the arugula files

Black Friday: Visit Table Top DC

It's Black Friday, the day when we all get our consumer on, get ahead of Holiday shopping, and spend money to stimulate the economy.  If you haven't been to Table Top DC, a small shop located on 20th Street in Dupont Circle, check it out.  I like to give the place a cruise after the farmer's market (they open at 12:00 on most days). You can also shop online. 

The buyer at this shop is really more of a curator, with a sharp eye for design and whimsy.  Currently, I'm in love with these tiles and this clock and this tote and this charm.... (Santa, are you reading this?).

Food Blogger Happy Hour: December 1 @ Casa Nonna

 

Shhh....don't tell anyone, but arugula files can't resist a good meatball sandwich.  That's why I'm looking forward to the next food blogger happy hour at Casa Nonna, DC's newest red sauce joint in Dupont Circle.  Join us on December 1 at 6:00 pm for a few drinks.  RSVP here.

Thanks to Thrifty DC Cook and Biscuits and Such for hosting this month.

p.s., We don't all know each other.  Stroll up in that joint and make some conversation. 

Kale, Sausage, and Cannellini Soup

 

Last winter I began an everlasting love affair with kale.  It continues with this Bon Appetit-inspired soup.  A simple Sunday supper, this soup comes together quickly.  The best part: you can pack up the leftovers and eat it for lunch the next day, when it tastes even better. The creamy beans and bright lemony broth go well with hearty kale leaves and the robust flavor of the sundried tomatoes.  Bon appetit!

p.s., This soup is just as tasty vegetarian, so if that's the way you roll, omit the sausage and up the amount of beans and sundried tomatoes. 

Spaghetti Squash (Roast it Whole or Cut it in Half?)

As a former ho-ho loving, canned food aficionado, I wish I could confirm that, indeed, spaghetti squash tastes exactly like spaghetti. 

It does not. 

I'm not going to lie to you. 

It tastes like a vegetable. 

It will not taste like pasta, even if you add cream, butter, or cheese. 

(Just as kale chips do not taste like potato chips.  Duh.)

Instead, what I'll tell you is the truth: spaghetti squash is a damn good-tasting vegetable. Add a little butter, cream, and some fresh herbs, like thyme, and spaghetti squash makes for a warming, healthful dish. 

Cooking spaghetti squash is simple.  The question is: do you cook it whole or cut it in half before roasting it?  Here are some thoughts on the matter.  As the king of convenience, naturally I decided to roast mine whole.  I pierced it a few times with a knife, dropped it on a cookie sheet, and placed it in an oven pre-heated to 375 degrees.  It took about 55 minutes. It's not like I got off easy.  Cutting a hot squash in half and then removing the pulp and seeds was tricky, fingers were burned, swear words were exclaimed.  A few seeds got stuck in the "spaghetti."  They didn't taste good.

Lesson learned: next time, I'll cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and pulp, and then roast it in the oven. 

Squash, it's not pasta, but it's a damn good tasting vegetable.

 

48 Hours in Boston (Sportello + Neptune Oyster Bar)

 

This past weekend Marcus and I traveled to Boston for a wedding and a quick visit with my family.  Before heading to the wedding, we decided to spend a few days in Boston to relax, shop, and eat. 

I went to college in Boston and grew up about 20 minutes outside the city limits.   It was good to be back.

On the first day, we strolled the public gardens.  That park is some kind of wonderful, especially during the fall when the leaves are Monet-worthy.   Then we spent some time in downtown crossing, which just isn't the same without  its soul: Filene's Basement.

 

Apple, Mint, and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

Yes, I know.  Recipes for salad are absurd.  Think of this as an endorsement of a set of ingredients that go really well together, rather than a recipe.  It's my favorite fall salad and I can't get enough of it.  Start with a big bowl of arugula (naturally), add thinly sliced Honey Crisp apples, a handful of chopped cilantro,  handful of chopped mint, then top with sliced almonds and a balsamic vinaigrette (3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar, salt and pepper, thyme if you have it).  Then toss.  What a flavor combination.  The mint is best part, so don't skip it. 

I crave this salad.

Yesterday, I had a salad with squash and pears; it was a little too sweet for my taste.  How about you?  What are you favorite fall ingredients that work well in salads?

Fake Books By Amy Sedaris (Way Better Than Fake Meat)

 
Amy Sedaris' kitchen is furnished by Prozac, and completely stocked for a new show: Top Nut Job.  Want to be like Amy?  Add googly eyes, Ritz crackers, pantyhose, and bouillon cubes to your shopping list.  I've been enjoying Amy's book, I like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, since it was published a few years ago.  The material is endless.  Have a rich uncle visiting?  Check out page 55 and find recipes for Silver Bullet Smoky Martinis and Pork Medallions.  Need to hang some plants?  Amy can show you how using taupe pantyhose.  It's probably unfair to call I like You a fake cookbook.  As Amy says herself, "I don't like joke cookbooks because I can't take them seriously."  What ever it is, I like You is marvelously bizarre; its pages are 25 percent useful (I've made those cheeseballs p.43), 75 percent absurd (gift ideas for lumber jacks p.74), and 100 percent entertaining (When you get to play nurse p.158).

Entertaining.  For me, this is what cooking is all about.  And I like Amy's philosophy: "Whether you live in a basement with the income of a ten-year old girl or on a saffron farm in the south of Spain, the spirit of hospitality is the same.  It's the giving of yourself, a present of you to them from me for us."  Exactly.

This is why I can't wait to pop open, "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People."  Tonight Amy is speaking at Sixth and I Street Synagogue.  The new book comes "free" with the event ticket.  Hope to see you there.

Northside Social + The Runcible Spoon Zine

Before the food blogger happy hour on Wednesday night, I had never been to Northside Social, Clarendon's hippest coffee and wine bar.  Northside Social has all the makings of a great coffeehouse:  people watching, delicious nibbles, board games, wine, craft beer, comfortable seats, and a great space.  It's near the metro too, so cross the river already.  We  did a cookbook swap and I got my salty hands on this roasted chicken.  (Thanks to Capital Spice for c0-hosting the meet and stirring up the idea of a cookbook swap).