Barrio

My debut into the Boston foodie/blogging world occurred last night. I am not even sure of how to introduce this post, as there's just so much to say.

I guess I could backtrack and give you a quick history on how this all came about. A good friend of my brother's from high school ran into him in L.A. a while back and they got to chatting and catching. As she discussed her love of food and blogging, he told her I also had a love of food and blogging. She connected with me and we've been food-chatting ever since. Her blog A Boston Food Diary, has some super great recipes and restaurant reviews from the Boston area (and elsewhere!). Well, she gets invited to all sorts of great restaurant/food events and mentioned if she gets another invite and can bring a guest, she'd see if I was interested. Well, that day came a few weeks ago when she got invited to "Barrio", chef Wheeler del Torro's latest pop-up dinner venture, and asked if I would like to join.

Would I like to join?!?!

I said yes.

You can read all about Barrio here, as I'm not going to get into all of the crazy/mysterious details. It's an article about a dinner that was in March, but similar to last night. We were not told the location of the dinner until yesterday morning. Livingsocial.com was selling tickets for a discount ($110! And yes, that was a really good discount, we're talking a $200+ dinner here). Last night's dinner was not very Afro-Cuban, as Barrio's theme boasts, but it was delicious and interesting all the same.

We met for drinks before the dinner. I got to meet Fiona's (of A Boston Food Diary) friends Katie and Jen (of Beantown Baker). We were all incredibly excited, curious and hungry. The little information I could google up on this dinner did not prepare us at all. All I knew was that it was going to be delicious, involve champagne, and possibly some vegan ice cream, since that is what del Torro is known for.

The dinner was delicious, we had champagne, but no vegan ice cream.

Here's what happened:

We arrived at the secret location, which was very small and had two small rooms that seated about 40 or so. Wheeler was walking around, prepping dishes, pouring champagne and greeting people. We found a table near the window and another blogger and guest arrived that Fiona knew. Our table for 6 was complete. We did not receive a menu, and only some dishes were described to us, others we just had to guess at the ingredients. Once the champagne was poured, it was on.

Oh, did I mention that we drank Dom Perignon all night?

Glass one of 5

Our first dish was a small plate of four crostinis. Each unique, with combinations I could never dream up, and supremely fantastic (how many adjectives can I fit into this post? Stay tuned).

Top: Crostini with smoked pate of some sort, mushroom, mango and a special surprise...
Right:  A pepper and onion jam (?), with cheese
Bottom: Red pepper (?) hummus, bleu cheese and cantaloupe
Left: Cranberry goat cheese and lightly pickled cucumber

That my friends, is a truffle hiding under that mushroom!!

Then, we had a break (a decently long one) and the caesar salad came out. It was good, but Fiona and I agreed, the dressing was a bit too acidic.

Then we waited again for the next plate. The first few dishes were quite spaced out (over about 2 hours), but that gave us ample time to enjoy more champagne.

This, my friends, is a bowl of fresh, and I mean fresh, spring peas sitting in a cilantro and mint infused oil, topped with a poached eggs and sauteed green onions. A poached egg...

Oh. dear. Lord.

We all wondered if it was socially acceptable to lick the bowl...I would've if someone else did....

Here's where the sidekick chef comes in. Wheeler always invited another chef to showcase in his pop up dinners, and ours was Tim Maslow of Strip T's. He makes a good steak.

A really good steak.

This was a marinated skirt steak, served on deep fried maitake mushrooms, roasted sunchokes, escarole, and topped with fresh chimichurri. I heard the server say sunchoke, but must have completely disregarded it, because when I bit into one, I was sure it was a pleasantly sweet fingerling potato, with a slight turnip-ish texture. I have never had a sunchoke, until now, and thought it was a potato, until Fiona remembered that the server said sunchokes.  They were delish. The chimichurri was so fresh that I just wanted a whole bowl of it. And the steak, oh the steak, it was so perfectly cooked. We were even offered seconds of the steak. but we had no idea how many more dishes were coming out.

See...

 

Finally, it was time for dessert. We were all wondering what flavor ice cream we'd be getting, but were surprised with this:

A chocolate pot de creme, which is similar to a mousse/creme brulee. It was topped with butterscotch, sour dough croutons and fresh thyme. Mixed through the creme was lemon confit. Amazing. Super. Fantastic. Holy Cow.

Seriously.

I'll have seconds.

If I had known they were giving us dessert in a mason jar I would have said yes to the second helping of steak and put it in the jar and taken it home. No shame involved.

The peas with poached egg took the cake though. It was so incredibly good. Anything with a poached egg is good.

After dinner I had a chance to talk to Wheeler, who was very laid back and calm. He asked if I enjoyed the champagne. When I told him I enjoyed a good amount, he laughed and gave me a bottle of sparkling water "in case you're driving". I did drive, but I also drank a lot of water that came in adorable glass bottles.

Adorable bottle...and Katie.

I can't even begin to thank Fiona enough for such an amazing night. She clearly thought I fit right in with the scene, because I was invited to another event next week.

Stayed tuned folks!

Peanut Butter Truffle Banana Bread Muffins

I may not have baked every day like I planned, but I did double duty (triple if you count the bloody mary) today. After the ribs were done, Game 6 got intense. It was all tied up, 3-3 and we went into overtime. I don't do very well just sitting alone and watching the Bruins, so I needed a project...and baking it was.

I planned on making these earlier in the week and had already bought bananas for it. I grabbed all my supplies and got to work, turning my back on the TV. I put them in the oven just in time to watch Seguin score the game-winning goal, and breathed a sigh of relief. The bruins won and muffins were in the oven. All in all, a good Sunday.

Peanut Butter Truffle Banana Bread Muffins
from Picky Palate

1 and 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 large ripe bananas or 3 small
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 and 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 12 cup muffin tin (or more, there is plenty of batter) with cupcake liners.
2. Place peanut butter and powdered sugar into a medium bowl, mixing until well combined. With a small cookie scoop, scoop evenly into the bottom of lined cupcake cups.
3. In a large bowl mash bananas until well mashed. Stir in sugars, egg and buttermilk until well combined. Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until just combined. Evenly scoop batter over peanut butter truffle filled cups, about 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool completely and serve.

These are definitely more like banana bread, with that moist, sticky texture. And if I make these again in the future, I would do half of a spoonful of peanut butter in the muffins cups, the peanut butter truffle is pretty dense and overwhelming. A smaller amount would compliment the muffin better.

Also, there is enough to make two batches (24 muffins), so don't waste like I did :(

Photo with awkward flash....

Crock Pot BBQ Ranch Ribs

I'd really like to call this recipe Sweet Jesus Holy #%$& Ribs...it seems more suiting. But, it's not very telling of what kind of ribs they are, other than extremely, amazingly delicious. I am shoveling for-fulls of them into my mouth as we speak.

It's Sunday. It's raining. Bruins are tied in game 6 vs. the Capitals. We need to win this game. The ribs are helping me de-stress as I watch and cringe. Oh, hockey!

I pretty much followed the recipe I found for these, other than I really used a ton of ranch dressing mix and the cooking time should be lessened a bit, just under 4 hours would probably do.

Crock Pot BBQ Ranch Ribs
from Picky Palate

2.5 - 3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
2 packets ranch salad dressing mix
1.5 cups ketchup
3 tbsp yellow mustard (I used Dijon)
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

 1.Preheat crock pot to high heat.
2. Coat ribs in ranch dressing mix. Place in preheated crock pot.
3.  Place ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, pepper and salt into a large bowl, mixing until combined. Pour BBQ sauce over ribs spreading evenly.
4. Close crock pot lid and cook 4-5 hours on high heat. (Check at about 3.5 hours, and check a few times and spoon more liquid over any ribs that are not covered in liquid to prevent drying out).

Sweet Jesus Holy #$%^& Ribs

Sriracha Bloody Mary

Sometimes I see recipes and go "I can totally wing that, make it my own, so on and so forth" (ok, I might not actually say "so on and so forth"). And, sometimes I drink Bloody Marys on Sundays. I had never drank, nor considered drinking, a bloody mary until 3 years ago on my first trip to Atlantic City. I am not a fan of raw tomatoes or tomato juice, but I make an exception for the juice when it comes to bloody marys. I used to make bloody marys all the time when I was bartending, and got a lot of compliments on how good they were. I prided myself on making a good one even though I had no idea what they were supposed to taste like. Then, I had one. It was pretty glorious. I'm a fan of savory and spicy things, but that's not the best part. Bloody marys help cure a hangover. I have kick-started many Sunday morning recoveries with a good bloody mary. Also, my aunt Mickey swears by a glass of beer and tomato juice to cure a hangover, which I think is gross, but I bet it works!

Anywho, it's Sunday, and though I am not trying to recover from a crazy night, I did want a bloody mary. I have looked 3 or 4 times at the store for horseradish, and not the prepared sauce kind, but without luck of finding any. So today, I remembered a recipe I once saw that used sriracha in it. I figured the sriracha, a chili sauce, would replace the horseradish, so when I tried to look it up I noticed that it needed both sriracha and horseradish. I then decided to just go to the kitchen and concoct my own drink. It's not as good as a traditional bloody mary, and I have decided that a good bloody mary definitely needs some horseradish, that's the biting spice you want and love. Here's what I came up with...

Sriracha Bloody Mary

 ice
vodka
Worcestershire sauce
sriracha
celery salt
fresh lemon wedge
fresh ground black pepper
tomato juice

1. Grab a fun glass (see below). Throw in some ice cubes and the amount of vodka you like.
2. Pour in tomato juice until 3/4 full.
3. Throw in as much of the other ingredients as you like, I like a little more Worcestershire and sriracha. I usually don't like lemon in my bloodys, but a good squeeze of the lemon wedge tasted pretty good.
4. Pour rest of tomato juice until full.
5. Shake up the mix and drink.

Here come some not so great pictures...

Wizard of Oz glass!

The ingredients

Vodka and tomato juice

Mmmmm...

** Add olives! I didn't have any. The best kind would definitely be jumbo garlic-stuffed olives.

I will now proceed to wait for my crock pot ribs to be done and scream at the Bruins.

Sugar Cupcake Shoppe

Well, well, well... vacation week is now more than halfway over. I did not bake something new every day like I said I would, but I have learned that I should stop planning. I should just wake up in the morning and decide if I have time to bake, then if I do, I should bake. I've had butter sitting out for 2 days so it would be room temp for the recipe, but still no baking was done. Ugh.

Today, my mom took the day off. We had some lunch and then I finally got over to the new cupcake place in town, Sugar Cupcake Shoppe. I of course left with a half dozen cupcakes to try.

Here's what we got:

S'Mores Cupcake

 

Pina Colada Cupcake

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake

Oreo Cupcake

Mocha Cupcake

Of course, I dug right in...

The S'Mores cupcake is sugar overload. I took the tiniest bite of it and couldn't eat another. It's definitely something to eat if you didn't just eat lunch and aren't trying other cupcakes.

The Strawberry Shortcake was great. A nice lighter cake with fresh strawberries under the light-tasting frosting.

The Mocha one had a more sugary frosting, but great flavor. My mom chose that one and I only had one tiny bite.

The Oreo Cupcake I didn't try. I bought it for Dan and he didn't share...

The Hazelnut one was pretty good as well. A thicker more sugary frosting, but still great.

The Pina Colada was my favorite. Little bits of pineapple at the bottom of the cake with a pineapple glaze (I think) under the frosting.

I have a half or more of each cake left to eat later.


Also, today I tried a new food:

CRAWFISH!

 

 It was good, tasted like lobster. I only had one, because I felt like I should eat them properly prepared and not at a subpar chinese restaurant. Can you see my calamari and crab rangoon next to it??

If you're in the Westford area, be sure to check out Sugar Cupcake Shoppe. And, check their facebook for their daily specials. Word on the street is that they have sold out every day since opening. Now if only I could be that successful with baking....

Marshmallow Reeses Brownies

On Friday, I finished up the Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake and decided to quickly whip up the brownies I had planned. The brownies didn't come out as pretty as I had hoped, I think using a smaller pan would be better. Using a 9 x 13 pan makes the brownies somewhat thin, but the Reeses eggs are pretty thick. With a smaller pan, the brownie mix would cover the Reeses better.

Marshmallow Reeses Brownies
from Bru Crew Life

1 box brownie mix
12 Reeses Eggs (or less if using a smaller pan)
1 cup marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat oven and make brownie mix according to box directions.
2. Pour half of the batter into a 9 x 13 greased baking pan (I recommend a smaller pan). Place the eggs over the batter evenly spreading them out.
3. Place spoonfuls of the fluff between the eggs.
4. Cover the eggs and fluff with the remaining brownie batter and smooth out.
5. Bake according to the box directions.

** The fluff will rise when cooking. Don't be alarmed when they first finish baking, it will look like the fluff puffed up over the rest of the mix, but once it cools it settles and evens out.

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

I've been telling myself I'll make another cheesecake for about 2 months now. Yesterday, I finally got around to doing it. I was supposed to have jury duty today, which got canceled, which is a bonus, but since it was canceled I had to go to work, which was not a bonus.

BUT.....I am now on April vacation, so I can't really complain.

I've made a list of things I want to make over vacation, hopefully at least one thing each day, we'll see how it actually goes. I promised Dan some brownies, which I should probably make tonight before he eats all of the ingredients. They contain Easter candy that has been sitting in our snack cabinet just begging him to eat them, but he can't. If I wait too long I'll come home to find the little candy wrappers all over the place...

Cheesecakes are ridiculously easy to make. When I made my first one over a year ago, I assumed it was going to be a huge process. I always envied people who made cheesecakes because I thought they were so difficult, but they're not at all. I still envy people who make them though, that thought hasn't changed. I've made a few cheesecakes since that first time, and they have all ended up yummy and pretty easy. The most time consuming one is the Pineapple Carrot Cake Cheesecake, because it's two recipes in one, but it's still pretty easy.

Pineapple Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Key Lime Habanero Cheesecake

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake
from finecooking

8 oz. chocolate wafers, finely crushed (2 cups of crumbs)
3 Tbs. granulated sugar
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 and 1/4 cups strawberry purée
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Table salt
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 oz. chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
5 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. light corn syrup
Sliced fresh strawberries, for garnish

1.Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the chocolate wafer crumbs and 3 Tbs. granulated sugar. Mix in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moist and clump together slightly. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of the pan (to press, use plastic wrap or a flat-bottom measuring cup). Bake until the crust is fragrant and slightly darkened, 9 to 12 minutes. Let the pan cool on a rack. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, strawberry purée, flour, and a pinch of table salt on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the paddle frequently, until very smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make sure the cheese has no lumps. Add the 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar and continue beating until well blended and smooth.

4. Add the vanilla and beat until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until blended. (Don’t overbeat once the eggs have been added or the cheesecake will puff too much and crack as it cools.) Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

5. Bake at 300°F until the center jiggles like Jell-O when nudged, 55 to 65 minutes. The cake will be slightly puffed around the edges, and the center will still look moist. Set on a rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. The cake can also be frozen at this point for up to 1 month (see make-ahead tip, below).

6. In a small bowl, melt the 3 oz. chopped chocolate and the butter. Add the corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Unclasp and remove the side of the springform pan and run a long, thin metal spatula under the bottom crust of the cheesecake. Carefully slide the cake onto a flat serving plate. Pour the chocolate ganache on the cheesecake and spread evenly.

7. Just before serving, garnish with the sliced strawberries. To cut, run a thin knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut the cake into slices, heating and wiping the knife after every slice.

I would bake it for at least 65 minutes. I baked mine for about 60, but when I cut into it today, the center was a little creamier than I would've liked. It was still set enough, but a little creamy for my liking. Oh...and decorate it prettier than I did, my chocolate is super messy...

Buttermilk Dips

I know in my last post I said I was going to make an effort to post more, and have more pictures, but the progress is slow...

I've had a horrendous couple of weeks at work, which results in me making things like frozen chicken tenders and mac and cheese for dinner...or hoping that Dan wants to cook (which he did a few times, thankfully). We had a really yummy stuffed pork tenderloin the other night. He stuffed his with cheese and pesto, while I stuffed mine with provolone, feta, roasted red peppers and pesto. It was awesome.

I racked my brain yesterday trying to remember what food we had at home that I could use. I'm really bad about buying frozen stuff and not using it, so the freezer never has any room for the good stuff, like the raspberry chocolate chip ice cream Dan brought home for me. I settled on some frozen battered shrimp from Trader Joe's and fries. I did come up with some dipping sauces from a recipe I remember seeing. I don't remember the original source, but one I pretty much remembered from the recipe and the second sauce I created on my own.


Sriracha Buttermilk Dip

1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. sriracha

Whisk all ingredients together until combined and smooth.

Garlic Pesto Buttermilk Dip 

1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. crushed garlic
2 tbsp. (or to taste) Tastefully Simple Garlic Pesto Seasoning

Whisk all ingredients together until combined and smooth.

 

Stir-Fried Egg Ramen

I always get really excited when I find new recipes that sound super yummy, but it seems the days I actually plan on making them are the longest days at work, where all I want to do when I get home is lay in the couch motionless and hope that a magical spoon will appear next to me and just spoon-feed me dinner.

A girl can dream.

Today is one of those days, and I forced myself into the kitchen early (it's only 4:30 and I am eating dinner) to get it done so I can relax the rest of the night...or do the bag-load of work I brought home from work....

Now, I know what some of you might be thinking from the title of this post...Ramen?! Yes, my friends, ramen. As in the little packages that cost 30 cents at the store, the kind you stock your dorm with to cook in your microfridge at 3 am when studying/intoxicated. I still enjoy ramen to this day, I mean why not? It's cheap, quick, salty, and completely unhealthy for the most part. But this recipe makes me feel a little better about it...it adds veggies, shrimp and it's fancy because it's cooked in a wok.

During the making of this dish, as I was draining the ramen into the sink, the strainer cover fell off the pot and I lost half my ramen to the bottom of my sink....which already had some dishes in it. I had to quickly make another pack. Just more stress to add to an already stressful day.

Stir-Fried Egg Ramen
adapted from here

2 packages of ramen noodles
1 cup of peas, thawed
1 cup of corn, thawed
15-20 shrimp, thawed if frozen
pinch of salt
pinch of paprika
pinch or turmeric
pinch of ground mustard
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1 cup of sliced shiitake mushrooms
oil for cooking

1. Cook ramen according to package direction, but only leave in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain again and set aside.
2. Marinate the shrimp in the salt, paprika, turmeric and mustard.
3. Beat the egg, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Prepare an omelet in a small skillet. Once cooked, cut into small strips or pieces and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add peas, corn and shrimp. Cook 2-3 minutes or until shrimp mostly turn pink (if raw). Add the mushrooms and egg, cook for 1 minute. Add ramen noodles and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ramen seasoning packets and 2-3 tablespoons of water. Mix and cook until everything is cooked and heated through.
5. Serve!