Their "Nothing" Is My Something

Calzolaio Pasta Company - Wilton, ME

http://www.calzolaiopasta.com/

West Summit of Baldpate Mountain, Grafton Notch State Park, ME

     I've heard people say that there really is just nothing in Maine. I refuse to believe that because what they may see as "nothing" is my something. The wilderness in Maine is rugged and desolate, and I like that. I don't belong in the city. I miss the fresh air. I miss the silence and the darkness. Someday I'll get back.
     After a treacherous 5 hour hike to reach the western summit of Baldpate Mountain in Grafton Notch State Park we were... well... starving. Meagan, Karl and I drove in circles through at least 3 cities looking for a restaurant for dinner. There were a few ho-hum pizza shops (<inappropriate judgement) and random gas station "cafes", but we wanted to sit down and have a meal. With spotty cell phone reception, it was hard to search what was out there. After trying a couple different places that were closed, be made it to Calzolaio Pasta Company, which was about 30 minutes away from where we were when we started looking. Looking scraggly, sweaty, dirty and tired, we stumbled into this semi-fancy Italian place that we were clearly underdressed for. At first I felt bad, but then I assumed we weren't the first customers they had that had just come from the mountains. 

Homemade Mozz Sticks

     Their water glasses were beautiful. Their menu was beautiful. Their bread and garlicy, herbed dipping oil was beautiful. The bread seemed freshly baked. Crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I could've eaten both full baskets of bread myself. What I truly fell in love with right from the get-go was their homemade mozzarella sticks. You never see that. I needed them. They were hands-down the best mozzarella sticks I've ever had. The breading was about twice as thick as normal mozzarella sticks (maybe that's why they were so good) and it was full of a bunch of different herbs. The cheese inside was the perfect temperature and therefore the perfect
degree of gooey. Dipped in their chunky marinara, these sticks were phenomenal. 

Mediterranean  Salad

     For my meal I ordered their Mediterranean salad, and truth be told, I was super pumped about it. Salty olives, three kinds of salty shaved cheeses, and salty marinated mushrooms? I'm in. 

----------

The Holy Donut - Portland, ME
http://www.theholydonut.com/

     I have a sixth sense when it comes to donuts. Before learning the name, Meagan, Karl and I walked past a donut shop in Portland, and as I gazed in the window I said "Hoooooooly moly." Just as I finished my thought, I looked up and realized the place was called The Holy Donut, and boy oh boy was it holy sight to see. We immediately walked in. This is not your standard donut shop. Their recipe is unique. In addition to the standard flour, buttermilk and egg blend that normally comprises a donut, they add local Maine russet mashed potatoes as well. They use King Arthur unbleached flour, local Maine dairy, and pure cane sugar. I was in love.
     We got 3 kinds to share: mojito, chocolate sea salt and sweet potato ginger. I'll describe my favorite one first. The sweet potato ginger. It had the delicious sweet potato flavor and sweetness and had a subtle ginger flavor that gave it a certain fresh and spicy taste. The glaze was incredible too. I love when the glaze is a little bit thicker and kind of a step beyond just a glaze. I like when it starts to dry and cracks and will sometimes fall off in chunks.
     The density and texture of the donut was unlike anything I've ever had before. It was dense, not in a fudgy brownie way or a banana bread way, but in a super moist bread way. Ugh... I don't know what I'm saying. It had a bread texture to it, in that when you took a bite, the donut squished down a little bit. Once you let go with your teeth, the dough slowly started to expand, and you could see the stringy fibers of the dough lengthening. Like a soft pretzel maybe? A cinnamon roll? Who pays this much attention to dough? I do. It's important.

     The mojito was my second favorite. It was very similar in flavor to the mojito cupcakes I've made before (duh). The thick icing on top was very lime-y and the cake had all the subtleties of mint and the rum flavor. The woman behind the counter gave us a fresh and warm chocolate sea salt donut which I was super pumped about. It was a little bit more cake like than the others. I lend this to the fact that it was still warm. We all agreed that a tad bit more salt would've been better, and we would've preferred it cold. Regardless, it was still better than most regular chocolate donuts I've ever had.
    I know nothing of the chemistry of dough, but I know what it looks like and how it feels (and how it makes me feel).  In no way were the donuts dry or crumbly. They were so much more filling, satisfying, moist and flavorful throughout. Instead of feeling like you're eating empty calories, these donuts felt significant. Almost holy.

----------

Pai Men Miyake - Portland, ME
http://www.miyakerestaurants.com/pai-men-miyake/

     I always feel so American when I go into an asian food place and order the general tso's chicken. It's just so goooooood! The asian people don't order that. They always get some brothy noodly thing that I wish I would've gotten. They look delicious but I never even think to order them. After tooling around Portland for a little bit, Meagan, Karl and I stopped at a place called Pai Men Miyake for lunch. This Miyake location was four years old and is known for their different variations of ramen in savory broths. We sat outside on a picnic table table facing the road, which resulted in some great people watching. Portland has some real characters.
     Anyway, I ordered the Paitan, which was a delicious, rich pork and chicken broth with pork belly, soy marinated Miyake egg (from their own farm), scallions, ginger and nori (seaweed). The pork belly was basically glorified thick cut bacon that had it's edges of fat crisped up. Astounding flavor combinations from all the different parts, yet it was still very simple. And I was still very terrible at picking up slippery noodles with chop sticks. Damn near impossible.

-----------

The Seagull Shop - New Harbor, ME
http://www.seagullshop.com/

     Southern Maine is amazing. Check it out on a map...seriously. It's a bunch of peninsulas jutting out into the Atlantic with one or two streets heading down to the tip of each. They often aren't connected and there are millions of islands scattered all around them. It truly is fascinating.
     Anyway, after exploring some of the most beautiful rocks I've ever seen at La Verna Preserve, we headed over to The Seagull Shop which sat next to the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. It had turned into a drizzly evening, so we couldn't see too far out into the ocean, but the view from The Seagull Shop was incredible. You should go check out their website to see just how beautiful it was. It was a tiny little restaurant and gift shop with oceanfront dining. Their entire dining room was about 15 tables out on what seemed like the tiny home's sunroom or porch. It was very quaint and cozy and exactly what I had in mind.  
     First up was a hefty slice of their cornbread served with a side

of coleslaw. Now... Union Oyster House in Boston has won over my heart when it comes to cornbread. Theirs is fabulous. But now I'm torn because this place served up some mean cornbread. It was warm and perfectly sweet, just like I like it. I need to do a side by side comparison.
 

My momma lobster. Sorry lady :/

 


     For my meal, I had to order the steamed lobster. Meagan joined in and ordered her first steamed lobster. I realize it's pretty hard to screw up steamed lobster, but this may just have been the best I've ever had. I don't know what they put in the water to steam it, or if it's because it was so fresh (my lobster was still holding on to a little bit of seaweed), but it was perfect. The meat was so flavorful that it didn't need to be dipped in butter. In fact, they didn't even serve it with melted butter.
     The oceanfront dining, cozy atmosphere, and great food was everything I was looking for in a dinner spot. Now if we had only known that it was byob...

----------

Conte's Pizza - Princeton, NJ

     After quite the upsetting and sudden end to racing at NSR 2 this year, Joan, Lauren, Margot and I headed out for some mind altering... pizza. Conte's was absolutely the perfect choice. This is a local hot spot and a favorite for Princetonians. Everyone knows it and recommends it. This is a no frills kind of place. It's simply just some tables and chairs in a room full of good pizza and happy people. When you walk in, they take your order right away, so that by the time you're seated (if you had to wait in line like we did) your pizza is just about ready. 

     We ordered a pepperoni pizza. Pretty standard. It was 100% what I wanted and could've hoped for. Big slices, meat, tons of cheese and enough grease to .... I don't know... but it was a ton. Sometimes pizzas with lots of fun and healthy toppings like peppers, mushrooms, and maybe some meat are good, but sometimes you just want to fill your arteries so full of grease that you can't walk anymore. That's what this was. Well... maybe not that extreme. The little pepperonis were my favorite part. They were mini and the edges curled up when they cooked. So they were like a bunch of little grease pools all over the pizza. I'd swim in them for days. Joan and I both killed 5 slices and I couldn't have been more satisfied. Princeton sure has some real gems. 

----------

All-Star Sandwich Bar - Cambridge, MA

http://www.allstarsandwichbar.com/index.html

Cubano

     FINALLY ... I accepted Frances' (my boss) offer to take me out to lunch. It only took me two months of working at Gentle Giant...with good reason. I wanted to get whatever I wanted and enjoy all of it, so I waited until after NSR2. It was sooooo worth it. She let me choose, so I decided on All Star Sandwich Bar. I longed for the pleasure of sinking my teeth into a big sandwich for a long time. Stuff it full of a variety of meats, and I knew it'd be heaven.

Look how pretty!

     The All Star sandwich I chose was their Cubano. The only other cuban sandwich I've ever had was one from the Hubbard Hall cafeteria back at Michigan State, and I liked it then. I knew this one was about to go above and beyond what I experienced years ago. Their Cubano comes with Virginia baked ham, mojo braised pork, jack cheese, swiss cheese, dill pickle slices, cilantro aioli and dijon mustard on pressed french bread. Holy sensory overload batman. The sweet, the salty, the meat, the gooey, the sour, the spicy, the crunchy. It literally had everything. The meat was my favorite part. The mojo braised shredded pork was incredible. I had to look up what "mojo" is. Apparently it's a sauce generally consisting of olive oil, garlic, cumin and paprika. Whatever kind of mojo they used was magic. I'm normally not a super big fan of deli ham. I mean... I definitely like it, but I'm not bursting at the seams when I see it. But this ham so was so good and I absolutely loved it warm (that sounds weird to say). It had a slight sweetness to it that went great alongside the bite of the dill pickle slices. Throw in the dijon mustard for a tad bit of spice and those three things were killer. Oh wait the cheese! Oh the cheese was so gooey and smooth. It literally was the glue of the sandwich. I couldn't place the flavors of the cilantro partly because a million other things were happening. Their bread choice was spot on too. The french bread was pressed and crispy on the outside, but not burnt. I was really impressed with how warm everything was (considering it was a pretty dense sandwich) but the bread wasn't burnt. I have this issue when making grilled cheese. My bread approaches the torched stage but the cheese hasn't fully melted. Hmm... I've never had good patience when it comes to these things.

Poutine

     In addition to my deliciously salty sandwich, Melanie insisted we order the poutine, so Frances made sure that happened. I'm pretty sure this was my first poutine experience, and according to Andrew, it was fancy poutine. Fancy or not... I do not care. This was incredible. Fries, gravy, cheese curds and green onions. The fries were skinny and softer than I'd normally like, but it was ok because these were covered in heaven's gravy. Chicken gravy maybe? Unsure. The cheese curds were really different than the Michigan cheese curds I'm used to in that they didn't squeak as much when you chew them. These were still amazing, and I loved the addition of the green onions. I don't know what it was about them, but their fresh flavor was a great small addition to each bite that they found their way into. Towards the end of the meal I started to realize and taste how much sodium I was consuming, and it was beautiful.

----------

Marshmallow Cornflake Chocolate Chip Cookies - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Marshmallow Cornflake Chocolate
Chip Cookies

     I like the flakes. Every now and then, a bowl of bran flakes or corn flakes really hit the spot. So when a free box of corn flakes showed up at work, I was quick to snag 'em. I snagged with the intention of a) having a bowl of cereal and b) using them for a marshmallow cornflake chocolate chip cookie recipe. There's totally a lot going on in these cookies, and I was a tad bit nervous. Would the cornflakes get soggy? What happened when the marshmallows got all melty? Were they going to torch quickly?

     With my many doubts, I ventured off on a little cookie journey, which in turn produced some of the most delicious cookie dough I've ever tasted. The cornflakes provided a crunch and the marshmallows a burst of sugar. Throw in some chocolate chips and oats, and it was deadly. I absolutely love oaty cookies. Martha suggested using what she called "cornflake crunch" which was a mixture of cornflakes, butter, milk powder, salt and sugar. I thought that was overkill, so I just used crushed up corn flakes. 

     I have this bad habit of not reading recipes ahead of time. I wind up disappointed when I realize I'm supposed to refrigerate the dough for a couple hours. I just can't do it. I put these in the freezer for 30 minutes or so, and that seemed to work, but I think they probably would've come out better if I had done it correctly and cooled them completely. The recipe I used said to bake them for 18 minutes or until puffed, cracked, spread and browned on the edges. DO NOT bake them for 18 minutes. I found that this was way too long. True... I didn't let them cool completely, but still. I baked my first batch for 18 minutes and, while I'm fine with a little spreading, the marshmallows melted in and around the cookies and almost burned. The whole cookie seemed ok straight out of the oven, but once it cooled, it was quite brick-like. I'll note that they still were delicious... just very hard (excellent crumbled on yogurt instead of granola... haha). 

     The second and third batches turned out much better. I think because they were a little cooler and because I only baked them for 12 minutes or so. They never got puffy like Martha suggested. However, I was absolutely in love with the effect the marshmallows had on the cookie. When they melted, they kind of coated the bottom of the cookie and caramelized once it cooled. In some places, the marshmallow spread out on the cookie sheet and solidified like candy. It was beautiful. They were buttery and the perfect level of chewy. The crushed cornflakes stayed a little crunchy too, giving the cookie a really unique texture. I'd highly highly recommend these cookies. You cannot eat just one, and you won't get sick after 10. I don't believe it's possible.

Marshmallow Cornflake Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups crushed cornflakes

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows

1) Cream together butter and both sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add egg and vanilla. Beat until combined well.

2) Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix just until dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. 

3) With the mixer on low, add cornflake crunch and chocolate chips; mix until just combined, 30 to 45 seconds. Add mini marshmallows and mix until just incorporated.

4) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Portion dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Pat tops of cookie domes flat. Wrap baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Do not bake cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

5) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line additional baking sheets with parchment paper.

6) Arrange chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until puffed, cracked, spread, and browned on the edges, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.

----------

Cabbage, Lime and Peanut Salad - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Cabbage, Lime and Peanut Salad

     After that pizza and a couple cookies post racing, I was ready for a salad. Not kidding. Smitten Kitchen posted about a cabbage salad with peanuts that I wanted to try. I had cabbage to use up, and I love peanuts more than 99% of the things in the world. She used some red cabbage, so hers looks really pretty. Mine still looked pretty though because I added shredded carrots and green onions. I loved how fresh and unique this salad was and the bold cumin and lime flavors were key. Also, it was definitely worthy to be considered a meal. 

     The woman from Smitten Kitchen suggests salting the cabbage and letting it sit to pull out some of the moisture. I wanted to eat this right away, so I skipped this step. My salad turned out fine, but I'm sure letting it wilt would've lent to quite a different textured salad. I'm going to include that instruction, but know that I don't think it's completely necessary. I was able to keep this salad in the fridge and slowly eat it throughout the week for lunches, but it was definitely best that first day. As the days went on, it lost some of the lime flavor. 

Cabbage, Lime and Peanut Salad 

1/2 small green cabbage, shredded (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon salt
1 bunch fresh baby spinach, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch wide ribbons (about 4 cups loosely packed)

3 green onions, sliced

2 large carrots, shredded
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 small limes)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup peanut oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
Freshly ground black pepper

1) In a large bowl, toss the shredded cabbage with the salt. Transfer the cabbage to a colander and let it drain for two hours. If it's too salty afterwards, rinse and pat the cabbage dry before mixing it with the other ingredients.

2) Put the salted, drained cabbage in a large bowl and add the spinach. 
3) In a medium bowl, whisk the lime juice, mustard and cumin together. Add the oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly until the ingredients are thoroughly emulsified. 
4) Toss the salad with the dressing and add the roasted peanuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

----------

Roasted Grape and Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Not super pretty, but definitely super tasty

     I've been on a sweet potato kick recently. They're great for athletic performance la di la di da...plus, they're delicious. I've had a pin for roasted grape and goat cheese stuffed sweet potatoes that I've been wanting to make for a long time but haven't because I never buy grapes. Why? Because they're like buying freaking diamonds. I cannot believe how expensive they are here. So finally I found some grapes on sale and snagged them. I realize roasted grapes may sound weird, but think about it... they're sweet. So when they heat up, their sugars leak out and get all caramelized (I don't know the technical terms for what happens, so I'm just going to assume you know what I'm talking about). Just like sweet potatoes! That goo that oozes out and slightly solidifies is gold.
     This recipe comes from a blog called How Sweet It Is. She's got mush prettier photos than I do, so I'd suggest going there. Regardless, these babies are delicious! The sweetness of the grapes, sweet potatoes and honey is balanced out by the slight bite of the goat cheese. I didn't add as much honey as she did because I figured the sweet potato and grapes would be enough. See my recipe below!

Roasted Grape and Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
1 cup red, seedless grapes
1 teaspoon canola oil (or other high heat oil)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
2+ ounces goat cheese
Honey
Pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in sweet potato with a fork and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender to the touch. Once they're done, pull them out and cut a slit down the middle of each sweet potato. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

2) Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Toss grapes with a drizzle of your oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put them on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until grapes begin to burst. Remove from the oven and let cool.

3) Once the sweet potatoes are somewhat cool, gently scoop out the insides with a spoon, trying to keep the skin intact. Add the insides to a large bowl and mash with your goat cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey if you feel like it. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired and scoop insides back into the potato skins. At this point you can re-warm the potatoes (if you let them cool completely) in the oven. Once they're at your desired temperature, top with remaining goat cheese and grapes and serve. 

----------

The Princess Posse

Port 305 - Quincy, MA

    For Meagan's birthday dinner, she wanted to go some place on the water. The beach is her favorite place, so I set out to try to find somewhere with a beach nearby and a pretty view of the water from the dining area. I searched all throughout Boston, north of the city, and south of the city along the coast and finally decided on Port 305 in Quincy. I had never heard of this place, but it had outdoor seating and a nice view of Marina Bay. Once we got there, we all joked that this place couldn't really figure out who they were. Their menu had different sections for things like stir-fry, nachos, seafood, burgers, pasta, pizza and chicken wings. Although it was kind of odd, I figured it would probably have something for everyone. Plus, being just outside the city, I figured the wait would be less and the prices more affordable. The finally selling point was their page long list of martinis. I knew Meagan and Karl would be all about those.

The view from Port 305 (photo credits to Meagan)

     The restaurant sat along a really nice boardwalk that wound up and down around the marina and was lined with a bunch of different and lively looking restaurants. After strolling through a nearby park during sunset with pink "Princess" part hats on, Meagan, Karl, Jimmy, Dave, Alyse, John and I headed inside for food. Their outdoor seating was really nice, but we opted to sit inside because it was getting dark and a little chilly.
   

     For drinks, everyone passed around quite a number of different martinis, but the best (in my opinion) was Karl's espresso martini... which was surprising because I don't like coffee. It had a rich sweetness rather than a sugary sweetness and was smoother than some of the other martinis that had a little more kick. I was grateful that they all let me sample each martini because I clearly wasn't getting one of my own.
      For the appetizers (which I neglected to take photos of), we ordered a plate of the fried calamari to share and their bread with hummus. The fried calamari was pretty standard. It was served with lemon, plum tomato sauce and those delicious yellow peppers. It had a light breading on it and wasn't overly salty, which I was happy about. You really just can't go wrong with the calamari, lemon and pepper combo. Still nice and hot, the calamari had a great crunchy shell and tender insides. Their homemade hummus dip seemed more like just ground chickpeas minus the tahini. I'd say that without tahini, you shouldn't call it hummus... but that's just me. Regardless, it was tasty but was missing the little bit of sharpness that tahini provides. It was served with olives and their lemon and roasted garlic toasted banquette. The bread itself had a great garlicy flavor but was a tad too oily and hard for my liking.

Sesame Chicken Mandarin

     For dinner, I was set on a salad and ordered the Sesame Chicken Mandarin salad with mixed greens, those strange crunchy Asian noodly things and an Asian citrus dressing. If I had noticed that the chicken on the salad was deep-fried from the get-go, I probably wouldn't have ordered that salad. But oh buddy was that chicken amazing. I had been craving some sort of fried chicken for months, but was assuming that it was going to have to wait until after some upcoming spring racing. So this was quite the accidental treat that I really couldn't refuse once it was put in front of me (I know, I know... I sound pathetic because I just referred to a piece of fried chicken on a salad as a treat). The chicken was so tender and juicy and the breading maintained its crispness throughout the meal. The breading also wasn't your standard breading. It was darker and full of different spices that added another completely unique flavor to the salad itself. I could've done without the Asian noodle sticks (they seem flavorless and useless to me), but the citrus soy dressing was stellar. I think it had some ginger in it too which complimented the herb-y flavors of the chicken. That chicken though.... woah.

----------

Sweet Breakfast Rolls - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Our assortment of breakfast rolls :]

     On the morning of Meagan's birthday, I decided to make her these chocolate breakfast rolls that we had discussed a few months back. I found them on a blog called Hummingbird High quite some time ago and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to make them. I had some leftover puff pastry in the freezer, so I figured this was it. The instructions were simple. Cut your puff pastry into 6 rectangles, line each with whatever ingredients you desire, roll it up and bake it for 15-20 minutes. I brought out all my jars of fixings, and we went to town. It was like food art. It was great. We had chocolate chunks, raisins, marshmallows, my Grandma's raspberry jam, strawberry preserves, peanut butter, homemade nutella (courtesy of Nonna), banana and apples. Some of the best combinations (I thought) were the peanut butter, banana and chocolate (duh); raspberry jam, chocolate and peanut butter; and the apple, chocolate and nutella. However, I'm 100% sure you couldn't make a bad combination with any of those ingredients. It was such a quick, fun and easy little morning treat.

Sweet Breakfast Rolls

1 (14 oz.) package frozen all-butter puff pastry, defrosted overnight in the fridge
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
a sprinkle of sea salt

Any toppings you desire (for example: chocolate, fruits, nut butters, jams, etc.)

1) Preheat the oven to 400 (F).
2) Cut your thawed puff pastry into 6 x 3 inch rectangles.
3) Add all of your fixings in the center of your pastry rectangle and roll up the puff pastry so that all the insides are covered. Flip the roll so that the seam is on the bottom facing the pan. If you leave the seam up, the puff pastry will burst open and it'll be more like a breakfast pizza.
4) In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Use a pastry brush to brush the beaten egg and water mixture on top of the rolls. Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt.
5) Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Keep a close eye on them because they may start to burn quickly.  Cool for 5-10 minutes and serve immediately. 

----------

Chocolate Cauliflower Cake - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Chocolate Cauliflower Cake with Reeses Pieces Frosting

     The day after Meagan's birthday was Mary's birthday. I wanted to make her a treat, but wanted it to be healthy and unique. We like trying new things, and we both like a blog called Chocolate Covered Katie, so I decided to try out her Chocolate Cauliflower Cake. The cauliflower in this case is used as a replacement for a majority of the flour I believe. If you rice it up in a food processor it actually turns into a pretty fine "powder." A lot of the other ingredients in the cake were pretty standard though (I didn't use her sugar replacements though), so it looked just like any normal chocolate cake. For the frosting, I used Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe for a reeses pieces frosting. My frosting was a little bit more runny that it should've been (probably because I used Trader Joes peanut butter which is pretty liquidy to begin with), so I ended up adding a little powdered sugar and corn starch to thicken it up. It was quite an experiment, but I think it turned out great.
     I ended up making one larger cake for Mary and one two-bite cake for myself and a couple others to taste test (I had to try it). I liked the way that Mary described it. "It's one of those things that tastes better than it smells." It had quite a strong smell of cauliflower, but didn't taste overwhelmingly like cauliflower. Not like cauliflower has a strong taste anyway, but the cake only had a very slight veggie taste to it. If you didn't know that there was cauliflower in it, you probably would be able to tell something was different but might not have been able to guess what it was. I was pretty impressed with the frosting too. It was basically a sweet peanut butter and chocolate frosting without the feeling of eating straight sugar or sticks of butter. Mary said she loved the whole cake, so I'd consider it a success!

Chocolate Cauliflower Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose or pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 2 tbsp ground flax
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 loosely-packed cups uncooked cauliflower
1/2 cup milk of choice
3 tbsp oil (or 3 tbs applesauce)

1) Preheat oven to 350F, and grease an 8x8 square  or medium sized round baking dish. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. 

2) Combine all liquid ingredients and the cauliflower in a food processor and blend until super-smooth, so there are no lumps. 

3) Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix until just combined. Then pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. Or, according to Chocolate Covered katie, you can bake only 14 minutes and then leave uncovered in the fridge overnight, and it’ll firm up and turn out like fudge! Let cool completely. 

Reeses Pieces Frosting

(Yields almost 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
4-8 tsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tsp milk of choice
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Blend everything in a small food processor. As I mentioned before, I added a little confectioners sugar at first, and then cornstarch to thicken it up a tad because my peanut butter was runny. Store leftovers in the fridge... or eat them. 
     

I Wanted the Chicken Pot Pie, So I Got A Salad Instead

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

My cute mini skillet deep dish pizza

     I can't believe I've never thought of doing this before. I'm a huge fan of cast iron, and cooking a deep dish pizza in it is just genius. I stumbled upon this idea on a blog called Minimalist Baker and was intrigued. Truthfully, only basic instructions are necessary. You're totally free to create any type of pizza in any size that you desire. I used my mini cast iron skillet and some pre-made whole wheat crust from Trader Joes, but I'm sure making your own crust would be fabulous. For the toppings, I roasted some of my favorite veggies, cut up an Italian chicken sausage.

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza

1/2 pizza dough recipe (or 1 store-bought crust)
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup mixed veggies of your choice (I used onions, red pepper, brussel sprouts, and mushrooms)
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Monterey jack cheese

1) If roasting veggies, preheat oven to broil, toss veggies in olive oil on a baking sheet, and broil for 4-6 minutes on the top rack, tossing once for even cooking. Remove from oven and set aside.
2) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
3) Coat a cast iron pan with olive oil and press your dough down into the pan and up around the sides about 1 to 1.5 inches. Let rest for a few minutes while preparing the rest of your toppings.
4) Sprinkle in a portion of your cheese, then add veggies and then sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese, italian seasonings (dried basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper, etc.). Definitely do a base layer of cheese, but I'd say you can add the sauce before the veggies if you want.
5) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese and sauce are bubbly. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting. 

----------

Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Chocolate Hazelnut Larabar ingredients (+cocoa powder)

Again... I was sick of paying money for bars when I knew I could make them for much cheaper. If you recall, I've made the Key Lime Pie and Blueberry Muffin Larabars before and they were stellar (well... the Key Lime ones were). After the struggles I went through making the Blueberry Muffin ones, I learned that you shouldn't throw everything in your food processor at once. It will sound like it's drowning. Pulse the nuts first, pour them out, and then pulse the dates. My little food processor still struggles with the dates because they're so thick and sticky, but as long as you get them mostly broken up and into a ball of mush, then you should be all good. Then at the end I mix all the ingredients together by hand and shape them into whatever I'm feeling. I found this recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars on a blog called Naturally Ella. These are super easy, have simple ingredients and are a great pre-workout snack!

Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars

2½ cups medjool dates, pitted
¾ cup almonds, toasted
¾ cups hazelnuts, toasted
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ cup dark chocolate, finely chopped 

----------

Emmet's Irish Pub and Restaurant- Boston, MA
http://emmetsirishpubandrestaurant.com/

Steamed Mussels and Garlic Bread

     Per Dave's suggestion, Meagan, Dave, Karl and I headed over to Emmet's after a chilly evening ice skating on the Boston Common Frog Pong. With wooden decor and stained glass windows, this place is your standard Irish pub with the most delicious sounding Irish fare. The Shephard's Pie, Bangers and Mash, and Chicken Pot Pie were sweetly calling my name, but I had to remember I'm a lightweight. Instead, I opted for the Steamed Mussels. These were native New England mussels that had been sauteed in a succulent butter, garlic and white wine broth. They were a tad bit saltier than I would've preferred, but they were perfectly tender and had such a rich flavor (ahhh thank you butter). They were also served with their homemade garlic bread. I believe the bread was actually French bread, but in addition to garlic I think they added another red spice that I really liked. Paprika perhaps? I'm not sure. I couldn't place it. Maybe someday when I'm not trying to be 130 pounds I'll come back for the chicken pot pie with the mile-high, buttery pillowing crust.

----------

Towne - Boston, MA
http://towneboston.com/

   

The bartender's interpretation of
a Blue Lagoon

     Please just go to Towne's website (shown above). Look at how beautiful it is. Just look. As I walked into this place and the hostess directed me to my friends, I said to her, "IIIIII don't make enough money to be in here right now." She assured me I was fine and took me to meet Cheryl, Kate and Emma. These lovely ladies were a couple friends I made on an Ecuador trip back in 2007. Emma was in town from the University of Edinburgh in the UK for a conference that was taking place at Hynes Convention Center. Since Cheryl, Kate and I all live here, it was a great kick in the pants to get us all together again. It was such a fabulous night of reminiscing and story telling.
     To start off, Cheryl asked our waitress if their bartender knew how to make a Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon was a drink we probably had one too many of in a surf town called Montañita on the coast of Ecuador. They held a very special place in our hearts. The bartender hadn't heard of such a drink, but she gave it her best shot and boy was it tasty. Definitely more delicious than the cheap ones we got along the unpaved streets of Montañita.
     We were quickly served a beautiful bread basket with great hunks of a soft and chewy bread. 99% of the time when restaurants served a bread basket, I want it to be warm. Cold bread is much less appealing. However, Towne served it cold, and I really liked it because the inside retained its moisture, and it was chewy. They also had these super long, pencil sized, hard, and garlicy breadsticks. They were salty and delicious, especially when dipped in either one of their spreads. I should've asked what they were, but I was distracted. I'm pretty sure one was a sort of sweet potato spread, but I'm unsure about the other. It was also orange. A mystery.

     Two days before a weigh in, I knew I was ordering a salad. I decided on their roasted kale salad with bay scallops, shallots, pepperoncini peppers, and a creamy soy dressing. As a whole, the salad was tasty, but it didn't seem much of a salad. Let me explain. The roasted kale was... just that... roasted and salted kale. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting, but it didn't give me the fresh and healthy flavor I was looking for. Delicious... yes... just different. The "salad" idea was debatable also because I'm not sure I saw any shallots and only saw one super thin sliver of a pepperoncini pepper. True, I wasn't paying my normal amount of attention to my food because things were happening, so I may have just missed some of the elements of the salad. The scallops were also very tiny. Like the size of slightly larger marble. However, the way one side of each scallop had crisped up from how they'd been cooked completely made up for their lack in size. Their overall flavor was great, the crispy part was excellent, they were cooked perfectly and weren't chewy. The soy dressing was probably my second favorite part. I believe the dressing had been poured on the bottom of the plate as opposed to poured overtop the entire salad. I can't say I've ever seen that before, and I really liked it because it added just a slight soy/gingery flavor to each bite without feeling like the salad was doused in dressing.
     I can never go anywhere without trying other people's food... which is great. I'm not complaining at all. Cheryl shared her roasted cauliflower and broccoli which was amaaaaazing but I'm sure it was no longer healthy. The veggies had been doused in quite a bit of olive oil for roasting (probably too much), were fairly salted and covered in parmesan cheese. I love salt. I love cheese... especially when it crisps up. So this dish was delicious, but I couldn't eat too much because it was all so salty and rich.
     Emma also let me try her Duck Confit pizza. This, my friends, was a masterpiece. It was a flatbread square pizza with duck confit (duck cooked in fat), caramelized onions, figs, triple cream blue cheese and reduced balsamic vinegar. First of all, the duck was super succulent and tender. The cheese was so smooth and creamy, and, truth be told, I didn't even know it was blue cheese at the time. I didn't get the standard bite you get from blue cheese. I also didn't notice the figs. The sweetness I did notice was from what I believe was reduced balsamic vinegar. It was a thick, brown goo drizzled over-top the whole thing. It doesn't list this on the menu, but I'm sure it was on there. It's an unmistakable flavor, and it had such an great sweetness. If I do anything in life, I hope it's to learn how to reduce balsamic vinegar like that. The combining flavors from the duck, cheeses, onions and vinegar gave the pizza so many dimensions. Genius.

----------

Daedalus - Cambridge, MA
http://stagingpad.com/daedalus/

     I often wish I had more brunch in my life. It's such a great idea, and it's rare that one is disappointed with brunch. Mary was in town, and after not getting anything at Sunset Cantina on Friday night (I don't ever recommend watching people eat delicious Mexican food. It's absolute torture) and ordering a plain Greek salad that was very ho-hum from a place called Clarke's in Faneuil, I was really hungry and just wanted something tasty. We originally intended to go to The Boathouse for brunch, but apparently they're closed on a Sunday morning at 10:45... even though they have a brunch menu. Whatever. So we went right next door to Daedalus. Daedalus is a converted 2 story greenhouse with two bars and a rooftop dining area. Unfortunately it was too cold to sit outside, but we'll definitely have to come back sometime in the summer to try out the roof. The inside was very crisp and clean with cushiony leather booths, strange artwork resembling a swamp, funky incandescent light bulbs, standard jazz-y hold music echoing throughout the room and beautifully stained wooden tables. This place was very chic. I'm not sure if I know exactly what that word means, but I think that it fits.

Veggie Fritatta

      I still tried to stay smart healthy and ordered their brunch special Fritatta. I have to admit, I wasn't really sure what the definition of a fritatta was. I thought it was kind of like an egg-bake, but turns out it's a flat, Italian style omelette that's cooked in a cast iron skillet. Basically it's like an open faced omelette. This one was topped with roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, roasted red peppers and goat cheese. The eggs were truthfully just a medium onto which the roasted veggies were placed. They were the all-stars of the dish, in combination with the goat cheese. I feel like red peppers take on such a different flavor when they're roasted and Daedalus knew how to do it. It was almost like they were a completely different vegetable all together. The hunks of goat cheese were warmed up perfectly and became so soft and melty. It added such a rich flavor to an otherwise simple dish (not that that's a bad thing).
    At first I was happy that my omelette was served with a small side salad, because that meant I wouldn't be temped to eat a ton of their home fries (which generally always mean delicious things). But, as I should've expected, Meagan got full quickly... resulting in me finishing off her roasted potatoes and a little bit of her eggs benedict with lox. I always think about being adventurous and trying eggs benedict with lox, but I realized today that salmon in the morning just isn't for me. Regardless, the potatoes were perfectly roasted with just a slightly crisp outer layer and soft on the inside. They've got quite a few other things on this menu I'd love to come back and try for brunch... or lunch... or dinner.

----------

Chickpea, Feta and Parsley Salad - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     I was a huge fan of this super fresh salad I found on a blog called Simply Provisions. The reason I was so
in love was also simple. This salad took me back to my Syrian roots. The chickpeas and garlic provided flavors like that of hummus, while the parsley and the lemon provided flavors similar to tabouli. Hummus and tabouli (in a pita) is one of the most delicious combinations on the planet, so it was no wonder that this salad recipe was stellar. The feta gave it a light creamy sauce, and the lemon juice a light freshness. It's worth noting that this salad was the best served immediately. I ate it throughout the week for lunches and it seemed as though the flavors weakened as time went on, so eat up!

Chickpea, Feta and Parsley Salad 

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
Pinch red chili flakes
2 400g (14oz) tins of chickpeas
4 spring onions (scallions), green part only, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
Juice of one lemon
150g (5 ounces) feta
Salt and pepper

1) Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the red onion till lightly golden. Add garlic and chili and cook till the garlic is fragrant. Set aside to cool so it doesn’t melt the feta when you mix it in.
2) Drain the chickpeas, rinse and place in the salad bowl. Add crumbled feta, spring onion, parsley and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Add the cooled onion and garlic mixture and remaining oil and mix well.

----------

Royal Pastry Shop - Somerville, MA

http://www.royalpastryshop.com/index.htm

Carrot Cake from Royal Pastry Shop

     My coworkers are just too sweet. Literally. Nearly everytime they go to the store, they come back with a sweet treat for some. Oftentimes it's more than one treat because they couldn't decide. One day Melanie came back from running and errand and walked in with 2 big huge cake boxes. I knew they were cake boxes. There's no mistaking those. My eyes got super wide and she said "They're cakes for a birthday party after work, but don't worry... there's something for you on your desk." What a dear. She brought me back this precious little carrot cake. We had been talking about desserts the day before, and she remembered I had said I loved carrot cake. This little nugget was from a bakery on Cambridge St called Royal Pastry Shop. I'll have to go back on my own someday to take an inventory, but their carrot cake was stellar. I normally like the cake part of my carrot cake to have large pieces of shredded carrot and big walnuts, but the cake mix in this one was relatively fine. It was still delicious, however, just no visible chunks. The cream cheese frosting was out of this world. It was dense and not airy like some cream cheese frostings. I really liked this one because it was less sweet and more cream cheesy. Great cheese to sugar ratios happening here. I was so grateful for the midday treat. 

----------

Red Lantern - Boston, MA
http://www.redlanternboston.com/index.html

Meagan's great Instagramming skills make up for my lack of skills. 

     For Malcolm's birthday, he wanted to go to an Asian place called Red Lantern downtown. I had never been, but I heard you might drop a pretty penny or two if you chose to eat and drink there. I ate dinner before going, but was not opposed to sampling when I got there. Inside the huge wooden doors was an enormous dining area and bar. The tall ceilings were draped with sea shells and hundreds of hanging red lanterns. The whole restaurant had a very sophisticated and luxurious feel with all deep red hues and dark furniture. With the flicker of fire from their open kitchen, exposed brick walls and the rugged Asian art on the walls, I felt like I was in sophisticated urban China.

Lobster Rangoons

     Being the generous guy he is (even on his own birthday), Malcolm ordered some lobster rangoons for the table that were, hands-down, the best rangoons I've ever had. The insides were perfectly warm and had an awesome rich lobster flavor. It all just melted further in your mouth. Served with scallions and a sweet soy sauce, the rangoons had such a beautiful blend of succulent flavors from the cream cheese and lobster, contrasting textures of the crisp wonton shell and the creamy insides, and a hint of salt and sweet from the soy. Absolutely amazing.
     While there, I also sampled a piece of Malcolm's White Mountain Roll, some of the Duck Buns and had a sip of a Mai Tai. All of these things were amazing, but I don't feel as though I had enough sensory experience to give them the review they deserve. Aside from the fire alarm going off during the meal (which was rather hilarious), it was a great night out and super fun to experience a dining environment I'd wouldn't normally catch myself in by my own personal choice.

----------

Peanut Butter and Jelly Skillet Monkey Bread - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

PB&J Skillet Monkey Bread

     PB&J might literally be one of my favorite things to eat on this planet. No joke. I suppose it's the peanut butter really that gets me. I could sit for hours eating it out of the jar with a spoon. Sometimes I like to take a spoon of pb and then a spoon of jelly and let them mix in my mouth, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. It's a delicious combination. I originally found this recipe for PB&J Skillet Monkey Bread on a blog called Picky Palate. I really really like the idea, but I didn't want to use all the ingredients she used. I wanted it to be kind of like pb&j on toast rather than the super sweet treat she made it into. Plus, adding butter, heavy cream, and sugar to a recipe that's basically already loaded with sugar and fat doesn't quite seem like a good idea if I'm trying to stay in the same sized pants. So... I just took her idea of breaking up hunks of bread dough, throwing them in a lightly buttered pan, drizzling on some peanut butter and dropping on a few spoonfulls of jelly. Then I just baked it for 15-18 minutes or so. Poof! Perfection! Warm peanut butter is just the best.

     

Just Do It. Just Lick the Plate.

Flatbread Company - Somerville, MA
http://www.flatbreadcompany.com/

     Sometimes I do things that are fun and realize how much I dislike how busy life is. Doing something fun and enjoyable shouldn't seem like it's a rare occurrence or not the norm. I need to find a way to adjust my life. Find things that I have in excess and cut them off. Rearrange things. Make more time to enjoy things. Anyway... after many many attempts to meet up, Griff and I finally got together for some food at Flatbreads in Davis Square. He had told me eons ago that this place was good, and I have wanted to go ever since. Truth be told, I totally thought Flatbreads was a dive bar with a janky bowling alley or something. It's on a side street and is inside, what I thought was, a small brick building. I had no idea when I walked in that it was going to be so big and open. Directly in front of you as you enter are the bowling lanes. We didn't end up bowling, but the balls you use are really tiny. It looks super fun though and provides a great background noise for your meal.
     The dining area to the left is one huge room with a ton of wooden tables. All the table tops and seats are wood and metal and fit in with the rustic feel of the place. It was also relatively dimly lit, but there were a ton of colors all around that stuck out of the darkness. There were different colored lights that illuminated other objects throughout the room along with many signs painted in bright, vibrant colors. The main feature in the room, however, was the clay wood-fired oven and the stacks of wood next to it. You could see a nice roaring fire in the oven as the pizzas bubbled off to the side. One of the workers was almost always stoking the fire or putting in a pizza that had been prepared right next to the oven in their open kitchen area. It all had a very simplistic feel. My kind of place.

     Onto the food. To start we ordered one of their salads that was on special. It was their normal mesclun
and organic sweet lettuces, shaved roasted beets, and shredded pickled cabbage and carrots. There were supposed to be grape tomatoes in it, but I found zero. It was delicious anyway, so I didn't complain. I also don't recall the waitress saying what the dressing was, so I played my own game of guess the flavors. I definitely got some sesame seeds, and I thought it tasted rather asian. Gingery perhaps? Upon checking their menu out when I got home, I saw on their menu that they add toasted sesame seeds to their other salads and have a homemade ginger-tamari vinaigrette. I win. It was delicous. Truthfully the dressing was my favorite part. It was just so light and refreshing.
     For our first pizza, we ordered a small Somerville Community Flatbread with their wood-fired cauldron tomato sauce, organic caramelized onions, organic mushrooms, whole milk mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. The tomato sauce was the best part of this pizza. You can't often say that about a pizza.  It was perfectly sweet and chunky (another thing you can't often say about pizzas). I also loved that there were a ton of mushrooms all over the pizza.

          The second pizza was their sauce-less Homemade Sausage pizza with their own nitrate-free maple-fennel sausage, organic sulfate-free sundried tomatoes, caramelized organic onions, organic mushrooms, whole milk mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. At first I thought a sauce-free pizza was silly, but oh boy was this pizza delicious. I think not having a sauce allowed me to focus more on the toppings, and it truthfully wasn't necessary. The sausage had the texture more of cooked ground beeg, which I wasn't expecting. But it had this amazing sweet and maple-y flavor. The sweetness of the sausage plus what we believe was a subtle sweetness in the caramelized onions gave this whole pie a completely different flavor than any other sausage pizza I've had before. It wasn't dessert-like though, as you still got the savory flavors from the fennel in the sausage, the mushrooms and the sundried tomatoes. Gosh the flavor that those sun dried tomatoes took on when they roasted a bit and the edges crisped up in the oven was fabulous. Mmmm!

     One thing I really liked about their pizzas is that they let the toppings be the stars of the show. Now don't get me wrong, I love some delicious, melty cheese... but sometimes pizzas can have too much cheese and you may not get to experience what the toppings have to offer as much. You may not agree, but that's ok. But on both of these pizzas, I realized that I was able to notice little things about the flavors that I may not have noticed if it was loaded up with cheese. Like some of the herbs, the fact that the tomato sauce was chunky, or how I never realized I liked smaller pieces of mushrooms on pizza because you get some in every bite. 

     Oh and I didn't even mention the crust! The crust was incredible! They make an organic bread dough that they sprinkle with homemade garlic oil and blend of organic herbs. It was real thin on the bottom and got a little soggy the longer it sat, but it was still delicious. My favorite part was the crust around the edges. It seemed very different than pizza dough in that it was way more flavorful, much softer and more chewy. Almost like a deliciously chewy dinner roll you'd get in a bread basket at a restaurant. I wanted so badly to butter up the crust like my mom and I used to do when I was younger. 

     All in all, a great atmosphere, great company, and delicious food. I'd love to go back and try bowling with those small balls. Ha.


Greek Corner - Cambridge, MA
http://www.greekcorner.us/

     This restaurant adventure was another one of those week long discussions/decisions that Mary and I had.
Mary really wanted some Greek food, and well... it doesn't take much to persuade me. I know this place was on the Food Network at one point, and it was voted as Best of Boston 2008 for Greek Food. One of my old coworkers loves Greek Corner, and I've truthfully had some Greek salad and a grilled cheese from there before, but I've always wanted to go back for the real deal. Today was the day. We went directly after our Saturday workout so we could try all of the things. I was really excited to try some things similar to what Grandma Dini used to make and compare them.

     As an "appetizer" we ordered the Sampler Plate, which had dolmathakia, tsatziki, taramosalata, spinach pie, hommus, tabouleh, feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant salad and olives. This plate was presented with a large dollop each of hommus (Greek spelling), tsatziki, and the taramosalata and all the goodies were places on top of each spread. Dolmathakia are grape leaves, and they were pretty good! Even though they didn't have meat like my grandma's do, they were probably the closest I've had to what I consider "real" grape leaves in that they weren't absolutely soaked in olive oil. They were much lighter and very tasty. The tsatziki sauce was incredible! If you're unfamiliar, tsatziki sauce is a creamy sauce made with Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon, dill and cucumber. It's often paired with gyro meat, but truthfully, it's incredible to just dip pita bread or veggies in. The taramosalata was something new to me. It was basically a red paste that was red caviar blended with bread and spices. We couldn't really figure it out because it was such a smooth consistency leaving us to wonder where the "bread" was. It had such a great flavor that wasn't fishy, but more dill-y. The spinach pies were also amazing. They had some sort of a "dark" flavor that Mary pointed out. I noticed it too, but we were unsure what it was. Perhaps it was just a very rich tasting spinach. Man the phyllo dough though was so delicious, golden and flaky. The hommus was very different than I'm used to but still incredible. I can't pinpoint the flavors, but it had much less tahini and garlic kick in it, and it was a little thinner and more gritty than most hommus. The tabouleh was also a much better representation of my family's traditional tabouleh than I'm used to in that there was more of the 70% parsley and veggies to 30% wheat germ ratio. A lot of grocery stores and restaurants make it into more of a grain based salad with waaaaaay too much wheat germ in my opinion. Not Greek Corner though! They had great ratio, making it the light refreshing salad it's supposed to be. The eggplant salad was delicious too and was very light. It was kind of a mushy mix of eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and lemon maybe? All of these things were served with pita bread that we dipped in all of the sauces individually, together, and in combination with the tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta. All of the flavors on this plate were phenomenal together. We were literally in shock.
     For the "meal" we split one Corner's Special Gyro with ground beef and lamb. It was served in a hot pita

bread with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, parsley and tsatziki sauce. One bite in, and I never wanted to eat anything else ever again. The meat was out of this world. It was cut in large hunks rather than thinner shavings. It was hot and the edges of the meat crisped up to give it a great flavor. It had some of the most amazing seasonings I've ever had in meat like this. I've always loved lamb thanks to my family, and this really hit home. The intense flavor of the meat went perfectly with the cool tsatziki sauce. Gosh and the pita it was wrapped in was so thick, warm, and grilled, providing the grilled and slightly burned in a few places taste. The whole gyro was the ultimate package. So so so happy with that choice.
 

   Instead of getting regular fries with our gyro we ordered a side of the Greek Fries which are big, thick-cut and long fries with the skins on. They're served with a little oregano, lemon juice and a ton of parmesan cheese practically poured on top. I couldn't really taste the lemon on them, but I was a huge fan of the parmesan that was warmed up by the fries. We dipped those fries in every sauce and dip we had left; the hommus, tsatziki, and the taramosalata. So many great flavors.
     For dessert we split one piece of baklava and one piece of what they call Galaktoboureko. Apparently the Galaktoboureko is a Greek pastry consisting of a semolina based custard that is wrapped in phyllo dough and topped with sweet syrup. This was served to us warm and was absolutely mind blowing. The texture of the insides kind of resembled a combination of bread pudding, custard and thicker tapioca. But it had a lightly sweet, eggy and vanilla flavor. The phyllo dough it was wrapped in was more moist than most phyllo dough you experience on things like baklava. The top and side of the dough was slightly more crisp, but the bottom piece of phyllo dough had soaked up a lot of the moisture from the custard and was much softer itself. Every bite was just as good as the last. We were so happy with this new discovery.

     The baklava was definitely one of the best pieces of baklava I've ever had. Splitting it made our individual pieces pretty small, but it still provided outrageous flavor. A lot of times when you get baklava, they're really
heavy, both physically and in your stomach. Often they can be really soaked top to bottom in thick honey... which is delicious... but after today I discovered that I like it much better when it's less heavy. I'm not exactly sure how they made it, but the top of this baklava had very little honey in it, allowing the phyllo dough to stay light and flakey. The bottom of the baklava was were the honey was, but even then it was much thinner than most honey, making it all a lot lighter and more enjoyable. The top of the baklava was sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon that I'm not sure is commonplace. Either way, I loved the flavor that the cinnamon added. Totally took it to a new level.
     This was such a great meal from start to finish. No complaints whatsoever.