This guest post comes from my wonderful fiancé from AndyGapin.com. I was unable to attend this delicious excursion, due to errands including an oil change and trip to Whole Foods, and homework. However, his return from the trip, he just kept talking about how great the food was, so I figured it’d be a perfect opportunity for him to guest post, something I’ve been asking him to do for awhile. So enjoy!
Over the weekend, a few friends and I took a two state drive up to Louis’ Lunch in Connecticut. Louis’ Lunch is famous for being the birthplace of the burger so it was a perfect destination for our monthly food adventures. The story goes that in 1900, a man rushed into the joint in a hurry and asked Louis Lassen for something he could eat on the run. Louis slapped his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on this way. This, my friends, is how a staple of American cuisine was invented.
Over 100 years later, Louis’ Lunch still serves up burgers on sliced white bread instead of buns. The proprietary blend of five meat varieties is not only cooked to order, but it’s cooked in the original cast iron grills which date back to 1898. One of them has even been repaired using a butter knife to replace the handle.
Besides the burgers, Louis’ Lunch doesn’t serve much else. You can get chips, soda, pie, and potato salad. That’s it. The burgers can come with cheese, tomato, and/or onions. That’s it. You can remove any of those options, but you can’t add anything else. As they say, it’s not Burger King. Don’t even think about asking for ketchup. I think this kind of thing at fooderies is a bit snobby and gimmicky. They’re not the only place that does it, many hot dog places do the same. I just think it’s silly. Why tell people they can’t enjoy your food how the like it? I can support restaurants refusing to make additions to the food the serve, but to deny customers ketchup for them to apply themselves is simply snobbery.
Louis’ Lunch has a few tables, but it’s not a sit-down joint. You order at the counter and then wait. When I say wait, I mean it. You might be waiting a little while. We had to wait about 20 minutes for our burgers. Being that it was a nice day out, I have no complaints at all, but the joint is small inside so if the weather isn’t being friendly, your experience may not be as pleasant.
I ordered a “cheese works” which is the cheeseburger with tomato and onions. It was delicious. The burger was cooked perfectly. No char, nice and juicy with lots of flavor. It reminded me a lot of the steamed burgers that I make at home–incidentally, I got this idea from another burger place in Connecticut. I was afraid that the bread wouldn’t handle the burger properly and it would soak through, but this didn’t happen at all. It was perfectly toasted and held it’s own.
It’s a simple burger, but it’s one of the best I’ve ever had. I would most definitely drive two and a half hours for another.
A few weeks ago I was offered some bags of TERRA Chips to review then come up with a recipe using one of their types of chips for their Fire Up Flavor program. Plus, I’m able to give one of my lucky readers a Terra Chip prize pack! Scroll down to the bottom of this post (below the recipe) for contest rules and how to enter!
The shipment came with four full sized bags of their chips – original, blue potato, exotic harvest, and Mexican style. I decided to offer up the original styled TERRA Chips at the Wedding BBQ we had last weekend, and everyone devoured them. I brought the blue potato chips to work, and everyone was shocked there was a such thing as blue potatoes! Those were also well received. I kept the exotic harvest for myself, and have been slowly working on them. They are interesting with carrot, squash, and blue potato. Definitely make me feel better about indulging in some chips!
From there I knew I had to come up with a recipe. As soon as I had opened the shipment, I decided to make something Mexican using the “A La Mexican” chips, just on principle that both my fiancé and I devour anything remotely close to a Mexican dish. So, after thinking about it for a few days, I came up with a Mexican styled lasagna!
Before going in the oven...
I decided to put everything in a pie dish, but I think a regular 8 x 11 inch square dish would work well also. Still having the Jamaican hot peppers from when I bought them two weeks ago, instead of using a jalapeno I decided to throw one in, which added a nice amount of heat. I was a bit nervous that the chips themselves would get super soggy with the combination of the sauteed vegetables, salsa, and cheese piled on, but it actually wasn’t soggy at all. They really just tasted like tortillas. Overall I’m happy with the final product! Since we have left-overs, I’m really looking forward to having it for lunch and braging about my creation when everyone can smell it re-heating in the microwave. Yum!
The final product
TERRA Chips Mexican Lasagna – Serves 4 –
Ingredients:
1 bag of TERRA “A La Mexican” chips
1 cup of black beans
1 cup of pinto beans
1 cup of chunky salsa
1/2 medium red pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups of shredded Mexican-blend cheese
*your favorite hot pepper, amount to your liking
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray baking dish (8×11 or pie dish) with cooking spray
3. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat, add chopped yellow onion, red pepper, and hot pepper. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Sautée until onions are transparent
4. Combine beans and salsa in a medium bowl. Add onion and pepper sautée mix
5. Line bottom of baking dish with a thin layer of chips, top with half of the bean/salsa mixture from bowl, and one cup of cheese. Add another layer of chips followed by the rest of the bean/salsa mixture, top with rest of cheese. Crumble remaining chips on top
6. Place in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, slice, and serve!
As I mentioned earlier, one of you lucky readers will be outfitted with a sweet prize pack from TERRA chips! What is included in this prize pack, you may ask? The prize will be valued at $25 and includes four bags of TERRA Chips, TERRA coupons, a martini glass inspired serving bowl and printed Summer Entertaining Guide! Aside from the giveaway here, they’re also offering first and second place prizes over at their website for the program as well. But let’s be honest, you have a much better shot of winning right here on Foodosaurus!
That being said, here’s what you need to do to enter: Tell me your favorite type of TERRA chip, and how you yourself would use it in a recipe (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, side dish, etc.)! Get creative – I’m looking for more than “I’d dip it in some French onion dip.” You can leave a comment here on this post, and I’ll choose a winner between today, Monday 8/9 and Friday 8/13 (oh boy, Friday the 13th) at 10pm EDT.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, where you can get updates on giveaways, recipes, as well as all the foodie (and running) happenings! @Foodosaurusrex
Okay so that might be the title of a movie that came out this past fall with a story-line similar to Love Actually. But I’m not here to talk about the movie. I’m talking about the city in general. Seriously, it rules (mostly). Having been born at the NYU Hospital and then lived in Brooklyn for a few years with family still there today, NYC holds a special place in my heart.
The weekend was full of running, sweating, and of course, eating. On Friday my fiancé and I headed to Central Park for the 5th annual Jamaica Underwear Run. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like; a run through Central Park in your skivvies. Since it was just the two of us, we decided to keep our personal belongings with us, instead of haphazardly checking them. Let me tell you, running with a drawstring backback or camera bag is tough! Not being able to use your arms properly and having something slam against you makes running difficult. Not to mention it was a million degrees out. I never would have thought those 1.7 miles would have felt like that. At any rate, it was a leisurely run through Central Park, and my fiancé and I finished hand-in-hand at around 16 minutes.
Before the Undie Run Started!
From there, we headed to my friend’s apartment in Brooklyn, where we went on the prowl for some food. By the time we got there, showered, and we ready to go it was about 10p. Well, apparently not many restaurants in Park Slope are open past 11, and if you try to walk in at 10:15p, you’re turned away. We were going to grab Indian from Baluchi’s, but we just didn’t make it happen. The only places that seemed to be open later were Mexican joints, which I was more than happy with so we settled on Piramide.
The restaurant wasn’t empty, but being that it was 10:30p, it wasn’t crowded either. We started off with some made to order guacamole (extra spicy) which was super fresh. Definitely a step-up from my poor man’s guacamole, but hey – desperate times have called for desperate measures. I ordered the Piramide Pobalano Combo which was two poblano peppers; one with chicken and the other with cheese, fried to make it a delicious chile relleno and topped with a tomato chipotle sauce, served with rice and beans. It was very good, but at nearly double the price of Jose Tejas’ chile relleno which is a bit bigger and much fuller, I was merely okay with my decision.
Poblano Combo
My friend went with chicken fajitas that were seriously sizzling, and she enjoyed them. My fiancé ordered the Burrito Loco with steak, which was stuffed with peppers, onions, rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream and cheese topped with a salsa verde. This was also pretty good, but nothing out of this world. Because my fiancé and I have a similar palate and are often times indecisive, we decided to switch our plates half way through, so we could each sample two dishes. I think the guacamole was probably the highlight of the meal, which is okay since I love it.
Burrito Loco
After that our night ended, since we had to be up bright and early for the Central Park Conservancy Run, a 4-miler through the wonderful CP. Since we ran the night before and the registration fee was a little to steep for our wallet (nearly $40 by the time we knew about the race), my fiancé and I decided to be spectators instead of runners. This is actually the first time either of us attended a race, and didn’t actually run in it. It’s a weird feeling, similar to attending a swim meet and not swimming; you are relieved to not have the pre-race jitters and actual race pain, but at the same time, you feel a bit like a slacker. That’s exactly how we felt Saturday morning, but because it was so brutally hot, I was more than okay with being a spectator. We got ourselves a sweet spot at the finish, and were able to spot my friend (wearing the same polka dot shirt she does for every race) cruise across the finish line in 25:22. Yes, you read that correct. A fellow former swimmer running 4 miles in just over 25 minutes – and she looked comfortable the whole last leg. Envy I tell you, pure envy. It made me realize my running and excuse department is a bit lack-luster, and I should probably get myself out there more. But yes, enough whining about my running ability and back to the food. But seriously, awesome job Kir!
From there we headed to Washington Square Park, so I could get my hands on some Cake & Shake. A newer food truck on the scene, they offer daily cupcake and shake flavors and they also have pupcakes for the dogs! Since there were two of us, my fiancé and I decided to share a cupcake and a shake, and we picked the whatchamacallit cupcake and salted caramel shake. They were both equally awesome. The whatchamacallit is a milk chocolate cake with caramel mousse and a nougat frosting. The salted caramel needs no explanation, and was the perfect combination of sweet, creamy, and refreshing. If you are ever in the area, you need to get yourself a cupcake and/or (probably and) shake. I have every intention of heading back to get some more!
Salted Caramel Shake & Whatchamacallit Cupcake from Cake & Shake
Continuing our galavanting after hanging out in the park for a bit, we ventured over to Petite Abeille for some brunch. What a cute place! As soon as you walk in you’re welcomed with the smell of delicious Belgian waffles, and are then quickly ushered back to a table. They offer specials throughout the week (such as all you can eat mussels and a Stella on Wednesdays) and have an extensive beer list. Since it was brunch, I decided to order the Madame Croquet, which comprised of grilled ham and gruyere cheese and a sunny-side egg on top with a side of fries. My fiancé ordered the Gaufre Dame Blanche, which simply put were some Belgian waffles with ice cream and whipped cream, topped with a chocolate sauce. Both of our meals were good, but definitely not filling. We each ordered a coffee, mine iced and my fiancé’s hot, and his had a ton of coffee grinds floating in, and at the bottom of his cup. Our water also had a crayon-like taste, which was disappointing considering how incredibly hot it was outside. Overall, the food was okay, but the restaurant itself is adorable and the staff is friendly. If you’re looking for something small to eat, I’d recommend it, however, don’t expect a big hangover curing brunch because you won’t find it here.
Croque Madam from Petit AbeilleGaufre Dame Blanche from Petit Abeille
To end the day, we headed to Coney Island for The Village Voice’s Siren Fest – a free music festival right in the heart of Coney Island. I was excited at the opportunity to see both Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Matt & Kim, but unfortunately they didn’t go on until 7p, and it was just too brutally hot outside. We walked up and down the boardwalk a few times to use the breeze to our advantage, but we were still basically dripping sweat. We were too full from our stops earlier to enjoy some Nathan’s, so we called it quits pretty early, and headed back home.
Overall, there was a lot of eating and sweating this weekend in good ole NYC. Often times I’m envious of the lifestyle New Yorkers have, and this weekend was definitely a weekend I felt that way. There were a million options of things to do, and they could be done by simply hopping on a train. Not to mention the food is always amazing, and I really enjoy walking around everywhere. No wonder so many of you New Yorkers are so thin ;-). But then I remember it’s also nice to have my own backyard, and a slightly lower cost of living. But have no fear, I’ll be back again soon, because New York, you’re just too awesome to stay away from!
Last weekend, I took a trip to Medieval Times for my friend’s 27th birthday. I wrote a review for Examiner.com here, but I figured I’d throw together something a little less formal for the blogosphere. Just to note, despite almost everyone in my elementary school class having gone here at least once, I nor my fiance had ever been.
The concept is pretty cool – dinner and “tournament” – basically live action theater while you eat. I was shocked at how expensive tickets are (about $60/person), but was then informed that if you buy them in groups, there’s a discount. Now when I say discount, I mean almost 50% off if you by 4+ tickets at once, and for most, they go in large groups, so it’s the way to go. You definitely get your money’s worth at $33 a ticket, too.
The building is shaped like a castle, and people often tailgate outside prior to the beginning of the show, since they’re scheduled times each day of the week. I was surprised to see people tailgaiting a dinner show, but then realized a few things: 1. we’re in New Jersey 2. we’re a stones throw away from Giant Stadium, so it just runs in these people’s blood. Plus, once I got inside and made my way to the waiting area where they had the bars, it made even more sense – their drinks are expensive! To be fair, you should expect that, it’s gimicky and they need to make some extra money some how; I can only imagine the type of electric bill they get! A few people in our group got drinks, but my fiance and I decided our money would be better served elsewhere, considering a pint glass filled with Sam Adams was $25! Ok, so the glass was actually glass and you could keep it… but still!
After we hung out in the bar area that also served as a souvenir shop (of course filled with overpriced nicknacks that a child will beg and cry for, only to play with for a day and forget about), we were direct to our assigned seat (we were the blue knight). From there, everything goes pretty quickly; your serf or wench will explain to you how it works, pour you your tomato soup, and run off to grab garlic bread and drinks. The show begins not long after that, and somehow the serfs and wenches manage to serve you the rest of your dinner (a large piece of chicken, a spare rib, and half a baked potato) in the dark. You’ll be entertained by horses doing tricks, a hawk flying above you (you have to stay in your seat during this), and some impressive acting with a tournament.
Both my fiance and I had a hard time understanding what most of the people in the show were saying, but we enjoyed watching the action anyway. I did feel badly for the horses, though. I know just from common knowledge that in general horses don’t like loud noises. Well let me tell you, that show was LOUD. With the music, banging of the props, and just the general atmosphere, it was even a bit much for me at times. I was extremely impressed at how well they handled everything, though, and they were right on cue with entering the arena, leaving, and doing their assigned tricks. My heart did ache for them a bit throughout the show, though.
So this is a food blog, and you must be thinking, well, how was the food?! It wasn’t bad, actually. No, I’m never going to be craving Medieval Times’ dinner, but it was good enough. The chicken’s seasoning was a bit salty and the rib sauce was only half flavored, but it wasn’t bad. I can only imagine the amount of time and effort (and the size of the ovens) it takes to prepare a meal for all of the people that are at a show. So for that, I was impressed. They do offer a vegetarian option, but I’ve heard from multiple people it isn’t good at all – it’s just a few vegetables thrown on a plate, and isn’t nearly the same amount of food as the meat eater’s option. They also give you a “pastry” at the end of the show with some coffee (if you’d like). Ours was esentially an apple turn-over. Not bad, but it tasted eerily familiar to the frozen Pepperidge Farms one’s I’ve gotten for myself. Similarly, their garlic bread tasted just like the frozen Texas Toast you can get at the grocery store. I’m not going to fault them for it, though, they have a lot of mouths to feed!
It definitely isn’t a place to go for the meal – you go for the experience of being transported back to, well, medieval times. I’m not itching to go back, and probably won’t unless someone else suggests it, or until I have children of my own. But hey, I had fun, and I can finally say I’ve been. So take that, elementary school friends!
After searching for which vegetarian cookbook I got this recipe from, I was able to find it! This bad boy comes from Quick-Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson, and it’s delicious! I’ve actually never had polenta before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. To me, it tasted a lot like a Matzo ball, which I love. So I’ll definitely be adding polenta into our diet a little more regularly; it’s a nice alternative to pasta and rice.
The recipe itself is straight forward and easy. Aside from the 30 minute cooking time, it took a whopping 5 minutes to prepare. It uses pre-cooked polenta which adds to the convenience factor, but I’m sure you could cook-up your own if you have the time. Just a side note, it took my fiancé and I a solid 30 minutes to find the polenta in the grocery store on Sunday. We looked everywhere; pasta section, international section, rice section, refrigerated section. Finally we called our friend that happens to work at that particular Wegmans, and he directed us to it’s proper location (all the way in the corner of the pasta aisle).
It’s also really filling. I made the entire recipe, and there was enough for another large meal (as in TWO dinners!). We added some home-made poor man’s guacamole and a little sour cream and paired it with a salad. I decided to heat up what was left over still from the two dinners for breakfast, and paired it with an egg – not bad! Of course being the failure that I am, I didn’t take a picture of the deliciousness. To be fair though, it’s quite a messy dish once you cut it up and put it on a plate, so I don’t think a picture would have done it justice anyway. You’re just going to have to make it to find out!
I have quite a bit of polenta left over, so I’m going to attempt a polenta-crust pizza. I have no idea how it’s going to turn out, but with some onions and peppers on top, I can’t imagine it being horrible. We’ll see!
Polenta & Pinto Bean Pie – Serves 4 –
Ingredients:
16 oz. package cooked polenta
16 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. of salsa or picante sauce (mild, medium, or hot)
4 oz. can mild green chiles, drained (one small can)
1 Tbsp chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the polenta into 1/2-inch thick slices and arrange in the bottom of a lightly oiled 9- or 10-inch square baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the pinto beans, salsa, chiles, and chili powder, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and spread over the polenta.
3. Top with shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer to lightly brown the top.
One of my birthday gifts from a co-worker included a box of Pelican Bay’s key lime cupcake mix. Since I was going to a barbecue at her place on the 3rd, I figured it’d be nice to bring the cupcakes along with me, so she could enjoy some of my present. I was also able to transport them in my cupcake carrier, which was so convenient!
The mix itself was super easy – there were just two bags inside the box, one for the cake, and one for the frosting. Aside from the mix, I only needed some eggs, milk, oil, cream cheese, and butter. After combining all the ingredients I was able to sit back and relax; something that was more than welcomed in Saturday’s heat! I decided to add a little pizzaz to the cupcakes by adding some sprinkles I had left over.
Everyone really enjoyed the cupcakes, and it was nice to have minimal work in the kitchen. I love baking, don’t get me wrong, but I always feel like I make a mess; so many bowls, spoons, and measuring cups, followed by the waiting (I’m very impatient). I haven’t been a fan of cream cheese based frostings since I got sick from a red velvet cupcake at Phoebe’s in Chicago, so I’m wary about making them. However, these had just the right amount of cheese and sweet ratio, and the lime was potent but not over the top, leaving the cupcakes on the lighter-side which was nice since Saturday was so warm.
I’m interested to see what other mixes they have, and not just cupcakes but cakes and cookies, too! Unfortunately I have a few left over that I was forced to bring home because they still had so much food at the barbecue, and I then on Sunday after our four mile race, I started on some rum and coke brownies for the next barbecue (post coming soon!). Oh, and I still have birthday cake left over. Looks like I’ve got some serious eating to do!
Ahh yes, birthday time. Monday (6/28) I celebrated the big 24 (boooooring!), and received a lot of foodie (specifically baking) prizes. Yes, you read that correctly. I do not call gifts presents, rather prizes – it sounds more fun!
Most of the food related gifts actually came from my co-workers, and they’re smart; hopefully their prizes will get me in the kitchen, and therefore bringing in left over goodies to share with them. Good thinking! Anyway, in addition to the amazing MacBook from my fiancé that I’m currently using to type this up, an awesome new Coach bag, Forever21 gift card, shirt and earrings from my parents and sister, I got the following foodie items:
– A sweet set of baking dishes, and a Pyrex measuring cup, which we somehow don’t have. This is going to come in handy!
– I’ve been eyeing this cupcake recipe book for awhile. Everything is SO cute. I hope my lack of artistic ability will some how not transfer over to these cupcake decorations
– I’ll be making these cupcakes this weekend to bring to a 4th of July BBQ. Hopefully they are yummy!
– How can you go wrong with this?! Now I have an extra cupcake pan (having only one is annoying), a mini cupcake/muffin pan, AND a carrying case? SCORE!
So as you can see, I was spoiled with my foodie (and non-foodie) prizes! By the end of the week I’ll hopefully have used the pie dish, cupcake mix, and cupcake carrier. I’ll definitely be reporting back on those!
As for the eating aspect of my birthday, that was equally delicious. It started off before work with some Dunkin Donuts (iced coffee and a jalapeno bagel twist to be exact). It was later followed up with a junior homewrecker with tofu burrito from Moe’s Southwest Grill. Then, going for a double-dose of Mexican (how could I resist?!) the family took us to Jose Tejas, one of my favorite Cajun Creole/Mexican joints (you can read about the restaurant here)! After that we had some cake – a chocolatey moussey ganachey coconutty slice of heaven. Needless to say I had to roll myself into bed after eating all that!
Stay tuned for the results of all my awesome prizes, and happy nomzing! Oh, and thanks to everyone that made my birthday special!!
Last night my little sister graduated from high school. We’re six years apart so the thought of her going to college always seemed so far away. Well, she’s leaving in two months, and I can’t believe it!
My sister and I on the first day of school, way back when
After suffering through two extremely hot and sweaty hours in the evening sun on the high school’s back field, we headed to dinner at a restaurant my sister has raved about, Avenue East. It’s only about a year old, and boasts Asian fusion. My sister loves this because it means she can get her favorite Thai soup (Tom Yum) and then have sushi. I myself am wary of places that boast multiple cuisines – often times everything just turns out to be mediocre.
Unfortunately last night’s meal was just that, “meh.” Aside from the subpar service (we waited about 45 minutes in between our appetizers and entrees), the food was just okay. My fiancé and I started off with a spicy tuna roll to share. From there, I went with the Malaysian Mee Goreng, which came with the choice of chicken or shrimp, and ho-fun noodles with vegetable, egg and tofu in a “dark spicy sauce.” It actually tasted a lot like Pad Thai, with the semi-creamy sauce and the noodles seemed to be pretty much the same that would be served with Pad Thai. It had a little pepper next to it indicating it was spicy. Airing on the side of caution since I’d never eaten there, I decided to take it as-is. My fiancé ordered the spicy basil beef over brown rice and asked for it extra spicy. Now, we both like a lot of spice, and realize that. However, our dishes had no spice. And I don’t mean lacking spice for us fire-breathers. I mean even for your average spice lover, this was weak.
Malaysian Mee Goreng
I’m willing to give Avenue East another shot, since my sister is such a fan. The restaurant itself was really nice, and we were seated at a spacious U shaped table that was quite comfortable. I definitely won’t go for a spicy dish, though, so I won’t be disappointed. I’d also go during a less busy time, so I can make sure when I need water, I get it. A definite plus is that it’s BYOB – I’m always down for BYOB or all-you-can-drink specials.
We followed up last night’s evening out with fish sticks and tater tots for dinner tonight. Some times you just need something quick and easy, and that’s what we did. Sure, the fish sticks are clearly marketed for children based on their packaging, and I feel like Napoleon Dynamite every time I eat a tot, but who cares?! They were good, and I got to mix up a whole bunch of different spicy sauces we have for my dipping pleasure.
More importantly, though, is the fact that my little sister graduated high school! Congratulations Kate! I’m so proud and I can’t believe it. You are going to be awesome in college both in the classroom and in the pool. I can’t wait to vist (even if it is a 5 hour drive)!
Yes, those are in fact lyrics from a 50 Cent song, that I listened to many a times in a crowded Scranton basement in college. Candy Shop also happens to be the sub-brand of the Duncan Hines brownies I made tonight. I know, you’re thinking I’m a total cop-out for using a brownie mix instead of making my own while having a food blog. Well while wandering down the baking aisle at Target today, I stumbled upon a peanut butter brownie box and had to have it. Sometimes making mix out of the box is just as fun as making them from scratch? And by fun, I really just mean easy.
My fiancé has a seriously delicious salmon recipe that he got from his dad. It’s super easy, and I beg him every now and again to make it. So, after some coaxing this past week, he gave in and made it for me tonight, after letting it marinate overnight. We paired it with rice, and boy did it hit the spot! While I’m forbidden for sharing the recipe (so unfair, I know) I can at least show you how delicious it looked!
Back to the reasoning behind the post, the peanut butter brownies! I always find it interesting that brownie mixes provide you two options; one for fudgey brownies, and one for cake-like brownies. I always think to myself, “who wants cake-like brownies?! Fudge is where it’s at!” I suppose there are some people that would disagree, but I always go for the ultimate fudge-factor. That’s why I’m a huge fan of Ghiradelli’s mixes. For something that only required me to combine the brownie mix, a little bit of oil, water, and an egg and throw it in the oven for about 30 minutes, I’m impressed. Sure, I probably could have made better brownies myself, but it also would have taken me a lot longer. Sometimes a little sacrifice in authenticity is allowed for a quick treat on a weeknight. These badboys will be an excellent afternoon snack tomorrow during my 2:30pm “I really still have 3 more hours of work?” wallowing.
So I thought I’d end the post with a question: what’s your favorite straight-from-the-box dessert mix?
My parents and I decided to go to lunch in New Brunswick to catch up and talk wedding business. My dad works at Rutgers, so everyone is pretty familiar with the food options in the area. After much debate on what we wanted, we settled on Old Man Rafferty’s. Though I hadn’t been there in easily 10 years, I remember it being pretty good.
I started off with a coconut flavored iced latte. It was topped with
real whipped cream and absolutely delicious. For my entree, I went
with the veggie burger paired with sweet potato fries. My mom got the shrimp salad “boat” and my dad the chicken salad “boat.” My parent’s meals were paired with a Greek salad and pita chips, and looked awesome. My veggie burger was really good. It had a nice char-grilled flavor, but wasn’t over-done. At one point I really questioned if it was veggie – it was impressive! The fries were sliced thin and had the perfect crisp. It was served with a cucumber ranch dip that I used both for my burger and my fries.
Later that evening we decided to head to The Grub Hut in Manville with the usual foodie suspects. BBQ and Mexican in one place?! Not only does it sound amazing, it is amazing. I don’t even know where to start with this place. It’s nothing special on the outside, and even when you walk in; there are a few table and chairs on either side of the doors, and then the kitchen area is wide open with metal everywhere – they don’t hide anything, and they don’t go for looks either. But when the food is that good, does it really matter what the place itself looks like? If you are ever in the mood for smoky, excellently seasoned and perfectly cooked food, and A LOT of it, then I would absolutely suggest The Grub Hut. They actually used to be called The Rub Hut, but added a G in front, probably for the best.
In terms of their menu, it’s pretty impressive; they offer brisket, chicken, pork, Texas link, and ribs all done either in a traditional BBQ way, or Mexican style and served up either in a burrito, flauta, taco, enchilada, or chimichanga. You can even order the mother of all combos and have some BBQ and Mexican heaven together. They offer individual sized meals as well as those you can share with a table, such as a THREE POUND burrito!
The meal started off great with nicely seasoned tortilla chips and an awesome salsa. It is super chunky, and spicy and tangy in a way that most salsa’s seem to miss. I went for the chicken chimichanga, while my fiancé got the ground beef jumbo burrito. They were both HUGE! I was really pleased with my choice of chicken; it was smoky and definitely had a BBQ flavor, but also had a serious kick of Mexican spices. Shoved into a huge tortilla that was fried with rice, beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato paired with some sour cream and guacamole = heaven. I only ate about half, and am saving the rest for tomorrow night’s dinner! Everyone else at the table went for the BBQ side; a BBQ chicken sandwich, a platter called “Hog Heaven” that had chorizo, ribs, brisket and pulled pork, and a Pit Master platter that was similar. Most of their entrées come with two sides; they have everything from fried plantains and rice and beans to “loco” fries doused in jalapeños and cheese.
Jefe Grande Chimi
Needless to say we all waddled out of the restaurant, and headed not home, but to Rita’s. Yes, we’re gluttons for punishment and decided to stretch our stomachs just a little more. While everyone else went for ice, I got myself some vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles – my own personal heaven. I only finished about a quarter of it, but it was well worth every bite.
Thankfully, I went for a four mile run today and watched myself in terms of eating, since yesterday was a serious glutton fest. But what can I say? You need one of those every once in awhile!! And I’m definitely planning on going back to The Grub Hut to enjoy some more Mexican BBQ in the future!
Over the weekend, a few friends and I took a two state drive up to Louis’ Lunch in Connecticut. Louis’ Lunch is famous for being the birthplace of the burger so it was a perfect destination for our monthly food adventures. The story goes that in 1900, a man rushed into the joint in a hurry and asked Louis Lassen for something he could eat on the run. Louis slapped his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on this way. This, my friends, is how a staple of American cuisine was invented.
Foodosaurus Rex 