Blue Stone

So, a quick restaurant review for my fellow Ithacans:

We went out to Blue Stone last weekend. It's located on the commons, near Just a Taste and across the street from Viva La Taqueria.
It's a small, eclectic place with great decor. The walls showcase some great unusual artwork by a local artist. The tables are actually chalkboards, with chalk for you to show off your own artsy side while waiting for your entree. The place is small enough you might want to consider a reservation if you're going on a weekend.
The food is very original, and very good. I had the special, which I can't remember the exact name of but had turkey and a pistachio mole sauce served over an herbed tortilla. My husband had wasabi salmon which he enjoyed as well. We shared a piece of their "Famous Carrot Cake" (their name and claim!), which was also very good. The one down side I would say is the size of the appetizers. We ordered some Thai chicken skewers and they were TINY. Not at all what we expected when we ordered them!
But, overall, I would give Blue Stone a definite thumbs up, just consider going early so you can find a parking place somewhere downtown . . .

A little indulgence . . .

I've obviously been going through Nigella Lawson's cookbook, "Feast". I have to admit I'm not a huge hot dog fan. But this recipe looked interesting enough and easy enough that I thought I'd give it a go. Especially because I thought my kids would like it!
So, this recipe is:
Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Dipping Sauce
1 sheet puff pastry (just one box, I can't remember the size of the sheet)
1 package hot dogs (I prefer the all-beef, but go with what you like)
1 egg, beaten in a small bowl
Mustard dipping sauce:
(you can halve this if you want, we had a lot leftover, and I made the full recipe)
scant 1/4 c Dijon mustard
scant 1/4 whole grain mustard
2 T sour cream

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to the package instructions (either in the fridge or on your countertop). 2. Carefully unfold the sheet and spread it onto a floured surface. 3. Roll out just a little, rolling the long way, just to even and smooth it out. 4. Cut in half both directions (Since I am very type A, I used a ruler, but you can just eyeball it!), a pizza cutter works well for this. 5. Cut twice more, to halve each of the four pieces. You should have 8 pieces total. 6. Place a hot dog, lengthwise, on each piece (the puff pastry should be approximately the length of the hot dog). 7. Brush the puff pastry with the egg, then roll each hot dog in its piece of pastry. 8. Cut each wrapped hot dog in 4 pieces. Place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. 9. Brush each "pig" with more egg wash. 10. Bake 15-20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes, the pastry should be puffed and golden. 10. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and serve with the mustard dipping sauce. This fed 4, with quite a few leftover. Might make a great appetizer for that big game I've heard about this weekend . . .

So: This (of course) was a big hit with the kids. My husband and I really liked them, too--the dipping sauce made them a little more sophisticated and delicious. And, it was SUCH an easy weeknight dinner. Serve it up with a salad or some fruit, practically no work at all!
Photo courtesy of aperiodictableblog.com since I ALWAYS forget to take a photo until it's all over with and who wants to see a photo of our leftovers?!

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese

Recipe adapted from "Kitchen" by Nigella Lawson
picture courtesy of dinnerdujour.org

First I have to ask--have you ever seen one of Nigella's shows on Food Network? She just makes everything look so satisfying. Well, this dish is exactly that. So many flavors and textures, you just feel satisfied. And it's not hard to make. But, it does include a couple of pricier ingredients (ie: pine nuts and good blue cheese), so depending on your budget maybe this would have to be a special occasion dish, not a weeknight dinner! Although, I think it's okay to sometimes splurge on a really good weeknight dinner. Especially when it is delicious and hot and it's 12 degrees outside . . .

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese
1 large butternut squash (2-3 lbs)
1 medium-large onion (I used white, but I think any kind would be fine)
2 T olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1 T unsalted butter
3 T chicken broth or stock
1/2 c water
salt, to taste
2/3 c pine nuts (I may have used less, the store I went to only sold them in these little jars about the size of a spice jar, but it still seemed enough)
1 pound pasta, Nigella calls for Papperdelle but I couldn't find it so I just used bowtie and it was fine. She just says use a "robust" pasta
6 fresh sage leaves
5 ounces soft blue cheese, such as Saint Agur (I was able to find Saint Agur, but those of you who don't have a Wegmans may need to substitute. Saint Agur is just a nice creamy, fairly mild blue cheese)

1. Peel and seed the squash, cut into roughly 1" cubes.
2. Peel and finely chop onion and fry in olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan (make sure it's big enough to add the pasta to later). When the onion starts to turn golden, add the paprika.
3. Add the squash cubes and butter, stirring until everything the squash is well-covered with the butter and oil. Add the broth/stock and water, then let the pan come to a boil. Reduce the heat, put the lid on, and simmer about 20 minutes or until tender. *Check the squash before the 20 minutes, you don't want mush!
4. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Toast the pinenuts (*watch them closely--they are too expensive to burn!) in a small hot, dry frying pan until dark gold, then tip them into a bowl or plate to cool.
5. Once the water boils, add some salt (1 T per pound is recommended, but whatever you like), then the pasta and cook according to package directions. Check the squash and if it is tender, take the pan off the heat. Chop the sage leaves and crumble the blue cheese. Sprinkle the sage over the butternut sauce once it's done.
6. Before draining pasta, lower a cup or mug into the pan and collect a little pasta water to reserve for sauce if needed. Drain the pasta and pour into squash pan. Gently turn pasta into sauce to combine, adding pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Drop in crumbled blue cheese, stir gently, and serve.
*A tip for those with kids--I actually pulled out some of the pasta and sauce before I added the blue cheese, thinking they wouldn't like the blue cheese. Turns out one of my kids did like the blue cheese, and one didn't. So, do whatever works for your family!
Enjoy!