Bacon-y Cheese-y Potato & Cauliflower Chowder

I subscribe to a lot of e-mail recipe lists.  A LOT.  And of all the recipes I receive everyday, only a few actually make me want to go out, buy the ingredients and cook it up.  Most of them sound either too bizarre, or too time consuming.  The recipe that Eat Better America had for a Cheesy Potato Chowder, though, sounded simple AND tasty.  I replaced the broccoli in the dish with cauliflower though, because broccoli is a tool of Satan and I’ll have none of that in my dishes.

I also added some Bacon Salt to give it a hint of bacon to go along with all that cheese.  ‘Cuz seriously?  Everything tastes better with Bacon Salt.  And just for kicks, I added a pinch of cayenne pepper.

The result?  Absolutely delicious.

Bacon-y Cheese-y Potato & Cauliflower Chowder

Ingredients

• 6 medium red potatoes (2 lb), unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tsp Hickory Bacon Salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 12 oz cauliflower cuts
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 8 oz shredded 2% milk reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1. Add potatoes to a 5-quart pot adding just enough water to cover. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Reserve 1 cup potatoes, returning remaining potatoes to saucepan. In a small bowl, mash reserved potatoes with fork. Return to saucepan.
2. Stir in broth, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and Bacon Salt. Heat to boiling. Add cauliflower. Return to boiling and cook uncovered for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium.
3. In small bowl with wire whisk, stir flour into milk until well mixed. Add milk mixture to potato mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Stir in sour cream. Cook until thoroughly heated.

Makes 8 servings (1 1/4 cups each)

McDonald’s To Offer Individual McNuggets

When I first heard the rumblings that McDonald’s was going to be offering up individual McNuggets for a mere quarter in some markets, all I could think of was this Chris Rock moment from the classic I’m Gonna Git You Sucka:

I guess ultimately it’s no different than going into LJS and ordering one hushpuppie, but somehow ordering just one McNugget seems….weird.

Chicago Curry House – Chicago, IL

We’re off to vegas for a week, but I figure this will give me a chance to write some twitted like reviews.

First up, we stopped at the recently opened Chicago Curry House in the South Loop after finishing up some last minute shopping at Target. Located at 899 S. Plymouth, it’s not an easy find. We ended up in a condo with the same address and had to be pointed in the right direction by the security guard.

Once we finally found the restaurant we were greeted with the familiar pungent aroma that only an Indian place can deliver.

The staff was friendly and attentive which comes with a restaurant left empty due to the winter storm that just wouldn’t quite go away this past Sunday.

The big draw, at least for me, was the idea that it was a napalese restaurant along with the traditional Indian food. We went with the veggie platter appetizer: a single samosa along with some vegetable and paneer pakora. The highlight definitely being the deep fried cheese.

I decided to try the veg bojhan platter, a sampler of the various vegetarian Nepalese dishes they offered. Disappointingly, it all tasted like less-spiced Indian dishes, with the only major highlight being the spinach saag. The dish wasn’t just spiced but also pretty damn spicy. Other dishes were some mildly spiced potatoes, spiced cauliflower, yellow lentils, a salad with dressing, and some kheer for dessert.

Katie went with the tikka chicken masala, which was again mildly flavored, but still tasty.

The biggest problem with Chicago Curry House was that the food just wasn’t tasty enough for the 50 dollar check that we racked up. If it had blown our minds we would have been far happier, but when you can get bigger portions for less money at any decent buffet, it just makes you realize how little you actually got.