Sushi Night! Sushezi vs. Magic Roll

Ok as promised: sushi night post!  I got my Sushezi for Christmas and LOVE IT but being the curious thing I am when I saw Magic Roll (the box alternates between the Magic Roll and Perfect Roll titles, mildly confusing for the consumer so I chose Magic Roll as it sounded more whiz bangy) I knew the two contraptions had to square off, battle style!  I realize this definitely puts me into the category of food geek but I'm pretty okay with it.

Sushezi vs. Magic Roll Battle!

Each device had its perks and each has some cons.  Keep in mind I purchased these devices because I'm not quite ready to take the at home sushi plunge with the traditional bamboo mats and what have you.

The Sushezi really makes sushi at home easy but the size roll produced leaves you with 10 to 12 pieces of one roll.  If you are like me and like to try a little here, a little there or just make a meal for one or two then the Sushezi isn't the greatest.  It's much better when making enough for four or more.  This could be remedied by putting ingredients half and half I suppose.

Sushezi

Magic Roll solves the size roll issue but has some design flaws.  Although I thought this may roll a tighter roll most of the ones I made with it fell apart if I didn't have the nori on the outside.  It makes smaller rolls, about 4 pieces each.  So its nice because you can mix and match fillings and such and not have a ton of each.  But its a little annoying to try to clean when you have to take everything apart.

Magic Roll

But alas the whole point of a battle of utensils is declaring a winner.  No more sitting on the sushi fence.  In terms of overall ease of use and quality, Sushezi wins out.  You just load up the tube, lock, press and extrude.  It truly is sushi made EASY!  Also, I'd like to amend my previous excessive quantity statement regarding Sushezi.  A couple days after sushi night I made it again for dinner just for Chris and I to use up some of the ingredients we had leftover.  I experimented with only making half rolls and it actually worked quite well!

When having a sushi night I like having some other options to make dinner seem a little more substantial.  So I had edamame and potstickers as starters with lychee martinis for cocktails.  Side note: Trader Joe's has some very yummy Pork Potstickers in their freezer section, they are super easy to cook up and their Gyoza Sauce is delicious!

Spicy Tuna and Shrimp California Rolls with sides of Wasabi and Spicy Mayo

Chicken Teriyaki, Tuna, Smoked Salmon, Spicy Shrimp and Philly Rolls

Well hopefully this sushi night post fulfilled all of your WWSV reading needs, I do apologize for its tardiness.  This weekend its off to Michigan we go for a 1st communion and 1st birthday on Chris' side!  Next up, some recipes using bacon (yummm) and a cocktail bar idea!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cheers!
Steph

Local Foodie Moment : Barcelona

Hello busy busy springtime!  Is it just me or does it feel like even though the sun doesn't set till later that there's never enough time to get everything done before bed?  Sheessshh, run here, run there, Steph's brain is here there and everywhere!

Anyways, this is a little overdue but I wanted to spotlight a local restaurant serving up great Spanish fare!  The restaurant is called Barcelona and its located in German Village.  We went there for our friend Emily's birthday dinner.  She traveled to Spain in college and when perusing the wine list she found one from a vineyard she had visited there!

Although on the pricier side of cuisine it was all very good.  We all elected to order salads and some different tapas so we could try a little of everything.  The salads were your standard fare, nothing to write home about.  (With wedding dieting it takes A LOT to get me excited about a salad.)  We shared one of the tapas specials which was a hangar steak over top some grilled veggies and topped with a fried egg....YUM!

Chris ordered the Mejillones, sauteed mussels in a lemon sauce.  Even for being a non-seafood eater I gave it a try, the sauce was delicious.  The actual mussels according to Chris were delicious, I had other opinions ha!  Let's say you can't become a seafood lover in one try.

Mejillones

I ordered the Panceta, braised pork belly with a espresso tomato compote.  It was beyond good!  The pork just melted in your mouth and the compote just added to the delicious flavor.  We both split the Bilbao, semi cured sausage which was very tasty as well.

Panceta

Bilbao

Emily and Rob ordered the Croquetas, Spanish fritters which I didn't get to snap a picture of, probably because Rob liked them so much they vanished!  They also shared Alcachofas Fritas, fried artichokes and the Chistorra, a spicy sausage, which I also didn't get a picture of because we were hungry, we wanted to chow!    

After dinner we ordered some martinis for dessert, the Peachtree for me and the Alhambra for Em.

Cheers to the birthday girl!

The service was great, the atmosphere was nice but all agreed we want to wait till warmer weather to try out their quaint little patio!  If you are looking for a nice place in German Village with some worldly flare, Barcelona is your place to go.  I have read about their tapas tasting which is multiple small plates for $30 so I think that's a definite must try in the future!



Sushi night post is coming, I PROMISE!  Plus some foodie moments and recipes PLUS a fun party idea for wedding season!

Cheers!
Steph

Local Foodie Moment: Manifesto Tuscan Grato

Ok so I know I promised a sushi night post this week but I've been having far too much fun being a local foodie! So sushi night post is coming, I promise, but for now, Happy Friday with a Local Foodie Moment!

Recently I met up with my friend Asha for happy hour downtown.  We went to Manifesto Tuscan Grato and Scotch Bar, Asha had been there once before, this was my first try!  Although I can't say I'm a scotch drinker (insert, contorted icky face here) I'm always up for a good happy hour menu and catching up with a dear friend.

The atmosphere is very interesting and gives almost a cozy feeling in the heart of downtown.  The walls are painted deep browns and the tables and chairs are rustic leathers.  There are different quotes and artwork everywhere making it eclectic but not tacky.  It's the type of place that you'll notice something different each time you go!    

The service was a little slow to start, we sat waiting for our server for a good 10 minutes before they came over but they quickly remedied the situation by checking in on us frequently and offering us dessert on the house.  Asha gave scotch a try, she is much braver than I, whereas I opted for the Bartenders Choice Cocktail which on that particular day was a light and refreshing spiked raspberry lemonade.  It was definitely a welcome warm weather drink!  Not too sweet or tart with just enough vodka.

Spiked Raspberry Lemonade

We each got flatbreads which are large enough to be a meal but I opted for only eating half and having a salad on the side (who says you can't wedding diet while eating out?!).  I got the Steak and Gorgonzola Flatbread and the Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad.  The flatbreads were different in that the bread is very thin and crispy giving it a great crunchy texture.  The Steak & Gorgonzola had the obvious meat and cheese as well as roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, arugula and horseradish aioli.  Don't worry non horseradish fans the aioli is very mild.  All the flavors combined were very delicious and savory.  There were a couple chunks of gorgonzola that were a little too big for the bite and overpowered everything but not meal ruining by any means.

Steak & Gorgonzola Flatbread

Arugula & Goat Cheese Salad

The Arugula & Goat Cheese salad was very good with roasted red peppers, croutons and a roasted red pepper vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette was very tasty but not too overpowering and there was ample goat cheese, I hate when places only put a few specs of it on a salad!  

The overall experience was good, Asha and I both agreed next time we want to try the patio when they open it or maybe sit somewhere near the windows to see the capital building and the sights around it.  We were seated more in the back of the restaurant and it got rather loud and crowded.  This is the perfect place to grab a bite and a drink before a show or concert at the Ohio or Palace theaters since it sits right next to Ohio Theater downtown.  The happy hour menu is very reasonable, offering dishes and drinks discounted in most cases by half from the regular menu.     

This is my first try linking up to urbanspoon to provide a review via my blog so here's to hoping it works!   

This weekend its back home for a bridal shower and spending time with my parents and friends.  I've got some more Local Foodie Moments and some new recipes coming up next!

Cheers!
Steph

Ladies Tea Party!

Well another start to the week is upon us!  Originally we had plans to travel to Pittsburgh this weekend for the Frozen Four, when Miami didn't make it we opted out.  We thought "Oh nice, a free weekend!", Chris knows better than to think a free weekend means I won't book it right up with plans.  So the "free weekend" tends to be a fleeting concept.  

Since we were in town I was able to go to a ladies tea party hosted by my friend Flori.  What a cute idea!  It was at the Cambridge Tea House on Saturday morning.  She had about eight or nine other ladies that she invited as well, everyone was dressed in their spring dresses (even though the weather was less than cooperative).  There was scones, quiche and fruit that were all delicious and of course there was tea for the table!  Flori always plans a great party, with favors and a game and such.  This time she had little scratch off tickets so whoever had a matching teacup won the prize!  It was so nice spending the morning with ladies just chatting and being girly!

Tea, very pretty teacups!

Party favors, little teacup soaps!

The hostess and I, matching in our pink dresses!

So that was a fun way to start off what ended up being a cold and dreary Saturday.  Maybe I'll have to take time and go to tea more often!  That night we had a homemade sushi night with friends where there was a battle of the sushi makers!  More on that in my next post!

Cheers!

Steph     

Weekend Getaway!

Hi everyone!  I'm just getting back into the groove of work and blogging after a long weekend in Winston-Salem, NC visiting Chris' sister, Andrea, and one of my best friends, Coco!  We had a wonderful trip, the weather was great, saw lots of neat spots and had fun with our hostesses!

In typical foodie fashion I managed to mostly take pictures of food rather than the great scenery or fun times we had.  Although Winston-Salem is in the south and they cook up some great southern comforts it doesn't feel like an overwhelmingly "southern" city.  Sparse "ya'll" usage, the occasional accent but nothing as noticeable as other southern states.

Our first morning there we went to a restaurant called Breakfast Of Course.  With our new wedding slimdown challenge I tried to err on the side of healthy with a egg white scramble with spinach, goat cheese and mushrooms. As a little splurge got the side of grits.  These were pretty yummy especially when I spiced them up with a little Sriracha!

Later that night we went to Foothills Brewing for dinner and watched the first NCAA basketball game.  Then we went to a bar called Old Winston Social Club.  They have board games, shuffle board and other tabletop games to play which made it pretty fun!  We ended our evening at a great craft cocktails bar called Tates.  I got a Tom Collins that was perfect; warm weather cocktails are here!  (I know, I live in Ohio and in-climate weather is part of the deal but 40 degrees in April has come close to killing me.)    

Sunday morning we went to Old Salem for brunch at The Tavern in Old Salem.  Old Salem is a cute historic part of town where Salem College for Women is located.  After brunch we walked around town enjoying the weather and the history.  At brunch Chris and Andrea decided to try a Southern favorite, Chicken and Waffles.  I've always wanted to try so I snagged a bite of Chris' and boy does it live up to the hype!  Chris has now decided that he wants this for breakfast every day of his life.  I happily reminded him of our wedding weight loss challenge and that although Chicken and Waffles are delicious and a lovely travel treat there is no room in our waistlines for it as everyday fare.  I imagine we'll be on the hunt for a place here that masters the dish.

For Sunday dinner we went to a nice restaurant called Village Tavern.  They actually have multiple locations, we went to the one at Reynolda Village which we had previously walked and shopped around on Saturday.  We sat outside under a tent that was nicely decorated with twinkle lights for ambiance.  (So romantical for Chris, being on a date with four crazy women, talk about a dream come true!)

In between our meals we walked around Winston-Salem in different parts of town.  Stopped in some vintage shops and stumbled upon a chocolate shop called Haute Chocolate.  Even though we were pretty full from breakfast we found a smidge of room to try these gourmet chocolates.  Chris and I split a Chamborsin and The Dude.  The Chamborsin is made with wine and The Dude is Big Lebowski inspired to taste like a White Russian and was made to look like a little bowling ball!

Chocolates upon chocolates!

Well it's off to catch up on all the things we've avoided (mainly housework!) and get another week of spring under our belts!  We are hosting a sushi night this weekend where I'm testing out a new sushi maker, we will see if it rivals the Sushezi!  I'm also giving a few new recipes a try over the weekend so I'll be sure to share!

Cheers!
Steph

Brunch Chilaquiles

Happy April everyone!  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!  Saturday morning we had some time on our hands so I got a head start on spring cleaning.  But before I kicked off my cleaning spree I wanted to try a new brunch recipe!  It is called Brunch Chilaquiles, I found it on Kraft.com, I made some modifications to it based on our tastes and what I had on hand.  I also made some yummy brunch cocktails for us to have.  I had an abundance of juices so we thought "hey it's Saturday, why not?!"

Brunch Chilaquiles
(This makes 3 to 4 servings)

 Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 4 c. tortilla chips
- 1/4 c. yellow onion, chopped
- 1 can (10 oz.) red enchilada sauce of your preferred heat, I used mild
- 1 c. mexican style shredded cheese, divided in half
- 1 jalepeno, thinly sliced, seeds and inner membrane removed
- 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
- Melt butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, season with s&p.  Either keep the eggs separated or separate them after they start cooking. (Mine all ran together so I just divided them up once the white was more cooked.)

- Cook until whites and yolks are set (4 to 5 minutes), remove from skillet and set aside.
- Heat oil in skillet, add tortilla chips and cook until golden brown (5 to 8 minutes).  Be sure to stir frequently so as not to burn any chips.

- Add onions and cook a few minutes, continue to stir.
- Add enchilada sauce and 1/2 c. cheese, mix lightly until chips are covered with sauce.

- Top with eggs and remaining cheese.
- Turn on broiler and place skillet under it for 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is melted (if your skillet has a rubber handle or anything just cover it in aluminum foil before sticking it in the oven).

- Top with jalepeno and cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!

This was a very tasty dish!  Chris and I both liked it and Chris voted to make it again.  We ended up eating all the eggs and leaving some of the cooked chips but the flavors were great and it was a good way to switch things up for brunch.  This is a good recipe if you have an already opened bag of tortilla chips lying around.  The chips don't necessarily have to be fresh since you end up cooking them down till they are soft anyways.  You could easily make smaller batches of this for a smaller crowd.  We paired it with a Screwdriver for Chris and a Sparkling Grapefruit Cocktail for me.  Here is the recipe for the Sparkling Grapefruit Cocktail.

Sparkling Grapefruit Cocktail

 Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. vodka
- 1 oz. grapefruit juice
- splash soda water

Instructions:
- Mix vodka and juice over ice in a shaker, strain over ice in a rocks glass.
- Fill the rest of the glass with soda water.
- Enjoy!

This was nice and light, I may have a new brunch favorite!  I suppose with the Chilaquiles making it with tequila would be better but I'm not the biggest tequila fan.


This week we've got a busy week then its off to Winston-Salem, NC to visit Chris' sister and one of my best friends, Coco!

Cheers!
Steph