Eat Out: Aladdin’s

Eat Out

We went on a field trip to Akron on Saturday as we were dropping Jack off in Canton for a ride back to Cincinnati with one of his friends.  Alyssa, John and boys joined us on the adventure as they were on their way home to Findley which is (sort of) on the way home (well not really).  We first went to a craft show that we saw an advertisement for at a Waterloo hipster record store that I though might be interesting but in fact was not too exciting.  We then went to the Akron Art Museum which was great.  They recently added a new addition that is very modern and interesting to look at.  It looks like an airplane is growing out of the old building.

The interior spaces were great.  They had a lot of modern art that was cool.  The current exhibition that was going on was impressionist landscapes.  Pretty but boring.  They had chess boards and checkers set up in the galleries that kept the kids busy for awhile…but alas as in all museums kids get bored quick.  Although it isn’t nearly as nice as our own Cleveland Museum of Art,  it is worth the trip.

Some of the kids at the art museum….

After the museum we tracked down an Aladdin’s that was near by.  We have been to Aladdin’s many times and it’s a great place.  We’ve never been to this one and it was nice as well.  Small and cozy.  Me and Courtney split an Aladdin’s soup and the lentil soup.  They make the best lentil soup…full of potatoes, swiss chard, not too many lentils and then a bit of cheese on top.  The Aladdin’s salad is a greek salad with their house dressing which is very minty and lemony and very tasty.  Everything everybody got was great.

Cousins outside of Aladdin’s saying goodbye as we go our separate ways….

On the way home after dropping Jack off we stopped at Donzell’s which is a crazy garden center all decked out for Christmas.  Mom and Dad do much of their extensive christmas ornament shopping here.  It really is something else. Below are a couple of decorating ideas that we saw there that may show up outside of our house if can get around to it.

Stuffing

Miscellaneous, Sausage, Side Dish

NOBODY makes better stuffing than my Mom.

I have tried the last few years, but never can quite match it.  Kathryn observed this thanksgiving and took careful notes.

in goes the stuffing…

Stuffing

Linda Holzheimer – as observed by Kathryn Purcell

  • 2 loaves of stuffing bread…unsliced…cubed
  • 2 packs of rolls from freezer because she needed more
  • Filled up 2/3 of roasting pan
  • Cubes it day before and let sit in roaster to dry out
  • 4 cups each of chopped celery, chopped onion
  • 1.5 pounds of bulk sausage
  • Chopped fresh parsley,  about a cup
  1. Sauté onions, celery, sausage in butter and canola oil….we did it separately
  2. Add all to cubed, dried bread
  3. Mix well
  4. Add poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste
  5. Add sage, if you like sage

Liquid:

  1. Melt stick and an half of butter in 3 cups of chicken broth
  2. Beat 2-3 eggs with a little chicken broth to thin it out
  3. Add 2 egg mixture to stuffing mix
  4. Slowly add broth/butter mixture to stuffing, while mixing

Stuff in turkey! Yum!

Thanksgiving 2011 side note: I was very lame and didn’t take ANY pictures all thanksgiving.  We we’re busy cooking all weekend.  All of Courtney’s family came to Cleveland.  We had 16 for dinner on Wednesday, 18 for dinner on Thursday and 32 for dinner on Saturday when both tribes joined together.    Menu for historical reference:

Wednesday Dinner: pomodori al forno, olives and cheese for apps, eggplant, sausage and ziti casserole, macaroni and cheese, salad, bread, and ice cream sundae bar for dessert.

Thursday Dinner: turkey, ham, stuffing, vegetarian stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted root vegetables, brussels sprouts, green bean casserole, bread, orange-cranberry sauce, regular cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and apple pie and cookies.

Friday Dinner: chili and vegetarian chili will lots of toppings, pizza, orange jello, spinach salad, bread and ice cream sundae bar back by popular demand.

It was a fun weekend.

Eat Out: Paladar

Eat Out

I think I’ll start posting our eating adventures outside of Edgecliff to add to the drama that has been building here.  We’ll see how it goes.

On Saturday night Courtney and I went out to dinner to celebrate her Birthday. We went to Paladar at Eaton on Chagrin.  We’ve had a gift card burning in our pockets for over a year and finally arranged to make it there.  We had a reservation, which was a good thing, because the place was hopping.  Totally full.  The atmosphere and menu seemed a bit “chainey” even though their chain consists of two restaurants I just found out after looking at their website above.  One here and one in Annapolis.  (weird).  Courtney had a mango mojito and I had a regular mojito…well actually we each had two.  How can you have just one? They were very good – with pieces of sugar cane as stirrers which was pretty cool.  (see frozen mojito post for something different).  Courtney had a spinach salad and I had some sort of corn bread / polenta cake with black beans, cheese, and herbs that was different and tasty.  Courtney’s spinach salad had pickled red onions that were yummy.  Courtney had fish tacos that we great… blackened tilapia (I think) on corn and flour tortillas, cabbage, rice and black beans and aforementioned pickled red onions. We made pickled onions a while ago when we made fish tacos and they are so easy to make and taste so good with tacos.   I had a dish with fried plantains, pulled pork, some sort of yellow sauce that I forget what it was and rice and beans.  Very good.  I don’t think I ever had plantains before.  Sort of a cross between a potato and a banana.  We split a pineapple upside down cake for dessert…which won the prize for best of the night.  Warm cake with just a little bit of pineapple, pumpkin ice cream and whipped cream. yummy.  food coma.

EatOutOfEdgecliffRating:  B

Halloween 2011

Uncategorized

Halloween of course means only one thing…

SLOPPY JOES

Sloppy Joes expertly made as always by the Good Witch Herself of Edgecliff…

Not one to be left out… the second most important ingredient of Halloween…yes…pitchers of Manhattans…(for those adult trick or treaters of course…

Check out these cuties:

and these freshman who decided not to dress up for the night…

one more nerd cutie:

Happy Halloween.

Clambake 2011

Clams, Corn, Uncategorized

My parents clambake is always a food highlight of the year.  Their clambake was this past Saturday and it was a great one as usual.  The weather was perfect, the clams were tasty and the company was companionable.

In goes the chicken:

It was a beautiful day after a long crappy week of weather.

…out comes the chicken

Some broth…

My 2nd favorite part of clambakes is the cheesecake.  Kirsten is the official cheesecake maker now that Grandma Davis is enjoying her clams in a better place.  See cheesecake recipe here.  Thanks Mom and Dad for a great day.

Frozen Mojitos

Mint, Rum

We love mojitos and tried this different version last week…and made it again last night because it is such a tasty treat.

My favorite mojito can be found at Sarava and Sergios.  http://www.sergioscleveland.com/

Courtney’s favorite was one she had in Las Vegas as Border Grill.

http://www.bordergrill.com/bg_lv/bg_lvwel.htm

This one is very non-traditional in that you throw it all in a blender.  It tastes really good though and is really easy and quick.

Frozen Mojitos

 

 

 

 

Bon Appetit – July, 2010

  • Sugar (for coating rims of glasses)
  • 1 lime wedge
  • 1 cup rum
  • 1/2 cup (generous) fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 to 5 cups ice cubes
  • 12 fresh mint leaves plus 4 mint sprigs for garnish

Place enough sugar on small plate to reach depth of 1/4 inch. Run lime wedge around rim of 4 Martini glasses to moisten. Dip rims into sugar on plate. Blend rum, lime juice, and 1/3 cup sugar in blender until sugar dissolves. Add 4 cups ice; blend until slushy and almost smooth, adding up to 1 cup more ice, if desired. Add 12 mint leaves and blend until small green flecks appear. (don’t blend too much after you put the mint in – just a couple of pulses ). Pour into prepared glasses. Garnish with mint sprigs.

Brown Sugar Cookies

Desserts

Josephine Graham

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 T. cream
  • 2/3 t. salt
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 2 1/3 cup cake flour, sifted
  • 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 2/3 t. vanilla

All at room temperature

1. Cream butter alone
2. Add sugar gradually over long time, let it dissolve
3. Add eggs 1 at a time
4. Mix dry ingredients together and add some of this to the mixture
5. Add 1/3 T. cream
6. Add more of the dry ingredients
7. Add 1/3 T more cream
Continue adding and add the vanilla towards the end.

Refrigerate.  Roll out on a floured and sugared surface and cut into shapes using cookie cutters.  Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 8 – 10 minutes.

Blueberry Crumble Pie

Blueberries, Desserts

Bon Appetit, July, 2011

Crust:

  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for surface
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling and topping:

  • 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 5 cups (1 pound 10 ounces) fresh blueberries
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

Special equipment: Use a 9″–9 1/2″-diameter glass or metal pie dish. You will need pie weights or dried beans to bake the crust.

Preparation
For crust:
Pulse 1 1/4 cups flour, butter, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, use the heel of your hand to smear each portion of dough twice in a forward motion to distribute butter. Gather all 4 dough pieces into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill dough until firm, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13″ round. Transfer to pie dish, gently pressing dough onto bottom and up sides of dish. Fold overhang under and crimp edges decoratively. Pierce bottom of crust in several places with a fork, then chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and place on a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights. Bake until crust is pale golden, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer crust to a wire rack; let cool.
Filling and topping:
Whisk 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add blueberries and lemon juice; toss gently to coat and evenly distribute. Let filling stand, tossing occasionally, until berries release their juices, 20-30 minutes.
Whisk flour, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add melted butter; mix topping with fingertips to blend.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spoon blueberry filling into crust, then sprinkle topping over. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and topping is golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cover with foil after 30 minutes if browning too fast.
Let pie cool on a wire rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.