Dare To Eat

G&W Bavarian Style Sausage Company

2011-08-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Groupon has become a sort of addiction for Gene (my beau) and I. To say that the money savings isn't a motivating factor would be a lie, but it also encourages us to try new places and trying new places is a bit of a hobby for me. After all, what would I write about otherwise.

One of the Groupons that we purchased a while ago was for G&W Bavarian Sausage Company. I had a faint recollection of my mom going on and on about this little sausage shop in The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis and thought maybe this was the place. Indeed it was the very same shop, although, more accurately its in the Tower Grove neighborhood. G&W isn't a restaurant or deli counter but more of a butcher shop, a rather busy butcher shop, known, of course for their sausage. As a matter of fact their motto is "You can't beat our meat". Let me just give you a minute to get all the naughty jokes out of your system..... ready? A bit more? OK, one more moment.

Alright moving on. The first impression you have of this place is that its relatively small with an odd parking situation. Basically you park where you can find space across the side street the shop is located on. The second thing that hits you is the large 3D one horned bull head that greets you above the door. Let's go ahead and say these people claim to be great at sausage, not iconography. Gene and I made our decision to visit G&W on a Saturday when an errand of his took us into the general area. This errand also happened to require us to take his Un-air-conditioned truck. Needless to say, I was HOT and in a hurry to get inside so I didn't take much time to ponder the one horned bull.

There is a little bakery in my home town, maybe you have heard of it, Kruta. It has a reputation of being particularly crowded on Saturday's. You take a number as you enter then chat with the locals, peruse the cases filled with creamy, crumbly confections, and pray you haven't gotten there too late to get your favorite pastry. On any given Saturday the counter is ten deep all the way down its 15 foot counter. Entering G&W is like entering that bakery but with twice as many people and half the space. WHOA! I took a number, 92. They were serving 77. Not bad, several people behind the counter, should move quickly. 5 minutes later, "serving 77". Huh? Then I noticed the sign "Please be patient and take a number, we're worth the wait". OK, I can deal with this. They take their time with each customer and I have to respect that.

Then I noticed something else you never see at the little home town bakery, or well, ANYWHERE. I saw people walking around with cans of Busch Beer. Check my watch, slightly after noon. Are people anticipating the wait and bringing in their own beer? Then I heard it "Need a Beer?" Need a what? Folks behind the counters were handing out cold beers to the customers waiting. I began to think that perhaps people intentionally came here when it was busy just so they would get a free beer. You could tell some of the patrons were regulars as they would slide behind the counter to grab their beer and chat with the staff.

This would be a great time to mention that one of the staff members is a guy with a heavy German/Austrian/Bavarian? accent whose wife worked their for years until she passed away. He just shows up on Saturdays to help out. Did we all get sucked into a vortex and end up in a fantasized Brighten Beach... where's Jonathan Silverman? The rest of the staff is made up of several hurried, cheerful men and women, girls, and a cute little college aged boy I swear I knew from somewhere. They scurry back and forth grabbing sausages (OK another moment), wrapping and ringing up orders, and ducking into the back where large sausage making mechanisms are visible. Busy Bee's every one of them.

The store itself is lined with cases of their famous sausage, lunch meats, raw cuts of various parts of animals, including liver. The tops of the cases are arranged with gift packs, a basket with what used to be Gus' pretzels, samples of their beef sticks, butcher paper, and scales. The shelves directly opposite house various German centric candies and pantry items. The customers are a mix of trendy women who desire to be in the know of the quaint little neighborhood places (hi mom), old German women shopping for "tin" liver (that's 'thin' for those who need translating), and hot sweaty people who came in for the free beer or the Groupon.

Gene and I both maxed out and surpassed the value of our Groupon loading up on specialty sausages and brats. I should say he loaded up on brats while I loaded up on specialty sausage: Chorizo, polish, hot links, Hungarian, andouille, salsiccia, and on and on. We exited with our crisp white butcher paper bundles and hurried to the nearest Walgreen's to buy ice. Remember the HOT day and the no air conditioning? We weren't taking any chances with our new prizes!

So, now you want to know how it tastes. Does it live up to the hype? Were they, indeed, worth the wait? While we haven't had an opportunity to try all of the variety we purchased we've cooked up a couple different types. The first we tried was the salsiccia. This is an Italian sausage that is typically a pork sausage and spiced according to the region of Italy they call home. This particular salsiccia was of the southern variety and spiced primarily with fennel. We used them to cook up some sausage and peppers on hoagie rolls. I abandoned my hoagie roll and peppers to fill my belly with the comforting, fennel-ly, juiciness of the salsiccia. I expected it to be spicier or sweeter but it had a real savory quality to it and it didn't loose any of its moisture in the cooking process. This might be a good place to mention that most of their meats are fully cooked before selling which take a bit of the paranoia out of the prep process for me. We also sampled the Hungarian brat in a red pepper penne dish. Their Hungarian brats are spiced with paprika and garlic. It was a satisfying, meaty, juicy treat.

Both Gene and I thought the taste of the sausage was indeed worth the wait, the trip, the purchase of a bag of ice and a new cooler, the heat, the crowd. But given all of that, the quality and taste of the sausage really feel like the icing on the cake here. I would never consider placing an order for shipping, which they do offer by the way, because half the worth is the store itself. The people, the process, the location, the history, its all part of the package, encased in a tiny off the main road store with a one horned bull on the front.

Devour your passion

2011-08-01T20:23:00.001-07:00

There are some of us whose lives are consumed with the Food Network, Bon Appetite Magazine, rooms full of coookbooks, and who plan entire days around a trip to a favorite grocery store. In recent years this trend has boomed. The word for people like us is "foodie". Its such an innocent little word but what does it mean?

To me, it has nothing to do with ability or education. We could break this down by simply saying that we are food geeks. You know what a geek is right? That guy at work with absolutely no social skills but is intimately knowledgeable with the fictional story time line of Star Trek (eh hem *cough Mark Stoughton cough*). Or that dude on the History Channel who can't even put on a bow tie straight or comb his hair for a nationally televised documentary, who gets absolutely giddy when when given the opportunity to share his knowledge on the Spanish Inquisition. Then there are the unwashed, pale masses, equipped with camel backs so as not to be bothered to leave to get a drink of water, who only see daylight to spend hours upon hours playing with tiny figurines they have painstakingly, and with the detailed precision of a NASA shuttle, created.

Yep, if you are a foodie you, my friend, are among these social anomalies. The idea of finding black garlic gives you a tummy churning feeling akin to the first blush of love. The opportunity to dine at a restaurant that Bobby Flay or Emeril once walked past has you knocking poor tourists to the ground in order to get your name on the reservation book. The perfectly poached egg is a virtual Poncho Via quest for you. Who has the best pizza, steak, perfectly al dente pasta, french fries (do they double fry them, do they use duck fat, grey sea salt?). Where can I get my taste buds on some Beluga caviar (not in the U.S. anymore thanks to its source being considered an endangered species, see -- who else would know that?!?!?)

Does your bucket list have things on it like being a judge on Iron Chef America, meeting Alton Brown, or grilling with Bobby Flay? How many different kinds of salt, honey, vinegar, olive oils, do you have in your pantry? Do you know what Quinoa is? Do YOU? If you do you are either a foodie or have a gluten intolerance. Did you chose to debut your version of one of Julia Child's most famous dishes for YOUR birthday for 20 of your closest friends?

I am here to tell you that you are not alone. I am here with you as are thousands of others. It is time to embrace your foodie status, neigh your FOOD GEEK status. Be not shameful of your collection of cookbooks that threatens the support beams of your home. Stand tall and proud with your "Kiss the Cook" apron and grasp your le creuset Dutch oven (its good bicep exercise after all)! Fly high your flour sack towel flag. We are loud and proud. We are here and hungry!

How to use Restaurant.com

2011-07-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

As social media and shrinking economic security send more and more of us in search of ways to save money a growing use of online discount program is a useful tool. Many of you have turned to Restaurant.com so that you can continue to enjoy an occasional evening out without breaking the bank. Its also a great, low risk way to try new places. I hope to help those of you new to Restaurant.com in on the few little tips and tricks that will help you make the most of this service.

First a basic run down on how this sight works. Free sign up includes the ability to purchase discounted gift certificates to the many area restaurants made available on the sight. That seems pretty straight forward but there is a bit of a catch, but there are lots of ways around the red tape.

They also offer a dinner of the month club that you can purchase. If you choose to purchase this you will receive an email once a month that you can redeem for a $25 gift certificate to one of the available restaurants. Now... how to take advantage of this service.

Now, what's the catch? I will use a typical $25 gift certificate as an example. You will usually pay about $10 for a $25 certificate. It could be higher or lower but that is the average. With that certificate there are many restrictions and conditions. The most common is that you are required to spend a minimum of at least $10 over that gift certificate amount, more if the value of the certificate is greater. There are also often restrictions on when you can use the certificate and what menu items you can use it for.

Don't fret I am here to help.

First: Sign Up. When you sign up you will receive emails letting you know when new restaurants are added and, even better, when they are having a sale. They usually have at least one 80% off sale a month. That means the $10 you would have spent on that $25 certificate mentioned above now only costs you $2. If we do the math you just went from paying a minimum of $20 (not including tax and tip) for a $35 meal to paying $12 for that same meal. I would advise you to ONLY purchase restaurant.com certificates when they have the 80% off sale. They have them often enough that you won't miss out, I promise.

Secondly: Pay very close attention to the restrictions about when you can use your certificates WHEN you make your purchase. Most of the restrictions involve not being able to use them on Friday or Saturday or restrict you to dinner hours. Paying attention to this when you make your purchase can save you an embarrassing moment when the waitress lets you know that your romantic evening is going to cost you twice as much as you thought.

Third: Make sure you tip on the original amount of the meal. Most of the certificates have a restriction that 18% gratuity will automatically be added to your bill on the original purchase price of the meal but I've found that the server often forgets this step. Your server didn't do any less work just because you saved a bit of moolah. Don't cheat them.

Fourth: Check out the menu's of the restaurants and reviews if possible before buying the certificate. This will help you determine how far that certificate will get you and if the place is worth the effort.

Fifth: If you like the restaurant, tell your friends. These places make themselves available on this sight to get the word out about their business. They are hoping that the reduced risk of trying their place for the first time helps get you over that hump of the unfamiliar. These are also, usually, locally owned businesses who don't have a massive nationwide campaign advertising for them. If they do good encourage others to go and go back.

Lastly: Try using the certificate when dining with a friend willing to pay the amount required over the certificate value. You have brought about $25 to the table and they pay about $15 bucks out of pocket if they cover the tip too. I give you this advice but I have yet to take it myself. Usually the amount above the certificate value is split down the middle.

I think that is about it. Please let me know if I left anything out or if you have any questions.

To Die For

2011-02-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Many of my friends consider me a foody but hey, we live in the midwest, in the suburbs, with 2.5 children and 1.5 pets. Suffice it to say, culinary standards are not set high. I am more of a foodie wanna be. I wanna be the expert on all things food. I wanna be able to know what really good food is compared to the best that I can get in my own area. I wanna experience tastes from around the country, around the world. Alas, I am constrained by geography, budget, and pets. A girl can dream and when I dream, when I think of the foods that I will spend the balance of my life in pursuit of, my mind wanders to several gastronomic fairy tales. In other words my food bucket list, the foods I want to eat before I die! Here I present the first food on that list.

Its ironic, I think, that one of the most costly and luxurious foods in the world is a fungus that is rooted out of the ground by a pig. I suppose the caveat is that its a French pig, digging in French dirt, after French fungus and, as we all know, if its French its got epicurean cred. That goes for pigs too. The dirty delight that claims this fame is the truffle. How magical must a mushroom be to have a chocolate confection named for it? That question is what my taste buds long to answer.

So what's the big deal? The supply and demand firestorm that causes the proud truffle to top $3000 a pound has a lot to do with the fact that 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called them "diamonds of the kitchen" and that chefs the world wide agree with him. Add to that their slow growth, scarcity, resistance to domestication, and the fact that you have to have a special pig to dig them out of the ground that shares their color and nearly their texture.

How does one enjoy a truffle? This is a question that is poorly answered by the truffle deprived, such as myself, but I've seen enough Iron Chef battles to ferret out a worthy answer. While our afore-mentioned Brillant-Savant claims that truffles should be eaten as a meal unto themselves, most master chef's shave them atop a dish to add a rich, earthy, meatiness to anything from eggs to potatoes to a burger. Speaking of burgers, my own best chance of sampling this spongy morsel is at Burger Bar where you can have them served upon a Kobe beef burger (Kobe, a bucket list food for another day).

This delight won't cost me the hundreds that an ounce of mushroom would cost me on the good eats black market, but for now its still just out of reach of my dining out budget. When or if that day comes you can be sure that I will share my experiences with you, here, in our gathering place of yummy thoughts. Until then, if your own budget is limitless (and I mean literally limitless) then you may have the priviledge to agree with our Savant friend when he claims "Let no one ever confess that he dined where truffles were not. However good any entree may be, it seems bad unless enriched by truffles." Oh to live THAT kind of life!

My thoughts on Starbucks

2010-10-19T08:22:00.001-07:00

Like many red blooded American's I frequent food chains on a fairly regular basis, more regularly than I care to admit quite frankly. This allucution paints me as somewhat of a hypocrite. I hold a soapbox passion for the position of patronizing locally and family owned eateries and businesses in general, but lets face it, sometimes we just want the convience of what's right down the road. While Starbucks is "just down the road" from my house, its also just darned good!

As much as I would like to critisize the huge coffee chain for charging the equivilent of your child's college book fee's for a cup of coffee, or having so many stores that directions to get there involve saying its across the street from the "other Starbucks", or for so misconstruing the simplicity of small, medium, and large to such a degree that its the most comlpex part of placing your order (Venti-latin for 20), all of these things are so outshined by the fact that its just a darned good coffee shop.

Starbucks has been known to make quality of service and flavor one of its highest priorities. This concept is a difficult one to put into practice when consistency usually means sacrificing flavor, and quality for sameness (let's face it those Mcwhatevers don't really taste like anything). Its quite a feat for a chain as large as Starbucks to maintain both a consistent and really good product, not to mention superior service. To these ends Starbucks has made some pretty radical moves such as shutting down its stores nationwide for an entire afternoon to reintroduce its baristas and staff to what quality tastes like, and for impossing regulations on how many beverages a barista can prepare at a time. Limiting their menu to focus on the liquid consumables also plays a hand in assuring they don't get off the tasty coffee track. While they do offer a limite amount of baked goods they have these prepared out of house and only served in the store, allowing someone who makes a good cup of coffee to concentrate on making a good cup of coffee.

Have we talked about their quality of service? I could focus this entire opinion piece on that alone. I have never entered a starbucks stand alone store and been disapointed in my service. More times than not my expectations are exceeded. The staff are always cheerful and helpful. I belong to a book club that meets regularly in our local Starbucks. Many of the women aren't coffee drinkers and approach the counter with an almost lost in the wood's feeling about what to order. The barista is not only patient but 100% of the time was able to guide my friends to a drink that they enjoyed throughroughly. In addition to this they seem to genuinly love their job. I am told this is as a result of the company providing a good working environment and more benefits than other similar establishments. I would rather start my morning getting caffeine from a friendly Starbucks barista at twice the price of my ill mannered McCounterpart.

There are a lot of other reasons to love a Starbucks. I would encourage you to get your next cup of coffee there but lets face it, you probably already will. In some cases its more than conveince that gets your business and this is one of those cases. So instead, I will encourage you to do the same thing that Starbucks does around the holidays and that is pay for the car behind you. Don't worry about the cost, it will come back to you in frothy, caffinated goodness someday.

Ooops!

2010-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

In all of my culinary endeavors, both lofty and mundane, I have never ruined dinner so badly that 'pizza had to be ordered'. I have overcooked, undercooked, over salted, under peppered, turned to mush, and nails, but in every case the food was eaten for all of those children in 3rd world countries who are starving. I have broken my streak.

How you ask? How have I managed to ruin such a sterling reputation? Well, I tell you it was nothing short of a gastronomic breakthrough, a scientific breakthrough, a feat against nature and aquatic life. I made Fish Jell-O! Yes, you read correctly. I am not talking an aspic, that jelly like block filled with various meats, fishes or vegetables. I am talking fish that actually became loose Jell-O. Maybe fish jelly would be more accurate. If I am going to be completely accurate I would have to say, pan fried, dover sole...jelly.

Fish can be tricky, I know, so I planned to not be too terribly hard on myself it if fell apart, or became a tad tough or rubbery, or even if I undercooked it and had to throw it back on the fire. I did not anticipate what it became. I had the most beautiful dinner planned. I got the wild caught dover sole, already frozen, at Trader Joe's. It was a fish I hadn't prepared before and I was in the mood for a fishy adventure (insert Nemo jokes here). I would lightly flour the fish and pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side, per the suggestion on the package. Then I would deglaze the pan with lemon juice and throw in some arugula and heirloom cherry tomatoes, a little more butter, to create a kind of beurre blanc sauce/wilted arugula salad to top the fish. I would serve it with a harvest grains blend (fancy rice), and pan fried green beans with crispy garlic. Sounds delicious doesn't it...

Everything was prepped. My mise en place had been in place just waiting for Gene to get home from his haircut. The harvest grains blend was almost finished cooking... and so in the pan went the fish. At first is was going great. When it came time to turn I faced some opposition but I was prepared for falling apart fish and it was sort of still intact. Then it just appeared to never cook all the way through. I left it on longer hoping that it would eventually get its stuff together. It cooked for a really long time on really high heat. When I tested the done-ness, not only was it NOT firm, or flaky it was.... yes, jello-y. It stayed jello-y. I cut off small pieces and pretty much cooked them to death... jello-y. jello-y, jello-y, jello-y.

Gene desperately searched his freezer for a suitable protein substitute, not even pretending that it was remotely edible (although he did actually taste it... shiver). Finally I just admitted that I was not emotionally prepared to attempt cooking anything else. We opted for chicken 12 way. That is Gene and his roomates code for Chinese buffet. It wasn't even a good Chinese buffet, not even in comparison to other Chinese buffets. It was just barely more edible than the Fish Jell-O. The funny thing is that I couldn't bring myself to eat anything fish related on the buffet and Gene ate pretty much only fish.

So, the lesson we have learned today kids is this: Dangit the only thing I can think of is that Chinese buffet isn't really a good alternative to a ruined dinner. I would suggest the traditional pizza. Oh, I guess I might say that if you are going to ruin dinner, at least do it up big, and ruin it for a guy as great as Gene. He will buy your dinner.

Nadoz Cafe

2010-08-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

I went on another Restaurant.com adventure today. One of the reasons that I like restaurant.com is because it encourages you to try something new, and you never really know for sure what you are going to get. Today I got a nice lunch with my mom, aunt, and grandma.We decided on a restaurant very near the SLU campus, in the Coronado Hotel, called Nadoz. Nadoz is a Euro Bakery and Cafe. The process and menu are pretty straight forward: salads, baked goods, soups de jour, sandwiches, wraps, and buckwheat crepes. Daily specials are written in colorful chalk on black boards, and the staff is friendly and patient (we were there specifically to test the patience of the staff). The baked goods and desserts are displayed tantalizingly in a glass case while the food is prepared, in plain sight, by a very friendly and knowledgeable chef.

The process requires you to order at the register and retrieve your own food when your name is

called. I am fine with this more casual style of dining, especially since everyone there was so bright and cheerful. This is where the adventure began as all four of us tried to compile an order that would meet our coupon minimum and ferret out what exactly my grandma wanted to eat. Much translation of fancy food words was required. We settled on a Chopped

Salad for my aunt, a Veggie Wrap with Chicken for my Grandma (which she would later call the "green thing that made me burp"), a Boursin Buckwheat Crepe with a Baby Spinach Salad for my mom and I. Since our gift certificate was quite a hefty one we also got dessert: Lemon Cheesecake and a Biscotti.

I can't speak to how my Aunt and Grandma's lunches were, but I can say that they were accommodating to my Aunt's special requests, and that my Grandma's wrap was substantial and looked very fresh. My mom and I shared both the salad and the crepe. The Baby Spinach Salad was a large serving of fresh baby spinach with candied walnuts, cranberries, orange segments, sunflower seeds, croûton, and orange white balsamic vinaigrette, served with a pretzel roll. I have to be honest that I don't recall any croûton on the salad and the orange segments seemed superfluous, clunky, and lacking sweetness. I kept thinking that mandarin orange segments, or even orange supremes would have complimented the salad so much more. Regardless of this , the salad was very delicious. The pretzel roll was soft, nutty, and exactly what a pretzel turned roll should be. The spinach was very clean, fresh and hearty. The dressing wasn't too heavy but it was just sweet enough to counter the plethora of ingredients on the salad. The perfect bite of walnut, sunflower, dressing, and cranberry left a pleasant tang in my mouth and readied me for another bite of my Boursin Buckwheat Crepe.

The Boursin is a Large Crepe with beef tenderloin, Roasted Ozark Mushrooms, Grilled

Asparagus, Boursin Cheese, and Creme Fraiche. While the menu description seemed mouth watering, I was also concerned about all those heafty ingredients pressing against a delicate crepe. This was no longer a concern after my first bite. The Crepe was somehow delicate and light while holding its own against the hearty, crispy, tender bites of steak and mushroom. The asparagus was very tender but still had that snappy bite you hope for in this stand-at-attention veggie. The cheese, melted across the top like a sauce, worked with the Creme Fraiche to compliment the hearty contents. I was very impressed with they managed the meat in a cafe environment. The crispy edges contrasted with the moist tenderness of the beef and the pieces were cut into perfect, hearty bite sizes. This Crepe would make the voracious meat eater sigh with yums (as my mother actually did, ala Meryle Streep as Julia Child).

My one negative note comes with the dessert. The Cheesecake was creamy and smooth but lacked anything unique or special in its flavor. The lemon aspect was a curd that sat in the middle of the square shaped cake, and was a color that I am not comfortable with food items being. While it wasn't offensive, it was just obvious to my eyes, that the yellow got some help from something other than lemons. The Biscotti was more like a short bread cookie without the unctuousness of all that butter and lacked the twice baked crisp of a biscotti that invites dunking.

To sum it up I would say that Nadoz will get my business again, and this time I am dragging my meat eating, mushroom loving, boyfriend along. I also plan to visit again to dine from their breakfast menu. While that menu is nearly more extensive than their lunch or dinner menus, all I could recall was the Nutella Crepe! Check out Nadoz. Its worth the drive over to St. Louis and if you are a student at SLU its worth an occasional treat (maybe when your parents are visiting) as the prices aren't ridiculous but not necessarily college student friendly. Maybe I will see you there!

Food for the Childless: Grilled Chicken with Stone Fruit Chutney, Savory Summer Salad, Pasta with Asparagus

2010-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of dear friends whom I share the circumstance of finding ourselves near the middle of our lives, all for different reasons, without children. While our peers are shuttling kids to and from soccer practice, balancing kid friendly dinner menus, packing up lunches, and wiping snotty noses, we are free to contemplate more leisurely quandaries of life, "What's for lunch?"

Didn't I make being free from the shackles of parenthood sound terribly enticing? I am leaving out the hugs, the bedtime prayers, the joy on little faces when they reflect the love you show them. I know that all of the mom's that read this would give anything for one afternoon to live the freedom of a life without something crusty on their person somewhere....almost anything.

Though none of us have chosen this particular freedom, we have come to embrace it. We embrace it by coming together without the burden of having to think of a way to fill a conversation gap between discussions on the prices of diapers and the benefits of a morning nap versus an afternoon nap. Instead we talk about.... FOOD! We talk about where we want to eat, what we want to eat, what we want to create, or try, or what flavors we think sing together. Occasionally we get the beautiful occasion to cook together.

We recently had one of these opportunities. We flew by the seat of our pants and let creativity and the seasons availability dictate our menu. I think that we managed a beautiful symphony of flavor. If food were therapy this was the cure.

Our menu can loosely be defined as:

Grilled Chicken with stone fruit chipotle chutney, Savory Summer Fruit Salad, and pasta for when you forgot the Parm.

Grilled Chicken

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts. Salt and Pepper. Throw on a Medium High grill until juices run clear.

Stone fruit Chipotle Chutney

2 peaches stoned and diced

2 plumbs stoned and diced

3 Tb. of Raspberry Fruit Spread (or any fruit spread you have lying around)

1 Tb. of chipotle in adobo sauce (available in the ethnic or Mexican food isle. You only need the sauce not the actually chipotle)

1/3 cup water

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until fruit is broken down and it lightly coats the back of a spoon. Will thicken as it cools.

Serve Chutney on top or alongside Grilled Chicken

Savory Summer Fruit Salad

While this recipe using only fruit its in no way a dessert or sweet dish since all of the fruits are usually used as vegetables. I like the irony.

pint of cherry, grape, or heirloom cherry tomatoes quartered (we used what the garden yielded as this tastes better than almost any food on the planet)

1/2 to 1 Whole cucumber seeded and peeled (we didn't peel and wished later that we had)

About 10 large Kalamata Olives halved

4 oz. Fresh Mozzarella diced into bite sized pieces

a bunch Fresh Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dressing:

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablesppons Cider or Balsamic Vinegar (you will get a completely different taste depending on what you choose, we used what we had)

1 clove garlic pressed or diced fine

Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss "fruit" together and dress until evenly and lightly coated. You will most likely have left over dressing. Let sit at room temp for up to an hour or in the fridge for up to a day.

Pasta for When you Forgot the Parm:

The original recipe called for parmesean cheese but some miscommunication lead to us not having any. What do you don in such a situation? Add more bacon.

1 LB spaghetti or linguini/fettuccini cooked to

1 TB olive oil

4 strips of thick cut bacon cut into 1/2 inch strips or diced

1 TB of butter

1 Lb of fresh asparagus (I wish on all that is sprinkly with fairy dust that it was unnecessary to use the word fresh to describe asparagus, as I feel that all canned asparagus should be thrown into a bottomless pit) trimmed of their woody ends, and cut into thirds or bite sized pieces.

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup reserved pasta liquid

2 cloves garlic crushed

A few springs of fresh Basil chiffonade

Boil pasta to al dente and drain. Before draining scoop up a cup of the cooking liquid and set aside.

Render bacon in olive oil on medium heat until bacon starts to crisp. Raise heat to medium high and add asparagus and butter and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes and add heavy cream. When cream bubbles add cooked and drained pasta. Stir to incorporate and add about half of the reserved pasta liquid and return to a boil. Lower heat and as the pan becomes dry add more and more of the liquid until the entire cup as been added. When pasta is coated and no more liquid remains in pan sprinkle with Basil and season with Salt and Pepper.

I do hope that you use these recipes as a jumping off point to create your own seasonal dinner with friends that you gather to share with.

Best Restaurant in Town: Mom's Kitchen

2010-07-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have teased all of you by bragging about my mom's Carne Asada. I know that isn't nice. I am ashamed of my sin inducing behavior. That sin of course, being jealousy. Well, I am about to make that up to you.

Neither of my grandmother's is what I would call a great cook. My mom however is the kind of cook that people rave about. She is also the kind of cook who can never remember what she put in a dish when asked for the recipe. "Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that".In recent years she has turned her attention to baking. While this is a joyful direction for many a sweet tooth, its disappointing to this savory addict.

However, one specialty of the house is still available if you have the right pull. Getting her to make the Carne Asada is as easy as dropping not to subtle hints for a few weeks. Getting her to give up the recipe is slightly more complicated. I don't think she is being coy when she shrugs her shoulder's and says "oh its so easy, I just..." then she starts rambling off her "this and that" routine. I honestly think that is the way she cooks. Recipes are simply a jumping off point, a suggestion, a spark to an idea.

All of that to say that with some patience and guidance I got a recipe fit for print and YES, I am going to share it with you. Keep in mind that this recipe might be different the next time she makes it, and she has a tendency to use what's available. She would encourage you to do the same. For instance, tonight she used pork chops because they were on sale. Ok, Ready Set...improvise. Oh, I am throwing in a recipe of hers for short cut salsa, just cuz I love ya.

You will need a medium to large crock pot for this one but little else in the way of equipment. While my mom learned Carne Asada at the side of a senora while living in Mexico, she has found some short cuts that don't compromise the flavor or authenticity while avoiding the need for live fire.

Beef Chuck Roast, Pork Shoulder, or any large (3-5 LBS) slab of meat you have laying around.

1/2 Pkg. Onion Soup Mix

1/2 Medium Onion Chopped

Be sure to put the roast in the crock pot dry. Cook for 6-8 hours until it can be shredded with a fork. Drain the fat (she mentions that you can save this for gravy or any application that your imagination can come up with) and add:

2 small cans Rotel Mild Tomatoes

1/2 cup of Short Cut Salsa (recipe to follow) OR minced garlic.

Continue to cook 1-2 more hours to allow the flavors to marry.

Serve with corn or flour tortillas, salsa, cheese, sour cream, avocados, or hunched over the crock pot with a fork.

Short Cut Salsa

1 Can petite diced tomatoes

2 gloves garlic skins removed

1/2 jalapeño seeded and de-veined (unless you like it spicier)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of half of said lemon

As much cilantro as you can stand

salt and pepper to taste.

Blend this all in a food processor being careful to pulse to get a consistency just short of smooth.

I do hope that you enjoy my mother's cooking as much as I do.

La Mexicana Pantoon Beach

2010-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you love Mexican food! My hand is firmly planted at my side and restaurants like La Mexicana are the reason why. I have a theory that there is a large pair of fuzzy dice in the kitchen of most Mexican restaurants that have ingredients instead of dots on them. The chef simply rolls the dice and throws the ingredients together with a side of shredded lettuce.

There are exceptions to this rule, and in turn, my aversion to Mexican food. My mom's cooking is the first exception. She spent the 2 years we lived in Mexico collecting recipes and cooking techniques at the sides of senoritas all over Mexico. There is nothing like a fresh, hot, home pressed tortilla with a juicy helping of carne asada and salsa fresca. Another exception is La Casa Mexican Grill and Cantina.

La Mexicana in Pontoon Beach (please don't mistake this restaurant for La Casa in Edwardsville) had the fuzzy dice but "cheese dip" took up two spaces on each die. Upon entering on a Sunday for lunch there was one other occupied table and half the restaurant was set aside for what was obviously a night club. To be frank it looked like the party supply store threw up on the entire left side of the building. I think that our waiter partied a little too late in the night club the night before. He was either still drunk or very hung over. He forgot most requests we made, and seemed to know very little about the restaurant, the food, or how to count. The slightly humid atmosphere of the empty restaurant was also slightly dirty everywhere except the bathroom, which was horrendous. They attempted an aquatic theme that was not only a complete failure but actually made it impossible to clean the surfaces of the bathroom. Martha Stewart would have flat passed out.

I am not a clean snob by any means and all of the above would have been forgivable had the food been outstanding, but mostly is was just covered in cheese dip. As a side note this reminds me of a pet peeve I have regarding Mexican food fans. Every time a friend wants to take you to their favorite Mexican place they always say "You have to get the queso, its SOOOOOO good". I wonder if they realize that every Mexican restaurant is opening the same can of white cheeze whiz. The chips were stale, the salsa weak, the meat tough, and the service pretty non-existent. When we asked if they had a hotter salsa our waiter brought out a 60 oz. bottle of hot sauce, that still left us wanting more flavor and heat.

Even if you are someone who raves about the queso dip, and loves a side of beans with your bland sauce laden meat, avoid this place at all cost. Just go home and grab a bag of Tositos and put some cheese dip on them. And if it still doesn't feel right throw up a tinsel cactus and blast some Ricky Martin. You will still have a more authentic atmosphere and flavor than La Mexicana.

Pi Delmar Loop

2010-05-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Pi in the Delmar Loop claims to be "sustainably delicious". While The Green Restaurant Association is more qualified to speak to their claims of sustainability, I can certainly verify the delicious claim.

I was joined, once again, by my dear dining friends Holly and Tracy. Being the only Pi virgin at the table I was given a "moment" to drink in the menu and myriad of pizza choices. As our very patient and capable waiter, Ryan (a dead ringer for Shaggy from Scooby Doo), pointed out to us, we were not limited to the pizza choices listed on the menu. Ingredients and toppings could be added, made up, moved from thick to thin, served on half, and I believe we were even given the option to have it served to us on the moon. Had that been a genuine choice, I think its the only thing that would earn this place higher marks from me.

The ingredients were fresh, and real. As I served up my slice of Western Edition (on thin not thick) the fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and feta cheese stretched beautifully away. On top of the cheese sat mushrooms (you know the kind that DON'T come in a can), Spinach (actual leaves of spinach) and sweet onions. While I thought every ingredient delightful and harmonious, Tracy did have the dissenting opinion that the mushrooms tasted like cardboard.

The pizza that Tracy chose to order for us was a classic deep dish pizza with the cheese on the bottom and the sauce on the top. In between were large chunks of pork sausage, bacon, and chiuaua cheese. While it rang very clearly of a perfect dish of deep, I indulged in only one slice to save myself for the Western Edition.

The atmosphere of Pi was funky and eclectic, even where we chose to sit outside. While we were approached twice by those claiming to need money the staff quickly did their part to disperse them as soon as possible. We didn't mind giving up a slice of Pi to one of them though, to be blessed means to bless. If this is not the kind of blessing that you are into, sitting inside quickly solves this problem.

"Green" restaurants are becoming more and more popular and pizza is a perfect landscape for that new frontier. Pi does it right with a great atmosphere, real ingredients, perfect crust, and wonderful service. I would rec this to anyone looking for a casual but indulgent date night or lunch with fabulous friends.

Beatniks New Town St. Charles

2010-05-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

My experience at Beatniks is thanks to a couple of great lunch friends Holly and Tracy. We all love to try new foods, new places, and most of all we love to visit with each other. Generally that means when we go to lunch we are there until juuust about dinner time. After a long hiatus from each other we headed out for a day of shopping and eating. Purposefully roaming off the beaten path to something unique, we headed to Beatniks.

Sitting in a neighborhood that is just shy of step-ford quality is Beatniks. It has the feel of a restaurant at the end of a pier and is decorated by iron sculptures and mannikin's dressed in every manner of funky clothing. The manikin that greeted us at the door was even holding a baby with a cigarette in its mouth. Holly removed the cigarette from said babies mouth ;)

The bar area is separated from the porch area that has several more iron scultures. Each table has an iron flower arrangment centerpiece. The porch area was walled in with glass garage doors making the entire area convertible from indoor to outdoor dining. Since the weather was unseasonably cool for May the doors were closed and since it was Monday were among very few diners.

Our waiter was a tall, red beared young man with an affable personality who admittedly hadn't been with them long but was eager to please and to visit with us when we invited him to do so. We asked what he recommended and ordered accordingly.

The Chipotle nachos were scrumptious. Not being a nachos fan, these were ones I would order again in a heartbeat. They were pretty simply prepared with a chipotle cheese sauce, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, and chunks of brisket, over multi-colored chips. To accompany our nachos we opted for the large bavarian style soft pretzels with three kinds of dipping sauce. The girls and I agreed that plain mustard was better than any of the dipping offerings made available with the pretzels.

Our main courses were varied; chicken with a truffle brandy sauce, a club sandwich with poorly sliced avocados and a soft fried egg on top, and a Monte-Cristo sandwich with current jelly. All in all it was tasty fair. The exception being the sweet potato fries. They were overcooked, and lacked any real sweet potato flavor.

A standout was the Truffle Mac N Cheese. We did as our waiter suggested and tossed some diced jalapeños on top of the Mac N Cheese for a little added spice. It was delicious if not a tad bit too salty. The sauce was creamy and rich just as it should be.

We thoughroughly enjoyed our dining experience at Beatniks and are eager to return when the garage doors are open!!!

La Casa Mexicana Grill and Cantina

2010-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

La Casa Mexicana Grill and Cantina

201 Harvard Dr.

Edwardsville, IL

I have had the privilege of dining at La Casa twice now. The first was late on a Sunday evening. The seating was immediate and the waiter was attentive. The second experience was much different, but in both cases the food exceeded my expectations. My expectations were to find an establishment that was like every other Mexican restaurant that drowns its dishes in cheese sauce, and uses meats that are tough, and shredded. This is not what I found at La Casa.

The menu was extensive, authentic, and moderately priced. My biggest gripe with Mexican food is that its generally bland and sauced far beyond what is necessary or healthy. La Casa had neither of those problems as the food was fresh, well seasoned, and beautifully plated. The restaurant itself is beautiful as well. They have a small bar area and several dining spaces with booths set apart from the other diners creating a kind of intimacy in your dining experience.

Now for the picky bits. As I stated, my first experience was near Mexican Nirvana "cielo", but my second was more terrestrial. We went on a busy Friday night and had to wait to be seated. This is not only expected but good to see in a new restaurant. Our first unpleasant surprise came when they seated us in the VERY small bar area without asking if we would prefer something else. We had to stop a couple of times on our way to the table because there wasn't enough room for the servers and passersby. We were also seated about a foot and a half from the actual bar, where a girl and her friend were lamenting over a pitcher of Margaretta's about a recent break up. A few times patrons backed right up to my right side to gather around an amigo at the bar.

To me, this was tolerable, because what will we not tolerate for good food. Our waitress was straight off the set of a Mexican soap opera, perhaps the one that was distracting my dining partner as it played on the tv over my head. The real unpleasantness for me started when my food came very quickly along with my dining partners side dishes. His main dish took 15 minutes longer and 3 servers to make it to the table. Being a polite table mate I attempted to wait for his food to arrive before eating. Some nibbling took place... by both of us. Our waitresses beauty was tempered with a general disinterest in service. We actually had another server approach our table when he saw us looking lost. He was kind enough to refill beverages and agreed to check on our missing dish. There weren't any apologies or explanations made for the mix up or delay. Oh, and to add to the overall joy of the service my cornbread came late and overcooked as well.

Given that negative experience, the food was still delicious and fed my dining partner for days. I would recommend La Casa to anyone interested in delicious, fresh, authentic Mexican food. Just avoid the bar... unless you just broke up with your boyfriend and need a pitcher of Margaretta's.

Wang Gang Review

2010-01-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

I recently made my first trip to a much talked about eatery in the Edwardsville area. The concept of Wang Gang is pretty simple yet innovative. The cuisine is decidedly upscale Asian but without the cost of a P.F. Chang's. They make this possible by having dinners order at the counter and gather their own cutlery, condiments, drinks, and even to go boxes. A restaurant with a similar theme is Pei Wei of P.F. Chang's.

I must say right away that the food was excellent. The staff was more than friendly and at atmosphere was very pleasant. The dining area had just enough tables that it felt full but you weren't listening to the conversations of the dinners next to you. When mistakes were made (which I will surely share with you) an effort to correct them was made immediately and apologies were made quickly.

Now, having said all the good things here were a couple of disapointments. Having never been to Wang Gang I wasn't sure of what to expect. I assumed that I was to order at the counter but neither a sign or a staff member invited me to do so. Eventually after we grabbed menus from an off to the side holder, and sort of approached the cash register, someone offered to take our order. This is obviously only an issue for first time visitors but it does give a less than stellar first impression.

When my friend and I ordered we were each told that they were out of something that we wanted so we opted for something else. This isn't a huge issue for me, it happens on a busy Saturday night, which is was. However, once we got to our table and waited for quite a bit we were told they were out of both of the replacement dishes my friend ordered, and just a few minutes after that I saw the fresh spring rolls (which I was told they were out of) get delivered to another table. We were offered our money back or a substitute. We opted for chocolate egg rolls. Yummy and rich.

This following complaint is perhaps the biggest for me. My hot food was served on very cold plates. I have a pet peeve of having my cold salad served on a hot plate. This happens frequently as most restaurants, but I have never been served such a cold plate. The first few bites brought hot and cold in the same mouth full, and I mean COLD.

As we left we were told to have a good night and "thanks for bearing with them". This leads me to believe that I caught them on a bad night. I sure hope that is the case because despite my complaints the food was crave-worthy and met the upscale taste they promised and the staff was awesome. I would encourage anyone to try this off beat place to grab great Asian food. I plan on going back and having a completely different experience.

The Omelet Project

2009-12-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

In these next few posts, I will be sharing with you the successes and failures of omelet making. Not the puffed, stuffed, slathered kinds you could order at your favorite brunch spot, but the actual, real deal French Style omelets. You may be asking, “Why”? My boyfriend, Gene, can take the blame.

My Christmas gifts from Gene this year consisted of a myriad of cookbooks. Having learned fast of my obsession with cooking, he knew what would butter my toast, so to speak. One of these cookbooks was the cookbook of all cookbooks, the piece de resistance, and the jewel of any cookbook aficionado’s collection: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertoholle, and Simone Beck.

Julia is the one who started it all. The reason you hear “BAM!” on television, watch Rachel knock out a 30 minute meal, or see Bobby throw down on the grill is all because of Julia. As a child, I would pretend to be Julia while assembling the most basic of recipes. I would line up all of my pre-measured ingredients (imagine, mise en place at age 8), and speak to the kitchen window in a high lilting voice while making boxed caked.

Now you may be asking yourself why someone who is so obviously obsessed with cooking, cookbooks, and Julia does not already own this masterpiece of masterpieces of a cookbook. Folks, if you know me at all you know I am CHEAP! I cannot think of the last time I bought a book that was past the first tasty rows of bargain books at Borders. You can be assured that my wanderings toward the café always veered by the cookbooks. After passing those shelves my arms would be heavy laden with books that I knew I would never purchase for myself. Mastering the Art of French Cooking was almost always one of them. My dear sweet, ever thoughtful boyfriend bought me all the books that he knew I would never buy for myself because he paid retail.

I have a theory that these gifts come with a secret (or not so secret) ulterior motive of being the beneficiary of my labor and I am more than happy to oblige him. He is going to be eating a lot of omelets in the near future. [Editors note: Yummy!]

Julia’s description of omelet making presents an interesting temptation. While she says there is a trick to making omelets, and that I may have to throw many omelets out before getting it just right, she also says it takes less than 30 seconds to make. It’s one of those great conundrums of life where learning takes minutes mastering takes a lifetime. The French omelet may prove to be my game of chess.

Attempt Number 1:

I read the directions about ten times before attempting this omelet, the reason being, that Julia told me to. “There is no time at all to stop in the middle and pore over your book in order to see what comes next.” My first attempt was made in a non stick pan that seemed to be the appropriate depth and width. I had my 2 eggs lightly beaten, with a fork standing by, while my pan came to a ripping hot temperature. My home being absent of butter I used peanut oil and dumped in the eggs. I noticed immediately that I did not have my sliding technique even close to effective. I had to use my fork a lot to get the eggs where I needed them and in rolling it onto the plate I found I had pushed the eggs to the wrong edge of the pan. The finished product was not very pretty but resembled some very tasty, well textured scrambled eggs. Not a bad first attempt but I knew that I needed to work on presentation.

Attempt Number 2:

Omelet number two was made with room temperature butter. Julia does not warn against the foibles of room temperature butter, but I warn you now. A screaming hot pan and room temperature butter are not a successful combination. My butter went from melting, to foaming, to browned, to burned in about . . . maybe point zero five seconds. I threw my eggs in right away and immediately realized that butter was a useless liquid that would only serve to discolor my eggs. The good news is that my technique improved greatly. After reading the directions in the book several times, I knew I had to see Julia make an omelet. Youtube.com proved to be a goldmine of Julia omelet making clips. I watched her make an omelet in black and white, in 1964, and in 1980 on the Today show. I was armed. My eggs came out underdone to my taste. I believe this to also be a product of the overcooked butter as I was mentally hurried to get it finished before blackening began. It was very well formed and slid onto the plate in a beautiful gentle roll. The brown liquidly butter that ran here and there was unappetizing as was the underdone texture. My dog seemed to enjoy it.

Attempts Number 3 and 4:

The next morning I met Gene at his house to go into work with him. Arriving at just after seven a.m. with a departure time of seven-fifteen, I attempted my 3rd and 4th omelets. Remember, it is supposed to take less than 30 seconds. Pan . . . HOT: check. Butter . . . Room temperature: check. Eggs . . . Mixed: check. Technique . . . We will see. Eggs in, pan shaking, jerking, tipping, rolling onto plate . . . VIOLA! Despite the egg being just a bit browner than I think Julia would approve of, the egg looked fantastic. I set it aside and began attempt number 4. This was the most successful to date. While the 3rd proved to be a little uneven in doneness, the 4th was a perfect creamy little roll of egg. I think there is still improvements to be made on doneness, color, and smoothness (mine was wrinkly, Julia’s was not), but I am getting there.

Smokin' the Bird

2009-11-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled upon a gang of fools, Grillinfools.com to be exact. This website, an all in one smoker sitting lonely and forlorn in Gene's kitchen, and a sale on pork butt's inspired me to add a new cooking method to my repertoire.

My first venture out was a smoked pork butt and it was a moderate success. I used a rub recipe from Grillinfools.com and scoured the internet for more advice. The best I found was from a member of the aforementioned site via Facebook.

Pulling at least a draw on my confrontation with the butt, I decided to step it up and smoke the Thanksgiving Turkey. I threw all fear, and caution to the wind and spoke boldly to the 20 people attending Thanksgiving dinner and said "I will smoke the turkey!" Who cares that I have only fired up a smoker once before, or that I have never prepared the thanksgiving turkey before.... or a turkey. I was confident. HA!

I harassed Scott from Grillinfools.com so much I am surprised he didn't take out a restraining order. With his advice, the recipes and tips from the site, and a large cooler full of ice on hand I felt ready.

A point that was hammered into my brain over and over again was BRINE THE BIRD!! This was the purpose of the cooler. The bird and the brine were far to big for my fridge. Scott was not the first to encourage this course of action. My long time love Alton Brown in Romancing the Bird called for this moisture inducing method years ago. I was a fan.

Taking a page from Grillinfools.com recipe for smoked whole chicken, I stuffed the skin of the Turkey with a butter garlic mixture. Setting the Bird in the smoker and the wood chips in a crush of aluminum foil I turned on the propane (yes, I said propane) and resolved to leave the lid in place for several hours. This is the hardest part as doubt causes you to want to check on the bird often. Resistance was key and ultimately played into my success. In smoking the butt I learned that temperature recovery took almost an hour every time I opened the lid and I didn't want to make 20 diners wait to eat.

This is where I confess that I asked my mom to make a second Turkey. This is also where I mention that more of my bird was eaten than hers, I was paid more compliments, and was even told that *gasp* hers was meant for gravy.

Since Thanksgiving I have tackled the mid-west favorite of smoked pork chops with great success. The next time you see smoke rising from my humble abode's back porch Mozzarella stuffed Portabellas will be the cause. I guess if I am going to take up a smoking addiction this late in life it might as well be one that produces such delicious results. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!

and the secret ingredient is.....

2009-11-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

PINEAPPLE!

Every issue of Food Network Magazine has a secret ingredient contest in the back. This issue pineapple is the food of challenge. Despite being slightly confused as to why this out of season fruit is the secret ingredient, I am determined to give this one a shot.

My ideas are leaning toward the savory and include a veggie stir fry, and a chipotle pork and pineapple empanada, and... and... well, nothing else. Any suggestions?

I will be sure to keep you updated on any successes or failures in this endeavor.

I am BACK!

2009-11-20T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the extended absence. The fact that a few of you mentioned missing my entries encouraged me to figure out what was wrong with my blog that was preventing me from logging in. I am excited to continue sharing with you tips, recipes, successes, failures, and restaurant recommendations with you. But I have something to ask of you first.

I want to know from you what you want to read about. I also want your tips and suggestions. If you aren't a member of this forum feel free to email me Jennichu75@gmail.com or post on my facebook. I would really love for this to be a two way street.

Now, to the meat of the matter. I have been stuck in the last little bit. My career as a teacher is on hold awaiting some red tape and paperwork. In the meantime I have had an opportunity to reflect on my choices and opportunities. In other words, I am broke and I need to figure out how to make some dough (and I am no baker).

But given that I am already broke why not take the time to think about what I love to do. Recently in my Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Class (highly recommended) I wrote a note on Gene's paper that simply said "I am so discouraged, the only thing I can think of that I am passionate about is people and food". Almost immediately I figured out what I would love to do with my time, my life, my livilhood. I would LOVE to teach cooking.

Here is where the birds chirp the benevolent stranger comes and begs me to use his money to open a one of a kind culinary institute, and pay off all my bills so that I can focus on my new mission. Ah... no. Living in the real world as I have for the last 3o something years, I think I need to take a different approach.

While pursuing my teaching certificate I will also be going back into the world of home direct sales. Many of you may know that I used to be a Tastefully Simple Consultant. I really enjoyed the business but life took me on some turns that pulled me away from it. I plan on diving back in enthusiastically. Its a perfect combination of people and food.

While I am excited about this new venture its not the end game of my plans. Stay tuned to find out what comes next. In the meantime, Let's Eat!

St. Louis Downtown Restaurant Week

2009-07-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy reviewing restaurants for all of you. I thought my favorite part of my blog would be sharing recipes but I seem to get more feedback when I introduce you to a new dining experience.

That is why I was so pleased to realize that Sunday begins St. Louis Downtown Restaurant Week. The news came just as I was lamenting that I wished I had the capitol to try more places to share with you. I highly encourage you to check out the site for the event by following the link below. Supporting local restaurants in Downtown St. Louis can only do good things for our beloved Gateway to the West.

Here is the scoop. 25 local restaurants participate and post their menus on the event page. Each menu includes at least 3 courses of mix and match delights. Your total bill (for each restaurant), not including tax and tip, will be 25 bucks per person. That isn't bad at all considering that these are some of the nicer St. Louis eateries, ones I certainly cannot normally afford. Your menu choices are limited but they are also online for you to view before you decide where to partake.

I have mentally bookmarked a few that I will narrow down to one. The prices are unbeatable but still slightly exceed my dining out budget for a week. If you have opinions of where I should choose, voice them. Who knows, maybe I will take YOUR suggestion. Of course, I will log back on to let you know if I was delighted or disgusted.

http://www.downtownrestaurantweek.net

Try Something New: My Adventure with Olives

2009-07-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I love food! I love cooking with it, tasting it, looking at it, reading about it. I love food! I HATE when people are close minded about food. Perhaps "hate" is a strong word, but it is a pet peeve of mine when someone says "I don't like that" only to discover they haven't had "that" since their crazy Aunt Martha made it at Thanksgiving when they were 12. So you can imagine how big of a hypocrite I feel like every time I walk by the olive bar in any well stocked grocery store.

My relationship with olives goes back to childhood. My mother battled weight problems and up until about 6 years ago was loosing that battle. I am very proud of the way that she has since taken on that challenge and won! That does does not diminish the image of her as a child in my mind. The image in my mind is of an overweight woman in a house coat, at the dinner table eating olives out of the jar. Now, many people have no problem eating olives out of jar, and I don't find any fault with it in itself, but for years that image poisoned my view of olives. The smell, the texture, the pickly-ness of them. It all turned me away.

A couple of years ago, the overwhelming sensation to practice what I preach washed over me and instead of feeling weary as I walked by the olive bar I felt determined. I was going to eat these olives until they didn't disgust me. I started by picking up the sampling cup and placing in it one olive (I can't remember the kind cleary at this time) and a piece of roasted garlic. I tentatively put the olive in my mouth and the most amazing thing happened.... I gagged. Yes, folks, they still grossed me out. I quickly ate the garlic to wash the briny olive down and walked quickly past my recent conquest. Of course it was a conquest. While I still gagged, I did it. After 30 years of avoiding them I faced them head on.

Did I stop there, NO! The next time I was in that grocery store I did the same thing but this time... no gag. The next time... no gag. Progressivly, I came to not hate the olive, then respect the olive, and eventually love and crave the olive. Theory has it that you have to taste something several times before you know if you really like it. That theory held true for me and my olives. maybe there is a food in your life that you have bad memories of. Get out there and make new memories with that disdained food. At the very least when some smarmy foodie, like me says "how do you know you don't like it, when is the last time you tried it?" You can say, "just last week, still don't like it." But maybe you will find something more, maybe you will fall in love, like I did. I still can't stand the thought of eating one out of the jar though.

Hands Dirty and Spicy

2009-07-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have a complete brown thumb. I once had a friend give me a plant that was 10 years old, had been through several moves and a car accident. I killed it promptly. The exception to that rule seems to be growing things I can eat. I have been pretty successful with herbs and for the first time I am branching out into the world of tomatoes and peppers.

I woke early this morning and unpackaged the upside down tomato grower I purchased a couple of months ago (when I should have planted my garden). It was just as easy as the commercials suggest. I didn't stop with tomatoes though. I planted the usual herbs; basil, cilantro, flat leaf parsely. I was so pleased with my work I went back to the store and added a couple of hot peppers, and an heirloom tomato. I know I planted way too late in the season but I am a person of faith. I can't wait to see the fruits of my labor.

Mom's Salsa Cruda

2-4 large tomatoes diced
1 jalapeno minced (for hot leave the seeds in)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium-large onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper
1 lime
Optional ingredients: Avocado, red, yellow, or green pepper, cucumber, let your imagination go wild.

Mix the tomato, jalapeno, garlic, onion, and cilantro in medium serving bowl. Squeeze the juice of one lime over, season with salt and pepper. Mix and cover. Let ii refrigerate for about an hour and serve with tortilla chips, or over steak, fish, etc.

Pantry Raid

2009-07-08T11:18:00.001-07:00

I want to take the first part of this entry to thank those of you who have read my blog and given me feedback. I am very much encouraged by your words and look forward to hearing more from you. If you have a recipe or tip to share PLEASE share it, its part of the reason that I am doing this.

Today, I had to pull together another lunch of things that I found in the pantry. We all do this almost every day and usually find ourselves falling into monotony with our meals. I fall into this trap all the time. I feel like the interesting food that I love takes time, preparation, MONEY. Lately I am lacking in the latter more than anything. That means a serious drought of interesting ingredients, and going back to that same pantry over and over again.

To combat that I began to look at what I do have differently. A cheap yellow onion became caramelized onions. Frozen flat bread became a pizza crust, a bulb of garlic began to melt before my eyes into a mellow rich roasted garlic. Throwing in the left over sliced mushrooms from a previous meal and I had caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza with roasted garlic and mushrooms. I admit, I had to make a special trip for the goat cheese, but it cost me 4 bucks. I love goat cheese anyway, so the left overs will go in a salad in a couple of days. I am looking forward to having my pizza for dinner. I can already taste it in my mind, and its delicious.

Take a look at your pantry and let me know what you find. What do you have hidden in there that becomes something interesting with a little imagination added in for spice. Maybe you will inspire others with what you share.

Tuesday at Friday's (South)

2009-07-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Its Tuesday, you're one day into your work week and the one thing on your mind is a big juicy cheeseburger with fries. PERFECT! Friday's South has your fix.

Friday's South is located amongst the downtown bars in Collinsville Illinois. Their daily specials keep the locals packing the place all day and all night. A long gunshot interior, remodeled from an old hardware store, houses high top bar tables, a long bar, familiar faces, and a staff that remembers your drink orders from week to week.

I started going to Friday's South with Gene a couple weeks after we started dating. Its a tradition of some of his friends to meet there on Mondays for 25 cent wings. By the second week I was there Rachel (our regular waitress) had my diet Coke on the table before I even knew I wanted one.

One week, looking for something other than the perfectly cooked fire hot wings, I ordered a burger. Its a moment that I will never forget. Expecting a half decent bar burger I got something so much more. The bun was soft and toasted. Inside it sat a thick, juicy, flavorful burger. The toppings come on the side and is normally served with chips, I replaced them with fries. The fries are the perfect shoe string seasoned with what seems to be simple salt and pepper.

On Tuesday's you can get that burger with a choice of cheese, and those yummy fries for 4 bucks! If you are looking for a perfect burger, friendly service, a comfortable and relaxed setting then head to Friday's South where everybody knows your name. The pizza happens to be incredible too!

Dare To Blog

2009-07-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Gene and I were sitting at Borders, he was looking through stacks of books about bio-diesel, and I was copying down recipes from cookbooks and magazines I couldn't afford to buy. Gene looks up and me and says "you should blog about this".
"Blog about sitting at Borders?"
"No, blog about food."

At first I thought this a ridiculous notion. I have read other people's blog's. They are usually boring, and who wants to read my boring blog about food. I don't know enough about food to blog about it. I'm not a chef. I am not even a very accomplished home cook. Watching the Food Network, messing up recipes, and planning my vacations around eateries does not qualify me to write about food.

Then we got in the car to go to my house. He was full from lunch and prattling on about a hotel he stayed in that had an uninstalled toilet sitting in the middle of the room. All I could think about was what I was going to pull together for a snack when I got home. I was taking a mental inventory of my refrigerator and pantry. A bit of yellow pepper, a can of black beans, some chopped onion, cumin, wish I had a jalepeno.....mmmmm Hot Black Bean Salsa.

So here I am writing about food. Not just cooking, not just eating, all things FOOD. Food I try to make, food I try and love, try and hate, restaurants, discovered ingredients, eating healthy, TRYING to eat healthy, and loving food. So grab a fork and dig in!