No Place like Home for the Holidays: Cleveland edition! Part 1

Helloooo foodies!

Due to my hectic class/ internship schedule, I have been a little absent as of late on my blog, but thanksgiving break was a great time to relax and get ready to get back into things! I was able to go home for my break, and my first order of business was to make thanksgiving dinner (eek!)  Not all of it, but some of the heavy hitters of the night... Overall I think it turned out well! Here are some pics:

The Turkey! Not bad, right?!

Turkey with Sage Butter: I used a Tyler Florence recipe that my dad and I have used for the past couple of years and it has yet to fail us, using a combination of sage, butter (I like to use salted for this, which we did not do this year and it seemed to lack a bit of flavor), salt and pepper rubbed under the skin of the turkey. It keeps the bird super moist and flavorful while its cooking. We also chose to use an organic turkey this year-- I'm not sure if I knew the difference, but it still turned out well and tasted delicious! The recipe can be found here on foodnetwork.com!

Cornbread stuffing with sausage, cranberries, and apples

Cornbread Stuffing: For the stuffing, I knew that I wanted to use a combination of cornmeal and grits to get some extra crunch from it. I made the cornbread first, which had a great texture, but it seemed to lose a bit of its crunchy texture as the stuffing cooked on both in the turkey and out. One thing I would like to change in the future is finding a way to maintain the texture of the cornbread throughout the stuffing. I really had no rhyme or reason to my recipe, and pretty much just ended up throwing things into the pot at the last minute. I precooked the sausage with sauteed onions and celery, while deglazing the pan with the tiniest bit of white wine. I added a couple figs for their texture, along with some apples to give the stuffing a fall flavor. I used fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme, while also adding a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg (again, keeping with the fall flavors). Finally, I tried my hand at using black truffle sea salt, which worked in other dishes but not in this. Well, not that it didn't work, it just didn't really shine through the other flavors. The stuffing came out quite well after all was said and done! For not having a recipe, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. 

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Gratin

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Gratin: I found this recipe on Pinch My Salt, and I would like to say that I really loved the flavors of this dish! It was simple, but delectable. Once again, I used black truffle sea salt, and it really brought out the flavors of the dish while giving it a unique, savory flavor. There was a LOT of cheese in it (which obviously I'm not complaining) but when asking to use fancy cheeses such as manchego and gruyere, the dish got pretty expensive. I chose to use a combo of young and aged cheeses, with a young gruyere, young manchego, and an aged gruyere. The young cheese brought out a sharpness, while the aged cheese gave a nutty undertone similar to parmesean reggiano. The dish looked lovely due to the uniform slices of squash and sweet potato. Overall, it was a different approach to the traditional sweet potato, and a recipe I would definitely recommend trying. You can check out that recipe here!

Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Bundt Cake

Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Bundt Cake: This was absolutely my favorite thing I made on Turkey Day-- I stumbled upon the recipe in the 2009 November issue of Food Network Magazine I salvaged from cleaning out the swag closet at work. It looks so beautiful and tastes just as good. It used about 5 meyer lemons, which are more expensive, but their sweeter flavor are worth the purchase. The cranberry reduction in the middle keeps the cake sweet with a slight tang, while the lemon bundt cake and frosting kept the flavor light and clean. Also, I knew it was a success when my father, the anti-carb king, had two slices for dessert :) 

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, and be assured that more reviews are to come! :) I also have more to post about my time at home, including an awesome trip to Columbus for the OSU/Michigan game! 

Burgers on CRACK: Grill Em' All Food Truck

 WARNING: this post contains obscenely good burgers. Just preparing you.  

As I was doing some research for a project at work, I stumbled upon Burger Conquest, a blog alllll about burgers and their promotion of "Grill Em' All's Victory Lap in NYC". If you've seen The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, you would have seen the crazy antics of this food truck across the United States and ultimately to New York City where they won the race and a smooth $50,000. Naturally, when I found out they were coming back to New York and that it would be the weekend my parents were coming to visit, so began to devise a plan. We ended up have a late sunday commute into the city, with our first stop being Rub BBQ on 23rd to pick up a Grill 'Em All burger. It was a good thing we had gotten there right at 1:00 pm, because by the time 1:30 rolled around there was a line down the street waiting to taste this food truck glory. We waited about 45 minutes before being seated, from which we ordered one of each of their specialty burgers: The Behemoth, The Blue Cheer, and The Pantera. Menacing names for menacing burgers. We also ordered some fries and a beer milkshake. Yes, a milkshake with beer in it. Let that one sink in. Let me tell you--- they did not disappoint. Although they successfully put me and my parents in a food coma for the rest of the day, it was worth it. Here's the breakdown by burger:

The Pantera: Beef and pulled pork patty with deep fried mac&cheese, house cured bacon and a garlic aioli

 What I liked: Hi. Do you see this burger? there's fried macaroni and cheese on it. and bacon. Thick-cut, crunchy, fatty, bacon. Its probably a heart attack on a bun, but we live in the land of the Doubledown. We brought it upon ourselves. And I'm not hating it. The burger was bangin'. All I can say.

What I didn't like: I'm not the biggest fan of pork. Its just a preference. I've never really yearned for a pulled pork sandwich, so I don't really yearn for this either. But it was still awesome, I just probably wouldn't order it off the top of my head.

The Blue Cheer: Cranberry gastrique, Maytag blue spread, potato chips

 What I liked: This was everyone's favorite burger at the table-- I got to talk to both Matt and Ryan from Grill 'Em All after, and they said it was one of their favorites as well. The flavors just work together so well-- the sweetness of the cranberries with the slight tangy-ness of the blue cheese and the crunch of the potato chips-- it was ideal. Also, I think this was my favorite actual patty of meat-- I'm not sure what it was but it was seasoned so well and cooked to perfection. This was the belle of the ball.
What I didn't like: Nothing. I wish I had only gotten this for myself and I could have eaten the whole thing.

The Behemoth: Grilled cheese buns, smoked cheddar,  applewood smoked bacon, beer soaked onions

Let me just preface this in saying that this had been in my mind what I was most excited to try. On the show, everyone raved about the behemoth-- I don't know if that was because the burger was so good or just the mad scientist idea of making a burger with grilled cheese buns. Either way, I knew I had to order it just to say I did. 

What I liked: I've said it before-- I love cheese. All kinds. Doesn't matter. I haven't found a cheese I didn't like. If I was stuck on a desert island and all I had was a fridge full of different cheeses, I would never leave. So grilled cheese is obviously an ideal sandwich for me. And Grilled cheese with a cheeseburger? Duh. It was cheesy goodness. Once again, the bacon was crisp and delicious, and the burger was ideal. 

What I didn't like: I don't think I'm a fan of the whole beer soaked onion thing, but thats just because I don't really like beer. They gave an odd flavor accent to the burger that definitely stood out among the other ingredients, but it didn't put it over the top for me. This burger also was the burger that pushed my cholesterol over the edge and put me into a sloth-like daze, so at that point I had to put it down and take a break.

Black Chocolate Beer Milkshake: vanilla ice cream, Shiner black beer, chocolate

I just thought I would add this as well, for all who didn't know what a beer milkshake would look like. There it is. Again, I don't love beer, and it really had beer in it, so I wasn't dying to slop one of these up on the weekends. But I will admit it was good. 

Overall, It was a good time. The parentals and I walked it off in central park post-burger coma, and then we headed to the parent's weekend party at my house. I'm glad I got to share my family weekend with such an awesome trio of burgers. One point-- they are based out of LA, so if you're in the area, go to www.grillemalltruck.com and see what this scary goodness is all about! 

Also, don't forget to check out Burger Conquest-- without their post, I would have never known! To see their posts on the event, go to burgerconquest.blogspot.com 

Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10 stars

The Most Dangerous Combination: Artichoke Pizza

Artichoke signature slice: Spinach and artichoke sauce with mozzarella cheese

First, I would like to apologize for the lack of posting! It's been a busy couple weeks, but the upside to this is that I have a lot to post! My parents came to visit last weekend, which turned into an adventure that should have been called "Lets go find every awesome food place we can find and eat everything". Basically. Anywho, today I am talking about one of the most decadent creations I have ever heard of-- the signature slice at Artichoke. For those of you not familiar with Artichoke, it started as a little hole in the wall in the East Village, serving up humongous slices of glory late into the night. They just opened their second location with a full dining room on the west side at 17th and 10th (and guess who works a block away?! THIS GIRL). After a brief description of their pizza by my friend/fellow intern/ foodie-in-crime Andrea, we planned our first Friday lunch outing (now deemed "Foodie Fridays" and the one thing I can always look forward to each week :) and that first outing was to Artichoke.

Here's the thing: when you have things that are incredibly delectable on their own, and you merge them into one, it can either go horribly wrong or create an indescribable right. The latter happened when Artichoke created their signature slice: Pizza + Spinach and Artichoke Dip= God's gift to New Yorkers.

After getting down from the proverbial cloud I end up on from just thinking about this pizza, I need to be frank for a second-- this is NOT your stereotypical New York pizza. the crust is thicker and more fluffy with a good crust on the bottom (It reminds me of a pizza place back in Cleveland that I actually don't like, but it works with the artichoke pizza) and there is no tomato sauce. But if you love cheese, spinach and artichoke dip, and bread all rolled into one, you'll be good to go. I have also heard great things about their crab slice (All I know really is that there is crab involved) but have yet to try it. Until I get to try that, here's what I thought about Artichoke!

What I liked: The idea. Obviously, whoever made up this pizza was either pregnant and having conflicting cravings or just had the munchies, but I definitely thank them. The pizza is delicious. Super delicious. And its filling-- I don't know how anyone could eat more than one slice (Although if I was drunk enough I would probably try-- I admit that I'm a drunk eater. It's a problem) The artichoke sauce is creamy and rich, and the crust is perfectly crispy and crunchy. A definite must try for NYC.

What I didn't like: As tantalizing of a slice of pizza an Artichoke slice is, it's something you know is horrible for you while your eating it and you want to stop yourself but you can't. Why is this a bad thing? Because of how you feel later. Its wonderful as you eat it, but for me the richness of the entire slice made me feel queasy later in the day. Like I said earlier, it is very rich. Take that as you may, it is something I know I can only have once in a blue moon. Eh. Also, my slice was a bit under-seasoned, but that was easily fixed with a couple shakes of some parmesan and red pepper flakes. To each his own!

My Rating: 7 out of 10! Its a pretty fair substitute for a tino's #4. It's actually quite similar to it.

Like I said, I have a lot to post this week, so keep your eyes peeled! Until then, have a great week :)