We're Practically Locals

by Xani

So by now most of your know that the BCD parents have relocated to Taylor's Island, MD, and are happily settling in to their new home, Blackacre. We've also mentioned, once or twice, that the kitchen at Blackacre is pretty freakin' awesome. But as of our second visit this past weekend, the kitchen had barely been used! In the craziness of moving, unpacking, etc., there just wasn't that much time for cooking. All that was about to change...

EP and I headed down to Blackacre on Saturday morning, and stopped at Emily's Produce, one of a handful of farm stands on the Eastern shore to pick up some fresh veggies to serve at dinner, while BCD Mom and Dad promised to pick up the main course and dessert. This was July 19, which was coincidentally the first day of Maryland's Buy Local Challenge! Emily's farm stand had all kinds of delicious looking produce grown only yards away-- tomatoes, corn, green and yellow beans, blackberries, cherries, and more. They also had a variety of freshly baked fruit pies, jarred preserves and salsas, etc. (Note to future visitors to Blackacre: stop here and bring us treats!) We picked up some great looking green beans and corn for a fraction of the price we pay at the regular grocery stores.

Later that evening, after frolicking with Gellie in the water, and doing some manual labor, it was time to deflower the new kitchen! Mom and Dad had picked up some very fresh and very local steamer clams and rockfish fillets from Kool Ice Seafood (also THE place to go in Cambridge if you need up to 33,000 pounds of ice. Which you might. It's THAT hot out), and a half a peach praline pie from Emily's! We planned the menu as follows:

Champagne!

Steamed Clams with broth and melted butter

Green Bean Salad

Corn on the Cob

Pan-fried herb crusted Rockfish Filets

Peach praline pie

First we prepared the green bean salad so it would have time to marinate. We used this recipe, which called for us to blanch and chill the beans, then mix with minced ginger, garlic, sliced green onions (didn't have any-- used shallots instead), cilantro and a little oil and rice vinegar. We also made some soy-glazed almonds (toast almonds in pan, add soy, cook until liquid evaporates) but they ended up being SO salty that we didn't put them on the salad. No great loss.

Dad uses a big cleaver for big garlic and ginger flavor

too salty-- too bad

The steamers were easy: just place clams in a pot with a little bit of boiling water-- steam until they open up, remove from pot, serve with melted butter and mugs of the "broth" (the steaming water plus the flavor-rich liquid the clams release). Eating these can be a little tricky at first, but its nowhere near as tough as picking crabs! After you've eaten all the clams, you can dump your leftover melted butter into the clam broth and drink it (slowly, there could be sand on the bottom)-- delicious. Those New Englanders know whats up... even if they do talk funny.

Next we prepared the main dish and the corn. The corn we just boiled up, but the fish needed a little extra preparation. First, we found a recipe online that sounded yummy. The BCD family doesn't have a ton of experience with cooking straight-up fish. Shellfish of all types and sizes? Yes. But fish-fish? Not so much. Luckily this recipe was pretty straightforward. EP made the crust with crushed up UTZ potato chips (also local!), parsley and tarragon and I whipped up an egg white and some mustard-- this went onto the fish to get the crust to stick better. Observe:

We love UTZ!

Once the fish was coated on both sides, into the pan it went! This is where the new stove really showed its strengths: there was space for the big pasta pot (which was cooking the corn) and the big frying pan, with plenty of room leftover. Also, the powerful hood quickly disposed of any fishy smells. Once a fillet was nicely browned on both sides, I set it on a tray, topped it with a dab of butter and a squeeze of lemon, and covered with foil while I cooked the others. Finally all was ready and it was time to eat!

Our first home-cooked meal in the new house was... awesome! The fish was really a big hit. I was pretty nervous about cooking it, not having much experience and knowing that fish is not that forgiving. Bad fish is BAD-- but this was great! Really moist, not fishy-tasting at all, and the crust was light and crispy. The corn was sweet and very fresh-tasting, and the green bean salad was a knock-out! I will be making this salad again and again-- it was packed with flavor from the garlic and ginger, a little sweetness from the rice vinegar, and plenty of crunch from the barely cooked beans. It was too bad those almonds were a bust-- I'll know to skip that whole step next time.

For dinner we enjoyed the delicious Peach Praline pie from Emily's-- no pictures but trust me, it was excellent. The next morning we used the kitchen again to whip up some of Dad's famous omelets (with curry vegetable filling-YUM) and then quit cooking for the rest of the trip. It was another great visit with great weather-- but we think Gellie had the most fun of all!

Don' forget, Buy Local Challenge is on until Saturday!

X

Victoria's My Middle Name!

by Erin

While we are sad that the BCD parents have left our childhood home for greener (sandier?) pastures (ps. first meal in the new kitchen post coming soon!), we often criticize our hometown, Columbia, MD, as being a "culinary wasteland." One of the few exceptions to this rule is Victoria Gastro Pub, a relatively new restaurant with wonderful food and a wonderful vibe.


Xani and I both happened to be in Columbia last week running various errands independently, so we decided to meet up for dinner at Victoria. We wanted to sit at the bar since they have truffle parmesan popcorn and fried oysters on the bar menu, but it was full with some private event, so to the dining room we went. (We unfortunately found out that the bar menu is not served in the dining room - that's a tip for the future!)

This was the second time I had been to Victoria (the first time, Xani and I took Mom for Mother's Day lunch), and both times I've been, our waiter has been the same guy: my old friend Alex! I had heard that Alex was a waiter there, but it was by pure coincidence that the two times I went there, Alex was working, and we were seated in his section! Alex and I went to high school together (go Golden Bears!). You might remember us from such productions as 42nd Street and Fiddler on the Roof. Alex was the rabbi; I was Hodel. Anyway, we were very close in high school and it was great to see him and relive the good ol' days. (Note that Xani limited our reminiscing to about 5 minutes; I needed to focus on the menu!)

Anyway, onto the food! We each ordered a glass of Hoegaarden to start off the meal. Then, we ordered the soup of the day (that sounds good, I'll have that), which was a Vichyssoise, a classic French cold soup made with leeks, potatoes, and lots of cream. Mmm mmm good. The soup had a nice texture and good, delicate flavor.

Drinks!



Blurry Vichyssoise

For our next course, we had one of the house specialties: the duck fat fries, served with roasted garlic aioli and truffle sea salt. These were EXCELLENT! They were like boardwalk fries but classed WAY up. (We ordered these the first time we came too; the pictures turned out way better, so we used those.)

We also enjoyed the Prince Edward Island Mussels, made with Hoegaarden, garlic, cilantro, orange peel, and chile de arbol. These were also quite good and were served with several pieces of grilled, buttery bread for the irresistable dipping that goes along with eating mussels.

Mussels and delicious bread - what could be better?

The last thing we ordered was the Cuban Sandwich, which was made with pulled Duroc pork, mango mojo, blackforest ham, and gruyere on sourdough bread and served with yucca fries. It should be noted that this was not your traditional Cuban sandwich (it was not pressed flat and I did not detect any pickles or mustard), however, this was a really delicious sandwich. The salty meats played wonderfully off of the sweet mango, and the yucca fries were awesome! Some of the best yucca fries I've had in a long time. We were really full by the time we got to this sandwich, but I'd like to think that we were still able to appreciate its finer points.

Cuban and Yucca Fries



Gratuitous (but blurry) close-up of the fries

It was a delicious meal at Victoria, and Alex did a wonderful job (he is quite the beer afficionado). Thanks, Alex, for a great time, and we'll be seeing you soon! Next time, however, I hope to sit in the bar so I can get my hands on some of that popcorn!

Cheers,
Erin Victoria

ps. We didn't have dessert this time, but we did the first time with BCD Mom, and they were beautiful AND delicious:

Gelato & Cookie Trio: Hazelnut, Espresso, Chocolate



Chocolate Praline Cake

Moving Day=Pizza and Beer, Right? Oh, We Don't Roll Like That...

by Erin and Xani

They have arrived!!

As some of you may know, last week, the BCD parents moved from our childhood home in Columbia, MD to Taylors Island, MD, located on the Eastern Shore about 25 minutes from Cambridge. The move was traumatic and certainly a pain in the ass, but the new house is SICK (that's a good thing, Mom) so it's totally worth it.

As soon as the weekend hit, we hopped in the car and made the almost-2 hour drive out to the new house to help unpack and built lots and lots of Ikea furniture. As a reward for our hard work and not messing up the Ikea furniture too badly (e.g., "um, why do we have an extra one of these screws??"), the BCD parents took us out to dinner at Bistro Poplar.
Bistro Poplar is a classic French bistro in the heart of historic Cambridge, MD, and Mom and Dad heard about it from one of their new neighbors, or the builder, or somebody. That's how living in a small town works, apparently. Everyone likes to talk to one another! Weird!

First of all, Bistro Poplar is an adorable place. It's small (reservations strongly recommended) but with high ceilings and cheery colors all around. The bar along the back wall looks like a great place to stop in for a drink. But of course, we were there for more than just drinks!

We sat down and were greeted by our server Dana, who proved to be a wonderful guide through both the food and the wine. Before we even took a look at the menu, we of course started with a round of cocktails (all that furniture building builds a powerful thirst!). Dad got a Hendrick's extra-dry martini with a twist and olives on the side (sheesh), Xani got an extra-dirty Grey Goose martini, Mom got a Cosmopolitan (ironic for a lady who's just moved to the boondocks), and EP ordered a Tom Collins. The Tom Collins was pretty strong and Dana noticed that EP wasn't drinking her drink very fast, so she brought her some extra club soda to take some of the edge off - very attentive service.

Then we made our selections for our first and second courses. As you will see, we had some pretty eclectic choices (big shocker there), and Dana suggested several excellent white wines for us to enjoy throughout the evening.

For our first course, we ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab Hash and Beurre Monté, Lamb Tongue and Frisée with Fingerling Potatoes and Warm Mustard Vinaigrette, Sauteed Sweetbreads with Swiss Chard and Bacon Sauce, and the special of the day, Escargots.

As per our tradition, we love to try everything so we eat approximately 1/4 of the dish (if you can hold yourself back), and then pass to the person on the right. I'm sure we look pretty strange but that's how we do!

Anyway, almost everything we had was absolutely fantastic. The fried green tomatoes had a wonderful cornmeal crust and the crab hash was deliciously creamy with bits of fried up potatoes. Yum! The sweetbreads were also quite tasty, with a crisp exterior and that "chicken nugget-ness" that a certain winner of Top Chef once mentioned, plus the swiss chard and bacon sauce were wonderful compliments. And hello, bacon sauce?? Need we say more?

Fried Green Tomatoes



Sweetbreads!

The escargots were also absolutely delicious and were served removed from their shells with a super-garlicky butter sauce, and the best part was that each one had a little puff pastry hat! The pastry added a little bit of crunch to the bite, and we all agreed that we had never seen escargots served that way (or nearly as cute!). The plate came with 6 little snails, and we each had one, and then we played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would get the other two. That's how good they were.

Escargots! With hats!

The only disappointment was the lamb tongue salad. The lamb tongue was in a sausage form, and it must have had a very delicate, mild flavor because it was pretty much overpowered by the flavor of the mustard vinaigrette, unfortunately. Ah well, 3/4 ain't bad!

Lamb Tongue Frisee Salad

Next came our main dishes. We ordered Boudin Blanc with Prunes and Pomme Purée, Bison with Lyonnaise Potatoes and Red Wine Jus, Gnocchi Parisienne with Local Vegetables, and Grouper with Summer Squash and Lime Beurre Monté.

The Boudin Blanc was one of our favorite dishes. It was a white sausage made from chicken and pork, seasoned very well, and served with wonderful whipped up potatoes and sweet prunes, which cut through all the rich heaviness of the sausage and potatoes. This was a very unique dish that neither of us had had before, and it was really well-balanced and hearty.

Next, we loved the gnocchi, which were not traditional Italian-style gnocchi, but rather they were little potato balls that had been pan-fried a bit to get a bit of a crust on one side, and they were served with tiny yellow pear-shaped tomatoes, grown locally we presume. The gnocchi wereperfectly light and not gummy at all, and seasoned with lots of herbs, including a few deep fried sage leaves. Fantastic!

The bison had great flavor and was perfectly cooked, though as a lean meat it was not overly tender and there was some gristle to work around. The "lyonnaise potatoes" were a mixture of potatoes and fennel, and it was a really delicious, very well-seasoned side dish that may have outshone the headliner.

Last we had the grouper, which was, like the lamb tongue salad, kind of bland and not that exciting. Still, the other dishes were quite good, and we were so enamored with them we didn't mind passing the grouper around the table.

Finally, it was time for dessert! We ordered three different desserts: Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce, Berry Tart with a Chocolate Almond Crust, and Cheesecake with Fresh Berries and a Pistachio Graham Crust. Xani and Dad ordered espressos; Erin and Mom ordered coffees. Dad also ordered some Calvados to finish of the meal.

Coffee and yes, more booze

The profiteroles were made with traditional pâte à choux dough, which creates great big holes from air pockets when it is baked, and then the profiteroles (or cream puffs) are filled with pastry cream or in our case, ice cream! Dana did a table side presentation where she drizzled the bittersweet chocolate sauce all over them - it was hard to sit still.

Chocolate drizzle action shot

The berry tart was light and the berry and chocolate flavors worked perfectly together. The cheesecake was also a great hit and we were very pleased with everything in the dessert course.

Berry Tart

Cheesecake

It was a wonderful meal to welcome the BCD parents to the shore, and I'm sure we'll come back to Bistro Poplar again soon. They have a late-night dining menu that looks pretty great, and they are open until 11, which is BIG TIME out there!

Congrats on the new house, Mom and Dad! We'll be visiting often!

E & X

A New Wednesday Night Tradition?

by Xani

Man, we are really working our way through the list these days! Last week I was able to have dinner with a friend over at The Kitchen at Peter's Inn, in Fells Point. I've been meaning to get there forever but it just never happened until last Wednesday, which also happens to be their half-priced wine night! Hooray!

After a couple of frosty cocktails at the bar (frosty is key in these days of 90+ temperatures, humidity and daily thunderstorms, especially when your house that you JUST BOUGHT has non-functioning air conditioning!!) we snagged a table in the tiny dining room, which was filling up fast. The waiter brought over a whole carafe of ice water with a chunk of watermelon floating in it-- lovely! (Little known fact: in addition to cold alcoholic drinks, water can be refreshing on a hot day, as well. Who knew?)

That's watermelon in there...

Peter's changes its menus weekly and posts that week's offerings on its website, so we arrived with an dining plan in mind. Roasted beets and chickpea fritters plus an order of garlic bread to start, then for the mains, shrimp with cheesy grits and the duck leg confit, served over black lentils, with an adorable fried quail egg perched on top!

Beets and Chickpea fritters

Garlicky goodness

The starters were excellent: slightly sweet, earthy, cold beets paired with crispy fried falafels and a tangy yogurt sauce (well, pretty sure it was yogurt, but we definitely had a short discussion over whether it had a slight mayonnaise taste? sour cream? maybe it was greek yogurt? Screw it, let's drink some more wine.) The garlic bread was, as promised, off the chain. And this is coming from a garlic bread snob. It was really garlicky, buttery and crunchy. It didn't quite beat BCD Dad's version, but I'm pretty sure he puts crack in his.

Duck Leg Confit and the WORST picture I have ever taken.

Did I mention its dark at Peter's? Good for atmosphere, not so much for photography

Where's the head?

The mains were also quite tasty. The duck leg confit had really great, crispy duck skin, although the meat itself was slightly dry. The lentils were very good, and the fried quail egg was a nice touch-- I wanted to save it until the end, it was that cute! The shrimp and grits was the real winner though-- perfectly cooked LARGE shrimps over reeeeaaalllly cheesy grits with excellent texture. If I had to change one thing I would ask for them to leave the shrimp heads ON! Seriously people, shrimp heads are delicious. I think I'm going to start a whole shrimp head movement, and be recognized for the genius I am.

For dessert we enjoyed.... more cocktails. Hey, it's HOT out! It was a lively scene at Peter's, even though it was getting late, so after lingering for a while we finally gave up our table and headed out into the night. Now I've gotten into the habit of checking the menu online to see what tasty offerings are available... this week's trio of tartares (1. beef tartare 2.beet and jicama tartare 3.tuna tartare) is calling my name-- and whaddya know, it's Wednesday again!

X

An Evening with Annabel Lee

by Erin

"But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee."

--E.A.Poe

Last weekend, after our wonderful July 4th celebration, I went over to Xani's new house, Clementine (we're trying that name out for now), to help her unpack and put up artwork and figure out where everything goes in that big house of hers. After a long day of unpacking and sweating (she's having some A/C issues), we realized how late it had gotten. It wasn't the clanging of The Bells that told us, but the growling of our stomachs! We thought about just walking somewhere in Federal Hill, like Don't Know Tavern or Ledos Pizza or the little Salvadoran joint called Elvis (don't ask me what Elvis has to do with El Salvador), but then we thought, this is the perfect opportunity to go somewhere on our list! We consulted the list and decided to go to a new-ish bar and restaurant in the Canton/Highlandtown area called Annabel Lee Tavern. We had heard great things about Annabel Lee, and we were eager to try it out for ourselves.

Annabel Lee is the name of a sad love poem written by the great poet Edgar Allen Poe. Poe is one of Baltimore's most famous figures, having died here, and he is buried outside of Westminster Hall, which is connected to the University of Maryland School of Law (where the entire BCD family has attended law school). Creepy, but cool! Annabel Lee Tavern, in essence, is centered around Poe and Baltimore and the connection between the two. Since I have always loved Poe, and I certainly love Baltimore, I was really looking forward to checking it out.

When we walked up to the bar, we went through a heavy door with a lion's head knocker on the front (so we then quoted the scene in Young Frankenstein: "What knockers!" "Why zhank you, doctor."). Without any rapping or tapping on this chamber door we walked in and found... darkness there, and nothing more. Actually, we found it to be a cozy and comfortable space. Xani and I took a seat at the bar and had a look around. The walls are dark but it's not too gloomy, and there are Poe quotes painted on the purple walls, along with a large portrait of Poe himself, who seems to watch over the restaurant. We took a look at the menus and the specials written up on the chalkboard.

But first, we looked at the drinks menu! One great thing about Annabel Lee is that the owner is the former general manager of The Brewer's Art, one of our favorite bars in the city and certainly the best place to get a beer. Annabel Lee carries several of the Brewer's beers and we were looking forward to trying one called the Amontillado--- I mean, Le Canard. Unfortunately, they were all out of that, so the owner (we think) recommended that we order a beer called Southampton Saison. This was a great choice. The beer was really flavorful without being too severe (remember, I am a beer wimp) and the bonus: it came in a great big bottle! Xani and I shared it throughout the evening (so technically we each only had half a beer, if you're counting).

Then it was onto the food! We ordered the raven duck fat fries to start. Though they were not as good as the ones Xani makes at home, they were far better than any others we've had at a restaurant. They were crispy and definitely had the duck fat flavor to them, although they were a bit salty and a tad greasy in the end. Still, very delicious and served piping hot!

For our mains, we ordered the Greek Salad and the Lamburger Sliders. Both dishes were excellent! The greek salad had delicious fresh greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, a wonderful Israeli sheep's milk feta cheese (much softer than regular feta, like a French feta), a couple dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), and a nice vinaigrette.

The lamburger sliders were also wonderful. Unlike other lamburger sliders we've had, these were served with bacon and cheddar -- what could be bad?? They were perfectly cooked and very substantial for sliders.

The sliders were served with a little cup of very decent blue cheese cole slaw. But my favorite thing on the plate was the sweet potato fries, fried up and tossed with cajun spices and brown sugar. YUM! These were probably the best sweet potato fries I've ever had. I feel like restaurants make sweet potato fries and then they stop there - no seasoning, no "ta-da!" I'm supposed to be impressed because you cut up a sweet potato and fried it? But here, oh no, they really jazzed them up, and it was totally worth it! Just awesome. I want them RIGHT NOW.

Did we have dessert? Nevermore. Well, not this time at least, but we did linger for a while at the bar and chatted with the staff and some other patrons. It was a really homey place with excellent food, and I only wish it were closer to my house! As we were leaving the restaurant and walking down the street to our car, the man we had been chatting with behind the bar (the owner, we believe-- we should have gotten his name!) called after us and said "tear up the planks! --here, here! --it is the beating of his hideous heart!'" No, actually he just waved and thanked us for coming. But how nice! This is what I'm talking about when I say Baltimore really is Charm City.

We highly recommend Annabel Lee Tavern for a wonderfully cozy time and a delicious meal. We'll be back!

EP

Fourth of July Breakfast: red, white and Blue Moon Cafe!

by Xani

You know how sometimes, you get, like, a sign that you should go to a certain place? Like an unseen hand is guiding you there? [Cue the sound of crickets chirping] Ok, maybe it's just me. But a few weeks ago EP and I found ourselves in Fell's Point in the early morning. We had just visited the new Harbor East Farmer's Market (and were surprised how small it was-- guess we're used to the big shindig under 83 on Sundays) and I had a yucky summer cold and I wanted some delicious breakfast to take my mind off of how miserable I felt. As we wandered down Broadway in search of of an open place to get breakfast (it was EARLY!) a thought came to my mind: Blue Moon Cafe!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Blue Moon, it is thought to be one of the best breakfast spots in Baltimore. It's notorious for its over-the-top breakfast dishes and the loooong waits, especially on weekend mornings. So, of course when we walked in, early on that Saturday, there was a wait. About thirty minutes, they said. So we waited. And waited. In the heat. Sweating. Thirty minutes came and went and still we waited. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer. I was sick! I needed sustenance! So we bailed on Blue Moon and had a mediocre breakfast elsewhere. We vowed to come back to Blue moon some other time...

Then, the very next day, I was innocently flipping channels, and landed on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network. And where was that loveable spiky-haired host?? BLUE MOON CAFE IN BALTIMORE. And all the patrons are happily eating their delicious breakfasts, mugging for the camera and saying "This is the best breakfast in Baltimore!" Mocking me. And it was right then that I felt the universe pointing me back to Blue Moon, guiding me, telling me "You will get breakfast there, and you will do so on the Fourth of July!"

And so we did. We gathered a few friends (not too many-- Blue Moon is small and our six person party was about the biggest they could handle) and arrived at Blue Moon at 8:30am on the Fourth. And yes, there was a wait. After about 45 minutes we were finally seated and all felt right with the world!!

Straight away our waitress came over and took our drink orders ("need coffee--STAT!") and asked if we would like to start off with a cinnamon roll. Matt (one of our dining companions) answered with a definitive "YES" before any of us had time to think about it. This was possibly one of the best decisions ever made-- the cinnamon bun was out of this world. And I don't even like cinnamon buns! It was served really warm, with melt-y drippy, creamy frosting all over it. The bun was really tender and soft, with rich, sticky cinnamon swirls. It was sooo sweet, perfect with coffee after that long wait outside.

Then, we ordered our real breakfast-- in addition to their regular breakfast menu, they have a board with all their specials:

On this fateful day, the board listed two of the specials I had seen features on Food Network: The Cap'n Crunch French Toast and "Guido's Savory Meat Roll" which is sausage, pesto and cheese all rolled up in biscuit dough, sliced and baked, then topped with sauteed onions and peppers, and served with two eggs any style. Our dining companions ordered a variety of omelettes and scrambles, and creamed chipped beef on toast. When all the breakfasts came out I finally felt complete-- especially when my french toast arrived with a festive sparkler!!

Happy Birthday America! Love, Cap'n Crunch

Creamed Chipped Beef

Omelette of the Day

There's a meal roll somewhere in there...

What a great breakfast! The meat roll was so delicious-- all those great flavors wrapped up in fluffy, buttery biscuit dough! Matt's creamed chipped beef was a heart attack on a plate, but in a good way, and all the omelette's came with Blue Moon's legendary hash brown potatoes (which are, as EP would say, the bomb.com) and biscuits with homemade jam. I was slightly disappointed with the Cap'n Crunch french toast; it wasn't as crunchy as I had hoped, and I've tasted a better version at the Cottage Cafe down the ocean, hon. But I finally got my fun, funky, FILLING breakfast that was my destiny.

We polished off as much of the food as we could, and lingered over coffee for a few minutes before clearing out to make room for the looong line of hungry, hot patrons waiting outside (suckers!). It was a great way to start off the holiday, and thanks to all my friends for getting up early on their day off to wait in line for breakfast! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

X