ZestyCook » Restaurants

Hawaiian Pizza in the Winter

ZestyCook — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:42:29 +0000

Hi All. New Years eve is upon us. Sorry I have not been cooking much over the past few weeks as I was getting the house ready, unpacked and livable. I promise to deliver some more zesty recipes in 2010.

Are you excited about the new year? I am sure New Years Resolutions will be flying everywhere in the coming days. I never seem to have much luck with my resolutions however this year I am going to make a solid effort to be more organized and time efficient between work, zesty and family. With that being said I wanted to share with you a pretty yummy pizza if you run out of time for supper anytime or just do not feel like cooking.

The last couple of weeks we have been eating take out every now and again… which is bad but just part of life. One day last week we brought in Domino’s Pizza…. Hawaiian style and it was quite delicious.

I have a busy day planned today – at the office for a little while, test driving another vehicle, shooting a campbell’s video and preparing for a huge New Year’s Eve food fest at the Zesty In-laws. I am very excited.

Oh yeah I forgot to tell you – we sold the truck. We need a 4X4 so we are on the hunt. I will keep you posted if we get lucky. Have a great New Years Eve and I will stop in tomorrow with some shots of tonight’s gala.

Take care

zesty

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Hawaiian Pizza in the Winter

Indian Cuisine… Jamaican Style!

ZestyCook — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:00:34 +0000

Happy Tuesday! I want to share with you my first A la carte experience at the Grand Palladium. First off it is very hot in Jamaica as you can imagine and for some reason men are required to wear long pants and closed toed shoes at the restaurants. Well let me tell you, wearing the extra clothing is uncomfortable in warm Jamaica. Once I got over the initial shock I was good to go and excited to order.

Now let me apologize in advance for the pictures. The atmosphere was very dark and difficult to get good pictures of all the food.

Food Line -Up

Warm Garlic Naan Bread
Lamb Kebabs
Tandoori Chicken
Onion Rice
Spiced Beef with Vegetables
Butter Chicken
Vegetarian Samosa

So below I added the snapshots that I was able to salvage from the Indian meal. Now before you think I am a real pig – the server basically came up to us and said “ Hey mon, welcome to the best Indian experience you will ever have. Do you like Indian food? “ – We said “yes” , so he took the menus and said “I will take care of you” and then basically took samples of dishes all over the menu. It was amazing. I wish I took more pictures that were usable but hopefully you still like it.

Inside the restaurant as the doors opened.

A shot at the salad bar… such a wide variety of choices

Freshly prepared Naan Bread.

A delicious Basmati rice with onions…

I hope you enjoyed the recap of my night at the Indian Restaurant (Bhogali). I had an enjoyable time and the service was second to none. I look forward to sharing with you more great eats tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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Indian Cuisine… Jamaican Style!

You Betcha Chocolate Cake!

ZestyCook — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:00:33 +0000

Happy Friday the 13th! To end treat week what better way to end it than with a simple easy homemade chocolate cake. Not just any chocolate cake however, this one is crusted with fudge cookies, topped with fudge icing and drizzled with warm caramel. How does that sound? Yeah I know – I love chocolate!!

I guess the good thing about this cake is that it’s super easy. I adopted this recipe from Anna Olson on The Food Network. This recipe actually has enough batter to create two cakes. You can choose to stack them with icing in the middle or make two cakes and ice them separately as I chose to do.

As I was taking multiple pictures of the cake to trying to get a good shot, some of the caramel started to drip, so I could not resist sharing this picture.

Craving chocolate for Valentine’s Day? Try this recipe! Be careful though, it may knock the socks off your loved one.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups pastry flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (low fat)
1 cup fudge cookie crumbles

Frosting

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
12 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
Caramel for drizzling

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.
Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In a small pan stir water and chocolate over low heat until melted. Allow to cool slightly before beating into butter mixture.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter alternately with sour cream.
Divide evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool 15 minutes in the pans, then turn cakes out onto a plate to cool completely.

Frosting

Beat butter on high speed, scraping sides frequently, until light and fluffy.
Add melted chocolate and mix in.
Add vanilla, salt and icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Spread icing on cake in whatever pattern you like and then coat the outside in the fudge crumbs by pressing them into the icing… it is messy but don’t worry – it will taste great.

Zesty Tip: Chocolate should only be melted over low heat. The microwave is a good appliance to use because the cooking time is so controlled. If you stand there at the stove and stir constantly, you can melt chocolate in a pan set over very low heat. A double boiler (watch out for condensation) is a good method; make sure the water in the bottom is barely simmering.

Well there you have it! I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s day and I welcome your favorite chocolate cake in the comments. Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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You Betcha Chocolate Cake!

Tasty Thai and Zesty Sneakers!

ZestyCook — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:02 +0000

The final day of 2008 is upon us. I would like to wish you, in advance, a very Happy New Year before I start rambling. This has been a great year at the Zesty house and I look forward to sharing 2009 with all of you.

No cooking tonight! We ordered in at our favorite Thai restaurant! Wow, It did not disappoint. We went with an order of homemade dumplings, fresh handmade vegetarian spring rolls and an order of Pad Thai with Chicken. I really love Thai food. I am going to share a recipe with you for my homemade Pad Thai in coming days.

A little treat after the Thai food (a stocking stuffer)

So my wife went to the boxing week blowout sale last night as she needed a new pair of running shoes. She struck it lucky and found a nice pair of ASICS. Now you may be wondering why I am talking about sneakers on Zesty? I normally would not but look at the color of these shoes! They are Zesty Green sneakers. I loved them so much I exclaimed, “I have to post this on zesty!”.

This is me trying get stylish with the camera.

Looking back, I think I may have gotten a little carried away with the photos of the zesty sneakers. But oh well, who doesn’t love pictures? Can you really believe it is New Years eve? What is on tap for tonight? Relaxing, Partying… do tell.

As I said earlier, I hope you have a great day and a very happy new year. Be safe and have fun.

Take care

zesty

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Tasty Thai and Zesty Sneakers!

Burger and Fries: Grease in Moderation

ZestyCook — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:00:22 +0000

Well it was a busy day at the house after work. We had to prepare the pool for winter, cut the grass and go for a walk. I didn’t have anytime to cook so I thought it was a good excuse for one of my favorite take out joints.

Even though I tend to call myself somewhat of a healthy eater and try to eat form all the food groups daily, every now and again you just have to break away and indulge.

This double cheese burger is amazingly juicy and very flavorful. With my favorite toppings ketchup , mustard, relish and sauteed onions…. What a gem! Not too mention killer fries with a little crunch and some hearty coleslaw and fresh cracked pepper.

After devouring this meal…. the best you can do is lie down on the couch and let your stomach stretch. It does it too me everytime even though I keep coming back for more. While I don’t want to promote eating this food as a good thing – it is definitely not a bad thing in moderation.

What I would like to hear from everybody is what are their favorite burger toppings. The toppings that are a must have for you!

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Burger and Fries: Grease in Moderation

Noodle House – Take Out

ZestyCook — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:56:22 +0000

The Joys of being busy and not finding enough time to make a meal – so you break down and order in takeout. Not a bad Idea if you choose a good spot. We always love eating out and I am a big fan of tasting other peoples work.

Last night was a last minute decison around 9:00 pm to decide what to eat. I chose the Noodle House ( which never disappoints). Authentic Chinese cuisine that is tough to beat. We just ordered some rice, garlic spareribs, and one of my favorites spicy schezuan noodles with chicken. This dish is worth talking about for hours.

The quality is amazing and the heat makes your nose run. I didn’t take a picture last night because I was so hungry by the time i realized that I should have – I forgot and it was too late. Next time I visit there I will take a picture and post it on the site.

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Noodle House – Take Out