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.

Roasted Chicken

We're celebrating Thanksgiving at my brother's house, so I will not be cooking up a storm this year. Not wanting to miss out on the gloriousness of a roasted fowl with stuffing, we picked up a chicken and stuffing mix.

Beautifully browned.

Slipping some butter in between the skin on both sides of the chicken and then seasoning with salt and pepper. The key is roasting at 450F for 15 minutes before turning down to 350F for the remaining 40 minutes. This leaves the chicken lovely and moist. We shared part of the chicken for Sunday dinner with stuffing made with onion and celery. There was enough for a nice chicken, stuffing and green peas lunch bento for the hubs. The next day we had leftover stuffing and chicken soup, which the hubs said tasted like chicken pot pie. 

BTS Lunch

We tried out a different burger joint for lunch the other day. BTS, short for Burger, Tap and Shake, is located in the new building across from the GW Hospital on Washington Circle. I remember when the hospital was located in this building, so it was a little strange to be enjoying some artery clogging food in the present day. 

$6 burger with American cheese, lettuce, raw onion, tomato, pickles, special sauce, Benton's bacon and fried egg with fries.

While Benton's bacon is a really nice and flavorful bacon, it's totally inappropriate in diced form for a burger which cries out for thin, crispy bacon slices. 

$6 burger with American cheese, special sauce, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles and avocado and side of onion rings.

***

My onion rings were a shade lighter from the fryer than another order I saw come out. The burgers are cooked per order to your preferred cook temp. The burger was pretty good, although priced at a burger premium. $26 for two burgers with sides and two drinks. The special sauce makes this an extremely gooey, greasy lunch. It was also so liberally salted, that I struggled with a food coma after returning to the office. The hubs remains a Shake Shack fan, followed by Five Guys and BGR, and then down the list would come BTS.

Clarendon Cava Mezze with the Girls

It's been a while, but I finally caught up in person with two lovely ladies for Sunday brunch. Unfortunately it was also 28F. Brrr. 

Harissa, olive oil and kalamata olives with pita bread are delivered to the table. 

Spanikopita

Pasta with cheese and poached egg.

Waffle with Nutella, bananas and whipped cream.

Farro with cheese and mushrooms.

Cava Fries with feta.

***

Our first plates arrived before our drinks did. Our waiter was pretty nonexistent, which is what I was prepared for, having read the yelp reviews. We didn't share plates, although I had offered. Some people are just not the sharing kind. I enjoyed the spanikopita and farro, although I should have had a green salad instead of the spanikopita. With one cocktail each, brunch was less than $30 each with tax and tip. 

Pizza at Home Two-Ways

We made the ill-advised decision to try and check out the new Tanger outlet mall in Oxon Hill on opening weekend. When we couldn't even find a parking spot after 10 minutes of waiting, we gave up and went grocery shopping instead. The weekend before Thanksgiving is always a mess at the grocery store. We escaped relatively unscathed. Picking up some fresh pizza dough, it was pizza night at home.

Deep-dish style. 

Pizza with pepperoni, green pepper, onion and mushroom.

Mala Tang

I love Sichuan food. I think the hubs prefers Peking duck or panfried seafood noodles, but I am a huge fan of the spice and heat of Sichuan. Instead of heading to our normal joint, Hong Kong Palace, we tried out Mala Tang in Arlington.

Spicy cold noodles.

The noodles have a great toothsomeness.

I like the special sauce bar. Cilantro with scallions, ground Sichuan peppers, soy sauce, sesame oil.

Steamed dumplings with ground beef.

Dandelion greens and watercress.

We ordered the spicy mala broth for our hotpot. Mala Tang offers the broth in individual serving-sized pots. I thought that was silly and we would be better served by sharing. The one downside, the pots are so tiny it takes much longer to cook all of the ingredients. We chose soft tofu, bok choy, mala beef, with the two plates of greens. Delicious. We would have been fine with one less dish of greens.

Bizarre message for a Fortune cookie.

Cold Weather Dinner

A few weeks ago I made a lovely beef stew with red wine in the slow cooker. I packed away one quart and put it into the freezer, saving it for a fast weekday meal in the future. The hubs took the week off for a staycation, and had cooked dinner for us one night. Have to say, it was really nice to come home from a long day at work to a lovely dinner prepared by my sweet hubs. Another night, I put together a fast dinner after work.

Beef stew with polenta

I reheated the beef stew while slow cooking a batch of polenta. Super hot and hearty on a cold weather day.

Taylor's Gourmet

The hubs and I went to see a Japanese band, Mono, that was playing in DC when we first started dating at the 9:30 Club. Mono came back to DC to the Rock n Roll Hotel on H St NE and we went to check them out. Before the show, we grabbed a bite at Taylor's.

Arancini (fried risotto balls)

Pattison Avenue sandwich 

Broccoli rabe, sharp provolone cheese and roasted pork loin on wheat bread.

9th Street sandwich

Italian cold cut sandwich with lettuce and tomato on wheat bread.

Overwood Brunch

We were debating where to go for Sunday brunch and ended up going to an old favorite, Overwood. We end up going early enough to join the stroller and baby chair crowd, and never have to wait for a table. The one downside this visit, was the less than present service. 

Hubs' dish #1: Southern grits with poached eggs, bacon and toast.

The grits are so creamy and have a nice hint of asiago cheese.

Hubs' dish #2: blueberry pancakes.

Southern fried chicken benedict.

Fried chicken tenders on top of English muffins and topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. The eggs were poached on the hard side, but the crunch of the chicken was fantastic. 

Kogiya Korean BBQ

My husband loves Korean BBQ but I've fallen out of love with the popular and overcrowded Honey Pig. We had dinner plans with a visiting coworker of my husband's and I suggested we try out the semi-newish Kogiya in Annandale. While they offer all you can eat, we were more interested in choosing different meats. One key point, call ahead and have your name put on the wait list for a table, since there are only 12 tables and they get very crowded. We arrived shortly before 6 pm and had a 30 minute wait for a table.

Some serious chalk art skills.

We took a seat at some stools around a portable heater. It's interesting to see that "Korean wine" includes makkoli. We enjoyed a cold OB beer while we waited for a table.

3 stools per side of the BBQ tables. We didn't find out until later, but the top of the stools are removable and you can put your coat and personal effects inside it.

Love that the burner and BBQ are inset into the table. They change the grill pan depending on the type of meat you order. Pretty solid flame heated up the table quickly.

Napkins, spoons and chopsticks are located in a drawer in the center of the table on each side.

Kimchee Jun

While I tend to prefer the Hamul Pajeon, our dining companion is a big fan of the kimchi pancake.

Ribeye

This was far and away the best meat we tried. Grilled on each side and then cut with scissors, the meat was nice and tender with great flavor. Our grill guy was very good.

The slices of cooked meat are placed towards the edges to stay warm but not burn.

They change the grill pan for the spicy pork belly and vegetables.

This is a bit sweeter, and would be nicer with some grilled kimchi

Unmarinated beef shortribs (galbi)

We tried both the marinated shortribs and the unmarinated shortribs and we preferred the unmarinated version. Once again, the marinade was a bit too sweet for my taste.

Along with small dishes of panchan, they deliver a steamed egg soup and a miso soup (doenjang) as well as sweet daikon and lettuce to wrap the grilled meat in.

***

The staff tends to be on the younger side, but they are all quite professional and helpful. Our main waiter ended up burning the pork belly a little too black, but it was fine. The floating grill guy was good at not overcooking the meat and cutting it into bite-sized pieces. Kogiya is located on Annandale road with a small parking lot and not too much else around if you have a long wait for a table. The restaurant is open from 5 pm- 2 am, and is very busy. The AYCE option is pretty interesting, but next time I would like to try the ribeye again and see how their hamul pajeon measures up. They have a number of soups and chilled buckwheat noodle soup too. Definitely go with a group and make sure you're hungry.