Playing Chopped at Home

Do you watch chopped? I love it. As I’ve said before, it is like the old school Ready Set Cook! for the modern day…and with real chefs. My sis and I play occasionally. It’s actually a super easy way to host without going crazy.

Playing Chopped at Home:

Invite 1-4 people to join you
ask them to bring your specified quantity of basket items (I usually do 3 per person)
stock your pantry if you don’t have some basic staples (i.e. rice, pasta, condiments, breadcrumbs, spices, milk, etc)
Then, come up with your meal together with the ingredients!

I don’t do basket items by course, but you could definitely do that. Or you could break your group by course if you have too many cooks in the kitchen.

There were only 2 of us so we went with just a few ingredients each. Here they are!
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped
me:
marinated chicken breasts
onion dip mix
all my pantry items

sis:
pepperoni
ah-so chinese sauce
limes

We made a dip/relish with tomato, corn, red onion, ah-so Chinese barbecue sauce (basket ingredient) and lime juice (basket ingredient). This was seriously tangy and neon pink but surprisingly tasty. We served this with tortilla chips as a starter.
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

Then we chopped potatoes and mixed them with the onion dip (basket ingredient) and some olive oil then baked them to be crispy. While this wasn’t super inventive, it mayyy have been on the back of the package, it was a good use. I liked the extra salty flavor instead of just roasting potatoes with random herbs & spices. Leftovers also made great hasbrowns the next morning 😉
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

For the chicken we decided to stuff it with pepperoni and needed something else. I had some goat cheese so we went fully decadent. I thought the tartness of the goat cheese and the fatty pepperoni was great to liven up some otherwise basic chicken.
The Three Bite Rule - Play Chopped

Go ahead and try it. It is so fun and a great way to not overthink dinner (then send me a pic with what you came up with emily@thethreebiterule.com!

What I Ate: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

Cobb Salad and Chef Salad united for my dinner. This isn’t really a recipe, but it is more of an idea you can happily capitalize on. I went with a everything-but-the-kitchen-sink method for a salad for dinner. It was definitely a dinner plan that was low on actual cooking but was hearty and fun.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

We don’t eat tons of salads as dinner, so during a hot few days I took advantage of a low-cooking meal. This felt like a fun meal to serve when it is hot, or especially if you aren’t a confident chef! Serve this next time you’re the host or for a potluck and everyone will be happy.

Ingredients:

2 grilled chicken breasts
4 hard boiled eggs
avocado
carrots
cucumber
tomatoes
corn
shredded cheddar
broccoli
head Boston Bibb lettuce
croutons
blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Fry bacon, boil eggs, and grill the chicken.
Chop everything except the lettuce.
Mix the “fillings” and serve in lettuce wraps.

These were really fun! I liked that there were so many interesting textures and bright flavors. I went with the normal cobb salad as though it was a chop salad. I figured if the lettuce didn’t really work, then we could always drop the toppings on a bed of lettuce. It worked well as wraps though.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps

It takes time to chop and prep everything but I made enough for two of us to have for dinner and then for lunch again the next day. I didn’t dress the salad so besides the avocado, it packed up well for lunch too. The only cooking was the bacon, eggs, and grilled chicken.

We were eating and that’s when I realized I had forgotten the chicken. Ohh well. It truly felt like a dinner meal even without that. The eggs, bacon, and avocado makes this a hearty one.

Croutons are such an easy item to make at home and I never buy them anymore. Whenever I do buy them they seem to disappear as snacks before they appear on many salads.
3 Bite Rule: Cobb Salad Croutons

Cut some bread into squares, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and some grated parmesan. Toast a few minutes on each side and voila! Croutons made-to-order!

Lobster Walk n’ Roll

Google+ gave some spots away for a Lobster Walk n’ Roll event a few weeks ago in Harvard Square and I was lucky enough to get one. Liz from Eating Places joined me and we happily munched the lobster slider and cocktail tastes they offered up along with some photo tips while meeting other Google+ reviewers.

We began at Upstairs on the Square. I was psyched since I hadn’t been inside there. We were in a super cool pink zebra room. It was a bit pink for photos so bear with me.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

We got a small lobster roll and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. This was a great way to start the afternoon.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
The lobster roll was really simple and filled a buttery roll. I was so happy to see the big chunks of lobster meat with very little dressing.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

Next we made our way to Russell House Tavern for a slider and choice of cocktail.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

This slider reflected their mission to keep food from being pretentious. They kindly provided some fries as well, which were addicting to say the least.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
These sliders were my favorite of the day. I again LOVED that they were lightly dressed but had a touch of a kick.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
Gobs of mayo and miniscule chunks of lobster give lobster rolls a bad name…that isn’t how they’re supposed to be.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I got their house St. Germain cocktail with sparkling wine and soda water. It was flowery and bubbly making it an ideal pairing with a very filled lobster slider.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I’ve never been there for brunch but would love to. I need to get on that. Their breakfast sandwich is the stuff my dreams are made of. I might need accompaniment to get the bfast pizza or biscuits and gravy so I can try those too. I don’t know their restaurant Park , but I love Grafton Street.

Next we made our way to The First Printer. I hadn’t been here before (I hear it had been Herrell’s Ice Cream). The interior is homey and charming.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
We cozied up in booths with platters of lobster rolls.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll
They offered us 3 custom cocktails but everyone went with the same one! The crispy cuke stuck into it was show stopping.
The Three Bite Rule - Lobster Roll

I have to say that their lobster rolls were my least favorite. The lobster meat was deliciously tender and I was pleasantly surprised by the orange zest. Their rolls were dry and stale. I think after having 2 other/different rolls these seemed lackluster. That didn’t stop me from eating the insides of other sliders though.

Their ice cubes are crazy perfect squares. We were impressed and I mentioned it to the waitress who thought a) I was nuts, and b) that I was asking where ice comes from. It was awkward and couldn’t have been over fast enough.

It was so nice of these restaurants to host us for this lovely summer Sunday funday.

Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: The Lobster Walk n’ Roll was completely complementary but my thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own.

Hash Brown Crust Bfast Pizza

Wayyy back when, I was making breakfast pizza I was also thinking what else I could do with breakfast pizza. There’s nothing cheaper or easier than bfast. I always have eggs and bacon around so poof! It became pizza topped with “fried” egg. I was wondering about scrambled egg too. My mind then went to crispy hash browns. I know, you don’t want to know where my food-brain goes.

What if the hash brown cakes were the CRUST. I’m a genius. Or this might exist somewhere. I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve never seen it on a menu and I’ve been to quite a few diners and breakfast spots and I’ve never seen this. Come on people!
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

Mr. A recreated the egg one and tweeted it to me. Love it! It got my butt in gear to adapt it for another method.
bfast pizza

Ingredients:

½ bag shredded potato hash browns
1/3 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz shredded cheddar
4 slices of bacon
3 eggs, scrambled

Directions:

Mix shredded potatoes and soup together.
Then spread it out onto a pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400-degrees.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Cook bacon while crust is crisping.
When the potato has formed a crispy crust, top with cheddar and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Cook the scrambled egg (in the pan you cooked the bacon in for some extra bacon flavor!)
Cook the crust until the cheese melts into a delicious melty layer.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza
Remove and top with scrambled egg and bacon.
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

This was definitely a good pizza! I would have liked the crust to crisp a bit more but I really feared I’d burn the edges. I would recommend being mindful of the thickness. I could have spread it out then squished the edges back in to form the edge/barrier. It also might work better to make individual ones! Smaller ones could be pan fried if potatoes, eggs, and bacon isn’t too much for you to manage at the same time.

If you’re cooking for a crowd or for kids it might be fun to make individual ones that people can top as they like. I’ll make it again, and maybe I’ll even pan-fry the potato cakes…oooo!
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizza

It isn’t a dinner that produces leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s usually a considering factor in my meal planning but hash brown cakes with cheese and bacon would still be good even if the eggs don’t reheat well!

A biscuit crust would be good if hash browns aren’t your thing either! I’d love it as potato crust, topped with cheese, and bacon and finished with a poached egg the very last second. Yum!

Which is your idea of a great start to the day?
The Three Bite Rule - Bfast Pizzaeggpizza_baked_290_200

What I Ate: Turkey Panini

In my effort to simplify dinner (but still keep it delicious) I figured I should throw in more sandwiches to the rotations since lately I’ve been into dinner salads. Mr. J is (rightfully) worried about getting salad-ed out.

The Three Bite Rule - Turkey Panini

I like that paninis are perfect any-time-of-the-year dinners. They’re super easy and quick (and cheap). In the summer I appreciate that they don’t heat up the whole house to make! In the winter I appreciate that it is a warm meal with a fresh factor. I also love that there aren’t any weird leftovers. I made some once when I hosted the book club and served them with a salad bar. It was a hit for a group with different tastes!

Here are some tips to take this from a “sandwich” to a “dinner-starring-panini” Continue reading