Six Penn Kitchen
146 6th Street
Pittsburgh, PA
412-566-7366
Last night my friends and I headed out to see Six Penn Kitchen, a beautiful upscale dining restaurant at the caddy corner across from Heinz Hall. This place was truly a wonderful restaurant to visit. The restaurant, large and spacious, is at the same time cozy and personal. I'm glad we got reservations, as upon entering we spotted plenty of groups and couples crammed in the bar and lounge areas of the restaurant. My friends and I were seated very comfortably on the second floor of Six Penn, in a warm and intimate dining space with log fire.
Our server, friendly and informative, shared with us the specials of the day: a pan-seared Ahi Tuna and a wood-stove grilled Snapper. As a starter we were served crisp flatbread and a focaccia with chutney; very delicious. We started our meal with the restuarant's famous cornbread, served in a hot skillet, with molasses butter on the side. We also ordered as appetizers: empanadas and calamari. Quick review: all three were delicious. The best was the calamari - very crisp with pieces of squid and shrimp, nice aioli sauce and tangy dipping sauce. The empanadas were good, but there was not enough of the chorizo filling; very nice side sauces. The cornbread - nice and warm with delicious butter; very good.
Entrees: We had a big variety. The Risotto - great, creamy, filling, with sweet chunks of butternut squash. The crab cakes; excellent fresh lump crab meet; They weren't the best crab cakes I have had (The top of my list is the light fluffy crab cakes of Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, followed by those served at a lovely French place I visited in Bethesda, Maryland), but very tasty, nice side with asparagus, greens, and prosciutto. Good sauce on top. The pork chops - nice and red on teh inside, flavorful with citrus. The Ahi Tuna was deliciously minty. Overall: the entrees were pleasing, but this is a restaurant where I did enjoy the appetizers better than my main dish.
In short: great restaurant; a wonderful place to go to before the Symphony. Pricey ($25-$40 per person depending on what you order, plus drinks) but they serve a good amount of food and it is well presented. Take your parents to this place.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Thursday, February 09, 2006
You Sexy Thing
Recipe for Hot Chocolate
This is a basic one, but it was recently requested by a friend. In my opinion this basic recipe makes the best hot chocolate. As you're drinking it, a sheet of melted chocolate/cream will form on to the top of the chocolate as you drink it, and gives it wonderful texture.
I use Burdick's chocolate, which is my main secret to the recipe, but if you have any real chocolate and shave/grate it, you will be able to make something similar.
Take milk and heat it, stirring often so that it doesn't burn at the bottom of your pot. Once it gets foamy then whisk in as much chocolate as you want till well blended. You can heat it for a few more seconds or remove. Also, you can add sugar and/or flavored syrup to give it extra flavor. This may be expecially important if you use Burdick's dark chocolate. If you want to make the hot chocolate very creamy, then use half'n'half instead of milk. If you want an extra sweat hot chocolate, make a Black and white - using dark chocolate and white chocolate.
And for even more extra zing, replace the flavored syrup with some peppermint schnapps at the very end. Sweetness with kick. Mmm.
This is a basic one, but it was recently requested by a friend. In my opinion this basic recipe makes the best hot chocolate. As you're drinking it, a sheet of melted chocolate/cream will form on to the top of the chocolate as you drink it, and gives it wonderful texture.
I use Burdick's chocolate, which is my main secret to the recipe, but if you have any real chocolate and shave/grate it, you will be able to make something similar.
Take milk and heat it, stirring often so that it doesn't burn at the bottom of your pot. Once it gets foamy then whisk in as much chocolate as you want till well blended. You can heat it for a few more seconds or remove. Also, you can add sugar and/or flavored syrup to give it extra flavor. This may be expecially important if you use Burdick's dark chocolate. If you want to make the hot chocolate very creamy, then use half'n'half instead of milk. If you want an extra sweat hot chocolate, make a Black and white - using dark chocolate and white chocolate.
And for even more extra zing, replace the flavored syrup with some peppermint schnapps at the very end. Sweetness with kick. Mmm.
Jocks 'n' Nerds
For the lame showing that the med schoolers made at my house party last month, I have to say that we have a lot to show for it. The pictures came out amazing and the events seem to be pretty memorable. Thanks to everyone who came; it was fun to get together.
So I am back very late from an evening at the DEC. Most of the people I've talked to give it mixed reviews, but I have had a great time so far. It's all about taking initiative and asking questions about patients. It also sometimes requires you to stay longer than you expected, but talking to the patient (and bungling it up as I did) was an experience I value! Anyway, enough preaching.
I can't wait to go to the orchestra this weekend. I'm looking forward to hearing both Ravel and Brahms, and the solo pianist will be Garrick Ohlsson, who I look forward to also hearing at Carnegie Music Hall in a few months. And we'll be checking out Six Penn Avenue - a new restaurant - before the show. The review is forthcoming.
So I am back very late from an evening at the DEC. Most of the people I've talked to give it mixed reviews, but I have had a great time so far. It's all about taking initiative and asking questions about patients. It also sometimes requires you to stay longer than you expected, but talking to the patient (and bungling it up as I did) was an experience I value! Anyway, enough preaching.
I can't wait to go to the orchestra this weekend. I'm looking forward to hearing both Ravel and Brahms, and the solo pianist will be Garrick Ohlsson, who I look forward to also hearing at Carnegie Music Hall in a few months. And we'll be checking out Six Penn Avenue - a new restaurant - before the show. The review is forthcoming.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Recipe experimentation
I've been experimenting with recipes for delicious baked concoctions. I thought I would at least record [and hopefully thus share] some of my recent discoveries.
Ricotta Cookies (modified from Richard's Ricotta Cookies recipe #78956 at RecipeZaar)
1 stick unsalted butter (softened, please)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
lemon zest
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
dash vanilla
In medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar, add one egg, add ricotta cheese and mix well. add vanilla, almond extract, lemon zest and mix well again to incorporate air. Add dry mixture to wet little by little, mixing well after each. Drop the dough onto cookie sheets in small mounded teaspoons. Batter will spread a lot in the oven. Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes till bottom edges are just golden. Allow to cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet, remove to racks. While cookies are warm, drizzle with glaze. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Ricotta Sour Cream Cheesecake (modified from Kim 127's Sour Cream Cheesecake recipe #60044 on Recipezaar.com)
Crust:
10 graham cracker squares, crushed well
½ stick butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
2 eggs, separated
1 c sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½-2/3 c. Ricotta
1 c. sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
Lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
Instructions: Mix the crust ingredients together thoroughly, and press into bottom of pie plate. You can use a springform pan for this recipe if you want to have a nicer presentation, but I find a springform cheesecake to be way too big and a little harder to arrange.
Beat egg yellows well, add in sugar, cream cheese, ricotta, extracts, lemon zest, and salt. Mix for a long time to incorporate lots of air into mixture. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks uniformly in bowl. *For these last two parts you need to add ingredients very carefully and mix as little as possible). Fold egg whites carefully into egg-cheese mixture. Add sour cream and just barely mix to make uniform. Pour overtop of crust. Bake at 350 F for 40-50min in a water bath to prevent cracks in the cheesecake. Allow to cool for at least one hour in the oven, then allow to slow cool outside for another 1/2 hour. Then remove to refrigerator to complete chilling process. Slow cooling of the cheesecake is very important.
Optional: you can add a fruit topping on top of the cheesecake.
Ricotta Cookies (modified from Richard's Ricotta Cookies recipe #78956 at RecipeZaar)
1 stick unsalted butter (softened, please)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
lemon zest
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
dash vanilla
In medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar, add one egg, add ricotta cheese and mix well. add vanilla, almond extract, lemon zest and mix well again to incorporate air. Add dry mixture to wet little by little, mixing well after each. Drop the dough onto cookie sheets in small mounded teaspoons. Batter will spread a lot in the oven. Bake at 325 F for 10-12 minutes till bottom edges are just golden. Allow to cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet, remove to racks. While cookies are warm, drizzle with glaze. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Ricotta Sour Cream Cheesecake (modified from Kim 127's Sour Cream Cheesecake recipe #60044 on Recipezaar.com)
Crust:
10 graham cracker squares, crushed well
½ stick butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
2 eggs, separated
1 c sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½-2/3 c. Ricotta
1 c. sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
Lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
Instructions: Mix the crust ingredients together thoroughly, and press into bottom of pie plate. You can use a springform pan for this recipe if you want to have a nicer presentation, but I find a springform cheesecake to be way too big and a little harder to arrange.
Beat egg yellows well, add in sugar, cream cheese, ricotta, extracts, lemon zest, and salt. Mix for a long time to incorporate lots of air into mixture. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks uniformly in bowl. *For these last two parts you need to add ingredients very carefully and mix as little as possible). Fold egg whites carefully into egg-cheese mixture. Add sour cream and just barely mix to make uniform. Pour overtop of crust. Bake at 350 F for 40-50min in a water bath to prevent cracks in the cheesecake. Allow to cool for at least one hour in the oven, then allow to slow cool outside for another 1/2 hour. Then remove to refrigerator to complete chilling process. Slow cooling of the cheesecake is very important.
Optional: you can add a fruit topping on top of the cheesecake.
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