Topsy-Turvy Mardi Gras

Last night we celebrated Fat Tuesday with Breakfast for Dinner at Tina and Dennis's house. The highlights were Rainbow Eggs (food color added just when the scrambled eggs are starting to set up) and acrobatics by the Kids. The adults also got a version of "Rainbow Eggs," with the more sophisticated addition of bell peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. Yummy! And today, Ash Wednesday, counting down the minutes until a midnight snack.

Miss Saigon-inspired Spring Roll Slaw

After a weekend of too much eating (Tosca, the Argonaut, and some Arby's in between), we needed something light, yet flavorful for dinner. Vince had a craving for Miss Saigon, but given that our favorite Vietnamese restaurant is in Miami, we had to improvise. A quick trip to Harris Teeter for some cabbage, carrots, cucumber, limes, cilantro, and curry powder furnished the ingredients necessary to recreate the flavor profiles of Miss Saigon's lemon-grass curry chicken. This lemony-crunchy-salty slaw was the perfect finish to a weekend of big flavors without adding too many calories for our waistlines.

Here is the recipe: All these measurements are approximations since I pretty much eyeball things in the kitchen and don't measure so add the spices to your taste.

Slaw:

1 cup shredded carrots

2 cups shredded cabbage (or half a head of cabbage)

1 cup julienned English cucumber (half of a long cuke)

Dressing:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup lime juice

2/3 cup extra olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1. Blend all of the ingredients for the dressing together using a food processor or immersion blender

2. Place cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers in a large bowl.

3. Toss together with the salad dressing.

4. Cover bowl and place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to let flavors marry.

5. Serve alone or as a side for grilled fish or chicken. You can even garnish it with a handful of crushed roasted peanuts for extra flavor.

The Argonaut and the Roller Girls

No, this is not a long lost episode in Jason's search for the Golden Fleece. It's a scene from Saturday night's dinner. After catching a flick at Union Station (Go, Fanboys!), we headed down to H street for dinner and drinks at the Argonaut, a quirky establishment recently listed as one of the 75 best bars in DC by the Washingtonian. The bright green walls and inviting patio made me wish for spring, but those wistful thoughts were soon forgotten as the aroma of seafood simmering in garlic butter sauce made its way through the open door. The nautically themed, yet eclectic, downstairs dining room was jam-packed and reminded me of New York bars in the SoHo and Nolita areas. We were directed upstairs where seating abounded, but service was slow. Not entirely the fault of the waitstaff, as we learned they were awaiting the arrival of the DC Roller girls, who call the Argonaut home after their monthly match-ups. Roller derby is apparently making a comeback across the country. But enough about that and on to the food. Our good friends Chris and Erica ordered Cubanos, my brother-in-law Chris and I requested fish tacos and Vince, against the advice of the waitress, chose the oyster po'boy. We also decided on a beer board with hot sausages, grilled meat and cheese for a starter with our pitcher of Dogfish head beer. First the good: Although, I didn't taste the Cubano it looked properly layered and pressed, as a good Cuban sandwich should be. The crispy fish tacos were some of the best I've had, and I order them frequently. The Argonaut has really hit on something by frying the fish rather than grilling or broiling. The breading helps the fish stand up to the stronger flavors of the salsa cruda and the cabbage-slaw. Now for the bad: My guacamole tasted mostly of mayonaise, not my favorite flavor and certainly not necessary with the creaminess of a ripe avocado. The oyster po'boy left something to be desired as did the shoe-string fries; they were stale and undersalted. But the biggest shortfall of the night turned out to be the long delayed beer-board. After asking for it repeatedly, the platter finally arrived as we were finishing our dinner, and I can attest that hot, spicy meats do not a good dessert make. All in all, we enjoyed the Argonaut mostly for its atmosphere, but also for its food. Definitely a fun stop in DC, just make sure you don't have the beer board for dessert!

Ristorante Tosca

Vince and I celebrated Valentine's Day a little late this year (due to Joe and Terri's wedding festivities on the acual day (Congrats, guys!)) and in high style (thanks to DC restaurant week). With Todd Kilman as our guide, we decided on Ristorante Tosca in downtown DC. From the restrained elegance of the dining room to the attentive waitstaff, and of course chef Massimo Fabbri's excellent cuisine, we couldn't have made a better choice. After perusing the full menu (all of which was at our disposal for dinner), Vince chose the roasted veal and spinach ravioli with red wine reduction butter and parmesan cheese, and I opted for the Carolina shrimp and baby octopus warm salad with shaved fennel, sliced potatoes, and swiss chard. Both were excellently seasoned and incredibly flavorful. There's nothing quite like a handmade pasta for freshness, and the baby octopus provided a deliciously smoky surprise that paired well with the sweetness of the shrimp. For the main course, Vince and I swapped proteins. I savored every bite of the pancetta wrapped pheasant breast (My first pheasant! Kind of like chicken, except more gamy, I'm not really sure what that means exactly, but it feels like the right word). Vince tackled a hefty portion of roasted red snapper with braised artichokes. By the way, braising artichokes does amazing things to their flavor and texture; they taste almost like wild mushrooms. For dessert, we ordered the chocolate semi-freddo and the polenta crepes filled with Nutella and ricotta cheese. Everything was amazing. At one point, our waiter came by, noticed our empty plates and remarked, "Clean plates, that's what we like to see." Still trying to process the eruption of flavors in our mouth, we honestly replied, "Well, we would have licked the plates right now, if it wasn't socially inappropriate." He laughed and brought us our check. Although Tosca was incredibly crowded--our waiter estimated 300 tables turned-- we never felt rushed, harried, or ignored by the waitstaff. Restaurant week or not, we were treated like regulars.

* Enota: #411 on the Wine List, excellent dinner choice. A full-bodied read with just enough fruit to make it easy to drink with every course, and reasonably priced. If only I could remember the name!

Carrot-Fennel-Ginger Soup

Carrot Soup with Fennel Ginger Broth

I made a fennel salad (a la Luly, my sister) the other day, using only the white parts and wanted to find a use for green leafy tops I had left. Fennel is one of my favorite flavors and it pains me to let any of the anise-flavored goodness go to waste. I decided on a squash soup, but the squash looked sad and the carrots looked yummy so, carrot soup it would be. I definitely flew by the seat of my pants on this one, but it came out pretty tasty so here is the recipe and pictures of the process. Bon Apetit! If anyone tries this let me know how it came out. Thanks!

Ingredients:

Carrot Puree:

1lb carrots, peeled and diced (the smaller the carrot the sweeter the taste, Save one carrot for garnish)

1 medium yellow onion

1/2 stick of butter

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped

2 cups fennel-ginger broth (see below)

salt and peppet, to taste

Fennel-Ginger Broth:

4 cups water

1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and sliced

the green stalks of a fennel bulb, save some of the leafy greens for garnishing

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 tsp coriander seeds

Instructions: Fennel-Ginger Broth

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan.

2. Chop fennel stalks into thin slices and add to the boiling water

3. Peel and slice ginger and add it to the boiling water

4. Add pepper corns and coriander seeds to the water.

5. Stir, reduce heat to simmer and reduce by half.

6. Strain out ingredients before adding broth to carrot puree.

Instructions: Carrot Puree

1. Peel and dice carrots (reserving one for garnish), onions, and garlic.

2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.

3. Add carrots, onions, and garlic and sautee for 3 minutes

4. Lower heat to low and cover. Cook for 25-30 mins until onions are translucent and carrots are softened. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

5. When the carrots are softened, turn off burner and puree with an immersion blender (for slightly chunky soup) or in a regular blender (for a very fine blend).

6. Stir in the strained fennel-ginger broth and blend a few minutes longer.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The salt really brings out the sweetness of the carrots.)

8. Garnish with pieces of shaved carrots and some of the reserved fennel fronds.

Cooking on Camera

From the days of Sesame Street, I remember my mom watching The Frugal Gourmet with Jeff Smith and the culinary stylings of Jaques Pepin. I remember being mesmerized by the knife skills and laughing at Smith's take on Cuban food (celery in frijoles negros, I don't think so!). TV cooking has come a long, long way, becoming much more slick and user friendly, but the fun of watching a great cook on TV is still the same. Food Network has a few new cooking shows that deserve some attention. The first is "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" with Ann Burrell. This show is by far my favorite of the new line up. Whether its her crazy blonde hair, breezy manner or contagious confidence, Burrell is fun to watch and her techniques are much more advanced than Rachel's or Paula's, but still accessible. "Ask Aida" is my second favorite. The interplay between Aida and her co-star is nice, though scripted, but most of the questions answered are elementary and geared toward beginning cooks. Third in this post and in my personal ranking is "Cooking for Real", Sunny Anderson is still fairly uncomfortable in front of the camera and I rarely want to make one of her recipes. Although I did use her recipe for poached chicken a few months ago. Sunny added coriander seeds and lemon peel to the usual suspect for a really fresh lemony flavor. I liked it. What are your Food Network faves?

Guest Chef: Cooking with Ami

Ami's Delicious Beef Vindaloo and Sides!!!!!
So I promised a follow up with details about our night of Indian cooking, but let me first say how fun it can be to have a guest chef in your own kitchen. Everyone has their own idiosyncratic style of cooking, an amalgamation of tips learned from mom (or dad), favorite spices to use, and techniques discovered in books or on cooking shows. A guest chef gives you the chance to learn new techniques and enjoy a great meal at the same time. Hosting a guest chef in your kitchen also teaches you to let go. If you tend to be a kitchen-nazi, (Carrots, celery, and onions must be cubed to 1x1x1 cm squares!) being a facilitator and sous-chef rather than the chief orchestrator can be a trying, but liberating experience.

That said, cooking with Ami (and our friend Colleen) was a blast. The menu featured beef vindaloo, an eggplant and spinach side dish, spiced basmati rice and few sauces: yogurt and spicy cilantro. Ami directed the kitchen and her sous-chefs (Colleen, Vince and myself) with ease. Wielding a chef's knife and an immersion blender, Ami layered flavor upon flavor never passing up a chance to infuse her dishes with complex and multi-faceted tastes. For example, black pepper corns, coriander seeds, cloves, and various spice powders were roasted in oil before being blended into a sauce. The heat intensified the natural flavors and supplemented later additions of dried powders. We ate with our hands and the help of some soft pitas until we were stuffed. Here are some more pictures of our cooking adventure:

Ami and the Immersion Blender, Meat being browned and eggplant sauteed,