Outlaw Blues Restaurant Review

After another disastrous attempt at eating at The Pasta House, see previous review, we went to our new standby, Outlaw Blues in O'Fallon, Il. The food there is consistently good and they seem to be getting very popular. We found it just before Christmas and my whole family thinks that it is fantastic. (Which is a real feat in and of itself.) There is something there for everyone, although they seem to be shifting from the southern style cuisine to being a steakhouse.

We tried an appetizer tonight, which was their Fried Mushrooms. The coating on them was great, but the mushrooms themselves had little taste. I believe they were white button mushrooms instead of baby portabellas. 

For the entree, I had the Chicken and Waffles. Essentially, it is a waffle with maple syrup, tator tots, and fried chicken. It is pretty good, but a lot of food so I usually eat the waffle, then take home the chicken for lunch the next day. The chicken is great! You can even get it as a take-out family meal.

Matthew had the Liver and Onions, which is definitely not my thing. But he really likes it there! And so does my dad.

If you ever get dessert there, you have got to try their cheesecake! It is great!

Outlaw Blues Restaurant & Saloon

Food: ++++

Drinks: ++++

Service: +++++

Overall: ++++

The Pasta House Restaurant Review

One of my favorite restaurants is The Pasta House, which is a small chain located in the St. Louis area. We tend to go to the new/rebuilt one in Fairview Heights, IL. It is a nice place, and the food is really good, but we haven't been able to get food the last few times we went there.

Tonight, we were really craving The Pasta House, so we headed over there around 8:30 pm. The restaurant is divided into two halves; the dinner section on your right and a bar area on your left. Right inside the door on your left is a small space for a live band. As soon as we parked in the parking lot, we could hear the band blaring. We walked in the door but as soon as we got inside the amplified music was so loud it made our son wake up and cry. And so we had to leave. Which is really sad because I love this restaurant. The music there drives me crazy though. (The bands aren't bad, they are just so LOUD that it would be hard to have a conversation, let alone leave without a headache. It is like they want to be a club instead of a restaurant.)

And before someone says, sit on the other side of the restaurant, we did that last time and our son just got really upset (and we had headaches) so we left before we got our appetizers. 

If someone from the Pasta House reads this, PLEASE turn down the music. Bands do not need amplification in such a small space! I want to eat there again!

The Art and Soul of Baking: Cookbook Review

I received this cookbook as an anniversary present this year and, I must say, it is a great resource for learning to bake. Not only does it give you recipes and step-by-step instructions (many with pictures), but it gives you the reasons behind why you do what you do. Why you use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Why you need to have butter and eggs room temperature. Why you need a certain type of pan for a certain project. Why you need to invest in an oven thermometer.

This book covers all the different aspects of baking; from breads, to cakes, to cookies, to souffles, to cheesecakes, to custards, and beyond. I really like the section towards the end about the finishing touches; chocolate curls, spun sugar, and some frostings.

This book was published by one of my favorite stores, Sur la Table. Like all of their cookbooks, the photos in this book are beautiful. It has definitely given me inspiration to try a few things later this year, both photographically as well as things to bake.

I have tried a few things from it so far, and all of them turned out pretty well (The Cooking Celtic Wife: Raspberry Souffles with Chocolate Truffles). The only one that didn't work was an error on my part; I didn't heed the book's warning about checking your oven's temperature so the cake that I baked just didn't rise. Everything else tasted good, the cake was just a funny texture.

This book would be a great gift for someone who is interested in baking, or someone who is interested in chemistry since baking is a yummy chemistry experiment. I love my copy; it has taught me so much that it is a permanent addition to our cookbook collection.

Amazon.com: The Art and Soul of Baking: Sur La Table, Cindy Mushet: Books

Harvest Restaurant Review 2

Date-night is one of my favorite days of the month, and it is even more important now that we have a 5 month old. This month we were also celebrating Matthew's birthday AND his acceptance into a great culinary program and so- we went to our new favorite restaurant, Harvest.

The reason that I love this restaurant is that the menu always changes; it is a seasonal restaurant so whatever is in season is what is on the menu. If they can't get it fresh they replace that option on the menu with one they can. Also, a lot of their produce is organic, and sustainable agricultural products. They even try to be as Earth friendly as possible, by using Wind Power and donating their used cooking oil to the St. Louis Bio-Diesel Club. 

And dinner was Awesome! I loved it!

For our appetizer, we both had Steve's Caesar Salad with shaved Wisconsin Parmeasan and homemade Garlic-Parmesan Croutons.

For the entree, Matthew had the Char-Grilled Marinated Hanger Steak with Salemville Amish Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes, creamed Spinach, and their homemade steak sauce. The flavor on that steak was amazing! And we have got to figure out how to make those mashed potatoes!

I had the Sou-Vide Beef Tenderloin Fillet with Sweet Potatoes, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Sugar Snap Peas in a Lemon-grass broth. It was the first time I have eaten something that was cooked Sou-Vide style and have never had beef that tender before. It was actually off of their Spa Menu, which means that it was not only healthy but low in fat. 

For dessert, Matthew had the bread pudding and I had their Triple Chocolate dessert; chocolate creme brulee, flour-less chocolate cake, and a homemade mocha chocolate chip ice cream. (Hey, I was good during dinner... I don't have to be good during dessert!)

I just can not get over how wonderful that dinner was. If you are ever in St. Louis, you have got to go to this restaurant!

The only downside to this place is the women's restroom is kinda gross. It was clean and all, don't get me wrong, but it was... old and not what I was expecting from this level of restaurant. 

Menu and Spa Menu

Food: +++++

Drinks: +++++

Service: +++++

Overall: +++++

Baby Oatmeal

Baby Oatmeal

Yields:1/4 cup

2 Tbsp Oatmeal 

4 Tbsp Formula/Breastmilk

Combine the two and presto! Baby Oatmeal!

We currently use Gerber's Organic Oatmeal. If we can't make it ourselves, we are going to try and buy everything organic. If you really want to stick with homemade, you can always make your own. Just put your oats (or brown rice, if you want rice cereal) in a food processor/blender and pulverize it for 3-5 minutes until it makes a powder. Then just measure it as normal. If your baby is over 6 months, though, they need the additional iron that is added to commercially made cereals so you should talk to your pedi about how to make certain your child gets enough iron.

I did a lot of research into baby food before we started this new adventure. I found a lot of useful websites, like Make Homemade Baby Food Recipes, Homemade Baby Food Recipes, Solid Food Baby Tips, Baby Nutrition & more!

Essentially, you can start your baby on any food you would like, although doctors recommend rice cereal because it is the least likely to cause an allergic reaction. Many people told me that we should start with oatmeal, but I wanted to play it as safe as possible. 

Our son loves eating. He didn't seem to like the taste of the rice cereal, but that is common. Most babies don't. And, I have to say, after looking at it I don't blame them. But our son loves the oatmeal. He just can't get enough of it! He actually dives for it and cries if you don't get it too him fast enough.

Next up: Bananas or Sweet Potatoes. Not sure which yet.

Pasta Con Broccoli

Pasta Con Broccoli

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

4 oz uncooked Pasta (usually shells)

1 cup Cream (or half-and-half)

2 Tbsp Butter

1/2 tsp minced Garlic

2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup chopped Broccoli

Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

1/3 cup sliced Mushrooms

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta until half done. Drain.
2. Return pasta to pot.
3. Add cream, butter, garlic, tomato sauce, broccoli, salt and pepper to the pot.
4. Bring to a hard boil.
5. When pasta is fully cooked, stir in the mushrooms. 
6. Remove from heat. Toss and serve.

This recipe comes from a restaurant called The Pasta House, which is located in the St. Louis, MO area. This recipe is occasionally posted on their website, but I originally wrote it down when it was published in our local newspaper, The St. Louis Dispatch.

It really is delicious! It works well as either a main dish or as a side dish and it is really quick and simple to make. I will have to make it again soon so I can post a photo.

Amish White Bread

Amish White Bread

Yields: 2 9x5 inch Loaves

Ingredients:

2 cups warm Distilled/Purified Water

2/3 cup Granulated Sugar

1.5 Tbsp active dry Yeast

1.5 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

6 cups Bread Flour

Instructions:

1. Heat the water to 110 degrees F.
2. Dissolve sugar in the warm water, then stir in the yeast. Allow it to sit until it makes a creamy foam.
3. Mix salt and oil into the yeast.
4. Mix flour in one cup at a time. 
5. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. About 10 minutes.
6. Place dough in a bowl, cover it with a cloth, and allow it to sit somewhere warm (like on top of the heated oven) for an hour. 
7. After an hour, punch the dough back down. 
8. Divide the dough in half, shaping it into two loaves and placing it in the well greased pans.
9. Allow the dough to rise for another hour. My family recommended I let it go longer then the recipe called for; and I did, and it worked!
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When it is done, you should be able to tap on it and it will sound hollow.

I actually got this recipe from allrecipes.com; Amish White Bread - All Recipes

For some reason, baking bread was the hardest thing I have ever tried. And I don't mean the bread machine type or the mixer type, but the good old-fashioned, rustic, put some muscle into it type. I had tried several recipes in the past, but I could never get the bread to rise! And if it did, my bread always ended up incredibly dense and yeasty and basically inedible. 

I came from a family that ate Wonderbread (they still do) and that works great for them. My husband, however, came from a family that had fresh, homemade bread all the time. I knew that he missed it and that he hasn't been able to find a bread out here in the Midwest that he likes. And so, I was determined to bake him bread. (Shouldn't every good wife make her husband homemade bread? lol)

I read everything about it that I could. (I am a researcher by nature, so I have to know everything about what I am doing. It's the curiosity factor, I think.) I learned that the oven temperature needs to be precise; if it is too cold the dough won't rise, if it is too hot it will kill the yeast and not rise. And so, I had to start out using an oven thermometer so that it was exactly the right temp.

I also pulled out a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of my water. Again, I had to make sure that I didn't kill the yeast. Another thing that can doom you from the start is to use tap water; the chlorine and other minerals in the tap water can also kill your yeast.

The end result? Perfection!

Creme Brulee Sugar Topping

Creme Brulee Sugar Topping

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 cup Granulated Sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Yes, it is 200.
2. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Spread the light brown sugar out on top of it.
3. Place the light brown sugar into the oven for about 30-40 minutes. The goal is to remove the moisture from the sugar; it should be dry and crispy.
4. Once the sugar is done, pour/push it through a mesh strainer into a medium sized bowl to get the large chunks out. Try to break up the chunks. If you can't, just throw them out.
5. Mix the light brown sugar with the granulated sugar. 
6. Store in an airtight container. It will not go bad and you can use it for all future Brulees.

I was a little skeptical of this recipe at first; but I am very glad that I tried it. It really was better then the plain granulated sugar topping and the vanilla sugar topping. You can definitely make less of it at first, though. I now have a large jar of Brulee sugar. I guess that just means that I need to make a lot more Brulees! lol

Creme Brulee with Strawberries

Creme Brulee

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 quart Heavy Cream

1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped

1 cup Vanilla Sugar, divided (I used regular sugar and it worked great)

6 large Egg Yolks

Hot Water (for water bath)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Pour the cream, vanilla bean, and the bean's pulp into a medium pan. Cook on medium-high heat until boiling.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, remove the vanilla bean, cover the pan, and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until the mixture lightens in color.
5. While still stirring, slowly pour the cream into the bowl.
6. Pour the mixture into your ramekins. I used 8, 4 oz ramekins.
7. Place the ramekins in a large pan. Fill the pan with hot water until the water-line is half-way up the side of the ramekins.
8. Place the pan(s) in the heated oven. Bake until the edges are se, with the center still trembling. ~40-45 minutes
9. Remove the ramekins from the pan and refrigerate them for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
10. Remove the brulee from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to browning. 
11. Spread some sugar on top of the brulee. How much depends on how thick you like your crust. I use about 1 tsp of Brulee Sugar on top. You can use up to a Tbsp.
12. Grab your culinary torch and light it. Hold the flame with enough distance to melt the sugar, but not enough to cause a sudden darkening of the sugar. Move the torch in small circles over the brulee; holding it in one spot for too long can scorch the custard.
13. Wait about 3 minutes and serve!

For Christmas, my husband gave me a culinary torch and some ramekins. He also found Alton Brown's Creme Brulee recipe and bought the ingredients so that I could make it right away. (He knows me well.) Even though I burnt the heck out of my first set, it still tasted phenomenal! I love making this recipe! It is really great if you are having people over for dinner; you make it the day before and let them torch their own dessert, lol. The original recipe is here: Creme Brulee Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network

Creme Brulee is considered the classic dessert. It is fairly light, can compliment any meal, and is pretty simple to make. It is more time consuming then difficult. And there are endless variations; with fresh fruit, with chocolate, made entirely of chocolate, classically done with special Creme Brulee sugar on top...

I recently bought a cookbook that is just different types of Creme Brulee. It is an interesting read; I had not known that my new Torch could be so useful. Stay tuned for further Torch usage! (My pyro side is coming out!)

Raspberry Souffles with Chocolate Truffles

Raspberry Souffles

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

12 oz Raspberries (frozen or 1 pint fresh)

1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar and 1/4 cup (2 oz) Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Framboise (optional)

5 large Egg Whites

Powdered Sugar (for serving)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Butter the Souffles dishes well, then dust with granulated Sugar (tap out the excess). The size of the dishes don't matter; if you want it to rise properly, though, you need to have a dish with straight sides. 
3. Thaw the raspberries. Place the raspberries and the juice in a food processor (we used our Magic Bullet and it worked wonderfully). Blend them until completely pureed. 
4. Pour the puree through a strainer, getting out all the seeds. Discard the seeds.
5. Mix 1 Tbsp sugar, and the framboise if using, into the puree.
6. Using a mixer and a clean bowl, whip the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the 1/4 cup of sugar. Keep mixing until hard firm form.
7. Gently stir about a forth of the eggs into the puree. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites into the puree.
8. Place batter into the souffle dishes. (The easiest way is to put it into a pastry bag. That way, you can put half the batter in, put an optional treat in the center, then put in the rest of the batter.) 
9. Be careful to not overfill the souffle dishes! In an actual souffle dish, there is a line that you fill to. Level the tops with a metal spatula.
10. Bake for 14-17 minutes, or until the center is firm.
11. Serve immediately! The souffle starts to fall as soon as you take it out of the oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or serve with Creme Fraiche. 

This recipe was taken from a new cookbook that I got called "The Art and Soul of Baking." It is a wonderful book that not only tells you what to do, but why you should do it. I definitely recommend it! (And I hope they don't mind that I copied their photo of the cover- which, incidentally, has the souffles on the cover. My photo was not as pretty...)

This was the first souffle I have ever baked. I think it was a success! It fell much quicker then I was expecting, although I think that had more to do with the fact that our house is only 68 degrees. 

I thought about putting whole raspberries in the center of the souffle, but then I forgot to save some when I made the puree. So I went along with the book's recipe and made Chocolate Truffles to put in the center. The chocolate really complimented the raspberries.

Chocolate Truffles

Yields: 10 Truffles

Ingredients: 

3 oz bittersweet Chocolate- up to 70% cocoa (I used Ghiradelli 60% cocoa)

6 Tbsp (3 oz) Heavy Whipping Cream

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the chocolate.
2. Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave safe dish. 
3. Heat on high in the microwave, stopping and stirring the mixture every 30 sec. (It only took 1 minute for mine, and it was close to curdling. If yours curdles, add 1 more Tbsp of cream to your mixture until it is smooth again.)
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Use a small spoon to scoop out about 1/2 Tbsp of the chocolate. Form into a round ball then drop on a plate. Do this to form 10 Truffles.
6. Cover again with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator.

Blue C Sushi Restaurant Review

This weekend, I was in Seattle, Washington, and my brother-in-law took us to this awesome restaurant named Blue C Sushi. We went to the branch located in University City. It was very Tokyo oriented; clean lines, high tech, and a simply dressed wait-staff.

Besides the awesome, fresh sushi, the main attraction to this place is the open layout of the restaurant. The kitchen is located in the center of the restaurant, with the booths placed around it. Along the edges of the booths is a small conveyer-belt that carries your food choices. Each plate is labeled as to the name of the entree, and color coded so you know the cost before you pick it up. There is a small menu located at your table, so if you don't see what you want pass by your table, you can hit a small lightswitch and a waitress will come by to place your order.

My Favorite Entrees were the Sesame Noodles, the Potato Katsu, and the Teriyaki Chicken. (I'm not a huge sushi fan, although the California Rolls weren't bad.)

My family also grabbed the V-8 rolls, the Red Dragon roll, the Spicy Tuna roll, the Tuna roll, the Spider rolls, the California rolls, and the Edamame. (There were 4 pieces on each plate, and 6 of us eating, in case you were wondering.)

For dessert, we had Mochi; which is a glutenous rice that is pounded into a thick paste, then molded into a shape. In this case, the rice paste was molded around ice cream. We had the chocolate and the mango flavors; both were really really good.

My favorite item was the Potato Katsu. It was awesome! And, surprisingly, cheap.

Everything we tried was really good. The only thing my family didn't like were the Spicy Tuna rolls; the tuna in them was slimey; not good in a sushi experience.

Bottomline: I am definitely going there again. The whole atmosphere was different and really cool. My brother-in-law has great taste. :)

http://www.bluecsushi.com/

Food: +++++

Drinks: +++++

Service: ++++ (It took forever to get our check.)

Overall: +++++

New York Style Cheesecake

New York Style Cheesecake

Yields: 1  9 inch Cheesecake

Ingredients:

4  8 oz packages Cream Cheese, room temperature

1.5 cups Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup Milk

4 eggs, room temperature

1 cup Sour Cream

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

Instructions

1. Set out your cream cheese and eggs until they become room temperature. (If they are too cold, your cheesecake will come out either lumpy or it will be over-mixed and crack.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Double check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. If your oven is too warm, your cheesecake will crack.)
3. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. (Do not over-mix.)
4. Blend in milk.
5. Next add the eggs, one at a time. (Mix just enough for them to blend in but no more.)
6. Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth.
7. Pour mixture into prepared crust. (You will want a fairly deep pan for this.)
8. Place a cookie sheet under the pan, then place both pans in the oven for 1 hour. Cook until the edges harden and there is a 2-3 inch center that is still liquid. (It will set once cooled.)
9. Take the pan out of the oven and run a straight metal spatula around the outside of the cheesecake to separate it from the pan. (This also prevents cracking.)
10. Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack; 1-2 hours.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and place cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.
12. To remove cheesecake from pan, scrape the sides again with a metal spatula, then pass the spatula under the bottom of the cake.

Cheesecake Topping

Ingredients:

1.5 cups Sour Cream

2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. Combine the two ingredients in a small bowl.
3. When your cheesecake has cooled for an hour or so, evenly spread the mixture on top.
4. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
5. Allow the cheesecake to cool on a wire rack until room temperature. Then place in refrigerator as usual.

Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Cracker Crust

Yields: 1 pie crust

Ingredients:

2 cups Graham Crackers (or 8 oz, or 14 full-size crackers)

1 stick melted Butter (or 4 oz)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease your chosen pan (pie plate, springform pan, or cheesecake pan) with either butter, or Wilton's Cake Release.
3. In a medium bowl, combine crackers and butter. Using a fork, mix the two together until all the crumbs are moistened.
4. Scrape the mixture into your prepared pan. Using the bottom of a glass, push the mixture flat into the pan. It is easiest to start in the middle and work your way outwards.
5. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
6. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack.

You can prepare this crust up to 4 days in advance. It is great for cheesecakes and chocolate silk pies. 

Also see my:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes: 3.5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2.25 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 large Eggs

2 cups (12 oz) Chocolate Chips

1 cup chopped Nuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat well.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips (and nuts, if adding). 
7. Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (Those cookie scoops are amazing.)
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown.

After trying several dozen cookie recipes, Nestle's is still the best. Everyone likes it because it reminds them of home. I made this recipe again today, and it really reminded me of childhood baking sessions. 

The first thing I ever baked was this recipe. I was 6 years old and sooo excited to bake cookies! I was a little too excited and I added the chocolate chips at the beginning of the recipe, into the flour. My mom was a little flabbergasted (a fun word that only applies to my mother), but she still made it work. My parent's were so sweet to me... they actually pretended that they tasted good. :)