A CHEESE "SKIRT" AT THE SQUEEZE INN

A CHEESE "SKIRT" AT THE SQUEEZE INN

 OK - many of you know I'm on a forever search for the perfect cheeseburger (full disclosure - I'm also a cheese junkie), so when my brother and sister-in-law in Sacramento (who know my food proclivities) reminded me about the Squeeze Inn, I had to go.  It's a dive, I found out, that Guy Fieri calls the best in Sac.  He loved it so much he did a piece on this "hole-in-the-wall" for his Food Network show, "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives."  So, since I covet cheeseburgers and love to eat in diners, drive-ins and dives... damn the diet, full speed ahead!!!

This is not one of Richard's favorite foods (I love him despite this flaw in his food character), but he agreed to go even though he'd actually been to the original Squeeze Inn some years ago w/ my brother.  Why I wasn't along with, I have no idea - probably because they'd been playing golf, but I digress...  He did tell me then, however, that  he thought this was a dive for me and that I would sing this burger's praises.

The "original" dive was named Squeeze Inn because if you wanted to eat there you had to squeeze in, as the restaurant, which many Sacramento-ites considered a city landmark, was no bigger than an average-size living room and was furnished with a counter and stools and a couple of picnic benches.  However, a few years ago after a frivolous law suit was filed against the restaurant (which was subsequently dropped), the owners decided to move and find a larger space.

The new location in a strip mall only a stone's throw away from the original dive is larger and can seat many diners comfortably.  The owners recycled the original counter and installed the old dive's storefront in the restaurant and made it into a private eating booth.  

In the entrance is a picture wall of patrons and framed reviews. 

But enough of the decor...

To say I've never had a cheeseburger (called a "squeeze with cheese") quite like this one is an understatement.  I could write a short essay on the grilled cheese skirt alone... in fact I will:

The trick to this squeeze with cheese is that its cooked over a 1/3 pound burger into this crispy and addicting cheese skirt by covering the burger in what seems like a pound of shredded cheese, then throw on some ice chunks and cover.  As the cheese melts partially off the burger and onto the grill, the steam from the ice helps the cheese form their crispy brown edges.  Cheese nirvana.

I always ask for the tomato, onions, lettuce, etc., on the side so that they don't mask the flavors of the melted cheese and grilled ground beef.  However - and it just may have been that the cook was having an off day - the burger itself didn't seem to be 1/3 of a pound and was way too well-done.  That said, the cheese skirt masked my disappointment in the meat.

Of course, we had to have a side of fries, which were adequate.  They could have been a tad more crispy... but they weren't bad.

And, though I disagree with Guy Fieri that the Squeeze Inn is the best dive in Sacramento (I think I would have loved the "original" hole-in-the-wall better), I will give it another try.  It had me at cheese skirt. 

SQUEEZE INN
5301 Power Inn Road
Sacramento, Calif.  95820
916-386-8599

FIVE GUYS & ME - Rome via Siena - Goodbye Europe

FIVE GUYS & ME
Rome via Siena

Goodbye Europe

The next morning, I reluctantly crawled out of bed and started to pack, leaving behind my sweet dreams of Michelangelo’s David and the Ponte Vecchio bridge and cheeseburgers w/ Leo at Harry’s Bar. It was time to leave Florence. I didn’t want to leave Florence… but since I was an unemployed American freelance writer w/ no prospects of employment in a city where I couldn’t speak the language, I saw the handwriting on the piazza wall!

Richard and I met my remaining guys downstairs where we bid farewell to Jason and Jim. Their European adventure was not ending. The Food Network had commandeered them for another show being shot in Ireland, so they packed the Mercedes equipment van and left for the Emerald Isle. I wanted to stowaway, but if you’ve ever seen the inside of a TV equipment van, you’d know I’d have to be as thin as one of Jason’s light poles to fit in… I’m not.

After we waved goodbye, Richard and Charlie packed the Passat and we took off for Rome – well, actually the Hilton Rome Airport Hotel.  Because we wouldn’t have time to “see” Rome in the couple of hours we would have if we drove straight there, we decided to enjoy the ride through the beautiful Tuscany hills and stop for lunch in the small, ancient town of Siena… (duh – name one that isn’t).

A piece of trivia: Siena is the home of the world’s oldest banking establishment which was founded in 1472 – 20 years before Columbus discovered the “new land.”

Since no cars are allowed in Siena’s city walls, we parked below and walked up to the town. We were definitely not in Kansas (well, in our case LA). Charming. Quaint. Medieval! Picturesque! Did I mention old!?!? So old in fact that the Lombards, the city’s oldest aristocratic family dates back to 774 A.D. when they surrendered to Charlemagne… I’m assuming the city was built long before then. Who knows – maybe Caesar slept there.

As we walked by the Mediterranean-style homes and buildings, some w/ laundry drying on clotheslines outside the windows, we decided to eat first and sightsee later.

We found our way to the city’s famous Piazza del Campo, a shell-shaped, sloping town square surrounded by buildings and outdoor cafes.

We chose the first cafe we saw and grabbed a table under the burgundy colored canopy.

I wish I could remember what Charlie or Richard or I had for our lunch entrees (I had left my notepad in the car), but I do remember that we loved every bite of cheese, proscuitto, olives and bread we found sitting on our table. AND, I do remember that the red table wine we ordered was pretty fine. As we chewed and swallowed and sipped and swallowed and talked between chewing, sipping and swallowing, we gazed at the piazza and people-watched.

At a nearby table, two priests communed over a carafe of wine.

Lunch over, we walked the town square and found a station wagon housing owls and falcons for a flying demonstration later that day…

We explored the beautiful Duomo, the Cathedral of Siena completed in 1380 and the ‘spit and image’ of the breathtaking (literally, in my case) 15th century Il Duomo (the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) in Florence...

it even has a similar (albeit smaller) bell tower…

We discovered history-filled ancient buildings ...

and alleyways...

 and streets.

On one street, the pigeons were so happy to see us that one you know what on Richard’s shoulder.

An old wives’ tale claims that’s a sign of good fortune, but all Richard knew was that he wanted to take off his tee and pull off one of the shirts drying on a nearby clothesline. He didn’t, of course, so he chose to believe that old wives’ tale and that good luck would follow him back to the States.

Our time in Siena was over. Back at the car, Richard changed his shirt and it was off to Rome – well, our airport hotel.

We checked in, had a nice dinner in the hotel’s Le Colonne restaurant, said good bye to Charlie who wasn’t going home w/ us, and immediately went to bed. We had to be at the airport at 4:30 – 5:00 a.m. But no problem. We chose the Hilton Rome because we didn’t want to deal w/ finding a cab or Rome traffic. We could walk to the airport – really! So in the wee morning hours, we just walked right through hotel doors and onto a ‘conveyer belt’ sidewalk that took us directly into the terminal where we easily found our gate. I don’t think I’ve ever had an easier “going to the airport” experience.

Sad as I was to leave Europe, and I was really, really sad… it was the perfect ‘exit’ for my 5 guys & me Food Network adventure. Well, that and upgrading our tickets to business class for the plane ride home.

GO FISH!

GO FISH!

Well, not literally.  Though if Richard did fish, I might have understood his fish fixation...  because for a while now he's wanted to make a whole fish - I mean a whole, whole fish - head and all.

I tried to discourage him by telling him about my first big Manhattan dinner date in an upscale NY restaurant.  I was nervous.  I was fresh out of college and hadn't been to many 'fancy' restaurants in the city.  I wanted to play it safe and not order anything too expensive or too difficult to eat (lobster would fit into both those categories).  I like meat, but since I also like it 'bloody,' I thought that might not make the best impression on my date, so I opted for fish.  I can't remember what kind of fish, but I know I was thinking along the lines of a sole almondine, poached salmon or pan fried filets -- so when the waiter brought my entree and placed it in front of me I was sick.  Literally.  Sitting on the plate, one eyeball looking right up at me, was my dinner.  I waited a moment to see if its tail was going to wave before I gagged and hurried to the ladies room.  By the time I got back to the table, the fish had been removed and I sipped water for the rest of the evening.  I really don't like my food looking up at me.  My date wasn't all that pleased, either.  At least not w/ me.

When I finished my sad little story I expected sympathy, empathy and every other applicable "thy," but Richard wasn't moved.  He still wanted to make a whole fish. He was heedless!  But he proposed a compromise - he promised to remove all its offending parts before serving it to me.  From heedless to headless... Needless to say, it was delicious.

This is how he made it -- a variation of Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network site.



Ingredients:
1 (2 to 3-pound) or 2 (1 to 1 1/2-pounds) whole striped bass, gutted and scaled
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large bunch fresh parsley, plus extra, for serving
1 large bunch fresh dill
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Trim the fins from the fish, rinse and pat dry. Set aside.

Rub the bottom of a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place 1/2 of the parsley, dill, lemon and onion in the center of the roasting pan. Make sure that this mound of aromatics is high enough to prevent the fish from touching the bottom of the pan. Rub the fish inside and out with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season the fish inside and out with the salt and pepper and lay on the bed of aromatics.

Richard also cut slits in the skin and inserted thin slices of garlic.  He didn't have dill, so he made do w/ lots of parsley and marjormam from our herb garden.  He added cherry tomatoes to the pan to serve as a side dish.

Place the second half of the aromatics on top of the fish and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes...

then transfer the fish to a platter lined with the additional fresh parsley. Serve immediately w/ your choice of veggie or salad.  We had broccoli.

Note:  Next time he makes this dish, Richard says he will flash sautee the fish in a little olive oil in a frying pan first to make the skin crispy.

SOLE FOOD

SOLE FOOD

Did your mom ever say these words to you when you were growing up:  "Finish your dinner, there are starving children in China," or: "You're not leaving this table until you finish everything on your plate!"

Well my mother said the former - a lot (mostly about vegetables), but I only remember her making me sit at the dinner table once because I wouldn't eat the food on my plate.  That food was fish.  Not the little sunflower seeds (perch) we caught at Lake Boone that had been filleted and floured and breaded and fried up for breakfast like the fish in 'fish & chips,' nor was it delectable golden broiled swordfish.  Sitting there on my plate making me gag was fishy fish - all slimey and white w/ bones!.  I couldn't eat it. I wouldn't eat it!  I don't remember how long I sat at the table, but I know I never ate that fish. 

Well, my distaste for fishy fish 'left the building' the first time I had sole almondine.  Julia Child had it right.  Butter!  And when I reluctantly put that first bite of fish in my mouth, like Julia when she first tasted sole meuniere, my taste buds soared.  The toasted almonds!  The golden brown tender fish!  The butter!  The French really do know how to cook.

Since that life-changing food experience, I have learned to enjoy a whole array of fish dishes, but none compares to sole almondine.  This sole soothes the soul.

As some of you know, I've been 'South Beach Watcher-ing' (my So. Beach-Weight Watchers diet) and have been dining on lettuce, lean meats, fish, chicken and green veggies...  w/ poor results.  I'm frustrated and yearn to fall off the diet horse for a cheeseburger, but decided that that 'tumble' would be too devastating to my taste buds...  I'd never be able to climb back into the 'food deprivation' saddle.  I needed a dish that might be a little over-the-top calorie wise, but wouldn't lead me astray.  Without prior knowledge of my love affair w/ sole almondine, Richard decided he wanted to try making it after watching some show or other on the Food Network.  We had percale sole in the freezer (this is not a dish for Dover sole which tends to get mushy).  We had flour.  We had Kosher salt.  We had eggs and milk.  We had pepper.  We had EVOO.  AND, we had sweet butter.  All he needed was the slivered almonds.  My heart soared in taste anticipation as I sent him on his merry Trader Joe way to get them.

Well, dinner was all I expected it to be.  I haven't had sole almondine in years (don't know why - just haven't) and taking that first bite again reminded me what great food is suppose to taste like.  (Oh, and the veggie he made - another favorite - steamed spinach w/ a bit of butter and lemon juice.)

Lunch today - romaine lettuce and a hard boiled egg... sigh. 

SOLE ALMONDINE

From Tyler Florence
(Food Network)

Ingredients:
For the Fish:

2 cups blanched slivered almonds
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
Freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
1 cup milk
4 cleaned sole fillets (6 ounces each)

For the Sauce:

1 large or 2 small shallots, finely chopped
1 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Set a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.

Return the pan to medium heat (if you have 2 pans you can work simultaneously at this point, i.e. 2 fillets per pan) and add a 2-count of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to each pan.

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In another shallow dish, whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the fillets in the seasoned flour, then dip them into the egg mixture. Allow some of the excess egg to drain off, then add them to the hot pan. Cook 2 pieces at a time. Fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then carefully turn the fish over to cook the other side. With a spoon, baste the fillets with the butter sauce. Repeat basting to ensure the fish remains moist. Once the other side is cooked (about 30 seconds) carefully remove the fillets from the pan to a serving platter.

Repeat with remaining 2 fillets and a 2-count of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the fillets have been removed the pan, add the chopped shallots and gently saute over low heat until translucent, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and finish with the lemon juice. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the parsley and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon the sauce over the top of the fillets and sprinkle generously with the toasted almonds.

NO, IT DOESN'T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN

NO, IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE CHICKEN

Oddly enough, tofu reminded me of kugel, the noodle dish I remember my girlfriend’s mom making for Passover when I was invited to their seder. But tofu really isn’t like kugel (well, maybe a little in texture), it was just what popped into my head when I took my first bite. Not visions of meat or chicken or fish – not even soy. Just kugel. But the tofu dish (named ‘Nonesuch Poele’ by the Galloping Gourmet) that Richard made last night was actually quite good. Nonesuch means "unparalleled" or in a class by itself and poele is a cooking method wherein the dish is cooked in its own juices...

Ten years ago, Richard had the pleasure of working on Graham Kerr’s farewell to television special on the Food Network. Over the years the Galloping Gourmet had slowed down to a trot and became more interested in making delicious, yet healthful, meals and for the show he ‘invented’ the recipe below. When Kerr made it for Richard and the special's executive producer, Richard thought it was delicious and wanted to make it for me. Well, I balked. Tofu?! Really?? Me and tofu?? (That’s a rhetorical question.) But, now that I’m dieting (making me not always the happiest of campers), I relented.

Did I like the dish? Yes. Much to my surprise. Do I like tofu? Yes. Much to my surprise. Would I recommend it? Yes. Much to my surprise. Do I want to have it again? Yes. Much to my surprise.  Am I giving up meat, chicken and fish.  Ha!

NONESUCH POELE
(as you will see, this dish can also be made w/ lean meat or poultry)

Copyright 2000, courtesy of Graham Kerr via the Food Network

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Level: 0
Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons light olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon finely diced ginger root
• 1 rutabaga, cut in 1-inch dice (1 cup)
• 1 parsnip, cut in 1-inch dice (1/2 cup)
• 2 carrots, cut in 1-inch dice (1 cup)
• 1/2 sweet potato, cut in 1-inch dice (1/2 cup)
• 1 stalk celery, cut in 1-inch dice (1/2 cup)
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• 8 ounces low fat, extra firm tofu, cut in 1-inch dice (or substitute 8 ounces chicken breast, turkey breast, pork tenderloin, ostrich, bison or other lean meat)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 4-inches long
• 16 snow peas, strings removed
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion tops
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• Cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 10-inch skillet on medium-high. Add the onion and ginger and shallow fry until just browned, about 3 minutes. Toss in the rutabagas, parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes and continue cooking 4 more minutes. Stir in the celery, stock, tofu and rosemary. Cover and cook at a gentle boil for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

If you are using meat instead of the tofu, shallow fry, on medium-low heat, in a separate pan in the remaining teaspoon of oil until cooked through. It will take about the same amount of time as the vegetables. Add the snow peas and tomatoes to the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the arrowroot slurry and return to the heat to thicken. Serve the vegetables in a mound on 2 heated plates. Lay the cooked meat (if you are using it) on top. Spoon the thickened pan juices over the dish and dust well with the chopped onion tops, Parmesan cheese and cayenne.

Per serving with tofu: 381 calories, 10 gm. fat, 3 gm. saturated fat, 7 percent calories from saturated fat, 57 gm. carbohydrates, 11 gm fiber, 739 mg. sodium Per serving with skinless chicken breast: 483 calories, 13 gm. fat, 3 gm. saturated fat, 6 percent calories from saturated fat, 11 gm fiber, 739 mg. sodium

- PAUL BOCUSE & The Food Network "THE LION OF LYON"

After Richard and the crew finished their ‘shoot’ in Beaune, we packed and headed for Lyon where the next piece for the Food Network was to be on one of the world’s most famous chefs… Paul Bocuse, the father of nouvelle cuisine. He’s so famous, in fact, that his cooking earned him France’s highest civilian award, the French Medal of Honor, bestowed on him by President Valery Giscard d’Estaing.

We parked and walked through the tall wooden gates that lead us into a tiled courtyard with carved frescos and mosaics on the stone walls. Wow! History! On the other side of the courtyard was an old stone building. Once inside, the main dining room left me speechless – it was exquisite with its lush fabrics on the tables and windows, upholstered chairs and banquettes. Everything was elegant, expensive, yet oddly home-like and cozy. I could live there.

After the shoot was over, Monsieur Bocuse invited us to sit down in the kitchen at the long picnic-style dining table used by the sous chefs, cooks and waiters on their food breaks. Chilled bottles of sancerre were opened and poured for me and the guys. Then a waiter served each of us a bowl of the Bocuse’s famous “tres expensive at 80 Euros a bowl!” truffle soup topped with a chicken pot pie-type of pastry crust that they had just shot him making. We broke open the crust and dipped into the soup filled with a mirepoix of carrots, mushrooms, beef, celery, plus “melt in your mouth” foie gras and the $600 an ounce black truffles. Bocuse uses black truffles because, unlike white truffles, one can cook with them. White truffles disintegrate. A bottle of Bordeaux appeared on the table (the only wine Monsieur Bocuse said should be served with this soup). It was the most amazing soup I’d ever tasted.

After the individual soup tureens were removed, we got up to leave, but immediately sat back down when a platter of ripe, stinky cheeses magically appeared out of nowhere... followd by a salad… followed by red mullet topped with a potato crust which was scalloped to look like the scales of a fish (the presentation was only matched by the taste of the fish and potato mixture... art and mouthwatering food all on one plate… it doesn’t get better than that)… followed by a chocolate bombe dessert (all of which are found on the restaurant’s menu)… and many bottles of white and red wine.

For the second time in a week (the first being in Beaune), I thought I had died and gone to food heaven. The French really can cook.