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Showing posts from 2010

Matchbox review

We went for dinner to the newly opened Rockville Matchbox and had a 6 minute wait even though they were very busy and told us it would be 30 minutes. DH and I split 6 mini burgers and a small fire and spice pizza. No meat on the pizza and I wish it had a little more on it. There was a smoky flavor and some roasted peppers but I needed a topping I could sink teeth into. I think we should have tried the pizza with meatballs. The staff said it was a spicy one too because the meatballs are spicy. The guys next to us got it and I was a little jealous. We decided Mia's pizza in Bethesda was very similar and we have some favorites there. I guess we'd go to Matchbox to avoid paying for parking in Bethesda. I do love my Mia's alsace pizza more-, gruyere cheese, parmesan, caramelized onion & thyme and instead of pancetta I get arugula. I loved my little burgers with gorgonzola and onion straws at Matchbox. It looked like everyone ordered the mini burgers. Heaps of onion

Our Own Holiday Dinner photos

We had our own dinner part back in November. I finally have some photos from the party. Looks like we missed a few dishes though This is the brie appetizer I have made before. It's a Paula Deen recipe I always make mine with macadamia nuts and red and green apples instead of apples and pears. These are Devils on a Horseback. First time we had them was at Mario Batali's Spotted Pig in NYC. Cheesy brussel sprout casserole was eaten but not photographed :) Recipe was from here The star of the dinner. Beef tenderloin with shallots, red wine glaze, and fingerling potatoes with some special citrus sea salt sprinkled on them The tenderloin recipe is located here

Lunch! Grilled cheese and tomato soup

I love grilled cheese and tomato soup together!

Checkerboard Cookies

The annual cookie swap is coming up. Last year there were about 40 girls and it sounds like this year will be the same. So I made over 100 red and chite checkerboard cookies to swap :) I think they taste and look great! This recipe comes from The Way the Cookie Crumbles The recipe is found here 4 cups (19.2 ounces) unbleached flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, preferably room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (7 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar ½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar Liquid food coloring (I used red) In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Break the eggs into a small measuring cup, whisk them lightly, and mix in the vanilla. Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat the butter on medium-low speed until it’s smooth, then add the salt and both sugars. Continue beating on medium-low until the mixture i

Our Own Holiday Dinner

We spend the holidays with my family and we don't get to cook very much. We are hosting a dinner party tonight so we can cook for our friends. The menu is shaping up and we just need to hit the grocery store soon Paula Deen's brie with brown sugar, macadamia nuts, and brandy. Served with apples and crackers Balsamic vinaigrette salad with goat cheese and pecans Rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes Brussel sprout casserole. lots of creamy cheese sauce Beef tenderloin with a red wine glaze and shallots Pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust

Metro Cooking Show 2010

Yesterday many hours were spent browsing at the DC Metro Cooking Show. We saw Paula Deen this year! She was really personable and funny. Many fun stories were told So things I like from the show were: The restaurant Cava (Greek Tapas) is now selling items in local Whole Foods, Roots etc. I tried the "crazy feta" and it was very very spicy. I had to follow up with some tzatziki to cool off. I must buy some of that Crazy Feta for the holidays I already knew I loved Havana Banana bread but it's much cheaper to buy at the show than to buy from the website and have it shipped so I bought the chocolate chunk banana bread this year. Our favorite is the white choc, coconut, macadamia nut one, but they didn't have any at the show this year. I popped my banana bread in the freezer for possibly Christmas time breakfast. Paula Deen's cousin Johnnie has a restaurant and bakery, Gabriel's . I bought some pumpkin bread from the booth and it is a great dessert! The

Molded Herbed Butter

Softened butter Fresh chopped herbs Shaped silicone baking pan Whip ingredients together Stuff into the pan Cover with wax paper Freeze overnight Pop the butter out of the mold

Asian Pork Pitas

My version of this recipe from Nestle New Zealand Asian Pork Pita Pockets Sliced cooked pork tenderloin Shredded carrot Peels and sliced cucumbers Bean sprouts Lettuce Asian Sesame ginger salad dressing Pitas with pockets

Stuffed Zuchinni Boat

Recipe thanks to Primal Matriarch Blog Two large zuchinni- cut in half and the middles scraped out so it resembles a boat 1 lb Ground Beef, browned 1/2 an onion, diced 1 can diced tomatoes, we got one with jalapeno mixed in Seasonings- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder Dash of Worcestershire sauce Cheddar Cheese, shredded Start by washing, slicing, and scraping out your zuchinni Next brown the ground beef with seasonings and the diced onions Add in the diced tomatoes and dash of Worcestershire sauce Stir everything together Spoon mixture into the zuchinni boats Top with shredded cheese Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is melted

Oct 17th Weekly Dinner Planning

Sun night- leftover flank steak fajitas Mon night- I have leftover pork tenderloin that I could make into something similar to these pita pockets. I think I'll add cabbage to the salad mix Asian Pork Pita Pocket Tues- Broccoli Cheese Soup (I think this needs a little something to go with it) Wed- Snakebite Pasta with some bread sticks or garlic bread. Thurs- Pizza, either frozen or homemade. I have class on Thursdays after work and I have leftover pepperoni Fri-

Cheesecake Factory

Vietnamese tacos. Try them! Meat was tender (I didnt even know it was pork, it seems brown to me like beef!) and they were spicy. Menus description: Steamed Asian Buns with Roasted Pork, Marinated Cucumbers, Carrots and Onion with Chiles, Cilantro and Sesame Seeds yum yum yum I recommend checking out this blogger's recipe from Steamy Kitchen. It seems similar except it's not on a bun. Korean Style Tacos

Taylor Gourmet comes to Bethesda

Taylor Gourmet/ We tried Taylor Gourmet for lunch today. Happy Labor Day everyone!! Ordered a 12 inch 9th Street Italian, the Risotto Balls, had red hot chips, and tried two of the fabulous fountain drink choices. They don't serve Coke or Sprite here! We had cream soda and black cherry soda instead :) The drinks are artificial color free, and use cane sugar, no corn syrup. The Risotto balls were amazing! After Ed's win on Top Chef for his risotto balls I imagine that the food blog world will soon have many posts on making them :) Taylor's were spicy! The sub was good, the meat and cheese were better quality than you'll get at Subway. I'm not sure if it's worth getting the rolls from Philly. I thought the roll was hard to chew through. I really wanted a roast beef sandwich and was told they were out. It's only Saturday on a holiday weekend! How can they be out of beef??? Next time I want to try an Island Avenue

Chocolate Ganache and Pecan pie

When I reviewed Againn I think I mentioned a chocolate pecan tart for dessert. I invited friends over for dinner and tried to make my own chocolate pecan tart. It was very chocolately. 1 pie shell, I used a graham cracker shell 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate 1 1/4 cup cream chopped pecans First I toasted the shell in a 350 degree oven Place pecans in the bottom of the shell Then I boiled the cream and poured it over pieces of the bittersweet chocolate I stirred the mixture together and poured it over the pecan pieces Chill in the fridge until the ganache is set.

Bison Burger

We have a Saturday market in my little city. There is a guy who sells buffalo and we bought buffalo burgers last week. We topped the burgers with leftover bacon and bleu cheese from a classic wedge salad we had made for a dinner party

Pesto Pasta Salad

I bought three basil plants this year. I have a Thai, Greek, and one called Michael, seriously. The Greek is the biggest plant of the three. We've made a lot of pesto this year and made this pesto pasta salad several times. Pesto sauce Tomatoes Cubed cheese Spiral pasta A few fresh basil leaves

German Potato Salad

Complete with bacon grease :P I cooked a whole package of bacon and added what looked like a good amount. Ingredients * 4 potatoes * 4 slices bacon * 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour * 2 tablespoons white sugar * 1/3 cup water * 1/4 cup white wine vinegar * 1/2 cup chopped green onions * salt and pepper to taste Directions 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop. 2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat. 3. Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick. 4. Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm. German Potato Salad

Againn Restaurant Review

Againn/ This place just opened up in Houston's old place on Rockville Pike. Its like an Irish Bistro Pub. We tried it out last night. The food was really good but the menu is short so I don't know how often we'll go back. We also spent about $50 because we had two meals, an appetizer, a dessert, and two iced teas The meat is farm raised. It makes me really want to go back to try the burger :) or maybe a steak Aman had fish and chips and the chips were amazing (I stole a few)! He said the fish was just like he had in Dublin. They bring you a bunch of dipping options; vinegar, ketchup, mayo, mustard. I ordered the corned beef sandwich and the meet was so soft and tender. The roll it was on was really soft and good. I felt like the horseradish sauce didn't have any bite though We had the spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer and it was amazing. I think it had aged white cheddar and mushrooms. It was a different taste but delish. We ended with a chocolate pecan

Top Chef

My husband and I used groupon to buy a cooking class with Carla from Top Chef :) I can't wait! We saw Carla last year at the metro cooking show. She did a great demo.

Blondies

My mom has this recipe. The blondies had toffee pieces, white chocolate chips, and nuts. I thought they were good but my mom wasn't into them. I took photos in case she loved them and wanted to save the recipe on my blog.

Happy 4th of July

I made red, white, and blue cupcakes for 4th of July this year. It seems just about everyone else in the food blogging world did too :) I used a white cake mix and added lemon extract to my batter. Separate the batter into three equal parts and use gel coloring to make red and blue. Layer the colors in cupcake foils and bake according to box directions. The frosting is 1 stick softened butter and 1 package softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and water to the consistency you desire, and vanilla extract.

Buttermilk Waffles

Recipe from Gold Medal Weekend Breakfast and Brunch Makes 10 4-inch waffle square 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups gold medal all purpose flour 1/2 cup butter melted 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1. Heat waffle iron; grease if needed. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater or wire whisk until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients 2. Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto center of hot waffle iron. Close lid 3. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Carefully remove waffle. Repeat with remaining batter.

Half and Half Cookies

Remember these cookies from our Spanish themed party a few weeks ago? Several people asked me to get the recipe so here it is :) 1 stick of butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 egg yolk, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon water 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups flour 1 12oz package semi-sweet chocolate morsels Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg yolks, water, and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Pat out onto a greased 11X16 jelly roll pan, and sprinkle with chocolate morsels. Meringue Topping 1 cup brown sugar 2 egg whites Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until foamy; gradually add brown sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue evenly over chocolate morsels. Bake at 350 about 25 minutes or until done. Cut into squares

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

The party we went to today had BBQ pork, brisket, coleslaw, rice and beans, potato salad, fruit salad etc. To go with the BBQ type food my husband decided to make jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins. These were made in mini muffin tins. Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread Mini-Muffins makes ~84 mini-muffins (7 dozen) Ingredients * 2 (8 ounce) boxes Jiffy cornbread mix * 2 eggs * 1/2 cup milk * 1 (8 or 8.5 ounce) can cream-style corn * 8 ounces sour cream * 6 large jalapenos, diced * 8oz sharp cheddar, shredded coarsely Directions 1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. Beat eggs. Gently blend in milk, sour cream and corn, then the cornbread mix. 3. Gently fold in the cheese and jalapenos. 4. Bake in greased mini-muffin tins for 11 minutes, or until edges are browned. Allow to cool on pan for a couple minutes before turning them onto a cooling rack. Re-grease/spray pans between batches. If you'd like to skip the mini-muffin pan and use a regular sheet cake pan, you'll need to more than double the ba

Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

We went berry picking yesterday and black raspberries are in season. I made a chocolate kahlua cheesecake with a black raspberry ribbon for a party we went to today. This cheesecake has a lot of steps. Preheat oven 350 degrees Raspberry Sauce Ingredients 2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries 2/3 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 teaspoons lemon juice Raspberry Sauce Directions Puree berries in a blender of food processor. Press through a sieve into a measuring cup; discard berries into another cup. Add water to seed and press through sieve again. Add water to berries in measuring cup if necessary to measure 1 cup of berry juice. In a sauce pan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in raspberry juice; bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let sauce cool Crust Ingredients 2 cups Oreo cookies, crushed 1/3 cup butter, melted 2 tablespoons sugar Crust Directions Combine crust ingredients to make crust; press into bottom and up sides of a gr

Bridal Shower Sugar Cookies

I went to a bridal shower a few weekends ago. It was hosted by my mom so she made sugar cookies and I decorated them just like we did for my friend's baby shower. I decorated these in a hurry. I did them after work and before my brother's deck party. I almost died when I saw that she had made heart cookies with a heart cut out of the middle because then I needed to outline each cookie twice.

Onion Rings and Smothered Pork Chops

We have a hit and a miss here for dinner tonight. I wanted a breaded smothered in gravy pork chop. I tried this recipe It was not successful. The cooking time was also WAY under for the chops I bought. I ended up sticking it in the oven to finish cooking Adding buttermilk to the thickened gravy just made it watery again. I don't understand the reasoning behind that step. I wasn't impressed with the end result with the gravy. For onion rings I followed this recipes ingredient list and technique. I seasoned the flour with the same seasonings except I only have black pepper instead of white at home. My husband did the dipping method, flour mix, then buttermilk, then back in the flour. He heated vegetable oil in our electric wok and fried away. I ground some sea salt on top while they were hot They were great! Very flaky.

Annual Summer Party-Spanish theme

We had so much food yesterday for our annual summer house party that I do not have photos for all of it. I will start with my personal contribution. I doubled the recipe and got about 60 empanadas. I also used store bought pie crusts. I loved the result and honestly it took me several hours just to make the filling, cut the circles in the dough, fill them and bake them. Beef and Potato Empanadas Filling: 2 medium potatoes, boiled for 5 minutes 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound extra lean ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 teaspoon chile powder 3/4 teaspoon round cumin Salt and pepper to taste Grate the potatoes and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the ground beef and brown, breaking up as it cooks. Add potatoes, onion, spices and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until ingredients are soft. Cool. Served with Chimichurri Sauce 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley 1 clove garlic 2 minced shallots 1 teaspoon minced basil, thyme or

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

It was my co-worker and friend's birthday over Memorial weekend. She told me she really wanted a chocolate chip cake. I told her I had never made one before and asked her to describe it. She said it could be made in a loaf pan or bunt pan and it didn't usually have frosting. I looked up chocolate chip pound cakes. Here is the recipe I used. I did make the glaze but I would change the glaze recipe the next time around. If you want to top this cake I think I'd just melt chocolate chips with butter. I wouldn't fool around with the milk and powdered sugar.

Greek Pitas

I roasted a boneless leg of lamb weeks ago. Then I made some rice to go with it, bought some pitas (that didnt have a pocket) and my husband made tzatziki sauce. The lamb was fantastic. I highly recommend the Harris Teeter pre seasoned boneless leg of lamb. It was so good I couldn't stop cutting pieces off and just eating them. The rice was a Rice o Roni type packet. The odd pitas that I cut in half with a serrated knife.