Metro Pizza

We finally went and tried out Metro Pizza, which has come highly-recommended by a few of my co-workers (none of them have ever been to Grimaldi's, so I guess they don't know what pizza perfection is like). Anyways, we tried it out last night, and while it was good, it's not up to par with Grimaldi's. Here's what we got:

Appetizers:

Jack - Tuscan Salad

Katie - Garlic fries (A Metro Pizza original, and they can keep it that way :)

Pizza - Sunspot Specialty Pizza

Jack's Tuscan Salad was pretty awesome. Pears, blue cheese, awesome flavored tomatoes, walnuts, etc. with a vinaigrette dressing. The ingredients seemed really quality, and Jack really liked it. It just wasn't my type of salad, so I'd take the Grimaldi's house salad over this one any day.

Garlic fries - Was there supposed to be garlic flavoring on these? And Romano cheese? You could barely taste either. They really just tasted like french fries. They seemed to be pretty good as far as fries go, but I'm not a huge fried food fan, and they didn't sit well with me.

Sunspot Specialty Pizza - This was pretty good. It had chicken, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. The chicken was really good, and the crust of the pizza was pretty good, too. Just not my favorite, like... (let's all say it together!) Grimaldi's. And both of us felt a little sick this morning. Could have been from this food, but who knows.

Our waitress was great, and we didn't have to wait for a table which was nice. The atmosphere was fine, too. A typical pizzeria, but nothing special.

Food: 3 stars

Atmosphere: 3 stars

Service: 4 stars

Would I go back? No, because any time I want pizza I would go to Grimaldi's. :)

King Cake Pictures

I finally tried out this recipe! My best friend Sharon used to make these when we were roommates back in college (wow, I feel old), and I love eating king cakes when I'm in Louisiana around Mardi Gras. This year (yes, way back in March) I finally tried out the recipe myself, and I thought they turned out well. I've already posted the recipe to this blog; you can find it here.

And yes, I would make this recipe again. :) Next time I might try to add a fruity filling, or a pecan praline-type filling. Mmm....

Grandpa Richardson's Rice Pudding

*From Worldwide Ward Cookbook*

5 eggs

4 C. milk

3/4 C. sugar

1 t. vanilla

3/4 C. minute rice, cooked

In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Beat well. Pour mixture into a glass 9 x 13-in baking dish. Sprinkle cooked rice evenly on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min, or just until the edges tart to bubble. Tastes great with cinnamon sprinkled on top. Makes 8 servings.

My take: Not sure if I did something wrong, but this did not turn out well. It tasted too egg-y, and it had a really wet consistency. I'd rather eat my store-bought Kozy Shack rice pudding than make this again. This recipe won't be repeated.

Chicken and Rice

*From Cooking Light magazine*

1 T. olive oil

8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned

3/4 t. salt

1/4 t. ground black pepper

2 C. chopped onion

1 carrot, thinly sliced

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 C. long-grain white rice

Cooking spray

1 C. fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1/4 C. water

3 T. heavy whipping cream

1/3 C. grated fress pecorino Romano cheese (I used parmesan)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add 4 chicken thighs to pan; saute 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Add onion and carrot to pan; saute 4 min. Add mushrooms; saute 5 min. Add garlic; saute 1 min. Spoon rice mixture into a 13 x 9 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray; stir in broth, water, and cream. Arrange chicken over rice mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Bak at 350 degrees for 45 min. or until chicken is done. Yield: 4 servings.

My take: I really liked this. It's like a twist to the basic chicken and rice recipe, but I like this one more. The parmesan cheese added a new flavor, and I liked the overall flavor mixture. I thought parmesan worked great in place of the Romano cheese. I'd definitely make this recipe again.

Turkey Wraps

*From Boar's Head ad*

1 lb turkey breast

1/2 lb swiss cheese, sliced

1 med avocado, sliced

4 leaves red leaf lettus

1/4 C. roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped

1 med tomato, sliced

14 oz. garbanzo beans

2 T. lemon juice

4 whole wheat tortillas (8-in)

In a food processor, puree the beans with the peppers and lemon juice until a smooth but somewhat chunky consistency. Spread puree onto the tortillas and a lettuce leaf. Add 2 slices tomato, followed by 3 slices of avocado. Add the turkey breast and Swiss cheese. Fold and wrap. Cut each wrap in half to serve.

My take: These were pretty good. The best part was that the tortilla package had directions on how to wrap "wraps," so I was excited to know how to do this! I didn't love this recipe, but it was easy enough. Not sure if I would ever make it again...I didn't feel like there was enough flavor. I'm more of a ranch wrap type of girl.

Snickers Cake

*From the Worldwide Ward Cookbook*

Snickers Cake

1 chocolate cake mix

1 14-oz bag caramels

1/3 C. milk

1/2 C. butter

1 C. chocolate chips

1/2 C. nuts, chopped

1 C. shortening

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 t. butter flavoring

3-4 T. milk

1 C. mini chocolate chips

Mix cake according to package directions. Pour 1/2 of batter into a greased 9 x 13 in. pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min. Melt caramels, milk, and butter. Pour over baked cake. Sprinkle with chocolate ships and nuts. Spread with remaining cake batter. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase oven to 300 degrees and bake an additional 20 min. When cool, prepare frosting: beat together shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter flavoring. Stir in enough milk to reach desired consistency. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread over cooled cake. Makes 18 servings.

My take: This was good, but not as awesome as I thought it could be. The frosting was really sweet, and the recipe could have done with less. But we always think recipes have too much frosting (especially Jack). I might make this recipe again if I got the craving or wanted to make a yummy-looking treat for visitors.

Shrimp Cobb Salad

*From Cooking Light magazine

Shrimp Cobb Salad

4 slices center-cut bacon
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 t. salt, divided
2 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t. whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 (10 oz) package romaine salad
2 C. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 C. shredded carrots (about 2 carrots)
1 C. frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 ripe peeled avocado, cut into 8 wedges

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; cut in half crosswise. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Increase heat to medium-high. Sprinkle shrimp with paprika and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Sprinkle with 1/8 t. salt; toss to coat.

2. While the shrimp cooks, combine remaining 1/8 t. salt, juice, oil, and mustard in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add lettuce; toss to coat.

3. Arrange about 1 1/2 C. lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 6 shrimp, 1/2 C. tomatoes, 1/4 C. carrot, 1/4 C. corn, 2 avocado wedges, and 2 bacon pieces. Yield: 4 servings.

My take: The shrimp seasoning was really good. I did make it a little less healthy by adding more bacon (if I'm going to cook bacon, I want to cook a lot of it) and leaving out the corn (it just didn't sound that yummy to me). I also made the recipe a little easier by just using baby carrots and not quartering the tomatoes. This recipe was great and will definitely be repeated.

Scallops with Spinach and Paprika Syrup

*From Cooking Light magazine

1/4 C. sugar
1/4 t. paprika
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
2 t. olive oil, divided
1 1/2 lbs jumbo sea scallops
1/4 t. salt, divided
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. minced fresh garlic
10 oz. fresh baby spinach
1/4 C. pine nuts, toasted

1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; cook 4 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cool slightly.

2. While paprika mixture cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 t. olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels; sprinkle with 1/2 t. salt and black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 t. oil and garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add half of spinach; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add remaining spinach; cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in 1/8 t. salt.

4. Divided the spinach mixture evenly among each of 4 plates, and divide the scallops evenly among servings. Drizzle paprika mixture evenly over scallops; sprinkle 1 T. pine nuts over each serving. Yield: 4 servings.


My take: We're continuing on a "health" kick, so this looked healthy and yummy since I love seafood. But it did not turn out well. The scallops were okay (not great), but the spinach was the worst part. It got really wilted, and when cooked it tastes really bitter. I don't mind raw baby spinach at all; in fact, we eat it all the time. But now I know I'm not a fan of the cooked version. :) And I didn't love the mix of sweet (paprika syrup) with not sweet (scallops and spinach). Some may like this recipe, especially if you can master cooking the spinach without it wilting too much. I won't be repeating this one.

Pumpkin Pie

*from Libby's pumpkin pie filling can, and also available on allrecipes.com


1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)


My take: Love this recipe. So easy, and it's just classic pumpkin pie. So if you love pumpkin pie, you'll love this. Definitely a repeater. I most recently made it for our Christmas meal (picture above), and made a few leaf crust cut-outs to cover my knife pokes in the pie. :)

Pumpkin Roll

*From Libby's, found on allrecipes.com


Ingredients

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

My take: This recipe turned out well and was pretty yummy, but was very rich. I made this around Christmas time, an we had lots of other treats in the house, too. So...I don't even think we ended up finishing this. It was just so rich with all the cream cheese filling, so not my favorite. I might repeat this one, but it won't be at the top of my baking to-do list.

Chicken with Lemon-Leek Linguine

*From Cooking light Oct 2010 issue*

Chicken with Lemon-Leek Linguine

6 oz uncooked linguine
4 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 t. salt, divided
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 C. flour
3 T. butter, divided
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 leek, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 C. fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

2. Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 t. salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour, shaking to remove excess.

3. Heat 1 T. butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

4. Melt 1 T. butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, leek, and remaining 1/4 t. salt; saute 4 minutes. Add broth and juice; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 T. butter. Add pasta to leek mixture; toss well to combine. Serve chicken over pasta mixture; sprinkle with parsley.

My take: So very good. And very healthy, too. We both really liked this meal. One important shortcut: I just bought the chicken filets (I think that's what they're called?) Basically they're already pounded flat for you, which I love. I'd never used leeks before, so I felt all cool cooking with something new. And I even got to reference my "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" book to learn how to cut up a leek. And I really liked the leek flavor. This recipe will definitely be a repeater.

Fall Vegetable Curry with Cashew Basmati Rice

*From Cooking Light Oct 2010 issue*

Fall Vegetable Curry

1 1/2 t. olive oil

1 cup diced peeled sweet potato

1 C. small caulifower florests

1/4 C. thinly sliced yellow onion

2 t. Madreas curry powder

1/2 C. organic vegetable broth

1/4 t. salt

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 C. plain 2 % reduced-fat Greek yogurt

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato to pan; saute 3 minutes. Decrease heat to medium. Add cauliflower, onion, and curry powder; cook 1 minute, stirring mixture constantly. Add broth and next 3 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cliantro; serve with yogurt.

Cashew Basmati Rice

Cook 1 C. basmati rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Stir in 1/4 C. unsalted cahew pieces and 1/4 t. salt.

My take: Jack loved this. It's such a healthy meal. It tasted pretty good, too, but I think a big draw is the health factor. And I have to mention that somehow cooking this made it difficult to breathe in our apartment. We kept coughing! I think it was from the spiciness of it. But it didn't seem crazy spicy when eating it. Spicy, yes, but not out of control. And the cashew basmati rice - awesome. I think this will be a repeat recipe, but we'll have to open our windows next time. :)

Michelle's Soft Sugar Cookies

*From allrecipes.com*

Michelle's Soft Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


Directions

1.Cream the margarine and add the sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition.

2.Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt gradually to the creamed mixture, stirring in by hand. Cover and chill dough overnight.

3.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

4.Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut into your favorite shapes. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets.

5.Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookie has a golden appearance.


My take: I've made sugar cookies in the past but never liked how they came out. Never soft enough. And I've never been a huge sugar cookie fan. I've always thought sugar cookie dough is better than the actual cookies. :) But I like making sugar cookies around the holidays because you get to do all the fun holiday shapes and decorate them. And in recent years I've had some great bakery sugar cookies (i.e. Smart Cookie - so good!) so I wanted to make some sugar cookies that I actually liked. And these passed the test. I'd like to try them again with a different frosting. This time I just used a simple icing recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, but sometime I'd like to try a good cream cheese frosting. Yum. Anyways, this will now be my go-to sugar cookie recipe. Very good.

Panko Mozzarella Sticks

*From thepioneerwoman.com*

Panko Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients
•16 pieces String Cheese, Removed From Wrappers
•½ cups All-purpose Flour
•2 whole Eggs
•3 Tablespoons Milk
•2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs (I Used Kikkomans)
•1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes
•Canola Oil, For Frying
•Marinara Sauce, For Dipping


Preparation Instructions

Slice string cheese pieces in half, for a total of 32 pieces.

Place flour in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.

In another separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley flakes.

TO ASSEMBLE: One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, then dunk in egg/milk mixture, then place in panko crumbs. Use your hand to sweep crumbs all over the mozzarella stick. Gently remove and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated.

***Place tray in freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to flash freeze.***

TO COOK: Heat 1 1/2 inches canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella sticks 8 at a time. Watch closely and turn over to evenly brown, cooking less than 2 minutes. Do not allow cheese to bubble and leak.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.

My take: I love mozzarella cheese sticks, so how can you go wrong with this? These were fairly easy, although I hate cooking with hot oil because it pops all over the place. But the cheese sticks were great, and I'd definitely make them again.