Pat

Breakfast for dinner last night:
Buttermilk pancakes with homemade strawberry - rhubarb compote
Pork breakfast sausages from Red Apron
Bacon
Fried eggs
Toast with butter and *Dickinson's black raspberry preserves

*Since my supply of my favorite preserves is running low and I can't find it in any market, I googled and discovered that Smuckers has discontinued the Dickinson's line. All I can find are multi-packs of the 1 oz. jars on Amazon, the ones restaurants have. Gah.

Tonight we had a seafood veggie stir-fry kind of thing. Short grain brown rice cooked in seafood stock; shrimp, cod, scallops; snow peas, broccolini, beech mushrooms, white onion; soy sauce, mirin, white wine; mung bean sprouts; toasted sesame seeds.

Pulled pork sandwiches with baby fennel slaw and avocado
Green salad
Mac and cheese with ham

That spicy chicken recipe with bacon looked good and I had most of the ingredients, so I made it for dinner last night. It's a keeper. I used the last bit of some sambal oelek with a bit of chili crisp to round it out, and prunes instead of dates. I, too, made this in the oven. We had the chicken with rice, a green salad, and sourdough bread.

Pulled pork sandwiches with baby fennel slaw
Baked beans
Corn on the cob

Baby greens, tomatoes, radishes; vinaigrette
Pan-seared sirloin steak
Cauliflower cheese

Tuesday there was more Avogolemono soup (the recipe made a lot); bagels (pumpernickel, onion, and poppy) and Ivy City white fish salad for spreading; and, green salad.

Last night...more soup and a macaroni salad platter with tomatoes and eggs.

It's been open for quite some time now, but I finally stopped at the Bethesda Bagels in Navy Yard today, despite passing by there sometimes multiple times a day. I'd never been to any of the locations and was gobsmacked to discover that their pumpernickel bagels are every bit as perfect as the ones I used to buy by the baker's dozen at the old Chesapeake Bagel Bakery in the 1980s. Those are my forever gold standard.

I did the same thing I used to do with CBB and started tearing pieces off the bagel before I even left the store. So very good. Clearly boiled and then baked.

Since I'd never been, I didn't realize the coffee was out of Folger's machines. The beverage situation could have been better, but I'm fine with their channeling all of their energy into the bagel products.

Ouch! Well, at least it gave Tom a good opportunity to highlight his writing chops.

Avogolemono soup
Ham and cheese (Muenster) sandwiches with avocado
TJ's Ode to the Classic potato chips

I do believe this is the first time I have ever made Avogolemono soup. Very good.

On 5/26/2024 at 11:16 AM, Escoffier said:

I'm not sure it's really on the menu, but if it is, if you don't order anything else, order the BBQ sampler.  OMG, Chef Nate Anda is a BBQ god.  Amazing brisket, unbelievable ribs and more.  Absolutely amazingly outstanding barbecue.  We recently put ESC back into our dining out routine and cannot be happier or more satisfied.

This is probably the same bbq they had at The Roost today. I'd wondered about going. A friend went by early and told me how great it was, but they'd run out by the time I arrived (4 hours after it started).

Tonight we had what I'll call Teriyaki Salmon Mushroom Noodle Bowls.

The salmon was from Costco and the (beech) mushrooms and Thai wheat noodles were from Trader Joe's. Also included: baby wild arugula (TJ); chickpeas; and, radishes and cucumbers from the farmers market. Toasted Penzey's sesame seeds. Kikkoman lite teriyaki sauce. TJ toasted sesame oil. Black pepper.

I finally had a sit down meal here, for lunch earlier this week. Really good experience. Our server, Carlos, was wonderful. I had the Cubano, which came with fries, and my friend had the Chicken and Fig sandwich, also with fries. Both sandwiches were panini style.

I was really tempted to get the chicken but wanted to try out the Cubano, which I thought was good. It has pulled pork and mortadella.

Finally there is a restaurant in this space that is solid and not, um, quirky. While I had some good meals at Park Cafe and one at its brief successor, this is professionally run, and they clearly put a lot of work into this building.

Last night was restaurant food leftovers/takeout. I had the last of a Cubano and fries from Paccis and my husband had a steak and cheese with fries from Tunnicliffs.

Today my range vent hood got repaired so I have less excuse for minimizing use of the rangetop/oven 😉

Lobster bisque topped with sweet paprika
Baby arugula or spring mix salad with radishes and cucumber; topped with poached asparagus and fried egg
Convection baked chicken thighs with lemon and butter
Poached asparagus with vinaigrette and toasted sesame seeds

There was hardly any bisque left. I added milk to reconstitute enough to get one serving. It really didn't hurt it, as this is a very thick, rich soup.  My husband had the bisque and the spring mix, as he doesn't love arugula.

Lobster bisque
Spring mix salad with cherry tomatoes and feta
Leftover picadillo
White rice

Salad
Sourdough bread
Leftover stuffed poblanos
Lobster bisque (from the prepared foods section at Whole Foods)

More salad + fresh strawberries
Sourdough bread
Creole-seasoned pork chops
Teriyaki stir-fried pod beans
Leftover dill mashed potatoes

The meal was kind of a mish mash (ha). I marinated the boneless loin chops in Greek yogurt that had been seasoned with Creole seasoning and some lemon juice, in the style of the cinnamon rosemary chops I make sometimes. For veggies, I had bought some assorted snap and snow peas at the farmers market and figured I'd stir-fry them. There was only a tiny bit of soy sauce left in the open bottle I pulled out from the fridge, so I used mostly teriyaki sauce. I kind of bought these on impulse because I'm willing summer to arrive. The harvest for the field peas isn't until next month. She grew these in a tunnel at the farm.

That's quite the "make your own sundae" experience. I might even splurge for it if it cost $30. (I realize that's impossible given the ingredients, but I don't see any way the experience can match the cost. Even some fabulously wealthy people are not going to pay that much for dessert.)

Leftover salad
Pita from Yellow
Picadillo
Mashed potatoes

The potatoes were from the freezer. I tinkered with texture by adding some potato flakes and then pepped them up with a little ramp persillade and dill .

Last night was a number of small dishes rather than a more traditional meal. I had a fairly small amount of tomato meat sauce left from the ravioli over the weekend. I boosted it with some chopped super fresh and juicy strawberries a la Rose's when I reheated it and added a small amount of cream. It made for a couple lovely small portions of fettuccine and sauce to go with our appetizers and salad.

Salad of escarole and green leaf lettuce, Campari tomatoes, pimento-stuffed olives; vinaigrette
Cantaloupe chunks and strawberries
Scalded sourdough rye bread
Black sesame rice crackers with whitefish salad
Fettuccine with leftover tomato meat sauce, strawberries, and cream

Leftover jalapeño jack chicken sausages on hot dog buns with Anaheim peppers
Roasted poblano peppers stuffed with taco meat sauce and cheddar
White rice
Mushroom quesadillas

The peppers came out great. I used a mix of pork and beef for the taco meat, a little heavier on the pork.

Smoked salmon rye toasts; creme fraiche; dill
Leftover strawberry feta salad
Beef stew made from leftover chuck roast

Leftover cream of asparagus soup with creme fraiche and dill
Scalded sourdough rye and butter
Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Candied Pecans, Feta and Dill*
New York strip steak, rare, seared in cast iron on the stove top
Baked potatoes with sour cream or butter and dill

*I used regular cucumber and cut the center seeds out.

Last night:

Scalded rye sourdough bread; butter; cheese spread
Leftover cream of asparagus soup garnished with dill fronds and creme fraiche
Portobello mushroom ravioli; meat sauce; mixed mushrooms