Szechuan's Dumpling, Arlington

I will preface any post about Chinese food with this: I don't know much about Chinese food, other than what my rather Americanized palate enjoys. I don't know how any particular restaurant compares to "the real stuff" (whatever that may be), but I know what's tasty to me. And I only add this preface because there are a lot of people out there who do know about this, and they often speak down (write down?) to those of us who don't know what the names of all the dishes mean. That being said...

Szechuan's Dumpling is a new-ish Chinese restaurant in Arlington Heights; they've been open since around February. I had read some good things about it online, but I didn't visit until my friend Dave arranged for a few of us to try it out a few months ago. I have visited about once a week since then, and there are at least 3 other Chinese take-out spots between my house and Arlington Heights, so that should give you an idea of how good this place is.

No order is complete without their Pork Mini Juicy Dumplings (aka soup dumplings) and their pan-fried Pork and Chive Dumplings (above). I especially love the crispy sear that the pan-fried dumplings get, and the juxtaposition with the chewy dough and salty meat.

My absolute favorite dish at Szechuan's Dumplings, though, is the Eggplant with Basil Leaves. I will eat eggplant (especially the long, thin ones) in just about any presentation, but this one is sweet and salty and just a little spicy and absurdly addictive. I often find myself picking off the last few pieces and then mixing some rice into whatever sauce is left on the plate because it's just too good to leave behind.

There are many other tasty items on the menu (the Crispy Chicken with Basil Leaves and the Salt and Pepper Shrimp jump out at me), but I am so enamored by the dumplings and the eggplant that I have a hard time ordering anything else. We try to sneak in a new dish every time we eat at the restaurant itself, but it's hard when I've already established favorites!

New England Summer in a Bowl

There is nothing more evocative of a New England summer than corn, tomatoes, and lobster. A summer is not complete without a meal containing all three (luckily, I have never had a summer go by without a meal like that).

However, I'm not a huge fan of eating a whole lobster as a meal. It's too messy, and the tail gets cold while I'm working on the claws (or vice versa), and what do you do with the plateful of water that comes pouring out of the body?! Add to that a trip to the sink to rinse the gunk out of the tail meat, and you don't have the most pleasant of meals.

This recipe came about precisely because of this. It's the best way to combine those summer flavors into one dish. It's so simple, in fact, that this is really an un-recipe. I've spread it around to friends and family, and each person makes it their own. So consider this less of  something to follow and more of a jumping-off point.

This recipe naturally doubles or triples very easily, and it's a wonderful dish to serve a party (plus, you're serving lobster! But you only have to buy 4 or so to feed a crowd!).

Lobster, Corn, and Tomato Hash
2 Tbsp butter
3-4 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cob
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, the smaller the better (you can use big tomatoes too, like I did above, but the result is a little more watery)
2 1-lb(ish) lobsters, cleaned, and meat roughly chopped
Handful of basil, torn into small pieces
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add corn and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to burst. Add lobster and basil and cook until lobster is warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Caprese Dip

And so we've reached that point in the summer where we are required by Mother Nature to eat tomatoes with everything. This is not a complaint, not by a long shot. Tomatoes are one of the few things I could eat by themselves daily while they're in season (and then not touch again for another 10 months). But variety is still a good thing.

While this dip is not a true Caprese (missing the mozzarella cheese), the Greek yogurt that actually turns it into a dip gives it enough dairy creaminess that the missing cheese should be excused. Once the tomatoes and basil are in there, you'll hardly be missing the cheese.

I used a mixture of fresh and dried basil because I didn't have enough fresh to give the dip the right amount of flavor. Feel free to use all fresh or all dried, but I quite liked the combination of using both.

Caprese Dip

1 cup Greek yogurt (fat-free is fine)

1 cup diced tomatoes (seeds removed or it'll get too watery)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or 2 Tbsp dried basil)

Mix ingredients together, then salt and pepper to taste. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

A Donut Hole Croquembouche

I have been enamored by the idea of the Croquembouche for a while - a tower of cream puffs under a net of spun caramel threads. I've wanted to make one, especially after I mostly mastered caramel a year or so ago. But what situation called for a cream puff tower? It seemed a little extreme for most of the occasions in my life.

However, when my friend Ann told me that she was hosting the wedding shower for our friend April and mentioned the idea of a Croquembouche, I jumped at the chance to make one. April is a huge Dunkin' Donuts fan, but she lives in LA, where there are no DD franchises. When she visits Boston, the are always multiple boxes of donut holes around. By simply replacing the cream puffs in a Croquembouche with donut holes, we'd have an impressive-looking dessert that the bride would adore.

I was surprised at just how easy this was to make! Granted, I had taken out a lot of the work by buying donut holes rather than making my own cream puffs, but even the structure was not that difficult to put together. Plus, playing with the sugar to get the netting around the tower was just plain fun.

Note: I used a cardboard cake round as the base, like something you would get from a bakery. Since you're basically gluing down the donuts with caramel, I would suggest using one of these, since cleaning a real plate later will be a total bear.

Donut Hole Croquembouche 

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

Large box of donut holes (about 50) - plain or glazed flavors work better than powdered flavors

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar and water over medium-high heat. Do not stir! Swirl the pan gently if you feel you must stir. The sugar will dissolve, melt, and begin to turn golden. Reduce heat as it begins to turn color. Watch the caramel carefully as it darkens - too dark and it will taste very burnt. Don't forget it will continue to cook a bit after you take it off the heat!

Working one by one, dip one side of a donut hole in the caramel, then place it caramel-side down on the serving plate. Continue this, placing them in a circle around the plate. Begin stacking them into a tower, caramel-side down. If the donut holes are strangely shaped and won't stay on their own, spoon some caramel into any gaps and hold them down as the caramel hardens.

Once all the donut holes have been placed, dip a spoon into the caramel (which will have cooled a good deal by now). As you lift the spoon out of the pan, a thin strand of caramel will harden - you can actually tug on the string to make it longer and thinner. Gently work these strands around the tower as you pull them off the spoon. They will harden quickly, so place them quickly, but you'll have plenty of caramel, so don't worry about it if you don't get a strand in place before it hardens. Continue until you have a sparkly net over the whole tower.

Friday I'm In Love... with Coffee-Mate Creamer Girl Scout Flavors

As a Girl Scout (yup, like still - I think I even have my card in my wallet), I kind of love that Girl Scout Cookies have become a thing far beyond scouting in general. I mean, I still think scouting (and its relationship with cookie selling) is very, very important. My parents made me go door-to-door in our quiet neighborhood to sell cookies, teaching me confidence and poise from a very young age. But the idea of Girl Scout Cookies has become so infused in our culture that just linking a product to the brand will likely increase the chance that someone will buy it.

Coffee-Mate Coffee Creamer has paired with the Girl Scouts to make your daily cup of coffee taste like a cookie. I don't usually use creamer (plain cream only for me, please!), but I couldn't help but try Thin Mint creamer. Would I have looked at this twice if it had just been called chocolate mint? No, not at all. The Girl Scout Cookie marketing worked on me!

And yes, the Thin Mint creamer tastes just like the real thing! And I actually enjoyed the other flavor, Caramel Coconut, even more! These are overly sweet for me, but then, I don't use any sweetener anymore, but these definitely make a nice sweet treat in my ice coffee. I've even developed a drink to enjoy while on summer vacation.

Rum and Coconut Iced Coffee

Ice coffee (I've used Starbucks VIA blended with cold water in a pinch)

Coffee-Mate Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut creamer

Spiced rum (I like Kraken)

Fill a tall glass with ice, then fill 3/4 full with cold coffee. Add equal parts creamer and rum, then stir to combine. Best enjoyed on a lounge chair in the shade.

Full disclosure note: Samples of these creamer flavors were sent to me for free.

The Colonial Inn, Concord

I have lived almost my entire life in Lexington, and yet I've somehow managed to go all these years without a visit to The Colonial Inn in Concord. Maybe that has something to do with the long-standing feud between Lexington and Concord (because they can't accept the fact that the first shot of the American Revolution was fired in Lexington), or, more likely, why would I visit an Inn in the town right next to mine?

The Colonial Inn, originally built in 1716 and in operation as a hotel since 1889, could continue to operate based on its history alone. What tourist (and yes, this region sees bus loads of tourists each year) wouldn't want to stay in such a historic spot (which may or may not house a ghost or two)? But recent personnel changes and a revamping of the Inn's two restaurants have made it more than just a historic spot. I was invited to spend an evening sampling dishes from both restaurants, and how could I say no?

We started the evening in the taproom, decked out much as it would have been during the Colonial period, with low ceilings, rustic tables, brass lamps - the perfect spot to enjoy a bit of whiskey or beer. This room, along with a larger bar room in the back and a restaurant room in the front of the building, make up Liberty, the Inn's gastropub. We enjoyed bites from the bar menu a we listened to the in-house historian, Arthur. The crab johnnycakes (less johnnycake, really, and more an impressive crab cake) and the smoked maple bacon bites (served on skewers with little bits of roasted sweet potato) were my favorites. All of the bacon is made in-house, and it's the attention to the little things like that that make a difference here. I would happily stop in for bacon bites and a drink any day.

After our cocktail hour, we moved into Merchants Row, the more formal dining room in the Inn. Our meal, meant to highlight the new menu and new chef at Merchants Row, was served in small portions (ie the portions in my pictures here are not indicative of what you'd order). I found quite a few dishes that I would happily order full servings of.

The highlights of the meal for me were the various seafood dishes. We started with salmon tartare, and while that's never my thing, I appreciated the skill with which it was made. Next up was shrimp and grits, which I'm pretty sure everyone at my table agreed on as being phenomenal. Granted, I haven't had shrimp and grits in the South, but this was by far the best rendition I've ever had. The grits were appropriately cheesy, the shrimp were buttery and perfectly cooked, and the little bits of bacon, mushroom, and scallion on top tied everything together. In fact, this dish is on the menu in Liberty as well, so you can pair it with your drink and bacon bites. After a sorbet palate cleanser, we had our last seafood course, a Meyer lemon scallop with parsnips and beets. I am always in awe of perfectly cooked scallops, and these were wonderful. Our final dish was a duo of beef - short ribs and steak frites - and while they were very good, they paled in comparison to the seafood that had come before.

And then a dessert sampler came out. The chocolate stout cake was fine, the bread pudding was tasty, but oh, the blondie sundae! I could have happily eaten another one, even after the huge meal we'd had. This perfect sundae consisted of tiny bites of blondies, topped with ice cream, whipped cream, caramel corn, and nicely salty caramel. I was definitely licking that plate clean, and you would have too.

I am happy that I have finally visited The Colonial Inn, and even happier still that I've found a lovely spot to send visitors to the area to eat. As the days get nicer, Concord is a perfect spot to spend the day exploring (again, not as perfect as Lexington, but I'm biased), and lunch or dinner at The Colonial Inn would be the perfect way to wrap up the day (especially if you order one of those blondie sundaes!).

Full disclosure note: my meal was provided for free by the Inn.

Moving on in the Lamb Pro-Am!

A big thank you to everyone who voted for my Green Goddess Lamb Kebabs in the 2013 Lamb Pro-Am! I am happy to announce that I have been paired up with Michael Scelfo from Russell House Tavern. I can't wait to see what he does with my recipe!

The Lamb Pro-Am Finals will be held at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge on May 19th. Ticket info can be found here. Please come and stuff the box with votes for me! ;)