Gourmet Dinner Club - September 2009

Oh my. It always surprises me how the food we all make for our gourmet dinner club has been taken to new levels, and this night was no exception. Don't you hate it when you go to a dinner with the resolve to not eat everything on your plate and then it is so good you can't help yourself (and in fact, take seconds)? That's what happened to me. I think you will understand why as you read what we had.

Here is what we had for our September Gourmet Dinner Club:

Appetizers:

Bacon Corn Muffins with Savory Cream Cheese Frosting

Sweet Potato Bacon Hash in Biscuit Bowls

Caprese Bruschetta

Salad:

Baby Spinach Salad with Fresh Figs, Peaches, and Chevre tossed with a Hazelnut Vinaigrette

Main Course:

Tarlets Cardinale - Pastry tarts filled with fishballs, shrimp, white asparagus with a lobster sauce

Creme Lemon Sorbet - for cleansing the palette

Tenderloin Steak Bragnaze - Gorgonzola and duxelles stuffed tenderloin topped with a Cognac sauce
Fried Green Tomatoes

Acorn Squash Croquettes with a bacon topping

Dessert:
Homemade Wine Poached Star Crimson Pear Ice Cream topped with a Chocolate/Red Wine Reduction Sauce with Weaved Pastry Crisps.

I always come home saying "I am never eating again".

Victoria - Day 3

This morning we got up, showered and finished packing before going to breakfast. We had decided to eat at the hotel because a) we wanted to get an early start for home and b) we had a coupon towards breakfast. The restaurants name was Vista 18 (http://www.vista18.com/). It is on the 2nd from the top floor of the Chateau Victoria hotel and the view is wonderful.
I had another great eggs Benedict. This one was called Ivy's Benedict (I think). It started with an English muffin which was topped with shredded roast duck (the menu said bbq but I think it was roasted), then it was topped with the classic poached egg followed by a hoisin hollandaise sauce. This was such a wonderful sauce. It had an amazing flavor. I am going to have to try this one at home.
We finished breakfast, checked out of the hotel and headed off to the ferry by 9:45 am. We were able to get on the 11:00 am ferry.
I really enjoyed Victoria. I was quite surprised at how friendly everyone was even though it was towards the end of their busy season. There is a lot more to do and see in Victoria, as well as other areas of Vancouver Island, I do think another visit will be in order over the next couple of years.
The border crossing on the way into Canada was a breeze. The border crossing back into the states was backed up and we had a wait of about 20 minutes before getting to the front of the line.
Well, now that I am done telling you about Victoria, I can't wait to tell you about the menu we had for our gourmet dinner club! It was soooooo good! See you soon.

Victoria - Day 2

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny day. We started the day with a seven block walk to this restaurant I had researched: John's Place (http://www.johnsplace.ca/). You MUST go there if you are in Victoria. The restaurant is located at 723 Pandora Ave in Victoria and it is pretty small. They have 10 kinds of eggs benedict and you can choose from 3 kinds of bread for your benny; toasted bagel, English muffin or homemade corn bread. The other breakfast items looked amazing and I wish I could have chosen about 5 things. The prices were extremely reasonable for the area. What did I have? I had the Chorizo Benedict on incredibly moist corn bread. It was corn bread, a chorizo patty, poached eggs and made from scratch Hollandaise sauce. Yes, you read it right, they make their Hollandaise sauce from scratch. I only ordered a 1/2 order and was completely full. I was also thinking of having the exotic French Toast with banana bread dipped in a sweet mixture, grilled and topped with fresh bananas, raisins, cashews and Banana Liqueur. The home fries were done to perfection and the coffee was smooth and strong. Based on researching the lunch menu and the dinner menu, I could have eaten at this restaurant every meal.
After breakfast, we walked back to the hotel and then walked over to the Royal BC Museum/IMAX. This is a great museum and we enjoyed everything. We spent about 5 hours going through the museum and watching "Under the Sea" at the IMAX.
We walked around town and picked up a few gifts and then headed back to the hotel. We decided to drive over to James Bay to eat dinner at Spinnakers (http://www.spinnakers.com/). They call it a Gastro Brewpub. We started with the Artisan Cheese Taster with their beers. The taster came with 6 types of beer and 6 locally made cheeses. Our favorites were White Grace and Feta, both from Moonstruck and the Chevre from Salt Spring Islands. We splurged on the appetizer saying that it was research for the store. We split a half order of an excellent Spinach Salad with Blossoms blue cheese, hazelnuts, pickled onions, and a hard boiled free range egg. I had a great dinner; Farmhouse Chicken Pizza with roasted chicken breast, wort bbq sauce, bacon, caramelized onion, roasted garlic, blossoms blue cheese & parmesan. Sounds good doesn't it? My DH's dinner wasn't as good as mine so I shared my pizza with him. He had ordered the Sunwing Tomato Fettuccini with cherry tomatoes, organic olive tapenade with capers & basil, arugula, feta, and fresh pasta. It was too heavy on the olive tapenade and none of the other flavors came through. We left most of the pasta and it was a good thing because we both were stuffed. We thoroughly enjoyed Spinnakers and would be willing to go back again.
It had been a loooong day so we headed back to the hotel for an early evening. Watched some TV and got packed up so we could leave somewhat early tomorrow.
Next post, another great breakfast. Stay tuned.

Victoria - Day 1

After landing at Swartz Bay and after getting off the ferry, we headed out to our first destination of Mattick's Farm. Mattick's Farm has several stores, a golf course, a restaurant, a tea garden, a great little grocery store and a nursery. They were having a sidewalk sale, which I wanted to go to, as well as Adrienne's Tea Garden (www.adriennesteagarden.com/). We had a pot of tea and a cheese scone with Devonshire cream and jam. It was nice and relaxing.
We headed off to go to the hotel - Chateau Victoria, checked in, and checked out our great suite. We decided to do some sightseeing and ended up walking all over the city. We stopped in at the Bombay Lounge for a drink, an appetizer and an iced tea (very pricey - $32 for what we had). The Bombay Lounge is in the Fairmont Empress and the atmosphere is wonderful. We then walked to the Fisherman's Wharf area for dinner at Barb's Fish and Chips. We had many people recommend this place to us and it had also won Best of the City - Fish and Chips. Neither one of us was overly impressed. The chips were cold and my fish had an extremely thick batter without a lot of fish. After dinner, we walked back to town and decided to go into Irish Times Pub. They had live local Irish music and we stayed for a little bit for dessert and an ale. It had been a long day so we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.
Tomorrow, one of my favorite breakfasts ever. See you then.

Victoria B.C. Visit

We just took an incredible trip to Victoria, BC. It was a whirlwind few days but soooo much fun! The trip was a silent auction item that I did not win but, through a series of events, we ended up getting. The package included round trip tickets for the car and two adults on the BC Ferry from Tsawwassen (near Vancouver, BC) to Swartz Bay (about 30 minutes north of Victoria), 2 nights hotel in a 1 bedroom suite at the Chateau Victoria, tickets to the Royal BC Museum and IMAX, and a gift certificate towards breakfast at Vista 18 (the hotel restaurant with a great view of the city). In my next posting, I will write all about the things we did, the restaurants we ate at and of course, my uh, let's say thoughts, about everything. The photos above are of the Fairmont Empress, the hotel whose doors opened in 1908 and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings which serve as the seat of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The Parliament Buildings officially opened in 1898. The lights on the Parliament Building are beautiful at night, don't you think?

Hash Brown Heaven

I am in hash brown heaven when I make this hash brown recipe. Just wait, you will see. They are to die for hash browns. We have made these several times but the first time was three years ago for Christmas morning and I will never ever forget the first time. I don't even like wasabi, yes, I said wasabi, but I love these hash browns.

The Cheeselady's Wasabi Hash Browns
1 lb. frozen hash browns
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces bacon, diced
1 cup scallions, minced
3 Tablespoons capers
3 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons wasabi powder
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the hash browns until nicely browned (or cook according to instructions on the package). Season with salt and pepper.
In the meantime, cook the diced bacon until crisp. Drain and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the bacon pieces, scallions, capers, sour cream, wasabi powder and mustard. Mix well. Add to the hash browns and cook just long enough to heat through, about 3 minutes. Enjoy!

NOTE: You might want to start with a smaller amount of wasabi powder and adjust to your taste.
NOTE 2: I say, "Live Dangerously", and top the hash browns with a fried egg or two.

If you try this, let me know what you think!

Dinner Tonight - Bean and Pineapple Tacos

Tonight, I got home around 4:30 and realized that I hadn't had a thing to eat since early this morning. Luckily, my DH thought that might have happened so, he had dinner started already. (I think I'll keep him). He decided to make Bean and Pineapple Tacos. They were delicious and are very easy to make.

Bean and Pineapple Tacos
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 can (20 oz.) pineapple slices, drained and cut into small pieces (or buy pineapple tidbits)
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
2-3 jalapeno slices, diced (from a jar): optional
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cumin
10 (8") tortillas, warmed
Toppings:
Shredded lettuce, shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, some homemade guacamole (with chopped tomatoes in it) for toppings (or anything else you like on your tacos)

Mash half the beans; set aside. In a large skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil until tender. Add the pineapple, salsa, chilies, jalapeno, cumin, mashed beans and remaining beans. Heat through. Remove from heat and stir in the fresh cilantro. Place 1/2 cup filling on one side of each tortilla. Add toppings of your choice; fold in half; enjoy.
NOTE: be careful with those jalapenos!

See, sounds easy doesn't it? Try it, you'll like it. (Yes, I thought it sounded slightly weird the first time we made it too).

Julie and Julia

I just got home from the theater where I got to see the movie Julie and Julia. I LOVED the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I even teared up and got the lump in my throat during the movie. I want to see the movie again. I want to own the movie when it comes out on DVD. I want to read the book (and I have already requested it from our library, although, I am third in line for it). Maybe there are others that were touched by the movie like I was. I was a little worried as it didn't get great reviews and several people had said things like "I liked it" or "It was fluff". I think you have to love food to love this movie. You have to love to cook, be willing to try making different things, and be willing to fail at recipes to fully understand the movie. You have to want things to be perfect when cooking for guests to fully understand the triumphs and heartaches that were part of the movie.
If you understand what I am saying, you must see the movie. I am happy I did (as if you didn't already know that).

My All Time Favorite Cheeseball Recipe

I really wonder about how my mind works (and somedays, I question if it works at all). I haven't made this recipe in probably 5 years and today, it just popped into my mind. I've probably made this cheeseball about 25 times in the last 30 years, (that's how long I have had the recipe) and I usually make it around the holidays. It has the oddest cheeseball ingredients I have seen but the result is excellent.

Cheeseball Ole
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 medium avocado, mashed
1 small onion, finely minced
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 4-oz. can chopped green chilies, thoroughly drained
Red chili powder, paprika or chopped pecans for topping, if desired

Blend cream cheese and grated Cheddar together. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Divide mixture into 2 portions and roll into balls. Roll each ball in chili powder OR paprika OR chopped pecans, if desired. Wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To serve, unwrap cheeseball and set in the center of a serving plate. Surround it with a variety of crackers. Enjoy!

p.s. I am already planning on when I can make this again!

I am missing Schlotzsky's

What is Schlotzsky's you ask? Schlotzsky's is a chain restaurant that specializes in sandwiches, the Original being my absolute favorite. When we lived in Boulder, Colorado, every few months I would have to go to Schlotzsky's for their original sandwich. I love them. The closest Schlotzsky's to me is at least 160 miles away. What is one supposed to do when one is craving something? Try to make it yourself. Which is what I did. I searched for a similar recipe and this is what I came up with:
(Oh, and by the way, in case you were wondering, it was incredible)

Schlotzsky's Deli Style Bread -
(It's the bread that makes this sandwich irresistable)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cups bread flour
stone-ground yellow cornmeal

In and 8 oz. measuring cup, stir together the first 3 ingredients and let mixture stand until it bubbles to the top of the cup. Dissolve the baking soda in 1/2 Tbsp. warm water. In a medium bowl, combine warm milk, salt and soda-water mixture with 1 cup flour, beating with a wire shisk until smooth. Beat in the yeast mixture and then add the remaining flour, switching to a sturdy spoon. Batter should be thick and sticky but smooth, with all the flour thoroughly dissolved. Put the dough in 2 small pie pans that have been sprayed with non-stick spray and dusted with cornmeal. cover with wax paper or plastic wrap that has also been sprayed. Let rise about an hour. Remove plastic wrap and discard. Spray tops of buns with non-stick spray and bake on center rack at 375 degrees F about 20 min. or until golden brown. Remove from oven and put containers on cooling racks. After about 20 minutes, spray the tops with more non-stick spray to keep the crust soft. Let cool 1 hour before slicing and filling.

Layer the following for the filling:
Ham
Genoa Salami (or your favorite salami)
Cotto Salami
Cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
**At this point, pop under the broiler for a little bit until the cheeses are slightly melted, then:
Black olive slices
Red onion slices
Shredded lettuce
Tomato slices
**Now, spread on the top bun:
Mustard
Creamy Garlic Dressing (I used Italian dressing).

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Sweet and Spicy Topping for Burgers...

We like a lot of flavor with, or in, our foods. As I get older, I hope that I don't lose that (although I have noticed needing Tums a little more often if I eat too late). When we grill burgers, as I hope to do this weekend after work, we love to top it off with a carmelized onion/jalapeno topping.
If you like spicy, try this sometime.

Carmelized Onion/Jalapeno Topping
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar
Approximately 1/3 cup jarred jalapeno slices, drained (more if you want hotter, less if you want milder)

Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add in the onions and cook down slightly. Add the brown sugar and jalapenos and saute until the onions and jalapenos are carmelized.

So easy and so delicious!