What’s Good

INGREDIENTS:

8-10 small tomatoes

1 1/2 cups sliced bell peppers (any color will do, but red looks the best )

1/3-1/2 cup large medium chunks of onion

Olive Oil (extra virgin is best, but I don’t use it, so whatever :P)

Salt

Pepper

1 TBSP. fresh oregano, leaves stripped (or use 1 tsp. dried)

1 tsp. dried basil (or 1 TBSP. chopped fresh)

1/4-1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

2 TBSP. grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup half & half, or any kind of milk

2 oz. pasta for each serving (I used something that looked kind of like rotini but it wasn’t.)

more Parmesan cheese for serving

—

METHOD:

To prep the vegetables: slice the tomatoes in half (or quarters if they are larger), slice the bell peppers (cut four sides top to bottom, discard core/seeds, and slice sides into strips), and peel and chop the onion.

Next, place all the veggies on a large baking pan and drizzle a good bit of olive oil over them (like 3-4 TBSP.). Season the veggies liberally with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast them for 60 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When done, puree veggies and pan juices in a food processor with the herbs, half and half, and the 2 TBSP. of cheese.

While vegetables are roasting cook the pasta according to package directions in heavily salted water.

When both pasta and sauce are done, toss the two together (you will have some extra sauce), put into a bowl, and garnish with extra Parmesan. Serve and enjoy! You can also add meat to this if you like-Italian sausage or pepperoni are good.

Buon appetito!

My family (Mom and Dad) and I ate at Babalu Grill this past Friday night in the heart of Charm City (Baltimore, MD for those not in the know). Located in the Power Plant Live! nightlife area of the city, this place becomes much louder, rowdier, and lively the later it gets- starting with the opening up of the dance floor at 11 pm. That’s not to say that they don’t serve a good dinner though . Babalu Grill specializes in Cuban cuisine, which has its influences from African, Caribbean, Spanish, and Mexican cuisine. Being in the heart of the city, Babalu Grill isn’t the most inexpensive place in the world, though you will pay a pretty reasonable price for entrees and appetizers. The mixed drinks, however, of which there are many, will run a bit higher since most of its business comes from the late night crowd of students from the nearby college.

Our reservation at Babalu Grill was for 8:30 pm. We arrived at the restaurant about half an hour early, and we were seated within 10-15 minutes. Babalu Grill is a pretty dark restaurant lighting wise, which adds to the ambiance and excitement of the place. Nice decorative touches include Congo drum bar stools and several posters of Desi Arnaz, Cuban bandleader and husband of Lucille Ball.

For appetizers that evening we got three things:

Cuban Black Bean Soup, (primarily for Dad, but we all shared tried some :))

The bite or two I tried was very good. It tasted kind of smoky and well…like black beans. What can I say ? Dad liked it too.

Chicken Spring Rolls,

These were probably my favorite thing I ate during our time at Babalu Grill. While the exact seasonings of the filling were a little indistinct with the exception of shredded chicken and some kind of vegetables, the sauce that was drizzled on top of the rolls was really good. It was sweet and tasted almost barbeque-y. I wonder what was in it? Also, the rolls were served atop a mound of mashed yuca (a type of root vegetable related to the cassava root…or is it the same thing? I forget.). While Mom usually does not like yuca in its normal, plainly cooked state, she loved this mashed yuca and decided that it was good if mashed with LOTS of butter and salt. There was also a nice little wedge of lime that was really good squeezed on top of the rolls.

(And that would be Dad’s hand reaching menacingly towards one of the cups….)

and lastly, Green Filled Plantain Cups

I’m not really sure where the green part comes in in here, since there was nothing green about these things except maybe some herbs or peppers or something in them. Maybe it was because they were made with green plantains? Anyway, there were three cups: one with chicken, one with beef, and one with shrimp. The chicken one was decidedly spicier than the others, while the shrimp was a little less hot and the beef was mild. The beef had lots of onions and bell peppers in it and closely resembled Ropa Veja (a shredded Cuban-style beef that means “wet or old clothes”), one of their entrees. The plantain cups were also served atop mashed yuca.

For our entrees…

Cuban-style BBQ Ribs (for Dad)

At first Dad was a little worried about the doneness of the meat when he decided to sample a bite from one of the ends of the rib instead of the middle. The result was very dry and chewy, while the meat from the middle was very tender and delicious. With this Dad got some garlic spinach and some jicama slaw. The ribs also came with a BBQ sauce on the side that made anything you dipped in it good (even yuca). I tried some of the ribs, both with and without the BBQ sauce and thought they were very tasty. The jicama slaw was also very nice and crunchy.

Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice), for Mom

Mom liked her Arroz con Pollo but was put off by a couple things: the temperature of the food (too hot actually) and the olives (she does not care for olives). I tried some of it and thought it was excellent.

Marinated Rotisserie Pork w/ rice and black beans and yuca (for me).

This actually turned out to be my least favorite thing I ate that night. The pork, while very thinly sliced, was rather dry and also bland. It was palatable, but it could have been better and I probably could have produced something better at home. The rice seemed dry too but tasted good. I did not eat the yuca since I share the same feelings for it as Mom does. As a side dish I got…

Maduros (sweet fried plantains)

These plantains were, well, sweet and made a good thing to tone down the spiciness or saltiness of some of the other foods like my pork.

For dessert, we all shared the…

Arroz con Leche (Cuban-style rice pudding)

This was a very good, rich dessert and it had hints of cinnamon and coconut in it, both of which I loved. Mom thought it tasted canned but I beg to differ. Hmmmmmm.

Overall the service at Babalu Grill was very attentive without being obtrusive and delivered our foods in a timely manner yet gave us enough time to enjoy our separate courses before moving on to the next course. I

I’m giving Babalu Grill 4 stars out of 5.

For more information about Babalu Grill, visit www.babalugrill.com.

Roasted garlic is a very versatile ingredient that also happens to be very easy to make. Roasting it mellows the pungent flavor of uncooked garlic that some people don’t care for and gives it a kind of nutty flavor. Here’s how to make it.

INGREDIENTS:

One bulb of garlic

1 TBSP. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

METHOD:

First, peel off all the loose papery skin off of the garlic bulb. Then slice off a small slice off the top of the bulb of garlic with a serrated knife, so that the tops of the garlic cloves inside are exposed. Place the garlic bulb on a medium-sized sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil over the bulb and season with the salt and pepper. Wrap the foil around the garlic bulb to make a nice little bundle, and then stick said bundle into a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1 hour (60 minutes). About halfway through, the garlic will start to smell really good. Resist the urge to eat the garlic at this point and be patient until it is done When it is done, it should look something like this:

At this point you have a couple options. You need to, of course, get the roasted cloves out of their skins, but what about after that? To get the freshly roasted cloves out of the papery skin, turn the whole bulb upside down (it may be a little greasy from the oil) over a bowl and use either a pair of tongs or your hands (this can be messy though) to squeeze the garlic out over the bowl. Check the bulb to make sure you didn’t miss any roasted goodness, and then contemplate the cloves. You could leave them as-is, whole, and put some more olive oil on top of them and keep them in the refrigerator for while, or you could mash the cloves with a fork (they’re that soft) to make a paste, as I did:

Now comes the fun part- deciding what to do with the stuff. Here are just a few ideas:

-Spread the paste on some toasted French bread slices for a simple yet elegant appetizer.

-Add the paste to some pasta along with milk or some other dairy, butter, and some Parmesan cheese for a quick sauce.

-Puree together the paste with some whipped cream cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil for a great dip/spread for crackers or vegetables.

-Serve on top of grilled steak…the heat from the steak will melt it slightly and make it really good. Mmmmmm.

-For another dip idea, in a food processor, combine 3/4 of a pound of feta cheese (about 13 oz.), 1/2 cup of milk, 1 TBSP. fresh chopped oregano (or 1 tsp. dried), 1 TBSP. fresh chopped parsley (or 1 tsp. dried), and some freshly ground black pepper. Stir in 1 TBSP. EACH finely chopped red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, and English (seedless) cucumber. Serve with pita bread, pita chips, and/or raw veggies.

-Stir some of the paste into mashed potatoes for a new twist.

-Add some to prepared risotto for a great flavor boost.

How many uses can YOU think of? That’s half the fun of it

Enjoy!

The other day I made chicken fajitas for dinner (from Cuisine at Home June 2008 issue), and they called for this salsa verde sauce that was made with roasted vegetables such as tomatillas, chile peppers, onions, and garlic. While the salsa was all well and good, it got me thinking about roasted vegetables. I was really intrigued me was how little work you have to do for something so good…you just have to cut up your veggies, throw ‘em in a pan, and let them sit in the oven at a moderately high temperature for a little while (30 min or so).  Plus the possibilities are almost endless, and the result can be used in many different ways. You can use roasted salsas on fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, you name it. Heck, you could serve it over ice cream and it’d be good. Depending on what types of vegetables you roast you could make different things…roasting red bell peppers with garlic could give you a lovely roasted red pepper sauce you could serve over pasta or maybe baked potaotes. Roasting carrots with onion and maybe some squash would make a great soup. Roasting tomatoes with garlic, onions, and seasonings gives you a great roasted tomato sauce for pasta too. My newfound love for roasted vegetables led me to create this for lunch today:

Fettuccine with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Parmesan.

Want to know how to make it? Read on, and observe!

INGREDIENTS:

For the sauce:

1-2 cups of cherry tomatoes, or some other kind of tomato (Romas are good.) You should probably use more than I did, since my tiny amount of tomatoes I had lying around only made 3-4 TBSP. of sauce. Use about twice that amount.

3 cloves garlic

1 shallot, or 1/4 large onion, cut into large chunks

2-3 TBSP. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1/2 tsp. dried basil (or fresh if you have it)

1/2 tsp. dried oregano (or fresh if you have it)

You may need to use more of the seasonings if you use more tomatoes…

For the pasta:

4 oz. fettucine (or other pasta) for each person being served

1 TBSP. olive oil

Salt

METHOD:

First, you need to prep everything for the sauce. This would involve slicing the cherry tomatoes in half (a serrated knife works best), peeling the garlic cloves (do this by bashing the cloves with your fist or something heavy and peeling the loosened skins off), and peeling the shallot (do this by slicing the ends off, cutting it in half, and then carefully peel the skin off with your fingers or a paring knife). Once you’ve prepped all your veggies, throw them into a pan that’s not much bigger than what you’re putting in it that’s lined with aluminum foil. Next, drizzle the oil over the veggies and toss them together to coat them with it. Now, add the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Toss them together one more time to evenly distribute the seasonings and place the pan into a preheated 450 degree Fahrenheit oven. I used my toaster oven because it’s smaller and quicker than the big oven I have.

Mmm…getting all toasty in the oven

Roast them for 30 minutes total: 15 minutes at 450 degrees and then 15 more minutes at 350 degrees.  When 15 minutes are up begin the pasta.

Salt 4-6 cups of water or so in a large pot very liberally and add the olive oil. Bring the pot to a boil and add your pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions (my fettuccine took 8 minutes).

While the pasta is boiling/the veggies are roasting, get out your…..

Food processor. Now, if you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry. Either:

A.) Use a blender. OR

B.) Just put the roasted vegetables into a bowl and mash the crap out of them with a fork or a spoon or something like that until their a sauce-like consistency.

Anyway, once the pasta and veggies are done (They should be done at about the same time), let your veggies cool down for a minute or two while you drain your pasta (If you put the hot vegetables into your food pro too soon you could risk massive steam buildup which could be potentially dangerous and explode or something. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) The veggies should look like this:

When the veggies are cooled down, put them all into your processing device and puree them until it looks like…

this. Make it as smooth or as chunky as you want.

Now, all you have to do is mix together the pasta and sauce and serve it. For additional flavor you could add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, as I did. Or not. Your choice. Also, if you’d like a little more protein with your pasta you could add some cooked pepperoni sausage, Italian sausage, or maybe some cooked shredded chicken to it. I highly recommend the pepperoni. And there you have it Enjoy!

So that’s what I made for lunch today….it was pretty good actually.

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to make it yourself

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

2 T. frozen peas

1/2 cup shaved deli ham, diced

1-2 T. Cheez-Whiz (I know, the stuff’s spooky, but it’s good!)

1/2 t. dried parsley OR 1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper

——-

Cook rice according to package directions. I used these new-fangled instant-rice-in-a-cup things- they microwave in just 1 minute! While rice is cooking put peas in small bowl with about 2 t. water and microwave, covered for about 1 min 30 sec- 2 minutes. Peas are done. When rice is done, mix it together with peas in a larger bowl (or cook peas in the same bowl….whatever) and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover that and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir everything together and serve. Makes 1 serving.

Tips: You may need to thin it out a little bit with milk or water or something if the cheez-whiz is too gloppy. Also, try to use fresh if you have it…it’s just that much better. Same with the pepper. Using bulk white rice in a bag is probably a more economical solution than buying a 2 pack of those microwavable instant rice bowls, but seeing as how I care more about convenience than cost, I went with the cups. Let me know if you try out the recipe, and how it came out!