Spicy Chicken Tacos

One of my favorite, fun and easy meals to make is chicken tacos.  I like making this dish because it incorporates a lot of fresh ingredients without being too time consuming or difficult.  Although I've mentioned making chicken tacos a few times, I have never actually blogged about the step by step process.  I tend to forget to do that with my favorite recipes.  So last night, B and I decided to take lots of photos throughout the process.

Before we started on the chicken, we got to work on some of the side dishes.  We decided to start with the guacamole.  Since B makes some unbelievable guacamole, I usually let him take charge.  I helped out by prepping some of the ingredients for him.  I chopped up two beautiful green jalapenos and three cloves of garlice while B chopped up a few handfuls of cilantro and half a red onion.  While all of these ingredients would go in the guacamole, the cilantro and the jalapenos would also be used as fresh garnishings on the tacos, while the jalapenos and red onions would also go into our shredded chicken.  I love how beautiful all of the colors are for this dish!

I let B get to work on the guacamole. First, he spooned out the insides of two soft avocados. He mashed the avocado using a fork as he added the chopped cilantro, garlic, jalapenos and red onion that I had previously prepared. He added some salt to taste and squeezed lime juice from one whole lime over the guacamole to keep it from browning and to preserve the gorgeous green color.  B put the guacamole in an air-tight Tupperware and placed it in the fridge while we got to work on the rest of the ingredients for our chicken tacos.

In addition to the chopped jalapenos and cilantro, we had a jar of Rick Bayless' Frontera Guajillo Salsa with roasted garlic and tomatillo.  Although I would have loved to make some salsa last night, I just didn't have enough time or all of the ingredients and I was looking forward to trying out this smoky salsa.

Since I was using store-bought salsa, I decided to at least make a dairy-based sauce for the tacos.  While I adore using sour cream as an ingredient in the kitchen, I'm not a big fan of putting it on my Mexican food.  But I do like the idea of having something cold to contrast with the spicy chicken tacos.  I decided to play around with some plain Stonyfield Oikos Greek yogurt. 

I decided to make a tasty sauce consisting of the Greek yogurt, lime zest, lime juice, and of course chili powder for a little kick.  I put the yogurt in the fridge to chill and it thickened up nicely.  The yogurt was cool, smooth and creamy with a nice citrus kick. 

After I whipped together this impromptu sour cream substitute,  we got to start on the chicken.  I defrosted a few chicken breasts the previous night.  B quickly seared the chicken and then topped the chicken with a generous shake of Williams Sonoma Spicy Chipotle Rub and some of the chopped cilantro. He also added some of the chopped red onions and jalapenos to pan along with half a bottle of beer.  B picked up a bottle of Grimbergen Blonde Ale from Charles Street Liquors.  I love trying a new and different beer from their loose beer section and after a small taste, we realized this would be light and perfect for poaching the chicken.

Although you can do this with water, I find that beer adds a nice flavor to the chicken. By slowing cooking the chicken in this matter, this allows the dry rub flavor to soak into the chicken while it cooks and results in a spicy and moist chicken ready for pulling. He put a lid on the pan and let the chicken cook slowly.  He only opened the lid a few times to spoon the liquid over the chicken.

As the chicken poached slowly, I took a can of black beans.  I drained most of the liquid from the can and put the black beans in a small saucepan on low heat.  While the beans slowly simmered, I added some cayenne and fresh cracked black pepper to add a small level of heat to the black beans.

 

As the chicken and black beans cooked, B put some flour tortillas in aluminium foil and placed them in the toaster oven to get them both warm and a little crispy.  The final step was to shred the chicken and tossing the shredded chicken in the remaining chipotle and beer sauce.  Using two forks, the chicken easily pulled apart and was incredibly moist and tender.  We left the chicken and the black beans on the stove so that we could put the tacos together to our own taste.

For my first taco, I piled a little of everything on my tortilla to create a perfect dinner.  I started with the warm tortilla, topped it with the spicy shredded chicken, chopped cilantro, the smoky bottled salsa, the flavorful guacamole, shredded "fiesta" cheese, and the creamy Greek yogurt. 

There were so many layers of flavors and heat from the chicken and the guacamole.  The heat from the chicken was slow while the spicyness from the guacamole was sharp from the chopped jalapenos.  This heat was nicely contrasted with the citrus yogurt blend.  The black beans also added a very low heat from the cayenne.  I definitely had a second helping with another taco!

I absolutely love this dinner and this is definitely one of my go-to meals.  I don't have an exact recipe for anything and I really enjoy adding different flavors and spices each time to make each component a little different each time.  The only downside to this dish?  The tons of dishes to wash afterwards!  But doing a lot of dishes one night pays off because the ingredients make great leftovers, which I'm looking forward to using to make quesadillas or nachos for dinner tonight!

Korean Kkadkuki Fried Rice and Dumplings

As I have previously blogged, I love making simple fried rice dishes whenever I am feeling a bit lazy in the kitchen.  In fact, my chicken fried rice was one of my most popular recipes on this blog because it is simple, colorful and tasty.  I often make a very simple Korean fried rice using kimchi, which as most of you know is a very popular and traditional Korean side dish (banchan) that involves spicy pickled cabbage.  The cabbage is stored in a cool place or in your refrigerator while it ferments to a refreshing and crispy side dish that can be found in any Korean household.  Kimchi can be eaten on its own or it can be used for a variety of reasons - fried rice, pancakes, stews, etc.

Even though I love kimchi fried rice, I sometimes like to mix it up by substituting the kimchi with kkakduki.  Kkakduki is similar to kimchi in its preparation except that it uses cubed radishes instead of cabbage.  Kkakduki has a similar spicy and refreshing taste as kimchi except that it has a delightfully crunchy texture from the radish.  I find this texture is really great with fried rice.

To make kkaduki fried rice, it only takes a few ingredients and a small amount of time.  While I was at the gym after work, B made a few cups of rice in our rice cooker.  When I got home, the rice was cooling and so I gathered the remaining ingredients - vegetable oil, sesames seed oil, sesame seeds, sugar, and of course the kkakduki.  I had a small jar of kkakduki in the fridge that my mom made a month ago.

To start, I heated up some vegetable oil in a wok on medium-high heat.  I added a few cups of the kkakduki to the wok and started to fry it up for several minutes.  This not only heated the kkakduki up but it also added a nice firm texture to them.

Next, I added a few spoonfuls of sugar and tossed the kkakduki in the sugar.  Look how vibrant and gorgeous these radishes are....

Next, I added the cooked rice.  I mixed the kkakduki and the rice enough so that it was mixed consistently but I didn't overwork the rice.  I added a few splashes of sesame seed oil, some of the spicy kkakduki "juice" and plenty of sesame seeds.  I mixed all of these ingredients thoroughly until the rice had the nice lightly fried texture.

I plated the kkakduki fried rice in a shallow bowl and topped it with a few slivers of nori for some added texture and saltiness. 

You can also add a fried egg on top of the fried rice if you'd like for some added protein.  But last night we found our protein in our side dish - delicious pan-steamed dumplings.

This was another easy and quick dinner.  The fried rice was spicy and sweet with layers of texture from the fried rice to the crunchy radishes.  While I'm lucky enough to get my kkakduki from my mother (who makes it on a regular basis), you can also pick up kkakduki and kimchi at your local Korean or general Asian grocery story.

Scenes from Last Night's Celtics Game

Boston Celtics (110) - New York Knicks (106)

American Fare and a Lively Gathering at City Table

On Saturday night, I headed to City Table for my friend E's birthday celebration.  I had helped plan this birthday dinner with another friend and we chose City Table because it seemed to have a wide variety of menu items, which is always preferable for a large party.

We had an early dinner reservation for 6:30 PM for ten people.  Even though this seemed a bit early to us for a Saturday night dinner, we discovered that the restaurant was relatively busy when we arrived.  We were seated at a long table in the front room of the restaurant.  The room was very warm and inviting with dark wood paneling showcasing wine glasses and paintings of local Boston scenes.  I'm not sure if it was the acoustics of the wood floors, paneling and tall ceilings, but City Table was definitely loud for a restaurant that size.  But as a large table of ten, we didn't really mind and only added to the restaurant's volume.

Our server was a kind but nervous gentlemen who seemed flustered throughout the evening.  He started by taking our drink orders but only remembered to take half the table's orders before returning a short while later to take the second half of our dining party.  It was odd but we were in the mood to celebrate and paid his nervousness very little attention.  I started the evening with a "champagne libation with a kick" and chose the Sparkler cocktail.  This cocktail consisted of champagne, matihlde poire and pear puree.  It was definitely light and fruity and a perfect way to start the evening off right.

Our server made a lengthy and again nervous presentation of the menu.  He offered us his recommendations yet would forget some of the ingredients in his recommended dish and needed to consult his notes.  This didn't give us much confidence to actually trust his recommendations.  We couldn't tell if he was new to the restaurant or just having an off night but we were all a bit puzzled by his nervousness.  For instance, he described the Chatham cod as being local and after a lengthy pause while consulting his notes he stated it was from Chatham, Massachusetts.  We all just stared blankly.  It was just all very strange. 

Service aside, I threw my attention to the menu.  I was drawn to the fig and duck proscuitto flatbread appetizer and inquired as to its size as I wanted to choose it as my entree.  The server informed me that it was really small and wouldn't be appropriate for an entree.  Based on this recommendation, I also ordered the fall salad to accompany it.  At my request, both the salad and the pizza arrived at the same time.

The Fall Salad was absolutely beautiful.  Thin slices of red and yellow beets encircled the plate.  In the middle of the beets lay a bed of lightly tossed greens with beautiful slices of orange, crumbled goat cheese and chopped cucumber.  Although this was called a "Fall Salad", the sweet beets combined with the crisp cucumbers and the acid of the citrus made me want to eat this salad all year round.  I could totally envision myself eating this during the summer because it was absolutely refreshing.  Again, I'd have to remark how this dish was so vibrant in color and simply yet gorgeously plated.  This dish was a real winner.

The fig and duck proscuitto flatbread pizza was actually larger than I anticipated.  I definitely could have just ordered the pizza alone.  With the fall salad, there was way too much food but it worked out because I was happy to share my pizza with others.  The crispy flatbread was topped with roasted figs, duck proscuitto, and mozzarella.  To be honest, the duck proscuitto was a little bit rubbery and definitely oversalted.  But when you got the perfect bite with the fig and the cheese, it was a tasty and solid flavor combination.  I think that if the kitchen put a little more attention to detail with the duck proscuitto, this dish would have been a real star.  But on Saturday night, it wasn't a total hit.

Other dishes at the table that got rave reviews included the cheese fondue (how can you go wrong with melted cheese) and the roasted duck breast entree.  I had a bite of the roasted duck breast and it was really moist and tender.  I appreciated that the duck breast was served with a traditional cherry sauce and paired well with the creamy risotto and the glazed baby carrots.

Overall, the food was a solid in concept and taste.  I like that they are trying to do standard American fare with a small twist.  The presentation of each dish was definitely spot-on.  The only distraction for us that evening was our server.  He appeared nervous and agitated and never quite put any of us at ease.  The service did seem off that night in general as we witnessed another server drop a tray of cocktails at another table, which landed mostly on one diner and her coat.  It was quite the scene. 

In the end, we had a great time and City Table provided a fun and casual atmosphere for this birthday celebration.  Our server even brought over a complimentary slice of devil's chocolate cake for the birthday girl.  And for that, our issues with his service were mostly forgiven. 

City Table is located in the Lenox Hotel and with its convenient Back Bay location and interesting menu, I will definitely give City Table another try.

Taste of Chocolate's Chocolate Workshop

On Saturday, B and I headed to the Elephant and Castle for a chocolate workshop. This workshop is run by a wonderful local company called Taste of Chocolate.  Founded by David Goldstein, Taste of Chocolate has been around for a little over a year and is well known for their chocolate tours.  These chocolate tours offer a walking tour through various chocolate destinations in various Boston neighborhoods, such as the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill.  While I haven't experienced a chocolate tour myself, I have heard a lot of great things about it.

Although Saturday would have been a gorgeous day for a walking tour, I was excited to get my hands dirty (literally) and attend the Taste of Chocolate's chocolate workshop.  After we checked in, we given a mug of delicious hot chocolate.  This is not to be mistaken with hot cocoa and instead our hot chocolate had the delicious simple ingredients of milk, chocolate, a little sugar and a pinch of salt.  The hot chocolate was so rich and thick.  This was a wonderful way to start a workshop and I wish all of my work-related meetings and workshops would start the same way!  B and I were lucky to be seated up front where we were introduced to our chocolatier Dorian who would lead this workshop. 

He started the workshop with a brief history of chocolate. In addition to Dorian's practical experience as a pastry chef, he really seemed like a historian and scientist as well because he impounded a lot of information about the history, chemistry, and physics of chocolate.  Although I thought I knew a lot about chocolate, I found out many things about chocolate that I never knew.  For instance, did you know that:

• Chocolate was first discovered by the Mayans and not the Aztecs (as is commonly believed).
• Cocoa trees can only propogate about twenty degrees north and south of the Equator.
• All real chocolate will have vanilla in it - otherwise it is not real chocolate.
• What we consider white chocolate can only be called that if the only fat in it is cocoa butter.   

Our learning was also hands-on as each table had a charger plate with samples of cocoa seeds, cocoa nibs, cocoa butter and chips of white, dark and milk chocolate.  Thankfully we also had pitchers and glasses of water to cleanse our palate between each rich and delicious bite.

After the history of the chocolate, we got into the science of chocolate as Dorian explained not only the process of tempering but also the physics behind it.  He broke the steps of tempering down into three key steps - time, motion and temperature.  And surprisingly, temperature was the least emphasized step!  He also talked to us through the steps of making a delicious ganache with heavy cream, chai tea and chocolate.  Dorian gave us practical tips like how to chop chocolate, using chocolate molds and the importance of cooling chocolate correctly.  It was all great information - whether you are an amateur or a pro in the kitchen.

As much as I enjoyed the chocolate lessons, I was excited to get to actually make chocolate truffles.  While we are provided with the recipes to make raspberry, caramel and whiskey truffles, for the purposes of the class we were already provided with the solid yet soft blocks of these three types of truffles to work with.  Each of us was given a baking sheet as a station to roll our truffles.  We were also helpfully given aprons, gloves and hand wipes as this got a little messy.

B and I had a great time doing this.  I chose to roll my caramel truffles in dark cocoa powder, raspberry truffles rolled in cocoa nibs and my whiskey truffles to be dipped in the tempered chocolate and drizzled with the white chocolate and chai ganache.  The dipping was a bit tough for me but Dorian was very helpful in giving each of us tips.  B was naturally a pro at this and totally outshined me in his truffle-making skills. He got a lot of compliments from other workshop attendees.

Best of all, they provided wonderful boxes to wrap up our truffles.  I wrapped up mine in one box.

B and I also took two of each type of our truffles to make a box for our friend E for her birthday party later that evening.  We wrapped the box up with a ribbon and a tag, which were both helpfully provided by Taste of Chocolate.

The workshop was honestly a really great time.  The crowd was mixed with girlfriends for a girl's day, families, and couples.  The ages varied but everyone learned a lot and also got to interact with the chocolate, which makes everything more fun. 

Taste of Chocolate is a wonderful addition to the local culinary learning scene.  I highly recommend that you sign up for one of these workshops for a wonderful hands-on learning experience about chocolate.  Best of all, they also offer giftcards if you want to gift this workshop to someone.  I already know that my mom will definitely enjoy doing this with me.  Right now, these workshops are scheduled into early spring and may potentially go year-round depending on the level of interest.  In addition to the workshops and walking tours, Taste of Chocolate also offers private events - scavenger hunts, private tours and private workshops.  This would be great for a birthday party or even a bridal shower event. 

Thanks again to Dorian for lending his expertise and to Katharine Colanton of Taste of Chocolate for a wonderful time.

Valentine's Day Dinner at Bistro du Midi

After a wonderful brunch at East Coast Grill and finally seeing the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science (yes, we're dorks like that), I was excited for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner with my boyfriend.  That evening, B took us to Bistro du Midi for our Valentine's Day dinner.  Bistro du Midi was on a short list of newly opened restaurants that we have been wanting to try out.  Since it is housed in Excelsior's old location overlooking the Public Garden, we thought this would be a romantic location for our Valentine's Day dinner.

We arrived shortly before our 8 PM reservation.  The downstairs floor houses a sleek and stylish bar - with high ceilings, stark white walls and a black decor.  I was surprised by how busy the bar was on a Sunday evening but then again, the next day was a holiday for most people.

We were greeted by two hostesses downstairs.  One hostess took our coats, while the other directed us upstairs to the dining room.  We headed up the winding iron staircase and passed a beautiful wine room to the left.  As we reached the upstairs floor, we were greeted with the beautiful sight of the glassed-in kitchen with a chef hand rolling pasta dough.  I also noticed that there is an additional bar upstairs that is more formal than the one downstairs.  This bar was much less busy than the one downstairs.

Upstairs, another hostess greeted us and we were seated at a center table in the dining room.  The room was surrounded by banquette tables that faced the center of the dining room.  I felt incredibly exposed and a bit uncomfortable knowing that three different walls of diners could watch us eat and B kindly asked to move us to a banquette table.  Feeling relieved, I got comfortable at our new plush banquette seating and looked around the room.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of the restaurant's decor.  Despite its name as a bistro, there was nothing bistro-like about this restaurant.  The blazing fireplace, cream-colored walls, rustic iron light ceiling fixtures and light wood beams had a country-side feel.  But this was in sharp contrast to the dark modern tables and seating, contemporary vases above the fireplace and artwork.  The music playing rather loudly overhead blared of music more appropriate for a contemporary bar or lounge rather than an elegant dining room.  I wasn't sure what to make of it all.

But the service, on the other hand, was nearly flawless.  Our primary server was very polite, knowledgable and consistent in checking in with us without being overbearing.  Although we were offered the assistance of the house sommelier, we chose a delicious bottle of rose to start the evening.  While the bottles were actually very reasonably priced, I found that the wines by the glass and the half bottles to be incredibly overpriced.  So we happily went with a bottle instead of wines by the glass.  Regardless, we were happy to sip our delicious glasses of cold rose as we proceeded with the meal.

A server brought over a delicious box filled with a few types of breads.  The thin and crispy bread sticks had a strong Parmesan cheese flavor baked into the bread sticks.  But the foccacia bread was definitely my favorite.  The foccacia contained an abudunce of chopped basil baked into the bread.  When I dipped the bread into the olive oil, the combination of flavors harmoniously came together with each bite.

For our first course, we started out with a few small plates.  The first was the house's select charcuterie plate.  There were four delicious offerings on this slate dish - a salumi, coppa, Serano ham, and speck.  While each thin slice of meat was enjoyable with the accompanying cornichons and olives, the speck was by far our favorite.  This proscuitto was delicious fatty and simply melted in your mouth.  B loved the toast that accompanied the charcuterie plate while I found it unnecessary and quite simply, unremarkable.  But even the unnecessary toast could not take away my enjoyment of the delicious charcuterie dish.

Our other small plate were the simple dish of fried artichokes and aioli sauce.  While the dish was straightforward in its ingredients, the flavors were anything but simple.  The juicy artichokes felt light and airy in its fried batter and they were perfectly complimented by the garlic-flavored aioli dipping sauce.  The delicate fried artichokes reminded me of fried zucchini blossoms but obviously with a stronger flavor profile of the artichokes.  I would love to try to recreate this dish at home on my own as artichokes are a favorite ingredient of mine.

Our meals were timed perfectly and after a short time to digest our small plates, we were onto the main course.  For my main course, I opted for the seafood bouillabaisse.  Although a classic bouillabaisse is also offered, I opted for the seafood variation after I inquired as to the difference between the two dishes.  Our server explained that it is prepared with the same fish stock and tomato broth but this dish would be served chock full of shellfish.  This huge dish contained generous servings of mussels, calamari, crab meat along with the traditional fish and potatoes.  In this instance, I was happy to discover beautiful cut of dorade along with diced fingerling potatoes.  The presentation was beautiful with a large prawn and two toast pointes with a vibrant green pesto spread on each pointe.  In addition, I was served a side plate of delicious rouille, a small tower of buttered toast pointes and shredded gruyere cheese. I garnished the steaming seafood bouillabaisse several times with the rouille and the gruyere.  I mean, adding a garlic-based sauce and cheese to a dish is basically second nature for me.  Each piece of shellfish was so moist and succulent.  The seafood bouillabaisse was a wonderful pick and I was disappointed when I eventually had to lay the spoon down.
 
B also fared well with his dish.  He had beautiful tenderloin of venison cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The tender venison lay atop a bed of sauteed chestnuts, quince and potatoes.  This was a hearty dish and perfect for a cold winter evening in New England.  We ordered a side of ratoutille, which arrived in a small cast iron skillet.  Although I had a piece of stewed eggplant, I didn't partake in much of the side dish because I was distracted by the bouillabaisse.  But B loved the stewed tomatoes, eggplant, onions and peppers and found them to be a perfect complement to his venison.  B really enjoys venison a lot and of course is disappointed when it is served tough or dry, but he said that Bistro du Midi was some of the best venison he has had in a long time.

Finally we were onto our dessert course.  Since it was a special ocassion, we opted for the Grand Marnier souffle.  As advised by our server, we ordered this dessert at the beginning of our meal to allow enough time for the souffle to properly bake.  We were amused when our souffle was served to the table adjacent to us (a table that had just finished the first course of their tasting meal) but this was error was quickly corrected and sufficiently apologized for by both our main server and the floor manager.  The souffle was light and fluffy as we broke into it and poured the Grand Marnier sauce into the ramekin.  This was the perfect sweet note to end our delicious Valentine's day dinner and definitely worth ordering before we ever began our meal! 

We were given ample time to finish our last glasses of rose.  The atmosphere was incredibly romantic as the dining room was filled with couples enjoying an intimate meal.  Bistro du Midi added a wonderful touch by presenting us with hand made truffles and nougat candies as a parting gift for each of us.  I have yet to break into these packages.

We had an enjoyable time at Bistro du Midi.  The restaurant's attempt at bringing a traditional French dining experience is solid.  I'm not sure that the description of "bistro" fits with the menu and the decor but the service and traditional dishes help forgive thiese contradictions.  Bistro du Midi is a wonderful place to go for a celebration or a special occasion.  Until then, I see myself returning to try out the downstairs bar for some cocktails and to sample from their bar menu. 

Bisto du Midi is located at 272 Boylston Street overlooking the Boston Public Garden.

Valentine's Day Brunch at East Coast Grill

B always plans our Valentine's Day activities.  For our first Valentine's Day together, we celebrated (belatedly since he was very sick on the actual day) with an intimate and romantic dinner at the Wine Cellar.  Last year, he took me to a wonderful dinner at No. 9 Park and to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra play Mozart concertos.  In other words, B is consistently thoughtful in planning our Valentine's Day activities and I knew that this Valentine's Day would be no different.  However, I did want to plan some of the day's activities so I decided to take B to brunch at East Coast Grill.

B and I have heard such wonderful things about East Coast Grill's brunch menu and we've been meaning to give it a try.  However, I'll admit that laziness often overtakes us on the weekends and we tend to have brunch someplace a little closer to our apartment instead of venturing over the river to Cambridge.  But we planned ahead, woke up early, and jumped on the Red Line to Central Square.  It was a gorgeous morning so we were happy to enjoy the sunshine as we walked over to Inman Square.  East Coast Grill opens at 11 A.M. for brunch but we arrived about twenty minutes earlier. As we approached the restaurant, we saw that there was a line waiting for the doors to open.  We weren't expecting a line and had originally planned on killing time at a coffee shop but we decided that the smarter decision was to join the line of waiting patrons.  It was a good thing that we did this because by the time the doors opened, there was a line of at least thirty people waiting for brunch. 

When we entered the restaurant, we were seated immediately.  I couldn't believe how packed it was for brunch there and I knew that we made the right choice in choosing East Coast Grill.  Although I was severely tempted by their Bloody Mary bar, B and I decided to order a pitcher of their white sangria made with a sweet white wine, mango liquor and pineapple liquor.  The sangria also had splashes of mango juice, sour mix and garnished with fresh fruit.  It was definitely refreshing and a bit strong for a morning beverage but it gave us the kick we needed to wake up. 

As we sipped on our delicious cold glasses of white sangria, we perused the menu.  We decided to start with two small plates.  The first small plate consisted of delicious spicy sausages described as "Two Wicked Hot Links".  Last fall, B had some of their spicy sausage links during one of the restaurant's Hell Night.  It was unbelievably spicy and I was happy to report that these sausages were the same variety.  The sausages were cooked crispy brown and encased beautiful pork and spicy Scotch Bonnet peppers inside.  This was a slow heat that developed steadily long after the first bite.  I really enjoyed this small plate.

Our second small plate was the ever delicious cripsy guava lava glazed rib.  I first tried the rib at my last Hell Night outing a few months ago with my friends.  Then, the delicious rib was covered in the oh so spicy Inner Beauty sauce.  I found the ribs to be delicious then but I was even more in love with it this past weekend without the spicy sauce.  The rib was oh so tender and succulent on the inside with a crispy sweet skin.  I ate a few bites using my fork and knife but B got in there and licked the bone dry.

After such flavorful small plates, we were excited for the main plates to arrive.  B ordered one of the Sunday brunch specials - jerk pork empanadas.  The empanadas had a deeply flavorful pork inside and were encased in a golden brown fried shell.  The two huge empanadas lay atop a bed of avocado and cabbage slaw, which was just as flavorful as the empanadas.

My dish was equally as tasty.  I ordered the smoked pork tostada.  The shredded pork was intensely flavorful with a garlic-lime smokey flavor.  The fresh lime juice squeezed on top of it only brought out that flavor.  The tostada itself was topped with a delicious poached egg and my heart may have skipped a beat when I broke into the egg and the yolk ran down into the shredded pork.  The dish was served with a side of black beans, tomato and chipotle salsa, a large serving of guacamole and fried plantains.  After a week in Mexico this past fall, I've been craving to find some of those flavors here locally.  East Coast Grill hit the spot, especially with its delicious smashed avocado that I simply could not get enough of.

Perhaps East Coast Grill wasn't the most romantic spot for brunch, but I know the way to both of our hearts is through our stomachs.  And for this, East Coast Grill was the perfect place for us to begin a beautiful Valentine's Day.  There is a reason why people will line up and wait for East Coast Grill to open up their doors for brunch.  In fact, the place was still buzzing as we left an hour and a half later and there were quite a few people waiting for a table to open up.  I'll gladly return to East Coast Grill for brunch, and next time I won't wait until Valentine's Day.

Panko Crusted Cod and Spicy Grilled Potato Wedges

On Saturday night, B and I decided to cook some fish for dinner.  We received some beautiful cod fillets from our Peapod delivery that morning.  We realized that we haven't cooked fish in quite some time and I was looking forward to trying something new.  We also received a huge bag of red potatoes and I knew that I somehow wanted to incorporate that into our meal.  With fish and potatoes as our main ingredients, we obviously leaned towards doing fish and chips but wanted to try it with a twist.  We weren't quite sure what to do with the potatoes so we sought inspiration from the Food Network.  We discovered Bobby Flay's recipe for Grilled Potato Wedges with Hot Garlic, Red Chili, Parmesan and Parsley and we  decided to give it a try.  Unless it is baking, we tend to look to recipes for inspiration but very rarely follow them closely.  It was no different with this potato recipe.

To start, we gathered our ingredients for the potatoes. 

Although the recipe called for russett potatoes, we made an easy substitute with the eight red potatoes.  They looked gorgeous in contrast with the fresh garlic and the vibrant Italian parsley.

B scrubbed the potatoes and placed them in a cold pot of water with salt.  He brought the water to a simmer and the potatoes cooked for about thirty minutes.  When the potatoes were cooked through but still firm, B placed them on a cutting board to cool.

After the potatoes cooled, I got to work getting them ready.  I sliced the potatoes in wedges and tossed them with vegetable oil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper. 

While the potatoes were soaking up the oil, I chopped up six cloves of garlic and one-third cup of the Italian flat parsley.  I put these ingredients in a bowl with some generous shakes of red pepper flakes and put the entire bowl aside.  Although I wish we could have used an outdoor grill, this is a near impossibility living in an apartment in the city.  Instead, I made do with what we had and started heating up a flat grill pan on the stove with some vegetable oil.  I wanted to get the grill pan nice and hot to get some beautiful grill marks on the potatoes.

While I had been working on the potatoes, B had started on the fish for our fish fry.  He cut the cod fillets down into smaller and thin slices to get the fish to cook quickly and evenly.

He did a simple panko crust that we have done many times for chicken.  This involves coating the fish in a flour and cayenne mixture, dipping it in an egg and milk wash, and then dredging with panko crumbs.  We created a nice crusting station for this process.

This results in a beautiful panko crust that crisps up nicely.  In this instance, it made a gorgeous coat on the cod.

When the fish was ready, B got a pan heated up on the stove with vegetable oil for the fish.  We worked side by side at the stove.  I placed the potatoes on the grill pan but this needed a lot of attention.  By the time I put all of the potatoes down on the pan, I would start turning them so that each side would get a nice grill mark.  I did this again for the third side of the potato wedges.  Meanwhile, B was working on the fish and give each side a few minutes in the pan to turn a nice golden brown and crispy coat.

While the potatoes were grilling, I multi-tasked and heated up a generous third cup of extra virgin olive oil on the back burner.  When the olive oil was simmering, I took it off the burner and added the bowl of chopped garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes.  I also added healthy shakes of salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  I stirred this mixture well and allowed it to cool.  When the potatoes were done grilling, I placed the potato wedges in a bowl and tossed it with the olive oil mixture and healthy spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.

Meanwhile B chopped up some pickles and mixed it with mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, Siracha sauce, sugar and lemon juice.  This made a beautiful and spicy tarter sauce to go with our fish.  We placed this in the fridge to chill.

The sauce went beautifully with our crispy Panko-crusted cod.

And the fish was accompanied by flavorful grilled potato wedges.  The potato wedges were not necessarily spicy and could have used a bit more red pepper flakes.  However the potatoes were so well seasoned with the olive oil, chopped garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese.  I know I will use a similar seasoning with other vegetables.  For instance, I can only imagine how flavorful steamed asparagus would be tossed in the olive oil and seasoning mix. 

Overall, I was thrilled with the way this meal came out and it was a definite twist from a traditional fish and chips dish.  I will admit that this is a dish that involves very specific timing because you want to make sure that both the potatoes and fish are served hot.  So it was definitely a good thing that B was helping me out in the kitchen.  I'll definitely make this dish again - although perhaps separately.  I can envision eating the panko crusted cod with some fresh vegetables or the grilled potatoes with a juicy steak.  The possibilities are endless...

My Favorite Party Dish - Spinach and Artichoke Dip

While I love trying out new recipes and using different ingredients, sometimes I love returning to my favorite recipes that I have utilized time and time again.  Over the years, one of my favorite party dishes to make is my hot spinach and artichoke dip.  This is a simple dish that always ends up being a crowd pleaser.  This past weekend, I had two different occasions to make this dip - one was a birthday party that my friend KK was hosting on Saturday night and the other was of course a Super Bowl gathering of Sunday evening.

To start, I gathered my ingredients from kitchen and from my local Whole Foods.  Can you tell how much I enjoy Whole Foods' 365 products?

I cooked about 3/4 of the bag of frozen spinach and added a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to it.  I mixed the spinach and the Parmesan cheese together and set aside.

I took out a large bowl and put in a cup and a half of shredded mozzarella cheese.

I then needed to prepare my other ingredients.  First up was chopping a few cloves of garlic.  Since garlic is one of my favorite (and often abused) ingredients, I restrained myself and only chopped up about four or five cloves.  I was excited to try out my new Chef'n GarlicZoom XL, which was part of the We Are Not Martha 2nd Anniversary Swag Bag (thanks Chels and Sues)!  I popped a few peeled garlic cloves into the GarlicZoom, rolled it back and forth, took out the blade and emptied out my chopped garlic.  It was ridiculously easy and fun too!  I added the garlic to the large bowl.

I also drained a can of artichoke hearts.  Make sure you get the artichokes that are canned in water and not any other sauce or marinade.  Don't these artichokes look beautiful?

I chopped the artichokes and added the chopped artichokes to the large bowl with the garlic and the mozzarella cheese.  The next few ingredients were easy to add - two blocks of cream cheese that I had left out to soften, a small tub (8 oz) of sour cream, a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper, and a few generous shakes of red pepper flakes.  I usually mixed the ingredients by hand with a spatula but I love any excuse to use the new hand mixer we got for Christmas and I found that it blended so easily and quickly.

I then added the spinach and Parmesan cheese mixture to the large bowl and also gave it a good mix.

Since this recipe makes a huge batch of spinach and artichoke dip, I decided to split the bowl in half for each of the parties that I was attending that weekend.  I poured half of the mixture into an aluminum foil pie pan.  Although I'm not a fan of the way that it looks, I find that this is a convenient way to transport it without worrying about getting the dish back from the host(ess).  The other half of the mixture I put in a sealed plastic container and in the fridge for Sunday.  I sprinkled the top of the pie filling with Parmesan cheese and then topped it with a nice layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.

I cover the pan with aluminum foil on it and brought it over to the party.  While you can bake it before you go, I like the dip to be hot out of the oven so I usually bake it at its final destination.  I take the foil off and pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (depending on the oven) until there is a nice golden brown crust.  You can serve it with just about anything - veggies, pita chips, tortilla chips or sliced bread.  I served it with pita chips on Saturday night and tortilla chips and sliced bread on Sunday night.

Despite making this twice over the weekend, I failed to get a photo of the end result at both places.  As I talked about this week with fellow blogger Robin Cohen, sometimes you just have to live in the moment - even if you miss the money shot for your blog.  In the end, my dip was broken into by party guests right away when it was hot out of the oven before I could take a picture.  And to be honest, I'd rather have people enjoying my food in the moment than stop them for a photo op.  But in the meantime, you'll have to take my word on how delicious it looked and tasted.  The dip was gooey and warm cheesy delight chock full of spinach and artichoke with a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes.  It is an easy recipe and one that I know I'll make time and time again.