One More Bite Catering and Events

Category: Fresh

#1: Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter, Caramelized Onions, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Review

Zoe’s Take:

8/10

I really liked this ravioli. First off, I didn’t have to make pasta dough. The use of egg roll wrappers makes this recipe a lot easier for people who don’t necessarily know how to or have time to make pasta. The manchego cheese is what made the ravioli for me though. Butternut squash is good and all, but I love manchego cheese and it really helped the butternut squash become a fuller more nutty flavor. However, the real star of the show was the caramelized onions. Without them, the dish wouldn’t be as good in my opinion. I do think I would prefer that the ravioli be in pasta instead of egg roll wrappers however.

Eric’s Take

7.5/10

This was a great start to this cookbook review. This dish is very substantial. You only need a few ravioli to fill you up. The caramelized onion adds complexity to the otherwise fairly plain ravioli. The pumpkin seeds are more than just a garnish as they add texture to the dish. My only problem with the flavor of this recipe was that it was laking something to cut through the fattiness of all the butter. Brown butter is amazing, but on top of the buttery caramelized onions and ravioli filling, it was a lot. Some additional acidity may have been nice. I took liked the ease of the egg roll wrapper as a shortcut. However, if I were to make this recipe again I would probably make pasta dough. It’s relatively easy to make, and much easier to fill. The size of the ravioli in the recipe was also a problem for me. It was a good size, but very difficult to cut without a very small biscuit/cookie cutter, which most people don’t have.

November 7, 2018
Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pine Nuts, Wilted Spinach & Chive Oil

I love all things pasta.

Gnocchi, despite being made of potatoes and flour instead of semolina and flour is no exception to that rules. I like to have gnocchi in my house at all times, I make it fresh, and then I freeze it to use later. Normally, the gnocchi I make has eggs in it, but since it’s World Vegan Month, I made fresh gnocchi without eggs. The biggest difference between the gnocchi with eggs and the gnocchi without eggs is the softness. Without eggs, the gnocchi is soft. Don’t let this freak you out though, because once they’re par-boiled they’re just fine.

Just so you know, the chive oil is fantastic. I added extra chives after the oil was finished, because it added extra flavor plus I definitely think it looks better. I also added red pepper flakes to mine, but if you don’t like that sort of thing, feel free to omit it.

While this dish is technically an hors d’oeuvre, it’s easy to scale it up to make it an entree.

Find the recipe here.

November 6, 2018
National Sandwich Day!

On this wonderful Saturday, we at One More Bite are celebrating National Sandwich Day. There are so many different kinds of sandwiches to choose from. So, I had such a hard time choosing what specific genre of sandwich to make for you guys.

Dear readers, I made you grilled cheese. A really really good grilled cheese at that. Nothing beats bread, butter and melty cheese, except for maybe this.

Roasted Pear, Fontina and Roast Beef Grilled Cheese on Apple Cinnamon Bread

In order to make everyone happy, we made two different versions of the same sandwich. The version above requires bosc pears and apple cinnamon bread. I’ve always found bosc pears to be less sweet and a little more crunchy, and contrasted with the (very) sweet apple cinnamon bread, the flavors ended up balancing out. While this grilled cheese is still a little bit too sweet for me, if you love apples and cinnamon, this grilled cheese is definitely for you.

Now, I also did a more savory version of this grilled cheese. I used onion ciabatta bread and instead of bosc pears, I used red anjou pears, which are soft, sweet and very juicy. In the case of this grilled cheese, the sweetness of the pears served to accentuate the mild and creamy flavor of the fontina cheese. This is a great sandwich for someone who wants grilled cheese, but also something extra.

I am mildly obsessed this sandwich.

To get these recipes, click here.

Roasted Pear, Fontina and Roast Beef Grilled Cheese on Onion Ciabatta

November 3, 2018
Zoe & Eric Carve Pumpkins

It’s 5 days until Halloween, and it’s about time to start carving pumpkins. Since Eric and I already went pumpkin picking, we decided to carve them as well.

I’ve never actually carved a pumpkin myself, since I almost sliced my hand off last time I tried doing it. But using a pattern (for me) was very helpful. I chose something more traditional, but also close to my heart, a cat. In case you didn’t already know, I have 4 of them.

Eric however, didn’t use a pattern, he drew his own, going for a more nerdy feel with the Deathly Hallows, which I wholeheartedly support. He also borrowed his friend Dustin (see the end of the post for his details), to help out with the process.

Carving pumpkins can be hard work. First you cut off the top, or the bottom, and scoop out all the seeds. Then you scrape down the side that you are carving. Once that is done, you either draw the pattern on, or use a pre-made pattern. I used the little plastic knives that came with the pumpkin pattern, but any serrated knife will do really.

You should start with the smallest most delicate pieces. Wait until the end to pop out the cut pieces as well. Oh, and pop them out from the inside! But most of all, you should have fun when you carve your pumpkin! Even if you’re not planning on keeping the pumpkin, you should have SO much fun with it.

Don’t forget to get all the pumpkin goop off the seeds, wash them, and then season with a drizzle of oil and sea salt, and then roast for 15-20 minutes at 300F.

Enjoy your pumpkins this Halloween!

Credit to:

@akysora
Instagram: Dustinklc

October 26, 2018
Zoe & Eric Go Pumpkin Picking

As Halloween approaches, pumpkins begin popping up on everyone’s front porches. While some people like the itty bitty tiny ones, some have giant beautifully carved ones. In order to get into the Halloween spirit and have some fun, Eric and I went pumpkin picking!

We decided on a farm that is close by to where I live, 4 Town Farm in Seekonk, MA. They have a really cute setup for picking your own pumpkins. A tractor takes you on a short ride through some fields, before dropping you off at the entrance to a small corn maze. After hitting a few dead ends, we emerged from the maze, to gaze upon the pumpkin field.

We had a huge selection of pumpkins to pick from; big, small, round, long, green, white and yellow. Basically, a pumpkin for everyone. A fair amount of time was spent choosing a pumpkin. For carving, the shape of the pumpkin is important to consider, as well as the color. Eric was specifically interested in a longer pumpkin with a nice stem and that perfect orange you just associate with pumpkins. I prefer the smaller sugar pumpkins, which is directly related to the fact that they can also be cooked and have a higher sugar content.

If you’re in the MA or RI area, I definitely recommend the 4 Town Farm, it’s super cute and has a lot of fresh produce and products!

**If you have jack-o-lanterns, consider composting them when they’ve started to rot, tossing them in your garden to become fertilizer, or bring them to the dump (as many have a compost section).

October 25, 2018
Zoe & Eric Eat Food in Salem

While we were in Salem last week, we made sure to eat some pretty good food. We tried to hit a few places, including some street food, because in October, there are food vendors everywhere.

If you are visiting Salem, we are recommending that you visit The Salem Cheese Shop. Located just a few steps away from the main streets you’ll be on, The Salem Cheese shop is incredible. Not only do they have hard to find cheeses and a large variety, they also carry a huge selection of wine, oils, and accouterments. We are giving the Cheese Shop 9.5/10, just because it’s a little hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

The Salem Cheese Shop

Skip the Dunkin Donuts when you go to Salem. I know, I know, that’s pretty much blasphemy as a New Englander. But, when in Salem, we want you to stop by the Brew Box. It’s a small coffee and breakfast sandwich shop. Not only do they have really good breakfast sandwiches, the prices are fair and it’s altogether really cute in the way it is set up.

Eric’s sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. He rated it a solid 4/5.

For lunch/drinks around noon, we went to the Roof at The Hotel Salem. Rooftop restaurants and bars are a favorite of ours here at One More Bite. While it was chilly in Salem, there were heaters up there, and the sun made it nice and warm. The view was incredible and so were the drinks. But we’re here to talk about the food. Frankly, we were disenchanted with the offerings. While the tacos we got were good, we only got two, and they were priced at $14.00. Frankly, that’s a rip-off. The guacamole, which is meant to be shared, was very small. Only good enough for one person. Not so nice. Until they up the portion size or lower the price, we rate the Roof at The Hotel Salem at a 5.5 out of 10.

Grace (@theedgarallanho) eats a taco at The Rooftop at The Hotel Salem

We ended our Salem trip by eating at The Hawthorne Hotel, specifically at The Tavern on the Green. We got a reservation because we were a group of nine, and they seated us at a large square table. Barry and Matt ordered appetizers, getting boneless chicken wings and soup. Eric also had the soup. The soup was given a glowing recommendation all around as were the chicken wings. As for dinner, the orders spanned from a Raspberry Chicken Salad to Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf and a variety of burgers and sandwiches. While the salad was lacking in chicken, the rest of the entrees got glowing reviews. We’re giving Tavern on the Green an 8/10.

Grain Bowl from Tavern on the Green at the Hawthorne Hotel

October 23, 2018
Bob’s Burgers Burger Book Review #2

The Sweet Home Avocado Burger is an all-beef patty coated in a sweet lime sauce, topped with fresh avocado slices, sweet onions, tomatoes, peppers and stevia leaves (if you can find them).

Think… fresh crunchy veggies meets tangy sweet limeade.

Zoe’s Take:
7.5/10

The sweet and sour of the lime and honey marinade was interesting and totally different than what I normally look for in a burger. The vegetables on top were basically a simple fresh salsa. I love avocado, so that was perfect no matter what. It definitely needed a little more salt added on top of the avocado. I chose not to use a whole wheat bun, but that’s my personal preference. I would have liked something not so sweet on the burger, so I would have changed out the regular peppers for jalapenos or serrano peppers.

Eric’s Take:
6/10

This burger has a great concept. Bring in a lot of sweetness and combine it with buttery avocado and a slight bitterness from the stevia leave. Unfortunately…stevia plants are NOT easy to find, especially in the fall. I actually went to a few nurseries and spice shops and had no luck. I did find out that Lowe’s Home Improvement carries stevia plants in the spring, so I might try this burger again. The other issue I had was that the ingredient proportions were off. I ended up with a lot more veggies then I needed. Overall the flavors were really good. Marinading the beef in a lime juice made it slightly more tender. The instructions were a little confusing, so I didn’t add the honey to the lime juice when marinading the meat. Still added a nice flavor. This burger also had great textures. The four points for me were lost on difficulty of sourcing the ingredients, ease of instructions, appropriateness of ingredient amounts, and a missing component to cut the sweetness.

October 10, 2018
Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

We all have a memory of cinnamon rolls. Most of the time, the memory starts with popping a can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, baking them and then squeezing that glorious white sugary glaze and watching it melt into those gooey delicious rolls.

My cinnamon rolls are not that. They combine pecans and salted caramel and the rolls bake with the topping already on it and upside down. Sounds… different, doesn’t it. Different is good. These cinnamon rolls are gooey, butter, sweet and tender. When you pull them apart, the aroma of cinnamon drenched in caramel hits you, and it’s the most intoxicating scent.

Paired with a cup of coffee on a rainy Saturday morning… you’ll feel warm and full, like something has been missing from your routine. The worries will fade away as you melt into the warm embrace of cinnamon and butter.

If you want these cinnamon rolls in you life, find the recipe here.

October 8, 2018
Bob’s Burgers Burger Book Review #1

This month, we at One More Bite with Zoe & Eric decided that we just had to review the very interesting, very intriguing Bob’s Burgers Burger Book. The “cookbook”, edited by the series creator was released in 2016, and features 75 recipes based on the Specials of the Day chalkboard seen in the popular animated sitcom. It was very hard to choose just 5 of the featured recipes to test and showcase for you all, but being October, we just had to give you some of the Halloween and horror themed burgers. Find a new review from this cookbook for the first four Wednesdays of October and tune in on Tuesday the 30th to hear our final thoughts!

Zoe’s Take:

7.5/10

I really liked the burger itself because I have this wonderful love affair with feta cheese. I used less salt in the patty because of how salty feta cheese is. Of course the chive spread was great, but I would have definitely liked less Dijon mustard, I didn’t find that it worked too well, because dijon mustard is just really strong.. What was definitely missing was fresh vegetables, I love frickles as much as the next person, but that doesn’t make up for some lovely lettuce and some red onion and tomato. Also, more chives, always more chives. And I definitely thought it helped to put the frickles on the burger, not just as “wheels”.

Eric’s Take:

8/10

This was a great burger to start with. I loved the creamy dijon chive mixture and fired pickles with the slaty feta burger. I paired this burger with a brioche bun, which worked well. I also used a 85% lean ground beef because I was stuffing the patties. The recipe was easy to follow and the ingredients are easy to find. This recipe lost two points for the following reason. Like Zoe, I felt the burger lacked a freshness component. With the fired pickles and feta it was a bit salty and desperately needed something like fresh tomato. All the flavors were there though, and in general I felt hit earned a good score.

October 3, 2018
Brie, Honey and Lemon Pancakes with Toasted Pecans, White Chocolate Shavings and Maple Syrup

In August, I competed in a completion thrown by Chefs Roll in collaboration with Callebaut, home of the finest Belgian chocolate. Out of the 10 categories that were open to compete in, I entered in 4 of them. One of the categories was Breakfast Breads and so I made these pancakes. Although they did not progress to the second round, they were very delicious and very different than any pancake I had ever made before.

The pancake itself is savory and creamy with a touch of sweetness from the honey and a hint of acid from the lemon juice added to the batter and the lemon zest garnishing the top. You can omit the nuts if that’s not your thing, but I found that the crunch they provided was absolutely fantastic paired with the creaminess of the pancakes. Unfortunately, I did not take a lot of pictures of the pancakes because I only needed one to submit for competition, but if you’ve made a pancake before, it should be a pretty straightforward process. Good luck, and good eating.

Find these tasty pancakes here.

September 26, 2018