Stuff It (Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken)

I have been eating in three very distinct ways for the past week or so: 1. Like Buddy the Elf-eating sugar, sugar and sugar. 2. Like a drunk at a cocktail party-tiny cheeses, dips, fizzy drinks, and chips. And... 3. Like the Italian Stallion-heavy pasta with extra sauce, meat and cheese. As delicious as all of this has been I am really ready for something different tonight. I bought some thinly sliced chicken cutlet and my husband suggested some sort of stuffed roll...And that is how we end up with Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken. chicken & stuffing: 6 thin chicken cutlets (or pound them) 1/2 box frozen spinach defrosted and all liquid squeezed out 1/2 cup roasted peppers or peppadews (or whatever pepper looks good on the olive bar at the grocery store)-diced 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 2 tablespoons dried oregano cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste topping: 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon each garlic powder and dried oregano 2 teaspoons olive oil Preheat oven for 350 degrees and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Mix together all the stuffing ingredients, spoon about 1 tablespoon into the middle of each piece of chicken and roll. You can secure with a toothpick and put seam side down in prepared pan. I stuffed extra stuffing into the sides of each piece after placing them in the pan. Mix together all topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of chicken. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes. I am serving mine with orzo drizzled with a touch of olive oil and mixed with the leftover stuffing filling! :)

Adult Candy Bars (aka Salted Caramel Cookie Bars)

Salted caramel is all the rage. Everyone is eating it as a cupcake, a sauce on something and I just received a candle that is salted caramel scented. That candle sat on my desk all of last week burning and making me hungry. All I wanted to eat were Twix bars and those tiny Brach's caramel squares. By end of the week I had enough of the smelling but not eating caramel, and I decided a Twix Bar was not going to cut it-the caramel had to be salted. A bunch of research led me to chocolate salted caramel cookie bars, which everyone said were grown up Twix bars. The recipe as is was fine, but I decided it needed some tweaking. The results have been hugely successful and several people have asked for the recipe. Here you go... Cookie Layer 2 sticks room temp unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 Tbl vanilla extract 1/2 tea salt 2 cups flour Caramel Layer 10 oz carmel candies-unwrap, use your kitchen shears to cut up 2-3 Tbl heavy cream Chocolate Layer 10 oz dark chocolate chips 1 cup heavy cream Decent quality flakey salt of your choosing Preheat your oven to 325, generously grease your 13x9 glass baking dish. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and salt, then add flour and mix to combine. Press this into bottom of prepared dish and dock the dough-meaning-pierce dough with a fork all over to keep it from bubbling up. Bake this for up to 35 minutes until it is set and begins to get golden brown. Set aside to cool. Once cooled slightly turn it out onto a baking sheet/cutting board lined with foil. Fold the edges of the foil up around the cookie to make a lip-this will help keep caramel goodness from oozing off the top of the cookie. Put your caramels and 2 tbl heavy cream into small sauce pan and heat over low heat, if you have chopped them up well with your scissors they should begin to melt quickly-keep stirring. If it isn't getting that cream caramel sauce thickness add a touch more cream. Once completely melted pour over the cookie crust. Let this set up for a few minutes before adding the hot chocolately layer-this will help keep the layers neat and distinct. Heat your 1 cup of cream in a pot, stir in the chips, remove from heat and stir til the chips melt. You can jazz this up with a tablespoon of your favorite extract or liquer. Once completely smooth pour onto the caramel layer. Immediately sprinkle with salt-to your taste-I used less. I also bought a decent salt for this in a grocery store. You don't need to buy a $30 salt that you may never use again, but don't go with kosher or table salt either. Heat your knive with hot water and cut into bars-keep the knife hot and clean for easier and cleaner cuts. It is hard to cut into but completely worth the effort.

Everybody Walk The Dinosaur (A second look at Dinosaur BBQ)

When the Troy branch of Dinosaur BBQ opened a few years ago I am positive I did a brief write up of the joint. Time has passed and more foods have been tried and it is just time to remind you all of how much I still love it there! Last night my family offered to take me out to a pre-birthday dinner and allowed me to pick my restaurant. Having decided that I really wanted the Dino, I was worried that at 5:45 on a Friday we would not get seated. The Dino gets so busy on weekends that a 2 hour wait is not uncommon. Other BBQ places were suggested and I declined, because I didn't want BBQ, I wanted Dino BBQ. It isn't the same as the other local joints-it is so specific that nothing else would do for me last night. So we took our chances and hopped in the car. The Dino birthday gods were looking down on us as we got one of the last open tables. We started with a round of beverages-they have a great beer selection featuring local, craft and national brands both on tap and in bottles. My husband opted for something dark and involving cherries which he declared great. I went for an Arnold Palmer-half sweet tea/half lemonade and all refreshing. They serve Boylans rootbeers/birch beers etc which was a great option for the child. The Swag Sampler Platter for two was next up-their version of a sampler platter one would find at any chain. This one comes with Fried Green Tomatoes, Creole Deviled Eggs, Cajun Shrimp, Wings. We passed on the shrimp and got more eggs. You get enough for everyone to have one of everything (except shrimp-you get two shrimp a piece...in our case we got 2 egg halves a piece). The tomatoes are green, fried crispy and have a bit of a tang to them. I have no other green tomato experience to compare them to but the soft tangy inside with the crispy outside and the cool creamy dipping sauce makes them the gold standard for any future fried greens I try. The wings can come in a variety of sauces, and we went for a medium one. Well cooked-no flabby skin on these boys! And sauced enough but not too much. Perfect amount of flavor, with mild heat. And the eggs....if I have a last supper those eggs are going to be part of it. Creole deviled eggs that make me swoon. I have tried to recreate the creamy spicy flavor of the yolk at home with no success. I could literally eat a dozen of them. For dinner we decided the bird is in fact the word. Daughter ordered from the kids menu-and I have to say at $5.99 for choice of entrees and 2 sides that is an amazing value. Her entree and side choices are all right from the adult menu and there is no skimping on quality for kids. Husband ordered the 1/2 chicken dinner with mashed potato and chopped salad. Perfectly smoky sticky bbq chicken. The gravy was slightly spicy but meaty. And salad was fresh looking with romaine, carrots and cukes. I went for the Jerked Chicken Sandwich with a side of mac n cheese. Oh yes, the Dino Mac n Cheese would also be on my last supper plate. Cheesey, creamy and a kick of spice to it there is nothing else equal to it in my eyes. The jerk chicken comes with jerk seasoned shredded chicken along with pickled onion and pepper on a sub roll. Actually not a messy sandwich to eat and full of flavor from jerk season, chicken and some mild crunch and tang from the pickled veg. Service was great, as usual. (Although I have friends who do not like the service there...) I personally would walk the Dinosaur any day of the week.

Thai one on (A Review of Sweet Basil -Delaware Ave)

My 'hood The Delaware Ave neigborhood has really been booming with deliciousness the past few years-Mingle, Emack, New World, Ultra Violet, Andy's, Carndona's and the new cheese shop are all making my belly very happy and my runs a little more difficult each morning. The newest addition to this great food line up is Sweet Basil located right next door to Emack & Bolio at 370 Delaware Ave.

The restaurant is a former hot dog joint, sushi place and a hibachi restaurant. None of those places lasted long and none were all that awesome on quality of food. Sweet Basil is a clear step above those and I hope that as it is less than a five minute walk from my house it doesn't go any place!

Daughter and I settled on some take out for tonight and took a walk down as we didn't have a menu. The interior has about 6 tables-mostly 4 tops as the spot is tiny. It is clean, softly lit, elegantly and sparsely decorated and has linen tablecloths and napkins. Nice enough for a dinner date, comfy enough for family night.

We ordered Chicken Satay ($6), Potstickers ($6), Spicy Sweet Basil w/Chicken ($12) and I just had to have the mango with sticky rice ($5).

The Satay was 4 plump skewers of juicy chicken with a cup of mildly spiced and peanutty sauce. My daughter declared them among the best she ever had and ate all 4 of them! The Potstickers were a veggie and chicken variety with standard dumpling sauce on the side. Our bad for not specifying steamed/fried etc so we got boiled and didn't love them. A little mushy and lacking in flavor for us. I may reheat them in a frying pan tomorrow and give them another whirl. They were the only thing we didn't really enjoy. The Spicy Sweet Basil with Chicken was everything that I associate with Thai-crispy lightly sauteed fresh veggies like red pepper, mushroom and zucchini, an abundance of sliced white meat chicken, LOTS of Thai Basil to add a fragrant taste and a mildly spiced sauce-with a side of white rice. The portion size was perfect for one meal. The sweet rice with mango which is one of my favorite desserts anyplace was a hit. Sweet rice shaped into a heart cookie cutter, topped with a sweet coconut syrup and a few black sesame seeds ins paired with a full half of sliced mango. Amazing...and I have never seen that much mango with a single portion.

You should know that parking is on the street but generally easy to come by, it is very kid friendly, they do not have a website or menu online...yet. They told me 15 minutes for our togo order and it was done in about 7. It was neatly packaged and stacked in a bag to bring home.

Make Ahead Magic-in the form of turkey lasagna rolls

School will be starting for our family in just 9 days. That means homework, girl scouts, sticking to routines that were abandoned for summer fun. Since my husband is a teacher that means early morning out the door for him and endless meetings for him after work. Oh, and dance and piano lessons thrown in for good measure.

None of this is unique to our family-I have friends that hold multiple jobs, work weekends or have boatloads of children...In honor of all of us and how easy it is to grab takeout I am going to try to focus some effort on providing some make ahead deliciousness that goes beyond the standard baked ziti or mac & cheese. Something you can pull together on the weekend and enjoy it during the week.

Tonight I was inspired by my friend who is making lasagna...something I don't do well. I keep seeing lasagna roll ups and that seems a little more my speed...With that I give you Turkey Lasagna Rolls....

Turkey Lasagna Rolls

1 lb Ground Turkey
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

8 lasagna noodles (not the "no need to boil" style-get old fashion boil ones)
1 15oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
Dash of black pepper
1 jar of your fave spaghetti sauce

1. As your water boils for the noodles brown the turkey. Mixing in the garlic and Italian seasoning.

2. Coat bottom of 13x9 baking dish with thin layer of sauce.

3. Cook noodles in boiling water-under cook them. Mine called for 10 mins and I took them out at 8-you want them to roll easily.

4. Mix ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, egg, basil, 1/4 cup pecorino and black pepper to combine.

5. Remove noodles from water, place on a board, patting dry. Spoon a little sauce along the length of each one, then ricotta mixture and finally ground turkey. Remember, you need to roll these so don't overfill or the filling will all ooze out the side. Roll each noodle and place seam side down in prepared baking dish.

6. Cover the dish with remaining pecorino and mozzarella. Cover dish with foil and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and cheese bubbles-about 25 minutes.

Leftovers will keep 2-3 days....This recipe doubles/triples easily and is open to all sorts of variations-beef, veggie, alfredo sauce etc...

Mingle Albany

Mingle opened on Delaware Ave about 6 months ago in the former home of The Bagel Bite (yes, I know other eateries have been there in between...but Bagel Bite was longest). I checked their menu out ages ago and was a little on the fence as it was heavily a Korean menu. Korean is not one of my favorites so I wasn't sure....I was happy that a new restaurant had opened though so to show my support of a new locally owned joint I "liked" them on Facebook. Glad I did, I saw their menu grow and evolve into one that still has a long list of Korean specialities but also has daily specials, southern fare and has made a committment to source as much food as they can locally. Tonight along with Michael and some friends we finally checked it out...and....we loved it! and c They redid the interior with sage colored walls and a few well chosen art pieces. The booths are gone and the far wall is one large comfy polished wooden bench seat. The bar is still there and apparently there is a backroom for seating, but I never made it beyond the main room which must easily seat 40+ people. We began with drinks-Sangrias and beers for the rest. I went with the Strawberry Basil Lemonade. The drink was made with rum and went down like a virgin cocktail-sweet with a mild spice from the basil. I could have drank several more of these! For apps Michael and I shared the jerk wings and the cheese pate plate. The jerk wings are spicy and come with homemade blue cheese. They are baked not fried. My only (minor) complaint was that the skin wasn't too crispy on them...The flavor won me over though. The cheese pate is a mix of several cheeses from The Cheese Traveller next door. It is served with bread from All Good Bakery and an assortment of fruit. The cheese had a slight horseradish tang. We ordered the small size and it was too much! (Leftovers...) I had a hard time picking an entree, but settled on the smaller portion of the chicken and chorizo creole over rice. Fresh veggies, chicken and chorizo mounded over rice with a mildly spicy sauce. Fantastic flavor, hand cut veggies, perfectly moist chicken.. The rest of my table loved their food as well, and we did a good job sampling the menu-Lamb, Korean tacos, kimchi miso soup etc... Our bill for 4 including 4 beers, 2 sangrias and 1 mixed drink was about $200 w/tip. Notes-many dishes come in half portions....some dishes come spicy or "chef spicy" so you can select your degree of heat...they have a great craft beer and wine menu...the service was fantastic. Go Mingle!

The Devil Inside

Summer is here, we have already had some 95 degree+ days. I have a rule that from June thru Mid-September I don't turn my oven on too often. Lots of grilling, pan frying and cold sides like pasta and potato salad. Oh, and deviled eggs. I could eat an entire dozen deviled eggs (yes, 24 halves) all by myself. I don't, as my cardiologist will kill me before the eggs do, but I could. The deviled egg is completely underrated and not given due respect. Ann Burrell said, it is always the first platter emptied at the picnic. My friends Meredith and Sara both upon hearing my blog topic expressed their deviled love. We all adore them, so let's boil our eggs properly and fill them with our favorite fillings (I like a little zip and tang to mine). Boil 1 dozen eggs. To properly boil eggs, put eggs in large pot with water to cover by over an inch. Bring to boil uncovered, let boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes. Immediately immerse in icy water to chill. Peel those devils. Half the eggs, scoop yolk into boil. Mash yolk with fork until you get a nice fluffy texture. Mix in: 3 tablespoons of your favorite mustard 3 "shakes" of worcestshire sauce 1 "shake" of Frank's Red Hot Sauce 1/2-3/4 cup of mayo Salt and Pepper to taste Continue mixing with a fork til combined and fluffy. Taste to see if seasoning is right, correct as needed. Pipe or spoon into shells. Call me and invite me over to eat them. Variations *Use a flavored salt *Pickle relish *Chopped fresh herbs *Cajun or creole seasoning