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Fox Bros Bar-B-Q as seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

Published by Silvia Andrito

Name: Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q

Cuisine: Barbeque, Southern, American (Traditional)

Location: 1238 Dekalb Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307

Oh Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, you are the source of much pain in our lives. Everytime we watch you, we lament the lack of delicious foods in our immediate area, or the lack of late night foods available (for some reason we always watch this show late at night), we feel extreme jealousy that our jobs do not consist of going around enjoying delicious food while driving a kick-butt car, and then 70% of the time we feel such disappointment when we finally get to go to these places… (;-;)

Let us explain a little bit:

As far as the food goes the main descriptor is– good barbecue. The brisket was amazing, the pulled pork and barbecue sauce were also great, the ribs, chicken, and turkey were good. The sides were just OK, the fried okra was a big disappointment, it was just frozen, not fresh. The collard greens were extremely bitter.

The combo platter. Ribs and brisket with collards and okra.

For this place, and most alums in the DD&D roster, the main problem is always the pricing. It was very overpriced! We spent over $300 on a party of 10, most of us drank water and had no appetizer, so found it very expensive for pretty simple barbecue.

The second main problem is the wait, it was looong!!! Regardless of the size of your party be prepared to wait. In our case, because we were such a big party, they told us we could sit outside (45 minutes) or wait over one hour for inside. So of course we said we were sitting outside. Big mistake!!! There is no real canopy, so we sat in the hot summer Sun for the whole meal.

Also parking is a bit of a problem here. Pretty small lot that is always packed. The restaurant is in a residential neighborhood, so you might end up having to park a block away, in front of someone’s house. Just make sure you do not block any driveways or accessways or you might get towed.

Texas Fries

Honestly we just went to this restaurant because it was featured in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and feel that while some of the food was good it does not justify the price nor the wait.

So as always when visiting a DD&D restaurant be prepared for extremely long waits and overpriced food, while sometimes the amazing food justifies wait and cost, we felt that this time it did not.

Bento Series #11– Spring Rolls

Published by Silvia Andrito

With spring around the corner, I felt it was time to post my recipe for SPRING Rolls (see what I did there?) With winter finally starting to fade (not really up North, and no real winter down here in Florida -_-) it is time to make some healthy food that will help us get in shape for bikini season, a.k.a. summer. This recipe is perfect for that, full of fresh veggies and delicious crab meat, it will satisfy the tastebuds while being gentle to your body.

It is also great for a bento since everything goes inside the wrapper and you can eat it with your hands, no silverware necessary. Grab, dip, and enjoy!

Bento Components:

Spring Rolls
Peanut Sauce

Spring Rolls —

Ingredients:

-1 container (8 oz.) of fresh crab meat (can be found in the fish counter).

-2 carrots

-1/2 cucumber with all the seeds removed

-3 green onions

-1 cup cooked rice noodles

-1 tsp sesame oil

-1 Tbsp lemon juice

-spring roll wrappers

-salt and pepper to taste

The first thing you have to do is julienne (fancy word for cut into thin strips about 2-3 inches long) all of your vegetables. Set aside. Cook your rice noodles following the package instructions, toss the noodles with the sesame oil and salt to taste. Set aside. Mix the crab meat with the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Prepare your assembly line; noodles, veggies, crab meat, and a wide container full of hot water. You will have to dip the spring roll wrapper in the hot water in order to soften them. Once they are pliable you need to move fast and you can’t let the edges overlap… kind of like plastic wrap once it touches itself it will never let go O_O…

Set the wrapper down then layer some noodles, veggies, and 1-2 tablespoon of the crab mix. Then follow the following info-graphic on how to roll it:

Then you can serve whole or slice in half so you can see all the pretty colors!

Peanut Sauce —

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup peanut sauce

-1 Tbsp sesame oil

-1 Tbsp water

Mix all the ingredients very well. Top with green onions or parsley for an extra pop of color. Serve alongside the rolls.

This makes for a great healthy lunch. If you want to keep it even lighter, you can skip the sauce completely. The spring roll is packed with flavor as it is!

Dumplings: Delicious Pockets of Goodness

Published by Silvia Andrito

Dumplings, oh how I love thee!! Little pockets of deliciousness that make my heart soar. Every country has a kind of dumpling: Japanese gyoza, Korean mandu, Italian ravioli, Chinese shumai, Spanish empanadas, etc. It is very versatile, and since there are so many recipes from all around the world, the combinations are endless! The best part is that they are a great freezer food! You can make as many as you want on a free day and flash freeze them to be enjoyed at a later date. Not only that, they can be cooked in so many ways: fried, steamed, sauteed, baked, etc!

A couple of months ago I invited my family over for the weekend and had them help me make a huge batch. Ha Ha! Entrapment! *Cough* I mean, a great family activity! We made gyozas, shumai, and crab rangoons, then I flash froze most of them to be divided among both households, and had a lot of them for dinner that night. We were in dumpling heaven!

Freshly made gyozas, right before being flash frozen

Here I will share my recipes for the three kinds we made that day.

Gyozas–

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb ground pork

-1/2 Napa Valley cabbage, thinly shredded

-1 tsp grated ginger

-2 shallots, finely diced

-3 garlic cloves, finely diced

-3 Tbsps soy sauce

-1 tsp sesame oil

-wonton wrappers (or gyoza wrappers–round instead of square)

-1/3 cup of chicken broth for steaming.

Mix all ingredients until you have a pretty homogenous mix… you know… until it is mixed evenly… Then put a tablespoon into each wrapper. Wet the edges with water and press to seal. You can use a fork to create a pretty crimping pattern, or you can get fancy and practice your origami folding on these, up to you!

These are best cooked in a frying pan. Heat a little oil and saute gyozas for about five minutes, until you have a little golden color going on the bottom side. Then add 1/3 of a cup of chicken broth or water and cover pan so that it steams the inside. Once most of the liquid is gone then the gyozas are ready to be devoured… or daintily eaten… I prefer devouring though…

Shumai–

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb cleaned shrimps

-1/2 lb ground pork

-1 Tbsp cornstarch

-3 green onions finely chopped

-1 tsp sesame oil

-1 Tbsp mirin

-2 Tbsp soy sauce

-1/2 tsp white pepper

-2 garlic cloves finely diced

-1 Tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon)

-salt to taste

-wonton wrappers

Roughly chop half of the shrimps; I like to have a little bit of texture in my shumai and find that it makes me happy to come across little pink pieces of shrimp. The other half I want you to finely chop. You want it to be a paste, this will act as the glue keeping all the ingredients together. You can even put it through a food processor (if you do, also add all the other ingredients, except the pork) or you can use a good ol’ knife. Mix all the ingredients together.

To assemble; in a wrapper put a tablespoon of filling in the center, then raise all the edges up, leaving the center uncovered. The best way to cook these is to steam them.

Crab Rangoon–

Ingredients:

-1 container (8 oz.) of fresh crab meat (can be found in the fish counter.)

-1 package of cream cheese at room temperature

-3 stalks of green onions, finely diced

-1 tsp. grated ginger

-salt and pepper to taste

-wonton wrappers

Sauce:

-2 Tblsps honey

-1 tsp sesame oil

Mix all the ingredients. Put one tablespoon in the wrapper and seal. Once again you can get creative here, fancy folds, simple, use a fork, up to you. Then deep fry until they are a wonderful golden color. Take out and let the excess fat drain.

Meanwhile warm some honey in the microwave. Once warm, add the sesame oil to it and mix as best as you can. It will resist you! But keep at it until it looks fairly mixed. Drizzle over rangoons or dip them in it and enjoy!

These are great for lunch, as a snack, for dinner, or even breakfast. You can also freeze them. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper and place the dumplings on it in a single layer, NO TOUCHING! Don’t let any of them get frisky! -_- There needs to be at least one inch separation. Otherwise when you want to store them later they will not let go… Place in the freezer for a couple of hours until frozen. Then, if you kept them apart, they will come off easily and go into their designated storage.

So while they are a little labor intensive, it does pay up! Get some family or friends to help you and you will have delicious dumplings for several meals.

Efes Bistro Review

Published by Silvia Andrito

Name: Efes Bistro Fish & Grill House

Cuisine: Turkish, Mediterranean

Location: 8903 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33434

This place was a bit of a mixed bag. The food was good, we ordered the lamb chops and they were perfectly cooked but for $30 a plate they better be. The lentil soup it came with was creamy but had a bit of an odd aftertaste. The salad was average.

The service was where we had a little trouble, they didn’t bring our drinks out after we ordered them and had to ask the waiter again to bring them. We also got no refills until we were about to leave. The main problem was when we ordered dessert, we were actually scolded by our waitress saying that we should have let her know when we sat down what we wanted for dessert despite there being no indication that that’s how it should be done. I understand that we were there at the end of their operating hours but there were other parties there that arrived later than us so it was not like they were about to close.

The coffee is very strong and sweet as Turkish coffees are. Our dessert, the Kunefe, was rather exotic. I liked the cheese but it needed a little more sweetness.

So go for the food, if you are willing to spend the money, and hopefully you will have better service than us.

Korean Inspired Pancakes, The Breakfast Of Champions!

Published by Silvia Andrito

About a couple of months ago I decided to give Korean pancakes a try. They are salty, they are full of vegetables, and frankly they just looked exotically delicious. So I decided to make a classic; a green onion pancake. I printed a recipe from a reputable Korean cook, gathered my ingredients and went at it with extreme confidence, after all; How hard could it be?

Well, I found out that there is a learning process to it. You can’t just add batter and fry, the onions release moisture, which make the pancake soggy if it is too thick. I learned that the egg has to be added at a certain time, that the green onions don’t always stick to the batter. Basically I made quite a few, but every try ended in me having to fix something since we Americans (at least the ones in my house) are not much for eating raw pancake mix, or raw egg, or slimy onions. So my first try ended in disappointment and me deciding that I had to get back to the drawing board to find a more “Americanized” taste.

So fast forward a couple of months, and I decided to try it again. This time however I changed a few things. While I added green onions, I decided to make my life easier and dice them (Korean pancakes use the whole green stalk). I also decided to make them with seafood (shrimp to be exact). This recipe is the end result of a Saturday morning’s experimentation session. It is fluffy, filling, and delicious. I honestly recommend you give it a try. It is great for breakfast, brunch, or even lunch. It is great hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Korean Inspired Seafood Pancakes —

Ingredients:

-pancake batter (about 3-4 Tbsp per pancake). Follow recipe in box to make the batter.

-1 egg per pancake

-shrimps (depending on how many pancakes you want to make, about 4 shrimps per pancake)

-2 garlic cloves diced

-2 stalks green onions chopped

-salt and pepper

-olive oil

Season shrimps with salt, pepper and garlic. Make pancake batter by following the box instructions. Set a pan on medium heat. When hot add a tablespoon of olive oil and coat bottom of pan. Add 4 tablespoons of batter to the pan. Immediately add shrimp. Just set 4 shrimps on top and sprinkle chopped green onions. Meanwhile beat an egg and add salt and pepper to taste. When it is time to flip the pancake add the egg, let it set for a few seconds and then flip. Let the other side cook until shrimp is fully pink, which takes about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and serve. Garnish with green onions or leftover cooked shrimps.

Bento Series #10 — Seafood Bake

Published by Silvia Andrito

This is a great idea for a weeknight dinner or for easy entertaining! All you have to do is throw all the ingredients in a baking sheet and, you guessed it, bake it. After a little while you have a “one pot” (in this case sheet) meal! The bestest (is that a word?) part is that it is great hot or room temperature. Therefore it allows you to spend time with your guests instead of spending time with your pots and pans (God knows we already spend way too much time with them).

Seafood Bake–

Ingredients:

-1 lb deveined shrimp

-1 package golden baby potatoes

-4 corn cobs

-1 package baby bella mushrooms

-1 lemon

-4 stalks green onion

-1 tablespoon chopped parsley

-salt and pepper to taste

-1 tsp old bay seasoning

-3 Tbsp olive oil

-3 garlic cloves diced

Set oven to 400 degrees. Cut corn into 2 in. pieces. Rinse potatoes. Toss potatoes and corn with 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place in a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Potatoes and corn take a little longer to cook so they need a head start!

Meanwhile season the shrimp with the remaining 2 Tbsps of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and old bay. Set aside to marinade for at least 15 minutes. Slice your lemon into pretty, thin rounds. Cut your green onions into 2 in. pieces, use white part also (I never understood while people don’t use the white part! It has a lot of flavor, looks pretty, it isn’t particularly hard or anything like that. So why? This question plagues me! But I digress. Rant over!). Wipe your mushrooms with a damp paper towel (don’t rinse because they absorb water, and we don’t want soggy mushrooms). Now hopefully 15 minutes have passed and we are ready to assemble!

Take potatoes and corn out of the oven. Let it cool slightly, I don’t want you burning yourself! Toss seasoned shrimp, mushrooms, green onions, and lemon slices with the potatoes. Make sure you really get in there and mix everything up! (If it is too hot use a spoon instead of your hands). This will get all that yummy garlicky seasoning into all the components.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until shrimp is nice and pink and resembles a C (there is a little space between both ends). If they turn to Os (both ends curl into the other) then you have gone too far and over cooked your shrimp! I don’t remember who said that but those are words to live by when cooking shrimps, you always want Cs not Os…

Serve with a nice crusty bread or garlic bread!

My Mom’s Flan Recipe

Published by Silvia Andrito

My mom is a great cook and she makes the best Cuban food recipes. She is famous among our family and friends for her flans. So of course I asked her to share her recipe with the world! Flan is a delicate, versatile, delicious dessert. One of my favorite kinds of flan is cheese flan. But I also love the original, or coconut flan. They are all great! Since flan is something my mom always makes for special occasions, family dinners, or holidays it will always be, for me, a symbol of home! Give this recipe for the classic flan a try, and impress your family and friends with your knowledge of Cuban cuisine!

Ingredients:

-5 eggs

-1 can of condensed milk

-1 can of evaporated milk

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 Tbsp vanilla extract

-4 Tbsp sugar

In a blender, add eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt, and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients come together. Strain mix through a fine colander. Set aside.

Make the caramel by melting the 4 tablespoons of sugar over a low flame, stirring constantly (4 Tbsp is for a small 6-8 in. mold) until it is all dissolved and a deep brown color, careful not to burn.

Note: The container where you are making the flan is very important. We have a specialized mold that is made just for this, therefore you can make the caramel directly on it and then throw it in the oven. But if you are making it in a ramekin, or a glass baking dish then you need to warm it first. I would just throw it in the microwave for a few seconds before you put your melted sugar in it. The reason for it is that if the container is cold it will cool the caramel fast, so it will not distribute evenly over all of the surface area.

Pour sugar into your mold and make sure it coats all of the surface evenly. Be very careful not to get any of the hot caramel on your skin! Read More

Bento Series #9 — Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Published by Silvia Andrito

This year I decided I was going to put all rumors of “black thumb of death” to rest, and actually start a garden that lived for more than a month. So far I would say my efforts have been a wash. I killed my mint plant, but my basil plants are holding on to life. Sometimes vigorously, sometimes by a thread, but they are still alive!

Therefore, I decided to enjoy the fruits of my labor by making homemade pesto. I used the delicious mixture in pastas, sandwiches, chicken, and fish dishes. It is super tasty and pack a flavor punch!

For this bento I used my own pesto (recipe below) but you can use store bought as well and it will brighten that good ol’ turkey sandwich!

Bento Components:

Turkey Pesto Sandwich
Raspberries

Homemade Basil Pesto–

Ingredients:

-2 cups of gently packed basil (just the leaves, no stems!)

-1/2 cup parmesan cheese

-1/2 cup almonds (the classic recipe calls for pine nuts, I use whatever I have at hand, like almonds, or walnuts.)

-3 medium garlic cloves

-1/2 cup olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor add almonds and basil leaves. Give it a quick pulse so you have space to add the rest. Add parmesan and garlic. Pulse several times until everything is about the same size. Then while the processor is running add the olive oil. Add salt and pepper and give everything a quick mix with a spatula, making sure to scrape the edges so that you get all the basil that might have escaped the processor. Give it one last pulse and taste to make sure this bright flavorful goodness makes you happy.

How to assemble the sandwich:

Use a sturdy bread, I used whole wheat here, since the pesto is wet and oily and you want a bread that can stand up to that. Spread a thick layer of pesto on one side. Then layer turkey slices (I used normal turkey, cajun seasoned turkey, and chicken breast), cheese slices (I used yellow American), and purple lettuce. Slice in half and it is ready to eat.

Note: If you want to make it look pretty then cut sandwich in half before you add the lettuce, then add the lettuce with the pretty ruffly edges coming out of the sliced side, and voila, you have a pretty instagram picture of a cross section of your sandwich! You are welcome 😉

Bento Series #8 — Jalapeño Poppers Salad

Published by Silvia Andrito

Jalapeño poppers are a very easy treat to make. They are great for appetizers, as hors d’oeuvre at parties, as a dish to bring to potlucks or barbeques. They are little peppers filled with cheese wrapped in bacon. Now some people might be scared to try them because Jalapeños have fame for being spicy. However most of the spiciness is located within the seeds and ribs, so if you clean them really well there is nothing to fear!

Some tips when handling Jalapeños. Use rubber gloves so that none of the capsaicin (the spiciness) gets under your nails, which will cause you some discomfort. Also DO NOT touch your eyes when handling the seeds and ribs or you will be in a world of pain and agony (queue sinister music). But other than that they are super safe ^_^

Bento Components:

Jalapeño Poppers
Salad Greens
Sausage Octopus
Radish Flowers
Lemon Wedge

Jalapeño Poppers–

Ingredients:

– 8 jalapeños (about 2 per person)

-1 block of cream cheese at room temperature

-3 green onion stalks, diced

-bacon (1 slice per jalapeño)

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 Tbsp vegetable or coconut oil.

Note: You will need toothpicks

Put on your gloves and slice all of your jalapeños in half . Do not separate the stem, it looks pretty with it on and is a nice little handle. With a spoon remove all of the seeds and ribs (the white membrane) inside each jalapeño half. Give them a quick rinse then set them to dry on some paper towel. Clean out your cutting board, discard all the jalapeño guts and your gloves.

In a small mixing bowl add the cream cheese, green onions, and pepper. Mix them all together, and set aside. Cut all of your bacon strips in half. Now you are ready to start assembling.

Get one jalapeño half, fill with 1 Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture. Make sure you distribute it evenly. Then wrap the whole thing in one of the bacon pieces. Secure with a toothpick. Repeat this process for each one of the jalapeño halves.

Note: If you want to start this dish ahead for a party, then this is where you would stop. You should place all of the poppers in a baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you are ready to make them.

Grease the bottom of your baking sheet with the vegetable oil and place all of your poppers on it. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Now remember that these little pockets of goodness are filled with cheese which tends to melt, so you want your heat to be pretty low, or you would end with pools of cheese around your poppers instead of having it inside of them. (Insert suggestive comment)

Bake for 5o minutes. As soon as they are out, place them on a serving plate that has been lined with paper towel. You can serve immediately, or let them cool to room temperature. Either way they are delicious!

Note: For the bento I just let the poppers cool. Then fill the bottom of my bento box with salad greens. I added radishes, green onions and lemon, all of which will be mixed in when you eat your lunch. The poppers and the sausage can be microwaved on low for a few seconds at a time until they reach a temperature you enjoy.

Bento Series #7 — Slow Cooker Brisket

Published by Silvia Andrito

A slow cooker can be a huge help on very busy days. Wake up a few minutes earlier, throw everything in there, set for the whole day and “Forget About It.”(<– with a New England Accent)

Now you might say: “Wake up a few minutes earlier? HA, HA, HA!”

Well, to you I say; you can also set it up the night before and you will have a cooked meal when you wake up, like the food fairy visited and left you a delicious meal while you slept, just remember to turn off the slow cooker before you leave for work. You don’t want to burn that meal the food fairy slaved all night making for you!

In this particular instance I made a brisket. Brisket is a relatively inexpensive cut of beef and generally tough, so it benefits from that long and slow cooking process.

Bento Components:

Slow cooked brisket
Vegetables
Rice with peas

Slow Cooker Brisket —

Ingredients:

-4 lb brisket

-5 carrots

-3 stalks of celery

-1 onion diced

-salt and pepper

-parsley for garnish

For the sauce:

-1 Tbsp garlic diced

-1 Tbsp liquid smoke

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

-1/2 cup red wine

-1 Tbsp brown sugar

-1 tsp tomato paste

-juice of 1/2 a lemon

Season brisket with salt and pepper. You want to season really well, massage it, get that salt everywhere (bow chika bow wow). Chop the celery and carrots into big pieces. Sprinkle half the onions and the carrots and celery on the bottom of the slowcooker. You want them to absorb all the delicious meat juices as it cooks. Lay the beef on top of the vegetables.

In a separate container (small mixing bowl, saucepan, etc.) mix all of the sauce ingredients. Pour it over the beef and vegetables. Then add the rest of your diced onion. Put the lid on it and cook on low for 8 hours.

Once you are ready for it, take the brisket and vegetables out of the sauce. Let the brisket rest for at least fifteen minutes. Meanwhile put the sauce in a saucepan and reduce on medium high heat. You want it to reduce by at least 2/3 of the original liquid.

Slice the brisket against the grain. To serve, arrange brisket atop the vegetables, then spoon some of the reduced sauce over it and chopped parsley.

Here is a side that goes well with it:

Rice With Green Peas —

Ingredients:

-2 cups of rice

-1/2 cup of fresh or frozen (Not Canned) green peas

-chicken stock

-salt and pepper

-1 Tbsp olive oil

If you have a rice cooker measure out the rice to make enough for 4 people. Add the peas, salt, pepper, olive oil, and substitute the normal amount of water with chicken stock. Put the lid on and let it cook. Fluff with a fork when ready, and it is ready to eat!

If you don’t have a rice cooker, in a medium sized pot add 2 cups of rice, 2 cups of chicken stock, peas, salt and pepper to taste, and olive oil. Bring to a boil, then cover it with a lid, set heat down to low and cook until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Fluff with a fork and make sure that the rice is soft. If some grains are still a little hard then let it cook for a while longer, checking every 5 minutes.

Note: For this bento I made the two above dishes and just saved the leftovers for the next day. They can be heated in the microwave perfectly so this works great as a leftovers meal.