Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers

I've never heard of this chicken establishment, but when you talk to anyone from New Orleans, they will tell you something about it! I didn't think I would be trying it this soon because the cars lined up on Hawthorne Blvd. almost at any time are long! Sandi was told by a mutual friend not to go through the drive-thru but park instead. This is what we did. We were excited because we could eat inside with our masks, of course. 

We ordered the chicken fingers. It came with their special sauce and French fries. The chicken was very moist and tender. It was crisp. Delicious indeed, especially with the sauce. It came with a slice of bread which was o.k. The fries were nothing special. In fact, it needed salt and had to be dipped in the special sauce. This was their downfall, particularly if you compare it to Popeye's Cajun Fries, which are unbelievably good. 

I will have to try their Chicken Sandwich to really compare it with Popeye's. So far, I am still Popeye's loyal follower.

Mrs. Darlington's Lemon & Lime Curd

A month ago, I was at World Market with my son picking up a few items. While my son was checking out the jams and jellies, an elderly lady started talking to him. I asked him if he knew her, and he said no, but she told him how she just loved their lemon curd. It was not expensive, so we both thought, what the heck, let's try it. There it sat in my refrigerator till last week when Sandi made some biscuits, and I thought it would be good to heat them up for breakfast and add some lemon-lime curd. 

After heating 2 biscuits at 400 degrees for 4 minutes, I sliced them up and added some butter before slathering the lemon-lime curd. That, along with strong coffee and whipping cream, made the perfect breakfast. The lemon-lime curd was very creamy with just the right amount of tang. I also had some Queso de Bola (aged Edam cheese) from Holland which is a salty cheese, to accompany my biscuits. 

The only problem now is I ran out of biscuits!!!

Sweet Jill's Bakery

Last Sunday, they featured Sweet Jill's Bakery on Channel 5 on the news as "Hometown Pride" in Long Beach. The cinnamon rolls looked so good. I got all excited because I remembered that my son was in Long Beach for the day, so I immediately sent him a text to see if he could swing by there on the way home. Since he had borrowed my car, I think he felt he had no choice but to happily oblige.

I had him buy 6 pieces; 3 with and 3 without the nuts, plus one piece of upside-down cake. As soon as he arrived that afternoon, he went directly to the bathroom scale to weigh the bag. The bag was apparently so heavy that he couldn't wait to find out how much it weighed. The box weighed 6 lbs 2 ounces! I had no idea how humongous the pieces were. Half was plenty for one serving. 

We had to microwave the bun for the icing to melt a bit. These cinnamon buns are heavy and dense. It went well with coffee the following day. I had half with nuts and half without. I liked the one with nuts better, even if I normally don't like nuts. I had a hard time finishing what was on my plate, which is unusual. I found it to be too sweet. The gooey cinnamon inside the bun was delectable. I think the icing could have been a lot less sweet, maybe even by adding some alcohol? The upside-down cake was moist and delicious which we had for dessert. 

Anyway, if you like cinnamon buns, it's worth trying these. It's a matter of taste, so I'm sure people like them, and that's why they have been around for a long time. 

Burger Bitch

Don't kill the messenger....that is really the name of the burger place. My son raved about this burger and immediately thought I might like it. He had it while he was in Long Beach, and upon investigation, I found out they had a location in Redondo Beach. They deliver via Doordash, so we had it the following day.

We both ordered the Caprese Burger; 6 oz signature burger patty, organic heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, avocado, basil leaves, balsamic reduction, olive oil on a brioche bun. Of course, when it got to our house, it was not as hot as we would have liked it, so my son stuck it in the microwave for a few about 35 seconds, which made the mozzarella melt a bit.

The big surprise is that the burger was so full of flavor, and it was unlike any other burger I have had. This is definitely one of my favorites. The balsamic reduction added a wonderful zing to the burger, and the texture of the green tomato contributed to the whole umami experience. I didn't need to add any ketchup or anything else to the burger. I was surprised with the reviews; some saying it was just o.k. To me, In and Out Burger is just o.k.; not much flavor and is so generic. I have not had any of their other burgers and can only speak for the Caprese. My son was able to try the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich; country-fried chicken, buffalo sauce, slaw with lemon herb mayonnaise. He said it was terrific as well. 

Next time, I would like to try their Pulled BBQ Jackfruit, which sounds intriguing. It has jalapeno, vegan slaw on a toasted vegan brioche vegan bun. The Dirty Mac also sounded good with mac n cheese, jalapeno, and bacon on the brioche bun. 

Burger Bitch has several locations. The easiest way is to just google them to see if there's one near you.

Sugarfish

I've only heard of great things about Sugarfish from my brother and friend Milena, aka Ms.Gourmet. It was always hard for me to go to one of their locations in L.A. because I could not get any of my friends to eat raw fish. The location in Manhattan Beach made it more feasible. Still no friends willing to go, I took advantage of dineLA and persuaded my son to pick up 2 orders of their special. 

I was already impressed with the box, but when I opened it, I was even more impressed with the presentation and the chart with suggestions on what sauce to dip in which fish. Everything was scrumptious. The fish could not have been fresher; it was silky and light. The $35 price for this wonderful meal was well worth it. They have a "Trust Me" menu left to the Chef, and I would like to experience that next time. I found that a bottle of Super Dry Asahi Black went well with everything.

For your information, they charge a 16% fee which I don't quite understand because they don't call it a tip, and they discourage tipping. Well, for all practical purposes, you can just think of it as a tip! 

Roasted Red Pepper Skillet Chicken

I found this recipe I thought I would try since I tend to make the same things repeatedly, especially if I don't have to think too much. This dish was so good that I decided to include the recipe. I invited a few friends who were happy to be my guinea pigs. 

Sandi brought these very impressive salad boats and cooked some green beans to go with the entrée. The chicken dish was yummy though I have to say it was probably because I altered it a bit. I used more butter. I didn't use the recommended low-fat cream cheese; instead, I used the regular high-fat one. I also did not believe the chicken would cook in just 2 minutes in the sauce because they were thick, so I simmered them for 20 minutes. In addition to that, I added salt, garlic powder, and freshly ground pepper to the chicken. I had made some smashed potatoes in the oven, and those crispy little patties were perfect, especially when some of the sauce from the chicken sipped through.

Dessert was Salted Caramel Panettone which I will blog about separately.