Adventures in the Kitchen

I've been having so much fun cooking lately. Matt and I were so, so fortunate to receive amazing cookware as wedding gifts, and I have been using them nonstop! Here are some of our favorite meals so far, complete with alterations (if any) that I made, and some photos!

Lasagna Soup: This one is Matt's and my favorite recipe I've made so far! YUM! We both love lasagna, but this is so much easier and just as delicious. Sausage, pasta, melty cheese... oh man. Warms the soul.

• The "cheesy yum" is indescribably delicious. I didn't even think I liked ricotta cheese! But the ricotta (full-fat) mixed with Parmesan cheese and salt/pepper was so good - especially when it was topped with shredded mozzarella and got all melty and ooey-gooey in the hot soup.
• We used almost 16 oz of lasagna noodles because that is the only size box we could find and hey, we love pasta. We broke the noodles up into small pieces and cooked them separately.
• Other small alterations: used two 14.5 oz cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes; used only about 1.5-2 cups onions since 3 cups sounded like a lot; used less than 6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• To serve, I put pasta in the bowl, then a big ol' spoon or two of the "cheesy yum," then a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, then finally ladled the soup on top. Do this.

A huge mountain of melty cheese is hiding under there.

Peasant pasta: This is a simple, delicious recipe. Matt and I got really into using ground sausage in dinners, so this was a perfect one to try (and I read great reviews for it). I used only spicy sausage, and added more peas than what was called for. Easy PEAsy (heh, heh).

Cottage pie: SO GOOD! The creamy, cheesy mashed potato topping was the best part. This recipe, while having multiple parts and some fairly labor-intensive steps (and lots of pots/pans to clean), was surprisingly easy! There was absolutely no stress, everything went smoothly, and the timing was great (boiled potatoes while meat simmered, grated cheese while potatoes boiled, etc.). A great, hearty, comforting meal! Might add peas next time :)

Grating cheese, boiling potatoes, simmAHing the meat/gravy

 

PaTOOTS!

Layering + baking

Adding the finishing touch: a sprinkle of hot paprika!

 

Adding the meat, spreading the mashed perderders, baking the pie, cleaning the potato masher

Crock pot chicken taco bowls (served over brown jasmine rice and topped with shredded cheddar): This was my first crock pot recipe! It was super, super easy and SO flavorful. We loved this one!

• A few notes: I added almost a whole bag of frozen baby sweet corn about an hour before the meal was done (7 hours in) instead of at the beginning so the corn didn't get mushy. The corn was first thawed in fridge/running under water since I heard you shouldn't put frozen things in crock pot. For the salsa, I used Newman's Own medium salsa but definitely want to try other types/flavors in the future! Next time, I might also add more beans, because why not!

Homemade vodka sauce: Good, simple, creamy.

• I read reviews before I made this that suggested using less/cooking down the vodka and warned that it didn't make a ton of sauce. So, I used a 28 oz. can of tomato puree and 3/4 cup vodka (which I cooked down for 8-10 min.). I also used the most awesome squiggly spaghetti noodles.

Spicy stewed beef with creamy cheddar grits: This was my first time cooking with beef that wasn't ground beef! Overall, it was good, but I definitely have notes on this one.

• So. Many. Grits. SO MANY. Use less grits because damn. I also used a lot more cheese than called before because I love cheese (and also I was on a ROLL grating it).
• The beef is VERY spicy. You use an entire can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Just keep that in mind. 
• I cooked it in a Le Creuset dutch oven in the oven (rather than on the stove), then cooked on the stove uncovered so liquid would reduce (thanks for the tip, Dad!).
• A few slight disasters: sliced finger open while washing knife; burnt a nice layer of grits to bottom of too-small pot and had to switch to bigger pot half way through grits cooking; forgot to trim beef and cut into smaller pieces before adding to pot. Sigh. Oh well!

Grating an entire block of CHEESE for the grits. Struggling.

Smoky white bean chicken chili:  Yum! This was a delicious, comforting meal and got better each day we had it (three days of leftovers!) -- it became even more flavorful and thickened up as the days went on. Next time I might mash up one of the cans of beans to make it even thicker. Bacon, smoky paprika, chipotle chili powder, and fire-roasted tomatoes made it SO smoky.

Penne with spicy lamb sauce: This was so freakin' simple. Great "nontraditional" spices for a pasta dish -- cinnamon, coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne. First time cooking with lamb! (I found it at Whole Foods, but be sure to call the meat counter before you go to make sure they have it... they did not have it the first time I went and I learned my lesson!)

• Note: This is definitely not a "saucy" pasta. Each noodle is coated in a delicious light sauce made from lamb/tomato/pasta liquid, but it's not like a tomato-y sauce. This might be because I followed the recipe and added a whole pound of pasta to the sauce pot. I liked it as is, but Matt prefers a saucier pasta and thinks I should try just adding half the amount of pasta next time.
• The feta adds a nice salty creaminess. I definitely recommend using it! (I did not top with mint though, because I don't really like it in savory dishes.)

Three-ingredient marinara sauce (also on Smitten Kitchen): Excellent. Simple... hardly any work. It's better the longer it simmers and thickens up. It's truly amazing how a can of tomatoes, a hunk of butter, and two halves of onions (not chopped!) can create such a flavorful, rich sauce. Next time, I want to add ground spicy Italian sausage or ground beef to the sauce at the beginning because I LOVE MEAT.

Apologies for the overuse of the the words "simple" and "delicious" in these descriptions! Also excuse the iPhone photos.

A Fun-Filled Weekend in D.C.

Ever since I moved from D.C. to Raleigh to be with my then-fiance and now-husband, I have come to love -- and truly value -- weekend trips up north. Matt and I try to make the 5-hour drive to D.C. at least once every few months; I visit Katie and Ellie, and Matt visits friends and sometimes catches a Georgetown basketball game. (Thanks to Matt for being the driver literally EVERY TIME we go. Also thanks to NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" podcast for keeping us entertained and making us laugh along the way! We ADORE Paula Poundstone.) These trips are even more fun and special when my mom visits from Chicago at the same time!

Last weekend (Feb. 21), my mom, Matt, and I all arrived in D.C. Matt dropped me off at the hotel where my mom was staying so I could sneak in and stay with her, and he headed off to hang out with his buddy (the best man at our wedding!) who flew in from Ohio so they could see a Hoya's game together. Unfortunately, we got in very late, and my mom was already in bed (sorry, Mom!). She and I chatted for a few minutes and then went to sleep to rest up for a fun Saturday.

First on the morning's agenda? A baby dance party! With Ellie happy and smiley in her stroller, Katie, my mom, and I headed off to a nearby Mexican restaurant where a morning kid's music and dance program was being held. The weather was sunny and gorgeous - it must have felt like the tropics to my mom who was used to months and months of sub-zero Chicago temperatures. Parents and their little ones all sat in a circle while a small band played music --- and little by little, the kids (ranging from babies to five-year-olds... I think. I'm bad with ages.) got up and started to boogie in the middle of the circle. It was freakin' adorable. After a few songs, Ellie got up, stole some music rattles from the band, made a friend, and did some dancing and shaking. It was super cute, but what she seemed most interested in was simply walking back and forth across the room. Hey, people feel the beat in different ways!

It's amazing how much personality Ellie has. She is (no exaggeration) the happiest, smiliest, and funniest baby on the PLANET. She loves laughing and making people laugh. She likes to walk around and is a superb dancer. Girl knows how to shimmy! She also loves reading and speaks gibberish in full sentences. But more on all that later.

***Ack. I wrote this first part a few weeks ago and my memory is already starting to deteriorate. The rest of the post will just be highlights of the trip that I remember, rather than a full recap. Damn you, procrastination, damn you!!***

Shopping on 14th Street: Katie, my mom, and I were able to slip away for some shopping while John watched Ellie at home. We had such a great time walking along 14th street in the sunshine, stopping into shops and chatting. We also saw a lady FREAK OUT and literally run after a couple who was walking a dog, just to ask if she could pet the dog. It was so random and strange! 

Homemade pop-tarts at Ted's Bulletin: Even though we were having an early dinner, I could not pass up the chance to try a delicious homemade pop-tart at Ted's Bulletin. My mom and I both got a Brown Sugar and Cinnamon flavor, and I am still dreaming about the sugary GLAZE and flaky crust. I mistakenly ate mine while walking down the sidewalk once we left the bakery (I'm not the most patient person) and it BREAKS MY HEART thinking of all the glaze that dropped onto the ground. My mom was smarter and waited to eat hers until we got back to our hotel room.

Dinner at Cork Wine Bar: I think this is my favorite place to go when I visit DC. It's always so fun and delicious! They have a great selection of wines by the glass, and feature a few flights every day. Their small plates are consistently good - there are a few dishes I get every single time I go. This time, I got the pink champagne flight (how can you say no to pink champagne?!), Katie got a flight of red Burgundies (I think), and my mom had a glass of red. We all loved our selections! I ended up getting another glass of pink champagne once I finished my flight, because once you starting drinking pink champagne, ya don't STOP drinking pink champagne. Anywho, we got a bunch of small plates as well, which we all shared (Ellie included!). Some highlights include the avocado toast, the fried calamari and rock SHERMP (shrimp) with caper aioli, really really great sauteed garlicky kale, and a few other things. We all had fun dancing with Ellie at the table - I love how responsive she is to music! Ellie got a bit fussy after a while, but mom was happy to walk her around the restaurant! After we finished our meal, we walked back to Katie's to play with Ellie before bedtime. She kept bringing me books to read to her which was so adorable, and we all had fun watching her run around and take out all her toys. (In particular, she is really loving her play kitchen, and we were loving watching her play with it!)

Getting in our greens at Sweetgreen: I don't think I've ever visited DC with my mom without going to Sweetgreen at some point. I can't remember if we went on Saturday or Sunday, but whatever day we went, it was great! I love that you can do a mix of greens (I did spinach, kale, and romaine, if I remember correctly) and the raw corn is AWESOME. Great way to get in some veggies during a weekend that is full of treats, like pop-tarts and fried calamari!

BACK TO TED'S BULLETIN!: On Sunday morning, Matt, my mom, and I walked over to Ted's Bulletin for breakfast. Even though it was only 10:30 am, I ordered a s'mores milkshake, and it was honestly the best decision I've ever made in my life. SO.SO. GOOD!!!! S'mores is probably my favorite "flavor," and this milkshake was full of marshmallow, graham cracker pieces, real ice cream, and just a whole lot of awesomeness. I let Matt and Mom have a few sips (JUST A FEW) and they were as obsessed with it as I was. Maybe next time they'll be smart and order a breakfast milkshake too! We also bought a few gigantic donuts and ate those back in the hotel room. After more playing with Ellie, it was time to leave :(

Here are some photos from the trip (sorry I have literally ZERO photos with Katie in it):

Selfie fun

Ellie loves to read!

Homemade pop-tarts and other goodies at Ted's Bulletin

My beloved s'mores milkshake + giant donut

And that's that! I hope I'm not missing anything. It was such a fun trip, and I can't wait to be back!

I DIG IT

This post is my response to Emily's last entry - some random things that I have been enjoying lately!

Get Off My Internets (GOMI)

GOMI is a website where blog readers ("catladies") go to snark on bloggers who are absolutely ridiculous and refuse to hear any constructive criticism regarding their horrible online presences. The GOMI site has a page of various Forums, with threads discussing any and all blogs, as well as TV & Books, Relationships, Career Stuff, etc.  It's kind of like Reddit for women.  It's a fun way to be social and make friends as an introvert.  And it turns out, these friends might not JUST be confined to the internet!  We are organizing a meet-up of DC area GOMI-ers (REAL LIFE), and I am looking forward to meeting some like-minded, smart, funny ladies.

Marc Jacobs Magic Marc'r Precision Pen

I think a thin line of eyeliner RIGHT at the upper lash line defines the eyes nicely and looks so pretty, clean, and simple. In the past, however, I haven't been able to achieve the precision I would like with eyeliner pencils.  There would always be a gap between the eyeliner and the lashes, and it would smudge a lot, get in the eyelid creases - a veritable FAIL.  I know it sounds like I am schilling for Marc Jacobs, but this felt eyeliner pen is really amazing.  It's like drawing a smudge-proof, exact line with a thin felt-tip pen.  It's waterproof.  Mine is still nice and inky after many months.

sweetgreen

After a long, long hiatus from sweetgreen due to anger over crazy salad prices and the undercooked sweet potatoes making me nauseous, I have returned.  With a VENGEANCE.  I've been getting sweetgreen each day for lunch during the week because it's a guaranteed way to get my veggie servings.  HEALTH.  Since I haven't been buying as many snacks in the afternoons, I even think that the $9.46 price tag is balancing out.

My current favorite combination is:  spinach + romaine base, chick peas, cucumbers, spicy roasted broccoli, raw corn, roasted chicken, squeeze of sriracha and cucumber-basil yogurt dressing.  SO DELICIOUS.  I am a creature of habit, and will likely not stray from this for a while.

Intermittent fasting

I've recently been trying out a concept lauded in the Paleo/Primal community, which is having a shortened "eating window" of 8 hours or so.  I accomplish this by not having my "breakfast" until after 12:00pm each day.  Before noon, I will have tea and coffee with whole milk (so I guess it's not totally fasting).  I have been feeling better throughout the day when I do this.  I feel less weighed down, and then it is exciting when I get to eat more later on!  Because try as I might, I can't avoid eating a lot at night.  This has painlessly normalized my level of food consumption, and I am really enjoying it.  I don't eat Paleo/Primal per se, but I do avoid processed foods for the most part, and don't eat a ton of gluten/grains.  I don't bat an eye at eating rice, potatoes, oats, beans, etc., though.

Delicious whole milk lattee from peregrine espresso

Lacroix

I drink most of my daily water intake at work, because I'm terrible at drinking water unless I sit down with a goal to do it.  Ugh.  The exception to this is when there are cans of Lacroix around - they are flavorful, bubbly, refreshing, and just the right amount so I can finish them easily.  I love the coconut flavor, but no one else does, so I've been going with lime.  This gets me to drink water at home, so it's a good investment.  Yeah baby.

Maxi skirts/dresses

These are my new go-to clothing item for EVERY occasion.  I want every cute maxi skirt and dress I see.  Let's be real:  pants don't fit me.  It's cold out.  I don't like knees.  These are actually the only option for me.  It's nice that they are flattering and pretty!  Here are some that I am coveting:

1
2
3

UPDATE:  I just bought the first two.

Maybe I'll tell ya about some more stuff I like later!

Restaurant Review: Tazza Kitchen

The Raleigh restaurant scene has been on point lately, opening a bunch of awesome new restaurants all over town. When I first heard that a place called Tazza Kitchen would be opening in Cameron Village (just one mile from our apartment), I immediately looked up the menu -- and FELL IN LOVE. I'm not exaggerating when I say that literally everything on the menu looked amazing to me. Everything. See for yourself here. Here are pictures of the food and drink menus at our location:

Just realized I left all of the entrees out of the dinner menu picture... oops.

Anyways, I was counting down the days until I got to eat at Tazza. Finally, on Saturday, we decided to walk over for an early dinner. Right away, I noticed the inviting atmosphere of the restaurant: strings of lights, a beautiful outdoor dining area, and a great modern/rustic look with lots of wood and dark metal. It was a lovely day out, so we sat outside. 

First, we ordered drinks. I tried the Vesper first, and Matt got the Mother Earth Weeping Willow Wit (which he really liked). The Vesper was very light - almost flavorless. I was surprised that, seeing as the ingredients were basically all alcohol (gin, vodka, and cocchi americano), I didn't really taste anything! It wasn't my favorite, but I drank it down quickly so I could order another cocktail :) 

My next drink was DELICIOUS! Even though I don't love vodka, I decided to go with the Southern Belle, since all of the other ingredients sounded so tasty (St. Germain, dry vermouth, lavender bitters, expressed lemon). This drink was way more up my alley - tart and refreshing! Very good flavors. It was almost too sweet, but after my near flavorless first cocktail, the sweetness was much appreciated.

Now, onto appetizers! We ordered the Cast Iron Goat Cheese with Marinara and Brick Oven Bread to start our meal. This was SO DANG GOOD. It was a very creamy dip of goat cheese and tomatoes blended together in a cast iron dish. Seems like something that would be quite simple to make at home. It was served with hunks of toasty, crusty bread that BLEW MY MIND. Drizzled with olive oil and sea salt flakes, this bread was soft and hot in the inside, and delectably crunchy on the outside. Perfect for scooping up the dip. MMMM.

For my meal I ordered three small plates, since they all looked so good and I could NOT decide on one thing. Variety! Spoiler alert: I was obsessed with all of them and cleaned each and every plate. Not one crumb of food went uneaten!

1. Brick Oven Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Crumbled Egg, and Maple Vinaigrette

This dish was incredibly good and had an amazing blend of flavors. (As Matt noticed, it was a trio of breakfast flavors -- bacon, egg, maple -- which I didn't even notice until he said so!) The Brussels sprouts were perfectly roasted - nice and browned without being burnt. I usually don't like sweet dressings, but the maple vinaigrette was light and smoky and complemented the other savory flavors very well. The bacon was cut into very small pieces that were all very thick and chewy. And there was a lot of it! YUM. The crumbled up hard boiled egg gave a nice creamy texture to the dish. All in all, delicious. Loved the different textures and flavors. 

2. Spicy Fingerling Potatoes with Crispy Oregano, Jalapeno Cream Sauce, and Lemon

Again - delicious! The potatoes were perfectly cooked - super soft and hot inside, a nice crispy skin, and a good amount of salt. The potatoes came with half a (broiled? roasted?) lemon and were topped with little shreds of lemon zest - so there was plenty of yummy lemon flavor. The only "spiciness" came from a smear of jalapeno sauce on the plate. I wish there was more of the sauce because it was SO good.   

3. Kale and Chiles Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts, Lemon Vinaigrette, and Grana Padano

Mmmm I love lemon dressing lately! So light yet so flavorful. Also, WHY is kale always so much better in a restaurant?! I can never seem to prepare it right at home... it just never tastes as good as when I order it out. Anyways, this salad was HUGE and towering: a mountain of shredded kale with chile flakes, pine nuts, and a ton of grated cheese. Much more lemon flavor than chiles, though Matt said he could taste a bit of a kick. This was super tasty and I had no problem polishing it off, though it did seem daunting at first!

Matt ordered Flat Iron Steak with Peppercorn Potatoes. The steak, which he ordered medium, came out very undercooked - almost raw - so he sent it back to be cooked a bit more. I think because the restaurant just opened, they are on high alert and crazy about customer service, so literally EVERYONE IN THE RESTAURANT came out to apologize for the undercooked steak... several waiters, the manager, the cook (?)... it was pretty hilarious. Poor Matt. When they brought it out the second time, it looked perfectly cooked for him. He really liked the steak, and the potatoes (which were almost identical to my potatoes) were delicious. They ended up knocking a few of my small plates off of the check (almost $13 worth), which I thought was SO unnecessary but much appreciated!

Note: Matt ordered the egg on the side so I could eat it, so I'm not sure how it would have been served otherwise.

Overall, we had a very, very positive experience at Tazza Kitchen. We left feeling pleasantly full - not stuffed at all... it was the perfect amount of food! We ended up stopping at Fresh Market on our walk home to pick up Jenni's salted caramel ice cream and some other treats to eat while we rewatched a few episodes of True Detective :)

I can't wait to be back and try everything else on the menu!