snack:urday - eating stuff in southeast asia....and now africa

while seattle certainly has it's culinary deliciounesses (i love making up words), my stomach has become jealous of all the interesting things that can be eaten abroad and is dying to travel again to taste other delights from other countries besides america. don't get me wrong, i love the array of various cheeseburgers this country has to offer, but i have to think there is more than that. shocking, i know. here i thought food was built around cheeseburgers. however, my friend katie has traveled all over what seems to be every continent (although i believe down under still has yet to be checked off her list) and writes about her adventures, but mostly about what she's eating, in her blog. just recently she posted about her top ten favorite things she's eaten this year. so i'm recommending her blog as a fantastic read. she's even more witty and better at story telling than i am. be sure and check out her horrifying story about the cockroaches. but mostly the food. cause that's what matters most anyway, right?

snack:urday - birthday @ barrio

life has been pretty crazy ever since october first. but i can't complain. my weeks full of work, art school and football gaming have been pretty amazing and certainly kept me busy and happy. but one sunday night, the family was able to slow down and go out to dinner to celebrate my big 25th birthday. i chose barrio as my location because i've been wanting to go there for months. and we were not disappointed.

we started with the ceviche sampler with chips and plantains. it was some of the best ceviche i've ever had, particularily the scallop and shrimp one. as you can see from the photo, it didn't last long.

 

for my entree, i decided to go with the egg and chorizo cazuela. i can't say no to either of those things. it also came with a huge side of potatoes so it was definitely a breakfasty dish, but i certainly enjoyed it. i paired it with a side of escabeche (pickled veggies) and it made for a nice crisp on my tacos. 

although my mom had made cake, our waiter heard talk of a birthday and couldn't resist bringing out churros con chocolate, a staple desert in most latin american countries. we all saw them and said "oh, we can have cake later". the churros were so soft and melted in your mouth and the chocolate was great for dipping. it was a delicious end to an already tasty dinner. i definitely recommend this restaurant. i'll be returning for sure.

snack:urday - victory beer

i love to try new things. mostly new beers. i'm always looking for my next favorite brew. i usually make my picks by the names which is how i discovered rouge dead guy ale and lagunitas hop stoopid. but this one was a little different. i was shopping at my neighborhood whole foods and i saw they had sort of a grab bag (really it was a box) of single beers each costing $1.99. since i was cooking dinner that evening, obviously i needed something to drink during the preparation so i perused the box. since there were no names that jumped out at me, i decided to pick based on most artistic label and this is what i came out with. the victory prima pilsner. it was a good choice, very refreshing and pretty fruity for a beer. i can't say it's moved into my #1 spot, but i'd definitely buy it again or try another type by the victory brewery. yay beer!

snack:urday - a girl's night in

thursday nights are project runway nights for us chicas, and this past thursday we were able to get five of us in the same location at once. incredible! so we decided to have a little italian potluck. pasta and sauce is such a comfort food and if it pairs with wine, well that's just great. i decided to step up and make some bread and there happened to be a recipe in my rocco book for "gooey cheesy garlic bread". win! it turned out to be really yummy, but next time i make it i'm going to alter it a little bit. it's super easy to make:

-cut a baguette in half lengthwise and width wise to make four pieces
-rub garlic over bread and cook for 8 minutes @ 450 degrees
-remove from oven and dip each piece in chicken broth
-sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, salt and crushed red pepper
-broil until cheese melts

turns out to be super delicious! the only thing i would change is instead of dousing the bread in chicken broth, i would only dip the top part (where you would normally spread the butter). if the whole piece is submersed, the bread comes out a little soggy, but still tasty. i am loving this book. it was definitely a good investment.

as far as project runway goes, this season has definitely been interesting so far. there were some surprises and the group of designers is very talented. it'll be a good one! i really want nina garcia's wardrobe...

snack:urday - potbelly

it's official! i will be returning to the district of columbia in october, just a mere six months after i visited the first time. i really loved it over there, but one of the guilty pleasures i am looking forward to having again is a potbelly sandwich. this place had some of the best sandwiches i've ever had, and that's a lot coming from this girl! they had yummy rolls and the perfect amount of sauces and vegetables. mmm, i can't wait to put another one of these into my tummy. so far, they only have stores in the midwest and some east coast states, but i'm anxiously awaiting a store to be opened on the west coast. we're fans of sandwiches over here too!!

snack:urday - two recipes, one book

i can't believe i just referenced one of the world's worst online videos in my post title. what am i thinking?

last saturday, given the extreme amounts of anxiousness pouring from my body and wanting the time to pass quickly before seeing silversun pickups, i decided to make a couple recipes from my new cookbook: "now eat this" by rocco dispirito, a cookbook that takes 150 comfort foods and makes the result under 350 calories! 

the entree i decided to make was paella (pronounced pah-eh-ya because the ll is always pronounces as a y no matter how toby young thinks it should be said). i chose that because it is simple and includes two of my favorite proteins: chorizo and shrimp! it's so simple, in fact, that you can make it in one dish which leaves less clean up afterwards. score! the one downfall? a main ingredient is saffron and if you know anything about spices, this is the most expensive. you get about two teaspoons of threads for around $15. but well worth it, i believe. this paella was quite delicious. the flavors were good, the rice was tender and delicious and, c'mon, it's got chorizo people! how can you go wrong? plus, it looks almost exaclty the same as it does in the photo. that never happens.

the second dish i chose to make was brownies. i am a huge brownie fan. give me these over cookies any day. however, i felt these would be a little strange considering they were to be made out of black beans. no you did not read that wrong. black beans is one of the main ingredients because they're sweet and lower the calorie count considerably. these ones, however, did not turn out just like the picture, but they were still good! the texture turned out to be more along the lines of fudge rather than a brownie and the taste startles you at first, but then you kinda think to yourself "oh, this is alright!" i didn't make them exactly like the recipe (i used real sugar instead of truvia), but i enjoyed the overall flavor. do i prefer them to real brownies? no. but do i prefer a few less calories every now and then? yes.

this book is awesome. i'm going to have to pick my next attempt soon.

snack:urday - flying fish

a couple weeks ago, with the mom out of town and the rest of us working hard and not wanting to make dinner, we slowed down on a friday for some happy houring. when the dad calls and says beers are on him, we of course say okay. after picking up our finds from the nordstrom sale, we headed to flying fish on westlake to enjoy some drinks, food and the sun.

while it is a pretty fancy and somewhat pricey restaurant, their happy hour is totally affordable. they have draft beers for $3 and various priced small plates, all that sound delicious that it's hard to pick!

after giving it much thought we decided on three small plates that were very tasty that i wished they weren't small. the first one was a thai crab cake with a lemongrass mayonnaise and a citrus salad. the second is what they refer to as "zach's wing", large chicken wings that are marinated in lime juice and served crispy. the third is crispy calamari on top of a honey jalapeño mayonnaise. i can't get enough of seafood, so i loved the crab cake and calamari and both the mayos were so good, i wish i had the recipe. the wings were also delicious, but not something i normally eat because i don't like getting my hands dirty. but i sacrificed my pet peeve of sticky hands to eat these and it was worth it.

so next time you're in the south lake union neighborhood and are looking for a place to dive into happy hour, check out flying fish and dig in.

snack:urday - sully's bar

my dad introduced me to this bar a couple years ago because he knows the owner's dad. we haven't stopped going back since. every time we're struggling to find a place to eat, we go here. and i've continued taking my friends here because i love it so much. they have great deals on beer and food, and let me just say, they're food will not disappoint.

if you want to get the best philly cheese steak outside of philly, come here. it is loaded with tender steak bits, so much cheese, red peppers, onions and the option to add jalapeños. (i always choose yes, of course.) it's served open-face style on top of a soft sourdough baguette and just makes my insides feel good. not to mention, you can add a side of the best sweet potato fries i have ever tasted for just a little extra. and the extra is totally worth it. both in money and calories. so next time you're at a loss of ideas for a place to eat, just pick sully's. and say hi to the owner for me.