The Master at Work!

Nobody works a grill like my dad! Corns, steaks, sausages. Get some!



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Mom Makes My Birthday Cake, Food Comas Follow

A few days ago my mom asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. I said ice cream cake, maybe with some chocolate and peanut butter, and an oreo crust, if possible. Well it was possible as my mom, who is truly an outstanding cook, made the cake herself! Look at this magnificent tribute to the birth of her son:

Too bad my sister, who is away for med school, couldn't enjoy this cake. Hahaha!

The bottom was an oreo cookie crust, but not just the chocolate crumbs you get in the foodstore. Instead, mom crushes up whole oreos so that the crust contained the cream parts as well. The crust was a heavy duty base for peanut butter ice cream with, wait for it, pieces of peanut butter cups therein. The top layer was a duo of chocolate ice cream, and then a layer of fudge and drizzled peanut butter sauce. I'd be lying if I didnt admit that this was the kind of cake that could really incapacitate you.[FN1] But that's really a small price to pay for such an unbelievably delicious cake! Thanks, mom!

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FN1: One more bite and I probably would have ended up sleeping in the bath tub.

Awesome Birthday Meal: Cafe Buenos Aires

Tonight was a serious eating night, as I headed over to Cafe Buenos Aires(CBA)in Huntington, NY for a birthday dinner with the fiancee and the parents. CBA bills itself as an Argentinian restaurant(duh) and has a full menu and an extensive tapas (both hot and cold) selection. The meal starts off right with a duo of breads and a trio of, for lack of a better description, sauces: a pico de gallo and two chimichurris (parsley, garlic, onion, oil), the difference being that one has crushed red pepper.

The rest of my dining party approached the meal the same way, starting with a salad and then a few tapas for the entree.[FN1] I, however, had other plans, and they revolved around meat. I started with the tapas special, mostly because I was intrigued by one of it's ingredients: braised oxtail. The dish consisted of a patty-pan squash, stuffed with sautéed spinach, chorizo, and the aforementioned braised oxtail. Wow. The squash was roasted and sweet and on it's own a delight. But then you add the stuffing. The oxtail was great, tender and almost melted in your mouth, while the chorizo had a stronger presence that somehow didn't overpower the dish. Instead, at times, it gave the squash this smokey meaty flavor! To top it off, the dish was served over a saffron aoili which was sweet and had a thicker consistency that coated all it encountered, including the bread I wiped the plate clean with.

With appetizers behind us, we awaited our entrees. The first sign that my dish was going to be epic was it's presentation: it, an 18 oz. bone-in ribeye, was served on a cutting board!!! The steak was cooked absolutely perfectly.[FN2] You could cut it with almost no effort, flavor permeating from the fat into the more socially acceptable portions of the steak. At one point, as I tried to cut from the bone every last piece of delicious meat, my mom actually implored the waitress to take my plate away.[FN3] The steak was accompanied by truly bitter broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, and potatoes. At one point one of the roasted potatoes actually tasted like mashed potatoes in solid form - was the ribeye playing tricks on my mind?

Overall, a great meal to celebrate 26 years of being an eating machine!

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FN1: The fiancée had a small red pepper stuffed with rice and braised short rib. Terrific!

FN2: For the record, JLQ's steak was as good, if not slightly better!

FN3: Absurd!

Picture of the Day

On Sunday, I went to Butcher Boy in North Andover, MA to buy meat for a BBQ.  It was love at first sight (and this is maybe only a third of the entire display case!)

Dish Review: "The Regal Regis" at Parish Cafe

With my time in Boston winding down, I really need to make an effort to try as many new (for me) places as possible.  So with that in mind, I met a college buddy at Parish Cafe on Boylston Street for dinner on Saturday night (I know - i need to be more diligent with posting, and also with taking pictures of the food). The best way to describe Parish Cafe is cool, in the way that the Fonz was cool on Happy Days.  It just has that kind of vibe, which is complimented by the menu concept (and outdoor summer time seating).[FN1]  In addition to the regular menu, Parish has a rotating menu consisting of sandwiches, salads, apps, etc..., each one designed by a different big-name chef from the area.  Like I said, pretty cool!

I went with the Regal Regis, designed by Susan Regis, the chef at Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge.  Here is the menu's description:

• Sliced flank steak and portobello mushrooms in a soy, scallion and balsamic marinade. Served on Romano cheese crusted French bread with a side of homemade potato salad or coleslaw.

It was delicious, and they certainly do not skimp on the ingredients.  A generous portion of steak, cooked perfectly, and covered in that asian-style marinade, which is sweet and tangy all at once.  The mushrooms are grilled and piled onto the steak, with a few stragglers finding their way onto the plate for later consumption.  The interesting thing I found with this sandwich was that every bite wasn't the same, and that's primarily because the baked in Romano cheese is notably absent sometimes, and then reappears in full force.  When I tasted the cheese, it was wonderful.  But when I didn't, I never felt like the sandwich was incomplete because the other flavors were so strong and complimentary of each other. Finally, the potato salad was spot on.  Overall, a great summertime meal!

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FN1: Parish also has a GREAT beer selection, and because my college buddy drinks heavily is in biz school in California, he introduced me to some excellent CA craft beers.  The beer list also includes Butternuts Porkslap Pale Ale - I wasn't too into this beer, but was easily amused by the can:

Will This Post Ultimately Ruin My Blog?

Nick Varano's Famous Deli, on the front face of the North End, has mediocre reviews on Yelp.  So if I go ahead and say I like (not love) one of their sandwiches, will it undermine my food-blogging reputation?  But what if, at the same time, this becomes the first post where I'm somewhat critical of a meal?  Will it ruin the blog?  Only time will tell, so here we go!

That monster of a sandwich in the foreground is the Chicken Caprese and you can find it on the menu under "More Sandwiches," which means it doesn't get a fancy title or a matching celebrity description. Instead, you get two thick chicken cutlets, a few slices of prosciutto, tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, all served on a ciabatta role that has olive oil and balsamic vinegar soaked into it.

I'm not saying its the best sandwich in the North End, but the overall flavor is good.  The balsamic vinegar is sweet and lingers in every bite, which gets no complaints from me.  The bread is fresh (as it should be - there really is no excuse for poor bread anywhere in the North End), but the tomato-mozzarella combination feels like its right off an antipasti plate at some of the run-of-the-mill neighboring restaurants. My main complaint is that the chicken cutlets, while tasty, were a bit overpowering at times (sometimes, the prosciutto seemed lost in the shuffle).  That could be an unfortunate side-effect of the deli's commitment to producing a very large product.  Did I just say that a too-large portion was a negative feature of food?  I . . . think . . . I . . . did.

Verdict: Good, but could be (and I really wish it was) better.

Quick Grilling Recipes for Corn and Shrimp

Last night I threw together a quick BBQ, and given the late hour, I was starving and forgot to take pictures to document the cooking.  Here is the aftermath:

The menu consisted of grilled chicken (pre-seasoned at whole foods - i cheated), shrimp, corn on the cob (a staple of summer), and grilled squash and zucchini.  The veggies were marinated in a bag of balsamic vinegar, with a little salt, pepper, and a drop of olive oil.  Very easy to do, and you just put the slices on the grill and let them cook for a while, making sure to flip them over and move them around the grill.[FN1]

The two recipes I want to share are for the corn and the shrimp, and both are simple, yet delicious.

Corn:
1. Remove the corn from the husks and brush each one with olive oil.
2. In a dish, mix salt, pepper, and grated cheese.
3. Roll the oiled-up corn over the mixture.
4. Wrap the corn in tin foil. Don't use too much foil or it will take even longer to cook.
5. Place the corn on the grill.  If your grill is two levels, place it on the higher shelf.
6. Turn the corn occasionally.
7. The corn takes the longest to cook, so place them on the grill about 20 minutes before adding the quicker cooking meat and veggies.
8. Unwrap (very hot!) and enjoy.

Shrimp:
1. In a glass baking dish, combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano (or rosemary - either one works great).
2. Put the shrimp into the marinade.  Make sure you really coat the shrimp, both sides, with the marinade.  Then place the baking dish with the shrimp in the fridge for at least an hour.

IMPORTANT QUESTION: What Kind of Shrimp Should You Use?  I used medium size easy peel shrimp, which means the store has already removed most of the shell except for the thin layer on the underside of the shrimp.  You could also use larger shrimp that are still fully in the shell.  It really depends on how messy you want to get when eating.  Either way, you should keep the shells on while cooking because it prevents the shrimp from shriveling from the heat, and it keeps them moist.

3. An effective way to cook the shrimp is by placing them on skewers. If the skewers are wood, soak them in water first to prevent burning.
4. Place the skewers across the grill.  As the shrimp starts to get pink, turn them over.
5. Peel and enjoy!

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FN1: The remaining marinade that's in the bag can be poured over the veggies once they are on the grill, which will cause the fire to flare up over the veggies and give them a delicious flavor.  Just be careful!