Category Archives: food

Overheard at the Diner

Posted on January 3, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

“New Hampshire is a made up state.”

I overheard that statement in Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, Herkimer, NY, on Monday, when Steven and I went out for breakfast. I think the guy was teasing the young boy he was talking to. He went on to say that he had never met anybody from New Hampshire and was sure the young boy hadn’t either.

The conversation may have stemmed from one of the many license plates that decorate the diner. Our own Georgia plate resides on the ceiling at the opposite end from where we sat Monday.

I did not hear the rest of the conversation, so I don’t know what, if anything, was proved or disproved. I lead with it because it was the most unusual thing that happened during our breakfast out. I know I’ve devoted a few posts to Crazy Otto’s. I have to shake things up when I can.

It’s not so easy for Steven and me to go out for breakfast together as it used to be. Our work hours work against us. New Year’s Eve, however, I didn’t work and Steven went in at 1:30. We had errands to run. A bite of breakfast at Otto’s was the way to go.

I love looking around at the decor. In addition to the license plates, there are movie posters, retro ads and more. I was especially taken with an old ad for chocolate covered Twinkies. Why would they stop making such a thing? Oh, I know, Hostess is bankrupt, Twinkies are dead. But I don’t remember seeing chocolate covered Twinkies in the decadent ’80s or ’90s either. Good chance I would have bought them, especially in the ’80s when I was young and skinny (I bet you thought I was going to say “young and foolish.” Well, I was that, too). I later heard a young voice behind me saying, “Two for ten cents,” in an impressed tone, so I was not the only one noticing the Twinkies.

Our breakfast, to get back to the real food, was very tasty. I ordered a sandwich with egg, cheese and bacon on an English muffin. It came with homemade chips and a little carrot and raisin salad. Steven had French toast, fried eggs and a very large sausage patty. And, of course, plenty of hot coffee.

The next day, we found out our friends Phyllis and Jim had eaten at Crazy Otto’s. It seems Crazy Otto’s has a gluten free menu featuring a variety of choices. Phyllis was especially delighted with the gluten free pancakes. I said, “I’m going to mention that in my blog post!” Hi, Phyllis!

Crazy Otto’s is located on Albany Street in Herkimer. For more information call 314-866-8801. You can also “Like” them on Facebook.

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Don’t It Make My Chicken Bleu

Posted on December 31, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I’d change up Wrist to Forehead Sunday with a cooking post. Saturday I figured out how to make Chicken Cordon Bleu.

The only recipe I had was the memory of a co-worker telling me how she made it in the late ’80s. That is, she told me in the ’80s. When I reminisce about the ’80s with my friends, we don’t usually share chicken recipes. But I digress.

I started out by pouring myself a glass of wine, because I like to cook with wine (sometimes I put it in the food) (I read that on a refrigerator magnet or a t-shirt sometime). I set the oven on 350 degrees to preheat and grated some mozzarella cheese.

So right away I differed from my friend’s recipe. She used slices of cheese and ham which she cut into strips and rolled up together. I had nice chunks of leftover Christmas ham my sister had given me and a brick of mozzarella I had purchased that morning.

I differed from every Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe I’d ever heard of by using boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. I have better luck with thighs not drying out on me. Plus, I like dark meat. I think you’re supposed to pound the chicken with a hammer to flatten it out, but this is something else I’ve never had much luck with. I sliced it in half through the thickest part and spread it open.

I put the grated mozzarella on, then the ham, folded it back together and rolled it in Italian Style Breadcrumbs. My mother always uses Italian Style for all her breadcrumb needs.

I put the chickens in the pan (on which I had previously sprayed no-stick cooking spray) and stuck a couple of toothpicks in them to keep them from opening back up. I’m not sure if the toothpicks were really necessary. I ended up taking them out after 30 minutes anyways, when I flipped the chickens with the help of barbecue tongs.

The chickens ended up cooking about 50 minutes total. Thirty, then flip, then check after 10, then after 10 more. While they cooked I made a cheese sauce with the extra mozzarella I had grated (I never guess the right amount).

And here’s where all you cooking purists will shake an admonitory finger at me. Also nutrition purists. I used a can of cream of mushroom soup to which I added the cheese and some spices. Well, you purists can shake your fingers or your heads or your groove things for all I care. My mother had suggested the cream of mushroom soup when I told her my dinner plans earlier. Everybody agrees that my mother is a marvelous cook. So there.

The Chicken Cordon Bleu turned out very tasty, even, dare I say, yummy. We had it with a macaroni salad I made using some leftover ziti (waste not, want not). And I am especially pleased that it enabled me to keep my wrist from my forehead on a Sunday.

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Practically Health Food

Posted on December 23, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

This will be a cooking post. I had wanted some Running Commentary, or even a Pedestrian Post, but the weather is working against me. In desperation, I made some Chocolate Bark, just so I would have something to write about.

I got out my fancy double boiler (you know, frying pan of water with a pot in it), and set some dark chocolate chips to melt, adding a tablespoon of olive oil. The recipe also calls for some extract, almond or peppermint or something, but I didn’t have any so left it out and hoped for the best.

While it heated, I pulled out a baking dish and lined it with tin foil, which I sprayed with cooking spray. The recipe said “greased tin foil.” What I did was good enough, right?

Then I commenced to breaking up the candy canes. I forgot what a pain in the butt it is getting the plastic shrink wrap off those things! It comes off in pieces then the pieces stick to your hand when you try to throw them out. Grr! And I had not realized we were out of large plastic bags so pulled out a sandwich bag and looked for my metal meat pounder. Of course I could not find it (regular readers are not surprised either). I used the handle of my pizza cutter. Soon I had a baggy of large pieces of candy cane and candy cane powder. It would have to do.

By now the water was boiling and the chocolate was melting. I stirred it till the lumps were gone and poured it into the baking dish. That sure didn’t make much! Damn! I threw in some of the peppermint, almonds and raisins. Then I put the (fancy) double boiler back on and found my other bag of dark chocolate chips (I try to keep a spare of such things on hand in case of just such an emergency).

Two bags worth of chocolate looked good. I put in the rest of the candy cane remains, added more almonds and raisins and stirred. Spread it out as evenly as I could — no egregiously deep spots, no tinfoil showing through. After I had scraped the pot and cleaned up a little, I covered the baking dish and cleared a space for it in the refrigerator.

Tomorrow or much later tonight (Steven and I have a play to go to — preview of coming attractions), we will break or cut up the bark and taste test it. Whatever is left after taste testing I plan to take to my parents’ house for Christmas Eve, but I make no promises. For heavens’ sake: dark chocolate, almonds, raisins — I’m sure there’s even health benefits from candy canes, because, you know, peppermint tea — it’s practically health food!

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Where’s the Beef? At Church

Posted on December 4, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was delighted to see Christ Episcopal Church’s Annual Roast Beef Dinner scheduled for last Saturday. Steven worked till six, and the dinner ran till seven. We would be fashionably late but not unreasonably so.

When Steven and I have someplace to go after he gets off work, I try to meet him outside the house. That way he doesn’t come inside, get Tabby all excited, then leave. It just seems a mean thing to do to a cute little dog. I mean, she is SO happy when we’re both home; I hate to see it come crashing down. I suppose I am getting sentimental in my old age or super-sensitive or something (we’ll call that my Monday Middle-aged Musing for the week).

It was cold on Saturday. I stood at the end of the driveway watching approaching headlights and cursing the ones that weren’t Steven. All I could think of was that Vicki Carr song: “It must be him! It must be him!” At last it was.

There were a few empty tables at the dinner, most of them dirty. A lady quickly cleaned one for us. I always observe that we get top notch service at these dinners.

I got roast beef and mashed potatoes, which I covered in gravy, but I declined the squash and peas. I love being an adult and not having to eat vegetables I don’t like. I know, the younger generation can’t really identify with that, because it has gone out of fashion to make kids clean their plates (oh, nobody needs to tell me why this is psychologically and nutritionally a good idea; I was just making an observation) (or was that another Middle-aged Musing?).

I saw one little boy mowing down a big plate covered with peas and nothing else. I was impressed.

The food was delicious, as you probably expected. I especially enjoyed the roll with real butter. For dessert I dithered for a while between cheesecake and a chocolate pudding cake. I finally decided on the cheesecake. Steven made it to the dessert table a few minutes after me (he took longer because he ate his vegetables). Guess which he picked. So I got to try them both.

While we ate we were highly entertained by the toddler son of a couple of parishioners. He was playing with a roll of tape about four or five inches in diameter. He would roll it down the floor and cheer about how far it went. I could go on for a bit about high tech toys all the kids seem to want, but let’s have no more Middle-aged Musings today.

Before we left we put in for the various items they were raffling: a poinsettia with scratch-off lottery tickets and a couple of stockings with goodies. We chatted with the lady at the table about donating the 50/50 back if we won, which we have known people to do. It did not arise Saturday, though, because we did not win.

That was really no matter. We had enjoyed an excellent dinner. I’ve never personally roasted a beef in my life. I may try. Or I may just wait for the next church dinner.

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Ad-libbing with Artichokes

Posted on November 27, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have not done a cooking post in a while. Sunday I made a spinach and artichoke dip without benefit of recipe that I thought might be worth a paragraph or two.

I had followed a recipe for spinach and artichoke dip once, I think. I don’t quite remember where I found the recipe or if I followed it exactly, but I seem to remember mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise, and it tasting pretty good. I found a couple of recipes for artichoke dips in my recipe books, but I wanted spinach and artichoke. I had purchased frozen spinach that morning at Hannaford specifically for the purpose. I decided to do my own thing.

First I set the oven to 350 degrees to preheat (it doesn’t have a preheat setting, which is just as well, because I always forget to take it off preheat and put it on bake so I burn whatever I’m cooking). I thawed the spinach in a colander by pouring boiling water over it. I let it drain, helping it along by pressing out some of the water with a fork. While it finished draining I grated some mozzarella cheese.

I drained a jar of artichoke hearts and chopped them, not too small. I put them, the cheese and the spinach into a ceramic loaf pan. I added some mayonnaise.

You may notice that I did not measure anything. The cheese looked like it might have been a cup, likewise the spinach. The artichokes were, I think a 4 oz. jar (if I still have the jar, I’ll check before I post this. It will depend on if Steven has already done this week’s recycling). A couple of big spoons of mayonnaise looked good. I added a healthy sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese for good measure.

I stirred well, put it in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. That was how long the recipe closest to what I did called for. I figured it only had to melt the cheese. We let it cool on a trivet for, oh, probably less than ten minutes, because we were pretty hungry by that time. I chopped up some whole wheat pitas to go with it, but I imagine crackers or chips would have been good, too.

It was a yummy dip. I guess I could call the recipe as follows: Put some stuff together that sounds good. Put it in the oven. Try not to burn your hands getting it out of the oven or your mouth getting it into your stomach. Enjoy.

(NOTE: Steven already did the recycling, but per my recipe, use whatever amount of artichoke hearts looks good to you.)

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Breakfast at the Bakery

Posted on October 23, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

About halfway through last week, I decided that since Steven had Saturday off we would have breakfast at the Heidelberg Bakery and Cafe, 3056 State Route 28, Herkimer, NY. I spent the rest of the week upheld by a vision of sourdough toast.

We got up early on Saturday, so I knew we would beat the crowd. I admired once again the larger tables with benches that look like church pews, but we sat at the same table for two we had sat at last time.

“It can be Our Table,” I said. It was our anniversary. I was allowed to be sentimental.

Of course we got coffee. I had been looking forward to the coffee from Utica Coffee Roasting Company as well. I don’t know why they don’t sell Utica Roasting at Hannaford, seeing as they love to carry local. I’ll have to ask.

I ordered fried eggs with sourdough toast. Steven ordered French toast, which is made with raisin walnut bread, and sausage. When I told the waitress how I had been looking forward to sourdough toast, she told me they don’t always have it. Well, I’m sure there are other good choices as well. I love Heidelberg bread.

We decided to get a treat before we left. After pondering cookies, brownies and strudel, we settled on a small apple cake. We ate most of it on Sunday. I may go back soon and get another.

Heidelberg Bakery and Cafe is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone number is 315-866-0999. You can like them as well as Utica Coffee Roasting Company on Facebook. Utica Coffee Roasting Company (which probably rates a blog post all its own) is located at 92 Genessee St., Utica, NY, phone 315-269-8898.

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Crazy Dinner

Posted on October 19, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wednesday evening Steven and I had some shopping to do, so I suggested we grab a bite at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, 100 W. Albany St., Herkimer, NY.

I know I have written about eating breakfast there on several occasions, but we don’t often get there for dinner. I thought it was definitely worth a post.

I was a little afraid the whole thing would come to a grinding halt by our finding out that Crazy Otto’s was only open for dinner on the weekends, but we were in luck: Wednesday through Saturday they are open till nine.

Once seated in a booth, a nice young man offered to start us off with a beverage (decaf coffee for me, regular for Steven), and we perused the menu. I already knew what I wanted. I had, in fact, suggested Crazy Otto’s specifically to order the Patty Platter: a burger sans bun served with cottage cheese on a bed of lettuce and tomato on the side. Perfect for my weight loss goals and perfectly tasty as well. Steven ordered a Patty Melt, one of his favorites, with french fries. That comes with a small cup of bread pudding, so he enjoyed a dessert as well.

The diner was not crowded, as it usually is when we make it there for breakfast, especially on the weekend. I enjoy to sit in a booth and look out on the main drag of Herkimer. I could see the top of the old warehouse that holds Fat Cat’s Fish Fry (must make it there for a blog post one day), Dollar General, Mavis Tires and Cole Muffler.

Our waiter kept us well supplied with coffee as we enjoyed our repast. I especially liked the tomato, fancily sliced and quite fresh and flavorful. I wondered if it was local, but foolishly forgot to ask.

I highly recommend Crazy Otto’s for any meal of the day. For more information you can call them at 315-866-8801, or you can Like them on Facebook.

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Spaghetti and Meatbars

Posted on October 4, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

No, I am not mispronouncing my L’s. I actually did make meatbars.

The meal started with a tube of ground turkey that Steven and I had acquired some time ago (long story, not very interesting). Of course, ground turkey is not interchangeable with hamburger, so it sat in our freezer while I made meatball plans which somehow never came to fruition. At last, Sunday I made up my mind to purchase some sausage to mix with the turkey and make meatballs.

My first problem was that I could not find any loose sausage. No matter. I can get the casing off a sausage. I put both meats in a bowl and added some crushed garlic and bread crumbs with Italian seasoning.

I added an egg. Two eggs? It looked like enough meat for two eggs. And that’s where I was quite wrong. Two eggs was too many. My meat mixture was… not exactly soupy but definitely too moist. I tried adding more bread crumbs. I was emphatically not inclined to run back to the store for more meat.

Probably the meatballs would solidify when cooked. I tried rolling a couple. Not a success (no, I did NOT take a picture to immortalize my stupidity) (oh, yeah, I know, I’m writing about it in this blog. But who reads anymore anyways? Almost everybody looks at pictures).

Finally I poured the stuff into a baking dish like it was a cake mix. I smoothed it out and stuck in into a 350 degree oven. Twenty minutes later I had… I guess you could call it Italian meatloaf. I cut it into rectangles and added it to my sauce (which I had been putting together all this time. Should I have mentioned that?).

They did not taste too bad. However, as I write this I slap myself on the forehead and say “D’oh!” I forgot to add grated Parmesan cheese. I must try to remember that the next time I make a batch of meat… something.

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Cheese Before Wine

Posted on October 3, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven and I began our Friday Mohawk Valley adventures with a trip to Vintage Spirits in Herkimer, NY for a wine and cheese tasting. I was delighted to see that Three Village Cheeses was providing the cheese.

The wine tasting table seemed a little crowded, so I started with the cheese. Tom remembered me from last June. He had read my blog post from that tasting, so that established cordial relations right away.

I tried the feta first and immediately declared it my favorite. So smooth, so deep. I don’t know how people usually describe cheeses (notes of… what? I never taste the notes in wine either, so what does that tell you), but I thought the feta was substantial. The other heavy one was the tomme, which I think I declared my favorite last time. I like the ones that are more complex.

I happily nibbled the mild ones, too, and when I got to the Habanero Havarti (I think habanero should have a tilda over the n, don’t know how to do it on my computer) (point and laugh if you must), I knew I had found my cheese of the day.

I recently bought some store brand pepper jack at Hannaford and found I liked the bite. Well, this was a glorification of that taste. The cheese was cheesier! The pepper was peppier! It was better than yummy!

Having made up my mind on the cheese, I turned my attention to the wine. Of course, as I sipped I returned to nibble. Must experiment with wine/cheese pairings after all.

I believe I can purchase Three Village Cheeses at Ilion Farmer’s Market. If not, I will surely make my way to the cheese factory and retail store at 2608 Newport Rd., Poland, NY. I can get directions via their Facebook page. I think it is time to upgrade from store brand cheese. Sorry, Hannaford!

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The Red Apple Delivers

Posted on September 6, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

A local restaurant recently made a comeback, so I thought I’d give them a shout out.

The Red Apple on Main Street in Mohawk suffered a fire. They were boarded up and blocked with stern yellow tape for what seemed like the longest time. The OPEN sign perched mockingly in one window. Well, why wouldn’t it be there? When there is a fire, the operative thing to do is GET OUT, not worry about turning the sign over to “Sorry, We’re Closed.”

I drive by the place almost every day after work and was pleased to see first when clean-up had started and second when they had re-opened. After they helpfully left a menu on our front porch, I suggested we order delivery.

From the appetizers we selected Crab Rangoon with Cheese Wontons and Fried Scallop. The rangoon we usually get but had never tried the scallops. For our entree we went with General Tso’s Chicken. That is one of my favorites, although I’m never sure exactly how much you’re supposed to pronounce the T. A friend of mine just asks for “The General’s Chicken,” really a very sensible way to order it; I’ve never seen another general on a Chinese menu.

Our dinner arrived in due course. Steven tried unsuccessfully to keep Tabby from greeting the delivery guy (I was no help; I was busy doing an anacrostic puzzle). The food did not disappoint. The scallops were yummy, and the crab rangoons were some of the best I’ve had.

Another menu was included with our order. I looked at it and saw another dozen or so things I’d like to try, particularly from the Thai Style Cooking section. Oh dear, just when I was thinking I ought to cook for myself a little more often.

Red Apple is located at 10 E. Main St., Mohawk, NY, telephone 315-866-1788, fax 315-866-1833. They are open seven days a week: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.

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