Cafe Rio, we will miss you...

We recently moved to California, which is a good thing in terms of food choices (expect to see a few more food blogs in the coming months). We now will be privy to better produce, seafood, restaurants, etc. 

But there is one thing that I will miss very dearly that only Utah can provide: Cafe Rio. It almost brings a tear to my eye. Over the past 10 years, I'm sure I've consumed hundreds of pork burritos, salads, and quesadillas. Cafe Rio has gotten me through 4 years of business school, college break-ups, and has made me very fat and very happy over the years. Oh Rio, how I will miss you, you've been a good friend...

Wait, what's that? There's a Cafe Rio 5 minutes from our house in California???

Sweet. Nevermind. 

Chuck's Day Off

Chuck Hughes has quickly become one of my favorite chefs. He's a funny guy that cooks sort of Canadian comfort food: dishes like lobster poutine and braised short ribs. My kind of food! 

He has a restaurant in Old Montreal called Garde Manger that is apparently incredible. 

He's also on Food Network and The Cooking Channel: Best Thing I Ever Ate, Eat the Street, Chuck's Day Off, and Iron Chef America. A highlight in his television career was when he beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay in battle lobster in 2010. This guy can cook!

Follow Me on Twitter: @kaseyyards

Today's Craving: BBQ

It doesn't happen terribly often, but today I am definitely craving BBQ. A co-working and I spent about 30 minutes this morning talking about smoked meats (he is thinking about purchasing a smoker soon) and it has made me want some ribs, brisket, or burnt ends!

Sadly, we don't have many great BBQ choices in Utah.

Corn and Poblano Lasagna

The other day my wife and I were watching Food Network and we saw the recipe for this Corn and Poblano lasagna. It looked amazing, so we thought we'd give it a try. 

We did and it was! We followed the recipe to the tee and it came out perfectly. We even found the Oaxaca cheese at a specialty market. You should try it! Recipe below...

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears), or frozen and thawed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion
• 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 4 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips
• 12 (7 by 3-inch) no-boil lasagna sheets
• 2 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese, or mozzarella

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add 2/3 of the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Mix in the corn and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and thyme. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes for the flavors to incorporate. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to ablender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in thezucchini and poblano strips and cook for 5 minutes for the flavors to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.

Spread about 1/4 of the corn mixture over the bottom of an 11 by 8-inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of 3 lasagna sheets. Spread 1/4 of the poblano mixture and 1/4 of the cheese over the pasta. Repeat the layering 3 more times. Cover with foil.

Bake until the pasta is cooked and tender, about 50 minutes. Remove the foil and turn up the oven temperature to broil. Broil until golden brown and bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Vita Coco- Pineapple

 I saw youtuber Shay Carl drinking this stuff a year or so ago on his video blog and I thought I'd try it, but I couldn't find it in Utah. After a while of searching, I finally found it at the SLC airport last winter and gave it a try. Now I'm seeing it everywhere. It's really good! Try it, will you?

PS. It's way expensive, unless you get it at Costco in bulk. Go Costco.

Koohinor Tonight

Tonight we are headed to Koohinor for a little take-out. Bombay House is our usual spot, and I feel like we are cheating on them a bit, but we thought we'd give it a try.

I will return and report...

 Orem, UT

 Saag Paneer

Vegetable Coconut Korma

Dayum!

Found this gem last week. Had to post it!

Appetizers: Pizzeria 712

This weekend we went to Pizzeria 712 for dinner. The highlight of the night: the appetizers. Weird, I know. But they were incredible!

Braised beef short ribs on a polenta with horseradish cream.

Ricotta gnocchi with scallions.

Pork Belly

Last weekend we had dinner with some friends at Pizzeria 712. They had an appetizer on the menu that consisted of pork belly over a lentils salad (see below). It was delightful.

If you've never had pork belly before, it may sound a little off-putting. But actually pork belly is what bacon is made out of. It's really fatty and flavorful, much like bacon. And when you cook it right, it is just the most tender yummy thing ever, much like bacon. Basically, it's like eating a steak that's made out of bacon.

Give it a try! Preferably at P712.

Cucina Toscana: Any suggestions?

We are always on the look-out for new restaurants. I have been told many times that Cucina Toscana is the best Italian in Salt Lake, but just haven't made my way there yet. I think we will give it a go very soon.

Anyone have suggestions on what to order?

http://www.cucina-toscana.com/docs/menu_14_October_2011.pdf 

Joshua Hatch is a great man.

My good friend Josh was in town last night and we decided to get together to catch up and share a delicious meal. Josh left it up to me to decide where we would eat. So we went big...

Pork Chops at Tuscany. It was heavenly. Good to see you, brother! 

Today's Craving: Hawaii Breakfast

On our first morning in Hawaii this summer we ate at this little cafe on the beach. I am craving that breakfast this morning.

Grilled sausage with scrambled eggs and sticky rice

Macadamia nut waffles with fresh cream and strawberries

Delicious!

Costco Muffins

Why can't these be good for you?

You're gonna have to wait...

Last night I went to pick up Cafe Rio for dinner and the line was practically out the door. It took  30 minutes of waiting in line before I had food in hand. Annoying.

But worth it.

J Dawgs is Coming to American Fork!

J DAWGS IS COMING!!! 

The address is 80 North State Street in American Fork. According to their recent Facebook post they will be open for business in about 2 months. They are currently under construction, as you can see above.

Awesome awesome awesome.

Today's Craving: Dodger Dog

If you've ever had one then you know....

Happy Chinese New Year!

In honor of Chinese New Years I thought a quick post would be appropriate. The Yardley's have always been connoissuers of great Chinese food, even though the small Nevada town where I grew up had very little to offer in terms of Asian cuisine (we had a lot of Basque restaurants where I grew up, if you believe it). I remember many Friday nights driving down to our little Chinese restaurant and grabbing a few cartons of ham fried rice, chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, and sesame chicken. Those were our staples; we very rarely branched out.

Today my love for Chinese food remains; whether it's the fairly "Americanized" cuisine of Pei Wei and PF Changs, or the more adventurous and nostalgic "hole in the wall" Chinese eateries like those from my childhood ("authentic" may be a more appropriate adjective).

Anyway, please enjoy a few of my favorite dishes. May these pictures inspire you to celebrate this Asian holiday at your favorite Chinese restaurant.

Crispy Spicy Beef 

Cafe Zen, Baltimore, MD

Honey Seared Chicken

PF Changs, Hoboken, NJ

Ham fried rice

Anywhere 

Johnny Kolache

Kolache- A sweet bun originating in Central Europe made from yeasted dough and usually having a fruit or poppy seed filling.  This week an office friend brought in a grip load of little pastries called Kolache. There's a place in Salt Lake City called Johnny Kolache that specializes in these tasty little guys. Typically Kolache are filled with sweet ingredients, but the ones that we had were of the breakfast variety. They had bacon, sausage, eggs, cheese, ham, jalapeño all stuffed inside of them. It was like eating a really delicious, not at all frozen-tasting, heavenly Hot Pocket. It was one of the most delicious breakfast items I've had in a while.

Johnny Kolache

248 West 9th South                                                                Salt Lake City, UT 84101-2941

Before....After

OWNED!

You deserve to eat this...