Food For Thought

[moldyfigg]

I've been making what we think is the best taco ever. Take a container of your favorite deli salsa fresca and reduce it, adding a bit of catsup and hot sauce to taste until its is pretty thick. Cut up some shrimp into 1/2" pieces and dump them in the sauce. the best I've found are the wild white shrimp from Mexico at Trader Joe's. Heat up tortillas in a skillet with some oil, put the shrimp and a piece of Manchego and fry until nice and crisp but not hard. Of course, in our neck of the woods, we can get some very good fresh hand made tortillas. Lucky us.

Serve with some black beans, avocado and tomatoes.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Clint, I can easily picture you and Donna sitting in that fabulous courtyard of yours chomping on those tortillas.

[moldyfigg]

Clint, I can easily picture you and Donna sitting in that fabulous courtyard of yours chomping on those tortillas.

I'll make plenty if you happen to drop by, Jimmy.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Well, Whitey (Joanne) and I will be hanging out in Palm Springs and the San Jacinto mountains in August. Unfortunately that's still a couple of hours from Tustin. But...you never know.

[moldyfigg]

Well, Whitey (Joanne) and I will be hanging out in Palm Springs and the San Jacinto mountains in August. Unfortunately that's still a couple of hours from Tustin. But...you never know.

Palm Spring will be about 110 during the day. Stay in the mountains but be careful with the sun, there no smog to cut it.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Well, one of the reasons we'll be in Palm Springs is because we have to be in Las Vegas on August 16th for a family wedding (nephew). So instead of flying in and out, I talked Joanne into driving west the day after the wedding to visit an old Army buddy who lives in Mountain Center, just west of Palm Springs. We could stay with him but I'd rather set up camp in Palm Springs where there are a lot of restaurants and bars. He lives up in the mountains with not a lot to do for a city boy like myself. I'm going to rent a Harley while there so Mike, me and Joanne can do a run west to Palomar Mountain. Mike will ride his Harley and Joanne will ride with me on the rental. We may even go as far as San Diego. We're gonna play it by ear so there are no concrete plans.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Last night before heading out to listen to some music Joanne and I stopped at Miso, a sushi joint in New Haven, for a bite. Whitey started with a seafood soup and I got a bowl of miso. The mains were a California roll for Joanne and a Sushi Deluxe for me which consisted of 10 pieces of shashimi and a tuna roll.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Last night for date night Whitey and I went to a really nice place in Westport, Ct., Post 154. The space was built out from a former Post Office. While the owners left the outside virtually untouched in order to keep the historical aspects of the building, the inside was more or less gutted and turned into a stunning new space which includes some of the original interior ornamentations repurposed to "pay homage to the building's historical roots" as stated on the restaurant's website.

Okay, on to dinner. Whitey started with a bowl of Gold Corn Bisque made with grilled corn, creme fraiche and chives. My starter was called Indian Oxtail Tacos which contained smoked mirasol chiles, cabbage slaw, avocado cream, tomatillo relish and cotija cheese. The two large tacos were a little heavy on the acid but delicious just the same. I'd rather have a bit more acid than not enough so I was good with that. I devoured 'em.

For a main course Whitey went with the Adobo Grilled Pork Chop that came with shisito peppers, thyme jus and baked cheesey mac. My entree was the Pappardelle Primavera with roasted garlic, mixed mushrooms, grilled vegetables, fresh herbs and parmesan. Normally, I wouldn't order such a vegetable centric main course but, for an up charge you can add chicken, shrimp, steak or lobster. I went with the shrimp. Good call. Five perfectly cooked huge shrimp were added to the mix and served to elevate the dish to perfetto status.

As you can see by the few dishes we sampled, the menu has a heavy representation of hispanic ingredients and combinations. Since the executive chef, Alex Rosado, is Puerto Rican that comes as no surprise. We had a stellar meal which will warrant a return visit for sure.

A couple of interior shots stolen from the Internet





Executive Chef Alex Rosado

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Grillin' and chillin' on a Sunday evening. First up was some small eggplants sliced, coated with evoo, salted, peppered and set on the hot grill. Next came the hanger steaks that were marinated in a mixture of quacamole seasoning as well as evoo, lemon juice, vermouth, mustard and s&p. I seared the steaks on high heat for about five minutes on each side and then let them rest while the salmon filets got fired. The salmon was simply prepared with evoo and s&p. When they came off the grill they were drizzled with lemon juice. The slices of eggplant that were lifted from the grill went back onto the fire for a final finish after they had a taste of balsamic vinegar. After a ten minute rest the hanger steaks were sliced on the bias and plated. The salmon was ready to go and the eggplant was finished and pulled.

We ate while listening to music and watching the birds make stops at the bird feeders. Nice.

[moldyfigg]

Tonight scallops aljillo. This is one of the great Guerrero sauces - shredded guajillo, garlic, onion sauteed, add cider vinegar and stock and reduced. Sear scallops and serve with sauce and rice.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

No Saturday date night today. Gotta go to our niece's wedding, so we'll be eating "wedding" food.

[moldyfigg]

Barbecue take out tonight from the best BBQ place in Orange County. Fred Burrell is the master.

[Ron Thorne]

Barbecue take out tonight from the best BBQ place in Orange County. Fred Burrell is the master.

How was your dinner, Clint?

Good "bark" on his spare ribs? I trust that he cooks with hard woods.

Just noticed on his website that his joint is called the Bar-B-Que Pit, the same name as a long-time Anchorage joint, where we had lunch with family members yesterday.

A Yelp review from a few days ago was brutal, stating among other things, "What used to be a good BBQ is now a shadow of itself. The 2 stars that I am giving Burrell's is me being generous."

Yeow!

[A. Kingstone]

Oh man did I nail it.

Not a big cooker of fish but after my trip to St. John's a few weeks ago I craved cod. Soaked the little bugger for an hour or so in oil, lemon, balsamic with salt and pepper and put it on low on the BBQ for 15 minutes. Wrapped some collard greens in foil with lemon and threw it on there too. Some rice on the side and I feel worthy posting on a food thread with Jimmy C.

[moldyfigg]

Barbecue take out tonight from the best BBQ place in Orange County. Fred Burrell is the master.

How was your dinner, Clint?

Good "bark" on his spare ribs? I trust that he cooks with hard woods.

Just noticed on his website that his joint is called the Bar-B-Que Pit, the same name as a long-time Anchorage joint, where we had lunch with family members yesterday.

A Yelp review from a few days ago was brutal, stating among other things, "What used to be a good BBQ is now a shadow of itself. The 2 stars that I am giving Burrell's is me being generous."

Yeow!

The pulled pork, chicken, hot links and brisket were fine. Fred has brought his kids (over age 20) into the biz and they are still finding their way but the food was as good as ever and the sauce was perfecto. Yelp reviews are worth doodly.

[Ron Thorne]

Last night we enjoyed dinner from a favorite take out place we've loved for over 40 years, Benny's Food Wagon. We had their famous beef & bean burritos w/ cheese, refried beans & rice. It hasn't changed in flavor in all those years. They actually comprehend the concept of "if it works, don't fix it".

Benny passed away over a decade ago, but family members carry on the tradition.

And yes, they're open 12 months a year, as the photo below shows.

[Ron Thorne]

Patti and I headed north about 40 miles for lunch yesterday. It was a gloriously sunny, warm day (73°), so we felt like a drive to the sleepy little town of Palmer in the Matanuska Valley, famous for its wonderful produce this time of year.

We had a nice lunch in a cafe in an old hotel, then stopped at a roadside produce stand which has been there for at least 40 years, Bushes Bunches. We picked up some beautiful zucchini and just-picked swiss chard.





For dinner, we had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and swiss chard wilted with bacon. Yum!

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Decided to drive to Stamford, Ct. today for an early dinner. Aaron Sanchez opened a new joint within the Harbor Pointe development in Stamford. Nice space overlooking the harbor.

The menu attempted to offer classic dishes with a Mexican twist. Sad to say, in my opinion, it didn't work. We started out with what was described as "cactus fritters". Meh, they were okay. Served with an overspiced aioli. Joanne started with a serving of "Lobster Tempura Toastadas" consisting of very mini, no, micro, toastadas with creamy aji mirosol and mango salsa. Imo, that description describes nothing. First of all "tempura toastados"? Really? WTF are "tempura toastados"? Is this Japanese food or Mexican? Just sayin'. Aji mirosol? Aji mirosol what? I'm assuming the menu is referring to mirosol peppers but whoever transcribed the menu was too lazy to finish the description. And...we all know what mango salsa is. It's what you dump on food when you're too lazy to actually come up with something creative. Whitey loved 'em. Go figure.

My starter seemed to hold promise. Sweetbreads with bacon tamarind, foie gras and pickled jalepenos. Shame on me. I should have known better. Two of my favorite foods to eat, sweetbreads and foie gras, lost in a sea of breading that was overwrought with unneccessary heat. Everything melded into a sameness that made for a very pedestrian culinary experience. Sweetbreads and foie gras should be allowed to stand on their own and treated with minimal added ingredients. In other words, don't mess too much with perfect foods. Let them shine. Don't cover them up with breading and tons of spices.

Main course for Whitey, braised short ribs with ancho coco rub, colorado sauce and seasonal vegetables. Can you spell pretentious? Seasonal vegetables...we're getting lazy again. My main, braised pork cheeks with quajillo, green chile and creamy pozole. The pozole was good. Check please. Joanne, let's blow this taco joint.

Oh...and the servers were basically children who did not have a clue. Don't get me wrong. They were nice enough and tried their best You could tell that without a doubt but still...they were toatally clueless. Not their fault. Obviously no training. Details do count. Bottom line, the whole operation was slipshod and had no focus whatsoever from the menu to the cocktail offerings and onto the wine list. It was like someone took a shotgun and started firing to see what would come of it.

Once we got home I had a glass of ice water and a generous pour of grappa. After that it was onto three scoops of French vanilla ice cream, fresh blueberries, walnuts and a liberal dusting of cinnamon. What's better than that?

[Ron Thorne]

Once we got home I had a glass of ice water and a generous pour of grappa. After tnat it was onto three scoops of French vanilla ice cream, fresh blueberries, walnuts and a liberal dusting of cinnamon. What's better than that?

Now you're talkin'!

Why can't chefs grasp the less is more, keep it simple concept?

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Had my first plum tomato pie of the season yesterday. These pies are works of art both visually and gastronomically. The stars are the thick cut fresh plum tomatoes and a nice swirl of pesto. I will eat many before the fresh tomato supply runs out.

[bluenoter]

Yum!

[Ron Thorne]

That's a great-looking pie, Jimmy!

[Jimmy Cantiello]

One of the few pizzas with no meat that I will eat. The flavor of the fresh tomatoes is like eating summer's bounty. I think the time in the oven magnifies the flavor of the red fruit and the pesto on top is a match made in heaven. I'd go so far as to say this pie is sui generis for sure. The only pie that rivals it is the white clam pizza at Pepe's in New Haven.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Just got back from a pizza pick up at Salerno's. I will be enjoying plum tomato pizza #2 later this evening. I will have to reheat it. Although the best way to enjoy a pizza is straight out of the oven at the place where it's made, gently reheating it is a good second choice.

Salerno's also offers the option of par baking a pie. If you desire, they will leave it unsliced so it's easier to handle. All you have to do is pop it in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, slice it and you're good to go. I opted to take away a fully cooked and sliced pie this time because the last time I went the par cooked route the crust was a little too dry. Most likely that was my fault for not paying close enough attention. I left it in the oven too long.

[timoleon]

jimmy,you make life such nicer with those pizza photos!
not just yum,as bluenoter commented,but ay,caramba,too!
good that you also give some meatless options for us, the vegetarians.
maybe one of the attractions of the big apple is the pizza places,it seems!