Sonja recently saw an episode of Giada at Home called “Light and Fabulous” and after texting me the entire menu, we decided we needed to make it ourselves.  It was so yummy and comforting yet truly healthy at the same time.

We got all of the recipes at foodnetwork.com.  I have included the links below because they are a little long to post on here entirely.

Broiled Tilapia with Mustard-Chive Sauce

Carrot and Yam Puree

Wheat Berries with Strawberries and Goat Cheese

Making everything did take a couple of hours, but it was totally worth it.  The carrot and yam puree was so rich and flavorful (perfect for a cold Sunday evening) and balanced out the tilapia that was delicate and flaky.  The mustard-chive sauce added just the right amount of tartness and creaminess.

I had never bought wheat berries before, but they were very inexpensive and so yummy!  They need quite a bit of time to cook (1.5 hours), but in the end they created such a great base for the salad.  They were chewy and hearty had almost a pasta-like texture.

My favorite quote from the entire meal was when Aaron said, “These flavors are all just so unexpected!”  I thought that was really funny.  All in all I would definitely make this meal again, it was definitely “Light and fabulous” like Giada said.  Now I would just like to know, if I keep eating meals like this, will I end up looking like Giada?  I sure hope so.

Carrot and Yam Puree, before blending

Puree broth-It looked so good, I had to try it!

Wheat Berries with Strawberries and Goat Cheese

Broiled Tilapia on a bed of Yam and Carrot puree with Mustard-Chive Sauce

Note: The recipe for the carrot and yam puree made so much that there was about half of it left.  Tonight I am planning on adding to it one more yam, coconut milk, red curry paste, basil, chicken stock, fresh ginger and peanut butter to make it into a Thai-style soup.  I’ll let you know how it goes!!!

Turkey Florentine Meatballs

It was so amazing that I decided I had to share asap!

• 1 bag fresh spinach (recipe called for frozen spinach)
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp dried minced onion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 lb ground turkey (recipe called for ground chicken)
• 1 medium spaghetti squash

Sauce

• 1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  While oven heats, saute spinach and garlic in olive oil until wilted.  Then combine with next 7 ingredients in large bowl.  Shape into 1.5 inch balls and place in shallow baking dish.  Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Place cut-side up in oven on baking sheet and cook 30-45 minutes or until soft.  Also add meatballs to top rack in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until no longer pink.

For sauce, in a large skillet saute mushrooms in butter, without crowding.  Remove from pan and saute onions in olive oil until translucent, then add garlic and cook one more minute.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat , simmer uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Add cooked meatballs and cook through.

When squash is cool enough to handle, use fork to separate strands lengthwise.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with meatballs and sauce.

I made several changes to the recipe, I added an onion, used ground turkey instead of ground chicken and fresh spinach instead of frozen, but all in all it was great!

Not only is this tasty, but it’s also healthy!  I think I need to cook with spaghetti squash more often, any recommendations?!?

Cheers,

Steph

Spread the word!  DC food bloggers are hosting a bake sale to benefit Hait via Doctors Without Borders at Zorba’s Cafe this Sunday.

I heard about if from my favorite Twitter group Girls Night Out DC or #gnodc for those who speak “Tweet.”  Join food bloggers Alejandra Owens, Adventures in Shaw, Thrifty DC Cook, Not Derby Pie, among others for some delicious treats, not to mention a great cause!

Thus the Cupcake challenge was born!  What’s in a cupcake… flour, egg, butter, sugar.  I mean, how hard can this really be.

• The challenge: me vs. some of DC’s most popular “cupcakeries,” Georgetown Cupcake and Baked and Wired
• The cupcake: Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting (PS this is my first attempt at red velvet)
• Methodology: My colleagues will be blind taste testing my homemade cupcakes vs. those of the cupcakeries, judging simply on taste
• The stakes: pride and bragging rights;)

I searched far and wide to learn about Red Velvet Cupcakes and considered multiple recipes.

I learned quite a bit about these little red jewels, especially from the blog Cupcakes.   The following are some interesting details:

“Red Velvet Cupcakes are rich chocolate cupcakes. They are called red velvet due to their distinctive rich red color. Originally, cocoa used to be a lighter shade and what gave red velvet cupcakes their unique color was a chemical reaction of unprocessed cocoa with the acid in the buttermilk. You can still buy this type of cocoa, however now more often then not it isred food coloring that makes the cupcakes red.”

“Red velvet cupcakes traditionally come with boiled frosting… However, nowadays red velvet cupcake recipe usually calls for cream cheese frosting.”

The recipe I ended using was from the Joy of Baking website. I chose it becuase it had some interesting ingredients, including buttermilk and marscapone cheese.  Below are the fruits of my labor!

The cupcakes were delicious!  I’m not sure how they will fair tomorrow against the pros…  but I definitely think I have a chance.  I’m sure I will be making these again in the future and when I do I have just a few small changes.  I would add less whipping cream to the frosting, it was a bit to “whip-creamy” and I would make a double batch of frosting.  I had a little bit extra and ended up stuffing several cupcakes with frosting by using a piping bag with a sharp circular tip (which I learned from my favorite baker friend Kierstin).   It was awesome!

One last thing I learned, was not to add the colored sugar until serving.  I used Joby & Marty’s Amazing Colored Sugar, which I got at Whole Foods.  It is sugar colored with beet juice, which makes it a rich magenta red color, perfect for Red Velvet Cupcakes…  the only issue was that the color bled into the frosting.  Luckily I had made two batches and only sprinkled one.  Rookie mistake;)

So, wish me luck tomorrow as I face the favorites to see if these cupcakeries are actually worth the steep prices they charge!

Oh, and a special thanks to my colleague Darren for trucking across the city to pick the goods from my opponents!

Cheers!

Steph

**Update**

I’ve meant to provide an update on the cupcake challenge so without further or do…. drum roll please….

I tied for second out of three, which I suppose could also be considered a tie for last, but that isn’t nearly as fun, right?!?

We had 10 judges who ate a quarter of each cupcake, having no knowledge of where each was from.  They each wrote down their thoughts and we reviewed after.  Here’s the skinny:

• Judge 1: My cupcake was best overall but Georgetown had the best frosting
• Judge 2: Liked GC, B&W then mine
• Judge 3: Liked GC, B&W then mine (said mine tasted “different from the other two)
• Judge 4: GT had the best cake and mine had the best frosting
• Judge 5: Thought it was a toss-up between GT and B&W
• Judge 6: Liked GT and B&W for the cake and liked my frosting
• Judge 7: Liked BW best overall and liked my frosting
• Judge 8: Liked GT best overall, B&W had the best frosting and mine had the best cake
• Judge 9: Liked GT
• Judge 10: Liked GT best and liked my frosting

Overall I gathered the following:

• Georgetown Cupcakes were very moist and had lots of frosting but they were much smaller
• Baked & Wired cupcakes were very moist but had a very sugary frosting
• My cupcakes had good frosting but were drier than the cupcakeries

Here is the cost comparison:

• Baked & Wired: $3.85 each
• Georgetown Cupcake: $2.75 each
• My cupcakes: ~$1.00 each

After doing some unbiased “quantitative analysis” based on judges preferences AND the cost analysis I believe we each earned the following:

• Georgetown Cupcake: 20
• Baked & Wired: 15
• My cupcakes: 15

In the end I think my hypothesis was correct!  I think my cupcakes held up well to the cupcakeries, even though I had never made Red Velvet before.  I took me about two hours to make two batches but if I was to travel over to Georgetown, find a parking spot, possibly pay for the parking spot and wait in the 20-minute line outside of Georgetown Cupcake, it probably would have taken and hour and a half.   Don’t get me wrong, their cupcakes are great, but I think in the end we all have the ability to make something just as delicious for a fraction of the price and just a pinch more time.

What do you think?  Is my hypothesis correct?  What is your favorite cupcake, professional or homemade?

Cheers!

Steph

The Wienery is essentially a hotdog “shop” near the University of MN and was featured on The FoodNetworks Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Adam had been wanting us to check it out ever since he saw the episode over a year ago. He first suggested that we go there to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Don’t get me wrong, I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants and hotdogs for that matter, but for our anniversary – no thanks. So we finally pulled the trigger and made our way there this past Sunday.

I don’t even know where to begin about The Wienery other than it was fantastic. The entire restaurant had maybe 3 or 4 tables and was filled with college kids nursing their hangovers and talking about their night – classic! So we plopped down right at the counter where we were greeted by a warm server who dropped off a big basket of toys for Will to play with so we could focus on the menu.

I never thought a hotdog menu could be so overwhelming, but it was! They had 16 different specialty hotdogs and 7 different kinds of meat -Vienna Beef Hotdog, Vienna Beef Polish, Smoked Bratwurst, Spicy Italian Sausage, Vegan Tofu Dog, Vegetarian Bratwurst, and Vegetarian Italian.  Everything was made fresh to order including their fresh-cut fries! I ordered the Briny Dog (spicy) and Adam ordered the Drive-In Dog.

Briny Dog - kraut, pickle & spicy giardiniera sauce

Drive-In Dog - Southern special w/ coleslaw, chili & cheese

Both hotdogs were awesome and our entire meal, including a soda, was $9!! We left there not only missing the college life, but also extremely full which is always a good sign! I think I would now be perfectly fine (maybe) celebrating our next wedding anniversary at The Wienery now that I know the dogs are unbelievable!

Lasagna can be a bit labor intensive, but you can easily make it ahead of time and freeze it, which is exactly what I did. There are so many different kinds and recipes that I have yet to make the same lasagna twice. For Will’s party, I decided to make a traditional triple cheese lasagna (keeping the kids in mind) and a white-based chicken lasagna.

Battle of the Lasagna

 Three-Cheese Lasagna with Italian Sausage 
 This particular recipe stood out to me because it called for both spicy pork sausage and ground chuck. Having both kinds of meat added a lot of flavor, but still kept it pretty neutral for the kids. I also increased the amount of spinach than what the recipe called for because it’s a great way to “disguise” healthy food.  Overall it was good, but I’m still on the hunt for the perfect traditional lasagna.

Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna
The white chicken lasagna was great. I was really worried it wasn’t going to turn out because I burnt the cream sauce a little bit and I used no-boil noodles. For some reason I’m a little skeptical about no-boil noodles, but they worked out perfectly. I think what made this recipe was the Gruyère cheese. The cheese added a hint of sweetness to the lasagna. I would definitely recommend this recipe and will make it again.

Overall the party was a success and the “battle of the lasagna” added a fun little twist for our guests. Most everyone tried both and voted for their favorite lasagna. Hands down the Cheesy Chicken Lasagna won! However, the highlight of the party was Will eating his birthday cake!

This was a perfect excuse for me to head over to Chelsea Market and get all of my groceries there.  It was pretty packed with people on a Saturday afternoon, but we had a lot of fun finding the perfect items for our feast.  I was especially impressed with the very reasonable prices at the Manhattan Fruit Exchange.  We even got to go to a quick wine tasting while we were there!!!

After shopping at Chelsea Market!!

Here was our menu:

Antipasti:  Bruschetta

Primo: Sweet potato and chevre ravioli in brown butter sauce

Second0: Braised Short Ribs

Insalata: Mixed greens with Balsamic vinaigrette

Dolce: Cream puffs and cheesecake

All courses were paired with a delicious bottle of wine!

Our lovely guests Ty and Meredith took care of the bruschetta.  It is a great way to start a meal, light and refreshing.

Bruschetta

The ravioli was quite the process, but ended up being worth every second.  I had looked online to see if I could find a recipe for this magic ravioli, but failed.  I decided to wing it and see what I could do from my memory of the show.  For the pasta, I found a recipe for ravioli dough from Tyler Florence.  I don’t have a pasta machine, so I used a rolling-pin instead and it worked great.  For the filling, I cooked 2 sweet potatoes and pureed them in a food processor with 8 oz. of chevre, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, sage, a little parmesan and 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream.  The purchase of a ravioli press at the kitchen supply store at Chelsea Market to helped me cut out the individual ravioli.  It was the perfect size, probably about 5 inches wide.  I made a little bed in the filling for each egg yolk and then put the ravioli together.  After letting them dry out for an hour or so, I cooked them in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes.  For the brown butter sauce, I had bought this butter that I found at the Buonitalia that is made from the same cow’s milk that goes into Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  I browned it on the stove top and then drizzled it over each ravioli with some romano cheese and fresh parsley.  They really turned out perfectly, exactly like I had pictured them and they tasted delicious–very rich and smooth with the egg yolk adding an element of surprise and depth to the flavor of the ravioli.  If you have any other questions for me about how to make these, let me know.  They are seriously so yummy!

Aaron kneading the ravioli dough!!

Deliciousness!

Cut and ready to boil!!

I found the recipe for braised short ribs from Anne Burrell.  We decided to splurge and get the ribs from the butcher at Chelsea Market.  It was a lot of fun to watch the butcher estimate what he thought 4 lbs. of short ribs would be and then tell me how beautiful they were (I wouldn’t have known the difference…)!  His estimate was a bit off and we ended with 5.5 lbs., oh well!  Here is a picture of them before we seasoned and braised them.  I sort of forgot to take a picture of them once they were finished.  They were pretty fatty and I was more concerned about making sure that everyone got a lean enough piece of meat.

Beautiful short ribs!!!

Overall, this meal was so much fun to make.  I had been obsessing over those ravioli long enough and it was about time that I did something about it!!  The only thing that made me a bit sad was how hard it was to accomplish all of this in our kitchen.  When was said and done, it looked like our party of 4 was actually a party of about 12.  Yikes!  I thought I would include a pic of the tortured kitchen.  I finally got around to doing the dishes today and it took me 2 hours!!

Check out that stove top!

Since this was meant to be our romantic evening of dining, and our reservations at BONDST were not until 10:00, I decided to start our evening with an appetizer and some wine at our apartment.  A couple of months ago I had burrata mozzarella for the first time and have been dreaming about it ever since.  If you don’t know what it is, it is the creamiest, richest fresh mozzarella you have ever had.  I figured that our restaurant week portions would probably be very small at  a $$$$$ restaurant and that we had better have something a little more hearty before dinner.  I left the burrata out for about two hours before so that it could reach room temperature and then made a simple bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper.  Shoot, this is bringing me to a food obsession that I have to tell you about.  For Christmas this year, Aaron bought me a gallon of Theros Olive Oil.  It is by far the most delicious, fruity olive oil that I have ever tasted.  Even its color is absolutely beautiful.  I could seriously drink this stuff.  So I brushed some slices of baguette with Theros, toasted them, and then served the crostini with the bruschetta and burrata.  I know this doesn’t go with our Japanese dinner at all, but I had been waiting for a special occasion to splurge on the burrata.

Needless to say, the burrata was just as delicious as I had remembered and we even had enough left to have for lunch the next day!  If you are looking to try this delicious cheese at the place that I first did, try Frank, an authentic Italian restaurant in the East Village (be sure to arrive early to secure a table, we had to wait 2 hours!).  They have this cheese shipped in from Italy every weekend!

Okay, on with our date night.  We ate just enough bread, cheese and tomatoes to tide us over until our reservation time.  We knew it was a good sign when our cab dropped us off on a quiet cobblestone street (Bond St.) in front of where the restaurant should be and we couldn’t figure out where it actually was for a couple of minutes.  It looks like a residential building, and I love when it seems like a “secret” place that only you and a few other know about.  The ambience of BONDST was great, dimly lit and sort of trendy feeling (but not in an annoying way).  We had to wait a few minutes for our table so we grabbed some cocktails at the bar.  I had the Lychee martini which was not too sweet and pleasantly strong.

We took an elevator up to the second floor dining area and were seating in a private corner.  It always feels great to be in a place where people are laughing around you and having a great time, yet you feel secluded from the action.  The restaurant week menu was basically a Bento Plate.  We both started with the tofu miso soup with wakame and chives.  It was hearty, oniony and savory.  A perfect beginning to our meal.  We were also served complimentary edamame.  The Bento Plate came with spicy crispy shrimp with yuzu calamanci vinaigrette and chipotle aioli, sake soy braised hijiki, gobu and tofu, and a steamed yuba chicken dumpling with sesame tofu.  My two favorites on the plate were the shrimp and hijiki.  I had never had hijiki before but it had an excellent chewy texture and tons of flavor for something so small.  You could choose either rolls or sashimi to go with your Bento plate, so Aaron got the sashimi and I got the rolls ( this is what we usually do so that we can try as many things as possible), both of which were delicious and as feel like most sushi rolls are, a party in your mouth.  The main entrées and stars of the Bento Plates were the Broiled Chilean See Bass with saikyo misa and New York Strip Steak with caramelized shallot teriyaki and 12 year balsamic.  These were both very tasty, but the Sea Bass was out of this world.  It was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth.  It had a delicious sweet/salty rub that had been seared onto the skin side of the fish.  I think there was a lot of brown sugar in the rub because it really almost tasted like candy.  We didn’t want to be finished with it and took our time savoring each bite.

For dessert we ordered the Lychee Panna Cotta with strawberry rhubarb compote and the Chocolate Meltdown with espresso ice cream and fresh cream.  We ate all of it before I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture.  Oopsies.  So obviously, we enjoyed it very much.

Aaron and I both though this was an excellent value for $35 each.  The portion sizes were considerably generous and because there were so many different things to try, we ate slowly and savored every bite.  Next time, the burrata prior to dinner will not be necessary.  BONDST is definitely a restaurant that our budget would normally not allow for us try so many different things.  I have heard that they have a skewered sea bass entrée that I am going to be tempted to return for.  Maybe for my birthday!

To continue my documentation of our amazing weather I have another comfort food recipe!   Broccoli Chicken Hotdish.

I have adapted the recipe from the cookbook: Best of the Best from Minnesota Cookbook: Selected Recipes from Minnesota’s Favorite Cookbooks. It is my husband’s absolute favorite recipe.  I usually divide the recipe in half using two square 8″x8″ pans instead of one 9″x13″ pan and freeze one so we can enjoy it later.  The last time I made it was my husband’s birthday in January when  I vacuum sealed the second batch using my new Foodsaver (which I adore). It was delicious, just as good as the first batch!  It came in extra handy tonight considering the grocery stores in DC are basically bare.

Empty grocery shelves all over DC!

Good thing we have frozen hotdish!

Broccoli Chicken Hotdish

• 2 bunches fresh broccoli, florets chopped
• 4 cooked chicken breasts (boneless or split breast), chopped or shredded
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (add to taste)
• 1 package good cheddar cheese (I like Cracker Barrel Aged Reserve Cheddar), shredded
• 2 cups Durkee fried onions
• 2 cups cooked wild rice blend cooked with chicken broth (My favorite is Lundberg’s wild rice blend)
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small package white mushrooms, sliced
• Olive oil for sauteing

Cook rice per package directions, using chicken broth instead of water.  Saute onions, celery, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil until soft, combine with cooked rice.

Layer rice in bottom of one 9″x13″ pan or two 8″x8″pans.  Add broccoli, then chicken.  Mix soups, mayonnaise and lemon juice and pour evenly over.

Sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 45 or until cheese is starting to bubble/brown.  Then add fried onions, return to oven for 10 minutes or until onions are crispy.  Then enjoy!

Broccoli Chicken Hotdish

Of note, I normally thaw frozen hotdish before I cook it, but it can be cooked when frozen as well, just monitor as it takes a bit more time.

For more pictures of this recipe and of DC’s awesome snowstorm, visit our new Flick page!  Check it out and let us know what you think!

Cheers,

Steph

My husband made over-easy eggs, because that is his “eggspertise” and sausage.  I made Ina Garten’s recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake and it was delicious!  You can find the recipe here.  I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe but I did “freestyle”  a recipe for the best bloody marys ever!

Where I come from (St. Peter, MN) there happens to be a bar that serves the most amazing bloodys… and I’ve had a lot of bloodies in my day;)  You find them at Patrick’s on Third.  When my fellow Urban Aprons and I were in college at Gustavus, we were lucky enough to enjoy them for half price on Sundays, a prefect way to end/start your week.  My favorite aspect of their bloodies just may be the beef stick, an excellent complement a delicious drink!  Patrick’s bloodies have been the inspiration for every bloody I’ve made!

So, without further or do, I would like to pass along my “non-recipe” recipe for Patrick’s inspired bloody marys!

• Tomato juice or V8 (I prefer not to use mix because I always have to spice it up anyway and it is more expensive)
• Worcester Sauce
• Soy sauce
• Season Salt
• Celery Salt
• Hot sauce
• Garlic powder
• Pepper
• Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• Horseradish (sometimes)
• Lemon/lime juice
• Good Vodka (optional I guess)

Simply mix the above ingredients together until they taste delicious to you (free-style it!)

Take a glass, rim it with a lemon or lime wedge and dip in a mix of season salt, celery salt and Tony Chachere’s.  Fill with ice and pour tomato and seasoning mixture over.  Then the real fun begins, add all or a combination of the following garnishes:

• Celery
• Pickled green beans or asparagus
• Pickles
• Olives (preferably filled with garlic or blue cheese)
• Roasted red peppers
• Lemon/lime wedges
• Stick of Pepper Jack Cheese
• Beef Stick (Essential!)
• A chaser of beer (aka small glass of beer to “chase away” the heat of the hot sauce)

And voila!  You have a delicious bloody mary that is essentially an entire meal.  All 5 food groups: veggies of course, dairy (cheese stick), fruit (lemon/lime), grains (the barley and hops of your beer chaser) and meat (your beef stick).  I am pretty sure that Bloody’s are the worlds most perfect cocktail.

Now my husband and I are off to explore and enjoy the snow!  We are headed either to Dupont Circle where Hotel Dupont has set up a “Snow Bar” or down to the national mall to take pictures of this historic event.  We’ll be metroing of course becuase the roads are a mess!  More to come on our food adventures in the snow!

How do you enjoy a snowy day?  What are your favorite bloody mary ingredients?!?