Field Trip: Brasserie by Niche

2 Comments January 29, 2012 Lauren

From upper left, clockwise: escargot, onion soup, French press coffee, and moule frites.

Ah, Brasserie, how I love you. Visited this delectable spot last Saturday night; it was truly a meal to remember. The atmosphere was cozy with low light and butcher paper over the classic red gingham tablecloths; “casual French” without feeling like diners are stuck in the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp. Knots of French bread and small terrines of silky-smooth (house-made?) butter were served right onto the paper, and the escargot and soups were piping hot. The onion soup was probably the best I’ve ever had, and the mussels were delicious in their briny bath of tarragon, butter, white wine, and the perfect touch of cream. The frites were served with a very rich garlic aioli, which I would have eaten more of if I’d had room.
Simply delicious!! Basics done very well.

5 stars

I’m a sucker for a good poster

Quickie: Fried Eggs On Toast

Leave a comment January 28, 2012 Lauren

Because sometimes, Kashi Go Lean will not cut it.

Fry two eggs while you toast a piece of good French bread. Butter the toast, place the eggs on top, shred Parmesan to cover. Place in broiler 3 minutes. Remove; crack black pepper over cheese. Savor. Very good with fresh fruit and someone you love.

Quickie: Kimchi Fried Rice (veg, gf)

Leave a comment January 28, 2012 Lauren

First- happy Saturday! Saturday’s my favorite holiday, and it comes every week- it is so, so welcome right now. This week has been loooong.
Okay, now to the good stuff- I bought a jar of spicy kimchi, planning to eat it by itself, as usual, but thought a hot dish would be a better bet in January. Our local natural foods store had some beautiful, brown, farm-fresh eggs (cage-free, hormone-free, grain fed, generally pampered, etc.), so I grabbed a dozen and used two in this fried rice.

KIMCHI FRIED RICE
Ingredients:

2 cups cold, cooked brown rice (or white, if you prefer)
1 cup kimchi
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:
Heat your wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Side note: The wok in these photos was a thoughtful Christmas gift from a beloved friend- I have never been so excited to season a pan as I was with my wok! Thank you, Shahla!

Tomato-Artichoke Rotini with Crab (pes)

Leave a comment January 25, 2012 Lauren

Today was another busy one- we’re working on putting an offer in what hopefully becomes our first house! After a full day of work, emailing our realtor, and stalking the home (twice), this is the quick and satisfying dinner I whipped up.
In other words: are you tired? Are you hungry? Do you have a can of crabmeat sitting around that you don’t know what to do with? Make this.

TOMATO-ARTICHOKE ROTINI WITH CRAB

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can crabmeat, or a 12 oz container lump crab
1 carton Santa Sweets grape tomatoes
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, in water
10 oz whole wheat rotini
a few cloves minced garlic, optional
1 tsp capers, optional
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
Grated Parmesan

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the rotini. While you wait for it, heat a large sauté pan on medium-low heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the container of the (rinsed) grape tomatoes. Let those cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes to break down a bit.
While the tomatoes cook, finely chop the parsley, drain the can of artichokes and the can of crabmeat, and mince the garlic if you’re using it. Some folks live by the no garlic near crabmeat rule; I prefer the garlic in everything rule, and I don’t feel garlic overpowers the delicate crab flavor here.

Slow-Cooker Italian Beef (gf)

Leave a comment January 24, 2012 Lauren

Okay, so first things first: a big shout out to my lovely mother-in-law for this wonderful recipe. She gave it to me when my husband and I moved into our first place together, and it always reminds me of that apartment- this meal is definitely food nostalgia for me. This is one of Dave’s favorites, and I threw it all together before a busy Sunday full of errands and a movie. Side note: the movie was The Artist and it was wonderful. I saw it with my best friend and we drank wine and ate popcorn and tap danced in the lobby afterward- I highly recommend all of those things.

With pleasure!

This recipe has a kick to it, so I have a few notes for the non-spicy fans out there.

SLOW COOKER ITALIAN BEEF

(adapted from Jane Ann Cruse’s family recipe)

Ingredients:

2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
2 packets dry zesty Italian dressing mix (regular for the non-spicies)
1 large jar pepperoncini (mild for the non-spicies)
beer to cover (I used three cans of good ol’ Bud Light)
garlic cloves, optional

Field Trip to King Edward’s

2 Comments January 23, 2012 Lauren

We made a stop by King Edward’s Chicken & Fish this weekend to try their famous- you guessed it- chicken. Man, was it worth it. Two breasts and a side were $5 (!) and completely delicious. We ate in and watched the loyal neighborhood crowd file by to claim their to-go orders as we devoured the straightforward and perfect, golden-fried chicken with our plastic forks.

Dave at the gloriously unadorned KE counter

5 stars

Lotsa Chicken Casserole

Leave a comment January 23, 2012 Lauren

Surprise, surprise… another busy night and the need for a quick dinner. After speaking to my mother on my way home, I was compelled to make her tuna casserole; upon arriving home, I realized I had ingredients for a new spin on this old favorite. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: lotsa chicken casserole! Behold the chickeny goodness:

LOTSA CHICKEN CASSEROLE

(uber adapted from Anne Rivas)

Ingredients:

2 cans Trader Joe’s white meat chicken, rinsed and drained
1 can healthy request cream of celery
1 can healthy request cream of mushroom
2 cups frozen peas and corn, slightly thawed (I used about 2 cups). You could just as easily use other veggies here; spinach and artichokes sound delish!
10 oz whole wheat egg noodles
Milk
Cracked black pepper
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to boil; add noodles and cook for about 6-8 minutes, until quite al dente. *Under-cooking the noodles a bit here is no sin, as they’ll be baked later, and no one likes mushy noodles. Read More

Holiday Spice Cake

Leave a comment January 23, 2012 Lauren

I made this cake for dessert as part of a surprise Christmas luncheon my coworkers and I gave our higher-ups. I’d realllly been craving spiced-baked-sweet-buttery something-cake and wanted to impress.

It’s a Paula Deen recipe (which covered the “buttery” requirement) and this is the cake in the profile photo of this blog. I figured posting the recipe was timely.

WARNING: do not eat unless you want type-2 diabetes!!

HOLIDAY SPICE CAKE

(adapted from Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

Cake:

3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg *trust me- FRESH will make a huge impact!
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Butter Cream Icing (recipe below)
Finely chopped nuts, for garnish *I used toasted pecans- they were lovely

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour THREE 8-inch, round cake pans.