Lisa's Culinary Atrocities

     We were invited to go to happy hour at The Living Room for tapas & wine and what great fun it was!  The Living Room, at 1055 Broadway, is a modern urban wine and tapas bar that is unique not only it’s decor, but in that you may purchase a pre-paid debit card to use in a special wine preservation machine holding 24 different wines.  Each 1oz pour has a different price and is automatically debited from the card.  Neat.

DJ Rockstar Aaron, one of Denver’s most recognizable DJs, was there doing his thing and his colorful presence definitely added to the ambiance of the room.

We ordered two tapas that were verrry difficult to photograph: 

Spanakopita

Bruschetta

Now…while we really enjoyed the ambiance of the room, we were left somewhat underwhelmed with the wine tasting selections. The happy hour Chardonnay is a NO-NO, or ChardonNO, as we joked.  Definitely go for the Merlot if you decide to get a glass of wine.  There were some very nice reds to taste (our friends said that none of the whites were worth it) but all in all, the good reds were few. A few of our favorites:

The tapas, however, were very very good—especially the spanakopita, and this is coming from a Greek girl who has had the real thing. The bruschetta was very substantial and zesty.  Worth it, for sure.

Conclusion:  great experience, but will probably not go again.  Welllll, maybe for the spanakopita!

Westword description:

“With exposed brick walls, retro-cool furniture and a high-tech, Enomatic help-yourself-to-wine-by-the-ounce sampling system, the Living Room is the 21st-century urban entertaining hub you wish you had in your own home. But with a full wine, beer and cocktail list, Mediterranean-style small plates, a dessert menu to die for, regular pop-ins from the coolest of neighbors and an urban patio perfect for people-watching, you might as well make yourself at home in the Living Room. Happy hour runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and there’s live jazz and soul music on Fridays and Saturdays. Stop in on your way to or from any of the nearby clubs, or when your own living room isn’t cutting it anymore: It’s cheaper than renovating.

Restaurant Description:

The bubble chairs that hang from the Living Room’s patio roof are a fun addition to this hip wine and tapas bar, which gives the Broadway club scene a needed dose of chill. Comfy couches and mellow music enhance the experience of lounging in the Living Room, nibbling at a tapas plate or two. For the more ambitious, a nifty pre-paid “debit card” and in-house wine preservation system allows you to sample and learn about a range of wines. Weekends are hopping here, but nice happy-hour specials await midtown workers Tuesday through Friday. A great place to take a break from the roar of the club crowd, the Living Room is like home — with way better furniture.”

It’s 11am and my body, after weeks of wine consumption, is wondering when the wine tasting is going to start…but I am now home and it’s time to… drink… I mean sift my way through all of the information and photos I have collected, have some nice quiet tea, give my pillow some face time and mentally prepare to return to work tomorrow.

But first:

What a wonderful whirlwind vacation of the senses this has been.  I really meant to keep up my posts, but it proved to be a great challenge.  All moments seemed to be filled to capacity.  Pen and paper in hand, I frantically wrote notes—hope they make sense to me now!  One of many lessons to come: day off required in between activities, which in turn would require more vacation time, so either I need to win the lottery and retire or get paid to do this.  What a dream that would be!

SO, I suppose it would be best to start at the beginning and try to keep it (mostly) related to the food and wine highlights, which may be difficult.  That being said, day one:  flew from Portland, OR to San Jose, CA where my Father met me on his drive out from Colorado.  From there we drove down to Monterey where we had some delicious, mildly creamy and quite robust bean soup from the Wild Plum Café.  If I lived here I would frequent this place often.

That evening we congregated with kindred car-lovers & life-long friends of my Father at the Baja Cantina in Carmel, where I had some delicious salmon tacos. Remaining unusually full from the afternoon’s bean soup, but so excited to eat these lovely tacos, I tried to gently coax my stomach into submission (she won).  Alas, it was too dark for a proper photo but I will tell you that the tacos were tender, fresh and perfectly balanced with salsa, cheese and seasonings.  I highly recommend them.

Not quite ready to call it a night, we got some wine and had a little soirée in the hotel room with our beloved friends, where the laughter flowed, pocket knives were compared, pictures were shared and incredible stories of their crazy and high-speed high school days were told. Humorously, it took the small knife to open the last part of the big knife.  I know I know…exciting.  Had to to be there I guess. :)

Day 2:  Went to Carmel-by-the-Sea where we met the cars participating in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance.  This is where many of the cars that would be in the Concours d’Elegance a few days later would “trace portions of the original 17-Mile Drive, traverse nearby mountains and valleys, dip down famed Highway One and pause for a time in charming Carmel-by-the-Sea.”  So many beautiful cars and waaay too many photos to be shared on this fooood blog.  Why am I here you might be asking?  Well my most adored Father, a car aficionado and former race-car driver, comes here most years for these world-class series of events…and I wanted to share it with him…’cause I like being with him…and they’re pretty…and it would be a great experience (which it WAS!) Plus, we decided to turn it into a lengthy food and wine tour…so what more could you ask for?

Onward.  While there we also observed interesting interactions:

…and went to a little wine tasting room nearby for some wine and noshy bits.

As I look back over my notes I am saddened that I was not yet taking down the specifics of these things, especially this wine and cheese as they were very good.  Shazbat.

The night ended with another event at the Baja Cantina where there were even more cars and food to consume…

Enough for now.  So much more to cover and with much greater detail in the food and wine area…and my pillow is getting cranky from a lack of attention. 

I love to make fresh hummus and since I’ve already posted about this, I’ve decided to repost but with my recipe.

-Soak garbanzo beans at least 7 hours and simmer 2.5 hrs. (I usually soak the beans in the morning, then cook them when I get home from work)

- Pick up favorite baguette on way home (me: Ken’s Artisan Bakery makes a sensational baguette with a crunchy exterior and soft interior…plus it’s fresssssssh)

- Make some tahini:  sesame seeds + dash of sea salt + food processor

- In food processor combine until desired consistency:

• 1 heaping Tbl. tahini
• 1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans (use canned if you must)
• 5 cloves garlic (to taste, of course)
• 5 tbl Kalamata Olive Oil
• sea salt to taste
• 2 tbl H2O

I often vary between a chunky and a fluffy-creamy hummus, depending on my present culinary temperament.  The longer you process, the fluffier and creamier it gets.  I also like to garnish with fresh roasted garlic (seen here), beans, and sesame seeds and extra virgin olive oil.  Nummy.

I paired this with a 2009 Rendez-Vous Beaujolais Nouveau (thanks Deano).  Now, I must be honest here and admit that I really don’t care for this wine by itself BUT paired with the garlicky hummus is very nice.  ’Nuff Said.

I received a great lasagna recipe from my friend Sheila and have meant to try it for some time.  Seeing as how the weather here in Portland right now is rather chilly, I decided that lasagna was in order (somehow that just pairs).

I have made a several modifications to her original recipe, making it completely vegan for zeh husband and also modifying it so I don’t have to use the stove much.  I have realized, since starting this blog, that I am an oven girl.  I avoid using the stove as much as possible, unless it’s to boil water/steam things.  Hmm.  I am not sure why.

So here it is:

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu

1 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt 

1 small lime, juiced

1 roasted bulb of garlic

5 chopped green onions

1/4 cups nutritional yeast

1-2 Tbl. fresh rosemary

1 pkg Trader Joe’s soyrizo, relieved of it’s casing

1/2 bottle Amy’s Marinara Sauce

1 small steamed acorn squash

3 cups fresh & raw spinach

lasagna noodles (Tinkyada brown rice noodles, wheat and gluten-free and has a great texture)

(for me) rosemary asiago

(for him) Vegan Gourmet mozzarella

Panko

Zinfandel

 Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F

• Open Zinfandel and pour yourself a glass.

• Make vegan ricotta by combining crumbled tofu, soy yogurt, lime juice, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast and rosemary, and let sit for 1 hour in refrigerator.

• Peel squash and cut into 1/4 inch chunks.  Steam until just soft.

• Combine soyrizo and marinara sauce in separate bowl.

• Boil noodles (or use no-boil)

• Layer: ricotta, noodles, soyrizo mixture, vegetables, repeat.  Top with panko. Bake until panko is browned.

As with most things like this, the second day is even better.  I think next time I will prep the lasagna and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Note: This was a hit!  The sweetness of the squash contrasted so well with the spiciness of the soyrizo, and the textures were just wonderful.  The rosemary in the asiago, as well as the ricotta was fantastic.  I will definitely be making this again!

I found some pre-made whole wheat pizza dough at Trader Joe’s (swear I don’t work there) and thought, hmmmm…I can do a lot with this!

Thought I’d make a pretzel.  Nope, didn’t work—too stretchy shrinky.  I’ll have to do that one from scratch some other time.

So what I did do, and do well if I may say so, is make little breads.  Since it was pizza dough the breads were dense, but that’s not a bad thing!

I decided to make 2 little loaves:  Black and White Sesame Seed and Rosemary:

I chose rosemary because I had some Pecorino Toscano cheese that I knew would pair well with it, and after consulting with Deano (mentioned in an earlier post, aka the KING of all things wine), I (we) decided to keep the Italian theme by choosing a 2008 Caravaggio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

I also made an olive oil concoction with rosemary and black volcanic salt for dipping.  Delicious and oh-so-simple.

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Seriously, happiness throughout every cell right now.  On my daily trip to Trader Joe’s a few days ago they were sampling their new Soy Chorizo. Whoa—so surprisingly good.  No stranger to vegan food, or tasty animals these days (sorry), this product is not to be missed.  While I prefer to be meatless most of the time (and especially since my husband is vegan) I am wary of vegan products because they are still processed.  This one, however, has only a handful of ingredients:

–>TVP (texturized soy protein), water, soy oil, distilled vinegar, salt, spices, red pepper and garlic.

SOLD!  So tonight I decided to make soft tacos with the Soyrizo (thanks Deano), homemade pico-de-gallo and micro-greens. Cheese added, I am sure would also be fantastic.

I made my taco’s mini, surprise.

For the Pico de Gallo chop separately and combine:

-4 plum tomatoes (I used about a cup or so of cherry tomatoes)

-5 green onions

-1/2 cup fresh cilantro

-3 peppers, seeded (I used one red, one orange, one yellow–adds a bit of a sweetness that contrasts the spicy soyrizo nicely)

-a good squeeze of lime juice.-fold together and let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.

After a few glasses of wine, heat up your soyrizo (remove casing first…it’s the consistency of ground beef) and make some fan-tasty tacos!

*Pairs sensationally with Trader Joe’s 2009 Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel (thanks for the recommendation Deano—it was PERFECT.) Which, by the way, if you ever need ANY information about ANYTHING wine or food related, Deano Sandoval at Trader Joe’s NW is your guy. Not only is he a wonderful man and talented artist, but he will not disappoint your taste buds. Going to create a new tag, just for him!