Maple Pepper and Habanero Chicken Breast with Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts

Last night, I came home absolutely exhausted.  It has been a hectic few days at work with lots of client meetings, fundraiser events and project deadlines.  I like to go to the gym to de-stress after a long work day and I really felt clear-headed by the time I left the gym.  But by the time I walked home from the gym, I was a sopping mess and felt seriously blah.

But last night, I walked up the stairs to our place and smelled a delicious smoky aroma as I walked through the door.  My thoughtful boyfriend knew how bad the past few days have been and decided to cook us dinner so that it would just be one less thing for me to worry about.  Seriously, isn't he the best?

Our dinner was very simple but incredibly flavorful.  Like me, B was excited to use some of our purchases from our maple syrup adventures on Sunday.  He took a few chicken breasts and used a dry rub with the Highland Foods maple pepper seasoning with habanero.  He seared the chicken for a few minutes on each side in a skillet with vegetable oil.  It was around this time that I had come home to smell the smoky seasoning aroma coming from the chicken on the stove top.  When the chicken had a nice color to it, he put it in the oven at 400 degrees to cook it through.

For a side dish, he heated up a different skillet with olive oil and threw a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts in the pan.  While the sprouts started to dethaw, B quickly chopped up a small white onion and added that to the pan with the sprouts along with some salt and fresh cracked pepper.  When the sprouts were cooked through, B added what I'd guess to be a generous tablespoon of the fresh maple syrup to the pan at the very last minute and gave it a nice toss to make sure all the sprouts had a sweet coating.

The end result?  A delicious tasting and looking dinner.  The chicken breast was moist and juicy from the stove top to oven cooking preparation which helped retain a lot of the meat juices.  Tthe flavor of the dry rub was seriously spicy.  I didn't expect it because the first flavor that hits you is the smoky maple flavor but the habanero pepper slowly builds to a sensational heat.  This is where the Brussels sprouts really help out with this mild cabbage-like taste mixed with the cooling sweet maple syrup sauce.  This was definitely a great combination of spicy and sweet.

I think the best part of the meal was the love evident in it.  B clearly went out of his way to make something that I would enjoy without having to lift a finger.  And in the end, this is what dinner so fantastic.

Vermont Maple Open House Weekend 2010

I love all things seasonal.  I realize that I am very lucky to live in New England because there are so many wonderful seasonal activities available to us throughout the year.  However, despite growing up in New England, I have never had the opportunity to visit an actual Vermont maple sugarhouse.  So when I met S, one of B's close friends from college, and discovered that she comes from a well-known maple sugar family, I could not stop asking her (i.e. harassing her) to take me to Vermont for a visit.  We unfortunately missed the sugar season last year but this year S found out about Vermont's Maple Open House weekend and planned our trip well in advance.

We started out bright and early this past Sunday morning with S, her boyfriend O, B and I.  I was like a kid on Christmas - an excited squirmy mess.  The roads were clear and during the drive up, S told us a lot about the history of her own family's maple sugar farm.  Although we weren't going to visit her family farm that day, she had done some research to figure out which were the best maple sugar farms to visit based on reputation and history.

When we reached Vermont, we made a pit stop at the Vermont Visitor Center for me to pick up some literature about the Maple Open House weekend.  This was the ninth year that the State of Vermont was hosting this weekend-long public event which gives members of the public to visit participating sugarhouses.  With pamphlets in hand, we were off to our first farm.  Of course not without stopping to take some cheesy touristy photos!

Our first stop was at Dwight Miller & Son Orchards in East Dummerston.  As you can tell by the name, this farm contains orchards of apples, peaches, plums and pear trees.  They also harvest woodlots for on-farm lumber use along with a large sweet maple crop from their sugarbush. 

We were greeted by the owner, Read Miller, who taught us a lot about the maple sap gathering process.  He should know - his family has the longest run maple syrup farm in Vermont and he explained that his family has farmed on the very same piece of land since before Vermont was even declared a state!  While we munched on his wife's fresh cider doughnuts (yum!), he explained the science of tapping a maple tree and gathering the sap.  When he was done explaining, he brought us outside so we could really understand what he was talking about.  

I was luckily selected to drill the hole in a maple tree.  Okay, maybe it was less that I was luckily chosen and more that my hand shot up fast and high when he asked if anyone was interested!

I drilled the hole and then another visitor got to help hammer the tap in.  Although we used a traditional spout and bucket here, most farms (including this one) use pressurized vacuums and tubing these days.

Read Miller was incredibly informative and the school geek in me was really fascinated by all of the science involved in an industry that relies mostly on the luck and chance of a season's weather.  Also, after some teasing about my Red Sox hat (he is apparently a big Yankees fan), when I told him that I lived in Boston, Read told me that I could find some of their produce products from the home delivery service Boston Organics.  In fact, the orchards, as well as berries, field crops and greenhouses are all managed organically and for over thirteen years, Dwight Miller & Son Orchards has been producing certified organic fruit and produce.  With this information, we of course had to pick up some of their frozen sweet corn on the cob along with a pint of this season's maple syrup!

Then we were on our way to our next stop - Sweet Maple Alpacas in Westminster.  Here, we were happy to find a sugarhouse that was boiling sap.  The aroma of this sweet sugarhouse was intoxicating with the smoky maple wood scents along with the sweetly familiar maple sugar aroma.  This is what heaven has to smell like.

Here we learned about what happens to the sap after it has been collected.  We were told that every afternoon (weather permitting) sap is pumped into a gathering tank and brought to the sugarhouse for boiling.  The sap is boiled on a wood fired stainless steel arch and it takes about forty gallons of sap to make just one gallon of pure maple syrup.

This farm was unique because in addition to maple syrup, they farm...alpacas!  

There were over a dozen or so sweet alpacas and we even got to pet a few of them. 

While the alpacas were sweet, I fell in love with the family's dog - a St. Bernard and Bernese Mountain Dog mix named Gretchen.

Our final maple syrup destination was a stop at Harlow's Sugar House in Putney.  

While there were no demonstrations going on, we did manage to stock up on some great Vermont treats including a small bag of their house-made maple candies, Highland Foods' maple pepper seasoning with habanero (technically a Maine product) and some house-made pickles.  We also shared their hot out-of-the fryer corn fritters with a generous douse of maple syrup.  Yum!  


As we were leaving the Sugar House we noticed some historical pieces, included an old box of maple candies from Coombs Family Farm! S recounted having to pack these boxes when she was growing up and helping in the family business.

Full from all of our maple syrup tastings (yes there were tastings at each visit), we didn't eat anything all morning and realized that we were famished for lunch.  We stopped in at S' favorite spot, Vermont Country Deli, in Brattleboro.  This place was a foodie's delight with lots of fresh made sandwiches, entrees and baked goods, along with a plethora of local culinary treats.  I made my own sandwich on soft wheatberry bread with Vermont cheddar (of course), turkey breast, pickles, tomato, lettuce and the most delightfully tangy horseradish mayo.  I also very strangely got a small side of seaweed salad and this made a perfect lunch for me.

I had a fantastic time in Vermont and was so glad that my friend S planned this wonderfully educational and seasonal maple sugar experience.  Although the open house weekend is over, a lot of sugar houses are open all year long for visitors and you can find a list of those here.  There is also the Vermont Maple Festival, which will take place on April 30-May 2 in St. Albans, Vermont.

Now that I have fresh maple syrup and this intriguing maple pepper seasoning, I can't wait to find different ways to use it in my kitchen and I suspect my maple sugar adventures are only beginning...

The Regal Beagle for a Perfect Date Night

B and I have both been so busy with work, family and other social obligations that we couldn't remember the last time that we had scheduled a quality date night.  So on Friday, we both checked out of work at 5 PM (which is rare for both of us) and headed off to our respective gyms for a good workout to kick the weekend off right.  With an early workout, we would have plenty of time to have a long overdue Friday date night.

When I got home from the gym, I was happy to discover a sweet bouquet of sunflowers waiting for me.  Sunflowers are my absolute favorite flower and it put a smile on my face as I got ready for the evening.

We decided to try out someplace new for dinner that night and settled on finally checking out the Regal Beagle in Coolidge Corner.  The Regal Beagle opened in November and the name along made us curious with the Three's Company throwback.  But we just hadn't made the trip over to Coolidge Corner until this past Friday night.

Located on Harvard Street, the Regal Beagle is definitely a small restaurant with dark bistro-like atmosphere.  When you walk in, you immediately notice the deep burgundy velvet wallpaper, dark tables and the wooden bench seating that runs across the entire right wall of the restaurant.  It had a nice vibe to it, and on a Friday night at 8 PM, the restaurant was definitely packed.  The tables were all full and there was a good buzz from the tightly packed crowd in the bar area at the back of the restaurant.  The hostess told us there was about a half hour wait for a table but we weren't in a rush.  We managed to snag two seats in the front waiting area and were immediately greeted by the most friendly server.  She was actually training that night but she seemed like she knew what she was doing.  Her service and demeanor were both so pleasant that we immediately felt comfortable.

We checked out the cocktail menu and I was impressed by Regal Beagle's beer choices.  After our recent trip to Portland, I was happy to find they offered Shipyard's seasonal on the menu.  When I asked what the seasonal offering was, it turned out they had Seadog Blueberry Wheat.  As a sidenote, I discovered during my Shipyard Brewery tour that they also own Seadog.  Since I adore blueberry beer, I was happy to order the Seadog.  B went with a heavier Otter Creek Cooper Ale.

Since we had a half hour wait, we decided to order a bar bite while we waited.  We decided to go with the fried artichokes.  The fried artichokes were nicely breaded with a crispy fried texture.  Some pieces were a little bit greasy but overall they were very light and crispy.  Instead of an aioli, the fried artichokes came with a warm blue cheese dip with a drizzle of hot buffalo sauce on top.  I was a bit hesitant about the flavor combination but the artichoke flavor actually worked really well with the tangy blue cheese and the small level of heat that crept in at the end from the buffalo sauce.  The bar bites were the perfect small plate to tide us over without making us too full for our dinner.

As we finished up our plate of fried artichokes, we were told that our table was ready a good ten minutes before the projected wait time.  This was nice because after the delightful fried artichokes, we were definitely ready to try out their menu.  While we perused the menu, I nibbled on a piece of their delicious sourdough bread from their bread basket with a nice pat of garlic butter.

Our server told us about a few of their specials and we were definitely intrigued.  To start, we decided to split their salad from one of the daily specials.  This was a generous mixed green salad tossed in a chili-lime vinaigrette with julienned carrots and red peppers, fresh herbs, cubed organges, sliced avocado and topped with crispy wonton strips.  This salad was absolutely huge and it was a good thing we decided to share it.  I loved all of the ingredients but the chili-lime vinaigrette really stood out with both its acidity and slight lingering heat.  I found the salad to be really refreshing and can easily envision making something similar at home for a warm summer night.  I think it is always a great sign when a restaurant inspires you to want to make something similar in your own kitchen.

After a nicely timed wait, our entrees arrived.  For our entrees, B went with another daily special - fish and chips.  There were generous pieces of breaded and crispy fried Atlantic cod and it came with a side of French fries, a honey-jalapeno cole slaw and slightly spicy tarter sauce.  I stole a bite of the cole slaw and I was really impressed at how flavorful it was with fresh cabbage but dressed in a light honey-jalapeno dressing instead of the usual heavy mayo.  The dressing was both sweet and spicy, which I really enjoyed.

I went a bit heavier for my meal and ordered the house burger, which I had heard so many great things about.  This tasty sirloin burger was cooked a perfect medium and came on a deliciously buttery brioche bun with Vermont cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and a generous helping of house-made pickle chips.  While the burger was tasty overall, the brioche bun was a lot of bread and quickly filled you up.  Of course I could have just put the delicious brioche bun aside but with my non-existent willpower with bread, I couldn't resist.  My favorite part of the dish though were the house-made pickles.  The pickles were a not overly sweet version of bread and butter pickles and added the perfect sweetness to each bite of burger.  The fries were tasty but not necesarily stellar but they went well with the small spicy tarter sauce they gave me along with some ketchup.

Overall, the Regal Beagle was a great venue for a date night.  It had a real neighborhood feel to it but it also felt cozy and intimate at the same time.  And best of all, it is really affordable.  It is the kind of place that you could go to  time and again without breaking the bank.  For us, it was a perfect place to have a casual but delicious dinner before hitting up the Coolidge Corner Theatre to see Greenberg (a quirky indie flick that made me love Ben Stiller all the more).  My only regret the entire evening is wishing that we lived closer to Coolidge Corner to make date nights at Regal Beagle a regular occurrence.

Regal Beagle is located at 308 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA.

RIPE Cocktail Mixers - All-Natural and Tasty!

Although it is not a major focus of my blog, one of the perks is being able to try out new and different food products.  So when the folks at RIPE contacted me to try out their new cocktail mixers, I was definitely enthused.  I consider myself a social butterfly and I love entertaining with good food and just as important - good drinks.  Thus, this was a product review that I was really looking forward to.

Before getting the products, I of course did my research.  Founded in 2008, RIPE is a young company that focuses on offering all-natural pure squeezed cocktail mixers.  Unlike those other cocktail mixers that sit on shelves for months at a time, these mixers contain no preservatives and are thus sold chilled like any other fruit or vegetable juice product.  In fact, when RIPE contacted me to ship these products out, it was delivered to me in a chilled shipping cooler to keep the mixers as fresh as possible.

RIPE sent over three of their cocktail mixers: Sour Mix, Bloody Mary, and Margarita.  Each mixer comes in a one-liter recyclable bottle and I liked the simple aesthetic of the bottles.

Of course I had the "tough" job of trying out these mixers.  The best part about trying out cocktail mixers was getting some volunteers and lucky for me, my friends love cocktails just as much as I do!  Last week, when we made pumpkin pancakes for dinner, we paired it with the Bloody Mary mix.  We looked at the bottle and could actually pronounce every single ingredient, which included San Marzano tomatoes, pure squeezed celery and lemon juices, certified balsamic vinegar, fresh horseradish, grey Celtic sea salt and spices.  By using these fresh ingredients, the mixers are also low in calories for a mixer with about sixty calories per serving (before alcohol).  But forget about all of the details the most important question is, how does it taste?

When we opened the Bloody Mary bottle it smelled overwhelmingly of tomatoes.  The color and consistency was thicker than most Bloody Mary mixes.  We poured a glass of three parts mixer and one part Ketel One Vodka.  Now my friend KK and I both love a really spicy Bloody Mary and always order it "extra spicy" when we go out.  Even though we didn't smell the spiciness, this Bloody Mary mix definitely packed a powerful punch.  With such great flavors, especially the flavor of the rich San Marzano tomatoes, we didn't add any of the traditional garnishments like olives, celery or lime juice because it just wasn't necessary.  We were both very excited about this mix and I know that this will be my go-to Bloody Mary mix.  Here is a photo of the fabulous KK enjoying her Bloody Mary!

A few days later, I got to test out the Sour Mix.  The Sour Mix consists of pure squeezed lemon juice, agave nectar (which I'm obsessed with since my trip to Mexico this fall) and filtered water. 

On Saturday night, I brought this mixer over for girls' night out and it was a BIG hit.  The ladies loved the sour lemon taste and it went perfect with some Grey Goose vodka.  One of my friends is on Weight Watchers and she was especially happy when I told her the calorie count before the alcohol.  For me, I liked the Sour Mix because it had a nice lemon flavor but it didn't have that artificial lemonade-like taste.

The only one that I have yet to try is the Margarita Mix but that is mostly because I'm not the biggest fan of tequila.  But for those of you interested, the Margarita Mix's ingredients are lime and orange juices, agave nectar and filtered water.

Overall, I really enjoyed the products.  I think this would make great mixers for a social gathering.  But you couldn't have the product in your fridge for last-minute entertaining because they have an estimated fridge life of thirty dates.  However, I think this is a small price to pay to have a more fresh and all-natural mixer versus one with a lot of artificial ingredients.

If you're interested in trying out RIPE, you can order them directly from their website and they will ship them out in the same shipping cooler that I received mine in!  If you are in New England, they are available in fifty different Whole Foods Markets, including some in Massachusetts.  Whole Foods sells their mixers refrigerated in their produce section so you can easily pick some up when you're picking up your fruit and vegetable ingredients for your next party.  Also for any Bostonians interested in the product, RIPE holds in-store demonstrations of their products with another one scheduled for Monday, April 12th at the Whole Foods Market Symphony location from 5-7 PM. 

If you have any questions or would like to know more about RIPE mixers, please let me know and I can put you in contact with the folks at RIPE. 

Thursday Night's Dinner...Pumpkin Pancakes!

One of the things that I love about cooking and eating is how it brings people together.  Some of the best moments that I have shared with my friends and family involve sitting around a table with good conversation and lingering over a home-cooked meal.  Since I live with my boyfriend, he is of course my primary cooking and dining partner.  But I really love it when my friends come over to cook (and eat) with me.  Last night, one of my best friends, KK, came over to cook and eat dinner with us and we had a blast.

In the morning, we emailed back and forth about what we'd like to cook for dinner and somehow we decided that we'd have breakfast for dinner with Bloody Mary's, eggs, bacon and pumpkin pancakes!  I know it is strange but I really enjoy having breakfast for dinner and luckily KK feels the same.

After a long day on the road for work, I hit the gym and then headed home to get started on our delicious breakfast dinner.  I lined two pans with aluminum foil and lining up thick slices of hickory smoked bacon on the pans.  I'm a huge fan of cooking bacon by baking it because I find that the bacon gets extra crispy with very little clean up involved.

I also got to work on making the Bloody Mary drinks for Kim and I.  B doesn't like Bloody Mary's and stuck to a glass of wine.  I was using a new product, RIPE San Marzano Bloody Mary mixer, along with Ketel Vodka.  I'll write more about this product in another blog post on but in one word these Bloody Mary's were delish.

B got to work putting together the pancake batter.  Although we found some great recipes for pumpkin pancakes, we were feeling a bit lazy so we just went with Aunt Jemima instant pancake mix. 

While the box calls for one and a half cups of water, B put in one cup of water and 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree.  He also added some generous dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter.  The key to a good pancake batter is to mix all the ingredients together without over working it.  The addition of the pumpkin puree made a thick batter that was perfect for large fluffy pancakes.

When the batter was done, we preheated the oven to 400 degrees.  When the oven was ready, we put the trays of bacon in the oven for about twenty minutes.  

While the bacon was cooking, this is where we put KK to work.  Although she has many talents as a finance compliance guru, MBA student and two-time Ironman athlete, she also is a fantastic pancake maker.  At her guidance, we heated up two large frying pans that had both non-stick cooking spray and a generous pat of butter.  When the frying pans were "sizzling like bacon" (and that is a direct quote from the pancake master), we turned the heat down and let KK get to work on ladling the batter into the pans.

After a few minutes on each side, the pancakes had a nice golden brown color and looked deliciously inviting.  We put the pancakes in a lid-covered baking dish to keep them warm as the rest of the pancakes were cooking.  When KK was finishing up the last pancakes, she also got to work on the eggs and cooked them to a perfect over easy.

The end result?  A delicious breakfast for dinner.  The bacon was very well done (a little error on my part of cooking times and tray placement) but still delicious with a nice smoky flavor that is always tasty with the sweet maple syrup and the runny egg yolks.  The pancakes, thanks to KK and B, were light, fluffy and had the nicest flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg.  

Although the meal was fantastic, what I enjoyed most about last night was goofing around in the kitchen, telling stories and spending time with the people I love.  And in the end, isn't that what really counts?

Cheese Tuesday at L'Espalier

I have a not-so-secret confession to make.  I love cheese.  In fact, I adore it.  There is nothing I look forward to more than eating cheese with a really delicious glass of wine.  In fact, I could make a whole meal of it. 

Lucky for me, my friends love cheese and wine just as much as I do.  Thus, I was happy when my friend KV suggested that a few of us check out L'Espalier's Cheese Tuesday event.  One Tuesday a month, L'Espalier hosts a four course meal incorporating cheese to each plate along with a different wine pairing for each dish.

I was completely impressed by my previous dining experience at L'Espalier so I was really looking forward to participating in this month's Cheese Tuesday event.  KV made the reservation well in advance and it was a great idea since every table was full.  Our friend K also joined us and she had dined on a Cheese Tuesday at L'Espalier's previous location where all of the diners were joined at a community table.  Here, we were given our own table but the entire room was very casual with presentations throughout the evening from Louis Risoli on the cheese and Erich Schliebe on the wine.

This month's Cheese Tuesday focused on local New England cheeses with a few of the cheeses coming from Shy Brothers Farm in Westport, Massachusetts.  The farm is actually run by four brothers and we were also lucky to have one of the "Shy Brothers" present at the event and partake in the dining experience with us. 

Our meal included the following:

First Course:
Spring greens with citrus and Rosemary Hannabells (paired with 2008 Huber, "Obere Steigen", Gruner Veltliner, Traisental, Austria).  The greens were very heavily dressed and a perfect complement to the adorable Hannabell cheeses.  This wine was also one of my favorites as it was very similar to a Reisling, which is one of my favorite types of wine.

Second Course
Pollock po'boy with caper-Nuage dressing (paired with 2005 Dutton-Goldfield, "Dutton Ranch", Chardonnay, Russian River).  Although I'm not a huge fan of the oak in Chardonnay, this wine had a very spicy taste and was perfect with the dish.  The po'boy was tender and flaky with a tarter sauce made of capers with the soft and creamy Nuage cheese.  The po'boy was sandwiched on a flavorful albeit salty foccaccia bread.  This was probably my favorite course in the meal.

Third Course:
Breakfast baked ham with caponata and Great Hill Blue cheese (paired with 2007 Chateau de Segries, "Cuvee Reservee", Lirac, Rhone).  While I'm not a huge fan of ham, the caponata on top of the ham and the polenta underneath softened the saltiness of the meat.  The acidity of the caponata really matched the blue cheese while simultaneously bringing out the flavor of the red wine.

Fourth and Final Course:
Our final course was of course the house cheese sampler with Nuage (from Shy Brothers Farm), Classic French, Rosemary and Lavender Bud Hannahbells (also from Shy Brothers Farm), Divine Providence cheese (from Narragansett Creamery in Providence, RI) and Great Hill Blue cheese (from Great Hill Creamery in Marion, MA).  This generous cheese platter was paired with fresh sliced baguette along with the a sweet and bubbly Carod, "Traditon", Clairette de Die, Rhone.

After four courses with wine pairings along with the generous bread servings (which included a piece of foccacia, mini popover and mini salted baguette), we were incredibly stuffed and couldn't even look at the dessert menu.  This was a cheese-lover's dream meal with dishes that thoughtfully paired wines and cheeses together.  Plus it is a great way to try out L'Espalier without breaking the bank since the entire meal is only $68 per person for all four courses and wine pairings.  The environment is casual with presentations on the cheese and wine before each course and a sing-along entertainment at the end of the meal.  I never thought I'd ever find myself singing in L'Espalier to a song about cheese.  Seriously.  Towards the end of the meal, the representatives from Shy Brothers Farm also spoke about their cheeses and answered any questions from the tables.  My favorite cheese throughout the evening was the Nuage cheese and I was delighted when Barbara Hanley informed me that this product is sold at Savenor's!

If you are a cheese lover, I highly recommend you check this monthly event out.  You will eat well to the point of almost being "cheesed out" (in the good way) and you will also learn a lot.  The tables fill up fast so I'd also suggest making a reservation well in advance.

Here are the upcoming Cheese Tuesdays:

April 20: Cheese and Chocolate
May 18: Paris in the Springtime
June 15: Roman Holiday
July 20: Summer in Vermont

Weekend Re-Cap: Spring is in the Air

This past week, the temperatures finally started to rise just in time for the first day of spring.  Due to a combination of the cold and wet weather, along with some major personal stresses going on, I've been keeping a low profile on the social scene but this weekend couldn't have been any more different.  Here are highlights of this past fabulous weekend:

• On Friday night, B and I both went to our respective gyms and then decided to stay in for a quiet date night - pizza and a movie.  We ordered a yummy salad and a ginormous pizza from Hot Tomatoes, a place we've never tried before.  Um, delicious.  The roasted garlic on their pizza was out of this world and they offer free delivery.  I'm definitely putting Hot Tomatoes on our list of go-to delivery places.  We also snuggled up to the movie Sunshine Cleaning.  Normally Amy Adams bugs me beyond belief but she was really great in this.

• On Saturday, I spent most of the day with my friend E who has been a real rock for me lately.  We started the morning off with pedicures (hello OPI Strawberry Margarita) and then shopping in the Back Bay.  

• When I got home, I decided to try a new recipe out for KK's birthday pre-party - mini bacon and cheese toasts!  I threw a half pound of cheddar cheese (cubed), one small white onion (roughly chopped) and two slices of smoky bacon (also roughly chopped) in the food processor and pulse until it makes a thick paste.  You put a generous spread on a toast point, broil it for six minutes and done!  

• After a few generous toasts of champagne at the pre-party, we were off to the Grand Canal for an often wobbly (I was rocking new heels) but always fun evening.  Happy birthday (again) to my fabulous friend and partner-in-crime, Kim!

• On Sunday, I spent most of the day recovering from the previous evening.  I had long standing plans to attend the Kimchi Festival in West Roxbury.  To be nice, I'll say it was interesting.  That's it.  We also ran into my pregnant and ever-fabulous friend J, grabbed a slice at Upper Crust for lunch, and ordered from Comella's takeout for dinner that night.  

All in all, a perfect weekend.  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend as I did!

xoxo

Olivia's Croutons Straight from Vermont

Last week, my friends at PMG reached out to me to introduce me to one of their clients - Olivia's Croutons.  I did some research and discovered that Olivia's Croutons has been around for a little over ten years.  Located in Vermont, the company started out in their home kitchen with one crouton flavor - Butter & Garlic.  As business grew, Olivia's Croutons relocated and utilized a commercial kitchen to make their croutons.  They eventually moved to New Haven, Vermont and expanded their products from just croutons to also include tostini and organic croutons.  When I checked out their website, I discovered that they had a variety of different flavors of croutons.  And lucky for me, Olivia's Croutons generously sent over five boxes of different flavors for me to sample.  

I've got to be honest, I'm not a huge crouton person.  I've found that most commercial croutons are either too dry or artificially seasoned that it loses its natural bread flavors.  But Olivia's Croutons is really different.  The company has a focus on delivering "a wholesome, all natural, uncomplicated product" and that is absolutely what you find.  When the package arrived, I immediately opened a box of the Organic Garlic & Herb.  I discovered that the croutons were so good that I could actually snack on them straight out of the box!

As good as they were to snack on, I was excited to try using the different flavors of croutons in a variety of dishes.  I decided to try the croutons out the old-fashioned way - with a salad.  I started out with the Vermont Cheddar and Dill.  I of course tried a crouton one straight out of the box and it had a nice baked cheddar flavor with a mild hint of dill. 

I decided to make a very simple salad using leftover Olivia's Organics herb salad tossed in a light Italian vinagrette.  I also included some leftover goat cheese, tuna fish and fresh cracked black pepper.  I added the Vermont Cheddar & Dill croutons, which was a great complement to the salad. 

The greens with the tangy dressing and goat cheese nicely contrasted with the mellow baked cheddar taste of the croutons.  I was definitely pleased using the croutons in a traditional salad.

The following day I decided to try the Multi-Grain Garlic croutons.  These croutons were cut from multi-grain bread and it had a nice herby and almost nutty taste.  There was a mild flavor of garlic in the croutons overall although some pieces tasted a bit more garlicky than others.

Since I had previously paired the croutons with a salad, I wanted to try it with a soup instead.  A few weeks ago, I made a huge batch of rustic beef stew and I froze half of it.  Since I knew I'd be working late, I took the beef stew out of the freezer to dethaw during the day.  Besides, I figured that a rustic beef stew would be perfect for a St. Patrick's Day dinner.  We usually eat beef stew with a piece of crusty bread, but we decided to try the croutons with the stew instead.

As you can tell from the picture, the croutons were huge and matched the size of the chopped vegetables and beef.  Because of the large size of the croutons, they didn't sop the soup up as well as a piece of bread would have.  But the crunch was a pleasant addition to the stew and even after the sample of croutons are long gone, I'll definitely think about pairing croutons with a soup or stew in the future.

Finally, last night, I decided to try the croutons a bit differently.  I took a box of the Butter and Garlic croutons and each crouton was deliciously buttery with a nice garlicky flavor. 

I decided to use the croutons to make a nice bread crumb coating for some chicken tenders.  I decided to use our handy food processor, which is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, to grind the croutons up to a fine crumb texture. 

I ended up with a few cups of bread crumbs but I wanted to be on the safe side so I decided to throw a box of the Organic Garlic and Herb croutons in the food processor as well.

I combined the two different types of bread crumbs.  I immediately knew these would be much better than generic bread crumbs because they were a bit thicker in crumb texture and way more flavorful.  The herb and garlic flavor tasted like herbs and garlic - not the artificial flavors that you find in other bread crumb products.

We did a simple flour, egg and bread crumb coating and baked the chicken in the oven.  I paired the chicken with a roasted beets tossed with goat cheese, white champagne balsamic vinagrette, caramelized onions, olive oil and a garlic mustard.  I used a recipe adapted from one of my favorite food blogs, Closet Cooking.

The bread crumbs were more crunchy than commercial bread crumbs although not quite as crunchy as a panko bread crumb.  The thick and crunchy bread crumbs created a really memorable breading on the chicken because the flavor really stood out.  Unlike commercial bread crumbs, the herb, butter and garlic flavors really popped and added something nice to a simple baked and breaded chicken dish.  The croutons resulted in bread crumbs that just tasted so much better than anything you would get off of the shelf at the grocery store.

In fact, I found that no matter what way I used and of the croutons, the natural flavor of the bread and herbs really came out.  Although I don't normally do a lot of product reviews, I really can't say enough good things about Olivia's Croutons.  Everything is simple and straightforward - from the packaging to the flavors.  I found the company to be incredibly thoughtful in sending out so many packages for me to try out and to even enclose a handwritten note from the co-owner, Francie Williams Caccavo.  But I shouldn't be surprised coming from a company that started out in their own kitchen and naming their company after their daughter, Olivia.  

Olivia's Croutons is located in New Haven, Vermont.  I'm hoping their products will hit the grocery store shelves near me soon but in the meantime, they take both retail and wholesale orders through their website.

Sauteed Beet Greens Tossed with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

On Tuesday night, I headed home after the tandoori demonstration to prepare dinner for B and I.  I had noticed earlier in the day that the beet greens on our beets were starting to look a little less than fresh.  Since I knew that they would probably wilt in a few days, I needed to use them immediately by using the beet greens as an ingredient for dinner that night.

I've actually never cooked beet greens before but I did some research and discovered that one of the easiest ways to prepare beet greens is to sautee them like chard or kale.  I figured that a simple way to use sauteed greens is to toss it with spaghetti, which I had readily available at home.  But I did need a few more ingredients so I stopped at DeLuca's Market on the way home and picked up some beautifully ripe cherry tomatoes and chicken andouille sausage to add to the pasta dish.

When I got home, I put a pot of water with some generous shakes of salt on the stove.  While the water began to heat up to a boil, I prepared the rest of the ingredients.  I roughly chopped up four or five small cloves of garlic along with a small yellow onion.  B washed and dried the cherry tomatoes and the beet greens.  I halved the tomatoes, roughly chopped the beet greens, and sliced two of the pre-cooked chicken andouille sausages. 

When the water began to boil, I added a handful of whole wheat spaghetti to the pot.  While the pasta began to cook, I heated up a wok with a generous pour of extra virgin olive oil that had been soaking with dried habanero peppers.  I like to use this spicy extra virgin olive oil when I toss it with pasta dishes.  When the wok was sizzling, I first added the garlic and onions.  I also added a bit of salt and fresh cracked black pepper for seasoning.  Once the garlic and onions began to sweat, I added the cherry tomatoes and then slowly added the beet greens by the handful and finally the chicken sausage.  As a last touch and perhaps an afterthought, I seasoned the wok by adding red pepper flakes and dried thyme.  I put a lid on the wok and let the sauce simmer to let all of the good seasoning soak into the olive oil based sauce.

When the pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente, I added the spaghetti to the wok and tossed the pasta with the vegetables and sausage.  I also added some grated Parmesan cheese to the hot pan and gave it another toss.  Although I didn't get any photos along the way in making this quick dinner, I did snap a quick picture of the pasta before serving.

Overall the dish was really bright and colorful.  The entire dish had a nice mellow heat to it.  The sauteed cherry tomato juice combined with the sauteed onions, garlic and extra virgin olive oil made a light and pleasant sauce for the pasta.  The beet greens had a spinach-like texture although a bit more bitter in taste.  But this was a nice flavor in contrast to the sweet tomatoes and the sharp Parmesan cheese.  My only regret is that I didn't choose a more herb-flavored chicken sausage, which would have been just as lean but probably a better flavor complement to the pasta than the andouille sausage.

I am loathe to throw out fresh ingredients and I'm glad I decided to give beet greens a try.  I'll definitely be cooking them more often as beets have become a regular ingredient in my kitchen.  If you have any suggestions on cooking with beet greens, please send them my way!  I'd love to hear them.

Tandoori Demonstration at Mantra

Last night, I was lucky enough to be invited to a cooking demo and tasting at Mantra restaurant in the Ladder District.  Located on Temple Street, this restaurant is completely unassuming on the outside.  In fact, it appears more like an office building than a restaurant on the exterior.  This of course made sense when I learned that Mantra is located in an historic bank from the nineteenth century. 

While the outside looks like just another office building, the inside couldn't be more different. Mantra has a sleek modern look to it more akin to a restaurant in New York than in Boston.  Italian marble floors and countertops are complemented by dark wood tables, plush seating, and sheer silk curtains.  One of the major centerpieces of the restaurant is a huge golden buddha which is definitely a conversational piece.

I was really impressed with the restaurant's interior design.  Unlike some other Indian or Indian-fusion restaurants in the city, Mantra has a stunning decor that pays homage to its Indian cuisine without appearing kitschy.  I was told that the restaurant is planning on changing their interior design in the coming months to create a more lounge-like vibe and I'm interested to seeing what changes will be made.

Mantra has a focus on French-Indian cuisine but last night, we were focusing on their Indian cuisine.  We gathered at their naan bar for cocktails and a tandoori demonstration.  The naan bar also had a really sleek look and it included several tandoor ovens. 

We watched as the cooks prepared several different types of naan.  My favorite was the green chili and smoked mozzarella naan, although the coconut and date naan was also a great flavor combination.  I got into a conversation with the ever so lovely Robin Cohen of Doves and Figs about figuring out a way to make naan at home.  Are there any suggestions on how to attempt to do this?  If so, send them my way!

The chefs also prepared several tandoori meats.  For me the highlight was the tandoori chicken.  The tandoori chicken was so tender and full of a mild spicy heat.  The naan bar also featured several different types of chutney and I found the spicy tamarind chutney added a wonderful heat to the tandoori chicken. 

I had a wonderful time at Mantra and really fell in love with the space.  The decor is amazing but I can equally rave about the food.  I didn't get a photo of it but there is also a really cool woven wooden tent-like structure in the restaurant.  Inside the wooden structure, you will find a table with floor seating and plush pillows.  This would be a really great space for a private party and I'm trying to find a reason to get a group together at Mantra to try this dining space out.

Thanks again to Christine Liu of Citysearch Boston, Chris Lyons and Mantra for a wonderful evening. 

Mantra is located at 52 Temple Street in the Ladder District.

Weekend Recap with Scenes from the MFA

This past weekend was a cold, rainy, dreary and miserable mess.  Despite all of the fun activities going on in the city, I was excited for a very low-key weekend.  This included:

• A girls night in with copious amount of wine and cheese to watch Coco Before Chanel and the September Issue
• Saturday Peapod delivery to stock up on loads of fresh vegetables and proteins
• Rainy movie night with pals involving Chinese take-out - isn't Chinese food the best on rainy days?
• Sunday morning brunch while the apartment was getting cleaned...

But the highlight of the weekend was definitely having brunch with my friends K and G and then heading to the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday to check out the Egyptian exhibit.  While the company at brunch was wonderful, I've really got to say that the food and service at the Daily Grill was really unimpressive from the rubbery eggs, overbearing service and diners seated on top of each other.  I've been there twice now and with these poor dining experiences, I think I've confirmed that I won't be returning here again.

But the MFA was a wonderful experience.  We mostly went for the Egyptian exhibit but we did browse around to some of other favorite wings.  Its been a few years since I've last gone to the MFA but it was a perfect thing to do on a rainy Saturday.  Here are some photos from the MFA:

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Stay dry!

xoxo