Tomato Soup

Dining with the Parents

Although my parents love eating out (and so do Andy and I), there really is nothing like a home cooked meal- it's nice to be able to relax at home, be comfortable, and chat the night away at the dinner table or the couch, without feeling rushed.

Whenever my parents tell me they are coming to visit, I generally plan the menu weeks in advance. It's an opportunity for me to cook something new and exciting, or make something that has wowed me in the past, and would be a great experience for my parents. Because we were going out to eat so much while they were in town, I also wanted to cook something different- a cuisine that we weren't going to be feasting on at the various restaurants I had reservations. I decided on a Latin American theme and so started with an appetizer favorite that I love to make, Black Bean and Banana Empanadas (made previously for supper club):

My parents loved them, and they were as good as I remember. There is something about the sweetness of the banana and the saltiness of the beans that really elevates this empanada.

For the main, I made the chili verde from Simply Recipes again (which I made last time with chicken). This time, I followed the recipe closely with no changes or additions- except I used pork loin instead of pork shoulder, and cooked the whole thing in my crockpot:

I served this slow cooked pork with corn tortillas and Simply Recipes' fantastic recipe for Spanish rice. The recipe calls for long-grain white rice, but I substituted brown rice, which I think adds even more wonderful nutty flavor (and its healthier!).

My parents loved the meal, and I was happy to make it again! This is the perfect meal to serve to a lot of dinner guests because you won't be stuck in the kitchen all night, and you can make everything easily in large portions.

Cure for the Cold

I am holding off on the Gracie's post because I am waiting for the email with the details of the 7-course tasting I participated in with Andy and my parents. I remember most of the courses, but I want to do the whole meal justice by providing what I think are the crucial small details of each small plate!

With that said, this is a post about the pre-Gracie's cocktail I enjoyed at Local 121 with my visiting parents. It was very hard to be at Local 121 and not order any food. We were surrounded by all the fantastic smells and presentations of the great menu- none of which I've had the opportunity to try yet! The place inside is beautiful and warm and I can't wait to go back for a meal. It was also very hard to decide what cocktail I wanted because the cocktail menu is as interesting as the food. With options like the Coriander Blood-Orange Martini and a St. Germain (with champagne and elderflower liquer) your pre-dinner drink can be as exciting as your entree. However, I was feeling quite under the weather due to the cold and allergies, so I decided to go for the classic hot toddy:

The Local 121 Hot Toddy was a mixture of bourbon, hot water, honey, and a lemon wedge studded with cloves. I don't usually like sweet cocktails- but this hit the spot. It really wasn't too sweet, but the honey soothed my throat and the bourbon helped open up my sinuses. I highly suggest this forgotten-about cocktail, especially the Local 121 version. I also suggest following your cocktail with dinner at Local 121- because everything look really good!~

La Laiterie

This is a really hard post to write, because revisiting all the deliciousness makes my stomach growl and my heart yearn for the meal all over again. I have been waiting to go to La Laiterie for a long, long time. It is right in my neighborhood, but various reasons have kept Andy and I from going- fear of long wait times, fear of spending too much money...

But, my parents were in town (abolishing the fear of money), and we decided to go early on a Thursday (hopefully eradicating the fear of waiting). We had absolutely no wait, and we arrived at about 6:30. After salivating over the beautiful menu, we decided we could not resist the charcuterie plate and a sampling of cheeses.

Here is the charcuterie:

The offerings change daily, but from left to right we had: chorizo, pork rillette, house-made pork and chestnut sausage, and duck pate. The accompaniments were an apple mustard, cinnamon butter, and a selection of various pickled jalapenos, sweet pickles, and red onion. This was really phenomenal. The crowd pleaser was the pate, but the pork rillette also had a wonderful salty flavor and great, tender texture which went well with the sweet butter.

For our cheese plate, we let the cheesemongers do their job and pick out three of their favorites:

This is an awful picture, but the cheese included a Montgomery cheddar and a Bonne Bouche goats milk. Alongside the cheese were house-made nuts and dressed microgreens. The goats milk (to the right) was the winner for this plate- it's creamy texture and pungent taste and flavor made it also the most unique.

Because my mom and I could not fathom just trying one thing each off of the menu, we decided to split both the baked cheesemonger's mac n' cheese:

and the 1/2 pound Vermont burger:

These were the best two options. I think they may be the shining stars on the La Laiterie menu. The mac n cheese was crispy and bubbly on top, and the noodles were swimming in a smooth and creamy sauce. This looked like a huge portion, but once we all started taking bites of it it seemed to vanish quite quickly. We got the burger with gorgonzola cheese (the other options are cheddar or raclette), which was a great compliment to the sweet pickles atop the burger and the cheese provided an extra lick of saltiness that I loved. Then, there were the polenta fries- huge, piping hot alternatives to the potato fry. I love that La Laiterie chose to do something different with their burger and that they added a garlic aioli as an alternative to ketchup.

My dad also had the burger, but Andy went with the grilled statler chicken breast:

The chicken came atop sweet potato gnocchi, roasted root vegetables, and mustard jus. He thought all of the flavors came together really well, and that it was necessary to take a little piece of everything in each bite to get the full effect. I didn't try any of it because I was too engrossed in my mac n' cheese, but now looking at the presentation of it, I certainly wish I had.

I was pre-warned that I must order dessert if I go to La Laiterie because Kate, one of the owners, is a pastry master. So, I pre-warned my fellow dinner mates as well and we ordered both the gingerbread bread pudding with eggnog ice cream:

And the espresso cream cheese brownie sundae:

I thought the bread pudding was the most memorable of the two because it's texture was perfect and the eggnog ice cream was a taste of heaven. The bread pudding didn't have too powerful of a gingerbread flavor- just a nice hint to remind me of winter and festive eating. I also thought the presentation was a tribute to La Laiterie- simple, but certainly eye-pleasing.

I could go on and on about the experience at La Laitiere. The service was wonderful. We had a great waiter who wasn't overly attentive- but was enthusiastic about the restaurant. All of the employees were eager to please and come together to provide a sumptuous dining experience. The dining room is cozy and not too loud, and both the food menu and drink menu were impressive and wonderfully simpatico.

Needless to say, I will be going back. As soon as I can!

DownCity Diner

I am coming down from an almost weeks worth of serious eating in Providence. Tonight, Andy and I had leftovers, but previous to this, we were eating like royalty. It is going to be quite the journey recounting it here! I'm currently sipping a glass of wine to aide in my reflection, because I'd like to do these last several days as much justice as possible.

My parents came to visit from Georgia, with my mom arriving first and taking Andy and I out to eat at my first dining choice of the visit- DownCity. I unfortunately never experienced the old DownCity, but have heard enough about its legend to have been thrilled when they decided to reopen. I was working downtown when they were redoing the Weybosset space, but since leaving my downtown job I forgot about DownCity until I was presented with the arrival of my parents in Providence and the duty to take them out to some great places.

Last time they visited, we went to Pane e Vino's and Julian's. Both earned raves from my parents, and I wanted to make sure to pick some winners the second time around.

At DownCity, we started by sharing the California Caesar Salad:

This is the ultimate caesar. DownCity mixes up the classic with the addition of tempura artichoke hearts, goat cheese, and pepitas. Those three additional ingredients made all the difference for me, and took this salad to new levels of taste. The dressing was rich, and there was just enough to flavor the salad and compliment the artichokes and the creamy goat cheese. I will be going back to DownCity just for this.

I had the Buttered Shrimp Risotto for my entree:

The risotto was exactly as risotto should be- creamy, soft, salty. But the way it came together was not entirely impressive. It lacked any sort of punch to differentiate it from any other risotto dish. It was very basic, with the flavors of stock and parmesan cheese being the basics. I would have liked to see a more interesting twist to bring the prawns into the dish and excited my palate. After the innovative caesar, I was looking for those innovations in my entree.

Andy had the Chargrilled New York Sirloin:

He thought it was extremely rich, with its roasted garlic and thyme butter, and the sweet potato fries were large chunks of the potato- instead of just layers of batter. He also appreciated the grilled vegetable medley as a compliment to the steak. All of the sides came together well with the meat, and the dish made him want to go back to DownCity for dinner again.

My mom ordered the Chargrilled Tuna Steak Nicoise:

My mom asked if the chef would be insulted if she ordered her tuna medium-rare instead of rare, and when the waitress said 'no' my mom was relieved. However, when the dish arrived, it was very, very rare. We were engrossed in conversation and enjoying company as we were munching on our dinner, so my mom just picked around the seared edges of the tuna and didn't say anything to the waitress. But when the waitress came pack to clear our plates, she noticed that my mom barely touched the tuna and realized it was probably because it wasn't done to her liking. My mom admitted that was the case, but didn't make a big deal out of it- but the waitress took it upon herself to take the dish off the bill anyway. She was a fantastic waitress, and I thought that was a huge credit to her, and the restaurant.

We had to end the meal with something sweet, so we ordered the banana split- which the waitress accurately describe as "as big as the state of Texas":

From left to right, this banana split had: vanilla ice cream with caramel syrup, coffee ice cream with chocolate sauce, and strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce. For it being so large and decadent looking, it was actually a wonderfully light dessert. The ice cream was fluffy, and the sauces were a perfect balance of flavor and sugar.

The highlight of the night was certainly the caesar salad and the overall funky atmosphere and lively vibe of the restaurant itself. It is definitely a place to go for some great cocktails (the cocktail menu has a refreshing emphasis on the classics like gimlets and pink lady's)- and draws a large after work crowd.

That was the beginning of the eating extravaganza- up next: La Laiterie, Gracie's, and my own home-cooked meal!

Carmody's

I had less time than I thought to blog while I was in Vermont for graduate school. I had even less time to eat anything tasty- except for a quick meal with Andy before he dropped me off at Carmody's in Bennington, Vermont.

The restaurant was recommended to us by a friendly gas station attendant, and it was just what we were looking for. Something fast, simple, and good.

We started with one of our "most frequently ordered" appetizers, buffalo chicken fingers with ranch dressing:

We had been driving for four hours by this point, and these chicken fingers helped ease our appetite and our complete exhaustion.

Then we both had the Southwestern Turkey Burger with sweet potato fries:

I'm not sure what made this turkey burger "southwestern" except for some spicy seasoning in the meat, but it was tasty. The sweet potato fries were a highlight- they were thin and crispy- and I'm always thrilled to see the sweet-fries option on a menu.

This, unfortunately, was the most memorable meal I had for almost two weeks during my stay in Vermont. However, my parents are in town now and that promises some great meals out to some Providence restaurants I've been waiting to try! La Laiterie and Gracie's are both on the list!

Bolognese

I am currently blogging from Vermont, where I am at graduate school for my 10-day residency in an MFA program in Creative Writing. I have a couple of posts in stock while I'm away, but my school is quite secluded- so the opportunities for eating out are few and far between! I am currently dining on cafeteria food, and while that may make an interesting blog opportunity, I think you all know what cafeteria food is like so I won't try to bring back any bad memories.

Last weekend, Andy's sister and her boyfriend came to visit us for New Years. To celebrate their arrival, I made dinner- the best way I know to celebrate! I had been wanting to try out a recipe for bolognese and figured this would be a great opportunity. The cooking time for the sauce is long, yes, but the active time is short and this is a great meal to make when you want to be socializing and not stuck in the kitchen.

I used a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything but tweaked the meat a little bit. His recipe calls for half ground pork and half ground beef- but in an effort to maintain some healthy qualities (I doubled the recipe) I used 1 1/2 pounds of ground dark turkey, and 1/2 pound of mild chicken Italian sausage to add some more flavor. I also halved the amount of cream, which I think was a great choice- the sauce is rich enough even before any cream is added!

I served this beautiful bolognese (that simmered for approximately 3-3 1/2 hours) and served it over Venda Ravioli's phenomenal potato gnocchi, with a side of garlic bread:

The bolognese was fantastic, and the meat provided just the mix of flavors that I was looking for. The gnocchi were the perfect compliment and carried the sauce well. Next time I go to Venda Ravioli, however, I am going to try the lobster and sweet potato ravioli's!

To finish off this decadent meal, I thought I'd go for something even more decadent:

This is a slice of my reproduction of my mom's chocolate peanut butter pie. This slice does look a little sad, but I promise that the taste was anything but. It was as creamy and heavenly as I hoped- although I used a store-bought graham cracker crust and it wasn't nearly as good as my mom's. It apparently didn't matter much though, because Andy's sister and I found ourselves eating several slices throughout the week they were visiting!

Kemoll's, St. Louis

For the most part, the food I indulged in during Andy and I's stay in St. Louis consisted of home cooking- cookies, turkeys, prime rib, french toast, cake...and of course a couple of stops at our all-time favorite St. Louis stops- Schlafly Bottleworks. 

But, we did manage to squeeze in a fantastic dinner at Kemoll's with Andy's parents. Kemoll's is a St. Louis tradition, and Andy's Dad has been going to the restaurant for years. Even better, from 5-6:30, most evenings, you can get a  three-course dinner with garlic cheese bread (unlimited!) for $19.95.

In addition to our three-courses, we ordered two appetizers. First, the Toasted Ravioli filled with meat sauce:

This was my first time having the popular St. Louis dish, which is essentially breaded and fried ravioli, and it is heavenly. The ravioli's aren't over-fried, and only have a thin coating of breadcrumbs to create a nice crunch. When you bite through the crust, the ravioli burst in your mouth and fill it with a hearty, traditional meat sauce. This is an appetizer worth trying to re-create at home, since it isn't found very many places outside of St. Louis.

The other must-have appetizer (according to Andy's family who swear they can't go to Kemoll's without ordering it) is the Carciofi Fritti, or fresh fried artichoke hearts:

These are so addicting! Once you dip a couple of these into the garlic mayonnaise and try a bite- you're hooked! I can understand why Andy's family consider this appetizer essential to have.

After this, came the dinner salad with garlic cheese bread:

The garlic cheese bread is almost as addicting as the Carciofi Fritti- especially when it comes out piping hot with the cheese still bubbling on the top.

Andy and I decided to split our entree, because we knew we wouldn't be able to finish one on our own. The grilled catch of the day was salmon and you can choose your sauce. We had the olive oil and oregano:

It was a beautiful presentation and a nice piece of fish- a nice, light compliment to all of the other indulgences of the night. It also left us with some room for the dessert:

We all really loved this chocolate cake because it was light, fluffy, and made with bittersweet chocolate so it wasn't too sweet. Even the frosting wasn't overpowered by sugar. It's amazing that we were all able to finish our entire slices, but it was worth it!