Selective Palate

Over the weekend I was not much in the mood for cooking; allergies! So we ate out of course.

M never turns down the chance for pizza; in our house it is a rare treat unless I make 1 from scratch. But for M nothing beats take out so we decided to try a fairly local pizza joint that we had not tried yet; Green Peppers. We had heard pretty good things about it so why not. M of course got a a large 4 cheese pepperoni pizza and an order of hot wings; what he’s a growing a boy! I ordered their eggplant parm on whole wheat. I was asked if I wanted peppers, onions and mushrooms on that but thought that was odd for a parm sandwich so I declined.

When we got our food I was shocked at the size. Lets just say we still have pizza in our fridge. The pizza was very good. Not at all what I think of when I think pizza however. It had a thick crust but not like a deep dish and it was not overly heavy which surprised me for the thickness of the crust. The cheese was abundant but not oozing off your pizza and they did not skimp on the pepperoni but it was not greasy. Over all we liked it! This is the type of pizza I would try non traditional toppings with to mix it up and have fun.

Next up the wings. Now both M and I enjoy our hot wings. As evidence in this post where I tried Alton Brown’s version. So we got an order of 10 HOT. Being that we are pretty picky when it comes to wings I have to confess these were pretty good. Not as crispy as we would like but then again we got take out so they sat in a plastic container steaming themselves and they were still good. Also, their hot sauce is not very hot but definitely tasty.

And lastly I got myself an eggplant parm “grinder”. Up here they call most heroes, grinders even cold ones. I remember when we lived in PA grinders were only hot sandwiches but not cheesesteaks or parmesans. Funny how different regions label things. Anyway back to my sandwich. It was good! The eggplant was thick cut lightly breaded but not deep fried and there was quite a bit of it. The cheese was a good amount but not over whelming and the same with the sauce. I decided on the mild sauce this time around but next time I think I am going to go for the spicy. Over all it had a good taste and not fussy at all.

She may not have been the prettiest girl at the dance but she was the one you wanted to take home if you know what I mean!

So if you ever fine yourself in the Middlebury VT region and want to try something differant you should stop by Green Peppers on Washington St.

Bad blogger! I know I know I said I was going to tell you all about my unconventional valentines dinner and the traditional Sunday dinner I made. Then I up and never did. I am so sorry, life got a little in the way but I will work on that promise.

Ok to get back to it as promised my unconventional Valentine’s dinner!

We started off with a nice appetizer of Sundried Tomato Hummus with just a hint of anchovy.

This was my course. This is one of my favorite dishes. When iIam “playing” single this is usually my dinner with just some crisp pita chips; YUM!
This was so simple to make it took me no time at all.

Ingredients

1 can white beans or chick peas, drained and rinsed (I used white beans this time)
1 clove garlic mashed into a paste
1 anchovy fillet mashed into a paste
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes reserve about a T. for top
2 T. tahini
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, reserve about a T. for top
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh Parsley

Place first 5 ingredients (except what is reserved for garnish) in a food processor pulse to combine then with the processor running drizzle in the oil just until you have a nice creamy but still thick consistancy. Taste and add salt and pepper. Top with the reserved sundried tomatoes that have been cut into a jullian, a drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh chopped parsley. Serve with some toasted pita or just a spoon!

Next up was M’s dinner choice!

Yup thats right Buffalo Wings! This has actually been a tradition for us since our first valentines for good reason its one of his favorite foods!
This year I really didn’t want to drag out the fryer plus we have been trying to eat better. Instead I followed Alton Brown’s wing method. Its a bit time consuming but it works well. My times were different than his by an extra 30 minutes but overall I think this is a keeper. The wings actually do cook up pretty crispy, hold sauce well, and don’t make your house smell like a KFC kitchen! Plus you don’t have to do a hole hell of a lot but wait. While waiting for the wings we had cocktails and hummus, not a bad way to pass the time!

So there you have it my special valentines dinner.

Tomorrow (I promise!!!) I will post my Top Chef inspired traditional Sunday dinner.