Month: October 2013

Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese

Well Dined | Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese

So I actually made this a year ago and didn’t manage to post it before it was way past butternut squash season, doh!  I figured I would just hold off and post about it the next Fall, which is what I am doing now.  The problem is, my photography has improved leaps and bounds since then so these photos look really awful.  I am so sorry in advance, but the mac and cheese is really good.  I promise.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese

I saw this recipe on an episode of The Chew, and the idea was that it was orange and black for Halloween.  Orange from the squash, black from the kale.  Except that kale is green, even when it’s wilted…  Whatever – it uses Fall produce and it’s delicious, so let’s pretend it works.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese

Cook up some bacon (I used pancetta because stuff and things), add some butter, sweat some onions and garlic, wilt some kale – awesome.  So here’s where the original recipe gets weird (The Chew website is notoriously bad at reviewing their recipes) – it says to have 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced, and to saute the squash in the pan.  Then later it says to add in the butternut squash puree.  What butternut squash puree?  There is no butternut squash puree in the ingredient list.  Huh?  Also – sauteed squash?  Meh.  So here’s what I did (as you can see in the previous picture) – tossed that cubed squash with olive, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; then roasted it.  Yummy.  Then I took half the roasted squash and mashed it.  Ah-ha!  Now there is butternut squash puree, sort of. (more…)

Apple Oat Muffins

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

Let’s start the week out with something sweet, and not even that bad for you.  These muffins are mostly oats, held together by a little yogurt, and studded with chunks of delicious apples.  The are unbelievably moist and spiced with cinnamon.  Breakfast, dessert, whatever – these are going to get gobbled up fast.

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

I used braeburn apples, but any good baking apple will do.  Some stores have little signs that tell you which apples are good for what.

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

See what I mean?  There is more than 2x as much oats as there is flour.

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

The batter is very wet, but this is a good thing.  I would dice the apples smaller next time.

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

My husband practically inhaled these bad boys.  Seriously.  Go make these.  Right now.  I’ll wait…  Did you make them?  Aren’t you glad you did?

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

You can invite your neighbor over for muffins and hot chocolate.  I bet they’d love it.

Well Dined | Apple Oat Muffins

They might even take one of the muffins you give them on an adventure to the airport.  Cuz who wants to eat airport food, right? (more…)

Healthy Moroccan Lamb

Well Dined | Healthy Moroccan Lamb

Super comforting spiced lamb on top of creamy mashed potatoes – how could that be healthy?  Well for starters, there are no potatoes – that is a cauliflower and white bean puree.  This looks like comfort food, and it totally is, but it is all veggies and protein with no carbs!

Well Dined | Healthy Moroccan Lamb

Start by caramelizing some carrots to release that sweetness.  Then brown up some lamb.  I used lamb chops and discovered that there is very little meat on them – next time I am definitely using cubed meat.

Well Dined | Healthy Moroccan Lamb

When the lamb is browned, add in garlic, spices, chard, and chickpeas (more protein!).  I wondered why the original recipe didn’t call for tomatoes – they make so much sense here.  So I went ahead and added them.  The original recipe also just used paprika, which I thought was a little boring.  I used paprika, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander.

Well Dined | Healthy Moroccan Lamb

Another change from the original was that it called for polenta to serve with the lamb.  Polenta is cooked corn meal, and I am trying to avoid grains.  So I used a cauliflower puree instead and it was creamy and delicious – a good counterpoint for the tangy spiced lamb. (more…)

DC Wine Week Brunch at Sonoma

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As a thank you to all the bloggers and media folks supporting their events, DC Wine Week hosted an invitation only brunch at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar.  The space is very cool – a three story townhouse with big windows and modern decor.

Well Dined | DC Wine Week

There were three sparkling wines available for tasting: Ca’del Pucino Prosecco, Lovisolo Brut Nebbiolo Spumante Rose, and Opera Lambrusco.  The Lambrusco was our favorite – a sparkling red with raspberry notes that reminded us of our favorite black raspberry port from Fabbioli.

Well Dined | DC Wine Week

Small bites of brunch food were served buffet style.  This was a sneak peek at the new brunch menu at Sonoma, just for us!

Well Dined | DC Wine Week

On the menu were roasted baby beet skewers, prosciutto wrapped melon, French toast bites with apple and cinnamon, cured meats, and cheeses with homemade fruit spreads.  The big item on the buffet was a breakfast “burger” – with a house-made sausage patty, bacon, and Cabot white cheddar on a  house-made bun.

Well Dined | DC Wine Week

Everything was very tasty so I would love to check out the regular brunch menu, or the dinner menu, or any menu – why isn’t this place in NoVA?!

And that brings us to the end of DC Wine Week!  We had a great time and will definitely be participating next year.  I hope to see you there!

What’s your favorite wine bar?  Leave your answer in the comments.

Ciao Bella! DC Wine Week at I Ricchi

Wednesday night’s DC Wine Week event was an outdoor wine tasting at the Italian Ristorante I Ricchi. Venders offered tastings of 16 Italian wines, plus 2 full glasses of your choice. Cheese and charcuterie were served, as well as a few grilled dishes, while Chef Ricchi herself made the rounds to talk with guests.

Well Dined | I Ricchi

Chef  Ricchi managed a family restaurant in Tuscany for close to two decades, before coming to DC to open a restaurant here in 1989. She serves authentic, rustic Tuscan food and creates events like the weekly Women’s Club – where women can enjoy 50% off while they network.  We really enjoyed talking with her about Tuscany, where we spent our honeymoon.

Well Dined | I Ricchi

The grilled food we were served at the event consisted of a decent chicken skewer and an outstanding bean and sausage dish. The later contained white beans with tomato and rosemary, served with a grilled sausage and a stick of (addictive) fried polenta.

The wines served were as follows:

Sparkling
Prosecco – Canella N/V
Ribolla Gialla Sparkling – Colutta
Lambrusco Amabile – Ca’ Montanari

White
Vernaccia di San Gimignano – Montenidoli
Pinot Grigio – Jermann
Chardonnay – Antica, Antinori
Soave Classica – Suavia
Greco di Tufo – Loggia Della Serra

Red
Valpolicella Classico – Nicolis
Dolcetto – Marcarini Boschi di Berri
Il Bruciato – Guado al Tasso, Antinori
Chianti Classico – Il Molino di Grace
Cabernet Sauvignon – Antica, Antinori
Col Solare – Antinori/Chateau Ste. Michelle
Barbera d’Asti – Damilano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – Fattoria del Cerro

The standouts for us were the Soave Classica (a funky, earthy white) and the Col Solare (predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec).  We were offered the opportunity to purchase the showcased wines at a discount from Schneider’s of Capitol Hill.

Well Dined | I Ricchi

The weather was gorgeous, the piazza was lovely, and the wine was flowing – truly a lovely night.

Paleo Chicken and Carrot Cauliflower Puree

Well Dined | Paleo Chicken

I am trying to avoid carbohydrates and starches as much as possible for health reasons (and not being very successful).  For this reason, I like it when I happen upon a tasty looking Paleo recipe.  I do not follow the Paleo diet by any means, but I do agree with some of their basic assumptions – like grains and processed vegetable oils are bad, and animal fat is good.

Well Dined | Paleo Chicken

I liked this recipe even more when I saw that it was for the slow cooker.  Loaded up with carrots, cauliflower, onion, garlic, and chicken stock – a pot of goodness!

Well Dined | Paleo Chicken

Now, I usually don’t like chicken thighs, especially skin-on and bone-in, but I get that breasts dry out and fall apart so I followed the recipe on this one.  Picking around the bone was still pretty irritating to me, but that skin that I crisped up (twice) in bacon fat?  Yum city.  I also threw a little fresh thyme in here because I grow it and why not?

Well Dined | Paleo Chicken

The flavor is rich and satisfying, really great as comfort food.  I will say that the proportions of this recipe as written are off.  There is so little meat on these thighs that it would take 3-4 to fill someone up, especially if you don’t make some other kind of side (greens would have been so good!).  And there was a huge amount of puree – I had enough leftover after serving to turn into a soup!  So next time, I would double the amount of chicken and will reflect that in the recipe below. (more…)

DC Wine Week Kick-Off

Well Dined

This month is the 25th Anniversary of Virginia Wine Month, which I didn’t know about until last week.  I also didn’t know about DC Wine Week, which kicked off it’s 3rd year last night, until I got a special invite to attend some of the events.  You see, the co-founders are social media marketing experts, and they scour the web looking for locals who might get excited about their events.  And let me tell you, I was excited.

Lisa Byrne and Vanessa French started DC Wine Week as a celebration of all things wine, but especially of local wines and the places that serve them.  So it makes sense that they chose Veritas Wine Bar (one of the best wine bars in the city and, I’m told, one of the first) for their opening event.

This was my first time at Veritas, but I would love to go back.  The selected wines were all new to me, and all fantastic; and the cheese and charcuterie pairings were outstanding on their own, but also some of the best examples of food and wine pairings I have ever experienced.  These guys know what they are doing.  Period.  Special shout-out to Uri Martinez, who took really good care of us even though the place was packed.  They do seem to serve their reds at room temp, whereas I like them around 55 degrees, but it’s hard to find anyone who puts a little chill on a red.

Well Dined
I don’t have many photos of the event, so here are some shots of me doing silly poses. You’re welcome.

Wines and Pairings

1) Sparkling, Rossignol de Moragas, ‘Brut,’ Cava, Penedes, Spain, NV – This was clean, crisp, and dry (everything I love in a sparkling wine) and paired with some fantastically meaty (read: not thin and dry) prosciutto.

2) Sparkling, Cricova, Spumante Original, Brut, Moldova, NV – As much as I liked the first wine, I liked this one even more.  Also crisp and dry, it had a lot of floral going on that brought out the more complex flavors (like juniper) in the wild boar salumi it was paired with.

3) Chardonnay, Slo Down Wines, ‘Broken Dreams,’ California, 2012 – Oh my gosh, you guys – this wine.  My favorite of the night, possibly my new favorite ever.  This is not your standard buttery CA Chardonnay (which is good, because I don’t like those) – full bodied and fruity (think tropical), this reminded me more of a dry Riesling.  It was paired with a firm sheep’s cheese from Spain called P’tit Basque.  The guys who make Broken Dreams are hilarious, and the wine is less that $20 a bottle.  Seriously, check it out.

4) Viognier, Barboursville, ‘Reserve,’ Virginia, 2012 – VA is famous for Viognier, so of course there had to be one on the list!  This particular one was very nice, with a good amount of terroir (aka funk).  We really loved the cheese it was paired with – a firm cow’s cheese with peppercorns from Oregon called Marco Polo.  With the wine, I was picking up notes of citrus and herb in the cheese – super yum!

5) Pinot Noir, Laetitia, Arroyo Grand, California, 2012 – Light bodied and dry with notes of cherry, this was paired with a killer braseola.  It didn’t set off the allergic reaction I get with some Pinots, so that was definitely a plus for me!

6) Tempranillo, Baron Ladron De Guevara, Rioja, Spain, 2012 – Medium bodied, dry, and jammy and paired with an outstanding duck rillete.  Neither of us really likes pates or terrines, and we loved this rillete, so that says a lot.

7) Sparkling, Aecovi, ‘Penelope,’ Jerez, Spain, NV – This was another favorite.  Very sweet, a sparkling dessert wine, with honeyed apple notes that reminded me of a Tokai.  Paired with a creamy and salty blue cheese.

Well Dined
And here is Jasper – drinking and thinking. What a cutie!

This event was super fun.  I learned a lot, I met some cool people, and I had some really great food and wine.  Be sure to go to www.dcwineweek.com and sign up for one of the events!

Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but warm quinoa salads are kind of the go-to for my friend, Melissa, and I (like this one, and this one, and this one).  So when we didn’t really have a lunch plan a couple of weeks ago, we decided to throw some her CSA veg into, you guessed it, a warm quinoa salad.  I would apologize for the repetition, but these salads are healthy and filling and delicious, so I’m not sorry!

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

This time around, Melissa was drowning in fall squash.  So we diced up a butternut and threw it in the oven with a sliced onion.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

Meanwhile, we cooked up our pretty tri-color quinoa and tossed in some toasted pine nuts.  You could easily sub walnuts or pecans instead.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

In went the roasted veg and some arugula, along with some fresh thyme.  Again, you could easily sub another type of green (I do love peppery arugula, though) and whatever herbs you have on hand.

Well Dined | Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese

Lastly, and certainly not least, we added in some goat cheese.  We both seriously love goat cheese.  We mixed half of the cheese into the salad to get it melty, and crumbled the rest on top so there would be nice pockets of it.

Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese
original recipe, click here for Melissa’s post
serves 4

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small onion, sliced in half-moons
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 cups baby arugula
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Toss the squash and onion in olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper.

Spread the veggies in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet covered in foil.  Roast for 25–30 minutes, turning the veggies over halfway through.  When the squash is tender, remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, combine the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until the water is absorbed and the curlicues pop out.  Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the pine nuts, roasted veggies, thyme, arugula, and half the goat cheese into the quinoa; crumble the rest of the cheese over top.  Serve warm.

Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

Well Dined | Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

I actually made this the same day as the shrimp galette.  Two galettes in one day?  Girl.  Get a hold of yourself.  I can’t though, I have a problem.

Well Dined | Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

No seriously, I have a problem.  The second pie crust in that package needed a home, though!  Right?  Bad foodie, using store-bought.  I don’t care, don’t judge me!  Oh lordy, somebody please help me.

Well Dined | Blueberry Cheesecake Galette

Fresh blueberries tucked inside pie crust with a smear of sweetened cream cheese – heaven (even if it springs a leak and starts bleeding purple juice) (more…)