Corned Beef and Cabbage!

Last Sunday for St. Patrick's day my mother made corned beef and cabbage for dinner. My friends and I had went to the city for the parade and pub crawl on the actual holiday so she made it for me the following day. We usually have this meal once or twice a year around St. Patrick's day. This time she made it differently then she usually would. She started it early in the morning in a crock-pot and let it slow cook all day. This makes the corned beef very tender and flavorful.
She added cut up potatoes and carrots into the pot along with the corned beef to add as a side to the meal. About an hour before the meal was finished she added the cabbage that way it wasn't overcooked.
This way of preparing this meal is by far my favorite. If you love this meal as much as I do then I would highly recommend buying yourself a crock-pot if you don't already own one and try cooking corned beef this way.

-DV

New Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell

This week has been a very hectic week for me.  From running around to award ceremonies for my brother and sister, to working late nights, it has been hard to have nice home-cooked meal this week.  The closest I could get was some leftover spaghetti and meatballs.  But this did give me the opportunity to try the new Doritos Locos Taco at Taco Bell.  I'm sure you have heard of it by now, or even seen the commercial, (if not I left the video below) but it is Taco Bells' new Taco wrapped in a Doritos hard shell.  I was eager to try it since I am a huge fan of Doritos (and Taco Bell).  At first bite it was very good but the shell itself didn't hold up at all.  I am used to the hard shells falling apart on me but this one was way too delicate.  Overall it was very messy and although it tasted pretty good, I wasn't too happy with it.  Maybe if they change the shell to be a little stronger I would give it another go.  I would still recommend giving it a try if you like Doritos, maybe you will get better luck than i did.
--JD--

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

It was my fiancee's birthday on Monday. We made a cheesecake for the first time! It came out amazingly. I used a recipe from AllRecipe.com (as I always do) only substituting a freshly made crust I used a premade Oreo pie crust (because I'm poor and can barely afford to pay for my Kia Rio).
Heres the Recipe I used:

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.               

I encourage everyone to try this recipe!

-RC

The Olive Garden Special

Over the weekend I went to the olive garden with my family.  They were running a special where you can get a 3 course dinner for $13.  I started off with the chicken and gnocchi which is a creamy soup with roasted chicken, Italian dumplings and spinach.  Normally when I go to the olive garden, I get pasta e fagioli but I decided to go with something a little different.  The soup was very good and I was glad I decided to get it.  For my entrée I got the creamy parmesan portobello mushroom fettuccine.  It was a creamy parmesan sauce with roasted mushrooms, topped with garlic breadcrumbs, served over fettuccine.  Overall I was happy with the entrée, the sauce was very flavorful, but they put on too much mushrooms for my liking.  I would definitely get it again, but next time I would ask for fewer mushrooms.  Like every entrée at the olive garden, it filled me up pretty quickly but I saved room for the third course, the dessert.  For dessert I got the dark chocolate cake, which was covered in chocolate mousse and caramel cream, topped with chocolate curls.  This is a must have for anyone who loves dark chocolate and caramel.

I would definitely recommend going to the olive garden before this special ends.  A three course meal for $13 is a steal.  The prices are great, the food is good, and the service is quick and friendly.

--JD--

(3-14-2012) PI DAY!

In honor of Pi Pie day we will be giving our followers a delicious banana cream pie recipe from Allrecipes.com! I have an app on my phone and use this site for all of my baking/cooking needs. It has a wide range of user-made recipes with special twists and unique yumminess.
Today we will post a pie made by Ruby Pfeffer.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
2. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
3. Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for an hour.

Thanks for the great recipe Ruby!

-RC

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-cream-pie-i/

Imperia Pasta Machine

For Christmas I bought my mother an Imperia pasta making machine as well as a rack to hang dry the pasta after. She has been talking about buying herself one for a while and never did. A few weeks ago she decided to use it for the first time. I was impressed on how well the pasta came out. She made spaghetti for the time. It came out great although some strands were thicker then others. I enjoyed the meal very much and it was more filling then I had expected.

The pasta reminded me of the pasta I had when I went on vacation to Italy. After it was done I asked how she felt about the pasta maker and she replied that she loved it and was a fun experience and can't wait  to use it again.
                               

So for anyone who loves to cook and loves pasta I highly recommend this product. Be sure to be willing to put the time and effort in.

-DV-

Crazy Friday Sushi Roll

Being a resident of Oceanside I'm able to have experienced amazing sushi from Masago, a Neo Asian Fusion restaurant. They opened around six months ago and still have 50% off everything on the menu except kitchen entrees (30%) or lunch specials (15%). Without the discounts on the sushi the store would be pricey.

Tonight I had a Crazy Friday roll, which had shrimp tempura, spicy lobster, avocado, and fish eggs. It was tasty, the avocado had a funny texture to it, but avocado always has a funny taste. Over all I rate it a 9/10.

-RC

Homemade Omelet

This morning I woke up unusually hungry.  I opened my fridge and was happy to see that I had all the ingredients to make an omelet, so i figured why not give it a try.  I chopped up a little bit of onions, green peppers, and some of the leftover ham.  First I heated up the ham for a few seconds in the microwave and put that aside.  I scrambled the three eggs in a bowl then threw it in the pan on low heat.  After the eggs started to cook, i added the ham, onions, peppers and some shredded mozzarella cheese then folded the omelet into a half circle shape.  I added a little salt and pepper and kept the omelet on the heat until the egg was completely cooked.  The result was surprisingly better than expected.  Nothing is more satisfying in the morning than a homemade omelet and a cup of coffee.
--JD--

Harrah's Breakfast Buffet

Over the weekend I went on a trip to Atlantic city with my girlfriend and some friends. Saturday morning before we left to come home we stopped at the breakfast buffet at Harrah's resort. They had a large selection of different breakfast foods. They were also serving lunch as well. The food was relatively reasonable and they had a lot to choose from. The cost of the buffet was $26 which seemed reasonable.

Although I did not enjoy the quality of the food as much as I would have liked, it was much better then the last breakfast buffet I went to the last time being in Atlantic city which was at Caesars resort. When I went to Caesars, I was extremely disappointed with the buffet and felt I had wasted my money. The food was horrible and on top of that some of it was cold. I do not expect much from buffets but that experience was absolutely horrendous.
 --DV--

Indian Ice Cream

This weekend I was muscled into going to a fundraiser by my family. The event took place at Diya Lounge in Rockville Center. It was an Indian restaurant with mediocre food, as I am not partial to Indian food myself the food lacked flavor. And I found out that mystery meat I ate with all the bones was goat, yes so I've finally had goat...not great. But one dessert really excited me.

Indian Ice Cream (as the waiter described it). These little frozen cubes of creamy goodness practically flew off the table. And after waiting for ten minutes at the head of the line I was finally able to try it out. This had to have been the best item they had here, at least from what was on the buffet (not trying to make them lose business). It tasted like almond flavored ice cream. Not terribly exciting but very good nonetheless.
If you ever go to Diya Lounge please order the ice cream.

-RC