Day four brings us to Atlantic City, the storied "King of the Shore". To many of us, the streets were familiar long before we ever heard of Atlantic City. From Boardwalk and Park Place to Ventnor and Vermont Avenues the streets of downtown Atlantic City became the backdrop upon which Monopoly was built.
Read moreThe Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 Part 2: On the Road Day 1
Coop and I hit the road a bit after Noon headed south toward North-West NJ and dinner with my cousin Carol and her son Christopher.
Read moreThe Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 - Day 2
Breakfast is the one meal with little chance for variety on board a train. I started my morning just outside of Shelby, MT with pancakes and pork sausage. The pancakes were cooked through and not undercooked as sometimes can be the case with quick prepared breakfasts, and the sausage while obviously coming from under a heat lamp was still juicy and flavorful.
Service was quick and easy as you would expect in a small space with many passengers to feed quickly. A good breakfast and great start to the day.
Today's Lunch Market special was a stir fry chicken but had way more sauce than I consider normal for a stir fry.
Very spicy, with big chunks of peppers and broccoli. Served over a rice pilaf. I should have gone with something else, as this was not a good meal.
Service was slow. Painfully slow, and even more so given how quick it normally is. A couple who was seated at my table after I had ordered my drink was finished with lunch and ordering dessert by the time my entree arrived. Hopefully it was an anomaly and service will be up to par for the rest of the trip.
Dinner I decided on the Catch of the Day, which was catfish tonight. It could have been seasoned better, and while others said it was great mine was a little muddy. The seasoning is just personal preference and the muddiness is dumb luck with catfish. I should have had the steak I guess. Dinner was served with a rice pilaf and green beans, both of which were great. In all a good but not great day dining aboard the Empire builder. The service anomaly from lunch thankfully proved itself just that, and dinner was a great time once again meeting new people and harassing the staff.
For my whiskey selection tonight I opened the first of two interesting new whiskeys made from already brewed and DRINKABLE beer.
Tonight's selection is Pine Barrens Single Malt, distilled from a single malted traditional barley wine by the folks at Long Island Spirits in Baiting Hollow, NY. They start by brewing from scratch a traditional English Style Barley Wine Ale and then double pot distill the conditioned Ale.
The result is very aromatic, with hints of nutmeg and allspice on the nose. The first taste gives Pine Barrens it's name, as the very floral note has a pine tar hint that quickly faded to cinnamon and nutmeg giving it a very smooth and sweet finish. The sharp floral notes make this feel almost more like a cordial or digestif than a whiskey, but from ingredients to process a whiskey it is. A very nice taste that goes perfect after a meal.
The Fat Boy Summer Road Trip 2014 - Day 1
Day one of the trip had me leaving Portland behind on the train via Amtrak's Empire Builder on route to Chicago where I will have a wait before changing trains. I love train travel, and have since I discovered it in college.
Crossing the Columbia River Draw Bridge
The train leaving Portland crosses the Columbia river into Vancouver, WA before heading East up the Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side of the river. There are some great views on this section of the trip, and the first afternoon and evening is one of the most scenic on Amtrak's route.
The Bistro Box served for dinner out of Portland was ok, but needed a little help.
Leaving Portland the Empire builder has a viewing car with a cafe downstairs but no dining car, so dinner the first night was a boxed affair. The choices available were limited to shrimp or beef, so I selected the Burgandy Beef Tri-tip. The beef was flavorful and tender, cooked a little farther towards well than I would prefer but when trying to serve a variety of people and keep under refrigeration that is often the case. The fruit was fresh and tasty, not over ripe as sometimes can be the case with this type of meal, and the dessert was creamy and delightful. The only thing that didn't really work for me was the veggie selection. A mushroom and broccoli combination that might have been good warm was decidedly not when served cold and tossed in some type of vinaigrette.
After dinner I decided to open the bottle of Teeling Irish Whiskey the folks at Caskers sent me to review for a first tasting. Made in Dublin since 1782 The Teeling hasn't been available in the United States since the revolution. With whiskey making such a resurgence in the Americas they decided to begin export in January of this year.
This is a smooth whiskey for a type normally known as a shot not for sipping. As a shot it was so smooth with great sweetness and depth on the finish that I decided to try it on the rocks as well. Over ice it loses what little bite it had on the nose and leaves the sweet aromas derived from its rum cask finish. The sweet malts hit the palate first, followed by a little spice before a slightly fruity finish.
In all a very nice close to my first night aboard my favorite train.
Dinner Review: Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill - Tanasbourne
With my wife and son out of town for the Holiday weekend I had the chance to take our daughter out to dinner tonight. We decided to try something new and settled on The Thirsty Lion's newest addition to the Streets of Tanasbourne.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Classic Beef Stew
When you aren't sure what you feel like for dinner, beef stew is usually the answer you were looking for
Sometimes I just don't know what I want to make for dinner. I love to cook, but especially when my wife is out of town for extended periods of time (she has been gone since last Wednesday at this point) and I know the kids would be just as happy with Hot Pockets or McDonalds as they are with anything fancy I decide to make for dinner it is difficult to find inspiration. It is times like this that have brought me to an interesting realization. No matter what mood I am in, if I can't decide what to make for dinner beef stew or corned beef hash always work and never disappoint. Really. A big bowl of a thick beef stew made from scratch and cooked the right way for hours in the oven with a good whole wheat roll is NEVER the wrong answer.
Click the link to see my recipe and understand why it is easy enough to make this anytime you aren't sure what to make for dinner.
Read moreReview: Stickmen Brewery and Skewery
I was looking for a place to meet up with an old friend for a beer and was intrigued by Stickmen's website so we decided to give it a try. Located right on the East side of the lake in Lake Oswego, in a historic building next door to the Lake Theatre Stickmen is a brewpub that features a full menu, but specializes in Japanese skewers called Yakitori.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy Heaven's Soda glazed short-ribs
One of my favorite things in the world is a nice thick beef short rib, and I'm always trying new ways to prepare them. I decided to cut the normally long cooking time by doing them in my pressure cooker tonight. Using a sugar based soda as the foundation of this braising liquid not only caramelizes onto the outside of the meat but also helps break through the salt and work with the spices to make an amazing pan sauce.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy Heaven's Perfect Meatballs
There is nothing more comforting to many than spaghetti and meatballs, and many spend years working to perfect their meatball recipe. I have spent years working on my recipe, and finally have it right. Give this one a try, you'll love it.
Read moreFatboy Heaven's Cuatro Chile Coloreado
I love a good chili, and love pork even more. I was trying to decide what to do for dinner tonight and decided my own variation on a Chile Verde might be fun. Instead of just green chiles I also added some sweet yellow, red, and orange chiles to the dish for some flavor balance and color.
Read morePressure smoked Bourbon Cola Pork Loin Roast
I received an interesting new kitchen appliance from the folks at WOOT yesterday, and decided to give it a try tonight. They sent me an Indoor BBQ Pressure Smoker, something that I had no idea even existed before they told me it was on it's way. It promises to smoke and cook a piece of meat in 1/4 the normal time or less, and if it works as advertised it will change much about the way I barbecue.
Read moreDinner Classic: Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was "boiled dinner". Corned Beef and Cabbage cooked all day on the stove, allowing flavors to mix and make a delicious dinner to serve the whole family. If we were lucky and weren't very hungry that night, there were enough left over potatoes and corned beef for Dad to make hash the next morning. Twelve years after Dad has passed away, it is still the dinner I fall back to on St. Paddy's Day.
Read moreReview: McMenamin's The Sand Trap Pub at The Gearhart Hotel
Located in the historic Gearhart Hotel, The Sand Trap Pub is classically McMenamin's. Art Deco decor dominates the design of this newest hotel in the McMenamin's chain which opened in March of 2012.
Read moreReview: Guiseppe's Italian Restaurant
Guiseppe's is an old world Italian restaurant in Gresham. Featuring a great menu, with classic dishes at decent prices, Guiseppe's is a great restaurant that deserves a visit if you are looking for classic Italian on Portland's east side.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy Heaven's Gluten Free Fettuccine Alfredo with Sausage
Fettuccine Alfredo can be served with any protein, not just chicken or shrimp.
My kids were out of school today, and my son asked for fettuccine alfredo for dinner. I didn't want to do it with chicken like we normally do, but as I was thinking about it I realized that I had never posted my Alfredo recipe here.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy Heaven's Gluten Free Bacon Feta Macaroni and Cheese with Dates
One of the things you may have noticed by now is how much we LOVE comfort food here at Fat Boy Heaven. There is nothing that epitomizes comfort food for most of us more than a nice rich Mac and Cheese, but it would get boring if it was always the same. I decided that the saltiness of the feta might tie in nicely with the smokey saltiness of the bacon very nicely, and since feta doesn't melt, provolone was a nice neutral base cheese to develop the sauce. I added the dates as the milk was first coming to a boil so that some of the sugar would help sweeten the sauce to offset the salt.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Ham and Cheese Scones with Bacon Gravy
Like any Fat Boy, I love biscuits and gravy. I sometimes get tired of the same old thing though, so I decided to try taking biscuits and gravy up a level. In place of biscuits I went with a savory scone filled with ham and cheddar cheese, and I smothered it in a classic bacon gravy.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy's Chicken Cacciatore
I was trying to decide how to use some chicken that had been sitting in the fridge all weekend, and decided a nice rustic cacciatore would be perfect on this cold winter night.
Read moreDinner Tonight: Fat Boy Heaven's Gluten Free Mexican Mac and Cheese with Chorizo and Green Chiles
A Classic Mac and Cheese recipe updated to be Gluten Free and kicked up with Mexican Chorizo and New Mexico Green Chiles.
I had some chorizo in the fridge and was trying to come up with a way to use it when I started thinking that it has been a long time since I had made Mac and Cheese. I picked up some gluten-free pasta made from quinoa flour and threw this together. It got rave reviews from the family, and I loved it as well.
Read moreDinner Tonight: BBQ Pork Sandwiches on pretzel buns
Last nights leftover Kahlua Pork becomes BBQ Pork very easily with just a little BBQ sauce
One of the great things about doing the Kahlua Pork last night is that there is always plenty left, especially when it is just the kids and I eating. Since it is just slow roasted pork butt, adding some BBQ sauce made it a simple transition to sandwiches on night two. I love that our local grocer has started selling my favorite kind of sandwich buns - pretzel buns.
Cooking more than you need for a meal means dinner prep the following night can be a lot easier if you are careful not to over season your meat for the first meal in the chain. In this case the pork was seasoned just with salt and liquid smoke, so adding BBQ sauce didn't conflict with any flavors.