$25 for $50 worth of food at Brazilian Steakhouse in Woburn, MA (920 Main street). You can buy it until Friday morning. For reviews of Brazilian Steakhouse visit Opentable Spotlight.
I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY!!!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
New Restaurant's to Opentable - Boston
Newly added restaurants at opentable - so if you were looking for a reservation or a deal on a meal check out opentable for these exciting places!
Smith & Wollensky - Steak and Seafood on Atlantic Wharf
Mystery Cafe - Contemporary American in the Financial District + you get a dinner theatre show!!
Catalyst - Contemporary American in Cambridge
Pasta e Pomodoro - Italian in the North End
Range Indian Bistro - Stoneham
Smith & Wollensky - Steak and Seafood on Atlantic Wharf
Mystery Cafe - Contemporary American in the Financial District + you get a dinner theatre show!!
Catalyst - Contemporary American in Cambridge
Pasta e Pomodoro - Italian in the North End
Range Indian Bistro - Stoneham
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Grandma's Pot Roast
Grandma's pot roast was a Sunday dinner staple when I was growing up. We would venture the 75 miles from our home to hers every Sunday during the summer to spend the day playing cards, throwing poker chips, and building sand castles. Sunday dinner did not vary much, it was either roast chicken with pilaf, some kind of Armenian specialty, or pot roast. I remember loving the roast chicken, but I remember LOVING the pot roast. She always cooked hers with carrots, potatoes and onions. My brother would eat only the potatoes, my grandmother would always say, "I just LOVEEE cooked carrots, I don't know why - Gregory - why won't you try a carrot?", and the roasted onions were always my favorite. I would eat two or three whole roasted onions at the age of 7, what 7 year old does that!!
Last week, I ventured down to the Cape to visit grandma, and while it wasn't Sunday (Friday actually), she made a pot roast, and there it was laid out just like I remember. We sat down and started serving ourselves, she pierces a carrot with her fork, takes a bit and mutters the exact same phrase I would hear once a month, "I just LOVEEE cooked carrots, I don't know why!" Whoa nelle, deja vu! I promptly grabbed two roasted onions and tasted them before anything else. Heaven, just like I remember - and childhood memories that I had not thought about in years came flooding back, just from one bit of a roasted onion. I remembered the Cape cottage house with its lack of heat or AC, the cheap wood paneling, poop brown colored carpet, and leather furniture that squeaked so loud when you sat in it you could wake up someone in the bedrooms above. But alas, those were the days (and I have just successfully made myself sound 92 years old).
Grandma Sally cooks hers at 250 degrees for 4 hours. You could use other vegetables like turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash or even some dried beans or lentils. She puts some stock in the bottom of the pot so that there is some liquid to keep things moist and she always covers the entire thing tightly. Then put it in the oven and forget about it. 1.5 hours in, you will start to smell it throughout the whole house and this begins the torture of waiting for that fork tender (yes, don't even bother putting knives on the table) meat with roasted vegetables. That is the extent of the 'recipe' I could get from her.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Spice Bargin Shopping
For those of you looking to add some spice to your life - try picking up your food spices from Trader Joes. On a recent shopping trip these fabulous prices were noted:
$1.99 for 0.76 oz for cinnamon, basil, cumin, rosemary, etc.
$1.99 for 1.8oz Sea salt and pepper with grinder included.
$3.89 for 500 ml of organic extra virgin olive oil
Another place to snag a spice deal is to go to the "ethnic" section of your grocery store (ie the Latin foods) instead of the baking section. This section has containers of spices that are two times as large and half the price!
$1.99 for 0.76 oz for cinnamon, basil, cumin, rosemary, etc.
$1.99 for 1.8oz Sea salt and pepper with grinder included.
$3.89 for 500 ml of organic extra virgin olive oil
Another place to snag a spice deal is to go to the "ethnic" section of your grocery store (ie the Latin foods) instead of the baking section. This section has containers of spices that are two times as large and half the price!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
So cute!!
I couldn't resist shooting some film of these super cute, very well done cookies from a baby shower my mom attended yesterday. The shower was for a neighbor, who also happens to be an event planner, so we knew the party was going to be well decorated. The shortbread cookies, had a nice buttery taste, but the frosting was very hard (due to the 
nature of the event, you don't want the frosting to smudge and so it has more of a fondant quality to it). I have yet to try the rice crispy treat, but I am sure I will leave it pocketbook top as is - lord knows I don't need a chipped tooth :) Obviously, my favorite one was of the rocking pony - and it was indeed the first one i tried as well! If you need an even planner check out: Kate Lander's Event PlanningWednesday, September 7, 2011
Couldn't be better...
I know I am fortunate enough to get to jet set all over and eat at fabulously delicious places, but one of the things that I have most enjoyed recently is something so simple, yet so satisfying to the eyes, the tongue and the tummy.
The last few weeks when I have gotten home late from work I have put together the following dinner time meal:
2 thick slices from a large tomato
2 sliced scallions
2 slices toasted bread
2 poached eggs
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO to all you Rachel Ray worshipers)
sea salt & fresh ground pepper
1 oz grated Romano cheese
I toast the bread, then pile on top, first the tomato, then scallions, salt and pepper, EVOO, then the eggs, then a touch more pepper and then the cheese. When you pierce through the yolk it runs all over everything - coating the tomatoes and soaking into the toast. The cheese adds a salty-savory touch, and the acid from the tomatoes cuts the fat in the egg. The SECRET to the dish? Everything is homemade (except for the cheese, which was a high quality import). The tomatoes and scallions we grew in our garden, the bread was homemade the night before (and none of that bread-maker shit, I needed that stuff out myself!). The eggs, thanks to a constant supply from Dot, come from a handful of chickens kept as pets on our friends' horse farm. You can always tell a farm fresh egg from a commercial egg. The yolk is the tell all. A farm fresh egg will have a rich, orange yolk, a product of high quality feed for the chickens, while commercial eggs have yellow yolks which depict a low nutrient, poor quality diet. The farm fresh eggs will also all be different sizes (because they do not have enough eggs to size-sort).
In the waning days of summer, I challenge you to grab up the remains of summer produce from local farmers and compare the taste of the items with their grocery store counterparts. You will notice a difference and undoubtedly it will keep you from wanting to purchase grocery store vegetables anymore. The better the flavor, the less food you need to eat to feel satisfied, because your taste buds are not 'bored'. Challenge yourself to take three bites of something and to really study them, the next three bites will never taste as good as the first three. People laugh at the French for their small portions, but their portions are roughly 3 bites and those are most powerful bites of something. When they are gone, it is time to move on to another dish. Try it for yourself, you might be surprised how little of something you actually need to eat!
The last few weeks when I have gotten home late from work I have put together the following dinner time meal:
2 thick slices from a large tomato
2 sliced scallions
2 slices toasted bread
2 poached eggs
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO to all you Rachel Ray worshipers)
sea salt & fresh ground pepper
1 oz grated Romano cheese
I toast the bread, then pile on top, first the tomato, then scallions, salt and pepper, EVOO, then the eggs, then a touch more pepper and then the cheese. When you pierce through the yolk it runs all over everything - coating the tomatoes and soaking into the toast. The cheese adds a salty-savory touch, and the acid from the tomatoes cuts the fat in the egg. The SECRET to the dish? Everything is homemade (except for the cheese, which was a high quality import). The tomatoes and scallions we grew in our garden, the bread was homemade the night before (and none of that bread-maker shit, I needed that stuff out myself!). The eggs, thanks to a constant supply from Dot, come from a handful of chickens kept as pets on our friends' horse farm. You can always tell a farm fresh egg from a commercial egg. The yolk is the tell all. A farm fresh egg will have a rich, orange yolk, a product of high quality feed for the chickens, while commercial eggs have yellow yolks which depict a low nutrient, poor quality diet. The farm fresh eggs will also all be different sizes (because they do not have enough eggs to size-sort).
In the waning days of summer, I challenge you to grab up the remains of summer produce from local farmers and compare the taste of the items with their grocery store counterparts. You will notice a difference and undoubtedly it will keep you from wanting to purchase grocery store vegetables anymore. The better the flavor, the less food you need to eat to feel satisfied, because your taste buds are not 'bored'. Challenge yourself to take three bites of something and to really study them, the next three bites will never taste as good as the first three. People laugh at the French for their small portions, but their portions are roughly 3 bites and those are most powerful bites of something. When they are gone, it is time to move on to another dish. Try it for yourself, you might be surprised how little of something you actually need to eat!
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