My Chef's Hat - Grilled Shrimp with Roasted Garlic-Cilantro Sauce

I had taken out shrimp to make for lunch today. Originally I was planning to make one my standby recipes I've made dozens of times. But once again, just like the other day with salmon, when I opened up Pinterest for the recipe I came across a new dish that looked awesome. Grilled shrimp with roasted garlic-cilantro sauce.

Have to be honest, its the picture that drew me in. The one shrimp, dripping with the sauce. Heavenly.

I mean seriously... how good does that look?  I've never made roasted garlic before, because for some reason I thought it took a lot of work. I don't know why, because I was completely wrong. Super simple. The hardest part is knowing how long to roast it. The recipe says 10 minutes at 400 degrees, and didn't say anything about wrapping it in foil.  10 minutes wasn't even close to long enough. And I've seen chefs on the Food Network wrap it in foil, so I did that... and kept it in the oven for 30 minutes.  One thing I will say, listen to the recipe when it says to let the garlic cool a little before using. I was super hungry and didn't wait, and almost burned myself.  I ended up using a spoon to get the garlic out of the paper.

Wow, roasted garlic is awesome. None of that bitter, sharp harsh taste. Its creamy, soft, and has a great flavor. You could really eat it on its own. But that would be kind of weird.

I have this bad habit of always using way too much fresh herbs, especially cilantro and basil. So consequently, I used too much olive oil this time to compensate. The recipe calls for chili sauce. I have both sweet chili sauce and hot chili garlic sauce. I used mostly sweet, with just a tiny bit of hot for a kick.  

To make it a complete meal, I did a veggie stir-fry of carrots, celery, asparagus, beans and zucchini. And some rice.  The recipe calls for the shrimp to be grilled. But since I did the veggies, it makes more sense to do the shrimp in the same pan, for one less pan to clean.

The sauce was absolutely amazing. I tried a little of it on its own before mixing with everything else and was blown away.  The garlic, even though I used almost half the head, wasn't overpowering at all. The sweet chili sauce complemented the sauce really well. I didn't taste heat at all. Next time I may use a little more. I'll definitely cut back on both the cilantro and the oil.

As I was eating, I thought this sauce would be wonderful as a dip for crusty bread. Or to marinate tomatoes and mozzarella. I'm sure it would work well with other things too.  It just has so much flavor.  

You don't even have to ask if I'm making this again.  You can count on it.

Recipe found on The Mediterranean Dish

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My Chef's Hat - Asian Salmon in Foil

My plan for dinner tonight was salmon. I've been eating more red meat than normal this week, and need to start getting back on track, and salmon is the perfect way to do that. I was just going to season with nothing more than McCormick steak seasoning. I make it like that a lot, because its less than simple but still packs a flavor punch. I got onto Pinterest to find a side dish to go with it, and one of the first things on the main feed was Asian salmon in foil. Consequently, my plans quickly changed on the salmon preparation. This recipe combined flavors I enjoy and it looked delicious. I was sold.

Here is the recipe version

And here is my version

This was delicious! The salmon was so tender.  I don't think I've ever made anything in foil before, and I really don't know why. I could be wrong, but I really feel like the foil helps to intensify the flavor because it can't evaporate in the oven. It also keeps it much more moist than regular baking.  I do wish the color was a little deeper, more like the recipe picture. But whenever I bake salmon it always looks like this. And I'm wondering if they used wild salmon, which natural has a much deeper color. Regardless, the flavor was fantastic. As always, I used about 1/3 of the sesame oil the recipe called for. I could still smell and taste it, but instead of being super overpowering it just added a nice background flavor.

Will I make this again? No question.

Recipe found on Damn Delicious

#120 - Inaka Sushi & Bar, Oklahoma City, OK

A few weeks ago I was on Groupon, looking to see if there was anything I couldn't live without. Both Groupon and Living Social can be very addicting, so I try not to go on either one very often. But they were having a sale that day and I couldn't resist buying a couple of restaurant vouchers... which was of course before I realized that I had a bunch of credit on restaurant.com. 

I don't wake up till my eyes open on Christmas morning. But come Boxing Day (Dec. 26), I'm up and at it ridiculously early to hit the stores for all the sales. And since all the good stores are in OKC, yesterday I was awake at 4am. When it came time for lunch, I decided to use the Groupon for Inaka Sushi & Bar.

Its located in OKC, just a few miles from Memorial Road, where I end up almost every time I go shopping in the city. Its in a very non-descript strip mall, and unless you know where to turn you'll probably miss it. Its not a very big place, only about 20 total tables. Almost the entire left wall is a full bar; a good-sized sushi bar is along the back wall. The center has 10 booths, and the right wall has 10 tables. There were only 2 other couples when I arrived. Normally that's not a good sign, but the day after Christmas you can't really judge.

There was only one server, which was fine. She was efficient, but not very friendly; but as the meal progressed she got a little nicer.  I had the same issue at the sushi place in College Park. Maybe in Japan that's absolutely normal.  Who knows.

I couldn't decide between the salad and edamame to start. The picture of the salad in the menu looked good, so I went with the salad. Bad choice... what I got was iceberg lettuce, carrots, and cucumber.  I'm pretty sure the pic in the menu is the seaweed salad. I thought about sending it back, but decided to just eat it. The salad was nice and cold, and the ginger dressing was very flavorful.

As usual I had a really hard time deciding what to get, and the really big menu didn't help. I thought about just going with hibachi, but I really wanted sushi. And besides, I had to spend $20 for the Groupon. So even if I had done hibachi I would have had to get other stuff too. So sushi it was. They have a ton of different rolls, so I asked the server for help. 

I finally decided to be adventurous and try the Euphoria roll (server's suggestion) and Boston roll

Euphoria Roll (Inside - eel, shrimp tempura; Outside - eel, avocado, mango, eel sauce & Masago)

Boston Roll (Shrimp,avocado, cucumber, lettuce, Japanese mayo)

When she set down the plate I almost sent it back. I had specifically said I didn't want raw, and that eel did not look cooked.  I was instantly transported back to my first sushi experience, in Maui, when Brandon and Shane convinced me to try raw eel. NOT A FAN. So much so that I refused to eat sushi again for almost a year. But, I decided to at least try one piece first. I had already gone super adventurous to order it, so why not. 

The Euphoria roll was outstanding! The eel was lightly seared, the mango gave it a hint of sweetness, and the avocado added a creamy texture. I was a little worried that the eel would be overpowering since it was inside and out, But it wasn't at all. With every bite I repeated to myself how good it was.  A piece of the eel fell off one piece of the roll and I ate it by itself, of course dipped in soy sauce. Not a big fan...it needs other stuff to be good.  The Boston roll was okay, but didn't have a whole lot of flavor. I think if the mayo had been spicy it would have helped. I alternated pieces as I ate, and I will say the Boston provided a nice contrast of texture with the lettuce.

Will I go back? No question. There's a lot of things that look really good that I'm excited to try. 

#119 - Cafe 33, Perkins OK

About 2 years ago my mom found a Groupon for $400 of restaurant.com gift certificates for just $40.  She sent it to me, since I go out to eat more than she and my dad do, and for my food blog.  I went to a couple of places, but then honestly completely forgot about it.  So about a week ago I told her if she found another similar deal to let me know.  Lo and behold, she found $200 of certificates for $20.  I got the "gift" email and went online to redeem it. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I still have $355 from the original deal. Plus 2 certificates totaling $15 that I had bought but never used. Great thing about it, you can exchange unused certificates, so now I have $570 in restaurant certificates to use.  Thank goodness they never expire.  But now, I really need to pay more attention to the deals, and make a concerted effort to use these whenever I travel.  

I know it's shocking, but there's not many places in Stillwater that are part of the program. Actually there's only 2. There's a couple more options in Perkins, which honestly did surprise me since it's smaller than Stillwater.  I came across Cafe 33 in Perkins.  I had never heard of it, but the food sounded good.  So Mary and I decided to check it out. Perkins is about a 15 minute drive from campus.  Downtown Perkins is a left turn off of Perkins Road, so we were surprised to turn right.  And neither of us had ever seen any restaurants in that direction, at least not before you hit Guthrie.  

Cafe 33 is in the same building as Perkins' Livestock.  The livestock barn is to the right, and the restaurant is to the left.  You can't hide from the barn smells in the hallway, but the food smells take over as soon as you walk through the door to the restaurant.  The inside reminds me of a combination school cafeteria/diner/western restaurant.  We knew we looked out of place when we drove up, but it was fully confirmed when we opened the door to the restaurant and everyone stopped and looked at us.  It was full of construction guys and ranchers.  You seat yourself, and we took a table along one wall. There's about 25 tables, including one family sided table with a Lazy Susan.  They've got a small station on the other wall for their daily lunch buffet.  There's also a small bar area where you can sit up there and eat.  The decor is very western.

Both of the waitresses were very friendly, and ours was quite excited when we told her this was our first trip, and we came because we found out about it on restaurant.com. Mary asked me if they would even accept the coupon.  They chose to be a part of the program, so I really don't think they have a choice, as long as you abide by the policies stated on the certificate.  Mary and I had both looked at the menu before we left the office.  It's a large menu, with lots of options and very good prices.  They are only open for breakfast and lunch, and you can get breakfast all day.  But I still hadn't fully decided on a meal, so we started with the fritters.

These were really good!  I have to admit, not quite as good as the ones Andy's mom makes, but still delicious.  I really like that they were made with cornmeal.  Lots of flavor.

For lunch, I had the blue cheese & bacon burger, and Mary had the grilled chicken wrap. We also got Texas toothpicks and okra.  Before you think we're nuts for ordering so much food, we didn't have a choice.  The certificate required us to spend $20 to get half off.

My burger was awesome.  The beef was so fresh and had tons of flavor.  The blue cheese was just okay.  My favorite is when it's mostly chunks, and this one was runny.   But I love blue cheese so I still ate it.  I was very surprised because the burger wasn't that big, but with all the food we had that's a good thing.  Mary and I joked that they had probably killed the cow when I ordered it.  

With Parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing and lettuce

I tasted Mary's wrap.  It was good, but the chicken was shredded, so all the textures in the wrap were almost the same.  As Mary said, "it only had one note".  I agreed.  Diced chicken would have been better.  But the flavor was very good, and tasted like they had smoked it. 

I have to admit I was a little disappointed because the fries and Texas toothpicks (fried strips of jalapeno and onion) were just warm, not scalding hot like I like them.  But they were still good.  

I'm usually not a fan of fried okra, but I really liked these.  I think I liked them better because they were thick cut, so still had some bite to them.  And the coating was really good.

As we walked up to the counter to pay, we noticed the gargantuan homemade cinnamon rolls. 

The waitresses talked about how good they were, but we were so full at that point it was all we could do to waddle out to the car.  We smartly decided against it, but figured we could come back for breakfast at some point.

Will I go back?  No question.  The food was delicious, and the service was prompt.  She did forget our drinks, but once we reminded her they came out fast.  It was also great people watching when a real legit cowboy came in, with chaps, a scarf, cowboy hat, and a mustache. And as we were leaving, they were having a cow auction.  I was tempted to go back there and look, but it was cold and rainy.  Next time.

#118 - Smoke on Cherry Street, Tulsa, OK

The last 2 weeks have been tough.  My "OSU husband" Bob, his niece was tragically killed right before Thanksgiving.  The funeral was Wednesday, so even though I had just gotten back from Maryland on Tuesday, there was no way I was missing it.  Bob and his parents have become my second family here in Oklahoma.  Joni and Tony drove up Wednesday morning as well, and we decided to meet for lunch before the service.  I honestly didn't even think about it, but when we got to the church they had food there for guests.  I guess that made sense though, since the service was near lunchtime.  

I'm really not familiar with Tulsa, and even less familiar with the area near the church. So I had to go online and look.  And since I had no idea where we were going I couldn't really search by district.  So I just put in "restaurants near" and the address.  There's almost nothing near the church, but just a few miles away I found a few places that looked good on Cherry Street.  It's an historic district filled with restaurants, shops and a big farmer's market.  The market is the oldest and largest in Tulsa, so you can bet I'll be going there soon, and will definitely do a blog post about it.

I found a couple of restaurant options that looked good, and sent them to Joni for them to help decide.  Tony picked Smoke on Cherry Street.  Done.  I definitely like that all the parking around there is free, which doesn't happen much anymore, especially in a popular area.  And I found a space right in front of the door.  The restaurant isn't very big at all, with maybe 25 tables & booths.  I really like the interior. All the walls are brick, except for the back wall of the bar.  It's a small bar space, but probably lots of fun for happy hour.  In the restaurant the tables are in the center, with the booths along the walls. There's also a cigar room in the back.  They had great blues/Jazz music playing in the background.  

I arrived about 15 minutes before the others, and sat down to make sure we would get a booth.  There weren't many people there when I arrived, but everyone who did walk in seemed to want a booth.  Ours was in the back, and was one of the semi-circle ones. They're nice, but not when you're sitting in the middle and have to go to the bathroom. And not when you have to maneuver and contort yourself to get in or out.  

Our waitress brought out homemade chips with ranch.  Very dangerous for me, since I knew I still had 10 minutes by myself.  I forced myself to nibble slowly

These chips were so good!  They were freshly made and warm and crispy.  And the ranch had a little kick.  I was going to ask what else was in it, but then Joni and Tony showed up, and we started chatting, and I completely forgot.  

I saw the menu described on an online review as "upscale American".  They've got lunch, dinner, weekend brunch, chef's tasting, and even daily $9 lunch specials.  So unless you're absolutely the pickiest eater on the planet, you're likely going to find something you want. 

Pulled smoked pork, corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, queso fresco, avocado salad, chipotle salsa

I don't do well with big menus. Which should have been a good thing here, because the lunch menu really isn't very big.  None of the menus are.  But instead of looking at the menu while I waited, I took notes for this blog post.  And then we were talking.  And then we realized we were on a time crunch to make sure we made it to the church on time. Shawn met us as well, and he was running a little late, so waiting for him to pick his dish gave me about 30 extra seconds. When I asked the waitress her opinion of the fish & chips, Tony basically scolded me for considering fish in a smokehouse.  So I left that alone.  Then I was back and forth between the burger and the pork tacos.  But when she said the burger was at least 10 ounces, I passed.  Smoked pork tacos it was.

The tacos were really good.  When I first saw them I was disappointed there were only 2, and thought it wouldn't be enough.  But they were packed with pork, and I had to force myself to finish both of them.  I usually prefer flour tortillas over corn, but these worked really well with the pork.  The salsa was just okay.  I wish it was chunkier, like salsa at a Mexican restaurant.  The avocado salad was delicious.  I love that they grilled the onions instead of raw.  So much sweeter, and lent a great flavor to the salad.  

I had asked for fries on the side, but she said it would be an extra charge.  And Joni had fries with her pulled pork sandwich. So I just ate some of hers.  The fries were good, but thankfully I didn't eat a bunch of them or I never would have been able to finish my food.

Will I go back?  No question.  I've heard the brunch is outstanding.  And whatever the meal, I want to be able to go when we're not in a rush.  

My Chef's Hat - BLT Chopped Salad with Corn, Feta & Avocado

One day a few months ago I had some stuff in the fridge I needed to use up...avocado, corn, tomatoes. And I had recently bought some lettuce. I usually don't make salads, but I was looking for something on the light side.  Pinterest came to the rescue with BLT chopped salad with corn, feta & avocado.  I really like BLT sandwiches, but don't think I've ever made one.  Usually when I make anything with bacon I keep it to 2 pieces, to be kinda sorta healthier.  Any good BLT is going to require at least 6 pieces.  But with this recipe, bacon is just a highlight, while other ingredients play a much larger role.

This is one of those recipes I've made a few times already, but am just finally getting around to posting about it...because when I made it last night I realized I hadn't done that yet. First I made it exactly as written.  Then I added black beans for some bulk. Then I took out the black beans because it was a little too much bulk.  Once I used iceberg lettuce because that was all I had.  And last night I had already taken out salmon to thaw, so I grilled it and threw it on there.  

Here is the official picture

And here is my version

I'm actually very surprised there's no onion in the recipe.  So I added some chopped red onion from almost the beginning.  The recipe calls for butter lettuce, but that's too expensive, so I just use romaine.  For the salmon I just season it with McCormick steak seasoning and grill.  So simple and so delicious.  

The recipe calls for plain corn.  But that's boring.  So after I cook the bacon, I pour out all the excess oil and then sautee the corn in the pan until it soaks up the flavor.  I might add the onion in there next time, just to add a little depth of flavor to that as well. 

The dressing is very light, just olive oil, salt & pepper, and lime juice.  I added a little honey this time, and as soon as I did I realized this recipe doesn't call for it.  But you know, it added a wonderful flavor.  It just enhanced everything else in the dish.  I really liked it.

Of course I'm going to make this again.  

Recipe found on How Sweet It Is

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Motivation Mondays

My Chef's Hat - Roasted Sweet Potato Risotto

I'm giving platelets tomorrow, so I've been on a red meat binge for the past 10 days. My iron is really low because I have the sickle cell trait. Thankfully I'll never have the disease because only my dad is the carrier. Apparently it runs pretty strong on his side of the family. My parents knew from the time I was a baby, but since I've always been a big chicken when it comes to needles, I never voluntarily gave blood until about 6 months ago...and that's when I found out. They can't separate the bad cells from the good when you give whole blood, so I have to sit through the much longer process of giving platelets. But its the right thing to do. I could do it weekly, and they call me all the time asking, but I still hate needles and I don't want to live on supplements so I go every 3 months.  Iron pills, red meat and leafy green veggies are my daily diet starting 2 weeks out. And since I had spaghetti & meatballs at lunch, seafood it was for dinner.  I still wanted something comforting because it has been gloomy and icky weather the past 2 days. So I decided on roasted sweet pepper risotto for the side dish.  I haven't made risotto in ages, and I really don't know why. Its really not that bad for you, especially because I don't use butter.

After I started roasting the potatoes, I realized I had no white wine. I have 18 bottles of red... but no white. I had already changed into comfy clothes so thought about making it without the wine, but that would be sacrilegious.  I mean seriously... you can't make risotto without wine. So I ran to the liquor store and got this great bottle of inexpensive, light white.

Here is the recipe photo

And here is my version

Wow, this is amazing.  The spices in the roasted sweet potato add such a wonderful earthy flavor. It just kind of tastes like winter. I smashed the potatoes instead of a purée, but I kind of liked having pieces of sweet potato throughout. And besides, I don't have a potato masher. After my last roasted potato disaster I cut the pieces bigger, cut the time back by 10 minutes, and then turned off the oven and left them in there for another 10 minutes. They came out perfect. I did add a little more parmesan than I normally would, but I  needed to with the potatoes. The recipe calls for brown butter but I was too lazy to make it, and honestly it didn't need it at all. I tasted it both before and after adding rosemary. I should have stuck with before. Maybe I put too much rosemary, but it was too strong. but believe me, I ate it anyways. I didn't have any parsley or sage. I very rarely use sage so I never buy it, But I do use parsley a lot.  Next time I'm gonna add just a little on the top and see what happens.

I'm already looking forward to making this again soon.

Recipe found on How Sweet It Is

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