Cereal Killa: Cran Vanilla Crunch
june 03, 2008 04:27pm
In the same genre as the Special K series, the Oat clusters dipped in creamy vanilla yogurt, with crunchy flakes and real cranberries in Kellogg's Cran-Vanilla Crunch takes it one step further. The first thing you're going to notice about this cereal is the real cranberries. Now, although I enjoyed the Special K with strawberries, the berries were just too tart. Here, the cranberries are just the right amount of sweetness to accent the crunchy flakes. The texture and taste of the cranberries is almost gummy-like, not like a Farley's brand fruit snack, but more along the lines of a fruit roll-up. The vanilla flakes are pretty much similar to the flakes of the special k vanilla-almond, but with no almond. A small trade-off, but i would take the cranberries over the almonds any day.
Extras:
None... but i mean c'mon... cranberries that taste like fruit snacks!
5 out of 5 spoons
Posted By: Mark
Memorial Day Crab Fest
may 28, 2008 11:56pm
On Memorial day I spent the weekend camping in Guerneville on the Russian River. My good friend Ellard mentioned a local spot out on the coast 27 miles away called Bodega Bay. A harbor lined with small fishing operations 70 miles north of San Francisco. This location has some of the freshest seafood the area has to offer particularly known for their fresh crab and oysters. We stopped at a place in Bodega Bay called Lucas Wharf and picked up three cold cracked crabs and had what we refer to as a "Crab Fest"
3 cold cracked crabs
Served with garlic butter, lemon, cocktail sauce and mayonnaise for dipping
Garlic bread made with lots of fresh garlic, and butter baked til crispy and slightly brown. Salt & Pepper
And a Caesar salad (same recipe in previous post)
We were unable to finish all the crab due to the tons of meat they were filled with. So with the remaining crab two days later I made some crab cakes along with a garlic bread crumb crusted Red Snapper FIlet, Risotto and Broccoli Rabe. Topped with a basic Salsa Cruda.
Crab Cakes(5 med/small cakes):
3/4c fresh crab meat
1/4 c Garlic Bread crumbs (made with remaining garlic bread)
1 egg
1/4c Half & Half
1/5 c Finely diced Celery
2T Finely diced red onion
Dash of Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper
Dusting of flour
Squeeze of lemon juice
2T Butter
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to chill for 2 hours. Form cakes dust with flower and sauté in butter until golden brown on both sides.
Salsa Cruda:
4 roma tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
2T basil
1t flat leaf parsley
4T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2t crushed red chili flakes
1/4 red onion
Squeeze of Lemon Juice
3 anchovy filets
Salt & Pepper
This is very easy to pull together in a small food processor. Pour the sauce in a small pot and simmer on very low heat just to keep warm. Use to top the Snapper and Risotto after plating.
Red Snapper FIlet:
In a dish, lightly season 3 snapper filets with Italian Seasoning, Salt & Pepper and Cayenne Pepper. Add a squeeze of Lemon Juice. Beat one egg with fish and add no more than a 1/4 c half & half, enough to coat the fish add corn starch (or flower) to thicken and toss the fish to coat. Add 1 & 1/2c Garlic bread crumbs and press into the fish to create a nice breading. Chill the coated filets to ensure adhesion of breading. Bake in 425 deg. oven until coating is crisp and golden brown, about 15-20 min.
Risotto:
Prepare risotto with chicken broth, onion, garlic, season with salt & pepper, cayenne, and a few saffron threads. At the end top with cheese of your choice. I used a spiced truffle cheese, and goat cheese.
Broccoli Rabe:
Sauté chopped Broccoli with Extra Virgin Olive oil, chili flakes, and garlic. Add a splash of white wine and lemon to finish.
Posted By: Shawn
BEEReview #2: Orange Blossom Cream Ale
may 25, 2008 08:51pm
Posted By: Andrew
Mexican Food: An Overview.
may 12, 2008 09:07pm
Hello GamEats. This is a video designed to give a general introduction to Mexican food. It is not all-inclusive by any means. It is also part of an ongoing project between myself and my friend Mike Pearl.
You can follow the path that lead me to this by going to http://www.youdontsmellbad.com
Thank you.
Posted By: Andrew
Meat Andrew
may 12, 2008 08:47pm
Andrew is a new fantastic blogging addition to our little piece of existential internet pie. He's a food lover, woman courter, and all around good guy. Expect to see more vloggish action from the man in the weeks and months to come.
Posted By: Ian
Cereal Killa: Life Vanilla Yogurt Crunch
may 04, 2008 09:19pm
I just recently got involved with Life cereal, I had sampled the original variety as a dry snack, and was pleased with the slightly sweet flavor. Based on that experience I decided to go with the Life Vanilla Yogurt Crunch. I figured, I liked the yogurt bits in the cran vanilla crunch, and I liked the Life cereal dry, everything was all good. Come to breakfast this morning: big bowl of Life Vanilla Yogurt Crunch Cereal with your standard vitamin D milk. Now, at first it was okay. Reminded me much of Frosted Mini Wheats. About a quarter into the bowl, it gets quite mushy. All in all, I was dissatisfied with my whole life experience. So whenever you feel down, keep these words in mind:
Enjoy life as a tasty snack, and life will never get mushy.
2 out of 5 spoons
Posted By: Mark
BEEReview #1: Firestone Abacus
april 29, 2008 05:54pm
A couple of weeks ago Shawn and I took a trip down to ye olde pub Toronado for a round or two. What we found there, besides the usual and plentiful selection of beers from near and far, was that everyone around us was drinking a very dark liquid from a snifter. We wondered amongst ourselves what this was. We considered the risk of asking someone what it was they were drinking. Do we dare ask one of these clearly more experienced beer drinking patrons? Risk losing our faux coolness and reveal our true selves? Yes.
"Oh, this is barley wine. It won first place in the barley wine festival." (There was, apparently, a barley wine festival recently.)
Cut to the both of us with a barely cool glass of barley wine in our hands. The draft: Firestone Abacus.
At first taste, it's different. Alcoholy. Like an irish whiskey sort of. A distinct malted flavor. Shawn said it actually tasted like a Piña Colada to him. Some might say, "A vanilla oaky body with caramel, various fruit notes, chocolate, sugar." That might be stretching it though — as most self-appointed aficionados often do.
Upon later research, the barley wine truth is revealed. From wikipedia:
A barley wine typically reaches an alcohol strength of 8 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120. It is called a barley wine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it is made from grain rather than fruit, it is in fact a beer. In the United States barley wines are required for this reason to be called "barley wine-style ales." This is taken by some to imply that they are not truly barley wines; in fact it only means that they, like any barley wines, are not truly wines.
Its natural sweetness is usually balanced with a degree of hoppy bitterness.
This beer is meant for slow sipping and savouring of its fruity, high-alcohol and well-aged character. It is brewed most often to celebrate events. The high levels of both hops and alcohol allow some barley wines to be aged for years, much like wines.
So there you have it. If you're wanting something not really carbonated at all, possibly Piña Colada tasting, fairly dark and malty, and like no beer you've ever tasted — this one's for you.
Posted By: Ian
Caesar Salad
april 28, 2008 04:42pm
I can't steal the credit on this one, but there are a lot of fake caesar salad's running out there hiding their heavy gloppy selves in faux wood bowls. Felt it necessary to shed light on the proper way to prepare this classic.
* at least 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and finely chopped
* at least 2-3 cloves minced garlic
* 1 large egg
* Juice from 1 lemon
* 1/2c of the best parmesan money can buy
* Extra Virgin Olive Oil, should add enough to double the liquid in your mixing
bowl.
Coddle the egg to stave off any bacteria, by bringing enough water to cover to a boil, remove from heat, and place the egg in the hot water for 60 seconds. Whisk all your ingredients together until you achieve a nice emulsified consistency.
Add dressing to fresh/cold chopped romaine, and top with some more parmesan and your set. I prefer sans croutons, why add stale bread to such a simple dish. I usually add a couple more anchovy filets on top instead.
*All you dressing hogs(myself included). Don't over dress this salad. Just don't do it.
Posted By: Shawn
Random Ingredient #1: Anchovies
april 26, 2008 01:22pm
Posted By: Ian
Mushroom Risotto
april 25, 2008 04:31pm
1c Uncooked Risotto
4T Butter
3-4T Olive Oil
6-8 Cloves Garlic
10-14 Crimini Mushrooms
1 Leek
1/2c White Onion
2T Sun Dried Tomatoes (bottled in olive oil)
1/2 Lemon
3/4c Asiago Cheese
1/2c Crema (mexican sour cream)
1/4c Fresh Grated Parmesan
Splash of Cream
1/4t Red Chili Flakes
1/4c Chardonnay (sub. any good white drinking wine)
1t Toasted Pine Nuts (optional)
Prepare Risotto by package instructions, adding the onion, sun dried tomatoes, 2T of the olive oil & butter to the pan just before the risotto. Salt & Pepper to taste.
Dice the leek, mushrooms, garlic and saute in a large skillet with the chili flakes and the remaining olive oil & butter. Once slightly browned and translucent deglaze the pan with the white wine & lemon.
Add the cooked risotto with the sauteed vegetables and toss with the cheese, crema, and a little cream depending on how much liquid is in the pan.
Top with toasted pine nuts.
*Notes: I originally prepared this dish vegetarian, without the chicken broth as requested on the Risotto packaging directions. Feel free to experiment with the proportions in this dish to tailor to your palette. Never skimp on the garlic.
Posted By: eatthegamut
Sauteed Cauliflower Pasta with Halibut
april 25, 2008 10:48am
halibut filet:
season with S&P olive oil and cayenne pepper
sear on both sides for 4 minutes. Deglaze with white wine. add a tsp. butter and a squeeze of lemon.
Pasta dish:
bow tie pasta
cauliflower
1 leek
1 shallot
3-4 tbs. chopped garlic.
8 shitake mushrooms
olive oil
red chili flakes
3 T butter
pinch marjoram
pinch crushed fennel seeds
white wine
lemon & pinch of zest
pine nuts
fresh italian parsley
Salt & Pepper
1T creme fraiche
1/2c parmigian
sautee vegetables, garlic, shallots, together with olive oil and butter til brown and season, add mushrooms later to avoid toughness. add remaining ingredients, deglaze with wine then add remaining butter and creme fraiche. top with more parmigian and fresh parsley.
Plate together and squeeze lemon over top.
Notes: Found this to be a nice light and refreshing dish. Great with a nice bottle of a dry chardonnay Always choose the freshest fish you can find, don't be afraid to spend a little more good fish. The idea is you want the fish to be a little rare on the inside, not gonna taste good if the fish was previously frozen. Mushrooms will become tough if they get cooked to long.
Posted By: Shawn
april 24, 2008 11:41pm
Posted By: eatthegamut
