Goodbye Clementine...

by Xani

Even a delinquent food blogger, like myself, knows that you can't just up and switch kitchens without blogging about it.  I've been cooking in this kitchen for almost exactly five years, most of the time this blog as been around!  And man, I have cooked some good stuff!  In fact, my entire approach to cooking and eating has drastically changed over the five years I've cooked there.  No longer cooking for just myself, keeping things a bit healthier and experimenting with baking, bread-making, canning, and other advanced techniques.

I remember when I was first moving in, looking at those curved concrete countertops and wondering if they would be functional, and being super-excited about having a dishwasher!

Little did I know what lie ahead of me in that kitchen: cooking one-handed after my motorcycle crash, having a boyfriend and a little one move in, and adding the always-begging Eddie to our pack.  The years have flown by, and the great parties, amazing meals and fun projects are just memories (forever captured in blog posts) now.  We've got just a few more days left in the house and I'm in constant "Pantry Raid" mode- cobbling together meals with whatever is in the pantry or freezer.  But, I managed a delicious Cast Iron Skillet Chicken the other night, not to mention an inspired pasta dish I named "Fettucine Rockerfeller" (because how else would you use up canned oysters??).  But as we reach the final days, I am, of course, looking forward to cooking in the next kitchen...

Which also happens to be the OLD kitchen!  Anyone remember this place...??

That's right, I'm moving back to the kitchen where I first learned to cook!  The exact spot where I developed my first "special dishes" (black beans, twice-baked potatoes) as a youngster and began my love affair with cooking.  I'm so happy and excited to (almost) be the proud owner of my childhood home.  The kitchen doesn't look quite the same as it used to, thanks to a complete renovation a couple years ago, but it's still big, has tons of counter space, with two sinks, a giant pot-rack, a sunny dining nook, and did I mention it's BIG?

Just think of what I'm going to cook up in there.  I've already got big plans for Sunday Dinners, brunches, theme parties, AND MORE!  All the more reason to stay tuned to BCD, Like our page on FB, follow us on twitter, instagram, Vine, and right here.  Hopefully lots more yummy posts coming soon...

Farewell old kitchen, and new kitchen here I come...!

X

P.S. I'll leave you with these memories of a kitchen and a home that has served me VERY well...

Little lettuces growing in my little backyard

Celebrating in style at our Mad Men party

Cooking up a storm

My house in Jack-o-lantern format...

Making popcorn with my Man...

Luckily this guy is coming with us- who else would eat all our strawberry tops!?

A Bunch of Baltimore Brunches

by EP

I often say that brunch is my least favorite meal of the day, but in truth, I have mixed feelings.  I love brunch because (a) I love morning time, (b) I love coffee, and (c) I love socializing, and at brunch, all three are present. I dislike brunch because I generally am not that into the food selections available.  I know, I know, many people LOVE breakfast foods and kvell over brunch opportunities, but for me, most of the time, I'd rather have a burger.

That said, in recent weeks I've had some excellent brunch experiences around Charm City, and I may just be changing my tune if this streak continues.  It started about two weeks ago when Xani and I joined our buddy Rebecca at Woodberry Kitchen for their Saturday brunch.  We planned to have brunch after hearing about Beckett Hitch, a unique shop-ortunity where several local vendors set up in one of the dining rooms at Woodberry Kitchen (tickets were $10 and included the price of admission, valet parking, and coffee, champagne, and snacks to enjoy while shopping).  

Springtime for Rollos: Part 2 (or "Puddin' it be Rice?")

by Erin and Xani

After an outstanding first day in NYC, we had more big plans (eating AND non-eating, if you can believe it) for Day 2. We were going to go for a fancy, multi-course brunch but after all of our great meals the day before, we weren't quite ready for another biggie. I said to Lauren, "Isn't there someplace we can go and have a great cup of coffee and a croissant? Somewhere like Bouchon Bakery [Thomas Keller's famous bakery]?" Lauren, with one eyebrow raised, said "Uh, there is a Bouchon. It's like 5 blocks from here." HUZZAH!! We had our brunch place.

On our way over to the Time Warner Center, we met Eliot, a St. Bernard who lived nearby.

When we arrived at the Time Warner Center we went up to the 4th floor to Bouchon Bakery. In addition to our coffee, we ordered a croissant, a corn muffin, a linzer cookie, and a box of donut holes called "bouchkins"! How cute.



The croissant was light, flaky, and buttery - just what we were craving. The corn muffin was good too - slightly sweet, slightly savory, good texture.

The bouchkins were SO good - half had powdered sugar on the outside, half had cinnamon-sugar. Of course, we love our coffee and donuts!



And the coffee was good and strong. Mmmm.

After breakfast, we headed over towards the Museum of Modern Art to check out the Tim Burton exhibit. On our way, we stopped at Anthropologie and purchased a few goodies! Who can resist that place??

The Tim Burton exhibit was awesome. He had all kinds of pieces from sculpture to paintings on canvas to animated videos, plus there were a lot of pieces from his various movies, including Beetlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks, and Sweenie Todd. It was REALLY crowded since the exhibit was closing the next week, but it was a great exhibit and we were really glad we could go.

Welcome to the Tim Burton exhibit...

After our museum visit, we needed to go back to the hotel to grab our bags, so while in the neighborhood we grabbed a NY slice at Famiglia Pizza. We got a slice of plain, a slice of veggie, and a slice of white pizza - all were good and really hit the spot after fighting through the crowds at the museum.





Excited for veggie pizza?

We then schlepped downtown to go meet Lauren's boyfriend, John, and his peeps at a bar near NYU. But we had one more stop to make before we did that: Rice to Riches. For three girls who really aren't big rice pudding fans, we were THRILLED to be headed to R2R for a sweet treat. Xani originally heard of this place on the relatively new show on Food Network, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." Upon further research, we discovered that this place had approximately 20 flavors of rice pudding, plus about 15 toppings to go on top. Decisions, decisions!





When we arrived at R2R, we first noticed the decor - the place was covered in fantastic sayings and instructions, like "Sleep till you're hungry, eat till you're sleepy," or "Eat Right. Exercise. Die Anyway." or "No Skinny Bitches!" Our kinda place.

We ordered two flavors of rice pudding with two toppings. First we ordered the French Toast flavor of rice pudding with a crumbly, buttery granola topping (this was the suggested flavor-topping combo on the TV show). Second, we made up our own combo and ordered the Mascarpone with Cherries flavor, plus the most genius topping ever: toasted poundcake CROUTONS! What?! Why didn't we think of that??

Mascarpone with Cherries and poundcake croutons

French Toast with Oatmeal Coconut Granola Topping

Both were excellent - sweet, complex flavors, good texture from the rice and the toppings, and everything was served chilled.

Lauren and Xani about to dig in!

So good EP was a'dancin'

Not surprisingly, we preferred our flavor combo to the one we saw on TV...not that we're biased or anything. It was a great treat but it definitely put us in a rice pudding coma for a few hours.

We hung out with Lauren's boyfriend and his friends for a little while, but then headed to Brooklyn to sit quietly and come out of the rice pudding haze. I'll save our amazing Greek dinner in Brooklyn for the next NYC post. Coming soon, I promise!

Happy rice pudding eating,

EP & X

BCD takes NYC: "Fabulous in Fall" Edition -- Day 2

by Erin




First of all, we want to extend a gigantic THANK YOU to everyone who voted for us for the Mobbies in these last few weeks! Bear hugs for everyone!

And now back to business: a very belated NYC post chronicling yet another day of wonderful eats. Like the day before, we hit a lot of great places to eat!

We had originally planned to go to Barney Greengrass, a deli on the Upper West Side for some good ol' deli food. We wanted corned beef, chopped liver, matzo ball soup, latkes, blintzes....[drooling]. But alas, they were CLOSED for Rosh Hashana. Damn! So, instead we went to The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien Hotel, a destination that is always on our list but for one reason or the other, gets nixed every time.


I loved the Burger Joint for so many reasons, but one of the main reasons is because of its hidden, underground vibe - like only a select few know of it, and I'm one of them! (This is the second time secrets + burgers = awesome - check out my post about the secret language at In 'n Out burger here.)

The lobby of Le Parker Meridien is cozy but open and sunshine-y, with marble floors and big pieces of modern art on the walls. But if you know where to look, you end up in a dark hallway with black curtains, and just this to guide you:



And then you turn the corner and you feel like you are in the middle of a rec room in Texas. Wood paneled walls covered in writing, movie posters on the walls, and the menu is literally written on cardboard with markers. A-mazing. They only sell burgers, fries, and shakes, and we gladly partook.



All of us ordered burgers except Lauren, who got the cheesiest grilled cheese ever. The burgers were great - juicy and cooked to medium rare, per our request. The fries were pretty good - they reminded me of the fries at McDonald's or In 'n Out. My only criticism was the size of the sodas - call me a stupid American, but 12 oz of soda is not enough when you have a gigantic burger and a bag of fries to get through.







We hung out at the Burger Joint for quite some time, talking, laughing, and appreciating the awesomeness of the place. I love secret burger places!!

After lunch we decided to head down to The High Line, an elevated park created from now-defunct railroad tracks used to transport cattle to the slaughterhouses in the meatpacking district. The High Line is beautiful - the pathway is lined with wildflowers, there is a beautiful view of the city, and a there are a few benches to sit and have a picnic if you are smart enough to plan ahead. We strolled down the High Line and enjoyed the sunshine. We came back down to street-level and, like magic, there was an ice cream truck (called Van Leeuwen) waiting for us!



We couldn't resist - not only was it ice cream (my fave) but they used local milk and eggs, and flavorings from small producers abroad (e.g., vanilla, chocolate, ginger, pistachio). I got espresso and Xani got vanilla - both were great but the vanilla was absolutely, heart-breakingly good.



After our ice cream treat, we went to the Chelsea Market, which was so fun. I love a good market so I was in heaven. After our day o' fun, we separated from Ann and Steven and headed back to Brooklyn to rest up before heading out to dinner in Park Slope at Franny's, for what would become the best meal of the trip.

We had been looking foward to Franny's for quite some time. Xani's friend from high school, Dave, said he was "friends with the chef" and we should go there and tell them "Dave sent us." We weren't sure if this would work - surely the chef would be busy, and what if he had met our connection, Dave, like twice? We would be mortified. While figuring out our game plan (and killing time waaiting for a table - they don't take reservations), we had a few drinks.

Franny's serves local Brooklyn-brewed beers, so Xani, John (Lauren's beau), and I enjoyed those, while Lauren sipped some Prosecco. We waited in the outdoor courtyard and enjoyed the shockingly good weather. (Long-time readers will recall that we have terrible weather karma when visiting NYC: heat like the surface of the sun, or constant slushy precipitation. We were thrilled that the weather cooperated for our visit!)

Once we were seated in the bustling but small restaurant, we were greeted by our friendly and very knowledgeable waiter. Turns out he's getting his PhD in economics at NYU - smart AND friendly! Swoon. Ahem, anyway...we had an AMAZING meal at Franny's! (However, our pictures truly sucked so they are minimal for this meal...sorry!)



We started with 5-6 antipasti, including roasted broccoli with garlic and pecorino cheese, a crostino with tomatoes and lots of olive oil, another crostino with house-cured proscuitto, amazing roasted potatoes with some sort of cheese, and an heirloom tomato salad with ricotta cheese. Everything was so good, it's hard to describe the joy we experienced with each bite.

For the second course, we enjoyed a pasta dish, penne with eggplant, raisins, and pine nuts. I loved this dish - the pasta was cooked very al dente, and the sauce was light but delicious. And I don't even like eggplant!

Finally, we got two pizzas - a classic tomato and buffalo mozzarella pizza, and a pizza with clams, chiles, and parsley. The former was great and classic; the latter blew our minds! The clam pizza was spicy, garlicky, and of course, had lots of delicious clams and clam flavoring throughout the sauce. It reminded me of BCD Dad's pasta alla vongole (clam sauce) and it made us all very happy.






At the end of the meal, Chef Danny came out to visit with us! Turns out our connection, Dave, really IS a good friend of his (they were roommates for several years, in fact)! It was great talking to Chef Danny, and especially nice to compliment the chef directly - as I mentioned, this was the best meal of our whole trip, all thanks to Chef Danny. It was a pleasure meeting him and we will DEF be back!



Okay, enough for now - Day 3 coming soon!


Happy NYC eats,

EP

April Food Day!

by Erin & Xani

Today a friend and fellow Baltimore food blogger, Meg, informed us of a great event coming up on April 1: April Food Day! April Food Day is a day dedicated to fighting hunger in America, an issue that is affecting more and more of us during these tough economic times.

April Food Day is an effort by bloggers to encourage their readers to take a minute during April 1 and donate either to their local food bank or to Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest), a national food bank with 200 member banks across the country.

Click HERE to donate to Feeding America on April 1.

Thanks in advance, loyal readers! I hope we can all take tiny steps together to make a big difference in this important effort.

Cheers,
EP & X

NYC Birthday Blowout: Part Two

by Erin

After our ridiculously fun Day One in NYC to celebrate the Big 3-0 with Xani, we awoke and headed straight for the best hangover relief: Shake Shack! First great thing of the day: no line at the Shack! Apparently this is HUGE - there's always a line. So, we walked right up to the window and chatted up the friendly order-taker-guy. When we told him we were from Baltimore, his reaction was: "OMG are you on The Wire?!" Honestly, it's not the first time this has happened to us. Whatever, we LOVE The Wire, even if it doesn't paint our fair city in the best light... (Note that from this point on, Lauren called me Bubbles and I called her "McNutty.")

Long-time readers will recall that we first had Shake Shack during our August visit, and like last time, it was so good! We met up with Ann and Steven and enjoyed burgers, dogs, fries, cheese fries, sodas, and a shake. It wasn't too cold out so we enjoyed our goodies outside, watching all the fun puppies and enjoying the sights and sounds of Madison Square Park.

Great, krinkle-cut fries

This time in addition to getting a regular burger, we ordered the Shroomburger, which is, by far, the best portobello burger on the planet! Instead of some boring grilled portobello on a bun, the mushroom is filled with cheese and breaded and deep-fried until crisp - holy cow it's good!

Mushrooms + cheese + deep fried + shack sauce = hangover cure

After our Shackburgers, we went back to Ann and Steven's loft to warm up a bit with some tea and chat. Then we headed back out into the city for some shopping (we heart Anthropologie), and eventually made it back to our hotel to relax a bit before heading out for the evening.Where were we headed? We were headed to Panna II, also known (by us alone) as "Indian Disco"! This was also a repeat for me - we went on my very first NYC visit, back in October 2007. It is crazy in there - there is probably room for 30 people, and there were easily 50+ packed in. PLUS, there was the insanity of the many many Christmas and chile lights hanging from the ceiling. Let's just say, it's a lot to take in. Luckily, the food was great so we were generally content.

Help. Me.

We ordered many delicious dishes, including Shag Paneer (spinach and cheese), Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), butter chicken, chicken vindaloo (so spicy!), poori and naan, eggplant fritters, etc. etc. All were great and came out super-fast to match the pace of the entire experience. At the end Xani got a special birthday treat of mango ice cream!

Lauren and the Creach

Birthday ice cream!

After dinner we saw a show called Fuerza Bruta, which unfortunately, is INDESCRIBABLY AMAZING. It was unlike any show I've ever seen. It was a show with trapeze acts (the slogan of the show is "Look Up"), a treadmill, people bursting through boxes of shredded paper and glitter, choreographed dancing, and a gigantic clear plastic swimming pool of ladies swimming around which is slowly lowered from the ceiling to a point where the audience can reach up and touch the plastic of the pool. The whole thing ends with a gigantic dance party/rave! It was amazing. I must go back!! Here are some pics:

Girl is in a mini-pool, guy is suspended below her and they are spinning

Ladies in the pool!

Finale scene

Okay, so it wasn't the most food-centric day, but wait until Part Three!

Cheers,

EP