Oil makes all the difference!

It was so nice out yesterday, I felt the only thing to do for dinner was grill! I had planned on making sliders or burgers but once again, salmon was on sale! What's been nice about this is that it's always different salmon! We got lucky yesterday with Alaskan filets.  I'm usually hesitant to grill salmon when there's no skin because it always sticks to the grill then falls apart but I overheard the guys at Whole Foods talking about how you HAVE to grill it because it's the best.  This time, I actually oiled the grill and it makes a HUGE difference! My salmon didn't stick at all! It was amazing! I decided grilled veggie kebobs would be a nice touch as a side. 

I didn't get the amazing grill marks on the fish but I also cooked it at a very low flame so it never actually touched the salmon.  This meal turned out pretty well though.  The salmon was delicious.  I marinated it in Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, which really isn't a BBQ sauce at all.  It's a little tart, a little sweet, and a little spicy.  There is a nice citrus/ginger flavor to it that I figured would go well with salmon and I was right! I think Alaskan is definitely my favorite between the three that we've had.  

To continue birthday celebration, I picked up mini cheesecakes, one key lime cheesecake and one coffee brownie cheesecake.  The key lime was definitely better, much much better.  The coffee brownie was ok. It had a weird texture that I wasn't too crazy about.  These minis are the perfect amount of dessert though. 

Overall, I'd say this was a successful meal :)

alles Gute zum Geburtstag manfriend!

In celebration of Eric's bday, we went to dinner last night.  Lucky for you, I just barely remembered to take pics of all our food!! 

We decided to go to Rioja since I had a gift certificate and neither of us had been before.  We had reservations for 7:00 but on Monday, we would make them or not so we cancelled them.  We then figured since it was a Tuesday, there wouldn't be a wait or that many people so we didn't re-make a reservation but we were wrong.  We arrived at 6:00 and asked if they had a table.  All that was available was the Chef's Table, which is just a bar, and a small 2 person table by the bar.  We decided we'd sit at the actual bar and wait for their next open reservation which was 8:00.  For a while, we toyed with the idea of going somewhere else for a change in scenery but 2 hours, 4 pieces of bread, and 4 drinks later, there we sat....still at the bar.  

We were finally seated a little after 8:00, quickly ordered another round of drinks and perused the menu.  We decided to split an appetizer and salad along with our entrees.  Here is how our dinner panned out: 

 Appetizer: Fritto Misto-crispy calamari and baby artichokes, marinated castelvetrano olive-fava beans, piquillo peppers, Valbreso feta crema

 They had several breads but these were the two I munched on at the bar and at dinner:

Rosemary Sourdough
Onion Mustard

Eric tried the rosemary/goat cheese biscuit as well which is the house specialty.  I tasted it and it wasn't too bad since I generally dislike goat cheese.  The cheese flavor only really came out towards the end, before swallowing.




I thought their presentation of salt and pepper was interesting just because they were in mini bowls.  The salt was pink sea salt.  

 We split the Rioja House Salad next which was made up of:

baby arugula
Medjool dates (NOT figs)
gorgonzola
toasted almond vinaigrette.

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this dish because of the gorgonzola.  I was hoping it was in bigger pieces on top or to the side but they had tossed the whole salad together and for me personally, the gorgonzola was just too overpowering.  Luckily, Eric liked it so it was ok

This was my entree.  I don't remember what it was called but it was the special of the day.  It's made up of:

crab meat wrapped with cucumber and topped with radishes
crab meat raviolis
asparagus
mushrooms of some sort
fried crispy capers
lemon butter sauce

I think this dish needed a little more "heaviness" to it such as more cream, some white wine, or maybe some parmesan.  The lemon flavor was a little overpowering for me.  However, it did work very well when as a bread sauce :)  It was a little heavy on the asparagus which I don't usually eat but in the process of ordering food, it slipped my mine what was actually in this dish.  Overall, it was good though.  Eric seemed to be a fan.

Further away view but you can get the gist of it.  Eric ordered the  smoked pork tenderloin with spring risotto.  This consisted of:

carnaroli rice with English peas
pea mascarpone mousse
sugar snap pea-nasturtium salad
lemon yuzu vinaigrette

I can say that this was the most perfectly cooked pork tenderloin that I have ever had.  I usually dislike pork since it's always cooked well done and tastes incredibly bland.  This, on the other hand, was cooked medium and very tender.  It was incredibly smokey though, which I wasn't a huge fan of.  I have to wonder if it was due to my dish being so light and lemony though.  The risotto was a little crunchy for me but the flavor was good and Eric pointed out the peas were a nice touch and I agree.  This was definitely an entree that worked well together as a complete bite.

 We realized after the entrees that it was inching 10:15.  Valet closed at 11:00 and we had been at this one restaurant since 6:00.  However, in the greatness of birthdays, we had to have dessert!! What better way to do this than to get it to go :)

The dessert was chose was the Chocolate Caramel Napoleon.  This consisted of:

layers of chocolate caramel ganache

vanilla Bavarian creme

peanut butter flour less cake

chocolate corbet

peanut butter caramel

It was a great end to a delicious, fun-filled evening.  The sorbet was a perfect consistency, having not melted in the car ride home.  The peanut butter flourless cake was a perfect touch of peanut butter with dark chocolate.  I think a touch of sea salt would have made this dessert a little more delicious but I was definitely not complaining.  

The entire night was great.  The company was the best and the food paired it well.  I think we would both love to go back again and try different things.  

Hopefully, Eric enjoyed his birthday just as much as I did! :)

How do you say "shmorgisborg" in Italian?

First of all, Happy Birthday to Eric, my amazing manfriend who always eats what I put in front of him and never complains :) 

Back to salads last night...even though it really just looks like we ate a charcuterie plate, I promise there's lettuce down there.

I had planned on making a side salad with crab cakes and remoulade but my Whole Foods is apparently having issues finding a crab dealer since last week.  No crab dealer = no crab cakes :( Made me a little sad seeing as how I wanted them last week and had been looking forward to them all weekend but o well.  This meant figuring out something new for dinner and spending more time in Whole Foods, both things that I never mind doing.

Dinner last night was Charcuterie salads.  It was made up of the following mess of things:

Prosciutto De Parma (3: I only ate 2)
Cappicola (2)
Genoa Salami (2)
Pepperoncinis (5: but I love these things)
Pappdews (4)
Jalapeño stuff olives (3: I only ate 1)
Fresh Mozzarella balls (a handful: these balls were teeniny)
Roasted red peppers: (1 pepper)
Gerkins (3)
Spring Mix
Balsamic/OO mix
French Vinaigrette

I always love this salad because I get 2 cravings out of the way at once: Charcuterie and salad. The last time I made this, I went way overboard and included way more meat which was a little overkill.  I'd say this one worked out better as far as fullness.  This is why I included quantity in the list.

You Don't Always Need All The Junk

Last week, I posted about my love for Cherry Creek Grill's Macho Salad.  I had some time Friday between the gym and getting my nails done for the Kentucky Derby and it just so happens that CCG is right next to my nail place! On top of which, the offer I put on a house got accepted Friday so I figured it would be a good time to celebrate! I had been craving a burger for about a week and I had a pretty good gym day so why not?

I must say, even though Schramsberg may be cheaper and the grapes are grown in the US, it is still one of my favorite "cheaper" champagnes.  I think I may prefer it to Moet and Veuve at times.  It is also usually more reasonably priced when out to dinner and available by the glass, whereas Moet and Veuve are almost always by bottle.  

Here's a preview of my meal.  I went ahead and asked for a to-go box bc I knew there was no way I was going to be able to eat all of this food.  The salad was a side Caesar and they do such a good job.  There is just the perfect amount of dressing to lettuce combo and the dressing is not as creamy/rich as most Caesar's which is great.  It has a nice hint of lemon and anchovy without being overpowering.  They also include their great cornbread croutons, which I don't eat, but do love.

Close up of the burger from the side view.  I felt this was necessary because the best thing about this burger is that it is SO simple!! I ordered it medium and it was in between medium/medium rare which is perfect for me.  The only "fixin" on this burger is cheese!! Usually, I want the works: bacon, grilled onions, mushrooms, etc but this burger is quite perfect with just cheese.  It comes with cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayo on a toasted egg bun.  I try to stay away from carbs so I took most of the bun off but the bite I had was rather tasty.

I must say, my belly much appreciated this burger Friday and again today when I ate the leftovers.

"She said that the biggest fish in the river gets that way by never being caught."

No salad last night!!

Once again, salmon was on sale and I really just can't resist a good sale on salmon.  This time it was Sockeye which I like every once in a while for its meatiness.  It has more of a steak-like texture as opposed to Norwegian, which tends to be flakier and fattier.

  I'm still getting the hang of remembering to take pictures so there will be times that I just forget.  Our dinner last night consisted of shrimp cocktail (not pictured), roasted brussel sprouts, and salmon.  I meant to take a picture of the sprouts in the bowl before I started roasting them but....I forgot =/ so instead, I took a picture of them in the oven.

Brussel Sprouts:  Removed the outer leaves and cut off the stubs.  Tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 min, shook the pan and flipped them, and put them back in the oven for another 20 min.  Once I took them out, I put them back in the bowl and tossed them in shredded cheese. I picked Farmer's English Chedder b/c I love the nuttiness of it.

For the salmon, I just drizzled some OO, salt and pepper on top.  I wasn't going to put a glaze on it until after but changed my mind last minute and threw a mustard and dill glaze on top (Whole Foods).  Threw it in the oven at 400 degrees and cooked it for 20 min.  I did this when the brussel sprouts also only had 20 min left so they could come out at the same time.

I had some candied walnuts leftover from our Macho Salads the night before so I chopped them up and after the salmon had cooked for 20 minutes, threw them on top and put baked for another 3 minutes, just to "glue" everything together.

Finished product: Put some more glaze on top of the salmon and cracked some pepper just for finishing touches.  We ended up dipping our sprouts in spicy ranch and ketchup.  Yum!!

Figs are kinda gross.....

Lucky for us, there were no figs in our dinner :) 

Every Wednesday, Whole Foods has a sale on their rotisserie chickens.  Therefore, every Wednesday I buy a whole chicken whether we really want it or not because I know they are delicious and we'll eat it eventually.  Once the chicken makes it home, I immediately debone it and put the meat in tupperware because it's easiest to take the meat off when it's still hot.  It's kind of great how easily meat falls off a bone when it's cooked well.  I have decided that the Chimichurri (sp?) flavor is my favorite. 

In the process today of looking for dinner ingredients, I happened to see these ball things in the seafood case which were also on sale for $0.99 each and sounded interesting....bacon, cheddar, and crab ball things.  I wish I remembered the correct name for them but I asked for them as balls and that's what I'll continue to call them.  Two balls please! 

I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until the outside seemed baked and crispy.  Once you bite into them, they kind of taste like mashed potato balls with a crispy crust of breadcrumbs.  There is only the slightest hint of cheese or crab and I really didn't even get any bacon.  Mine, for some reason, had peas in it which was a surprise since Eric's had no peas and they were supposed to be the same thing.  Overall, they weren't the best things in the world but I guess that's what you'd expect for $0.99.  I think a bit of Cosmo's Spicy Ranch would have added to the experience, as it does add to most experiences. 

Tonight's main course is based off of a salad that was introduced to me by my best friend Liz! Four years ago, she introduced me to the fabulous place known as Cherry Creek Grill.  It's owned by the same company as Houstons and Hillstone and their menus are very similar.  However, you can only get this salad at Cherry Creek Grill.  It's the Macho Salad and we shared this the first time we went there after our "grueling" walk around Cherry Creek North trying to decide where to eat, either Houstons or CCG, not knowing they were basically the same place.  Fortunately, we ended up at CCG and it's become one of my favs ever since.

Anyway, let's get into the salad shall we?  It's ingredients are pretty simple but something about it is just delicious.  I changed some of the things since this salad has goat cheese and I despise goat cheese and I also took out the corn. This salad is made of the following:

Spring Mix

Madjool Dates (NOT figs): Roughly chopped and pitted

Avocado

Grape Tomatoes

Cornbread Croutons: I just bought cornbread at Whole Foods and put it in the oven until crunch

English Farmers Cheddar

Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Pepper

Wine: Parkers Estate Chardonnay.  It was ok...it's not a favorite pick and I don't know that I'll buy it again because it has a little too much grape flavor for me, resembling grape juice, but it's drinkable and went well with the chicken and dressing.  

It came out tasting great, like I knew it would because you can't really go wrong with those ingredients anyway.  They seem like pretty standard salad ingredients, but something about it just pushes it over the top. 

Rare but Well Done

And the salads are back! With the Derby coming up this weekend and Eric's birthday and graduation next, we can't really afford to be making too much deliciousness or else we won't fit into our outfits.  Maybe we'll switch it up a bit more in a couple of weeks but until then....salads, salads, and more salads!! However, if you haven't figured it out yet, my salads aren't exactly "ordinary" so still adding deliciousness to life while being healthy :) 

I had planned on making these last week but then salmon went on a huge sale so I had to jump on that opportunity.  So dinner last night consisted of:

Rare Ahi Tuna: marinated in red miso for about 2 hours, coated in sesame seeds, pan seared about 3 minutes each side ( I allowed it to sit for about 5 minutes after removing from pan before slicing), then drizzled with more red miso glaze.
Cherry Tomatoes
Mango
Blueberries
Avocado
Yellow Bell Pepper
Spring Mix
Ginger Miso Dressing
Wine: Chardonnay of some sort...they were sold out of my usual Hawkstone Chardonnay so I grabbed some random bottles.  Since I managed to drink an entire bottle last night, I threw the bottle away before seeing what it was.

* Side note about glazes:  I have found that the seafood marinades and glazes made by Whole Foods are pretty good.  I have gotten several from there, red miso included, and they all seem to taste really delicious and really easy to use since they're pre-made.  They run about $5 a bottle and make any fish taste better.  If you ever want fish and don't know what to do with it, I highly suggest picking up a bottle.