Tasty Turkey Chili

In honor of the first day of fall, I decided to make a pot of turkey chili. It has a slightly different flavor than traditional chili and is a nice, healthy option for lunch or dinner! Like most soups and chili, it's actually tastier after being in the fridge overnight.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I acquired it about 5 years ago when I was counting Points (it's 4 points for a cup, by the way!).

When possible, I try to buy "no salt added" products so I can season everything on my own. I used no salt tomatoes and corn in this recipe.

Homemade Pizza

All summer I said I was going to try grilled pizza. We got a sweet new grill at our engagement party, and I was set to use it Saturday night — until I was informed that the grill christianing would be reserved for a juicy steak. Um, yeah. Anyway...

Plan B? Homemade pizzas in the oven! Same ingredients, still delicious, and a lot of fun to put together! The key to making delicious pizza is definitely in the dough and toppings — fresh-picked, if possible!

Here's the list of ingredients that you'll need from start to finish:

• Active dry yeast
• Sugar
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Course salt and ground pepper
• All-purpose flour
• Garlic
• Whole peeled tomatoes (1 can)
• Lots of fresh herbs (I used basil)
• Whatever you want for toppings  

Read Me! Like Me!

Too desparate? Duly noted. 

Ever since I discovered the "Stats" section of Blogger, I've become obsessed with fond of looking at how people find my humble blog, where they're from, and which posts are most popular. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked when I saw the range of countries that my blog has reached! Among those listed...

So I want to give an international shout out if any of you are reading — guten tag, bonjour, buenos dias, g'day, ni hao, and privyet friends! And if you got to my page in error and quickly hit the back button, that's cool too (although, Nicaragua, you visited my page 16 times this week, so it doesn't seem like a fluke to me).

Anyway (and this one's for you Kristine!), there's another fun feature in Stats that lets you see the search terms that people typed into Google to find the blog. Now Kristine has posted her very entertaining finds in her recent blog post and has challenged her readers to do the same. However, much to my chagrin (yeah, I said chagrin), mine aren't funny. Anything funny about someone Googling "cruffin recipe"? No. Not so much. Unless you think it's funny that Brad and I thought we made the word cruffin up. Sad trombone.

The only one that's worth mentioning is:

"how to make school meatloaf"

Now, maybe it's been too long since I've been in school, but is the meatloaf so memorable that you'd try to Google the recipe? And is there one singular recipe for all school meatloaf? I have so many questions for this Googler. All I know is that fate brought us together.

Summer Squash Cake

I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "Enough of your veggie-filled sweet treats!"

But I need you to trust me that this "loaf cake" (as Martha calls it) is freakin amazing delicious. It has a very unique flavor, as most of the breads/cakes that I've made with veg tend to have a spicy flavor (i.e. cinnamon, nutmeg). However this cake's flavor is sweet and moist and has a hint of pistachio and fennel seed.

And can I just put it out there that I do.not.like yellow squash. Can't eat the stuff. Don't like the taste; can't stand the smell.

The recipe comes from Martha, one of my favs, and is called Two-Colored Squash Loaf Cake. Martha, darling, please don't be offended, but the name of your recipe leaves something to be desired. You're already messing with people by throwing a whole lot of squash into a cake. Perhaps a friendlier name (i.e., one that doesn't have the word "loaf" in it) is more suitable? That's my only complaint — and I've taken it upon myself to rename the recipe.

Restaurant Review: Fat Salmon

If there's one thing Brad and I love, it's going out for sushi! This weekend, we made our second trip to Fat Salmon, located in the Washington Square West neighborhood (719 Walnut Street). The first time we went, Fat Salmon was a BYO that had applied for a liquor license but was waiting for it to be approved. To our disappointment, this weekend was the first weekend that they were no longer a BYO — boo! We knew it was inevitable though.

We started with the shrimp tempura appetizer — B ate the shrimp, and I ate the veggies! Perfect! It was very tasty, and I was very pleased with the variety, including a red and green pepper ring, sweet potato slices, zucchini, broccoli, and green beans.

We ordered five rolls to share for dinner (what can I say — he's a hungry guy):

• Rock 'N Roll: Tuna, salmon, cucumber inside; crunchy and eel sauce on top.
• Rolling Fire: Shrimp tempura, cucumber inside; broiled spicy scallop sauce with crab stick and scallion on top — spicy spicy!
• Mr. French Kiss: Spicy crab stick with scallion, masago, and crunchy inside; shrimp, bacon — yes you read that right — and onion tempura on top.
• Lobster Tail Tempura: See the picture below — that mother had to be 2 inches in diameter!
• Nami: Salmon, cucumber, spicy sauce inside; avocado on top.

Apricot-Swirled Cheesecake Bars

This recipe came from Everyday Food (Martha's magazine, of course), which has a lot of great ideas for...well...everyday food. Not only was the recipe simple, but it was also beautiful and delicious!

I made very few changes to the original recipe — as usual, my version is below. I received pretty high remarks when I brought these into work. Considering how easy the recipe was to make, it's definitely a keeper!

Restaurant Review: Silk City

This one's for you, Dad! This past Father's Day, my dad drove down to Philly for a little lunch with his favorite (only) daughter and future son-in-law. We went to Silk City at his request, as he'd heard about it on what he calls "Triple D" — Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Silk City is an eclectic diner-slash-nightclub (and as of this year, it's also a beer garden!). If you turn left upon entering, you're in a bar. Turn right, and you head up the stairs to a gourmet diner! Keep walking through the diner, and you end up in an outdoor beer garden. Somewhat disjointed? Yes. Does it work? Definitely!

The specials menu changes often, and I recommend ordering from it! On Father's Day, my dad ordered a braised pork belly over lentils (pictured on left below). He concluded that it was the "best Father's Day lunch" he's ever had — whatever that means!

Food of the Gods

The second sidedish that I know you've been waiting in suspense for (relax, the wait is over!) is ambrosia, which literally translates to "food of the gods." If you've ever had it, you know that it's a sweet, light, and fruity side — not to mention a little unusual looking and old school. But delicious nonetheless!

Ambrosia is something I equate with family poolside BBQs at my grandparents' house — a dish that my late Aunt Patti always brought. When I was asked to bring it to our annual August birthdays party this past weekend, I knew I had to do her proud! There are many variations, but I started with a recipe from Alton Brown and made my own adjustments from there.

Asian-Inspired Coleslaw

Sure the main dish is important, but the sides should be just as interesting! Recently I've made a couple side/salad recipes that were colorful and tasty additions to summer meals.

The first side was Asian-inspired coleslaw, a recipe that I got from my good friend Melissa (shout out, yo!). It's very fresh and has a little more flavor than your average coleslaw. The original recipe calls for ground ginger, but using fresh ginger makes it smell and taste amazing! And if your coleslaw (store-bought or self-chopped) has a lot of red cabbage in the mix, it's a pretty attractive dish as well!

Asian Coleslaw (about 6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 lb. pre-shredded coleslaw mix (Whole Foods makes a great one!)
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
2-3 tbsp. lime juice (2 limes for me)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

• Blend all ingredients except coleslaw mix in a small bowl and thin with a splash of milk. 
• Pour over coleslaw mix and stir well. Refrigerate coleslaw for at least an hour before serving and garnish with a little chopped cilantro if that's up your alley!

Stay tuned for side #2...

Restaurant Review: Taco Riendo

Taco Riendo (or "laughing taco") is a small (but mighty) taqueria in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philly (1301 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122). A few years ago, Brad and I were craving authentic Mexican and found a listing for this little place. Now it's one of our favorite places for a quick, cheap bite!

Now that we've been going for a few years, we each have our "standard" orders. My staples include: elote asado, grilled corn on the cob with Mexican mayo, lime, chile powder, and Oaxaca cheese; a fish taco, which has Mexican rice, grilled fish, and lime wedges; and a choriqueso taco — their homemade, spicy chorizo and Oaxaca cheese grilled in corn tortillas.