his head down on the table because their food still hadn't arrived. Every time Mr. Troll was asked about when their food was coming, he just kept saying, "Yours is coming up next." That was definitely not the case. Finally a party of six paid their bill and left. At this point I was flipping out as well. I was thinking- if they don't seat us at that table because it seats six, I'm going to start throwing tables. They set the table for 6 but then they told us we could sit there. Finally I was in a seat! We were given bread and water (the food of prisoners). I took some olive oil off of another table. We had no silverware or napkins. The glasses were dirty and my plate was dirty. There was like a crusted up green leaf stuck to the plate. It must have been from not rinsing the plate off before putting it in the dishwasher. So I didn't care and still ate my bread. The bread was delicious. The waitress finally came over to give us menus but at that point, we were ready to order without a menu.
Cat and I ordered the same thing- tortellini soup and shrimp fra diavolo. Luckily the soup came out right away. Mind you, people all over still hadn't gotten their food so I thought I would savor the soup. The soup was delicious. I love tortellini soup and it's so tasty from there. I will never be having it again though because I'm not going there again. We waited after the soup. Still no napkins and silverware. Finally people started leaving and dishes were coming out one by one. I hate that. When some people in a party get their food while others have nothing. So unprofessional. A real restaurant serves everyone at the same time. And around 9:20 our shrimp appeared. It was okay. I shoved it down, I was so hungry. The shrimp had the shells around the tail. I mean, what the hell? How are you supposed to eat a shrimp covered in red tomato sauce with a shell on it? You can't put your hands in the sauce. Roasted garlic was in every bite. I little too much. It had a nice amount of heat. Their sauce tastes funny to me. It's a little sweet. We finished, paid the bill, and left. It was about 9:50 when we left the restaurant. It doesn't end there either.
We drove around for a while, grabbed a tea from Dunkin, and then I dropped Cat off at home. I went home and got ready for bed. All of a sudden, at 4 o'clock, I woke up with terrible stomach pain. I thought I was going to be sick but thank the Lord, I did not. I took a few Tums, had a few sips of water, and stayed "seated" for quite a bit of time. Meanwhile the whole time I was panicking. I usually get a bad stomach bug every other year. I had one last year! I was thinking- what am I going to do, I'll hate shrimp fra diavolo from now on, I won't be able to go to Kelly's party tomorrow, I won't be able to work on my TEAM paper, I'll have to call out on Monday if I'm puking all Sunday, it's CMT time what will I do? I was in pure panic mode. (PS- Amy, I was like 'I'll text Amy, she'll watch that shark thing with my class, I'll tell Angela to write a message and show the sub where all of my cloze papers are) I was freaking out. Just like that episode of Seinfeld. I'm freakin' out! I am freaking out! I felt stable after a while and then I decided not to immediately go back to lying down. I sat up in my chair and luckily "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was on TV. I kept switching chairs all morning long.
In conclusion, I will never eat there again. They do have pizza but I think only for orders to go. Nevertheless, I will not eat there again. My mom wasn't crazy about it last time, this time the service was horrible, the dishes were dirty, the food was mezza-mezz, and I got sick. I was also sent into a major anxiety attack. I think 5 years were taken off my life. Never again, folks. Never again. I hope my next bite is a hell of a lot better than this one. Eat there at your own risk.
To our shock and surprise of every customer there, Lisiano's was mobbed. There was a party of 5 and a party of 4 in front of us and apparently another party that snuck in through the back door. Every single table was full. I've never seen it like that in there before. Cat and I waited to be seated for about an hour. Yes, we could have left, but we figured wherever we went we would have to wait. Worst decision ever. While we were waiting to be seated, customers already seated at the other tables were complaining about the terrible service. Mostly all of the table tops were empty. It appeared that no one had gotten their food yet. The same waiter from the middle of the week was there with two other people. He looked like a disheveled mess. Having attractive (and I don't mean physical appearance of their face) waiters in important. Who wants to get their food from someone who looks like the grumpy old troll from under the bridge? He was sweating bullets, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were just ugly.
There was almost a riot among the customers. Two separate couples ended up leaving. One old man had his head down on the table because their food still hadn't arrived. Every time Mr. Troll was asked about when their food was coming, he just kept saying, "Yours is coming up next." That was definitely not the case. Finally a party of six paid their bill and left. At this point I was flipping out as well. I was thinking- if they don't seat us at that table because it seats six, I'm going to start throwing tables. They set the table for 6 but then they told us we could sit there. Finally I was in a seat! We were given bread and water (the food of prisoners). I took some olive oil off of another table. We had no silverware or napkins. The glasses were dirty and my plate was dirty. There was like a crusted up green leaf stuck to the plate. It must have been from not rinsing the plate off before putting it in the dishwasher. So I didn't care and still ate my bread. The bread was delicious. The waitress finally came over to give us menus but at that point, we were ready to order without a menu.
Cat and I ordered the same thing- tortellini soup and shrimp fra diavolo. Luckily the soup came out right away. Mind you, people all over still hadn't gotten their food so I thought I would savor the soup. The soup was delicious. I love tortellini soup and it's so tasty from there. I will never be having it again though because I'm not going there again. We waited after the soup. Still no napkins and silverware. Finally people started leaving and dishes were coming out one by one. I hate that. When some people in a party get their food while others have nothing. So unprofessional. A real restaurant serves everyone at the same time. And around 9:20 our shrimp appeared. It was okay. I shoved it down, I was so hungry. The shrimp had the shells around the tail. I mean, what the hell? How are you supposed to eat a shrimp covered in red tomato sauce with a shell on it? You can't put your hands in the sauce. Roasted garlic was in every bite. I little too much. It had a nice amount of heat. Their sauce tastes funny to me. It's a little sweet. We finished, paid the bill, and left. It was about 9:50 when we left the restaurant. It doesn't end there either.
We drove around for a while, grabbed a tea from Dunkin, and then I dropped Cat off at home. I went home and got ready for bed. All of a sudden, at 4 o'clock, I woke up with terrible stomach pain. I thought I was going to be sick but thank the Lord, I did not. I took a few Tums, had a few sips of water, and stayed "seated" for quite a bit of time. Meanwhile the whole time I was panicking. I usually get a bad stomach bug every other year. I had one last year! I was thinking- what am I going to do, I'll hate shrimp fra diavolo from now on, I won't be able to go to Kelly's party tomorrow, I won't be able to work on my TEAM paper, I'll have to call out on Monday if I'm puking all Sunday, it's CMT time what will I do? I was in pure panic mode. (PS- Amy, I was like 'I'll text Amy, she'll watch that shark thing with my class, I'll tell Angela to write a message and show the sub where all of my cloze papers are) I was freaking out. Just like that episode of Seinfeld. I'm freakin' out! I am freaking out! I felt stable after a while and then I decided not to immediately go back to lying down. I sat up in my chair and luckily "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was on TV. I kept switching chairs all morning long.
In conclusion, I will never eat there again. They do have pizza but I think only for orders to go. Nevertheless, I will not eat there again. My mom wasn't crazy about it last time, this time the service was horrible, the dishes were dirty, the food was mezza-mezz, and I got sick. I was also sent into a major anxiety attack. I think 5 years were taken off my life. Never again, folks. Never again. I hope my next bite is a hell of a lot better than this one. Eat there at your own risk.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Duffy's
Tonight the new girls' night got together for Judy's birthday. We wanted something good but didn't feel like going out to a restaurant. We wanted to be able to sit, open presents, and just relax. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but to me, it's been a very exhausting week. I'm not looking forward to "springing ahead" this weekend. So we ended up ordering takeout from Duffy's. It was delicious. The wait was 25 minutes, which I thought was perfect. I went to pick up the food with Lindsey. We were instructed to pick our food up at the bar.
I just love Duffy's. It is such a clean restaurant. You can tell that the owners care about their business and want to succeed. It's exactly how you would picture an Irish pub; It's warm, bright, cozy, and full of life. We told the bartender that we were there to pick up a to-go order. The bartender is so nice. I think his name is JR? Not junior but J-R. While we were waiting for our food to come out, we decided to order a nice bloody Mary. It just hit the spot! The two of us guzzled our bloodies down just in time for the food to be delivered. The owner's brother (I think) also came out and said hello. Very good. It's a great restaurant that appreciates your business.
We brought the food back home and opened up the bags. Nicely stocked. We were given napkins, plasticware, mustard packs, and ketchup packs. I ordered the Godfather Melt. It was a hamburger on delicious white toast with American and cheddar cheese, onions, bacon, and their house dressing. I'm not sure what the dressing is but it's creamy. Delish. It was also very filling. It came with fries, which are also good. I remember when Duffy's used to serve the big, fat steak fries. Those were terrible. I'm so happy they decided to change them up. Lindsey ordered the same thing and was also pleased. My mom ordered the Cabo burger, which is a turkey burger with avocado salsa, lettuce, and tomato. She was pleased with her burger. She was looking for something healthier and this fit the bill. She said that it was much lighter than a beef burger. She said it would have been better if there was less bread. Maybe a toast or soft hamburger bun. Judy ordered the Duffy burger. The Duffy burger is a regular burger with American cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, and tomato. A classic standby for Judy. She asked for no mushrooms but there were some on her burger. She was able to take them off and still enjoyed it.
After we finished our meal we threw the garbage back in the bag and into the garbage pail. Easy clean up and an overall satisfying meal. I can't wait for the warmer weather so I can go sit on the Duffy's patio. That's all I have for tonight. Until my next bite...
I just love Duffy's. It is such a clean restaurant. You can tell that the owners care about their business and want to succeed. It's exactly how you would picture an Irish pub; It's warm, bright, cozy, and full of life. We told the bartender that we were there to pick up a to-go order. The bartender is so nice. I think his name is JR? Not junior but J-R. While we were waiting for our food to come out, we decided to order a nice bloody Mary. It just hit the spot! The two of us guzzled our bloodies down just in time for the food to be delivered. The owner's brother (I think) also came out and said hello. Very good. It's a great restaurant that appreciates your business.
We brought the food back home and opened up the bags. Nicely stocked. We were given napkins, plasticware, mustard packs, and ketchup packs. I ordered the Godfather Melt. It was a hamburger on delicious white toast with American and cheddar cheese, onions, bacon, and their house dressing. I'm not sure what the dressing is but it's creamy. Delish. It was also very filling. It came with fries, which are also good. I remember when Duffy's used to serve the big, fat steak fries. Those were terrible. I'm so happy they decided to change them up. Lindsey ordered the same thing and was also pleased. My mom ordered the Cabo burger, which is a turkey burger with avocado salsa, lettuce, and tomato. She was pleased with her burger. She was looking for something healthier and this fit the bill. She said that it was much lighter than a beef burger. She said it would have been better if there was less bread. Maybe a toast or soft hamburger bun. Judy ordered the Duffy burger. The Duffy burger is a regular burger with American cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, and tomato. A classic standby for Judy. She asked for no mushrooms but there were some on her burger. She was able to take them off and still enjoyed it.
After we finished our meal we threw the garbage back in the bag and into the garbage pail. Easy clean up and an overall satisfying meal. I can't wait for the warmer weather so I can go sit on the Duffy's patio. That's all I have for tonight. Until my next bite...
Monday, March 4, 2013
Asian Salmon
My blurb is going to be about the "Asian salmon" I prepared for dinner but first, I'd like to mention a delectable little treat I had for lunch this afternoon. Okay, I'm completing kidding here. For some reason, I had been dying to try the mozzarella sticks at school. I thought to myself, I've had frozen mozzarella sticks and sauce before, it must be the same. Terribly wrong. (I did eat these mozzarella sticks today but this "review" is entirely a joke.) The sauce was fine. The mozzarella sticks were awful. They were soggy and spongy. It was like biting into a sponge cake that had been soaked in water. I wanted to try these sticks for quite some time now and I was quite disappointed. I just don't understand why school lunches can't have the same quality of a TV dinner. TV dinners are crappy but you can stand to eat one now and again. But enough about lunch, let's move on to dinner.
In an effort to eat healthier, I had decided to make salmon this week. I happen to love salmon. I love it grilled, in the form of sushi, baked, and in the form of lox. Other people who I often eat with, do not. Thankfully, everyone also wants to eat healthy lately, so I was able to persuade them into letting me make this dish. I had never cooked salmon before so I turned to my standby- foodtv.com. I chose Ina Garten's recipe for Asian salmon. It was very simple and very tasty. This dish doesn't include a variety of Asian herbs and spices but it does give out a lovely Asian flavor. It's fabulicious.
All you need to do is mix 2 tbsp. of Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp. soy sauce (I use low sodium), 1 minced garlic clove, and drizzle in EVOO while you're stirring with a whisk. Put the salmon pieces in a pan and drizzle half of the marinade over the pieces. Let it sit for about 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 450 degrees. The recipe tells you to grill the salmon and then finish in the oven, but I just cooked the whole thing in the oven. I kept it in the oven for about 25 minutes. The recipe also tells you to serve it rare but that's not for me. If I'm having sushi- it's raw. If it's cooked- it should be completely cooked. No mixing. The marinade was delicious! I could have sipped that marinade all night. Put a little hot pepper in it and we could have a hangover cure. Ooo OR if we're sticking with the Asian theme, a little wasabi! The fish was great. It's a good recipe to start with. It's not too complicated and the flavors are not complex. It has a taste that would satisfy any palette. Try it! I don't like when people say they don't like something they've never had. If after you taste it you don't like it, then fine, but at least try it!
Tomorrow will probably be a Tuesday night Chinese take-out. If I order anything that deserves a review (positive or negative) I will let you know. Until my next noteworthy bite!
In an effort to eat healthier, I had decided to make salmon this week. I happen to love salmon. I love it grilled, in the form of sushi, baked, and in the form of lox. Other people who I often eat with, do not. Thankfully, everyone also wants to eat healthy lately, so I was able to persuade them into letting me make this dish. I had never cooked salmon before so I turned to my standby- foodtv.com. I chose Ina Garten's recipe for Asian salmon. It was very simple and very tasty. This dish doesn't include a variety of Asian herbs and spices but it does give out a lovely Asian flavor. It's fabulicious.
All you need to do is mix 2 tbsp. of Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp. soy sauce (I use low sodium), 1 minced garlic clove, and drizzle in EVOO while you're stirring with a whisk. Put the salmon pieces in a pan and drizzle half of the marinade over the pieces. Let it sit for about 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 450 degrees. The recipe tells you to grill the salmon and then finish in the oven, but I just cooked the whole thing in the oven. I kept it in the oven for about 25 minutes. The recipe also tells you to serve it rare but that's not for me. If I'm having sushi- it's raw. If it's cooked- it should be completely cooked. No mixing. The marinade was delicious! I could have sipped that marinade all night. Put a little hot pepper in it and we could have a hangover cure. Ooo OR if we're sticking with the Asian theme, a little wasabi! The fish was great. It's a good recipe to start with. It's not too complicated and the flavors are not complex. It has a taste that would satisfy any palette. Try it! I don't like when people say they don't like something they've never had. If after you taste it you don't like it, then fine, but at least try it!
Tomorrow will probably be a Tuesday night Chinese take-out. If I order anything that deserves a review (positive or negative) I will let you know. Until my next noteworthy bite!
Friday, March 1, 2013
Stuffed Peppers
Here we are on another meat-free Friday. I always seem to forget about stuffed peppers. Now you're probably reading this and thinking- stuffed peppers? She blew this Friday during Lent. Not quite. My grandmother used to make peppers a very different way from most people. That recipe then trickled down to my Auntie Carm and my mom. The two of them used to eat stuffed peppers for dinner when no one else was around because apparently no one else (I think just my dad) likes them prepared this way. A few years ago, I went to go pick up some extra stuffed peppers my aunt had made for my mom. While I was there I tasted one. I thought it was great. That was the first time I ever had a stuffed pepper cooked this way. I did have them one other time with chopped meat and rice- a no in my book. So I just assumed that I belonged in the group of stuffed-pepper-haters. I was mistaken. I loved them. After that, I would join my mother and aunt for their stuffed pepper meals. My aunt was the one who always made them and after she passed away, we kind of forgot about them.
Last year, something triggered my memory so I asked my mom why she didn't make them. Was it that she didn't know how, or couldn't? The answer was no to both- she just never had up until that point. I told her that we should give it a try and if it didn't come out good, then oh well. It was fabulicious. That's my new word that I invented- fabulicious. It tasted just as if my aunt had made them. I find it amazing how one taste bite of food can transport you to another place and time. I just love it. It's so flavorful. I'll tell you how we make it and then you can decide which group you belong in.
So we start off with red bell pepper- decent sized ones. Cut out the stem and put a tiny slit half way down one side of the pepper so that you can easily remove the seeds and stuff it. We then parboil the peppers for about 5 minutes (let the water arrive to a boil before you time it). The peppers should be a bit more flexible now. In the meantime, prepare the stuffing. This time we made it a bit different, but for the better. For the bread portion of the stuffing we use plain biscotti. Not the sweet cookie kind, the plain hard bread kind. You can find it either in the produce/bakery section of the grocery store, or near the bread. Apicella's is a local bakery that delivers Italian baked goods to the grocery store. It's very very hard and make sure it's PLAIN. Get a bag of the biscotti and a bag of freselles. They are hard, peppery, bread circles. Take the biscotti and freselles and soak them in water then squeeze all the water out. Put that in a large enough bowl to mix around with your hands. Then to the bread mixture add some chopped garlic cloves, chopped anchovies (it really adds good flavor), chopped black olives, salt, pepper, and parsley. Drizzle some olive oil over the mixture and make sure everything is incorporated. After the parboiled peppers have a cooled enough to handle, put about two handfuls of the stuffing in the peppers so they are nicely stuffed. Put the oven on 375 degrees. Drizzle some more olive oil over the top of the peppers and rub it in to the side facing up. Bake for about an hour. You really want the skin to get that black and charred look. Then, enjoy.
I hope you give it a try. I think it's the way to stuff a pepper. It tasty, simple, and doesn't take too long to make. And if you are Catholic, this is a lovely Lenten meal. That's all I have for now. Until my next bite....
Last year, something triggered my memory so I asked my mom why she didn't make them. Was it that she didn't know how, or couldn't? The answer was no to both- she just never had up until that point. I told her that we should give it a try and if it didn't come out good, then oh well. It was fabulicious. That's my new word that I invented- fabulicious. It tasted just as if my aunt had made them. I find it amazing how one taste bite of food can transport you to another place and time. I just love it. It's so flavorful. I'll tell you how we make it and then you can decide which group you belong in.
So we start off with red bell pepper- decent sized ones. Cut out the stem and put a tiny slit half way down one side of the pepper so that you can easily remove the seeds and stuff it. We then parboil the peppers for about 5 minutes (let the water arrive to a boil before you time it). The peppers should be a bit more flexible now. In the meantime, prepare the stuffing. This time we made it a bit different, but for the better. For the bread portion of the stuffing we use plain biscotti. Not the sweet cookie kind, the plain hard bread kind. You can find it either in the produce/bakery section of the grocery store, or near the bread. Apicella's is a local bakery that delivers Italian baked goods to the grocery store. It's very very hard and make sure it's PLAIN. Get a bag of the biscotti and a bag of freselles. They are hard, peppery, bread circles. Take the biscotti and freselles and soak them in water then squeeze all the water out. Put that in a large enough bowl to mix around with your hands. Then to the bread mixture add some chopped garlic cloves, chopped anchovies (it really adds good flavor), chopped black olives, salt, pepper, and parsley. Drizzle some olive oil over the mixture and make sure everything is incorporated. After the parboiled peppers have a cooled enough to handle, put about two handfuls of the stuffing in the peppers so they are nicely stuffed. Put the oven on 375 degrees. Drizzle some more olive oil over the top of the peppers and rub it in to the side facing up. Bake for about an hour. You really want the skin to get that black and charred look. Then, enjoy.
I hope you give it a try. I think it's the way to stuff a pepper. It tasty, simple, and doesn't take too long to make. And if you are Catholic, this is a lovely Lenten meal. That's all I have for now. Until my next bite....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)