Surf and Turf

A few months ago, I found a shop that gives free surf lessons on Sunday mornings. Since then, I've gone four times, but been to only two lessons. Why, you ask? well weather's a bitch, and so's not having the car. As you can probably guess by the lack of posts, I don't eat as much "fast food" as I might like, for health and financial reasons (even though at these prices, it's mostly about health). That's why I decided that I would have to work for this next junk food experience. I decided that in order for me to finally eat at "Steak n' Shake" I'd have to first work it off at a surf lesson. Now, that's fine, cause I love surfing (almost as much as I love eating), but how do you eat when there just isn't a lesson!?!?! week after week the lesson was either canceled ahead of time, or was canceled after I got up really early, drove to the spot, only to find out that it was canceled. Last Sunday it finally happened! All the stars aligned, the lesson was scheduled and actually took place, finally, I had earned my keep!! lunch of shakes, fries and burgers at 11:00AM (It's not my fault the lesson ended at 10:30).
















I ordered the Guacamole double Steakburger- (Two hot-off-the-grill Steakburgers with cheese on a toasted bun and your choice of toppings. Includes fresh, made-from-scratch guacamole, cilantro, squeezed lemons and limes and spicy chipotle mayo. The Guacamole Steakburger is served with our famous thin 'n crispy fries) and a Mint cookies N' cream milkshake (A blast of cool mint with chunky cookie pieces makes this hand-dipped milk shake irresistible. The Mint Cookies ‘n Cream Milk Shake is topped with fresh whipped cream and a cherry).
























The shake arrived first, and I must admit I was pretty intimidated when it arrived. It was BIG. REALLY BIG. It was also good. REALLY GOOD. I love anything with mint, chocolate and mint together being a personal favorite, so this shake was good! I was a bit surprised (and a bit relieved due to the also unexpected size of the shake) when the burger arrived, because it was much smaller than I assumed it would be (as most food in this country is soooooo BIG). The fries were thin cut crispy and delicious.



















As for the Steakburger, you could taste the Guacamole was fresh, a really tasty burger. the only thing that was missing was Mayo, which I'm known to be addicted to. All in all it wasn't too much food, although I think next time I might skip the shake and focus on the steak.
Surf's UP!!!!!!!!

Mambo Italiano

It was my wife's birthday on Tuesday and we were supposed to go out for sushi to celebrate. In the end we decided to get get some good ol' pizza. We looked online on URBANSPOON and found 'Tomasso's Pizza & Subs' as a good "local". We called up a few other 'locals', and non of them deliver to our area (including Tomasso's), so in the end we decided to go to THEM. and boy, were we happy we did.


















we ordered a 14" "The carnivore" pizza, a "A succulent combination of pepperoni, sausage, meatball, and bacon", a small (it was NOT small) "Ricotta & Mozzarella Cheese CALZONE", and
two Cannoli.


















The pizza was an absolutely amazing, thin crust pie with just the right amount of toppings. My mom bakes the best pizzas at home, making everything from scratch and used to even have the pizza brick in the oven (she used it so much that it eventually cracked from the heat).


















We also used to occasionally make Calzones as well, but this Calzone was something different. It had that 'WOW' factor to it, and it came with a side of Marinara sauce that took it even further.


















I've always dreamed of trying 'Cannoli', but never had where to acquire the 'goods' from. These Cannoli are god's (or the atheist version of that) gift to the Italians and the world. There's a scene in the godfather (that was redone on "Anthony bourdain: no reservfations") when someone is taken to be executed and after he's been "taken care of" they say "leave the gun, take the Cannoli".



















I guess Sushi will have to wait till next time.

We Have Falafel

There's an Israeli song, about what each nation eats, you know, the french eat frogs, the Italian pasta, the Chinese eat rice.... AND WE HAVE FALAFEL. I know I've been really bad with my "BLOG-ual engagements" and haven't written anything in a while. Today Im making as you might have guessed, Falafel! Non of those prepacked mix bags that you just add water. It's all from scratch.

















A few different items come together to make a "manat falafel", a serving of falafel. You have the falafel balls, the salad, the Tahini and the pita bread that hold all that good stuff together.
the salad is a basic tomato, cucumber, onion and pickle salad with a bit of olive oil drizzled on.























As for the Tahini, I buy raw Tahini from an israeli shop down the road. I find it very ironic that the Tahini they sell is from Lebanon! Only in America. Or England. Well, I guess only anywhere that isn't Israel. Or Lebanon. Anyway, I mix the Tahini with some chopped garlic, lemon juice, a bit of water (according to preference) and some salt, all mixed in really well till you get a smooth consistency.
















For the Falafel itself we use a special spoon that Resembles an ice cream scoop but is specially for Falafel. This time I tried something new, I made lots of pre-fried balls in advance and froze them for a few minutes, to speed up the time it takes to dispense and fry sooooooo many balls. It worked great, and "only" took around two hours to fry all the mix. After the Falafel is ready, put a few balls in a pita, followed by some salad and tahini, then more falafel, salad and repeat.

















For the Falafel mix:

1/2 kg chickpeas

2 cups chopped parsley

1 cup chopped coriander (cilantro)

1 large onion chopped

5 garlic cloves crushed

Fresh Green chili (to taste)

1 table spoon baking soda (bi carbonate of soda)

1/2 table spoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Oil for deep frying

Method of preparation:

Rinse chickpeas and soak over night with 1/2 of the baking soda

Rinse chickpeas after soaking and drain all water from them

Mince in blender or food processor (uncooked chickpeas) with onion parsley, coriander, garlic and green chili.

Add salt cumin and rest of baking soda, mix well until uniform mixture is formed

Leave to stand for at least an hour (can be left for a day in refrigerator)

Heat oil for deep frying form balls and fry until deep tan. (Watch oil temperature so it's not too hot so that outside burns before

Center is cooked, and not too cold so the balls get soaked in oil and soggy)

Serve in pita bread, with tehini sauce, cut tomatoes and cucumbers, pickles and relishes

Florida Keys - YES PLEASE!

A few days ago, we drove down to the Florida keys for the day. The keys are famous for a lot of things, two of them are Key Lime pie and Conch. Conch is a type of sea snail and is eaten a lot in the keys. Of course, I just HAD to try both dishes. Adam, my brother in law found a grrrrreat place called Calypso's Seafood grille. The Conch came served deep fried in batter with a side of fries, and was soooooooooooo good.


















After lunch, we went out on a boat to do some snorkeling out on the reef, which was pretty nice. When we came back I just had to try real Key lime pie, so again Adam found the Key Largo Conch house, an award winning establishment, famous for thier key lime pies.
I can't say it was the best pie I've had (key lime or other), but it had a really special flavor, and you could really feel the limes.

When the cosmos pays for lunch - YOU EAT

Yesterday my wife and I went to Del Ray beach again. As we walked on the beach, smelling those oh so good smells from the nearby tourist restaurants, the discussion automatically shifted to food. "what can we have for lunch?", "I dont know, what can we have?". Only a discussion we have EVERY DAY. We decided to first check out a "pinball Palooza" display at the local museum, when lo and behold, is that a 20$ note sitting in the wet grass??!? Why, YES IT IS! Lunch, anybody?















Right across the street from the museum (which we decided to skip in the end, I mean, who really wants to pay to look at pinball machines), is Doc's All American.
After some hesitation, I went for a Patty melt burger- grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, American cheese on Texas toast, with a side of chilli cheese fries and some root beer.
Thanks for lunch universe!!!!

It IS a FAST food blog (just not only FAST FOOD)

After my last post, I got some people saying the name was good, but I wasnt "about fast food".
Today, we're gonna change that with the first "FAST FOOD" post. I had lunch in Del ray beach, specifically at Big Al's Steaks. I had a 9" Philly cheese steak "WIT" (as they say) fried onions. The cheese of choice? CHEEZ WHIZ , a cancerous yellow processed cheese sauce. Why, you ask? Well, it just meeeeeeeeeeeelts into the sandwhich and just has that really creamy feel. How was it? It was Grrrrrrrrrreat!! A side of french fries, with a Cherry Fanta (cancerous red for contrast) and some Dill pickles. Only when I got home, did I find out I could have (should have would have) asked for mushrooms and peppers inside. Well, next time. That's the stuff obese dreams are made of. Oh, and by the way, IT WAS FAST.

Yummy Manicotti (It's Cannelloni, ok?)

Here's tonight's dinner and some good shots for you (and delicious food for me) . It's Manicotti with a Butternut Squash, yams and Ricotta cheese filling baked in a cream Mushroom sauce and sprinkled with Sharp Cheddar.

The Manicotti came out of the box like little Italian soldiers, seldom do you see Pasta coming out of the box so organized. I boil the Manicotti for 9-10 mintues in boiling water, as you would any Pasta, with some salt and oil. When the Manicotti is ready, rinse in cold water, then transfer to a flat oiled tray to cool.

fry the chopped onion with some olive oil, and when the onion's golden add the chopped mushrooms. When the mushrooms have softened, add the heavy cream and lower the heat, mixing often until the cream has thickened. Add salt and pepper.


Cut the Squash in to 4 quarters, and after discarding of seeds and pulp, generously brush with olive oil and sprinkle a bit of black pepper, roasting at 400 degrees (Fahrenheit, sorry, When in Rome) for 45 minutes.

slice the peeled Yam in to cubes, cooking stove top in water until soft to the fork.

After the Yams and Squash cool down, place in bowl and mash using potato masher. Add Ricotta
fry the chopped onion with some olive oil, and when the onion's golden add the chopped mushrooms. When the mushrooms have softened, add the heavy cream and lower the heat, mixing often until the cream has thickened. Add salt and pepper.

I use a Zip lock bag as a decorating bag, filling the ricotta mix in the bag, and cutting a small corner off, then "inject" the filling in to the Macinotti.

Place the filled Manicotti side by side in a large flat baking dish, and pour mushroom cream sauce over, making sure that the Manicotti are covered.
































Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the sauce, and place in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.


ENJOY!

If you decide to embark on this Endeavor, you will need the following ingredients:
If you are caught during this mission I shall deny any involvement.

1 pack Manicotti

For the Filling:

• 1 Butternut squash
• 1 Sweet potato
• 1 box of Ricotta Cheese (426g)
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  
• salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste.

For the Sauce:

• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
• Olive oil
• 1 box (225g) Baby Bella Mushrooms (also know as Portabello, or Button)
• 1 box Heavy cream
• salt, pepper to taste

In case you were wondering, this menu is larger than the sum of its parts, I read several recipes and then mixed them all together to make this dish.