Sugo Italian Bistro

On the occasion of the 18th wedding anniversary.... wait, 18 years?  Seriously?  I'm just going to gloss over that fact and pretend I'm not that old.  So anyway, on the occasion of the anniversary, we decided to give Sugo Italian Bistro in Cuyahoga Falls a try.  Having been to, and loving Chowder House, Chef Louis Prpich's other restaurant, we've been wanting to try Sugo.  This one is in the very able hands of Chef Michael Ferris.   And well, I'm just in love with the name.  Sugo, meaning sauce in Italian, is what my Grandma and my mom always call it when we're having a pasta dinner.  So the name has a special meaning for me.

We arrived at 7:00 pm.  I was surprised to find how small it was on the inside, but so beautiful.  It's all red and black and dim lights.  I loved the interior!

 

After putting in our appetizer order, we were brought a basket of delicious warm bread and a dipping oil.  The oil had some herbs and pepper in it.  Very nice.  Not too spicy.  Just right.

We started out with the calamari appetizer.  This was not like any calamari I'd had before.  It was so elegant.  A whole calamari stuffed with a sausage/mascarpone mixture.  It is then breaded and fried and served with an arugula salad and a marinara sauce.

It was so incredibly crispy on the outside and juicy and tender inside.   The arugula was a perfect compliment.

The crispy coating did fall off a bit when you cut into it, but who cares!  It was yummy.

Next came our salads.  We both got the house salad, which was a lovely blend of mixed greens, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and Gorgonzola (and I think) Parmesan cheeses in a house Italian dressing.  Very nice!

I was having a hard time deciding between the Chicken Roulade (a chicken breast stuffed with sun dried tomatoes and Boursin cheese, served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a Parmesan cream sauce) or the Roasted Crispy Half Duck (juicy half duck roasted crispy with a honey/thyme glaze and served with roasted vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes).  Something caught my attention on the menu though that steered me more towards the duck, it was the addition of "nom, nom, nom" under it's description!   Seriously, if you add a bunch of "nom's" to your menu, that is probably the favorite item.  And our waitress confirmed it for me when I told her I was hedging between the two.  The "nom's" and the waitresses gushing clinched it, Crispy Duck it is!

And nom nom it was!   Everything was perfect.  The duck was succulent and moist, with a delicious crispy skin.  It was both sweet and a little spicy.  The veggies were flavorful and the garlic mashed potatoes were silky and yummy.

Nick opted for the Veal Medallions.  Called the "Chef's Favorite" on the menu, the veal was tender and juicy and served with roasted vegetables and a pancetta/sage pepper cream sauce.  I don't generally eat veal, but I did have to have a taste and it was out of this world!  And really, I just love a purple spud!

I ended up boxing up half of my duck and didn't think I'd be able to have a dessert myself, but Nick was up for one.  I just had a few bites of his and after having them I wished I had ordered my own!   He ordered the pear, honey and ginger cheese cake.

That is a whole lot of yum!   Not too big, not too small.  Just yummy and perfect.   I think the crust was made of crushed ginger snaps, giving it a really nice ginger bite but otherwise the ginger was mild and not overpowering.  Very good stuff!

Sugo is moderately priced.  Not crazy expensive and very casual.  I'd definitely recommend it and I'd definitely go back!

What came first, the cheesecake or the pan?

Were you ever faced with the dilemma of making a cheesecake for a party or to give away and you wondered how the heck you were going to do that without giving the person the bottom of your springform pan? This is what I was faced with last week when a customer ordered a Tart Cherry Cheesecake. How am I going to package the cake without handing over the bottom of my pan? Mom and I pondered it and she came up with a brilliant idea. Line the pan with parchment paper and let it hang over the ends of the pan, so then when it's baked you can lift it out with the parchment paper.




So I pressed the crust onto the paper, in the pan. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. The crust seemed crumbly at first and I wasn't confident that the paper would keep it together in the baking process. But it did. Phew!




And then the side of the pan was removed.




When completely cooled, and refrigerated so that it's firm, I was able to lift the cheesecake off the bottom of the pan and placed it on a cake round, with the paper. Slowly, ever so slowly and carefully, I pulled the paper out while lifting up one side with a spatula.




Ta Da! And the customer LOVED it! This is a really delicious cheesecake, especially with the sauce on it. The texture is perfect. It's so creamy even without added cream and/or sour cream. But a warning, those tart cherries are expensive! I paid $3.20 a can! Thank goodness you only need one can! What I did in order to get maximum juice was pour the cherries into a strainer with a bowl under it and pressed the cherries into the strainer with a rubber spatula. This worked great and in the end I didn't even have to chop the cherries. They don't go through the sieve, but you do get a lot of juice for the sauce.

Here's the recipe:

Macadamia Nut Crust

3 1/2 oz. macadamia nuts, very finely chopped
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine macadamia nuts, crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool completely.


Tart Cherry Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust

1 can tart red pitted cherries
3 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips


Thoroughly drain cherries, reserving liquid. Chop cherries; drain again. In large mixer bowl on medium speed of electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended. In medium microwave-safe bowl, place white chocolate chips. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir. If necessary, microwave at high for an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Blend into cream cheese mixture. Stir in chopped cherries. Pour mixture over prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 50 to 55 minutes or until almost set in center. Remove from oven to a wire rack. With knife, immediately loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely, remove side of pan. Refrigerate about 3 hours.

Sour Cherry Sauce

1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Reserved cherry juice (from cheesecake)
2 Tablespoons cherry brandy or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch and cherry juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in brandy, if desired. Cool.