Happiness is...Matzah Rocca

It is Passover time, and that means an over abundance of Matzah.  What am I going to do with the other 4 boxes that come in the traditional Passover Matzah 5 Pack?  I can only eat so much plain Matzha.  I can only eat so many Matzah Balls.  Matzah Rocca anyone?  Matzah what?  Matzah Rocca.  It's like Almond Rocca on a bed of Matzah, and it is delicious!

Matzah Rocca

6 Matzah

1 1/2 c. Butter, 3 sticks

1 1/2 c. packed Brown Sugar

18 oz. (2 1/4 c.) Chocolate Chips, the mini chips work best if you can find them

1 1/2 c. toasted sliced Almonds, or any chopped toasted nut of choice

Kosher Salt ~or~ coarse Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 400˚.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased aluminum foil.

Lay the 6 pieces of Matzah on the lined baking sheet.

Place the Butter and Brown Sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan.

Bring the  Butter and Brown Sugar to a boil over medium-high; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Working quickly, pour the now "toffee" over Matzah.

 

Spread the toffee evenly over the whole surface. 

Allow a few minutes for the toffee to set.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until toffee is caramelized and bubbly.

 Remove from the oven and immediately cover evenly with the Chocolate Chips.

Allow the Chocolate Chips to melt and then spread evenly over the entire tray.

While the chocolate is warm, sprinkle with a pinch of Kosher Salt and the sliced toasted Almonds.

Chill for at least an hour, keeping the baking sheet as level as possible. 

Break into pieces and serve. 

Can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature.

Happiness is...Good Chinese Food

Yes it's true.  I eat out.  A lot.  But what can I say, it makes me happy and I don't have dishes to do afterward.  A few nights ago I revisited a favorite place of mine, Seven Stars Pepper, in the International District.   Located in one of the dingy strip malls, littered along S. Jackson Street, this place is mainly know for their Hot Pots, but I always opt for the stellar Szechuan fare.  I love this place, it is always clean, food is prepared at lightening speed, and the prices won't empty your wallet.  However, the dishes are served traditional Family-style, so you had better come with a few friends or family members.

Every time I have visited Seven Stars Pepper we have ordered the delicious Green Onion Pancakes with spicy dipping sauce, but this time we changed it up and ordered the Szechuan Hot Pepper Sauce Won Ton.

Surprisingly the sauce was on the mellow side, heat wise, even though it was little more than hot broth topped with sesane oil infused with garlic and toasted peppers, Still the flavor was intense and very nice.  The delicate wonton pillows floating in the chili sauce were light and tender with plenty of pork filling.  This dish makes me smile, so soft and slippery and tasty.

Another specialty of the house are their fried tofu dishes.  We ordered the Fried Tofu with Black Mushrooms.  Who knew Tofu could be so good (and I am a huge fan of tofu).  I just love the texture of Black Mushrooms, all slippery and chewy, they are the perfect compliment to the firm fried tofu and crunchy bok choy.  This dish is all about texture.  The sauce was light and perfectly seasoned, since we requested no MSG (it gives me the shakes).  As with all Chinese food, if you don't request them to leave out the MSG the sauces can be too salty.  I prefer not have to gorge myself on water all night long after my meal.

Finally, we got the one dish we order Every-Single-Time we come to Seven Stars Pepper, Crispy Pork with Hot Garlic Sauce.  It is so GOOD!  Tender pieces of fatty pork fried crispy in a light batter and then tossed in this amazing spicy vinegar glaze.  It's kind of like a Sweet & Sour Pork in that it is fried and coated in sauce, but it's not greasy, not sweet, super spicy and totally amazing.  We never have a take-home box of this dish.  I foresee we will continue to order this dish everytime we go back there, it is that good.


Other Dishes of Note:
* Fried Pot Stickers hand-made.
* Szechaun Pepper Pork Tripe feeling adventurous?
* Any of the Hand-Shaven Noodle dishes nothing like them!
* Hot Pepper Fried Shredded Potato amazing!
* Fried Tofu with Eggplant again, all about texture. 

 

Happiness is...SKILLET Street Food

I have only eaten at SKILLET one other time, and I have been dreaming about it ever since. This mobile eatery, constructed out of a converted air-stream trailer, operates all over Seattle, and often times on the eastside, choosing a different location almost daily (you have to visit their web-site, twitter, or Facebook pretty much daily to find out where they are going to be).  You mostly find them in parking lots or parked right on the street, making it pretty easy to find them.

The menu is small and changes weekly, usually consisting of a burger, a pasta, a salad, a "special" (this week it was duck ~or~ lamb tacos), a dessert, a beverage, and Poutine (ah yes, that delectable cheesy, gravy covered, french fry dish loved by all Canadians).  Prices are hefty, averaging $10-13 for a burger or sandwich, but well worth EVERY penny!  I tell you, the food is In-cred-ible! I don't know how food that good comes out of a trailer running on a generator...I'm stymied!

I got The Burger.  The grass-fed beef patty was char-broiled to perfection!  The toppings complimented the heavenly beef sublimely; fresh arugula, a disk of Cambazola cheese, and Bacon Jam (I don't know what is in this condiment, but I want it on everything I eat from this moment forward).  I truly am a "Bun Snob" and this one was just right, in that it it was fresh and crusty, not too big nor too bready, it was a perfect vessel for a perfect burger.  The only downside to this date with burger bliss was that the fryer stopped working two orders before we got ours.  No fries!  That's how good the Burger was...we still wanted the burger, sans fries.

Well that's not entirely true, we did stop at SCOOTER'S, on 24th Ave. NW, on the way home to get an order of fries.  You just can't have a burger and not have the fries. They just weren't the delicious hand-cut beauties we were expecting, all covered in fried herbs and cooked in clean oil.  What we got at Scooter's was what we expected, cooked from frozen, fried in less than clean oil, and did the job of rounding out the meal, though they lacked a good salting. 

A few things to remember:

* Hours are from 11-2 (or earlier if they run out of food). 

* Lines can get long, so leave yourself enough time to wait in line.

* There will be no seating, so eat while leaning or cop a squat on the nearest curb.

* Check the website, www.skilletstreetfood.com, to pin down the days exact location. 

* Bring cash!  Both times I've been there the credit card machine has been down. 

* This is not fast-food, just really good food!

This is a picture of my first Skillet Burger...with fries.

Happiness is...Beautiful Bouncy Balls

I wanted to adopt one so bad!

I would have picked the chartreuse one.

Pink or orange would have been good too.

Maybe next time...

Happiness is...Buttermilk Pancakes

All the best days begin with Pancakes 

Hot, fluffy, scrumptious Pancakes 

Stacked 5 high, topped with butter, and dripping with maple syrup

Glorious Pancakes 

Never-Fail Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 c. Sugar
2 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Kosher Salt
2 Eggs
2 c. Buttermilk
1/4 c. melted Butter, plus some for cooking and serving
1 c. Blueberries, fresh ~or~ frozen
Maple Syrup

In a large bowl sift together the Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Kosher Salt.

Beat the Eggs with the Buttermilk and melted Butter. Combine the dry and the wet ingredients into a lumpy batter, being careful not to over mix so you don't get flat dense pancakes.

Heat a swipe of Butter in a skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/3 c. of batter into the skillet and sprinkle the top with some of the Blueberries. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. 

Serve with a dollop of Butter and Maple Syrup.  Eat!

Happiness is...Goats in Trees

It's Goats...in a tree.

How cute is that?

Happines is...Taco Taco

I have driven past Burrito Loco, in the North Ballard area of Seattle, for years and years and had never even given a thought to stopping in to eat.  I always assumed it was a local Americanized, fast-food, foil-wrapped burrito sort of place (since it is attached to a gas station in a mini version of a strip-mall).  I was surprised to find out that it is actually a real Mexican restaurant with Tacos, exactly what I was looking for.

The inside of the restaurant was a pleasant surprise, it was clean, bright, and colorful with cute wooden tables and clunky, yet comfortable, chairs.  Our waitress was very friendly and seated us promptly, no standing at the counter to order here.  We were given hot, freshly made tortilla chips (a huge plus in my book) with two types of tasty salsa (red and green) to snack on while we waited for our order.

I am always searching for the perfect tacos and my chicken tacos were just what I wanted!  The chicken was plentiful, moist,  and seasoned perfectly.  The tacos had lots of fresh tomato, onion, and cilantro all on a bed of Spanish rice (just like my grandma and my mom used to make) wrapped up in a double layer of thick corn tortillas (the way they should be).  No shredded cheese or pesky lettuce filler, just a lot of meat and the right amount of the right fresh veggies.  I could not have been happier.  I ❤ Tacos!

**Next time I am getting the Lengua Tacos!!!