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Here at Wolverine Cuizine we enjoy a good deal more than a good meal. During last week’s Restaurant Week many of us found both, so read on for the best and the worst of Ann Arbor Restaurant Week 2010. 

Café Felix by Rachel L 
Restaurant Week was held January 17th-22nd this year in Ann Arbor and it continues to be one of the best deals around. Three course lunches were only $12 a person and three course dinners were only $25 a person at some of the best restaurants in Ann Arbor. These prices made a meal at these restaurants affordable for even students to go without their parents. However, Restaurant Week was also characterized by long waits everywhere. On Saturday night, a few friends and I headed down to eat at Seva’s, the local vegetarian restaurant on Liberty. But our call-ahead seating still left us with a 45 minute wait. So we decided to head down to Main Street. Knowing that it was Restaurant Week, one of my friends made a few calls to discover that most places were booked solid. Grizzly Peak had a 2 hour wait! Dejected, we started heading back to William Street. Then, somebody pointed out Café Felix, where there seemed to be no wait. We walked in and were seated immediately. Additionally, for some reason, whenever I’ve been to Café Felix, I’ve never had to wait. There never seems to be a crowd, even though the restaurant’s food rivals many other well-known restaurants and they offer a large drink menu with inventive martinis. As we were seated Saturday night, we were wary that the Restaurant Week deal at Café Felix would not compare to others because it was just so empty. However, our meal turned out to be great. Most of us ordered off the Restaurant Week menu. We received fantastic house salads with goat cheese and an entrée of either Chicken Boulouris, Rigatoni with veal and pork hand-rolled meatballs or Chicken and Prosciutto Fettucini. We tried each one and they were all very well done. For dessert, we each had a Nutella crepe with ice cream as part of the deal. Café Felix presented us with a very good meal with no wait. The emptiness of the restaurant may have implied that many people, like us, simply resort to Café Felix when everywhere else is full. Rather than choosing it as a second choice, I think next time it would be worth a first choice. And as Restaurant Week is officially over, that next time will definitely be with my parents because my paltry budget can only handle Ann Arbor’s yearly special deal.  

Vinology by Nick D
Restaurant week is awesome. $12 lunches are a steal in a town trending towards San Francisco pricing. In order to take advantage of this situation, I visited Vinology, a classy bar and grill on Main St., to sample their fare. 
 
 
Not that I have anything against the restaurant. I love good fast food as much as the next person, but my wallet can only handle so much eating out. So why not try this easy version of Pad Thai?
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I rather enjoyed this dish, although I think I would’ve preferred it much more with roasted peanuts and bean sprouts.  Alas the lacking refrigerator of college students! But then again, the adventure of cooking lies in the fact that it’s all one (hopefully) tasty chemistry experiment.
 
 
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Whether it’s for that bowl game party (which will sadly, yet again, be conspicuously absent of a Michigan game to watch) there’s no better time for guacamole than the frozen months of winter.

Notes:
  • Beware khakis and cardigans: fresh avocado stains a pretty shade of green. An apron or serape is truly the suggested outwear for the completion of this recipe.
  • This recipe serves 2-4 ravenous nowl-game viewers or 4-6 more polite holiday celebrants
  • For larger servings and parties, retain the same avocado-to-lime ratio. It has been tested and approved at Cinco de Mayo up to twelve avocadoes.
 
 
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First and foremost, let me say two things (especially since this is my first piece for Wolverine CuiZine!): 1. I love food. I love to make food, read about food, and of course eat food; and most recently, write about it. 2. I am a recipe girl- I must and will always have a recipe whenever I take on a new food challenge. As much as I would love to be the next Food Network star because of my brilliance and creativity in the kitchen, it is unfortunately never going to happen. I guess you could say that I am only a copycat of Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis and all the other Food Network greats, as well as numerous family friends; while I occasionally make little tweaks to their recipes. That’s okay I suppose, especially when cooking for others who don’t really care if what they’re eating is your original creation or another cook’s recipe, and will take any type of free meal. And that is exactly how my wonderful roommates felt as I threw together Giada’s Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina and my brother-in-law’s mom’s delicious apple salad. Being in the Christmas spirit and sick of eating canned soup and microwave dinners during finals week, I decided I would make this nice dinner for myself and my five finals-crazed roomies.
 
 
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Note from the Editor: 
This is a recipe from the cookbook we are currently reviewing, Freshman in the Kitchen. The recipe being reviewed is for Chicken Breasts with Rosemary, White Wine, and Lemon Juice made from scratch. Click the link above to read more about the book and let us know what you think!
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My family loves chicken. At one time, my dad kept a running tally of how many chickens my mom had cooked in a month. My mom has cooked all sorts of chicken - roasted, fried, pan-seared, grilled, you name it. Suffice to say, I know my chicken recipes. However, I don't really know how to cook it myself. The idea of touching raw poultry has never appealed to me, so when choosing a recipe to review, the Chicken Breasts with Rosemary, White Wine, and Lemon Juice was perfect. It was time to impress my family with my new chicken cooking skills. 

Since I needed to feed the four of us, I doubled the recipe.  My mom and I purchased four bone-in chicken breasts, as directed, and proceeded to brine them. I’ve never brined chicken before, but it turned out to be easy enough. Mix salt and water together, add the chicken, and one hour later, done; brined. With my timer ticking away, I moved on to the next steps. Next, the recipe says to “trim any excess fat and skin.” Perhaps most college kids know how to do this, but I certainly didn’t. My mom showed me how to cut off anything that looked out of place, such as a piece of fat on the edge of the chicken. Next, I sprinkled the breasts with salt and pepper (since the amount is not specified, I used about a teaspoon for each of the four breasts). I heated the oil in a saucepan on medium heat, and placed all four breasts into the pan as directed. The recipe says to cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, however, each side needed much more, around 9 minutes, in order to be "nicely browned." I then added the wine,  a chardonnay, and poured in the lemon juice. I turned the heat down to medium low in order to get those nice, "simmering" bubbles, and periodically moved the chicken around the pan. Whereas the skin used to be nice and crusty, it soon turned soggy and mushy, and didn't look as appetizing as before.
 
 
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photo by Christina DeNooyer
Few smells are more intoxicating than that of an expertly pulled espresso, but the aroma produced by roasting coffee beans may be better. This weekend I (finally) made it to a coffee class at John Roos's coffee roasting operation. I picked up a few Cuiziners on the way and after a quick turnaround at the Lotus factory, we walked through the door and into a cloud of roasting-coffee faerie-dust. It took a few minutes, but that smell really makes you fly.

John and Brian—who often wears a vest—were waiting for us. The three of us had arrived a little earlier, so we saw the first batch of Rich French Neighbor poor out of the enormous Diedrich roaster. Coffee beans undergo an amazing transformation during roasting. They start as small green beans with a bright earthy smell. During the roast, which takes about 20 minutes for a dark roast like Rich French Neighbor, the beans double in size and bloom with all the complex odors that make coffee wonderful.

About fifteen came to the class. We were all a little quiet at first—blame Sunday morning, or maybe the others had starved themselves of caffeine to prepare, as I had. With every cup of coffee the morning became a little brighter and the group livened up. After the first round of coffee we broke into the food. John made homemade muffins and quiche and we had bagels with salmon and smoked herring. Another cup of coffee, a history of coffee through the ages, another cup, a demonstration of the Aeropress, and just one more little cup, a chat about food distribution, then a taste of someone else's brew...here the whole event seems a little blurry. Not the fog of a night of heavy drinking, but a light airy haze that makes it a little hard to remember how I got home. I do remember that at some point John pulled out the decaf.

I won't describe the coffee hangover that followed.
 
 
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January’s a great time to introduce new vegetables to your menu.  With proper preparation, these healthy treats can be just as tasty as the less nutritious snacks they replace.  Over-roasted asparagus is quite easy to cook and makes a delicious side dish.  Start with fresh green asparagus; most grocery stores sell them in bunches.  Rinse the stems and then chop away the woodier, white, bottom part of the stalk and discard.  Spread the stalks on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil, then place in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  For a little extra flavor sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder; or, toss 1 or 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic in with the asparagus and olive oil.  This light but flavorful side dish can balance out a richer main course.  Consider serving the asparagus alongside a creamy pasta or heavy beef dish.  The bright green stalks can also bring some welcome color to the winter menu and can visually offset starchy potatoes and other winter favorites.


The asparagus plant is an edible stem intended to hold up a cluster of leaf-like branches.  Because they are meant to be supportive, the asparagus stalks can get very fibrous and woody.  It’s important to use asparagus quickly, as the plant continues to stiffen after harvesting.  Asparagus also loses sugar and moisture faster than most other vegetables.  I would recommend using the day of purchase if possible.  There does appear to be some hope for slightly aged asparagus.  The stalks can be soaked in sugar water before cooking to restore some moisture and sugar.  Especially tough outer layers can also be peeled away if necessary as well.


Finally, there is an unfortunate side effect worth mentioned.  It’s not just a myth; asparagus does create an unusual and unpleasant odor when leaving the body.  A substance known as asparagusic acid is metabolized by the body during digestion.  This metabolism creates chemicals similar to those found in a skunk’s spray.  There are a lucky few who do not process the acid and can eat asparagus guilt free without any stinky side effects.  Funny-smelling pee, however, is only a small trade-off to consider when eating this antioxidant-rich food with a uniquely rich, almost-nutty flavor.
 
 
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Eating out at a restaurant and trying to lose weight are often in conflict with one another.  Many restaurants use excessive amounts of olive oil or butter when preparing dishes, and portions are often double what they should be.  However, it is still possible to eat healthy at a restaurant, and I have included numerous tips that should help when dining out. 

First of all, I know it might be hard, but say no to the breadbasket!  By snacking on bread before your meal arrives, you take in unnecessary calories.  You also probably stimulate your hunger even more, as the bread has very little fiber and offers no protein or nutritional value.  Instead, it is better to eat a small fiber or protein rich snack before going out so you are not tempted to nosh on bread.  Some suggestions might be a medium size apple, a part-skim mozzarella cheese stick, 6 ounces nonfat yogurt, or reduced fat cream cheese with celery sticks. 

The next piece of advice I have is to order a small salad appetizer or vegetable based soup as both of these options are filling and low in calories.  Make sure to ask for oil and vinegar on the side, as many of the dressings offered in restaurants are often high in fat.  The appetizer helps to fill you up before your meal so you are not tempted to overeat.  If you are ordering a salad, make sure it is void of starchy vegetables like green peas, corn, beans, and lentils because these add calories to what should be a relatively low calorie appetizer.
 
 

Note from the Editor: 
This is a recipe from the cookbook we are currently reviewing, Freshman in the Kitchen. The recipe being reviewed is for Crepes and Fresh Berries with whipped cream made from scratch. Click the link above to read more about the book and let us know what you think!
Coming from an extreme lover for mac and cheese, I have tried many different recipes for this delightful meal.  So, naturally, when deciding to review recipes for Freshman in the Kitchen, making mac and cheese was immediately on the to-do list.  3 different cheeses! Yum! Generally when I’ve made mac and cheese, cheddar cheese or white cheddar cheese have been my favorite choices.  This recipe, however, calls for cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and gruyere cheese -  a completely unfamiliar cheese to me!  This recipe also calls for garlic...how intriguing!
 
Mac and cheese is definitely my comfort food.  When I have a bad day, I immediately grab a box of mac and cheese and know that I can at least enjoy those 20 minutes of that day eating something that I love.  Instead of being a rich and creamy sauce, like most mac and cheese recipes I’m used to, the cheese sauce in this recipe was almost like a roux.    A roux is a combination of fats and flour that makes a sauce thicker.  In this case, the 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil that were called for sautéing the onions, needed to be soaked up.  By adding flour, the mixture dried up and became thicker when the milk was added.  This sauce was extremely thick and was not what I was expecting for mac and cheese.
 
 
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Frozen and boxed macaroni and cheese are so prevalent. You might think that there is a good reason why the homemade version isn’t more common, but there isn’t one. Homemade macaroni and cheese can be cheap, simple, and, with this recipe at least, very hard to screw up. Homemade macaroni and cheese is also warm and comforting, like a warm blanket on a cold fall morning, only instead of holding you in bed, it holds you to the bowl, greedy for more rich cheese and silky sauce.
 
To make the sauce that goes on the macaroni, you will need cheese (of course) and some kind of milk or cream. If you try to make macaroni and cheese with just these two things, though, the sauce will not be thick enough, and you will wind up with macaroni soup. You you need something to change the texture of the sauce so it thickens. There are two main ways that people do this. The first of the two involves thickening the sauce with a roux, a mixture of butter and flour.  With the second, the sauce is thickened with eggs. This recipe uses the second method.