Getting Fried at Chicken Joe’s
January 18, 2012
Occasionally here at the MHK, the need for a quick dinner supersedes the need for a healthy dinner. That will explain why last night we decided to order takeout from Chicken Joe’s, a fairly new small chain with both of its locations only about a half mile apart from one another, both located in the affectionately named “student ghetto” that house many SUNY and St. Rose students. About 90% of the menu is deep fried, which is perfect for those late night drunken food binges that the college kids love so much (I know because I used to be one of them). The majority of the menu, as you’d expect, features chicken, in nugget form or good ol’ fried chicken. There are also a few sandwiches and burgers, hot dogs and the all-fried side orders of things like potato cones, onion rings, zucchini sticks (hey, they’re healthy!), corn fritters, and in case that’s not enough, fried mac n’ cheese bites. They must cart the oil in on tanker trucks daily for this place. But, apart from the outward appearance, the food wasn’t all bad.
We tried some of the chicken nuggets, served with sweet and sour sauce and hot sauce; a corn dog; potato cones; fries; two pieces of fried chicken; and yes, we tried the mac n’ cheese bites (Mrs. MHK is a mac n’ cheese freak). The nuggets, which are most prominent on the 
menu, were very disappointing. The breading was paper thin on the chicken pieces, so much so that it may as well have been left off. When I want fried chicken bits, I want that salty crunch from that breading so at least I can enjoy my unhealthy food. The corn dog was actually very good – the hot dog was thick and juicy, and the cornbread wrapping was crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It was a good corn dog for sure. The potato cones were essentially cone-shaped globs of mashed potatoes, fried with a thin breading. They weren’t bad, but left no desire to ever have them again. The fries were ok – crunchy on the outside and smooth enough on the inside, but there was a weird aftertaste with them. The fried chicken was the other item worth trying – a stark contrast from the nuggets, the wing and drumstick had a very crunchy coating with moist and tender chicken inside. The mac n’ cheese bites were simply not good. Small triangles of fried batter housed a small amount of mushy pasta and a gooey cheese sauce. If you’ve had the mac n’ cheese balls at the Cheesecake Factory, these are the polar opposite.
Prices are probably a little high with regard to quality, but for the amount of food it’s a good value. Chicken nugget specials include a side and drink and range from $5-$12. Fried chicken plates go from $4.50-$21.50, sandwiches and burgers will run you $5.50-$6.50, and sides range from $2.50-$10. So we would actually go back to Chicken Joe’s for corn dogs and fried chicken, but that’s about it…and we won’t be going back for quite a while so our cholesterol and sodium levels can return from the stratosphere. Oh, I forgot the desserts – fried brownies, fried cheesecake, and churros. No joke. Surprisingly, the soda and lemonade were not fried.
The Mouse House Kitchen gives Chicken Joe’s 2 out of 5 stars.
Souped Up Corn Chowder
January 17, 2012
After our recent post about a recipe from the Sriracha Cookbook, the book’s author Randy Clemens commented on that post. I love this internet thing. Anyway, on to today’s recipe which we adapted from – guess what – the Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens! It’s another soup; this time a spicy take on corn chowder that’s full of flavor, with some delightful heat. The onions, bell peppers and Sriracha give it a robust orange-red color, and the roasted corn kernels really enhance the dish. The amount of cream is fairly small, so it’s not a heavy soup at all. You can of course adjust the amount of Sriracha – the amount listed here makes it quite spicy, but not lip-burning spicy. It’s perfect for these cold weather nights. Enjoy!
Fire Roasted Corn Chowder
(serves 4)
3 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup Sriracha
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup heavy cream
Smoked paprika, for garnish
Torn leaves of fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Roast 2 ears of corn over a direct flame (on a preheated grill or over a gas burner) until the corn kernels begin to blacken, turning every few minutes until all sides have roasted. After the roasted ears have cooled, scrape the kernels from the cobs, and reserve. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bell peppers and onions and cook until softened slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, scrape the corn kernels from the remaining ear of corn. Add the raw corn kernels and garlic, and cook until the garlic is aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock, Sriracha, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before the soup is finished, gently heat the cream over low heat, keeping it just below a simmer. Once the soup has cooked for 30 minutes, discard the thyme and bay leaf. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. (A food processor or blender can be utilized with caution, pureeing the hot liquid in small batches.) Mix in the warm cream and add the reserved roasted corn. Cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until thoroughly heated. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a generous sprinkle of smoked paprika, and torn cilantro or parsley leaves. Eat!
An Experience that Lingers
January 15, 2012
Once in a while, a restaurant gets just about everything right – the right atmosphere, the right service, the right menu, the right flavors, and even the right price. Such a restaurant is the relatively new Linger, located right next to downtown Denver, Colorado. The MHK senior staff had the pleasure of dining there last week, and as the title of this post suggests, we are still thinking about the experience.
Linger’s name comes from the name of the building in which its housed – Olinger’s Mortuaries. Chef/owner Justin Cucci, rather than shy away from the morbid past, simply darkened the first letter of Olinger’s prominent neon sign to suit his place’s name, and changed the word “mortuaries” to “eatuaries.” Like many green-thinking restaurants these days, Linger’s interior is made from 70% recycled materials – large wood-beamed ceilings, cushy half-circle booths, and various lighting racks and other accouterments adorn the somewhat spacious place; it’s a little dark but not annoyingly so. The servers all have that “hip” look – tattoos, top hats, piercings, etc. You feel like you’re in with the in crowd, so to speak. It’s a very popular place – we booked our reservation 3 weeks in advance for a Saturday night, and the best time available was 5:30pm. We were seated right away, but every other table was filled, even that early. As the evening went on, we understood why.
Our server greeted us with a bowl of fresh popcorn; miso caramel popcorn, to be exact. Apparently they change up the flavors often, but it’s always an exotic concoction (our dining companions had an Indian spiced popcorn there on their first visit). It was an unexpected and fun way to begin. Linger’s drink menu follows the current trend of having unique ingredients for their signature cocktails; the “Donovan Electric Banana,” for example, has Scotch, vanilla simple syrup, and cola topped with banana foam & a mint leaf; the “Toronja Flip” features tequila, grapefruit juice, jalapeño simple syrup, egg whites & Luxardo Cherry Juice. Most of our party abstained from such indulgences, but I tried their caipirinha, which is like a Brazilian mojito – a Brazilian liquor called Boca Loca Cachaca is muddled with limes and sugar. It hit the spot…twice.
It’s very rare that we’ve been to a restaurant where upon reading the menu, there would not be one single thing we wouldn’t try. I tried hard to find something on Linger’s menu that didn’t interest me or that I would not try – it was impossible. Everything made my mouth tingle with anticipation. The dishes are all small plates – tapas style, as some call it, with recipes stemming from influences of global cuisine. Africa, the Far East, Southeast Asia, India, America, the Middle East, and Europe are all represented, and represented well. Here are a sampling of the items we did not have room in our bellies to try: Vietnamese skirt steak, ceviche, duck wings, short rib tacos, lamb belly tagine (have to go back for that one), and lettuce wraps stuffed with garbanzos, cashews, Turkish chile, scallion, pickled shiitakes, herbs & lemon-tahini yogurt. Plus the fried pork belly special they had that evening – I’m still not sure how we didn’t order that.
Mongolian BBQ duck buns
But now on to what we did have: African peanut soup, Mongolian BBQ duck bun, popper “breakdown,” saag paneer “fries,” roasted beet bhel puri, masala dosa, raw Indian “samosas,” and “Devils on Horseback.” What, you need an explanation of those? Good idea. The soup featured fire roasted tomatoes, yogurt, peanuts and cilantro, and the combination of flavors was fantastic. The sweetness of the tomatoes, the semi-firm peanuts, and the creamy yogurt all blended nicely together – it tasted sort of Indian, but sort of not. It was delicious. The duck bun was a very tasty sesame pancake of sorts filled with pulled duck meat, miso-pickled cucumbers, and scallions. The duck was soaking in an Asian BBQ sauce, and the dish was so good. The meat was super tender, and pancake/bun was almost crepe-like but thicker. I could have eaten six of those. The popper “breakdown” plays off the traditional jalapeno popper, deconstructing it.
Popper "Breakdown"
Shoshito peppers, which are mild, were seared in a wok, and were served with tempura cheese curds – yes, I said tempura cheese curds; wipe up your drool – and an orange-habanero jam. Each item tasted amazing on its own, but combining them was a revelation. The smoky flavor of the seared peppers mixed with the crunchy and oozy curds was so enjoyable, and the jam gave it a sweet and spicy punch that knocked it out of the park. It was so very good. Saag paneer is very familiar to those familiar with Indian cuisine – for those who are not, it’s spinach cooked with cheese cubes, and it’s terrific. Linger’s saag paneer “fries” featured French fry-shaped cubes of cheese atop a spinach puree, served with rhubarb ketchup. It was another triumph; the cheese was seared on the outside to give it a firm texture, and when mixed with the puree, it tasted very similar to its Indian original. The ketchup added a nice touch of sweetness. The roasted beet bhel puri contained roasted beets, puffed rice, crunchy lentil noodles, chickpeas, red onion, cashews,
Saag Paneer "Fries"
tomatoes, cilantro, yogurt, and a tamarind-date chutney. I’m not big on beets, and on their own I wasn’t too fond of these, but when mixed with all the other ingredients, the dish was quite good. Several different textures played off one another well; the crunchy noodles, the tender chickpeas, and the creamy yogurt really enhanced the dish. Masala dosa is a giant Indian crepe – it puffs up really high, making the dish look almost burrito-ish. Inside the crepe was potatoes, brussel sprouts, black mustard seeds, tamarind-date chutney & coconut chutney. I’d never had brussel sprouts before, but if they always tasted like they did in this dish, I’d eat them a lot more (but I doubt they always taste like this). And I’d never heard of
black mustard seeds before, but I know I like them. The potatoes were mashed very smoothly, and the mustard seeds really were a mustardy nice touch. The chutneys simply enhanced the other ingredients perfectly. The
Masala Dosa
“Devils on Horseback” were actually bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, served with a sambal gastrique (sambal is an Indonesian/Malaysian chili sauce). The dates were huge, and their sweetness matched with the smoky, salty bacon perfectly. The goat cheese was unfortunately almost undetectable, and the gastrique was very good, but we could have used a lot more of it.
While we were perusing the menu, one of the managers, Ian, came over and asked if we had any questions and such. I asked him about the raw Indian “samosas” – we were curious how the dish was made. Samosas are normally fried balls of potatoes and peas, so if it was raw, how would that work? He told us it was for the more adventurous eaters – he said it had Indian flavors, but the consistency of a “Luna Bar,” one of those protein bars. That made us all raise an eyebrow, but we decided to be adventurous. Ian
Raw Indian "Samosas"
told us if we didn’t like the dish he wouldn’t charge us, so we had nothing to lose. And it was…good! Three small conically-shaped mounds were topped with a cashew yogurt and served with a cranberry mint jam. Ian was right on regarding the texture – just like one of those protein bars. But the flavors were really good, the yogurt was a great touch, and along with the jam gave the “samosas” the moistness they needed. We did not ask them to take it off our bill.
Even with all those dishes we managed to save room for dessert. It was Mrs. MHK’s birthday, so Linger accommodated her with a complimentary chocolate bread pudding with homemade strawberry soft serve ice cream. It was quite generous – the ice cream was absolutely amazing, and the bread pudding was ok – it could have been more moist and more chocolaty. We also shared their Trio Plate, which featured half-sized versions of their “Peanut Butter and Jelly Cup,” “Mississippi Mud Pie,” and the “Ovaltine and Oreos.” You read that right – Ovaltine. Little Ralphie’s nemesis in “A Christmas Story.” But this is not our father’s Ovaltine, no sir. An Oreo cookie was topped with an Ovaltine Bavarian cream, marscapone, and a malt sauce. Somehow they made Ovaltine very chocolaty and delicious – this dessert was fantastic. The PB & J Cup was tiny but good – cabernet jelly coulis, whipped cream, bruleed bananas and candied peanuts changed a blue-collar sandwich into a fine dining dessert. And the Mud Pie was a dense chocolate cake topped with a miso butterscotch, cream and candied walnuts. It was very rich, but very good. What we didn’t try sounded just as amazing, like the grapefruit-ginger sorbet or the homemade brown butter-strawberry ice cream.
Prices range widely at Linger from $5 up to $19 for the small plates; desserts range from $5 to $10. But even with all the dishes I listed above plus two drinks, it was under $100 before tip, which made us think at first that they left something off the bill, but they didn’t. It was an incredible value for a wonderful dining experience. The eclectic food, the hip yet comfortable atmosphere, the friendliness of the staff, and again, the food, give everyone a reason to hang around, loiter, delay leaving, stay a bit longer, wait a while, etc. And of course, a reason to come back.
The Mouse House Kitchen gives Linger 4.5 out of 5 stars!
The Sriracha Cookbook is 2 for 2!
January 12, 2012
The MHK was gifted what looked like it would be a fantastic cookbook for Christmas this year: the Sriracha Cookbook. If you love spicy food, then just the title of that book should make you drool. Sriracha, or “rooster sauce” as it’s fondly termed because of the drawing of that combed fowl on every bottle, is Thai and Vietnamese in origin, and packs a nice, flavorful wallop to many dishes. We’ve made two recipes from the book so far, and both were really tasty. Today’s is the Thai chicken coconut soup, and the broth is so good you’ll want to plug it intravenously into your vein. Tangy lime, sweet coconut milk, and a healthy dose of Sriracha combine in a beautiful and fiery way. It’s very easy to make, and the chicken could certainly be switched with tofu (and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth) for non-carnivores. Adjust the Sriracha to your taste; the amount in the recipe is quite spicy, but in a great way if that’s your thing. And remove the lemongrass and ginger before serving. Enjoy!
Thai Chicken-Coconut Soup
(makes 4 large cups or 2 large bowls)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only
1 small knob ginger
1 tbsp. lime zest
14 oz. coconut milk
1/3 cup Sriracha
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
Juice of one lime
Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
In a medium stockpot over high heat, combine the stock, fish sauce, ginger, lemongrass, and lime zest and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Increase heat to high, add the coconut milk, Sriracha, and chicken, and return to a boil. Lower the heat again and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with cilantro. Eat!
Bottega Louie a Hip Hit
January 10, 2012
For many years, downtown Los Angeles became a ghost town after 6PM for the most part. Once the commuters all left work, there was no reason to hang around – not many restaurants or night life to be had. But recently a revitalization effort began for the downtown area, and with the addition of the L.A. Live center, people can actually be seen milling about during the dinner hours. On the MHK’s recent California trip, we decided to check out what downtown L.A. had to offer in the way of restaurants, and found ourselves at Bottega Louie, a bakery/market/restaurant located on the first floor of an older building. It had a hip vibe, fun atmosphere, and most importantly, good food.
A large bakery area is the first thing you see upon entering the building – colorful pastries, breads, chocolates and candies all catch your eye and make you consider abandoning dinner and just chowing down on fresh baked desserts. But we managed to move into the center of the place, amid a large crowd of people even at 6:00 on a Monday evening, and were seated quickly. We read some reviews about the high noise level at Bottega Louie, and while it was far from quiet, the ambient noise certainly was not intrusive or disruptive. Everyone was in good spirits and seemed to be having fun, including our waiter, whose mood improved even more after we made it evident we’d be ordering several drinks and lots of food.
Bottega Louie offers several signature cocktails, featuring exotic ingredients (which seems to be the trend for hip places these days) like the “Japanese Sour” made with rye whiskey, port, lemon, simple syrup & egg white, and the “Stella by Starlight” featuring Encanto Pisco, pineapple juice, lemon, crème de cacao, agave nectar & cinnamon. All of the cocktails we ordered were quite good, and they did not skimp on the alcohol. Their wine list is quite extensive as well.
Bottega Louie’s menu is substantial but not too lengthy, mainly Italian but with many other influences, featuring salads, pizzas, pastas, small plates, and several meat and seafood entrees. We managed to avoid any of the entrees and stuck with the small plates, as we wanted to sample as much as possible without emptying our bank accounts.
We started with the Modena salad, containing butter lettuce, candied walnuts, crumbled goat cheese, shallots, garden herbs & creamy balsamic vinaigrette. It was nothing overly exceptional, but tasted very good. The pizza offerings are fairly traditional – you can get pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, etc. 
We opted for a combination of two pizzas (they let you do a half-and-half), the burrata and the bianco. Burrata cheese, for those unfamiliar, is like a creamy mozzarella but is very light in texture, almost like an egg white. It was blended with other cheeses and garlic, and topped with prosciutto. The bianco was pretty basic and similar to the burrata, but was topped with arugula. Both pizzas were fantastic – our table offered a view of the pizza oven, so we could see the cooks making each pizza from scratch, tossing the dough in the air and piling on the fresh ingredients.
We then went with five of the small plates: sautéed broccolini, arancini, portobello fries, lamb porterhouse, and the grilled octopus. The broccolini was adequate, cooked nicely with roasted garlic. The arancini – fried balls of rice, ground beef and cheese – was enjoyed by the others in our group but tasted a bit off to me, and I’m not sure why. There was some kind of aftertaste that I couldn’t identify, and for me it threw off the whole dish. The portobello fries were cooked in a tempura batter, so even for an anti-mushroom guy like me, they were quite palatable. The lamb porterhouse, which was a relatively small cut (it was on the small plates menu), was fantastic. The meat was coated in a sweet 
and spicy glaze, and the meat was very tender and juicy. The best dish of the night was the grilled octopus, a very common dish in southern Italy and Greece. Served on leeks and garnished with salmon roe, the three chunks of octopus resembled sausage – the firm outer layer gave way to a moist and savory bite of octopus meat. It was very tasty – I could see snacking on this while watching soccer at a Grecian resort.
Other items that looked interesting but we did not try include braised beef short ribs served with lardon ragù, white polenta, sage & ricotta; free range roasted half chicken, pancetta, garden herbs, roasted garlic & au jus; and roasted organic salmon in a parchment paper papillote with sweet peppers, red potatoes, yellow squash, basil & watercress.
During our dinner we noticed another table being served a chocolate soufflé, and we decided we should look at a dessert menu before half our dinner was even served. Apart from the various pastries at the 
bakery section, desserts include panna cotta, butterscotch budino, crème brulee, and assorted gelato and sorbets. We did put in a request for the soufflé, and we also ordered the beignets. The soufflé was quite large, bursting out of its ramekin. Our server broke it open and poured vanilla sauce into the hot center. Once it was cool enough to eat, it was delicious – warm and chocolaty. The beignets were good, but poorly named. These were large sugar donuts sans the hole – beignets are light and airy; these had much more density to them. But they tasted good.
Prices at Bottega Louie are not cheap, but the value is pretty good. Soups and salads range from $8-$12, pizzas are $18, pastas range from $14-$16, small plates go from $8-$12, and entrees range from $20-$35. It’s a fun, vibrant place with good food and drinks – who knew downtown L.A. would be so hip?
The Mouse House Kitchen gives Bottega Louie 3.5 out of 5 stars!
Thank You, Trader Joe’s. Thank You.
January 9, 2012
The buzz around town here in NY’s capital over the past three days revolves around the announcement of a certain grocery store chain confirming its plans to open a store this summer. And unless you didn’t read the title of this post, you already know which one I’m talking about. Now I’m usually a quiet, reserved person, but in the wake of this news, please indulge me if I just go off track for a moment and say WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!! TRADER JOE’S IS COMING TO MY TOWN!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!
Ahem. Ok, enough lack of professionalism. But yes, the fabulous market has finally made its way to our humble little hamlet, and most of the people around here – mainly the ones who have been to a TJ’s before – couldn’t be happier. There are those who are focusing on the added traffic the store will bring to the already car-heavy Wolf Road, but to them I say: good, you stay away – that’ll make more room for the rest of us. There is no doubt that for the first several weeks or so after the store’s opening, it will be mobbed and cars will be lined up waiting to get in the parking lot. But it won’t last – things will settle down and it will become very manageable. Case in point – the Fresh Market in Latham. When that first opened, it was a zoo – people packed into the aisles like organic sardines. But now you can go any time of day and cruise around sardine-free (unless you’re buying sardines).
Another recurring comment I see is “What’s the big deal about Trader Joe’s? They’re not that great. Why is everyone so excited?” or words to that effect. Well again, to them I say: good, you stay away – that’ll leave more delicious prepared foods, sauces, breads, pastas, frozen foods, etc. for the rest of us. Seriously, why are you upset that people are happy because a store they like is coming to where they live? That would be like me getting upset because they’re opening a Hot Harry’s burrito place in Latham. I don’t particularly care for that establishment, but apparently some people do, which is why they are opening another store in the area. If people want sub-par pseudo Mexican food (in my opinion), fine by me. If people want high quality grocery foods at reasonable-to-low prices, it should be fine by you.
We will of course have updates as the place gets closer to opening. If anyone reading this knows how the MHK might get invited to some sort of ceremonial grand opening, please email us. Thanks. 
The Glory of Gloria’s Cafe
January 8, 2012
Here at the MHK we enjoy many food related television shows, including Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which showcases small restaurants around the country that are local favorites. During our trip to California, we decided to visit one of the places that was featured on the show a couple of years ago – Gloria’s Cafe. Located on Venice Boulevard in West L.A., this fairly tiny spot hardly stands out at all in the small strip mall in which it’s located. The food, on the other hand, stands out tremendously.
The restaurant’s namesake is Gloria Flores, who moved to L.A. from El Salvador 45 years ago with the dream of opening a Salvadoran restaurant. But in order to make the food more accessible to the Los Angelenos, she began by doing Mexican staples like tacos, enchiladas and burritos. But gradually she began working Salvadoran food into the menu, and now it’s her homeland’s food that takes center stage.
The restaurant is bright and welcoming, with very friendly staff. I spoke with our server about how being on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives had affected their business. She said after the show aired, business skyrocketed so fast that for a short while they could not keep up with the customers and even ran out of food some nights. Things have settled down now, but their baseline business is far higher than it was previous to being on the show. You can check out their segment here.
The menu is large but not out of control, with Salvadoran dishes like papusas, various marinated steaks, pork chops, and chicken dishes, along with several soups and seafood items. We started with a four kinds of papusas, which are pillows of masa dough stuffed with a variety of fillings. Gloria’s offers pork and cheese, herbs and cheese, beans and cheese, and just plain cheese. They were all delicious – the dough was light and tender, and the fillings were seasoned nicely and oozed out in a very appetizing manner. They were served with a pickled cabbage slaw and a medium-spicy red salsa – it was a great combination when the slaw and salsa were eaten with the papusas, blending the savory fillings with the sweet and salty slaw and spicy salsa.
For entrees, we stayed on the Salvadoran side of the menu, eschewing the Mexican items as we could find those more readily at 
other places. We ordered the carne adobada, the tampiquena, and the Seven Seas soup. The adobada featured chunks of marinated pork, slow-cooked in an incredibly flavorful sauce. The pork fell apart at the slightest pressure from our forks, and the roasted onions added some nice texture. It was served with rice and the best re-fried beans I’d ever had, along with corn tortillas to scoop up the pork and sauce. It was extremely delicious. The tampiquena was a nice cut of marinated steak, served with a cheese enchilada with salsa verde and guacamole. The flavor of the steak was absolutely divine – lime, pepper, and other spices came through in a beautiful way. The enchilada was good, particularly with the salsa verde. The only disappointing component was the guacamole – it was as smooth as paste and was fairly bland. If you like seafood at all, then the Seven 
Seas soup will make you very happy. A giant bowl was filled with an aromatic and well seasoned broth, housing fish filet chunks, shrimp, scallops, octopus, calamari, and crab legs. All of the seafood was cooked perfectly, and the broth was fantastic.
With many other dishes that looked very inviting, a return trip to Gloria’s will definitely be required. If you watch the video clip, you can see how the adobada and the Seven Seas soup are prepared. Unique and delicious, it’s worth a trip to Culver City.
The Mouse House Kitchen gives Gloria’s Cafe 4.5 out of 5 stars!
Salad Dressing Spontanaeity
January 7, 2012
During our sojourn on the west coast, I took it upon myself to help with Christmas dinner, in the form of making a salad dressing (big task, I know). My first instinct was to make a simple vinaigrette, but as I began rummaging through the MHK-in-law’s pantry, I just began throwing things into the food processor, tasting and adjusting as needed, until I was happy with the results. The most unusual ingredient? Bacon fat. Not much, just a little, but I think it worked – I had cooked some bacon to crumble into the salad anyway, so it’s not like I went out of my way to procure bacon fat. It added some salty, smoky flavor to the dressing, and it seemed to go over well. Enjoy!
The MHK’s Pantry Raid Salad Dressing
(makes approx. 1/2 cup)
1 tbsp. bacon fat (somewhat cooled from the pan)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp.mayo
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. olive oil
Add all ingredients except the oil to a food processor. Pulse to combine. Slowly add the oil while processor is running. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Eat! (On a salad).
