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

Happy Birthday to Mom at Maple Lawn

by Special Guest Blogger BCD Mom

BCD Dad and I decided to celebrate my birthday at Ranazul (translation: blue frog), a tapas restaurant located in a newly developed area of town called Maple Lawn, about 10 minutes south of Columbia. I must say that we got a great parking place right in front of the restaurant, and BCD Dad did an expert job of parallel parking! The restaurant itself is very attractive, sort of South Beach/Art Deco decor, which reminded us of THEHotel in Las Vegas.

We got seated at a table for two, which was unfortunately a bit small. (We noticed that other diners with two in their party got larger tables, and we wished we had asked for a larger table. Next time!) Although we were not seated there, the bears mentioning that there was a large area in the restaurant with easy chairs which looked very comfy. The dinnerware was pretty, and was obviously specially made for the restaurant since it had the name Ranazul on it. We also liked the glassware - it was very unusual. The service was fine, which was a pleasant surprise since some of the write-ups I had read indicated that this was a problem. It was so good that one of the servers hung up my coat! It was a good meal, and we had a great time.

The menu had soups, salads, cold tapas, and main courses, but we opted to only order tapas. Ranazul had a very large wine list, and offered half-glasses. We were kind of sorry we didn't order any wine, but we ordered a few cocktails instead: a mojito for me, a Hendrick's martini for Dad. Then we went to town ordering food!

Mom's Mojito

Dad'd Hendrick's Martini

First, the waiter brought good crusty bread, with warm olive oil with garlic in it.

Then we ordered cold and hot taoas. The cold tapas included:

• Salmon avocado sushi (actually it was sashimi)
• Olives stuffed with pequita peppers and anchovies

The salmon was very good, and served with an excellend wakame (seaweed) salad and some tasty avocado, but this wasn't really a traditional tapa, and we fett you could get the same thing at a sushi bar. The olives were also great, but $5 for 4 olives was a little steep!

Hot tapas included:

• Arepas with shrimp and crab
• Foie gras
• Patatas bravas

The arepas were terrific! The contrast of the crunchy corn cake with the seafood was great. The chef is obviously fond of butter, as the sauce on the seafood was extremely buttery and delicious. The foie gras also was extremely good (when isn't it??). It was very delicate and outstanding, and was served with a yummy buttery crouton. The potatoes, which were fried cubes, were served with two sauces: a spicy red sauce kind of like a salsa, and a flavored mayonnaise. Although the dish was not terribly exciting, it was still good (who doesn't love fried potatoes??).

But wait, we were not finished eating! We ordered a cheese plate, and we each had a glass of port to go with it. We took the waiter's recommendation on which port to order, which was kind of expensive at $12 a glass, but I must admit it was good. The cheese plate was unfortunately not at room temperature, but the cheeses themselves (a morbiere and a bleu) were good. The cheese plate was served with grapes, pears, and sweet baby figs, but Dad found the fruit disappointing.

Then we moved onto coffee and espresso, which was fine. I was sorry I was too full from the cheese plate to order dessert, but I plan to go back, and I will definitely try one of their great-sounding desserts!

All in all, it was a fun evening, and a good first birthday dinner for me. Why a first, you ask? Because we have not yet had our traditional joint Mom/Xani blowout birthday dinner which may be in Baltimore, or possibly NYC!

Happy (birthday) eating,

BCD Mom (aka Janice)

Note from the BCD Girls: Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you and we can't wait for the big birthday dinner extravaganza!

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Tabrizi's

by Erin

Last week was Baltimore Restaurant Week, and Xani and I were eager to take advantage of the excuse to dine out multiple times in one week at some of the best restaurants in our fair city.

Early in the week, I went to dinner at Tabrizi's with Xani and law school buddies Veronica and Kerry (you may remember them from when we went to the Helmand). Tabrizi's is a relatively new Greek/Mediterranean restaurant off of Key Highway and their Restaurant Week menu looked delicious, so we decided to try it out.

We ordered a bottle of Cotes du Rhone and settled into our table, which was located in the middle of the dining area.

We had a great server who was a good sport and put up with our antics with grace and style (including one instance where he was clearing our plates just as Xani was saying, "this is why I need a gun."). One of the reasons I love dining with this crew, aside from the sparkling conversation, is that everyone loves to SHARE. So, we discussed what we wanted to order and dove right in.

For our first course, we had:

• Seared Ahi Tuna, encrusted with toasted sesame seeds, on streaks of aged soy-balsamic reduction and Wasabi cream. Served rare.
  
• Sautéed Baby Octopus and Calamari, tossed with spicy chili garlic sauce, garnished with teardrop tomato relish and lemon zest
  
• Fried Brie, with blackberry coulis and crunchy parsley
  
• Moroccan Chicken Wings, tossed in pomegranate chili sauce, served with sour cream-Gorgonzola dip
  

Sesame-Crusted Tuna

Moroccan Chicken Wings

Fried Brie

Octopus and Calamari

Everything was great, but my favorites were probably the sauteed octopus and calamari and the chicken wings. The sauce on the calamari and octopus was sweet and spicy and really woke up the palate. Also, everything was cooked perfectly and nothing was tough or rubbery. The chicken wings were also awesome. They were really crispy and delicious with a sweet sauce on the outside, which went well with the gorgonzola cheese sauce on the side.

For our main course, we ordered:

• Lamb Kebobs, Glazed with veal reduction served with basmati rice, fresh sauteed organic vegetables and pine nuts
  
• Calves Liver, Pan fried with shallots, Chanterelle mushrooms, finished with creamy Dijon mustard reduction, served with fingerling potatoes and seasonal vegetables
  
• Muscovy Duck Breast, In a thyme veal stock, accompanied by Chanterelle mushrooms and baby vegetables
  
• Chicken Casablanca, Grilled sesame chicken kebobs with a Middle Eastern dry rub, served over basmati rice, vegetables, demi-glace and pine nuts
  

Chicken Casablanca

'Ze Duck'

Lamb Kebobs

Calves Liver

First, I must note that this was an insane amount of food! It's not often during Restaurant Week that restaurants are shelling out such huge portions, so it was a pleasant surprise. Favorites for this course include the duck and the liver. The duck was superb - perfectly cooked - and was served with delicious sauteed Chanterelle mushrooms. The liver was a pleasant surprise to see on the menu, and I was glad we tried it. It wasn't too livery, but the sauce was a little much (too creamy, I think).

For dessert, we tried all four of their desserts:

• Creme Brulee
  
• White and Dark Chocolate Mousse
  
• Baklava
  
• Assortment of Sorbets (mango, raspberry, lemon)
  

We of course also got coffee or coffee-related drinks. Xani got Turkish Coffee, Veronica got a cappuccino, Kerry got a latte, and I got good ol' regular coffee.

White Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Mousses (Mice?)

Trio of Sorbets

Baklava

Turkish Coffee for Xani - she loves those tiny cups and spoons!

Creme Brulee and EP's Coffee

The sorbets were so deliciously sweet and bright, they may have been my favorite. However, we were really surprised by the mousses (mice?) - the white chocolate mousse had a really subtle, lovely white chocolate flavor, and was really light and airy. The dark chocolate mousse, on the other hand, was not that sweet and had a strange texture. The baklava had good flavor but it was a little doughy from too much filo on the bottom. The creme brulee was fine but now I'm addicted to creme brulee cheesecake so the real thing just doesn't do it for me anymore!

While not every dish was a total hit, there were definitely enough dishes that would make me come back and give it another shot with their full menu at hand. I'm sure it's a really fun place to go during the summer since the dining room sits right on the Baltimore Harbor.

It was a great meal to kick off Restaurant Week! Stay tuned for a handful of other posts about our RW dining experiences...

Happy dining,

EP

ps. I just saw on their website that Tabrizi's has extended their RW menu for the entire month of February! So, if you are looking for a good meal at a decent price, check this place out.