Tag: brunch

Sea Pearl Restaurant, Mosaic Center

The new Mosaic Shopping Center in Merrifield, VA is super cool.  There’s a Target, an indie movie theater, a gym, boutiques, and cafes.  Sea Pearl is one of the larger, less casual restaurants in the center.  The website describes it as “Asian inspired modern American cuisine.”  The main focus is seafood – they have both cooked dishes and sushi – but they also have some meat dishes and a pretty good brunch (on Saturday, too, which I love).  It’s quite large and the decor is really lovely.  It’s a little on the feminine side, which would make it perfect for ladies’ brunch or girls’ night out (the drinks are good, but with DC prices).  I’ve never seen it packed, so large groups could be seated easily.

Let’s start with Brunch, because that is what I go for most often.

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Cinnamon churros with warm chocolate dipping sauce: these are super awesome – hot, fresh, crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.  Love it.

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Ricotta fritters with honey and seasonal fruit (this time it was apple): these are good too, fluffy and rich.  If you had to choose only one pastry though, I’d go with the churros. (more…)

Quinoa and Kale Crustless Quiche

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Here is a dish that is simple, easy, healthy, and totally delicious.

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All you do is mix together cooked quinoa, wilted kale, caramelized onions, eggs, and cheese; then bake until set.

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It sets up a bit like a frittata.  So simple!

Quinoa and Kale Crustless Quiche
adapted from Food 52
serves 4-8

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut into ribbons
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese (or whatever you like)
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese (or Laughing Cow), cubed
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9″ pie dish (either butter the dish thoroughly or spray with baking spray).

Rinse the quinoa.  Combine the quinoa and water in a pan.  Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer.  This will take about twenty minutes.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium heat.  When the oil is shimmering, add the onions.  Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned.  Remove the onions from the pan, and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Add the kale into the hot onion pan.  On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes.  Allow the greens to cool.  Squeeze out any extra liquid using a sieve or a clean dish towel.

Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, cream cheese and cheddar to the mixing bowl.  Stir the ingredients so that they are evenly distributed.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs so that they are well combined.  Pour over the quinoa/kale mixture.  Stir until the egg clings to the greens.  Add salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish.  Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish.  This dish is delightful hot, but even better at room temperature.

Christmas 2012

I wanted to do a big Christmas dinner, but I didn’t want to be in the kitchen all Christmas Day. I also wanted to try something different than the usual rib roast and Yorkshire pudding. So I decided to do dinner on Christmas Eve and to do some easy, low-prep dishes for Brunch on Christmas Day.

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I ordered a half fresh ham through Whole Foods to try cooking a Christmas ham for the first time, but I made a few mistakes.  I wanted to cook it in the slow cooker with brown sugar and cider to make a glaze, but I didn’t realize that “fresh ham” is not really what we consider ham – without the curing or smoke, it is more like a pork roast – so I didn’t really get the flavor that I wanted.  I also couldn’t get the whole thing to fit in my (very large) slow cooker insert, so I had to chop a chunk off – which actually ended up being a good thing because I roasted that piece and it came out better. (more…)

Maple Avenue Restaurant

I have been going to Maple Avenue Restaurant (located on,  you guessed it, Maple Ave) for lunch pretty regularly the past couple of months.  I am so sad that I didn’t discover this place sooner, because it is awesome!  It is super tiny (like 20 seats max) and not much to look at, but the food is super fresh and seasonal and local and just great all around.  I don’t know much about the chef, I haven’t been to one of their “meet the farmers” events, and I haven’t even been for dinner, but I just love this place.  They have a super awesome lunch deal of 2 courses for $20 which, considering a main is like $22 usually, is a pretty good bargain.  The menu changes all the time, so it’s likely that dishes I post about here won’t be on the menu any more, but they can give you an idea of what you can expect.

The baked mac and cheese – this is one of their most popular small plates, and for good reason!  Really good pasta, cooked to the perfect al dente, with gruyere and cheddar, topped with an herbed panko crust. (more…)

Coconut Pancakes

I love all things coconut, especially during the summer.  I also love all things pancake – so when I saw this recipe for sweet and salty coconut pancakes posted on G+ I just had to try it.

Coconut milk is used in the pancake batter to give it coconut flavor.  But what really makes these pancakes stand out is the coconut syrup made with maple syrup, coconut milk, brown sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt to bring in that Thai flavor combo of sweet and salty (like coconut sticky rice, or salted caramel).

These are some seriously tasty pancakes.  Really.  Make them.  Right now. (more…)