Bacon, Kale & Provolone Paninis

           The Panini Press: lifesaver, dinner maker, head turner. The one machine that will turn a no-good meal into a so-good meal! Yes, this machine is officially on my top 3 kitchen gadget list. Besides grabbing my Hubby, wedding album, and jewelry, I’d grab this, along with my pizza stone, if I had to escape my home in less than 5 minutes. Eesh, let’s hope that never happens and I can continue to enjoy my home and do-dads in the meantime…

            So back on track…Paninis. They rip my mouth to shreds but I’m a sucker for them nonetheless. For me, a good Panini comes down to simple things- a protein, an oozy and sharp cheese, and some sort of condiment or veg to jazz it up a bit. Oh and it was has to be piping hot. The piping hot part is my own quirk, I’ll save you that reasoning for another day.

            And so for this pressed beauty I went with some unconventional players. The kale, being so bulky and filling, was a great filler. And although I do love me some greens, the bacon and onion combo here stole the show. Wowza, the flavor punch these two ingredients packed was wham-bam-thank-you-mam-good. All this good stuff and I haven’t even gotten to the cheese part yet……As expected, it made the sandwich even better by sort of gluing it all together and peeking out just enough to give us that fried-cheese crust thing.

            Needless to say, this recipe will be on rerun mode at our house for quite some time. Enjoy…

Bacon, Kale & Provolone Paninis

Serves: 2

OBJ: TCW be able to use something other than chicken in her Panini

Ingredients:

1 large loaf fresh Italian bread: cut in ½, then each ½ cut open – insides scooped out a bit

1 head of Kale, coarsely chopped

12-16 slices extra sharp Provolone cheese

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced

6 slices bacon, cooked

2 TBS olive oil

S& P: salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Procedures:

1. Boiling a large pot of water and cook kale for 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer kale to a bowl filled with ice water. Drain and squeeze kale dry

Heat Panini press now

2. In a medium size sauté pan, heat oil over medium-low flame. Add onions, a heavy pinch S & P and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Add kale, keep heat on medium-low and let cook together for about 5-10 minutes

3. Lay out your two bottom halves of bread, divide the kale/onion mixture over top of each bread bottom and spread to cover

4. Place 3 slices of bacon on top of each half. Top each half with Provolone cheese, about 6-8 pieces each

5. Sprinkle each half with additional S & P. Freshly grate the Parmesan cheese over each half and top each half with the top piece of bread

6. Place on preheated Panini press and cook for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is oozing

 

 

 

Girls' Night Out

Crispo

NYC

Final Grade: B 

            I don’t care how many pairs of shoes or gallons of Chunky Monkey you have to go through to realize that sometimes the only thing that makes you smile is your girlfriends. Yes, hubby or boyfriend is great, we know.  I mean no harm to the male species. What I do mean is that there is just something about your gals and you at a table for hours on end. Heck, you might not even being having a bad day and yet this outing always makes you stand a bit taller.

            With that said, I, along with my besties- Jayne and Kristen, try to make a point get together once a month. You would think once a month is easy, right? Eh, try again my optimistic friends. Jayne & Kristen work in the big bad city and therefore work until, well, I still haven’t figured that out. I work in NJ and teach school which makes me the first one to hit the road and get to dinner. But since I tutor on most days, have meetings on others and enjoy my time with hubby, I oh-too-often have minimal nights to work with. They, them being city slickers and all, also have after-work agendas and quite cute Hubbies to be with too! All of this working/wifing/outing stuff leaves us with about .2 days that we are all clear on. Ha, it’s a miracle the once a month target has been working, kinda.

Fried Fresh Mozz

 

            So here was last month’s, or was it this month’s, dinner. I actually have been like wonder woman lately and have been driving into the city. Weird, I know. So while I was scouring one of the villages looking for a spot, I caught the eye of my blue-eyed friend from afar. Yep, there she was, hightailing it to dinner. I beeped, she ran and hopped in and we found a spot that I paralleled like a pro. Our destination that we were headed to was Crispo, an Italian underground villa-like space. Jayne soon arrived and we got to catching up……and eating up.

Caramelized Brussels

            First courses: A special of the evening, fried fresh mozzarella coated in Panko crumbs and Caramelized Brussel Spouts with Almonds and Maple. They both were divine and gone too quickly. The Brussels left a better mark on me as I was impressed by the al dente “bite” each sprout sported.  Fried cheese is well, fried cheese. As long as it is piping hot, gooey, and partnered with a good marinara- I’m happy. Results: Happy friends all around!

Jayne's Orecchiette

            Dinners: Orecchiette Broccoli Rabe & Fennel Sausage, Trofie al Prosciutto with Truffle Butter, Peas & Parmigiano and Grilled Hangar Steak over a Carrot Risotto and Red Wine Reduction. I believe the pastas are all home-made and by the taste of the 2 listed, I can attest to the quality and distinctness. The Orecchiette, although a simple dish, was memorable from the sweet fennel sausage crumbles. Kristen’s Trofie (twisted pastas) was a definite looker on the table yet was marred by a bit too much salt. Nothing makes things better than with some truffle, and here again it saved the day. My steak was the winner of the night, hands down. The steak was cooked exactly to my medium-rare request while the carrot risotto was texturally and tastefully sound. The sweet onions atop were the perfect condiment to allow the meat to shine while adding a bit of uniqueness to the dish.

My Steak

            Dessert: Zeppoles with a chocolate sauce. The minute we took a bite, we were all transported back to the boardwalk. The only difference was that these zeppoles weren’t 2 lbs each and about 5 hours old. No, these fried gems were like puffed up pillows with a sweet and salty exterior that crunched just enough. The chocolate sauce wasn’t necessary but, as usual, we got our chocolate fill in for the night.

Back to the Boardwalk...

            We finished up dinner with hugs and walks in different directions. We emailed in the morning and attempted to schedule our next soiree. Surprisingly the date and place was picked with ease and it looks like we’re headed to Montclair soon. Sadly though, because of life, we’ve had to reschedule and the new night is TBD. Eh, I’m not worried; I know we’ll be sipping, forking and gossiping in no time!

Crispo is located at 240 West 14^th St., New York City, NY, 10011. More information available at crisporestaurant.com.

Total score 17/25

Final Grade: B

A: 21-25    B: 16-20    C: 11-15   D: 6-10    F: 0-5

Restaurant Rubric

	1	2	3	4	5
Food Taste	Bland, boring, overcooked, underdone	Very little flavor, not much aroma	Flavors apparent, basic ability to please palates	Flavor worth discussing, chef’s use of ingredients impressive	Great flavor, taste lingers and leaves diner wanting more
Restaurant service	disrespectful	Inattentive staff, no regard for wait time	Staff average in helpfulness, timing alright, either more/less needed	Staff knowledgeable and attentive to needs without asking, timing very well executed	Remarkable and noteworthy, service so good you forget it is ever an issue elsewhere
Food Presentation	Cover it up please	Sloppy and the eater can tell little thought went into it	Descent presentation: looks alright, not worth a picture but enough to make you hungry	Admirable, it is apparent the chef plated with a consideration for presentation	Presentational talents are here. Looks beautiful and too good to dig in
Prices match quality	Prices are too high for quality	Prices are still too high but not outrageously	Some items are priced accordingly but not all	Most items are priced accordingly	All items are matched accordingly
Would I go back?	Not a chance ever	Nope	Maybe	Looking forward to it	What time should I arrive?!?

 

Serenity Cafe Demo

Serenity Café Cooking Demo

            Just recently, I was able to help out my former community, my mother and myself all in one night. Not bad, right?!?  That night was at The Serenity Cafe in Toms River where Chef/Owner Gregory Manning held a cooking demonstration class that was to raise money for his daughter whom is part of the Step of Faith Ministry, Inc. They will soon be traveling to Haiti to help out those who are misfortunate. The $48 ticket was quite a steal to watch the Cooking Light 2012 “Trailblazer Chef of the Year” work his magic while helping out those in the neighborhood spread their charity.

            As for my mother, well she originally bought the tickets for her and my father. As his schedule gets filled up like the Nile, she needed a partner to take his spot. Now honestly, I think I should have been her date in the first place but I’ll spare you my whining. Needless to say, the minute she asked me to go with her, I said I was there, no problem.

            And as for helping myself out, haha, I’m just a hungry gal who loves to eat delicious things, learn about delicious things and clearly share delicious things. Here’s what transpired that night….

 

            First course: Creamy Balsamic Shrimp & Parmesan Soufflé. Plump and slightly fried shrimp scattered around a spongy Parmesan-laded cake topped with a balsamic glaze that had us all sopping up every last drizzle. Chef Greg explained how even though this dish looks challenging, it really isn’t since the soufflés can be poured into the ramekins the night before. Awesome! The day of cooking, just add the hot water for the bath and bake- viola! I took a lot of notes for the balsamic sauce as this is something I have yet to master. He did it so easily and I learned a key tip: adding a slurry of cornstarch and broth makes sauces “tighter” aka creamier.

 

            Second Course: Apricot & Cranberry Stuffed Pork Loin with Blackberry Sauce and Bacon Smashed Potatoes. Can you place Thanksgiving on a plate? After eating this dish, apparently so. This was a super cool dish to watch getting prepared. For one, the butter- flying  of the pork was one of those things that only watching could teach.  I wish I had a rewind on that one actually! Also, the blackberry sauce that went from a simple caramel to a boil of berries to then a glaze with strained fruit, brandy and rosemary was like watching something from Kitchen Stadium. Once the pork was all stuffed, wrapped and roasted, Chef Greg quickly mashed the potatoes with what he called an, “awesome baked potato.” Translation: mashed potatoes with cream, bacon, sour cream and butter.  Plating everything  in one serving was just beautiful. The colors popped while the aroma of bacon, pork and berries had all of us salivating for our taste!

            Third Course: S’mores Cheesecake. This was, by far, the best dessert I’ve eaten since 2010! I must say though, the moment I saw Chef Greg coating the crust with chocolate, I knew this was going to be a winner. I loved how he added mini marshmallows and chopped chocolate to the batter so that the entire cake embodied the S’mores theme. The top was flambéed with more marshmallows that I think would be fine if done by a broiler. Once it was delivered before us, the result was one that is universally recognized: silence. Yes, it was that good.

 

            Coffee was continually poured for all of us in attendance while we shared notes, discussed our opinions and questioned the Chef. The night finished with both my mother and I carrying out leftovers for our husbands who gladly got the remnants of a fundraising feast. Enjoy….

 

Creamy Balsamic Shrimp & Parmesan Souffle

Source: Gregory Manning, Serenity Cafe

Serves 8

Ingredients :

24 large peeled and deveined shrimp

Constarch

1 C peeled garlic

½ C oil

½ C good quality balsamic vinegar

½ C chicken stock

1 C heavy cream

1 C milk

2 TSP flour

2 TSP butter

1 C Parmesan Cheese

5 eggs, separated

8 Ramekins

Directions:

Balsamic Sauce:

1. In a sauce pot, heat oil and garlic together and cook until golden brown, taking care not to burn

2. Drain off oil and reserve, add balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil, reduce by a third

3. Add stock and cream and bring back to boil. Reduce by 1/3 again, remove from heat and puree with stick blender

4. Return to heat and thicken with cornstarch slurry (a little cornstarch and water mixed). Reserve sauce

Soufflés:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Bring milk and flour to a boil and be sure to whisk to prevent scorching

2. Add butter and Parmesan, remove from heat and let cool slightly

3. Add egg yolks and season with salt and pepper

4. In a separate bowl, beat whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into yolk mixture

5. Spray ramekins with food spray and divide filling between them. Bake soufflés in a water bath for 12-15 minutes. Remove and cool slightly

Shrimp:

1. Using reserved garlic oil, in a sauté pan heat oil and dust shrimp with cornstarch. Sauté shrimp in batches until all shrimp are cooked

Assembly:

1. Invert soufflé on a plate, place three shrimp around and drizzle with sauce and extra Parmesan Cheese.  

Apricot and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Loin with Blackberry Sauce & Bacon Smashed Potatoes

Source: Chef Gregory Manning, Serenity Café

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 lb. red bliss potatoes

6 pieces cooked bacon, chopped

1 C sour cream

1 bunch scallions, chopped

2 TSP butter

S & P: salt and pepper

1, 4-5 lb piece pork loin

1 C dried apricots

½ C dried cranberries

2 sprigs rosemary

S & P: salt and pepper

Olive oil and foil

½ C sugar

¼ C water

12 oz. fresh blackberries

1 C white wine

½ C blackberry brandy

1 sprig rosemary

4 TSP butter

2 C chicken stock

Cornstarch slurry

Directions:

Potatoes:

1. Place potatoes in a pot and bring to a boil until tender

2. Drain and smash with tongs or fork. Add bacon, sour cream, scallions, butter, and S & P to taste

3. Keep in a warm place

Pork:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Place the pork on a cutting board and clean off any excess fat. Butterfly the pork-  watch thisor Starting at the long end a little bit from bottom, cut it partially 1/3 way thru, flatten it out like a butterfly, then cut the next thicker piece partially 1/3 way thru, flatten it out and then cut the remaining thick part partially 1/3 way thru. You should be left with a long thin piece of pork! w

2. Place apricots and rosemary in food processor and pulse until chopped

3. Season pork with S & P and then spread on apricot and cranberries

4. Roll the pork up lengthwise

5. Cut a large piece of foil, place the stuffed pork in the middle. Rub loin with olive oil and more S & P. Close the foil up and seal

6. Roast for 40-45 minutes or until internal temperature is 140 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest, vent foil

Sauce:

1. In a sauce pot, bring sugar and water to a boil, cook until caramel in color

2. Add blackberries, rosemary, wine and brandy. Reduce by half and add stock, bring to boil and let simmer for 10 minutes

3. Strain to remove seeds and rosemary, bring back to boil, add butter, let simmer and thicken with cornstarch slurry (a little cornstarch and water mixed)

4. Season with S & P

Assembly:

1. Place pork loin on a clean cutting board. Place a scoop of potatoes on a plate, slice pork and place on top and follow with sauce. Garnish with rosemary, serve at once

S’mores Cheesecake

Source: Chef Gregory Manning, Serenity Café

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 prepared large graham cracker crust

½ C warmed hot fudge ice cream topping

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 C miniature chocolate chips

1 C miniature marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. Place shell on a half sheet pan

2. Coat bottom of crust with warmed hot fudge

3. Combine cream cheese and condensed milk in a mixer on low speed until smooth

4. Add vanilla

5. Add eggs, one at a time, until blended but not over mixed

6. Stir in chocolate chips and ½ C of marshmallows

7. Pour over crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set

8. Sprinkle with the additional ½ cup of mini marshmallows and return to oven for about 5 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown and puffed

9. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen

10. Chill overnight, then remove the sides of pan

11. Just before serving, drizzle with more warmed fudge topping

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

 

            There is a pretty funny story behind this meal. Let me begin…In the original recipe, it calls for ¼ tsp red pepper sauce, which as I thought, was referring to some sort of spicy red stuff. Not being a huge fan of spicy, I didn’t have many items to match that description. What I found that I thought would work was chili garlic sauce. So I went along with the recipe, added some chicken and called it a day. I was hosting a b-day party so, goodness knows, I had a gazillion things to do!

 

            8 or so hours later, we all sat down to eat the delicious smelling jambalaya. “This is hot,” “Oh man, spicy,” and, “G, you really kicked in the heat here,” are all quiet comments I hear lurking from the table. I, too, find this a bit spicy but continue to make the birthday gal proud (Mom) and eat away. Holy CraBumble! “This stuff is hot,” I soon concur. Then, I look over at my Grandpa and the poor man is sweating bullets. I say, “Papa, this is kinda hot, huh?” and he replies, “Why, yes darling, this is heavy on the spice, your Grandma must be in her glory.” At that moment, my Dad starts blowing his nose and my Mom comments, “This is one way to clear your sinuses.” All the meanwhile, I was just trying to enjoy the chicken, shrimp and rice but was truly held hostage by the chili sauce. So with all this who-ha, I had to come clean.....Well, the minute I mentioned my substitute, the table grinned and taught me some good lessons:

             1. red pepper sauce is not chili garlic sauce.

2. If you like on fire spicy things, add chili garlic sauce to them.

3. With any meal and especially this one, biscuits make it better!

Enjoy…

 

** Don’t let my spice mishap scare you, this slow cooker meal, minus the chili sauce, was awesome and incredibly easy. I fully intend to make it the future! Actually, if you are a true heat-seeker, do what I did, just offer your guest bread and water!

Birthday Gal & Me, xo

 

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Serves: 6 - 8

Slightly adapted from: Betty Crocker

OBJ: TCW be able to host a dinner party for her Mom’s bday while being, as usual, too busy to spend all day in the kitchen

Ingredients:

 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

2 medium celery stalks, chopped (1 cup) 

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 C chopped fully cooked smoked sausage (chorizo)

2 skinless boneless chicken breast, chopped into 1 in pieces

1 TBS parsley flakes 

½ tsp dried thyme leaves 

½ tsp salt 

¼ tsp pepper 

¼ tsp red pepper sauce- Frank’s® Hot Sauce 

¾ lb uncooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen

4 C hot cooked rice

Biscuits (optional)

Procedures:

1. In 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except shrimp and rice

2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours (or High heat setting 3 to 4 hours)

3. Stir in shrimp. Reduce heat setting to Low; cover and cook on Low heat setting about 1 hour longer or until shrimp are pink and firm

4. Serve jambalaya with rice and biscuits
Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

 

I even made a cake to end the night on the right note!

 

 

Ristorante Giorgia

Ristorante Giorgia

Rumson, NJ

Final Grade: A

            When a restaurant not too far from me gets reviewed by the NY Times, I can only do one thing: get a reservation. Luckily, getting reservations in NJ is, from my experience, a heck of a lot easier than in NY. Most places usually have openings on your desired weekend and will accommodate both small and large parties. And if you are a small party, say 3 or less, I know just the place for you to go and get cozy.

            Ristorante Giorgia, 102 Avenue of 2 Rivers, is exactly that place. I know what you are thinking…..”Rumson, oiy vey, let me go shine my shoes and have some clothes dry cleaned.” Not so fast my hungry friends. Giorgia’s is, yes, beautiful and glamorous but, no, nothing close to pretentious and stuffy. You won’t find valet attendants waiting for your arrival nor will your portions be smaller than your left eye. What you will find is a romantic and quaint rustic location where you and your guests will be treated to hearty Italian favorites, attentive service and an experience to remember.

 

 

            Let’s start with the fare. As for appetizers, we decided to go with a special of the evening. It was an easy decision to make as the sound of pureed roasted eggplant combined with crusty bread and parmesan then breaded and fried had us at first listen. The little rounds($14) were accompanied with a tomato sauce that added the right amount of acidity to balance the parmesan and smoky eggplant. Rather than order an additional appetizer, our intrigue of their menu led us to order a salad(10) comprised of arugula, oranges, beets ,fennel , and pistachios. Although heavy on ingredients, it came together light as a feather and left us with plenty of room for the main course.

            Any place that offers homemade pasta has a place in my heart. So with that, I had to go with some carbs that night. My husband was also in that pasta-mood since, as he put it, “this place makes me want a comfort-meal.” I went with the Tagliatelle con Funghi e Gamberi (16/24) and was in one happy place while eating. The combination of sautéed thick-cut mushrooms and seared shrimp both entangled in fresh pasta sheets drenched in a tomato cream sauce was downright dangerous. I was confused as to whether it was the sauce or the pasta that had me just fork-twirling away. Clearly, it was a great choice for the night. Matt went with a meat-lovers’ dream. His Penne con Salsiccia, nduja e Faggioli (15/20) had his name written all over it. To add to the beauty of the fresh pasta here was homemade hot and sweet sausage. To my objection, he asked to omit the cannellini beans but I honestly think they would have made the dish more cohesive. The pasta was consumed by very rich and fennel-laden meat which needed something to take it down a notch. Nevertheless, he had no complaints that it was hard to decipher between the pasta flavor from the pork flavor.
 

 

            To round out the night, and our bellies, we I decided on the Tiramisu cake. The slice was politely placed between us and the minute we both took a bite we arrived at the same conclusion: one slice is not enough. Eating this cake was, for real, like eating a slice of coffee-flavored cloud. Even though it was not made in-house, it had every marking of being crafted that day. I say crafted because the mascarpone layer had to done by someone with not only expertise but precision and caress. This dessert was a thing of splendor. Not that it was splendid enough to salvage, just good enough to be very thankful I always get the last bite.

 

 

            Service was not an issue. The hostess was quick to seat us while the water glasses were filled almost seamlessly throughout the night. Our wait staff was knowledgeable enough to field our newbie questions and adequately checked in on us to let us know they had our best interest. Wait time was impeccable and I am quite the stickler on that. I will spare you my soliloquy on being force fed courses, just know this place was a role model in that department.

            And so there it was, my first time at a NY Times reviewed spot. Did they hit the mark with their review? Well, let’s just say that although there isn’t much NY and NJ people agree on, I think this is one case where the lines will be blurred.

Ristorante Giorgia is located at 102 Avenue of 2 Rivers, Rumson, NJ 07760. More information can be found here.  

Total score 21/25

Final Grade: A

A: 21-25    B: 16-20    C: 11-15   D: 6-10    F: 0-5

Restaurant Rubric

	1	2	3	4	5
Food Taste	Bland, boring, overcooked, underdone	Very little flavor, not much aroma	Flavors apparent, basic ability to please palates	Flavor worth discussing, chef’s use of ingredients impressive	Great flavor, taste lingers and leaves diner wanting more
Restaurant service	disrespectful	Inattentive staff, no regard for wait time	Staff average in helpfulness, timing alright, either more/less needed	Staff knowledgeable and attentive to needs without asking, timing very well executed	Remarkable and noteworthy, service so good you forget it is ever an issue elsewhere
Food Presentation	Cover it up please	Sloppy and the eater can tell little thought went into it	Descent presentation: looks alright, not worth a picture but enough to make you hungry	Admirable, it is apparent the chef plated with a consideration for presentation	Presentational talents are here. Looks beautiful and too good to dig in
Prices match quality	Prices are too high for quality	Prices are still too high but not outrageously	Some items are priced accordingly but not all	Most items are priced accordingly	All items are matched accordingly
Would I go back?	Not a chance ever	Nope	Maybe	Looking forward to it	What time should I arrive?!?