Review - Taste

My mother and I both had off the Monday after Thanksgiving, so we did what any mother and daughter would do with the Holidays looming ahead... We packed up and went Christmas Shopping.

We went to the 'Made in the USA' store in Elma, then took a jaunt to East Aurora, NY. East Aurora is just one of the most nostalgic places to shop, with Main Street decorated for the holidays, friendly shop staff and one of the oldest and largest 5&10 stores still operating, Vidler's. It is literally like taking a step into another era.

When we had enough of the shops and bought gifts (some for ourselves) to our hearts content, we stopped at a small coffee shop and cafe that we both just adore, a place called Taste. The scene is warm, with a touch of Hollywood, as each seat in the place offers a perfect view of faces like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin painted outside of the windows on the side of the building facing the cafe. Instead of numbers or names being called out when your food is ready, you are assigned a name of a Hollywood star. We had the pleasure of dining with Ellen DeGeneres that day. Additionally, regular menu items shout out to WNY and East Aurora history and landmarks, such as the Moo-o-o-g, a roast beef sandwich named for the aerospace engineering firm located in Elma.

We ordered the 'Stuffing the Bird,' a seasonal sandwich that is basically Thanksgiving in a sandwich; turkey, cornbread stuffing and cranberry-orange chutney piled high on a sesame bagel. The flavors of the savory and sweet are fantastic on this sandwich. My only critique was that last year it was served on a bread (if memory serves me well, it was a multi grain or wheat bread), which I feel lent better to the flavors of the sandwich. That said, it was still a wonderful sandwich, and one was plenty for the both of us.

Additionally, I ordered a cup of the Stuffed Pepper soup. Stuffed sweet peppers is one of my mother's staple dishes, and this soup was like her stuffed peppers in Soup form, from the flavorful sweet peppers and tomato soup broth to the pleasantly seasoned beef and rice. The soup was served hot, and tasted exactly like 'mom makes.'

Taste is a place that will not disappoint, and while there are plenty of high quality restaurants in East Aurora, each with their own distinct flavor and personality, Taste is quirky, yummy, and great for a quicker bite. I hardly ever go to East Aurora without a stop here.

Sherry Spiced Cranberries

As I started to cook more and more, there were a few things that I found so easy I was shocked that people didn't just make them. For instance, cranberry sauce is so easy - you buy a bag of cranberries, add sugar and water according to the bag and cook until the cranberries burst - cool to the desired temp (I personally like them still warm, some people like them cooled and refrigerated) and then serve.

This is a slightly different dish - in which you can season as much or as little as you want - feel free to adjust the amounts of spices to your desired taste. For instance, if you don't like curry? Leave that out.

What you need:

1 bag (approx 2 cups) fresh cranberries

1/2 cup dry cooking sherry

1 & 1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

Approx 1/4 teaspoon of the following:

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Curry Powder

Combine the ingredients into a medium size sauce pot. Cook on low until the cranberries burst. Allow to cool to desired temperature. It takes about 5-10 minutes, so don't turn your back too long!

See? Easy!

You can substitute the sherry with whiskey, bourbon or wine. If you use wine you may want to use 2 cups of wine and no water, or 1 cup water, 1 cup wine. A dry red will work best with the flavors in this dish.

With the spices, start out with a little and add more if you want - for instance, curry is powerful and a little goes a long way in this type of dish!

I personally love the way the smokiness of the curry intensifies the 'bite' of the sherry.

Enjoy, and please feel free to comment!

Easy Chicken and Fennel bake

This is such an easy main dish, but it will seem like you took ages making it! It's tasty, and is nice enough for a dinner party, but easy enough for a weeknight!

Here is what you need:

4 chicken breasts

Salt and pepper, to season

One fennel bulb, tops removed and sliced.

One large apple, cored and sliced

One medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup apple cider

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in baking dish. Salt and pepper to season chicken. Top with fennel, apple and onion slices.

Add the apple cider and vinegar to the dish - note that if you don't have cider, you can use apple juice. Also, any vinegar will do if you don't have apple cider vinegar.

Drizzle olive oil on any exposed fennel, onion and apple slices (ie: any that is not covered by liquid)

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!

This meal can also be made using citrus fruits (lemon/lemon juice, orange/orange juice) or pears (pear/pear juice or cider). Both flavors will complement the anise flavor of the fennel!

Good ol' Polish cuisine - Slow Cooker Pork And Sauerkraut

So, when winter hits, my body totally wants and loves the Polish food I grew up with - funny that I hated most of it growing up....

Sauerkraut was one of my most hated foods as a kid - I mean I loathed when my mom would cook with it because the house smelled of cabbage, and I couldn't possibly fathom putting it in my mouth.

But as they often do, tastes develop and change, and sauerkraut in almost any form is pretty much one of my favorite foods. So why wouldn't I love Pork and Sauerkraut slow cooked into tender juicy goodness?

It takes all of ten minutes to prep and can cook while you work - and it is fantastic! So here is how to enjoy this staple of Polish (and German) cooking!

What you need:

Approximately 1 lb Pork Loin Chops or Pork Tenderloin

2 - 12 oz cans sauerkraut

1/4 cup red wine or cider vinegar

Salt and pepper

Place the pork in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper (you can also add Caraway Seeds)

Cover with sauerkraut. Add vinegar.

Cook on low for 7-8 hrs.

Serve with green beans, potatoes, corn, perogis - the possibilities are endless!!

Portobello Mushroom 'Potato Skins'

So I pinned Crouque Monsieur from Rachael Ray's website, because I saw it - and I wanted it. However, I was at a loss as to what to serve with it. There were already carbs in the bread, so I didn't want to have a carb, but I had a taste for cheese, yes more cheese than even on the sandwich - I love cheese.

I was thinking of doing potato skins, when my mind wandered to portobello mushrooms and I thought 'yes!'

Easier, and healthier?? I'm in!

So, here is the recipe!!

What you need:

-As many portobello mushrooms as you want to make, cleaned - I bought a pack of 6 'slider' sized mushrooms

-A bag of shredded cheese (I actually used 1/2 a bag for my 6 'slider shrooms')

-3-6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled - if you go the easy route, make sure you buy the 'real' bacon bits

-sour cream to dollop

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Remove the ribs and stems from the portobello mushrooms. Line up on a cookie sheet.

Fill each mushroom with shredded cheese - don't be shy!

Top with crumbled bacon

Bake for approximately 20 minutes - the mushrooms should be soft and give to the touch when they are done. I had one mushroom, larger than the rest, that took an extra 5 minutes, so cooking time may vary with mushroom size.

Top with sour cream. You can even throw chives on if you have them laying around your house.

Enjoy!

My photo below does not show the dollop of sour cream, but you can be sure I added it on!

And ps - those Crouque Monsieur were fantastic! I highly recommend pinning them an giving it a try!

Until next time!

The Buffalo Food Gal

Simple recipe - Loganberry Iced Tea

OK, so this first recipe is extremely simple, but anyone who knows Buffalo and Western New York, knows that it is blasphemy to dislike Loganberry.  If you are not from the area, you are probably asking what the heck Loganberry is.... in a nutshell, it is a pretty sweet berry flavored soft drink.  If you haven't had it, I am not really sure that the flavor can be described.  I guess in some way, if you have ever had Ribena Black Current drink concentrate, it is kind of like that... but not really.

So, before I get to the recipe, let me say that Loganberry drink is sweet..... really sweet.   Now, as a kid, that smack your lips sweetness was amazing!  However, as I have gotten older, and lost my taste for sweet things, I began to cut my Loganberry with water, to cut down on the "smack" factor.... which is how I came up with this drink...

If you need to order online, here is a link to a Loganberry syrup:

http://shop.christmascentral.com/items/item.aspx?itemid=16153645&CAWELAID=1621629147&catargetid=1614140047&cagpspn=pla-&gclid=CNGXkPvkmrMCFbQ7OgodXF8A2A


So, here it is - the recipe for Loganberry Iced Tea:

What you need:

- 3-6 tea bags
- Approximately 1.5 quarts of water (more or less depending on what container size you have)
- Approximately 1/2 litre of Loganberry drink - or approximately 1/4 cup loganberry syrup - add slowly and increase if you want it sweeter.... a little goes a long way

Boil water (about 200 degrees if you are using black tea, roughly 160 degrees if you are using green or white).  Once the water is boiled,  pour into any container that can withstand heat, and steep 3-6 tea bags for about 5 minutes.  If you like your tea strong, steep longer (shorter for less strength).

Once the tea has steeped long enough, pour into your drink container over ice.  Make sure to leave room for the Loganberry.  Then, add the Loganberry, and refrigerate.  When cold, serve in a glass over ice.  Garnish with mint or lemon.

This is simple, but a yummy way to cut some of the sweetness (and calories!) from this Western New York staple!

Next time I brew some of this up, I will post a picture of it!  If you try it, make sure to comment and let me know what you think!!

Greetings!

Hi all! So, I am freakishly new to this whole blogging thing, but I love food and love my city, so I figured I would give it a go.....

To start, I would like to introduce myself, tell you why I am blogging, and what this whole thing will be all about!

I am a bride-to-be, marrying a wonderful man this July. I have three crazy dogs and a supportive family. I never really knew I loved to cook, or how much I loved Buffalo, until I left and moved to Florida. While I found a few decent restaurants, most places were chains in Florida.  The best food I found was anything Latino - Columbian, Brazilian, Cuban - I even found a cute Mexican place literally around the corner from my house. But alas, I missed Buffalo and Western New York.  I started cooking my mom's meals, longing for good old Polish food, and desperately trying to recreate food I had loved from restaurants back home. I also missed the chilly walks from the subway to the Sabres' games. I missed how random strangers would smile and wave as you walked down Elmwood. I missed the hometown cooking, and realized the hidden culinary gem that is Buffalo. So I packed up after a few years of Florida heat, left behind the few favorite restaurants I found near my muggy home, and moved back to the so-called blizzard capital that refused to escape my mind.

So what will I be doing in this blog? I will post things I cook (I love to invent and modify recipes), as well as post about local restaurants. One thing you can guarantee - there will be no chain restaurants on this post. I will critique and be honest about my experiences. I will also check out restaurants in any of my future travels.

In turn, please be honest and critique my recipes, should you try them. I love feedback and want to improve.

In addition, please feel free to ask me questions about my city, my recipes and the restaurants I feature.

I look forward to sharing with you!

~The Buffalo Food Gal