the great shrimp boil comes to the Chateau!

For those that read this blog you may already know this -- but contrary to popular belief - bears do eat other things besides fish and that includes shrimp. As a matter of fact Betty and I have been on a big peel-and-eat-shrimp kick. I decided to try a shrimp boil in the fashion of classic New England and Southern Low Country dishes.


boiling water with sea salt, old bay seasoning, fresh squeezed lemon juice, whole lemons, potatoes, onions, and shrimp

I started the boil with the potatoes and onions for about 6 minutes, then added the corn for another 5 minutes and then added the shrimp -- which was frozen uncooked shrimp from Whole Foods -- for 3 minutes.


drained shrimp boil with half of lemon

Wasn't sure what to expect from this meal because it seemed too easy. Just heat some water, add some spices and then boil -- but it really was just that easy. Everything tasted delicious. The potatoes and onions were slightly overcooked as was the shrimp but no worries. I also whipped up a mayo-sriracha-old-bay-seasoning sauce to go with everything and Betty and I devoured our food. Can't wait to try this again with a slightly tweaked boiling time game plan.

bear-eakfast of champions vs. 1.0: prescription for pancakes

I decided to try out a recipe for pancakes that did not seem too complicated from our folks at Allrecipes.com. This is a big thing for a bear who is all about culinary improvisation rather than prescription: :

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
Ingredients

• 1 _1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 _1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 _1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

unflattering picture of homemade blue berry pancakes, crispy bacon, one egg over medium and breakfast potatoes with cheese and onions

The pancakes were very easy to prep and bear oh bear did they taste soooo good. I suppose with as much butter in them as the recipe prescribed I could do no wrong -- but this was truly the breakfast of champions. Perhaps I could get used to this whole recipe thing...the link for the pancakes are below:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

the return of the 2-flip: middle eastern 2-flip chicken

Back to the kitchen for some 2-flip chicken. Recall 2-flip chicken got it's name cause you only need to flip it twice to cook it. This time i marinated the chicken in turmeric and lemon juice and then topped it with the heatwave seasoning. I also made some lemon rice with bhasmati rice, fresh lemon juice and rind and chicken stock. Grilled up some zuccini, squash and onions as a side. Also made season some greek yogurt with cucumbers, onions and spices. Smacked some Trader Joes hummus in the middle crowned with a pita chip. Very fresh and tasty meal. I flip you not.


turmeric lemon chicken with lemon rice, grilled zuccini and squash, yogurt and hummus

and then a gyro salad comes along...with the taste to carry on...Jimmy V's Grill & Pub

Betty and I decided to stop in at Jimmy V's Grill & Pub to grab a bite to eat after spending the afternoon venturing out and looking at real estate. I ordered the gyro salad while Betty got the cheeseburger


gyro salad with gyro meat, pitas, olive, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions & feta

The salad was tasty, refreshing and gargantuan. I got to get my gyro fix with all the seeming lightness and nutrition of a salad. I would like to take a moment to note that thin cut gyro meat is a rarity in Columbus these days. If anyone knows of a place that slices and serves thin cut gyro meat holla atcha' bear.


cheeseburger with American cheese and fries

Betty reported that her cheeseburger was classically delicious. I had a bite and agreed.

This was probably our fourth time going to Jimmy V's and I must say that every visit has been consistently fresh and tasty. Definitely worth checking out if you're interested in bar food with Greek flare.

eating exhibition volume 1..The Ohio State Bear at the fair...

Betty and I ventured out to the Ohio State fair to meet up with some dear friends. I was excited because this was my first time going to the fair and I was excited to see, smell and eat all the foods that I had heard about over the years. It's safe to say that I made up for all the years that I had not been to the fair and truly put on an eating exhibition.


fried cheese stick and fair fries...

When we entered the fair I was ready to eat and we started with whatever was in close proximity - in this case a fried cheese stick and french fries. The fried cheese stick was decent. Was more batter-y in the manner of a corn dog but can you really go wrong with fried cheese? The french fries were yummy as well.


cinnamon-sugar dusted fresh fried baby donuts

I had read about the above donuts from columbusfoodie's blog and decided we had to try them based on the glowing reviews. These were one of my favorite foods that we tried that day. Freshly fried donuts topped with cinnamon and sugar. The donuts were warm and soft and melted in your mouth when you ate them. Not like any donut I've ever eaten -- sinfully delicious.


fair pep pizza

Yep still going strong -- i just had to try fair pizza. The slice was lukewarm but still had a pretty standard taste that was better than your average pizza joint. Simple tomato sauce, simple cheese and plain pep not bad -- though perhaps not really necessary on the consumption list of everything I ate that day.


strawberry and mint chip ice cream from the dairy barn...

Up next was trying out the ice cream at the dairy barn where they have the famous butter cow. We ordered ice cream -- and I thought perhaps the ice cream was made fresh that day when we ordered but later saw a sign for Velvet ice cream -- so maybe it wasn't fresh. Either way I was underwhelmed with it. Part of the reason for my apathy towards it was that we decided to be frugal and have our scoops in one cup which saved us ~$2.50 rather than ordering separate cups. I had the mint chip and Betty had the strawberry which didn't really blend well together. The ice cream reminded me of ice cream from back in the day. Simple yet ultra creamy -- but beyond that- nothing remarkable. I suppose that works for most folks but I think Jeni's and Graeter's have me spoiled and have my taste palette expecting more with action packed flavors and unique ingredients.


chicken and noodles


thanksgiving dinner

Yep. Still going. The above picture looks like something you might get from a lunch cafeteria -- which having grown up on Indian food -- I admit I always had a curiosity for cafeteria food. That being said I really enjoyed my chicken and noodles and Betty's Thanksgiving dinner. The only complaint being the styrofoam plate and bowl -- and that they ran out of cranberry sauce.



caramel topped apple dumpling with scoop of vanilla and cinnamon ice cream

Last food purchase of the day I promise. Closed the food-filled day at the fair with an apple dumpling. Definitely saved the best for last. This originally just came with vanilla ice cream but I thought it'd be good to mix it up with a scoop of cinnamon. Very tasty. The apple betty was piping hot and the ice cream with it was tremendous. I loved it.

I had a great time at the Ohio State fair catching up with dear friends, learning more about Ohio's wonderful wildlife and livestock and eating way too much food. We hope that this year will start a tradition of us going every year with our friends.

the return of the nacho bowl...chili cheese edition

Getting back to basics after our NYC trip. I cooked a mother crock pot of chili with black beans and kidney beans. I like cooking chili because you can remix it into a number of different meals depending on your mood throughout the week. I remixed the chili for the meal below by topping the chili with shredded extra sharp cheddar, diced onions, sliced jalapenos, and a dollop of sour cream topped with green onions. Playing the role of side kick was a mixed green salad with tomatoes, onions and salsa. Bowling was never tastier! ;)

bear in the city day 3: no dosa for you! - Amma

For one of our final meals in NYC my cousin took us to one of his favorite Indian restaurants in the city called Amma. He described it as a place that has unique menu items that you wouldn't expect to see at your typical Indian restaurant. When we arrived at the restaurant it had a quaint, contemporary lounge feel. The place was empty as we were having a late 2PM lunch. After perusing the menu we ordered from their pre fixe lunch specials. I decided on the bhel puri for my first course, the shrimp balchao for the appetizer and the tandoori sea bass for my meal. Betty was bummed because the South Indian lunch special of idly and dosa was unavailable. How you gonna be an Indian restaurant that serves South Indian food and not have idly and dosa? Come on now.


bhel puri consisting of puffed rice, lentils and potatoes served with a tamarind chutney

This was pretty tasty. I've never had it before but it reminded me of what namkeen chaat -- if such a thing exists -- might taste like. My only complaint was that the puffed rice was soggy from the chutney by the time it arrived to our table.


minimalist shrimp balchao

I've had limited exposure to Indian seafood dishes so I was pleased when I saw the shrimp and sea bass on the menu. The shrimp was good but there were only two shrimps on the entire plate. They should've used a smaller dish for plating. The shrimp was tasty with a tangy tomato seasoning with mother curry and masala over-currents. I've never had shrimp like this but imagine if someone made a spicy shrimp bruschetta. Pretty good but over seasoned.


tandoori sea bass

My sea bass was cooked perfectly. The fish flaked off like butter and was enhanced by the seasoning and buttery tomato curry accompanying the fish. Again there was a bit of overkill with the seasoning but still very good.


palak besan ki kadhi

My cousin had the kadhi which is a yogurt based soup with fried vegetables and chick pea flour balls in it. The kadhi was pretty good.


chicken tikka

Betty had the chicken tikka and was not impressed with it finding it overseasoned. I tried a bite and found it tasty however.

Overall Amma was decent food at slightly high prices -- but such is the norm when you dine out in NYC. The meal delivered on my cousin's promise of unique selections and combinations. At the same time I found some of the classic dishes like the chicken tikka and kadhi to not be anything extraordinary. I would say Amma is gourmet Indian food and though tasty -- I felt like they were trying to hard with their flavors that often made simple dishes overly complicated e.g. too much masala and curry sauce with the sea bass, shrimp, and chicken tikka. If you do go I would recommend not ordering anything classic and instead venture out and try something new from their extensive eclectic menu.