Daring Cooks November Challenge: Sushi

This month the Daring Cooks made sushi. Not going to lie, I was a little worried about this challenge. Unless eating enough sushi to feed a small village counts, I have very little to no experience with (making) sushi. My sister, however, is a homemade sushi enthusiast and with her help, we tackled this challenge! I was really surprised at how easy the whole process was, especially once all your ingredients are nicely chopped. You can find the instructions for these three types of sushi (dragon rolls, spiral rolls, and nigri) at The Bite Me Kitchen.

Dragon Roll: filled with cucumber and General Tso's tofu, topped with avocado slices

Spiral Roll: filled with avocado, carrot, cilantro, daikon, cucumber, and imitation crab

Salmon Nigri

Amazing Brunch in DC: Creme on U Street

Last Sunday I had the most amazing brunch and I'm so excited to present you with the photos, dear readers. By the time I dragged myself downtown, I was on the prowl for some serious good eats. My friend David suggested Creme on U Street and I was excited to check it out because the menu looked so amazing. It was a bit crowded but definitely cozy and not excessively loud. We had such a great brunch and I will definitely be going back soon. I just wanted to post the photos and make a recommendation for anyone looking for a great, fresh brunch option in DC.

The Chesapeake: poached eggs on jumbo lump crab hash with Old Bay hollandaise (AMAZING!)

Wild Mushroom Benedict: wild mushrooms on English muffins w/ poached eggs & hollandaise

Lox & Bagel Benedict: poached eggs on toasted bagel with chive hollandaise

Creme

1322 U Street, DC

P: 202.234.1885

Embracing Autumn with Pumpkin Scones

In the last few weeks, I've been walking around with my mouth gaping open. I feel like I'm seeing the fiery reds, oranges, and yellows of (North American) autumn for the first time! I realized a few days ago that my surprise is probably due to the fact that last year at this time I was in Nice, where the palm trees are unaffected by impending winter. I've been so enamored with autumn this year and that has manifested itself into an intense love of all things pumpkin. Literally, last week I had a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese and a pumpkin spice latté...I'm telling you: I can't get enough!

I decided to make these pumpkin scones for my thesis class last Monday because we had a big assignment due (and there's only 6 people in the class, so it was easy). I used another recipe by Karlynn, because as far as I'm concerned she's the scones queen. This is my second time using one of her scones recipe, and I was really happy with how they came out (DELICIOUS!). Her recipe includes a glaze but I was all out of powdered sugar so I nixed that. Nonetheless, they were fantastic and a perfect way to welcome autumn (into our bellies that is).

She included such nice photos with the recipe, that I won't bother reposting it here. You can find it here: The Kitchen Magpie: Pumpkin Scones.

Mario Batali's Otto (NYC)

During my trip to New York a few weeks ago, I had the chance to spend the day with one of my most awesome friends, Lanny. During this day, I decided Lanny might be one of my favorite people to eat with. Why? He's always hungry and excited to eat something delicious! I don't mean to disparage any of my other friends, but I'm sorry, but it's no fun to go to a nice restaurant and eat a salad! Lanny wanted to wait until we were starving to eat, so we checked out the Stand Bookstore and I found a really nice copy of Patricia Wells's Food Lovers Guide to Paris for $1! Who knows when I'll be in Paris next but I can't wait to use it.

Anyways, by the time we got to Otto, it was around 4pm and we were starving. First off, I'd like to note that I love restaurants that stay open (with a full menu) between lunch and dinner. It may not be profitable, but people gotta eat! The Otto menu is great because its diverse and has a variety of types of food. Like Westville, they had a long list of small plates that were very vegetable heavy and surprisingly affordable. I love checking out restaurants of chefs whose recipes I use and I had a great time a couple years ago at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain, but man, that place burned a hole in my wallet! Otto was pretty affordable and I really appreciated that (I've even, for the first time in 1tsplove history, included prices!).

Lanny and I decided on three small plates: Summer Corn Salad ($4), Roasted Beets ($4), and the Mussels, Peperonata, Mint ($7). All three were delicious. All were served cold, which was surprising for the mussels but refreshing on a hot August day. Lanny, who I think had never had beets before, did not enjoy the roasted beets, but I loved them (perfect doneness!). Both of us agreed that the corn salad was good, but nothing to write home about.

As our entree, we split the Pane Frattau Pizza which was topped with Pecorino cheese (very lightly, I might add) and an egg. Lanny was very intrigued by the egg and I knew that you just can never go wrong dipping anything in egg yolk, so I was definitely on board. The pizza did not disappoint. Lanny thought there should have been two eggs for the size of the pizza, but I think then it would have just looked weird (or at least not as good). The pecorino was light, because I know some people (*cough*Idris*cough*) really don't appreciate excessive (or any) cheese on pizza.

For dessert, we got the gelato and the flavors we chose were olive oil, strawberry, and hazelnut. The olive oil was my favorite, even though the olive oil flavor was very subtle.

OTTO

1 Fifth Ave, NYC (+ 8th St)

Subway: 8th Street - NYU

212 995 9559

Daring Cooks October Challenge: Quick Chicken Pho and Chocolate Wontons

I absolutely loved this month's challenge: Pho. It's something delicious I never would have thought to make myself, but once I did, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was! I especially loved having the big assortment of toppings, allowing everyone to make their pho as wild or tame as they like.

To accompany the pho, I made a simply crunchy salad with red & green cabbage, shredded carrots, and shredded broccoli stalks, topped with toasted almonds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.

For our dessert, we were encouraged to venture outside the box and get crazy with our fillings. Jaden's original recipe calls for nuggets of chocolate. I considered filling them with chocolate that was spiced with cinnamon and chilies, but all the chocolate bars I found were too expensive to be worth it. I decided on a filling I've used many times for dessert wontons: NUTELLA! These bad boys were (of course) delicious. I probably polished off at least 5 myself and was sorely disappointed when they were finished.

Chicken Pho
From Jaden's Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Makes 4 servings

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

As Accompaniments:
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.

In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.

Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

Chocolate Wontons
Jaden's Steamy Kitchen Cookbook
Makes 12 wontons

1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)
Nutella
High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.

On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper down with a point toward you, like a diamond. Place about a teaspoon of Nutella near the top end of the wrapper. Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper up to create a triangle and gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.

Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces. Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.

In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil. Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons. Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.

Westville (NYC): A Vegetable Lover's Paradise in the West Village

Westville's interior: simple and cozy

My last trip to New York City was in August, but I was just too darn busy (grrr classes, thesis, GRE, graduate school applications...go away!) to post these pictures earlier. One of the carefree summer afternoons I was there we had lunch at Westville to celebrate Yasmina's birthday. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed my dining experience.

the always lovely Yasmina, patiently waiting for me to stop snapping photos and order already

First of all, the menu is great. It's long and varied and creative. Second of all, it's small. This annoys some people, but I don't particularly enjoy eating in restaurants the size of Walmart. I prefer a smaller, more cozy space in which you really feel like you and the other diners are sharing an experience. But my favorite thing about Westville was how vegetable-heavy the menu was! I freaking love vegetables and I don't always feel like having meat or seafood with them. Westville's menu really let fabulous vegetables shine on their own without masking their flavor with excessive craziness.

Westville's menu includes a long list of smaller, mostly vegetarian dishes that are meant to share. Yasmina and I decided to share four: sweet potato fries, ginger & garlic snap peas, roasted beets with goat cheese, and a black bean salad. I can honestly say every single one of them was DELICIOUS. After sampling all of these simple, fresh dishes, I was still hungry and ordered the crab cakes, which I was pleasantly surprised to find were not loaded with tons of nonsense fillers. Now incase you didn't know: I'm from Maryland (i.e. I take my crab cakes very seriously). Westville crab cakes were great because they were mostly crab meat but had just enough finely diced extra excitement (my guess would be green onion and red pepper?) to keep them interesting. When Lanny joined us, he had some sort of steak sandwich which he enjoyed. If you're in the West Village and looking for a delicious, simple, fresh meal (especially if you LOVE vegetables!), I cannot recommend Westville enough.

Garlic Ginger Snap Peas, with Sweet Potato Fries lurking in the background

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

Black Bean/Corn Salad

Crab Cakes

Lanny, sick and tired of having his picture taken while eating by this point

Westville

210 W 10th Street, NYC

(between Bleecker and West 4th Street)
P: 212.741.7971

Pitango: Organic Gelato in Dupont Circle

A few weeks ago, after a visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see their Frida Kahlo, the lovely Dora and I finally checked out Pitango. After lamenting the dearth of good gelato in our area (Dolcezza excluded), we were desperate for something good. I'm happy to report that Pitango did not disappoint. Unfortunately for me, the two flavors I was looking forward to, Creme Fraiche and Cinnamon, were not offered that day. I have since called, and they told me I can look forward to them in a few weeks (apparently they are seasonal, autumn-only flavors). Another downside to Pitango is the gelato is in these metal tins so you can't see the flavor before you taste it. This doesn't matter for most flavors, but for some it's crucial (mango for example, should be a deep orange color, not pale yellow). I decided on Almond and Mango Sorbet. The almond was fantastic! I normally don't like Almond-y flavors because they taste too much like marzipan (ew!), but this one tasted like pure delicious almonds. I was less wild about the mango. The flavor was pretty subtle and I definitely would have preferred a mango punch in the face.

Dora chose Dark Chocolate Orange and Concord Grape Sorbet. The Dark Chocolate Orange was sublime. The grape was fairly good, in that it tasted like real grapes, but it was nothing to write home about (especially when compared with the Raisin Framboise at Arlequin in Nice). Ultimately we concluded that their creamy flavors are infinitely better than their fruity ones. However, more tests will have to be conducted in order to validate this hypothesis. As always faithful readers, I will keep you posted!

Pitango Gelato

1451 P Street NW
Washington DC
202-332-8877

Other locations in Baltimore & Reston