FoodieCuisine.com

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Poached Eggs with Basil

I wanted some eggs this morning and did not want the calories associated with Eggs Benedict or other heavy breakfast items.  I broke out my trusty portable inductor burner and started a water bath for poached eggs.

To poach eggs you simply fill a skillet to one inch from the top, turn the burner high enough to just barely boil the water, and add one tablespoon of vinegar for each egg.  I made four eggs; therefore, I added four tablespoons of vinegar and put the skillet on 360 degrees F.

While I waited for the water to almost boil, I drizzled olive oil on two plates and pulled eight leaves of basil off of my basil plant (nothing beats freshly picked herbs!)  Once I could see bubbles in the bottom of the skillet, I added the four eggs, one at a time.

To keep them from breaking apart I first crack them into a coffee mug.  Pour them slowly from the mug into the water and voila, you have little rounds of eggs with the yolks intact.  When poaching, make sure you do not crowd the eggs as they will cook together.

After 5-10 minutes in the water, the eggs looked done and had the right texture to them when prodded.  They were not completely squishy, nor were they very firm.  This in-between state ensures the eggs are cooked but have yolks which barely run when cut open.

Using a slotted spoon I removed each egg, let it drain while holding it above the skillet, and then set two on each plate.  I then drizzled balsamic vinegar over the top, some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, and two basil leaves per egg.

Both my wife and I loved the light breakfast and best of all, it was quick to make with few calories!

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Blue Hawaiian Sandwich

I work in Downtown Little Rock, just up the street from Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack and stop by there often for lunch.  When you walk in there are two choices: non-smoking and smoking.  Since Stickyz is a bar at night the entire place smells of smoke, regardless of your choice.  Given this, chose non-smoking if you do not want to compound the problem.

The non-smoking area is out in the open and has many tables in the area where you typically stand to watch the band at night.  Weather permitting they have a table by an open wall which is nice when it is not 114 degrees F outside like it is right now.

For lunch (and dinner) they have many different types of sandwiches, chicken fingers, and a few entrees.  For lunch I like the lighter fare and typically order the Blue Hawaiian turkey sandwich.  It consists of chopped turkey, cheese, bacon, and pineapple.  They serve it with chips, or fries for extra, and a side of a dill-based dipping sauce.

On this trip my sandwich came out quickly and looked as good as ever.  The bread has the right consistency and flavor but the combination of bacon, pineapple, and turkey is what really stands out.  It all blends well together and the dill dipping sauce really puts the sandwich over the top.  I enjoyed it this time, as always, and look forward to going back.

I have not had anything I did not like at Stickyz and recommend you give them a try next time you are downtown.  It is not “upper crust” food, but it is affordable and good for the money.

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Sushi Special

Mt. Fuji Japanese restaurant has been in Little Rock for many years.  I used to go there as a teenager and was first introduced to sushi while enjoying their bento box lunches.

At the time, the lunch was quite expensive given my buying power, but I really enjoyed their terriyaki beef and other items.  Over time I learned to enjoy sushi and now I order it exclusively there and many other places.

I do not think about Mt. Fuji very often, as it has been around so long, but their sushi is really good (despite their slow service) and except on Monday’s, they are one of the better places around.

I met my father for lunch there the other day and ordered the Sushi Special ($9.99) with the Spicy Tuna roll as my roll choice.  You can pick from ten or so different rolls but I always enjoy their spicy tuna roll.  The special also comes with a ginger salad and miso soup.

My salad was nice and cold with crisp lettuce and the ginger dressing was tasty but not too tart.  The soup was a bit on the bland side, but the tofu was well cooked and overall I enjoyed it.  Ray, the sushi chef, handed us our sushi “boxes” soon after I finished my salad and it looked really good.

My spicy tuna roll had very fresh fish in it, and the rice was warm (which I like.)  The spicy sauce had a kick to it and added to the overall flavor of the roll.  My edamame was steamed well and the seaweed salad had a lot of flavor.  The nigiri was all fresh and tasted like the fish each piece was made of.  I really like the rice at Mt. Fuji, as it’s fresh and warm (not sticky and cold like some other places around town.)  The Futo Maki roll (big roll) was very tasty with cooked tuna it it, along with roe, cucumber, and some spices.

Overall I really enjoyed my lunch and was reminded why I have been going to Mt. Fuji for so long.  Avoid the Monday $1 Sushi night where they get rid of the previous weeks inventory and you will not be disappointed.

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Beef Pho

We only have an hour before the client meeting and everyone is hungry.  Someone in the group says “I know where we can go” and we follow them into a strip-mall parking lot.  The place, Tycoon, does not look amazing from the outside as it has a non-discreet sign and is in a neutral looking strip mall.

We walk in and I am not impressed.  The decor appears to be from the 90s and there are pictures of food on the check-out booth by the door.  I have a saying about places with pictures of food, but I won’t say it here.

We sit down, order waters to drink, and wait a few minutes for the waitress to show back up.  It takes some time but she comes back and I order the Beef Pho.  Normally I would not order Beef Pho, a Vietnamese dish, in a Chinese restaurant, but what the heck.

The food takes a long time to come out.  Almost an hour has passed actually, but the food does finally arrive. My pho looks amazing.  It is steaming hot, with slices of beef on top, and a mound of noodles under a shimmering broth.

I let my soup cool off a bit and dig in.  The first sip leaves me with a flavor explosion as the soup has an immense depth to it.  The beef, onion, basil, and spices have blended perfectly into a succulent aromatic broth.  Everything works and I love it.  The beef is very tender and has a lot of flavor to it.  The noodles are thinner than I am used to and are cooked just right.  I wish I lived in Memphis as the Pho is the best I have had in a long time.

If I am back in town, in the area, I definitely will be back.

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Shredded Chicken Tacos

I subscribe to Cooking Light Magazine and decided to try out their Shredded Chicken Tacos with Tomatoes and Grilled Corn recipe from their August 2011 issue.  They turned out great and best of all, my wife and kids loved them!

I did make a couple of changes as I added jalapenos, cilantro, and salsa to the mix.  You can try the original recipe from the link above or try out my modified version. 🙂

I recommend using a tortilla warmer, or buying one if you don’t own one yet, as they turn out very nice soft tortillas.

To use one properly, place a damp paper towel in the bottom.  Then place the tortillas in, and put a damp paper towel on the top.  Put the lid on and microwave for 2 minutes for nice and warm tortillas.

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Pea Puree with Scallops

I made a Pea Puree the other day for dinner and used it as a base for scallops, which I topped with chopped pan-fried pancetta pieces.

I was inspired for the dish from an Episode of Top Chef in Season 7.

In the episode, chef Alex is accused of stealing a pea puree from Chef Ed.  The accusation gains ground when we are shown the judges are not in on the drama.   After the drama ensues, the issue really rockets into the stratosphere when Alex wins the daily competition due to the judge’s reception of the puree.

Chef Tom Colicchio insits the judges knew nothing of the events behind the scenes, if Alex stole it or not, or in the end who really made it, but it doesn’t matter as Alex did not win the competition.

Based on the recalled drama, I decided to make a pea puree and used a recipe by Top Chef Mark Simmons from Season 4 of the show.  The recipe is simple and as follows:

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen peas
• 100 grams of fresh spinach
• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1 serrano chili pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.  Add the peas and spinach and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.

Chop the mint, basil, and serrano and add to the cooking liquid for one minute.

Strain the vegetables and remove to a bowl.  Reserve 2-4 cups of the liquid.

Use your blender (I used my VitaMix) and puree the mixture on high speed for a few minutes, adding the liquid as needed to reach the desired consistency.  Depending on how you want to use the sauce, you will end up using more or less.  I used about 2 cups for my run here.

Remove the puree to a bowl and place the bowl in an ice bath.  I filled a large salad bowl with ice and put the bowl of puree in the middle for an hour.

Once the sauce is cool you can cover and put in the refrigerator for later or use it right away.

Uses

The puree is great as a base for fish or vegetables and also can be used in pea soup, pea risotto, or in pasta.  I topped mine with pan seared scallops and a few sprinkles of pan-fried pancetta.

The puree is very tasty with flavoral aromatics from the mint and basil.  The serrano adds just the right amount of heat and best of all, its very low in calories!

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com

Where can you eat in East Boston which is worth standing in the rain for?  Rino’s Place is the restaurant and was definitely worth the hour wait.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Crab

One of my favorite episodes of Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives show, takes place at Rino’s and the food looked freakin’ amazing.  When I was in Boston a few weeks ago I made a list of every restaurant I wanted to go to.  I started with the Zagat food rating and moved it to the top of the list if they were on Triple-D.

Two places made it to the top, Mike’s City Diner and Rino’s Place.  I went to both and although I enjoyed Mike’s, Rino’s served one of the best Italian meals I have ever had, hands down.  I’ll be dreaming about going back there someday.  It is that good.

After a 15 minute cab ride across the bay, we are dropped off in a residential neighborhood outside of a tiny restaurant called Rino’s Place.  It about to start raining and the hostess tells me we will be lucky to get in within an hours time.  So, we wait.

Homemade Burrata with Prosciutto

My wife and I walk around a half block or so and realize it is not the type of neighborhood you want to wander around in.  We retreat back to the relative safety of the cross-section, and wait under the awning of a house.

It’s raining full bore by this time and time crawls past.  We see several people leave, with several empty tables inside but no one calls my phone (as they said they would.)

Eventually, a very nice couple who is leaving, tells us there are plenty of tables inside and that we may want to check back in.  I check back in, and after a little huff, the hostess agrees to seat us.  I’m not sure what the problem is over, considering there are five empty tables, but anyway, we are happy to get out of the rain.

The menu looks just like the one from the website but the hand-printed specials menu is huge.  It does not have one or two specials, it has twenty or more!  I’m not sure which menu to order from but recognize some items I must have.

Rino's Special

For an appetizer I order the Stuffed Crab Mushrooms and the Burrata.  For my entree I order the Lobster Ravioli and my wife orders the Rino’s Special.

It takes a while but our Stuffed Mushrooms come out first and look simply wonderful.  The plate is full of large mushrooms, each one brimming with slightly seared crab meat.

The mushrooms are bathing in a white-wine, lemon, and parsley sauce and smell wonderful.  They taste even better as the crab melts in your mouth with the lemon leaving a perfect hint of tanginess behind.  We start to get full at this point, already!

Next up is the Burrata.  A plate appears with four large fresh balls of mozzarella, filled with cheese and cream, and wrapped in thin slices of prosciutto de parma.  They sit atop fresh slices of tomato, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  I cut into one of the pouches of cheese and the cream oozes out.  Wow, it tastes amazing.  The mozzarella is fresh and creamy and the cheese on the inside puts it over the top flavor wise.  The prosciutto is perfectly aged and adds a perfect amount of salt to the appetizer.  I could spend the next few days here, eating only this appetizer over and over again.

Lobster Ravioli

Our entrees of Lobster Ravioli and the Rino’s Special come out next and look amazing.  My plate is full of several huge made-to-order lobster ravioli, topped with a lobster-cream reduction sauce.  I bite into one and the pasta is silky smooth, with just the right amount of bite to it.

The filling of cheese and lobster claw meat is creamy, savory, and perfectly seasoned.  The sauce, oh wow, the sauce is so good.  It’s smooth, tastes of lobster, and has an amazing depth of flavor to it.  I can barely finish the entree but already want it again.  Guy Fieri showcased the dish on his show and he was right on the “money” when he endorsed it.

Rino’s Place makes the best Italian food I have ever had, without question.  I could easily see going there once a week to try something new.  The menu is huge, the prices are very cheap, and the food is out of this world.  Go there and you will not regret it.

By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com