Mac Attack!

As I've said before, The Husband has a thing for Mac & Cheese.  So when a friend, The Ex-Pat (as she’s currently residing in Scotland, drawing pictures of cowboys and walking past breathtaking castles while also being a good wife and making delicious food) posted not one but TWO separate Mac & Cheese recipes (along with mouthwatering pictures), I had to test them.

The first, an ode to Avocado was an awesome one pot (one Cuisinart) dish. The combination of Avocado and Cheese made it really creamy and the pepper jack was a really great addition. As I like my food on the spicy side, this was kind of perfect. For once in my life, I did follow that recipe as it was written which is why I just posted the link to it above. If you don’t want something on the spicy side, you can just go with Monterey Jack some something a little milder.

The second recipe The Ex-Pat came up with herself. She winged it (which I totally love) but since I knew how delicious this was going to be, and figured that something this fantastic should have a recipe, I followed her directions and came up with something a little more concrete. Both The Husband and I totally loved this, we had loads of leftovers and he took it with him to work for a few nights. The amazing thing about this dish is that it’s just as fantastic cold as it is hot. And it can be used as either a side or a dinner (we had it for a dinner)

What an AMAZING El Idea

The Awesome Dining Room Art-Aqua Teen Hunger Force!

I should start, that while there was not an Annie Lennox dance party in the kitchen, nor were we given a bottle of Old Granddad and asked to do shots with the staff, our dinner at El Ideas was probably the most fun we've had in a dining experience to date. Not to mention, our favorite meal this year.

Back in mid-August The Husband realized that my birthday was approaching. After thinking about various places to try, he decided to make a reservation at El Ideas, the brain child of Phillip Foss. We had been tracking Foss, the chef/owner for some time. After leaving Lockwood, he became a pioneer in the now overwrought food truck scene in Chicago. His Meatyballs truck was a hit, the sandwiches were delicious and after doing that for some time, he decided to open up a brick and mortar place, El Ideas.

SHE CAN BE TAUGHT!

I think I’m a fairly decent baker. I don’t think I’m amazing, but I do think that I can find my way around a pie tin and pipette bags. There is one thing that I have been trying to bake for over five years now, and I still haven’t found the right way to do it: Banana Bread.  Part of my problem is this: 1) I get bothered by the recipes that call for sticks of butter, or lard or large amount of any fat, 2) Because of this, I mix and match low-fat recipes.  And while I know it’s verboten in the world of baking, I rarely follow any recipe I read to a T.  Ninety percent of the time, it works out in my favor; the remaining ten perfect is my Waterloo.

My low-fat Banana Breads never work out as I hope. They generally brown very quickly, get a little burned on the outside and under-cooked on the inside and don’t taste as delicious as one would hope (given the large amount of brown sugar, vanilla and banana that are in them). However the whole “oh Apple Sauce is a great substitute for butter” thing, is a lie. It really isn't-  At least not in breads.

Fast Break!

The Husband is a breakfast person-He loves pancakes, he loves Eggs Benedict, he loves waffles and bacon. I, on the other hand, am not.  Growing up The Mother would treat us every once and a while we would have Breakfast for Dinner. The Siblings would be so excited. The Mother would make pancakes, and scrambled eggs and bacon and breakfast sausage (okay, the ONLY breakfast things I really enjoy are sausage and hash browns).  Growing up I hated eggs, refused to eat them. And pouring maple syrup onto pancakes made them so mushy. While The Siblings were going crazy over Breakfast for Dinner, I’d silently sulk. And when I got older, I’d go out  to the Wawa and grab a sandwich.

As I've gotten older, I've changed my mind on the eggs (although I'm not the hugest fan of soft boiled eggs..the texture creeps me out), and I'm much less against breakfast. We're not brunch people (because I sleep too late to make it in time) but when we do, I err towards the side of savory and much more on the lunch side of the brunch menu. I  should add, I do enjoy a good Southwestern Omelet every once and a while. 

So back to The Husband- He’s been traveling a lot this past month (he’s currently in Denver for a conference) and on one of his rare mornings home, I decided to make him something that he loves (and something I’ve never made) French Toast.  I got the idea the evening before, while making a Roasted Tomato Soup and Veggie Sandwich. I had ¾ of a loaf of Italian bread left and thought, rather than making ribollita, I’d try something I haven’t done before. Besides, I was picking The Husband up from the airport at 8am, so I thought I could make up for his 4:30am wake-up with breakfast.

French toast is best when the bread used is slightly stale. And since the bread I had was fresh, I thought I would speed up the process. I cut the bread into 1.5 in slices the evening before and let it sit out on the counter until I made it, 16 hours later. Making the French toast was super quick. I think the whole thing took maybe 20 minutes and I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job for a first time.

French Toast:

4 Eggs

¾ cup of Milk

2 TBS Sugar

1 TSP Vanilla

Pinch of salt

10 slices of Italian Bread (firm to the touch, but not totally stale)

1 TBS Butter

Maple Syrup (the real stuff)

Confectioners’ Sugar

In a bowl, mix Eggs, Milk, Sugar, Vanilla and Salt. Wisk until liquids are totally mixed. Soak the bread, making sure to cover both sides. You want to let the mixture soak into the bread as much as possible, without letting the bread soak up all of your mixture too soon. I recommend about 90 seconds on each side. Heat a large skillet, add ½ TBS Butter to the skillet.  When the butter had melted, add bread.  Cook each slice until it’s golden brown and slightly crispy on each side. This should be about 4 minutes or so total.

Repeat the process until all of your slices have been cooked.  I the meantime, put your Maple Syrup into a microwaveable container and heat for roughly one minute. Trust me, you’ll want to do this, warm syrup is so much better than cold syrup.

When you’re about to serve, sprinkle Confectioners’ Sugar onto the toast and serve with your warm syrup. 

Coastal Living

The Husband and I took a trip back east this weekend for a family wedding. We spent three beautiful days on the Connecticut coastline.  We were able to visit with friends and family who lived in the area, a double bonus.

We arrived a little after midnight on Thursday and rented a car to make the hour and change drive to Groton, where The Brother-in-law (who will now be known as The Subdriver, as there are too many Brother-in-Laws) and The Sister-in-law (who will now be known as The Subdrivers Wife as there are too many Sister-in-Laws) currently reside (these are the same wonderful host and hostess from our trip to  Minneapolis ). After driving through what The Husband and I deemed “The middle of no-where” we arrived at their home and tucked ourselves into bed close to 3am, Friday was going to be a big day.

After an early morning hanging with a college friend I drove into New Haven for lunch to meet another college friend, who we shall name The Lady Doctor (as she is a lady who is also an OB/GYN). She suggested we meet up at Bru Room at Bar, a really fantastic brewery and pizza place. The Lady Doctor works at Yale and said that she comes here fairly often, as it’s only a few blocks away. When I asked what she suggested we eat, she said that the Mashed Potato, Garlic and Bacon pizza is amazing. I’m not a huge lover of bacon, but as she described it the bacon is necessary because it adds some saltiness and really elevates the pizza. So, because I trust The Lady Doctor, I went with it.

A Look into the Hearts and Homes of Sicily

Last night we were whisked away to Sicily. After getting into el Bulli within the first two days of the menu opening, we had to wait for what felt like a lifetime, to go to Next’s current menu, Sicily. As of tonight there are only 10 services left.

We decided to start the evening Italian style, with some Apparativos at The Office.  We walked to the front of Aviary and normally when you’re whole party isn’t there, they have you wait, however I guess with The Office this isn’t the case. So we were ushered down into the dimly lit, super comfy Office and were shown the drink menu. Micah, the second in command (who had taken over during the break between when Craig Schloettler left in early June and when Charles Joly started in early August, was manning the bar downstairs.

Our wonderfully warm waitress asked what I wanted to drink, and then suggested that I let them make me something. Ummm, how the heck could I say no to that?! So she asked how I felt about champagne, obviously I said I was all for it. So as The Husband mulled over the menu, she came back with a delicious champagne cocktail. I honestly wish I could remember what was in it, I just remember it was wonderful and I was super grateful for the “Let us make your choice” option.

A Revolution and a Black Dog

After picking up two suits for The Husband last night, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Revolution Brewery. Revolution is literally a block from our home, and for some reason we go only a few times a year. Typically if The Husband and I are dining out, we generally have various friends with us and Revolutions is either jammed, or not on our list of places to go. When we go out on date nights, we typically don’t stay close to home, so we rarely make it over there. We were reminded last night that we make stupid choices some times.

While Revolution is a brewery, I honestly think it’s their food that sets them apart. We started the night with an order of Wild Boar Meatballs.  After spending two weeks in Italy and really learning how amazing Wild Boar is, The Husband and I will typically gravitate towards it; we were not wrong. Four small delicate juicy meatballs with a little spice surrounded by a light pesto and some fried polenta triangles.  Really spot on and it paired well with The Husband’s Riot Pilsner, a super clean Czech style Pils. I ordered the Rosa, a hibiscus ale that was super clean, smelled delicious and had an ever so slight sweet finish. Sometimes fruit beers can be too much fruit, this was perfect.

The Husband and I went back and forth for our entrée. They had a Chicken and Waffle dish that The Husband wanted to try, after spending some time in Austin, he’s a little obsessed.  However, his fall back at Revolution is their Fish and Chips; perfectly battered, light and crispy fish with a malt vinegar side and crispy, salty French fries.  I was deciding between my fall back, the Hombre Burger, a spicy burger (I love a good spicy burger) covered with smoked poblano pepper, avocado, Chihuahua cheese, red pepper crema & tortilla strips.  Or their Beer Mussels, PEI Mussels in a beer broth infused with Tthyme, shallots, potatoes, house cured bacon, garlic and bay leaf. Both The Husband and I decided to break the mold and go with the Chicken and Waffles and the Mussels. Our waitress informed us we made an excellent decision.

The Husbands Chicken and Waffles came, a HUGE piece of buttermilk fried chicken, surrounded by roasted corn off the cob, tomatillo salsa, stewed tomatoes, okra and two smaller split pea and brown-butter waffle halves. The Husband has his trepidations regarding the southwestern style of the dish, but he was thrilled. His only comment was that he wished there were more waffles. He spent time cutting up the chicken, marrying the okra, corn, tomatoes and salsa along with the crispy chicken. I practically had to beg him for a bite. When I got one, I could tell why he was bogarting the dish. It was delicious.

I was thrilled with my mussels as well, so it wasn’t like I was willing to share either. A huge bowl of mussels came, along with four thin, crispy slices of a baguette. The mussels were delicious and the broth was spectacular. I spent my dinner alternating between soaking bread in the broth and trying to get the perfect bite of mussel, shallot, potato and broth. The bottom of the broth has a fair amount of black pepper in it, so there was a tiny kick. It was so good, that after I finished the mussels, then the bread , I just began eating the broth with a spoon like soup. The Husband joined in.

After dinner, The Husband decided that he wanted to make a trip to Black Dog Gelato. We decided to hit up the one on Belmont, where the Old Bleeding Heart Bakery used to be. The shop was brightly lite, the flavors were posted on what was made to look like a clothes line. Two strings held up colored clothes pins that had each of the flavors written on brightly colored paper.  We walked in as the Goat Cheese Cashew Carmel (sounds odd, but everyone raved about it) was getting moved to the “Sorry we’re out tonight” clothes line. I made an off-hand comment to The Husband akin to “Oh maaaaaaaan!” and the wonderful man behind the counter proceeded to scrape out the tiny bit of the remaining gelato (enough for a few good spoonful’s) and gave it to me. I was ecstatic. And It.Was.Fantastic! Seriously. The carmel was wonderful and I worried that the goat cheese would be too rich, it paired so well. I’m drooling as I write.

I decided to go with the Oreo Mint and asked the lovely man behind the counter what he thought paired well. He gave me a list and then said “Or…you could let me pair for you” SOLD! He gave me the Baked Apple. HOLY COW PEOPLE! It was like a perfectly baked Apple Pie in gelato form.  It was superb. I felt like Thanksgiving in the middle of summer.  The Oreo Mint was delicious, but if you’re not a super mint fan, I would avoid. I love mint, The Husband does not. He said it reminded him of toothpaste. I wildly disagreed.

Since I was given the Baked Apple, The Husband’s idea (that he didn’t share with me until AFTER I received the Baked Apple) of Banana Bread and Baked Apple was no good. According to The Husband and His Family, no two people can ever have the same dish when eating out. Everyone MUST have something new, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been to the restaurant. I’ve tried a few times to trick him, and I’ve failed every time. We’ll be out to dinner and want the same thing, being a good man; he’ll always let me get it. And I always feel bad, I mean, why can’t we both enjoy a dish that we both want? So more than a few times I’ve told him I won’t be getting that dish, that I want something else and he should have it, he’ll order it, then I’ll order it, then he’ll change his order. He’s grown accustomed to my game and always makes me order first now.

So, this evening he decided to go with the Malted Vanilla and the Allspice. Again, another winning combination!  Seriously, I’m not a huge Vanilla fan, but WOW. We sat on the car, eating our gelato, swapping tastes and were totally, blissfully happy. Thank goodness this place isn’t in walking distance, or I’d have some serious gelato addiction issues.