the arugula files

Lunch Break: Taqueria Nacional

If you don't work on Capitol Hill, then plan a meeting in the neighborhood.  Time the meeting right around lunch.  After the meeting, walk straight to Taqueria Nacional, a small hole in the wall right behind Johnny's Half Shell, that serves breakfast and deliciously authentic Mexican street food from 7am to 3pm, Monday through Friday. 

On a my first visit I tried the chorizo taco, pork taco, and fish taco.  All  of the tacos were served on soft corn tortillas "two-ply" style.  The chorizo taco, which came topped with onions and cilantro, stood out among the three.    Take note: vegetarians could be happy at Taqueria Nacional, as my friend Jen, who is not a vegetarian, spoke very highly of the bean taco. 

Joe and Julia. Plus Are you Mastering the Art of French Cooking?

Julie Child is certainly getting her due.  Her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, is finally topping the best seller list ⎯ 48 years after it was originally published.  My friend Joe, a master cook himself, recently became the owner of Julia's book and was nice enough to cook me a meal from her well-tested pages.  He chose "Chicken with Butter Sauce," (or something like that).  Joe described the recipe as a very detailed, intricate, all around pain in the arse.  Whatever.  It was scrumptious.  Chicken so juicy you could hydrate a dry sponge⎯with butter sauce.  So here's a question: how many of you out there own Mastering the Art of French Cooking and how many actually use it?

{p.s., I'm thinking of dressing up as Julia for Halloween.  I have a rubber turkey, a knife, and an apron.  Maybe I'll borrow Joe's copy of her book.  All I need is a wig.  Any other ideas on how to make me look like Julia? I'm concerned that no one will recognize me.  A few years ago, I went to a Halloween party as Frida Kahlo and no one knew who I was. After a few drinks, someone came up to me and said, are you that Salma Hayek character in that movie?  Um, you mean the famous Mexican painter that Salma Hayek played?  Yes.  Yes, I am.).

Fried Quinoa

I've been testing some quinoa recipes lately.  Before my Aunty Franny calls me tonight to say, "Mary, What the heck is quinoa?  It sounds weird."  Let me say, yes, it is.  Quinoa (keen-wah) is a little bit like couscous, but less grainy, with a nutty flavor, and it is for that very reason that I think it tastes better than most whole grains. Sounds healthy, right?  Quinoa is 100 percent whole grain, packing protein, vitamin B, zinc and other assorted goodies that you probably won't get in your Fred Flintstone vitamin. It's for that very reason—sounds healthy—that I've had a box of quinoa sitting in my cupboard longer than it is taking Congress to pass healthcare reform (still waiting....). Making "fried rice" with quinoa seemed to me like a great way to make this healthy dish taste delicious.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Flavorful.  Meaty.  Savory.  Delicious.  Guilt-free.  (Five words to describe mushrooms).  Oh, how much I love them.  It's not often that you find a vegetable that can carry a dish by itself.  Mushrooms are one of those vegetables.  I put them in (or on) everything: pizza, pies, pasta, polenta.  Add some shallots, thyme, rosemary, or basil and you ring your dinner bell. 

A World Without Bees, Notes from a Weekend Beekeeper

Have you ever tasted honey straight from a honeycomb?  I have. My friend Jesse is a weekend beekeeper.  He keeps hives at a local farm in West Virginia.  He lives close to the farm, and, on the weekends, he extracts honey from the combs, bottles it, and gives it way to friends. How lucky am I?  I have two quarts in my cupboard right now.  I haven't made anything with the honey except for add it to my tea, but maybe someday I'll be more ambitious (ideas are welcome!).  Check out Jesse's website where he writes about what the world would look without bees, including why bees are disappearing, what you can do about it, and why buying honey from your local organic farmer is part of the solution.  Also, why bee stings hurt so much.

Video: Eric Ripert's Figs Wrapped in Bacon

"Buy a toaster oven.  The best brand is Cuisinart...you know you need it.  You know you want it."  That is what Eric Ripert was saying to me - telepathically -  as he cooked these figs in a toaster oven for his series "Get Toasted."  It almost worked.  Then, Marcus slapped me, and I snapped out of it: I could use my regular oven to make bacon wrapped figs. 

Baked Shrimp Scampi: Perfect Party Food

Baked Shrimp Scampi is one of Jeffrey's favorite dinners.  Who the heck is Jeffrey?  Well, Ina Garten's husband, of course.  You know, "here comes Jeffrey," he's just in time for supper.  Barefoot Contessa is my favorite show on the Food Network.  When I'm watching Ina's show, I often wonder how Jeffrey feels about being a minor on-screen character in her multi-million dollar enterprise.  Granted, he's no slouch, but she's a sugar tycoon, a major sweetie.  I guess he seems pretty happy about it; especially when he's spooning large bites of chocolate cake into his mouth.

This recipe comes from her most recent book, Back to Basics, which is, in my opinion, the best cook book of the year.  Buy it. 

I put the dish together ahead of time, stuck it in the oven when I arrived at a friend's baby shower, and in less than 15 minutes it was ready.  It was gone in less than five minutes.  Perfect party food!

Food Blogger Happy Hour: October 7

Yes, the rumors are true: there's another food blogger happy hour planned. It looks like we'll be doing this on a regular basis (First Wednesdays!). The next happy hour will be October 7th at CommonWealth, "the people's pub" in Columbia Heights.   In case you missed it, the last food blogger happy hour was tons of fun.  Food bloggers mingled, talked shop, ate truffle fries, and put faces to URLs. In October, we'll drink beer, raise our glasses, be merry, and eat Scotch eggs like movie popcorn. 

Thanks to Capital Spice, Gradually Greener, Modern Domestic, We Love DC, and Beerspotter, for working out the details.  Let us know if you are coming by leaving a comment on any of our blogs.  And thanks to flickr user mccun934 for the photograph in the flyer.

{p.s., please feel free to post this flyer on your blog.}