Restaurant Review - Cyprus Grille

Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary and we went to St. Louis and stayed at Embassy Suites for the occasion. As I am not a huge fan of St. Louis, we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant, Cyprus Grille, rather than try to find a nice restaurant elsewhere. We both dressed up and I was under the impression that it was going to be pretty fancy.

First off, the menu was small. The appetizer selection was acceptable but the entree list was tiny. They only had two steak options, one of which was KC strip (as part of a surf-and-turf with jumbo shrimp scampi), and the other was flat iron. No ribeye, no sirloin even. There was a "sandwiches and pasta" section of the menu, with exactly one pasta dish in it, which was inexplicably not available after 5 PM.

Alex ended up getting the surf-and-turf (come to think of it, isn't surf-and-turf generally steak and lobster?), which came with seasonal vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes, and I got grilled chicken in a sage cream sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I also ordered a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling (my favorite white wine), and a bowl of French onion soup, because I had actually never had it before.

Service was SLOW. It was a Saturday night at like 7 PM, and we were one of maybe 5 couples there (there were 20-25 tables it looked like). There is no reason it should have been that slow. It took nearly 30 minutes for my soup to even arrive. The first thing I noticed about the soup was that the green onion garnish had been chopped unevenly. This is not something I would previously have noticed, but I seem to have turned into a bit of a food snob. The soup itself was decent-tasting (though all the onions had sunk to the bottom, and the crouton was soggy... not sure if that's normal for French onion soup or not).

The rest of the meal arrived approximately 10 minutes after the soup. The chicken tasted okay but there were TWO breasts, pounded flat. I've never ordered anything in my life that came with two chicken breasts before (outside of like KFC). Also the asparagus, while cooked to an acceptable level of tenderness, had no seasoning at all on it. It could have at least done with some salt. It tasted boiled or steamed; roasting it would have helped tremendously. Also the stalks were very very thick, almost too thick.

Alex said his steak was overcooked (he ordered medium rare and it looked closer to medium or medium well to me) and chewy (owing to the cut of the steak). Also the scampi came lying on top of the steak, as opposed to in a saucer of garlic butter like all previous shrimp scampi I've seen. (He said they were good though.) Also his entire dish inexplicably had mint sprinkled all over everything. I have never seen that before, and I tried it for myself, it WAS mint. The only thing I can guess is that it was supposed to be parsley or cilantro and somebody in the kitchen got confused.

Final tab was $75. I threw in a 10% tip, because while the service wasn't HOSTILE, it was very very slow and unprofessional. (Also I was a bit perturbed coming into dinner because we had gone to the free alcohol reception, and I ordered a vodka-and-Sprite which tasted like a vodka-and-club-soda. Yuck.)

The next morning/noon we went to Denny's; I got a Super Bird and Alex got a BLT with extra bacon, and I must say, it was far more satisfying than Cyprus Grille. I was almost inclined to go back and tell them so, but we had already checked out by that point and I'm not really that evil.

Chicken and Polenta

So... that roast chicken I bought Friday night? Yeah it sat in the fridge all the way up until today. When I pulled it out to roast it it was smelling a bit funky. Then I slow-roasted it at 250, which was supposed to take 5 hours, and the thermometer was up at 2.5 hrs and all the juices were clear and the meat thermometer was reading 153-170 no matter where I stuck it. So uh...

So I made polenta with leeks, for the first time ever having or making polenta. First thing off, it was pretty bland. Even with plenty of salt and pepper and Parmesan and butter and of course leeks... still pretty bland. Secondly, when it says add polenta slowly while whisking, it means SLOW. It came out lumpy, and because I failed to notice I bought quick-cooking polenta, it thickened up faster than I could un-lump it. So I tried my best but oh well. Thirdly I cut my finger open like a dipshit while slicing leeks. It bled pretty good. I had even just been thinking "I'm supposed to curl my fingers under while slicing so I don't cut them."

The chicken tastes okay. Guess we'll find out soon whether we got food poisoning or not. The recipe wasn't anything too incredible though (maybe because it only cooked for about 3-3.5 hrs instead of 5). So yeah. Ditch the chicken recipe, cause it didn't WOW me, and while I'm not giving up on polenta yet, I have a lot to learn for next time.

(Also did some Green Giant mixed veg in garlic olive oil sauce, and apparently Alex got all the sauce cause mine just tasted plain. Blah!)

Pasta with Roasted Winter Vegetables

Last night we went to Hen House, the grocery store with the most orgasmic produce section in existence, and bought spinach and leeks and garlic and shallots (they sell individual shallots! out of a barrel! all the other stores sell them in little pre-made sacks and half of them are moldy already. oh my god I love Hen House) and a JAR OF ARBORIO RICE! not a tiny box! and a box of polenta! and hooray for Hen House.

Tonight I made rigatoni with roasted vegetables. It was really really easy, chopping took more time than anything, as far as actual effort. Although it was kind of... uninteresting. I think I'll keep the roasted vegetable recipe, cut out the rigatoni, and just use it as a side dish in the future.

Chop:
1 small eggplant into 3/4" chunks
2 small red potatoes (unpeeled) into 3/4" chunks
2 medium carrots, peeled, into thin diagonal slices
1 cup mushrooms into quarters
8 cloves garlic
1 large red onion into 1" chunks

Toss with:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
copious salt and pepper

Bake at 400 degrees, tossing occasionally, for 45 minutes.

Chop:

1 crown broccoli

Add, bake another 10 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Sprinkle with plenty of Parmesan.

Fusilli with Caraway, Cabbage and Ham

I am the slackiest slacker that ever slacked! I cooked tonight, it's sort of German and was quite tasty. Here's the recipe:

Fusilli with Caraway, Cabbage and Ham

3 slices thick-cut bacon
Canola oil
2 lb onions, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 1/2 cups diced smoked ham
12 oz fusilli
1/3 cup Parmesan
Beef broth as needed
Salt/pepper

In a very large skillet, cook bacon over medium-heat until crisp and brown. Set aside to drain. Add enough canola oil to the skillet to equal 1/4 cup fat. Add onions and caraway seeds and saute 20 minutes or until well-browned. Add cabbage and ham, saute 8 minutes or until cabbage is wilted. Meanwhile, cook fusilli in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta, add to onion mixture. Add Parmesan and crumbled bacon, mix well. Add beef broth as needed if mixture looks dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken and Pasta with Soup Mix Sauce

I know, I know, I've been such a slacker! I haven't cooked much lately; the kitchen has been piled with dishes and I've been feeling lazy. We've been eating pizza and Chinese food mostly. Last night I did my old fallback guaranteed-good meal, Chicken and Pasta in Soup Mix Sauce. I think the actual name of it was something like Herbed Chicken Fettuccine, but 1) I rarely actually have fettuccine in the house and usually just use whatever pasta is around, and 2) if I CALL it that, Alex will not have any idea what I'm talking about. I have two other guaranteed-good dishes (which I have made numerous times), which are my chili and my bbq meatballs. Both are quite tasty, as long as I dice the onions small enough.

Before I get on to the recipe for the chicken, I'd just like to take this moment to point out that I got a fit-n-fresh "bento" kit yesterday for $20. It comes with a thermos, a salad bowl w/ built in dressing dispenser, and a box that holds a large entree and two sides. All of them come with ice packs that fit in neatly. Also Alex ordered me a Mr. Bento on Saturday! YAY!

So here's the chicken recipe.

Chicken and Pasta with Soup Mix Sauce

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1-2 tsp salt-free seasoning blend
4 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dry onion soup mix
1 packet savory herb and garlic soup mix, divided
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
8 oz uncooked pasta

Toss chicken with seasonings. Saute in 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add water, onion soup mix, 2 tbsp savory herb and garlic soup mix, and teriyaki sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, add to skillet. Toss with remaining soup mix, remaining butter, parmesan, and worcestershire until well coated.

Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Shallot Port Sauce

Tonight I'm doing a roast beef tenderloin in a beef broth-roasted shallot-port-bacon sauce, with roasted potatoes and sugar snap peas. Also I burnt the top of my knuckle on the damn oven heating element thing. Again. Guh.

Hope it all tastes good.

edit: Oh wow. Oh wow. The sugar snap peas were a bit overdone (damn nuclear stovetop!) but still tasty, the potatoes were creamy with a crispy crust and perfectly seasoned with rosemary and thyme, and the beef. The beef. A nice medium rare throughout, tender and juicy, and that sauce. Wow. I accidentally over-reduced the beef broth and port (reduced it by 2/3 or 3/4 instead of 1/2), so I was a little worried it would be too strong, but when I added my roux, and butter, and then the roasted shallots and bacon... oh man. Heaven. Best beef gravy I may have ever had. And I did not know the wonders of a sweet, soft roasted shallot until tonight; they were sitting around for a while after roasting, waiting for the beef to get done, and the layers had separated a bit, as onions tend to do. So I picked up a tiny rogue layer and popped it in my mouth and HOLY CRAP. I had made roasted balsamic red onions before and hadn't been particularly thrilled, too oniony for me, but this was SO DIFFERENT. I could have just eaten them by themselves, as a side. Amazing.

Three thumbs up.

Chicken Dopiaza and Meez

You know, regardless of how much preparing I try to do ahead of time, why is it that when cooking Indian/Asian food I am ALWAYS scrambling and spilling and cursing and screaming at Alex to please come open this jar that is stuck I need it NOW NOW NOW NOW.

I'm making chicken dopiaza tonight. It is yellow and garlicky and spicy and smells delicious (and still has another 15 minutes in the oven to go). First disaster: no tomatoes. Had to go buy some. Second disaster: approximately 50% of my bag of shallots was moldy. Third disaster(s): Had to get Alex to open jar and unopened spice container, which were both stuck. Fourth disaster: Cat peed on the couch. Fifth disaster: I didn't cut nearly as much cheesecloth as needed to squeeze juice out of onion and had to resort to using a strainer, thus getting 2 more dishes dirty. Sixth disaster: For some reason all the spices I put in the pot sucked up the oil like NOTHING. Fuckers.

It damn well better taste good. And after dinner I am going to have to make a run to the 24-hr Walmart and buy some more cat litter and get the non-Littermaid box set up. Fucking cat.