Monday Industry Night

Monday nights at Canvas@1206 on Hertel Ave is a great way to try out a new restaurant in Buffalo with affordable prices.

Since I have previously devoted a post about Canvas@1206, I will keep this nice and brief.

On Monday nights the restaurant is closed for dinner service, but the owner will serve you up $5 appetizers from the kitchen to go with the fantastic drink specials. All glasses of wine as well as the specialty martinis are $5 and they also feature $3 beers. You really can’t pass up this deal!

This visit we decided to try the flash fried calamari with a Thai chili sauce. This calamari was honestly one of the best I have had. Calamari is a very easy food to overcook, but the owner prepared the dish flawlessly.

AJ, the bartender who hosts Industry Nights on Mondays, was very excited to make us some new drink ideas he had concocted.

The first drink we tried was named ‘The Baroness’ which consisted of Pristine vodka, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, fresh squeezed lemon juice, blackberry purée, and a mint leaf. This drink was sweet for sure, but still pleasantly balanced.

AJ mixed up a melon flavored drink for Dan called the Waterloo. The drink consisted of Pristine vodka, aperol, house made simple syrup, and muddled lemon and cantaloupe. Dan loved this drink! The muddled melon complimented the aperol and vodka wonderfully making this a great summer cocktail.Make sure you check out this relaxing spot and let AJ and the owner satisfy your taste buds with refreshing cocktails and cuisine!

Blackberry Coconut Macaroon Tart

Recipe courtesy of SmittenKitten.com

Vanilla Poached Pears

I became determined to tackle my first pear recipe when I found out Dan’s grandpa had two ripe pear trees in his yard. So today when I dropped Dan off there I seized the opportunity to get my hands on those juicy fruits.

The second I got home with a big box of pears I knew I needed to make something amazing with them immediately. Luckily I came across a recipe for Vanilla Poached Pears last week that I had all ingredients of hand for. The recipe for this perfect summer dessert can be found on SmittenKitten.com.

But now it’s time to get your mouth salivating with some pictures! Enjoy!

Left Bank

Dan and I dined at one of our favorite restaurants last night called Left bank, located right around the corner from our apartment. It’s a dangerous thing being within walking distance of a semi-expensive delicious restaurant.

The timeline of service was not the fastest, but fortunately we were looking to have a relaxing slow-paced night. Left Bank is a New American cuisine restaurant and so far there has not been a dish we tasted that we have not praised.

We were seated on the outdoor patio which has eight tables, tiki torches, a vine covered brick wall, and flowers all around. We started our dining experience with wine. Dan chose the house Cabernet and I sipped on Riesling.

The server assistant brought us crusty Italian bread with a sundries tomato infused olive oil.

The menu is the most challenging part of dining at Left Bank because everything sounds so good!

For our appetizer we choose the Fondue for Two which is warm Gorgonzola cheese fondue served with beef tenderloin, focaccia points, portobello fries, and asparagus spears. This dish was out of this world delicious. The Gorgonzola was tangy and creamy and paired perfectly with the selection of dippers. What blew us away with this dish was the beef tenderloin. It was perfectly cooked and so tender. On top of taste the appearance was beautiful. For his entree Dan chose the 14oz New York strip steak from the evening’s feature menu. The steak was accompanied by carrots, broccolini, chèvre (goat cheese) mashed potatoes, and sautéed mushrooms and onions.

I chose the Carrot Papardella which was tossed with lobster, shrimp, and crabmeat served in a shellfish-brandy cream, with julienned vegetables, arugula, and tarragon. This dish was by far our favorite of the night. The cream sauce was perfectly paired with the al dente homemade carrot papardella.

We enjoyed our relaxing night together and suggest Left Bank to all of our friends!

Baby Eggplant and Zucchini with Potato Gnocchi

This post will be short, simple, and delicious.

I recently purchased Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil and was so excited to try it in a recipe. Coconut oil has a high heating temperature so it’s perfect for cooking (and many other great uses too). This meal takes 10 minutes start to finish and the best part is…the whole recipe is only 275 calories!!!Zucchini, Eggplant, & Gnocchi:

1T coconut oil
1/2 cup cubed baby eggplant
1/2 cup cubed zucchini
1/2 cup potato gnocchi
red pepper flakes to taste
garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste

1. Heat coconut oil in sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Add vegetables to pan until cooked through and al dente.
3. Cook gnocchi in boiling water until done.
4. Add drained gnocchi to sauté pan win vegetables.
5. Season dish with red pepper flakes, garlic salt, and pepper

Sea Salt Avocado

My most favorite snack is an avocado with sea salt. Perfectly creamy and delicious.

Blackberry and Lemon Curd Mini Tarts

These blackberry and lemon curd mini tarts are a super easy dessert idea for a dinner with friends or family.

I picked up a box or premise mini tarts by Clearbrook Farms. Each box has 24 tarts which is perfect for a party with 6-8 guests.
I also bought a jar of lemon curd from Clearbrook Farms to fill the tarts with. All you need to do is fill a pastry bag with the lemon curd and you’re ready to fill your tarts!

Top each one with a blackberry and you’re done!

Canvas

We decided to visit a friend bar tending at Canvas tonight on Hertel Ave.

View of the bar.

Summer feature menu.

Mangotini.

Tropical Vacation.

Bikinitini.

Crab cakes with a tomato hollandaise and bacon bread crumbs.

Canvas has been open since January 2013 and is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

Homemade Garbage Plate

Tonight for dinner I decided to make a Rochester, NY staple…the garbage plate! A garbage plate is traditionally a choice of two of the following: baked beans, mac salad, homefries, or french fries. Then the plate is topped with either hamburgers, cheeseburger, hot dogs, or chicken fingers and then smothered with a “meat hot sauce” Dan and I typically like our garbage plates with mac salad, homefries, and cheeseburgers (I substituted tater tots for homefries). I followed a recipe from another food blog, Heather Homemade, for this meal that was so simple to tackle.

First you boil a big pot of water. While waiting for the water to boil, sauté onions and garlic in a pan until lightly brown. Once the water is boiling add the pasta of your choice. I chose shells. Once the onions and garlic have browned add the beef and break up into small pieces. Cook the beef, onions, and garlic until the meat has completely browned. Next add tomato paste, water, and spices to the meat mixture and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has thickened, but is still runny.

After the pasta is cooked, drain it and run the pasta under cool water until it is cold. Set your oven for 450 degrees. Once preheated, spread your tater tots, fries, or home fries across a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Season your hamburger patties and cook them one at a time in a sauté pan until completely cooked through and very thin.

While the hamburgers were cooking I put my chilled pasta shells in a bowl and mixed in mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and shredded carrots. Mac salad in a traditional Rochester garbage plate is very simple which makes it a great accompaniment to the meat hot sauce.

After all the of hamburgers were cooked I laid them out on a baking pan and put a slice of American cheese on each. I melted the cheese slices in the oven while the tater tots finished baking.

Assembling the garbage plate is the fun part! Dan and I like to put equal parts of mac salad and tater tots on our plate and throw hamburgers on top smothered in meat sauce, ketchup, and mustard.

This meal definitely hit the spot for this Rochesterian living in Buffalo!

 

Simple Sunday Clambake

When you’re given a dozen sweet corn and it’s a beautiful summer Sunday what do you do? You have a clambake of course!

I stumbled across an easy recipe for a one pot clambake from Real Simple magazine and knew I needed to try this recipe out! I stopped at Wegmans and picked up kielbasa, a half pound of large wild shrimp, and 100 littleneck clams. I also chose a French baguette to grill and serve alongside the seafood.

This recipe was so easy and only took 30 minutes from preparation to table. We enjoyed our clambake with some Blue Moon beers and a campfire. What a great Sunday!