Casamigos - Keizer, OR (Review)

Thing #3 had a football game tonight that we rushed to after work so afterward, we were hungry!  Even the smell of a cheap boiled game hot dog was starting to smell delicious.  We decided to check our maps app to see if anything close was open and whattaya know!?  Casamigos was open until 10:00!

For a restaurant smack in the middle of a strip mall on the main drag, we didn't know what to expect.  Keizer isn't our hometown and this place is pretty new.  When we walked in, the art immediately caught my eye.  It's beautiful!  The walls are filled with this gorgeous art and photos, the details of the restaurant are just gorgeous to look at.

Once we were seated and began looking at the menu. we were pleasantly surprised to discover that this was not the normal Mexican food menu.  The photos of the food were spectacular and looked nothing like your average convection oven re-heats smothered in melted cheddar.  We had plowed through our salsa already and we were brought more - two different kinds and both were so flavorful and delicious!

We ordered and our guacamole arrived soon after.  Fresh, flavorful and perfect.

While we were waiting for our food and snacking, we looked around and let me tell you, this restaurant is visually stimulating at every angle.  The bar area is gorgeous with a table by a fire ... we would move in if we could.

Guatelajara Tour

Brownie ordered the Guatelajara Tour - a combination of chile verde & chile colorado with one authentic chile relleno.  Served with rice and beans, of course and he chose corn tortillas.  The pork chile verde was his favorite and the corn tortillas were fresh, handmade and .... drumroll .... didn't tear one bit!

El Patron

I ordered the El Patron - a combination of carne asada and shrimp cooked a los cabos style (sauteed with mushrooms in a creamy rich flavor green sauce topped with melted cheese) also served with rice and beans and I chose flour tortillas.  The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the carne asada .... real meat, rich flavor to say the least .... dios mio.  Those handmade flour tortillas .... I will dream about them tonight.

You will have leftovers, trust us.

We didn't try the drinks tonight, but we will be going  back again for sure!  The staff was friendly and helpful, our food was gorgeous and whoever is in that kitchen ... does magical things with Mexican Cuisine!

Although this was only our first visit, for now we are going to put up 5 stars because .... blown away is an understatement.  The food is outstanding and if you haven't tried it yet, you really must.  We'll be trying it again and again and again and ....

For now, we stand by our 5 stars and we can't wait to go back!

New Orleans Inspiration

This week, we had the pleasure of seeing New Breed Brass Band in Albany and we had such a good time! But we came away craving New Orleans cuisine! So today, we meandered through a few grocery stores collecting ingredients for Jambalaya.   I always start my Jambalaya with a standard recipe and work from there:

Ingredients:

12 oz. (or so) skinless, boneless chicken (breasts or thighs - your choice. Breasts tend to try out too much for me.)

2 Bell Peppers (we use green and yellow to add more color)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced or diced, whatever your preference

Raw minced garlic - 4 cloves, 6 cloves ... whatever your taste buds desire

Canned tomatoes (14.5 oz - we use a quart jar of our home canned tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

Broth - chicken, beef, vegetable ... whatever you have on hand - I use about 16 oz?

1 Tablespoon dried parsley - or a small bunch of fine cut fresh parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil (or again - some fine cut fresh basil)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon hot sauce (your preference!)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined (do NOT use pre-cooked shrimp - we tried that once and they got very rubbery)

3 cups cooked Rice

Directions:

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces

Add all ingredients accept for shrimp and rice to your crockpot

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours

Add shrimp during last 15-20 minutes of cooking

Stir in rice when ready to dish up!

  Tonight we used chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage. We didn't put any hot sauce in, expecting the andouille sausage to bring the spice but the sausage we used was hardly spicy and the flavor was lacking. So we mixed in a little Melinda's Red Savina Hot Pepper Sauce and the flavors came right out! That sauce is amazing!  The key to good Jambalaya is definitely in the heat! :-)

 As for Shrimp Remoulade - there are just as many recipes for this as there are for Gumbo and Jambalaya. Everyone likes something a little different. I prefer a horseradish flavor and Brownie seems to agree. Tonight I switched from horseradish mustard to creole mustard and I ended up adding horseradish anyway. So I'll stick with my usual method. Don't mess with what works!

As for wines, we tried a few. The one we liked best was De Martino Estate Organic Savignon Blanc, it seemed to compliment the flavors best. It didn't blow me away paired together though, I'll try something different next time. Brownie said it would be a refreshing wine on a hot summer day, which is saying a lot because he's not a huge fan of white wines.

Our craving is satiated and our taste buds are dancing, no complaints here! Now we just need to put these bottles of wine to good use! :-)

BBQ Plates

Brownie's first love is Barbeque.  He just couldn't help himself this weekend, he had to use that smoker!  I should have known when he came home with a grocery bag from Market of Choice that I was in for it.  Sending him to MOC is like sending me to a shoe store!  It's a playground and his imagination goes wild!

So yes, we had BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken sausages, BBQ shrimp, grilled veggies and a yummy salad from their deli.  We ate huge plates of food (I couldn't finish - too much meat!) and spoke in southern accents describing the food.  Hey, we said we were foodies, we didn't say we weren't odd! :-)

Cooking Challenge!

Tonight one of my friends was craving some good food and got carried away in the grocery store.  She wanted Brownie to make some of his yummy creations for her!  So since we had no plans, Brownie agreed to create from whatever she brought over.

She brought a LOT of food over as you can see!  The only rules were that he had to use every ingredient.  So like a kid on a playground, Brownie went to work.  We were up until 1am eating the amazing things he put in front of us, one after the other.  So stuffed - totally worth it!!!!

First, he put out pate and cheese with crackers for us to munch on, which was yummy.  Market of Choice has SUCH good pate and cheese!

His first creation:  Shrimp and Sardine Croquettes with Red Miso Sauce.  DIVINE!  I could have devoured hundreds of these!  Crunchy and flavorful on their own and that sauce....more please!  But there was so much more to come ....

Then we were served Steamed Muscles in a White Wine/Ginger Broth with Tomatoes and Garlic Toast points.  Soaking up that broth with the bread is one of my favorite things to do!  The flavor is just beautiful.  The muscles were fresh and had really nice flavor.  Living in Oregon does have its benefits!  We are blessed with so many different types of local seafood!

Next, he brought us Duck Liver Bruschetta with an Oyster Mushroom, Brown Butter Sage Saute.  These flavors were SO good together!  Rich and creamy and savory and that fresh sage .... ugh!  To die for!  If this doesn't inspire any one to go buy some duck liver, I don't know what would!  

I can't really say that I had a favorite last night, but this is certainly at the top of the list!  Next course was Pasta with Pate and Triple Cream Brie Sauce with Jalapeno Ginger Shrimp.  Be still my heart, this was incredible.  I never quite understand how these flavors work in his head, but Brownie always seems to dazzle my taste buds!  

Now, Brownie was certainly given some strange ingredients to use that really had to be used creatively.  The next dish did just that:  Kale and Almond Chip Crusted Shrimp with Ginger Jalapeno Triple Cream Brie dipping sauce ... see how he tied those two together and saved himself some time?  :-)  Very wise.  But these were so good, I really loved these little morsels.

Last, but certainly not least was the Grilled Lamb Chop, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with a Roasted Red Pepper and Horseradish Cream Sauce.  Oh my.  Life just doesn't get any better than this.  The lamb was cooked perfectly (as if the man could ruin meat) and the flavors were so delicious together.  A fine choice for a Grand Finale!

I have never been so full in all of my life, and still so eager to eat what is put in front of me next!  It was an awesome night showcasing his talents and creativity and he officially has another big fan now; my friend was blown away and so very impressed.  Challenge met!

Now .... I have to do the dishes....see you in a few days!

Black Box Challenge

We like to keep things entertaining around here.  I know Brownie likes to cook and dream up amazing things, but I like to challenge him and push his limits :-)

Tonight, I stopped by the store and created a little black box challenge for him with ingredients that seemingly don't really go together.  I researched this a little and was informed that:  1 protein, 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fruit and something off-the wall.  Easy enough.

I stayed with standard grocery items that we all see everyday, so the conventional grocery store was were I chose my ingredients.

After some research, I was sent with some wine into the living room to wait while he created in his space.  What he came up with .... he seriously has to make this again because it was SO good!!!!

Almond (Nut Thins) and Rosemary Crusted Shrimp with Avocado, Tomato and Bell Pepper Cous Cous with a Kiwano Melon, Chili and Ginger Chocolate Sauce.

I really wish he wrote down recipes as he creates ... we will work on that.  Because this was just outstandingly delicious!!!!!  Challenge met!