Monthly Archives: September 2014

Lettuce wraps

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Now that the nights are getting cooler, we can start turning to some cozy, spicy, comfort food. I’m not saying jump straight to the heavy chili, but you can definitely ease in to it with these lettuce wraps! They’ll make you sweat and cool you down all at once. Warning: Do not eat these in front of potential significant others! After seeing how messy these can get, they may not come back for seconds, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Pickled cucumbers

  • 1 sliced cucumber
  • 1/4 cup scallions
  • 1 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp chopped basil

Lettuce wraps

  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup scallions (don’t worry, the pickles will take care of any rank breath from the garlic and scallions!)
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha (in a pinch, you can use Franks red hot sauce. It won’t be nearly as spicy, but still gets the job done.)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 lb ground beef (feel free to use ground chicken or turkey)
  • 1 head boston lettuce

Throw all of the ingredients for the pickles in to a jar or bowl and store in the fridge while you prep the wraps.

For the wraps, heat the peanut oil over medium heat. Add in the onions, garlic, scallions, and meat and cook until brown. Slowly stir in all of the sauces – Sriracha, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Cook until they’ve been absorbed by the meat, and serve immediately.

Scoop the meat in to a lettuce leaf and top with the pickled cucumbers. The heat from the meat and spices, paired with the chilled pickled cucumbers will be like a party in your mouth!

Lettuce wraps

 

Happy Eating, XO.

Chicken and Dumplins’ Y’all

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Dust off the crockpot guys, this is a Northerner’s solution to the Southern classic.
  • 4 frozen chicken breasts (I love this, I always forget to defrost my meats and then am stressed out that I don’t have food to make, this can go straight from freezer to crockpot, no defrosting needed)
  • 1-2 cups of the mirepoix mix (See its used for things other than the meatloaf recipe. p/s I added some frozen corn too because I love it and can’t put it enough recipes, Id say 1/2-1 cup)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup (if you’re like my sister and hate mushrooms, just use another can of chicken soup)
  • 1 can biscuits (I usually just dice up 4-5 biscuits into small pieces since they expand when cooking, but shit use the whole can if you want, I don’t judge)
  • 1 can of low sodium chicken broth (you can use water instead, but I like the flavor of broth)
  • Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper (all to taste, no measurements, just eyeball it. I also add a dash of hot sauce to this as well)
Layer the chicken and seasoning at the bottom of the pot. Then toss in the veggie mix and soups. Stir and let cook on HIGH for 6 hrs, yes for that long, remember how the chicken is frozen, remember how undercooked chicken is deathly. However, at about 5 to 5.5 hours in, add the chopped up biscuits (take the biscuit and cut into quarters) throw on top & re-cover with lid for the remaining 30-45 minutes. Yup, total time on high for 6 hrs. take a nap, clean, watch a movie, do whatever you want for those 6 hrs 🙂
Happy Eating, XO.

Ragin Cajun

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My roomie is from Louisiana so I have these moments in which I just want to sit down with a mason jar of sweet tea and eat some good old finger licking Cajun food. Now I would never dare attempt to make some crawfish or authentic creole cooking, but I wanted to do a quick weeknight homage to a girl from Houma, LA.

P/S I hate okra, but would love a kick a$$ gumbo or jambalaya recipe if any of you NOLA girls would like to hook a Philly girl up. Send to damndelish@gmail.com and the winner will get posted on the blog and will also be eligible to win a groceries tote!

  • 1/3 cup of half and half (original calls for heavy cream but its healthier this way)
  • 1-2 tbsp. butter (ok seems like a lot but, its delish!)
  • 1 tbsp. flour
  • 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
  • 2 tsp. of smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp. of cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp. of crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp. of dried parsley flakes
  • 1 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup of chicken broth (again do the healthier option-low sodium)

On medium to high heat in a non-stick sauté pan create a roux (fancy French word alert: butter & flour mixture). That will be the base and thickening agent for your sauce. Slowly add in the garlic and spices. Once dissolved in the roux, add the liquids (both the half & half, as well as, the chicken broth). Stir the liquids to combine with the roux. Lower heat and toss in diced chicken or shrimp (cooking times will vary but any protein of choice will work. I did 1lb. of shrimp for 2 people) Now add the lemon juice and parsley flakes. Continue stirring, if the sauce is too thin add more roux (make another flour/butter combo). However, once completely mixed & you lower the heat, it should be fairly creamy and not watery. I served over cappellini noodles, but this would be very good over some dirty rice. Oh and I sprinkled with some chopped green onion for a traditional touch!

Check out our Instagram for the yummy creation!

Happy Eating, XO.

F-I-S-H Restaurant + Bar

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Fall restaurant week is happening and I couldn’t be more excited. I LOVE restaurant week – going out to fancy dinners for $30?! I always try to take advantage of a new place during this time to see if it’s really worth going back to. This “week”s restaurant was a new place called F-I-S-H in downtown Stamford. They opened a couple months ago, but I had been hesitant to try it – just from driving by, it looked pricey. I’m very excited to report this restaurant was much better, cheaper, and friendlier than I expected!

THE SKINNY ON THE DRINKS

Although we had reservations, we decided to head to the bar for a pre-dinner drink. The place wasn’t crowded yet and the hostess was more than ok with us delaying a bit. The bartenders helped us right away and made excellent drinks. I had The Skinny (Grey Goose, lemon juice, and club soda) and my husband had a glass of Macallan. I mean, they even had the sphere ice cubes meant to be used when drinking whiskey! We’ve never been to place with this attention to detail with their drinks… The bar didn’t seem to get too crowded, but then again it was a Tuesday night. The crowd that was there was filled with young professionals, so that says something about good, affordable prices.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ENDING

We then moseyed our way to dinner where the hostess let us pick a seat next to the outside. The waiter came by shortly after – he was quick, efficient, and friendly. The manager occasionally checked in on us as well, and genuinely seemed interested, he didn’t treat us as just a “drive by”. After looking at the menu, we decided to forgo the restaurant week prix fix because it all looked THAT GOOD. We ordered oysters and calamari as an app and they were extremely fresh, “close-your-eyes-and-imagine-being-in-a-tropic-location” fresh. The calamari was served with a lemon aioli that was the perfect creamy texture, while the oysters’ sauce gave a bit of a bite. The app was pretty filling so we decided to share scallops as a main meal, but not just any scallops…

The cool thing that really makes them worth a blog shout out is the way F-I-S-H serves their dinners, it’s a bit of a “mix-and-match”/”choose-your-own”. They start with a “naked fish” base – scallops, salmon, halibut, you name it, then you choose weather you want it seared or grilled.  Don’t stop there! You then get to choose which sauce you want on it – butter and lemon sauce, scampi, tomato and olives, or red coconut curry. AND, as if you don’t have enough to choose from, you can “enhance” your meal with craw fish or lump crab meat Bearnaise sauces. Whew!

We went a little off the beaten path and had the seared scallops, with lemon and capers, AND crab meat Bearnaise sauce.  They were nice enough to put the Bearnaise on the side so we could dip. With all of that going on, we were not disappointed. It was practically a party in our mouth with all of those flavors! Enough so, that we were too full to even attempt dessert. Didn’t want to ruin a good thing.

If you couldn’t tell, we really weren’t disappointed. It was such an easy time. And the fact that we could “customize” everything made us want to go back and try different concoctions! We will definitely be back. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop in!

FISH Restaurant

Happy Eating, XO.

Back to School :(

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Labor day has come and gone, so there is no denying colleges and universities are back in full swing. Just so you know my MBA classes have been started for two weeks already so don’t whine. Anyway, if you are a dorm dweller and are missing the lovely meals prepared for you while you were home or travelling for the summer, this is your post! Not only are these good microwave friendly recipes, but it actually uses and tastes like real food. What, are we still pretending like Easy Mac and Ramen noodles are “Real”? I am pretty sure my box of oreos and popcorn are more “Real”.

Omelet in a mug

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tbsp. diced green bell pepper (I have even tossed in leftover ham or turkey that I didn’t want going bad ,but was sick of making sandwiches with. Chop it small.)
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste (you know I even squirted some hot sauce in there for a kick!)
  • Cooking spray

Combine egg, egg whites, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, salt, and ground pepper in a microwave-safe mug coated with non-stick spray. Microwave on high for 1 minute; stir. Return to microwave and cook until eggs are completely set, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve.

Then, I would always crave something hot and sweet after classes. Something that was filling and warm, but also captured my sweet tooth. This is an easy spin on something we all consider as a boring and basic breakfast (ahh triple alliteration, nerd!)

Pumpkin Oatmeal

  • 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup milk, or as needed (depends on how runny or thick you like it)
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon sugar

(Feel free to add nuts and raisins if you need something hearty to hold you over for a while, perhaps a good pre-exam breakfast?)

Mix oats and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring once. Add more milk or oats to achieve the desired consistency, and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sugar. Heat for 20 more seconds and serve.

Hope you enjoy and do submit any of your other dorm room delicacies. I am sure everyone else would love the help!

Submit your recipe/tips to damndelish@gmail.com and receive a FREE tote if yours gets chosen to post. Check out our Instagram to see what the tote looks like. They are super cute and super useful!

Happy Eating, XO.