Kitchenette Diaries

Mmmeat

2007-08-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

The perfect article mentions both steak and In-N-Out. Now if they put those two subjects in homework and policy journals I might have a chance at being a good student...God I love beef.

Definitely Need This One...

2007-08-09T07:17:00.001-07:00

All right, you probably smelled the sarcasm from a mile away when I was introducing the Tater Mitts, which by the way, someone on a message board said works horribly. And I've been very suspicious of the guy at Eastern Market selling the vegetable slicer that is also a peeler -- what is the difference??? But this I gotta have.

Attack...of Giant Cucumbers!!!

2007-08-06T04:55:00.000-07:00

I have deep admiration and envy for gardeners who meticulously care for their gardens. There are not many things you can labor over and be awarded with a tangible product (what does all that paper pushing at work accomplish anyway??). I started dreaming about a garden as soon as I moved to a house with a yard. Now, why I would want more responsibility, even after I acquired a dog and am about to start grad school effectively saying goodbye to my carefree life as I know it, I am unsure. After some initial help from my mother, I have successfully harvested an abundance of bok choy, lettuce, green beans, green onions, strawberries, habanero and sweet peppers. I always feel a faint pride when I go out to the garden and snip a pepper for dinner or sneak a just ripened strawberry while I water in the mornings. Now, I have an emergency. Please refer to picture below. You see that mass on the left? That's ONE cucumber plant.

The little-runt-that-could while it's two predecessors died. This plant has infiltrated the fence (lodging cucumbers in between the "good neighbor fence"), spread across other plants, and is threatening to take over my garden and probably my house. Not only is this plant impressive in size, it's fruit is also -- so big are these cucumbers it makes me want to drive out to the midwest and enter in one of those giant vegetable competitions.

This is NOT what the seed packet said would happen.... I'm sure there is some gardening techniques I'm not getting. Like pruning, maybe.

I would appreciate any cucumber recipe or usage you could advise.

Tipsy Taxi to Africa

2007-07-14T15:05:00.001-07:00

It is my belief that food tastes good when it's spicy, fresh, and makes you sweat a little. It's sloppy, and snobs may call it "peasant food," but it's delicious. This is why Ghanaian food looked so good as it was shown on No Reservations: Ghana. Danny had lived in Ghana for a couple of months before college and agreed that we should look for a restaurant that serves traditional West African food. Coincidentally, on our way back from fireworks on July 4th, drunk, and tired, we found out that our cab driver was from Sierra Leone. He suggested Sumah's West African Cafe in Shaw. He then managed to con Danny into tipping him $8 out of a $13 cab ride.

Quick geography refresher: West African coastal countries include Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and Cote D'Ivoire.

Walking the few blocks from the partially gentrified U-Street to Shaw, I noticed stark differences. Trendy bars and boutiques have not yet replaced the low-income apartments and the small mom and pop establishments.

Set in a modest shop at the bottom of a building, the first thing you notice about Sumah’s is the friendly service. The second thing you notice is that they also sell reggae DVDs. We were greeted, I later realized, by Sumah himself. We seated ourselves and he suggested that before we order anything he would bring a sampler plate. We tried chicken with tomato, peanut, and okra sauces. We also tried green potato leaves and jut leaves with fish and chicken. Because the dishes are sauce heavy, they are perfect accompanied with a starch like rice or pounded starch balls made of yams, cassava root, or rice. Cassava is a potatoey root common in West Africa.

In the end, we ordered a pepper soup, pounded yam with peanut sauce, chicken with green potato leaves cooked in palm oil, and chicken with tomato sauce.

So with Bob Marley in the background, we went for it. Pinch a little yam ball off and dip it in the sauce. Soon I started to sweat because some dishes, like the pepper soup, pack heat. But the heat doesn’t last long and you are left with a pleasant aftertaste. The peanut sauce was both savory and sweet was Danny's favorite and reminded him of his meals in Ghana. The chicken in the tomato sauce was either roasted or deep fried first. But it was the potato leaves that did me in -- I was on my way to finishing a whole plate of rice, mixing in the greens, when I felt my pants pinch and got the hint that I should probably stop. The only thing that keeps me from going back every week is the amount of oil that is put into everything.

While waiting to pay the check, Danny learned from Sumah’s daughter that the place had been open since 1994. Although it’s been over a decade, I can’t imagine much has changed. That night we were the only ones eating in, but there were plenty of people coming through for carryout. In the end, we were stuffed but Sumah still brought us a delicious plate of caramelized plantains.

Like in any region, I'm sure there are subtleties and differences in food from each West African country that I am ignorant of. Sumah was genuinely interested in promoting his food and African food in general. I just hope that, having been here for more than a decade, Sumah's cafe continues to contribute to the ethnic richness of Shaw and will not be replaced by another Cosi.

Sumah's Restaurant
1727 7th St, NW
Washington, DC 20001

No Reservations

2007-07-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite writer/TV host is Anthony Bourdain. I'd say chef/writer/TV host but I haven't trekked to his NYC brasserie, Les Halles. I know, there's one in DC, but I want authencity. Every Tuesday after work I am lifted by the knowledge that in my DVR waiting for me is a fresh episode of Travel Channel's No Reservations.

Mr. Bourdain travels the world tasting food in a manner that is open and respectful. He'll also tell you when something tastes like shit. A former drug addict, alcoholic and self-professed fuck-up, Mr. Bourdain hosted a Food Network show awhile ago, but one suspects he was the troublemaker in the back of the classroom scheming ways to stick gum in his cheekier classmates (ie, Emeril, Rachel, Bobby) -- that's probably what got him canceled.

Probably a better gig anyway, the new season of No Reservations starts Monday, July 30 at 10 PM.

The Finest Chef in Ze World!

2007-07-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

IT WAS DELIGHTFUL. WATCH IT.

Smooth As a Baby's....

2007-06-09T15:28:00.001-07:00

Recently I read a NY Times Magazine article and heard on NPR about a style of coffee indigenous to New Orleans and is growing in popularity among gourmet coffee vendors and coffee enthusiasts (which I'm not, but I'm hooked nonetheless). Simply called "coffee concentrate," this drink is as New Orleans as Jambalaya and Jazz.

Concocting it was easy: 1 lb of grounded coffee and 10 cups of cold filtered water. Let sit for 12 hours. Sieve and serve.

The process of making this drink, however, is not glamorous at all. If anything, it looked a bit sketchy. When I peeked into the stockpot that we put the grounds and water in, all I saw was black liquid glistening from the grounds floating on top. I half expected some flies to emerge through the goop and buzz past the lid of the pot. The next morning, I double sieved the mixture and transfered it into a pitcher. Apparently it keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

I was very reluctant to try this so, naturally, I poured Danny a glass first. I filled a glass with ice, filled it 1/3 with the black liquid, and 2/3 with milk.

"Is it good?"
"It's good."
"Good-good or good-I'm-glad-I-didn't vomit?"
"Good-good."

Indeed, it was good. What you get is a rich, robust, rounded (running out of R's...) coffee that also packed a punch of caffeine. I learned from the NY Times article that this method of making coffee eliminates the release of oils and acid caused by heat. It's smooth as a baby's bottom. Usually I can only drink a cup of regular coffee before I feel my GI burning from the acid. With this, I can drink two glasses without any complaint and only realize that I should probably stop when I eye starts twitching.

It's a perfect summer porch beverage but if you hate iced coffee, you can add hot milk/water and drink it that way.

Talking to someone who went to college at Tulane, I was also told that a popular way to drink coffee concentrate is with chicory flavored coffee. I haven't a clue what chicory tastes like but it sounds like it would add some smokiness.

Here's the NYT recipe:

New Orleans Cold Drip Coffee

adapted from Blue Bottle Coffee company

makes 8 cups coffee concentrate

1 pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground

10 cups cold water

Ice

Milk.

1. Put coffee in a nonreactive container, like a stainless-steel stockpot. Add 2 cups water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining 8 cups water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.

2. Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.

3. To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate and 3/4 to 1 cup milk, then stir. To make café au lait, warm 3/4 to 1 cup milk in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into a mug and add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate. (Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)

Bacon Makes Everything Better: Brussel Sprouts

2007-06-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a news flash -- there is something comforting and delicious about bacon. And I would also like to set the record straight that, although tasty, Canadian Bacon is NOT a worthy substitute for the thick, marbled, chewy, crisp, salty...I digress...(deep breath)...slice of pork belly. Drool.

Which is why I am starting a "Bacon Makes Everything Better" segment on Kitchenette Diaries. You may recall the bacon wrapped turkey that was demolished on Thanksgiving last year. But there are *literally* infinite ways to bacon-up any dish and make it taste better.

I grew up loathing brussel sprouts, even though I was already 23 the first time I tasted it. I think I was influenced by TV kids who screamed bloody murder every time it was served by their TV parents. I suppose it's similar to my aversion to anchovies on pizza --just because the Ninja Turtles hated it, too.

Now, I just think b-sprouts are adorable. Dwarfed cabbages. Tiny morsels of nutritiousness. Etc.

The only down-side is they can taste bitter and tough to chew if cooked improperly. This is where the bacon comes in. The fat and salty bacon cuts through the bitter taste of the sprout , making it fun and easy to eat. Seriously, it's fun when you can eat something that tastes like bacon but is (OMG) actually good for you.

Trick is to blanch (or steam to retain more nutrients) the sprouts first so they cook more evenly later on in the pan. I like it a little burnt and crispy, which I think adds deeper flavors.

Here's what you do:

1 lb brussel sprouts
Ice bath
3-4 slices good applewood bacon
salt and pepper

Blanch (or steam) 1 lb of brussel sprouts for 3 minutes. Shock sprouts in ice bath to stop the cooking and maintain bright green color. Once cooled, trim stems and cut sprouts in half.

Cut bacon strips into 1 inch bits. Turn skillet on medium-high and drop in pieces once the pan is hot. Stir until bacon is mostly cooked but still soft. Throw in brussel sprouts and toss with bacon as to coat each half with deliciousness. Let them sit in pan for a minute before flipping again (this allows them to brown). If you feel the sprouts are still too hard, incorporate a tablespoon of water into the pan. Ideal sprout is slightly wilted but still holds color and shape.

Enjoy!

Note.

2007-06-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

From the time I first came up with this blog title/idea, I want to clarify that I've since moved from our doll house studio basement to an actual house with a basement that has a real bedroom and a wonderful kitchen upstairs. That said, I had (sarcasm) to say goodbye to the make-shift kitchenette and give up those wrangling days. Now I am equipped with a real kitchen with everything I need.

Everything except a microwave.

This is the time when you shrug and say: Eh, you take a little...you give a little...

Test Kitchenette

2007-05-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since my mom left I have been trying to cook more like her. Usually I go to the supermarket and look for things she would buy and have her walk me through step by step on how to cook them. So far I've made large garlic chive potstickers (they are like Harbin empanadas), slow cooked pork belly, and coconut curry snapper. Some of the items came out really well (ie, pork belly) but others...not so much (ie snapper). However, all of them I am still testing out and don't have exact measurements.

Once I try them a couple more times and get the measurements right I'll post them!

Happy eating!

Problem solved.

2007-05-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

LOVE mashed potatoes and french fries but HATE peeling the skin off? In the tradition of pony tail crazes, portable blenders, and food dehydrators, Tater Mitts is, or will be, the infomercial industry's newest sensation. Yes, now for just about $27 you no longer have to worry about peeling potatoes with that fussy potato peeler, Tater Mitts let's you peel them with YOUR OWN HANDS. And the gloves have a stylish, autoimmune/bacterial infection boil/leprosy look that is so Spring.

Heavy-weight Eating in the Big Apple

2007-04-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

I had to change into my loose shirt today. You know, the shirt that you wear when sucking in gets too hard and you just want to relax and let your gut hang. Loose Shirt at work is like Old College Sweat Pants (with holes) at home. That's right, I'm fashionable and practical.

An old roommate once noted that I eat like a 400 lb man. My new roommates make fun of my appetite but also learned quickly to stay away when I get the hungry pains. If you can't do anything to help, I say, get out of my way!

I don't deny that I take full advantage of my working metabolism and that I should never complain about "being fat," but I do have my limits -- said limit was reached last Saturday during a 15 hour tour of NYC with mom and Danny.

8:30 AM: We started off light. After an early morning train ride, we arrived at Penn Station and went straight to SOHO where we planned to have breakfast.

8:45 AM: Stopped by Dean and Deluca where we bought fancy overpriced coffee and a pound of muscat grapes to munch on throughout the day.

9:30 AM: Found Le Pain Quotidien, a bakery and communal table cafe on Grand and Mercer.Here's my egg salad tartin: open faced, a little mayo, capers, and salty anchovies. Also came with slices of tomato, cucumber, and a couple of mini gurken pickles.

11-1 PM: Next, we strolled through Chinatown and Little Italy. Sampled a cannoli (not the biggest fan), Italian napoleon, Chinese napoleon (flakier and with walnuts), and iced plum tea. For lunch we went to Da Nico's on Mulberry St, where Danny swears he had the best Cesar salad of his life. I wanted a "light lunch," so I shared a plate of steamed mussels with mom and had a bitter greens salad. Danny's Cesar salad wasn't as good as he remembered. And the service sucked. Oh well.

SIDE NOTE: Do you eat the poop in the mussels/clams?? I don't, but I feel like I'm wasting good seafood.

2-5 PM Eating so much made me want to either curl up for a nap or shop. Since we were in New York, we shopped. But not before a spin around Tasti-D-Lite and coming out with a non-fat chocolate vanilla swirl cone. Good thing that was fat free because I am really watching what I'm eating.

Not.

Power-shopped for 2 hours at Century 21. Dropped $200 but saved $200! -- so we're even.

Finally, we headed toward the big Macy's and Time Square. Macy's was having a flower show inside the store. I found it strange that people were taking pictures of flowers inside a store rather than going outside. It's one or the other for me. I don't do nature in a mall and I don't do shopping in a park.

8 PM: I'm not hungry anymore. But mom still wanted pizza. I was worried we wouldn't be able to find Brooklyn-good pizza in Time Square but we finally found a place that was decent.

8:30 PM: Concerned that pizza doesn't constitute a "proper dinner." Walked a mile to Carnegie Deli and ordered their famous pastrami sandwich and a salami sandwich.

Very funny...who are we kidding with the bread?

10:30 PM: Walked mile and half back to Penn Station. Yelled at my mom for coming to visit and making me eat so much.

2:50 AM: Home sweet home. Can't wait to see what's for lunch.

CNY Part 2: Dumplings v. Dumplings

2007-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

Can I just say something? Since high school, I have been both haunted and mesmerized by Rachel Ray. There are so many things about her that I cannot stand. I find her "quarks" --YUM-O, and EVOO, and not knowing how to cook -- nauseating. But, I can't. Stop. Watching. Her show. So often, at night after work, I find myself watching back to back 30 Minute Meals and basically hating myself for the hour.

This happened again the other night. Rachel was cooking "asian noodles" and decided that "asian pancakes" would just tie the whole "asian theme" together. Sure, I don't usually mind when cooks find it okay to call whatever they're making "asian" the second they throw in ginger root (so exotic) and a dash of soy sauce (it's like liquid salt. omg).

Let's talk about these scallion and egg pancakes. They are toasted tortillas folded with scrambled eggs inside. Rachel then goes all out and claims: "they're like instant dumplings, really!".

No, Rachel. What you made was a breakfast burrito. THESES are dumplings....

Here's how I made them: Finely dice one napa cabbage and one celery stalk. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle 2-4 tablespoons of salt to render the liquid. Set aside when done.

For the meat mixture:
1 lb lean ground pork
2 tbs miso
4 scallions 1 tbs ginger (to make sure it's asian enough)
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbs light soy
1/2 tbs salt
1 tsp five spice
1 1/2 cups Swanson's chicken stock

Mix everything except chicken stock. Once mixed, incorporate 1/2 cups of chicken stock at a time, into the meat mixture and stirring in one direction.

Squeeze liquid out of cabbage and celery and add into meat mixture.

Set a small dish of water and dumpling wrappers. Dip your finger into the water and wet the outer edge of the wrapper. Use a small teaspoon or chopsticks to scoop the filling. Here's how you wrap them on one side...

NOTE: make sure not to get any of the filling onto the sealed edge, the oil will cause it to open while boiling.

Drew and Karly hard at work

Boil water in a large pot. Once boiling, drop 5-6 dumplings in at a time. Stir with a ladle to prevent sticking. Dumplings are done once they float and the wrapper sticks to the meat.

-Bo

CNY Part 1: Hot Pot in Harbin

2007-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, my mother called and asked if my surprise came in the mail. I said yes! because Danny and I had just received Chinese New Year's red envelopes filled with cash. But I looked around the living room and realized that the two computer boxes that I had been ignoring, were, in fact, addressed to me. As I unflapped the lids, I peeped inside and saw that the whole box was filled with GROCERIES!

Tangerines, cabbages, bok choy, cilantro, Asian pears, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots...all from mother's weekend farmer's market. New Year, a time for food and family, was approaching. So my mother, after hearing about the horrors of DC produce, sent me fresh Californian goods to celebrate.

Unfortunately...the boxes were inside our toasty house for a couple of days...You get the picture.
One other item that was stuffed in a box was a table top electric pot, which spells HOT POT. I'm not going to go into the origins and how-to because I think Maureen Pao from Kitchen Window on NPR.org does a great job.

I found a great Korean market in Fairfax called H Mart where I purchased all the vegetables, meat, and sauces. I also got ingredients for dumplings, but I will save that for the next post. Greatest find in the store: Harbin Beer! Harbin, my birth place, is a rustic city in northeast China, so cold it's known for annual Ice Festivals. Breaking the Tsing Tao monopoly, Harbin beer is now available in the US. It's a fairly light, easy to drink, not bitter, and a little nutty. I have many great memories of my family in Harbin and most them involve bottles of this beer.

After much work and preparation, our bellies were satisfied and dinner ended with red bean and melon popsicles. Here's a picture of Josh, Danny, and Andrew dipping in.

Sixth Time's the Charm

2007-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

When I was younger and still living in China, I had little idea of what American's were like, not to mention what they ate. Back in the '80s we didn't have KFC or McDonald's to grease our lips with. I had heard of butter and cheese (something I still can't fully appreciate...shocking, I know); and I knew about milk. Come to think of it, dairy wasn't huge where I came from. We were all about soy...

So when I got off the plane in the heart of America -- California -- I did not think twice when my dad took my mom and me to eat Pho for our first meal in the U.S. Maybe he was thinking of transitioning our palates from Far East to Western by way of Vietnam? Maybe. Nonetheless, Pho, pronounced "fuh," is one of my favorite foods; it is essentially beef noodle soup: beef broth, various beef cuts, and rice noodles. Until i moved to DC, I had never been to a Pho place that didn't give you mounds of Thai basil, jalapeños, lime, and mung bean sprouts to toss in the hot soup.

Warning: if they don't give you the basil, get up and leave. Don't even pay. They are fake Vietnamese. Faux Pho, I call it.

There is one place I can barely tolerate down the street from work that I go to when seriously craving Pho. It is fine, but our server gave us mint instead of basil...wtf? I have heard of this place called Pho 75 in Arlington that was supposedly the best and cheapest in the DC Metro area. But after 5 failed attempts due to poor planning, laziness, and work I was starting to go nuts. (You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry. Lisa:Hungry::Hulk:Mad) The place also closes at 8pm, which is a bummer. But yesterday, at 7pm, Danny and I were determined, epically determined, to devour this evasive Pho for dinner. Anthony met us, too.

It was delicious and all that I wanted. Cheap. Big portions. And didn't leave a weird aftertaste. One downer: CASH ONLY...and don't count on the BP down the street.

Here's a link to Anthony's review of Pho 75.

-Bo

Seared Scallops with Habanero Mango-Avocado Sauce

2007-01-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

There are few things my boyfriend, Danny, gets mad about. It's actually not even mad. It's more like...annoyed. He doesn't like it when I procrastinate about putting the groceries away. He doesn't like it when I convince him it's his day to take the dog out in the morning (when it was really mine). Small things aside, he is usually right. But he crossed the line during a trip to Costco last Spring...

Costco is but a second home to me, or a home I will like to own one day. Spacious. Brightly lit. Lots of books. Endless supply of rotisserie chicken. Everything you buy at Costco is like discounted gold. Everything including their meat and seafood selection. Now, I love steak and I love tender sea creatures like shrimp. I know, I have expensive taste (pun intended!). I like to liven up chicken soups with shrimp on occasion as a treat to myself. I like the sweetness of a scallop. I like to eat the green stuff in crabs. I LOVE IT ALL. However, when Danny, who hates seafood, confronted me after I bagged 5 shrimp and 2 scallops, I was pissed. He had no right to and I told him that. We never talked about it again.

Since we live together, and I usually cook, combined with the fact that we are poor, I rarely get seafood. So I jumped at the chance when my mother bought Costco scallops during the holidays. Anyway, If anyone wants to go to Costco and want to split 2 gallons of butter, you know who to call.

Seared Scallops with Habanero Mango-Avocado Sauce

12 sea scallops
salt and pepper

Habanero Mango-Avocado Sauce
2 ripe mangoes
1/2 to 1 avocado
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
2 teaspoons minced habanero
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Blends all the ingredients, except olive oil. Sugar and vinegar ratios is likely to differ depending on the sweetness and tartness of the mangoes. Once the ingredients are smooth, start blender on a low speed and drizzle in the olive oil.

Rinse of sand and pat dry scallops before seasoning on both sides. Heat a heavy nonstick pan with oil on high. Just as pan starts to smoke, place scallops. Keep in mind the order in which the scallops were placed because they do not taste good over cooked. Cook for 5 minutes on each side.

Rudolph the Risotto Reindeer Wishes Everyone Had a Wonderful Holiday!

2007-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Alas, the holidays are over...

2006-12-13T19:35:00.000-08:00

Everyone has home remedies that they never questioned. These are things your mother or great aunt swore by and, somehow, always worked. It could be saltine crackers for an upset stomach or more alcohol for a hangover (hopefully this didn't come from mom). Some of these could be myths (ie, another drink), but some definitely have merit. Ginger tea is my trusty remedy for a sore throat that my mother gave me. Aside from adding spice and proverbial *zing* to your cooking, ginger has many medicinal qualities worth mentioning as well.

Ginger is high in anti-oxidants (chemicals that prevent oxidative damage and maintain cells' longevity), used for motion sickness and nausea, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory. So when Danny had a cold and a sore throat, I referred to this tea for relief. All you need is ginger and a bit of honey for sweetness (it also doesn't stick to your throat the way sugar does). I also spotted beautifully dried naval oranges at Trader Joe's and I thought it would be a wonderful addition to the tea. Enjoy!

Honey Orange Ginger Tea

4-5 quarter inch slices of ginger root (peel or no peel)
3 pieces of TJ dried naval oranges
2 tbs of wildflower honey

Fill a medium sauce pan with 3/4 water. Toss in ginger and turn heat to high. Add oranges once water boils. Turn heat to medium low and let slow boil for 10 minutes before adding honey. Tea should be a golden in color.

2006-12-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, Paige threw a surprise birthday bash for her boyfriend, Andrew, at Marekesh, a fun Moroccan restaurant that is popular for birthdays. I originally planned to write something substantive about the place, but alas, I got drunk and stopped caring about what I was eating and started stuffing my face with everything. I can tell you this, though -- that belly dancer was hot. It reminded me of that episode of My Super Sweet Sixteen where that chick from Miami was dancing at her birthday.

...

Anyway, for $30 we each got 6 or 7 courses served on a platter to share with 3-4 people. The best dish by far was the whole braised game hen seasoned with olives and preserved lemons. So moist. So tender. And Nadine, who said she only eats white meat, found out that drumsticks, her favorite, were in fact dark meat. Anyway, I can't remember any of the other dishes we had that night, which is fine because they wouldn't be worth mentioning anyway.

Here is us at a bar later that night...post Irish-car bombs...

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

-Bo

2006-12-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

This blog already has two entries, yet neither had anything to do with my kitchenette! I think it'll be fitting to show you what I work on everyday. Notice the heat adjustment buttons that are labeled "HI, 3,2, and LO". It's awesome. Some of you may know that Danny and I are moving closer to Georgetown at the beginning of February, in a house with a real kitchen (and dishwasher! which is sorely needed if you look at the picture below). So it will be somewhat bittersweet to leave our "cozy" studio and I will miss walking Norman in Logan Circle and laughing with other dog owners about my retarded dog.

Awhile ago I saw a recipe for a breakfast frittata, an open face Italian omelet, and since then I've been meaning to try it. Eggs are great because they are cheap, filling, and nutritious -- perfect if you are interning and earning poverty wages. Like an omelet, you can put almost anything into your frittata but the basic dish will have potatoes, onions, and cheese. In the one pictured below, I added ripped pieces of corn tortilla, black forest ham, jalapenos, and fresh green onions.

Basic Frittata

4 whole eggs, plus 2 egg whites
1 potato diced into 1'' cubes
1/2 onion diced 1''
grated cheese
1/4 cup milk, or less if you want
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tbs olive oil
salt, pepper, paprika/cayenne to taste

Preheat broiler.

Heat oil on medium high (or 3, in my case) in a 9" nonstick pan. Add potatoes, stirring it first to coat pieces with the oil, and cook for about 4 minutes so the edges get crispy. While you're waiting, beat eggs, and add milk, salt, pepper, and paprika. Put eggs aside. Add onion and garlic to the potatoes; depending on how crispy you want the onions, cook mixture for about 1 more minute before pouring the egg mixture into the pan. DO NOT STIR ANYMORE.

After you see the egg starting to set at the bottom, add whatever else (spinach, ham, leftover chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes) you want evenly over the top. Now would also be the time to add another teas. of salt and pepper.

If you want to use my corn tortilla idea, make sure tortilla pieces are submerged and soak in some of the egg.

Once all but the surface of the frittata is cooked, add cheese, and stick the pan in the broiler for about 2 minutes (or until the top browns a little and is completely set).

Carefully run a plastic spatula around and under the egg and slip it onto a plate. Cut into wedges and enjoy alongside toasted bread. This is a great way to start any lazy Sunday!

-Bo

2006-11-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

How do you cure a burning mouth? Is it water? A popsicle? Submerging your tongue in a cold cold tub of cottage cheese? While that last one may sound absurd (which in my opinion is always more fun) there is scientific reasoning to how molecules in milk attach to capsaicin - the compound that causes the fire in your mouth - and block it from burning your tongue.

Tonight I had a fiery dinner. But my antidote wasn't milk. It was a fortune cookie.

I had take out from a Logan Circle Chinese restaurant called (something that sounds like two names) Great Wall Szechuan House. I called them for take-out because I was too lazy to do the 5 dishes that were clogging up our 2x2 ft sink. Now, I am well aware that almost every Chinese restaurant claims to be Hunan or Szechuan or Jade or Garden, etc. But Danny said that they had a separate ma la, literally translated into "numbingly spicy," menu that is signature to Szechuan (aka Sichuan) Province. After failing to get that menu off the phone in English, I switched to Chinese and found out that the chef is actually from Chengdu the capitol of Sichuan. Sweetness.

Ten minutes later I got ma la ji (chicken), mapo do fu (tofu), and shuizhu niu (beef), at my door. First I noticed that unlike some Chinese establishments, it didn't seem like they dumped a box of cornstarch in each dish. Second, it seems like the color of the sauces were made from scratch, none of that bright red premade stuff. And last, I can see the sichuan peppercorns.

Ah, sichuan peppercorns -- the star ingredient in traditional Sichuan cooking. It's the ma part of ma la. Once the 'corns are toasted in oil, the result is a numbing sensation in your mouth, which is a dynamic counterpart to la, or hot. All I have to say is thank gawd each of my orders came with complementary rice because my mouth was ON FIRE in a good, releasing endorphins kind of way.

So here's my first restaurant recommendation. Great Wall Szechuan House pretty much rocked. Oh, and delivery was free.

E-V (out of E-V-O-O, thanks Ant)
Great Wall Szechuan House
1527 14th NW

-Bo

2006-11-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month since I arrived in DC and I am finally all settled. No more trips to IKEA. No more wondering which gate leads to my basement apartment. Oh yeah, and no more looking for an internship (cuz I found one!). Yes, indeed I am enjoying the district. Despite the perpetual dread I feel for getting mugged, I am grateful that Danny, Norman, and I live in a relatively safe neighborhood.

This is my attempt at a food blog. It might differ from other DC food blogs because, uhm, I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY TO EAT OUT...like they do, so don't expect reviews of Citronelle (until Danny or I start making more papers -- you know what I'm talkin' about).

This past Thursday was the first Thanksgiving I spent without my family. Well, almost -- last year I was traveling in China with Danny and my mom. But according to my grandma, Chinese people have begun to embrace Thanksgiving. Maybe, like everything else, Thanksgiving was made in China! I'm Chinese, I can say that.

Back to Thanksgiving. I know this is getting kind of long, but there isn't more to say but that it was GLORIOUS. We ate SO well, it was ridiculous. There were five of us, 4 CA and 1 MA transplants, who arranged a day of eating and football. After annoying jokes about turkey burgers, it was decided that the turkey be BBQed, dressed in bacon, and basted with white zinfandel and butter (complements of Mr. Whelan).

Before:

Behold:
Congratulatory hand shakes:

My GI-NORMOUS platter of mashed potatoes, stuffing, spinach salad, brussel sprouts and bacon, rolls, canned cranberry slice, and turkey wing:

After thirds' comas/4:30 pm nap time:

And this all couldn't have been possible without our hostess Paige! Thanks , T.W.!

All in all, it was f-ing awesome. I couldn't have asked for better company or a better meal in a time that is very conducive to homesickness. Great friends, awesome city, unlimited cheap wine with ice ... I'm there!