Charlotte: Cajun Queen

It's been a few weeks since my last post because I have been traveling all over the place for work.  I have been in Charlotte, Richmond, Chesapeake, Texas, and Mexico!  It's been a hectic few weeks but luckily I did bring a blog post back with me. 

I was in Charlotte for training for work and we went to a restaurant called Cajun Queen.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you this is the best Cajun food I have ever tasted.  Everything in this restaurant feels very authentic; from the New Orleans drink specials, to the live jazz band playing in the bar,  to the decor, and most importantly the amazing food!

I went to Cajun Queen back in April when I was in Charlotte and could not wait to go back.  When myself and the group of sales guys I was with had to pick a place for dinner on this visit, it was very easy.  We all agreed that we had to go back to this place.  

The first thing you notice when you walk up is the fact that this restaurant is actually a house turned into a restaurant.  It definitely looks like a house you would see walking down the streets of New Orleans, complete with a balcony on the side where you can enjoy a delicious beverage.

Of course the first thing we did when we got here was head upstairs to the bar to order a drink and listen to a little live music.  They have a large selection of drinks to choose from so don't hesitate to ask your server or bartender for their recommendation.  Here is a picture of HALF of the drink menu.  This doesn't include the beer selection or the wine selection.

Being the whisky drinkers that we all are; we all ordered a Sazerac cocktail.  Some of us ordered it the way Cajun Queen prepares it (with Evan Williams) and some of us got it made with Wild Turkey.  It's delicious both ways but I definitely recommend ordering it with the Wild Turkey, you will thank me later I promise!

My Sazerac made with Wild Turkey.

After enjoying a drink we headed to our table for dinner.  Choosing just one thing to order off of their menu was the hardest thing ever!  I didn't take a picture of the menu but you can check it out here.  In addition to what they have on their menu they also have daily specials.  I got one of the specials which was blackened Mahi Mahi over rice and topped with crawfish, artichoke hearts, and peppers.  I have to say it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.  Here is a picture of my plate before I dug in.

So the next time you are in Charlotte I highly recommend you check out the Cajun Queen.  I promise that you will not be disappointed!

Cajun Queen

1800 East 7th Street

Charlotte, NC 28204

M-Th: 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Fri: 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sat: 4:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sun: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

www.cajunqueen.net

Cardinal Tavern

I wanted my first post about Baltimore to be one that will not only introduce readers to something new, but also be about a place that I truly love.  It was a very easy decision for me to choose Cardinal Tavern as that place!  If you know me personally you know that I am absolutely in love with this little corner bar which is located on the corner of Hudson and Clinton street in Canton.

When most people think of going out to a bar in Canton they immediately think of The Square.  A lot of people overlook the corner bars because they have the stigma of being dive bars.  The Cardinal Tavern however is far from a dive.  The owners, Larry and Gail, have put a lot of effort into making sure the Cardinal isn't your run of the mill corner bar.  When you walk into the Cardinal the first thing you notice is how unique the interior of the bar is.  The Cardinal has a beautiful rustic look with exposed beams and brick, oak barrels, a retro jukebox, and gorgeous wood floors.  Oh, did I mention that this is also one of the cleanest bars you will find in Baltimore?

Once you have taken in the decor and take your seat at the bar you will notice the huge liquor selection.  I especially love the whisky selection (obviously being a southern girl).  I still haven't found a better whisky selection since I have moved to Baltimore, and frankly I don't feel the need to look elsewhere anyway.  My personal favorite is the Whisky Girl which has Bullet Rye, blackberry liqueur, soda water, and lemon.  If you are having a hard time deciding on a drink to order don't hesitate to ask your bartender.  I promise they will be more than happy to help you out; they might even introduce you to a drink you're never heard of before.  Here is a video of Alex making his signature drink, the Tawny Sadler (it was delicious!).

Below is a picture of the ingredients and the finished product.

  

The service at the Cardinal is honestly one of the main reasons that I love the bar so much.  If it's your first time visiting the Cardinal the first thing the bartender will do is introduce themselves to you.  They want to get to know your name (your tab won't be named "girl sitting by taps") and the next time you come in they will remember you.  The owners are also there on a regular basis getting to know customers or even getting behind the bar to work a shift.  You can see how much pride Larry and Gail take in this bar just by how involved they are at the bar and how much thought goes into every single detail.

So the next time you are looking for a new place to try out, or you're visiting Baltimore and want to check out a place that isn't a tourist trap; stop by the Cardinal Tavern.  I promise that no matter what you're craving Alex, Chris, Lacey, Megan, Larry, or Gail will take care of you.  Don't forget to let them know that Megan of My Charmed City Life sent you (maybe I'll even run into you there)!



Note:  The Cardinal doesn't have food yet but it is coming!  If you're hungry make sure to ask for their menu book and you can choose from one of the many food delivery places in the area; they will deliver right to your bar stool (no kidding).

Cardinal Tavern

901 S. Clinton Street

Baltimore, MD 21224

Mon - Fri : 4:00 PM - 2:00 AM

Sat. and Sun : Noon - 2:00 AM

Click here to check out their Facebook page

Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Orange Glaze

Alright folks I'm finally doing my first new blog post!  My husband and I have been trying to eat healthier so I have been trying to do all of our cooking during the week at home.  I was looking through some cookbooks that I have and I found a recipe that sounded delicious in the cookbook "Eating Well Serves Two".  This is a really great cookbook for those of you who don't know about it; it has a large variety of recipes and it's also great for beginners if you're nervous about getting in the kitchen.  It has the calorie counts for the meals, appendices with cooking tips, and all of the recipes are normal portion sizes compared to most cookbooks.  I followed the recipe pretty for the most part, but of course I had to change a few things to make it my own.  If you are new to cooking and aren't comfortable playing around with recipes just take it slow.  You'll get more comfortable once you get used to playing with different spices and flavors, and once you learn that cooking really isn't all that scary!

For those of you that followed my last blog you know that I like to get all of my ingredients out and prepped before I begin cooking.  I highly recommend this to beginners because you won't be running around your kitchen looking for things while you're cooking.  For this recipe I needed the following.

Salt, Balsamic Vinegar, Molasses, Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce,
OJ concentrate, Dijon, and Chicken Breast

One more word of advice from me is to make sure you are picking the correct brands when you are preparing for a meal.  A lot of times it is completely acceptable to buy the store brand (sometimes they are better), however, if your ingredients are the main flavor of the dish I recommend going with the best available.  I bought, in my opinion, the best flavored brands out there.  You can't see the label on the balsamic but it is a little gem that I picked up from the local Italian deli, DiPasquales (look for a post on this place in the future).  It's the best balsamic I've ever had (no lie), the brand is Ariston and it's straight from Italy.  It is so smooth that I pour it on my salads by itself, nothing else is needed!  It's a little pricey but I highly recommend it if you run across it.

Okay, on to the actual cooking.  The original recipe for this meal calls for you to make a glaze and grill or broil the chicken.  I find one of the biggest problems with health foods is the lack of flavor so I doubled the glaze recipe and divided it.  I used one batch to marinate the chicken for an hour and saved the second half to brush on the chicken as it is grilled.  I will include the exact measurements below when I post the full recipe.

For the glaze/marinade you combine thawed orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, molasses, dijon mustard, and your chopped chipotle peppers.  I also added red pepper flakes to my glaze/marinade because we like a little more kick with our meals, feel free to do the same.  Whisk these ingredients together and set aside.

Finished marinade/glaze

Now it's time to prep your chicken.  Rinse the chicken breasts and remove all of the fat.  Place the prepped chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag and add half of the mixture you just made.  Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill along with the extra mixture you have left.  As you can see the recipe below calls for 2 chicken breasts, I cooked 3 instead so there would be enough for my husband to take to work for lunch the next day.  I try to do this with every meal that I make in order to save a little money during the week.  

Chicken with marinade

Once you're ready to cook the chicken it's time to prep your grill.  I like to use PAM grilling spray before I grill anything, it keeps the mess to a minimum and also keeps your meat from sticking (this isn't a problem for the experienced grill master but if you are new to grilling it will really help).  One other variation to the recipe that I made was taking the remaining thawed orange juice concentrate and pouring it in the pan in the bottom of my grill.  This isn't a requirement if your grill doesn't have a pan, but if your grill does have one I highly recommend it.  Not only will this add more flavor to the chicken but it keeps it extremely moist.  You will need to add a little water to thin it out so it doesn't burn or cook off too quickly.

Orange Juice and water mixture

Once your grill has reached temperature place your chicken breasts on the grates.  Use a brush and the glaze mixture you set aside to keep the chicken coated.  I coated with the glaze every couple minutes, making sure to flip the chicken so it was even on both sides.  Once your chicken is fully cooked remove from the grill and serve.  For a side I steamed some broccoli and cauliflower to keep with the healthy theme.  Here is a picture of the finished product.

Finished product

I like to grill out as much as possible in the summer time.  Not only is it relaxing (at least I think it is) but I think grilling provides the best flavors.  Oh, and not to mention that grilling is a very healthy way to cook!  Another reason that I like to grill as much as possible is seen in the attached picture.  It's also another reason that I love living in this city.

My grill station on the roof, Baltimore skyline in the background

As promised here is the recipe from the cookbook.  This recipe is for ONE serving so make sure you double it if you would like to make a marinade as well.

• 1 T orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
• 1/8 tsp salt

1. Preheat grill or broiler to high.  Lightly oil the rack.
2. Whisk orange juice concentrate, chipotles, vinegar, molasses and mustard in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle chicken with salt.  Grill or broil the chicken for 2 minutes.  Turn the chicken, brush with the chipotle-orange glaze, and cook, brushing occasionally with more of the glaze, 4 minutes more.  Turn the chicken again, brush with the glaze, and cook until no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 5 minutes more.

• Per Serving: 152 calories, 3 g fat, 63 mg cholesterol, 7 g carbs, 23 g protein, 0 g fiber, 251 mg sodium, 302 mg potassium

Enjoy!

I'm Back!!!

Hey everyone!  I decided I would shake off the rust and get back into blogging.  I did save one of the most popular posts from the old blog but have changed up the theme.  This time around I will be posting about my life on the road, my favorite things about Baltimore, and of course I'll still be posting delicious recipes.  Stay tuned for my first new post coming this week!

Twix Cheesecake Cupcakes

Alright folks, it's time for my first recipe blog post!  Tonight I tried a recipe from www.gingerbreadbagles.com, but of course I put my spin on it.  I have not tried these yet because they have to chill overnight, but WOW do they smell and look delicious.  Now, on to the fun stuff.

First thing's first, get all of your ingredients together.  I like to have everything pre-measured and ready to go when I'm cooking.  It makes the process so much smoother and less stressful when you don't have to run around and find ingredients.

Now that all of the ingredients are together, it's time to make the crust.  Start by putting half a box of vanilla wafers in a food processor and grind.  Once the wafers are ground up, add 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

Once sugar is combined, add 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter.  If the mixture is too dry once mixed, add more butter.  If it's too wet, add more wafers.

Now press the crust into the bottom of a lined cupcake sheet.

Now it's time to work on the filling.  Put 1lb of softened cream cheese into a mixer and mix until smooth.  Approximately 3 minutes.  It's very important that the cream cheese is softened, otherwise it will stick in the mixer and give you a headache.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to mix on medium low speed.

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix some more.

Whisk 2 large eggs and slowly add to mixture with the mixer on low speed.

Add in sour cream and mix, mix, mix some more until fully combined.

Add chopped up Twix and gently fold in.

Use an ice cream scooper and put batter into cupcake liners.

Place in preheated oven and bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight (I know you want to bite into one now, but you have to wait).

Crust
1/2 package Vanilla Wafers
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Batter
1 pound reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
12 mini Twix bars, chopped into small pieces

In a food processor, grind up the Wafers into fine crumbs. Put the crumbs into a large bowl and add in the sugar. Mix to combine. Then pour in the melted butter and mix to coat all of the crumbs with butter.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Scoop wafer crumbs into each cupcake liner. Using your hand, press the crumbs down firmly. Set the cupcake pan aside until the cheesecake batter is ready.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese until smooth on medium low speed, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium low speed, add in the sugar and mix to combine. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly pour in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add in the sour cream and combine.
Chop the mini Twix bars into small pieces. Add them into the cheesecake batter and gently fold them in.

Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the cheesecake batter into each cupcake liner. Bake the cheesecakes at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. Chill the cheesecakes overnight in the refrigerator.

UPDATE!
This morning I removed the cupcakes from the refrigerator to see how they turned out, and of course to give them a taste.  OMG are they delicious!  Can you guess what my breakfast ended up being today?  Here is a picture of the finished product.  I highly recommend trying out this recipe, it's worth it!

Enjoy!