Jaipur Junction - Hudson

Jaipur Junction is located in the Acme Plaza in Hudson.  They advertise Northern Indian food.  I am not sure of the difference.  It is not a very large place, but colorfuly decorated.  We both ordered things we typically get, but the menu had lots of other options.  I got the lamb Rogan Josh.  It was very good, probably the best I have had.  The lamb was tender and there was plenty of sauce to soak my rice.  I ordered the Medium heat, but either got mild, or it's a very mild medium.  I might see if they can do Med-Hot next time.  TBG got Lamb Vindaloo in Hot.  It was much hotter than mine.  It was also very good.  We got 2 orders of Naan, which was just enough.  We also got a Mango Lassi (mandatory for me to eat all those hot Indian spices).  It was so good I almost finished it before my food came!  The server was a little different, but the service was quick.  It was not busy when we were there but a few people that had ordered ahead came in for pickup.  We will definately be back.

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____6 Chipps

Beer List____6 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Gamekeepers Taverne - Chagrin Falls

Gamekeepers is located in the heart of beautiful Chagrin Falls.  If you are not from the area I suggest going while the weather is nice and plan on staying awhile.  There is a park, falls viewing area and cute shops.  There is not a lot of parking and it's spread out, but I did not have a problem finding a spot on a Wednesday night.  Gamekeepers is a old, cabin like building.  There is a large patio in the back and I think there is a lot of seating, but it's broken up into smaller intimate rooms making it hard to tell.  The menu is small but impactful.  There are some non-gamey items if you prefer (or go with someone picky!).  I met my parents there while TBG was at work.  My mom got the special which was seafood over black rice and mixed veggies with a wasabi asparagus sauce.  It was good.  I had never had black rice before and it was surprisingly sweet.  The sweetness was offset by the wasabi in the sauce.  It definitely was a pretty plate.  My dad got a burger with fresh chips and spicy coleslaw.  He said it was good quality.  He does not like much other than hamburgers, so quality is all that matters to him.  I got the wild boar short ribs over mashed potatoes and asparagus.  It was great.  The boar was so tender and moist.  The fried onions on top cut through the sweetness from the BBQ sauce and added much more to the plate than I thought they would.  The portion sizes were perfect for all of us.  The service was good, she was able to answer all the questions my picky father had.  The wine list was good, but expensive.  There were a lot of bottles I would have ordered if TBG was with me.  I will definitely go back.  There is also a more causal place next door owned by Gamekeeper's that I would like to try.  Good for date night, or a special occasion! 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____5 Chipps

Wine List____7 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Basil!

If you grew basil in your garden this year, chances are you have A LOT right about now.  I love basil and grow it every year.  After adding it to every recipe I make in the summer I always still have a lot growing in the backyard.  Here are some things to do with it so you have have "fresh" basil all winter. 

1. Freeze it
I have an ice cube tray specifically for basil so my normal ice does not taste like basil.  Pack as much washed and cut basil as you can into the cubes.  Fill the rest of the way with water and freeze.  As soon as the cubes are frozen, empty into a freezer safe bag.  You can just throw these cubes into anything you want, or melt them in a bowl and take the basil out if you don't want the water. 

2. Make Basil Butter
One of my favorite things to do with Basil.  You can use this for sauce over pasta, on bread then broiled, served with rolls, in sauces with veggies, or on meats.  I usually make a lot when I do this because it's just as easy to make a ton, and you only have to wash up once. 

3c basil          4 cloves garlic
1lb butter       Fresh ground pepper

Throw it all in the food processor and blend until smooth.  Transfer to an airtight container or make balls with a small ice cream scoop.  Put balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer.  Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag and freeze to use all winter!  Not only are they delicious, but they are pretty too!

3. Grow more

I have not tried this yet, but it worked for my mom!  Put a sprig of basil in water on a windowsill and it will grow roots. This way you can have a small plant in the house all winter.  I think I will try it, even though it will be hard not to use it all at once!

Let me know your favorite thing to do with basil!

Nosh Eatery - Hudson

Nosh is located in a strip mall on Rt 91 South of downtown Hudson.  There is a decent size parking lot in front.  The atmosphere is urban coffee house.  There are not a lot of seats, but everything is clean.  There is a counter to get coffee or something out of one of the cases.  We sat down and ordered coffee since we were there for breakfast.  The coffee was good, TBG said he would come just for that.  The specials sounded pretty good, but we both ordered off the menu.  I got the pistachio french toast topped with fresh fruit and goat cheese whipped cream.  It was amazing.  The pistachio crust was nice and crunchy while leaving the inside fluffy.  The toppings added a sweet touch.  TBG got the Wake and Baked breakfast sandwich.  It had eggs, ham, bacon, tomato, lettuce, Boursin cheese and white truffle on sour dough.  He loved it.  Everything tasted freshly made and carefully put together.  We will definitely be back.  The service was good, but there are not many tables in the whole restaurant.  The prices are good for the quality of food.  The portions are not huge, but were big enough for me, and TBG finished mine anyway.  They serve breakfast, lunch and boxed dinners so get there early and get your Nosh!

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____8 Chipps

Buffalo Chicken Enchilada Recipe

 

I got this recipe from the Pillsbury Casserole book.  I don't usually make things with so many pre-made ingredients, but this is delicious.  Make a lot because it is even better left over!  I shred my chicken, but if you don't have the time you can cube it like the original recipe says.  This time I used wheat tortillas to make it a little heathier.  I usually end up buying the larger tortillas, so I make less than 12 or make more of the fillings. 


Serving size is 2 enchiladas, makes 6 servings
3 cups cooked chicken
3/4c Buffalo wing sauce
1 cup sour cream ranch dip
3 cups Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
green onions
12 - 6" tortillas


Grease a 13x9" pan and preheat the oven to 350.

To make shredded chicken, boil a pot of water and add chicken.  Cook for about 20 min or untill the chicken is not pink inside anymore. Take it out and shred with a fork holding the hot meat with tongs or another fork. Stir the chicken into the wing sauce.  


In a seperate bowl mix the soup, dip, and onions together to make a sauce for the inside of the enchildas.  Save a good amount of the sauce for the top so the tortillas do not dry out in the oven.  I set up a station to make filling each tortilla quick and easy.  Save some of the cheese for the top also.  Once filled, roll each tortilla and place seam down into the pan.  Spread the sauce on top when pan is filled then cover with aluminum foil.  Cook for 35-40 min or until hot and bubbly.  Take the foil off, add the cheese, green onions and cook for another 5 min.  Serve warm with a side of hot sauce!  Start to finish this dish takes a little while, but the chicken could be cooked the night before.  The enchiladas could even be put together ahead of time and kept in the fridge.  All in all, this is a fairly easy dish for how good it is!

Product review and Recipe - Peach Sorbet

July is National Ice Cream month, it's also TBG's Birthday.  He got the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker for his birthday so we will be reviewing it here and sharing the recipe.  One if his favorite fruits is peach, so I decided to make the Raspberry Sorbet from the recipe book substituting peach for the raspberry.  I chose sorbet because I already had the ingrediants in the house, and it seemed like the easiest.  If it doesn't come out I can say for sure it wasn't the recipe!







Peach Sorbet

Serving size 1/2c, makes 10 servings

2 cups water
1.5 cups sugar
pinch of salt
4 cups frozen peaches, thawed

I started with making a simple syrup in a medium saucepan.  Add the syrup to the fruit with the salt.  I then used the immersion blender to make a smooth mixture.  After transferring to a airtight container I refrigerated for 2 hours.  Make sure the freezer bowl is completey frozen.  Then turn the machine on and pour the fruit mixture in the top.  The frozen treat starts to pull together and freeze almost immediately.  Mix for 15-20 min and voila!  Sorbet!  If you want it thicker, throw it in the freezer for an hour or so.  The first time I tried to make sorbet, I only froze the bowl for 7 hours.  I shook it and it sounded frozen, but my sorbet never froze, or got any thicker.  Fail!  I put it in the freezer anyway, but it never really got a nice texture.  This time I had the bowl in the freezer for a couple days.  The book does recommend keeping it in the freezer at all times so you are always ready for a frozen treat.  The machine itself is very easy to use.  The bowl is not big, but big enough for a family.  If I was making ice cream for a party, I would start a week early, or buy another bowl.  An extra bowl is $30 on cusinart.com.  I can't wait to try something more difficult like frozen yogurt or ice cream!

Marcelita's - Hudson/Twinsburg

Marcelita's is located near the Hudson Twinsburg border on RT 91.  There is a large parking lot and lots of seating.  The front of the menu told the story of Marcelita's.  It started on the same location in a shack many years ago and is still in the "family".  The menu was pretty typical of a Mexican restaurant.  The salsa was average, but did taste freshly made.  I got the wet pork burrito with Texan sauce, chihuahua cheese and sour cream.  It was very tasty and the perfect size.  The Texan sauce was kind of like a BBQ, but with Mexican spices, it was very good.  TBG got the special which was chicken enchiladas with refried beans and rice.  He said it was good, but liked my burrito better.  The beer list was decent, with the expected Mexican beers.  The bar was a nice size, and separate from the rest of the family friendly restaurant.  Our server was nice, and the food came fast, but they were not busy that night.  The price was not bad for a family night out, and there are always coupons in the local books.

Service____ 7 Chipps

Food____7 Chipps

Atmosphere____7 Chipps

Beer List____6 Chipps

Wine List____4 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

 

Yours Truly - Hudson

Yours Truly is located on RT 91 in Hudson just South of First and Main.  They have their own large parking lot.  The decor is old fashioned, but everything is clean.  The whole atmoshere comes off more like home, then hole-in-the-wall.  We have been here a couple times but this paticular time was for breakfast.  They have a nice selection of healthy, not so healthy, and cheap staples.  TBG got the Kill it Skillet, a sausage skillet.  He said it was good, but not the best he has ever had.  The ingredients were quality and cooked well.  I got the oatmeal.  It was way too big and came with raisens, walnuts, brown sugar, and strawberries.  I enjoyed it for a change from the usual greasy big breakfast.  The oatmeal was cooked well and the toppings were perfect.  I probably would have eaten more if I had more toppings, but I am glad I didn't.  The service was good even though we were there on Father's Day and they were very busy.  I would reccomend this place for a quick bite that doesn't break the bank. 

Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____6 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

 

D'Agnese's Tomato Grill - Hudson

Located at First and Main in Hudson there is not direct parking for Tomato Grill, but plenty around.  We went for lunch and it was not very crowded.  TBG and I decided to split a pizza even though the menu had a lot of good options.  We definitely plan on going back to try more of the menu.  The service was a little slow, it took a long time for her to take our order and to bring our check.  The pizza did not take a long time though.  We ordered the sausage and peppers pizza.  It was very good.  There were cherry and banana peppers, onions and sausage.  There was the right amount of sauce and the cust was nice and thin but not like a cracker.  The atmosphere was almost like an upscale resturant, but a little more relaxed.  The decor was colorful and the wait staff wore black.  The bar was average sized and looked to have a nice selection of wine and martinis.  We sat by a window and were able to watch people shopping.   I would recommend the pizza and can't wait to try more of the menu. 

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____7 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____4 Chipps

Wine List____5 Chipps

Value____6 Chipps

Dave's Cosmic Subs - Hudson

Located on Main St in downtown Hudson, Dave's is a small sub shop decorated like the 60's/70's.  I didn't think a whole lot of it when TBG suggested we go there.  A sub is a sub right?  I was wrong.  These subs are great.  The bread is a very tasty crusty Italian.  They say the Dave's Cosmic sauce is Italian, but it's zestier and creamier than most Italian dressings.  We liked it, but you can get it on the side if you are unsure.  Every sandwich comes with a homemade pickle.  They even sell the pickles by the jar if you really like them.  It took a little while to make the sandwiches even though they didn't seem to be busy.  TBG got Dave's San Fran.  It has turkey and capicola and is served hot.  I got a Grateful Dave which is turkey with avocado and alfalfa sprouts.  We both really liked our sandwiches.  I thought it price was a little high but that is ok every once in a while.  We have already been back.

Service____ 6 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps