A review, a recipe, and a giveaway!

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

Homemade tortilla salad

Mexican flavors are one of my favorites – the beans, sauteed veggies, spice, and of course massive amounts of cheese put it at the top of my list. While I’m always ready for a burrito (breakfast, lunch, or dinner), sometimes you need to switch it up. Enter the baked tortilla bowl!

While I love Mexican food, I also almost equally love fried food, which we all know can be dangerous. So, despite the veggie costume, most tortilla shell salads are definitely not good for you, as the tortilla is more often than not deep fried. Don’t get me wrong, it’s delicious, but it will sky rocket your healthy salad a few hundred calories! A splurge here and there is okay, but I decided to go the baked route Monday night.

Being able to make this at home without any fancy equipment is awesome. All you need is an oven, Pyrex dish, cooking spray, and a tortilla! Once you spray the inside of the dish, you can just lay the tortilla inside, trying to have it form to the bowl. While the oven pre-heats (425 degrees) you can actually put a glass or plastic cup inside the bowl to help press the tortilla against it. From there, all you need to do is bake the badboy for 10-12 minutes (depending on how crispy you’d like it), and let it cool!

Aside from some lettuce, I filled my tortilla bowl with leftover black bean and corn salad from this past weekend’s BBQ, some salsa, cheese, and pickled jalapenos. YUM! It reminded me of a fellow blogger’s “B.A.S” – big ass salad, because it was just the right size to be filling and had some fun fixin’s! Speaking of fellow blogger… the creator of the B.A.S is actually doing a really awesome giveaway on her blog today! As a fellow runner, she knows the feeling of tight legs all too well, and is actually doing the giveway out of the kidness of her own heart (and pocket)! I really could have used a pair of those socks after Monday night’s run, too. A solid 6 miles at a just over 8 minute/mile pace was definitely the fastest run I’ve done so far – I think I’m finally becoming a runner! So I of course have entered, and you should too! So head over to Eat, Drink, Run, and follow her on Twitter. While you’re there, you can follow me too!

Summery Tomato Salad

Aside from having both veggie and regular hot dogs and hamburgers for this past Saturday’s BBQ, I made a bunch of different side salads, and of course cupcakes. I have to admit, aside from my fiancé’s super spicy burgers, I think my salads were show stealers. In addition to the Corn & Black Bean Salad I’ve made a few times, I also made a tomato salad, which was awesome. I think this recipe came from Vegetarian Times, but I don’t remember for sure. I of course made some tweaks to what was available, and doubled the recipe. Thankfully, we had some left over, so I’m looking forward to enjoying some of it with a giant ear of corn later!

These fruit and vegetable salads are some of the most flavorful, and easiest dishes I’ve made! Since neither my fiancé or I are fans of mayo (I can eat things with it, but he can’t even be near it) we don’t ever have potato salad or maccaroni salad. So, I’ve been exploring other cook-out and picnic accompaniments, which have been awesome. This recipe suggests to make the dressing the night before and allow it to marinade overnight before combining it with the tomatoes and cucumbers and it’s defintely a suggestion to heed.

I’ve decided that ShopRite really isn’t cutting it for me these days. Unfortunately, we don’t have many other (better) options, aside from Wegman’s. I’d love to be closer to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but I know I’d wind up spending double every trip since they have such an awesome selection. My parents have a Trader Joe’s in their town, so if I’m looking for something specific or just want to treat myself to some yummy goodness, I’ll stop in. My latest problem with StopRite was their lack of heirloom tomatoes. Oh, and the fact that on Friday afternoon when we went after work, they didn’t have any corn left! Thankfully the Stop & Shop near our house had a ton of corn, so we stocked up. Since I didn’t get the heirloom tomatoes, I just used Jersey tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and plum tomatoes – good enough!

So aside from the tomato mishap, the only other difference with this recipe was the cheese. I went with an herb seasoned feta, which was delicious! I also decided not to puree the dressing and just cut the basil into little pieces, and combined it only with 1/2 tsp of oil, leaving out the second two tsp. The salad was a hit, and everyone was asking for the recipe. So here it is!

Heirloom (or any tomato) Summer Salad
 – Serves 6-8 –

Ingredients:
 Dressing:
2/3 cup of fresh basil leaves (and more for garnish)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Salad:
12 oz. heirloom (or other) peak tomatoes, cut in different shapes
1 medium cucumber peeled & sliced
1/4 cup small red onion, chopped
1 1/2 oz. ricotta salata, crumbled

Directions:
1. Puree basil, garlic, and 1/2 tsp of oil, stir in remaining oil
2. Toss together veggies
3. Pour dressing and combine

Alcohol Infused Cupcakes: Do I have a problem?

This has now been the sixth alcohol infused dessert I’ve made this year. First there was Guinness cupcake with Bailey’s buttercream, another cupcake with just the Bailey’s, jello shot cupcakes, Kahlua and espresso chocolate chip cookies, and rum & coke brownies. And now? Pina Colada cupcakes! I actually got this recipe off Betty Crocker’s website, but made some tweaks to turn the rum extract into, well, regular rum.

Making an alcohol infused dessert really works well when you’re going to a party, I think. Most people bring either a food item, or some type of alcohol. So, why not bring both, together?! My fiancé and I decided to have a wedding party BBQ, so everyone from both of our sides could get together, hang out, and get to know each other more. The wedding isn’t until next September, but we figured since we recently procured a grill (thanks mom & dad!), and hadn’t had a party in a few months, it was the perfect opportunity. I also made a batch of regular chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and a layer of chunky peanut butter in between the cake and frosting. Yeah, they were good too.

They wound up being a little smaller, just below the cupcake liners. So, I had to load on the frosting, which everyone at the party appreciated. Since my pastry bag broke, I’ve resorted to using a smaller and regular sized spoon to do my swirling. Not bad, but not great either. I also had some leftover crushed pineapple, so I threw that in some Tupperware with regular and flavored rum and let it soak together for a few hours. It came in handy later in the night for a wedding party toast/shot!

For now, I’ll just chalk my love of boozy desserts up to being Irish 😉

Pina Colada Cupcakes
 – 24 cupcakes –

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon rum extract*
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
3 eggs
1 teaspoon coconut extract*
1 teaspoon rum extract*
1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting
3/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, water, 1 teaspoon rum extract, the pineapple and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
2. Bake 14 to 19 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. Stir coconut extract and 1 teaspoon rum extract into frosting. Spread frosting on cupcakes. Dip tops of frosted cupcakes in coconut. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

*instead of using rum extract and coconut extract, I substituted both for some Admiral Nelson coconut rum. I’d imagine any flavored rum would work well!

Cupcake T-Shirt!

As you already know from my cupcake earrings and cupcake bracelet purchases, I’m drawn to anything with cupcakes on them, and will likely buy it.

My fiancé is a huge fan of t-shirts. I mean to the point where his side of our closet is 90% folded t-shirts. We’ve actually found ourselves with a serious closet storage issue, mostly due to his t-shirts, and well, all of my clothes. He actually posts each of his new t-shirts on his blog.

His love for a good t-shirt has rubbed off on me a bit, and I’ve purchased a few for myself. I never realized it, but there are a TON of daily t-shirt sites! One of my favorites is Woot, who also has a section for a regular daily deal, and a kid’s deal. I actually already have two foodie shirts from them, one of which is the Hot Dogs! shirt I have on in my Twitter picture. I check their site when I remember, and two weeks ago I happened to check on the way to work (fiancé was driving), and they had a cupcake shirt!! I gasped, and immediately clicked the “I WANT ONE!” button. I mean, look at this thing – how could you not want it?!

After anxiously awaiting, it arrived over the weekend, so I rocked it at work on Monday. And because I’m completely outrageous, I thought to myself, “what a better way to show it off to your blog readers than via a ‘Girls with iPhones’-esq photo,” taken in my office’s bathroom?!

And that my friends, is your reward for reading this blog. I promise to get back to what you’re here for, the nomz of course!

Spicy takes on a whole new meaning: Curry Udon Stir-Fry

I’ll be the first to try something spicy. It takes a lot for me to really think something is spicy, and even more for me to have it be at an unbearable level. Well, my friends, I may have met my match last night.

While grocery shopping last weekend, I scoured the asiles for a red chile. When ShopRite came up empty handed (no surprise there), I picked up a bag of Jamaican hot peppers, and hoped for the best. The bag itself gives no indication on what type of peppers they are, but there was some red, green, and orange, so I figured I would just use one of the red ones in the bag. I needed the pepper for a recipe I had found last week on Serious Eats, a Curry Udon Stir-Fry. The recipe has a great combination of Indian, Thai, and Japanese flavors that work really well together. The recipe also called for Garam Masala, which I realized is really just a combination of spices. After talking with a co-worker, she told me I should just look up a recipe and make it myself, since everyone makes it differently, and while they sell it mixed, it’s best fresh. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any cardamom, so the Garam Masala was out. It was still really great though!

It was an easy recipe, but required a lot of attention – quite a few things were going on at once (making the roux, sautéing the vegetables, cooking the noodles). But if you don’t mind multitasking and trying to keep everything going, you’ll be fine! I also had the luxury of using my newest obsession, thanks to Shelby over at Eat, Drink, Run. I’ve been on the prowl for a decent online recipe cataloging-styled system lately, and she suggested KartMe. Well my friends, so far, so good! I currently have two categories of carts – Dinner Recipes and Baking/Dessert Recipes, but you can make carts and lists of anything. I’m a fan!

So a word to the wise would probably be to not buy a random bag of hot peppers if you don’t want to sweat during your meal. However, if you’re like myself and my fiancé and think that’s fun, then go for it! We sweat throughout our meal, had stinging tongues and lips, and actually grabbed some milk (a first for both of us). My stomach was warm for quite a few hours afterwards also. But it was definitely worth it. Maybe next time I’ll use half of the pepper, though. Now that I have an entire bag of hot peppers, I guess I should start scouring the internet for some yummy recipes I can throw into my KartMe list. Any suggestions are welcome!

Curry Udon Stir-Fry
 – Serves 2-3 –
 Adapted from The Kitchn.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh udon
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 cup vegetable broth
2 teaspoons sugar
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 red bell pepper, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 hot red chile, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/2 pound broccoli florets, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the udon according to the directions on the packaging. Drain, and then rinse well under cold water.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the flour. Stir well, and cook until the roux browns, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the curry powder and garam masala to the roux, cook for another minute. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock. Continue whisking, and add the sugar. When the sauce is thick, turn off the heat and set the saucepan aside.
4. Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Then add the ginger, red bell pepper, and chile. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Add the udon noodles to the pan. cook for about a minute, and then pour in the soy sauce. Cook for a minute.
6. Whisk in the remaining vegetable broth with the curry roux. Pour this sauce into the pan with the noodles. Stir well, and cook for another minute or so, until warm.

So today I’m going to leave you with a question: Do you like spicy foods? What’s the spiciest food/meal you’ve ever had?

Running and food are a perfect combination

Downtown Westfield is doing something right. At first, you might think to yourself – why on earth would I want to run a 5k at 7pm at the end of July? That’s just asking for torture. Well, perhaps because you’ll get to eat all the pizza you want as soon as you cross the finish line. Yes, as soon as you cross that finish line the first thing on your mind is water and to continue walking, but once the nausea passes and you realize it’s over, hunger sets in.

For the past few years (I believe about 9) Downtown Westfield in New Jersey (my home town!) has been doing a 5k pizza run extravaganza. If you’re unfamiliar with Westfield, it’s a pretty nice town; it’s won the Main Street USA award a few years, the television show Ed was filmed here as well as tid bits of quite a few commercials and movies. It was also called home by the creator of The Addams Family, Langston Hughes, Dave Brown (Giants), Zora Neale Hurston, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe… you get the drift.

This is my second year running the race, and last year it was actually my first 5k, and second road race. It started to drizzle and there was some serious wind and lightning before the start, but I was hopeful it’d hold out until we were done – and it did! I decided to rock my newly acquired No Meat Athlete shirt, which is adorable! Even though I’m not 100% veggie and my fiancé joked it was false advertising, I think the idea behind the shirt, and the fact that I’m at least conscious and mindful about what I eat is what counts!

Happily rockin' my shirt pre-race

I had a little trouble starting MapMyFitness on my iPhone once the race started, so people were pushing me out of the way (rude!). It was honestly one of the rudest races I’ve ever run – people were cutting me off left and right, zig zagging so I couldn’t get in front of them, and elbowing me and invading my personal space! I had a cramp within the first half mile till the end, and my side is actually a little sore from it. But in the end I finished in 25:21, almost a minute faster than my previous PR, set last October. Hoorah! With the heat and humidity, and it being at 7p after a full day of work, I was very pleased.

Down the home stretch... I have no idea how both feet are planted

Once the race was over, my fiancé had a slice of pizza while I guzzled a ton of water, and we focused on trying to cool off. Since the race was in my home town, my parents so graciously offered for us to come over to enjoy dinner from one of my favorite Thai restaurants, Thailand. Being a creature of habit, both my fiancé and I ordered our ususals; I got Pad Kee Mao, and he got the Chicken Pad Thai (nice and spicy, of course). We also all shared an order of spring rolls, and some salad. I’m a huge fan of the salad because it comes with some fried tofu and a delicious peanut dressing. After relaxing a bit more, we shared a caramel pretzel Klondike bar, which are my newest obession. I’ve always been a huge fan of Klondikes, but these are amazing! Crunchy, sweet, and salty are the perfect combination. I highly recommend them.

I’m looking forward to some more deliciousness this weekend, including a trip to the beach tomorrow for our half day with a stop at WaWa, and some type of BBQ on Saturday. Oh yeah, and some running.

Happy healthy nomzing!

New York (city), I love you

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 Abeille
Gaufre 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!

Better late than never: A trip to Medieval Times

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!