A Feast at Tico, Boston

Last night, I had a really fun dining experience at the newly-opened Tico restaurant in the Back Bay.  Tico is the newest of Michael Schlow's restaurants and it only opened earlier this month.  From what I understand, Tico emphasizes that its menu is American in its direction but has strong influences from Mexico, Central America, Spain and South America.  With this in mind, I've read a few different reviews about Tico and I couldn't wait to check it out myself.

I had some great dining companions that included Justin, Kristen, Megan, Meghan and Tania (who I finally got to meet in person)!  We decided to split a bunch of different small plates and tacos so that we could try a lot of different dishes.  But first, I needed a cocktail and the blood orange margarita (no salt) was perfect since yesterday was National Margarita Day!

A potent but delicious Blood Orange Margarita

And then we were onto the food....

Crispy Fried Manchego Cheese with Spicy Pomegranate Honey Sauce

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Kumquats, Jalapenos and Mint
This was one of my favorites because I adore Brussels sprouts!

Shrimp Toast with Avocado, Jalapenos and Lime
This was a greasy but yummy little bite.

Crispy Fried Chicken Tacos with Fennel Slaw and Spicy Buttermilk Sauce
This was my favorite of the tacos we ordered.

Creamy Gigante Beans with Chorizo and Green Onions
I've never had gigante beans before but they were great!
The chorizo was definitely a strong flavor in this dish.

Crispy Sweetbread with Masa Harissa, Endive, Blood Orange and Hazelnuts
The sweetbreads were cooked PERFECTLY but were sadly under seasoned.




Crispy Fish Tacos with Pickled Onions and Jalapenos

 

Octopus with Yellow Peppers, Citrus and Aleppo Pepper
This dish added a nice bright acidity!

Snap Peas with Orange Zest, Tabasco Butter and "Crunchies"
These had a nice kick to them!

Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Bacon and Avocado

"Creamed" Corn with Bacon, Chiles and Thai Basil
This was, by far, my favorite small plate of the evening.

Despite ordering all of these small plates and sharing them all, we couldn't resist dessert!

A lemon tart with whipped cream and the brightest strawberries.
This was my favorite dessert and I probably ate most of it!

This chocolate pie was way too rich for me but I still had like three bites of it!

Tico's version of a banana split:
Chocolate Gelato, Caramelized Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sauce

It was a night of a lot of laughter as we shared some great bites.  Best of all, the food, cocktail and gratuity came out to about $40 a person.  It was pretty affordable for all of that food and definitely a great scene for a big group!  I'm glad we checked Tico out and I'd love to come back to sit by the kitchen (especially since we spotted Michael Schlow himself there last night) or at the bar for a few cocktails.

Tico is located at 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116.

Braised Chicken with Red Sauce and Rice

On Monday night, after a week of being sick in bed, I was excited to finally get back to cooking in the kitchen.  I knew that my fridge would soon be filled with lots of Thanksgiving leftovers, so I wanted to clear out some of the half-used items in my fridge.  This included 3/4 of a bottle of marinara sauce, eight cloves of garlic, and half a large yellow onion.  I decided that I would make a simple red sauce with these ingredients.

The night before, I took out a package of chicken thighs from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw.  I patted the chicken dry and seasoned it with salt, pepper and herbs de Provence.  I warmed up my handy Dutch oven on the stove at medium-high heat with a two tablespoons of unsalted butter.  I added the chicken thighs to the pan to sear the meat.

While the chicken was browning, I quickly chopped up the leftover half onion.

I also took out some frozen Brussels sprouts from the freezer that I didn't use for my fall roasted vegetable medley.  I halved the sprouts and set them aside.  I wanted to make this sauce hearty so I decided to add a can of cannellini beans that I had in the pantry.  I drained and rinsed the beans and set them aside.

After searing the chicken on both sides (for approximately six minutes per side), I took the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.  I lowered the heat on the stove and added the chopped onion to the pan.  I also minced the eight cloves of garlic right into the pan using a garlic press.

I cooked the onions until they softened up and made sure to scrape all of the flavorful bits off the bottom of the Dutch oven.  I then added the halved Brussels sprouts to the pan.

And finally I added the cannellini beans to the vegetable mixture.

I returned the chicken to the Dutch oven and put it in with the vegetable mixture.

I covered the chicken thighs with the leftover marinara sauce.  I also added a few shakes of red pepper flakes.

I put a cover on the Dutch oven and let the chicken cook for about twenty minutes before I turned the chicken thighs over and cooked it for another twenty minutes.  While the chicken was slowly braising, I cooked two cups of rice in the rice cooker.

Forty minutes later, I checked the temperature of my chicken and it was ready to serve!  I plated a scoop of rice and a chicken thigh onto the plate and topped it with my hearty red sauce.  I grated some Parmesan cheese on top and dug in!

While the chicken took some time to cook, using the Dutch oven made this very simple and no-fuss.  Plus, cooking the chicken slowly in the Dutch oven made the chicken so moist while helping the flavors of the sauce come together.  I was happy to clear out some items from my fridge, pantry and freezer for Thanksgiving leftovers...which I'm definitely still enjoying!

Do you try to clear out your fridge in anticipation of Thanksgiving leftovers or am I the only one?  Also, please don't forget to vote for me as Boston's Best Local Blogger here.

Fall Roasted Vegetable Medley

To take a break from my Portland re-caps (and there are more to come), I wanted to share a dish that I made on Monday night.  As I mentioned last week, the folks at Le Creuset very generously gifted me with my very first French oven.  I didn't get a chance to use it before I left for Portland so utilizing it was at the top of my priority list when I returned home.

On Monday morning, I took out two boneless chicken breasts out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge during the day.  I had a lot of great vegetables in the fridge, freezer and pantry that I wanted to utilize and decided to make a simple yet seasonal roasted vegetable medley to go along with my chicken.  After a long workout at the gym that evening, I was excited to get to my hands dirty in the kitchen.  Since Bret wouldn't be home until 8:30 PM, this would give me plenty of time to slowly prepare dinner and utilize my French oven.

First, I took out some Brussels sprouts out of the freezer.  I had purchased them last week at the farmers' market and put them in the freezer for future use.  I removed the outer leaves, gave the sprouts a quick rinse and let them thaw out while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

I had the last of my sample dehydrated mushrooms (lobster and black trumpet mushrooms) in the pantry from Marx Foods and I decided to rehydrate them with a cup of hot chicken stock.  I put a dishtowel over the bowl and also set that aside.

I then halved and sliced one small zucchini that had been sitting in my fridge.

I also halved and sliced two medium white onions that I purchased from the farmers' market that day during lunch.  I had about six cloves of garlic left from a garlic bulb in the fridge and I also roughly chopped those up.

When I was done preparing my vegetables, I sprayed the French oven with cooking spray and also added a little olive oil to the bottom of the pot.  I warmed the pot up over the stove at medium heat while I got to work on my proteins.  I had four thick slices of smoked bacon in the fridge and I roughly chopped the bacon up.

I also trimmed and seasoned my now thawed chicken breasts with salt, pepper, herbs de Provence and cayenne.  

After all of this preparation, I was finally ready to get cooking!  I preheated the oven to 300 degrees while I dropped the chopped bacon in the pan and let the bacon slowly crisp up.

I kept an eye on the bacon and turned the pieces from time to time.  I wanted the bacon to start to crisp up but not cook all the way through.  When the bacon was ready, I removed it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set the bacon aside in a bowl.

Using the fat from the bacon along with the olive oil that I had previously added, I put my chicken breasts in the pan.  I didn't want to actually cook the chicken on the stove top but just give it a nice sear.  When the chicken was seared on one side, I turned it over and also added the chopped onions and garlic to the pan.  In addition to cooking the vegetables down a bit, I want to meld the onion and garlic flavor with the chicken breasts.  After the chicken breasts had been seared on all sides, I took them out of the pan and set it aside.

I returned my attention back to the onions and garlic in the French oven.  I seasoned the vegetables with salt, pepper, herbs de Provence and a healthy tablespoon of cayenne.  While I love roasted vegetables, I often find them to be bland so I like to add a little kick to it when I can.

I slowly added the zucchini, Brussels sprouts and back to the pan while repeatedly mixing the vegetables up.

I finally added the rehydrated mushrooms to the pan with the remaining chicken stock and gave everything a good stir.

I added the chicken breasts back into the pan and also added a small can of chopped tomatoes to add some color, sweetness and moisture to the dish.

I put the lid on the French oven and put it in the oven for thirty minutes.  After thirty minutes, I turned the chicken breasts over, covered it again and cooked it for another twenty minutes.  I checked the temperature of the chicken breasts and they were just a few degrees short of 170 degrees.  I turned the temperature of the oven up to 350 and put the pot back in the oven without the lid for another eight minutes.  I wasn't worried about overcooking the chicken, which would result in a very dry chicken, because there was a lot of moisture in my roasted vegetables.

Since the chicken breasts were thick, Bret and I decided to just split one.  We piled our plate full of the roasted vegetables, which turned into an almost ratatouille texture (in a really good way).  The chicken breast had a nice sear on the outside yet was still so moist.  But the vegetables, of course, stole the show!  The resulting sauce from the vegetables had such a sweet and smoky flavor yet had just a little bit of spice from the cayenne.  We couldn't help but feel really healthy while eating these hearty roasted vegetables.

Bret and I split the other chicken breast for lunch and of course took lots of vegetables too.  We ended up having a lot more sauce and vegetables leftover so we found a way to utilize them for dinner the next night by pouring it over spicy seasoned rice mixed with smoked turkey sausage.

My first attempt at cooking with my new Le Creuset French oven was definitely a success.  I'm thinking that my next attempt may be jambalaya...but I'd love to hear some of your recipes if you'd like to share!


Do you own a Dutch oven?  What do you like to cook with it?


If you have a chance, could you please vote for me as Boston's Best Local Blogger? I'm thrilled to be nominated and would appreciate your vote here!

Maple Pepper and Habanero Chicken Breast with Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts

Last night, I came home absolutely exhausted.  It has been a hectic few days at work with lots of client meetings, fundraiser events and project deadlines.  I like to go to the gym to de-stress after a long work day and I really felt clear-headed by the time I left the gym.  But by the time I walked home from the gym, I was a sopping mess and felt seriously blah.

But last night, I walked up the stairs to our place and smelled a delicious smoky aroma as I walked through the door.  My thoughtful boyfriend knew how bad the past few days have been and decided to cook us dinner so that it would just be one less thing for me to worry about.  Seriously, isn't he the best?

Our dinner was very simple but incredibly flavorful.  Like me, B was excited to use some of our purchases from our maple syrup adventures on Sunday.  He took a few chicken breasts and used a dry rub with the Highland Foods maple pepper seasoning with habanero.  He seared the chicken for a few minutes on each side in a skillet with vegetable oil.  It was around this time that I had come home to smell the smoky seasoning aroma coming from the chicken on the stove top.  When the chicken had a nice color to it, he put it in the oven at 400 degrees to cook it through.

For a side dish, he heated up a different skillet with olive oil and threw a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts in the pan.  While the sprouts started to dethaw, B quickly chopped up a small white onion and added that to the pan with the sprouts along with some salt and fresh cracked pepper.  When the sprouts were cooked through, B added what I'd guess to be a generous tablespoon of the fresh maple syrup to the pan at the very last minute and gave it a nice toss to make sure all the sprouts had a sweet coating.

The end result?  A delicious tasting and looking dinner.  The chicken breast was moist and juicy from the stove top to oven cooking preparation which helped retain a lot of the meat juices.  Tthe flavor of the dry rub was seriously spicy.  I didn't expect it because the first flavor that hits you is the smoky maple flavor but the habanero pepper slowly builds to a sensational heat.  This is where the Brussels sprouts really help out with this mild cabbage-like taste mixed with the cooling sweet maple syrup sauce.  This was definitely a great combination of spicy and sweet.

I think the best part of the meal was the love evident in it.  B clearly went out of his way to make something that I would enjoy without having to lift a finger.  And in the end, this is what dinner so fantastic.

Sauteed Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts

Just when you thought you've seen just about every permutation of roasted brussels sprouts, I have another one for you: brussels sprouts sliced so thinly that you might as well call it shaved. These slivers of brussel sprout leaves are sauteed in a pan, creating an entirely different texture: softer, fluffier and dare I say delicate? When I first made this dish, my husband told me that the textures did not resemble brussels sprouts, and he actually enjoyed them more, a nice compliment given that he loves these stubby veggies.

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