Django Restaurant, Des Moines, IA

It's about time for a restaurant review, isn't it?

Last January Joe and I traveled to Des Moines for his cousin's funeral. We budget for a few exceptional dinners each year, and decided a special meal might help to ease a bit of the sadness on our trip. Django Restaurant gave us a delightful meal and a breather from the sorrow of the weekend.

It was uncharacteristically warm in Des Moines that Friday night, and the downtown area was deserted by dinnertime. While this was surprising to us in comparison to Chicago, it was wonderful to find a parking spot right next to the restaurant.

Django serves French cuisine in a friendly, unpretentious atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was a bit noisy, and the tables were rather close together, but we were focused on each other. The restaurant was busy, with a variety of ages. It was a casual to dressy clientele. Meals are about $25-30 per person, and many appetizers and desserts were under $10.

An enormous raw bar was the center of attention in Django, but I was captured by the seared foie gras appetizer with fig confit and toasted brioche. Oh, how I love foie gras. Next time, we think we'd like to try the the cheese and sausage sample "flights" - or maybe a fresh shellfish platter of oysters, mussels, clams, and shrimp.

For dinner, I ordered duck breast over spaetzle with with rhubarb gastric, and the presentation was excellent. Joe had tender and tasty seared sea scallops with lobster corn mashed potatoes. Sounds interesting just reading it, doesn't it? Those potatoes were like the thickest creamy corn chowder you can imagine.

Dessert? Ohhhhh, dessert. I had a tangy raspberry sorbet that I shared (a little!) with Joe. He loves fruit and cheese for dessert, and they served him a buttery gorgonzola with fig jam, olives, and almonds. We are going to have to learn how to make fig jam, that's a fact.

The service was impeccable. Our server knew the extensive wine list on the table's iPad and made good suggestions. He perfectly understood that we like to take our time with dinner (a couple of hours, usually) and not order one dish right on top of the previous. He seemed to show up just about the time we wanted him.

I'd never been to Des Moines before, but it's a pretty city with the Des Moines river curving right through. Like Minneapolis, the downtown area has enclosed walkways so you don't have to battle the weather getting from building to building. The capitol building complex shines down from a tall hill overlooking the city.

Django is open every day of the week at 210 10th St. Des Moines, IA 50309.

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Crock Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches

On Super Bowl Sunday, there's nothing better than a houseful of football fans and a big pot of pulled pork sandwiches. If you keep the meat hot in a crock pot or on the stove, and put a big pile of sandwich buns nearby, people can help themselves whenever they're hungry. These are especially good with a spoonful of our giardiniera.

This recipe is my grandmother's, who also made barbecue beef sandwiches with this same recipe, using a beef roast instead of pork. She was a Bears fan when she lived in Chicago, and a Vikings fan when she moved to Minnesota. I loved her either way.

Recently, I made these barbeque pork sandwiches for a church meeting that was going to begin directly after the worship service. Halfway through a sermon on patience, the savory BBQ smell started to fill the room, and I realized I hadn't stirred the pot in a while! I didn't want to walk out in the middle of my friend Al's sermon, so I practiced my patience and waited. It turned out fine.

Ingredients

2 cups onions, chopped

1 tbsp oil

3 lb beef pot roast or pork shoulder

2 cups beef broth

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp dry mustard

1/2 cup honey

1 can tomato soup

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup hot sauce

Directions

In a large pot, fry onions in oil until brown. Cut meat into 2 inch cubes, and brown with the onions. Pour in the beef broth and enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 1 hour.

Transfer to a crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, until sauce is thick and the meat is tender and shredded.

Makes 6 cups, or 24 1/4-cup portions.

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Creamy Whipped Cauliflower

Joe and I have always been indifferent to cauliflower, and it's been indifferent right back...until the day I found this recipe from Eating Well. I have never seen Joe so excited about vegetables until then. Seriously, his eyes light up when I mention whipped cauliflower. Of course, we made changes to suit our own tastes, but every good cook does that!

What's even better than liking cauliflower? Liking a cauliflower recipe that is amazingly creamy and full of flavor while still being low in fat and calories. What a delicious way to change up your veggie recipe line-up.

Ingredients

8 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
1/3 cup fat-free cream or evaporated milk
1 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp ground pepper
1/3 cup chives, snipped

Directions

Steam cauliflower florets and garlic until very tender, about 15 minutes. Place in a mixer bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Whip on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Serve hot.

Makes about 6 cups.
One cup is worth 1 point in the Weight Watchers system.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

For nearly twenty years, I worked in IT and Finance for a corporation that fed its employees free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I was so spoiled! Marriott Food Service cooked our meals, and one of the chefs gave me this recipe for their fantastic Chicken Tortilla soup. Whenever they served this popular soup, they set up a bar with all sorts of toppings, like sliced jalapenos, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, tortilla strips and cheese.

It's barely 20 degrees in Chicagoland today, and I'm reading the tart and funny book, "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris. It's set in Corporate America, right in Chicago's Loop, and I'm toasty at home with a pot of soup and lots of memories. If you liked "The Office" series and the movie "Office Space", you might like this book also.

This quick soup can be ready in 45 minutes, or you can simmer it on low in a crock pot all day.

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced

3 cups onion, diced

3 cups red pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato sauce

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)

4 corn tortillas

3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese

Directions

In a large stock pot, saute chicken in oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients except the tortillas and cheese, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Bake tortillas until slightly crispy, then cut into strips. To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl, then top with the tortilla strips and cheese, and any other ingredients like jalapenos or guacamole.

Serves 6. 

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BBQ Baked Potato Wedges

Baked potato wedges are our go-to side dish when we want something simple, quick, or both. This is what we eat now that we don't eat french fries and other fried things! If there are any left-over potato wedges, they're usually our lunch the next day.The zingy BBQ rub we used on these is similar to Joe's Rib Rub, one of my most craveable tastes. Fiddle around with the sugar, salt, and cayenne until the taste suits you.

If you're in a hurry, speed up these potatoes by microwaving them in a bowl of hot water until almost tender, then draining them thoroughly before tossing them with the BBQ seasoning. Then you can bake them until they're tender.

Ingredients

5 large russet potatoes

2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tbsp powdered garlic

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tbsp cayenne pepper (more or less, to taste)

1 tsp crushed red pepper

Cooking Spray

Directions

Scrub the potatoes and slice them lengthwise into 1 1/2" wedges. Soak them in cold water for 5 minutes to draw out the starch, which will help to prevent them from sticking to the baking pan. Less clean-up is a wonderful thing. Drain and rinse.

Line a baking pan with foil, then spray with oil. The pan (or pans) should be big enough to hold a layer of potato wedges without them touching each other. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add the spice ingredients to a large resealable plastic bag. Add 1/3 of the potatoes and shake them well. Arrange on the baking pan, then repeat with the rest of the potatoes. Spray them with oil and cover them with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil. Continue baking until tender and browned, about 20 minutes more.

Serves 4-6.

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