Homemade Crunchwraps!

Nothing crazy in terms of recipes today but we decided to mix things up a TINY bit and make our own crunch wraps at home. I know this is super popular and they’re really not THAT hard to make but it’s just time consuming. We usually make our own ‘burrito bowls’ at home and do the veggies, beans, meat, and rice all in a bowl that we mix and eat sans tortilla but Caleb watched a youtube video recently and they made their own crunch wraps so here we are.

I made everything per usual, rice, beans, pork, onions and peppers, and Caleb helped me fry small corn tortilas to use for crunch on the inside.

Then I assembled it (Caleb wasn’t sure he could fold it correctly and I used to work at Chipotle so I’m well acquainted with a tortilla). The problem with making this at home is that the tortillas at Chipotle and Moes are actually bigger than usual ones in the grocery store.

I made mine first as a tester and it worked okay though it was tricky to flip into the pan so that the bottom would seal with cheese and not open up while cooking. Caleb’s came out more aesthetically pleasing though they both tasted equally fine.

It was a good meal but I would say, it’s not worth the effort to do this all the time. Burrito bowls are a weekly staple and they’re much easier with just about the same ingredients.

Final verdict: want a crunch wrap or a stack? Got to Moe’s or Taco bell. They have a system and the time to do it. Fun to try once or twice though.

CORT - Wild Ginger Asian Fusion - Pork Katsu

It’s a sushi kind of day but sushi alone doesn’t sustain me (because it’s too expensive to buy enough to be full…) so today, along with my ebi rolls, I’ve opted for a Pork Katsu Bento Lunch Special.

LOCATION: 47 MAIN ST., CORTLAND, NY, 13045

A bento lunch comes with gyoza, a California roll, white rice, and a side of soup or salad (miso soup not pictured).

Bento meals are what I tend to get when we use to eat there but I haven’t gotten it as a takeout meal before and I haven’t gotten the Pork Katsu before. I love the little take out bento box this meal came in with the cute little compartments.

Everything is pretty standard, it’s hard to mess up a California roll, and white rice. I would also guess they don’t make their gyoza in house that it’s a pretty standard gyoza that’s cooked well but nothing impressive.

The pork katsu was really the leap this time and it did come with a sweet sauce that I dipped the meat into to eat with rice. Overall, the flavor was fine but the pork was dry and I was a little sad. Not a bento protein I would choose again but not inedible.

The reason I go to Wild Ginger so often is because of the wide menu and the fact that it’s the only place that has authentic Asian food that doesn’t make me sad. I can only eat so much American Chinese takeout. Cross Katsu off the list but I’ll be back again for something else.

CORT - Yori House

Yori House is a “want it to be my favorite but it’s not” type of restaurant. I love the concept and the vibe there and the owners are so great but the fusion of Korean food with American ingredients have been leaving my disappointed when I go. Still, they’ve started a new program where they test new menu items with a weekly special and I can’t resist trying their new dishes.

LOCATION: 114 ELM ST., CORTLAND NY, 13045

The very first special this week was a Green Curry Pasta which sounded great to me. I like thai-inspired green curries and with that one week timer on it, I had to give it a shot.

Per usual, I’m not a huge fan of bell peppers and their big chunky cuts are always a no for me so I end up picking them out of all their dishes, but at least they’re easy to get rid of. The mussels were alright, and it makes sense for the area that these would just be frozen and I don’t mind that. At Yori house they use a lot of spaghetti which is confusing to me and not always a great fit but with this dish it wasn’t a big turn-off. I don’t think I have a solid idea of what type of noodle should be used in a green curry so it was easier to wrap my head around it this time.

The flavor was pretty good and while it’s hard to see any type of sauce on the noodles, the flavor is all there and it wasn’t dry nor soggy. The sad part was that I do like this dish and would order it again but since it’s a weekly special it might not come back at all, or at least for a little while. I guess the hope is that other people like it as much as I do and it gains enough traction to be a permanent placement on the menu.

ROC - Cluck if you Buck

It’s Lunar New Year!! So I’m back in Rochester to celebrate and spend time with my parents. Lunar New Year always feel like a fresher start than actual New Year for me. That extra month cushion is really comforting.

While I’m back in town I’ve decided I’m going to go out of my way for some hot chicken!

LOCATION: 30 FAIRPORT VILLAGE LANDING, FAIRPORT, NY 14450

I found Cluck if You Buck on social media through some Rochester food bloggers. They’re actually more of a pop up that shares space at the Landing Bar and Grille which was a little confusing when I went to go pick up my food but not a big deal since they make it clear on their website and on their facebook page.

I am more of a chicken tender person over a sandwich but i didn’t notice their single meal of tenders until just now as I’m writing this. At the time I only saw the family pack which was too much food for myself so I went with a sandwich which I’m not sad about.

I ordered the Spicy Chicken Samich which comes with pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and their Cluck’s Series Sauce. This came with two sides and I Hand-Cut French Fries and Cajun Sweet Corn. I’m very predicable. I actually ordered the Regular Cluck Chicken Samich as well for my mom so I could try both.

I’ll say right now, the spicy sandwich was the way to go but I’m glad I tried both to test it out. Both sandwiches were super moist and were cooked well but the spicy sandwich just had so much more flavor without being overwhelmingly spicy.

I was also really happy with the corn and the fries. good flavor, well cooked, and they piled it on.

It was a little awkward to walk into a bar just for the chicken counter in the back but the person who was handling my order was really nice and it was well marked so I wasn’t lost or confused about where to go once I was there.

While this was a good sandwich I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back again. If i ever happen to be in that area and need a bite, I would order it though.

Dessert Person - Focaccia!

It’s a new year and for Christmas Caleb got me “Dessert Person” by Claire Saffitz. I’m pretty sure Caleb got this cookbook more for himself because he loves Claire and wants me to make him desserts but here we are with “my” present.

I do also love Claire and like to bake so this wasn’t a huge stretch and I’m pretty excited for this cookbook as well.

First up was a savory bread recipe which Claire also covers in her book as well - Focaccia!

My friend Julia and her husband Dan also got this cookbook recently and made focaccia so I took some tips from them and started on my way.
I love focaccia and ate it almost every day were were there when I went to Italy in high school as well as when I did my month long work/study in college too.

Claire makes it super easy to follow along in the book with photos but also had her videos which are fun to watch and use during the process as well.

Focaccia is pretty open ended and you can top it however you’d like so I decided on this first run that I’d do a simple garlic and rosemary version with chili flakes for a little kick as well. I realized I had some leftover fingerling potatoes that I needed to use up as well and I LOVED this focaccia with potatoes on it when I was in Italy too which was unexpected so I wanted to try to recreate it.

The video and recipe were simple to follow and It was exciting to make a bread without having to worry about all the overnight proofing and resting and kneading and more proofing which I’m too impatient for.

I did have a mishap where the extra olive oil in the pan that gives the bottom and edges a nice crispy-ness that is a signature of focaccia started to bubble over in the oven and set off the smoke alarm and make our kitchen smell like wax very early on in the process. I’ll have to prep the oven better next time and figure out a game plan to prevent this because it was really stressful and made the end of the process horrible.

In terms of the actual bake of the bread though, it came out really really beautiful and I was really proud of myself with it. The potatoes weren’t a success and were cut a little too thick and over-salted for sure. I ended up picking them off the final bread and the bread underneath was perfectly fine. It was worth a try but I guess I’ll have to go back to Italy for that.

The rest of the bread was so soft and fluffy in the middle and had a great crips on the edge and bottom. A huge successful outcome for a first attempt. I want to make it again soon because I LOVE eating focaccia but I’ll have to give myself some time to forget the olive oil smoke mess.