Happy New Year!!!

HAUNTED Tucson

 Could John Dillinger be haunting the halls of the Hotel Congress in the Old West?

 

 

 My cousin Melissa doesn't scare easily, However, Justin, thinks I might find a ghost.

John doesn't believe there is anything (anyone) lurking in the dark.

Myth?

I say we call them up!!

Eastside Eats: Novilhos Brazilian Steakhouse Churrascaria

Stop!  Go!  Meat, Meat, MEAT!!!  OK, it's not just meat.  The salad bar is so great.  It's not the usual stuff.  Don't skip the salad bar.

I didn't take a pic of any of the meat, there is WAY TOO MUCH to bother.  Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Beef, sausages, beef, chicken, whoa...  It's all good, you just need to decide what MEAT you want, or you can have a bite of everything. 

Save room for dessert.

Eastside Eats: Cantinetta

Cantinetta...what can I say?  I love it!!!  Not a lot of seating.  To be honest, I like smaller restaurants, so either come early or be prepared to wait.  Decent wine list with decent pricing.  We started with the Beef Carpaccio with granna and lemon.  EXCELLENT!  Flavors were perfect and the portion, not too heavy.

*side note...I had the worst experience with carpaccio at Cosmos at the Bellevue Club lately.  The flavors were fine, but they really took the "paper" thin cutting of the meat a little too seriously.  My husband and I literally had to scrape the carpaccio off the plate. 



Eggplamt casserole.  DELICIOUS.  I forgot what they called this...probably something Italian.



We had never visited Cantinetta before and were looking for a lighter meal, so we ordered an item from  each course and shared the Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Contorni, however, we ordered 2 desserts. 

Butternut Squash Ravioli with leeks and cipollini

Roast Chicken, braised greens, and lemon.  Many layers of flavor.  Delicious!



We had Vino Santo with our desserts.  Pear Tart and Nutella Zeppole (Italian Doughnuts)...YUM!



Great meal.  I highly recommend that you visit.

Eastside Eats: Goldberg's Famous Deli

When I eat at a place with the word "deli" in it, I always have a pop (soda - for those of you who do not live in the Northwest)!  However, if it is a cocktail you fancy, there is a full bar at Goldberg's.

I can't think of a better appetizer than the CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER...yummmmmy!

OK, I can hardly wait for the pickles to arrive...seriously.  Some are salty, some are sour, and I can never remember which is which when the pickles arrive. 

Home Cooking, Home cooking, Home Cooking!  If you are looking for comfort food this winter, GO TO Goldberg's!!!  My husband ordered the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls.  If you like the contrast of salty with a little sour, this is perfect.  The meat is perfectly seasoned, the cabbage is steamed perfectly and the sauce is just a little sour, but compliments the entree and the mashed potatoes.I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie.  OK, for any of you who use to go to Fredrick and Nelson's in downtown Seattle when you were a kid, you'll know...nothing beats their Chicken Pot Pie.  A close second would be the Chicken Pot Pie that they had at Nordstrom downtown, when the cafe was in the Brass plum...remember those?  YUMMY.

Anyway, this was not Chicken Pot Pie, rather chicken stew with a puff pastry garnish.  I'm not complaining, the chicken "not" pot pie was tasty. I am not a fan of carrots, so I thought "there are way too many carrots in this".  Personal problem.  I have to admit, I have used puff pastry for my chicken pot pie, which is actually Tyler Florence's pot pie, before, but I put the filling in a large ramekin and covered the top completely, so it appeared to look like a pie.

OK, this wasn't bad at all, just not what I expected.  To be honest, I ALWAYS order

 sandwiches or the lox platter at Goldberg's and I am ALWAYS satisfied and HAPPY!!!  By the way if you want a great latke, Goldberg's has the BEST.  You can get them to go!

Stop in and see them...YUMMY!!!

Thanksgiving Sides: Sweet Potato Balls

 This is VERY MESSY, if you're brave, you'll get some kids to help.  Grab a marshmallow, mush sweet potato all around it, then roll in the coconut-cinnamon.  Now lick all your fingers!!!



Very important to put a yam in the mix, not so much for taste, but for color.



Everyone has their favorite sweet potato dish.  My mom loves the sweet potato from the can, doused with maple syrup, topped with mini marshmallows and baked.  Is this a generational thing?  My friend Jin said her mom, who I we use to spend holidays with, use to love it too!  The canned sweet potatoes have a sharp bitter, sour taste that I just can't forget.  I hate the stuff.  I hate it so much I can't touch the serving spoon that is used to dish the stuff out.  YUCK!



OK, these aren't pretty, but they are so good!



SIDE STOREY: My sister-in-law, Lee, made an awesome sweet potatoe casserole one year and it was "off the hook", so good that we make this all the time, not just the holidays.  Besides plain roasted sweet potato, this dish was the best I've ever had.  My youngest sister would call from London for the recipe at Easter.  She doesn't call for it anymore, because I think we all have it memorized.  Althouh Lee has moved away, my family makes the Sweet potato casserole every year, and lovingly refer to it as Lee's Sweet Potato Casserole.  This year my sister Cindy will be making it for Thanksgiving Dinner.  YUM!

OK, back to my Sweet Potato Balls...This is not a new recipe for me. I made Paula Deen's recipe a few Thanksgivings ago.  Paula is always good for a sticky, sweet, yummy sweet potato recipe, right?

Was it a hit?  Not as a side dish, but definitely as a dessert. 

Sweet Potato Balls

adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes
1 large garnet yam

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

Juice from 2 mandarin oranges

Zest from 2 mandarin oranges

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups shredded coconut, sweetened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large marshmallow per potato ball

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the potatoes until tender, then peel and mash them. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, zest and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss the coconut with the sugar and cinnamon. Press mashed potatoes around each marshmallow, creating a 2 to 3-inch diameter ball. Roll the balls in the coconut mixture.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes of cooking; the expanding marshmallows can cause the potato balls to burst open.



Sweet potato balls oozing with marshmallow...mmmmmm!



When you're snowed in, go to your sunny place...

The snow has arrived here in the Northwest, so what is the best way to just accept winter?  Reminisce about a sunny place!!!  It's hard to believe that just a week ago, I was in warm and sunny Arizona.  Chilly in the morning, but worth sitting out waiting for the sun to come out.  John and I were freezing walking over to the fitness center, but right after our workout, we sat outside and watched the sun come up...priceless.

I have to bring up the food.  We stopped into the Starbucks for the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but debated over where to go to breakfast.  I'll be honest, I am not a fan of the "in hotel" breakfast, unless it's room service.  What's the point?  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised.  I went straight for the buffet and didn't turn back. 

There were 2 levels of breakfast buffet, my son went with the "everything" buffet, which included everything I had plus a few Mexican favorites like pozole, AND the usual items like, eggs, sausage, bacon.  In addition, you can order anything else you miht want on the menu.  Ty had everything at the buffet and then ordered a Tex-Mex Eggs Benedict and French Toast.  Great Breakfast!

Good Morning Artisan Snack...Protein

I try to workout every morning before work,

if I forget to pack yogurt or almonds or something...I'm starving!!!



Starbucks Artisan Snack: Protein



Go to Starbucks!!!

I'm not a "gotta have my Starbucks" everyday kinda girl, but I am thankful they provide SOME healthy stuff.



Egg, apple, grape, cheese, multi-grain roll and peanut butter...Perfect!

Sunday Smoothie: "Green" Blueberry-Banana-Flax

It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I am NOT sleeping in.  My son will be coming home for Thanksgiving and I am so excited to have him home.  My husband and I actually saw him last week down in Arizona, but this will be his first time home since he left for college.  OK, Today I have to roast sweet potatoes, wash linens (so Ty will have a nice comfy, fresh bed to sleep in), hang the "Fall Leaf" garland on the door, figure out what goes into a Cranberry-Apple Smash, try to find my corn pudding recipe (for the 20th - not kidding - time), pick up the house...but before I do all that, I need to have get in a quick workout.

No coffee for me this morning, I'm going to need something with a little MORE.  I have made something much better...A SMOOTHIE!!!

(OK, as I was posting, I just noticed it's snowing outside.  Brrr..)

This is what I put in my smoothie:

1 very ripe banana

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

2 T ground flax

1/2 cup Activia (I know) vanilla yogurt with fiber

2 T Very Green (or Greens+)

BLEND!

Add a little water if it's too thick.

ENJOY!!!



Good Morning Mosaic Cafe, Tucson, AZ

Mosaic Cafe, what can I say? I spent a great morning with my sister-cousin Melissa, the last day of my visit to Tucson, AZ. I'm a lot older than my cousin Melissa. I first met her when I was in high school one summer. Super cute and very chic for a baby...silver bikini with a matching jacket, no kidding.

Anyway, I have many fond memories of Melissa. She use to live in Southern California and I saw her a few times when I was attending University of San Diego. Well, now Melissa lives in Tucson, Arizona. My son attends Univeristy of Arizona, so Melissa is like a big sister to him.

OK, here's the deal. Melissa & I love FOOD. Seriously! We love all food if it's GOOD FOOD!!!

Melissa ordered the Huevos Rancheros, a specialty at Mosaic Cafe and featured on the FoodNetwork. I snuck a bite...yum.
OK, I had the menudo. Forget what you've heard, this stuff is awesome. The server brought the condiments first, she made sure to tell me the peppers are VERY HOT. Just how I like it.
Yes, it's tripe, but it's so damn good. The broth is rich and flavorful...mmm!