Review - Young's Chinese Food (Royal Oak, MI)

I love Chinese food. Well, I love GOOD Chinese food. I have yet to find any near where I live so I drive 45 minutes (one way) just to go to Young's (they don't have their own website from what I can find).

Young's is a little carry-out place on 11 Mile Rd. It doesn't stand out, in fact it looks like a dive, but it has rightfully won several awards for Best Chinese Food. There are no tables, no tea, no red carpeting or gaudy decorations. It's a counter, a cash register, a fuzzy TV (and if you go at 1pm you can usually catch either All My Children or Days of Our Lives), and a soda refrigerator. No frills. Every time I have gone there I have been greeted by one of the same two older Chinese people. Both have very thick accents, so I recommend going in to place your order rather than calling since it can be hard for you to understand them and for them to understand you.

I am a creature of habit so I always order the same things: Sweet and Sour Chicken (sauce on the side), Chicken Fried Rice, white rice,  Chicken Egg Foo Young (for DivaMom), and 2 Eggrolls. I love their Chicken Fried Rice mainly because there's no egg in it! It's mainly rice, sprouts, a few green onions, and chicken. The Sweet and Sour Chicken is fresh and crispy and the sauce lives up to it's name. I always get the sauce on the side because it's easier to warm up the leftovers (I put the chicken in the toaster oven to revive the crispy outer crust) and because DivaMom and I like to use the sauce for the Chicken Fried Rice. My only complaint is that the sauce becomes completely gelatinous the next day and doesn't pour. I haven't figured out what to use to thin it out without greatly altering the flavor. The eggrolls are amazing too. They are crispy, albeit a bit greasy, and filled with sprouts and veinless shrimp (you'd be horrified at how many places serve eggrolls with veiny shrimp, gross!).  DivaMom loves the Chicken Egg Foo Young, but I don't do Egg Foo Young so I can't give you any descriptions on that except they look like giant gravy covered patties with egg and meat.

The food is so good that I'm often sent of food runs for my southern-born grandparents. DivaGrandma loves the Shrimp Egg Foo Young and Shrimp Fried Rice, and DivaGrandpa likes the Pepper Steak, however he'd prefer if they made it with tomatoes.

I never would have given Young's a chance. Like I said, it looks like a dive, but when I read about the numerous awards they won I had to try it. I have yet to regret that decision! If you like good, quick, tasty (but not necessarily healthy) Chinese food, Young's is the place to go!

Christmas 2010 - Bah Humbug

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas Holiday. Mine was the usual SNAFU.

DivaMom and I live about 1 hour drive from the rest of the family, so we make the drive down to my aunt's house for the major holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). I told you all about Thanksgiving (waiving to my cousin that reads my blog), and Christmas wasn't much different. Same menu, for the most part. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

DivaMom and I drive down to my grandparent's house and arrive about 6:00pm to pick them up to take them to my Aunt's house. When we arrived, Grandma tells us that my Aunt called her to find out when we were coming. Ok...so my Aunt knows that DivaMom is driving all of us...why didn't she call either DivaMom, or I? DivaMom and I had no idea what time we were suppose to come to dinner, we just decided to leave home around 5 because we got tired of sitting around waiting. We gather my grandparents, get them in the car, get to my Aunt's house and my Aunt says "Everything is ready, you could have come whenever you wanted" (remember the "Everything is ready" part). We do the required sitting around starring at each other in the living room, then my Uncle says the blessing so we can start eating whenever we want.

DivaMom is the first to head into the kitchen, making a brief detour into the dining room to grab a plate (shockingly the table was set this time, sort of...the silverware was still jumbled in a Ziploc bag) with my Aunt hot on her tail. DivaMom makes her plate and the food is cold. Not room temperature cold, REFRIGERATOR cold!  How are you going to tell people to help themselves to food that is ready when the food is ice cold? That isn't ready food! A normal person would warm the food up then tell us when it's really ready to eat, not my Aunt. She has us microwave our food, one plate at a time, in the world's oldest microwave. I'm sure I will end up with brain cancer from standing in front of it waiting for my food to warm up. 20 minutes later, my mother sits down at the dining room table (My cousin's boyfriend (aka CBF), my cousin and I gave up standing in the doorway of the kitchen to make our plates and sat down at the table to wait) and eats. Then cousin, CBF and I went and made our plates. The food was good, just cold.

After what seemed like a couple hours, we all ate (except Grandma, but that's another story), we opened presents, and then it was time for dessert. As usual DivaMom and I picked up cakes from OliverT's (a pumpkin roll and strawberry shortcake cake) and my aunt made a cream cheese pound cake, and a German chocolate cake. My aunt asked my cousin to set out the desserts, and cousin was doing a perfect job of it, despite having to clear the dining room table as her mother sat on the couch barking at her to hurry up. In between barks, my aunt was also telling my mother (and me since I was standing right there) about how she *thinks* she perfected the pound cake. First of all...pound cake sucks. Sorry. Second...cream cheese pound cake sucks more than butter pound cake. Third...pound cake with nothing to top it sucks the most. Forth...when feeding guests, even if they are family, feed them items you know are good, don't treat them like Guinea pigs! My aunt had a plain cream cheese pound cake. No toppings, just plain. My mother is a good sport though, once cousin finished setting up the cakes DivaMom cut a slice of the pound cake, OK, it wasn't really a cut. It was more like sawing. This cake was DRY, but DivaMom made the best of it and cut a piece of Strawberry Shortcake cake and used the topping from that to give the pound cake some moisture. I had a slice of pumpkin roll that was fantastic, and a slice of the homemade German chocolate cake. I have to give my Aunt credit...the German chocolate cake was great! It was moist, flavorful, fresh, just perfection! I would have been happy if she had only made the German chocolate cake (but CBF has a nut allergy so she had to make something he could eat, but CBF knows I always have his back in the dessert department).

Holidays with family are always interesting (I didn't even tell you about the non-food related stuff that happened!), but there are always lessons to be learned:
1.Let your guests know what time they should arrive.
2. If you cook food the day before, make sure you warm it up before declaring it's ready for everyone to eat.
3. Set the table (learned at thanksgiving). At least take everything out of the storage containers (aka Ziploc bags) so it's easy for your guests to serve themselves.
4. Don't serve pound cake with nothing to top it (or just don't serve pound cake).
5. Don't use your guests as Guinea pigs.
6. Have lots of booze on hand. Everyone will be thankful especially when dealing with family.

These simple things can make any get together much more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Wine Jelly?

This summer DivaMom and I bought Wine Jelly from Pentamere Winery while we were at the Renaissance Festival. We LOVE this stuff! Pentamere is in Tecumseh, way too far to drive, and the jelly isn't available to purchase online, which has led DivaMom to want me to make some.

I've never done any jelly making in my life! I've never done any canning either!

I've found quite a few recipes online, but all of the require boiling the wine which I think would change the flavor. You could taste the alcohol in jelly we bought, so we don't really want to boil it out.

Do you have any recipes, suggestions or recommendations? Let me know in the comments section or via Twitter @adiningdiva.

I cooked! - Baked Potato Soup

I tried to make potato soup before, and it was disaster! So when my friend Paula recommended this recipe I was leery.

I have a confession...I didn't bake the potatoes, I microwaved them for about 20 mins.

 The skins just fell off of them. I mushed them up in a bowl and started the soup. I put the flour in the dutch oven:

added the milk and whisked it all together:

when that started to thicken (it took about 15 mins) I added the potatoes, salt, pepper, and low fat sharp cheddar cheese:

once that boiled, I took the pot off the stove and added sour cream and chopped green onions:

stirred that up, put it back on the burner (not sure why the instructions had me remove it in the first place) on low heat, and cooked until it almost simmered:

I ladled it into a bowl, topped with more cracked pepper, cheese, and bacon bits (Oscar Meyer from a bag).

I'm shocked! It's really good! A little thicker than I'd like, but that can be fixed with a little more milk. It was relatively easy to make (took me little over an hour total).  This recipe is a keeper! Good Recommendation Paula!

Product Reviews - Presorvac Marinator, Maverick Voice Alert Anticipation Digital Thermometer, and Mediterranean Chicken Recipe

First, The Recipe:

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken

(serves 6)

2 lbs of boneless chicken breast (either whole or cubed)

4-6 cloves of garlic

½ cup of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of thyme

1 teaspoon of paprika

¼ - ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

½ cup of olive oil

Combine ingredients in a bowl (plastic with a cover), pour over chicken, and refrigerate 6 hours or over night.

Bring the meat to room temperature.

Prepare the grill or preheat the broiler.

Remove meat from the marinade, reserving the marinade. If using chicken cubes, thread on to skewers. Place the chicken on the grill rack or broiler pan and grill or broil until cooked through, basting with reserved marinade while cooking. Cooking time will depend upon the size of poultry pieces. Do not let the meat become dry.

I love this recipe. It's tasty, easy to whip up, and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand, but I hate the marination time, so when I saw the Presorvac Marinator on Woot.com I had to try it (especially since it was only $29.99 with shipping)! 

 

I cleaned the chicken and put it in the marinator's dish:

added the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and other assorted seasonings:

 Popped the top on and started it up:

This thing is VERY loud. Don't use this if you have a sleeping baby! The marination cycles (there are 5) lasts about 10-15 mins. After it ran once I flipped the chicken over and ran it again. This is what it looked like after 2 cycles:

Normally I would grill the chicken outside, but since this is December in Michigan, I decided to bake it instead. I preheated the oven to 400 sprayed a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray then placed the chicken in the dish:

Clean up is pretty easy, both the lid and marinator dish are top rack dishwasher safe. the motor part isn't so I just wipe that down with a wet cloth (not that it really gets dirty). I baked the chicken until the internal temp reached 180. 

I also have a new cooking thermometer, also bought via Woot.com:

I put the probe into the chicken and it will let me know when it is ready.

It's a little weird having the cord in the oven plugged into the "brain" on top of the stove, but the probe/cord are oven safe up to 450, and I have another for the grill that is safe up to 600. The thermometer is pretty easy to use and it came with batteries so that's always a plus. When the food is done the thermometer actually says "your meal is done" however it doesn't remind you the probe and the cord are hot. I burned first the back of my hand on the cord, and then the pads of my right thumb, forefinger and middle finger on the probe (yes, I'm that much of a dumbass that I didn't learn my lesson after burning myself the first time).

The end result:

I completed the meal with Garlic Mashed Potatoes (from a box) and some steamed broccoli.

So you must be wondering...what is the verdict on the marinater? Thumbs Up! It's a winner! The meat was juicy, tender, and well marinated! If you like marinaded meat, this is a must have!

Review - Little Joe's (Grand Blanc, MI)

Part of moving to a new town is discovering places that the locals know about, but take for granted. Little Joe's is one of those places. It's a bar and grill hiding in the facade of an old hardware store, in fact there is still the sign out front that says "Grand Blanc Hardware."When you walk in through the back door, you really don't know what to expect. You are greeted with a short hallway that opens up into a very small lobby, but then you see the dining room. This place is MUCH bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.

I've been to Little Joe's several times, and it's always the same friendly staff. For a bar and grill, there's almost a homeyness, kind of like Cheers. This is the place that you come to meet up with friends. I sat at the bar, and the Bartender remembered me from my last visit months ago, but I threw her a curve ball and ordered a different drink than my usual Vodka and Tonic. This was more of a 7&7 day. It had been years since the last time I had a 7&7, so the first sip hit me hard. She made it perfectly! While I perused the menu, she offered me some fresh popped popcorn.

Joe's has a new sandwich right now. It's an open faced steak melt. New York Strip (well done for me), topped with melted cheese (provolone I think) open faced with fries and garlic toast. You can add onions and mushrooms for a little extra, I just added onions. Before long I had my meal. The cheese is perfectly melted over the onions and steak, the garlic toast has the perfect ratio of buttery crunch and garlicky softness, and the fries are hot and fresh.  Everything really just melts in your mouth. This is probably one of the best meals I've had in a while. The best part was the price. with my meal and drink, the tab came to about $15. Alcohol and steak for less than $20 is hard to come by, so this was a value!

If you are in Grand Blanc (and let's be real, why would you come here? It's practically the middle of nowhere) and you want good food, great service, at a good price, you need to go to Little Joe's...if you can find it.

Review - Bar Louie (Several States)

I had some shopping to do so I went to the Bar Louie in the parking lot of Genesee Valley Mall in Flint, MI. Bar Louie is an interesting place. Part martini lounge, part sports bar, part restaurant with an unique menu. This place has an identity crisis. I use to love Bar Louie when it was trying to be a little more like an upscale bar and grill with an extensive martini menu. Over the years it has watered down it's menu, becoming a lot more like a Champs or an Applebees.

They have a new drink this month called the Hot Chocoholic. It's Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Bailey's Irish Cream, hot chocolate, and topped with whipped cream. This sounded too good to be real, so of course I had to have one! I ordered my drink and watched. It took quite a while for the drink to be made, and once it was maid it sat on the bar for a couple of minutes. Once I received it, the "hot" chocolate was barely room temperature. I'm guessing the alcohol is chilled, then the sitting on the bar didn't help matters. It was NOT worth almost $10!

One of my pet peeves when I go out for food and drinks is when my drink is empty the server doesn't ask if I want another. I really hate that! If I want another, and the server doesn't ask, I won't order one, and that's affects his/her tip! If you are a server, take note! Always ask if the patron wants another drink!

For lunch I chose the Aged Wisconsin Grilled Cheese with fries. It's Cheddar Cheese, Tomato, and Bacon on multi-grain bread. I was not impressed. It wasn't what most people think of with grilled cheese, meaning that the bread wasn't buttered, and then placed in the pan with the cheese, et cetera, inside. This was merely a sandwich on toast, but the cheese was melted, for whatever that's worth. Very disappointing.

Bar Louie has had fabulous desserts in the past ranging from an amazing chocolate cake to fresh made donuts. They have gotten rid of all of those, and now have nasty, dry, store bought desserts. Don't waste your money.

Bar Louie use to be a good, if not great, restaurant, but they have made changes that are to their detriment. I hope that the management team will grow a brain and return the quality to the food and the selection that Bar Louie should be known for.

Just a quick update..

Things have been so busy with the holidays, but I hope to post 2 restaurant reviews tomorrow!

Until then...bon appétit!

I Baked - Cup o' Joe Cookies

'tis the season for baking cookies. I love chocolate and coffee, so when I ran across this recipe making it was a no brainer!

So this recipe calls for blending cocoa powder, instant espresso granules and whipping cream together, then "crumble" the sugar cookie log into the mixture...I just decided to throw the whole log in there!

And mixed (hey, it's hard to stir!):

and mixed (Pretty gross, huh?):

until it was well blended. Then I formed it into little balls (yeah they looks like little brown turds) :

And then I took a drinking glass and smushed the balls flat. (my friends always called me a "ball buster"):

And then I topped each one with chocolate chips or chunks. You can use whatever kind of chocolate you like. This time I used Semi-Sweet, but next time I might go with dark chocolate.

If the chocolate has a while film on it, it is perfectly fine to use. The chocolate hasn't gone "bad", but the cocoa butter in the chocolate has separated from the other solids and rested on surface.

Here's the finished product (notice the white on the chocolate chunks has disappeared):

These were pretty easy, didn't make a mess, and were quick to bake. If you have little kids you can make this with them as a treat...if you don't have issues with the little bit of espresso powder.

Snowed In! - Pan Fried Hamburgers

I live in Michigan and we got hit with a winter storm over the weekend. I was stuck inside and had to feed myself. Luckily I had a few provisions on hand.

Ground Beef:

To which I added Worcester Sauce, seasoned bread crumbs, and minced onions. Then I formed patties:

And covered the patties in sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Placed it in the pan with some sliced onions:

while that cooked I toasted a bun in the toaster oven. Once the meat was finished I placed a piece of Swiss cheese on top and everything on the bun:

Surprisingly this turned out much better than I anticipated (ok, so I burned the first pan, but the burger was tasty).

I rarely make burgers at home, mainly because they never taste as good as a restaurant burger, but I have to admit, this one came pretty darned close!

I Baked! - Lemon Ricotta Cookies (Giada De Laurentiis)

I love lemon cookies. They are probably my favorite, so when I found this recipe I was very excited!

I followed instructions exactly to bake the cookies, and used fresh lemons and zested them myself.

I mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set them aside. Then I creamed the butter and sugar together:

added the eggs one at a time:

added lemon juice, zest, and ricotta cheese and blended:

added the dry ingredients slowly:

Dropped the dough onto parchment paper covered cookie sheets and baked:

While the cookies were baking I made the glaze. I put an extra 1/2 lemon worth of juice.

The recipe calls for 15 minutes, since I used one of those insulated or double layer pans it took more like 25 for them to cook completely. I let them cool for about 10 minutes then I put the glaze on:

I should have waited a little longer. The glaze kinda melted off and pooled around the cookies.

These cookies are very cake like, almost like eating the top of a muffin.

The cookie didn't have much of a lemon taste, but the glaze with the extra lemon juice was awesome. This recipe is a little complicated, so it's not a recipe to make every day, but for special occasions it is a perfect sweet treat!

Grilled Chicken Parmigiano Sammich - A Dining Diva Production

I had lots of leftovers from this cooking feat, but I didn't want to eat the same exact thing, so I got a little creative and made a sandwich (sammich)!

I baked some bread:

Then I sliced it in half-ish and then slit it down the middle:

I used some garlic spread on the bread and toasted it. Then I diced the chicken and reheated it in the toaster oven:

Once the bread was toasted and the chicken warm I assembled the sammich. A couple slices of Swiss cheese, then the chicken, then a couple slices of provalone on top.

I forgot to grab fresh lettuce, green pepper, onions and banana peppers at the store. Next time I'll have to grab those to make this sammich complete, but as it was it was pretty darn good!