The Blandy Experience

post from Family Foodie Survival Guide on 07 May 2011 09:16:00 PM. © Family Foodie Survival Guide

The man of the house arrived back from a conference in NYC at 2 am, the twins had to be at school for a band trip at 6 am, but the morning dawned clear and crisp. What should the adults do with their gift of a day? After a few more hours of shut eye, [...]

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Saturday Market

post from The Spamwise Chronicles on 07 May 2011 06:22:15 PM. © The Spamwise Chronicles

“Through winter-time we call on spring, And through the spring on summer call, And when abounding hedges ring Declare that winter’s best of all; And after that there’s nothing good Because the spring-time has not come….” –William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), from The Wheel Asparagus Asparagus. At extreme right are some green onions. Kale Pea shoots [...]

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Sunday Brunch at Red Stripe

post from Adventures In Rhode Island Dining on 07 May 2011 06:21:25 PM. © Adventures In Rhode Island Dining

     If you have been reading my blog regularly, you know Sunday brunch is one of my favorite parts of the week. Recently I've been cooking it myself, and Sunday breakfast at home usually consists of Kona coffee, scrambled eggs slowly cooked with butter and Boursin cheese, crisp, thick-cut bacon, and toast from a loaf of Pain D'Avignon White Bread. Every now and then, however, I like do go out for brunch in Providence. My favorite places like Nick's on Broadway and Julian's are often very crowded and have an hour wait. When you?re hungry and badly needing coffee, you want a place that can seat you immediately. One place I like but tend to overlook is Red Stripe in Wayland Square. There's never a wait, the staff is friendly, and the food is usually pretty good. I have blogged about Red Stripe before, (you can search on "Ladies Who Lunch?) and this past Sunday, we decided to go back for brunch after ignoring it for a year.
     Brunch at Red Stripe is very laid back and casual. Many students from the local colleges are often there with visiting families from out of town. The menu is well-priced and varied, including both breakfast and lunch items. Their "Hangover Burger" is topped with a fried egg and bacon, and you can add a Bloody Mary for just $6. I?ve noticed most diners order the morning cocktails like Bloody Marys and Mimosas, and they probably helps the college students who had a few too many beers the night before!
     One of my pet peeves about going out for breakfast is when the coffee tastes like dirty dish water. I don't care how much money you save by serving Nescafe, it?s showing zero respect for your guests. The coffee at Red Stripe is very good and served piping hot. Our waiter was always quick to refill our mugs, which was good because they were seriously tiny mugs.
     I was in the mood for hash, so I ordered the Poached Eggs over BBQ Pork Hash with Homemade Salsa. The dish was served in layers. The top layer was poached eggs with homemade salsa. The eggs were cooked well - maybe a tad undercooked but I prefer that to overdone. The homemade salsa was very good, although a slightly larger portion would have gone a long way. The second layer was the BBQ pork, which was tender and flavorful. The bottom layer was shredded vegetables. It took me a few minutes to place why I didn't enjoy this part of the dish. The flavoring was faintly sweet and out of sync with the rest of the dish ? maybe orange zest? I also didn't love the texture of the vegetables, but it might have been because they were slightly undercooked. On the side, I was served two slices of grilled toast (which was cold, another pet peeve), and a huge portion of Lyonnaise potatoes. The potatoes were really good and flavorful.
Poached Egss Over BBQ Pork Hash     My friend is a big fan of Eggs Benedict, and when she saw Lobster Benedict on the menu, she couldn't resist. She asked the waiter if it was good, and he said customer's always gave it good feedback, but he hadn?t tried it himself because lobster isn't included in the employee discount. (Side note: Seriously Red Stripe ? your staff doesn?t get to use their discount on lobster dishes??!!) The lobster in this dish was plentiful (I?d guess the meat of a whole lobster), tender and not fishy tasting. Bridget was happy with the amount of Hollandaise Sauce and liked the flavorful herbs which provided a welcome addition to the rich sauce. The Lobster Benedict was also served with an enormous portion of Lyonnaise Potatoes, more than any one person should be able to eat. She loved this dish and would definitely order it again.
Lobster Benedict     I recommend Red Stripe for brunch. The food is good, the service is pleasant, and the prices are right. Once the warm weather rolls around, you can even eat outside. As we left and walked by La Laiterie, we thought how amazing brunch would be there. I bet the lines would be long, but I?m sure it would be worth the wait! I'm always looking for brunch recommendations, so please leave some for me in the comments section!

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Kids Lunch Box Ideas

post from Melanie Cooks on 07 May 2011 03:30:47 PM. © Melanie Cooks

Have you kids started school or preschool? Do your kids need to take lunch to school in lunch boxes? Are you running out of kids lunch box ideas? Do your kids complain about what you pack in their lunch boxes? … Continue reading →

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Eggplant with Lentils (Mercimekli Patlcan)

post from Turkish Food Passion on 07 May 2011 11:20:35 AM. © Turkish Food Passion

Summer time is a great time for the rich selection of fresh vegetables. My refrigerator is always stocked with eggplants, green peppers and tomatoes during the summer months when they are in season since these three vegetables are frequently used in Turkish cooking. Of the three vegetables, the eggplant is a star vegetable as the main ingredient in Turkey since it produces so many different varieties of delicious recipes. And the tomato and pepper just go perfectly with it.

I have already shared a few eggplant recipes on my blog and here is another one. Different people in Turkey make this recipe differently but they all taste good at the end. Many slice the eggplant and stew it with the rest of the ingredients. My approach is similar to ?imam bay?ld?? recipe where the eggplant is still attached at the top but cut into fourths in the bottom. My mother makes it both ways so I tried this version first.

If you?re looking for a nutritious and succulent meal, this works perfectly. With pilaf and yogurt on the side, it tastes even better.

6 medium eggplants
4 medium tomatoes (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
½ cup brown lentils (soaked overnight)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
¼ medium onion or small shallot (chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 tbsp tomato paste
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 cup water

Wash the eggplants, cut the stems and peel them in stripes (about 1 inch stripes). They will have one purple stripe and one yellowish (the peeled part) stripe. Slit the eggplant lengthwise in 4 pieces without detaching the top portion. The eggplant should have four long pieces that are attached at the stem. Fry the eggplants partially in the olive oil (less than 2 minutes). Remove and set aside.

Add onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until translucent. Add the soaked lentils, chopped tomatoes, green pepper, salt, black pepper, red pepper paste, tomato paste and stir. Simmer covered for 15 minutes on low heat until the lentils are slightly soft.

Add the partially fried eggplants back to the pot along with the water. Stir well to make sure the ingredients are incorporated into the eggplant. Cook for 30-40 minutes on low heat. Serve with rice pilaf and plain yogurt.

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-mercimekli.html

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Now I Gotta Call More People In For This Shit!

post from So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager... on 07 May 2011 09:19:50 AM. © So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager...

We have a large social church group in today that ends at 5pm tonight. That's great 'cause it gives me plenty of time to flip the ballroom for Mother's Day tomorrow.
I have my housemen all set with tomorrow's floor plan since we closed-out the seating and it should be an easy flip.
A few minutes ago that fabulous "Sales Chick" comes by, yes she's here this early today, and says that the social group today wants to delay the start of the the event by 1 hour to give them more time to get back here from the church. Now since I know the history of this group since they have been here 2 times before and that really means 2 hours not one.
Then when we try to get them outta the room it takes another hour or so 'cause they move as slow as shit.
Bottom line is that I know they won't be outta the ballroom until around 8pm tonight I can bet the house on this. So now I need to call my pm housemen and change their call-times or they will be sitting around with nothing to do waiting for these slow-pokes. Plus I probably will need another guy on as well.
Just the kind of shit I need before Mother's Day...
Enjoy your day with your mom. Hope she enjoys it too.

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-people-in-for.html

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Fajita Avenue

post from Ya Salam Cooking on 07 May 2011 08:46:00 AM. © Ya Salam Cooking

Fajita Avenue
Dabab St., Suleimania
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Tel. No. 01-464-4999u

My family and I live near Fajita Avenue so we were excited when a new Mexican restaurant was opening up. You see Mexican food is one of my most loved cuisines that the world has to offer. The decor of Fajita Avenue is nice and modern. The service is pretty good as well. Unfortunately the food is not that great. We ordered the nachos you see above for an appetizer and I was completely repulsed when I found out that was ketchup squirted all over the top. The chips were dry and stale on top of that. When the main course of mixed fajitas came I was still hoping for the best but the meat was extremely over cooked and dry. And they brought us two tortillas for a family fajita meal. I absolutely hate to keep asking for a tortilla every time we want to make a fajita. Sadly, the fajitas at ApplesBee's which is an American restaurant is MUCH better. No way, would I visit this establishment again until they get some REAL Mexican recipes and cooks that actually know how to cook.

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Pre-mothers day dinner at Kuretake Japanese
RestaurantFood tripping

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How to prepare black fungus and wood ears
mushroomsIn my kitchen

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Greek Food Gazette 07/05/2011

This week’s photo was sent in by Magda of the Greek food blog, My Little Ex-Pat Kitchen. Magda showcases some delicious Greek dishes, brought to life by her excellent photos and warming stories. As always, send your favourite photos from Greece[...]

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