Ralph’s Restaurant Milestone

Posted on by joshcantcook
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Wow, Ralph’s Restaurant…you look good for your age. Ralph’s, the STILL hotspot of Italian deliciousness, reigns over the Italian competition in Philly. It first opened in 1900, making it officially the oldest Italian restaurant in the United States.

I took my mother here for Mother’s Day, and we had the most amazing experience. Best Gnocchi in the city….
And my very Italian mother isn’t always impressed by Italian food because “I could make this better!” but she was more than impressed, swooning actually.

So take your Italian momma and/or yourself to Ralph’s and check out what it takes to keep a restaurant open for this long….the food.

Phone: 215-627-6011
Address: 760 S. 9th Street

Eat up!

-Josh

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Avocado Recipe of the Day

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It’s no secret, that the health benefits of Avocado is so abundant, that it’s really smart to eat it very often. It’s often called the Alphabet Vegetable, due to it providing your body with vitamins A, C, E, K and B6. Below is a really great wrap that you should make with Avocado!

Ingredients:

24 spears asparagus
1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked cold long-grain white rice
3 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt
3 (10-inches in diameter) whole wheat tortillas
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped red onion

Preparation:

In a medium-sized saucepan over high heat, bring 2 inches water to a boil. Place the asparagus in a steamer basket, cover, and steam until just tender, approximately 5 minutes. Remove the asparagus and immediately rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain thoroughly.

In a small bowl, mash the avocado, lime juice, and garlic into a coarse puree; set aside.

In another small bowl, stir together the rice and yogurt to mix well; set aside.

Heat a large dry frying pan (not one with a nonstick surface) over medium heat. One at a time, heat the tortillas in the hot pan until softened, approximately 20 seconds per side.

Lay the tortillas flat on a clean work surface. Spread the avocado mixture equally among the tortillas. Top each with an equal amount of the rice mixture, asparagus, cilantro, and onion. Fold in both sides and the bottom of each tortilla up over the filling; then roll to close.

If made in advance, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour. Return to room temperature before serving.

To serve, cut each wrap in half crosswise.

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Why So Compressed? M Restaurant: A Review

Posted on by joshcantcook
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I had the great pleasure of attending Philly’s newest hotspot and much buzzed-about restaurant, M Restaurant. I’ve really had very little exposure to this newbie, but my date said it best, in saying “This is truly a diamond in a rough!” For starters, we were led towards this mirage-like courtyard, where we were seated, and it is so gorgeous that it actually took my breath away. The lighting, the tables, the welcoming staff, the everything was perfect.

In the past, I’ve been to many gorgeous restaurants that have nothing special to eat, which is comparable to a supermodel with no brain? Anyway, M has a brain, and they’re not afraid to use it. They’re delighted to explain the menu, as our server, Gordon, poured the menu-info all over me and my date…sparking major interest in the food. I had a vodka club to warm me up, after a long week. While sipping my vodka club, I sat there waiting for the very innovative chef to send out our first course. Again, this place has a brain.

My first course was Seared Gnocchi with Zucchini and Teardrop
Tomatoes.

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So pretty, and amazingly light and springy.

My second course swam all the way onto my plate, thankfully.

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Scallops were my second course, and they were as delish as they were perfectly-plated and perfectly-bright. It’s a spring masterpiece, I tell ya!

And my big finale was a perfectly cooked Duck. Its juices and flavors were perfectly encapsulated, by a cooking technique called Sous Vide. It’s basically cooking something in an airtight vacuum, for an extended period of time. My duck was sealed in this compression experience, and I am obsessed with duck, and neva-have-I-eva had a duck quite this good.

While sipping my perfectly frothed cappuccino in the perfectly perfect courtyard at M Restaurant, full after three perfect courses…it was all perfect. My date and I were swooning over our experience, and how we’d rather be nowhere else in the world, than in that very moment. M Restaurant is a special place, and I couldn’t wait to tell everybody. So, everybody…. Make a reservation, and get ready for the perfect night.

-Josh

Recipe Rolodex

Posted on by joshcantcook
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Let’s cut the bullshit. Does anyone use a cookbook? I feel like no one does, especially those that have the ability of cooking. Usually people pull from, what I call…Recipe Rolodex in their Head, something that I don’t have.

If I want to make Brussel Sprouts, I’ll google something sad like “Brussel Sprouts easy recipe.” ah life. Sucks when you just can’t do something. But my question for people with this collection of recipes is this… How does the Rolodex start? Is it that you try and try, and you find what works? Or is it that you just repeat the same stuff out or habit? My mother has 9 recipes. Homegirl rinses and repeats. Monday: Chicken Cutlets. Oh, her Chicken Cutlets, let me count the ways.

How did you start your Recipe Rolodex?

-josh

Food in Space

Posted on by joshcantcook
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I YouTube/Google a lot of weird stuff, all the time. I call it research, but others would call it odd. Examples of things that I’ve youtubed&googled recently: Alligator attacks, hot air balloon,
Mummers, Paula Deen, And Tina Fey interviews. Today’s subject of interest was Space Food. I always wondered what astronauts eat. Haven’t you?
Below is a list of Space Food, that is….out of this world (obvious pun apology).

Rehydratable drinks.

Foods that spoil quickly that needs to be eaten within the first two days of flight to prevent spoilage.

Beef steak that is sterilized with ionizing radiation to keep the food from spoiling.

Foods such as nuts, cookies and granola bars that are ready to eat.

Foods that have been dehydrated and allowed to rehydrate in hot water prior to consumption.

Foods that have been processed with heat to destroy microorganisms and enzymes that may cause spoilage.

More common staples and condiments do not have a classification and are known simply by the item name:

Shelf Stable Tortillas – Tortillas that have been heat treated and specially packaged in an oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere to prevent the growth of mold.

Condiments – Liquid salt solution, oily pepper paste, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.

CHILD, they have Tortillas on Space.

Yum.

-Josh

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