Buffalo Things

Get that? Instead of wings: "THINGS." I also almost called this post, "Buffalo Shoe Tongues," because I'm pretty sure you could cover chewy, smelly, shoe parts (borrowed from any hobo) with buffalo sauce, dip them in ranch dressing and serve them with celery and they would be irresistible. This is, however, a very good recipe, despite the fact that it seems anything under that sauce would taste good. (Or, I suppose I could have called them Buffalo'd cauliflower, which is what they are.)

I went to see the bro recently, and he took me to an eatery heretofore unknownst to me: the Veggie Grill. I hear it is growing quickly, springing up new franchises throughout California. Well, it ain't growing quickly enough, because I'm gonna dream about it until I'm in LA again.

The Veggie Grill doesn't use any animal products at all - no dairy, meat or eggs. And while I really enjoyed their "comfort" food or fast-food-style items, they are also maximizing nutrition in a lot of items (not just a straight, "hey, fries are vegan!" approach). The first time we went, two of us ordered the "All Hail Kale" salad, with "Blackened Chickin'." It was DELICIOUS. And the one in front, btw, is a lunch portion! I usually eat my kale cooked, but these dressed greens really inspired me to eat more raw kale.

Oh, and a side of mac and cheese, just because hey, I had a race the next day, so why not?

This first visit is also where I discovered their Buffalo Chickin' Wings. I discovered them on my brother's plate. I discovered most of them, and only left him a few. These really unglued all of us. I've been thinking about them since.

David also had the "All-American Stack," which he said he really liked.

We took home two pieces of the carrot cake, which I discovered was great with a glass of soy milk. I also discovered half of my brother's carrot cake as well. (Seriously, I love that guy.)

I loved this place so much that we went back the next day! This time, I had the "Baja Fiesta" salad. It was great... But I found myself wishing it were made with kale. Believe me, I've never said those words before, either.

This time, I got my own order of the "Buffalo Chickin' Wings." I think I may have shared. No, I'm pretty sure I didn't.

David went full-force, and made an entree out of two orders of the wings. You go, boy!

So, what's the damage? I looked at their newly-posted calorie counts, and sure, some of the dessert or "splurge" items can be up in the 400-500 calorie range (although most of the menu is lower). But seriously? I don't think they compare with the counts at most fast food places, and the nutrition is much denser. For contrast, I took a picture of the calorie counts at the snack bar of a local movie theater we went to:

Wow, movie theater, 1390 calories for nachos? As my husband loves to quote from the movie "Spinal Tap": "Yeah, too MUCH fak-king pehspective."

Anyway, what is a girl to do about this buffalo craving she came home with? I found this recipe from "Food Fanatics" on facebook (partially reprinted), and I made some changes to just about every line, which are reflected in the following places as noted:

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

For the batter:
Dash of Frank’s Buffalo Sauce (originally Original Hot Sauce)
1 c. white rice flour (originally 1/2 cup)
1 c. BEER (originally 1/2 cup water)
Pinch salt

For the Buffalo sauce:
1/2 c. - 1 cup Frank’s Buffalo sauce (this is double or triple the original)
1/4-1/2 c. vegan butter, melted (originally 1/4 cup canola oil)
Pinch salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the batter ingredients in a small bowl. Dip the cauliflower in the batter until coated evenly then place on greased baking sheet (I just tossed the cauliflower florets in the batter). Bake for about 15 minutes or until the batter hardens. (I flipped them once, and ended up with about 20 minutes.)

Mix together sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Once the cauliflower are done baking, brush them with the hot sauce mixture (I tossed them in the sauce in a bowl, restaurant-style) and they have you baking again. (I just tossed the baked cauliflower in sauce and got to eating.)

I served these with my very own Vegan Ranch, which I must say is pretty fantastic. The recipe works very well - the cauliflower doesn't stick to the sprayed foil, and it cooks through. Best oven-battered anything I've had, I think!

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken and Rice

Okay, my posts have gotten a bit shorter. But there's a good reason for that. My time has gotten shorter, too! And I figure if my time is shorter, then other people are probably short on time, too. Since, you know, I only have the one kid, and/or I don't work full time. So hopefully other people will be interested in dinners that are as fast as I'd like them to be. And if not, have you read dooce.com lately?



Oh, and sorry about the lousy picture. Again: time crunch.

First you drop four to six chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Or hell, just use two, I don't care. Sometimes you get through those giant Costco packages of chicken and all you have are two left over. Or maybe you just bought two, and that's a little bit sad and lonely for you, but I'm not here to make you feel worse. (But really, you should make more and plan for leftovers. I'm not your mother but I'm just sayin'.) I was about to add "then lightly season the chicken," but who am I kidding? I didn't do that.

Then you drop a can or two of cream of mushroom (or cream of anything) soup on top. Also add wild or brown rice, and enough liquid to cook the rice (I like to use chicken broth). Cook it for six hours or so, and the chicken will break apart easily with two forks, so you can s-to-the-hred it. Then add a liberal amount of hot sauce (I like Red Hot), and some salsa, and stir it again.

This can be eaten with a salad or veggie on the side, but it's also really good inside tortillas with taco fixings.



The best part about this dinner is this: not only did you barely cook today, but you don't have to cook tomorrow, either!

BBQ Chicken Pizza and Twice-Baked Potatoes

I know I've shared my recipe for BBQ chicken in the crockpot before, but oh lord, I'm getting good at this.



It's finally got that dark mahogany color and smoky flavor that I want it to have. Here's the new and improved recipe:

two cups of ketchup
one cup of mustard, any kind
two capfuls of liquid smoke
about a quarter to a half cup of molasses
one cup of packed brown sugar
as much Red Hot sauce as you think you’ll like
one dark beer, or a couple of shots bourbon for a thicker sauce
half a medium onion, diced finely
two cloves diced garlic
a heavy shake of cumin (don’t be shy) and a shake of coriander
salt and pepper (plenty of black pepper)
two small cans of tomato paste (this is the new part - my sauce was coming out too runny)

(This is the same recipe that I printed here for the beef ribs. You can really plunge any meat ya like into this sauce, and it'll come out tasty. Or in a pinch, use shoe leather.) In this case, I put two packages of chicken into it, and cooked it for six hours. When the chicken shreds very easily with a fork, shred it all up right there in the Crockpot. This recipe makes a ton of chicken. I freeze half for another time. You can use some in tacos, on buns as sandwiches, or on a pizza (great with goat cheese and thinly sliced red onions, and more cheddar on top).



I decided some would be great on top of some twice-baked potatoes. So I made up a recipe for those, and it came out great. First, bake four potatoes. Use the big brown russet or baking potatoes for this. Scrub them, pierce them with a fork in several places, salt them liberally and put a dab of butter on top of them inside some foil. Wrap them up and bake them for about an hour to 75 minutes at 400 degrees. (I've read some recipes since that insist you don't use the foil - I'll try this next time. But I didn't want the skins to shrivel, and they didn't doing this with the foil.) When they come out, vent them a little and let them cool until you can handle them. Then scoop out most of the insides into a bowl, leaving about a half-inch of flesh. You can't really scoop all of it out, because then the skin will be too thin.

To the potato flesh, add one brick of cream cheese (light is fine). Sauté one diced half-onion and one clove of crushed garlic in a little oil, and add that to the mixture, plus a little salt. Mix, and put the mixture back in the potatoes (I had returned them to the foil I used before). Then top with cheddar, and bake at 375 degrees for about fifteen minutes.



You can top them with bacon or anything else you like. I put the BBQ chicken on top, along with scallions and light sour cream (hey, every little bit helps.)



They were mounded so high, we ended up just eating a half at a time, so it made lots of nice leftovers.

Hey, love BBQ, bacon, swearing and hardened arteries? You have to check out this post on my brother's blog (he's the funny one in the family.) But don't go if you don't like the swearing. As a matter of fact, what are you still reading my goddamn blog for?

Matcha Latte

Remember when I posted mournfully about the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf frozen matcha drink that I can't get here in the midwest? Well I figured out a first-rate substitution! And I couldn't be happier if I had flipping yellow butterflies floating out of my ears. To the tune of "Grazin' in the Grass." On pan flute.

Trader Joe's has come to my rescue yet again. I had read about their matcha beverage on the fabulous Super Eggplant. She was less than thrilled with the drink mixed up hot, as it is intended. But I thought it might be just the thing for a frozen version. I put the recommended amount (3 tblesp.) in the blender, with an "eyeballed" amount of ice and fat-free milk.



It was really excellent -- similar to Coffee Bean's version, though not quite as perfect... But then, how could it be? Still, with some whipped cream on top, it was not too sweet and very tasty. I am very pleased...

Can you believe I am drinking stuff like this with umpteen inches of snow on the ground? I must really miss California.

Cha Cha Cha!

On the way to the airport, we had our last culinary experience in L.A. over Christmas break. We went to Cha Cha Cha in Silverlake, or Que Cha Cha Cha, depending upon where you read their title. It is Caribbean cuisine in the coolest, most laid back setting. The atmosphere is similar to a couple of places Dave has taken us in L.A.: they seem as though there is little more than a tin roof over your head, and the line that distinguishes "inside" from "out" is definitely blurred. The parking lot outside is tiny, and despite the relaxed and sort of funky-junky atmosphere, the Jags and BMW's are crammed into the little lot. You may even spot a celebrity! I think the word is out about how good this place is.

We started with the empa?aditas and the jerk pork. Both were fantastic. The empa?aditas are stuffed with squash, tomatoes and other veggies, and goat and mozzarella cheeses. The pork was super sweet and syrupy, but just as spicy. We gobbled it all.



David and I followed with the swordfish caesar salads. The fish was chargrilled to perfection.



Chris hadn't had his fill of jerk yet, so he ordered the jerk chicken salad. He said it hit the spot.



I will most definitely request a return visit on our next stop in L.A. And maybe we'll be as lucky as David and his friend Heather were before us, and run into one of our favorite recording artists who may be nice enough to let us take his picture.



But even if we don't see anyone famous (we didn?t on the way to the airport), it'll be well worth it. Who cares about celebrities when you have jerk pork this good? I want to try everything on the menu at this place!

Sushi is Better Fried

Two more posts about Cali... Whoops, three. And then it's back to my own cooking! I'm having problems with the internet connection, but Lord willing and the waters don't rise, I'll post them all today.

We went out for sushi at a place near Dave called Miyako (you can even view the whole menu online at this site. Will revisit this page later...) It was really delicious. This post features more of Dave's camera phone photos. I gots ta git me one of those.

We started off with an appetizer of tempura-fried jalepe?os with cream cheese and tuna in them. They had a delicious, creamy and spicy sauce on top. I could have eaten an order by myself.



I'm not crazy about sashimi, but I do love the photos of it. I'm always tempted by the new craft stuff online in the shape of it -- jewelry and pillows and stuff -- although I don't really eat it.



The sushi rolls we got are lined up in the photo in the order I liked them best (just by coincidence -- even my OCD knows certain limits.)



The first was either the Aloha or the Caterpillar roll... It had mango around the outside, which may have been pickled or treated in some way, because it wasn't as juicy or as citrus-y as we would have liked. The middle was the Philadelphia roll, with smoked salmon and Philly cream cheese, and it was very good. The Tempura Shrimp rolls on the right were my fave, because how can you beat anything fried? The sauce on it was also delicious.

It was a great meal, and we all left feeling full for not too much money... But not bursting at the seams. Mmmm, sushi. Meat without the regret!

Family and Fajitas

Okay, just three more posts about my trip to California. I told you we ate a lot. Oh, and about that posting every day thing? Well, I aimed for "every day," but I landed on "a lot more often." So that's something, right?



On day two, we made our own fajitas. Dave has a huge charcoal grill on his large balcony, and any trip to visit him must include what he calls "smoky meats." Dave and I share a huge love of fajitas, and this dish, with its accompanying massive trip to the grocery store, pretty much happens automatically. And I think we get better at it each time.



With us, cooking usually includes a little bickering, as well. What kind of meat do we remember Dad using in his sauce? Does lettuce wilt in the presence, or absence of liquid? Is is easier to skim the fat off the broth when it is hot, or cold? We are both Alpha Cooks, which means we are equally hard to convince that our way isn't the best way. And we are territorial about our kitchens. See, when you come to our house, it is understood that we are cooking for you. So I think that having me hovering over David telling him "how I would do it" is just about the limit of what he can stand. And what's more, it is his kitchen. His rules. Me and my hours of Food TV and my fancy laws of physics can just about kiss his ass.

But considering that our model for "cooking together" is either A) my father pushing my mother clear out of the kitchen, or B) our father and his sister screaming at one another at the top of their lungs, I think we do pretty well. In the end, he lets me do things my way quite a lot. And what we make together is inevitably tasty. The entertainment for our guests is just a bonus!

In this instance, he allowed me to convince him to pick up some flank steak for the fajitas. All the stuff he'd had was sort of stringy and tough. But I told him that my friend Katherine showed me how to cut it properly -- across the bias, or perpendicular to the direction that the fibers run in. This gives it lots more elasticity and tenderness. And thanks to my friend Pen, I use a very simple and tasty marinade that works for any red meat: olive oil and soy sauce. (If you have a little sesame or chili oil to toss in for flavor, that's great too.) You can add garlic, salt, and pepper. I also added a little of David's Tapatio sauce to it.

It came out really tender, and Dave cooked it and sliced it perfectly. It melted in your mouth. (Even if you don't like your meat quite this pink, I would recommend it. The beef gets tossed into the fajita sauce at the last moment, so it cooks just a bit more at that time. You don't want it well-done when you toss it in.)



On day two of the Guacamole Bender. I made what I think was the best guac we had out there. I was really just imitating what I've seen them do in our favorite Mexican restaurants in the mortar and pestle. I used very finely diced jalepeno, red onion, cilantro, fresh garlic (Dave has the coolest garlic press...), salt and pepper, and plenty of lime juice. We ate 3/4 of it before I remembered to take a picture, shown atop Dave's work-in-progress mosaic table.



Dave likes the combo fajitas, so we cooked chicken, too. The marinade for this was just margarita salt, pepper, olive oil, lime juice and chopped cilantro. We sliced it after grilling and put it atop the peppers and onions that we added butter, chicken stock, and Worcheshire sauce to at the very end. Then we added the sliced beef, and chowed down with all the fajita fixings. Juicy!



I really miss my brother. The ones you bicker with are the ones who understand you best!

El Siete Mares

On our third day in Los Angeles (I know, I'm bouncing all over the place), we arrived in a hung-over state (this was already becoming a habit) to a place where Dave likes to grab some fish tacos. And I know, just then, that me saying the phrase "fish tacos" made my husband snicker as he read this. And he's probably not even sorry.

The place is El Siete Mares ("the Seven Seas") on Sunset. We could have eaten outside at the taco stand next door, but we went inside. The place is really small, and there was only one other family there. They were spread across two booths, and we took a table near them, next to two biggish Mexican teenagers wearing basketball jerseys, who were each enjoying their second coctele -- a huge goblet with cold shrimp in a kind of ceviche sauce.

They gave us two salsas, plus chips. Both were very good, and one was very hot -- though we never quite figured out which one was giving us the heat. David and Chris both tried the variety of hot sauces that were available on the table, but I stopped entering this pee-pee contest years ago. I don't really enjoy the extreme heat, so I don't play. One of the basketballer teenagers and I both watched intently as David lifted the hottest of the sauces to his mouth on a chip. He didn't die, but he proclaimed it to be quite hot, indeed. And being the owner of -- at one count by me in 2002 -- 32 different bottles of habanero hot sauce, I assume he isn't kidding.

This was day three of the guacamole bender that I was on (the first day of which was at El Compadre, and the second day of which I have yet to blog about), so we had to order that. It came in the large mortar bowl that fresh guac usually comes in at a restaurant. It was very good! Better than that of El Compadre, I must admit... But I thought it was a bit strange that they stand some chips upright in the dip -- chips which are not as tasty as the ones you get with your salsa. Odd. (I also have a small prejudice against things which stand bolt upright on my plate, however, such as the time I received a leg of lamb that was standing at attention in a bowl before me. Different story.)

Anyway, the fish tacos hit the spot, and didn't have too much sauce on them. Just enough. They had shredded cabbage, and I really liked the batter they were fried in. Chris said they weren't his favorite ones that he'd ever had (meaning he liked the ones at Baja Fresh better), but I was very pleased. Perhaps it should be mentioned that I was also more hung-over.

I gorged myself so much on the guac, that I had to eat the contents of the tacos with a fork and leave the tortillas. Then, I took my leftovers home in the large bags I had under my eyes that day. Convenient.



David took that with his camera phone, which I'm beginning to think may be essential for a food blogger like me...

For more on El Siete Mares, here is another blogger's take, including the opinion that I've read elsewhere that they really should serve real crab instead of the pressed, fake kind. This blogger enjoyed the foods we had and enjoyed that day (the guac and the tacos), but he had some other beefs with the place. I would really recommend the place based on my experience there, however, and especially if you're ordering the things I had. It seems like a great place to eat outside, too.

El Compadre

If you have really good margaritas and good mexican food, then the great ambience and music just put everything over the top. That's what they have, in my humble opinion, at El Compadre, the "Home of the Flaming Margarita." And if you have good margaritas, you just may forget to take pictures of the food you ate. Guess what happened to me?

Here is the margarita, though. They place what I think is Bacardi 151 rum inside a hollowed-out citrus shell, float it on the ice, and then light it. Only the first one is lit (after that, you are.) Apologies for the dark pic, but without the flash is the only way to capture the flame.



We came here after getting off the plane, because I was craving guacamole. So began day one of my three-day guacamole bender... I just couldn't get enough of the stuff. El Compadre had lettuce in theirs, which I wasn't totally crazy about, but still it was good. I enjoyed my food, but really, after three of those margaritas, who cares?

The great thing about this place was that a) the margaritas were flavorful, b) it was within stumbling distance of Dave's, and c) that the ambience was great. I'm a sucker for a dark restaurant in which you can spread out in a big booth and hear yourselves talk. (And no, that doesn't mean Denny's is a great restaurant.) They also had a trio playing music, so it was a lot of fun.

They also featured the Largest Pen to Pay Your Bill with on Earth.

Matcha, Matcha, Mat-cha

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is one of the best things about California. If you ask me, anyway. Sadly, according to the store locator on their website, there are none within 200 miles of where I live. Franchise opportunity? Or should I say, "franchizoonity?"



They are vaguely similar to a Starbuck's, only they aren't really on every single corner like Starbucks are (in any city, including those in California.) Still, when visiting Dave, I make sure he goes out of his way so that I can git me a matcha, or Green Tea Iced Blended. Made with nonfat milk, and not too many calories -- if you get the small size. Which, of course, I don't. (Hey, I only get one once a year.)



Here is the one I had, lovingly placed atop Dave's car. I am crazy about the flavor of this variety, and while I will enthusiastically sample the purchases of others (Chris had a Pomegranite Blueberry that was nice), I have yet to find one that surpasses this flavor. It tastes like those enriched milk products you used to get as kids, like Tiger's Milk. Anybody remember that? It was a powder you added to your milk. I did an internet search for it, but all I turned up was set of results for the protein bars. Dad used to get ours at Kroger.

Anyway, I digress (or should I say "tigress?" Ehh.) I've tried the Starbuck's version, but this one, in my opinion, is far superior.

Christmas Cookies in L.A.

For Christmas this year, in case you haven't already gotten this, we went to L.A. and saw the bro. We ate (both at restaurants and at home) so much freaking food that I will be posting feverishly for the next few days!

David had requested some Chicago gear so that he could "represent." We followed through, and he was able to fully represent while eating his salami, toast and eggs on Christmas Eve.



While watching the Bears game and not climbing out of our pajamas all day, Chris sampled his first bloody mary... the first of his many "first drinks" on our trip.



I don't think he was a huge fan, and while they aren't my favorite drink either, you can't argue that Dave makes the best ones. He makes them spicy with horseradish, worcheshire and hot sauce, and gives you plenty of skewered snacks.



That day, we also baked sugar cookies (per Chris' request.) We got plenty of Christmas cutters from the 99 cent store. I made the cookies from a box and still managed to mess up the directions with too much butter (I failed to use the "roll out" recipe.) So I had to keep adding flour. I also managed to overbake most of them slightly (I like to watch the game.) Still, despite my lack of baking prowess and a failure to purchase many decorative items, they came out pretty good.



I can't believe our trip is over and we are home, already! Hope yours was happy!

Happy Belated Chanukah... and Christmas

I've just gotten back from California! I will be posting tons now in an effort to make up for dropping the ball on my "daily posts" promise while I was out there. But you know, sometimes you are just too busy eating to post to your blog about eating.

Last Christmas, brother David and our friend Niki were out here in the midwest to celebrate... and this year I got to be out with them. This is the festive cookie they brought me last year, which came with its own edible food markers with which you could decorate the cookie. I took a picture of my efforts, of course.



It was fun to do, and a great tabletop item... But I had dropped it (note the crack) and upon hearing the sound of shattered ceramic, decided not to attempt eating it.

Stay tuned for this year's cookie decorating efforts!