Archive | September, 2011

Birds Eye Samples

13 Sep

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a few free samples of the new Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites frozen sides.  I am unable to take part in many Tastemaker programs because they send coupons and I, sadly, don’t live near a grocery store and get almost all my groceries from FreshDirect.  So I was SO excited when they sent me a box of the actual product to try.

Over the past few weeks, we have found multiple reasons to use them as a great side for proteins that we were cooking.

We first tried the mushroom and green bean risotto.

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It was a creamier version of rice, but I’m not sure if I would call it “risotto.”  It did taste quite good, however, and I especially liked the amount of flavor in the green beans. (I always worry about frozen veggies tasting like water)

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We paired with with tequila lime shrimp and some sautéed spinach with shallots.

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Next we tried the roasted red potatoes and green beans with parmesan olive oil sauce. 

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This one we heated in a pot instead of in the microwave.  Just as easy (just dirties a pot, of course).

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This was my favorite of the bunch. The potatoes were well cooked (not too mushy, not too tough) and the green beans were as good as the ones in the risotto. Yum!

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We paired this with an awesome butter poached baked chicken and they went very well together.

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We also tried the creamed spinach (which was so good that I didn’t even realize it came from a frozen bag until Mike told me).  Separately, I was enjoying these so much that I ordered  the Specially Seasoned Garlic Baby Peas and Mushrooms from Fresh Direct.

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Perhaps I’m a garlic snob, but these were not nearly garlicky enough for me.  They just kind of tasted like frozen peas and mushrooms.  I found this one also needed salt more than the others.

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I think the Chef’s Favorites are really the way to go with Birds Eye.  They are perfect “afterthought” sides because they heated up in just a few minutes, so you don’t need to plan too much to use them.  Since I find myself concentrating more on proteins than sides, this was a perfect way to make an easy meal. I was impressed with the flavor and quality, and will be buying these again (hey FreshDirect… please add these to your product list!)

(While I did receive these samples for free, I was not at all required to blog about them, nor provide a positive review accordingly.  All opinions are expressly mine and reflect my honest take on the product.)

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Confetti Cupcakes with Bailey’s Frosting

12 Sep

I have a tradition in my office where I bake my coworker’s favorite desserts for them on their birthday.  One coworker said she loved confetti cake.  Hmmm… I was stuck.  That’s out of a box.  But… I said ok. I went to the store and looked for a box of confetti cake.  To my dismay, they had none.  I wasn’t sure if confetti cake could actually be made (weren’t those sprinkles inside magic so they got soft and didn’t bleed into the cake?) but a short google later, I found out that any regular sprinkles will do.  Good to know!

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So I whipped up a simple vanilla cake recipe (recipe here) and added in some sprinkles.  Worked like a charm!

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But I had to get a little more original with the frosting.  Lori had blogged about a Bailey’s frosting a few months back, and that seemed like a great idea to spice up these cupcakes. She originally got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

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I also bought a new cupcake piping set, and it made for some LOVELY looking cupcakes.

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So lovely in fact, that I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

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And this picture was definitely my favorite.

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If you want to make Bailey’s frosting at home, I recommend staying very close to the following recipe.  I added a bit of extra powdered sugar to make sure the peaks kept their shape after I piped them and brought this to the office.  It was perfect.

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RECIPE
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Bailey’s Frosting
(from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Directions:

1. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.  NOTE FROM SMITTTEN KITCHEN THAT REALLY HELPED: “This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.”

2. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

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Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill

9 Sep

One perk of my job is that I get to go on client dinners.  This supplements my expensive eating habits nicely.  Sometimes I wind up at places that are less than ideal (a recent trip to Dos Caminos left me in the prickly position of a waitress saying to me “there is NOTHING on the menu you can eat”… awesome) but sometimes I wind up trying awesome places like Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill (on 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in the 6 Columbus Hotel).

I had been there once before, however, this time I was with a coworker who knew the manager and he knew EXACTLY what to order.

We started with the lamb chops, which was yummy.  It even converted someone who typically doesn’t like lamb.  Winner.

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It came over a delicious sweet potato puree.

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Next up we ordered the pork belly.

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It was a delicious slice of perfectly cook pork belly with a great balance of sweet and spicy veg on top.

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We also ordered pork and shrimp dumpings, both of which were good, but no better than most NY Dim Sum.

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They enjoyed an order of spicy ceviche. I’ll take their word for it that it was good.

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We also ordered the duck, which came with orange teriyaki, cauliflower puree, and asian broccoli.  The skin on this was so perfectly crisp and the meat was so well cooked it almost melted in your mouth.  One of the top duck dishes I have had.

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And then… heaven came out…

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This was Oxtail Fried Rice.  It came with daikon, shiitake, and bone marrow.  The bone marrow was actually tucked inside an egg pocket.  See it broken open in the picture below.

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This was unbelievable.  One of the best dishes I have ever had.  And it was rice.  The most delicious rice I have ever had!  I actually felt bad while eating this that Mike wasn’t enjoying it with me and look forward to bringing him back here soon just for this dish.  Add this to the list of dishes I will crave during bad days.  Om nom nom nom nom nom nom.

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Just in case that wasn’t enough food, a sushi tray made its entrance.  I won’t go into the specifics (since I don’t remember them anyway) but I can tell you that every piece was awesome.

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For dessert we got bread pudding and this made lovers out of haters.  It was insanely good, perfectly cooked, unbelievably tender and moist, and full of flavor.  YUM!

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We also got green tea chocolate lava cake.  Awesome.  Simply awesome.

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This was a fantastic meal.  Absolutely fantastic.  Knowing what to order is key.  I usually wouldn’t focus on the cooked food at a sushi restaurant, but don’t forget about the “Grill” part of their name.  It’s fantastic.

And that Oxtail Fried Rice… mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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