Abuelos

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went to a small chain resto called Abuelos that we had never been to last weekend.  It is what I would call Tex-Mex, or not really authentic Mexican food that Americans wildly go for.  But, I’m not ashamed, we go for it now and then too.  We wanted some sort of cheesy semi-spicy with chips and salsa kind of dishes and it delivered that.  It was kind of funny in decor.  We were seated next to a big statue of a man in a bowler hat, either it was Abeulo himself or Cornelius Fudge.  There was a big scene of blue sky and clouds on the ceiling that Z remarked must have been dreamed up by some local imagineers but I later found to be a hallmark of theirs via the website.

abuelosWe were seated pretty quickly though and a bowl of chips and three types of salsa were delivered to our table.  I would have liked them to tell me what they were but as far as we could figure there was a semi-spicy, a mild and one made of maybe tomatillo and pineapple.    I kind of enjoyed the pineapple one, it was a little bit sweet and more unique. We took our time going over the menu which is exhaustive.  I eventually ordered a chile relleno with a side of papas con chile and refried beans.  The relleno I chose was filled with cheese and smothered with a sort of chunky flavorful red sauce and I really enjoyed it.  The pepper itself had some heat and a medium nice amount of cheese inside.  The papas con chile were unique to Abuelos and are a red skinned potato mashed with cheese and a bit of jalapeno.  I really liked them in conjunction with the spicy relleno and mild beans.  I would definitely order this whole concoction again.  I often don’t order meaty dishes in restaurants.  I can’t really say why and I’m usually really pleased with what I get.  Z ordered some Santa Fe style flat enchiladas smothered in red and green sauce (Christmas style).  It was a pretty standard dish.  Tortilla, Cheese, Tortilla, Cheese, Smother.  He didn’t rave but he also didn’t really leave any behind.

Based on the comments on foursquare we ordered the flan.  They RAVED.  It was just ok.  I suppose you can’t always trust the crowd or maybe the baker had a bad day.  It seemed overdone and had separated a little.  I would probably try something else next time.  Z did manage to take an awesome phone shot of it.  The service overall was ok too.  We weren’t too high maintenence but we weren’t big spenders either so I didn’t think the service was outstanding but it was ok.   Now that I have just called things ‘ok’ multiple times I will say that we liked it.  It was good but not great but it was good-just not maybe first date good.

Try this at home

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52cookbooksThe first cookbook off the shelf was probably meant to be.  Z received a box of chemicals for Christmas.  Little foil packets of white powder…  Riggghhht.  Anyway,  weirdly two of my gifts for him came in silver foil clear fronted packets this year.  And he bought me a Besh Box that had a 1# bag of pecans in it that also came in a big foil pouch.  More on that another day I guess.  Foil packets  must be what all the cool kids are doing for packaging this year.  Anyway, one of his packets was Versawhip from Willpowder and is actually ezymatically changed soy protein that can be hydrated and used to whip things into a foam that ordinarily wouldn’t want to do that – like maple syrup.   So, for our first meal, I chose Try this at home, by Richard Blais.  If you aren’t familiar with Richard Blais, he was on Top Chef (and won All Stars) and known for a few notable things, fun hair and molecular gastronomy.   He  probably also made molecular gastronomy with it’s foam, liquid nitrogen and powders more accessible to the home cook.  I guess.  I don’t really know if that’s true exactly but I guess what I mean is he made me feel like I could probably do it.  I don’t know why exactly.  But what I can say about these things is half the work is in procuring the obscurish ingredients and/or kitchen paraphenalia and then being able to have a recipe to use it.   Z bought me the book this summer, for my birthday I think and I have used it once or twice but this time, with a vengeance.  We made the simple into the sublime.  embellishment.jpgPancakes with Coffee Butter, Maple Foam, syrup & chopped pecans.  Seems complicated and yet with both of us cooking really only took 20 or 30 minutes.  I made the pancakes while Z combined reduced coffee with butter until it was creamy and also beat the maple syrup with versawhip until it was soft peaky- think sugary meringue.  trythisThe whole thing was like the most intense happy brunch meal ever.   It hit us differently.  Z said, ‘I thought it was fun.  I’d make it again and I’d make it for guests.  I’m not sure it’s a good dinner.’  But like I said, I thought it was a super intense happy supersweet brunch dish.  He didn’t get the sweet.  It was really fun to make and probably a first go for us with the ultra forgiving versawhip.  Plus, just look at it!  Delicious.

100 montaditos

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montaditossometime over Christmas we went to see new Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug.  I liked it ok although the departure from the actual original story by JRR Tolkien was …vast.  But, we saw it in Imax 3D (most spendiest tickets EVER and thankfully we had some old gift passes which saved us about $23 on the tickets!)  and we really enjoyed it.  On the way out of the theater we sidelined out of the theater to grab a coke for Z to take his pills and saw a new restaurant called 100 Montaditos.  Actually, they kind of had a challenging logo and I didn’t know if it was SOO or 100 or what.  Upon googling it I realized it was a new Spanish fast food chain in Orlando but borne in Spain.  A franchise with locations mostly in Spain but quickly breaching into the US in Miami and other random locations north in New York and West in Iowa (?).  I planted it on our Let’s Go! list and a friend at work saw it and said, ‘Hey, let’s go to the movies and lunch on Saturday-I really want to try that place.’ That sidebar is clearly working for me!  So,  we got up and saw Saving Mr. Banks and hit 100 Montaditos for lunch with him and another friend.  Two movies in a week is a record for us-never happens.  And a  full confession:  I haven’t seen Mary Poppins but I liked Saving Mr. Banks.  What a great heart twisting story!  After the movie we walked in and picked up menus.  It could probably be overwhelming as there are 100 (as suggested in the name) options for montaditos.  Montaditos are mini bocadillos which are one of my very favorite Spanish foods.  Pan (Spanish bread) is split and stuffed with different tasty fillings.  We each put in our order for montaditos and drinks and sat to wait.  I had a classic Sangria which I watched them pour out of a bottle – I’d buy that if I ever saw it at the bottle shop.  It had a big orange slice and was served over ice.  At $3 it was worth it  The montaditos themselves range from $1 to $3.  They fairly quickly came out.  I think it’s worth saying here that each sandwich is about 4 inches long.  I think that people say to order 5 but I don’t see how anyone could really eat five.  Maybe they could but the charm of it is I think if you really wanted more that you could order more.  They are also served with a heap of potato chips on the plate so that is worth knowing.  I ordered 4 with a side of papas bravas-fried potato wedges with two sauces, ali oli (garlic mayo) and brava (spicy red) sauce.  They were hot and I liked them in the way I like most things made from potatoes.  For my montaditos I had chorizo, tortilla, tortilla ali oli and Manchego cheese with bacon.  Spanish Tortilla is basically omelet with potato and is my favorite bocadillo in general.  I liked the one that had the addition of the garlic mayo too.  I’d order that one again for sure.  All four of my sandwiches were sold at $1 each- you can’t really beat that.  Z also added a huge meat platter which could be a lunch unto it’s own – filled with chorizo, Serrano Ham, Manchego cheese and a loaf of pan and arugula.  I tried a few of the meats on their own and they were all your standard Spanish cured meats and cheeses-tasty and salty.  I really enjoyed 100 Montaditos as a lunch or tapas option.  It sure reminded me of Spain and time I have spent there.  I am sure we will be going back.

starting today…

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52cookbooksgoals.  It seems like every blog I read or come across lately has been touting the same thing –  #oneword – to the extent that Z has made up his own one word that is somewhat less than shall we say, holy.  I thought a lot about one word coming into the last week of the year and there wasn’t really any one thing that just resonated with me.  Nothing that insinuated it’s way into my head and could be something that would stick for the entire year and be a filter with which I can put everything I do.   Either that makes me a jerk or just honest with myself. I have taken time over the holidays to update the look of my blog with a responsive magazine style theme, a winter header, and a few other tweaks and I have a few more things up my sleeve for that too as time goes on.  My outlook for 2014 is fresh.  I am hoping to be more present and continue my word from last year which was refine.  I think that word has happened and but it wasn’t necessarily intentional.

Alongside these personal goals I have had some good ideas for the blog too.  I have a pretty extensive bookcase of cookbooks, a lot of which have only been ogled and read but not taste tested.  So, I am going to cook from 52 cook books this year and see where it takes us.  Hopefully we can enlarge our borders.

fillmeupI’m also going to pickle or preserve an item a month – hopefully with something in season and hopefully some new recipes.  As usual, just small batches that do not stress me out.  A fleeting few jars of something delicious to both hoard and share.  Pickles, preserves and marmalades and jams. That should be both fun and delicious.

Less strictly kitcheny but things I am excited about?  Potential for travel, seeing new countries, places and people and also continuing to work on our cute house and maybe publishing some home tours here.  2014 is here!  Life is an adventure.

 

giraffas

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giraffassomewhere recently I read about a new Brazilian* chain that would be opening in Orlando called Giraffas.  With over 400 semi-fast food locations in Brazil we didn’t totally know what to expect because the menu said steaks and burgers.  I don’t generally think of steaks as fast food.  We put it on our to do list and yesterday were planning on heading to Magic Kingdom when we took a look at the waits and quickly changed our minds.  Giraffas is located on I-drive in the heart of the tourist district and is surrounded by loads of random one off outlets for sunglasses and sportswear.  The decor was fresh and modern and had lots of touches from  a cute pair of giraffes shaped like a knife and fork.  It is a counter ordering scenario where they deliver your meal to you.  I ordered a picanha burger with cheddar and bacon and a side of giraffas sauce which turned out to be chimichurri in butter sauce alongside a side of fries.  I walked away from the counter at that point and was surprised to learn that Z ordered a steak with fries, black beans and quinoa.  Quinoa?  I’m not really sure why he didn’t have rice or some veggies but that is what he wanted.  He thought it might be a specialty or something.  Everything came out fairly quickly-I’m not sure how they stage the kitchen so that a steak takes only a few minutes to cook but it came out in under ten minutes and was definitely cooked to his specifications.  My burger was nice and beefy-I’ve since learned that picanha is a standard Brazilian cut kind of rumpy.  I liked to dip it in the chimichurri although it was hugely garlicky.  I thought it was maybe a little expensive but not terribly so.  The food was pretty good and it was fun to people watch the largely Brazilian tourist crowd.

*Brazilian.  I mean the country and/or people-makes me giggle.