Burgers & Poppers.

Tonight for dinner I made Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers with Baked Cauliflower Poppers as a side. The turkey burgers (with cheese and an english muffin bun) were 370 calories and the cauliflower poppers were 150 calories (40 calories per serving).



The blog I got the cauliflower poppers from said they tasted like french fries...that's a lie...but they were a good side dish to avoid eating fires.



The "poppers" were really simple to make. Just cut the cauliflower and toss the pieces in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then bake them on 425 for an hour, turning them every 15 minutes.



For the the turkey burgers you mix 1 pound ground turkey, 1 package ranch dressing mix, 1 egg, 3 cloves garlic (1-1/2 tsp minced garlic), 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

This was my first time cooking burgers that weren't already formed into patties...so that was fun. Kind of felt like a kid again playing with play-doh...only it was much slimier.



The [obvious] next step is to cook your beautifully formed patties.



And voila, you have a cheeseburger and cauliflower poppers.



You're probably thinking, this idiot forgot the cheese. Well you're wrong, its on the inside!!



I definitely recommend this recipe.



It was dietlectable.

Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week is a weeklong dining extravaganza showcasing the culinary talent in your city. Participating restaurants will usually offer a variety of three-course prix fixe dinners for $20-$35 per person, depending on the venue. I went to Piedmont during Durham's restaurant week. They describe their cuisine as "Contemporary American, seasonally focused and ingredient driven." It was good, but extremely overpriced for restaurant week.

Peter Piper - gin, pickled hot peppers, black salt rim.

We started out with some beverages, the average cost of each being around $10. Which is ridiculous. I got the Peter Piper, and it was basically a dirty gin martini with hot papers instead of olives. I wouldn't recommend it purely based on the price, but I really did enjoy it.

Charcuterie - Pork rillette, chicken liver pate, smoked fish-cream cheese spread, ginger-apple mustard, pickled vegetables, toast.

Next up were the appetizers. The firs plate, Charcuterie, offered an interesting variety of...spreads? Dips? Fixins'? I'm not sure what to call this hodge-podge. There is a good chance they actually served us mud instead of Pate (at least that's what it tasted like). So to sum up the plate, they were just trying too hard.

Fritters - NC hoop cheeses-cornmeal fritters, toasted paprika-tomatoe sauce.

The star of the first course was definitely the Fritters. To be honest, I'd probably just describe them as "fancy fried cheese balls" but I'm sure that would piss off chefs everywhere...so I won't say that. Either way, concept and exception were both on point.

 



Eggs - Deviled eggs, potato salad, pork cracklings.

Some people might find it weird that eggs are on the menu at a nice restaurant, but it is very common in NC. No complaints here, I love deviled eggs and these were delicious. The pork cracklings (fancy bacon) were probably the crunchiest thing I've ever eaten.

Bread - Our bread, local butter-herbs-Coon Rock Farm raw honey.

At this extremely over-priced restaurant, I'm sure it would really break the bank to give their guests free bread...so they charge $2 per order. Of course we caved and got it. The bread was nothing special, but the butter was whipped, so I guess that counts for something?

Sausage - Our bratwurst, roasted radishes, their greens, potatoes, stone ground mustard cream.

The main course had its shining moments, but it also had its flaws. This first dish, aptly named Sausage, was interesting. The appearance of some of the vegetables was alarming - they looked as if they were taken straight from the ground to the plate - which isn't exactly appetizing since I eat with my eyes first. Beyond the appearance, they had little flavor and didn't take away from the taste of the meat....which may have been the point?

Pork - Fall spice roasted pork loin, honey glazed sweet potatoes, garlicky Chinese cabbage, gingered molasses.

The pork dish was a let down. Did they taste the dish before they served it? Probably not. The meat looks blackened...but its just burnt, the cabbage was way too salty, and the sweet potatoes tasted like carrots.

Chicken - Blackened spice rubbed cast iron chicken, braised collard greens, Carolina Gold rice-chicken liver croquette.

The blackened chicken was ahhhhhhmazing. The meat was so tender and juicy, it basically melted in your mouth. The collard greens and liver croquette (uhhh?) were good too, but had they given me a plate with just the chicken, I can't say I would've been mad.

 



Fish - Mahi Mahi, herbed mashed potato cake, tat soi, Old Bay fish broth.

The fish was cooked perfectly and the broth added a lot. However, the potato cake tasted more like an uncooked biscuit than mashed potatoes. The mystery greens were good too.

The restaurant week menu included beignets for dessert, but when we were ready for dessert, they had run out! They gave us the choice of having chocolate pudding or paying extra to substitute for a different dessert. Who goes to a restaurant for chocolate pudding? Not me.

 



Butterscotch pot de creme, sweet creme fraiche, caramel, sea salt

The butterscotch dish was sweet, but it had just enough salt to balance it out. I would definitely eat this again.

Lemon-vanilla panna cotta, ginger shortbread cookie

The panna cotta was creamy and delicious, but it would have been better served with more cookies (fatty).

Flourless chocolate cake, cocoa buttercream, chocolate-mint ice cream.

The dense flourless chocolate cake paired well with the lightness of the mint ice cream.

Lime meringue tart, traminette syrup, spiced cookie.

The lime meringue tart was excellent....errr minus the fact that they left the bottom of the baking dish on the plate. When the server saw that part of the pan was one the plate she asked, "Was that on there?" I wish we had said "no, we brought it with us."

Conclusions: Restaurant Week is hit or miss. The Piedmont is overpriced. I love food. K, byeee.

Veggie Tales.

When I eat healthy food I want it to be something substantial AND tasty. Is that too much to ask for? There is nothing worse than devouring your dinner and still being hungry...really makes you feel like a kid from the Seam (Hunger Games obsessed).

Anyway, you're in luck! I found a dish that is both healthy and filling: a Zucchini, Black Bean, and Quinoa skillet. The recipe calls for rice, but I substituted it for quinoa, and I used mozzarella cheese  instead of cheddar and monteray jack (because the biggest loser taught me it is the much lower in calories than a lot of other cheese - like Cheddar and Monteray Jack).

The recipe was simple to follow, but as I've said before, I'm no chef, so chopping the veggies is what took me the longest. However, this time I had a legit knife and I am now convinced I probably should have invested years ago.



The recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups sliced zucchini. Ummmm, okay? That doesn't tell me how many zucchinis I need to buy?! Because of this, I essentially doubled the recipe and made about 8 servings instead of 4...but who doesn't love leftovers!



The recipe called for a green pepper, but I used red to make it look like Christmas.



At this point I was beginning to doubt this recipe choice. Could it look any healthier? (And by healthier I mean not satisfying at all.)



Quinoa definitely looks weird, but if you can get past the look of it, it tastes great and definitely beats rice in the nutrition game.



Once the melted cheese was added, I knew it was going to be good. And I was right. My only suggestion is to add hot sauce because it could be considered bland to some people (me). If you don't like hot sauce, add some ketchup? Haha gross...only kidding. K, byeee.

Fake Pizza.

If you're like me, your normal dietary food groups don't consist of the usual fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, etc. My food pyramid looks a lot more like this one...



Broken down, my basic food groups can be described as the following::

1. Pizza - including every variety of pizza and pizza-like (Italian) foods, from cheese sticks to calazones. You can't have good Italian without good wine, so I include that in this group as well.


2. Mac n' Cheese - obviously this includes every variety of mac n' cheese you can imagine, but more generally, this encompasses carbs and cheese, cheese and carbs...nomz. Some breads and cheese dips are made with beer, therefore beer also belongs in this group.


3. Mexican - authentic, American, upscale, fast-casual...whatever, if it's considered Mexican and pairs well with tequila, it fits in this group.


4. French Fries - waffle fires, curly fries, shoestring fries....I could go on for a while, but you get the point. Every other form of potato can also be included - tater tots, mashed potatoes, potato chips, etc. Oh and you can't forget potato-based vodkas (or just all vodkas in general) that also belong in this group.

Because these four groups pretty accurately describe my favorite foods/drinks, and I don't particularly want to die of a heart attack at age 30...or look like a hippo in a bathing suit...I have to find ways to enjoy my favorite foods without consuming thousands of calories in one meal.

Using portabella mushrooms as "pizza crust" is one of my favorite healthy pizza substitutes. Just take out the stems and bake them at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.



Then add whatever pizza toppings you like - here I added low-fat mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni.



After you add your toppings, put them in the oven on broil for 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.



Pretty simple, and very delicious. In college I used to eat these when I was making an attempt to be healthy...you know since not eating real pizza would negate the fact that I drank 100,000 calories the night before. Anyway, give them a try! K, byeeeee.

That's Nacho Cheese.

The worst part, or rather, the only bad thing I've discovered about North Carolina is that there are no happy hours. Something about it being against the law? Apparently it encourages binge drinking? Total crap if you ask me. Anyway, happy hours don't exist at home, so once I enter the wonderful Commonwealth of Virginia, I'm basically required to enjoy a solid happy hour to two. 

Mister Days in Clarendon (Arlington, VA) has one of my favorite happy hours in the area. They call it Wacky Wednesday, I call it wednesDAYS. They have a $3 food menu and all of their draft beers are $2. (For the record, the food used to be $2 as well but those jerks increased the price. Rude.)

                

I have tried all of the food on the happy hour menu (of course), and for the most part, its pretty standard bar food. However, talk about delectable, their nachos are my favorite. Just look at them...



They do not skimp on the cheese, and whose favorite part about nachos isn't cheese? Between that, sour cream, guacamole and deep fried chips, you should probably consider getting the salad with hearts of palm to balance out the veggies to grease ratio.

 In my months of frequenting wednesDAYS, I have discovered the secret to the perfect plate of nachos...get the chili on the side!! The chips never get soggy and it's definitely a life-changing move.



 If you ever find yourself in Arlington on a Wednesday evening, you should probably go to Mister Days and enjoy a little $3 food and a lot of $2 beer.



K, byeeeee.

Stand & Stuff.

Soft tacos are normally my go-to when I'm having a mexican fiesta, but the advertisements for the "Stand & Stuff" hard taco shells had me convinced I needed to get those in my belly.

You can have two of the shells for 130 calories - that paired with other low fat ingredients like ground turkey and light cheese, hold the sour cream (even though its my favorite) - makes this a dietlectable dish.

While I was cutting the onions, I was told "you don't look like Food Network."

So you mean professional chefs don't cut onions with a steak knife and cry? Weird.

I made my own taco seasoning with the random spices in my cabinet making this meal not only low calorie, but also low sodium. BOOM! The homemade taco seasoning was really easy! Just combine all the following spices in a bowl and mix:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder


• 1 tablespoon ground cumin


• 1 tablespoon garlic powder


• 1 tablespoon onion powder


• 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper

I added fresh cilantro and lime to one taco....it tasted EXACTLY like Chipotle!!! (That was a lie, but it did give it a good flavor.) The other taco was topped with fresh jalapeño and lime. Both combination were great.



I guess I should work on my "plating" technique. Next time I'll drizzle some cilantro lime cream sauce on the plate to make it look fancy (you all will never know its probably just sour cream with food coloring).



TOTAL NOMZINATION.

And that concludes the evolution of my taco diner. K, byeeeeeee.

Appetizer.

In the recent past, I have been told by a lot of people that I should create a food blog. I was (slash am) apprehensive about this idea because I’m not exactly what people would call an eloquent writer. So at some point in this process, I’m going to have to learn to describe food with words other than sooo good, nomz, yummy, or awesome. But bear with me, I’ll get there (hopefully).

That being said, I haven’t quite figured out what I envision this blog to be. A collection of delectable food? Of course. But beyond that, I’m not certain. Maybe it will be a lifeline for those in a rut consisting of bland diets, that long for delicious food in their lives? Or maybe I’ll teach people a thing or two about food and all its glory? Or maybe it will just a random collection of food I’ve eaten that I would like to share with you all? Yeah, probably the latter…glad that’s settled.

Throughout this blog I will try to entertain you, with the ultimate goal of making you drool. Some dishes will be diet, some will be delectable, while others will be both (dietlectable). I will show you where you can enjoy my tasty treats for yourself, whether it be a simple recipe, or at a specific restaurant. Also, I hope this blog inspires you to venture out in search of an awesome (crap, see there I go with those standard words) meal for yourself. In fact, if you do encounter an especially delectable dish, send a picture with a short description my way (nomz@dietlectable.com) and I’ll share your food with the world...Errr, or at least the 12 people that choose to read my blog.

Alright people, that’s all for now. First real post coming soon. K, byeeeeeeeeeeee.