ACKC

I’d never turn down a good cup of coffee for hot chocolate…until now. As I stood at the café bar at ACKC, I was faced with a serious decision – beans? Or beans????
I went with chocolate. The “Lucy”, to be exact. This gorgeous cup of silky chocolate came with a spicy chipotle pepper burn that lingered on my tongue and made me smile – really – after my first sip. This stuff is good.
ACKC was the perfect place to sit and read, and drink chocolate perfection. I brought a bag of their own chocolate covered potato chips home for my husband and they’re already gone.

Elephant Toes

The name is wonderful, and every time I think about these oversized, pungent bulbs of garlic, I crave their spreadable-when-cooked consistency on French baguette.

I picked up a particularly large bunch when I was in Seattle (though they were native to Honey Grove Farm in Oregon)and roasted them in one of these with a little bit of basil infused extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper. The smell of these lovely morsels as they slowly soften and roast is heavenly. I can hardly wait for them to be done so I can rip into a baguette and spread them on top.

As if the experience couldn’t be any more delightful, the bulbs come in a package with a label that offers up “Further Explorations of Elephant Toes” for the curious cook. It reads:

Mince toes and add to scrambled eggs, barbeque sauce, mushrooms, salads, pastas and strews. Be generous – you won’t be overwhelmed, only complimented.
Thinly slice toes, sauté very quickly and serve in stir fries as a vegetable.
For a very special treat, mash baked toes into your baked potatoes.
Intrigue the gourmet at your barbeque by adding half-steamed toes in the shells to the BBQ 20 minutes before serving. Fragrantly enticing!
Jazz up ho-hum roast or chicken by adding peeled toes to the roasting dish 45 minutes before serving. A four star touch
(Here’s my favorite part!) Risk & Daring- invigorate life and meals- Add finely grated minced toes to chocolate – especially truffles. Amaze your guests, astound your friends, build a reputation for courage and taste.

Personally, I’d love a reputation for courage and taste. And if garlic can do that for me, so be it!

The "Robert Irvine Affair"

For those of you who read this post about Robert Irvine's cook book or are fans of him in general, you may be interested in this story about his resume...or lack thereof...

I found out about this story on superchef.com. Yikes.

Make it Super Simple with G. Garvin

You may have seen one of his guest appearances on late night TV, or caught his show, Turn Up the Heat, on TVOne. He also owns his own restaurant, touts a line of spices and has authored two books. My sweetie pie bought Make it Super Simple with G. Garvin for my Valentine’s Day gift, because “it looked good, and the recipes sounded like the kind of stuff I like you to cook for me.”

I can appreciate ulterior motives, so this weekend I dove into Make it Super Simple with a vengeance.

The first recipe I tried was the easy seafood jambalaya. I had a lot of fun picking out the freshest seafood I could find this time of year and took great pleasure smelling the beautiful seafood notes steaming out of a pot on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the taste of the dish. From a guy with his own spice line, you’d expect a more kicked-up flavor. This dish didn’t deliver. It was beautiful, it smelled great, but it was lacking some essential ingredient to really bring out the flavor of the clams, mussels, salmon, scallops and sea bass. I added red pepper and some salt, and the leftovers were eaten, but I’ll keep my eyes out for a better seafood gumbo.

The next recipe I tried made up for the seafood debacle two-fold. Garvin’s raisin and pecan bread pudding put a smile on everyone’s face that ate it…and there were many of us. This simple, gorgeous bread pudding was perfect, with several small alterations. The pictures do it no justice.

I have wonderful memories of my mom’s bread pudding, dunked in milk, and will no doubt prepare this for her during her next visit. Warm, dense pudding with the crunch of pecans and sweetness of raisins was perfect on our Sunday brunch menu. I took his suggestion of adding a caramel sauce glaze, but opted out of the fruit compote topping. The flavors were satisfying without it.

And yet, there was a third. You could say we saved the best for last. You know how Sunday nights can be bittersweet? The promise of the work week looms over your head? Our weekly let down was diminished with macaroni and cheese with truffle oil and prosciutto. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use the truffle oil I purchased last week at the Pike Place Market in Seattle – this weekend I found it. With the subtle earthiness of the truffle oil, the prosciutto provided a perfect saltiness, which in turn complements the creamy mixture of cheese, cream and onions. This dish could stand on its own, but I served it with Garvin’s lamb chop recipe, a perfect, mild tasting chop that lent a nice mild base to the rich macaroni dish.

And no, I did not include a green vegetable. It’s Sunday night! I’m trying to put us in a good mood for the week, remember? I’ll save green veggies for a Friday.

The lesson I learned- don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch. I’m glad the seafood gumbo recipe didn’t deter me from digging into Garvin’s other masterpieces; we would have missed out on some big flavors this weekend.

Pecan and Raisin Bread Pudding, adapted from Make it Super Simple with G. Garvin:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 package of mini potato rolls (package of 24)
1 cup raisins, soaked in water for approx. 20 minutes and drained
1 cup pecans
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 can, 14 oz. condensed sweetened milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
Pinch ground nutmeg
Caramel sauce (I purchase a bottle)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 13x9x2 inch baking pan.
Cut rolls in half, set bottoms of rolls in pan. Sprinkle bottoms with half of the raisins and pecans
Beat eggs well. Stir in milk, sweetened condensed milk, cream, vanilla, mix well.
Stir in sugar and nutmeg until sugar is dissolved. Pour half of this mixture over the contents in the baking pan.
Put tops of rolls in pan (on top of the roll bottoms, raisins, pecans and liquid. Put remaining raisins, pecans and liquid over top.
Bake approx. 30 minutes or until pudding springs back when touched.
Drizzle the pudding with caramel sauce.

Baseball Fare

While this girl loves a gourmet meal, nothing can beat a juicy hotdog, cold beer and a ballgame on hot summer night.

If you're excited about the Nats new stadium, you may be excited to know about the new food selections, too. The Washington Business Journal is reporting possible deals for chili from Hard Times cafe, Five Guys burgers and fries, and a few classics from Ben's Chili Bowl. Read more...

Bottoms Up

It's only Monday (and also far too early for a drink, right?) but I'm already thinking about the weekend!

If you love wine, you may want to check out the Washington DC International Wine and Food Festival. Food, wine, seminars, famous chefs, what more can you ask for?

And hopefully you've already purchased your tickets for Francophonie, because they're already sold out of tickets.

Party Basics for New Nesters

While I may not technically be considered a “new nester” anymore (I’ve been married for about a year and a half) I found there was still much to learn as I flipped through the yet-to-be-released Party Basics for New Nesters (thanks to my new friend, Julia.) A scrapbook of sorts, filled with practical tips and sparkly ones too, Maria McBride details the perfect plans for just about any event.
Anyone can throw a party (or entice a loved one with breakfast in bed, have a close couple over for dinner, etc.) but simple, thoughtful details can make memorable moments, and this book is full of these sorts of memory makers. While the book is structured for a year full of holidays, McBride’s tips are versatile- I can see her Cinco de Mayo drinks and décor working perfectly for a bachelorette party, and her “spring fling” flower cubes and mini cupcakes would be beautiful at an upcoming bridal shower.
What’s most charming about the book isn’t the gorgeous pictures or fresh ideas- it’s the love story that lies beneath. McBride, whose been married to her college sweetheart for many years, recalls her own stories from early in her marriage, weaving them flawlessly into the grander scheme of the book- making events memorable.
What might be missing are more recipes (but maybe that’s because I feel that food is an integral part of any gathering.) Although her butternut squash soup and stuffed shrimp are seemingly perfect selections for the book. And I applaud the final pages, where McBride lists resources for all of the items used in her book. How many times have you flipped through a magazine and thought, I could make that, if only I knew where to pick up red gingham ribbon and Joss paper? McBride leaves no mystery to her readers- if you see it here, and you’re inspired to make it, you can find the supplies.
If you’re in need of a winter pick me up, something to help you spice up your next dinner party, or a gift for a bride to be, I recommend this book.