The Cheesecake Factory

Into sisters but not chain restaurants… so I thought.
 

I met my four sisters for brunch in Minneapolis and of the 5 items we tried, every one of them was high-quality and we had a variety.

Even the guacamole egg rolls – which I thought would be typical bar food - were wonderful.

Guacamole Egg Rolls

Dipping sauce:

3-4 t white vinegar
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 t tamarind pulp
1/2 c honey
1 pinch powdered saffron
1/2 c chopped cashews
2/3 c fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves
2 green onions
1 T granulated sugar
1 t ground black pepper
1 t ground cumin
1/4 c olive oil

Egg Rolls:

1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, & diced
1 T minced red onion
2 T sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
1/2 t fresh cilantro, chopped
1 pinch salt
3 egg roll wraps
1 egg, beaten

Stir together vinegars, tamarind, honey, and saffron in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute. Stir until tamarind is dissolved. In a blender, puree tamarind mixture, cashews, 2/3 c cilantro, garlic, onions, sugar, pepper, and cumin. Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in oil. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Gently stir together avocado, tomatoes, onion, 1/2 t cilantro, and salt. Distribute filling evenly onto center of each egg roll wrapper. Position a wrapper so that a corner is pointing toward you; fold the bottom corner up, 1/4 of the way over the filling. Brush remaining corners and edges of the wrapper with egg, roll up from side to side, fold top corner over all and press to seal.

Repeat with remaining wrappers. Continue by deep-frying the egg rolls in 375 degree oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.

Conclusion: This is one chain restaurant I would fearlessly try again… if for nothing else a piece of the Cheesecake.

And speaking of desserts…

This little dessert made our Valentine’s dinner. I’m not a mainstream red velet fan but this was worth exploring again.