Tasked to Bring

Passover in itself isn’t really an exciting holiday. I mean, sure the soup is great – but its not high on the list of things to look forward to I’m sure.

This year I was asked to bring the hard boiled eggs for the seder, which can be a stressful request. What if I don’t do a good job and they all peel awfully and I’m left with a bowl of hardboiled yolks? There’s no way to know if you did a terrible job until its too late really, so that only makes things worse. At least with cooking I can sort of season as I go, and figure out how to fix most issues ahead of presentation.  But eggs – nope.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I did some hefty research. Yes on how to boil eggs. [Yes, I’ve boiled eggs before that came out fine.]

Hot start. That’s the secret apparently, according to a few blog posts I came across and the eggs that were so incredibly perfect.

Lets be real, have you ever seen a bowl of entirely perfect hard boiled eggs?

The theory I was led to believe previously, was that the older the egg, the better it would peel. But these eggs were purchased on Thursday, and boiled on Friday. Now I know that supermarket eggs are specifically fresh, but these weren’t lingering in my fridge for a week or so prior to boiling.

My normal go to method, is to put the eggs in a pot of water, bring to a boil and let simmer until my little egg timer says they’re cooked enough.  But its the hot start that might be the trick here. Out of sheer dread, I cooked 18 eggs in total via two different but similar methods.

9 eggs were carefully placed into a pot of already boiling water and allowed to simmer, covered, for 11 minutes.

The other 9 eggs were placed into a steamer insert in a pot of boiling water, covered, for 11 minutes.

There were only two that didn’t peel with ease, and I think they came from the pot of boiling water [not the steamer].

There was no green line, the middle was almost creamy, and the whites were all fully boiled. I’m only writing this post with so much detail so that I can fully remember how to boil perfect eggs in the future.

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Another Way

I’m struggling a little with getting back on track in terms of exercising and my eating in general. After being on vacation, and no longer going to a personal trainer, I feel like a form that’s slowly decomposing into a sludgy, squishier version. Its not good.

So on Sunday I made a big giant batch of different kinds of roasted veggies to eat throughout the week, and made up slaw like salad to eat for lunches.

Just looking at the giant bowl of shredded red cabbage, grated carrot, and red pepper slices left me with the feeling that I would 100% still eat a bag of gummy bears after lunch most days. So I had to figure out a way to make it more appealing.

Remember that peanut sauce I made?

Oh yea, I went there. I made a “lighter” version of it; peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, braggs liquid aminos, and a splash of trader joes sesame vinaigrette [no idea what the actual name of it was]. Whisked over a low burner until smooth.

Toss with a giant bowl of veggies and I’ve got a solid three plus lunches out of it. Let me tell you, this stuff was even better after sitting in the fridge for a day. Creamy, crunchy. All that peanut butter goodness.

I had a bowl of this with a greek yogurt parfait on the side [plain unflavored greek yogurt, frozen mango cubes, flax seed, a tiny smidge of granola].

 

I know its about finding foods I like enough to replace my sugar snacks with until I don’t crave them as much. Swedish Fish are just so good though, its not easy. But mindless snacking AND not going to the gym regularly are a recipe for sludge pudge, so we’re eating healthy and looking into some gym options. Mister even had his spaghetti replaced with zucchini noodles the other night. Poor guy, I’m pretty sure he ate a second dinner after I went to bed.

South Carolina [Part 3]

This is the final installment of Heather went to South Carolina.

I’m not a travel writer, I’m hardly even a traveler. I’ll go back to posting cooking misadventures soon enough. So bear with me for now.

Brookgreen Gardens [Murrells Inlet, SC]

I’m already regretting putting this in here, but I can’t only post about the good. This place was definitely 100% not worth the money. If you have free tickets, are over the age of 75, or just love being bored – head on over to Brookgreen Gardens. I couldn’t even tell you much about it, because we sped walk through looking for the Labrynth that was on the map. And guess what? The mazes I used to draw in the driveway with chalk were more serious than this thing.

There were maybe two flowering bushes in the whole garden, and while the area itself could be pretty, it reminded me of the landscaping you would see if a fancy outdoor mall. Does that make me sound like a jerk? Well if not, the next part will; the sculptures were pretty bad. As in, I’m no expert, but a museum wouldn’t be fighting to get their hands on any of these.

Save your money and walk through a public park, or a housing subdivision. Or an airport terrace.

This picture was clearly taken before the disappointment set in.

 

Russell’s [Murrells Inlet, SC]

This place is so good it doesn’t have a website. This is the second post in a row where I mention a restaurant in relation to its website having status. When a place is thriving and has no website, it is good. That is a fact when we live in an era where people like to look up menus, food pictures, and hours of business before driving down the street.  Or is that just me? Wow I have been asking that a lot lately. Perhaps I really do live in an odd bubble of obsessive restaurant website research.

Anyway, Russell’s is perfection. My father-in-law treated us to dinner here as a gift of nostalgia to my husband on his birthday. My husband used to come here with his brothers when they were younger, and I could tell it brought back happy memories of summer vacations and seafood dinners. With the wood paneling and walls covered with framed photos, some of that warm fuzzy memory feeling even rubbed off on me.

 This cozy place is located on the opposite side of the road from the Marshwalk restaurants, and just a little bit further down, but is definitely worth a visit for a seafood dinner. Seeing my husband enjoy his dinner with his parents made me so excited to share this special place with the next generation. It also made me feel so blessed to have in-laws that I can spend a week with and still enjoy. I know not everyone is always so lucky, [and I’m pretty sure they don’t read this so I’m getting no brownie points], but I married in to some pretty great folks.  I mean, they treated me to grits, seafood, and golf cart trips to the beach all in one vacation.

Boone Hall [Mt. Pleasant, SC]

This was the exact opposite on that spectrum of restoration/preservation I mentioned about Drayton Hall. I wanted to squeeze in a visit to a plantation that would have more atmosphere, and more of a feel for what life was actually like. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite hit the mark but was interesting to visit. The weird thing about this place, is that in addition to being highly commercialized [“the most photographed plantation” insert eye roll], its also currently inhabited. That’s right, a family still lives here.

 

Wait. What?

That’s right, you’re not allowed to take any photographs inside, and the second floor is off limits to tours. Well honestly I think that first part has nothing to do with the family’s privacy and everything to do with the fact that there is nothing original on display, and if people photographed the three rooms you’re allowed to tour, then no one would pay for the tour itself. Just blew the lid wide open on that one. You’re welcome.

Its not the original plantation running family or their descendants that live there; in fact, according to the tour, the home changed owners several times throughout history and foreign families set up camp here in relatively recent history. They do interpret the social and cultural history of slavery here, as well as offer a few other attractions; so the ticket price can be worth it.

 

But their garden is worth it. It was a gorgeous garden just in font of the house to the left and right of the walkway. Look at those poppies. There were flowers and vegetables mixed together in lush harmony.  This only made me madder about that Brookgreen gardens disaster. I was willing to let them off the hook thinking it was the off season, but if Boone Hall can do it, a place with GARDEN in the name should be able to pull off some flora.

South Carolina Getaway [Part 2]

The beach is always such a meditative place. There is a reason those sound machines have waves as an option; that repetitive and constant noise is therapeutic. Add some sunshine and its restorative.

While in South Carolina, I went for my first ever beach run. I’ve walked on the beach and I’ve run while on vacation, but I’ve never really had the opportunity to run on the beach. Three times while at Mister’s parent’s house in Surfside, I was able to get a run in.

I’m terrible at running, and with the snow and cold in NY I havn’t really ran in a while. I would love to be one of those people that runs 10 miles a day with a marathon on Saturday, but three miles whoops my lungs and my knees. But when I run its like I forget everything that I had on my mind just minutes ago. Sunshine, breathing, my feet hitting the sand. Just focus on moving and breathing.  Keep moving. Keep breathing.

I don’t know if anyone reads this blog for my running advice. I don’t know if anyone reads this blog at all, but I’ll move on.

Litchfield Restaurant   [Pawleys Island, SC]

Since 1968, Pawleys Island locals and visitors alike have considered the Litchfield Restaurant the “Best Breakfast in Town”. That is as true today as it was back then. More than forty years later, we still serve hearty home-style Southern cooking for both breakfast and lunch. Our full menu is available all day, so sleep in and have a late breakfast if you like.

I’m genuinely surprised this place even has a website, I mean they aren’t even open past lunch time. I spent a day with my Mother-in-law while Mister and his dad went out to play golf one morning. We started off with a stop for breakfast and this place was definitely worth writing home about.

We were lucky enough to squeeze in at the counter and I saw the food coming out from the kitchen. That meant I knew I had to order grits and biscuits, the eggs and sausage were kind of an after thought. That biscuit was exactly like I imagined it would be, and yes I slathered it with butter and orange marmalade.

Also, why is food still so regionally divided? Grits in the south, oatmeal in the north. I’m still not sure I fully understand grits, but I can certainly tell you that about a third of that serving kept me feeling stuffed until almost dinner time.

If I get a chance to go back, I’m definitely going to try some sausage gravy.  Now you see why I have to run while I’m on vacation?

The Claw House [Murrells Inlet, SC]

This was my first time having hot peel and eat shrimp (at least that I can remember?). Crazy good. Like seriously yum. Mister went with crab cakes, which we both think were overpriced for the serving but still good. This place is expensive for the atmosphere, but I think that’s because its located on the Marsh Walk. When the weather is nice, this is a great little section of restaurants and bars linked by a boardwalk. It wasn’t super busy on either of our two visits, but I imagine in the summer season it can get crowded.

Drunken Jack’s [Murrells Inlet, SC]

If you want to feel as if you’ve stepped back in time to the swanky club of another era, check out the lower bar area of Drunken Jacks. Just a few steps down the Marsh Walk from the Claw House, Drunken Jacks has a completely different vibe. This is a great example of something being just old enough to go from dated to retro.

If you keep moving towards the deck area, you’ll have a great view of the Marsh while you sip your drinks. 

 

South Carolina Getaway [Part 1]

Mister and I made it back from South Carolina just as the latest snow storm was hitting New York. It wasn’t the welcome back we were looking forward to, but after 8 days of traveling around it felt good to be snuggled up with our dogs on a cozy snow day.

This was part vacation, part family visit, and part Mister’s birthday present; we went to visit his parents [who split their time between Binghamton, NY and Surfside Beach, SC], with an added stop in Charleston to visit a friend while taking advantage of the cheaper flights through their versus Myrtle Beach.

We ended up in downtown Charleston pretty late on Wednesday, and I was excited to see everything but also hungry and tired – add that to the fact that it was way colder than we were anticipating and I was getting a little bit cranky.

Mister spotted Poogan’s Smokehouse and it was exactly what we I needed.

Local IPA’s, live music, smokey pork belly, and a pile of BBQ. Two sticky thumbs up.

The next morning I made a quick trip to a local supermarket for yogurt, fruit, and muffins that made an easy breakfast. My biggest budget travel tip for anyone is don’t go to a restaurant for every meal – buy like you would at home. Bananas were a cheap snack that we could take with us, and smaller things like a box of granola bars and bringing reusable water bottles meant the snack/water break costs didn’t add up as fast.

On our way from Charleston to Surfside Beach, we stopped at Drayton Hall. I’ve always had a love for visiting historic sites – particularly homes. Coming from New York, plantation houses have always been sort of a fascinating existence within the realm of history and Hollywood. While they are always associated with the dark history of human enslavement, they are also landmarks of a way of life, an era of American history, and a display of a culture I havn’t really gotten to “touch” in person before.

Drayton Hall is incredible in the sense that it is entirely preserved rather than restored. The building hasn’t been turned into a Disneyland approximation of how grand southern life was; its a house that holds so much history that even the vacant rooms breathe whispers of the lives that have passed through.

The preservation versus restoration issue was something that Mister didn’t quite understand; and coming from a History/Public History background, I wasn’t sure if it was something that didn’t really make sense to everyone else as well.

Preserve: They do the minimal amount necessary to maintain the house exactly as it was when it became a historic site. They interpret the paint colors as they were found, instead of repainting the house the original color from the first moment of construction. They point out where the outbuildings once stood, instead of rebuilding them for an easier tour.

Restoration: Bringing the building back to the way it looked when first built, or back to a specific time period. This includes furnishings being brought in or custom made, sometimes costumed interpreters, and often times erasing the changes that were made over time.

Whenever visiting a historic site of this magnitude, I relish the opportunity to consider who built this house. Why? How? Where did the wood come from? Who made the bricks? Why was the house built in this exact place?

Imagine the first owners crossing the threshold. The last family to run down the stairs. The first tourists to open the door.

After a few hours spent taking the formal tour and walking the grounds, we had to switch cars and found ourselves looking for food outside of town, in a highly commercialized area. It wasn’t looking promising.

I pulled up Yelp and did some serious reading before finding Boxcar Betty’s. Perfection. Small menu, specializing in chicken; fast, cheap, good.

Turkey Feta Meatballs

Before going away for more than a day or so, there is always the challenge to clean out the refrigerator.  Mister and I are going down to South Carolina to visit his parents [snowbirds, not permanent residents] and to celebrate his upcoming birthday – which means its time to clear out the remnants of meals past and planned.

For dinner last night I googled a few ingredients from the fridge to see what I could muster and turkey meatballs came up and sounded like a nice change of pace. I didn’t have any spinach on hand, and wasn’t about to add anything to the stockpile, so I made up my own recipe.

• 1 lb ground turkey
• half cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• two whole eggs
• zest of one whole lemon
• juice of half lemon
• about 1/2 to 1 cup of feta cheese crumbles
• Penzy’s Greek seasoning

Mix. Ball. Bake on a foil lined tray sprayed with non -stick cooking spray.

While these were baking at about 400 degrees for 20 ish minutes – I put together some pasta salad.  Leftover pasta, cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced pepper, the other half of that lemon juiced, balsamic vinegar dressing that was nearly empty, the rest of the feta cheese.

And dinner was served in about 30 minutes. I’m even having the leftovers for lunch today, so we’re doing pretty good on the fridge situation.

I’ll be honesty – I’m pretty hooked on these meatballs. Like I might’ve eaten a handful more before packing them up. Will definitely be making these for lunches in the future, since it was super easy and I feel like a pretty healthy options [maybe minus the feta and add some spinach].

 

Spice Village [Tuckahoe, NY]

We havn’t had Indian food in months and I was craving hot, spicy, full belly goodness of some takeout.

I found Spice Village via Yelp as the closest place, and it had great reviews – so without much research we ordered from there.

• garlic naan
• chicken tikka masala
• vegetable samosa
• chana masala

The chickpeas were a win for me, but they were too spicy for Mister [who prefers things with no level of spicy – weirdo]

The two giant containers of rice felt like overkill, but then I had that moment of realization that maybe we ordered enough food for more than two people. In my defense, this order lasted us for two dinners and two lunches. But there was still too much rice.

The chicken was incredible, but sadly there was hardly any actual chicken in the container of saucy sauciness.  It was like the chicken was a topping to the sauce instead of the other way around.

With a quick reheat in the oven, the garlic naan was perfection. The samosas were tolerable, and a definite skip for next time. With a mealy crust, they were way too big. If they had been smaller and crunchier, I would’ve been a fan for sure.

We did have the conversation before, during, and after ordering that we always get confused with Indian menus – it seems to be the same handful of ingredients and dishes with all vaguely similar names. Does everyone feel this way, or do I just need to visit more restaurants until I get the hang of what’s going on?

 

 

Definitely Ready

Per my last post – I’m an incredibly stubborn cook. I’m a pretty stubborn person in general actually, but that’s not the point.

That chicken breast that didn’t turn out so great? Well I’ve since mastered the bone in split chicken breast. [Yes I know that the first time around it was a whole chicken breast, and the split might make it easier – cut a girl some slack]

 

I picked up a pack of four bone in split chicken breasts for .99 cents per pound. It was just about $5 for the four pack – which is two meals for Mister and I.

I put two in a Ziploc bag with BBQ sauce, and the other two in a Ziploc bag with an Asian dressing from Trader Joe’s – they marinaded for a solid day plus before cooking the first batch. Mister picked BBQ for our second attempt so that’s what happened first.

After some more Googling and cook book browsing – I realized that my pan of choice might’ve been an issue, and that I was over complicating things. I dug out an old two part broiler pan I had from my Grandma, that I don’t think I’ve ever actually used.

The issue here, is that I don’t like cleaning pans. I like to put foil on pans – so I have always shied away from this type of a pan simply because it really relies on getting at least one part of the pan dirty.

Preheat oven to 350, sprayed some non-stick cooking spray [generic – thank’s Sam’s Club] on both parts of the pan, slathered a little more BBQ sauce on both pieces and let it cook for about an hour – ish.

While that was going I checked the fridge for a veggie option – it was a toss up between broccoli and zucchini. I figured broccoli would go better with the asian chicken, so zucchini it was. Don’t ask me where that logic comes from, it just exists in my head and makes sense in my world.

Since the oven was going, I wanted to cook up the veggie in the oven too – and got a creative spark.

Peeled zucchini, quartered then breaded in italian breadcrumbs. Baked on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet and topped with a little extra salt.

These were baked at 350 for about 30 minutes, and once the chicken was taken out of the oven I cranked it as high as it would go for a few minutes just to crisp them up a little more.

I mean – it was perfection. Crispy skinned BBQ chicken that nearly fell off the bone, and crunchy, salty bites of zucchini. Mister even went so far as to say he liked them more than when I made frozen fries. We each ate an entire zucchini each, which felt pretty impressive. Even if there was about a cup of breadcrumbs used, there wasn’t any oil – so it still felt like a healthy compromise.

Roasted Not Ready

We picked up a whole, bone in chicken breast at Stew Leonard’s and I realized I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. I channeled my inner Julia Child by rubbing it was butter and shoving some garlic cloves [gently] under the skin. Per some research a la America’s Test Kitchen online – I seared it on the stove and then transferred it to the oven.

 One hour or so later, we had beautiful chicken breast.  That wasn’t cooked all the way. I really need a new battery for my meat thermometer.

So we put it back in the oven, while our string beans got colder. But eventually we were able to eat.

The chicken was fine, but the process brought out my stubborn side. Surely I should know how to roast bone in chicken? I have a food blog and I can’t even make roast chicken. That’s weird.

So on my next trip to the supermarket I bought a family pack of split, bone in chicken breasts. I’m determined to master this whole chicken situation. Plus it was on sale for .99 cents a pound, so there’s that aspect.

Of the original chicken, we ended up eating only one half of the breast – the other half was mostly used up for nacho dinner extravaganza.

That’s an event where its late, and I’m hungry but not really hungry, and its been a very long day. So I shredded chicken, microwaved some Trader Joe’s frozen grilled peppers and onions along with some of their frozen grilled corn. Mix together, cover with cheese over a bed of tortilla chips.  The saltier the better.

We topped this with sour cream and salsa and ate it straight from the pan on the couch. That’s honesty. That’s my life. I don’t always cook my chicken well the first time, and a lot of the time my meals are eaten on the couch.

Sur La Table: Pasta Reinvented

For my birthday, my sister in law gifted me a cooking class at Sur La Table. After a few back and forths, we nailed down a date and class that worked with both of our schedules.

We met up at The Westchester location, which is between where she lives in CT and my house in lower Westchester. We didn’t plan on the class starting at the same time the mall opened, so we had to do a few laps to kill time before we got started.

I had taken cooking class in Albany with Chef Gio while living in Albany [highly recommend for all levels of cooking!!] but hadn’t taken any cooking classes at a more commercial type setting.  The kitchen set up at Sur La Table was impressive, and the chef we had as an instructor was great at keeping things moving while entertaining us on a Saturday morning.

We definitely started off on the right foot with complimentary cappuccinos and focaccia. Since the class started at 10am, it was the perfect timing for a pick me up.

One thing about the kitchen that was really well thought out – there was an angled mirror above the chef’s work station so that the whole room could see what was going on without straining to peer around or stand on their tip toes. We were lucky to be part of a small class [ 8 people total], but it still felt very Food Network.

The title of the class was Pasta Reinvented – meant to be twists on traditional pasta dishes.

Menu: Sweet Potato Gnocchi & Hazelnut Gremolata – Corn Flour Pappardelle & Slow-Cooked Beef Rib Ragu – Caesar Pasta Salad with Anchovy Croutons

Class Description: Bored with boxed noodles? Rethink pasta—put a delicious twist on classic gnocchi and use corn to create a classic pappardelle with an alternative flour. Plus, we’ll show you how to add depth of flavor with easy braising techniques and round out the meal with a jazzed-up Caesar salad.

I learned a great tip for how to hold my knife the right more correct way when chopping – and it was really interesting to go through some basic prep for each dish. It was definitely a hands on class, with lots of time for questions.

The most surprising thing about the class, was what I ended up liking the most; while I started the class really interested in the short rib ragu – it was a tie between the gnocchi and the ceasar for my favorite.

The Chefstructor [yes I made that up] wasn’t shy to explain that he didn’t create the recipes, and he would’ve thickened the ragu up more. That was one of the biggest differences between going to a more commercialized class like this Sur La Table class sponsored by Kitchenaid versus an independent class like Chef Gio. With Chef Gio – they were his recipes that he tweaked, and he was showing you exactly what he recommended and how to duplicate it. This class, however, was more of a direct cookbook demonstration with some expert level instruction.

The corn pappardelle was a miss for me, but maybe would be popular for someone maintaining a gluten free diet. It was too dense and for some reason reminded me of a soup noodle in a bad, off-brand freeze dried soup mix.  I can’t really pin point that correlation though.

I almost don’t want to admit how many serving spoonfuls of this Caesar salad I had. The dressing was made fresh in a blender [so easy, I will actually try this soon], while the oil from the anchovies was used to make the croutons. I said it at least five times while eating, but I want to eat this for lunch every day. Forever. It was so light, and crunchy, and had so much flavor without any salt or pepper being added anywhere.

Then there was the sweet potato gnocchi with hazelnut gremulata. I don’t even know what gremulata means. But I like saying it over and over again because this dish was everything. Sister and I agreed this would be an epic Thanksgiving sidedish. Sage and sweet potato gnocchi broiled under cheese and topped with a combination of hazelnuts, parsley, and parmesan.  It was savory, melty, not too sweet or salty, crunchy bits.  All that aside, as a bonus its a pretty gorgeous dish.

I’m so excited that I gifted Mom a class for the holidays as well – so I’m excited to see what she picks for us to try. As a little reward for paying to take these classes, Sur La Table offers a 10% discount on anything in the store for a few days after you take the class. We definitely took advantage stocking up on a few gadgets we had used during the class [ hello lemon squeezer!], and I picked up a magnetic timer that I’m already in love with. So win win!