Restaurant Review: Fish Urban Dining

For the first time in 2 years, I got to go down the Jersey shore. My friend, Danielle, and I went to the beach, it was beautifully sunny but a little chilly, so no water, but a lot of sun. Long Branch is still in recovery after Sandy but the main drag of beach is still up and running and as gorgeous as ever.  I know that there are other sections that aren't recovering as well but hopefully by summertime, the beaches will be back and better than ever. Long Branch was to an extent lucky, because the main shops and a portion of the board walk is 18ft above sea level.

And then after a lovely day, we drove to Asbury Park and went to Happy Hour at FISH Urban Dining. It was pretty easy to find at 601 Mattison Avenue, Asbury Park. It is located in one of the region's most beautiful and historic structures and is very snazzy inside. It had a great, warm atmosphere with beautiful lighting. It was quite posh so at first I felt a little out of place in my grubby beach attire, but the staff was quite welcoming and friendly and did not seem to notice.
There happy hour was fantastic. It's Monday through Friday 4pm-7pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm-7pm. Select appetizers, wines and house pours are $6 each and select beers are $3. We each had Bellinis that were utterly delicious. There was no fruit juice in this bellini, just Peach Schnapps and Prosecco. It was strong and yummy and definitely worth $6. We got a Yuengling as well and then we tried two of the appetizers but I would honestly love to try a bunch of others as well. Next time I'm down the shore I think I'll have to go back to see how everything else stacks up.

We ordered the Loster Mac and Cheese from the Happy Hour Menu and then the Seared Tuna Tacos from the regular menu. Our waitress suggested that we get the regular Seared Tuna Tacos because for an additional $4 dollars we would get 2 tacos rather than 1, which was an awesome suggestion and well worth it.

Loster Mac &Cheese and Seared Tuna Tacos

I don't know which of the two appetizers was my favorite. The Lobster Mac & Cheese was absolutely delicious and creamy with large chunks of lobster throughout. There was a good ratio of Mac & Cheese to lobster goodness all baked and crusted with breadcrumbs. The cheese tasted almost like a mild cheddar but it was a combination of Gouda and Jack. It was just the right mixture to go with the richness of the lobster. It was also a good sized Happy Hour portion. It was perfect to share. I think had I been eating it alone, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish, just because it was so rich.  But, I'll definitely order it again next time I'm there.
The Seared Tuna Tacos were the perfect sharing portion. One taco for each of us and a good
amount of a very light coleslaw. The seared tuna was perfectly cooked and very light. It was a good balance on the soft tortillas and I loved the combination of pico de gallo, siracha and jalapeno cream. Although, I will say, it took us a little while to realize it was siracha. It was pretty mild which I think was a direct result of the cream. The cole slaw also helped cut the heat a bit without making the tacos too heavy. I'm not sure what was in the slaw but it was lighter than a normal coleslaw with only a hint of mayo, cabbage, carrots and a slight kick of acidity. Altogether there was a great balance of flavors and the tuna was really fresh and made for a fabulous taco.

Next time I'm down in Long Branch and Asbury Park I'll definitely be going back to try other goodies. I would also like to try some of their regular menu because it looked so creative and seems to offer some of the freshest seafood and locally grown products. After our brief tasting, I can only imagine good things from the rest of the menu and I know that many of the local Monmouth students speak highly about what they've tried. 

Recipe: Ravioli with a Spicy Spinach Butter Sauce

For the moment I am not going to tell you how to make fresh ravioli.  I've done it before, and it's gone pretty well, but for the last few days I've been pretty sick.. and therefore lazy.  When I don't feel well, I definitely don't cook with a lot of effort.  But very, very soon, I'm going to make fresh ravioli.

As it stands, I had frozen Spinach, Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli waiting to be used.  All they needed was a sauce of some kind and some of my favorite ravioli are served with butter sauce.  I came up with a fresh and spicy Spinach Butter Sauce to compliment the spinach in the ravioli.

Spicy Spinach Butter Sauce (for 6 ravioli or my single serving)
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tbs butter
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbs of the salted boiling water (after the ravioli has been cooked)

If you're making ravioli, like I did, start making your sauce as soon as the ravioli hit the water. This sauce is super easy and should take about 5 minutes or less to cook.

Roughly chop your fresh spinach and then in a small saucepan over medium heat sauteè your spinach in the butter with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  When the butter is completely melted and the spinach has just begun to wilt add your cayenne and salted water. Cook down for another minute or so (but don't overcook the spinach) and then while still on the heat, toss in your ravioli or pasta.

The beautiful finished product.

Coat well and then serve while still hot.

Product Review: Betty Crocker Hot Chocolate Cupcake Mix

I don't tend to use boxed mixes very often anymore, but every now and then I get lazy and don't feel like going through the motions of mixing and measuring. Sometimes I just want instant gratification in which case I try different boxed mixes.
I found this mix in my closet a couple of weeks ago (sometimes my mother buys things and I don't notice) and it stared at me for a while tauntingly for days.  Finally I had to do it.  I could not resist the idea of Hot Chocolate Cake with Marshmallow frosting. The box says cupcakes but I ignored that.

I really wanted cake.  I followed the back of the box, with the exception of an extra teaspoon or so of olive oil for moistness. I baked it for a few minutes longer than the box indicated (just because it was thinking cupcakes), just until a toothpick came out clean.
When the cake came out of the oven I let it cool all the way and then I made the included frosting with hot water.  I thought I could make it without a mixer, but I was wrong.  Keep that in mind.
The frosting was VERY marshmallow-y so if you don't like marshmallow be forewarned.
Before I actually poured the frosting on the cake, just because I'm a lush, I brushed the cake with bacardi rum for a Spiked Hot Chocolate Cake.  I didn't put a lot so it wasn't noticeable to anyone who didn't know that I'd added it.  Next time I may have to add more for an extra kick.

The mix has bits of marshmallow throughout.

Everyone in the family really enjoyed the cake, well, except for mom because she's not the biggest fan of marshmallow.

It came out moist and delicious.  I would definitely consider using the mix again, although, I may add some more rum to the mix.

Restaurant Review: Baked by Melissa

So, I got my hair chopped off (13 inches baby!) in the city on Sunday and then I wandered around looking for food. I didn't get anything savory but I did find the utterly adorable Baked by Melissa.

 It's a mini cupcake shop on 61st and Lex. And when I say mini, I do mean mini cupcakes. They are bite size and quite cute.  There are 12 regular flavors (there are also 8 chocolate covered flavors), soo I got a box  with 12 cupcakes for $10 (a little steep, but I was in a good mood and absolutely had to try these little things).  There are 2 cupcakes with peanut butter so I skipped those since I really, really dislike peanut butter (yes, I know, sacriligeous for an american... but I can't help it... lol).
In any case (from left to right), a tie-dye, the May special Berry Silly Cereal, a red velvet, a mother's day mini, a cookies & cream, a chocolate chip pancake, a cinnamon, a mint chocolate chip, 2 triple chocolate fudges, a cookie dough and another mother's day mini.
Of all of these, I ate quite a few of them.  They were bite size and therefore go down really easily.  But I did

The Delicious looking menu!

share the rest with my mother, who quite enjoyed them as well. She said they were a bit sweet but still good. Her favorite was the mint chocolate chip and she also liked the Berry Silly Cereal which is Trix cake, marshmallow fluff stuffing, Trix icing and Trix bark topping.
I ate a chocolate chip pancake, the 2 triple chocolate fudges, a mother's day, a tie dye and a cookie dough... Yeahh I definitely ate the majority of them.  But I didn't feel guilty because they are tiny.  Like less than 50 calories tiny.
I grabbed my cupcakes in the store and then because it's only a storefront with no seating area, I took my cupcakes to eat in Central Park a few blocks away.
The mother's day cupcake is strawberry cake, pink vanilla icing, vanilla cream stuffing and white chocolate drizzle. It was quite tasty but a little on the sweet side for me.  The triple chocolate fudge was sooo good. It was such delicious chocolate-y goodness without being too sweet. But my favorite was probably the chocolate chip pancake. Yellow pancake, maple syrup icing and chocolate chip topping. I don't know why exactly I liked it, but it was utterly fantastic.
So, were the cupcakes worth it? 12 for $10 was a tad on the expensive side, but the cupcakes are quite delicious and moist. I wish they had been just a little bigger but that's ok. I would definitely considering cupcakes again in an even larger quantity (the more you order, the more cost efficient they become). Also, I would really enjoy tasting their chocolate covered cupcakes. I would absolutely go again.

Enjoying my triple chocolate bite size cupcake.