*I have always loved fast food. It was a part of my childhood, and still remains a means to a quick meal. What's not to like about it? The food is predictable, if uninspirational. You know what you are going to get, even if what you get is mediocre. After all, few fast food places actually aspire to anything more.
McDonald's is a classic. To this day, I can order the same thing I ordered as a child--Hamburger, small fries, perhaps a soft drink--and I know that the taste memory from my childhood will come rushing back to me. Heck, I'm over fifty years old, and the food hasn't changed much!
Of course, back then, you could "feed a family of four for under a buck" (or whatever that slogan was back in the sixties). Today, a simple hamburger, small fries, and small soft drink cost considerably more than a buck, and a meal that size would seem as though it were just an appetizer to people today.
I enjoyed watching the documentary "Super Size Me!" which followed filmmaker Morgan Spurlock through his attempt to eat at McDonald's three times a day for a single month, while his doctors and associates watch on in abject horror as he gains significant weight and his health starts to deteriorate. In fact, that one documentary reduced my appetite for fast food from something that happened at least once a week to something that happens much less frequently.
Not all fast food is the same, of course. McDonald's has its signature taste, and I do occasionally seem to crave a Big Mac now and then--their French fries, even more often! I worked for Burger King as a programmer for five or six years, and was able to get free food when I visited some of the company-owned stores up here in New England. Free food is good--although one can have it too often. I started to develop a dislike for Burger King soon after they switched to Pepsi, and while I still love their chicken sandwich (probably the best chicken sandwich in the Fast Food Nation), I don't go there very often nowadays. There are the places that look for a niche outside the burgers and fries as well... Kentucky Fried Chicken for chicken, Long John Silver's for fish filets and (surprisingly!) chicken, and Taco Bell for... well, whatever they call what they serve (it isn't truly Mexican, although their recent and time-limited "Cantina Tacos" are certainly a step in the right direction) are all run from the same company (Yum! Brands).
There have been attempts to dress up fast food into something more than simply fast food, but not quite full-service. Fuddrucker's still serves better-than-average burgers (and rib-eye steaks), and you can put on all the toppings you want for free. With beer available, it's quite a step up from your local McDonald's. You can order your burgers done the way you like (medium, well, etc.), and when your burger is ready, they'll call you.
I've visited a Chipotle Mexican Grill only once, but it seems to do for burritos what Fudrucker's has done for burgers. The one I visited in North Andover, MA didn't (yet!) have a license to sell beer, but the burrito I had was actually quite good; I'll be taking Sandra there some day.
After hearing rave reviews about a new place from Harmony, and seeing that Zagat rated them as "best burger" in their survey of fast food, I've finally tried out Five Guys Burgers and Fries--I had lunch at the FGB&F in Marlborough, MA today, in fact. I ordered ahead, using their convenient web form. Being unprepared at what they call their various sandwiches (Hamburger, Little Hamburger), I simply ordered two (regular) burgers. This turned out to be a gastric mistake on my part; a regular burger consists of two patties, each of which was at least a quarter pound or perhaps a third pound. Ordering two of them meant a whopping pound or more of meat!
Well, while Morgan Spurlock had me worried about my health with regard to fast food, I can tell you that McDonald's has done a lot to offset this since the movie was released. For instance, I believe that Super Size is now a thing of the past (although Burger King seems to continue to offer something insanely large every once in a while). They've offered salads on their menu board, although their dressings are still pretty high in fat. Their new Angus line seems to be getting a half-sized "Angus Wrap" in a tortilla. Who knows where the future lies as far as McDonald's is concerned?
I definitely recommend Five Guys or Chipotle for people that are near either of these. The food is fresh, and a major step up from your typical fast food.
The important thing to remember is not to overdo it. Know what you're purchasing, and how much you should be eating.
Bon Appetit!
* Note: Although I have both logos at the top of my post, they are used without permission and should not be taken to imply that the two companies are related in any way.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Throwing Five Chipotle Guys at Fast Food
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Lobstah
I know it's corny to write "lobstah," but apparently, there is some unwritten law that says that in New Hampshire... er, I mean, New Hampsha... important words that end in -er should be respelled with a final -ah.
Well, I'm not one to fully honor tradition, so I'll just use the word "lobster" from here on in, if only to soothe my poor spell checker.
My family had lobster infrequently when I was growing up. I guess that was because it was seen as a "luxury" item. I remember going crabbing during the early 1970s (I should write more about that in another entry) and during that time, I developed a fondness for crab meat, but I usually only saw lobster as some sort of shellfish that was just expensive.
I recall ordering lobster during one of my first dates with Sandra when I was in high school. Actually, I ordered the "surf and turf," which was steak and lobster. I truly believe that this was the first time I ever ate a lobster. It wasn't an entire lobster; it was a lobster tail, and I think it was already split for me. However, it was still served in its shell.
About halfway through the meal, Sandra asked me, "Where's the rest of your shell?"
I looked at her confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You're not supposed to eat the shell!"
From that inauspicious start, my attitude toward lobster has been and remains neutral. I really don't dislike it as a food, but I really prefer crab.
When I was living in South Florida, lobsters were plentiful, but they (usually) weren't the traditional "Maine" lobster, but rather the "Florida Lobster," which is also known as a "Spiny Lobster." This lobster doesn't have the notable large claws of the Maine variety, and I think the Spiny Lobster's meat tastes a bit more like crab to me. There were places where you could get Maine lobster, but they were expensive.
Living up here in New Hampshire, I am lucky (??) enough to be able to get lobster at better prices than anywhere else I have lived. I remember seeing twin lobsters being offered as low as $12.95, although I don't see twin lobsters being offered much at all nowadays, and when I do see them, they start at about $20 for the pair.
Cooking a lobster is easy. Simply fill a lobster pot with water, add salt, and wait for it to come to a boil. Insert the lobster, face down, and boil for 10-15 minutes, depending on the weight. Of course, just mentioning that much can get me into hot water myself: there is a long-running controversy as to whether or not lobsters can feel pain, and whether it is humane to throw a live animal into boiling water. I'll leave it to the moral ethicists, zoologists, scientists, and chefs to throw the arguments around; I haven't heard anything definitive on either side, although Wikipedia seems to have a pretty good rundown on the issue.
Over the last few years, I've noticed at least one grocer in town (Market Basket) tends to have the best prices for lobsters, with them usually available from $4.99/pound to $6.99. Usually, these are soft shell lobsters; lobsters tend to shed their skin, and when they have just replaced them, they start growing new, larger shells. Some people prefer the sweeter meat of the soft shell lobsters, while others dislike the relatively smaller proportion of meat to shell and prefer the hard shell lobsters instead.
I remember a visit to Gilford, NH, that Sandra, the kids, and I took. It was the Saturday at the start of Motorcycle week, and for some strange reason, we were not only able to get a reservation at a motel in the lakes region, we were also able to get a suite. With the restaurants in town catering to the motorcycle crowd, I decided to go to a local grocer to see what I could make in the kitchen in the suite. I found lobsters at a good price (about $5.99/pound, but my recollection could be off; it was relatively cheap, though). I purchased one each for Sandra and the kids, and then paid a bit more for a pound or so of Jonah claws (I mentioned that I preferred crab meat!). I then stopped at a nearby WalMart, and picked up a lobster pot. Even including the price of the pot, the meal we had was much less than going out to eat and having an equivalent meal at any restaurant!
I travel to Maine quite a lot, and have found some really wonderful lobster restaurants there. I remember visiting a place called the "Lobsterman's Coop" (now called "Boothbay Lobster Wharf"), in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. More often, we go to the Cape Neddick Lobster Pound in Cape Neddick, Maine, and the Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier in Kittery Point, Maine. We prefer Cape Neddick because it's a more formal restaurant with a bar, lounge, and is open year round. However, Chauncey Creek offers a more informal setting with picnic tables and a "B.Y.O." policy so that you can bring in your own beer, although it's only open during the warmer months.
Here in New Hampshire, there are quite a few places to get lobster. One of Sandra's favorite places is Weathervane, which has a restaurant in Salem, NH, as well as many other places in New England. Unfortunately, unlike Maine, I haven't really seen as many places that are simply dedicated to lobster as the many lobster pounds in Maine. I think this is because New Hampshire only has about fourteen miles of shoreline...!
As I said, I don't really dislike lobster, but until I find a good enough excuse to actually start eating them and (hopefully) eventually start enjoying them, I think I'll stick with my crab meat and leave the lobsters to my wife and kids!
Bon Apetit!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Guacamole
I guess Mexican was the first "ethnic" food that I learned to cook. When I was living in Miami, I was at a party where a co-worker named Nancy Kowalski made a quick and easy sheet of nachos by putting tortillas on a cookie sheet, added a can of Hormel Chili (without beans), some shredded cheese, onions, scallions, and after about five minutes in the oven, she brought out some delicious nachos. I had heard of nachos before that (Old El Paso had a box of tortilla chips called "Nachips" that had a recipe on the back), I never tasted it until that time at Nancy's.
I taught the recipe to Sandra (this was before we were married), and together we learned to love Mexican food. I believe that Mexican is still Sandra's favorite restaurant cuisine. To this day, the nachos inspired by Nancy's quick and dirty party meal make up a quick and easy meal. We've refined our style (sliced green onions and freshly chopped tomatoes make up the bulk of the "vegetable" ingredients), but it's still basically the same recipe.
When I was learning to appreciate Mexican cooking, I initially avoided guacamole. The pale green color and dip-like texture turned me off, as I was never really a fan of dips. In addition, I never tasted avocados before, and wasn't willing to give them a try.
One day at lunch, I saw a news segment on channel nine (WMUR, Manchester) where a local chef makes a recipe, and the recipe was for guacamole. I believe that the chef was from a Mexican restaurant in Nashua called "La Hacienda del Rio."
The chef wasn't too particular about quantities, saying pretty much that it was all a matter of taste. I watched as the chef quickly and professionally assembled guacamole from avocados, onions, and other ingredients.
A few days later, I needed to whip up something quickly for a company outing (everybody was supposed to bring something). I remembered seeing the chef on television, and decided to make the guacamole. I went to the store to pick up some avocados, tomatoes, red onion, and limes, and at home, my daughters and I did the preparation and combined everything in a food processor. The kids tasted it and loved it, and it was a pretty good hit at the party (there weren't any leftovers).
Since that time, I've read other people's recipes for guacamole, and made some tweaks to my recipe. My daughters have picked it up and made the recipe their own, and they are now my go-to people when I'm too busy to make it myself.
Occasionally, I add sour cream for a creamier texture, but just as often I'll omit it and leave the texture a bit more "rustic." It all just depends on how I feel whenever I make it (I don't think Harmony or Chardonnay ever use sour cream when they make it, but I may be wrong).
As for other people's recipes, a few Mexican restaurants in the area have decent guacamole, although I rarely order it myself. However, Loco Coco's, a Mexican restaurant in Kittery Point, Maine, has a "special" guacamole that Sandra and I both enjoy as part of their Salsa Trio on their Specials menu that is very, very good. Unfortunately, they also have a "regular" guacamole that is good, but not as great as the special one; the special is apparently only available as part of the trio...
The following is reproduced below from my recipe collection:
lar3ry's Guacamole
| Source: | From various locations |
|---|---|
| Yield: | Serves 4. |
| Catalogued: | 06-Aug-2007 |
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1 medium red or Vidalia onion, roughly chopped (see note)
1 small jalepeño, stems and seeds removed, chopped
1 fresh lime, juiced
4 tomatillos, halved (see note)
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Peel and seed avocados, and cut in half or quarters, and place into food processor bowl.
Add onion, jalapeño, most of the lime juice, and tomatillos, and cilantro and pulse until the mixture is thoroughly mixed—do not over-process.
Put in serving bowl, and top with remainder of lime juice (to keep the avocado from oxidizing). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Before serving, stir the dip to blend in the lime juice.
Serve with tortilla chips.
Tomatoes may be substituted for tomatillos, but will alter the color from bright green to light brown, which may be unappetizing. Consider dicing the tomatoes and mixing into dip right before stirring.
Sour cream may be added to extend the dip for larger quantities.
I prefer Vidalia onions over red onions, but they aren't available year round. Other sweet onions may be substituted.
Green onions, both green and white parts, sliced thin as well as extra chopped cilantro make good garnishes.
Bon Appetit!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
A touch of El Diablo
My last post on Chips and Salsa mentioned an old chain restaurant that is no longer in business, Chi Chi's. The brand lives on in supermarkets where you can purchase salsa, taco seasoning, and corn fritter mix, but when it was a restaurant chain, it was among Sandra's and my favorite places despite the fact that it was a chain.
What was special about Chi Chi's? The taste. I may have fell in love with Mexican food at El Torito, but Chi Chi's always had a fresher taste. I believe that they used cilantro more liberally than in any other place I ate at when I first started on my Mexican kick, and cilantro has this very "fresh" taste that enhances salsa, rice, and most Mexican dishes. This fresh taste made me feel that every dish they made was made solely for me. It's a wonderful way to run a restaurant--freshness is probably a quality that will keep you coming back, and it worked for me with Chi Chi's.
I remember one of the first times that Sandra and I visited Chi Chi's. I believe it was in Sunrise, Florida, in Broward Country up route 27 (this was before I-75 and I-595 were created, and Rt. 84 was "Alligator Alley"). The two of us made quick work of their chips and salsa and we asked the waiter for more. He cheerfully brought us out some more warm chips, but then admonished us: "You should watch out. They expand when they hit your stomach!" Sandra and I were both amused by this, and we've repeated it to each other (and our kids) many, many times whenever we eat chips and salsa.
Anyway, as I mentioned in my other article, I grew up thinking that Mexican food was hot. I've learned since that while you can find some spicy Mexican dishes, you are more likely to find dishes that don't have too much spiciness at all. In fact, corn and cheese really defines the cuisine, with spiciness a distant third.
After I moved from Miami to New England, I found a Chi Chi's was never too far away. The closest was a twenty minute drive, which was close enough for a special meal for Sandra and me.
I remember one day when I was visiting Chi Chi's, they had some new items on their menu, advertised to be pretty spicy. They were touted as Diablo (Spanish for "Devil"), but of the selections, nothing really appealed to me. At the time, I favored Chi Chi's beef chimichangas, and didn't want to order anything that was too different from that. Luckily, I noticed that they also had Diablo Sauce, which could be ordered separately, so I did. It came out with my chimichanga in a small bowl. The sauce was deliciously spicy--a warm, green sauce with meat in it. After a taste, I knew that they had something special, and I dumped most of it over my chimichangas and--voila!--a very good dish became ever better! I left a bit of sauce so that I could dip my chips into it.
From that day, I had a new favorite dish, and until the Chi Chi's near us closed, the Beef Chimichangas with a side order of Diablo Sauce was what I ordered every time I visited the place.
Alas, the place is no more. They closed the restaurants near me quite a few years ago, and the entire chain has since gone out of the restaurant business.
Last spring, I was feeling nostalgic about Chi Chi's and did a Google search to find out whatever became of them. In doing so, I found a Chi Chi's Copycat Recipes site, which I linked in my previous article. Two recipes linked on that sight intrigued me: Baked Chicken Chimichanga Chi Chi's Copycat Recipe and Chi Chi's Diablo Sauce Copycat Recipe. I copied those recipes into my personal recipe collection and did a Chi Chi's Mexican Dinner night with Sandra, including some freshly fried tortilla chips and Chi Chi's Garden Salsa (see previous post). Both Sandra and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, although Sandra has never been as fond of the Diablo Sauce as I was; the recipe they gave would have made too much for the two of us.
I include the recipes for the Diablo sauce and the chimicangas below.
Chi-Chi's Diablo Sauce
| Source: | #131271 (C) 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. |
|---|---|
| Cook Time: | 35 min |
| Prep Time: | 10 min |
| Yield: | Serves 4 |
| Catalogued: | 21-Apr-2009 |
Ingredients
1 lb ground pork
2/3 cup chopped white onion
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, with juice
10 tablespoons la victoria green chili salsa
jalapeno (x-tra hot)
3 cups water
1 (1 ¼ ounce) package Ortega taco seasoning (Hot & Spicey)
2 tablespoons cumin
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
Brown ground pork, onions.
Add diced chilis, La Victoria salsa.
Add 3 cups water.
Add Ortega taco seasoning.
Add ½ tsp salt.
add 2 tbsp cumin.
Combine 2 tbsp corn starch and ¼ cup water and add too sauce.
Continue to simmer till thickened.
Baked Chicken Chimichangas like Chi-Chi's®
| Source: | Copycat Recipe Site |
|---|---|
| Prep Time: | 0:45 |
| Yield: | Serves : 8 |
| Catalogued: | 21-Apr-2009 |
Ingredients
1 sm. onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 Tbls vegetable oil OR butter OR margarine
2 cups salsa
1 ½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
2 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken OR turkey
8 12 flour tortillas
1 cup canned refried beans
non-stick cooking spray - as needed
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté onion and garlic in oil/butter until tender; stir in salsa, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and salt; fold in chicken/turkey; remove from heat and set aside.
Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon 2 Tablespoons of beans down the center of each tortilla; top with a scant ½ cup of the chicken mixture.
Fold the top and bottom of the tortillas toward the center, then roll up the sides.
Secure with wooden toothpicks or pieces of spaghetti noodles if necessary.
Place chimichangas in a 13" X 9" X 2" baking pan, seam side down.
Spray all sides of the chimichangas with a light coating of cooking spray.
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, turning after 10 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Chips and Salsa
I believe that I've mentioned in the past that I was nearly twenty years old before I truly encountered Mexican cuisine. Before that, I had tacos, having learned to love them at the Jack in the Box fast food chain in my home town of Brentwood, NY. From that humble beginning, I slowly tested the waters, first with Taco Bell in Centereach (I went there with Sandra on a date; I was a big spender back then!), and then some other chains.
I admit that I was a bit naive when it came to Mexican food at that point in my life. All that I really knew about it was that it was hot. After all, there were many instances in cartoons where somebody would have Mexican food and then would get all red with smoke coming out the cartoon character's nose, ears, and other orifices. There were many jokes about Mexican food as well, like "Mexican weather report: Chile Today, Hot Tamale!"
My first taste of Mexican food was at a chain restaurant called El Torito in South Miami. This restaurant was in a lovely outdoor mall called "The Falls." For a person that wasn't that familiar with the cuisine, I was immediately in food heaven. There were all these things that I've vaguely heard about before, but now they were right there in front of me on the menu: Tacos, enchiladas, burritos... you name it! Oh yeah... Margaritas as well!
I frequented that restaurant quite a bit, although I didn't explore much beyond the typical tacos and enchilads (all beef, of course!). I also tried other Mexican restaurants, and being in Miami, most of them were pretty decent.
One thing common to nearly every Mexican restaurant I visited were the complimentary corn chips and salsa that were placed on the table, usually accompanied with "salsa," which is the local word for "sauce." The salsa was made with tomatoes, chiles, onions, cilantro, and other wonderful things. This simple starter became yet another reason I would fall in love with the Mexican cuisine.
Back in the early 1980s, you could get tortilla chips in the grocery store. I remember Fritos, of course, and later came Doritos. I think Old El Paso had box of chips called Nachips. However, these highly salted and mass produced chips didn't compare to the fresh chips that were made at the restaurants. Eventually, I learned how to take soft corn tortillas, cut them into wedges, and fry them to make decent chips myself. (That's the basic recipe; cut, fry, drain, serve!)
What set most restaurants apart--their signature, as it were--was their salsa. Some made it incredibly spicy, some were chunkier than others, some were almost a strained liquid. I liked a lot of them, disliked a few. One of my earliest favorite salsas came from a restaurant chain, of all places. Chi Chis had a salsa that just seemed fresher than the others. I eventually found out that the fresh taste was how I was interpreting the taste of cilantro, which apparently was a bit more predominant in Chi Chi's salsa than a lot of others. Chi Chis is no longer a restaurant chain, and since moving up north, I've found a few Mexican restaurants that I enjoy--usually all of them have a pretty good chips and salsa to start, although I've see a couple of restaurants start to charge for this. (Please, let's hope this is not a sign of things to come!!!)
Anyway, I found that I'm not the only person to miss Chi Chi's recipes. I've found a fan page for the place which has a recipe or two, and links to other recipes on the web. It was from this page that I found a pretty good copycat recipe for Chi Chi's garden salsa, which I present below:
Chi Chi's Fresh Garden Salsa Recipe Clone
| Source: | Chi Chis Copycat Recipes |
|---|---|
| Catalogued: | 21-Apr-2009 |
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh roma tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 bunch green onions
1 onion
2 limes or ¼ cup of lime juice
2 serrano peppers (If you substitute jalapenos, add about 5 drops of Tabasco sauce)
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon each: salt, garlic powder, oregano, chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Chop up the tomatoes, both onions, and cilantro. Put almost half of the tomatoes into a blender with the lime juice, peppers, garlic, and rest of the spices. Blend until thick, but not watery. Add this mixture to the rest of the ingredients in a serving bowl. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop.
Bon Appetit!
