Black Beans & Rice with Apple Salsa

I found another delicious recipe that I had to try, and guess what? It was actually a healthy one! This recipe is from Our Best Bites blog and is sort of a latin dish, Black Beans & Rice with Apple Salsa. I was drawn to this recipe because I wanted to try the apple salsa and it was so easy. I will definitely be making this again.

This dish calls for chicken and you can prepare it anyway you would like. Grilling chicken on the barbecue would be tasty and I want to try this next time, but I was in a rush, so I went for the rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  

If you read Sara's original post, she recommended adding less broth and I couldn't agree more. I ended up probably adding about 10 ounces instead of the full 13.5 ounce can - you can decide though.

See below for the ingredients and check out the recipe from Our Best Bites:

Black Beans and Rice with Chicken and Apple Salsa
Adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2012 

Feel free to play around with the quantities in this recipe, like I did.  You can add more onion to the salsa, or increase seasonings in the beans.  Taste as you go and make it your own!

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts
4-6 lime wedges

Bottle vs. Box - David Hill Winery

Generally, when I hear "boxed wine", I think of college parties, Franzia and my grandparents.  But, David Hill Winery is changing the way Willamette Valley wines are contained. This weekend my family and I tried their Farmhouse Red, both from the box and from the bottle. To my surprise, no one could really tell the difference. Some people argued the color was slightly different but no one could identify which was which.

bottle vs. box

Though I am not going to rush to replace all my wine bottles with boxes, this is still pretty neat. The box wine is tasty, sustainable, easy to travel with and holds four bottles of wine. In fact, it is cheaper too. 

If you decant this wine...I bet you can trick your family and friends. They might never know the difference. Give it a try!

David Hill Winery

46350 NW David Hill Rd

Forest Grove, OR 97116

503.992.8545

Oven & Shaker

I love pizza. I really do and I have fallen in love with a new pizza place - Oven & Shaker in Portland's Pearl District. They had me at "three-time James Beard nominated chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana), veteran Northwest bartender Ryan Magarian, and ChefStable visionary Kurt Huffman." I mean come on, read that line up.

fennel sausage pizza

Oven & Shaker is a fun restaurant with high energy, rustic ambiance and fantastic food. The menu is not over the top, the cocktails are spot on and the service was excellent. We sat up at the bar, which is most of the restaurants seating. There are bar seats facing the window, high seating with bar stools and only a few low banquette seats. The bartender was knowledgeable and offered several suggestions. There was four of us and we decided to dine family style by ordering four different pizzas to share.  

collards pizza

We ordered the Collards, Salami, Wild Fennel Sausage and Chicory pizzas. Yes, those are four different pizzas...check out the full menu. I would say my two favorites were the salami and chicory pizzas. What really made the pizzas was the salami pizza was flavored with honey and chicory pizza was made with aged balsamic. I was very impressed with the flavors and the combinations.    


Good news: Open seven days a week, local microbrew selection, local wines from the barrels, creative and unique pizza menu, attentive and friendly staff, comfortable ambiance   
Not so good news: No reservations accepted and not much seating for large parties.  
Tip: For ginger lovers, try the Pineapple Trainwreck cocktail...it is turning into their signature drink. 

Oven & Shaker

1134 NW Everett Street

Portland, Oregon 97209

503.241.1600

Open: 7 days a week, 4pm - midnight

Happy Hour: 10pm - midnight

Making Merry Moments

Hi everyone!

I have to apologize that I have been absent from my Endless Eats blog lately! I have been working on a holiday project and I would love your participation!

It is about spreading the holiday cheer by making merry moments. This is an opportunity to pay it forward and do something special for someone - either big or small. It all counts. Take a look at the blog for some ideas!

http://themerrymoments.blogspot.com/

I can't wait to hear what you think and any ideas you have!

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes...better than muffins.

Thanks to a friend and the Two Peas & Their Pod blog, I have discovered a new favorite pumpkin recipe! To be honest, I haven't come across a pumpkin recipe that I didn't like, but this particular recipe is easy and delicious. It is a baked donut hole...with pumpkin! Technically, you could call it a muffin because you use a mini muffin pan, but it is so much more!

via two peas & their pod

The recipe calls for all the basic ingredients (most I already had in my kitchen) finished with a sweet coating of butter, cinnamon and sugar. The full recipe is here and it yields about 24-32 muffins.

One recommendation: if you plan on sharing this pumpkin goodness, I would either bake them the day you plan to share with friends or bake the night before and do the coating the next day. Otherwise, they get slightly soggy from the butter. Don't put them right in a sealed container like I did...let them cool on a wire rack.

So happy I found this great recipe! Happy fall baking!

Enjoy.

Down South to Screen Door

Nothing is better than a delicious breakfast on a Sunday morning. Actually, nothing is better than a Southern breakfast at Screen Door after running a 10k on a Sunday morning.

I have been wanting to go to Screen Door on East Burnside for months now and I finally made it! For all you Portland breakfast fanatics, I am sure you have been to this restaurant and if you haven't,  be ready for at least an hour wait. Unless you come right at 9am when they open, you will be waiting! 

Screen Door is known for their Southern cuisine, which includes the best biscuits and gravy in town and their HUGE portion of chicken and waffles. The prices are on point and you get a ton of food! Our group went with the biscuits and gravy, eggs benedict and the sausage Po-boy. Not to mention, we started with some tasty cinnamon and sugar beignets. There were some other ingredients included, but we ate them too fast for me to remember. So fresh and warm! 

I will be back time and time again. The breakfast was wonderful and they have rotating specials available too. Breakfast is only available Saturday and Sunday from 9am - 2:30pm. 

A few tips for the first timers:

 - Reservations are accepted a day prior for parties 6 or more

 - Your whole party must be in attendance before you will be seated

 - Be ready to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a table (of any size)

Check out this great spot and let me know what you think!

2337 East Burnside Street

Portland, OR

503.542.0880

Dinner: Tues-Sat 5:30pm-10pm, Sun-Mon 5:30pm-9pm

Brunch: Sat-Sun 9am-2:30pm

Heading North to Breakside Brewery

If you have been reading my blog, most of you know that I love breweries and almost any type of delicious new brew. I first came across Breakside Brewery when they appeared in last year's Holiday Ale Fest. So, naturally, when they appeared on a daily deal Web site - I bought the deal. My brother, a few friends and I made the trek out to NE Portland to find this new brewery.

The ambiance was right up my alley with large barrel based tables, dim lighting, candles on every table and chalkboards listing the daily beer selections. With a copper bar top and metal accents, I really loved every detail. It was casual but still classy.

I do have to say, I wish I would have gone hungry and not just thirsty. The food looked incredible! I was sold when one of the servers walked by with blue cheese waffle fries. If the food tastes as good as it looked, I recommend trying it out. Check out the menu here.

As for the beer, we decided to try a variety of the selections available. My favorite was probably the "Wit," which is no surprise because it is a lighter beer with flavors of orange peel and coriander. It is also a Belgium-style beer and usually you can't go wrong with a good Belgium. My brother and his friends liked the Aztec Ale, but decided it was best in small doses because it is flavored with serrano and habanero chiles. Not to mention, it is 9.4% ABV. There are a variety of seasonal and experimental beers so before you head over, check out there updated beer list.

The newest project for head brewer, Ben Edmunds, is his collaboration with local chefs to make a beer that is "restaurant specific." Each brew will be featured in the brewery as well as each's chef's restaurant. I think this is such an innovative idea and a new spin on pairing food and beverages. You can read more on this collaboration here.

A little fun fact: The bartender told us, "breakside" is a term used in Ultimate Frisbee and the owners/founders are big Ultimate players. I love Portland.

Drink up and enjoy!

820 Northeast Dekum Street

Portland, OR 97211

(503) 719-6475

@breaksidebrews