Xochitl10

Sandia Sunset: 2 oz. silver tequila; 1/2 oz. lemon juice, 1/4 oz. Chambord, served up with a twist.

Every year on or around his birthday, hubby Azami hosts a "Trains and Scrapple" event at our house. It started when he discovered another person in the area who a) was interested in N-scale model Japanese railroads, and had a wife who would not eat scrapple. They got together at his friend's house, ate scrapple, and ran trains. I'm told that at the first event, the host offered three kinds of scrapple: Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It's been a tradition now for six years, and has grown to ten people, a homemade crumb cake, and an ever-increasing amount of scrapple.

Tokyo; Akita Prefecture Hubby Azami and I just returned from a three-week trip to Japan. We spent a few days on either end in and around Tokyo (Shisui, Narita, Kashiwa), and the bulk of the trip traveling around Akita Prefecture in northern Japan. Oh. My. Goodness. do they know how to eat in Akita. We would never have learned that if Azami didn't speak Japanese -- it's _very_ difficult to travel around rural Northern Japan without knowing the language, and I don't speak it at all. In Tokyo, the best treat we found (as evidenced by the four double boxes we carried home) was at the Furuya Koganean stand in the Ecute food emporium at JR Shinagawa Station -- anko (sweet adzuki bean paste) wrapped in mochi and rolled in crushed black sesame. We also grabbed quick snacks (a lovely sponge roll filled with custard, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, and mango for me; fried dough balls with chocolate and apple for Azami) at Tokyo Station before hopping onto the Tohoku Shinkansen for our trip north. Akita Prefecture is known in Japan for a number of its local specialties, including exceptionally fine sakes and inaniwa udon. In shape, inaniwa udon is more like soba than udon -- it's quite thin, and has a slippery, smooth texture. On our first day in Akita City, we ate dinner at a branch of the local inaniwa udon chain, Yosuke. I don't remember what Azami had because my mind is still consumed with the memory of my dinner: tonkatsu and grated daikon on cold inaniwa udon, soup on the side with pickles. This was the best tonkatsu I've ever had, and could ever hope to have -- four layers of pork pounded very thin and folded, wearing a cloud of light, crispy, golden, flaky batter. Crunch in every bite. Heaven. This dinner also introduced us to the best treat we found in Akita Prefecture: iburigakko, or smoked pickled daikon. It tastes only slightly of radish, and is salty, smoky, and crunchy, but with some resistance. We brought four of these home, too. Moving on, we spent a night at the Hachimantai Lake Inn in Towada Hachimantai National Park, where there remained a meter of snow on the ground. This was our first ryokan meal experience, and it stands as the Best Honking Meal of the Azami/Xochitl Tour of Japan. We were served somewhere around fifteen small dishes, including a tiny dish of "mountain vegetable" sprinkled with bonito flakes and topped with soy sauce, sashimi of giant clam and salmon, a baby octopus dish, pickles (iburigakko!), a salted grilled fish, skewered to appear as though it was fighting the waves; a sublime custard containing Hinai jidori (Akita specialty chicken), mushrooms, and shrimp. Two "main" courses were also served: thin strips of beautiful red Kazuno beef, to be cooked by us at the table, and kiritampo nabe. Kiritampo is another Akita food, made of cooked mashed rice, formed around a stick, and grilled. It rather resembles a corn dog, and is generally sliced on the bias and cooked in a nabe (soup) of mushrooms, "mountain vegetable," Hinai jidori, and sometimes kamaboko (fish paste). It lends a wonderful, deep rice flavor to the broth. Mmm. In general, the ryokan meals we had were quite excellent, and very focused on local, seasonal ingredients. We were mostly traveling in the mountains, hence we ate a lot of "mountain vegetable" and river fishes, prepared simply, but so incredibly well. We spent one night at the WeSPa Tsubakiyama in Aomori Prefecture as part of a "trekking" package in which we hiked through the Juniko part of the Shirakami Sanchi forest preserve. Mid-hike, we stopped for lunch, provided by the hotel, and had the following conversation: Azami (who is sadly allergic to crab): Could you taste the sandwich with bacon on it? It looks like it has crab in it. Me: Okay. *confused face* That's not crab. It's a carrot. It's potato salad. It's a bacon-and-potato-salad sandwich. Guide: Is lunch okay? You're not vegetarians, are you? Azami: No, and I thought we had ordered bento, but it's fine. The sandwiches are really good. Me: No, it's totally fine. What's not to like about bacon-and-potato-salad sandwiches? We would have thought the bacon-and-potato-salad sandwiches really odd, had we not already learned that whenever you're served a Western-style breakfast at a Japanese establishment, your eggs and sausage are accompanied by really thick toast and a green salad. We later encountered spaghetti sandwiches as well. On our way back to Tokyo, we took the scenic route, via JR lines running down the Sea of Japan coast and back into the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture (viva la Railpass!). We stayed at Takasagoya ryokan, and ate our last incredible ryokan dinner of the trip. Served in our room, the dinner consisted of three dishes featuring tender, flavorful, almost-transparent-with-marbling Yonezawa beef (steamed dumplings, grilled and wrapped around zucchini, and grilled with small green peppers and a peach), pickles, "mountain vegetable," two tofu dishes. Dinner started with a gorgeous sunomono: slices of octopus on top of rice noodles and wide, dark green, smooth seaweed, all lightly vinegared and served in a pink grapefruit. For dessert, we received a slice of wonderful sweet melon and two picture perfect, but not quite at peak (per our hostess) Yamagata cherries. It's difficult to overstate how good the food was on this trip -- all fresh, simple, and well-prepared. We had lunch at Matuba yesterday, and while good, it's just not the same.

Old Pals -- equal parts bourbon (or in this instance of tribute, Early Times), Campari, and dry vermouth, up with an orange wheel Grilled flank steak Steamed green beans tossed with sea salt and white pepper Roasted red potatoes coated with EVOO, garlic, rosemary, and sea salt

I just did some this evening -- quartered lengthwise, tossed with EVOO, chopped garlic and rosemary, and a generous amount of sea salt. 450 in a convection oven for 20 minutes. Lovely light brown, if not tremendously crisp. Nevertheless, Azami and I declared them awesome.

Mmm, steaming bowls of udon. We just returned from three weeks in Japan on American, and I would have given anything for a steaming bowl of udon on the flight from Narita to O'Hare. Instead, we had soggy "katsu-don," rubber shrimp sushi, a mudflap of tofu (I thought it was egg; hubby Azami believed otherwise), and a whipped cream tart topped with spray-foam custard and a chestnut (?). Fortunately, I still had a maple bun acquired in Niigata (so awesome!) to snack on. They were generous with the water, though, moreso than on the flight from LAX to Narita. Prior to that, I had to travel to Albuquerque two weekends in a row on Southwest and American. Best food those trips was the carne adovada burritos from the Frontier carried on and consumed somewhere east of the Sandias.

That was my thought as well after reading this thread and seeing long-ago reviews of dishes served last night. A couple of the pairings worked well, but the tuna tartare/VS pairing was especially discordant. Each was lovely on its own, but they didn't play so nicely together.

I attended the French Wine Society's Frapin cognac tasting at Indebleu this evening. This was my first time to Indebleu, and it left me with rather mixed feelings about the food. First pairing -- Napoleon of Tuna Tartare and papadum with pickled beet and mustard relish with Frapin VS. Tuna was very fresh and had lovely flavor, but rendered the papadum soggy in the middle. The pairing REALLY brought out prominent vanilla flavors in a cognac that initially smelled quite oaky -- didn't love the vanilla/tuna combo so much. Second pairing -- seven-mushroom dosa with blue cheese cream with Frapin VSOP. I would gladly eat this again -- tender, flavorful mushrooms and the cream clearly had blue cheese, but its presence wasn't overwhelming. Unfortunately, don't remember much about the pairing. Third pairing -- foie gras sandwich with rose petal marmalade on garam masala brioche, paired with Chateau Fontpinot XO. I very much liked the garam masala brioche, but found the rose petal marmalade to be a bit too sweet. I have an unabashed love for Chateau Fontpinot, and thought the brioche highlighted its spicy, earthy qualities. Fourth pairing -- seared muscovy duck breast with asafetidae gnocchi and pomegranate jus, with VIP XO. I tend to agree with Sthich's assessment of this dish and would add that the duck was unfortunately tough. The cognac was wonderfully smooth, and seemed quite a bit fruitier than the previous ones. Fifth pairing -- Valrhona bittersweet chocolate sorbet (? It was more like pudding, and was not at all frozen) with coconut foam and vanilla caramelized almonds with Vintage 1983. Wow -- the combination of bittersweet chocolate and a light, earthy, 18-year-old cognac was sublime. For me, the coconut foam and almonds were totally unnecessary accoutrements.

My house. We prefer Luxardo maraschino for its dry spiciness. Palena keeps a bottle of maraschino behind the bar. Many months ago, I got the bartender (don't know her name) to give me a splash of it with some gin and lemon juice. I didn't have proportions on hand (because I never go to bars expecting to find maraschino), but if you have them handy, you may be able to call one out. Also, and perhaps surprisingly, the bartenders in the Race Bar at Clyde's of Chevy Chase turn out consistently good classics -- medium Martinis, Gimlets, and Manhattans come to mind. Cheers, Xochitl10

The chocolatey center of a raspberry Tootsie Pop.

I generally use either Callebaut or the higher percentage Scharffen Berger chocolates in both baked goods and glazes. Chopped bittersweet Callebaut makes great chocolate chunk cookies. I made the unsweetened brownies from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet with Scharffen Berger 99%, and couldn't keep my hands off them. They were mellow and earthy, with just the right amount of sweetness. I haven't made the brownies again with another chocolate, but this thread is making me consider doing so this weekend.

Roast beef and cheddar on ciabatta from the Atrium Cafe and a Diet Coke. Meat's a bit on the chewy side, but really honking tasty, all beefy and garlicky. Mmmm.

Naan and Beyond is one of the places I miss most, now that I no longer work in Dupont Circle. I loved running down there for a chicken tikka sandwich with mango sauce. The homemade potato chips were fantastic! I tried the new outlet in the National Press Club building that opened sometime last summer, and it wasn't nearly as good.

Either May date is good for Mr. Xochitl and I. We'll be in Japan on the June date.

Last night, Marcella Hazan: Beef Patties with Anchovy, Tomato, and Mozzarella (or as they're now known Chez Xochitl, Quarter Pounders with Anchovy) Sauteed Zucchini with Oregano Callebaut 97% brownies (not Marcella)

I have mixed feelings about this. I have a visceral dislike of dumbing down, which I generally don't think is helpful for educating your audience, since the dumbing down can lead to not entirely accurate descriptions of what technique to use. Nor is it helpful for engaging already-knowledgeable people who might be interested in using your product, for the same reason. On the other hand, I have cookbooks that assume a certain amount of knowledge about cooking in their recipes, which caused a lot of frustration when I started cooking. I can see how an inability to understand the instructions might cause someone to avoid learning to cook because it's "too difficult," or the recipe "never comes out right." The Joy of Cooking glossary discussed in the article sounds like a good way to avoid dumbing down, while at the same time making cooking accessible. I wonder if it's really practical for "on the box" recipes, though.

Last night: grilled ham, steamed rice, buttermilk chive biscuits, and mixed greens with pears, blue cheese, and balsamic/garlic vinaigrette. Tonight was New Mexican food night: red chile posole with pork, tortillas from New Mexico, chips and salsa, and Sandia Sunsets. Also tres leches cake (not New Mexican), which was rather gummy: it either didn't soak long enough or was completely impervious to the milk mixture.

I saw the original posting and became momentarily jealous that I had other plans for Friday night. During the summer, my co-workers and I can frequently be found on the patio at Les Halles, drinking Champagne and well-made Gimlets and basking in that commodity rare among lawyers -- the ability to be drinking Champagne and Gimlets outside at 6:00 pm on a Friday night. We enjoy the cheese and find the fries passable, but the outside and the drinks are really the draw.

Sandia Sunsets: silver tequila, lemon juice, and Chambord (specialty cocktail of the House of Xochitl) Marinated London Broil Smashed potatoes with chives Garlicky sauteed kale Sage focaccia

I third the Palena barstool praise. On a particularly crowded Friday night, three of us fashioned a "sofa" by putting two of them together. Still comfy.

Classic weeknight chow for Mr. Xochitl and me tonight: Hamburgers and Old Bay seasoned tots, upscaled with shiraz/cabernet for me, Dirty Tanqueray martini for him. I'm too preoccupied with what I'm going to make to fulfill the weeklong chocolate cake craving to think of much else.

For the office holiday party, I made miniature cupcakes using the chocolate sheet cake recipe from Baking Illustrated and iced them with peppermint buttercream. They were very good -- dense, moist, more fudgy than chocolaty (probably due to reduced size). I also recall shortening the baking time to 12 - 15 minutes. Paraphrased recipe 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa 1-1/4 cups unbleached AP flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 8 oz. semisweet chocolate (I think I used Scharffen Berger 65%) 12 Tbs. butter 4 large eggs 1-1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk (I used powder) Preheat oven to 325. Sift cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl Melt together butter and chocolate in separate bowl. Whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in buttermilk until smooth. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined. Whisk dry ingredients into chocolate/egg mixture until smooth and glossy. Pour into cupcake tin and bake 15-20 minutes (I would suspect)

I did. They had a small display of it in the cheese section, between the dairy case along the back wall and the freestanding cheese displays. I was craving it again today. Did you have the vanilla or the blueberry? Now I'm eating leftover chicken fried steak. Mmm.

Churchills -- Scotch, Cointreau, sweet vermouth, and lime juice Aged Grafton cheddar & wheat crackers Chicken fried steak Mashed potatoes Peas

Today's impulse purchase at Whole Foods: Skyr. It's Icelandic, kind of like yogurt, made with cultured, concentrated skim milk. It's really creamy, and tastes kind of cheesy at the end. It also appears to have vanilla seeds in it (WF also had blueberry). Mr. Xochitl thought it was like icing. The more garbage-disposal-like of my two Akitas did not like it so much, his picky friend seemed to.