Food/Travel/Nature/Cooking/Culture
Flat top grilled soft bun. Grilled Ground beef pattie. American cheese. Dill pickle slices. Lettuce and tomato. You add your own condiments…if you think it isn’t ABSOLUTELY PERFECT the way it is….drip, drip, drip….wipe your mouth off and have one of the hand-cut fries.
A 3 hour car ride north of Detroit, and another world away in northern Michigan. Come visit Lewiston, Michigan for the Talley’s burger of your dreams!
The Zagat rated Cubano’s in Silver Spring, MD has a few tricks up its sleeves. One of the BEST Mojitos I have ever tasted, garnished with a stick of sugar cane. Tamale en Hoja, Cuban Sandwich, Lechon Asado, and Tostones (done the right way) Danzon de estillo Marcos with ropa vieja and garlicky salsa are all winners and very reasonably priced. You will think you’ve arrived in Old Havana!
Let me preface this by saying that I am a harsh critic of Greek cuisine because that is my heritage. A recent post-graduation luncheon at Zaytinya has me rethinking my roots in much the same way any chef re-imagines a dish from their native country to take it up a notch and make it more modern. This is what has made Chef Jose Andres so successful with his ventures in the Metro DC area and elsewhere. He has tweaked his native Spanish fare to be more modern and acceptable to the American palate. He is constantly educating us about some of the wonderful cuisines we long to taste in situ but may never have the opportunity to. And he has managed to bring so many of these little “pearls” to Zaytinya.
We of Mediterranean descent love two tastes that are quite far outside the comfort zone of most diners: mastiha and rose. Yasou Jose,for including them in several of your menu items. It is daring AND smart. We sampled quite a few dishes and some were real standouts. The best of our lot were:
lamb tongue souvlaki with snap peas, fried trout with perfectly prepared skordalia (garlic dip made of potatoes, oil, garlic and vinegar or lemon), loukaniko and grilled baby artichokes, kibbe naya ( c’mon try it beef tartare lovers), trio of ice creams including one made of olive oil, one of rose, and one of mastiha and Turkish delight with a rich chocolate cake in the center of little cubes of gelatinous wonderment.
Jose continues to amaze!
It is Mother’s Day. I want to visit the Grille at the Morrison House for brunch. We’ve tried to dine here so many times for special occasions and have yet to experience this Old Town treasure. So finally I am really ready to enjoy the day and expect a great experience. it just didn’t happen. Not today…probably not ever… When a restaurant rests on its laurels and a captive audience, it becomes an overpriced cliche.
First issue is that the website says Mother’s Day pre fixe menu AND a la carte is available, which makes me very happy because I am really interested in a couple of the regular menu dishes. NOT SO.
Second issue is that our waiter does not speak English well enough to answer our questions. His service is spotty, slow, and disorganized. We are not served bread until we ask. We are having to repeat everything we say. Our water glasses are never refilled.
Third issue is the misrepresentation of menu items. Eggs Hussarde is billed as poached eggs over crispy russet potatoes, with hollandaise, a Marchands de vin and house made linguica. Sounds great. Imagine my surprise when the dishes come to our table and I see two poached eggs “resting” inside whole potato skin halves that have been thrown into a deep fryer, no Marchands de vin sauce, and burnt sausage!
Finally, it is Mother’s Day. I repeat MOTHER’S Day. Management, please instruct the waitstaff that women at the table who are obviously the celebrants of the day, should always be served FIRST, not last.
On a short day with Mr. Client I do minimal housekeeping and maximum organizing. He is leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow and my job will turn from Personal Chef to Personal Assistant. He is meeting with 3 friends for dinner and initially tells me I will not need to cook. At 3:30pm he queries his guests to see if the wouldn’t mind coming to his house rather than going out. I scramble to put together two small plates menus for him to choose from. One is tapas, the other is dim sum for dinner. At 4:15pm Mr. Client asks me to prepare the latter. And so it begins….6:30pm is ETA.
My menu has one cheat… frozen, ready made dumplings of pork, scallion, and leeks. Those will be last to prepare.
First priority will be thawing and marinating chicken for Satay with peanut dipping sauce. I quickly make the sauce from scratch with dry roasted peanuts, lime juice, canola oil, chili/garlic paste, and a little tamari soy.
Second priority will be thawing, trimming, and marinating pork chops to make a knockoff of Chinese Barbecued pork. I cannot get the bright red color so expected in this dish because there is no food coloring in this kitchen. Instead, I concentrate on a flavorful marinade of soy, tomato, chili garlic paste, a special red pepper blend from China, paprika and Chinese vinegar.
Now for the final dish, Singapore Noodles with shrimp and chicken, I begin by boiling angel hair pasta, while thawing my shrimp and chicken. I chop scallions and I beat one egg for my mise en place. To assemble, I fry the egg quickly in the wok with a little canola oil, and chop ii up as it cooks. I now add some scallions, the drained cooked pasta, the chopped chicken and the shrimp and hot curry powder, some chicken stock and stir fry like crazy! Flip, flip, turn until all is mixed. More scallions, some chili garlic paste, a little soy sauce. Ready.
Once the dumplings are boiled I throw them directly into a bowl with a little soy sauce and canola oil so they won’t stick together and to help flavor them. I put together a dipping sauce for them with tamari soy sauce, lime and scallions. I will assemble them for eating later.
Now it is time to cook the pork in a covered dish in the oven. Pork in.
I thread the chicken strips on skewers that have been soaked in water and get those into the oven as well.
I want to serve fresh fruit for “dessert” so I cut up oranges and sprinkle with Saigon cinnamon. Lastly, I dice mango and slice a couple bananas and stir together.
Everything is prepared on time by 6:30pm. Mr. Client asks me to stick around a little longer to allow he and his guests to talk and have cocktails, so of course I oblige. Here is how it all turned out…..
A short day of work, a client who has lots of little chores to be accomplished before he returns home to Asia, lots of housework and not a lot of cooking. Once again I am relegated to hors d oeuvres instead of a full dinner. I throw together some little filo packages filled with a mushroom duxelles. I am feeling like an expert at making these little packages now. Layer, butter, layer, butter, layer, butter, filling, squeeze all ends together and twist and squeeze again. A little more butter on top to brown up nicely.
Shrimp and grits up next. Grits are a chefs best friend. They come together quickly and never disappoint! I use half milk and half salted water. I bring to a boil and add grits or cornmeal and whisk like crazy for about 1 minute. Then I add the good stuff: Grated cheddar, butter, crumbled bacon and pepper! I top the grits with shrimp sautéed in butter, hot sauce, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce.
and Worcestershire
TGIF indeed!
Hello? Isn’t anybody hungry for some wonderful home cooking? Not Mr. Client. Should I start to get nervous? Am I getting a complex?
Why no dinner boss o’mine?
Never you mind…
When friends call and want to visit a favorite restaurant in Old Town, Mr. Client must be gracious and oblige.
At least enjoy this classic lunch….
Club sandwich my way with roasted turkey breast, applewood smoked bacon, juicy tomatoes, lettuce and chipotle mayonnaise. A side salad and some fresh market pickles complete the dish.
Very little cooking to report about today unfortunately. Mr. Client has me doing more domestic tasks and errands in lieu of cooking. Additionally, his dinner plans change and he decides to go out on the town rather than eat alone. Alas, a lunchtime sandwich and salad are the extent of my culinary pursuits today. Roast turkey, ham and swiss on whole grain bread with a side of bleu cheese coleslaw. Et voila!
Mr. Client has an aversion to fish. Mr. Client has a business meeting that will include lunch. Mr. Client will be served fish for lunch. Am I crazy?! Call me crazy like a fox.
Whenever I encounter a person who says they don’t like fish, I deign to serve them Chilean Sea Bass with a burnt butter sauce. Today’s lunch will make my client a convert to fish. Chilean Sea Bass is mild in flavor and has a wonderful, firm, white flesh that will make a believer out of any fish hater! I bake the Sea Bass at 365° for approximately 20 minutes dressed only with salt and pepper and a little olive oil to prevent sticking in the pan. In the mean time, I prepared velouté of fresh green peas, scallion, salt and pepper, butter and lemon juice to be a bed for my fish. Steamed broccolini, and boiled baby redskins in a lemon pepper butter complete the accompaniments. Here’s the secret! Brown 2 teaspoons of butter in a pan whilst the fish cooks. As soon as the fish comes out of the oven, pour the burnt butter over top. Garnish with lemon wedges.
Mr. Client is having a guest over for cocktails, so I put together a cheese plate quickly near the end of my day. Although dinner is solo this evening, it doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Some leftovers of Shepherds Pie act as main course, but I need to supplement this with side dishes. A nice side salad is easy. I want to use some wonderful fresh Brussels sprouts which I found at the market last week. Problem is…. Client comes into the kitchen and tells me he HATES Brussels sprouts…ugh! Well, I tell him, I hate them too! But I remind him about lunch, and I win him over..I think….
My best Brussels sprouts recipe is roasted in the oven with bacon, salt, pepper, and wild mushrooms. I finish with a simple vinaigrette of nutmeg, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and Dijon mustard. yummy!
.
Betzabroad...My personal recipe for tasting our big, fat, wonderful world 