A Rewarding Dinner

Dan and I volunteer every year at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual gala. We sold beads to raise funds for the cause. Our shift started at 5pm and our duties wrapped up around 9:30pm. Needless to say we were starving at the end of our shift and thought we should reward ourselves.

Dan suggested we head to our favorite spot, Bar La Grassa, thinking it was late enough that we could get a table in the bar. Wrong! It turns out this is not only our favorite spot, but high on the list for others too. With little time to spare and convenience in mind, (we'd already valeted and close to kitchen close) we decided to head across the street to Borough. To set the stage, I'd been to Borough previously and Dan was resistant based upon feedback he'd heard from co-workers. I loved it the first time!

In the end, success! Our meal was amazing!! We started with Carpaccio. This dish was unlike your normal Carpaccio. It hosted an array of different flavors and textures, all suiting to the pallet. For our meals, Dan ordered a White Fish and I ordered the Duck. Me explaining these dishes to you won't do them justice. All I have to say is I've never ordered duck prior to this and I can't wait to order it again. Dan and I will be making a point, in the near future, to visit Borough again!

Bacon Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are a food I was never willing to try as a child and grew to like as an adult. The only kind I've ever had are the traditional kind with egg, mayo and mustard (my mom makes a mean deviled egg!).

Until recently, it never occurred to me that an ingredient other than mayo or mustard would taste good with a hard boiled egg. About a month ago, when searching for something to bring to a BBQ, I stumbled upon a recipe for Bacon Guacamole Deviled Eggs on a blog called Closet Cooking. I followed the recipe verbatim (minus tomatoes as I forgot them at the grocery store) and the eggs were a hit!
 

 

Recipe

6 eggs, boiled, cooled, peeled, and cut in half lengthwise

1 lrg avocado, mashed

2T. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1T. jalapeno, finely diced

1T. red onion, finely diced

2T. diced tomato

1T. lime juice (1/2 lime)

1T. cilantro, chopped

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

pinch chili powder (for garnish)

 

Scoop the yolks out of the egg halves, mash them, mix with the avocado, bacon, jalapeno, onion, tomato, lime juice and cilantro and season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Place a tablespoon of the mixture back into the holes left by the yolks in the eggs and serve garnished with extra bacon and a pinch of chili powder.

 









Good Food - Good Company

We are on the last lag of the construction adventure at the Stachel household. I couldn't be more excited!! It has been quite some time since I've been able to cook a decent meal in our construction dusted kitchen. The end is in sight and I know it will be well worth the wait (before and after post to come).

Although intricate meal making has come to a halt (not that it existed before), that doesn't mean entertaining has. A few weeks ago I decided to have a dinner party. I wanted to keep it simple considering we were lacking a put-together space. Initially I thought, "what a great night for a patio, dinner party", unfortunately MN weather refused to cooperate and we ended up inside. I dusted, it worked out. ;)

I wanted to serve something light, including only ingredients I had in the house. I started out with tortilla chips and Mango Salsa. For the main course I decided to serve a Curry Shrimp Flatbread. I served both of these with my favorite cheap white wine, the Kirkland Chardonnay. You can purchase a bottle at Costco (and Costco alone) for about $8.99. YES!!! Believe it!!! For those of you who don't know me well, I consider myself to be somewhat of a wine snob. I do NOT lead you astray. If you're a fan of a delicious buttery chard, this is the perfect everyday chard for you!

Anyhow, I was nervous about the mix and how everything would come together, but it turned out GREAT!! The wine paired awesome with the mango salsa as well as the flatbread. Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most enjoyable!

A "must have" summer wine!

Curry Shrimp Flatbread

Recipes
Curry Shrimp Flatbread
Shrimp seasoning (adopted from www.eat-yourself-skinny.com)
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 lime
1-2 T. chopped cilantro for garnish
Shrimp (you could use frozen small or fresh large, depends what you prefer)

2-3 T. Goat cheese
1/4 of  a Red onion
2 T. Sour cream
1 Cooked flatbread

Preheat oven or grill to 375. Mix all dry ingredients together. Heat 1-2 T. olive oil in sauce pan. Toss shrimp in the seasoning mixture. Cook shrimp. when shrimp is almost done, spread evenly on flatbread. Sprinkle onion and goat cheese over the top. Bake for 5-10 min. Top with cilantro and sour cream.

Mango Salsa
4 Mangoes 
1 Red onion
2 Jalapenos 
1/4 c. cilantro
salt
pepper

Dice all ingredients and mix together. Salt and pepper to taste.