Philly Food

Back in August, my husband and I visited Philly for the first time (well I'd had two very long layovers at the airport there going to and from Europe in high school, but I don't think that really counts). We were going to be working in the area for a couple of days so we went early to see the city. We checked out the historical spots like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, checked out the famous "Love" sculpture in Love Plaza, shopped at fun foodie spots Reading Terminal Market and DiBruno Brothers, and enjoyed checking out the waterfront at Penn's Landing. We also rode around the city some to see the famous "Rocky" steps at the Art Museum and just get a little tour of the town. We even watched a Bollywood movie tentatively titled "New York" be filmed, complete with fake NYPD cars. We did go have an authentic Philly cheesesteak at Jim's on South Street, but we both agreed that the cheesesteaks at our local cheesesteak restaurant, Fat Philly's, were much better (the folks that own it came from Philly and import their Amoroso's rolls). The cheesesteak was certainly not worth the 1.5 hour wait.

However, some of the other food we had in Philly was fabulous. I had heard that Philly was a restaurant town and I was given tons of suggestions on places to eat. My husband and I decided on El Vez for dinner on Saturday night and Jones for brunch on Sunday. Boy were those good choices! The food was absolutely delicious at both (and extremely plentiful at Jones...all we could manage to eat for the rest of the day was a single slice of pizza for dinner). At El Vez, I got black bean enchiladas with smoked tomato sauce and my husband got the carne asada. We both got sides of the creamy poblano corn rice, which was to die for. At Jones the next morning, we started off with their monkey bread (they do a small bowl) and then I had the BMW pancakes (huge pancakes with carmelized bananas, walnuts and maple syrup) and my husband got the cheesesteak omelet (really delicious and far better than the cheesesteak we'd had the day before). Our waiter said that he'd only seen someone finish off the pancakes 3 times. Even after both David and I ate off them, there was still half the plate left. We left completely stuffed.

So while I'm not sure we'd go back to Philly just to hang out (we weren't all that impressed with the city), we would go back to sleep in the comfy bed at the Westin and to eat. In fact, we loved the creamy poblano corn rice at El Vez so much, I set out to recreate it when I got home. It is wonderful and I've managed to duplicate it almost perfectly I think. Enjoy!

Creamy Poblano Corn Rice

1.5 cups Arborio Rice (this is important, it likely won't turn out with regular rice)

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

2-3 tablespoons finely minced onions

1 tablespoon butter

2 medium Poblano peppers roasted, peeled and diced

1/2-1 cup white corn kernals (however much you'd like--canned, fresh or defrosted frozen all work fine)

8 oz queso blanco cheese, shredded

1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sautee the onions in the butter until translucent. Put in the rice and sautee until kernals turn translucent and are coated with butter. Pour in 1 cup chicken broth and allow to simmer until most is absorbed. Then continue adding broth 1 cup at a time until it is mostly all absorbed. This will take 20-30 minutes. While you are waiting for the rice to absorb the broth, roast your peppers. I do mine under the broiler in the toaster oven but you can also do them in a regular oven, on the grill, or over an open flame. Roast until the skin is turning black and blistering on all sides. Then place peppers in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or a paper bag and allow them to sweat for about 15 minutes. Peel them, remove the seeds and stem, and then dice the meat of the peppers. Once your broth is mostly absorbed add your diced pepper, corn, cheese and cream. Stir until well combined. Serve immediately. This rewarms well too.

My homemade version of the creamy poblano corn rice

Enjoying my pomegranate margarita at El Vez

My black bean enchiladas and creamy poblano corn rice at El Vez

David's carne asada at El Vez

Yummy BMW pancakes at Jones

The ridiculous line we waited in for a Jim's cheesesteak

The Liberty Bell

Us at Love Plaza

Catching Up!

So I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had a chance to update the blog regularly so this is my catch up post to share the yummy things I've been making in the meantime.

First up is a tasty pasta dish I made from a recipe that was in the most recent issue of Kraft Food and Family. It turned out well and was quick to make and I like that it included dairy, veggie and protein.


Simple & Creamy Tortellini Alfredo

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
2 pkg. (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese tortellini
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed (I used 1/3 less fat)
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend (I used the 2% milk kind)
6 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled (I used the fully cooked kind)

POUR broth and water into large saucepan; stir. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Add tortellini. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 8 to 9 min. or until tortellini is tender. (Do not drain.)
ADD cream cheese and peas; stir. Heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted, stirring occasionally.
STIR in shredded cheese and bacon.

Source: Kraft Food and Family Magazine (also available at kraftfoods.com)

A few weekends ago we had some friends over for dinner after they helped us with a home improvement project. I cooked the Mexican Lasagna from a previous post and then pulled out my cookbooks to find a rice dish to make for a side. I came upon Fiesta Rice from one of my Cooking Light cookbooks and decided to give it a shot. It was good but it might be even better with the lime juice and fresh cilantro, which I omitted since I didn't have them on hand.

Fiesta Rice

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup chopped green onions

1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash of salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn to pan; cook 10 minutes or until corn starts to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan. Set aside.
Melt butter in pan. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, cumin, and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth, black pepper, salt, and diced tomatoes to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in reserved corn and beans. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Source: Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008

Mexican Lasagna...Yumo!

Tonight I made Mexican Lasagna for the second time. We love it and it has turned out great both times that I've made it. It is pretty healthy and doesn't mess up too many dishes, so clean up is pretty quick. If there are only two of you, there will be plenty left over. It rewarms well on the second day. The recipe is from Rachael Ray and I've shown the changes/choices I've made in pink.

Mexican Lasagna

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case (I used 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey breast and I think this is plenty)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 red onion, chopped (I used a regular sweet onion)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes (I used the tomatoes)
1 cup frozen corn kernels (I like more around a cup and a half and I use the fire roasted kernals from Trader Joe's)
Salt (I omitted...trying to watch the sodium)
8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack (I use 2% cheese)
2 scallions, finely chopped (I omitted as I'm not a fan)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.
Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

Source: Rachael Ray from foodnetwork.com

Beans, Beans good for the heart....

I love black beans. I never had them until our Cuban friend cooked us black beans and rice one night when I was in my early 20s. I loved his black beans and rice and would always beg him to make them when we had potluck dinners. Sadly, he has moved north and is not around for me to get my fix. So I've learned to make a version pretty close to his through trial and error and we either eat them on just plain brown rice or we turn them into black bean and rice burritos. We had planned to cook this meal on Friday night but some friends called and wanted to go out so we postponed this until tonight. We love to do this meal not only because it is very tasty, but also because it is quick. I can easily have dinner on the table in 30 minutes and it is pretty healthy. If I'm doing burritos, I season the brown rice with some Old El Paso Cheesy taco seasoning. The amount I use depends on the amount of rice I'm cooking...about a half package works well for the amount that results from 2 cups of uncooked rice. Mix it in after the rice is done.

Black Beans

1 can La Costena whole black beans (these are a personal preference...you can use any brand)

1 can Bush's Seasoned recipe black beans (again, personal preference)

1/4 medium green pepper, diced

1/4 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon of cumin (I just eyeball it so this is a guess)

2-4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped or pressed (depends on how much garlic you like...I always press it using one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, my Pampered Chef Garlic Press)

1-2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sautee onion and pepper in olive oil until soft, generally 5-8 minutes or so. You can just do this in your saucepan. Dump your two cans of black beans into the pot, partially draining them first (you don't want to completely drain or your black beans will be dry). Press your garlic into the pot, toss in your cumin and stir (you could sautee the garlic with the pepper and onion if you prefer the chopping route). Add a little extra olive oil if you feel it needs to be saucier. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the flavors have melded, it is heated through, and the sauciness has reduced down a bit.

If doing burritos, we always put slices of Cabot's 50% light pepperjack down the middle of either a wheat or a spinach tortilla and microwave this for 30 seconds to melt the cheese and heat the tortilla. Then we put some rice and beans on the tortilla and dress it up with some low fat or fat free sour cream and some lettuce. So yummy!

After dinner, my husband reminded me that I needed to make a loaf of banana bread for his coworker. We had done loaves for his team and a few others at his office for Christmas, but one coworker isn't in the office much due to the nature of his job, so we couldn't do his bread when we did the others. He will be back in the office tomorrow, so late Christmas baking ensued. I love this recipe because it is quick to put together but always turns out perfectly.

Janet's Rich Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 medium bananas, sliced (I mash mine instead)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Allrecipes.com