Arrzo con Chorizo

Cook chorizo

Dice onions

Add onions and mild green chilies to par-cooked chorizo

Finish cooking thoroughly

Serve on rice and enjoy

Confessions of the Over Anxious

My sister's bridal shower is just days away (well a week away) and we're going full force on finalizing the menu. So far I have settled on two cupcakes - Mexican Hot Chocolate and the Lemon filled Angel food cupcakes...but I just haven't been 100% happy with having only two options. I've been searching for a third. A non-chocolate and non-fruit cupcake. 

A few weeks ago I came across a Cinnamon Maple French Toast Cupcake on the Cupcake Blog. However, they just show pictures (no recipes) - so I Googled to see what I could find. I did find a number of websites (surprisingly many with either cream cheese frosting or incorporated bacon into the mix somehow). Needless to say I just wasn't all that excited.

After browsing a few recipes I thought that it seemed simple enough - basically a cinnamon spice cake and a maple extract infused buttercream and we'd be good....wrong. 

Last night I was a little over anxious to try them out (remember I only have a week until the party). I used a box instead of from scratch (and it was a little too over spiced) and didn't have maple extract so I used a little syrup instead. As of last night they were very yummy but super sticky. I stuck them in the fridge hoping they'd firm up some....we'll see what happens.

Sadness. 

Recipe: Smoky Fried Chickpeas

Smoky Fried Chickpeas by Aliwaks

"If you were to put out a bowl of these crunchy, smoky, spicy little nuggets at a cocktail party, it's likely they'd be gone in under five minutes. Aliwaks has taken an already brilliant idea (fried chickpeas with smoked paprika) and run with it. You also fry strips of lemon zest, fresh thyme leaves and later thinly sliced garlic to mix with the chickpeas, paprika and salt. This leads to an array of crispy little bursts of flavor, each more fragrant than the last. Do be careful while frying (use a splatter screen if you have one), and make sure the chickpeas are as dry as you can get them. It's worth a little experimenting to find a brand of chickpeas that spit less while frying but still stay tender in the middle. - A&M"

"I was making a sort of Spanish/Moroccan Moorish sort of dinner for friends one night, and was looking for something small and spicy and crunchy to serve with drinks I thought I had almonds, but had run out but I did have a can of chickpeas..and inspiration struck."

Serves enough for 4

2 large cans chickpeas

1 cup Olive Oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest, strips

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 coarse salt to taste

4 pieces garlic, sliced

1. Drain Chickpeas and set on paper towels over a colander to dry thoroughly (can be done 1 day in advance).

2. Heat oil in large pan (preferably cast iron) to 355 or until oil makes bubbles around 1 chickpea.

3. Add lemon zest, thyme sprig, chickpeas in batches so pan doesn't crowd fry about 5 minutes until crunchy color & changes.

4. Remove from oil, drain well over colander/sieve, add garlic, fry till golden.

5. Toss with smoked paprika & salt, add more if necessary.

Serve warm.

Cupcakes: Round 1 (Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting)

I've been in search of a delicious, unusual, fantastical, four-star original cupcake recipe. And in the chocolate category...I think we may have found a winner. 

Now there is nothing wrong with a plain chocolate cupcake with either chocolate or vanilla frosting. It's an oldie but a goodie for a reason. 

I was looking for something to spice that up a little. Take the "ordinary" to the "extraordinary". 

During the Christmas holidays I make a Mexican Hot Chocolate cookie. Chocolate with a hint of black pepper, chili powder and cinnamon. So I thought "Why not a cupcake?"

And since I've promised to share the "winners" with people here's the "recipe" as it were. 

*     *     *

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 box Chocolate Fudge cake mix
1 1/3 cup coffee*
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
3 eggs*
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

(* Denotes measurements instructed on the box. Follow your cake mix recipe but substitute coffee for any water)

1) Combine cake mix and all spices - blend thoroughly

2) Add coffee and oil

3) Add eggs, one at a time - mixing well in between

4) Fill cupcake papers 2/3 of the way full (I use an ice cream scoop so they come out equal)

5) Bake 20 minutes - or until toothpick comes out clean

While cupcakes are baking beat 2 teaspoons of cinnamon into white vanilla frosting (yes, I used store-bought). 

Once cupcakes have cooled completely - frost with cinnamon icing and decorate as you please (I used a light dusting of cinnamon on top). 

*     *     *

So far all of my "taste-testers" (aka family) love them and agree these are the winning Chocolate cupcakes!

Review: Tasty n Sons

Tasty n Sons is located in NE Portland, in the Mississippi neighborhood,
was recommended to me by a co-worker.

I had a friend coming in from out of town
and we went the first morning she was here.

The building is small and narrow.
The tables are close together to give the family dining feel
(plates are served family style).

We sat at the Chef's Bar which I love. Getting to see the cooks in action and the food created is such a joy!

It took me a while but I had to get a picture of this
KGB hat on one of the line chefs.

We didn't have any but what a great name!

Belladonna!? Doesn't sound like a cocktail I'll be trying anytime soon.

We did however try both the Chocolate Potato Doughnut
and the Griddled Bacon Wrapped Dates

The doughnut was so fresh and hot it steamed when we split it in two. 
The outside was a hard crackling shell and inside just moist and fluffy.

I had read some not-so-good reviews about these Dates
(someone got an unpitted one) but these were so yummy.
I love dates, bacon, almonds and maple syrup - why not combine them?

Because this was a special indulgence foodie weekend we had to try as many dishes as we could fit into our stomachs. So we also ordered the Auntie Paula's French Toast and the Moroccan Chicken Hash.

No syrup needed with a maple infused whipped cream!

We finished the meal off with the Hash.
It was slightly spicy and had wonderful flavors.
Nice way to neutralize the sweetness of the French Toast.

There was no room for dessert but I thought
I'd take a picture of the menu anyway.

So if you're ever in Portland and in the NE side looking for something yummy to share (or keep to yourself) I highly recommend Tasty n Sons. http://www.tastynsons.com/

Review: Portland Epicurean Walking Tour

So I thought it only fitting that my first blog entry (outside of my welcome) should be one that hits on all kinds of food - salty, sweet, bitter, savory - all the points. 

About three months ago I went on an Epicurean Walking Tour with my coworkers as a staff development and team building exercise. (I'm lucky to work in an office full of foodies and food enthusiasts.) Portland Walking Tours has a number of tours (including a Chocolate Decadence Tour I'll write about later) and as a staff we figured what better way to bond than to eat together!

The tour started off at the historic Heathman Hotel in Downtown Portland; we met upstairs on the mezzanine level, in the library, where we met our tour guide Brad and headed downstairs. The first stop on our Epicurean Tour was to be Cacao - famous for their drinking chocolate.

Yes. Drinking Chocolate.  

We're not talking instant Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix....we're talking a thick, milk fatty enriched, creamy shot of heaven. Sure they have truffles and chocolate bars lining the walls but everyone who goes in there goes for the drinking chocolate. (In fact if any of my staff finds themselves in downtown during the work day, we often stop by and pick up a round of drinking chocolate for each other). They have a dark chocolate, milk chocolate and a spicy chocolate (think Mexican Hot Chocolate). I've only tried the dark and milk and prefer the dark chocolate...but boy do I want to try the Spicy next time I'm there.

We listened to some history of cacao, the process of chocolate making and how the purity percentage is determined. After our tour group (comprised of my 5-member staff, a young couple from New York, two older couples from the Mid-west somewhere and a Mom who was visiting Portland to see her son off to college) had finished drinking, lapping and savoring every drop of our hot drinking chocolate we took off to our next stop.

Brad, who we learned during the trip has a degree in Anthropology and is an improv actor, led our group through the streets of downtown stopping and giving tidbits of history along the way. 

After strolling through the Park Blocks we ended up at Jaimeson Square Fountain and at the door of Flying Elephants Deli. We were given a sample cup of an orange soup and asked to guess what it was. The group started tasting and guessing aloud what might or might not be in it. In the end we were told it was a tomato orange soup - one of Flying Elephants most popular soups.

From there we traveled up and down, side to side, all around downtown Portland.... 

 

...We stopped at Public Domain and sampled a variety of high-quality (and $30/lb) coffee where we tasted the bitterness of the beans but the floral sensation in the back of our throats depending on the brew...We did a salt tasting at Tea and Spice Exchange where I learned you could infuse salt with flavor (omg the smoked black salt!? to die for!)... Sampled a wide aray of beers at Bailey's Taproom...and had a Reuben Sandwich with fresh homemade potato chips from The Peoples' Sandwich of Portland

There were two stops along our Tasting Tour that challenged me and allowed me to cross an item off my Portland Bucket List! The location(s)....FOOD CARTS!!

I shamefully admit that I had the prejudicial view that food carts = Roach-Coach. Although I've watched Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Andrew Zimmeran's Bizzare Foods and have from foodie after foodie that food carts often have the best food - I just couldn't bring myself to do it prior to this tour. 

Something about having my food prepared in the back of a tin storage shed on wheels....BUT on my tour I learned how the city of Portland hold's their food carts to the same standards that any regular restaurant is expected to uphold and that often times the food carts get better reviews/ratings.

So when we approached Zita's Pitas and I was handed a börek and (after a photo op to prove I did it) I dived in. Now I'm not a huge fan of spinach and egg but I ate it anyway. And I have to admit it wasn't that bad.

Portland has a number of Food Cart Pods and eventually I found myself at another cart being expected to look past the bad reputation and stereotypes and dig into (one of my favorite dishes) a warm delicious falafel that just rocked my world!! It was warm and fluffy and just melted in my mouth. My falafel's never get that delicate and I could have eaten every last one if they'd let me.

This tour was wonderful for knocking items off my bucket list - including things I never thought to have on my list...liking eating a raw oyster. 

After the Peoples' Sandwich of Portland we wondered further into Old Town and ended up at Dan & Louis Oyster Bar Restaurant. We toured the building, talked about being Shanghaied and then were offered a plate of oysters on the half shell. 

Now I'm not afraid of eating raw oysters but the only other experience I had was when a roommate in college ate HUGE oysters out of a jar with hot sauce...not an appetizing first encounter.

I did as the others before me did. I squired a little lemon on it and used the tiny cocktail fork to put it in my mouth. Boy was I glad when my boss (who was taking pictures of me during this) quickly warned "don't chew!"....so I swallowed it hole. It tasted like the lemon juice I had put on it. She then said how typically when  you chew a raw oyster you get sand and grainy dirt in your mouth and ruins the experience. So what's the point of eating the oyster? I'm still not sure. But I can say I did it.

The last stop on our tour was a place I'd gone many times before. Voodoo Doughnuts.

They've been featured on a number of Food Network shows and Travel Channel programs. They're famous for their unique and peculiar doughnut concoctions. How about Oreo's or Fruity Pebbles on top of your doughnut? How about a maple bar topped with bacon strips? They once even had Pepto-Bismol and NyQuil shots in the center of a doughnut (until the FDA told them they weren't allowed to do that).  It's a staple food stop for tourists and locals alike. (just get their early before the line goes out the door and around the block).

I ended my Epicurean Walking Tour with the Oreo covered yeast doughnut. Luckily the tour was 2 1/2 hours long and we nibbled as we went so ending with a heavy and (too) sweet pastry didn't put me into a coma. It was 2 1/2 hours of delicious (and some not so much) food and better yet - wonderful company.