My Life as a Mrs.

Columbia Restaurant’s “1905″ Salad

Tina — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:29:28 +0000

I just got back in town from a fabulous weekend in Orlando at Food Blog Forum! I’m sure you all figured that out though by my Instagram, Tweets, and Facebook picture posts! I’ll give you the low-down on the event itself soon, but today, I’ve got some FOOD to share with ya’ll!

While we were in Orlando, hubs and I got to sneak away one evening to have dinner with my in-laws. I googled nearby restaurants to visit and Columbia Restaurant popped up with great ratings… the restaurant is supposedly Florida’s oldest restaurant having been founded in Tampa in 1905. Plus it has Cuban food, tapas, Paella, AND Sangria – S.O.L.D!

I’m a Florida girl… you KNOW I love me some Cuban food!

As I perused the menu (drooling over my computer screen), I noticed their “1905″ salad. It looked oh-so-familiar and then it occured to me why! I had eaten there 6 years prior for my dear friend’s rehearsal dinner! It was at a location in St. Petersburg & I no clue they had opened up other locations! I instantly remembered how much I LOVED that salad…

I of course had to order the salad, and boy was I glad I did! It was EVEN better than I remembered.

Nothing worse than when you build something up in your head and it totally disappoints! But, not this salad… It was just as phenomenal as the day it first touched my lips.

LURVE IT.

I went home and HAD to figure out how to make it.

Lucky for me, Columbia Restaurant kindly had the recipe posted on their website! With a few tweaks it tasted just as good as the original…

Ya’ll have GOT to try this recipe. It’s redonkulous.

It’s a garlic & olive lovers dream.

And if you are near any of the locations of the restaurant… you should definitely give it a go! They give you piping hot cuban bread when you site down (save some to dip in your salad!!) & the Sangria is phenomenal!

Enjoy!

Columbia Restaurant's "1905" Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Total Time: 15-20 minutes

A delicious Cuban salad with an incredibly addicting garlic dressing... it will have the crowd begging for more!

Ingredients:

For the "1905" Dressing:
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
⅛ cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin Spanish olive oil (Cold-Pressed)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:
4 cups iceberg lettuce, broken into 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" pieces
1 ripe tomato, cut into eighths
2/3 cup baked ham, julienned 3/4" × ⅛" (may substitute turkey or shrimp)
2/3 cup Swiss cheese, julienne 2" × ⅛"
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green Spanish olives
2/3 cup Romano cheese, grated
1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce®
“1905” Dressing (recipe above)

Directions:

For the "1905" Dressing:
Add the garlic, oregano, and white white vinegar to a small glass measuring cup and whisk until combined well. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk vigorously until well combined. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper (to taste). Best to make 24 hours in advance to allow flavors to meld.

For the Salad:
Add lettuce, tomatoes, ham, swiss cheese, and olives. When ready to serve, add the Romano cheese, squeeze the juice of the lemon over the salad, splash on the worcestershire sauce and then add the dressing and mix until well combined. (I ended up having a little reserved dressing - lunch tomorrow!) Serve with some hot crusty bread.

Recipe Source: Columbia Restaurant

Casa Noble Review

Tina — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:54:08 +0000

So this post is a week over-due but last week was a weird week… we had to put our Boxer down on Monday. It was a very sad day but we know it was for the best. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor about 6 months ago and the tumor grew much faster than we anticipated – on Monday he lost all motor function and the ability to walk so we knew it was time. It was a tough decision, but the right decision.

So to keep this entire post from being a total DOWNER (lol), let’s get on to this Casa Noble Tequila review!

We had a few friends over for Cinco de Mayo last weekend to eat and try out their fabulous tequila! We did a taco bar for the main coarse but everyone loved the munching on the chips and dips. No tequila tasting party is complete without the classics:

Pico de Gallo & Corn Salsa:

Homemade tortilla chips:

Served up all pretty:

Guacamole of COARSE:

Easy Cheesy Bean Dip:

The Casa Noble Tequila tasting line-up (Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo):

Hubs mixed up some of his Classic Margaritas using the Blanco & Reposado tequila (Everyone LOVED them):

They were DIVINE… the perfect compliment to all our dippers!

We were all shocked at how SMOOTH the Blanco was – it made one amazing Margarita. Then we tried them with the Reposado & the slight smokey flavor was an excellent addition! It was hard to choose a favorite! Casa Noble is obviously a high-quality Tequila!

Then we stuffed our faces with a taco bar. I grilled up some chicken and skirt steak and had all the fixins for tacos…

My sister in-law brought some Tres Leches and Key Lime Pie for dessert so we served them with a nightcap of the Anejo (shaken over ice):

It was one fabulous evening and I HIGHLY recommend ANY and all of the Casa Noble Tequilas… you won’t be disappointed!

Note: the tequila and food was sponsored by Casa Noble Tequila… however, the opinions of this product are my own!

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Round-Up

Tina — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:39:14 +0000

Cinco de Mayo is THIS Sunday people!!!!! Besides the fact that hubs & I met on an airplane to Mexico (and all things Mexican hold a special place in our heart)… we LOVE LOVE LOVE Mexican food. Cinco de Mayo is naturally our favorite food holiday because we get to make a FEAST filled with all of our favorite things & then wash it all down with MY favorite cocktail… MARGARITAS!

In case ya’ll needed a little food inspiration… I put together a little round-up of some of my favorite Mexican inspired dishes! ENJOY!

1. Pico de Gallo

2. Roasted Corn & Jalapeno Salsa

3. Guacamole

4. Corn & Black Bean Salsa

5. Easy Cheesy Hot Bean Dip

6. Roasted Corn & Poblano Soup

7. Chicken Tortilla Soup

8. Crispy Shrimp Tacos

9. Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

10. Baja Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema

11. White Chicken Enchiladas

12. Chicken & Green Chili Tacos

13. Mexican Beer Chicken with Southwestern Succotash

14. Chicken Tortilla Stacks

15. Homemade Refried Beans

16. Blood Orange Margarita

17. Chili Lime Margarita

18. Tres Leches

National Pretzel Day!

Tina — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:49:08 +0000

Because it’s National Pretzel Day…

And because hubs and I just closed on a new house (WHAT?!! More details on Monday!)…

My lovely friends over at Pretzel Crisps’® are allowing me to giveaway 3 cases of Assorted Pretzel Crisps’®!!!! THAT’S RIGHT… 3 WINNERS (1 Case each!!)

I’m sort of obsessed with these crunchy little flat pretzel crackers!!! They are AWESOME for dipping (think hummus, tapenade, and salsa), stacking (think cheeses, cured meats, & caprese salad), and even as a base for dessert making (see below)!!! If you’ve never tried them… NOW is the time!

Need an idea for what to make with your Pretzel Crisps winnings??? How about my 5-Ingredient Pretzel Crisps Toffee Bark? SO YUM!

Oh and before I forget… As part of Pretzel Crisps’® National Pretzel Day celebration and as a special thanks to their wonderful, supportive fans, they will be giving away a mystery gift on Friday, April 26^{th (TODAY!)}. To find out what it is and claim a gift for you and a friend, stop by the Pretzel Crisps® Facebook page NOW!!!

GIVEAWAY

Enter now through Sunday (April 28th) using the handy widget below… Winners (3!) will be randomly selected & contacted on Monday! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be selected at random and will be contacted by email. The prize must be claimed within 7 days or it will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. See Official Giveaway Rules.

Chicken Parmesan Hoagies with Homemade Marinara

Tina — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:19:32 +0000

Hubs and I are sort of obsessed with these chicken parmesan hoagies from the pizza joint around the corner. And by “sort of”, I mean that after ordering them for takeout 4 times in a less than 2 week times span (yep), I figured it was time to make them myself!

SUCCESS!

The thing I love about cooking is being able to recreate restaurant favorites at home and then ending up (typically) liking the at-home version better! The reason? Well, taste is subjective and the more you cook, the more you start to realize the flavors and ingredients you really love… So then you tweak the taste of your recipes to your preferences.

Don’t be scared to experiment!

Hello gorgeous!

Do you see that crispy crust, melted gooey cheese, and chicken smothered in homemade garlicy marinara??? Ya, it’s breakfast time and I’m thinking one of these sounds PRETTY darn good right about now!

I’m weird like that… forget trying to give me the sweet breakfast pastries, crumb cakes and such and just give me the salty savory stuff – eggs & bacon!

(Or Chicken Parmesan Hoagies…) hah

So let’s take a poll: Are you a savory or sweet breakfast kind of person??

(Don’t judge that I’m asking this on a post about chicken parmesan hoagies… this is what goes on in my brain lol)

Chicken Parmesan Hoagies

Yield: 4 hoagies

Delicious Chicken Parmesan hoagies with homemade marinara sauce!

Ingredients:

For the Marinara:
*Note this makes extra marinara but I store it in the fridge and use it for a quick spaghetti dinner!
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
cracked black pepper
8 basil leaves, chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley

For the Chicken:
1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
salt & pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup italian break crumbs
1/2 cup Panko bread
2-3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
1-2 tablespoons butter

For the Chicken Parmesan Hoagies:
4 hoagie rolls
16 thin slices Provolone cheese (8 if they are thick cut)
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Directions:

For the Marinara:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes (until beginning to soften). Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Next, add the wine to the hot pan and allow it to deglaze the onions and garlic from the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to reduce a little bit (1-2 minutes).

Add the crush tomatoes and the liquid of the whole tomatoes. Take the whole tomatoes and either chop them into bite sized pieces, OR crush/tear them with your (clean) hands as you put them into the pan. Add the salt, sugar, and a little cracked black pepper and stir until combined. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Just before making the subs, add the chopped basil and parsley.

For the Chicken:
Sprinkle each of the chicken cutlets with a pinch of salt and pepper on both sides. Set up assembly line of 3 shallow dishes (think: pie plates). In the first, place the flour. In the second, whisk the egg and milk together. In the third dish, mix the Panko bread crumbs and Italian bread crumbs. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then the egg wash, then the bread crumb mixture and place on a plate. Repeat until all cutlets are breaded.

Preheat oven to 250º F. In a large non-stick skillet heat up a mix of the olive oil & butter over medium to medium-high heat - enough to cover the bottom of the pan (I usually do 2 parts olive oil to 1 part butter - you could certainly just use one or the other if desired). When pan is good and pre-heated add the breaded chicken cutlets in batches, being sure not to over crowd the pan. Cook until browned on both sides, adding oil and butter as pan dries up. It should take about 4-6 minutes per side (until cooked through - minimum of 165ºF). Place in preheated oven on a sheet pan while cooking remaining chicken cutlets.

For the Chicken Parmesan Hoagies:
When all cutlets are cooked, slice into 1/2 inch strips. Cut each of the hoagie rolls lengthwise in half, leaving the edge attached so it opens up like a book. Spoon a little marinara, pile on some of the chicken, spoon on some additional marinara, and add 4 slices of the provolone to each hoagie. Place on the sheet pan and turn oven up to BROIL. Place under the broiler until cheese is melted and edge of roll begins to brown. NOTE: Keep a CLOSE eye as this only takes a couple minutes & will burn if you aren't careful! Sprinkle with some crushed red pepper flakes if desired, slice hoagies in half and serve hot!

Marinara adapted from: The Pioneer Woman