Maryland Meals

Not only has Wegmans opened a new supermarket near my son’s Maryland home, but also that general mall-like area has completed numerous stores and restaurant. As on all trips to visit him, we ate healthy at home then ate out a lot.


Charming cheeses at Wegmans...

Eating at home

Tortillas, chopped chicken breast, cabbage slaw with mayo...

Green leafy lettuce, salmon burger, asparagus, shredded mango chutney...

Salmon burger, cooked cabbage slaw, green leafy lettuce, mixed fruit...

Naan, Portabella Mushroom Bruschetta, shredded mozzarella...

Eating out

In addition to enjoying several meals in Wegmans Cafe, we tried out Elevation Burger (hamburgers and fries at their finest)...

Right next door to Elevation Burger is Red Robin. We also ate at a Red Robin on our trip back to NYS, about the halfway point, where my daughter and her boys meet to drive me the rest of the way. Think bottomless when you eat at Red Robin--bottomless fries, bottomless beverages. Wow! My choices on these two stops were Keep it Simple and All American Patty Melt.

Just a few doors down from EB and RR is Nando’s Peri-Peri (no more drives to Annapolis just for Peri-Peri).

A chicken wrap and garlic mashed potatoes. Oh, so yummy, but way too much and I couldn’t eat it all. Consider this--I usually only eat mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so this was a treat!

We took a long drive west on Maryland’s Historic National Road and ended up in Frederick MD where we stopped for lunch at The Orchard. I had a Portabella Mushroom Melt which consisted of portabella on naan with tomatoes, red onions, Jack cheese, thousand island dressing, sprouts...

Look what we spotted on the streets of Frederick as we walked to The Orchard. The One-of-a-kind sign in the window certainly fits this Ferrari.

First, Black Bean Enchiladas, then Sesame Chicken with Lo Mein and Green Beans

That’s right--two recipes! Two fan-tab-u-lous recipes that I found in Menu Magazine, put out quarterly by Wegmans supermarkets (located in the Northeast U.S.). I had never tried their recipes before and was finally ready to take the plunge.

Am I glad I did! I can’t tell you yet which is my favorite of these two. I love them both. And I love the fact that I have the recipes in print with pictures in the Menu Magazine, plus I can go online and find the menus, with videos, at Wegmans.

The videos really bring it all together for me. I mean, I love to read (and look at pictures!), but then after I have everything purchased and assembled, nothing beats a video to show how easy it really is to assemble these two dishes.


BLACK BEAN ENCHILADAS


Online Recipe

Video

Changes I made or would make ~ None! Fantastic as is. At first I thought this was a very expensive, cheese-laden dish, but then realized it made A LOT! Two big pans, one for supper and one for the freezer (which I used a few weeks later at a potluck dinner where it received rave reviews).


SESAME CHICKEN WITH LO MEIN AND GREEN BEANS


Online Recipe

Video

Changes I made or would make ~ Too many noodles (they recommend the 1-pound package of frozen lo mein noodles). The second time I made this, I bought an 8-ounce box of dried noodles. Forgot it would double when I cooked it--ha, ha--so again I had way too much. I added half and froze the rest for the next time I make it. Even with half the noodles, it’s a huge amount of food. Filled my wok.


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COMMENTS

I discovered recently that my blog settings for Comments were incorrect and only allowed registered users to comment. Oh, no! I want everyone to be able to comment, even anonymously, if you want.

The settings are changed so, please, speak up. I would love to hear your opinions on the blog and the recipes. If you make any of the foods, let me know what worked for you and what didn’t.

Vacation Time! Eating Out! Nando’s Peri-Peri, Wegmans, Roundz!

Maryland in October and it was time to step out of the kitchen. It was a three-plus weeks visit with my son and we often ate out. Among our favorite spots are Nando's Peri-Peri in an Annapolis mall, Wegmans in Columbia, Red Hot and Blue (in Laurel, I think) and Roundz in Crofton.

An even newer Wegmans just opened Sunday in Crofton, within walking distance of my son's house. Hurricane Sandy was due to open up Sunday too, so I got up before anyone else in the house (my son, my daughter, and my two grands) and headed out to breakfast at Wegmans. Felt like home. All Wegmans do. Even saw and spoke with Dave Orlovsky, Manager of our local Wegmans. Well, he was. He's on his way to Massachusetts to help set up stores there.

After breakfast, I wandered around and except for the size, things are pretty much the same.

Look, it's a Wegmans train! You can even buy them for Christmas gifts. OMG, do I sound like an advertisement for Wegmans. Can't help myself. It's one of my favorite place to shop.

It was a "light" opening. People were hunkering in for Hurricane Sandy and many had done their shopping for water, generators, canned foods when the warnings came out Thursday and Friday.

Fruit, vegetable, salad bars -- there are two of them.

I noticed that Columbia Wegmans and the new Crofton store have "trail mix bars". Wish we had one in Corning. Oh, wait, we do now that the Corning store is being rearranged and updated. Look what I found when I got back from vacation...

Another favorite of mine is Roundz Gourmet Market. It's a comfortable place where the food is delicious, the staff is welcoming and you can sit at the counter and watch them cooking.

I forgot to take a photo before I took a bite! Half a smoked turkey sandwich with cranberry spread left. Those chips were amazing! Homemade from butternut squash.

Can I have dessert with lunch? Of course... loved this bread pudding.


Chef Zachary at Roundz even recommended a couple of excellent books which he had and brought over for me to browse through: Barron's Food Lover's Companion and Food Rules: an Eater's Manual.

Rules 2 of Food Rules ~ "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

One more mention for Roundz. They're celebrating their first anniversary on November 17. Congratulations to Zach and all the staff at Roundz in Crofton MD.

Nando's Peri-Peri. We have to go there at least once a trip. Son loves the hot sauces!

Not only does Nando's have delicious food, but also they have beautiful decor.

Again I forgot to take a photo before I began eating. What you see here is a grilled chicken sandwich. That's not the chicken on top -- that's Haloumi cheese. Love Haloumi!

And now I'm home again. Time to return to cooking my own foods. Also, need to come up with a cookie recipe for The Great Cookie Swap 2012. I'll be baking and mailing a dozen cookies each to three other food bloggers and blogging about it in November. Stay tuned.

Coming up soon, I'm thinking of Tofu Foo Yung with pasta and mushroom gravy. Also, quiches--one with a rice crust and the other with a mashed potato crust.


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A bit of a follow-up on the Crofton MD Wegman’s opening Sunday... My son emailed me Monday evening -- one day after the Hurricane Sandy craziness -- “Packed full tonight!”

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October in Maryland and DC

I’m back in Maryland and D.C. for the third time this year! One of the reasons I love visiting my son is because we love eating out.

Find out about foods on my previous visits by visiting my February and July posts …

EATING OUT ~ February 2012


VACATION MEANS EATING OUT ~ July 2012


STILL TESTING FOODS OF MARYLAND ~ July 2012


So far this time, we’ve (my son and I) eaten twice at Wegmans, Columbia. Huge food bar section ~ a heavenly buffet. We (my son, my brother and his wife) dined at Red, Hot and Blue in Laurel MD. Love that place with its “pulled” meats and blues music.


Today I took a short walk to Roundz, a homey, yet classy café, market and catering establishment, less than a mile from son’s house. If you’re ever in Gambrills MD, please stop in to sample their gourmet fare and tell them you heard it from me. A new Wegmans is opening just across the highway October 28. What a great combo ~ Roundz and Wegmans!

Roundz food is yummy and inventive. For instance, most of their sweets are cut into individual pieces ~ round, of course!

Today’s coffee was 100% Columbian.

Entrees…

Vegetables…

She had something brewing on the stove AND was mixing up brownies.

I want one of those hand-operated slicers. Look how it curls the slices of squash for chips!

Employees at Roundz always enjoy their work and are very welcoming to their patrons.

Mini pumpkins and Indian corn welcome the fall season. The plan is to cut out the center out of some of the pumpkins to allow for insertion of tea light candles for an upcoming “Dinner after Dark”.

Visit to a U-Pick Farm and Lemon-Coconut Bars

A pickin’ we will go
A pickin’ we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o
A pickin’ we will go

And so we did... my daughter, son-in-law and their two boys, and my son who’s in town visiting. We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon picking first apples of the season and raspberries at Reisinger’s Apple Country near Watkins Glen in New York State’s Southern Tier.

We picked Ginger Gold and McIntosh Apples

Nearby were two rows of apples not yet ready for picking, but look at the gorgeous "honey" color (enlarge the photo) of the apples in the row in the back of this photo.

My 5-year old grandson insisted on having his own wagon to pull. No more riding for him. He and his dad are headed to rows of raspberries. Most of our apples are in another wagon.

Raspberries were a bit sparse, but we picked a few quarts and they were oh-so-good!

My son-in-law, grandson, and son picking raspberries in the hot, hot sun. Notice the log cabin chicken coop in the back.

Sometimes a product just calls to me and on a recent trip to Wegmans, it was a basket full of shiny, firm lemons. I brought one home with me and before heading out to the u-pick farm, I made lemon bars.

They cooled while I was away. What a treat to come home to--they tasted amazing--a sweet and sour filling in a simple crust. The coconut in the filling was a nice touch, but next time I might add the coconut to the crust. This is the simplest of recipes and will work well on either informal or formal occasions.

Betty Crocker hasn’t lost her touch!


LEMON-COCONUT BARS
(from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook 2001 ~ p.144)

Ingredients...

(Crust)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. butter or stick margarine, softened**
1/4 c. powdered sugar
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(Filling)
1 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel, if desired
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c. flaked coconut
Powdered sugar

Directions...

1. Heat oven to 350-degrees Farenheit.
2. Mix flour, butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Press in ungreased square pan, 8 x 8 x 2 or 9 x 9 x 2 inches, building up 1/2-inch edge.
3. Bake crust 20 minutes; remove from oven.

4. Beat remaining ingredients except powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Pour over hot crust.

5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows.

My notes...

* I used, and always recommend using, butter.
* By all means, add the grated lemon peel. It brings the taste to a new level!
* Check the expiration date on your baking powder.
* Cut the bars at room temperature for best results. If they have been refrigerated, just leave them out on the counter for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
* Next time, I’m going to mix the coconut into the flour, butter, powdered sugar mix to make it part of the crust.

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Have you noticed? Near the upper right hand corner of the blog, there is a green box labelled Food Blogs. I’m now a member and you can access most of my blog entries/recipes by clicking on the box and searching Step By Step In The Kitchen.