Another business day in California means another day of looking for a place to grab lunch.  As I had a quiet afternoon scheduled for Wednesday, I decided to work from the public library for that portion of the day.  Searching the internet for cafes in downtown San Mateo, I came across Cafe 400.

Reading the reviews for this cafe, many customers raved about it.  One comment that I saw repeated by different authors was the delicious turkey sandwich served on Tuesdays.  Sadly, I wasn’t going to get to experience that.  However, I do like a good sandwich, and this cafe is located around the corner from the library, so it was a perfect fit.

Cafe 400 is named for its building number on South El Camino Real.  Luckily, I had read that this cafe was located inside an office building, as it wasn’t immediately apparent that there was a restaurant inside.  However, as I got closer to the building, I did notice a small sign directing people toward the cafe.

The cafe is small with four tables inside and five tables outside.  However, the menu was very large.  With more than twenty sandwiches on the regular menu and half a dozen on the specials board, it was hard to choose.  Plus, you can choose toppings (most for free, though a few have a minimal charge) and type of bread.

I decided to go with the cafe’s namesake, the Cafe 400, which is on the Special Sandwiches list.  This sandwich consists of a chicken breast with jack cheese, carmelized onions, pesto sauce, lettuce, and tomato on a toasted roll.  I opted to have mine served on a whole wheat wrap, which was an excellent choice.  The wrap was filled with ingredients, and the addition of a heavier bread would have made it too filling for me.  Served with a garnish of shredded lettuce and some tasty pickle slices, it made a delicious lunch.

Beside the great sandwich, Cafe 400 offered excellent service.  My order was taken promptly at the counter and was ready within minutes.  Additionally, although the food is served cafeteria style, a staff member, possibly the owner, took the time to check that I was pleased with my sandwich during my lunch.

Another day in San Mateo, another great lunch!

In California on a business trip this week, I had a lunch meeting scheduled for Tuesday.  Not being from the area, I asked my lunch partner to choose a restaurant, and she suggested Cafe Soulstice.  With two locations (both situated within Equinox Fitness Clubs), we opted to meet in San Mateo.

Previewing the menu online, I learned that the menu consisted of gourmet raw items.  I enjoy a wide variety of foods but had never eaten at a restaurant such as this previously.  I was excited to sample a different style of food.  Also, being a fairly health-conscious eater, I was intrigued by the offerings, as all items are organic and vegan.

Meeting my lunch partner at 1:00, I was quite ready for lunch.  Though I had eaten breakfast at a normal time for the west coast, my stomach was a little confused as to why lunch was delayed.  Rereading the menu, I chose my dish, Soft Tacos, and my companion chose the Kale Quinoa Toss.  Although there were tempting smoothies and shakes on the menu, I knew I would not have enough appetite to have one as a beverage.

When most people think of soft tacos, they envision flour tortillas laden with meat or fish and topped with cheese.  Mine were nothing like that.   I was served 2 tacos, made with romaine leaves for tortillas and  topped with sunflower “beans”, guacamole, salsa fresca, cashew sour cream, diced olives, bell pepper, and cilantro.  They were absolutely delicious!  In addition to being unbelievable tasty, they were very healthy- the sort of meal that makes you feel great about what you have eaten.

My partner’s lunch also was enjoyable.  According to the menu, it consisted of “marinated kale salad, steamed bolivian quinoa, avocado, bell pepper, black sesame, and caesar dressing”.  This dish was appealing in presentation as well as taste.

While I don’t travel to California all that frequently, I plan to make Cafe Soulstice a lunch stop the next time I am in the area.  It is not often that one gets such a delicious lunch that is also good for your health.

What does it mean when:  nachos are considered an excellent dinner?  dinner consists of finger foods (or at the most, foods that can be eaten using only a toothpick)?  the dining room for Sunday dinner is actually the living room?  It must be football season.

Yes, the NFL season has returned.  As we live in New England, we are hearty fans of the Patriots, with or without Tom Brady.  So, the other Sunday, we made a dinner of munchies.  As it was only my husband and I, we didn’t need to have a large menu.  However, as we are foodies, heating a prepackaged, frozen appetizer doesn’t work for our menu.  So, we decided to make a queso dip, stuffed mushrooms, and meatballs.

When we were deciding on our menu for our trip to the grocery store, I knew that I didn’t want regular meatballs.  Actually, I had been contemplating buffalos fingers but didn’t feel like eating fried food.  So, to feed that craving without adding oil, I decided to create Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.  The meatballs were a hit!  I know there were only two of us dining, however, my husband ate most of the batch, so they must have been fairly decent!

Having made homemade chicken tenders, I can assure you that the meatballs were much easier to make (and much easier to clean up from) than tenders.  Stuffed with blue cheese and served with buffalo wing sauce as a dip, these meatballs were the perfect accompaniment for a Patriots game (or whatever team you follow).  Ready in about 25 minutes from start to finish, these make a fairly quick and very tasty addition to any gathering.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

1 lb. ground chicken

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg white

1/4 bread crumbs

1 Tb. dried parsley

salt and pepper

blue cheese

Buffalo sauce, preferably Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine chicken, onion, garlic, egg white, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Mix well, using your hands.  Divide mixture into 16 portion.  Take 1 portion, and form into a ball.  Take a small piece of blue cheese, press it into the center of the meatball, and firmly reshape meatball.  Place on cookie sheet.  Repeat with 15 remaining meatballs.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Serve immediately with bowls of buffalo sauce for dipping.

I have enjoyed baking since my childhood.  As a teenager, I baked cookies, brownies, and pies.  I would cut recipes out of magazines to try at a future date.  This love for baking grew into a love for cooking all dishes.  Still, there are dishes that I have yet to try.  One of these was bagels.  Note the word, was.

Everyone in our house loves bagels.  Granted, we enjoy different kinds with different toppings, but if we all go to a bagel shop, I know everyone will be happy with the menu.  So, with a family of 6 that likes bagels, it seemed like an appropriate food for me to master.

This past weekend I decided to try my hand at making bagels.  I did worry that if they flopped (or more accurately, I did not succeed), I would be looking for a quick replacement breakfast, as bagels are not a quick to make item.  However, it was Saturday, we were in no particular rush, and I felt inspired.  With those thoughts, I gathered my ingredients and began the bagel making process.

After an hour and a half of mixing, kneading, rising, boiling, and baking, it was time for eating.   I had created 3 different types (salt, cheese, and cinnamon), making everyone’s favorite type.  As they were piping hot from the oven, we didn’t toast them.  Topped with butter or cream cheese, all three types of bagels received rave reviews.  In fact, my husband found them to be so good that he suggested we make bigger batches and not buy them anymore!  Does he know the way to charm the chef or what?

However, I have to agree.  They were delicious.  Yes, they did take time to make, but I thoroughly enjoy baking for my friends and family, just to see the smile upon their faces when they dine on my cooking.  There will be many more bagels made in my kitchen.

Never Buy Them Again Bagels

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 Tb. dry active yeast

2 Tb. + 2 tsp. sugar, divided

1 Tb. canola oil

4 tsp. kosher salt, divided

4 -1/2 cups flour

toppings (see suggestions below)

In a large mixing bowl, combine water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Add remaining tablespoon of sugar, oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 cups of flour.  Add enough flour to make dough stiff. Place dough on a floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent it from being sticky.  Place dough on a board or cookie sheet, cover with a towel, and place in a warm spot to rise for 15 minutes.

Divide dough into eighths, roll each into a 9-10 inch long rope, and pinch ends together to form a circle.  Return to board or cookie sheet, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for 20 minutes.  While bagels are rising, fill a stock pot 2/3 full with water, and add 2 teaspoons each of sugar and kosher salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease 2 cookie sheets.  Place a kitchen towel on a third cookie sheet.  When the bagels are done rising and the water is boiling, reduce the water to a simmer and place 2 bagels into the pot.  After 45 seconds, flip bagels and cook for another 45 seconds.  Place bagels on towel-covered cookie sheet, and sprinkle toppings on both sides.*  Place on greased baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining bagels.

Place bagels in oven, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.  Place on a baking rack to cool, or serve immediately.

Toppings

kosher salt

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

cinnamon-sugar mix

poppy or sesame seeds

*If using cinnamon and sugar, I would suggest adding a tablespoon or two of the mix to the dough.  Then sprinkle more mixture on the top of the bagel only.

The family Italian restaurant is an often done experience.  Every town in America, no matter the size, has at least one Italian restaurant. This usually means you can get pasta covered in some form of marinara sauce.  Throw some Italian bread on the table and some parmesan cheese out of a green can, and you have the local Italian restaurant.  Recently, my family got to experience something totally different than that when we visited Polcari’s in Salem, NH.

Polcari’s is a local chain (3 locations in New England) that has been family owned for three generations.  The decor is strictly that of a family restaurant.  No ambiance or mood lighting here.  But this should not deter any family looking for a great family meal.  My brood of four started our meals with the bread and oil dipping sauce.  The oil had a little red pepper zip, so that made my precocious daughter turn up her nose, but made my adventuresome son dig in!

After the bread round, we ordered the Polcari’s Signature Antipasto Platter, which came out as a heaping mound of sliced aged Provolone, Mozzarella cheese, imported mortadella, sliced pepperoni, thinly sliced prosciutto, Genoa salami, pepperoncini peppers, black olives and an assortment of homemade marinated vegetables, which include fire roasted red peppers, tender, quartered artichoke hearts, button mushrooms and ripe plumtomatoes.  The presentation was pretty and the food was plentiful, but getting equal portions of each items was difficult.

For our main course, we went for some of the house specialties: Schiaffettoni (pronounced: ski-uf-fet-tony), which is rigatoni tossed in a rich sauce of sweet caramelized onions, toasted walnuts, fresh spinach and a garlic cream sauce.  We also ordered Sweet Sausage, Caramelized Onions and Cavatappi Pasta which came in a light cream Marinara sauce.  And lastly, a well presented order of stuffed shells was chosen.  The theme of food at Polcari’s is to think big.  All of the portions were huge and were enough for us to take home and continue eating for three days!  Not only was the quantity amazing, so was the quality.  Each of these meals was delicious.

My family loved Polcari’s, and we will be returning.  If you are in New England and want to be well fed at reasonable prices, check them out.

Just last week I wrote about the arrival of chilly fall days and making soup.  It may come of no surprise to my fellow New Englanders, but a day or two after that, we had very warm weather.  In this part of the country, you need to have a big bureau with room for both cold and warm weather clothes, as you never know what the day will bring!

So, as the temperature was set to rise to 80, it was no longer soup and homemade bread weather.  The warmth and humidity lent themselves to a salad dinner.  I adore almost every salad available, especially Caesar.  However, with many local orchards full of ripe apples, I wanted to use them in my salad.

I find that in most dishes apples compliment poultry quite nicely, which made chicken an easy choice for the other main ingredient in my salad.  Rather than making a tossed salad, I opted to make a mayonnaise and sour cream apple-chicken salad combination that sat atop lettuce.  With the creaminess of the salad, there was no need for additional dressing.  (However, having said that, I prefer my salads to be on the drier side.  My husband and kids thought that there could have been more dressing on the salad, so you may want to increase the amounts.)

Served with leftover breadsticks from our Turkey Meatball Soup, we kept cool on a warm for September sort of evening.

Apple-Chicken Salad

2 Tb. lowfat mayonnaise

2 Tb. sour cream

1-1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 Tb. lemon juice

salt and pepper

4 cooked boneless chicken breasts, diced

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced

2 Fuji apples, cored and diced

1/3 cup walnut, chopped

Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, apples, and walnuts.  Add mayonnaise and sour cream combination, and mix well.  Chill for 1 hour.

Place torn lettuce leaves in 4 salad bowls.  Top each with Apple-Chicken Salad, and serve.

When one thinks of excellent Italian restaurants in America, typically urban locations come to mind.  However, some of the best Italian food I ever have eaten was served at Pasquale’s Ristorante, located in the rural town of Candia, New Hampshire. 

Last Friday, my husband and I joined another couple for dinner at Pasquale’s.  We met them at the bar and were treated to martinis expertly made by Rob.  After a few minutes of conversation we were seated in the Angel Room, which our friends Ryan and Wanda had reserved for our dinner.  They also made arrangements to have a menu specially chosen by the chef for our evening.

This amazing dinner started with a course of pan-fried mussels served with a bechamel sauce and crumb topping.  The mussels were tender, and the sauce was creamy yet not heavy.

Our antipasto course was Zucchine and Melenzane Terrina.  This beautiful creation had delicately thin slices of zucchini encasing layers of eggplant and four cheeses.  To compliment this course we had Greco Di Tufo.  This white wine had an excellent balance between a honey-like sweetness and a bite of acidity.

The next course, the primo piatto, was Spaghetti alle Vongole Macchiato.  The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente and was accented by little neck clams.  Our wine for this course was Fiano di Avellino, a delicious white wine that had a hint of pear.

Arriving next was the secondo piatto, Stinco di Agnello al forno, braised lamb shanks, served with mashed potatoes and green beans.    The lamb was amazingly tender and flavorful, another exceptional dish.  Our dish was accompanied by Mara, a medium-bodied red wine that tasted of spice and fruit.

To complete our meal we were served the dolce course, also known as dessert.  We were presented with small cups of Budino della Nonna.  This rich and creamy pudding-like dish was made with Amaretto, which gave it an incredible almond flavor.  To complete this course, we were served glasses of Moscato Dolce.  This sweet dessert wine was an excellent accompaniment for the dolce.  Sweet but not overbearingly so, it provided a wonderful finishing touch to our 5-course meal.

Although, my husband and I have dined at a wide assortment of restaurants, this is the best Italian restaurant we have visited.  What makes Pasquale’s Ristorante so notable is that it excelled in all areas.  Each course was expertly cooked, had delicious flavors and beautiful presentation, and was delivered with first rate service.  We will be returning soon, most likely bringing friends and sharing our new discovery.

Working from home, I have the benefit of making lunch in my kitchen.  I don’t have to decide either the night before or early that morning what I will want for lunch.

With plans to go to dinner with friends at an Italian restaurant tonight, I wanted a lunch that would not be heavy.  This restaurant is new to my husband and me, so I want to be hungry enough to sample lots of items on the menu.

When lunchtime came around today, the air had a chill and the sky was overcast.  Definitely not a salad sort of day.  I wondered what I could create that would be warm but not too filling.  We had leftover zucchini and cremini mushrooms from a dinner earlier in the week.  We always have whole wheat wraps and a variety of cheeses in the refrigerator.  Together, I decided I would make an interesting pizza.

My husband, who was working from home today also, shared this lunch with me.  For a quickly thrown together lunch, we both thought it was tasty.  One more thing to add to my “What to eat for lunch today?” list.

Very Flat Zucchini Flatbread

2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/2″ rounds

1/2 Tb. extra virgin olive oil

5 cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

salt and pepper

1 piece whole wheat flatbread

2 Tb. shredded provolone

2 Tb. shredded parmesan, divided

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat.  Place zucchini rounds in pan, cooking for 2 -3 minutes per side, or until zucchini is golden brown.  Remove zucchini from pan, pour olive oil into pan and add mushrooms and onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Place flatbread on a pizza peel.  Place zucchini rounds on flatbread, and top with mushrooms and onion.  Sprinkle with provolone and 1 tablespoon of parmesan.  Slide flatbread directly onto oven rack and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove using pizza peel and top with remaining parmesan.  Cut into slices, and serve.

With the arrival of September in New Hampshire, the feel of fall is omnipresent.  Although the days can be warm, the nights are cold, with temperatures dipping into the 40s.  Thus, our menu begins its transformation from salads and fresh produce to soups and homemade bread.

Earlier in the week, the sky was overcast, rain showers were predicted for the majority of the day, and the temperature hovered in the low 60s.  With weather such as this, it seemed like the perfect day to allow a pot of soup to simmer on the stove for the day.

While a chicken broth-based soup sounded perfect, I didn’t want to make traditional chicken noodle soup.  Knowing that I had ground turkey in the freezer, turkey meatballs seemed like a great ingredient for the soup.  With such a hearty element to this soup, I decided not to add pasta or rice.  Instead, a few vegetables added to the soup would give it a variety of colors, flavors, and textures.

When the kids arrived home from school, they could smell the soup and excitedly asked how long it was until dinner.  Sadly, dinner was 3 hours away, but happily they were looking forward to that night’s meal!  To help pass the time until dinner, the kids helped by making homemade breadsticks to accompany the soup.

There were rave reviews about the soup, though our ten year old did question the presence of spinach in her soup.  However, with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the soup, the meal was enjoyed by all.

Turkey Meatball Soup

8 - 10 cups chicken broth

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1-1/2 cups baby carrots, diced

30 turkey meatballs*

1 Tb. Italian seasoning

freshly ground black pepper

6 - 10 oz. baby spinach, chopped

Combine broth, onion, carrots, meatballs, Italian seasoning, and black pepper in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  (The soup can simmer for hours at this point.  Check every hour, adding more broth, if needed.)

Thirty minutes before serving add spinach.  Stir occasionally.

*Turkey Meatballs

1 pound 93% lean ground turkey

1/3 cup egg whites

1 Tb. water

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 Tb. dried parsley

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 375.  Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.  Form mixture into small meatballs, approximately 3/4 inch in diameter.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 12 - 15 minutes.

Scattered throughout the United States are local restaurants that take a different tact on their menu. One of the great things for me is going to these local haunts and trying things that you don’t normally find on every menu. One such place that I went to recently with my parents was The Georgia House Restaurant in Laurel, Delaware.

The restaurant is quaintly situated on the banks of a river and has a large deck for people that choose to enjoy the outdoor feel. Considering we were visiting during the remnants of Hurricane Hanna, we decided to eat in the simple but fresh dining room.

As previously mentioned, the one characteristic that really stood out about The Georgia House was its menu. A vast menu that covered everything from sandwiches to entrees, seafood to pastas, there was an item for almost every taste. On the entrée side they had a whopping 19 sides dish choices! Things like strawberry cantaloupe salad and baked pineapple were next to favorites like french fries and coleslaw. Besides the sides another unique twist was that there were two bread basket choices to go with your meal. We went the “Augusta Bread Basket”, which was a generous portion of homemade sweet potato biscuits, corn pone, and coconut-banana muffins with the first being our favorite.

My parents and I chose Savannah Fish & Chips, Miss Vicky’s Meatloaf, and Country Fried Steak. All of the meals were well presented, and I would classify them as filling, but not exceptional. I love the fact that a small local restaurant in an out of the way place in America had such a varied and aggressive menu. But sadly, I found the execution a little lacking.

In a bright spot to end the meal, I chose a Peach Bread Pudding off of the desert menu (which also had 12 items to choose from) and thought it was wonderful.

The prices were very modest and the service was friendly, so if you are ever in rural Delaware, I think The Georgia House is worth a shot. It will not amaze you with taste, but the varied and creative meal is probably worth your time.