Eating Omaha....The Blatt Beer and Table

A new place in West Omaha opened last week and we tried it twice with uneven results but it's a Sports Bar with a famous Omaha name.

The bar itself sports the Rosenblatt sign from the original stadium and the seats are a combination of padded benches along the wall and incredibly uncomfortable chairs on the aisle side. The menu sports the usual bar food type of deal but with a ball park twist. Burgers and Brats as well as unique appetizers round out the massive beer selection.

The service the first time was prompt and attentive and we had appetizers with friends. Pretzel bites and dips, french fries and Chicken fingers. The fingers were great but I thought the very crisp crust a bit greasy. The Pretzel bites are my favorite served with a mustard and a cheese fondue sauce. I would prefer a more robust cheese sauce personally. All in all a good experience despite the uncomfortable seat. A bonus we ran into a kid we used to go to church with, Tyler Manucuso, all grown up and super friendly and fun to talk too.

The second visit was after a long meeting and a little later in the evening. We split a Indian Chicken Sandwich and a side of fries. I had a cup of Beer Cheese soup also. It took some time to get our order and the wait staff was slow. I like my water glass full at all times and I drink a lot of water with my meals. The sandwich was pretty good with a chutney to balance the seasoned chicken breast on a soft roll. The fries were cold and the replacement order was lukewarm and came after we weer done.  The soup was a nicely balance Beer cheese with large crunchy croutons. Very good but pricey really for a cup of soup.

All in all a nice place to stop for a quick nosh if you're not in too big of a hurry. Great little corner bar.

Turkey made easy

Another Thanksgiving said and done and another bird or 2 spatchcocked and cooked in an hour or so.

The night before I cut the backbone from 2 thawed birds and applied a lot of pressure to the breast till I heard a satisfying crack. I sprinkled both birds with salt (like a snow fall) and covered them overnight in the fridge. The next morning the salt was gone and I left the birds uncovered to dry the skin. Once done, a pre heated 400 degree oven cooked them in a little more than a hour or so. These birds had no pop up timer thank goodness so I place a remote thermometer in the thickest part of the breast and set it at 160. Perfection as you can see. A lovely golden brown, tender juicy meat and a few drippings to add to my Tyler Florence Gravy I had made ahead of time (elswhere on the blog and worth a look. Best gravy ever). So tasty.

Here's an interesting fact, while the breast of the finished bird reached about 165, the thighs registered 173, crazy huh? All cooked to a delight.

Roasted Tomato Soup and Parmesan Crusted Grilled Cheese

Yes, I made tomato soup again but this time all red tomatoes, roasted with garlic and frozen in their juice late in the summer
I nuked them to thaw slightly and added them to a chopped sauteed onion. I used my trusty immersion blender to pulverize the veggies then added a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of cream and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan.
I thinned it down with some skim milk and added 1 teaspoon of habanero sauce. Mix it all and give a final whir of the blender then leave it on low heat while you make the sandwiches.

For the grilled cheese I melted 2 teaspoons of butter in a skillet and placed 2 slices of bread. Top the bread with a slice of American and a slice of Muenster then the second slice of bread. Turn the sandwich after sneaking more butter in the pan and top with grated Parmesan. Turn again and top the last side and turn to melt. Serve along side the soup. Great dipping!

Stuffed Pumpkin

Prep time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

What to do first:

Preheat oven to 350 degree. The pumpkin takes about 2 hours to cook.

Cut the top off a 3-pound pumpkin, as you would if you were making a jack-o-lantern style and clean out the insides. Hang on to the lid.
What you need:

1 T olive oil
2 leeks, cleaned
2 cloves garlic
4 oz. mushrooms
4 oz. monterey jack, 1/2 inch cubes
4 oz. sharp cheddar, 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups dried bread cube stuffing
1 t thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 c cream Options: cooked crumbled sausage, crisp chopped bacon
What you do second:
Place cleaned pumpkin in a foil pie pan on a baking sheet.
Chop leeks, white part and light green part into 1-inch chunks, halved.
Saute with mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine in a bowl with bread cubes, cheeses and thyme. Add cooked bacon or sausage to mix if desired.

Stuff pumpkin tightly. Poke holes in filling add cream to top and let it soak through. Put the lid on and bake at 350 for 2 hours. Check after 90 minutes. Serve by scooping some pumpkin flesh and stuffing into a bowl.

I had to repost this recipe since it corrupted somehow in the blog from an earlier date. Sorry about that.

Texas Rising Chili Con Carne From Jeff Mauro

courtesy Food Channel

I spotted a segment on the Food Channel for  Jeff Mauro's chili con carne and decided to give it a go. I am not normally a chili fan but the Mrs. is although I think she longs for a more traditional approach and if you know me at all....I am not traditional sometimes to my detriment.

3 dried Ancho Chile's
1 dried New Mexico Chile
1 Chile d'arbol
1 TB ground cumin
6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
1 tsp oregano
4 pound chuck roast trimmed cut into 1 inch cubes
salt and pepper
1 medium onion diced
4 jalapenos ribs and seeds removed diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 cups beef stock
14 ounce can tomatoes
2 TB corn meal
juice 2 limes

Toast the dried Chile's till they puff about 5-7 minutes. Remove stems and seeds.
In a food processor or spice grinder, process the chiles to a powder and add the cumin and oregano with enough hot water to form a paste.

Heat a large Dutch oven and add the bacon, render the fat and cook crispy. Remove from pan and reserve. Keep the fat.
Sprinkle the beef with a bit of flour, salt and pepper then cook in the fat in batches till browned. Remove the beef and add the Chile paste then the onions. Cook till translucent then add the garlic and jalapenos. Careful here as the paste can get a bit overdone if you let it.

Add the beef back with the tomatoes and cornmeal. Cook till thick and rich adding beef stock to thin.* Adjust the seasoning.

* Here I differed, adding some of the stock to scrape up the bits from the pan, then adding the beef and tomatoes with  stock to cover. I covered the whole thing and placed in a 325 degree oven for 3 hours till the beef fell apart. I skimmed the fat and the sauce was plenty thick without the addition of cornmeal. We also added a can of drained, rinsed black beans for the Mrs. I also added a tablespoon of my homemade Habanero sauce for a little heat.

Served with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream, I thought this was pretty good and even better the next day at lunch.

Reaching Egg Nirvana

Soft boiled eggs. I usually hated the prospect of running into uncooked whites so avoided them at all costs but lately.....

My lovely bride started ordering poached eggs and I thought them way too fussy to cook on my own and several attempts left me cold.  Then I encountered a few web sites that touted perfect methods of egg cookery and I had to try again but this time not poached but soft boiled. A soft boiled egg is basically poached but in the shell right? I reached egg nirvana with minimum fuss but you have to mind the clock. Easy to do.

In a pan with a cover, boil 1/2" of water. Place into the pan at boiling point a cold extra large egg.  Cover and countdown 6 minutes 30 secs.  How easy can that be right from the fridge and as many as you like. The secret being the small amount of water comes back to a boil instantly. The timing is the key element here. I would imagine 30 seconds less for a large egg.  After the time is up, run the egg under cold water to stop cooking and peel. Lovely dreamy tender whites and yolks that run but have just enough consistency not to be out of control. Perfection on a plate over a buttered toast or muffin.

Pan Seared Veal with creamed Cauliflower and Broccoli

 Sometimes, it takes a while to cook a dish, as this did,  and the results are less than stellar. I am not all that familiar with veal cuts and the Veal Chops we purchased looked a bit odd as there was little to no bone (note to self, pick your meat carefully)

The recipe for Pan Seared Veal Chops with Creamy Mushroom gravy took a surprising long time to cook so I had a lot invested here but the outcome was so so and the 'chops' were incredibly gristly and unappetizing.  Would I do this again? Yes, but with a more careful selection of meat product.

1 Tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
4 veal chops rib bone in
1 medium onion diced

2 cloves minced garlic
1 pound wild mushrooms cleaned and sliced
1/4 dry white wine

2 cups chicken stock**
1 c heavy cream**

Heat 1 tbs butter and oil in large heavy pan. Add chops and sear till golden brown about 5-6 minutes per side. Set aside.

In the same pan add the onions and saute till softened about 5 minutes add garlic and cook 30 secs more.  Add the mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally until they release their liquid and cook till the liquid has evaporated. add the wine and using a spoon, scrape up all the browned bits and reduce the until the liquid is gone then add the stock and cream.Add the chops back to the pan and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover for about 30 minutes. Continue cooking uncovered for additional 20-25 minutes till the sauce is thickened and the chops are tender.

**Actually, that's a lot of liquid to thicken up in 20 minutes so use less or use a thickener like Wondra  or Buere Blanc.  I would use a bit less personally, about half of each.

Season with salt and pepper.

Creamy Cauliflower
 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1/2 cup sharp white cheddar or aged Asiago
1/4 c cream


Microwave or steam a head of cauliflower that has been separated into florets until quite soft.
Process with immersion blender till smooth adding the cream and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

New Toy...Great Pizza

I read a post one of my bloggers wrote while on vacation who aquired a pizza oven that fit on the grill.  I became a little obsessed with a crusty pie since nothing like it existed in Mexico.

Bed Bath and Beyond carried a few on clearance so I picked one up.

I happened to make a batch of dough a few days earlier and it was in the fridge cold rising so I let that come to room temp before working it into a couple of crusts. I let the oven heat on the grill for 30 minutes or more and it was in the zone around 700 degrees. Now I cannot, for the life if me, get a crust off the peel so I use a bit of parchment to make life easier. The results of the high temp was amazing. Bubbly edges, crusty bottom, perfect pizza. Delish!

Another Year In Mexico

We had something special to celebrate this year and were fortunate to have our great friends Matt and Lori as well as Mackenzie, Ben and Christian come along for the ride. Our booking was delayed as we hoped Nick's schedule would allow him to join and as a result our usual haunt, Playa Mujeres,  was booked. He could not come with us and we ended up at the sister resort, Riviera Cancun,  south of Cancun. An older and decidedly less friendly version of our favorite resort we had a few small issues with service and trying to seat all of us at a meal. The concierge was rude and helpless but the restaurants tried to be accommodating but you could tell they were a little exasperated.

The food was pretty good but the outstanding dinner was at Chez Isabel with a Sea Bass that made you wanna smack your grandma. So good we went back for seconds.The Asian Spice restaurant was outstanding also. I had lasagna at the Italian place but it had a decidedly Mexican funk to it and I did not care for it at all.

The resort was well kept but the raft situation around the pool was laughable. They were like rare gems as guests stored them in rooms never to be seen. The security was ever vigilant and picked up your stuff after 40 minutes unattended even if you were in the pool right in front of it. Weird.

Brenda had created gift bags for all with a clever T shirt marking my 60th birthday. We had a great time with the kids but missed our absent members and a few who tried to book too late and found the resort full.  Next year we plan to book early and back at our favorite spot. Another year older and a little wiser.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Jill stopped by the office the other morning bearing the fruits from her brother's farm in Iowa. a box of assorted goodies included some bright yellow tomatoes that were getting past their prime so had to be processed quickly to preserve their integrity.

 

I started by selecting a few reds of our own, halving them and pulping them over a strainer to catch the juices. About 16 tomatoes yielded about 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice in a peachy color due to the mix of yellows and reds. I set this aside for later and proceeded to sprinkle the rest with olive oil and salt, throw in a few cloves of garlic and roast at 400 degrees for about an hour.

I threw everything including the reserved juice into the processor and whizzed away. In a large sauce pan I heated some butter and olive oil and sauteed a medium onion, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon  of dried thyme. Normally I would use fresh basil but with the temperature dipping my basil is gone for the season. I added 1 tub of Knorr's Chicken broth with a cup of water and the pureed tomato mix. Still needing a little something to push it over the edge I added a 1/4 c grated Parmesan. That seemed to do the trick. The yellow tomatoes are very sweet so a little salt mellowed it out a bit.

Roasted Tomato Soup

2 pound ripe tomatoes halved and pulped, juice reserved
Olive oil for tomatoes and later for making soup
butter
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic, 3 roasted, 3 plain and minced
1 teas dried thyme
1 tub Knorr's Homestyle Stock (chicken)
1-2 cups water
1/4 c cream
1/4 c Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste