Bistrot Margot

We got together with my husband's family for dinner on Sunday night in Old Town (Chicago). We switched it up a bit from our typical Italian spot and tried out a French restaurant, Bistrot Margot on Wells Street. It was a great decision - what a beautiful dinner! I think I probably ate about a pound of butter throughout the meal, but it was totally worth it.

It's a cute little spot, perfect for a family dinner or date. I don't know if I'd make it a girls night out or swing in with a bachelor party, but it's great for a more formal or intimate occasion.

I started the night with french onion soup, which was very good (not the best I've had, but definitely an 8 out of 10). There's nothing like melted gruyere cheese over an onion broth with a big hunk of bread - yum. My brother-in-law ordered mussels and was kind enough to share a few with me. Covered in a white wine shallot sauce, they were quite possibly some of the best mussels I've ever had. Would definitely recommend these to start.

french onion soup - cheesy

For my main, I ordered Blanc de Poulet Au Moutarde. While I had no idea what that meant and could definitely not even pronounce it, the description caught my eye: Pan Roasted Dijon Basted Chicken Breast, Green Peas, Carrots, New Potatoes, Dijon Beurre Blanc. This is the type of dish that makes you want to return to a restaurant. They served a breast and leg quarter of chicken, bone in, skin on. The vegetables and potatoes were cooked perfectly and the sauce really made it something special.

It was so good, I almost forgot to take a pic!

My husband ordered the restaurant's staple, Steak Frites. While he wasn't crazy about the parsley butter (I thought it was great), the meat was cooked perfectly and the fries were thin and crispy.

steak frites - how can you go wrong with steak & fries?

Dessert was really out of this world. The table ordered profiteroles, but I went with my all-time fav, creme brûlée. The profiteroles were wonderful, but the creme brûlée was a creamy and smooth bowl of heavenly bliss. The custard had the perfect amount of sweetness and hint of vanilla.

creme brûlée - so good, definitely shareable

profiteroles - that's just one order!

Greek Meatballs or Keftethes

Keftethes are Greek fried meatballs, very similar to the middle eastern kefte (you may have had these in a middle eastern or Lebanese restaurant). Open the windows and get ready to clean your burners! However, the frying is totally worth it for these delicious little balls of heaven. You can serve them as an appetizer or a complete meal with Greek spaghetti or salad. They also taste great with some pita and tzatziki. They are even better the next day cold out of the fridge (if you like cold food...I am a sucker for cold pizza).

keftethes

Ingredients:
4 T olive oil + 1 T olive oil
1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 medium onion, grated (on a grater or food process0r)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t ground cumin
1 egg
1 piece of french bread, crust removed
1/4 C grated kefalotiri cheese
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper
1/4 C flour

Directions:
dampen french bread with water, squeeze to release water, and crumble in your hands.
combine the chuck, sirloin, 1 T olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin, egg, bread, cheese, parsley, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
mix with hands until ingredients are blended.
heat 4T olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
roll half of mixture into 1 inch balls and dredge in flour.
place in oil and fry until cooked through, turning occasionally (about 7 - 9 minutes).
transfer keftethes to a plate covered with paper towels. 
repeat with remaining meat mixture.

get ready to use your hands and mix!

get ready to roll

coat each meatball in flour

tester ball! 

batch 1

second batch

transfer to a plate with paper towels

yum

tips & extras

"tester" ball - Create a "tester" ball to taste the flavor. Roll one meatball, dredge in flour, and fry. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary.

salt - The cheese has a lot of salt, so be careful how much you add to the original mixture. I like to create a tester and then see if it needs more salt.

cumin - Depending on the quality of your cumin, you might need more than 2 t. It really creates the flavor in these meatballs, so make sure you have enough (use the tester meatball to check). If you have a spice grinder, grind the cumin on your own and it will be even better!

meat - I combine sirloin & chuck to make it a little lighter. You can use all chuck or all sirloin (all depends on the amount of fat you want).

healthier keftethes - When I don't want to fry and want something healthy, I make these with lean ground turkey and grill them. You need to make the keftethes more into a patty-like shape to hold up on the grill, but they are still really delicious. 

frying - Use a splatter screen for easier cleanup. These don't need to be deep fried, but there has to be enough oil to coat the skillet.

bread - You can skip this step and just use some bread crumbs. 

mixing - Don't overmix the meatballs or they will be mushy.

size - Smaller meatballs (more work) for appetizers, large meatballs for a main course. Serve with toothpicks for apps.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Chunky Apple Muffins

Apples, apples, and more apples. I just can't get enough of them right now! I'm not an apple pie fan, but I wanted to make something sweet with a big bag of honeycrisps I picked up at the farmer's market.

While searching for apple recipes, I stumbled upon this great article for how to make healthy muffins from what you have available. With some additional inspiration from Martha, I created healthy greek yogurt chunky apple muffins. They are perfect for breakfast with a big cup of joe. 

greek yogurt chunky apple muffins

Ingredients:
1 C all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 C rolled oats
1 C honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 C 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 t powdered cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract

optional: 1/4 C walnuts, chopped

Directions:
preheat oven to 350.
spray a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray.
peel, core, and dice apples.
combine dry ingredients in a large bowl - flour, oats, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, & cinnamon.
add apples and walnuts and mix to coat.
in a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
fold yogurt mixture into dry ingredients. 
fill each muffin cup with batter (about 75% - 80% full).
bake 22 - 27 minutes.
cool 5 minutes and serve.
store in an air-tight container and serve at room temperature.

dry ingredients

diced apples (also make a nice mid-recipe snack)

coat apples & walnuts with dry ingredients

get ready to whisk!

two bowls, get ready to fold

fold wet ingredients into dry

fill muffin cups ~ 80% full

when done, tops are golden brown

look at those chunks of apple - yum

tips & extras

brown sugar - You can use normal sugar to make these, but I felt the ingredients really went with brown. These are more of a breakfast muffin. If you want something a bit sweeter, double the sugar.

yogurt - You can use plain yogurt if you can't find Greek. Since there is no butter in this recipe, use 2% or full-fat yogurt. 

apples - Any apples will work! Something sweet is best. Dice them into as little or big pieces as you want. 

helpful kitchen tip - Annoyed with needing to use an ice pick to break up your brown sugar? Store brown sugar in a zip lock bag in your refrigerator. It will last forever and will stay soft & crumbly.

Greek Spaghetti

Greek spaghetti with meat sauce is the ultimate comfort food. I remember going to my Yiayia's growing up and eating plates of spaghetti while soaking up the sauce with heaps of bread. The ingredients are simple, but a tiny bit of cinnamon, parsley, and a bay leaf give it a unique and warming flavor. Perfect for a cool fall day. 

I made this for a family dinner the other night and my Yiayia gave me her stamp of approval. Enjoy!

greek spaghetti with meat sauce

Ingredients:
1 T butter
1 medium onion, shredded (with a grater or food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C red wine
1/2 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 bay leaf
1/4 C fresh parsley, finely chopped
15 oz can tomato sauce
salt & pepper
1/8 - 1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 package spaghetti
1/4 C grated kefalotiri, mizithra, or parmesan cheese

Directions:
in a large pot or pan, melt the butter over medium-high eat.
add the onion and sauté until it starts to change color (about 5 - 7 minutes).
add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
add the beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
cook the meat until there is no more pink.
add the red wine and continue to cook (about 3 minutes or until alcohol burns off).
add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, parsley, salt & pepper, and cinnamon.
stir and bring to a boil.
lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
with 15 minutes left, cook spaghetti according to package.
drain spaghetti and add gradually to meat sauce.
stir to coat spaghetti and disperse meat.
sprinkle with cheese and serve.

shred onions in a mini food processor (great kitchen gadget and pretty cheap)

cook onions in butter with garlic

brown the meat, mix with the onions

boil the mixture - look at all that parsley!

perfect bite

tips & extras

onions - Shredding the onion releases all of its flavor. I use a small food processor, but you can also grate the onions. Grating onions makes me cry like crazy, but it still works. 

cinnamon - Cinnamon is a very powerful spice and can easily overwhelm the sauce. I'd recommend starting with an 1/8 t (or even less) and possibly increasing it to 1/4 t after tasting your sauce. Greeks can't get enough of it, and even sprinkle cinnamon on spaghetti with just butter & cheese (another great quick recipe). 

salt - Watch how much salt you add to the sauce. Add just a bit to start and then taste the sauce while cooking and adjust where necessary. The tomato sauce has quite a bit of salt and so will the cheese.

cooking meat - Be careful not to burn the meat while cooking it. Stir it occasionally and loosen it from the bottom of the pot.

leftovers - You can double (or even triple) this recipe and freeze the sauce. Boil a pot of spaghetti, defrost the sauce, and you have an easy weeknight meal.

meat - Chuck makes this sooo good, but you can use all sirloin or even turkey for a healthier dish.

cheese - If you can't find Greek cheese, serve with parmesan.

wine - No biggie if you don't have this ingredient. The sauce is still delicious (but better with the wine of course).

sauce consistency - If you want a thinner sauce, add water or more tomato sauce. I like it thick and meaty, but you still want to be able to coat the spaghetti. 

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

There were so many green peppers at the farmer's market, I felt I just had to make stuffed peppers this week. I usually go with Greek stuffed peppers, but I wanted to try something new and healthy. A great little app I downloaded, Ziplist, recommended this gem of a recipe from an amazing blog, Skinnytaste. I made a few tweaks, and it was delicious. The best part of this recipe is you can make the filling the night before and bake the peppers the next day.

Side note - you have to download Ziplist. It is a grocery list app that turns ingredient lists from your recipes into actual grocery lists and even suggests recipes you'd like based on your shopping history. It organizes everything into aisles, so you never have to backtrack when you forgot tomato sauce and are already in the deli! Beyond that, the app lets you check things off your list so you can see how many items still need to make it into your cart. 

mexican turkey stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

filling

1 T olive oil

3/4 lb 99% lean ground turkey

3/4 C black beans, drained & rinsed

3/4 C frozen corn kernels

1 hot serrano, jalapeño, or banana pepper, diced (I used a banana pepper)

1 large tomato, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 C chopped onion

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1 t cumin

1 t chili powder

salt

1/3 C water

optional - scallions, sour cream, avocado

peppers

3 green or red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed

1/3 C reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth or water

9 T grated Monterey Jack Cheese, reduced fat if available

Directions:

filling

heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

add turkey and cook through, breaking up with a spoon.

season with salt.

add black beans, diced pepper, tomato, garlic, onion, cilantro, cumin, and chili powder. 

add 1/3 C water and mix.

lower heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

remove lid, add corn, and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered.

if you are making this the night before, transfer mixture to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

cover with saran wrap or put in tupperware and refrigerate. 

peppers

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

remove meat from refrigerator if you made it the night before.

place peppers on a baking dish.

spoon filling into peppers.

pour chicken broth or water into dish.

cover with aluminum foil.

bake 30 - 35 minutes.

remove and discard foil.

sprinkle cheese on peppers.

bake uncovered for 5 minutes. 

serve with a sprinkle of scallions, a dollop of sour cream, or some avocado (optional).

you can make the filling the day before and refrigerate (make your live a bit easier)

perfect plate

tips & extras

peppers - You can use red or green or any pepper you have available. I like the flavor of green peppers when they're stuffed

filling - If you hate turkey, use ground beef. 

cheese - I used Monterey Jack, but white cheddar or something similar would also work. 

heat - Add the jalapeño seeds and some cayenne pepper if you want to spice this up a bit.

serving size - If you want to make this for 4 people, add another pepper and up the turkey to a full pound. I'd add a bit more onion and cheese, but the rest of the ingredients should be ok.  I was good with 2 peppers, my husband went for 3.