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Archive for March, 2011

Choice Eats, The Village Voice’s Tasting Event

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

For the past three years The Village Voice puts on a grand tasting event called Choice Eats. I had the pleasure of going to the Fourth Annual event last night along with a lot of other people and food bloggers. The Village Voice gathered up over 50 restaurants and food trucks for an amazing tasting event. I didn’t get to try all of the vendors (I wonder if that is even possible) but every one I did try was amazing. I wanted to share with you the pictures of the event and the amazing food that I did get to try. I left feeling full and happy. It was great to be able to try a ton of new restaurants in just one place. I now have a long list of restaurants to go enjoy. I hope to see you all at next year’s event. Thank you to The Village Voice for putting together this amazing event!

While we all waited on line, well those of us who didn’t have VIP tickets (I hope to get these next year), we were able to feast on some of the local food trucks.

First up we had the Throw-down Wafle from Wafles and Dinges

Then we had a sampling of Falafel from Taim Mobile

Finally we had the Chicken Taco from Korilla BBQ

They also had Joyride Truck and Kimchi Taco Truck to taste but we didn’t get to try them out

When we moved inside I was in awe of the space and the amazed by the massive amounts of food and drink. Yes, I knew what I was getting into but you don’t realize it until you actually see it.

First up for us was Cascabel Taqueria where we enjoyed Pollo Chipotle made with Amish Chicken

(I’ve been to their restaurant and I highly recommend it despite the long wait)

Luke’s Lobster served us Maine Shrimp Rolls

We then moved on to the very long line at the Del Posto station. There we enjoyed the Chocolate and Eggplant. It was definitely worth the wait.

Next to Del Posto was Kyochon Chicken and The Meatball Shop. Neither of which we had last night but have had on several occasions. Actually, I tend to go to the Meatball Shop late at night on the weekends and take it home for a late night snack. I can tell you their meatballs are awesome.

I can’t forget to tell you about the drinks. This was a 21+ event and your ticket included complimentary drinks. I was able to have a tasting of Goose Island Sofie (it was great almost fruity), Ommegang Hennepin (one of my favorites all year round well to be truthful my favorite Ommegang Beer is their Witte) and Mama’s Little Yella Pils.

Now back to the food. We then moved over to another section. First up there was Spicy Bamba where we ate Chengdu Cold Noodles and Spicy Chicken.

Next up was Mooncake Foods who served us Asian Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Curry Lime BBQ Sauce.

Next to Mooncake Foods was Strong Place who was serving up and wonderful Raw Bar and shucked oysters right there for everyone.

We moved over to Ditch Plains where we met Chef Marc Murphy and enjoyed a Ditch Plains Dog Topped with Mac and Cheese.

At Motorino we enjoyed their Neopolitan Meatball (I also highly enjoy their pizza)

At Smorgas Chef we had the Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce and Mashed Potatoes

We also had the 3 Cheese Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork from Mama’s Food Shop

We didn’t end there but I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the dishes (sorry there was a lot of food). We had from Black Shack Burger a Sloppy Joe Beer Braised Beef in a Classic Sloppy Joe Sauce. Baohaus ran out of their Smash Bang Chicken but they made us up some braised pork belly. For dessert we had a Ginger and Strawberry Slush from Kelvin’s Natural Slush, Coffee from Dallis Brothers Coffee (they were also great guys to talk to and if they are reading this I wasn’t up till 2am but I loved your coffee) and Lavender Mini Cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery. The only thing I didn’t get to try was the food from Porchetta they sold out in under 45 minutes hopefully I get to next year. Overall it was an amazing night with a huge array of every type of food you can imagine. I can’t wait until next year!

Tags: choice eats, the village voice
Posted in News and Links, Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »

Braised Short Ribs in Tomato Sauce

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Have I ever told you how much I love short ribs? Well I do and I can’t get enough of them. They happen to be one of the items that I always have on hand in my freezer. My love for short ribs goes back to my childhood and my grandfather. When he made his tomato sauce he always added in short ribs or pork ribs. I learned from the best and I add them into my sauce recipe all the time. I also add in tons of other stuff like sausage and meatballs. The other night I didn’t want to go through all that fuss. I just wanted short ribs and sauce. So I made that just that. I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing it sooner. I loved it so much. The short ribs and sauce hit the spot. I hope you enjoy!

2 packages of short ribs

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

1 large onion, minced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

Water

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear short ribs in oil on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside.

Remove some of the oil from pan leaving about 2 tablespoons. Lower heat to medium. Add in onions. Season with salt. Cook until translucent. Add in garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add in tomatoes. Rinse out the cans with some water so you can get out all the tomatoes. Add in the water from the cans. Season with salt and pepper. Add back in the short ribs. Bring to a boil. Add in basil. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the short ribs are fork tender and falling off/pulling away from the bone.

Serve with some pasta. I used whole wheat spaghetti here. Enjoy!

Tags: beef, braised, braised short ribs, braised short ribs in tomato sauce, dinner, entree, italian, short ribs, tomato, tomato sauce
Posted in Recipes | 4 Comments »

Ginger Soy Mahi Mahi

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Doctors are always telling everyone to eat more fish. Up until Tom and I met which, was at this point a long time ago, I never ate fish. I would eat crustaceans but not fish that had fins. Now that I do eat regular fish (still trying to like salmon though) I am always looking for a good recipe. We now try to eat fish at least once a week. This recipe was inspired by wanting Asian food but trying to avoid having to order in take out. It is another quick and easy weeknight meal that takes very little effort and prep time. Enjoy!

3 scallions, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons mirin

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 Mahi-Mahi fillets

Salt

Pepper

In a small bowl mix half the scallions, the garlic, soy sauce, mirin, vinegar and ginger together. Set aside.

Salt and pepper the mahi mahi filets on both sides. In a large saute pan with high sides and a cover pour in the soy sauce mixture. Place the Mahi-Mahi fillets on top of the sauce. Heat over high heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 6 minutes. Remove cover and top with the remaining scallions. Cover again and cook until the fish is opaque another 4-6 minutes.

Remove from heat and drizzle with the sauce from the pan. Enjoy!

Tags: dinner, entree, fish, ginger, mahi mahi, scallions, seafood, soy sauce
Posted in Recipes | 5 Comments »

Ginger, Lime and Sriracha Chicken

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Tom and I have been trying really hard to eat home more often then we usually do. When we get busy or tired we end up just ordering in or going out to dinner. We just want to eat healthier and a good way to do that is just to make a quick meal at home. This recipe was so quick and utilizes very little effort so it was great way to accomplish our goal of eating at home. The recipe also calls for very little ingredients most of which I usually have at home. Many of you probably don’t have scallions lying around but it’s always good to have. If you don’t need them for another recipe you can always throw them into rice or an omelet. So when you are busy and need a quick meal to make at home I hope you consider this recipe. Enjoy!

4 bone in chicken thighs

Salt

Pepper

3 scallions, minced

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon Siracha sauce (more or less to taste)

Zest of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

In a small bowl mix together the scallions, ginger, sriracha, lime zest and lime juice. Lift the skin of the chicken thighs and place the scallion mixture under the skin. Any scallion mixture that is remaining drizzle over the chicken.

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs skin side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes.

Turn on broiler, broil skin side down for 6 minutes. Turn the chicken so it is skinned side up. Continue to broil until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked through approximately 6-8 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

Tags: 30 minutes meal, chicken, chicken thighs, dinner, easy, entree, ginger, lime, quick, scallion, sriracha
Posted in Recipes | 12 Comments »

Bolognese

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

I realized last weekend that I have never tried to make Bolognese Sauce also know as meat sauce to me when I was growing up. My mother would make it on a fairly regular basis but I still don’t know why I have never tried to make it on my own. This recipe isn’t my mothers. My mom’s was more of a tomato sauce with meat and sometimes sausage. She would have never dared to put carrots and celery in her sauce. She actually never knew why people did that. So this recipe goes against my mother’s judgment and I used celery and carrots. It came out really well and one day I will make it the same as my mother’s and share that recipe with you too. Enjoy!

3 tablespoons butter

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 carrot, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt

Pepper

3 pounds of meatball mix (beef, veal and pork mix)

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 cup water, plus more if needed

1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced

Pasta, cooked

In a large saute pan melt the butter and olive oil together. Add in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium low heat until the vegetables have softened.

Add in the meat mixture. Stir to combine. Cook until the meat has browned.

Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Add in wine. Cover and cook on low for an hour to an hour and a half (until the flavors are developed and the meat tender). Check on it every so often and add more water if the liquid levels get low. Once cooked add in the basil and stir to combine.