Ciro’s (Lancaster, PA)

Ciro’s (Lancaster, PA)

My husband and I drove to Lancaster, PA to celebrate his sister’s birthday.  She chose the restaurant, Ciro’s, for dinner.  The restaurant is in a complex that includes apartments, townhomes, and a few shops on the first floor of the apartments.  The lighting was dim in this large restaurant and there was a lot of seating.  We were ushered into a private room (there were 9 of us total). 

There were  a lot of vegetarian options, but I chose salad and a pizza.  The Arugula and Roasted Pear salad looked too good to pass up - baby arugula with honey roasted pear and parmesan cheese tossed with honey-champagne vinaigrette.  The arugula was fresh and crisp and the honey roasted pear was absolutely delicious.  The pear was firm and sweet.  There were large parmesan cheese shavings topping the salad and a drizzle of honey-champagne vinaigrette finished it off.  The vinaigrette was awesome and perfectly complemented the honey roasted pear.  The salad was lightly dressed and nothing got soggy.

As my main dish, I had the Verdura alla Griglia pizza.  I ordered the personal-size pie that had a medley of vegetables, roasted onions, roasted garlic and mozzarella cheese.  Unfortunately, my pizza came out very well done.  The waitress offered to take it back, but everybody else was already eating, so I just kept it.  It tasted like fire.  I’m sure that it would have been better (especially with the roasted onions and garlic), but it was difficult to fully enjoy it.  The center of the pie wasn’t too bad, so I cut off the crust and “bottom” third of the pizza so that I could at least eat some of it.  That part was savory and soft.

The restaurant has its own gelato case and you can go up and order your own.  I had a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate – a perfect ending compared to the disaster of a main course that I just had.  If I go to Ciro’s again, I will skip the pizza!

Cheesy Pumpkin Lentil Pot Pies

Cheesy Pumpkin Lentil Pot Pies (from Amuse Your Bouche, Servings: 2, Total Time: 50 minutes)

Ingredients

·         ¼ cup red lentils

·         1 cup vegetable stock

·         Black pepper

·         ½ tsp dried thyme

·         3 Tbsp. (heaped) pumpkin purée

·         1/8 cup vegetarian parmesan-style cheese, finely grated

·         1/3 sheet puff pastry, thawed

·         1 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1.       Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2.       Combine the lentils and vegetable stock.  Simmer gently until the lentils are soft and not much liquid remains. Make sure you stir to keep the lentils from sticking to the pan.

3.       Add the black pepper, thyme, pumpkin purée and parmesan, and mix well until the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4.       Spray two large ramekins (or one dish) with non-stick cooking spray.

5.       Roll out the pastry until it’s about 2 times as thin as it was frozen.

6.       Distribute the lentil mixture into bowls and drape the pastry over the top. Press it down firmly around the edge of the bowls. Either cut the excess pastry off or leave a little excess over the edges (I left the excess).

7.       Cut a couple of small slits in each piece of pastry, and brush with milk.

8.       Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish.  It is very creamy and savory –  it actually does not have too much of a pumpkin taste.  The lentils were completely puffed up and were not hard at all – just the way we like them.  I used a little less than ½ tsp. of thyme and that worked out perfectly for us.  I think that the vegetable stock, thyme, and cheese were the primary flavors in my dish.  The puff pastry had a nice touch of brown to it and was quite crispy – a perfect contrast the creamy interior of the pot pie. 

This dish is easy to make and it perfect for two people. There are some other recipes that I have used that say they are for two people, but I always end up with leftovers (not a bad thing).  There were no leftovers to speak of with this one!  My husband dug in as soon as the pot pies came out of the oven and loved every bit of his!

Cheddar and Beer Risotto

Cheddar and Beer Risotto (slightly adapted from Emily Bites, Servings: 8, Total Time: 45 minutes)

Ingredients:

·         1 Tbsp. margarine

·         ½ small onion, chopped

·         2 garlic cloves, minced

·         2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

·         12 oz. bottle of beer

·         6 cups vegetable broth

·         1 ½ oz. Parmesan cheese, freshly finely grated

·         1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

·         1/8 tsp. sea salt

·         ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.      Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add rice and stir to combine. Cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring throughout.

2.      Pour in beer and turn the heat up to high until the beer begins to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and add ½ cup of the broth. Stir until the liquid dissolves and then add another ½ cup. Repeat until all the broth has been added and the rice is creamy and al dente.

3.      Remove the rice mixture from the heat and add the cheeses, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir until thoroughly combined and serve.

When I first saw this recipe, I knew that I had to try it, but I wasn’t sure if I should use Morningstar Farms veggie bacon or just bypass it.  I decided to bypass it this time and subbed in some sea salt to impart some of the salty flavor that I believe bacon adds (I haven’t had it in over a decade, but that’s what my husband tells me).  I think it worked – both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this creamy, cheesy risotto.  I used Yuengling beer (an old standby) and I think that the lager did just the trick.  I think that most beers would work, just make sure that you like the beer before cooking with it!  The cayenne added just a touch of heat, not too much and not too little – perfect for both my husband and me.

The dish is easy to make – as with all risottos you have to stir it, but it wasn’t super-involved or needy.  I could walk away for a few minutes and do something else without it sticking to the bottom.  I served my risotto with some Trader Joe’s Sausageless Sausage for some non-dairy protein.  I look forward to making this again!

FARMiCiA (Philadelphia, PA)

My husband and I went to FARMiCiA in Philadelphia for Restaurant Week.  The Prix Fix menu looked promising from a vegetarian perspective, but I should have compared it to their regular menu – I ended up spending more by going the Prix Fix route!  We went on a cold, snowy Sunday and had a treacherous walk because many places had not cleared the snow from their sidewalks.  We entered the bright, inviting, and warm restaurant.  There is a bar to the right side with some two-seaters and then larger tables to the left.  We were seated on the left in a two-seater, but there wasn’t a lot of room between our table and the one next to us (or the one behind us).  Kind of a tight fit in that particular part of the restaurant.

I started off the three-course meal with the FARMiCiA Salad.  It consisted of lettuce, garden vegetables (carrots and tomatoes), and croutons, and I ordered the herb vinaigrette on the side.  The veggies were all crisp and fresh and the herb vinaigrette was light and tasty.  I’m not sure which herbs were in it, but they worked well together – nothing overpowering anything else.

As my main dish, I ordered the Butternut Squash Risotto Croquettes.  I was excited for risotto as well as a vegetarian croquette.  The Croquettes were sitting atop a bed of sautéed spinach and topped with a walnut-sage pesto.  Some roasted cauliflower was on the side.  I’m not sure what the spinach was sautéed in, but it was the same thing the cauliflower was roasted in – it was a tad salty, but absolutely delicious.  I took bites of the croquette with the spinach and cauliflower and the crisp croquette worked nicely with the softer spinach.  The croquettes were pan fried and had a light crust to them.  The risotto was OK, but I think that a bit more pepper or other spice would have been good.  I did not like the walnut-sage pesto at all.  It was the same consistency of a regular pesto, but did not taste like one.  It was a tad too sweet for me.

For dessert, I had the Rich Bittersweet Flourless Chocolate Torte with chocolate ice cream & warm fudge sauce.  Talk about chocolate!  I was in overload mode!  It was good though, warm soft cake in each bite, paired with cold ice cream and hot fudge.  Oh my!  My mouth is watering just thinking about this delectable dish.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to eat the whole thing and my husband couldn’t help me because he was working on his own dessert.

I would like to go back to FARMiCiA sometime, and order off of their regular menu!