Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House, Boston

A new steak house is opening in the Liberty Wharf area tonight, and that new steakhouse is called Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House. The first Del Frisco's opened in Dallas more than 20 years ago, and there are now nine locations across the country.

During the new Boston Del Frisco's grand opening this past Thursday night, I learned that the restaurant is all about quality -- quality service, quality food, and quality atmosphere.

I entered Del Frisco's by way of red carpet and felt like a star from the moment forward. Meghan and I, after being offered glasses of bubbly at the entrance, made our way up the long staircase, and at the top, we were immediately greeted and beckoned farther into the restaurant. We marveled at the wine displays and could see for ourselves the value Del Frisco's places on its award-winning wine list.

As we walked around the restaurant taking in all the sights, we noticed the extensive raw bar running the length of the restaurant's water view. Complete with double eagle ice sculptures, the raw bar featured oysters, crab, and shrimp.

Across from the raw bar was the meat and cheese station. It was stunning to look at.

We checked out the far room where we found cocktails being poured by way of ice luge. We almost got cocktails there, but since we were still sipping the bubbly we had been handed on our way in, we decided to wait.

As we were wandering around taking pictures of everything in sight, we ran into Michelle and her fiance Bret, Renee and her boyfriend Ryan, and Fiona. The seven of us staked out a booth, where we dropped our stuff, mingled with each other, and sampled the passed hors d'oeuvres that came our way, presented by the most polite and attentive restaurant staff I've ever encountered.

Steak sandwiches -- the steak was amazing -- incredibly tender and flavorful, but the roll
was a little hard (and that's my only complaint for the whole event.)

Steak and cheese eggrolls -- I loved this concept!

Bruschetta

Tuna tartare

Crab cake -- best bite of the whole night!

Smoked salmon blini

When we needed new drinks, Michelle, Bret, Meghan, and I ventured out to the deck, where I hope to eat dinner at some point this summer, and chatted with the bartenders who were mixing up Absolut Boston cocktails. I went for an Absolut Wild Tea cocktail.

Just look at that view!

We ate some more, mingled some more, photographed some more and finally decided it was time to see what else Del Frisco's had to offer. We found the event rooms (which I would love to have an event in), where the dessert spread and the Moet table were set up. This was really the jackpot.

Eventually, we grabbed all of our stuff and moved to a table in the event room, where we stayed for the rest of the evening. We had bubbly, we savored desserts, and we watched the Bruins beat the Canadiens in overtime!

Chocolate mousse in an edible cup and cheesecake balls

To top off a truly wonderful evening, Michelle, Renee, and I split what the waitress described to us as an adult milkshake. I have no idea what was in it, I just know it was the best milkshake I've ever had.

Del Frisco's went above and beyond. The food and drinks were plentiful and noteworthy. The space is absolutely gorgeous, not just the view and the layout, but even the seemingly less significant details like light fixtures and bathrooms. Above all, the staff was absolutely incredible. I've never felt so well taken care of. Empty glasses were whisked quickly away and replaced with fresh drinks. Hors d'oeuvres and desserts were offered each time someone walked by us. And most of all, when Meghan and I were taking pictures and juggling our drinks, more than once someone offered to hold our drinks for us.

This evening was complimentary, but if Del Frisco's upholds these standards on any given day, I can tell you that I honestly can't wait to go back and have dinner there. I kind of want to know what the crisp duck steak is all about...

Polenta-Crusted Fish Cakes And Panko-Crusted Asparagus

I'm still on my mission to try more interesting fish recipes, so when I came across these polenta-crusted fish cakes in Food & Wine, I quickly dog-eared the page. In the same issue, I found a recipe for panko-crusted asparagus and decided that since I was already frying fish cakes, I may as well fry asparagus too and try both recipes in one night.

I first read through both recipes so I could figure out how to get the fish cakes and asparagus on the plate at the same time and have both be piping hot, and then I got to work. I made the tomato sauce for the fish cakes (oh yes, there's a tomato sauce) and set it to the side, and then I started boiling the potatoes for the fish cakes. While the potatoes boiled, I prepped, dredged, and coated the asparagus. Then I shaped all the fish cakes and rolled them in polenta. Because the asparagus can be kept warm in the oven, I fried the stalks first, transferred them to a sheet pan, and let them hang out in the oven while I fried the fish cakes.

It took much longer to do all of this than I had anticipated, but I also felt a little scatterbrained in the kitchen that evening (do you ever have those nights when you just can't focus?), so if I had been more on top of my game, I think I would have gotten dinner on the table more quickly. I'd say make sure to give yourself at least about an hour and a half if you make both dishes. (I also wrote the recipes separately in case you don't want to make both.)

Tomato Sauce (adapted from Food & Wine, May 2011)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
5 plum tomatoes from 1 can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup water
Salt

Preparation

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and any collected juices, and cook over medium heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste and water, and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with salt, and set sauce aside to serve with fish cakes.

Polenta-Crusted Fish Cakes (adapted from Food & Wine, May 2011)
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Ingredients

3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup instant polenta
1 1/2 pounds skinless cod, cut in 1-inch chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation

Place potatoes in a saucepan, and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil over medium-high heat for 7 minutes. Drain well, and lightly mash potatoes with a fork. Set them aside.

Spread the polenta in a large, shallow dish.

In a food processor, combine the fish, garlic, salt, egg, and crushed red pepper, and pulse until fish is coarsely chopped.

Dump the fish mixture into a large bowl, and fold the potatoes into the fish mixture.

Shape the mixture into about 12 patties, and coat the patties on both sides with the polenta.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Pan-fry half of the fish cakes over medium-high until cooked through and golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Transfer the cakes to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and fry the remaining fish cakes.

Transfer those to the paper towel-lined plate too. Serve hot or at room temperature with tomato sauce.

Note: The recipe yields a lot of fish cakes, and they're very filling, so I'd either recommend waiting to make these on a night when you'll have a few guests over or refrigerating half of them before you fry them so you can make more the next night. I went the route of refrigerating some of them, so I let the potatoes cool before folding them into the fish mixture.

Panko-Crusted Asparagus (adapted from Food & Wine, May 2011)
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Ingredients

1 cup panko
1/4 cup flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed
1/2 cup canola oil
Kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 225 degrees, and line a sheet pan with foil.

In food processor, pulse panko until fine.

Set up three shallow dishes, place the flour in the first one, the eggs in the second one, and the panko in the third one.

Dust all but the tips of the asparagus with the flour. (It's easiest to do this by holding the asparagus stalks by the tips.)

Dip the floured part of the asparagus in the egg.

And dredge all but the tips of the asparagus in the panko.

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels.

Fry the asparagus in batches, turning, until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the asparagus to the paper towel-lined plate, and season with salt.

After each batch has dried on the paper towels, transfer it to the prepared sheet pan, and place the asparagus in the oven to keep warm until all batches are ready. Serve hot.

The asparagus stalks were well cooked and softened from spending some waiting time in the oven, so the crunchy panko coating provided the perfect contrast to the tender vegetable. The cumin-scented fish cakes topped with the garlicky tomato sauce paired well with the asparagus and filled us up. I think it's all those potatoes in the fish cakes. I liked that the polenta merely acted as a crispy coating and the fish cakes were all fish and potatoes and weren't padded with bread crumbs.

Have you ever made fish cakes before?

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are sweet, cinnamon-scented rolls, chock-full of dried fruit, and topped with an icing cross. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but they'd be a great addition to Easter brunch as well.

Jen from Beantown Baker and I made these buns together during our last baking date. Like most yeast breads, you must give the dough time to rise, shape it, and let it rise again before baking.

Hot Cross Buns (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients

Buns
1/4 cup rum (or apple juice)
1/2 cup mixed dried fruit
1/2 cup raisins or dried currants
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk (reserve white for topping)
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour

Topping
1 large egg white, reserved from above
1 tablespoon milk

Icing
1 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4 teaspoons milk, or enough to make a thick, pipeable icing

Preparation

Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Measure the rum and dried fruit and raisins into a small bowl. Cover with plastic, and microwave for about 30 seconds, or just until the fruit and liquid are very warm. Leave covered, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Note: If you worry about using plastic wrap in your microwave, simply cover the bowl with a glass lid.

Mix together all of the dough ingredients except the fruit, and knead, using an electric mixer fitted with dough hook until the dough is soft and elastic. Mix in the fruit and any liquid.

Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour. It should become puffy, but it may not double in bulk.

Using a muffin scoop, scoop out equal portions of dough, and roll them into balls with well-greased hands on a well-greased countertop.

Line them up in the prepared pan.

Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for 1 hour, or until they've puffed up.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it over the buns.

Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Mix together the icing ingredients, and when the buns are completely cool, pipe a cross atop each bun.

Have you ever had hot cross buns?

Chocolate-Coconut Nests With Jelly Bean Eggs

I was having a little too much fun in the kitchen the other night -- so much fun I felt transported back to elementary school. Making these Easter-themed nests is very similar to an elementary school art project. They're messy and they require very few ingredients and not too much coordination. They also challenge you to just let go and not be too much of a perfectionist.

These nests came together on a whim. I had an open bag of coconut after making the carrot-coconut scones, and we had some jelly beans in the house after a recent jelly bean craving prompted us to buy two bags of them. And you know me, I always have chocolate in the house. And guess what? Coconut, jelly beans, and chocolate are the only ingredients you need. (Unless of course you are feeling super silly and have some bunny sugar decorations on hand. Then you can add those to the nests -- you know, because the Easter Bunny could be getting ready to hide those eggs for an Easter egg hunt.)

Chocolate-Coconut Nests With Jelly Bean Eggs

Ingredients

10 ounces sweetened coconut
10 ounces milk or dark chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt milk chocolate)
Jelly beans
Bunny sugar decorations (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment, and spread the coconut out on the pan. Toast coconut in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring or tossing it every 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool slightly.

Place chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute. Stir, and continue microwaving in 30-second increments until chocolate is melted and completely smooth.

Line a couple of sheet pans with parchment paper, and have your jelly beans at the ready.

Transfer toasted coconut to a large bowl, and stir in the melted chocolate. Mix until coconut is completely coated in chocolate.

Using a cookie scoop, place scoops of the chocolate-coconut mixture on the sheet pans. Use the back of the scoop to make a small hollow in the middle of each nest. (If the nests spread out too much, you can squish them back together a little, but this is the part where you have to relax and put the perfectionism aside.) Place three to five jelly beans in each nest (and tuck a bunny sugar decoration in each nest if desired).

Transfer sheet pans to fridge, and let nests firm up, about 1 hour. (Store in an airtight container in fridge.)

These quick and easy treats are not only the perfect after-Easter-dinner sweet but they also make adorable Easter decorations. Not to mention they could be a fun Easter morning family project. Little kids (and big kids, speaking from personal experience) would have so much fun molding the little nests and tucking jelly beans into them.