The Girl and the Goat - Restauarant Review

So for my birthday dinner last week, my wonderful husband managed to snag us a reservation at (Top Chef Season 4 winner) Stephanie Izard's new restaurant, The Girl and the Goat. It's been open for less than a month and next to Lady Gaga crowd surfing practically naked at Semi-Precious Weapons during Lollapalooza - its all Chicagoans are talking about.


For such a highly hyped restaurant, you really wouldn't guess it from the ambiance or the service. The decor is very open and welcoming - which as a matter of fact, pretty much describes the service as well. I think I would even venture to say that this was probably the best service I've ever experienced in Chicago, from the valets to the hostesses to the waitress to the sommelier, to the bus boy. Everyone came off as genuine, eager to please and overly excited to talk to you about their favorite dishes (although they were all quick to point out that everything on the menu was delicious).


So the focus of the restaurant is small plates with Mediterranean flavors and organic, locally sourced ingredients. Right up my alley. Not really up Joe's, but that's okay because it was my birthday. Again, along with the service, I really didn't find the food to pretentious at all, just good food, prepared skillfully and packed with flavor.

I should preface before going on that just because Joe didn't like a dish, doesn't mean it wasn't delicious. As you know, he's just a meat and potatoes kind of guy and can be a bit resistant towards anything that is even a little bit "out there".


We started off with fried okra stuffed with homemade sausage.

As you can see I snapped the pic after we started eating it, (00ps!), but rest assured - it was delicious. In fact, a lot of the dishes were not what I would call beautiful but I think that's part of the charm of her food.

Next we had the hiramasa crudo, with pork belly and caper berries. This was probably the prettiest of the dishes, but my 2nd least favorite (but I liked this about 100 times more than what my least favorite dish was).


While it was a very tasty dish, my only complaint was it did seem a bit salty between the fish, the sauce and the caper berries. By the way I had never seen a caper berry before - they look like fruit but taste like capers (as the name suggests!).

Next, we had the soft shell crab, over sweet corn with lime and chili aioli. OH. MY. GOD. This was DELICIOUS. Between the texture of the fried crab with the crunchy corn and the amount of flavor she managed to pack into the corn - this was definitely my favorite of the night, and probably up there with Top 10 things I've ever tasted.


Next they brought out the green beans we had ordered, which were delicious, probably the tastiest green beans I've ever had (they were served with a fish sauce vinaigrette and cashews) - but my only complaint was they were the second to last dish we received. I would have liked to have had them earlier in the meal so we could have snacked on them throughout. That didn't stop me from eating close to all of them (Joe of course didn't like them).


Okay, so this next dish is very difficult for me to talk about. And its been almost two weeks.

So - I'll just come out with it. It was pig face. Yes, dear readers, pig face. I'm not sure what to say about this, other than - I really don't know what we were thinking. All I know is Joe seemed intrigued by it, the server recommended it, and I can be somewhat of an adventurous eater. Since Joe rarely is, I seized the opportunity.

I wish I hadn't.

They pull all the fat off the face and roll it up into some type of a sausage, served with shoestring fries and an egg.


I'm sure there are more adventurous eaters out there than me who liked this - but the whole thing just came off as overly greasy to me and just unappetizing. My stomach also did not feel right the next morning, which could have more to do with the fact that I was probably more mentally grossed out by this - but let's just say I won't be trying pig face again anytime soon.

And I've been steering clear of pork since then. I'm sure I'll get over at some point.

So at least we didn't completely end the night on that note - we ordered a delicious dessert, called the fudgesicle, which was essentially frozen fudge covered in coarse salt, topped with an olive oil gelato. This was a delicious and much more pleasant way to end our night!


One thing to add is that for such an outstanding and hyped up restaurant, the prices are very reasonable for Chicago. We had plenty to eat, along with a bottle of prosecco, and I think our bill was around $125.

So all in all, I really very much enjoyed the Girl and the Goat and will definitely be returning, next time though probably with girl friends - and I will not be ordering the pig face.

Macarons from Vanille Patisserie in Chicago

So unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that macarons are the hottest thing since - well, cupcakes. I've seen them all over the blogosphere lately and apparently Facebook has figured out that they'd be right up my alley since they are always advertising them to me.

While I'm really excited to try making them at home, my life has been a bit too crazy lately for any real baking challenges. That and - despite the fact that I've been craving them every time I see a picture of these adorable little cookies - I hadn't actually tried them yet!

I figured out the perfect excuse to try them when some friends and I went up to Ravinia Park (outdoor concert venue in a Chicago suburb) to see an Abba cover band (yes, we know we're huge dorks, as evidenced by our love for Abba here). I started researching where the best place to buy macarons in Chicago was and decided on Vanille Pastisserie, a french bakery in Lincoln Park. I was all set to take an alternate route home on the El the night before we left to pick some up - when I realized that they have a location in the French market right by the train station we were leaving from the next day to go to the concert - perfect! I love when the universe aligns for me like that....

So what did I think of these tasty little devils?

(Please excuse the chipped nail polish, I told you, its been a busy month!)

Well they were exactly what I imagined they would be - light, sweet, meringuey. We got a variety of flavors and while they were all delicious I think I liked the raspberry, pistachio and lavender ones the best. It will be tough to decide which kind to make first when I do try making them.

A change of pace for a bit....

Hello out there! So the last few weeks of my life have been crazy, just like summer tends to get for most people.

Besides the fact that I'm now traveling to London once a month for work, I've just had a lot going on the last few weeks, but since its all dying down now, I thought I'd share with you what I've been eating, since I haven't done that much cooking or baking lately (well, nothing blog worthy that is).

My birthday was last week, and since I'm one of those people that likes to drag out the celebration as long as possible, a lot of it involves eating out. So my next few posts are going to be of restaurants and such around Chicago.

Speaking of my birthday - do you like my new apron?


My friend April flew in from Denver this weekend and gave me this fabulous apron from Anthropologie. My favorite color is purple, so this was obviously a hit with me (and if you look closely you can see another birthday present from Joe - hint: it tells time and contains diamonds!!!).

I love the apron so much that I was determined I could wear it as a dress (although that may have been the wine talking). What do you think?

And speaking of April, we went to see Lady Gaga at Lollapalooza on Friday - AMAZING.

Here she is with a chocolate espresso tart we I ate before the show.


Who buys a huge chocolate tart and drinks it with their Bud Light at Lollapalooza? This birthday girl. And it was delicious.

Stay tuned - for more updates soon - including macarons (that I bought, not made) and pics from my birthday dinner at Stephanie Izard's new restaurant - The Girl and the Goat.

Sorry Dear...(Margarita Cupcakes)

Joe had to go out of town for work this past week and while I missed him terribly (and still do since I'm in London now - terrible timing!), I enjoyed a week full of Joe-free food (lots of feta cheese, whole grains and veggies and hardly any meat - and I might have had popcorn for dinner one night). All kinds of stuff that he wouldn't feel jealous in the slightest about missing.

Except for these cupcakes that is.

Some friends and I had plans to go to Movies in the Park (if you don't live in Chicago its something they do in the summer with a free movie playing on a jumbo screen in a park - basically an excuse to have a picnic in the city) one night and I had been dying to try this recipe.



So while my friends (and co-workers) happily devoured them, poor Joe didn't get a single one. I guess I'll just have to make them again : )

I got this recipe on Annie's Eats and knew I would love it when I saw the frosting was a swiss buttercream. These cakes are seriously delicious and have a good kick to them. I opted for a green sugar garnish to mimic decorative rim salt, but as Annie noted, a sprinkling of coarse salt would actually work too - I just wasn't brave enough!



Margarita Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 limes, zested and juiced
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites
Pinch fleur de sel (coarse salt)
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2-4 tbsp. tequila

Source: Annie's Eat's

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir with a fork to blend. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lime zest, lime juice and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, brush the cooled cakes with tequila to emphasize the true margarita flavor.

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (don’t worry, it will come together, though it may take a long time!) Stir in the lime juice and tequila and mix until fully incorporated and smooth.

Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Frost the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream and garnish as desired.

Cupcake

Flank Steak with Chimichurri (and my 5 year anniversary)

So this was not my wedding anniversary, not a blog anniversary, or even work. Somehow, out of the blue on my way home from work Tuesday night, it popped into my head that it was 5 years to the date that I had moved to Chicago. I got a little nostalgic and called my good friend April who moved out to Chicago with me (and sadly lives in Denver now) to reminisce about our move, or our "escape" from Ohio as we liked to call it. 5 years ago I moved with all my possessions in a U-Haul (btw, I highly recommend that all single women drive their own U-Haul at least once in your life, it makes you feel like a new woman), having 1 friend and 1 brother in the city, anxious and a little nervous about what laid ahead.

Now, I'm so fortunate to have a great group of friends, a job that I love like a lot, and most importantly, my best friend and husband Joe. So just as I was thinking about going out and celebrating, I remembered I had this flank steak marinating in the fridge and a hungry husband at home. Joe and I had a celebratory beer on the balcony and then cooked dinner and found a Criminal Minds rerun on TV that we hadn't seen before - a perfect evening : )

I've been meaning to try chimichurri sauce, which is the easiest and most delicious thing in the world. Seriously, you can put this stuff on anything; fries, any type of grilled meat, over avocado (as I did with my meal), mixed in with your cilantro, lime and black bean rice (as I also did with my meal).

I decided to put it over marinated, grilled flank steak, which was soooo delicious - I'll be making this stuff again soon!


Flank Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds flank steak

Mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and ground black pepper in bowl, and pour the marinade over the steak - I did mine in a large Ziploc bag, but you could use a bowl or a shallow glass dish. Marinade for 6 - 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium/high heat, oil the grate and grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

Source: Allrecipes.com



Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large garlic clove
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Add garlic, cilantro, parsley, vinegar, oil, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a food processor then pulse until herbs are finely chopped.

Source: Adapted from What's on My Plate (Gourmet 2001)

Long overdue recap of Londontown....

Hello! So I'm back from London (have been for a few weeks now, sorry!) with a recap of my trip, and of course what I ate. I apologize in advance for some of the poor photo quality. I (of course) forgot my camera charger and had to take pictures of the entire trip on my blackberry - this is partly why it took me so long to post them.

I've been to London a few times before for work, but being there for a whole month really gave me plenty of time on the weekends to get out and see quite a bit of the city and its restaurants (and bars ; ). I think its funny how much people equate England with terrible food. Yes, the traditional English fare can be quite disgusting (see "traditional English breakfast" below), however London has some of the most amazing restaurants - especially ethnic food.

The first weekend I was there, I went on a tour to see Leeds Castle & Canterbury Cathedral.

Leeds Castle

Canterbury Cathedral

Cloisters at Canterbury

I love love love medieval history and learning more about plus getting see it in person is just the coolest thing. I booked my tour through Evans Evans and would highly recommend using them. You get to see so much in a day that it would be impossible to do it on your own for the same price in a day. I ended up booking another tour through them later on that month and both tour guides were amazing.

On the tour I met a lovely couple, Barbara and Richard from New Jersey. They took me under their wing and after chatting with them all day and realizing how much we had in common, they invited me out to dinner that night with them. Since my plans consisted of the couch in my company flat, a dinner of bread, olive and wine, and whatever I could find on British television, I happily rescheduled those plans for the next night : )

Pasha

They took me to Pasha, a Morroccan restaurant on Gloucester Road. Richard and Barbara had been telling me about the fig martini there all day long so I was extremely excited to try it - and let's just say it lived up to the hype. I am kicking myself for not getting a photo of it (and Google images yields nothing like what I had) - but please my take my word for it - it is AMAZING. Barbara and I managed to get the recipe from the bartender, so as I soon as I try it I will post it here.

The next weekend I did a few more touristy things around the city, including going to the Tate Modern. I can't necessarily say that I'm a huge fan of modern art, but the Tate definitely has one of the best, if not the best modern art collections in the world. It wasn't far from where I was staying and the price was right (free) so I was really glad I went. Even if you're not huge on modern art, you won't be disappointed, pretty much every piece you see is interesting and discussion worthy (if not head-scratching).

Andy Warhol room at the Tate

A Monet painting, that ironically, my sister and I had bed sheets based on this painting growing up. I sent her a pic from the museum and she recognized it right away : )

And then....finally....after 2.5 long weeks....Joe came to visit! This was by far the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other (and hopefully never will again). He was just over for a long weekend, but we had so much fun - and ate a lot. One thing that I wanted to do while he was here was take him for a "traditional English breakfast". Joe is a huge fan of breakfast, and basically judges every hotel, city, and country we visit on the quality of their breakfast.

Traditional English breakfast my friends, is...well...its disgusting. See for yourself:


In case you're wondering what the greasy brown blob in the upper right hand corner is - those are mushrooms. Underneath them are baked beans. And yes those are french fries. And ham. And sausage. And a fried tomato. Accompanying this was coffee about the consistency of tar (which I had false high hopes for since it was actually brewed and not instant like most Brits drink their coffee). After 2 weeks of cooking for myself (lots of whole grain pasta, veggies and hardly any meat) - my body pretty much went into shock after eating this meal. While I thought this would be right up Joe's ally, he wasn't overly impressed by it either. Oh well, scratch that one off the life list and move on.

We went on that day to the Tower of London, which was probably my favorite touristy thing I did while I was there. The history is just so amazing, not to mention the Crown Jewels (unfortunately they won't let you take pictures of them). The other really cool thing was an exhibit on royal armour.

Henry VIII's armour (and his horse's). Up close, you could see the initials "H" and "C" engraved along the bottom for that scoundrel and his first wife. Very very cool.

After doing a "pub lunch" that day (which I learned does not actually consist of food), I left Joe for an hour to take a shower and come back, and found he had made a best friend in the form of a very nice old man named Ross:

He has a tendency to do this type of thing wherever we go.

That night, we headed into Central London and stopped for drinks before dinner.


And an appetizer of crab risotto and salmon roe. Which I forgot to photograph until we were done eating it.

It was delicious.

We made our way to Shanghai Blue for dinner and had a blast, as well as a delicious meal. What's interesting about ethnic cuisine in London is it feels a tad more authentic than what we get in the States (even in cities like Chicago). Maybe its because London is more of a global city, but whatever it is it works.

Actually its funny that I say that about a Chinese Restaurant that has live blues music during dinner, but I mean the food is more authentic Chinese : ) The atmosphere was really cool and we enjoyed our dinner and drinks. I ordered a honeydew melon martini, which AGAIN I forgot to take a photo of! Joe ordered a Shanghai Mule, which consisted of ginger beer and sake, along with lychee. Neither of us had ever had lychee before, and Joe (very maturely) made an inappropriate comparison of it to a part of a bull's anatomy (why a bull?) before biting into it.

Joe, biting into lychee

As part of our meal, we ordered steamed salmon dumplings with gold flakes. Gold flakes are cool and all, but you can't really taste them. The dumplings were delicious though.


The next day we did another Evans Evans tour of Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge.

Me in front of Windsor Castle

St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle (Henry VIII's remains are in there)

Roman Bath at Bath

Joe and I at Stonehenge

Stonehenge was probably my favorite part of that tour, it is just unreal seeing it in person. And - we're lucky because the exhibit is being closed this summer for 10 years to do repairs.

After the tour we were exhausted, and Joe had an early flight the next day. So we did what any good Americans would do. We stayed in and ordered pizza. Not just any pizza....


That's right folks, we ordered Papa Johns. In London. Joe loves Papa Johns pizza and we have no Papa Johns in Chicago (I'm well aware of the fact that we are lucky to have access to pizza in Chicago that is far superior to Papa Johns - but hey he wants what he wants). So when we walked past one I relented and we ordered it. It wasn't very good.

The last noteworthy thing I did was getting drinks with some co-workers the last night I was there. We went to a restaurant/bar, Sketch which was unbelievably cool. Words can not describe walking through this place - other than its a bit like Alice in Wonderland. It definitely has an ultra-hip, fairly pretentious vibe to it and drinks were crazy expensive (we didn't eat there). Totally worth the experience though and I definitely want to go back next time I'm in London (I'll be sure to wear a trendier outfit than I did the first time too : ).

Herb martini at sketch, made with rosemary, mint, basil and lemon vodka. Delicious.

Toilets at Sketch, shaped like eggs (the blue lights in the background were the boy's side). I'm told that when you close the door to one of the eggs on the boy's side there is an audio track of a woman laughing at you.

So all in all, I had a great time and enjoyed the food and the cocktails. In fact, I'd say this trip opened my eyes to cocktails a bit. I'm always a go-to wine drinker when I'm out at dinner and for some reason never consider cocktails. Its not like there aren't options here in Chicago so I'm excited to try more interesting combinations (and make the fig martinis at home). I actually convinced a friend of this the other night while we were at a byob sushi place and we both tried different asian-inspired martinis instead of drinking wine. While they were delicious, she subtly reminded me that a $10 martini for one person is significantly less economical than the corkage fee on a $10 bottle of wine that you can share : )

Happy 30th Joe - and a lesson in Fondant!

When I asked Joe about a month ago what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, I was secretly wishing that he would say something easy - last year's German Chocolate Cake, while delicious, was pretty labor intensive. But since I've had another year of baking under my belt AND because its his 30th (!) birthday, I was prepared for whatever he would throw at me.

So when his answer was "I want one of those cakes with the really smooth frosting", I replied "Really, fondant? You know it tastes like crap right?" Oh no, he says, "I like the way it tastes". After a few minutes of silence, he then tells me "If you're going to make it yourself, you should probably make a practice cake before you do it for my birthday."

At this point, I'm convinced he's just trying to make my life difficult. No one actually likes eating fondant! And while I know I could have just ordered the cake (as he reminded me multiple times), that's just not my style. And - he was right, I did need to practice, so I did that with an egg cake for Easter. I don't have any photos and while I was reasonably pleased with the results, I am glad I practiced.

Now, what I couldn't have predicted when I took on the cake and planned a party for 30+ people, was that I would be leaving the country for a month for work - THE NEXT DAY.

That's right, as soon as I finish this post (and a piece of leftover cake), I need to pack enough clothes to take with me to London for the whole month of May and head to the airport.



All this week, I've gotten many different reactions from people when I told them what I was up to this weekend, ranging from "Why don't you just cater the party?" to "You are certifiable and need to be admitted to a mental hospital."

Well, a sure fire way to get me to do something is to tell me that I can't. And I really wanted to do something special for Joe's 30th. It was totally worth it to see his face when he saw the cake.



Luckily, a good friend insisted on coming over to help me, and Joe and one his friends pitched in right before the party to get everything ready.

The party was a success (of course, what else would it have been?!) - we had over 30 people here and NO BROKEN WINEGLASSES. This is a first for us, maybe its a sign that as Joe is turning 30, we are more responsible? I didn't get any pictures of the food, but had a great spread with lots of food involving bacon.

Oh - and I don't think I will be updating my blog for the next month - I don't think the Tesco Express meals I'll be heating up for myself while I'm gone will be all that blog-worthy : )



The fondant recipe and idea for the cake came from Annie's Eats. I made a basic white cake recipe with a strawberry and buttercream filling - YUM! The fondant recipe is a marshmallow fondant and definitely tastes better than most fondant I've had.

Marshmallow Fondant
Ingredients:
Vegetable shortening, for greasing bowls
16 oz. bag plain marshmallows, regular sized
2 tbsp. water
1-2 tsp. clear flavoring
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar, divided
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Using the shortening, grease a large microwave-safe bowl, the bowl of the stand mixer, a spoon/spatula (or two), and the dough hook.

Add the marshmallows and water to the prepared microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 60 seconds. Stir with the greased spatula/spoon. If not all the marshmallows have melted, microwave for 30 more seconds. Stir in the flavoring.

Reserve 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar and add the rest to the bowl of the stand mixer, along with the salt. Create a well in the center. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the well and turn the mixer on to the lowest setting. When the mixer sounds strained, turn the speed up one setting. Turn off the mixer once all the sugar has been incorporated. If the fondant is sticky, add the reserved sugar 1/4 cup at a time until it is no longer sticky.

Turn the fondant out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Rub a bit of shortening on the outside of the ball. Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag and let rest for at least 2-3 hours. Keep the unused portions covered when not in use. If the fondant becomes stiff, microwave for 20 seconds at a time until it becomes pliable.

Source: Annie's Eat's & Confections of a Foodie Bride

Close up of "Joe", made by my friend Katherine - thanks for the help Kat! (Somewhere along the line someone came up with the genius idea of putting a little cigarette in little Joe's mouth).

Joe, posing with his likeness.

Italian Wedding Soup

Sometimes you get pictures that match how delicious your food is. Sometimes you don't. With my lack of a professional grade camera and natural light when I made this, sadly, I couldn't capture just how delicious this soup was - but I hope you take my word for it when I tell you that it was SIMPLY AMAZING.

I've actually never been a huge fan of Italian Wedding soup - grayish meatballs don't really appeal to me, and I'm pretty sure I've only ever had it out of a can, or something similarly processed from a restaurant. We had Italian Wedding soup at our wedding though, and Joe LOVED it (being Italian and all) and has been asking to make it ever since.

Well like a lot of brides, I really can't say I remember much about the dinner at my wedding (although I distinctly remember the 5 bacon wrapped scallops that my sister continually provided me with during the cocktail hour at my demand request) so really had no recollection of the soup, or its being good - but I finally gave in to Joe's repeated requests that I try making it.

This is probably my new favorite soup recipe - just in time for summer : (. It was one of those meals that you can't stop thinking about after eating it. I have no idea if this is really a traditional recipe or not - although it is a Giada recipe, I made a change to it by browning the meatballs first and then starting the soup in the pot to use all that flavor. Traditional or not, it made for a delicious soup and TONS of leftovers.

Italian Wedding Soup
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

Ingredients:

1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
Freshly ground black pepper
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound chopped spinach (I used fresh but you could easily use frozen as well)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Make the meatballs combining the first six ingredients in a bowl, then adding the cheese, beef and pork. Form the meatballs into 1-inch diameter balls.

Add some olive oil to a large dutch oven (or other large pot) and heat for frying. Add the meatballs and brown until even on all sides (they don't need to cook all the way through just yet). Remove the meatballs and any excess oil from the pot.

Add the broth to the pot, scraping up the brown bits from the meatballs and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and spinach and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the spinach is tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Mamma Mia Reprise Party

So it appears that the Mamma Mia Sing-A-Long party may become an annual event for me. Ever since my party last year, my friends (who were reluctant at first) and I have been known to turn a regular evening into a night filled with ABBA songs, much to Joe (and my neighbor's) chagrin. This was easily solved by making sure Joe was far far away, and inviting said neighbor, who responded, 'if you can't beat em, join em'.

I was in London for work in January and got to see Mamma Mia (with some of the original cast!) at the Prince of Wales Theater. I went by myself, sat front row center and am not even kidding when I say this was one of the BEST experiences of my life! I was singing ABBA songs for weeks after seeing it and decided it was time for a reprise - hence the 2nd annual party.

This year, I timed it for when my sister was visiting me from Houston while the school she teaches at was on spring break. As you can see, she had a wonderful time (except for the part where she got out of the cab coming in from the airport and had to wait on the sidewalk outside my condo with her luggage and wait for Dancing Queen to be over so I could hear my phone ring - oops: )

As far as the menu went this year, since I had the party on a Friday and my friends specifically requested I make baklava again, I was a little constrained in terms of taking on any extra challenges. The one thing I really wanted to incorporate this year though was lamb, and I found an easy way to do it in the form of lamb meatballs (don't worry Mom and Dad, we didn't eat them until midnight since it was a Friday during Lent, I swear : )

Menu:

Olives & Feta

Pita with Tztatziki & Melitzanosalata

Lamb Meatballs

Spanakopita

Baklava

Last year, I had way too much food, so this year's smaller menu worked out perfectly. With a little pre-planning and the help of a friend, this was a totally stress free event to pull off.

I made the tztatziki and melitzanosalata on the Wednesday night before the party, and my friend Melissa came over to help with the baklava and meatballs on Thursday night. That actually translated to me rolling the meatballs (which took all of 20 minutes), then drinking wine and watching - I mean 'supervising' Melissa make the baklava for the next hour and a half. Worked for me, and while it tasted every bit as good as last year's, her final product was much prettier than mine. So hopefully that becomes an annual thing too....



I'll repost any recipes that I made again here this year.

Tztatziki
adapted from elly says opa

Ingredients:

1 16 oz low fat Greek Yogurt
1 seedless cucumber
4 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 lemon

Peel & seed the cucumber. Using a box grater, shred cucumber and squeeze out all the excess moisture (I used a towel, which Elly also suggests) - you really want to get it as dry as possible.

Mix together the yogur with the cucumber and grate the garlic over the mixture using a micro-plane (or you could make a garlic paste). Mix in the vinegar and lemon juice, then salt & pepper to taste.

Like I said, I made mine a couple days in advance, but Elly recommends letting it sit at least a half hour in the fridge to let the flavors marry.


Melitzanosalata
source: About.com

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons of wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Pierce the eggplant with a fork and broil for 10-15 minutes until the eggplant turns black and is very soft. Set to cool and drain on a rack with paper towels underneath.

As soon as it can be handled, peel by hand (the skin will come off easily), and transfer to a bowl. Chop the pulp into small pieces with a knife, and mash with a fork. With a wooden spoon, stir in oil and vinegar slowly, alternating between them, until well blended. Stir in garlic, salt, and pepper.

Serve chilled or at room temperature, with pita wedges.

Spiced Lamb Meatballs
source: elly says opa



These little devils were heavenly - the cinammon and spices really makes for a rich flavor, I've been craving them ever since I made them!

1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 small onion, grated or finely minced
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper
olive oil for pan frying

I prepped these the night before, mixing all the ingredients together for the meatballs (except the olive oil) and formed the meatball, letting them sit in the fridge until I was ready to fry them the next day.

Using a dutch oven or heavy pan, heat up the oil for frying, and brown the meatballs until cooked through.

I served mine with the tztatziki.


Baklava:
source: Elly's recipe on bakespace.com


1 package phyllo dough (16 oz.)
1 cup butter, melted
1 lb. chopped toasted walnuts
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
2 tsp. lemon juice

Remember to thaw your phyllo before working with it! Your best bet is to put it in the fridge the night before.

Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 9x13 pan. Mix walnuts,cinnamon and cloves, and set aside.

Layer 1 sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the prepared pan, keeping a moist towel over the phyllo that you are not working with.

Brush melted butter over it and top with a second sheet. Continue this until you have layered 8-10 phyllo sheets.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture over the phyllo and then repeat the layering 2 times, ending with layers of phyllo. I cut mine into square inches. Bake for 45 minutes.

For the syryp, heat sugar, honey, water, lemon and cinnamon in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil to thicken slightly, and then remove from heat. Allow to cool before pouring it over baklava.





Until next year Dancing Queens.....

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey Syrup

I'm typically not a pancake lover but the other morning I got a craving out of the blue for chocolate chip pancakes and found some peanut butter chips in the pantry as well. Peanut butter and chocolate is never a bad idea, so I knew it would be a great addition to these pancakes.

Since I've never made pancakes before, I found a highly rated recipe on allrecipes.com. I'm glad I found it - the pancakes themselves were super fluffy so I'll definitely use it again with other variations. The syrup was delicious and super easy, I think the next time I make these, I'll make blueberry pancakes and add some lemon to the syrup.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/3 peanut butter chips

* Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

* In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and oil, then add it to the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk.

* Stir in the chips.

* Using a 1/4 cup measuring spoon, spoon the pancakes one at a time onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles start to form on top and cook until both sides are golden brown.

Cinnamon Honey Syrup:

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

* Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and microwave about 60 seconds, allowing the butter to melt and syrup to heat. Stir and serve with pancakes.

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