Hot Dog - July

This is a household favorite. Pat actually found this recipe somewhere I'm not sure. We've been toying around with names but can't decide on one. Basically it's a Kosher hot dog with apple bacon relish and sharp cheddar cheese.

Recipe below.



3 Fuji apples, peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes
1 lb bacon, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon

put chopped apples in saucepan with water, brown sugar and cinnamon. brown bacon, lay on paper towels to absorb grease. apples will continue to cook down for 30 - 60 minutes they should still have texture and not be mushy. in the last 10 minutes before serving add chopped bacon and simmer.

we put the shredded cheddar cheese underneath the hot dog so that it melts separately. next put your hot dog of choice but we use Hebrew National, then put a generous helping of the relish on top and enjoy!

Taqueria Cruz

I wanted something quick for lunch. I had sort of an idea where TC was but I found it in the strip mall past the Anchor Grill. If you blink you really might miss it.

It was hot as blazes inside and I kind of wish I had gotten my order to go. You're basically eating inside a mercado with no more than 5 tables. I ordered some tacos and chips and salsa.  Additionally on the menu they had other options which completely escape my memory. Next time a photo of the menu is needed.

The chips were really tasty, needed a bit of salt. They were obviously freshly made. The salsa/hot sauce was great. It was a thin almost hot sauce consistency.



I ordered 3 tacos: pork (top left), carne asada (bottom), and goat (top right). The pork taco was good, a little dry but was cooked well and had great texture. I put a lot of lime and hot sauce on these. The carne asada was the best of the 3 and had a lot of flavor. The goat taco I'm sure is something that people love. Just not me. Texturally it was a bit mushy for me and I didn't care for the flavor. This wasn't my first time eating goat so I assure you, it wasn't the fact that it was goat. At $2.00 a taco it was a chance I was willing to take!

These corn tortilla, cilantro, lime, onion tacos are my most favorite variety. I make a sad little version of these at home.



The service is spotty here I had to go to the register and order while other patrons got table service. Weird. Do not go here in the summer though, it's hot as Hades. This might be a good place to place a nice to go order of really yummy tacos. Being less than 10 minutes from my work I am certainly going to make this a dash and go lunch destination from now on.

Addictions: July

1. Frasier on DVD
2. mashed potatoes
3. Sugar Free Gatorade
4. My new Pool
5. ballet flats
6. not wearing makeup to work
7. making barbecue sauce from scratch
8. Smashburger

Predicting Movie Remakes of the Future: Highlander

Why do we always hurt the ones we love? I don't know. Whether you think it's cheesy or not, you probably have an opinion on this movie. I for lots of reasons, love this movie. I can watch it anytime it's on and own it on the most exclusive of DVD versions. I am a fan. That being said it's only a matter of time before Hollywood kills my dream of a wonderfully tacky, poorly acted movie. According to the internets this movie remake is actually in the works. We'll see if my picks pan out!

Original Cast:

Christopher Lambert: Connor "The Highlander" MacLeod / Russell Nash

Roxanne Hart: Brenda Wyatt

Clancy Brown: Victor Kruger / The Kurgan

Sean Connery: Juan Sanches Villa-Lobos Ramirez

Beatie Edney: Heather MacLeod

Hollywood Version:

The Highlander: Clive Owen or Johnny Depp

Brenda Wyatt: Amy Adams

The Kurgan: Michael Fassbender (aka Magneto)

Ramirez: Javier Bardem

Heather: Scarlett Johansson

 

Version I Would Actually Enjoy:

The Highlander: Gerard Butler

Brenda Wyatt: Maggie Gyllenhaal

The Kurgan: Ron Perlman

Ramirez: Liam Neeson

Heather: Rachel Weisz

Update Hurdles:   

If anyone so much as thought they could do a better job on a soundtrack and deigned to remake Queen's wonderful set of crazy, fun and at times awesome songs - well, I would meet them in a parking garage after a wrestling match. If you know what I mean. 

Pat's 30th Birthday Explosion

So my husband is turning 30 this year and my skills as a party planner extraordinaire have been requested. The last birthday party that I threw for him resulted in my ankles being swollen like a fresh hard salami hanging in an Italian deli window and my kitchen being roughly 1,000 degrees from the GENIUS idea that I had to serve lasagna.

This time I am running garde manger on this bitch! More to the point I am employing my oven before guests arrive and giving my warming drawer a workout. Crockpots will also be employed heavily to house the warm items which will be buffet style.

I have been told that I make too much food. I have also been told by friends that they've never been to my house when there WASN'T a giant buffet of food. How do I find the middle ground? I have no idea. Let me run down my rough draft of the menu.

• homemade pulled pork
• homemade pulled chicken
• booze
• vegan sloppy jacques
• white bean dip
• liquor
• guacamole
• pasta salad
• assorted chips
• beer
• cole slaw
• vegan cheese ball

And I'm out of ideas. What ideas do you have out there. In lieu of cake, pie has been requested. Although I do have a 20 inch pan I could make a GIANT cheesecake in. That might have to happen. 

Recipe: Kansas City Barbecue Sauce

I was totally bored after surgery so I made Pat some pulled pork and I decided to make homemade barbecue sauce.  This one ended up being a touch too spicy for us. I might tone down the cayenne, chili powder ratio next time. It was nice and thick though. I might also experiment with adding some molasses.

 

Kansas City Barbecue Sauce

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

·                         1 cup ketchup

·                         1/4 cup water

·                         1/4 cup vinegar

·                         1/4 cup brown sugar

·                         3 tablespoons olive oil

·                         2 tablespoons paprika

·                         1 tablespoon chili powder

·                         2 cloves garlic, minced

·                         1 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and sauté until brown. Add remaining ingredients and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. I ran an immersion blender through mine to get the chunks of garlic to a nice smooth consistency.

Recipe: Aioli

I got bored and I can’t eat so I made Aioli for when I can eat. You know, like you do when you’ve had surgery.

 

Aioli

 

Ingredients:

 

2 or 3 small garlic cloves, peeled

Salt

1 egg yolk

1 cup olive oil.

 

 

1. Grate garlic with either a microplane or a box grater.

2. Put egg yolk in mixer bowl, add about half the garlic paste and 1/2 teaspoon water. Mix well.

3. Using cup with a pour spout, slowly dribble in oil, mixing constantly. As egg yolk absorbs oil, sauce will thicken, lighten in color, and become opaque. This will happen rather quickly. Then you can add oil a little faster, mixing all the while. If the sauce is thicker than you like, thin it with a few drops of water. Taste, and add more salt and garlic, as desired.

 

Yield: One cup.

 

Variations for different flavors:

Rosemary or any other fresh herb like thyme, dill, basil

Mustard

Roasted Garlic

Cayenne

Paprika

Shallot

Truffle Oil (lessen the olive oil by the amount of truffle oil)

Chili sauce or dried chilis

 

I’m going to try to make this with Old Bay seasoning to make a makeshift Remoulade sauce.

 

 

Goose Island Brewpub

We went here for lunch after we visited Vosges chocolates. This was a requirement for me as I am a huge fan of Goose Island.

We ordered their pretzels which were really good. Big and soft with delicious mustards for dipping.



Ann had the Stilton burger which she enjoyed. Yes those are huge cloves of garlic on top of that burger with sweet potato fries.



I had the Cuban sandwich which to me was really dry. I could have used more of that delicious mustard on it. The meat was good, but dry. I would choose something else next time.

Make no mistake, I was not going here for the food alone. I was there for the beer. I would eat chips alone to drink all their Goose Island beer. I had some Green Line beer. Yum!

Quatman Cafe

I had some time to spare and found Quatman Cafe. Shockingly it is so very close to my house it's dangerous. I ordered a plain cheeseburger with fries. I would put this one in the same category as Zip's in the House Burger variety. It's nothing you couldn't accomplish at home. They use American Cheese on their burger and it was a pretty tasty sandwich. I like American cheese on my burger from time to time. The beef was cooked well and was plenty juicy when it came to my table. The fries were average shoestring variety and were really hot when I got them.

I would go back because it's so near my house. It wasn't my favorite burger I've had though. I will say that I was slightly disappointed because I put in a to go order for my husband for a plain cheeseburger. I heard the server say plain to me and then to the kitchen staff. When I brought it home to him it had garden all over it. Sigh. Better luck next time.

Terry's Turf Club

I have heard about Terry's for a while now. I had some spare time on a week day so I ventured over. I sat at the bar and had a pretty good time. The bartender helped me choose and chatted with me a little. As you can see below I got a really good view of the magic in the kitchen.





I ended up with a burger with caramelized onion and goat cheese. It was really good. This is definitely not something I would be making in my house. I'll have to settle for going to TTC. The beef was so juicy and delicious. The burger was really plump and flavorful. Just an all around good burger totally customizable to your specifications.

I will have to drag my husband here some time for one of the tastiest burgers I've had in ages.

Gordo's Pub

I had never been to Gordo's and was excited about it. I drove my Cabirolet over on a weeknight and was really starving. It's a normal dive bar atmosphere. They have an excellent beer selection.

I ordered their crab cake. It was really delicious. It was of the mashed crab cake variety as opposed to the lump cake. the salad with it was tasty and substantial. The cake itself was seasoned well and was NOT all stuffing.



I then ordered the Jean-Robert burger which had goat cheese and grape compote. We all know how I feel about goat cheese. The grape compote wasn't too sweet at all and the soft bun made this sandwich a home run. The steak fries on the side could have been crispier, but I wasn't complaining. Such a good burger.

I was anxious at first. From reading their menu I didn't know what to think of their beef. They ground bacon and onion in their beef. My husband, the picky one might not have liked it unless i "scouted" it out first. I feel pretty confident that he will like it just as much as I did.

Zip's

I have been to Zip's before.  It's practically a requirement for Cincinnati dining. The place has a lot of charm. It's definitely an old school bar that happens to serve a pretty good burger.

I ordered the regular Zip's burger and fries. It was pretty good. This would be most like a burger you would make at your house. Or "house burger". Flavor was good, cooked well and it was a pretty generous size. I like Zip's beer selection and their other menu options are just as good. They make a really good chili here as well.

Stop in for a good burger and watch the little train go round and round the bar.