Brunch in Boston's South End

My hubby and I decided to take a brief trip back to our old stomping grounds, Bean-town, it's where he did both under-grad and graduate schools, where I had my first "adult" job and where we met! Tear! and also where we enjoyed countless days of delicious and varying foods! Needless to say I was looking forward to hitting all my favorite spots however, when my initial brunch plans fell through we stumbled on this great find, on Tremont in Boston's South End. Stephi's on Tremont! Stephi's on Tremont is a new restaurant with an interestingly familiar name that has come to the South End. Stephi's on Tremont is the sister restaurant of Stephanie's on Newbury, a popular upscale restaurant that has been serving fabulous food since 1994.


For some reason I am addicted to bagels with salmon capers, red onions, and cream cheese. I have been making it at home and ordering it for brunch for the last 3 weeks so of course I was going to go for that again but then I saw the omlet which is a refreshing spin on an old favorite. It's a 3 egg omelet with smoked salmon, fried capers and chive cream cheese, I got the onlet with egg whites. I also ordered an executive mimosa with champagne, stoli orange vodka, cointreau and fresh squeezed orange juice served on the rocks a delicious addition to a delicious brunch. The omelet was perrr-fect! The salmon was cooked just right with a smokey taste and fried capers who knew frying them would add such robust flavors yummy!!! This was such a fresh and light meal!  If you are in the area this is a must try!!!  

In Season NOW: Raspberries

Raspberries are a mid-summer fruit that comes in several varieties—beyond the classic pinky-red, there are a multitude of other types like: black, purple, and golden colors. YEah I didn't know that either. Their tart, sweet flavor and appearance make them a popular choice for desserts, either whole or mashed, and they're great frozen for throwing into shakes or you can make your own Sorbet! 

Fun fact: each fruit is made up of about 100 smaller fruits called "drupulets", each with their own pulp and seed.

They're a good source of the antioxidant ellagic acid, manganese, vitamin C, and riboflavin. When purchasing, avoid berries that look mushy or moldy, and look for full, firm, brightly colored fruit. Since they're highly perishable, eat them as quickly as possible after purchase. Don't wash the berries until you're ready to use them, as this makes them more prone to spoiling.

YUMMY! 

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.....Cleveland,OH!

I am so obsessed with the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives I LOVE IT! Everytime I go to a new city I always check Guy's list to try out a new place. I spent Memorial Day weekend in my husbands childhood city of Cleveland, OH and I immediately took to the list! Low and behold I found so MANY!!!! I decided to narrow it down to 2.


1. Lucky's Cafe: We went there for breakfast Lucky's is strictly from garden to table! There is even a garden outside near the patio seating area. The Desserts looked fresh and the atmosphere was non-pretentious and very much a neighborhood type feel. Lucky's is located in the Tremont area of Cleveland which is very up and coming. The food YUM! I opted for the Omelet and it was bigger than I thought it would be took up the entire plate! It was fresh, cooked well and all and all good food. It also came with this banana nut bread slice and it was so delicious melt in your mouth.  I also covered it with homemade jam.  A matter-of-fact everything is homemade there the hot sauce, ketchup, EVERYTHING! Definitely one to try! 777 Starkweather Avenue Cleveland, OH 44113 www.luckyscafe.com 



2. Geraci's Restaurant: This reminded me of a scene from the Sorpranos or The Real Housewives of New Jersey! Just Kidding! It was small dark cozy and ITALIAN! Geraci's has been in Cleveland for over 50 years and the owner who is 90 is still there making pizza. The menu is loaded with all your italian favs but we went there to try out the PIZZA!!! Which I must confess was hard for me to eat as I just had all 4 wisdom teeth removed but it was soooo worth it! We ordered the pepperoni and the "works pizza" and they were both delicious! The crust crispy yet not too hard or thin it was perfect. The topping fresh and that sausage on the works was NOT at all what I expected it was so fresh and tiny not the chunky or big pieces of sausage the sometimes place on pizza. The Whole family went and we had good food, good convo, good times! 2266 Warrensville Center Rd Cleveland, OH 44118 www.geracisrestaurant.net




Although we didn't get to go here this time another great place to try is Melt in Cleveland my brother-in-law raves about this place as does my in-laws. This restaurant has several spins on the childhood favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches, what Melt does is takes it to an adult level without taking away that cheesy down home fun!!!!! 





YUMMMMMMYYYY! 

Yummy Healthy Side Dish: Roasted Baby Carrots

This is a simple side dish goes great with chicken, fish, beef anything! It's delicious and simple! 

• One package of mini carrots
• 2 teas. of Cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• Dash of pepper
• 1 tbl. of Olive oil

Toss carrots in olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

 

 Arrange carrots in a single layer on a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 10min turning the carrots and again for another 15 min. 

YUMMY!!!! 

Twist on a Louisiana Favorite: Crawfish Etouffee

In our household we are always competing to see who has the best etouffee. My little brother adds sausage in his, my dad adds cream of mushroom and cream of celery, my step dad adds crabmeat and my mom keeps it traditional. So I decided to kinda combine some of those elements by adding a little twist to mines. I absolutely LOVE Crawfish maque choux! Maque Choux is not a French phrase but is supposedly of American Indian origin. Corn and Tomatoes were always in abundance. Some call this Creole Smothered Corn. The key to this dish is taking the corn kernels right off the cob in order to get the milk from the corn. So I decided to use the corn kernels and homemade sausage from home for my etouffee. To top it off, this dish is usually served over rice, however I decided to serve it over pasta! A fun pasta!

What you need:

• 1 C. Cooked Rice
• 2 lbs. Crawfish Tails Farm raised in Louisiana (Check and make sure the product doesn’t say China or Japan trust me it’s a totally different taste)
• 1 Bell Pepper Chopped
• 1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
• 1 Banana Pepper Chopped
• 5 Garlic Cloves Minced
• 1 med onion chopped
• 2 ½ Sticks of butter (I know I never said this was a fat free dish)
• 3 Ears of corn Kernels removed from cob
• 1 C. Campanelle pasta cooked 
• ¼ C. Chopped Onion tops for garnish
• Fresh Jalapeño Sausage
• Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, and garlic powder for seasoning.
• Babineaux’s Creole Cajun Seasoning
• Serve with Garlic French Bread Recipe, Tomato Strawberry Salad and Roasted Mini Carrots.

In a large dutch oven pot melt 2 ½ Sticks of butter. 

Once the butter is hot add onions, bell peppers, red bell peppers and banana peppers stir until onions are transparent add the garlic cloves.

Add the cut sausage (I got the sausage from home) and sauté.

An Easy way to take the kernels off the cob is to use a bundt baking dish. Simple and easy! 

Add the fresh corn and sauté.

Add the crawfish.

Stir and let simmer for about 25-30 min stirring ever so often. 

 Serve over rice or pasta and top with onion tops.

Over Pasta

Over Rice

My Neighbor enjoying her dish! 

Serve with Garlicky French Toast!

Take one loaf of french bread cut in half and load each half up with pads of butter (a stick in total) and fresh sliced garlic (about 6-8 cloves sliced) cloves. Wrap in foil paper and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10min and slice while hot! YUMMMY! 

Un-Fried Fish Tacos with Peach Relish

So I have been watching calories and enjoying this weather and I wanted to make me a dish that was fresh and light; one where I could sit outside with a glass of Sangria and just enjoy life to the fullest. Ok I am afraid I am getting a bit poetic but I wanted something fresh and fun and I decided tacos with Tilapia and peach relish. I was initially going to use mangos but I decided  on peaches! 


You can use any kind of fish as well....catfish, mahi mahi. I Actually ended up using the leftover relish as a topping for this baked catfish I made the next day (you can see the pick below) 


What do you need: 

• Corn Tortillas
• 2 peaches peeled and diced small 
• 1 jalopeno seeded and finally diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 small limed juiced
• 1 lb of Tilapia sliced
• 1/2 c. Panko Japanese Style Bread Crumbs
• Seasoning, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper
• 1/2 c Red Onion Finely Diced

Make relish first and let sit till room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine peaches, onion, jalopeno, lime juice, salt, and garlic and toss. 

In  a shallow baking dish place panko breading and season. I did mines a bit spicy.  Coat fish with seasoning and panko breading. 

Bake for 10-12 min, or until desired doneness.  

Warm tortillas and place 2 strips of fish in tortillas top with a tbl of peach relish and a dollop of guacamole mmmmmm YUM! 

Serve with a huge side salad!!! 

Side Salad Option: 

• 1 handful Mixed greens
• 1 handful Spinach
• 1/2 Cup sliced Strawberries
• 1 tbl Walnuts
• 1 tbl Feta Cheese
• eyeball Purple Onions

Baked Catfish topped with Peach Relish! 

 

Super Easy Spaghetti with Simple Pasta Sauce and Hot Italian Sausage

So I have been watching the Sorpranos seasons 1-6 pt. 2 and in absolutely every single episode they are eating! Pasta, ziti, etc... and although I have been doing no carbs, well I take that back not "NO" carbs just limited carbs; but after countless episodes I decided to bite the bullet and indulge in some yummy pasta...CARBS!!! They are great! But the thing is I wanted it now I didn't want to spend 2 hours stirring and making my homemade pasta. So.....I whipped up this quicker version and honestly guys I think it would make Carmella Sorprano proud! 


This meal is perfect for impressing a date, a surprise family gathering (more like your family popping up and surprising you) , or wowing your gal pals with dinner wine and celebrity gossip! 


What do you need:

• 1 28 oz can of Diced tomatoes and juice 
• 1 lb of sliced fresh Italian Hot Sausage (I used Hot you can use sweet, mild, or shrimp, or even mushrooms) 
• 5 Minced Garlic Cloves  (Lots of Garlic YUM!)
• 1/4 c. Basil Leaves Fresh please people
• 1/8 teas Sea Salt, Pepper
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I used about 2 teas plus a dash ok 2 dashes but season to your own taste) 
• Shaved Parmesan Cheese for garnish
• 1/2 box of Spaghetti Cooked according to package (I cooked mines Al dente I will explain why later) 
• 2 tbl. Olive Oil 
• 1 teas sugar
• 1/4 c Red Wine Preferably one that you are serving with dinner but this is optional. 

Okay ladies and gents get ready! Boil water with salt and cook pasta till al-dente (It literally means "to the tooth". When the pasta is cooked al dente, there should be a slight resistance in the center when the pasta is chewed.) Set Aside.

Next heat olive oil in a large dutch pot on medium high heat, once heated add minced garlic and saute. 

Add sliced sausage and saute till browned on both sides but NOT cooked throughout. 

Turn heat down a tad you don't want red sauce flying up everywhere. Add one can of diced tomatoes stir, add sugar  (it's supposed to help in balancing the acidity of the tomatoes) and seasoning (red pepper flakes,salt, pepper, more red pepper flakes). Add wine here if you'd like cook till slightly thickened about 7-10 min on medium low heat. 

Turn off flame and remove from heat toss in pasta. Cover pot. This is why it helps if the pasta is a bit hard because it will cook more once in the pot and then it will come out PERFECT! Not Mushy :( 

Toss in basil and serve topped with Shaved parmesan cheese! And viola! Yep that's it dinner is ready in 30 minutes (Actually less) and it's hearty and filling! Life doesn't get any better than that! 

 

 

P.S. When you are reheating this dish skip the microwave take a shallow skillet with about 2 teas of olive oil heat till hot them add about a cup or less of pasta and sausage and saute until heated throughout! Trust me way better than nuking it! 

YUMMY!