A Chocolate-y Guest Post!

by the fabulous Stef AKA Motherocker AKA our cousin!

Like a bolt from the blue I got the message in my inbox from component X of team BCD. Xani had tix to Gourmet Walks ULTRA Chocolate tour in downtown San Francisco, but had a change of plans at the last minute. Would I be able to step in and fill her shoes? Three hours of walking around downtown SF that started with a martini and ended with a wine tasting and was filled with all manner of high-quality chocolate tasting in betwixt. It was a tall order, but I was up for the challenge.

 

Our journey began at the luxurious Le Meridien hotel. Our guide, Ahmet Aydogan (weekday photographer, weekend chocolate expert) graciously found my companion and I wandering the lobby and ushered us to the meeting spot. We were soon joined by the rest of our fellow tourists. As we waited (and waited, and waited) for our first tasting of the day, Ahmet gave us the run-down on how the afternoon would progress and then launched into an interesting and informative chocolate history lesson. I won a chocolate for guessing that the Mayans were the first to discover chocolate’s aphrodisiac qualities! But I had no idea that chocolate beverage houses existed before coffee or tea establishments in Europe, although they served a very different beverage than what we are now accustomed to. Apparently there was a thick layer of grease on top as they hadn’t figured out how to separate out the cocoa butter. But once that happened it was only short distance to the invention of chocolate as a confection. We learned that chocolate at its’ most basic consists of only 3 ingredients, chocolate, cocoa butter and sugar. Varying the amounts of the ingredients is what gives each product it’s unique flavor. Poor Ahmet was nearly done with his talk by the time the hotel bar finally had our drinks ready- chocolate martinis! I have to say, this was the only underwhelming part of the tour for me. It was a pretty standard chocolate martini. I don’t know if it was the environment or the name of the tour but I was expecting something with a little more wow factor. At least jazz up your presentation by lining the rim Le Meridien!

A Warm Welcome to DC at Graffiato

by EP

Last week, to welcome me to DC, my wonderful friends Mark and Craig (you might remember them from the amazing trip to Chicago last winter to celebrate Craig's birthday) took me out to dinner.  We went to a restaurant I'd be hearing about through the DC bloggers for years it seems: Graffiato.  Graffiato is owned by Mike Isabella, of Top Chef fame, and I had heard absolutely wonderful things about it and was pumped to finally go for myself.

I met Mark, Craig, and Craig's aunt Jeannie in the bar area while we waited for a table.  Of course, we enjoyed some bubbly while we waited - what kind of fool waits without a cocktail in hand?!  After a brief wait, the hostess lead us to our table (and even took our drinks for us so we wouldn't spill as we walked up the kinda-steep staircase). 

Our waiter was adorable and wonderful, and he had been Mark and Craig's waiter before in the past -- he even remembered that Mark had a nut allergy!  He was friendly enough to the ladies at the table, but truth be told his energy and enthusiasm were geared towards the gentlemen.  This is when we realized he was very likely gay and was totally flirting with Mark.  No matter, we used it to our advantage and had a great time and great service.

Mark and Jeannie, ready to eat!

BCD News Flash and The Day the Mussel Won

by EP

Big news on the BCD home front: I moved!  Not too far away, but away from Baltimore, nonetheless.  I now live in sunny Silver Spring, Maryland, right on the border with DC.  So, this blog will continue in full-force (meaning we'll continue our haphazard, slacker-esque format of blogging when we feel like it), but I'll be writing about my adventures dining in DC restaurants.  Have no fear, the cooking will continue in both of our kitchens (in fact, I am making a no-knead bread right now!), and we'll be gearing up for some parties soon now that it's fall, our favorite season to entertain.  I really hope we can make some apple cider donuts this year...it's my dream!

New kitchen!

RA! RA! RA!

by Xani

No, I'm not cheering for the Orioles.  Well, I am, like everyone else in Baltimore, but that's not what the title references.  Instead I'm referring to RA Sushi Bar and Restaurant, where I was invited to a Media Dinner for the opportunity to sample their new menu items.  RA changed up their menu earlier this summer to include some new, fresh items, and because EP is so busy preparing for her big move (look out Silver Spring!), I brought Dave along with me to the tasting (lucky guy).

RA, as always, has a rockin' vibe, with red globe fixtures providing mood light and pounding music (a little too loud for this old lady, but the rest of the crowd seemed to be enjoying it).  The place was pretty packed at 7pm on a Wednesday, with lots of people taking advantage of the great happy hour specials.

Dave and I were seated and were lucky enough to be taken care of by Scott, the General Manager, who was super-attentive and helpfully explained each course to us.  And there were a lot!  But first, cocktails.

Ginger Blossom

Coconut mojito

I had the Ginger Blossom (Tito's Vodka, fresh muddled strawberry, pink grapefruit, fresh lime and ginger beer), and Dave had the Coconut Mojito (light rum muddled with fresh lime, sugar, soda and fresh mint).  The Ginger Blossom was tasty but just a tad too sweet for me, but I'm a sucker for anything coconut and I thought the coconut mojito was excellent.  Dave must have liked it too; by the time I went to steal a second taste, it was gone!

Dip not pictured

The first course of food came out right away, and consisted of Edamame Dip, Bonfire Shrimp, and Garlic Edamame.  The dip, served with crispy wonton chips (who doesn't love a fried wonton??) was very creamy and had spinach in it-- sortof an Asian take on spinach and artichoke dip?  Very tasty.  The garlic edamame, which were traditional steamed edamame in the shell, followed by a saute in garlicky butter and Asian seasoning, were also good but messy to eat!  Make sure you only order these if you don't mind licking your fingers in front of your dining companions.  The bonfire shrimp were lightly breaded and fried and coated in a chili sauce that had just the right amount of heat.  I also loved the shisito pepper that came with this dish- great flavor.

Before we could say "we're losing the light!" the next course came out: a sampling of their new crispy Asian tacos.

Last picture before the sun went down

These were awesome!  First of all, I was impressed with the creativity of the taco shell itself, which is made from flash-fried rice paper.  It was so light and crispy (and not greasy at all), and a perfect vehicle for the yummy fillings.  My favorite filling was the chicken, which was a chilled shredded sake steamed chicken with asian vegetables-- the chicken was very moist with incredible flavor, plus that crispy crunch from the shell!  Delicious.  We also sampled the "RA"ckin shrimp taco (very good) and the Spicy salmon taco, which included guacamole so of course it was great!  The spicy salmon taco was the only raw fish served on the tasting menu, but Scott told us there is also a spicy tuna taco on the menu, not to mention their entire sushi menu.  So RA definitely does raw, if that's what you are into (which, of course, I am.)

OK, at this point, I admit, I was getting full (those tacos were BIG).  But, a food blogger has certain duties, so we pressed onto the next course.  Small bowls of Drunken Black Mussels were brought out, along with spoons so we could drink the broth.  The mussels were excellent but man were we happy about those spoons!  The broth was to die for.  The mussels are cooked in garlic, seasoned soy sauce, and butter.  I could have drunk a vat of the stuff. Yum!

The final plate contained samples of three new dishes: Salmon with green beans, Black Pepper Teryaki Chicken Wings, and Chili Ponzu Asian Chicken Wings.  While everything was tasty, this plate had the least "wow factor" as far as uniqueness.  That said, the salmon, served with still-crunchy green beans, was well-cooked, not dry at all, with an excellent spicy yuzu sauce.  The wings were nice and meaty and both had great flavor.  I especially liked the Black Pepper wings, which had huge black pepper flavor but weren't too spicy- magic!

Dessert- oy, I could barely eat another bite but when they brought out a teeny portion of mochi (ice cream wrapped in sweet rice cake) I couldn't resist.  A nice sweet bite to end a delicious evening.

Thanks so much to RA for the great meal-- rice paper taco shells, now why didn't I think of that??

Go O's,

X

Still Summer...

by Xani

It's still summer.  But not for long.  Labor Day weekend is upon us and soon fall will descend.  How soon?  No way to know.  It could be hot and humid into October, the fickle East Coast weather gods messing with our minds as we continue to sweat, longing for scarves, boots, and hot spiked apple cider.  But something tells me autumn is on its way.  Like all other food bloggers, and possibly all other humans, I have mixed feelings about this.  Summer is always gone too quickly, but fall feels like new beginning: new routines, new clothes, new ingredients stocking my fridge and pantry.

So while it's still summer, here's one more post celebrating all those seasonal treats that are gone all too soon.

What could be more summery than a trip to the beach?  As kids EP and I spent a week or two every summer at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach, Delaware.   This year we made our triumphant return!  Good eating was a priority.  My packing list included: a cast iron skillet, meat thermometer, microplane grater and a box of kosher salt, among other "necessities."  We indulged in the usual beach treats: Fichers popcorn, fries, funnel cakes, and, of course, donuts, but we also pushed the kitchen in the rental house to the max and ate plenty of great home cooking.  This panzenella with corn was so nice we made it twice:

Just perfect tomatoes and corn, a little red onion, cucumbers, classic vinaigrette and of course chunks of crusty bread fried up in olive oil.

Once we returned from the beach, sunburned and swearing never to eat fries again, I got back into my kitchen with a little more equipment at my disposal (even I had to draw the line at bringing the VitaMix to the shore).  I'm all about summer soups in the VitaMix.  Hot or cold, it purees even tough veggies into silky smoothness, no straining required.  Just this week I employed my favorite "roast everything" technique and spread sheet trays with chopped tomato, garlic, eggplant and peppers, roasted til nicely browned, then whizzed it all together with water and a bit of sherry vinegar to make a creamy, but dairy free, veggie soup that was excellent hot or cold.  But I didn't put all the roasted veggies in the soup, I kept a bowl in the fridge to throw into scrambles or omelettes like this one:

Oh, there's a little chorizo in there, too.  That's leftover from this dinner:

That's corn farrotto.  I was tipped off to this recipe by Kit from Mango and Ginger.  I'm not really doing the recipe thing that much these days-- trying to "wing it" and improvise more, but she raved about this one and it caught my eye because, in my house, we have a disagreement about risotto.  I love risotto, and Dave claims not to.  I find it hard to believe him, because what's not to love?  He says its a texture thing, so I thought I'd try this swap and see how that went over.  The farro (which I had never worked with before) kept a pleasant chew even after all that cooking, almost like steel cut oats.  I added some crisped slices of chorizo which went fabulously with the sweet corn.  Dave, always diplomatic, cleaned his plate, but I'm still not sure he's convinced....

I'm bouncing from soup to corn and back again with another corn soup.  I posted one earlier this summer and here's another version, this time with spice from chipotles and creaminess from dairy.  I sauteed onions and canned chipotle in adobo in butter, but that was all the cooking required.  Into the blender it went, along with raw corn, some corn puree leftover from making the farrotto (I'm always "repurposing"), water, milk, and some buttermilk (as recommended by a comment on the recipe).  Flipped it on high, and five (noisy) minutes later steam was rising from the blender carafe.  The soup was warm, spicy and sweet, but with a hint of bitterness that made me wrinkle my nose.  Maybe no buttermilk next time.  Still, dinner was satisfying, rounded out with DIY B. A. (avocado) L.T.s and juicy watermelon for dessert.

Love these green heirloom tomatoes

Finally, something I baked just this morning, on a whim.  Oh the joys of working from home while my office is overtaken by the Grand Prix race!  I'm reading  A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table which I stole borrowed from my sister at the beach.  I've been reading Molly's blog, Orangette, for years now, and love it, but the recipes in the book are haunting me.  In a good way.  I can't stop thinking about them and want to make them all RIGHT NOW.  I'm trying to pace myself, but I've already made the slow-roasted tomatoes (can't wait to serve them with pasta, or in messy goat cheese sandwiches, per her recommendations) and when I woke up this morning craving something sweet, it made perfect sense to fire up the oven and start mixing up the batter for her husband's favorite Custard Cornbread.  Apparently the ideal vehicle for maple syrup, I had it in the oven before 8am.  Like Molly, my Dad and boyfriend are also classic Maple Syrup Snobs, so of course we have a big jug of the premium stuff on hand at all times.

An hour later I had answered emails, survived a work call with Eddie barking all the while (do ALL dogs bark incessantly while their owners are on the phone?  Any suggested fixes??), and this:

OMG.  Just as good as you'd expect from a recipe where you pour a cup of heavy cream into the already prepared batter.  The cream does indeed turn custard-y, like a smooth ricotta embedded in the slightly crunchy, slightly sweet bread.  It drank up the syrup and I ate every crumb.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of summer, however long it may last!

X

San Francisco Treats, Day 1: Tacos, Ice Cream, & Fancy Booze

by EP

In keeping with our slacker theme, here I am, writing about a trip I went on over a month ago.  But, the fact that I still remember almost every bite with fondness just goes to show you what a great, tasty trip it was!

Last month I visited one of my best friends, Rachel (who readers might remember from such adventures as Paris and my many visits to DC), who recently moved back to her home town of San Francisco.  We had a packed visit and some truly outstanding meals.  I can't thank her enough for taking me to such wonderful places!

Let's get to the highlight reel:

Guacamole!  Almost as good as mine :)

Day 1 gets its own post because we had so many yummy treats packed into one day.  

Summer’s Bounty

by Xani

I feel terrible, you guys.  How have I not blogged all summer?  I’ve been making sooo much good stuff.  You don’t even know (of course you don’t, I haven’t been telling you!).  If you follow me on FB/Twitter/Instagram you been getting a few sneak peeks, but the truth is with summer’s bounty at my fingertips, I have been making some KICK ASS dinners, drinks, desserts-- you name it.

I figure the easiest way to share as much of this as possible is a good, old-fashioned food porn roundup.  Even when I’m not blogging regularly, I always MEAN to blog, so I’m always taking pictures, then getting too busy/lazy to post them.  But, I’ve still got them, and they’re coming at you... NOW:


Tiny carrots I grew myself! Here they are as an appetizer along with bread fried in bacon fat:

And how did I grow carrots you ask?  In my amazing Salad Table, which has also provided us with lots of radishes and bunches and bunches of delicious salad greens.  Soon, cucumbers!

Before summer got too hot we enjoyed some artichokes al fresco (with my favorite dipping sauce- just good mayo mixed with lemon juice, so yummy!)

Also during early summer I got my hands on some rhubarb and made some Rhubarb-Rosewater Syrup to make a sweet and slightly tart mocktail (just mix with sparkling water to make this refreshing pink drink)

And THEN I made these rhubarb streusel muffins that were To Die For:

coworkers raved!

Keeping things a little sweet, a little tart, BEHOLD this cool cocktail EP made for our little 4th of July get-together:

Grapefruit juice, gin, and basil-sugar.  The mason jar makes it.

As summer heats up we're getting squarely into the kind of produce that just SCREAMS summer.  Like corn:

Chilled corn soup with lime, cilantro and hot sauce

Zucchini:

Zucchini Feta Fritters

Berries:

picked them ourselves!

Some of which I turned into this fabulous Double Berry Buttermilk Bundt

I love a cake that can also be breakfast

Finally, PEACHES.  We picked over 40 pounds of white and yellow peaches (AND all the berries, at the wonderful Larriland Farms) and so far made hardly a dent in them despite making peach jalapeno jam, and peach gazpacho.  I'll make a peach pie/cobbler before I process and freeze the rest.  Here is Eddie patiently waiting for them to ripen...

So there's a little taste of BCD summer so far! I'm really going to try to post more often and in a more timely fashion. How would you all feel about quickie posts with just a picture and description? Because with all the cooking I have planned for the rest of summer (peach and otherwise), that could be a lot of posts!


Happy summer,


X

Knish Me, I'm Jewish

by EP & X

Last weekend we were invited to attend a special event all about knishes.  Yes, this is the glamorous life of food bloggers.  The event was called "Knish History 101: Life and Times of the Knish" and it was held at the Jewish Museum of Maryland as part of their "Chosen Food" exhibit.