Bistro Night In

January 31, 2011 by

Upper Georgetown has the most beautiful houses in DC.  It’s a wonder I didn’t get in an accident driving through on Saturday afternoon, as I was certainly more focused on the facades of the homes and their manicured bushes, rather than the road.  Though I won’t be spending the rest of my life in DC, if I were planning on it, I’d want to live in one of those homes.  Preferably a brick one painted white or light yellow, with big windows, and pink rose bushes out front.

I wasn’t just passing through the area to gaze at the houses (though I’d totally be one to do that), I was on my way to Black Salt Fish Market.  After hearing multiple rave reviews about their seafood, I’ve been wanting to visit their store for months. I finally got a chance to this weekend.  They have a beautiful spread of fresh seafood, and an interesting selection of specialty food items.  I picked up some PEI mussels, and a few other tantalizing goodies from their shop. Black Salt is not just a fish market though, they have a full restaurant in the back.  Based on how good my mussels were, I’ll definitely be returning soon to have a meal in their restaurant.

To cook the mussels I followed the Contessa’s Mussels in White Wine Recipe.  Though it’s traditional, I find nothing beats the white wine, butter, and herbs combo when it comes to steaming mussels.  And quite frankly, for me, making mussels is less about the seafood, and more about the broth- and soaking up all that broth with a crusty baguette. Paired with a simple salad, these guys for an especially homey Sunday meal.


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Homemade English Muffins

January 28, 2011 by

Two hour delays are the answer to bread making.  We had one today.  And while I would have much preferred a closing, the extra morning hours gave me just enough time to not only enjoy my coffee at home, but whip up the dough for homemade english muffins.  Then while I was at work, my dough got to hang out and rise, and do all that stuff it’s supposed to do.

My decison to make english muffins mirrored my thought process for making marshmallows, in that it’s a food I never considered making from scratch.  I was very curious to try them at home.  Thankfully, unlike marshmallows, english muffins are much easier to make in your own kitchen.  They require very few ingredients and minimal prep time, yet still produce an impressive baked good.  I chose to make whole wheat muffins, but you can make traditional ones by using only all purpose flour.  While I like that these muffins are good for me, I do miss the fluffiness of the traditional kind.  I’ll definitely be making a batch of those in the near future.

Whole Wheat English Muffins adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 10-12 muffins

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1/4 cup melted shortening
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for roughly 2 hours (or longer if you have to go to work all day).
  3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
  4. Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast.


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Clam Chowder

January 26, 2011 by

This past weekend, I was pulling open the curtains in our bedroom, and realized one of the panels was stuck to the window.  It was actually frozen to the window.  What?? How?? Where was the water coming from? I proceeded to feel around the window, only to discover the entire ledge at the bottom of the window was encased in ice.  The truly crazy part of this whole situation is the fact that our apartment building was built in 2007, and this is the kind of insulation we get?

So yeah, it’s definitely cold.  But I really shouldn’t complain, as my mother informed me yesterday morning that it was  -10 degrees in NY,  so this 25 degree weather we’re getting in DC is quite balmy in comparison.  I don’t mind the weather too much, it just leads me to spend most of my time holed up in my apartment.. being rather antisocial.  So instead of getting out I’m staying in, lighting candles, jacking up the heat, and making soup- chowder to be exact.  This was a first for me, and quite a success.  Brandon deemed it to be one of his favorite dishes I ever made.  I can’t take all the credit though, it’s a Ina dish of course.  But I did make a few small tweaks which I think add great flavor to this chowder, I strongly urge you to incorporate them.

East Hampton Clam Chowder from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Serves 6-8

I followed Ina’s recipe to a T, but made the following additions:

  • Begin the soup by sauteeing 2 slices of diced thick cut bacon for 5 minutes, until slightly crispy.  Then add in the onions and 1 T butter.  Due to the bacon fat, I omitted 3 T of butter.
  • To finish the soup, add in 5 dashes of Tobasco and 2 T of Worcestershire sauce
  • Serve with a sprinkling of parsley, adds great color and freshness
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Lamb Burgers

January 24, 2011 by

Lamb is one of may favorite proteins.  I tend to like it best in Greek dishes, where the preparation often involves the flavors of lemon, thyme, oregano, and olive oil. My affinity for lamb may have something to do with the fact that Greek food, overall, is one of my favorite cuisines.  My family spent 10 days in Greece when I was 15, and even 10 years later, I can still vividly recall the meals we ate. This past weekend I made lamb burgers for the first time.  I kept the ingredients in the burger simple, so as not to take away from the natural flavor of the meat.  Lamb has incredible flavor on its own, so when cooked (whatever the form) you never want to bury it with too many additional flavors.

I created a yogurt feta sauce to top the burgers.  A yogurt sauce is really the only appropriate condiment for lamb burgers, and shouldn’t be eaten without.  Ketchup definitely does not serve as a substitute!

Grilled Lamb Burgers with Feta Yogurt Sauce

adapted from Gourmet Today

Serves 4

1 1/4 lbs ground lamb

1 tsp ground cumin

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 T chopped flat leaf parsley

zest of 1/2 a lemon

4 whole wheat buns or pitas

1 cup greek yogurt (no less than 2% fat content)

1 T lemon juice

3 T grated english cucumber, squeezed out with paper towel

1 small garlic cloves, grated

1/4 cup crumbled greek feta

1/4 tsp salt

Combine the last 6 ingredients together to create the yogurt sauce, cover, and place in the fridge until ready to serve (this can be made several hours ahead, the longer the ingredients sit, the better.)

Combine the first 7 ingredients together, being sure not to overmix.  Form into four 1 inch thick patties and set aside.  Meanwhile coat a heavy sauce pan generously with olive oil, and heat over medium high heat for 5 minutes.  Place the patties in the pan and cook covered for 4 minutes.  After 4 minutes flip the burgers and cook for 3-4 minutes on the other side, until they’re not too soft in the center, but still have a slight give.  Place cooked burgers on a plate, cover, and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, ligthly toast your buns.  Place a patty on the bottom bun, and slather the top bun with yogurt sauce.  Enjoy immediately.

(Photo Credits: I have photos of my burgers, but sadly they are stuck inside my Mac which is sick at the moment.  For this post, photo credits go to myrecipes and Closet Cooking.)

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Cookie Support

January 21, 2011 by

My dear chocolate peanut butter chip cookies*, you are my favorite thing to photograph.  You are positively glowing against the back drop of my couch side table.  You stack up so nicely! Makes me want another one of you right now. This week has been unusually exhausting, and you’ve provided much needed support.  You’re always there, patiently sitting in a tupperware container on my counter, waiting for me to nibble on you when I get home from work.  I’ll most definitely be making you again!

*I followed this recipe to make these cookies, and used a combo of peanut butter and chocolate chips since that’s what I had on hand.  The unique thing about this recipe is the use of bread floor and the melting (rather than creaming) of the butter.  These tweaks make for a slightly denser, but still moist and chewy cookie. I’ll definitely be experimenting with my flour proportions in the future to perfect my cookie texture.

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Homemade Pizza

January 19, 2011 by

Things that are way overdue in my life right now: phoning an old work friend, dropping off my dry cleaning, making pizza from scratch.

Hurrah! I can cross the last item off!  It’s probably not the most important, but still, it happened.  And now I can focus on my other overdue things.

There were both good and not so good things about this pizza.

The Good:  the topping combos were money- the cheese blistered perfectly- we had leftovers for lunch today

The Bad: the dough was too chewy-we almost set our apartment on fire trying to crisp up the dough in the oven

For the dough, I followed Smitten Kitchen’s Really Simple Pizza recipe.  I’m positive the problem with the dough was not the recipe, but me.  And my yeast or my flour our my kneading technique.  One or all of the above was the reason my dough didn’t rise properly.  Nonetheless, I think I will be sticking to the No Knead Pizza Dough since that has produced much better dough for me.

Despite the dough mishap this pizza was still quite delicious.  I think that had a lot to do with the topping selections, and I’ll take credit for that!  Homemade dough or not, you should spend one night making this pizza at home.

Bacon, Gorgonzola, and Onion Pizza/ Artichoke, Kalamata, and Hot Pepper Pizza

Makes one 13 inch pie, topping portions cover 1/2 a pie

Make your dough (making can involve buying pre-made dough at the grocery store). Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven now to warm up (this will help crisp up the bottom of the pie!)

Saute 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 T butter, and 4 minced cloves of garlic of low heat for ten minutes.  Next, dice 2 slices of bacon and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and add in 1/4 cup of a thinly sliced red onion.  Saute for 5 minutes until it just begins to soften.  Take 2/3 cup defrosted artichoke hearts and ten kalamata olives, roughly chop.  Have on hand one 6 0z bag of shredded mozeralla.

The Assembly:  Roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thick.  Brush the garlic/oil/ butter mixture across the pizza.  First layer:  chopped artichokes on one side,  2.5 T crumbled gorgonzola on the other.  Second layer: mozzarella, liberally cover the pie with 6 0z of cheese.  Last layer: gorgonzola side gets bacon and red onion, artichoke side gets olives and red pepper flake to taste.  Lastly, generously grate some parm over the entire pie.

Pop the pizza into the oven for 11-13 minutes, until top is blistered and bubbly.  Enjoy immediately!

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Mulled Cider

January 18, 2011 by

Monday afternoons (or Sunday, if it’s not a 3 day weekend) are made infinitely better with mulled cider.  This afternoon, from 3-4pm, I watched Brothers and Sisters while folding laundry and sipping hot cider.  It was glorious.  You can, and should, do it to.  Well everything except the Brothers and Sisters part, you can pick your own show.

Step 1: Get yourself some Williams Sonoma Mulling Spices.  Yes you could make your own, but theirs is just so aromatic, and they come in a beautiful tin.  All reasons to buy them.

Step 2: Measure out 2 cups of cider and 1 T mulling spices.  Place the ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Strain the cider over your mug (if you have cheese cloth, you can wrap the spices in it and drop the bundle in to simmer).

Step 4: Enjoy immediately with a clementine, cookies, or whatever afternoon snack you have on hand.

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Little Date

January 16, 2011 by

Last night we headed to Rustico for a casual dinner out.  I’m not a big beer person, but I always crave one with a burger and pizza. I also like all beers with the word blonde in the title.  I had their dry aged cheddar burger for the first time and holy mother, was that thing good.  Definitely my new favorite burger.

Then I dragged Brandon to the Dairy Godmother only to find out they were CLOSED.  So instead we made a pit stop on the way home and picked up some of this.  And some gummy worms.  7-11 gummy worms are the best!  Then we watched Knocked Up, which was the perfect end to our Saturday night.

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Saturdays are for Pancakes

January 15, 2011 by

Yikes it’s been quiet around here.  I was in a bit of a cooking rut.  But I’m beginning to pull myself out.  Usually I come back from a  trip so excited to be in my own kitchen, but not this time.  Maybe it’s the weather. Can I please blame the weather?  The sky has been the same color of grey for as long as I can remember.  I’m fine with the cold!  It means I get to wear this fabulous thing.  But this dull grey has got to go.  It was sunny right when I got up this morning, and then it went away.  Such a tease!

In winter, I eat a lot of blueberries.  I put them in my oatmeal, which I eat everyday at work for breakfast (during the cold months). You’d think I’d be sick of them, but no.  I’m actually feeling rather addicted to them.  But eating oatmeal on Saturday feels sacrilegious, you need something with more butter!  Well, I actually put butter in my oatmeal, but that doesn’t really make it special.  Since I don’t have a live in 1950s housewife to make me pancakes during the week, pancakes are special.

I used Mark Bittman’s recipe for Everyday Pancakes .  Along with adding blueberries, I put in the butter he notes as being optional.  Not optional, this is Saturday!  Brandon thought they were great ( thank you Brandon).  I thought they were pretty good, coulda been better, but still Saturday morning worthy!

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Vegas, You’ve Grown on Me

January 11, 2011 by

So, I don’t really love Las Vegas.  Two days ago I really didn’t like it.  But now, I sort of do.  I suppose that’s what should happen since all I’ve been doing here is eating and sipping yummy cocktails while bouncing from one club/bar/hotel to the next, while partying with fellow meeting planners.  And yes, I’m at a meeting for meeting planners.

Up until last night, I hadn’t seen much in the form of appetizers that was truly innovative.  Then we went to the Cosmopolitan. I know a new hotel in Vegas isn’t really new news, but this is really new.  As in, it opened December 15th, 2010.  And it cost 4 billion dollars to build (or so the dealer at my Black Jack table told me).  Now that I’m thinking about that figure in a more sober state, it seems awfully high, but then I read this and confirmed that it’s actually is true!

But back to their party food- their dessert party food to be specific.  The spread couldn’t have been more playful and fun. Bright lollipops, peanut butter cupcakes topped with mini malted milk balls, individual citrus pana cottas in tiny martini glasses, and my favorite- mini ice cream push pops in every flavor from vanilla to mango.  My iphone pics really don’t do these treats justice, they were amazing.  On top of all that, the event took place in The Chandelier, a bar housed inside an actual floor to ceiling chandelier in the hotel.

And though it may not be the most innovative cocktail, I couldn’t end the night without an actual Cosmopolitan.  Suffice it to say, it was one of the best I’ve ever had.

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