So I have a tradition. I don't go home for Thanksgiving. Home's a little far away. And I'm lazy. Instead, I sleep in, cook all day while watching football, and eat way too much. And then the day after, I do the same thing, minus the cooking part. Back when the entire posse was around, we'd spend the Saturday before Thanksgiving doing some volunteer work, and then have a big Thanksgiving dinner at my place. I'd have leftovers all week, and wouldn't want to do another turkey on Thanksgiving, so I normally don't do the traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. Instead I normally go with a standing rib roast, and build from there. This year, I didn't have a posse around, so no early Thanksgiving dinner, but I stuck with my personal tradition, anyway.
It was pretty sweet. I made a nice warm vichyssoise the day before, so that made for a great opener. Simple as can be. Chicken stock, cooked leeks, potatoes, salt, pepper, all simmering in a pot. When everything's cooked down, you take the ol' boat motor for a ride, and puree everything. Finish with milk or cream, maybe a little garnish, and life's good.
I did go with something new, olive oil poached shrimp and scallops. Incredibly simple. Warm up a bunch of olive oil, and add some aromatics (garlic, sage, rosemary, and parsley, since that's what I had on hand). Cool the oil down to about 130, and add the seafood, and put the whole thing on the stove, over warm. Let it go until the seafood's cooked. You get this really nice, tender seafood that has a gentle flavor. You may need to add a touch of salt to the scallops, but the shrimp should be great as is. Very nice opener.
While this was happening, I busted out an old standby that I hadn't made in a couple years, a potato/apple cheddar gratin. Basically, scalloped potatoes, only with layers of apple in there. A little sweet and a little sour work nicely with the cheddar and potatoes, and makes for something that takes classic comfort food, and makes it just a little different, and darned good. This isn't the simplest dish, because you have to make a bechamel, and then thinly slice a bunch of potatoes and apples, but it isn't rocket science. And it's well worth the time. And if you make a big batch of bechamel, you can make baked mac 'n cheese the next day! The biggest thing is to have a big baking tray under your casserole dish, to catch the sauce that boils over in the oven. That saves you from cleaning up a mess.
After that, I made the classic rib roast, and had carrots and sweet potatoes below to cook in the drippings. Great stuff. I did try a new technique that I read about for the roast. Normally, I prefer to sear, and then go at 300 to finish. Instead, this time I roasted at 550 for 35 minutes, and then turning the oven down to 200 for the next 1:25. The meat turned out great, very rare, almost black and blue, but that's what I'm into :-) If I was having guests, I'd probably bump it up to 250 to finish, to get to a more medium-rare. But it was just me, so I went caveman style on this one. The problem was that the root veggies that were in contact with the pan ended up getting burned because of the time at 550. This technique is much easier than searing, so the trade off may be worth it. Unfortunately, nothing else can really be done with the oven during this time, so you'd have to make sides elsewhere, which isn't that big of a deal.
All of this stuff was pretty standard fare for me, so while it was tasty, it wasn't all that exciting to me. What turned out to be exciting was a little additional side that is going to become standard fare in my kitchen. Popovers (or mini Yorkshire puddings, if you like) from a muffin tin. They have popover tins, but I don't know what else you do with them, and the muffin tins work just fine. Easy to make the batter. Equal parts milk and flour (by volume), with 1 egg for each cup of milk/flour. Seasonings to taste. Add a little less flour for a lighter popover. Add everything to the blender, and blend. While the blender's still on, add the flour. You've got batter in seconds. Do this about an hour before your roast is coming out, and let the batter rest. Take the roast out to rest, and fire the oven back up to 425. Spoon a little bit (maybe 1-2 tsp) of the drippings into each slot in the muffin tin, and put the tin into the oven (you want the tin to be hot). After about 2 minutes, take the tin out, and fill each slot about 2/3 of the way with your batter, and put it back into the oven. Let it go at 425 for 12 minutes, and then reduce the head to 375 for about another 20 minutes. Brush with a little butter (or more of the drippings!), and you're in business.
The funny part was that I was doing a good job of portion control earlier. Instead of devouring the entire rib roast (which I've been known to do), I only punished half of it (though in fairness, it was a 3.25 lb. roast), and was good with the other sides. However, I definitely ate an entire tray (only 6, though) of the popovers. They're like those Pillsbury crescent rolls - just addicting. It struck me that the popovers were a lot like the muffins over at Milo's, so I think that I'll be playing around to see if I can duplicate what they're doing. I'm guessing a little more flour in the batter, and I'll be close.
In any case, I definitely ate well yesterday (and with the leftovers today). However, I think that I do want to roast a bird (probably a chicken, though), and make some stuffing, potatoes, and corn casserole, and drowh it all in gravy at some point soon to make up for my lost Thanksgiving. But I think that I'll be making popovers anyway, because they're too good to skip out on.
-foodgeek
Friday, November 23, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Compare and Contrast: Greek Champaign
Okay. I don't write here nearly enough. So, instead of doing two full blown write-ups, I'm going to start something different. Comparisons of similar places. So today, we're going to talk about the Greek scene. No, I'm not talking about the sororities with the hottest girls or the frats that throw the best keggers. We're talking food.
Pasha's vs. Papa George's
The initial response that comes to mind when you enter both places is very different. You walk into Pasha's, and you think, "sort of plain looking restaurant, and the layout's a little odd, but it seems cool enough." Pasha's has a sort of open layout, but a strange flow to the place. It seemed like there was some potential there. On the other hand, you walk into Papa George's, and you think, "So this is where all of the old apartment furniture ends up." It's in a sort of stereotypical Applebee's sort of layout where you walk in, look onto a U-shaped bar, and has seating to both sides. It didn't exactly inspire confidence.
And the presentation of the food sort of verified my view of both places. At Pasha's, the presentation was a little muddled, but it still felt like a restaurant, maybe one that was trying a little too hard, but it was what you expected. At Papa George's, the plates were old, beat up, and looked like they came from a diner that had closed. And, much like the furniture, they were probably remnants of the Pickle's era.
The meze (small plate appetizers, sort of like tapas) at both places have a combo option, where you can try a number of different things. Pasha's has a combo platter with a number of cold dips and spreads, all of which were tasty. Some highlights include the creamy cheese spread, which was a definite favorite and the hummus, which was a little garlicky, which is a good thing in my book. Papa George's has a pick 3 or a pick 5, which also lets you get some of the warm mezes. And by and large, I'd stick with the warm, meat-based ones. We got some phyllo stuffed with cheese, which was okay, not great (and sort of a small portion), some pork kebobs (so many places use loin, which is often an inferior choice to something off of the shoulder) that were tasty, but dried and tough, and some really good grilled lamb meatballs. For the cold choices, we got a spicy feta dip that was a little runnier than I expected, and a forgettable garlic-mashed potato spread that can be excellent at some places, but ended up a little oily and gritty (though tasty). I will say that the grilled zucchini that came with the potato spread was awesome, however the pita at Papa George's were stale. Ugh. This was not a problem at Pasha, which had just great flat bread.
Looking over the menu, the one thing that Pasha's has that I like is a big combo platter, where you can taste a number of different things. At Pasha, we loaded up on a Pasha special (the combo platter) and also added on some of the Lahmacun (a flat bread with ground lamb on top). The food was all good, with the lamb kebobs being better than the chicken (which was a little dry), and the grilled, lamb meatballs being tasty as well. The pita was nice, the meat all had good flavor and was cooked right. I would say that the meat tended to be grilled and tasty. On the down side, the only moussaka was a vegetarian option, and there was no pastitsio. So, no Greek casseroles.
Unfortunately, Papa George's does not have the combo platter option, but while their mezes were iffy, their entrees were awesome. Moussaka was very tasty, as was the pastitsio. You could definitely tell you were eating Greek with the fragrant spices (cinnamon and nutmeg, I think) that were in the background. Now what set apart Papa George's was the presence of some slow cooked items. The lamb stew and the lamb shank jumped out at us. The lamb stew was really good. The reddish gravy had this deep, rich flavor that I thought was great. I think that the lamb itself leaned a bit on the fatty side, and could have used a little more of the connective tissue that gives so much flavor. The meat was either too fatty, or almost too lean and didn't stay super tender. But the flavor was darned good. Unfortunately, the shank, which was incredibly tender and had great flavor by itself, was cooked in a think lemon-like cream sauce that sort of curdled, and had these giant canned artichokes in there. I actually don't mind canned artichokes on salads or baked on top of pizza, but it was just sort of a mess. If they would make the shank in the sauce for the stew, I'd just go there for that dish once a week.
Dessert as Pasha's was pretty standard. The rice pudding was OK. A little lemon zest and ginger (I think) livened up the taste. One dessert at Papa George had to be tried. A house, rolled baklava that featured pistachio and fig. The server warned us that the chocolate was overwhelming. And sure enough, we saw that each end was dipped in a chocolate ganache that was way too thick. It really took away from the nice, subtly sweet, nutty, earthy flavor that the figs and pistachios gave. The filling was a little dry, and wasn't quite as sweet as it should have been, but the chocolate killed it. I was brainstorming ideas for ways to sweeten up the dish w/out the chocolate and w/out using plain honey, but I came up with cutting honey with orange juice and adding some fragrant spices. I really think that the dessert would be more of a hit with something other than chocolate. Maybe even a honey sweetened yogurt sauce would have been better. But hey, I don't work here. I just eat here.
The thing about Greek places is that you get a lot of food for your money. Really, if you order an entree, it's enough for two. How I'd do it is by doing some appetizers, maybe an appetizer combo, and splitting an entree, and probably go somewhere else for dessert, stuffed with Greek food. With soft drinks, tax, and tip, you can probably get by with $35 or $40 for 2 people. Not bad, if you figure that you'd pay about the same at a Chili's.
In any case, we have some Greek options in Champaign that don't require pledging and hazing. Personally, Pasha's a place I'd take people to socialize. I'd go to Papa George to have a little personal quiet time with some slow cooked lamb. But oddly enough, I think that the best Greek place in the area may be The Deluxe out in downtown Danville. Maybe these two places will pick it up in the coming months.
-foodgeek
See links to websites for restaurant information.
Ratings:
Papa George's - No stars, but with room to move up to 1 star
Pasha's - 0.5 stars, without much upside
Pasha's vs. Papa George's
The initial response that comes to mind when you enter both places is very different. You walk into Pasha's, and you think, "sort of plain looking restaurant, and the layout's a little odd, but it seems cool enough." Pasha's has a sort of open layout, but a strange flow to the place. It seemed like there was some potential there. On the other hand, you walk into Papa George's, and you think, "So this is where all of the old apartment furniture ends up." It's in a sort of stereotypical Applebee's sort of layout where you walk in, look onto a U-shaped bar, and has seating to both sides. It didn't exactly inspire confidence.
And the presentation of the food sort of verified my view of both places. At Pasha's, the presentation was a little muddled, but it still felt like a restaurant, maybe one that was trying a little too hard, but it was what you expected. At Papa George's, the plates were old, beat up, and looked like they came from a diner that had closed. And, much like the furniture, they were probably remnants of the Pickle's era.
The meze (small plate appetizers, sort of like tapas) at both places have a combo option, where you can try a number of different things. Pasha's has a combo platter with a number of cold dips and spreads, all of which were tasty. Some highlights include the creamy cheese spread, which was a definite favorite and the hummus, which was a little garlicky, which is a good thing in my book. Papa George's has a pick 3 or a pick 5, which also lets you get some of the warm mezes. And by and large, I'd stick with the warm, meat-based ones. We got some phyllo stuffed with cheese, which was okay, not great (and sort of a small portion), some pork kebobs (so many places use loin, which is often an inferior choice to something off of the shoulder) that were tasty, but dried and tough, and some really good grilled lamb meatballs. For the cold choices, we got a spicy feta dip that was a little runnier than I expected, and a forgettable garlic-mashed potato spread that can be excellent at some places, but ended up a little oily and gritty (though tasty). I will say that the grilled zucchini that came with the potato spread was awesome, however the pita at Papa George's were stale. Ugh. This was not a problem at Pasha, which had just great flat bread.
Looking over the menu, the one thing that Pasha's has that I like is a big combo platter, where you can taste a number of different things. At Pasha, we loaded up on a Pasha special (the combo platter) and also added on some of the Lahmacun (a flat bread with ground lamb on top). The food was all good, with the lamb kebobs being better than the chicken (which was a little dry), and the grilled, lamb meatballs being tasty as well. The pita was nice, the meat all had good flavor and was cooked right. I would say that the meat tended to be grilled and tasty. On the down side, the only moussaka was a vegetarian option, and there was no pastitsio. So, no Greek casseroles.
Unfortunately, Papa George's does not have the combo platter option, but while their mezes were iffy, their entrees were awesome. Moussaka was very tasty, as was the pastitsio. You could definitely tell you were eating Greek with the fragrant spices (cinnamon and nutmeg, I think) that were in the background. Now what set apart Papa George's was the presence of some slow cooked items. The lamb stew and the lamb shank jumped out at us. The lamb stew was really good. The reddish gravy had this deep, rich flavor that I thought was great. I think that the lamb itself leaned a bit on the fatty side, and could have used a little more of the connective tissue that gives so much flavor. The meat was either too fatty, or almost too lean and didn't stay super tender. But the flavor was darned good. Unfortunately, the shank, which was incredibly tender and had great flavor by itself, was cooked in a think lemon-like cream sauce that sort of curdled, and had these giant canned artichokes in there. I actually don't mind canned artichokes on salads or baked on top of pizza, but it was just sort of a mess. If they would make the shank in the sauce for the stew, I'd just go there for that dish once a week.
Dessert as Pasha's was pretty standard. The rice pudding was OK. A little lemon zest and ginger (I think) livened up the taste. One dessert at Papa George had to be tried. A house, rolled baklava that featured pistachio and fig. The server warned us that the chocolate was overwhelming. And sure enough, we saw that each end was dipped in a chocolate ganache that was way too thick. It really took away from the nice, subtly sweet, nutty, earthy flavor that the figs and pistachios gave. The filling was a little dry, and wasn't quite as sweet as it should have been, but the chocolate killed it. I was brainstorming ideas for ways to sweeten up the dish w/out the chocolate and w/out using plain honey, but I came up with cutting honey with orange juice and adding some fragrant spices. I really think that the dessert would be more of a hit with something other than chocolate. Maybe even a honey sweetened yogurt sauce would have been better. But hey, I don't work here. I just eat here.
The thing about Greek places is that you get a lot of food for your money. Really, if you order an entree, it's enough for two. How I'd do it is by doing some appetizers, maybe an appetizer combo, and splitting an entree, and probably go somewhere else for dessert, stuffed with Greek food. With soft drinks, tax, and tip, you can probably get by with $35 or $40 for 2 people. Not bad, if you figure that you'd pay about the same at a Chili's.
In any case, we have some Greek options in Champaign that don't require pledging and hazing. Personally, Pasha's a place I'd take people to socialize. I'd go to Papa George to have a little personal quiet time with some slow cooked lamb. But oddly enough, I think that the best Greek place in the area may be The Deluxe out in downtown Danville. Maybe these two places will pick it up in the coming months.
-foodgeek
See links to websites for restaurant information.
Ratings:
Papa George's - No stars, but with room to move up to 1 star
Pasha's - 0.5 stars, without much upside
Saturday, October 06, 2007
A New Addiction
So, I've officially become obsessed with the cooking aspects of Top Chef. I still don't care for the reality show aspect of it, but I do like hearing critique and learning about how things work (or don't work) together. That said, I think that it's pretty clear that there's a large gap between the best and the next tier of chefs. For example, I would've placed even money on either Tre or Hung to win this season, after the first episode. But, I love the notion that even for something that's as simple as cooking, that there are superior levels to be reached. And I'd love to be able to reach those levels. I think that I can fire up a stove pretty well, and I consistently manage to put out solid food for myself and my friends. But I don't know if I ever could, or would ever want, to be a chef in a restaurant. I could see myself making it through culinary school, without a whole lot of trouble. But I'd never want to put in the crazy hours. I think that if I ever open up a place (and I would love to at some point), I'd hire on good people to run the day-to-day operations, and I'd just go around, shaking hands on the floor and wander into the kitchen to bother my cooks and come up with an "owner's special" every once in a while. So, I think that my culinary ceiling is pretty limited, but still reasonable enough so that I can make myself some good food at home.
Currently in my kitchen, I've been playing around with a couple things. One is paella. I think that I've gotten a decent grasp on how to flavor rice with the spices that help give paella that nice flavor. And obviously, I know how cooking meat and seafood in the rice adds flavor, as well. I'm trying to get down how to get the nice crunchy edges on the paella, without drying everything out. The other thing is ceviche. I really enjoy using the citrus to cook fish, but figuring out what to use in there has been interesting. I'm trying to work out a nice salmon version with some Pacific Northwest flavors, but it's hard to make it distinct from the traditional Latin American-style recipes. Maybe there's no need to, though... we'll see. And finally, I've decided that I need to develop my knife skills. So, I've bought some extra veggies and chickens so that I can work on my chopping and boning skills. Heh-heh. I said "boning skills."
Anyway, there's not been a whole lot new in the food scene here in Champaign. There's a new sandwich joint that opened up next to Crane Alley, but that's lunch only. I'll try to make it in to give it a look over. I know that I promised a few reviews, which will be coming soon. Really, I've been just rocking it out in my kitchen more the last few weeks, with occasional trips out to KO Fusion for sushi (trying to stay healthy) and Harold's for fried chicken (failing to stay healthy). But, I've still got some good thoughts on the brunch scene, the tapas scene, and the adventures of the Escobar's/Milo's folks which I need to get out to you guys (preferably after I go out for brunch, tapas, and to Escobar's and Milo's again to refresh my palate :-)
We'll catch you soon!
-foodgeek
Currently in my kitchen, I've been playing around with a couple things. One is paella. I think that I've gotten a decent grasp on how to flavor rice with the spices that help give paella that nice flavor. And obviously, I know how cooking meat and seafood in the rice adds flavor, as well. I'm trying to get down how to get the nice crunchy edges on the paella, without drying everything out. The other thing is ceviche. I really enjoy using the citrus to cook fish, but figuring out what to use in there has been interesting. I'm trying to work out a nice salmon version with some Pacific Northwest flavors, but it's hard to make it distinct from the traditional Latin American-style recipes. Maybe there's no need to, though... we'll see. And finally, I've decided that I need to develop my knife skills. So, I've bought some extra veggies and chickens so that I can work on my chopping and boning skills. Heh-heh. I said "boning skills."
Anyway, there's not been a whole lot new in the food scene here in Champaign. There's a new sandwich joint that opened up next to Crane Alley, but that's lunch only. I'll try to make it in to give it a look over. I know that I promised a few reviews, which will be coming soon. Really, I've been just rocking it out in my kitchen more the last few weeks, with occasional trips out to KO Fusion for sushi (trying to stay healthy) and Harold's for fried chicken (failing to stay healthy). But, I've still got some good thoughts on the brunch scene, the tapas scene, and the adventures of the Escobar's/Milo's folks which I need to get out to you guys (preferably after I go out for brunch, tapas, and to Escobar's and Milo's again to refresh my palate :-)
We'll catch you soon!
-foodgeek
Monday, July 23, 2007
Quick Hits
First off, I have to say that I absolutely love going to KO Fusion now, but again, only for the sushi. Chatting with some folks, they agree with me about the rest of the menu being sort of discombobulated. And I even had someone talk about how the plating there out of the kitchen (not the sushi bar) was like that of a normal diner, not a place charging $20 a plate. However, the sushi chefs there are great. They really take care of me, and I've gotten to know them a bit. The cool part is that they already know my order before I sit down. I love that I get a little side salad to open up the meal, and that when they've got time, I can get some stuff off the menu. The other day, I got a great little sashimi appetizer - cubes of yellowfin tuna with a nice sweet miso dressing and scallions - to go along with the usual order there.
All of this speaks to the value of becoming a regular and having loyalty for the places that you want to stay open.
Another similar place for me has become Harold's Chicken, which stands on the opposite end of the spectrum from KO Fusion. Most of the time, it's me and a bunch of black dudes hanging out there. Which is sort of my natural state, really. Chilling out, talking hoops, eating fried chicken. I could do that every day, and I would if I wasn't trying to avoid dying young from my heart exploding. But I will say that fried chicken cooked to order at Harold's here on campus is wonderful. It's probably good that they're not open late at night this summer. I've probably lost 5 pounds by not eating fried chicken at 2am once or twice per week :-)
The third place that I want to give a shout out to is Milo's. They deserve a full writeup, which they haven't gotten. Probably one of the best kept secrets in the CU area. They still consistently have phenomenal food. Great goat cheese and roasted red pepper strudel. Good crabcakes. Solid fries with great homemade ketchup. Reasonably priced entrees that are legitimately good. They've got a little homey feel, and really good food. What can you say?
In any case, for those of you who are familiar with the area, Pickles (a local family restaurant) is no more, and is now Papa George's, a local family restaurant with more of a Greek feel to it has replaced it. Which, gives me an article to write here. Papa George's vs. Pasha for Mediterranean food. Which reminds me that another one that I've been sitting on is Silvercreek vs. Jim Gould's for brunch.
Anyway, let's see if I can't actually deliver on a couple of these in the near future.
-foodgeek
All of this speaks to the value of becoming a regular and having loyalty for the places that you want to stay open.
Another similar place for me has become Harold's Chicken, which stands on the opposite end of the spectrum from KO Fusion. Most of the time, it's me and a bunch of black dudes hanging out there. Which is sort of my natural state, really. Chilling out, talking hoops, eating fried chicken. I could do that every day, and I would if I wasn't trying to avoid dying young from my heart exploding. But I will say that fried chicken cooked to order at Harold's here on campus is wonderful. It's probably good that they're not open late at night this summer. I've probably lost 5 pounds by not eating fried chicken at 2am once or twice per week :-)
The third place that I want to give a shout out to is Milo's. They deserve a full writeup, which they haven't gotten. Probably one of the best kept secrets in the CU area. They still consistently have phenomenal food. Great goat cheese and roasted red pepper strudel. Good crabcakes. Solid fries with great homemade ketchup. Reasonably priced entrees that are legitimately good. They've got a little homey feel, and really good food. What can you say?
In any case, for those of you who are familiar with the area, Pickles (a local family restaurant) is no more, and is now Papa George's, a local family restaurant with more of a Greek feel to it has replaced it. Which, gives me an article to write here. Papa George's vs. Pasha for Mediterranean food. Which reminds me that another one that I've been sitting on is Silvercreek vs. Jim Gould's for brunch.
Anyway, let's see if I can't actually deliver on a couple of these in the near future.
-foodgeek
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Kitchen Happenings: An American Tour
Hey gang. If you're a reader here, then there's a good chance that you were around for some of the glory days in the foodgeek kitchen. Back when we'd have 25 people over to watch the Illini and eat some pretty good food. Let's just say that we probably ate better than most students who weren't in culinary school. Flash forward a couple years. It had been a while since I had a crew over for a big meal. So on a whim, that changed today. I realized that I was in town for Easter weekend, as were a bunch of my crew down here. A plated Easter dinner for 9. The menu was solid, with some relatively modern appetizers, a changeup for the opening course, a old school main courses, and a nice mix of side dishes with roots all around the country.
Appetizers:
Pair of crostini - one was grilled chicken breast, drizzled with basil oil, and the other was an old standby: my two-bean and corn salsa. A nice opener which I knew would be a hit, as the execution was simple and the tastes actually popped in your mouth. I had the chicken breast already cooked and the basil oil is something that I always have on hand. Easy. The salsa can be made entirely with canned or frozen veggies, except for the fresh chopped onion. Easy. The trick is to work heavy on the spices, since the beans can take a lot of additional flavor. Also, adding a little olive oil adds a richness to the salsa that no one expects.
Grade: A-. Didn't feel like getting fancy with the presentation on the chicken crostini, and I made the bean and corn salsa a make-it-yourself thing.
Opening Course:
Fruit salad. I thought about going with a traditional salad, but decided to switch it up. And fruit salad is so easy. I wanted to add strawberries, but the ones at the store were awful, so I improvised. Fresh cantaloupe, fresh grapes (red and green), canned chunk pineapple, canned mandarin oranges. The two canned fruits are probably the canned fruits that taste the freshest - canned pears and peaches, which I actually like, just don't feel fresh. On the other hand, the pineapple and mandarin oranges hold up well. It was light, fresh, and a good transition from the sort of heavy appetizers.
Grade: B+. I wanted some berries, but was thwarted by the grocery store.
Main Courses:
Spiral ham. Store bought - just heat and glaze. Even a caveman can do it.
Baked chicken. Simple - season and brown. Bake until done. One of my solid standby dishes. Mental note - gotta convince people to eat the skin on the chicken.
Grade: B. Timing was off becaues of delays in guest arrivals, so the chicken wasn't hot out of the oven and the skin wasn't as crispy as it should have been. The meat was still tender and darned tasty. Ham is always good.
Side Dishes:
Turnip greens, cooked w/ ham hocks. This is definitely Southern soul food. A bit tricky. First time I've ever made these. These guys are so bitter that you've gotta cook them for a while in just plain water, strain them out, and then add more water and some flavoring to cook down. But after they cook down, they become soft, rich, and take on that smoky flavor that the ham hocks add. Only down side was that it was a bit on the salty side. This will be a future standby.
Grade: C. Next time, this will be much better.
Mashed potatoes. Takes you into the heartland. Credit for these go back to Mrs. C, who gave me the start point for making some incredible mashed potatoes. These were awfully decadent, though I did show some restraint. Low fat cream cheese, fat free sour cream, olive oil, and skim milk were added, as well as the usual spice blend. You got a nice tang, as well as the rich texture, and paired nicely with the turnip greens.
Grade: A-. Need a signature on this dish to make it really pop, like the appetizers. At the risk of being cliche and snooty, I'm thinking white truffle oil next time as a finisher to give depth.
Southwest Corn Casserole: A little Tex-Mex flair here. Again, credit to Mrs. C for the original dish, which I've modified. Incredibly simple. Can of corn, drained. Can of creamed corn. Package of Jiffy corn muffin mix. Half stick of butter (went with the real butter since I had it on hand!). 8oz of fat free sour cream. Some chopped jalapeno peppers. Chopped onion. Spices and a little habanero sauce. Mix it all up and bake. Incredibly tasty.
Grade: A-. Oven spacing issues forced me to bake on the bottom rack at a higher temp than i wanted, so the bottom was a slightly burned.
Honey, Pineapple, and Ginger carrots: Going for a West-Coast fusion sort of thing here. Becca (whose mom is Mrs. C) gets props here, for making a version of these when I was out in Cali. I left the ginger chopped little too big, which made the flavor a little uneven (a little spicy if you got a bigger chunk than intended. But, the flavor was good - a little tang, some sweet, and a little zing with the ginger. The carrots were cooked and then the glaze added the night before. So, the flavors got soaked into the carrots well, but the glaze sort of broke down, so it didn't have that nice sheen. Maybe next time I set aside half of the glaze to add at the end.
Grade: C. This will also improve next time.
To complement my handiwork, one of the gals brought some nice Illinois and Wisconsin wines for us to have with dinner. One of the gals brought a very tasty pumpkin bar sort of dessert which had a soft, yellow-cake sort of crust, pumpkin pie filling, and was topped with a nice strussel topping. This was definitely a winner. And some of the guys brought some ice cream, which is always a winner.
If wasn't out-sourcing dessert, I may have gone with one fewer side, only done ham, and added on my chocolate mousse and raspberry puree napoleon, served on fried won-ton wrappers. Though, as I think more, I may have opted to keep it lighter with a napoleon with white chocolate mousse, a chunky peach-pineapple mixture, and topped with a ginger syrup.
All in all, the food was solid. Would improve the turnip greens (less salt!) and carrots (only use the ginger juice, and keep some glaze for presentation) next time. Once I get a handle on these dishes, I'd need to figure out a way to really own the dishes (just like I need to do with the potatoes, and like I've done with the corn casserole). Would have gotten a smaller ham and found better baking trays for the chicken (space constraints make it a pain in the butt with all of the last-second adjustments you have to make. I'm going to consider easing up on the seasoning on the chicken and finishing with my mild, sweet, pepper sauce for my next go-around. And I wish that I would have done a nice cocktail as an opener with the appetizers, maybe my fresh grapefruit martini shots. Considering that I didn't even think about this until late on Friday night, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I'll grade myself out pretty well.
Overall grade: B/B+. I sort of wish that I would have done dessert myself. The napoleons would have been a pretty modern way of finishing the meal, which would have given some interesting bookends to pretty classic main courses and sides. And I sort of wish that we had a soup course. I think that I may be better at making soups than cooking, which is a strange thought. Maybe I go back to a soup with turnip greens, white beans, and italian sausage.
Of course, I think that the soup will be a heck of an idea for the leftovers... I'm just happy that I've got a fridge full of leftovers like I used to back in the day. The current task, other than than eating a ton of leftovers, is to get my herb garden back in order. My basil is wretched, my sage needs to be trimmed, and I may need to completely re-do my soil. I haven't changed soil in a while, and it may be leeched. Anyway, until next time.
-foodgeek
Appetizers:
Pair of crostini - one was grilled chicken breast, drizzled with basil oil, and the other was an old standby: my two-bean and corn salsa. A nice opener which I knew would be a hit, as the execution was simple and the tastes actually popped in your mouth. I had the chicken breast already cooked and the basil oil is something that I always have on hand. Easy. The salsa can be made entirely with canned or frozen veggies, except for the fresh chopped onion. Easy. The trick is to work heavy on the spices, since the beans can take a lot of additional flavor. Also, adding a little olive oil adds a richness to the salsa that no one expects.
Grade: A-. Didn't feel like getting fancy with the presentation on the chicken crostini, and I made the bean and corn salsa a make-it-yourself thing.
Opening Course:
Fruit salad. I thought about going with a traditional salad, but decided to switch it up. And fruit salad is so easy. I wanted to add strawberries, but the ones at the store were awful, so I improvised. Fresh cantaloupe, fresh grapes (red and green), canned chunk pineapple, canned mandarin oranges. The two canned fruits are probably the canned fruits that taste the freshest - canned pears and peaches, which I actually like, just don't feel fresh. On the other hand, the pineapple and mandarin oranges hold up well. It was light, fresh, and a good transition from the sort of heavy appetizers.
Grade: B+. I wanted some berries, but was thwarted by the grocery store.
Main Courses:
Spiral ham. Store bought - just heat and glaze. Even a caveman can do it.
Baked chicken. Simple - season and brown. Bake until done. One of my solid standby dishes. Mental note - gotta convince people to eat the skin on the chicken.
Grade: B. Timing was off becaues of delays in guest arrivals, so the chicken wasn't hot out of the oven and the skin wasn't as crispy as it should have been. The meat was still tender and darned tasty. Ham is always good.
Side Dishes:
Turnip greens, cooked w/ ham hocks. This is definitely Southern soul food. A bit tricky. First time I've ever made these. These guys are so bitter that you've gotta cook them for a while in just plain water, strain them out, and then add more water and some flavoring to cook down. But after they cook down, they become soft, rich, and take on that smoky flavor that the ham hocks add. Only down side was that it was a bit on the salty side. This will be a future standby.
Grade: C. Next time, this will be much better.
Mashed potatoes. Takes you into the heartland. Credit for these go back to Mrs. C, who gave me the start point for making some incredible mashed potatoes. These were awfully decadent, though I did show some restraint. Low fat cream cheese, fat free sour cream, olive oil, and skim milk were added, as well as the usual spice blend. You got a nice tang, as well as the rich texture, and paired nicely with the turnip greens.
Grade: A-. Need a signature on this dish to make it really pop, like the appetizers. At the risk of being cliche and snooty, I'm thinking white truffle oil next time as a finisher to give depth.
Southwest Corn Casserole: A little Tex-Mex flair here. Again, credit to Mrs. C for the original dish, which I've modified. Incredibly simple. Can of corn, drained. Can of creamed corn. Package of Jiffy corn muffin mix. Half stick of butter (went with the real butter since I had it on hand!). 8oz of fat free sour cream. Some chopped jalapeno peppers. Chopped onion. Spices and a little habanero sauce. Mix it all up and bake. Incredibly tasty.
Grade: A-. Oven spacing issues forced me to bake on the bottom rack at a higher temp than i wanted, so the bottom was a slightly burned.
Honey, Pineapple, and Ginger carrots: Going for a West-Coast fusion sort of thing here. Becca (whose mom is Mrs. C) gets props here, for making a version of these when I was out in Cali. I left the ginger chopped little too big, which made the flavor a little uneven (a little spicy if you got a bigger chunk than intended. But, the flavor was good - a little tang, some sweet, and a little zing with the ginger. The carrots were cooked and then the glaze added the night before. So, the flavors got soaked into the carrots well, but the glaze sort of broke down, so it didn't have that nice sheen. Maybe next time I set aside half of the glaze to add at the end.
Grade: C. This will also improve next time.
To complement my handiwork, one of the gals brought some nice Illinois and Wisconsin wines for us to have with dinner. One of the gals brought a very tasty pumpkin bar sort of dessert which had a soft, yellow-cake sort of crust, pumpkin pie filling, and was topped with a nice strussel topping. This was definitely a winner. And some of the guys brought some ice cream, which is always a winner.
If wasn't out-sourcing dessert, I may have gone with one fewer side, only done ham, and added on my chocolate mousse and raspberry puree napoleon, served on fried won-ton wrappers. Though, as I think more, I may have opted to keep it lighter with a napoleon with white chocolate mousse, a chunky peach-pineapple mixture, and topped with a ginger syrup.
All in all, the food was solid. Would improve the turnip greens (less salt!) and carrots (only use the ginger juice, and keep some glaze for presentation) next time. Once I get a handle on these dishes, I'd need to figure out a way to really own the dishes (just like I need to do with the potatoes, and like I've done with the corn casserole). Would have gotten a smaller ham and found better baking trays for the chicken (space constraints make it a pain in the butt with all of the last-second adjustments you have to make. I'm going to consider easing up on the seasoning on the chicken and finishing with my mild, sweet, pepper sauce for my next go-around. And I wish that I would have done a nice cocktail as an opener with the appetizers, maybe my fresh grapefruit martini shots. Considering that I didn't even think about this until late on Friday night, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. I'll grade myself out pretty well.
Overall grade: B/B+. I sort of wish that I would have done dessert myself. The napoleons would have been a pretty modern way of finishing the meal, which would have given some interesting bookends to pretty classic main courses and sides. And I sort of wish that we had a soup course. I think that I may be better at making soups than cooking, which is a strange thought. Maybe I go back to a soup with turnip greens, white beans, and italian sausage.
Of course, I think that the soup will be a heck of an idea for the leftovers... I'm just happy that I've got a fridge full of leftovers like I used to back in the day. The current task, other than than eating a ton of leftovers, is to get my herb garden back in order. My basil is wretched, my sage needs to be trimmed, and I may need to completely re-do my soil. I haven't changed soil in a while, and it may be leeched. Anyway, until next time.
-foodgeek
Monday, March 19, 2007
Restaurant Brief: Hickory River
We used to have the Longhorn Smokehouse. Awesome Texas barbecue. Good ribs. Solid pork loin. Best brisket within at least 50 miles. Then they changed their name to Hickory River, and expanded, opening up places in Springfield, IL and somewhere out in Ohio. And now, they're downgraded to just so-so, because they lost the touch when it comes to brisket.
Good brisket (and really, and smoked meat) should have the red "ring" around the outside of the meat so that you see that it's smoked. And the brisket still does. The other thing that makes a brisket good is that you get the accordion effect when you pull on the ends of a slice. You can feel that the meat is juicy and tender, but not mushy and falls apart. If the beat just breaks apart, then the brisket is overcooked. You want there to be enough connective tissue left in tact so that the brisket still feels like you're eating a chunk of meat, and not ground meat. But, if you're into chopped brisket, you'll be in luck. Because even when you order the sliced brisket, it sort of becomes chopped brisket anyway.
Happily, everything else is still solid out there. Decent sides. Good pork loin and turkey. Good ribs. But man. That brisket used to be so good. Now, I would have to say that the best brisket in town is found at Famous Dave's, much to CJ's chagrin. Oh well. At least it's not that monstrosity that they serve over at Smokey Bones, which has a ton of fat on it and is sliced the wrong way.
-foodgeek
Good brisket (and really, and smoked meat) should have the red "ring" around the outside of the meat so that you see that it's smoked. And the brisket still does. The other thing that makes a brisket good is that you get the accordion effect when you pull on the ends of a slice. You can feel that the meat is juicy and tender, but not mushy and falls apart. If the beat just breaks apart, then the brisket is overcooked. You want there to be enough connective tissue left in tact so that the brisket still feels like you're eating a chunk of meat, and not ground meat. But, if you're into chopped brisket, you'll be in luck. Because even when you order the sliced brisket, it sort of becomes chopped brisket anyway.
Happily, everything else is still solid out there. Decent sides. Good pork loin and turkey. Good ribs. But man. That brisket used to be so good. Now, I would have to say that the best brisket in town is found at Famous Dave's, much to CJ's chagrin. Oh well. At least it's not that monstrosity that they serve over at Smokey Bones, which has a ton of fat on it and is sliced the wrong way.
-foodgeek
Hodgepodge
It's sort of sad. I only had 9 posts last year, and this is my first post this year. The funny part is that back when I first started blogging in Xanga, I actually had a lot more hits from random folks on my food blog. And it's not like I've been eating less. But for some reason, I've fallen away from the goal of posting once a month here. But, hopefully, I can change that around. So, to catch up, we'll do a few short briefs of places that I've been meaning to talk about, as well as some stuff on what's going on in my kitchen. I'll still do the full blown reviews, but only for places that deserve the full review (either good, bad, or indifferent).
I do hear from a friend in my program that we've got a Turkish restaurant that's opened up here in SW Champaign. I'll need to go try that out. I just saw that Pasha's, a Greek/Turkish place opened up in downtown. We've also got a sorta fancy Korean place, as well that opened up, B-Won. So, there are places to try. And there are some newer places that I have already tried. I've had a couple nights at Radio Maria's new tapas bar, with some good results. And I've also eaten at Escobar's, a place that's self-described as "Nuevo Latino Cuisine." More on these places later, as they'll get a full writeup. It's been busy. But, hopefully, I can still get back to the mission of documenting the things that I experience when I eat.
-foodgeek
I do hear from a friend in my program that we've got a Turkish restaurant that's opened up here in SW Champaign. I'll need to go try that out. I just saw that Pasha's, a Greek/Turkish place opened up in downtown. We've also got a sorta fancy Korean place, as well that opened up, B-Won. So, there are places to try. And there are some newer places that I have already tried. I've had a couple nights at Radio Maria's new tapas bar, with some good results. And I've also eaten at Escobar's, a place that's self-described as "Nuevo Latino Cuisine." More on these places later, as they'll get a full writeup. It's been busy. But, hopefully, I can still get back to the mission of documenting the things that I experience when I eat.
-foodgeek
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