Tastes of Tulsa: Dilly Deli

Hello! 

I haven't done a restaurant review in a while because, well, I haven't really been around. It was time to get back into the [eating] game, so DWade met me for lunch downtown at a local Tulsa favorite, Dilly Deli.

It's pretty cutesies inside.

Yeah, I had to Google what a "trifle" was too. But seriously, these looked DELICIOUS.

Lovely little city view. 

The ambiance reminded me of a pre-school classroom. 

see: solar system diorama, shelves full of children's books and "Cereal Bar" which is an actual cereal bar.

guess what I f*ckin love fancy drinks.

 

I had the "Brown-Eyed Girl" which consisted of grilled chicken, arugula, melted brie and a lemon-basil mayo on a freshly baked ciabatta roll.

And of course a giant pickle which a scarfed down first. 

mmmmm MMMMMM!

Dan ordered the "Jillian" which was essentially a gourmet meatball sub. I asked him to describe the sandwich in three words, and he gave me: "smashed," "easy" and "melted cheese" as in, the meatballs were smashed down, making the sandwich easier to eat than your average meatball sub. And there was melted cheese on top. 

He also noted that it was delicious. 

Dilly Deli gets an A! Tulsa, your restaurants are pleasing to me.

*Only negative was that our food did take well over 30 minutes to come out. When you're on a lunch break at work, no es bueno. Perhaps they were short-staffed :)
 
Dilly Deli 

402 E 2nd St  Tulsa, OK 74120(918) 938-6382

Wednesday night pick-me-up: Lemon Risotto

I love to cook, though I'm more of a recipe follower than an experimenter. Some days, I come home from work, and all I want to do is spend an hour meandering around in the kitchen. 

My friend Roxana (a fellow Illini who I met in DC) works for a major food distributor and is also a fantastic chef. Her blog, Outside the Cereal Box, is full of exquisite looking, restaurant-quality items that she just casually throws together. 

Her blog is not only extremely appetizing (she also instagrams the shit out of everything she makes), but it's hilarious. 

Check out this post on her Lemon Risotto. Even if you don't make it (which you should) just read it. Highly entertaining. Actually you'll need to read the post to even get any of my jokes in this post....so...

Dan was out at some boring work function, so I got to spend the night with Ray. 

Walked out of Whole Foods with everything except fresh parsley. This was Plan B. 

 Just sitting back with my wine, tending to my risotto. 

Yes there are ice cubes in my glass-- I'm classy like that.

I love this view...

In case you were wondering, EB spent the entire time next to me in the kitchen. 

Cooked to perfection! I'm no loser. 

Next time I'm searing some scallops to go along with. Nom Nom Nom. 

Ingredients: 

6 cups chicken stock

1.5 tbs butter

1.5 tbs olive oil 

2 shallots, diced

2 cups Arborio rice

1/4 cup dry white wine

1-2 lemons

1/2-1 cup grated parmesan 

small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

1.5 tbs butter

summertime snackies.

clockwise: 

1. These are delicious. just be careful eating them in the office, because you'll probably piss off your co-workers with all the crunching.

2. THE BEST Chobani flavor by a mile. I have serious beef with Fage...too stingy on the fruit. 

3. Millennial girls love hummus, duh. 

4. Straight up addicted to Green Dragon Tea. Like, it's becoming a problem because it's taking up beer room in the fridge.

I did a Pinterest project.

...and it turned out pretty ok! Used a bunch of old food magazines to create all of the different textures in the letters. 

Currently hanging in my kitchen :) 

Indonesian Peanut Saute

I woke up the other morning with a SERIOUS craving for my favorite dish from Noodles & Company, the Indonesian Peanut Saute. It is spicy and peanut-buttery and the veggies are crunchy and fresh and delicious.

via

Well guess what? There isn't a single Noodles ANYWHERE in the state of Oklahoma. 

Fine. I'll make it myself. 

colorful veggies...and one very interested corgi 

browning the chicken in soy, lime juice, and SIRACHA

sautéed veggies, added chicken, poured over noodles, then tossed together with the peanut sauce.

Recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 3-4 shakes soy sauce
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 16 oz. (1 pkg.) linguine noodles
• 1 Cup shoestring carrots
• 1 Cup broccoli florets, chopped
• green onion
• bean sprouts
• peanuts
• 2-3 limes, sliced
PEANUT SAUCE:
• 1 c. chicken broth
• 6 Tbsp. (heaping) creamy peanut butter
• 2-4 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce - depending on how hot you like it
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 6 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
• 4-5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

Instructions

• In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil, Sriracha, lime, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, salt & pepper. While chicken is cooking, prepare the linguine (to al dente) and make the peanut sauce. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the skillet and wrap in foil to keep warm.
• Re-oil the skillet, add vegetables and saute (except for the bean sprouts, add those a few minutes before serving so they are still nice and crunchy and don't get overcooked). Add the chicken and bean sprouts to the skillet, cover, and reduce heat.
• Drain noodles and stir them together with the peanut sauce. Top with veggies & chicken and garnish with peanuts and limes.
• FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE: Combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well blended.