Saturday, August 28, 2010

Danielle Dishes Up - Dinner & Dessert

Chicken & Artichokes over Orzo
Recipe from: Some random magazine
Taste Rating: 7.9 out of 10
Execution Rating: 6
Learned: The texture of orzo, the flavor of cherry peppers, that you can reduce a sauce too much.
This dish was very tasty and included artichoke hearts mixed in orzo with onions, garlic, cherry peppers, & dill.  By making this dish I got to cook two ingredients I've not cooked before - orzo and cherry peppers (the red strips in picture).  The orzo is going to be my new staple as I loved it's tiny oval pasta shape and the smoother texture it has than rice.  The cherry peppers added a nice kick to the dish and the onions sauteed in chicken broth, cherry pepper juice and white wine (I had to use Mascato as it's the only white wine I always have on hand) had me eating out of the pan on the stove with a spoon.  What I would change is to use boneless, skinless chicken breast in addition to thighs to make this lighter and easier to execute.  I would also use more cherry peppers for taste and flavor and would keep an eye on my sauce so it doesn't reduce too much (as mine did).
 

White Chocolate Creme' Brulee
Recipe from: Back of Ghiradelli White Chocolate Bar Package
Taste Rating: 7 out of 10
Execution Rating: 4
Learned: Only use fresh Chocolate


Okay so this dessert was. . .well. . . let's just say, a challenge.  First of all let me tell you the history of the main ingredient. I have had a Ghiradelli White Chocolate bar in my pantry for a looong time.  I don't even know why I got it in the first place but when I discovered the easy creme' brulee recipe on the back of it I knew exactly what I'd be doing with it.  I guess that was like a year ago because in mid-stream of making this dessert I actually took a bite of the chocolate and it had that rancid-been sitting in your cabinet too long-taste.  I thought with enough cream, eggs and sugar it would hide that nasty rancid flavor but no, not so much. If that wasn't enough it took almost 2 hours for the brulee to set (was only supposed to take 45 minutes).  I followed instructions to a tee so really can't put my finger on where I went wrong.  When I finally did get it to set and was even pleased with my broiled carmelization I was hit hard with that nasty rancid taste.  What a disappointment as the texture was divine and the taste was superb until the aftertaste hit.  Will I try again....maybe as I really want to taste this as it was meant to be. 

Danielle Dishes Up - Dinner for the Family

Hoisin Shrimp with Crispy Noodles
Recipe from: Some random magazine
Taste Rating: 7.3 out of 10
Execution Rating: 7
Learned: How to crisp up ramen noodles
This was a sweet, deep-flavored asian dish I made with hoisin sauce, shrimp, pineapples & green beans over crispy noodles (ramen noodles). The noodles took the longest to make of this dish.  To make them crunchy required boiling them, forming them into a pie pan and then frying them in a skillet.  I liked the crunch for the added texture but not sure the hungry family liked waiting for this extra step.  Next time it might go faster though now that I know the steps.

If you ever want a recipe just let me know and I'd be happy to share.

Danielle Dines Out - Date Night

Thursday night my husband & I had a date night. As we haven't been downtown in a while there were new hot spots to check out.
    We first stopped at Ophelia's in their new location (on Walnut Street). I like the jazzy vibe they have going for them. This space used to be occupied by Room 4 and before that a Tuscany themed restaurant. It hasn't been a successful spot for restauranteurs so we'll see how Opelia's does in their new home. Right now their menu is a little limited just featuring their strong tapas items. Word is they'll be adding a hood to the kitchen which will allow a broader menu. I recommend the couches by the window and also recommend the rosemary almonds if you just want something sweet & savory to nibble on with your wine or beer. That's all we ate as we were hungrier than what Ophelia's offered so off we went to meet friends at Big Whiskey's.
    Big Whiskey's is a very good place to get bar food (you know, wings, burgers, greasy, cheesy, yummy stuff) -they have an extensive menu and drink list. Us girls had chicken wraps and the guys had big 'ol burgers. I also sampled a mini corn dog appetizer which was actually quite tasty. They have an outside patio, which we took advantage of. I highly recommend them if you want many drink options and to leave full.
     From there we went to a place called Blue Bull, which is appropriately named as the place is glowing in blue lights at the bar. We were a bit put off by the lighting but found a neat room that offered a huge L-shaped sofa in front of a big screen and you felt like you were in your living room. I recommend this spot if you want to go somewhere dark and comfortable and...different (just ask them to close the door a little to get away from those dang blue lights). We only had drinks while there.
     Our last stop was Bistro Market. Before I tell you about Bistro Market you must know that my friend and I trekked from Blue Bull two blocks over to get cupcakes for our guys from "The Cup". We ended up cupless as they closed at 8pm (it was 10pm). :( It looked cute inside and definitely a place to try out.
     Okay, so Bistro Market. This is downtown's first super market (it's owned by Pricecutters) which offers a hot bar, salad bar, wine bar, Starbucks & gelato stand in addition to all your supermarket foods. I've been itching to try this place since it opened. Being from NY and loving open markets I was so excited to see this place. We went in and took a tour around and honestly I was a smidge let down. I wanted something a little more metro in cuisine. In New York the sights, smells and sounds are amazing and you want to sample everything you see. Here, I felt like it was your typical hot food buffet with items you see almost anywhere in Springfield. I'm not saying I won't go for lunch as I'll likely be bringing the girls from work to dive into their salad bar which does look delish but I'm a little bummed on their hot offerings. Of course, we just did a quick walk through so I'll have to take more time and dive in and try the hot foods just to be sure ;) We did get some gelato there (sweet treat to end the night). They gave us any sample we wanted and I ended with banana & chocolate hazelnut. There was a line for this spot and I bet there will be each night as the whole place stays open until 2am.


It was a great night of new places. Check them out if you can.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day...

Yesterday was my first day of "Intro to Food Theory" Class at the local College.  I was so nervous and excited.  I was pleasantly surprised when the Chef Instructor (CI for the blog) was nice and down-to-earth instead of the Chef Ramsey type I was sort of expecting.  As we all introduced ourselves I found myself amongst Restaurant Managers, Waitresses, first time students, experienced cooks but all lovers of food.  It was exciting to be with people who share the same passion.  I'm sure everyone thought the same but I really felt I was the most excited and hung on every single word the CI said. 
     The first two hours were spent going over policies, procedures, and most importantly safety & sanitation rules.  I quickly learned I would be doing a paper, creating a notebook and having a cooking final which was just like the show "Chopped" on Food Network (so crazy as this is my favorite show right now).  Wait a minute a Cooking Final?!  What have I gotten myself into I thought over and over and answered the question in my head over and over..."I've gotten myself into something so exciting!". 
     I so wanted to start cooking but the first day only covered the tour of the kitchen with all the equipment and things to know.  When the CI talked about different cooking methods and foods to make on each item I kept getting more and more excited.  I actually knew a lot of what he was talking about but learned new things too: braizing (cooking using two methods -heat & liquid), parboiling (starting the cooking process), carmelizing (FLAVOR).  
The three main skills he said we will learn and master are:
1. The 5 Mother Sauces: Bechemel, Hollandaise, Tomato and two others I can't remember right now
2. Knife/Cutting skills: small dice, medium dice and 6 other types of cuts
3. Cooking Techniques: Sauteing, shallow poaching, etc.

Is this exciting stuff or what!?  Stay tuned for more and lots of homework along the way.  Can't wait for next week where we will get our knives out and get in the kitchen.