Category Archives: Eat

The juicy, finger-licking good caprese burger!

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It’s fun to make a burger that’s way bigger than you can easily take a bite out of. It just looks really good! But then…you have to eat it. So, you smush it down, with the juices and dressing dripping all over, and take a bite. It’s so flavorful and finger-licking good, you don’t care what a mess it is!

Using irradiated ground beef has become mandatory for us. You can use the 90% lean (to keep it almost relatively healthy), cover it in spices of your choosing, cook it medium, and it’s incredibly juicy and flavorful. Next choose your toppings. For the caprese burger, we used fresh mozzarella, grilled onions, tomato, and fresh basil topped with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. As an added bonus, the “bun” became grilled rosemary olive oil bread! Skip the fries and grill some fresh pineapple wedges for a healthier side.

This will be the first of many burger posts for the upcoming summer season. Let us know what you’d like to see on the next one. Cheers!

The caprese burger! Yum!

Rosemary olive oil bread becomes the perfect "bun".

2008 The Stump Jump, G.S.M. 90 points in Wine Spectator and a great match for the burger.

Food!

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What a title, right? But that’s what we say…Let’s go to Food!  Food at Fishers Station.  If you haven’t been, just know that you will wait in a line outside -whatever the weather may be – and it will be worth the wait!  All I can really say is… it’s truly amazing how good the pancakes are. I can’t properly explain how they just melt in your mouth… or how much my mouth was watering as I was quickly taking these pictures. I didn’t plan this shoot ahead of time, but I figured if we were lucky enough to get the table by the big window, it would be easy to grab a few shots. That table wasn’t available, and we ended up at the counter in rather dim light. That turned out to be a real treat (despite the very slow shutter speeds). We got to watch the Stewart family and crew in a swarm of activity, masterfully handling the crowd (and this crazy guy with a camera, taking pictures), being ever hospitable.

Breakfast perfection included the 2-2-2: two pancakes (looks like more than 2 to me!), two eggs, and two sausage patties, and the short stack (not so short either) with an egg on top.

My suggestion: Go there (7548 Main Street, Fishers, NY), check on the hours (they are limited Thursday – Sunday), bring cash, be prepared to wait in line, and enjoy!

The 2-2-2, two pancakes (actually more!), two eggs, and two sausage patties.

Short stack with an egg on top!

Is this stack really short? Nope. And its fantastic!

Hot coffee, and the mug says it all.....

Olive Bread…Dipping

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What a simple delight. Any crusty bread would work wonderfully for this tasting, but we love the olive bread from Wegmans. Even though fabulous on its own, creating an olive oil dip takes it to another level. Chopped fresh oregano is my favorite ingredient to add to a high-end extra virgin olive oil, along with chopped kalamata olives, chopped basil, crushed red pepper, grated parm, salt and pepper. Splendido!

Made for dipping!

Fresh oregano! (& friends)

Wegmans olive bread.

Add a nice red and you almost have dinner.

the Ravioli Shop

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I’d heard great things, but had never been to the Ravioli Shop. So off I went to see what I could find for Heather and I to have for dinner. I decided on the spinach ravioli with tomato red pepper sauce. It was a tough call not to get the lobster ravioli. My, that sounds decadent…but we’ll save that for another post! With the addition of the rosemary sea salt focaccia bread I found on display there (all the breads I sampled were excellent!), I headed home to prep. The ravioli came 30 per box, and looked really cool in a sheet. After separating and setting up my leaning tower of ravioli, they cooked up just as directed; 7 minutes, a touch al dente. Some ravioli can be quite thick and heavy, but these were extremely light, fresh and delicious. With the addition of a little shaved parmigiano reggiano, some fresh basil and a nice bottle of chianti, this meal was superb!

The spinach ravioli.

The leaning tower of ravioli!

The spinach ravioli ready, with the anticipation killing me.....

Rosemary and sea salt focaccia bread....Mmmmmmm.

The 2008 Terre Del Palazzo Chianti was a good match.

The Ravioli Shop...go there!

Caprese!

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Fresh. That’s how we describe the caprese salad, and making it with fresh ingredients is key! Tomatoes on  the vine, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, sea salt, crushed peppercorns, a nice extra virgin olive oil, and (ok, this is obviously not fresh) some aged balsamic vinegar. That’s it. Super simple and delicious! Eating this just feels like summer. I know it’s not (since it’s snowing outside as I write this), but it will get you in the mood for a change of season. Enjoy!

The caprese salad prep.

Fresh tomatoes on the vine!

The caprese salad, ready to enjoy!

Chili Chocolate

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Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but this is one of my favorite types of chocolate. You have to try it. It’s not hot, but does certainly have a touch of chili spice to it, after a quick initial hint of dark chocolate bitterness (only 49% cocoa), and a sweet, silky melt as it lingers in your mouth.

Now enter the Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Port! It’s a non-vintage young wine, but it’s a tremendous value. The aroma of cherries, spice and chocolate are wonderful as the glass approaches. Port is generally strong, as is the Graham, but is fantastically mellow with the mix of the chocolate. The flavors are extremely harmonious, and perfect for relaxing by the fire. Enjoy!

Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Port and chili chocolate.

Holy Flavor Explosion

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Buckwheat honey? Who knew it would be such a good pairing for scallops? It’s fun to mix a lot of flavors that play well together! So, to start out this experiment, we tested the aroma of 4 different sweets to determine which one to drizzle over the scallops – clover honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, and buckwheat honey. We knew we wanted to use thyme with our scallops, so we tried each of the sweet scents along with the scent of that herb, to see which combination would be best. Any would have worked, but the buckwheat honey stood out as a great match; it was dark and rich, and had a bold, intense, almost spicy flavor.

We pan seared scallops in olive oil with thyme, and seasoned with pepper and a touch of salt. We then served them over mashed sweet potatoes. This by itself is a great pairing, but when you sprinkle a little more thyme over them, and drizzle with the honey, it gets even better!

This paired extremely well with the 2007 Hayman & Hill Russian River Valley chardonnay we picked up.  I say that despite the fact that I was originally looking for a buttery chardonnay. The wine was smooth, light on the oak, and with a bit of citrus. If I may say, it was all fabulous!

Buckwheat honey scallops on mashed sweet potatoes!

2007 Hayman & Hill Russian River Valley chardonnay.

Honey,maple syrup, brown sugar.

Pure buckwheat honey!

Shank you, shank you very much.

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(said with my lame Elvis impression). Lucca Wood-Fired Pizza! The home of the most fabulous Neapolitan pizza, splendid pork shanks (now you get the title), and fresh flavorful salads. I thought it might be fun to do some photos at a restaurant. I mean, it’s still about food, and it looks marvelous….so why not? I apologize to those of you who live elsewhere, but this is definitely worth the trip! Heather and I frequent Lucca often, so hopefully we’ll see you there…

Charlie Augello seems to always be there creating his masterpieces. The roasted pear salad is the perfect way to start the meal. The Carolina pizza pictured has basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, spinach, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, portobella mushrooms and parmesan. Some other favorite pizzas are the Margherite and the Funghi. The pork shanks are extremely tender, the meat falling right off the bone. The blend of Sicilian spices keeps you wanting more. (I highly recommend the chicken wings, as well.) If you have room, get a cannoli for dessert.

Lucca is located at 90 West Main Street in Victor, NY. Don’t forget to bring your own bottle of wine!

http://www.luccawfpizza.com/

The Carolina pizza.

Pork shanks with sicilian spices and balsamic glaze.

Sliced roasted pear salad, gorgonzola, candied walnuts & balsamic vinaigrette.

Charlie Augello manning the fire and creating masterpieces.

Lucca, 90 West Main St., Victor, NY

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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This is just a quick reminder to enjoy everything Irish today (in moderation). I decided to skip the green beer and offer this up instead. Try a nip of your favorite Irish whiskey with a bit of Kerrygold Aged Cheddar with Irish Whiskey (they blend it right into the cheese!)  A great mix of robust flavors that surprisingly brings about a smooth finish. Enjoy!

The blended whiskey I had would not be my suggestion, given the characteristic burn I felt as I was sipping. (Is that Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly I hear in the background?) I suggest you go for a nice single malt. Let me know what your favorite is, so I can try this again!

Kerrygold Irish Whiskey Aged Cheddar, a little crusty bread, and shot of your favorite Irish Whiskey.

Molasses cookies…oh my.

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My goal for this post was to give you proper motivation for your afternoon snack. Just the word cookie…and I’m in search of. But these molasses cookies are possibly my all time favorite, and Heather was kind enough to bake these at my request.  I think I had around 15 while I photographed this. Seriously. I loved every one. It’s actually driving me crazy that there are some left in the kitchen right now, as I write this. I’ll be right back…….grab your coffee and enjoy!

(Just ask if you want the recipe)

EDIT….recipe is in the comments

Mama's heavenly molasses cookies.