Black Coffee and a Donut

#wildsaturdaynight

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 00:58:00 +0000

Cranked up my oven and had a wild Saturday night! Roasted baby artichokes w/aioli:

And roasted garlic & herb sausage over apples, onion & carrot w/cider jus:

With extra bay leaves because I accidentally ordered a pillowcase-worth from Amazon and now I put tons of them in everything and give them away as gifts. Like a crazy person.

BCD Eats on Instagram: Mujadarra from Cook's Illustrated

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:51:00 +0000

by EP

This week I attempted a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Mujadarra, a Middle Eastern rice and lentils recipe with crispy fried onions on top and a garlicky yogurt sauce on the side.

As usual, the ATK method was a bit cumbersome but successful. The onions specifically had a funny method but it worked great: peel, halve, and slice onions into 1/4-in pieces; toss with 2 tsp salt; microwave for 5 min; rinse onions and dry them well. ATK recommended a salad spinner for the drying process and it worked great! Then fry the onions over high heat in vegetable oil all at once - no batches necessary. It took about 20 min for them to get really dark and chewy/crispy:

A great vegetarian meal that I'll definitely be making again. Though, as with many recipes, I get the sense that mujadarra is different in every household, so I may try another version next time. One commenter recommended that I use dates - I have a feeling that would be so good with the savory onions and rice/lentils!

Happy nom-ing!
EP

ps. We're trying a new short-form/social media-focused approach to blogging, in an attempt to blog more! Follow us on Instagram (Erin, Xani) or Twitter (Erin; Xani) for more!

Let Me Entertain You, Let Me Make You Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 18:44:00 +0000

by EP

One of my new years resolutions was to entertain more. I have a lovely little home, I love to cook, and I love to socialize - why not combine them by entertaining friends? The problem is, when you are so used to cooking for one, as I do most days, you overlook such skills necessary for entertaining as: serving food on time, serving enough food, working in courses, talking to others while cooking/following a recipe, etc. But, the only way to get better at something is to practice, right? Of course right.

But seriously, how cute is my little apartment?

I've had two dinner parties in 2014 thus far, and I hope there will be many more! For the first, I invited friends Katie, Ryan, and Julie over for an Israel-themed dinner. Ryan and Katie are doing a fun project where they are "cooking around the world" alphabetically - 26 meals from an alphabetical list of countries. They were kind enough to invite me over for their Russian meal, which was lovely and tasty (Ryan even made blinis!). I asked what their "I" country was and they said India, but this leaves out Italy and Israel, both great food destinations, so I invited them for Israel night. This of course gave me a chance to cook from "Jerusalem," about which I've already blogged. I love it so.

One of the first rules of entertaining is don't make something you've never made before. I actually abided by this rule and mostly made dishes that I'd made at least once:

- Apps: homemade hummus, crudites, pita
- Salad: Spinach salad with dates, onion, pita, and almonds
- Main course: Pasta with feta, yogurt, basil, peas, and spiced pine nuts
- Dessert: Pistachio-almond cigars with vanilla ice cream

I've already blogged about the authentic hummus and wonderful spinach salad and pasta in my Jerusalem post, and they were once again delicious. I am confident my guests enjoyed them. I even made the spinach salad again for myself a few days later (since I still had all the ingredients) and it was so satisfying.

For dessert, I decided to make something I'd never made before: pistachio-almond cigars. This involved making a paste of ground pistachios and almonds, sugar, water, vanilla, and an egg yolk, and then making a phyllo cigar filled with said paste. I'd like to blame the phyllo for "not behaving" or being "finnicky," but I'll own up to the fact(s) that: (1) I was impatient and tried to use partially frozen phyllo that (2) I forgot to take out in advance. Through some trial and error I was able to fill, form, and fry some of the cigars.

Toasted pistachios and almonds, ground

But there were some other problems, like the filling was seeping out and frying (and then burning) in the hot oil. I had to change the oil halfway through. I also found that for all this trouble, it didn't make very many cigars. I was worried there wouldn't be enough dessert for the group.

So, I called Xani for some dessert triage. She suggested that I chop up the finished cigars and serve them with ice cream, to make them go a little further (and spare me from having to make more cigars). While it pained me a little to destroy the cigars that I had carefully formed, in the end this was the perfect solution. The cigars were pretty sweet so having them in smaller pieces was great, and the nutty flavor went great with vanilla ice cream. I sprinkled some crushed pistachios on top for a final flourish. (Note: who knew Ben & Jerry's vanilla was so tasty?) Thanks Xani!

My guests enjoyed the dessert (as did I!) and it was a great way to end our meal. (I'll add that in between dinner and dessert, we played a little Foodie Fight Rematch and had a great time!)

This past weekend I had friends over again. I invited my good friends Mark and Craig over for a casual Sunday dinner during the Superbowl. While I was tempted to make "game-day" themed foods, I went with old stand-bys instead to make it less stressful. Plus, we were enjoying our conversation so much, we barely paid attention to the game (not that there was much to pay attention to except the commercials and half-time show!).

I served:

- Apps: Genoa salami, soppressata, and crackers; raw almonds
- Salad: Spinach salad with lemon vinaigrette
- Main: Smitten Kitchen butternut squash gallette
- Dessert: Amateur Gourmet brownies, with vanilla ice cream

Since we were not having meat in the main course, I served some charcuterie as our pre-dinner snack. Likewise, there was a lot of cheese in the gallette, so I didn't feel compelled to serve cheese as an hors d'eouvre.

Everything went off without a hitch, I'm happy to report. While I had made the dough for the gallette the night before, and the butternut squash filling (featuring roasted butternut squash, fontina cheese, caramelized onions with a bit of cayenne, and sage) earlier in the day, I rolled out the dough and put the gallette together in front of my guests while carrying on a conversation. Now that's a skill. But since I'd made it before, it was doable.

The gallette was well-received and just as good as I remembered from when I made it in the fall. Sweet, salty, a little spicy, and so savory. I used sage as the herb (instead of thyme - either was acceptable) and it added a wonderful aroma. We all had seconds!

We all had seconds, yet there was a whole half of the gallette leftover! The recipe makes a huge portion.

The brownies went into the oven a little later than planned, a few minutes before Mark and Craig arrived. I was going to make a more complicated brownie from the Ottolenghi cookbook (featuring caramel and raspberry jam) but I didn't think I'd have time, so I made a game-time decision (har har) to go with an old standby, the Amateur Gourmet's "Best Brownies of Your Life." I'll note that I took direction from Ottolenghi, though, who strongly warned about overcooked brownies, and said it's better to slightly undercook them and then let them set up in the fridge before cutting. This is what I attempted to do and they were moist and chewy and so chocolate-y. Good lesson, there. The sprinkle of coarse salt over the top (before baking) didn't hurt one bit, either.

It's almost like I'm getting the hang of this! I can't wait to have more folks over. Friends - get in touch!!

Happy entertaining,
EP

A Rose By Any Other Name

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 18:03:00 +0000

by EP

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Rose's Luxury in the Eastern Market/Barracks Row neighborhood. This place is on every top restaurant list and is the talk of the town (at least, according to my twitter feed). I had been wanting to go but in the back of my mind was skeptical - is this place really that amazing? I'm pretty snobby - maybe this place isn't all it's cracked up to be? Spoiler alert: IT IS.

During the polar vortex that brought temperatures in the area down to single digits (not to mention the wind chills), best buddies Mark and Craig and I headed down to Southeast DC. Normally the wait time is about 2 hours at Rose's, even if you get there right when they open at 5:30. Yeesh. Mark got there at 5:40 and by some polar vortex miracle, we were seated at 6:10. I was excited, to say the least. There may have been applause when we were seated. Maybe.

The space is cozy but modern, not too stuffy, not too crowded. It was a nice mix of modern and classic, which even the plates themselves reflected.

We saw both old-timey dishware, like this, and modern dishware

We started with some bubbles - why not?

Rose's has a very interesting vibe to it. On the one hand, it's the hottest place in town, it's impossible to get in, yet the people there are so cool about it, so friendly, and not a whiff of pretentiousness about them. Even the menu is chill, and welcomes you with the following:

"Okay, so here's how this works:

- Order yourself a nice cocktail or glass of wine

- Choose a couple of Small/Family style dishes to share

- Eat, go home, come back tomorrow."

The menu also concludes with "All unattended or misbehaving children will be given a shot of espresso and a free puppy." Good policy!

The staff there are so enthusiastic about what they do and the food that they are presenting. Our server was almost as excited as we were. First, he brought us a wee loaf of bread that apparently incorporated cooked potato into the dough. The potato bread was served with a butter-buttermilk spread with chopped potato skins and chives. Put it all together and what do you get? Tastes like a baked potato, but with the light fluffiness of a croissant. ZOMG.

We ordered about 8 items off the menu and they were all a share-able size - not too teeny but not so large that there were leftovers. Also the deliciousness factor contributed to the absence of leftovers.

We started with the Vietnamese Pate, Peanuts, Herbs, and Garlic Bread

This was essentially very fancy banh mi and was really delicious.

I had been hearing about the Pork Sausage, Habanero, and Lychee Salad from my twitter peeps. I normally am not a huge lychee fan, and it sounded like a very strange flavor combination, but lo and behold, this was magnificent. There was definitely something coconutty going on in here too - perhaps the cream. The pic below is as presented, but you need to stir it up and get all the flavors in one bite: spicy sausage, spicy habanero, sweet lychee, raw onion, creamy coconut. As someone said about this (and many of the dishes at Rose's), this is not a strange combination of flavors for the sake of shock value; it really works. Like adding a hip hop beat to a classical piece - they go together when you least expect it.

We also tried the Burnt Romaine with Avocado, Poblano, and Cotija Cheese. This was not your typical grilled romaine salad - lots of great strong flavors in here and we definitely could have eaten more.

The Popcorn Soup with Grilled Lobster was another item whose reputation preceded it. We had to get it. And, I pretty much lost my mind when I took my first sip. It sounds obvious but it really did taste like popcorn in soup form! So buttery and corn-y, and then you are surprised with chunks of lobster at the bottom!? I could have bathed in this.

Note: I recently saw on Rose's Instagram feed that they are no longer serving this soup! Tragic. But I'm sure they will come up with something equally mind-blowing. Or we will get out the pitchforks and torches, right? Right!

Another veggie dish was the Crispy Sprouts with Tarragon, Mint, and Winter Citrus Vinaigrette. This was very good, though I think the other dishes out-shined it. At any other restaurant I'd probably be raving, but it's all relative.

There were several pastas on the menu but there was also a Pasta Special, featuring several cheeses in a creamy sauce, and sliced truffles over the top. I don't know about you but "sliced truffles over the top" makes it non-negotiable.

This was excellent. The truffle flavor was actually stronger as a scent than as a flavor, but it was lovely as creamy pastas go.

Then our waiter brought out a dish we didn't order, a surprise dish of Linguettini with Hazelnut-Parsley Pesto and Parmesan. It was really delicious - very earthy from the herbs and nuts, and the pasta was perfectly cooked. I think we might have liked this better than the truffle pasta!

Then, another surprise dish came out, the Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken, Honey, Benne Seed. I'm not sure if this was a mistake or if the waiter had heard us struggling with whether to order this, but I am SO glad it made it to our table. This was incredible fried chicken: sweet, savory, crispy, juicy. And they served it with a teeny bottle of Crystal hot sauce - perfect.

We also ordered the Classic French "Pommes Puree" with Crispy Potato Skins and Red Wine Sauce. As was explained to us, classic pommes puree is half potato-half butter, and that's pretty much what we got. It was super creamy and rich, complemented by the red wine sauce and crispy bits of potato skin, and a bit of chive for some onion-y flavor. It was presented in a wee saucepan, which made me love it even more.

Our last savory dish was the Softshell Crawfish, Antebellum Grits, Crystal Hot Sauce Beurre Blanc. This was another dish I had heard about and seen in Rose's Instagram feed. I had never had a softshell crawfish but it was just as I expected from my soft-shell crab experience: all the flavor of the hard-shell version but with none of the work! The cornmeal coating was crunchy (and didn't fall off), and the grits were creamy and spicy from the Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc. Tangy, creamy, crunchy, fishy. Mmmmmm.

Although we were reaching tummy capacity by this point, we had to try some of their desserts. We ordered coffees (serve in little French presses, my favorite), and two desserts. First we got the Chocolate Cremeux with salt and toasted bread (and some other stuff - I can't find the descriptions on their website). The cremeux was very rich like a chocolate mousse but much denser. The salt on top and the oiled toasted bread were perfect accompaniments.

We also got the Olive Oil Cake with some sort of ice cream. Although I don't remember the details, I remember this being a favorite - nice balance of flavors.

They even gave us a little treat with our bill: chocolate mint meringues. Delish!

In short, it's worth the hype and worth the wait. There are plenty of nice bars (or not-so-nice, if that's your thing) in that area where you can kill a few hours. (Note that the first time Mark, Craig, and I tried to go, we didn't feel like waiting so we went up the street and had a lovely meal at Ambar, which serves Balkan cuisine (and lots of cabbage!). Very very good.)

Bon appetit! See you soon, Rose!!

Holiday Gifts 2013: Just Add Vodka

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 18:37:00 +0000

by EP

This year, while I made plenty of cookies, I didn't give them away as formal holiday gifts, as I've done in the past. I wanted to do something a little different. I was inspired by my friend Ginger, who gave me a small bottle of homemade vanilla extract last year, which I used in all my baking until it was gone. I cleverly told everyone that whatever treat I'd made was made with "local vanilla."

This year I decided I'd completely steal the idea and do the same. But with homemade vanilla, you have to start early - most sources say it takes at minimum 3 months for the vanilla beans and vodka to soak long enough for a good vanilla flavor. So in September, right after we got back from our amazing Alaskan cruise, I bought a bottle of mid-level vodka (Smirnoff), and ordered some vanilla beans from Beanilla (25 Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans for $25 - note that this is a bargain compared to prices at grocery stores, which are something like $7 for 2 beans).

I consulted some websites to find out what the ratio of beans to vodka should be, and they varied widely: some said for every 8 oz vodka, use 3-5 beans; but Martha said just 2 beans per cup would be enough. I had a 750 mL bottle of vodka, which is approximately 25 oz, about 3 cups. I think I used about a dozen beans. I split the beans almost all the way down, and popped them in the vodka bottle.

Then I let the vanilla hang out for a couple of months, giving it a shake every now and again. I kept it in my cupboard with my oils and vinegars, so whenever I was in there rooting around for something, I'd give the bottle a shake.

I ended up bottling the vanilla around the new year, so it steeped for 4 months. I purchased little 2-oz Boston round glass bottles from Amazon (making sure they would be food-safe). Once I had filled all the bottles I could, I added a few more fresh (split) vanilla beans to the old ones, and added more vodka to the bottle. I'll have another batch in a few months!

Then there was the matter of the label. Ginger's bottles had had cute little labels and I wanted to do the same. I consulted with my good friend Marissa, who is an illustrator and designer, and she designed a fantastic label for me. I am so in love with it! I purposely did not include a date (e.g., Holidays 2013) so I could continue to use these labels in the future.

She suggested that the design be printed on clear vinyl labels from Smartpress.com and that's exactly what I did. I uploaded the design and they were in touch with a proof, which I approved, and then I got them in the mail a few days later. I love how they turned out! Thank you Marissa!!

The label pre-printing

Ta-da!

So there you have it - a homemade gift that will last for months, makes baked goods delicious, and has no calories!

Happy new year,
EP

It's Cookie Time, It's Cookie Time

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 03:07:00 +0000

by EP

I don't know about you, but whenever cookies are coming out of the oven, I sing "It's cookie time, it's cookie time" a la the great cinematic masterpiece that is "Troop Beverly Hills."

Yes, that just happened.

Speaking of cookies coming out of the oven, our ovens have been working overtime this holiday season! We have been making some great treats - both classics and what we're calling "alterna-cookies": classic cookies with a special twist, like gingersnaps made with bacon fat, or sugar cookies made with goat cheese.

Here's a few things I've been baking up:

Bacon-Snaps

These are soft, chewy gingersnaps that use 3/4 C of bacon fat (from 1 lb of bacon) in place of any other fat.

The bacon fat adds a little special something, a savory smoky bass-line if you will. I'm happy to report that these won the cookie contest at our office holiday party! Xani made these also, for our family's casual holiday party. Excellent all around!

America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies

While admittedly the NYT/Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies are "the best ever," these chocolate chippers from ATK are a very close second, and they don't take 24 hours. (Note that you may not be able to see the recipe since the site is members only. I recommend buying a membership - it's pretty cheap and I need ATK's advice seemingly every day, so it's worth it to me.)

The approach with this recipe was to make the classic Tollhouse Cookies even better. These are made with brown butter and brown sugar, and they are pretty large so you get a nice gradient of crispy outside, firm middle, and soft center. Pass the milk.

Warning: this is one of the best cookie doughs you will ever sneak a taste of. Dangerous.

Russian Chocolate Cheese Balls

A few friends invited me over for a Russian-themed dinner party so I made a batch of these bon-bon like candies, which I used to buy at the Russian market on Reisterstown Road in Baltimore. The filling is made with cream cheese, farmer cheese, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Then the mixture is pressed overnight to eliminate moisture. Then you form small balls of the cheese filling and dip it in melted dark chocolate (with a bit of shortening so you get a hard shell around the cheese). I ended up doing a double-dip of chocolate since I had extra, and boy were they great. You wouldn't think the flavors of chocolate + cheese + lemon would work but it does!

(Sorry no pics!)

Goat Cheese Sugar Cookies

Another alterna-cookie I wanted to try this year was a sugar cookie with a bit of goat cheese added in. Otherwise it's a traditional sugar cookie recipe and the dough is rolled in pretty colored nonpareils before baking.

I have to say, while these were chewy, sweet, and pretty, I found these cookies to be a little disappointing, for two reasons: (1) although many of my friends said that they could taste an "extra something" (presumably the goat cheese), I did not. I don't eat a lot of sugar cookies so maybe I am just not expert enough? (2) Through no fault of this recipe at all, sentimentally-speaking, these were not my ideal sugar cookie. Our Grandma Irma used to make sugar cookies that were big, crispy, and browned around the edges (NOT small and chewy, as these were). We would eat them frozen and dunked in sweet milky coffee after dinner. That is the only sugar cookie I have ever loved and I just can't get behind any other. Perhaps my next project should be to try to recreate Irma's version.

World Peace Cookies

These are one of my favorite cookies of all time. They are a perfect balance of salt, chocolate, sweetness, and tender texture. There are never enough to go around. Besides the pressure to "not overmix/overwork" the dough, these are very easy.

The recipe calls for chopped bittersweet chocolate, or mini-chocolate chips. In my snobbery I always opted to chop the chocolate myself. However, in the past I have found that larger chunks of chocolate get in the way when slicing the cold dough, so I went with the mini-chips this time. They worked brilliantly.

Warning: similar to above, this cookie dough, which needs to set up in the fridge/freezer, is killer. Hide it well.

Homemade Mallomars

While I generally eat homemade cookies (my own or Xani's, usually), if I'm going to have a store-bought cookie, I love a Mallomar. They are only available seasonally (in winter, since the chocolate will melt in the summer - I guess they don't use all the stabilizers that all other cookie companies use?), and I thought it'd be a fun project to attempt to make them from scratch. Coincidentally, I made the Mallomars around New Years, and I always think of Mallomars in the context of another movie: "When Harry Met Sally." Billy Crystal's character Harry refers to them as "the greatest cookie of all time" in the final scene right before he goes after ol' Sally (spoiler alert).

I made the marshmallows two days in advance of New Years Eve, since I planned to bring them to a party. On NYE, I made the cookie base (graham cracker-esque) and then placed the marshmallows on top of warm cookies immediately after they were out of the oven. This melted the marshmallow a bit and allowed the cookie and marshmallow to bond and not fall apart when dipped in warm chocolate later. (One slight criticism of the recipe: sometimes the marshmallows melted too much and slid completely off the cookie. Some babysitting was required.). Once cooled, I dipped the cookie-marshmallows in melted semisweet chocolate, and gave each one a sprinkle of kosher salt since all the components were pretty sweet and I thought it could use a little balance.

Like real Mallomars, I think these are best served chilled. I brought them to the NYE party and they were such a hit! I was making friends left and right with these babies. This just goes to show that you CAN buy love, so long as chocolate and homemade marshmallows are involved.

I hope you enjoyed my cookie recap. Now to begin detoxing.

Wishing you a happy and sweet new year!

Erin

ps. My good friends Michael and Leah invited me over for a cookie-baking party a few weeks ago, where we whipped up some great goodies:

My cookie mise-en-place, ready to hit the road!

Nutella filled salted brown butter cookies:

Just add frozen Nutella blorps to the center of each dough ball

Almond butter crunch cookies:

ATK Molasses Spice Cookies (these were my favorites; surprisingly addictive):

Magic New Year Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:43:00 +0000

By Xani

Halllooooooo out there, internet friends. If anyone is still reading, I just wanted to take a moment to wish you a happy new year! It's been a bit of a light year for BCD in 2013, perhaps we can pick up the posting pace in 2014? No promises...

For now, I wanted to share a little recipe I baked up the other day, and was able to share with EP, Dave, and some good BCD friends, George and Jamie. I baked them on a whim on a miserable, rainy day between Xmas and New Years, and if that isn't the perfect time to bake something, I don't know what is. I had just defrosted some homemade applesauce I'd made in the fall, and was inspired to use it to create something delicious, but not quite as rich and decadent as most of the treats I've been surrounded by this holiday season. I fiddled with a recipe I found online, adding cardmom and coconut oil and a bit of whole wheat flour, and they just came out so perfect, with the right amount of crunch outside, a moist inside from the applesauce, and the haunting flavor of cardamom throughout. They are sweet but not overly so, and excellent with a cup of black coffee (but Black Coffee and a Muffin just doesn't have the same ring to it). My muffin testers agreed, describing them as magical and addictive. And Dave ate five of them, so I guess he really liked them, too. So I had to share this little recipe with all our readers, many of whom have been reading this little blog since the very beginning! Perhaps you will want to bake up a batch of these today (they only take about half an hour, surely you can squeeze that in before midnight!) and maybe they will be the magic cure for any hangover symptoms tomorrow (but no promises)...

Whether you start your 2014 with muffins or not, we hope it begins brilliantly and just keeps getting better!

Love from the BCD girls,

X and EP

Cardamom-spiced Applesauce Muffins
based on this recipe from Epicurious.com. Recipe below includes my adjustments

Makes 12 muffinsingredients

For muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 heaping teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar (or a little less if your applesauce is on the sweet side)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup toasted almonds (3 1/2 ounces), coarsely chopped

For topping:

3 tablespoons demerara sugar
3/4 cup sliced, slivered or chopped almonds

Special equipment: a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups, Pam for Baking
preparation

Prepare muffins:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan (I used Pam for Baking which worked perfectly).

Stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then add butter and coconut oil, a little at a time, whisking until mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. Stir in nuts and divide batter among muffin cups.

Make topping and bake:
Stir together topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.

cooks' note:Muffins, cooled completely, keep in an airtight container at room temperature 1 day.

Thanksgivukkah 2013: Once in a Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:11:00 +0000

by EP & Xani

You may have heard that this year, for the first time since 1899, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlapped. This rare occurrence was given an adorable name: Thanksgivukkah.

We decided to embrace this special occasion and convergence of two of our favorite holidays and create a fabulous menu, if we do say so ourselves. Although there won't be another Thanksgivukkah for a long time to come (some say 70,000 years!), we spent countless hours researching and preparing for this day, and we wanted to document this wonderful meal with friends and family.

Here was the menu:

"The Chosen Cocktail" - Jack Daniel's Tennessee Cider + Fresh Apple Cider + Champagne

Xani found the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Cider a few weeks ago and found this recipe which featured it in a champagne cocktail of sorts. The cocktail was delicious and definitely a great accompaniment to our hors d'oeuvres and schmoozing.

Hors d'Oeuvres:
- Chopped Chicken Liver with Pickled Onions
- Crudites with Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Olives

These are standard family noshes and all the credit goes to BCD Mom and Dad. Mom's chopped liver is the best in the business, and since we started serving it alongside pickled red onions, it's even better.

The crudites and olives are an homage to our grandmother, who always served them before Turkey Day when we were growing up. The bleu cheese dressing is our Mom's recipe and it is legendary. Someday we'll convince Mom to go into the salad dressing business . . .

First Course: Parsnip-Thyme Latkes with Creme Fraiche and Cranberry Applesauce

Of course we had to have latkes! Although latkes go against our rule that fried foods (which must be prepared at the last minute) are a no-no for entertaining, we gave it a shot. We used the America's Test Kitchen recipe for potato pancakes, but we replaced some of the potato with shredded parsnip, and we added thyme (an inspiration from a new DC deli, DGS Delicatessen).

Perhaps we made too much batter?

Our good friend Jamie provided the cranberry applesauce, a nice combo of the traditional Thanksgiving condiment and traditional latke condiment. Not surprisingly, it was a great accompaniment to the latkes - sweet and tart. We also used this as our cranberry sauce for the main course.

The latkes had great flavor but tried as we might to keep them warm for our guests, by the time they hit the table, they were cooled down. This confirms our theory: latkes should be served a la minute!

Main Course:

Turkeys! Yes, turkeys plural. We -- er, Dave, Xani's boyfriend -- made two. He brined both birds using this basic brine ratio. The first ("Smokey the Turkey") was brined in a solution flavored with apple, citrus, and cranberry, and was smoked with cherrywood flavor.

The second was DEEP FRIED! Yes folks, we finally did it. Dave brined the the second turkey ("Fryer Turk") in a pastrami-spiced solution, and then he deep fried it in the backyard. He was nervous that it wouldn't work, that he'd burn down the house, etc., but it turned out beautifully! We couldn't believe how juicy it was, how delicious the crispy skin was, and how quickly it cooked. The bird was about 15 lbs and was done in about 45 minutes, plus a 30 minute rest. This may become a yearly tradition, not only because it was so delicious, but it frees up the oven completely, and that's worth its weight in gold on Turkey Day.

The couple that fries turkeys together...

...stays together!

Warm Brussels Sprouts with Maple and Paprika - This recipe was a nice shredded Brussels sprouts dish that could be made on the stovetop. It was flavored with smoked paprika, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and pecans. Solid vegetable, though let's be honest, with so many other great dishes on the table, sometimes the green vegetable doesn't get so much love. It isn't easy being green.

Schmaltzy Cauliflower Puree a la Irma - We decided not to have a white potato dish in the main course since we had had latkes in the first course. Instead we made a cauliflower puree, which had just a few ingredients: butter, heavy cream, cauliflower, and salt. We prepared it in the Vitamix so it was super creamy, smooth, and almost fluffy. But, we modified the recipe by doctoring it up the same way our grandmother used to prepare her white potatoes: with schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) and paprika sprinkled over the top. We replaced half of the butter with homemade schmaltz, and the cauliflower tasted remarkably like our grandmother's potatoes! This was a big hit.

"Pastrami on Marble Rye" Stuffing, with House-Made Pastrami - We used Michael Ruhlman's ratio for stuffing (bread : eggs : stock)*, and we were inspired by this recipe for "a pastrami sandwich in stuffing form." But, as usual, we gave it our own twist. First we asked our Dad to make his homemade pastrami, which we then cubed up into little pastrami "lardons." Then we cubed up both rye bread and pumpernickel bread to give it that "marble rye" flavor. We used homemade turkey stock, parsley, thyme, and sage as the flavorings. Then we baked it for a while - there was a lot of it! It had a crunchy top and a soft center, and a lot of flavor. Definitely a great way to incorporate traditional Jewish flavors into our Thanksgiving menu.

The night before, preparing the proteins!

* Xani commented on the Ruhlman blog post about stuffing and told him about our "pastrami on rye" take. He responded (!) and said it was "an inspired idea,"(!!) which had the two of us squealing and squee-ing, as we are total fangirls.

Manischewitz-Rosemary Gravy - Since we roasted neither turkey in the oven, neither resulted in drippings to be used for gravy. Not to worry - Xani used this recipe as an inspiration, and used some schmaltz, onions, and homemade turkey stock. She seasoned it with a bit of rosemary and yes, even used Manischewitz. Now she has the obligatory bottle in her pantry that'll never be touched, per tradition.

Rolls - Jamie brought a variety from Wegman's, which we served with delicious Amish salted butter, and a maple butter. Who doesn't love good bread with good butter? No friend of ours.

Dessert - Both of our dessert offerings were hybrids of traditional Jewish flavors and traditional Thanksgiving flavors and we have to say, both were great successes. First we had Pecan Pie Rugelach, from this recipe. EP did a test run of these cookies and found the pecan pie filling ran out of the cookies as they baked, leaving very little left in the actual cookie. So in the second run, she used less golden syrup in the filling, and chilled the cookies before baking. This prevented the spill-out to an extent, and they really did taste like pecan pie! The crust was tender and tangy from the cream cheese in the dough.

We also made a Rye^2 Sweet Potato Cheesecake, inspired by this recipe (for the crust) and this recipe (for the filling). The crust was made with rye flour (the first rye) and ground up caraway seeds. The filling was a basic cheesecake filling, with some roasted sweet potatoes blended in, and seasoned with bourbon (the second rye!) and maple syrup. The cake was delicious and creamy, and the crust had a great caraway flavor and bit of salt, which played well off the sweet filling. The only thing we should have done differently was bring it in from the deck a bit earlier and let it warm up a bit before serving.

And that was our meal! It was delicious and the company was wonderful. We had a few really touching toasts from family members during the meal. It's not hard to feel super-thankful at moments like those.

One final thing for which we are grateful: SPARKLES! We decorated the table in gold and silver and tried to incorporate symbols of fall, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah.

Special place setting for Alex!

Can't resist crafting the menu

The favors doubled as place-cards. We used chocolate-covered Oreos (not homemade; what are we, crazy?) wrapped in foil to look like gelt.

Happy Thanksgivukkah to all! Gobble Tov from the BCD Sisters!

Hostess aprons are so hot right now

EP & X

A few more pics of our Thanksgivukkah crew:

Alex meets Eddie. Eddie is unamused.

Alex says "This better be good, Aunt Xani"

This boy loves the camera!

24 Hours in the City of Brotherly Love

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 12:13:00 +0000

by EP

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Annie at her home in Philadelphia, PA. You might remember her from our Adventures in St. Louis a few years ago. Not only is Philly a great historic town with fanatical sports fans and a pretty killer food scene -- it also happens to be my birthplace. Woot! We celebrated my big 3-0 in Philly last summer and had a totally fabulous time. (I still count our meal at Zahav as one of the best in my whole life. Yes it's that good.)

I was pretty pumped to visit Annie, her husband Chet, and their baby James for a short but fun-filled visit. I don't like showing up places empty-handed so I brought a small sweet treat to Annie and family: Mexican-Spiced Hot Fudge. Blog and recipe to be posted soon!

As Annie is a wonderful baker, we decided to do some baking during our time together. We made a Serious Sweets recipe for Caramel Apple Crumb Bars. They were pretty great despite the recipe being slightly flawed (called for a pan that definitely wouldn't have been tall enough - luckily we used our brains/experience and got around this issue just fine). They were a little too sweet, however - next time I'll add more salt/use less sugar to the crust/crumble.

After baking, we got ready to hit the town! Annie and I headed to City Center (leaving Chet and James to do "dude stuff") and headed to Barbuzzo for dinner. It was a chilly night so the warm and cozy space was incredibly inviting. We were seated immediately, despite being 15 min early for our reservation.

Barbuzzo is Mediterranean in nature and made good use of both seasonal ingredients and interesting meats and cheeses. We ended up getting 5 dishes to share:

WILD MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA
taleggio, roasted garlic, speck, olive oil and balsamic

PAN SEARED BRUSSEL SPROUTS
barbuzzo pancetta, pickled chiles, caciocavallo and pangrattato

UOVO (pizza)
brussel sprout leaves, guanciale, secret white sauce, parmesan, fior di latte, and truffled farm egg

CACIOCAVALLO STUFFED MEATBALLS
with house ground shortrib, pork, oregano and calabrian chile

PARSNIP RAVIOLI
braised duck, roasted bosc pears, thyme and pecorino

Seriously excited about the parsnip ravioli

All the dishes were fantastic. Clear favorites, however, were the pizza, the ravioli, and the bruschetta. The mushrooms on the bruschetta were nicely cooked and the whole thing had a generous drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The speck ham on top didn't hurt either. The whole thing was a little hard to eat gracefully but I think that's true of 95% of bruschettas out there, so I took it in stride.

I absolutely loved the thyme, duck, and parsnip combined with the sweet pears in the ravioli dish. Interesting flavor combo (though I admittedly love anything with thyme) and really unforgettable. Seriously - I can't stop talking about it.

The pizza had me applauding - literally. It had all the best things on earth: guianciale (pig jowl), brussels sprouts, cheese, egg, and truffle oil. The crust was also nicely charred and not too difficult to get through with teeth or knife.

I thought this was so clever: instead of hot pepper flakes and dried oregano leaves, Barbuzzo served hot pepper oil and large dried stalks of oregano with the pizza

We didn't have dessert because we knew we had apple crumb bars and hot fudge at home. We stopped at Trader Joe's for ice cream while complaining how full we were. That's how we roll.

Last note about Barbuzzo: our service was so lovely. Attentive, sweet, but not overbearing. Our waitress helped us navigate through the menu and our food came out at a good pace. I even shared my favorite roasted shredded cabbage recipe with our waitress because I am the unofficial spokesperson for the cabbage lobby, apparently.

The next morning, we hung out with Baby James and got ready to go back into City Center for more activities.

Hey, baby

We stopped at Federal Donuts (owned by Michael Solomonov, who also owns Zahav) for donuts and coffee. They, like so many in DC, also serve fried chicken but we exercised some restraint for once and did not order any. The donuts were good - some better than others. Good coffee. Most notable were the made-to-order ones - vanilla spice and cinnamon-brown sugar.

Ready for a donut tasting!

Sorry James, we had to

Our last order of business before I went back to DC was DANCING! My other passion. The Philly swing dance scene has a weekly outdoor dance in Rittenhouse Square every Sunday, and it was a perfect Fall day for outdoor dancing. The Philly dancers were super-friendly and I'm so glad I got to dance around!

Thanks to Annie for being a gracious host, who took me to some great spots and indulged my lindy-hopping addiction. I look forward to our next visit - rumor has it we'll be returning to ZAHAV! Eeeek!

Happy nom-ing and dancing,

Jerusalem Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 18:44:00 +0000

by EP

Ever since the Internet became a part of our daily lives (literally almost every second thereof!), people who love to cook have been turning away from cookbooks and instead searching for recipes on blogs and websites from Food Network, Bon Appetit, Epicurious, Food & Wine, America's Test Kitchen (subscription required), etc. I certainly do lots of research for recipes online and find that generally these are reliable. And unlike comments on most articles on the Interwebs, comments on recipes online can be incredibly helpful in determining if a recipe works or doesn't, if some ingredient amounts need tweaking, and so on.

BUT, I still love my cookbooks. I love sitting at my kitchen table, or around my parents' table at Blackacre, thumbing through cookbooks and marking recipes to try. Books sit quietly in my kitchen and present the recipe as I cook; they don't "go dark" and require a clean finger to illuminate the recipe. Splatters and grease-stains on books are badges of honor; on a phone or iPad they mean trouble.

One such book that recently came into my possession is Jerusalem, by Ottolenghi and Tamimi. Xani gave it to me for my birthday in July and I have not been able to stop cooking from it! I swear my entire Instagram feed is shots of goodies from Jerusalem these days. And I'm not alone - "Jerusalem fever" is sweeping the nation and folks are head over heels in love with this book, and the authors (who I'm going to go see speak at Sixth & I Synagogue in a few weeks!).

You can see all my post-its marking recipes to make

I love this book for many reasons: beautiful pictures, interesting recipes that require you to go outside of your regular universe of flavors, use of lots of fresh produce, and stories with almost every recipe. I also loved Jerusalem when I visited in 2005, and love feeling connected to that special place when I cook these foods.

I know some folks criticize the book for the long list of ingredients (some of which are quite obscure), but I don't mind buying strange ingredients because they contribute to a well-stocked pantry, meaning now I am prepared to make even more Jerusalem recipes! (For folks in the MD/DC area, I found a great Middle Eastern Market in Columbia called Pars Market, off of Snowden River Parkway. I bought sumac, zaatar, tahini, orange blossom water, pomegranate molasses, cardamom pods, and Turkish delight! The gents there were nice and helpful.)

Here are some of the great things I've cooked up, to date - you know there will be more!

Conchiglie with Yogurt, Peas & Chile

This is hands down my favorite recipe I've made from the book. I've made it twice already! It's a pasta dish (one of the authors is Italian) where the hot pasta is tossed in a yogurt sauce made from yogurt, peas, garlic, olive oil that has been blitzed together. Then fresh basil, feta cheese, and more peas are folded in. Finally, pine nuts that have been browned in olive oil and hot pepper flakes are spooned over each serving. Creamy, salty, spicy, garlicky, fresh, and delicious.

Mis-en-place! Front right is local feta from the farmer's market #yuppie

A note about the garlic: it's pretty garlicky since the 4 cloves called for are not cooked. I enjoy this kind of "pain" after growing up in our family's garlic-centered household, but you may want to tone it down if you are less into the raw garlic flavor/heat.

Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice

I recently made this chicken dish and found it so comforting, yet interesting and different with its spices and flavoring. It's going to be a staple winter dinner, I can tell. Also, it's cooked in one pot! So that's always a plus. This dish begins with caramelizing onions, then removing them and searing bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (my favorite chicken part that's featured in our Cast Iron Chicken) that have been seasoned with salt, pepper, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. The par-cooked chicken and caramelized onions are combined with barberries (a dried Persian berry that is reconstituted in a sugar syrup - I got them at Pars Market!) and basmati rice. Pour boiling water over everything, then cover - this cooks the rice and finishes cooking the chicken. The dish is finished with a sprinkling of dill, cilantro, and parsley. An optional topping is some Greek yogurt with a bit of olive oil mixed in.

Chicken and rice ready for final cooking

The barberries, dill, and cardamom were big flavors for both the chicken and the rice, and added a bit of sweetness to the savory chicken and caramelized onions. I enjoyed the yogurt on the chicken too. Next time (and there will be a next time), I need to cook the rice longer - it was a little too al dente. Also, I think I may not reconstitute the barberries in sugar syrup; they were pretty sweet on their own.

This was a great dish that I could totally make for company or just for myself.

Dinner's ready!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar

An easy side dish with a ton of flavor. Butternut squash is roasted with red onion wedges in a very hot oven. When it's done, drizzle a dressing of tahini, garlic, water, lemon juice, and salt over the top. Also sprinkle some fried up pine nuts and their oil, plus za'atar and chopped parsley on top.

I loved the flavors of this dish - it reminds me of an old favorite, the butternut squash salad with chickpeas, raw red onion, cilantro, and tahini dressing from Orangette. But this was more mellow. Also, something about this recipe changed my life: the butternut squash IS NOT PEELED before roasting! Peeling BNS is such a pain in the neck, and now I realize it's (sometimes) not necessary. Thank you, Jerusalem, for showing me the error of my ways.

Hummus + Pureed Beets with Yogurt and Za'atar + Butternut Squash & Tahini Spread

Recently I attended a dinner party and I was asked to bring an appetizer. I brought a trio of dips, all from Jerusalem!

First I made their basic hummus recipe. This was some of the best hummus I have ever had, much less made. It calls for dried chickpeas that are soaked overnight, then drained, then cooked with baking soda for a few minutes, then boiled until tender. The chickpeas are pureed, then lots of tahini (over a cup!), garlic, lemon, and ice water are added to the running food processor until smooth. Seriously good, and with so much tahini, it definitely tasted more authentic than what you get at the store.

The beet dip was easy too - just roast beets until tender, let them cool, then blitz them with a small chile, Greek yogurt, and garlic. Then add in date syrup (I used maple syrup, an approved substitute), olive oil, za'atar, and salt. The dip is served on a plate with garnishes of green onions, toasted chopped hazelnuts (I used almonds), blobs of goat cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil. This was not too sweet and had a good balance from the za'atar and goat cheese. I wish I had used more chile for some more heat - I was timid and used half of a small (extremely spicy) serrano. Should have used the whole thing.

These beets were so pretty - I wanted to wear them as make-up!

Finally, the butternut squash spread is similar - roast squash (note: squash must be peeled here) tossed in olive oil, salt, and cinnamon. Then blitz with tahini, yogurt, and garlic until combined but still coarsely chopped. The spread is garnished with sesame seeds, date (or maple) syrup, salt, and cilantro. This dip was good and reminded me of mashed sweet potatoes (and therefore Thanksgiving). It was a little sweet for me - if I make it again, maybe I'll add more salt and/or tahini to balance the sweetness.

Mis-en-place to go. This is what happens when you bring high-maintenance snacks to parties.

Semolina, Coconut, & Marmalade Cake

I made this cake for Rosh Hashana this year. While it's not traditional, Xani and I, along with our good friend Jamie, decided to serve a Sephardic RH menu. We had hummus and veggies, braised leeks with black lentils, spiced carrot salad, a spinach salad with dates and pita croutons (another Jerusalem recipe), and this cake for dessert.

This cake is an example of a common Middle Eastern semolina cake that has been soaked in a syrup. I liked the use of semolina (a coarse grind of durum wheat used for pasta) here, along with the orange marmalade and unsweetened coconut. I did not have any orange blossom water at the time, so I used extra orange zest to achieve the super-orange-y flavor.

The cake is cooked in a loaf pan and then the syrup (made of sugar, water, and orange blossom water) is slowly brushed over and absorbed by the cake. The recipe said to use all of the syrup but in retrospect, I wish I hadn't - it was too sweet, even for me! The original recipe calls for two small loaf pans but I only have one large loaf pan - I'm wondering if all the syrup in the one large cake was just too much? Also, the recipe doesn't call for any salt, which I think would have balanced out some of that sweetness. Lessons learned for next time.

As you can see, I am smitten with this cookbook. I love looking through it and finding new things to try. I look forward to trying some of the heartier dishes over the fall and winter, and enjoying more of the fresh/raw veggie dishes in the spring and summer. Thanks to Xani for this great gift!

Have you cooked anything from Jerusalem? Share your stories in the comments!

EP

Goodbye Clementine...

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:26:00 +0000

by Xani

Even a delinquent food blogger, like myself, knows that you can't just up and switch kitchens without blogging about it. I've been cooking in this kitchen for almost exactly five years, most of the time this blog as been around! And man, I have cooked some good stuff! In fact, my entire approach to cooking and eating has drastically changed over the five years I've cooked there. No longer cooking for just myself, keeping things a bit healthier and experimenting with baking, bread-making, canning, and other advanced techniques.

I remember when I was first moving in, looking at those curved concrete countertops and wondering if they would be functional, and being super-excited about having a dishwasher!

Little did I know what lie ahead of me in that kitchen: cooking one-handed after my motorcycle crash, having a boyfriend and a little one move in, and adding the always-begging Eddie to our pack. The years have flown by, and the great parties, amazing meals and fun projects are just memories (forever captured in blog posts) now. We've got just a few more days left in the house and I'm in constant "Pantry Raid" mode- cobbling together meals with whatever is in the pantry or freezer. But, I managed a delicious Cast Iron Skillet Chicken the other night, not to mention an inspired pasta dish I named "Fettucine Rockerfeller" (because how else would you use up canned oysters??). But as we reach the final days, I am, of course, looking forward to cooking in the next kitchen...

Which also happens to be the OLD kitchen! Anyone remember this place...??

That's right, I'm moving back to the kitchen where I first learned to cook! The exact spot where I developed my first "special dishes" (black beans, twice-baked potatoes) as a youngster and began my love affair with cooking. I'm so happy and excited to (almost) be the proud owner of my childhood home. The kitchen doesn't look quite the same as it used to, thanks to a complete renovation a couple years ago, but it's still big, has tons of counter space, with two sinks, a giant pot-rack, a sunny dining nook, and did I mention it's BIG?

Just think of what I'm going to cook up in there. I've already got big plans for Sunday Dinners, brunches, theme parties, AND MORE! All the more reason to stay tuned to BCD, Like our page on FB, follow us on twitter, instagram, Vine, and right here. Hopefully lots more yummy posts coming soon...

Farewell old kitchen, and new kitchen here I come...!

X

P.S. I'll leave you with these memories of a kitchen and a home that has served me VERY well...

Little lettuces growing in my little backyard

Celebrating in style at our Mad Men party

Cooking up a storm

My house in Jack-o-lantern format...

Making popcorn with my Man...

Luckily this guy is coming with us- who else would eat all our strawberry tops!?

Pizza Hunter: DC Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 02:43:00 +0000

by EP

Pizza: possibly the world's most perfect food. Good for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Be honest - you know cold pizza cures what ails you.

Pizza Pizza!

I've lived in DC for nine months now and I've spent that time on the hunt for good pizza. It's kind of a cliche amongst DC food-lovers that there's "no good pizza in this town," but I'm happy to report that I've found a few solid spots in my local travels. Below I've outlined both the hits and the misses, and like Xani did years ago with her burger rating scale, I've given the places below a rating from 1 to 10 slices, 10 being the best.

As for ground rules, in my opinion, a great pie has a thin, chewy crust [let's not even get started on Chicago-style deep dish, which I love but certainly am not finding, or even looking for, in our nation's capital]. This crust is paired up with fresh, flavorful toppings (no soggy crust please). I am a lover of both "regular" and white pizza, so tomato sauce is an important -- but not necessary -- component, in my opinion.

1. Graffiato - 10/10 slices!

I've blogged about Graffiato before, where we had a lovely meal shortly after I arrived in DC. More recently, I met up with a law school buddy for a weeknight meal (turns out Graffiato is a dangerously close 10 min walk from my office). Among other dishes, we ordered the "White House," featuring mozzarella, taleggio, ricotta, prosciutto, and black pepper honey.

This pizza was, in a word: magnificent. I had had so many mediocre slices in my travels (see below) that I was truly surprised at how good it was. The crust was chewy, slightly charred, and held up against the multiple cheeses and toppings. The prosciutto was slightly crisp and greasy (in a good way) from its time in the oven. The combination of the salty cheese and meat and the black pepper honey was killer. I could not stop eating this pizza.

I'm curious to try the other pies on the menu, but this one was so good, I'm not sure I can help but order it again. Bonus points for great cocktails, yummy small plates, and attentive but not annoying service.

2. Menomale - 9/10 slices!

I had the pleasure of dining at Menomale with dear friends Veronica and Josh. They met the owners at another food-related event, shortly before the restaurant opened, and have been loyal patrons since. They invited me to join them a few weeks ago for a Sunday night pizza dinner.

Love these guys

We ordered three pies: Quattro Formaggi, Diavola, and Brooklandissimo. All three had what I was looking for: thin, crispy-chewy crust, fresh ingredients, and lots of flavor.

Brooklandissima: Roasted zucchini, roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, artichokes, gorgonzola, fior di latte mozzarella, garlic, basil.

Quattro Formaggi: DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Fior di latte mozzarella, goat cheese, parmigiano, gorgonzola, fresh basil, evo

Diavola: DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Fior di latte mozzarella, mozzarella di bufala, basil, spicy salami, red peppers, crushed red pepper

All of these were excellent but my favorite was the Diavola - spicy, porky, cheesy, irresistible.

Points for interesting cocktails, cute decor, and a menu/website with proper Italiano. Points deducted for mixed service (some good, some bad), and a cocktail that was too weird to the point of not being tasty.

Tasted like mustard. Seriously.

3. Red Rocks - 6/10 slices

I've found myself spending lots of time in Columbia Heights, and really enjoying it. Several good friends live in the neighborhood, it's near where I go swing dancing each week, and there are some great places to eat and drink. One night, when BFF Rachel was visiting from California, she and I had dinner at Red Rocks. I had had my eye on Red Rocks since it has a lovely outdoor patio overlooking a busy intersection of the neighborhood.

We ordered the Funghi (fontina, fresh garlic, crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions, parsley) and the Red Rocks Sausage (tomato sauce, sausage, fontal cheese, sweet and hot peppers, parsley).

Both were good, the Funghi slightly better. These pizzas were better than average but not anything to call home about. One thing that was worth calling home about, however, was their bruschetta. Cleverly, the crostini were spread with goat cheese, and then the tomato topping. This not only added a layer of deliciousness from the creamy, tangy goat cheese, but it also provided a barrier between bread and tomato, preventing sogginess. Smart and tasty!

Welcome back to DC, Rach!

On the other hand, points deducted because their outdoor patio, seemingly a signature feature of the restaurant, requires climbing several half-flights of stairs and is therefore not handicap-accessible. Poor form.

4. Volt Range - 7/10 slices

I recently went to Volt Range, Chef Brian Voltaggio's newest spot, located in Friendship Heights. We ordered many different dishes and had quite an experience (including the fact that the First Lady was dining there when we were there!!), but that's for another post. Let's talk about the pizza.

We ordered the pizza featuring "salumeria, preserved tomatoes, buratta." A salumeria is a shop that sells sausage, cured meats, etc., so when I saw this as a pizza topping, I wasn't sure what to expect. What arrived at the table was a pizza topped with so many kinds of pork, prepared in all different ways, it was pretty much a salumeria on top of dough!

The pizza was very flavorful from the fresh buratta cheese, tomatoes, and all that porky goodness: chunks of roasted pork, different kinds of cured meats like soppressatta, and fresh sausage. Flavor explosion. BUT, the crust was Sog City from all those toppings. The outer crust was fine but the soggy middle was disappointing. I understand it is a delicate balance to make the crust thin enough to be Neopolitan-style, but thick enough to hold up to the toppings - that is what makes a great pizza, and a great pizza master.

5. Pacci's - 7/10 slices

La Diavola at Pacci's

Pacci's is my local Neopolitan-style pizza shop, located just a few blocks from my apartment. It's a cute place, with nice waiters who let me sit for too long chatting with my dinner companions. The pizza is okay, not life-changing. The flavors of the toppings are nice but the dough is a little...floppy. But, I learned a way to improve this situation via a tip from my good friend Jamie: if you tell them to make the dough "crispy," they leave the pizza in the oven a little longer, and it's a much better pie.

Al Tartufo at Pacci's

Bonus points for their awesome calzones, which I think are actually better than the pizza. Perfectly cooked dough, good toppings, and nice marinara for dipping. Also, they are gigantic so you may get more than one meal out of them.

6. We, The Pizza - 3/10 slices

I was excited to check out Spike Mendelssohn's pizza joint, We, The Pizza, down on Capitol Hill. You know I love a clever name. I am sorry to say our experience was totally disappointing. My friend and I ordered a pepperoni pizza - I wanted to try a classic. We went upstairs, sipped on ginger sodas, and caught up (he had just gotten back from a stint in the Peace Corps).

Time passed...about 45 min, in fact. My buddy went to check on the pizza and found out that a large group of kids (on a field trip, if I recall) had ordered a bunch of pizzas and ours got caught up in the mix. An understandable mix-up but, come on.

Once the pizza finally arrived, it was hot and lookin' good. Unfortunately, that's where the good news stopped - the pizza was so salty, I could barely eat it. I am a lover of salt but this was just too much. Maybe it was a fluke but that combined with the fluke in our order/wait time made it a thumbs down experience.

7. Comet Ping Pong - 3/10 slices

Perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that I was on a terrible date, slogging along through forced conversation, but I did not like the pizza at Comet. The crust was so thin and crisp that knives could not cut through it, and my teeth were barely better. As I was on a date, I wanted to use a knife and fork to appear more lady-like (emphasis on appear), but it was near-impossible to cut.

We got two pies, including the "Yalie" - fresh clams, garlic, melted onions, thyme, parmesan, lemon. I recall it had some nice flavor but it was no clam pizza from Franny's in Brooklyn, which I still remember so fondly, all these years later.

The other pizza I've forgotten. I must have blocked it out along with the rest of the evening.

More points off since the parking SUCKED. But I remember the service being nice and a good selection of interesting beers.

8. Ledo Pizza

There is a Ledo Pizza 1 mile from my home, on Georgia Avenue. I have blogged about my love of Ledos before: here, in our Guide to Baltimore Eats, and here where I had pizza twice on New Years Day 2010 - a high point of the year, to be sure. I haven't been to the one near me since I moved to town, as I feel compelled to try other pizza places (among other culinary explorations). But someday I will. And its rating will surely be 10 slices (squared)!

So which places am I missing? Which places should I give a second chance?

Pepperoni wishes and mozzarella dreams,
EP

Spring has Sprung at B&O Brasserie!

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:31:00 +0000

by Xani

The long days, the warm weather, the birds chirping (and the Birds fans cheering!).... you know it's springtime in Charm City! And with spring comes the farmers' markets, wonderful new produce, and an exciting new menu at B&O Brasserie.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a Media dinner to check out the menu and the new chef at B&O. As a longtime fan, I knew I was in for a treat. What I didn't know was that Chef Brad Willits had transformed the menu and was going to dazzle us with fabulous new dishes.

Chef Brad Willits showing a big fish who's boss!

With all the new changes to the menu, some things remain the same. B&O still boasts a cozy atmosphere and a focus on comfort food, and Master Mixologist Brendan Dorr is still behind the bar. We tried three cocktails during dinner- a specialty happy hour cocktail (changes daily), the Free State Fizz, and the Coppertop. As usual, each was unique and refreshing. If only I knew what half the ingredients in the cocktails are! This is definitely an operation that might benefit from an electronic tablet cocktail list (with links to descriptions of each of the obscure spirits- just a suggestion!)

While sipping our cocktails we were lucky enough to be visited by Chef Brad for a nice chat. While he looks much younger than his 31 years, he clearly knows his stuff! He gave us several recommendations for his favorite dishes, and we wanted to try them all. In the end, we made some difficult choices and ordered.

For starters:

Burrata Mozzarella roasted hazelnuts / spring onions / fennel / balsamic / romesco
Smoked Shrimp Agnolotti sea urchin butter / carrot-cardamom puree / sea beans
Grilled Wild Boar Terrine pickled okra / parsley-grape fruit salad / mustard dressing

For mains:
Amish Brick Chicken
jasmine rice / morel mushrooms / peas / smoked tomatoes / cider jus

Smoked Pork Shoulder
plums / turnips / market beans / bacon jam

Cumin Dusted Heirloom Carrots
yogurt-lime dressing

Burrata

Wild Boar Terrine

What a meal! Of the starters, the terrine may have been our favorite. Chef Brad describes it as his version of meatloaf, but it's meatloaf on a whole 'nother level. Definitely not like grandma used to make (unless your grandma was a french charcuterie expert?). The burrata had an amazing texture and a clean, milky taste, and the smoke shrimp agnolotti had us at "sea urchin butter"- perfectly sweet and smoky shrimp in delicate pasta, coated in rich uni butter?! As Gob would say "COME ON!." We even got a few tips from the chef on making our own uni butter at home- score!

Amish Brick Chicken

Onto the mains. Dave knew he had to have the brick chicken after Chef told us how many morels were in the dish- and it did not disappoint! Not to mention crispy skin and a very generous portion of moist, juicy meat. A winning dish, no doubt about it. My smoked pork shoulder was smoky indeed- maybe a tad too much for my taste? But the bacon jam just about made up for it. I cleaned my plate hunting for the sweet, tender bacon nuggets. The cumin-roasted carrots were gorgeous- tender, multi-colored little gems packing a lot of cumin flavor.

By dessert the light was gone and so was any hint of restraint! I tried the lemon-thyme donut and Dave had the creme brulee of the day, which happened to be cinnamon that night. A few bites of sweetness and we were ready to roll our way out of there....

It was a delicious meal and a pleasure to meet Chef Brad and hear how passionate he is about what he's doing at the B&O kitchen- I am sure there will be many more exciting and delicious dishes to discover!

Thanks Chef and thanks to Amy at Profiles, Inc for the invite.

Hope all our readers are diving into spring!

Xani

A Treat by Any Other Name...

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:18:00 +0000

by Xani

Crisp Rice Treats. You know what I'm talking about? The treat that's been around for generations, requires 3 ingredients, and no baking? Yeah, you know what I'm getting at. Now, I don't really think the Kellogg legal team is going to come my way to shut down BCD just because I co-opt their product name incorrectly (and without permission). But in this case I admit to using knock-off, Harris Teeter brand crisp rice cereal, and I'm proud of it! The end result was a special, unique version of the crispy marshmallow bars, made for a very special cause!

I was enlisted to provide some treats for a PTA bake sale. G is graduating from 5th grade (time flies) and the Spring carnival bake sale at her elementary school will help raise money for the 5th grade graduation celebrations. The options were limited- I could sign up to bring cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or crisp rice treats!

Well, ever since EP and I delved into gourmet CR treats last year (we created salted caramel and toasted coconut chai flavored bars to give the audience when we participated in SHOW Baltimore) I'm always thinking of how we can kick the standard treats up a notch.

This time I wanted to keep the flavor light and spring-y, and kid friendly. After I had such success using Fiore di Sicila extract to create Creamsicle cream puffs at our Citrus Celebration brunch, I thought it would make a perfect addition to the treats!

After adding about a 1/2 teaspoon of the extract to the double-batch of treats (this stuff is POTENT! use sparingly), I pressed them into the pan and, for a little extra somethin'-somethin', topped with some colored sugar pearls.

Has a treat ever been easier? Or TASTIER?? These Creamsicle Crispy Treats are delicious, and Dave and I were literally covered in sticky marshmallow goop from licking the bowl and spoon. Just a few drops of Fiore di Sicilia turns these treats from classic to smashing!

Sometimes, a treat by any other name tastes just as sweet... let's hope they sell out and raise a few bucks for G's school!

Happy Spring!
X

Master Recipe: Cast Iron Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:37:00 +0000

by EP

Cast. Iron. Skillet. The grand-daddy of cookware. For many years, I didn't have one of my own, but I know how great and versatile they can be, and how many delicious things can come out of them. For instance, we brought Xani's cast iron skillet to the beach with us this past summer (yes, along with 5000 lbs of beach stuff and lots of food, booze, and other kitchen tools), and we used it almost every time we cooked.

Only recently did I come into possession of a cast iron skillet.* I've wanted one for a long time but never got around to buying one, and I have so many great pans (gifts from the BCD parents, to be sure) that I didn't really need one. Now that I have my own, however, I can't stop using it and thinking of ways to use it - I want to make everything in it! Steak, corn bread, apple tarte tatin, fried chicken, buttery croutons for Caesar salad.

But there's one master recipe that both Xani and I have been making in our respective cast iron skillets. We're calling it Cast Iron Chicken, where chicken is seared and then roasted on a bed of veggies that are in turn seasoned with chicken fat and drippings. Xani pioneered the recipe and should get the majority of the creative credit for this one. We make this recipe over and over in our homes because it's infinitely modifiable and it's SO good. We felt we had to share the Master Recipe with you, Dear Reader.

Here's the blueprint of this master recipe:

Ingredients:
- Chicken legs and/or thighs (skin on; with bone or deboned - deboning will give you a chance to work on your butchery skills!)
- Roast-able veggie (e.g., broccoli, cauliflower, red or green cabbage, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots, parsnips), prepped (broccoli/cauliflower into florets; cabbage shredded; potatoes/sweet potatoes/carrots/parsnips into chunks or batons and par-cooked)

Technique:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Dry chicken pieces thoroughly with paper towels
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and any other flavors you like (see note below)
- Heat about 1 TB olive oil and 1 TB butter in cast iron skillet over high heat until almost smoking
- Sear chicken pieces skin side down for 5 minutes until golden brown (and pieces release easily from pan)
- Flip chicken pieces and sear 2-3 minutes on non-skin side
- Remove chicken and set aside
- Pour off all but 1-2 TB of fat in pan (olive oil + chicken fat rendered out = YUM)
- Toss in prepped veggies, season with salt and pepper, stir to coat in fat/drippings and cook for 1-2 min on stovetop
- Place chicken pieces atop veggies
- Place skillet with chicken and veggies into oven and bake for 30-40 min (if the chicken has bones, it will take longer than boneless)
- Let chicken rest for 5 min before plating and serving
- Enjoy!

The key is to roast the veggies until softened but not to overcook the chicken. That's why the chicken only cooks for a few minutes on the stove top. I like to roast the sh*t out of my veggies (typically broccoli and cabbage) so I check throughout the cooking time to make sure they are softening and caramelizing appropriately.

Regarding seasoning, this is a great opportunity to try out flavor "themes." Want Mediterranean? Season the chicken with lemon, garlic, oregano and serve over potatoes. Want an Eastern European/Jewish variety? Season chicken with paprika and garlic and serve over cabbage seasoned with caraway. Once I added an Italian flare by squeezing a lemon and grating some parm over the chicken and broccoli. Another time I had some harissa leftover from another recipe so I rubbed that on the chicken before searing, which gave it a nice kick. And so on and so forth.

Here are some iterations that have come out of our kitchens:

Chicken thighs with potatoes and cauliflower

Chicken thighs (deboned) with broccoli (parm and lemon added at the end)

Chicken thighs over shredded red cabbage seasoned with hot pepper flakes

Obviously, we are big fans. This is such a fantastic and easily modifiable recipe featuring a few good (yet cheap) ingredients and a few important kitchen techniques. It's great for using up random veggies, can be low-carb if you're thinking that way, and it's great for a casual weeknight meal or to serve to company.

So grab your skillet and get cookin!

Cheers,
EP

* The skillet was my grandparents'. I inherited it after our Grandfather passed away in January. I love the fact that they cooked with it for who knows how many years. I love feeling connected to them through cookware. Very special, indeed.

Advanced Intuitive Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:50:00 +0000

by Xani

These days, I don’t use many recipes. For one, most of my cookbooks are packed away in a storage unit, awaiting their fate in a new kitchen (TBD). There are millions of recipes at my fingertips on the internet, but I’m not using those, either. Instead, I make up my own recipes as I go, also known as “winging it.” Developing the “winging it” technique (mostly a combination of familiarity with basic cooking skills, with a little self-confidence mixed in) has been an interesting evolution in my cooking life. I used to cling to a recipe like a life preserver, now I find freedom in trusting my instincts.

Now, that’s all well and good when you are talking about winging an omelette, vinaigrette, or other simple dish using a few pennies worth of ingredients. If it ends up terrible you throw it away (or give it to the dog) and start over. But the stakes get higher when you are dealing with a pricey steak, or in this case, a veal breast.

Yeah, I said it: veal. I know people feel a lot of feelings about veal, myself included. This particular piece of veal, a three pound, boneless, butterflied breast, is not something I would usually go out and buy at the store- it was actually given to me, and was just chilling (ha) in my chest freezer for the past few months. You may feel eating veal is wrong- I feel it is wrong to waste food, especially food that an animal sacrificed it’s life for. It would also be a waste to do a bad job cooking the meat and have it come out like shoe leather. So, like I said, the stakes were high.

Previously, I had only ever cooked veal breast one way, BCD Mom’s way. She uses a bone-in veal breast with a large pocket cut into it, the pocket filled to overflowing with a challah bread stuffing flavored with sweet paprika and lots of garlic- it is delicious. But this boneless cut was a very different shape and size, I wasn't sure the same cooking technique would be effective, so I started researching some recipes for boneless veal breast online.

“Researching” vs. using: I often read or browse a bunch of recipes to help guide my intuitive cooking. This gives me inspiration for flavoring, ideas about cooking methods/times, and other tips. So after browsing for a while I decided to wing it (especially for the filling), but use a little guidance on cooking technique from this recipe for Stuffed Braised Veal Breast by Anne Burrell.

First, my filling. I didn't have any challah so I knew I'd be doing something totally different than mom's stuffing. But I saw that the Burrell recipe used spinach, which I always have on hand (frozen), so I started there: 1 box defrosted chopped spinach, squeezed dry (tip: if you have a potato ricer, it’s great for this task), 2 large handfuls of panko bread crumbs, 1 large handful toasted pine nuts, 1 large handful golden raisins, 3 large garlic cloves, chopped, and an egg. Oh, and as a nod to my Mom’s paprika-heavy recipe, I threw in about a tablespoon of smoked paprika, along with salt and pepper. I stirred this all up until it formed a mixture that would hold together when squeezed in my hand.

Meanwhile, I gave the meat a few good whacks with the bottom of a cast iron skillet to flatten it out a bit more and try to even out the thickness. Then I seasoned the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. I mounded the filling down the middle of the meat, forming it into a log. I then carefully rolled the meat around the filling, and used butcher’s twine to tie it up tight.

All Tied up

After searing

Not bad, huh?? This is probably the most advanced trussing/tying I have ever done. I admit the underside didn't look quite as pretty, but the important thing is that it held!

One my roulade was all bound and ready, I heated a bit of oil in my large Dutch oven and seared it on all sides until it was nicely browned, then set it aside. These next steps I borrowed pretty heavily from the reference recipe; like I said, I didn’t want to ruin the meat by cooking it incorrectly! I sauteed a lot of sliced onions in the Dutch oven until softened, then added garlic and bay leaf before deglazing with white wine. I nestled the veal roulade in the soft onions, and added chicken stock until it came about halfway up the sides. Then it was into a 400 degree oven for an hour (covered), turn it over, cook for another hour (covered) then uncover and cook for another 45 mins.

What emerged was a thing of beauty! My truss-job held perfectly, I could tell just by touching the roulade that it was extremely tender, and the smell was heavenly. I let the roulade cool in the braising liquid for a while, then removed it to a cutting board while I reduced the braising liquid, concentrating all those delicious ingredients (onions, garlic, bay, plus the rendered fats and flavor from the meat) into a very flavorful sauce.

While the sauce was reducing I prepared a salad and a quick side dish. The salad was sliced roasted beets, avocado, feta cheese, along with a squeeze of grapefruit juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Side dish was roasted green cabbage wedges drizzled with some leftover Caesar salad dressing (Mom’s secret recipe).

These were both total improvisations, and quite delicious, great complements to...

The main dish!

I was so thrilled with how it came out. Even after I snipped off the twine, it held perfectly, and the filling set up very nicely (because I included the egg), none of it even tried to escape. Slicing proved a teeny bit difficult- the meat was so tender it was falling apart as I was slicing, but I suppose that is a good problem to have. The bits off the cutting board were a great reward for this cook. But even better was serving this beautiful plate.

The reduced braising liquid was an absolute flavor bomb (in a good way). And the spinach filling was a great combination- the hint of smoky paprika worked nicely with the toasty pine nuts and sweet raisins. The meat was tender and delicious like you wouldn’t believe! I’m not going to say this version is better than BCD Mom’s, but it certainly another delicious option. And I did it all myself- with a little help from Anne Burrell.

Dear Reader, I hope you’ve stuck with me through this whole sensitive veal subject. The real take-away here is that recipes are just ideas and inspiration. Skip an ingredient, add an ingredient, switch up the flavoring, even switch up the meat (this would have worked with turkey breast, or even some cuts of pork), just get inspired, get in the kitchen and COOK!

Xani

The Cook's Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:51:00 +0000

by EP & Xani

When you think of the flavors of Thanksgiving, you might think of rich gravy, tart cranberries, juicy turkey, brussels sprouts (with bacon, if you're doing it right), and sweet pies topped with whipped cream. We, on the other hand, identify Thanksgiving with one particular "taste memory": turkey tails. Also known as the Pope's Nose. (Sorry, Benedict...you're outta here anyway.).

"Turkey tails? What the...?", we hear you cry. Well, something has to hold up all that plumage!

You've never heard of a turkey tail listed along side the wing and thigh because unless you're in the kitchen, you have most likely never seen one. It NEVER makes it to the serving platter. It is devoured by the cook(s) as soon as the turkey's rest is over, and before the carving begins. It is a glorious bite (or three) of dark meat, crispy skin, and flavorful fat, and we've been eating them ever since we started helping with Thanksgiving dinner.

This got us thinking about the idea of "cook's treats": treats you wouldn't know about if you're not in the kitchen during the creation of the meal. These little bits never make it to the table, and are rarely shared with guests - these are special rewards for the cook's hard work. We gave it some thought and came up with these other treats that cooks know and love:

Batter: Here's one everyone can relate to: licking the batter bowl. You remember this from childhood- maybe Mom was whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or a special birthday cake, and she let you help crack the egg, measure the sugar, and stir the batter. After begging for what seems like hours, she finally relents and calls out "who wants to lick the beaters??" YES! Fingerfuls of sweet, gooey batter are a warm and fuzzy childhood memory for those of us whose moms weren't afraid of a little raw egg yolk. Maybe learning as youngsters that cooking equals special treats inspires some of us to want to cook more.

Pic from EP's macaron cooking class in Paris

Roast bits: One of our earliest memories of being in the kitchen was when a big roast beef would come out of the oven. It would rest under it's foil blanket, and then BCD Dad would get to carving. While he was carving, little crackly bits of crispy, highly seasoned meat would fall from the slices, and we would reach to grab them off the cutting board - "get your hands out of there!," Dad would snap, to keep us from getting cut by the big slicing knife. Eventually he'd put the knife down and we'd get to nibble at the little bits of meat, fat, and crackly bits on the board. Now that's a mouth-watering memory.

Note that this pic is from our very first post! Awww...

Chicken tails and oysters: Chicken tails are like turkey tails - but smaller, good for one cook to nibble on, pre-carving. Another treat is the chicken "oysters," little bits of tender meat on either side of the underside of the chicken. They are dark meat and so delicious. And there are two of them, so if you are not the cook and the cook shares one with you, he/she probably has a crush on you and/or is married to you.

Guess what....chicken butt

Oysters: Speaking of oysters, was there ever a shucker who didn't sneak a slurp? Come on now, shucking oysters is hard work, and whoever has the task of opening dozens of the bivalves is entitled to a taste or two (or more- I've certainly been guilty of a "one for the platter, one for me" routine.)

Lobster Tamale: Perhaps this is only a cook's treat in the BCD household, where we prefer giant lobsters which need to be dismantled in the kitchen (often using a giant cleaver and mallet) before serving. Again, this means the cook has the privilege of sneaking a few spoonfuls of delicious lobster tamale- the green "guts" of the lobster (similar to crab mustard for our Maryland-based readers). If it's a lady lobster, the cook also gets the first shot at the bright red lobster roe, also extremely tasty. Is it fair for the cook to steal these morsels before anyone else gets a chance? If you knew the physicality needed to dismantle these monsters, not to mention the resulting lobster odor clinging to the cooks' clothes, hands, and hair, you would know that they've earned every bite.

Heel of bread: Homemade bread- a labor of love. Maybe not so much anymore with the advent of bread machines and the no-knead technique. But even without all the work, there's almost nothing more tempting than freshly baked bread. You've worked the dough, waited for it to rise, and smelled the warm, yeasty aroma as it bakes in the oven... and as soon as it's cool enough to handle, what baker could resist slicing off an end? One wants to see how the crumb developed under that crispy golden-brown exterior. One needs to know if using a sourdough starter imparted the perfect tangy flavor. And what better way to find out than to slather that still-warm end piece (AKA the heel), with soft butter, sprinkle with salt, and sink your teeth into the baker's well-earned treat.

The Uglies: When you get a perfectly triangular piece of pie served to you, do you think the other seven slices look just as perfect? Odds are: not so. That first piece of pie is a pain! And often ends up in lumps and crumbles on the cutting board... and then right into the cook's piehole (har har). Same goes for those cookies that spread into each other on the sheet pan, the first pancake/crepe (the first one NEVER turns out right), and the popover that didn't quite pop. These things might not look pretty, but they usually taste pretty darn good. Any good cook knows that eating your not-quite-perfect specimens is the perfect way to sample your goods AND destroy the imperfect evidence.

This is NOT an "ugly" - that's why it was photographed
This is our Rhumbleberry Pie inspired by several recipes

Cooking is a reward in itself: a hobby, a passion, an opportunity to experiment, not to mention a chance to feed ourselves and our loved ones with home-prepared, nurturing, great-tasting meals. But the cook's treats, eaten in secret behind closed kitchen doors, are truly the cherry on top.

So, any cook's treats that we missed? Share share!

Cheers,
X & EP

Citrus Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:34:00 +0000

by EP

It's winter. Dreariness abounds. We are caught between the sparkly, gluttonous holiday season and the sun-shiny frolick-inducing springtime. The glimmer of hope in this time is the fruit of the "season": citrus. People always give me funny looks when I say grapefruits are in season right now, but it's true! In the US, citrus from Florida or California is as "local" as it's gonna get in February. And lucky for us, we LOVE citrus. Grapefruit is so hot right now, and its French name (pamplemousse) is possibly the most fun word to say - ever.

So for Xani's birthday a few weeks ago, we decided to celebrate the fruit of the season and bring a little zest (har) into our lives in the form of a citrus-themed ladies' brunch! We had had a similar brunch for Xani last year, but this time we went full out with the theme, from the invitation to the decor to the food and drinks (of course). Even our outfits were citrus-y! We had so much fun planning and executing this party, and after so many years of throwing parties, we have got it down to a science. Bonus: we work really well together :) Here's what we did:

Food & Drink:

As soon as our guests arrived, we plied them with beverages - that's the best part about brunch, right? So many beverages in one sitting (coffee, mimosa, water, bloody, etc.) and nobody bats an eye. We prepared a mimosa bar with orange juice, grapefruit juice, tangerine-clementine-lime juice (which we juiced ourselves), and limoncello, for people who like to put booze in their booze. We purchased coffee from Caribou down the street, and it was quite good. We had citrus-flavored sparkling water as well.

We envisioned a decorated table, loaded with baked goodies, and that's exactly what we did.

Ta-da!

We wanted to incorporate citrus into every dish, and for the most part, we were successful. The baked goods were:

Lemon-rosemary ricotta mini-muffins
Tangerine palmiers
Pistachio citrus poundcake
Creamsicle cream puffs (cream puffs filled with a vanilla-citrus cream)

For Xani, cream puffs have become old hat - she has perfected her technique on making the pate choux, piping the puffs, freezing them (yes!), and baking them from frozen. They turned out wonderfully (basically hollow, which is what you want) and then she filled them with a homemade cream that had a nice orange-y flavor from a very fancy vanilla extract, Fiore di Sicilia. These were a huge hit at the party - obviously.

Palmiers and cream puffs

The palmiers were also a big hit, and I had no idea how easy it was to make them! We put some tangerine zest in the sugar before rolling them out, which gave them a nice citrus-y hint. I will definitely be making these again - lots of "wow" for relatively little work.

The pound cake is a Molly Wizenberg (of Orangette) recipe, and we pretty much love everything Molly does. This cake was no different - it had orange and lime zest, plus lemon and orange juice, and a nice serving of chopped pistachios on top and running throughout the cake. We served the cake from a fancy cake stand with a dome, which made it seem even more ladylike.

The recipe for the mini-muffins was from a diet magazine, so while they were good, they weren't as good as they could have been. Lesson learned.

One of our better ideas was providing goodie bags to our guests, for them to take some of the baked goods home to their families. Thankfully they did and we weren't left with piles of leftovers.

While the ladies enjoyed their mimosas and coffee, and nibbled at the baked goods, we prepared the savory portion of the meal. We served:

The original strata recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and we have each made it many times, with great success. In fact, one time when we planned to serve it, breakfast was severely delayed and we left the strata in the oven (turned off) for about 45 minutes. We were sure the dish would be ruined, but in fact it was excellent! Perhaps slightly not as puffy as if we had taken it right out of the oven, but not dried out at all. This mishap has taught us just how wonderful and robust this recipe is, which is why we will continue to incorporate it into our party menus for a long, long time. It's a keeper!

For the Citrus Celebration version of this strata, we replaced the parmesan and gruyere cheeses with fontina (for the gooey factor) and goat cheese, and we added a good helping of lemon zest to the egg mixture. It was lovely and a big hit, as usual.

The salad was refreshing and savory, featuring arugula, avocado, radish, scallion, and some grapefruit and blood orange supremes. The salad is drizzled with the grapefruit and orange juices, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Easy, clean flavors, and delicious. And in line with our theme!

We used store-bought mini sausage patties and fried them up as the strata cooked. We cut a corner here in not making our own. So sue us! They were delicious.

Decor

Thanks to Pinterest, in the weeks leading up to the party, we gathered many citrus-themed ideas for decor, food, and drinks on a Shared Board, and found some great stuff! We decorated my apartment with yellow, pinks, oranges, lime green, and gold. We created this, uh, "ceiling art" (inspired by Pinterest) with lanterns, balloons, and paper puffs, and hung it above the sweets table. It was definitely eye-catching and totally fabulous.

Note the goodie bags on the right

We also did a lot with flower arrangements, which was kind of new for us. We used both fresh and fake flowers, and we incorporated fresh citrus into the arrangments. Xani even created a citrus-only bouquet! These arrangements added such color and beauty to the party - something to remember at our next soiree.

We also decorated with vessels of fresh citrus. It's pretty enough to just sit in a basket, right?

Kumquats in a jar

Finally, we had to make signs for our food - it's tradition.

We also felt we should dress the part and wear some citrus-y colors. Why not?

It was such a lovely party, with great friends, great food, champagne, coffee, and beautiful flowers - we almost forgot it was dreary February.

We're already planning our next party - for my birthday (in July)! You can bet your bippy the theme is a good one.

Happy belated birthday, Xani! We love you!

Cheers,
EP

ps. Here are a few more pictures I had to share:

Shopping cart at H Mart - no one blinked when I bought an entire cartful of citrus

My apartment, all gussied up for a party
(Note the piggy and cow meat cut prints - my favorites)

I surprised the birthday girl with a mini coconut cake!

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:11:00 +0000

by EP

Hanukkah is over and Christmas is upon us, but before I head up to Plympton, Mass. to celebrate Christmas with Xani and Dave and Dave's family (and eat, and drink, and eat), I wanted to share two Hanukkah meals that I'll be sure to remember for years to come:

DGS Delicatessen: During Hanukkah, I was able to visit a new restaurant in Dupont Circle called DGS Delicatessen. I heard about its recent opening via Twitter (of course) and after one look at the menu, I knew I had to go. The menu featured old-school Jewish goodies like kasha varniskas, chopped liver, flanken, kreplach, and knishes, but taken to a unique and/or classed-up level. For example, the knishes are made with lamb merguez and lentils; the kreplach are filled with bacalao (salt cod); and the chopped liver is topped with gribenes (fried chicken skin leftover from rendering chicken fat - schmaltz!*)).

My friend Jim and I went, along with Jim's wife Jen, who I was glad to finally meet after hearing about her for a year! We had an early reservation so we got the best seat in the house - at the back of the dining area with a view of Dupont. The space is clean and modern - not your typical greasy spoon deli.

We started with cocktails: I got the "Bridgetown Apple Royale," made with Dupont Calvados, Pyrat Rum, Spiced Apple, Lemon, and Maple Bitters. Jen got the "Hello, Gorgeous" with Hidalgo Oloroso Sherry, Pimm’s, Dolin Blanc, and Smoked Orange Juice. Jim got the "Rob Roystein" with Dewar’s 12, Ginger Lemon Shrub, Sweet and Dry Vermouth, and Angostura Bitters. All were excellent - Jen was especially enamored by the smoked orange juice. I really wanted to get the "Mazel tov cocktail" because it's the best name for a cocktail - EVER - but the lavender syrup gave me pause (sometimes it can taste like you are drinking perfume).

Then it was time to dine. Jim and Jen graciously let me order all the goodies I had been eyeing and we shared everything. Just what I like in my dining companions!

To start, we ordered the chopped liver and a Reuben. Both were some of the best, if not THE best, of my life. Seriously (sorry, Mom!). Our waiter explained that the chef is trained in French cuisine and therefore is a pate-master. It showed: the liver was savory and creamy, but still coarse enough to be called chopped liver. The accompaniments made the liver shine: pickled red onion, gribenes (essentially, chicken skin cracklins), and house-made toasted up rye and pumpernickel. The serving was quite generous and I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day - no shame!

BEHOLD!

Next up: the Reuben. I LOVE a Reuben and almost always get it when I go to a deli. The DGS Reuben was made with house-made corned beef, Emmenthaler, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, on house-made rye bread. The sandwich was griddled up to perfection, and somehow they avoided the classic Reuben problem: soggy bottoms. The sandwich must have come right off the griddle because both sides of the sandwich were toasty and delicious; no sog in sight. In addition, the sandwich had a curious, smokey hint to it - turns out, they sneak a slice or two of their house-made pastrami into the middle of the sandwich. GENIUS. I wish I had ordered another for my main. Jim concurred that it was the best Reuben of his life.

For our main courses, we tried two entrees and two sides. The entrees we ordered were the Holishkes, (Beef Stuffed Cabbage Braised in a Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce, Rye Bread Crumb) and the Flanken (Beef Short Ribs Braised with Tunisian Spices, Figs, Spinach and Fresh Mint). Both were very good - I love anything cabbage-related so the Holishkes were my favorite of the two. I loved the crunchy rye bread crumbs on top of the sweet and sour beef and cabbage - it added a nice contrast of flavor.

The Flanken were good but not really my thing - maybe it's because it's something my family never cooked before so I had no perspective from which to judge them? By the time I got to them, they weren't very hot; maybe I would have liked them better if I had them right away.

We also ordered two sides: Roasted Cauliflower with ras al hanout and Potato Latkes with creme fraiche and apple preserves. Both of these were outstanding! I love roasted cauliflower and this dish was caramelized, flavorful, and comforting.

And then there were the latkes: holy crap. They were fried up (and may have been a touch too greasy, but that's my only complaint) and the creme fraiche and apple preserves were a nice alternative to the more humble sour cream and applesauce. But here's the best part: the latkes had thyme in them. It was a pleasant surprise and it really added to the dish - I will definitely be putting thyme in my next batch of latkes!

Finally, it was time for dessert: on a tip from a blogger/twitter buddy, we ordered the Babka Bread Pudding with salted caramel ice cream. It was unlike any bread pudding I've ever had - instead of the traditional craggy chunks of bread held together with custard, it was surprisingly homogeneous, with the occasional bit of chocolate from the babka. It was so delicious. While it was quite decadent, we all just had a few bites, so it was perfect. I wasn't complaining about the ice cream, either.

It was a lovely meal to share with friends during Hanukkah. But I am already planning my next trip back!

Homemade Hanukkah: Per our new tradition, I had Xani, Dave, his daughter, BCD Mom & Dad, and Xani and Dave's pup Eddie over to my new apartment for a gift exchange and latke party. We had a fabulous time! We served smokey fried chickpeas, traditional potato latkes, and Smitten Kitchen's cauliflower-feta fritters with pomegranate as a lighter (lower-carb) latke option. We made the dough for hanukkah churros but we were so tired after all that frying (and, let's be honest, drinking) that we just enjoyed some of Xani's homemade cookies for dessert. The potato latkes were good but the cauliflower fritters and fried chickpeas were total winners and I will definitely be making both of those recipes again!

It was so nice to be able to host my family for a gathering. As the baby of the family, I am often taken in by Mom and Dad or Xani and Dave, and I am so grateful to have a beautiful home where I can welcome my family. But just them - my apartment is pretty small :)

Xani and I wish you all a 2013 filled with joy and laughter, great food and booze, and most importantly: health and happiness. And oh yeah: coffee and donuts!!

Cheers!
EP

* A note on schmaltz: If you have an iPad and you have not yet purchased Michael Ruhlman's cookbook for iPads, "The Book of Schmaltz: A Love Song to a Forgotten Fat", get on it, tout de suite. It's a wonderful ode to a great fat! L'chaim!

Sea Creatures Beware: It's Dad's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:30:00 +0000

by EP

A few weekends ago, per our family tradition, we trekked out to Blackacre to celebrate BCD Dad's birthday. Readers may recall that when it comes to celebrating Dad (either through his birthday or for Father's Day), we always feature his favorite crustacean: LOBSTER!

This year we decided to do things a little differently. Instead of slaughtering giant 4-lb lobsters, we incorporated lobster into a sushi/sashimi course (which also featured obscure seafood ordered from Catalina Offshore Products) and a pasta course. Here was the menu:

Sushi/sashimi assortment (uni with ikura & quail egg, abalone sashimi, lobster & avocado roll, monkfish liver with ponzu sauce)
Pasta with uni-butter sauce and lobster
Apple strudel

The seafood from Catalina Offshore was shipped overnight from California to Blackacre. We ordered two trays of uni (sea urchin), six small abalones, and a "sleeve" of monkfish liver. Mom and Dad found some cheap little (1-1.5 lb) lobsters at an Asian supermarket, so they bought about 7 lbs of lobster altogether, and boiled and "picked" them prior to our arrival.

Picked lobster and uni ready for sushi; also note the butter

Sleeve o' monkfish liver

While we worked on putting together our first course, we enjoyed some high end sake. It was excellent and fun to have something different. The only trouble was the teeny sake glasses - I kept having to run around the kitchen refilling everyone's glasses!

Dave is a sushi master and lead the charge in creating many of the sushi rolls we had. He made excellent sushi rice and he and Xani constructed the uni nigiri, where the nori forms a cup for the uni (and ikura [salmon roe] and quail egg yolk).

Dave also made a few lobster-avocado-cucumber rolls.

Finished sushi platter

We made a quick ponzu sauce out of soy, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and dashi (Japanese soup stock), and served it with the monkfish liver. In case you missed it, monkfish liver is the foie gras of the sea! It's so delicious and fatty, and slightly fishy.

The last thing we had in our first course was abalone sashimi. Some abalone are giant (the size of a salad plate) and must be heavily trimmed and then beaten into oblivion so they are tender enough to eat. The abalones we got, on the other hand, were small (about 3 inches across) and could be eaten raw if sliced thinly enough. Xani and I watched many videos on how to clean abalones (too many, quite possibly), which allowed Xani to remove the animals from their shells, clean them, and then slice them thinly for sashimi. She plated them in their beautiful mother-of-pearl shells and topped them with ikura.

After we had our sushi/sashimi course, we started on the pasta course. Pasta is one of Dad's other favorite foods....and I'm pretty sure Xani and I inherited the pasta-love gene.

The pasta sauce was very simple. We were inspired by this recipe: we took one tray of uni and blended it with heavy cream. Then we added it to melted butter, added the chopped lobster meat, and tossed in the almost-cooked pasta. We garnished it with lobster claws (reheated in butter - are you sensing a theme?) and chives.

The pasta was absolutely fantastic - it was rich and buttery, and the uni added richness but its flavor wasn't as intense as when eaten raw. The lobster added in was divine.

After we recovered from our seafood feast, it was time for dessert! Dad's request this year was for apple strudel. We made it earlier in the day and used the America's Test Kitchen recipe, which used phyllo dough. Traditional strudel dough is notoriously difficult and Xani had the forethought to avoid that headache and just use phyllo. Brilliant move! The filling had golden raisins, two kinds of apples, some spices, and calvados (apple brandy). We baked it earlier in the day and served it room temperature, along with some locally made stracciatella ice cream (vanilla with crackly chocolate swirl). And coffee - of course!

It was a wonderful meal and as always, so fun to do something like that as a family. Happy birthday Dad - we love you so much!

Uni wishes and lobster dreams -

EP

ps. And now for some gratuitous puppy pics:

Eddie begs for more treats from his dealer aka Mom

Pps. Dad and I went to Don Chuy's taqueria in Cambridge over the weekend. Truly awesome tacos - pictured here are the al carbon, the steak, and the carnitas. We loved them so much, Dad even Yelped about it!

Strip Club or Restaurant? Restaurant, thankfully.

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:04:00 +0000

by EP

My new apartment in Silver Spring has a balcony that faces east. I can watch the sun rise, I can watch traffic on Georgia Avenue and the metro ride past, and in the immediate foreground, there are two buildings: a Vietnamese restaurant and a building with a pink heart-shaped sign that says "Jackie's." When my parents came to visit two days after I moved in, my Dad asked me what Jackie's was and since I had no clue, I gave him my best guess: strip club. The outside of the building is dark and decrepit, the sign is sickly sweet with a green background, pink puffy writing, and multi-colored hearts, and it's named Jackie's - what more evidence need I present?

A few days later, my friend Jamie mentioned a place called Jackie's in Silver Spring as a great restaurant not to miss. Hmmm, could this be the strip club across the street? Apparently, yes. Last weekend, my friend Marissa and I checked out the bar next door to Jackie's (and owned by the same people) called Sidebar.

The menu at Sidebar boasts fancy cocktails with obscure/retro ingredients (including egg whites!), and Marissa and I happily indulged. The drinks were lovely and interesting (though I couldn't tell you what we ordered), but the service was rather slow/unfriendly, and that was before 40+ people from a wedding (including the bride, still in her dress) strolled in. I think I'll check it out again on a weeknight when there's less hub-bub about.

Today I had the chance to try the real Jackie's - the restaurant (not the bar...or the strip club). My friend Carol came up to Silver Spring to see my new apartment and have a meal together. I had read through the Jackie's menu online and thought brunch would be a good opportunity to check it out in the light of day.

We strolled across Georgia Ave and confusedly tried to find the entrance to Jackie's. Even up close, this place looks shady from the outside. But around the corner (past the Sidebar entrance), you'll find the double doors wide open, music playing (Aretha!), and a warm welcome from the host. The decor is...unique. It's a combination of industrial lights, exposed brick, cement floors + bubble gum pink chairs, fluffy multi-colored pillows, and sparkly chandeliers. It's a sunny, lively space and we were excited to enjoy some brunch treats.

My lovely dining companion

I love you

Multicolored hanging art to go with your coffee?

Carol does her best "Price Is Right" impression to present the fluffy pillows

Over coffee, our Justin Bieber look-alike waiter quickly ran down the not-to-miss items that were "to die for": donuts and pork belly. Jackpot. We started with the dulce de leche donut and the filled donut of the day, which had a peach jam filling.

Both were warm and definitely freshly made. The dulce de leche donut was a yeast donut and had a playful smattering of colored sprinkles on top. The filled donut was cakey with the perfect amount of jam filling.

I see you, peach jam!

Both were absolutely delightful. I think I preferred the filled donut (they're so hot right now) but I loved both. Who can say no to a warm, freshly made donut? Soulless fools. Or people who are sticking to their diets.

For our main dishes, Carol ordered the "Egg's Nest," a nest of fried up shoe-string potatoes filled with fried eggs, kale salad, and hollandaise, atop a few slices of tomato. Beautifully presented but much better tasting when destroyed so the components could be eaten together.

I ordered the Chilaquiles, a Mexican dish of scrambled eggs, fried up corn tortillas, black beans, salsa verde, fontina cheese, and a bit of avocado on top. Very flavorful, slightly spicy, and a nice contrast of textures. Why don't I make this at home?

And the pork belly? We didn't forget - we got a side order of the citrus-cured belly and it was, as predicted, to die for.

Aside from some spotty service (a theme with this restaurant group?), we had a lovely experience at Jackie's. I will definitely be back for dinner. And I think it's safe to leave my dollar bills at home.

Cheers,
EP

A Chocolate-y Guest Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:38:00 +0000

by the fabulous Stef AKA Motherocker AKA our cousin!

Like a bolt from the blue I got the message in my inbox from component X of team BCD. Xani had tix to Gourmet Walks ULTRA Chocolate tour in downtown San Francisco, but had a change of plans at the last minute. Would I be able to step in and fill her shoes? Three hours of walking around downtown SF that started with a martini and ended with a wine tasting and was filled with all manner of high-quality chocolate tasting in betwixt. It was a tall order, but I was up for the challenge.

Our journey began at the luxurious Le Meridien hotel. Our guide, Ahmet Aydogan (weekday photographer, weekend chocolate expert) graciously found my companion and I wandering the lobby and ushered us to the meeting spot. We were soon joined by the rest of our fellow tourists. As we waited (and waited, and waited) for our first tasting of the day, Ahmet gave us the run-down on how the afternoon would progress and then launched into an interesting and informative chocolate history lesson. I won a chocolate for guessing that the Mayans were the first to discover chocolate’s aphrodisiac qualities! But I had no idea that chocolate beverage houses existed before coffee or tea establishments in Europe, although they served a very different beverage than what we are now accustomed to. Apparently there was a thick layer of grease on top as they hadn’t figured out how to separate out the cocoa butter. But once that happened it was only short distance to the invention of chocolate as a confection. We learned that chocolate at its’ most basic consists of only 3 ingredients, chocolate, cocoa butter and sugar. Varying the amounts of the ingredients is what gives each product it’s unique flavor. Poor Ahmet was nearly done with his talk by the time the hotel bar finally had our drinks ready- chocolate martinis! I have to say, this was the only underwhelming part of the tour for me. It was a pretty standard chocolate martini. I don’t know if it was the environment or the name of the tour but I was expecting something with a little more wow factor. At least jazz up your presentation by lining the rim Le Meridien!

But alcohol is alcohol and everyone was in a jolly mood as we headed out to our next stop. Ahmet was the consummate host and did a great job at spending a little time with each group of people. He also pointed out bits of SF foodie culture, architecture and history along the way between stops. Leonidas, a belgian chocolatier located in the Crocker Galleria, was our next stop. Here we got an education on the process of chocolate making from bean to bar. This was super fascinating to me. There are 3 different kinds of cacao trees. Forestaro, or bulk beans, account for nearly 90% of what makes it to the shelves and is primarily grown in Africa (!). Criollo is the highest quality bean with the most complex flavor. It is also extremely difficult to cultivate. Trinitario is a hybrid of the other two and gives a bit of the best of both worlds, being a bit easier to grow then Criollo and having a bit more flavor than Forestaro. As you can see in the images above he showed us a cacao pod and beans in their raw and roasted forms to smell and touch. Cocoa nibs and cocoa butter also came around. Then it was finally time to taste some chocolate!

Chocolate Buttercreams and Pralines - Leonidas

The dark chocolate layer on the buttercreams was rich and slightly bitter which perfectly offset the velvety hazelnut buttercream within. Although I typically can’t stomach white chocolate (I find it cloyingly sweet), my fellow tourists persuaded me to give it a try. Nope! Still didn’t like it. But....more on that later.

Next up we wandered over to Market Street to visit Fog City News where the owner stocks 200 premium chocolate bars and does not allow any pictures. They carried some truly interesting and delicious looking product (a brown butter bar I believe, keffir lime maybe...?) but I can’t remember any of it. So you’ll have to take my word for it!

Recchiuti Chocolates

Then it was over to the Ferry Building for a whirlwind tour and 3 amazing vendors. The Ferry Building is a must visit for any foodie worth their salt and it’s sort of impossible to walk in there without wanting to try some of everything. One of the things I really loved about the tour was learning San Francisco’s role in US gourmet chocolate making and how many ground-breaking chocolatiers make the Bay area their home. We got a little presentation at Recchiuti. The owners are a husband and wife team who got their start selling at local farmers markets and working with local farmers to obtain the ingredients for their chocolates. We tasted a dragee (chocolate covered almond, dusted with cocoa powder) on the spot and picked up a few others to taste with wine later. Next up was Scharffen Berger. That brand may sound familiar to you, it’s become one of the premier chocolates to use in pastry and many recipes recommend it next to Valrhona. They are also one of the first bean-to bar manufacturers in the US, meaning they process from roasting all the way through to finished product. We did a fun tasting here, first of Scharffen Berger’s original dark chocolate bar, and then of chocolate flavored with mint- which turned out to be the same base chocolate, surprise!

Here’s how you taste a fine chocolate bar:

1. Smell

2. Snap (in half or a piece off)

3. Smell again

4. Stick it in your mouth hole

5. OMG, so good.

Lastly we breezed by Miette and picked up a duo of macaron for the road. I remember Erin ’s post on making these in Paris- a huge PITA as I recall. I ate them the next day in your honor BCD Girls!

It doesn’t seem like we tasted all that much chocolate, but we were all feeling a bit chocolated out by the time we got to Blanc et Rouge a perfectly nice little wine bar but would probably have been nicer without the rather raucous birthday celebration in the room. Ahmet did a great job speaking over the din as he talked us through the tasting.

We started to our right with a lovely dry Cava (Kila Cava 2008- Spanish sparkling wine) paired with a square of....dun dun DUN - white chocolate. This was a revelation for me. The dryness of the wine perfectly offset the sweetness - making the white chocolate taste rich and buttery instead of overwhelmingly sweet. The second pairing was a Recchiuti Ginger heart with Husch Gewurtzraminer (2009, Anderson Valley). I normally find Gewurtzraminer too sweet (quelle surprise, huh) but this one was surprisingly light and went excellently with the spicy ginger and dark chocolate. I probably could have eaten a bucket of those two.

Ahmet told us that they sometimes switched up chocolates 4 & 3 with the third and fourth wines. On the official menu, we were supposed to have the Recchiuti Force Noir (a piece of pure dark chocolate ganache) with the Beucanon Cabernet Franc and the Recchiuti Cassis Strata (Dark chocolate with cassis uh...jelly or something) with port (Warres ruby port) I’ve never had a Cab Franc before, apparently it’s unusual to be sold as a varietal and not as part of a blend (I don’t know that much about wine in case you couldn’t tell). Anyway, it was the kind of dry that makes you feel like your saliva glands have stopped working. It went ok with the Force Noir, but I felt the sweetness of the fruit in the Cassis Strata was a better match and likewise the more bitter Force Noir with the syrupy port.

All in all it was an amazing afternoon which lasted closer to 4 hours than the estimated 3. I could not recommend this tour highly enough to anyone who loves good chocolate and wants to learn more about it for Bay Area residents and visitors alike. Thanks Xani for such an unexpected and delightful treat - was wonderful for many more reasons than are appropriate to write about here. Muah! - Stef

Thank you Stef for an awesome field report!!

A Warm Welcome to DC at Graffiato

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:32:00 +0000

by EP

Last week, to welcome me to DC, my wonderful friends Mark and Craig (you might remember them from the amazing trip to Chicago last winter to celebrate Craig's birthday) took me out to dinner. We went to a restaurant I'd be hearing about through the DC bloggers for years it seems: Graffiato. Graffiato is owned by Mike Isabella, of Top Chef fame, and I had heard absolutely wonderful things about it and was pumped to finally go for myself.

I met Mark, Craig, and Craig's aunt Jeannie in the bar area while we waited for a table. Of course, we enjoyed some bubbly while we waited - what kind of fool waits without a cocktail in hand?! After a brief wait, the hostess lead us to our table (and even took our drinks for us so we wouldn't spill as we walked up the kinda-steep staircase).

Our waiter was adorable and wonderful, and he had been Mark and Craig's waiter before in the past -- he even remembered that Mark had a nut allergy! He was friendly enough to the ladies at the table, but truth be told his energy and enthusiasm were geared towards the gentlemen. This is when we realized he was very likely gay and was totally flirting with Mark. No matter, we used it to our advantage and had a great time and great service.

Mark and Jeannie, ready to eat!

Anyway, onto the food and the drinks:

Drinks: Arguably the best "bite" of the night were our cocktails. I had a "D.C. Mule," a play on a Moscow Mule featuring highwest vodka, grapefruit juice, and their amazing 5 Spice Ginger Beer. Craig got "The Waterfront," a play on a Dark & Stormy, featuring coriander-infused rum, mango, and the same ginger beer.

D.C. Mule

The Waterfront

These cocktails were so delicious and had it not been a work night, I would have had several. The ginger beer made both of them - hands down the best ginger beer I've ever had. Those spices were perfectly present but not too strong, and totally worked with the other ingredients in both cocktails. Bravo, Mr. Mixologist.

Mark enjoyed some wine (recommended by our extra-friendly waiter) and liked it so much our waiter brought the bottle so Mark could write down the name -- er, take a picture of it.

Food:

The food at Graffiato is Italian/Mediterranean-inspired. Everything's familiar but it's got a nice little twist to it. It's also served as small plates, which I liked because it gave us an opportunity to try LOTS of stuff. Let's get started:

We started with the Flatbread & Pepperoni Sauce, made famous by Mike on the Top Chef All-Starts finale. It was basically like a tomato sauce, in which you dipped the bread, that tasted heavily of pepperoni. No complaints here, pepperoni is obviously delicious and I have fond childhood memories of noshing on wheels of it while cooking with the family.

Then we had the Broccolini, with spicy pepper relish, walnut, and feta. This was pretty underwhelming. The dish was served cold (not sure if that was intentional; if nothing else it was not expected) and we had the relish on the side because it had walnuts in it and as you now know, Mark has an allergy. So, perhaps it would have been better all put together.

No fear, the Baby Beets with house ricotta and orange was quite lovely, especially the ricotta. Homemade ricotta is so hot right now.

Also great was the Caesar salad, studded with bits of white anchovy and cream cheese croutons. Yes, bits of fried up cream cheese, which took the place of both bread croutons and the parmesan cheese. Delightful!

One of the best dishes we got was the Charred Octopus with potato, black garlic, olives. This dish really freaked out Craig's aunt but that meant more for us! We dove in. Unlike other octopus I've had, this was not chewy at all - it was meaty and tender, and the charred flavor was great. It was served atop mashed potatoes dyed black with squid ink - a sformato, I think? I didn't get the proper name of the Italian mashed potato dish but it was awesome. (Also, foods dyed with squid ink is SO Halloween - must try to incorporate that this year!)

The star of the show!

Then we enjoyed some pasta dishes. First we had the Hand Cut Spaghetti, with olive oil poached cherry tomatoes and thai basil. Very nice, simple dish, al dente pasta, and the little tomatoes popped in your mouth.

The Arugula Cavatelli with crab, tomato, and chili, however, was another story. It was more than al dente - it was undercooked. I'm not sure if it's accurate/proper to say I like "really" al dente pasta (like saying someone is "really" pregnant - they are or they aren't!), but I do, and even this was too much for me. We probably should have told our waiter but we were enjoying the other dishes on the table so we didn't want to make a fuss about it.

Finally, we got to the protein of the evening. We enjoyed a Roasted Chicken Breast with fennel, apple mostarda, and sweet potato. The chicken was nicely cooked with crispy skin, and the apple and sweet potato tasted like fall.

Then we had the Crispy Lamb with yogurt, cucumber, and tapenade. This was the best meat dish of the night, in my opinion. The lamb was tender and crispy, well-seasoned and savory, and the mint and yogurt went so well with it. I wished we'd gotten another one!

Finally we enjoyed the Pork Ribs with fennel and apple mostarda. These were really different - they had a lot of spices rubbed into them (coriander and fennel if I remember correctly) and were nicely cooked. A little hard to eat without using your hands!

Then it was time for dessert! And although it sounds like we had a lot of food, we all were not too full and ready to try some sweet treats. We ended up getting the Warm Chocolate Cake with fudge and salted caramel gelato, and an assortment of two gelati: dark chocolate and mint stracciatella (meaning with a crackly chocolate swirl throughout).

The cake was very moist and rich, and the combination of the cake with the fudge, the salted caramel, AND the salted caramel gelato was heaven in a bite. In all honesty, though, I could have done without the cake and just had the ice cream and toppings! But that's just me, an admitted ice cream addict.

The other gelati were good - the dark chocolate was SO dark and not too sweet. I think Xani would have really liked it. The mint stracciatella was a miss, unfortunately - too icy, not creamy enough.

It was overall a lovely meal and such a warm welcome to DC! I would definitely go back and try the pizza, and get more cocktails. The chef also has a Mexican restaurant in Georgetown [I'm new here, is it cool to go to Georgetown these days?] that looks awesome, and I hope to get there soon.

Thanks again Mark and Craig!

Sending you charred octopus wishes and ginger beer dreams -

EP

BCD News Flash and The Day the Mussel Won

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 20:38:00 +0000

by EP

Big news on the BCD home front: I moved! Not too far away, but away from Baltimore, nonetheless. I now live in sunny Silver Spring, Maryland, right on the border with DC. So, this blog will continue in full-force (meaning we'll continue our haphazard, slacker-esque format of blogging when we feel like it), but I'll be writing about my adventures dining in DC restaurants. Have no fear, the cooking will continue in both of our kitchens (in fact, I am making a no-knead bread right now!), and we'll be gearing up for some parties soon now that it's fall, our favorite season to entertain. I really hope we can make some apple cider donuts this year...it's my dream!

New kitchen!

I broke my French press while I was packing so the morning after the move, I needed coffee, badly. Thanks to Yelp I found Zed's Cafe, which was close and it opened at 8am, so I took a 5 min stroll down Georgia Avenue and there it was! I enjoyed an the amazing cappuccino and a decent cinnamon muffin, and read Bon Appetit magazine. A great way to kick off a day of unpacking!

In addition to moving my home, I also moved to a different office (same job though). The new office is a few blocks from Union Station. There are so many food trucks right outside the building every day, I can't even process it.

To welcome me to the office, a colleague and friend brought me to Bistro Bis (in the Hotel George, a Kimpton Hotel) for lunch. I had been there before but it was years ago, and I was excited to try it again. For our first course, Jim had the beet salad with boursin, orange surpremes, and walnuts, and I had the mussels. The beets were perfectly cooked and a light starter. The mussels had a tomato-y sauce and fennel, but the anise flavor was very subtle so I did not object.

So there we were, having a fancy lunch in our business attire, when suddenly the mussel I was eating rebelled against me and comically sprung tomato sauce all over my face. I suppose it's only fair - I've probably eaten hundreds of his brethren over the years. Eye for an eye [if mussels had eyes].

For our second course, Jim got the special, a lamb ravioli, and I got the "chicken salad." The ravioli were al dente and the filling was a flavorful shredded lamb.

As for my main, this was no regular chicken salad. Jim recommended it and now I am even more confident in his palate. It was a chicken breast stuffed with a light, almost eggy filling, and a truffle sauce, accompanied by a large yet elegant salad featuring artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and bits of lobster.

The chicken was perfectly cooked, and I struggled not to lick the plate at the end. But, I had already embarrassed myself (well, technically the mussel embarrassed me) once, and that was enough for one day.

More DC eats coming right up!

Cheers,
EP

RA! RA! RA!

noreply@blogger.com (Xani) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:53:00 +0000

by Xani

No, I'm not cheering for the Orioles. Well, I am, like everyone else in Baltimore, but that's not what the title references. Instead I'm referring to RA Sushi Bar and Restaurant, where I was invited to a Media Dinner for the opportunity to sample their new menu items. RA changed up their menu earlier this summer to include some new, fresh items, and because EP is so busy preparing for her big move (look out Silver Spring!), I brought Dave along with me to the tasting (lucky guy).

RA, as always, has a rockin' vibe, with red globe fixtures providing mood light and pounding music (a little too loud for this old lady, but the rest of the crowd seemed to be enjoying it). The place was pretty packed at 7pm on a Wednesday, with lots of people taking advantage of the great happy hour specials.

Dave and I were seated and were lucky enough to be taken care of by Scott, the General Manager, who was super-attentive and helpfully explained each course to us. And there were a lot! But first, cocktails.

Ginger Blossom

Coconut mojito

I had the Ginger Blossom (Tito's Vodka, fresh muddled strawberry, pink grapefruit, fresh lime and ginger beer), and Dave had the Coconut Mojito (light rum muddled with fresh lime, sugar, soda and fresh mint). The Ginger Blossom was tasty but just a tad too sweet for me, but I'm a sucker for anything coconut and I thought the coconut mojito was excellent. Dave must have liked it too; by the time I went to steal a second taste, it was gone!

Dip not pictured

The first course of food came out right away, and consisted of Edamame Dip, Bonfire Shrimp, and Garlic Edamame. The dip, served with crispy wonton chips (who doesn't love a fried wonton??) was very creamy and had spinach in it-- sortof an Asian take on spinach and artichoke dip? Very tasty. The garlic edamame, which were traditional steamed edamame in the shell, followed by a saute in garlicky butter and Asian seasoning, were also good but messy to eat! Make sure you only order these if you don't mind licking your fingers in front of your dining companions. The bonfire shrimp were lightly breaded and fried and coated in a chili sauce that had just the right amount of heat. I also loved the shisito pepper that came with this dish- great flavor.

Before we could say "we're losing the light!" the next course came out: a sampling of their new crispy Asian tacos.

Last picture before the sun went down

These were awesome! First of all, I was impressed with the creativity of the taco shell itself, which is made from flash-fried rice paper. It was so light and crispy (and not greasy at all), and a perfect vehicle for the yummy fillings. My favorite filling was the chicken, which was a chilled shredded sake steamed chicken with asian vegetables-- the chicken was very moist with incredible flavor, plus that crispy crunch from the shell! Delicious. We also sampled the "RA"ckin shrimp taco (very good) and the Spicy salmon taco, which included guacamole so of course it was great! The spicy salmon taco was the only raw fish served on the tasting menu, but Scott told us there is also a spicy tuna taco on the menu, not to mention their entire sushi menu. So RA definitely does raw, if that's what you are into (which, of course, I am.)

OK, at this point, I admit, I was getting full (those tacos were BIG). But, a food blogger has certain duties, so we pressed onto the next course. Small bowls of Drunken Black Mussels were brought out, along with spoons so we could drink the broth. The mussels were excellent but man were we happy about those spoons! The broth was to die for. The mussels are cooked in garlic, seasoned soy sauce, and butter. I could have drunk a vat of the stuff. Yum!

The final plate contained samples of three new dishes: Salmon with green beans, Black Pepper Teryaki Chicken Wings, and Chili Ponzu Asian Chicken Wings. While everything was tasty, this plate had the least "wow factor" as far as uniqueness. That said, the salmon, served with still-crunchy green beans, was well-cooked, not dry at all, with an excellent spicy yuzu sauce. The wings were nice and meaty and both had great flavor. I especially liked the Black Pepper wings, which had huge black pepper flavor but weren't too spicy- magic!

Dessert- oy, I could barely eat another bite but when they brought out a teeny portion of mochi (ice cream wrapped in sweet rice cake) I couldn't resist. A nice sweet bite to end a delicious evening.

Thanks so much to RA for the great meal-- rice paper taco shells, now why didn't I think of that??

Go O's,

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