Dinner
A couple of weeks ago we decided to go see a Broadway show that was coming to the Hanover Theater in Worcester, Massachusetts and what’s a show…with out great dinner! I did a little research on restaurants near the theater and came across Bocado. Bocado is located at 82 Winter Street in Worcester. Bocado is a Tapas and wine bar meaning lots of small plates to share. We decided to do what they call the “Bocado Experience” for $80.00, not including drinks for two people. This included two items from the meat and cheese section of the menu and six…yes six tapas choices along with churros and chocolate sauce for dessert. We came hungry, so we were ready for the food to start!
We started our choices with the fried goat cheese with honey, warm bread, and their classic chorizo. A small pickled pepper and a little square of quince came on the plate as well. The chorizo was very good, spicy not too much. The absolute star of this dish was the fried goat cheese with honey that we spread on the warm bread. This was so delicious my description will not do this plate justice. It was crunchy, creamy, sweet and a little bit of tart from the goat cheese. I have made fried goat cheese in the past and really enjoyed it but to have it with the honey really put it over the top. I will definitely be re creating this dish at home sooner than later.
Next was the fried calamari with lemon, garlic, and crispy capers with an orange horseradish crema with piquillo peppers. ( sorry no picture, did I mention how hungry we were?) We enjoyed this dish as well, I think I liked it a little more than Jim but I have to say the calamari was so tender and sweet and then you get a small amount of hot from the sauce. I would order this again in a heartbeat!
This next dish was Jim’s favorite, well along with the fried goat cheese. It was the pork meatballs with fig, red wine, and blue cheese. When you take a bite of the meatball with the fig and blue cheese, it is literally the perfect bite. The meatball was so tender, then came the sweet from the fig and then the tang of the blue cheese. These were definitely a highlight and one we kept going back for. We tried to contain ourselves as we still had so much more coming out. Needless to
Next dish is one of my all time favorite dishes to order anywhere. Who does not love bacon wrapped scallops? Sweet and salty is never bad but at Bocado the scallops are served with white truffle honey and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes added just a pinch of heat to the sweet and salty bite. Needless to say, yes I ate them all. In my defense they were not the really big scallops. By now we really needed our stretch pants on as we were slowing down but still had four more dishes coming!
Shrimp with olive oil, garlic and parsley was up next. This was another great dish with nice flavors from the garlic and parsley, A
5 hour braised beef in a barbecue sauce with mashed potatoes and creme fraise. This beef was so tender, no knife needed here. This was another home run, so much so we were taking; it back to the hotel with
One of Jim’s all-time favorite foods is beans and rice. So for the last main course, Jim picked the steak and rice. This was sliced steak with rice and beans. The steak had a piquillo chimichurri sauce that brought an incredible amount of flavor to the dish. A little hot but not overpowering. This was a delicious dish with tons of flavor and another dish we were not able to finish but we’re taking it with us!
Last, but not least, was dessert. You don’t get a choice with the dessert. Everyone gets the churros with chocolate sauce. I love churros so I was perfectly fine with this! If you are not familiar with churros they are strips of fried dough and here they are served with a chocolate dipping sauce. Jim liked the churros without the sauce, but come on now, what’s not better with chocolate? I enjoyed my bites with the chocolate sauce!
This was an amazing experience from start to finish. Our waitress, I believe her name was Shannon, was born at the old Pease Air Force base and grew up in the Portsmouth, NH area. We had lots to talk about and so many places in common that we all love. The food was nothing shy of some of the best food we have had and hands down the best tapas bar we have been to. The portions are not small at all, you will not leave hungry. so many options and
Although our experience was over and we had our To-Go Bag in hand, I thought I would share with you that there is a significant amount of homeless people in Worcester. We passed many going to the theater and then to the restaurant. When we saw a young man sitting under the bridge with a sign that said something about smiling and he was not asking for money or anything at all, we decided he needed our To-Go Bag more than we did. Needless to say, he was very happy and extremely thankful.
If you find yourself in Worcester, Massachusetts be sure to make a reservation at Bocado as they fill up every night for dinner. Check out their full menu on line and be sure to give them a like on Facebook.
Enjoy!
Sound on?
This recipe was a Pinterest find. Although it takes a bit of time to put together we enjoyed these as an afternoon snack! I air fried them but these could easily be baked or even grilled. The salty bacon with the heat of the jalapeño and the cream cheese topped with a sweet BBQ sauce….what could be better? I know I’ll be making them again soon.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 jalapeño’s, top cut off and seeds inside removed
- 3/4 cup cream cheese
- 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 scallion, diced
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin
- 8 slices of bacon
- 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, we used a sweet sauce/ extra for serving if desired
DIRECTIONS
Slice the tops of the jalapeños off. Make a slit in each jalapeño along one side and carefully remove the seeds. Mix together cream cheese, cheese and scallions, and stuff the jalapeños with this mixture, trying not to overfill.
Pound the chicken so it is thin. Depending on the size of the chicken, slice into 8 strips. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Wrap one chicken strip around each jalapeño popper. Wrap one slice of bacon around each chicken jalapeño trying to seal the top opening with the chicken and bacon so the cheese does not ooze out. Secure with a toothpick or two.
Place the poppers in the air fryer and air fry at 350 for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, brush the bacon wrapped chicken with the barbecue sauce and cook at 400 degrees for 2 minutes. Remove from the fryer, remove toothpicks and serve warm with additional BBQ sauce if desired.
Enjoy!
We have so many friends and family that need to be gluten free for health reasons. I am always looking for something that is not only easy and delicious but one that everyone can enjoy. This is one of those recipes. You can even add a little “topping bar” so everyone can make it their own. Extra Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, olives and anything else you like on your pizza! I took the time to caramelize some onions to add to the slow cooker but this is a recipe that almost anything goes. For those that can eat gluten, this would be great served on sub rolls!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 bag of frozen meatballs, I used gluten free
- 2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
- 1 package of pepperoni, cut in half
- 4 ounces of cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- any additional toppings your family likes.
Spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add the meatballs, pizza sauce and pepperoni into your slow cooker. Mix well. If you are going to make the caramelized onions, add the olive oil into a medium pan and add thinly sliced onions. Let the onions cook until golden brown, stirring often. Once golden brown,
Enjoy!
My family gets very tired of chicken and this dish brought everyone back to enjoying chicken again. There were no complaints from anyone about this dinner. And it was super easy for me too as I made this in the air fryer, but this can be baked as well. This picture does not do the dish justice. The chicken is filled with spinach and cheese, then coated in panko for the crunch factor and served with warm marinara sauce. Simple and delicious!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 5 ounces of baby spinach leaves, about 1/2 a bag
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons garlic infused oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs
- Warm marinara sauce to serve
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a medium fry pan over medium heat add the garlic infused oil and the baby spinach. Sauté until wilted. Remove from heat and let cool. Pound the chicken breast until thin. When the spinach has cooled divide the spinach between each of the chicken breasts making a layer over the chicken. Top the spinach with the cheese, again divided between all of the chicken. Fold the chicken over so the spinach and cheese are in the middle of the pounded chicken. Secure the folded chicken with 2-3 toothpicks keeping the stuffing in the chicken the best you can.
Whisk the two eggs and place them in a dish large enough to be able to coat the chicken. Place the panko in another dish also large enough to fit the chicken. Mix in salt and pepper to the panko.
Taking the chicken one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs then into the panko to
Place the chicken in your air fryer and fry at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked completely through. Top with warm marinara sauce.
Enjoy!
We love Thai food and one of the dishes my husband gets most often is Pad Thai. I don’t cook many Thai dishes but decided to give Shrimp Pad Thai a try and I’m so glad I did. It was so easy and we really love the sauce in this recipe. This is great for a busy week night dish as it comes together very fast once the noodles have soaked.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 Oz. Rice noodles
- 3 Tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
- 1 pound uncooked medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon ground paprika
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 scallions, sliced
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 40 minutes. The noodles will soften but will still be firm to the touch. They will continue to cook and soften when added to the hot skillet. After 30 minutes drain and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and shrimp. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, add noodles and bell pepper slices and continue to cook until noodles are translucent, about 5 more minutes.
Add fish sauce, sugar, vinegar and paprika. Stir until well mixed. Create a well by pushing the noodle mixture to the sides of the skillet. Add the beaten egg into the well and let cook until the egg just starts to set then stir the cooked egg into the rest of the noodle mixture. Add soy sauce, scallions and bean sprouts stir to mix. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
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