A Chilly Day for a Chili Cook-Off!

Today is Harvard Square's 5th annual chili cook-off. Featuring chili's from 13 different restaurants in the Square, some of the competitors include Russell House Tavern (the 2012 winner), Bertucci's, Uno's Bar & Grille, and Grafton Street. What a great a pre-Super Bowl kickoff to the weekend!

Coincidentally, my boyfriend asked me to make a chili sometime soon. And the better part about it, was that the cook-off gave me some great ideas to play with when I finally do make my own. Instead of just sticking with a traditional beef chili, we could use turkey, pork, or even wild boar! Some of the competitors used different types of sugar/herbs, different types of beer, and a huge variety of chili peppers to give their chili a different flair. Stay tuned to see what gets cooked up!

The crowd lining up to try chili!

Grafton Street's chili was my favorite! It even came with cornbread crumbles :)

Shay's was another favorite of the day

Beef, Red Beans, Harpoon IPA, Green Pepper, Spanish Onion, Garlic, Tomato, Ancho Chili Peppers, Arbal Chili Peppers, Guajilo Chili Peppers, Chipotle Chili Peppers, Cumin, Salt & Pepper

Cinnamon Smoked Pork Belly & Brisket, Gritty McDuff's Black Fly Stout, Anaheim, Poblano, Serrano, and Cubanelle Peppers, Cranberry beans, Black beans

Topped with: Buttermilk Corn Breadcrumbs, Cilantro Lime Crema, Secret Sauce

La Churrascaria

Completely indulged for dinner tonight. We went out to a Brazilian Steakhouse and ate ourselves silly! Now, if you haven't been to a said steakhouse - meat lovers, you're in for a treat. This steakhouse featured 16 different cuts of meat ranging from pork, to beef, to chicken. The servers walk around the dining room parading the meat, and they'll only stop serving you when you want them to stop. And for the health conscious eater, a salad bar is included in the dinner price!

The house specialty: Picanha

Cupcakes to the Rescue!

My boyfriend texted me earlier today to tell me how horrible of a day he was having. Since he would be getting out late, and I wasn't get out of work early, I decided to pick up some Georgetown Cupcakes on the way to his place before dinner. It's both his and my favorite cupcake place in Boston, so hopefully it will perk him up!

Clockwise starting from top right corner: Lemon Blossom, Strawberry, Chocolate Squared, Strawberry Champagne

A Catered Affair

Working in Catering has its perks. You get to eat well, and get paid for it too. Here's an example from tonight's dinner:

 One of the Hors d'eurves: Beef Tartare with Cured Egg Yolk & Fried Caper

Course #2: Rosemary Grilled Petit Lam Sirloin with Potato Galette, Caramelized Root Vegetables

Course #4: Petite Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Cardamom Scented Roasted Pineapple and Coconut Tuile

Taking home flower arrangements at the end of the night!

Honey Lime Shrimp

This week is definitely one of those weeks where I'm trying to get rid of everything in my fridge and freezer. I've had shrimp in my freezer for a bit, so I decided to make this Honey Lime Shrimp recipe. It's super simple, and extremely easy to make.

 What you'll need: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Honey, Limes, Garlic, Shrimp (Deveined), Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)

Place all the ingredients into a Ziploc bag

Add the shrimp into the bag and seal the bag shut (try to get as much air out of the bag as possible). Leave the bag to marinate for about 30 minutes, flipping the bag over occasionally.

Once the shrimp is done marinating, heat a large pan to medium-high heat. There is no need to add extra oil or butter as the marinade has enough oil to keep the shrimp from sticking to the bottom. Cook for about 1 minute on each side, until shrimp curls up and turns pink.

Ready to serve! You can serve it on salad and even on rice. I prefer on a corn tortilla with some Mexican cheese (as I'm trying to get rid of that also...)

Granola Me More

I made a promise to myself many years ago that I would cut out as much processed foods as possible, and that majority of the waste from my kitchen will come from whole foods (aka stems, seeds, pits, peels, etc) rather than boxes and bags.

I love granola, but the hard part about it is that some brands put so much sugar in it that it actually becomes more unhealthy than healthy for your diet. And, I've seen some brands add extra ingredients in their granola that I can't even pronounce, nor do I have a clue what it is.

I was at my favorite local bakery today, Flour Bakery & Cafe, and found their granola. Everything made in this bakery is homemade and delicious, so I had to try a bag!

Ingredients: Oatmeal, Wheat Germ, Coconut, Oil, Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Almonds, Honey, Cranberries, Sesame Seeds, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Salt

This is the best granola I have ever had, as of yet. One day, hopefully sometime soon, I hope to make my own batch of granola. Tune in for that!

Homemade Marinara

Did you know, Marinara was the way parents used to get their kids to eat vegetables?

For the past week, my boyfriend has been asking me to cook something to get rid of his ground turkey in the fridge. After deciding on making a pasta with Marinara sauce, I went searching for the best recipe out there. Luckily, my roommate has a family recipe that is absolutely delicious!

This is the original recipe:
1         Celery Stalk, diced
1         Carrot, diced
1         Onion (medium or large), diced
1         Green Pepper, diced
2-4      Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tbs   Dried Ground Thyme
1 Tbs   Dried Oregano
1 tsp    Dried Rosemary
1 lb.     Ground beef (can also use Chuck or a meatloaf mix)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
2 28-oz Cans of Plum or Crushed Tomatoes (San Marzano is the brand I used)


1. Place celery, carrot, onion, green pepper, and garlic into a food processor. Pulse until vegetables are finely chopped. Be careful not to overdo the pulsing as it may turn your vegetables into mush)

2. Coat the bottom of a pot with olive oil, and saute the vegetable mix in the olive oil. When they soften, add a little salt and pepper (keep the heat low, as to not burn the vegetables)

3. Add the dried herbs and stir briefly

4. Add the tomatoes, some salt and pepper, and a pinch of sugar (the sugar adds a bit of sweetness to the tomatoes)

5. Cover the pot and simmer on a very low flame for one hour (I left the pot at 2.5 out of 10 on the burner). Remove lid and stir from time to time. If you want the sauce to be thicker, remove the lid for the last 20 minutes or so.

...while the pot was simmering

The end product!