Archive for the ‘ Food ’ Category

Chocolate Cheese and Other Adventures of 25

Author: ilana

Mar 7

I hit my first quarter-century mark the other week. I think it was my first birthday when I wasn’t thrilled to be a year older. But I celebrated nonetheless. Kirios and I went out for a trendy yet romantic dinner at Founding Farmers, and of course I couldn’t resist the temptation to throw yet another theme party. So in approximately 6 months when Kirios catches up uploading photos from his dSLR, you all can see what an awesome Pebbles and BamBam we make.

Last weekend Kirios and I opened the cheese he brought me on Valentines Day (well I had already broken into the smokedgouda, I admit) and I realized he sneakily broke our Vday no chocolate pact AGAIN. He purchased Trader Joe’s cheese of the month, which mixed milk chocolate with sharp white cheddar. It was… interesting. I think I actually like it more than Kirios, who was hoping for dark chocolate.  I didn’t think it was too bad upon first taste, but it actually was worse when I ate it on top of a Ritz cracker. And unlike most cheeses I’m apprehensive to try, it didn’t grow on me with consecutive bites. It definitely tasted like it should be marketed as a snack to put in your kids school lunches. It was definitely edible, but I suppose it makes me appreciate even more what Mr. Reese has known for so so long, nothing goes together quite like chocolate and peanut butter.

Other than tasting cheese, Kirios and I set out to cook some healthy meals for ourselves this weekend, so we cooked salmon, couscous, and broccoli on Saturday, and gemistas, Greek stuffed peppers on Sunday. And now that it’s Wednesday already, I’m wishing I had the time/motivation to continue the trend, but I think I may have to last on leftovers for a few more days.

Sunday afternoon my cousin Jessica visited from New York, and with Kirios we made a ton of delicious hamentaschen to get excited for Purim. We filled the triangular treats with strawberry jam, peach-mango preserves, nutella, and chocolate-peanut butter spread, and baked them on a cookie sheet that used to be our Grandma Ruth’s. And as it turns out, last Sunday was Grandma Ruth’s 12th yartzeit, the anniversary of her passing on the Hebrew calendar. I can’t think of a better way to have honored her memory on that day.

0 Comments
Filed under: Birthdays, Food, Holidays, Parties

Parental Invasion

Author: ilana

Mar 1

For the second year in a row, my parents decided to celebrate our nation’s presidents by spending a long weekend in Maryland. Last year they stayed with family friends in Baltimore, and I drove down to spend time with everyone. This year, they were excited to stay with me in my first apartment without roommates. They drove up on Friday afternoon and conveniently arrived right at the end of my telework day.

We first went for a walk around Bethesda, enjoying the unseasonable weather until the sun fell low enough in the sky that it stopped keeping us warm. Then Kirios met us back at my apartment and we walked over to Pizzeria da Marco, a Neopolitan pizza place extremely close by. Kirios and I had been a couple of times before and enjoyed their pizza, especially during happy hour when their margherita pizza is just $5. My father has a particular fondness for pizzerias with brick ovens who take their food seriously, so I had been waiting for him to visit so I could take him there for sometime. We enjoyed arugula salads with oranges, red onion, fennel and chili flakes before feasting on a variety of pizzas, which we divided up evenly amongst ourselves. We enjoyed the certified authentic Margherita D.O.P.; Quatro Formaggi; Siciliana with eggplant confit, black olives, and capers; and the Diavola which had roasted red peppers. The Diavola also came with finocchiona, a cured ham, which Kirios ordered on the side so he could add it to his slices. Pizzeria da Marco serves a good product, with a chewy crust and flavorful toppings. It does tend to pool liquid from tomatoes and other toppings in the center, where the crust is extremely thin, which is a bit of a turn off and keeps them from topping our favorites list. But all in all, it was a very satisfying meal.

Saturday morning the parental units were feeling ambitious and prepared to take on the District. We had an early lunch and then we drove downtown with Kirios for some tourist activities. We made a spur of the moment decision to go into the Old Post Office. Kirios had taken me there during my last birthday, but due to rain storms and heavy winds, the National Park Service had shut down the tower (the main reason to visit the pavilion) rumored to have one of the best views of the city. Since it was announced only days earlier that Donald Trump will take over the historic building and convert it into a hotel, we figured we better visit while we could. The wait was longer than we had hoped, and the view was a bit anticlimactic. But at least I got to cross it off my DC bucket list.

After the Post Office, we realized we were running behind schedule and ditched our original plan to visit the Newseum. Instead we went to the nearby and free American History Smithsonian. There were a couple of closed exhibits, but we did spend some time judging the first ladies’ fashion choices, and other museum highlights.

Around four we walked over to Chinatownin order to enjoy an early meal at Zaytinya, Kirios’ favorite restaurant which I first tried on his birthday. (We were originally planning to go to Founding Farmers, but it proved difficult to get a reservation on a Saturday in Washington DC!) Kirios and I weren’t too disappointed by the tradeoff. At Zaytinya, I ordered my favorite brussel sprouts afelia and Kirios indulged in his beloved garides me anitho, sauted shrimp. We also shared a flatbread with tomato sauce, cinnamon, oregano, and halloumi cheese (Kirios’ favorite cheese, made in Cyprus); greek olives; mushroom saganaki with tomato and kefalograviera cheese; bamya (okra with crispy chickpeas); seared salmon with squash puree, maitake mushrooms, and pomegranate molasses; almond trout with preserved lemon-kalamata olive tapenade and garlic yogurt; and the kolokithokeftedes (zucchini and cheese patties) which I had ordered over Kirios’ birthday also. These dishes were all quite enjoyable, but there was one more dish which stood above all the rest (or in the case of the brussel sprouts, and the shrimp for Kirios, on par) and that was the havoc koftesi, carrot, apricot and pine nut fritters with a pistachio sauce. These balls were packed with flavor, and my mom instantly began planning a kugel version that she can serve on Passover, leaving out the pine nuts (which did provide a nice texture) and substituting flour for potato starch. We saved a bit of room for delicious desserts and Turkish coffee too.

We finished our feast at Zaytinya ahead of schedule, so we quickly jumped into the National Portrait Gallery across the street to check out the Annie Leibovitz exhibition, Pilgrimage (which uncharacteristically doesn’t include pictures of people). Following the exhibition we walked over the Ronald Reagan Building, where Kirios and I enjoyed a round of drinks before the four of us enjoyed a show by the political satire group, The Capitol Steps. I’ve enjoyed their public radio broadcasts on July 4th, and April Fools and so on throughout the years, and both Mom and Kirios have seen them perform live in the past. It was truly a treat, and the four of us spent the entire performance smiling.

We returned home a bit before 11pm, and I made sure my parents were comfortable and all set for bed before before heading out with Kirios to hear our friends’ band perform at a wing bar a couple of blocks away. I got home around 12:30am, exhausted from an extremely full day.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling extremely grateful that it was a long weekend, and then next time I woke up wouldn’t be at 5:50am. There were still adventures to be had. Kirios and our family friends from Baltimore came over at 10:30, and I showed off my big girl apartment before we walked over to Bethesda Row to have brunch at Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian chain centered around the idea of communal tables. We were all extremely impressed with the food. Their omlettes and quiches were quite nice, as well as their breads and pastries. I had a smoked salmon omlette and we tried both their lemon tart and pistachio tart (which was more of a cake) for dessert. The only thing that didn’t impress us was their seasonal soy chai special which was too thin for our liking. (I heard the coffee was good though.) As we kvelled over the food, we flipped through their cookbooks displayed on their tables. Kirios and I scanned the barcode on the back of one for kicks, since my mother loves to collect cookbooks, and Amazon offered it starting at $146. Less than 10 minutes later, Kirios returned from a trip to the bathroom with a shrink-wrapped copy which he presented to my mother as an early birthday gift. (It was available much cheaper than what we had seen online, but was nonetheless an extremely generous and thoughtful measure. He’s a keeper!)

Following brunch, we visited some of the cute shops along Bethesda Row. I ran into a great friend of mine from college, and then we were all interviewed for a YouTube video about the red “parking meters” to donate change to the homeless in Bethesda. Although I must admit, the focus of the video was clouded by excitement over the mozzarella bar across the street. Watch for yourself, we’re famous. http://youtu.be/xrR2KCbK8Io And this of course led to a great demand for a follow up video http://youtu.be/IN8kVp_akSw. There’s been big talk about eventually visiting this place… I’ll be waiting.

By mid-afternoon we all parted ways and my parents and I enjoyed some much needed R&R back at the apartment before cooking a meal together. My parents left fairly early on Monday morning, and I was happy to have a bit of down time before returning to work on Tuesday!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Holidays

Challahbear & Kirios Celebrate Valentine’s Day

Author: ilana

Feb 23

Having attended a Jewish day school for eight years while growing up, Valentine’s Day was never a big celebration. We were not encouraged to bring in cards or candy for our classmates, and my mother never failed to remind me that the holiday is actually SAINT Valentine’s Day. (I never trick-or-treated either, but I promise, I turned out just fine!) Looking back now, I never considered it a double standard when my father brought home chocolates (or even better, Godiva flavored coffee) for my mother on February 14th. I suppose he always bought extra candy on Halloween too, so I shouldn’t complain…

Last year, after having dated Kirios for several months already, it seemed appropriate for us to exchange gifts and spend time together on Valentine’s Day. We decided not to go out for a fancy dinner or anything, and we made a no-chocolate pact. (Trust me, we already had plenty between the two of us!) I ordered Kirios a set of cufflinks with his initials engraved on them (which meant I needed to buy him a French cuff shirt next so he could wear them!), and was feeling pretty good about my gift for him, and then a few days before Valentine’s Day I won a $25 Godiva gift card in an office raffle. There went my side of the pact!

Meanwhile, Kirios was laboriously working on the circuitry for ThinkGeek’s “LED Flashing Sweetheart Kit” and plotting the demise of our pact as well. (Yes, I love my Greek Geek.) While the flashing heart didn’t exactly pan out, (must have been a short somewhere) Kirios did surprise me with an entire case of Israeli popping chocolate. If you haven’t had popping chocolate, just imagine a chocolate bar with pop rocks inside it. When I traveled toIsrael in high school, I hoarded the stuff. My parents went toIsrael together in October 2010 and brought me back a bar, which I shared with Kirios. “They sell the cow brand chocolate in the States,” I told him, “but I’ve never seen the popping one here. It’s so unfair.” He may have broken our no-chocolate pact, but major props for thinking of popping chocolate and for actually finding it in theUnited States! (I know, he’s a keeper…)

Anyway, sure enough February rolled around again this year and Hallmark store on the way to my office started displaying humongous red hearts all over the place. With our trip toNew Mexicoin the beginning of the month and my birthday at the end, we decided again to skip the expensive price-fixed dinner, and while we were at it, we renewed our no chocolate pact. Instead, we decided to make our own crepe feast with savory crepes for dinner and sweet crepes for dessert using our fancy schmancy blue steel crepe pan.

I was in charge of getting ingredients for the savory crepes and Kirios was in charge of the dessert ones. I stopped at the supermarket on my way home from work, and picked up some fresh produce to ensure a delightful meal. Before Kirios came over, I prepared a platter of vegetables so we could quickly make the crepes together and then start eating our first course. We had steamed asparagus; sautéed portabella mushroom and garlic; fresh spinach, carrots, scallions, tomato, and avocado; as well as kosher imitation bacon bits, fresh oregano (to appeal to his Greek flavor profile) and hand-grated cheese.

I also gave Kirios a small gift – a mug designed to look like a camera lens. He was pleased with his present, and now uses it to drink coffee at work. 🙂  Kirios agreed not to get me a special Valentine’s Day gift, since he had just bought me a beautiful ring while we were in Santa Fe. But the man lacks restraint sometimes, especially when it comes to spoiling me. He arrived at my apartment with two overflowing grocery bags from Trader Joe’s and immediately said, “oh no, I forgot to buy a pineapple!” I mean, what sweet crepe is complete without a whole pineapple to stuff inside of it?!? Slowly he began unveiling the fruits he picked out for dessert – blueberries, blackberries, bananas. And then he continued to unveil fruits – mango, kiwis, a basket of plums, three different colors of grapes, an entire bag of oranges, a pomegranate, and a cantaloupe! Kirios became frustrated that I was putting the fruit away too slowly (it required a love of refrigerator maneuvering) but he didn’t stop pulling contents out of his grocery bags. In addition to the fruits, Kirios had also purchased two kinds of cheeses, a container of chai tea mix, mango ginger chutney (which provided much needed moisture for our savory crepes), a bottle of sparkling wine, and a single red rose.

It’s now more than a week after Valentine’s Day. I am still making my way through the produce, but I didn’t miss the pineapple!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Holidays, Relationships

Santa Fe Finale – Day 3

Author: ilana

Feb 22

After much delay, the final installment…

Sunday was our last full day in New Mexico, and Kirios and I wanted to make the most of it. After breakfast at the hotel, we drove out to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Basically, there are cone-shaped rock formations on mountains that were caused by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Some of the tent rocks were just taller than me, and some were massive multi-story formations. The tent rocks also show layers of volcanic material, with different colored bands along the face of the cliffs.

When we arrived at the Tent Rocks, Kirios and I scarfed down the leftover pizza from our expedition to Taos the day before. And then I discovered that there was no running water at the National Monument, and Kirios and I rationed off the rest of our water bottle. There were two shorter trails near the visitor’s center, the Slot Canyon Trail which features a “steep climb” and increase in elevation, and the 1.2 mile  Cave Loop (half of which has a path wide enough for a wheelchair). Kirios crammed all of his business and sight-seeing clothes into one small carry-on; he only brought one pair of shoes toNew Mexicowith him – nice but comfortable leather shoes appropriate for the office… so we decided to explore the Cave Loop. It didn’t disappoint, leading us through the desert mountains to exciting views of the Tent Rocks and surrounding forest. We spent a lot of time taking pictures, including some with Kirios’ lightweight travel tripod so we could pose together. The day started to warm up, and by the end of our journey we had ditched our gloves and ear warmers, and even unzipped our winter coats!

Afterwards we drove to the closest gas station for some bottled water and took advantage of the cheap gas too – I got excited every time we saw gas under $3.00 so we kept topping off the tank. To get to the gas station, we passed a large dam, so we drove back to it to explore for a few minutes before enjoying the scenic drive back to Santa Fe.

Although we could have used a little R&R after our journey, Kirios and I decided to make the most of our last day in Santa Fe before all of the shops and attractions closed around 5pm. We did a quick drive through Canyon Road, known for its many funky art galleries. Then we toured the Loretto Chapel known for its Miraculous Staircase – really an architectural marvel! Afterwards, in desperation to send me home with a souvenir and frustrated because 99% of the jewelry in Santa Fe is handmade and well beyond our budget, we spent some more time in the shops near by the plaza. Kirios started to grow frustrated that my ears aren’t pierced and my wrists are too thin for most bracelets, when finally we found a store with a case full of rings on sale, some of which were small enough for my little baby fingers. Kirios immediately found one he loved – a funky Santa Fe-esque design with inlaid stones including turquoise (super popular in New Mexico) and opal (a personal favorite of mine, plus Kirios has already given me other opal jewelry it matches with!). He humored me and let me spend 20 minutes or so trying on the different rings before I agreed that his pick was by far the best. And I picked up a little arrowhead necklace for him at the store too before we left. Once my hand was adorned, we went back to shops with other novelties, and I picked up some dried green chile and other herbs for a birthday present for my mother. (She had told me a few days earlier that it had been worth her visit to Santa Fe many years ago if for no other reason that she started cooking better when she returned!) and I also bought a colorful little bowl for Kirios to put his wallet and keys and things in when he visits my apartment since he liked the one at the hotel so much.

The sun started to set and the shops closed down, so Kirios and I made a quick stop at World Market (the only place still open, if only for another half hour) to pick up some nuts and chips to snack on before our 8pm dinner reservations. We headed back to the hotel to enjoy our snacks and rest while watching Madonna’s half-time show and the second half of the Superbowl. Conveniently, the game ended right when it was time to leave for our dinner reservations!

For our final dinner in New Mexico, Kirios and I went to La Boca, a small tapas restaurant and wine/sherry bar. (They really like their sherry out there. Ick.) Our waitress advised us that their tapas portions were pretty large, so we each ordered two dishes and they were served as two courses. For our first course, I had roasted butternut squash cazuela with fresh sage, melted mahon, & pumpkin seed oil. It was hardy and well seasoned. The mahon cheese complimented the sweet squash flavor, and there were a few pumpkin seeds which served as a nice change of texture. I did think the portion was a bit big, and despite the delicious taste, after a while I couldn’t help but think I was eating baby food. Kirios’ first course was grilled semi boneless quail with pomegranate molasses & harissa cous cous. Kirios had never tried quail before, and although he selected many tempting finalists on the menu, he decided to go for it and try something new. (When he asked whether I thought he should order it, I said, “You like duck and chicken, what could go wrong?!?”) In the end, he said the quail was juicy and succulent, but he was a tad frustrated at how little meat there was on such a tiny bird, and how difficult it was to get to it with all the bones.

My second dish was bruschetta with crimini mushrooms, fried egg, truffle oil & reggianito, and let me tell you, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Instead of a slice of bread with neatly chopped vegetables, cheese, and an egg topping it, I was served a bowl full of a thick creamy mushroom sauce blending with a warm runny egg soaking a piece of toast at the bottom of the bowl. If I had known it would be like this, I probably wouldn’t have ordered it, but I’m glad it did. The thick flavorful dish had elevated ingredients and flavors, but an overwhelming homey-feel. In fact, while eating it, I kept having flashbacks of my parents making rocky mountain toast on a griddle years and years ago. Meanwhile, Kirios was having a completely different, albeit enjoyable experience on the other side of the table. He ordered one of the evening’s specials, pork medallions with a fig reduction topped with cheese. We can’t remember what kind of cheese it was, but I’m thinking parmigiano or something similar. Anyway, Kirios just went crazy about the dish. It was light and simple, perfectly balanced. He was on cloud nine. He was, however, still a tad hungry and interested in ordering an additional dish. My dishes were much heavier than his, and he decided it wasn’t worth getting another tapas plate if I wouldn’t also, so instead we shared a Spanish torte with strawberry sauce for dessert. It was pretty good, but I’m not in love with cream that isn’t sweet as a dessert component. All in all, it was a very nice meal. We did note that the meal end up costing the same as it would have if we had ordered it at a similarly nice restaurant in Washington DC – which is overall a more expensive city than Santa Fe, but we didn’t mind a little vacation splurge!

We made our way back to the hotel and I’ll admit, I fell asleep in a blissful food coma before Kirios had even finished packing up his suitcase. In the morning, we enjoyed our last “Mountain Sunrise” breakfast at the hotel before driving to the airport inAlbuquerque. We had as pleasant of a travel day as could be expected, and made it back home around 11pm EST, but not exhausted since the time zones went backwards!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Travel, Trying New Things

Taking the High Road, Literally – New Mexico Day 2

Author: ilana

Feb 9

Last Saturday, Kirios and I woke up in Santa Fe and enjoyed breakfast at our hotel before hitting the scenic High Road to Taos. Most of the day consisted of us listening to a Spanish radio station while Kirios drove our rental SUV and I attempted to capture the beautiful landscape with his dSLR and fancy schmancy lenses. There was lots of desert, tumbleweeds and cacti, and snow capped mountains. It was gorgeous.

Our first stop was at El Santuario De Chimayo. Chimayo is a small town known for chile peppers and this church. Both the Native Americans and the Catholics believe the church was built on sacred ground with healing powers. The grounds are beautiful – they included a horse which happily posed next to Kirios for several photos, and a serene outdoor gathering place. The sanctuary was quite pretty, and next to the chapel there were small rooms with pictures of loved ones in need of healing, crutches and casts allegedly left behind by people who were miraculously healed at the church, and a pit of “holy dirt” which visitors bag to take with them.

After admiring the church in Chimayo, we resumed our journey on the High Road, pulling over at a couple of scenic overlooks for photo opportunities. We arrived in Taos around 2pm and immediately saw signs of civilization. It had the first McDonalds we had seen since Santa Fe! (Although we did pass quite a few Post Offices… but I’ll leave that discussion for the workplace…) Obviously, we were not interested in stopping at the McDonalds, but it was lunchtime, so we stopped at Taos Pizza Outback, just past the downtown area, and frequented by tourists and locals alike. We decided to order a small pizza, meant for 2-3 people with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and toasted walnuts. But Kirios wanted to try a different pizza on their menu too, the Pizza Vera Cruz marinated chicken breast, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and a honey chipotle chile sauce, covered with mozzarella and smoked cheddar. I informed Kirios that it would be entirely too much food, and he seemed fine with taking back leftovers for a snack the next day. But he didn’t listen when I told him to look at the size of the other patrons’ pizza slices, so he was dumbfounded when his slice of pizza arrived, covering the entire plate and piled at least an inch and a half high. Despite the excess quantity, the pizza was pretty good. The crust contained a lot of sesame, which gave it a unique taste, and it was also twirled in a pretty pattern. We washed down our pizza by trying more local beer from New Mexico.

After our lunch we drove to the Taos Pueblo. There are several Native American Pueblos in New Mexico, we mainly decided to visit the one inTaos because it is the only one which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Pueblo has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans for over a thousand years, and we walked around to see their church, cemetery, and homes (from the outside). We caught up with the last tour group of the day, and heard a college-aged tour guide describe a little bit about their government, rituals, land, and their 50-year legal battle to reclaim their land in the mountains. (I have to admit, it disappointed me a bit to hear that only members of the tribe, not even scientists, are allowed to visit the acres and acres of beautiful mountains they have). We visited Native American artists in their shops and admired their handcrafted works. We also learned quickly that they all had additional homes on the reservation, since there was no electricity in the Pueblo.

We left the Pueblo at five and stopped at the Taos town plaza, with shops. A friendly shopkeeper informed us that people hardly ever receive parking tickets in Taos, and although Kirios has incredibly bad luck with parking tickets, we successfully chanced it. We spent more time looking at artwork, jewelry, and souvenirs. (We did this so frequently on our trip, because New Mexico is really full of beautiful things.) We even stopped in a chocolate shop and sampled green chile peanut brittle. I liked it a lot, although Kirios claimed his piece wasn’t as spicy as mine. We purchased a bag of dark chocolate flavored with lemon and pepper (in honor of Kirios’ Greek heritage – he believes all food should be made with salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice!).

Finally, I convinced Kirios it was time to head back to Santa Fe, since it was getting dark. There was one sight left unseen in Taos, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Unfortunately, without city light pollution, there wasn’t much we could see in the dark. So we started out on the less scenic route back to Santa Fe… this involved a “highway” unpaved spiraling down the side of a mountain. In the dark. With a little bit of snow blowing. Kirios stayed calm and drove really well (For those of you that know him as an aggressive DC area driver… trust me, it wasn’t his driving that made me nervous at all!) while I sang along to the radio and tried not to turn my head to see the side of the cliff…

We made it back to Santa Fe safely. But a tad hungry. Kirios scarfed one of the leftover slices of my pizza, and we headed over to the hotel bar, Del Charro. Turns out the hotel bar actually is one of the best night life scenes in the heart of Santa Fe – that may not be saying too much, but sometimes it’s hard to believe the hotel websites… The bar was filled with young locals and Kirios and I played “spot the tourists.” To embrace the Southwestern spirit, we ordered tequila drinks. I had a tequila sunrise, Kirios tried the margaritas. And then we split an order of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Kirios’ soup was delightfully spicy, and those of you who grew up with me know that grilled cheese is my absolute comfort food. (Although Kirios is winning his war against my American cheese habit… I haven’t bought any for months!) A very home-y finish to a great adventure of a day!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Travel

New Sights and New Bites in New Mexico – Day 1

Author: ilana

Feb 8

After wrapping up a very busy January, Kirios and I kicked off February fabulously – in New Mexico! Since most of our travel weekends over the summer were filled up with weddings, we had been discussing a winter getaway for several months. We brainstormed a lot of cities to visit, but hadn’t actually sat down and made any real plans – after all, we usually keep busy! But a couple of weeks ago Kirios learned that he needed to travel to Santa Fe for a Wednesday through Friday business trip, and I jumped on the opportunity. “Stay there. I’m coming out to join you,” I told him.

And that’s exactly what I did. Kirios flew into Albuquerque on Wednesday and headed to Santa Fe in his rental car via the scenic Turquoise Trail, where he grabbed a Southwestern burger at the Cowgirl BBQ before preparing for a day of meetings on Thursday. I went in to work on Thursday morning with my suitcase, and left the office at 1:30pm. One train, 2 planes, and two busses later, I made it to our hotel, Inn of the Governors, in downtown Santa Fe at midnight – Mountain Time.

Originally, Kirios was scheduled to work Friday morning, so I planned to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, walk over to the Georgia O’Keefe museum, and window shop before meeting him for lunch. Luckily for us, his coworker’s flight was moved to earlier in the morning, and he got the whole day off. There was fresh snow on the ground in the morning which quickly turned to slush in the desert sun, and we skipped over puddles all the way to the museum. The museum was small but beautiful, and had a fairly comprehensive collection.

After we finished up at the museum, we headed over to the Plaza, where we admired the artwork of the Native Americans sitting out in front of the Palace of the Governors and the art and gift shops filled with beautiful things. We meandered a couple more blocks to have lunch at Ristra, an elegant restaurant blending French and Southwest flavors. We started with the appetizer special, a delightful creamy mushroom soup with chipotle croutons. I had the portabello burger with rosemary eggplant caviar, manchego cheese, and a spinach salad. It was not a bad sandwich, but it didn’t seem particularly special when compared to Kirios’ Crispy Duck Leg Confit served with a salad including dried cranberry, pumpkin seeds, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Duck is one of my all-time favorite dishes, and it saddened me that this wasn’t kosher so I couldn’t try it. It looked, smelled, and sounded (the crunch of the crispy skin!) excellent. But don’t feel too bad for me, we still shared a strawberry-rhubarb crepe with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Mmmm. I need to make another strawberry rhubarb pie one of these days…

After lunch, we spent some more time admiring the turquoise and opal jewelry in shops on the Plaza, and taking pictures in the snow before retreating to our hotel for its daily “tea and sherry” hour. I’m not a fan of sherry, but if you are, apparently Santa Fe is a good place to get it! Kirios enjoyed sampling the sweet and the dry, and we both took advantage of the R&R.

Most of the museums in Santa Fe have extended hour and are free from 5-8pm on the first Friday of the month. Kirios and I took advantage of this by visiting the New Mexico History Museum and the Palace of the Governors. The New Mexico History Museum is very new, it opened in 2009. It had a lot of interesting information about the history of the land, and the Native Americans and Mexicans who lived there. I was a bit surprised that its message was so anti-US. I probably shouldn’t have been, considering the state history, but I guess my textbooks and museums back East have all have more patriotic philanthropists funding them… Unlike the museum, the Palace of the Governors was extremely old, having been used as a government building back in the 1600s under Spanish rule. We didn’t have too much time there before it closed, but it was interesting to see how the building was built and used.

Finally, we had dinner at La Plazuela at La Fonda before calling it a night (La Fonda is a big hotel right on the plaza with shops, a café, and a bar in addition to the restaurant). It was our most authentic Southwestern meal. Kirios had chicken and beef fajitas with an extra side of green chile, and I had a roasted red bell pepper, stuffed with sautéed winter greens, leeks, shiitake mushrooms and sweet corn, served with butternut squash puree, poblano chile-potato gratin, cauliflower flan, quinoa pilaf and roasted tomato-sweet onion sauce. It was a lot of different tastes of vegetables and spice flavors, extremely interesting and tasty. We both ordered New Mexico beers to go with our dinner, and sat by the fireplace for at La Fonda for a little bit before returning to the hotel and succumbing to a food coma.

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Travel, Trying New Things

A Weekend of Fantastic Food and Friends!

Author: ilana

Jan 10

With all of the long weekends over the holidays, I found myself spending a lot of time relaxing in front of the TV, reading a book, even painting my nails. But when this past weekend rolled around, I wanted to make the most of my two days off – so I filled it with lots of plans.

On Friday, my friends Marnina and Seth joined Kirios and I for Shabbat dinner. Marnina and Seth have a wonderful cooking blog, http://ibeafoodie.wordpress.com, dedicated to making IBD friendly food for people with Crohn’s and Colitis, and all of their recipes are kosher too! Although most of the times I don’t need to restrict my diet, thanks to my wonder-medicine Remicade, Marnina and many other IBD patients do. It can be a struggle to find tasty and healthy recipes when foods that most people consider to be healthy options, like vegetables and whole grains, can cause the most harm.

Anyway, since we’ve been reading about each others’ love for cooking, it seemed like a no-brainer to join forces for an excellent meal. When Marnina showed up with a chocolate chip challah, I nearly died. Kirios has been asking me to make one since just about our first date, and I had yet to oblige. (As you can tell from my blog name, I’m a big challah fan…)  Challah was followed with a Thai sweet potato soup that I made with red curry paste and coconut milk. It was a new recipe for me, and it was so easy and delicious that my parents already made the recipe back inPittsburghfor dinner the other night! For our main course, we had chicken in white wine (chenin blanc) sauce with yellow peppers and mushrooms, a carrot and sweet potato dish prepared with maple syrup, and egg noodles. It was a chore saving room for dessert, but well worth it, since Marnina made carrot-cake with a dairy-free honey cinnamon cream cheese glaze. Mmm.

Saturday morning I put up some dough in my bread machine after breakfast, and stored it in the fridge for when I returned from the theater. I met up with a couple of folks to support our friend Ben in “Parfumerie” at 1st Stage in Tyson’s Corner. As the Washington Examinor stated, “One of the liveliest characters is Arpad, a delivery boy, portrayed with exuberance by Ben Lurye.” (http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/theater/2011/12/love-among-perfume-and-powder/2019841) I know the showed finished its run this weekend, but I can’t help plugging my friend! The show was very cute and entertaining.

After the play, I rushed home to prepare cinnamon bread with the dough I made in the morning, cream cheese, cinnamon, and sugar. Kirios came over just in time to help me… put it in the oven. 😛 (Just kidding, he’s very helpful around the apartment!) The bread barely had time to cool before we headed into DC to attend a birthday dinner for his high school buddy at Dukem, http://dukemrestaurant.com, a popular Ethiopian restaurant on U Street. Kirios ordered Gored Gored, a dish of raw diced beef, while I enjoy a vegetarian sampler with yellow peas, collard greens, cabbage, and a tomato salad. We also split an Ethiopian beer.

Following dinner, we headed over to Silver Spring for a belated holiday party hosted by a good friend, where my cinnamon bread was enjoyed by many of my old college friends. I was too full from dinner to have any myself, but luckily I stashed some in my freezer before embarking on our evening plans!

Sunday afternoon was of course the Steelers/Broncos playoff game. I of course took advantage of the opportunity to invite some friends over for food, drinks, and football. Kirios and I were joined by three friends for the game. Since we were winding down from a busy weekend, I kept the menu simple. Our guests brought veggies and hummus, and we took the opportunity to serve some leftovers from Kirios’ birthday party (back in October, and there’s still so much!), tortilla chips and guacamole, mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, and oreos and brownies. Plus I prepared a simple baked ziti for our entrée. Everything was easy to serve and stress-free. Unfortunately, our victorious viewing party didn’t translate to an on-field victory for my men in black and gold. (Although Kirios looked very handsome in his new Troy Polamalu jersey.) With a season-ending loss, the weekend closed out on a lower note, but it was ok, because I was full with good food and friends.

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Parties

New Year’s Cake

Author: ilana

Jan 4

Growing up, my parents generally only served dessert for special occasions; Shabbat dinners, holidays, birthdays, and entertaining guests. I wasn’t exactly a deprived kid – my school lunches frequently included cookies (never more than three though), and if I was hungry after dinner I could usually find a piece of chocolate or a little ice cream to share with my dad. But since I started dating Kirios, I’ve been eating quite a bit more dessert. Kirios’ father loves to bake, especially cakes. Almost every time I visit, he’s baked a new cake or treat, and the whole family insists I try it. And then they send me home with a potion large enough to last me several days. It’s a hard life, I know. I actually had to train myself not to fill up on dinner as much before going over to their house. Saving room for dessert can be a burden! And Kirios insists that he too has been eating more desserts since we started dating, because his parents realized that if they send me home with a good portion of what they bake, they’ll finish what they have sooner and be able to bake different desserts on a more frequent basis.

 While all of Kirios’ family’s desserts are tasty, I especially love trying the ones that reflect their Greek and Cypriot heritage. In addition to excellent baklava, they’ve treated me to homemade galaktoboureko, a custard and phyllo treat; wonderful cookies; and even tahinopita, Cypriot tahini pies. (Because it would never occur to me that tahini belongs in dessert)

Last New Years, Kirios’ family served me a walnut cake they baked in honor of the holiday. Kirios excitedly explained to me how every year they make Vasilopita, New Years Cake, and they wrap a quarter in aluminum foil and add it to the cake batter, similar to the baby trinket in a New Orleans King Cake. Whoever gets the piece of cake with the quarter in it is supposed to have good luck for the New Year. Kirios proudly told me that he finds the quarter every year. (Have I mentioned he’s an only child?!?) Even though US quarters and aluminum foil aren’t magnetic, he uses his trusty magnet to help guess where the coin is, and he then plants a toothpick with an American flag to mark his guess and reserve his piece of cake. He had already found the quarter when he served me a slice last year.

This year Kirios’ family made a pistachio Vasilopita and they still hadn’t found the quarter by the time I visited. Kirios’ initial guess didn’t yield the coin, which he claims is due to the loss of his trusted magnet, (again, quarters aren’t magnetic) but he proceeded to claim more territory by replanting his toothpick flag with updated guesses. A large portion of cake was separated into a Tupperware container for me to bring home, and Kirios and I decided to split a piece of the remaining cake at his house. Kirios gave me the knife and told me to cut a piece as big or as small as I wanted for the two of us to share, and then he stepped out of the room.  With Kirios’ parents as my witness, I stuck the knife straight into the cake and immediately struck the hidden coin. We all laughed and called for Kirios to come see.

I learned that in addition to good luck, the coin in the Vasilopita comes with a prize, like the Afikomen on Passover, which Kirios’ parents insisted I accept. Maybe it was Kirios’ plan all along, letting me cut the cake so I could find the coin… For someone ending a 24 year lucky streak, he took it pretty well. Or maybe he just found solace in the fact that I usually share with him!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Holidays

A Couple Odds & Ends

Author: ilana

Dec 22

A few weeks ago I ran into a friend and she asked me how I liked the cheeses Kirios surprised me with for our semiversary. I’ve been meaning to report back, and appreciated the nudge! So I’ll give you a few follow-up tidbits to a couple of posts, and then I’ll let you know about the cheeses.

Holiday Parties – Remember when I told you that my office hadn’t even sent anything out about a holiday party yet? Last Thursday, an email was sent out gauging interest in a potluck for today – the Thursday before Christmas. Now, I’m actually leaving the office at noon to go to the doctor. But let me tell you, other than me, there are probably 3 people from our department who are here today. Unsurprisingly, a follow-up email went out saying there wasn’t enough interest to have a potluck. The original email also said we’ll be having a “New Year’s luncheon” in the second or third week of January. Yea… our manager totally forgot to have someone plan a holiday party. Epic office fail.

Meat Pizza – Apparently, completely distraught over the lack of lamb bacon from my trip to Koshermart, Kirios called the store the following day to see if it was now in stock. And it was! He was planning to surprise my brother, sister-in-law, and me with it last Wednesday, but when he had a 4pm meeting scheduled, he knew he wouldn’t have time to pick some up when he got home from work. So I took my sibs back out to Koshermart, and we were all able to enjoy a lamb bacon pizza in the end afterall. And I froze the beef fry strips so Kirios and I can enjoy them another time 🙂

Now the cheeses – overall, I’ve been enjoying all of the cheeses Kirios brought me. I’m sad that they’re mostly eaten by now, but also excited to go back out and buy more cheeses. I guess I’m hooked now!

The fontina was the “least scary” cheese. I’ve had it before, afterall, I studied inItaly! It’s salty and melts well, it’s easy to grate, and I especially like having it with pasta.

The comte, like the fontina, was relatively mild. It’s less salty than the fontina and has a nuttier flavor, in part due to its thick rind. I especially enjoy the comte in sandwiches.

The creamy toscano with espresso delighted Kirios and I both. It’s an incredibly flavorful cheese, that I would eat anywhere, anytime.  My only complaint is that the espresso shavings on the outside of the cheese get messy. But they do add to the flavor, Kirios is especially fond of pieces that include the espresso itself. It’s definitely a cheese I’ll be purchasing again. And since he liked it so much too, Kirios will complain less about the fact that I’m rebuying instead of trying something new 😛

The Spanish cheese tapas sampler with iberico, cabra al vino, and manchego was a nice snack to have with crackers and a bottle of wine. And it’s easy to serve, since the cheese is pre-sliced into wedges. While the first two cheeses tasted pretty similar to me, I do think the wine in the rind distinguished the cabra al vino. And the manchego had a fruitier taste than the other two. All three go nicely together.

Finally, there was the semi-scary looking wild blueberry vanilla chevre. Despite being a soft cheese, it’s not bad at all. I do like goat cheese, and get it on dishes at restaurants from time to time. But I’m still a bit at a loss as to what to do with it at home. This particular goat cheese tastes like yogurt with a thicker consistency.  I wouldn’t eat it at the same time as my other cheeses, since it’s sweet instead of salty. I think it would be really great on a bagel. (Although admittedly I haven’t bought any.) I’ve had it on toast as a morning snack, and when my brother and sister-in-law were visiting, they topped some homemade blueberry muffins with it. Overall, a nice cheese… but I still can’t help but think of cheese as a savory snack.

As for the other surprises, I’m almost out of chai powder, and we have yet to try the mulling spices, but are still looking forward to doing so this winter!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Holidays, Parties, Trying New Things

Don’t Kill the Dinner Guests

Author: ilana

Dec 22

Dinner party etiquette can be extremely complicated, and while I don’t typically host formal events requiring the use of a confusingly high number of scary utensils, there’s one rule I try to live by: don’t kill the dinner guests. I learned from my mother, when inviting someone for the first time; always ask if they have any food allergies. What about other food restrictions, medical, self-imposed, and the ever pleasant ridiculously picky eaters? Depending on the type of event and the number of people you’re cooking for, it can get tricky.

When you’re not serving a meal, it’s typically pretty easy to provide a variety of snacks that can keep everyone happy. And individuals with more difficult restrictions are generally accustomed to asking in advance, bringing something along they can eat, or at the very least, showing up with a full stomach. But when it comes to a home cooked dinner, I have a lot of sympathy for people with dietary restrictions. After all, I keep kosher and I have Crohn’s Disease. I think choosing to keep kosher is similar to choosing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. I have certain traditions, beliefs, etc, and while others may not share them, I want them to respect them. And while my disease is well-controlled through medication and for the most part, it won’t hurt me to eat anything in moderation, there have been times when that’s not the case, and my diet is incredibly restricted. I may not go into anaphylactic shock, but trust me, Crohn’s flairs aren’t pretty, and can lead to severe malnutrition, dehydration, and a need for serious drugs, hospitalization, or even surgery.

Generally, by asking people if they have allergies, they’ll volunteer any other pertinent dietary information. But at the same time, it’s not as wishy-washy as asking people if they have any likes or dislikes. If someone doesn’t like the texture of mushrooms – will eat them if they’re mixed all together, but pick them out if they’re big enough pieces, tough toenails! (I know – what a ridiculous phrase. My boss says it all of the time and I couldn’t resist.)

So this brings me to the Friday night Shabbat dinner party I hosted last week. My brother was visiting from Seattle, although his wife had to leave for New York Friday morning. Kirios was busy with his company’s holiday party. But I was taking the day off to spend time with my brother, and wanted to ensure that our evening was filled with good food and good company. I invited our first cousin who lives in the area, as well as her roommate who is also a friend of mine. I invited a childhood friend who lives in the area, and hadn’t seen my brother for a decade, and with his boyfriend. 6 people, no problem. There were a couple of allergies in the group – tree nuts, fish, sesame, and cocoa. As depressing as being allergic to chocolate sounds, this didn’t seem like a menu-planning challenge at all. In honor of my brother and cousin, and I decided to make our Grandma Magda’s Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage – a real patschke recipe that I had never tried myself (Yiddish for a production), but a wonderfully heavy and distinctive meal for a winter’s night.

Then all hell broke loose. And by that, I mean my brother casually asked if he could invite his fraternity brother who lived in the area over for dinner. I can seat 8 at my table, and cooking for seven or eight isn’t really any more work than cooking for six, so I naturally agreed. In fact, I had recently seen this guy at an event, which he attended with a lady friend. So I told my brother to go ahead and invite his girlfriend as well. They both graciously accepted our dinner invitation. “Ask about allergies,” I instructed my brother. Turns out the girlfriend is a diabetic who eats no carbs (including rice) and is allergic to soy. GREAT.

That’s when I started to panic. I realized it would be easy enough to keep some of the stuffed cabbage separate for her, without any rice mixed into the beef, and without any sugar in the sauce. The Hungarian version of this recipe is sour, and only includes a spoonful of sugar anyway (unlike the Polish, who make it sweet with raisins). Obviously I was planning to make challah for Shabbat, which she wouldn’t be able to eat. But I was determined to plan the rest of our menu to include her dietary restrictions. In the end, my brother and I settled on making a butternut and acorn squash soup, and roasted broccoli, onions, and mushrooms to accompany the cabbage. We were told she could eat fruit, nuts, and chocolate for dessert. Since nuts and chocolate were already on the allergy list, we had been planning to make an apple crisp. For our diabetic guest, we took some of the sliced apples, doused them in cinnamon, and baked them for her.

In the end, the stuffed cabbage and the rest of the food came out well. No one went hungry, and as far as we know, no one got sick from our food. I’d consider that a successful Shabbat!

0 Comments
Filed under: Food, Health, Holidays, Parties
« Go Back — View more posts »