Recipe

Happy 4th of July!

July 3, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Fourth of July falls on Thursday this year, so I need some easy ideas for our annual cookout this year. We intend to have a few families over for hamburgers and hotdogs, then head up to the high school for our town’s firework display. Happy Birthday, America!

The desserts I’ve chosen are quite simple. The first is a white chocolate covered strawberry dipped in red and blue sugar. If you’ll look in the baking section of your grocery store near the chocolate chips, you’ll see a cup for melting chocolate. You may use this, or the melting blocks of white chocolate there. Use your imagination!

After dessert, we will head to the high school to see the fireworks. For such a small town, Lincolnton has a great display! They begin around 9pm (or whenever it gets dark enough) but we have to go early to get a parking spot. There we’ll make camp with our chairs and I’ll bring this set up for a little glow in the dark bowling to keep the kids occupied while they wait. (Thanks to Dumpaday for the idea!)

Shelby

Ni Fen Bistro in Shelby, NC

May 20, 2013May 21, 2013 Suzanne Strength1 Comment

Ni Fen Bistro

If you’ve never been to Shelby, NC you are missing one of the prettiest downtown areas a small town can offer. I was so charmed by all of the quaint restaurants along the strip frequented by the locals of the town, everything within walking distance. On this night we chose to dine with Ni Fen Bistro and had one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while.

Ni Fen has a very open feel, with few tables and high ceilings. I was struck by the large front door as we entered, very welcoming! We had a reservation, and were quickly seated at a spacious table.

Our waitress took the order for our drinks and was very knowledgeable about wine selections. We ordered appetizers and salads and then our lovely server brought us some of the best bread we’d ever put in our mouths. Crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, we ate two basketfuls with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar they brought out as soon as we sat.

I ordered the Spinach Salad which was enormous! Fresh spinach leaves topped with shaved red onion, bacon, chopped hard-boiled egg, blue cheese crumbles and candied pecans and dressed with a sherry vinaigrette. It was fresh and delicious with just the right touch of richness from the cheese and eggs offset by the sharpness of the vinaigrette. A simple dish done perfectly.

Dustin ordered Pot Stickers for his first course. The homemade stickers were filled with a spicy chicken mixture speckled with ginger and green onions. The tipping point came when we dipped the little gems into the hoisin sauce. When Dustin finished his pot stickers he poured the hoisin sauce out on his plate to sop up with his bread. It was that good!

Our friends got steamed mussels, which was a special on this night. They were succulent! They were tender and seasoned so deliciously, full of parsley and garlic. And truly, the best part was the broth that collected at the bottom of the plate that we all helped sop up with that wonderful bread. The portion was enormous, too!

My entrée was a special for the night: Lobster Thermidor. Who does that?? I rarely see it on menus (at least around here) anymore, but after eating it Friday, I think it deserves a resurgence. This one was lighter than ones I’ve had before, with a light wine broth enrobing the chunks of lobster and sliced mushrooms. Again, the bread came in handy.

Dustin and Robert both got another special that night: Seared scallops with a beurre blanc sauce. It was served with mashed potatoes and haricots vert. The scallops were cooked perfectly with a light sear on the outside and creamy firm insides. And they tasted so fresh! The sauce was amazing and delicate, a perfect accompaniment. The mashed potatoes were creamy and rich, with plenty of seasoning. The haricots vert (you know, green beans) were bland, but who cares? I will say that the rest of my tablemates loved them, but you can’t trust them.

Jeri got the third special of the night: Filet Mignon. Oh, it was a perfect slab of beef with just the right amount of color. It is rare that we leave a restaurant when my friend doesn’t need a doggy bag, but on this night, she ate the whole steak. It was just that good.

After all of that delicious food, there was just no way that dessert could compete. But, to make a completed review, we all took one for the team and ordered them anyway. I had a flourless chocolate cake which ended up being more like a Torte that a cake. It was very dense and rich and I could only eat a few bites. Dustin and Jeri got Bananas Ni Fen which is bananas in a rum glaze, reminiscent of Bananas Foster, atop a scoop of ice cream in what tasted like a Phylo dough bowl. It was fresh and yummy. Robert, as usual, got the creme’ brulee. He is a creature of habit! He pronounced it delicious.

We all agreed that the chef of this restaurant uses a deft hand with the spices and has the experience to cook the food correctly and with perfect timing. It was a well-orchestrated experience. But it goes beyond that. The staff worked as a team. We were completely taken care of by our server for the night, but we were also visited by the owner and helped by other servers. We felt welcomed and spoiled. I can’t wait to get back.

Hickory

Olde Hickory Tap Room

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Olde Hickory Tap Room in Hickory (of course)

This place gets rave reviews from the locals, so perhaps we visited on an off night? I’m not sure, but I didn’t see enough redeeming qualities in what we had or the atmosphere to go back to give it a second chance.

We began our meal with the soup of the day: French Onion Soup. Ours arrived cold and we sent it back. When it came back, the cheese was melted and it was warm, but it was flavorless. No amount of salt helped, so we sent it back to the kitchen.

My son had the chicken tender plate. They were homemade, not frozen, but lacked any sort of seasoning at all. My teenage son scarfed them anyway.

Lucky me got the worst dish of the night. The Brutus Caesar salad with fried oysters and big ole anchovies. Now, I know a Caesar salad has anchovies in the dressing. That doesn’t freak me out. However, when I inadvertently put what I thought was a mushroom in my mouth, I thought I’d gag. It tasted like fishy dirt. I attempted to pick them all out, but a few remained to spike random bites until I finally gave up. I then tried eating the oysters on top, but they were so huge and unwieldy, I couldn’t make it through those either. I left the restaurant starved.

Dustin got the Tomato Grill which was basically a tomato sandwich. Supposedly the tomatoes were blackened, but not really. You’ll notice the wilted lettuce on the sandwich? Anyway, my husband did eat it because, hey, tomato sandwich. Would he get it again? No.

The best dish of the night was this:

Which is ok, since it is a tap room.

Myrtle Beach · Restaurants

Mr. Fish in Myrtle Beach

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013 Suzanne Strength2 Comments

Southern Living never lets me down. Well, hardly ever. They recommended I go to Mr. Fish if I was ever in Myrtle Beach (here’s my proof: South Carolina’s 10 Best Seafood Restaurants) and Mr. Fish let me down. But Southern Living, you better listen up and maybe print a retraction.

My family and I along with a friend’s family headed to the Grand Strand for a little Spring Break fun. I’d had Mr. Fish on my wishlist (yes, I have a restaurant wishlist, don’t you?) since I read the above article. We arrived in Myrtle Beach at 4:45pm and were at Mr. Fish by about 7pm. Along with everyone else in Myrtle Beach. Telling us we’d have to wait 1 1/2 hours to be seated, we opted to come back. As we drove to another restaurant, I called them and made a reservation for Monday evening at 7pm. Smart girl.

Monday comes, I’m so excited! We arrive and are told that we would still have to wait 20 minutes past our reservation time since they had a big party. Wait, what? We agreed to wait at the table, knowing that no one would come by for 20 minutes. This seemed odd since all around us were empty tables. I counted 15 empty tables, more empty than not. And a lobby full of people. Any new people coming in were ushered only to tables that previously had patrons, the empties stayed empty. So odd. That would be the theme for the night.

The harried waiter arrived, and brought us drinks and took our order. I was promised homemade dressing with my salad. My side salad arrived not long after, but the dressing was clearly bottled. Yuck. No biggie. I ate it, and did not complain. We waited on for the appetizers, with the kids starving. They apologetically brought us hushpuppies, but said the kitchen was so backed up. On we waited. My husband’s sushi that he ordered for his entree arrives first. Over an hour after we arrived, appetizers were delivered to our table. Our friend’s shrimp was cold. My kid’s calamari was undercooked and you could taste the raw batter. My crab dip was piping hot and amazingly delicious. The drinks, however, stayed empty. Two minutes after our hour late apps get to the table, our friend’s entrees arrive. So, this left the 2 children and myself without our entrees. Our waiter was nowhere to be found, but when we did manage to flag him down, he was sweating and out of breath…so somewhere he must have been busy? I told him our problems and said “Either get the manager or take care of this yourself.” He got the manager.

The manager is flustered, tired and in way over his head. We tell him the above, he promises to get our remaining dinners up absolutely next. We see 2 tables get their food that were seated an hour after us. I make a deal with my children that I will run through McDonald’s for them and we see our food coming out. The manager, clearly befuddled, tries to give our food to 2 tables before finally settling on us. Clearly, we were not the priority we thought. I told him to take his food back, we were past hungry by this time, and all of our dinner companions were finished! I also told him I’d wait another 5 minutes for my check, and no longer. He’d have to chase me down in the parking lot if he mucked that up, too. To his credit, he comped the meals we did receive and we left. We were stopped twice on the way out by people hearing our plight to share their stories.

I’m told this place was amazing until they moved into their new huge building. The staff says it is growing pains. Because the manager made it right at the end, I would give this place another chance, but…not any time soon.

Vale

Willow Creek Inn in Vale, NC

April 28, 2013July 31, 2015 Suzanne Strength3 Comments

Willow Creek Inn is a special dining and event venue in the beautiful western area of our county. It’s different from anything we have around here, but delightfully so. The menu changes daily and to eat here you *must* have a reservation. No reservation, no dinner! Don’t let that intimidate you, make the call and treat yourself. You won’t be sorry.

To get to this farmhouse, you will take a pretty long ride through the country. It will look like you are in the middle of Timbuktu, and your GPS will lead you slightly astray. When you get close, pay attention to the signs, not the GPS. It’s a pretty yellow farmhouse. We went past it and had to turn around. When you walk in the charming front door, you are greeted by the hostess or maybe even Mansour (the owner/chef) himself! He’ll take your name and escort you to your table that has been set up just for you in the cozy dining room filled with antiques and homey furnishings. We took this time to take you a few photos before everyone else showed up.

For now and for the foreseeable future, Steak Nights are on Friday and Saturday nights. You are treated to 3 courses: Salad, Entree and Dessert with Tea or Coffee for $25 per person. No way you are getting a deal at any steakhouse like this. Let me walk you through these courses…

First, the waitress takes your drink order and brings you bread and butter. Some of our bread was really hard and some was really soft and delicious. Each bread plate had a dainty pat of real butter on it. A lovely touch. Your drinks are brought in what looks to be antique glasses to help set the mood of the evening.

Soon after, your salad course arrives. It is a plate of locally grown baby greens with Mansour’s Ranch dressing. This dressing is better than any Ranch I’ve had at any other restaurant, including my own. It is thinner than what I am used to, perhaps with vinegar? Don’t mistake that for less flavor, it packs a wonderful punch. The salad also has locally grown tomatoes (ripe, red and juicy!) cucumbers and red onion.

Let me start by saying that the plate of food in the picture does not do the taste of that plate justice. It looks plain, but it is anything but. For your main course you get Prime Beef Filet Mignon served with a double stuffed baked potato and glazed carrots. The filet is cooked in a searing hot wood fire oven on the deck. We couldn’t get out of Mansour the exact temperature, but the outside was nicely charred and the inside was a perfectly cooked medium. Heaven. The double stuffed baked potato was so flavorful and perfectly spiced. It was mixed with sauteed onion and bacon and crowned with a golden heap of cheddar cheese. The glazed carrots were baby carrots that were so buttery sweet, you felt like you were eating candy. Everything worked in perfect harmony. Savory steak, starchy potato and sweet carrots. Repeat.

For your dessert course you are given a choice between carrot cake and pecan pie. Either one is lovely. My husband got the carrot cake and it is a small individual cake piped with cream cheese frosting. I tasted a bite and it was so fresh and had chewy golden raisins for extra sweetness. I got the pecan pie and it was topped with freshly whipped cream which has been the topic of much discussion among my dining companions. I tasted a hint of rose petals, almost like rose water was whipped into the cream, but when we asked the chef, he assured us it was cardamom. I remain unconvinced, but I will tell you that the pecan pie was lovely. I prefer mine without roses, however.

The food was amazing, and the experience was perhaps even better. Mansour has special events here ALL of the time: Easter egg hunts, Jazz Nights, Make your own Pizza night, Sunday Buffets, etc. To be in the know, you need to go to his website and sign up for his newsletter. I am taking my mom and sister here for Mother’s Day!

Updated to add:

We went for a private dinner last night to celebrate our 20th anniversary with our family. Mansour prepared an amazing buffet spread for us featuring Beef Wellington, Curried Citrus Chicken, Glazed Carrots and Crispy Rice. It was the best meal we’d had in a very long time, and we were taken care of so graciously. What a truly special night!!

My girlfriends and I visited Mansour last week and he made us a special meal and we had the whole place to ourselves! $35 a person (we had 11 people) which was 4 courses and tea or water. Our wine was extra (and of course, gratuity) but it was a wonderful personal experience that was intimate and fun! Here’s what was served:

Lamb filled Samosas and Hummus with pita bread for our light snacks while we got acquainted. The hummus was the best I’d ever had in my life and the samosas were full of spiced meat and fried perfectly. I could have had just that and been fine.

Isn’t that one of the prettiest salads you’ve ever seen? The dressing was a delicious and tangy creamy Italian which we couldn’t get enough of.

For the main course we were served Poached Salmon with Greek Herbs, Roasted Fingerling potatoes and vegetables and Roasted Tenderloin of Beef. The salmon was served cold and gave a perfect contrast to the beef. We were served buffet style.

And to finish up we had a nice light Lemon Cake.

Belmont

Old Stone Steakhouse in Belmont, NC

April 16, 2013April 17, 2013 Suzanne Strength4 Comments

Old Stone Steakhouse in Belmont, NC

Well, heck. I’d heard so many good things about this quaint little steakhouse in Belmont, and I wanted to love it. I did. But I didn’t.

First, let me commend the owners on the beauty of the restaurant. They did great things with the small space, making it homey yet rustic. I will say that the restaurant is very loud. I had a hard time hearing my dinner companions. Another caveat for this restaurant is their excellent wait staff. Our waitress was attentive and kind and never let us get too thirsty. The kitchen also is efficient. We had a large party of 10 and we were served quickly, as if we were a table of just 2.

The only bad thing I can say about this little gem is the food was not the best. And unfortunately, the food is the most important part of a dining experience. We began with a variety of appetizers at our table, but I only tasted the Spinach Artichoke Dip with Pita Points. It was really good, not anything extraordinary, but very good. My next course was a wedge salad, and it was just ok. I did like that the dressing was homemade, but the canned potato sticks on top were just pedestrian. Next time I’d get the Caesar salad, I snagged a bite of my husband’s and it was good. Plus, it had black olives! Who does that?

My entree was a petite filet stuffed with lobster, lump crab meat and tomato basil. It came out with a half lobster tail protruding from the center of this succulent filet with some crab meat jammed in the center hole the lobster created and drizzled on the plate. The lobster was a bit under-cooked and not very fresh. The crab meat that was supposed to be “lump” was certainly not jumbo lump. Even more horrible was the fact that it was mixed in with this very strongly flavored chopped raw tomatoes with basil. This delicate crab meat was completely overwhelmed by these aggressive flavors and just did not work. Perhaps the worst offense was in digging the crab meat from the center of my filet and seeing it pink because it was drenched in the bloody juice from my steak. The steak itself was fine, but I’d order it alone next time. It was a grave disappointment. My other dinner companions complained that there steaks were not tender; they had ordered the Cowboy Ribeye. I got macaroni and cheese for my side dish, which was described as a deluxe side, and therefore came with an added cost. The cheese tasted like a processed American cheese with some sort of Mexican flair, perhaps Rotel tomatoes? Skip this.

Dessert was fine enough. Most of the offerings were uninspired, nothing on the menu grabbed my attention. I opted for the chocolate cake, hoping for a moist cake, but was vaguely disappointed. It was serviceable, but nothing I’d get again. My husband got the chocolate creme brulee and it was reminiscent of chocolate pudding with a hard sugar crust.

If you are craving steak, I can think of 10 better restaurants to try for the same money. Skip this place.

Recipe

Susan’s Lemon Icebox Pie

April 4, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

This is absolutely one of my favorite pies. It is no-bake and super easy to make! Perfect for a summer day. My mom made these when I was a little girl for my dad, so it reminds me of that wonderful time. I hope it transports you to summer!

Susan’s Lemon Icebox Pie

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 graham cracker crust

DIRECTIONS

Pour Eagle Brand milk into medium bowl. Mix in fresh lemon juice and stir together.
In a separate bowl, pour cream into medium bowl. Beat cream until it forms soft peaks.
Gently fold cream into lemon and milk mixture.
Pour into graham cracker crust and cover with plastic dome. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Mooresville · Restaurants

Epic Chophouse in Mooresville, NC

March 7, 2013April 29, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

My husband and I have found a couple that love to explore the area’s restaurants, just like we do! We try to go out on Friday nights to enjoy each other’s company and try a new restaurant. It is so much more fun with the four of us foodies together! One of our most recent visits was to the Epic Chophouse in Mooresville, NC. Amazing.

See, that’s them! Hi Jeri and Robert!

Appetizer #1 selected was the Epic Chophouse Cheese Toast. This is a special 4-cheese spread that they spread onto house made slices of toasted french bread and broil until golden brown. It was tangy and addictive. My other diners weren’t as thrilled with it as I was, but I appreciated its creamy tang with each bite. A great appetizer to share!

This was our friend’s appetizer: Shanghai Shrimp. It was a special that night, and not available on the regular menu. Which is a huge bummer, because this was beyond amazing. This was the hit of the night. At the STEAKhouse. This portion had 9 jumbo shrimp, lightly fried and doused with this sweet and hot creamy sauce with Asian spices. It reminded me very much of Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp.

For the next course, one of my dinner mate’s got the Lobster Bisque. It was velvety smooth, creamy, not too thick and had excellent flavor. Barely adorned with fresh herbs, it needed no gilding because it was perfect in its simplicity.

This wedge salad was my second course. It proved to be way more than I could eat, but what I did finish was pretty darn tasty. It is simply a quarter head of an iceberg lettuce, topped with crumbled bacon and bleu cheese, chopped tomatoes and then drizzled with their very tangy bleu cheese dressing. My only critique would be that the dressing was a touch too tangy for me, but then I like the traditional bleu cheese dressing that is white and mimics Ranch dressing. This, however, was fresh, delicious and plentiful.

This is a photo of my friend’s Prime Rib. She let me have a bite, and it was perfectly cooked for her and well seasoned with pepper. The Au Jus was flavorful and bold as well.

If I was choosing, I’d say my hubs got the best meal of the night. His dinner is called “Smoking Hot Couple” and it is 3 aged beef filet medallions topped with 8 (seriously) Jumbo shrimp seasoned with a smoky Cajun spice. All of this blackened and served with a light herbed butter sauce and topped with a Cajun Remoulade. The steak was like butter. Absolutely cooked to perfection! The shrimp were plump and cooked well and spiced goodness. I will be getting this the next time we go, which I hope to be very soon.

My entrée was Skillet Blackened Tilapia with Jumbo Lump Crab. The Tilapia was a mild fish that had a spicy seasoning and blackened to perfection. But…my favorite part was the butter poached crab on top. It was velvety smooth and melted in my mouth. Seriously. The sauce that you see pooled around the bottom of my fish was a Cajun Cream Sauce, and it was rich and packed with flavor. It was amazing. I got mine with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. They were creamy and hearty.

Another entrée sampled by my fellow diner was a special that night. It was a chicken alfredo dish which Robert reported was creamy and rich and the chicken well-seasoned and tender. He got it with a side of fresh green beans. Those were a little underwhelming.

Yes, in spite of the enormous amounts of food we ordered, we still needed dessert. Don’t judge. Robert got the orange scented Creme’ Brulee. As always, it was the best of the night as no dessert on Earth will ever compare to its luscious richness. So, why isn’t it my dessert? Because I am adventurous. And stupid.

I ordered what was supposed to be the signature dessert here: the Six-Layer Chocolate Cake. Looks good, right? It was ok. I found the cake to be a little dry for my taste, and certainly cumbersome because of its towering size. I brought home about 2/3 of it, and found it to be a much better snack over the next day or so.

I’m not sure if you can get this little gem every night, but you should. It is amazing. This delicious Coconut cake is moist and packed with creamy coconut flavor. Simple and perfect.

Now, you’ve seen all of the pictures, and listened to me wax poetic about the food, but here’s maybe the most important thing: The owner cares. Yep, that’s it. He gives a darn what kind of experience you have. I’ve researched this restaurant, and he responds to any review that lists a less than stellar experience with a sincere desire to learn and do better next time. If you have that kind of passion, and show it, then I’m going to forgive any missteps made in my meal during the night. I cannot wait to get back!

ROUND TWO!

OK, so we went back and I have more dishes to share. We 4 duplicated some of the dishes but anything new I photo’d and will review for you here!

This time my husband got the spaghetti and meatballs. Bad move. Though the towering pile of pasta was plentiful, there was a tang of vinegar in the sauce that completely overpowered the marinara. He couldn’t even eat it the second day. That dish needs a major rework, chef!

My friend got the huge Tomahawk steak, and on that night they said it would take an hour to get it. We agreed, we were in no hurry, and they got it out to us sizzling and juicy in less than the promised hour. Robert reported it to be very tender and delicious.

The only different dessert was our bread pudding. It was huge, but more is not always…more. It was dry and the caramel it was drizzled with had a burnt taste. I brought it home and it didn’t get better with age. Here’s another dessert for you to re-work, Chef. Next time, Creme Brulee all the way.

Recipe

Lemon Crumb Bars

February 24, 2013February 24, 2013 Suzanne Strength1 Comment

I am not crazy about lemon flavor, but my husband loves it. I am crazy about sweetened condensed milk. So, with these bars, we are both happy.

Lemon Crumb Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 (18 1/2 ounce) box lemon cake mix or 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 large egg, plus
3 large egg yolks
2 cups saltine crackers, finely crushed (1/4 lb)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, heat cake mix, margarine and 1 egg with mixer until crumbly.
Stir in saltine crumbs.
Reserving 2 cups of crumb mixture, press remaining crumbs into bottom of greased 13×9 baking pan.
Bake 20 minutes.
With mixer or wire whisk, beat 3 egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Spread over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool.
Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

Recipe

Broiled Pork Chops

February 12, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

These easy pork chops are delicious with this sauce. Next time I make it, I’m skipping the racks and just letting them lay around in the sauce to soak it up. Otherwise, it doesn’t pick up as much flavor as it could. Hope you like it!

Broiled Pork Chops

3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 pork chops

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Set aside half of the sauce.
Place chops on broiling pan rack.
Broil about 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes on each side.
Brush with remaining sauce.
Continue broiling, turning and basting occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until juices run clear.
Serve with reserved sauce.

Source: Taste of Home