Remember when I let my inner fat kid rejoice at West Bridge with their fried chicken skin?

Well, when I went to Dallas, that fat kid was speechless with joy.  Because we had a meal that included a bucket of fried chicken so good, it almost induced happy tears in all of us.Then we rounded up that meal with mac and cheese, squash puppies, grapefruit beer, sweet tea, chocolate cake, and a pie made with chocolate, pecans, and bourbon.

The night before that, we had another meat fest. We went to one of the city’s hot new restaurants and splurged on steaks and fried green tomatoes, plus a bowl of cowboy stew that had (vegans, look away now. Look far, far away.) the entrails and internal organs of a calf.

So it’s safe to say that the food we had in Dallas now occupies a special place in my memories. After all, not only did I satisfy my cravings for a childhood favorite, but my nose-to-tail eating flag waved loud and proud.

Let’s start with the fried chicken first. We went to Sissy’s Southern Kitchen and Bar, which was highly recommended by a fellow foodie. Sissy’s was adorable, with the perfect juxtaposition of Southern charm (red roses and pretty plates) and Texas toughness (deer heads on the wall).

And the fried chicken was sublime. This certainly was not a bucket of KFC. Fresh, crispy, salty breading encasing juicy, succulent meat. It was one of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.*

*Just in case my grandmother ever reads this: Lola, your fried chicken is still number one in my heart.

We also had the creamiest, most velvety mac and cheese, and some squash puppies. The squash puppies are Sissy’s take on hushpuppies, a popular side dish in the South which are deep fried or baked cornmeal balls.

Sissy’s makes their own sriracha sauce (you know me and my penchant for anything spicy) and also serves fruity beers (they have a good selection of cocktails too) – I think I may have found a dream restaurant.

For dessert, we ordered a chocolate cake with whipped sweet creme fraiche and a crunchy peanut butter sauce. It was called Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake. Enough said.

The sweet staff at Sissy’s also sent out a slice of Derby pie – basically pecan pie on steroids. This had pecans, chocolate, and Kentucky bourbon. At this point, my co-workers and I could not manage another bite, so I asked them to put this on a box, which I gently placed in my carry-on luggage and lovingly transported back to Boston. Did I eat a couple of bites as a midnight snack when I got home? As if you had to ask.

The food at Sissy’s was so delicious, and the staff were very nice and accommodating (we actually arrived right as they were about to close, but they were so kind and still let us stay after we informed them that we only had a few hours left in Dallas and really wanted some fried chicken…)  We had such a great meal!

Now let’s talk about our first meal in Dallas: dinner at Stampede 66. I first read about Stampede 66 from Eater Dallas:

Stephan Pyles’ hyper-Texan restaurant remains one of the hottest tables in town with dishes like fancy Frito pie and tacos with housemade tortillas, all served under a ceiling painted to resemble the Texas sky.

The food is classic Texan food, interpreted in a modern way. The service, decor and ambiance were fantastic, part cowboy, part chic hangout, pure Texas:

We ordered a bunch of indulgent dishes, but the standouts for me were these:

A salad of fried green tomatoes and mozzarella, and a bone-in cowboy ribeye with collard greens.

For dessert, I was all over the butterscotch pudding (which rivals my favorite, from Sweet Cheeks here in Boston) and my friend Shannon ordered the special margarita of the night: prickly pear margarita which was prepared tableside at a cart by a margarita specialist. I took the picture on the right about a year ago, when I saw prickly pears for the first time at my local grocery store. They are so pretty (and prickly)!

And no, I did not forget about the bowl of offal. I saved the best for last:

This was called Sonofabitch 2013. It’s a beef stew with a base of creamy veal stock, and it has a lot of the things that are sometimes considered inedible, but to me, are the parts of a cow that remind me most of home: heart, liver, sweetbread, tongue, pieces of tenderloin, all mixed with pickled vegetables.

I loved the liver pieces the most – some of you may recall that liver is one of my most requested meals back home in the Philippines – followed by the chunks of lengua, or beef tongue. (For those of you interested in reading more about offal, check out this article I wrote entitled Would You Ever Eat a Tongue Taco?).

I never imagined that I would encounter a taste of home in Dallas, Texas, but I did.

And then this:

Needless to say, I loved my trip to Dallas.

But I have to admit, when I got back to Boston, I went vegetarian for a few days.

When I found out that I was going to be in Chicago for three days for work, I made a list (I’m a list-maker at heart, remember?) of not just the things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see, but also (of course) a list of things I wanted to eat.

You can probably guess that one of those things was an authentic deep dish pizza.

I also wanted to eat a Chicago-style hot dog, check out one of Stephanie Izard‘s restaurants, plus a couple more places that are considered hot stuff by the locals.

I did all of those and more, and thanks to my fabulous co-workers, my three day stay in Chicago was one of the most fun travel trips I’ve ever taken (and I’ve taken plenty).

My first meal in Chicago was brunch at Little Goat Diner, the casual little sister to Girl and the Goat. Fellow Top Chef fans will recognize those two as the restaurants of Stephanie Izard, the first female to win Top Chef (most recently joined in the winner’s circle by Kristen Kish, who is Chef de Cuisine at Stir).

I’ve eaten at many other diners, but none of them were as pretty and chic as Little Goat…

… Neither do they sell a lot of cute little gifts and treats… or soap.

I started with goat’s milk chocolate milk – because why not? I was expecting this to be creamier and tangier than regular chocolate milk, but I could hardly tell the difference. But chocolate milk is chocolate milk; what’s not to like?

I ordered the smoked corned beef hash with scrambled eggs, which I doused with hot sauce. The corned beef was perfect – smoky and salty with a good amount of fat.  It was served on top of some very crispy and super tasty hash browns – shredded on the griddle with cheese. This was a very hearty plate and I barely made a dent; I wish I could’ve taken leftovers with me back to Boston!

My friend Jessica ordered the Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes with chocolate malt butter. Yes, it tasted as good as it sounds.

We lucked out with beautiful 78 degree weather on our first day in Chicago (the two other days we were there were cold and rainy) so after work, Jessica and I went on The Chicago River Architecture Tour. I love seeing architecture at different cities and the river tour we had was fantastic – it was great seeing all the different buildings and hearing the history behind each.

And here’s a little fact about me: when I was in college, I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted a degree in Business/Marketing or in Architecture. I loved the preciseness and art of architecture. I obviously picked marketing and have since built a career on advertising and communications, but architecture will always have a special place in my heart.

Other highlights of my Chicago trip:

My co-workers and I had a fantastic dinner at Chicago Cut Steakhouse.  We ordered a bunch of items to share but my favorites were the burrata caprese, the cajun ribeye, and the Chilean sea bass. The burrata was so creamy, and made me look forward to the farmers’ markets again, when I have easy access to fresh ripe tomatoes. I also really liked the cajun ribeye, which had just the right amount of spice. And I think everyone who had a taste of the Chilean sea bass can agree that it was spectacular – melt in your mouth tender with a subtly sweet glaze of miso and yuzu.

We stayed at the lovely Hotel Allegro, which had a glamorous lobby and lots of pretty touches all over. I adored this hotel – comfy bed, great amenities, and their service was impeccable. Plus they have a yoga mat in every room! I just docked my iPhone onto the alarm clock/radio, played a 45-minute podcast from one of my yoga apps, and was a sweaty namaste mess at the end of my yoga session.

We had dinner at Trenchermen, and for me the standouts for the night were these two plates: smoked salmon tartare with brown butter creme fraiche and American caviar on top of toasted brioche (I want to eat this everyday) and gnocchi with black truffle and tarragon (“soft pillowy clouds,” as my co-worker described it).

Last but not least, we went here:

So I could eat this:

An individual-sized deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s. Cheesy, buttery, and worth the 40 minute baking time, this was what I was looking forward to the most.

I had a blast in the Windy City, and I’m looking forward to coming back. Someday I would love to try the food at Alinea - I should probably start saving up for it!

Do you know how many little Key limes I had to squeeze to extract one half cup of fresh juice?

22.

Twenty two Key limes cut in half, which makes it 44 pieces. That I individually squeezed by hand using my mom’s antique juicer. 44 pieces, at least five rotations each at the tip of the juicer. That’s at least 220 times of putting pressure and squeezing each little Key lime half so I can extract fresh juice.

Did my fingers cramp? Yes. Did I regret it? Not one bit. It was all worth it for this key lime pie.

Key limes are little round limes from Florida Keys. Unlike the more common “regular” limes (which are actually Persian limes), Key limes are smaller, only about an inch and half in length,  with a more yellowish skin instead of bright green.

Key lime pie is something my mom and I both love. She likes citrusy desserts, and she is a fan of my Creamy Lemon Squares, so I baked her this Key Lime Pie, based on that lemon bar recipe.  I made an easy graham cracker crust, and used the fresh juice from the Key limes for the creamy filling, then slathered a thick layer of whipped cream on top.

As many of you know, my family lives in the Philippines, while I live here in Boston. Being away from my family means that we sometimes celebrate holidays apart, but sometimes I’ll come home to Manila or they’ll come here to the US and we’ll get to celebrate a special occasion together. This year, I am lucky to have my mom with me in Boston during Mother’s Day.

I’ve written multiple posts about how special my mom is on this blog – she who I credit for my lifelong craving for Filipino white cheese and an affinity for midnight snacks, the woman who taught me so many things: from how to distinguish Versace from Jean Paul Gaultier, to how to harness my strengths and passions, and to expanding my eating horizons.  She has taught me to always be kind and courageous, and to appreciate beauty in something as grand as the canals at Venice, to something as simple as a tree in Harvard Square. She is a foodie at heart, a warrior inside the most beautiful package, she is my Marcelia.

Even though as we are apart for months and sometimes years, distance and time fade because I can feel everyday how much she loves me.  I try to show her how much I love her, too, with little things like this pie. I would juice a million limes for her, and having her here with me today, on Mother’s Day, makes this Key lime pie all that much sweeter.

Key Lime Pie

1  1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice
1 tablespoon grated key lime zest
3 cups whipped cream (from approximately 1 1/2 cups heavy cream)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Make the crust. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Using the back of a large spoon, press crumb mixture firmly on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake crust 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 350 F.

Make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, condensed milk, Key lime juice and zest until smooth. Pour over crust, return to oven, and bake until filling is set, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 3 hours. Spread whipped cream on top before serving.

Enjoy a slice of this pie with your loved ones, and you’ll understand why juicing Key limes by hand is all worth it.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!

Dear readers, thank you for the words of encouragement and support during my short blog hiatus and for sticking around! I missed you guys and I’m glad to be back blogging. Stay tuned for travel posts in the coming weeks!

Lately my life has been fuller than usual.

Yes, it’s filled with work, (I’m still on a learning curve with my new job, schoolwork has gotten progressively harder, and of course I still manage this blog), but it’s also filled with more people, more pastries, more yoga, more events, more love.

Life lately has been busy.

At the end of last year, I decided to make 2013 my Year of Gratitude. We’re only four months in, but I’m finding more and more things to be thankful for each day. So now I want to share some of these things from the last few weeks. Think of this as a cross between my Good Eats Series and a peak into my daily life…

In my daily life, I’m usually in a pair of high heels, but my persistent foot and shin injuries have forced me to finally see a sports injury specialist, who (no surprise) suggested that I stay away from my beloved sky highs, or at least alternate with flats. She also suggested that I get re-fitted for running shoes… For long-time readers of my blog, you might remember when I proclaimed my love for Mizunos. I have religiously stayed with that brand, replacing my sneakers with the same model every few hundred miles or so. But a couple of weekends ago, I did go to Marathon Sports to get refitted and (surprise) I ended up getting a pair from New Balance:

I’m not sure if I love my new running shoes more because I am running pain-free, or because they are neon pink.

I have also surprised myself by morphing into a dog person. I was never big on pets (in fact, I hate cats) but over the last few years I find myself wanting a dog. A quick scan of my Instagram feed reveals not one, not two, but three dog photos in the past two months. The beautiful creature above is Snowflake, a pure white German sherpherd who belongs to my friend Amber. (I did not mean to cut off her and her husband’s heads in the photo.) Snowflake is super giant and can easily pass for a direwolf. On that note, lately I have been obsessed with Game of Thrones.

My obsession with steaks, particularly a good ribeye, has been well documented on this blog.  A couple of weeks ago, I had this fantastic, well-marbled, perfectly-cooked bone-in ribeye at STK Midtown in New York. I ordered it with a pat of truffle butter on top, and we shared some really good sides, too (my favorite was the plate of wild mushrooms, not pictured). It was definitely one of the best steaks I’ve ever had!*

*I hope I don’t lose my restaurant credibility with you guys, after I recently said that I’ve had “the best restaurant dessert this year” and “one of the best plate of pasta ever” and now this “best steak I ever had” – but I just lucked out and have been having some really good meals lately.

My good luck ran out when I tried making mini chocolate croissants. This was a big kitchen fail, with every single piece being inedible from the blackened and burnt bottoms. (Trust me, I tried scraping it off or just eating the top part and the chocolate filling, but… no.) Times like these, I just had to remind myself that cooking and baking mistakes happen to everyone, and I just need to learn from it.

That same day, I just couldn’t give up and attempted something else: cheese turnovers. I’ve made mini turn-overs before so at least I can claim some success. In this batch, the cheese did end up oozing out of the pastry pockets (the picture above is the cleaned up version; I cleaned up the crisped up cheese by eating it immediately) but the turnovers were pretty tasty. Then I watched It’s Complicated for the fifth time, and I ended up craving chocolate croissants even more (anyone else thinks that Meryl Streep in that movie had the ideal bakery?) Later that weekend I convinced my friends to go to Tatte Bakery with me (top picture is the strawberry tart from Tatte) but instead of getting a pain au chocolate, I got a chocolate tarte instead. No complaints, but one day, maybe this weekend, I will definitely plan on eating a real, non-burnt chocolate croissant.

I have been and will be travelling a lot for work, and during my last visit to New York, I stayed at one of my favorite hotels: The City Club Hotel. I admit that I am picky about hotels; I always read a ton of reviews and take note of the smallest details. I tend to go for boutique hotels, especially ones with good bathroom amenities like the C.O. Bigelow set above. I know that business travel is never as fun as traveling for pleasure, but the nice little touches from a good hotel can offer a lot of comfort in those short periods of time.

Speaking of comfort, I find solace in doing a little reading before bed. I have always been a voracious reader, and having a Kindle makes it easier to have all the books I want at my fingertips. The last book I read and thoroughly enjoyed was My Life from Scratch, a memoir by Gesine Bullock-Prado, professional pastry chef and author (and Sandra Bullock’s sister!) It’s the story of how she left her Hollywood career and started over by opening a bakery. It’s a treat to read the poignant stories of her family and friends interwoven with tempting recipes. I’ve always believed that the best things to eat are the foods that we share with and remind us of our loved ones, so it was really heart-warming to read this book.

And most importantly – by now, all of you must have heard of the horrific terror at the Boston Marathon.  On Monday afternoon, two explosions ripped through Boylston Street, right near the finish line of the iconic marathon, injuring hundreds and killing three people, including a sweet eight year old boy who was there to hug his father after he finished the marathon.

The picture above is from my friend Melissa. As a runner, I know what “all in” means in a race. But that phrase above has taken on a whole different meaning after what happened. Not only has the entire city come together, but there have been outpourings of support and encouragement from all over the world (check out these stories of kindness after the bombing, the Chicago Tribune showing solidarity via our sports team, the Yankees playing “Sweet Caroline” and putting aside Red Sox rivalry, and many more inspiring stories). We are all in for Boston.  I am still shaken from the tragic events, but I know that fellow Bostonians and I have never loved our city more.

So there you have it. Lately my life has been fuller than usual, lately my life has been busier than normal. And a moment like this  makes me want to step back and take a little break. So I’m leaving you guys for a few weeks and going on a blog hiatus. I still have a lot to share, and in fact I have some posts lined up already (new recipes, new restaurants); I’m just going to be silent for a short while.

After Monday’s tragic events, I hope we all take the time to hug our loved ones a little tighter, be a little kinder to the people around us. Take the time to enjoy your own version of Life Lately, including pastries and chocolate croissants. Take care, everyone!

The problem with having a really fantastic first course in a multi-course meal is that everything else would fade in comparison.

This is what happened to me when I had lunch at Ai Fiori at the Setai hotel in New York.

One bite of the spaghetti with blue crab, lemon, bottarga, and chilies, and I was smitten.

Take a second to imagine those flavors melding together in a bowl: perfectly al dente spaghetti, the delicately sweet meat from the blue crab, and the brininess and saltiness of bottarga (cured fish roe) all brightened by lemon and heightened by spicy chilies.

It was, I dare say, one of the best plates of spaghetti I’ve ever had.

And I consider myself a spaghetti connoisseur. After all, spaghetti is high on top of my list of most favorite things to eat in the entire world. It’s what I make when I’m happy, or heartbroken, or needing some comfort. It’s my go-to dish at home and in restaurants.

So after I slurped the spaghetti off my fork at Ai Fiori (I tried to slurp away as neatly as I could, as Ai Fiori is pretty fancy), the rest of my meal couldn’t even compare.

Even if the rest of the meal was no slouch.

Chef Michael White’s White Label Burger has won multiple accolades and raves - it’s made from a custom blend of chuck, brisket, short rib, and aged rib eye, served on buttery bread with bacon marmalade, cheese, pickles, and pomme dauphines

Pomme dauphines are crispy potato fritters. They’re little balls filled with mashed potatoes – the upscale version of tater tots.

The burger was very good, meaty and juicy. It was also pretty heavy; my friend Mich and I couldn’t finish our halves – but this is probably what we get for ordering pasta as a first course.

Mich and I had the two-course lunch plus one dessert each, which means we had six dishes for just the two of us. I am not in the habit of eating multiple courses at lunch (or eating at really expensive places at lunch, either) but I was in New York for just a few days and Mich and I haven’t seen each other in months, so we indulged ourselves at Ai Fiori. And it was definitely an indulgent meal.

We also tried the agnolotti, little braised veal parcels in a brown butter, sage, and black truffle sauce, and the teeniest tiniest broccoli sprouts.

We liked the salad Lyonnaise, with thick strips of lardon (Ai Fiori was very generous with bacon, which reminded me of my homemade tarte flambee topped with plenty of bacon as well), and a runny yolk from the poached egg blanketing the greens after we mixed everything together.

For dessert, we shared a lemon tart and a hazelnut creme pastry – both pleasant and enjoyable, but not particularly memorable.

It was both our first time at Ai Fiori but I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back on my next trip to New York. Everything was very chic and pretty:

Yes, it’s also pricey, but The Setai is not exactly known for its affordability. And so is New York City, in general.

I’m certain that when I come back, I will be ordering this again:

Spaghetti with blue crab, I will see you again soon.

(Mich, I’ll see you again, too! It probably won’t be as fun eating by myself there…)

This spring and summer, I’m looking forward to a few things: strawberries, farmer’s markets, local festivals, picnics, road races, margaritas, white jeans, maxi dresses, racerback tank tops, and more.

I’m also looking forward to spring cleaning – both physically and mentally. I like doing a big closet and apartment clean-up and getting rid of junk. It feels very detoxifying. I also like applying the idea of cleansing to my food intake. I know that many of us look at spring as a fresh start, and some of us might be exerting extra effort to lose any unwanted pounds that may have crept up over the winter. Maybe you’re doing more workouts, maybe you’re counting calories, maybe you’re cutting back on sugar and carbs.

This blog is fueled by sugar so I can’t help you cut that out, but I can give you round-up of Low Carb Recipes.

I promise that these 10 recipes are as tasty as they come. You can mix and match, and you can even ignore that they’re low carb and serve them with your favorite pasta or grain. But either way, these recipes will help you feel better, healthier, and possibly less puffy. Just be careful not to spill on your white jeans.

10 Low Carb Recipes

Baked Tofu with a Balsamic Glaze – people have strong feelings about tofu: some (me) call it the little black dress of proteins; others call it the most bland thing in the world. But you can amp it with a sweet and spicy balsamic glaze. The tofu enters the oven pale and quivering, where it is baked and basted with the dressing every 15 minutes or so, then it comes out golden and firm, with a good kick of spice.

Smoky Brussels Sprouts Salad – Do you get excited like me when you see the word “smoky” in a recipe? You think, “oooh, smoky, it must have bacon in it.” Then you read the entire recipe and sometimes end up disappointed: “aww, they just use paprika to make it smoky.” Well, don’t worry my friends, because this warm salad starts and ends with bacon. (I did throw in some paprika, too, for good measure.) It also has lots of other goodies: shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, and a Greek yogurt dressing.

Stovetop Steak – one of the things my dad has taught me is how to cook a great steak – with a golden brown crust, and a tender pink inside – on the stovetop.  No grill, no oven roasting time, but just with a hot pan, some seasonings, and a lot of patience. Here’s the secret: once you put it on the pan, don’t touch it. Just flip it once, and don’t touch it again. Then let it rest. Trust.

Beef Chili with Sausage – this is as close to a classic beef chili that I can get. It’s meaty and hearty, but it also has a few special ingredients that add a little zsa zsa zsu. In addition to the ground beef, I added small chunks of beef chuck and spicy Italian sausage. I threw in some red wine to further add a depth of flavor. And I added one habanero pepper. You’d think that one little habanero pepper won’t make too much of a difference in a big ole batch of chili, but it does.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower - this is NOT going to be a magical replacement for mashed potatoes. It’s not as plush.  It’s not as filling. It’s also not as big on calories. What it’s going to be is a side dish filled with lots of sweet roasted garlic flavor, the almost heady scent of rosemary, and the tangy creaminess of Greek yogurt. Plus just a little bit of full fat from butter and sour cream. Just a little bit, just enough to make you think that you’re indulging, when really, you’re filling up on a vegetable filled with antixodants, vitamins, minerals, and cancer-fighting properties.

Tuna Meatballs – these luscious tuna meatballs were inspired by my first visit to Mario Batali’s Eataly two years ago. However I didn’t follow a Mario Batali recipe. Instead I turned to the queen of easy, no fuss meals: Rachael Ray. The tuna meatballs turned out incredibly meaty and not at all fishy. They also tasted lighter and not as cloying or heavy as regular meatballs sometimes can be, but it was still a hearty and comforting dish.

Green Beans and Butternut Squash in Coconut Milk – this is my take on a classic Filipino dish called Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa. I made this after watching a Top Chef episode where the chefs reflected and paid homage to the person who taught them how to cook by making a dish in their honor. This was for the person who has inspired me to learn how to cook, to learn how to wield a big chef’s knife, to chop and fry and simmer: my Tita Ine.

French Style Scrambled Eggs – These truffle scrambled eggs are exactly what I envision to be the perfect scrambled eggs. This dish, so simple in nature and so quick to put together, placates all my scrambled cravings, and turns things up a notch with the addition of truffle oil and truffle butter.  Just some drops of truffle oil, a few scrapes of truffle butter, and suddenly these scrambled eggs taste more sophisticated, like a grown-up, sultrier version of its wholesome spinach and feta omelet cousins.

Tuscan Meatballs – I love meatballs of all kinds (and cake balls, too, while we’re on the topic of round food) but I have to admit that these Tuscan meatballs are some of the best meatballs I’ve ever made. They have prosciutto, mushrooms, breadcrumbs soaked in milk, and a white wine sauce. No, they are not low fat. Yes, they go great with pasta or some crusty bread. But these meatballs do taste wonderful served as is and unadorned.

Balsamic Roasted Cabbage – I know that cabbage is not as trendy or exotic-looking or as well-loved as kale, artichokes, or sweet potatoes. It’s just… so plain. But, enter the red cabbage (which should actually be called purple cabbage, in my opinion). Red cabbage is crisp, bright, and vibrant. Suddenly, cabbage is looking a little better. More robust. Attractive, really. And with this balsamic dressing, it’s just a few steps away from being sexy.

Do you have favorite low carb recipe? What are you looking forward to this spring and summer?

I’ve been holding out on you guys. For more than a year, I’ve been eating out at some of the best restaurants in the city with some of my fabulous girl friends. But I never blogged about those dinners. I never told you about Supper Club.

Okay, so I did blog about it once. Whoops. Very discreetly, I mentioned that we have a monthly supper club – tucked neatly into one sentence in a blog post that focused more on Moroccan food and belly dancers. (Obviously, when belly dancers are involved, other details tend to get blurry.)

But I can’t keep Supper Club off the blog any longer. Not when we ate at a spectacular new restaurant…. in the burbs. Not when I ate one of the best restaurant desserts this year!

You know I don’t dole out praises like that easily. The last time I was so enamored with a restaurant dessert was nearly a year ago, when I tried the S’mores cup at West Bridge. I have a list of Top Five Restaurant Desserts in the Boston Area which I take pride in (I am easy to please but I know when to recognize a spectacular dessert); after one bite of Steel & Rye’s Chocolate Hazelnut Daquoise with Meyer Lemon, I fell hard and fast. It’s definitely going on my list.

Let’s back up a bit. Our March Supper Club took us to Milton, close to the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester . I am the first to admit that I do not know a thing about Milton. Later on, I found out that it’s not that far from the city after all and our restaurant of choice, Steel & Rye, is even easily accessible by T. I also found out that the former Baker’s Chocolate factory in the area has actually been turned into apartments so I am now considering moving there. But I digress again.

Steel & Rye is the latest initiative of Chef Chris Parsons, who previously headed Catch and Parsons’ Table in Winchester, Mass. The cuisine is American, but one can detect small French influences. I’ve read many rave reviews from some of my blogger friends (like this, this, and this) so I was really excited to try it myself. When we got there, the restaurant offered free valet parking, so our dinner was already off to a good start. Inside, it was very spacious and chic, with both industrial and sweet rustic touches.

As we always do,  my fellow Supper Club members and I ordered a bunch of appetizers to share with everyone, so I was able to try a little bit of everything, in addition to my main course and dessert (which honestly I was reluctant to share). Here are some* of the appetizers we ordered that night:

chicken liver crostini, pickled quail eggs, the day’s cheese, potted foie gras with homemade brioche, and Colorado lamb meatballs

*The girls also ordered mussels and oysters but I did not partake. And yes, that’s a lot of appetizers. There were seven of us and we each picked one.

For me, some of the appetizers were much better than the others: my favorites were the pickled quail eggs (with sea salt and beets, which gave the eggs a bright pink hue) and the day’s cheese special, which was served with quince jam on black pepper bread. The quail eggs were $3 and the cheese was $4. The most expensive appetizers were the meatballs ($12) and the potted foie gras ($14). We’re definitely in the burbs.

We were so happy with the snacks, appetizers, drinks, service, and overall vibe, that we knew the main courses were sure to please, too.

atlantic salmon, burger, risotto with Maine shrimp, and double cut pork chop

I was the one who ordered the pork chop; it was massive and yet perfectly cooked. It can be tricky to cook such a thick piece of pork – it tends to come out too dry or too bland – but this was really tender and flavorful. It was served with seared cabbage, grain mustard, guanciale, and fried bread.  I really liked each component, and highly recommend this to hungry diners and pork fans.

AND I saved the best for last…

The best restaurant dessert I’ve eaten this year: Chocolate Hazelnut Daquoise with Meyer Lemon

Steel & Rye’s pastry chef, Meghan Thompson, must be some sort of genius dessert magician. The daquoise was silky and decadent, with the deep dark chocolate flavors offset nicely by the tartness of lemon and the crunch from the hazelnuts. And I was obsessed with the crunchy little pieces in one of the layers – those turned out to be broken pieces of crisped crepes, or basically a feuilletine. Pure perfection.

The other desserts were really good, too – we tried the affogato and a special dulce de leche cake – but for me, this chocolate beauty was the best and something I would order again (and again).

My friends and I had a lovely time at Steel & Rye. It was my favorite Supper Club to date!

Tarte flambee is also known as flammekueche, but I prefer a blog title I can pronounce.

It’s an Alsatian dish of a rolled out dough and traditionally topped with creme fraiche, onions, and lardons. Lardons are strips of pork belly – essentially bacon.

So you can think of tarte flambee as a fancy French pizza. But just because it’s French and fancy-sounding doesn’t mean it’s hard to make.

In fact, I found out that it’s dangerously easy to recreate at home.

I’ve tried different versions of tarte flambee from restaurants in Boston, including Sandrine’s Bistro and Brasserie Jo. I remember the dough being flat and thin but sturdy. I wanted to make my homemade version similar to the restaurants, but I was too lazy to make my own pizza dough. So I just used a favorite shortcut:

The buttery puff pastry transforms into a flat base for the tarte flambe, and it is blanketed with two magnificent ingredients: thick cut bacon and creme fraiche.

I bought slab bacon from Whole Foods but you can also use regular bacon and cut it into strips before frying. Once the bacon starts to brown, you remove it and cook the onions in the same pan, infusing it with the smoky bacon flavor. I suggest cooking a little bit of extra bacon because you’ll probably be tempted to nibble on it while making this tarte flambee.

Creme fraiche is a rich and tangy cream, similar to sour cream, but even thicker. I saw other tarte flambee recipes use sour cream instead, or fromage blanc. But creme fraiche is the creamiest. If you want to cut back on calories, I suspect Greek yogurt could work too.

I also sprinkled some shredded Gruyere on top, and finished it off with some fresh chives.

Served with a simple side salad, this was an easy dinner, and also made for great leftovers.  I really liked the creamy cheese and I especially liked the salty bacon strips. Tarte flambee, flammekueche, flammkuchen, Alsatian pizza, you can call it whatever you want.  You can even skip the extra cheese and the chives. Just don’t skimp on the bacon.

Tarte Flambee

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
1/3 lb slab bacon or thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 cup gruyere, shredded
coarse sea salt and pepper, to taste
chives, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

On a lightly floured surface, roll out your puff pastry. You can further stretch and flatten it using a rolling pin, so that it fits your baking sheet more evenly. Line a 9×12 baking sheet with parchment paper before fitting dough in.

Place bacon in a medium skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until lightly browned and starting to crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and place skillet over medium-low heat.

Add onions and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 12 minutes. Remove onions from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together creme fraiche, salt, and pepper. Spread the creme fraiche mixture over dough. Top with onions, bacon, and grueyere cheese.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are puffy and golden. Sprinkle with chives and cut into squares before serving.

Have you ever tried tarte flambee? Do you have other easy French recipes?

Let’s talk about mac and cheese.

Mac and cheese is one of my favorite pasta dishes, ever. I love all kinds, from creamy Southern-style to more nontraditional ones (I’m proud of my smoked gouda and butternut squash version). It’s a luxurious treat that I rarely make at home, and when I order mac and cheese when I’m out, it seems all the more indulgent.

Church of Boston makes one of the best in the city.  I’ve written about Church before; I have high praises for their desserts (bread pudding), cocktails (Vanity – also my favorite sin), and flatbread (you can’t go wrong with eggplant parm). So when I was contacted to check out their “Craft” Mac and Cheese Series, I happily planned my evening around it.

Every Monday, Church features a mac and cheese dish prepared with artisanal cheeses, meats, and vegetables, and pairs it with a craft beer selection. I tried the first mac and cheese last week, the Shortrib Mac. The beer pairing was a Ballast Point IPA. The mac and cheese was very filling, and so apt for last week’s cold temperatures. However I do admit being partial to the fontina and truffle version (pictured). It’s a plate of cheesy, creamy, comfort food goodness.

In addition to mac and cheese, I also have other delicious things to share. This is the fifth installment of my Good Eats Series, where I share some some of the great foods I’ve enjoyed but were previously undocumented. This installment includes the biggest slice of pie I’ve ever had, lots of chocolate, goat’s milk cheese, breakfast items, and a taste of home.

The Mississippi Mud Pie from Petsi Pies was one of the best, one of the chocolatiest, and one of the most massive slices of pie I’ve ever eaten. It’s a towering slice of dark chocolate goodness, with a crumbly cookie crust, a dense fudgy filling, and chunks of brownie-like layers, drizzled with more chocolate. The picture above was AFTER I’ve had four big bites (and sadly, when I conceded and asked for a take-out box). A slice is as big as a bowl of soup (look at my Instagram pic for proof). I brought it home, ate some more that night, and continued eating it for the next two days. It was so rich and dense and chocolatey and perfect. So perfect I want another slice this weekend.

And speaking of this weekend, did you know that it’s already Easter Sunday? I received the loveliest Eater chocolate treats from Harbor Sweets – the “Robert L. Strohecker Assorted Rabbit,” a milk or dark chocolate Easter Bunny that is solid and filled with three varieties of chocolates, and the Yellow Chick Box, which contains 10 mini chocolate bunnies. The chocolates were so smooth and sweet. It’s taking a lot of willpower not to have all of the the little bunny wabbits hop into my mouth. Harbor Sweets makes all-natural, gourmet, handmade chocolates and is located in Salem, MA. I’ve been wanting to do a factory tour there, too, and hopefully I can come by sometime soon.

When I went to Church last week to check out the Craft Mac and Cheese, my friend and I were stuffed (because we also ordered an app and the roast chicken) but somehow, we still managed to get dessert. How can we not, after seeing this chocolate pot du creme on the menu? It’s a small pot of chocolate with coffee whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. Take a second to imagine that: chocolate pot de creme, coffee whipped cream, white chocolate shavings. It was as good as it sounds.

This is the whipped goat’s milk feta from Tavern Road, another hotly anticipated restaurant that recently opened in Fort Point area. My friends and I ordered several things from the menu but this feta was the best part of our meal. It was slightly tangy and very fluffy, and I would definitely come back to Tavern Road just for this. It reminds me of the heavenly sheep’s milk ricotta I had at Locanda Verde in New York.

My other favorite goat’s milk cheeses are goat gouda and goat’s milk blue cheese, both available at Trader Joe’s.

I often make smoothies for breakfast and this is my latest green monster concoction: it’s a blend of spinach, frozen banana, frozen mango chunks, vanilla almond milk, and chia seeds. Sometimes I’ll add in flax seeds, sometimes a scoop of peanut butter. There was one time where I was tempted to add vodka. But I did not.

Last month, on the way back to Boston from spending a snowy weekend in Vermont, my friends and I made a pit stop at Mocha Joe’s in Brattleboro, VT. I enjoyed a hot mug of green tea and this apricot crumb bar, which was so buttery and with just the right amount of sweetness.  I don’t usually like apricot jam or jelly but the flavors of this bar were pure and simple.

Catalyst is always a great option for brunch (and dinner) and during my last visit, I had the day’s special hash. It had prosciutto, chorizo, country ham, and two perfectly fried eggs.  It was a salty, meaty meal, and perfect for those days when one might have had too much to drink the night before… Not that I know anything about that. As you know, I only drink green smoothies. Our table also ordered pumpkin bread with dulce de leche. I cannot deny that I was the one who suggested that.

Last but not least, last month my friends brought over this Sansrival cake from Keyks, a bakery in Chelmsford, MA. The founder, Rowena,is also from the Philippines and this Sansrival cake is one her Filipino specialties. Sansrival is a traditional Filipino torte made with layers of meringue and sweet buttercream, topped with chopped cashews. It’s one of my favorite cakes from home (read about my Noche Buena story) and one bite transported me back to many happy memories of eating this dessert in the Philippines.

To read my other Good Eats series, check out these posts:

(Not) The Best Chocolate Cake in the World and Other Good Eats

National Truffle Day and Other Good Eats

Strawberries and Cream Granita and Other Good Eats

Tuna Pasta and Other Good Eats

Do you have a favorite mac and cheese? Tell me about some of your recent good eats, too!

I know that St. Patrick’s Day have come and gone, so the proliferation of green-tinged recipes has slowed down.

This Mint Chocolate Bark only has little flecks of green. Pale green, actually. But that doesn’t mean it’s only appropriate for Irish holidays.

It’s another no-fuss, no-bake, fool-proof recipe, requiring only three ingredients.  (Just three ingredients!) Which means it’s easy to whip up during any day, holiday or not.  It hardly requires any planning, but it does require a little bit of self-control. Because it might be hard to stop yourself from snacking on the ingredients while you’re prepping for this.

The flecks of green are from teeny chips of Andes candies. It also has chunks of Girl Scout cookies, Thin Mints to be precise. My friends, this bark has Andes Creme de Methe AND Thin Mints. So it’s safe to say that it’s perfect for people who really like mint chocolate.

Admittedly, I used to be someone who hated mint and chocolate together. I always thought of mint chocolates as being too toothpaste-y.  But I outgrew this aversion (along with other foods – see this post on Sausage and Pepper Meatballs).  I still don’t like olives, though. But that’s another story.

I was about to start the task of unwrapping each little Andes candy so I can chop them up, until I remembered a little treat I keep in freezer:

These Andes chips have a pretty strong minty flavor, so I only used a quarter cup. If you can’t find these baking chips or the regular Andes mints, feel free to omit them. The Thin Mints have plenty of mint flavor anyway. And if you don’t have a Girl Scout cookie station near you, you can replace the Thin Mints with another chocolate cookie – I suggest Nabisco’s famous chocolate wafers. Or Oreos. Just add a couple of drops of peppermint extract. Or even use white or milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.

Chocolate bark is super easy to customize. Last year, I made a batch of pretty Easter Candy Chocolate Bark – it gave me an excuse to buy mini Cadbury eggs.

I don’t need an excuse to buy Girl Scout cookies though. I mean, buying a box helps local Girl Scouts do big things. (I copied that straight from the box.) Also, buying a box and then just using one sleeve for this recipe ensures you that you’ll have Thin Mints in your freezer even after Girl Scout Cookie Season. And St. Patrick’s Day. But not for long…

Mint Chocolate Bark

10 oz dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips)
1/4 cup Andes baking chips
16 Thin Mints girl scout cookies (1 sleeve), roughly chopped

Place the dark chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat on full power for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Everything would have started to melt but you’ll still have some lumps. Heat again in 30-second intervals and stir until the mixture turns smooth. I heated everything for a total of 2 minutes. You can also use a double broiler to melt your chocolate. Scrape the chocolate onto a baking sheet line with parchment paper.

Sprinkle Andes baking chips evenly over the melted chocolate, then the chopped Thin Mints. Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes or until fully set. Break into uneven pieces.

Tell me about your favorite mint chocolate recipe or Girl Scout cookie flavor!