Ragù! Mangi!

Today I woke up with a hankering for pasta. You know the kind where you wake up and remember fond memories of growing up and eating different dishes. The memory that came to me is when I would be at my grandma’s when I was young (and also when I was older) and she would lovingly open and make a can of Chef Boyardee. I know, I know. Laugh it up chuckles, hahaha. Many MANY families probably grew up eating much better quality pasta sauces, however, for me I remember having the Chef Boyardee with a side of love and care. I had a hankering to replicate that feeling/memory. Plus, we hadn’t had it in a while and I thought it’d be a nice change. So I set off to make a sauce that was high quality in flavor but reminded me or that memory. I think I came up with a good solution.

Meat Pasta Sauce

• -          2 tsp salt
• -          6 tsp dry basil
• -          1 ½ red pepper flakes
• -          ½ tsp black pepper
• -          10 cloves garlic, minced
• -          ½ large onion, minced
• -          2 small shallots
• -          2 hot Italian sausages, ground up
• -          1 – 1 ½ lb ground beef
• -          2 (29 oz) diced or whole tomatoes
• -          1-2 (29 oz) tomato sauces
• -          2 lb rotini pasta
• -          1/8 c parmesan cheese
• -          Heavy cream – optional and to taste

1. Sauté the shallots, onion, and garlic in a little oil, until translucent. Add the meat and chop up and brown. Stir in the spices.
2. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to a sauce pot with the sautéed onion/garlic/shallot mix. Stew for a couple hours (2 at least) on a simmer.
3. At the very end of cooking add the parmesan cheese slowly stirring the whole time so that it doesn’t clump. If adding cream, add now. Take off heat.
4. This should make plenty for 2 lbs pasta. Cook noodles al dente. Drain well. Mix into sauce.

YUM!! Mission accomplished. Tasted amazing and the smell brought back fond memories.

Top Restaurant Picks

Tamarind – Indian food, Oakland

·         This place has some spectacular southern Indian  food. I was so happy with my chicken masala dish. The people were nice and service was quick and the price was good. I would try this if you’re in the area.

Roland’s – Seafood restaurant and bar, Cultural District (Strip District)

·        

      Their lobster roll is fantastic, their specialty pizza’s pretty tasty and from what I hear from everyone else their other seafood is great too. The prices aren’t insane and it’s in an area that has many other things to offer. In my experience there the service is prompt. The bar is like any other bar, nothing extraordinary about it. I would recommend trying this place for their seafood year round.

Tram’s Kitchen – Vietnamese food, Lawrenceville

This place has some really fabulous Pho and the portion sizes are really great for the prices you pay. It seems like a little hole in the wall place. I only had the pho so I don’t know about the other food. 

Local Restaurant Experiences

Café Sam - Shadyside

·         This place was mediocre. Nothing special food wise, service was fine, but the price was more than the food was worth I felt. It was an okay dinner, the place is a little cramped, but nothing very remarkable really. There isn't much to say about it. 

Taj Mahal – Indian food, McKnight Road

There is difficulty getting to this place because ti’s on the opposite side of McKnight Road for most people I know going there (you have to pass it and turn around at a shopping mall down the road  before you can get to it). Parking is an issue because there just isn't much of it, and the place is a tiny little place. However, that all being said – the buffet of dishes is well worth it. I had never tried most of the dishes, so I was able to try many new things along with favorites I usually like all for a VERY affordable price. I think David and I together  got a bill of $20 including tax and tip. It can be a wait to get a table since it’s small, but seriously if you like Indian food or if you just want to try it and see if you like it. Go!

Local Restaurants

BRGR – American food, Shadyside area

·         This place is fun and upscale. The food is expensive for burger and fries type of fare, but they offer varying types of burgers which makes it more interesting than just a regular burger joint. I wouldn't say that for the price of the food is that much better or more unique, but it can be a fun night out. The bar is a typical bar, they don’t offer anything exciting (like a signature beer), other than Guinness on tap.

Bangkok Balcony – Thai food, Squirrel Hill

·         I enjoy going to this place, and we usually do whenever David’s family comes to visit. I am a sucker for their Pad Thai, but their other dishes are good too. If you have difficulty walking up stairs this could be an issue because the restaurant is upstairs and the stairwell is steep and long. Their dinner items are great, but their desserts are also tasty and worth trying. My only caution is when the dancers come out into the dining area, don’t make eye contact because they’ll focus on your table and dance around it and then expect a tip. Definitely go for the food!  

Restaurant Picks

Church Brew Works - Lawrenceville

·         This place is a fun place to go. It’s a de-sanctified church that has the brewing vats in the altar area. It gets packed for dinner time, especially around the bar so go a bit early (even if you have reservations) otherwise you may wait for your table to come up. The food is okay, nothing that will blow your mind, but the beer they have is pretty spectacular. Lots of choices and I haven’t encountered one that I didn’t think was very good. It gets loud so it’s not very romantic, but it’s fun and perfect to gather some friends together and go hang out there.

Rock Bottom Brewery - Waterfront

·         This place has some excellent beer choices, but the food isn't anything special. We go there for the beer rather than the food. The food usually just serves as the side as we partake in an adult beverage (or two). Again, not a romantic joint but it is nice to get some friends together here to drink and enjoy good company - maybe even go over to Dave and Buster's afterwards :) 

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Someone at David’s lab had a birthday a few years ago, and to celebrate the lab worked together to have a little celebration. My task: the cake. This was an intimidating job, seeing as I have never really baked cakes before, especially for people other than David! So, I did what all smart people do when faced with a challenge that extended past their skills – I read other peoples blogs! One of our friends is a fan-freakin-tastic baker. It’s her hobby and it’s amazing what she whips up for other peoples birthdays, get-togethers, and any other excuse we can come up with to get together. I read other sites devoted to cake baking for recipes and tips too.

When I was looking around at these different sites I was also trying to think what would be a good combination. Vanilla? Chocolate? Whiskey? David had a brilliant idea for the frosting and I felt confident that I could pull off the cake batter recipe I had decided on. I felt that we had come up with a winning combination, and it’s the solution for when you need a chocolate fix and you’re shaking from coffee withdrawal: Chocolate cake and mocha butter cream frosting. Of course! These are two things that you can’t go wrong with.

After talking with David, we decided it would be best to go with a two tier cake using 12” cake pans since we weren’t sure how many people would stop in for the little celebration. So, I made one recipe of this batter for each cake pan. I only have one 12” round cake pan, so I made the tiers one at a time, letting each cool.

*This cake is VERY moist, so wrap it well if you’re storing it in the fridge!

Approx. 20-25 servings

• ·         2 cups sugar
•     1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1.     Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 12” round baking pans.

2.     Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3.     Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost the top of the bottom tier so it has like ½” frosting. Carefully place the second tier of cake on top of the frosted bottom. Gently press down so it doesn't slide around. Frost the entire cake now.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

To be able to frost between the tiers and the entire outside, I had to make approx. 1 ½ recipes of this frosting.

*This makes a perfectly spreadable frosting. The nice thing about it is that you can put it in the fridge to make it a little more firm if you would like.

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons coffee grounds (ground finely) or instant coffee  

1.     In your mixer, beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar until it is creamy.

2.     Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract & coffee.

3.     Beat with the mixer until it's nice and fluffy (about a minute or 2)

The cake was giant. We had to put it on David’s professional sized cutting board to carry it into his work. In the end, it was a giant success!! Everyone loved it, and I think it made that person’s birthday that much better, at least that’s what I’m told J The cake is one of the best chocolate cake recipes I've ever had (that actually tasted like chocolate!), and it’s soooo moist. Delicious.

Even though it's been years, it’s stood out in David’s mind since this birthday extravaganza because every time there is an occasion for cake he requests this one – especially as of late! I may have to make a small cake at some point soon because he’s making me want some!

Local Restaurant Experiences

*I'm doing a lot of these because I have been to the places in my time living here and I want to make sure I talk about them before we move :)

Coca Café -  Lawrenceville

This was a new place we went to with friends to jointly celebrate birthday s and I have to say the food was tasty. They offered upscale versions of things like French toast and pancakes, typical breakfast foods served with their own flare. It is the type of place to have a line out the door waiting to get a table since it’s small though. We did get a table, and the goat cheese French toast I got was tasty, however the waiter we had left something to be desired. We received our water hwen we were seated, except I had something green in my cup. Not a big deal so I politely asked if I could get another glass of water. I then received a dirty look and poor service after that. Maybe he was a student worker and not a permanent fixture of the place, either way I would caution people about the service if they want to go. But the food is good. 

Meat & Potatoes – Gastropub, Cultural District (Strip District)

We can only vouch for brunch but it was a great place to get a hearty meal of craft food. It took 2 weeks to get a reservation so that was annoying, but it was darn good! They also have a bloody mary bar if that’s your thing – I don’t know if it was my thing or not so I tried it, found out its not. If you like them then they have a lot of fun choices to put into the drink and the alcohol itself has several choices they've infused different flavors (bacon, chili pepper, etc.) into the vodkas. The atmosphere was uptown yet comfortable and homey. The waitstaff was friendly and helpful. It was a pricey but if you like to spend on meals  out or you want to do something special I would suggest t his place for brunch, but I haven’t had other meals t here so I don’t know how good it is for them. 

Tessaro’s – Little Italy (Bloomfield)

·         There was a lot of positive hype that I heard building up this place, but that’s all it was – hype. I love me a good juicy burger, but I have to say this place was a severe disappointment. The waitress was friendly enough and the place was a bit too cramped homey for me but what really got me was the burger I ordered. When they asked me how I wanted my burger cooked I ordered a medium burger, because I like it when it is still very pink in the center. What I received was a burger so overly well done - to the point that it was practically sand in my mouth. For me, I can deal with a bad atmosphere or cramped space, but if a restaurant’s food is the crux of the problem, I can’t recommend that place. Even if my experience is an anomaly, it was still my experience at this restaurant.