Food

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As you know, I am a big fan of day trips, road trips, and exploring new towns, mostly for the purpose of eating at new places. There’s usually some sort of other activity in there too, like hiking or wine tasting, but food is often the catalyst.

On Saturday, before we headed to the Hull Harbor Illumination, we traveled to Hingham for an early dinner at the bar at Tosca.  We love taking drives to Hingham to eat at The Lobster Pound and to walk at World’s End (and to dream about having a waterfront house with lots of land and its own deep water dock), and Tosca is an old favorite for a delicious, romantic night out.

Tosca, Hingham

Located just a block from the water, Tosca occupies a large, open space with a kitchen that’s front and center. All of my photos of the space had people in them, unfortunately, so you will have to take my word for it. The main dining room is very large while the wine room is cozier, a little darker, and my pick for a date night.

After arriving at Tosca, we read through the lengthy cocktail menu and decided on our first cocktails. I love that Tosca uses locally made spirits in many of their drinks, so I went with the Privateer, made with Privateer rum from Ipswich, MA, and a lemon, thyme, and rosemary syrup.  Tosca Menu

While I wished the rosemary came through a little more, I loved this icy, lemony drink. It was so refreshing!

Privateer rum cocktail

While we decided on dinner, we were given bread and a lemony chickpea spread that was surrounded by a pool of fruity olive oil.

chickpea and olive oil spread

These crispy, cheesy flatbreads were also placed in front of us and devoured immediately. I must find a way to make these at home for our own cocktail hour.

flatbread

For my second cocktail, I ordered the Sicilian Orange Soda. This was a dangerously delicious drink that tasted just like orange soda but was made up of Grey Goose orange vodka, aperol, and San Pellegrino Aranciata. Yum.

Sicilian orange soda

We started with oysters. If they’re on the menu and local, there’s a good chance we’re getting them. I added some Tabasco from the mini bottle to mine and loved the spice with the brininess.

oysters

For dinner we shared the Angry Lobster: (spaghettini, Calabrian chile, crushed tomato, sweet corn) and the Panzanella: (grilled fireking bread, red onion, cucumber, tomato, caciotta cheese & peppadew dressing). Both were absolutely perfect. It was a rainy night, and the Angry Lobster definitely provided a warm and cozy kick. The Panzanella was full of crunchy cucumber, sweet tomatoes, and a tangy cheese. I don’t think I have had caciotta before, but we both really liked it.

angry lobster pasta

Hingham is definitely a fun place to visit in the summer time, but Tosca, with its cozy wine library and wood oven, is a destination year round, definitely a place I think of when I am in the mood for a little getaway close to home.

Tags: cocktails, Dining out, dinner, Food, Hingham, restaurant

It has certainly been awhile since my kitchen has seen any cooking action. Between the heat, events, dinners out, and a wonky appetite, I have avoided cooking in favor of eating something, anything I didn’t prepare.

It was time to get back into it with a little help from my friend Pinterest. I found a recipe for cheesy broccoli bites and decided to make my own take on it.

broccoli

Ingredients:

4 cups of chopped broccoli

1 cup (dry) of red rice, soaked overnight and cooked until al dente

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

3 eggs

red rice

shredded cheese

This recipe is simple; just mix everything together, preferably with your hands, and form balls with the mix. Pop the broccoli bites into an oven that’s been preheated to 375, and bake for 20 minutes.

broccoli bite mix

Once the broccoli bites are done, they will be a little bit larger due to the melty cheese. This is not a bad thing.

broccoli bites

Serve with a creamy honey mustard sauce, mine is about 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup brown mustard and a blob of honey. Enjoy!

homemade honey mustard

These broccoli bites would be a fun and not-too-indulgent treat for a party or for dinner with a salad. I bet bacon would be a nice addition. . .

We love appetizer style meals, and these made for a fun dinner.

What do you do when you lose your cooking mojo?

Tags: appetizer, broccoli, cheese, dinner, Food, Pinterest, recipe, snacks, Vegetarian

I kind of hate the expression “Nom, nom, nom”, but it’s just what comes to mind when I look back on a recent dinner at Happy’s Bar and Kitchen.  From cocktails to dessert, every single dish (and glass) was spot on, delicious, and fun. Happy’s is a place that certainly makes for happy diners (at least in our group), and it could be my new favorite place for going out with a group of friends.

Happy's Bar and Kitchen

Starting with its neon sign, the décor  of Happy’s is bright, fun, and funky. I wanted to capture that better in photos, but by the time I arrived the restaurant was quite crowded. I hate making people feel like I am taking their photo!

Happy's Bar and Kitchen

Our visit to Happy’s was on a very hot day, and when I arrived, I needed refreshment. The very first cocktail on the list was a sparkling wine cocktail, so of course I ordered it.  That’s a bitters-soaked sugar cube in the bottom of the glass. I loved this drink.

sparkling wine cocktail

Later in the evening I enjoyed the below cocktail, which I believe was called Oh Bloody Hell. . . I could be wrong. It was delicious!

blood orange cocktail

There were seven of us at the table, so we decided to order a few appetizers to share, and Happy’s also took great care of us, sending out appetizers and a dessert at the end.

The DIY nachos may have been my favorite. Ever since I was little, I have loved toppings bars or any place where you can make your own salad, sundae, etc. Making my own little plate of nachos meant they were fresh, not greasy, and I could layer on the toppings perfectly.

Happy's DIY nachos

Shrimp tacos, light, fresh, and flavorful, were perfect for the summery day we were having. I like that Happy’s does not fry the shrimp for the tacos.

shrimp tacos

They do fry the fried pickles, of course, and these were hot and crunchy on the outside with tangy pickles on the inside. These are definitely some of the better fried pickles I have had.

fried pickles

Crunchy meatballs with tomato and basil sauce were delicious with a nice hint of spice and bit of crunch on the outside.

crunchy meatballs

House made potato chips and dip, the perfect party food even if it’s just a party for one.

house made potato chips

The mac and cheese made its way around the table more than once. I think just about everyone grabbed a second bite. While Savin Bar + Kitchen still has my heart when it comes to mac and cheese, this was a close second.

macaroni and cheese

Creamy ricotta and crunchy bread made for another addictive appetizer, and I would say this is a must-order at Happy’s.

image

And finally, there was the tuna tartare. I always love to check out the tuna tartare at restaurants, and this one did not disappoint, with spicy avocado and cool cucumber. Very refreshing.

tuna tartare

Once we chowed down on every appetizer on the menu, our entrees came. I had a hard time deciding between a few dishes, but as a lover of fried green tomatoes, went with the Southern BLT with fries. After all of the amazing appetizers, I was full and could only eat half of the sandwich. I loved the tomato and the idea of the pork belly on the sandwich. As is often the case in restaurants, the pork belly was a little dry, my only complaint of the entire evening.

southern blt

After all that, I did not need dessert. At all. My stomach definitely protested, but with dinner being so much fun, we soldiered on to try the Nutella tart and strawberry shortcake, with some crisp, minty chocolate cookies sent out as a special treat.

nutella tart

The Nutella tart was a little too sweet for me, but I would imagine true dessert-lovers would devour it. The strawberry shortcake was definitely the highlight of dessert for me with its light, buttery shortcake and pool of strawberry sauce.

strawberry shortcake

cookies

On our way out, we all got to meet Chef Michael Schlow and to tell him how great our experience was. For me, the only real downside of Happy’s is its location. We avoid the Fenway area during baseball season, so there will definitely be times we’d like to stop in and probably won’t. But, that’s what the other seasons are for.

For a  really great review of our dinner, check out Beantown Eats!

Tags: bloggers, Boston bloggers, cocktails, Dining out, Food, Restaurants

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