Portland Happy Hour: Bread and Ink Cafe

What: Bread and Ink Cafe
Where: SE Hawthorne & 36th
When: Mon - Sat 3:30 - 6:30pm HH, Sun 3:00 - 6:30 HH
Honeys Heart: Raspberry Lavender Lemon Drop 

Last week I had back to back babysitting on the Eastside so Jen, Michael and Adam met me for HH on SE Hawthorne in between. Jen and I met at Bread and Ink Cafe at 4:30 (notice the empty restaurant photo above) and started our extended HH by sharing a Raspberry Lavender Lemon Drop ($6.50).

We sipped our cocktail, which was my favorite item we ordered, and perused the menu, ultimately deciding we would be happy to eat anything on it.

Adam arrived next and, being a sucker for anything that even resembles strawberry or raspberry lemonade, ordered the same drink. Since Jen and I had already been sitting there for half an hour, we ordered the Hummus Plate ($4.50) to share. It was fresh and the hummus was really good, but I always feel like I could do this at home, so why buy it?

Michael finally made it back to Portland after a day of work in Salem and we were able to really get started. Michael opted for a couple Mojitos ($6.50) which he somehow managed to finish before I was able to get a sip, but he claims they were really good.

For the rest of our dinner we shared the Black Bean Cakes ($4.50), two orders of the Bacon Provolone Basil Sandwich ($5.25) and some Cheesy Home Fries with Grilled Onions ($3.75).

Next to the drink, my favorite item was the bacon provolone basil sandwich. It was a normal size portion for HH prices and something I would be inspired to recreate at home with my panini maker.

The black bean cakes were slightly disappointing for both Jen and I, though Michael thought they were super tasty. We had hoped they would be a little chunkier and crunchier. Good flavor, but not totally impressed.

Still not completely satisfied, Michael tried to get another order of the black bean cakes, but we convinced him to go with something new. The cheesy home fries with grilled onions were definitely super cheesy! Honestly who isn't going to like potatoes and cheese, but once again I was left feeling like I could make this at home.

As we finished up the cheesy fries a table near us was getting their HH order and I realized we did this all wrong.

This is what we ordered:


Cheesy home fries with grilled onions ($3.75)
Bacon provolone basil sandwich ($5.25)
Black bean cakes ($4.50)
Hummus plate ($4.50)

But, by the end of the meal I decided that this is what we should have ordered:

Grilled asparagus with herbed chevre ($4.75)
Gnocchi verde ($5)
Five grilled Gulf shrimp ($4.75)
Curried chicken with cardamom rice ($5.75)

Well, maybe we could keep the bacon provolone basil sandwich, and of course the drinks, on the list. Everything we ordered was good, just simple, so if I return I would go with some different items. It was inexpensive, the service was great and overall a pleasant break between kids!

Thursday Night Supper: Brunch for Dinner

Last week, we made dinner at my house again, but this time Katie and I created and executed the menu. After spending the day working for Boogie Wipes, Katie and I originally planned a small plates style dinner, but then we remembered we didn't want to spend very much money and we didn't want to make 5 different things.

Instead, we decided on Brunch for dinner which included German pancakes (or Dutch babies), bacon (with option of an egg sandwich), fruit skewers and, of course, mimosas. Inexpensive, easy, and delicious.

German Pancakes

Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 4 tbs butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put butter in a 9x14" pan and put in the oven to melt.

Beat together flour, milk, and eggs.

Check the butter occasionally to make sure it's not getting too browned, then once the oven has reached 425 pull your pan out and add the flour, milk, and egg mixture. Put the pan back in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, cut it up and enjoy!

Fruit Skewers

Katie was recently inspired by Jello Shot Test Kitchen's fruit and jello skewers so she thought this would be a cute spin on serving fruit rather than just throwing it all in a bowl. Fruit is always tasty and this presentation does give it a little something special. And best part, so easy! 

Ingredients:
- Fruit
- Skewers

Instructions:
Pick out the fruit you want, wash and cut (if needed.) In our case we chose raspberries, blueberries, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe.

Skewer and serve!

Bacon

Ingredients:
- Bacon

So this one is pretty obvious and I'm not even going to write out any steps. Either bake it at 425 for 12 minutes, or fry it up in a pan! To make an egg sandwich (which Adam opted for) just fry an egg in a little of the bacon grease and put on a toasted english muffin with a slice of cheddar cheese and of course, bacon.

Mimosas

For mimosas, we've recently been inspired to change it up with different types of juice other than the traditional orange juice. So far my absolute favorite is fresh grapefruit juice, but last Thursday we tried it with raspberry lemonade which was pretty tasty.  

Ingredients:
- Champagne
- Fruit juice (your choice!)

Instructions:
Pour a good amount of champagne into your glass, we just went with normal wine glasses instead of smaller champagne flutes. Also, there's no need to buy expensive champagne. We use cooks because it's the cheapest and we seem to go through these rather quickly!

Add a splash of your favorite juice, garnish with fruit and enjoy!

See you next week!

Portland Happy Hour: Cruzroom

What: Cruzroom 
Where: 2338 NE Alberta St.
When: Sun-Thurs, 4:30-6:30pm and Fri & Sat, 4-6:30pm
Honeys Heart: Pork belly taco ("Green Acres")

So, surprise! Doug came back from Guatemala two weeks early!

To celebrate, we headed out to Cruzroom on NE Alberta (which, not coincidentally, is also one of the stops on my first Dishcrawl) for some happy hour tacos.

We started out with drinks. Cruzroom is big on infusions and during happy hour they're only $4.

I'm currently on a spicy-drink kick, so I opted for the "Deathstar" Ancho Chili-Apple Vodka mixed with ginger ale.

Bad call on my part. I guess I forgot that I don't like spirits flavored with apple. Also, ancho chilis are actually pretty mild so I didn't get that kick I was looking for either. And, if I did ever order this drink again, I wouldn't do it on a hot, summer day. It's much more suited for late autumn or winter.

Doug tried the "Colonel Potter" Double Fig Scotch mixed with 7UP. I was worried that 7 UP might be too sweet to pair with the fig scotch but it was actually pretty delicious. Good choice, Doug.

For food, we started with some Titos ($4): made-to-order tortilla chips tossed in asiago cheese and pico de gallo spice with a side of guajillo salsa and cheese sauce.

Loved that the chips were homemade and the combo of asiago cheese and pico de gallo spice was tasty and unique.

Happy hour tacos are only $2. I tried the Green Acres ($2) with roasted pork belly and apple-vinaigrette slaw topped with cotija cheese and the Broken Bean ($2) made with Halloumi cheese fried extra crispy and served over citrus black beans and topped with a roasted corn and chipotle salsa.

I love anything with pork belly so the Green Acres was the obvious favorite. However, the Broken Bean was also very tasty. I was surprised to find that they used the tortilla as a little bowl, but it worked. The crispy cheese was delicious and nicely complimented by the citrus-y black beans.

Doug ordered the Phuket ($2) with marinated Thai lemongrass chicken fried with a splash of coconut milk and topped with a peanut Asian slaw, the Green Meanie ($2) with slow braised pulled pork in a green tomatillo chili sauce topped with a roasted tomatillo poblano chili slaw and the Green Acres ($2).

He liked the pork belly best ("it's one of the best tacos I've ever had") and liked the Thai one as well. The pulled pork taco was good too, but being the most traditional, it wasn't quite as exciting as the other tacos we tried.

Overall, Doug and I very much enjoyed the food at Cruzroom. As Doug was quick to point out (being an expert about these things), most of the tacos are not at all authentic... but they're still delicious. I'll definitely be back both with Dishcrawl and on my own.

Thursday Night Supper: Sushi and Spring Rolls

The first Thursday Night Supper was at Adam's and my house, and we felt the pressure to create a fun, memorable, and delicious dinner. For weeks, Adam has been wanting to make sushi since he swears he could eat only sushi for the rest of his life. 

We decided to try it, and figured we should do it right! So we wandered to Beaverton to hit up Uwajimaya, a "quality Asian grocery" since they were sure to have everything we needed.

Our appetizer was fresh spring rolls. I always order them when we go for Thai food and I figured if Adam was going to attempt sushi, I could do spring rolls. Turns out, they're really easy!

SPRING ROLLS

Ingredients:
- Rice Paper
- Vermicelli noodles (or "Rice Sticks")
- Tofu, extra firm
- Green leaf lettuce
- Fresh basil
- Fresh Cilantro
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Peanut Sauce

Instructions:
Cook the vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes, strain and run under cold water.

Cut tofu into strips about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the cucumber and carrots into strips, wash the lettuce and chop the cilantro and basil.

Saute the tofu for a few minutes on each side until slightly crispy with a little olive oil, or for more flavor mix in some sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger.

Fill a bowl with warm water and place one rice paper in until soft. Take the rice paper out (and put another in) and lay on a damp kitchen towel.

Fill the rice paper with all your fixings. Roll it up, cut in half, and serve with peanut sauce!

SUSHI 

Ingredients:
- Short grain rice (Sushi rice)
- Seasoned rice vinegar
- Nori
- Shrimp
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Sushi grade tuna
- Sesame seeds
- Wasabi
- Pickled Ginger
- Soy Sauce
- Bamboo rolling mat

Instructions:
Cook the rice according to the package directions. When cooked, pour the rice out on a cookie sheet and fan while sprinkling with a few tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar. Avoid buying the plain rice vinegar, because then you'll have to make it seasoned with sugar and salt.

Once the rice has cooled, lay out a sheet of nori (the seaweed flat square) on the bamboo rolling mat. Leaving an inch on each end, place a thin layer of rice over the nori.

Lay your desired ingredients for that roll in a strip on the end closest to you. In our case we did a few rolls with shrimp, avocado, and cucumber and a few with raw tuna and cucumber. Mostly we just mixed and matched!

Roll it up, tightly, and using a serrated knife with a little water on it cut into pieces.

Place the rolls on a plate and serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Other sushi roll ideas if you aren't comfortable handling the raw fish could be California rolls with crab or using smoked salmon with a little cream cheese and cucumber.

Also, a couple bonus tips: If you want the rice on the outside, lay down a sheet of plastic wrap over the bamboo sheet. And if you're a fan of some spicy mayo, just mix mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce. So easy!

Of course each meal needs a good DRINK!


Ingredients:
- Pok Pok Som pomegranate
- Club soda
- Gin

For this Thursday night, I (well really Katie made them!) recreated the drink that Katie and I had at Ping. We wanted the rhubarb, but that isn't sold "retail" so pomegranate was the next best option.

Instructions:
Mix 1.5 - 2 ounces gin, a little Pok Pok Som (depending on how much flavor you prefer), then fill cup with ice and club soda.

Enjoy!