New Recipes!

Hello from Philly!

Something to share as we head into fall!

Red Kuri Squash and Shallot Soup

What you need:

Buy 2 medium size Kuri squash

(they look like tear drop shaped pumpkins, see the picture above)

4 shallots

1 box of fat free chicken broth ( approx 3 1/2 cups worth)

1 tablespoon of Olive oil

Salt approx 1/2 table spoon or Janes's all mixed up spice which I love!

Chopped Garlic 1 tablespoon

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 375

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds then peel it.

Chop the squash into cubes

Remove the skin from the shallots and cut them in half (you will have a few cloves from the four you bought, use them all)

In a baking dish place the shallots, add the Olive oil, salt and garlic

Then add the squash to the pan as well and mix it up

Place the pan in the oven and bake it for 50-55 minutes

Make sure to check it a few times and stir

When it's done place half the squash and shallots in a blender with half of the chicken stock

Blend but cover with a towel or you may be sorry.

Pour the first half in a pot, blend the rest and add that to the pot as well.

**A quick blending tip is too make sure you soup is pureed not chunky. Stop half way and stir the contents before blending again

**A quick trick to get everything out of your blender is to pour a little broth in it, after you remove the pureed squash soup and kick it into high gear. The soup may be a little thick so go a head and add the broth to your pot. I recommend doing this both times you blend.

Heat for 5-7 minutes on the stove and add additional salt to taste

The consistency of your soup should leave a thin coating on the spoon or ladle. If it isn't and it seems too thick add just a little more broth.

Continue to heat and then serve! Trust me it's worth all the peeling and chopping!

Oh and p.s. it's low cal and lowfat

Enjoy!

Up next...a few cocktails and some new places I deem worthy to dine in Philly, Tally and SRQ

Philly Food

So, as some of you know I am moving to Philadelphia...place of brotherly love and cheese steaks. Well I don't ingest cheese steaks but I will say there are some fine places to dine in my new city.

Here's what I recommend:
Mertiage located at 500 South 20th Street. This place has a clean aesthetic yet warm and familiar feel to it. The family photos on the wall give you sense of history and family pride as you wander into the main dining room to enjoy a different form of art, Meritage's menu and their presentation. It is inventive, surprising and extremely fresh!

What we ate:

Tuna Tartare with soy wasabi foam, Tobiko caviar Organic micro greens, and wonton chips
(Awesome! and I am picky about my Tartare)

Five Spice Marinated Grilled Quail with a watercress and Apple salad
( I have never had Quail and although they are rather petite and not really first date food, it was very tasty and much lighter then duck. The salad part was a perfect balance of crunchy sweet that I adore.)

Pan Roasted Skate with asparagus flan, sauteed asparagus and fiddlehead ferns with a lemongrass beurre blanc.

(Asparagus Flan is awesome! Perfection! A fiddlehead, for those who don't know...Fiddleheads are the unfurled fronds of a young fern. They must always be cooked before eating to remove the shikimic acid. Sounds dangerous...but it's not. They taste a little like a collard green mixed with an asparagus)

All around an amazing place to eat and drink wine!

My Other Recommendation:

Noble located at 2025 Sansom Street. My favorite part is the bar! Not only do they have inventive drinks, but the bar is made out of a fallen tree! The price is a bit high, but the portion size for the smaller plates is a great way to enjoy Noble on a smaller dime.

What I ate:
Gnocchi Parisienne: leek, trumpet royale, and sunchoke.
( The Gnocchi was amazing and lightly crisp on the outside. The trumpet royale is tender and a little more dense then a portobello mushroom. Sunchoke is a slightly sweet cross between a potato and a rutabaga, but way less starchy :) )

Celery Root, Leeks puree
(Not normally on the menu, but creamy and made me want to puree everything)

And Haricot Verts. ( Which is french for green bean :) )

An all around yummy experience.

All for now... eat well...be well.

Strawberry Thyme gin and tonic with fresh lime

Ok...new drink

Here is the recipe

Take 2-3 twigs of fresh thyme and remove the leaves from the stems
combine with the below ingredients before you muddle.

**Muddle: is to crush with a spoon or an actual muddler I recommend a wooden one

Muddle 4 slices of lime
2-3 fresh chopped strawberries

w/ a teaspoon of sugar along with the thyme

Add and and ounce and half of your fav Gin
Shake in a shaker with a few cubes of ice
Poor mixture into a glass ( do not strain it..you want the chunks)
Add more ice and top the drink with tonic
Garnish with a whole strawberry and twig of Thyme.

Enjoy!
You can make this in bulk as well...but don't add the ice or tonic till you are going to serve it. It will bruise (water down) the alcohol. :)

Anger and Wine

Yes.
First let me apologize for the crap you are about to read. I take responsibility and will regret it later. I promise.

That being said the wine I recommend to drink when you are having a lot of feelings...like me is MOLLY DOOKER 2 left feet.

This wine is a blend of 65% Shiraz, 19% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine is a masterful blend. Bursting with exuberant fruit and a complex aromatic nose, this wine shows lovely integrated hints of vanilla oak and multitude of flavors ranging from spice, chocolate and blackberry fruit. Both powerful and delightful, this wine exudes all three varietal characters in a strong and harmonious way.

Ok on to the feelings....

again apologies

I'm soooo dangerous. Watch out.
Also this if you haven't noticed is verbal vomit from my head...which may I add is about to explode. Which perhaps may be a good thing since I recently have lost the will to give a flying fuck....or maybe it has been beaten out of me? Hmmmm something to ponder....
Other things to ponder...Theatre. These days I think I may have had more luck being a stripper. Being treated like crap and making a shit ton of money seems to be a better solution then my current one.
Reminder: I am suppose to love this.
HA. What i'd love right now a large bottle of wine and gun.
Instead I'll watch New Moon and cry.

Bad at blogging

I have been lacking in the blogging...I will be better. Promise.