Mushrooms and Vegans and Burgers, oh my!

Apologies to almost all of you, as this post is going to be rather local. I had the pleasure of trying a new restaurant last night with my friend D., who's a vegan. Yes, they actually exist! And, yes, its possible for them to eat well too! Very well, in fact, particularly if they're dining at Blossom Cafe.

Located on the upper west side of Manhattan, Blossom Cafe specializes in "gourmet, organic, vegan cuisine." Those quotes are not meant to imply a sneer, I lifted that phrase from their site. Gourmet vegan cuisine is not an oxymoron - its a delicious reality. Or at least it is here at Blossom. I'd been looking forward to dining here and, happily, our culinary adventure did not disappoint.

I was craving a salad so I began with the Blossom Greens; a mix of spring greens tossed with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and a maple balsamic vinaigrette and topped with marinated chickpeas. It was crisp, fresh and delicious with a hint of sweetness in the dressing, but not so much as to overwhelm, and the piquant chickpeas really spiced up the dish. They had a subtle barbecue flavor that was both surprising and welcome. (Note, the plate did not arrive with the cukes pushed off to one side ... I did that ... one second after it arrived. Brrrr.)

D. opted for the Cornmeal Crusted Oyster Mushrooms and I must say they were heavenly. The mushrooms had been bathed in a sesame soy marinade prior to being dusted with cornmeal and, I'm guessing, fried. The combination makes for quite an addictive little treat. Both the flavor and the texture were outstanding. They were served over an herbed coleslaw and accompanied by some kind of dipping sauce, the nature of which I cannot recall. All I know is that they were scrumptious and I would definitely recommend this dish.

I chose the Risotto Croquettes as my entree and while the above photo may lack in visual appeal, the dish itself was spectacular. A creamy English pea risotto is used as the base for the croquettes and they are given a light sear on the outside lending a really nice, slightly crunchy, texture to the dish. The cakes were served amid a sea of savory wild mushroom broth and topped with a variety of seasonal, wild mushrooms, some snow pea pods and some kind of yummy greens. The menu described them as pea vines ... and maybe they were indeed, but they didn't look like pea vines to me ... then again, I'm no farmer. Who knows what they were and, frankly, I don't care. They were earthy and delicious. The entire dish was earthy and delicious. Something so luscious about the combination of the crisp/creamy risotto, the deeply flavored broth and the velvety mushrooms. Absolutely divine - and I nearly finished it all!

In a bold, and somewhat whimsical move, D. ordered the Soy Bacon Cheeseburger - on the premise that as a vegan, cheeseburgers are not exactly her typical fare! Hard to see the soy burger, but its there - under a blanket of melty soy cheese and two crisp strips of soy "bacon". Who knew such things existed? Certainly not I. And while the strips will certainly not be mistaken for actual bacon, they had a nice crunch and a salty, bacon-ish flavor. The burger was accompanied by some sweet potato fries and D. was delighted with the whole package indeed. She nearly finished her dish as well, just a few lonely fries left on the plate at the end.

Because there was no reason not to do so ... we ordered dessert. Our waiter suggested the vegan chocolate chip cookies - insisting they were the best in the city. No one loves a good cookie more than I, so ... game on! We ordered one plain and one drizzled with chocolate fudge. Both were exquisite! The texture was wonderful, quite amazing really considering the lack of butter and eggs, and the taste was rich with all the comforting flavors once desires in a chocolate chip cookie. It was everything a cookie should be and more. Or should I say less? I don't know - I think I'm confused ... it must be the lack of meat.

Really, I'm kidding. Blossom Cafe is worth a trip whether you're vegan or not. The bottom line is the food and the food here is wonderful. The menu is so varied, I'm sure there's something for everyone and many more items I hope to try. The atmosphere is serene and quiet, the staff helpful and friendly - I have nothing but praises to sing. Blossom Cafe has everything to recommend it and I'm looking forward to my next meal there. I may even rope the carnivorous husband into joining me. Stranger things have happened.

Don't forget to enter my Great Granola Give-Away if you've not already done so. Have a great weekend and remember to make it ... Divalicious!

Bon appetit!

On edit: the photo above is of the lovely and welcoming bar area. The restaurant has two large bar/dining areas and a wealth of actual tables. Plenty of seating for everyone!

Great Granola Give-Away ...

Fasten your seat belts, delicious ones, you're in for a treat ... and I mean that literally. Or at least one of you is. ~wink~ More on that later ... you'll have to read through to the end.

So, last week a new dude popped into the comments section of my Loaded Oatmeal Cookie post. His name is Matty P. (or Matthew Pawlik in real life) and he's one of the founders of a great, relatively new, online business: MixMyGranola.com. Seems that Matt and his friends were chowing down on some ready-made granola one day and wishing they could have all of their favorite ingredients in one bowl. Seeking to create the granola of their dreams, they hit upon an idea for a custom made granola company and thus was born Mix My Granola The Way I Like It!

Genius idea! They've created a slick, user-friendly site that's as delicious as it is fun. In his comment, Matty offered me a sample of their product and I happily accepted. Off I went to their site and in no time I'd mixed up my own Divalicious Blend. Like magic, it arrived at my door two days later ... and one minute after tasting it, I was in love.

Pictured above is my special mix: organic granola base, flax seed, sunflower seeds, roasted almonds, dried blueberries and dried goji berries for kicks. It's outstanding! And you can create your own unique blend as well. This clever company allows users to create an almost infinite number of combinations. Simply choose from one of four base granolas - Organic, French Vanilla, 100% Organic Muesli, or Low-Fat ... and then the fun begins! In subsequent steps, you can add all manner of mix-in's, ranging from a wide variety of nuts, seeds and berries ... to everything under the sun, including wasabi peas, yogurt covered pretzels and even organic gummy bears! Oh my! I passed on the gummy bears, but was sorely tempted to add the fruity loops.

With such a stunning array of choices, your personal blend can be as healthy or as decadent as you like. The taste? In a word - its spectacular! I've been crunching on it straight from the tube, but its equally good when mixed into yogurt or served as a cereal with icy cold milk. I recommend it, highly.

I like it so much in fact that I've decided to host my first official Beach Eats Give-Away, in honor of my new found treat. Simply leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win a $20.00 gift certificate to MixMyGranola.com. All comments will be entered into a random number generator and a winner will be selected on Friday, March 6th.

Now's the time for all of you lurkers to come out of the closet, post a comment and enter to win! No purchase is required and the contest will remain open until midnight on Thursday, March 5th. There will be one winner and said winner must be willing to provide me with an email address to which I will send the gift certificate.

So, what will you add to your granola? Curious Diva wants to know!

Bon appetit!

Inspiration ...

A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite blogs - The Duo Dishes - set off an interesting discussion with their post on adapting recipes. You can read part one of it here ... and take a look at that yummy shrimp and noodle dish while you're at it. ~swoon~ In part two, they not only offered what looks to be an amazing recipe, they gave a wonderful, link-y, description of how that dish came to be. It was a pleasure to read and I couldn't agree more with their declaration that "recipes are meant to be adopted and then adapted!"

In that same vein, my inspiration for today's recipe comes from one of my dearest friends, the lovely and talented Becky. In true Divalicious fashion, Becky rarely follows a recipe to a "T". Just this morning we were discussing how we'll often simply glance at a recipe, to get a sense of it, then once we start cooking ... all bets are off and creativity takes over. By and large, I think this is a good thing and, for me, making a dish my own is part of the joy of cooking.

Recently, Becky hipped me to Giada De Laurentiis' recipe for Roasted Fish with Lima Beans, and suggested I might like to give it a try. While discussing it, she offered the idea of replacing the lima beans with shelled edamame and I was all over it! Naturally, I made some other changes ... the inspiration for which came from a wonderful Thai meal I had last week ... so now I've got my own chain of adaptation to present ... and a new recipe.

Baked Tilapia with Herbed Edamame:

• 2/3 cup of frozen, shelled edamame
• 3 tbsp. of minced shallots
  
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• pinch of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tilapia fillets
  
• 6 tbsp. good quality white wine
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• pinch of Kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper
• zest of one lime, minced

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, cayenne pepper and a bit of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reserve.

In another bowl, combine the shelled edamame (its ok if they are still frozen), 2 tbsp. of the minced shallot, the olive oil, vinegar, parsley, mint, salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Place two long sheets of aluminum foil on a large, rimmed, baking sheet. You will be forming packets in which to bake the fish. Place half of the herbed edamame on each sheet of foil and top each with a fillet of tilapia. Pour 3 tbsp. of the white wine over each fillet and dust with a bit of the reserved cumin mixture, to taste. Top each fillet with the reserved tablespoon of minced shallot and the lime zest in equal measure (as seen above). Fold the remaining foil up and over the fish to form a packet and seal tightly.

Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 20 -25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, carefully open the packets and remove the contents to a plate. Serve immediately with additional wedges of lime for sprinkling over the fish at table and enjoy!

As written, this recipe will serve two but can easily be doubled as necessary. I hope you'll try it!

By now you're probably wondering if - a.) I only eat tilapia, and - b.) if my sole method of cooking fish is in foil packets? The answer is no, on both counts. I tend to prefer tilapia, because its mild, though I will eat some other varieties. As for the foil, its virtually fool-proof and you can't beat the clean-up! Fish baked in this way is remarkably moist, tender and delicious ... every time.

Feel free to adopt this recipe and apply it to the fish of your choice. Ditto for the sesonings. The ball's in your court now, take this recipe and make it your own!

So, where do you find culinary inspiration? Do you follow most recipes exactly, or are you a free-wheeler like Becky and me? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!

The Frugal Diva: Pancake Edition

Before we get to the recipe of the day, I suppose I should update you on Goose Quest 2009 ... it was a bust. No geese were to be had at any of my local markets, and, perhaps more surprisingly, none were to be had at D'Artagnan - famous purveyor of all things meat. Only after scouring the stores did I think to check Fresh Direct, my local online grocer, and low and behold they did have a goose. But it was too late for this weekend. Now that I finally found a source, and right under my nose, Goose Quest 2009 will happen ... date TBD. Stay tuned.

And now, its breakfast time! Another bitterly cold day has dawned and La Diva was in need of a hot breakfast today. A quick shop of the fridge offered the usual eggs and a bit of ricotta cheese, left over from my gnudoni experiment last week. In the mood for something a bit more special today, I decided to whip up a batch of ricotta pancakes. They hit the spot!

Ricotta Pancakes:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. agave nectar
  
• dash of ground cinnamon
• dash of freshly grated nutmeg, optional
• 2 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
• a pat of butter or some canola oil for greasing the pan
  

Crack the eggs into a small bowl and whisk to scramble. Add the ricotta and continue to whisk well to incorporate. Add the vanilla, agave nectar, cinnamon and a bit of fresh nutmeg, if desired, and mix well to combine. Add the whole wheat pastry flour and whisk again to fully incorporate. Allow the batter to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Heat a large, non-stick skillet over high heat and add a bit of butter or canola oil, just enough to slick the pan. When the pan is hot, add the batter by tablespoonfuls to the pan so as to create small, "silver dollar" style pancakes. The batter will be thin, so smaller cakes will be easier to turn. Four small cakes at a time should be about right. Allow them to cook on one side until golden brown and the batter begins to form small bubbles, then flip - very gently - and continue to cook on the other side until done. Remove from the pan and serve with the topping of your choice.

As written, this recipe will yield 8 small pancakes, which is one serving. The recipe can easily be double or tripled as necessary.

These pancakes are not just delicious, they're 100% South Beach approved! They're incredibly light, with a texture somewhere between a pancake and a crepe. I happen to love nutmeg, but if the flavor does not appeal to you, by all means leave it out. I topped mine with a bit of butter and some sugar-free maple syrup, but honey, real maple syrup, or some kind of fruit topping would be delightful as well. A perfect, and guilt-free, way to celebrate tomorrow's International Pancake Day. I hope you'll try 'em!

Lastly, I want to thank both Words Words Words and Dana McCauley for offering their recipes for roast goose. I just knew my readers would come through for me. Thank you both so much! I'm hopeful for a March date for Goose Fest and will indeed be taking you up on your kind offers.

So, what did you have for breakfast this morning? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!

Wild Goose Chase ...

This post has nothing to do with chicken ... I just miss that crazy chicken head.

Today, I'm on a wild goose chase ... literally. The Diva family had a bit of go-round last December about what to serve for Christmas dinner. I wanted our traditional roast turkey, Mama Diva wanted to serve lasagna, my bro was all over the place and at one point suggested lobster - and Papa Diva? He's the one that started it all. He wanted roast goose. Feh.

Needless to say, my feathers were ruffled. You know how I feel about chicken, but I don't know how I feel about goose. Ultimately, Mama Diva won. Fresh off the heels of her knee replacement, she was still a gimp and gimps trump culinary-wanderlust every time. We had lasagna.

Ever the diplomat, and still a daddy's girl even at my advanced age, I promised Papa Diva a roast goose for his birthday. If we were smart, we would have picked one up at Christmas time and stuck it in the freezer. We didn't. More's the pity - we've been searching far and wide for one ever since. And Papa Diva's birthday has long since passed.

Not one to welsh on a promise, I'm out hunting and foraging today for the elusive goose. Frankly, I'm not even sure what I'll do with it once I find it. I've never cooked a goose. Here's what I do know ... should a goose present itself to me, it will not be the only thing on the menu. I'm covering my bases and will be doing a roast pork as well for good measure ... and for those of us who fear a foul fowl. Failing all of the above, we'll dine out!

Since I'm hedging my bets - have you ever roasted a goose? How did it turn out? Got any tips for me or a recipe to recommend? Frightened Diva wants to know!

Who knows how this little scavenger hunt will turn out? Not I, said that cat. Stay tuned and find out on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend!

Bringing Back the Meme ...

Hektik Lyfe from The Silent Podium tagged me with this little meme earlier in the week. The task is to post ten things I love that begin with the letter B. We're free forming the rules on this one, so rather than tagging people - if you'd like to play, leave a comment and I'll assign you a letter. You can link back to me in your answer post. This one has been making the rounds on the web in recent weeks and its fun to see such a wide variety of answers. Try to contain your excitement while I list mine ...

Ten Things I Love That Begin with the Letter "B":

1. Breakfast - in all is glorious forms ... even pumpkin waffles.

2. Bacon - need I say more? Of course not.

3. Blondie - The group ... what can I say, I'm generationally predisposed.

4. Baked Potatoes - and they don't even have to be laden with bbq and cheese, but it doesn't hurt.

5. Brown Bread - of the Irish variety, I'll post a recipe for it next month.

6. Butter - Real Butter. Salted, unsalted, its all good.

7. Brightblack Morning Light - didn't see that one coming, did you? (Some audio here if you're interested.)

8. Baking - obviously.

9. Being a Diva - I know you saw *that* coming.

10. Blogging!

Not to mention blue cheese, bubble baths, boxty and, no doubt, someday ... Botox. If you've got a blog and want to play, shout out in the comments.

So, what's your favorite thing that begins with the letter B? Bodacious Diva wants to know!

The Question ...

... is always the same. Its asked in every household, every night of the week, all over the country and probably the world. If we had a penny for every time it was asked, we'd be able to buy and sell Oprah a thousand times over. The question is: "What's for dinner?"

Sometimes, the answer is vodka.

~dramatic pause~

Vodka as in vodka sauce ... c'mon, I'm not that debauched. And sometimes the answer is whatever is hanging around my fridge. Sometimes its both.

Divalicious Vodka Sauce:

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. butter
• 1 large shallot (or 2 medium) minced
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 4 slices of very lean prosciutto, diced
• 3/4 cup vodka*
• one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
  
• 2 tbsp. fat-free Half-and-Half

• Cooked penne or other tubular pasta
• some chopped fresh parsley and additional grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
  

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter and once the butter has melted, add the shallots, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes, to soften, stirring often - do not let them brown. Add prosciutto and saute until it just begins to crisp. Remove pan from the flame and add vodka to the pan. Return to the burner. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Bring sauce to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt, pepper and the grated Parmesan cheese to taste.

Add the oregano and simmer sauce, uncovered for 15 minutes on very low heat stirring frequently. You may add a bit more broth if sauce becomes too thick. This is one of those recipes that can cook for as little or as long as you need it to. 15 minutes is fine, but I've made it in advance and kept it on low for up to an hour. The important thing is to add the half-and-half at the last minute. When you are ready to eat, raise the heat so that the sauce is gently bubbling - add the half-and-half, to taste, stir to incorporate and serve immediately!

As written, this recipe will serve 6. Enjoy!

Careful viewers will have noted the absence of pasta beneath that beautiful sauce in the above photo. I served the sauce over some homemade gnudi and I'll spare you the recipe because I'm absolutely certain no one will even consider making them. Gnudi, or gnudoni, are probably best described as gnocchi's delightfully whimsical cousins. I made mine with a minimum of whole wheat pastry flour and some fresh spinach ... but it was a major undertaking and probably not worth the effort of description.

The sauce, however, is remarkably luscious. So good you'll want to drink it. Really. I'm not a huge fan of pink sauces, so I keep the half-and-half to a minimum, but do as you see fit and feel free to add more if that is your preference. Were we in the midst of summer, I might opt for fresh basil in lieu of the oregano, so that's another option as well. You can't go wrong either way and the end result will surely delight no matter your choice. I hope you'll try it!

*One final note about the vodka - do not use an ultra premium variety. Middle of the road vodka is the way to go here. The premium brands don't have enough flavor. Though the alcohol will burn off during the simmer, without the background spike of vodka there's really no point in making the sauce!

So, what's for dinner in your house tonight? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetit!