Restaurant Review: Walnut Grove, Wexford, PA

The other night, my husband and I were driving around tossing out possibilities of places to eat.   We considered some of our usual places, such as a Chinese buffet in Cranberry that we have grown to love (he can get his sushi, I can get…well, everything else) or the Olive Garden.  But seeing as our budget has been a little tight lately, we wanted to do something new, and special.  More than a gigantic plate of pasta, we were craving an experience.  And Walnut Grove was just that.

The decor was a very contemporary mix of unexpected colors and textures, for example, the ultra iridescent tiles on the walls were very cool.  They were very busy and we were seated in a seperate room toward the back of the restuarant where there was a small rehearsal dinner going on, which I would have been annoyed about if it wasn’t so damn cute to watch.  But, the booths that we passed looked so comfy that I wish we would have waited for one.  Our waiter happened to be in training, so not only was he super enthusiastic, but also very, ridiculously attentive.  Between him and the waitress who was training him, we felt like VIPs.

We started with the Chicken Lettuce Wraps as an appetizer, which consisted of bite size chicken pieces in a sweet chili sauce with caramelized walnuts, crispy noodles, cucumbers and red onions along with an iceberg lettuce wedge for wrapping.  OMG.  So GOOD.  There was enough for about 2 wraps each for Hubby and I, but I could have eaten much, much more.  If they had this as an entree, that’s what I would get next time.  I have searched the entire internet (well, Google searched) for a recipe for the sweet chili sauce, to no avail.  That’s the good thing about chain restaurants, there’s always a copy cat recipe floating around.  I guess I’m going to have to experiment on this one.  Anyway, A+.

For dinner, I ordered the Parmesean Crusted Chicken.  I just saw “basil tomato cream sauce” and I was sold.  The sauce and the gnocchi that it came with were fantastic.  While the chicken was somewhat covered in some cheesey goodness, the “parmesean crust” that I expected from the name of the entree was nowhere to be found.  B+.

Hubby ordered the Sweet and Spicy Chicken, which is what I should have ordered.   It was also in a sweet chili sauce, and it had these awesome glazed and very, very hot jalopeno slices laying across the top of the chicken.  For his sides, he ordered french fries, which were better than you would get at most places, and ratatouille.  For those who don’t know (I didn’t), this is a combination of seasonal veggies (zucchini,tomato, squash, onion, corn, etc) quickly sauteed in a deliciously sweet and light tomato sauce.  I was pretty much in love with it, to Hubby’s dismay.  A.

We finished with a Walnut Ball, which was icecream rolled in candied walnuts and covered in fudge.  I can’t imagine anything better….I probably don’t have to say that we inhaled this in about 3 minutes flat. Of course, the portion was a bit on the small side.  A.

While we were served fairly large portions (we both took home small boxes), the difference between Walnut Grove and most other restaurants is that everything we ate there just felt so much lighter.  I love an enormous plate of pasta as much as the next girl, but, not wanting to roll out of the restaurant when finished was a nice change.  And while the food was great, it was the experience of trying unexpected foods that we enjoyed more than anything.  I was cringing before I opened the bill, but it was really not as bad as expected.  For around $50, we had tea, an appetizer, entrees, and dessert.  Not too shabby.  Overall, A. We can’t wait to go back.

*ps. – in case you don’t live near Wexford, there is also a Walnut Grove in Fox Chapel.

**pss.  If you love food and you haven’t seen Julie & Julia, go see it!  Right now!  It’s supercute, and you can rent it at Redbox for $1!  Disclaimer – it may give you the urge to cook with enormous amounts of butter.

Cashew Encrusted Pork

When my husband and I first started dating I was living in a house near my college campus with two other girls. This was my first real experience with being on my own and having a kitchen of my “own” to cook in. Of course I went crazy and planned all kinds of amazing meals for that special guy in my life. This is one recipe that pretty much sealed the deal for me getting that sparkly ring 😉 Three years later and I still love to make it for him. The original recipe was taken from Kraft Foods.com but I made a few tweaks. You can find the original recipe here.

Cashew Encrusted Pork, Photo by Ariel

Cashew Encrusted Pork with Peaches
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Taken From: Kraft Foods.com

Ingredients:
1. 2 Tbsp. dried tarragon leaves
2. 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3. 1 Tbsp. honey
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced (I’m somewhat lazy, but I love garlic, so I usually have jarred minced garlic on hand, that’s what I generally use)
5. 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
6. 1 tsp. salt
7. 1 tsp. white pepper (I think white pepper has an extra kick to it over black)
8. 1 lb. boneless pork tenderloin, trimmed of any visible fat
9. 1 cup finely chopped cashew pieces (I used my handy dandy food chopper….amazing!)
10. 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
11. 2 cans (15 oz. each) peach slices in light syrup, drained
12. 1 Tbsp. sage
13. 1 Tbsp. sugar
14. I tsp. thyme

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F Place tarragon, sage, sugar, thyme, brown sugar, honey and garlic in food processor container; cover. Process until mixture forms a thick paste. Add 1 tsp. of the oil; cover. Process until well blended. Mix in remaining 1 tsp. oil if necessary for spreading consistency.

2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over pork. Rub tarragon mixture over pork; roll in pecans to evenly coat all sides. Place onions and peaches in foil-lined 13×9-inch baking pan; top with pork. Cover with additional foil.

3. Bake 1 hour or until pork is cooked through, removing foil from top of pork for last 10 minutes of baking time. (This is really to be determined with your oven. When I made this the first time in an older over it took nearly two hours. When I make it now in a newer non-fancy oven it’s good in about an hour. Just keep checking.)

Pork in the picture is shown with Birds Eye steam fresh veggies with cheese, which I highly recommend for a quick and tasty side! My sister in law introduced them to me and it’s just another reason I love her 😉 don’t be turned off by the peach/onion combo, I give you my word it’s pretty dang amazing. You can also substitute this recipe with chicken breast (I’ve tried it!) and it turns out well too, just obviously lower the cook time.

Yum!

Crunchy Onion Chicken and Parmesan Potatoes

One of my favorite things to do is look through cooking magazines. For my wedding a friend of ours got us a subscription to Taste of Home magazine. Would you believe that out of all the amazing dishes in the October/November issue the recipe that stuck out the most was actually one printed on a French’s french fried onion advertisement? Anyway, I’m not afraid to admit that I tried the recipe out and liked it a lot! Granted I could eat a whole can of those onion things, but I digress. Here’s a two-for-one for our first EDM post: Crunchy Onion Chicken and Parmesan Potatoes, enjoy!

Crunchy Onion Chicken
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min
Taken From: Taste of Home Magazine

Ingredients:
1. 2 Cups (4 oz.) French fried onions
2. 1 tsp. salt
3. 1 tsp. pepper
4. 1 tsp. garlic salt (I like garlic, so I basically use more like 3 tbsp!)
5. 4 Boneless Chicken breast
6. 1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Crush french fried onion in plastic bag
2. Mix egg, salt, pepper, and garlic salt together
3. Dip chicken in egg, then coat in onion crumbs
4. Bake 20 Min. at 400 degrees until cooked through (My oven is pretty hardcore, I only needed 15 Min.)

Parmesan Potatoes
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 10 Min.
Cook Time: 45 Min.
Taken From: Kraft Foods.com

Ingredients
1. 2 lb. new potatoes (about 20), quartered
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. 1-1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1/3 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions
1. HEAT oven to 400ºF.
2. TOSS potatoes with oil, seasoning and garlic. Add cheese; mix lightly.
3. SPREAD onto bottom of 15x10x1-inch pan.
4. BAKE 45 min. or until potatoes are tender.

my flirtation with food

Some people are just naturally talented cooks.  Perhaps they are born that way, or they grow up with another naturally talented cook, whose talent inevitably rubs off on them.  They are culinarily gifted, and they just know what is going to taste good.  (And yes, “culinarily” is, in fact, a word…I just looked it up.)

This was not me.  Up until I moved in with my husband (my fiancé at the time), my experience in the kitchen was limited to over-baking chicken and burning grilled cheese.  Seriously, my mom used to say, “You know, you’re never going to get a man unless you learn how to cook!”  Horrible, I know, but she was only joking…I think.  Luckily, I did “find a man” who had no idea what a horrible cook I was, and I had no intentions of letting him find out.  I would scour the internet for recipes and their ratings, and follow them to a T, measuring out every single ingredient individually so that I couldn’t possibly mess anything up.

The more I cooked, the more I started to love food.  I started watching Top Chef, trying out unfamiliar spices, and buying all kinds of new, fresh ingredients.  It was so empowering to put together all these random and different components, some that taste terrible on their own, but, when combined in the right way, make a delicious, mouth-watering meal.  But my absolute favorite thing about food is that food is universal.  No matter what race, gender, or religion…everyone eats!  It’s the one thing we all have in common.  Plus, food is what we put into our bodies, people!  What I’m trying to say is…it’s pretty important.  And I am obsessed with it.

I am a good cook, maybe not through natural talent, but through trial, error, and a lot of practice…so, there truly is hope for everyone.  I briefly considered going to culinary school, but I really don’t have the palette for it, as seafood makes me want to vomit.  I’m still trying to figure out how I can apply my love of food in the real world to benefit myself and others, and in the meantime, I plan to start documenting my food obsession here.  Along with Ariel, who always has an awesome recipe to share, I plan on posting about all things food.  There is a tasty episode of Top Chef on tonight, so you can expect a recap on that tomorrow :-).  Please Enjoy!

Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want. ~Gael Greene

Welcome!

I thought I would kick off the new blog with an excellent quote about food by Gael Greene.  Eat, Drink, and be Married is run by two newlywed women in the western PA area.  We love to cook and experiment in the kitchen, and our wonderful family and friends have helped us in our quest for kitchen domination via our wedding registries.  We’ll be sharing our kitchen successes as well as a tasty adult beverage recipe here and there and if you’re in the Pittsburgh area we’ll have some fantastic reviews of local places to eat and drink.  Bree also happens to be a Tastefully Simple consultant, so I’m pretty pumped to see her beer bread recipe 😉  She will be posting an intro herself, so be sure to check back for our updates!