Patrick and Charissa do tequila shots at their rehearsal dinner in Sept. 2006.

Patrick’s my big brother, and lately, enjoys making fun of me because I do this blog. I’m not totally sure why he feels the need to bust my chops, since I clearly learned my nerdy tendencies from him. :P

Anyway, I was thinking of what sort of post I could dedicate to PJ and while I considered an Ode to Marshmallows or Top Five Reasons You Should Build Your Own Speedometer, that seemed effortful. So instead, I’m going to take us back to our visit to Vegas last January.

Pat and his wife Charissa, and my other brother Tim and his wife Julie, accompanied me and Larry to Las Vegas almost a year ago for a long weekend of gambling, eating and quality sibling time. After our very expensive and extremely tasty visit to B&B Ristorante (Italian Chef Mario Batali’s joint), we next visited Chef Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. And holy crap, it was delish.

If you’re ever in Vegas, or NYC for that matter, go to Mesa Grill. Just do it. I promise you won’t regret it.

As for the reminiscence and dedication to dear big brother, I thought I’d post the famous Mesa Grill Margarita recipe – Bobby Flay’s “Ultimate Margarita” – since I know how much Pat likes a good round (or 10) of tequila (wink, wink). Read up Patrick, because I expect you to make me one next time I’m in the Windy City.

Mesa Grill Margarita

Serve this margarita on the rocks, straight up, with salt or without. This recipe follows the familiar adage and acronym – K.I.S.S. – or Keep It Simple Stupid. And forget the sour mix – the fresh lime juice in this sucker is what makes it so much tastier and definitely more authentic.

What you’ll need

• 2 ounces silver tequila (you know the drill PJ — only the good stuff)
• 1 ounce orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• Ice cubes
• 1 lime slice
• Kosher salt (optional)

What you do

Pour the tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice into a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Rub the rim of a rocks glass with the lime slice and dip in a plate of salt. Strain the mixture into the glass and garnish with the lime slice.

Photo credit: ILoveButter on Flickr

If you’ve never experienced the glory of the German pancake, you’re missing out. A German pancake, aka a “Big German” or “Dutch Baby” at the Original Pancake House (that’s OPH, not OHOP), is a cross between a pancake, popover and crepe. Only it’s gigantic. When you order it at the Original Pancake House and the server brings it to your table, there inevitably follows some “oohs,” or “mmms,” or “damn, that’s big!”

A German pancake is an individual experience; everyone seems to have their own way of eating it. Some like it with lemon and powered sugar, others like it with jam, still others like it with butter and syrup. Like an Oreo, there are different methods of consumption, like ripping off a slice, rolling it up and gulping it down. Or perhaps the more civil approach of cutting dainty pieces with a knife and fork. Personally, I like lots of lemon and powered sugar, via the Rip’n'Roll method.

My friend Cora originally found the German pancake recipe online and knowing that I shared her love (obsession) for such glorious gastronomy, she was kind enough to pass it along. Ever since, my fiancé Larry has been serving up German goodness, perfecting it with each trial. (I, of course, am always happy to be the guinea pig.) After several recipes and numerous iterations… drum roll please… we think we got it! The perfect German pancake.

German Pancake

Makes one pancake, serves 1-2 people

What you’ll need

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cream or vitamin D milk
• 3 tablespoons melted butter (1 1/2 for batter, 1 1/2 for pan)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional, but recommended)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but recommended)
• a touch of nutmeg (optional)

What you do

Note: It’s important to use cream or vitamin D milk. Two percent and more skim will result in a thicker pancake that doesn’t retain its puff.

Turn oven on to 400 degrees. Stick a 12 inch oven-safe sauté pan in the oven for approximately 20 minutes (the idea here being that the pan needs to be ripping hot).

Then, combine eggs and flour, whisk until smooth and pale yellow. Add the cream or milk, about 1 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter, the sugar, salt, and any extras if you want ‘em (i.e. vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg). Mix.

When the pan is rip-roaring hot, add about 1 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter to it and put back into oven for about a minute (don’t forget the oven mitts!). Then, pull the pan back out again and quickly add the batter.

Note: Getting your pan super hot is super important. If your pancake doesn’t puff up, the pan may not have been hot enough.

Place back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes, the pancake should have high puffed-up sides, a bubbly, slightly browned middle that will quickly fall, and an overall awesome appearance. Remove from oven, let cool briefly and eat!

Now that’s what I call mmm, mmm, gutë!

Photo credit: ex.libris on Flickr.

I’m not really the cook in the fam, but I think I do make a few things well. And my number one dish, in my opinion, is my spinach lasagna. Since I don’t have any immediate plans for a cookbook, I decided to post the recipe here, because, well, why not share the lasagna love?

Ann-Marie’s Awesome Spinach Lasagna

Serves 4 hungry people.

What you’ll need

• 1 box no-boil lasagna
• 1 (8 oz) container ricotta cheese
• 1 (16 oz) bag partially-skim mozzarella cheese
• About 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, depending on your taste (the stuff in the can — melts better than the fresh stuff)
• 1 egg
• Handful of Tarragon
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
• 1 bag of baby spinach

What you’ll need to achieve awesomeness

• About 1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• About 1/2 cup of aged gruyere or aged gouda (the kind that has “flavor crystals”)

What you do

Set your oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the ricotta, about 3/4 of the mozzarella (12 oz) and the grated parmesan. To achieve awesomeness, you can also add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of your favorite “extra” cheese(s). Personally I love a good caved-aged gruyere or a few-years old gouda. If you are going to add in a special cheese, including a fresh parm, make sure to also use the fake parm because it tends to melt better than the fresh stuff.

Then, add in a hand-full of Tarragon — don’t forget to smash it up good in your hands to bring out the flavor. Mix all together and add more cheese to taste. When it’s to your satisfaction, add the egg (for binding purposes) and mix it all up.

Note: IMHO, salt and pepper aren’t necessary. You get plenty of salt from the cheeses and a peppery taste from the spinach.

When your cheese mixture is ready to go, break out a glass casserole dish. I’ve used a variety of sizes and they all seem to work out just fine with the exception maybe of the really large sort. Feel free to spread a little oil in the dish so you don’t have to worry about sticking later.

First, drizzle a thin layer of sauce on the bottom and spread around (again, this is to help avoid sticking). Then, a layer of lasagna noodles. On top of that, add a hearty portion of the cheese mixture and spread around, making sure to cover the noodles (the moisture from the cheese will help cook the noodles). On top of that, add a big ol’ bunch of spinach. I use the spinach right out of the bag (washing notwithstanding and maybe a touch of the de-stemming). Keep in mind that the spinach will cook down significantly, so you want to have a thick layer. On top of the spinach, spread some sauce. Repeat in this order until you run out of room in your dish.

Again, the order is: sauce, noodles, cheese, spinach, sauce, noodles, cheese, spinach… etc. End on a layer of cheese and to give it some oomph, add the rest of your mozzarella (and some parm if you want) to the top.

Cover your dish with foil and cook for 45 minutes. At the end of 45 minutes, you should see the sauce simmering up in the dish. Now, remove the foil (be careful — the cheese might stick to the foil). Crank your oven up to broil and stick the lasagna back in until the top is nice and brown ‘n bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

And there you have it! Throw in some garlic bread (and maybe a salad for ruffage) and you’ve got yourself a certain crowd-pleaser.