the arugula files

5 Food Blogs You Should Read! Seriously.

We all spend hours at smitten kitchen or reading through countless (and flawless) recipes from Elise.  I'm alway interested in what Pioneer Woman has on the stove and what her kids are up to.  And the photos at 101 Cookbooks and Food Blogga make me drool.  There are literally thousands of food blogs out there.  It's hard to read them all. I TRY.  Here are five food blogs you might not know about, but you should.  Seriously.

1. Pete Bakes - Check out Pete's recipe for challah bread.  People who are not professional bakers make challah bread? Wow. I'm going to try it this week.
2. Baker's Banter by King Arthur - Inspiration from the king of flour.
3. Eight Acres at Wheatland Vegetable Farm Blog - I love farmers who blog.  This one is new.
4. The Traveler's Lunch Box - Search for "saganaki."
5. The Bitten Word - These guys are making all the recipes you noted in your foodie mags, but still haven't got around to cooking.

A word about the photo: I didn't make it.  This delicious quiche was made by Quail Creek Farm.  I came across it at the Penn-Quarter Farmers Market.  I had already eaten lunch. Sigh.

Raspberry Clafouti, Avec Eric

Remember when you were little and you had an easy bake oven? This is the adult version. I'm getting those little gratin dishes.  Oh yes, I am....

Serenity Now, Lunch at the Portrait Gallery

It's lunch time!  Leave your office.  Hop on the Metro.  Get off at Gallery Place.  Enter the National Portrait Gallery.  Relax.  Enjoy lunch in one of the most serene settings in Washington, DC, the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard.  At the risk of sounding like I wear crystals tucked in my bra, I will say that this place has amazing calming qualities.  If you are after serenity NOW, this cafe is exactly what you are seeking.

Museum cafes have come a long way since traditional cafeterias of long ago.  The portrait gallery café has a healthy salad bar, paninis, and daily soup specials. 

Still, no one would say you have to have the chicken club sandwich at the portrait gallery café (my club sandwich featured bacon bits).  But a decent sandwich, a calming setting, and a quick stroll through the gallery to say hi to George, make the café worth a visit.  Try it on a weekday to avoid the tourists.  It’s also a great place to grab a drink after work.

Foodie question of the week: is a place worth a visit if the setting is extraordinary, but the food is only average to good?  Other places where the setting or view beats the quality of the food?  Here’s my list:

• The Washington Hotel's Sky Terrace
  
• The Center Cafe at Union Station
• Sequoia in Georgetown

Your list?

Liberty Tavern, Happy Hour

Half priced wine and $3 beers make Liberty Tavern one of Arlington’s best deals.  Add some seriously delicious pizzas, metro accessibility, and bar seats (if you get there by 6:00) and you have the makings of a perfect happy hour, which runs until 7pm.

On a recent visit, I had the Vermont pizza.  This stand out, covered in granny smith apples, caramelized onions, sage, Cabot cheddar, and big hunks of prosciutto, is easily one of the best pizzas I’ve had in the DC area.  Seriously.  I’m not being hyperbolic.  The topping combination is flawless, and the crust was perfectly charred.  Another pizza, a new seasonal addition to the menu, had figs, fontina cheese, arugula, proscuitto, and a drizzle of balsamic.  I couldn’t decide which pizza was better, so I ate two slices of both.

 

The sliders at Liberty Tavern were not as exciting.  I’ve tried the crabcake and meatball versions, but both left me feeling disappointed.  The whole slider thing has taken a turn for the worst, in my opinion.  What’s next?  Button portabella mushroom sliders?

Tab for a recent happy hour: ~$98.00 or about $30.00 per person with tip

• 8 glasses of wine
• 1 beer
• 2 pizzas
• 1 order of meatball sliders

A serious bargain for this level of deliciousness.

A Picnic on the Potomac in 8 Steps

 1.  Prepare picnic food and carry it in a backpack.  I brought Tuscan pasta, two plums, four cookies, and a bottle of wine.  Don't forget the necessary implements like forks, napkins, cups, and a corkscrew!  Also a few ziploc bags for your plum seed and other garbage.  Potomac ducks do not like plums.

2. Walk or drive to Jack's Boathouse in Georgetown (3500 K Street, right below the Key Bridge). Parking is available (FREE!) or you can take the G-town connector from Dupont ($1.50). 

3. Rent a Kayak (or a canoe). I prefer the stability of kayaks to canoes, but that is just my opinion. It costs $10 an hour.  Two hours is a good amount of time, unless you are seriously ambitious. This activity is perfect for a summer night after work. We arrived at 5:30.  You do not need any prior kayaking knowledge or experience.  Instructions: wear a life jacket and paddle.

4.  Paddle for about 20 to 30 minutes; this should put you just past the curve in the Potomac.  Unless, of course, you are slow like me.  Observe nature and the Georgetown row team.

5.  Pull over somewhere shady and attach your paddle to your friend's kayak.  Careful not to lose your paddle to the river.  The river will not give it back.

6. Open wine.  Serve food.  Relax for 30 minutes.  You are having dinner on the Potomac. At this point, if you forgot the corkscrew you'll be sorry...make sure to remember the corkscrew! 

7. Leave enough time to get back before sunset.  Objects viewed from a kayak are further than they appear.

8.  Relax and stretch out on the deck.  Watch the sunset and hold onto the end of summer.

Tuscan Pasta with Cannellini Beans

Ingredients

1 jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
2 teaspoons  - capers
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 knob of butter
2 lemons
Asiago cheese (Pecorino or Parmesan are good substitutes)
1 cup of Cannellini beans (Progresso is the best brand for these)
1 box of pasta (rigatoni or fusilli)
1 cup of chopped basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat a stainless steel pan on medium heat
2. Add drained sun dried tomatoes (drain, but do not wash off oil), capers, and juice
of one lemon.
4. Add knob of butter and whisk around – this will smooth the acidity of the lemon
5. Cook pasta until almost done (you’ll finish cooking it in the sauce).
6. Right before the pasta is done, add garlic. Careful not to burn.
7. Drain cooked pasta, leaving 1/4 of pasta water.
8. Add pasta and pasta water to pan.
9. Cook for a few minutes, stirring as needed.
10. Add beans, basil, and shaved Asiago cheese.  Squeeze second lemon over the top.

You can add pepper, but avoid adding salt because of the capers and cheese.

You can serve this hot or at room temp.

Serves four.

How to Pick an Avocado

The other night I went to Cork on 14th Street.  I had the most delicious appetizer—avocado, pistachios, and sea salt, on grilled bread drizzled with pistachio oil.  The avocado was perfect; the texture was velvety and it tasted nutty and buttery.  I can tell you how to recreate the dish—buy the ingredients, grill the bread, assemble. 

If only it were that simple! When it comes to avocados, it's not as easy as it sounds.  Creating a delicious dish with avocado relies primarily on picking a perfectly ripe avocado at the supermarket or having the patience to wait for the avocado to ripen in your kitchen.  This is something that I've messed up in the past, so here are some tips, including a new tip that I recently came across in The Best International Recipe from the editors of Cook's Illustrated.

• Hass avocados (92 percent of those sold in the U.S.) should be dark green to black.
• The avocado should yield to gentle pressure when you squeeze it.  Make sure the avocado is not bruised, which, in the past, I have confused with ripeness.  Doh!
• Pull off the stem; below the stem should be green.  If it’s brown, it’s not ripe.  This is the tip I didn’t know.  I’m trying to imagine myself flicking off avocado stems at the super market.  Not sure how well that will go.  Security!
• If you buy an avocado that is not yet ripe, place it in a paper bag with a banana or an apple; this will help expedite the ripening process. 

A few interesting tidbits about avocados:

• An avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable.
• They originated in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies.
• Avocados have, on average, 25 to 35 grams of fat.  Yikes!  Although, it's worth noting that they are the good fat and are packed full of cancer fighting agents and other health ninjas.  And, according to peer trainer, one 30 gram serving is equal to 1 Weight Watcher point.
• California avocado season is April to September.  For obvious reasons, I couldn't find any avocado farms in MD, DC, or VA.  Sigh.
  
• Mild winters (warmer than 45 degrees) are necessary for growing avocado trees.  You can grow your own tree in a can.
• Gordon Ramsay's Avocado and pea soup with crispy Parma ham

Did I mention that I love avocados? A lot of people like avocados, some even write haikus:

oh nubby skinned friend
sweet toothless alligator
i dig your green flesh

Photo by Flickr user Simon Goldenberg

A Sharp Knife, Finally

I recently received a $100 gift certificate to Sur La Table—a very thoughtful present!  When I saw the label on the gift box, my mind immediately started racing, crammed with all of the gadgets, cookware, and superfluous kitchen accessories—think lobster shaped corn holders—that I currently want.  Should I buy a Dutch Oven?  A new set of plates? A yogurt maker? Then it came to me—the most important kitchen tool—a sharp chef’s knife.   I spent a little time talking about knives with Richard at Sur La Table.  Here’s what I learned:

• Knives are expensive.
• Good knives are REALLY sharp.  This actually makes cutting your fingers off less likely. Really?
• “Metal blades can either be stamped (pressed out of metal) or forged (molded under high heat). Forged knives are heftier and tend to last longer, though stamped blades are useful for lighter work like filleting.”
• That thing Gordon Ramsay does with his knife sharpener is harder than it looks.  Richard tried to show me.  My attempt was pathetic and potentially dangerous.
• When you choose a knife, it should feel comfortable in YOUR hand.

Okay, these tips are not that helpful.  My advice, if you are thinking of buying a knife, go to a kitchen equipment store, like Sur La Table (not Crate and Barrel), where someone will talk you through the process, won’t insist on the up sell, and will help you decide what’s best for you.  Here’s the knife I chose.  It’s not even close to the highest end version, but it’s a solid entry level knife.  I LOVE it.  Slicing tomatoes with my new knife makes me giggle.

Check out my kitchen counter in the photo above; those spots are faux gold flecks—sorta like the stuff floating in Jägermeister Goldschläger  (Thanks to Sista Sandy, my bartender friend who caught this egregious error). Totally rockin'.