Food Crawl

I'm not sure if a food crawl is exactly what we are doing but something like it! We're making up our own rules! Joe and I have been into watching Diners Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network lately, where Guy Fieri features little hidden gems where fabulous food is made! There are a few in the nearby states that he has shot episodes in. So we decided to test them out for ourselves!

What we have discovered so far? The food has been amazing!

Last night we went to Hills Restaurant and Lounge where all their pasta is homemade! They take fresh to a new level by by growing their own vegetables and herbs up on the rooftop! They have a different special pasta dish every week and this week is was the shrimp pasta. That is what Joe ordered and I got a ribeye steak. All of that was amazing but besides the homemade bread, the kids mac n cheese made with homemade pasta was actually the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten!!! It was so good!! We finished the meal with a creamy lemon cheesecake.
My 20 month old son left his mark by coloring on their wall...so embarrassing! One of those moments where you think the waitress is secretly thinking, "these people don't watch their children!"

Tonight we went to Picabu Neighborhood Bistro (pronounced Peek-a-Boo) which is kind in a little strip mall adjoining a grocery store. It's not somewhere I would've searched out or thought would be spectacular but it was! We want to order things outside our comfort zone and try things we wouldn't normally think of trying. We started with an appetizer of Chicken Potstickers which are filled with chicken, corn, cilantro, ginger, scallions, garlic, and lime juice and then dipped in a delicious soy vinaigrette. Then Joe got the Spicy Cactus burger that is topped with their signature "goo" and a cup of the tuna chowder. He said it was good but he had to keep eating it to keep it from burning his mouth! I got a wonderful Chicken chop salad which had mixed greens, corn, black beans, onions, red peppers, chicken and homemade crispy tortilla strips topped with a blackened ranch dressing. It was really delicious and everything seemed so fresh and healthy. They have alot of vegan options as well. We shared the "fruit crisp" of the day which was mango and strawberry crisp topped with chocolate covered raisin ice-cream. It was different and I wasn't sure about it but it was the perfect mix of flavors. For our midnight snack we got a chocolate peanut butter pie to-go!

As soon as I can, I will try to post the pics that we took.

Can't wait to try the next place!!

Exploring

Got my tea, got my popcorn, snuggling in my pajamas, ready to relax and watch.....the Food Network! This is what I've been doing the last few nights. One of my new favorites is Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Giada at Home. It's really inspired me to explore more of my Italian heritage in some more specialty dishes. We do a lot of Italian but I want to try some new combination that I wouldn't normally think of!

I always make my own pasta sauce and every year at Christmas we make raviolis and have the leftover dough for noodles! Now I'm craving some homemade noodles, bruschetta and Stromboli...just a few things that caught my eye last night!

One of the things I've been really into lately is trying different toppings on slices of toasted bread One of my favorites is to drizzle with olive oil and top with fresh basil, salami, prosciutto, fresh mozzerella or provolone and top with balsamic, salt and pepper. (mouth watering!)

Once a week or so, I have my sister over and we make some yummy snacks and watch Jane Austen or period movies while enjoying tea and whatever creations we have. Last week we had hummus and chips, salsa with avacados and of course tea. Along with that we had a twist on bruschetta and cucumber sandwiches. We toasted Artisian bread, spread cream cheese on it and topped it with tomato and cucumbers. It was addicting!!

So tonight I am going to make Stromboli for dinner. It's kinda like a large pizza pocket that you slice. I have salami, sauce, mozzarella and I just need to make some pizza dough. I am making my own recipe by using the ingredients I have and referring to this Emeril Lagasse recipe for the times and tempuratures.


For the dough I am using my mom's pizza dough recipe. She makes some of the best pizza and her dough is the key. When I was younger, we used my to live near an Amish community and we would make pizza and sell it to all the Amish bachelors! They loved it!

The recipe is rather cryptic but here it is:

Flour-few cups
1 T yeast
salt
1 1/2 c. hot water
Add flour
knead till it's not sticky, not stiff


I let it rise for an hour, punched it down and after filling it, let it rise another 10 min. I layered mozzarella cheese, sauce, minced green peppers, olives and hard salami.

After baking it for about 20 minutes at 375, I put some Parmesan cheese on top and let it get nice and melted. Really added another layer of flavor that was really good!

In addition to trying this new recipe, I decided to bake Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, Oatmeal crasin and rice krispie treats!! With the help of my 5 year old of course!


For the chocolate chip cookies, I made the recipe on the back of the Toll House chocolate chip bag and just added about 1/2 cup of organic creamy peanut butter to the mixture before I added flour. I also cut down the the sugar and you can't tell the difference! I take them out of the oven when they are still gooey cause I like them soft and chewy.

 For the oatmeal Crasin cookies I used a recipe from a vintage Better Homes and Garden Jr. cookbook. I love the old cookbook because it's so simple for kids to follow and almost never uses a mix so most everything is made from scratch. Since my son was helping me, it was the perfect choice and a great recipe. I cut down on the sugar and added some ground flax seed to make them a little healthier.



 

 



I didn't think it was possible to mess up rice krispies but for some reason they turned out a little hard. Still good but just not as soft as I would like them. I think I melted the marshmallows too much first!

Back on Track...and the story of the Thai food.

So between the holidays and several bad bouts of the flu, I wasn't really feeling up to trying any new recipes!!
However, this week I decided to get back on track and actually try my Pad Thai recipe! I was extremely frustrated because I could not find all the ingredients I needed. One of the downsides to living in remote Montana...they just don't have certain ethnic items!! I found some substitutions online and started making the sauce.
I substituted the white vinegar for  tamarind juice and brown sugar with a little corn syrup for the palm sugar. Mixed with the fish sauce, I started it simmering. The smell that began to permeate the house was something akin to old fish and acid that burned your all the way up your nose. I kept thinking it would get better as it cooked but when my husband and son were walking around with noses pinched I decided if we couldn't smell it, we probably couldn't eat it!! I finally gave up and we ended up ordering Chinese food!! Thai food has gone on the back burner to try another day!


One of my early Christmas presents was a chest freezer and it has revolutionized my shopping and cooking. I actually have room to buy in bulk when it's on sale and get larger items like roasts etc. I now have a beautiful ham roast and three whole chickens waiting for something special.

For this weeks recipe I decided to try this delicious looking chicken tortilla soup from the Recipe Shoebox Blog. It looks pretty simple but full of the yummy spicy flavors I've been craving. Let me know what you think!!

Tortilla Chicken Soup


1 onion, chopped
2 Tbs. oil
4 cups water
4 bouillon cubes (I use 2 chicken, 2 beef)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 can black beans
2 chicken breasts, cubed (I either use a Costco can of shredded chicken or leftover chicken chunks from another meal)
4 corn tortillas, torn in pieces
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (or regular diced tomatoes if you prefer)
Desired garnishments: sour cream, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips.

Saute chopped onion in hot oil. Cook until soft. [I usually skip the onion part and add some dried onions in with the rest of the ingredients] Add water, bouillon, beans, spices, tortillas, chicken, and tomatoes. Heat until boiling. If you are using pre-cooked chicken then it's ready to serve immediately, otherwise simmer until chicken is cooked through. Serve hot with sour cream, grated cheese, and corn tortilla chips. Serves 4.


http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com/2009/02/famous-chicken-tortilla-soup.html

First Food Challenge!

So...the other day I was talking to my sister and cousin about Thai food and realized I haven't really tried much if any. So we all decided to go to the Thai restaurant and try some different dishes. We had some wonderful fried rice with seafood, pork, and beef, some Pad Thai and some green curry. It was all very good and inspired me to try some on my own!

So I found this recipe on the Food Network (inspiration for alot of my cooking) for Kuay Tiaw Pad Thai:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/kuay-tiaw-pad-thai-recipe/index.html

I hope you will try it out with me and report back how you liked it, what you did different etc.

Can't wait to eat it!