Broccoli Orecchiette

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After receiving my Jamie Oliver cook book, I looked at the recipes. I wanted to cook something, but couldn’t really decide on what. My husband kept pointing at the pages he thought he would like, but then again choosing among combinations where each plate’s photo looks so good is extremely difficult. Thus, we decided to cook one recipe for dinner each weekend. In this way, we wouldn’t have to choose what we wanted for dinner, plus there will be no discussion about me wanting to eat meat instead of the chicken he wanted.

And so, it begins. Cooking one Jamie 30-minute meal every week, in the order the recipes are presented on the book. This week: Broccoli Orecchiette, zucchini and bocconcini salad, prosciutto and melon salad.

The day started with a the discussion that led to deciding on the challenge. After deciding on the order, we looked carefully at the book. We were going to make a list for the groceries, but were starving. We had gotten up really late and our breakfast had been too light in pursuit of lunch. The trip to the unhealthy meal I described yesterday was our next step. We took the book with us. I studied the recipe carefully, then figured which ingredients I was not going to find, and what would I do to minimize the problem.

After lunch, we went to the shopping mall near our house, and then to the Automercado, the local grocery store we liked. I rapidly wrote on a sheet of paper what we needed, and divided all the ingredients by two, given that we were going to eat dinner just the two of us. We also decided to pass on the prosciutto and melon salad because otherwise it would be too much food. I bought everything on the list that I could find. So this is what I couldn’t find and what I used instead:

purple broccoli sprouts –> used more regular broccoli

red chili –> used chili flakes

fresh thyme –> used dried thyme

fresh mint –> used basil

baby zucchini of different colors –> regular zucchini

Plus… I used fusilli instead of the orecchiette, not because I didn’t find the right kind of pasta, but because my husband love fusilli.

Ok, so after the unhealthy and yet delicious meal on Saturday, we were so full to have dinner, so we postponed the adventure for Sunday. We had a light breakfast and a light lunch, totally prepared to have a good dinner…

We started by taking all the necessary equipment described at the beginning of the recipe. I then proceeded to read everything. Hubby decided he wanted to participate so we were together making every dish. It was a bit messy, but quite fun! We were bumping to each other, which made us laught, and both of us were paying attention to details so nothing would be left out. When we were done, I felt really happy with the results. The pasta looked very similar to the photo in the book, and the zucchini salad had a lovely smell.

We then moved to the best part of the night… eating! The pasta was creamy, but with just the right amount of sauce. I find this to be very good given that I love Italian food, made by Italians.  The difference between actual Italian food and one that is not is that the fake pasta is usually swimming on sauce whereas the real one is not. Thus, I found this creamy enough for taste, but also the exact amount so you don’t get sick of the flavor. Delicious!

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The salad was really good. I had never made a dressing with lemons zest. The taste is really enhanced by it! Try it, even if you are not cooking a Jamie recipe. It is absolutely recommended! The zest was not the only thing that made the dressing good though. I think the right combination of ingredients was something special, even with my exchange of basil for mint. The only thing I didn’t like was the bocconcini mozzarella. There was something about the taste, that was just not good for me. My husband didn’t like it either. I guess it my be a problem with the brand, unfortunately that is the only one sold at the store. I will try a regular kind of mozzarella whenever needed.

I do owe you the prosciutto salad, but I guess that made with the right ingredients, it should be as good as the one I did make.

In conclusion, everything was extremely delicious, and I am looking forward to next week’s Pregnant Jools! I promise next time I will make all three dishes…

© mylunchanddinner 2012

The World of Coffee

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Last Friday for the first time since I got here, I went out with some friends whom I met all by myself! Given the other friends I’ve got I met through my husband, which is kind of weird given that he is not the social kind… anyway, it was about 2 weeks ago that I went to the concert of one of my Mexican favorite singers. He had not been in CR for 9 years, and I had not seen him for 6 because of different things that happened while I was back in my home country. Anyway, I met the girls by mere chance.  We were both originally sitting in different places, but were moved because a bad planning had left us without view.  So, on our new seats we were together and had a nice chat…

After talking for a couple of days, we decided to go have dinner last friday. The chosen place is a Café Mundo, a popular restaurant located downtown. We were meeting there at the early time of 7 pm… early for me, but I think a nice time for ticos.  Because of the traffic I got late, but don’t worry, I did call ahead to let my friends know.  Part of the heavy transit was caused by the fact that it was friday and pay day just the day before, but there was also a concert being held on the Sabana Park. Thousands of people, including a bunch of teenagers were walking around the streets nearby, it was crazy!

Thus, when I got to the place my two friends were already there! As soon as I got there, we ordered dinner.  This was perfect timing because I had eaten a tiny lunch, knowing that I would have dinner early. One of the girls ordered some mushroom stuffed with ricotta as an appetizer and a Ceasar’s salad. The second friend had tilapia with vegetables and rice. I myself had a ribeye with mashed potatoes and a small round zucchini stuffed with vegetables.

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© mylunchanddinner

The mushrooms were good, I think that their flavor would have been better if they had spiced it up a little and added some salt.
However, my friends agreed they were really good. My friends ate their dishes happily. The Caesar’s salad looked really good with a generous portion of lettuce, croutons and parmesan cheese. The tilapia was served so nicely that I almost felt sad when it was eaten! I am not a huge fan of it, but I must confess it caught my eye.

As for my food… the meat was cooked rather well. The gravy it had over it was tasty, but I think a little more would have been great. I was definitely not a fan of the stuffed zucchini.  The vegetables lacked flavor, and they almost looked as if they were frozen! The zucchini was undercooked, so it was kind of difficult to eat, and to glue everything together they had used cheese, but it lacked flavor as well! I think that using a good quality cheese with lots of flavor, perhaps a piece of parmesan, would have just made everything better. Now, what was definitely good was the mashed potatoes. The potatoes were just a bit after cooked, and they had chunks on it, which I always find interesting. It was blended with what seemed wild mushrooms, which gave it a really special taste! Overall, the dish was good, but the mashed potatoes were really special!

My friends did order desserts, but I forgot to photograph them! I’m really sorry, because I know that is what most people love to see… Anyway, one of friends ordered a strawberry cheese cake, which was really good. The flavor was soft and tasteful. My second friend ordered a chocolate thing which I can’t remember the name!!! I can tell you though it started with a B, and it contained three of what I can confirm are some of the most sinful chocolate layers! It was something to die for! Fortunately, I was completely full, otherwise I would have ordered one for myself!

After eating, the chatting was so nice, that we stayed there until after the closing time! I had to call my husband and urge him to get there before we were taken to the street! (don’t forget I still have no car)… What a fun night!

Hope you enjoyed reading about it!!

© mylunchanddinner 2012

The food Saga

© Mylunchanddinner

Every time we are hungry and have no clue where to go, my husband and I decide to go to a cozy restaurant located in Avenida Escazú, a commercial spot which is really near our house.  We didn’t discover Saga though, our good mexican friends, who had lived here for three years before we arrived, introduced us to it. The first time we went to Saga we had planned to go to the movies.  Hubby insisted we should have dinner first. After buying tickets for The Descendants, we decided to look around the area and select a place where to eat.

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The food court of Avenida Escazú is full of fast-food restaurants, but it also includes a coffee shop and a Sushi place which looks quite fresh.  We then walked outside to the area that is inhabited by serious restaurants. We were walking when Hubby remembered Saga had been praised by his friend. After deciding it might be a good idea to go there, we showed up, without reservation.  Weekdays are really busy at nights, so I would recommend a reservation.  So, we ate there and liked the food and desserts.  We have returned about 5 times since. The very last time, we had attended the opening of a new exhibition at a local furniture store.   Cocktails and food were supposed to be served, but eating fried food from a stick has never been our thing.  So, we left.  As soon as we were on the car Hubby said… should we go have dinner? Of course I said… Ummm I wonder where we should go said he with a smile. Off we drove.

We were soon at Saga. We sat on a table near the door, and ordered our drinks. I had a pineapple smoothy with basil. I had never tried something like it before, the taste was kind of sweet. We ordered a salmon skin sushi roll as an appetizer.  The taste was really good, the skin felt crunchy. It was smooth and delicious.  After the sushi, we got our entreés…

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My husband asked for a Sandwich de Lomito. Lomito is a tenderloing cut. The meat was cooked exactly how my husband had asked for. The sautéed onions had a special taste that enhanced the meat. French fries were served with the sandwich. They had that perfect cook that lives a crispy feeling on the outside but softness on the inside.

Pechuga a la Catalana was my request. Hubby had had it before, and it looked too good to be true.  The chicken is covered with tortilla chips pieces, in a breaded-style form. It is then fried and covered with a red sauce. It is served with a potato and cheese pie and some vegetable.  The texture in the chicken is different, which in my opinion makes it really interesting. The sauce has a taste which is maddening.  The  potato and cheese pie was really tasty, with the potatoes just cooked which gave it not only a good taste, but a lovely look.  The vegetables were a bit to raw for me, but was not the end of the world. In all, the dish was really good. Unfortunately, when we were done, our stomachs were so full we couldn’t have a dessert. A really sad event since they have some of the best sweets in town. Next time will be it I guess. The service was really good that night. I do however must tell you that if the owner is not at the restaurant, it gets really slow. Actually, it gets so slow and they pay so little attention to you that I think people could actually leave with out paying the check, and they wouldn’t notice for hours! Something to work on! The food is really worth it, so if you come to San José, don´t miss Saga.

For more information visit Saga.

© mylunchanddiner 2012