The way onion rings were meant to be...

Now that I'm done with school and about to graduate on Friday, it can be said I have a bit of time on my hands.  And with all this free time I was at a loss as to how to motivate myself to be productive.  And then it came to me-- my only goal for today, Monday, April 30th, is to update my blog.  Where that might sound like an easy task, it is not.  I have fallen so far behind in keeping up with my blog in fact, that I don't even remember how I made some of these delicious things in these pictures I have.  So let's get to updating!

There is a restaurant in Boston with two locations-- one by the common, and one in the South End.  This restaurant is a place I call heaven.  A restaurant entirely devoted to delicious, outrageous, and over the top sandwiches.  The portions are huge, it's affordable, and the onion rings... my god the onion rings are the best I've had.  So naturally, I decided I needed to try to make them.  Well, I was a little off, as nothing could ever be as delicious as their onion rings, but they satisfied my craving and gave me hope for a bright, onion ring filled future.

                               My onion rings                                   Their onion rings

Now let's try to put aside the face that I had to take this picture with a not-so-awesome phone camera, and remember that they looked way better in person.  Much more golden brown, crispy, and not dull and boring.

The things about these onion rings that really set them apart:
1) The size--they are thick slices of onion with a delicious thick breading
2) The seasoning-- the batter is not just plain onion ring batter.  Instead it's flavored to perfection
3) The sauce-- these bad boys come with a sauce that rivals all others.  It's a little bit sweet, a greater bit spicy, and really really delicious.
Okay so now that we have that out of the way, let's make them...


what you need...
Onions (the amount will depend on how many you want to make.  These should be yellow onions and can be large or small)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup ice cold water
Vegetable oil (for frying)
Sea Salt
Rosemary
Pepper

what you need to do...
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour, 1 egg, and 1 cup ice cold water.  Stir with fork until smooth.  Season batter with at 1 tbs rosemary, and a dash of sea salt and pepper.  Set aside in fridge until you are ready to use.
2. Cut the onion into rounds at least 1/4 inch thick.  Separate the rounds and set aside.

3. In pot or pan with deep sides, and over medium high heat, heat enough oil so that the thickest onion round won't touch the bottom of the pan when frying (this will likely mean you will need about an inch deep of oil).  Wait veryyyyyyy patiently until the oil is hot.  You will know it is hot because it will look hot and it will crackle very loudly if you flick the tiniest bit of water into it.  Reduce heat to medium to ensure that the oil doesn't burn.
4. When the oil is hot, dip the onion rounds into the batter, being sure to coat on all sides.  Carefully place the rounds in the oil and allow to fry, turning at least once, until golden brown.  Remove from oil with tongs when done, and strain on paper towel. Repeat until all of the onion rings have been fried.  And then enjoy but be forewarned that you're never going back to those skinny, lame, "beer battered" onion strings again!

Summer Drink Series: White Sangria!

So what could be more refreshing than a nice, cold glass of Sangria on a hot day? Okay perhaps there are many more things but, Sangria is pretty good too.  After recently having a glass of white sangria at the Parish Cafe (only the best place on earth), I decided it was time to tackle white sangria.  And I'm not just talking the "throw some fruit in wine and let it sit in the fridge" sangria.  I'm talking real live sangria.

So here's to part one of my summer drink series!

what you need...
1 bottle of crisp white whine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)
1/2 cup white rum
1/4 cup simple syrup
1 cup club soda
Fresh mint
1 plum (or peach) cubed
1 lemon, cut into rounds or half rounds
Raspberries


what you need to do...
1. Combine wine, rum, syrup and fresh mint in a large pitcher.  Using the back of a wooden spoon, muddle the mint in with the liquid until mine leaves appear bruised.
2. Add the club soda, plum or peach cubes, lemon slices and raspberries and stir gently (so as to not allow too much of the carbonation to escape.
3. Chill and allow the flavors to combine for at least 2 hours.   Serve very cold on a warm sunny day at a nice BBQ!

The Greenest Pasta You've Ever Seen

Okay, bear with me now, because this is CRAY.  MY sister called me a few weeks back raving about some ridiculous soup she made and how I HAD to get it up on my blog.  Well I simply wasn't having it--not only do I NOT like soup, but I was not about to take cooking advice from my sister.  But something she said really struck me and, I decided that I would give her a chance.  And I have to hand it to her--not only was it kind of delicious, but it also cost us close to 8 dollars total to make.  You can't beat yummy value.  So alas, in light of sibling appreciation day (or every day), I will credit this to my wonderful sister Kristie LaSalle.  Without her I would have never though to toss broccoli in the blender and for that... we thank you!

Also, let me formally apologize for the photo-- I went through a period of forgetting my camera and taking shitty pictures of my food with a terrible phone camera. 

what you need...
1 head of broccoli
2 - 6 oz goat cheese
1 lb pasta
2 - 3 cloves garlic
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

what you need to do...
1. In a large pot, boil lightly salted water.  When water is boiling add broccoli so that the entire head is covered.  While broccoli is cooking, in a medium pot, boil lightly salted water for the pasta, and cook as directed on the box.
2.  When broccoli is tender, remove from water (keeping the water--do not dump out the water!), chop in to smaller chunks, and add to blender/ food processor.  Add between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of the left over water from boiling the broccoli, 2 - 3 cloves garlic (depending on the size), 2 oz goat cheese, salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil and blend until a smooth sauce forms.
3.  Transfer sauce to a small sauce pan and over very low heat, stir in UP to 4 more oz of goat cheese, depending on how much you like goat cheese.  When sauce is smooth, remove from heat immediately.
4.  When pasta is finished cooking, strain, return to pot, and add broccoli sauce.  Enjoy!

Ooey-Gooey Guinessey Brownies!

So I absolutely do not bake.  I won't go on about why I am not a baker, just know that I am not.  But for Valentines Day, I decided to try to tackle a recipe I found in Bon Appetite (the magazine that my wonderful boyfriend bought me a years' subscription to for Christmas) for chocolate-stout brownies.  I've decided to post them now, however, because it's kind of close to St. Patrick's Day.  Right.


Now, to say the very least, I messed them up pretty bad.  But I'm going to give you the recipe anyways along with a word of advice to the wise--don't mess them up.  If I were you, I would completely omit the "Guinness Glaze" that seeps into the brownies and makes them super gooey.  But that's perhaps because I mess that up... pretty bad.

Please let me reiterate-- I did not create this recipe, it does not belong to me but I bet, if you don't mess it up real bad, it would be real good! Recipe is courtesy of Bon Appetite and can be found online: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/02/chocolate-stout-brownies

what you need...

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)

16 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

what you need to do...

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x9x2" metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2" overhang. Bring stout to a boil in a medium sauce- pan; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 12 minutes. Let cool. Reserve 1/4 cup stout.

2. Stir 12 oz. chocolate and 1 cup butter in a medium metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.

3. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture, then 1/4 cup stout from pan. Fold in flour and 1 1/4 tsp. salt. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake brownies until surface begins to crack and a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Stir remaining 4 oz. chocolate in a medium metal bowl set over a sauce-pan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Add reserved 1/4 cup reduced stout, remaining 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1/4 tsp. salt; whisk until well blended.

5. Pour warm glaze over brownies. Let stand at room temperature until glaze is set, about 40 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Using foil overhang, lift brownie from pan; cut into squares.

Massive Mushrooms on Jewish Bread

Okay FINALLY!  I know you have all been holding your breaths in absolutely suspense for my next blog post... AND HERE IT IS! I've finally prevailed through hell week--no more tech week rehearsals, no more 50 page papers, no more multiple tests and papers due all at exactly the same time.  In the clear senior year right now.  So I'm back to posting!  Sorry for the delay BUT... I was busy.  Hopefully you haven't forgotten who I am in the mean time and are still following this blog.  I don't blame you if you aren't though.

So naturally, although I've been busy, I have obviously still been cooking.  C'mon, a girl's gotta eat.  But what I cooked last night was SO delicious that I absolutely could not justify putting this post off until I caught up with my other posts.  So here you are: Grilled Portobello Sandwich on Challah Bread with Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach, Pesto and Provolone.  Now see... that was a mouthful.  I'm sticking to Big Mushrooms on Jew Bread.

This is delicious.  Absolutely delicious.  I'm not sure really what made me choose Challah Bread, but after learning that it was similar to Brioche, I couldn't pass on it.  Turned out to be a solid choice!

what you need...
1 large portobello mushroom cap
2 tbs pesto
1/2 red pepper (roasted)
1 slice provolone
1 Challah Roll
1 clove garlic (diced)
Oil

what you need to do...
1. Roast red pepper with oil in oven under high broiler, monitoring carefully to char but not burn.  In a large pan, combine oil, garlic, spinach and portobello mushroom cap and cook over medium heat.
2. Toast Challah rolls under the broiler until lightly toasted.  Remove from oven.  Spread 2 tbs pesto on top and bottom of roll.  When spinach is cooked (it will cook quicker than the mushrooms), remove from pan, strain, and add to the bottom of roll.
3. Turn heat of pan to medium high, and cook portobello mushrooms until the seem soft through and have a bit of a sear on them.  Remove from heat, strain, and place on top of spinach.  Add provolone, and place under broiler for about 35 seconds, or until the cheese melts entirely.  Add slice of roasted red pepper, slice, and enjoy! :)