Move on Over!

Did you know that there are quite a few other blogs named The Delicious Life? Turns out there are quite a few. And turns out the most popular one is also written by a Sarah. Can’t have that, so The Delicious Life has been reborn as Dish and Tell. Hope you’ll follow me at my new location! http://www.dishntell.blogspot.com/

Sweet Places for You and Your Sweetie: Valentine's Day Top 10

First things first. My first version of this posting had a picture of lipstick lips on a napkin. I wanted to provide you with a visual. Food blogs are supposed to have appetizing pictures.

But that picture didn't turn out so appetizing. I posted it, I decided I really did hate it, and I took it down. (Now, I'm left with bright red lips, the night before a big presentation.)

BUT...on to more important things, this post is for all of my wonderful guy friends out there who may be looking for some Valentine’s Day ideas (and for the ladies in my life who are the planners in the relationship). Here you go. My top 10 recos for V-Day in no particular order. (You can thank Ryan B for this idea!)

La Belle Vie Lounge: You can splurge on the dining room if you’d like, but I happen to love the Lounge. Swanky, romantic, and special-feeling. The tasting menu is awesome, particularly with the matching wine flights. Before you start on the tasting menu, have one of their cocktails (they’re known for them) and the fries with béarnaise. Mmm. Take a cab home for the full experience. They are very generous with the wine flight pours. Tasting menu w/ matching wine flights in the lounge is a guaranteed good night. I have friends who will vouch for this.

Lucia’s Wine Bar: Love this place for any Friday night, but would also make it a special occasion place. The wine bar (vs the restaurant) is the best of both worlds. I think it’s hipper and more cozy than the restaurant, and you can still order off the restaurant menu if you’d like. Try to grab the table in hallway towards the back right in front of the kitchen window. You can see everything as it comes out and plan your meal accordingly! Not to mention have privacy. Get the Focaccia Crostini with a Trio of Spreads. And dessert is a must—they bring a killer dessert tray around.

Surdyk’s: I’m guessing some of you will be looking for takeout. Wine? Check. (Duh.) But they also have a gem of a cheese shop too where you can pull together a full spread. They have an amazing cheese counter where they let you generously sample any of the cheeses you want and then proceed to wrap up your choices in beautiful white paper (I’m a sucker for this; it makes me want to buy more cheese). All the fresh baguettes and crackers you could want. Delicious paninis. They even have hot entrees (that I haven’t tried, but would). Yummy desserts, too (try the brownie or macarons).

Lucia’s To Go: Another takeout option. Everything is always great. They have entrees (that change by the week, but think Beef Stroganoff or Roasted Chicken) that you can take home and heat. I’m sure Lucia’s To Go will also have a full entourage of fun Valentine’s Day desserts as well. Lucia does fun seasonal items. I always end up with impulse buys that catch me as I walk down the counter to pay (random salted caramels or handmade chips and salsa). Don’t be afraid to go overboard. You’ll be glad you did.

Piccolo: Delicious! One of the best new-ish restaurants in town. But look at the menu before you commit—they constantly change it, and the options are limited. Everything I’ve ever had has been fantastic; it’s just not for everyone. Piccolo serves small plates—not small plates to share. Small plates as in four bites or so. Which is fun because then you can try a lot of different things. About 4 and you’re moderately full. If I was going, I’d be trying the Chocolate Soup with Coconut, Cinnamon, and Hot Pepper Oil. Very cute space. Perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Corner Table: Charming, cozy, good food, good service, and my guess is it will be one of the easier places to get into for Valentine's Day. Also easy parking—a bonus! See my review “Corner Table: 1 Year, 9 Months Later.”

Meritage: Other side of the river. If you’re willing to venture over to St. Paul, go to Meritage. French food, very Parisian looking inside, and very tasty. The salted ice cream pops for dessert are the best. Love those. Service is spotty—I’ve had good experiences and bad. But food has always been good. And the chef makes rounds at the tables. (And if you mention said spotty service to him, you get free salted ice cream pops. I'm just sayin...)

Alma: Okay, disclaimer here. Zach and I went a few years ago and ordered their Valentine’s Day menu. Between that and one bottle of wine we spent almost $300, and I have yet to get over it. Nothing tastes that good, especially when you don't expect to spend that much. But the food was great. And everyone raves about it. I haven’t been back since, but have been wanting too. Beware the Valentine’s Day menu though! You have been warned, no nasty-grams about this.

Cooks of Crocus Hill: I haven’t checked out their Valentine’s Day schedule, but a cooking class here would be a great idea. I love the demonstration classes—you generally get served a full meal, and they have wine to buy by the glass. It’s a fun night, and it’s good food. AND you can do your Valentine's Day shopping there too with the 15% coupon they give you with all cooking classes.

Café Lurcat: Lurcat is just solid. The food is always really well prepared, and the items on the menu are recognizable, so it's generally a crowd-pleaser. It also has great view of Loring Park. Great service. Favorites: apple, chive, cheese salad; mini burgers; fries; miso-glazed sea bass; mini doughnuts; A to Z Pinot Noir.

xoxo

The Comfort Sandwich

For some reason I have always remembered the dinner my mom had waiting for me when I arrived back into town the summer of 2006 when I moved back to go to business school. I pulled up to my newly rented little vintage apartment in Uptown with my Jeep packed to the brim. The apartment was empty, aside from the shag rugs and folding chairs I had gotten from Ikea and plopped in there a few weeks earlier.

I was emotionally on edge. I had just quit my job at American Girl, packed up everything I owned, and decided to give this business school thing a shot. And there she was waiting for me at my new apartment with a delicious little dinner from Lucia’s To Go: a brie & arugula sandwich, a chocolate cookie, and a bottle of Pelegrino.

Flash-forward three years later. I was having a particularly stressful week at work. And one day I came home to a cooler on our porch full of meals for the entire week. There was spaghetti and meatballs. There was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. And there was gazpacho with…brie & arugula sandwiches. (Yes, I do have the best mom ever.)

So now I call this brie & arugula sandwich “the comfort sandwich” because she has given me that sandwich in times when I’ve needed…well, comfort.

We had it for dinner tonight. Not because I’m particularly in need of comfort, but because it’s delicious, too. And it’s easy (and I had to work tonight).

My mom has altered the recipe a bit vs. Lucia’s version. The pretzel breadsticks from Breadsmith add a little something special, I think.

Brie & Arugula Sandwiches (aka The Comfort Sandwich)

2 pretzel breadsticks from Breadsmith

Extra-virgin olive oil

Brie

Arugula

Salt & Pepper

Slice breadsticks in half. Smear brie onto one side of bread. Top with mounds of arugula. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Done!

Makes: 2

A Sweet Reunion: Me and Brasa



iPhone pics not cutting it--is it wierd to take my camera with me?


Holy happiness.

That is what I feel every time I go to Brasa. Before our stupid “let’s try to only eat out on the weekends” thing, we used to make an appearance every couple of weeks. Lately, our frequency has decreased. And I’ve missed it.

It was good to be home tonight.

Sorry, ridiculously corny, I know, but I feel really strongly about Brasa. The food is fantastic—delicious and comforting. I could eat Brasa every night, and if they had a location that was closer to our house, I probably would.

I had to look up how they describe their food, because I have a hard to summarizing it for people. Southern-style comfort food? Definitely comfort food, but “southern” takes me to Paula Deen. And it's so much better than Paula Deen. Rotisserie? Sounds so limiting. Here’s what they, those Brasa experts, say: “Brasa serves comfort food inspired by the Creole cooking traditions of the Americas & Caribbean.” Okay. Sure. Whatever you want to call it, I love it.

All of it. As demonstrated by what the 2 of us ordered tonight:

¼ lb pulled chicken.

¼ lb pulled slow roasted pork.

¼ lb braised beef.

Small crispy yuca w/ mojo.

Small romaine & fresh mozzarella salad.

Small rustic style grits w/ cheddar.

1 cornbread w/ honey glaze.

1 sangria.

1 retro bottle of Dr. Pepper.

I’m slightly embarrassed. But I have no regrets.

Seriously, folks, everything they make is delicious. I’ve had almost everything on that menu and have never been disappointed. It really just boils down to what you like. The sandwiches are stellar if you’re in the mood for a sandwich. I particularly love the Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich (with ginger mayo, cilantro, and pickled vegetables) and the Braised Beef Sandwich (with fried onions, sharp cheddar, and bbq sauce).

All of the meats are great. I usually find myself deciding between the pork and the beef. As for the sides, the grits are great. The masa corn cakes are great. The black beans and rice are good in a “my palate needs a little break” kind of way. Their chips and guac are very good too. I generally shy away from the creamed spinach and yams, but only because I’m not a creamed spinach or yam kind of gal. They’re both very well-prepared.

And the yuca. Don’t even get me started on the yuca. Because I’ll never stop.

But I’m sorry, you haaaaaaaaaaaaaave to hear about the yuca. I’ll try to keep this short. The yuca is kind of like a potato, but better. They fry them. They drizzle some sort of citrusy oil on them, it seems, that makes your mouth pucker ever so slightly. They serve them with a side of cilantro-y, garlicky, creamy mojo sauce. And you never want to stop eating them. So you don’t. And you promise yourself you will never go there and not order them. And you don’t. They are life changing. I think maybe…just maybe…they are my favorite food.

As for logistics, Brasa has two locations—NE Minneapolis and St. Paul (right on Grand Ave.) I prefer the Minneapolis location. The food is better and the space is cooler (renovated old auto garage). I’ll be honest, they could have more friendly wait staff. But who cares when the food is that good? With the outdoor seating out of commission in the winter, the wait can get kinda crazy on weekend nights. But, if you get there before 6, you’re golden. And I happen to think waiting is worth it if that’s what you get faced with. And be prepared to wait longer than they say it will be. Predicting wait time is not a strength of theirs.

As for prices, we got all of the above tonight for $50 bucks. A steal.

Brasa is great for random Friday nights, random weekday nights, takeout, dining in, lunch, dinner, whenever. But I reco not going with a large group. They’re not set up for that. You’ll surely wait forever.

Go. Run. You’ll love it. Not as much as me (it’s not possible). But you’ll love it. I promise.

Corner Table: 1 year, 9 months later

1 year and 9 months ago, I went to Corner Table for the second time. That same night Zach and I got engaged. :)

5 nights ago, I went to Corner Table for maybe the fifth or sixth time. And it was -15 degrees out, actual temperature.

But if there is any restaurant in town I’d want to go to during an arctic blast, it would be Corner Table. When I balked at being seated right next to the door, the hostess informed me that they had the heat turned up to 82 degrees. It was true. I think I actually saw steam on the windows. A welcome sight when it’s -15 below out, actual temperature.

The menu is small, but Corner Table is all about doing what they do well. They locally source; they make what’s in season. The menu changes all the time (and their website generally doesn’t keep up with said changes), so you need to go in feeling slightly adventurous.

But the food is always good.

There seemed to be something about the frigid temps that inspired the kitchen the other night. Our dinner was especially good.

Potato gnocchi with pumpkin and browned butter: The big chunks of sautéed pumpkin were delicious and a surprise basis the other pumpkin gnocchi executions I’ve had before. And the gnocchi themselves were the perfect vessel to use to sop up the browned butter. Note to self: browned butter twice in the same week is probably excessive. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Read "A Spontaneous Monday Night Baking Adventure" post.) 

Even better than the gnocchi though was the chicken and funnel cake others at our table had for their first course. Lightly fried mounds of chicken confit nestled with pieces of funnel cake. Funnel cake. All with a side of refreshingly tangy homemade coleslaw. It was unhealthy for sure. But it was delicious. And it was different (in a good way, of course).

For my main I had the blackened rib eye with crispy polenta and balsamic onions. Rib eye good. Balsamic onions a nice complement with their zippiness. The crispy polenta—the star of the dish. Imagine little cubes of perfectly salted pan-fried goodness, oozing with creamy polenta when bitten into. They were quite delicious.
                                                                                                                                                                                                  

For dessert we all had the carrot cake, although some of us split it and some of us did not. The folks at Corner Table should warn everyone to leave their carrot cake expectations at the door when ordering CT’s version. What came out was not 3 layers of moistness with visible carrots, raisins, and walnuts. Instead, what came out was a little rectangular piece of spice biscuit-ish cake, with an accompanying luxurious blob of cream cheese frosting. The most carrot-y part about the “carrot cake” was the carrot ribbon garnish that was along for the ride. I looked at it and immediately assumed I’d be disappointed. But I wasn’t! They knew better than I did, those folks at Corner Table, what I was truly hungry for. Not as obscene as the usual carrot cake, but still the same flavors somehow. Quite interesting. I’m still mentally processing this.

A few unconfirmed fun facts: I have heard (have not witnessed much to my dismay) that on Friday nights at 10pm the wait staff comes around with platters full of unique $1 sliders. This is genius if true. Have also heard they have a table in the kitchen that can be rented out for the night for a flat per-person fee. And with that comes unlimited plates of food that they slide across the table along with unlimited wine. It’s on my short list of things to do this year.

Corner Table is one of my favorite neighborhood spots in town. Great food, friendly wait staff, full of people cozied up next to each other at the small tables or at the small bar. Full of people who look like they’re regulars and look like they love good food too.

A Spontaneous Monday Night Baking Adventure

The new Bon Appétit came today, and sure enough (because Valentine’s Day is coming up) on the cover is a picture of brownies. “Best Ever Brownies,” it says, atop a stack of four perfectly walnut studded fudgy brownies.

Zach took one look and promptly asked if I’d make them. On a work night! “If we have walnuts,” I replied. There was some rummaging through the cabinets. And then there was a trip to the grocery store. And then just as they were coming out of the oven there was even a brother who stopped by after seeing a FB post mentioning brownies.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts.

I just noticed that the total time listed for the recipe is 4 hours 50 minutes. Yea, right. Like anyone can really wait that long to let brownies cool before digging in. Not in this house.

The best part of these brownies to me was actually making them (gasp, I know). There are very few things I enjoy making more than I enjoy eating. Brownies is one of them, though. I like a good brownie, don’t get me wrong, but I love the shiny batter that brownies produce more. I love hot, melted chocolate. I mixing the batter by hand. I love that you only add in a few really good ingredients. I love pouring out the batter and spreading it evenly in the pan.

And these had an extra kicker because they involved browning butter. Making browned butter is…pretty great. You watch the butter melt slowly, you patiently watch it brown while stirring occasionally, and then it happens—the smell changes. Nuttiness takes over. I actually made Zach come smell the browned butter tonight over the stove.

I think we three waited about 10 minutes tops before we cut into them. First impressions? Good. Ooey, gooey, and I think I could actually taste the browned butter. I’m withholding full critique until I actually taste them after they have cooled. But for now, I’d say they’re a safe bet.

Page 91, if you’re interested.

Challah-luiah!

I’m generally not a bread maker. It’s a little too fussy and technical to be enjoyable for me. But since challah was introduced into my life by my Jewish husband and his family a few years ago, I’ve been on a mission to make it myself. And challah-luiah, folks, this weekend I was finally successful!

I can’t resist a beautiful, knotty, shiny loaf of challah. There is something so perfect about it—soft, chewy, and white carb-y. Eggy with a hint of sweetness. It’s addicting.

My first attempt at making challah was well over a year ago. The note I wrote next to the recipe in the cookbook reads: “Need to let knead (in the mixer) for 15 minutes.” I write comments in all of my cookbooks next to the recipes I try. But, I have a real problem writing anything negative in my treasured books, so I generally am not as honest as I should be. The good news is that I always remember how I truly felt about a recipe. “Need to let knead for 15 minutes” really meant “Recipe didn’t work for me…dough didn’t rise…dough so thick it messed up KitchenAid (had to get a new one)…never got whole loaf to be cooked through in the middle without being burned on outside.”

Sad. And yes, it really did mess up my KitchenAid.

So, after two failed attempts with that recipe, I took a hiatus from challah making for a while. But a few weeks ago I decided to give it another go. I decided to move on to a new recipe, this time out of the cookbook Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France. The recipe is called “Rabbi’s Wife’s Challah.” It instilled a sense of confidence in me. Surely, a rabbi’s wife must make great challah.

I actually had a breakthrough in bread making when I tried this recipe for the first time. You know how when you watch professionals making bread, they get that perfectly smooth ball of dough? Well, I didn’t really think regular people like me could achieve the same thing. But, you can! You too can have perfect dough! You just need to knead it long enough!! This achievement was so rewarding that I think I might make bread more often.

But anyway, turns out the rabbi’s wife makes a mean dough. It rose perfectly. It braided wonderfully. It needed to bake for exactly the amount of time the recipe said it would. And it produced a loaf that was HUGE. It was TWO feet long. I’m not joking. Visually and texture-wise, it was a perfect challah.

However.

It wasn’t quite sweet enough for me. Soaked in orange and vanilla scented custard though, it made fantastic French toast! (Ina’s Challah French Toast recipe.)       

So, this weekend I decided to give it one more try and tweak the recipe to make it sweeter. I added quite a bit more sugar. I also halfed the recipe because unless you have some major plans for that challah, it’s a lot of challah. The result: pretty close to perfect. (Might add some honey next time for kicks). But for now, here you go. You knead to make this—if for nothing else than for some stellar French toast.

Rabbi’s Wife’s Challah—adapted from Joan Nathan’s Quiche’s, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2.5 tbsp sugar

Half of 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1/6 cup canola oil

3.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

Half tbsp salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup warm water in bowl of standing mixer w/ dough hook attachment. Add the half of 1 egg & oil; mix. (For half of an egg, I whisk 1 whole egg in a separate bowl and then pour in half of it.)

Gradually add flour and salt and continue to mix with mixer until blended well. When all of the flour is incorporated well, knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until you get that perfectly smooth round of dough!

Put dough in well-oiled bowl; cover with clean dish towel; let rise at room temperature for 45 mins.

Punch the dough down and divide into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a strand about 1.5 inches thick. Braid the 3 strands together, pinching the ends together. Carefully place on greased baking sheet and brush with the egg yolk (whisked with a little splash of water). Let rise in closed oven (that isn’t turned on) for 45 mins.

Brush with egg yolk / water mixture again. Turn oven on to 400 and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top is golden brown and the challah sounds hollow when you tap it.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

Yield: 1 loaf