Puerto Rican Cuisine Done Right: La Isla Restaurant Review

Posted by Monica Edwards Categories: Dinner, Lunch, Restaurants, Product Reviews, America, Carribean, Tropical

Over the years, my husband and I have eaten at a lot of restaurants, I hesitate to say hundreds because it makes it sound like I never cook at home, but I would not be surprised if it were true. We love food. From shopping for quality ingredients, to preparation, and execution of a great dish. It is all so fascinating, not to mention delicious if said recipe turns out as it was intended. So in order to share my love or hate for a particular restaurant, I will be reviewing these establishments now and then so that the everyday person can go in knowing what to expect and what to order and what not to order should you walk away in disgust.

Today, I will be writing about one of my favorite restaurants in the Seattle area, La Isla, located in Ballard. It is not the easiest place to get to as far as easy freeway access, but so worth the drive. I love Puerto Rican food, as my husband does, and we don’t have any other restaurants in this area, for that matter anywhere in this region that we have heard of that offers the dishes that one must have to call themselves an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant. Why is that I wonder? I hope many more will open in this area following in the footsteps of La Isla, but they will have big shoes to fill.

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Contest: MUG Root Beer Giveaway

Posted by Jenny Lewis Categories: Dinner, Features, Site Announcements, Holiday Cooking, Summer Cooking, Condiments, Soda, Barbecuing, Grilling

We’re less than a week out from Father’s day, and I can smell the charcoal already. While some may head out to a nice steakhouse for a special dinner for Dad, tons of us will be gathered around a grill doing it ourselves. My friends at Mug Root Beer want to help make all of this summer’s BBQs a culinary triumph for you.

From today until Sunday at 8:00 PM Eastern, comment on this entry about your most memorable “Dad” moment. Did your dad show up to the aforementioned steakhouse in a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops? Maybe your friend’s dad stepped in to save the day when a road trip went bad, or your uncle’s BBQ went up in a blaze of meat glory. I want to hear about it! I’ll be choosing five of the most memorable BBQ stories that you all share and the winners will each receive a prize pack, containing the fantastic recipe for MUG Root Beer Southern Specialty Brew-B-Q sauce (and the sauce is awesome - I was given a copy of the recipe and made some last night) and all of the ingredients to boot, in an insulated MUG bag with a MUG apron.

Lay’em on me guys - I want to hear your Dad stories!

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Recipe: Chicken Souvlaki Salad with Dressing

Posted by Jenny Lewis Categories: Dinner, Lunch, Quick Meals, Recipes, Summer Cooking, Poultry, Salad, Vegetables, Mediterranean

At home one night with plenty of nicely marinated chicken but no pita to be found, I had an epiphany - if souvlaki is basically an undressed Greek salad with chicken on a pita, why couldn’t I eat it as a DRESSED Greek salad with chicken without a pita? And thus my new summer standby meal was born - the chicken souvlaki salad. This recipe will feed two very well and leave four wanting more (I suggest getting some baklava for dessert).

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 5 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 head of Romaine lettuce or 2 hearts of Romaine
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and de-seeded
• 2 Tablespoons crumbled Feta cheese

Preparation:
Mix the marinade. Reserve half to dress the salad, and combine the other half in a zipper bag with the chicken. Marinate the chicken for 4 to 24 hours.

Grill (or saute) the marinated chicken breasts. Slice thinly. Prepare the salad vegetables. Top with the chicken and cheese, then the reserved vinaigrette. If you’re feeling really saucy, you can use tzaziki as a dressing instead of the reserved half of the vinaigrette. Or you could just use both.

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Cinco de Mayo Dinner: Mexican rice recipe

Posted by Jenny Lewis Categories: Dinner, Holiday Cooking, Kitchen Gadgets, Recipes, Grains, Boiling, Parties

Hopefully you didn’t fill up too much on dips and drinks, because I believe I have a beauty of an entree idea and a gadget that is perfectly matched.

“Make your own…” bars are super fun, and incorporating them into a party is always a hit - everyone gets exactly what they want.  And a Cinco de Mayo taco bar couldn’t be more awesome! Get yourself a meat or two, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, radishes, and some leftover guacamole and pico de gallo, set them all out in bowls with a stack of warmed tortillas for soft tacos and a stack of taco shells. And I recently made the life-changing discovery of these taco plates that keep your tacos upright and your ingredients safely inside the shells.

So what’s to serve with the tacos?

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Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Posted by Jenny Lewis Categories: Dinner, Summer Cooking, Condiments, Meat, Pork, Poultry, Vegetables, Vegetarian, South America, Barbecuing, Grilling

How’s the weather, everyone? Summer made its debut in my neighborhood over the weekend, which means one thing: GRILLING. And lots of it. And one of the very best condiments for a nicely grilled piece of meat is definitely chimichurri. Originating in Argentina, chimichurri is a vibrantly hued sauce that is packed full of flavor, and as a bonus in the warm weather, it doesn’t require an iota of heat to make!

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Preparation:
In a food processor, chop the garlic. Add the red pepper, parsley and cilantro and process until the herbs are finely chopped. Add the cumin, salt, olive oil and vinegar. Pulse until the mixture has emulsified and the sauce is bright green. Serve immediately on whatever you just took off the grill.

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Video: Diddy on KFC vs. Popeye’s fried chicken

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dishes, Product Reviews, Poultry, America

Just leave it to Diddy, hip-hop star, fashion mogul, and leader of Bad Boy Records, to bring such a scientific experiment into the forefront of our minds. Why the final word between KFC’s fried chicken and that of Popeye’s has taken so long to be settled is beyond me, but we need to thank the heavens above that Diddy was able to bring this important issue into light.

Now we won’t ruin the results, but we will say that we have to agree with his assessment that says KFC mashed potatoes and gravy beat Popeye’s version, while Popeye’s beans destroy those of KFC. But really, this is all about the chicken, is it not? Hit the video above for the results - we’ve kept you waiting long enough.

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Recipe: Coconut Crunchy Shrimp

Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Appetizers, Dinner, How To, Quick Meals, Recipes, Summer Cooking, Shellfish, America, Carribean, Broiling

Yesterday in Chicago the weather was sunny and 65… in the middle of February!  It was spectacular.  I was inspired by the warm weather to create something that reminded me of summer or my favorite warm weather place, the Caribbean. 

The first time I ever tried coconut shrimp was at a restaurant I worked at in college.  They fried them up and served with a sweet plum sauce.  I absolutely loved them and ordered them almost every shift I worked.  My version requires no frying and it so easy and quick to make.  I also borrowed a great broiling technique from Ellie Krieger from the Foodnetwork, which works every time.

Some people say they are not fans of the texture of coconut, which I can kind of understand.  A great tip for flaky coconut is to throw it in the blender or food processor before using, this helps the coconut blend in well with the breading. I did not do this as me and Husband love coconut in any form.

Prep Time : About 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (this just makes life easier)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut, I used sweetened and used a heaping 1/2 cup
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 egg whites
3/4 panko crumbs (japanes style breadcrumbs, found in almost every grocery store in the Asian section)
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder (which is a milder chili powder)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Nonstick cooking spray

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Recipe: Panko Crusted Salmon

Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Cuisine, Fish, Meal Time, Dinner, Lunch, Preparation, Broiling, Specials, How To, Quick Meals, Recipes

One of my favorite, recent creations is a light, alternative to fried fish that is easy but still packs a ton of flavor. Panko Crusted Salmon is a great go-to meal during the week that literally takes maybe 20 minutes to prepare and broil. In this recipe, I used Norwegian Salmon, mostly because it always looks so great at the seafood counter but also because the flavor is amazing. Most fish would work with this recipe but it is perfectly matched with Salmon.

Panko is the Japanese term for bread crumbs and in my opinion creates a much crunchier, crispier crust on anything. If you are looking for a better alternative to bread crumbs, panko is by far the way to go. They are light and flaky and can be used for toppings on casseroles or even filler to crab cakes (it can really replace anything requiring bread crumbs). I love panko crusted seafood but have also used these delicious, airy crumbs to crust chicken and pork chops. Panko can absorb seasoning well (as they are rather bland alone) and don’t make foods heavy like bread crumbs usually do. Panko is perfect when you want a crunch without frying and can be found at most grocery stores and all Asian specialty stores.

Panko Crusted Salmon
Serves 4
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 Salmon Fillets (6 oz each)
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1 Tbs Rosemary chopped finely
1 Tbs Parsley chopped finely
Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup panko crumbs
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges

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Recipe: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Cuisine, Cheese, Fish, Shellfish, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dishes, Comfort Food, How To, Product Reviews, Recipes, America

As a Foodnetwork addict I am constantly experimenting with great recipes from from my favorite shows.  On Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on an episode entitled “Pot luck challenge”, Jan Birnbaum, chef and restaurateur, caught my eye with an upscale, hearty mac n’ cheese.

The original recipe called for shrimp, which I was all about, but after visiting the seafood counter at Whole Foods, husband and I couldn’t resist the lobster meat (shrimp vs. lobster? no contest). So we splurged justifying that this would be our Superbowl Sunday feast.

Here is my adaptation of Jan’s recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 box medium shell pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup tasso ham or bacon (I used bacon)
• 5 large shallots, minced
• 1 clove garlic, mined
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white wine (see review below)
• 2 cups cream
• 1 cup grated fontina
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar (I prefer mild but sharp would be great too)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 6-8 oz lobster meat cut up in good bite size chunks (we bought the precooked tub at the seafood counter)
• 2 cups gently packed spinach
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• Hot pepper sauce, to taste (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs ( I used panko, my new favorite thing)
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley leave

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Recipe: Avocado Salad Wraps

Posted by Jenny Lewis Categories: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dishes, Quick Meals, Recipes, Summer Cooking, Fruit, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian

It’s summer, and the food lobe of my brain turns to one thing when the weather starts warming up - avocados. Being on the East Coast, avocados are definitely my favorite summertime-only indulgence, and they are well worth the wait in all of their forms. Another recipe from Clean Eating magazine, these Avocado Salad Wraps are fantastic as a light lunch or, when paired with some bread or tortillas, a stove-free dinner on a hot day.

Ingredients:

• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 1 medium ripe avocado, diced
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped into pieces the same size as the avocado
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• lime juice (optional)
• 4 big lettuce leaves (romaine works great)

Preparation:
Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. If the wraps aren’t going to be eaten right away, toss some lime juice into the bowl with the salad.

Divide the salad between the 4 lettuce leaves, wrap and enjoy!  Or, if you’re like me, eschew the lettuce altogether and eat the salad straight out of the bowl.

Read More | Clean Eating Magazine

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