Nibbles & Sips

Fun with food and beverages: recipes and opinions about what, how, and why we eat.

Chef’s Sampler 2010

Nibbles

As I write this I am literally and figuratively digesting a few dozen restaurants that we just sampled at the Children’s Home Society’s 25th Annual Chef Sampler. We’ve attended these a few times in the past (my company used to do the printing so I was able to go to one or two many years ago and then Todd and I went last year for the first time together) and it’s always been a foodie highlight. This year…

First a few disappointments. After searching for a parking space at the AMC end of Tallahassee Mall we finally get in and up to the counter to find that you cannot purchase tickets at this entrance. No, you have to drive to the opposite end of the Mall and enter near Guitar Center. Ugh! The door is being held open by a politician stumping for votes in the upcoming City Commissioners race. Finally, there are lines out the wazoo, going every which way, it seems,  and no real order to be found.

On the up side, it’s the most crowded I’ve *ever* seen one of these events which is great for the Society but there was also a much more casual air among the attendees and there were several children running around. At the risk of sounding elitist–it just wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from this sort of event.

But enough of that, let’s get on to the food!

University Center Club
A variety of desserts including a delectable mini pecan pie and some peanut butter brownies/bars that Todd (who does not like peanut butter) unknowingly picked up. They also had some crab cakes served over an apple(green and red)-cabbage slaw; the slaw was tasty, the crab cake tasted like it’d been frozen and reheated.

Anthony’s Wood Fire Grill
(Opening this March in the Veranda’s at Market Square) Dick Anthony, previously of Anthony’s Italian Restaurant, is making another go at thingswith his Wood Fire Grill. We were able to sample their Seafood Gumbo (very dark brown, light on favor, rather boring) and Shrimp and Grits (lots of spice but also a great flavor, the grits were very creamy and even Todd liked them! Unfortunately, the shrimp had it’s tail still on–forkable shrimp should not have tails).

the Melting Pot
Ah, fondue! You really can’t go wrong with chocolate fondue served with angel food cake, marshmallows and other tasty tidbits.

On the Border
The popular Mexican chain had a line an absolute mile long. The reason? Apparently they were serving a very full buffet. Having eaten there before and not primarily interested in a chain restaurant, we skipped it.

Harry’s Seafood
With one of the larger displays, this is a regional chain specializing in Louisiana cuisine and a favorite of ours. They were serving Chicken Baton Rouge (light on the tomatoes with chunks of cream cheese and chicken, good balance of spices), Jambalaya (could have been spicier but tasty), Corn and Crab Chowder (thick, rich,with good flavor) and Shrimp and Grits (these grits were cheesy, studded with corn and peppers and quite tasty and the shrimp were appropriately tailless).

Andrew’s 228/Andrew’s Bar & Grill
Penna a la Vodka and Ham and Cheese on Rye Soup! Cheese soup with chunks of ham and well seasoned with caraway Seeds–simply amazing. The vodka sauce was very thin, watery and, according to Todd, rather bland. How unfortunate!

Cabell’s American Bar and Grill
Crab cakes with cajun tartar sauce (definitely an improvement over UCC’s, very tasty, lots of crab and the sauce was spicy and creamy and a nice pair to the cakes) and Sliced roast beef which was very tasty if a little difficult to eat as your walking along balancing a plate on your program on a cup, using one’s chest to balance the whole bit.

Applebee’s
Queso Blanco & Chips, Fiesta Lime Chicken, Margarita Chicken–we skipped this stand because we’ve eat at Applebee’s enough to not want to eat there when there are so many other options.

Tijuana Flatts
Hot sauces glore! Sweet Chili, Habanero, and Jalapeno. The Sweet Chili would be excellent over cream cheese with crackers, the Habanero (according to Todd) was proclaimed WAY too hot, and the Jalapeno was actually a bit bitter. hey also had some chicken quesadillas and seemed to be making burritos farther down the line but we opted to skip those.

Wakulla Springs State Park
We didn’t make it all the way down to their end of the sampler, it was just too crowded. Last year they had some tasty offerings, though (a braised beef and a chicken dish).

SouthWood Golf Club
Serving a tossed salad seems at once novel and foodhardy at the same time. Needless to say, we passed by their offerings and moved on to the next table.

Lucy & Leo’s Cupcakery
A charming display included photos of the (presumed) namesake pups and served up Red Velvet and Chocolate Espresso cupcakes. The red velvet was, unfortunately, a bit dry and lacked that hint of chocolate that should be present. It’s hard to screw up a chocolate cupcake, of course, but it didn’t have nearly the coffee flavor I was expecting outside of the chocolate-covered espresso bean. Still, a cupcake shop that loves dogs deserves another view–we’ll have to check them out in their home location at some point in the not-t0-distant future.

Catering Capers
Tuscan chicken salad (which was a little too heavy on the dried oregano, but otherwise creamy and tasty), Pesto Lime Shrimp (it had a tail! Ugh! It’s hard enough to juggle everything but trying to clean oily pesto off your fingertips is another downside of thoughtless cooks serving tail-on shrimp in sauces to wandering guests!) and Asian Meatballs (tasted like your basicsweedish meatball and not very “Asian” at all–and it was the last of the pot so you’d think the flavors would have been more concentrated than not!). Altogether uninspiring. Though I’m quite capable of doing all my own catering, there’s is not a service I’d use even if I wasn’t.

Sunny Days Bakery
Here was an idea I would not have come up with on my own: peppermint fondant over a red velvet cake. The cake was moist and did have the chocolate flavor that is customary–I liked it, Todd wasn’t as impressed.

Piggy’s Barbecue
Sweet Potato casserole was very tasty with a pronouced sweetness from molasses? maple syrup? rum? not sure but it was good. Somehow we missed the corn casserole but we each ended up with beef or pork–the sad thing it was tough to tell which was which! That’s probably not such a good sign. After further reflection I think I had thebbq brisket which was fairly tasty and Todd had the pork which was a little on the dry side.

Trail Break Cafe
Turky and Swiss on flatbread, sort of quesadilla-like, but it wouldn’t be a bad light lunch when you’re spending the day out at the Junior Museum (technically the Tallahassee Museum of History andNatural Sciences, but to those of us who’ve lived here long enough, it remains the Jr Museum!).

Peterbrooke Chocolatier
This chain opened up on the North side of town a year or so ago and does a pretty decent job of coating all sorts of things in chocolate (potato chips, anyone?). Tonight they had chocolate-covered strawberries (amazing!), chocolate-covered popcorn (which Todd found too salty) and cocoa-dusted fudge (which, in hind sight, is probably meant to be a truffle but, whoa, was that cocoa more than a dusting–do not inhale!).

Carrie Ann & Co
CA&C know desserts. I remembered their Punch Bowl cake from last year and it is to DIE for! It’s basically a trifle with layers of yellow cake, strawberries, pineapple pieces and fresh, sweet whipped cream. Yum! They also had their wonderful buttercake cookies, Kahlua brownies (a nutty cookie bottom, fudgy brownie layer, creamy Kahlua layer and topped with a layer of ganache), truffles, lemon curd tarlets (the blueberry tartlets, Todd said, tasted canned–a pity!) and other yummies.

Granddaddy’s Barbeque
Baked Beans and Brunswick Stew were tried by Todd. The verdict: the beans had a nice, smoky flavor and the Stew looked a lot like a vegetable soupwith bits of barbecue instead of stew meat but was very well seasoned. The barbecue pork sandwiches were quite tasty. According to the nice young men serving them up it’s smoked in Old Hickory smokers for 12 hours a day, every day. Very tasty. The house sauce, which Todd tried, was apparently unremarkable, but the quality of the meat and sides makes up for it.

Tomato Cafe & Tea Room
(In)Famous for their “rainbow cake” we passed over this table having tried it last year and were unimpressed (it’s basically food-colored cake batter combinedhelter-skelter–might be good for kid’s parties but not much else, I’m afraid). They also had small packets of tea you could take with you, so that was nice.

Roly Poly
Wraps, wraps and more wraps. I did not try them because I have a grudge against them: they have one of the more annoying jingles I’ve *ever* heard and it was playing incessantly on the station I set my clock-radio to. Just goes to show: your jingle may make you memorable, but not always for the right reasons. Still, Todd does not quite hold the grudge that I do and tried the Philly Melt they had out (the only thing left on their table and we were only halfway through theallotted time of the sampler)–I wasn’t missing much. It was heavy on green pepper compared to the beef or cheese.

Bella Bella
Pasta al Forno was all gone, no bubble bread this year, but we did snag some Sangria as we passed. Can’t go wrong there!

Barnacle Bills
Fresh-shucked oysters on the half shell with a variety of toppings. I prefer mine plain and it was just amazing. Can’t get enough fresh oysters for this girl! They also had their smoked seafood dip out for sampling but it was a little on the fishy side, tonight–not the best representation as I’ve had it before and it was better. They were also serving up margaritas in generous portions–bless you! It was so verydelish and was great to wash down the next few tables.

Hobbit American Grill
A local chain specializing in a variety of quick, good foods like sandwiches, salads, subs and wings. They had some subs out but that was way too much bread for this time of night and a couple types of wings available. We tried their Fiesta Ranch wings and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Messy as all get out and way too tough to eat in this setting, butdelish none the less. I usually go for their garlic Parmesan wings but these I would order, too!

Masa/AZU Lucy Ho’s Restaurant
We caught this table JUST as it was running out of sushi. Grabbed the last plate to split and had a piece of California Roll and one Fried Shrimp roll. Not bad, but I think I’d want to try them at their shop before I’d give them any sort of real review.

Krispy Kreme
What can you say about those truly amazing doughnuts? And what was I thinking picking up a chocolate-glazed cream one? It may besacrilege, but I had to toss the last bit of it–should have stuck to a doughnut hole for my fix, lol. Serious, if you’ve never had the chance to try a Krispy Kreme doughnut, you really should at your earliest opportunity.

Stinky’s Fish Camp
Horrible name, in my opinion, but they sure served up an amazing bread pudding with caramel sauce! Apparently these guys started in Santa Rosa Beach and have just opened a spot in Cross Creek. Good to know! I’m definitely curious to see how the rest of their menu compares to their dessert!

Cabo’s Island Bar and Grill
Chili and crab cakes! Todd proclaimed the chili rich and meaty, lots of cumin (maybe a touch too much) but could have used a bit more tomato for his liking. The crab cake was almost all crab, which isn’t necessarily bad, but I do enjoy something more than a loose batter binding it together. This is a fun place, though, just don’t go in wearing a tie after 5pm 😉

PoBoy’s Creole Cafe
We just got our oyster poboy fix at their northside location not 2 weeks ago so were happy to see them out at the Sampler serving up bayou gumbo.  The gumbo was a bit too heavy (maybe getting down to the bottom of the dish?) and way too spicy–more heat than flavor, which was disappointing. We washed it downwith the last of the margaritas from Barnacle Bill’s.

Angellete’s Cajun Kitchen
(in SouthWood–no website that I could find) Another place serving up gumbo (chicken and sausage) and shrimp & grits. The gumbo was not too thick or too dark, but had a smoky flavor that I didn’t expect. Still, it was very tasty and, possibly, the best of the night for what it’sworth. The shrimp (no tails! yay!) and grits featured lots of fresh veggies–onions, tri-color peppers–and a light broth compared to the heavier sauces of other places. Unfortunately their grits were white and gluey–the exact type of grits that make a Nebraskan like Todd dislike grits. Such a shame! But that shrimp over, say, Anthony’s or Harry’s grits and I’d be in love!

Romano’s Macaroni Grill
Probably the best single display of the night, they had a variety of marinated olives and tomatoes as well as some chocolatey cake with chocolate sauce and nuts that was very moist.

Japanica Steakhouse
Featuring a grill chef with flames leaping from his hat and mouth(!) we didn’t get to taste any of the food they may have been serving earlier in the evening but we did try some Sake that was much better than the Pearl Sake we’d had another time.

Drink services were provided by Coca-Cola Tallahassee, Cone Distributing (beer), Community Coffee, Premier Wine and Southern Wine & Spirits. Other restaurants that were listed in the program that were either out of food by the time we reached their table or just didn’t see for whatever reason were Another Broken Egg Cafe, Famous Dave’s, Hats Off to Food, Killearn Country Club, Marie Livingston’s Texas Steakhouse, Shane’s Rib Shack and Shula’s 347 Grill.

And there you have it. Todd probably summed it up best when he mentioned, as we were leaving, that it was a bit of a disappointment compared to last year. Whether it was the promoters catering to a different demographic or just the lack of originality in the offerings (seriously–4 gumbos, 3 crab cakes and 3 shirmp & grits in one building?) it makes us think twice about going next year and paying $50 a person to be herded like cattle through a noisy, crowded mall.

50 Shots of America: South Carolina

Sips

Ah, South Carolina, home of Charleston, the grand lady of the South. All sorts of antebellum thoughts start running through my head when I think of the coastal cities of the 8th state of the Union.

But first, some history.

The Carolina colony was one of the original 13, settled in 1670 by English colonists from Barbados and then French Huguenots. Pretty much from the get-go they did a brisk market in slave trading, specifically trading off thousands of Native Americans  which was the cause of the Yamasee War and, ultimately led to the split of the colony into North and South in 1719.

Of course, most know that the Civil War (ahem, the War of Northern Aggression as some prefer to call it) began with the shelling of Ft Sumpter but South Carolina had been stretching it’s independent legs prior to this momentous occasion. They were the first to declare their independence from British Rule and the first to ratify the Articles of Confederation. In 1832 they declared Federal Tariffs unlawful and opted out, only to have to rescind this option in a couple of years.

With all of these firsts, South Carolina seems to have learned it’s lesson and was the next to last state to ratify the 19th Amendment (giving women the right to vote) a full 53 years after it was nationally ratified and it was also the last state to remove the Confederate flag from their statehouse in 2000.

Nonetheless, southern hospitality is still recognized as the state’s stock in trade. Another state known for it’s peaches and having milk as the official state beverage, South Carolina goes one step further to have an official State Hospitality Beverage: Tea. Iced, no doubt, with plenty of sugar, southern sweet tea is practically a food group to it’s citizens. Some may find it one step removed from syrup, but that’s how we like it in the southeast.

Which leads us right into…

Hospitality Suite
(serves 2)

3 oz Brewed Tea, strong
2 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Tan Sugar Syrup*
1/2 barspoon Vanilla (the real thing, no imitation extracts!)

Combine over ice in a large shaker and give it a firm handshake to a count of ten. Strain into chilled glasses.

Now, this is a bit more generous that previous shots–by the time the ice melts in the shaker and adds a bit of volume you should end up with 2 4oz cocktails or 4 2oz shots. Never make this for one–you’re gonna want to share this with someone to be in the true spirit of hospitality. In fact, the first batch was so good, we made another after supper.

This slightly spiked take on a sweet peach tea would go great with any of the seafood available along the South Carolina coast or with the official State Snack: Boiled Peanuts–aka Southern Caviar.

*Tan Sugar Syrup is my shorthand for a 1:1 simple syrup made with half white sugar and half brown (hence, tan). The molasses in the brown sugar adds a bit of depth to the syrup and it comes through with a stronger base ingredient like brewed tea. You could also use Demara sugar and achieve a similar result.

Short Cut Supper

Nibbles

We don’t keep a lot of packaged foods in the house–instant dinners, box mixes, frozen entrees. Partially because of my dietary restrictions and partially be cause we just like to cook from good, basic ingredients. If we don’t feel like cooking one night (it happens from time to time), it usually means going out or at least picking up take-out.

All of that to say, when we *do* have something pre-made it’s a rare occurrence and usually happens because of one of the following reasons:

  • I went to the store hungry. Though even then I’m more prone to pick up snacks or some really rich cheese instead of something pre-packaged or instant mix.
  • I saw something new and was curious enough to give it a try.
  • I went to World Market. Something about all of the imported foods they carry just makes me want to try anything and everything they carry—I’ve yet to be disappointed.

The most recent case was a combination of the last 2, when I stumbled upon the Punjabi Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce from Tiger Tiger.

There’s usually a few other criteria if I’m going to pick up something like this. Usually it’s as real-food as possible (no long list of chemicals or preservatives), comes from a reliable source and is something that I can’t easily make myself.

This fit the bill pretty well. After trying to find a recipe that matches the awesomeness that was in that jar I’ve come to the conclusion that I might have to try a few before I find the at-home version I’m looking for. There are no cryptic ingredients  and it looked like something we might find at our local Indian restaurant which we don’t make as much time to visit as we’d like.

All it took was cutting up some chicken (we also added a couple of large-diced potatoes), browning it and adding the sauce until it was warm and toasting some naan in the oven. Making the rice took the longest but it was totally worth it and we got our usual 4 servings out of a single jar with no problem (2 for dinner, 2 for lunches the next day).

It was a nice compromise between cooking from scratch and take-out. What’s your short cut of choice on those nights when you don’t want to do too much?

50 Shots of America–Maryland

Sips

You know, if Maryland was a person, I think they’d be pretty confused.

Take, for example, this scattering of facts:

  • Founded as a haven for English Catholics, Catholicism has been banned at least twice within it’s borders! Still, it boasts the first cathedral in the United States (the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and was home to the founder of the Sisters of Charity who became the first US-born citizen to be canonized, St Elizabeth Ann, 9.14.1975.
  • It’s considered Little America or America in Miniature because it boasts so many different environments in it’s just-over 12,000 square miles–that’s a lot of everything to put in such a small space!
  • Despite being predominantly Democratic, it’s most famous political son was the Republican VP under Nixon, Spiro Agnew. Of course, maybe that should read infamous…
  • It’s technically south of the Mason-Dixon line (since that point of demarcation is it’s northern border) but was coerced into not seceding with it’s southern brethren (of which roughly half the state identified with) because Lincoln pointed cannons at it from DC! Incidentally, the land DC sits on was ceded by Maryland back in 1790.
  • The state sport is jousting, which is rather unique, but it’s tough to actual witness unless you attend the Maryland Renaissance Faire in Crownsville, and it only runs 3 months of the year!
  • And look at the state motto: Manly deeds, womanly words. Would you like to be in the metaphorical room when those two duke it out?

It’s for these reasons I dub the following drink:

Wit’s End

1/2 oz Rye whiskey
1/4 oz Goldschlager
1/2 oz Ginger syrup*
Club soda

Combine the rye, goldschalger and syrup over ice. Shake like a jouster is barrelling towards you with his lance aimed at your shaker. Strain into a cordial glass and top with club soda, giving it a little stir with a swizzle stick to combine.

Even though the state beverage is, indeed, milk the early trials of milk and rye and Old Bay seasoning (in honor of that which seasons the famous Maryland Blue Crabs that are such a treat) fared about what they sound like they would. (Actually, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t really what I was looking for. Plus, we just did a milk cocktail not too long ago.) Rye whiskey was quite a popular item in Maryland up until Prohibition but since then most distilleries have closed, the last surviving one transplanted to Kentucky. Still, rye and soda can be found in some of the older Marylander establishments for those looking for a taste of the old ways.

Old Bay, back to the seasoning for a bit, is described as a combination of celery salt, bay leaf, mustard seed, black and red peppers, cinnamon and ginger. Yum! And while the first sets of ingredients had me thinking something along the lines of a Bloody Mary, the cinnamon and ginger seemed a nice foil for the rye, which can be quite strong if you’re not all that into whiskey. (Hint: Rye whiskey reminds me more of Scotch than Bourbon.) Also, there was a taste of gold mining going on in the Old Line State but it didn’t last long. Still, it made the Goldschlager an obvious choice.

*To make ginger syrup you can go two ways:

  1. Make a basic 1:1 Simple Syrup with about an inch of fresh cut ginger simmered in. Strain and cool.
  2. Dice and mash an inch of fresh ginger and let steep in pre-made simple syrup for 2 weeks or more.

One last note about Maryland (though, I admit, there’s plenty more to say). During the War of 1812 the British were trying to take the Port of Baltimore and did battle against Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key is said to have penned the Star Spangled Banner during this onslaught. I find this incredibly synchronistic as, completely unplanned–I couldn’t plan this stuff if I tried!–my topic over at the 64 Arts (my personal blog about living creatively) for Friday is Anthems. Coincidence? I’m not sure there is such a thing!

the Chicken Connection

Nibbles

An easy thing to do, if you’re goal is to eat a bit healthier, is to eat more chicken and fish compared to beef and pork. Most people know this. But a strange thing has happened over the years when it comes to the median size of a fresh chicken breast.

If I buy a pound of chicken breasts at the local grocery store I invariably end up with 3 breasts in the package and almost always it’s 2 very large ones and 1 not quite as large. None, however, are anything close to 3-4 ounces, which is a serving size of chicken.

Since 1 lb of chicken should yield at least 4 servings (5 is closer to goal, but I’m not going to quibble about an additional ounce of lean chicken, especially if it’s being prepared healthily, as I would be about an additional ounce of potato chips or fried something or other) so a mis-matched package of 3 leaves you with a few options to serve 4: buy 2 packages and store the leftover 2 in the freezer for another application or, using a bit of basic math*, divide it into 12 pieces so that we’re somewhere close to even servings.

Almost.

You see, another problem with these chicken breasts is that they’re not uniform in size so if you cook them as is you run the very real chance of not cooking the center of the thick portion all the way before the thinner end is dried out into jerky. And chicken is NOT something you want to serve medium-rare. Shudder.

The way we fix this in our house is, first, to buy the 5 lb+ packs of chicken. Not only do these chickens tend to be slightly less gargantuan that their single-pound counterparts, you’re price per pound is generally lower, making money sense as well as serving sense. Depending on the size of the breasts, there’s usually 9-11 in there. That’s where the second fix comes in: we split each breast in half, laterally (like you’re going to butterfly it, only not stopping part-way through). Not only does this give us 2 correct portions per breast and stretches the grocery budget but it also makes for a more uniform piece of meat that cooks evenly and looks better on the plate than a bunch of pieces!

Incidentally, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to splitting the chicken breasts. If you do botch one or two, set them aside and put these oops along with any other smaller portions in a freezer bag marked pieces and use that the next time you make a stir-fry or chicken salad. We usually keep 4 portions per bag because we cook enough to bring for lunch the next day (both for saving money on unnecessary lunch purchases and the health-benefits of a home-cooked lunch) but, obviously, use what works best for your household.

*Remember fractions? Back when you had to add 1/3 and 1/4, in order to do so you had to find the LCD (lowest common denominator–not liquid crystal display!) so you could add apples to apples. The LCD of 3 breasts and 4 servings is 12 pieces, but only if the breasts are of similar size.