Once I got there and looked at the menu again, I decided I couldn’t resist the pot roast. Come on, it had mashed potatoes.

From Food

Greg got the lamb burger:

From Food

He could not stop talking about it. He mmmm’d and uuuuugh’d constantly. It was almost obscene. I had a taste of the tomato chutney (which was ultimately the reason I chose against it–stupid me) and it was luscious.

Good service, cute place, awesome food. We’ll be back. Oh and anyplace that has LUNCH happy hour is OK by me. Not that I could have any since I had to go back to work, but I’m with them on the sentiment.

Anyway, I was anxious to try it so we went back on Sunday. I’m so glad we did. The pix don’t really do it justice. I was trying to be unobtrusive by using my cell phone camera with no flash.

From Food

The Egg Strata at Hot Plate Diner.

From Food

The Breakfast Burrito at Hot Plate Diner with fried potatoes. Those potatoes? Heavenly. I want to point out that I did NOT eat that whole thing. I ate about half of each the burrito and I shared the potatoes with Greg and we still brought half of them home.

Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
8 ounces refrigerated cheese ravioli
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped shallot
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3/4 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup whipping cream
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Cook ravioli in large pot of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite, 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and stir until slightly darker and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pecans to small bowl. Add shallots and sage to same skillet. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and cream. Increase heat and boil until sauce is reduced to generous ¾ cup, about 5 minutes.

Add ravioli to sauce and toss. Season with salt & pepper. Divide between bowls. Sprinkle with pecans and Parmesan.

So I seemed to remember driving by a Burger King out here Nordeast Way. I went to Google maps to see, and I even used the street view, which showed that if I stayed on Central Avenue I would definitely run right into one.

So I did that. Guess what? The BK is closed. As in, never to reopen. So I’m thinking, great, I am in this sucky neighborhood, I don’t know my way around, so I decide to turn around and go back at the next intersection. I see Porky’s on the corner. Now my boss had gone there when they first opened and said it was awful. But she said it could be opening jitters, that they may have improved. I would not have chanced it, if I had no other alternative and if I was not starving. I had already missed the entrance, so I had to go around the block. I get up there; place my order (I just selected the first combo on the menu because I didn’t have to read the whole menu before they wanted to take my order).

Got my food, after reaching so far across the curb to hand over my money. Who designed the drive through window with a 3 foot deep curb? Honestly, people.

Did I mention I was starving? So I reached in to sniggle an onion ring. I pull it out and it’s like a warm-ish limp worm. There was absolutely no shape to it, it was actually wet; partly with grease and partly with condensation from throwing them (wet) into a baggie. But I tasted it anyway. Holy Salt, Batman! Jesus chimney I have never eaten an onion ring that salty. My hands will probably swell up like clown hands in an hour.

I got back to the office lunchroom and pulled my take out of the bag. A dry cookie loosely wrapped in a baggie fell to the floor and shattered. I pull out the cheeseburger, which is really more like a hard, flat disc. The bun is charred (or as I think of it, burned) the “meat” is paper-thin and two patties together are smaller than one regular McDonald’s patty (which we all know is not exactly large). The taste is very reminiscent of those cheeseburgers you get at SuperAmerica and heat up in the microwave.

Oh and it had a limp onion ring smooshed on top of it. The grease on the paper wrapper made it completely transparent.
I almost forgot, my drink cup, which was actually filled with 90% ice, 10% Pepsi had a whole in the bottom which leaked all over my car.

So lesson being, no matter how hungry you are, don’t go to the Porky’s on Central Ave in NE Minneapolis. When they opened they received many poor reviews on a multitude of websites, but apparently, they did not take it to heart. They have had ample time to clean up their act and have not yet done so. Do not give them any money. Next time I’ll take my chances on the vending machine in the basement.

This was originally a recipe that my Grandma used to make. Hers was a Russian flavor while I made mine more of an Italian style.

Green Pepper Soup

2 large green pepper
28 ounces tomatoes, canned
6 ounces tomato paste
8 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 1/2 cups rice — uncooked
1/2 tablespoon seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

bay leaf
Roux
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion — chopped
1 tablespoon flour

Mix hamburger (or turkey, or combination of the two) with oregano, thyme salt and ½ teaspoon bread crumbs. Add ¾ cup rice and mix well. Cover and refrigerate while doing the next couple steps.

In large pot combine tomato sauce and paste and tomatoes. Add spices.

Cut tops off of green peppers. Clean out insides. Stuff the peppers with hamburger mixture.

Crumble any remaining mixture directly into the pot. Add rest of rice to pot.

Place peppers in pot, add just enough water to cover peppers. Simmer 30 minutes.

Make roux (fat-free margarine, flour and onions) add to soup and simmer another 30 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Break the peppers into equal parts and serve in bowls surrounding with soup.

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.

Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.

Easy Scalloped Potatoes
These really are easy and are super yummy.

1 potato — sliced 1-inch thick
1/4 red onions — sliced 1/2″ thick
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons flour
1 cups milk, 1% lowfat
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon thyme

Place half of the sliced potatoes in a medium skillet with some cooking spray. Layer onions, half of butter, and flour. Add salt, pepper and thyme in between layers.

Pour milk over and on top. Simmer covered for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring once.

We had steaks on the boat and we brought and cooked too many so we brought two of them home. One we sliced up. This is what I used.

1 handful of dried shiitake mushrooms
2 cups water
2 slices of bacon, chopped
½ white onion chopped
1 shallot chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
¼ cup of champagne
4 ounces of button mushrooms, chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 cup mushroom liquid
1 splashes balsamic vinegar
bay leaf
1 rib eye steak cooked and chopped
¼ cup (about) cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Put on the water to boil and toss in the shiitake mushrooms. When it reaches a boil turn it down and let it simmer while you assemble the rest of the stuff. Check on it to make sure that the water does not evaporate.

Chop up the bacon, onion, shallot and fresh mushrooms. Chop garlic if you aren’t using the pre-chopped stuff.

In a large Dutch oven cook the bacon until it’s crisp. If it gets really greasy take some of the grease out using a turkey baster. Once the bacon is crisp add the onion and shallot. Sauté for a few minutes and add the garlic.

Once the onions are getting kind of softish, add the champagne (you can use regular white wine too). As soon as that is mostly evaporated, add the mushrooms.

Sauté until the mushrooms have given off their moisture. While the mushrooms are cooking check on the dried mushrooms. Strain (using the lid) some of the mushroom juice into the pan with the fresh mushrooms and onion mixture. You can measure out a cup if you like, or just eyeball it. But don’t use all of it because the dregs will be at the bottom.

Add the beef broth and the balsamic to the whole mixture. Throw in the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for awhile (I let it sit for an hour).

Make the pasta. While the water is boiling, put the meat in the sauce. Once it gets hot, add the cream cheese. Let it simmer until the noodles are done.

Drain the noodles and serve the sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle parsley on top for garnish.

Ariel view (click for larger):

Since we’re loyal regulars (and since I got the bar mentioned on a National gossip column) the owner likes us and shared these food dishes with us. We had pizza, Baba Ganoush, Tsaziki, 4 cheese ravioli (my favorite), seared tuna with garlic mashed potatoes (also heavenly) and grilled asparagus, smoked salmon, and two kinds of risotto: a fresh tomato and a pesto. I loved the pesto risotto and immediately thought that it would be great meal with just a few additions. I practiced tonight.

If you are thinking about going to dinner in Minneapolis please try Aura, everything was wonderful and it’s a great atmosphere. They’ve recently added more vegetarian options and they’re going to also move toward organic ingredients.

Mushroom Pesto Risotto

For Pesto:
1 bunch basil
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic (more, or less)
small handful of walnuts, somewhere between 1/8 and ¼ cup
2 tablespoons olive oil (more or less)
(do I need to remind you I don’t measure?)

For Rice:
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup uncooked arborio rice (this I did measure)
2 cups chicken broth (at least be ready with more if you need it)

For Mix Ins:
½ small onion chopped
3 large button mushrooms sliced
handful of dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup boiling water

Start by softening the shiitake mushrooms. Throw them into a small pan with about a cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a little while. During this time you can chop the onion and other mushrooms. After a few minutes pour the mushroom and water mixture into a bowl and let it sit. The water should still be hot.

Make the pesto: In a food processor mix together all the basil ingredients except the olive oil. Pulse the processor until it’s all well chopped up small. Slowly add the olive oil, and again, eyeball it.

In a larger saucepan heat the 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the onion and fresh mushrooms. Saute until tender and the mushrooms have released most of their liquid. Usually around 7 minutes or so?

Meanwhile that pan you had the shiitakes in? Fill it up with water I started with about a cup and a half, but needed to add more later, so I’d suggest starting out with 2 cups. Bring it to a boil then turn it down to low just so it stays hot.

Remove the onion and mushroom mixture and set it aside in a bowl. Add a little more oil to the pan if it’s all gone. Just a teensy bit though, you don’t want to use any more than you have to. Add the rice and stir until the rice is all covered in oil.

Now comes the boring time. This part will likely take around 30 minutes. Using a ladle, add in about a half a cup to one cup of the broth to the rice. Stir until the water is evaporated. Continue until the rice is soft and velvety. Once the rice is done, mix in all the mushrooms, onions and the pesto and serve.

This makes enough for maybe 4 small side dishes or two not very hungry adults.

This was a throw together thing. I wanted pasta and sort of took a look at some recipes and put this together using those as a guideline. I was dubious but it turned out really yummy. This makes one serving. Yes, Greg was out of town.

¼ pound dried fettuccine (about a quarter of a box)
1 teaspoon olive oil
10 (or so) grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 tablespoon garlic (yes, it’s a lot, you can use less, but I love garlic)
¼ cup chopped white onion
¼ cup white wine (or chicken broth)
6-7 black olives, sliced in half
½ of a roasted red pepper, chopped (about 1/8 cup)
1 tablespoons capers
salt and pepper to taste
Feta Cheese (I used reduced fat and it was good, I think Parmesan would be good here in place of feta too).
Fresh Basil, snipped (about 4 leaves)

I am guessing on amounts, I really just threw this together without measuring anything.

Start the noodle water.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add onion. After the onion starts to soften add garlic. Saute for a few more minutes. Add wine (or broth, I used both). Let summer until it some of the liquid has evaporated. The noodle water is probably boiling now so you can add the fettuccine now.

To the onion/garlic mixture, throw in the tomatoes, olives, peppers and capers and season to taste with salt and pepper. But be mindful that the capers are pretty salty so don’t use too much salt. Lots of pepper though. Let it simmer until the noodles are done and the tomatoes are a little mushy. (Click on the photo for a larger one)

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the veggies (actually these are all fruits, except the peppers!) and toss. Sprinkle with the feta cheese. Enjoy!