Monday, July 27, 2009
Quote of the Day
"one cannot think well, love well or sleep well if one has not dined well." - V. Woolf
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Taste of Peru
Happy Hour at Andina 4-6 daily
http://www.andinarestaurant.com/
The Andina Restaurant is located in Portland's trendy Pearl District. As you walk in the restaurant, you can go either right to the tapas bar or left into the dining room. The open kitchen is located between the two rooms in full view from either side. Meals start with a basket of bottom-less house-made quinoa bread which is accompanied by three ajíes (chili) dipping sauces. The selection includes ají de huacatay, which combines toasted peanuts with an aromatic herb of the marigold family, an ají de maracuya, a yellow sauce made from a purée of mango and habanero that contrasts sweet and hot, and a green jalapeño cilantro blend that definitely kicks up the temperature.
This past Monday, I went to happy hour with David and Dan, had a delicious cocktail and ordered a couple tapas to share. All the tapas can be ordered in three different sizes, pequeño, mediano or grande depending on your hunger level. The ATARDECER PORTENO was a pink guava nectar cocktail shaken with honey infused vodka and lime juice topped with a float of ruby port, served up with an anise sugar rim. I have to admit, this drink was brilliantly delicious, I was laughed at for scraping the sugar rim off with my teeth. (I wanted to savor every last bit of it). We ordered a mediano ANTICUCHO DE PULPO tapa on the happy hr menu. The pulpo (octopus) kebob was grilled to perfection and served with chimichurri sauce and rocoto-caper hash, which was similar to mashed potatoes. Our review of the pulpo was unanimous. None of us had ever tasted pulpo so perfectly well done and flavorful. We all found ourselves wiping our plates clean, spanish-style, with our quinoa bread. We also enjoyed a pequeño TABULE DE CEREALES ANDINOS which was an amazing quinoa salad served with queso fresco, avocados, onions and olives. Andina not only delivered a gorgeous meal, it left us all completely satisfied and ready to take on the city. Thank you Andina, for a perfect meal.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What's On Your Plate?
Really interesting report on soybeans and soymilk and "organic". Thought you might be interested :) ALways like to keep my friends informed in the food world!
http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/soy-report-and-scorecard/
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
My Food Affair
If you know me at all, you know that I'm an avid Food Network viewer and an experimenter of various edible ingredients, (hence the blog name and notorious combination of Cheez-Its and Butter). You may also know, that I cannot cook for the life of me, (this has mainly been an issue of patience in the kitchen).
BUT you may like to know that I'm growing with endurance under these difficult culinary circumstances and beginning to learn basic steps to cook and bake my favorite dishes. You also might find it interesting that I have survived the last four months without a microwave! (I am extremely proud of this). Im on a roll towards culinary greatness and plan to update my accomplishments and share my new recipe and restaurant discoveries as they are presented to me. Bon Appetite!
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