Diet Shmiet, I Gotta Eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salad, Salad, Salad.  How much roughage can a person eat.

Don't get me wrong, I love salad. Nothing like a crisp refreshing crunch salad for lunch or even for dinner.  How many times have you had a nice seared Tuna over crisp fresh greens with a full bodied soy based sesame dressing and felt so content that it was a good meal. Many times I'm sure.  I know I have.  But every extra that you throw on adds calories.  When your trying to lower your calories, less is obviously more.  

The craziest thing when dieting is the word Salad itself.  You're out to a meal with some friends and everyone is ordering a burger, or a big sandwich and you say, I'm going to have a salad.  "I'm watching myself".  Ah the magic words.  "I'm watching myself, I'll have a salad".   Then you order a cobb salad.  You might be having more calories than your friends with the burger.  But its a salad right?  I see all that lettuce right there.  It's a big bowl of lettuce right?  see it?  It's right under the two whole eggs, mound of chopped bacon and pile of blue cheese.  Looks a little dry, better add that Ranch dressing.

For three months now, my main meal for lunch and dinner has been a salad that consists of just lettuce, tomato and cucumber and a protein.  That protein could be grilled chicken breast, grilled or baked fish, or even a can of Tuna.  Plus a serving of dressing.  Having that for lunch and dinner for months on end can wear on you.  So you gotta change it up a bit.  But I want to really get to my goal so how do I eat sensibly and get filled up on something other than cold salad?  It's all in educating yourself on what to have and what not to have.

I've always loved fish and this recent changing in eating has enabled me to embrace fish again.   I probably eat 5 portions of fish a week minimum.  Mostly over salad.   Now that it's getting cold here in the Northeast, having a warm meal is something I want to have more when I sit down for dinner.

One of my favorite pieces of fish is Cod.  It's mild, flaky, meaty and just plain good.  I like to have full tasting food and nothing is ever too spicy for me.  The key is how to control the fatty lubricant so the meat doesn't stick to the vessel it's cooked on.  Grilling is always great because when anything reaches it's optimal seared exterior, it just flips easily.  But Cod is not good for the grill. So I prefer to bake it. I have discovered that oil, whether it be olive, canola or vegetable, it's still about 125 calories per tablespoon.  That's a lot.  Especially when I'm used to pouring on about 10 tablespoons on anything before I season it.  So I've embraced the spray not stick solution.   PAM.  So here is my recipe for you.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray your baking dish with some PAM or any other non stick spray.
Mix up 1 tablespoon of minced garlic with 1 tablespoon or Sriracha sauce.
Squeeze the juice of one lemon onto the piece of fish.  Coat both sides of the fish with the garlic paste.
Bake for about 7-9 minutes until the fish flakes.
When it's done, add another splash of lemon and add with steamed Brussell Sprouts.  ( I just split and steamed them)

Then you have this:

That meal right there was probably 400 calories total.  And it was delicious.  Yes, there is no starch and no bread.  And the spouts serving is rather large.  Personally I love Brussell Sprout so that is no big deal for me.  But it was hot and fulfilling.

It's very easy and you can put a spin on it any way you want with spices.  Experiment and let me know how you like to prepare this dish.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHY HAVEN'T YOU WRITTEN?

Hello.

I'm still here.

Yes It's been a while. But I've got almost 30 good reasons why I haven't been here.  Yes, the "D" word.  To all the foodies out there, you know that word.   Yes. "D" equals "Diet".

For those of you who know me, my size is a presence.  For those of you who don't know me, i'm 6'4" and when I first started writing, I was about 245 lbs.  Big Boy!!!!  But my height didn't make it look as bad as I really was.  

I have struggled with my weight my whole life. I owe so much to my parents.  They gave me my sense of humor, my vast music appreciation but most importantly, my love of food and cooking.  Our lives were and are surrounded by food.   Whenever the whole family gets together (all 5 siblings with kids and parents) every meal is an event and it ends with what are we doing for the next meal.   Really.  We eat lunch so we can plan for Dinner.  My parents introduced me every ethnic food they were able to get their hands on and I tried everything that was put in front of me.

Unfortunately, I did eat everything that was put in front of me.  But as many do, I ate with my mouth and not with my stomach.  Every meal for me was until I was really full.  If Chewing and tasting were a job, I'd be the CEO, CFO, COO and any other C initials that are involved in corporate america.  So with all that eating, and really not enough moving, I gained weight.  All my life I was always sort of out of shape.   I tried all the diets.  Liquid Diet, Low Carb Diet, Vegetable Diet and many of them worked.  I lost weight, but with all failed diets, I eventually gained it back.  Usually with some extra bonus weight. YAY!!!!

So after doing all these diets, it finally hit me.  The only thing that really works is that you have move more and eat less.  That's really it. But that is a really big IT.  Especially for someone who loves to cook and eat as much as I do.  Not only was it the mantra of eat less and move more, but for me, the diet is very much a mental obstacle.  If my head isn't into it, there is no point in even trying.  I feel like I'm just fooling myself if my head is not in eating properly mode.   So it has to click in my head.

Well Click it did.  My previous post to this one was for my trip to Taiwan.  I was at the airport in New York getting ready for the flight.  I have two hours to kill and decided to get something to eat.  I was in the mood for a real juicy burger.   There was a Chili's in the airport and said that is my burger.  Now, in New York, it is now a law, and a good law, that all fast food and fast casual restaurants have to list the calorie content of their meals.   Fast Casual for those of you who don't know are restaurants like chili's, Applebees, Red Robin, TGI Friday's and that sort.   So I looked at the burgers and I think the one that had the least amount of calories was about 1700 for the whole dish.   From eating my whole life as much as I did, I knew the average that anyone should eat is around 2,000 to 2,500.   Or something like that.   Add a beer to that meal and you have almost you whole day's worth of calories in one meal.  I was floored.  I'm a very visual person so seeing those numbers had an effect on me.  Even the salads were high in calories.  In the end, I had them make me a salad with Grilled chicken and dressing on the side.

In Taiwan I was e-mailing with my brother and he told me about an iPhone app called Loseit!  I downloaded it and took a look at it.  knowing that I was in traveling, it would be difficult to diet, I watched what I could.  But really didn't start till I got home from the trip.

The app basically is a calorie counter.  Its as good as you are honest with putting in the app what you put in your mouth.  And that is what I did.   You put in your starting weight and your goal weight.  You then decide if you want to maintain your weight or lose up to 2 lbs per week by 1/2 lb increments.  So I chose 2 lbs a week and a goal weight that the number began with a number "1".  It was 199.  let's not get carried away.  I haven't been under 200 lbs since Anita, my wife, and I started dating.   I think I even had a pair of spandex shorts then.  sorry for that image and the mess you made in a bucket close by.   What it does is it tells you a calorie count that you need to be under and you will lose that amount of weight each week if you stick to it.  If you exercise, then you add calories to your daily intake.  So exercise is good for your health and allows you to eat more.

So, It is now about two months later and I'm down almost 30 lbs.  That included a trip to Vegas mind you.  Yes I even didn't write about my trip there this time.    I handled Vegas but working out almost 2 hours a day.  Sensible breakfast and lunch and enjoying dinner.  My weight loss graph had a bit of spike during that trip but I'm now back on the loss scale.

If you like Salad, then you can do pretty good with this diet.  I love salad.  one of the things that has really helped me with this diet has been salad.  lots of it.  Basically, lunch and dinner is only that.   A large salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber and a protein.  If I really get tired of salad, I will grill or bake some fish and have some roasted or grilled veggies to go with it.

I have stayed away from almost everything high in calories which includes carbohydrates.  The only real low cal stuff that I'm eating is low cal ice cream and low cal mayo for a dressing on a salad I make.  Yogurts, cottage cheese and fruit.  Lots and lots of fruit. grapes are a great nibble fruit.

As of today, I'm down to 215 and my goal was to be at 215 by thanksgiving. I'll be well ahead of that by next week.  My next goal was to be by 210 for New Years and Honestly think that if I keep this up, I'll be at my goal by New Years.

That is where I've been.  I know I'll be back again writing as I will always have food in my life.  I still go out for dinner but watch what I order and eat.  I just needed a step back.  so I've stepped back and will have many fun meals ahead of me.  I have an Indian restaurant reservation ahead of me this Saturday and I've offered to make Curried Butternut Squash soup for thanksgiving.  Perhaps you'll see it here shortly.

Sorry for the delay but I hope you all understand.

If I don't speak to you, Happy Thanksgiving.

Dinner in Taiwan first night.........Been to this familiar place before and just plain love it

Every trip to the southern town of Tainan always takes me to a restaurant that the owners of the company represent love to go.  Bill and Olivia Shih who own the company are very friendly with Jennifer the owner and they take many people there from out of town.

This Loud Restaurant and bar seems to have floating tables in the middle as we found the table constantly moving to accommodate large parties that seem to come and go.  As I mentioned in my previous post, the island's main source of protein comes from the fish that are caught close by.  Most of the places have the seafood on display where before you go in to be seated, you look at what is available and decide which you want and how you want it cooked.

We were originally 5 people and then later on three others joined us.  Which was a good thing because a 6 pack of beer arrived and we needed help drinking it.  It's not just your average 6 pack.  This was a 6 pack of 32 oz. beers.

We started off with some Edamame which was peppery and hot.  We also got an order of Sashimi.  I only had the salmon and it was very fresh.  The flesh was firm and rich in oil which gave it some great flavor.

We were next served shrimp.  I don't think I have seen shrimp like this in a long time.  they were huge and salted. like most places outside of the United States, Shrimp are served with the head on.  It's usually a very dramatic display having them on.  Plus most of the time it adds to the flavor.  That is Jennifer the owner in the picture with the shrimp.

I was told the next dish was a real delicacy but it was really just chewy.  Stomach of black fish was served with green onions.  They say it's seasonal and I told "Its good for the man to be strong".  I can see why it makes you strong, because you have to really work your jaw muscles to eat it.  it was good.  just chewy

We were served a type of sweet and sour pork rib which wasn't in rib form.  it was the bottom of the rib that have the small tough cartilage type bones.  It was really sweet.   As you will see in the photos, we had two kids with us and they like the sweet stuff.

One of my favorite dishes was the Squid with Thai basil and sliced Ginger.  The ginger was peeled and sliced long ways so you got a real good bite of it.

The next dish I they had brought out was one I had eaten there before.  It was bean sprouts with some sort of Minced pork on top of it.  it was delicious and also challenging for my customer to eat with his chop sticks.  Very amusing for me.

The final dish was the funkiest.  it was a whole fried fish that was sitting in a shallow pool of brown gravy. inside the gravy were sautéed vegetables and chili peppers.  The fish had a crispy outside and moist inside. I find that you can get this type of fish at home but mostly in NYC in Chinatown.  Many people don't like to fight the bones and the people of Taiwan are very comfortable eating something and spitting out what is not edible.  Its not the classiest way of eating but you get very comfortable quickly spitting things out on your plate while everyone else is.  It's just as fun as making a ton of noise slurping up noodles at a noodle bar in the subway of Japan.

Next came a dish that was very unusual for me but one that I enjoyed.  Everyone loves to pickle things.  I thought I have seen everything pickled and now I have.  small green mango's were sliced thin and pickled.  it was a very unusual taste because it didn't have a mango taste or a pickle taste.  What did it taste like?  I don't know but it was good. I also understand at times like this i'm not a good judge because I pretty much like everything.  But it was something I have never had before.

The last dish was also unique and guess what?  I didn't like it.  I'm not much of a sweet eater.  This dish was chopped sweet potato that was covered in a sugary glaze.  it came out as one solid mass.  our host was wrestling with it to break it apart to put it in cold water.   I got hit with some shrapnel when it was being broken up.  the kids at the table really liked it.

Overall another very successful eating adventure in Taiwan.  My only dissapointment is that i'm not sure when I will get out there again.  But I know when I do, it will be a great time.

Below is a photo of myself with my customer and the company that manufactures the machine I represent in North America.

Taiwan again starts off with a bang.........Chinese food done in a familiar way

So I'm back in Taiwan right now and I'm going to try my best to keep up with my meals here to share with you so I can remember them well.  My main reason for being here is not for the food.  That is a great side bonus but the real reason is for the final runoff of two machines I sold over a year ago.  The machines ran great and the customer is happy.  So all is good.

We had a successful morning so lunch was very relaxing and enjoyable.  We went to a different place than what I have written before.  The husband of the husband/wife ownership team was in China on business so the customer, Leroy and I went with the main salesperson Jinna and the wife of the husband/wife team Olivia.  They took us to what they called a light lunch.  Light it was not.  But it was far different from the elaborate meals we have at the hall around the corner from the factory.  

This meal was more like the chinese food we get back home. But it was lighter.  At least most of the dishes were lighter.

For starters, we got sautéed onions and green vegetables in a very bright light sauce.  They were so fresh and crisp and flavorful.  It was a nice way to start the meal.

Next came a beef and onion dish that seemed very familiar to what we have at home.  It was a stir fry that like the veggies above, it was lighter and fresher than what we get at home.  The flavors were very bright and fresh.

Then came a dish had a lot of bite.  Chicken with peanuts and hot peppers.  I'm not one to shy away from peppers in a dish.  This one as you can see is more red from the dried Chili Peppers. It was spicy and tasty.

We had rice last night so when asked, I wanted noodles over rice.  Out came again another familiar looking noodle dish but again, it was lighter than what we do back home.  I think if the people back home were able to cook like this, it would make Chinese food less fattening.  Yes Noodles are noodles but it just didn't taste heavy.

Next came the only dish I did and didn't like.  It was the only dish that was in fact heavy and very sweet.  The sweet is what I am not crazy about.  But it was Fried Tofu which I really like.  I actually like all tofu.  This dish was just heavy and sweet.  I had a few pieces just to get a taste.

The second fairly heavy dish was the tomato and egg sauté.  It was like a tomato sauce and fresh tomato scrambled egg mash.  It was ok but it was mainly gotten for Olivia who is a vegetarian.

We had gotten a soup that was very light and common when we go out for lunch.  Hot broth is simmered with pieces of pork to flavor the broth up.   it was fairly bland and not exciting but for some reason people get it at most lunches.  Its like a very light beef tea.  I know, that sounds gross but its really like a light consumme.
The last dish was really great.  Sauteed cuttlefish.  This dish was cooked and topped with a mash of garlic and peanuts and green onions.  It looked great but tasted better.  The fish was light and flaky and the topping was almost like when you get a baked cod and the breadcrumbs are on top of the fish.

I know, it doesn't look that appetizing but it was really tasty.

Again, they called that a light lunch.  The dishes weren't that big which was nice and for the most part, most of them were light.  So we were able to have a good taste of many things.

Believe it or not, i'm off to dinner.  

A Visit to the cousins in NJ and had a Hot Dog Differently than I ever had before

So we were going on a family vacation in Delaware and decided to invite ourselves to stay at my cousin's place in New Jersey to break up the trip.  My cousin Rob and Carole have always had a good sense of taste when it came to eating so we knew it would be a fun night.

I was promised the recipe for the char grilled Corn Guacamole that they first made.  when I get it I will pass it on to you guys because it was fantastic.  Nothing like fresh corn this time of the year.  And why not put it in everything.

We had some great pomagranite margaritas to wash everything down and realized that unless you go to a real unique place, there will be no better margarita than one you make yourself.  I have another restaurant report to write up about a New York City experience I had that had me drinking a Habanero Infused Tequila grapefruit margarita.  Fantastic yes.  But not something I want everyday.

So for dinner I was turned onto something I also had never had before.  Western BBQ cut London Broil.  I have never heard of this.  When I look at it, it looks like a flank steak.  But a thinner version of it.  It is a real juicy cut that grills real nice.  it also doesn't require a longer cooking time to make the meat softer.  Rob threw a whole bunch of spices on there including, cumin, Chili powder, garlic powder and a whole bunch of other good stuff.  Grilled over coals, the meat melted in your mouth.  Look for this cut.  you will love it.

But crazy as it sounds, the real treat came before the steak.  Rob said, "i will make you a hot dog like you have never had before"  He calls it a "Taco Hot Dog" and it is just that.  Except you don't have the tortilla or the ground beef.  Take a dog and a bun and then imagine it's a taco.  so what do you add?  Great Corn Guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, melted cheese.  Eat and enjoy.  Initially you look and think, all this on a Dog?  But then you eat it and it is delicious.

 Personally my favorite is a natural casing dog with deli mustard and sauerkraut.  I can eat those everyday.  But it's great to travel around an try different kind of dogs.  Chicago probably has the best selection around.  I've tried many different kinds there alone.

So I ask you my readers.  All Three of you.  How do you like your hot dog?  My kids still love it with Ketchup and it makes me mental watching them.

Let's hear it.  How do you like your dog?  Grilled?  Boiled?  Fried?  in beans?

Labor Day Seafood feast............And a mussels marinara recipe!!!!!

I know I am behind in my writing and I have about 6 other things to write about before this, but this weekend we had a meal that I had to share.  I hope that t inspires you to do the same one day.

Our friends Jim, Judy, Michelle and our kids all met at Bill and Rachel's house for a seafood feast that we had all dreamed about all summer long.  We originally talked about going to a place on the water in CT called "The Place" where you get to enjoy a real New England down and dirty lobster bake.  But it is close to an hour away and I said we can do it better.  We not just did it better, we knocked it out of the park.

While the kids were running all over the yard we nibbled on some chips and salsa and had a great selection of beers and probably one of the best bloody mary's I have had in a long time.  We also had a great drink made with lemonade, cucumber infused vodka and fresh mint and lime juice.  Very refreshing on a late summer night.

The meal started out with steamer clams.  For those of you outside of the New England area, steamer clams are a soft shell clam that has a stem sticking out that allows the clam to propel itself when it's in the water.  To cook the clams, you take any vessel you have that steams and add water, olive oil and lemon juice.  But in reality, you can add anything.  Even a little beer.

After steam starts to lift from the top of the pot, put the cleaned clams inside.  There is no science as to when the clams are done.  After all, many of us love raw clams on the 1/2 shell.  But I kept them in there for about 10 minutes.  many of them open up when they are done.  but there is a thin membrane that keeps many of them open but not widely open.  So after they are done, you take them out and then you take out the broth and place it in a bowl next to a bowl melted butter.  this night we added some sprigs of fresh herbs to flavor the butter.  As if butter needs more flavor, but it was a nice touch.  After opening the clams and peeling the membrane off the clam, clean them in the broth and dip it in the butter and enjoy.

We took a nice small break after the steamers and I heated up the mussels marinara.  This is a great dish that anyone can make.  You can even take jarred sauce and add mussels to it and you have the dish. But I like to make my own from scratch.

Start off with one cup finely chopped onion and 1/2 a cup each carrots and celery.  For my usually marinara sauce I don't add celery and carrots but for this I did.  At first I thought it was a mistake because the carrots added a lot of sweetness to the sauce but in the end it was ok.

Take a large pot and add olive oil to it and warm it up. when it's warm, add the onions, carrots and celery and saute till they are all soft.  I made a large batch so it took time.  When the veggies are all soft, add a table spoon of chopped garlic and saute till its very aromatic.

At this point, add in a 28 oz. can of either chopped tomatoes, puree, or sauce to the mix.  Now all of those ingredients are very acidy.  So you have to add some sort of sugar to balance it out. I usually add a 12 oz. can of diet cola.  Then add 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon of Oregano.   Mix all together and let it cook for about an our uncovered so it reduces and thickens.   After about an hour, add the mussels and keep them simmering for about 15 minutes.  This will allow the mussels to open up and cook in the broth.

Now as you can see, I have a lot more than what I listed above.  We had 8 adults so I multiplied the recipe accordingly.  After 15-20 minutes, place the mussels in a dish and serve with crusty bread.  With any leftovers, take the mussels out of the shell and either freeze or put in a container for the next day to serve over pasta.

After we took a break from that, we boiled up some water and cooked up some Lobsters.  At that point, I didn't take any more photos because well it's just lobsters in water and I was getting busy cracking open shells.

We cleaned up and we enjoyed the meal we just had.  it was a great feast but it wasn't over yet.  Anita had made a cherry pie that was just teasing us from the kitchen inside.  Rachel made fresh whipped cream and brought out some ice cream.  Under candlelight and the stars, we finished our meal perfectly.

These are the meals that make summer great.  Great Friends, great food and great memories.  I hope you all get a chance to make great memories too on this Labor day.  Enjoy the last days of summer my friends.  Fall is right around the corner.  Soups, Short Ribs, Stew's are all on the Horizon.

LeFarm in Westport CT.......I'm finding new favorites and enjoying older ones

I know many of you know I write more about leFarm than I do any other restaurant.  Yes, I'm friends with Bill and Rachel who own the restaurant.  I like to support my friends. But it's such good food!!!!  It's Creative, Fresh, and rather satisfying.  And I'm not alone with my thoughts.  The night I was there was a Tuesday night.  leFarm is closed Sunday and Monday.  Tuesday was jammin!!!!!!

So this Tuesday was the one night that we were able to put together with two other couples.  One were friends of ours who had moved to London last year for what we are hoping is only three years.   The others were the owner's of Marly's in Wilton (which is another great local place).  This one Tuesday night in July, yes I'm running behind in my writing, was the only night that we were able to get together.

The first thing I noticed when I came into the restaurant is that the bar in the back that separates the dining room from the kitchen is covered in Tomatoes.  I mean covered.  All sizes and colors.  Cherry, grape, beefsteak, cherokee you name it, it was there.  It was a fireworks display of color.   yellows, reds, purples, oranges and everything in between.

When we sat down and looked at the menu, I noticed that the appetizer section was a lot larger than what it used to be.  Since the 6 of us all really love to eat, we decided to share 5 different appetizers.

Here is what we got:

The first one was a new dish to Anita and I.  Battered Fish Bait.  We had to ask because we had no idea what it was.  I still don't remember what the name of the fish was, but it was a small thin fish that was battered and cooked whole.  it was so small that you literally ate the whole thing.  Bones and all.  The fish was light and mild and the batter had a lot of the crunchy flavor you like in a fried fish.  It was served pickles and nice roasted peppers.

Artisan Burrata was placed in front of us next.  A large generous portion of creamy firm cheese was served with a pesto and fresh cherry tomatoes and a slice of the olive bread.  we had to ask for more bread to accompany the dish.

The Kale and Beet salad is a dish we can't get away from.  I have become a huge fan of beets and it still remains to be one vegetable that I have never made.   I have heard that they can be boiled or more popularly roasted.  But for some reason I have steered clear of them.  I don't know why.  Besides the Portobella mushroom, the beet has to be the "meatiest" of the vegetables around.  But they are crisp and fresh tasting and oh so earthy.  I really have to get some of these in my kitchen.

As it was tomato season, the plate of tomatoes with onions and Pearl Cous-cous was a nice addition to our selection.  All I can say is that there is nothing better in the summer than fresh picked tomatoes.

The last appetizer is one that has become my personal favorite at the restaurant.  When we first tried the Octopus, we were told it was a special and Frank our server brought us out a dish to try.  Since then, I have always ordered it.  I know I have written about it before, but h the way Bill cooks it, make it so soft and uncommon than most other chewy octopus dishes I have had.  But the key to the dish is the Harissa dressing he makes.  Bill posted a picture recently on facebook showing a kitchen accident while making the dressing.  it was everywhere.  I told him I would have volunteered to clean it up.  I just needed some loaves and bread and it would be gone very quickly.

 
Our main dishes as usual didn't disappoint us.  We had some similar orders but had some nice new dishes to try.

The Bronzoni was a piece of fish that we had gotten in the past.  Bill serves this fish with an assortment of fresh summer beans and his tomato marmalade.  If you can look back on Martha Stewart shows, you'll find he makes this on one of the shows he was on.  Really bright flavors here.

Sweet breads were also ordered and they were as good as the last time I had tried them there.  Made with fresh peas, carrots and onions, the dish sits in a light mushroom broth and dotted with bacon.  Oh, I so love bacon.

We had two pasta dishes a the table.  Both of them were 1/2 orders and it was a good thing because the desserts were plentiful.  The first pasta dish was the Cavatelli.  It was served with squash and a bean pesto, then topped with thinly sliced Prosciutto.

The last dish was the one that Mike and myself had gotten.  It was a good think he ordered first and asked for the 1/2 order.  otherwise I would have made a real pig of myself.  The Buccatini Carbonara was served with onion, peas, bacon (oh joy), and topped with fresh shaved Parmesan.  Fabulous dish.

The table was a group of Dessert fanatics.  Not that many people are not but this group really loves their sweets.  We got two orders of the fresh raspberries with melted chocolate on them.  I'm not a huge fan of chocolate on fruit but this just looked so beautiful.

I can't resist Bills Corn Bread and candied Bacon.  (OK, I can see I have a problem here)

Last and newest dessert was one that had to be preordered because it takes 15 minutes to make.  Fresh fruit compote was on the bottom of a ramekin and topped with a pastry that can only be described as a cake of pancake.  I know they described it differently when I was there a month ago and I have to admit, I just don't remember.  But this dish was served with Basil ice cream.   The combination was terrific and the cake in the first ramekin was soft and moist.  It's worth the wait.

Another great meal and another great entry for me in the blog.  This place is always easy to write about.  Please go and say hello to Bill.  Tell him I sent you.

leFarm can be found in Westport and on the web at www.lefarmwestport.com

PRET in NYC..............Impressive small sandwich shop

I know I usually don't write about convenience places or fast food places but this is a place worth mentioning.  My good friend Wendy had mentioned this place to me once and I had never heard of it.  As I now know, it's a fairly large worldwide chain.   They are also located at airports for a quick bite on the run.

There were a number of things that I really liked about this place.  The first one was the selection.  They stay away from the traditional sandwiches and kick it up a notch.  All the items are done in a healthier manner.  All the ingredients are delivered fresh everyday and nothing is from the previous day.  They literally open each shop everyday with no ingredients on the shelves or in the refrigerators.  At the end of the day, anything left over is given to shelters that are associated with that store.

The second reason I really liked this place is the philosophy behind everything they seem to be doing.  Besides the fresh ingredients and the charity they subscribe to, the packaging is multi useful.  They have a vast menu of sandwiches and if each sandwich had its own wrapper, there would be a large amount of packaging material made that is only made for that one item.  They package each wrap, baguette, and salad in the same packaging but placed in it's on selective area.  So a ham and Brie baguette is wrapped in he same wrapper as the king prawn and avocado baguette.  There is less packaging to store on hand which not only keeps the cost down for the store but it also allows the items to be multi useful.

The selection is vast and like I said before, the ingredients are not only fresh but healthier than your average store.  They have salads and lots of little nibble sides that I really liked.  when I was there, I got a small container of grapes.  Right by the counter they also sold little brownie squares for a little bit of sweet to end the meal.

If you see one do yourself a favor and stop in, you'll find you'll look for them when you want a quick bite of something good.

PRET has multiple locations all over the world.  Go to www.pret.com for locations, menu's and nutritional facts.

Omanel in Bridgeport........Brazilian cuisine lives large in Bridgeport

In both Bridgeport and New Haven, lies home to many Brazilian families. And where you have a large gathering of a specific ethnicity, you will have local eateries that cater to those people to give them the comforts of home.  In Bridgeport, Omanel's is such a place.  This Brazilian restaurant has been around for many years and while I had been there when I first moved in 1992, I haven't returned since.

We had gone there for lunch from work one day because we just needed a day out for lunch. The four of us are all eaters so we were excited for something different.  Omanel's has a menu that is strong is seafood dishes and they had a nice lunch menu.  We looked around and saw many dishes served in large Pewter crock pots.  When I glanced at the lunch menu, there were 4 dishes of Bakala (salted cod fish) and a few other heavy rice dishes.

We decided to get some appetizers to share first.  We got one order of Chorizo Sausage and two orders of Garlic Shrimp.  The Chorizo came out to us in a dish that had the sausage on fire.  Not like your Saganaki cheese you hear "OPA" yelled at when it is burst into flames, but literally on fire.  It created a crispy outside to go with the smoky inside.

We decided to get two orders of the shrimp because we knew it would be extra garlicy and there would be a good amount of mopping to be done on the dish.   Make sure you ask for extra bread for this dish.  you'll send it back with just the shells and the lemon ring.

Our main dishes came out and I couldn't believe the portion sizes.  these Pewter pots were massive. Salted Cod was swimming in the pot of rice.  The cod was on the bone which add some deep rich flavor to the broth that the rice had absorbed.  But make sure you're prepared for bones because there is some work involved.  also because of the heavy salt, I was able to only eat a little bit of it.  I have found since I've cut back on salt, I've become sensitive to it.  The portion was so big, that I was easily able to bring home 1/2 of it.

Omanel's can be found in Bridgeport at 1909 Main Street.  Their phone number is 203-335-1676.

Alliger's House of Wings.........25 different flavors of wings. what could be better?

Some of the best comforting meals have been in dives.  You know its true.  Sitting at the bar in a Honky Tonk town eating a juicy burger that was served with melted cheese, bacon and onions that was all cooked on the same griddle.  Not there for the ambiance but usually the company and the brew.  But there are times that the food shines better than the rest.

For years I have been traveling to Sayre Pennsylvania which is where Anita grew up.  For almost 20 years since I made that first trip there, we make a right turn past a small bar by the name of Alliger's House of Wings.  Every time we pass it I make the comment, we have to go there one day.  Anita says she had never been there and she enjoys wings.   There was one time that I had purchased their sauce that I had seen in the local market there.  I don't remember the flavors but I remember they were good.

Well the time had finally come that my job of a salesman had crossed over and allowed me to sell the idea of having lunch there this past weekend.  And it was worth the wait.  I couldn't decided which wings I wanted to try.  They sold them by the dozen or the 1/2 dozen.  From Fruity sauce to Nuclear.  sauce 1 was Hawaiian with sweet with pineapple and 25 was Nuclear.  As I rarely utter the words "that's too spicy for me" and I usually stay near the top of the Scoville scale when it comes to heat.  For those of you who don't know what the "Scoville" scale is, the Scoville scale is an index of the level of capsaisan that is found in each pepper.   Capsaicin is a chemical compound that stimulates chemoreceptor nerve endings in the skin, especially the mucous membranes. The number of Scoville heat units  indicates the amount of capsaicin present.  (The previous italicized comment is from Wikipedia)   For example, a bell pepper has 0 on the scale, a jalapeño is rated between 2,500 and 8,000, a cayenne pepper is rated at between 30,000 and 50,000 and closer to the top is the Habanero which is rated between 100,000 and 350,000.   


So we went to the bar and ordered our food.  I got the kids their dishes.  They both like wings but there were other kids there so their attention was taken away from the food and was preoccupied by playing around.  


So for Anita I got her the hot and spicy garlic.  It had a really nice heavy garlic flavor.  At times that could be taken as spicy but it was really rich in flavor.  


I ordered 1 1/2 dozen.  I wanted to try two different ones.  The 1/2 dozen was the Singapore flavor. It was an asian flavor but not like a teriyaki.  it was less sweet than that and did have some heat as it was probably number 19 on the list.  The dozen that I got was the Kamikaze flavor.  It was 23 on the list.   So I was expecting heat.  the flavor was nice but the heat was not as high as I thought it would be.  Yes I got the burn on the lips after you eat 6 of them.  The heat came at the end and lingered which was nice.  But I didn't get the sweat.  I love the sweat you get from a real dose of spice.  

All in all it's a great place to go for some wings and a beer.  I know Sayre PA, isn't the place that many would find themselves but if you find yourself on route 17 in New York and see Sayre, consider stopping by there for lunch. 


Alligers can be found at 201 Spring St., Sayre PA 18440.  phone 517-888-9805.

Chicken Feta Burgers............Nice Alternative Burger

Who doesn't love a good burger?  Nothing like a drippy juicy burger to satisfy a good food craving.  I love bacon on mine. but then again, I love bacon on everything.

Last Saturday Anita said our friend Wendy's Sister Lori sent her a recipe for Feta and Herb Grilled Chicken Burgers.  After looking at the recipe I said, this looks like a damn good burger.  Then after eating it I can concur that it was.  So here for you is the recipe.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Feta & Herb Grilled Chicken Burgers

1 lb ground chicken

1 egg lightly beaten

1-½ teaspoons bottled minced garlic

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup chopped mixed herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme) I used fresh herbs here but you can use dried.  I think it actually might have called for dried.

¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes not packed in oil. I got these from the olive bar at Stop and Shop

1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

salt & pepper

olive oil

4 slices of block feta cheese

4 hamburger buns

½ cup diced or sliced jarred roasted red pepper

1-cup arugula 

Combine first 9 ingredients (ground chicken to salt & pepper) and shape into 4 patties. 

Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of each patty.

Grill for 5-7 minutes per side.  In the last minute of cooking, place one slice of feta on each burger and lightly toast the buns.

To assemble burgers, place patty on bottom bun and top with hummus or tzaziki sauce (sour cream, grated cucumber, lemon juice & oregano), add roasted red pepper and arugula .

Some notes.  you might look at this recipe and say "Oooh Chicken, it's got to be lower calories".  Well I'm thinking with all that Feta Cheese your almost equal to a beef burger.  So if your calorie conscious, you might want to cut down on the feta considerably.  It will be just as tasty.  I know next time will put about a 1/4 of it in the burger and a very small sliver on top.  

I also never made Tsaziki sauce before.  I just winged it and of course added too much dried oregano.  but it was a cool combination with the hot burger.

Again, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

  

Marly's of Wilton......Another Great Meal and a movie.

Had a great meal last night at Marly's in Wilton CT last night.

One thing that I want to make sure that people know is about Sunday nights.  At Marly's, Every Sunday Night is movie night.  They have a small room off the main dining room where they put in a projection TV and at 6:00 they show a movie for kids older than 4.  They have tables in there where kids can order a meal off the kids menu then move to the "Theater" where they have comfy chairs and get to eat popcorn and watch a movie.  All this is happening while you are in the main dining room eating a great meal.

Speaking of which, we had a great meal in that dining room.  We were with another couple who we started off by sharing appetizers with.  We had started with Chicken Spring Rolls with a tangy sauce that I think was Mango.  I should looked again right?  Next was their Chicken Wings.  They were very tasty and meaty.  I prefer my wings to be more saucy but the flavor was on.  Last was a Tuna Tartar that was done really well.  it was served in a round shape that sat on top of mashed Avocado. The Avocado was chunky so it kept with size consistency of the Tuna.  it was served with sliced cucumbers or potato chips.  It was a real refreshing appetizer.

Next were the Main Dishes.  The other couple had gotten a Cobb Salad which was big enough for two people.  Their daughter came out in time to take on of the hard boiled eggs that were on the salad and there was still a whole other egg there for the salad.

  They also got the codfish which I was going to get.  The fish was seared beautifully and served on top of a be of garlic risotto.  I'm a big fan of garlic so this was not a show stopper for me, but for someone who isn't a garlic fan or on a first date might want to stay away. but it was really tasty.

Anita got the Scallop Spinach salad that had a lot of plump and juicy Scallops.  Soft bacon flavored the balsamic dressing nicely covering the generous portion.

I had the Stick to your ribs Rigatoni Bolognese.  Sauce was meaty and creamy with out a heavy cream feel.  But it was stick to your ribs.  Again a very generous portion had to be taken home.  I especially enjoyed the dollop of ricotta cheese on top that I could scoop up a little with each bite.

For dessert we shared what they call the peppermint patty.  A warm cakey brownie served with peppermint ice cream and whip cream on top.  I'm not a major dessert fan but this was really tasty.

Again I want to point out that Sunday nights are movie nights and are really a great opportunity for you to come out with your kids but have a date night as well.  They have outdoor seating that is obviously weather permitting.

Marly's Bar and Bistro is located at 205 Town Green in Wilton Ct. Phone is 203-834-2000
They have a facebook page that i will get on their ass to update more regularly than they do now.  go there and friend them at: Marly's facebook page