New Year, New Place, New Posts, New Camera

Posts have been few and far between during the last few months. It’s been a bit of a transition time at TWSF as we moved from DC to Reading Massachusetts for a couple of months then finally into Boston’s North End. Also, it’s hard to keep writing every week without getting paid or needing to pass a class. So, I have been told by the other blogger that my New Year’s resolution for 2013 is to get back into the blogging habit. So without further ado…

Reading MA is by no means a culinary hotbed, but there are some solid places to be found if you don’t want to make the trip into downtown Boston. In case you ever find yourself out in in the Boston suburbs on the northeast side of the intersection of interstates 95 and 93, here are some one sentence (I need to ease back into this) reviews of places we visited:

• Columbo's has good pizza and calzones
• Grumpy Doyle's has trivia on Tuesday and a decent beer selection. The 'Doyle’s Chicken Tenders' are a solid take on the chicken finger.
• Bangkok Spice is a Thai place with really, really cheap bottles of wine and serviceable Thai food. Chef Taw set our expectations for Thai food ridiculously high.
• Venetian Moon has a wide selection of good martinis served in an interesting older, cougar-ie ambiance.
• Sato 2 is the place for sushi and a scorpion bowl for one (someone always has to drive home in the suburbs)
• The Chinatown Cafe has amazingly cheap combo deals for a reason, pass
• The McDonalds in Reading serves laxatives masquerading as value meals like every other McDonalds in the country
• Market Basket (supermarket) sells really cheap live lobsters. Hint: take them uncooked, if you have Market Basket steam them free, you wind up having to pay a prepared food tax.
• Jordan's Furniture has an IMAX, Fudruckers, Richardson's Ice Cream, and a Trapeze, within the confines of the furniture store
• They call cheesesteaks steak and cheese in Boston. This is particularity irksome for a Philadelpha suburbanite. You wouldn’t place an order for a burger and cheese, would you? This is much worse than calling hoagies subs.

Also we got a fancy new DSLR camera for Christmas, so the quality of our pictures should increase,  here are some random food related pictures. We still have no idea to use the thing:

Prime Rib - Christmas Eve (hope Dad washed his hands)

German Chocolate Cake

DC Ya Later...

After four wonderful years in the DMV (only lasted one term), we packed up our lives and moved north to Boston (more on that later). Now that we are somewhat settled in our new/old city and have time to blog again, we thought it would be appropriate to come up with a list of our favorite bars and restaurants in our Nation's capital. 

This list is comprised of places for celebrations, everyday restaurants, and our go-to bars. Although most are located in the District, we have a few that made it in from our days in Arlington, VA.

Special Occasions:

Central

Minibar

Komi

Blue Duck Tavern

Willow (Arlington, VA)

Columbia Room in Passenger Bar

Palena

Little Serow

Great for groups:

Thai X-ing

Lauriol Plaza

Homemade pasta:

Floriana

Liberty Tavern (Arlington, VA) 

Tapas:

Jaleo  

Zaytinya

Take-out and other quick meals:

Titanic 

Ravi Kabob (Arlington, VA)

Red Velvet Cupcakery

Cowgirl Creamery

Bahn mi at Eden Center

Rocklands BBQ

Crabs from the wharf

Pete's New Haven Style APizza (DC and Arlington, VA)

Brunch:

Tabard Inn

Locolat

Busboys and Poets

Founding Farmers

Other favs:

Birch and Barley

Dupont Farmers Market

Brasserie Beck

Rasika

Happy Hour:

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace / Black Jack

Eventide

Bars:

Churchkey

Passenger 

Black Jack
PX
Bar Pilar
Black Squirrel
Nellie's

 

Apparently Reading MA is a free-range turkey farm….

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

Eggplant Parm Stacks

We recent paid a visit to Chuck's parents home in Pennsylvania and stopped at their local farmers market. We found a beautiful eggplant (for $1 - can you believe it?) and brought it home for a hearty Italian supper. I know it's summer and we should have grilled it, but we hadn't cooked an Italian meal in awhile and figured the eggplant was big enough to do some serious damage. This is a really simple dish and is great for a dinner party.

Eggplant Parm Stacks 
Serves 2-4

1 large (or 2 small) eggplant (s)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
2 cups flour, for dredging
Salt and pepper
Oil (we used vegetable)
4-5 cups marinara sauce (we used Chuck’s recipe)
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions 

1. Slice eggplant into ¼” thick discs. Pour ½” oil in a large pan and heat over medium heat. Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat sauce in a pan over low heat.

2. Coat eggplant in the following order: flour (shake off the excess), dip in egg batter, cover with breadcrumbs.

3. Fry eggplant for approximately 2 minutes on each side, or until light golden brown. Set each fried piece of eggplant aside on a tray covered with paper towels.
*Note: The oil is ready if it quickly begins bubbling around the eggplant when it enters the oil.
**If you are opposed to frying your eggplant, you can also bake it on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-8 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

4. Pour a thin layer of sauce in a glass baking dish. Place the bottom layer of eggplant discs over the sauce, leaving space between each disc. Cover the bottom layer with another layer of sauce, and sprinkle with both the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Repeat eggplant, sauce, and cheese until you have a single serving stack (3-4 layers of eggplant), making the cheese your top layer.

5. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Serve each stack with a side of pasta and leftover sauce. Garnish with basil.

Indian Spice Lamb with Mango Salsa

Indian Spice Lamb with Mango Salsa

Yes folks, it's time for another Lamb Jam. We were challenged with developing our own recipe featuring lamb and other healthy ingredients. The catch: our recipe had to contain 10 ingredients or less (including lamb, but not including salt & pepper).

With a bit of tweaking and taste testing, we came up with what we think is a winning recipe. Not only does it abide by the rules, but both the meat and salsa are incredibly flavorful. This dish would be perfect served with brown jasmine rice or whole grain naan.


Lamb with Mango Salsa 
Serves 8-12

Prep time: 25-30 minutes (excluding marinade time) 
Cook time: 10-20 minutes (depending on how you like your lamb cooked) 
Required cooking utensils: Sauté pan, Ziploc bag (to marinate the lamb), bowl for the salsa, chef’s knife, and spatula 

Ingredients 
Lamb 
36 oz leg of lamb
8 large garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons green chile pepper, diced (with seeds for extra heat)
6 teaspoons ground coriander
6 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Mango Salsa 
4 mangoes, diced
1 cup red onion, diced
4 green chile pepper, diced (with seeds for extra heat)
1/2 teaspoon salt Juice from 2 limes

Directions 
1. Cut the leg of lamb into more manageable pieces (we suggest 8"length x 3"width x 1 1/2" height).

2. Mix all garlic, chile pepper, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, olive oil, and lamb. If possible, marinate in the fridge overnight. If you are short on time, 15 minutes of marinating time is sufficient.

3. While the lamb is marinating, prepare your salsa. Mix mango, onion, chile pepper, salt, and lamb. Allow to marinate in the fridge or serve immediately.

4. Heat skillet over medium heat. Drizzle with olive oil. For medium-rare (internal cooking temperature of approximately 135 degrees), cook lamb on the skillet for approximately 10 minutes, turning 5 minutes into cooking time. If you prefer your lamb medium or medium-well, increase the cooking time. Allow meat to rest for 8 minutes. Slice thinly and garnish with mango salsa.

If you prefer, you can also grill the meat and slice it, or serve it as kebabs.

Looking for a refreshing treat that only requires ONE more ingredient? Look no further than our mango popsicles (recipe below).

Mango Popsicles
Makes 6 popsicles

2 mangoes
1 lime, juiced
A little less than a 1/3 cup of sugar
3/4 cups water

1. Slice the skin off the mangos, remove the pit, and puree the flesh of the mangoes in a food processor.

2. Dissolve sugar in water (this works best when the water is over low heat).

3. Mix pureed mango, sugar water, and lime juice. Pour in a popsicle mold and store in a freezer overnight.

Peach Mojito

During our trip to the farmers market this morning, it was clear that peach season has arrived! The weather is only getting hotter, so pick up some ripe peaches and enjoy a unique twist on a classic mojito cocktail.

Peach Mojito Recipe
From our friend, Lauren

2 cups coarsely chopped, peeled peaches (approximately 1 pound)
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 cups fresh lime juice (approximately 4 large limes)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed mint leaves
2 cups white rum
4 cups club soda, chilled
Crushed ice
Mint sprigs (optional)

Place the peaches in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Press the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Combine the lime rind, lime juice, sugar and mint in a large pitcher; crush juice mixture with the back of a long spoon. Add the peach puree and rum, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in club soda and serve over crushed ice. Garnish your cocktail with mint sprigs.

Do What's Right

As I’ve often complained before, summer is the worst time to be a Metro commuter in the DC area. June ushers in the arrival of DC’s soul crushing heat-humidity combo. It doesn't help that our forefathers decided to build the capital on a swamp, in an era with powdered wigs and no air-conditioning nonetheless. Naturally this humidity, in conjunction with the formalities of modern business attire, causes riders to sweat in new and unusual places (for men at least, I dream of wearing a skirt, tank top and sandals when its 90+ degrees out). Metro commuters quickly learn that their knuckles, earlobes and eyelids all have sweat glands.

Along with the humidity summer ushers in another seasonal annoyance, the tourist. I realize that many of the people who visit our nation’s capital come from that real America that Republicans talk so much about, an America that doesn’t have big city conveniences like underground trains or moving staircases. Whenever I see someone wearing a fanny pack, sandals with socks, hunting camouflage or an animal print t-shirt on a rush hour train I just hope for their sake that they don’t stand on the left side of the escalator. Nothing draws the ire of daily commuters more quickly than some bumpkin standing on the walking side of the escalator. After all he is the only thing standing between us and an air conditioned office building.


DC Metro is spending $3 billion to ‘upgrade’ the system and build the silver line. This is all well and good, but they are not addressing core issues with the Metro like institutional ineptitude and corruption or more importantly the standing on the left problem.

So while riding the tube in London I was surprised to see that the English have developed an elegant solution to this seemingly insurmountable escalator clogging problem: a sign. I was so bothered the fact that DC Metro didn’t have similar signs that I felt compelled to take the above picture (while politely standing to the right of course). Heaven forbid that DC Metro takes a couple thousand dollars from their ballooning $3 billion budget and upcoming fare hikes to address this real, fixable problem. It would hardly be any sweat off their brow.