Happy Thanksgiving

We had a free-range turkey that my parents' brined this year, and it was probably the best turkey I have ever had.  Really moist, and the texture was really meaty, almost like a pork chop or something.

Why free-range?  My dad drives by a turkey farm on his way to work every day.  He said it's really something because there are thousands of turkeys just chillin day after day...Until one day when there were absolutely no turkeys!  After hearing this story we were making all kinds of inappropriate jokes about mass turkey-apocalypse.  There were jokes about turkey desaparecidos, turkey rapture, turkey genocide.  Yeah, these are all hilarious things to joke about, but if you know my family, you know we have a weird sense of humor.

My dad also made some vanilla ice cream to go with the pies for dessert and it was seriously the best ice cream I have ever had...perfect!

Thinking about going downstairs for a little snack of turkey sandwich in a sec...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pirate bar last night

Went to the pirate bar in Silver Spring last night (corner of Georgia and Bonifant).  I'd never been there before but had heard many good things.  As it turns out, we were there from 8pm-1am.  My impressions of the place:

1) Really good food.  Had a cup of shrimp bisque, and a turkey sandwich with a side salad (instead of fries).  All very tasty...especially the salad.  I don't expect much from bars in the ways of veggies, but this was very good.  Sandwich was on homemade bread that was perfect.

2) Good alcohol.  There were four of us (the check noted our customer name as "four girls" LOL) and we split two pitchers of grog, which as it turned out were pitchers of rum, rum, and more rum.  That maybe explains why we only went through 2 pitchers in 5 hours between 4 people.

3) Great outdoor seating.  Perfect night for it too.

4) But...horrible service.  I'm not picky about service, but it was really bad here.  It took a long time to be seated.  Then it took the waiter 45 minutes (no joke) to take our orders.  Food came out quickly, but some of it was missing and it took forever to get that rectified as well.  If you are planning to camp out there anyways and are in no particular hurry, this could be overlooked (we did).  However, if I was trying to get somewhere (movie, etc.) I would have been pissed.

There was also a belly dancer, but I did not think she was anything special.

Also, we broke in the new fish deck of cards.  The old one was getting a bit marked so I bought two new ones: saltwater fish of the world and freshwater fish of the world.  Heresy of heresies though, there are NO TILAPIA!  However there are plenty of other funny names to keep you occupied, and there are plenty of tuna (no dolphins, since they are mammals).

Chicken with Cinnamon and Honey

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, preferring things savory.  However, I do like cooking with honey.  When I was in college and trying to learn how to cook, I came up with this recipe, which is actually pretty good.  Haven't made it in quite awhile but I made it tonight and I remembered how much I liked it.

Chop up chicken breasts and fry them in small pieces in frying pan.  When almost cooked through, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour in a tablespoon or two of honey and coat chicken with it.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Remove from pan and serve. 

Bonus: your kitchen smells really good after cooking this.

Making this on the grill tomorrow for Memorial Day

Maple/Bourbon marinated salmon

Ingredients:
8 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (1-inch thick) preferably with skin on
Cooking spray (for broiler/barbecue rack)
1 cup maple syrup or brown sugar, packed
6 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bourbon
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 lime)
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1. To marinate: Combine maple syrup, bourbon, soy sauce, lime juice,
ginger, pepper, and garlic in a large zip-lock plastic bag. Add salmon
fillets, seal bag, and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes, turning the
bag once. Remove fillets from bag and set aside the marinade. Do not
marinate for longer than 30  minutes.

2. Preheat barbecue, broiler, or oven to 400°F.

3. To barbecue or broil: Place fillets skin side down on broiler pan
coated with cooking spray. Broil 11 minutes or until fish flakes easily
when tested with a fork.

4. To roast: Line a baking dish with tin foil or parchment paper.
Place fish skin side down in center of oven and bake for 20 minutes or
so, until fish flakes easily.

5. In the meantime: bring the rest of the marinade to a boil in a
small saucepan on medium high heat on top of stove. Reduce to a little
more than half. Allow to simmer while fish is cooking. Use to baste
fish and serve as sauce.

Sushi!

There have been quite a few things I haven't blogged about recently, but I can't spend my whole life blogging.  Blevins has been after me ("Why did you blog about our degenerate outing to go see 'The Grand?'  Why didn't you blog about going to the O's game?" etc etc.) to post these things, but you might notice that he does not get a link on his name because HE DOES NOT HAVE A BLOG.  ;)  Simple fact is, this is a super busy time of year for me, and blogging about everything I've done has just fallen by the wayside while I try to get other stuff done.

I love sushi.  My freshman year a bunch of us headed up to the old Cafe Asia in Dupont for happy hour (and they never carded...though we got kicked out one time when Vinnie started bringing in his own vodka) every Thursday afternoon.  Then later some of my best female friends and I had a standing sushi date every Sunday at this place in Rosslyn (which sadly no longer exists).  Alexis, Jessica, Erica, and I would show up to our old sushi place (Appetizers Plus - what a name) every Sunday from 1998-2002, stuff ourselves at their Sunday sushi buffet, have lots of crazy girl talk, and then go watch Sex and the City.  Even after I moved out to the burbs in the Summer of 2000, I still made the Sunday trek for sushi and gossip.  Ah, the good old days.  More recently Alexis and I used to meet up at Uni pretty frequently when she worked across the street, but even that has fallen by the wayside since I've been in school and since she took a new job.  Erica moved to Rhode Island and got married.  I haven't seen Alexis or Jess in forever even though we periodically send notes over the interwebs.

But anyways, Anne and I had planned to go to sushi happy hour at Sushi Uni in Dupont tonight, but by the time I got done with sections at 5pm I was sweaty and tired and didn't want to travel all the way down to DC.  I asked her if there was someplace closer to home that we could go to and she suggested this place in Laurel which is literally around the corner from my house.  So to Asahi we went.

Showed up and ordered our sushi on the little card things.  Anne and I actually had a conversation about how whenever we order sushi our eyes are bigger than our stomaches but we proceeded to order a ton anyways.  As it turns out, the waitress took a liking to us or something and proceeded to bring us a salad with ginger dressing, miso soup, some roasted veggies in a sweet and spicy sauce, and some kind of fried rice dish.  When we protested that we didn't order all of that (thinking she had brought us someone else's order) she told us it was on the house.  Wow - OK.

So then our sushi shows up on two giant platters and we realize we are never going to be able to finish it all.  We both put a good size dent in it before giving up.  I have to say, they have some really good and different types of rolls, especially for a sushi place in a strip mall in the middle of route 1.

We got our bills and then the waitress brought us out more free food - two things of ice cream: 1 green tea and one red bean.  Never being ones to say no to ice cream, especially when it is free, Anne and I had several bites of each before deciding we needed to leave before our stomaches exploded, seagull-style.  The ice cream was way better than the mochi we used to get at Appetizers Plus, but nowhere near as good as the fried banana goodness that they had at Cafe Asia.  But again, it was free, so I am not complaining.

The next few days are gonna be super busy.  I gotta get my RelPol paper in order tonight and tomorrow.  I am supposed to play on the GVPT Guerillas (we are so clever, huh?) kickball team tomorrow, plus there is pink at night.  Pops' on Saturday and I'm supposed to meet with/call Melissa to give her feedback on her paper at some point Saturday.  Have to prepare for the RelPol debate on Monday.  Gotta get a draft of my Participation paper done before Wednesday.  Calgon take me away.....!

Dinner Tonight

Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Almond Peppers

2  large red bell peppers (about 3/4 pound)
2  large green bell peppers (about 3/4 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
6  (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2  egg whites
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water

Cut bell peppers into 2 x 2 1/2-inch strips. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil
in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers; sauté 8
minutes. Add raisins; sauté 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, sugar, salt,
and black pepper; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in almonds. Set
aside, and keep warm.

Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of
heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat
mallet or rolling pin. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a shallow
dish. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge each chicken piece in
flour, and dip in egg whites. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.

Heat
2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high
heat. Add the chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until
done. Remove from heat. Place the chicken and bell pepper mixture on a
serving platter; set aside, and keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons
vinegar and water to pan; stir with a wooden spoon to loosen browned
bits. Spoon mixture over chicken and bell pepper mixture.

DC

DC is kinda like an ex-lover of mine.  When we first got together things were really great and I was continuously surprised.  Then after being together for awhile, we both got comfortable with each other...but at the same time some of the excitement wore off.  Finally, I decided city-life was overrated (read: too expensive for someone then making $35k/year), so I moved out to the suburbs.

Now that I have lived in the 'burbs for 8 years (yikes - has it really been that long?!?), or maybe perhaps because I am newly single, I find myself thinking back to DC and thinking how it wasn't really that bad after all.  Of course, DC and I have both changed a lot in the intervening eight years.

I wish I lived downtown again.  Lots of great restaurants and bars.  Lots of my friends live there.  AND you can walk home (or easily take a cab) after a night out.  I used to walk everywhere (didn't have a car til the end of 2004). 

I suffered from some major DC nostalgia last night when I met up with Mircalla and some other friends from college at one of our old (and some of their current) hang outs: Cap Lounge.  Tuesdays are .10cent wing night.  I think between all of us we ended up literally ordering about 100.  Good times were had by all and I was reminded of some stories that I had forgotten.  I miss my friends from college.

OMG - yummy!

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

1  14-ounce can of coconut milk

2 tablespoons honey

1 /4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 large eggs. whisked in a medium bowl

1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small saucepan heat the coconut milk and honey, bring barely to a simmer.

In a separate large bowl combine the flour, coconut, salt and baking powder. Stir the coconut milk into the flour mixture.

Whisk about 1/3 cup of the coconut mixture into the eggs. Now
quickly mix the eggs back into the large bowl of coconut batter. Stir
until well combined. You can do this the night before if you like.

Heat your favorite non-stick (or very well-seasoned) skillet, pan,
or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for
the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts
to dance, you are in the ballpark. Drop a heaping tablespoon into the
skillet, sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar. Wait until the
pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and
cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the
remaining batter.

Makes dozens of silver dollar sized pancakes, or a dozen or so larger ones.

Crab cakes

The only magazine I get that is not school related (and I guess technically those are "journals") these days is Cooking Light.  I look forward to it every month because it means a bunch of new recipes to try.  April's issue came on Saturday and I promised myself to make something out of it today.  There are a ton of good recipes in this issue, so I don't know that I'm going to be able to get through all of the ones I want to try.  For example, there is a whole spread on handmade pasta by Lydia Bastianich and every single recipe in there looks delicious.  And there is another section on Indian cooking with lots of yummy looking curry recipes.  But what definitely caught my eye was the cover recipe: crab cakes.  Made them for dinner tonight and they definitely get two thumbs up.

1/4 c chopped red onion
2 T chopped parsley
3 T mayo
2 t dijon mustard
3/4 t old bay
1/2 t worcestershire sauce
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 pound lump crab meat
1 1/2 c panko
1 T olive oil

combine first 7 ingredients in bowl, gently fold in crab meat.  stir in 3/4 c panko.  cover and chill 30 mins.  divide mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/2 c each) shape into patty.  place remaining panko in dish and dredge cake in panko.  heat oil in skillet, cook 7 minutes on each side. 

Dinner Party Recap

Appetizers:
crab dip with crackers
homemade hummus with pita

Main course:
BBQ meatloaf
garlic mashed potatoes
roasted asparagus with balsamic and parmesan
mushrooms and caramelized onions

Dessert:
Guinness chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting

Beverages:
We ended up drinking 4 bottles of wine (2 chards, 1 pinot grigio, 1 verdejo), several bottles of beer, and 3/4 of a bottle of blueberry vodka.

I made everything from scratch...and I had made everything before except the cake.  The cake turned out really good though - it was chocolate-y, but not too sweet, and dense and moist thanks to the beer.  I bet it would be good to substitute a belgian raspberry lambic or something in place of the Guinness.  I also learned I should not try to frost a cake drunk...messy.

I've also decided that 6 people is about the max you can have at a dinner party before it becomes work.  It really only took me a few hours to throw everything together food-wise, but cooking for more would have required some better oven management on my part.

It's nice having some seating in my kitchen in the form of a bench (thanks, Mom) because when Anne and Billy arrived at 7 I was still mixing up the cake batter and they could sit in my kitchen and talk to me.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we played a round of BS - a game where you make stuff up and then have people bet on whether you are telling the truth or not, and a rowdy game of Scattergories... where I think I made Keenan choke when I wrote down "muff" for things you keep hidden that start with the letter "m".  Ha ha.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for coming over.  Hope you had a good time.  My kitchen is almost back to normal after two loads of dishes...

Blueberry Beer

Went out to Wonderland with Anne last night and we ended up having some of their daily special - 8% ABV blueberry beer called Wild Blue.  It was REALLY good.  I checked the bottle to see where it was brewed/bottled and low and behold it was made in Baldwinsville, NY.  That's about 15 minutes away from the small town in the middle of nowhere where I grew up.  It too is a small town in the middle of nowhere, though there is an Anheuser-Busch plant there and I guess that is actually where Wild Blue is brewed...in their craft brew section.  Regardless, it was really excellent, and I don't usually like fruit-inspired beers. 

In the map below I've marked Baldwinsville and Manlius (the town I grew up in). Zoom out to see it better.

View Larger Map

Dinner with Dad

My dad is consulting on a project that has him down in DC about once/month.  Our schedules haven't matched up recently, but we finally worked it out Tuesday night and he took me out to District Chophouse which was conveniently located across the street from his hotel and was actually in the building he was doing work in.

I've never been to the District Chophouse, but I've heard good things from many people and, as I discovered by looking at their website, they brew their own beer - which I knew both me and dad would like.  As it turns out they have a $2.50/beer happy hour too, which was a pleasant surprise.

We both got the nut brown ale which was really good.  I love eating out with my dad because we can order food that other people might not like -- he ordered the mussels as an appetizer and they were REALLY good (they were in some kind of spicy marinara sauce).  He got the NY Strip and I got a filet on top of portabella mushrooms topped with gorgonzola cheese and a side of sharp cheddar mashed potatoes.  Sadly I couldn't finish all my food, but it was really good.

It was really nice catching up with my dad and hearing about the work he is doing these days.  Plus, when isn't it nice to be treated to dinner and have your dad throw random compliments your way?

Two thumbs up for District Chophouse.

Bubble tea

Around noon I was doing some work in the computer lab when I got a text from Anne asking if I was on campus and if I wanted to hang out.  Usually I'm not on campus on Wednesdays til 3:30, but I had a GSA meeting this morning.

She suggested we go get bubble tea down at one of the places on Rt. 1.  We walked over there (and it is freezing and windy today) and I have to admit I was a little nervous.  I'd never had bubble tea before and I'm not a big fan of tapioca.  I had an early gray flavor (with milk) and it was actually pretty good...a little sweet, but good.  Plus, it was nice to catch up with Anne.

hooray for lamb...and not the fluffy variety...the eating variety.

I have been cooking more and I made this for dinner last night.  Wow....very very good.  And pretty easy.  I love cumin, lamb, and couscous.

Lamb:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

8 (4-ounce) lamb loin chops, trimmed

Cooking spray

    

 

Couscous:
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

    

      

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

To
prepare lamb, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Brush honey evenly
over both sides of lamb; sprinkle evenly with spice mixture. Arrange
lamb in a single layer on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray;
broil 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

To
prepare couscous, heat a nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat
pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in
cranberries and next 4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt); bring
to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5
minutes. Add cilantro; fluff with a fork.

Making this for dinner tonight

I love this recipe.

       
               
               
       
       
               
       

Pork Chops Stuffed with Feta and Spinach

  Cooking spray
4  garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
5  sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil, diced
1  (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
4  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

       Preheat broiler.

Heat
a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking
spray. Add 2 garlic cloves; sauté 1 minute. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8
teaspoon pepper, tomatoes, and spinach; sauté until moisture
evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses and rind.

Cut a
horizontal slit through thickest portion of each pork chop to form a
pocket. Stuff about 1/4 cup spinach mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle
remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper over
pork. Arrange pork on the rack of a broiler pan or roasting pan coated
with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Combine remaining 2 garlic
cloves, juice, mustard, and oregano in a bowl; stir well. Brush half of
mustard mixture over pork. Broil 6 minutes; turn pork. Brush remaining
mixture over pork; broil 2 minutes or until done.

Tamale Pie

Back in the day, I used to post a recipe every week that I had tried and thought was good.  That was when I was trying new dishes every week.  Well, one of the things I want to be better about in 2008 is eating healthier and cooking more, so I tried this recipe from Real Simple earlier in the week. 

I've made something similar to this before, but the addition of cocoa, jalapenos, and using meatloaf mix instead of just ground beef makes this version taste better.  It's a very easy recipe and the leftovers keep well.

Tamale Pie

1

tablespoon olive oil

    
               

1

onion, chopped

    
               

1

large celery stalk, chopped

    
               

2

garlic cloves, minced

    
               

1

jalapeño pepper, chopped with seeds

    
               

2

teaspoons kosher salt

    
               

1/2

teaspoon ground cumin

    
               

2

tablespoons chili powder

    
               

2

tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

    
               

1/2

teaspoon ground cinnamon

    
               

2

pounds meat-loaf mix (1 pound lean ground beef, 1/2 pound ground pork, 1/2 pound ground veal or lamb)

    
               

2

15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained

    
               

2

14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained

    
               

2

cups shredded Cheddar

    
               

2

8 1/2-ounce corn-bread mixes (may require 1 egg and 1 1/3 cup milk per package)

    

Heat oven to 350º F. In a medium skillet, over
medium heat, heat the oil with the onion, celery, garlic, and jalapeño
and cook until the vegetables are tender but not browned, about 10
minutes. Add the salt, cumin, chili powder, cocoa, and cinnamon. Add
the meat and cook until well browned. Stir in kidney beans and diced
tomatoes. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch casserole or baking dish with
vegetable cooking spray. Spoon the beef and beans into the casserole.
Top with 2 cups shredded Cheddar. Heat oven to 375º F. Prepare
corn-bread mixes according to the label directions; pour the batter
over the cheese. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Wonderland

Last night around 8:30 I realized I left a book in my office that I needed, so I trudged to campus, ran up to the 5th floor of Tydings, grabbed the book, and...got a text message from Anne asking if I wanted to go out.  I tried to protest. 

Me: I look scrubby.
Anne: It's Thursday, no one cares.  You can borrow some makeup when you come pick me up.

Me: I have to be up early tomorrow for sections.
Anne: Fine, we won't stay that late.

Me: It's cold.
Anne: That's a lame excuse.  They have heat.

The lure of good beer was too strong.  Anne lives really close to campus and I was only like 5 minutes from her apartment...and Wonderland is close to her apartment.  I drove over and picked her up.

I'm glad I finally got there.  I know a lot of people who love that bar and now I can see why.  Good music and GREAT beer on tap.  Friendly barkeep. 

Anne had just gotten through telling me that she always runs into people she knows there when all of a sudden some guy with a beard comes up from behind me and gives me a hug.  I turn around and it's my friend Alex from school who tells me he's trying to drown his end of semester stress.  I raise my mug of Anchor Steam (which they have on tap!) and tell him I can relate. 

Anyways, I can imagine it gets very crowded on weekends because it's pretty small, but for midweek drinking it's a perfect bar.

Repost: DCist Winter Beer Roundup

I love DCist (and actually, I am a regular reader of Londonist also, though doing so is kinda torturous at times because I miss that city so damned much).  Today they posted a review of different winter beers to be found around the city.  Time to organize a winter beer bar crawl, methinks.  I still need to try Brasserie Beck and this is as good excuse as any.

Also on an unrelated note, let me add number 986 to my list of things I will never understand: 

#986: People who honk their horn at you to move forward when traffic is not moving, there is less than one car length between you and the car in front of you, and you are not causing them to block an intersection.  WTF?

Morton's and Bowling

Went out for Keenan's birthday last night: dinner at Morton's and bowling at Strike Bethesda.  Dinner was great although the service was bad.  I had oysters to start, filet Oskar (filet mignon with asparagus, hollandaise, and crab meat) and we got the standard sides (potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans...).  We were too stuffed for dessert, but they brought out a chocolate lava cake for Keenan's birthday anyways.  I've actually never been to Morton's before, but although the food was really good, I don't know that I'd be back.  Things were, imho, overpriced and we got really bad service.

Bowling at Strike Bethesda was, as always, entertaining.  Sadly, my bowling skills sucked and the highest round I bowled was a 92.  Still had a good time though.

Dinner out and high heels

Just got back from a dinner at Black's.  It's a seafood place in Bethesda and the food was very good.  I had a beet salad, seared tuna, and a pistachio tart with honey ice cream for dessert.  Best yet, the dinner was free.  We are hiring a new Americanist at school and the professors have grad students participate in the process by going out to lunches and dinners with the candidates as well as sitting in on their job talks (the academic version of a job interview). 

Anyways, dinner was very good.  On the way there though, Melissa and I got to talking about how after being in school for a year (as opposed to the working world) we are not as used to walking in heels as we once were.  It was a good reminder to wear the "work clothes" that are in my closet a little more instead of defaulting to school scrubs (jeans/t-shirt/sweatshirt) all the time.