Restaurant Review - Chimborazo

A while back I watched a short piece on Twin Cities Live about "hole in the wall" restaurants. One of the places they mentioned was an Ecuadorian restaurant called Chimborazo.

Chimborazo is a little restaurant on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. It boasts approximately 14 tables that seat four people each but can be pushed together to accommodate larger parties.

Prior to visiting Chimborazo I had never had Ecuadorian food. It really hadn't crossed my path before. But we wanted to go to dinner with a friend and decided to try something new.

The food at Chimborazo was delicious. Scott started with llapingachos, a sort of potato, onion and cheese pancake, served over eggs, with an onion relish and a peanut sauce. Very tasty! We also had a cheese empanada, dusted with powdered sugar, and beef empanadas. They were both delicious. The pasty was light and the filling well-seasoned and delicious!

For our entrees we ordered some of their specialties. Alina and I both ordered the Camaron Encocado, shrimp in a delicate sauce of coconut, red pepper and cilantro, served with rice, lime and sweet plantains. The shrimp were well-cooked and the sauce was delicious and not too heavy. I really enjoyed it. The sweet plantains were a nice accompaniment and one you don't see very often. Scott ordered a roasted pork dish, Hornado con papas, served with more of the llapingachos and mote (hominy). The pork was a little dry but still very good.

I would love to go back! They have a dessert I'm dying to try - candied figs with fresh cheese.

Every Friday they have a local musical group called Ecuador Manta play for a couple of hours. They play acoustic guitar and a variety of flutes and pipes. The music was upbeat, yet relaxing. I actually bought one of their CDs and have been enjoying it at home.

The restaurant was definitely family-friendly. There were quite a few families with children in the restaurant. It felt like everyone knew everyone else - most families that came in eagerly greeted those already present and their kids sat down to play together. It's not the place for a quiet date but it definitely can be a fun evening out.

Chimborazo is a restaurant I'd definitely go back to. The prices are very reasonable. Entrees run roughly $8-$11! The staff were kind and attentive but the food is definitely the reason to go. If you haven't tried Ecuadorian food, do! And if you live in Minneapolis, try it at Chimborazo.

Julia Child's My Life in France

I seem to be on a Julia Child kick lately.

While out and about in Kansas City a few weeks ago I bought My Life in France by Julia Child (with Alex Prud'homme). I started reading it not long after I got home and I couldn't put it down! I read it when I was supposed to be doing homework. I read it while supervising the food cooking on the stove. I read it just before falling asleep. I loved it.

It was such an interesting book! A lot of the early stories in the book were put in the movie Julie and Julia which I wrote about last month. The movie, however, only covers her life through the publishing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and it certainly couldn't add in every story from her book.

Julia Child had a unique life! She and her husband both worked for the USIS, the predecessor to the CIA. She met a huge variety of people and fraternized with some of the biggest names in food, including the world-renowned James Beard.

Alex Prud'homme did a great job compiling her stories and writing them in her voice. You can hear her describing food in your head. The book simultaneously makes you hungry and makes you want to visit France!

Sadly, there's no trip to France in my near future but there's a kitchen conveniently located just 15 feet away...

Your Turn - Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is very similar from year to year at my house. It's usually just me, my parents and my aunt, and now Scott. Mom makes enough food to feed an army and we eat until we're stuffed and then try to send all the leftovers home with my aunt.

My mother makes a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and some sort of pie. I'm typically in charge of the cornbread (my favorite part of the meal!) and opening the can of cranberry sauce. We eat in the middle of the afternoon and usually aren't hungry for dinner later!

It's Your Turn: What are your Thanksgiving traditions? Do you have anything special planned this year?

Restaurant Review - Sea Change

Tim McKee has received many accolades and even more positive reviews over the years. His best-known restaurant, La Belle Vie is considered one of the best in Minneapolis. He won the 2009 James Beard Award for "Best Chef Midwest", a very prestigious award. And he recently opened a new restaurant, Sea Change in the Guthrie Theatre.

A few weeks ago Scott decided that we needed date night, seeing as how I'd been working way too hard in what little time I had when I was in town. He refused to tell me where we were going but when we pulled up in front of the Guthrie Theatre I had a pretty good guess. Sure enough, we went to Sea Change and then he took me to see a great performance of "The Importance of Being Earnest", one of my favorite plays by one of my favorite writers, Oscar Wilde.

Sea Change is a restaurant that highlights sustainable seafood, farmed or fished in environmentally-friendly ways. As far as I know, it's the first of its kind in Minneapolis. They offer a raw bar as well as a full dinner menu.

Scott ordered the swordfish, which came on a pile of beans. It was delicious but seemed like a very small piece of fish for what we were paying.

I ordered a favorite of mine, sea scallops. The scallops were served with a potato puree, miyataki mushrooms, salmon roe and a sauce reminiscent of a tatziki. It was tasty, but I felt it was lacking balance. It was rich and creamy but could have used some sort of a tart element to cut the rich, butteriness of the scallops and potato puree. The scallops were properly cooked, which is great!

I might be crucified for this, but my evening at Sea Change, while pleasant, just didn't meet my expectations. I have a very high opinion of Tim McKee. I've been to La Belle Vie twice, and have always been pleased, but Sea Change just wasn't quite all I was expecting that night. That being said, I'm definitely willing to try it again.

Roasted Beet Salad

Apparently I loved beets as a kid. I couldn't get enough of them. Then for a long time I just didn't eat them. I'm not sure if I stopped liking them for a while or if they just weren't offered, but it had been years since I'd had a beet.

Recently I had beets again and realized how much I like them. Last night I had a craving for beets and decided to make a salad with roasted beets. I stole my mother's method of roasting beets to reduce the time it would take and it worked like a charm!

Roasted Beet Salad
2-4 beets, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
1 bag mixed lettuce
Goat's cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper
Thyme
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle beets lightly with olive oil and lay in a flat layer on a baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over and cook an additional 10 minutes or until beets are tender.

Place salad on a plate and top with roasted beets. Sprinkle with goat's cheese crumbles and drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. Serve and enjoy!

Pork with Dried Fruit Compote

I was inspired to create this dish by an episode of Jacques Pepin's TV show. He diced up a variety of dried fruit, mixed it with honey and lime juice, then layered it with cream cheese and cookie crumbs. It sounded tasty but I decided to make it into an entree.

Sadly the pictures didn't come out well so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Pork with Dried Fruit Compote
Pork chops
4 oz. dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup apple cider
1 T. honey
4 sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Place apricots, cherries, apple cider, honey and thyme in a small sauce pan. Simmer until fruit has plumped and the cider has reduced.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan and add pork chops. Brown pork chops on both sides, finishing in the oven if necessary.

Serve topped with fruit compote.

Book Review - Chocolate: A Love Story

Thanks to my affiliation with The Product Review Place I was able to review Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner, published by Hachette Book Group.

Max Brenner is actually an amalgamation of two people, Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner, who created the Max Brenner name more than ten years ago in Israel. Although they are no longer partners, Max Brenner Chocolate Shops are open all over the world, including ones in New York and Philadelphia. Max Brenner has a unique style and a passion for chocolate.

The cookbook has a wide variety of chocolate treats, from scones to cakes to breakfast pastries. The art reminds me of the 60's - bright colors and sharp lines. Not really my style, but it really fits with the Max Brenner brand and it is fun to look through. Just look at their website, you'll see what I mean! The illustrator did a fantastic job capturing the Max Brenner style. The recipes have unique names and each recipe title is followed by a short artistic quote or passage.

The recipes all sound wonderful. Scott decided we should try making the "Intimate Scones with Tender Milk Chocolate Chips and Romantic Winter's Strawberry Confiture" (aka chocolate chip scones with strawberry jam)To me, these were not scones. It was more like a chocolate chip shortbread. It was tasty, yes, but it wasn't a scone. A scone should be light, almost flaky, more like a biscuit. These were thinner and more dense. They were buttery and delicious served warm, with strawberry jam or by themselves. The warm, melted chocolate was delicious with the buttery dough.

We will make a few changes to the recipe next time. We will add a little more liquid, as the dough refused to come together, and add more chocolate chips, though that is due to personal preference rather than any deficiency in the recipe!

This book is very interesting to read through. It's more than a recipe book, it's more a piece of art! I would recommend it to any chocolate lover with an interest in art.

Popcorn Factory Winner!

Congratulations to Becca, the winner of the Popcorn Factory giveaway! Random.org selected her as the winner. I have emailed Becca to get her mailing address.

Becca likes to eat her popcorn with M&Ms in it!

Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to Becca!

Your Turn - Your Input Requested

I've made quite a few changes to this blog since the beginning of the summer. It's seen a complete redesign. My posting is more consistent. It now offers the opportunity to share posts you enjoyed with the click of a mouse. I offer the occasional product review and giveaway as they come across my desk. I've also started a second blog Today is my Someday to share my personal thoughts and those items that don't fit in with a food blog.

Although I write this blog, I write it for you.

It's your turn: what else would you like to see on this blog?

Your Turn - Kitchen Helpers

As I've learned how to cook I've discovered a number of products that can make cooking a little bit easier.

For example, I use a cheese with garlic and herbs in it, called Boursin, for my Pasta with Boursin Cream Sauce. The cheese provides most of the flavoring for the dish.

I also love using couscous and rice products. Couscous is easy to cook (just add water) and you can mix it with meat and cheese cubes for a delicious main course. Couscous comes in many flavors so you can, say, get the flavor of roasted garlic without having roasted it yourself. We enjoy mixing cubes of cooked chicken and Feta cheese crumbles into a garlic and herb couscous!

It's your turn - what are the kitchen helpers that help you get dinner on the table?