Foodista's Scalloped Potatoes and Fruity Corn Bread

Annoyed that I hadn't cooked in a while, I prepared a proper four course dinner last Friday night--Dan was pretty happy. While I made the appetizer, the side dish and dessert, he took care of grilling up some delicious steak. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on grilling so I'm just going to talk about the side dish and dessert.

Scalloped Potatoes - This was a dish that I improvised. It was inspired by one of my dad's favorite Slovak dishes, ironically named "Francuske Zemiaky" or "French Potatoes." They're cut into thin ovals and flavored with sour cream, onions, sausage and eggs. My version nixed these except for the onions and instead of the sour cream, I added a splash of fat free milk--a healthier option. I also incorporated fresh rosemary into the potato mixture and topped it with buttery bread crumbs. Here is my recipe, which fed four people but could also be great for three hungry people.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

4 large Idaho potatoes sliced into 1/4" ovals
1/4 large white onion, sliced thin
A generous splash of fat free milk (or any milk that you like)
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs
A small sliver of butter (1 tbs or less) melted
Olive oil to coat the bottom of the baking dish
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish with olive oil.

Mix all ingredients except for the milk in a medium bowl. Pour ingredients into the greased baking dish and add milk at the end. Combine melted butter and bread crumbs and pour over the top of the potatoes. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes but serve warm.

Fruity Corn Bread - I wanted to make a fruity dessert in the spirit of summer. Finding a box of corn bread mix in my pantry, I decided to put a new spin on it by enhancing it with fruit. Plums and peaches were my ingredients of choice. They made the corn bread moist, injecting personality into a typically bland dish. For that extra special touch, I baked this in individual ramekins so everyone got their very own fruity corn bread.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
A box of Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
1 plum and 1 peach sliced into 1/4" cubes
A dash of cinnamon for topping
Ice cream or frozen yogurt (your choice of flavor but I recommend vanilla)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Follow directions on the back of the Jiffy box. Add plums and peaches and mix together (but do not overmix). Place into individual ramekins using an ice-cream scoop--it will help you keep the quantities equal. Top with a dash of cinnamon and bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and then top with a scoop of ice-cream.

Enjoy, enjoy!

Locale - Dessert Stole the Show

Locale - 33-02 34th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106

718.729.9080

N/W Train to Broadway

www.localeastoria.com

This was my second time at Locale and I enjoyed myself even more than the last time when I came for brunch. The food was better and the company was equally great--our friends Lauren and Keith came out to see us from Long Island. We wanted to bring them out to a cool, funky place that was nice enough for a Friday night treat but laid-back enough where we could casually enjoy each other's company. Locale delivered on all accounts.

Atmosphere:

Even though I've described Locale's atmosphere in my last review, I have to point out that I much rather preferred its setting for dinner than for brunch. The lighting is dim and creates an intimate mood, accentuating the shabby-chic decor of Matisse-like paintings and exposed brick walls. It was a perfect way to spend a Friday night dinner with friends but I'd also recommend it for a quiet romantic dinner.

Food:

Locale offers a mix of Mediterranean fare, from pasta and paninis to chicken, meat and fish. Everything was prepared well and tasted fresh. Although not everything stood out, for the most part, the dishes met and even in some cases exceeded expectations.

Gnocchi Sorrentina: I chose this dish because I wasn't in the mood for anything meaty and because I have a soft spot (no pun intended) for gnocchi. Locale's version definitely delivered. First of all, they were enormous and so soft that they melted on my tongue. The tomato sauce, which they were dressed in was fresh and had a nice crisp flavor. There were medium sized chunks of fresh mozzarella resting on top--they melted slightly from the hot gnocchi and sauce, making it even more delicious. I'd strongly recommend this dish for dinner.

Rigatoni Bolognese: This was Dan's dish and he had a hard time deciding between that and the Frutta di Mare pasta special. After opting for the Bolognese, he was more than satisfied with his choice. I had the pleasure of tasting this and it was all that a Bolognese should be--chunky, meaty, hearty and the pasta was cooked al-dente. I especially liked that the pasta was a small version of rigatoni--it made the meat easier to scoop up.

Other Entrees: Keith ordered the Tuna special, which was mixed in with penne, garlic, radicchio and black olives. While this sounded amazing it was a bit on the salty side and Keith wasn't overly impressed. It's unfortunate and true that specials could be a hit or miss situation. I read somewhere that too many specials could mean that chefs are trying to get rid of old ingredients--except in a place like Trattoria L'Incontro, where specials are what you come for.

Lauren got the lemon chicken and I think she liked it. She wasn't too vocal about it, which made me think it was just OK. It looked light and nothing too out of the ordinary--I certainly wouldn't call it a stand-out.

Dessert: This is where Locale turned up the heat and even before I start describing our desserts, I'll say that I very much recommend coming here for this course alone.

The first dessert, The Decadent Bomba (don't quote me on the "decadent" part) was a 3:1 consensus--I was the difficult one because of my slight aversion to peanut butter. But when this dish arrived at our table, it was so beautiful that I couldn't resist a taste. It reminded me of tartufo and this one was made up of peanut butter gelato with a chocolate center, embellished with caramel sauce and more hot fudge. Lauren, Keith and Dan absolutely loved it and Dan couldn't stop talking about it the whole weekend.

The second dessert was a great standby, which we got mainly for my sake--the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. Again, it was out of this world and the chocolate was a perfect mix of heaven and luxurious decadence. The fresh vanilla bean gelato that accompanied it was also excellent, providing a refreshing contrast to the warm chocolate--a pure and simple must in my book.

Service and Cost:

Our waiter was really nice and very enthusiastic about the menu. When asking him for recommendations, he replied with effusive but believable raves such as "I LOOOOVE the Frutta di Mare" or "The Bolognese is also GREAT." Nice guy and a good server. The only thing that irked me a little is that he seemed impatient with us at the end of the meal and told us that people were waiting for our table (hint, hint). He was just being fair I guess, and if I was on the other end of that I'm sure I would've appreciated his tenacity.

Cost-wise, Locale is pretty moderate and won't hurt your wallet. Pasta ranges between $11.95-$15.95, chicken dishes range between $12.95-$19.50 and dessert ranges between $3.50-$7. Dinner cost us about $36 per person including tax and tip--not bad.

2 Mmmms

Astorian Women Don't Get Fat...

Image of book: www.amazon.com

...if they cook, that is. I've been trying to stick to this principle lately--especially since this week turned out to be a dine-in instead of the originally planned dine-out week. Judging from the title of this entry, you can probably guess that I got inspired by a fun book I'm reading--French Women Don't Get Fat. While the actual book is nothing earth shattering--eating in moderation was not discovered in France--it offers a slew of cool recipes for every meal of the day. Below, you'll see that I made a semi-homemade version of the Fish en Papillote and also did my own spin on French Women's Chocolate Rice Pudding.

Fish en Papillote: This is actually called Halibut en Papillote in the book but I didn't have halibut so I substituted with tilapia. I used a pre-seasoned fish that I bought at Trader Joe's--my favorite grocery store. I put the fish in the parchment paper and also substituted the champagne/wine with small dollops of unsalted butter. I used a sprig of fresh parsley and omitted the thyme and fennel simply because I didn't have it. For all else, I followed the recipe and served it with a side of baked new potatoes.

Baked New Potatoes:

Ingredients: Serves 2-3 (depending on how hungry you are!)

4 medium sized new potatoes

Olive oil

Fresh parsley, chopped

Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the potatoes. Cut them in half and then into quarters and then into eighths. Place them on a mildly oiled cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Use your hands to mix everything together and make sure that the seasoning is evenly distributed. Bake the potatoes for 40-45 minutes or until golden around the edges. Top with chopped parsley for garnish.

Hint: You might want to check on your potatoes halfway into the cooking process and using a spoon, toss them around so all sides get golden brown.

Chocolate Rice Pudding: This sounded absolutely delightful to me when reading French Women so I decided to make it for dessert with last night's dinner. From the recipe link here, it sounds very very easy and let me tell you that it's not. The end result is worth it but be extremely careful with arborio rice. It burns quickly and gets sticky. My suggestion would be to add twice (or more) the amount of milk than this recipe calls for. If you don't want the pudding to be too rich, add 1/2 milk and 1/2 water. In my version, I also added dried cranberries, which puffed up nicely and provided a yummy tang. The end result was very pleasing and the chocolate was the best part but just know that this is a "diva" dessert--definitely not low maintenance.