Niwot Tavern

New Restaurant #4:

Niwot Tavern

7960 Niwot Rd.

Niwot, CO

Sunday, May 6th, Paul & I headed into the little town I grew up by for lunch. We wanted something different & hadn't tried yet. The Tavern has been in this shopping area for a while, I had been drivin by it all this time.

Tuesday night my brother was raving about their pickles.... and, well, that was it. I'm sold on fried pickles.

Paul & I started the meal with the fried pickles, which were spears. They were AMAZING!!! Almost as good as So Long Saloon's in Manhattan, KS. Paul also had me try them with peanut butter. Something he had tried a few years back & every time he wants me to try 'em nobody has PB until now. It was alright, but I LOVE ranch!

Maine course I ordered an Adult Grill Cheese: American, Swiss, Bacon, Tomato. It was amazing! The fries were also really good, crispy just like I like them. Paul ordered the Sunday special all-you-can-eat fish & chips with a side of cole slaw. I had to taste the fish, agreement on the taste, fabulous! He also enjoyed the fries. However, the slaw was not creamy enough for him or me.

I enjoyed the atmosphere. A lot of oak furniture, booths, & bar with mirrors. The service was prompt & very nice.

Prices were average. Pickles were $6.50ish & sandwiches were a little more. I also noticed they have happy hour daily from 4-6. Not only on drinks but with appetizers, pickles at $4.50.

They have a room for hosting parties or meetings. Holidays they offer certain specials, for instance on Mother's Day they're having complimentary flowers & food specials of Brioche French Toast with Bacon & Fresh Fruit for $8.50 and Apricot Glazed Chicken with Pommes Annna & Tender Asparagus for $12.95.

If you're ever in the little, loaded town of Niwot, Colorado, stop by cottonwood square for a drink & snack at Niwot Tavern. If you're not into bar food there's also a really good Chinese place, among other restaurants.

~ Cheers ~

The Blue Moose

 NEW RESTAURANT #3:

The Blue Moose

3030 Wanamaker

Topeka, KS

Friday, April 27th, Paul & I were craving a new restaurant. Something in Topeka that we haven't tried yet...which these days that list is getting narrow. After a post on Facebook for any recommendations, we went with The Blue Moose. Even the name is catchy! However, as soon as we were ready to head out the tornado sirens went off. After 20 minutes of watching the news & waiting for the big red blob on the radar to pass over us we were out, no rain will stop us.
After arriving, the atmosphere was nice, very large place with lots of seating. I even noticed a room for private parties. They also have a bar area.
Price was reasonable for a nice sit-down place. Not cheap by any means. Prices ranged from a small salad for $3.99 to a pasta dish at $12.99 to Filet Mignon at $26.99.
Service was great! Very timely, checked on us but didn't hover & answered our questions.
The menu was large & had something for everybody. They have an after 10pm menu & nightly drink specials (10 bottles of wine for $10 each, $1.50 beer/draft & last nights: $3.50 Moose-ritas). I taste tested the Moose-rita -YUM!!! It looked like a blue margarita. Two things I always have to get when trying a new place: 1. Fried pickles 2. Spinach artichoke dip. This time I went with the pickles (above picture). They were horizontal slices (a first for Paul & I), the breading stuck nicely to the pickle, & the ranch dip was fabulous! Thick & a hint of garlic. Then onto our entrees. Paul & I had a hard time deciding (guess we'll have to return). Paul ended up going with a Chicken Madeira Pasta: "Sauteed chicken & mushrooms in a rich Madeira wine cream sauce. Tossed with tender Campanella pasta & Parmesan cheese." It was amazing! I, being the cheese lover I am, went with the build your own Mac & Cheese (picture below): "Cavatappi pasta tossed in our rich six-cheese sauce. Topped with garlic buttered bread crumbs." I added Pit-Smoked Ham. The sauce was delicious! The ham on the other hand, there was nothing special to it. I will add Sauteed Mushrooms & another meat next time.

For dessert, Paul went with a cheesecake & I did a trio sampler (creme brulee, peach cobbler, chocolate peanut butter parfait). The cheesecake was the more cream cheesy type, not the rich, small kind. The peach cobbler Paul liked, too many oats for my taste. The parfait was rich, but good. The creme brulee, awww-mazing!

We left with full bellies, empty pockets, leftovers, & as couple satisfied critics ;) 

If you're in the mood to try something different I would highly recommend The Blue Moose, because their menu changes up those 'regular' dishes.

Everyone's Talkin Enchiladas

Everyday when I log-on to Pinterest someone has pinned...

 Including me.

Every week I try a new Pinterest recipe & last week it was this one.

Originally, this recipe came from Budget Savvy Diva's Blog (click for recipe). In it she calls for 2 cups shredded chicken only she doesn't mention how she got to the shredded stage. Luckily, I new how or I would've had to Google that too. For those of you who don't know, just throw some chicken (breasts, thighs, etc) into the crock pot with seasoning of your choice. I used a bullion cube, pepper, chili powder, garlic & onion seasoning. Then I put it on low & left it for the day. When you get home from work the chicken will fall apart with a fork & be ready to be cheesed & rolled.

I grew up with canned red sauce (which I love), so I wasn't used to this home made white stuff.

After stirring it up on the stove-top it wasn't hard to make at all!

25 minutes later.....

OH. MY. WORD.

Delicious, white sauce & all! I will definitely be watching & trying those popular pins. These enchiladas will make our 'regular dinner menu' for sure.

And, kudos to Budget Savvy Diva for spreading this excellent & easy recipe for all of us to enjoy!

04.24.12 National Pigs in a Blanket Day!!!

As soon as I read this I was excited!!
 I LOVE pigs in a blanket & they always take me back to a much more simple time in my life.
Plus, they're easy to make!
I hope all of you go out & celebrate by fixin' up your favorite piggy in a blanket. 

There are many varieties here in the States from Oscar Mayer to Kielbasa to adding cheese & jam to turning it healthy with a turkey dog.

Across the world there are many styles of  the 'Pig in a Blanket'

• United Kingdom: little sausages wrapped in bacon (um...YUM!).  
• German style: Wieners wrapped in a puff pastry (like a pancake) accompanied by cheese & bacon. 
• Czech style: Kolache (pasty with dough edges that hold in the filling) filled with sausage & ham slices. 
• Polish style: Ground meat & rice wrapped in cabbage leaves and braised, usually in a tomato sauce.
• Israel style: Hot dog rolled in a ketchup-covered sheet phyllo dough (paper thin sheets of flour dough). 
• Netherlands style:  Puff pastry dough that's made with shortening then filled with a pork sausage.

~ EAT PORK ~

Greek Pot Zucchini

Nope not all together...
...Greek in the yogurt for the chicken, Pot of the crock pork chops, & zucchini flavored boats!

I've been on a new recipe kick this week, which also helps out the 'By 12/31/13' list.

The first night was salad, zucchini boats, & Melt in your Mouth Chicken. Of coarse I got the ideas from Pinterest but the Zucchini boats originally came from Proud Italian Cook blog. & the Melt in you Mouth Chicken came from Food.com. I re-posted their recipes in my De-lish Dishes page because they are both ones that I plan on visiting again!

Another new dinner I tried was 3 ingredient crock pot pork chops. I first heard about this idea from Lori but I have also seen it's caught onto the Pinterest world as well. It is super easy!
All you need is:
- Pork chops
- Can of Cream of Mushroom (could use any 'cream of' soup)
- Packet of Ranch seasoning
Toss it the crock pot for the day, and by 6 add a veggie to the plate and whalla! yummy tender pork!

I think Paul is loving me & this 'cooking Alicia' character....

..... haha we'll see how long it lasts :)

Le Cordon Bleu

Last Friday night, I decided to finally use one of my dinner recipes off of Pinterest. It was Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups which came from Cinnamon Girl Recipes: Modern Comfort Food's blog.
Once I collected the ingredients I realized this recipe wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The full recipe can be found in my De-Lish Dishes tab or by clicking here.

The chicken breasts are easier to roll up if they are thinner... ha! This was my version of a meat pounder.

Worked just as good too!

After my chicken was pounded out, I had my ham, cheese, & dipping mixtures all ready to roll! (haha, no pun intended :)

I used just a Virginia ham from the deli, which I had them slice thicker then a normal sandwich slice. You want to be able to taste the ham & cheese! I also tried out two different cheeses, Swiss & provolone. I know traditional cordon bleu calls for Swiss, but I LOVE me some provolone!

 After I tightly rolled it up, I shoved some toothpicks in it to secure the roll while baking.

 What they looked like before hand.

 

The final, melted cheesy goodness!

This recipe I would have to say was a huge success to me and my taste tester ... Paul.

Jan. 20th: Cheese Lover's Day!!!

Muenster

 When I noticed it was National Cheese Lover's Day I was ecstatic! I LOVE cheese & so I thought I'd post a little entry devoted to this love.

A little history & facts that you may not know:

•  Long, long time ago: The first cheese made can't really be pin-pointed to a certain location, however  some of the oldest cheesemaking comes from Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, & even Egypt. Some say it began around the time of the domestication of sheep & goats in 8000 BCE.                           Point being...Cheese has been around a while.
•  1848: The term 'Cottage Cheese' was first used as the cheese was made in cottages from the milk left over from making butter.
• 1872: The first American cream cheese was made in New York.
• 1880: 'Philadelphia' became the brand name for American cream cheese. Currently, the USDA requires it has a minimum of 33% milk fat... YUM!
• 1903: J.L. Kraft started a wholesale door-to-door cheese business in Chicago. His first year of operations didn't go so well as he lost $3000 & a horse. As we all know that didn't last long. In 1914, there were 31 varieties of cheese in Kraft's company. Today, Kraft has expanded to 150 brands & more than 40 of those brands are 100 years old.
• 1911: Processed cheese was invented by Walter Gerber of Switzerland only in...
• 1916: J.L.Kraft had a patent on his precessed cheese method in America.
• 1918: Velveeta was made! Hello non-refrigerated cheeses!!!
• 1930s: That famous, yummy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese came along
• 1950: Packaged, sliced cheese
• 1975: The can for Easy Cheese was invented by a Swiss engineer, Jean Hardt. It's not an aerosol can either, there's a whole other process for which this can squirts that star shaped string onto crackers.



Korbaciky from Slovakia

• 1980s-1990s: String Cheese became a popular snack it the U.S. & it's base is mainly mozzarella & comes in that 6inch tube shape & when you pull it, it strings!!! When looking up this wonderful snack I found other 'string cheeses' that I had no idea about. For instance, in Slovakia, a traditional string cheese is called Korbaciky. It is made with sheep milk & by hand pulling steamed sheep cheese into strings & braiding them. In Armenia, traditional string cheese is made with a white base & milk from an older goat or sheep. It includes a black cumin & a Middle-Eastern spice call mahleb & it comes in the form of a braided endless loop. It's also made by being pulled in processing. Another cheese that's processed this way comes from Syria. 

How many cheese are there in the world? This question, no matter where I looked the answer was always different. There are so many things to take into consideration in determining a cheese.... the age, the milk, the processing, etc. Needless to say the world of cheese is endless & I LOVE IT!

Havarti

What's my favorite cheese? Oh buddy, that's a good question. Well, my top two would have to be Muenster (a soft-washed, cow milk cheese from the U.S) & Provolone (a semi-hard, cow milk cheese from Italy). I also like Havarti (a semi-soft, cow milk cheese from Denmark). Then again who doesn't love a good ole Cheddar (a semi-hard, cows milk cheese originally from England). I like any cheddar, smoked, mild, sharp, yellow or white.
One story I have of a cheese is from when my friend Kelsey & I were in Switzerland. The people we were staying with took us to his grandmothers house in the valley. She was very old fashioned, had her cows living right next to her, which gave her milk for her home made cheese, milk, & butter.  She sat us down for drinks, bread, & cheese...even though we couldn't understand a word she was saying, I will never forget that amazing experience.

I could go on & on about cheese. If you want to learn more about cheese or just want to look up a certain flavor, go to www.cheese.com. This site is great! You can search cheeses by milk, country, or name. It also has other processing information & they are starting to add a recipe section!

What's your favorite cheese or cheese story?!?

PROVOLONE!

I got my information mainly from Wikipedia