Lola n Lolita

So AD and the fam went to Cleveland this weekend and enjoyed two great restaurants by Iron Chef Michael Symon, Lola and Lolita. 


Lola is the more upscale of the two with appetizers starting at $7 and going up to $14.


We got the: 
Beef Cheek Pierogi (which were prob one of my fav things i ate all weekend, they tasted like the most tender beef stew you ever ate.)
Goat Cheese Onion Tart
Oysters
Fois Gras (this was my first time having fois gras and it was probably a good place to start my love new found love of it.)
and Today's Charcuterie (which is a meat plate, to put it simply, of different dried and cured meats).


For dinner I ate the Pork chops with cheesy polenta. Amazing. The chops where perfectly cooked and delicious. 3 out of the 9 of us ordered them. I also tried my dads rib eye which was melt in your mouth tender, and the quail and pork belly. AD's gf said the quail was the best she ever had but I was not that impressed. Im a red meat kinda guy.


The french fries were some of the best I had, they were small and crispy and delicious. We ate so much food there was not enough room for dessert. I literally was going to explode with food.


If you plan on making a trip to Lola do like I did and make sure someone else is paying. Big Thanks to my cousin AVR. Dinner can get $$ quick. But it is well worth every penny. 


You kinda want to look your best when dining at Lola. Im not saying wear a suit bc that would be too far but wear your sunday best. 


Lolita, where we had dinner saturday night is a little more laid back and definitely more of a bar you could go to any day atmosphere. 


Apps start at $4 and go up to $10. Not bad considering you are dining on an Iron Chefs recipes. 


We got the:
Arugula Salad (the dressing was really good. a good way to start the meal)
Garlic Bruschetta (i found the garlic to be a bit much on this. it was a roasted garlic that was then spread like a paste all over the bread. it was more of a texture thing for me than a taste. if you enjoy roasted garlic you would like this).
Mussels (the sausage was the star of the show)
Roasted Dates (my mother makes dates wrapped in bacon and they are awesome, these were a tad better. sorry mom)
Crispy Chicken Livers (these were so good we got an other order. i made everyone try them and even the gf liked them, that says a lot. they taste like dark meat chicken. if you like the dark meat you would love these).


For dinner I got the Duck Confit. Wow is all I have to say. If you enjoy duck this is the place to eat it. I didnt like the skin bc it was really fatty but that is how I am with all duck. I gave the skin to my dad and he murdered it. It was nice and crispy and delicious flavor but there was just too much fat between the skin and the meat. Once I pushed that to the side I cleaned the bone. 


The duck came with a side and I choose polenta again. I wanted to compare the two restaurants and I would have to say I liked Lolitas better. It was creamier and cheesier. Just better all around. They gave you a lot at Lolita. There was enough for leftovers. At Lola the portions are a little smaller so I wiped the plate clean. lol


I also tried the pizza. It was pretty good but I wouldnt waste too much stomach space eating pizza at an Iron Chefs restaurant. Dumb Idea. Dont be that guy. 


Over all both were last meal worthy. I would be happy if I died after eating at either of the two. No regrets. 


Next time you are in Cleveland get your asses over here, to either and you wont regret or forget it. 

Bon Appetit Bitches!!!!

AD French Toast

Ingredients 

• Egg (1 Egg for every 2 pieces of Bread)
• Bread
• Cinnamon Sugar
• S & P
• Butter - For Cooking
• Milk

Add the eggs, milk, S & P, cinnamon sugar in a bowl and scramble together.

Melt some butter in a pan. Make sure you don't start to brown it, just melt the butter slightly. 

Dip the pieces of bread into the egg mixture and drop into the pan.

Once the bread is placed in the pan sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on each side. When the cinnamon sugar melts it caramelizes and makes it Absurdly Delicious. I think this is the part that makes it taste so good. 

Sometimes French toast taste eggy, if you follow these steps it shouldn't taste that way at all.

When the French toast is browned and caramelized on both sides it is done, remove it from the pan and dust some more cinnamon sugar over the top.  Add a little piece of butter if you are on the same diet plan as me and you got yourself a great breakfast for any morning. 

Bon Appetit Bitches!!!!

AD Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients 

• Eggs
• Milk
• S & P
• Italian Seasoning
• Butter - For Cooking

Melt some butter in a pan. Make sure not to brown the butter, start out melting it over medium heat and turn the stove up to med high right before you put the eggs in the pan.

Crack 2 eggs and add the S & P, Italian seasoning and milk all into a bowl. 

Scramble together. 

This is when you should turn up the heat on the pan. 

Pour the eggs into the pan.

Get a spatula and fold the eggs over themselves. Causing the uncooked egg on top to cook when it hits the hot pan. You can notice the eggs on the edge starting to cook. This is when you should start to fold the rest of the eggs into themselves.

It happens really fast, so make sure to not walk away.

Once the eggs are all cooked chop them up with the spatula to give them that scrambled look. At this point remove the eggs form the heat. They should be cooked through by now.

Add any kind of cheese you like or eat as is. I use American. America, Fuck Yeah!!!!

To melt the cheese grab a lid and run some H20 over it, place over eggs. (when the water hits the pan it will cause steam, melting the cheese)

Serve with some toast and breakfast sausages, you can cook in the same pan, and you have a great breakfast. 

Bon Appetit Bitches!!!!

AD One Pan Baked Chicken Dinner

This is not the "Baked" chicken some of you were hoping I would make but I promise it is still Absurdly Delicious....lol

Ingredients - Chicken Breast

• Chicken
• Stuffing Mix
• S & P
• Celery Flakes
• Garlic Powder
• Poultry Seasoning
• Parsley Flakes
• Campbell's Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
• Frozen Corn
• Frozen Carrots
• Onions
• Sour Cream
• Heinz Home Style Gravy

This is pretty much a one pan dinner as the name suggests. You will need a mixing bowl, take one out and add all the ingredients. 


Cut the chicken up in as even of pieces as you possibly can. This will help everything cook evenly.

At this point preheat the oven to 400. You are going to have to cook it for about 30-40 mins, or until the chicken is cooked and the top layer becomes nice and crispy. 

You only want to use about a half a cup of sour cream and a couple tablespoons of the gravy. I really like to use this gravy when I cant make my own. It def doesn't taste homemade like it says on the jar but it is really good. 

I like to stir the mixture up about 20 mins into the cooking. This helps everything cook a little faster and most importantly evenly. 

Serve with cranberry sauce and Pillsbury crescent rolls and you have Thanksgiving dinner any day of the week.

Bon Appetit Bitches!!!!

AD Cornmeal/Panko Crusted Chicken Breast w/ Grilled Corn and Chive Butter

Ingredients - Corn w/ Chive Butter

• Corn on the Cob
• S & P 
• Garlic Powder
• Butter
• EVOO
• Chives

Start out by boiling some water, just enough to cover the corn when placed in the pan. Also, shuck that corn....

Add the S & P and garlic powder to water.
Put corn in pan and boil until soft. Most of the cooking should be done in the water. The grilling part is just to give it some flavor and make it look nice. You know people eat with their eyes first, so the more appetizing a dish looks the more Absurdly Delicious it will taste.

While the corn is boiling get some butter and some fresh chives. I started growing chives in my office at work about a year ago and it is one of the best ideas I could have done. 

Put some black pepper on the butter and chop the chives. I like to use scissors to do this, it makes it a lot easier.
Add the butter and chives together until combined. Take a fork and mash the butter until it is soft. Then form it back into which ever shape you'd like. 

Set aside and finishing cooking the corn.
Once the corn is nice and soft from it boiling you can throw it on a grill pan with some EVOO to mark it up.

Keep turning the corn until it is marked on all sides, then remove from the heat.

Next, the chicken....

Ingredients - Chicken Breast

• Chicken
• Yellow Corn Meal
• Panko Breadcrumbs
• Egg
• Water
• S & P
• Garlic Powder
• Poultry Seasoning
• Veg Oil - for frying

Start out by putting the veg oil in a big pan and getting it roaring hot, then put the cornmeal/breadcrumbs/egg wash in 3 separate bowls.

Add the S & P, garlic powder and poultry seasoning to the corn meal and the panko. Mix up well. I like to season everything, you can really taste the garlic powder and poultry seasoning in the crust.

Next in the bowl that has the egg add a little bit of water and scramble up.

First put the chicken in the cornmeal, this gives the egg something to hold onto. The chicken is moist so the cornmeal sticks to it. The egg is also wet so it sticks to the other side of the cornmeal. 

Then dip it in the egg wash 

Lastly the panko.

Drop in the pre-heated oil and cook until golden brown.

Once the chicken is cooked all the way through. Take out of the oil and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. This will help drain off some of the extra oil. Before all the oil dries I like to add a little more S & P.  Again just seasoning at every level.

Mmmmm Perfect.

Put on a plate and add the corn. Rub some of the chive butter on the corn and let it melt down the sides.

Pretty soon you will have this.....

Bon Appetit Bitches!!!!