Heights Eats

I have been going to Tommy’s since before I was born. It’s home to my first memories of experiencing pita bread. Ben and I met the minister that married us there and we’ve been to Tommy’s many times since.

The restaurant itself is plain, and the décor consists of the work of local artists (for sale) and plants. Natural light abounds during the day. The menu has not changed in decades — but this is a positive attribute. Although known for being vegetarian, their menu does not exclude meat. Some of the more popular items on the menu include milk shakes, french fries, toasted cheese (served on pita), salads with Louie dressing (a take on Thousand Island).

One of our favorites is the unusual pairing of hummus, toasted cheese and fresh vegetables. Warm hummus with melted cheese sounds odd — but tastes really good. Jonathan gave the dish the kid stamp of approval. Our only minor complaint is that there should have been … continue reading

Recently we made Pan Bagnat from Moosewood Cooks at Home. It’s a really simple, versatile recipe that basically allows you to use any seasonal vegetables you have on hand, and we’ve had plenty of those lately. While the sandwich is quick to assemble, the key is letting it sit, preferably weighted down, for a few hours to let all of the flavors–especially the garlic, olives and tomatoes–meld and saturate the bread. It’s perfect for picnics or fishing.

Here’s a quick version of the recipe:

1 baguette (we used one from Whole Foods, but On the Rise might be even better) 1 garlic clove olive oil tomato cucumber onion olives salt and pepper

optional: mild cheese (we used fresh mozzarella), hard boiled eggs, vinegar, fresh or dried herbs (we used basil), pesto, peppers, capers, or whatever else sounds good.

Slice bread in half lengthwise and rub cut or pressed garlic on cut sides. Slather on generous amounts of … continue reading

Sarah and I recently won a gift certificate to a Viking cooking class from Live to Cook at Homeand Heinen’s. We’re looking for uses for our upcoming bountiful crop (hopefully), so we took the From Farm to Table class.

Viking has a very nice kitchen complete with envy-inspiring Viking appliances everywhere. All of the students sat around a large granite counter with the instructor at the end.

The class started with a mini knife skills course as there’s plenty of chopping when you’re using fruits and vegetables. Our instructor, Jen, was very helpful in showing us how to do this. I’d already taken a Viking Knife Skills class, so I helped Sarah a bit while we were chopping.

Our first task was chopping everything we’d be using for the whole night. This was both for the sake of mise en place and so we could start on the wine (for obvious reasons it’s not brought out while people are … continue reading

We recently made Alton Brown’s Eggplant “Pasta” based largely on this YouTube clip:

In order to make it more like real eggplant Parmesan, though, i.e. fried and crusty, I made one modification. After sauteeing everything in my large cast iron skillet (it took about 3 1/2 minutes for two servings, i.e. one eggplant and one tomato from City Fresh), I added the following, in order:

A sprinkling of flourOne beaten egg, spread over the top of everythingA coating of bread crumbs w/some fresh Parmesan

I broiled the whole thing in the skillet for a couple minutes to create a nice crust. Finally, I sprinkled on 1/4 cup or so grated provolone and broiled briefly.

The dish was a yummy hybrid of baked “pasta” and cheesy eggplant Parmesan, but without the heaviness of either as it was neither deep fried nor contained much starch. It also paired very well with the Spaten Optimator I had on hand.

We’ll definitely make this again!… continue reading

I recently made this salad from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. The picture pretty much gives you the recipe: blanched green beans (from the Coit Road Farmers Market), tomatoes, fresh mozarella and, hiding under the pesto, quartered and boiled potatoes.

The salad tasted extremely fresh and went well with some ciabatta we had onhand. The recipe calls for parsley in the pesto in addition to basil, which gives it a nice zing. The authors included hard boiled eggs and red onion as well, but we liked this fine without either.… continue reading

This week we made a simple week night dinner, partially inspired by Mark Bittman’s list and partially inspired by a trip to the food Co-op. I simply steamed some asparagus and fried some eggs, then assembled them on the plate with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. If only all recipies could be summarized in one sentence! All three of us enjoyed the meal, and it was super quick.… continue reading

I recently made Mark Bittman’s Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce and served it over Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan with a Vengeance Coconut Rice:

Although this dish is vegan, it definitely tastes decadent. Fried tofu in a rich sauce is very flavorful and substantial. Sarah didn’t even like tofu until she’d had it fried (which is the most traditional preparation anyway). We liked this so much we made it two weeks in a row.

The tofu preparation is basically Darlene Schmidt’s Thai recipe, while the dish itself is from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce

1 1/2 –2 lbs tofu
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar (optional)
1 cup oil for frying

1 cup sugar

6 limes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TB. soy sauce or tamari
1/2 cup + 2 TB. water, preferably warm
1 Tb brown sugar

1/2 cup peeled and … continue reading

Tommy’s

Pan Bagnat

Viking’s Farm to Table Class

Baked Eggplant “Pasta”

Green Bean Pesto Salad

Eggs over Asparagus

Braised Tofu in a Caramel Sauce w/ Coconut Rice