actually a pretty nice little saturday

After a long day of walking the dogs and shopping in Annapolis, my mom and I were in need of some sustenance. She knew just the place- The Severn Inn. She'd been there a few weeks before with some friends before a Navy football game, and she had only good things to say. I trusted her judgement and away we went.... All I can say is WOW! This was such a great little place hidden away just a hop, skip and a jump from the naval academy and all of the shops in Annapolis. The view was just perfect, and the weather couldn't have been better... it must have been 80 degrees out on that deck! (Sorry R, he he)

We ordered up two glasses of prosecco and the spicy olive appetizer. This would be a great appetizer for a large group of people; it was huge! It came with some toasted pita bread to sop up the delicious spicy garlicky olive oil. YUM!

The prosecco came in two mini bottles... so cute!

We settled on a sandwich to share as an entree...Grilled Cheese BLT. Ingenious! My two favorite sandwiches rolled up into one! We picked french fries as a side, but we could have gotten fruit salad or greens instead. (Next time I will go with the fruit... we were on a bit of a salt overload when we left.

All in all it was an ideal place to spend an extraordinarily warm Saturday afternoon in November.

Cheers!

-S

Chili Verde (Crock Pot Style)

When preparing for our move to Edmonton, we had to determine what to pack and what to leave behind, be it in storage or at a friend's house. One of the kitchen appliances that didn't make the cut into the car was my crock pot (luckily, it's in good hands at S's house).

So imagine my delight when, exploring the cabinets of our new, furnished apartment, I found a crock pot on the top shelf! And said crock pot, plus pork shoulder on sale at the supermarket, equals chile verde, wooo!

I had never made chili verde before, and based my recipe off this one from AllRecipes. I seriously love that website...

Start by sauteing an onion and chopped garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Cook on low heat, just until onions become soft - you don't want to brown them.

Meanwhile, cube the pork shoulder. I found the pork shoulder a little intimidating to work with...

...but forged ahead. Add pork to saute pan,

and cook until meat is browned on all sides. Then, add contents of pan into the bottom of your crock pot. Next, add 1 large jar of green salsa, 1 small can of diced jalapeno peppers, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and some Cholula's for good measure.

I had some corn in the freezer, so that went into the pot as well.

Mix well, and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours. Then, cook on low heat for another 5+ hours.

Thanks to the slow cooker, the pork is unbelievably tender. This chili is hearty, spicy, and so comforting on a cold, snowy day.

Outside:

Inside:

You can guess where I'll be staying!

--R

Wings!

While I may live in a divided household as far as football is concerned (Ravens vs Patriots, unfortunately), my husband and I certainly agree on our favorite game day food: wings! Here's our favorite way to make this classic.

First, season your wings with salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder. I like to add some fresh chopped garlic as well.

Pop into a 375 degree oven, turning about 25 minutes into baking.

Meanwhile, time to make your dipping sauce. While some people go for ranch dressing (ie every sports bar in Canada, apparently), we prefer blue cheese. And here's the best and easiest way to go:

Two simple ingredients: sour cream and blue cheese. Just mix together, and voila, blue cheese dipping sauce! It might take a few tries to find your desired ratio of sour cream to blue cheese. We personally prefer ours heavy on the cheese, but for others that might be too strong.

As the wings continue to cook, it's time to get your wing sauce ready. Start by combining butter and garlic on low heat in a saucepan.

Now here come the hot sauces.

The level of heat is entirely up to the cook, but we use a combination of Frank's Red Hot, Cholula's, and Melinda's. The real necessity here is Frank's Red Hot as a base, the rest is up to personal preference and what you have around your kitchen. Plus salt and pepper, of course.

Once the wings have baked for around 45-50 minutes, remove from oven,

dip each wing,

and back in the oven they go.

After baking for another ten minutes, remove the wings from the oven and place in a large bowl. The remaining sauce can then be poured on if you prefer your wings on the saucier side.

Serve with blue cheese dipping sauce, carrots and rice.

Mmmm. These are way better than anything you'll find in a restaurant. By the way, I can't take any credit for this recipe, I learned to cook wings entirely from my husband...

But the wings are best eaten while watching the Ravens win :)

--R

pumpkin love

When my friend asked me to make a cheesecake for her husband's birthday party this past weekend, I knew I was really going to have my boyfriend do it. I can follow a recipe, but there's just something better about them when he does it. He agreed with the caveat that I bought enough ingredients for two, declaring that if he made one he would want to eat some. He had to twist my arm... He made a caramel swirl cheesecake for my friend's party, but for our cheesecake I had a special request... PUMPKIN cheesecake! I LOVE everything pumpkin and this is obviously the season for it. This cheesecake was everything I wanted... a buttery but slightly crunchy graham cracker crust with just a hint of cinamon, the filling was sweet but not too sweet, pumpkiny but not too pumpkiny with just the right amount of spice and oh so creamy... it was a heavenly way to usher in the season.

love.

Matahari

I've been wanting to check out the Pan-Asian restaurant Matahari from the moment I saw it. I love Asian food, and this place claims to have a little bit of everything (or, cuisine from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, and Burma, according to Matahari's website). Plus, it's just a few short blocks from our apartment.

Not that going out to eat requires a celebration, but in this instance we had cause: I finally got a job! Woohoo. No more sleeping in and watching cheesy movies all day for me...

The first thing you notice about Matahari is the decor - sleek yet comfortable, with elevated booths on one side of the restaurant. Dining there feels very private. I noticed alcoves on the other side that housed larger tables, with curtains that can be pulled for maximum privacy. I would love to go back with a larger group just to sit over there! There's also a section of the restaurant that sells jewelry, which is a little strange but I certainly don't mind gazing at beautiful turquoise necklaces while I eat. :)

On to drinks: I ordered the Forbidden City martini, made with Citron vodka, mango juice, lychee and a liqueur that unfortunately I can't rememberthe name of. My favorite part was the lychee perched atop the martini glass.

Someone told me my drink was the color of dirty dishwater. While this may be true, it tasted great...just a little on the strong side.

For an appetizer we shared the Chicken Satay with peanut sauce. Now, we've both eaten our share of Chicken Satay before, but Matahari's app stands out - the chicken was perfectly cooked and also well-seasoned, and the peanut sauce was just right: not too thin, a little spicy, and with pieces of peanut throughout.

I only wish there had been more!

It took me forever to pick out my entree; I literally wanted everything on the menu. Finally, though, I settled on the Burmese Pork Curry - tender pork cubes and sweet potato stew in a spice and shrimp paste blend, served with steamed vegetables and nasi biryani.

This dish was awesome! The pork was super tender and the sauce was hot and spicy with a hint of shrimp. I've never had a curry that tasted like this - if this is a good indication of Burmese food, then I am now a fan. My one complaint was the rice - I was expecting a little more spice and flavor from the biryani. Perhaps it would have been spice overload, though, because the curry itself packed some serious heat.

My husband ordered the Hot Peanut Beef: tender top sirloin beef slices stir-fried with bell peppers, broccoli, peanuts and onions in a sweet chili and red curry paste blend.

Very spicy, tender beef with plenty of colorful veggies. For some reason an apple slice was served on the side. Kind of weird, but who doesn't like apples?

Even though we were pretty full at this point, we just had to go for dessert. It was a celebration, after all. We tried to order the fried banana with vanilla ice cream, but unfortunately the kitchen was all out. Slightly disappointed, we got the Mango Berry cheesecake instead.

So pretty! I love this restaurant's presentation. I was expecting the mango and berry to be on top, but the fruits were in the cheesecake itself. The whole thing tasted very tropical and, while it was good, I think I prefer a plainer cheesecake.

Matahari is definitely a restaurant worth trying - lovely decor with unique and delicious food. I can't wait to go back!

--R

Another Chicken Curry

Almost as soon as I finished the last bite of my homemade Chicken Curry Masala, I wanted more. So I made another batch :) But this time with a few more ingredients...so I thought I'd share the new additions.

I followed the same recipe as before: start by sauteing chopped onions in oil. However, soon after adding the onions, I tossed in some potatoes, followed closely by cauliflower.

These are all common ingredients in Indian food, so of course they worked just fine (although not the most colorful bunch). Next come the tomatoes, spices and chicken.

Add yogurt and simmer. After about 20 minutes, add one last ingredient (which I forgot last time).

Lemon juice for acidity! I think this dish came out even better than before, and was heartier with the new veggies. I can't get enough of this.

--R

Famoso

Back in Baltimore, my husband and I had all our favorites - favorite pizza, favorite Thai, favorite Mexican, etc. But now we're in a new city and have to discover new favorites, pizza being the top of the list. You just need to have a go-to pizza place.

First stop on thelist: Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. I read some good reviews of Famoso online, plus there happens to be a location right up the street from our apartment. We tried to go out to dinner there one Thursday night, but the hostess informed us of an hour-long wait. I took that as a good sign.

Luckily, Famoso also does take-out. Our order: one Siciliana pizza, made with fresh mozzarella, fresh Basil, Italian sausage, Italian ham, and baked prosciutto. I forgot to take a picture of it at the time, but captured a leftover slice the next day:

Not the greatest picture, but you can see this slice is loaded with meats and basil on a thin and delicate crust, with a little crunch at the end. So good! The thinner the better for my pizza crust. The pizza is on the smaller side (and only comes in one size); one pizza here might not be enough for two hungry people.

We also ordered the Tapenade Trio, which is listed as an appetizer on Famoso's menu and described as Roasted Kalamata Olive Tapenade blended with garlic and feta cheese; Roasted Artichoke Tapenade blended with reggiano parmesan cheese, capers, and fresh garlic; and bruschetta with garlic, red wine vinegar and fresh basil. Served with flatbread.

Again, I have some day-after pictures to share.

The hands-down winner here is the Olive Tapenade - I could eat entirely too much of that. The bruschetta is pretty standard, but good. I'm on the fence about the Artichoke; I think the flavor of the capers overpowered everything else. I still ate the whole thing, of course :)

While Famoso serves their tapenade on flatbread, I put my leftovers on these baguette crackers instead:

If you see these in your supermarket, go by some asap! Crunchy, spicy and delicious - the tapenades were perfect on them.

We finished our original meal off with a scoop of Famoso's Creme Brulee Gelato, which basically tasted like caramel and was ridiculously good.

We were happy with our Famoso experience, and I'm looking forward to eating at the restaurant at some point. However, while I have no complaints about their pizza, we still need to try a few more places before our 'favorite' is established. My heart still belongs to Baltimore's Tutti Gusti!

--R