Easter Sunday Dinner - Head Chef Yours Truly!

I did it. I spearheaded my first Easter Sunday dinner with the help of my sous-chef (my boyfriend) and his mom as assistant cooking consultant. I successfully cooked rum-and-dijon-mustard glazed ham, roasted brussels sprouts, scalloped potatoes and ricotta-parmesan-stuffed mushrooms. I define success in big family dinners as not needing to order Chinese food. Everything was on pointe taste-wise and I guess you would say 'yummy' as far as first time big-family-dinner-chefs are concerned. The ham had a beautiful brown, sweet glaze that seeped throughout the meat keeping it moist and fresh. The brussels sprouts were perfectly roasted and salty; I used to absolutely despise brussels sprouts as a kid, and I ended up loving these! I made three pounds of these to satiate 7 mouths at the table. The scalloped potatoes, although milky (dangerous to a lactose intolerant like myself), were softened and creamy. I stuffed the mushrooms caps with the chopped stems, garlic, parmesan and ricotta, and topped them with a pretty dash of paprika. Delicious! This meal was very complete and actually pretty easy and straightforward if you have a couple extra pairs of hands to help prep the food. I was so happy that the food turned out alright (and hopefully won me back future invites to practice my family cooking skills)! Take a look...

Ulah Bistro

 

  While traipsing about DC before a 9:30 Club show, I decided to try Ulah Bistro on a whim after glancing at the menu from outside its doors on U Street. Up until that point, my SO and I had planned on going to a soul food joint, but after walking from Metro Center to U Street on a lovely Friday early evening, we chose Ulah Bistro because it was slightly closer, which meant we could stuff out bellies that much sooner. We ordered a standard crab artichoke dip for starters; nothing too outstanding

there, but good nonetheless. After perusing the menu, I went with a simple steak sandwich, medium rare, with duck fat fries while the manfriend ordered porkbelly pizza (per my strong suggestion -- since porkbelly has become my favorite part of the pig). And oh my god were the entrees delicious (and served in a very timely manner, I might add)!!!! The steak in my sandwich was perfectly medium rare, which almost never happens in my restaurant experience. Most of the time I end up getting overcooked steak, which I almost snobbily send back sometimes. I can't stand steak well-done. I have to have red in it for whatever reason (it's juicier, tenderer, tastier...all ers). This one was a standout just because it was simply cooked well. I ended up forgoing the bun and lettuce and decided to eat the steak pieces themselves (cheaper than ordering the prime rib) because they were made my way. And where can I begin with my duck fat fries? I had never had duck fat fries, but since most fatty things are tasty, I decided it was safe to order. Best way to eat fries in my opinion. Why aren't all fried things fried in animal fats, specifically an animal as tasty as duck? You can taste the fat throughout the fry itself and the distinct ducky flavor too. I didn't even need to dip these crispy fries in ketchup because they were so yummy. I must figure out how to replicate this animal fat frying procedure at home! And the porkbelly pizza was bomb too. I ate 2 slices of the pizza which was also topped with fig and arugula. I love pairing the sweet, jamlike fig with a savory flavor like a meat. Ulah Bistro was generous in topping this pizza with the deliciously fatty porkbelly too, which was harmonious with the nutty arugula and sweet fig. This restaurant gets a very solid gold star from this eatin' gal right here. I'll be coming back for more, most likely before future concerts on U Street. Definitely check out this gastronomic gem when you can. 

Fire & Rice

Order the spicy pork bowl with all the veggies & a fried egg on top from the DC food truck Fire & Rice. Don't question, just do it. With pending stricter parking regulations on the city's food trucks, I decided to be more proactive about trying out the different foods in the popular food truck scene that has sprung up all over downtown. This lunch was a welcome treat to my sandwich-ity taste buds. Not exactly spicy, but very yummy Korean pork meats in...

 
a bowl of rice, radishes and other veggies. The fried egg on top was the...cherry on top of the cake, so to speak. I love egg yolk mixed with anything. Provides that extra creaminess flavor factor to an already punchy bowl of Korean chow. I'll definitely be trying out more food trucks soon,
but will highlight the ones that really capture my belly!

Ethiopian Eats

So I finally got a chance to try Ethiopian cuisine that has become a near staple in the area due to the Ethiopian population. Restaurants have popped up all over the DMV, but namely in Silver Spring, MD and the U Street area downtown. I went to the popular Addis Ababa in downtown Silver Spring with a few friends ready to chow down. It's a small intimate restaurant that was packed tightly with the Saturday crowds. We were seated in armchairs and a benchlike couch around a small coffeetablelike...table? Anyway, the way to eat Ethiopian food is to share large portions of it with friends using your hands as utensils. No silverware? Count me in! I felt like a kid again, yet it is more than acceptable, expected even, to eat with your hands. You use the soft, spongy pita-like "bread" called injera that really looks more like a pancake to grab chunks of food from the platter. It helps pick up food and soak up flavors from the platter. I'm pretty bad about recording what I ordered in the exact especially with more foreign foods, but I believe we ordered a combination platter of the tamer doro wat, chicken simmered in a delectable sauce with a hard boiled egg on top with lamb and beef on the side as well as some vegetarian options. I was surprised at how fast I became full. This is a great food outing to do with a group, particularly your foodie friends who don't mind getting their hands dirty! Saucy, soft/tender and melt in your mouth cuisine! I will definitely be checking out other Ethiopian places in the area after this.

Moroccan Beef Chili

I am obsessed with my new crockpot. Currently my favorite thing in the kitchen that I own, although I do not own very much. Next on my list are good cutting knives and possibly a spice rack. I made a Moroccan style beef chili using traditional Middle Eastern flavors and spices (think chickpeas, cumin, cinnamon, paprika - I forgot to buy ground ginger though). Just brown chopped onions and garlic in a big skillet with vegetable oil then throw in the pound of ground beef that's been mashed with a slice of white bread soaked in milk to brown that up. Throw in a big dollop of tomato paste, a can of tomato sauce and all the spices as well, then transfer to the slow cooker. I added a can of diced tomatoes and drained chickpeas to the slow cooker with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar and a some soy sauce as well to bring out the flavors. Cook on low for 6 hours or so. At the very end of the cook time, throw in raisins (I used craisins I already had in my pantry for salads) for about 10 minutes. And this is what you get, my friends. Fragrant, slightly sweet and spicy beef chili. So simple and tasty. I actually ate this chili with potato hamburger rolls almost like a sloppy joe. This is a very filling dish that everyone can enjoy. I think I will try to tweak this recipe and add a little more beef to the recipe to make it thicker for actual sloppy joes. 

Not another crab dinner!

 Yes, it's another crab dinner! This time at Cantler's in Annapolis, MD. This came recommended to me by a friend who grew up in Annapolis. After an unseasonably warm winter afternoon spent in a hot air balloon, I was starving for hearty meal in the Bay region. To start, I had fried calamari. These were chunky and fried just enough. Some calamari are over-fried and you are left with just the fried bits instead of the actual squid. Not fun.

 I ordered up a pound of snow crab legs for my main course. These were particularly juicy and sweet, which was unexpected since these are not native to the region and must be imported. I was able to pull out long, moist chunks of crab meat from each leg with relative ease, making for a satisfying mouthful of meat. Unfortunately, the blue crabs I tried here, which aren't in season, were not fresh and moist. They tasted...old? I'll have to come back when they're in season again. This restaurant sits nicely on the water, tucked away from the bustle of the city, with an outdoor deck area to boot!

KFC

No, this is not a post about Kentucky Fried Chicken if that's what you were thinking (I thought so too). I should be fire myself as a food blogger if I wrote such a post. This is a post about Korean Fried Chicken actually. The new Bonchon opened in Rockville Town Center recently and my Asian friends told me I just had to go if I love chicken wings. Umm, DO I!?!? Chicken wings are one of my favorite bar foods, pig out foods, etc. You can never go wrong with a plate of chicken wings. I prefer eating the flats (the wings with the 2 bones) and I like hot wings, sweet wings, bbq wings. Unfortunately, my Korean heritage did not win out in helping me to eat through the spicy wings at Bonchon. The regular wings were delicious. The wings have been fried twice to perfection, which lends a little something extra to the skin on the wing, which is the best part in my book. If you love chicken wings as much as I do, I suggest you try Bonchon for a real, refried treat!