Pat

Of late, I keep making elaborate meal plans and then don't follow through; however, I actually made two of the three items I had scheduled for last night when I started drawing up holiday menus a couple months ago. The fish and rice were the planned ones: Scalded Rye Bread (Atwater's) and butter Baked Fish With Pomegranate Sauce Saffron Rice and Golden Raisin Pilaf Steamed Purple Broccoli The fish was from a recipe Joan Nathan adapted for the NYT. Gift link. I used cod, which was half the price of halibut. It worked fine. There's a lot left. I probably should have halved the recipe, which occurred to me after I bought 2 lbs. of fish 🙃. The rice I served with it is from the Mayo Clinic - Williams Sonoma Cookbook. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable. Someone put the recipe up online here. I used to make a fair amount from that cookbook years ago. I should leaf through it again for inspiration. The recipes are generally pretty solid, IIRC. Tonight might include one item I originally planned. We'll see. It's that or zero...

Went to Han Palace on Barracks Row for lunch today. The Soup Dumplings were excellent. I had a little bit of the 1/4 Roasted Duck my friend ordered from the Hong Kong Style portion of the menu and a couple of her Pork Dumplings. So very good. She also had some Shrimp Dumplings, which were her least favorite. I didn't try any, but it sounded like the filling was more of a paste than having the discrete pieces of shrimp she prefers. All of the dumplings were from the Dim Sum section of the regular menu. She loves dim sum and knows more about Chinese food than I do, and she also thought the Soup Dumplings were the best thing we had. I also ordered the Spicy & Sour Cucumber, which I loved. I wanted a vegetable 🤷‍♀️. This dish was great on its own but also for cutting through the fat of other items. I could not stop eating these. Those soup dumplings🥰...

I've been making some pretty random meals lately. I roasted some butternut squash and baby (precut) carrots with evoo and lots of black pepper to go with leftovers the other day and then topped with minced green herbs for serving. That combination of vegetables was a good one, and I will do it again. I had about half a bag of the carrots from TJ that I occasionally keep around to snack on...and then let the remainder languish 😑. This was a good way to use them so they didn't hit the "toss" stage. Since they are pre-prepped, they have a shorter shelf (well, refrigerator) life than regular carrots. Last night I made a the harissa and persimmon chicken dish again (highly recommend while persimmons are in season). Served with a green salad and pita from Yellow.

I hadn't seen this article before. As I was reading and before I got to the part where Clyde's management explained it, I thought, well they can remove a temporary fee, but menu prices going down is far more unlikely. Bingo. I've paid this fee there and it's not really affected the tip I leave. It's the inconsistency of them everywhere that's a nuisance and presumably is why the AG demanded they give detailed explanations about what everything is for and where it goes. They seem to have done that, though the fact it's sort of going to a general pot for rising operating costs might not make for the strongest case in court. This whole territory is still so unsettled it's hard to know what to think. That's why it was interesting when I was out with a group recently and there was a collective sheesh reaction to the 20% service fee, but it was really the already customary autograt for a large group, done to ensure the server gets properly tipped. (We were a party of 7 with separate checks, so it was as applicable in 2023 as it would have been years ago.)

I had two unopened bags of tortilla chips that were largely broken and past their date. I'd bought a few bags because I was out and they were on sale, only to discover that these are a thicker corn chip than I usually gravitate to for tortilla chips. (Fritos are a different matter ☺️.) The last ones have been sitting in the pantry, unopened, and I decided to use them...in something. So, I made chicken tortilla soup, not particularly following any recipe and using boxed broth and shredded rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods. I started with sauteed onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and added chopped poblano and jalapeno peppers and a can of diced tomatoes in addition to the broth. For spices, there were some dried hatch chile flakes, chipotle powder, garlic powder, and cumin. I put crushed tortilla chips on the bottom of the soup bowls, ladled in soup, and topped with mild cheddar, chopped avocado, and cilantro. I served sour cream and (more or less) unbroken chips for dipping. I put out the remnants of some cheesy corn bread too, but that was kind of redundant because I also made sandwiches (roasted deli turkey, American cheese, and watercress). So, a long and winding road to soup and sandwiches for dinner.

I've made a couple tried and true recipes again lately, one new one, and am continuing to tinker with my turkey meatball technique. I've done a lot of variations on the meatballs, all kind of improvised, and I should really write those down. I find that using harissa in the mixture (I prefer Cava's) adds a nice amount of moisture as well as some bright, blandness-counteracting flavor. The last batch of meatballs I made went into pita (from Yellow) to make sandwiches, with sheep's yogurt and sauteed red onion, garlic, and poblano pepper. The new to me recipe was from David Tanis at the NYT: Baked Romanesco Broccoli With Mozzarella and Olives. Gift link. I had to change some things around because I only had one romanesco. I also had to make substitutions. I thought I had fresh mozzarella but I didn't, so I used low-moisture part skim. Ditto for the black oil-cured olives. Instead I used pitted castelvetrano olives I had on hand from the Whole Foods Mediterranean bar. They looked wonderful with the colors of the casserole. I would use them again. This came out really well and was beautiful. One of the recipes I made again after not making it for quite a while is from Joy Wilson aka Joy the Baker, for a chicken and pasta dish. I've posted the link here before. For the pasta I use pipe rigate, which I can find at Whole Foods. I used shiitakes this time for the dried mushrooms, because I had them. I always forget how long it takes to make this and dinner is invariably late. We love this dish, though, and it's great for generating leftovers. Finally, a pork tenderloin recipe. This one is so old, it's not formatted on the Post site, so I've pasted it in below. (When they were looking for recipes people liked to include in the official cookbook, back in the Bonnie Benwick era, I submitted this one, but it didn't make the cut. Perhaps that's because it was straight from the source and not an adaptation, it occurs to me now.) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1996/07/24/on-the-fridge/a853cf23-34b0-4a9b-b0e2-bb639f80667f/ JIM'S GARLIC-SHALLOT MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons sugar 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) sour-mash bourbon or dark rum 1 teaspoon salt 4 to 5 cloves garlic, smashed or chopped 2 to 3 tablespoons minced shallots 1 tablespoon grated gingerroot 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, bourbon, salt, garlic, shallots and ginger. Place the marinade and the pork tenderloin in a zip-seal plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade and drain for 20 to 30 minutes. Discard the marinade. Cook on a preheated grill or under a preheated broiler element, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes or until the meat is done. Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 227 calories, 37 grams protein, 6 grams fat, 1 gram carbohydrates, 89 milligrams cholesterol, 284 milligrams sodium, 23 percent calories from fat. NOTE: As is the custom, the same recipe or recipes are used to promote a cookbook in every venue that publishes a review or sampling of the book, so I've seen copies of this from all over from the same period. I have a note on one of my print copies from another newspaper a reminder not to leave the pork in the marinade too long because the bourbon flavor will be way too strong in the final product. Since that instance, I typically put the pork in the marinade first thing in the morning, rather than having it go closer to 24 hours.

I had lunch here with friends on Friday. My only objection is to the names of many of the menu items. I don't like it at Denny's and don't like it at cutting edge places like this. Small complaint but that's mine. I ordered the Deviled egg salad sandwich (which has some punny name), and it was excellent. I also got fries that came with a nice black pepper aioli. I think I might give the edge to the Immigrant Food fries I had a couple days before, but these were crispy and good. Friends got custard eggs (with caviar), toast with truffle butter, and panzanella salad. Someone ordered the chocolate pots de creme and we all sampled it. Very good. Since I'm not terribly fond of Ted's Bulletin, I'm very happy to have this place in the neighborhood. (BTW, Pacci's on Lincoln Park started to serve breakfast a while ago, but I haven't tried it.)

I went here for lunch last weekend with my husband and some friends after visiting the Museum of Failure in Georgetown. (The traveling exhibition closes this coming weekend.) Two of the group had been there before and wanted to relive the holiday experience. Very, very over the top but fun. It paired well with the museum. Filomena is very expensive for what you get, but the portions are large and it is an experience. Everyone working there was great. They seated us early when we arrived before our reservation. The Caesar salad is not terribly authentic but is filling and satisfying. I thought the meatballs in Sunday sauce (on the antipasti menu) were very good. Three of the party split a salad, a pasta course, and a bottle of wine, and it was the right amount for them (one light eater). My husband and I split the Caesar and he had a filet cheesesteak while I had the meatballs. It's quite a show at Christmastime. Reserve now if you want to experience it.

I went here with a group this week for lunch after visiting the National Museum of Women in the Arts. We were a fairly large group and arrived early for our reservation. Everything was handled well. We all enjoyed our food. People were grumbling some about the service charge but later it occurred to me it was the standard auto-grat for a large party. There's also a 5% wellness charge. There are so many of these charges now that when the older ones get mixed in, it's even more confusing. Our server was great. We got an assortment of bowls and salads and gumbo. Everyone was satisfied. Only downside: it was very loud.

I posted without really planning anything in my head, so I had nothing particular in mind. Vaguely, I was thinking of a late afternoon happy hourish thing accompanied by or followed by some sort of food. I thought I'd see what people wanted to do and gauge how how many people wanted to meet up and where would be convenient. Josephine looks interesting, and it's part of Neighborhood Restaurant Group. NRG was really a stalwart for us during the pandemic, so I'm happy to continue to support them. The main thing seems to be accessibility for people who might want to attend. Josephine is probably fairly close to King Street metro, which is a plus. Their minimum for a private party is 12. Another thing that occurs to me is maybe arranging something at NRG's food hall, The Roost. It's opposite Potomac Avenue metro. Their minimum for a private event is 20 people, a number we could hit easily back in the day but could have trouble with now. It can also be loud. They have a variety of food and drink, though, which could be fun for a group. It's not necessary to reserve a special space if there aren't many of us and we can just work it out with we've got. As time goes by, reserving is going to get more difficult with the holidays. (Should have thought this through!) I'm not sure if adding a poll to this does much good, but getting any kind of a number for people will narrow things down, so I might do that.

I wish there were a Wow! emoticon for this one. It sounds so amazing. The dessert! As awesome as everything sounds, those peppers, which were probably the easiest part, just sound great.

I fiddled around with the recipe(s) I've been making using D'Artagnan sirloin tips. Last night I made a vegetable heavy beef stew (mirepoix, garlic, thyme, yellow and orange carrot coins, Yukon gold potatoes, shiitake and button mushrooms, and green beans). We also had striata baguette from Radici and more baby greens salad.

There aren't many of us left, but with the recent passings of Joe Willey and Joe Heflin, maybe it's a time to try to gather together again. If people are interested, I'll look for a place. Somewhere in DC near a metro station seems like the safest bet. If anyone has a connection to a particular place, speak up here or via DM. My December is more or less open.

Oh no. This is so sad. What a loss.

Yesterday I made the apple butter and sage pork chops recipe again, after finding it a good cold weather recipe last year. Served with roasted green beans and romanesco. We also had a salad of baby greens, dried cranberries, cucumber, and avocado.

We were in Manchester over Thanksgiving. Bistro Henry, alas, has permanently closed. We arrived around 7:30 PM on Wednesday, and most restaurants stop serving between 8 and 9, so we went to Mulligan's (3912 Main Street), which was across the street from the inn where we were staying. They were friendly and the food was abundant and pretty good tavern-type fare. Portions are very large here. I ordered the Crisphead Wedge $16.99 Chilled iceberg wedge, house bleu cheese dressing, applewood smoked bacon and boiled egg. Interestingly enough, it was plated on top of what what seemed to be a spring mix salad with cucumber slices and grape tomatoes. I don't know if this is typical or was because the kitchen was closing shortly after we got there and they had it to use. (They were closed the next day.) The bleu cheese dressing made me happy. My husband got the Ramen Noodle Bowl $18.99 Prepared with spinach, snap peas, red pepper, mushrooms, green onion and roasted corn in an Asian seasoned broth. Your choice of roasted pork or shrimp. He got the pork, and it was a ton of food, a large and deep bowl. I had thought just a salad wouldn't be enough, since I was famished, so we ordered the small size nachos to share, which was pretty big. Nachos $11.99 Crispy tortilla chips smothered with tomato, olives, green onion, Jalapeno pepper, Jack and cheddar cheese. They ran this under a salamander/broiler, and the plate had a delightful rim-to-rim coating of hot cheese. We had too much other food to do gustatory justice to this...and no way to store leftover food. 😦 Sad for the amount that went to waste. It was sooo good. I would be remiss not to give a shout out to The Inn at Manchester, where we've stayed a couple times now. Great people and space. The breakfasts included with the stay are excellent.

Thinking of a bread recipe I'd seen, I bought 4 fuyu persimmons at the farmers market yesterday. Later in the day, I realized a couple of them were really ripe and soft, so decided I wanted to make something savory with them for dinner instead. I had chicken breasts, greens, and butternut squash to use as well. I roughly followed this recipe for Harissa and Persimmon Chicken, using Cava harissa and no olive oil in the marinade. The chicken was plated over boiled garlicky mustard greens and spinach with a little of the pan drippings. I also made a pasta course with TJ's butternut squash ravioli topped with cubes of roasted za 'atar - spiced butternut squash and some grated Parmesan. This was a lot of food, but I'm planning to ride various leftovers right up to Thanksgiving.

Last night we had the very last of the tuna, coated with sesame seeds, reheated in a skillet and served over Chinese noodles with scallions and peanut sauce. In addition we had a plate of hard-boiled eggs, sliced avocado, and vegetable futomaki from Yes!

Last night was more of the tuna salad on arugula, sourdough bread, and a frittata. The frittata came out quite well. I didn't know what to make to go with the salad, so I decided on a frittata and just started grabbing things. The add-ins were Jasper Hill Farm Whitney cheese, pepperoni, leftover takeout french fries, scallions, and basil.

I turned some of the leftover tuna into tuna salad, made with (purchased) sriracha mayo, a dollop of Greek yogurt, chopped celery and sliced scallions. It was plated over baby wild arugula from TJ's. We also had leftover Costco rotisserie chicken, wheatberries cooked with sun-dried tomatoes and onions, and more of the sourdough bread.

I had bought a bunch of gorgeous greens (not all of which were green) from Deep Roots Farm at the H Street market yesterday and left them out with the stems in water. They started to wilt rather quickly. I boiled the heartier of the greens (some of which may have been mustard -- there was a mustard tang as I was sampling the raw ones) along with dino kale I had and some garlic. After the greens cooked down, I seasoned with a little black pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar, and let them simmer until the rest of dinner was done. The rest of dinner was seared ahi tuna, two gorgeous wild tuna steaks via Costco. I sort of followed this recipe, using a cast iron pan and avocado oil. Don't know about the 6 minutes in the title. While it wasn't a long process (I marinated about 25 minutes), it wasn't just six. I used a little TJ's spicy honey for the marinade in addition to regular honey and omitted the cayenne. The tuna came out great and was served plated over the greens. We also had sourdough bread from Boulangerie Christophe. That same loaf of bread has gone up quite a bit in price over the past couple of years, but it is so good I splurge when I'm nearby the store.

I added some more lettuce to leftover salad and we had that last night with a surprisingly good improvised savory pie. I had impulse purchased a box of Pillsbury pie crusts on sale weeks ago so I got out a deep-ish dish glass pie plate and a bunch of stuff and put together a pie. I spread some Dijon mustard on the bottom crust and layered deli baked Virginia ham over top and then deli American cheese. I added a veggie* layer topped with some Roasted Garlic Onion Jam, another layer of ham, and then the rest of the veggies. I topped with the second crust and baked in a hot oven until it was nicely browned. I had some foil over the top for a while to keep it from browning too much and then removed the foil and brushed with a little cream when it was getting close to done. *I chopped up the remaining roasted cauliflower, squash rounds, and rice stuffed mushrooms and cooked them down with the last tiny bit of the chicken stock and rice pilaf.

Those service things are odd, but it would make me hopeful that it's just one person behind it. (Congratulations on the transition from DINK.)

We had leftover sausage-stuffed ravioli in marinara with ricotta last night; sauteed sliced white mushrooms (butter, fresh thyme, red wine, minced onions, garlic powder); a big salad; and, rosemary bread from Atwater's.

I made an improvised chicken soup last night too, with homemade chicken stock, leftover rice pilaf, fresh thyme, and roasted fresh yellow tomatoes. (I bought them as green tomatoes a while ago and hadn't used them so they were yellow by last night!) Some greens would have been good in it. I had originally thought of making a greens and beans thing with the stock, changed my mind, and then decided soup would be good at the very last minute 🙃. We had this with a whole roasted cauliflower slathered with Stonewall Kitchens Roasted Garlic Onion Jam. The other item on the menu was mini squash and mushroom stacks. I roasted delicata squash rounds and large white mushroom caps separately (with evoo and fresh thyme in the caps). Near the time they were done I stuffed the caps with a little bit of rice pilaf and Parmesan and stuffed them into the squash rounds to finish. I had enough pieces of slightly different sizes that everything fit somewhere. It was a kind of haphazard meal that all worked out.