Salsa baby,

Salsa baby,

Well the Latin salsa dancer on Dancing With the Stars was eliminated and I think a lot of women out there were heartbroken.  And my favorite, Catherine was eliminated too but I am sure they will make out ok.  The break in seasons gives us a chance to look at salsa and why everyone likes it.  I have seen a lot of salsa recipes and it seems that people think if you chop it up and throw it in a bowl it must be salsa.  Well I am not against experimenting with some ingredients but let’s get back to the basics.  Salsa is essentially a mixture of 3 things with two added later.  Basic salsa is Sweet (not acidic) tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.  Now the mixture has to be adjusted based on how sweet your tomatoes are and how overpowering your onions are.  One thing that a lot of people miss is it takes a lot of cilantro, this is not just a sprinkle.  Now once you have those three if you want some spice you add some hot peppers and just before you serve you add the juice of a lime.  Notice I said the juice of a lime, this is juice that came from a fruit you bought and squeezed by hand over your salsa, not a bottle or lime shaped piece of plastic. In addition to these basics many other things are added like garlic, green or red pepper, chili powder, sugar, scallions and all add something to the flavor.   Some spend extra money to get the chunky salsa I just do not find it as easy to use.  It is hard to dip and the flavors to not seem to blend as well. 

So here is how I make it.  Take out your blender and wipe out the left over daiquiris.

To the blender add:

                 2 cups of roma tomatoes

                1 large onion loosely chopped

                1/3 cup cilantro

Turn on blender and process till smooth, now add

                1 or 2 chipotle peppers

                1 jalapeno

                ½ teaspoon of chili power

                ¼ teaspoon of cumin

                ¼ teaspoon of paprika

Put a small amount of oil in a pan, cook 3 to 4 cloves of garlic until it is soft and started to color, do not overcook  we are talking like 2 minutes here.   Add the garlic to the blender and process

Pour into a bowl and eat.

Main diner

We truly enjoy going to different restaurants featured on Guys’ program Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives.  Last year while we were on vacation we visited several.  The one we really liked was the Maine Diner. http://mainediner.com/  . It was truly the nicest diner I have ever been in.  The service was fantastic, not like 5 star fantastic more like I just went back in time to an old time diner fantastic.  The decorations were perfect and the people were so friendly it was hard to imagine we were not in the south.  We both ordered some dish that Guy suggested and they were everything he said they would be. My wife had the Lobster Stew and it was great- we always try each other’s food. That is not always the case as we found at the Porthole restaurant in Portland, not worth stopping.  But the Maine Diner was great.  The food and even the deserts were large portions and freshly prepared. Just a great stop if you are going through Wells, Maine. 

Ciao baby

We had a wonderful weekend of eating out.  I try to keep these reviews positive. So, we went out three times and I have one review for you.  The last and best place we went is Ciao of Ithaca.  I have to say I hate to write a bad review; you just never know when you are just trying a place if it was just a bad day for someone.  One of the places we went is a place we go often and always enjoy , we just happened to get a waitress that was a lunatic.  The other place we went, there was just nothing good to say about it.  So, back to Ciao.  I have to say this is the best local restaurant I have been to in years.  Not as good as Union Block Italian Bistro, but very good.  It had great décor; it reminded me a bit of Carrabas Italian Grill.  Very well done, clean, and inviting.  Or server was Trevor, and the service was absolutely great.  I am a former waiter so I am pretty hard on some of them, but this guy had it down.  And to be honest I watched a lot of the other waiters and they seem to be doing a good job too.  And last; the food.  Everything we ordered was freshly prepared and tasted great.  The presentation was outstanding, taking every effort with the plating to add to the meal.  I had a chicken sandwich and my wife had butternut ravioli, both really good.  We stayed for desert and that was just as good, great taste and perfectly plated.  So if you are around the Ithaca mall, can’t imagine why you would be, but stop by Ciao for some great food.

http://www.ciaoithaca.com/

Hungarian chicken paprikash

So as most of you may have guessed, most of my good recipes either involve bread or belong to someone else.  So I have acquired a recipe from a person that might be the world’s best closet chef.  If any of you have seen the movie Outrun, this guy is a living example of the lead character in the film.  He is a large man that easily could scare off burglars and their little dogs too.  And I have to say a wonderful friend and just an all-around great person.  I will give him a code name of Howard to keep his identity a secret.  Well, Howard is a fanatic about cooking good food properly.  He uses all the right tools and his recipes are used by chefs in large restaurants.  The recipe I have from him today is an old family favorite. I hope you enjoy this one and let me know.  I can tell you this, if the recipe comes from Howard it can be trusted, I have used many of them.

Hungarian chicken paprikash

Prep time 20 minutes, cook in a crock pot on low 8 hours

Ingredients

1 large onion; sliced thin

1-2 tablespoons of butter

4 – 5 pounds of chicken

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4cups chicken broth heated

1 cup sour cream

In a skillet, sauté the onion in butter until tender.  Mix together in a bowl paprika, salt, & pepper. Place chicken in crock pot and sprinkle with ½ tablespoons paprika, salt and pepper mixture.  Spoon the onion mixture over the chicken.  Sprinkle onion with another ½ tablespoons of the paprika, salt and pepper mixture and add remaining 1 tablespoon of mixture to the chicken broth and heat.  Pour heated chicken broth over chicken place crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours.

Remove chicken and keep warm, remove 1 cup of broth mixture from crock pot and let set for 10 minutes to cool down.  Combine cooled broth and sour cream in bowl then add to crock pot stir.  Serve with chicken.

Spaetzle dumplings

Total time 15 minutes

Ingredient’s

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs lightly beaten

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoon salt

8 cups water                                      

1 tablespoon butter

In a large bowl stir flour eggs milk and salt until smooth (dough will be sticky)

In a large sauce pan bring water to a boil

Pour dough into a colander coated with cooking spray.  Place over boiling water.

With a wooden spoon press dough until small pieces drop into boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes until they are tender and float.  Remove with a slotted spoon; add to chicken sauce or toss with butter.

salad night

Well, I got a chance to have someone weigh me and measure how wide I am for the benefit of keeping one of my jobs.  And of course after that what I think of most is eating more salad.  Somehow the tape measure they use is quite a bit different than any I have ever owned.  According to them I need a diet and maybe some new clothes.  So let’s start with the diet, too cheap for the clothes.  I wrote previously on putting together a nice salad, but will throw in a few more tips.  First, always cut your vegetables so you are able to eat it in one bite and with a plastic fork. This just makes it easier to eat in any circumstance.  I cut my veggies pretty small so I don’t look like a squirrel trying to eat a tomato or try to cut it in half with a butter knife in a salad bowl.  Also if you have something that is hard by nature then consider grating it, like carrots.  Everyone likes the color and flavor but no one can stab them without making a mess. So help out us challenged folks and grate the carrots on a cheese grater.  Now, that is all good but to take your salad to the next level throw some fresh spices on top.  Fresh mint, dill, cilantro, and lavender (not all on the same salad) can really add the extra punch you are looking for.  Also stop buying salad dressing; it’s easy to make, it only has like three ingredients.  I was in line last week at Wally World and the lady ahead of my was buying dressing and the clerk remarked how good it was, and how you just can’t do that at home.  And in my cart right behind her I had everything I needed to make the very same dressing for a fraction of the cost. 

So here is tonight’s dinner.

2 big handfuls of romaine lettuce cut in strips.

2 tomatoes sliced thin and cut in half

One carrot grated. 

One handful of baby spinach leaves

One handful of broccoli florets

One small palm full of dill

Toss together and salt and pepper lightly, adding cheese is always a good bet,

And for the dressing tonight we will be having Ranch,

1 cup mayonnaise

Milk to thin if desired

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup parsley

1/8 cup fresh chives

And to this I will also add a small palm full of lavender.

Post your favorite salad ideas