Are You Sure? That's a Lot of Food.

Esperia Grill - Brighton, MA

http://www.esperiagrill.com/

     I hadn't seen Karl in forever, so one evening we to talking rowing and eating foods. 2 of my favorite things to do. Esperia Grill in Brighton gets voted Best Greek Food by Boston Magazine and The Improper Bostonian pretty consistently, and even though I used to live in Brighton, I had never been. It's a pretty tiny restaurant, and when you walk in there is a big long take out counter right in front. Everything looks incredible and the smells just cannot be put into words. 

Saganaki (top left), Falafel ball (bottom left) and pita.

     They're known for their gyros, kabobs and rotisserie chickens here and I really couldn't decide what to get, so I got a kabob and a half of a chicken. Yes. Both meals. In addition to a greek salad, saganaki (fried cheese) with pita bread, and a falafel ball. After all the words came out of my mouth the waiter furrowed his brow, shook his head and said, "That's a lot of food. Are you sure?" I said, "Uhhhh ... yea." Please do not question my choices Mr. man. It was comical. Sometimes situations like that remind me that I'm not "normal" and make me feel good. I wasn't upset. 

Lamb Kabob and Pita on bottom and the
half chicken on top.

     Anyway, I was a little bummed they didn't light the cheese on fire for us to see because this was Karl's first saganaki experience. But the cheese itself was great. It had a great top crust and was perfectly soft. Delicious wrapped in a pita. 

     The falafel ball was decent, but not exceptional. It was green like the one I got from BenjYehuda in Chicago once with Mary. I wanted the crust to be thicker and hold up to my bite a little better. This one crumbled a tiny bit. 

     The lamb kabob was basically a bunch of big chunks of lamb that were tender and slightly rare, just like I like, lying in a bed of tzatziki and grilled vegetables. This pita was exceptional. It was so soft, thick and had these grilled edges and areas that were full of a toasted pita with butter flavor. And the combination of the succulent, juicy lamb with the cool, herb-y, lemony fresh tzatziki was perfect. I don't know what it is about those flavors that pair so well together. 

      The last addition was my half of a chicken. Admittedly, I knew I'd be taking it home, and I knew I probably wouldn't be back for a while so I had to get it. This bird was coated in herbs. I mean coated. I love chicken skin and this just took it over the top. It had such rich, savory flavors and the meat felt clean, as in not greasy and sticky. The meat was tender, broke apart easily was was extra juicy. It was beautiful. I'd say I weirded Karl out by my superfluous excitement about the quality of the bird, but I'm sure he's used to it now. 

     Overall, it was absolutely delicious. I was so happy and satisfied and Karl was too. I can't help it to the satisfaction I got from Greek Corner with Mary a while ago though. That was nirvanic (<my invented word again), but I'm not sure if that was because we were starving lightweights coming from a Saturday practice or what. We also didn't really eat meat then. So the comparison becomes unfair. Sounds like we are due for another carnivorous Greek Corner visit.

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Lamb and Hummus Bowl - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

     Finally I cooked something exciting! Kind of. This recipe for a baba ghanousch bowl came from Closet Cooking. Go look at his photo. It's just beautiful. Mine is quite lack luster and you can't even see half of the things in it. So basically this is a bowl of heaven. He put baba ghanousch in the bottom, but I wanted to do hummus. He also suggested greek yogurt on top but, honestly I forgot, but I think it's ok. It let the feta creaminess show. On top of it you put some ground lamb you cooked up in a pan with some spices. Top it with some tomatoes, parsley, and feta cheese. Boom. My childhood. I took a pita and just pinched a bit of the mixings and ate it like that. I've had day dreams since of what it would be like to actually construct it like a burrito. The combination of every single one of the flavors is harmonious. The lamb is rich with flavor and hot, while the tomatoes and parsley are fresh. The feta is salty and the hummus is smooth. It's really a genius idea and super easy.

Lamb and Hummus Bowl

Lamb and Hummus Bowl

For the lamb:

1 pound ground lamb

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons mint, chopped (I used dried mint)

For the toppings:

1-2 cups hummus

2 cups tomato, diced

1/4 cup feta

1. Mix the lamb, garlic, cumin, coriander and cinnamon, cook over medium-high heat until cooked and slightly caramelized. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in the parsley and mint.

2. Assemble the bowls and dig in with pitas or a spoon.

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Vegetable Purses - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

     A while ago (I'm talking over a year ago), Mary and I went over to Antonia's for dinner and she made these wonderful little things called Vegetable Purses. She found the recipe on My San Francisco Kitchen and I knew that someday I wanted to make them for myself.  They're nice and light and a actually much easier than they look. They'd be much easier if you just bought phyllo dough too. I love the combination of roasted veggies inside. I tossed in a few extra savory herbs like rosemary.

Vegetable Purses

Vegetable Purses

Phyllo dough:
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
⅔ cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil

Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large zucchini squash, cubed
1 cup butternut squash, cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup light crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Red pepper sauce:

1 red bell pepper, roasted
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp basalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, add vegetables and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Transfer to a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Throw in your whole red pepper for the sauce too and cover in a thin layer of olive oil. 

3. Remove from the oven and lower heat to 350 degrees F. In the meantime, add phyllo dough ingredients to a bowl and mix by hand (or use a stand mixer).  Knead for 10 minutes.

4. Cut into four equal pieces, and roll out as thin a possible.

5. Divide the filling among the sheets of phyllo dough, placing the filling in the center and then topping with feta cheese. Gather the four corners of each phyllo sheet and bring together. Press in the center and twist.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and tie each purse with one chive for decoration.

7. For the sauce, add all ingredients to a blender and blend to desired consistency.
Makes 4 purses

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Banana Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

Banana Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

     I've made these eggless, sugarless, flourless cookies before and they've generally just been ... meh. I half expected the same out of these cookies, but I was way far off. These were awesome! I think the fact that I used decently ripe bananas aided in the sugar issue. I found this recipe off of a blog called My Little Table.

Banana Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

3 large, ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 – 7 ounces dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. 

3. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond or oat flour, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. 

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

5. Drop dollops of the dough an inch apart onto am ungreased baking sheet.

6. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

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Pumpkin Scones - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

Pumpkin Scones

     I'm still slowly working my way though all that pumpkin puree I made back in January. I pull a jar out of the freezer on occasion with no real plan for it, but just a hope to use it at some point within the week. One morning I woke up and realized I had the time and energy to make these pumpkin scones Stef posted a while back on her blog Energy Neutral. She calls them "healthy" so I assumed they may be a little bland (due to a lack of butter and all that much sugar) but I was so wrong! They were fabulous! They had the perfect dry texture but maintained a decent amount of moisture inside. Unlike my pumpkin bagels, I could taste more of the pumpkin flavor in these, which was nice. I made a few changes to her recipe in that instead of using almond milk (that I didn't have), I just used a little bit more pumpkin and a dash of water (my pumpkin is already pretty watery to begin with). I also used coconut oil instead of canola just because I was curious as to what that would taste like and I was a big fan of the switch. Anyway... just look at how pretty these are and try them out yourself!

(Healthy) Pumpkin Scones

2 1/2c whole wheat flour
2 1/2t baking powder
2T brown sugar
3T coconut oil
5T pumpkin puree
1t vanilla
1/2c almond milk
1T ground flax seeds (soaked in 3T water)

1. Preheat oven to 425F. 

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the pumpkin puree and oil using a knife. Flour mixture should be very dry and it should resemble course crumbs. Mix in vanilla, flax seed, and almond milk. 

3. Knead dough 5 or 6 times, then break into 3 large lumps. Cut the lumps into quarters. 

4. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges just start to brown. Let harden or enjoy immediately!

In Search of Higher Ground - Tasting South Carolina

From the summit of Grandfather Mountain, NC

Immaculate Consumption - Columbia, SC
http://immaculate-consumption.com/

     This winter was brutal here in Boston and my travel bug was itching something fierce. I needed mountains. So I hopped on a plane and headed down to South Carolina. I had been before a couple years back with rowing, but this was my first spring break trip with no obligations. No rowing. No diets. No real plan. Ethan and Dan both live in SC, so the plan was to fly in to Charleston, rent a car, drive to the west side to see Ethan for a few days, hike some mountains and drive back to Charleston to see Dan. This isn't a travel blog, so I won't write about the whole trip. But, I did eat some delicious foods while I was there.

     To start... Immaculate Consumption. That's how it always begins (teehee). On my way west, I had a few extra hours, so I stopped in Columbia, home of the University of South Carolina, to check out the campus and fill my tank (my food tank). I had to go to Immaculate Consumption simply because of the name. Duh. The scent of this tiny cafe hit me as soon as I swung open the door. It smelled like antiques and old wood and strangely like my aunt and uncle's house in VA. It was this really cool blend of hipster and farm - classic. Frank Sinatra was on the radio, and the walls were decorated with tapestries and antlers. Weird, right? I've never seen anything like it. The waitstaff was charming and I thought everyone was leaving the restaurant with an open cup of beer. No no... it was sweet tea. Everyone drinks sweet tea. Welcome to the south.
   

Turkey Tarragon Sandwich

     For lunch I got their Turkey Tarragon sandwich which was sliced turkey breast with tarragon/balsamic marinated mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese and dijon mustard. The turkey was the best part. Of course. It was so far from a deli meat. More like real fibrous, sliced turkey breast that fell apart, rather than being all held up by whatever junk they put in deli meat. The mushrooms were sopping wet with that balsamic and it was fabulous. It was a serious punch to the face, but was so good. That marinade made the mushrooms kind of chewy too. To smooth out the power of the mushrooms and dijon, they added some swiss. It was perfect on toasted pumpernickel.

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Cupcake Down South - Columbia, SC
http://www.freshcupcakes.com/index.htmld

            After walking for a couple hours through Columbia looking for little shops and such, I came upon Cupcake Down South, which is a small bakery that has a bunch of different locations in Columbia and Charleston. At first I was just going to walk in to see what they had (yea... right) and also to see if they had samples. I was in luck because they did have samples, and those samples won me over. I got the death by chocolate cupcake (of course) which was a chocolate cake with chocolate chips inside and a tall swirl of rich chocolate buttercream frosting. For the cake, they found the perfect middle ground between a brownie and a cake. It was much more moist and substantial than most cupcakes. The frosting ... oh my lord... the frosting was stupid stupid good. So creamy and smooth with just a little bit of air in it, but not like a whipped textured frosting. It was ideal. Definitely the best gourmet cupcake I've ever gotten before. Sorry Georgetown.

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Sunny's Donuts - Gaffney, SC
https://www.facebook.com/SunnysDonuts

The containers for filling. So smart. 

I ate the blueberry donut too fast (on the left), but
this is the massive apple fritter. 

       For my last morning in Boiling Springs with Ethan, he wanted to take me to experience Sunny's Donuts. Shoot. We headed to Gaffney (where the Nestle plant he works at is located) for an apple fritter experience that was apparently unlike any other. In my 26 years, I had never had a better apple fritter experience than that of Dandee Donuts at home, but I was willing to be adventurous. Apple fritters are my favorite.
     First of all, Sunny's Donuts was just a little tiny shop built into the same building as a gas station convenience store. From the outside, it really was nothing special. But the inside boasted racks of freshly made donuts and quite a few different tubs of filling for some on-demand stuffage. Yes. You pick the donut. You pick the filling. They fill it for you. GENIUS. WHY DON'T MORE PLACES DO THIS?! Anyway, the sweet old man behind the counter gave me my apple fritter and a buttermilk blueberry donut. OH and these donuts holes. These donut holes make Dunkin Donuts munchkins seem like dog food. For real. The slick, thin glaze was perfectly sweet and literally just melted in your mouth to reveal the plain, soft, almost chewy dough. It was beautiful.
     Blueberry donuts are my second favorite to apple fritters and this was 100% the best I've ever had. This donut was made with buttermilk, and split at the top (from all the cream?) like a sour cream donut does (those are my third favorite). I love when it does that because it just means more surface area. More surface area = more crust = more glaze. The browned outside crust of this blueberry donut was thick and it had a thick glaze. It was unlike any other donut I've really ever had before. The dough was pretty dense, but there were some great contrasting textures going on.

     The all-star of the show, as predicted, was the full hand sized apple fritter. Lord have mercy on my soul. It wasn't just a donut that had an apple-y flavor. It had a TON of soft apple chunks in it, and throughout the dough there was this applesauce-like filling. Not like a jelly or cream, but like cinnamon applesauce. It was incredible! It took it way above and beyond not just any other apple fritters, but all other donuts. Oh gosh there were so many nobby edges that had their thick fried crust and were coated in glaze. Just like those donut holes (but x 100000), this donut melted in your mouth. I would physically put it in my mouth and feel it melt. It was a magical experience. I wish there was a Sonny's north of the Mason Dixon Line. Ethan, I am forever indebted to you. 

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Hyman's Seafood - Charleston, SC

http://www.hymanseafood.com/

Coleslaw and hushpuppies. Just look at how dark those puppies are. 

     It's ok to laugh at the name. I did too. And at the half naked mermaid in the stairway. And at the fact that Martha Stewart sat at our table. Hyman's was recommended to me by one of Ethan's friends. Since it was one of the only Charleston recommendations I had gotten, I was going for it. Plus, she mentioned something about hushpuppies and well... that's all it really took. Hyman's has some historical significance in that it started as a little shop within the warehouse district back in 1890, but they added the restaurant portion back in 1986. They've been recognized everywhere. All over the food network, travel channel, you name it. They're a Charleston favorite. 

     This place was huge. They had room after room after room of celebrity dining photos and dark wooden tables filled with people.  As a complimentary appetizer, they served boiled peanuts. I had only had them at Hailee's house when we were kids and they were good, but these were great. The primary reason? Salt. Oh man they were so salty. If you've never had boiled peanuts, you ought to. A lot of little roadside stands sell them down here too.
     The hushpuppies came first and were BY FAR the best I've ever put in my mouth. They were much sweeter than others I've had, but don't think they were like donuts or anything. They had a sweet onion flavor, with little strings of onion in them. They had a great, dark brown thick crust with the gritty, dense, cornmeal insides. I could've eaten them forever... or at least until I felt l like death. So phenomenal. 

     The other appetizer they served was coleslaw, which was delicious. It was heavier on the vinegar and lighter on the mayo. Don't get me wrong... me and mayo go way back, but I like the healthier feeling coleslaw better. This one was perfect and light with carrots and red cabbage. 

Fried catfish, collard greens and more hush puppies.

     For my meal, I got the fried catfish. It came super hot, with a thin breading, which was good. I don't like when the breading overtakes the actual fish. This breading had more of a gritty texture to it too, but was a little softer than I would've liked. However the fish was cooked perfectly. It was flaky and juicy and was served with a sweet bowl of collard greens. I wanted that southern meal, and I got it :]

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King Street Cookies - Charleston, SC

http://kingstreetcookies.com/

            

     There will never be a cookie shop I don't go in. King Street Cookies was located on King Street in downtown Charleston. This cute little shop had all white and orange decor with 2 huge, tall king-like chairs in the front. When I walked in, I was one of three people. When I left, there was a line almost out the door. I'm convinced I started a cookie trend. This place had 33 kinds of cookies (I counted) of all varieties. Literally. There were flavors like red velvet cake, berries and cream, and the three kinds I got: Ms. House, Georgia Peach, and Peanut Butter. I've got to say... that peanut butter cookies was in a whole league of its own. It was love at first bite... and not just because I love peanut butter, but because this provided all of the satisfaction a cookie could provide. The center of this cookie stayed fat, so it was done just right so that it wasn't gooey anymore. The top was a little crinkled and sprinkled with a tiny bit of sugar, and all of the edges had a slight crispness to them. It was incredible. It seemed so delicate. Nothing could've made it better. For real. 

Peanut butter (top),  Ms. House (middle),
Georgia Peach (bottom)

     The second one I tried was the georgia peach. It had peach chunks, toffee, cinnamon and white chocolate chips. It was definitely tasty, but almost a little too sweet for me, if you can believe that. Maybe it was the white chocolate. I think I'm beginning to learn that I'm not all that into white chocolate. The third cookie was called Ms. House and was a basic, chewy oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips and chunks. It tasted very much like your homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but baked by someone who had done it a time or two and knew how to nail the timing down. 

     The best part of this whole deal was that, when you purchase 3 cookies ($6), you get a cup for unlimited milk and get the option of skim milk, whole milk or chocolate milk. I sure milked that opportunity. Got all 3. 

(see what I did there?)

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Triangle Char and Bar - Sumerville, SC

http://trianglecharandbar.com/

Avondale Nachos

     Dan introduced me to boxing, so whenever we get the chance to go, we go. After trying out a new Title gym, he wanted to take me to this place called Triangle Char and Bar. Clever name. Char and Bar = Bar and Grill, but unique. It reminded me very much of a Boston type restaurant in that they focus on using local ingredients and give you information on the menus about how the animals used for their meats are humanely raised. It's pretty neat. Everything inside was bright and colorful, but also very simplistic, in a country way. It fit in with the local, trendy, inventive vibe one experiences in Cambridge. 

Pad Thai Tacos with Sweet Potato Fries

     Dan said if we got the Avondale nachos we might not need to get a meal, so we got the nachos... and then we both got meals. Good. Those nachos were insane. Absolute madness. They were like a loaded baked potato made into nachos. Instead of tortilla chips, they used their homemade potato chips (which were perfection and I'd pay $20 for a bag if they were sold in grocery stores). They were topped with chunks of salty bacon, jalapenos, tomatoes, green onions, a bunch of real melted jack cheese and ranch dressing. It was a sodium overload but it was incredible. I'm generally not too into eating ranch dressing, but in this case it was a really unique take on adding the bit of cream to nachos instead of sour cream. Dan was right. We didn't need meals, and I'm proud to say that I only ate half of my Pad Thai tacos when they came. Go me. The two tacos came in big soft shells and were loaded with grilled chicken, peanuts, peanut sauce, and onions. The chicken was a little peppery and spicy (but in a good way) and the warm peanut sauce went surprisingly really well with the chicken. Seems like such a weird concept in my head, but it worked out. I probably would've been better off with something more mild and lighter after the nachos, but you don't see pad thai tacos often. Oh plus they were served with sweet potato fries sprinkled with salt and some seasoning (maybe paprika?). They were some of the best I've had. I really liked that they were skinnier and I loved the sauce they were served with. It was some sort of dipping sauce that was a dark red but tasted like applesauce and cinnamon. I still have no idea what it was, but it was delicious. 

     Needless to say, my shoes were a little tight the next morning, and my soul was content.