Hot damn, the man can cook!

I’ve learned so many things from my mom and my Grams throughout my life. One thing I’ve learned for certain is that cooking is a way of showing people how much you love them. I love cooking for this reason. Even if I’m just cooking for myself, it’s my way of saying, “Hey, you worked hard today. Here’s a fabulous meal.”

However, sometimes it’s nice when someone else does the cooking and I’m lucky that my roommate, aka my fiancé, has the culinary skills to be able to do this. A while back we found this recipe in Fitness Magazine (see, I really do like recipes I find in magazines) and last night he whipped it up for us. I realize my last post was also a stir-fry; apparently I just can’t get enough. This meal takes less than 20 minutes, is packed with protein and has great flavors. If you click on the link there’s an option to make an avocado salad alongside, however we find the stir-fry to be sufficient enough. Enjoy!

Beef Stir-Fry

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
12 ounces beef tenderloin, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 poblano, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine beef, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1 tablespoon chili powder; set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, bell pepper, and poblano and saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add beef and marinade to vegetables and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Shrimp Stir Fry + Wedding Wednesday

When my fiancé and I first got engaged, we were given the greatest gift of all time and no, it did not come in a Cuisinart box. It came in the form of a piece of advice. My friend advised us to designate just one day a week to plan our wedding in order to prevent us (aka me) from talking about it around the clock. We realize as the wedding gets closer this won’t be as feasible, but we’re still one year away. So, we instituted “Wedding Wednesdays”. Once a week we sit down together and do all things wedding. We  cook our favorite meals, sit at the dinner table together, and really just make a night out of it. This has made us both enjoy the engagement process (always good to correlate memories with delicious food) and alleviate some stress. I can honestly say we’re having a blast planning our wedding together.

Last night, Wedding Wednesday was in full force as we’ve been putting off many “to do” items for quite some time. We’ve both been traveling fools and haven’t been eating very well so we knew we needed a meal that inspired us and was healthy and light. To say we love this dish as much as we love each other would be a stretch, but not too much of one. It’s quick, easy and healthy! Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

South Beach Diet’s Shrimp Stir Fry:

Ingredients

      4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
      2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
      3 garlic cloves, minced
      1 1/2 pounds medium peeled and deveined fresh or thawed frozen shrimp
      2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
      8 ounces white mushrooms, quartered (we usually omit these)
      4 scallions, cut into 1" pieces
      1 large bell pepper, any color, cut into thin strips
      8 ounces snow peas, strings removed
      1/4 teapsoon red pepper flakes

Directions

Whisk together 2 teaspoons of the oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the soy sauce, and garlic in a large bowl; add shrimp and toss to coat.

Coat a large skillet or wok with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add shrimp and cook until pink, 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in the same skillet over high heat; add ginger and cook 30 seconds.

Add mushrooms, scallions, bell pepper, snow peas, and red pepper flakes and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in shrimp and remaining soy sauce and toss to combine. Serve hot.

Number of Servings: 4

Birthday Feast Roundup

Birthdays are a fabulous excuse to get your favorite people in one place and eat delicious food. That is what I look forward to most when it comes to my birthday – spending time with my loved ones and indulging in something wonderful. I turned 27 on Friday and indulge I certainly did!

The big day started off with my coworker delivering a giant vanilla with chocolate frosting and sprinkles cupcake from Crumbs bakery to my desk. She knows me so well. This was my first experience with a Crumbs cupcake and it certainly won’t be my last. My two coworkers and I devoured the poor thing, and did it so quickly I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of it in all of its glory.

Overall I thought the cupcake was delicious, it was very moist (apologies if this word offends you) and the frosting didn’t overpower the whole thing as sometimes it can do. It’s a great little gift for someone’s birthday!

Friday night, my friends, coworkers, sister and I went to Trattoria Il Panino, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the North End. While the heat made for an interesting outdoor dining experience, the food was delicious. I feasted on pesto pasta which was light and fluffy – homemade pasta at its finest.

The next night, my very generous brother in law took my sister and I to Oishii in the South End for both of our birthdays (my sister and I are 3 years and 364 days apart to be exact). I’ve been to Oishii before and while it really deserves its own blog, this will have to do. Oishii is such a unique restaurant – it has mastered the art of being a fine dining establishment without any pretentiousness. Everyone is very friendly, service is stellar and the food is certainly something to write home about. It is expensive though, so a perfect place for a special occasion!

We began our meal with three appetizers:

-Salmon tempura with arugula salad in lemon dressing
-Kobe beef carpaccio with micro greens, fried Shallots, soy and pickled cherry blossom tempura on top
-Miso soup or “shiru”

All were delicious, especially the Salmon Tempura. It had a great crunch to it, and the lemon dressing was sublime.

For the rest of the meal we got:
-The Maki covered with Toro which has spicy mayo, asparagus, cucumber, bonito flakes and toro torched on top with a gingery Sauce and jalapeño
-Oishii Spicy Tuna Tempura Maki which has bluefin tuna sashimi, fleur de sel and chives
-Crispy Salmon Maki which has crispy tempura flakes, spicy mayo, tobiko and avocado maki with raw salmon and menegi on top
-Rock Shrimp Explosion Maki which has tempura rock shrimp and avocado rolled in white seaweed with brown rice chips and ting's wasabi flavored lemony sauce on top
-Toro Truffle Maki which has shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, cucumber, covered with seared toro, white truffle and sturgeon caviar on top

And lastly for dessert we feasted on a green tea layered cake with mascarpone and chocolate. A very satisfying dessert that wasn’t so rich you felt nauseous after you ate it.

Everyone had their own favorites of the night; I would certainly recommend the Crispy Salmon Maki and the Rock Shrimp Explosion Maki. Top notch sushi restaurants such as this make all the difference in the world – the ingredients are fresh and the fish practically melts in your mouth. And when it comes to eating sushi, I have a “go big or go home” mentality. I rarely eat rolls that only have one or two ingredients in them. While rolls with 5+ ingredients may seem intimidating to people, about 99.9% of the time the ingredients come together so harmoniously and it’s worth taking the risk.

Overall, a heavenly birthday that satisfied both my heart and stomach.

Sunday Funday at SoWa

Like most people, I cling to my weekends with a kung fu grip because my work weeks are often pretty stressful. Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays are meant for one thing and one thing only: having a good time. Some weekends that means traveling to see friends and family, others it means crashing on the couch and neglecting to get out of my pajamas for 48 hours straight. Weekends can also provide a great opportunity to explore new corners of the city and of course, eat.  

A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I did just that. He brought me to SoWa (stands for South of Washington Street), an open market in the South End. The market has everything from art to clothing and most importantly, food. It brings in amazing gourmet food trucks, baked goods and local farmer’s produce.  So naturally, I was in heaven and had luckily arrived with an empty stomach.

There are over 20 food trucks that come to SoWa, all offering something really unique. From BBQ to mexican to cupcakes, there is something for everyone. After surveying my options, I landed on the LOBSTA LOVE truck and am oh so happy that I did. I ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese, which is made with Annie’s Organic Shells & White Cheddar Mac & Cheese, fresh lobster and lobster bisque. Each bite oozed with flavor and although it was rich I happily finished the whole thing. Sometimes you eat meals that are so satisfying you feel full the rest of the day and that’s exactly what happened to me on that day. I was truly elated from the food that I consumed.

The experience of SoWa is something I hope all Bostonians undergo at some point. It’s simply about a love for food and the arts, without any pretentiousness. If you don’t live in Boston, make a date with a food truck in your city the next time you have a free weekend. You certainly won’t regret it.

love me some Lobsta Love