Looking Forward to Going Back

Well, I survived my week of commuting to/from Baltimore! I did not enjoy the getting up at 5:30 part but fortunately my early hours meant that I was able to leave fairly early and avoid true rush hour traffic. Tomorrow will be my first day metro-ing in/out of DC and hopefully my first day doing real work. Last week consisted primarily of orientation, paperwork, security badges, etc and after 4 days of mostly sitting around, I am looking forward to figuring out what my job will really be like.

It will also be my first week commuting and making dinner most nights. Not knowing exactly what my work schedule is going to be like, I’ve planned some pretty easy dishes that require minimal effort—taco salad, goat cheese chicken, and pita with roasted vegetables.  Hopefully as things settle down and become more routine, I’ll be able to get back to more interesting dishes like the chicken kebabs and summer squash ribbons I made a couple of weeks ago.

This was a great summer meal—light and flavorful—and pretty easy to put together as well. The salad in particular won rave reviews from Jason and is sure to be a new classic around here. I am definitely looking forward to settling back into a weeknight meal routine!

Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1.5 inch chunks
1 orange (or red or yellow) pepper, cut into 1.5 inch chunks
1 yellow squash, sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 red onion, quartered and layers separated
2 metal or wooden skewers (if you use wooden, make sure you soak them in water for an hour or so first to prevent burning)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.Thread chicken and vegetables onto skewers. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2.Broil or grill kebabs about 5-6 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.

Summer Squash Ribbons
Adapted slightly from Serious Eats

Ingredients:
3 squash (I used a mix of zucchini and yellow squash)
1 shallot, very thinly sliced
2 TBL olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
¼ cup basil, sliced into ribbons
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper

1.Trim the ends off the squash, and cut into very thin strips. I used a regular vegetable peeler, but you can use a mandolin or a knife as well.
2.Place in a large bowl with the sliced shallot, olive oil, and vinegar, and gently toss to combine. Let stand for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add basil, pine nuts, and goat cheese. Toss to combine.

Embarking on New Paths

Today was my first day of work as a federal employee. As I stood there pledging to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic (yes, even us health policy wonks have to take an oath of office when accepting a federal appointment!), I couldn’t help but notice the timing of my choice in new careers---that my decision to embark on a path of public service came to fruition just a few days after celebrating our nation’s birth. I’m not sure you can get more patriotic than that.

The downside of this momentous occasion was that I had to drive to Baltimore for new employee orientation (this was day 1 of 3) which meant a 5:15am wakeup call and an hour’s drive north. Fortunately, the early start meant that traffic was fairly non-existent and I was home in time to get dinner together before Jason got home. Notice, I said get dinner together…..I did not cook dinner tonight. No, for this first week back to the real world I chose several make ahead menus (including shrimp and orzo and gazpacho) that also yield a number of leftovers. That way all I have to do after an early morning and a long day sitting in orientation/on the road is take dinner out of the fridge and heat up some bread to go with it.

There’s hope for Jason’s dinners yet!

Postcard from South Beach

Last week at this time Jason and I were sitting by the gorgeous (and famous) pool at our South Beach hotel in Miami. As I am running around today trying to get things done before heading off to my first day at my new job tomorrow, those sun-filled days of relaxation seem nothing more than a distant memory.  A memory that I thought I should share with you in case you too decide you need a beach getaway this summer.

Ocean Drive

First of all—why Miami. When Jason and I decided to take a mini-vacation during my week of unemployment we knew we wanted to go somewhere we could relax and recharge. For us the beach seemed like the perfect fit. We originally looked at island destinations until I remembered that—oops! I never updated my passport after I changed my name post-wedding. (Note to all of you newlyweds—just go ahead and change your passport when you are in the midst of changing everything else…otherwise you will forget all about it and may find yourself in this exact predicament.) We looked into Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (neither of which require a passport for US citizens) but decided that Miami, a city neither of us had been to before, might be the perfect fit given that its location and climate.  We decided to stick the South Beach area since we could get around pretty easily without a car.

Iced coffee for breakfast-- a necessity to beat the heat while still getting a morning caffeine fix

After looking at expedia and Frommers for hotel options, we ended up at The Raleigh—a beachfront art deco hotel on the northern end of South Beach (away from a lot of the crazy hubbub) known for its pool.  The Raleigh was an excellent choice—the pool and whole outdoor area lived up to the hype and the hotel definitely has an Old Hollywood vibe to it given the art deco decor (although when we first walked in we weren’t so sure—there was a little bit of an old building smell going on). We even got a room upgrade (to one with a pool/ocean view) since our room wasn’t ready when we checked in and we stayed in a lower tier room the first night.

The view from our upgraded room

One of the best things we did while we were in South Beach was take a 90 minute walking tour of the art deco district through the Miami Design Preservation League (it was also the only real “sightseeing” we did during the trip—the rest of the time we hung out at the beach and/or the pool).  South Beach has the highest concentration of art deco buildings in the whole world and the tour gave us a brief introduction to what this period of art and architecture consisted of and showed us how it played out in the heyday of Miami and South Beach which Jason, something of an architecture buff, really enjoyed. It also gave us a little bit of local history which, as something of a history buff, I appreciated.  I’d highly recommend it if you are ever in the area.

The Carlyle--an excellent example of an art deco hotel on Ocean Drive

Miami is also known as a foodie city (it was host to an earlier season of Top Chef) and, no surprise, we enjoyed a couple of really excellent meals while we were there. The first was at a little Italian restaurant called Spiga. It was probably some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had.  We started with a prosciutto and melon appetizer (such a good summery snack and so easy—I’ve got to serve that at home this summer) and some delicious homemade foccacia.  Jason had handmade crab ravioli with a light white wine-butter sauce and tomatoes while I had quadretti (thin, squares of pasta) with tomatoes, portabella and truffle oil. Both meals were phenomenally good. But the real show stopper for me was dessert—we shared the most delicious cheesecake I’ve ever had; made with ricotta it was light and custardy (and I’m already researching how to replicate it at home!)

But we saved the best meal for last. As soon as I was offered and accepted my new job, Jason suggested we celebrate with a nice meal out somewhere. I decided we should wait until Miami and I’m so glad we did. For my celebration meal, I chose Wish which was universally described as one of the best and most romantic restaurants in South Beach. The restaurant is part of the aptly named The Hotel and most of the tables are set up in a garden hidden from the surrounding city streets by tall hedges and a canopy of leafy trees. In the middle of the already beautiful garden setting is a aqua and teal tiled fountain; needless to say, the ambiance was indeed very romantic especially after the sun went down. The food, however, was the true star of the show. It’s not cheap, but well worth the price particularly for a special occasion. I started with the lobster ravioli—fresh and delicate in flavor and texture—while Jason had the ultimate gazpacho---a luxuriously smooth soup poured tableside around a bowl of lump crabmeat and avocado. Our entrees were just as good. I had seared scallops with Brussels sprouts and calabaza squash (pureed and pickled) while Jason had a local steamed snapper with tomatoes, artichokes and basil. We finished the evening off with a Meyer lemon tart that was out of this world (another dish I am planning to try my hand at now that we’re home).

After dinner at Wish

No trip to South Beach would be complete without a little nightlife. Jason and I have pretty much outgrown the party scene and were asleep by 11 or 12 most nights while we were there. However, on our last night there (after the sensational dinner at Wish) we decided to head to the Delano (a very posh hotel complete with a lounge designed by Lenny Kravitz) for a taste of glamorous Miami. And glamorous it was. The Delano’s interior is very modern—tall ceilings, white décor--- and with the music playing it definitely had a clubby feel. Fortunately we were able to snag a table near the Rose Bar and enjoyed a little people watching with our expensive cocktails and late 90s/early 00s jams.

 The beach-- we stayed under these umbrellas most of the time to keep our very pale skin from being burnt to a crisp

Overall we had a great time on our trip to South Beach. The summer is the off season which was both good (in that things were a lot less crowded and crazy then they might have been) and bad (it was HOT—even at night it was hard to walk more than a few blocks without breaking into a major sweat). From what we saw on our relatively short trip, South Beach is an eclectic area—extreme luxury adjacent to falling down buildings. But it is a fun place and one that we hope to see again one day (hopefully when it is a little bit cooler!)

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone out there is enjoying the holiday weekend. If you are looking for a last minute snack/appetizer/side dish to take to a bbq/picnic/etc. here is a good one for you—Caprese Bites. Basically it is a tomato mozzarella basil salad (also known as a Caprese salad) in finger food form. All you have to do is assemble—no cooking required--which is a godsend during the dog days of summer when tomatoes just so happen to be at their peak of flavor and freshness.

I saw some yummy looking yellow cherry tomatoes at the farmers market yesterday which would have been great for this. Enjoy!

Caprese Bites

Ingredients:
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half crosswise
1 container of perline mozzarella (the really tiny little balls)
10-12 basil leaves cut into thirds
1 package of bamboo skewers or toothpicks
Salt and pepper
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar (optional)

1.To assemble bites, skewer one half of a tomato, a mozzarella ball, piece of basil and cap it off with the other half of the tomato. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
2.Arrange skewers on a plate. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3.If you’d like you can also drizzle with olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar. Note that if you are taking this to another location, you should do this step AFTER you arrive (I learned the hard way that olive oil can leak out onto a car seat if there is even the slightest angle). I skipped this step yesterday and they turned out just fine.

Breakfast of Champions

Homemade toast + iced coffee + grapefruit = perfect summer breakfast.

And it was truly a team effort. Jason cold-brewed the coffee overnight last night (using a recipe similar to the one on SmittenKitchen’s website), and we made toast from the bread I made a couple of days ago.

We have to talk about that bread.  I came across the recipe in the King Arthur Flour catalog several months ago but just got around to trying this week. So easy. So incredibly good.  The oats and honey give it a slightly sweet taste and the most intoxicating aroma. Just cutting into it, even a couple of days after it’s been baked, and you can smell the yummy goodness.  It’s so good that Jason insisted on having three slices of it this morning. (I cut a couple of them super thin so he wouldn’t overdose on carbs.)

My loaf turned out pretty good, I think, much better than the one I made last month—thanks to this little video I found on the internet.

If you are thinking about trying your hand at homemade bread, this is a great one. I will definitely be making it often! Next time I might add some cinnamon and raisins to it as well for an even better breakfast bread.

Oatmeal Toasting and Sandwich Bread
From King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached bread flour
1 cup rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats)
2 TBL butter or margarine, melted
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 TBL honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 packet active dry yeast—if you use the active dry yeast be sure to dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients)
1 ¼ cups lukewarm milk

1.In  a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough. Knead dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and no longer sticks to your counter or board. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow it to rest for 1 hour. It will become quite puffy but may not double in bulk.
2.Transfer dough to a lightly oiled surface and shape it into a log (see video above for tips and tricks). Place into a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan, cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60-90 minutes until it’s crested 1”-2” above the rim of the pan.
3.Bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees.

Being Productive is Highly Overrated

I think it is safe to say that I’ve had the most unproductive day ever. But boy, was it a good one!

Yesterday I was the very definition of productive—up at 6am on my day off (totally unintentional – I had the misfortune of  not being able to fall back asleep after being woken up by Jason’s going-to-the-gym-before-work alarm) I not only met a friend for lunch but also unpacked, baked some pretty tasty bread (more coming on that later), went to the gym, did several loads of laundry, ran some errands, bought some new work shoes at DSW, and made a very tasty dinner consisting of steak with chimichurri sauce and creamed spinach.

Today has pretty much been the antithesis to that.  Instead of getting things done I spent the morning getting pampered at the Sugarhouse Day Spa in Old Town Alexandria. I had a couple of gift cards leftover from Christmas before last (!) and my birthday  and decided if ever there was a time for some professionally aided me time, it is now when I am decompressing from one job and gearing up for another.

I did not want to leave that place…..ever.

I started with a hot stone massage. I’ve never had a hot stone massage but have always wanted and decided to give it a try. Oh. My. It was so delightful. In a way that you could never imagine that having someone rub you down with warm (and incredibly smooth) lava stones could be. It was all about heat and just the slightest bit of pressure rather than anything deep tissue related. And it left me in this odd twilight state of being—somewhere between being asleep and being awake-- that I can only imagine would be described by others a Zen state of mind.

Next I had my first facial which consisted of an exfoliating mask enhanced by steam, extractions (fancy spa speak for getting rid of any blackheads or other clogged pores), another clarifying mask, and then being moisturized. Oh and an additional hand, arm, and neck massage while the masks were doing their thing.  I left with sparkly clean skin and a directive to use a heavier-duty exfoliant from time to time to keep my pores nice and clean. (If anyone has a good one they like, be sure to let me know).

I got home around noon, ate some lunch, and then promptly took a two hour nap. I don’t know if all the pampering tired me out (ha!) or if it just had relaxed me to the point that I couldn’t do anything else but sleep. Either way it is now 4:30 and I find myself having accomplished very little today.

 I guess it’s a good thing that I will be returning to the working world in three days….I could get used to this!

A Taste of Top Chef DC

Last week on Top Chef DC, the cheftestants were paired up and asked to work together to create a “bipartisanwich” (gotta love the DC food puns). The catch was that they were doing the kitchen equivalent of a three-legged race—cooking collaboratively, limited to using one hand each.  In order to determine who worked with who, they did a classic Top Chef “knife pull,” drawing knives with numbers on them; the chef who drew a number 1 would work with the other chef who had drawn a number 1, etc.

All this was very entertaining to be sure, but what was most interesting to me as I watched it today (getting caught up from my hectic week last week) was one of the chef pairings in particular—Andrea and Kevin.

Kevin and Andrea (courtesy of Bravo.com)

Why so interesting? Because it just so happens that I went to both of their restaurants last week!

First up, was Rats (yes, the name is unfortunate) in Hamilton, NJ, at which Kevin is the executive chef.  It happens to be located about 10 minutes away from my old office and when I was there last week finishing things up, some of my coworkers took me to Rats for a farewell happy hour. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get to eat much of Kevin’s food (it is a pretty pricey restaurant) but I did enjoy some awesome homemade hummus and bread as well as a vichysoisse (a chilled potato and leek soup) that was pretty fantastic. Not only that but the restaurant itself was really nice—charming and whimsical on the inside—making me somewhat disappointed that I might not ever get a chance to actually eat there.

Courtesy of Google Images

Then, two days later, Jason and I went to Talula, Andrea’s restaurant, in Miami Beach. Before we left I had done a little bit of research on where we should eat while we were there and Talula came up on several local food blogs I checked out. When I realized that it was the restaurant of a TC/DC contestant, I decided we had to give it a try. All in all, it was a good meal. I had a Ceasar salad and the baked grouper with lemon and thyme, while Jason had a tomato bisque and some sort of grilled or seared wahoo. Although the meal was good, I left a little disappointed. I guess I had wanted to like it more than I actually did.

Also found on Google Images

So far they have done pretty well on the show and it was fun to be able to get a bit of an inside scoop on what their food is like. I’ll be watching their progress on the show with even greater interest now!