cutty's

Cutty's is a 16-seat sandwich shop in the heart of Brookline. A small spot that has deservedly garnered fame for its care, detail, and attention to lovingly prepared high-quality sandwiches. Sourcing ingredients locally when possible, but always using the best of the best, Cutty's manages to take basic sandwiches to the next level with its quality.

 

Guest photo taken by JStreck

This past Sunday was Cutty's fried chicken day, only selling fried chicken from 10am until they ran out, regular menu sandwiches were not available.  Good thing I went Saturday then...to get to try the best selling sandwich, the roast beef 1000 (but with turkey instead). Consisting of slow-roasted beef (or turkey), crispy fried shallots, house-made 1000 island dressing, sharp cheddar, and a peppered Iggy's brioche bun, there is no question as to why this is their best-selling gem. Perfectly balanced with the best ratios, no single ingredient out-shines the other. Pure tastiness in one sandwich!
 

 

Also of note are their housemade potato chips, cream-less tomato soup, and anything else really. Next stop in will be for a ham pimento, a ham dijon, and a pork rabe. Okay...maybe I should share some of those. Now accepting applications for 2 friends with great taste in food to split 3 mouth-wateringly amazing sandwiches ASAP! Find more information on location, hours, menu, and ingredients here.

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brunch souffle

For an easy peasy brunch meal, you can whip up a brunch souffle in as little as 40 minutes...with absolutely no effort whatsoever. Wake up, put the ingredients together, pop in the oven and wander about making coffee, entertaining, squeezing juice, watching tv, whatever you want really, until your golden goodness is ready to be enjoyed!

Ingredients (for 4 servings):
1 hunk of bread (I used about 1/3 of a loaf)
5 eggs
2/3 cup nonfat milk
1/3 cup shredded cheese of choice
salt & pepper
other add-ins of choice: mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, spinach bacon, potatoes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a pie pan. Loosely rip up bread (I used pepperjack to add a bit more of a kick) to cover the bottom. 
  

 

2. Whisk eggs, milk, salt & pepper.
 

3. Pour egg mixture (along with any add-ins) over bread, sprinkle with cheese.
 

4. Pop in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until puffed up and crisped brown on top.
 

 

 

Easy enough to whip up on a super lazy weekend morning for yourself or for everyone to share!

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boston restaurants: n

The highest rated N restaurant in Boston is No. 9 Park, Barbara Lynch's Italian-French masterpiece located in Beacon Hill steps from the state house. With dark wood floors & multiple antique chandeliers hanging in every room, the restaurant exudes elegance. The menu consists of a 3-course prix fixe option as well as a seven-course chef’s tasting menu. With multiple accolades under its belt including a AAA Four Diamond Rating, 2012 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Wine Program, and always placing on the Best of Boston and 50 Best Restaurants list, you will have a memorable tasty meal, every time.

 

After ordering a bottle of Sancerre for the table, I started with the potato agnolotti with celeriac brown butter, chestnuts, and black trumpet mushrooms. This dish was my favorite of the evening. Little pierogi-like light pillows of delicious potato mixtures, I couldn't get enough! Apologies for the dim & washed-out photos, the candle mood-lighting got to me once again!

As always, I had to order the chicken. I went with the Giannone Farms chicken with a sunny-side up egg and an escargot puff-pastry. The puff-pastry was a nice addition and texture change to the dish, and the chicken was obviously perfectly prepared.

One of my dates went with the prime flat iron steak with roasted shallot, bone marrow bread pudding, a chard and spinach parcel, and a few roasted carrots garnishing the dish.
 

My other date went with the dish I was so close to ordering: the medium-rare roasted Scottish salmon with potato mille-feuille, beet jus, and horseradish.
 

To finish the meal, we went with dessert over cheese. I went with the cashew nougat glace with banana, molasses, and banana. Delicious once again, but I was still dreaming of my appetizer.
 

The other desserts at the table were chocolate-focused. One of which I can remember nothing other than chocolate, mint, and meringue, and the other was the chocolate cream tart with bourbon raisin, smoked cinnamon, and banana.

 

Another memorable meal, with fantastic service, and a beautiful setting. Next on my No. 9 Park go-to-list is their lunch!

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seared filet with garlicky kale-mushrooms

Occasionally I get a steak craving. Monday was one of the days. I was hungry and needed a quick-cook steak dinner, and that is just what I made! Done within 30 minutes from start to finish, this whole meal is an easy weeknight choice.
 

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

1 lb filet

1 tbs mustard seeds

1 tbs black peppercorns

1 tbs salt

1/4 tsp dried cilantro

1 pinch allspice

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 package button mushrooms

1 handful of rinsed raw kale

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick salted butter, divided

Directions:

1. Crush and mix mustard seeds, peppercorns, salt, cilantro, allspice, garlic powder & onion powder to create the rub. Pour out onto a plate. 

  

2. Place steaks on top of rub and push down to coat. Let sit for 10 minutes.
 

 

3. Flip and press to coat on other side. Let side another 10 minutes.
 

 

4. Meanwhile preheat oven to 400F, clean & cut up mushrooms, and add to a large skillet along with 3 tbs butter. Let mushrooms sweat and cook up for about 10 minutes.
 

 

5. Add another 1 tbs butter along with minced garlic, and stir.
 

6. While garlic becomes fragrant, heat 2 tbs butter in a cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Add steak and sear for 3 minutes.
 

 

7. Flip to sear other side of steak for another 3 minutes.

 

8. Top each piece of steak with 1/2 tbs butter and pop in preheated oven (2 minutes for rare, 5 minutes for medium-rare).
 

9. Meanwhile, add the kale to the mushrooms, along with the final tbs of butter, sprinkle with salt & pepper and stir to coat. Cook until kale becomes wilted, about 6 minutes.
 

 

 

10. When the time is up for your steaks, remove from oven, transfer to a plate, and let sit for 5 minutes so they are able to reabsorb some of the liquid.
 

 

 

 

Serve warm and enjoy! I also made mine with some easy 20-minute rice pilaf sprinkled with garlic & parsley.

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chicken lasagna roll-ups

This weekend I was craving both a cheesy heavy lasagna and a lighter chicken cacciatore. Conflicted and bored (as football was on....ew) I decided to tinker around in the kitchen. The result turned out to be amazing (as shown by the fact that T almost demolished all of these by himself). A perfect combination of the two cravings, the end result mimics cannelloni or enchiladas as it wraps around the tasty filling of tender shredded chicken in a tomato sauce.

Ingredients (for 12 roll-ups):
3 tbs olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs dried parsley
1 tbs dried oregano
1 tbs dried basil
28 oz crushed tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 lb lasagna
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a large pot, coat the bottom in a layer of olive oil and heat over med-high. Add chicken (I added frozen as I was too lazy and hungry to wait for it to thaw...so if your chicken is raw and not frozen, adjust cooking time appropriately). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and let cook on med-high for 5 minutes.
 

 

2. Flip chicken, salt & pepper again, cover & cook again for another 5 minutes.

3. Uncover chicken, add the diced onion along with 1 tbs olive oil, lower heat to medium, cover and let cook for 3 minutes.

 

4. Stir, add minced garlic, cover and cook again for 3 minutes.
 

5. Add dried herbs and stir to coat.
 

6. Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, one cup of water, and chicken stock.

7. Submerge all chicken bits, stir to mix, and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-high medium, and cook for 10 minutes.

8. Stir, cover, lower heat to medium-low low and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

9. Stir, cover, lower heat further to low and cook for 40 more minutes, stirring once halfway through.

10. Uncover and cook for an additional 7 minutes on medium to thicken. Preheat oven to 375F and cook lasagna.

11. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process to create almost the same consistency of a sauce.
 

12. Lightly butter a baking pan. Lay a piece of lasagna out, dust with shredded cheddar, spoon some of the chicken mixture on top, flatten with spoon, and carefully roll-up one by one. 

 

13. Top with a bit of chicken mixture.
 

 

14. Top with sprinkling of cheddar cheese.
 

 

15. Cover with tin foil and pop in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
 

16. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Let cool for 3 minutes before attempting to transfer to your plate (to solidify the wrap and to avoid burning your entire mouth with the lava-sauce)!

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