Restaurant reviews

As I am away from my recipes and kitchen, I thought some reviews may be helpful.  I rarely go out without looking at them myself.  First the Union Block Italian Bistro in Hammondsport, NY.  The wife and I went there for our anniversary last year.  This is absolutely the best place I have ever eaten. All the food was fresh and perfectly prepared.  Service was outstanding, atmosphere was great.  A wonderful experience; if you have one place to go I would pick this one. Hammondsport happens to have tied for 1^st place for” Americas’ Coolest Small Town” 

 http://www.unionblockitalian.com/

Next is Carraba’s Italian Grill.  This is a chain restaurant, but a good one.  We went there recently and found it to be a great place to eat.  My wife had a steak and I was able to get a bite.  It was certainly the best steak I have ever had.  I had a special (fish, ravioli, and scallops) and every part of it was just great.  Service and atmosphere were fantastic.  I am a pretty critical guy but there was nothing about Carraba’s that I could complain about.

 http://www.carrabbas.com/index.aspx

Restaurants of Huntingdon PA

The wife and I spent the weekend in Huntingdon, PA. As we enjoy eating out, We always ask for suggestions on places to eat.The first restaurant we were sent to is Mimi’s. http://www.mimisrestaurant.net/home.html

  We both ordered pasta dishes off the casual menu.  Both dishes tasted great, my wife had spinach ravioli in alfredo sauce, and I had a fettuccini.  My sauce was an alfredo they tried to make with cheddar, it tasted fine but left a pool of oil where the cheese had separated.  This is a great place with a bit of an identity crisis.  One side of the building was for casual dining and was packed.  The other side was for fine dining and it was empty.  Hmm seems like in a small town you need more casual dining and less fine. 

The next place they sent us was Boxers. 

 http://sites.google.com/site/410penn/home

  Boxers is actually a small Irish pub with a few tables along the side.  We went in at 2pm which is typically a slow time and we got the last table.  The food was fresh and very good.  There was only one waiter for the whole place and he did pretty well.  As for the atmosphere goes, it is a small, somewhat crowded bar room.  Looks like it was decorated recently; about 1975 or so.  The people were friendly and the food was good.

The next night we went to Kelly’s Korner. 

http://www.kellyskornerpa.com/

  This place has been there a long time.  Pictures of the place on the wall showed it open 50 years ago.  This is another place with a bit of an identity problem but they tried to handle it well.  One side is a bar; the middle is a dinner bar and the other end in a diner.  This place is very popular we had quite a hard time finding a place to park.  Whenever I go out I make it a habit of asking the wait staff what most people like or what they are famous for and order that.  This time I strayed from my norm and ordered fried food, not what they are famous for, ‘nough said.  So I will tell you about the dishes the table next to us ordered.  Steak and pasta. Large cuts of juicy beef cooked perfect and pasta with rich thick sauce.  We could see right away why this place was so packed.  Service was good with three waitresses that could have been sisters.  The atmosphere was good too; it was very homey with a nice diner look to it. 

One note I wanted to add.  All three of these places were proud of their fresh cut fries.  All three were exactly the same.  Wimpy, limp fresh cut fries.  My wife suggested I not order fresh cut fries anymore.  If is not that hard rinse, drain, blanch, cook, there is only one ingredient, get it right. On the other hand, the wife ordered frozen fries with dry sour cream and chive seasoning shaken on them. These were pretty good; crisp and tasty. Normally fresh is better.

Pizza toppings

Back to the one great food everyone loves, Pizza.  The one thing left to talk about is the toppings.  People put everything and anything on pizza and call it great.  I am not going to disagree with that, I just want to offer some tips to make your pizza great.  First, the type of cheese is very important.  Mozzarella melts properly and stays together.  Some of the other cheeses like cheddar can separate into an oily mess in the oven.  This will not only be less attractive but will ruin your crust as well. 

                Next, Pizza crust cooks from the edge to the middle.  And the more toppings on the pizza the slower it cooks.  So if you have a lot of toppings in the center of the pizza, the crust may not cook before the cheese burns.  If you plan on putting a lot of different toppings on the pizza cut them all small.  That way you can spread them out.  Then every piece should have the flavor but the layer of toppings will be thinner. 

                The last thing I will touch on is wet toppings.  If your toppings are in liquid or naturally wet like tomatoes or pineapples , drain them. Any water or liquid you add to the top of your pizza is just turning your crust into mush.  Dry them all thoroughly.  Try mixing toppings that differs in type like sweet pineapples, salty bacon, and hot sausage.  What are your favorite toppings?

Good tasting salad, yeah I know but it can be done

As it turns out it was brought to my attention recently that there is an entire food group devoted to something other than meat and baked goods.  I could not fathom it at first. I mean vegetables, how will you get them on a bun.  But then I was told this is where the wonderful nectar we call ketchup comes from.  All kidding aside, vegetables’ get a bad rap because they are quite often served as an afterthought.  Years ago they were the star of the dinner and sometimes the family got meat too. Now we get a plate of meat (very tasty) and sometimes some vegetables.  Well I am hoping to change some of that at least for us.  The first culprit to attack is the salad.  I never, and I mean never order a salad when I am out to eat.  I have worked in restaurants and I know the quality of the salad you are getting for your 7 bucks; enough said.  But there is a lot to be learned from how proper preparation of the salad affects the taste and the presentation.  A salad should include a variety of vegetables not just lettuce and tomatoes.  Vegetables keep fairly well if you do not cut them up. So keep a variety in your fridge.  When you are chopping up your vegetables think about the size you want when you are eating. Do you really want to stick your fork into a half of a tomato or whole radish?  When I do salad I always chop the vegetables small. I chop the carrots and radishes into match sticks.  Ok, pressed for time? Use Mr. food processor.  I chop the onion in to small squares .  The tomato depends on how solid the middle is but I chop it small so it can be mixed throughout the salad.

So for a general salad I would use

2 carrots

4 or 5 radishes

1 onion

1 tomato

1 handful of lettuce

½ bunch or broccoli

¼ lbs. of cheddar cheese chunked small

 Now that your vegetables’ are the right size you need to dress your salad.  Today I am going share the ancient secret of vinaigrette.  Are you ready;  1 to 3.  1 part vinegar, 3 parts oil.  Now if you put it together right it will last a long time. if not you will have to shake when you use it, big deal.  So here is how you put it together right.

Take your vinegar put it in a bowl you can whisk easily or a blender

Add some mayo (for a tablespoon of vinegar- maybe ¼ teaspoon )

Measurements will very depending on how big of a batch you are making and they are not critical.

Add some mustard (same as mayo)

Now you ask what type on vinaigrette you want.  If you want basil vinaigrette add basil, dill add dill. Raspberry add raspberry, you get it.

Mix with a whisk then slowly pour in the oil while mixing.  Very slow.  If it starts to pool stop and mix it all in. once the oil is mixed in you are done, less them 5 minutes and you have fresh dressing.

Hey send me your favorite vinaigrette recipe

homemade French Fries, they should be easy

Ok, homemade fries are supposed to be a piece of cake.  Cut the potatoes; drop them in oil, done.  Well it is not quite that easy although I wish it was.  Potatoes cook slowly but they burn quickly.  So of you try to just drop them in hot oil until they are golden brown the center may not be cooked.  If you cook them until the center is cooked the outside may be burned.  The way to get around this in fancy restaurants is to blanch or precook the fries in hot oil, then let them sit for a while.  When they are ready, recook them until golden brown, and viola perfect fries.  I have another way that works for us.  It uses less space and is more convenient, but not quite as high quality.  I cut the potatoes into fries then cook them in a covered baking dish for 5 minutes in the microwave.  Let them sit for a while in water, then deep fry them.  The type of potatoes you buy can make a big difference; most people prefer russets potatoes for fries. I am told they have less starch. So this is the recipe,

 Cut the potatoes into fries,

 Microwave them for 5 minutes,

Soak them in water and thoroughly rinse them

Dry them, I mean really dry them off.

While they are drying you should turn on your deep fryer and let it warm up.  The more oil in your deep fryer the more stable the temperature will be.  So you should always fill it as far as you can.  Now if there is not a fill line on your deep fryer that is OK, I have solved that for you.  Fill it up pretty full and throw in your fries, if it boils up and over side and across the counter; that is too much oil.  Once it comes down you have just the right amount.  Oh, and it’s always a good idea to have the wife standing by with a roll of paper towels!

Back to the fries, fry until golden brown, let cool and eat.  Let me know how you made out!

Pizza part 2: the sauce.

Now that you have your crust it is time to move on to making the pizza.   One of the things that can really make or break a pizza is the sauce.  We grow a lot of tomatoes, so our sauce comes from tomatoes or tomato puree that we can.  Pizza sauce is a careful blend of a few spices and tomatoes.  I cannot really write out a recipe because it changes every time we make the sauce.  I once worked for an Italian family that owned a pizza shop and only the father could make the sauce, no one could ever watch.  Well pops I am about to spill the beans on your secret.  If you use tomatoes and I recommend you do, they have both sweetness and an acid to them.  The amount of sweetness or acid determines how much of the other spices you add and how long you cook it.  The longer you cook the sauce the sweeter and less acidic it becomes.  It also starts to lose the fresh flavor so it is a balancing act.  Let’s go over some of the players.  First up to bat is sugar, we prefer brown sugar but white will do as well.  The sugar can take out the acid flavor without so much cooking.  Too much and it will start to taste like ketchup.  Batting second is Basil; basil is a standard addition to any Italian dish or sauce.  It is a smooth flavorful herb that fits nicely in the order.  Next up to bat is oregano, be careful with this one.  Oregano is the flavor most people recognize as pizza sauce but it can be over used.  Just take it easy with that spice shaker.  If you have ever been out for pizza and thought wow this is pretty good but there is a sharp aftertaste that is oregano when you add too much.  Batting clean-up is the heavy hitter garlic.  Garlic of course goes with everything and this is no exception.  A couple of tips with the garlic.  If you roast it in the oven or sauté it in a pan for just a short time it takes out the bitterness.  Also following recipes that add by cloves can be dangerous.  Some cloves are less than a teaspoon while others are a tablespoon; big difference!

Now we have the players and the game goes something like this. Turn your burner to medium and put some olive oil in the pan.  Let it warm a bit then toss in the garlic.  Once you can smell the garlic, toss in your tomatoes.  If you are using a puree and need to thicken it toss in your tomato paste and stir with a whisk until well mixed.  Let it continue to cook until it comes up to a simmer turn burner down to low.  Taste the sauce.  If you plan on cooking it for a while, add basil and oregano and let it cook.  Taste the sauce, add more basil and oregano if needed, is the sauce bitter add sugar let it cook.  Taste the sauce does it need more sugar, is it bland- add salt.  Taste the sauce.  I think you get it.  That is the super-secret Italian sauce recipe guarded by old Italian men all over the world.  Please comment you closet chefs, I know you are out there,