Oysters on the Half Shell With Coconut Sauce

1 stalk lemongrass

½ cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

20 oysters

1. Cut the top off the stalk of lemongrass, about 6 inches from the bottom. Using the back of a chef’s knife blade, smash the lemongrass to break it up and then chop into pieces.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk and lemongrass pieces to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes to infuse. Let cool.

3. Meanwhile, combine the shallots, lime juice and a small pinch of salt. Let stand for 20 minutes. Strain the cooled coconut-milk mixture into the shallot-lime mixture. Stir in ¼ teaspoon pepper. Season with more pepper to taste.

4. Shuck the oysters, keeping their juices in their shells. Spoon a small amount over an oyster and eat immediately. Serves 4.

Mulligans

Mulligans
101 Causeway St
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
617-720-4241

Great Cheap eat! There's a reason why the lunch line is out the door! But don't let this discourage you--the line moves very quick, just make sure you know what you want when you get there! Sandwiches are a heaping size and prices fit nicely for the frugal eater. My fave-- Agusta National--fresh roasted turkey breast, pepperoni, melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese, lettuce and marinated tomato on a baguette. Yes-- FRESH roasted turkey-- think thick thanksgiving style sliced turkey. YUM!

4/5

KmB's Chicken & Barley Soup (from scratch)

KmB's fantastic from scratch Chicken and Barley Soup
1 whole chicken (skin removed)
1/2 large onion or 1 medium Onion
20 baby carrots
3 ears fresh corn or 1-2 cans of canned corn
1/2 cup barley (NOT the quick cook kind)
salt

Cut the baby carrots into small pieces. Dice the onion. Cut the chicken so the breasts are separated from the thighs (horizontally). Place all items into a large stock pot and fill with water until chicken is submerged 1/2 inch under the water. If using fresh corn, put in now. If using canned corn, place in with with barley. Bring to a boil. Keep at a low rolling boil for 15 minutes or until chicken is just cooked. Remove the chicken and cut off meat (helps to use tongs). Place meat in a bowl and refrigerate. Return the bones to the pot. Continue cooking for 30-60 minutes. Pour 1 cup of Barley into the pot and keep at low boil for 1.5 hours (pour in canned corn now, if using canned corn, liquid and all). Cut the chicken meat in the fridge. Add the chicken meat 15 minutes before turning off stove.
Skim gunk off the top periodically. Salt to taste. You may need to pour more water in as some may evaporate and be absorbed by the barley.

Though this soup takes time, good things come to those who wait. I think this soup is simple and well worth it. Remove bones, salt to taste, and serve. The key to good chicken soup is to remove the chicken meat and then add them towards the end. Otherwise, the chicken will be flavorless and tough after cooking so long.

Tapeo

I went for Tapas at Tapeo on Newbury St. There were no tables outside so we were a bit bummed. Oh well. Here is what we ordered:

Tapas:
Vieiras al Azafrán
Scallops in Saffron Cream
Ravioles de Mariscos
Lobster/Crabmeat Ravioli w/Langostino Sauce
Butifarras con Brevas
Pork Sausage w/Figs
Costillitas de Vaca
Beef Short Rib in Rioja Wine Sauce
Chuletillas
Baby Lamb Chops w/ Apricot Sauce

Main:
Paella Valenciana
Spains Classic Spanish Rice Dish Prepared with Meat, Poultry and Seafood

Review:
Overall I was expecting a little more flavor and a little more bang. We didn't order the Garlic shrimp or the potato pancake which are the signature tapas. Because of the small nature of tapas dishes, the flavors should compensate--with bursts of flavor and savory goodness. These tapas fell a bit short. Let's start from the top:
Scallops-- the sauce was good but the scallops were a bit tough.
Lobster ravioli- I did like this dish. The sauce was savory and the crab added a varying texture from the lobster.
Pork sausage- This was good. The fig added a pleasant sweetness.
Short ribs- Now, I'm biased.. I am a HUGE short ribs fan--but not these... I felt that these were a little too tough. I like short ribs that fall apart. I also wasn't a fan of the sauce that they were stewed in. I usually love red wine braised short ribs, but this reduction just wasn't savory enough.
Lamb- No comment, I'm not a lamb fan in general. My party of 3 other diners said they like it.
Paella- the dish was a bit small, but the pan was deep (not like the traditional shallow but large pans). This was decent, nothing stellar. Just your average Paella.

Overall rating: 3/5

Penne A la Vodka

I like to add a tad more than 1/3 cup of vodka.. ;-)

Penne alla Vodka
from the Episode: Pasta and Tomatoes, Reimagined

So that the sauce and pasta finish cooking at the same time, drop the pasta into boiling water just after adding the vodka to the sauce. If possible, use premium vodka; inexpensive brands will taste harsh in this sauce. Pepper vodka imparts a pleasant flavor and can be substituted for plain.

Serves 4

1	(28 ounce) can whole tomatoes , drained, liquid reserved
2	tablespoons olive oil
1/2	small onion , minced (about 1/4 cup)
1	tablespoon tomato paste
2	medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4-1/2	teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
	Table salt
1/3	cup vodka
1/2	cup heavy cream
1	pound penne pasta
2	tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
	Grated Parmesan cheese , for serving

1. Puree half of tomatoes in food processor until smooth. Dice remaining tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces, discarding cores. Combine pureed and diced tomatoes in liquid measuring cup (you should have about 1 2/3 cups). Add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are light golden around edges, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove pan from heat and add vodka. Return pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes; stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes too vigorous. Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.

4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just shy of al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven. Add sauce to pasta and toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some of sauce, 1 to 2 minutes, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt. Divide among pasta bowls and serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

Pasta With Soft-Shell Crabs

By MARK BITTMAN

NYTimes

Time: 30 minutes

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, or a little more

3 or 4 cloves garlic, slivered

1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, or to taste

4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned (at fish market if you like)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound long pasta, like spaghetti or linguine

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves.

1. In a very deep skillet or broad saucepan, warm oil, garlic and chili flakes over low heat; do not let garlic brown. When garlic is soft — at least 5 minutes — add crabs (keep heat low to medium low; liquid in pan should barely bubble) and cover. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.

2. Let the crabs cook until they give up all their liquid and become firm, about 15 minutes. When crabs are almost done, begin cooking pasta. When crabs are done, use tongs to remove them and hold them while cutting up with scissors. Return to pan.

3. Drain pasta when it is barely tender, a little short of how you’d want to eat it, reserving some cooking water. Add pasta to crabs and toss together over medium heat with pan juices and black pepper, adding some cooking water and a little more oil if necessary. (The amount of each will depend on how much more cooking the pasta needs, and how much liquid the crabs exuded.) Add parsley, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. When pasta is perfectly cooked, serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Supernatural Brownies

I had the biggest craving for brownies. BUT no brownie mix! SO sad. Well, I remembered that the NYT did a whole section on brownies from scratch. I looked at the recipe, and being the foodie I am, had everything on the list in my pantry (I'm a dork, I know.. who has bittersweet baking chocolate in their pantry? KmB does).


Let me tell you-- I'm a convert. I will never make brownies from a mix again! Let me explain. Most brownie mixes pack a punch, a whole lot of chocolate straight up. But I've discovered a rounder, more complex flavor for brownies. Subtle flavors surrounding and complementing the chocolate flavor. It's FANTASTIC. These were phenomenal warm out of the oven, also just as good the next day. Such a simple recipe, there's no excuse to use those mixes ever again!

For your tasting pleasure. If you only take one recipe from my page-- Take this! Care of NYTimes. (I didn't use nuts)

I forgot the picture.. until.. now.... see.. below...

Recipe: Supernatural Brownies

Adapted from “Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers,” by Nick Malgieri (Morrow Cookbooks, 1998)

Time: About 1 hour

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, more for pan and parchment paper
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, such as muscovado
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 3/4 cup whole walnuts, optional.

1. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

2. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Fold in flour just until combined. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using whole walnuts, arrange on top of batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Yield: 15 large or 24 small brownies.

Note: For best flavor, bake 1 day before serving, let cool and store, tightly wrapped.

Mistral

Mistral Boston

http://www.mistralbistro.com/

Cost: $$$$$$

What we ordered:
Appetizers
Seafood soup
Foie Gras
Main:
Black Sea Bass
Pork Chop
Dessert:
Profiteroles
Banana chocolate torte

Comments:
Seafood soup-- I think it was sitting on the stove a little too long stewing because the flavors were a little too strong. They should have gone easier on the salt (and I like salty things)

Foie Gras-- FANTASTIC. It was set on top of a brioche and had stewed apples. Every last bite was perfection. The brioche was a little on the hard side but if it was any softer, the juices it picked up would have made it soggy. This way, it still had bite to it.

Black Sea Bass- There was one item in here that made it unpleasing. It gets points for presentation, and you get the whole fish, deboned. Think upscale Chinese style with different sauces and no bones. I'd give it a 2 out of 5. I wouldn't order it again. It was not the most pleasing to the tongue. The sauce took away flavor, rather than compliment, the flavor of the fish.

Porkchop-- Definitely you get a lot for your money. This chop was huge. It was also perfectly cooked. I like mine med rare. I would have liked to see a little more flavor to compliment the chop. There was a small relish but not enough for the whole chop (yes it was that big).

Profiteroles-- Too hard. The puffs were almost stale. I was afraid, that as I was stabbing into the puff to eat it, that it would shoot across the table and onto the next. Just mediocre.

Banana chocolate cake-- nothing stellar. I don't even remember this dish. I just know it was chocolate and had some bananas.

Overall rating-- 5 out of 10- No consistency with the quality and standard. Some good, some bad. For this price, everything should be good.

Would I go back? No. Though the Foie Gras was amazing...

Black Bean Salad

BLACK BEAN SALAD
Amount = can estimate based on the amount of 4 cans of stuff, basically
Ingredients
1. 2+ cans black beans (usually 1 use organic cooked black beans -
you want to make sure that they're not mushy, but whole. Sometimes I
use the Safeway Organic brand or the S&W is also good although not
organic)
2. 1 can whole kernel corn
3. optional: 1 can small chickpeas
4. roughly chopped fresh cilantro
5. juice of 2+ limes
6. salt (sea or kosher, preferable) and fresh ground pepper - to taste
7. roughly diced red, orange and/or yellow peppers (this adds color
along with the cilantro)
8. 2-3 tbs. sugar

Instructions
1. Wash the beans, corn, chickpeas to get rid of the liquid that they
come in and to loosen them
2. Mix all ingredients together
3. Add more or less of each ingredient based on color and taste and
preferred ingredient
4. leave overnight in fridge - the lime juice helps to bring all the
tastes together

Rialto

Rialto
1 Bennett St
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
617-661-5050
www.rialto-restaurant.com

When looking at their menu, I wasn't too excited. However, every dish that was brought to our table was phenomenal. The flavors were perfectly harmonized and amazingly concocted. My dinner partner had an amazing appetizer of La Quince aged ham antipasto. The ham, figs, and cheese all blended perfectly in your mouth. My Sweet Corn Risotto with basil puree was packed with flavor without being overpowering. For the second course, I had milk braised port tenderloin that had a mild flavor that accentuated the natural flavors of the pork. Every bite was tender and mouthwatering. My friend had the thickest cut of salmon I had ever seen at a restaurant. This did not affect the perfection of the cooking! The salmon was perfectly cooked (meaning just somewhere in between rare and medium rare). He and I were dumbfounded at the amazing technique and brilliance of the flavors of each dish. The desserts were above average-- a chocolate torte for my friend and I had the berry shortcake w/ chantilly cream. The shortcake was made of cornmeal which added a pleasant extra sweetness. This restaurant was truly a pleasant surprise and one of my best dining experiences. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Rating: 5/5

SALMON BURGERS WITH HOISIN AND GINGER

1 pound skinless boneless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 large sesame-seed hamburger buns
Additional hoisin sauce
Additional mayonnaise
8 butter lettuce leaves

Place first 4 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until coarsely ground. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Mix in next 5 ingredients. Form into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté patties until fish is cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Meanwhile, toast hamburger buns. Spread bottom halves of buns with additional hoisin. Spread top halves with additional mayonnaise. Transfer burgers to bottom halves of bun; top each with 2 lettuce leaves and top half of bun.

These were decent. It was missing something. I think a little hot sauce would have kicked it up a bit (and I'm not usually the one for spicy).

Strawberry whip cream cake

So, when strawberries are 2Lbs for $3 what do you do? Well if you're me, you buy them then realize how much 2lbs is... So of course- when in doubt- I bake

I tried this new whip cream frosting. It uses a little bit of cream cheese for a richer taste. I was hesitant at first, but I tried it with 3/4 the amount of cream cheese and it was AMAZING. Here's the simple yet awesome recipe I used :
Whipped Cream
8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature (I ended up using about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups heavy cream

Carlo's

Carlo's Cucina Italiana

131 Brighton Ave.
(bet. Harvard Ave. & Linden St.)
Allston, MA

Went to this little Italian Restaurant that had a very North End feel though all the way in Allston. It was good and the pasta was fresh. The calamari was perfectly cooked (not chewy) and the stuffed veal was delicious. Though I must admit, out of the whole meal, my favorite was the side of potatoes that came with my stuffed veal. It was perfectly tender with a beautiful hint of sweetness.

Rating: 4.5/5

The Blue Room

Blue Room
1 Kendall Sq
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
617-494-9034
www.theblueroom.net
blue-room
The Blue Room
Vouched on Aug 19, 2007 7:43PM 5/5 stars
BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH!!! A little steep at $22 but it's a nice special Sunday treat. The spread here is amazing (all you can eat!!!).

Look!: Buttermilk pancakes with bananas and brown sugar, Scrambled Eggs with Spinach & Feta Cheese, Fried Pork Chicharrones with Tamarind BBQ, Enrique's Famous Home Fries, Blue Room Pork Sausage
Veal & Peppers, Roasted Vermont Lamb with Garlic~Basil Sauce,
Moroccan Spiced Chicken, Chinese Noodle Salad, Mesclun Greens with Mango Vinaigrette, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, Apple Tart Tatin, Dark Rum~Orange Cheesecake, Mango Muffins, Banana~Walnut Bread Pudding, and fresh fruit spread.

These are just SOME of the choices!!! The Mango Muffins were PHENOMENAL. They were perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Spread some butter on that and you're in HEAVEN!

Rating: 5/5

S & S

1334 Cambridge St
Inman Square
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
617-354-0777
www.sandsrestaurant.com

I've returned here a couple times because of the awesome seafood casserole. Scallops, shrimp, fish, baked in butter and white wine, topped with cheese and bread crumbs-- YUM. Everything else that my dining partners have tried (believe me, there's been a lot) have just been ok. Though I liked the Boursin Burger, anyone can make that at home. Come for the seafood casserole.

Rating: 3/5

Super Fusion Cuisine

Super Fusion Cuisine

690 A Washington Street
Brookline, Massachusetts 02446,
United States617-229-5310


OMG. Don't let the small size of the restaurant fool you. This 3 table & sushi bar tiny place has more flavor than restaurants 5 times its size. Zagat says this: Move over, Oishii demand Brookliners not that it needs to make much room: all of three tables and a tiny sushi bar delineate this "offbeat" Asian fusion "shoebox" in Washington Square, whose owner (a chatty former FuGaKyu chef) fittingly enough conceives his "raw and cooked" innovations way outside the box, where the value happens to be astonishing and where the cutesy name remains the only barrier to its discovery.

Now-- this place was ranked a 27 out of 30 on Zagat... which is pretty hard to do. But man, this place is damn good. Try the appetizers. Try the banana eel tempura. I know it sounds weird but the sweetness of the banana really brings out the flavor of the eel-- A must try: The soft shell crab roll is super cheap and you get a whole large soft shell crab. This place is a definite MUST for sushi lovers! The fish is so fresh it practically melts in your mouth (try the toro, hard to come by and very fresh here!). The varieties and choices are endless. Try to sit at the sushi bar and you can chat up the owner, who tells you about all that he's making (if you ask!). A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Even if you stick to your California rolls, try at least one of the fusion rolls-- you won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5/5