A Celebration of 50 Posts at R+D Kitchen

Bunker, Suzie, Staci and Robert celebrating our 50th post.

Tonight's post marks the 50th post for A Thyme to Eat, and to celebrate, Suzie and I, along with our husbands, Bunker and Robert, enjoyed a lovely dinner at R+D Kitchen. In the past, I have started blogs for my personal life and have never posted with the level of consistency and dedication that we have achieved on this blog. To me, 50 posts is both a significant milestone and merely the beginning as I fully anticipate many more posts and milestones to come.

R+D Kitchen opened in Dallas a few years ago, and it has quickly become a favorite of Robert and mine. In recent months we have gone from being occasional diners to weekly regulars. R+D provides us with several items that we find essential in a regular dining spot: a wonderful patio, a dining room with plenty of natural light, attentive service and food that is well prepared and with great variety.

We started the evening at the bar as we waited for our table to be ready. Suzie and I enjoyed a glass of Times Ten chardonnay and the boys enjoyed their selections from the bar's extensive collection of scotch and bourbon offerings. We have found that if you arrive for dinner after 7, you will likely have a wait of about 30 minutes during the week and as much as an hour on a weekend. With this in mind, it's good to go with the expectation of enjoying a drink and some conversation at the bar while you wait.

Once our table was ready, we ordered two appetizers, the dip duo and the Thai tuna roll. The dip duo is a combination of guacamole and a southwestern cheeseball served with tortilla chips. The guacamole is a little chunky and contains the right amount of spice, just the way I like it. Additionally, the cheeseball is a little more on the spicy side and serves as a nice contrast to the cooling nature of the avocado in the guacamole. Our second appetizer, the Thai tuna roll, is actually an off menu sushi roll that is often the reason Robert and I crave a night at R+D. In step with Thai cuisine, the roll contains peanuts that give the roll an unexpectedly delightful crunch that is a perfect contrast to the softness of the tuna, rice and avocado.

For my entree, I enjoyed the chicken meatballs and spaghetti, taking great delight in the freshly made spaghetti pasta. Unlike most restaurants that offer spaghetti and meatballs, I enjoy the lightness of the chicken meatballs and the addition of the broccoli florets to provide me with a little less guilt when enjoying what can often be a heavy and rich meal. Robert ordered the cheeseburger, an entree we often split and enjoy together. I firmly believe that R+D has the best burger in Dallas. They grind their beef fresh daily and use a combination or mayonnaise, mustard and hickory sauce to adorn the burger. Paired with shoestring french fries, this meal is great comfort food for me. Suzie and Bunker ordered the "West of Paris" roasted chicken and the carnitas sandwich, respectively. While I have yet to try either option, both looked delicious and I have no doubt would be as good if not better than they look.

All in all, it was a great night. Good food, close friends, delightful conversation and a reason to celebrate, all the ingredients you need for a wonderful evening out. If you've not yet enjoyed an evening at R+D Kitchen, do yourself a favor and, next time you're in Dallas, give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did.

Delicious Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls

My mom and dad hosted an engagement party dinner this past weekend at their beautiful home. I was so honored when they asked me to make the bread for the 70 guests! I decided to make a combination of bread, including my honey loaf bread and a new dinner roll recipe. I thought that it would be a nice variety, both visually and for the taste buds. I also made sure that I made more than enough of my loaves just in case my new roll recipe failed! Luckily, everything turned out perfectly! I had a hard time handing this delicious rolls over to my mom! Turns out, they were a hit at the party, and sadly for Bunker and me, there were no leftovers.

I think it is so comforting and intimate to have parties in homes. Bunker and I had our engagement party in my parent's home and then I had my bridesmaid's luncheon in the home of one of my mom's dear friends. There is just something about gathering together in a home as opposed to a restaurant that adds a layer of close friendship, a level of intimacy and sharing; it turns dinner or a party into a special event remembered with warm and loving thoughts.

I found this recipe from the food network, but of course, I made a few changes, including doubling the recipe. Even with the changes I made, the rolls were perfect. Even doubling the recipe was just fine, but I think I almost killed my electric mixer, as the dough was a bit overwhelming in size. Below you will find the recipe for one batch of rolls rather than my double batch. You can expect about 30 rolls from the single recipe.


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Ingredients:
1 Package of Dry Active Yeast
1 Cup of Warm Water
3/4 Cup of Honey (original recipe called for 1/2 a cup of sugar)
1 Egg, Beaten
1 Additional Egg, Beaten
2 Teaspoons of Salt
1 Cup of Milk, Warm
4 Ounces of Butter (4 ounces equals 1/2 a cup or one stick of butter), Melted
2 Additional Ounces of Butter (1/4 cup of butter or 1/2 stick of butter), Melted
5 Cups of Flour, plus more as needed to form a dough that does not stick
Muffin Tin Pan

Steps:
1. In an electric mixer fitter with the dough hook, yeast dissolve in the cup of warm water.

2. Let the water and yeast sit until slightly foaming, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the 3/4 cup of honey, the beaten egg, the 2 teaspoons of salt, the one cup of warmed milk, and the stick of butter

4. Slowly add the five cups of flour to make an elastic dough that is slightly sticky to the touch.

5. Place the dough onto a floured work surface and work in more flour as needed to remove the stickiness from the dough, but make sure you do not over knead the dough so that it becomes tough and dense. Knead for about 5 minutes.

6. Place the formed dough in a greased dough. Cover and let stand for about an hour so that the dough can double in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
8. Grease the muffin pan.
9. Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down slightly.
10. Form individual 1 inch balls of dough, and place three balls in each muffin tin.

11. Cover the muffin pan and let the rolls rise for about half and hour.

12. Melt the additional 1/2 a stick of butter, let cool.
13. Whisk the additional egg.
14. Uncover the muffins and brush them first with the egg wash and then brush with the cooled butter.

15. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Mine took about 12 minutes.
16. Enjoy hot out of the oven!

Since I was making so many rolls, I ran out of muffin pans, so I actually used a cookie sheet and muffin liners. It actually worked out very nicely! Don't forget to grease your muffin liners, I did and lost a few muffins, but it was nice product control as Bunker an I enjoyed the rolls that fell apart.

I also formed some normal dinner rolls and baked these in cake pans. If you do this as well, you will need to bake the rolls for about 20 minutes.

Final bread for the party!



"Brown Bag Lunch": Pearl Couscous Chicken Salad

Today I had a lovely "brown bag lunch" with one of my oldest and dearest friends, and her sweet one year old daughter! Often times we pick something up from a restaurant and then go to one of our homes for a casual and easy lunch. Today I thought it would be fun, and just as easy (I just didn't even want to deal with parking and going into a restaurant at lunchtime and then walking back to my car in this 100 degree plus Texas heat), to make a quick couscous salad and take it over to her house for a tasty and healthy lunch. Even the little one enjoyed the brown bag luncheon!

I love couscous, and I especially love pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous. It is sometimes difficult to find at normal grocery stores, so if you go to a store near me and the shelf is cleared out, I most likely bought them all before you got there! Pearl couscous is a bit bigger and less fluffy in texture. It ends up being a bit more like risotto in texture and composition. You can pair anything with couscous, so it is a great staple to keep on hand. Today I added chicken, grape tomatoes and spinach. Very flavorful and full of great protein and vitamins.

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Ingredients:
One package of Near East Basil and Herb Pearl Couscous (prepare as directed with water and olive oil). You can use whatever type of couscous you would like, Basil and Herb is just my favorite.
One chicken bouillon cube (or one tablespoon of bouillon, or just salt and pepper to your taste)
2 breasts of cooked chicken, cut into one inch pieces
2 cups of fresh spinach, washed and roughly cut into smaller pieces (these will wilt down considerably)
1 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Steps:
1. Prepare the couscous according to the box: boil the water with the olive oil and couscous.

2. Add a chicken bouillon cube to the boiling couscous for flavoring.
3. Once you have reached a full boil, reduce the heat to medium-high so that the couscous is simmering. Add the contents of the spice package (according to the directions on the couscous box). Stir to combine.

4. Let the mixture come back to a low boil for about 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Remove the couscous from the heat, and cover and let sit. I added about 2 Tablespoons of chicken broth to the couscous before I covered and let it sit. This just adds a bit of moisture to the mix, as I knew I was going to put the dish in the fridge for a bit. I feel that food always dries out a bit in the fridge, so I always like to add a bit of extra moisture to a dish if I know I will be putting it directly into the fridge.
6. Cut and wash the 2 cups of spinach.

7. Wash and cut the 1 cup of grape tomatoes.

8. Cut the baked chicken into 1 inch pieces.

9. Add the spinach, tomatoes and chicken to the couscous and stir to combine.

 

10. Transfer into a serving dish and refrigerate for at least an hour.

11. Enjoy on a hot (did I mention that it was over 100 degrees here?) afternoon.



I paired this cold couscous chicken salad with a fruit salad made up of watermelon and cantaloupe, my favorite summertime fruits!

I then packed everything up in this wonderful glass glassware from The Container Store (one of my favorite places in the world...however...I do find at least 10 things there each time I go that I absolutely cannot live without...including...this wonderful set of glassware!) 

Everything fit perfectly into my fancy brown bag, for our "brown bag lunch," healthy and delicious, with a side of wonderful conversation! 

Who can you bring a "brown bag lunch" to? It is so easy and such a fun change to the normal grab and go lunches that are not always the most healthy, and are also scarfed down quickly so that we can get on with the rest of our day. Take an extra few moments and share a homemade meal with someone you love, or with someone you would like to connect with and know more about on a personal level. Lunch, conversation and friendship are a wonderful things to share!