Monthly Archives: July 2021

Restaurant Review

SUNDAY RESTAURANT REVIEW -DEL FUEGO

Leave a comment

Del Fuego – 17 Hewitt Square, East Northport, NY (631) 651-9393

Happy Monday and welcome back to the work week. I did not cook last night as we (Jennifer, Sam and my mother in-law) were invited out to dinner by my sister in-law. Adam, her son, had picked out a Mexican restaurant called Del Fuego. We have all eaten at Del Fuego’s Babylon location before, but this time we went to their Northport location, which was a bit more of a drive from our house on the South Shore of Long Island to East Northport. The drive is very scenic and fairly direct, so not bad at all. The app Jennifer was using to find the place was the only glitch. It took us to a church located just behind the restaurant, instead of the restaurant itself. I began wondering if that was a BAD omen.

We regrouped and drove around the corner to find the restaurant parking lot next to the church. I am a big fan of irony, so thought this should be fun.

We walked in and were seated right away. I did the call ahead seating thing but there was no need as there was PLENTY of empty tables this early (5:30pm). Maybe it’s more of a night time place. There were plenty of people outside and lots of staff. It looked liked they were expecting a big crowd. I’m just glad we had a nice big comfy booth and were in air-conditioning on a hot summer day in July.

The waiter came right over to take our drink orders. He introduced himself as Jake and asked if we wanted anything to drink. Before I discussed drinks, stupid me asked for menus. I guess restaurants are stopping the whole laminated menu thing now. This is the second or third restaurant I have been to where you bring the menu up on your phone from a QR code located at the table. This is a neat use of technology. I can see how the menu can be updated easily, but it can be hard to read on a phone if it is not done well, OR you’re getting older and have bad eyesight. What old geezer is going out for spicy Mexican food anyhow? ME that’s who! Besides that, they could have done a much nicer job with the ONLINE menu. For example, pictures of everything would have been helpful. Even if you can’t read worth a shit, you could see at least what you are going to be getting on your plate, then point to the picture and ask them not to make it too spicy…LOL. It’s not like they are constrained by space or printing costs anymore.

Even before the drinks came out, we had chips and salsa on the table. My sister in-law loves Del Fuego’s salsa. She probably loves the salsa more then the entrée she orders. Since there were six of us, Jennifer asked for more salsa right away. Jake was back within minutes with more salsa and chips. Jennifer didn’t even ask for the chips but he brought them anyway. He is good waiter. Their service so far was perfect. We already had enough drinks, chips, and salsa to keep everyone happy until we all knew what we wanted to eat.

Jake was soon back at our table to see if we had any questions or wanted to start with an appetizer. Jennifer ordered the Guacamole for us to share. Then, we went to work deciding and discussing who wanted to eat what. By the time Jake returned with the guac, we were ready to order. The Guacamole is excellent by the way. Jake had his pen in hand and was ready to take our orders. My mother in-law went first. She ordered the beef Chimichanga. Debbie ordered the BBQ brisket Enchiladas Baja Loco style (Tomatillo Guajillo Sauce, melted Mexican cheese, crispy onion rings, mango BBQ drizzle). Adam ordered the Fajitas with skirt steak. I ordered the Carnitas Enchiladas Baja Loco style. Jennifer ordered a beef Burrito and Sam ordered a chicken Enchilada Yucatan Style (Roasted Tomatillo Sauce, Melted Mexican Cheese , spicy salsa Rojo, and pickled red onions).

We ate chips and guacamole and talked. Jake returned to get us refills on drinks, chips and salsa. The time passed fairly quickly as we waited for our food. It was the dinner rush and I saw lots of plates going to the outside tables. It seemed that several staff members helped bring the food to the tables quickly.

We had almost finished the second round of chips that were delivered to our table when our food soon arrived. It seemed to be there in a reasonable amount of time from when we placed our order. That is good sign they know what there doing in the kitchen.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal. Only Jennifer and I had to box up leftovers. There were chips left on the table too but the salsa and Guacamole were both gone. Everyone thought their meal was delicious. It must be consistently good since this is our fourth or fifth time to Del Fuego, even if it was in Babylon. I would go back again. Next time, I may get something different. I loved the guacamole and salsa. The chips were really excellent too! I was not super fond of the enchiladas, but that is my own fault. I prefer the ones I make at home. The one here at Del Fuego were good but to me the sauce was just a bit too “smoky” flavored. I wonder if there is liquid smoke in it? That may just be my taste buds. Yours may love it, so I would definitely recommend this place to my family and friends. I have also been to the location in Patchogue for lunch and that too was very good. I had the Burrito there and would recommend that as well.

Pulled Pork Enchilada
  • Hot Sauce Selection
  • Dam Good Chips

My suggestion is to visit one of the four Del Fuego restaurants here on Long Island if you want a casual dining experience. Have a drink, some food, and you won’t be disappointed.

Until next time. Eat, drink, and be happy!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Blog Post

TURKEY TENDERLOIN ON THE GRILL

Leave a comment
  • Basting
  • BBQ Temp
  • Still cooking
  • Turkey sandwiches
Turkey tenderloin

Last night I cooked. I know, I know, I have not been cooking much lately. I think that will soon change. Next week I will be making a shit ton of salads. Lately EVRYONE seems to be dieting after the Covid 20 (people sat around gaining 20 pounds this year). So salads will be our featured meal next week for lunch at work. I get to experiment with recipes on my coworkers! Hee Ha ha!

Back to last night. I made a turkey tenderloin. What was my inspiration? Heck, it was on sale. I just picked it up from the market on the way home and had no time to marinate it. Since I was planning on eating it last night it would just get seasoned. I went with a dry rub. AKA I seasoned it with salt, white pepper, garlic power, onion powder, sage, and paprika.

Then it was outside to the grill with a beer in my hand. I preheated the grill as I always do. Then I put the turkey on to cook. It was two pieces of turkey actually. The day before, I had purchased a turkey breast on the bone. It even had the skin on it still. That was BEFORE they put the tenderloin on sale. They didn’t even have the tenderloin out for sale yesterday. Oh well, I had both now and was cooking both the same way.

I began by browning them on the grill over low heat. 15 minutes on each side. Then I put them into a roasting pan with turkey gravy and basted them until they baked through (no pink). When they hit 155 degrees with a my instant read thermometer, I let them rest and they reached 160 degrees. DONE.

I then tried cooking something new as a side dish. Orzo cooked in chicken broth. I made some chicken stock using Better then Billon and added finely chopped onion and carrot. Sam hates celery so I left it out. I added parsley when the onions and carts were soft. Then I added the orzo. It was done in about 12 minutes. Cooking over low heat. I also grilled up some zucchini. My old stand by.

Before even trying it, Sam said I was evil for treating the orzo that way. I said if you can do better you’re welcome to do so, and so his recipe for orzo will be next. Jennifer and my mother in-law however liked my orzo. Jennifer loved the zucchini. She didn’t care for the turkey as much but she doesn’t like turkey in general, unless it’s on toast with lettuce and mayo. Good thing I have a whole turkey London broil to slice up for sandwiches today. Who knew?

Well, that’s all for last night’s BBQ adventure. I will type up “Official” recipes for the turkey and orzo and post them soon. For now, go relax, have a beer, a glass of wine, or one of those other drink recipes. There is more to come soon!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Follow me on INSTAGRAM @ DRUNCKENCHEF82

Beverages, Recipe

THE BELLINI COCKTAIL

1 Comment

This is a beverage I believe started in Italy. Hence the preferred use of Prosecco in this cocktail. Plus, Prosecco is a sweeter champagne.

GADGETS

Champagne flutes

INGREDIENTS

4 to 6 ounces Prosecco

2 ounces of Peach nectar

DIRECTIONS

Start with 2 ounces of peach nectar in a champagne flute. I purchase Goya Peach nectar on sale for this drink and my sangria. Now, fill the champagne flute SLOWLY with Prosecco. The bubbling action of the champagne will mix the beverage together. Garnish with a slice of peach for an added flair of elegance.

Beverages, Recipe

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

1 Comment

            I realized when writing my last post, BEVERAGES, it would take a while to get all my drink recipes posted. As an “old man”, or so I am referred to by Sam, I have a superfluous number of drinks stored up in the “old” noggin.  I hope that I can get them all written down before I kill those brain cells with alcohol.

            I have since created a BEVERAGE LIST to make ALL our lives easier at TMPP (The Magic of Perfect Pairing) in order to find a particular drink recipe. As we go through the year, I can add the links to various drinks there.

           Fresh squeezed orange juice is something I first did as a kid. I remember my youth fondly. I had it pretty good growing up.  I lived in the suburbs just outside NYC. If I was not outside playing with my friends in the neighborhood, then I was inside watching television. Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and The Electric Company were all relatively brand new shows on TV back then. I even remember watching Julia Child cooking and some guy called Jack LaLanne who did a physical fitness show. Why am I going off on this tangent? It’s because I don’t know where I got the idea from, but one day, probably some rainy dreary day when I was stuck inside, I decided to make fresh squeezed orange juice.

My mother did all the grocery shopping alone back then and occasionally she met my Aunt Betty and they went shopping together. That was great for us because we got to order Pizza for dinner. She usually went grocery shopping while I was at school, so pizza was not a regular meal in our house. She did however ALWAYS purchase whatever we liked to eat and then some. Like I said, I was lucky, we always had food on the table and always enough to eat. One of the things she purchased was fruit of all kinds. She liked pink grapefruit and apples. I liked Red Delicious Apples back then so there were always at least two of those in the fridge. There was also other fruit depending on what season it was. Oranges always seemed to be in the refrigerator as they were available year round. Navel oranges I think I remember best and ate one of those once in a blue moon. That leads me into the “fresh squeezed story”.

I knew my mother had a lemon juicer because I had seen her use it in the past.  It looked just like the one below pictured below from Amazon.

I dug the juicer out of a draw that was located under our stove. I can still hear the exasperation in my mother’s voice as clear as a bell as I opened the draw: “What are you doing now?” My reply was as if I did this everyday: “Just making Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice” Ma: “Oh Jeeze, I just cleaned up your mess from breakfast. Try not to make another mess, please.” I made a mess. I’m sure of that.

I retrieved an orange from the fridge and a knife from a drawer. I sliced open the orange just as I had watched my mother do with lemons.  Why was doing this? I have no idea, maybe I had just watched Julia Child on TV and got the crazy idea stuck in my head I was going to be a chef now. Heck, I was a kid. It’s what kids do. I squeezed both sides of the orange and poured the juice into a glass. I remember thinking; wow, that is not a lot of juice for one orange.  I did this over and over. Maybe it was three or four oranges later, but I did not fill the whole glass before I stopped. Squeezing oranges by hand was a lot of work. Did I mention these were navel oranges because they were. Not very “Juicy” navel oranges.

Soon, I had made a complete mess on the dining room table as my mother watched from the kitchen while doing other things. I decided now was a good time to taste my culinary delight. I tasted my newly made OJ concoction and it was terrible. I distinctly remember not wanting to drink it all but took more than one sip to be sure it was terrible.

Mom: “Now you’re not going to drink it? You’re wasting all those oranges.”

Me: “It’s gross. Not at all as good as Minute Maid.” We also used to get Tropicana Orange Juice before that. My mother was very brand loyal.

Mom: “Maybe it tastes different because those are not juice oranges.” Always the pragmatist my mother was.

Me: “Oh, maybe. I guess so.” and I poured the rest of the juice down the drain and helped clean up a little by throwing away the orange peels. My mother was stuck cleaning off the table and doing the dishes. She never complained though. Well, certainly not often.

Therefore, the first lesson in fresh squeezed juice is to use the right oranges. Good fresh squeezed orange juice comes from good fresh Florida Juice Oranges. They are not the best for eating and have pits but they have more juice then navels and are sweeter. They are also “chewier” if you try to eat one. Most navel oranges come from California by the way.

Whether it’s lemons, oranges, or limes, when juicing citrus fruit I always roll it on the counter under my hand before I cut it in half. I call this the “presqueeze”. I think it makes it easier to squeeze. I am usually squeezing lemons now as an adult more so then oranges.

I buy OJ in the container in the dairy aisle. I however do not always buy the same brand all the time. If it’s on sale, it will taste very good with a little vodka in it. Hence, the Screwdriver drink is next.

Well, until our next beverage recipe, be well, drink well, and have fun in the kitchen.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Also on INSTAGRAM @ DRUNCKENCHEF82

Beverages

CHOCOLATE MILK

2 Comments

GADGETS

24 ounce Cocktail Shaker

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Ice Cold Milk

2 tablespoons Heresy’s chocolate syrup

DIRECTIONS

Pour two cups of milk into a cocktail shaker. Add chocolate syrup and then shake vigorously for 60 seconds.

Most people would use a glass and stir with a spoon. This works but many times the chocolate gets left on he bottom of the glass plus the milk is not as “frothy”. This is why the premade chocolate milk is so popular. “It’s shaken NOT stirred.” – Ian Fleming reference

Beverages, Recipe

COFFEE

2 Comments

INGREDIENTS:

7 to 9 Tablespoons of ground coffee

8 six once cups of filtered water (six once cups?! What? That is what those stupid lines are for! Who knew? So, a whole pot of coffee is not even a whole 8 cups! Why?!) So be careful, there are 8 ounces in 1 cup therefore ¾ cup = 6 ounces in America. I use the damn lines! Sheesh!

DIRECTIONS:

Let us start with the water. Bad water means bad coffee or bad tea. MOST commercial places always have a filter somewhere on the water line that leads into the back of the commercial coffee pot. If they don’t, they should! What do I do? I use the ice-cold water that is also filtered that comes out on my refrigerator/freezer. I fill the pot to the 8 “cup” mark that is located on the inside of the pot. Why cold water? Never cook with hot tap water. That is just nasty, eww. Cold water works better when used particularly with an electric percolator, like the one you own and never use because you purchased it for large parties but then put it in the back of the hall closet. Yes, that one works best when you start with cold water. Next, add a coffee filter to the basket. No one likes grounds in their cup. “It’s the Grim!” Well, that was tea in the bottom of the cup…if you read Harry Potter. I digress. Let’s add the coffee already as I’m falling asleep. Now, plug it in or turn it on and let it do its thing. Mine is manual so I actually have to turn on the stove to high. I have to remain close by and wait for it to start to perk. Annoying huh, but it’s cooking! Then when it starts to perk and I can see it, remember that little clear glass thingy on top? I turn the heat down to medium-low so it remains perky (perky get it? it’s coffee) Never mind, and set the timer for seven minutes. Now, if you like your coffee richer or more flavorful this is where the COOKING part comes in. You can adjust the recipe to YOUR taste. Start by increasing the time you cook the coffee by one or two minutes. Next, you can add a tablespoon or two to the seven already in there. Each time you try something new, make a note of what you did mentally, or if you’re your tired in the morning, make a note of it in your phone! Once you get a perfect pot of coffee, repeat the same steps! Wa-la, you’re cooking! After the seven minutes are up, I turn off the stove and let it stand so the coffee in the basket now filters all the way through (aka finished cooking/perking).