After we left San Francisco, we headed South by way of California’s Monterrey Peninsula, which was just a spectacular experience. Part of what made the journey that much more enjoyable was the delectable, natural food we had at our disposal, and it was really difficult to have anything that wasn’t delicious.
I did some research on Carmel’s restaurants, as I usually do, only to find a lot of gems, which were also very pricey. Doing some more digging, I decided that heading to Carmel’s quaint town called Carmel by the Sea would be a nice place to have dinner, and I found a cute little, low-key restaurant called Basil Seasonal Dining that ended up being our dinner destination.
Atmosphere:
Set in the heart of Carmel by the Sea, it’s a wonder that Basil Seasonal Dining remains a hidden gem. It must be its stealth location, as Dan and I inadvertently passed it on our way over since it’s situated in a little tributary street right off of Ocean St.
We noticed a few tables outside, but since Carmel gets to be quite chilly at night, we chose to dine in Basil’s cozy dining room. It’s a good thing we had a reservation, since the place was almost full, which was a good sign.
Dan remarked at how tiny it actually was, the dining room housing only about 25 patrons – and we loved that. We hadn’t really had an intimate, romantic meal up to that point in the trip, and this created a nice opportunity.
Food:
While the menu wasn’t wildly extensive, it had just what we needed, and we were excited by a lot of the menu items. The wine selection was quite nice too, and boasted a few local varieties, which we naturally had to sample.
Tuna Tartare – We were totally taken with this appetizer special, which sounded delicious and hinted at Asian flavors. I enjoyed it very much, as the tuna was fresh and cut into bite size pieces, resting on a bed of chunky avocado salad. Refreshing and light, we both agreed that it was a great way to start, and to keep our palates neutral, in preparation of the heartier dishes still to come.
Braised Rabbit – I was curious to try Basil’s take on a braised rabbit dish, which was paired with locally grown veggies such as heirloom cauliflower and romanesco. A modest helping of homemade gnocchi also graced the dish, which was a big highlight for me – the soft, pillowy pieces catching the rabbit’s hearty braising liquid. The meat itself was really flavorful and cooked perfectly – not too gamey or tough but tender, juicy and a tad earthy.
Wild Boar Sausage Wrapped in Prosciutto – Dan was a very happy customer, devouring the sausage dish, but still managing to share with me. I was grateful, as it was a real treat, the salty, well done prosciutto being my favorite part. Boasting some fresh pieces of basil, it was nice to actually tear some into the dish for a hint of lemony freshness.
Service and Cost:
The service was yet another success at Basil, our waiter showing off his knowledge of food and drink, but also his professionalism, all at the same time maintaining that characteristic, Carmel laid-back vibe. We never felt that we waited too long for anything and generally felt well looked after.
All the food is very well priced, considering the locally sourced ingredients and their high quality. The entire dinner set us back about $95, including drinks, tip and tax.
3 Mmmms
Basil Seasonal Dining - San Carlos between Ocean & 7th, Carmel, CA 93921
831.626.8226
www.basilcarmel.com
Since Dan and I are leaving for vacation soon, I'm trying to be as resourceful as I can with the items still left in our fridge. Whipping up this "fridge clean-up" pasta dish, it did a good job of tiding us over while at the same time using lots of left over veggies and some Brazilian pork sausage too, for some protein. I harvested my basil plants too, as you can see and picked off all their leaves to create a quick, homemade pesto. Hope you enjoy it as well, and make your own personal renditions.
Fridge Clean-Up Pasta
Ingredients (serves 3)
For the pasta:
1 lb of whole wheat spaghetti pasta
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Small handful of kalamata olives, halved
1 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 medium sized link of pork sausage, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
For the pesto:
2 cups of fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
Pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Directions:
Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
Sautee the onions, sausage and the mushrooms together. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Sautee until all the ingredients are golden brown and then add the tomatoes and olives and cook for another 5 minutes until the tomatoes just soften.
In the meantime, prepare the pesto by putting all the ingredients into a food processor and pulsing it until it's well combined and forms a paste.
Add the pasta directly into the sauteed medley and toss well. Add in the pesto and combine again, adding in a bit of pasta water to smooth it out as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
You may remember my recent mention of the organic, grass-fed veal I got last weekend at Jersey Girls Dairy Farm in Vermont. This all went down during the awesome Sweet Escape food retreat, and even though at the time it was a pain to drag all that stuff, including raw milk and eggs home, it was totally worth it.
Dan and I used the veal to make homemade meatballs, which was all Dan's department, and they came out stupendously. You can definitely taste the difference, in the good quality meat and the farm fresh egg he used in the meatballs as its binder. A sprinkling of fresh herbs and some freshly chopped red onion didn't hurt either. We paired all this with my homemade Bolognese sauce, which I have on stash at home and some freshly grown basil too. It was total savory bliss. Here's how you make them:
Grass Fed Veal Meatballs a la Dan
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 lb of ground veal (try to use organic, grass-fed if possible)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
5-6 small garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 farm fresh egg
1/3 cup of plain breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Bolognese sauce - see recipe
Fresh basil for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with a wire rack, placed inside of it.
Combine all ingredients into a medium bowl and incorporate well with your hands. Use your hands to form the meatballs, about 2 inches in width.
Place meatballs onto the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes on one side. Flip the meatballs on to the other side and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve along with the Bolognese sauce and some fresh basil on top.
Enjoy with a big glass of red vino.
Since I've been pretty eating pretty well lately, and on a veggie kick, I wanted to make something comforting but also healthy for a satisfying dinner. Always up for pasta, as I equate this with comfort food goodness, I decided to make my own Bolognese sauce, but instead of with beef or pork, I substituted it with chicken sausage and mushrooms, which made it really hearty. I let the whole concoction cook in a sauce of crushed tomatoes and then placed it on a bed of whole wheat spaghetti deliciousness. It was lovely and such a perfect thing to freeze and use later for pasta, pizza sauce, dipping sauce. Whatever!
Fooditka's Healthy Bolognese (serves 2-4)
Ingredients:
(1) 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 lb of chicken sausage, casings removed
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Fresh basil
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Sautee the onions first until they get soft and then add the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper and cook until the veggies get well done. Add chicken sausage and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until cooked through.
Combine with crushed tomatoes and a little bit of water (approximately 1/2 cup). Let it simmer for about 30-35 minutes until all the flavors combine. Add cheese and fresh basil as a last step.
Place Bolognese over whole wheat spaghetti. You can sprinkle it with fresh basil for extra flavor. Enjoy with a tall glass of red vino.
Yesterday, my We Heart Astoria colleagues, Meg and Mackenzi and I celebrated another awesome Queens Blogger Social with like-minded bloggers, who write about food, culture, the arts and more. What I love about these gatherings is of course the networking aspect and the sharing of common experiences, but aside from that, it's also being able to enjoy Astoria's amazing food.
This month's social was held at the newly expanded Basil Brick Oven Pizza, which is totally awesome, and we were all excited to see that they brought their A-game last night, with both the food and the hospitality. There's a lot of new things we tried, and tons that we'll still have to have next time, giving us more reasons to come back. But without further ado, here are the delectable goodies we devoured:
Antipasti - We received two generous helpings of antipasti, both of which were really bright in color and flavor. The first was the piece-de-resistance, fig/pineapple/prosciutto platter and the second was a classic tomato, mozzarella, basil salad (aka Caprese salad). I really enjoyed both dishes, but the first was a complete standout, the figs sweet as candy and really tender to the bite. While you normally wouldn't eat the skin of a fig, this was absolutely an occasion where you could, and I personally couldn't resist. The salty prosciutto that was served on top of this dish made for a lovely combination of sweet and savory. It also has to be said that the figs were as fresh as can be, and sourced from Basil Brick's very own backyard garden.
The Caprese, also sourced from their local tomatoes and basil was amazingly clean tasting, refreshing and a great way to start this pizzalicious meal. It was also nice because our vegetarian friends got to enjoy it, guilt free.
Pizza - With over 40 varieties of pizza, our guests got to choose the pizza of their liking, and because these pies are great for sharing, we each got to try more than one. Veggie options were very popular at my side of the table, and I went for a veggie pizza as well to keep it semi-light. I say "semi" as my dish incorporated gorgonzola cheese, so I didn't give up too much in terms of indulgence.
So...I went with the Pera & Gorgonzola pie, which included sweet Williams Pears, homemade fresh mozzarella, creamy gorgonzola, parmigiano and basil. Holy moly, was this good! I loved the juxtaposition of sweet and savory, with the pear and cheese, and the gorgonzola especially brought a very decadent, luxurious flavor to the pie. The soft texture of the pear was interesting as well, and it felt as if it was literally melting on your tongue.
The other pizza variety I tried was also a veggie slice, simply called "Basil." This one boasted a bright pesto sauce, homemade mozzarella, thin slices of oven baked rosemary potatoes and pine nuts. The combination was interesting, and each ingredient really complimented the other, the fresh basil offsetting the heartiness of the potatoes. I liked that it didn't contain a traditional red sauce, which also made the pizza a lot lighter - not to mention its airy, slightly charred crust, which also lightened things up.
Dessert - How could we end this already perfect meal without another form of Basil Brick's signature food...pizza?! We of course did just that by devouring their chocolate pizza pie. Obscenely incredible, this pizza was even more delicious than their savory options, the crust being even thinner and stuffed with a thin layer of chocolate (and hazelnut) spread. What was key is that they didn't overdo it, and each slice went down easily, making us reach for another, which we naturally used as a scoop for all that fresh whipped cream in the middle.
Service and Cost:
Basil Brick's hospitality was absolutely lovely, as they took great care of us from start to finish. From replenishing our drinks without us having to say a word to nicely spacing out a very generous meal, we were all satisfied and felt like home. I think that's the vibe they're going for here, and I can confidently say it was achieved.
Costs are really affordable, as we worked out a competitive prix-fixe menu for our guests. While each deal is unique in its own way, I must stress that Basil Brick is extremely flexible and they're willing to do everything for their guests. If you're looking to have a private party or to host a bigger dinner there, I'd highly recommend reaching out to them. And please tell them who sent you.
3 Saucy (and cheesy) Mmmms
Basil Brick Oven Pizza - 28-17 Astoria Blvd, Astoria NY 11102
718.204.1205
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd
www.basilbrickoven.com
