Kitchen Wench

This is a great salad for fall or winter, though you can substitute ingredients to make it perfect for any season. I’ve adapted from this 2002 recipe in Bon Appetit. I served this at my holiday dinner party and brought it to Christmas potluck last month. This is also great with dried fruit or fresh berries.

Mixed greens with apple, pomegranate, and candied walnuts

• 2 bags of store-bought, pre-washed mixed greens
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 1 cup Candied Walnuts (recipe follows)
• 2 Granny Smith or other tart apples, thinly sliced
• Maple Lime Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Layer greens and apple slices in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with dressing and top with nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 12.

How to seed pomegranates
I think this is the easiest and cleanest way to seed your pomegranate. Fill a bowl half way full with cool water. Slice your pomegranate in half and submerge it in the water. Press your thumb into the skin-side of the fruit until it breaks in half and inverts. Flick the seeds off the skin. The seeds will sink to the bottom and all the skin and white pith will float to the top. Discard the skin and drain the clean seeds in a fine mesh strainer. The strainer will catch any tiny bits of leftover skin. By seeding underwater, you also avoid getting the dark red juice on your clothes and hands. You can store the seeds in the refrigerator for several days.

Candied Walnuts

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dark honey
• 1 cup of raw nuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Whisk together whites and water until slightly frothy. Whisk in sugar, honey, and spices until sugar is dissolved and mixture is syrupy. Stir in nuts.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread nut mixture onto pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes (sugar can burn easily, so time depends on your oven), stirring halfway through cooking. Mixture should be golden brown, tacky, and a little foamy when finished.
4. Allow nuts to cook for half an hour on the baking sheet, then break apart. Nuts will keep in an airtight tupperware for at least a week, though everyone around here eats them up in a few days.

Maple Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup (B or C grade)
• juice of 2 limes
• 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup vegetable oil (you could substitute walnut or another nut oil)

Whisk together mayo, syrup, juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour oil in while whisking to emulsify dressing. Alternatively, you can make the dressing in a jar. Add all ingredients to jar, seal tightly, and shake until oil is incorporated. Dressing will keep refrigerated for 1 week.

Makes 1 3/4 cup of dressing.

Today, celebrity chef/world traveler/incredibly macho dude Anthony Bourdain made an appearance at Olsson’s bookstore in Washington, D.C. Olsson’s is a scant five minute walk from my seafoam green office cubicle, and although I’m not a die-hard Bourdain fan, I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.

Bourdain was in town today to promote his latest book, No Reservations. It’s basically a collection of food porn-y (and sometimes Bourdain porn-y) photographs collected while on the road for his show on the Travel Channel. I didn’t realize this until after I handed the cashier my credit card and suddenly found that I had paid 36 dollars for a coffee table book. Yikes.

However, my 36 dollars also bought me a little slip of paper with a number on it. This number ensured me a place in line to get my overpriced photo album signed by the man himself. This would become important later, when it turned out that it was so crowded in the store that I couldn’t actually see Mr. Bourdain the entire time he was speaking.

Olsson’s is a small, independent chain, and Bourdain’s celebrity was definitely too large for the tiny row of folding chairs the set up for the audience. While I’ve always known the DC professional population to be unnecessarily competitive and aggressive (this is what happens when you build a city entirely of lawyers), the lack of seating made for some especially nasty interactions. Read the rest of this entry �

Some pictures from the last of the summer tomato harvest. All of these came from the Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market.

JFK once described Washington, DC as “a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm”. Irony aside, once you start heading south out of the city, it really starts to look like the south. (To me, anyway. But I’m from the far north.)

Last weekend, I visited Front Royal, Virginia, about an hour or so outside of DC. I guess most people go to Front Royal in order to enjoy Shenandoah National Park and cruise along scenic Skyline Drive. I did neither. Instead, Lee dragged us to a vintage clothing store that turned out to be closed. But the afternoon was not completely lost. On our way into town, I spotted The Apple House. More specifically, I spotted a sign for the Apple House’s fresh, homemade donuts.

In college, we used to always pass an apple orchard on the drive down from Minneapolis. Occasionally, my parents would pick up a bag of hot, fresh apple cider donuts for me to bring back to the dorm. I like donuts as much as the next girl, but fresh apple cider donuts are a cut above the rest. Obviously I wasn’t about the miss another chance at apple donuts.

But this isn’t a story about apple cider donuts. It’s a story about pulled pork sandwiches and apple cider donuts. The Apple House is a quasi-restaurant/country store, selling jams, jellies, maple syrup, sparkling cider, and those horrible Vera Bradley purses. The restaurant only serves 2 things: bbq pork sandwiches and donuts. Seven dollars and fifty cents will get you an applewood-smoked pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, beans, kettle chips, and a drink.

This is a fabulous sandwich. Pile on the sweet, yellow, creamy coleslaw, and you’ve got a mouthful of heaven. Sweet, smoky, mushy, saucy, creamy, and just a touch piquant. I’ve had a lot of pulled pork sandwiches in which the pork was flavorless, just smothered in some sauce. Here, the meat has a lot of salty, smoky flavor in its own right, topped off by a tomato-y sauce and sweet slaw. (Apparently the secret ingredient in this sauce is apple butter.) This is the kind of sandwich I fantasize about when my tummy starts a rumblin’. Finished off with a cup of cider and a cinnamon-sugar crusted donut, and it’s the perfect meal.

The Apple House
4675 John Marshall Hwy, Linden, VA
http://www.theapplehouse.net/

Labor Day weekend was my first real experience with the Orange County and Los Angeles, CA area. It was sort of everything I was expecting to be, all dry heat and sprawl, palm trees and highways, dirty and slick, revolting and yet strangely captivating as well.

Mostly, it’s not for me. I knew that, but this trip definitely confirmed it. Lee and I booked a cheap flight to LAX, rented a car, and headed across massive highways to Fullerton to attend Inspiration Weekend (not related to Jesus in any way). Downtown Fullerton is pretty cute, but it’s surrounded by industrial office parks, strip malls, and miles of asphalt parking lots. As we rode along in our rented PT Cruiser, belting out what few lyrics we know of “The OC” theme song (“Californnniiiiyaaa, here we caaaaaa-uhhhmme!”), it seemed eerily quiet. No one was out on the street. They were all in their cars.

There are subcultures in America and there are regional cultures. I am fully aware of how stereotypical it all sounds, but I walked away with a strange sensation of being surrounded by a lot of flash, but little actual substance.

But, enough of the creepy surface details. The only real saving grace about the OC (for me, anyway), was the food. Read the rest of this entry �

From some sort of summer vacation that I didn’t really intend to take. But somehow, between visits to Boston, Pennsylvania, Seattle, Vancouver, and two forays into the alternate universe known as Southern California, July and August blew by me in a haze of humidity and eyeball-searing heat.

This weekend was the first tolerable (according to my ex-Minnesotan standards) weather I’ve experienced in months. DC is suffocating in the summer. Now that it’s hopefully over, I’m starting to feel like a human being again. And, while I could go on for pages about how the Mid-Atlantic heat withers my soul, zaps my energy, and gives me pesky freckles under the eyes, it is time to turn my energy back to the subject at hand: Food.

Oh my God. I just made the best soup ever.

Or, at least, this is the best soup I’ve ever made. I’m serious, it’s really good. It’s a bit time consuming, but the result is really rich flavor and a utterly velvety texture. Creamy enough to be served with a drizzle of truffle oil, it kind of reminds me of the parsnip soup I had at Corduroy during Restaurant Week. I get a little weak every time I pass a spoonful over my tongue. But, since I don’t have any truffle oil sitting around, I served it with a dollop of minted yogurt, though plain yogurt or sour cream would also be good.

The intensity of flavor will depend on the quality of your ingredients. I use a good quality stock (not broth) and spices from Penzy’s Spices. Old spices or some grocery store brands may be less flavorful and you should adjust the proportions as necessary.

• 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower
• 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 cups of chicken stock (If you don’t make your own, try the Kitchen Basics brand)
• 2 small onions, chopped
• olive oil
• 1 tb butter, melted
• 1 tsp sweet curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• pinch of ground saffron (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, pepper, and sugar, to taste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Remove stem and roughly chop cauliflower into 1.5″-2″ chunks. Toss cauliflower and garlic cloves in a mixture of the melted butter, spices, salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to lightly coat all pieces. Pour into a baking dish and roast for 20-30 minutes, until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a fork and is golden and carmelized. The carmelization will create a rich flavor in the soup, but be careful not to burn the vegetables or it will taste bitter.
3. Make the minted yogurt: Mix chopped mint leaves into the plain yogurt. Set aside and allow the flavors to meld while you prepare the rest of the soup.
4. Meanwhile, saute onions with olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Cook onions on medium-low heat until soft. Add roasted cauliflower, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Season with salt, sugar, and pepper. Continue to simmer until 20-25 minutes, or until all vegetables are very soft and the flavors have concentrated.
5. Remove bay leaf. Puree soup on low using either an immersion or regular upright blender. If using a regular blender (like me), be careful to take the plastic cap off the top so that the steam can escape. You can cover the hole with a dishtowel if there is splattering.
6. Push the yogurt through a strainer to remove the mint leaves. Place a dollop on each serving of soup.

Makes 4 servings.

• 10 eggs
• 4 slices of bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 small Yukon gold potatos, chopped into 1″ cubes
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup finely grated aged cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon Penzey’s Country French or other French herb seasoning
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• Salt, pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cook bacon over medium heat in either a 10″ cast iron or non-stick skillet. When bacon is crisp, remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towels.
3. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of bacon fat from pan. Add onions, garlic, and potatoes and cook until onions are translucent and potatoes have softened. (Add more bacon fat if needed.)
4. Break eggs into a large bowl. Add milk, salt, pepper, and herbs. Whisk until yolks and whites are well combined. Stir in grated cheese.
5. If your pan is oven safe: After potatoes and onions have softened, stir bacon bits back in. Pour egg mixture into the pan and cook until the sides of frittata have started to set, 8-10 minutes. Once sides have set, place pan in the oven to continue cooking.
6. If your pan is NOT oven safe: After potatoes and onions have softened, pour them into a 10″ greased baking dish. Add bacon bits and pour egg mixture on top. Place dish in the center of your oven. You will need to increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.
7. Bake frittata until top is set but the middle is still runny - approximately 10-12 minutes. Open oven and sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top of frittata. Continue baking until puffed and browned on top, another 10-12 minutes.
8. Slide a butter knife around the edges to loosen. Cut and serve. I paired this frittata with a salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cornichons in a red wine vinegarette. (Add some of the pickle vinegar for an extra kick.)

A note on cookware: Cast iron skillets are great for this sort of thing, but are verboten for folks (like me) that have a glass top range. They will scratch the surface. Non-stick cookware is a good alternative and makes removing the frittata very easy. However, not all non-stick cookware is oven safe. Check the manufacturer’s information first. I use a Calphalon non-stick pan and it is oven safe to 450 F.

[Photo from Indradi Soemardjan/Wikipedia]

On Friday, Lee and I went out to eat Malaysian food at Penang in Bethesda. Penang is actually a small chain, and I’ve eaten at their restaurants in Chicago and New York. One of my favorite Malaysian dishes, which I first sampled at Penang in Chicago, is hollow vegetable (also known as water convolvulus) stirfried with chilies and shrimp paste (kang kung blachan). After some coaxing, Lee agreed to forgo beef in favor of this unknown vegetable.

However, when we attempted to order it, the waiter informed us that they didn’t have any hollow vegetable. We would have been satisfied with that answer, but the waiter went on to explain that kang kung has actually been banned in the US, which is why they don’t serve it anymore. Banned?! How can this be??? We ordered the beef rendang instead, and it was good, but no substitute for my beloved hollow vegetable. After dinner, I hit up the Google to find out if our waiter had been telling us the truth. Read the rest of this entry �

Let me begin by saying that I really wanted to like Cake Love. Before eating there, I did my research and sort of fell in love with the whole Cake Love story. It describes founder Warren Brown’s climb up the ladder of higher education, all the while secretly nursing his passion for baking. However, after selling his soul to the legal profession, he gave it all up to open a fabulously successful bakery and cafe in the trendy U St. corridor.

Today, Cake Love has two more locations in the DC metro area (Silver Spring, MD and Arlington, VA) and Warren has his own show on the Food Network, called Sugar Rush. It’s the quintessential foodie Cinderella story–who doesn’t dream of quitting their day job and turning a hobby into a successful business? By the end, I had decided that Warren Brown might be my hero and/or my black, male alter ego. Then I actually walked to U St and ate one of his cupcakes. Read the rest of this entry �