Cinnamon-Crunch Sweet Potato Muffins

Fall is officially here, and it's officially become my favorite season!  As a child I dreaded September since it meant back to school and back to reality from summer vacation.  As a young adult I've finally come to appreciate the cooler weather, the changing color of the leaves, and all the delicious seasonal food that goes along with it!  One of those seasonal vegetables that I love fall for is the sweet potato.  Known also as a yam or squash, sweet potatoes are delicious and actually very nutritious for you!  Here is a great recipe for some fall themed muffins to brighten anyone's gloomy morning:

Muffins:

2 sweet potatoes or yams.  I used pre cut and peeled from Wegmans, 1 container had 14 oz.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 canola oil

1/2 cup milk

zest of 1 orange

For the topping:

Mix 5 Tbsp. sugar and 2.5 tsps. cinnamon in a bowl. set aside.

To make the muffins:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Cook sweet potatoes.  Add to boiling water and let boil for 15 minutes.  Remove and drain well.  Put sweet potatoes in food processor and blend until fluffy. Let cool.

In one bowl mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt).

In a seperate bowl combine eggs, sugar, oil, milk and orange zest and whisk together.  Add the mashed sweet potatoes and whisk until completely blended.  Slowly add the flour mixture in with a spatula until all of it has been moistended; do not over mix!  

Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full.  Sprinkle all the muffins with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake for about 25 minutes, and let them cool before serving.  Makes about 16 muffins.

These were a hit when I served them and I think the sweet potato was very unexpected in a muffin!  Enjoy these with a tall glass of milk or some apple cider to round out a great fall snack!

Caribbean Cuisine Dinner Party

Last weekend we hosted our monthly dinner party at our house, and decided to honor the warm weather and fabulous summer season with a "Caribbean Cuisine" theme.  This prompted some questions and worry; "what is Caribbean cuisine?", "how did you think of this?", "what in the world should I bring?", but we were confident it would bring out the creative side of everyone joining us that evening.  And true to form, everyone pulled through and brought fantastic dishes to accompany the main course I made.  But we'll get to the food in just a moment.

First, I'd like to focus on the setting and decor.  It's really been a fantastic summer in Rochester, with hot days and cool breezy nights, and best of all, little to no rain!  So, I prayed the weather would continue to bless us and planned on eating outside.  In my opinion, there really is no better alternative to being 'al fresco'.  We have a small table outside that seats four on our not-so-big patio, and we were having about 10 people over. We decided to bring our similarly sized kitchen table out, and put it together with the patio table.  Thankfully, they were comparable in high and created the perfect long table for 10 of us!  We covered them with a colorful tablecloth, brought the kitchen chairs outside, and our table was all set.  Next, we worried about lighting as the sun went down.  We unfortunately don't have many lights out in the back yard, so we set up 6 tiki torches along the perimeter of the yard.  These served several functions, such as decor and atmosphere, light, and bug repellents! (They were filled with bug repellent tiki torch liquid).  We also set up some table candles to light as it got dark, and had wood for our chiminea on hand as well.  All of these decor elements, along with some freshly picked flowers from the Farmer's Market that morning lent to a great ambience.


Now, I planned to make the main course and dessert.  The menu would be mahi-mahi with coconut rice and mango salsa.  Now, when I went food shopping for fish, mahi-mahi didn't seem to be avaialble in Rochester (I wonder why!), but I settled on a mild flavored white fish called whiting.  This worked out perfectly! I would also recommend any other white fish for making this recipe.  The key to making this dish however, is marinating the fish for a few hours in the fridge before cooking.  The ingredients I used were:


10 mahi mahi fillets
6 tablespoons olive oil
5 teaspoons soy sauce
6 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 teaspoons red pepper flakes
3 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
6 tablespoons chopped green onion
fresh seal salt to taste


I combined all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisked together.  I then put the whiting filets in a large ziplock bag, added the marinade, and shook up a bit to ensure all pieces were covered in the marinade.  I then let them chill in the fridge until I was ready to bake them.


When ready to cook, it's very simple.  I sprayed some baking pans with cooking spray so they wouldn't stick, and preheated my oven on the broiler setting of high.  Place in oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, with the rack up high so they turn a nice golden color.  Flip halfway through to ensure they are evenly cooked.


The mango salsa is also very easy to make.  The hardest part is cleaning and cubing the mango.  I did this ahead of time and stored the mango cubes in the fridge so I could quickly make the salsa without taking time away from my guests.  Ingredients needed are:


5 teaspoons butter
5 tablespoons white sugar
2-3 mangos, cubed


To make this salsa, melt the butter in a pan and add sugar.  When this mixture begins to bubble, add mango cubes, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Mango should be tender.  


The coconut rice is also easy to make and was a huge hit with my guests.  I recommend starting this before you put the fish in the oven.  The ingredients you need are:

 6 cups uncooked jasmine rice
 6 cups water
 3 tablespoons butter
 2 (16 ounce) cans coconut milk
 6 tablespoons white sugar


Bring the water and butter to a boil, and add rice.  Reduce heat to medium low and let rice absorb the water, about 20 minutes.  Once most of liquid has been absorbed, add the coconut milk and sugar, and let simmer about 10 minutes more until all the liquid has been absorbed.

To serve, I spooned some coconut rice on a dish, put filet of whiting on top, and spooned mango salsa on top of fish.


We had some fantastic dishes to accompany the main course.  For appetizers, friends brought fried plantains with dipping sauce, Jamaican-jerk spiced shrimp with mango salsa, and a modern take on ceviche.  We also got some littleneck clams and served them on the half-shell with fresh squeezed lemon.  For drinks, we had an assortment of wines brought by friends, and we served one of my favorite whites, Toasted Head Chardonnay.  I also made a juice cocktail of orange, mango, and pineapple juice, and had Malibu Rum on hand for mixing.  The cocktail was definitely a success, since the rum bottle was practically empty at the end of the night!

For dessert, we had a light and refreshing mango lime mousse with raspberry coulis and flaked coconut.  The ingredients needed are:


4 mangoes
4 tsp. unflavored gelatin
12 Tbs. fresh lime juice
6 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 1/2 cup chilled fat-free evaporated skimmed milk
6 Tbs. flaked coconut

Place a bowl in the freezer to chill. Peel the mangoes and cut the
flesh from the pits.  In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the lime juice and let
stand for 5 minutes. Place over low heat and stir until the gelatin
dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.  In a food processor or blender, combine the mangoes, gelatin mixture, sugar and coconut extract and process until smooth. Pour the mango
puree into a large bowl.  Remove the chilled bowl from the freezer and pour the evaporated milk
into it. Using a whisk, beat until thick and foamy, about 5 minutes.  Fold the evaporated milk into the mango puree just until no white streaks remain.

Divide the mousse among serving bowls.  I decided to serve it in margarita and martini glasses, and I was able to fill 9 of the. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 6 hours.  Before you are ready to serve, preheat an oven to 350°F. Spread the coconut in a small pan and toast in the oven until golden, about 5
minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.


To make the raspberry coulis, you will need:

4 cups raspberries
3 tsp. superfine sugar
2 Tbs. framboise (raspberry liqueur) or Grand Marnier
3/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice


To make the raspberry coulis, in a food processor, combine the raspberries, sugar and framboise and pulse until smooth. Pass the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve set over a bowl and stir in 1/4 tsp. of the lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice,if needed. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, up to overnight.  To serve, I put some raspberry coulis on the mousse and sprinkled with coconut.

All in all, this dinner party was a great success! These recipes were easy to make ahead of time (such as the dessert which I made the day before) or to prepare early so that cooking time was minimal the day of the event.   I recommend splitting these recipes in 2, since I cooked for such a large party.  This way you can enjoy your meal for about 4 people and have some left overs. I hope you enjoy, and try to make these dishes!  They were firsts for me, and if I can do it, so can you!
 

Greek Lentil Soup (Fakes)

The other day I decided to make something light and nutritious for dinner.  Fakes is a staple in Greek kitchens, and contributes to what is considered a "Mediterranean Diet" (i.e. low in meat, high in protein, legumes, fiber and olive oil).  It never appealed to me as a child, but is yet another dish that I enjoy very much now.  This is a great light meal and is made even better when served with some crusty bread and feta cheese!  The ingredients you will need are:

1 lb. Lentils
1/2 cup olive oil
3 carrots
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Start by washing and rinsing the lentil beans.  I let them soak for an hour before cooking; this softens them and helps them cook faster.  Once ready to cook, put lentils and water in a large pot and boil on med-high for 5 minutes.  Chop up your onion, garlic, and peel and chop carrots. Add to lentils along with olive oil, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and oregano, and boil and for another 20 minutes.

After lentils and ingredients have boiled for 20-25 minutes, reduce heat and simmer.  Add crushed tomatoes and vinegar. My husband loves the vinegar taste so I'm liberal with it.  I recommend starting out light, and you can always add more right to your own serving if you decide you want more.

Let this lentil soup simmer for about 1 hour.  Keep checking back and add more liquid as needed, but you want this soup to get nice and thick.  As I said, serving with fresh crusty bread and feta cheese tops off this light Mediterranean meal! Enjoy!

Beef and Eggplant Stew (Mosxari me Melitzanes)

Eggplants are one of the vegetables used widely in Greek cuisine.  Growing up I didn't particularly like them.  I can't remember why, and I actually don't think I ever tried them to know I didn't like them, but something about them made me not want to try.  Now that I've grown up (ha ha) I love eggplants and incorporating them into my cooking.  This is a very traditional and easy Greek meal that is hearty and filling.  The ingredients you will need are:

2 lbs beef for stew
2 eggplants
4-5 potatoes
1 onion
1 can crushed red tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat your over to 420 degrees.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray so the food won't stick.  Rinse the meat and pat dry.  Cut into chunks and put into dish.  Wash and cut eggplants into chunks and add to dish.  Peel and cut potatoes into chunks and add to dish.  Chop onion and add to dish.  Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Stir everything together to make sure all ingredients are combined, and put in the oven.  I like to cook this in a dish that has a cover, which I use during cooking to keep some of the juices in.  I usually cook for a total of 1 hour.  I leave the stew in the oven for 20 minutes uncovered, then mix it and cover for the next 20 minutes, then stir it again and leave uncovered for the last 20 minutes.


And that's it! I told you it was easy; just throw all the ingredients into the dish and bake!  I recommend having some crusty bread on hand to eat this with; it's great for cleaning all the yummy sauce off your plate!

Traditional Greek Potato Salad

Summertime is great for casual barbecues with friends and family, and one of my signature side dishes that goes with any thing cooked on the grill is traditional Greek potato salad.  Forget the recipes weighed down by heavy and gooey mayonnaise; who needs that sitting in the heat, or in your stomach for that matter? The ingredients you'll need are:

5-6 potatoes
3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 medium onion
olive oil
white or champagne vinegar
salt and pepper
olives

Start by peeling and cutting the potatoes in half, and boiling until tender.  I like to make sure all the chunks of potato are uniform in size so they soften in the same time.  Let them boil about 20 minutes to get to desired tenderness.  You don't want them too mushy or they will disintegrate.

While your potatoes are boiling, hard boil some eggs.  I put them in a pot with water covering them, and turn the heat on high.  Let the water come to a boil and wait 2 minutes.  I then cover the pot, shut off the heat, and let the pot sit on the hot burner.  By the time I'm ready to peel them they have cooked to my liking.

Once the potatoes are boiled, rinse them with cool water and drain.  Put in a large serving bowl and cut into chunks.  Chop 1/2 an onion and add to potatoes.  (I sometimes use red onion for more of a kick!). Now you can peel your hard boiled eggs, chop, and add to potatoes.  Add salt and pepper for taste.  In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar, and whisk together.  Pour over potatoes. Add olives to top of potato salad, and your done!

I recommend making this a few hours before you would like to serve, because I like to put this in the fridge and let it get cold.  The longer it sits (and soaks up all the oil and vinegar) the better this salad tastes.  If I have leftovers, I sometimes add some more oil & vinegar if it seems to have dried up a bit.

Enjoy this easy to make potato salad during the summer or in any season! Kali oreksi.

Grilled Chicken and Salad; Perfect for summer!

With all this hot humid weather, a light dinner is perfect to enjoy on the patio with a nice glass of wine.  This is a really easy and fast recipe, and can be made any night of the week.  The only part that needs some prep is marinating the chicken.  I recommend doing it the night before, that way you don't have to worry about it in the morning before going to work.  The ingredients you will need are:

4 chicken breasts
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
                      
                                                                                    belgian endive
                                                                                    mixed greens
                                                                                    cherry tomatoes
                                                                                    1/2 chopped onion
                                                                                    croutons

To marinate the chicken breasts, I just put them in a large ziplock bag and drizzle them with some olive oil (about 1/3 cup), balsamic vinegar (about 1/3 cup), salt and pepper.  Place in the fridge until ready to grill.

We have a gas grill here at home, although charcoal ones do lend for better taste.  You can use whatever grill you have at home (or even broil them in your oven if you don't have a grill).  I like to start out by letting the chicken sit for 5-6 minutes on one side to get good color before flipping over. Repeat on the other side.  After the chicken has been on the grill 5-6 minutes on each side, this is when I flip the chicken often.  The trick is to make sure your chicken is cooked throughout, without burning the outside or drying out the inside.  I usually close the top of the grill and let it get really hot inside for 4-5 minutes, and then flip.  Keep repeating until the chicken is done.  Typically chicken breast needs a good 30 minutes to cook thoroughly on the grill.  I also don't use the highest heat setting on the gas grill.  I keep it at about halfway so the flames don't get too high and char the chicken.

To make your salad, just chop all mixed greens and belgian endive and put in a large salad bowl.  I cut cherry tomatoes in half, and chop 1/2 an onion.  Add croutons if desired.  I like to use a balsamic vinegar dressing, and sometimes make it myself by combining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and water.

Like I said, this is very easy, light, and perfect for a hot summer night! Enjoy!

Gemista (Stuffed Tomatoes)

Summer is great; the weather, the sunshine, and all the fresh vegetables at the supermarket! It's my favorite time of year to make Gemista, or stuffed tomatoes.  In this case I stuffed both tomatoes and peppers, but feel free to do only tomatoes, only peppers, or even be adventurous and try stuffing some eggplants!  The ingredients you will need are as follows:







8 tomatoes
4 green peppers
1.5 lbs ground beef
4 cups rice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 onion
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
6-8 cups water
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper

I used a large roasting pan to bake my gemista in, and sprayed it with cooking spray.  Keep it by your side so you can arrange your vegetables in it.  I start by emptying out the tomatoes.  Wash them thoroughly and cup off the tops, but save them.  Using a paring knife, scour the inside edges of the tomato to loosen the pulp, and using a spoon scoop out the inside.  Save the pulp and juice of the tomato in a bowl.  The peppers are even easier to hollow out; wash them thoroughly, cut off and save the tops, and cut out the inside making sure to get rid of all the seeds.  You can discard the inside of the peppers.  I arrange them in a roasting pan for now while I make the stuffing.

To make the stuffing, use a large pot and put in olive oil and chopped up onion on medium-high heat.  Let onion brown for 2-3 minutes.  Add the ground beef, and brown that for about 5-6 minutes.  Once it looks cooked through, add the cinnamon and stir.  Then add the red wine and let it boil down for 2 minutes.  Next, add 3-4 cups white rice, the tomato pulp and juice you saved from the fresh tomatoes, and 6-8 cups water to cover the beef and rice mixture.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover the pot and lower heat for it to simmer.  It only takes about 15 minutes for the rice to soak up the water.  Keep an eye on it and stir it every 4-5 minutes to make sure it doesn't stick.  Once the liquid is gone, taste the rice texture.  If it seems dry, you can add more water (and some wine) and let it simmer down some more.  Once the stuffing is done, sprinkle in the parmesan cheese and mix.

Side note: you can also make the stuffing vegetarian by omitting the ground beef.  Just add chopped parsley, mint, and basil to your rice mixture.  I even like to add pine nuts for an extra crunch.  This will be just as delicious stuffed in your vegetables!

Once the stuffing is done, you can spoon into the hollow vegetables and arrange them in the roasting pan.  Once all the vegetables are stuffed, drizzle some olive oil on top and sprinkle some salt.

Bake in an oven at 365 degrees for about an hour, or until the vegetables have softened.  There will be plenty of stuffing left over in the pot.  To serve, I arrange some stuffing on the plate, and put two vegetables on top.  Many people in Greece also peel and cut potatoes around the stuffed vegetables in the roasting pan, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper.  I didn't have room in my pan this time around, but they are delicious and complement stuffed vegetables if you'd like to add them.

It makes a large portion of food, for either a large dinner party or great for leftovers!  Enjoy!

Dolmades and Tzatziki

Tonight we're invited to our monthly supper club with friends, and the theme of this month's club is "the last supper".  It's bittersweet because we have quite a few members and friends who are leaving us at the end of this month for greener pastures, but such is life.  The idea behind this event is that it's our last supper together, and we should bring what we would want to eat if it was our last supper ever.  Well, that's really a tall order to fill if you ask me, so I settled on one of my favorite summer appetizers that included tzatziki since I had a request from a friend for a great tzatziki recipe.

Dolmades are the Greek word for stuffed grape leaves.  They can be made with meat or without, and can be eaten hot with avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce) or cold either plain or with tzatziki (my favorite way to eat them!).  Tzatziki is a yogurt based dip with cucumber and garlic.

I'll start with the tzatziki first.  It's best to start the prep for this the day before, since you need to let the cucumber and yogurt strain.  The ingredients you need are:

2 cucumbers

1.5 containers Fage Greek Yogurt (each is 17 oz.)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

4-5 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

The night before you intent to serve the tzatziki, you should strain the yogurt and cucumber.  You don't technically need to use Fage brand yogurt, but it's authentic Greek yogurt (they sell it in Greece!) and is very thick and creamy.  I actually found straining it didn't release much liquid, so you can get away with not straining it.  If you use any other yogurt though, definitely strain it.  The secret to good tzatziki is to get rid of excess water from both the yogurt and cucumber!  Therefore, I also used full fat yogurt for the sake of taste!

Start by washing and peeling the cucumbers, and cutting around the core of seeds if you don't get a seedless one.  I placed a colander over a pot, and grated the cucumber directly into the colander.  When done, I squeezed the grated cucumber with my hands to release as much liquid as possible.  I then patted down with paper towels, and laid some at the bottom of the colander, putting the grated cucumber on top.  Sprinkle with salt, and put in the fridge over night.  Another secret to tzatziki is salting the cucumber, not the yogurt.  So add what you need here, and don't put more once you've mixed it in!

Next, I put a mesh sieve over a pot and emptied the yogurt into it.  This went in the fridge overnight as well.

The next day, I put the yogurt and cucumber together in a large bowl.  I originally used 1 container of Fage, and there seemed to be too much cucumber for it.  I luckily had another container in the fridge and added half of it.  This was the perfect amount.  Add 3, 4, or 5 garlic cloves to your yogurt mixture.  I have a tool that squeezes the garlic out, and I used 5 medium size cloves.  If you don't have this tool, puree it in a food processor.  Tzatziki in Greece is VERY garlicky; so add garlic at your discretion!  Top it off with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 Tbsp. white vinegar, and mix with a spatula.  Voila! Delicious home-made tzatziki at your fingertips!  You can garnish with dill or an olive, and serve with bread, french fries, or dolmathes.

Next comes the recipe for the dolmades.  I made them with just rice and herbs, and they will be served cold with the tzatziki.  The ingredients you need are as follows:

2.5 cups white long-grain rice

1 large onion, I used Vidalia onion

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2 Tbsp. dried mint

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup olive oil

2 lemons

1 large jar grape leaves

salt and pepper

Start by chopping the onion, parsley, and basil.  I pureed them together in a food processor.  Put a medium saucepan over medium heat and put in half the olive oil.  Saute the pureed onion, parsley, basil, and dried mint for 3 minutes.  Then add rice and stir for a minute.  Add 5 cups water, juice of 1/2 a lemon, add salt and pepper to taste, cover saucepan, and lower heat.  Let rice mixture simmer for about 10 minutes or until ready.

Meanwhile, empty the jar of grape leaves and rinse and dry them.  Be careful when handling the grape leaves; the last thing you want is torn/broken leaves!  Once the rice mixture is done and cooled, you can start assembling the grape leaves.  This takes some time and patience!  Put about 1 Tbsp. filling in a grape leave, fold in the edges and roll.  If some leaves are extra large, you can cut them in half and make two out of one, just make sure to adjust your amount of filling.  Place your rolled grape leave seam down in a large saucepan, sprayed with cooking spray so they don't stick to the bottom.  Arrange them in the pot, piling the stuffed grape leaves on top of another, until all leaves are done.  Then pour the rest of the olive oil on the grape leaves, and the rest of the lemon juice (1.5 lemons), and enough water to cover half the grape leaves (about 3 cups).  Put a plate on top of the grape leaves so they don't float away while simmering, and put the pot on low heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  You can check the domades for tenderness, but I find 1 hour is more than sufficient.  

Now, using an oven mitt, remove the plate from the pot to reveal your delicious home-made dolmades!  Carefully take them out one by one.  They are hot and fragile and at great risk for breaking, so be careful!  I arrange them in a dish and refrigerate until I'm ready to serve them with tzatziki since I like them cold.  This recipe made about 50 dolamades (I cut some leaves in half), but only 40 are making it to the Last Supper tonight.  The rest ended up in the 'broken' pile or in my belly, where they belong :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you like it!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone had a very happy father's day and great weekend! I tried out some great new places this weekend, new recipes, and went back to Next Door Bar and Grill for some drinks at the bar area. I'll blog about it in more detail starting tomorrow, as well as getting a great tzatziki recipe up that was requested by a friend! Enjoy the rest of the weekend and happy Father's day!

Next Door Bar and Grill

Up in Rochester there aren't many 'trendy' places to go out.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great place to live and there certainly are some upscale restaurants to try, but nothing you could compare to a lounge in NYC or even Boston.  A few months ago, Wegmans opened up a new restaurant in Pittsford called Next Door Bar and Grill that was creating some buzz around town.  The first time I went there was this winter, and we only went to the bar.  The moment we walked in, I knew it was something special.  This level of coolness has not been seen in Rochester before, I can assure you that.  The bar isn't very big, but has plenty of space for everyone to pile in and order some fantastic drinks.  They also have cabana style rooms that branch off of the main bar area for more privacy, with benches and pillows and billowy canopy style curtains for a little privacy.  The dining area could not be seen or smelled from the bar (smelling food from a restaurant while at a bar is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves!), so I didn't get a chance to even get a glimpse of what it's like to eat there.

Well last night I went with 4 of my best girl friends for our monthly supper club, and it was a bit of a special occasion since we were sending off one of the girls who will be moving to Philadelphia at the end of the month with her husband.  We decided to try Next Door and see if the food was as good as the bar and decor.  The minute you walk in, you're greeted with the fresh aroma of green apples, as they are displayed on wine racks in the entry foyer.  They must replenish these apples every week, because they would certainly not smell so fresh if they had been sitting there for weeks on end.  The hostess was very nice and seated us 5 minutes early, our table was ready.  Another pet peeve is when I go to a restaurant where I have a reservation, and I end up waiting 15 minutes to be seated.  No waiting here.  The dining room at next door is very hip and urban chic, something I certainly haven't seen up this way.  There were many large parties seated, and we were surprised at how busy it was for a weekday evening.  There seemed to be at least 10 large parties of over six people there for dinner.  In the center of the dining room there was an exposed sushi bar with seating all around it, where couples were seated for dinner. Along the perimeter, were sliding doors that offered private dining areas for large parties and privacy.  One of the side rooms was decorated with branch-like chandeliers and had a large wooden farmstyle dining table for 20 with luxurious upholstered chairs.  I was very impressed, and will keep this in mind next time I want to go out for dinner with 20 of my closest friends!

Everything we ate at Next Door was excellent. We started with Edamame Hummus and Tuscan French Fries for our appetizers.  There were many options from mussells and oysters to crabcakes and flatbread pizzas, and they all appealed to me.  Prices on appetizers were reasonable and ranged from 5-$12.  The entrees all looked fabulous, and there were a few specials to choose from as well.  The other part of the menu that excited me was their extensive sushi list.  I eventually settled on a duck leg served with greens and beans.  For such a decadent dish, I thought the $19 price tag was more than reasonable.  While I don't have any pictures to share (my camera battery died!) I can assure you this dish looked and tasted exquisite!  Sometimes duck can be too fatty and flavorful, but this was cooked to perfection.  Many of the girls at my table got sushi, and one of my friends described it as the "best sushi outside of California" that she's ever tasted.  That sounds like a great review to me.  The entrees all ranged in price from about $15-$35.

I can't help but give this place an A+ for it's service, decor, food, and drinks.  While I didn't even touch on the drinks in this post, their bar area and drink menu are superb, as is their wine list in the dining room.  I had an Australian Shiraz for $5 a glass that was excellent, especially given the low price.  Their list had a wide range of variety and pricepoints.  This place is great for anyone who wants a gourmet meal in Rochester at a less than gourmet price.  I can't wait to go back!

Eggplant Rollatini

In accordance with my 'eat healthy' challenge for this summer, I have another recipe that is light on fat and calories, and tasted much better than I anticipated.  I was concerned that the lack of oil or butter would really be obvious in this dish, but it truly was delicious and my husband declared, "it's a keeper!".  The prep time is about 15-20 minutes. Don't let these 'rollatini's' intimidate you.  Here is what you'll need:






2-3 medium eggplants
1 tsp olive oil
3-4 large garlic cloves
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
4 Tbsp. basil
1/2 an onion, minced
1 medium potato, diced
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta-cheese
1/2 cut parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Start by baking the eggplant.  Preheat your over to 450 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Remove the tops and bottoms from your eggplants, and cut into 1/2" strips.  Layer the eggplants on the baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

While eggplant is in the oven, make sauce.  Place olive oil (only 1 tsp! I know it was hard for me to put so little, but you can do it!) in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.  Add 2 large garlic cloves, chopped, and saute to brown (about 2 minutes).  Add crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Lower heat and add 2 Tbsp. torn basil. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, make the filling.  Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray (the no oil in the pan really killed me on this one, but it was fine! trust me!) and put on medium heat.  Add onion and potato; saute until they have browned and potato is soft.  This will take about 7-10 minutes.  Make sure to stir this so nothing burns.  Meanwhile, in a bowl combine ricotta, parsley, remaining basil, and 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese and stir to combine.  Once onion mixture is cooked, add to cheese mixture and stir. Add 1 egg, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

To make rollatin, reduce over to 400 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with cooking spray, and put about 1/2 the sauce at the bottom and swirl to coat.  On a flat surface, spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of filling at the narrow end of eggplant (I found only about 1 Tbsp fit neatly) and roll up.  Place in prepared baking dish seam side down.  Don't worry if some cheese sticks out of the side, this doesn't have to be perfect!  Repeat with remaining eggplant slices and arranged in a single layer in baking dish.  Spoon the rest of the sauce on top of the eggplant rollatinis, and sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on top.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until sauce bubbles.

Butternut Squash Penne

Happy Friday everyone!!  This week I am attempting to eat very healthy and to workout on a regular basis.  I mean it's June 11th, summer is here, and if I don't eat healthy and workout now then it will never happen! I had a good streak going in March/April, but since coming back from my whirlwind trip to Vegas it's been a slippery slope.  I love to cook, and therefore to eat.  However, I could admittedly start cooking with some more healthful ingredients, and going easy on the olive oil, butter, and meat.  Therefore, I present to you a surprisingly low fat and low calorie meal that is quite tasty: butternut squash penne with thyme!  The ingredients you will need are as follows:

20 oz. butternut squash peeled and cubed (I couldn't find the peeled and cubed fresh squash at Wegmans this week so I used the frozen mashed squash as a substitute).
1 1/4 cup skim milk
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 box smart taste penne

Start by preparing the squash.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a baking sheet with any cooking spray (so it doesn't stick) and bake squash in the oven for 20-30 minutes.  Take out and place in a bowl; mash.  Alternatively, use the frozen mashed squash, which can be found in the frozen vegetables section.  I defrosted it in the microwave and mashed to get the lumps out.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, flour, garlic, salt and pepper (I used some red cayenne pepper for a kick!).  Bring to a boil over medium heat, but make sure to keep whisking so the milk doesn't stick to the bottom.  Reduce heat and let milk mixture simmer.  It will start to thicken.  Remove from the heat once it has gotten thick, and slowly add the mashed butternut squash.  Add 2 1/2 tsps. thyme and whisk everything together.

Meanwhile, you can bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne to your liking.  I recommend cooking it 'al dente' because it will cook more once put in the oven.

Once pasta and sauce are both ready, mix the pasta and the sauce together in the large pot.  Then add in walnuts (if you like nuts).  Have a baking dish prepared and sprayed with cooking spray.  Put pasta mixture into this baking dish.  Sprinkle half the parmesan cheese onto the pasta mixture and mix in.  Then dot the top of the pasta with spoonfulls of the ricotta, and sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on top.

Bake in the 375 degree oven until the top is lightly browned, about 20-30 minutes.  Sprinkle the top with remaining thyme.

This dish was really very tasty.  Of course adding butter and whole milk to the sauce would have made it tastier, not to mention more cheese, but the goal here was to have a hearty and filling dish that was light on the fat.  The butternut squash really helped to thicken the sauce and gave it a great taste, and the walnuts added a nice crunch to this dish.  The ricotta cheese didn't hurt either!  I thought this was a great meal and hopefully you will too! Kali Oreksi.

Goodness Cakes!

Last month for my birthday my husband surprised me with a dinner out with friends at one of my favorite restaurants, and had a fantastic cake for me to blow out my candles from Goodness Cakes.  The chocolate caramel cake was truly one of the best I've had.  At times, chocolate cakes from bakeries can be too dry but this had just the right taste and texture!  After such a pleasant cake experience, we decided to go pick out something from their bakery for a dinner party we were invited to last night with friends.  We settled on their adorable mini cupcakes, decorated to perfection.  They had two flavors on hand, Vanilla Bean and Orange Chiffon, (but you can order whatever you like in advance).  The mini cupcakes were a hit at the party!  Truly delicious and great to look at too.  Overall, this bakery gets an A+ and I can't wait to have another excuse to get a cake from this exceptional bakery!

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

This past weekend I had a great cookout with wonderful friends, and I made one of my favorite Greek dishes of all time, Spanakopita.  It's a great vegetarian option as a side dish or even a main meal!  It's not difficult to make, but the Filo Dough takes some patience.  The ingredients you need are:

1 box filo dough
1-1.5 lbs Feta Cheese, crumbled
15 oz. container Ricotta Cheese
12 oz. baby spinach
4 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
chopped Leeks (about 1.5 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
about 2 sticks butter

Start by making the filling.  Use a large bowl to put the spinach, crumbled feta cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, olive oil and leeks.  Stir to moisten the spinach.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stirring the spinach mixture takes some muscle and some time.  It will start out very fluffy and dry, and as you mix all the ingredients together the spinach will moisten and flatten.  Once the spinach and cheese is completely mixed together, set aside.

Now it's time for the filo.  Make sure you have taken it out of your freezer and kept in the refrigerator at least overnight to thaw.  Roll out the filo from the box and work quickly but carefully.  Spray the pan you will use with PAM to prevent it from sticking.  Have 1 stick butter melted and on hand for brushing the filo with.  Start laying each layer of filo down in the pan, brushing with butter after each layer.  This is important so that it doesn't dry out.  There is nothing worse than dry filo!  See my post on bougatsa below for a demonstration of how to lay out filo; it is done the same way.  Once you have used a little more than half of the filo for the bottom layer (i.e. if there are 20 sheets in the box, use about 12 for the bottom and the remainder for the top), you can put the spinach and cheese filling in the pan.  Then continue layering the filo on top and brushing each layer with butter.  Melt butter as needed; I usually use about 2 sticks (I know it sounds like a lot of butter but it makes it delicious!)

Once you are done, fold over the edges of the filo and cut off any excess.  Then scour the spanakopita with your knife where you would cut it once it's done, but don't cut all the way down.  Put in a preheated oven of 375 degrees F., and bake for about 1 hour or until the top is golden brown.

Once done baking, let cool for at least 30 mins-1 hour.  Spanakopita is best served room temperature (in my opinion).  This lets it settle so all the mixture doesn't fall out when you try to pick up the pieces and eat it.

Good luck making spanakopita and kali oreksi!

Delicious Snack!

One of my favorite snacks ever (dangerously so) are Pita Chips with Hummus!  I really like Stacy's brand, Simply Naked Pita Chips.  Served alongside any type of Hummus (I prefer Tribe roasted red pepper, only 40 calories a serving!) it makes a great mid-afternoon snack or a great appetizer for barbecues or casual dinner parties!  The difficult part though is stopping, those pita chips are addictive!