Practicing My Gnocchi Skills

Making gnocchi is a time intensive process, but was good practice for my upcoming adventures with homemade pasta. The last time I made gnocchi was a colossal failure, although there was way too much wine and the potatoes were left too long in the water. The time before, my only job was forking the little potato pillows.  

 Gnocchi rolled on a wooden ridged gnocchi board.

 Then I got lazy and just cut them.

 Boiled gnocchi with tomato sauce.

Fully sauced.

Reinventing Ham Dinner Leftovers

We sent home some of the ham, biscuits and mashed potatoes with my family, but we still had a lot leftovers. With the ham bone, I make a soup stock for ham and white bean soup. 

 Ham salad.

Ground ham with celery, onion, dijon mustard and a touch of mayonnaise.

 Ham salad is delightful on leftover biscuits.

A little smoked gouda was added to the mashed potatoes, ham, orange fennel salad and a leftover crab cake with more biscuits.

Holiday Dinner with the Family

My parents were visiting my brother and nephew after Christmas. To celebrate, we invited them over for a holiday dinner. While we debated about a menu of Japanese dishes, we decided to stay more traditional. My favorite part of dinner parties is actually the appetizers more than the main dinner.

 Carmelized onions and bacon on puff pastry.

 Marcona almonds, salami, brie, smoked gouda, roasted bell peppers, dates stuffed with mozzarella.

 My mom loves crab cakes, so as a special treat, I made mini crab cakes with fresh crab meat.

Mix the crab meat with egg, mustard, panko and seasonings, and shape into cakes to refrigerate at least two hours before cooking. You can bake them, but the oven was occupied with the holiday ham. 

 Panseared mini crab cakes with tartar sauce and lemon.

 A shrimp cocktail helped round out the appetizers. 

***

For dinner we had ham, mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, a salad of orange and fennel and corn. I was so busy, I missed taking a photo of the full meal. 

For dessert, I made a Pear Tarte Tatin.

Mabo Tofu at Home

We go to Sichuan restaurants a lot, mostly because it's one of my favorite things to eat. Tender beef in spicy sauce, oh yes. Mabo tofu, yup. Dan dan mien? Yes, yes, yes. Well, I've been tinkering with how to make some of my favorite Sichuan delights at home, and I'm getting closer.

 Frying ginger, garlic, garlic chives, scallions, ground pork with a mixture of spices and tofu.

Soo spicy, fragrant and satisfying.

Homemade Pork Gyoza

Most people buy frozen gyoza at the supermarket. I'm not most people. I do cheat a bit and buy prepared gyoza wrappers. Each time I have an internal debate about whether I prefer the Shanghai style wrappers or the Beijing style ones. The Shanghai ones are too thin for pan-searing, although I often forget. The key to making fabulous dumplings is to get a nice mixture of aromatics, including nira, garlic chives, scallions, grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ground pork and napa cabbage. 

 These were wrapped by the hubs, who has a different but very pretty style.

Frying in some sesame oil. Add 2/3 cups of water mixed with flour to create the hane (wings). Cover.

Flip over the gyoza onto a plate. A little too blackened in the middle, but really lovely.

Holiday Party

While my company's holiday party was a major Western buffet with open bar and dj for dancing, my husband's holiday party was more of a family affair. We gathered in the office conference room to a pretty awesome catered array of Japanese foods from Kushi. My hubs picked up a lovely cheese and fruit platter as well as his favorite strawberry cream cake from Whole Foods.

 Wow. 

 Kushi nigiri sushi. Surprisingly good.

 Karaage, Japanese fried chicken. A little too much batter.

 Tamagoyaki.

 Katsuo tataki (lightly seared bonito).

 Kushiyaki (pork belly, beef on skewers).

 Yakitori (chicken on skewers).

 Spiced shrimp (tasted a bit like kochujang).

 Maki sushi.

 The kids loved the strawberries.

Fabulous nama cream and ichigo cake.

Tonkatsu at Home

I've been on a Western food kick lately, so to please the hubs, I made a Japanese meal that I thought he would enjoy. Tonkatsu, breaded and fried pork cutlets with tonkatsu sauce on shredded cabbage with rice, seaweed and cucumbers. 

Anatolia Restaurant in NYC

My wee office headed to NYC for the holiday party with our headquarters. We had some afternoon meetings with NYC colleagues, but beforehand we headed out for lunch. Prices were a bit higher than DC, but the flavor was pretty good. 

 The boss chose a calamari salad and chicken orzo soup.

I went with a chicken kebab with rice, salad and sumac-dressed red onions.

Very juicy and flavorful chicken.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken

After a lovely dinner party at the house of my husband's friends, I've been interested in cooking more with our cast iron skillet. On a bed of vegetables, including onions, carrots, portabello mushrooms and celery, the lightly salted chicken with thyme, ground pepper and butter is roasted. It made our apartment smell heavenly.

Thomas Keller is a genius.

Christmas Gift from the Parents

Our apartment building has become a bit less than accommodating as of late. While they used to accept packages and hold them in the package room in Building 2, they have no longer been accepting them. Instead, we receive cryptic orange package cards indicating we have to pick up a package at the Post Office which has inconvenient hours and is located a bit of a hike away from our apartment. Fortunately we squeezed in a package run before going to see the Nutcracker ballet earlier this month. (Yes, yes, I've been extremely remiss in posting updates to my food admiration blog this month.) 

My parents had sent us a lovely gift package from Wolfermanns, replete with English muffins of the blueberry and cherry persuasion, as well as some mini ones that will be lovely for appetizers. To celebrate, I began practicing making poached eggs. Unfortunately for the hubs, I have become a bit obsessed about them and now make them at every turn.

Eggs Florentine on blueberry and cherry English muffins.

Neopol Smokery at Union Market

Neopol Smokery is located to the far righthand side of the Union Market, and is one of my favorite counters to visit when I stop by Union Market. The first time I went there, I had the most fabulous toasted bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion, capers and sliced tomato. It was oh so utterly delicious and satisfying I was unable to indulge in oysters as planned, yet felt no remorse. 

This time, I ordered a half pound of hand sliced smoked salmon. This was a very popular item, and we were the second to last customer to order a half pound of smoked salmon before they ran out for the day. So worth the wait.

Norway-inspired smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, sliced onion and capers on a baguette.

When I arrived home with my provisions, I surprised my sweet hubs with the packet of smoked salmon. After quickly scrambling some eggs and putting together the smoked salmon sandwich on a baguette from Lyon Hall Bakery, he too was enjoying the fruits of a Union Market excursion. I only wish it was closer to where we lived.

Rappahannock Oyster Bar at Union Market

I met up with a lovely friend for a long awaited brunch in early December. She had never been to Union Market and I was craving some oysters plus picking up some new spices from the spice bazaar. $3.99 for a packet of sichuan peppercorns is just too good of a deal to pass up. I also picked up some fantastic ground coriander and other spices that have our cupboard smelling lovely. After a nice wander through the market, we were one of the first customers at ROB. 

 One dozen freshly shucked oysters, four of each variety.

 Steamed clams with fabulous grilled bread.

 Bloody Mary includes fish sauce, and is not very spicy.

Thanksgiving with Extended Family

My brother lives near-ish to us and organized with my other two brothers to have an extended family Thanksgiving together. For the last few years, my hubs and I have been perfecting a holiday routine and invited over friends who were not heading home for the holidays. He has taken over turkey duties, and does a magnificent job roasting the ceremonial bird to browned perfection. I handle the side dishes and pre-dinner appetizers. 

This year, my turkey day duties were relegated to bringing a casserole, some extra serving dishes, and a pre-dinner snack. There was also an arts and crafts activity I did with my niece and one nephew. You can never have too many holiday table cards. I can make a cheese and charcuterie plate with the best of them. Judging by the sole piece of cheese left, my niece and nephews plus brothers  and wives enjoyed the cheeses and crackers, along with the other snacks my brother had assembled. The hubs enjoyed the peanut, raisin and chocolate mix. 

We have not seen my niece and nephews in a long time. One of the boys has grown so tall, he is taller than me and only in 7th grade. My niece is probably only a year or so away from being taller than me too. The littlest one is actually only a hair shorter than his cousin who's two years older. It was fun to see them wrestle and hanging out. 

My brother ordered from Whole Foods a Thanksgiving meal to feed 12-14 people. They provided turkey and roasting instructions, plus all of the sides ready for reheating. We were able to put everything together without setting off a smoke alarm or burning anything. While some dishes could have been a bit hotter, it was very nice to spend the holiday together, eating, playing games and catching up.

Macaroni and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and green beans,

Turkey white meat.

Turkey dark meat.

One of the nephew's dinner.

*** 

My sister in law puts ketchup on her youngest son's mashed potatoes and turkey to get him to eat it. While ketchup on mashed potatoes sounds a little unappealing to me, apparently he's a fan and eats everything. Now his cousin is a picky eater and my brother has a challenge getting him to eat anything. He normally tries to make smoothies to sneak in vegetables or protein. Wonder if he'll try out the ketchup method soon.

Marja's Macaroni and Cheese is a Great Addition to Thanksgiving

The night before Thanksgiving at my brother's place, I prepared a macaroni and cheese casserole to bring along. I love macaroni and cheese, and have finally become adept at making a bechamel sauce. What intrigued me the most about this recipe was the lack of making a bechamel sauce. Plus, if it's good enough for a Jean George (it's his wife's recipe), it's good enough for me. 

Marja's Macaroni and Cheese

(Serves 10-12)

3/4 lb. elbow macaroni 

extra virgin oil oil

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Heat oven to 350F. This recipe was a great jumping off point, but I felt free to switch up the cheeses and used a mix of shredded mild cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella. The cream cheese is essential, definitely do not skip it. Cook the macaroni for 3 minutes. Mix the milk, cream, half and half, eggs and ground nutmeg in a bowl. Add the shredded cheeses. Drain the macaroni and drizzle with some olive oil back in the pot. Mix the macaroni into the cream and cheese mixture, then pour into a pyrex 9x13 pan. Dot the cream cheese on top.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread the cream cheese with the back of a spoon to evenly cover. Return to the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Fresh from the oven. You can broil for 5 minutes to make a nice golden brown.

Reheat at 350F for 30 minutes when ready to eat.

***

Essentially this creates a creamy custard which suspends the macaroni. The result is very creamy. Other reviewers online had complained that it was bland, but I wonder if they skipped the freshly grated nutmeg, or their cheeses were not the best quality. I think a little spinach, broccoli or cauliflower would be a welcome addition, as well as ham or bacon. However, as is, the result is pretty fantastic. I suppose a lightened up version could be created with less cream and more milk, subbing in some mashed cauliflower as well. This does freeze well, so bake up a batch and freeze some to enjoy at another time.

Pho 75...Perfect Lunch on a Cold Day

The day before Thanksgiving and my office building was semi-empty. We finally had maintenance come by and check out why our office space was a balmy 65F. Turns out a part in the HVAC system was broken. Once repaired, I was finally able to work without being swaddled in scarves and blankets. With cold, rainy weather and a lighter work schedule, the hubs and I headed out to lunch at Pho 75 in Rosslyn. We had a brief wait before being seated.

Large #15 ($7.99).

Large #15 fully dressed.

***

The broth at Pho 75 is really lovely, very flavorful and piping hot. Often times, my hubs adds sriracha sauce, but he eschewed that this time to enjoy the nuanced broth. This broth knocks the socks off the version at our local pho joint in Alexandria. This was just the thing to warm us up before heading out into the sleet and continuing our work day back downtown. 

How You Fondu-ing?

My friend decided to host a pre-holiday vacation gathering with a wintertime favorite, cheese fondue. Of course, she never does anything just a little bit, so it was a lovely party feast. 

Apples and pears

I tried out an artful flower arrangement.

Roasted olives with rosemary and orange.

My contribution was a selection of wine. I brought two sauvingnon blancs from New Zealand, a six-pack of beer, and two bottles recommended for pairing with cheese fondue. Wine Spectator recommends a chenin blanc for pairing with a gruyere and emmantaler fondue.

For the non-white wine fans, a Rhone wine is apparently a nice pairing.

Fresh grated nutmeg, white wine, kirschwasser and a mixture of two cheeses.

Bread cubes, roasted potatoes, endive, broccoli, apples and pears, cherry tomatoes and fondue.

Another party guest brought poached pears with a ground nut stuffing for dessert.