Malena's Tacos

Whenever I don't know what to have for dinner, I always lean towards Malena's Tacos. It's a small little shop on the top of Queen Anne and it is delicious! My favorite is the adobada burrito (pork) and of course add extra guacamole because I love it. The ingredients are very fresh and the salsa is probably the best I've ever had. The price is right for how much you get. Really, you can't go wrong here. Try it out!

Seattle Cheese Festival

HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!? I was just pondering the other day about doing a blog as an ode to cheese, thinking about how there should be an international day for cheese. Cheese is really one of the greatest foods ever. But hey! At least we have a festival! Unfortunately my weekend is pretty booked up so I may not make it, but now that I know something like this exists, I can plan ahead to next year! If you want to know the detes, here is the official website.

Has Anyone Been Here?

I have been wanting to go to this restaurant for a long time now. I only wish I had found out about it before my birthday so I could have chosen it for my family dinner location. I'm hoping that I don't have to wait until my next birthday to go! Barrio describes themselves as "an approachable and inviting representation of modern Mexico" with two locations, one on Capitol Hill and one in Bellevue. After looking at their menu, I was excited to see that they have some of my favorite dishes that I ate in Chile such as cazuela, chorizo, escabeche and, yes, PISCO for drinks. You can check out their full menu of food and drinks on their website here. I hope it's as good as I imagine it to be. Anyone want to go soon? What special occasions are coming up?

Restaurant Review

On Friday night, we headed out for a little family dinner at a quaint little Italian restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood. The place is called Cantinetta and the company owns a few little restaurants around town. This is the second one I've been to (the first being How To Cook A Wolf on Queen Anne) and I have to say it is definitely the better one. While it was a bit of a wait, it was easy to understand. It is a popular place and we were there at 6:15 on a Friday night. At first it was slightly weird standing around the bar area, but the bartender made sure to pay attention to us, even though we weren't right up against the bar. Also there is a small partition, so even if you have someone in your party that is under 21, you can still wait in the area and have a drink. Once we got our table, we were served with some tasty olive bread (and I don't even like olives). My mom had been here before, so she recommended that we all start with a salad because the plates were small portions. I got spring greens with a balsamic dressing, while others had a roasted radicchio with a syrup dressing. It proved a little hard to cut, but I tasted it and thought it was pretty yummy. For my entree, I chose Tagliatelle pasta with clams. (Note: If there is something on the menu with seafood, you're almost guaranteed I will order it.) It was really delicious and very light weight. Also, all the dishes were served in smaller portions, which I rather like because you can have a whole meal and still feel good, not stuffed. We all ended with a little bit of gelato which was of course delicious. How can you screw up gelato?? Overall I really enjoyed the food. The atmosphere was very small and open and therefore created a lot of noise, sometimes making it hard to hear. And I'm glad we didn't get seated in the table right inside the door. I am more drawn to more private eating areas, but I would recommend this place for the great food and wine. They don't take reservations for parties under six so be prepared to wait, but you wont be sorry.

Tailgate Treats

One of the things I love about tailgating is the delicious food everyone makes and contributes. In the past we have been cooking up French toast, lamb burgers and pulled pork sandwiches. Well, this week I wanted to see if I could recreate my favorite Chilean barbeque classic CHORIPAN! And I have to say, I did a good job! It is super simple to make, all you need is bread, chorizo (best quality can be found at Whole Foods) and pebre. I looked for a few pebre recipes, but I ended up combining a couple to make my own and it was so tasty so I will share it with you below.

Pebre:
1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 diced white onion
2 medium diced tomatos
3 diced jalapenos
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil

I recommend combining all the ingredients, except the olive oil, and putting it in the fridge overnight so all the flavors can combine and then add the olive oil when it's serving time! Just pile loads on top of your chorizo and you're good to go. Enjoy!

Happiest Hour

I was reading the newspaper the other day and saw an article that featured Il Fornaio, a restaurant in downtown Seattle, that was talking about their happy hour. While they do have a happy hour menu, it's apparently usually ignored because of their buffet of food that is FREE!! That's right. They have continuous little appetizers or amuse bouches during happy hour that are all free with a drink. And the drinks are not expensive either! $3 beers, $4 glasses of wine. So my friend and I definitely had to check this out. We expected it to be pretty crowded on a Friday and after the article, but it was a tolerable crowd. And while the food wasn't super incredible, it was definitely delicious and, hey, can't really complain about free food right? Try it out! Happy hour is from 4:30 - 6:30pm.

Parrillada

As if I hadn't eaten enough delicious stuff in Chile, here's another one to add to the list. Parrillada! It's basically a giant serving of meat with some potatoes thrown in there for good measure. For my last almuerzo together with my whole host family, we went to a small town outside San Felipe called Putaendos to enjoy some parrillada. Our meal started out with some delicious and still warm bread, followed by picada (picking plate, no mas) with escabeche, olives and arrollada (pork rolled in spices and then rolled up in it's own fat...delicious!). Then came the parrillada. The waiter basically sets down a small sized barbeque right in the middle of our table covered in chicken, beef and pork. Not to mention intestines and coagulated blood sausage, both of which I tried and both of which were very good! Even though there were five of us and we ordered the parrillada for four, we only finished probably half the meat that was on there! It seemed like the "four" is probably four giant men. We definitely had some good leftovers for a few days. Yum!

Chilean Delicacy #68,490

DEEEEELICIOUS! This dish is called "Lomo a lo Pobre" (Steak for the Poor) and it is sooooo good. It consists of a good piece of steak, sauteed onions and a fried egg all on top of a giant pile of french fries. Who wouldn't love this!? I have enjoyed this a couple times here, but it was especially delicious the morning after a good night of partying. Mmm! It's definitely a dish I'm bringing back to the states with me. Can't wait to eat it again!

Poroto

Another delicious dish from Chile!! This one is called "poroto" and is basically just beans and noodles in a thick broth. It is so tasty and perfect for cold days (like every day here in the winter). I will have to get the recipe from my host mom so I can make it when I get home because this is definitely something I want to eat again and again! Que rico!

Gran Cafe Tortoni

When I was in El Centro, I visited the Gran Cafe Tortoni which was a cafe recommended in my travel book. I'm so glad I decided to check this one out because it was so cute. All the employees were old men. The waiters were wearing tuxedos and the hosts were wearing sweater vests with ties. Argentina is known for their delicious meat, so I decided to get a steak sandwich. It's true. It was probably one of the bests slabs of meat I've ever had. The book also recommended getting the "chocolate con churros" which is a staple of Argentinian "postres". It's rich hot chocolate with sugar-coated churros for dipping and it was delicious! The atmosphere was so nice and I enjoyed sitting and reading my book while I ate. It was a nice break from the busy streets outside. I definitely agree with the book's recommendation for this place!

I Heart Choripan

Soooo my favorite food so far in Chile has got to be the Choripan. As most know, I am a big fan of hot dogs, and this is definitely similar although much, much better. A glorified hot dog if you will. It is called Choripan because it is Chorizo (a fancy hot dog) + pan (bread) and there you have it. Chorizo is muy muy tasty. Then you top it off with some pebra (a salsa like condiment) and mmmm, delicioso! I plan on making this forever and ever. And it's only an appetizer! More to come from Chile "asados" (bbqs) later...

Comfort Foods for Cold Days

So now that winter has officially started, I have relied upon my favorite comfort foods to keep me warm (or at least full!) on these cold days. Here are a few of my favorite things...to eat:

Egg in a Hole
This is my absolute favorite thing to eat for breakfast. It combines your eggs and toast all in one. First, toast your bread to make it nice and crispy. Then using a tool of your choice (cookie cutter, glass, etc.) cut a hole in the middle of the bread. Place the bread in a frying pan and crack an egg in the middle. Then flip when ready and make sure it's cooked all the way through. Viola! Egg in a hole. And you still have your cut out piece of toast to enjoy with jam, etc. Other variations include "Egg Sammys" (egg sandwiches) where I like to put fried eggs and cheese on English muffins or just Egg on Toast where I put a soft-boiled egg right on top of the toast.


Peanut Butter & Jelly Open Faces
This is another favorite thing to eat for breakfast. I love sandwiches, but when it comes to the PB&J, the bread kinda takes over, so I prefer the open face toast. Little less bread, a lot more PB&J taste! (I believe the "how to" is pretty self explanitory!)

Quesadilla
This is one of my favorite lunch items to make, especially during the cold weather. Now, of course, there is always the simple tortilla and cheese quesadilla, but I usually like to add a little bit of spice to mine. Or just anything I can find in the fridge. For the ultimate in quesadilla goodness, in addition to your cheese add refried beans, fajita chicken and slices of avocado. Mmm. Don't forget your sides for dipping!

Spaghetti & Bread
For dinner, spaghetti and a good loaf of bread is always a winner. It's quick, it's easy, and you'll be warmed up in no time at all. If you choose to make your own sauce, start with browning your sausage. After that, just throw some things into a pot with the sausage (canned tomato sauce is necessary) and let simmer for a while. If you aren't feeling up for that, I recommend Classico canned sauces. Roasted garlic and herb is my favorite (cause I'm a big fan of the garlic). Other than that, just boil your noodles and heat up your bread in the oven and you're all set!

Peppermint Ice Cream
For dessert, although it's cold, I still recommend ice cream. It's so delicious and with the peppermint flavor, it will get you into the holiday spirit. I always like to stir mine around for awhile until it is super soft. But to each his own. Enjoy!

Soups, Stews & Chilies

Now that the winter-ish weather is setting in and everyone seems to be getting cold, it's the perfect time to make soup! Soup is the ultimate cold weather food and it's DELICIOUS! My mom bought this cookbook (although it looks more like a magazine) called "Soups, Stews & Chilies" and it has a ton of awesome recipes to cure the winter chill. We like them so much we make a new one at least once a week. They even recommend a great side dish for each soup. I will share with you my favorite recipe (so far) below, but if you want to buy the whole book, you can find it here! Enjoy!

Cheese & Corn Chowder
(prep time: about 1 hour)

Saute; sweat:
5 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
2 cups diced onions
1 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 t. minced fresh thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. cayenne
1/4 t. ground tumeric

Add; garnish with:
6 cups chicken broth
1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, diced
8 ears fresh corn, shucked, trimmed (4-5 cups kernels, may use frozen corn)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white cheddar, shredded
2 oz. cream cheese
Minced fresh chives

Saute bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 5 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined sheet and set aside. Pour off drippings, wipe out pot with a paper towel, and return to burner. Melt butter with oil, add onion and celery, and sweat until soft, 7-8 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, thyme, cayenne, and tumeric, cook 2 minutes.
Add broth, potatoes, and corn kernels. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in cheeses and reserved bacon; simmer until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Garnish with chives.