I Cooked! - Parmesan Chicken & Salad Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette

This is an amazing recipe, and pretty easy to make!

Preheat Oven: 200 F

4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 C. Flour
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
½ tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Water
1 ¼ C. Seasoned Bread Crumbs
½ C. Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for serving
Butter
Olive Oil

Directions:
1. “Butterfly” the chicken breasts then cover with waxed paper on a flat surface.

2. Flatten with a rolling pin or meat mallet until ¼” thick

3. Combine flour, salt, pepper & Parmesan cheese on a dinner plate

4. In a shallow dish beat eggs and water

5. Put bread crumbs on a dinner plate

6. Coat each chicken breast on both sides first with flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs

7. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet, then cook 1-2 chicken breasts on medium heat 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through

8. Add more olive oil and butter to do the next set of chicken breasts

9. Put finished chicken breasts on a baking sheet in oven (200 F) to keep warm until ready to eat

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Lemon Vinaigrette

¼ C. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (2 Lemons)
½ C. Olive Oil
½ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Salad Greens to serve with same number of Chicken Breasts made

Directions:
1. Mix dressing, then toss with salad greens

2. To serve: place a mound of salad on top of each chicken breast, then grate a little more Parmesan cheese on top 

I've made this twice. The first time I made it frying the chicken in the olive oil/butter combo suggested, and the second time using Grapeseed (aka rapeseed) oil. The grapeseed was so much better! The chicken came out crunchier and far less greasy! Honestly though, my favorite part of this recipe is the vinaigrette! It's divine, especially if you prefer vinaigrette over nasty ol' sugary or creamy dressing! 


(sorry no pics, my hands were covered in egg and breadcrumbs while cooking. Just use your imagination.)

Restaurant Review - Oak City Grille (Royal Oak, MI)

Your Diva is on the mend, finally. It was a tough battle, but I think I'm over the worst of the cold. So, here we go...

Oak City Grille is a restaurant tucked away in the middle of a block. Other than the sign outside, there's nothing really special about it from the outside. At first glance, from the outside it looks like it might be a dive. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and found dark wood everywhere, nice brass light fixtures, a very nice wine list, and a menu with more than buffalo wings! Looks can be deceiving! I've been to Oak City Grill a couple of times prior to this visit, and I'm always given the same treatment. I ask for a table for one, and the greeter insists that I sit at the bar despite the fact there are several empty 2-top tables. I'm short. Sitting at the bar is very uncomfortable since my legs dangle. They don't care. Since I'm alone, I have to sit at the bar.

Once you are seated, you know this will be expensive, and they don't disappoint there. Since I'd resigned myself to paying more than usual, I went for gold! I ordered the Peppercorn Sirloin, and a glass of Pinot Grigio. While I waited for my meal I was given a basket of bread with cold butter that was subsequently hard as a rock, and never was I offered a glass of water. If I needed anything I needed to send up a flare to get the bartender's attention. As my wine glass emptied, never was I offered another glass of wine, and I'm at the freaking bar!

Despite the service, the food was fantastic! The steak was cooked to order (well done, without being dry), and topped with a spicy peppercorn glace. Some might call it gravy, but it's not, it's glace! Gravy is thick, flavorless and forms a skin as it cools. Glace does not! The steak came with a side of broccoli, a vibrant green and also cooked to perfection, and smooth, creamy mashed potatoes. For the meal and 1 glass of wine, I paid $26 (before tip).

The service leaves something to be desired, so don't go expecting first class treatment, but the food is amazing. However, I'm not sure the amazing food makes up for the substandard service and high prices.

Thanksgiving 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and ate to their hearts content. Personally, Thanksgiving sucks in terms of the food. I can't eat turkey (unless I'm feeling fat and want to lose a few pounds by way of the porcelain throne), I hate ham, and most of the sides give me indigestion.

This year DivaMom put me in charge of picking wine and dessert (we went to my aunt's house for dinner). There's a little specialty shop near where we live called Oliver T's and they have an immense wine section and a bakery. I love one stop shopping!

I got up early Wednesday morning and ventured out to Oliver T's. I managed to beat the rush to the bakery and looked at the selection in awe. They have every kind of cake you can imagine, and a few you couldn't. We have a few people in the family (and extended family) with dietary restrictions, so I always have to make sure to get one cake with no nuts. This (thankfully) narrows my choices to about half. I selected an orange cream torte. It was a dense yellow cake with layers of orange and whipped cream filling. I also selected a key lime pie. As for the wine, DivaMom and I like sweet white wines, but I'm pretty burned out on Pinot Grigio and Moscoto so I selected a Vouvray.We live in Michigan and since it's November, I used my car as a supplemental refrigerator to store the cake and pie. I brought the wine inside for fear of freezing, I didn't want to have to try to clean up frozen wine from the carpet in my car.

Thursday afternoon we arrive at my aunt's house and fortunately dinner is ready! I uncork the wine and begin the merriment. I won't go into the dinner, since that's just not that important, but what is important is the wine. I love Vouvray. I don't often think about it because I don't see it that often, but I have to make more of an effort to keep some on hand! It's light, not overly sweet, and goes well with whatever you're eating, or just by itself.

As for the desserts, The Orange cake was ok, but just ok. Given a choice, I don't think I'd get it again (although my friend with the nut allergy liked it). The cake was dry, due in part that the sides of the cake were exposed (no frosting on the sides) and the orange parts weren't very orangy, but tasted artificial. The key lime pie on the other hand...OMG! It was amazing! The filling was the perfect blend of tart and sweet, the whipped cream was soft, light and not overwhelming, and the crust wasn't so sweet that when you bit into it that it crunched like sugar granules. I don't know what kind of crust it was, but it was tasty! My uncle (a.k.a the funniest man I know) doesn't usually eat much dessert, but he had at least 3 slices of pie! LOL!

If you go to Oliver T's I hope they have the Key Lime Pie. It's the best thing I've ever had from the bakery! Also check out the wine and beer selections, you are bound to find something you'll like!

Review - Holly Hotel (Holly, MI)

The Holly Hotel is a misnomer. It hasn't been a hotel in decades. It is a restaurant with a comedy club in the basement.  DivaMom received a certificate for Holly Hotel in honor of their 31st anniversary. It was $31 off of a meal for two, and considering 1 meal can cost that much it was brilliant marketing especially if you send it to someone that can't allow a coupon to go to waste.

I made reservations for 7:45, I arrived on time and another couple walked in right behind me. The server that was on the phone when I walked in (I assume she was taking a reservation) looked around the room, and addressed the couple that walked in behind me and asked them if they had a reservation. They answered "No" and she said that there were tables being cleared off and she would be able to seat them shortly. Then she walked away. No acknowledgement of my existence, nothing. She returned soon after, and seated them without even so much as looking at my direction. Now I know my parents weren't glass makers and she couldn't see through me, but I have no idea why I was ignored. I stood there for about 10 minutes before another waitress came out (I had seen her and she had seen me as she was racing around taking care of her tables) and even asked if I had been helped. I told her what happened, she apologized profusely, and proceeded to seat me in what can only be described as "the train room."

The train room is a small 4 table room set up much like a dining car of a train. There are paintings and drawings of trains everywhere and there are overhead luggage shelves much like I'd imagine an old style train would have. I love this room. To add to the ambiance the entire hotel is decorated for Christmas, with classic old-fashioned ornaments that remind me of my childhood, lots of evergreen vines, and colored lights. There are even wrapped "presents" on the luggage shelves.

For dinner I ordered the Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin and it came with a salad or soup (I chose the green salad). DivaMom ordered the Chicken Strudel Holly Hotel (shredded breast, broccoli, herbed gournay, filo) and it came with cranberry quinoa. She also ordered the French Onion soup.The Holly Hotel also serves fresh bread and butter with their meals, and last night it was avocado/pepper butter with a cheese focaccia. I hate avocado, but this butter was amazing! It was slightly salty and it complemented the light cheese taste of the bread.

The soup arrived first, and DivaMom was in heaven. She loves their french onion soup because the cheese is on the bottom, the soup in the middle and the soup crock is topped with pastry dough and baked. This arrangement helps her avoid the cheese, while still enjoying the soup and bread. (she's a little crazy if you ask me, the best part of french onion soup is the cheese!). My salad arrived next. It was salad greens filling and surrounding a small shell made of filo dough, with dried cranberries and a blackberry vinaigrette. The salad was delicious, but could have used blue cheese crumbles to offset the sweetness of the vinaigrette. The filo dough shell was a little cumbersome to eat, I finally just picked it up with my fingers and bit into it. It was light and crispy, just the way filo should be!

The entrees arrived and I was not disappointed! I had 2 medallions of beef tenderloin with "glace de veau" (aka, gravy), some roasted mixed root veggies (carrots, parsnips, potato, and mushrooms), and mashed potatoes. The chef send out a third piece of meat with the explanation that when he plated the food it didn't look like enough meat. I ordered my meal well done, and I was happy to see my request was met. The meat was tender, but not pink, not an easy task but he/she (IDK the gender of the chef) achieved it! The gravy was tasty, which is amazing to me since I HATE gravy, and the mashed potatoes were perfection! I didn't care for the roasted veggies, but they were well seasoned and what I ate of them tasted ok. I'm not a fan of parsnips or mushrooms.

DivaMom and I passed on dessert. For once there wasn't anything on the dessert tray that struck our fancy, but we have had their personal apple tart, and it is amazing with a little vanilla ice cream.

Despite the little hiccup in the beginning the experience was enjoyable, the server that we had was great, and the environment is beautiful. Holly Hotel is a nice place to go for a nice slow meal. Don't go there if you are in a hurry or looking to kill time before another event (unless the event is the comedy show in the basement).

Review - Fandangles' (Flushing, MI)

DivaMom texted me and asked me to make reservations for us to go to Fandangles'. I had never heard of the place so of course I googled and found it http://www.fandanglesmi.com/ My only gripe about the website is that it doesn't allow for online reservations, but most places don't so I guess that's not a big deal. When I called I was greeted by a nice sounding man, he was able to reserve a table for us at 7 on a saturday with out a problem (it was about 1pm when I called). 


Driving there wasn't so bad, but the location was difficult to find, I actually passed it and had to circle back because the sign wasn't visible from the road (it was on a pretty major street too). It wasn't until I pulled into the parking lot that I finally saw the restaurant.  The parking lot was large, and I had no problems finding a space.


Once inside the decor reminded me of a set of a play. I'm not sure why, but it seemed phony, I kinda expected a camera crew to pop out and tell me I was on Punked or some old school Folgers commercial. It's a small space, maybe 10-15 tables, and if I had to guess it is family owned and run. The atmosphere was kind of strange in that it looked pretty casual inside, but the attude was that of a restaurant that would require a suit/dress to dine there. The wait staff was nice though.


I ordered the flank steak special with ginger/soy (I think she said soy) sauce, asparagus, and some sort of sweet potato quiche. DivaMom ordered the Caper Chicken (regular menu), asparagus and rice pilaf. Both meals came with salad, bread, and we ordered a bottle of wine.


The salad was fabulous! It was mixed greens with walnuts, dried cranberries, apples and pears and a very light pear vinegarette.  I don't like most salad dressings, but this vinegarette was so light it didn't over power the wonderful fruits and freshness of the salad greens. The bread was fair at best. It was hard, not hot and the butter was cold and hard to spread.  The flank steak was cooked medium (I prefer medium well or well) so I did have to send it back, but once it was cooked a little longer, it was wonderful. My biggest consern was the sauce being too sweet or too salty, it was bordering on too sweet, but didn't quite get there. The asparagus balanced the sweetness nicely. I hate sweet potatoes so I gave the slice of quiche to DivaMom and she liked it. DivaMom enjoyed her chicken and Rice Pilaf, but since she hates asparagus she gave that to me. The asparagus was cooked well, but not to the point of being mush, it still had a nice snap to it. Yum!


 After all that we HAD to have dessert! DivaMom and I shared the chocolate volcano. It was a chocolate cake with warm chocolate fudgey stuff in the middle, served in a mug with vanilla ice cream. It was amazing and the coffee was great too! We brought home a slice of the lemon cake and a slice of the flourless chocolate torte. The lemon cake tasted more like coconut cake to me, but I like coconut so that was fine. The Flourless torte is rich! so much so that I've only been able to eat a bite a day! It's very tasty though!



Overall, I liked Fandangles. It's a bit pricy, so not a weekly kind of place, but it's nice for a treat once in a while (or if you can get someone else to pay)!