Stay tuned...

So now that I have (some) time during this incredibly fun but insanely busy summer, I am going to post more restaurant reviews! Keep an eye out for: Quebec City, New York City, CT Shoreline, New Haven, and Finger Lakes, NY. Stay tuned!

Recipes: Week of August 8th

Based on my blog so far, some of you might be shocked to learn that I don't eat out at restaurants all the time. ;)

In fact, most of the time I cook meals at home, and when I'm in the right frame of mind, I actually enjoy it! The biggest challenge for me is balancing the three ideals that everyone wants their food to be:

-Healthy
-Cheap
-Quick/easy to make

Usually, I can get two of the three! For this post, I want to share with you some of my favorite dishes I've made this week. These aren't real "recipes," per se, because you won't find many measurements or timings---most of the time I just "eyeball" everything. Also, since these aren't baking recipes, you can adjust them to your taste. Hopefully they give you some ideas...

Mushroom and Basil Pasta: Or, how to spice up a boring jar of pasta sauce!

Olive oil
Mushrooms
Fresh basil leaves, each cut in half
Pasta sauce (I used Francesco Rinaldi--normally I make pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes and canned diced tomatoes, but I cheated a little bit this time)
Some garlic
Dried rosemary and oregano
Whole wheat pasta
Fresh grated mozzarella

1. Saute the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until the mushrooms are browned.
2. Pour in the sauce and add dried herbs, then let simmmer while the pasta is cooking
3. Just before the pasta is ready, throw in some basil leaves and mix them into the sauce
4. Enjoy with pasta and grated mozzarella on top! It's great when the cheese melts into the sauce.


Basil, Tomato, and Mozzarella Toss: Can you tell that I was trying to use up fresh basil and mozzarella this week? ;)

Basil (I used about half of a small bunch)
One tomato
1/4 of a package of fresh mozzarella cheese
A little bit of olive oil
Some garlic

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, toss, and let sit for 30 min. to let the flavors mix together. That's it! I ate this in a wrap, but you can also pour it over pasta. Recipe courtesy of The 15 Minute Gourmet: Noodles.

Cumin Chicken Fajitas: This is a pretty straightforward fajitas recipe, but I didn't have any chili pepper, so I used cumin, and it worked really well.

Chicken cut into thin strips
Onion cut into thin strips
Green pepper cut into thin strips
Diced tomatoes
Tortillas
Handful of cumin

1. Saute chicken until completely cooked through.
2. Add onion, green pepper, cumin, and a little bit of water. Saute until onion and pepper have softened. Make sure there is enough water and the heat is not too high so that the veggies don't burn.
3. Serve in warmed up tortillas and throw a few tomatoes on top of each one.

Note: This is the "healthy" version of this recipe. For a "slightly less healthy but delicious" variation, top the tortillas with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese.


Fried Plantains:

1 black plantain (they're the sweetest)

1. Cut the plantain into circles about 1 inch. thick
2. Fry them in a nonstick pan. Make sure the oil is very hot before you put them in. Fry each side about 5 min., until browned. Watch to make sure they don't burn.

These have become my favorite late night snack!


Post some of your recipe ideas in the comments!

Food Everybody Likes: Would you like dinner with your drink?

I love coffeehouses and wineries. Whenever I'm in a coffeehouse, I get the urge to pontificate about history, politics, religion, philosophy, literature...it's like just smelling the coffee in the air automatically makes one more intellectual. Or trying to be intellectual, anyways! In a winery, looking out at a gorgeous view of the vineyard, I can just relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the finer things in life.

However, coffeehouses and wineries don't always have incredible food. Here are a couple of places that combine the best of both worlds: amazing food and special drinks. These restaurants are definitely not places where you can just order water with your meal.

Uncorked Wine Bar, West Hartford: http://www.uncorkedct.com/

The food (and drink): This is high cuisine at its finest. For dinner, I had the parmesan encrusted organic French chicken. It was arranged beautifully on the plate, the chicken on top of a delicious polenta and topped with glazed carrots. Around all of it was a gravy-like veloute sauce. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and my favorite part of it was the parmesan skin. I felt like this was a dish you would find on Next Food Network Star or Chopped! Kevin had the roast leg of duck, with haricots vert (fancy small green beans). The wine was paired well with the meals as well. My favorite tasting was a red wine from Italy. I always used to like white wine better than red, but I think that's because I usually have local (CT and Finger Lakes, NY) wines. White wines are more suited for cold regions like these. Trying the Italian red wine, though, made me think that I had just never had a good enough red wine before! Finally, we ended the meal with a decadent dessert: chocolate lava cake. It was like a brownie, but more moist and filled in the middle with molten chocolate sauce--a chocoholic's dream.

The vibe: It was a small, fairly intimate restaurant, with a chic bar area and a sit-down restaurant area. It was modern and "cool," and I was very impressed by the attentive service. This restaurant is definitely a classy addition to West Hartford Center.

The value: Although expensive, we got a great deal from LivingSocial. In addition, most of the wine tastings range from $2-$10 for one oz., so you can try a few different wines at affordable prices.

Go for: A romantic date!


Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe, Hartford: www.mytisane.com/

The food (and drinks): This cafe features a fusion of Asian and European flavors, as well as an extensive and exotic tea and coffee list. They have a variety of flatbreads, burgers, and noodle bowls. I've had their Pad Thai, which is perhaps not as authentic as at a Thai restaurant, but just as tasty. The real stars here, though, are the drinks. They have all kinds of tea, easily organized and classified on their menu: black, white, green, oolong, rooibos, herbal. The tea comes in your own personal teapot and stays warm for your whole meal. My favorite is the spicy masala chai.

The vibe: Very bohemian and artsy.

The value: The tea is a great value, and the meals are less expensive than most regular restaurants in the area but more expensive than usual for cafes. Tisane is part of Taste of Hartford so go this week if you can!

Go for: Meetup with friends or downtime on your own with a good book

In Season: Taste of Hartford

For the next week and a half, from August 1st to August 14th, something very special is going on in Hartford. At 27 participating restaurants, you can get a three course meal (appetizer, main, and dessert) for only $23! The menus are special ones created just for the Taste of Hartford. You can check out most of the menus online. This is an especially good deal if the restaurant is expensive enough that it would normally cost you over $23 for a meal. Fine dining on the cheap!

Here are some of the participating restaurants:

Agave Grill: Mexican

Black Eyed Sally's: BBQ

Costa del Sol: Spanish

Coyote Flaco: Mexican (I've been here)

Feng Asian Bistro: Expensive! Asian Fusion

The Half Door: Irish Pub

O'Porto: Expensive! Portuguese (I really want to go here)

Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe: Great fusion dishes and exotic coffees and teas (I've been here and I will be reviewing it later)

So, who's up for it?

In Season: The 2011 Connecticut Wine Festival

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past couple of days--I had a very busy but fun weekend with friends and I spent most of Sunday at the Connecticut Wine Festival in Goshen!

For $25 at the door, we got access to wine samples from wineries all across the state, as well as specialty food samples, entertainment, craft vendors, a wine appreciation class, and a commemorative wine glass and tote bag.

Here are some of the highlights from the day:

- Taylor Brooke Winery (Woodstock) had my favorite wine of the fair, a Summer Peach Riesling. Rieslings and Gewurztraminers are my favorite white wines because they are so fresh, light, and sweet--but not too sweet or too acidic. I can only describe this wine by saying that it tasted like summer!

- Hopkins Vineyard (Warren) was someplace Natalie and I had to visit, for obvious reasons. My favorite wine there was the Sachem's Picnic, a semi-sweet red with raspberry, blackberry, and plum flavors. The name is very apt, and I enjoyed that this wine was fruity and not as dry as red wine can often be.

- Land of Nod Winery (East Canaan) first caught my eye because of its fanciful name, but what really got my attention was their delighful 2009 Rose, which was refreshing and subtle after tasting the other stronger wines.

Of course, wine is best appreciated at the vineyards themselves, where you can enjoy stunning views, beautiful architecture (such as the entirely wood bathrooms at Cassidy Hill Vineyard in Coventry, where I also savored a sweet strawberry wine called Summer Breeze), and more personalized attention. However, the benefit of a wine festival is that you can taste a little bit of everything and determine which wineries you would like to visit.

In addition, we got a helpful lesson from wine expert Laureen Guerriero of Wine Time Uncorked in West Hartford. "Wine is art in a bottle," I remember her saying. "And your own taste is the standard." Basically, you like the wine you like and don't like the wine you don't like. It's all about you and your taste. Her motto is "Have fun and taste mindfully!" Part of tasting mindfully is knowing how to taste. Here's what I learned.

Follow the 5 "S's":

1. See: Tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle over a white sheet of paper and look for the clarity, intensity, and color of the wine.

2. Swirl to release the aroma.

3. Smell: Put your nose deep into the glass and try to discern the condition, intensity, and aroma of the wine. The aroma characteristics are fruit, floral, spice, vegetal, and oak.

Common aromas with whites: Citrus, pear, peach, tropical fruits, honeysuckle, cinnamon, and vanilla
Common aromas with reds: berry, black cherry, plum, rose petal, cloves, cedar, earth

4. Sip: The fun part! Try to determine what aromas you taste as well as smell. Also try to figure out the wine's sweetness, acidity, tannin (for reds only), and body (mouthfeel).

5. Summarize and savor: Give your opinion on the quality of the wine and think about food pairings. And, of course, enjoy it!

Finally, because this is a food blog, I have to mention a really cool food product at the fair. Peace Tree Desserts is an organic, sustainable bakery. Their vendor featured cajeta caramel, a high quality Mexican caramel sauce that came in flavors like cinnamon, apple jack, and curry. At $13-18 a jar, it's not cheap, but it is the best caramel I've ever tasted.

Next up: Taste of Hartford!

Food Everybody Likes: American Pubs

I like pubs and microbreweries for their American comfort food and craft beers. Unlike bars, which can get so noisy you can't even talk to the person sitting next to you, pubs are cozier places to meet up. Many of them are also rich in character. These two are no exception:


Willimantic Brewing Company, Willimantic: www.willibrew.com/ (known affectionately by UConn students as "Willibrew")

The food: The menu is a nice mix of classic pub grub and upscale seafood and steak dishes. Their appetizers are just as good, especially the Canterbury Three Bean Chili, a spicy vegetarian dish with lime cilantro sour cream, green onions, and tortilla chips. It goes perfectly with one of the many beers brewed right on-site, changing each month: like "Smokey the Beer" (cherry wood-smoked beer), "Broaters" (oatmeal porter), or "Flowers Infusion" (chamomile, lavender, and honey beer). If you can't decide which beer to have (an understandable dilemma), try the Beer Sampler of five 4-oz. glasses.

The vibe: From the outside, the building looks like a bank or town hall. That's because the restaurant is housed in the historic granite 1909 U.S. Postal Office Building on Main Street, Willimantic. On the inside, you can choose to sit in either the pub or dining room. For a quieter atmosphere, choose the dining room; if you can find a seat in the busy pub, it's a fun environment. The restaurant is impressively furnished with deep mahogany wood furniture, memorabilia, and a large wall mural. Even better, you can see where the beer is made!

The value: Although on the pricier side, there are plenty of deals to be found here. There's a different special every night of the week: Martini Monday, Stein Day Sunday, etc. There are food specials as well, and once I got a steak with vegetables and mashed potatoes for only a little over $10.

Go for: Relaxation with friends on a Friday night after a long week of classes


Bidwell Tavern, Coventry: www.bidwelltavern.com/

The food: Although they have lots of tasty dishes, the Bidwell is known primarily for their award-winning wings. Now, the Storrs area has no shortage of good wings (it is a college town, after all). Bidwell's wings are right at the top of my list. They have such a great array of flavors: staples like Honey BBQ and Buffalo, but also Hickory Horseradish, Sante Fe, or Sesame Garlic Pepper. My personal favorite is the Honey Mustard. Although they're not boneless wings like Wings Over Storrs, they are perfectly spiced and have plenty of meat. If you're not in the mood for wings (hey, it could happen) you can order one of their yummy burgers, sandwiches, or quesadillas. In addition to all the local and international beers you'd expect, there's also a wine list.

The vibe: Entering the Bidwell I almost feel out of place not wearing a dress with a hoopskirt. It's that historic. Established in 1822, the tavern has a long history in Coventry as a gathering place for the locals on Main St. Now lots of UConn students come here, to talk about ideas or politics or just to hang out with friends. There's a dining room area, with lots of light from the large windows, and a darker pub area. Although it can get crowded here as well, there are some nooks and crannies where you can find more private seating.

The value: Good, as long as you're going to split the wings with friends!

Go for: A late night snack

In Season: Coventry Regional Farmers' Market

Today I made a zucchini omelet for breakfast and a few nights ago had that quintessential summer treat, corn-on-the-cob, as part of my dinner. Both veggies were fresh from the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market. There's nothing that quite says "summer" to me like corn-on-the-cob. Everyone has their own method of eating it--mine is with butter but no salt, in a haphazard fashion instead of the straight "typewriter" across--and there's no better place to get summer corn than from local farms.

I am very fortunate that the biggest and best farmer's market in the state is right around the corner from me, in Coventry. Most famous as the birthplace of patriot and spy Nathan Hale, the market takes place in the fields of his historic family homestead. It takes place very Sunday from 11-2, but the event is so popular that you really need to get there by 11 if you want any produce to be left--and to avoid the sweltering heat.

The market kicked off the first week of June and continues until November 20th. Each Sunday has a different theme, like "Beet-Nic Bash" or "Old Fashioned Corn Roast."

In addition to local produce, there's baked goods, jams, crafts, pasta, free ice cream, and a whole host of food vendors. I've had Indian food from Wings Express and Mexican burritos from Agave Grill. What I like best, though, is that almost every vendor offers free samples!

My favorite sample came from Savor Cookies, which have the most...interesting flavors: lavender, coconut ginger, and cinnamon orange but also savory flavors like roasted leek and smoked red onion. If you don't think that a leek flavored cookie would be good, think again!

And, since this is a fair, make sure to try one of the many original kettle corn flavors from Keifer's Kettle Korn.

Random question of the week: How do you like your corn best? How do you pick the best one? Post your thoughts in the comments...