Rosemary Garlic Steak with Caramelized Onions

This is a great straightforward way to prepare steak: sure to please and easy to make.





Recipe:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup rosemary, minced (also good split with parsley)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Generous amounts of salt and pepper
• A dash of paprika or chili powder if you're up for it

1. At the very least, coat the steak in the above ingredients before putting it in the pan. Ideally, let them all hang out together and marinate for as long as you can allow.

2. Sear on both sides over high heat, allowing each side to visibly cook

3. Turn down to medium to cook meat to your desired temperature.
At this time, add sliced red onions to allow to caramelize until the meat is finished cooking.

*I often place the top of a pan over the steak in the skillet while it's cooking to lock in moisture and flavors during any of these stages. This helps to keep your meat from becoming dry or rubbery as well.

This kind of steak is excellent with dijon mustard, which can be incorporated into the marinade (read my whole post about it here, especially the Garlic Aioli Dijon Mustard from Trader Joe's) or as a side condiment for dipping.

If serving this steak over a salad, then turn the dijon mustard into a dressing by adding balsamic vinegar and chopped rosemary until the desired viscosity is achieved.

Tulum: Beth-Mex Burritos, Tacos, and More

Some days, there's nothing better than a Tulum Burrito.

Available in burrito and minirrito sizes, Tulum offers creative and fresh combinations of ingredients in their burritos.

All of Tulum's burritos include a choice of chicken, beef, pork, mahi-mahi, or grilled vegetables.

Tulum's veggie burritos are the best of their kind, and include sweet and new potatoes, kale, grated beets, and guacamole in addition to other standard grilled vegetables.

My very favorite, the Mayan burrito (pictured left), which I order veggie to get the ingredients stated above also includes: grilled pineapple salsa, roasted corn, and slices of avocado, plus Tulum's burrito standards of rice, black beans, cheddar, "Pico de Gallo, crema, and a crisp tropical salad."

Their menu also includes the Beth-Mex with smokey red sauce, the Verde with green sauce of tomatillo and chiles, Mole with almonds and bittersweet Mexican chocolate, Santana with sweet and new potatoes, Midnight Sun breakfast burrito with eggs and home fries, the Wingaritto with Wing Sauce and Blue Cheese dressing, and the Oaxacan Chorizo Burrito with fresh Mexican sausage and Oaxacan cheese.

Tulum also offers tacos, Beth-Mex wings, Chicharon de Queso, Guacamole, Nachos, Quesadillas, and the Mahi-Mahi Taco. Let's not forget the copious amounts of hot sauce varieties and options available on their counter to add to your selection in any combination or amount.

BYOB and either limited indoor seating or a nice back yard on a good day make it a good place to go with others as well. Monday-Friday 11-9pm, Saturday noon-9, and closed Sunday. Click here for the menu.

All this being said, I would definitely consider Tulum to be one of Bethlehem's institutions.

Sogo Sushi in Easton

http://www.sogofusion.com/

Five years later and a score of dinners revolving around sushi, during my time at Lehigh I have made several trips to Bethlehem's two local sushi places: 24 East Asian Bistro and The Other Fish.

I decided last week that it was time to explore some of the Lehigh Valley's other sushi options. This decision could not have occurred at a better time.

Last Monday, I finished and published the interactive map that illustrates local Lehigh Valley residents' favorite restaurants (see post here). It was gathered by asking Twitter members for their favorite local restaurants, and from the stats of that post, I gather that list and the accompanying map has been helpful to others.

On evenings like last Friday, it was also a great resource for me. My roommate and I had been craving sushi for days and, using the map, elected to try one person's suggestion of Sogo (click for menu) in Easton.

I got an Eel Roll and the restaurant special: the Infinity Roll, created by wrapping avocado and crab meat with tuna rather than rice, and topped with roe. The presentation was beautiful, including several tasty sauces displayed in decorative rings around the rolls. Excellent.

My roommate also loved her rolls: the Monkey Roll "Shrimp tempura roll topped with avocado, three different kinds of spicy sauce" and the Fancy Spicy Tuna Roll, which is a standard spicy tuna roll with sauces.

The ingredients were fresh, there was improvisation in their presentation and the sauces that made the rolls so "fancy" and special were a nice addition. Not to mention the fact that the ambiance and interior decor of the restaurant is fantastic. It was a very enjoyable trip and it has topped my list for best sushi in the Lehigh Valley. So go!

Healthy, Fresh Vodka Sauce Recipe

I have always been a fan of Penne a la Vodka, mostly for the sauce, but had never really attempted to make this dish for myself.

Time to broaden my horizons. I searched for a basic recipe and found one on Cooks.com.
My healthier, fresh-ingredient interpretation of the recipe is this:


1. In a sauce pan, turn heat to medium-high and combine the following:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced onions (I say red, white, shallots are all acceptable depending on what you have and prefer, I used red)

2. Saute until the onions are clear. Then add:

• 1/3 cup vodka (Skyy worked well yet is probably the minimum quality vodka you'd want to use)
• 3 peeled Roma tomatoes, minced. (Substitute for recipe's 1 can peeled tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

3. Keep the heat at medium-high and slowly add:

• 1/2 cup half and half (substitute for recipe's pint of heavy cream)
• Salt and pepper to taste

4. Cook until the sauce reduces a bit. Add pre-cooked ingredients to be combined with vodka sauce. Suggestions:

• pasta or quinoa
• broccoli, zucchini, asparagus
• chicken, shrimp
• parmesan, etc.

I made this with broccoli and quinoa, sprinkled with parmesan and thought it was fabulous. 

Take note that while this is healthier than the traditional vodka sauce, it will turn out less creamy than your favorite local Italian restaurant's hearty Penne a la Vodka because of using half and half as opposed to heavy cream. That's your prerogative.

I also thought upon finishing about blending the ingredients/final result in a food processor to make the sauce smoother, although I thought the minced ingredients made for a pretty presentation as well.

Your Picks: Best Restaurants in the Lehigh Valley

This map is a compilation of favorite restaurants as identified by various members of the Lehigh Valley, collected on the Twitter network by me, @imanihamilton.
 
If you are interested in adding your favorites to the list, find me on Twitter or comment here-and feel free to add your menu recommendations as well!

P.S. Where people offered specific recommendations, I included this information. More additions welcome.
Also, places without links to their website/menu I found and added in the description.



Too small? View Lehigh Valley's Favorite Restaurants in a larger map, which includes the master list on the side.

Hot Apple Cider: Sweet, Spiced, Citrus-infused, or Spiked?

http://i.ehow.com

I think everyone who truly enjoys cooking likes most the potential for improvisation and improvement of a recipe or food combinations. It's the time of year for apple cider, and a perfect standard fall drink with which to have fun.

So we've got a basic drink: apple cider. Buy it in cartons, as a mix, or if you're in a do-it-yourself kind of mood, or went apple picking recently, or just have a lot of apples, click here to learn how to make your own apple cider.

The point here is that there are many ways to turn a basic apple cider recipe into your own, based on your preferences and what's in your kitchen.


For sweetness:

• honey
• maple syrup
• brown sugar

For flavor:

• cinnamon- sticks or a sprinkle of the dried spice
• cardamom
• cloves
• nutmeg
• ginger-tiny amounts of freshly grated or crystallized ginger (available at grocery stores)
• ground allspice
• a dash of other fruit juices: pear, orange, grapefruit
• berries, fresh or frozen
• citrus: lemon or orange peel (in dry spice form or actual grated)

These flavorings can be infused into your apple cider in a few ways:

1. Added and heated with the apple cider in a saucepan
2. Placed in loose tea strainer/filter (or within a cheesecloth if flavor sources are small enough) 
3. Heated in a pan with butter or cream to create a spiced topping
4. If only adding dry spices, whipped into whipped cream

Want to spike your apple cider? Remember to add alcohol at the end rather than heating it with the other ingredients. Recommendations:

• Brandy plus cinnamon, cardamom, curry powder. Rachael Ray version
• Rum, plus orange spice tea, apple cider, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter. Allrecipes.com version
• Bourbon, plus apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves, brown sugar. Recipe from Recipehound.com 

Get creative! Now you have the know-how to make the exact mug of hot steaming apple cider you desire.

Sunday Egg Scramble: Spinach, Sausage, Roasted Potatoes, Mushrooms, Cheddar and Tomatoes

www.tasteofhome.com

Some weekends, all I want when I wake up is an egg scramble. It's one of my favorite things to order at Blue Sky in Bethlehem (the Charlotte) and also one of the easiest breakfasts to make on my own.

One of the best combinations I have had we made a week ago in San Francisco.
Here's the recipe, for two:



Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup of red onion, minced
• 2 sausages
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 12 red potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced

1. On medium high heat, fully cook the potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of paprika and 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.

2. In a separate pan, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil and spinach, mushrooms, and red onion over medium high heat.

3. Cook until the spinach has wilted.

4. Add sausages, sliced, and let cook until the sausages begin to brown.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk the 5 eggs until smooth, add a 1/4 cup of milk if desired.

6. Add the cooked potatoes, 5 eggs, and grate cheddar into the mixture.

7. Continue to stir the combination until the mixture is scrambled and the eggs are cooked.
8. Add tomatoes so that they cook just a minute before taking the mixture off the heat (to preserve freshness, although this is really a matter of taste).

9. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce if desired.

10. Serve on or with toast for total happiness.