Thanks Citysearch Boston, Fresh and LuxLash!

Last Thursday, I was lucky to be invited to another fabulous Citysearch Boston event held at Fresh.  I've heard about Fresh and sampled some of their products so I was definitely interested in learning more about their products.  I learned about how they focus (and perhaps even pioneered) the use of natural ingredients in skincare products.

The event was a blast.  While others were excited about the complimentary St. Germain cocktails and trying out the cupcakes from the new-to-Boston Cherry Bomb Bakery, I was happy to indulge in an eyebrow consultation from LuxLash and a make-up consultation from the fabulous Jeannie Vincent of Fresh.  Jeannie is also a contributor on the ever so fashionable Boston website - New Brahmin.

I had a fabulous time at  the event and even picked up a few Fresh products.  Photos from the event can be found here.  There was also a drawing for a goodie bag and I dropped my name in it but sort of forgot about it.  That is until I got an email from Fresh stating that I was the winner!  Citysearch Boston editor Christine Liu told me that this bag would be drool-worthy so I was so excited to see what I had won.  The bag included:

Michel Nischan's Sustainably Delicious cookbook.  I browsed through it last night and I absolutely love that it focuses on sustainable cooking - using ingredients that are readily available and that respect the local environment.  This is something that will definitely come to good use!

I also got a nifty reusable water bottle from Fresh.  I already have one at work so this one will be the one I carry around the city.  

I also got a gift box filled with some amazing Fresh products including the Soy Face Exfoliant and Cleanser, Umbrian Clay Face Treatment, and a product I already adore - their Brown Sugar Body Polish.  I even used the Brown Sugar Body Polish this morning and my skin feels so unbelievably smooth.

I have a better photo with the actual products but I'm having some issues uploading it this morning.  I'll upload it once Blogger is less finicky.

And finally, I won a gift card (worth $395) for a full set of lash extensions.  I've never done lash extensions before but I am definitely excited to try them out for a special occasion!  

Thanks again to Citysearch Boston, Fresh and LuxLash for such a fantastic prize!  If you're interested in learning more about CitySearch events, apply to be a Dictator here.

Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Sausage Stir Fry

On Tuesday night, I was happy to find myself alone in the apartment.  B was off at the Celtics game for a guy's night out and I was ecstatic to be able to get some alone time.  I had some pretty low key plans - laundry, wrapping a housewarming gift, and catching up on some DVR.  I wanted to cook myself something simple but tasty for dinner and I ultimately settled on throwing together a simple stir fry.

Since B doesn't like shellfish, I rarely cook with it when I'm cooking for the two of us.  So when he is not around, I tend to try to incorporate shellfish into my meal.  I have a bag of frozen shrimp on hand so I took out about half a dozen of them and dethawed them.

I then got to work on my other ingredients.  I chopped up half a large white onion that was leftover in the fridge.

I also chopped two cloves of garlic along with some green onion.

We also had two leftover spicy Italian chicken sausages in the fridge, which I sliced up.

I wanted to make the stir fry spicy so I picked a few ingredients from the pantry to work with:

The beauty of a stir fry is how easy it is to cook.  I started out by heating up a pan on the stove with some olive oil.  I first added the chopped onion to the pan.

After the onion had softened a bit, I added some fresh cracked pepper, coarse salt, cayenne pepper and the spicy chipotle rub to the onions. 

I then added the coarsely chopped garlic cloves and the sliced chicken sausage to the pan.

When the chicken sausage had sufficiently browned, I added a few splashes of the Pickapeppa Sauce along with the chopped green onion and the shrimp.

At this point, I lowered the heat and put a lid on the pan.  I wanted to let all of the spicy flavor blend together.  When I opened the lid, the spicy aroma was so intoxicating.  As much as I love spice, I wanted to mellow out the heat so I grated some leftover cheddar cheese on top of the stir fry when I plated it.

I absolutely loved this improptu dish.  The stir fry had a lot of heat and I loved the combination of the green onion, chicken sausage and the shrimp.  I thought that the plate was really inviting in color but I will admit that it probably lacked some crunch.  Next time I would consider adding some water chestnuts or celery to give some contrast without taking too much away from the flavor.  Regardless, this spicy shrimp and chicken sausage stir fry was the perfect dish when I was cooking for one.  I was happy that there was enough leftover for lunch the next day.  The leftover stir fry really soaked in all of the spicy flavors overnight and I think it might have been even better for lunch.

 We all like to cook for ourselves sometimes.  This leads me to ask - If you cook for someone else like a roommate, family or signficant other on a regular basis, what do you like to make when you are just cooking for yourself?

Long Overdue Return Visit to Osushi

When I first moved to Boston about seven years ago, I lived in a fantastic apartment on Clarendon Street in between Marlborough and Commonwealth.  It was an amazing location and despite having three random roommates courtesy of Craigslist, it was one of the best experiences I've had in this city.  When I lived in that apartment, I used to shop and dine at all of the local spots and one of my favorite dining destinations was Osushi Restaurant in the Copley Plaza.

After living in the Back Bay for a year, I moved to Beacon Hill which is hardly a stone's throw from Back Bay.  Yet for some strange reason, I never went back to Osushi after I moved out of that neighborhood.  Whenever we've passed by, I've often commented to B how I would like to go in there and finally this past Monday, we gave them a visit.

Osushi is a small restaurant located in the Westin Copley.  The ambiance is sleek with red walls and black tables, which gives it a nice contemporary vibe.  Although we had a reservation, the place only had about six or seven tables full so a reservation probably wasn't necessary for a Monday night.  I definitely loved the music they were playing, which ranged from reggae to "La Belle et la Bad Boy".  I was definitely humming along throughout the evening.

To start, I'll have to say that the service was really top notch.  Our kind server was incredibly patient with us as we took our time figuring out what to order and asking lots of questions about the menu.  She gave us different recommendations and helped steer us to what we shouldn't miss.  But beyond her attentiveness, we found that the entire staff was very discreet yet prompt.  I never noticed them filling my water or sake glasses or clearing dishes but it was always done without a wait.  Other restaurants could really take note of this.

To start, we ordered a bottle of Kikusui Ginjyo sake.  To be honest, I'm not a big sake expert but we were drawn to the bottle because of its description of "a sweet aroma of rose and mandarin orange with a clean and spicy finish" on the menu.  Well, I didn't get a lot of those hints and notes but I will say that the sake was refreshing and really pleasant to the taste.

With sake on the table, we were onto the food.  Overall, I was really impressed with most of the dishes we ordered.  We started out with the Kanpachi Carpaccio which had beautiful thinly sliced baby yellow tail over a soy and olive oil sauce and topped with sliced chirago scallions and thinly sliced jalapenos.  The fish was so light and refreshing which contrasted with the crunch of the scallions and jalapenos and the saltiness of the soy sauce.

We also ordered the Wagyu Beef Yakiniku which consisted of three pieces of Wagyu beef grilled at the table.  The presentation was really cool and B took some great artsy photos from his iPhone.  They are cool to look at but a bit blurry:

But the actual beef was not that great.  We asked that the Wagyu beef be cooked medium but it was definitely overcooked by our server.  I also don't think it was the best cut of beef because it was overall a bit tough and chewy.

But the sashimi that we ordered couldn't have been more different.  We ordered sake, hamachi and suzuki sashimi.  Each piece of fish was so fresh and so beautifully cut that it melted in your mouth.  We ordered the fresh wasabi root that was really amazing stuff (although we were disappointed that didn't grind it at the table as described in the menu) but as delicious as the wasabi was, it wasn't necessary with such gorgeous pieces of fish.  We also ordered some tobiko but our server forgot to put in the order.  To make up for it after we reminded her about the tobiko, she gave us a generous bowl crafted from the peel of half an orange filled with tobiko.  My blurry Blackberry photo doesn't do it justice:

I could have eaten bite after delicious bite of roe all night long.

The tobiko also went really well with our final dish - the Fried Oyster Maki.  This delicious roll was rolled in soy paper and filled with brown rice, breaded oysters, julienned cucumbers, mango and lettuce and served with a salty garlic Worcestershire sauce.  I though this roll was stellar and I couldn't get enough of the delightful fried oyster.

Overall, I found that Osushi has gotten even better over time.  Their menu has changed a bit and I think they do both the traditional and the creative sushi rolls really well.  Five years was a long time to return back to Osushi but with Monday night's dining experience, I'm sure my next wait won't be so long.

Baked Chicken Breast with Mushrooms, Onions and Garlic in White Wine Sauce

On Sunday night, B and I decided to make a huge Sunday dinner so that we would have plenty of leftovers for lunch the following day.  We decided to use our standby protein - boneless chicken breast and to bake it with whatever vegetables we had in our fridge.  We took out three large chicken breasts out of the freezer and once it was thawed, B halved the chicken breasts to make six thin pieces of chicken breast.  The chicken breast was given a quick seasoning of black pepper, salt and herbs de Provence and then given a nice sear on the stove.

Because we didn't have a casserole dish big enough, we added the chicken breasts along with three halved cloves of garlic to a baking pan and set it aside.

We then got to work on the vegetables.  I peeled about a dozen of small boiler onions.  I added it to the sauce pan with some olive oil to get some nice color on the onions.

B washed and chopped up a package of white button mushrooms and added that to the pan with the onions.

I also added three minced cloves of garlic.  We did a simple sauce that consisted of a cup of chicken broth and half a cup of leftover Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc from our chicken piccata with mushrooms dish last week.  I let the vegetables and sauce simmer to cook down the wine a bit.

We then poured the sauce and vegetables over the chicken breasts.

The baking pan was covered with aluminum foil with holes in it and put in the oven at 350 for about twenty minutes.

The end result was a moist chicken breast chock full of yummy vegetables. Next time we make this, we'll probably thicken the sauce up with a little flour or corn starch to make it more like a gravy.  The vegetables were delicious browned and sopped up the white wine sauce wonderfully.

Since the dish was a bit lacking in the color department, we added a side of simple sweet potato fries using one large sweet potato.  We cooked this in a very similar fashion as our sweet potato chips but with a lesser cooking time.  We made a quick Sriracha and sour cream dipping sauce for the sweet potato fries.  Although the sweet potato fries were a bit mismatched as a side dish for the chicken, it was still tasty nonetheless.

This was another simple dinner but incredibly filling.  The chicken breasts were even better yesterday for lunch because it had really sopped up all of the delicious white wine sauce.  I've really been focusing on simple, easy and healthy meals lately that don't sacrifice on flavor and I'd love to hear some of yours!

StyleFixx Girls' Night Out Giveaway Winners!

Last week, I posted about the upcoming StyleFixx event coming to Boston on May 12-13, 2010.  I was lucky enough to be able to provide two readers the chance to win two VIP tickets for each winner and a guest for either night of this fantastic event by leaving me a comment on what they like to do for a girls night!

Using Random.org, I've picked two winners:

Congratulations to MichellePC of the Economical Eater who told me that her favorite part of a girls night includes strong/fancy cocktails, great food and even better conversation.  The second winner is Miss Yunks of Foodies at Work who keeps girls night low-key with takeout and watching Sex and the City!

Could the winners please email me at FunandFearlessinBeantown AT gmail DOT com with which night you'd like to attend, along with your full name and the name of your guest.  Don't forget that each VIP ticket includes VIP event access, open bar and an amazing swag bag for you and your guest!

Thanks to everyone for participating in my first Fun and Fearless giveaway.  I loved reading about what you love to do for your girls night!

Sweet Potato Chips and Taco Meatballs

Between my friends, work and my blogging activities, I am lucky to attend a lot of different parties and events every month.  While I absolutely enjoy socializing, I have to admit that one of my favorite parts about going to a social event is to feast on delicious little nibbles of food.  I love party food because you can try a lot of different things without eating or committing to a large plate of food.

This past Friday night, B and I were having a difficult time figuring out what to make for dinner.  To be honest, I was being a bit fussy and kept saying that, "I just want a little bit of this" without actually wanting to make a whole meal.  We were both feeling a bit lazy so we looked in our fridge, freezer and pantry to take stock of our available ingredients.  We  didn't have enough ingredients to make an actual meal but enough to make little nibbles of food.

We first started out by making very simple sweet potato chips.  B scrubbed one large sweet potato and thinly sliced it.  I tossed the sliced sweet potatoes in extra virgin olive oil, coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper.

The sweet potato slices were evenly laid out on a baking sheet that was covered in aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  I put the sweet potato chips in the oven to bake on the top shelf at 375 degrees.

In addition to our sweet potato chips, we decided to make little meatballs for dinner.  We only had about one pound of ground beef on hand but we did have some garlic and green onions, which we chopped and added to the meat.

We decided to jazz the meatball up a little bit and added half a packet of taco seasoning we had on hand.  Whenever we buy one of those taco kits, we never use the packaged taco seasoning since we usually make our own but at the same time we never can seem to throw the seasoning out.  In addition to half the taco seasoning packet, we also added about a tablespoon of spicy chili rub to the meat.  B mixed the meat together without overworking it.  I cut up some cheddar cheese into small cubes we had on hand in the fridge.  I initially thought we would shred a little cheese on top of the meatballs but B suggested that we put a small cube in the center of the meatball for a melted cheese center.

We laid the meatballs out on another baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray). B turned the oven heat up to 425 and let the meatballs bake for about ten minutes on the lower oven rack.  When we put the meatballs in, I flipped the sweet potato chips over and allowed them to continue cooking at the higher temperature on the higher rack.

While the sweet potato chips and the taco meatballs were in the oven we got to work on the dipping sauce.  Since the chips would be sweet, I wanted to contrast it with a spicy dipping sauce.  I put together a quick and simply sauce made of Sriracha and light mayo.  For the meatballs, B decided to make a quick avocado cream that we had used on some chicken burgers the previous weekend.  B mashed up one ripe avocado and added light sour cream to make it creamy.

Our meal was perfect.  The sweet potato chips were definitely crisp and went well with the spicy Sriracha mayo.  I absolutely love the color of sweet potato chips and they are so much healthier than using ordinary white potatoes.

And the meatballs were oozing with cheesy goodness.  They were a bit on the salty side with the taco seasoning and the cheddar cheese so perhaps a milder mozzarella would have been better.  But the saltiness was definitely mellowed out by the creamy avocado dipping sauce.

Sometimes you don't have to go out to have your favorite party food.  I know I was happy noshing on these little nibbles Friday night for dinner with no makeup and sweatpants on.

What's your favorite party food?

Bunless Blue Cheese Turkey Burgers

Normally, when I write about cooking food on this blog, it usually involves food that I've made in the kitchen by myself or with my boyfriend.  Although B's schedule is a bit more predictable, mine can be all over the place.  There are times when I'm home at 3 PM and other times when I don't return until 9 PM.  It is the nature of my job.  But since we love spending time together, B and I usually find a way to cook together when we can.  One of us will prep while the other will cook, etc.

Last night, I had every intention of helping B make dinner but a meeting I had after work for one of my volunteer groups ran way over time.  By the time I got home, he had not only prepped everything but actually started cooking and dinner was ready on the table minuted after I walked in the door.  B took photos of the cooking process because he thought I'd be walking in the door any minute to join in.  I felt bad since he made all of the effort so I thought I would post them anyway.

B made delicious turkey burgers using lean ground turkey, salt, cracked black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and some leftover blue cheese.

He cooked the burgers in a pan with vegetable oil until there was a nice color on both sides.  But just to be safe, he also checked the temperature to make sure the turkey was cooked through.

B made a gorgeous side salad using Olivia's Organics Spring Mix and adding sliced carrots and cucumbers.

He also sliced up a beefsteak tomato to top off our turkey burgers.

I was a lucky girl to be able to sit down to a healthy meal made by my boyfriend without lifting a finger (although I did have dish duty that night)!  The turkey burgers were fantastic with a hint of blue cheese flavor and the cheese helped keep the burger really moist.  There is nothing worse than a really dry turkey burger.  I loved my bunless burger with the tomato alone and didn't need any condiments at all.

It is nice to have someone else who enjoys cooking as much as I do.  And although I love cooking with my boyfriend, I also love nights like last night where I got a night off from the kitchen.

StyleFixx Girls' Night Out with a Fun and Fearless Giveaway!

Every year, my friend E and I have a girls night out ritual.  We head over to Boston Center for the Arts for StyleFixx's Girls' Night Out for a night of shopping, makeovers and complimentary cocktails.  For me, I like any excuse to shop while indulging in a complimentary cocktail (or two) and I usually pick up at least one new statement jewelry piece for the season.  Well, it is that time of year again and like clockwork, we are planning on heading back when StyleFixx comes back to Boston on May 12-13, 2010.  

I've got the inside scoop on this year's event, which will include over 55 designers and brands.  In addition, you'll be able to find the following at this year's StyleFixx event: 

• Meet Project Runway Designer Kara Janx and shop her Spring 2010 line.
• Sip complimentary beverages such as champagne, cocktails, Stella Artois®, and BareFoot Wine.
• Enjoy complimentary hair treatments by Enzo Milano®.
• Pamper yourself with free makeovers by Motives® Cosmetics.
• Score StyleFixx's famous Swag Bag stuffed with goodies!  The Swag Bag is always worth the admission price alone and is stuffed with amazing beauty products and samples!
• Plus, if you are a foodie like me, there are always free nibbles to enjoy along with some other food available for purchase.  

The tickets can be purchased online for $30 for VIP tickets (which includes the swag bag) and $10 for general admission.  From what I understand, only advance ticket holders are guaranteed a  StyleFixx Swag Bag and this event usually sells out pretty quickly.  

Fun and Fearless in Beantown's StyleFixx Giveaway:
I'm planning on heading there with a few of my girlfriends and working with StyleFixx, I'm giving two readers the chance to join me by with two VIP tickets each for you and a guest for either night of this fantastic event.  I am giving each winner two tickets because what fun is a girl's night out without your best gal pal?  Each VIP ticket includes VIP event access, open bar and an amazing swag bag for each attendee.  Pretty awesome, right?


To enter, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 11:59 pm (EST), telling me, if chosen, what you like to do for a girls night out, whether it is cocktails, a good old chick flick, mani/pedis, or anything.  Two lucky readers will be chosen at random and announced at the beginning of next week. 


I also want to send a big thank you to Fiona Gerety of StyleFixx for helping make this giveaway possible.  For more information on the event, you can look at their website: www.StyleFixx.com 

Chicken Piccata With Mushrooms

Last night, B and I wanted to make a simple chicken dish for dinner.  We had leftover mushrooms from our stir-fry this weekend so I thought that chicken marsala would be a good choice.  But B really wanted to use capers as an ingredient for a chicken piccata like dishes.  We decided to compromise by making chicken piccata with mushrooms.

To start, B trimmed and halved three boneless chicken breasts.  Since the breasts were halved, they did not require any pounding to thin them out for fast and even cooking.  The breasts were generously seasoned with salt, fresh-cracked peppercorns, and cayenne pepper.

I heated up a skillet with a few tablespoons of butter and I tested it with a few drops of water to ensure that the skillet was sizzling.  The chicken breasts were browned by cooking it a few minutes on each side and then removed from the skillet.

Without cleaning the skillet, we added probably about a package and a half (twelve ounces total) of sliced Baby Bella mushrooms along with a few cloves of minced garlic and a few tablespoons of capers that had been carefully washed to remove most of the salty briny flavor.  The mushrooms needed to cook down a bit so while this was going, I started boiling some water in my vegetable steamer.  Although we would have mushrooms as a vegetable, I also wanted to make a side of steamed broccoli using a small head of fresh broccoli.

When the mushrooms cooked down a bit, we added the chicken breast back in the pan and then I added the sauce, which consisted of one cup of chicken broth, a half cup of white wine and the lemon juice from half a lemon. We used one of our favorite wines - Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc:

B put a lid on the skillet and let the sauce cook down for awhile.  This timed out perfectly because while the chicken and mushroom sauce cooked down, the water began to boil for the steamed broccoli.

B checked on the chicken and the mushroom sauce seemed a bit watery so he added a dash or two of cornstarch to thicken it up.

The end result?  This was an incredibly moist chicken breast with a delightfully thick mushroom and caper sauce.  The steamed broccoli helped cut the rich taste of the mushroom sauce.  I think this dish would also go well served over pasta - like linguine or egg noodles.  But for us, it was fine sans pasta.  Sometimes you have to compromise in the kitchen and our chicken piccata with mushrooms turned out to be a perfect (and tasty) blend of ideas.

Patriot's Day Weekend Re-Cap

This long weekend couldn't have come at a better time because I'm a little burnt out at work and I just needed to relax.  Here are highlights from the weekend:

• On Friday night, I met up with my Sigma Kappa girls at Sunset Grill & Tap for dinner.  Our friend Angie lives in Indianapolis but was in town this weekend for a wedding so it was a great opportunity for the whole gang to get together.  Sadly, we forgot to take a picture, which is disappointing but I will definitely remember to do so next time.  
• Although severely tempted by the yummy nachos at Sunset, I opted for the chicken cobb salad, which ended up being surprisingly good minus the tortilla shell.  I hate salads in tortilla shells.  The shells are so unnecessary and it makes the salad ridiculously hard to eat!

• On Saturday I was supposed to go golfing with some of my girlfriends but it was raining buckets so we postponed our golf outing.  Instead, I woke up early and started the day with an egg white, mozzarella and spinach omelette.  The omelette was super healthy and super tasty.  Egg white omelettes are becoming my go-to weekend breakfast because they are so easy to make!
• Later in the day, my friend E came over to help me plan out my boyfriend's upcoming birthday party, which she is graciously hosting at her gorgeous South End condo.  One of B's friends is vegan so I'm looking forward to exploring the world of vegan appetizers!  If you have any recipes, send them my way!
• For lunch, B and I decided to try out the Chili-Lime Chicken Burgers that we had picked up from Trader Joe's last week.  We did a simple preparation by pan-grilling the burgers and topping it with a slice of juicy beefsteak tomato and an avocado and aour cream creamy sauce.  I've never had chicken burgers before and I think I will definitely be stocking up on this one again!
• We had a lazy Saturday of catching up on our DVR and doing a lot of reading - perfect for a rainy Saturday.  Our laziness carried through to our dinner and we made a simple pork stir-fry with leftover veggies that we had on hand - yellow squash, broccoli, yellow onions, garlic, and green beans.  This is our go-to lazy meal and the spicy stir-fry hit the spot on Saturday night.

• On Sunday, B thoughtfully let me sleep in and dealt with the morning Peapod delivery.  Since he let me sleep in, I decided to make him breakfast.  I made an egg white scramble with sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese along with a side of Savenor's chicken sausage and fresh strawberries.  Delish.
• We headed home to my parent's house for dinner and my mom made amazing grilled shrimp and zucchini skewers, beef stir fry and a spicy chicken and chili dish.  She really outdid herself!  It was great to be home with my parents and see how gorgeous the house is turning with the landscaping and gardening (it is my parents' passion) and the new interior renovations.

• On Monday, we woke up bright and early to meet the gang for the Red Sox game.  We had breakfast at the Lansdowne Pub and I got my first taste of Irish bacon, which was surprisingly not too bad!
• We headed to the game and I was thrilled to find out we had bleacher seats.  Although I am pretty lucky to get some fantastic seats, I absolutely love bleacher seats because the crowd is super fun and the view actually isn't that bad.  It was a cloudy and windy day but we had a blast.  Here are some photos:

• Afterwards, we headed back to the Lansdowne Pub to hear one of our favorite bands, BearFight, play.  We met up with our other friends from the game and the marathon and danced the afternoon away.  
• I was feeling pretty exhausted so B and I left after the first set.  We got home rather quickly (the MBTA got it together on Patriot's Day) and we got off at Arlington to walk home to Beacon Hill.  But we took a detour into Boston Common when I discovered that they had a carousel!  B and I took a turn, which resulted in some fun photos:

This last photo was taken from B's iPhone using the Hipstamatic application recommended by Chels from We Are Not Martha.  Thanks Chels!  You might be B's new favorite person!

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend with lots of relaxing and time with friends and family.  How was your long weekend?