Holy Cannoli and Calzones!

I spent Saturday evening (about a month ago now) listening to the NM Philharmonic Orchestra play the fantastic music of John Williams.  He created the music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and even Far and Away just to name a few.  After our ears and hearts were full of his inspiring melodies, my husband and I needed to fill our stomachs before the growling echoed the booming timpani.  We headed over to Saggio’s where we both ordered calzones and cannoli.

These were both firsts for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The calzones were massive!  If we had known how big they were, we would have only ordered one and split it.  The Four Meat Calzones consisted of pepperoni, Italian beef, bacon, and sausage with pesto, ricotta, and mozzarella with your choice of bread.  I chose the traditional, while the husband chose the rosemary.  There were a lot of flavors going on within my simple crust – spicy sausage and pepperoni, a soothing mozzarella, and a sweet pesto.  It was almost like a circus going from one flavor to the next, one big ring performance to the next, and yet they all combined nicely for an excellent experience.   However, for me this was only achieved by taking out all of the ricotta. I don’t like the texture of this cheese and honestly, with so many other things and tastes going on, the calzone didn’t need it.

And then for dessert!  Holy cannoli, Batman!  I know that John Williams did not write any of the themes for Batman, but after listening to the themes for super heroes all night, this is what came to mind.  The cannoli is a scavenger hunt for the tastebuds.  It is deliciously sweet, but mysterious as it is difficult to place the sweet flavors.  Cannoli is basically a really thin crispy rolled cookie that is filled with a sweet cheese.  I knew it was cheese and yet it tasted nothing like the cheese I have tasted.  I’m pretty sure that I tasted something citrus – orange, lemon, maybe zest?  There was also a hint of cinnamon and just a few chocolate chips.  I’m not sure that I named all the flavors on my scavenger hunt, but it was sure fun trying to find them.

A seemingly simple evening started with the symphony, turned into a circus, and ended with a scavenger hunt.  We had no idea our evening would turn into such an event!

 

 

 

Brrrrrr….There’s a Blizzard!

My salad hating self made an appearance last night.  You know what I’m talking about – that side of yourself that can stand vegetables, can’t stand the thought of a green leafy salad, can’t stand the idea of eating anything green unless maybe its candy coated.   Don’t pretend that you don’t have that side of yourself!  Even the healthiest of us splurge on a frozen yogurt once in a while.  Right?
No, a salad would not cut it last night.  I needed comfort food.  You know, the kind of food that makes your toes curl up and your insides go all warm and gooey just at the mere thought of the food?  That’s what I needed.  Hot from the stove chicken pot pie, crispy fried chicken, or warm buttery biscuits would have been a dream come true.  But since it is August, it is not time for fall food yet, not time for crock pots and comfort. 

Moms always have a solution and luckily mine came up with going out to eat for BBQ and fried okra.  We both had a pulled pork sandwich (merely a vehicle for BBQ sauce) and little bowls of golden fried okra.  The BBQ was OK, but the okra hit the spot.  It also became a vehicle for the BBQ sauce.  The meal was a pretty small portion, so again the Mom had a brilliant idea…

DAIRY QUEEN!  Since my transformation into being able to consume milk products, I had not ventured into a Dairy Queen and before that it was rare.  Why would I go to something with “dairy” in the title?  Exactly.  So, it was the perfect place to go last night and I’m so glad I got to share the experience with my mom.  Continuing with my 5 year old stance on life and embracing my inner id, I made my mom order for me!  She picked her favorite – the M&M Blizzard!

We didn’t wait very long before they called our number and we ran up to the counter guy like little kids.  He took our mini blizzards and turned them upside down to show how frozen they were.  I felt my eyes get big as I worried about all of that deliciousness falling to the floor, but no deliciousness was lost.  It all stayed perfectly frozen in the cup.  WOW!  Now that is impressive.

And boy was it frozen!  We went outside to eat our treats and crunched on the frozen candy (and yes there were some green M&M’s that were definitely not wasted despite their dreaded color) and cooled off in the late summer heat.  In fact, we both got a bit chilled.  And you know what?  While it froze my fingers and my taste buds, it melted my salad hating self and I think I will live to eat salad again.  Never underestimate the power of ice cream and comforting conversation from your mom.
 

Melting over the Melting Pot

For my birthday the husband and I decided to use a gift card to The Melting Pot.  (It has only been collecting dust for 2 years!) Because of all of my previous food allergies, I had never been to The Melting Pot let alone tried fondue.  Honestly, I was more than a little skeptical about fondue.  I mean I can shove meat on a stick, boil it in pot over the stove, and then dip it in some melted cheese all in my own kitchen.  So why would I pay (ok I wasn’t paying this time) so much money to do this in a restaurant?

Besides, fondue seems like something fancy rich people do or maybe goofy teenagers on TV.  Have you ever seen Glee? There is  a segment that the ditzy, but loveable Brittany does with her cat called “Fondue for Two.”  Basically it is spoof on TV shows that interview celebrities; they always have some disgusting looking fondue and scream the theme song “Fondue for Two” a couple of times.  I couldn’t get this song out of my head until we got to the restaurant. 

However, once we walked in the doors all the joking and preconceived notions melted away along with the name of the restaurant and yes, I experienced "the fondue effect." The manager greeted us and really introduced us to the concept of fondue.  He said that he had been with the company for 10 years and he even said it was an expensive place, but worth the experience.  He answered my above question without me having to ask: fondue isn’t so much about the food itself, but the experience.

And that is what my husband and I enjoyed: an eating experience.  Our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and helped us pick the items that were right for us.  We decided to splurge and order the four courseoption.  We started with the cheese fondue and chose spinach and artichoke.  We were given bread, apples, broccoli, and cheese to dip in the gooey pot of melted Fontina and Butterkäse cheeses, spinach, artichoke hearts and garlic.  I never thought that apples and cheese would pair well, but the combination of sweet apple and garlicky cheese was an experience itself: intriguing and delicious.

Next came the salad. We ordered the California Salad which consisted of mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette.  I’m not a fan of Gogonzola cheese as it’s what I call a “stinky cheese” and tastes too strong for me; however, the vinaigrette completely made up for the stinky flavor.  It was a deep sweet flavor with a tiny kick of balsamic vinegar that made me curious for me.

 

 

 

Finally, the main course arrived.  The husband tried The French Quarter which had Cajun seasoned shrimp, chicken, Andouille sausage, and pork, while I ordered The Land and Sea which consisted of herb crusted chicken, sirloin, and shrimp.  The waitress recommended that we choose the Seasoned Court Bouillon as the broth to cook the meat.  Because the husband’s choice was so flavorful, we didn’t want something to overpower that flavor. And this was the real experience! The meat is served raw and you really do cook it in boiling broth. It sounds simple enough, but it is FUN!

 
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we ordered dessert! We ordered the s'mores - melted chocolate, marshmallows, and bits of graham crackers. I could have eaten it with a spoon, but they gave us strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, and marshmallows that only complimented the delicious sauce. (After we started cooking our meats, I completely forgot about taking pictures, so there are no pictures of our delicious dessert.)

After three hours of eating, I truly understand "the fondue effect!" And I truly appreciate a good eating experience.

Cheesecake and its Factory

My husband and I are visiting our old stomping grounds in Orange County, CA. We are here to remember the life of a very special person who lost her battle with cancer. While the circumstances of our trip are not the happiest, we still wanted to catch up with friends and visit the places we used to enjoy. The Cheesecake Factory was at the top of the list.

I have always loved the Cheesecake Factory. I have tried their Orange Chicken, Navajo Sandwich, Fried Chicken Sandwich, and even a special BBQ Salmon with crunchy onion straws on the top as well as a number of other delightfully delicious dishes. However, I've never tried what they are truly famous for, what they are named for: their cheesecake. That is until last last night!

My husband and I had dinner with his best friend and his lovely girlfriend. When my husband and I had finished eating our fried shrimp basket, I was happy to see that our friends had requested a dessert menu. Talk about a menu! Two pages of different types of cheesecake! His friends ordered the Tuxedo Cheesecake and the Oreo Cheesecake. After some deliberation, (they had more than one kind of peanut butter cheesecake!) my husband and I decided to split the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cheesecake.

First, the Cheesecake Factory gets an A+ for presentation. The plate was absolutely beautiful, a work of art, really. It had two huge dollops of whipped cream at either end of the generously cut slice and carmel drizzled over the entire plate. I almost didn't get a picture because I wanted to dig in!

The taste? Divine. There were so many different flavors all divine in their own right that the combination made it even more so. The crust was a thin blonde brownie topped with a thin layer of chocolate brownie. This would have been a great dessert on its own, but was made better with a thick layer of white chocolate cheesecake peppered with macadamia nut pieces. Did you know that cheesecake tastes nothing like cheese, not even cream cheese? It is simply and sweetly divine. And what could enhance this even more, but the airy sweetness of whipped cream and the buttery goodness of caramel?

A divine dessert and the company of two fantastic friends made us forget the sadness that brought us back to CA, made us relish the life we have, appreciate the small joys that make the hardships we face worth enduring. The next time I visit the Cheeecake Factory, I won't be sharing with my husband.

Shamrock Shake

So, I tried it – all 530 calories of it!  McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is the strangestcolor of green – a lighter version of the color lime, the color of washed outgrass, maybe even mushed up shamrocks – not a color that I would normally eat.  On top of all the green cream is a big dollopof whipped cream.  Before getting to theactual flavor of the shake, I got a mouth full of super sweet vanilla.

Even though in my head I knew a shamrock shake was supposedto be a mint flavor, my tastebuds were expecting lemon lime because of thecolor.  So, they were completely confusedwhen the cold green creaminess hit them with a super light mint flavor swirled withcreamy vanilla.  In fact, they convincedmy brain it really was lime.  I tookanother sip and thought, “how odd – it’s like a lime mint, no just mint, novanilla, no a mint vanilla.”  Ipractically inhaled the entire shake through the straw (so it wouldn’t melt, ofcourse!) and I’m still not 100% sure what the flavor really is.  I bet it’s better than mushed up shamrocksthough!

Robyn’s Breakfast Burrito Ratings

About a year ago I had my very first breakfast burrito.  I was not impressed.  I ordered it from a vendor at Albuquerque’s annual International Balloon Fiesta.  I honestly don’t even remember the name that hung over the booth.  The burrito itself was uninspiring.  It consisted of mostly potatoes with tiny little bits of bacon and even tinier bits of egg.  It had a very thick, chalk like texture and unfortunately tasted like cardboard.  I knew that breakfast burritos had to taste better than this or they wouldn’t be so popular, so I ventured out into the city to discover the best ones: a sacrifice that had to be made! (I'm so glad that I'm not allergic to eggs and potatoes any more.  Now I know what I was missing.) Here is my list in order of yumminess according to me:

1.       Garcia’s

Smothered with green chile and served
 with beans and potatoes

This breakfast burrito is huge!  I order mine with sausage, green chile and no cheese.  It includes eggs and huge wedges of fried potatoes and served with the chile smothered over the entire thing.  This may be a heart attack waiting to happen, but at least you would die happy!  Usually the meat ratio is significantly higher than the other ingredients.  This is good because the sausage adds a sweetness to the overall spiciness of the burrito.  The chile is excellent – just enough flavor, but not so hot you can’t enjoy it.  The best part: it’s wrapped in a delicious, thick, bready tortilla that is absolutely irresistible.  I try not to eat too much bread, but I can’t say no to these tortillas.

2.       The Frontier

Knife and fork burrito with
 green chile inside

This breakfast burrito is a normal size.  I have ordered both sausage and bacon and I think the bacon has a better flavor.  The sausage can sometimes be too spicy, but the bacon adds just enough saltiness that it brings out the other flavors in the burrito.  The meat is usually chunky: two entire pieces of bacon or two halves of a sausage patty are placed on top of lots of eggs and shredded hash browns.  The hash browns add a deep salty browned taste.  The green chile is served inside the burrito and can sometimes be too spicy, but it really depends on the day.  Cheese can help tame this fire though.  The best part: the tortilla is always fresh, always moist, and wraps up everything perfectly.

 


No picture of Hello Deli's burrito -
had to eat it fast to keep warm and enjoy
 the balloons.

      3.       Hello Deli!

I tried this breakfast burrito at this year’s balloon fiesta as it was recommended by KOB’s Steve Stucker and balloon fiesta/breakfast burrito aficionado and because he said it only cost $6.00.  That is a really good deaI for food at an event like this. First, I was completely shocked at the size of this burrito.  It was short and fat!  I’m not sure how they fit all that yumminess into a handheld burrito. Thank goodness for foil!  Second, I was completely shocked at the taste of this burrito.  It was completely different than the other burritos I had sampled.  It had eggs, and a lot of potatoes with just enough bacon in it to know it had bacon in it.  The tortilla was thin and not memorable though.  The best part: the overall flavor.  I don’t think it had any chile, but it had a distinct garlic and pepper taste, but it was inviting rather than overwhelming.  This burrito was definitely all about the filling.  If it was this good at balloon fiesta, I can’t wait to eat at the restaurant.

4.       Manny’s

This was another hand held burrito.  My mom and I actually split it.  I was completely full eating only my half.  It had eggs, sausage, potato, and green chile all wrapped in a thin tortilla.  The tortilla wasn’t very flavorful, but it seems like that’s the case with the handheld burritos compared to the smothered knife and fork burritos.  I may need to try this one again.  I’m happy to do more research! 

5.       Weck’s

This burrito is huge!  It took me three meals to finish it!  I ordered this one with eggs, bacon, and green chile.  It is also served with hash browns. The flavor was extremely spicy, very hot, maybe too hot for breakfast.  The hash browns helped calm the fire that burned my tongue, my throat, but it lingered on my lips for at least an hour.  It was a good burrito, but a little too hot for my taste. The best part: it’s size.  

6.       Twister’s

I ordered the #8 with eggs, potatoes, bacon,  smothered with green chile, and no cheese.  Everything in this burrito is diced.  The fried potatoes were little cubes as well as the bacon and eggs.  The texture was a little strange.  The green chile seemed to be more like an enchilada sauce and was smothered over the entire plate.  In fact, it seemed like my burrito was swimming in it.  It had a gelatinous look and texture, but tasted fine, not delicious, just fine.  The tortilla wasn’t memorable either.  The best part: completely filling!

This is a short list compared to all of the restaurants that serve breakfast burritos in Albuquerque.  I’d still like to try Blake’s Lotaburger, Flying Star, and even Sonic.  Do you have any you would like to recommend?