Cider? Beer? How about both...

I love a good hard cider. Or rather, I really like the idea of hard cider. Most of the time I end up disappointed. I can't really explain it, except that when I order cider I'm just not satisfied. It's often too sweet and too thin. Like there's something missing. There are exceptions, actually pretty major ones, Dupont (See the post from AC last year comparing ciders) and our friends Paul and Fiona are fabulous cider-makers (retired?). I can also enjoy a cold Crispin on occasion- it's local after all, and Fox Barrel has an apricot-pear cider that's nice, but again, I find both too sweet to have more than just once in a while.

So I was really happy when I discovered Furthermore's Fallen Apple. It was last fall. By the time I made the discovery there were only a few left, when I asked about it I was told it was seasonal.

Sad.

I was delighted when I saw they brought it back this year. It's really good and I highly recommend you get some before it's gone. It's a creme ale (creamy, smooth, flavorful, not hoppy) brewed with apples. You get the density of a nice creamy fall beer with the sweetness of apples. Hurry up and buy some, because I'm not sharing mine!!

Don't like the wine? Cook with it!

I started buying and drinking boxed wine when the AC was in India for four months and I was stuck at home in graduate school. The whole higher quality boxed wine concept had just started- Black Box- and my taste in red wines was still fairly basic. More importantly, I had developed a taste for wine with dinner, felt guilty about opening a bottle without finishing it and didn't want AC to come home to a drunk. So boxed wine fit the bill, I could have one glass and that's it (okay, okay, that was the goal). Now the wine in a box industry has grown and there are more options. You'd think this would be a good thing, but I have found that the quality varies tremendously and since one box is four bottles, it's become a bit of a crap-shoot and a commitment to a lot of wine you may not want to drink.

Case in point: I bought a box of Pinot Grigio, same brand as a Sauv Blanc I enjoy.  I poured a glass and it was just blah, nothing, watery, not good. I'm not a boxed wine snob AND I don't want to drink something that I really don't enjoy, kinda defeats the purpose. Anyway, I regreted the $18 I spent, but figured we could use it for cooking. AC comes home from a business trip and goes to Costco. I get home from work and he's all excited about a box of Pinot Grigio he got for $14 at Costco.

Yep. Same one. Even he can't stand it. Hello recipes that use white wine.

This became a pretty easy challenge, as white wine can replace any liquid. For this recipe we substituted wine for water when cooking Quinoa. We're new to this whole grain, but have really come to like it. As with any grain, adding flavor is important, and it's easy to over-salt, cooking it in wine instead of water was delicious. It added moisture and very subtle flavor that added to the overall dimension of the dish. We added dried cherries to the Quinoa after cooking and it's really all it needed. So here's your recipe.

Pork Chops and Quinoa

• Two small boneless pork chops, each cut in half. 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 finely minced cayenne pepper (any hot pepper will do, if you use powder add it at the end)
• 1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced
• 5-6 crimini mushrooms
• 2/3 c artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 c dry vermouth
• 1 tbsp butter
• olive oil, salt and black pepper

Saute garlic and cayenne pepper in oil olive over medium/high heat. Lightly sear both sides of the pork chops in the pan, add red bell peppers, mushrooms and vermouth, reduce the heat to medium. Let the sauce cook the pork and reduce. When reduced to about half the amount (about 2 min), add butter to thicken the sauce. Add the artichoke hearts and basil, salt and black pepper to taste.

We made the Quinoa in our rice cooker, following the directions on the package, using white wine instead of water. Add diced dried cherries and a little salt when done.     

We've been using this method of cooking meat a lot lately (sear first, then poach in broth, wine, vermouth, you name it) as it browns it nicely and ends up really moist and flavorful, picking up the flavors of the broth. It's also really hard to over cook your protein this way. It is particularly amazing with Salmon, cooks perfectly every time.

Filfillah Restaurant

 Filfillah Restaurant 4301 Central Ave Columbia Heights
 Filfillah had a rocky start. As a long-time Northeaster my attention was piqued a couple (if not more) years ago when I saw a brand new restaurant on Central that appeared to be going all out. They had two very professional looking signs, were completely gutting the building and had their logo on two cars, one a van the other, a sports car. Just as quickly as they appeared to be getting everything together, they promptly stopped, with an official shut-down notice from the city on the door. Oops.

Filfillah finally opened again about a year ago. We heard positive reviews from friends but didn't get around to checking it out until we came across one very important detail in a Heavy Table blog review. The detail is this: Filfillah makes their own Shawarma. What is that? Simply, it's gyro meat. There's only one other place in town that does this, Java, an Egyptian restaurant off Nicollet. Everyone else uses the same pre-made meat from a supplier in Chicago. I'm not ripping on it, but there has to be more to gyro meat than the compressed, thin fried-like stuff everyone else uses, and this is it. 

We visited for lunch last Saturday. The place was empty, but understandably as it is October and 85* outside. The owner immediately greeted us and once realizing we'd never been there and had seen the Heavy Table article, he went all out to give us the whole experience. He was charming and very earnest, explaining his specialties and the ways he tried to make his restaurant stand out. We order the shawarma wrap, of course, and the falafel plate (in the appetizer section). Both are highly recommended.

Exhibit A

Exhibit A- the shawarma. OMG, do you see that? It is clearly freshly made, not overly garlicky, like most, and the meat was perfectly cooked. The bonus- fresh baked bread. It came out warm with a perfectly crunchy outside and soft, chewy inside, it held the meat, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley perfectly.

Exhibit B

To the left is Exhibit B- the falafel plate. It came with eight falafel, fresh tabbouleh, the same fresh bread (piping hot), hummus and fresh made tzatziki. It was a large portion, of which I brought a ton home, and very good. The falafel aren't the best I've had, but it was made up for by the dipping sauces and fresh salad.

Finally, dessert. If you know us, you know the odds of us ordering a dessert for a weekend lunch are pretty much, I don't know, the odds of having more than a week of temperatures higher than 80* in Minnesota in October (I know just can't get over it). But the earnest, charming owner would not let us leave without giving us complementary baklava. Um, wow. It was delicious. It was very nutty, light and crispy and not overly sweet. The perfect end to the meal. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself to Filfillah, you can thank us later .

Chimborazo- My new favorite casual restaurant

Chimborazo, 29th and Central Ave NE
You'll know this restaurant when you see it, it's very yellow and very square on Central Ave and 29th St NE. There used to be a small white and yellow restaurant called Charlies in this location. One of my good friends told me they served guinea pig and that the place was awful, so we never went. Then it was painted and turned into Chimborazo. My hairdresser tipped me off, she said the breakfasts were amazing, especially the huge pancake with plantain. So we went.

Since I'm more of a protein person, I ordered something with eggs and sausage and wasn't really impressed. The AC ordered the Llapingachos and was very happy. So, he was impressed, I wasn't, which means we didn't go again for some time. Then AC started going there for lunch. He's been working from home since April, and really needs to get out mid-day. Each time he raved about the soup and sandwich combos. We went again and I was blown away. I would trust this chef to make me anything. Every single homemade soup is amazing. I mean- AMAZING.

If you go there, start with a soup and sandwich combo. Get the Sopa de bolas de verde. It consists of a fabulously hearty and flavorful dumpling in the center, surrounded by an addicting peanut broth and vegetables. Get it with the roasted pork sandwich. Trust me. You'll be really happy. The last time we went was a Wednesday night, when they have a special "cheap date night". Two entrees and a bottle of wine for $35. At first we were a little hesitant as they decide which entrees and which wine (choice between a white or red). We were served the pan fried talapia and the house Ecuadorian answer to fried rice. The talapia was served whole and came with a small green salad, lime, their special hot salsa and beans and rice. It was good. If you're not comfortable with a whole fish you may not be a fan, but it was perfectly cooked and the combination of the salty, crispy outside with the sweet, tender meat inside was very nice. The fried rice, again, blew me away. I really don't order fried rice in Chinese restaurants because compared to everything else, it's pretty boring. This Ecuadorian fried rice brought the concept to a whole new level. The dish had three types of meat, chicken, pork and shrimp. It was spicy and very flavorful. It's comes as a huge portion that you think you'll never be able to eat, until you're staring at the bottom of the plate. The best part are the three perfectly fried, soft but lightly crispy pieces of plantain. Dipped in the green salsa, you'll think you died and went to heaven. The wine options were limited, but the Sauvignon Blanc we chose was very drinkable and with just enough acid to balance the food nicely. I highly recommend you check this place out.

Simple Inspiration: Decontructed Guacamole

Avocado is my all time favorite food. I could eat it everyday at every meal and still want to eat it more. It's just so simple but rich, creamy and full of possibility. It's also really healthy, the only item with enough good-for-you-fat and nutrients that it could replace all other food in your diet. Even I wouldn't do that, but if I had to, I think I could.

The AC is aware of this other love. It was fully realized the first time we went to Mexico together and he realized I really could eat guacamole for every meal and still want more. He believes I will tire of it if I eat it too much, which I agree would be a tragedy. So, although he makes it for me, he tries to space it out a bit, which I must admit, does make me enjoy it even more. This post is about lazy guacamole, we call it deconstructed. The irony is, while it is very lazy, it stands on it's own, literally- there are no chips- and figuratively- it truly makes the best of the beauty that is a perfectly ripe avocado.

So we start there, with a perfectly ripe avocado. This used to be pretty much impossible to come by in good ol' Minnesota. When my love affair first started I would only buy them in little Mexican grocery stores on Central Avenue, and still had to put it in a paper bag for a day to ripen. Now they are everywhere and while it still takes about ten highly focused minutes evaluating a  box at the grocery store, you can get them ready to eat. It just takes patience and a little know how. First you want it to be soft, you should be able to squeeze it lightly and feel a fair amount of give. Second, feel around to see if there are any hollow spots, you'll know when you try to do this, it literally feels like the skin has separated from the fruit, don't buy it, it's too ripe. When I find a good one I'll buy another that's slightly under-ripe so I can eat it in the next couple days, once they're ripe you need to eat them.

After you've found the avocado, it's super simple. Cut the fruit in half, lengthwise, remove the seed by putting your sharp knife into it and pulling it out while twisting the nut. Remove the meat with a spoon, scooping in one smooth movement. Discard the shell. Place the avocado face down on the serving plate and slice into 1/2" size pieces, keeping the original shape. Squeeze the juice of a slice of lime over the avocado, add some salt, black pepper and a chili pepper. Don't use jalapeno, the tastes are not complementary. We use either Thai chili or habanero from our garden, if you don't have taste buds that can withstand nuclear heat, use a serrano pepper diced very small or a sprinkle of cayenne is good too. Add as much as you like. Then sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.  And you're done. This is great as a side for summer dishes, added to antipasto meals as a palate cleanser, it goes awesome with eggs for breakfast, or just a perfect mid-afternoon snack. Simple inspiration, it's the best kind.

A Nutella Ganache Risin' From The Dead

I cannot believe it is OCTOBER and this is my first post since July. Ahhhhh, writer's block, busy summer, lack of inspiration, too many house guests in short order and a ton of travel. This blog hit them all, but we're still here. Believe it or not, when I returned to write tonight I saw five half written posts in draft form, unfinished. Two in July, two in August, one in September, I vaguely remembered they existed. Whoa. Don't worry I just started mindfulness classes, guess it's overdue.

All of this ended at my breakfast table this morning. See the picture to right and you'll understand.

Last night I suggested oatmeal cakes, as they were a huge blog hit, I really like them and we haven't made them since. While AC was cooking I ran to the corner Super America for half and half. I scoured the shelves for yogurt to top the cakes and stopped to stare at the glazed donuts. It's mostly childhood nostalgia that causes me to do this. My childhood best friend and I used to go on walks that included the local SA and buy glazed donuts, joking that our exercise made up for the calories. Ever since, I have a hard time passing without at least checking them out. I reminded myself of the breakfast in progress, gave up on finding the yogurt, figuring we could use half and half with some preserves instead.  

I walked into my house to the most amazing hazelnut smell. We're talking the best-chocolate-croissant-you- can-find-smell. Peeking at the mixing bowl AC was standing over, I saw the jar of  Nutella that we always forget about and what looked like a rich, smooth ganache. Okay, somebody tell me again why I deserve this man? Oh yeah, never mind, there are lots of reasons. But the blog drought has ended!!

Make the sauce while the oatmeal is cooking.

• 3 tbsp Nutella
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey 
• 1-2 tbsp B&B liqueur (which is a spiced brandy, you could use spiced rum, if you don't want alcohol, use the equivalent amount of half and half with a pinch of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.)
• Stir together in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy, it will thicken a bit.

Oatmeal Cakes:

• Heat a skillet on medium high.
• Put 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup milk in a sauce pan. 
• Add a pinch salt, 3-4 fresh ground cloves, 1 ground allspice seed(?), 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp fresh, finely minced ginger.
• Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Add just over 1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal 
• Boil for a little more than 5 minutes 
• When the oatmeal is fairly dry without burning, add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground star anise. 
• Blend, cover, let sit for 3 minutes to continue to thicken. 
• Melt 1/2 tbsp butter on the skillet and coat. 
• Divide the oatmeal into four portions and place on the skillet. 
• Form a patty and with the spatula and cook one side only until it is nicely crisped. 
• Place on plate, fried side up, pour the Nutella sauce and put cut fresh, ripe peaches on top.  

Can you say wow?