Comfort Food - Cheese Grits Casserole

I'll fill you in later this week about the reason I made a Cheese Grits Casserole. For now, just a quick picture and recipe.

Cheese Grits Casserole

4 cups water
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually add grits, stirring constantly. Cover and simmer 8 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat. Add 1 cup cheese and butter, stirring until cheese melts.

Combine milk and next 3 ingredients (milk through eggs), stirring with a whisk. Stir milk mixture into grits mixture. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Let grits stand for 10 minutes before serving.

DMBLGIT - August edition

Every month some of the best food bloggers set their hopes on winning the contest we call DMBLGIT (or Does My Blog Look Good In This). I've entered several times and have yet to achieve victory. I have high hopes for this month's entry. You can check out the other entries at Spittoon Extra, this month's DMBLGIT host. (Update: Here's the link to the pictures entered)

Behold .......the giant yellow squash.This bad boy was a monster. You're seeing it after I cut off the top and bottom! It was given to me last month by the infamous Egg-Man (he's mentioned in the orginal post on the squash). We got three meals out of it. And what did we make with it? Fried squash. Yummy, Yummy fried squash. Click here to see the original post and wish me luck in this month's contest. You can also see two of my past entries here and here.

Pesto Pizza

Sunday found us at the store to stock up on some veggies. I couldn't resist the fresh bundles of basil. Their aroma was intoxicating. I bagged up three bundles then went looking for some pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.....pesto was going to be made.

The last time I made pesto I didn't have a food processor and nearly wore my arm off trying to crush the basil leaves with my dinky little mini food chopper. Not this time. I whipped up this batch so fast it was amazing. And the house smelled so good!

Last night Jim made pesto pizza that was one of the best ones he has ever made. We ate all of it easily and wanted more. Hmmm.....I work late on Thursday. Maybe I can talk him into making another?

Here is the pesto recipe:

PESTO

3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups. (Cover tightly, the pesto should keep for a week)

Rabieng weekend dim sum brunch

by Biscuit Boy

Rabeing, the country-style Thai restaurant that is owned by the Duangrats, is our favorite weekend lunch place. They have a Thai street food dim sum brunch on the weekends, featuring small plates patterned after the snacks served from stands and carts on the streets of Bangkok. We went last weekend and found that they had added some new dishes to their menu, modified some dishes, and moved some off of the "dim sum" menu although they are still on the regular menu (an example is the green papaya salad).

We tried many of the new dishes. All were good, and some were great. I've ranked them below, although I'm sure Biscuit Girl will disagree about some of the rankings. (No, actually I do agree, surprise, aren't ya)

Pulled Chili-Lime Chicken and Carrot Salad
I think this was the strongest of the new dishes. It was strips of julienned carrot and young ginger, shredded chicken, dressed with a lime and fish sauce. The flavors were amazing, and it was an excellent palate-cleanser for the other fried dishes we had.

Oyster "Hush Puppies"
Four or five oysters, dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried, served with a sour orange sauce. They were perfectly fried and not greasy. They were very tasty, even to Biscuit Girl who doesn't like oysters.

Fried Rice Cakes with Beef in Green Curry
These were the same rice cakes that are served with the appetizer "Tidbit", but with a beef and green curry sauce. This dish reminded me why I think Rabieng's versions of classic Thai food are the bar to judge other restaurants by. However, I didn't think the combination isn't as good as the Tidbit.

Fried Chili Garlic Shrimp
We liked these shrimp, breaded and seasoned with chili sauce, green onions. They were a little greasy, an anomaly compared to other fried dishes we've had there like the oysters and the tempura.

Sriracha Chicken Wings
These were OK, but not great. They were two pieces of wing, with a sauce that was more sweet than spicy, and very messy to eat. I like wings, but I'll probably skip these next time.

Old favorites such as the Peking duck roll, the tempura dishes, the pork and garlic noodles, and the sticky rice dishes remain on the menu. One tempting new one is the combination of Esan sausage and sticky rice (called lemongrass pork sausage on this menu). Other new ones are grilled taro and sticky rice, and sticky rice and banana paddy.

Guajillo Restaurant - Review

After working 6 days in a row this week, I needed a beer .... and a nice dinner out. I didn't get a beer but did have a nice dinner. Jim picked me up after work and we drove in the general direction of several restaurants we were mulling over. As we exited from the GW Parkway our plans were to head to Kotobuki for sushi. But as it happens, there are several wonderful places to eat off this same exit, Ray's the Steaks and Guajillo to name two. Jim said, "Hey what about Guajillo?" and the next thing you know we're pulling into their parking lot.

Now the difficult thing about going to Guajillo is that Ray's is right next door. Finding a parking space is your first challenge. After that it's keeping your stomach from dragging you into Ray's for one of the best steak dinners in DC. But don't let the steaks tempt you if what you want is great Mexican food. Guajillo won't disappoint.

We were quickly seated and noticed that even at the early hour (5:30) the place was beginning to fill up. No sooner were we at our table when a fresh basket of chips and salsa as well as menus. The chips were paper thin and very fresh and the salsa tasty and hot (both temperature and spice-wise).

They have a nice list of tequila's to choose from as well as a killer Sangria and several beers. Jim got tequila and I got a glass of the (just made) Sangria. We decided to skip getting an appetizer and just ordered an entree each. Jim got the Carne Asada (a 12oz. grilled flap steak marinated in house marinade). I was trying to decide between the Chicken Enchiladas or one of the house specialties - Shrimp and Goat Cheese Enchiladas. The waiter said the shrimp ones were great so I got them.

The steak was incredibly tender and very flavorful. It was topped with grilled green onions and fresh tomato and came with refried beans and rice. Jim isn't a fan of refried beans but I am so I was more than happy to take those off his hands. They were very good, nice and smooth. This is a dish that will be ordered again.

My Shrimp and goat cheese enchiladas were good but nothing spectacular. The shrimp were but into dice size pieces which did make it easier to eat the enchiladas. The sauce was very rich and would have been ok with the dish but combined with the goat cheese sort of overpowered the shrimp. It was still very tasty (and I left nothing on my plate) but next time I'll try the chicken enchiladas instead.

Guajillo
1727 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
703-807-0840