The 411 on Bistro 217

Lunched at Bistro 217 today. What can I say but awesome, good things??? I've eaten here numerous times and they have catered our office holiday party a couple times. The food is always great. I love the atmosphere of the restaurant- very casual and laid back. I love the wait staff. (Pat, Pam, and Rebecca who we met today.) I just love it. You know, they have renovated the restaurant and now have expanded inside seating and a larger bar area, don't you? If you haven't been in a while you should go. If you haven't been at all you should go soon. You can literally close your eyes and pick something off the menu, and I promise it will be beyond good- into the realm of totally fantastic. I know you are waiting for my menu recommendations, aren't you? This is the one place that my answer is emphatically- ANY and ALL.  ANY and ALL of the menu items are awesome- unless, of course, you have some particular food aversion. (I'm blessed (or cursed depending on how you look at it...) with the ability to eat anything.) I have never ever been disappointed with anything I've ordered or eaten there- this is an important distinction, too, because I have ordered many things, and I have also eaten many things that others have ordered (I'm not ashamed to eat off someone else's plate! "Gimme summa that! Ohhh! That's soooo good!!!!"). It's all good. I typically go for one of the specials when I eat there. They always have several lunch and dinner specials that change daily. I do have some menu faves that I fall back on if the specials don't turn me on, which I will gladly share. My fave menu selection for lunch is the Pan Sauteed "Lunch" Grouper. I had it again today, and I swear it just gets better every time I eat it! Yummy! It's a plate of their homemade bistro potato chips topped with fried spinach. Then, they top that with the pan sauteed grouper, then top that with lobster sauce that has big chunks of lobster. SOOOOOOOOO YUMMY! My hubby really digs their fish tacos (he gets this every single time we eat lunch there...) that come with homemade tortilla chips and really tasty chunky guacamole. In fact, he compares every fish taco he eats to the fish tacos at Bistro 217. My other lunch faves are the Crunchy Thai Shrimp Salad and the Tomato, Crab & Jalapeno soup. For dinner, my old faithful standby is the Cornmeal Encrusted Flounder, which is always sooooo superbly cooked. However, I usually order a special at dinner, because as I mentioned before, the specials are always fantastic. Maybe I should go back for dinner tonight...

Skillet Chicken Cacciatore- That's Amore!

I know I haven't given ya'll a good recipe in a while, so here's a GOOD one! I made this last Sunday after looking in the fridge for ten minutes and thinking- "What the hell am I gonna cook???"  I had some left over mushrooms and sliced bell pepper from Friday night's salmon spinach salad. I had some chicken breasts. I had some canned tomato sauce. I had some diced tomatoes. I was drinking some red wine- a cabernet sauvignon if I remember correctly... Chicken cacciatore, maybe? I grabbed my trusty Southern Living cookbook and looked it up. OK, so I didn't have the exact ingredients for a traditional cacciatore, but I certainly could whip up a knock-off. (I get brave and very self-confident after a couple glasses of wine!) Fortunately, my pantry is always pretty well stocked. It turned out great. Even my picky-eating son ate it! He actually came wandering out of his room while I was cooking and asked, "What smells so good?". When I told him it was dinner he was more than skeptical until he stuck his nose in the pan of onions and EVOO that was deglazing with red wine. He said, "YUM! That smells so good!". Score 1 for Mom. Here's what I came up with:

Skillet Chicken Cacciatore

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts- cut into chunky pieces
1/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil- I know you know what that means!)
1 medium onion- chopped
4 cloves garlic- chopped
1/2 cup red wine (It's perfectly OK to drink the rest of the bottle.)
1 green bell pepper- chunky diced
8 oz. white sliced mushrooms
1 can tomato sauce w/ Italian herbs
1 can petite diced tomatoes w/ garlic & olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. pasta- cooked al dente (I used perciatelli, but use whatever you prefer.)
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Brown the chicken in the EVOO over medium-high heat until browned. Remove to a plate. Add the chopped onion to the pan and saute until transluscent. Add the chopped garlic and saute for just another minute- do not burn the garlic. Add the red wine to the pan to deglaze using a wooden spoon to rub the bottom of the pan to release all the bits stuck on the bottom. Let the wine cook off a bit- maybe 2-3 minutes at a low simmer. Add the diced tomatoes to the pan. Bring up to light boil. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper to the pan. Add the tomato sauce to the pan. Add the oregano and thyme. Salt & pepper to taste. Add the chicken back to the pan and stir it in to coat it in the sauce. Add the 3 bay leaves and stir in gently. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let this simmer for at least 40 minutes so the sauce comes together and the chicken gets tender. Remove bay leaves before serving. Serve this yummy stewed chicken over pasta with lots of fresh grated parmesan cheese at the table. Enjoy!

Honest Tea is Honestly Good- Honest!

Hey Ya'll! How about this cool snap? It's awesome. You can actually get outside and enjoy some activities without sweating like a pig! However, if you do get hot and thirsty I have a new beverage for you to try- Honest Tea Moroccan Mint Green Tea. I'm so addicted to it. Unlike other bottled teas, this one is the real deal! It's USDA certified organic, and it's NOT overly sweet like all those tea drinks on the market today. I have found in my old age- well, older age- I'm not quite ready to succumb to OLD AGE- that I'm sensitive to two things: salt and sugar. They literally make me swell up like a bullfrog. Too much salty chinese food and sugary drinks have me looking like a puffy hot mess the next day! Now, sometimes I still indulge in spite of the ugly (and I do mean ugly!) consequences, but usually I try to limit salt and sugar because I am terribly vain. So, this is how I stumbled upon Honest Tea. I was perusing the beverages at CVS (You can also find a much wider variety of Honest Tea at the super awesome Fresh Market.) for something with low sugar, low caffeine, no preservatives, and great taste. Mind you, these criteria REALLY limit the choices. I chose the Honest Tea Moroccan Mint Green Tea. It's organic- check for no preservatives. It has 1/4 the caffeine of a cup of coffee (approximately 24.3 mg per serving compared to 80 mg in a cup of coffee)- check for low caffeine. It has 1/6 the sugar of other tea beverages on the market and is sweetened with honey (only 34 calories for the whole bottle- SWEET!)- check for low sugar. BONUS- it has as much of the antioxidant EGCG as 32 servings of blueberries! All that remained was taste. I was pleased. It actually tastes like tea with a light spearmint flavor that is lightly sweetened. It's very refreshing and doesn't leave you still thirsty after you drink it the way some beverages can. Also, it's reasonably priced at about $1.69 per bottle and comes in other varieties of green and black teas. I just happen to be hooked on the Moroccan Mint, but you may like another variety. Try them.

Grab a Greek Pizza in G'Town!

Hey Ya'll! This week I have found a diamond in the rough! Actually, it was two weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to writing. Sorry... I'm a very busy gal. I know all of you have heard of, eaten at, or at least driven by Tony's Famous Pizza in Georgetown, right? This local joint has been in Georgetown FOREVER. They also have one in the big metropolis of Andrews. I have eaten here way too many times to count and had everything on the menu forwards, backwards, sideways, special ordered, and smothered in Tony's famous sauce. Yes, they have a famous sauce. It's the main reason that people eat there, because in all honesty the food is simple and plain. It's subs and pizza- mainly. You can get a salad (I don't recommend it, but you can...), or pasta (again- at your own risk- except the lasagna- it's really good). The subs are good but not by any means great until you pour on the special sauce. Then, suddenly you have sub perfection! I'm telling you, it's the sauce that has made Tony famous! However, this post is not about Tony's sauce. No, no, no... It is about Tony's Greek Pizza. I am not a huge fan of pizza because I live with 2 kids who eat it A LOT. So, naturally, I am burned out. The very thought of pizza makes me nauseated. But, this one day the thought of subs was more nauseating, so I opted for pizza. I picked the Greek pizza because it was the LEAST traditional pie on the menu. When I opened that box all i could do was smile. It was beautiful- golden brown crust, sliced meatballs (homemade, too...), fresh slices of tomato, green peppers, onions, black olives, lots of feta cheese, marinara sauce, and just enough mozzarella to hold it all together. The crust is good, too. Not too chewy, not too thin, not too thick. Just right. If ya'll are in Georgetown I highly recommend stopping in at Tony's for a Greek pizza. Or, call and order one, pick it up, and take it home. The number is 546-1612.