Thai Cashew Snack

I have been to pretty much every Thai restaurant in the Twin Cities area.  I have also been to many Thai restaurants around the country.  My favorite Thai restaurant is Supatra's on Seventh Street in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The restaurant is light and clean.  The staff is friendly and fun.  The food is fresh, spicy, and delicious.  I cannot impress upon you enough that if you are in St. Paul and craving Thai food, go to Supatra's!

When I go out for Thai food, I always have to get an appetizer.  Supatra's has great appetizers.  Some of the best are the Spring Rolls or the Stuffed Chicken Wings.  On their appetizer menu is one very simple dish that is perfect if you want an appetizer that is not going to fill you up too much.  I am referring to their Thai Cashew Snack.

After having this dish a few times, Mike and I decided to try it at home.  The recipe is simple (although not as good as Supatra's).  All you need are a handful or two of cashews, some fresh basil, cooking oil, and sea salt.  Here's what you do:

1. Get a frying pan nice and hot on the stove.  Then pour some (about a tablespoon) cooking oil into the pan.  Don't use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I recently took a cooking class and learned that you should not cook with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I know that everyone cooks with it, but when you heat Extra Virgin Olive Oil you cook out all of the good nutrients and actually make it worse for you than vegetable oil or canola oil.  Here's a rule of thumb, the more expensive the oil the less heat you put on it.  Rant over.

2.  Once the oil is heated, throw in your desired amount of unsalted cashews.  Normally I use a couple of handfuls for a tablespoon of oil.  Actually I use three handfuls for 1 tablespoon, but I have tiny, clown like hands.  So for regular hands it's probably 2 handfuls.

3.  After the cashews are getting nice and brown and covered in oil, sprinkle in some sea salt.  If you are using salted cashews then you can skip this step.  Do not over salt your nuts.  Normally I use about 1/2 teaspoon and then taste to see if I want to add more.  Remember you can always add, but never subtract.

4.  At the very end, take a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves and tear them into small pieces.  Throw them into the hot pan with the cashews.  Toss them around and get them coated in some of the excess oils.  You don't want to overcook the basil, but you want it to fry up a little bit.

5.  Once the basil is starting to fry, but not turning black.  Take the nuts off of the heat and serve them warm and toasty.  *If you are my husband this is where you pour cayenne pepper all over everything.  But I'd skip that step unless you need your food spicy.

This is such a simple snack to make for yourself at home.  I've tried making the nuts ahead of time and then keeping them in the refrigerator, but they don't turn out as well.  This dish is best prepared fresh and served hot.

If you want the real thing, head over to Supatra's!    

Last Dance

Last Friday was my last day at work.  I loved my job, but my boss retired and my employment was tied to hers so I had to leave.  I have never been good with change, so my plan was to just deny that it was happening and break down when I got home.  This would have been a great plan except on your last day of work everyone wants to remind you that it's your OMGLASTDAY.  So, I couldn't really deny. Luckily my makeup held up through the day.

I decided that I wanted to treat myself on my last day.  The biggest treat at work was going to lunch at The Saint Paul Grill.  "The Grill" is a fancy restaurant attached to the fanciest hotel in the city, The Saint Paul Hotel.  I'm a bit partial to SPH as our wedding reception was held there, but I have actually loved it for years.  I often went to lunch at their more casual restaurant, Mike and I have gone there to celebrate special occasions, the bar has great champagne cocktails, and they have a fabulous tea service.  If you have never done their high tea service you are really missing out!

I had made a plan, I was going to lunch by myself (avoiding anyone who wanted to talk about my last day) at the Grill.  I was going to have their glorious Landmark Salad and probably a side of french fries.  Don't judge!  A last day at work deserves french fries.  I was also going to have a glass of Diet Coke.  At the Grill you get your Diet Coke in an adorable little glass bottle.  It makes me feel like I'm in a commercial.  This plan was the only happy thing in my last day of work.

I got to the Grill just a smidge before noon to beat the Friday afternoon madness.  I asked the hostess if I could sit at a table in the bar.  "Is it just you?" she asked.  Yep, just me.  She told me to pick a table in the bar area then.  I went to one of the high-top tables.  A waiter quickly brought me a glass of water and asked if I needed a menu.  He quickly came back with a bread basket and a menu.  My lunch hour was off to the perfect start.

Then I waited.  You know how terrible it is to eat alone at a busy restaurant.  I mean it's super horrible. You feel like people are looking at you.  Even though no one actually is looking at you because no one cares about you, you still feel like you are the center of every one's world and they are all wondering why you are dining alone.  That is the self-centered but glorious truth of eating by yourself.

I persevered.  I didn't care if people were looking.  I just wanted my salad, fries, and Diet Coke.  But as I sat alone I started to think about my job ending and I got a few tears in my eyes.  The couple next to me definitely looked over as I tried to sniff them away.

Then I had that moment.  That awkward dining moment where you realize that everyone sitting around you was seated after you but has already received their entrees.  I don't handle this moment well.  I have hanger issues.

I realized that I had been sitting at the table by myself with only a bread basket to talk to for 35 minutes.  But I had eaten an embarrassing amount (read: all) of the bread.  I wasn't sure what the bread basket etiquette was.  I had to be back at work at 1:00 p.m. for a meeting, so didn't have time anymore to order.  Did I leave a few dollars for the bread?  Where the hell was my waiter?!  I couldn't hunt anyone down to give them my last three dollars for eating a half loaf of bread!  But if I just left I didn't want to look like a thief.

I ended up going up to the bar and waiting for a bartender to come out of the kitchen area.  When one finally did materialize I tried to had her $3 for the bread and she said "You don't have to pay for bread and bad service."  So I left a carby, bloated, teary mess.  I was also hangry.  Luckily Mike had gotten me donuts that morning, and I still had one left.

And that, my friends, is how I will always remember my last day of work.  

The Green and White Stripes

When I was planning a recent trip to New Orleans, all I thought about was the food.  The restaurant scene in New Orleans is no joke.  We ate and drank almost the entire trip, and everything we had was delicious.  During my research I quickly realized that we could not possibly go to every place that I wanted.  I had to be discriminatory and brutal.  I wanted the best of the best and at the end of our trip I knew that I did well.  

One non-negotiable in my itinerary was a trip to Cafe du Monde.  I have heard so many people talk about their beignets and I was looking forward to trying them myself.  Can I make a confession?  I cannot say the word "beignet" properly.  I took years of French class and was always praised for my near perfect diction.  But I cannot say beignet, so ordering at Cafe du Monde was intensely embarrassing.  

Anyways, here is the iconic Cafe du Monde:

At Cafe du Monde, you seat yourself.  There are a ton of tables under the awning and in the building, but the place is always pretty busy.  If you want a table that's right on the edge of the awning where you can people watch, you need to either get there at 3:00 A.M. or wait it out.  

Once you sit down, a waiter will come and take your order.  The only food on the menu is beignets.  You can get a coffee, milk, soda or orange juice.  It's kind of crazy that a place with only one thing on the menu can be this busy.  Another confession that I have to make is that I have never loved beignets.  Before Cafe du Monde, I had tried beignets a few times and never understood the fuss.  I don't really love powdered sugar, and beignets are basically doughnut pillows covered in powdered sugar.  Not my jam.  

Mike and I ordered just one plate of beignets to split.  There are three beignets per order.  When the plate came, we quickly dug in.

To my pleasure, these were nothing like the beignets I had before.  They were warm and soft and the sugar was stuck onto the doughnut so it didn't fall all over my dress.  I was in heaven and then Mike and I had to duel for the third one.  We did the right thing and split it in half, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I really wanted it for myself.  

When the plate was empty I felt like crying.  I wanted more, but my waistline said that 1.5 was enough.  It's tough listening to my hips.  This is a very sad plate.

If you can't find a table at the cafe, you can order beignets and coffee at the to-go counter.  These would be a great treat to take back to the hotel after a night of libations.  Just remember to get an extra order, you will thank me later!

Asians Know Food

If I had to pick a favorite type of cuisine, it would definitely be "Asian."  I love all types of Asian food, whether it's Thai, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese.  I love it all!!!  One of my "must-eats" on any trip is to find a good Asian restaurant.  When we were planning our honeymoon trip to San Francisco last fall, I was so excited to experience Chinatown.  I read up on all of the good Dim Sum places to try out and finally settled on one that the guidebook said was good for novices.  I was definitely a novice at Dim Sum.  Minnesota has so many wonderful Chinese restaurants, but Dim Sum is not a big thing here. 

After walking around Chinatown all morning, we finally found the restaurant that the guidebook promised would be "excellent for novices."  We figured that 11:00 a.m. would be a good time to avoid the lunch crowd who would all be making fun of us because we didn't know how to order off the carts properly.  At 11:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, however, the restaurant was packed to the gills.  We were quickly lead to an empty table, and immediately the carts were rolling towards us.  The first cart that came to our table had the daily special, which was covered with a silver dome.  The cart driver pointed at a covered plate and asked if we wanted to try the special.  We had just sat down and had not come up with a pre-Dim Sum game plan, so instead of looking at the cart's offering we just nodded our heads and before we knew it this was plopped down in front of us:

This was our first tactical error (I'm talking about the seafood special dish and not the pork buns).  We did not really know what the dish was, and it ended up being flavorless and kind of icky.  It was also expensive.  I think it was around $17-$20, although they never actually tell you how much something cost at a Dim Sum.  They just stamp your ticket and then bring you a final bill at the end. 

After the seafood cart rolled away, Mike and I had a quick tactical discussion.  We only wanted dishes that looked appetizing and wanted to get mostly appetizers with no more main dishes.  At some point during that discussion the pork bun cart driver rolled by and I almost tackled him to get a plate.

After we got situated, the carts rolled fast and furious.  Soon we were inundated with delicious looking dishes and we had a table full of food.  I mean it.  Here was our table:

As we looked around at the other patrons' tables, we realized that most people just had one or two dishes on their tables and we looked like little piggies at the casino buffet.  It was embarrassing.

Our second tactical error was not telling the cart drivers "no" or "come back later."  Instead, we packed our table so full of food that there was no way we could finish it all.  I think once you start saying yes to everything, word spreads that you are suckers and then every cart comes to your table.  I think the pork bun cart came to our table 4 times. 

The real problem with this, besides wasting food, is that you have no idea what you are spending because none of the dishes are marked with a price.  I'm sure you could ask, but we didn't.  Our final bill was over $50!  Even in San Francisco, that is a lot to spend at lunch for two people.  We didn't even have booze.

I'm not sure that the restaurant we went to was good for the novice Dim Sum person, so I won't even name it.  There were tons of Dim Sum restaurants, and I think that anywhere you go you will probably have a good dining experience.  Unless you are a Dim Sum expert I would suggest going into a larger restaurant that looks like it has a good variety of food to choose from. 

My favorite dishes from the lunch were the aforementioned buns and the ribs and pot stickers:

I was somewhat disappointed in my first Dim Sum experience, but I think a lot of the disappointment came from how overwhelmed I felt while dining and the large price tag that the lunch had.  Next time I do Dim Sum I will go in with a better game plan and be firm in telling the cart drivers when I don't want something before our table gets loaded up again.  It was a fun life lesson and I don't regret going, it just wasn't my favorite meal in San Francisco.

A Mountain of Corned Beef

In my Cleveland adventures a few months back, I was excited to try the "best" corned beef sandwich in the world.  Well, it certainly was the largest corned beef sandwich I've ever seen.  First, however, let's start with the "how did we get there?" portion of the story.  You know when you're visiting a new city and have no concept of the "maybe we shouldn't be walking alone in this part of the city" notion?  So, we knew that we were going to Slyman's Deli for lunch and knew the general direction of the restaurant, but decided to ask the hotel concierge whether it was close enough to walk.  The theory was, if we were going to be eating a pound of corned beef in one sitting, we should probably walk.

This was the conversation between Mike, myself and the hotel concierge:

Us: How do we get to Slyman's Deli?

Concierge: Gives us directions.  Should I call you a cab?

Us: Well, how far is it?  Could we walk it?

Concierge: It would be fine to take a cab, it won't cost much.

Us: But how far of a walk is it?
Concierge: Probably 30-40 minutes, let me call you a cab.

Us: No, we'll walk it.

Concierge:  Really, I think you better get in the cab.

Us: No, we're fine.  We walk all the time.

What we didn't pick up on was that he was trying to warn us that it was not a part of the city that we should be walking in.  Folks, we were scared for our lives on this walk and if you know what myself and Mike do for livings, you know we don't scare easy.  Word to the wise, take a cab to Slyman's Deli.

Onto the food.  Holy catfish, the food.  Take a look at this sandwich...

This sandwich is fairly unreal, and you're only seeing half of it.  My only problem with it is that you can't actually eat it as a sandwich.  No one's mouth should open that wide...ever.  So, instead I had to cut it up into more bite size portions.  Also, the bread was a little on the dry side. 

However, the corned beef was so freaking fantastic.  Not too salty and really thinly sliced.  Sometimes corned beef can taste like a salt lick, but Slyman's was the perfect amount of salt without going overboard. Although, there must have actually been a lot of salt on it because I wore that sandwich in my ankles for a few days afterwards. Slyman's may give you kankles is all I'm saying. The meat wasn't dry at all, but wasn't juicy as to make the bread soggy.  Which is a huge issue for Mike.  Mike detests soggy bread, which is why I always tease him that I'm going to make him bread pudding for dessert.  
 
In addition to the sandwich we ordered a basket of fries, which can be seen in the back of the photo.  These were also perfect.  They fried them to the point of crunchiness, which I love. 

Overall, I'm not sure the Slyman's corned beef is totally worth going out of your way, but it's always fun to say you've tried it.  Where else can you get a mountain of corned beef on a plate?

Fro Yo, Yo

I like how pretty people on the coasts are pretending like frozen yogurt is a new invention. It's definitely not. Frozen Yogurt had a hey day back in the early 90's. Remember when TCBY was a huge thing. I miss TCBY. In those days, everyone was freaking because they found out that ice cream will make you fat, but frozen yogurt apparently won't. I don't know if that's a true statement, but if anyone tells me differently I will slay you. Frozen yogurt will not make me fat. That is fact.

Anyhow, I've been hearing about Pinkberry and 16 Handles for awhile and was dying for the day when a fro yo chain would hit up the TC. Like I said before, since the TCBY in West St. Paul closed many years ago, I have been craving soft serve frozen yogurt with sprinkles on top. Finally my dreams were answered when a Menchies opened up in Highland Park.

Michael and I took my mom there for her birthday dessert. We were like kids in candy stores. First, you grab this ridiculously big cup. Then you are faced with multiple different flavors of fro yo to choose. You can get as many as you like, feel free to fill up that big cup. They also health information next to the flavors; things like "no sugar added" or "fat free". I got banana, cake batter and chocolate. I'm pretty sure there was both sugar and fat in all of those flavors.

After you get your flavors, you are faced with the toppings. I'd say there were 50 different toppings. Everything from sprinkles to granola to different cereals to fresh fruit. They also had sweet sauces. I chose sprinkles, frozen cookie dough balls (giggle, giggle) and mochi. The mochi was terrible. The sprinkles and cookie dough bites were perfection.

Once you are finished filling your ginormous cup to the very top, you are faced with the "weigh station." You pay by ounce, which would have been helpful to know before we filled our cups to the brim. Whatever, it was a birthday celebration.

The fro yo is delicious. It's so much fun when you can build your own. While Menchies was no TCBY, it was still good and since I wasn't eating ice cream, I could feel good about myself. Even if my pants button popped on the drive home.

In And Out

One thing that I like to do while traveling is visit fad fast food places that aren't available in the Sota. It's weird because I almost never eat fast food at home, but am always finding places out of town that I'm dying to try.

This fall, on our Grand Canyon/Vegas vacation, I found out that we would be driving through a city in Arizona that had an In-N-Out Burger. I was so excited. In-N-Out Burger is pretty heavily hyped and I had even heard that it was the "best fast food place." I asked my SoCal friend if In-N-Out was worth the hype and she said "Absolutely, you will love it."

Is it crazy that I did not love it? First of all, the line situation drove me nuts. When we walked into the restaurant, there was no formal line, just a bunch of people standing around staring at the menu on the wall like assholes. I asked a couple of people if they were in line and they said yes, so I got behind them. Then an old couple came in and was like "I can't see the menu from back here", so they stepped in front of me and then when the cashier asked who was next, they just walked up to her LIKE THEY OWNED THE PLACE. I was livid. I do not take breeches of line queues lightly and it always makes me mad when cashiers know that people are cutting and do nothing about it.

Okay, but this really doesn't have anything to do with the food. The menu is very simple: hamburger, cheeseburger, double-double, french fries, soda. Both Mike and I got the cheeseburger and a basket of fries. The fries were awesome, but fried potatoes are often awesome. I was really excited about the burger until I realized that the "special sauce" contained chopped pickles.

Can we talk about pickles for a minute. I hate pickles. Hate, hate, HATE them. I can't explain in writing how strongly I feel in my hate for pickles. If I wanted pickles on my burger, I would've asked for pickles. The fine people at In-N-Out, however, have given me no choice. I am having pickles on my burger. I tried to scrape as much of the special sauce off as I could, but it was mixed into the lettuce and the pickle flavor had seeped into the bun. Gross. My burger was ruined.

The other thing that struck me about In-N-Out was how much it was not better than any other fast food restaurant. The fries were decent, but probably not better than McDonald's and the burger was...just a burger. The only different thing about it was the special sauce, which was filled with pickles. Pickles do not a special sauce make.

If you are finding yourself on the west coast, don't bother with this chain. Unless of course you're one of those "pickle eaters."