the arugula files

My 2012 Culinary Resolutions 2011, Not So Much

I'm not going to lie to you.  I didn't do so well on my culinary resolutions.  I finished 13.5 out of 25.  And, let's be honest, they were the easy ones.  Like making whoopi pies with Modern Domestic, buying more pieces for my Russel Wright collection, or eating at Estadio.

What's a girl to do?  Cram.  Just last night I was thinking, I can finish at least six of "the big 25" THIS WEEKEND. Next thought: but do I really want to?  Have I lost the point of it all?  This list isn't a "to do list." It's a "live life list" and if I don't want to do the things on the list, well, I don't have to.  

Yeah! Screw you, list-I-didn't-finish.  

Here's the thing: I still like the idea of having a list.  And who knows, maybe someday I'll actually finish one. So here goes; my culinary resolutions for 2012.  Basically a list of things that I like to imagine myself doing, but probably won't do.  

Some of these are leftovers from 2011 or 2010.

25.  Use my pressure cooker

24.  Make sausages from scratch.  

23.  Eat at Toki Underground

22.  Create a recipe for the Vietnamese meatball like the ones at Shophouse

21.  Take a class with Mrs. Wheelbarrow

20.  Start a Catherineholm collection

19.  Build a backyard pizza oven

18.  Make some fancy popcorn

17.  Paint my kitchen a nice, bright color

16.  Organize my food magazines and get rid of some

15.  Make more salads for dinner

14.  Eat at Ethiopic

13.  Cook fish more often

12.  Eat dinner in another country

11.  Throw a tiki party

10.  Make a gorgeous cheese plate

9.  Make a chocolate cake

8.  Try those blueberry capers at Ripple

7.   Make more dishes that include leeks

6.  Make at least one dish that includes cauliflower

5.  Share my recipe for lentil soup

4.  Make crab rangoon from scratch (ok, it's true, I already did this one and I'm adding it to the list after the fact.)

3.  Save enough money to buy a 5D

2.  Make a few recipes from Plenty.

1.  Re-design this blog

 

I love reading about people's culinary resolutions.  Like here and here. 

What are your culinary resolutions?

 

"Chinese Coleslaw"

 

I singled this dish out at a work potluck.  It was a holiday party so it's no surprise that it was the lone dish on the conference room table that actually included vegetables.  I had a bite and immediately fell in love with it.  I'm sold because, while it appears healthy (and, for the most part, is healthy), it actually includes Ramen as one of the main ingredients.  Which is, of course, not healthy.  But, oh well, at least you get some cabbage, carrots, and almonds.  What's the saying...just a spoon full of Ramen?  

By the way, when I asked my co-worker for the recipe she called the dish "Chinese Coleslaw," which I found odd because I've always thought of Ramen as Japanese.  After some extensive internet research on Wikipedia I found that ramen noodles actually originated in China, not Japan.  Who knew.  Anyway, I place quotes around the name of the dish because no matter where ramen noodles come from, no one in China is eating this cole slaw.  Plus, I like to put quotes around things; especially air quotes.  And sometimes I get carried away and use air quotes when they are not really called for.   Yes, I'm one of those people.

I recently made this dish for dinner on New Year's Eve.  It paired nicely with homemade egg rolls and crab rangoon. 

Thirteen Layer Chocolate and Vanilla Cake (Plus, Cheers to 2012!)

I didn't feel particularly productive in 2011.  Well, I did produce something major.  But otherwise, I don't even want to talk about my culinary resolutions right now.  I'll visit those some time next week.  That may give me a few days to cross one or two more off the list.  It's definitely in my nature to cram things in at the last minute.  Meanwhile, I offer you this cake. Since I didn't make the cake, it's an endorsement rather than a recipe. 

It's a delicious dessert, more of a torte than a cake, rich, with dark chocolate and caramel.  My friend Denise brought it over for dinner. Imagine that.  You ask someone to bring dessert and they bring you a thirteen layer cake (twelve for 2012, plus one layer for good luck).  It's like going horseback riding, but the ranch hand brings you a unicorn to ride instead of a horse.  Pure magic.

Denise followed the recipe from smitten kitchen.  You know it worked perfectly, as Deb's recipes always do. But, as Denise pointed out, she made her cake the hard way: round instead of square.  What an inspiration.  And with that, I'll say cheers to 2012!

A Lovely Night Out at Fiola

Photo: Abby Greenawalt

As we walked through the Fiola dining room, my friend Bridget loudly announced, "well this is a stodgy crowd." Just kidding, it was me who made the loud announcement.  Bridget was telling me to shhh.  I just want to see if she reads this blog. 

No matter who said it, it was true.  Fiola, on a Tuesday night, was filled with the only people who eat expensive dinners on a Tuesday night: lobbyist and maybe a few members of Congress wearing those pins on their lapels.  A lot of suits, in other words.  Then came us.  Three women, with babies recently tucked in their cribs, who escaped for a big night out.  While the lobbyist made deals, we talked developmental milestones, like giggling and rolling over.  Oh boy, we were ready for some Chef Fabio, and, wow, he did not disappoint. 

To start I enjoyed the Nantucket bay scallops with chanterelles and light as a feather meatballs with a fried egg on top.  For dinner, a delicate plate of cod filled gnocchi straddled by smoky, baby octopus.  To end the meal: sugary, warm donuts with cream. 

Every morsel of food was exceptional.  As in, moan-out-loud-in-a-stodgy-crowd good.  Oh, and how could I forget those ginormous, flaky popovers? The ones the waiters generously kept bringing more of until I reminded them that I recently had a baby, and, you know, I would like to fit into my old clothes someday, which somehow I forgot as I kept eating said popovers and then, Doh!, ordered donuts.  

I'm not one for fancy, or, as some people call it, refined Italian. Moreover,  I don't like foam, especially if it costs a lot, but I think Fiola's unique flavor combinations and exquisite detailing make it a stand out. The restaurant's dishes are more complex than raviolis filled with expensive ingredients or truffles this or that, and worth every penny, I say.  I plan on going back, for sure. Next time, I'll head there on a Friday night, when the young and hip sip Jeff Haile's craft cocktails at the bar.  I wonder what that crowd will think of my thoughts on swaddling and nap time.

Uncle Sonny's Peanut Butter Fudge (aka Fluff Fudge)

I'm trying to get in the holiday spirit over here at casa de arugula and what says the holidays more than homemade fudge?  And this one, this one features one of my niece Megan's favorite ingredients: marshmallow fluff.  Full of preservatives you say?  Yes, but come on, it's the holidays, and you know you want an excuse to buy that plastic white tub.  And this fudge is delicious.  Plus you will have leftovers to make peanut butter and fluff sandwiches.

Vietnamese Crab Salad with Nuoc Cham

I started planning this meal with one request in mind: please, no more lasagna. I wanted to make the antithesis of a winter casserole without going too far astray from the season.  I would make a salad.  And there would be fruit in it. 

But it's winter! you say?  That means forget about tomatoes.  No strawberries either.  Melon, schmelon.

Winter has plenty to offer by way of fruit. And not just apples. Feast on citrus!  But hold your clementines because my favorite winter citrus, blood oranges, are not ready to make an appearance quite yet.  So I picked up a few mangoes at the super market.  Are mangoes in season? I'm not even sure.  But I do know that mangoes know how to rock a salad, especially if they share the stage with cilantro and mint.  This salad is practically tropical.  The dressing is tangy and spicy, the mango is fresh and light, and the crab makes it special. 

Take that, winter casserole.

Grilled Cheese and Pepper Jelly Sandwich With Eli and Misty's Hot Pepper Jelly

I love me some pepper jelly. When I don't make my own, I pick some up from Spring Valley Farm and Orchard, the first veggie stand at the Dupont Farmers Market.   Recently, I had a brilliant idea: add pepper jelly to grilled cheese.  Forget about peanut butter and chocolate.  Instead consider the combination of cheese and pepper jelly, fried, on a sandwich.  It's madness, or as Sophia Grace would say, "it's brilliant." 

That is all.

Olio, An Olive Oil Tasting Room (Plus Planning Josie's Nursery)

Since I knew I would spend a lot of time in Josie's nursery --sitting, singing, soothing--I required a comfortable chair.  The problem with nursery gliders are that most of them are dumpy and unattractive.   I wanted a pretty chair that could serve as starship baby, a command center I could sit in comfortably for hours.  After what seemed like an eternity shopping around, I finally found one I liked at Pink and Brown, "an organic trendy children's boutique"  in Old Town Alexandria. Those are not fake quotes. As in, their words, not mine.  The store is absurd.  I say absurd, not because of their tagline (which is absurd), but because the store is absurdly expensive.   But also, they sell absurdly cute things, like onsies so tiny a medium sized pear would complain it was too tight.   

Wait, why am I talking about baby stuff again?  I'm getting to the food part, soon, I swear.