Eats: Stix

Stix

35 Stanhope St.

Boston, MA 02116

617-456-7849

website: http://www.stixboston.com/

 

My book club read (or at least some of us did) Supercapitalism and we met at Stix to dine and discuss. None of us had ever eaten here before. I had dined at the restaurant, Bambara,  that formerly occuppied the space a couple of times and gave it mixed reviews.  Stix is owned and operated by the same folks who ran Bambara and 33 Restaurant (which is nextdoor).

To be honest with you, when I originally heard about Stix right around when they opened (Fall of 2007 ) I thought it sounded like an interesting place that I would like to try. Their “shtick” is that they have a selection of small plates that feature various things served on flavor-infused wooden skewers.  But then…. I started hearing bad word-of-mouth reviews, and reading mediocre or bad reviews on Chowhound and Yelp.  I went to my book club dinner with an empty stomach and an open mind.

The decor at Stix is modern and trendy, but nothing that bowled me over. The space is long and narrow. One wall is lined by a bar that had a cool color-changing light wall behind it. The tables ran the length of the room on the opposite wall.  There is supposedly a lounge area downstairs, but I didn’t check it out. The walls are exposed brick with blonde wood panels that match the tables.

We all ordered one or two small plates each. I ordered the tuna sashimi ginger mango Stix ($9)and the pickled shitake potstickers ($9). The Stix came out first.  There were 3 skewers of tuna sashimi with soy sauce for dipping. The tuna was coated with togarashi (red chili peppers), wasabi, and tobiko (fish roe). I found the tuna to be WAY to salty.  If the tuna was infused with any of the ginger mango flavor from the sticks it was completely masked by the saltiness. One of my fellow diners also got the tuna and felt that they were too salty.

The Shitake Potstickers were the best part of the meal for me. The wonton wrappers were filled with chopped shitake mushrooms, topped with scallions and served with a ginger dipping sauce. The wontons were flavorful and thankfully didn’t have the salt overload that the tuna had.

 A couple of my fellow book clubbers ordered the mini lobster tacos. When they were brought out to the table, I had a moment of envy and thought “I wish that I ordered those!”. They were so cute and looked to be little tasty bites. Turned out that I had nothing to be jealous about. The lobster tacos were bland, bland, bland.

We were the only party in the restaurant for about the first 40 minutes of our meal, which even in these times of economic downturn was a bit odd. At least we had the $10 off coupon from their website. (Our waitress told us that there was a $25 off coupon available on restaurant.com). We all left hungry,  but firm in the knowledge that our book club will not be returning to Stix.

 

rating: 3 out of 5 mangoes

Fried Sauerkraut Cakes with Kielbasa

 I had some leftover turkey kielbasa from when I made the Caribbean Rice & Peasand searched epicurious.com for a recipe to use with the rest of it.  What I found was a dish that featured kielbasa and something that sounded different from anyway that I’ve ever eaten sauerkraut…fried up into little cakes. I’ve made plenty of other savory cakes before including Indian spiced potato cakes, Chive Risotto Cakes and more… this recipe sounded too good to pass up on.

 

End Result: I really liked them. The pickling from the sauerkraut gave them a slightly tangy flavor and the crispiness of the cakes was went perfectly with the juicy grilled kielbasa. These sauerkraut cakes will go into my rotation as a side dish to kielbasa or hot dogs.

Fried Sauerkraut Cakes with Kielbasa (from Gourmet Magazine)

makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1-pound) package sauerkraut (not canned), (2 3/4 cups)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 pound turkey kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

Accompaniment: warm chunky applesauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Pat sauerkraut dry between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible, then transfer to a bowl and stir in eggs, flour, scallion greens, salt, and pepper until combined.
2. Heat 1/4 inch oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Fill a 1/4-cup measure three-fourths full with sauerkraut mixture, then turn out into oil, using a fork to release, and flatten to 3 1/2 inches in diameter with fork. Form 2 more cakes in skillet, then fry, turning over once, until golden, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cakes with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain.  Fry more cakes in same manner with remaining mixture.
3. While cakes are cooking, brown kielbasa in oil in 2 batches in another  skillet over moderate heat, turning, 2 minutes per batch, then transfer to paper towels to drain.
4. Serve cakes topped with kielbasa.

Anguilla Eats: Veya

Veya

Sandy Ground, Anguilla

264-498-VEYA (8392)

website: http://www.veya-axa.com

The word veya means “ray of sun” in the Carib language. Veya bills themselves as serving the “Cuisine of the Sun”.   Veya’s  focus is on serving food that is inspired by the food you find around equatorial regions of the world. This includes the Caribbean, Morocco, and India.

Veya is located on the road to Sandy Ground and is about 1/2 a mile a so on the right from the rotary off of the main road.  We were able to find it with no trouble at all. We stopped in for dinner late one evening after having a couple of drinks at Elvis’s Beach Bar.

The vibe of Veya is what I will call posh tree-house chic. Veya’s dining room is up a set of stairs and the center of the space is the bar area pictured above. All of the dinner tables are along the outside of the restaurant that wraps around the bar. The dining area is surrounded by open windows with flowing white curtains framing ocean views. The ceilings are all dark wood with the beams exposed. The climb up the stairs, all the dark wood and open windows are what gave me the feeling that I was in a tree-house. It was very elegant and contemporary.

The waitstaff was very friendly and once we’d placed our order they brought out a basket of assorted bread including spice bread and Johnny cakes. The appetizer was shortly followed by an amuse bouche and I am sorry to report that my memory fails me as to what exactly that amuse bouche was. My mind is going in my old age.

My husband ordered an appetizer of Velvety Yellow Split Pea Soup ($11).  This soup was flavored with coconut, lime, and Indian spices. It was reminiscent of Mulligatawny soup by much smoother and richer in both texture and flavor. Our meal was off to a great start. Of course I stole a few spoonfuls of soup from him. I just couldn’t help myself since he was raving about it so much.   The mister said to me “find out a recipe to make a soup like this at home!”.  We frequently make dal (Indian stewed lentils) and lentil soup in our house and therefor have a cabinet full of canisters of dried lentils, split peas, and beans. So, I just may try to recreate this soup in my own home someday soon.

For his main course, my husband order the Tamarind Glazed Roast Chicken with Christophene Gratin and tropical fruit chutney ($28). Chicken is not something that either of usually orders in a restaurant, but I guess he was drawn in by the allure of the tamarind glaze. Tamarind is another flavor that we frequently use in our home cooking. Veya’s roast chicken was juicy and loaded with tamarind flavor. MrMango love it and I loved that his tropical fruit chutney was comprised largely of mangoes!

I ordered the sauteed red snapper with green papaya , mint and avocado ($34). I ate a lot of fish, particularly snapper, on this trip and this was one of my favorite fish dishes on Anguilla. It was light and fresh and I loved the touch of the avocado to add a different texture to the plate.

We were both too full for dessert, although they did have some tempting options like coconut cake and tropical creme brulee. We were satisfied with our dinner and my husband declared it a better value for the money than Blanchard’s.

Veya is open for dinner only and is closed on Sundays. Their cafe on the ground floor is open for breakfast and lunch.

Rating: 4 out of 5 mangoes

Greek Portobellos

These past 2 weeks I’ve been home alone and trying to make dinners with recipes that are things that MrMango would not necessarily be gung-ho about.  I figured that I would try out some of these recipes in his absence. One of said recipes was for Greek Portobello mushrooms, which are mushroom caps topped with a mixture of feta, olives, onions, and lemon juice and then broiled so that the cheese gets melty.

I was happy with the results of this recipe. It made for a nice light dinner and was very easy to make. The leftovers were wonderful chopped up and tossed with lettuce to make a salad.

Greek Portobellos

• 6 large portobello mushroom caps
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives, drained

1. Clean mushroons with damp cloth or paper towel; remove stems. Place mushrooms in bowl with 4 cups of hot water and submerge to soak for 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
2. Place mushrooms, tops down, in glass dish. Drizzle with oil and vinegar; refrigerate 1 hour.
3. In bowl combine feta, lemon juice, oregano, onion and olives. Mix carefully.
4. Preheat broiler (or grill set to medium). Remove mushrooms from marinade. Broil mushrooms, gill side down, 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn and broil 3 to 4 minutes on the other side.
5. Fill mushrooms with feta mixture. Broil 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Pappa Al Pomidoro

Week 2 of me being left home alone by Mr. Mango– loneliness is setting in (poor me), but the house is close to sparkling clean (oh, the joy of not having to pick up after an extra person ) We both like to cook and usually split the cooking duties, although I usually end up doing the cleaning.

The day after Christmas, as I was sitting home alone, I decided to cook up one of the recipes on this month’s to-cook list: Barefoot Contessa’s Pappa Al Pomidoro. Pappa Al Pomidoro is a country Tuscan bread soup. I was mega-excited to try out this recipe since I’ve been on a bit of a soup kick the past few months as evidenced by the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Mexican Chicken Soup, Turkey and White Bean Chili, Ranchero Beef Stew, and Hungarian Beef & Potato Soup that I’ve made and posted about. I figured a soup would keep me warm & cozy in my husband’s absence. I won’t go so far as to say that I cuddled with the soup though. that would just be crazy.

The Pappa Al Pomidoro is comprised mostly of veggies, tomatoes, and bread. The bread dissolves as the soup cooks and the result is a broth that is thickened by the bread bits. (maybe not the most low-carb diet friendly soup!) I made the Pappa Al Pomidoro recipe without the pancetta in the topping and it was still super delicious and the perfect soup for a cold December evening. I loved the touch of the toasted bread and basil on top, it added a different texture and more intense basil flavor.

This delish recipe was selected by Natalie at Burned Bits, who has a wicked cute blog so be sure to stop by and check it out. Check out the recipe after the jump.

Coq au Vin

Snowy December Sundays are the perfect days for stews and their ilk, so I was glad that Bethany from this little piggy went to market selected Ina Garten’s coq au vin recipe for one of this month’s Barefoot Bloggers selections.

I’ve made coq au vin one or two times before.  Traditional coq au vin (and Ina’s recipe) contains bacon…since we don’t eat bacon, I simply opted not to include it.  The end result still tasted good.  I wish I had some crusty French bread to sop up the sauce.

Coq Au Vin: the bacon-free edition (adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

• 1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
• 1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
• 1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
2.  Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  
3. Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to a plate and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
4. Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and put the chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
5. Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Yellow, Vanilla, Love

This month I joined another cooking challenge group: Recipes to Rival.  Each month the group chooses a different savory recipe and cooks it together and post our results. The recipes are ones that should “increase our repertoire of cooking skills”.

The challenge recipe for November is one from the last season of Bravo’s Top Chef. It’s the squash soup recipe created by Andrew & Spike for the Improv challenge. In this challenge the chefs had to create a recipe based on 3 words supplied to them by the audience at Second City Comedy Club. The 3 words that Spike & Andrew’s team had were: Yellow, Vanilla, and Love. They decided to make Squash Soup with Vanilla Crème Fraiche.

I enjoyed making this soup and spaced out the process over a couple of days—making the veggie stock one day and then doing the remaining steps the next day. The resultant soup was very flavorful and decadent. I can see how it helped Andrew and Spike do so well in the Top Chef challenge. I am not the biggest squash soup fan in general, so I am not sure if I will make this recipe again, but I am glad I did for this challenge.

The hosts of this month’s challenge are Meg or Joy Through Cooking and Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness.  The official Recipes to Rival post for this challenge is located here.

Recipes to Rival Challenge Requirements:

1. Make your own stock. You can use the recipe given or play with the flavors. The given stock is a vegetable one. If you want to go with a chicken stock you are welcome to, but it must be homemade. This part can be done ahead.
2. Incorporate a creamy vanilla element. You can use whipping cream if crème fraiche is cost-prohibitive. For those with allergies/food restrictions of course please substitute as needed but for those who do not have those restrictions, please incorporate a creamy vanilla garnish.
3. For the soup it should be a squash soup. I used a mix of Butternut, buttercup, and acorn squash but you can use your favorites (or what is available). You can pre-cook the squash as well.
4. Whatever you choose to do, please cook your soup with LOVE.

Squash Soup with Vanilla Crème Fraiche

Please see the original inspiration recipe from Top Chef. I’ve tweaked the recipe to reduce the number of servings by half of what was on Bravo’s Top Chef site, since their recipe serves 8 and there are inly 2 of us.

Prep Time: one hour and 30 minutes
Serves: more than 8
Spike & Andrew’s recipe:

Mirepoix:
3 sliced leek bottoms (rinsed)
4 carrots (peeled and sliced)
10 shallots (peeled and sliced)
1 clove garlic
1/2 lb butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup miso stir
Salt and pepper

Squash:
5 acorn
5 butternut
Oil for rubbing
Salt and pepper

Vegetable Stock:
4 quarts water
2 white onions
4 carrots, peeled
2 leeks
6-8 button mushrooms
Bouquet garnish (parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns)

Vanilla Creme Fraiche:
Creme fraiche
2 vanilla beans

Additional Ingredients:
Salt to taste
Cayenne to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Mirepoix:
Sweat all of the vegetables with butter. Sweat down and deglaze with honey. Stir and add miso. Season with salt and pepper.

Squash:
Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and reserve one butternut head for garnish. Rub squash with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place one piece of sage under every piece of squash. Place squash face down on a sheet tray and roast at 350 degrees until done. Scoop flesh out and pass through a ricer.
Vegetable Stock:
In a pot, boil all ingredients together with the exception of the bouquet garnishes. (NOTE: allow to simmer for at least 1 hour)

Vanilla Creme Fraiche:
Whip creme fraiche and scrape vanilla beans and fold in.

Soup:
Combine squash and vegetable stock to desired consistency. Add mirepoix and cook. Blend with a vita prep and strain through a chinois. Season with salt and cayenne.
To Plate:
Add 6 ounces of soup in bowl and spoon in creme fraiche. Garnish with bouquet garnishes.

Chipotle Shrimp & Avocado Soft Tacos

Last week I read the non-fiction book Waiter Rant. Inspired by  meal tacos that one of the cooks made for the restaurant staff, I decided to whip together some shrimp soft tacos. These tacos were extremely quick and easy to make. The best thing about shrimp, aside from their yummy-ness, is that they cook up very quickly. I served these up along with the Mexican chicken soup for a meal that wasn’t too heavy.

Chipotle Shrimp & Avocado Soft Tacos

INGREDIENTS

Avocado & Salsa

• 1/2 Haas Avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup Salsa Verde (purchased or homemade)

Shrimp

• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (or red chili pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 corn tortillas
• chopped small red onion
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss the avocado, cilantro and kosher salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the stove or outdoor grill to medium-high. Mix the olive oil, chipotle or chili powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cook the shrimp until translucent, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.
3. Grill tortillas, until slightly charred and pliable, about 20 seconds per side. (Alternatively, wrap in a damp paper towel and heat in a microwave.)
4. Spoon the salsa on the tortilla, then top with about 2 or 3 shrimp and some avocado chunks, onion and chopped cilantro. Serve 2 tacos per person, with a lime wedge on the side

Rice with Chickpeas, Lentils and Caramelized Onions

 This past weekend I returned to one of my favorite cookbooks  The Sultan’s Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook. I was looking for a rice recipe to go with some kofta kebabs that we were grilling for dinner. I landed on the Muccedere (a Turkish rice pilaf) recipe which I altered a bit because I didn’t have any orzo and hadn’t planned ahead enough to soak dried chick peas. Someday I will constantly have a well-stocked pantry. Sigh. For now, I need to deal with my limited storage space.

 This rice is spiced with cumin & red pepper and is dotted with lentils, chick peas, tomatoes and caramelized onions. I have made it a couple of times before and it always gets two thumbs up from Mr. Mango. It is a perfect accompaniment for grilled kebabs and yogurt sauce. Add a nice chopped salad and you have a perfect meal!

Rice with Chickpeas, Lentils and Caramelized Onions

• 1/3 cup green lentils
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 3 small white onions, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup long grain white rice, washed, soaked and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock, broth or water
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook dried lentils in small saucepan with 2/3 cup water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until just tender, about 15-20 minutes.
2. In a heavy, medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the saucepan and cook gently, 5 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Uncover the pan, increase the heat to high, and stir in the lemon juice. Cook, stirring, until the onions are browned.
3. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, cumin, and red pepper. Pour in the stock. Lower the heat and over the saucepan, and cook gently for about 20 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Optionally, stir in the parsley.
6. Serve!

Chive Risotto Cakes

  It’s been a very risotto-y couple of weeks…first with the Abrorio rice pudding last week and now with the Barefoot Contessa’s Chive Risotto Cakes which were selected by Deb of Kahakai Kitchenas one of this month’s bonus recipes for Barefoot Bloggers.

This is a good recipe to prepare partially ahead of time since the risotto and cheese mixture needs to chill for a few hours to firm up. I left mine in the fridge for about 8 hours before forming it into patties and covering them with panko and frying them up. They were still a bit fragile so I very delicately placed them in the skillet and was careful when I flipped them.

I served them with some garlic & balsamic broiled steak & onions and a simple salad. The entire meal was a hit. The risotto cakes were full of cheesey goodness. They were a great option for a starchy side to go with dinner instead of standard rice or potatoes. I will definitely make these again. They would also be great as a brunch dish.

Chive Risotto Cakes  (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, page 174-175) Serves 6

” I used to have to wait until I made risotto in order to make risotto cakes from the leftovers. So I decided to do a recipe for risotto cakes that I make from scratch. Most of this can be assembled early in the day and then sautéed just before dinner. The yogurt, chives, and Italian Fontina give these a delicious creamy interior, and the panko gives them a wonderful crunchy crust.”

• Kosher salt
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• 1 ½ cup cups grated Italian Fontina cheese (5 ounces)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
• Good olive oil

Bring a large (4 quart) pot of water to a boil and add ½ tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4 –inch) ice cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.

Note from Ina: “Panko, or Japanese bread flakes, have a crisper, lighter texture than regular bread crumbs.”