Our First Food Festival

Hello!  It's been a while!  I apologize for not updating more frequently.  Unfortunately, I started a new job last year that has taken a lot of my time and Schmambs has gone back to school, so that has left little opportunity for us to get together to get together and cook like we used to.  Instead, I've been left to my own devices to forage for food.  And by forage, I mean live on take-out.  Although I have mastered an amazing Minestrone soup, which one of these days I'll have to post for y'all.  

However, in anticipation of the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival that Schmambs and I are planning on attending next Sunday, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to start the blog up again.  For those of you who aren't local, Phantom Gourmet holds a food festival near Fenway Park where they shut down the street and local vendors come and give out samples of what they have to offer.  It is a foodie's heaven.  I'll admit, last year, we tackled the food festival like amateurs.  We fasted before the festival, thinking we would have room for more food.  (We ended up getting full a lot quicker because of this error.)  We allowed ourselves to be pushed out of the way by other festival goers who were too impatient to wait in line, even though, everyone was going to get their free samples.  We didn't bring purses big enough to stuff all the take-home freebies.  The list goes on.  Now that we have one festival under our belt, we know how to handle ourselves this year.  Schmambs is taller and more intimidating so her job is to keep people at bay while I utilize my short stubby legs to dash in and grab our samples.  We hope that we will have a lot more success this year and able to hit a lot more vendor booths this way.

We didn't realize how big the event was until we walked through the entrance gate and we were greeted with this sight.  You literally had to shove people out of the way to get to where you wanted to go.  If I learned anything at all, it's that you should never get between people and free food.  Doing so could lead to a utter chaos, which at times, we experienced.

It's not fair that we keep all the delicious foods that we tried to ourselves, so today, I share our awesome finds with you.

This was one of the first items we tried.  It was shrimp in some type of sauce.  Unfortunately, with so many vendors, I forgot to take notes on where it was from.  This year, I will be bringing a notebook with me to keep track and therefore be able to tell you where to venture to get a chance to taste some of this stuff yourself!

Meatball and sauce from Teresa's Italian Eatery in Middleton, MA.  It was good, but it's nothing I would write home about.  In all honesty, I prefer Schmambs' homemade meatballs.  And I'm not just saying that because she's my best friend.  I can taste the love that went into making them in hers.  There was no love in this meatball.  Just mass production in an effort to advertise and hopefully get new patrons in their restaurant.

Chicken finger from the Chicken Connection in Haverhill, MA.  I would advise you to stay away from here.  It was soggy and kind of bland.  I don't know if it was because they had been sitting under their tent for a bit before it ended up in my hands, but I wasn't impressed.  I'd actually rather go to KFC and get myself some original recipe chicken strips.  But to be fair, I'm also not a huge fan of breaded chicken.

Sal's Homemade Potato Chips produced out of Bolton, MA.  I am a salty person and absolutely love potato chips.  These chips were phenomenal.  Since we were at a food festival with fresh hot food, these chips ended up coming home with me once all the other food had a chance to settle in my belly.  I was a little upset that I hadn't grabbed a couple more bags when we were there.  They are not like the chips you would find in your average bag of Lay's Potato Chips.  These are crunchy and a bit on the saltier side.  I've found them at a local store near my job and have purchased on a few occasions.  The price point is a bit high for the amount of chips you get, but well worth it.  It's the price you pay for "gourmet", I guess.

Now, this was a fabulous find.  Prior to the festival, I had glanced over the list of vendors that were expected on-site and when I saw these guys, I thought they were going to have actual cheesecakes.  You know, like the sweet stuff made of cream cheese and topped with cavity inducing sweet treats.  Boy, was I wrong!  And for once, I was okay with being wrong.  This is a bacon & clam cheesecake from Wicked Kickin' Savory Cheesecakes in New Bedford, MA.  Think of it as being quiche-like with a TON of flavor.  Plus there's bacon in it, and we all know how I feel about bacon.  I don't see them on the list of this year's vendors, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will somehow magically show up and maybe give me a cheesecake to myself.

This was a nice twist on guacamole.  Mediterranean Guacamole from Mezcal's Tequila Cantina in Worcester, MA.  They threw in a little sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.  Schmambs and I love a good guac and this was out of this world.  We're not terribly far from Worcester and we've been talking about taking a trip down for a Foodie Road Trip, but due to our schedules, it hasn't happened yet.  One of these days...

Lemon Sherbetter made by Gaga.  A creamy ice cream-like sherbert.  That's the best way I can explain this.  In a festival where most of the food we were trying was hot or room temperature, this was a nice treat. I've never seen this product in stores, but then again, I haven't been looking.  I don't need an ice cream that is "better" for me.  I'll stick to my Haagen Dazs thankyouverymuch.

Who doesn't love a good chicken pot pie?  It's ultimate comfort food, right?  Well, the chicken pot pie's I've eaten in the past include a lot more than just gravy and carrots.  This is a sample of the Chicken Pot Pie's you can pick up at Harrow's Chicken Pies in Medford, Reading, Saugus, and Tewskbury, MA.  This batch had just been cooked so it was nice and hot, but look at it!  The only color you have is the orange from the carrots.  I like more veggies in my pies.  Give me some peas!  Maybe some celery for texture!  Heck, I've had some pies that have had small cubes of potatoes in it!  This was just disappointing.  I'll take it if it's free, but I don't think I'd spend money or effort to go and purchase one of my own.

You can bet everyone was taking advantage of these freebies.  Grilled clams from Summer Shack in Boston.  I'm not a seafood eater, so this was all Schmambs.  For a freebie, they really put effort in their presentation.  Schmambs said they were succulent and delicious as well as the chorizo, bean, and corn salad that accompanied the clams.  They'll be there again this year and maybe I'll be adventurous and give them a shot.  Otherwise, I don't think I deserve the title of "Foodie" if I'm not willing to step out of my comfort zone.  Plus, it was at Summer Shack a couple of years ago that I tried Alaskan King Crab legs for the first time and realized they are one of the most amazing things in the land of seafood.  

This may not look like much.  It's BBQ Chicken Salad from the All Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge, MA.  I think these guys should've taken some pointers from Summer Shack!  I tasted more bread than I did chicken salad.  I'm not a fan of traditional chicken salad (mayo and I have a weird relationship) so this was a nice spin on a traditional dish.  

Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich.  I don't remember who the vendor was, but it was all right.  I am not a fan of fresh mozzarella, so this didn't do much for my taste buds.  I think I took one bite and dumped the rest because it was between holding on to it and snacking on it or picking up the next intriguing dish at the next booth.

Doesn't this look delicious?  Don't get too excited.  Looks can be deceiving.  Shot Cakes in Burlington, MA was offering their Red Velvet Ice Cream Cupcake.  Well, there was no ice cream as far as I could tell.  It seemed like they pumped them with icing which ended up giving me a bit of a toothache.  The cake part was yummu, but the fact that I don't get dental insurance with my job would be an issue if I chose to indulge in more than one of these at any given time.

This chowdah inspired our first ever Foodie Road Trip.  Have you ever tried something that you can't get it off your mind for days after?  Clam Chowdah from Cabby Shack in Plymouth, MA is probably the BEST clam chowdah I have EVER tasted.  No joke.  It is stick to your spoon thick and c'mon, they drizzle some butter on top of each and every bowl.  It hadn't even been 72 hours after the festival that Schmambs and I made an impulsive decision to drive down to Plymouth about an hour and a half away (on a work day) all for a simple bowl of chowdah.  If that doesn't convince you that this is a must try, I don't know what will.

Do you like sweet potato fries?  I like them when they are cooked right and are crispy.  These BBC Sweet Potato fries from Boston Burger Company in Boston and Somerville, MA were neither.  They tossed them in a sweet cinnamon syrupy type concoction made them soggy, which is why a fork was required to eat them.  Even Schmambs who usually likes sweet potato fries couldn't handle them and they ended up in the garbage.  Pass!

I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for food.  I think I've mentioned that in previous posts (see Schmanksgiving Eggrolls) so I was excited for this Thanksgiving Sandwich from Diblasi's Cold Cut Center in Everett, MA.  It's your basic Thanksgiving sandwich that you can get a a variety of places.  There wasn't anything that made this stand out from others that I have tried, but it was still pretty tasty.  Plus, Thanksgiving in September...how do you go wrong?  Answer.  You don't.

Have you heard of this new franchise called Cheeseboy?  They make grilled cheese to go.  This is their Tomato and Basil sandwich and it is scrumptious.  Schmambs is an excellent cook so she is able to recreate this at home, but those who lack cooking skills, like yours truly, rely on places as fabulous as Cheeseboy.  The only thing missing was some hot tomato soup to dunk this sucker in.  Lucky for us, they opened one in our local mall and we often find ourselves eating there, not just for the food, but the fun of watching them run the bread through these rollers to butter them up.  Good times.

Island Oasis has some of the best frozen mixed drinks out there.  This Strawberry Daiquiri was super refreshing since there weren't many beverage tents and you had to pay for anything you wanted to drink.  The only thing that would've made this better was if they had added some alcohol in it.  It was a 21+ event, so I don't know why they didn't.  Come on Island Oasis!  Spoil us a little!

This was the perfect dish to end our first food festival experience.  Beer battered mozzarella stick with sauce from Jacob Wirth Restaurant in Boston.  Some mozzarella sticks you get out there taste like breaded string cheese and the breading is soggy by the time it reaches your mouth.  Maybe they don't cook it long enough or it's the wrong kind of breading.  These mozzarella sticks were crispy on the outside and oh so gooey on the inside.  I don't know if it was because it was super fresh or because the people at Jacob Wirth just know what they're doing, but man oh man.  Hats off to the chef!

It looks like this year we'll be experiencing some of the same foods and some different foods as well.  We'll be sure to take tons of pics of everything, so stay tuned.

Chicken with Provencal Sauce

I lived in New Jersey for six years.  While I was living there, when I wasn't ordering take-out, I was attempting to improve my cooking skills to make me more desirable to a future mate.  I even joined an online recipe swap and thru that, a dinner group.  While the dinner group didn't exactly work out (the other ladies in the group were on a far more advanced level than I), I continued to try and master dishes in the privacy of my own home.  My then-boyfriend happily played the part of guinea pig as a home-cooked meal was very rare in our house.  There was one recipe that I continually tried to perfect.  I'm not sure if it was because I knew I could cook it successfully, even if it didn't turn out exactly the way the recipe described it, or because Herbes de Provence ain't cheap and I was determined to finish the bottle, but when I made chicken, this is what I made.

Fast forward a few years.  I've watched a lot more Food Network cooking shows.  I know more things now.  I also have my own personal chef, Schmambs, who has also taught me a thing or two.  The other day, while in the grocery store, Schmambs asks me what she should make for dinner that week.  I suggested tacos.  She vetoed.  I suggested key lime pie.  She told me that wasn't a dinner food.  I got distracted and started talking about carrots.  Distraction is a good thing.  Next thing I knew, I blurted out that I would cook something.  "You??  What are you going to cook??", Schmambs scoffed.  "Chicken with Provencal sauce!"  After a bit more teasing, it was decided that I would give Schmambs a break from dinner and I would cook for us.  Pretty much one of the only things I know how to cook.  And not even that well.  This was our adventure.

The first step would be to trim the chicken breasts to make sure you get rid of the extra flab & fat.  Since these were regular sized breasts, the recipe required the meat be pounded to a ½ inch thickness.  I used to bypass that step by buying the thin sliced chicken breasts.  Having experienced the meat mallet and the awesomeness of being able to whack meat with no boundaries, I don't think I'll ever bypass this step again.

After your chicken breasts have been smooshed enough, season them evenly with salt and pepper.  As you can see, some of the chicken breasts ended up much bigger than others.  Looks like that's a skill I still have to work on perfecting.  

Once the chicken breasts are seasoned, toss them in a non-stick skillet with some olive oil.  Our skillet could only fit three pieces at a time.  And because I was unsuccessful at getting them thin enough, we had to throw the cover over the skillet to ensure that each breast would be cooked thoroughly and safe for consumption.  After we finished cooking the chicken, we threw them in the oven to keep them warm while we made the sauce.

Now, the sauce has always given me problems.  No matter how many times I followed the recipe, the sauce always came out very runny and very broth-like.  As mentioned before, I have watched a lot more Food Network shows since I lived in New Jersey.  And I now know what a roux is and how it can help with whatever dish you might be making.  Schmambs and I have used it for Baked Mac & Cheese in the past.  As an idea on how to make the sauce thicker, we decided to try a roux and make the sauce a little differently than I had previously.  

The recipe says to cook a clove of minced garlic in the skillet before adding the chicken broth and Herbes de Provence.  We cheated and used pre-minced garlic from a jar.  After the garlic cooked for a minute, we added the butter (typically added into the sauce as the last step), and flour to make a garlic roux.  While we didn't really know the ratios, Schmambs just kept sprinkling flour into the skillet until it became a paste-like consistency. When the roux was finished, we added chicken boullion cubes and 2 cups of water and the Herbes de Provence.  We doubled the sauce measurements because I always felt like there wasn't enough when I made it.  We wanted to make sure everyone had enough.  Better to be over than under, I always say!

The sauce turned out to be a huge success.  After bringing the sauce to a boil and making sure the roux was mixed in completely, the sauce seemed to thicken as we continued to let it cook.  It had the consistency of an alfredo sauce and twice the flavor.  I would highly recommend trying the thicker version as it makes it feel like you are enjoying an accompanying sauce rather than having chicken rice soup on a plate.  We decided to pair the chicken on top of rice with a side of boiled spinach.  Makes for a very delicious meal!

Chicken with Provencal Sauce

adapted from the recipe by Lyn Corsale

* 4  - 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

* ¼ tsp salt

* ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

* 1 ½ tbsp olive oil

* 1 garlic clove minced

* 1 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth

* 1 ½ tsp dried herbes de Provence

* 1 tsp butter

* 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

* 2 tsp flour

* fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap, pound to ½ inch thickness using a meat mallet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken, cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.  You can place heat your oven to 200 degrees, if desired.  Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute stirring constantly.  Scrape pan to loosen browned bits.  Add butter to skillet and wait until butter has melted.  Sprinkle in flour until mixture is a paste consistency.  Add broth and herbes de Provence and bring to a boil.  Cook until broth mixture begins to thicken (about 3-5 minutes).  Remove from heat and add lemon juice.  Serve sauce over chicken.  Garnish with thyme sprigs in desired.

Buffalo Chicken Wings (Schmambs Style)

Sunday means one thing during the fall.  Football.  On game days, I head on over to my best friend's house where we watch the game, we knit, and she fills my belly with delicious foods.  One of the "regulars" that she makes pretty much every week is Buffalo Wings.  I've had them at restaurants.  I've had them at bars.  I've had them frozen from the supermarket.  But there is something about homemade wings that just hits the spot.  

Usually by the time I get to la casa de Schmambs, she has already taken care of the seasoning aspect of the wings.  A little salt.  A little pepper.  A couple of seasonings.  Toss the wings in flour and let them sit for a minimum of one (1) hour in the fridge.  They really won't look like much when you take them out to prepare them for the cooking process.  

I'll admit, it's probably not the healthiest snack out there, but I rationalize that I'm only eating it once a week, so what's the harm.  Of course, when you start doing the math, it kinda adds up, but let's just enjoy the "now" and not worry about the "later".  The first thing you want to do is to heat the oil in your deep fryer, or in our case, a large skillet, to 350 degrees.  

Once the oil reached the right temperature, Schmambs added the chicken using tongs that could withstand the extremely hot oil.  Once the chicken was in, the waiting game began.  The total cooking time is about 15 minutes, turning the wings over at the halfway mark.  

While we waited for the first batch of wings to cook, we got started on the sauce.  I never realized how easy it was to make sauce.  I always imagined it required a bunch of different spices and liquids to make it just the right consistency and spiciness.   Schmambs gave me the job of being her sous chef.  I thought she was putting a lot of faith in me not to mess the recipe up.  Then I saw the ingredients.  Frank's® Hot Sauce and 3/4 of a stick of butter.  Looked easy enough.

               

I continued to stir the sauce periodically while Schmambs removed the chicken wings from the oil and let them drain a bit on paper towels.  Even without being sauced, the wings looked delish.  I am not really a fan of breaded chicken, so I liked that the flour gave it a very thin outer crunchy coating without being overwhelming. And of course, the last part of making this appetizer is tossing the wings with the sauce.  With a side of Bleu Cheese dressing (personally, I prefer Ranch, but they only have Bleu Cheese at la casa de Schmambs so I make do) and it's the perfect thing to nom on while watching the game.

Served with a Smile

Buffalo Chicken Wings (Schmambs Style):

* ~3 lbs chicken wings

* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
* Salt and Pepper

* 1/2 Cup Flour (Enough to lightly coat the wings)

* 3-4 Cups Oil for Frying

* 1 Cup Frank's® Hot Sauce

* 3/4 Stick of Butter

* Dip of your choice (Bleu Cheese or Ranch Dressing/Sour Cream)

Take chicken wings out of the package and season with garlic powder, cayenne powder, salt and pepper.  After properly seasoned, toss wings in the flour so that wings are lightly coated.  Let it sit in the fridge for one (1) hour.  Heat up oil in skillet or deep fryer to 350 degrees.  Once oil reaches desired temperature, place chicken in oil carefully.  Cook for 15 minutes turning wings over halfway.  While chicken is cooking, combine butter and Frank's® in a saucepan and mix until butter is melted.  Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels.  Combine chicken wings with sauce and serve with dipping sauce.  Accompany with celery sticks if desired.