Sweet and Sour in Boston

Took a trip to Costco to get a whole beef tenderloin. Along the way, we picked up a few items that we just couldn't pass up.




Sure it'll probably take us months to finish the cheesballs and years to finish the panko, but those are good values. And the vanilla extract from Kirkland is the same price for a smaller glass vial at Stop and Shop.

But the main event is the beef tenderloin. Tonight we are making cheesesteaks out of the chain meat, but I got plenty of steaks for a while. (My previous post on breaking down a whole beef tenderloin can be found here.)





Before I could get to the cheesesteaks, Abby made some red velvet cupcakes. Absolutely amazing.








To make the cheesesteaks, just trim the chain meat of any fat and pound into flat pieces. I seasoned the meat like I would a steak, with salt, pepper, cumin, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and some oil. Then I browned both sides on a griddle. I also sauteed some peppers and onions while the steak was cooking.





I took the meat off the griddle and placed into some aluminum foil, which I left there while the bread was in the oven toasting. Normally we use Vietnamese baguettes, but tonight we tried Portuguese Sweet Rolls. When the bread was done, I chopped up all the meat and put it back on the griddle with the onions and peppers. I added some cheese and then placed it all into the sweet rolls.





And because we wanted something healthy as a side, we steamed some frozen broccoli.

Of course we topped off the night with a cupcake or two. Not a bad Sunday at all.

Sage

So December 29th was our 1st date anniversary so we went out for a nice dinner. We've been to Sage many times for drinks (they have a great bartender named JP who works weekends) but have never eaten there, even though the food always tempts us. We saw a prixe fix meal they were running if you ate before 7pm, so we made reservations for 6:45. It was a Monday and the place was dead, but oh so warm and and inviting. Abby was going to order off the prix fixed menu, but I was going to order off the full menu.




Our bread came with a tomato puree dipping sauce. I forget what was all in it, but it was very light and refreshing on the bread.



We got this chickpea mix as an amuse, which you can clearly see that it was larger than just one bite. It was good, but nothing special.




Our starters were the Kobe Cappaccio and Spinach and Riccatta Meatballs Over Veal. Both were excellent. Though I wish I could say I tasted the difference in having Kobe Carppaccio, but I couldn't. Regardless, it was really good. I noticed on some other website, that this was a dish you had to try if you were in Boston (I'll add the link if I can find it) and I would agree that this is a dish "worth driving too" (to steal a line).




For our mains, we both went with duck: I had the duck breast and Abby the crispy duck leg. Both were fabulous. I love duck and these were done perfectly. I normally do enjoy the dark meat better when it comes to duck, but my breast did not disappoint. So juicy and tender and cooked perfectly. Another home run.



Abby's meal came with a dessert and she chose the fried dough. Perfect amount to share for two at the end of a meal. The fried dough was light and fluffy and the strawberries were a perfect compliment.

Sage is a great restaurant. One of the best in South End. Our table was a little wobbly, and they moved us to an adjacent one with no worries. This is the type of place you can go for a drink or two at the bar and enjoy some good eats, or take a date to a romantic meal in the main dining area. Sage gets a 4 out of 5.



Cheesesteaks

I was craving some cheese steaks the other day, so we brought down Abby's electric skillet and had at it. We make our cheese steaks with the shaved meat found in the meat section of the grocery store and also with sliced monteray jack cheese.






Thai Beef Stir Fry

Abby found this recipe in a book and wanted to make it. Came out pretty good, though probably needed a little bit of peanut butter to make it perfect.




Chili Cheese Nachos

I was craving some phat nachos one weekend, but didn't get any. So we decided to make them at home. God they were great. (This is why I'm fat...)