Life Savor Fundraiser Event Meal

The other night I had the pleasure of attending a benefit for one of my favorite organizations: Community Servings. I got to know them because they are a beneficiary of the fundraising my organization works so hard to raise.

Community Servings provides THOUSANDS of meals to patients, their caregivers, and dependants battling critical illnesses. I’ve volunteered in their amazing kitchen and I’ve had their delectable catering. Their annual Life Savor event raised $445,000 this year!

A group of my colleagues and I went and had the greatest time. The event starts with a cocktail party generously sponsored by the Langham Hotel. I’ve been to events at this hotel so amidst the crowds, I brought the gang to the “promise land” as Mrs. A called it: the Grey Goose Martini bar. Yum. We munched and drank while checking out the silent auction items before dinner.

lifesavor_sign_290_200
Dinner is at one of 80 different restaurants providing a special three course meal. Do you see the speckles? It snowed! We are taken on trolleys to a meal I’ll remember forever at West Side Lounge in Cambridge.

We started our meal with an aperitif with house-made, organic, citrus vodka muddled with blueberries. It was so delicious and a great way to welcome us which GM Leo Crowley continued by sending out an amuse bouche of a Chatham Oyster with a dollop of avocado creme fraiche paired with lightly fruity & Loire Valley white wine. From here we perused our special menus.

lifesavor_aperitif_290_200
As a food blogger, I loved that the GM introduced himself AND took our order. He talked us through the meal as well as the wine pairings. I could tell he pulled out all the stops on this meal. That’s precisely the reason I don’t always love restaurant week with it’s dumbed down menus and annoyed staff. I love that I have a newly discovered nearby restaurant!
lifesavor_gm_200_290

Our first course was a choice of Asparagus Creme Soup or Baby Spinach Salad with strawberries and toasted walnuts. I got the salad and was impressed that the strawberries were perfectly ripe despite this time of year. I didn’t taste the champagne vinaigrette but thought the dressing was good. Chardonnay provided a cool and refreshing pairing.

lifesavor_salad_290_200lifesavor_soup_290_200

Our second course was a pasta course. GM Leo told us that they tried making their own pasta and just couldn’t compete with Dave’s Fresh Pasta in my own Davis Square! This pasta course was Tomato, basil, and ricotta ravioli or lobster ravioli. I never turn down lobster so that’s what I went with. These have huge chunks of lobster inside and you can tell Dave’s Fresh Pasta didn’t skimp on the lobster here. Pinot Noir is my favorite red wine so this was one of my favorite glass.

lifesavor_ravioli_290_200

The main course was a choice of Parmesan Cod from Gloucester with basil mashed, asparagus and a tomato white wine sauce or Lamb Lollies with whipped potatoes and pea tendrils. I can only eat very small quantities of very specific red meat varieites but I went with the lamb. This was a great cut of lamb cooked perfectly pink. I don’t come across pea tendrils often, but I’m not convinced they were really part of the simple salad…the leaves seemed to big to be pea tendrils but I’m no connoisseur so maybe I’m mistaken. This meal was paired with another red wine but I was more focused on the food so I left with wine alone.

lifesavor_lamblolli_290_200

More…yes, there’s more food and wine to come.

Our last (count ‘em, 4 courses) was dessert. Somehow we chatted about figs on the way to dinner and they showed up! Warm chocolate and fig bread pudding or flourless chocolate cake. Thank you West Side Lounge for providing true desserts (each with chocolate). We were busting at the seams so we all shared bites of each one instead of ordering our own. Unfortunately there was so much wine with each pairing, I could barely enjoy the riesling.

lifesavor_choccake_290_200lifesavor_breadpudding_290_200

I can’t thank West Side Lounge enough for participating in this very special fundraiser. I loved the meal, I loved the staff, and I will love to go back.

Intense Garlic & Balsamic Vinegar Chicken

I’d categorize Mr. J as a sauce person whereas my sauces don’t always come out perfectly. I think they are coming along. I made a lot of sauce even when making chicken-for-two. This was a FLAVORFUL meal.
bal_chicken_plate_290_200
This was a pretty quick meal to put together and I loved the vinegar flavor. It felt different and made me want to use balsamic vinegar more often.

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter, softened
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 cup of chicken broth

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil and cook chicken thighs until a medium golden brown, about 5 minutes.
bal_chicken_290_200
Flip the chicken over and cook for about 3 minutes.
Put chicken into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Add garlic to the chicken pan (careful: don’t let it burn).
Stir in balsamic vinegar and chicken broth over a low boil.

Whisk in mixed flour and butter to thicken sauce, cooking for about 2 more minutes over low.
Add in chicken and coat in sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
bal_chicken_sauce_290_200
I liked the balsamic flavor but also think I put in too much (I used about ⅓ cup) so I’d recommend a quantity of a few tablespoons.I eat a solid amount of chicken but I don’t use chicken thighs very often. They were a great change. A little dark meat here and there never hurts.
bal_chicken_plate_290_200
I served this with mashed potatoes (with a touch of sour cream) and steamed green beans. It was a really comforting meal.

Bacon & Beer

I cannot believe that the Bacon & Beer Festival 2011 sold out in less than 24-hours. OMG!

This better be an April Fools Joke. I’m on the waiting list, but anyone who wants to bring me or who can get me can:

a) be a guest blogger (you may notice how rarely that happens here)
b) be quoted, and photographed by me at the Bacon & Beer Festival
c) give me a mystery ingredient and read the post where I try to figure out how to use it
d) receive my love via blog, email, facebook, and twitter

I’m sad I might miss this again this year! I haven’t been yet!

Fritters are Fun

Zucchini Fritters are something I’ve been making for years. I’m not sure where I originally came up with them but I love them as a side dish. I think Mum made eggplant fritters now that I think about it….hmmm there’s an idea for next time.
zucc_fritter_done_290_200
This time I used yellow squash. I think it added a different flavor but it was a good use for the sad yellow squash in my fridge.

Ingredients

1 zucchini or yellow squash
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs or wheat germ
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
¼ cup diced green onion (optional)
¼ cup corn (optional)
¼ cup feta (optional)

Directions

1) Shred zucchini/yellow squash and lay over paper towel to remove most of the liquid
2) Mix zucchini/squash with egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper and any other ingredients.
zucc_fritter_mix_290_200
3) Form into patties and bake 15 minutes at 375. Flip and bake another 10 minutes.
zucc_fritter_pan_290_200
I bake them instead of frying them since they get too oily and it’s way easier. I use my muffin top pan which definitely helps for the shape. It gets a lot more action from zucchini fritters, crab cakes, and the like especially since I’ve never made muffins.

They’re a fun side dish with only a few ingredients. I made them one night when we had our own salad bar with these on the side. I’ll probably stick to zucchini next time but add in spinach! Or corn! Or leeks! Or bacon! Or whatever!

Baked Orzo Flop

I thought I was super clever when I started waking up earlier. This gave me the chance to get stuff done before leaving for work. I unloaded the dishwasher, I poked through my RSS feeds, and I planned dinner.

Once again, I started thinking about what I could make with what I had around…anything to avoid grocery shopping. Baked Orzo came to mind and I thought a Greek dish was exactly what I wanted. I had orzo, artichokes, tomatoes and high hopes for this quick meal.
orzo_plate_290_200

Ingredients

1/4 pound Orzo
1 tbs garlic
1 jar artichoke hearts
1 cup plum tomatoes in liquid
½ cup red wine
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin

Directions

1) Cook orzo
2) Saute garlic, atrichoke hearts, and tomatoes with liquid on medium high.
3) Add wine and spices and simmer for 5 minutes.
orzo_skillet_290_200
4) Turn to low and stir in orzo.
5) Sprinkle with Parmasan before baking for 20 minutes.
orzo_baked_290_200
Partway through my super speedy meal I hear:
Mr. J: is there cumin in there?
me: yup
Mr. J: ohh ok.
me: why?
Mr. J: ohh. {silence} Cumin is not my favorite.
me: hmmm

That’s where the dish goes awry…but it didn’t have to. I wanted to mellow out the cumin so I peek into the fridge and spot 2 ingredients I think will make the spices not taste as strong. Ricotta or sour cream. I went with the former. I had been a bit heavy handed with the wine so already my Baked Orzo had lost the great red color from the tomatoes (the wine made it a bit purpley).

I chose ricotta thinking it would be creamy and rich. It was indeed creamy but it also wasn’t smooth & silky. It was a bad choice, but you know…they can’t all be winners.

After I got it going I wasn’t feeling great about it. I actually said we might need to order pizza (which we never do to replace a meal). Mr. J was a trooper and ate it. It wasn’t amazing but I think it easily could be a great dish.

This Baked Orzo sounded amazing and is my inspiration to give it another go!

Better luck next time. Spoiler alert: I’ve since grocery shopped.