28 February 2009

New Dishes and Glace de Viande

I plan on trying my hand, for the first time, at making eggs Benedict. Homemade hollandaise is a must here, so it should be fun getting that to work out. I had planned on doing that this morning and even making beef bourguignon tonight, but I stayed up a bit late and shot the whole morning/midday to hell.

Also, I followed Pepin's advice and am using the stock left over from simmering the bones from yesterday's stock a second time. He states that you can use these bones, simmer them for another 8-10 hours, then reduce, reduce, reduce. Finally, you should end up with a caramelized concentration - glace de viande (meat glaze). If it works out, then I should be able to keep it in cubes in the refrigerator to add extra flavor to any number of dishes.

Plus, who doesn't want cubes of reduced beef bone juices in the fridge to show friends?!?

27 February 2009

Let my people go!

My friend, Carrie, sent this article to me because I am a dad. It is about how health- and health food-obsessed parents are helping cause eating disorders in their kids. I, in all my (non-)doctor-ly wisdom, agree. Food, for me, is something to be enjoyed very much, to be loved, to be appreciated. In moderation, at least most of the time. I love good food. I cannot say that enough.

There is a lady quoted in this article as saying (something like this), "Don't blame the parents for eating disorders. The kids are already screwed up." Well, that may be somewhat true, but she can sit and spin. I understand that there is a genetic component here, but let's think hypothetically for a second. A person has a genetic disposition to alcoholism. However, this person dies without being an alcoholic. How? Perhaps they never were around alcohol or never really had the opportunity to imbibe. I think, at least in part, this is the same with eating disorders. The genetic disposition may be there, but when the parents are there, I mean really there, and good friends, real, healthy eating and good exercise are also there - you know what? This kid is probably ok.

Anyway, here is the article. Read it, critique it, but share it regardless. I understand the dangers of pesticides, fat, sugar, and all their nasty friends. But, you know what? As long as you don't intake calories in such a high fashion over time (God, I feel like I am in calculus or physics), then you are all right.

Oh, while you're at it, go have a drink, too.

Good smellin' bones


I finally procured enough bare beef bones and beef short ribs to make brown stock. It smells pretty damn good in the house now. Too bad I've got about 10 hours to wait until I can start finishing it up. But, it will be worth it tomorrow or Sunday when we have beef bourguignon with buttered noodles.

The stock recipe I am using is from Jacques Pepin. However, I had to adapt to a smaller stock pot (6qt vs 12qt), and I am only using beef bones. As you can tell, it was bad enough getting those. I really did not want to try and scrounge up some veal and chicken cuts just for the bones.

Also, I now have a very good strainer (chinois) with which to remove all the junk out of the stock. Bring on the brown, tasty, beefy goodness.

26 February 2009

Wait - I was supposed to cook with, not drink that wine?




So, I always have this proclivity to drink whatever is within arm's reach (or at least only a couple paces - ok, dammit, maybe a half-mile) of me when I am cooking. I often buy cheaper wines to cook with so I'm not spending...wait, I buy cheaper wines to drink, who am I kidding?

Regardless, I buy some extra bottles of cheaper wine to cook with...that magically disappears! It's like "Cooking with Copperfield" - one minute, there is that $3.99 Pinot Grigio I was about to use - next, why is my glass full again? And, where did that big glass bottle go? Needless to say, I often have to go back to the store to buy wine for cooking. Plus, there is at least one other, living, breathing individual who (apparently) says, "Enough is enough, you don't have to cook your veal shanks with $50 Italian wine!" Or, as this article from a couple years ago says, at least it's not that big of a deal.

I don't really care though. I love cooking, drinking wine (etc.), and having a good time, so what if it is sometimes by myself while cooking chicken cacciatore, osso buco, or simply potato and leek soup?

NOTE: I am sure the image is copyrighted by Charles Shaw Something or Other. Feed the beast.

Skull 'n' Bones

OK, not really skull...maybe later? My two main stores, Giant and Magruder's, always seem to be out of some good bones. Any bones. I know I can use beef short ribs, some chops, or other small bit that has lots of bone. Cook it, pull off the meat, cook the bones. And I probably will do that today or tomorrow. I want to make a good, authentic brown stock to use for some upcoming dinners, maybe beef bourguignon this weekend.

But, dude, c'mon. Gimme some bones here. I ask meat cutters at both stores, "Hey, don't you just have some bones lying around back there you can cut up for me?" The reply, "Man, I'm sorry, but no" then, I remember, I'm not in a butcher shop, just the meat department at my local store.

Ah well. It's not like it's that hard to cook some short ribs, pull the meat off, then cook the bones. Plus, I get a little roasted meat snack while I'm cooking. But I just felt like skipping a step!

25 February 2009

Only half the vodka but all the cream...

I'm only talking about dinner here. Not some floozy, teetotaler party where half the drinks gets you all the goods.

Last night, I simply planned to simmer some vodka and cream with my homemade marinara but realized that I only had half the vodka I wanted. Hmmm, how the hell does that happen? Oh yeah, it's called 'the weekend'.

Regardless, I always enjoy creamy, homemade pasta sauces, even and especially when they are my own. I really love food.

Match Play!

Um, I sure hope I can find Accenture Match Play somewhere on TV today or tomorrow. Tiger Woods is back!

For those of you who cannot stand watching golf on TV, whatever. However, I will certainly agree with anyone who thinks reading a live blog about golf - not so fun. So, here's to hoping it's on TV somewhere, sometime.

24 February 2009

A Rhino's Ass-end

I love creative ways of saying one's hungry. I think, right now and for quite some time, my favorite is:

I am so hungry, I could eat the ass-end out of a dead rhino.

I don't know why a rhino, let alone a dead one, but it informs the listener of the simple fact that the speaker is quite famished - in fact, very horribly famished.

What are some other good ones? Who has the 'diamond in the rough'?

23 February 2009

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, aka Baked Cat Vomit



OK. After pulling out a cookie this morning and taking a picture to post here, I realized that maybe these cookies are not that bad. However, I am very critical of my own work, regardless of the field, and I am still not fully pleased with the result. The taste is good, the texture is too crisp (yes, I know, bake them less), and most of the cookies are too thin and too brown.

So, whatever. If it tastes like an oatmeal raisin cookie, smells like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but looks like baked cat vomit - watch out! Fluffy may have eaten so cookie dough and puked on the sidewalk during the Texas summer.

Osso Buco - but red, not white

I made osso buco for the first time last night, and I used a recipe that called for braising the shanks in lots of red wine vice some dry white wine like many others. I thought, "Hell, why not? I like meats braised in red wine blah blah blah." The result was good, but, for me at least, the veal lost some of its own unique flavor with the massive amount of red wine in the dish. A bottle. Yes, full bottle of red wine.

It was topped with a gremolata, though one using orange zest and dried cranberries rather than (I think) more traditional lemon zest and no cranberries. That was nice, but I am interested to see how this dish would taste with just a lemon gremolata or a bouquet garni.

Regardless, I did enjoy making it as it is not that difficult and allowed me to work with veal. I am looking forward to making this dish again with a more classic recipe (i.e. dry white wine for braising and maybe a bouquet garni rather than gremolata).

The recipe I used was one I had seen awhile back while watching Food Network - here.

NOTE: I certainly did not use Amarone wine because the only bottle I found cost $50. I subbed a cabernet sauvignon and, perhaps, this is why I felt the red wine often overpowered the veal.

22 February 2009

A Good Dinner

I felt like making something new today, especially with it being Sunday, and I like eating good meals before a new Monday. Well, today I settled on osso buco, roasted garlic potatoes, and oatmeal raisin cookies. The osso buco and potatoes were good but the cookies looked like baked cat vomit.

More on that tomorrow.

Norm's Beer and Wine, Vienna, VA

I like Norm's. First, his name is Norm. That's fun. Second, they have a good selection of beer and wine - go figure.

I like beer. I like wine. Places like Norm's - individually-, locally-owned specialty shops - are some of my favorite places. Norm's has a great selection of microbrews, including many from the mid-Atlantic, and also has quite a few imported selections. I haven't perused the wine aisles as much as I should have. What better time to start than now!

If you're ever out Vienna-way, stop by Norm's. It's easy to find, and even easier with the map:


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21 February 2009

Stuffed to da Gills, Part Two

After we ate all the tapas, it was then soon to be dinner time! We met up with a good friend to dine somewhere in Tyson's Corner Center and settled on La Sandia. Modern mexican food...don't be skeptical. It was good.

If you need a map to Tyson's Corner Center, go find it yourself. But, in my kind and benevolent ways, I will give you the link to La Sandia. Just settle your little cursor right over....not there...wait...right here.

NOTE: If you look around the website a bit, you can tell that this guy, Richard Sandoval, is probably doing a good job. I think there are 13 restaurants listed on the site. But whatevah.

I had pork carnitas. I love pork carnitas. It is simple and, more often than not, it tastes great. La Sandia's did not disappoint. I was pleased to see that the meat was not swimming in its own liquefied fat with this dish. I like the fat to still be solid and attached to my food, thank you very much.

The sides were sufficient too - black beans and rice. There is not much you can do with those two. However, I really liked one of the two salsas that came with the carnitas. One was salsa verde and the other a habanero salsa. The verde was too citrus-y for me, but who cares. The habanero salsa was great and definitely added a much needed kick to the carnitas.

Finally, the guacamole. I love guacamole. La Sandia's fit the bill. There was definitely a good use of pico de gallo, and the avocados were perfectly ripe and fresh.

I think La Sandia, based on this one visit, has earned a repeat visit. Now, next time I can try the carne asada.

Stuffed to da Gills, Part One

I feel like my stomach has been pumped full of air to twice its normal size, then stuffed full of good food. Or perhaps you could say I ate well today.

The Adventures in Travel Expo barely happened today. We were roaming around Chinatown thinking of lunch and decided on La Tasca, the tapas joint. As I completed my order, I read the small leaflet in the menu. Oh, hey dumb ass, it's Restaurant Week in DC.

Needless to say, we went with the lunch special for the week (unlimited tapas) and tagged on a pitcher of rosada sangria. The sangria was pretty damn good and the food was, for the most part, also good. I took issue with the following: seafood paella (dry) and seared tuna steak (dry). However, these were smaller tapas portions made specifically for Restaurant Week (I believe) so they were probably prepared and cooked en masse for the masses. So, I'll give them a break...a little one. The best were the following: pork medallions, fried eggplant, marinated olives, and chorizo.

La Tasca on 7th - here's the map.


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The expo came next but we only stayed for about 30 minutes. It was mostly adventure travel agencies or national tourist groups at information booths. We were excited to see hiking trips to New Zealand. That place is gorgeous. We did get to sign up for some free drawings. We'll find out if we won sometime soon - I think.

*fingers crossed*

Shipley Do-Nuts Kolaches

These kolaches are one of life's little pleasures. Today is the perfect day for one. If you are not from Texas or nearby states, you likely have no idea what I am talking about because there are no Shipleys here in the DC metro area. Just like there are no Whataburgers.

Curses on you mid-Atlantic fools!

They have no photos of them on their website, so I'll give you the nutritional info instead.

20 February 2009

Adventures in Travel Expo, Washington, D.C.

This weekend (20-21 Feb 2009) is the Adventures in Travel Expo at the Washington Convention Center. Sounds like a pretty good deal and there will be some fun cultural activities, mostly music and dance, that I think the little girl will enjoy.

If you want to know more, just follow this link.

Lasgana, lasagna

OK. So, I've made lasagna many times in the past. I like it. I like hearty foods, foods that fill you up in only a serving or two. So, of course I'll like a dish that has lots of pasta, cheese, and some meat.

But the lasagna I made last night was the best I've made so far. The key difference was using a bechamel-marinara mix as the sauce. I never knew! It was simple to make and made the lasagna really fill itself out over the 45 minutes in the oven.

If you don't know bechamel sauce, it's really simple to make. Here's a simple way to make it, courtesy of Mario Batali via foodnetwork.com. Below is how I made it:

Ingredients

-5 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
-4 cups whole milk
-2 teaspoons salt
-pinch (or two) ground nutmeg
-pinch (or two) ground white pepper

Directions

In a medium saucepan, melt the room temperature butter over medium-low. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the color gets a little bit darker (sandy, I think is the term Batali uses) and keep stirring it regularly as it cooks.

Next, listen to your 8 month old daughter scream at you because you put her in her jumper. She wants to be held and watch you cook, inconsiderate dad. Geez.

Slowly add the room temperature milk to the butter mixture, continue stirring to prevent overcooking in bottom of pan. If not, it is easy for the sauce to stick to the pan (esp. if you are not using non-stick). Cook about 10 minutes while still stirring. Remove from heat when the sauce has become thicker and looks really creamy. Season with nutmeg and pepper.

Enjoy whatever you use this sauce for. I really like it and am looking forward to making something else with it.

Poka!

Jonesing for Tiger

Well, not literally. That would be really odd for me. I am just glad to see that Tiger Woods is about to start playing golf again. Finally. I mean, what did he do, play with a torn ACL or something?

Oh yeah, yeah he did. And won.

19 February 2009

OK, first step - acceptance: I am an addict...

...to wwtdd.com. I cannot help myself. First thing in the morning, what do I do?

I check wwtdd.com.

Well, that's a lie. First, I take a piss. Then, I weigh myself because I occasionally feel like all that food/beer/wine is going to my gut. (It really isn't lately - damn three-level house with a 20+ lb kid!) I need to stay svelte.

Next, I "wash the coals out my eyes, see who's this paging me, and why" (for you B.I.G. fans). After that, it's coffee-making time, ladies and gents. Next, finally, I jump on that broadband deliciousness known as Cox high speed (or whatever).

wwtdd.com - check it out.

Oops - I forgot about Tequila Grande!

How could I forget my first foray into Mexican food back in VA? Well, Tequila Grande in Vienna, VA, was definitely not like it is back home. Go figure. However, I had the chiles rellenos and they were good. I would order it again, so I think that is a good sign. However, the breading was too thick in a few spots, but I can live with it. If I had my choice, I would have obviously hand-breaded chiles rellenos, but life is not perfect.

Most dishes are served with Mexican rice (whatever, I never eat the rice anyway), black beans, pico de gallo and guacamole. I liked the guacamole, too. I think that says something as well. It seemed like it was prepared at the restaurant - nice avocados, fresh, and well-balanced.

So, if you are out Vienna-way, I'd say give it a shot. But, for those of you from my own wonderland, I would rather have my friend's grandma's cooking any day.

This place is located at 444 Maple Ave West, Vienna, VA - check the map.


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God, I cannot wait for warmer weather so I can enjoy fajitas and margaritas on the deck!

Cafe Assorti, Act 2

So, yeah, I forgot to say that they also gave me a free pastry before I left. I think it's because my honey bun (read: daughter) and I were so hawt! However, I do think that the samsa needed a little more toasting time. It wasn't doughy (which would have really sucked), just not quite warmed up to my needs. Though, as noted, I'm hawt!

So, thumbs up. Go eat here!

Wilson Blvd Goodness - Cafe Assorti

Cafe Assorti serves Kazakh food. I don't know crap about Kazakh food, but there were lots of items similar to those I ate when I studied in Russia - esp. samsa and pirozhki. Good meat- and veggie-filled treats. Plus, the chicken noodle soup was nice and it had the ubiquitous fresh dill that was also on everything I ate in Russia. It is used so much in Russia that I wonder if dill is some sort of hangover cure or cure for ED...anybody?

Anyway, this place is located at 1800 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA, or, for those of you too lazy to open a new tab in Firefox, please see below.


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The service here is wonderful. I was there with my 8 month old daughter, and they loved her. Wait, who doesn't love my daughter? She's cute, funny, and a joy to be around (except when she is being annoying). Digression over. The people were friendly, and several were from somewhere behind the Iron Curtain. I really liked...what'd you say? We're not in a cold war with Russia anymore? Hmmmm, I need to start drinking more water.

Suck it, Trebek!

(That statement copyrighted or owned by whoever it is copyrighted or owned by.)

Well, hello there...

Give it to me, D.C.!

You need to know something about me, if you don't already. I like food. I like drinks. I like fun and randomness. So, voila, here we are - eat me, D.C. So endearing.

All I plan to do here is write about food, drink, and fun that I am having in the DC metro area. My version of fun, however, is somewhat altered from its prior state - I am a parent. Fun will be had regardless, and I'll talk about random crap from time to time.

With that said, please feel free to comment, provide suggestions, discuss recipes, talk about restaurants, and stand in wonder at how (few) random things I do. I'll post something everyday - simple or complex, interesting or boring, tasty or crap.