Handsome Biscuit(s)

Another trip to Handsome Biscuit today. We had the PB&JB, Mr. Close Love, and the Stevie.

Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet with Finch Brewing

Finch brewery out of Chicago was at Grape and Gourmet last night. Good beer, surprise sip at the counter was a Polish potato schnapps. It reminded me a little bit of black licorice.

Thursday Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet - 23 May 2013

Thursday Beer Tastings at Grape & Gourmet

i<3food

WINESday at Whole Foods - 21 May 2013

Whole Foods Virginia Beach has started a wine tasting on Tuesdays.

i<3food

12th Annual Virginia Beer Festival

The 12th Annual Virginia Beer Festival was 18-19 May 2013. Over 75 breweries carried with them over 100 beers for to sample.

i<3food

Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms

Chayce and I were out for a little bit last night and when we came back Shelby was finishing up something new in the house: Chicken Piccata. She recently discovered Cuisinart’s “Cook & Shoot" page after we bought a new Cuisinart blender. Basically, you look through the recipes customers have submitted over the years and if there isn’t a photo accompanying it, you cook the meal, shoot it and submit your photo. Each photo you send in puts you in a weekly drawing for a Cuisinart product. Neat.

It’s a good excuse to try out new recipes too. Shelby kicked it off here, so I guess it’s my turn next :)

Shelby’s recipe is an adapted version of one she found on Cuisinart’s page and William-Sonoma’s. She also added mushrooms because mushrooms are good with anything! The sauce was great, and I wish there was a gallon of it.

Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms

Ingedients

2 Chicken breasts, de-boned, skinless if preferred
Flour for dredging (salt, pepper, paprika)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
8 oz Mushrooms (sliced or whole)
2 tbsp capers
1/2 medium Onion, finely diced
1-2 Lemons, juiced
1/2 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
2 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

You don’t have to, but most piccata recipes pound the chicken breasts to flatten and tenderize the meat.

Dredge the chicken breasts the flour mixture, then place in pan with heated olive oil. Cook both sides until browned and cooked through.

Place chicken to the side in a container wrapped with foil to keep warm.

Add a little more oil and brown your mushrooms; salt and pepper

Add the rest of the oil and toss in the pan your onion, capers, lemon juice, and wine, and broth. Bring to a low boil, stir and scrap pan to get the bits into your sauce.

Reduce heat to simmer and add butter, stir until melted. Add salt and pepper if desired. Garnish sauce with  parsley and stir.

Slice chicken (or keep pieces whole), plate and dress with sauce.

Cheap and Cheery - May 2013

Cheap & Cheery at Grape & Gourmet this past weekend.

5th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic

I can’t believe I didn’t post some of these photos here! Sorry! A few weeks ago we attended the 5th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic in Virginia Beach, VA. There were 19 completing restaurants working for a Critic’s and People’s choice award. If you check out the close-up shot just above you’ll see this years winner — Mannino’s. Here are the results:

2013 Winners

Critics’ Choice Award

1st Place: Mannino’s Italian Bistro

2nd Place: Blue Pete’s Restaurant

3rd Place: Murphy’s Irish Pub

Honorable Mentions: Lynnhaven Fish House, Passion the Restaurant, and Tradewinds

Peoples’ Choice Award

1st Place: Mannino’s Italian Bistro

2nd Place: Rockafeller’s Restaurant

3rd Place: Blue Pete’s Restaurant

Honorable Mentions: Freemason Abbey Restaurant, Murphy’s Irish Pub, and Sofia’s at the North End

I really think Whole Foods should have placed, I was honestly surprised that they didn’t even get a mention. Better luck next year guys, everyone did a great job! Can’t wait.

Milo's 1st Birthday

Recently we were invited to our friends’ son’s 1st Birthday Party. Ken’s family is Filipino and that means tons of food! It was all so good that I told Ken if they don’t quit feeding me like this I’ll never leave. He said welcome to the family.

i<3food

The Ten Top

After running by Local Heroes Comics in Norfolk, VA we ended up stopping by The Ten Top for dinner. I usually think of sandwiches when I think of this shop and I wanted something meaty—I had a hard time picking something out. For Shelby it was easy, he favorite lamb sandwich is here, the Greek Lamb Hoagie. Looking over the menu she noticed the BBQ Braised Berkshire Pork Shank and suggested I try it.

We ordered and sat down. We’ve done take-out before so this was the first time we had the chance to check the place out. Small with a lot of character. The decor was cool with a working pinball machine people were actually playing.

Our food and came out and we were both surprised by the size of my meal. The pork shank reminded us of the ham hocks we would order in Germany at the fest tents. They French cut the shank so the bones were exposed and charred. Rustic and smelling delicious, I dug in. The sauce was great with a little bite from the vinegar and the pork cooked perfectly. I ended up taking half home with me.

Very nice, relaxing…happy we stopped by.

i<3food

Pho 79 at Hilltop

Phở 79 at Hilltop, Virginia Beach, VA. We ordered the Bún bò xào - Stir fried lemongrass beef with vermicelli and Phố đặc biệt - flank steak, brisket, soft tendon, and tripe. People keep asking why my phở was so red. I put everything in it :)

i<3food

Handsome Biscuit

When Handsome Biscuit opened in Norfolk, VA several months ago reports started to trickle out about these amazing sweet potato biscuits. Not just the biscuits themselves, but how they were dressed up. I finally made a trip to the tiny shop in Park Place myself; the shop was hopping and with only 4 hours in the day to grab one it looked like people wanted to make sure to get their fix. I ordered a couple to take home for me and Shelby.

We ate the Dill Na Na - Potato Onion Frittata and Arugula with Dill Mayo and the already famous Hella  Fitzgerald - Fried Chicken with Bacon, Cheddar, and Red Eye Sausage Gravy. Both were delicious and I’m already planning my next trip and scouting out the menu so I’ll be ready.

i<3food

Dishcrawl Portsmouth

Dishcrawl Hampton Roads conducted it’s first Portsmouth Dishcrawl. I was fortunate enough to be invite and I’m glad I was. We visited Brutti’s, Still Worldly Eclectic Tapas, Gosport Taven, and Krush - A Sourtern Bistro. I’ve never been to any of the four shamefully, so this was a great opportunity to get sample of what they have to offer.

Dishcrawl works this way: Buy a ticket, meet at the rallying point—in this case Portsmouth, then you walk to four restaurants chosen by your Dishcrawl ambassador. Each restaurant will have small plates for the diners in the group allow them to sample what the house has to offer. HR’s rep is Chynee Cousins, super sweet and she seemed to really enjoy guiding us around Olde Towne Portsmouth. An unexpected bonus was the light drizzle we walked through. People tended to huddle together under umbrellas and the streets took a somewhat ethereal quality about them.

The next Dishcrawl will be in Portsmouth again on 4 June. Don’t miss it, tickets are limited.

i<3food