Don Roth's Blackhawk Restaurant

For my birthday a couple weeks ago, I chose the exact same restaurant we went to last year, and ordered exactly the same things. It sounds boring, but I had waited a whole year... And you can build up quite an appetite in that amount of time!

Don Roth's Blackhawk holds the current position of my very favorite restaurant. (Other than Roscoe's Chicken-n-Waffles, in L.A. More on that later). I love the history and the ambience... and I have now been lucky enough to have two perfect meals there. And sorry, in my anticipation and purtying up for the evening, I forgot the camera. Thank goodness for that camera phone!

Your meal begins with bread crisps that are covered with drawn butter, and huge amounts of sweet roasted garlic. Enough said, there.



Next, just as last year, we got the shrimp cocktail. Again, not reinventing the wheel here, but it is just a perfect example. The shrimp are large and perfect, and the cocktail sauce is sweet and made from scratch (I think so, anyway). It is almost like a sweet-and-sour sauce.



Don Roth's is famous for their "spinning salad bowl." They actually sell the salad dressing in the grocery store, but I hadn't thought much of it when I purchased it before I went to the restaurant. I recommend using it a marinade, though... So what happens in the house is, the server comes over and does this special sort of act with the salad prep in front of you. He will whizz the bowl around over a bed of ice, and add the house dressing and toss the salad as he does so. Then he add blue cheese dressing IN ADDITION TO THE HOUSE DRESSING. Yeah. Happy birthday to me! Then he offers you the choice of "anchovies, shrimp, or both?" Chris and I had not heard the "both" portion of the deal the last time, and we exchanged a look, like, "Oh, you know we're taking both."



You would think that I would be full by this point, but if it is possible, I think I was actually hungrier than when I came in.

Next step? My prime rib. This is the small, the smallest portion that they have (!) The server asked me how I wanted it done, and of course the answer to that is, "however it comes off when the cook slices it is how I want it on the plate." That'll be approximately medium-rare.

And you GOTS to get the twice-baked potato. Now, I am very picky about my TBP's. At our wedding reception, my mother-in-law was pushing for the selection of that restaurant's twice-baked... But though the otherwise utterly fantastic food was the reason we chose Monastero's (and I mean, like your sainted mother made it herself), I knew that, weirdly, the potatoes were the kind that come frozen. (You can always tell this by those perfect little machine-placed whipped peaks on the top.) She thinks they are great, but I say she can keep 'em (we got the risotto, with peas, which was terrif). Anyway, I want my TBP mixed up on the spot with real cheese and sour cream. I mean, those are fine, but who wants to go to a restaurant for something you can buy at Jewel? Well, if you are the same way I am, Roth's will not disappoint!



Afterwards, I awaited my large red balloon and free dessert. This last visit found the restaurant quite a bit busier than the last time, I guess since it actually was St. Patrick's Day. I gave up on the candle and the song, and asked for a dessert menu. My waiter said, "Oh, I got something special coming for ya!"



I can see why he thought I would like it. Chris' instructions were, "something so chocolatey you could die from it." We got a chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla, and hot fudge. While I thought the flourless torte we got last time was better, I thought the hot fudge was insanely good.



You can see how much we hated it.

UPDATE: Sadly, the owners of the Blackhawk have retired, and their children did not follow them into the business. Don Roth's closed in December of 2009.

The Low-Carb Experiment (Part 3 of 3)

So here's the last thing I did on Ma's last illustrious weekend here. And boy, she hasn't been getting this treatment lately. She's been coming into the hygiene clinic to sit as my patient, and then going home the next day. I'll treat her like a special guest again in May!

The Kraft South Beach book had a recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Steaks... only thing is, it called for some no-carb steak sauce that I couldn't find. And what I mean by that is, they didn't have it at Joe Caputo's, and I didn't go anywhere else. I made them with the cheat of using my beloved Country Bob's steak sauce instead.



They were very simple to make. You brown lean steaks in the pan, then remove them. In the pan, you then sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (Caputo's had excellent fresh ones, of course, that smelled like a summer garden). Then you add some beef broth, and some steak sauce, and pour that over your steaks. Poof. Fancy steaks.

The mock potatoes are steamed cauliflower that you transfer to the food processor. I added lowfat ricotta cheese, salt and pepper, garlic, and parmesan. You can also use fat-free cream cheese. You can add broth or milk, if you need to thin them. I think they were everyone's favorite part of the meal. They need a lot of seasoning, but once you add plenty I think they are delicious. They reheat really well, too, over the course of up to a week and then some. (I made a lot).

After her time here, I called Ma and she said she'd given up on South Beach already. Still, I think the recipes are keepers. Personally, I can't say I really believe in any diet that requires me to do anything too precisely. I'd rather stick to my own parameters, and the flexibility that I have within those "personal rules." I'd rather go light one day if I overdid things the day before. It just feels less fascist.

The Low-Carb Experiment (2 of 3)

Okay, let the suspense end. I don't want to get back to studying for my National Board Exam tomorrow, anyway. (I'll be crying in my coffee tonight.)

There was a recipe for salmon cakes on Epicurious or one of those... I took a quick look and then ran with it. I used a couple of pouches of salmon, seasoned them (garlic powder, salt and pepper), chopped some bell pepper, dill, and parsely, and some scallions. I added just a few tablespoons of light mayo, one egg, and a TON of parmesan cheese (don't know how much, just weigh out "one ton.") I figured if parmesan made those nice little crusts on my Saganaki Chicken, it could do the same in this recipe, instead of the carb-offensive breadcrumb. I balanced the mayo/parm until it just nicely hung together and was still a little wet.

I pan-fried the cakes in just a little oil. It was a bit of a trick, experimenting with oil vs. no oil. I think they worked better with less oil, but don't expect them to ever flip flapjack-style as a nice cohesive unit. Wait a couple of minutes before you move the sucker at all, then just shove the spatula under, check underneath for toastiness, say a little prayer, and turn. (Multiple flipping isn't really an option, so just be patient before you flip the first time.) I removed them from the pan and let them drain on paper towels.

I squeezed plenty of lemon juice over the whole thing, served it with avocado, and slathered it in the Yogurt Dip as I chowed down. Holy moly, it was good. So good that I don't think I'll stick with the parmesan as my "official" recipe. It's a keeper! They also re-heated really well, as Chris found out when he got home, and mom and I had been making and eating lunch for most of the afternoon.



Also thought I'd take this opportunity to post a sad little "retro pic" (taken with the old junior-high camera) of a salmon log I made a long time ago with the Kraft Southbeach Book. I gave it to Ma, so I can't check... But it is basically low or nonfat cream cheese, a couple of drops of liquid smoke, S & P, diced onion, and flaked salmon (drained well and paper towel-patted). I mixed well, formed it into a log shape with plastic wrap, and rolled it in sliced almonds and parsely. I served it with crudite for a nice summery meal (and whole-wheat crackers, because I've never really been on the Diet per se). Kept nicely in the fridge for a couple of days!

I Bought My First Domain Name!

Exciting news... You may now access this page by typing in the easy-to-remember domain name:

www.whatsfordinner.us

Weird extension, I know, but all the others were taken, including ALL of them for "whats4dinner." I sort of like it though, you know, because it's like "us," as in what WE are having for dinner lately.

Right now it just forwards you automatically to my livejournal page, but later this year I hope to build my own site at that address (with lots of help from my dear husband). Then I can have a "blogroll," and paid ads, and other stuff I can't do here without paying more money.

Thanks ya'all!

The Low-Carb Experiment (Part 1 of 3)

My sainted mother Mary Ann (don't get me wrong, she's still alive) is coming up this week, and she's doing me the favor of bringing not only herself, but her college-hood best friend, Mary Fran (I'm not making this up) as a body in need of dental hygiene help that I might prey upon. I mean, treat. That I might treat.

The last time Ma came up from southern Illinois, she told me ahead of time that she was on the South Beach Diet, and not to go to any trouble, she said. Just buy her some lean meats, string cheese, and some veggies, she said. Oh, and some sugar-free Jello. But what, I say? Go the easy route you say? NOT ACCEPT THE GLOVE CAST DOWN IN A CHALLENGE, YOU SAY? Oh, no. One large shopping trip to Joe Caputo's, a consult with my freebie Kraft South Beach recipe book, and it was game on, Mary Ann!

My first meal was a lunch for the two of us. I chopped some veggies crudite (still can't make the accent in this font, too lazy to try) and made a dip. I used an idea from the Kraft book, and made it, well... better. I used some home-made Greek yogurt from Caputo's as a base (you could use lowfat mayo and fat-free sour cream, instead), and added some fat-free yogurt to thin it out a bit. I added chopped cucumber, fresh dill, scallions, tahini paste, and a little Splenda (we're talking Phase I, people) and salt. Oh, and lemon juice.



It was thick, creamy and refreshing. We were scooping it by the quarter cupful. I readied the platter for a photo in my favorite spot-lite above the dishwasher, and as I did so, I realized Ma was not yet trained as my husband is. Where he would have waited patiently with fork in hand, she picked up a carrot and totally plunged into my PERFECT SWIRL. "My swirl!!" I cried, re-forming with the back of a spoon. This lady had a lot to learn!

The dip also went really well with the main protein attraction... And WHAT IS IT, you slobber on your keyboard? Oh HO! My four readers will have to wait in eager anticipation.

Tomorrow, probably. Or Wednesday. I am a master of suspense.

Bobazzi Curry

I'm baaaack! Sorry I've been away so long... The good news is, it seems like more people than ever are reading the blog, and having nice things to say about it. The bad news is, I've taken this particular opportunity to post not so often. Nice, right? Well, I graduate in two months, and I think I'll get my life back somewhat after that. It will be on to part-time work for me (as dad used to say, "Lord willing and the waters don't rise.")

I'm stealing my brother's descriptor again to title this chicken curry. My parents used to make chicken curry pretty often when I was a kid, and serve it over rice. They made it with a milk-and-flour-base, yellow curry powder, onion, apples, peas and chicken. I have tried it a few times, and I varied it a little for this recipe... I've patterned it more after the creamy coconut milk curry you get in Thai restaurants. The curry really became a whole "nother thing," and it's just as easy, or easier to make than the other type.



I started by pan-searing chicken breasts with Thai curry powder (plenty of it), and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I cooked them just about through, but I don't worry about it too much. They'll be going into the curry sauce, and will finish cooking pretty quickly. So you just remove it from the pan, let is sit a bit, and then chop the breasts into chunks.



Back in the pan, I added a little oil more oil than usual, (about a quarter cup or less), garlic, chopped onion, and several tablespoons of Trader Joe's macadamia nut and cashew butter. I wanted to use this as a thickener, in place of the flour. If that isn't available to you, I think peanut butter would work just as well -- though you'd probably have a more distinctive peanut flavor.

When that was stirred in together and nicely melty, I added the chicken, and two cans of light coconut milk. I brought the heat up through everything, and let it all thicken.

Taking a little more help from Trader Joe's, I chopped the microwavable fingerling potatoes and added those in (I've since made this with Yukon potatoes I cooked first). I added salt and more curry powder, coriander and a little cayenne to taste. I dropped some green peas in at the last moment (frozen, Market Day, natch) and served it over brown rice.



I have since garnished the curry with diced red bell pepper and scallions, and some toasted slivered almonds. Next time, I think I will try adding some green apples to the sautee (something that will hold up to the heat) as my folks used to do. Doesn't match the Thai "pattern" so much, but for me, it'd be nostalgic. Probably would be good with some golden raisins, too!