Mango & Tomato

10/24/12

Visit to Sabra Factory in Richmond, VA: Sabra Tastemakers

Remember I wrote about my weekend in Richmond, VA? Well, it's time to give you a recap of the reason I went to Richmond in the first place: a tour of Sabra factory! {For those who may not know, Sabra is the maker of hummus. They also make guacamole, salsa and several dips and sides.}

I was super excited to be invited to be one of the Sabra Tastemakers. Early Saturday morning a car picked me up and whisked me to Richmond, VA. This was a new experience for me and I LOVED it! The driver even made sure my friends Jenn and Luis were home and let me in before he drove away. That's the service I could get used to!

After a fun weekend visiting my friends, I was dropped off at Marriott, checked into the lovely room and got ready to meet the other tastemakers for dinner at Can Can. {Be sure to check out the blogs of the other Tastemakers! http://shewearsmanyhats.com/, http://mommacuisine.com/, http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/, http://www.smithbites.com/, http://runeatrepeat.com/, http://nibblesandfeasts.com/, http://ramshackleglam.com/}

I was one of the five (or so) people who ordered the Pan Roasted Trout with grilled figs, fennel, leeks, potatoes and bok choy. It was a stellar dish. Alas, it was dark in the restaurant and the photos would not have done it justice.

After a glass of wine, goat cheese cheese cake and decaf coffee, I was ready for a good night of sleep before the visit to the Sabra factory.

The morning started with breakfast and a few presentations from Sabra employees about the brand's history, where it's heading, and it's focus on nutrition.

Turns out, that despite the fact that hummus is perceived as being healthy, there's been little research done about it. Sabra is planning on changing it!

Hummus is plant based, is very minimally processed, high in fiber and comes in a variety of flavors: all the things that are supposed to make you like it even more!

Additionally, chickpeas (the main ingredient in hummus) are low on the glycemic index and do not cause spikes in your blood sugar. There is also evidence that they can lower your bad cholesterol.

So hummus is definitely good for you. For me, however, what matters most is the taste!

I had no idea the variety of flavors Sabra made available for its consumers.

But before we got to taste hummus, we had a mini photography presentation from SmithBites.

Here are a few pointers:

* smaller plates work best for photo shoots

* pay attention to details

* remember that what matters is your own style: take inspiration from others, but concentrate on the colors, composition, textures that you like

* the Smiths showed us a technique called tethering where you connect your camera to your computer and can automatically see what you are shooting on your computer's monitor. I need to try it!!!

* don't be afraid to play with your food and try different camera angles

And then it was time for lunch!!!

We came to the room with a huge spread of the various products Sabra makes. Of course I knew about hummus, but I had no idea they also make salsa, baba ganoush, spinach/artichoke dip, and a variety of other non-chickpea products.

We all picked up little special tasting spoons and went to town!

My favorites were these flavors:

Asian fusion
Chipotle
Jalapeno

I also LOVED the grilled eggplant. I hope my store starts carrying a bigger variety of hummus products.

What shocked me was that you can make desserts with hummus! I was honestly very skeptical, but really liked them. Below is a recipe courtesy of Sabra:

Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Hummus Pastries
Caramel can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Purchased caramel can be used if you do not
have the time or temperament to make caramel on the stove top. Filling is best made the day it is
served.

Do not fill cups more than an hour before serving.

Caramel
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling
1 cup Sabra Classic Hummus
¾ cup toasted coconut
1 cup finely grated premium chocolate (60% cocoa butter or more)

20 prebaked phyllo pastry cups
1/4 cup toasted coconut

To make caramel:
1. PLACE sugar and caramel in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until
sugar begins to brown. Watch very closely, stirring infrequently. When sugar is a deep
brown (but not burned looking!), remove from heat. Immediately and carefully add cream.
2. STIR well. Add butter and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
3. POUR into a storage container and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make filling:
1. MIX all filling ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To Serve:
1. SPOON a rounded teaspoon into phyllo pastry cup. Top with a rounded teaspoon of caramel.
Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
2. PLACE on serving platter. Drizzle pastries and platter with caramel. Serve immediately.

And then it was time to tour the factory! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but it was incredible. As soon as I walked in, I was surrounded by the scent of warm chickpeas. Sabra starts with dried chickpeas, cooks them, and then incorporates them with the other ingredients that make up the hummus (tahini, oil, etc). The hummus gets divided into containers and topped with ingredients such as roasted peppers, pine nuts, etc. depending on the flavor of the final product. I know this is a cliche, but it's so true: the factory runs like a well oiled machine.

Check out the bright yellow plastic toe protectors we had to wear!

Before it was time to say good bye, we had a spice presentation from the Spice Station. Not only did we get to learn and smell different spices (pictured below are sumac and coriander), but we also got to take home a collection of spice tins, which I can't wait to use in my recipes!

And then it was time to say good bye! My drive back started with the rain and ended in sunshine.

This was a wonderful weekend!!

Have you ever visited a food factory? Which one?
Do you like hummus? What's your favorite flavor?

Disclosure: Sabra provided transportation, hotel and meals during my visit to the factory. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are strictly my own.

10/21/12

Borsch Recipe: Russian Recipes Revisited (RRR)

Borsch is one of my most favorite Russian dishes. I say Russian because that's where I grew up and was introduced to this recipe: please don't leave comments how it's a Ukrainian dish. We can all share it ;)

I've made borsch several times, so why blog about it again? Well, I have a good reason.

I was asked to do a demonstration on how to make borsch at the Jewish Museum of Maryland! Of course I'm slightly terrified, but I also think it will be a blast. If you are able to attend the event, I would love to see you there. If you can't, do me a favor and make this recipe and let me know how it turned out.

Also, this blog post will be part of my new Russian Recipes Revisited series. My friend Mary (aka arugula files) ~~dared me~~ (~~forced me?~~) gave me an assignment to post a Russian recipe once a month for twelve months. Since Mary has rarely steered me wrong, I will give it a try!

Finally, according to my dad, there is no t at the end of borsch so that would explain my spelling ;)

Ok, let's start cooking.

Borsch
Serves 6-8
Takes about an hour from beginning till the end.

Ingredients

8 cups water

salt

2 bay leaves

1 large Russet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks (about 2 1/2 cups)

2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 medium sized beets, peeled: cube 2 1/2 beets and shred the remaining 1/2 (you'll want about 2 cups cubed beets)

2-3 carrots, peeled, cut into moon shapes (about 1 cup)

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

salt & ground pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste

toppings
chopped dill
sour cream

optional
sugar
lemon juice

Directions
1. In a large soup pot, combine the water, season it with salt and add the bay leaves. Add potatoes and cook until they have soften slightly (about 15 minutes). Add cabbage and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add carrots and cubed beets and saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add the onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute for 10 more minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste and let it cook with the vegetables for 5 minutes.
5. Now it's time to put everything together: Once the potatoes and cabbage are tender, add in the cooked beets/carrots/onions/garlic. Allow the soup to come to a boil.
6. Add the grated beets and bring the soup back to a boil. The raw beets will intensify the color and flavor.
7. At this point, you can add a bit of sugar and/or lemon juice, depending on your taste. I didn't add either.

Serve the soup with dill,

Or top it with both dill and sour cream. You can also use Greek yogurt, mayonnaise or even a bit of buttermilk. Not a fan of dill? Add parsley!

How pretty does this look?? Just like any soups, this one will get even better as it sits in the refrigerator overnight.

Will you make it!? I dare you :)

Check out this link Russian Recipes Revisited for Russian recipes I've already blogged about and let me know if you have any specific ones you'd like me to feature!

10/19/12

Weekend in Richmond, VA: What to Do, Where to Eat?

This past Monday I had an incredible chance to visit Sabra's hummus factory in Richmond, VA {I will write about it next week!}.

Since my good friends Jenn and Luis moved to Richmond a few months ago, I decided to take this opportunity to spend the weekend visiting them before touring Sabra's factory and see what Richmond is all about.

Richmond, VA is about 2 hours driving from Arlington, VA and has a lot to offer: food, museum, a ZILLION thrift and consignment stores, cute neighborhood, beautiful old architecture, and friendly people.

The thing that surprised me the most about Richmond was how many smokers live there. Anyone can explain this?

But let's get back to the positive ;)

I arrived at Jenn and Luis's place around noon, and my first question was where should we have lunch? Although I had quite a few restaurant recommendations from my Twitter friends, I was also looking forward to trying one of the places my friends go for wings: The Lube. The main focus of The Lube is its wings with a multitude of different sauces. I chose Dusted Chipotle BBQ and was not disappointed. What better way to catch up with friends than over a plate of wings dipped into blue cheese or ranch dressing??

Jenn's friend Liz was visiting at the same time and suggested we check out Richmond's Folk Festival. There were a ton of people, several music stages and booths and booths filled with festival food. I was almost disappointed we have already had lunch.

We listened to and saw an incredible tango performance before walking to a few other stages and checking out the arts and crafts section. I also completely randomly ran into a fellow salsa dancer who lives in Richmond: what are the chances?

And then Jenn and I could not resist a funnel cake!!!

We had a quiet night in with me catching up on a few Showtime shows and dancing a few bachatas with Jenn. We were to full for dinner, so snacked on watermelon and ice cream.

The next day we had big plans: BRUNCH! I had several recommendations for Millie's, and despite being warned about a long wait, we decided to take our chances.

We waited an hour! Good thing I cut up the leftover watermelon and a mango for us to snack on before we left Jenn and Luis's apartment. If you know me, you know I can't stand waiting. We occupied ourselves by playing hang man, saving Jenn from a giant bug, and day dreaming about food.

Once inside, we could not wait to order. Unfortunately, Millie's doesn't have paper menus. Instead, all the options are written on a blackboard. I wans't a fan of this to say the least. Nonetheless, decisions were made.

We started with a round of mimosas, which were shockingly served in tall glasses with ice. This was not a great start. But I absolutely LOVED my brunch dish:

Crab and Scrambled Egg Enchilada

with spicy tomato and lime sour cream sauces

After brunch, Liz drove back home, while Jenn, Luis and I went to check out Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The museum building is GORGEOUS and there was no admission: a great start.

Below are some of my favorites:

We also saw a glass blowing demonstration:

Before Jenn and Luis dropped me off at Marriott Hotel for my Sabra Tastemakers experience, we headed to Carytown to do a bit of shopping (alas nothing was purchased), and of course to get a snack: cupcakes from Carytown Cupcakes. I chose the red velvet cupcake and loved the cream cheese based icing.

This was such a great weekend with friends. I can't wait to go back and visit again in the spring.

Have you been to Richmond? What were your favorite parts?

Have a great weekend!!

10/16/12

Escarole Soup with White Beans: Crazy Good Italian Cookbook by Mike Isabella

It's finally fall! The leaves are changing color, the air is crispy and the sweaters are now out of the closet!

Although I make soup year round, fall and winter are my favorite seasons for a big pot of soup simmering on the stove top. Soup can be a meal starter or a meal in itself. This Escarole Soup with White Beans from Mike Isabella's Crazy Good Italian is an excellent recipe to add to your collection of soup recipes.

Escarole Soup with White Beans

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced pancetta
3/4 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups chopped escarole
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups chicken broth or stock
1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup cooked white beans
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and crisp for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the red onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add the escarole and stir for 2 minutes, until wilted. Season with salt.

2. Add the chicken broth and 1/4 cup Parmiagiano-Reggiano and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the beans to the soup, simmering for another 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and black pepper.

3. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with remaining cheese.

Mike Isabella suggested serving the soup with home-made croutons, but I went for pita.

I ended up using pre-grated Parmesan cheese and it completely clunked up in the soup. Overall, however, this is a winner. Definitely double or triple the recipe: it has great salty flavor from pancetta, slightly bitter flavor from escarole and the mild flavor of the white beans.

Make this soup soon and then have Nutella Sandwich Cookies for dessert!

What's the latest soup YOU have made?

10/15/12

Lunch at Merchant in Madison, WI: My First Time Eating FRIED Cheese Curds!

Hi! I spent a weekend in Richmond, VA visiting my friends Jenn and Luis and also participating in Sabra's Tastemakers program. I will fill you in on my adventures later this week, but for now I wanted to do a quick post about lunch I had on the last day of my Madison Weekend (Part 1, Part 2).

As I've mentioned before, I'm used to traveling solo and don't mind it much, but it's always nice to get together with friends while visiting new places. Well, during my trip to Madison, not only did I get a chance to catch up with my friends Emily and Amanda, but I also got to meet Lori! Lori and I have followed each other on Twitter and have been FB friends for a while, but nothing beats finally meeting someone in real life and liking them even more in person!

I was thrilled Lori decided to drive to Madison from Milwaukee and meet me for lunch at Merchant.

I finally got to try FRIED CHEESE CURDS! Yes, I had to type this in all CAP letters because they were that good!!! Melted cheese on the inside, crispy coating, and creamy dip: who could say no to this? Ok....maybe vegans...poor souls ;)

Fried Cheese Curds

Hopalicious Ale battered

with buttermilk ranch

There were so many great options for the main course, but I decided meat was in order even though it was Meatless Monday...I break rules from time to time.

Classic Burger

House-ground sirloin & brisket patty on a brioche bun with choice of toppings:

lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion

The burger was juicy and had the lovely pink color inside, and I really liked the big chunks of blue cheese. Unfortunately, the Mexican Street Corn I ordered was underwhelming.

Lori ordered one of the pastas:

Ricotta Dumplings

with preserved grapes, spinach, hazelnuts

& shaved Grana Pedano cheese

What a creative dish! The dumplings had a slightly sweet taste and an orange fragrance, and I absolutely loved the preserved grapes and the toasted hazelnuts.

We had no room for dessert, so ordered tea to make lunch last a bit longer. This was a lovely way to end my first trip to Madison!

PS PLEASE vote for my lamb recipe!

10/11/12

Madison, WI Weekend in Instagrams

What to do when you have a $200 voucher from Frontier Airline that you need to use in a few months? Well, if you are anything like me, you look for a nonstop flight. The only few nonstop flights from DCA that Frontier offered were to Milwaukee and Madison. After polling a bunch of friends and weighing the pluses and minuses of each city, I decided to whisk myself away for a long weekend to Madison, WI.

Once the flights were booked, my next step in any travel planning is finding a hotel. What I usually look in a hotel is 1) proximity to Downtown 2) preferably free wifi 3) cleanliness 4) extras (breakfast, etc).

Guess what perfectly fit the bill? Madison Hyatt Place! Not only did the hotel offer a free shuttle to and from the airport, it had free wifi, free daily breakfast, and courteous staff. At first I was disappointed by the lack of a bathtub, but the shower had excellent water pressure, which I find hard to find when staying in hotels. The only thing I did find lacking was the selection of TV channels. Yes, even when I travel I still want to be able to watch Bravo, FoodTV, and HGTV. Instead, I watched TLC and a few of my favorite shows on hulu.

{below: gorgeous lobby, my room, breakfast options}

Although the hotel was only a few blocks away from the Capitol, I took its shuttle a few times to restaurants and salsa dancing. {Salsa dancing in Madison, in case you are wondering, was rather disappointing...but at least I tried!} Overall, I would highly recommend a stay at Hyatt for anyone visiting Madison.

Once the hotel was booked, all I had to do was to decide on where to eat and what to see. Luckily, my good friend Jenny grew up in Milwaukee and went to school in Madison. Plus, Jenny's sister Emily still lives in Madison and agreed to hang out with me a few times. Yay!

Add a few suggestions from the Twitterverse (special shout outs to Amanda and Lori), my own research, and my plan was complete.

My first night in Madison, Emily and I went to dinner at Quivey's Grove Stone House. The restaurant has a huge barn and an attached house with multiple rooms, each set as a dining room.

For the appetizer, we shared Madison Mushrooms stuffed with Westphalian ham and served with Madeira cream sauce.

Although this was Friday, and Wisconsin is known for its Friday Fish Fry, I went for meat: boneless short ribs braised in dark beer and served with garlic mashed potatoes and root vegetables. Each dish at Quivey's has historical significance which you can read about here.

I also had my first Old Fashioned! It was sweet and potent :)

We ended the night with chocolate custard!

The next morning I woke up super early (7:30 am!), grabbed coffee at the hotel and headed to the Farmers Market.

Later that day, Amanda drove to meet up with me and we took a walking tour of Downtown Madison which included a few stops at different restaurants. We also checked out the Capitol: gorgeous!

On my own, I visited The Chazen Museum where I bought a gorgeous ring and saw Bicycle Thieves, a wonderful black and white Italian movie.

Turns out, this was a popular weekend to get married! I saw several wedding parties taking photos on the steps of the Capitol and then HAD to take a photo of this fun car:

For dinner, I took myself to Graze. I sat at the candle lit bar, sipped on the Supernova cocktail, slurped on oysters and then had rainbow trout with roasted poblano hash, shaved radish & onion salad and dark chocolate-pepita mole. It was incredible! The rich mole flavors were well balanced with the bright radish and onion combination, and I had no problem finishing the entire dish.

I even took a slice of plum cheesecake to go :)

My other dinner {on a different nigh!} was at Nat Spill: New Glarus beer, shrimp/sausage/water chestnut shu mai and a beef/noodle soup. The place was really dark and unassuming, and I wish the shu mai dough was thinner, but it was a fun and different place to try out. {Thank you Eating in Madison A to Z for the recommendation.}

For Sunday brunch, I joined Emily and her husband at Sardine. The day was gorgeous, and we had a table overlooking the lake. We had plenty of time to chat and look at the view because the service was quite slow, but the food was worth the wait!

I started with a Mimosa, had the Crab, bacon and rock shrimp cakes with chipotle beurre blanc, two poached eggs, and a mixed greens salad with sweet corn, green beans, and tomatoes as my main course {AMAZING} and then shared a slice of rich chocolate cake with Emily and Brad.

This was a fantastic getaway! I have one more Madison post coming up, so stay tuned.

Disclosure: I received a discounted rate from Hyatt Park, but paid for everything else. All opinions are strictly my own and I was in no way compensated for this post.

Have you whisked yourself anywhere lately? Where? How did you like it?

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