Archive for the 'Food' Category

dead headphonist

eastowners full-assed chocolate fondue

Published
by
dead headphonist
on January 4, 2009
in Food and Recipes
. 1 Comment

Current Mood:Loopy emoticon Loopy

I’m not one to do anything half-assed.  I don’t like fondue where the maker uses a not insignificant amount of cream or half and half with mostly milk chocolate and whips it up into something that only hopes to resemble melted chocolate.  No… that’s just NOT how I roll. And you shouldn’t either.

So first, get yourself about a pound of 70%+ dark chocolate, the higher quality, the better.  You’ll need about 12oz, but it’s easier to work if you’re not chopping the whole thing straight away.  Get about 3oz of good quality white chocolate (not that confectioners stuff, but real cocoa butter white). You’ll need 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter; no margarine, no mix crap… REAL butter.  This stuff is not health food, so don’t even try.

Get some amaretto; you’ll need a good solid shot (2-3oz) so don’t drink the whole damned bottle before we get to that a little later on, ok?

Chop that chocolate with a good heavy ass knife and for god’s sake, be careful! Use a freaking cutting board, fool. Don’t you know that chopping chocolate is the second most dangerous activity in the kitchen next to the preparation of ice water?!?!

You’ll need a fondue pot, or a good heavy medium sized saucepan and everyone will have to do their thing around the stove.  That doesn’t sound too “dinner party”-like, so might I suggest the Cuisinart fondue pot?  It’s what we have and I absolutely love it.  I don’t think there is a better fondue pot on the market.  Serious berries, or however the kids say “cool” these days.

On whatever medium low is on your pot, melt the butter into the milk (you’re using a non-stick whisk right?). Bring the temp up (if you have to) to start the milk/butter mixture just to the bubbling point.  Don’t let it foam up.  Dump your chocolate in.  You can either do it in a couple of batches or just dump the whole thing in and stir like hell until it’s melted real-good-like.

Yes… put that white chocolate stuff in too. You want it mixed in, though if you’re talented, you can try to marble it for that “I’m better than the rest of you” look.  If you’re gonna try to “be that guy”, then add the amaretto (you didn’t drink it all, did you?) before the white junk.  If you’re fully integrating, then it doesn’t matter, just dump the liquor in whenever, so long as it’s toward the end of this process.

Lower the temp to just below the temperature at which the human tongue melts to the roof of the mouth, present the pot along with a plethora of good things to dip.  We suggest pretzels, cheesecake bites, marshmallows, graham crackers, sugar wafer cookies, pound cake and fruits like strawberry and banana.

Dip away until everyone around the pot is fully engulfed in choco-coma.  Enjoy the smell of your place for the next couple of hours.  There’s no better air freshener.

Shopping list recap :

  • 12oz of chocolate (though cutting 12oz from a 1lb block is easier) chopped
  • 3-4oz of white chocolate (NOT confectioners)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (and ONLY butter)
  • 2-3oz (fluid) amaretto
  • Various junk food that you like to dip in chocolate
dead headphonist

A damned fine meal

Published
by
dead headphonist
on August 6, 2008
in Food, Health and Raves
. 1 Comment

I’ve been meaning to write this entry for a few days now, but keep getting side-tracked with the usual drudgery of life.  This week has presented me with continued challenges at work to keep my mind intact.  I’ve been kind of focused on that.

So to the important part (and why you’re here).  Last Friday, we paid a visit to some close friends that live in the town about 45 minutes south of here (Kalamazoo for you locals).  We took a bottle of Balistreri Cab Sav that was absolutely amazing, as all their wines are.

Our friends prepared a “mostly vegan” meal that was one of the best gastro-events of late.  They started with a roasted red pepper spread and crackers.  Like all the food served, this was full of flavor and better than a good majority of the spreads you find in upper-class joints… and no cheese or cream to be found in it.

Dinner was started with a field greens salad (from their yard) with , cherry tomatoes, miso-encrusted pecans and bleu cheese topped with balsamic and olive oil.  This was one of the best salads I think I’ve ever had in my life.

The main dish was ratatouille, which is a dish that I have a love for.  The dish usually has chopped veggies in a stew, but their variation was with thinly sliced veggies layered in a much more flavorful base than I’ve ever had.  It was absolutely wonderful; actually creamy tasting, but vegan.

For dessert, they served a wonderful blueberry pie with a vegan ice cream that you would have no idea was vegan if you weren’t told.  It was creamy, wonderful, and something I would definitely eat again.  Clare loved it.

So why would I write something like this about a meal that is not from a restaurant, but just some local folks that we hang out it?  Well… our friend has written a recipe book with recipes for these dishes and more.  It has yet to be published, but when it is, expect there will be some shameless promotion here for it.  The food she develops is absolutely amazing.

Rest assured… as soon as the book is available, you’ll hear about it here.

dead headphonist

Chez Bayou - A gem in Eastown

Published
by
dead headphonist
on July 22, 2008
in Food and Raves
. 0 Comments

dscn3898.jpgI’ve eaten a lot of food in my life, and visited more different places than I’d even venture to guess.  Any of you who know me, know that I have the girth to prove it.  Some places have been downright bad, some have been acceptable for the purposes of sustenance, and others have delightfully surpassed my expectations.  Chez Bayou, in Eastown, falls into this latter category.

Search around and you can read more on the atmosphere and decor.  I’m generally not one to be taken by a pretty face, so I’ll allow those more eloquent to talk about how downright freakin’ cool this place is. I thought the pricing was very competitive with the “big chains” and I always get giddy about spending my money with a local small business (especially something unique and excellent) rather than have my money flow to parts unknown.  That’s another blog though.  For now, let’s focus on the gastronomy of the joint.

We started with peeled and deep-friend crawdad tails served with a spicy aioli.  The dipping sauce is definitely one of the shining gems of Chez Bayou.  It is simply wonderful.  The crawdads were fresh and left no lingering “muddy” taste.  Definitely cleaned well and prepared very very well.  The breading is a little lighter (but still has a good flavor) and holds onto more oil than I remember having at other places.  This was ok by me, but some people like a little heavier batter.

Char had an odd, but wonderfully tasty creole/Italian fusion pasta dish that had a spicy alfredo-like sauce mixed up with crab and nice little tender scallops. It was served with a group of small corn and jalapeño muffins.  There was not too much sauce.  The pasta was cooked correctly (firm side of al dente).  The sauce was wonderfully zingy and flavorful and the crab portion was generous.  The muffins were absolutely wonderful, especially dipped in the sauce.

I had a classic catfish po’ boy, served with the usual acoutriments and that wonderful aioli again.  The catfish was lightly breaded and tasty, though I think it was factory-farmed and not wild-caught, which I prefer.  I know that factory-farmed has a more mild taste that many prefer, but for me, the wild-caught is still the best.  I think if it were blackened instead of fried, it might not have mattered to me as much.  Aside from this, which I consider a minor issue, the sandwich was excellent, served on a good solid roll and with seasoned fries.  The waiter was kind enough to bring me a cup of the splendid aioli to dip them in, which was top-notch.

As for drinks, Char had a well crafted and generous grape martini and I had a pint of Fuller’s ESB.  The beer selection, while small, has some good choices for the discerining hops snob.  The bar staff knows their craft and it shows.

For dessert… ahh… yes… THE dessert, we shared a slice of what can only be described as nutty warm heaven-on-a-plate, if there is such a place.  Chez Bayou, in this little corner of Grand Rapids, MI quite simply has one of the absolute best, if not THE best, pecan pie known to man.  It is a traditionally made pie (not the gelatinous off-tan-colored crap you’re used to) that is served warm with fresh whipped cream.  It was so good, in fact, that as I sit writing this several days later, the taste of it has come rushing back to my tastebuds.  Basically, I can’t rave about it enough.  A trip to Chez Bayou for the pie alone is not a trip wasted.

So if I were backed into a corner and forced to give a “star” rating, I’d settle on a solid 4 stars out of 5.  On effort and service alone, they score near the top of the class.  Try them out if you’re in our neck of the woods.

dead headphonist

Red Robin - Veggie Stylie

Published
by
dead headphonist
on June 4, 2008
in Family, Food and Kid-friendly
. 1 Comment
OK. The adverts have gotten me along with reading one of the blogs that I read that Red Robin has Boca patties and will make any of their burgers as veggie-friendly. So, after many many months of shunning them as “just another wasted space on a burger joint”, we gave it a shot.

It was certainly an interesting night. Apparently Wednesday is kids night (free frisbees and they play movies). That was cool. Clare was completely calm and behaved. She actually ate her dinner in a timely manner. We were informed that there is some kind of salmonella scare going on with tomatoes right now, so we were tomato-less. And they didn’t have Boca patties tonight, but they have gardenburger patties as well. Score. Veggie burgers with choice!

Beside all of that, the burgers were absolutely stellar. Since the Eastown Grille closed up, I haven’t found a place with customizable veggie burgers anywhere in town. This more than fits the bill, their toppings are tasty and fresh and the service is quick and friendly.

The fries, while good enough, would probably be rather bland without the seasoned salt that they provide on the table. The fries are big steak-cut jobs and the portion is actually reasonable (you don’t have half of Idaho on your plate like some places).

I had a BBQ burger that had thin-cut onion rings, cheddar and BBQ sauce on it and Char has a Teriyaki Burger that had Pineapple and Teriyaki sauce. Both were well received and we both agreed that this is the place for a good veggie burger. Can’t wait to try it with Boca next time. Clare like the place due to a “classic” bowling video game they had in their waiting area that she played on the way out (score : 166).

charmaspice

Working the Steel

Published
by
charmaspice
on April 14, 2008
in Food and Health
. 2 Comments

Current Mood:Jammin’ emoticon Jammin’

steel cut oatsOkay, so most of you know I am a big fan of the television.  I probably watch far too much of it, but that is neither here nor there.  One of the shows that I enjoy watching is Oprah, and I tend to get a lot of information from her shows.  I am also a big fan of Dr. Oz, and all of the information he gives us to help us be healthier people.  One of the things that he and Oprah continusly talk about are steel cut oats.  I’ve been unsure of trying them, as I’ve heard mixed reviews about them and the taste.  Since my last dr’s appointment I had my cholesterol tested, and it wasn’t great.  It was a little high, and my doctor said with a better diet and some exercise (the exercise is mostly what I’m missing) it’d probably come down.  So, since these little oats are packed full of fiber and other great stuff I thought I’d give it a shot.  What’s the worst thing that can happen - they suck and I don’t like them and I wasted $6.  Turns out the worst thing didn’t happen.  I made a half of a cup this morning for breakfast, although it does take about a half an hour to cook them (the only downfall for me) they were pretty yummy.  I added a bit of honey and cinnamon to them to spice it up, and it was quite delish.  I was talking to Brad and he said if I wanted to I could cook a double batch (which is what’s actually recommended on the tin) and they’ll keep in the fridge for a day, so I can just heat them up in the microwave the next day.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between Rolled Oats and Steel Cut Oats here are a couple of sites I found in my searching. 

dead headphonist

BC’s Everything Cookies

Published
by
dead headphonist
on February 1, 2008
in Food and Recipes
. 0 Comments

Current Mood:Esctatic emoticon Esctatic

100_2506.JPGSo I’ve tried my hand at truly baking. I didn’t really follow a recipe, but I did study a lot of them to get the proportions right. I decided on a flourless oatmeal and peanut-butter based cookie. I’m not exactly a seasoned veteran at using the oven (in fact I think it gets turned on maybe twice a month around here), but I think it turned out well for a first try. Here’s the recipe.

Part A Ingredients :
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 Stick) butter (use ONLY butter… no margarine)
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp black strap molasses
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut-butter
1 tsp vanilla (use real vanilla, not imitation)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
Part B Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups Quaker oats
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini M&M’s
1/3 cup raisins

In a very large bowl, beat together (with a hand mixer) the Part A ingredients, starting with the sugar and the butter and moving through the rest of the ingredients. In another bowl, mix the Part B ingredients. MANUALLY (you will kill your mixer) mix the Part B ingredients into the Part A ingredients. Mix well, form into whatever size mounds you want on a greased (spray works fine) cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes (13 for smaller cookies, 17-18 for “monster size”). Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

FOLLOW UP: After having a couple of these, I really like what the cloves do for them. It’s a really unique taste to the traditional oatmeal cookie. However, since I’m looking for a particular taste with this cookie, next time I make them, I’m going to omit the cloves and add some shredded coconut. One thing to note is that you should use some kind of melting chocolate chips in these cookies. I used Ghirardelli 60% chips. The chocolate melts in with the rest of the cookie and makes the peanut-butter/chocolate thing a lot more pronounced. I don’t think it would be the same with good ol’ Tollhouse chips.

dead headphonist

We Are Not Vegetarian

Published
by
dead headphonist
on January 3, 2008
in Food and Rants
. 2 Comments

carrot.jpgYep. You got it. We’re not vegetarian, but it’s much easier to explain to people that we’re vegetarian (and sometimes eat fish) than to explain that our vegetarianism is rooted in a deep-seated health issue with your’s truly eating too many Hardee’s (Carl’s Jr) cheeseburgers and Pizza Hut pepperoni pizzas.

Our choice to not eat certain animals is not because we are out to make a political statement or that we are on a three-person-crusade to save the animals.

It is because eating meat in the way that Americans generally do is just plain unhealthy. Over the years, we’ve also learned about the kind of damage that is being done to our food supply as well as our earth by the production of meat. These things are bad, but people are omnivores by nature, so some meat should be part of our diet. This is just not the case for too many Americans. We eat far too much fatty red meat.

In order for me to break the cycle of overeating fatty red meat, I needed an excuse. It only took me mere moments to search out a reason why I would be unable to frequent said fast-food joints anymore. I don’t eat meat. Simple as that.

Then it got a little more complex.

My original reason for swearing off flesh was a health issue; I’m deathly afraid of the lower GI tract cancers and I knew that my already slow metabolism was going to reach critical sloth by the time I was 30. Given my calorie consumption, I’d likely go from the size of a small truck to the size of a bus in no time; not a good prospect for someone already overweight and chained to a desk all day.

However, I love seafood. Seafood contains some things that actually ward off cancers, contains little fat (if you’re not eating Salmon and the like) and is actually pretty healthy for you as long as you’re not eating a lot of it, which we don’t. Seafood is also a convenient alternative for friends and family who are not used to making accommodations for someone who is vegetarian (though we never expect them to).

As for the environmental issues with eating fish, I am well aware of them and I try to only eat fish from responsible fisheries. Obviously, that’s not always going to be possible, and yes, I am contributing to that little bit of environmental decay. If you’re reading this, you are contributing to the overall decay too. Neither of us should be throwing stones.

What we all need to learn to do is to reduce our usage of our resources. If everyone reduces only slightly, the situation gets dramatically better as a whole. I will never look down on anyone for their meat-eating habits and lecture them about things they probably already know a lot about and don’t care. I might suggest that they try eating one vegetarian meal a week for a month. If everyone did that, we’d reduce the burden that cattle put on the planet significantly. I might suggest reducing reliance on pre-packaged food. Not only will their body benefit, but the planet will. Little changes are generally easy to make.

I also realize that being a zealot about what you consume does nothing but separate you from the conveniences of modern life and put you in a position where others around you find your causes to be unappealing because you present them in such an unwieldy and absolute way. A small handful of people making big changes will be far outweighed by the masses making small changes. Being an advocate for mass small changes, I don’t have room for zealousness.

fish.jpgSo you may hear any of us identify ourselves as vegetarian, but for us, it’s a choice not to eat something because it’s unhealthy, not because we’re trying to make some kind of political statement. Our (mis)use of the term will likely continue until a more appropriate word enters the vernacular. Until then, I’m going to start carrying around little cards with a link to this article to hand out when asked about my refusal to eat something with non-seafood meat in it.

charmaspice

Dates Really Do Count

Published
by
charmaspice
on September 22, 2007
in Alcohol, Art, Date-Night and Food
. 0 Comments

Current Mood:Cool emoticon Cool & Lovey emoticon Lovey

date nightLast night for the first time in about a month Brad & I were able to get out for a much needed Date Night.  I know I’ve blogged about these before, but let me tell you why they are so important.  We started doing these regularly about a year ago, and it has helped us out in more ways than we can count.  I know it sounds cheesy…Date Night…but seriously it’s one thing we forgot how to do after embarking on marriage life and the decision to have a child.  We were so busy thinking about jobs, parenthood, and jumping through the hoops of life that we forgot about US…and what we like to do together.  It’s something that I think every couple should do, and it should be an institution!  We get so wrapped up in every day life that we forget about the things that drew us to this other person that we chose to commited our lives to.  So I urge anyone in a long term relationship to make sure that they fit a Date Night into their schedules on a regular basis.

Last night we decided to head out to Bar Louie in Woodland Mall.  They have yummy out of the ordinary bar food, and a happy hour we were unaware of….meaning martini’s for pretty cheap, and that’s what we’re all about!  I think they were about $5 each, regularly probably around $7.50.  I had a few Peartini’s along with the Blackened Fish Po’ Boy.  Brad had a variety of martini’s including the Peartini, and the VooDoo along with the Shrimp Po’ Boy.  We also shared their absolutely wonderful Salted Pretzels.  There isn’t much special about these, other than they are soft pretzles sticks (easy for sharing and dipping) and they come with queso, yellow mustard, and honey mustard for dipping.  We stuffed ourselves to the gills, and decided to see if there was a movie playing of interest at the new cheap 2nd run theater at the mall.  There wasn’t much in our time slot, and nothing that we wanted to see.  So, we headed to Meijer.

We actually had an agenda for going to Meijer this time.  When we went camping with our parents a few weeks ago for the Wine Festival, Brad’s Dad had purchased a table top propane grill for a pretty reasonable price.  He had said that he had gotten it at Meijer for about $25…Brad thought that it’d be a great alternative for us instead of buying a full grill for a much higher price.  Being Demi-vegetarians (we eat fish/shrimp…and that’s the only type of meat we eat) we have been wanting to grill our vegies, Boca Burgers, Smart Dogs, and Shrimp Kabobs for years now!  So, for a grand total of just over $30 we purchased a table top grill & a mini propane tank to go with it.  I think we’re going to do some grilling this weekend before the nice weather ends!  We also picked up some Jones Soda that was on sale (one of Brad’s fav’s), and some Strawberry Kiwi flavored Vodka from Pinnacle on a whim…hey, we are still working on the impulse buying - at least this time it was a relatively cheap impulse buy!  We also picked up some frozen lemonade for mixing and to drink on these somewhat warm early Fall days.

We were actually home relatively early this Date Night.  While it was somewhat short, it was nice.  I just enjoy spending time with Brad - alone - without having to take someone to the bathroom as soon as our food arrives, listening to “Hey, did you know” or “I have a question” every 5.8 seconds.  We love our daughter, but she drives us CRAZY sometimes!  Other than dealing with retarded people in the parking lot of the mall (a fine lady ignored the 3-way stop, laughing her way as she turned in front of me…as with most malls-ALL incoming traffic has the right of way), and trying to find a parking spot on a Friday night (we finally found one, and then the girls were parked the wrong way making them go the wrong way down the one way parking lot lanes).  Ah well.  Funny enough, we ended our date by falling asleep on the couch around 10:30pm.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re old!  :)

This morning/early afternoon has been relatively quiet around the Eastowner’s house.  We made brunch, Vegetarian style, with eggs, toast, and Morningstar Fake Sausage Links.  Clare of course ate tons of food for her growing body, and Brad & I enjoyed our Michigan Maple Coffee from Shuil with our food.  This afternoon we will be heading up the street for Eastown’s Street Fest.  Every year they close down the street and offer up live music on 2-3 stages, and venders up and down the street selling their wears.  If time permits & we have the gumption to go…I read in the paper this morning that their’s a Marching Band Competetion up in Rockford.  I doubt we’ll go, but it might be a nice end to our already groovin’ day. 

charmaspice

Wrapping up Contests Galore

Published
by
charmaspice
on September 21, 2007
in Contests, Food and Local
. 0 Comments

Current Mood:Ecstatic emoticon Ecstatic

contestMy pal Big Binder has been holding MUCHO contests these past few weeks in her giant effort to get her friends and readers to eat local.  She has added a few more contests this week, and has graciously put up a post listing all of them for your ease in entering.  Head on over, check them all out….and sign up to win something!  Even if you don’t live in our local area, she is willing to work something out in getting you these fine contest winnings.  These contests are closing Sunday night at Midnight E.S.T., and she will be doing her drawings on Monday morning.  So head on over, look through her 9 contests, and sign up!  Do it now :O)

charmaspice

Saturday Matterday

Published
by
charmaspice
on September 15, 2007
in Family, Food and Movies
. 1 Comment

Current Mood:Playful emoticon Playful

Better Off DeadAh……sigh……another quiet morning in the Eastowner house.  I feel like things are slowing down, or at least I HOPE they are.  I don’t know if I can handle too many more crazy weeks.  Last night instead of cooking dinner we opted for going out to Zoup! for some fine soup.  There are several of these restaurants around town, and they offer a great variety of 12 handmade soups every day….that’s right, every day they make their own soups in restaurant with frest ingredients for you to enjoy.  We hadn’t been in a while because by the time we got what we wanted the bill was quite pricey when taking a child that doesn’t eat an entire bowl of soup.  They however now offer a relatively cheap kids meal, and the cost of our entire bill was just over $20 for the 3 of us.  Clare had their kids meal with a grilled cheese, a small bowl of Fire Roasted Tomato Bisque (they have mac & Cheese too for the wee ones that don’t like soup), gold fish crackers, and a juice box.  Brad & I both had one of their newer offerings…..a You Pick Crock.  With the crock you can put over brown rice or whole grain pasta your choice of 5 toppings.  Now, the 5 toppings thing we were still unsure of what that all entailed…..but for sure we both put soup over our rice.  I had the Seafood Chowder, and Brad had the Fire Roasted Tomato Bisque.  It was perfect for a cloudy & chilly Friday night.  And because Clare cleared her entire plate, we bought 2 brownie squares (one chocolate & one blonde) for the 3 of us to share.  We came home, it was clean up time, and time for Clare to get to bed.  Brad & I settled down to a movie - “Better Off Dead” - a hilarious 1985 John Cusack flick.  The few drinks we had helped with the aweful 1980’s cinematography…..God some of those movies were so aweful then, I don’t know why I ever thought some of them were so Cool when I was a kid.  Better Off Dead though, was a fun look at the past though……and made for some fun movie watching on a chilly Friday night.  I LOVE this weather!  :)