Risking Life and Limb for Good Thai Food

by Erin and Xani

Last weekend, we decided to try "Thai Restaurant" (yes, that's the full name; no website that we could find, but see the City Paper review here) for lunch on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We had heard that Thai Restaurant was one of the best Thai places in the city, and we soon found that while the food was amazing (stay tuned for an overly detailed discussion below), the journey to TR was...well, interesting.

Xani used her trusty Google maps abilities on her phone (it's magic, I swear) and we diligently followed its course. We traveled through some parts of Baltimore that, let's just say, we don't see often. Let's also say, had we been in the market for illicit drugs, guns, or possibly a black-market kidney, we probably could have obtained these items on any one of many corners that we passed along a long stretch of Greenmont Ave. Once we reached the restaurant, there was luckily a spot right out front and we darted into the restaurant. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, but empty. Our first thought was "Crap, it's empty. Why?? Maybe this place sucks?" But we were quickly reassured that TR did NOT suck, not only because the room filled up about five minutes after we sat down, but more importantly, because the food was AWESOME.

We ordered tea and perused the lengthy menu. We decided to order two appetizers: we started with some tom kha kai, a traditional Thai soup that had lots of coconut milk, chicken, and pumpkin (the pumpkin was a special ingredient added that day). The soup was a bit spicy but mostly just incredibly rich and delicious because of the coconut milk. The pumpkin added sweetness and heartiness to the soup.

Tom Kha Kai

The other appetizer we got was probably the favorite of the meal: green papaya salad. This dish was so incredibly delicious (and beautiful) and each ingredient stood out but they all worked together: the green papaya was shredded (looked almost like noodles), and there were green beans, peanuts, cilantro, something spicy (jalapeno maybe?), and a delicious sweet and sour vinaigrette-like dressing dancing throughout. An added bonus were the few delicious shrimps on top, but honestly, they were not necessary since the salad itself was so good.

We would recommend the soup and this salad as a great meal for one, but of course, there were two of us, and we were still hungry!

We ordered two main dishes: Thai Fried Rice with pork, and Panang Curry with tofu. The fried rice was really good and more interesting than traditional Chinese fried rice (lots of Thai basil gave it a subtle anise flavor). The curry was very good as well. We could have chosen red, green, yellow, or panang curry and we went with the panang. We ordered it "spicy" (actually, we were given the opportunity to adjust the spiciness of all of our dishes, which was a nice touch), and that it was! The tofu was prepared nicely and in large pieces, and the curry was intensely flavored and rich from a bit of coconut milk. (Flash-forward to the next day, when Xani tried to eat the leftover curry, which had intensified in spiciness about four times!)

Thai Fried Rice

Panang Curry with Tofu

We were offered dessert (including deep-fried cheesecake!) but alas, we were too full. We paid the bill and once again, darted to our car, keeping the doors locked, like BCD Mom always says. We found a more, um, familiar route home, which we'll be taking the next time we are looking for great Thai food. It was totally worth the risk.

Happy eating,

E & X

Snacktime!

by Xani

You all must be hungry for more BCD content, no? Well, here's a little snacker to keep you going until we get a real post up. Last time I was in California I was in Santa Monica for three days. In that three days, we went to Bay Cities Italian Deli not once, but twice!! Apparently the only good source for Italian groceries and pre-made delicacies in LA, their delicious meats, cheeses, olives and house-made caponata cured our donut hangovers and served as a light dinner before I took the red-eye back to Bmore. And the bread... mere words cannot describe this bread. Crunchy yet soft, light yet bursting with flavor... when Ann said "should we get two loaves" I laughed, but shortly thereafter, as we polished off the last heel of our one paltry loaf, my laughter turned to tears...

Olives and caponata (totally worth waiting half an hour in line for!)

Hard Italian Salami and fantastic bread

Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam cheese-- soft, buttery and delicious. We also got a piece of delicious Humbolt Fog chevre, by another local California producer, Cypress Grove

On our second visit to Bay Cities deli we picked up more cheese, more salami and of course, more bread! I even tried to be a good sister and picked up a small round of Cowgirl Creamery's award-winning Red Hawk cheese to bring back to EP. Sadly, after just 30 minutes sitting at room temp in my luggage, the smell of the Red Hawk was... overwhelming. I felt bringing it on the plane would be seriously unfair to the other passengers... I don't need that kind of karma!

Anyhoo... hopefully this little tidbit will tide you all over until we get a more substantial post out!

Happy Snacking,

X

Black Coffee and Donuts, LA-style

by Xani

A week before the big debut at Great Tastes, my real job took me to LA yet again. I decided to go out a few days early and enjoy the President's Day weekend in sunny SoCal. And moments after landing at LAX (at 9am-- you do the math and figure out the god-awful hour I had to leave my house in Baltimore), my lovely cousin Ann and I were off for our first culinary adventure: Randy's Donuts !

They have a drive-thru!

Mmmm.... Donuts.

You may recognize this iconic building-- The World Famous Randy's Donuts is a tiny shack right near the airport with a HUGE donut on top. And more importantly, dozens of delicious regular-size donuts inside. Ann and I picked up a dozen assorted types (plus an extra twist, "for the road") and a couple of coffees and headed back to her sunny apartment in Santa Monica.

We were sure to sample all the interesting/recommended types of donuts from Randy's, as well as our personal favorites: twist (supposedly a favorite in-the-car treat), buttermilk, apple fritter, double chocolate cake, maple bar, coconut, etc. And here they are in all their glory!

And here are the remains after we devoured them, along with more cups of delicious strong black coffee...

Yum! These were excellent. My favorites were the buttermilk and the double chocolate cake. The buttermilk had a not-too-sweet inside with a nice cake-y texture, and the double chocolate cake tasted like Cocoa Puffs! The maple bar had a super-sweet filling (a little too sweet for my taste, but not for Ann!). The coconut, apple fritters and bear claws-- all good, but now just a fuzzy memory, swirling with sugar and caffeine...

Feeling super-full of donuts, we took a nice stroll down to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, which was closing up shop but still had a delightful array of fruits, veggies, herbs, cheeses, organic products, etc, etc, and then through the Promenade to people-watch and window shop. Pretty soon we all had "donut hangovers" (did you know this was possible??) and needed to rest for a bit before our next meal.... Coming soon!

X

Great Tastes: The Rest of the Story

by Erin and Xani

Well we've kept all five of our readers in suspense for long enough - it is time to reveal who our new CELEBRITY friend is!

It's Michael from season 2 of Top Chef!!

Remember?!?! Loved him.

Mike was a special guest celebrity at the Great Tastes event, where he judged an omelet contest (note: I bet BCD Dad could have kicked all their butts) and had an hour-long session where he made some hors d'oeuvres. BUT, we will get to how we met him in a moment...

So, after our panel discussion, we mixed and mingled a bit, and then headed home to rest up for the next phase of the evening: dinner. One of the Great Tastes "special events" was a special four-course dinner at Da Mimmo's, a fancy restaurant in Little Italy, where it was promised that some of the food celebs from earlier in the day would be there. The BCD parents thought the dinner would be fun so we bought tickets.

After a few minutes hanging in the lounge enjoying a cocktail or two (props to Xani for remembering the most complicated drink order ever: one champagne cocktail, one Johnny Walker Black, on the rocks, with a twist, one sweet vermouth on the rocks, one Tom Collins, and one Hendricks [no, make that Bombay Sapphire] martini, extra-dry, up, with a twist, olives on the side-- and props to the bartender for getting it right!) we headed to the upstairs dining room to start the meal...

The advertisement for the dinner said there were 30 spots available, but there were only about twelve of us in total (in other words, the BCD family comprised half of the entire dining party). As promised, Michael from Top Chef was there with his buddy Danny, along with Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario, and Greg Nevins of Moorea Marketing, organizer of Great Tastes. Xani bravely took the seat next to Mike, and that kicked off our new friendship!

Before we talk more about Mike, let's discuss the meal itself, shall we? The first course was Penne Amatriciana, which was al dente pasta in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and proscuitto. This was our favorite dish - the sauce was very flavorful without being too heavy, and the pasta was very al dente! Some may say it was undercooked, but we (especially Xani) enjoyed the bite left in the pasta. Also note, the wait staff poured white white wine during the first and second courses, and red during the third. And when we say poured, we mean poured! And that is why all the pictures are so blurry!

Next up was a salad of greens, apples, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and yummy garlic bread pieces instead of croutons.

Next came the main course, a t-bone veal chop. Oh wait, not a veal chop, veal CHOPS. Yes, PLURAL (they claim it was one chop butterflied, we're not so sure). The point is it was HUMONGOUS. It was really bordering on ridiculous/obscene. (Dad's theory was that they were expecting more people so they just doubled up the portions.) The veal was very tasty, though, and good for leftovers (they happily offered doggie bags).

The dessert was a zabaglione (Italian egg custard) with strawberries, which was kinda boring. Also, they did not offer coffee, which we thought was a bit tacky for all the money we were spending there. They did, however, bring us large portions of limoncello, which is so delicious but so strong! Just what we needed after all that wine...

Overall the food was fine, but not over-the-top amazing. This begs the question: where can we get good Italian food in Little Italy? We welcome your recommendations.

Anyway, the little issues in the meal were overshadowed by the lovely conversation we were having around the table. We talked with Mike about food (of course), his time on Top Chef, his friends from the show (including Ilan - hot!), and big name chefs he got to meet while on the show, including our idol, Anthony Bourdain. We talked about places we've eaten, dishes we've made, and our traditional Sunday dinners (Mike wants an invite!).

We learned that it was Mike's first visit to Baltimore, and that, on the advice of a cabbie, he had gone out partying in Federal Hill the night before (which he likened to Bourbon Street in New Orleans - not too far off if you ask us). When we heard this, we immediately felt that we could show him a hipper, cooler, more diverse and interesting side of Charm City, so after dinner we took him to none other than The Brewer's Art. We've talked about Brewer's on the blog before but it's worth mentioning again how cool this place is - they brew their own (extremely strong) Belgian beers, they have the best Belgian-style fries in Baltimore, and the place is filled with a diverse crowd ranging from hipsters to lawyers to librarians.

Xani and Mike enjoying some fine Belgian beer at Brewer's

We happened to run into a bunch of folks we knew there, which ended up being doubly cool: Mike could obviously tell how super-popular we are, and our friends thought we were awesome for hanging out with a celebrity! Strangely enough, we promised him a diverse Baltimore, but everyone we introduced him to was either a lawyer or a law student! Ah well...

It was a great evening with our new friend, and we are so excited to have met him. We love celebrities - they are so fierce!

Happy celeb hob-nobbing,

E & X

P.S. A big shout-out to Baltimore Metromix for covering this event, and namechecking BCD! Here we are in the slide show, pictures 26 and 28!

A Great Time at Great Tastes!

By Xani and Erin

As many of you know, Black Coffee and a Donut was asked to participate on a panel of Baltimore Food Bloggers at Great Tastes 2008, which was on Saturday. It. Was. AWESOME. We had such a fabulous time at the event. Thank you so much to all of our awesome FANS who came out to see the panel and enjoy the day with us (especially our lovely cousin Karen who came all the way from Detroit to SURPRISE us there-- how FIERCE of her!).

There were a few technical difficulties during the panel discussion (mostly projector issues which meant that the PowerPoint presentation that Kit prepared wasn't seen-- boo!) but overall the panel went well and all the bloggers got to share a little bit about themselves and their blogs, and answer questions from the lovely audience. The rest of the day we spent wandering around the dozens of exhibit booths, watching cooking demos, sampling, snacking, and schmoozing.

We watched Warren Brown of Cakelove prepare Italian meringue buttercream frosting, then got to taste some! Rodney Henry of Dangerously Delicious Pies told great stories as he showed us how to make sweet and savory pies. We sampled absinthe, Maker's Mark punch, coffee with Jameson's AND Kahlua, cosmpolitans, Clipper City beer, dirty mojitos, red wine, white wine and... probably some other stuff but it's just a haze of tiny martini glasses at this point. We got to try mini-pulled pork sandwiches (on sweet potato biscuits), oysters Rockefeller risotto, raw oysters with a spicy cucumber relish, artisinal cheeses, imported olive oils, lasagna, chorizo, salmon spring rolls, apple butter crepes, vegetarian (yes, vegetarian-- I bet it would have been better with bacon!) cake, cherry pie from Dangerously Delicious, bacon, sausage-- the list goes on and on! We chatted with folks from all different food-related organizations: Kate from Todd Conner's (a new bar and restaurant in Fells Point), Josh from Slow Food Baltimore, Dan from the Hungover Gourmet, and the head chef at Sotto Sopra, amongst so many others.

Overall we has a fantastic time and we want to again thank Dara from Dining Dish for asking us to be involved. And now, what you've all been waiting for (?)... pictures!!

EP and Matt prepare to sample Cakelove cupcakes

BCD Girls about to make their debut!

During the panel discussion

Our fabulous fans!

Keep your eyes peeled (ew) for more posts about Great Tastes coming soon. The BCD family was lucky enough to attend an exclusive dinner after the event with some of the organizers and a certain CELEBRITY whom we now consider a close personal friend! Who was this mystery person?? Any guesses...??

Stay tuned! Thanks again to everyone who made the day and night unforgettable! You are all so fierce!

Happy eating/drinking/schmoozing,

X & EP

If You Want Something Done Right, Do It Yourself

by Erin

Last night I attended the birthday party of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Courtney V. It was her 26th birthday, and I wanted to do something special for her. Since back in the day, I remember Court loved cookie cakes (you know, the ones made with yummy soft chocolate chip cookies, and lots of brown and white icing?), so I thought I would order her one for the party as a surprise. I didn't have time to go to Great American Cookies all the way in Columbia, so I went to The Great Cookie (located across the street from the law school in the hospital) instead. Their cookies are pretty tasty, so I figured a giant one would be just as delicious!

I called in the morning, and I ordered a large (16-in) round cake that said "Happy Birthday Courtney!" in purple and white letters. Here's what I got:

Oh. My. Goodness. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?? Worst cake EVER! I mean, yes, it's funny - hilarious, even - but please! I am still in shock over how hideously this cake turned out.

Let's talk about all the problems with this cake: it's a small cake (12-in) (not 16-in, like I ordered), it's heart-shaped (not round, like I ordered), "birthday" is on two lines, as is "Courtney," or should I say "Courney" since her name is SPELLED WRONG! Could there be more things wrong with it? Thankfully, there were no problems with the taste - it was delicious.

Clearly, I will never be going to The Great Cookie again. If I need a cookie cake, I should just do it myself! Harumph!

Happy cookie cake fiasco,

EP

I Choo-Choo-Chooooose You!

by Erin and Xani

I don’t think we’re alone when we say that Valentine’s Day (or Valentime’s Day, if you’re from north Baltimore) is a holiday designed to make money for the card stores, flower shops, chocolate shops, and fancy restaurants, while at the same time making single girls like us rue the day we didn’t call that guy back just because he was wearing a mock turtleneck. BUT, there is one good thing about V-day: it’s the perfect excuse to make adorable treats/crafts to give out to our friends!

It all started last Sunday, while we were in the midst of making Xani’s birthday dinner. We decided to make Ina Garten’s “Outrageous Brownies” since they looked so delicious and they would hold up for the few days before actual V-day. We thought about doing chocolate truffles or heart-shaped Linzer torts (like last year – so adorable AND delicious but alas, they were pre-blog so no pics!), but we finally decided on the brownies.

The brownie recipe began with a pound of butter (oh Ina...), unsweetened chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate, melted together over a double boiler. Meanwhile, eggs, instant coffee, vanilla, and sugar (over 2 cups!) are mixed together and added to the cooled chocolate mixture.

Before...

After

Then, the flour, salt, and baking powder are mixed together and added to the chocolate mixture. Meanwhile, the chocolate chips (and walnuts, if you are using them - we didn't since we didn't want to run into any nut allergy issues) are tossed in flour before being added to the brownie batter. This is to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.

We buttered and floured a sheet pan and then poured in the batter (which, by the way, was better than any brownie batter we've ever eaten). It was baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so until a toothpick came out clean. Then, you have to wait for the brownies to come to room temperature AND THEN refrigerate them before you can cut into them. What kind of patience do you think we have, Ina??

While we were waiting for the brownies to be done, we worked on the other parts of our little crafts - cutting ribbon, making little tags, and stamping hearts on the tags. After they were FINALLY cooled, we divided the brownies in half to be assembled at our respective homes later in the week.

We each had a little gadget we used in/during our assembly: EP chose to cut her brownies into hearts using a small cookie cutter, and Xani took her picture with the help of a new toy-- a portable lighting studio she received for her birthday! You'll definitely be able to tell which are her pictures!

Xani's secret weapon

Erin's secret weapon

We assembled our treats by putting the brownie in a little cellophane bag, along with 3-4 Valentine's Day-themed M&Ms. Then we tied the bag with one of four patterns of ribbon, and attached a little piece of cardstock with a heart-stamp and a hand-written V-Day note. If you didn't think it could get any cheesier, the hole-punch for the ribbon was heart-shaped!

We think they turned out pretty cute! Oh, and the brownies are DELICIOUS. Super-rich, but delicious. We're glad we cut them so small!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone, and if you like Valentine's Day, we hope it was a good one full of love, and if you hate it, you've got 364 days until you have to deal with it again.

Happy V-Day,

E & X

ps. Bonus points for anyone who knows the blog title's reference!

pps. If you didn't get a treat, or you got one but it didn't have the super-cute ribbon/bag/card treatment-- sorry!! No offense intended. Until we hit that MegaMillions, the madness has to stop somewhere!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

by Xani

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to all my friends, family, etc who made my birthday this year super-special and fun! Twenty-nine is definitely one for the record books, celebration-wise. The grand finale was the traditional "birthday girl's choice" Sunday dinner at BCD Mom and Dad's house. And boy, did we do it up this time!! The menu:

• Cocktails
• Indian-style Mussel soup
• Aged Prime Steak
• Risotto with Roasted Garlic, Mascarpone Cheese, Toasted Bread Crumbs and Almonds
• Peas Two Ways
• Pear Tart
• Espresso

What a spread! Is your mouth watering? Mine is!

For starters, this is what the kitchen looks like as we prepare for battle: organized chaos.

EP whipped up a fabulous batch of cosmopolitans (and a whiskey for Dad) to kick the evening off right (We discussed drinking champagne but I believe my exact words were "Eh, I drank champagne ALL WEEKEND"). Then we swung into action! First, the soup:

Dad prepared this dish early in the day and finished it just before service. No pictures of the prep, but check out the recipe which he compiled from a couple of online recipes and his own great ideas and thoughtfully wrote up for us to post on the blog. Thanks Dad! Its especially great that he wrote up the recipe because this soup was AWESOME. The creamy broth had a very intense mussel flavor that worked really well with the saffron, garam masala and other flavors. It was really a fantastic dish and we were all licking the bowls clean despite the promise of so much more delicious food! What a way to start the meal... especially with a chilled glass of Gewurztraminer.

With quite an act to follow we moved onto the main course. Dad was in charge of the GIANT steak, as usual, and as usual it came out perfectly! I took over the risotto, a Jamie Oliver recipe which was prepared in the traditional manner, with a few delicious additions. First of all, right before you begin adding the stock to the rice you throw in some roasted garlic and fresh thyme. Then you continue adding the stock, stirring constantly (my arm is sore today!) until all the broth is incorporated and the rice is cooked the to proper done-ness. Then you add in some softened butter and grated Parmesan and (this is a Jamie Oliver trick-- he says it creates the perfect creamy texture) cover the pan for 2 minutes before serving. I'm not sure how much this step really improves the risotto, but the next step definitely does: you serve the risotto with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and a sprinkling of toasted fresh bread crumbs and almonds. Talk about gilding the lily! But it was amazingly delicious, rich, and flavorful, with a pleasant crunch from the almonds and breadcrumbs (and NOT because the rice was under-done, right EP??!!)

The vegetable dish required a LOT of prep (shelling all those fresh peas!) and Mom took care of this as well as the final cooking, which was fairly straightforward. After toasting some sesame seeds, she sauteed the peas and snow pea pods in hot oil, then added water and covered the pan to allow them to steam. After a couple minutes they were tender crisp and she dressed them with a little sesame oil and the toasted sesame seeds. Simple and delicious!

And with the steak expertly cooked, rested and carved...

It was time to eat! Here's final plate, along with a glass (or three) of quality Bordeaux:

Everything was delicious. I could not have asked for a better dinner to celebrate my 29th!

For dessert we let the folks over at Bonaparte Breads in the Savage Mill in Savage, MD do the heavy lifting. This gorgeous pear tart was almost too pretty to eat. Almost. It went perfectly with some seriously strong espresso we made in our brand-new stove-top espresso maker!

It's a Bird!

After dessert we watched some nail-biting ACC basketball, did some finishing touches on a fabulous food/craft project (stay tuned for a post on this later this week) and I opened some great presents!! Here is me posing with one my awesome gifts from EP (a Hayden-Harnett cuff bracelet that I have wanted for months) and a representation of another fantastic gift from my parents-- a KitchenAid mixer!!

Bracelet on my right wrist, towel still over my left shoulder, post-cooking!

It was a fantastic meal and a absolutely fabulous birthday. Thank you again to everyone for making me feel so special and loved. Love you all!

X