Dinner for One

Quick dinner for myself:

Flatbread with grilled chicken, monterey jack cheese, avocado and tomato.

On the side, mango, blackbean and bell pepper relish.

Easy, fast and sooo yum.

Accidents Can Be Beautiful

Tonight I made a massive quantity of my beloved macaroni and cheese to serve at the Ronald McDonald House tomorrow. Since we weren't going to be able to eat the mac, I also heated up some pizza in the same oven.

And then the most terrible / wonderful thing happened.

Are we witnessing the magic of a new recipe being born?

Vee Veeeeeeeeeee

Image From http://www.veeveejp.com/

On Friday night I headed to the Boston area to have dinner and catch up with my oldest friend, who lives in Roslindale. Roslindale itself seems to be rather restaurant deficient, but fortunately, Jamaica Plain is restaurant-rich and right around the corner. We ended up at Vee Vee on Centre Street. Vee Vee describes itself on its website as a “new American bistro, and overall, my impressions were positive.

 

When we arrived at about 7:30, the small, stylish restaurant was full and the wait was slated to be about 30 minutes. But we were happily equipped with a place to sit and a glass of Tempranillo La Planta, a very nice Spanish red.

 

Once seated, we quickly arrived on 2 appetizers, the shrimp and scallop cakes, served with chipotle aioli, and the special mushroom risotto. These were good, but not overwhelming. The cakes were nicely fried and tasted like your basic fish cake – the actual shrimp and scallops didn’t make much of an impact. The risotto was better – creamy and salty, just like I like it, with nice meaty chunks of mushroom.

 

For our entrees, I chose the panko and dijon-crusted pollock, served with white bean puree, potato, leeks, fennel, and niçoise olive tapenade. I had never had pollock before, so I was drawn in by the idea of something new. I’ll definitely look for it again. Pollock is a clean tasting, flaky white fish. And I love the way panko bread crumbs function. They’re so light, and really seem to compliment whatever they bread, rather than weighing it down. In terms of plate presentation, I wish there had been more olive tapenade – the presentation was very… tan.

Meanwhile, my lovely friend ordered the spicy sambal tofu, served with ginger-coconut red rice, fried plantains and mango salsa. While tofu is not actually my cup of tea, I did sample one of her plantains, which was tasty and she seemed quite pleased with her selection.

 

Overall, Vee Vee was a nice choice. The company was wonderful, the atmosphere was a nice combination of cozy and hip, and the prices were reasonable. I probably won’t be back, just by virtue of the fact that there are a lot of restaurants in the Boston area that I’d want to try before I start recycling. But if you happen to be hungry in Jamaica Plain, Vee Vee is a strong option.

Day 2 of Man Cookery

When last we parted, I had started detailing a week's worth of menus made for The Pickiest Man Alive. The Wednesday of The Man's arrival, it was midnight stromboli. On Thursday we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Tini. Since I've reviewed Tini here before I won't get into too much detail, except to say that if you ever find yourself looking at the Blackbird Steak Sandwich on the menu, order 5.

Onto Friday. We were joined by our dear friend Stacey as well as John's mom, Susan. The menu for the evening was marinated flank steak, risotto and roasted asparagus. And lots of wine. The verdict: Yummy noises all around. The details after the jump.