More Blue Apron!

With how busy I've been it's been tough to consistently get Blue Apron or even create new recipes but I was able to get a few in the last couple months.  They've looked so pretty in the pan while I've been preparing them that they were photographed before and after they made it to the plate!

Blue Apron now offers more choices (there are eight options now) and you can choose between any of the dishes without any stipulations.  If you want all meat, you can do pork, chicken and steak, or if you want to stay vegetarian, you have that choice as well.  AND if you want to get four recipes one week and two a different week, you now have that ability.  Blue Apron has definitely stepped up their game!

Starting on the top left going clockwise is a Mixed Mushroom Bucatini with Collard Greens.  It was a great vegetarian dish that was portioned well, packed with flavor and tasted other-worldly!  Not to mention it was pretty easy to make.  The second photo is Roasted Pork with Sauteed Apples, Broccoli in a Fontina Cream Sauce and Garlic Breadcrumbs.  I had originally taken Porf off my profile because I'm not a real big fan of it, aside from Bacon, because of course, Bacon!  This dish has made me think twice about incorporating it into my meals on occasion.  The edges of the Pork were roasted while the inside was juicy and tender and the Apples were so yummy.  This was a dish that required more attention to detail but it was really exciting to create something so pretty.  I made these Spicy Red Thai Curry Meatballs as an early going away Lunch for Giana.  I had never made Meatballs before but I would use the base they suggested again and again because they were delicious!  The Red Curry gave it a little kick while the coconut milk evened it out.  I love Curry dishes so this was a no-brainer choice for me!  That final photo is a Chipotle-Glazed Meatloaf with Crispy Potatoes.  I also added some Vegetables that I steamed and then sauteed for flavor to have as a side.  The Meatloaf was enough for three meals and I had used all the Chipotle Pepper and it was HOT!  I actually didn't mind the heat but it might have been a little much for the average eater.  This was the best Meatloaf I've ever made so I'll for sure be creating this recipe again!

I've got a busy month of May and June so hopefully I can hop back into Blue Apron once Summer heats up.  Until then you can follow my food adventures and all things fun on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lyndseywegner/ Thanks for reading and Happy Cooking :)

Why you should try Blue Apron!

Over the past year I've been doing Blue Apron on a fairly regular basis. I love to cook and create my own recipes but there's something about having the food and recipes delivered to your door that's so convenient and it gets me more excited to cook.  The step-by-step instructions with photos make it easy to follow along and the food is usually quite impressive!  I make sure to invite friends over for at least one shipment to share in the joy!

Seared Barramundi with Fregola Sarda, Collard
Greens, and a Shallot Agrodolce that I will make
again and again.  It was just that lovely!

Since I was getting these recipes coming from Fall into Winter, there were some fresh corn dishes, some seared Salmon & Barramundi, a Steak meal (which I made when Dad was visiting at Thanksgiving) and plenty of vegetarian options.  One of them was a Squash Curry with Jasmine Rice (not pictured here) that turned out beautifully and was spicy to boot!  And the Steak meal was good but I preferred the tenderloin cut I got a few months back to the NY Strip Dad and I had this past time.

In the group of four photos below, starting from the top left was a Sweet Corn & Ditali Pasta with Ricotta Cheese.  It was one of the easiest recipes and packed a kick thanks to the Jalapeño.  I love getting a little spice in a meal.  Going clockwise is the Seared Salmon on top of Saffron Yukon Gold Potatoes and Cumin/Orange Glazed Carrots. I loved all the spices in this dish, including Saffron which I've never worked with before but was very excited about. The Salmon was incredible and the Carrots reminded me of my Mom's Glazed Carrot recipe (I'm going to try to re-create hers thanks to this one) that was always so yummy.  The next Dinner was a Chicken dish with a Caper Salsa Verde, extra Corn & Tomatoes, and Fregola Sarda.  I love capers and this salsa was the bomb!  Rounding it out was another vegetarian recipe of Neapolitan-Style Stewed Vegetables and Farro.  This recipe actually made it through three helpings!  The Gremolata of Parsley, Lemon, Garlic and Shallots on top really finished it off strong in addition to the fresh mozzarella.

Ditali Pasta & Ricotta, Seared Salmon & Saffron Yukon Gold Potatoes, Chicken
with Salsa Verde and Neopolitan-Style Stewed Vegetables with Farro.

Blue Apron can be tried on an affordable basis especially with the promotions they put out there for first-time users.  Or you can even find deals on Groupon!  Once you start cooking with Blue Apron, you'll have Free Meals to send to friends or family members (perhaps even someone else in your household).  Most of the recipes I feel like $60 is totally worth it based on the convenience-factor, ingredients, and portion-size.  Other times I feel like I could have found the ingredients for cheaper at Trader Joe's or another grocery store.  They usually do a good job of making sure the recipes are varied and that it's worth the price you're paying!

If you want to see all of my Blue Apron adventures, you can find them on my Instagram at: Lyndsey on Instagram.  I'd love to hear about your culinary adventures too!  I'm looking forward to making some of the recipes I've received in the past year a second time around now :)

Blue Apron!

My gals at Bar Lubitsch set me up with Blue Apron for two weeks for Christmas while I was back home in Wisconsin.  It was a great gift, thank you so much Ladies!  Knowing how picky my Dad is with food (he's your typical Wisconsin Dad, meat and potatoes, pizza, burgers, and whiskey) I decided to start using it when I was in LA and could hopefully share it with some friends!

The process of picking out each week's meals was really simple.  I'm not a huge pork fan so I kept that out of the three meals that were sent, and made sure I had at least one vegetarian option each week since it was during Lent and I couldn't eat meat on Fridays.  The meals served two people and were surprisingly simple to put together.  Nothing took much longer than 30 minutes and some were even less.  I felt like I was making restaurant quality meals, well worth the price, and they tasted AMAZING!  What was even better was the easy to use recipe cards that listed the ingredients and gave step-by-step instructions including pictures that I kept so that I can continue to make some of my favorite recipes.

Catfish, Steak, Salmon, and Gnocchi all made thanks to Blue Apron!

My first meal was Alsatian Spiced Chicken with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and glazed red cabbage.  I loved this meal; the spices worked well together and the cabbage was incredible.  It would be the only way I would ever make cabbage again!  Next up was Catfish Meuniere with collard greens & lentils and I had Courtney over to enjoy it with me.  The fish was a little fishy on this one but the lentils and the meal as a whole felt really healthy and there was plenty of food.  Adam joined me for steak night and it was the first time I had ever made a steak.  It turned out perfectly medium rare and the garlic kale side served with it was seriously delicious.  This was definitely one of my favorites of all the dishes and I was very excited to execute it to perfection!  

On my second week I started out with Adobo-Style Chicken with bok choy and jasmine rice.  I was really surprised at how flavorful the chicken dishes were and will definitely make both again.  I made the seared Salmon with spinach-walnut pesto for Lunch after a great acting class and was excited to have the leftovers for Dinner that night at Bar Lubitsch.  It was by far the prettiest of all the meals I made and also felt super healthy, on top of it being one of my favorites!  I was sad when it was time to make my final Blue Apron meal which was brown butter gnocchi with lemon and brussels sprouts.  Acquah joined me and we paired this one with a Chardonnay I had (the only time I drank with the meals because I had been on anti-biotics for a couple weeks).  Having a glass of wine with the meal was a nice addition (duh).  The meal was so good that I wanted more and this was the only one that I felt like the portion was a little small and I was hungry almost immediately after.

I would definitely recommend Blue Apron to anyone who enjoys cooking.  All the ingredients are mailed to your doorstep and ready to be made.  There is prep for each meal but the instructions make all of that a breeze.  I would say that you need to have basic kitchen/cooking knowledge since time management is key when trying to do a couple things at once.  I felt confident after making the first meal!  I'll definitely get more Blue Apron orders in the future :)

Fundamental LA for Dine LA

To cap off two fabulous Dinners for Dine LA I knew I had some time to grab one last Dine LA experience at Fundamental LA for Lunch.  Located in Westwood it serves creative food from the farmer's market.  I actually decided on this restaurant based on a picture I saw on Instagram of their Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They looked that good!

Lemonade, Quinoa, and a Shrimp Po'Boy at Fundamental LA

For Dine LA they offered a Sandwich or Salad served with a side, a cookie, and a drink all for $15.  I decided on the Shrimp Po'Boy, the Quinoa with dates, cashews, red pepper, and mint.  It had a sweetness to it and I loved how complex it was and how well everything worked together.  The Shrimp Po'Boy was actually a little bit more difficult to eat since it was Tiger Shrimp and they were battered, so you were either eating the whole shrimp or nothing at all.  The batter felt a little heavy but the shrimp were big and juicy!  I also really liked the spicy aioli that came on the sandwich.  The Lemonade I ordered came in a Mason Jar and they brought me mint, free of charge, so I could fancy up my drink.  The cookie was delicious, gooey, freshly-baked, and a perfect end to the meal.

A bunch of their sides sounded really appetizing, Brussels Sprouts, an Orzo Pasta Salad, and Shishito Peppers.  I also thought the Watermelon Chicken Salad, the Albacore Salad, and Grilled Cheese Sandwich sounded amazing.  They have a Lunch Deal that is a Sandwich or Salad, Side and Cookie for $13 so I'll for sure be back to try that.

They only serve Lunch until 3 pm, and when they say that, they actually mean that.  I literally felt rushed through Lunch even though I had ordered by 2:30 pm.  A few minutes after 3 pm I felt like I was in the way and I'm not a big fan of that but I'd go back to try more of their menu anyway.  Overall, I was really happy with the meal and I liked the lay-out of the restaurant, so I will return :) 

Masterchef :)

One of my favorite Competition Cooking Shows is 'Masterchef.'  I think everyone gets to see a softer side of Gordon Ramsey versus his more passionate side on 'Hell's Kitchen.'  I also love Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich who left after last season and Christina Tosi joined the cast this season.  I was elated when my friend, Thi, who is a producer for the show, asked if I would like to attend a VIP Lunch cooked by the contestants on 'Masterchef,' and happily said yes!

Giana & I at the taping for 'Masterchef'

We filmed the 100th episode back in February at the Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes and the episode aired in early July.  Being a fan of the show I knew what to expect:  A couple different courses, prepared by two different teams, with a vote at the end deciding which team would go into a Pressure Test later in the episode that we wouldn't even see.  My Mom and I went to the Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes a couple years ago so I knew the view would be incredible but I had no idea the set-up for 'Masterchef,' would be so elegant, inviting, and fun!  There were over 100 VIP chefs, critics, restauranteurs, bloggers, and guests at the taping.  I was very excited to be amongst so many food people; it was literally a dream come true!  I brought my friend, Giana, with me as well, and after a glass of Champagne we were ready for Lunch.

Our table of VIP Guests...so fancy!

As in any taping of a live show, there's a lot of time you're waiting for cameras, food, and people.  After a quick walk of the red carpet and bartenders making sure our glasses were never empty, we finally got our first course about an hour after we sat down.  There were two foodie firsts for me at this Lunch, and having Caviar for the first time was one of them!  The appetizer included Malpeque Oysters and Royal Ossetra Caviar (which in it's smallest size is available for retail at $144).  *I just looked to find out how much it cost since I had never had Caviar prior to this.*  The entree was starring Duck Breast (another first for me; my Mom had ordered it at Dinner a few times but I never tried it since it always looked a little scary).

The Blue Team presented their appetizer as a Butter Poached Oyster with a Cucumber & Apple Pickle and Caviar Viniagarette.  The Oyster was served on a piece of Endive with a Yogurt as well and really was delicious.  It was light, you got the citrus in the Caviar, and the Oyster was sweet and clean, all the flavors standing out but working together to coexist in one awesome dish.  Lucky for us, we each got three!  Graham asked me what I thought about the dish and I was happy to tell him about how great the dish was and describe like I did above.  The entree was a seared Moroccan spiced Duck with Forbidden Rice and roasted Fennel.  The flavor of the Duck was incredible but according to our table was over-cooked (and I had no idea since it was my first time eating it).  I did notice it wasn't medium rare and difficult to cut but still tasted really flavorful.

Excited to eat some awesome food on the bus ride over to the Golf Course
and then some Giana and Lyndsey spottings during the Episode :)

After our courses we were given a ballot to rate our appetizer and entree and write any notes we had.  When I watched the episode it seemed like both teams had some trouble with the consistency of the Duck and I do believe our Oyster was better but in the end, the Red Team won.  Since neither team knew if they won or lost we all got to enjoy the festivities as well as the Celebration Cake that Christina made.  In typical Lyndsey fashion, I was still hungry and there was plenty of cake to go around so I ended up getting two pieces (I did share some with Giana) and it was glorious!  It was like a Funfetti Cake but better with what I can only describe as Cake Crunchies baked into it.

Cheers to Masterchef's 100th Episode!

Overall, it was such a blast to be involved in one of my favorite cooking shows and also be a part of the 100th episode of 'Masterchef.'  We got a VERY high-end delicious meal, enjoyed some wonderful company and libations, and a fabulous experience.  Now, if only I could Host a Cooking Show!

*You can watch the show here: Masterchef's 100th Episode*

Tapenade for Dine LA

I hit up another Dine LA spot on Friday, taking myself on a little Lunch date.  This time I checked out Tapenade which is located on Olympic & Sawtelle.  It was also a new restaurant and had a four course meal for $20!

My Appetizers...

Tapenade just opened a little over a year ago and serves Lunch and Dinner.  They also have a nice Happy Hour that serves full-size appetizers at half price in addition to a bunch of other great specials.  Apparently, their portions were so big for the first week of Dine LA that they changed their menu up a little.  I had picked that specific restaurant because of the menu and assured the Bartender/Manager that I would finish my meal and not throw anything away even saying to give me a smaller portion of the first appetizer.  He finally agreed but it took lots of prodding.

My meal started with the Italian-style Brussel Sprouts that had currants, pine nuts, Parmesan and vinegar.  It's a close tie with the Goat Cheese Brussel Sprouts at Freddy Smalls, because those are my favorite and these were just as good but just different.  I'll definitely go back in and try those again or the other Thai-style with mango and chili's.  Next up I did the Goat Cheese Tapenade that was served with Rosemary Bread.  I loved the goat cheese but I thought the olive tapenade was a little over-powering.  I had no problem finishing the sprouts but started to slow down after three pieces of bread and my entree hadn't even arrived!

Mushroom Fettuccine with Parmesan

I was actually chatting about food and dinner parties with a nice woman sitting just a couple bar-stools down from me and her daughter was involved in theater and music so it was nice to share insight and advice when she met up with her Mom right after my entree arrived.  I ordered the Mushroom Fettucine with chives and Parmesan.  Luckily, there wasn't a cream sauce or I think I would have fallen off my stool!  It was delicious and I loved the mushrooms but I was filling up quickly so I had them box the rest of my Lunch (only a third of my entree and one piece of the rosemary bread) so I could get to dessert.  The dessert I chose was a Chocolate Nutella Pot de Creme with a coffee cream and berries.  It was so yummy but I was so full.  I needed to finish though because I wanted to show the guy I could finish the meal but unfortunately, his shift ended early and I didn't get to prove my huge appetite.  Ah well.  So I didn't waste anything :)

Nutella Pot de Creme

Tapenade did a great job giving a wide variety of choices and providing me with a nice hearty meal.  I actually can't wait to go back and explore more of their menu.  Who's in?!

Beverly Hills Friday!

After making sure Dad had Lunch and would be occupied for the afternoon, Mom and I headed into Beverly Hills for her Belated Birthday Present.  I was taking her to Lunch at Crustacean which would be something fun and new for her and since I've only been there once as well I couldn't wait to go back and share it with her!

Crustacean is so elegant and as we were seated at a table by some beautiful flowers we decided on our appetizers and got the Coconut Prawns and Rock Shrimp Tempura.  Since it was Friday we couldn't have any meat but neither of us was really interested in anything aside from fish and since Crustacean is known for their seafood we were going to be doing the entire experience!  The Prawns were good but the Marmalade Orange Sauce was the kicker, it was phenomenal!  The Rock Shrimp Tempura was a little bland in my opinion and needed a kick with the spicy mayo and I still have to say that Katsuya has the best Rock Shrimp Tempura I've ever had.

Our entree's and the Garlic Noodles came next!  The Garlic Noodles were as great as I remembered them from my first time there and Mom liked them a lot as well.  We decided to share two entrees getting the Steamed Sole and Roasted Corn & Mushrooms in this amazing sesame miso vinaigrette which really complimented the dish.  I really wanted something close to sushi so I ordered the Seared Tuna with Greens & Noodles that was served cold, so that made it interesting.  The dressing was light but once again needed a little kick to it.  I was happy to see there was plenty of Tuna and it was perfectly seared and delicious.

Lunch at Crustacean with Mom!

After Dinner we weren't too full to walk over to Sprinkles and pick out some Cupcakes to take home and sample.  I've only had a couple flavors so we decided to get the Black & White (which is my FAVORITE) the Vanilla with Milk Chocolate, Lemon Coconut, and one that was just like a Hostess Cupcake.  We brought them home to Dad and had a nice little dessert sampler and he even tried some of our leftovers from Crustacean!  Way to be adventurous, Dad!

Mom and I had a great Lunch and lot of fun chatting over some yummy food, in a beautiful atmosphere and there was no one else I would have rather shared it with :)