How to Make Lentils that Rock

Seared Scallops with Rockin' Lentils

Generally speaking, I don't cook food that takes more than an hour max to prepare. First, that's about as long as my kids can entertain themselves without tearing the house (or each other) apart. Second, I've never had a very long attention span. And third, it's hard for me to spend a ton of time cooking something that is eaten in minutes. So it's no wonder that I haven't made many pots of lentils in my lifetime. There's all that soaking, and rinsing, and picking, and soaking, and waiting, and boiling, and then a good hour to cook once all that's done. Who has the time for it?

Then last week I assisted in a class at Culinaria with a menu celebrating the French Bastille Day and I ate the most delicious, time-worthy lentils that I just had to try again at home. Earthy lentils are cooked until al dente and combined with sweet carrots, celery, and onion along with crisp, smokey bacon. They are a meal in themselves, but topped with quick-seared scallops, they are perfection.

To speed up the cooking process, pick through the lentils a few hours or a day ahead, rinse them well and boil covered in 2 inches of water. Turn off the flame once the water boils and then let them cool to room temperature. When you're ready to cook them, just rinse again and get started with the recipe below.

Seared Scallops with Rockin' Lentils
Recipe adapted from Chef Stephen Sands of Culinaria Cooking School
Serves 4 generously, with leftovers

Ingredients:
1 lb. large dry-packed scallops, patted dry
1 1/2 cups french green lentils
4 oz. bacon, diced and browned
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
6 oz. tomato sauce
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 onion, minced fine
1 clove garlic, minced fine
1 carrot, cut brunoise (small cubes, about the size of the lentil)
1 celery, cut brunoise
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Pick through lentils to remove any sketchy ones. Rinse several times in cool water. Place in large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit until room temperature.
2. Saute onions, carrot and celery in 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat until onions are soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and saute for one more minute.
3. Drain any remaining water from lentils and add to pan with cooked vegetables. Add remaining ingredients (chicken stock, red wine vinegar, tomato sauce) and stir. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bring pot to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until lentils are al dente - about 45 minutes.
5. When lentils are almost done, heat remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil over high heat in heavy saute pan or cast iron skillet.
6. Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to pan, making sure not to crowd. Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes on first side or until they have a nice sear. Flip over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
7. Serve scallops on a bed of lentils and garnish with any leftover thyme. Enjoy!

Father's Day Breakfast Vacation

Living in San Francisco for that brief time (not quite two years) opened my eyes to eating and cooking food in a totally different way from anything I had experienced before. Maybe it wasn't just the west coast difference, though to be sure, the farmers market situation out there is year round and abundant. Maybe it had more to do with the city vs. suburb living that I grew up in and currently inhabit. I know plenty of people out here that are just as into food as I am - it's one of the reasons I love living here. And slowly, slowly, small, locally owned restaurants are replacing the chains you see up and down the strip mall highways. It's progress, and I like it.

But still, in the five years we've been back, I have yet to come close to the experience Nick and I had eating a plate of chiliquilles while sitting on a curb on a cold crisp San Francisco Saturday morning at the farmers market at the Ferry building. We stood in a long line to get our food. We didn't even know what it was we were ordering at first, but we knew if the line was that long it must be good. And it really was. A bed of crispy, salty tortilla chips coated in a smokey red sauce piled high with light, fluffy, buttery scrambled eggs and topped off with a dollop of cool sour cream, shredded cheese, and more salsa.

So on Father's Day this year, it wasn't French toast or pancakes, it was Chiliquilles, San Francisco style, that he requested. A mini vacation on a plate. So good, you will be searching for a flight out west after just a few bites. And if you do find yourself in San Francisco on a Saturday morning, search out the food stall frying up a huge batch of tortilla chips out behind the Ferry building. But get there early, they always sell out.

Conquering Mussels on the Grill

Curried Mussels and Shrimp, Corn & a Cold Beer

I used to be afraid of cooking mussels - or shellfish of any kind, really. It seems like such a thin line between a delicious dinner and spending the night violently ill, and I always felt it was better left to the experts to figure out how to stay on the good side of that line. But then we were out to dinner last summer and my youngest son decided he wanted to try one of my mussels - and he liked it!

Since their usual dinner fare is along the lines of macaroni and cheese or chicken tenders, I was ridiculously excited and decided it was finally time to tackle those mussels myself.

Here's a few tricks I've learned for buying and preparing easy, delicious, and most importantly - safe - mussels:

1. To make sure the mussels are fresh, the shells should be completely closed. Discard any broken or opened ones.
2. Transport them and store them in an open container, if possible, so they can breathe. Keep them in the refrigerator on a bed of ice until ready to use - and cook them the same day you buy them.
3. Soak mussels in a bowl filled with cold tap water for 20 minutes before cooking. This will help them release any sand or grit.
4. After soaking the mussels, scrub them with a vegetable brush to remove anything that may remain on the shell. Pull stringy "beard" off of any that may have it.
5. Count on about 1 lb. of mussels per person for a main course. 

So now that your mussels are ready to cook, how will you prepare them? There are countless delicious recipes out there, but here's one I really like. It's based on a recipe from Donna S. on Allrecipes.com for Grilled Mussels with Curry Butter and I added shrimp to mix things up a bit. And before you ask, no, the kids won't eat curried mussels, so I made theirs with just butter, lemon and parsley. Each serving was cooked in it's own individual foil packet, so it was super simple. I hope you enjoy!

Curried Mussels and Shrimp on the Grill
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 lb. mussels, scrubbed
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)
1 tomato, diced (I used roma)
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. curry powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium high. Set out all ingredients listed above to make it easy to prepare each foil packet.
2. Make curry butter by mixing butter, curry powder, garlic, cumin and salt in small bowl. Set aside.
3. Get 4 large rectangles of foil and lay them out on the counter.
4. Divide mussels and shrimp evenly in center of each foil rectangle.
5. Top seafood with peppers, tomato and parsley. Add a few dots of curry butter to top of each packet.
6. Seal each foil packet by pulling two sides together and folding along top. Then scrunch (technical term) the sides to create a seal. It doesn't have to be pretty :).
7. Place foil packets on preheated grill and cook for 5-10 minutes until shrimp are pink and mussels have opened.
8. To serve, open foil packets carefully, preserving liquid in bottom which will be a combination of the melted butter, herbs, and juices. Pour each packet into it's own wide, shallow bowl and top with sliced lemon or lime and more fresh parsley.

The great thing about a recipe like this is how versatile it is. If you don't like the flavor of curry, pick another you do. Switch out peppers for zucchini. Throw in more tomatoes or onions. Mussels are relatively inexpensive (I've paid $3/pound at Whole Foods) and if you follow the simple rules above, they make a quick and delicious meal too!

Cocoa Vienna HAS Opened on Church Street!

UPDATE 5/29/13: Cocoa Vienna HAS Opened on Church Street! For many in Vienna, this weekend was all about ViVa Vienna, but for the owners of Cocoa Vienna, it was opening day! After months of waiting, watching, planning, and dreaming, the much-anticipated chocolate shop has finally opened.

We stopped by on Saturday with the kids to check things out and were instantly greeted by the smiling owners, Stacey and Sam, and offered a taste of chocolate from one of the two huge drums of melted chocolate (milk and dark) that grace the front of the shop. Walk a little further down the aisle and you'll see dozens of precious little treats displayed in flavors such as raspberry, mocha, amaretto and champagne truffle, salted caramel, and dark chocolate ganache, their signature chocolate that owner Stacey Meruvia swears is the best. I defy you to walk out without tasting at least one (or twenty).

In addition to the individual chocolates behind the counter, Cocoa Vienna claims to be able to do 1,000 different molded chocolates, and many of them are on display, with more to come. Now you can see a life-size soccer ball made entirely of white chocolate, a bride and groom wedding cake topper, and plenty of seasonal items (think flip-flops, beach balls, Dad's Day). It seems if you can imagine it, it can be made out of chocolate. What's not to like about that?

ORIGINAL POST from 10/2013: Ever since Vienna's beloved toy store, "Once Upon a Time", shut it's doors, there has been much speculation about what would fill it's place on historic Church Street. After watching the building go through a much-needed face lift over the summer, it seems that our wait is almost over. Today a new (and adorable) sign made it's appearance - Cocoa Vienna Chocolates.

For a town of dozens of chain stores, chain restaurants, and chain coffee shops, we do love to support locally owned businesses, and I'm sure this one will be no exception. Their location across from Caffe Amouri and next to Diamond Spa gets tons of foot and car traffic, the building is gorgeous with a covered front porch and wood detailing, and best of all - they are selling chocolate!

The shop is owned by Stacey Meruvia and Sam Aboulhosn and is set to open in December, according to the few details I discovered online - just in time for the holidays. So hit the gym now, fellow Vienna-ites, and get ready for this tasty temptation!

The Taste of Summer in One Bite

Even though Spring produce is in abundance right now and I am absolutely obsessed with everything you can possibly make with asparagus, I can't resist sharing this simple recipe for watermelon, feta & mint bites that I think make the perfect summer BBQ appetizer. The recipe is in the name - just add a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of freshly ground pepper if you'd like. Cut the watermelon into small, bite-size squares and the feta about half that size. Stack it and top it with a fresh mint leaf and stick a toothpick through the top. Sweet watermelon, salty feta, and fresh, herby mint. So ridiculously good - and easy enough that my five year old could make it, so I know you can too!

Matchbox is My New Favorite Restaurant

Prosciutto and Black Mission Fig Pizza

Whenever someone asks me for a local restaurant recommendation, I have a few stand-by's that I always turn to. Best sushi? Sushi Yoshi. Date night? Nostos or Harth. Dinner with the kids? Pazzo Pamodoro or Plaka Grill. And now, after dining at Matchbox in Merrifield's new Mosaic Center, I am thrilled to add a new favorite to the list. Matchbox doesn't just fit one bucket, though, it fits many - date night, dinner with the kids, weekend lunch, parents visiting from out of town, happy hour with coworkers, girls night out, you name it.

This is the first suburban outlet for the DC based chain, and it truly does feel like an oasis of DC cool for us suburbanites. Opened for just a few weeks now, they don't do everything right (the website is a bit frustrating and the call-ahead estimates need some work), but they do the most important things so very, very well - food, service and ambiance.

The decor is very modern with cozy booths and tons of reclaimed wood from their original DC location. The bar area is nicely sized with plenty of seating. If the cheerful bartenders don't improve your mood, the awesome drink list will. Cocktails are hard to resist as they're listed in two categories: "Girlie Drinks" and "Manly Drinks". Wine is served in three sizes too which equate to a glass, 1/2 bottle and bottle due to the wine kegs they use rather than actual bottles. I found myself wishing for a higher tolerance so I could try something from both, but alas, another great reason to come back.

The server that took care of our table claimed it was his first night on the floor, but we never would have guessed it. He seemed very well-versed in the menu and drink selections, was super friendly and just the right level of attentive. He didn't even seem to mind us hanging out after we finished eating to wait for a friend to stop by for another drink.

Now for the food. I will start by saying that though the menu isn't incredibly long, it is really, really hard to order because everything sounds so good. Between us, we had the tomato basil soup, tuna tartar, pizza with prosciutto and black mission figs, and a fried calamari salad. Though the soup and salad were excellent, I will be dreaming of that pizza and tuna tartar for months to come. The pizza crust was so thin and crispy and topped with a mouthwatering combination of juicy black mission figs, Gorgonzola, black pepper, and what I would swear was either honey or maybe a syrup the figs were soaking in. Whatever it was, it was spectacular. The tuna tartar was beautifully presented and served with crispy yucca chips. It had a nice kick to it and the two sauces it came with were bright and perfect complements. I've eaten a lot of raw tuna in my life and this one was in the top.

Matchbox doesn't take reservations, rather they do call-ahead seating, so planning an evening around it will be tough, but definitely worth your time. Don't get discouraged when they tell you an hour wait, though, we were sat within 15 minutes.

So go with your friends, your family, your coworkers, or by yourself. Even better, invite me along! We'll have a few manly drinks and split a pizza and some sliders - I'm dying to try the "fire and smoke" with roasted red peppers, chipotle pepper, smoked Gouda and pureed garlic. Yum.

Friday Night Favorite - Pizza Four Ways

Clockwise from top left - cheese, shaved
asparagus with scallions and goat cheese,
spicy salami and basil, white.

Say what you will about Sunday suppers, but for me, Friday night dinners are the best of the week. There's something about Friday night that feels worth celebrating - whether it's with a family date night at one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants or a cozy dinner at home with a meal that I know everyone will love. This past Friday we opted to stay home and celebrate the end of our week with handmade pizza, topped four different ways.

When it comes to making pizza dough from scratch, I'm still experimenting. This recipe I used was from one of my favorite cookbooks and food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. Thought it was easy and did produce a nice crisp crust, it turned out a bit too crisp for me. I liked this recipe because it used the dough hook of my KitchenAid and rested overnight in the fridge requiring little babysitting. I pulled it out about 2 hours before dinner to give it a chance for a second rise. If you have a favorite pizza dough recipe, send it to me - I'd love to see it!

I love making pizza for my family because it's easy to please each of them with their excruciatingly different tastes. One kid prefers plain cheese pizza, one won't eat sauce, my husband craves spicy, and I always like something green (arugula, basil, zucchini - or in this case a shaved asparagus salad).

If you don't want to bother with making the dough from scratch, you can always pick up a batch from your favorite pizza place, Italian deli, or grocery store. Then load up on your favorite toppings and let your family choose their own. I baked these pizzas on a pizza stone set on the bottom of my 475 degree oven for 6-8 minutes, but you'll have to adjust that time based on how thick you roll out the dough.

No Friday night celebration is complete without a cocktail, and since you're not driving, you can have two! You can't go wrong with beer, but if you're feeling more adventurous (and you've got some mint hanging around), a mojito would be nice. Happy Friday, everyone!

Pasta Fit for Company

Pasta with crab, dill, lemon zest & chilies

Sometimes, the most effort you can muster for dinner is a box of dried pasta and a jar of sauce. But for those nights when you're craving the comfort of pasta and have time for a little more effort, try this surprisingly light, fresh, and flavorful recipe. Once you collect the ingredients, it's pretty simple to put together, but the combination of sweet crab meat with the brightness of the fresh dill and lemon zest along with the heat from the chilies tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.

It's based on a recipe for Crab and Gruyere Soufflés that Chef Stephen Sands, a Chef at Culinaria Cooking School (the cooking school I work at) served at a recent wine dinner. He paired it with a 2011 Jean Luc Mader Reisling, and you should too. The recipe calls for one cup of wine, so use the same wine you'll serve and the pairing will be even better.

I made this one evening for me and the husband, but after one bite I knew it would make a great dish to serve for company too. It's quick to assemble once the pasta is cooked, so it will leave you plenty of time with your guests - and plenty of time to enjoy a cold glass of wine!

Pasta with Crab, Dill, Lemon & Chilies
serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 lb. dried pasta (I used spaghetti, but fettuccine, angel hair or linguini would work just as well)
8 oz. lump crab meat
1 cup white wine (something good and drinkable, like the one I recommend above)
1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill plus extra for serving
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
1 red chili, diced, seeds and ribs removed
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, finely grated

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. Sauté chilies in olive oil over medium high heat in large sauté pan for 1 minute. Add crab meat, dill & lemon zest and cook for another minute. 
3. Remove pan from heat, add white wine and return to heat. Simmer, stirring gently so as not to break up crab meat too much for 1-2 minutes until some wine cooks off. Add lemon juice and simmer until reduced further, about 5 minutes.
4. Add cooked pasta and reserved pasta water to pan with crab sauce and fold together to incorporate.
5. Serve plated with chopped dill and Gruyere cheese sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

Ridiculously Good (and Easy) Mac and Cheese

My kids eat a lot of mac and cheese. I don't think you understand what I mean by a lot. It's embarrassing, really. They've eaten boxed mac and cheese in a dozen shapes and colors, frozen mac and cheese in any brand you can name. They've ordered mac and cheese off of countless menus - if it's on there, they've eaten it. If it's not on there, they've probably asked for it anyway in hopes that someone would take pity on them and whip up a batch. They've eaten it made with powdered cheese, squeezed cheese, shredded cheese, and even with some pureed butternut squash masquerading as cheese (not fans). We are a house of mac and cheese aficionados. So it is not lightly that I say that this recipe below is some good mac and cheese. It's creamy - not grainy, takes just one pot, and is made with actual real cheese - bonus! Plus, it's easy to dress up if you're in that sort of mood too (lobster? truffles? ham and peas?). I can't wait to hear what you think - you're going to love it!

Ridiculously Good and Ridiculously Easy Mac and Cheese

Creamy, gooey and delicious - comfort food
at it's best.

Ingredients:
1 lb. elbow macaroni pasta
1 1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese (1 cup sharp cheddar, 1/2 cup gruyere, 1/2 cup parmigiano regianno)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper (at serving time for the grown-ups)

Directions:
1. Boil pasta in salted water for 6 minutes. Drain and hold in strainer while you prepare the sauce.
2. In same pot, melt butter and add flour over medium heat. Whisk until roux starts to brown very slightly. Add milk in steady stream while whisking furiously. Continue to whisk steadily for a few minutes until cream sauce thickens.
3. Temper egg with a few spoonfuls of cream sauce and then add egg to cream sauce. Continue to whisk.
4. Add shredded cheese to cream sauce and switch over to wooden spoon. Turn heat down to low and stir until all cheese has melted. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Once cheese has melted, add drained pasta to pot. Stir to cover pasta in all the gooey goodness. Serve and enjoy!

Celebrating Easter with Coconut Cupcakes

A Tower of Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with
Candy-Covered Chocolate Eggs

Ever since I discovered this recipe for Toasted Coconut Cake from Cooks Illustrated, I've been trying to find excuses to make it. It's not the kind of thing you can make and keep around your house for a few days to nibble on - at least not my  house. Coconut cake for breakfast? Sure, it goes great with coffee. An afternoon snack - why not? And everyone needs something sweet after dinner, right?  So if you lack willpower like I do, break out the recipe when you're invited somewhere special. It's guaranteed to produce plenty of ooh's and ahh's. Plus, with a recipe this good, it's way more fun to share it with friends.

The first time I made the cake was for a New Year's Eve celebration and it was a huge hit. And for the past several Easters, I turn it into cupcakes and top them with the toasted coconut and those little candy-covered chocolate Cadbury eggs so they resemble birds nests. They look gorgeous, and they taste even better. The secret to this super creamy, coconut-ty frosting is the creme of coconut (you know, the same stuff they put in pina coladas...) - and the, um, 4 sticks of butter don't hurt either.  I follow the recipe as is, but for cupcakes, take the time down to 22-25 minutes. Enjoy!

The Perfect Mood-Lifting Cake for a Winter that Will Never End

One perfect slice of Olive-Oil Cake with
Candied Kumquats

Wednesday was supposedly the first day of Spring, but you wouldn't know that around here. It's supposed to snow 3-5 inches tonight and my littlest boy has been sick with the flu for the last several days. Every year at this time, I feel like I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown and I seriously cannot take another cold day stuck inside. If it weren't for the first few daffodils poking their bright yellow heads out of the ground with the promise of impending warm weather, I would pack up the car and drive south, west, anywhere warm.

So it is with this precarious state of mind that I happened upon a pint of perfect bright orange kumquats at Whole Foods the other day. When I was a kid, I remember my dad bringing home some of these odd little fruits and teaching my brother and I to pop them into our mouths whole, skin, seeds and all. The first burst of  mouth puckering sour, followed by the surprisingly sweet skins was such a treat. But kumquats alone weren't going to break through my funk. I needed baked goods.

That's when I remembered a recipe I'd seen once for an olive oil cake with candied oranges. I got giddy just thinking about how good it was going to be. And giddy is a much better state of mind. The recipe I used is below, adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe you can find on Epicurious. I made a few substitutions in addition to the kumquats for oranges - using cinnamon instead of cardamom and almonds instead of pistachios, since that's what I had on hand. This cake is moist, delicious, and the sunny orange color of the candied kumquats will brighten up the coldest, gloomiest day. And if that doesn't do it, try adding some of the extra kumquat syrup you'll have left over to a chilled vodka martini. Now that will definitely lift your spirits.

Olive Oil Cake with Candied Kumquats
Ingredients:
For candied kumquat syrup-
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup orange blossom honey (or regular clover honey is fine)
1 cinnamon stick
1 pint kumquats, sliced and seeded

For cake-
1/2 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour (pasta flour)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar, divided
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:
For candied kumquat syrup-

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, and 3 cups water to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add kumquat slices. Reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally until liquid is reduced to about 3 1/4 cups, or about 40 minutes. Remove kumquats with slotted spoon to lined baking sheet and let syrup and kumquats cool separately. Try to resist eating all the candied kumquats until you've decorated the cake.

For cake-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush springform pan with oil. Whisk both flours and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup oil in a large bowl for 1 minute. Beat in yolks, then flour mixture. Beat in yogurt, zest, and vanilla. Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter just to blend. Transfer to prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake cake until lightly browned on top and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Pierce hot cake all over with skewer. Slowly drizzle 3/4 cup warm syrup over cake and let it absorb for a minute or two. Add another 3/4 cup syrup again slowly. Let cake cook completely in pan over wire rack. When cool, run knife along the edge and remove to serving plate. Decorate top of cake with candied kumquat slices (in spiral pattern). Sprinkle toasted almonds on top as well as powdered sugar. Serve with additional syrup, if desired.

A Dinner Inspired by Spanish Paprika and Jose Andres

Gorgeous heirloom carrots, prepped
and ready

My husband and I rarely eat out at the same restaurant twice. When date nights are few and far between, and hundreds of delicious restaurants exist within a 30 minute drive, it's hard to justify revisiting a restaurant, regardless of how good it was. What if we miss out on something new/better/different? So that is why it's taken us 8 years to go back to eat at Jaleo, the Jose Andres staple. We ordered a variety of small plates to share, including the famous Patatas Bravas which had me stifling a moan with each delicious bite (after all, we were in public).

The finished dish - Braised Chicken Thighs
and Root Vegetables with Bravas
Sauce and Garlic Aioli

The key to this dish, as with many on the menu, is the Spanish pimenton - a sweet, smoky paprika. The tiny potatoes are fried twice to make them extra crispy - the first time at low heat (about 250) and the second at higher heat (350). They sit nestled on a bed of tomato sauce, cooked down with the pimenton and some sherry vinegar. Then, they are topped with the lightest, garlicky aioli and freshly chopped chives. Since I don't own a copy of Jose Andres' cookbook, a quick Google search yielded this recipe from a blog I love called eatmoredrinkmore.com. It was clear I needed to go out and get me some Spanish paprika.

Since fried potatoes does not a dinner make (at least that I'll admit), I decided to use up a little more of that Spanish paprika by dry rubbing it on some chicken thighs which I braised with chicken stock, onions, garlic, and the most gorgeous heirloom carrots, pictured above. I served the chicken thighs, carrots, and potatoes on top of the smokey tomato sauce, topped it with the aioli and chives, and moaned all I wanted. Whether you try the recipe yourself or get over to Jaleo, give this dish a try and let me know what you think!

Fresh Pasta for a Cold Winter Day

Even as I was asking my husband for the pasta making attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer last year for Christmas, I really didn't believe that I would actually use it more than once or twice. Pasta is the simplest of meals. It comes in a box, you dump it in boiling water, and then voila - 8-10 minutes later you have dinner. Measuring and mixing, kneading and resting, rolling and cutting...I mean, how good could fresh pasta be that I would be willing to go to such great measures for a meal when I could just dump the box of dried pasta in a pot of water and be done with it? Well, as it turns out, it is pretty darn good, and I have since gone to such great measures many, many more times. It does sound daunting to make pasta from scratch, but believe me when I tell you that it is worth it. So worth it. And honestly, it's a whole lot simpler than you'd think. Here's the best (read: easiest) recipe I've found for fresh egg pasta. It's from the cookbook The New Best Recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Fresh Egg Pasta

Fettuccine with Anchovy, Red Pepper, Garlic
and Olive Oil

Equipment needed:

food processor

kitchen aid mixer with pasta attachment

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. In bowl of food processor, add 3 cups flour and pulse a few times to aerate.

2. Add eggs to flour and process for 30 seconds. Dough should form into loose ball. If it's too wet and sticky, add a bit of flour. If it's too dry and won't form into ball, add a bit of water.

3. Turn dough out onto clean work surface and kneed for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is shiny and holds together well.

4. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.

5. Divide dough into 4 equal parts and follow pasta making attachment instructions to roll it out through level 5 thickness. Then use fettuccine pasta cutting attachment to cut pasta.

6. Store pasta dusted in plenty of flour on counter in heaps until ready to cook. 

7. Boil salted water and cook pasta until done - about 4-5 minutes. Pasta should be al dente with a bit of a bite to it. Serve with favorite sauce (like this anchovy, red pepper, garlic, and olive oil sauce below)

Anchovy, Red Pepper, Garlic and Olive Oil Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp. crushed red pepper (more or less depending on your spice preference)

5 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 tin of anchovies, rinsed and chopped

1 tbsp. capers, rinsed

3 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped 

Parmigiano Reggiano to taste (optional)

salt to taste

Directions: (Prepare while pasta is cooking)

1. Add olive oil and garlic slices to saute pan. Let sit for 15 minutes, or several hours if you have the time.

2. Warm pan slowly over low, then medium heat so garlic cooks through until soft, but not brown.

3. Over medium heat, add chopped anchovies, capers, and crushed red pepper. Stir until anchovies dissolve into sauce.

4. When pasta is finished, add a ladle of the pasta water to pan with garlic and oil. Stir.

5. Pour drained pasta into sauce and stir to coat. Serve with chopped parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Enjoy!

Bibimbap 'Til You Drop

My first attempt at bibimbap - pile it all together
on some rice and add a fried egg. Yum!

I am embarrassed to confess that my first taste of Korean food was not at the famous Woo Lae Oak in Tysons Corner, or even the Korean Deli in Fairfax. My first taste of Korean food was actually a frozen dinner from Trader Joe's. I'm not sure why Korean restaurants haven't made it to mainstream America the way that other Asian cuisines like Thai, Chinese, and Japanese have, but somehow it's taken me 30++ years to give it a go. The verdict? It was, um, actually pretty delicious. Delicious enough that it has spawned a temporarily all-consuming weekend quest for me and my husband to find the perfect NoVA bibimbap (traditional Korean dish of rice, mixed vegetables and meat, usually beef, topped with a fried egg).

Over the past few months we have eaten bibimbap at the mall, we have eaten bibimbap at a place called Myung-Ga Gim Bop (or as it says from the outside, "Korean Deli"), and we have eaten bibimbap at a place in Annandale that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week where the servers wear traditional Korean dress and the menus are 10 pages long and haven't been wiped down since they opened. We have asked every Korean friend and acquaintance we have for advice on where to go, and we have subjected our poor children to many, many difficult meals. For some reason, they are not as concerned as we are about finding the best bibimbap in driving distance from our house.

I wondered if we might have a problem, but then a recent issue of Bon Appetit had a feature on making bibimbap for a large group, so I knew that if we did indeed have a problem, at least we weren't the only ones.  The Bon Appetit recipe calls for grated Asian pear, which is not easy to find all the time unless you go to the Korean grocery stores, but the idea of making it at home had me hooked. I scoured my favorite food sites and came up with this recipe at Allrecipes that looked pretty simple and delicious. It was really easy to make, and the best part? The marinade of the beef has so much brown sugar in it that it caramelizes when you cook it, giving it a rich, sweet taste and perfectly crispy and chewy texture - a lot like the Szechuan Beef Proper at another favorite Asian restaurant - Peking Gourmet. Mmm... Now I'm thinking about Peking Duck. I wonder how hard it is to make a good Peking Duck at home?

Dinner at Rasika - Was it Worth the Wait?

Tawa Bangan - appetizer of
eggplant, potato and peanut sauce

Whenever a restaurant like Rasika makes it to Washingtonian's Top 100 list, it becomes next to impossible to get a reservation. And with so many choices, it's hard to imagine how an Indian restaurant could be so good that it would be worth the two to three month wait it takes to get a dinner reservation there. So despite how much my husband and I love Indian food, it's taken me years to add my name to the long wait list. Even making the reservation over two months out, we still only had the option of 6 or 9pm (Guess which one I chose? Hint: We still got home in plenty of time to watch another episode of "Homeland" before bed, essentially making it the perfect date night).

Entering the warm and dark restaurant, you would never guess it was barely 6 on a weekend. The place was bustling and the bar was full of hipsters and theater go-ers (it's right next to the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Penn Quarter). From the moment I had a look at the expansive menu, I knew we were in for something special and Chef Vikram Sunderam did not disappoint. Each dish was so carefully plated, the flavors blending and complementing each other in such balanced harmony, you felt as if you could see into his soul. Okay, I know that might sound a little cheesy, but I dare you to try a bite of the Palak Chaat (crispy spinach with tamarind, yogurt, and date chutney) without moaning in delight and awe that another human being could have come up with such a combination of flavors.

There were so many things we wanted to order, but we stuck mainly with the items suggested by the local reviewers at Washington Post and Washingtonian. In addition to the Palak Chaat, we shared an order of Truffle Naan, a trio of Chutney (though the Tomato and Golden Raisin one was the best), the Black Cod with Honey and Star Anise, and the Pork Chop Vindaloo, which was so melt-in-your-mouth tender you didn't need a knife. My go-to order at Indian restaurants is always Chicken Tikka Masala and our waitress said the chef does an amazing version, so next time I won't be able to resist giving that a try.

Now, run, run, as fast as you can - make a reservation at Rasika and write and tell me all about it afterwards. Or better yet, invite me along. Now go!

Pretend it's Summer - Have Some Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Whipped Cream

One of my fondest memories of childhood is going to the Roy Rogers drive-thru with my family and ordering strawberry shortcake. It wasn't an every day occurrence, rather it followed a special event - like an award at school or a day spent at the museums downtown. Buckled in the backseat, I would crane my neck to make sure the drive-thru order taker was putting my strawberry shortcake in the bag. We'd pull away from the window and my mom would dig through the bag to find each of our orders and pass them back. The sweet treat would come in a clear plastic container with the hot biscuit buried at the bottom, topped with vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce. I couldn't get to the plastic wrapped spoon fast enough. Then I'd take that first magical bite, dipping my spoon down the side to catch equal portions of each component. First the sticky sweet strawberry sauce, then the cool, creamy, vanilla soft-serve, and finally the hot, flaky, salty biscuit. Ahhh. Heaven on a spoon.

Roy Rogers is long gone, and to be honest I'm not sure it would taste quite the same now, but my love for strawberry shortcake persists. If it's on the menu, I will order it. Many times I'm disappointed when the flaky biscuit is replaced with spongy cake. When summer comes, and with it strawberry season, it's one of the first things to come out of my kitchen. It is pure happiness on a plate.

It's the middle of winter, yes I know, but with Valentine's Day, the strawberries come back. They may not come from the farm down the road, but pint upon pint of delicious red berries are showing up in grocery stores all around us this time of year, so I say, why not cheat a little. Put some summer into your life and whip up some strawberry shortcake. Perfect for a special Valentine's dinner for anyone you love - or eat it yourself straight from the oven. I won't tell. One of my favorite recipes comes from Southern Living - of course they know how to do biscuits right. Enjoy!

8 Rules to Help You Survive Eating out with the Kids

When I was pregnant with my first son, people would always tell my husband and I to go out to eat as much as we could before the baby was born because we wouldn't be eating out at the same kinds of places once we had kids. P-shh-aw, I would think to myself. We are going to train our sweet little angels how to sit quietly in restaurants, and eat whatever we eat, and not drop food on the floor. We are going to be good parents. With good kids. Nice, well-behaved kids. Ha! 

5 years and 2 children later, let's just say my view has changed a bit. It's not that our kids are not good, nice, and well-behaved. They are. Well, mostly. But they are not Nobu-nice. Or Volt-nice. Sometimes they are not even TGIFriday's-nice. Still, we love to eat out, so we persevere. And over the past few years, we've figured out what it takes to have a good meal out that we can all enjoy. They're still not ready for Nobu, but that's what babysitters are for, right?

Rule #1: Check your shame at the door

In case you have any shame left, after lying with your feet up in stirrups for 14 hours straight while any variety of strangers and family members walked by, let it go. Your kid isn't the first one to throw a fit in a restaurant. If I can survive my two-year-old pooping (yep, right out of the diaper) and peeing on the middle of a restaurant floor while dozens of restaurant patrons looked on, you can too.

Rule #2: Noise is your friend

You may have once enjoyed romantic dinners with your spouse in quiet, candle-lit restaurants. Not anymore. The more background noise, the better. Clattering dishes, poor sound-proofing, rude waitresses...all these noises will help mask the sound of your own child throwing his dish full of buttery noodles on the floor while he screams at the top of his lungs that he did NOT want cheese on it, even though he said he did when you placed the order 5 minutes before.

Rule #3: The early bird catches the worm

Your favorite restaurant only has an 8pm seating available? Forget it. You're eating on the early-bird special for the next few years. Eating at 5pm may seem lame when you're 25, but it's the absolute best time to eat out when you've got kids in tow. The restaurants are empty at this time of day which means your waiter will be more tolerant of your special requests and mess. Plus there's an added bonus - the other grandmas and grandpas eating at the same time as you will ooh and ahh over your kids, making you feel like they are actually welcome at the restaurant. A feeling you will NOT have if you go to the same place at 8pm with all the singletons and newly marrieds on dates glaring and rolling their eyes at you and your precious bundle of joy. 

Rule #4: BYOF (Bring Your Own Food)

When you go out to eat at 5pm, chances are, you won't wait for a table. But if you do have to wait a little too long for the food to come, don't be caught without a snack. "But he won't eat his dinner!" you say. So what? Is a hunger-induced temper tantrum worth that risk? I didn't think so. I get super cranky when I'm hungry, and if it was socially acceptable for me to throw a tantrum when my food didn't come fast enough, I would. So stash some pretzels in your purse. Everyone will be happier.

Rule #5: Charge your cellphone

I understand that when you have your first child, you will resist the lure of technology for as long as you can. I've been there. When my son was 6 months old and we were out to eat with him, I clearly remember judging a nearby family for their portable DVD player which the 2 year-old was glued to like a zombie. Now, after two kids, it's a whole different story. Their brains won't rot after 1 hour on a screen and there are plenty of educational videos (our kids love LeapFrog's Alphabet Adventure) and apps out there. Of course, they could also become experts at every type of Angry Birds game ever made like my kids. Either way, you'll get a nice, quiet meal, and the kids just may learn something. Win-win.

Rule #6: Have an escape plan

In the beginning, my hard and fast rule was to only eat at places where we could escape with a moments notice. That meant, order at the counter, no slow-poke waiter bringing a check to rely on. If it got bad enough, I could always pick up the screaming kids and run out the door. Now they're a bit older, and I'm a bit bolder, so we go to more full service restaurants. I am always more comfortable, though, when I've got plenty of cash on hand to throw on the table instead of waiting for that credit card machine that will most likely pick that day to stop working.

Rule #7: A little bribery never hurt anyone

I'm sure there are dozens of parenting books that will disagree with me on this, but I don't care. Bribery works, people. It works with Santa, and it works with going out to eat too. You'd be surprised how much good behavior you can get with the promise of a few m&m's or a stop for frozen yogurt.

Rule #8: Find yourself a good babysitter

No matter how prepared you are, or how well behaved your kids are, there are just some restaurants you won't be able to bring them to. And that's okay. It's hard to find a good babysitter that you trust, but it is so worth the time and stress, I promise. Everyone deserves a night out alone once in awhile. So ask your friends, scour the neighborhood for responsible teenage girls, or join a sitter finding service if nothing else works. Then pick up the phone and make those reservations at the restaurant that has a 3 month wait. It will make all the meals in between a little more bearable.

Bon Appetit!

The Perfect Snack

I need to eat 5 times a day or I get cranky. My husband would probably use a stronger word than that, but let's just go with cranky. On one hand, eating 5 times a day is wonderful - 5 chances to indulge in one of the greatest pleasures in life. On the other hand, it can be a tremendous pain, which is why I always carry a variety of cereal bars in my purse (my current favorite is the peanut butter chocolate chip Lara bar).

But when I'm home and I've got a few minutes to spare, I am currently obsessed with this cucumber and labneh toast. It's so simple to make as long as you've got the right ingredients on hand. You can get labneh (Middle Eastern strained yogurt) at Whole Foods in the refrigerated section where you find the hummus, or at any Middle Eastern specialty food store. I've found Persian cucumbers at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's - they come in a pack of 4 or 5 - but you could use regular English cucumbers if you have those. There are so many textures and tastes going on in each bite - the crisp toast balanced with the creamy and tart yogurt along with the crispy cucumbers..the warm hit of a good olive oil and the salt and pepper finish. Sigh. It's just heaven. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cucumber and Labneh Toast
Ingredients:
1 slice of good whole wheat bread, toasted medium
2 tbsp. labneh
9 slices of persian cucumber
1/2 tsp. good olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Toast bread, let cool slightly.
2. Spread with labneh.
3. Add cucumber slices.
4. Add good crank of salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Drizzle olive oil evenly over top.
6. Take a bite and prepare to groan in delight.

If I Were a Vegetarian...

For the sake of my marriage, I am not allowed to be a Vegetarian. A few years ago for Lent, I gave up meat (I'm not Catholic, but there's something competitive inside me that enjoys depriving myself of things I love for 40 days just to see if I can). After weeks of enduring my meatless meals, my husband was more than ready to hit Ray's the Steaks, our absolute favorite carnivore establishment, for a bone-in blackened ribeye. I, on the other hand, was pretty proud of my accomplishment and (verbally) considered whether it was a trend we should continue. My normally very easy-going husband went on an hour long rant that included phrases like "I didn't marry a Vegetarian...don't want to eat separate meals...this is ridiculous...where's my steak?" So because I love him (and truly, I love meat too), we are not Vegetarians.

But he is out of town tonight on business, and since I'm still riding the high of a week-long cleanse, tonight I am a Vegetarian. And if I were a Vegetarian, I would make this Roasted Butternut Squash couscous at least once a week with plenty for leftovers. I might even let him have a taste.

Couscous with Roasted Butternut Squash, Mint, and Pine Nuts

1 whole butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
3 cups israeli (pearl) couscous
4 cups (32 oz.) vegetable broth
1 small shallot, diced
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 oz. goat cheese
olive oil
salt/pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss butternut squash with a good drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in pan for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until soft and slightly caramelized. Set aside.
2. In heavy pan over medium heat, saute pine nuts until toasted in 1 tbsp. olive oil. Set aside in small bowl.
3. In same pan, saute shallot in 1 tbsp. olive oil until soft.
4. Add dry couscous and stir frequently for 5 minutes until couscous is lightly toasted. Add broth, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Bring to boil and then lower to simmer covered for 10-12 minutes or until all broth has been absorbed.
5. Remove pot from heat. Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Add butternut squash, most of the chopped mint, lemon zest, toasted pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve in shallow bowls with crumbled goat cheese, a little mint, freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Glutton Free January

I hate making New Year's Resolutions. I pretty much avoid doing anything I will probably fail at. And January is depressing enough as it is without adding failure to it. It's been years since I've made an actual resolution on January 1st, but this year something had to be done to balance out the gluttony that was also known as December. This holiday season I consumed more cookies, cakes, cheese plates, glasses of wine, and general oil-laden merriment than I think any one person needs in a lifetime. That's how you will find me (and my generally willing husband) on day 3 of a detox cleanse.

So what cleanse to do? We are not a Master Cleanse sort of people over here (see above paragraph re. failure). We are not even a Juice Fast sort of people (again, see above). We are a food-loving-people-who-just-happened-to-have-over-indulged-a-tad-and-could-use-a nudge-in-the-right-direction-cleanse sort of people. I couldn't find that one on the Internet, though, so after doing some research, I decided that the Bon Appetit's Food Lover's Cleanse was about as close to what I was looking for as I was going to get (I've mentioned how much I freaking love that magazine before, haven't I?). The idea is basically to eat lots of whole foods, nothing processed. It's heavy on the fruit, vegetables and whole grains, light on the oil, sugar and dairy. Basically how we should all be eating, but don't.

Lunch today - a variety of grain and bean
salads from the Whole Foods salad bar.

The Bon Appetit Cleanse is a thing of beauty, if you have time to cook 3 meals a day. Which I don't. So I'm going for the lazy man's version of this cleanse which is basically cutting out all dairy, sugar, flour, and, um, alcohol for one week. I stocked the fridge with plenty of berries, apples, kale, cucumbers, avocados, and almond milk. I made a batch of the most delicious oatmeal date breakfast bars I've ever eaten (seriously) from the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook I got for Christmas. I armed myself with pages of dinner recipes from Bon Appetit's cleanse. I washed and froze several pounds of grapes to ward off those late night ice cream cravings. And I gave the husband another chance to bail. (He didn't).

So now here we are, 3 days in, and I have to say I'm feeling pretty good. I'm a bit hungry, but it's actually a relief after weeks of feeling stuffed. I have plenty of energy, despite the Winter sinus infection I'm coming off of. And it feels great to be feeding my body things with actual nutritional value. I don't even miss bread as much as I thought I would. But that glass of wine... now that's a different story!