Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy, Myrtle Beach, SC

After a fun and busy weekend as a bridesmaid in Myrtle Beach, I decided to spend some time exploring the city with Ben. Ben was craving mexican food, and after some intense Google searching, we ended up at Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy at the Coastal Grand Mall. Pulling up to the restaurant, the first thought that popped into my head was “I found the Mexican P.F. Chang’s.” I normally reserve the restaurant building photo for the end of my review, but I’ll put it here just to emphasize my point.

I mean, all it’s missing is a giant horse statue.

Ben and I were starving, so we ordered enough food for about 4 people, even though it was just the two of us (we have a problem). When you first sit down, they bring you chips (which were thinner than typical Mexican restaurants, but they were still good) and a trio of their salsas–traditional Mexican salsa, a mild salsa verde, and a spicy hot salsa. They were all tasty, although the “spicy” salsa was not very spicy at all. We started with the chile con queso (traditional dip made with melted, blended cheeses and fresh roasted Poblano and Anaheim chiles), which was good but tasted not unlike the Superbowl cheese dip you make with Velveeta and Rotel. I was kind of bummed (but not really surprised) that they used a yellow cheese instead of white, but that’s what we get for going to Mexican P.F. Chang’s.

I’m still trying to get the hang of my new cell phone camera.

Our second appetizer was the Jalapeño Cheese fritters (crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Deliciously delicate hand-breaded fritters, oozing with minced jalapeño and melted cheese. Served with ranch dressing), from their new “Tapas And Small Bites” menu. These were freaking delicious. I wish we would’ve nixed the cheese dip and gotten two orders of the fritters, because they were seriously so yummy. They also paired really well with the ranch dressing, and I loved the little container they came in.

Apparently, Fritters are the new “It” food. Which I’m totally ok with.

The cheese LITERALLY oozes out.

For my entree, I ordered the chicken nachos (Individual tortilla chips baked with cheese and topped with seasoned ground beef, shredded beef, chicken or refried beans in any combination. Served with sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo and jalapeño slices). I was really confused by the waiter’s follow up question, which was “Ok, did you want 5 or 10?” … what. I ordered 10, thinking I was only going to get 10 of the little tortilla chips like the ones on our table, but they turned out to be HUGE chips. Like, we’re talking taco shell-sized chips here. I definitely should’ve only gotten 5. The presentation was really pretty, but the nachos left a little something to be desired. And I definitely was not a fan of their guacamole, which had a paste like consistency to it (and flavor to match).

More like disappointment nachos.

Ben ordered The Grande combination plate (Three enchiladas – one beef, one cheese and one sour cream chicken – a cheese chile relleno, tamale, crispy beef taco and guacamole). I was surprised by how much I liked the tamale–it was flavorful and not on the dry side like tamales tend to be. The cheese enchilada was seriously cheesy. They definitely did not skimp on the cheese. It also came with beans and rice, which were very good as well (but not anything special). The only thing Ben wasn’t a huge fan of was the beef enchilada, which he said was kind of dry. We were both too full to even try the beef taco, which came on its own separate plate, so I have no idea how that was.

When they say “Grande,” they are not joking around.

All in all, I’d say we had a pleasant experience at Abuelo’s, but I’m not in any hurry to go back. Partly because of the food, but mostly because I hate Myrtle Beach. Plus, I really prefer more authentic Mexican food to Abuelo’s Tex-Mexican fare.

Also this creepy statue

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy
740 Coastal Grand Cir
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 448-5533

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

So, if you read my blog or know anything about me, you know that I have a weakness for macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and Cheese is my kryptonite… no matter how well I’m doing on a diet, I can’t ever seem to resist some cheesy mac. I guess if I’m being honest, I love anything with copious amounts of melted cheese on it–grilled cheese, fettucini alfredo, lasagna, queso dip, etc. I read somewhere once in a marketing textbook (or maybe I dreamed it…it’s really hard to say), that people are 70% more likely to buy something if it’s illustrated with a picture of melted cheese (I know I’m guilty of this, so we’ll call it science).

WHY WAS THIS NOT A MAJOR OFFERED BY THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON??

Recently my mom posted a video on my wall of some italian guy named Fabio making italian macaroni and cheese, and even though I’d decided that morning I was going to start dieting, I knew that if I didn’t make that recipe soon, I’d be dreaming about Mac n Cheese for the next few weeks. So, of course, I went out that afternoon and bought all of the ingredients I needed for my cheese extravaganza.

Oddly enough, this did not make the list.

I edited the recipe a bit from Fabio’s recommendations, partly because I couldn’t find fontina cheese, and partly because it is impossible for me to exactly follow directions of any kind. So below is my edited recipe from Fabio’s Italian Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dry elbow macaroni
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces shredded smoked gouda cheese ( just got a round from Bi-Lo and shredded the entire thing)
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (or gorgonzola)
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 1 lemon, zested
• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Put the heavy cream and all the cheeses into a metal mixing bowl.
2. Add cracked pepper and pinch of salt to cream and cheese.
3. Put the bowl on top of a pot of boiling water on medium high and stir until the cheese is melted, set it aside.
4. Cook pasta in the pot of boiling water until al dente.
5. Drain the pasta and set aside.
6. Saute the minced garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft.
7. Remove garlic and mix with pasta.
8. Mix in the cheese sauce, and put in the pot and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. At this point, if you didn’t want to bake the macaroni, you could eat it right now. It tasted great and would’ve made a great creamy macaroni and cheese. I kind of wish I’d set some aside to compare the difference in taste.
   

   This is kind of what it looked like. I was too busy shoveling macaroni into my mouth to take a picture.

9. While the sauce is heating, put the breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
10. Place Mac and cheese in an oven safe container and top with bread crumb mixture and bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. I made the mistake of leaving the macaroni in too long. The original recipe said 15-20 minutes, and I left it in for 17, and my finished result was not as creamy as I’d wanted it to be. I think it would have been much better had I not left it in as long.
11. Also, I topped it with some more cheese, which I would advise against doing, since the cheese will burn before everything else is finished cooking. If you do want to top it with some cheese, do it like 2 minutes before you plan to take it out, that will it will be melty and delicious, and not burnt.

aaaand there goes my diet again.

Quote of the Day 2/20/12

Happy President’s Day, everyone! I suppose you’re all thinking that I’m going to put some kind of presidential food quote up today, but YOU’RE WRONG! I like to keep you guys on the edge of your seats. I don’t want to become predictable… you’ll all get bored, and I can’t be having that!

This weekend I spent 3 awesome days at Auburn University (War Eagle anyone? Cheers, Lauren). I got to meet a lot of Ben’s friends, and I loved all of them. I learned an awesome new party game (which I can’t wait to play again), I also got to walk around campus–it was beautiful, but it couldn’t have been any different from College of Charleston which was kind of overwhelming.

I had a DELICIOUS lemonade at Toomer’s Corner, but other than that, I didn’t really get to experience the local cuisine, which I kind of regret. But, I digress. This week’s food quote comes from a former Auburn student (thanks, Wikipedia, for gracing me with this knowledge). Even though he never officially graduated, I think he’s hilarious (and the only Auburn Alum who had any food-related quote that I could find online), and I can definitely relate to the following quote (perhaps a little too much).

“When you’re fat, you become an expert on restaurants.”

–Charles Barkley

More like "War Damn Dinner," am I right??

The World’s Best Lasagna

So for my official “Night Before My Last Day Dinner Party” I decided to make lasagna for the coworkers I invited over to share in the feast. I had all of these people to impress so I knew I had to do something more than just thaw out a Stouffer’s lasagna (although Stouffer’s is delicious). So I found this recipe online HERE and tweaked it a bit to fit with what I had and how much time I had to do it in. Here is my tweaked recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons dried parsley
• No-boil lasagna noodles (I used about 24)
• 32 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 12 slices provolone cheese
• 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large saute pan (one with high sides, you’re going to be adding a bunch of liquid to it), cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
   

   Meat sauce done right.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 ladle full of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with ricotta cheese mixture, and layer with sliced tomatoes. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. I eyeballed this, so just use what feels right. I topped it with a bit more meat sauce and then stacked the noodles on top. Repeat layers.
   

   Noodle meat. (that’s what she said)

5.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 6 slices of provolone and cover with foil. I used non-stick foil with the non-stick side down toward the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking. You could do the same basic thing by spraying aluminum foil with some Pam or other non-stick spray.
   

   I’ll have a side of cheese with my cheese, please. Also, noodle meat.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I noticed that the cheese was browning a bit too much around the 19 minute mark, so I took it out a bit early.
   

   Right after I took the foil off.

   

   19 minutes later. aka perfection.

Needless to say, the lasagna was pretty ballin’. Everyone ate pretty much all of it. I made two casseroles full and only one little slice was left over. I laid out hors d’oeurves to accompany the lasagna, including buttery crescent rolls, meat balls and tomato sauce, and mini caprese salad bites (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil on a toothpick).

I seriously could eat ten thousand of these things. So. Good.

Les brought salad and we all drank wine to go with it. We laughed and talked for like 3 hours. Probably the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. Plus the lasagna was delicious. Then I made chocolate chip biscotti for dessert. It was pretty decadent.

Biscotti is italian for “Cookies from Heaven”

I’m pretty freaking awesome.