A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Copycat Arris Pizza Spinach Salad with Bleu Cheese and Red Wine Vinaigrette

  One of our favorite places to eat, when I'm not cooking at home, is a locally owned restaurant, Arris Pizza on Republic Road.  Started in Jefferson City, MO in 1961 by Arris Pardalos, we're lucky to have one his few franchises here in Springfield, just a couple of miles from home.  The pizza is thin-crusted crunchiness that we love with generous toppings and the salads are to die for. They serve pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and salads, almost all of which are made from scratch in house but we are bad about sticking to our favorites:  Gene's is the Hercules with ground beef, Greek sausage, bacon, and Canadian bacon, while mine is the Veg Head (tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, green peppers, spinach, and mushrooms) plus Greek sausage. Gene jokes that I shouldn't be allowed to ordered a vegetarian pizza and then add sausage to it, but hey, it's my party--and it's so yummy! 

Of course they have Greek Salad (duh!) and a Caesar, but my favorite is the Berry salad with spinach, romaine, berries in the summer or dried cranberries, bleu cheese, toasted walnuts, and their homemade red wine vinaigrette.  Even when I'm cooking at home I love to serve my version of this salad. The combination of fresh green, sweet berries, savory walnuts, with the bite of bleu cheese and the sweet fruity dressing is the essence of the perfect bite, in my mind and mouth. 

Disclaimer:  I don't claim that this dressing recipe is directly from Arris, and I have no connection to the restaurant or its owners, but this recipe is one of my go-to vinaigrettes as it  tops a delicious salad to serve at home that is very close/similar to the one I always order there.

 

 

Don't Order Out: Tradtional Pasta Carbonara in 20 Minutes or Less

 

 This Mary Ann Esposito recipe changed my life. Okay, I know that sounds melodramatic but I really do mean it.  With only Gene and I to cook for, no matter how many times we vow to not order out and to not succumb to the convenience of processed foods, the fact is there are nights when cooking seems too big of a chore for either of us.  This recipe is our salvation.  FIVE ingredients and they are all things we keep in our pantry/fridge:  pasta, parmesan cheese, eggs, olive oil, and pancetta (or bacon, which I keep cooked up, crumbled, and in the freezer for uses such as this).

The entire meal takes five minutes longer than the time it takes to cook the pasta, and voila, it's eatin' time!

And to make this deal even sweeter? Because the sauce is made by the eggs and cheese, it's not even the caloric downfall that fast food Italian restaurants' versions are when they use Alfredo sauce. This is the real deal Carbonara and it's delicious without being stomach-achingly heavy. 

 

Copycat Recipe: Joe's Crab Shack Harvest Bay Mahi Mahi

 

 One of the great things about things about cooking restaurant-style food at home is being able to customize it.  I love this entree, Harvest Bay Mahi Mahi, a firm-fleshed white fish covered in rich Alfredo sauce mixed with sauteed shrimp and mushrooms,  from Joe's Crab Shack but I've always wanted more: more sauce, more shrimp, more mushrooms!!!!!  Viva la shrimp and shrooms!  Since I don't have a district manager looking over my food cost reports, that's easy to do without sacrificing any of the integrity of the original dish, not to mention, being able to shave a few butter and Alfredo sauce calories here and there without sacrificing that luscious mouth feel and rich taste.

Here's How I did it, step by step, and with photos:

Restaurant-Style Chicken Piccata

My very very favorite meal in the world is Chicken Piccata. I first had it in an Italian restaurant in Las Vegas.  When I came home I found it on Macaroni Griil and Zio's menus but they've since taken it off.  What's a girl to do?  Learn to make it herself, of course!

The dish, in its most simple form, is easy to make and complex in flavor:  sweet, savory,salty, and tart all at the same time.  The definition of the culinary term "piccata" is actually a buttery lemon sauce with parsley.  Capers have become a de rigeur part of the equation, giving more tartness and a bit of brine to the overall dish.  Other flavors restaurants often add, as I do at times also, are pancetta, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, and/or pine nuts.

I chose this as my first adventure back in the kitchen following my gallbladder surgery and it was almost a religious moment to taste those flavors again that I love so much.

Copycat Benihana Chicken Fried Rice

 Just like a kid, I love having dinner at Japanese steakhouses like Benihana but sometimes I want the rice and/or veggies without the 1 1/2 hour program and all that food in the different courses.  When I have the desire but not the patience, I make my own at home.  Chicken Fried Rice is a great one-pot meal in the style of Jambalaya or other stove-top one-potters.

Easier and faster than it looks, just think about how quickly those Japanese chefs whip up the fried rice before moving on to the steak/chicken/shrimp entree.  And the leftovers are great for lunch the next day or my work lunchbox.

 

Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

My niece, Holli, found this recipe on Pinterest and made them the other night. They were a huge hit so I had to make them too.  This is her lovely pic (such a pretty plate, Holli)--a plateful of yummy goodness without having to get dressed up and go to Red Lobster to get them.  Is it just me and Holli or is the best thing about Red Lobster these biscuits?  I mean, no offense to Red Lobster, but these cheddar biscuits are my favorite part of going there.

Thanks, Holli!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado

PART TWO

Happy Official Birthday to Barb!  From left around table:  Gene, Me, Birthday Girl Barb, Barb's hubby John, Roseanne, Barb's sister Carol, and Diane, all having the "OMG Fabulous!" Thanksgiving Buffet at the Stanley Hotel.

John's favorite thing on the menu:  Bacon Bloody Mary!  The garnish was a meal itself and the bacon to die for.  The waittress told us the pastry chef coats the bacon with a simple syrup with six secret ingredients to make it the incredible sweet, salty, crispy wonderful it is. We all kept guessing:  "Molasses?  Sorghum? Honey?"  But the secret is still safe, at least from us.

Sigh. The views from our Thanksgiving table.

HappyThanksgiving from The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado

PART ONE:

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Estes Park, Colorado this year to help good friend Barb Schurke (center) celebrate one of those even 10 numbered birthdays that we don't always say out loud!  Barb's been telling me for at least 2 years that she wanted to celebrate this birthday at the Stanley Hotel and had been telling family for even longer that this is where she wanted to be when she turned that certain numbered birthday.

We're heeeeeeeeeere!  And it's gorgeous!  This is the front of the Stanley Hotel a registered Historic Hotel built at the turn of the last century by the man who invented the Stanley Steamer.  It's probably more famous for it's association to Stephen King who wrote The Shining while staying in a room here and built the novel around his impressions of this hotel, supposedly the most haunted hotel in America.  So not only is it one of the most beautifully built places we've ever stayed, it has that fun, grin-worthy quirkiness that lends an extra couple of fingers of fun.

View from the front veranda of the hotel.

And now, since this is a food blog, a little tour via food:

2011 World Series: Yay Cardinals! (And Bumstead's in Nixa reviews)

We watched and celebrated the game last night with good friends Jeff and Dee McKeel down in Nixa at Bumstead's. All of those things together made for a fantastic night!  Great friends, great food, great drinks, great GAME! After the win, champagne was passed out to all the patrons and the owner (?) jumped up on the bar to lead a toast to our favorite red birds.

 

 We all enjoyed being at Bumstead's. At first we thought there was no way we'd be able to get a table but we lucked out to spend a relaxed happy evening together. We'll definitely be going back!   Check out the MENU

 

 

Mexican Villa Fake-out: Home-made Burrito Enchilada-Style

 

Let's start with a HUGE Thank You to Jamie D who read my original post about our hometown Mexican Villa and sent me a taste-alike recipe from the 'net for The Villa's enchilada sauce. Like Springfield-style Cashew Chicken, The Villa is a Springfield original, it's ours, and we're wild about it!

Using Jamie's sauce I created our own Burritos Enchilada-Style last night and we loved them. In a private email Jamie had said "When the chili seasoning hits the sauce your nose will know it's The Villa."  Yup, sooooooooo true!  Not that we won't be ordering from the restaurant itself anymore but it is a nice home-style meal as well that I got a huge kick out of creating. It will be fun to make it for friends or family sometime and see if I can fake them out.