A Weekend of Eating

I haven't got any pictures to go with this, but my parents were here last weekend. That meant lots of eating out.

It started with dinner at Dadeo on Friday. It's one of my favourite restaurants in Edmonton, conveniently on Whyte Ave. The decor is diner style and they serve Louisiana-style Cajun and creole food. To be honest I can't speak to its authenticity, only its tastiness. I'm no expert. My mother had been there once before along with Albert and I. She enjoyed it then. It was my father's first time at the restaurant despite numerous recommendations. I think he had something against its small size and interesting decor.

Instead of the usual bread, they serve small biscuits with pepper jelly. It's always a tasty start to the meal.

I knew exactly what I wanted to order: pulled-pork po'boy with sweet potato fries. It's probably my favourite, although I do enjoy other options. But it had been a while, and the sandwich called to me. A hearty portion of juicy, falling apart pork, in a lightly spiced pork juicy sauce is sandwiched in a soft white roll with mayo and lettuce. The roll is a delicious sponge for the meat juices. It's pretty much the perfect meat sandwich. The fries are a masterpiece on their own. I knew I had to get them despite how rich and huge they would make my meal, just so my parents could try them off my plate. Enjoy them they did. Lightly battered and seasoned, topped with chopped green onion and served with a mayo based dip, they're the ultimate in fries. Between the three of us, we ate all that was on my plate. It also had a bit of coleslaw but wasn't really a fiesta of vegetables.

My mother decided to order the shrimps creole served on white rice. It was perhaps a slightly lighter option. I didn't taste it, but she seemed to enjoy it and cleared her plate.

My father wanted jambalaya. I convinced him to get the Combo Dadeo so he would get the meaty bayou jambalaya along with blackened chicken and beans. The jambalaya was chock full of assorted meats like Andouille sausage, shrimp, and ham. But, what he couldn't stop talking about was how good the beans were. I knew he'd like them since he's a bean-aholic along with me. They're the reason I knew he should have the combo and not straight jambalaya. The beans are red kidney beans in a spicy sauce with onion. They're really good.

The next meal out was lunch on Saturday, which we had at Cafe Select. I've mentioned it before, so I just have a couple of comments. My father again had the bistro burger, which he says he likes because it tastes like real meat like the burgers he makes. It's served with their shoestring fries. My mother and I had grilled vegetable sandwiches also served with the fries. I found them a bit limp and oily, but I still ate quite a few. The sandwiches also came with spinach salad, which was nice but not really remarkable. The sandwiches though were really good. They had a heap of hot, grilled vegetables--zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers--along with good white cheddar cheese and a red spread that was tasty. They had to be held together with a toothpick containing a huge green olive, which was a nice touch. It was a really good sandwich on a nice whole wheat kaiser. A tad messy though, with so many delicious veggies some fell out. All in all it was a good lunch.

Later that afternoon, we went to Leva for gelato/sorbet. I discovered that my Peach-Apricot treat was actually a dairy free sorbet. My mom enjoyed a single pina colada sorbet--she's extremely lactose intolerant. I think she really liked being able to eat something that looked like ice cream and didn't have a weird soy taste. My father and I had double gelatos. His was pistachio and hazelnut. Mine was pistachio and maple walnut. The gelato was excellent, the two flavours were a nice contrast and nothing was an unnatural colour. It has a lighter texture than the sorbet but is unsurprisingly creamier. Either gelato or sorbet is a good choice. But, only sorbet is a good choice for my mom.

We actually had two other meals out, but I think I'll post about them later to give them my full attention. You can look forward to hearing about Wild Tangerine and another meal at Murrieta's. Both were really good.

Highlights (not) For Children

Last week I was in the mood for a burger. Serendipitously, my friend Ryan brought over a patty for a turkey cacciatore burger a la Rachel Ray. I think it must be this recipe, although I don't know what substitutions were made and it was served on a bun--a whole wheat kaiser as shown below. I'm not going to get into the merits or sins against food of Rachel Ray. All I'm going to say is that with mustard, sauteed mushrooms, spinach and tomato this was a tasty burger. I absolutely love mushrooms with burgers. It's freaking awesome and if you don't agree you're crazy. It may also have stopped me noticing the chopped veggies in the burger and the fact that it was made of turkey. As for the bun, I think a whole wheat kaiser is really good for a burger. There's not too much bread and I like the texture. Thanks for the burger Ryan!Now I want to mention one of my comfort foods. Fried eggs on toast:
I used to eat a variation on this for breakfast on weekends pretty often as a kid. I used to require Cheese Whiz, an egg, and ketchup or salsa on a toasted slice of bread. On my own, I come up with some variations that might be a little more grown up. This one has ham under the egg, black pepper on it, and some shaved Romano cheese on top. The key to all of this is a runny yolk, you can't beat it. I eat this with a knife and fork by the way. If it were French I suppose it would be a tartine.

For a weekend meal, I cooked a rainbow trout--complete with head. It was okay, but really needed the lime juice I squeezed on it. I think I overcooked it slightly. I did eat the meat from it's cheeks though and it was particularly succulent. . . as I think fish cheeks are supposed to be. My side dish of roasted new nugget potatoes was awesome though. I made them based on Heidi Swanson's recipe for Black Pepper and Lime Oven Fries. They look pretty nice below:I didn't really measure anything and I forgot the cheese on the ones above--but they were still delicious. A sprinkling of Romano was a nice touch though once I remembered. Anyways, the chili and black pepper flavouring was good. To be honest, I think the nugget potatoes were so good that they would have made great oven fries no matter what I seasoned them with. There was just so much potato goodness.

To finish up this post, I want to talk about some damn good poultry. You might have thought I only like pork, but I also adore dark meat chicken. That's right: DARK meat. Not white, not what's in Chicken McNuggets (the gold standard for nutrition). My dad will not buy chicken thighs. But when he eats them, he seems to like it. Anyways, I've been using chicken thigh meat that I cook myself for my sandwiches with blue cheese and mustard. Pretty much any cheese would be good on the sandwich though. I used to love turkey, cheddar and mustard sandwiches. Anyways, to make the chicken I brown skinned thighs well. This step looks delish below:

When the chicken is well browned I add some chicken broth made with bullion 'cause I'm a cheater until the chicken is partially covered. Then I simmer the chicken until it's tender, about half an hour. I think this may count as braising. Finally, I take the meat off the bone and shred it. I froze some of the meat for future sandwiches and it seems to keep well. Sandwiches with this chicken are awesome because there's so much real chicken flavour and texture. The liquid left over seems intensely chickeny and I saves some for a possible future risotto in the freezer.

Another great use for chicken thighs is chicken curry. It starts with browned skinned (but bone in) chicken thighs but lots of veggies an seasoning go in as well. This one has carrot, onion, ginger, curry powder, chicken broth, and spinach. I kind of make it up as I go along. I think it's important not to be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. Chicken curry is a warming, filling, and satisfying meal with some rice.