Introducing: Who Ate It Best?

Introducing Who Ate It Best. . .the unending war between Big & Little Spoon to see who had the best meal. (It's not really unending, we'll start a new one in 2014.) The challenge: choose the best dish for each course.  Judges (both of us) will mutually agree on the winner of each course. If we are eating with other diners, we have to pick the diner first - we cannot choose them based on the dishes they pick.

Our first venue:  Lincoln in Washington, D.C. during Restaurant Week.  We actually lucked out because the restaurant gave us 4 courses instead of 3!  The restaurant's menu is based on small plates, so they figured they should give us a little more.

First Course

Big Spoon: Irwin Mushroom Beignets with thyme mornay, pickled celery stalks
Little Spoon: Eco Friendly Farm Pork Belly with applewood smoked, vanilla bourbon applesauce, honey compressed jala
Remarks: The mushroom beignets were a perfect mixture of savory and umami. They were definitely fresh and still warm. The Eco Friendly Farm pork belly was delicious, moist, and everything that pork belly should be.  The vanilla bourbon applesauce gave it a nice hint of sweetness.  Big Spoon liked it the best, but I thought it came out a little un-warm - not cool, but not warm enough to my liking.


Pork Belly vs. Mushroom Beignets

First Course Winner:  Draw

Second Course

Big Spoon: Warm Molasses Grilled Radicchio Salad with honey balsamic vinaigrette, navel oranges, warm goat cheese
Little Spoon: Gorman Farm Beet Salad with beet puree, candied walnuts, blue cheese crumbles, radish chips, curly endive, sherry dressing
Remarks: Big Spoon liked the grilled radicchio, but I thought it seemed a little wilted and not fresh off the grill. However, we both are suckers for beet salads and this one did not disappoint. It was perfectly chilled and the beets were perfectly cut. The ingredients don't seem super original for a beet salad, but it one us both over.

Grilled Radicchio vs. Beet Salad

Second Course Winner: Little Spoon

Third Course

Big Spoon: Braised Short Rib Stroganoff with carrot pasta, sage truffle crème, warm gremolata
Little Spoon: Stuffed rack of lamb with seasonal vegetables
Remarks: Big Spoon loved his stroganoff. Braised short ribs is pretty hard to not like. It was perfectly cooked. My rack of lamb came out way over done. I hesitated to bring it to their attention, but I just couldn't enjoy it if I didn't. Turns out, they had mistakenly given me one that was well done (who orders lamb well done??!) requested by a patron 2 tables from me. They happily brought me a new one that was perfectly cooked (medium-medium rare).

Short Rib Stroganoff vs. Stuffed Rack of Lamb

Third Course Winner:  Big Spoon (my lamb should have won; I thought his pasta a little too done, but I had to do a re-do.

Fourth Course (Dessert)

Big Spoon: chocolate fudge with passionfruit puree, hints of coffee
Little Spoon: pear tart with vanilla ice cream
Remarks: Big Spoon loved his dessert. The passionfruit provided a great balance to the rich chocolate. I loved my pear tart, but some bites just had too much tart (dough) and not enough pear.

Chocolate Fudge vs. pear tart

Fourth Course Winner: Big Spoon

 

Final Score: Big Spoon 1 / Little Spoon 0

How to Menu Plan for a Ski Trip

As you can see from one of my "original" posts.  I've recently taken up skiing. 

Check out the sweet collection of action figured

permanently "frozen" onto the hood of this truck.

Only at Snowshoe.

I'm no shredder, but after 5 ski excursions/trips, I can honestly say I can take on blue squares (maybe a black diamond if I had to) with comfort. Big Spoon and I went on a ski weekend shortly after Black Tie & Boots. We stayed at a cozy cabin with some of our friends in the beautiful mountains of WV. Of course, what did we eat?

Below is our menu and why we chose what we did. It worked out quite well!

Thursday night

Dinner:  Chili

Our friend makes delicious traditional chili.  After several hours of work and 4.5 hours of driving on winding WV roads, the last thing you want to do is eat from the local Sheetz or put much effort into a good meal.  This meal can be made ahead of time and then re-heated to its spicy, delicious perfection. All it takes is some re-heating, shredded cheese, diced onions, and maybe some Pillsbury pre-made biscuits to give it that extra "homemade" touch without the hassle. Plus, you can snack on the chili throughout the weekend until it's gone.

Friday

Breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs, and bananas

For mess free (and somewhat healthier) bacon, we baked it in the oven.  Scrambled eggs are great because everyone can take whatever portion size they want. *Tip: Beat the whites separately from the yellow before combining them.  This will give you fluffier eggs (and panckes, among other things). Bananas - well, you don't want to cramp up on the slopes mid-ski!

Lunch: Whatever the Hill is Serving

As the rest of our friends were driving up that evening, we stayed on the hill and took advantage of the beer, hot chocolate, and sandwiches they had to offer.  If you're staying off the mountain, like we were, you don't want to waste time cooking. 

Dinner: Pasta

To get us ready for yet more days of skiing, we went with scampi - butter is abundant if you're making pancakes, biscuits, etc. We also brought those small "travel-size" 4-packs of sauvignon blanc,which are great for cooking without forcing you to drink a whole bottle of less than stellar white wine. Add angel hair pasta, garlic, shallots, and some parmesan cheese and you're good to go. Again, this meal is easy to make, which is great after a long day on the slopes.

On this night, we also used leftover shallots, wine, and some worcesteshire sauce to begin marinading some steaks.

Saturday

Breakfast: pancakes with bananas, bacon, and scrambled eggs

Pancakes on a long weekend are a must.  Plus, they easily feed a lot of people and for the more "adventurous," you can add bananas for extra potassium. Make sure you save eggs for pancakes on the last day!

Lunch: Zweigles hot dogs (and chili)

Big Spoon is from Rochester, NY and we are HUGE Zweigles hot dogs fans. After a pretty long day of skiing (with more on the way), we enjoyed a little over a 1/2 day of skiing and came back early for some grilling and hot dogs. A grill is a MUST when we are on vacation. So after we fired up the grill, we grilled some no-mess and easy-to-make hot dogs. And it was awesome!

Dinner: Wegmans Steaks, rice pilaf, and mushrooms

As I said, we are huge fans of grilling on vacation. At about 9 pm, we began to make dinner after our late lunch. Wegmans is great because they already have steaks marinating in value-packs, but it doesn't mean you can't marinate them yourself! Rice pilaf again uses the butter you brought and mushrooms makes use of the worcesteshire sauce and wine you should already have with you.

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes and bacon

On our last "real" day on vacation, we made pancakes with the last bit of eggs and finished off the package of Costco bacon. Again, bananas are great for those going skiing, but most people can't say no to pancakces and bacon!

Lunch: leftovers!

For lunch, we began the leftovers meal plan: the last of the hot dogs (freshly grilled of course).  Had we already run out of leftovers at this point, we would have just eaten on the slopes.

Dinner: more leftoevers!

In keeping with the theme, and to make sure we weren't fined for leaving behind food, we ate the last bit of extra steak from the night before with rice pilaf and salad (also leftover)

In summary, plan ahead so you don't have too much food and waste it, but have enough for multiple meals that allows you to be flexible. A replacement for the hot dogs are deli meats and sandwiches. You can also take these on the ski slopes with you, but who doesn't love a warm meal to take off the chill? In terms of snacks, choose items that are individually wrapped, like chips and small gatorades and bottled waters. People never finish their bottled waters or large snacks, so you will keep things from going to waste by packaging them in smaller portions.

A Quick Note About Alcohol

Choose mixers and liquor that allow you to be flexible - cranberry and orange juice are great mixers, but also go well with breakfast! Red wine is perfect for dinner, but makes a mess in the hot tub, so choose clear liquids, too, like champagne - it chills nicely in the snow as well. And beer . . . well, just make sure you can finish what you bring, or you're going to be annoyed at how much space all your food and drink still take up in your trunk on the ride home.

Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball

I completely apologize for my absence over the last month.  Yes, my new year's resolution was to post more often to the blog. Unfortunately, that resolution coincided with the quadrennial event that happens in D.C. known as INAUGURATION. *dun dun dun*

My company The Webster Group recently planned and executive one of the premier inaugural balls - the Black Tie & Boots 2013 Inaugural Ball. I was part of the team from the on-set and, as cliché as it sounds, I loved every minute of it.  There were seconds I might have wanted to pull my hair out, but minutes - they were worth it. My client was one of those that you just can't help but really like and want to do everything you can to help them.

We initially planned an event for over 11,000 guests.  Our final numbers were less than that, but so were everyone else's. Regardless, when you're talking about reductions of this nature when it's already in the thousands, it makes less of a difference.  Anyway, for info about the event, check out TWG's blog post about it and forgive me for my absence.

More posts are brewing. I promise!

"Blow" = 1920's for "Wild Party"

How to Throw a 1920's Speakeasy Themed Party

Big Spoon and I decided to throw a 1920's speakeasy themed New Year's Party.  We did our research and came up with the essentials of a 1920's "blow," which we also learned was 1920's slang for "wild party."

1. Alcohol

No, we did not have ice or gin in our bathtub.  But we carefully selected the cocktail menu.  And even made or own alcohol (sort of) in our pineapple-infused vodka. This is actually a lot easier than it sounds.

Pineapple Infused Vodka

1. Procure the vodka - we used Tito's because we thought it shared that "made at home" beginning.
2. Prepare the pineapple - cut off the top and bottom, then cut off the sides in strips. Then slice generously to fit into the container of your choice. I actually bought a beverage dispenser, which made infusing and straining the vodka very easy.
3. Let it sit for 4-7 days.

We used the pineapple infused vodka in the Pearl Harbor cocktail.  It doesn't call for pineapple vodka, but it was perfect!

The Pearl Harbor
1 oz. vodka (pineapple)
2/3 oz. melon liqueur
1 oz. pineapple juice

Shake the ingredients, then strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

The other two cocktails we served were:

The French 75
3/4 oz. gin
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
dash simple syrup
dash grenadine
chilled champagne

Shake the first 4 ingredeients, then strain into a champagne flut, fill with champagne, garnish, and serve.

AND

The Singapore Sling
2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tsp. superfine (caster) sugar
1 tsp. simple syrup
soda water
3/4 oz cherry Heering
lime wedge to garnish

Shake the first 5 ingredients, then strain into a highball glass.  Fill up with soda and float the Cherry Heering over the top. Garnish with lime and serve.

And of course we had a punch: The Krampus - a little late for the season, but a crowd pleaser.

The Krampus is basically a punch made of:

1 Part Peach Schnapps
2 Part Bourbon
2 Parts OJ
2 Parts (or 3 to taste) Ginger Ale
Learn more about the Krampus or for an even more fun experience, watch The League episode a Krampus Carol.

2. A Password

To make it more interesting, we gave each guest a personalized password (what speakeasy didn't have one?) and asked them to bring an ingredient for one of the above cocktails. The weekend before NYE, we sent curt emails/texts to the guests with their instructions.  For example, we instructed our Fightin' Irish friend that his password was "Roll Tide!" and he was to bring a bottle of Cointreau. Something to note:  if you expect any of your guests to be late or no-shows, give them something easy like champagne, or else you could be waiting a while for that last ingredient. One of our friends acted as bouncer to enforce the password only regulation.

 

3. "Exotic Food"

Back in the 1920's, the U.S. had recently experienced a huge surge of immigrants.  Surprisingly, the "new" and "exotic" foods were from Italy and Asia. To meet this requirement, we had a number of hors d'ouevres, including Taco Dip, a goat cheese log, pepperoni bread, apple upside-down cake, chicken tarragon, and many more.

The goat cheese log: Goat cheese rolled in olive oil,

crushed pistachios and craisins. Super simple yet very satisfying.

One of the most popular dishes was the pepperoni bread.  The recipe follows:

Pepperoni Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 package pepperoni slides per loaf

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pizza dough loaf (can be found in local grocery store freezer section with other ready-bake items)

Italian seasoning, such as oregano, basil, etc.

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Pour olive oil in a bowl and dip your fingers in it for handling the dough.

Roll out pizza dough into a circle or rectangle (depending on the brand you've bought)

Generously disperse shredded mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese and sliced pepperoni.

Season with Italian herbs and seasoning. *This is key for that "pizza" taste.

Roll like a jelly roll - the hardest part is getting it started.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the desired golden color and slice once slightly cooled.

The pepperoni bread before I rolled it.

4. Attire

We also asked guests to dress in black and white cocktail / deco 1920's garb - whatever that meant to them. Some people went very gangster.  Others just did all black.  While others wore 3-piece pinstripe suits with vests, hats, and guns. The main point is that people were happy and comfortable. I opted to wear a cocktail, a feather boa that shed everywhere, and fake eyelashes.

I will not be showing pictures as we had all been enjoyed requirement #1 too much and the pictures just didn't. . . turn out.

Notes:

Because we had so many cocktails and different foods available, I also made cards for each drink instructing guests on how to mix their drinks. Big Spoon and I could have served as the bar tenders, but that would have meant we were mixing all night and never enjoying - and where's the celebration in that?

Definitely be careful who you assign to what cocktail ingredient.  I cannot stress the importance of thinking through who will come through for you.  Also, some cocktail ingredients are harder to come by than others.  Cherry Heering was completely sold out in VA but MD residents were able to find it.


How did you celebrate New Year's or what did you do for your 1920's themed party?

Fave Restaurant Openings of 2012

Oh, the close of another year. I can't believe 2012 is almost over.  I'm trying to get a head start on my New Year's resolution and am starting up the old blog.

With the close of 2012, let’s take a look back at some of our favorite restaurant openings of the year.

Mintwood Place

Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
In the always transitioning Adams Morgan scene, Mintwood Place has become one of the  hottest reservations in 2012.  The rustic menu of chef Cedric Maupillier (formerly of Central) is seasonally focused with a French twist.  This was only one of the places where we celebrated Big Spoon passing the bar.
Pros:  imaginative cocktails and delicious appetizers
Cons: parking is a challenge in the neighborhood, but there is a small valet parking lot next door
Favorite dish: Maple Pork Cracklin' (looove my chicheron) or the Tagiatelle Bolognese
Favorite table:  the window seats provide great people watching opportunities and lots of pillows
Event space: Reservations for groups over 5 need to be made by calling the restaurant directly. Private rooms are not available but they will do their best to accommodate your request.

Above: Mintwood Place's wedge salad

 

The Green Pig
Neighborhood: Clarendon (Arlington)
For those willing to drive to across the bridge (and if you’re into food these days, you shouldn’t limit yourself), The Green Pig in Arlington’s every growing Clarendon neighborhood is a surprise hit.  Following the ubiquitous pork trend, the restaurant utilizes the whole product, from snout to tail in dishes that are accessible and sustainable.  The restaurant’s rustic and attractive design incorporates repurposed barn wood and wallpaper that’s actually made of pages from cook books!
Pros: if you want to learn more about Wilbur but were intimidated, this is a great place to start at reasonable prices in a neighborhood atmosphere
Cons:  reservations used to be on a walk-in basis, but now you can make them online at City Eats
Favorite dish: pig taco with avocado and the buffalo ribs (think buffalo wings sauce on ribs)
Event space:  the Communal Table can seat up about 12 guests and the restaurant is making itself available on Tuesdays for larger events

Rasika West End

Neighborhood: West End (where else?)
Some say it’s high time D.C. restaurateur Ashok Bajaj gave us another reincarnation of his immensely popular Rasika.Like the original, one’s eyes cannot help but devour the restaurant’s mod design while noshing on theflavorful cuisine.
Pros: modern Indian food that even people who “don’t do Indian” will love and an intimate bar setting if you can’t get a table
Cons: naan is an additional fee and if you have favorites at the original, check first to make sure they serve it at the second location (they didn't have my mango puree cocktail and their replacement was all vodka)
Favorite dish: the Palak Chaat (crispy baby spinach, yogurt, tamarind, date) is everyone’s favorite and you can’t go wrong with it
Event space:The Library seats 35, the Garden Room accommodates 10 for dining and the private Chef’s Table Room seats eight guests.

Above: Mintwood Place's wedge salad

 

Fuego Cocina y Tequileria
Neighborhood: Clarendon (Arlington)
In its first landing across the bridge, Passion Food Hospitality (Acadiana, District Commons, many others) brought us another neighborhood hot spot in Fuego Cocina y Tequileria.  The restaurant, specializing in modern takes on Mexican tapas, features a 50-ft. wraparound bar with over 100 tequilas and a brilliantly colored downstairs lounge and an upstairs featuring subtle earth-toned banquettes and tables.
Pros: go for happy hour (and make sure you have a DD) – cocktails are half price and there are too many to try in one visit (the Corona-Rita includes an overturned bottle of Corona in a traditional frozen margarita)
Cons: while delicious and much easier on the wallet than Bandolero in Georgetown, some of the dishes tended to be over salted
Favorite dish: Ceviche de Pescado (tilapia, habanero, red onion, lime), Taquitos de Atun (tuna tartare, avocado, salsa de arbol, lime) and Flautas de Pato (shredded duck confit, oaxacan cheese, mole negro)
Event space:  semi-private room on the upper level accommodates 20 seated guests; the entire restaurant accommodates parties of up to 200 standing and 160 seated

Above: Fuego Cocina y Tequileria's Corona-rita

 
Other recent openings we're looking forward to (finally) trying in 2013:
Bryan Voltaggio's Range
Toki Underground
Little Serow (rhymes with "arrow)
Suna - We fell in love with Chef Johnny Spero's cuisine at Townhouse (Chilhowie, VA), which was near my hometown and are so excited he's now in D.C.! 

Cheers to many more good eats in 2013!

Skiing is not like riding a bike

This past weekend, we went skiing with several of our friends and some new ones.  I have gone skiing maybe 5 times in my life, most of which were when I was a wee tot.  But I'd been in high school and didn't remember them as traumatic, so I thought I was fine.  But I quickly realized that I'd never really been skiing.  This was my first big ski adventure and we were lucky enough to have it at Stratton in Vermont.  

Skiing felt like the following emotions (in pretty much this order):  exciting, scary, paralyzing, painful, exhilarating, intimidating, painful, rewarding, and...painful.  However, the strongest emotions I felt at the end of the first day was gratitude and love.  Cheesey, I know.  But Big Spoon didn't realize I had never really been skiing.  As I timidly made my way from the ski lift toward the beginner slopes, he happily pointed out that I should follow our friend Jesse.  I started to move in that direction, but I became frozen with fear.  I didn't know what I was doing!  

My eyes started to water and I froze.  What was I thinking? I don't know how to ski!  So he skied over to me and showed me how to "snow plow" and we started to make our way toward the trail again.  I don't know how many times I fell, took a dive because I couldn't stop or make a right-hand turn, and collided into the snow bank.  I was frustrated and scared and exhausted after just 30 mins on the slope.  I was so mad at myself for thinking I could ski when I really couldn't.  No, it wasn't like riding a bike. But I was even more afraid how the Big Spoon would handle my brazen behavior and how I was likely testing his patience.  If you don't know him, he's very competitive and good at almost everything he does.  When we play boardgames, he always has to have the last word if not win.  However, throughout the entire DAY, he didn't lose his patience with me once.  He skied alongside me or behind me so he could watch me and make sure I was okay.  He offered me his pole when I fell down and encouraged me when I was "doing it."  I kept apologizing for slowing him down or keeping him from enjoying the mountain, but he only said he was happy he was able to be with me.  

That day and this whole trip could have quickly devolved into an argument, ending with me in a crying fest, and him taking me home because I couldn't take the pressure.  But it was pleasantly one of the best weekends we've had despite the major aches and bruises we endured, both by our bodies and our vanities.

And the honeymoon ends

Today is our 7 month wedding anniversary. Technically, the honeymoon phase is supposed to end 6 months post wedding. Where are we now? Big spoon is getting sick. Little spoon is blogging.

Are we still honeymooning? I think so. It was really hard to get out of our cozy bed with flannel sheets. Of course, I had to go to work and he was getting sick and had a headache.

This weekend is our anti-couple's retreat. Skiing with friends in Vermont . . . at our friends' parents' place . . . with his parents. Yes, we're still in our 20's (not saying "mid" or "late").

I wonder what are the signs that the honeymoon is ending. . .I'll let you know when I find out.