Pasta e Fagioli

It’s getting cold out and fall is in full swing so it’s soup season!!

My friend Julia makes soup every week when the weather gets cool and I’m super jealous of that consistency and the idea if having a ready to eat soup for the rest of the week for lunch or dinner. The problem I’m facing is that, while I love soup, Caleb is not a huge super person so I end up eating a batch almost by myself all week and boy, does it last. I swear soup is one of those things that you eat and eat and eat and it doesn’t look like you’ve even made a dent. It’s a small hurdle I’ll have to face this soup season, so maybe not soup every week but I’m going to try to make it more of a part of my meal planning schedule.

First up this year is pasta e fagioli from Carla Lalli Music. I first found the recipe on Bon Appetit’s youtube channel (remember when that was a thing?) and decided to give it a shot last year. It’s been great to make a few times and learn from the process and I feel like it just gets better and better.

I know Carla is huge about soaking beans and there’s a whole thing with it but honestly, I just bought a can of white cannellini beans and went with it. Sorry, Carla. I followed Carla’s process otherwise and pulsed carrots, leeks, and garlic in a food processor and reduced it in a dutch over with hot olive oil. I did find that it took me longer to do than the estimated times in the website but that’s okay. I did get a little nervous about it and rushed the process to fit what the recipe said but I should’ve taken the time to make sure it was right because the end result this time was a chunkier soup that we like but the flavor was all there so it’s a minor adjustment. Gotta follow my gut a little better in the kitchen. It can all still feel intimidating.

I did find a ham hock, to my surprise, at the grocery store, and that worked out well with the beans, kale (chopped finely) tomatoes, and a parmesan rind I saved just for this soup. I let it simmer, waited for the ham hock to get tender enough to pull off the bone and shred, then I cooked pasta on the side and served them together. Since I eat this over the week, I’ve figured out keeping the pasta separate until it’s ready to get eaten or a serving is packed up for lunch is the best way to avoid mushy noodles. There may be a slight miss in the melding of flavors by keeping the pasta separate but this is a choice I’m happy to make.

I actually really love the flavor of this soup and it feels really nostalgic and reminds me of something but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m not sure this is going to be in constant rotation because Caleb isn’t totally in love and it’s definitly hard to eat a full pot of soup by myself but it’s in the recipe box for sure, maybe its more of a once a season kind of soup.

CORT - Brix

I have failed to pack lunch again today. I’m understanding why people meal prep and maybe one day I’ll get on board…but until then, we’re still finding new things to try downtown. There are only a handful of places to choose from but I decided to look at the BRIX menu and see what I could find.

LOCATION: 60 MAIN ST., CORTLAND, NY 13045

Brix is a local pub/bar/pizza place and they promote their brick oven pizza. It’s not my favorite place to go but their portions are always large and their menu has a lot of options for everyone. The quality is nothing I’m ever super pumped for but it’s not bad at all, just not very exciting to me. I haven’t found anything I want to order again.

This time I opted for a cup of French Onion Soup and the Fried Green Tomatoes which in found in their menu online and it’s breaded green tomatoes, topped with smoked gouda, bacon, drizzled with ranch and garnished with chives and green onions. I love french onion but my favorite sandwich place nearby is closed for construction so this was the next place to get it. Their french onion wasn’t bad but it was a little salty. A tough thing thats pretty common with french onion soup. Maybe one day my sandwich will be back open again.

The Fried Green Tomatoes were alright. I can’t say I knew there were tomatoes under all that extra toppings but I think with apps and dishes like this, that tends to be the point. The tomatoes are just a vessel for the fun stuff on top. It was a little too ranch heavy for me but the bacon and gouda were a nice pick. For some reason the bed of lettuce that it sat on was a little strong in smell which I found odd and a little distracting.

Along with the soup, I made this app stretch for two meals which was nice especially since it wasn’t terribly expensive. I’m not sure I would ever crave these again so that seems to be the runner with BRIX for me.

I’d also say I gave them the 30mins eta to make my food before I left work to walk the 5mins over to pick it up. When I got there it took another 10-15mins before my food was ready which seemed a little long for an order of soup and fried tomatoes. They weren’t terribly busy that day and I ate lunch a little late and ordered after 1pm that day so I feel like they lost my order and didn’t start cooking until I arrived. The take-out counter workers were nice and I can’t blame them for the longer wait but it was just a little annoying having to wait so long and I’m glad that work isn’t so strict with my lunch breaks.

I think BRIX will forever be one of those places I go to when other people pick it out but I’ll happily be the odd man out and pick other restaurants when I’m eating/ordering on my own.

CORT - Gorgers

The perks of being back in the office is that we’re located right at the corner of downtown Cortland meaning I get a pass at all the restaurants on Main Street whenever I manage to not have leftovers for lunch. Today, I decided to go to Gorgers right across the street and order a side of Panda Wings and small French Fries.

LOCATION: 101 MAIN ST., CORTLAND, NY 13045

Gorgers is a local sandwich shop that has a few locations in the surrounding area and they have a pretty extensive menu though right now it’s a little limited due to the pandemic. Still, there’s some nice options and their portions are always quite large. I tend to get fries whenever I go because I love potatoes and they season them like crazy and fry them extra puffy and crunchy. It can be a little much sometimes especially since I’m a potato-y fry kinda of person but sometimes the extra crust is nice.

I’m not a huge sandwich person in general so I decided to check out the limited menu and looked at some reviews and went for an order of Panda Wings, which are fried eggplant coated in buffalo sauce. They’re basically a vegetarian buffalo wing and I love the idea of a panda munching on these so I had to give it a shot. I’ve also been craving eggplant parm since people I know have been posting about it a lot recently so this was my eggplant fix. Not exactly the same as a parm but it’ll do.

I ordered it to go for lunch so one of the guys at the counter who was making my meal gave me the side of buffalo sauce instead of coating them to make sure they stayed crispy and not soggy which I did appreciate though since they have a tendency to fry extra crispy I think it would’ve been okay if they were tossed as well, especially since my commute back to work is a total of 1 minute walking.

Overall, these were pretty great. The order was well worth the $5 of fried eggplant and I can’t complain about it at all. Like I said with the fries, they can be a little salty and heavily seasoned so I don’t tend to eat tons of it but it was really good and I was happy with this choice. It’s a great alternative to eating buffalo wings if you’re not into chicken wings and it’s very filling.

ROC - Old Pueblo Grill

I’m back in Rochester for my Mom’s birthday weekend which means catching up with old friends!

Last minute plans when visiting home are the only way I get to see people so I was super excited when my friend Andy texted me and told me to come out for dinner with him. Andy and I are old RIT Hockey buddies so I haven’t seen him in literal years although we have our nerdy Snapchat streak going full of office dogs and getting through our 9-5s we don’t actually see each other very often.

Andy isn’t actually from Rochester but after college I left and he stayed and has been a great source for food recommendations so he picked the place for dinner.

LOCATION: 55 RUSSELL ST., ROCHESTER, NY 14607

I’ve never been to Old Pueblo Grill before and it’s never actually come up in any of the food blogs I follow but that’s not uncommon. Rochester always has new little spots popping up and I feel like there’s always a ton to discover and find. I’m never against tacos and Old Pueblo actually has the ever elusive elote that I always crave and can never find so I was ready to go!

When it comes to tex mex style food I’m always more of a fan of tacos vs. burritos though Andy said everything at this place is good so I couldn’t pick wrong. I decide to go for a taco bundle and got 3 for $13 which isn’t a bad deal. Of course I had to pick the Baja Fish Taco, and the Al Pastor. Both of which are my go to choices when trying new taco places to get a feel for the flavors. I find this deal often and usually that third option is my wild card where I pick a special for that place or see if there’s something different that they’re doing. I had a few options but decided to go with the Chorizo N’ Potato Taco. I love potatoes, of course, so that’s usually the draw for me.

Clearly, these tacos are PACKED and I’m totally here for it. I honestly only ate two tacos at dinner and took the last one home and these are not clean tacos to eat. They’re so full that it’s hard to eat everything cleanly but it’s worth the money. Everything has amazing flavors and the right amount of sauces so nothing felt dry. They use corn tortillas which are a must for me and I would order all of these again. Even the Chorizo and Potato taco held up for a late second dinner reheat. It still had great flavor later and even after a quick microwave it wasn’t dry or gross in texture. Love that reheat test.

Now, as I mentioned before, old Pueblo also has elote which I haven’t really been able to find around Rochester at all (though I can’t say I’ve looked TOO hard recently) so of course I had to order one to go too. However, instead of a regular elote, which is a corn on the cob with crema, cotija cheese, and tajin, I had to go the extra mile and try the Flamin’ Hot Elote. Which, as you can probably guess, is elote rolled in flaming hot cheetoes. I was not disappointed.

This corn was a hilarious color that I was a little embarrassed to eat outside around people judging me so this was also part of the late night snack. The corn itself was pretty good as we are in summer and are in the midst of corn season and this thing had a kick to it! I enjoyed it though I would say that the cheetoes did get a little soggy in my reheat and travel time letting it sit so I won’t really knock it because if I ate it fresh, it probably would’ve been better. It was a little too creamy for me and I wanted to feel more of that crunch from the corn but it was really good in flavor. I love this so much and it was fun to try one time. I would absolutely go for a regular elote next time and now that I know where I can get one, I’ll be back to Old Pueblo Grill for sure.

Dessert Person - Funfetti Birthday Cake

It’s Caleb’s birthday and while he’s not a cake person, I was talking about making myself a funfetti cake for my own birthday in September and he though that sounded nice for his birthday now instead. I didn’t think he would want a birthday cake but I was happy to make this for him instead.

It was a little nerve wracking because I was making it for us to bring to his parent’s house and if it wasn’t good, there would be no other birthday cake. Pressure.

I took the recipe from Claire Saffitz’ book Dessert Person and this was my first cake I’ve ever made from scratch so it wasn’t anything I’d had in my wheelhouse. Luckily Claire had a video as well and I followed along with her cookbook.

Caleb did wan’t a 2layer cake instead of a 3 layer and Claire calls for 9in pans for this recipe but I got 8in pans so I was really testing myself with this one. Luckily Claire does it the pro way where she measures all the ingredients by weight so it was easier for me to divide into thirds and adjust it that way. I just had to adjust the timing of my bake because of my differing pan size and because my oven is old and is finicky with heat.

I also gave myself time and baked the cake the night before we left for his parent’s house and frosted it there.

I did have a minor issue with the cream cheese frosting and didn’t incorporate everything perfectly so mine did have very small lumps of sugar and whatnot. it wasn’t really an issue with the overall texture of the cake and in the end, I covered it in sprinkles so it worked out great.

The cake as a whole came out better than I hoped. It wasn’t dry or overly sweet. WIth the frosting, it was well balanced and it was a good cake. I’m no pro but I’m not bad either.