June 2nd, 2010-10 Arts

Hello for the last time! (again) :(

Today we created a quick and easy scallop and grapefruit ceviche to top off our cooking experiences with SNS Food Review and Cooking. Here are the results:

Recipe: http://www.metro.ca/recette/5484/grapefruit-scallop-ceviche.en.html

May 26th, 2010-10 Arts

Hello for the LAST TIME :(,

For our last meal out, we went to 10 Arts by Eric Reipert and we were lucky enough to be invited to a special event hosted by 10 Arts for the LocalAbundance with recent Top Chef contender Jennifer Caroll. LocalAbundance is an organization founded by James MacKnight that sets the standard for sustainable food and educate people about locally grown healthy food. We always knew we wanted to have a nice last meal to go out with a bang so we thought to ourselves, as such huge fans of Top Chef, what better way to end our project than with a meal prepared by a Top Chef semi-finalist and one of our own favorite contenders. The first course was a variety of oysters from the East and West coast. The oysters were served only with lemon instead of cocktail sauce on purpose because Chef Jen wanted you to be able to taste the differences in the oysters. The second course was a wild cape cod sea scallop, which was prepared with mint, jalepeno, and grapefruit. The citrus complimented the cold fish and it brought out the flavors. It was a pleasing transition into the more heavier courses. The next course was the wild alaskan halibut with smoked steelhead caviar prepared with cucumber, radish, scallion, and dashi broth. The caviar stole the dish with its smoky and full taste. The eggs were large and orange, so they were the first thing you saw when you looked at the dish. The fourth course was a wild black sea bass, prepared with pea tendrils, morels, prosciutto garlic broth. The garlic broth was really poignant and fragrant and smelled as good as it tasted. The fifth course was a ling cod prepared with carrot, lime, and shrimp sambal. The cod was light and tender. The sixth course was a king salmon prepared with fiddlehead ferns, leeks, and red wine reduction. Even though we were becoming full from the previous dishes, it was really delicious! The dessert was creme fraiche and bluberries prepared with mousse, blueberries, caramel popcorn, and sweet corn sorbet. It was was inspired by the pastry chef's take away from her experience at the local carnival. All of the fish dishes were prepared with extremely fresh ingredients and when each new dish, James MacKnight spoke about where the specific fish was caught and how they were all caught within 36 hours of being served at 10 Arts. The restaurant was uniquely designed with surperb interior designs. It is inside the Ritz Carlton, so it has similar decor as the hotel. The dinner was 95$ per person, and the seating arrangement was very interesting. There was a cap on how many could attend this event, so they had large tables with about 25 people total. We were seated at a table for 6, so we had other people sitting with us interacting. This was the perfect way to end our experience as food critiques for our senior comprehensive project at Penn Charter.

10 Avenue of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2500

(215) 523-8221

May 20th, 2010-Chiangmai

Sup,

Today in Lafayette Hill at Shelly's house we created our interpretation of Chicken Pad Thai. Here are pictures from our night and we will post the recipes we used soon!

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pad-thai-with-chicken-and-shrimp-recipe/index.html

May 19th, 2010-Chiangmai

Shalom,

For this weeks meal we visited Chiangmai in Conshohocken. We've done Asian Fusion when we visited Azie, but we wanted to experience a traditional Thai meal. It's a small restaurant with a homey feel and appropriate decor that creates a foreign atmosphere with extensive design. While it's not a particularly big place size wise, it's a place with a big attitude. The hostess came up to us upon our arrival and seated us instantly. After, our waitress brought us our drinks and gave us the perfect amount of time to figure out our order. Once our order was placed our drinks were refreshed. Shortly after, the appetizers arrived. We had the Tulip Dumplings, Crispy Rolls, and Som Tum Salad. The Dumplings and Rolls were delicious, but the salad was sub par. Not something that we would recommend. Also, the portions were rather small but still satisfactory and ranged from $4 to $10 dollars. About ten minutes later we were served our entrees. We tried the Softshell crabs, Bold and Spicy Shrimp, and Chicken Pad Thai. The Softshell crabs were a special and we were glad we caught it. The shrimp wasn't as spicy as expected, but still good, and the chicken pad thai was some of the best we've had. All ranged in price from $11 to $20 dollars. Even though we skipped out on desert, we were pleased with our meal and our experience and while we may not recommend the salads, we were pleased with every other aspect of our meal. We hope if you chose to dine at Chiangmai that you enjoy your meal as much as we enjoyed ours!

108 Fayette Street
Conshocken, PA 19428

610 397 1757

May 7th, 2010-Spasso

Hello all,

So for our re-creation of our meal at Spasso we prepared bruschetta. Overall, it was a huge success and extremely easy! It turns out it's a great dish that anyone can make. We strongly recommend it for anyone who needs to cook something good and cook it fast. Here are the pictures from our afternoon in the kitchen!

Recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/bruschetta_with_tomato_and_basil/

May 6th, 2010-Spasso

Greetings and Salutations,

Last week we ventured out to Olde City to have dinner at Spasso Italian Grill. The weather was nice, so we suggested to our hostess that we sit outside; they were very flexible and allowed us to sit where we wanted. However, the only table that was available outside was the last table, farthest from the restaurant. Again, since it was such a nice night we decided to sit at this table. The waiter was very nice, and immediately gave us water and read us the specials of the night. Unfortunately, this was the only prompt aspect of our dining experience. After we ordered, our food did not arrive for about an hour. We ordered an Antipasto and Bruschetta as appetizers. Both we very tasty and delightful. For the entrees we ordered Gnocchi con Aspargi, Crab Raviolli, and Penne Spasso. Both the Crab Raviolli and the Penne Spasso we quite delicious, however, the gnocchi was less tasty than expected. The asparagus that came with it had more flavor than the actual gnocchi. Other than the slow service and the bland gnocchi, the ambiance of Spasso was very welcoming. Inside, we saw families having a casual dinner. Also, there was a lot of space inside, which gave us the impression that this would be a nice place for a party. Overall, for large events or big dinners where time is not of the essence, we would recommend Spasso sans the Gnocci.

Spasso Italian Grill

34 South Front Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

215 592 7661

May 7th, 2010-Seasons 52

For our cooking experience this week, we re-created the Tiger Shrimp Penne Pasta with market vegetables sauteed in a lemon basil sauce with parmesan cheese. We got our recipe from Martha Stewart and included snap peas, asparagus, carrots, and broccoli. We concocted our own version of the lemon basil sauce that seasoned the pasta well. Here are pictures from our time in the kitchen!

Recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/penne-with-shrimp-feta-and-spring-vegetables