Sweet Heart Pasta and Cigar

The past two evenings, I created a pretty easy pasta dish. My pasta dishes are called Sweet Heart Pasta, perfect for the up and coming Valentines day. I used two pastas, one was a butternut squash pasta and the other was a lobster ravioli. It's a simple sweet delightful dish that pairs with a glass wine and a chocolate flavored cigar by Don Rigo or you can add a piece of chocolate for your sweet heart.

This  candy stripe colored pasta filled with butternut squash is by Pasta Prima. I boiled my pasta for about 5 minutes.  I dressed the bottom of the plate with spinach, topped it with the pasta, red vodka pasta sauce( various brands sell it), added a few smoked oysters and sprinkled some grated cheese on top (Parmesan, Asiago and Romano). Some garlic toast was added and voila! I paired it with a red wine and my chocolate cigar for later.

This is a second version of my sweet heart pasta. This pasta is a lobster ravioli. It's great to use because of its orange/red color on the outside. I grilled some shrimp in a light marinade and topped it on the pasta, sparingly added some vodka pasta sauce and dressed the side of the plate with spinach. You can shape the spinach in a heart shape for a more dramatic effect. I served this with a glass of red wine and a chocolate cigar.

Usually seafood dishes pairs better with white wines but I chose a red for this occasion. Red wines could go with fish when there is a bolder spicier sauce and there are other exceptions. The objective is to match the wine's body to the fish. You could use what you prefer of course. Here is an article that explains when and what wines red wines is okay with fish. http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/May-2010/Wine-101-Pairing-Red-Wine-with-Fish/

Tonight Thai Curry Shrimp over Jasmine Rice & My Cigar

This was ridiculously good. I still have a lot left. I wanted to get back to eating strictly seafood especially after the superbowl. I had a small party and I cooked for the game. I am so thrilled that I got to show off some of my skills.

So tonight I wanted to make a Thai favorite, Thai Curry Shrimp. This recipe is pretty easy. In one pot, I started cooking my jasmine rice. In my wok, I starting warming my coconut milk. A fourteen ounce can of coconut milk is good. I brought it to a boil, then a simmer and started stirring in my red curry sauce. You could use a red curry paste or whatever you could find. At least four heaping tablespoons of it will work. You can add some curry powder for a richer curry taste. Stir frequently until you bring to a boil, then lower the fire to a simmer. Then I stirred in some frozen vegetables. I used a half of bag of peas and carrots (8 ounces) and another half of bag of Asian vegetables ( 8ounces). The Asian vegetables has snap peas and water chestnuts. I love peas in this dish because peas are sweet and it just comes out really delicious. I brought the sauce and vegetables to a boil then reduced the fire. Then I added my shrimp. You can add as much shrimp as you like. Sixteen ounces may do the trick. Stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Then cover and let it sit for a few minutes. This is usually served on top of  jasmine rice. It really is a delicious dish. It's simple and quick.

I served it tonight with a nice chilled MGD Beer and a cigar for later. Cheers to you.

Cigar Music- Habla Me

What a lovely chill back song, great for a cigar or taking a bike ride along the lake or beach. During the summer, I pack my music, water, a bit of money, a cigar and I take long rides along the trails. The one trail I frequent, goes into some really beautiful woods. I love to blast music like this. I will stop at my turn around point, unpack my cigar,water and chill with a smoke. This song actually makes me reflect on these summer rides. The smell of the woods, the butterflies soaring low and landing on the leaves... the trees and flowers glistening after a light rain...

That's what it's all about, basking in life's many luxuries, even the simple things, and topping it of with a great cigar.

Cheers.

Pineapple Red Curry Chicken & Cigar

Last night, I made Pineapple Red Curry Chicken. The key to this is to add just enough spicyness for your palette and just enough pineapple so it doesn't dominate the dish. So basically, you can add as much red curry paste as you want and as much pineapple as you wish to suit your taste buds.

Key ingredients are red curry paste, pineapple chunks and coconut milk. Additional ingredients are curry powder and a bit of cayenne pepper.

I browned 2 pounds of ground chicken for this recipe because it was on sale but for best results, you can cut up some chicken breast and cook it in a wok. After cooking your chicken, add approximately 4 tablespoons of red curry paste. Stir  the paste in the chicken until it is well coated. Toss in  14 ounces of coconut milk and any additional ingredients, then stir.

I added some orange sweet peppers along with my pineapple chunks. I like to dice the pineapple down to smaller bits. Stir all your ingredients. Cover and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, stir if needed. Then  prepare your rice of choice.

And voila! Here is the photo of my pineapple red curry chicken, my after dinner cigar and a nice glass of petite sirah-- my wine choice for the evening.

Beautiful Asian Chicken lettuce Wraps & Cigar Tonight!

I told you I was a terrific cook. So why not express this side here on my blog? The men in my house (my significant other and son) love it. And I love cooking for them. A terrific meal is like a great cigar. The preparation should be done well and the experience should be enjoyable. ...Love for great food, great drinks, great cigars is what it's all about. It's about pleasure, fulfillment and truly living. 

My creation this evening was these delicious lettuce wraps with basmati rice

I crushed some roasted peanuts and chopped up green onions.

I browned some ground chicken and tossed it in a wok with my sauce. You can use a teriyaki sauce with some rice vinegar, your favorite cooking wine and seasonings. Sometimes you can find lettuce wrap sauce in an ethnic isle at your favorite grocery store.

After mixing the sauce with my browned ground chicken, I threw in my crushed roasted peanuts and chopped green onions and mixed it all together. I stirred the ingredients frequently over a high heat for about 7 minutes. In the mean time I prepared my lettuce for my wraps.

And voila. I dressed the bottom of the plate with romaine lettuce and I used iceberg lettuce for the wraps. On the side is basmati rice which is a favorite rice of mine. I have a nice glass of Cabernet sauvignon and my favorite chili sauce and a cigar!

Notes: I love to have chili sauce on hand. This particular Asian dish has a hint of sweetness. And the chili sauce offsets the sweetness. It makes a great pair. Even though basmati rice is a long grain rice grown in India, I prefer it over a jasmine rice. There is something wholesomely good about basmati rice. Its aroma and texture is so comforting and compliments well with many dishes. Plus it takes less time to cook. And I think you will enjoy it too. This is a pretty healthy and hearty recipe. I enjoyed every bit of it. Now I am topping it off with a nice cigar. Cheers!

Craft Beer and Cigars Tonight!

So, What do I do, on Friday nights, if I stay in? I make it special. I may cook something I really like, buy a new drink, or simply try something new. Tonight, I decided to make it, a craft beer night. I went to a local large chain that sells an assortment of spirits and cigars. They had a special on craft beers. So I decided to try a couple tonight. I have a Vanilla Porter by Breckenridge Brewery and Jack Stout by the Wild Onion Brewing Company, a small bowl of Snyder's pretzels dipped in dark chocolate, and a Don Rigo Biaggio Cigar.

 
The Biaggio cigar is has Cubano and Dominican seeds, lots of flavor but has a subtle and smooth finish and could be pretty much paired with a lot of different drinks. 

Vanilla Porter

I started with the lighter of the two beers, which was the Vanilla Porter. Vanilla Porter has ale brewed with real vanilla beans. I did not have any chocolate pretzels with this beer. I paired it with my cigar. I really liked it for an ale. Usually, I prefer stouts because they are  fuller and maltier. But this went well with my medium body cigar. It had lots of flavor. It did not disappoint me. The Vanilla Porter was mild and mellow to my palette.  It was a smooth beer with a hint of sweetness. You can taste the richness of the malt as you swallow. The cigar and the Vanilla Porter did not overpower one another. It was a yummy pair. Now, I am not an expert in spirit and cigar pairings. But I had no arguments here. 

More about this beer: http://www.breckbrew.com/brews/vanilla-porter

Jack Stout

The Jack Stout was pretty good too. It's a very full-bodied oatmeal stout. The beer is brewed with five different roasted malts. It's rich, creamy, full, dark in color, malty and you can smell the espresso before taking the initial taste. It is rich with espresso and chocolate. These are a couple of my favorite things, in a beer. I paired this beer with the chocolate pretzels and the cigar. It' was great with the cigar, but sometimes there is a such thing as too much of a good thing. So I will not have chocolate with this beer again. The beer had a lingering sweetness with the chocolate pretzels that I did not like. And the beer already has  just  a small hint of sweetness, but nothing too overpowering, to even notice. So the pretzels wasn't the better choice to pair with this beer. This probably would have paired better with a steak or cheese. Overall, the beer is another winner. And I wish I would have made a nice steak tonight to accompany this beer. But it was a lesson.

More about this beer: http://www.onionbrewery.com/tradition/

Cheers!

Discuss My Experience: The Cigar Lounge, Schaumburg, IL

Chilling at "The Cigar Lounge" in Schaumburg, IL

Larry, Owner of "The Cigar Lounge" in Schaumburg, IL

So I started a new project called "Discuss My Experience" as you see on the Tab to the left. "Discuss My Experience" features and showcases my Cigar Adventures in or around town, as I take a stop in at some of Chicago's friendliest, most bustling cigar lounges. All cigar lounges will not be on my list of course. And the reason why I say this, is because some of them suck!  I have argued with my beau, in the past, about what cigar lounges are suppose to be like. I get that a lot of men frequent there. But there are more women cigar smokers, now. And we would like to have a place to go as well. Women cigar smokers may go with a male companion, few may go by themselves, some may smoke at home or others make smoke at a bar that has comfortable outdoor seating.  And I am yelling right now as I write this. I am angry. I have been so uncomfortable, so unwanted and so mistreated in the past. But not all cigar lounges are this way. But there are some really crappy ones out there. If I could put them on a public shit list, I would. But that would not be right. And I wouldn't do that, anyway. But anyway, I have to get it all out.

I want to feel welcomed. I want to feel appreciated. I want to feel comfortable and I want to be able to sit down and smoke my entire cigar without getting up to leave because the room feels unwelcoming and  uninviting. Some of the patrons at these cigar lounges look over as if they want to say, "What are you doing here"?  And I just want to say back, "I am having a smoke dammit. Just like you. What are you doing here"?

And at last, I do not want to sit on top of another patron while I smoke my cigar. It's fine for some of you guys, but I do not want to do that.

Okay, I feel better now. My significant other says I will not get everything I want out of a cigar lounge. And he says sometimes people are not nice. I explained that I did not care. If I am spending my money, I don't expect the patrons to be nice, but I expect the people who run the facility, to treat me with respect or like any other patron there. But many of these cigar lounges do not care because they have plenty of male patrons. And I get that these businesses are not going to roll out the red carpet or anything. But I just want to feel welcomed. That is all...Bada bing bada boom!

And I get it. Some of us patrons are really annoying.  I can just imagine some business owners may be thinking, "just buy the darn cigar, and go sit down somewhere for goodness sake". We CAN be a bit annoying. I know. But I guess  we all come with different needs. And we all have different  reasons why we frequent the places we like. So this is the reason why I have developed the project, "Discuss My Experience".

------------------------------------------------------------------------

But anyway, I took a 15 minute trip to a place called "The Cigar Lounge" in Schaumburg, IL. And it was totally unexpected. The place was huge. You have leather seating in the front, a man made fire place made out of cigar boxes, an elegant pool room, cabinets of cigars that grace the perimeter of the entire front area, a large back room area with additional seating like tall leather stools and tables, leather lounge chairs and more , funky ashtrays everywhere, some ashtrays were standing, off to the side was a sweet conference room for meetings. Plus a lovely young woman named Brianne greats you, when you walk in. I really liked it. Larry the owner briefed me about the place and its amenities and introduced me to some new cigars. I decided to try the San Cristobal Elegancia. It was a great daytime cigar. It was nice , mild, smooth and crisp. I will follow up with a rating in the following days. But anyway, here is the kicker. And it really doesn't matter because the place is so great. No BYOB and no alcohol whatsoever. I know some cigar lounges allow you to bring booze but I thought the place was really cool. This is why. There are different areas. There is a front area for seating in case you do not want to go back to the main room. The front area reminds me of a far more luxurious Starbucks. You can chill up there and have a smoke especially if you rather  retreat from the main room. The back area is perfect for game days, night time functions and pulling out your laptop if you want to do some work during the day. I saw a guy taking a nap. I am assuming he snoozed off after having a cigar. The conference room is perfect for business meetings or simply working away from your regular office for the day. The pool room is particularly special. You can have fun, laugh with friends or sit on one of the leather stools to have a cigar while observing a game of pool. Of course you have to be there to experience this. And I did not take pictures of the lounge because their website was a better source. But there is a couple of me. Larry is in one photo with me.

Cheers!

Visit the Link:  The Cigar Lounge in Schaumburg, IL