Merry Christmas, y’all! We went on a bit of a crazy roadtrip (which I will tell you about later, because there are restaurants involved) and didn’t get back til late on the 22nd, which left us in a bit of a scramble to get ready for Christmas. We managed to get some outdoor decorations up (check out the wreath I made!), but no tree or anything indoors.
We also spent all our holiday money on travel, so no presents this year. But we did have a nice Christmas dinner (I mean, come on – how could I not, right?). Honey Baked Ham (going store bought on the main let me focus on sides); Spinach and Gruyere Strata; Sweet Potato Gratin with Caramelized Onions; and Bacon Popovers.
And a Cranberry Raisin Tart with orange zest and spices for dessert.
Oh yeah, and breakfast! Can’t forget Christmas morning sweets! I made these Cranberry Orange Rolls by Smitten Kitchen – yum! (more…)
I feel like I constantly need some form of cheesy winter squash pasta on hand at all times. It’s kind of a problem. I saw a recipe for shells with pumpkin and ricotta that sounded good, but the comments all said it came out dry and bland. So instead of using that recipe, I decided to make a pumpkin version of my Spring Shells and Cheese.
So instead of ricotta, I made a bechamel with sage, pumpkin, Gruyere, and Parmesan. Then I added in some sauteed spinach and shallots, for health and color.
Because adding spinach totally makes up for all the cheese and pasta, right? I mean, I did use whole wheat shells…
Anyway, I added in some pecans for crunch. Nuts are healthy, too, right? (more…)
I’ve written about my favorite lasagna recipe before, but it was years ago and I think it needs to be revisited – especially now that my neighbors confirm it is the best lasagna they have ever had.
The cast of characters is pretty simple, but I think what makes this lasagna stand out is the use of veal and white wine. It’s a bit different from the standard, but that’s what makes it special.
I really like for my veg to be finely diced for this ragu, so that there aren’t any big chunks. But I did not make those perfect cuts on my own – I use a veggie chopper. It’s fast and it makes everything uniform.
The other thing that makes this ragu great is that it is simmered for up to 5 hours. That low and slow cooking brings out all the flavor. I highly recommend using San Marzano tomatoes in this, they are just the best.
Americans might be used to the type of lasagna with ricotta and mozzarella, which is fine but not very authentic. This version has a creamy bechamel (aka my favorite food) and tons of Parmesan, and it is just so dreamy.
I really went all out for this batch and made my own lasagna noodles for the first time. It is certainly not necessary to do that, but I do think it took it up one final step to perfection. I did have several issues while doing this, though. The learning curve is pretty steep. Don’t try to be clever when you roll out your own pasta and leave the sheets really long – trust me, it makes them almost impossible to cook. Now I know why the store-bought ones are short. I’m also going to edit the pasta dough recipe in the original post because it was awful and really soft and hard to work with.
Anyway, go make the best lasagna of your life. You will thank me. Recipe here.
I’m not really sure how to do food styling for mac and cheese – as you can tell from this photo. Oh – a chunk or orange stuff, yum. Well don’t let my bad photography fool you – this mac and cheese is the bomb. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and I should know.
Look at that sweet face.
You see, I lost my cat last month to illness. Other pet owners out there might understand this – he and his (adopted) brother were my first pets as an adult. That is a whole different situation from childhood pets, or even pets you get later as a family. I literally think of my boys as my children, so this was extremely difficult for me. It was also very sudden. Animals, as you may know, hide their sickness so that they won’t be perceived as weak. Which means that by the time they start acting sick, it is often too late. In our case, we took him in the same day he was acting weird and found out that night that there was nothing we could do. He was gone the next day.
The grief affected me like the flu – I had fever, chills, and nausea. The only thing I could stand to eat was macaroni and cheese, and after a couple of days of my husband making me the boxed stuff, I finally started cooking again. I made this butternut squash mac and cheese and lived off it for a week. It was definitely very comforting.
It’s ooey gooey with both cheddar and Gruyere, with a bit of caramelized onion, pops of salty bacon, and sweet butternut squash – partially mashed so that there is sweetness throughout, but also some chunks here and there. I even splurged and used regular, white pasta so that I could get my favorite shape – gemelli.
The top is sprinkled with more cheese and buttery breadcrumbs. Perfection. This is possibly the most delicious food ever. So whether you are sad or you just like macaroni and cheese, go dive face first into a bowl of this stuff. You won’t regret it. (more…)
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.
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.
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…)
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.
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.
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.
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.
The weather was gorgeous, the piazza was lovely, and the wine was flowing – truly a lovely night.
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.
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.
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!
This is one of those transitional dishes that takes you from one season into another – the last of the summer corn, combined with dark leafy greens in a warm tart. The original recipe didn’t have any protein, but it did use feta and dill, so I thought shrimp would be perfect.
If you don’t eat shrimp, then no problem – leave them off. The veggies and cheese are hearty enough on their own. (more…)
Ugh – sorry folks, I’ve been bad about posting this last week! And this post is going to be pretty short, too. We are finally on our way into Fall, but the transition has been slow and there is still some stone fruit to be had. I am still really into tartines at the moment, so I paired sliced nectarine with goat cheese, prosciutto, and basil for a quick lunch.
Then the store finally had some burrata in (this is a seriously random occurrence, you never know), so I paired that with some ripe peach, basil, EVOO, balsamic, and sea salt.
I’ve been doing this thing lately where I pretend that making a pasta sauce out of vegetables makes up for the fact that I am eating pasta. Leave me to my delusions, I’m not ready to face the truth. I have three such recipes for you today, and the first is this gorgeous roasted beet sauce that will make your pasta intensely fuschia. Simply roast some beets, allow to cool slightly, peel, and puree with some starchy pasta water. Toss with cooked pasta, season, and serve. I topped mine with ricotta and fresh oregano.
Next up is a broccoli sauce – what could be more healthy than broccoli? I am not really used to broccoli because my father is allergic and we never really had it growing up. My poor husband loves broccoli (shocking since he is NOT a veggie eater), so I am trying to familiarize myself.
Did you know that you should peel broccoli? I didn’t. Apparently the outside part is tough and bitter. Anyway, peel and chop the broccoli, steam, and then saute with butter, onion, and garlic. Add some cream, puree, and toss with pasta and a bit of that magical pasta water. Top with a gratuitous amount of Parmesan. And before you start yelling at me – know that many vegetables need to be eaten with fat in order to allow the body to fully absorb the nutrients – FACT.
Lastly we have a roasted red pepper alfredo. I think this one might be my favorite – super creamy and cheesy with a ton of roasted pepper flavor. I topped it with grilled chicken that I marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, rosemary, and oregano.
They sell roasted peppers in jars at the grocery store, but it turns out that it is super easy (and cheaper) to do at home – just pop them in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes, allow to cool, then remove the stem, seeds, and core. Toss the roasted peppers into a mixture of onion, garlic, half and half, herbed goat cheese, and Parmesan; puree and enjoy. (more…)
