Sex and the City Party

Friday night was an evening I have been anticipating for weeks. For the past couple of months, every few weeks, some of my girlfriends and I have been hosting Sex and the City nights to prepare for the upcoming release of the movie. We've gathered at each of our apartments, popped in a season of the show and chomped down on some delicious food and topped it all off with a drink of the evening, starting with a Back Bay Cosmo the first week. This week was my week to host.


Being the ridiculous foodie that I am, I was envisioning my menu since I picked the date. I wanted to do a summery menu, lighter food, especially since a couple of the girls are off to a tropical location in just a few days. I settled on making mussels, my first attempt, baked chicken fingers, and cup cakes- no not healthy but I wanted to test out my hand at baking.



For the mussels I combined a small amount of olive oil and butter in the botton of a large fry pan and turned the heat to medium. after they had melted together I added chopped garlic, basil, parsely and a small amount of salt and pepper and allowed them to sautee together. Then I added some coarsley chopped tomatoes, and then finally about three quarters of a bottle of chardonnay. I covered the pan and allowed it to simmer for a while to cook off the alcohol from the wine. While it was simmering I sorted through the mussels. Mussels need to be kept cold as you end up cooking them while they are still alive. Of course, some will die during transit (ocean to the grocery store, store to your house) so those must be removed before cooking. You can tell which havent made the full journey if the shells are broken or if the mussel has opened its shell. So I weeded out all of the dead ones, and then added all of the mussels that still had their shells tightly closed to the ban which had made a nice broth for them. I covered the pan again and within about 5 minutes, the mussels had all opened their shells and were ready to serve. I decided to serve the mussels with chunks of bread that I grilled in my grill pan and then lightly painted with a butter, garlic and parsley mixture just to give them some flavor. I have to say, mussels were the easiest to make, and incredibly affordable- I think I have found my summer meal!! Yum!!

The chicken fingers I decided to make were rather simple as well. I bought chicken tenders, basically small pieces of chicken breast, skin free, from the grocery store, and soaked them for about a half hour in a mixture of buttermilk, pepper, and tobasco (obviously I add tobasco to everything). Then I dipped the pieces into crushed whole wheat Chex (well the Whole Foods version of Chex) and placed them on a baking sheet. About 25 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees...out came nicely crispy, well flavored chicken fingers that I served with sides of fat free ranch dressing and salsa.

Finally, it was time for the cupcakes. In season 5 of Sex and the City, Carrie has her book release party- pink cupcakes are served. I thought it would be a fun throw back to them to make some fun pink frosted cup cakes. So I made vanilla box cupcakes (I didnt have THAT much time :-) ), and then decided that I wanted to stuff them. So I made a batch of instant vanilla pudding, and then added defrosted frozen raspberries to it. Unfortunately, I hadnt allowed the pudding to gel properly and I ended up making raspberry vanilla pudding soup....not quite the best consistency for stuffing cupcakes. So I decided to thicken that up a bit with some reduced fat ricotta cheese that I had in the fridge. This made a nice thick creamy mixture, perfect for piping into cupcakes. So I pulled out my handy dandy cake decorating set and used the smallest piping attachment to shoot some of the raspberry pudding cheese into the bottom of each cupcake. I found out later- great idea- but I didnt get the mixture as far into the cake as I would have liked- I think either I should shoot it into three separate places next time, or use smaller cup cakes. Then I made a nice icing out of fresh whipped cream, flavored with some raspberry extract as opposed to vanilla, and folded in some of the remaining raspberries. The whipped cream took on a nice light pink color, and was a wonderful topping to my cute little stuffed cupcakes. The girls loved them and luckily I only had a couple left over for my weekend indulgences.

The drink I decided to make was suggested by D, as a throw back to the cocktail parties of the 50's and 60's- a good sherbet punch. D is also WELL aware of my affinity for champagne :-). So I mixed together just a couple of shots of vodka, black cherry juice, and champagne in a large pitcher, and then topped it all of with a Hyacinth sorbet. It was delicious. Sometimes I find that punch can be a bit too sweet, but this had a nice tartness to it, was good and bubbly, and the sorbet added the cold and a good amount of sugar. Overall-it was a successful cocktail addition- and one that I think Ill be making again soon....Birthday cocktail perhaps??? I think so.

With food in hand and cocktails abounding it was a perfect evening to sit back with some girl friends and season 5. Just a little over a week now til the movie comes out!

Bin 26 Enoteca, Boston

Since my sister was in town this weekend for Mothers Day, we decided to take my mom out for a nice dinner on Saturday evening. Looking for a unique new place that my mother hadn't been before, we decided on Bin 26 Enoteca, located on Charles Street, in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood.

An enoteca, by Italian definition is a wine bar for all intents and purposes, and Bin 26 has done all it can to keep the idea behind a traditional Italian wine bar alive and well in its design. They offer many small dishes perfect for sharing, along with an extremely extensive wine menu. One thing that I really enjoy about how they serve their wines is that they vary the size of the glasses, so you can choose between a traditional bottle, a 100 ml glass, a 250 ml glass or a 500 ml glass. Choosing to have a couple 100 ml glasses allowed me to taste a couple of different wines. Our waitress was very knowledgeable on each of the wines that we inquired about, able to give a clear and concise description of each. While you may anticipate this type of detail in an enoteca, I feel that it is an important detail and one worth mentioning.

We started our meals with a few small plates for sharing, marinated olives, Grana Padano served with an aged balsamic vinegar, fried risotto balls stuffed with fontina cheese, beef carpaccio, and mussels. Grana Padano is a hard cheese, prepared similarly to Parmigiano Reggiano, cooked and ripened slowly, and made from the milk of grass fed cows. It has a similar texture to the Parmigian that we all know today, with a slightly stronger taste. The Balsamic vinegar that it is served with is aged to a degree where it is a thick syrup that has a delightful cut to the cheese. Together, the two are heaven.

The risotto balls stuffed with fontina cheese are another dish that's a basic home run. The risotto grains provide a nice texture contrast to the warm melted fontina cheese, and the fried outside gives a nice crunch to them. They are served toasty warm, two to a dish, and are completely addictive. They were the hit of the evening. Second to those, at least in my opinion as second place is a bit of a toss up, was the beef carpaccio. When done right, carpaccio is one of my all time favorites, and this was done right. Raw beef, that's been only lightly seared, served paper thin drizzled with olive oil and topped with arugula- this dish provides a certain lightness of a salad, while also adding an experimental vibe in that the beef is certainly raw. Sometimes feeling a little daring in your ordering can make things just that much more interesting. Bin 26 provided the perfect combination of beef, greens and oil, while adding, and I'm not sure from where, the hint of mustard that completed this dish perfectly.

As I said, second place for the evening was a tie, the other competitor being their mussels. Served in a spicy tomato sauce, these were cooked perfectly, served without any "rejects", or ones with the shell still closed. The sauce provided an excellent back drop to the dish, nicely clinging to the meat and tasty enough to sop up with the table bread. Completely delicious.

Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with our main dishes. We chose to split two entrees, one a cocoa tagliatelle with mushrooms enhanced with orange rind, and one of their specials for the evening, scallops with a fettuccine. To start with the good- the scallops were perfectly cooked. They were lightly seared, cooked to be tender, and not at all rubbery. They were delicious. However, the fettuccine was nothing remarkable, nor was the sauce served with it. On the same note, the cocoa tagliatelle was only alright. When you were lucky enough to find a bit of the orange rind with the pasta, it was quite good, but sadly those instances were few and far between. The mushrooms that accompanied it were well seasoned, but had taken on that "slimy" affect that can make them rather unappetizing.

This was my second time dining at Bin 26, and I'm sad to report that I had similar experiences both times. The small plates are wonderful- well seasoned, imaginative, delicious- but the entrees almost seem to be an ill conceived after thought. They appear to be on the menu out of necessity, but not because the chef is excited to make them. We all know that love is a key ingredient in any dish, and it just doesn't appear to make it the entree dishes. Don't let it dissuade you though, Bin 26 nails its small courses, and has enough of them to make a plentiful meal, and its wine selection should not be missed.

http://www.bin26.com/index.php

Spicy ginger shrimp with veggies and mashed potatoes

So last night as I was wandering around the grocery store (one of my favorite places to relax) I found a jar of ginger spread. Looking at the packaging I anticipated it to be similar to crystalized ginger but ground into a paste. Not too sweet and showing that wonderful spiciness of ginger root. So I decided to buy it, and figure out what to do with it later. Today I got the perfect idea- I thought it would be a perfect ingredient in sauteed shrimp.

Tonight, once I got home from a particularly rough day at the office, I formulated the rest of my menu. I decided on mashed potatoes, some sauteed veggies, and the star- the shrimp. Into a small sauce pan I put in red potatoes with the skin left on chopped into bite size pieces. I covered them with water, and set them a boiling. Once they were cooked through I would add a bit of butter, some cream and asiago cheese and mash them all together for a cheesy take on mashed potatoes. Back at my cutting board I chopped three cloves of garlic, a serrano pepper, some thyme, and baby portobellow mushrooms. Into a sautee pan I put in about a teaspoon each of butter and olive oil, then half the garlic and the thyme. Once those were smelling good, I added in the sliced mushrooms. Then I added a bit of fresh arugala that I had left over from earlier dinners, as well as some baby spinach and allowed those to cook down. I removed them from the pan, but left some of the garlic and the thyme in the pan as I was going to use the same one to cook the shrimp. I put the vegetables aside, and added a little bit more butter to the pan. I then added the rest of the garlic and the chopped serrano pepper. I then added my special ingredient- just a teaspoon of the ginger spread. I allowed the spread to melt into the butter combination. I then added the shrimp and cooked them for two and a half minutes each side.

I decided to serve this creation layered- base of mashed potatoes, then the vegetables and then the shrimp on top. The shrimp were absolutely delicious- the pepper gave them a lot of heat, while the ginger added a second dimension of heat along with adding a really nice sweetness to offset it. The potatoes gave the heat a nice and creamy back drop, though they could have used some more salt. And the vegetables have been a staple of my cooking for the past couple of days so they were fantastc. I love the goodness of a nice portobello along with some spinach and arugala. Just a delicious mix.

I have to say- this is one for the books- Id entertain with this dish without a doubt.

Fenway Favorites

We are about a month into my one of my favorite times of the year- Baseball Season. Overall, this season represents everything fantastic in the world, warm summer nights, cheering on the home town team, grilling with friends, enjoying a cold beverage or two...there is just nothing better than a Sox win, a frosty beer and some tasty Fenway food.

I have been lucky enough this year to have already gotten to four games. Each time Ive gotten to sample different fun treats at the park and each time Ive have a fabulous time with fabulous people- win or lose.

Under normal circumstances, I don't incorporate sauasage or hot dogs into my daily diet. However, when at Fenway- there is nothing more obvious than ordering these items. The first game I went to- I walked around for quite a while trying to decide how I wanted to kick off my season of eating- Fenway Frank- the old standby? Sausage with onions and peppers? My friends advice that the cubans there are to die for? Or stick with something light and do a bit of a "Fenway Tasting"? I chose to go for the Sausage with peppers and onions- loaded with quite a bit of mustard. There is just something about the greasy sausage topped with cooked green peppers and onions with a nice yellow mustard layered on top that screams special treat a., and b. summer is here. I thoroughly enjoyed my sausage but was rather disappointed that they were out of the big pretzels when I went for one later, and only had kettle corn in place of real hot popcorn. Needless to say- I skipped my 7th inning snack.

Never fear though- last week I was able to satisfy some more cravings at my third game of the season. First stop on entering the park- the pretzel stand to indulge in one of those extra large, hot out of the "oven", nicely rock salted twisted bread sticks. I never use more yellow mustard than I do at the park- and I absolutely loaded up my pretzel that night. The combination of the acidity of the mustard along with the doughy pretzel and the salt is one of my private heavens. Later in the game, after much tracking of the stand seller, I got my first Fenway Frank of the season. I have to say...I know that they are riddled with non nutrients, and if thought about carefully, are a pretty disgusting food, but sometimes nothing hits the spot better than a nice hot dog, in a soft bun with- you guessed it- yellow mustard. There is something about them that reminds me of childhood, and the pure simplicity of it all.

This past weekend I enjoyed my final Fenway tradition- a sausage from outside the park from The Sausage Guy- this guy knows his stuff. More flavorful than inside the park, though including the same general ingredients- there's just nothing better.

Now obviously- the diet from meals at Fenway is seriously lacking some key nutrients, but it is my firm belief that when you are inside the home of the Boston Red Sox- you can eat or drink as you please and it just doesn't count. Walk off homers in the 9th though...do! :-)

Casa Romero, Boston

Saturday night I had a date with one of my favorites- my mom. We decided to go for Mexican, and chose a spot that neither of us had been to before. Casa Romero, located in an ally off of Gloucester Street in the Back Bay gets rave reviews from everyone Ive spoken to.

As soon as we walked into the door, I knew that this would be a meal to remember. The restaurant is artistically decorated with pieces from Mexico that make you feel as though you might have actually been transported to an intimate spot south of the border. The outdoor patio, though it was getting a bit too cold for us to sit out there, looked like a perfect spot to dine on a warm summer evening.

We started with shrimp flautas. In basic terms these are fried taquitos- a small tortilla wrapped tightly around a filling so they resemble a cigar in appearance. At Casa Romero they were served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on top to resemble the Mexican flag. Cute presentation, but unfortunately, taste wise they were a bit of a disappointment. The seasoning that was used in the shrimp filling (and to be honest- I couldn't quite place the ingredients other than shrimp) was not bold enough to over come the heat of the fryer. Therefore the dish was very hot, and not very flavorful. We also though that there could have been a bit more of the "flag" on top.

My disappointment though in the appetizer did not affect my joy in my entree. I had selected to have a dish called Pechuga de Pollo a la Mexicana which was a chicken breast cooked in a mixture of brandy, tomatoes, capers, mushrooms and olives. The chicken was moist and delicious, and the sauce served with it was very flavorful. I had anticipated the sauce to be more brandy than tomato, and while I was wrong, the outcome was delicious. The brandy could be tasted well in the background of the tomato, and the salty-ness of the capers and the olives shown through. I always enjoy mixing an acid like tomatoes with a salt- there is just something that the two together do to the taste buds that make it delicious. I would have liked to have seen more mushrooms in the dish, but over all, it was fantastic. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it was also served with two side dishes, re fried beans and rice. Neither were very good to be frank. The beans had a burned taste to them which made them inedible, and the rice was fine, but rather dry and seemed to be an obvious after thought. Despite those two failures though, the chicken out shined it all, and I still have to call that dish a success- one that I would definitely order again.

We had a hard time deciding which dessert to share so we enlisted the help of our waitress. She recommended the Pay de Coco, which was a cheese cake made of ricotta and cream of coconut. It was served with toasted coconut on top and drizzled with an apricot sauce. The cake was light, and hinted of coconut and lemon. It was sweet without being over powering, rich without being too much. The toasted coconut on top added a slight crunch for the differing textures, and the sauce enhanced the dish over all. My mother was slightly concerned that the sauce could have been a bit sweeter, however I enjoyed the slight tartness to it. I found that it added to the lightness of the dish to have that sauce on the tart side rather than sweet- it almost allowed you to trick your mind into believing that you were not indulging in something decadent.

While Casa Romero did not meet my very high expectations, I enjoyed the evening thoroughly and would definitely return. The ambiance of the place, and the items that they did well far out shined those items that they did not do well.

http://www.casaromero.com/

Steak with a mushroom red wine sauce over fingerling potatoes

Today was one of those no good very bad days starting at 12:30 am when I was awoken by my fire alarm and continuing straight through work. When I was finally able to pack up for the day all I wanted to do was take a long walk home and stand in my kitchen chopping and dicing and creating tasty dishes. I find cooking, and preparing food to be incredibly relaxing, and a great de-stresser. So I took great joy in spending the last few minutes of work thinking through what I wanted to make myself for dinner. Now, to be fair, I had one of those "sad when its over", absolutely delicious, perfect meals on Saturday night, and I took a lot of inspiration from that. So I cant really take credit for a couple of the ideas as basically I would love to be able to recreate it completely, though I know that thats next to impossible.



I was having one of my ridiculous steak cravings so I stopped to pick up some steak, some baby portobello mushrooms for a wine sauce that I was picturing, baby arugula and fingerling potatoes- my favorite type of potato. Somehow I have lived as long as I have, and cooked as much as I have and Ive never had cooked arugula-other than on a pizza as a topping. Saturday night I had it sauteed with onions, asparagus and mushrooms and it was delicious. Arugula has a great spicy, sort of peppery taste to it when raw, and when cooked it mutes slightly but still holds enough of its flavor to add a great dimension. I decided to add it to my fingerling potatoes that I sauteed with just a little bit of olive oil, chopped garlic, chopped shallots, a few red pepper flakes to turn up the heat a bit and salt and pepper. I laid this mixture down as a bed (Im telling you- inspiration) and sliced steak that I had cooked up in my trusty grill pan over the top if it. I cannot tell you how sad I am to not have a real grill, however I adore my apartment and where I live so I guess Ill just have to survive as having one here will just not work. A grill pan does a good enough job I guess- you dont get that great charcoal/fire taste in the meat, but you can get a great caramelization and grill marks so its sort of close.

I then turned my attention to making a wine sauce to cover the meal. I had sliced the mushrooms down into pretty thick pieces and added them to a sauce pan with butter, garlic and shallots simmering. I allowed them to cook for a while to absorb those flavors. Mushrooms are fantastic in that they will just soak up different flavors and really showcase what you cook them with. I do wish that my brain had been working a bit better when I was at the store as I would have remember to pick up some thyme, or maybe some rosemary to add another dimension of flavor to the sauce. After the day I had though I was happy to just know my name, so the sauce would have to do without that addition. Once I had felt that the mushrooms had had enough time to absorb the flavors, I added about a quarter of a bottle of a Spanish red wine. The first few times I tried to make a wine sauce I found that they turned out very bitter tasting, and what Ive realized is that I hadnt been cooking any of it long enough. I hadnt allowed the garlic to saute long enough to turn a bit sweet, and I hadnt allowed the alcohol in the wine to cook off to leave the sweetness and the richness of the grapes. This time I allowed the wine to simmer, over a medium heat, until I could see the reduction happening. The smell of the sauce went from an acrid, alcoholic smell to one of a combination of all of the different ingredients. It smelled delicious. I spooned quite a bit of it over the steak and sat down to enjoy with another glass of red wine.

I would absolutely change a few things to this dish. The arugula was delicious, and added a brightness to the dish that was necessary in contrast to the wine sauce and meat, however as it was under the meat, the dish did not showcase the beauty of it. I enjoyed it as a bed, but I either should have reserved a bit to stand up to the sauce on top of the steak, or I suppose that parsley over the top would have added the necessary brightness to the top of the dish. I also would have added a bit more herbs in general to my cooking. However, I have to say, it hit the spot. The steak had caramelized nicely on the outside, the potatoes had absorbed a bit of the heat with the pepper flakes, and peppery arugula complimented that well. The sauce was delicious.

Sometimes there is nothing better than making something with your hands- chopping, prepping, slicing, stirring...its a form of accomplishment to step back from a meal that youve enjoyed and know that you created it as well. To me, its the greatest satisfaction that no matter what else happens in the day I can make something and be completely happy with it. What else do you need really?

Atlantic Fish Company, Boston - Brunch

Brunch is one of those meals that you just cant beat. A lazy meal on a Sunday afternoon or late morning is just the perfect end to a weekend. I had the opportunity to check out Atlantic Fish Company's brunch last weekend. I have been a big fan of AFC for a few years for their dinner service, I find the their fish to be incredibly fresh, their service very attentive, and their menu simple, but a very good collection of dishes. Needless to say, I was excited to see if their brunch menu upheld the ideals of their dinner service.

Our server definitely upheld the image of what Atlantic strives to be. He was polite, charming, and was very familiar with the menu. He made great suggestions, and was knowledgeable about each dish that we questioned him on. By his rave reviews, I chose to get their eggs benedict over crab cakes. Thse were served with pan roasted fingerling potatos and light greens. I was a bit hesitant to try a benedict dis again after the last time that I had it at Masa a few months ago. I was very pleasantly surprised with the complete opposite experience with Atlantic. The eggs were perfectly poached, over crab cakes that were full of fresh crab and not weighed down with lots of bread crumbs as they some times are. The hollandaise was light and fluid throughout the meal. Not once did I feel that it had congealed at all or had become a heavy entity on the plate. Instead, I couldnt stop eating my meal and absolutely cleaned my plate. the potatoes, though I personally enjoy a crispy hash brown with my breakfast, were tasty despite their soft nature, they were very well seasoned. I was a bit concerned about the greens on the side, the idea of egg yoke mixing with arugala upset me slightly, however it turned out to be a perfect compliment to the meal.

My mother, my dining companion, had a crab cake melt that was to be accented with a pistachio pesto and brie. She found that the crab cake itself was delicious, however their wasnt enough of the pesto, and she thought that the brie got a bit lost with the bread. She did however thoroughly enjoy their white sangria, though she was remiss that it was served in a large glass and she just couldnt finish it all. I, however, did not have any problem finishing my raspberry martini which was a bit strong for a brunch type drink, but delicious none the less.

All in all, our brunch was delicious. The atmosphere in Atlantic Fish Company is beautiful, and I find very relaxing, and their food has always been superior in my opinion.

http://www.atlanticfishco.com/index.cfm