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Chef’s Table Dinner

Lisa — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:23:32 +0000

Last Tuesday at Mosiac Cafe was a fabulous 7 course Chef’s Table dinner featuring the culinary creations of Executive Chef David Gundrum. Here is a run down of that amazing dinner: Tuna Tartare Nicoise with preserved lemon, tomatoes, spun egg, micro greens and oregano viniagrette, the tuna was tender and the preserved lemon added a nice tang. Next was the Snapper Soup with ground veal, spinach, hard boiled egg whites, ground snapper turtle, onions and sherry, a unique and delicious combination of flavors. The salad course was a fruity Caribbean Shrimp Salad with grilled shrimp, mango, papaya and jicama with a coconut, key lime, vanilla viniagrette — YUM! Homemade mango sorbet was served as palate cleanser before we got down and dirty with entrees. First up for the 3 entrees was the Blood Orange Butterscotch Duck with Sweet Potato Puree, I believe this dish speaks for itself, the sauce was heavenly on the sweet potatoes as well as the duck, I want to eat this every Sunday in the fall! Second entree, not to be outshined by the first was the Pork Flat Iron with Beer Barbeque and Goat Cheese Grits, the Flat Iron was a unique cut of meat that I have not heard of before, shaped more like a London Broil yet tender, the beer bbq sauce had no ketchup or brown sugar in it — more like a beer pan gravy, I loved it. The grits were the perfect partner, even Lee, my table neighbor who had never had them liked them, hats off to Chef Dave! Last, but not least of the entrees was the Lollipop Lamb Chops with Smashed New Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus and Rosemary Mint Sauce. You can’t go wrong when pairing these ingredients together, cooked perfectly, chops medium rare, asparagus crisp tender and the rosemary mint sauce was suttle, not over powering… mmmmmmmm. Now for the Grand Finale, something my Mom used to always make in the summer time when strawberries were in season: Strawberry Shortcake with homemade shortcakes, tender, flaky, a little bit sweet, strawberries marinated in a little sugar and orange liquer and to top it off, homemade real whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar. It was so delicious, that if there hadn’t been a room full of people I would have licked my plate. Bravo Chef David!!!!

Mosiac Cafe is considering doing more Chef’s Table dinners approximately every 6 weeks, so stay tuned or visit their Facebook page and let them know you’re interested in attending a future dinner. The cost for this first dinner was $30 per person, you can bring your own wine, Mosiac provides water, soda, tea and coffee.

Mosiac Cafe, 237 Seneca Street, Oil City (814) 676-4773 Mon. – Tues. 11am – 4pm, Wed. 11am – 7pm, Thurs. – Sat. 11am – 8pm

Pink Champagne Cupcakery

Lisa — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:33:07 +0000

Mmmmmmm

Pink champagne and cupcakes — what a great idea! I’m thinking I might steal this idea for a future Girls Night Out. If you haven’t been to the Pink Champagne Cupcakery in downtown Franklin you must put it on your list of things to try, you won’t be disappointed. The original flavors are baked on-site and always moist and delicious!

I think I’ve been there about a dozen times and I’ve tried a least a dozen flavors, chocolate chipotle, mango habanero, orange creamsicle, rose pistachio, apple cinnamon, lavender, oreo cookie… you get the idea. The flavors are endless and can be found daily on their facebook page. The charming decor and friendly faces make for a comfortable place to enjoy your cupcake and maybe a steamer, green tea or coffee. Stop in and try a cupcake, mini or biggie, I dare you to eat just one! PCC is located at 1252 Liberty Street and open Monday thru Saturday 8am – 5:30pm.

Mosiac Cafe

Lisa — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:35:27 +0000

If you’re looking for a fun, funky, new and delicious place to eat, this is the place. Mary Morgan, a local Oil City artist, her husband and chef son, opened a new cafe on Seneca Street on the northside of Oil City. They bought the old Slackers bar and have made it a great place to eat.

John and I went last Friday with our dear friends Leslie and Sonja for their soon to be famous Friday Fish Fry. The fish is hand battered and made to order, not that frozen stuff. I particularly liked their coleslaw, wonderful, housemade with green and purple cabbage and if I’m not mistaken a little sour cream in it, not heavily laden with mayo or miracle whip. I had a double order.

Another reason to go on Friday nights is the open mike night. When we were there we were serenaded by a couple of guys, one playing guitar and one playing violin. AND even better…. it’s a BYO… bring your own wine or beer. Nice!!! Also, they make homemade beignets, think donuts with powdered sugar, hot and DEElicious – YUM! Give them a try. They will be closed on Memorial Day. We’ll see you there soon!

Happy 6th of May!

Lisa — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:59:42 +0000

I was going to type that in Spanish but wasn’t sure how to spell 6 in Spanish (seis??). Anyhoo, yesterday was BEAUTIFUL!!! I miss that blue sky already, does anyone know where it went? Well, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the newly re-opened El Toro Restaurant in Seneca and found it to be a definite improvement over the previous owners, with a new menu and fresher tasting food. I had Camerones a la Mexicana and John had a Steak Burrito. They are currently waiting for their liquor license so we took ours to go and made margaritas at home, on the rocks with salt of course. The place still looks the same on the outside and inside but it looks like they have plans for a nice bar area — we’ll keep you posted (pun intended!).

I found the following recipe in Cooking Light’s May 2011 issue and thought it sounded interesting so I made it and took it to work yesterday. Strawberries are in season and this is a fresh take on traditional salsa. Here’s my version of it:

Strawberry Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

2 tsp canola oil
6 (6 inch) whole wheat tortillas
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe avocados
1 generous cup finely chopped strawberries
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp of honey (or more to taste)
1 tsp minced hot pepper (jalapeno, serrano, habanero)
1 tbsp minced shallot or red onion
2 tsp fresh lime juice
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Brush oil evenly on 1 side only of tortilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. To prepare salsa, mix avocado, strawberries, cilantro, shallot and hot pepper in a medium bowl. Drizzle lime juice and honey over mixture and stir gently. Serve with chips.

My thoughts on this: it was well received by my co-workers but some people weren’t impressed with the cinnamon chips with the salsa. We found the salsa tasted better with regular chips but the cinnamon chips were great on their own. Give it a try and tell us what you think! (Photo courtesy of Cooking Light)

What to do, what to do

Lisa — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:39:24 +0000

Even though we are of a certain age and we have no children, every year since we have known each other my husband and I color easter eggs. Its a creative outlet and face it … it’s fun!! When I was a kid the Easter Bunny hid the hard boiled eggs we decorated in the house, not the plastic ones the kids excitedly race around looking for outside in the yard these days. One year, we didn’t find them all and the Easter Bunny couldn’t remember where that last one was hidden… after a few days our noses helped us find it.

So, what to do with all of those eggs, of course egg salad, deviled eggs and peeled, with a little salt is always a delicious alternative. Another idea is pickled eggs. I had never heard of pickled eggs until I moved to Pittsburgh from Michigan 15 years ago. Such a thing did not exist. I had been a little leery of trying them until I had a shrimp salad at Leonardo’s in downtown Franklin with pickled egg wedges in it — delicious! Try this recipe from my co-worker Chris, you won’t be disappointed.

PICKLED EGGS

3 dozen peeled hard boiled eggs
5 cans (14 oz.) sliced beets
4 c. cider vinegar
2 c. sugar

Heat beets, vinegar & sugar to a boil, heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot mixture over eggs in a heat proof container. Refrigerate once the mixture has cooled down a bit. The eggs will be ready in 2-3 days.

Enjoy!

Your vote counts!

Lisa — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:32:02 +0000

garlic, glorious garlic!

Lisa — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Sonja's inaugural salad

In honor of our Franklin Foodie extending an invitation to join her I decided that I must begin with garlic. Especially as I was making my own “garlic kebabs” last week to help overcome an infection.

When it was cold, I was roasting my kebabs in the fire. Now, weather’s warming. And garlic can be eaten raw, of course. But when it’s roasted? That’s delicious and it doesn’t need to be roasted in an oven.

I use an old frying pan which I’ve been using for years. I use it only to roast garlic so it’s become a bit blackened over time. That’s OK as I have a particular affinity for this ol’ skillet!

I place unskinned garlic cloves – often a whole bulb or two of garlic – in the skillet over a medium high heat. After 10 minutes or so the skin begins to blacken and mmmm, I can smell garlic. After that, it can be anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes until a clove is soft to the touch.

awesome (garlic)

These 9 cloves came from a single bulb. After they blackened, I let them cool. Careful! I guess you can tell from the stains on the skillet just exactly how many times I’ve forgotten about them … so setting a timer’s a good idea! After peeling off the skin, I may trim them up, or cut them in half. They are a great accompaniment to most any salad, a great bar snack and an all around general nibble! As spinach is peeking up also, here’s a recipe for wilted spinach (sorry, no photo!). Add roasted garlic – even plumped cranberries – if you need more suggestions, just ask

Wilted spinach

Clean and dry spinach leaves & place in a nonstick skillet, either moistened with olive oil (& garlic?) or not. Medium heat. Stir often & remove from the heat just after the leaves begin to wilt and before they’re soggy – generally within 3-5 minutes.

Here’s to our Franklin Foodie

I thank you for the invitation to join you ~ and I raise my glass, of herbal tea of course! to an exciting adventure!

Leslie

Leslie@RestorationHerbs.com

Spring has sprung…

Lisa — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:12:26 +0000

Daffy-dills

Finally!!! Spring is a time for growth, a time for renewal and a good time to get back to this blog. Exciting changes are coming, new posts and contributing authors. Along with Restoration Herbs we will be bringing you the best of the best. Stay tuned!

Winter is officially here…

Lisa — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:31:21 +0000

I’ve overheard people saying it didn’t feel like the holidays should be here already. Well with the mild temps we had up until recently, I felt the same way… until yesterday!! Now, I’m in a rush, slurping down the last of the Thanksgiving leftover turkey noodle soup and trying to figure what Christmas cookies I’m going to start baking and what ingredients I need to have on hand for party dips and appetizers. And I haven’t started my present buying either. It’s official…. I’ve got lots to do!!

Stay tuned for holiday recipes and doings in the area. I’ve gotta run, I smell cookies burning…

Last man standing

Lisa — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:45:24 +0000

I look out at my garden, it’s sitting at rest, rejuvenating itself for next years crop, but there is one plant still standing, bravely battling the elements and ready to provide flavor for fall’s earthy and hearty dishes (such as butternut squash ravioli with browned butter & fried sage and of course that glorious roasted bird on thanksgiving day), my beautiful, wise and fragrant variegated sage.

I know it’s been awhile, we’ve been through some trying times, but I’m back now. I hope you’ll keep coming back and checking on new posts, recipes and listings of the many tasty things that are going on in our area.

Cheers!