Month: August 2017

Family-Style Cobb Salad

On By greg@kandflivingIn Photo Gallery, Recipes, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I love a great Cobb salad – the crunchy, soft, cold, salty combination of healthy food and various toppings that make it not-quite-so-good-for-you!  It’s a great idea for a summer dinner or on a buffet, especially this version.  Made in a big bowl or on a platter, it’s a beautiful display of color, flavor and texture.  The recipe below will easily feed four adults for dinner or 8 or more as a buffet side.

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FAMILY-STYLE COBB SALAD

Ingredients

  • 1 Head Iceberg Lettuce, Chopped
  • 2 Medium Tomatoes
  • 6 Chicken Tenderloins, Grilled
  • 8 Strips Crisp Bacon
  • 1 Avocado, Chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Finely Diced Red Onion
  • 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, Chopped
  • 6 Ounces Blue Cheese Crumbles

Instructions

  • On a large chilled platter, arrange chopped lettuce in a even layer.
  • Seed and dice tomatoes and arrange together on lettuce.  You can choose to arrange ingredients in groups, stripes, pie shapes or whatever you think looks prettiest.  It’s best to keep them together rather than mix them up though so they keep their texture until serving.
  • Dice grilled chicken and place on the lettuce.  Don’t forget to season your chicken before grilling!
  • Crumble the bacon and arrange on lettuce.  Do the same with avocado.
  • Arrange onion on lettuce.  Be sure that it is finely diced to provide just the right amount of bite in contrast to the richness of the avocado, blue cheese and egg.  Don’t leave it out!
  • Finally, finish by arranging the egg and blue cheese to complete your salad.
  • Place in refrigerator for up to 2 hours or serve immediately.

While this hardly requires anything else, serve it with your favorite salad dressing.  My wife likes ranch, but I enjoy the contract of a vinaigrette or Russian dressing as well.  Don’t like one or more of the ingredients?  Lots of substitutes work well – cubed ham, sweet peas, cheddar cheese, etc.  Just keep in mind the combination of flavor and texture and change out like-for-like.  Add a crusty loaf of bread and crisp white wine and you have a beautiful summer dinner.  Dig in!

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Loch Fyne Seafood & Grill – Leith, Scotland

On By greg@kandflivingIn Eating Out, Photo Gallery, Uncategorized1 Comment

On the way back to Edinburgh from playing golf, we asked our driver for recommendations for dinner.  He said we absolutely needed to eat down by the water in Leith so we made a reservation for Loch Fyne.  A small UK chain, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but read lots of great reviews.  We were welcomed to a beautiful store on the pier with modern nautical-themed interior.  It was open, comfortable and casual.  It also wasn’t too busy on a weeknight, which was fine by us.

Our server was swamped and a little slow, but she was charming and super-sweet.  After running through specials and recommendations, we settled on a bottle of wine and a couple starters.  The king prawns were sweet and firm and fresh.  The smoked ham hock terrine was surprisingly light and a tasty combination of salty and fresh pops of sweet peas.  I also had to have a few of their signature oysters.  From the brackish waters of Loch Fyne, they were beautiful mouthfuls of sweet ocean candy.  There is NOTHING like them!!

The selection of mains celebrates all that the area has to offer in fresh seafood.  The seafood pasta in a light cream sauce was rich and full of perfectly-cooked scallops, mussels and shrimp.  The seared cod with fresh pesto was simple, but well done too.  My father couldn’t pass up the ridiculously-huge platter of steamed seafood.  A hubcap-sized plate piled with prawns, clams, oysters and mussels was enough to keep my dad quiet for the next 30 minutes.  While nothing was unusual about the preparation, everything was exactly as you hope such local fare would be.

Cappuccino and a mixed-berry crumble rounded out our evening and a delightful dinner  on the water.  Given the number of locations, you should be able to find one near you while in and around the UK.  It’ll be tough to beat the experience and location of the Leith store however.  Find a spot and for God’s sake have some of those oysters!!  You can take a look at their menu and particulars at lochfyneseafoodandgrill.co.uk.  Dig in!

The Gourmet Mash Bar Company – Edinburgh

On By greg@kandflivingIn Eating Out, Photo Gallery, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I expected a hearty dose of good food when we spent some time recently in Scotland.  And nothing could’ve been more satisfying than our first night’s dinner at the highly recommended Makar’s Gourmet Mash Bar Company.  Sitting atop The Mound between Old Town and New Town, this cozy spot gives you beautiful views of the city, especially at sunset.  The GMB fulfills all of my checklist items in a new eatery:  craft beer/cocktails, locally sourced ingredients, regional cuisine, great service and an un-fussy atmosphere.

Seating no more than 50 people, this shotgun-style eatery was busy on a Tuesday evening.  Our attentive server shared a few recommendations and quickly took orders for our local beer and wine selections.  We perused the menu of inventive combinations of rosti’s (a potato fritter stacked with meat and vegetables) and mains with varying selections of mash.  The aromas wafting in the dining room had our heads turning every time a new dish was brought out!  Given the wide selection of delicious mashes, we all settled on one combination.

The confit duck with orange marmalade glaze on traditional butter/cream mash was crispy, tender and just sweet enough.  The wild boar sausages were some of the finest I’ve ever had.  Robust with herbs and spices, I still could appreciate the perkiness of the boar.  These guys are experts at braising!  The ox cheek and lamb shank were rich, tender and decadent like a holiday dinner at your grandmother’s house.  All of these we ordered with the Scottish cheddar/chive mash which was over-the-top indulgent.

We honestly couldn’t have chosen a better place or felt more welcomed on our first night in Edinburgh.  I highly recommend making this a stop on your next trip to the area – and make a reservation for their busy dining room!  Take a look at their menu, suppliers and story at gourmet-mash-bar.com.  Dig in!

Fettuccine Pomodoro

On By greg@kandflivingIn Photo Gallery, Recipes, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve been traveling way too much lately and haven’t really been in the kitchen.  Even though I was short on time tonight, I was determined to cook!  With a glut of fresh tomatoes, it was a no-brainer to make pomodoro sauce tonight with fettuccine.  Simple, flavorful and ready in less than 30 minutes, you have to add this to your weekly meal planning.

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FETTUCCINE POMODORO

Ingredients

  • 8 Ounces Fettuccine, Cooked al dente
  • 2 1/2 Cups Diced Tomatoes
  • 1 Medium White Onion
  • 5 Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
  • 1 Tbs. Fresh Chopped Basil
  • 1 Tbs. Fresh Chopped Parsley
  • 1 Tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

 

Instructions

  • Finely dice onion and set aside.
  • Cut top off of each tomato.  Gently squeeze and roll tomato with cut side down to drain out most seeds.  Do this for all tomatoes and discard seeds.  Cut into 1/4 inch dice.  If you’re using cherry tomatoes, don’t worry about the seeds.  HINT:  Any combination or variety of tomatoes works!
  • In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
  • Add tomatoes to pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Add remaining ingredients to tomato sauce.  Stir and continue to simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and pour over cooked fettuccine.
  • Toss and serve immediately.  Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side.

Yes, it really is that easy!  This is a delicious pasta on it’s own or is delicious with marinated grilled chicken breast or a pan-seared white fish.  You’ll love making this light pasta sauce, especially when tomato season is in full swing.  Dig in!

Burger & Lobster – London

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When you’re looking for surf-n-turf, but want to dispense with the maitre de and suit you find a Burger & Lobster location and get after it!  Friends of ours recommended this spot from their recent visit to London as did a few books and websites.  My dad was also obsessed with the idea of this narrow menu done very well.  While there are plenty of locations in London, Bangkok, New York, Dubai and others, we settled into the location on the top floor of Harvey Nichols.

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A casual, but refined interior was a lively place filled with shoppers, date-nighters and all manner of guests.  Our common bond?  Devour the delicious choices of surf and turf in front of us.  We ordered a few cocktails and a particularly tasty watermelon iced tea concoction and reviewed the small, but delicious menu.  The Nebraska beef burger was thick and juicy topped appropriately with bacon and cheese.  It was served with crispy salty french fries and their signature salad.  While not the best burger we’ve had, it was a top-notch sandwich for sure.

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Our lobster rolls were some of the best we’ve had!  The traditional buttery toasted bun, lightly-dressed sweet lobster and touch of chives came together for a Cape Cod-worthy sandwich.  Add those fries and salad and you will be one happy customer.  My father tried the lobster burger (think of the two dishes above combined on a single sandwich) and raved about how much he loved it.

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Whether you want the burger, a whole lobster or some variant in between, you’ll want to  make this a priority if anywhere close to one.  Functionally descriptive, calorically excessive and potentially addictive, Burger & Lobster will quickly become a favorite.  Find out more and view their locations at burgerandlobster.com.  Dig in!