Mighty Good Recipe

Baked Potatoes with Shallot-Corn Butter
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baked-potatoes-with-shallot-corn-butter

This recipe is perfect for a good, quick meal. I make it about once a year and I can't imagine a better topping for a baked potato. The sweeter the corn, the better this will taste. You could put this stuff on just about anything, and it would improve the taste. Be sure to make plenty, as it will go fast.

Next week's recipe: Giant Ding Dong Cake (don't laugh...it's good)

Restaurant Review

Red Balloon Cafe
4410 Westway Park Boulevard, Suite 300
http://redballooncafe.com/

The Run Down: My dad asked me to lunch the other day. He'd heard great things about Red Balloon...a nondescript cafe located just inside the Beltway. Red Balloon occupies a corner suite, and if you don't know about the place, you're sure to pass it up (much like we did). The restaurant has some very interesting aspects. First, it is surrounded on one side by several beautiful oak trees. Second, half the restaurants is an outdoor patio...and with the Houston heat, thank goodness for the trees. The inside has a modern, open feel and features a walk-up order counter.

The Food: Our food was very solid. My dad ordered a guac burger and I had a crispy chicken sandwich. Both tasted good and were bigger than average (that's what she said). My chicken had a perfect texture, and although a bit under seasoned, I dosed it with mustard and ketchup which made it just right. It came with a side of fries...no complaints.

The Price: Great prices...especially considering the big portions.

The Overall Opinion: Red Balloon is a typical burger/sandwich/salad place. But what they do, they seem to do quite well (at least from my limited experience). I can't wait to hit this place when it gets cooler outside. Would love to enjoy a drink out on the porch under those oaks. Oh yeah, forgot to mention...they serve margaritas.

Helpful Hints: We hit Red Balloon right before the big lunch crowd. I'm figuring the place gets pretty crowded around 12-1. But the service is fast. Red Balloon has definitely not seen the last of me.

City Jewel: St. Louis

It's Monday, time for another City Jewel. Special thanks to Amy for sending this one in from her trip to St. Louis. We've now hit City Jewels in Houston, St. Louis, Boston, and Washington, DC. And looking for more! Next week...we'll look at a place in Denver.

Yemanja Brasil
http://yemanjabrasil.com/home.htm

The Vibe: Pretty cool place in what appears to be an old brownstone type house in the Benton Park district near downtown. They have a patio, and instead of curtains, hammocks hang over the windows. Excellent wait staff was very helpful. I was excited to try it, as all the Brasilian places I have been outside of Brasil are churrascarias.

The Drinks: The caipirinha is “the national drink of Brasil” so you can’t go wrong with that. If you’re lucky, the Cadillac caipirinha is the drink special – they add apples and oranges to the original, so it’s a little like sangria

The Food: Everything looked lovely. They have beef, pork, fish and vegetarian items. I had the Lombo Ipanema which was the best pork loin I have ever had. Perfectly cooked (not overdone at all, faintest bit of pink, perfect!) and the right balance of garlic and rosemary and I don’t know what else besides good. It came with a pureed collard green soup to start, which tasted so good, million times better than what you are thinking when you hear “collard green soup.” Everyone else loved theirs, so I don’t think you can go wrong. We didn’t have appetizers or deserts, but they sounded great, too.

The Price: My meal was $16 and worth every penny. Most dishes ranged from $12 to $24.

Vegetarian's View

Molly gives her view of Zabak's Mediterranean Cafe...through the eyes of a vegetarian.

5901G Westheimer
zabaks.com

Overall Vegetarian Selection: (4) Stars
Brief Take: (Did the restaurant have a good selection?)
Mediterranean is my favorite cuisine and there is no coincidence that Mediterranean restaurants have a lot of vegetarian items to choose from on their menu. Besides the gyros and shawarmas, Zabak’s had several meat free meal options to choose from. I really liked this place so I am eager to go back and try something new on the menu like their vegetarian plate which consists of options for falafel, spinach pie, hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouli salad, cucumber and tomato salad and pita bread.

Ordered Dish: (4) Stars
Brief Take: (What did you get and how was it?)
Appetizer:
For my appetizer I ordered hummus (Ordering hummus at a Mediterranean restaurant is a must. It’s kind of like ordering queso at a Mexican restaurant.) and a spinach pie. The hummus was served with a generous portion of oils and spices. Perfectly creamy with a mild nutty flavor, this hummus is a keeper. The pita served with the hummus was good but not my preferred style. Brought out warm in a bread basket, the pita was thin and coarse; I like mine fluffy and a little thicker. Don’t get me wrong, Zabak’s pita was not bad – it was not stale or poorly cooked but just not my style. The spinach pie disappeared off my plate in under a minute so yes you can safely assume I thought it was delicious. About the size of the palm of my hand, the spinach pie was served warm and enclosed in a pastry shell. Inside the shell the spinach was cooked with a tangy vinegar type dressing.

Entrée:
My entrée consisted of one of my favorite meals ever - a falafel sandwich. Served in the same pita bread as the hummus, the falafel patty it’s self was the best I have ever eaten anywhere. (And since falafel is one of my favorite foods, I’ve tried a lot.) I read before visiting that Zabak’s had the best falafel in town so I was excited to try it out myself. Instead of tiny oval balls like how I’ve mostly seen falafel, the falafel in Zabak’s sandwich was a thin patty the size of the pita it was tucked in. The patty was cooked perfectly with chickpeas, loads of parsley and many other vibrant spices. Topping the falafel sandwich off were lettuce, tomato and a hot sauce. The hot sauce was a good element at first but then it began to overpower the sandwich. Maybe next time I will ask for it on the side. I took off one star because of the pita and the hot sauce on the sandwich.

Healthy Rating: (5) Stars
Brief Take: (Was it still healthy even though it was vegetarian?)
Eating healthy vegetarian food at Mediterranean restaurants is always easy. Most of the time, the food is not only vegetarian but vegan as well – even healthier. The hummus and falafel patty were made of chickpeas. Chickpeas are very nutritional. They are low fat and very high in protein, iron and fiber. The spinach in the spinach pie had lots of vitamin a, vitamin c, calcium and iron.

Overall Opinion: (5) Stars
Summary: Quick review of the overall experience…what was restaurant like, service, etc)
Zabak’s Mediterranean Cafe is a small, no frills, counter service, family owned and operated restaurant ….and when I say family operated, I mean the sister, Sandra Zabak is at the counter taking your order and her two brother’s Peter and Donald Zabak can be seen behind the counter in the kitchen cooking your meal. After your meal is cooked one of the brothers happily brings it to your table.

Zabak’s is one of the nicest, friendliest restaurants I have ever visited. It is evident the three siblings really care about their eatery and patrons. The customer service is impeccable and the Zabak’s are very warm and welcoming. While eating my meal, a few different regulars came into to dine, and Sandra happily greeted them by name before they even had two feet inside. Wow – you just don’t get that very often these days.

A Reader's Suggestion

When I get a suggestion from a reader, it's a good bet I'm going to try it out. A few weeks back I put up a ravioli recipe. Frank suggested I make a sage brown butter sauce with it. Here's what I did for the raviolis (changed things around a bit):

1. Sauteed one bag of chopped baby portobello mushrooms in a couple tbsp. of olive oil. Added some dried oregano and basil to mushrooms.

2. Let mushrooms cool and mixed with one container of ricotta cheese. Added a little salt and put in the fridge.

3. Scooped some of the mixture and filled wonton wrappers.

4. Boiled for 2-3 minutes. Topped with sage brown butter.

5. And here's the butter:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10966-sage-brown-butter-sauce

This makes for an unbelievable appetizer...just a little too heavy to serve as an entree. The brown butter sauce is spectacular! One of the best new things I've prepared in a long time. Thanks Frank!

Test Kitchen

Every Saturday I'll try out a new recipe...you'll see the good and the bad of it. With all the bbq-ing that goes on this time of year, I decided to try out a new potato salad recipe. This is always a challenge in my family. Sara is allergic to mayonnaise.

Red Potato Salad
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Red-Potato-Salad-2/Detail.aspx

Description: This recipe is basically a deconstructed baked potato...which is not a bad thing. Like most potato salad recipes, this too contained mayonnaise. But after reading over the other ingredients, I just nixed the mayo and doubled the sour cream. Worked out very well, and even saved a few calories. That may be a first on this blog!

Recipe Difficulty (Scale of 1-10): 3
Like most of my recipes, this one is very easy. The hardest thing was frying bacon, and that's not difficult. By the way, I would make this with at least three strips of bacon (not one). D*mn, those calories I just saved you are back in the picture.

How it turned out: Good
I enjoyed this recipe, although I must admit...when it comes to potato salad, I am more of a traditionalist. Translation...I need some mustard! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. What's not to like about potatoes, bacon, cheese and sour cream?

Would I make again: Yes
It wouldn't be tops on my potato salad list, but given the constraints in my household, I will definitely make it again. Doesn't hurt that it makes for a pretty good presentation (at least by potato salad standards).

Back to Basics

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Each week, Fridays are dedicated to the beginner cook. It doesn't get more basic than this. But it also doesn't get much better...

1. Take two pieces of fresh sourdough. Butter the outside of each piece.

2. Sprinkle some garlic salt and a little pepper over the butter. Press the seasoning into the bread with your fingers.

3. Add a thick slice of Gruyere cheese.

4. Sandwich press is preferred, but if you don't have one...grill each side on a pan over medium heat.

Happy Hour

Dreamsicle

1 part Licor 43
2 parts milk
2 parts orange juice

Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice. Drain and drink.

My take: I found this simple recipe in one of those little books attached to the bottle of Licor 43. It really does taste like a Dreamsicle. Enjoy!

Unique Randomness

My random thoughts...brought to you once a week.

• Religion Alert!!! I know I promised no politics or religion, but I’m breaking the rules. What religious cult decided that it was a good idea to storm people as they pump their gas? You know what I like to do when I pump gas? It’s pump gas. Get back in your leader’s Corolla and drive the h*ll away from me.

• Weekly Testicular Update. Tired of reading about my damaged sac? Too bad. It hurts, and the world needs to know. Actually, pretty decent week for the boys. I suffered a slight, errant graze from Syd’s foot. I was fortunate…sometimes the graze hurts even more. Must be building up a resistance.

• Nat (the 5-yr-old) has a small scratch on her chin. She told us yesterday that she “probably just needs to put some Proactive on it”. D*mn Teen Nick!

• The Astros are in shambles. Lance Berkman is either hurt or finished. Judging by the bat speed, I’m guessing finished. Manzella, Hernandez and Feliz are not major league players.

• How does Ashton Kutcher continue to get work? Have you seen the previews to his latest movie?

• Speaking of movies…I went to see Iron Man 2. Thought it was entertaining. Robert Downey is the anti-Kutcher.

• Four years later and still one of my favorite pictures. Those darn invisible cows.

Mighty Good Recipe

Is It Really Better Than Sex? Cake
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/is-it-really-better-than-sex-cake-recipe/index.html

Hmmm...let's just say this is my all-time favorite cake. I rarely bake, so I've never technically made this recipe. But Sara bakes it, and I usually polish off a good 85% in a four-day span. It's good for a 5-lb. weight gain. Actually, a better name for the cake would be "After Your Partner Eats It, You Won't Want to Have Sex With His Fat Ass Cake".