Katie Über Alles

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a free-range turkey that my parents' brined this year, and it was probably the best turkey I have ever had.  Really moist, and the texture was really meaty, almost like a pork chop or something.

Why free-range?  My dad drives by a turkey farm on his way to work every day.  He said it's really something because there are thousands of turkeys just chillin day after day...Until one day when there were absolutely no turkeys!  After hearing this story we were making all kinds of inappropriate jokes about mass turkey-apocalypse.  There were jokes about turkey desaparecidos, turkey rapture, turkey genocide.  Yeah, these are all hilarious things to joke about, but if you know my family, you know we have a weird sense of humor.

My dad also made some vanilla ice cream to go with the pies for dessert and it was seriously the best ice cream I have ever had...perfect!

Thinking about going downstairs for a little snack of turkey sandwich in a sec...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pirate bar last night

Went to the pirate bar in Silver Spring last night (corner of Georgia and Bonifant).  I'd never been there before but had heard many good things.  As it turns out, we were there from 8pm-1am.  My impressions of the place:

1) Really good food.  Had a cup of shrimp bisque, and a turkey sandwich with a side salad (instead of fries).  All very tasty...especially the salad.  I don't expect much from bars in the ways of veggies, but this was very good.  Sandwich was on homemade bread that was perfect.

2) Good alcohol.  There were four of us (the check noted our customer name as "four girls" LOL) and we split two pitchers of grog, which as it turned out were pitchers of rum, rum, and more rum.  That maybe explains why we only went through 2 pitchers in 5 hours between 4 people.

3) Great outdoor seating.  Perfect night for it too.

4) But...horrible service.  I'm not picky about service, but it was really bad here.  It took a long time to be seated.  Then it took the waiter 45 minutes (no joke) to take our orders.  Food came out quickly, but some of it was missing and it took forever to get that rectified as well.  If you are planning to camp out there anyways and are in no particular hurry, this could be overlooked (we did).  However, if I was trying to get somewhere (movie, etc.) I would have been pissed.

There was also a belly dancer, but I did not think she was anything special.

Also, we broke in the new fish deck of cards.  The old one was getting a bit marked so I bought two new ones: saltwater fish of the world and freshwater fish of the world.  Heresy of heresies though, there are NO TILAPIA!  However there are plenty of other funny names to keep you occupied, and there are plenty of tuna (no dolphins, since they are mammals).

Chicken with Cinnamon and Honey

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, preferring things savory.  However, I do like cooking with honey.  When I was in college and trying to learn how to cook, I came up with this recipe, which is actually pretty good.  Haven't made it in quite awhile but I made it tonight and I remembered how much I liked it.

Chop up chicken breasts and fry them in small pieces in frying pan.  When almost cooked through, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour in a tablespoon or two of honey and coat chicken with it.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Remove from pan and serve. 

Bonus: your kitchen smells really good after cooking this.

Making this on the grill tomorrow for Memorial Day

Maple/Bourbon marinated salmon

Ingredients:
8 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (1-inch thick) preferably with skin on
Cooking spray (for broiler/barbecue rack)
1 cup maple syrup or brown sugar, packed
6 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bourbon
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 lime)
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1. To marinate: Combine maple syrup, bourbon, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, pepper, and garlic in a large zip-lock plastic bag. Add salmon fillets, seal bag, and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes, turning the bag once. Remove fillets from bag and set aside the marinade. Do not marinate for longer than 30  minutes.

2. Preheat barbecue, broiler, or oven to 400°F.

3. To barbecue or broil: Place fillets skin side down on broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 11 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

4. To roast: Line a baking dish with tin foil or parchment paper. Place fish skin side down in center of oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until fish flakes easily.

5. In the meantime: bring the rest of the marinade to a boil in a small saucepan on medium high heat on top of stove. Reduce to a little more than half. Allow to simmer while fish is cooking. Use to baste fish and serve as sauce.

Sushi!

There have been quite a few things I haven't blogged about recently, but I can't spend my whole life blogging.  Blevins has been after me ("Why did you blog about our degenerate outing to go see 'The Grand?'  Why didn't you blog about going to the O's game?" etc etc.) to post these things, but you might notice that he does not get a link on his name because HE DOES NOT HAVE A BLOG.  ;)  Simple fact is, this is a super busy time of year for me, and blogging about everything I've done has just fallen by the wayside while I try to get other stuff done.

I love sushi.  My freshman year a bunch of us headed up to the old Cafe Asia in Dupont for happy hour (and they never carded...though we got kicked out one time when Vinnie started bringing in his own vodka) every Thursday afternoon.  Then later some of my best female friends and I had a standing sushi date every Sunday at this place in Rosslyn (which sadly no longer exists).  Alexis, Jessica, Erica, and I would show up to our old sushi place (Appetizers Plus - what a name) every Sunday from 1998-2002, stuff ourselves at their Sunday sushi buffet, have lots of crazy girl talk, and then go watch Sex and the City.  Even after I moved out to the burbs in the Summer of 2000, I still made the Sunday trek for sushi and gossip.  Ah, the good old days.  More recently Alexis and I used to meet up at Uni pretty frequently when she worked across the street, but even that has fallen by the wayside since I've been in school and since she took a new job.  Erica moved to Rhode Island and got married.  I haven't seen Alexis or Jess in forever even though we periodically send notes over the interwebs.

But anyways, Anne and I had planned to go to sushi happy hour at Sushi Uni in Dupont tonight, but by the time I got done with sections at 5pm I was sweaty and tired and didn't want to travel all the way down to DC.  I asked her if there was someplace closer to home that we could go to and she suggested this place in Laurel which is literally around the corner from my house.  So to Asahi we went.

Showed up and ordered our sushi on the little card things.  Anne and I actually had a conversation about how whenever we order sushi our eyes are bigger than our stomaches but we proceeded to order a ton anyways.  As it turns out, the waitress took a liking to us or something and proceeded to bring us a salad with ginger dressing, miso soup, some roasted veggies in a sweet and spicy sauce, and some kind of fried rice dish.  When we protested that we didn't order all of that (thinking she had brought us someone else's order) she told us it was on the house.  Wow - OK.

So then our sushi shows up on two giant platters and we realize we are never going to be able to finish it all.  We both put a good size dent in it before giving up.  I have to say, they have some really good and different types of rolls, especially for a sushi place in a strip mall in the middle of route 1.

We got our bills and then the waitress brought us out more free food - two things of ice cream: 1 green tea and one red bean.  Never being ones to say no to ice cream, especially when it is free, Anne and I had several bites of each before deciding we needed to leave before our stomaches exploded, seagull-style.  The ice cream was way better than the mochi we used to get at Appetizers Plus, but nowhere near as good as the fried banana goodness that they had at Cafe Asia.  But again, it was free, so I am not complaining.

The next few days are gonna be super busy.  I gotta get my RelPol paper in order tonight and tomorrow.  I am supposed to play on the GVPT Guerillas (we are so clever, huh?) kickball team tomorrow, plus there is pink at night.  Pops' on Saturday and I'm supposed to meet with/call Melissa to give her feedback on her paper at some point Saturday.  Have to prepare for the RelPol debate on Monday.  Gotta get a draft of my Participation paper done before Wednesday.  Calgon take me away.....!

Dinner Tonight

Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Almond Peppers

2  large red bell peppers (about 3/4 pound)
2  large green bell peppers (about 3/4 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
6  (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2  egg whites
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water

Cut bell peppers into 2 x 2 1/2-inch strips. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers; sauté 8 minutes. Add raisins; sauté 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in almonds. Set aside, and keep warm.

Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese in a shallow dish. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge each chicken piece in flour, and dip in egg whites. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from heat. Place the chicken and bell pepper mixture on a serving platter; set aside, and keep warm.

Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and water to pan; stir with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Spoon mixture over chicken and bell pepper mixture.

DC

DC is kinda like an ex-lover of mine.  When we first got together things were really great and I was continuously surprised.  Then after being together for awhile, we both got comfortable with each other...but at the same time some of the excitement wore off.  Finally, I decided city-life was overrated (read: too expensive for someone then making $35k/year), so I moved out to the suburbs.

Now that I have lived in the 'burbs for 8 years (yikes - has it really been that long?!?), or maybe perhaps because I am newly single, I find myself thinking back to DC and thinking how it wasn't really that bad after all.  Of course, DC and I have both changed a lot in the intervening eight years.

I wish I lived downtown again.  Lots of great restaurants and bars.  Lots of my friends live there.  AND you can walk home (or easily take a cab) after a night out.  I used to walk everywhere (didn't have a car til the end of 2004). 

I suffered from some major DC nostalgia last night when I met up with Mircalla and some other friends from college at one of our old (and some of their current) hang outs: Cap Lounge.  Tuesdays are .10cent wing night.  I think between all of us we ended up literally ordering about 100.  Good times were had by all and I was reminded of some stories that I had forgotten.  I miss my friends from college.

OMG - yummy!

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

1  14-ounce can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 /4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs. whisked in a medium bowl
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small saucepan heat the coconut milk and honey, bring barely to a simmer.

In a separate large bowl combine the flour, coconut, salt and baking powder. Stir the coconut milk into the flour mixture.

Whisk about 1/3 cup of the coconut mixture into the eggs. Now quickly mix the eggs back into the large bowl of coconut batter. Stir until well combined. You can do this the night before if you like.

Heat your favorite non-stick (or very well-seasoned) skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Drop a heaping tablespoon into the skillet, sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Makes dozens of silver dollar sized pancakes, or a dozen or so larger ones.

Crab cakes

The only magazine I get that is not school related (and I guess technically those are "journals") these days is Cooking Light.  I look forward to it every month because it means a bunch of new recipes to try.  April's issue came on Saturday and I promised myself to make something out of it today.  There are a ton of good recipes in this issue, so I don't know that I'm going to be able to get through all of the ones I want to try.  For example, there is a whole spread on handmade pasta by Lydia Bastianich and every single recipe in there looks delicious.  And there is another section on Indian cooking with lots of yummy looking curry recipes.  But what definitely caught my eye was the cover recipe: crab cakes.  Made them for dinner tonight and they definitely get two thumbs up.

1/4 c chopped red onion
2 T chopped parsley
3 T mayo
2 t dijon mustard
3/4 t old bay
1/2 t worcestershire sauce
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 pound lump crab meat
1 1/2 c panko
1 T olive oil

combine first 7 ingredients in bowl, gently fold in crab meat.  stir in 3/4 c panko.  cover and chill 30 mins.  divide mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/2 c each) shape into patty.  place remaining panko in dish and dredge cake in panko.  heat oil in skillet, cook 7 minutes on each side. 

Dinner Party Recap

Appetizers:
crab dip with crackers
homemade hummus with pita

Main course:
BBQ meatloaf
garlic mashed potatoes
roasted asparagus with balsamic and parmesan
mushrooms and caramelized onions

Dessert:
Guinness chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting

Beverages:
We ended up drinking 4 bottles of wine (2 chards, 1 pinot grigio, 1 verdejo), several bottles of beer, and 3/4 of a bottle of blueberry vodka.

I made everything from scratch...and I had made everything before except the cake.  The cake turned out really good though - it was chocolate-y, but not too sweet, and dense and moist thanks to the beer.  I bet it would be good to substitute a belgian raspberry lambic or something in place of the Guinness.  I also learned I should not try to frost a cake drunk...messy.

I've also decided that 6 people is about the max you can have at a dinner party before it becomes work.  It really only took me a few hours to throw everything together food-wise, but cooking for more would have required some better oven management on my part.

It's nice having some seating in my kitchen in the form of a bench (thanks, Mom) because when Anne and Billy arrived at 7 I was still mixing up the cake batter and they could sit in my kitchen and talk to me.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we played a round of BS - a game where you make stuff up and then have people bet on whether you are telling the truth or not, and a rowdy game of Scattergories... where I think I made Keenan choke when I wrote down "muff" for things you keep hidden that start with the letter "m".  Ha ha.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for coming over.  Hope you had a good time.  My kitchen is almost back to normal after two loads of dishes...