Foo(d) Bar Blog - American

Hangar Cafe - Chandler, AZ

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 18:38:00 -0400

Every Friday, I meet up with a couple of work friends for breakfast before heading into the office. We try to keep our breakfast meetings central to where we live and also close to our Chandler office, which doesn't leave a whole lot of places to choose from. While I was surfing the web a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a restaurant I had never heard of before - the Hangar Cafe. Even more interesting than the fact that it was previously unknown to me was its location, the Chandler Municipal Airport. This Friday, we finally got a chance to pay the Hangar Cafe a visit. Turns out that the cafe is actually located right out near the flight line, with a great view of the planes and helicopters both on the tarmac and in flight. When we arrived, the place was almost packed inside. There were a few people out on the patio, and with the temperature still fairly cool, we decided to sit outside so we could better take in the view. I had just seen the movie Flyboys the previous night, so I was pretty excited when a replica French Nieuport rolled out of the hangar next to us with two parachute clad pilots ready to take it for a spin. The menu at the Hangar consisted of typical American breakfast items including bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, several omelets, a breakfast burrito, corned beef hash, and chicken fried steak, among others. I opted for the chicken fried steak with eggs over medium, hash browns, rye toast, and coffee. The wait staff at the Hangar Cafe was super friendly and the service was prompt and competent. I never had to ask for a refill on my coffee. When my food arrived, it was cooked as ordered. Breakfast at the Hangar Cafe is nothing fancy, but the food I had tasted great. The chicken fried steak was one of the best I can remember having. The gravy was a standout. The hash browns were good, but I would have preferred them a bit crispier - something I realize very few breakfast places can pull off successfully. I really enjoyed our outing to the Hangar Cafe and plan to keep it in my regular rotation of breakfast spots. It's also open for lunch, which presents another opportunity for a repeat visit. In addition to the good food, friendly service, and relatively cheap prices, the fact that you can relax and watch the planes take-off and land is n added bonus.

The Heirloom Tomato BLT

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:53:00 -0400

Pere and were both craving BLT's the other night, so we thought it might be fun to make them for dinner, only stepped up a little. Instead of the standard version, we made ours from slices of crusty artisan bread, heirloom tomato, romaine, and thick cut smoked bacon. We each made two. Pere's were both toasted, with mayo while I had mine untoasted, one with mayo and the other with salad dressing. Both were delicious, although I liked the one made with mayo a little more. The heirloom tomatoes we used were so much more flavorful than standard beefsteak or other hybrid varieties.

Parcel 104 - Santa Clara, California

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:33:00 -0400

Last night, I happened to be back in Santa Clara on business and needed a decent place for dinner, ahead of a big customer meeting the following morning. We decided on Parcel 104, partly because we had heard good things about the restaurant, and also because it was only a mile from our hotel. Parcel 104 is Bradley Ogden's place (with Executive Chef Bart Hosmer), located at the Marriott Santa Clara. The entire restaurant is built around the concept of fresh, local ingredients. To uphold this philosophy, Parcel 104 changes their menu daily. That's the entire menu, not just the specials. Additionally, the wine list is managed by Master Sommelier Randall Bertao (there are only 124 master sommelier's in the entire world). We arrived a few minutes ahead of our 7:45 reservation, so we decided to have a drink at the bar while we waited for our table. The drink menu was fairly extensive, with a number of signature martinis. I decided to go with the "Paint the Town Brown", a chocolate martini made with Hershey's syrup, Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, cream, and creme de cacao. It was pretty tasty, although not quite as smooth as other chocolate martinis I've had. It wasn't long until our table was ready. There were several options on the menu worth noting. Options included ordering à la carte, a three course dinner (appetizer, entree, sweet course), a vegetarian tasting menu, or the chef's indulgence - a six course tasting menu, with or without wine pairings. After agonizing over what to have (there were so many interesting options), we all decided to go with the chef's indulgence with the wine option. The first course was known as "A Little Bite" and consisted of a small espresso cup filled with corn bisque. This was served with a glass of Iron Horse Blanc de Blanc, 1998. The sweetness of the corn bisque was nicely balanced by the dryness of the sparkling wine. Next up were Alaskan Halibut cheeks served with a green olive-molinari "salamitini" and a toy box eggplant "barta". I haven't seen cheeks on most American menus, although they are very popular in Asia. In this case, the Halibut cheeks were firm and sweet. They were paired with a glass of Leitz Riesling Rudesheimer Klosterlay, 2005. The Riesling was very delicate and not at all too sweet for the dish. The third course consisted of cocoa crusted venison tartare accompanied by a white bean "mash", blueberry compote, and a cumin seed cracker. The tartare consisted of both seared and raw chunks of venison and was absolutely delish. Paired with a Tantara Pinot Noir, 2004, the fruity notes of the wine really stood out. The main entree of the tasting was a Cedar Springs double lamb chop with Terra Firma Farms charred tomato sauce and caramelized fennel mashed potatoes, The lamb was done rare and had a nice meaty taste without even a hint of gamey flavor, as can be the case with lamb. I really enjoyed the mashed potatoes. The caramelized fennel added sweetness with just enough bite to make them interesting. The wine pairing, a Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002 was well balanced and stood up to the strong flavor of the meat. After the lamb came a small plate with a piece of "Rouge et Noir" Camembert from Marin Cheese, a piece of toasted walnut-currant bread, a few almonds, and a fresh sliced fig. The cheese was good, but what really stood out was how nicely it went with the Sauternes it was served with - Castelnau de Suduiraut, 2001. By the time the final dessert course, a Gran Marnier creme brulee arrived, we were all completely stuffed. Somehow, though, we managed to make our way through it. The crust was golden brown and perfectly crisped while the inside was nice and velvety smooth, thanks no doubt to pastry chef Carlos Sanchez. The final wine pairing was a late harvest wine from Dolce. They only produce a single wine and as such label the bottle simply "Dolce". The vintage we had was 2004. It was very sweet, like the Sauternes, but more concentrated. It lived up to the "liquid gold" moniker it's also know by. A few other points about our experience worth noting. First, our waiter Rusty was excellent. It's been a long time since I've had a waiter as knowledgeable, courteous, and friendly as Rusty. He was very passionate about the restaurant and what it serves, and it really showed - all without even the slightest hint of condescension. The second point has to do with pace. Our dinner was nice and leisurely - something that doesn't happen often enough in American restaurants. If there's one thing I hate, it's feeling like I'm being rushed through dinner just so the restaurant can turn another table. Overall, our dinner at Parcel 104 turned out to be fantastic. It was pricey for sure, but when you consider the wide variety of items we were able to sample, the expert wine pairings, and the prompt and knowledgeable service, it's definitely worth a visit.

Mini Cereal, A Birthday Tradition

Thu, 18 May 2006 23:52:00 -0400

Growing up, the one thing I could count on for my birthday every year was a multi-pack of mini cereals from my mom. After I moved out (just a few miles down the road), she would still give them to me as a present. When I moved to Arizona three years ago, come my birthday, there it was, shipped via UPS. Last year was the first year I didn't get the cereal for my birthday. To my surprise, when I celebrated my birthday a few months ago, Pere surprised me with an 8-pack of sugary goodness. I don't normally eat sugary cereals as I'm more of a Kashi fan these days, but once a year, I make an exception. Tasting Fruit Loops and Pops really brings back memories...

SPAM Musubi

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 19:23:00 -0400

I love SPAM Musubi. What is SPAM Musubi you ask? Think of it as SPAM sushi. Before you go "eeewwww", read on. I was in Hawaii for vacation a few weeks ago. Apparently, Hawaii is the number one per-capita consumer of SPAM in the nation, consuming over 6 million cans a year. Armed with those facts, I set out to find out just how all that SPAM could be consumed by such a small population. It turns out that one of the most popular snack foods in Hawaii is SPAM Musubi. It's essentially a big ball of sushi rice with a slice of SPAM on top (or in the middle), all wrapped in a piece of nori. It's incredibly popular and can be found at most convenience stores. The first day I tried to buy a SPAM Musubi from a place called the Nagasako General Store in Lahaina, I was told that I was too late and should try again the next morning - early. Asking what time "early" was, the woman behind the counter remarked that they opened at 6:30. Since we were planning a long drive the next day, I figured that would be a good time to come back. Trip two to the Nagasako General Store proved to be fruitful. There on the counter next to the cash register was a huge pile of neatly wrapped and stacked SPAM Musubi. After paying the $1.40 or so that it cost, I left with a big smile on my face. The SPAM was mine! I can't say that I'm a huge SPAM fan - it's something I can remember eating every once in a while as a child, but not something I remember making since. Oh well, here was a chance to give it another go. We were barely five minutes down the road before I had the wrapper off and had taken my first bite. It was still warm from the heating of the SPAM. I was surprised at how good it actually tasted. There's a definite comfort food feeling that eating SPAM Musubi evokes. Pere doesn't like SPAM much, but she tried a bite as well in the name of novelty. She was actually surprised how much she liked it as well. Our only regret that day was that we only bought one! If you are interested in Hawaiian SPAM recipes, you might want to check out Hawaii's SPAM Cookbook and Hawaii's 2nd SPAM Cookbook, both written by Ann Kondo Corum.

Salt Cellar - Scottsdale, Arizona

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:19:00 -0400

Last night, Pere and I had dinner at the Salt Cellar in Scottsdale, before heading off to see the touring Cirque du Soleil show Corteo. Because the show started at 8, we figured we would need to do an early dinner, sometime around 5:30. Normally I don't like doing dinner out that early, but we didn't really have a choice as we needed to be at the show by 7:30. The Salt Cellar is one of those places I've been meaning to go to for years yet never seem to make it to. It's considered by many to be the best place for fresh seafood in the Phoenix area. What really makes it unique, though, is the fact that the restaurant is located entirely underground. From the street, you would hardly know that it's there. There's only a small building with the entrance door and a stove pipe sticking up from the ground that give the location away. When we arrived, there were already a few people at the bar, presumably for the happy hour (5-7) specials. We were seated almost immediately in one of the many small dining rooms. I'm not sure how many there are in the place, but the dining room we were seated in was very intimate - only 6 small tables in the room. Our waitress was very friendly and went into great detail about all of the menu items, including the special board which had about a dozen daily specials. While we tried to decide on entrees, we went ahead and ordered a half-dozen oysters on the half-shell along with a bucket of steamers. I also ordered a bottle of David Bruce (2003) Pinot Noir. David Bruce makes on of my favorite Pinot Noir's, so I couldn't pass it up even though it may be a little heavy for seafood. In the meantime, our waitress brought by a bread basket with slices of three different breads, an olive bread, a sesame loaf, and a piece of sourdough. The sourdough had a perfectly crispy crust with a nice chewy inside, as did the sesame. Pere and I were both less than thrilled with the olive bread, though as the olives seemed to have all pulled to the same spot in the slice making it a little too briny. The oysters were the first appetizer to arrive. They were decent sized and smelled very fresh. We had them with a squeeze of lemon, shot of Tabasco, and a little cocktail sauce - just enough to enhance the flavor without totally killing off the taste. I thought they were great, but a little pricey at $12.95 for 6. Just as we finished the oysters, the bucket of clams arrived. One think I found a bit odd. The clams were completely dry, as if they had been baked and not steamed. It didn't really matter, though, because they tasted great, especially with the drawn butter and a squeeze of lemon. All of the clams they served us were open, which was good. I can't stand when a restaurant brings out clams or mussels and a bunch of them are dead (haven't opened). For entrees, I went with the "small" baked stuffed lobster while Pere chose the salmon wellington. The small lobster was actually 1 1/4 pounds. It was stuffed with a mixture of king crab and scallops and topped with a Ritz cracker crust. Accompanying the lobster were sauteed vegetables and a lemon and pecan wild rice. When the entrees arrived, our waitress explained that they crack all crabs and lobsters table side. She then proceeded to remove the claws from my lobster and crack them using a combination of a clean cloth napkin and a cracker. In about 30 seconds, she had cracked both claws and all of the knuckles, each with a satisfying crunch that told me the lobster hadn't been frozen for 6 months then overcooked in a pot of boiling water. She obviously had a lot of practice. The lobster also tasted great. The meat was done just right - not at all overcooked. The Ritz cracker crust was tasty as well, but I would have been just as happy with the naked lobster. I'm a bit mixed on the stuffing of king crab and scallops. While I thought the crab was good, I found the scallops (there were three) a bit mushy. All in all, though, I was very happy with my lobster. I was so full after eating it, though, that I only had a fork-full of the rice and vegetables. That's okay, though. Who really goes to a seafooder and has any interest in the vegetables and rice? Pere's salmon wellington turned out to be a huge hunk of salmon wrapped in spinach, then topped with mushrooms (it didn't look like duxelles) and wrapped in pastry. She thought it was ok, but it didn't live up to her expectations. We both thought that the quality of the seafood at the Salt Cellar was quite good, but the prices were a little higher than they should have been to be considered a good value. I do plan on going back for their happy hour, though. They run a lot of specials at the bar during happy hour, and that seems like a much more reasonable way to get decent fresh seafood without breaking the bank.

Wonderful Wanda's Breakfast & Lunch - Chandler, Arizona

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:51:00 -0400

Every Friday morning, I meet up with friends for breakfast before heading into work. The breakfast scene in the East Valley is woefully lacking. We usually end up at chains like Waffle House and Village Inn, which I don't mind, but I don't consider them particularly great. This morning, however, we met at Wonderful Wanda's Breakfast & Lunch. Wanda's is in a small stand alone building off of Chandler Blvd, just East of I-10. Stand alone non-corporate restaurants are rare in Phoenix as most tend to be located in strip malls. The place itself is fairly small with only about 12 tables. The place was packed when we arrived, but luckily there was still one table open which we promptly grabbed. I don't know if Friday mornings are usually this busy at Wanda's, but they weren't prepared for the volume. There was only a single waitress on duty. She was running around like mad, but there was just too much going on for a single person to handle. As a result, it was a good 10 minutes before she finally got to our table to take our order. Fearing we might never see her again, we ordered our drinks and food at the same time. Wanda's menu is fairly small. There's a selection of omelets, breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and assorted items such as biscuits & gravy, pancakes, and French toast. During a previous visit, I had tried one of the breakfast burritos, and it was pretty good. This time around, though, I was interested in an omelet. It just so happened that there was a special. $4.95 for a bacon and Swiss cheese omelet with onions and tomatoes, served with hash browns and a side of toast. Sounded good to me. My friend Moody ordered a breakfast burrito while Adam went with the biscuits & gravy. Surprisingly, the food came up pretty fast considering how busy the place was. My omelet looked to be a three egg version and was nice and light. The first bite was a little disappointing, though. Both the egg and the filling were in desperate need of seasoning. I added some salt and pepper from the shakers, which helped a good bit, but it's never the same as when it's incorporated into the cooking process. My hash browns came out a little undercooked. They were about two inches thick, which meant that even though the outside was browned, the center was still a little raw. All in all, my breakfast at Wanda's was ok, but it didn't rise to the level I had hoped. Moody really liked his breakfast burrito, and it seems like that might be what they do best. I'm sure I'll be back again, hopefully when things are a little less hectic and they have a little more help.

Cedar Plank Salmon with Dill Cream

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:57:00 -0400

Pere was in the mood for salmon the other night, so I picked up a nice skinless salmon filet and decided to make it on the grill. I started by soaking my cedar plank for a few hours in cold water. I've used this same cedatr plank now about 10 or so times, and I'm sure it still has a few more uses in it. Next, I washed and patted the salmon dry, then sprinkled salt and pepper on both sides, before laying the salmon skin (removed) side down on the cedar plank. I topped the salmon with lemon slices and place over indirect medium heat on the grill for about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, I made a dill cream sauce for the salmon, one of Pere's favorites. The recipe is as follows: 1 cup light sour cream (I can't taste the difference between light and full fat)
6 tablespoons chopped cornichons
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. I like making the sauce a few hours ahead and refrigerating it so that the flavors have time to combine. Once the salmon is done, remove from the plank and serve, spooning some sauce over top. Leaving it on the plank too long will continue the cooking process and could result in dried out fish if you aren't careful. If you plan to leave the salmon on the plank, you may want to pull it off of the grill a few minutes earlier than recommended.

Zest Spirited Dining - Phoenix, Arizona

Sun, 05 Feb 2006 11:13:00 -0400

For Catherine's birthday, Pere and I took her and Moody to Zest Spirited Dining for dinner. We had been meaning to try Zest for a while, and Catherine's birthday provided the perfect excuse to go. When we arrived, our table wasn't quite ready yet, so we decided to have a drink at the bar and look over the menu while we waited. Pere had a Sapphire and tonic, Moody had a Crown Royal Manhattan, and Catherine and I both went with the Zest Fresh, a specialty martini made with gin and citrus crush. The Zest Fresh was pretty good. Nice, smooth, and tart. After about 10 minutes, our table was ready, and the hostess walked us across the fashionably designed main dining room into a smaller, more intimate back dining room. The location was great because it was away from the hustle and bustle of the large and open main dining room yet it wasn't at all hidden out of the way to the point you felt isolated from the rest of the restaurant. Once seated, our waitress stopped by and dropped off menus as well as a wine list. The ladies were in the mood for white wine, so we went with a bottle of Luna Pinot Grigio. I also asked for two of the eggplant cheesecake appetizers. I had previously read about the eggplant cheesecake at Zest, and was dying to give it a try. Anticipating how good it might be, I decided we would need two orders to split. While we waited for the wine to arrive, two more servers showed up. One had water for the table, and the other a plate of lemon and lime slices, which he would place in your water glass upon request. I think it's little touches like this that don't cost the restaurant much at all, but have the potential to really set a restaurant apart. When our waitress returned, she poured the wine, and brought us a basket of bread. She also took our orders. Catherine ordered the osso buco. Both Pere and Moody went with the domestic lamb shank, which I originally was going to order as well, but once I knew Pere was having it (and I'd get to taste hers), I opted for the rainbow trout, which also sounded interesting. The wine was good - crisp and slightly fruity, but otherwise unremarkable for a pinot grigio. The bread was good too. There was no butter, but there was olive oil, which went well with the bread's firm texture and crispy crust. A few minutes later, our eggplant cheesecakes arrived. At first glance, it looked just as you would expect a piece of cheesecake to look. I took one bight and I was hooked. It had almost the same consistency as regular cheesecake, but it was completely savory. It's made from cream cheese, eggplant, eggs, and basil, and topped with a roasted garlic tomato sauce. I swore it also had goat cheese, but I may be wrong. In any case, it was simply amazing. I think this has to be one of the best uses of eggplant I've ever come across. All entrees come with a house salad served table side. The salad server asked if we would like any mixins included with the basic greens and house citrus vinaigrette. Choices included gorgonzola cheese, pecans, dried cranberries, and oranges. I took all four. I enjoyed the salad, but Pere found it to be a bit too sweet for her taste. She's not a big fan of fruit/sweet ingredients in salad, but I am! It didn't take long for the food to arrive once we had finished our appetizers. The pace at Zest was steady, but not at all rushed. As I mentioned, Pere and Moody both got the domestic lamb shank. It came wrapped in grape leaves and had been braised in a Syrah tomato sauce and was served over fusilli. It sat on a goat cheese cream sauce with sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and fennel and had another side of "grape feta relish". The lamb was fall off the bone tender (as it should have been from the braising) and had my mouth watering with each bite. I'm a fennel freak, and I really appreciated the balance it added to the dish. Catherine had the osso buco which was served with a vegetable mirepoix in a Grand Marnier citrus sauce on smashed potatoes. It was also very tender and perfectly cooked. I had a taste and liked it a lot. So much so, that it'll be a toss up between the osso buco (I want to eat every last drop of the marrow from the bone) and the lamb shank. I saved the description of my entree for last. I was in the mood for something lighter, so I had the rainbow trout which was pan fried with a citrus breading. It came served on crab spinach with a gratin of yukon gold potatoes and was topped with an oyster mushroom and vidalia onion sauce. A hand full of grilled asparagus with chive orange aioli rounded things out. The dish really came together for me. The trout was nice and crispy on the outside and very moist on the inside. The asparagus were especially good having picked up some nice carmelization from the grill. All in all, I was very happy with my choice. Even though we were all completely full from the meal, we couldn't end the evening without something sweet, so we opted to split the chocolate caramel fondue flamed with Grand Marnier and served with fresh fruits and sweet cakes. When the fondue arrived, it came complete with a small birthday candle. When our waitress presented us with the dessert, she wished Catherine a happy birthday, then told us that the dessert was on her. This was a very nice touch. Normally, I wouldn't order chocolate fondue for dessert as this is something we do (rather well) at home, but it made sense since the four of us wanted to split something. The fondue itself was okay, but not nearly as amazing as everything else we had. It was almost anti-climatic. I'm very happy I finally got around to visiting Zest. It's the type of restaurant I'd love to have in my neighborhood. If it weren't so far away, I'd definitely make myself a regular there. As it stands, though, it's worth the drive, and I do see myself making the trip out there much more often.

The Holy Popcorn Trinity

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:26:00 -0400

Strange title, I know. One of my favorite snacks is one I tend to have only once a year around the holidays. It's that tri-flavored tin of popcorn that seems to be such a popular gift. What's so special about a big tin that contains three different flavors of popcorn (butter, cheese, caramel) separated by a cardboard divider you ask? Nothing really, until you pull out the divider and let the three flavors mix! That's right, pull that divider out, put the lid back on, and give that tin a respectable shake. What you'll end up with is a snack that's so wonderfully sweet and salty that you'll wonder why you never tried it before.

T. Cooks - Scottsdale, Arizona

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 17:03:00 -0400

We almost never stay in and cook for special occasions. We do so much cooking at home most nights of the week that when a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary does come around, the last thing we want to do is undertake a massive cooking project with all the associated prep and cleanup. Since our 7th wedding anniversary was on a Monday this year (it was actually back in August, I just didn't realize I had written up this review and never posted it), and we didn't want to celebrate on a different night, it made finding a restaurant a bit challenging. Of all the available choices, T. Cooks at the Royal Palms Spa and Resort in Scottsdale sounded the most promising. I'd heard a lot about T. Cooks in the past, so I was looking forward to trying them out. The dining room itself was very nicely designed. Rustic yet still upscale. My only complaint here is where we were seated. Given the place's reputation for romantic atmosphere, we were slightly dismayed to be seated in the center of the dining room. Given that we had called a few weeks in advance for a reservation, I would have expected a better table. The menu was Mediterranean influenced. We started our meal with a half bottle of Chandon sparkling wine. I'm particularly fond of half bottles as they allow you to try several different wines in a single meal without having to slug down an entire bottle. Since Arizona still doesn't allow you to take home partially consumed bottles, half bottles are still the best option when you only have two people dining. For an appetizer, we decided to split the foie gras terrine with confit and grilled scallion salad. Pere ordered the English pea soup with crème fraîche and caviar while I opted for the lobster carrot bisque with caraway bread stick and crème fraiche. Pere chose the seared scallops with basil scented gratin and sweet corn emulsion . I can't say that anything on the menu really jumped out at me. In the end, I decided to go with the Sterling Silver pork tenderloin with brandy cream, which was fairly unremarkable. I actually chose the pork more for the side dish that came with it - an apple-garlic tart. The apple tart was good, and I was surprised just how well the apple and garlic paired. When I had called T. Cooks to make the reservation, they asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. I told them we were celebrating our seventh anniversary. When we arrived at the restaurant, our waiter congratulated us on the milestone. It was a small touch, but it's extras like that that can elevate a dining experience. Although we were both stuffed after our meals, we had to order desert. I had heard that T. Cooks was known for the presentation of their deserts. We went ahead and split a poached pear. When it arrived, it was truly architectural, sitting on a bed of marscapone with a cookie "wing" sticking out of the side and a spun sugar halo. The pastry chef had also written "Happy Seventh Anniversary" in chocolate around the rim of the plate. A nice finishing touch for the evening.

Thanksgiving 2005

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 11:22:00 -0400

Our Thanksgiving plans this year had a last minute change when the host of this year's festivities had to cancel do to a family emergency. Since there were only four of us left, we decided to do dinner at our place instead. We decided to split up the food preparations among the four of us and pulled together the following menu: Cranberry Vanilla Mimosas
Stilton Soup
Ultimate Turkey with Pan Gravy
Sausage Stuffing with Caramelized Leeks and Onions
Green Beans with Wild Mushrooms
Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish
Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
Homestyle Biscuits
Catherine?s Pavlova
Fruit Salad If you are an NPR listener, you may have heard the segment where Susan Stamberg interviewed Martha Stewart. During the segment, Susan shared her mother's recipe for cranberry relish. The recipe was interesting to say the least, so our friends Moody and Catherine decided to make it for our Thanksgiving dinner. Although the color of Pepto-Bismol, it was actually quite tasty. The horseradish gave it extra kick for sure. The meal turned out very well. The turkey was extremely moist (we went with a kosher bird this year). We decided to try using convection this year. The cook time seemed a bit less than ususal, but I didn't notice any other real differences. My favorite way to cook a turkey remains the grill.

Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar - Healdsburg, California

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 03:38:00 -0400

Although Healdsburg isn't swimming in restaurants like Napa, there are a few standouts worth visiting. Among them is Zin, which bills itself as a restaurant & wine bar with a dozen or so wines by the glass and over 100 bottles to chose from. Pere and I had dinner at Zin the Friday night of our trip. I had made a reservation ahead of our visit to avoid any potential issues with the number of people expected to be in town that weekend. I had also tried to make a dinner reservation at the Dry Creek Inn, but all they had available was 5:30, and that was a bit too early for me. We actually ended up arriving at Zin about 45 minutes ahead of our reservation. We had been out wine tasting all day (more on that later), and decided to take a taxi into town from our hotel so that driving wouldn't be an issue. Having had our fill of wine all day, we were hoping to have a cocktail before dinner. Unfortunately, Zin only serves wine and beer (as do a lot of establishments in Healdsburg). Pere and I grabed a seat at the small bar and I ordered a Red Rocket Ale from nearby Bear Republic Brewing Company. Pere had a soda while we waited for our table, since she really wasn't in the mood for beer either. Once our table was ready, we were seated along one of the dining room's walls. Zin has an open floor plan with an open kitchen, so this was much better than being stuck out in the middle of the room. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Zin was because they had A. Rafanelli wines on their menu. Rafanelli is a very small family run winery that only produces about 10,000 cases a year and sells only through their winery, wine club, and to some restaurants. My friend Gina highly recommended their Zinfandel, so I figured what better place to give it a try than at a restaurant named Zin. Unfortunately for me, when I went to order a bottle, the waiter informed me that they were out of the Rafanelli Zin. He mentioned something about them missing their morning delivery, which makes sense to me because when I called Rafanelli to make an appointment for a tasting, they said they might not be open on the weekend. Slightly disappointed, I went ahead and ordered the Rafanelli Cabernet instead. It turned out to be a good move. It was slightly more expensive than the Zin (at $55), but it was big, bold, and smooth. It was just dry enough that you could taste some of the tanin, but not to the point where your face puckers like you just sucked on a lemon. Happy with our wine choice, we went ahead and ordered. For starters, we ordered Mexican beer battered green beans with mango salsa as well as ravioli stuffed with corn and ricotta cheese in basil butter. The green beans alone were almost enough to fill us up. Who would have thought to batter and fry green beans, but it woked out well. The batter was fairly light, and the beans still crispy inside. They matched up well with the mango salsa. The ravioli were equally as good. The sweet corn and ricotta cheese was punched up by the very flavorful basil butter. I could easily have eaten a whole plate of these gems and skipped my entree all together. Pere had Hanger steak with wild mushrooms, sherry, and thyme. It came with what they called a potato and onion casserole, but was more like a potato pancake cooked in a ramekin and topped with onion rings. I had the pan grilled Sonoma duck breast with blackberry ancho chili glaze. The duck was cooked a little past the medium rare I had specified, but I could live with that. The duck was served over mashed potatos, which were good, but again, nothing notable. By the time we finished our meals, we were both to full for desert. We asked for the check and chatted up the waiter for suggestions on where to hang out after 10pm, the time that most establishments in Healdsburg close. He suggested Ravenous or B&B lounge as good choices frequented by locals. Zin was good, but I just couldn't find anything that was enough of a standout to make me want to come back given other opportunities.

Classic Diner - Malvern, Pennsylvania

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 11:51:00 -0400

Continuing on my Pennsylvania/Delaware trip food roundup, we have the Classic Diner. The classic diner isn't your classic New Jersey style diner in the aesthetic sense at all. Instead, they specialize in new interpretations of classic diner food. It's a popular (and crowded) place, and that remained true for our visit. Luckily, there were six of us, so we lucked out with a short wait that day even thought there were a bunch of other couples waiting for a table. There are so many interesting things on the menu at the Classic Diner that it's tough to decide what to go with. Sensing I was having a tough time deciding, my brother Mark offered to split plates with me. This made it a little easier. We decided on a make your own omelette with blue cheese and filet tips and an order of their famous peanut butter and banana french toast. Pere and Mark's fiance Jen also decided to share plates and opted for the lobster BLT and a tuna melt. Moody had a breakfast sandwich with egg, roasted red peppers, and avocado. Catherine went more traditional and opted for eggs and canadian bacon. Just about all of the dishes came with some sort of potato and toast. My omelette had thick cut fried potato rounds with rosemary. Pere's lobster BLT had thin cut chips. Most of us had rye or wheat toast. The blue cheese and filet omelette was nice. The eggs were light and fluffy, and the blue cheese offered a nice contrast to the juicy filet. What I really enjoyed, though, was the peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast. The slices of bread were each at least an inch thick, with plenty of creamy peanut butter and bananas in the middle. The dish was finished with a honey star anise drizzle, which imparted just the right amount of fragrance and additional sweetness. It was definitely a rich and decadent breakfast, and even though Mark and I split it, we still weren't able to finish it! All in all, everyone really enjoyed their breakfast at the Classic Diner. I had a small taste of Pere's lobster BLT, and almost wish I was able to have split my breakfast three ways. Since I'm not sure when we're going to be back East anytime soon, I think it's going to be a long time before I can feed another Classic Diner fix.

Pepper Mill - West Chester, Pennsylvania

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 16:29:00 -0400

Many people will argue that you have to have a cheese steak from Pat's or Geno's, but I disagree. While I've had my share from both places over the years, I find that there are a large number of other neighborhood steak shops in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey that do cheese steaks just as good and in many cases far better than either Pat's or Geno's. Case in point is the Pepper Mill in West Chester, PA. From the outside, the place is nothing special to look at. Inside, it isn't either. It's a bare-bones, typical steak shop with seating. The menu offers all maner of steaks, subs, and other sandwiches. Mark and I decided to split a cheese steak with fried onions. I asked for hot and sweet peppers on the side since I knew that Mark didn't like them. We also added an order of cheese fries for good measure. Moody went with a mushroom cheese steak, while Catherine went with a pizza steak (cheese steak with sauce), sometimes called an "original Philly steak". All of the steaks were awesome. The bread was firm, the steak juicy and plentiful, nicely enhanced by the fried onions, and the cheese was distributed throughout evenly. Everything you want a cheese steak to be. Moody was so impressed he remarked that his blew away the cheese steaks we regularly get from the best place I've found in Arizona so far, Capriotti's. The one factor that almost always makes cheese steaks produced outside of the Philadelphia region pale in comparison to their native cousins is the bread. The rolls local to the area just can't be replicated West of the Mississippi. Maybe it's the water, maybe it's altitude. Whatever it is, I have yet to have a cheese steak (say in Arizona) that is as good as one from the Tri-State area. Capriotti's comes close (of course they are an East coast franchise), but the bread in AZ is still not as good.