food and beverage

I have no idea how it got to be May and over a month since my last post. It is not like I stopped either cooking or eating, but the stimulus money and glut of proposal deadlines has taken up every free moment (and there weren't that many to begin with!) of my non-working time.

I will try to catch you up, and make a real effort to be a better citizen of the blogosphere despite my other commitments. So, here is a brief summary of what has been going on in my culinary (and otherwise) life:

• We had a wonderful St.Patrick's Day complete with lots of family,lots of corned beef, and of course, the delicious corned beef hash the next day (my favorite part!)
• For the past several months I have been preparing to officially become a Catholic. That journey culminated at the Easter Vigil when I celebrated the sacraments of initiation. My entire family was there except for my son Gavin, making it really special (it would have been perfect if he had been there too!). It was really an amazing experience, complete with a celebratory reception and champagne punch. The team at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel helped to make this process meaningful, providing opportunity for fellowship, introspection, and celebration.
  
• I have been cooking a lot with just quick and easy in mind since I am in the middle of grant season, particularly with the stimulus funds out there. But I do have some good pictures on my camera and recipes up my sleeve due some other friends and family and their culinary inspiration. And I promise not to be away so long again...
• One of things I love about being a foodblogger is getting products to try and blog about, but I have to admit that sometimes life overwhelms me and I am a little slower than I should be and such is the case with Country Bob's who sent me two bottles of their all-purpose sauce to try and blog about. While the sauce tasted great, it took me awhile to figure out how best to use it.I was in the mindset of a steak sauce, and for me a good steak really doesn't need any steak sauce.But recently, I had some beef short ribs and I though maybe Country Bob's would be great for cooking those ribs in. The result...ribs with meat falling off the bone,perfectly seasoned in a way that highlighted the flavor of the meat, not the sauce. My success led to numerous other uses of Country Bob's as an ingredient. I have used it in ground beef when I made burgers, and it was terrific. So even if you are not a steak sauce fan like me, you can find a place for Country Bob's in your pantry (at least as long as it lasts!)

Since the time we first bought our house, about 9 years ago, I really wanted an island in my kitchen, but since we added a two-story addition, there just was no money in the budget to accommodate that fantasy. Every time we have visited a house with an island, I have just loved how an island, even a small one, can enhance work flow and provide additional prep space. This most recently was brought to mind when we stayed at the beach house for the girls' birthday last April. The house had a small granite-topped island(right) that served as a baking center with all appliances, equipment and accessories for baking collected in one place. Since this island was in the center of a kitchen about the same size as mine, I started thinking that this is something that would work and so I started looking around for some alternatives that would not require demolition and construction.

The first alternative we thought about is an old butcher block, something my husband has always wanted. But while they look awesome and offer some prep/counter area, the drawbacks are that they are extremely heavy, and they offer no additional storage, something I was really hoping to gain.

I started looking at a kitchen-cart type of island. I thought that would give me space, and I could position it where I wanted to provide extra workspace and flexibility. I checked several sites including my staples Amazon and Overstock, as well as some others such as ekitchenislands.com
and Kitchen Island Superstore. I was impressed with the versatility that there was- so I knew I was not the only one with "kitchen island envy".However, I had a hard time finding something with the features I wanted in my price range.

Then a possible solution fell into our laps. We have been buying furniture at auction for most of our married life, and our favorite haunt is the Phoebus Auction Gallery. Their catalog for each auction is online so it is easy to find whatever you are looking for. And if you know what you are looking for and set yourself a spending limit, you can get great deals on furniture, rugs, art...just about anything you could need for your home. Which brings me back to my island.In looking at the auction catalog, I saw an antique store counter made of oak and it occurred to me that it might make a good island, offering both the prep space and storage we wanted, with the added bonus of being a real antique. After taking the measurements, it appeared that it would fit so we prepared to bid, but we had an alternative - we thought if it didn't fit well in the kitchen, we would use it in the den to hold our TV. Since most of the full-featured kitchen carts run in the $300-$600, we thought if we could get this piece for under $300 we would be happy. Since the piece had some character, even including original square head nails, we thought it would blend well with the whole feel of our house.

My husband is the auction bidder, but I watched the action in real time from home on Proxibid,and we got the counter for $250!! It is now in our kitchen, and the longer it is there the more I wonder how we lived without it, I bought baskets and made extra storage on the shelves. and the top provides a great place to put groceries on the way to the fridge or pantry , and extra space for chopping (on a cutting board,of course) Our dilemma now? Originally we thought we would have a piece of granite cut to cover the top to protect the wood, however, the wood surface has such a beautiful patina that we are rethinking our decision.



So now - see what you think about our makeshift kitchen island. I would love to hear what you think, and whether you think we should cover the counter or not. Do you think it looks out of place in our traditional kitchen? Should we move it to the den for the television or does it look right at home?

How can it have been a month since my last post?Well, it has been a busy time,with budget season and the new Congress and stimulus package excitement making my day job crazy, and tons of freelance work with super-tight deadlines taking up my free (?!) hours during the evening and weekends,when I cook it has primarily been just to get everyone fed. However, I want to share a food experience I had on a recent jaunt to Washington DC.

Learning about the new Congress is part of my day job, so when I had to attend a 1-day workshop in DC, I decided to drive up the night before and stay with Katie and Gavin in the big city (well, kind of, they live in Arlington) Since I hate driving at night I left in time to get to their place by evening and hung out with Gavin until Katie got off from work at 7 PM. I know you won't believe this but after lamenting how I hate taking down Christmas decorations, I ended up taking down Katie's Christmas tree and packing up her holiday things (it had to be done, and I guess she inherited the I-hate-taking-down-Christmas-stuff-gene from me), while Gavin introduced me to his latest collection of YouTube favorites.

When Katie returned, she was so excited,saying she was taking me somewhere special for dinner we drove to an unassuming little strip mall to the Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church. I had heard about this restaurant from my husband who had gone with Katie on his big weekend going to the Redskins game (one of the few games they won this season!), so I was prepared that when we drove up, it had a unassuming facade in a little strip mall. Once we stepped inside I was pleasantly surprised, the restaurant was cozy without being cramped, and I was greeted with the restaurants"wall of fame" sporting pictures of all the politicos and celebrities that have come there to eat (this restaurant was apparently President George 41's favorite).

We settled into a booth and were greeted by Mr.Wong, a friendly and experienced server. we looked at the menu trying to pick from the dishes.Peking duck, the restaurants specialty,was a no-brainer since we all love that, and you cannot go to a Chinese restaurant without eggrolls. Katie is not as fond of spicy dishes and Gavin and I both like spicy so we tried to find a mix of foods that we could enjoy. We finally settled on Sweet and Sour Chicken (Katie's choice) and Szechwan Beef Proper (Gavin's choice).

While going to a new restaurant to eat is a fun experience, going to a meal with Katie and Gavin is an experience in and of itself . They pick at and insult each other, all in fun, of course and they are just so funny together- they have such a great relationship and it is so much fun to be with them. Mr Wong brought our eggrolls first and they were delicious, crisp on he outside with tender,well seasoned insides that were not laden with grease as can often happen when cooking eggrolls. You can see that Gavin gave these the thumbs-up! Frankly, I could have eaten more but I didn't want to fill up with all the food we had ordered.

Next, a small table was set up beside us, signaling the coming of the Peking duck. This was dramatically presented and artfully carved right at the table. Our server was more than pleased to pose with the deliciously crisp and fragrant duck before carving, and he ensured each serving had a mix of crisp skin succulent white and dark meat. As he carved he carefully removed any excess fat so that our Mandarin pancakes were full of the flavors that make Peking duck so delightful. It was so delicious, a special treat since I hadn't had Peking duck in a really long time. The duck was such a star , that the other dishes paled in comparison. The sweet and sour chicken was just okay and the Szechwan beef proper was not what I expected (sweet-hot) and was more like beef candy, however it was really pretty. As you can see,though, Gavin gave the whole dinner a thumbs-up!

I know you won't believe that after all this food we actually were interested in dessert, but Katie really thought the toffee bananas sounded great and we decided we could share. Gavin wanted to try the coconut ice cream so we took the plunge, but our server informed us that the bananas were too soft for toffee bananas but we could have toffee apples instead. We were in for another tableside show with our dessert as well. The server dipped the apple chunks that had been coated in batter and fried into a bowl of toffee sauce and then dropped them one by one in a bowl of ice water so that the morsels developed a crunchy exterior- it was great, like a Chinese version of apple pie - we ate every bite. We had a taste of Gavin's coconut ice cream which was awesome and we agreed that next time we would have the toffee apples and ice cream together.

We left the restaurant stuffed, with our take-home boxes in hand. The experience was really fun, but next time I would increase the eggrolls and have just the Peking duck with perhaps a veggie dish on the side, because the duck was clearly the star of the meal. I know our picture won't end upon the wall of fame, but the Peking Gourmet Inn still treated us like we were celebrities!

While it doesn't happen every day, I occasionally am approached to review new food and food-related products in exchange for a sample. Right before the holidays I was approached by a representative from Emily's Chocolates asking if I would like to try and review their chocolates. Well, that was a no-brainer. However, holiday mail played havoc and I didn't get my package, so when they found out, a new box full of Emily's Chocolate was at my door in no time. I unpacked the box and set the containers on the table until I could get around to photos, tasting and posting. I honestly thought my chocolate samples would be safe since chocolate covered nuts and fruits are more my thing than that of other people in my household.

So imagine my surprise when I came downstairs to find that three of four of my Emily's packages had been raided!! In a house with three women, the idea that someone would hit the chocolate is not really surprising, but I was shocked to find that the real perpetrators were the male members of our household! Now that is an endorsement for chocolate.

My son Andrew was drawn to the milk-chocolate covered graham crackers, which came individually wrapped (like that would help your self-control!), while my husband headed for the dark chocolate covered cherry-hazelnut mix, very strange since he normally is not a big fan of chocolate-covered fruit. This alone was enough to make me take my own taste test, and I was so impressed! There was just enough chocolate to compliment the nuts and fruit inside. The chocolate had just the right amount of sweetness, and was wonderfully creamy. My favorite was the pecans that were covered in chocolate and dusted with cocoa- they were sophisticated chocolate perfection!

Needless to say, with so many fans, Emily's Chocolates did not hang around very long, and I have to admit, I have already hit the website to try the chocolate-covered blueberries... and the chocolate-covered fortune cookies... or maybe the cranberries bathed in chocolate... Anyway, check out Emily's for yourself, her chocolates can be your chocolates at their website, at amazon.com, and a variety of retail partners (if you can't wait for the mail). And don't forget, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

About 15 years ago, when I started working at Jefferson Lab, I had a colleague who made me feel a bit inferior. He was a man, I was a woman (a serious minority at a nuclear physics lab), he had a Ph.D. in physics, I had a B.S degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, he had been at the lab for years and I was a new temp employee... you get the picture. This sounds like it could be the makings of a real disaster, but in fact, it was a relationship that benefitted us both. He decided to move out and up working at a bigger national lab... and me? I was introduced to sushi. You see, when our professional relationship was a bit tense we went out to lunch to have a talk, and he picked a nearby sushi bar. Though I had never had sushi (I know I lived a protected life), there was no way that I was going to be intimidated, and so, I ate my first sushi roll. It was the beginning of a love affair (with sushi, not the co-worker!)

Sushi is something that is best made by a master, someone who appreciates the need for super-fresh ingredients, and how to combine elements that result in the full experience, something that is pleasing to the eye and the palate. While I am not cosmopolitan, I have eaten sushi several places since that first experience, and my favorite is Soya, right here in Newport News. First of all, Soya has a family-type atmosphere, and they remember what you like, and who you are. In all fairness, I would consider my family regulars since both my daughter Bridget and I are sushi fiends, and sushi is always our idea of a great lunch, but it is so nice to go somewhere and be greeted by people who really appreciate your business. (When my daughter goes in to order takeout, they ask- "Lunch with Mommy or daddy?")

But I don't care how nice you are,it is the food and service that counts when you are spending money for food from a restaurant, and Soya has that down pat. Though they have a very complete menu, we almost always order from the sushi a la cart menu. While we each have our favorites (Husband- Hurricane, Me- Seattle roll, Bridget- Anything without eel, Molly-Phoenix),we have started to try some of the new special rolls that Soya. Our new favorite is their '08 Special, topped with spicy scallop flakes- it is a great combination of savory and spicy.

Soya has locations in Newport News and Hampton, and even in Virginia Beach. I have been to both the Hamptonand Newport News locations and have never failed to be impressed. As a fairly skilled cook, when I go out for a meal, I like it to be something that I couldn't make at home, and sushi certainly fills that bill. If you are not into sushi, Soya also offers hibachi and other Japanese favorites. But if you are in the Tidewater Virginia area, go to Soya, and you too will become part of their extended family!

Sorry I have not been posting, in fact, I didn't even realize how long it had been, but I have been totally caught up with preparations for and enjoying the holidays. Jefferson Lab shuts down for the time between Christmas and New Year's and so it is wonderful to not have to be anywhere unless you want to be. So what is new from Christmas?

Molly got a Wii fit for Christmas, so I am Wii-fitting doing yoga and trying to reduce my Wii-age from its current 44. I am really enjoying the yoga exercises and the strength-training is kicking my butt, but it is a lot easier to get in the fitness habit when it is actually fun!

We had a wonderful family Christmas with everyone but my daughter from Florida here (she is moving up here in a couple of weeks and so is saving her money for the move). There was a hole in our celebration, though we were on the phone constantly. Colleen loves Christmas, and so when she is around, she adds an almost child-like appreciation of all of our traditions and of each other. Katie and Gavin, Jr were able to make it, and both of their "significant others" shared Christmas with us as well, so we had lots of noise, food and fun over the holiday.

Anyone who works for Amazon might want to thank me personally for helping make this their best year ever! I did almost all of my Christmas shopping there and I consistently got outstanding prices and with Amazon Prime, two-day shipping for free- it is really the best way to shop for a busy working woman!

Being a foodie makes it so much easier for people to shop for you and I got a lot of things that will make cooking, eating and food blogging better and more fun. First of all, I got a new and smaller camera!! It is an Olympus FE-370 with 8 megapixels and 5x optical zoom. Even though my old Olympus digital takes great pictures and works fine, it is too large to pull out at a restaurant or shop and does not have the capacity to make videos. I am just learning how to use it, but my favorite feature is the culinary mode for taking food pictures!! Great for a person who is a better cook than photographer like me!! Mine is even that beautiful blue color (Bridget got a pink one!)

My daughter bought me a Gel pro mat to help minimize back and leg strain since we have ceramic tile in our kitchen. I consider this a luxury since they are expensive, but since many professional kitchens use it, and Katie got me the large one that covers the area from my sink to the stove. It feels like you are standing on a cloud and it looks great in my kitchen, almost like woven leather. It is nice to get something that you like but would never buy for yourself- a perfect gift! I also got tons of cooking related tools like a salad spinner (I know, can you believe I didn't have one?), bamboo salad "hands",three new cookbooks including Made in Spain by Jose Andres, a Finger Food cookbook that I have already cooked from (another post), and Turkish cookbook that has some great recipes. My sister in law Cindy, who is a frustrated chef and loves to cook, outfitted us with a paella pan and other goodies to support tapas night, including sangria and a sangria pitcher from La Tienda. She always gives the best gifts, and this year was no exception.

After a long day in the kitchen, when you need to relax, there is nothing like a hot bath and a little pampering. Bridget got me a Towel Spa that heats your towel while you are in the bath,which is a welcome luxury, and Molly got a pedicure set,and she has already given me a pedicure, which is really a luxury for me. So you can see that I have had a wonderful holiday and you know I will be sharing more with you, including some movies taken with the new Flip video recorder Katie got for her dad.

What great food items or special gifts did you receive this Christmas that you will not be regifting? And, to all of you who visit this blog, a very happy, and healthy new year, with lots of love and laughter, and friends and food to enjoy it with!!

Many of you may have visited Cookware.com in shopping for your own kitchen or perhaps in selecting gifts. They carry everything from the smallest kitchen gadget to professional-caliber equipment. An online discussion between one of their writers and kitchen experts, Jamie Sward, and I focused on trends that we had both noticed as more and more people are affected by the economic downturn, and are trying to economize to make the most of the holidays. This post is the result of that exchange and includes Jamie's input as well as my own take on the return to comfort food.
Since times are tough and the economy isn't looking so good, the effects of the deteriorating economic situation can be seen everywhere, including in the kitchen! To save money, people are dining in rather than going out, buying their groceries in bulk, and looking for ways to maximize more expensive ingredients such as meat and seafood. In times like these, comfort foods play a dual role - they help stretch the food dollar and they have a tendency to lift spirits. When it comes to making these time-honored and comforting food classics - having the essential kitchenware helps by cooking your dish properly and even cooking your dinner for you while you are at work! Crockpots and casserole dishes allow you to make and store larger quantities of food, helping you save money and time by making food for a few days at a time. Just about any stew, soup, chili or pasta dish can be made as a casserole or in a crockpot. You can start with some simple dishes, and then get more adventurous as you become comfortable. Here are some of our favorites:

Macaroni & Cheese
Jamie and I agreed that regardless of whether we're talking about the orange stuff (for kids, not foodies) or the homemade variety - mac & cheese is a quintessential comfort food. The is nothing to make your mouth water more than a delicious homemade macaroni & cheese with a breadcrumb topping. I have to say that mac and cheese is a dish that my kids agree is best made by my mother! The best thing about mac & cheese is how customizable it is. The ingredients are so basic that they leave plenty of room for individuality and personality. Throw in some bacon, sausage, veggies, and use gourmet cheeses - whatever you want! You can keep it simple and purist, or make it a gourmet delight. Bake it up in a big glass casserole dish and you've got a nice hot meal for the entire family! (Just watch out for the "cheese hogs" in your family who try to take more than their share of the cheesy top!)

Homemade Chili

These are just three universal examples of comfort foods that Jamie and I had in common. In our family, turkey pot pie made from our holiday turkey is comfort food, as is shepherd's pie with its mashed potato crust, and slow-cooked pot roast. Casseroles and slow cookers are great tools for home cooks who are short both time and money. Start with a few core basic ingredients that your family likes, and don't be afraid to try something new or experiment a bit with a recipe to make your own comfort food favorites. By using a crockpot or casserole to make your favorite comfort food, you can even cook once and eat twice (or more). Some newer crockpots offer features such as a delayed timer, removable crocks and even locking lids that let you take your comfort food to share. For meals that save you both time and money, you just can’t beat that!

What about family's favorite casseroles or comfort foods? Is there a family soup or stew recipe, or a casserole that everyone always asks you to bring to the office potluck? Is there a special casserole dish that holds not only food, but memories for you? Let us know what equals comfort food to you.