Tuna-Rosemary Pasta

Very mixed reviews for this one. Last night for dinner, I made tuna-rosemary pasta (thin linguine). To some, this dish may sound disgusting. To me, it doesn't sound so bad but it sounds better in Italian. Something al' tonnato (sp?). So the dish exists, I didn't make it up. Actually the person who taught me the basics of Hungarian goulash taught me how to make this dish as well. It's a very simple dish. All you need is dried rosemary, garlic, tomato sauce (we used our homemade sauce) and the main ingredient: tuna packed in olive oil. Heat oil. Sautee garlic and rosemary. Add sauce. Add tuna. Heat through.

I happen to like this dish. I haven't had it in like fifteen years but it crept up in my mind from time to time. Steve's verdict. I'd have to say that he hated it. He definitely doesn't want that one in the rotation. As for myself, I'll be having the leftovers for lunch. Oh, I served it with escarole sauteed in olive oil, red wine vinegar, white wine and nutmeg. I didn't cook it enough for Steve. He couldn't eat that either. I do agree that it needed to be cooked a little longer, but I enjoyed it. It reminded me of the texture of a good kimchi (korean pickled/fermented cabbage).

In my mind, last night was a dinner bomb because Steve didn't enjoy it. I feel responsible to cook him or anyone a good meal. I want to see and hear satisfaction and perhaps even delight. I feel good knowing that a good meal was had. (But ya know, dinner bombs will occur from time to time so I'm not too discouraged.) Be nice to yourself today and Eat Something Good!

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Epstein's

You won't find real butter or cheese for that burger here, but you definitely won't miss it. Last night we were lured into Epstein's (kosher restaurant) for a simple hot dog. When the hostess seated us, I changed my mind about the hot dog and went for something I've enjoyed in the past. I had a hot open faced beef brisket sandwich with brown gravy and french fries. After Steve heard my order, he changed his mind on his own order and got what I got.

Whenever you go to Epstein's, they bring you pickles (2 kinds: one very garlicky and one salty and without much of a vinegar zing), fresh cole slaw (it's very slightly sweet and creamy like it'd just been made), and mini latkes (potato pancakes). These, usually good, weren't so good last night but we ate them anyways.

The beef brisket. Steve loved it. I thought it was pretty good but it could've used more gravy. And I thought the meat was just slighty dry. Steve said that's how it's supposed to be - that I was thinking about roast beef instead. *shrug* All I know is that I can't even come close to calling it succulent. Oh, the sandwich was served open on rye.

The fries. Love them. Many of the fries, medium cut (a little bigger than the size of Wendy's fries) lack crispiness. But that's the great part about it. They're still awesome. Every once in a while you get a fry with a little crisp and it's like rewarding to eat. The fries are dense and meaty but not too meaty.

To drink, I had what I always get here. One can of Dr. Brown's diet cream soda. Yum! Steve got Dr. Brown's celery soda. I have no idea how he can drink the stuff. It's ucky. It may, however, be interesting to make a fizzy bloody mary with it.

For dessert, we got a small container of assorted rugeluch (sp?). They were not dry but not as moist as some are. I wonder if they're moist because they don't bake them enough. I don't know. These were pretty good. I enjoyed them. Ok guys, do like I do and Eat something good!

Epstein's Kosher Delicatessen
387 N Central Ave
Hartsdale, NY 10530

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Asiago Cheese Omlette

I was feeling uninspired last night so I made a trash meal. I made omlettes. Steve & I differ on cooking methods. He tends to let the omlette just sit there, (not touching it) until the top sets up enough to put the cheese on. The result tends be a well cooked omlette. Browned on the bottom. I've eaten plenty of them over the years. When I make it, I slowly stir the eggs around. Then I swirl it around the pan by literally picking the pan up and tilting it this way and that to redistribute the liquidy, uncooked egg that sits on top. I lower the heat and let it cook slowly as not to burn the bottom. Half the time, when I'm not feeling incredibly lazy, I put a little foil tent over it very loosely. Sometimes it's a hit; sometimes it's a miss.

These were three egg omlettes. I used plenty of butter making them. I like asiago cheese, I was gonna add some sauteed tomatoes to it but I got lazy. Actually, I thought we had to be somewhere so I was rushing. I served them with hash browns (the McDonald's kind) - only these were store brand, a little bigger and actually crisped up nicely in the oven. (Though they were darker in color than theirs.) Previously, Steve fried them in oil. I know I don't make the wisest food choices in the world, but frying already fried potatoes made me feel like - uhh, not good. Something like veins busting. Anyway, I also made whole wheat toast (Pepperidge Farms farmhouse bread) with plenty of butter again. I don't know why the heck I was using so much butter last night. And it's been me trying to get us back on track. Hmmm. So that was dinner last night.

The verdict. The omelette was somewhat greasy (from all the butter) but it tasted good. Asiago cheese melts nicely. And its flavor is really good. I really like it. I can't put my finger on what I like about it but I'll keep researching it. Ie: Gobble, gobble! The problem with the asiago cheese is that it almost overwhelmed the flavor of the omelette (the eggs). (Perhaps I used a little too much.) That's where the whole wheat toast came in. Steve likes to cut off a piece of omelette and place it on the toast. Then he folds it in half and takes a bite. He encourages me to do it all the time. The first time I did it, I didn't fold the toast. I placed a bite size piece on the corner of the toast and took a bite. I enjoyed that very much and continue to do it today. But I only do it at home for some reason. I eat my toast separately in diners. The hash browns were very crispy and very doable. Steve & I were quite surprised. He was convinced that baking them wouldn't produce a nice crunch. Mmmm, I love breakfast foods at dinner. I even do pancakes! I hope I gave you some nice ideas so that you can Eat Something Good!

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Campbell's Cream of Mushroom

We had some leftover egg noodles from goulash night. So Steve and I brainstormed about what we could possibly do with it. He requested dishes like turkey tetrazzini and chicken a la king. I don't recall having ever eaten either of them except that I do fantasize about turkey tetrazzini around Thanksgiving time. We decided to do something like chicken a la king. I read one very easy recipe that included cream of chicken soup. I've cooked with canned condensed soups before but I was never that fond of it. At best, it was edible and okay I guess. I came across more complicated versions of the dish but Steve poo pooed it and wanted the easy dish with the condensed soup.

So I went to CVS to pick up some stuff and I went to their food aisle. All I saw was cream of mushroom soup and decided to go with that. (I didn't feel like making a second trip to the grocery store.) Mushrooms were an ingredient in many of the recipes I looked at. So, with chicken a la king in mind I made something. In a medium sauce pan I added the soup with white wine, chicken stock and dried thyme. I sauteed chicken (small'ish pieces) in a heavy skillet (what we call our everyday pan) and added the sauce to it. Finally, I added some frozen peas.

I could taste the wine and chicken stock within the thick but not too thick sauce. And the egg noodles mixed in perfectly with the dish and that made me happy because it didn't go to waste. It went to my waist instead. Ha! Okay, so that wasn't very funny. To go with this meal, I made a simple spring mix salad with grape tomatoes and sliced red onion. I had it with fat free thousand island dressing. Steve passed on the salad and had a second serving of the chicken dish. Overall I was happy with the meal. Eat something good!

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Meatball Inconsistency

I took Steve to the place that had great meatballs. It's in Yonker's NY. He hesitated a little but because I spoke so highly of it - he decided to give it a try. And oh my gosh. I was so embarrassed. The parm sucked. The meatballs were overcooked. Hard and a little dry. I was upset. This happened once before. I raved about Sal's pizza in Mamaroneck, NY and the day I took Steve there - the pizza was horrible. Soggy even. Again, I don't know what happened. Anyway, Steve always talks about consistency. We avoid many pizzerias in the area fearing that 'it won't be good this time'. And too many times we're proven correct in thinking so. We feel so rewarded when it's right on. So the meatball fiasco - what the heck happened to them? On a more positive note, their regular slice was very good and Steve said their white slice was excellent. So take my reviews with a grain of salt. It's always possible that the back up cook is there ruining business. Eat something good!

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the Blazer Pub

We drove for 45 minutes last night for a part for the pellet stove when there was a place 15 minutes away. Steve tries to be loyal to small, mom & pop businesses. He dislikes the large, mile a minute talking, sale, sale, sales people. Anyway, we got the part and decided to grab a bite as it was getting late. We had dinner after 9p.

This pub serves great burgers. They're often rated one of the best burgers in the area. I got one with swiss and bacon. Steve ordered the Blazer burger which came with lettuce, tomato, bacon, american cheese and fried onions. They put a good amount of fried onions on it so he gave me some. It was too much for one burger. Their onions were nicely fried with some "burnt" pieces. The burger was a little hard to eat. The meat patty itself is about an inch thick. And then with the stuff on top, it gets even taller. I must note that when it first appeared, it looked a little small. But when I picked it up and saw how thick it was and how heavy it was - I new I'd be sated. The fries, (which you have to order separately) are different from your typical fries. These were obviously hand cut wedges (and unevenly cut I might add.) They fry them beyond golden brown. It's a darker brown. They have a little crispiness to them on the outside. On the inside, it's a dense, meaty potato. This is one of those places that charges for each little item separately. There's a charge for lettuce and tomato even. And cole slaw which typically comes with a burger at a diner. But it's okay simply because this is a place that only does burgers and sandwiches and appetizers that include yummy buffalo wings.

We started with them. Steve wasn't loving the idea but I pressed on cause I really wanted them. And I thought they were delicious. The wings were good sized. Steve thought they were way big. I didn't think so. The buffalo sauce had just the right amount of heat for me. Not too hot but definitely not mild. Steve liked them but he didn't think they were anything to write home about. I have to admit that my taste buds are a little off these days as I'm feeling under the weather. Anyway, I washed the meal down with some diet coke (no beer for us last night) and I was content. I want you guys to feel content today so Eat something good!

The Blazer Pub
Route 22
Purdys, NY 10578

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