Roasted Chili Relish and Reviews

I adapted this recipe from one in our Gourmet Magazine from last month:
Roasted Chili Relish

Ingredients

• 0.5 - 1 lb various chilies (as hot as you want)
• 1/2 small head garlic (4-5 cloves)
• 1/3 cp white vinegar
• 2 - 3 tbsp sugar
  
• salt / pepper / thyme
  

Steps

1. Clean peppers and remove stems/seeds
2. Roughly chop peppers
3. Remove top of garlic head
4. Wrap garlic head in foil and place it along with peppers on foil on baking sheet in 350 degree oven for ~30 minutes (I used a toaster oven)
5. Let cool slightly and remove garlic from wrappers/cover
6. Put everything in a food processor with vinegar, sugar, and seasoning and run until chopped fine and semi smooth (<1>
7. Pour mixture into small sauce pan and cook until liquid has reduced by half
8. Pour into jar with lid and refrigerate
   

Thoughts

The original recipe called for actual "pickling" of the chilies but I was too lazy and hungry for that. I put this stuff on everything from my sandwiches to chicken/pork dishes to pasta. It had a great heat plus a nice tang from the vinegar and sugar.

::Reviews::

A couple of weeks ago a couple coworkers and I took a long lunch and went to a local deli/small grocery store in south st. louis and had some great sandwiches. The place is called LeGrands Market and I find it hard to think of a better sandwhich that can be had for less than 5 bucks. The size was good, the meats were good quality, the mixtures were tasty and the toppings were great. I will be going back ... if only it were closer to work ;-) Check out their scan of their sandwich menu and just try and not get hungry!

On another lunch break, we took in what is becoming a downtown highlight. Papy's. At 11:25am the line was 30 minutes long and wrapped throughout the small restaurant (it opens at 11). All in house home made barbeque that is there until they run out each day. Despite the wait, it was well worth it ... some of the best brisket I have had in quite some time.

Em made a Rachel Ray recipe the other night and it was pretty darn good. (I don't know if I was more shocked by the fact that she made one of Ray's or that it was as good as it was) She made her Sloppy Buffalo Joes with ground turkey and extra hot sauce and they were really good.

Finally, a coworker of mine turned us on to a new (to us) local ice cream place called Serendipity which has some really good homemade icecream. No its not Ted Drews, but its closer and very good. Mmmm Gooey Butter Cake Ice Cream :)

Fish Fry #2 - A MORE Sacred Heart

This past Friday, Em and I got our weekly fish-fix at the Most Sacred Heart Catholic Church Fish Fry in Eureka (yes, they really are the most ... way more sacred heart than our parish).

My one word review? Wow.

They had their act together. Firstly, there was a line of cars trying to get into the parking lot (usually the sign of good or slow fish fry). The only menu choice was between a small and large plate (small being one server, large being all-you-can eat) but at $6/$9 very reasonable. They made up the plates as you walked up (no side choices) which was great for getting the zillions of people through the line quickly, but left everyone getting the same 3 sides (all good: pasta, coleslaw, and green beans). The fish was tasty, the sides were good, and your dinner included drink, desert and bread.

Me being me, I had to get the all-you-can-eat plate ... but they gave you so much food on your first plate, that I really didn't need a second. I pushed on, however, and got in line for some more fish and coleslaw, but got there in time for them to be in-between fish batches which was drastically slowing up both the eat-in and carry-out lines. I figured I would chalk up my extra $3 dollars as a donation and get back to the table where Em's and my deserts were waiting for me (Em gave up sweets for lent). After a slice of homemade cherry pie and lemon cake ... I was done.

All in all, very good. However, get there early!

(The previous week we ended up going out to a local pub/restaurant for dinner and didn't go to a fish fry)

G&W - Bavarian Style Sausage Company

This small sausage company located in South St. Louis has great sausages, smoked meats, and atmosphere.

This past Saturday morning, my dad and I were in search of some good sausage, and we were not left wanting. The place is a small building sandwiched between old car dealerships on a road that dead ends at some train tracks. But don't let the outside fool you, or the large bull painting frighten you, inside lurks yummy foods worth the drive. Walking in you find yourself in a small room with 3 large meet cases full of assorted fresh and smoked/curred sausages, fresh meats, cured meats, and cheese along with a variety of Germanic focused dry goods. A few guys are working behind the counter, cutting meat, swapping stories, doling out cooking advice, and tossing you a free beer if the line gets too long (meaning > 2 people, I declined given that it was 9am and I hadn't eaten anything yet).

After sampling a few of their homemade delicacies, we ended up getting an assortment of things: shinkenwurst, smoky and spicy landjager, some great jerky, breakfast sausage, garlic bratwurst, another ham bases sausage, some "black forest" ham sliced paper thin ...

Everything was great and reminded me a ton of my grandpa who was a German-American through and through and didn't consider a day done until he had meat+potatoes and probably some kind of sausage. Sauerkraut, a plus.

Valentine's Day Dinner - Big Sky Cafe

This Valentines Day, Em and went back to an old favorite for the first time since coming back to town. We had dinner at Big Sky Cafe, the same restaurant we got engaged at. Although they have changed much of the decor since we were last there, and the table we sat at that night is gone, the food was still delicious, the atmosphere unique and the wait staff well trained.


We started with drinks; a perfect Manhattan for me, as usual, and a Valentines day special martini for Em.

I had Blue Crab w/ Fresh Avocado small plate and the Duroc Pork Rib Chop. Both were great, but he highlights were how light the Parmesan and sage bread pudding was and how all of the flavors in the crab dish hit you at different times.

Em had Roasted Golden & Red Beet salad and the Steak and Cake. From all accounts both dishes were superb. Its hard to "beet" a really great crab cake and a perfectly cooked piece of beef tenderloin covered toasted walnut blue cheese butter. :)


We will have to go back sometime for desert. We were both too full at the time, but they had some very interesting ones on the menu.

Christmas Pounds

I haven't weighed myself lately (in a long time actually) but I am sure I way few pounds more than I did pre-holidays.

Over the past week or so I have eaten 5 large family meals (that I can remember) plus countless candies and cookies plus a couple really great meals at some local reastaurants (hurray for fishbowls). With all of that plus normal meals, you would think I could hibernate till at least February. I might.

But not until after tonight. Tonight we are going out with a friend of mine from work and his wife to one of my favorite restaurants: Kabob International. If you are ever in the STL area and have a chance, I highly recommend it.

Oh, one other thing. Harry and David Chocolate Covered Bing Cherries and Royal Riviera Pears are to die for!

The Uncrusting of America: Mallow Fries

Em and I found these gems at our local Kwik-E Mart (Walgreens). For $0.59 I was sucked into buying them ... purely for their blogg-ability and absurdity-factor.

Now, to be fair, I have seen similar candies before in my life. Hell, my grandfather loved to eat the chewy marshmallow circus peanuts which I am pretty sure had 0 peanut, marshmallow, or chew in them and were in fact surplus government rubber from WWII. But I digress.

These wonderful joys of a snack came in a small plastic bag touting their exception flavor and left me wondering if alarms went off and confetti shot into the air when they added the millionth ingredient.

I have to say, the fries themselves were not all that bad. Same surplus rubber as the peanuts. The problem was the "Kandy Ketchup". It was Horrible! I guess you get what you pay for. :-p

This last pic is from a recent trip to Ted Drewes here in STL. Oh, how its good to be back home. (The massive lines, which actually move very quickly, are nothing compared to the site that is TDs after a Cards game lets out). :-D If you ever have the opportunity, there are few things better in this world than a TD's banana and peanut butter cup concrete.