A New Burger Joint in Akron - The Rail

Finally, a good burger joint in my own backyard!  The Rail opened up at Summit Mall about a month ago by Chef Mike Mariola of South Market Bistro and The City Square Steakhouse, both in Wooster.  He strives to keep everything local and sustainable, so of course, I had to try it.  I got my two burger partners in crime, Cindy and Denise and we went for it this week!

It's a cool looking place.  Nifty chandeliers above, weird upside down cows all over the place.  Fun and interesting.  Kind of industrial looking.

But let's get to the food!   Prices are about what you'd expect from a gourmet burger joint these days, starting at $6.50 for a plain burger and going up from there.  You can build your own burger from an eclectic list of toppings (from caramelized onions to tobacco onions, from Avocado Spread to Truffle Butter to Sunflower-Basil Pesto) or you can chose from the nine specialty burger options. Being as I'm very much loving this trend of a fried egg on a burger (see past blog Flippin Over to Flip Side - I also had a Lola Burger at B-Spot, but didn't blog about that since it was my third time there) when I saw the Local Yokel (Swiss Cheese, Ohio Thick Cut Bacon, Fried Organic Egg) I was in!  I also ordered a side of their house made chips.  Check this out!

That my friends is a thing of burger beauty.  All three of us ordered the Local Yokel.  Cindy opted for the onion rings, which if my stomach could take it, I would have too.  I did get to try one (or two, maybe three) and they were yummy deliciousness.  Crispy batter, perfectly cooked onion. 

The burger was pretty great, cooked absolutely perfectly to my requested medium.  The beef, as stated on the website,  comes from Cleveland’s Blue Ribbon Meats who custom grinds a blend of high-quality, source-verified Ohio beef specifically for The Rail.   And it shows!  The cheese was gooey (and I'm usually not a Swiss lover), the bacon was the perfect thickness and doesn't get lost in the burger.  What did however get lost was the egg.  It was cooked completely.  For me the best part of an egg on your burger is that drippy yolk running all over the place and making a mess with it's runny goodness.  So that part of it was a little disappointing.  But it would by no means stop me from going back.  Now that I know they cook them through I would just request they didn't next time.  Oh and lets not forget the chips!   Crispy, browned beautifully and quite tasty.  And a bargain at $2.50 for a perfectly reasonably sized side.

Something I did find a little, I don't know.... off putting maybe?   Was the prices on the shakes.  Started at $4.50 for the standards (vanilla, chocolate or strawberry), they go up from there.  I was quite intrigued by the Nutella Crunch shake, but at $6.50 it was just too much to spend on a shake.

I guess in the big scheme if you treat it as a dessert, it's not that outrageous, but at the time, sitting there thinking I'd like a burger and a shake, it seemed pretty outrageous.  So alas, I didn't have the pleasure of the Nutella Crunch shake.  I have been daydreaming about it ever since though!  Ahhh Nutella.  Quite possibly the world's most perfect food.  But I digress...

Yes, I will go back to The Rail.   Yes, I thought it was pretty fab.   And yes, for the most part, I thought the prices were reasonable.  Thanks for coming to Akron Chef Mariola!

Zucchini Parm

It's zucchini season and while I don't grow it myself, I get plenty of it from family members who do.  Just last week my brother told me he had picked 14 and there were more that were ready.  The FIL also grows it and gets enough to share.  Me, whenever I tried to grow it, I got none.  I don't know why that is, I do very well with everything else I've grown.  But whatev, I'm not lacking in the zucchini department by not growing it myself.

I had some leftover Damn Pasta that I made with paccheri pasta.  Paccheri is a very large tube shaped pasta and I urge you to find it (I get it at West Point Market for all you in the Akron area), especially if you're going to make that damn pasta.  With damn pasta, the bigger the pasta shape the better it comes out.  Anyway, I had some leftovers but not enough for two so I needed to make something to go with.  And seeing that big zucchini sitting on my counter I thought, "hey how about some zucchini parm?"  Sounds good.

So I started off with a pretty big zucchini and cut it in fairly thick slices.

I usually set up a breading station with flour, egg and then bread crumbs, but I skipped the flour step this time.  I went from egg (2 beaten eggs) to bread crumbs (about a cup of seasoned bread crumbs with a quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese added).

And then to the frying pan with about 1/4 inch of canola oil nice and hot.  I have made these without frying and they turn out pretty damn good.  You can check out the baking method HERE.

They don't have to be fried very long.  Keep an eye on it.  And turn when they are browned on the bottom.

I made these pretty thick so they didn't cook the whole way through before they browned on both sides and that worked out pretty perfectly.  When they got to this stage I popped them in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes and they were perfect.  Well almost.  They just needed one more thing.  Some smoked mozzarella.  Place a piece on top of each zucchini parm and let it melt in the oven for a few minutes.

 

You can serve these with a side of spaghetti (or Damn Pasta like I did), orzo, or whatever you want.  You can even put them on a sandwich with some crusty Italian bread.  Oh damn these are good!   The smoked motz added a whole lot.  You can certainly use a regular mozzarella, but why not give the smoked a try?    

 

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Peppery Chicken

I'm here!  I didn't drop off the face of the earth.  I've just been less than inspired lately in the cooking department and have pretty much stopped going out to eat.  But I'm here, and I have a new recipe.  I was intrigued when I saw a dish from Rao's in NY featured on a TV show recently and decided I'd give it a go.  I'm not saying I could ever make something as good as you can get at Rao's, especially because you cannot get a table there ever.  Last time I checked, there were seats available at my dinner table every night!

This is a one skillet dish and it's relatively quick and painless.  I used bone in/skin on chicken thighs.  I get the best deals on them lately and I generally prefer thigh meat.  But if you want to go for a little less fat, by all means use breasts.  In a heavy skillet, put in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and heat it up.  When the oil is hot, put in your chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper), skin side down.

Cook on medium high for about 5-7 minutes, until you get a nice golden brown on the skin and then turn the chicken and brown on the other side.  Watch for splatter.  Also add a small chopped sweet onion of your choice.  Once the chicken is brown on both sides and the onions are starting to do their thing, add four chopped potatoes.  Cut them in smaller bite sized pieces and if you want more than four, go for it.  I'm a spuddy gal myself, love potatoes.  So I would probably use more. 

Give the potatoes a few minutes to work in the pan with the chicken and the onions, giving them a little salt and pepper.   Then add a cup and a half of chicken broth.  If you're not using homemade broth or one that has lower sodium, then make sure you adjust how much salt you use as you go.   So far, pretty standard stuff huh?  Nothing too interesting here.   But now it gets interesting.  Add a cup of chopped pepper rings and a half to three quarters of a cup of the juice from the pepper jar.   Ahhh, now things are getting interesting!

Stir it all up and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the chicken and potatoes are done.   Potatoes should be fork tender.  I use a mild pepper ring, but I believe Rao's actually uses hot cherry peppers.  I don't do hot, so I chose to go the mild route.  The brine from the pepper jar mixed with the broth, the chicken juices and the onions turn this dish into something kind of special.  The potatoes take on so much of the flavor it's amazing.

 

The chicken is juicy and succulent... yeah I said succulent!   It is.   The potatoes have tons of flavor, the peppers add a nice zing to the whole thing.  It's easy and delish.  I think next time I make it I'm going to try making it with spaghetti instead of potatoes.   I must keep tweaking, it's just how I roll.

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

To Tiramisu, With Love

I have, for quite some time, wanted to make Tiramisu, but never did.   It stayed in the back of my mind as something I needed to make a go of.  Easter was approaching, so I decided this would be the time to do it.  I have had a general understanding of what is needed for it, but wasn't completely sure.  I knew I needed mascarpone and lady fingers.  I knew I needed coffee and/or a booze of some kind.  So I started to look for recipes in books and online.  And as is often the case, I took what I liked from several different recipes and went from there.

A lot of recipes call for dark rum, but Kahlua makes more sense to me.  You need strong coffee anyway so why not coffee liqueur?  Some recipes called for whipping egg whites while others used whipped cream.  But just about all start out with egg yolks and sugar so that's where I'm starting.  Take six (yes, 6) egg yolks only and put them in a double boiler.  You can of course, use a bowl over a pan of boiling water, which is what I do.  Just make sure you can hold on to this bowl or that it's secure because you will have to stir constantly and you don't want the bowl to fall out of the pan.  The water should be shallow and at a simmer/light boil. Add 1 cup of sugar to the eggs and stir. 

 

Stir and stir and stir and stir.  Stir while the water lightly simmers for about 10 minutes.  

While you're doing this, you should have the bowl you plan on whipping your cream in, in the freezer getting super cold, along with the beaters for the mixer you plan on using.  It would really come in handy if you have two Kitchen Aid stand mixers when making this, which I do. But if you don't, you can whip the cream with a hand mixer, no problem.

Once the eggs and sugar have cooked for 10 minutes, transfer the mixture to the mixers bowl and beat the eggs and sugar until it gets thick.  I had some concerns making this that the sugar never fully dissolved and thought my Tiramisu would have a grainy texture.   If this happens to you, don't worry.  The end product was not grainy at all.

 

Once the egg/sugar mixture has thickened and cooled some from the beating it's taking, add two cups of softened mascarpone cheese.  They come in one cup tubs, so you'll need two of them.  

Beat until fully combined and it becomes a whole lot of sweet eggy mascarpony deliciousness.

To this you will add your whipped cream.  Which is why having dueling Kitchen Aid's comes in handy here.  But if not, just set the egg mixture aside for a few minutes while you whip the cream.

 

You will need two cups of heavy whipping cream whipped to stiff peaks.  Be careful not to over beat though or you will end up with butter.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture.

Gently, slowly.  Do this in increments, a little at a time.  You want this mixture to be light and airy when it's all combined.  

Now it's time for assembly.  You can make lady fingers if you're feeling adventurous.  I would venture to say that sometime I will most likely try doing that.  This time though I used store bought lady fingers.  And since I generally don't drink anymore, buying a whole bottle of Kahlua seemed like a waste to me, instead I bought three small bottles, the size you'd find on a mini bar.  I mixed it with about a cup of dark coffee.

Take the lady fingers and dunk them fully into the Kahlua/coffee mixture and make one layer of them on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.  Dunk them quickly.  Even if they still seem hard, they won't be.  They suck up that liquid quick!

 

Once you have that first layer of lady fingers in place, take half of your cream mixture and spread it over the top of them.  Then start the process all over again, dunking the lady fingers and placing them on top of the cream.

 

Spread the rest of the cream over the top of the lady fingers and then dust with cocoa powder.

 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or preferably, overnight.  Looking back it seems like a lot of steps but this really was one of the easiest things I have ever made and it is absolutely delicious.

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Ingredient list

6 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups mascarpone cheese, softened
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pkg lady fingers
1 cup dark coffee
3/4 cup Kahlua
cocoa powder for dusting

Classic Mac and Cheese

Sometimes nothing else will do.   It just won't.  Pasta and cheese, lots and lots of cheese.  It's iconic.  It's comforting.  It's just damn good.  I had already made my Sloppy Joe's and I was looking for a side dish.  I happen to be a spudaholic, so making some crispy potatoes is usually my go to side.  I could seriously eat potatoes every day, in every way.  But as I perused my fridge and pantry, I saw I had all the makings of what could end up being a pretty killer mac and cheese so I went for it.

Starting out with a third of a cup of unsalted butter and a third of a cup of flour, cook together for a few minutes on medium high heat. It doesn't have to darken, you just want to cook out the raw flour flavor. 

 

Turn the heat down to medium and add 2 cups of milk, slowly, stirring the whole time and continue to stir and cook until the mixture starts to thicken.  Add salt and pepper to taste and then for that extra zip, I add what amounts to about a half teaspoon of nutmeg.  I grate it fresh so I'm not exactly sure how much it is, I just grate it until it looks like enough.   When the mixture gets to the point where it can coat the back of a spoon it's time to turn off the heat.

Now it's time for cheese, cheese, glorious cheese!  I had extra sharp cheddar and provolone on hand and this was a winning combination!  Both cheese are sharp and full of flavor.  They rocked the mac.  I used 8 oz. of each for 1 pound of pasta.  You can use elbows if you want but seriously, why would you when you could use cavatappi?  It's heartier, bigger, holds the sauce better, bakes better, is just better all around.  Anyway, grate the cheese and add to the warm sauce mixture.

Gently stir the cheese in until it's completely melted.

 

Then, place your cooked to just slightly under al dente pasta in a buttered baking dish and pour all that cheesy goodness over the top.  Stir to combine completely.  And then it's time for the last but not least punch of flavor.... sour cream!

This happens to be one of my sour creams of choice, it's local and fantastic.  Rich, creamy, thick, with that sour cream tang I do so love.  SMITH'S products are available throughout Ohio.  If you are in the area, find it and use it!  And if I had any of my SMITH'S Chili Con Queso dip left, I would have used that.  Oh yes, that would be killer in the mac and cheese! 

Stir in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sour cream into the mac and cheese.

 

To finish it off, sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs and dot with butter (that means take small pieces of butter and scatter them all over the top of the mac and cheese).  

 

Bake at 350 degrees, covered for 30 minutes and then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.  And when you take this bubbly beauty out of the oven, you'll be in heaven!

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Don't Fear the Broccoli Rabe

Have you ever been at the grocery store and spotted something that looks kind of like broccoli, but the florets aren't tight and there are a lot of leaves on it?  Well pick it up and put it in your cart!   It's Broccoli Rabe (also known as Rapini) and this slightly bitter green is one of the best things ever.  Both in taste and for your health.  It should be perky, not wilty, with sturdy florets and clean firm green stems. 

Sauteed in some olive oil with lots of garlic, it's a beautiful side dish on it's own (or on top of a roast pork and provolone sandwich like DiNic's in Philadelphia... quite possibly the worlds most perfect sandwich).  But generally how I make it is with some pasta and Italian sausage. 

Get your big pot of water for your pasta on to boil and then take about half a pound of bulk Italian sausage (if you can't find bulk, just buy it in links and squeeze it out of the casing) and brown it in a big skillet with a little olive oil to get it moving along on medium high heat.

You can certainly use a full pound of sausage if you want.  Actually I usually do, but I'm trying to cut back on the fatty foods so I'm only using half a pound.  As it starts to brown, move it around and keep it crumbled.  You should have some big chunks and some small, but all separate and not stuck together. Reduce heat to medium and add about five (more or less, depending on your taste) chopped garlic cloves.  Mmmm garlic.   Don't give the garlic a chance to burn, that would be really bad, so as soon as you start to smell the aroma of cooking garlic, add half a cup of white wine.   I generally add wine to most of my pasta dishes, but if you don't like to cook with wine you can use chicken stock.

The wine will cook out and just leave behind beautiful flavor.  While all this is going on, your water is probably starting to boil so throw in some salt (I do it by hand but if I had to measure I'd say at least a Tablespoon if not more), and the pour in your pasta.  Traditionally, this dish uses Orecchiette pasta, or little ears, and it's a good one to use.  But alas, I didn't have any in the house so I opted for Farfalle.  Once the pasta is in the pot and you give it a good stir, take your cleaned and roughly chopped broccoli rabe and put it on top of the pasta.  You just want to blanch the rabe, which is to say, boil it for about 20 seconds or so.

After it's blanched, scoop it out and put it in the skillet with the cooked sausage.  Don't worry about draining it, the water that's left on it is just fine in the pan. 

By now the wine is all cooked down and the pan needs the moisture of the rabe.   Once all the rabe is in, add salt and pepper to taste, stir it around with the sausage and when the pasta is done, reserve about a half to one full cup of the cooking liquid and then drain the rest.  Add the pasta to the skillet and reduce heat to low.  This is why you want to use a big skillet.  Give the pasta, sausage and rabe some stirring or if you're adventurous, toss it together.  If it's too dry, add some of the pasta water to and stir again. 

Serve with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil on top and some grated Parmesan or Romano. Does it get any better?

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Spreading the Nicolinni's Love

A couple of my gal pals, Cindy and Denise, and I decided to give Nicolinni's new restaurant on Restaurant Hill in Montrose a try.  It's located at 85 Montrose W. Ave. in a former Bennigan's, but you'd never know it.  It's made a beautiful transformation from Irish to Italian.  They can be reached at (330) 664-080.

It's so pretty and welcoming on the inside with a menu chock full of things I wanted to try.  We started off with a family style salad.  One salad for the table, dressed before it arrives.  To be honest, this was a little too Olive Gardeny to me, but I went with it.  I didn't realize this was how it was served so when we were asked what dressing we wanted, I just said Italian, thinking I was ordering for me.  Had I realized it was family style, we could have gotten an undress salad with an array of dressing brought to the table.  But it was fine. 

We also got a basket of delicious crusty bread, served with an herbed dipping oil.  For me, the oil was too mild.  An extra virgin would have made this perfect.  But the fresh baked bread was wonderful all on it's own anyway.

Now it's time to chose and appetizer.  Sautéed 'scarole, Wedding soup, calamari oh my!  So much to chose, so little time!  We opted for an appetizer of Fried Zucchini with Marinara.  This proved to be a pretty excellent choice.

Large planks of beautifully fried zucchini were doused in a flavorful rich marinara.  It was just the right amount to share and not spoil lunch.  Quite frankly, I could have made a meal of a few of Nicolinni's Primi offerings.  But I did decide on a lunch.  It was a toss up between Pasta with Chicken and Greens, or Pizza with Potato and Greens.  Dammit, I was having those greens somewhere, somehow during this meal!  And the pizza won out.  It just sounded too good to pass up.   What do you think?

This my friends, is a thing of beauty and it tastes just as good as it looks.  Incredible homemade crust, 'scarole that absolutely melts in your mouth, crispy and creamy potatoes and bubbly cheese.  I want some right now please.  Seriously amazing.

And if that weren't enough, we were celebrating Cindy's new job at this lunch so we just had to get dessert and what better dessert when you're in an Italian restaurant?   Why Tiramisu of course!  Nicolinni's has a pastry chef on premises who makes all the desserts from scratch.  This is something I love and admire.  The desserts are not institutional.  They are fresh.   They aren't bought in bulk at GFS or somewhere else.  They are handmade, with love.  You could taste it, you could see it.  It's a thing of beauty.

Yum.  It's wonderful to see a locally owned restaurant in an area dominated by chains.  I will definitely be making a return trip to Nicolinni's.

Buon Cibo mia Amici.