Turkey Sangy!

Turkey, goat cheese, chipotle hummus, and arugula on homemade focaccia bread

Kansas City BBQ

BBQ sauce in the top left, Boulevard Wheat beer, ketchup that remained untouched, Pulled Pork and Ham Sandwich, Fries

I'm not usually a huge barbecue* person, but from what I hear, Kansas City-style is something to try. According to Wiki, "Kansas City barbecue is characterized by its use of different types of meat... along with its sweet and tangy sauces which are generally intended for liberal use." Sounds good to me!

*For the record, I just learned that barbecue is correctly spelled with a "c" and not a "q." I assumed BBQ --> barbeque. Not so.

I asked the concierge to recommend an authentic BBQ joint relatively close to the hotel and without a pause he said "Jack Stack." He said that not only is it the best (in his humble opinion) but it happens to be less than a mile from the hotel I'm at. After some brief research from my hotel room, I decided that I'd trust his opinion and check it out.

The area of Kansas City I'm in is really great. I'm right near the Power and Light District, which is an area filled with bars, restaurants, and music venues. There's the huge Sprint Center (where Daughtry is playing tonight, puke), then an outdoor stage called KC Live! that seems pretty cool. To get to Jack Stack, I walked through what appeared to be a sort of artsy district down to the Freight House, which has a bunch of hip restaurants including said barbecue joint.



I sat outside despite the ominous clouds and stormy breeze and enjoyed a local Boulevard Wheat beer while reading a magazine and awaiting my meal. With advice from the waiter, I ordered The Hatfield sandwich, which is your choice of two barbecue meats served on a french roll with a side of fries. Choices of meats for the sandwich included beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked turkey, and smoked ham; I chose the pulled pork and ham and asked for the spicy barbecue sauce. The food came out unfortunately fast but I was hungry so it was okay. Had I been dining with friends we probably would have been annoyed.

The meat had a delicious smoky flavor and the roll was a great combo of crunchy-soft. The barbecue sauce was uhhhhhhmazing. It definitely had a ketchup base but had a great tangy flavor, a hint of sweetness, and a good kick to boot. I drenched my sandwich in the sauce -- heck, the Wikipedia article told me to do it and I can't say no to them -- and ended up dipping all my fries in it as well. I took half the sandwich home, along with a requested to-go cup of spicy sauce. I plan to eat this before the evening is out.

A closer look at the yummy meat

I wish I had something to which I could compare this barbecue, but I haven't tried any other famous barbecue restaurants in the south/midwest, let alone in Kansas City. Barbecue roadtrip, anyone??

Regardless, I highly recommend a stop at one of the Jack Stack locations if you ever get to Kansas City! Oh, and definitely check out the KCP&L district (as they seem to call it here).

Home tomorrow night!!!

Hot and Humid in Houston

I haven't posted in a while and am away for work until the wee hours of Thursday morning without access to any of my food pictures, but that won't stop me from writing something about food.

Until this evening, my food on this trip has consisted of Chipotle (chicken fajita salad) and a $5 footlong from Subway (turkey and ham). Booooooring. I got the scoop from a Houston inhabitant who told me that I had to check out Hungry's in Rice Village, which appears to be the little restaurant/shopping district near the Rice University campus. I have to admit, I wasn't too impressed with the area, but Hungry's was definitely a gem. I also don't have much to go on besides the three streets I drove down so perhaps I drove down the wrong ones. No offense, Rice U fans. In your defense, Hungry's was delicious!

They have another location in Houston but I can't say anything about that because my experience with this city is limited to the past 27 hours. The one I went to is a cute art deco-ish style building with a nice looking patio, on which I totally would have eaten if it weren't 90 degrees and humid. They serve typical American cafe fare with a Mediterranean flair. Burgers, sandwiches and salads seem to be the big hits, with each section containing several Greek-style menu options (hummus, lamb, and feta cheese are major players here).

I ordered the jalepeno hummus appetizer and the Mediterranean wrap, then took them back to my hotel room to enjoy in my pj's. The hummus was creamy and flavorful but not as jalepeno-ey as I had hoped. The only hint of spice was tasted when I ate the two jalepeno slices that garnished the dish. No harm though, I heart hummus. It was served with warm pita and crunchy cucumbers. The wrap consisted of lamb and beef gyro meat with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and "Grecian sauce" served on a whole wheat pita. Quite delicious, and I'm hoping that because it was a wrap, it was healthy. At least that's what I'm telling myself. It was served with an iceberg wedge salad in Greek feta dressing, which I didn't try because iceberg wedges do not appeal to me in the slightest. Also, I was full from housing a bowl of hummus and a gyro wrap.

I know this review is probably meaningless to most of my readers who live in the DC area, but just bear with me. I'm bored here in Houston. And hey, if you happen to be in the Medical District of Houston anytime soon, now you have a place to eat that isn't fast food!

Off to Kansas City, MO tomorrow... Perhaps I'll try out some of this famous BBQ they have and blog about it. I know you're on the edge of your seats!

Rampin' It Up

Thanks to Eileen, I had some glorious spring ramps to use up a couple weeks ago. I had never tasted these green creatures but after reading all the hype in the blogosphere I was very intrigued!

I tossed the tasty ramps in with a simple springy recipe for tortellini, thus amplifying the "spring" factor by at least tenfold.

Served with homemade ciabatta (I promise I'll post that recipe one day...), this easy weeknight pasta dish was perfecto.

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Southwestern Salmon Salad

Wouldya take a look at that alliteration!

I'm off to Taste of Wheaton soon but thought I'd share Friday's dinner first: grilled salmon with a baby green salad.

This recipe (invented by yours truly) is quick to throw together and requires no indoor cooking which is perfect for a summer evening in the backyard. Note: the 'skeeters have not yet arrived in our backyard, so we are taking FULL advantage before they take over. Last year we used a combination of citronella candles, a citronella lantern thing, and a bunch of tiki torches, to no avail. This year we're considering breaking out the big guns and buying a propane-powered mosquito repellent contraption. What have other people done?? There is no standing water in our backyard, where are they coming from?!

Anyway, before the mosquito army hits your neighborhood, I recommend trying out this recipe!

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Hameriffic Sandwich

Deli-sliced ham, smoked gouda, homemade pesto, roasted red peppers, pickled jalepenos, baby spinach on a toasted wheat kaiser roll

Pad See Ew

I love Thai food, so when I can't get to Nava Thai I enjoy trying out a recipe at home. Pad See Ew is essentially pan-fried flat rice noodles with meat and vegetables; easy to make and wonderfully Thai-tasting. It can be made vegetarian simply by using tofu instead of meat and omitting the eggs.

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All Sandwiches, Great and Small

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that sandwiches are my favorite food. There are just so many options!! So many different kinds of bread, so many meat and cheese combinations, so many toppings!

I've decided that every so often, I'm going to just post a picture and quick description of a sandwich Don or I have created.

I'm starting strong with the lunch we just had a couple hours ago:

Grilled chicken (marinated in s&p, chili-garlic, olive oil), melted cheddar-jack, roasted red pepper, fresh basil from our garden, and cholula served on grill-toasted homemade ciabatta bread

Hey, Shorty

Last week we had Don's brother and my sister over for dinner one night. It's rare that the four of us get to be together so I wanted to impress. Who am I kidding, I would have wanted to impress even if I saw them every other day.

I cooked up some southwestern-spiced short ribs in the crock pot and served over jalepeno-jack polenta. This meal was SO easy to throw together, especially since the short ribs slowly cooked all day while we were at work. Slow cookers are perfect to use when entertaining; they make large quantities and are almost completely no-maintenance, allowing the host to mingle rather than slave away in the kitchen.

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Arepas con Chorizo y Frijoles Negros

Arepas are delicious patties made with flour from corn (masarepa) that can be grilled, fried, or baked. They are traditional items on various Latin American/South American/Caribbean menus, and will now be a staple on mine! This meal wasn't the healthiest, but boy was it decadent. Arepas pan-fried then baked, then stuffed with chorizo, black beans, and cheese and broiled until all melty and tasty-like. Serve with a salad if you want to make yourself feel better, or don't like us.

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Branching Out, v2.0 - Anchovies!

Sticking with my plan to branch out with cooking as much as possible, I took up anchovies. My only prior experience with them has been in Caesar dressing, which I will also be making soon! I've learned to be grossed out by anchovies on pizza, not because I've ever seen or tried it, but through conjecture and hearsay. I was at a party late last year when a couple friends told me that I just had to try cooking with anchovies; they add a great "je ne sais quoi" to many meals.

I started easy, with Turkey Ossobuco instead of the normal veal. The anchovies were cooked into the sauce; we couldn't taste anything fishy but they definitely added a nice salty flavor. This is an easy recipe that looks impressive, a good crowd-pleaser!

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