The Hungry Apple

This weekend. Oh this weekend-it was a good one. Especially in the food department.

You see it was Nashville’s most eligible bachelor’s my little brother’s 30th birthday. I love birthdays and they give people great reason to celebrate.  My brother chose a restaurant that he wanted to try. I was very excited about his choice.

When Saturday night arrived it was rainy and unseasonably warm and a great night to visit Lockeland Table in East Nashville. He is currently on a house hunt in that part of town and since he will have his favorite sister over as often as possible, I figure I will have eaten everywhere in this part of town by the summer. I hope by then I have eaten at Lockeland Table at least 10 times. It was that much fun.

The building has great ambiance and is sort of perfectly perched on the corner of Woodland and 16th.

The feeling is rustic….

with a little splash of fancy.

They have great wines, a nice bar  menu and a small but wonderful beer selection that included Calfkiller,  Jackalope’s Thunder Ann and Fat Bottom’s Black Bettie (one of my personal favorites).

Everything we had was exceptional. Our server, Julia, was friendly and accommodating.

Here are all of our selections in no particular order of favorites but more in the order of the meal.

Crab and Corn Fritters with Slaw and Remoulade

Bibb Wedge with Fried Green Tomatoes and Red Pepper Jam

PEI Mussels with White Wine, Butter, Garlic, Shallot, Tomatoes and Grilled Bread

Chicken Liver Pate in a Jar with Smoked Peach Preserves (a table favorite)

The entree prices are very reasonable with pizza starting at $10 and entrees up to $24.

The Pig Pizza with Sausage, Pancetta, Pepperoni and Ham

Herb Gnocchi with vegetables and Madeira Cream (this was the greatest gnocchi I’ve ever had)

Roasted Chicken with Pimento Cheese Grits

And last but certainly not least…..

Trout with Maple Bourbon Glaze

Make a reservation, this place is hot.

If you need me to join you when you go, just let me know.

Afterward we headed to my favorite sweet stop, Jeni’s Spendid Ice Cream.

Where we enjoyed flavors like Sweet Potato with Roasted Marshmallow, Eggnog and Salty Caramel.

Both eateries get 9 apples people. 9.

I love a good Philly Cheese Steak sandwich but they are hard to come by. Granted, I have never been to Philly (not that it would help since I am 800 miles away)  but I do know that I prefer white cheese rather than yellow liquid cheese so that might be a problem.

I got so discouraged from going to a restaurant and ordering the sandwich and then having it not be nearly as good as I was imagining. I decided I needed to  develop what I was picturing. As I like to say in the cheesiest voice possible :

Don’t take it! Make it!

So that’s what I’ve done. This is what I ended up with.

I also threw in some roasted green beans that could take the place of french fries. They are so satisfying. I think it is because they are the same shape. They have salt and pepper too and they don’t taste like you picture green beans to taste. Yum!

Of course, if you just can’t live without the fries you should try these. Yes, another Alexia product.  When these are done baking, I just toss them with salt, pepper and dried parsley. They are simple and delicious.

There are  a lot of pictures with this post because my supposed perfect way to construct a Philly is specific and involves layering. Make fun if you like but you are sure to get the perfect bite each time.

The first step is caramelizing the onions. This takes a minute so I do it first. I slice up two medium sized onions and let them hang out, stirring every so often on medium-low heat. This is a slow and low process. Give it time to be done right.

Now it’s time to break down the buns. You don’t have to do this but I like as little bread as possible so I cut the middle out of the hoagie.

I use white american on my Philly at  home. It has a melt factor that cant be ignored. I get 8 pieces of thinly sliced cheese at the deli and then I cut  each piece in half.

I cover a round pan with aluminum foil and line up the hoagies to get ready to be stuffed!

Then I brown the sirloin steak.

The butcher (Norman) at my grocery store rocks!!! When I order the sirloin he goes ahead and thinly shaves the steaks for me so I save lots of time at home!  If you can shop at the Publix in Fieldstone Farms in Franklin I would highly recommend it.  Nice guy. Great butcher.

After the  pinkness disappears I saute it on medium high with a can of beef broth. This somehow creates the perfect Philly flavor. When there is only a little broth left (2-3 tablespoons) I remove it from the heat.

I layer cheese, then onion, then steak, then onion again, a tiny bit of the leftover broth, then cheese again.  That’s the magical order.

Then I bake on 350 for 5-7 minutes to let the cheese melt.  And this is what I get.

The perfect ratio of bread, steak, onion and cheese. I wish I had another one right now!

For the green beans……

I just trimmed a pound of green beans and tossed them in a large bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then roasted for 25 minutes on 375.

Truth be told, I still order a Philly every time I am at a restaurant that serves them. I continue to be disappointed.  My Philly is in first place now but you never know when you might run up on a better one.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound sirloin steak, shaved

2 medium onions, sliced very thin

1 10.5 ounce can condensed beef broth (i use campbell’s)

4 hoagies, with the middle cut out 🙂

8 thin deli slices of white american (or cheese of your choice), sliced in half  so that you have 16 halves

10 twists of pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Instructions and directions: 

In a small saucepan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil . Add onion and cook on low for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently until onions are caramelized.

Cut the middle out of the hoagie buns for less bread while keeping one side in tact.

Line round or rectangular pan with aluminum foil and line buns in pan cut side up.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large nonstick skillet heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add steak and saute until most of the pinkness is gone. Season with pepper. Turn heat up to medium high and beef broth and simmer unitl only 2-3 tablespoons of liquid remain. Remove from heat.

Inside each bun, divide ingredients and layer 2 half slices of cheese, onion, steak, onion and 2 more half slices of cheese.

Bake sandwiches for 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts.

(Don’t forget about the green bean “fries”)

This salad is a side. Don’t worry, I’m not going all rabbit on you. Just enjoying these awesome flavors all together.

Salads are so much fun for me but I feel like they often get forgotten in the winter when the produce isn’t as plentiful.

I am always trying to make a fun one up to compensate for the lack of fresh everything.

I like all different kinds of lettuce but for this one I just picked a spring mix.

I used a Bosc pear for this recipe. The skin of a Bosc pear is crisp and the inside is semi firm, not too sweet and juicy. Perfect for this salad.

This dressing is mild with just a little tang and slightly sweet from maple syrup.

Creamy blue cheese (that I crumbled) and sweetened/spiced walnuts topped it off. If you cant find walnuts that are already sweetened/spiced in the store you can use a recipe like this. You could even just toast them and they would still be good.

All the flavors together work brilliantly.

It comes together in minutes. Take a try and add this to your next meal!

WINTER SALAD WITH PEAR, BLUE CHEESE and WALNUTS

makes 4 very small salads or two large

a hungry apple original

Ingredients: 

1 bag spring mix salad

1 Bosc pear, sliced thin

4 ounces good quality blue cheese, crumbled (about a 1/4 cup)

dressing:

1/2 of a small shallot, finely diced

2 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

sea salt, pinch

3 twists freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions and directions: 

In a small bowl, combine shallot, syrup, vinegar, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Layer salad, cheese, pear and walnuts in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with dressing.

The word of the day is “pastacoma” and I’m in one.

It’s a trance and I have been thinking about pasta all the time lately.

This pasta dish was different than any of the others I make.

I am trying to teach myself to like Italian sausage. Do you ever try to train  your taste buds? It usually works for me. Then I will eat the thing I am trying to train myself to like so often, that I get sick of it. Ha!

This time I used Aidelle’s Italian style chicken sausage and it was good.

The ingredients here are simple and come together quickly.

Mushrooms, green onions and tomatoes made this pasta hearty and bright.

There wasn’t really a sauce to the pasta but the broth and all the juices from the sausage and veggies helped coat the pasta.

I liked using the fresh pasta from the fridge case too. Fresh pasta is more expensive than dried pasta but it was a nice treat. We also don’t usually use “white” pasta so that was fun too.

Topped with Parmesan cheese. Have I posted on the importance of grating your own Parmesan? It really makes a huge difference. Here is the grater I use. Makes a great stocking stuffer!

CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOM PASTA

Ingredients: 

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

4 links Aidelles Italian chicken sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1/2 lb. mixed sliced mushrooms, like oyster, shiitake, and cremini (you could just use button or portobella if you want)

4 medium scallions (white and green parts), trimmed and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

15 twists freshly ground black pepper

sea salt

1 can drained canned diced tomatoes

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

12 ounces fresh linguine or fettuccine

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions and Directions:

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, scallions, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 15 grinds fresh pepper and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms soften and start to brown,  around 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook until the sausage is heated through and the flavors are combined, about 5 minutes. Season to tasted with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package timing until it’s just al dente. Drain well and add to the sauce along with half of the Parmesan. Cook over medium heat, tossing for 1 minute. Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan and some black pepper.

adapted from fine cooking

We recently went with some friends to tour Yazoo Brewery in Nashville. I have been enjoying their beer for a couple of years now and decided it was time to see where it all goes down.

I won’t tell you too much because you should really go see for yourself.

Tours are on Saturdays from 2:30-6:30 once an hour.

(Had to borrow this one because I forgot to take an outside pic)

The friends.

Our tour guide was Seth and he was informative and funny with a dry sense of humor. The employees get to drink responsibly while they give tours. How awesome is that?

The brewery was named after the Yazoo River in Mississippi which is where (if memory serves me correctly) the owners met and fell in love <3. Sweet.

We learned about barley and hops.

We got to see the machines where the beer is made, bottled and labeled.

Most importantly we sampled.

My personal favorites are their: Dos Perros, Pale Ale and Hop Project. The tour didn’t change that but it was nice to taste some others as well.

Then we sampled some more. Plus, we got some really cute glasses to take with us and since cute glasses are the reason everyone goes on brewery tours, it was a success

All for $7! I would recommend this tour to any beer lover, enthusiast or anyone interested in how things are made.

Their process (they still do new/experimental batches in their original home brew equipment) and the minimal number of people they employ is impressive.

Afterward, I decided to use what I had learned. Naturally. 

I am a big fan of beer bread. If you’ve never had it, it is dense and heavy sort of like a bagel.

It takes no other liquid ingredients besides the beer. The most important ingredient!  I used Hop Project.

No eggs either! Additionally, it doesn’t have to rise or wait or any of that “baker” stuff that I have little talent for.

All you have to do is combine dry ingredients and make a well.

Saute onion, garlic and shallot and add them to the dry ingredients.

Then add cheese and beer (watch the fun fizzle).

You could add all kinds of things to it: bacon, jalapenos-just to name a few.

Put it in a loaf pan. And Bake!

This isn’t the type of bread you might want to make a sandwich with but it is the type you would want to dip in a soup or chili. It’s a good replacement when you want a break from cornbread. Even though the beer has all baked out you can really taste it. So, if you don’t like beer…..then what’s wrong with you!?!?

Thanks Yazoo. We shall return!

YAZOO BEER BREAD

Ingredients: 

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 small onion, finely diced

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

5 twists of freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup cheese, shredded ( i used Monterrey jack, you could also use cheddar)

1 Yazoo Hop Project beer (or your favorite beer)

Instructions and directions: 

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small skillet over medium heat, cook the diced onion and shallot until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and sugar.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add sauteed onions, cheese and beer and stir to combine. Don’t over mix.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter.

Pour dough into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Evenly pour butter over the top of the dough in the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter.

Remove bread from oven. Evenly pour butter over top of the bread and bake for 20-25 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.

If you are a lover of hearty soups, then this one is going to be a hit at your house!

The taco soup recipes I have seen in the past call for crazy amounts of salt and prepackaged ranch dressing, taco seasoning etc. So I did what any logical food lover would do and I made up my own. Now you can have a healthier alternative too.

You just start off cooking your onion and ground turkey and seasoning with the taco seasoning.

As you will see, the ingredients are simple and if you have any homemade taco seasoning already made then you will be on the fast track. (Looks like it’s time for me to make more!)

Canned beans  (any of your favorites would be fine) and vegetables help speed up the processes.

Ground turkey is perfect for this soup.  Each week my goal is to have one meal of each: one red meat, one chicken, one seafood, one vegetarian meal and a pork or turkey.

I garnished mine with fresh avocado, sour cream and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips too! It was great!

And if that weren’t enough, it freezes beautifully.

TURKEY TACO SOUP

Serves 6-7

a hungry apple original 

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

1-15 ounce can black beans, drained

1-15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained

1-10 ounce can corn, drained

1-15 ounce can tomato sauce

1-15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1 cup reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth.

1 can rotel, drained (i used hot)

 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

1 avocado, sliced, for garnish

sour cream, for garnish

grated cheese, for garnish

tortilla chips, for garnish

Instructions and directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, brown mean and onion until mean is no longer pink.

Add taco seasoning, salt, garlic powder, pepper,  beans, corn, tomato sauce, tomatoes, broth and rotel.

Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until soup thickens.

Garnish with avocado, sour cream, cheese and chips.

Pumpkin. It’s not just for pie anymore. Or November for that matter!

(Yes. Yes I did have two waffles. And bacon as a matter of fact. Who’s asking?)

To be festive, I made these on Thanksgiving morning but I wont be holding them hostage to the holiday season. Oh no, these babies are going to be year round.

I think there are two kinds of people in this word: waffle people and pancake people.

Whenever I used to frequent the Waffle House in my younger days a waffle was always a part of  the smorgasbord  that they laid out in front of me.

Don’t get me wrong, I like pancakes but I am definitely on TEAM WAFFLE! The way the iron pressed craters hold onto the syrup gets me every time.

Enough with the mushy waffle loving.

Adding powdered sugar and real maple syrup are the last hurdles between me and that waffle.

EVERYDAY PUMPKIN WAFFLES

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon  white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 2/3 cups milk

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions and directions:

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl.

In a second bowl, add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk, and butter; beat well. Gently fold pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Mix together but do no over mix.

Cook according to your waffle iron directions.

I make these in my round waffle iron on medium and it uses about 1/3 cup batter per waffle.

An amateur food blogger I know had a birthday recently. She chose to go to Germantown Cafe for a night off for dinner, which is becoming sort of a birthday trend for her.

Shout out to Scorpio’s everywhere!

Located on the edge of the Germantown neighborhood in north Nashville,  the restaurant has a great relaxed vibe and I feel right at home when I go there. The menus and the floor are made of cork and they always have fresh flowers.

A second shoutout  (two in one post!) to Andrew. One of the informative and accommodating members of the Germantown staff.

I’m going to step out on a blog limb and call it a Nashville staple. There, I said it.

(Please excuse the quality of pictures-the lighting sets the mood and after all I am taking pictures with a phone!)

They have a standard menu that changes up a little from day to day, but there are many menu items that you can count on time after time.

Word on the street is that they will be adding new menu items after Thanksgiving as well as a happy hour menu.

(Escargot)

My favorite appetizer is the escargot and my favorite entree is the Coconut Curry Salmon.

(Southwest Strudel)

They also have a fun strudel, think phyllo dough  filled with ________ and shaped like an egg roll  The strudel filling changes from day to day.

(Crab cakes)

The pasta also changes daily (my favorite is mushroom cream with linguine) and they also have a special or two.

(House Salad)

Each entree comes with a house salad. Their blue cheese vinaigrette is tangy and delicious.

(Trout-Special)

If you haven’t been there you should try it. I am not going to pretend that it is the trendiest or most experimental restaurant that I have ever been to but it is romantic, has a fabulous view and they serve consistently great food.  Consistency is an award winner in my book.

They also serve a fantastic brunch! At dinner they serve the fluffiest melt in your mouth rolls and I can never eat less than two. At brunch though….they roll them in cinnamon and sugar and serve them with strawberry butter. To die for.

Go for dinner, go for brunch-Just go!

8 apples for you Germantown!

Don’t take it! Make it!

We are pizza lovers at our house but some times we like to mix it up. Most of the pizzas we make don’t have a red sauce they have things like BBQ Sauce or Buffalo Sauce or no sauce at all.  I don’t put marinara inside the calzone but rather on the side for dipping.

You could choose any of your favorite pizza toppings to stuff inside.

We chose fresh grated mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms and salami.

Use a homemade pizza dough or get your favorite dough from the grocery.

The extra dough around the edges that you roll up and pinch is yummy too.

Back in college we ordered calzones all the time from a place called Imans. The calzones were greasy and packed full of your choice of toppings and were sure to cure any self inflicted ailments as a result of the night before.

While I am not sure these calzones have any magical powers they were very good. They weren’t at all greasy either like the old cure all from back in the day. I only ate half of mine and saved the rest for lunch the next day.

I made my own marinara but you could certainly buy store bought if that makes it easier for you.

(If possible, place a cooling rack (or a small rack from an appliance like a toaster oven) on top of an cookie sheet for the last 5 minutes of baking. This helps the heat to get under the calzone so that if you have any excess water from veggies or cheese, your calzone won’t be soggy. )

The outside turned out salty and crispy.

While the indside was warm and melty.

Instead of grabbing one from your local takeout make this instead!

MAKE YOUR OWN CALZONE

makes 2 large calzones

to make calzones: 

Ingredients: 

1 pound pizza dough (tip: set pizza dough out 1-2 hours before using for best results)

6 slices genoa salami

4 ounces fresh mushrooms

4 ounces grated fresh mozzerlla

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

6 twists freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions and directions: 

Heat oven to 375.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil and saute mushrooms until most of their water has evaporated. About 7 minutes. Set aside.

Roll up salami slices together and slice 4 sections to make ribbons.

Onto a lightly floured surface, cut pizza dough in half and roll out into two large circles. Layer 1/4 of cheese on one end of each circle of dough. Next, layer salami on top of cheese, then 1/2 of sauteed mushrooms on top of each. Top mushrooms with remaining cheese. Then sprinkle half of oregano onto each. (This part seems confusing so here is the picture again 🙂 )

Fold the dough in half, covering the toppings to make a semi circle. Crimp the dough to seal it off and keep all the toppings tucked safely inside.

Bake for 15 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet.

While calzones are baking, make marinara.

to make marinara: 

Ingredients: 

1-16 ounce can tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon sea salt

10 grinds fresh pepper or 1 tsp pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Instructions and directions: 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients. Let simmer 10-15 minutes.

Remove calzones from oven and place calzones on a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. Sprinkle calzones with parmesan and a few twists each of pepper. Bake for 5 additional minutes. Broil for one minute if desired to get crunchy on top.

Serve with a side of marinara.

I hope that if you had a long weekend you enjoyed it thoroughly.

Pumpkin waffles got Thursday off to a great start. Recipe to post soon.

For the festivities that afternoon, I made Mac and Cheese-see recipe below.

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving Dinner. Since no one was hell bent on the usual, we had traditional mixed with non traditional.

We had lamb chops instead of ham or turkey.

Salad. Random and delicious.

Brussels.

Celery stuffed with whipped onion cream cheese. Strange family tradition.

Dressing. Super traditional.

We also had cranberry sauce and homemade rolls. Yum.

Leftover dough from my mother’s homemade rolls produced these. They might have been my favorite thing from the whole weekend. She could sell these. They are that good.

The rest of the weekend consisted of breaking out the holiday decor.

The holiday aprons made an appearance.  Yes, I wear aprons.

Testing lights and fluffing trees.

Ornaments everywhere! We are total colored-lights-on-the-tree kind of people. White lights outdoors. How about you?

Self portrait.

I am not too sentimental but my favorite time of year is here and I adore it.

This is not my favorite mac and cheese recipe but it is everyone else’s favorite. I don’t argue with the masses.

It isn’t complicated so put it in your arsenal.

You start out with the elbow mac. I like Barilla because the noodles are textured. I feel like it makes it cling to the cheese. It is probably just my imagination.

You shake the flour with the milk and spices to help thicken things up.

While the mac is boiling you can grate the cheese.

The breadcrumbs give the mac a nice crust.

2 tablespoons of divided butter helps everything melt together without being oily.

MAC AND CHEESE

Ingredients: 

2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles

2 cups milk (i used 1%)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

10 grinds of fresh pepper

12 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese (1 1/2 blocks) grated (will be about 3 cups after grated)

1 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces

Instructions and directions: 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package directions- al dente.  Drain and set aside

Place milk, flour, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a “shakable”  jar. Shake for 1 minute.

Stir together flour mixture, 2 cups cheese, and noodles.

Pour macaroni mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese, breadcrumbs and 8 pats of butter.

Bake  for 45 minutes or until golden brown.