Quebec City, Canada

I had a very short visit in Quebec City in September for a conference but got a chance to briefly explore the city on my spare time. This was my first time visiting Quebec City, a very beautiful city, especially the area of Vieux Quebec, which is the historical part of the city. We stayed in a Hilton on the top floor, providing us with a nice view of the city. The drive from Rochester was not fun at all. We ran into a lot of construction, got in very late, and had to order a room service, which did not disappoint.

As we walked down the Sault au Matelot street, we stopped to have dinner at Cafe Bistro Du Cap, and let me say that it was excellent! A great atmosphere, lovely waitress, and amazing food. It's one of those places that you will definitely want to visit again. I had to take a photo of the chef because he was too cute! I was sneaky and took a photo of him from the window shown below. We ordered seafood chowder, vegetable soup, fresh green salad, and desert.

Charleston, SC

We did a lot of traveling for work this summer and got to see some beautiful places. I must say that Charleston is definitely one of my favorite destinations in the U.S. I don't know where to begin. Gorgeous buildings, great atmosphere, and amazing food! This was my first time indulging on southern food as well. So, here is a long post of our adventures in Charleston, SC.

One place we dinned at was Poogan's Porch. Famous people who dined at the restaurant signed notes that were framed on the wall inside the restaurant. One funny note was from Jim Carry and Lauren Holly. They wrote: "Thanks guys. The food was great. You'll be hearing from our lawyers!" lol.

We also had lunch at Jestine's kitchen. The line was long but it went fast. Loved the shrimp and grits.

We later had lunch at Pearlz Oyster Bar. We tried some raw and steamed oysters, seafood salad, and soup. Everything was delicious!

We had the best coconut cream pie at Kaminsky's bakery. It was out of this world. One word that I would use to describe this pie is WOW! Even looking at this picture makes me want to eat the screen ;-P

We also visited Folly Beach. It was nice to go for a swim in such hot weather. Near the beach we stopped for lunch and had a seafood basket and hush puppies.

We stumbled upon this lovely restaurant called 82 Queen. The whole experience was lovely. The staff was very sweet and most importantly the food and drinks were excellent! We had She Crab Soup and an amazing salad that had mango, kiwi, shrimp, and other goodness. Thumbs up!!!

Did you know that the Charleston Tea Plantation is the only tea plantation that grows and produces tea in the North America? If you are in the area, it is a must see. They offered a wonderful tour, provided samples of the different varieties of tea produced at the facility, and had a free video tour of the processing floor. You can view their website for more information and order some tea for yourself at charlestonteaplantation.com

We ended our trip with breakfast and lunch at the Saffron Cafe and Bakery. It had a nice atmosphere and a great selection of deserts.

Mom's Borsh Recipe

People have been asking me to post my mom's Borsh recipe and I finally got around to it. Borsh is my favorite soup! I love it hot and cold. You can also make Borsh with beef but this one is only made with vegitables. So, here we go...

Ingredients

• Small cabbage – thin sliced
• One large carrot – grated 
• Small onion – diced
• 3 potatoes – cut in large cubes
• 2 large tomatoes – diced
• 3-4 beets (the smaller the beets, the redder the color)
• 1 box (1 quart) organic chicken broth or vegetable broth (low sodium preferably)
• Parsley
• Dill
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste

Step 1. First, cut the ingredients as mentioned above.  
Step 2. In a frying pan, sauté onions and tomatoes in olive oil. 
Step 3. In a large pot (where you will be making Borsh) add 1-quart chicken broth and 1-quart water and bring to a boil. 
Step 4. Add the beets and let them boil for 10 minutes. 
Step 5. Add cabbage, potatoes, and carrots to the pot. 
Step 6. Remove the beets from the pot when they are cooked. This occurs when a fork can easily be inserted into the beet. Grate the beets in a food processor or with a manual grater then set aside. 
Step 7. Add the sautéd onions and tomatoes from Step 2. 
Step 8. Add onions, parsley, salt, and grated beets. Bring the soup to a boil once again then turn it off immediately if begins boiling. Now it’s done! 

Feel free to add a dollop of sour cream to your bowl. Enjoy!
 

Note: As you can see Mom's Borsh is thick but if you use less cabbage and less potatoes you can make it more brothy.

Chinese Hot Pot

Our friend Chris invited us for some hot pot which we hadn't tried before. It was amazing! Below are the raw ingredients he used: lettuce, dumplings, tofu (two different kinds), mushrooms, seaweed, diakon, and beef.

We definitely need to invest in a hot pot! We drank "Black and Gold" sake and it turned out to be the best one we've had.

Homemade Sushi

My friend Ania and I were craving for some homemade sushi and finally we got together to make it. We got cucumbers, avocados, smoked salmon, and creme cheese. If you haven't tried to make sushi yet it is lot of fun! There are plenty of step-by-step guides on internet. We used makemysushi.com for inspiration.

Besides sushi, we made fresh raspberry basil margaritas. We smashed raspberries and basil together then added Wegman's Organic Raspberry Lemonade and tequila. It was really tasty!

 And voilà!

Georgian Tolma

Tolma is a one of the most popular dishes in Western Georgia and it resembles Turkish dolmas. Every region has its own variations. Georgian tolma uses ground beef (or half beef and half pork) with onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, basil, tomatoes, salt, peppers and rice stuffed in vegetables. Mom usually stuffs them in green and red peppers, cabbage, grape or collard leaves, tomatoes, and eggplant. We usually serve it with mashed potatoes on the side.

Souzi (Georgian Beef Stew)

This is one of my favorite Georgian dishes that my mother makes. The ingredients include: cubed beef, onions, peas, tomatoes, bay leaves, cilantro, basil, green peppers, and freshly ground black peppers. Mom usually makes mashed potatoes and serves them together. I can eat this any day, even writing this post makes my mouth water.

Fresh Summer Sandwich with Vegetables and Salami

This lunch idea was one of my spur of the moment creations. I grabbed radishes, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, cheese, cucumbers, Wegman's salami slices, and Brian's challah bread. I pan-fried salami, tomatoes, and cheese and then topped it with cilantro. Then I put them between two pieces of toasted challah. It came out very fresh and very tasty!

Extra Virgin Pomodoro Toss with Shrimp & Clams

This was Brian's recipe from Extra Virgin Pomodoro Toss + Shrimp but we added a few variations, including clams and kale. yummm!

Egg in the Basket

Brian never disappoints when making breakfast on Sundays. I wake up expecting something creative on the table. This time Brian made egg in the basket and, on the side, we had peaches, strawberries and blueberries, fresh from the market.

Strawberry Mousse

Mom's strawberry mousse recipe is simple, easy to make, takes less than 10 minutes, and uses only 3 ingredients! This is really a simple, delicious summer delight! Here is what you need:

1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh strawberries

Serves: 4 people, as seen in the images below.

Mix one egg white on high power until it's white and fluffy, this takes about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, use the hand blender to mix together the strawberries and sugar. While the egg whites are still being beaten in the mixer, slowly poor in the strawberry mixture (mix for 5 minutes) and voila!

Swordfish

Another beautiful day to eat on the deck. My mom pan-fried swordfish, steamed asparagus, and baked potatoes. We began the meal with borsh. I will post my Mom's borsh recipe soon. 

Mother's Day Dinner

It was so beautiful out on Mother's Day that we simply stayed in and made a meal for my mother. Brian made his famous bison-beef burgers on garlic and olive oil buns. We also had steamed green beans, fresh tomatoes sprinkled with cilantro, pan fried potatoes (my favorite), and vino. Perfecto!

Georgian Cuisine: Cheeses

Lets talk about Georgian cheeses, shall we? Georgians eat a lot of cheese and each region has its own specialties. Some popular cheeses are Sulguni, Imeruli, Guda, braided cheese, smoked cheese, etc. Generally, the most popular cheeses are made from fresh cow's milk. Below are images from the market in Batumi, Georgia, showing different types of cheeses.

There are also many dishes that use cheese in Georgian cuisine. One of the most popular dish is Ajaruli khachapuri, which is a pizza-like dough shaped like a boat, filled with cheese, and topped with butter and an egg (if you'd like). You can eat this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's also good with beer, but I prefer it with hot tea. Another popular dish is imeruli khachapuri, which is a flat-bread stuffed with cheese. This is easier to make at home than Ajaruli khachapuri.

Most people who live in the village and have cows make their own cheese from the fresh cow's milk. In the image below you can see Brian learning how to make cheese on the stove, later used to make  khachapuri.

Another popular dish that uses cheese is Gomi. This is Georgian grits ;-) and can be eaten in many ways, including with the addition of cheese while it's still hot so that cheese softens, or by with the addition of baje, a walnut sauce, shown in the image below.

Simple Strawberry Sauce with Liqueur

Magical things happen when you sprinkle sugar on the strawberries and leave them for few hours. Amazing flavors develop while the strawberries marinate and the sauce is left with a sweet aroma! So, if you want a simple strawberry sauce as a topping for your frozen yogurt or ice cream, here is what you need to know:

Make sure to use a bowl that has a lid. Take fresh strawberries, wash them, and cut them in half. Place them in the bowl and add sugar. I usually add 4 tbsp per pint so it about covers the strawberries. You can then add 4 tbsp of liqueur or any sweet alcohol that you might have. Close the lid and shake the container so strawberries can mix with the ingredients. Next, leave the bowl on the counter for 2 hours. You can also leave it overnight in the refrigerator.

Once the time has passed, you can serve it as is, or you can put them in mixer and blend them into a fine-textured sauce. I prefer to blend them as shown in the picture below. I used it as a topping for frozen yogurt and then sprinkled on few almonds. I put the rest of the strawberry sauce in mini parfait glasses and placed them in the freezer overnight. We at them the next day.

Extra Virgin Pomodoro Toss + Shrimp

The secret to the Extra Virgin Pomodoro Pasta Toss is the creative use of all that nature gives is. The ingredient list is simple:

• Pasta (I used whole grain pasta to make me feel healthy)
• Two tomatoes, diced, pulp separated from the seeds and gelatin
• One small onion, diced
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Four cloves garlic, minced (three cloves will be sautéed and one will be used in the sauce)
• Basil
• Oregano
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cilantro
• Shrimp (pre-seasoned with salt, pepper and pan-searing flour)

The first step to creating this dish is to cook the pasta. I recommend cooking it al dente or just past al dente. This will ensure the pasta will not fall apart when you toss it around in the frying pan later on. We only have one large burner on our stove, so I cooked the pasta first then used the same burner for the frying pan. After the pasta finishes cooking, drain it and reserve it in a serving bowl with a little EVOO drizzle. This way, the pasta will not stick together and you save washing an extra dish for holding the pasta.

While cooking the pasta, prepare the tomato tossing sauce. Add the reserved tomato seeds and gelatin to a food processer with about half a cup of EVOO, the single reserved minced garlic clove, some basil, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Process until smooth.

Next, you will cook the shrimp. Make sure you are using a large frying pan. I used a deep-fryer. This makes it less likely that you will toss the food right out of your pan. Heat the pan on medium-high. Once the pan is hot, add enough EVOO to cover the bottom of the pan. Wait for the oil to heat up (it should steam a bit) then add a few pieces of shrimp. It is important not to crowd the shrimp in the pan. Cook on both sides until slightly browned. They cook quickly and should be done in about 3 minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp then repeat the process until all of the shrimp is cooked.

After removing the final batch of shrimp, add a bit more EVOO to the pan (now flavored with shrimp oils!) and turn down the heat to medium. Now is time to cook the vegetables. It is important to add the vegetables to the pan in the following order: onions, garlic, tomatoes. Sauté the onions until tender, but make sure they do not caramelize. Add the garlic, then a minute or so later, add the tomatoes. Toss those around for about 30 seconds then add the pasta and toss around with the vegetables. Add the tomato tossing sauce to the pasta and toss around for a final minute Remove the pasta to the serving bowl. Top the dish with the cooked shrimp and, voila, Extra Virgin Pomodoro PastaToss!

The secret to this dish was the separation of the tomato pulp from the seeds and gelatin. If we diced the tomato with the seeds and gelatin still attached to the meat, the toss would become soup and the flavors too blended. The secret to a good pasta toss is preserving the unique texture and flavor of all ingredients in every bite. By adding the seeds and gelatin later as a sauce, we preserve the texture and taste of the tomato pieces, along with the onions and garlic. And actually, by preparing the dish in this manner, we impart an extra nuttiness and fruitiness of the blended EVOO and tomato gelatin that would otherwise be unobtainable!

Beet Juice Fusion

Let me just say that Jack Lalanne’s Power Juicer is probably the best thing we have in the kitchen! Since I was a little girl, I remember my mother juicing up some beets and apples then making us drink the sweet delight. And now, at least once a week I try to do the same. But now I enjoy it! The beauty of the juicer is that you can use whatever you wish or have in the fridge that day.

I used the following ingredients in the juicer: beets, carrots, celery, apples, and kiwi.

I don’t think there is anything on earth healthier than drinking this glass of GOODNESS!

Chicken & Prosciutto Roll

Brian was feeling creative today! Three organic Wegman's chicken breasts were flattened on the cutting board. Garlic infused EVOO was spread on each flatten breast. Two pieces of Wegman's prosciutto, sage, rosemary, white onion, green onion, and mozzarella cheese were placed on top. The breasts were rolled up and tied with a piece of twine. The rolls were browned in a iron skillet then finished in the oven. We had fresh tomatoes, cilantro, and orzo on the side. Mmmmmmmmmmm! First class meal!

Olde Mistick Village

Mystic, CT! What a great little town in which to visit and relax. It was a pleasant getaway with my girlfriends to catch up and enjoy the town. One of the highlights of the trip, besides the Mystic Aquarium and the restaurants, were the shops in Olde Mistick Village. We stopped at Extra Virgin olive oil shop and we were delighted. The shop had a great atmosphere and owner, Stephen, who actually made everything in the shop, was a great help. There were many types of infused extra virgin olive oil: fresh garlic, fresh basil, blood orange, Tuscan spice, etc. and many types of specialty vinegars: pomegranate, black fig, cranberry, etc. The owner can mix samples for you at the shop or you can go around and try different things yourself.  We ended up purchasing fresh garlic infused extra virgin olive oil and Harvest Riesling vinegar. The picture below shows what we purchased as well as the images from the shop itself. If you like to check out his website click here.

In addition, one of the restaurants in which we ate in Mystic was S&P Oyster Co. They had great fresh seafood dishes, an amazing atmosphere, and a wonderful staff.

Lemon, Chicken and Orzo Soup

We found this recipe on tarteletteblog.com. You can view the recipe here. The soup came out very tasty. We will definitely make it again. For a side dish we toasted freshly made bread with mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, paprika, and pepper. We also bought olive oil potato chips with rosemary by Good Health Inc., which were pretty incredible.

Brian made this bread. It is mostly white flour with a smidgen of rye and whole wheat.

Brian’s Poultry-Italian Sausage Lasagna

This dish was inspired by a the Italian Sausage Lasagna recipe from Betty Crocker.

Lasagna Sauce
1 lb Poultry Italian Sausage (hot, mild, or a combination of the two)
1 medium onion (diced)
1/2 Green bell pepper (diced)
5 crushed cloves of garlic (more or less to taste)
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano leaves
3 tbsp of chopped fresh basil (more or less to taste)
1 tsp sugar
28 oz of diced plum tomatoes (skin and seeds included)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce

Ricotta Mixture
1 16oz container ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano leaves
Pepper to taste

Remaining Ingredients
2 cups (or more as needed) shredded mozzarella

Lasagna Noodles
4 cups Semolina Flour (or Pasta Flour, whichever it’s called) plus more on reserve
3 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups water (plus more in reserve)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

Cooking Method
Initial Step: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Lasagna Sauce
1. In a large pot, saute sausage, onion, garlic, and green pepper in EVOO on low heat until sausage is cooked through. Makes sure sausage is broken into small pieces.
2. Add sugar, basil, oregano, tomatoes and tomato sauce, then simmer, covered, about 45 minutes
3. Add parsley, salt, and pepper (to taste) then remove from heat

Ricotta Mixture
1. In a small bowl, mix ricotta, parmesan, oregano, and pepper until combined.

Lasagna Noodles
1. Thoroughly wash hands!
2. Add semolina flour and spices to a large bowl
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture using your hand
4. Pour the beaten eggs and water into the flour well
5. Gradually combine the dry and wet ingredients until a cohesive dough-ball is formed
6. Spread a handful of flour onto a clean surface in preparation for kneading the dough
7. Turn the dough ball out onto the floured surface
8. Knead the dough until the outer surface of the dough is smooth (5 to 7 minutes). The dough is properly formed if it does not stick to your hands at the end of kneading. 
9. When finished kneading, separate the dough into two equal parts
10. Set one part of the dough aside and roll out the other part of the dough into a 1/8-1/16 inch sheet, routinely flipping the sheet of dough during the flattening process and rolling on both sides
NOTE: I recommend dusting the surface of the dough with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or the surface
11. Cut 3in x 12in noodles from the flattened sheet. You should get three or so noodles from this sheet
12. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough
13. Combine all of the dough scraps into a ball and roll out to make additional noodles
14. If not cooking immediately, dry the noodles on a floured baking sheet. Place a clean kitchen towel between layers of noodles on the same sheet
15. To cook, boil 8 quarts of water then place three noodles, maximum, in the water at a time.
16. Cook the noodles until al dente, about 10 minutes
17. Set aside until ready to assemble lasagna

Lasagna Assembly
1. Grease a 13in x 9in x 2in baking pan
2. Spread ½ of ricotta mixture on the bottom of the pan
3. Add a layer of 3 noodles
4. Spoon sauce over the first noodle layer until the noodles are just about covered(be sure not to drown the noodles in sauce!)
5. Add a layer of shredded mozzarella in the same manner as you would a pizza
6. Add a second layer of noodles, followed by a layer of the remaining ricotta, sauce, and mozzarella
7. Add a final layer of noodles, a layer of sauce and a layer of mozzarella
8. Cover with foil and place on the middle rack in the oven and bake 30 minutes
9. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes
10. Remove from the oven and let cook at least 15 minutes
NOTE: It is best to let the cheese set for a while before cutting so it holds together. The lasagna will remain hot for a long time after removing from the oven.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

This recipe was from Baking Illustrated, published by America's Test Kitchen 2004.

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 ¼ cups sour cream
1 ½ cups fresh wild blueberries

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl until combined.

3. Whisk egg in a second bowl until well-combined and light colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.

4. Add berries to the dry ingredients (step 2) and gently toss just to combine. Add sour cream mixture (step 3) and fold until batter comes together and barriers are evenly distributed.

5. Using large spoon sprayed with nonstick cooking spray divide batter among the greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin come out clean, 25-30 minutes.

Red Quinoa-Avocado Salad

I found this recipe in Wegmans Menu magazine. The salad looked so good that I had to try it.

Ingredients

7 oz of red quinoa (Wegmans Food You Feel Good About)
12 oz corn
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup green onions
2 diced plum tomatoes
2 avocados (small cubes)
1/2 cup lemon vinaigrette
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Add cooked quinoa, corn, cilantro, green onions, tomatoes, and avocados to a mixing bowl. Add dressing until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 10

Active time: 20 min

Matchstick Pasta with Pistachio Sauce

This recipe was introduced to me by my coworker and you can find it here.  The ingredients include  kale, pomegranate seeds, and pistachio sauce. The recipe asks for a whole grain linguine but this one was made with regular linguine. This is my favorite cold dish!

Key Lime Pie

I’ve tried to make key lime pie from different recipes but it never came out as good as this one. Thanks to Jess for the recipe, not sure where she got it.

Ingredients

• 20 graham crackers (crushed into a fine crumb)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup butter (melted)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice (4 limes)
• 2 tsp lime zest

Crust: Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crust mix into a 9” pie plate. Bake at 350F for 10-12 min until lightly browned then let cool.

Filling: Beat egg yolks with a mixer until they are thick. Add condensed milk and mix on low speed. Add lime juice in small portions and mix on low speed. Lastly, add the lime zest and continue to mix until blended. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake for another 12 min (350F) to set the yolk and kill any salmonella.

NOTE: The pie filling may appear runny at first and still a little loose after coming out of the oven. The filling will set while cooling and should hold together just fine after completely cool. After it has cooled to room temperature, store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Stir-Fry with Scallops & Shrimp

It looks like Rochester, NY is having an early spring. The warm weather inspired us to make this stir-fry yesterday. We started off by dusting the scallops and shrimp in pan-searing flour then pan-fried until brown. The remainder of the stir-fry consisted of snow peas, broccoli, and red peppers seasoned with Wegmans Asian Classics stir-fry sauce. Additionally we made fried rice and onions using Kikkoman fried rice seasoning mix, which was pretty tasty.

> We assembled everything together and voilà! Only thing missing was vino but we made jasmine tea instead in our lovely teapot from Leticia & Brian.

Spicy Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Rosemary, & Ginger

This was our first time cooking with a tagine. We followed the relatively simple recipe, added the ingredients to the tagine, and let it gently simmer for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, we started cooking couscous and sweet potatoes to have on the side.

Finally, for the desert we made my favorite chocolate mousse, which was then chilled in the fridge, and the meal was complete.

Fruit Tart aka Tartalekta

Ingredients
Crust

• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 stick of butter (softened)
• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/4 tsp vinegar

Cream

• 7oz can of condensed milk
• 1 stick of butter (softened)
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Filling

• 1 tsp jam (strawberry or preferred flavor) per tart
• Fresh fruit (kiwi, strawberry, raspberry, etc.)

Preparation

1. Mix egg yolks and sugar until all sugar is dissolved
2. Add softened butter and manually mix until combined (do not use electrical mixer from here on)
3. Add mixture of backing soda + vinegar and mix until combined
4. Add flour and mix until combined
5. Now you are ready to start forming the dough in the tart pans (grease the pans). Press into the tart pan such that dough is 1/8 in thick on all sides
6. Bake them for 375F for 15-20 minutes (until they are golden brown)

Cream: take softened butter and mix well in an electric mixer until it's fluffy. Next, slowly add condensed milk until thoroughly mixed.

Allow the tarts to cool in their pans and then remove them. Spread the jam on each tart, then add the cream. Lastly, add fresh fruit on the top.

Laury's Restaurant Charleston, WV

We went to Laury's restaurant for birthday celebration. We had french onion soup, Caribbean Bouillabaisse (Spicy Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage, shrimp, Scallop, Clams, and Mussels), leg of lamb, steak, vegetarian delight, and roasted duck.

As for the deserts they had quite a selection. We had Crème Caramel and Bananas Foster (bananas foster was prepared table-side).