Black Bean and Noodles Casserole w/ Feta

One of the great finds from our trip out to the Printer’s Row Book Fair was a copy of The Vegetarian Gourmet’s Easy Low-Fat Favorites.  I’m a vegetarian!  I like easy!  I like low-fat!  For 10 bucks you just can’t beat nearly 500 pages of relatively easy recipes that promise you lower-fat alternatives to what’s out on the market.

Split into 15 different sections (including a section just for baked potatoes) , Bobbie labels each recipe with an icon letting you know if the meal is vegan, lacto, lacto-ovo, or vegan w/ honey.  I wondered what those little icons meant.  It pays to read the introduction occasionally.  Or even the back of the book.  Good thing I worked at a library for over a decade.

What I like about the book is just how varied the recipes are.  Ms. Hinman bounces all over the savory map, from stuffed sweet potatoes to a southwestern twist on Jicama salad.  But this also comes with some negatives.  Of the three dishes I’ve tried, only one seemed flavored properly.  The others tasted a bit bland, needing some added “oomph.”

This afternoon I tried her Tofu Tamale Casserole which reminded me more of a scrambled tofu frittata than a casserole.  And ultimately, I didn’t feel it tasted much like a tamale at all.  Even after adding cumin and cayenne pepper to the mix, it still seemed under flavored.   Don’t get me wrong, it tastes good, but there needs to be some recipe adjustment.

The only real misfire so far has been the BBQ Tofu over cous cous.  It didn’t taste much like BBQ at all.  It reminded me more of a peppery marinara sauce with tofu.

My favorite dish so far, however, is the one I’m about to share with you.  It combines two of my favorite flavors, black beans and feta cheese.  You could honestly add feta to anything and I’d be happy.  I love the crumby texture and tangy flavor the cheese embodies.  The sharper the flavor, the happier I am.  And black beans?  Best bean on the planet (although fresh fava beans are a close second).  What makes this dish so interesting is the combination of the feta cheese with salsa.  When the two flavors are blended together in the yogurt, it just hits your tastebuds and says “What’s UP!?”  For the noodles, I prefer the Barilla PLUS! noodles, because they’re not as quite as heavy as wheat noodles, and provide a little more nutrition than regular egg-free noodles.

Black Bean and Noodle Casserole with Feta
Serves 6

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1 8-oz container plain nonfat yogurt
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, rinsed and drained (3 oz.)
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp parsley flakes
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 6 oz medium (yolk-free) noodles, uncooked (4 cups)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups of cooked beans)
• 1 16-oz jar salsa (medium or hot)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a 7×11-inch baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine egg whites, milk, yogurt, feta cheese, and flour.  Beat with a fork until blended.  Add spices, mixing well.
4. Place half of the noodles in the prepared pan, Top with half of the beans, followed by half of the salsa.  Spoon half of the cheese mixture evenly over the top.
5. Repeat layers, using remaining noodles, beans, and salsa.  Spoon remaining cheese mixture over the top, covering all of the noodles.  Press noodles down lightly into the sauce.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes.
7. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Apologies

Apologies for the week long absence.  It turns out that I am in much bigger need of a vacation than I thought, and ended up overtired and fighting off an annoying summer cold most of the week.  My words, as I’ve often said, were broken.  I’ll be back today hopefully to talk about some recipes I tried over the week, and my review of Pepsi Max.

Ratatouille – Review

Even if this is a movie review, I felt like the subject of the film was so closely connected to food that I had to share my thoughts.

I am, as they say, a Pixar fanboy.  With the exception of Cars, which was just ok, I am crazy for cocoa puffs over the animation company.  When Brad Bird joined their team, I nearly went into a catatonic state of Euphoria.  Iron Giant was easily my favorite animated film; at least until The Incredibles came along.  Now they have a never ending battle for supremacy…in my head…

Truth be told, I was a little nervous for Ratatouille after Cars.  Cars was the first film from Pixar that I didn’t fall in love with.  And the trailers for Ratatouille hadn’t grabbed me like the previous films; but I trusted Brad Bird to do his thing.

Across the country this past weekend there was a sneak preview of the film, which Katie and I attended.  The verdict? Excellent.  It’s the first time I’ve called a movie charming.  And for people who love to cook (or just eat), it truly encapsulates the reasons why you do.

It’s not a fast paced film, like many other animated films are.  It very relaxed…very European, which makes sense since it’s set in France.  Living under the streets of Paris, Remy is a rat with big dreams and bigger tastes.  He’s not happy with eating garbage or living the life of a rat, so he sneaks off to a small cottage and learns to cook under the sleeping nose of an old lady.  When his pack is forced to move out, he gets separated and decides to explore the aboveground.

What he sees is breathtaking.  I’ve read in some reviews that the imagery of France in this film gives you a better feel of France than La Vie En Rose, a film that was actually FILMED there.  The attention to detail during that first night scene, with the night sky lit up, it looks real.  It makes you envy people who live there, who get to soak in that atmosphere daily.

When Remy first takes a bite of some fresh food, he sees color and hears music.  Each food individual.  Each taste a different experience.  With the belief that “Anyone can cook” behind him, he sneaks into a former 5-Star restaurant to work some magic.  When he’s caught, he works out a deal with Alfredo Linguini, a young man with zero experience, to work together to make some food magic.

And that’s all the trailer really tells you.  There’s so much more to this film that you need to discover on your own.  The final voice over left me misty, and made me want to try even harder at my passions, because that’s what passions are far.

If you love food, or quality films, do yourself a favor and see this film when it comes out June 29.

I must have these

I have literally tried every incarnation of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as they come out.  My favorite was the Dark Chocolate, my least favorite being the Honey Roasted.  I felt like my head was dunked into a beehive when that aftertaste hit.  And it wasn’t GOOD honey.  It was BAD honey.  The marshmallow filling was also disappointing, but it mostly tasted like whipped peanut butter.  Nothing to big to complain about.

So when I read over on Candy Blog that an Elvis inspired cup was coming, I knew I needed to find these. Filled with a banana cream, and enlarged to to the king-sized Big Cup, they just have to be good.

I can see these hitting the festival circuit this summer.  What better addition to sit next to deep fried Snickers than the deep fried peanut butter and ‘nanner Reese’s cup?  Deep frying artistes BETTER do this.  They just better!

Candy Blog also notes that you can spend 25 bucks at the Hershey online store and get 16 of these bad boys in a collector’s tin.  Sooooo tempting…

Our Tru Desserts

Much like Hobbits have second breakfasts, I believe that a person should have several birthday meals. Me personally, I had three. To end the big 3-1 celebration, Katie, our close friend Elaine, and myself visited Tru here in Chicago for a late night dessert tasting. Elaine’s husband Nate, and also our close friend, is one of the pastry chefs at the award-winning restaurant. Katie and I have been excited to try Nate’s work for ages, and luckily we finally got our chance.

Tru is, without a doubt, the fanciest place we’ve ever eaten. The valet attendant asked us for our reservation name, and told us they were all ready for us. No ticket was necessary. The windows are shrouded in dark curtains, giving a sense of both decorum and mystery to the space on St. Clair. If you didn’t know where it was, you’d probably pass it by. Inside, the walls are decorated with with photography and other pieces of modern art, a tour of which Tru will provide.

The hostess greeted us, and asked if we could wait in the waiting area for a few minutes as she wanted to make sure our table was prepared. Most interesting is that the waiting area was at one point a bar, but it was removed by design to create, what I assume is a quieter atmosphere.

We were quickly ushered to our corner table where we had no less than 3 people constantly attending to us. Our seats were pushed in by the servers. The women in the group were given a small stool to place their belongings on. And we were also given our choice of napkin color, which tickled my fancy for some reason. My inner monologue was saying, “Hell yeah I want a black napkin. I’m punk rock!”

Elaine told the restaurant ahead of time it was my birthday, so our waiter, Thierry, offered me a warm greeting as he handed us our menus. What surprised me was that the menus were actually personalized. Printed out across the top they all said, “Happy Birthday Michael.” It was such a simply, but classy move. I was already won over, and I hadn’t even tried their food yet. We quickly told them we wanted the tasting, the menus were removed, and the sugar feast began.

Before the first course we were treated to an apple shooter with rosemary foam and almond black pepper crunch (pictured). I wasn’t sure what to think of the black pepper crunch, but you couldn’t really taste pepper. Instead, it provided a nice crunch to the apple beverage, almost reminding me of a brown sugar topping on an apple pie.

First course -Fruits

The first course featured three different dishes with fruits as the main theme. Elaine was given an apple crumble w/ vanilla ice cream.

Katie received a Banana date sticky toffee pudding with fried plantain chip and root beer reduction, caramelized banana and date and oatmeal ice cream. Not a fan of banana, she soldiered through. While she enjoyed the plantain, I ended up with the caramelized banana. She loved the sticky toffee pudding, root beer reduction and oatmeal ice cream, however. And I can second the deliciousness of the pudding, and I’m normally not a fan of toffee.

I was given a Vanilla cream-lemon chiffon cake, vanilla cremeaux, caramelized rice crispies, vanilla whipped cream, vanilla powder in a vanilla tuille; Lemon curd ice cream with candied vanilla bean; Citrus segments in vanilla caramel with micro sorrel. (pictured) There is nothing funnier than seeing me try and crack open a tuille at a nice restaurant. I’m trying not to make a mess, so I end up slowly gnawing away at a side of it with my spoon. The lemon ice cream was outstanding. It was tart like a key lime pie, so I was a fan from the first bite. The caramelized rice krispies were fun. And the vanilla cream tuille was outstanding. Each layer held a different consistency, but together the flavors were smooth and didn’t overpower each other, letting you taste each flavor as it hit your tongue.

Second Course – Chocolate

Mmmmm…..chocolate. The first course was merely preparation for this. This was the money-maker. And we weren’t let down. Elaine’s dish was probably the most fun at the table; Chocolate french toast, chocolate bergamot paint, candied cocoa nibs, cinnamon ice cream. Imaginative and tasty are the two words that come to mind. It tasted exactly like Sunday morning breakfast with a hint of chocolate.

Katie’s dish proved just how much I love macaroons. The dish was right up her alley, as it was a smorgasbord of chocolate; Cocoa nib macaroon with sour cream/ milk chocolate ganache, white chocolate chiboust, milk chocolate cream, dark chocolate ganache with chocolate struesel and dark chocolate ice cream. I only tried the macaroon, but it melted in the mouth, giving away to the smooth taste of the ganache.

My dish was declared the winner at the table; a Napoleon with guanaja pave, vanilla parfait, nougatine tiles, fleur de sel caramel and caramel dipped hazelnut. (pictured) The pave was thick, providing a chewy base for the lighter layers above. This was a highlight of the evening.

We were also treated to Nate’s signature dish, a LAYER made of pistachio coupe- brandy soaked cherry in kirsch gelee, pistachio mousse, cocoa puffs, kirsch foam, honey roasted pistachios and shaved madagascar chocolate. Talk about light and fluffy. It reminded me of a picnic dessert that your mom would make. And I loved the textural difference the cocoa puffs provided. It was a nice palette cleanser after the richness of the previous course.

Before the final course we were given a small root beer float using Gale Gands in-house root beer. I can see why she bottles the stuff; It’s pretty damn tasty.

Around this time, we were feeling a little worse for wear. None of us were use to eating such rich foods so late at night. It wasn’t getting pretty. Elaine was tweaked on sugar and caffeine, I was convinced I was going to die, and only Katie seemed relatively okay considering everything we had eaten. There was little time to recoup though as the third course came out next.

Third Course – Mignardises

“…Mignardises, from the old French word mignard, meaning pretty or delicate, is the perfect word to describe the little after-dessert desserts…” (thanks Dessert First!) Our waiter Thierry rolled out a cart of mignardises for us, taking the time to describe each one. As the birthday boy I was given one of each, even if I wasn’t sure that was the best idea. But, for the most part I’m glad I did.

We were treated to: (clockwise from bottom left) watermelon and strawberry lollipops, a dulce de leche lollipop, sugar dusted fruit gelee, chocolate covered pistachio cake with gold foil, a dark chocolate truffle with cocoa dusting, handmade caramel, vanilla bean macaroon, and handmade toffee. If that wasn’t enough, we were also given our choice of a milk chocolate truffle with a peanut butter-chocolate filling or a dark chocolate truffle with a rose flavored chocolate filling. I again was given both. Seriously, I thought I was going to die.

The only two disappointing notes for me came during this third course. The dulce de leche lolli was actually flavored with coffee, which I’m no fan of (even if Elaine is convinced otherwise). And the dark chocolate truffle’s filling was a little too strong with the rose essence. Otherwise, I was only disappointed in the fact that the meal was officially at an end.

As a final treat at our table, we were giving a small bowl of warm cinnamon madelines.  Cute and tasty.

Before we left however, we were given a tour of the kitchen, which was immaculate. Granted, it was near the end of the evening, but the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants are known for their attention to cleanliness. Plus it was just fun seeing a professional kitchen setup. I’ve never been near one. And I was in awe. Thierry had given me my menus in a Tru envelope, so I asked the chefs to sign them. I can’t wait to get that framed. I’m such a food dork.

As we headed out, the doorman stopped us and gave us our final surprise for the evening, a lemon pound cake with a powdered sugar glaze. “To enjoy with your coffee tomorrow morning,” he said.

This experience is one of the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I can see why people get addicted to fine dining.  We were in there for two hours eating some of the best desserts to come our way, the staff was amazing and friendly, and the overall experience is something I haven’t been able to stop raving about. I can’t wait to bring people to Tru to share the experience with them. I can’t wait to go back and try the dinner tasting. I’ve made myself hungry just typing this up.

FYI: For fans of chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand, signed copies of their books are available in the foyer. Also, the rest of the photos from the evening can be found in my flickr account on the right-hand side.

Tru
676 N Saint Clair St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 202-0001

Jackie Chan’s XGT Energy Drink

This one took me by surprise.  The last thing I was expecting when I walked into Walgreen’s on Friday was to see Jackie Chan’s face staring at me from a sample pack of powdered energy drink.  For 99 cents, I quickly grabbed a pack to see if the energy drink could live up to the star of Asian action films.  Would I become a Drunken Master?  Or would I feel like I was run over during Rush Hour?  Or maybe I would be…uh…(insert Shanghai Knights joke here).

The flavor is a weird combination to say the least.  It’s a green tea flavored with “natural” raspberry flavor.  Making it extra tempting for me though, since I’m basically barely awake 80% of the day, was that it included Ginseng, B Vitamins, and Taurine.  It’s like all the benefits of bull’s bile in powdered form!  It goes perfectly with my Tiger Penis soup!

But seriously, it’s not bad for a powdered drink.  I find most of them a little too sugary for my tastes.  I usually need more than the 16 oz. of water they call for to make it feel like I’m not a 10 year old pouring sugar into his glass of Kool-Aid.  But these are closer to drinking actual tea (without all the benefits I’m sure).  I’d actually like a box of these to keep on hand around the office.  I’d prefer these to Mountain Dew or RockStar Energy Drink, which I’m convinced are eating away at my liver.

I was hoping to make a joke about “Jackie Chan partying in my mouth” but I figured with the double whammy of tasteless jokes in my Wrigley’s post, I’ve hit my quota for the day.

Wrigley’s 5

According to Wrigley…

“Teens, who are constantly seeking opportunities to experience something out of the ordinary, are also the most frequent gum chewers of any age group and account for one-third of all gum chewed in the U.S.,” said Martin Schlatter, Wrigley’s Chief Marketing Officer. “In our testing, teens and young adults have told us they love everything about 5 – from the unique tingling, cooling or warming sensations that accompany its delicious and especially long-lasting flavors to its bold graphics to its sleek, revolutionary packaging. 5 delivers an amazing new gum experience.”

What does this tell us about 5 aside from the fact that they want to make Wrigley’s gum hip for “the kids”? Absolutely nothing. So, I decided to try it myself. For the sake of this review, I tried Rain, their spearmint blasted gum. I present now the five secret emotions and my thoughts of Wrigley’s 5.

1. On my first piece I turned to my friend Chris and declared, “Rain is like a golden shower in my mouth! There’s so much flavor!”
2. Instead of having a pack of gum 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long, I now have a pack of gum that’s like a large pack of Post-It Notes. The new packing is nice and slim!
3. It’s exactly like Wrigley’s gum except repackaged and 2-3 times as expensive.
4. I really don’t like gum. I can handle 15 minutes of gum chewing before I wondered why I spent my money on something like this. Any longer than that and it’s like an experiment in terror.
5. The flavor really does last at least an hour if not longer. By the time I finally spit it out, I was nauseas and my jaw hurt. Now I know how a crack whore feels.

For people who like gum, this stuff should be right up your alley. It does last ridiculously long, which honestly surprised me. It was also nice to see gum return to its original shape. The little Orbit-sized pieces of gum make me feel like a giant when I hold those tiny sticks up to my mouth. It’s like I’m preparing for a double date with Godzilla and Mothra.

A Shoe for Foodies?

I was browsing Amazon today looking for a new pair of canvas high tops.  My personal favorite brands are either Chuck Taylors or Vans.  I may not have the skill or angle strength to skate, but I can dress the part.  I don’t say this often (that’s a lie) about shoes.  But these shoes are awesome.

100 visits!

I haven’t really advertised this blog, or joined any communities about food to promote Two Bites in Suburbia.  I’m not antisocial, I just forget to contribute to forums I join.  And I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a passing fancy before I joined any foodie groups.  But, thanks to my Doritos post, I’ve gotten over 100 individual hits a day.  Apparently people love to read about those nasty, nasty chips.

Thanks to everyone!

Ads vs. Reality

Slashfood had this link up originally, but I just had to share.  The West Virginia Surf Report has a photo article up showing you what the sad reality of fast food compared to what the ads show you on a daily basis.  Needless to say, it’s not pretty.

Sifting through the photos, it’s even sadder when you realize the only thing that comes close to its advertising equivalent is a filet o’ fish, and that’s probably because there’s only three frakkin’ ingredients on that whole thing.

Seriously, how any can say that either the KFC Bowl or the Wendy’s Taco Salad doesn’t look like a bowl of warmed over vomit must still be either drunk or high enough to be hungry for anything.