WWDB? Blue Diamond Almonds

WWDB? = What Would Desi Buy?

I never thought I was an almond kind of girl. I mean, I like nuts in my candy bars and ice cream, but not usually alone. Then I was introduced to a beautiful thing. Almonds. Specifically, Blue Diamond Bold flavor almonds. I have seen them sold at Walgreens, Kroger, and Bigg's in my own personal experience. They run about $3.49 or $3.99 for a 6 ounce can. They are soooo good! I have tried several flavors now. The Habanero BBQ, and the Wasabi & Soy Sauce are my two faves! They are both bursting with flavor. The Habanero BBQ have a meaty, barbeque flavor and at the same time a hint of heat. The Wasabi are exactly how they sound... strong, but delicious! They are packin the heat! One time, my dad picked me up a can and I swear these were so heavily drenched in wasabi seasoning, my mouth was on fire but I loved every minute of it. I long to find another can with THAT much seasoning (kind of like when you find that one great bag of Grippos that has so much seasoning!), oh, but I'm still searchin!

Coming in at a VERY close third is the Lime 'N Chili kind. The very first time I had them, it was such a strong lime flavor that I loved. Ever since then, however, I have found that these don't have as much flavor as the first time I had them. In fact, they have tasted pretty plain. But I just love the mix of the tart lime with the spicy chili. I just wish it had MORE seasoning. Oh if it did, this could maybe be up there in the running for first. There would be a 3-way tie for first!

I have also tried the Blazin' Buffalo Wing flavor, which I was really excited about and expected to be yummy, but they were really just super salty. In a bad way. And I like salt. I also tried the Jalapeno Smokehouse which again, I expected to be delish. But they were missing something and didn't really have any seasoning on them, just a little jalapeno flavor, like it was inside the nut, not a coating on the outside. I didn't like these at all.

Their website claims they also have a Salt & Vinegar, and a Salt & Pepper flavor - both of which I haven't yet tried. I haven't seen those flavors in any of my neighboring stores.

Buy these. Soon and very soon! If you like bold flavors.

Restaurant Review : Wild Mike's on Harrison

MMM. I have always been a lover of wings. But to find great wings is a task. I grew up on Buffalo Wings and Rings wings, and TGI Friday frozen wings in a box. Well done. I don't like slimy skin on my wings, I want it to be crispy! That's why I thoroughly enjoy Wild Mike'sB-dubs. They are also big and meaty. Take a look for yourself. wings. They are crispy but not too overdone, and the skin isn't slimy like that of

These here are the Garlic Buffalo medium wings. Look at that sauce, waiting to be dipped in.

My fiancee got the Mike's Mix medium, which is a mix of all of the sauces: Original Buffalo, Garlic Buffalo, Kansas City BBQ, and Ginger Teriyaki. All of them mixed together really is an amazing sauce. Just think, a BBQ sauce with a hint of teriyaki, garlic, and buffalo sauce.

After you pick your flavor, you pick your temperature. We always get medium, it's just right. Not too spicy and not too mild.

It is also hard for me to find good potato skins. And these are indeed good. They are crispy and not undercooked. And they put ample bacon and cheese on them. They come with a side of sour cream for dipping. I really enjoy these.

And my fiance gets the loaded baked potato, which I occasionally venture out and order. Again, it is a basic delicious loaded potato. The downfall is that nearly everytime we call at dinner time, they are all out of the baked potatoes. My fiancee and I wonder how you run out of something at a restaurant. He works for a catering company, so that makes sense to me that they could run out of food because it's based on how much food the client orders for that party. And if they don't order enough food, then obviously the result is to run out. But how does a restaurant run out of baked potatoes? Like on a regular basis? Wouldn't you just make sure you have more baked potato stock? It's a pet peeve of mine, because it happens regularly. I could see it happening a couple of times, and them on a trial and error basis realizing that they need to buy more. But it isn't sinking in apparently, because we eat out here ALOT. And they run out of baked potatoes probably 75% of the time. But I'm getting side-tracked. Here is the loaded baked potato...

Get on in here to Wild Mike's. We keep going back. And like I said, good wings are hard to come by. And Mike (or the cooks, at least) keeps 'em coming.

Restaurant Review : Chipotle in Western Hills

Does anyone not like Chipotle? I can't think of anyone. The burrito, I admit, is too much food for me to eat in one sitting. So I have grown to love the bowl option. I always get the chicken bowl with rice, corn salsa, light green medium salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Sometimes, depending on how I am feeling, I switch up between brown and black beans. I also add peppers and onions sometimes. And many times they are stingy with the sour cream and cheese so I ask for extra.

I haven't always been a fan of tortilla chips. I know, I'm crazy. But these chips are so good dipped in their guacamole. It is a good flavor, with diced onions and seasoned well. Yes, it is expensive. But I love it so much. Probably more than the bowl. I think it may be because I used to think I didn't like guacamole. It seemed like some stinky, yucky, green puke-like concoction. But I have converted, and am a guacamole lover.

I love you, Chipotle. Burrito Joes just doesn't compare. I'm on a mission to find something that does. Because I haven't always been a Mexican food fan, until I found you, Chipotle. And now I am hooked. Others may let me down, but you always aim to please.

Ranch Oven-Fried Chicken with Warm Corn Relish

This is so simple, even a child could do it. Probably. Betty Crocker makes things easy with Bisquick mix. I was a little disappointed because what they call "Warm Corn Relish" is really just frozen corn from a bag, with nothing extra. Nothing to make it relish. It wasn't bad though. It was just very elementary.


Ranch Oven-Fried Chicken with Warm Corn Relish from Betty Crocker website
(Modified by me)

Makes: 2 Servings

1/4 cup Original Bisquick mix

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup three cheese Ranch dressing

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon butter, melted

24-oz. family size frozen Green Giant Niblets Corn and Butter

1. Heat oven to 425*F.

2. In a shallow dish, mix Bisquick mix and pepper. Pour dressing into another shallow dish. Coat chicken with dressing, then coat with Bisquick mixture, pressing so coating sticks to chicken. Place on pan. Drizzle with butter.

3. Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut.

4. Meanwhile, cook corn as directed on bag; drain. Serve over chicken.


Betty Crocker calls for reduced-fat ranch dressing, whereas I just use the regular fatty kind :) I also halved the serving size. I used a slightly different kind of corn. And I am just now realizing that I did not mix some of the ranch dressing in the corn. That would have made it a little different from just the plain corn in the bag, obviously. That may have made the dish pop more. At first I thought I may not make it again, but now I think I may. Just so I can try the corn "relish" with ranch mixed in. Can't hurt.

Restaurant Review : Cheesecake Factory at Kenwood Mall

I like cheese. I like cake. I like cheesecake. So therefore it only makes sense that I would like Cheesecake Factory! Duh! I have been here many times before my blogging days, but this was my first time there as a blogger :)  In the past, I have tried the filet mignon, the steak diane, the chicken madeira, and more. All have been delish! This time I decided to try something different. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good decision.

Let me start out by saying that they have the BEST strawberry lemonade! I think it may have been the highlight of my meal. Actually I know that it was! It was pretty expensive, but I'll pay the price for a great drink and unlimited refills. Check out the sugar-rim on that thing! 

Now on to the less exciting part of the meal... I decided to try the stuffed mushroom small plate, which were stuffed with cheese, garlic, herbs, and wine sauce. Now, I LOVE mushrooms, and these were nothing to rave about. They were pretty small, and they didn't have a great taste to them. I guess I wanted a little more to the stuffing, maybe a sausage or crab. It only had cheese and there was just something missing. It really came with 6 mushrooms, but as you can see, I couldn't resist and ate one before I remembered to take the picture lol!

For my main course, I had one of the specials - Chicken Di Pana. It was very reasonably priced and sounded delicious, lightly breaded chicken breasts covered in a white wine butter sauce with mashed potatoes and broccoli. The sad thing is that it was not very good. The idea and the recipe itself would be divine, but the way this meal was prepared made it not very appealing. The chicken had alot of bloody, fatty parts and since it is very thinly cut, it seemed like there wasn't any meat. There wasn't really a chickeny taste. The sauce was good and made the chicken tolerable. I guess I get what I pay for?

They have a nice outdoor dining section for people who like to eat outdoors in the roaring heat lol! Not me, I need AC  :)  

I probably wouldn't order the Chicken Di Pana again. But they do have what seems like a zillion menu items to choose from, so I KNOW I will be back, trying something else. And probably bouncing back to my trusty filet, steak diane and chicken madeira. But I do love the Cheesecake Factory. But it's sad that of all the times I have been there, I have not had the Cheesecake. Those extra large plates they serve their entrees on sure do hold massive amounts of food, and I am always too stuffed for a dessert! But I can always (well, usually) count on the Cheesecake Factory.

Restaurant Review : Habits Cafe - Home of the Ostrich!

'Twas my second visit to Habits Cafe in Oakley. I had been there before for a get-together with a gal pal of mine who I hadn't seen in years! Her boyfriend worked there, it was a convenient place to meet, and I had heard good things about an ostrich burger from my co-worker. So I really wanted to try it! The first time, I ordered the ostrich burger godzilla style, with a side of mac and cheese. The ostrich meat itself was a little pink, and I wasn't incredibly impressed by the taste of it. I guess I was expecting some miraculous flavorful meat that tasted like it had been made from the hands of God or something. But it wasn't all that. I think the toppings is what made the burger for me. Godzilla style features a pepperjack cheese, spicy onion straws, and jalapeno mayo. I feel as though if I made ANY burger godzilla style, it would be good. Even like the lowest grade White Castle burger meat would be good godzilla style! I wasn't very impressed by the mac n cheese, I must say.

So while I was out shopping for work in the Oakley area, I knew I had to stop somewhere for lunch, and since I' m always thinking on my blogging toes, I wanted to pick a place that I could blog about! So I made my way down Madison, not knowing if I was going the right way or not, but I was on a mission to get to Habits! The first time I went, I had exact directions, but this time I was guessing. I was so glad when I found it! There it is, good ole' Habits!

I was even more glad when I walked in and saw NO ONE! Only the bartender and server. This made me happy because my lunch breaks are limited and I was worried it would take too long. Apparently, since Habits is like a bar slash restaurant, it is dead during lunch time, at least when I went.

So I was happy to get in and out. I came back for that ostrich burger. I wanted to critique it for the second time to see if maybe I was just a little off that first time I visited. I wanted to love the ostrich! But again, I didn't.  :(   The meat seemed a little grainy and had little hard white pieces in it that I had to keep picking out of each bite. But godzilla saved the meal. I found myself picking off the onion straws and dipping them in the jalapeno mayo.

 

This time I got the sweet potato fries instead of that bland mac and cheese. They were good, but I wasn't a fan of the dipping sauce. So next time if I go back, I want to try a different kind of burger godzille style, not ostrich, ... or maybe I will even venture out to a different style, or maybe not even a burger!

There IS ALOT of construction going on around Habits right now, and since the first time I went a couple of months back. This is what I saw as soon as I stepped out of the restaurant...

and to my right...

There isn't really a parking lot for Habits, but there is street parking at a meter, or you can just park at CVS like I did and walk to it. For those of you who make Habits a habit, I want to understand why! I want to love the ostrich, but so far I'm not quite sure that I do....

I'll be back though! I won't give up hope!

Update - 9/3/11: I just went back here a couple of days ago to meet up with some grade school friends, and ordered just a regular cheeseburger instead of an ostrich burger, and ordered it godzilla style - like always. It was very good! I am so glad that I tried it, as the meat was delicious and the patty was handmade and not a frozen patty. That's always a plus :) Also had a Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat ($4), which I enjoyed.

Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs

So I wanted to get all fancy and try something that I usually would be too afraid to make. I figured any recipe I picked from Food and Wine would be more difficult than my usual, and I decided to make these Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs. I did make some modifications like changing the serving size to 2 rather than 8.  The measurements are approximations. Here's how it's done:

Herb-and-Cheese-Filled Chicken Thighs from Mario Batali of Food and Wine 

(modified by me)  

3/8 cups Italian bread crumbs

1/8 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 small egg, lightly beaten

3/8 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1/8 cup coarsely chopped basil

1/16 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

4 boneless chicken thighs with skin (about 5 ounces each)

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

1. Preheat the oven to 450°. In a medium bowl, combine the fresh bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, Provolone, chopped basil, chopped parsley, lemon zest and rosemary. Set the chicken thighs, skin side down, on a work surface and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mound 1/4 cup of the herb-and-cheese filling on each thigh. Fold the sides of the thighs over the filling to enclose it and tie each chicken thigh in 2 or 3 places with kitchen string. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.

2. Arrange the stuffed chicken thighs on a large, rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then discard the strings and serve.

I made the mistake of getting bone-in chicken thighs, so I had to de-bone them (for the first time ever, I did a good job if I may say so myself!). I must admit, there was plenty of stuffing leftover. The lemon zest added a great flavor. While I thought it was pretty good, I won't deny that it maybe needed something else. My fiancee, who always wants bold flavors, didn't think this had much flavor. So maybe next time I will add more flavor somehow. And definitely get the boneless thighs to save me a step.

Here is the finished result...

And there I am, ready to eat the plate (and serve it to PJ!)