It's getting hot in here.........

Everyone deserves a day off, right?  After 12 amazing JAK meals, the crew decided to take a night away from the "hot" kitchen and put our opinions to the test at a new and unique dining establishment.  Inca Trail came recommended, so we thought we'd give it a shot.  This blog is our experience there, and opinions.

 
Inca Trail is a Peruvian restaurant and has much to offer (seafood, chicken, beef, and vegetarian choices).  When we arrived, we had the place to ourselves.  We weren't overly concerned with the lack of patrons, given the fact it was 8:00 p.m. on a Monday night. 

When we first sat down, the waitress asked us for our drink order.  "J", in true form, said "we'll take the strongest drink you have!".  Unfortunately, the waitress then explained that they had yet to receive their liquor license.  What we thought was the beginning to a bad experience, soon made a turn-around though.  She then explained that there was a liquor store in the same shopping complex and we were more than welcome to go purchase our own bottle of wine and bring it inside.  Huh?  That was definitely a first for all of us.  We loved the idea though: Get a bottle of wine for half the cost of two glasses each off a menu.  So, "J" made his way out to get us our drinks. 

"J" coming back with our wine!

What's funny?  The restaurant had wine glasses for us to use.

After we were settled and nerves calmed (from the thought of no wine), we started reviewing the menu.  We decided to start out with their most popular appetizer (per our waitress).  It contained fried plantains and a meat and potato patty.  The plantain had a sweet yet savory taste.  The potato "patty" was very similar to the Irish version of shepard's pie.  Potatoes in a mashed consistency on top, with a meat and bean mixture below.  Included as a garnish on the plate was pickled red onions.  It was so yummy to take a little onion with a bite of the plantain.  All very good.  After the appetizer, we were pleasantly surprised with an "on the house" bowl of homemade chicken soup.  The broth was very flavorful.  Included with the broth was very thinly shredded chicken and carrots.  A nice touch to dinner (because who doesn't like something free?).   

Appetizer partially eaten

Done!

Chicken soup

Next was ordering our main entrees.  Both "J" and "A" went with the roasted chicken dish, which came with fries (yes, we thought weird too) and Inca salad.  "A" also ordered a side of green rice, as she wasn't thrilled about the fries.  "K" ordered the beef strip meal.  Strips of beef marinated in a soy sauce and spices mixed with red bell peppers, red onions and fries (yes, again...fries).  It came with a side of white rice, and she ordered a side Inca salad as well (the salad sounded too yummy to pass up). 

The food presented

Roasted chicken.  Notice the carmelization of the skin.  It had such a deep flavor.  Very smokey and juicy.  A must get next time.

Green rice

The fries.  Although a bizarre item to see on the menu, they were fabulous.  Crunchy outside and soft inside.

The Inca salad!  Yummo!  The dressing was a vinegar base, and very pallet pleasing.  Plus, who doesn't like avocados!

The steak strip meal.  Just by the colors, you can guess how fabulous it was.

It didn't take long for JAK to devour the selections.  The food was all very rich in flavors, and it was fun to try something new and unique.

Chicken, done

Salad, done

Steak, done

Inca Trail definitely received JAK's stamp of approval.  The food was great, and the service was even better.  It was a wonderful night off from the kitchen, and yet still proved Monday's don't have to be Mundane.  Over dinner in conversation it was decided that every quarter JAK would take this break and try out a new, local unique find.  Of course, reporting all along the way.

Cheers!

Until next time....A la Cuisine!





Garlic couldn't keep this cupid from striking

It's 12:06 p.m. on February 14.  That's right, noon-time on the big "V" day.  Valentine's Day fell on Monday, and JAK had other plans for this evening.  But, we of course, couldn't go a week without having our Not So Mundane Meal, so we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day together, just one day earlier. 

The ingredient chosen for this week was garlic, and this was not done by accident.  The three of us LOVE garlic.  Love it so much, that the age-old "myth" that garlic is a deterrent for vampires (or kisses) doesn't apply to us.  So we confidently moved forward with the key ingredient.

Chopped garlic for the asparagus, mashed potatoes and steak rub

Garlic cooking down with butter, for the asparagus

The garlic shucks (we used all of the cloves from two garlic heads, or knobs)

The asparagus was trimmed and placed in the garlic infused butter sauce, to cook for 15 minutes

Potatoes were brought to a boil and cooked until very "mushy" when poked

Cream was boiled, and then simmered, containing several garlic cloves (this mixture was then added to the potatoes and smashed until creamy)

The beautiful fillets

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to rub on the steaks (after a garlic clove was rubbed over them)

"J" rubbing the mixture on the fillet

Fillet one rub, done

Fillets cooking in a pre-heated cast-iron skillet (the skillet was pre-heated in the oven)

"K" timing the fillets (each side got 2 minutes)

Fillets on their second 2-minute mark.  They were also cooked, for 2-minutes, on their sides containing the bacon.  Yeah, they were bacon-wrapped fillets.  Do you "do" a fillet any other way?

While "J" was cooking, "A" went all out as well.  This is her ironing the linen to adorn this week's table-scape.  Yeah, she ironed it.  Nothing but the best for JAK.

And what a table-scape it was!  The evening was beautiful, so we enjoyed dinner out on the back-porch.  I told you cupid wasn't scared away by our garlic!

The table up close

The final meal plated.  Looks like something right out of some expensive steakhouse.  Even down to the fresh parsley atop the fillet and potatoes.  It's hard to describe how amazing this meal was.  The fillets were cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of seasoning.  I think sometimes people tend to think a rub or seasoning (or even using a marinade) has to be complicated.  If you have a nice cut of meat, all you need is simple (garlic clove rubbed on the meat and then sea salt and cracked black pepper rubbed on that).  The asparagus was excellent as well.  The garlic cooked with butter, which infused the butter with flavor.  The asparagus was then added to the butter, and cooked (on a low temp) for 15 minutes.  They came out with a great flavor, and still had a crunch to them (as they should).  The potatoes certainly didn't take third.  The cream was brought to a boil with garlic cloves, then simmered until the cream mixture had a strong garlic flavor.  Once the potatoes were soft, the cream was added and they were mashed to a silky texture.  Although lumps are great in certain mashed potatoes, this recipe calls for a creamy, creamy, creamy mash consistency.  You can't forget to add the Parmesan cheese as well.  Talk about creamy!

It makes all the difference. 

It didn't take long to finish.  The potatoes were everyone's favorite.  They were so rich with flavor, we had to share the recipe.  You can find it below, along with another "tip" from JAK for this week.

We couldn't go without dessert though, and just couldn't find it in us to do a dessert with garlic.  So, "J" made a traditional chocolate cake, with a twist.  He put coffee in the batter and icing.

Below marks the process.

The cream added is shaken in a mixer to get it nice and cold, and frothy!

Coco added to the cream

(side-ways picture, but....) Coffee being added to the batter

Completed homemade batter

Being poured in one of two cake rounds

Coming out of the oven

Ready to be iced

The homemade coffee icing

Layer two

More icing

Completed cake with fresh mint

After dinner we came inside and started watching the Grammy's.  We waited as long as our full belly's could before cutting the cake.  The beautiful slice accompanied with fresh raspberry sorbet and mint.  The cake was so rich, and the icing (with the coffee) was a beautiful touch.

Our tip for this week is "what a difference fresh herbs make".  AND, you can get them at your local greenhouse for WAY cheaper than anywhere else!  See the one's JAK purchased.  Not only gives us fresh herbs, but adds such a nice addition to the window seal (above the kitchen sink).

As promised, below is the recipe for the garlic mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!

Until next time.....A la Cuisine!

Ingredients

·         3 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold

·         2 tablespoons kosher salt (for boiling water)

·         2 Cups - half-and-half

·         6 cloves garlic, crushed

·         6 ounces grated parmesan

Dice potatoes with the skins on, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Be careful not to scald the milk. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture. Add the Parmesan and stir with a spatula until incorporated. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

Pie doesn't always have to be sweet........

Who says having a pie means it has to be something sweet?  This Not So Mundane Monday meal was all about savory pies (you'll see later).  But, for now, the ingredient given to J this week was fresh vegetables.

Carrots, Celery, Herbs, Parsnips, Garlic and Onions is what J decided he would use.  I can assure you, you will be surprised how these ingredients were used.

J started (on Sunday night) by placing three whole chickens in the great pig pot (remember, the pot he purchased for the crab boil?  we knew this would come in handy again!). 

He then added the roughly chopped veggies on top and water that covered those. 

The chicken and veggies cooked for 5 hours.  If you haven't figured it out yet, J decided to make a homemade chicken broth with the ingredients.  More on the chicken broth later, but here's a hint: W-O-W!

On Monday, he then took 7 thigh/legs of chicken and roasted in the stove for 1 hour.  Once the roasted chicken came out, it cooled and then he pulled the chicken from the bone.  Leaving us left with an amazingly tender and succulent meat. 

We debated on putting this picture up, but we felt it was necessary to show you promising cooks out there that a true chicken broth (homemade) will look like this after it's sat (in the fridge) overnight.  So, if you try this on your own, don't be alarmed!

J then made a homemade dough.  That's right, another "from scratch" item to list on his resume.  If you'll look closely, you can see his right hand clutching a paper towel.  J sliced his finger on the food processor and cut himself....but in true Iron Chef flavor, he didn't let that stop him!

Next, more carrots were blanched, two types of onions were cooked down and the homemade chicken broth (from the night before) was reheated with two chicken bouillon cubes added.  As you can see, the scary looking broth (that sat overnight in the fridge) re-heated perfectly.  We can't describe to you how rich this broth was.  As much work as it was to make, it was well worth it.  I, personally, could have been content just eating the broth for dinner!  That good, folks.  That good.

Once the broth was reheated, J added flour to thicken it.  While stirring, the broth was added to the onion mixture along with the carrots and a bag of frozen peas.  Can you see where this is going??

The homemade dough was rolled out, into four pieces.  The broth mixture was added to white bowls.  Eggwash was brushed around the edge of the white bowls.  The dough was then carefully placed atop and covered the wonderful mixture and was then given another eggwash bath.  J then scored the tops so steam could be released while cooking.  Pepper and a flaked salt (naturally colored pink) was added before placing it in the oven.  So, as you can see.....J turned the ingredient of fresh vegetables into a homemade chicken pot pie!  So clever.

While the potpies cooked (for 1 hour) A put together our tablescape and a fabulous appetizer (of dates wrapped in prosciutto and goat cheese, alongside green olives).  It was a great distraction from the smell of the pie cooking.

Exactly one hour of cooking later, the pie came out looking like something right out of a Southern Living magazine.  We couldn't wait to dive in, but it needed to rest/cool for 10 minutes.

Wow were these delicious.  I made the statement (the bold statement) that they came in at a close second behind the homemade bread/pasta/bolognese meal.  The homemade broth paired with the roasted chicken and vegetables had a flavor so rich and indescribable.  It will be hard to ever use canned chicken broth again.  The homemade dough added such a flaky, buttery and crispy texture as well.  It was an experience to say the least, and we all agreed we would choose a savory pie over that of the traditional sweet pie any day of the week. 

But, we did need something sweet after all.  So, we made smores out on the back porch (chimenea style).  Okay, okay.  It was WAY too cold to stay outside to roast them, so we headed in and sat around the fireplace while they roasted.  It hit the spot, at the end of a wonderful evening. 

Until next time.....A la cuisine!