Crystallized Cactus

Last night, my husband and I decided to go out for dinner, so I took the pile of vouchers I've accumulated off the fridge, and thumbed through which ones might be expiring soon. I came upon Acitron, a new Mexican bistro in Arlington, that we've been interested in trying for some time now. I put the voucher in my purse, and we hopped into the car for the 3-minute drive to Arlington Center. Upon walking into the new bistro, we were immediately aware that we should have made a reservation weeks ago! The place was hoppin'! Hoping for something to open up, we approached the hostess and asked for a table. To our chagrin, there was just nothing for us due to upcoming reservations, but the three elderly women at the bar were paying their bill...albeit, slowly...and we could sit at the bar if we so chose!

We've never been known to turn down a seat at the bar so we patiently waited for the women to gather their belongings. It was like watching an episode of the Golden Girls, acted out in front of us. Goodness! After about 10 minutes, they were finally bundled up and ready to go, so we took our seats at the bar, where the bartender, who later introduced himself as Mo, was shaking margaritas like it was his job...haha, wait a minute. :) We placed our order for margaritas into the queue, for my husband, a Jalapeno margarita, and for me, a Blue Sky Margarita. It contained tequila (of course), blue curacao and a splash of Amaretto DiSarono. It was delicious...but stay tuned for the best drink of the night...it's coming up soon.

While we enjoyed our cocktails, we glanced over the menu and immediately realized that this was going to be a tough decision! Everything looked SO good! There were plates being brought from the kitchen that made both of our mouths water! While perusing the options, we received a bowl of what I can only imagine was homemade salsa, as well as some tortilla chips which were still warm!

We decided on sharing the Queso Fundido Con Chorizo as our appetizer. This sizzling skillet of chorizo, poblano pepper strips and sauteed onions mixed with four different kinds of melted cheeses was to die for! It was ooey, gooey, and delicious! It came with some fresh from the oven tortillas which really complemented the dip, as well!

By the time we were almost finished with our appetizer, it was definitely time for round 2 of the cocktails. When we sit at the bar, we like to ask the bartender questions, and tonight was no different. My husband asked for something different, keeping with the bold flavors that he already experienced in the Jalapeno Margarita. Well, Mo really delivered on this request...and I got one of the same! Instead of tequila, he used Mezcal, something neither of us had much experience with. The smokiness of Mezcal is bold and delicious, and paired with his own version of a dark and stormy, this was probably one of the best drinks I've ever had! It was like...a summer's night, in a glass! Refreshing, savory and bold...only three of the MANY words I could use to describe this cocktail!

Yes, that's a lime half, turned inside out! Now it's a little cup!

When our entrees arrived, we were excited to dig in! I ordered Camarones En Mole De Tamarindo, a shrimp dish with a tamarind-based mole sauce. The shrimp were cooked to perfection, and drenched in the sweet and savory tamarind mole, served over a piece of cornbread. Since all of the entrees come with two sides, I opted for a vegetable medley which consisted of mushrooms, cauliflower, peppers and a delicious sauce, as well as a Poblano Pepper rice which was fluffy and spiced to perfection!

My husband decided to go with Conchinita Pibil, an axiote seed, spices and fresh orange marinated pork dish, served roasted and shredded, and garnished with pickled onions and scallions. For his sides, he chose the refried pinto beans, and Elote, which is grilled corn on the cob with chipotle aioli, cotija cheese and spices on top. 

We were full, but we had to order a serving of Tres Leches for when we arrived home. This dessert was rich, delectable, and definitely fresh! The perfect ending to a delicious meal!

The plates were aesthetically pleasing, the food was delicious, the staff were extremely friendly, and I don't think I've had such good Mexican cuisine since the last time I was in Mexico, and that was a long time ago! Everything about this meal was awesome, and I can't believe it took us this long to give it a try! If you want authentic, fresh Mexican cuisine, definitely give Acitron a try...but don't forget to make a reservation! You can find all the information about Acitron if you click here.

Acitron is candied nopales, which are the fleshy, oval leaves of a prickly pear cactus.

A Mexican Fiesta ... in the Dark

Well, Irene really came through this weekend! I would have written yesterday, and also worked on the website, but we didn't have internet for most of the day! So, while we did take an imaginary journey across the border to Mexico, there was no internet to relay it to you, my faithful readers. But the internet is back, the power is back, and ... I'm back! My thoughts go out to all who are still recovering from the storm, and fingers crossed that everyone gets their power back as soon as possible!

While the power was out yesterday afternoon, I made some guacamole to start off our fiesta. You don't need any heat to make this, and it was a nice snack to munch on while we did a crossword puzzle in the most well-lit room of our home. Guacamole is totally easy to make and I have a few secrets that you won't find in many recipes. Most recipes call for avocados, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime juice, some salt, and optionally, some cilantro and jalapenos. A few weeks ago, we had friends over for some grillin', and I didn't have an onion for guacamole, so I used a shallot. Oh my goodness, what a wonderful addition of flavor. Shallots are a sweeter, more mild form of onion, and I loved the way it changed the flavor of the dish. That's my new secret, I will always use shallots instead of regular white onions in my guacamole from now on! I have a flavored salt that has red chili pepper flakes mixed into it, so I used that to season the guacamole because I love the spice that it adds, without having to chop up a jalapeno. Once all of the ingredients are in a bowl, just mash 'em together with a fork...just mash it all up until it's a consistency that you like. I tend to like mine a bit more on the chunky side. If you want it totally smooth, put it into a food processor for a minute!

I waited a bit to cook the main course since I wanted to have light to cook. We do have a gas stove, and I could have cooked in the dark, but...I figured I'd give it a little time and hope that the lights came on...and they did! I got down to work cleaning my shrimp. I bought them with the heads on because they were $5 cheaper per pound than the cleaned shrimp, and I really don't mind the little bit of extra work. I was making a shrimp dish with a creamy almond sauce, accompanied by some jasmine rice. I squeezed some lime juice into the water I added to the rice cooker to give it a little zing, and set the rice to cook. Meanwhile, I had some onions, and garlic sweating in a pan. Once they were softened, I added tomatoes that I had peeled, seeded and chopped, as well as some minced jalapeno to the pan. After it had cooked for about 10 minutes, I pureed the mixture in a food processor, and returned it to the skillet. I added some ground almonds, and then stirred in some creme fraiche. My cooked shrimp was then stirred into the mix and I heated everything through together.

from Flickr - by kyle tsui

This was a very good representation of traditional Mexican food. It wasn't the greasy, Americanized version of Mexican food, but a really hearty, filling and flavorful meal that didn't leave me feeling heavy and gross. I served it with the lime-infused rice, and topped it all off with a bunch of yummy, crunchy scallions. I think I would have benefited from making a nice salad of some sort. Something with corn kernels would have complimented nicely. While the menu mentions a Cafe con Leche for dessert, it was a bit late for coffee by the time dinner made it to the table, so I opted to skip it this time around.

My 100th Post!

At first, I thought I needed to wait until something spectacularly culinary happened to me before writing this post. After some more pondering, I decided that each of my posts was inspired by something special, and so why should this one be any different. But Blogger was under construction...thus my 2-day absence from the blogosphere. For that, dear readers, I am sorry! I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support, your comments and your readership. Everytime I check my stats, I'm astounded at the collection of countries that are showing up there. I've spread across the world, and that is so cool! When I started this blog, I wasn't sure where it would go, or what I would find, but I now know that I truly enjoy writing, I love cooking more every day, and I want to keep doing this for a long time. So, I'm here to stay, guys and dolls, so get comfy, and read on for yet another culinary adventure.

I decided to dedicate my 100th post to the readers by cooking a reader's suggestion from my current menu. Laurie had requested a Portuguese dish, but wasn't sure of the name of it. She mentioned that it had shrimp, pasta and lots of tomatoes...and so I did a little research, and came up with what I think is a good representation of her request. I ended up with Emeril's Portuguese Shrimp and Pasta. This recipe called for quite the process so I set to work in the kitchen, gathering my mise en place.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined

2 teaspoons Essence

1/4 chorizo, thinly sliced (I used turkey pepperoni because I was out of chorizo)

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and finely chopped tomatoes (I didn't peel them)

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups Fennel Tomato Broth (ingredients to follow)

1/2 pound kale, blanced and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 pound homemade, or dry pasta, cooked al dente

1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

1/4 cup piri piri (ingredients to follow

Fennel Tomato Broth:

1 quart shrimp or seafood stock

2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

1/2 bulb fennel, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Piri Piri:

1 cup olive oil

2 fresh poblano peppers, stemmed and seeded

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh kale

Yes, that was a lot of prep, I agree! Now, the first thing you've all probably noticed and questioned is that there's boxed pasta on my counter. I know, and you know, that I usually shun boxed pasta in exchange for fresh. However, I had to buy and open a box of thick spaghetti to put noodles in the Spring Minestrone that I made a few weeks ago. Rather than wasting the almost full box of spaghetti, I decided to save myself a little bit of time and use it for this recipe. I'm very happy that I did because the rest of this meal was quite labor intensive, and if I had made pasta on top of it, I'd still be in the kitchen!

First things first, get your Tomato Fennel Broth on the stove since it needs to simmer for about an hour. I'm not sure I actually let mine simmer that long, because I was pretty hungry and impatient tonight, but I just left it to cook the whole time I was preparing everything else. Place the seafood stock, chopped tomatoes, sliced fennel, tomato paste and fennel seeds in a saucepan and bring it all to a boil...and then reduce it to a simmer for about an hour. Once it's done, you'll need to strain it through a fine mesh sieve...according to the instructions. However, I didn't do this. Originally, it was an accident, but it was a good one, because I've always preferred a chunky sauce!

Next, I made my piri piri, since it was able to be set aside once completed. I gathered the olive oil, poblano peppers, red bell pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and kale. I put everything but the kale into a smaller saucepan and brought it to a boil, and allowed it to cook for the next 15 minutes.

At this point, I poured the mixture into a small food processor and blended it with the fresh kale. The Piri Piri was then set aside to wait for plating.

Okay, and now, on to the main event! In a large pot, I added a few tablespoons of olive oil and my jumbo shrimp, which I had dusted in the Emeril's essence.

Look how big those shrimp are! Gorgeous! After about a minute of tossing those around, I removed them from the pot and added the chorizo (I used turkey pepperoni - not the same, at all, but still a little bite, and...it was in my fridge!)

Once the chorizo (or turkey pepperoni) had cooked and heated through for about 5 minutes, I added the garlic and shallots and allowed those to cook for another minute.

After the minute or so is up, add the diced tomatoes to the mix and turn the heat to high.

Once the sizzle has died down a bit, pour in your white wine and deglaze the pan, allowing the wine to almost completely evaporate.

Next, pour in your Tomato Fennel Broth. I, by accident, poured it in without first straining it, but that was actually a nice mistake to have made. I enjoyed the large chunks of fennel and tomato in my sauce. If you prefer a soupier consistency, remember to strain the broth before adding it to the main pot. At this point, also throw in that blanched, chopped kale. Leave this to cook for about 7 or 8 minutes, allowing it to reduce by half.

Add the salt and the butter and kind of swirl it around until it all melts into the liquid.

Once the butter has been incorporated, add the shrimp, pasta and chopped parsley, and allow to cook for another minute or two. Be sure that the shrimp are cooked through.

It's finally time to plate. Get some nice shallow pasta bowls and scoop some pasta into each one. Top with a few of the jumbo shrimp and a few ladlefuls of sauce, chorizo and tomatoes. Drizzle the piri piri on top for a little kick!

Bom Apetite! (Portuguese for Bon appetit!)

Another call for requests: The current menu only has one more thing to make, so I'm getting ready to make a new list. If anyone has requests, comment on the post, or send me an email and I'll be sure to incorporate it into an upcoming menu!

Thanks again, readers - I'm really enjoying this, and I hope you are too! Happy 100th post to all of us!

Holy Ingredients, Aquaman!

Well, tonight I decided to make the Seafood Risotto since I picked up some mussels, clams and shrimp at Whole Foods yesterday. This recipe was extremely prep-heavy so this one was a bit time-consuming, I have to say. Although, I think it was worth it, because this was a really refreshing meal! There were so many ingredients, and a lot of twists and turns, so I'm going to summarize here. If you are interested in a more in depth list, with measurements, shoot me an email and I will send it along. Since I've made risotto before, I won't bore you with a step-by-step here!



For this version of the risotto, the recipe called for either making a homemade seafood stock, or using a store-bought one. I bought one, but went the extra mile and simmered it with all the fixings that would have gone into the homemade one, without any of the seafood. I added 3 squished tomatoes, a bay leaf, a parsley sprig and some chopped carrots. I strained the mixture before I started scooping it into the risotto.



Meanwhile, I heated up some oil and butter in a large pan and added chopped celery, onion and garlic (a soffritto, the Italian version of a mire poix) and to that I added chopped fennel, fennel seeds, chili powder and some saffron. From now on, the more I stir the mixture, the more yellow in tint it will become, and that's because of the saffron. While it's red in color, it turns anything you add it to a bright, fresh yellow color.



Once the soffritto was softened, I added the Arborio rice and allowed it to fry a little bit, until the granules had a nice translucent outer coating.



Now, I'm going to skip a bit here - because you know how to make risotto already! It takes patience, many ladles of stock (seafood, in this case) and lots of stirring! But once the risotto was about done, I added a handful of parmesan and seasoned it up with some salt and pepper. The recipe actually calls for leaving the parmesan out (Italians don't think that seafood and cheese mix), but the nutty, salty flavor of the cheese is better than any salt...so I added a little anyway...but definitely not as much as a normal risotto recipe would call for. Once it was all stirred together, I threw in my mussels, clams and shrimp and covered the pot to allow the shellfish to steam.



As the shellfish started to open and the shrimp were turning pink, I added some globs of butter to finish off the risotto and stirred it all up to heat everything through. I also took some of the mussels out of their shells and stirred it directly into the risotto. This eliminated the mess of a bunch of shells at the dinner table, but also got the mussel juice mixed into the risotto adding a bit more briny flavor to the mix...something I love! I also poured some lemon juice and olive oil on top to add to that freshness.



Once plated, I garnished with fennel fronds and some chopped parsley. This was a delicious, comforting meal for a rainy Monday night! The mussels and shrimp were cooked to perfection...but the clams could have used a few more minutes. Next time, I'll throw the clams in first, and follow with the rest as they seem to need a few less minutes to steam.

Bina Osteria

Restaurant Week here in Boston is quickly coming to a close, so I'm going to take full advantage over the next few days! Today for lunch, two of my friends/co-workers and I are going to try Bina Osteria. None of us have been there before today, and we all found the menu to be very inspired.

There were quite a few choices for our first courses...decisions, decisions! My top choices were probably the Little Lamb Meatballs with Goat Cheese Fondue, the Sea Urchin Warmed in Olive Oil, Preserved Lemon and Lardo, or the Warm Mushroom Confit. How do you even begin to decide between such tempting options!?!? Turns out, I didn't have to! We all shared! The sea urchin toasts with lardo were decadent, and I'm glad we shared! The hint of ocean that I got from each bite was very refreshing. As for the lamb meatballs, they came in a delicious tomato sauce which blended so nicely with the bite that the goat cheese flavor offers. Both the meatballs and the mushrooms came in these adorable little warming pots. The mushrooms were very comforting and warm, with a lovely forest-y flavor to them.

For the entree, we had our choice of four different options. Again, we all ordered different things so we got to try almost everything there. The Grilled Shrimp Salad with arugula, citrus, green olives and shaved red onion was very tasty. The shrimp were grilled to perfection and the little pieces of pink grapefruit made my day. I love when unexpected ingredients show up in a dish that would otherwise seem mundane.

As for the Shaved Porchetta Sandwich with grilled red onion, provolone and hot peppers, it was kind of like a different take on a Cubano. There was arugula on the sandwich as well and it offered a great peppery flavor for the pork and mild provolone. The hot peppers were an added bonus! The bread was crispy but not crumbly and was easy to eat. I have a pet peeve about sandwiches that you can't bite into easily. This one was great!

Finally, the Spaghetti with Tomato, Basil and Parmigiano Reggiano - FRESH PASTA! Need I say more!? We asked before ordering and the waitress assured us that all their pasta is made in-house, and was it ever! It was very flavorful and deliciously al dente. It was a nice helping as well, and topped with some fresh Parmigiano. It was an excellent bowl of comfort food on this cold and rainy day.

We had a lovely lunch at Bina Osteria today.We decided to go with the 2-course for our lunch since we had to get back to work. I also had dinner plans this evening, so I didn't want to go overboard on the desserts at all, and I knew I'd be getting one at Radius. This was a lovely break to an otherwise stressful day!

The Importance of Multiple Cutting Boards

When you start your mise en place, it is imperative that you have a different cutting board for meats and vegetables. There are numerous ways to accomplish this, but you MUST make sure you do it. Meats carry a lot of bacteria before they are cooked, and even if everything is eventually going into the same pot, vegetables can still be contaminated with that bacteria prior to being cooked. For this reason, I make sure to take out a cutting board for each type of ingredient I will be prepping, before I even start. You can do this with color-coded boards, which are sometimes sold in packs.


Alternatively, there are some very cute sets that even have little pictures on them. I have a set of 4, from Sur La Table, with pictures of a fish, a cow, a chicken, and a carrot on them. This set is similar to the one I have: Cutting Boards. These are only $16 and that is a small price to pay for keeping you and your loved ones healthy when you cook. 




This goes for knives as well. I have two favorite knives, so I tend to wash them if I need to cut more than one type of meat, but normally, I've got one set aside for my protein, and the other will prep the veggies and other ingredients. As long as you wash your knife with soap in between ingredients, you don't really need to have more than one. 


Raw chicken can carry Campylobacter, as well as Salmonella, the leading cause of food borne illness. Raw beef can also carry Salmonella and Campylobacter, in addition to Listeria Monocytogenes and Staphylococcus Aureus. Raw fish can carry Anisakis Simplex (or Herring Worm), and Vibrio Species. Now let me clarify - don't stop eating these proteins because of this information. These bacteria can be spread through the improper cleaning and care of raw meats. That's why, if you decide to try making sushi at home, ALWAYS make sure that you are buying sushi-grade fish. This way, you are assured that the fish was handled properly for raw consumption. This is the case with beef too - you CAN eat it raw, as long as it's prepared appropriately. On the other hand, you can NEVER eat chicken raw...don't even contemplate it. 


Finally, I'd like to give an example of a more complicated meal, just to give you an idea of how careful you need to be. Let's say you are cooking an Asian stirfry, with beef, shrimp, chicken and veggies. You need 4 cutting boards for this meal, to be on the safe side. You'll also either need 4 knives, or a sponge and dish soap, to wash the knife in between ingredients. 


Healthy and safe cooking to you all, and to all a good night!