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Curried Cauliflower and Fuji Apple Soup - 26 Aug 2008
You may think cauliflower doesn't have enough flavor to work with Madras curry powder. Just try this velvety, subtly spiced recipe from Barry Koslow, chef of The Mendocino Bar & Grille for a very elegant soup. read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer, week 6 - 26 Aug 2008
Stéphane Pécal is an award-winning baker. He shows up at the farmers' night markets where local producers cook for you whatever they've grown or slaughtered, hours before the picnickers to fire up the stove for his bread baking. Pastries from the patissier at his Castelnau bakery are also on sale. Some of them are the result of failure, he says. He likes a good mistake. read more...
Foie gras and confits - 26 Aug 2008
Foie gras - food for the rich created out of torture? Why aren't we more worried about the state of battery hen farming? read more...
My favorite markets: Napolean Bakery - 26 Aug 2008
It's always a pleasure to see people at work when you're not. At the Korean Napoleon Bakery if you look over the counter crammed with cakes colorfully decorated in butter creams with greetings, wedding figures, sugar babies to celebrate every occasion imaginable, you can see the bakers in the back making the goodies. read more...
Barry Koslow - Chef of Mendocino Bar & Grille - 26 Aug 2008
Before he took up cooking, Mendocino Grille chef Barry Koslow toured — casually — with a rock band. read more...
Chew On This: Test to detect BSE? - 20 Aug 2008
There may at last be a test to monitor at the point of slaughter the presence of BSE in a cow's brain or spinal cord. BSE - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - leads to Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. First discovered in 1996 in the UK, up to now suspected and proven cases of the disease have been diagnosed in 166 people in Britain. read more...
Kabocha Soboroni - 19 Aug 2008
Kaz Okochi, owner-chef of Kaz Sushi Bistro, turns familiar squash into an unfamiliar Japanese food delight that makes an interesting appetizer or a side for more familiar American fish dishes or grills. read more...
The dish - Goings on in the capital - 19 Aug 2008
New openings, activities & changes in the District. read more...
Healthway - 19 Aug 2008
Long before Whole Foods, Healthway was in the area selling organic produce and natural foods. The branch in Annandale, pictured here, opened over 20 years ago. read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer, week 5 - 19 Aug 2008
It's the week of the Tennis Club 'Mechoui'. This is an excuse for the eaters and drinkers of the area to hunker down in the newly refurbished (courtesy of EU donations) metal hut that constitutes the Tennis Club and tuck into a roast wild boar with copious amounts of Percharmant wine. It's all cooked by the village men of the club who only sometimes wield a tennis racket but can always raise a glass of whisky. Which they do at around 6 a.m. ceremoniously to toast the boar as they set fire to the pyre of logs beneath it. read more...
Spices in bulk - 19 Aug 2008
Christine, a recent Washington arrival from San Francisco, wanted to know where to find spices and herbs in bulk cheaply. Not at Whole Foods, for a start. Healthway, featured at the top of the page, has a wide range. But she did her own researches and came up with these answers, which she generously passes on. read more...
Kaz Okoshi - Owner-chef of Kaz Sushi Bistro - 19 Aug 2008
Once Kaz Okochi completed the fine arts course in Oklahoma he had come from Japan to the U.S. to take up, he headed home to enroll in the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka. When he told its career counselor he'd like to cook in America, the counselor suggested he focus on becoming a sushi chef. read more...
Chew On This: Dirty dining in our restaurants - 13 Aug 2008
Washington's Center for Science in the Public Interest has come up with an intriguing proposal: public access to a restaurant's health-code grades. The recommendation comes in a report titled "Dirty Dining: Have Reservations? You Will Now", just published. read more...
Seared Salmon and Romaine Heart Salad - 12 Aug 2008
If you're looking for a change from the ubiquitous Chicken Caesar Salad, this salmon dish from Peggy Thompson, chef of DISH, makes an elegant and satisfying lunch at any time of the year aor a refreshing main course for a summer dinner. read more...
Spice Lanka* - 12 Aug 2008
There is a huge difference, says Chandra Malalasekara, between Indian food and the food of Sri Lanka. It's mainly in the spices. "Totally different," he says. He's the Sri Lankan owner of Spice Lanka, so he should know. read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer, week 4 - 12 Aug 2008
We're overrun with snails. Fat, juicy slithering lumps of elastic, they ooze through the undergrowth. They munch their way through the cabbages, the melons, the zucchini in our potager, leaving the vegetables looking like someone has been at them with an acid drip. In revenge, and because nothing should go to waste, I took a leaf from their book and decided to eat them. read more...
Peggy Thompson - Chef of DISH - 12 Aug 2008
Peggy Thompson, chef at DISH, worked as a meeting planner before going to culinary school. Boredom inspired her to start a new career, and through it she found more than just good food. read more...
Chew On This: French women DO get fat - 6 Aug 2008
Whatever elegant Mireille Guiliano, who wrote "French Women Don't Get Fat" believes, they do. Half of all women in France between 35 and 74 and two thirds of French men are thought to be overweight, according to a study released in June. One fifth of all French adults are obese. read more...
New brunch blog - check it out - 6 Aug 2008
I like the brass of someonewho can sub-head his new blog, Yes, you can occasionally get a good brunch in DC. Log on to his blog at brunch dc and see where he's picked, and add your own suggestions. read more...
Peter Smith - Owner-chef of PS7s - 5 Aug 2008
In the family of executive chef and owner of PS7s, passion for food was passed down through the males. read more...
Scallop Boudin with Citrus Compote and Fennel Purée - 5 Aug 2008
This is a dish from Peter Smith, owner-chef of PS7's, designed to impress. But if you take it slowly and carefully it isn't as hard to produce as it may at first appear. The purée and the compote can be finished ahead of time and the boudin taken right up to the moment of poaching. read more...
Niralla Sweets* - 5 Aug 2008
When no-one's looking, specially not your mother, you can huddle low in your car outside Niralla Sweets munching on a hot samosa fresh from the bag and very slightly greasy, and dip it into one or the other of two sauces - a hot chili and a cool coriander yogurt. read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer, week 3 - 5 Aug 2008
The wages clerk at the Town Hall has run away with a long-distance truck driver. She took the camper van she had won in a national lottery not some weeks before and headed south. The town is agog, not least because only she knew who on the public payroll is to be paid what. read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer, week 2 - 30 Jul 2008
The local village came to dinner. The chief of police stood up and sang "Do you do you do you Saint Tropez" - one of those songs the French think are the coolest thing and leave foreigners baffled. read more...
Chew on This: Food marketing makes kids fat - 30 Jul 2008
Guess how much money the largest food and beverage companies in the U.S. are spending in marketing their products to children between 2 and 17? $1.6 billion. And you thought the food industry was doing its best to lower childhood obesity rates? read more...
Leek and Potato Soup - 29 Jul 2008
Made with simple ingredients, Potage Bonne Femme is one of the great classics of French country cooking. For the summer, chill it and enriched with further cream, to turn it into Vichyssoise. This hot soup is the version of David Ashwell, chef of Brasserie Beck. read more...
Wegmans* - 29 Jul 2008
What a shame for central city dwellers that Wegmans is such a long drive away. It gives Whole Foods such a good run for our money. But then if it weren't and had to pay the high District rents, it probably wouldn't be able to maintain its good prices. Its organic section is competitive, too, and in its own zone which makes for easier shopping. read more...
Frozen custard v. ice cream - 29 Jul 2008
What's the difference between frozen custard, soft serve and ice cream? It boils down to - though not literally for each of these frozen desserts - a question of eggs and creamy milk. read more...
Duck Rillettes - 23 Jul 2008
Rillettes are South West France spread of meats simmered slowly in herbs and wine then shredded and packed into preserving jars to make a rough country pate to eat with good strong bread and a munch of cornichons - those tiny French cucumber pickles. They can be made with pork, rabbit, goose or duck - or a mix of all four. read more...
Summer cooking tips for guys - 23 Jul 2008
Mike Licht usually blogs on Washington culture and news events on NotionsCapital.com. But this week he offers some handy tips on summer cooking for guys who don't want to end up in the emergency room and whose partners don't want them to either. read more...
A slam poem on the side... - 21 Jul 2008
Poetry doesn't usually appear on food blogs. But this one - about the capital - is called White Chocolate - which is a food - by Sophia, a young formerly DC-based slam poet. Worth a listen... read more...
eatDordogne: The diary of a summer - 21 Jul 2008
This summer's first visitor has just left. And packed his sheets to take with him. He said he was a poet. He seems to have been a thief. He came shrouded in one of those family names from the lesser known Stans where groups of consonants are joined by a single 'y'. The prime attraction of the wife stowed at home may have been her own nation's lenient immigration policy. The village is now speculating what would have been behind this wanton act. Perhaps he's assessing the thread count by candlelight in the town on the freer side of the mountains backing up to his Stan to gauge how many nimble fingers can be put to the copying. At least they weren't a pair of the antique monogrammed linens. Before the advent of cheap air fares out of the UK and the Netherlands, you used to be able to pick these up at flea markets for less than the cost of a polyester set. Should I send him a bill? Perhaps they'll come back through the mail, laundered, packed into soft tissue and tied in raffia.
His visit meant the first of the summer's duck feasts. If you stay long enough in the Dordogne, you will leave with webbed feet. read more...
Chew on This: A fish industry collapses as American obesity rises - 20 Jul 2008
Unless we've had our head in the sand of our summer beach, the impact of the soaring cost of corn on the price of beef, pork and chicken won't have passed us by. But with corn and soybeans three times the price of two years ago, catfish farmers have begun draining their ponds, unable to keep up with the expense of feeding their stocks. This as Americans confess they're more obese than last year - and should be eating more healthily. read more...
Bob's Noodle House - 19 Jul 2008
One of the most delicious dishes at Bob's Noodle House looks like an early generation breast implant. It's an upturned teacup of grey-toned rice surrounding a stuffing of chopped meats. You'll find it in the appetizer section of this Taiwanese restaurant whose clientele is almost entirely Asian. read more...
Jewell Yam and Leek Soup with Chopped Chives - 19 Jul 2008
The honest orange tuber is turned into a colorful, silky soup under the magic wand of Nora Pouillon, owner-chef of Restaurant Nora. read more...
Nora Pouillon - Owner-chef of Restaurant Nora - 19 Jul 2008
Chef Nora Pouillon has been a force in the sustainable-sourcing, organic and slow food movements. At Restaurant Nora, she keeps pushing for change. read more...
Stella's Bakery* - 19 Jul 2008
Stella's Bakery is a bakery of European pastries, cakes and breads that's one of the best in the area. read more...
Chew On This: Drink even more red wine! - 8 Jul 2008
Wine drinkers looking for an excuse for another glass know that resveratrol in red wine is a good source of antioxidants. Now a group of Hebrew University researchers in Jerusalem have discovered that when you pair it with certain foods, beneficial polyphenols can avert the harmful effect of certain molecules that emerge during the digestive process. Chug down a glass of Pinot Noir or other red wine with your juicy steak and the mix of the two in the stomach will prevent the formation of harmful oxidizing toxins released from red meat and other high-fat foods while they're being digested. read more...
South African groceries - 7 Jul 2008
South African ex-pats or enthusiasts miss their Rooibos tea, their All Gold cans of Seville oranges and figs, their special chutneys. read more...
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge? - 3 Jul 2008
He Who Must Sometimes Be Obeyed has strong views about stodge and wodge. So to eat the wonderful Italian Ribollita, a soup that is stuffed with soggy bread I have to hive off to Florence on my own. It's tragic what must be done in pursuit of favorite foods. read more...
Chew on This: Whose food healthier? Nature's or the food biz? - 3 Jul 2008
It used to be we asked no more of food than to make us feel full or cosseted or impressed by its skilful execution. Now we expect food to do more than just fill our stomachs. It’s got to have added value as a health remedy. We demand additives in the most unlikely of products, to cure us of existing frailties or protect us against the offset of new ones. It’s not enough to eat salmon or mackerel at least once a week to get our omega-3 fatty acids. We want them delivered by other means than a fish. read more...
Arrowine* - 2 Jul 2008
"I'm getting blackberries, I'm getting pepper, I'm getting tarmac, I'm getting $100,000 a year to talk about wine like this"...Some eonophiles can drive you bonkers. But if you want the right wine without a pretentious sales pitch, to go with an unusual lump of artisan cheese, head to Arrowine and get them both there. read more...
Graham Bartlett - Chef of Zengo - 2 Jul 2008
Graham Bartlett is executive chef of Zengo, where you can find almost everything from ceviche to sushi. He caught the “food bug” while traveling with his parents in Mexico. But Paris, not the States nor Latin America was where he went to learn the culinary arts. read more...
Chew on This: Peking Duck heart disease cure? - 17 Jun 2008
Your starter for 10: The latest magical ingredient to cut the risk of heart disease is --- what? That food coloring that turns Peking Duck its glowing chestnut red.
Didn't get the answer? Back to the bottom of the quiz. read more...
Chew on this: Sickening tomatoes - 16 Jun 2008
The tomato, that friendly fruit romantically called (by pedants, mostly) the love apple, has been almost as poisonous to 228 people in 23 states as the apple her stepmother proferred to Snow White. read more...
Alison Swope - Chef of Restaurant K by Alison Swope - 16 Jun 2008
When Andale, the Penn Quarter restaurant focusing on the foods of Mexico's Oaxaca state, closed at the end of summer 2006, it was more than usually distressing for Alison Swope, the executive chef and co-owner behind Andale. "Most of that staff had been together for 10 years," she says. Loyal followers of Swope's cooking were equally dismayed. There are few enough women chefs in Washington that it can afford to lose one, especially one of her caliber. read more...
Herbs for cooking - 15 Jun 2008
Unless you're cooking pesto sauce, Middle Eastern or Indian dishes on a regular basis, the bunches of herbs sold by supermarkets are usually so large the leaves spoil before you can use all of them. Here are some saving solutions. read more...
Pam Ginsberg - knife skills at the bone - 15 Jun 2008
Pam Ginsberg knows cows.
Or beef, to be more precise. And ham, and chickens. And sausagemeat, even. Pam Ginsberg is the butcher once drawing carnivores to her counter at Brookville supermarket on Connecticut Ave NW and now to be found at Waghal's Market in Spring Valley. read more...
Artfully Chocolate/Kingsbury Confections* - 15 Jun 2008
This is a rare photograph, according to Rob Kingsbury and Eric Nelson, owners of Artfully Chocolate/Kingsbury Confections. They're rarely found together, one of them holding the fort at the Alexandria store, the other manning the 14th St NW location, probably behind the bar area creating chocolate-based cocktails and drinks. read more...
Trent Conry - Chef of Ardeo - 15 Jun 2008
Texas-born Trent Conry of Ardeo/Bardeo likes spicy foods, big talk and an ever-changing menu. This summer, Ardeo's roof top tables are where to eat on a holiday that doesn't take you out of town... read more...
How to make fluffs & foams - 6 Jun 2008
Ever since Ferran Adria of El Bulli took his batterie de cuisine into the laboratory, we've been seeing as much smoke and foam as Hollywood's adventure and horror movies offer. And we've been just as pinned to our seats and bar stools by the experience, only without the screaming. The secret to the smoke is liquid nitrogen. But how about the foam? read more...
On The Road: 4 days in Portugal - 5 Jun 2008
Traveling north from Porto the mountains in spring are so thickly blanketed in egg-yolk-colored broom and purple heather there's no room for goats and sheep to graze. The wine is wonderful - spritzy enough to convince you you're just sipping a summer lemonade and light enough not to do too much damage. The food is less so. If you're catching fish this fresh, why not leave it to show off. read more...
Aulie Bunyarataphan - Owner-chef of Bangkok Joe's - 5 Jun 2008
We have her father to thank that Aulie Bunyarataphan is cooking, not designing clothes. (Though judging by what she has done with her restaurant, those clothes would look terrific.)
The owner and chef of Bangkok Joe’s, Bunyarataphan had ambitions growing up in Thailand of going to Paris to study fashion. But Papa didn’t approve. After she graduated high school, he sent her to live with a cousin in Reston, Va., to continue her education. read more...
Chew On This: Jamie Oliver pirated on the internet? - 4 Jun 2008
A 100-plus page file is dropping into e-mail boxes claiming to be a Jamie Oliver cookbook. It's not the first time it has circulated. It made its first appearance on the web in summer 2003. Now it's back. read more...
What is a mangosteen? - 4 Jun 2008
When Queen Victoria heard of the delicate scent-tasting splendor of the mangosteen of South East Asia, she promised to shower anyone who could bring a perfect example back to her plate with riches and titles. Arise, Sir, the owner of Don Nam #1 Supermarket!
Mangosteen are not unlike a lychee, a juicy translucent fruit trapped in separate segments inside a small globe of thick purple skin. read more...
Phyllis Richman - Queen of Washington restaurant reviews - 3 Jun 2008
Phyllis Richman pads barefoot across her front porch and curls up on the porch swing, tucking her red-painted toes beneath her. She smiles and rocks there like a very gentle version of the Cheshire Cat. She has good reason to smile. Retired now from years as The Washington Post’s restaurant reviewer and food writer, she’s been honored with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. read more...
The Dairy Godmother* - 3 Jun 2008
At The Dairy Godmother I forfeited my usual effort to maintain distance from subject to greed. The afternoon I visited this Del Ray, Alexandria ice cream shop, the Dessert Of the Day (officially know as the DOD as opposed to the FOTD which is the Flavor Of The Day) was Rhubarb Cobbler, still warm from her oven. It called out for a scoop of her soft custard ice cream. Forget adhering to reporter dispassion. Not possible. read more...
Chew On This: Cow patting relieves stress - 2 Jun 2008
Feeling stressed? Go ride a tractor. Your anger and hostility levels, if you're harboring any, could diminish by 70 percent, not to mention those feelings of confusion and depression. These may slump by as much as 80 percent. read more...
Greenage tart - 2 Jun 2008
Greengages are little green plums. I found them recently at the Afghan Mini Market on Backlick Rd, Springfield and at Iransara, in the Peking Gourmet shopping strip, at 6039 Leesburg Pike. Buy ones that are soft only. But you can make this tart with any kind of plum - or with apricots or apples. It's quick, it's easy, it's mouthwatering. read more...
Russian Gourmet - 1 Jun 2008
Three years ago, Russian Gourmet set up just off the Rockville Pike on Nicholson Lane, behind the Exxon station and in front of Barry's Magic. Perhaps Barry waved a wand in the little market's direction. Because now there are five of them. read more...
Loomi - what is it? - 30 May 2008
A loomi is a key ingredient in Persian and Middle East cooking. Some soups or stews - particularly Lebanese and Egyptian lentil soup - would be diminished without it. It's the loomi that gives them their sour flavor. read more...
Greek specialties - 30 May 2008
The closest large Greek community is in Baltimore, with its markets and restaurants. But Middle East markets stock plenty of Greek ingredients, and you can learn to cook it yourself. read more...
Tapioca unscrambled - 30 May 2008
Generations of British children grew up on the school dinner concoction Frog's Spawn, a milky dessert, damp and squidgy. It was their revolted name for Tapioca. One of those foods, like Sago Pudding and Rice Pudding, you either love or hate, those children almost without exception hated it. Such a shame. read more...
Eton Mess - 30 May 2008
With local strawberries coming into the stores, here's an easy English recipe to make the most of them. You get the stages ready ahead, to put together at the last minute. It's named after the posh private school of Princes and sons of parents with deep wallets near Windsor Castle - so convenient when Queen Granny wanted to visit William and Harry.
On the 'Fourth of June', a holiday with The Procession of Boats - the top crews row past in vintage wooden rowing boats (Brits find this kind of thing normal) - scholars and parents gather to celebrate the birthday of Eton's patron, King George III (the mad one - that's normal, too). Eton Mess is the pudding de rigueur. ('Pudding' is the posh English word for 'desserts' - a word that would never cross the lips of an old Etonian.) read more...
Grilled Mediterranean Sardines with Lemon and Olive Persillade - 27 May 2008
Now we're moving into grilling season, try this recipe of Danny Wells, chef at BlackSalt. Serve them with crusty fresh bread warm from the oven. The persillade is delicious over broiled chicken or lamb, too. read more...
Chew On This: Too little salt bad for the heart? - 27 May 2008
Remember the ‘Butter bad, margarine good – oops, wrong: margarine bad, butter good’ debate? Now salt is the victim of contradictory research. Studies have shown reducing salt intake could cut the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 35 percent. Last week, the Journal of General Internal Medicine reversed that conclusion, saying too little salt could increase the risk of CVD. read more...
The sweet corn van - 26 May 2008
You can find yourself in Mexico in the heart of Annandale, in the Columbia Pike car park of El Gran Palenque restaurant. It's there that the Elotes Asados Minutas van is parked, cooking and selling sweetcorn smothered in mayo, chili sauce and that grated Mexican cheese that can make your nostrils flare and your lips curl. read more...
Finocchiona salami - 26 May 2008
Finocchiona is one of those wonderful charcuterie meats you had to cross the globe to taste. A Tuscan salami from Florence and nearby, it's secret lies in the fennel seeds that flavors it. Now, if you go to the right source, you can find it around Washington. read more...
Belgian brasseries - 26 May 2008
You don't have to fly out to the tiny cobbled streets behind Brussels' Grand Place to find Belgian brasserie food. There are a number of restaurants that have opened just to serve moules frites, Trappist beers, and other Belgian specialties. read more...
Artisan Confections* - 25 May 2008
Chocolate as art - art as chocolate? Visit Artisan Confections, eat and decide. Native of Arlington Jason Andelman was the pastry chef at TenPenh for five years. A Fine Arts major from the College of William & Mary and an alum of the Culinary Institute of America, he left to pursue an even more artistic adventure - opening his own chocolate shop, Artisan Confections. Now he's making chocolates that look like jewelry. read more...
Pennsylvania Chicken Pot Pie - 21 May 2008
Kevin Villalovos, chef de cuisine of Cure Bar & Bistro's recipe, is comfort food that's elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. Plus it can be assembled in advance and cooked when the door bell rings. The picture is of some of the American salts he uses in his brines and cures. read more...
Cure Bar & Bistro - 21 May 2008
Kevin Ray Villalovos, Chef de Cuisine of the newly opened Cure Bar & Bistro, works wonders with salt. He's using it to cure salmon, to salt meats and to season his home-made garlic sausage. read more...
Cream unscrambled - 20 May 2008
The friendly cow all brown and white
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might
To eat with apple tart.
Not great poetry (would you believe it's by Robert Louis Stevenson?) but a great sentiment. And there are so many different kinds, with different uses. read more...
New Zealand eatery - 20 May 2008
EatWashington doesn't cover many restaurants. (I haven't got the money to review them properly...) And I haven't actually eaten at this one. But there are few enough sources for anything New Zealand in the capital I couldn't ignore Cassatt's. You'll have to review it for me. It calls itself a Kiwi Cafe - and a Gourmet Bistro and its card reads "Where restaurant meets coffee shop". read more...
Chew On This: USDA against private BSE testing - 20 May 2008
Sometimes you have to wonder whose interests the United States Department of Agriculture represents. The USDA currently tests around one percent of slaughtered beef cattle for BSE. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef doesn't believe that is anywhere near enough. It tests every single one of its Black Angus cattle for BSE - bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which the Brits, its first known victims, call Mad Cow Disease. Creekstone pays for the testing itself. You'd think the USDA would applaud its public spirit and safety drive. No. It took Creekstone, a Kansas meat packer, to court to prohibit the company from running private tests. And won the case. read more...
Nummy nummy mushrooms - 20 May 2008
This recipe of Jamie Oliver's comes from food blogger Orangette. The photo, with Kim O'Donnel, the Washington Post's food blogger buying, is of the mushroom lady who sells at Penn Quarter farmer's market on Thursdays after 3 p.m. and at Dupont Circle on Sundays, though she doesn't man it herself. You'll find her, too, at the Arlington market. Her morels were $20 for one of those green boxes. But Morel Season is so short...Other mushrooms are less expensive. Stompy Boots' recipe uses cheap ones. The title is her own. Jamie calls it Sliced Mushrooms with Fresh Mozzarella and Thyme read more...
Brian McBride - Chef of The Blue Duck Tavern - 19 May 2008
Changes at The Blue Duck Tavern. Michael Santoro is joining Executive Chef Brian McBride (pictured) as Chef de Cuisine. He used to be at Manhattan's Boqueria. He's worked in top experimental kitchens, like Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray, England, and at Basque restaurant Mugaritz near San Sebastian. For the BDT's summer menu he's created crispy frog legs and sweetbreads with rhubarb and glazed white asparagus; rack of lamb and confit of breast with chickpea puree and rosemary jus; braised rabbit and homemade pasta with prunes and black olives; smoked and pastrami spiced duck breast with confit of leg as well as homemade gnocchi with marinated porcini and poached egg. read more...
Filipino Home Baking & Grocery - 19 May 2008
Triangle Lane in Wheaton is an international food court in itself. One of the little markets tucked away is Filipino Home Baking & Grocery. It's a modest place with a very small selection of fresh produce. But it's filled with groceries essential to Filipino cooking. read more...
Chew On This: Obese blamed for food and climate crisis! - 16 May 2008
Breaking news 5.16.08: The World Health Organization predicts the global obese population will double to 700 million by 2015. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has calculated the obese consume 18 percent more calories than average. Therefore they're driving up food and fuel prices. How? They provoke an increased consumption of oil by the agriculture and transport industries harnessed to supply their demand for food! Wow. That's quite a twist on the discussion. But it's reported by prestigious journal The Lancet. read more...
Vegan bakeries - 14 May 2008
Hard to believe you can make a seductive cake without eggs or cream or butter. But there are a number of bakeries around town doing just that. And there's nothing homespun in how they look either, for those of you who think 'vegan' means food that looks and tastes like a hand-knitted sock. But look at Cake Love's bundt cake, right. read more...
Ramadan pastries explained - 13 May 2008
During Ramadan especially rich pastries and desserts are made. Considered restorative and nourishing, you can find them until the end of Id al-Fitr, which is the name of the three days of feasting that follow the end of the fasting period. read more...
Broa de Milho - 13 May 2008
Broa de Milho is a corn bread much loved by the northern Portuguese. The harshness of the soil made wheat growing hard, so bakers made a loaf that is four parts corn to one part stone milled buckwheat. read more...
Thai Market* - 12 May 2008
Peter Gosak used to be a banker, until one of his clients told him he was going out of business. So Gosak bought him up - and he and Silver Spring's Thai Market have never looked back. read more...
Korean hot pots - 12 May 2008
Cooks in search of low calorie meals that are stimulating to eat could turn to the Korean hot pot. read more...
What is gluten? - 12 May 2008
Gluten is the natural protein surrounding kernels of wheat, barley, rye and oats. It's what makes a dough stretch. read more...
Sticky Pecan Buns - 12 May 2008
He Who Must Not Necessarily Be Obeyed bought me a KitchenAid. So he is being obeyed for a wee while, which means I downloaded the Food Network's recipe for Joanne Chang's Sticky Buns. After all, they won against Bobby Flay's in a throwdown. And as a first-time bun baker, I thought I'd have a go at perhaps the trickiest dough there is. Paradise reached in one! The photo is of that key moment before they went into the oven, demonstrating that despite all the goo they were sitting in and my lack of faith, they did rise again. (Besides, when I took the photo of when they came out, it was as dark as the buns. Want do you want? I have to learn to conquer a KitchenAid, a brioche recipe and camera all at once?) read more...
Farmers' markets - food for health and flavor - 11 May 2008
Spring is here and farmers' markets are about to blossom on the streets of the capital. We need to support local farmers. They're doing a tough job to bring us food that's healthy and full of flavor. If we want to see that kind of respect from regular supermarkets when they decide what to stock, they need to notice the sales they're missing when we shop for local produce. Then they might be more encouraged to shop locally, too... read more...
Share Our Strength chefs' cook out! - 9 May 2008
When you next feel hungry, consider some of America's kids. Share Our Strength does. It's a nationwide community of chefs, activists, food programs and people in the wide culinary field working to try and ensure no child in America grows up hungry. On Thursday 15 May, Chef Charlie Palmer is hosting Share Our Strength’s A Tasteful Pursuit presented by Lexus at his restaurant Charlie Palmer Steak at 101 Constitution Avenue, NW, in downtown D.C. Six other prime chefs will be cooking alongside him. read more...
Asparagus - just so much grass... - 9 May 2008
Asparagus, like tomatoes, are a vegetable that really should be eaten only in season and from a pick-your-own supplier. But outside France and England, there aren't too many of them. Still, when spring, it's proper season comes, make the most of it. For starters (forgive the pun), try Todd Gray's recipe for asparagus soup. read more...
Chinese restaurants: Kosher, vegan, organic - 8 May 2008
There aren't many to choose from - just one in each category so far. But that's better than none. read more...
Gastropubs - eating cheap in Britain - 8 May 2008
Britain's pubs are famous. But they haven't always been particularly pleasant places to have a bite to eat. Nor did they offer good beer to drink, until the Campaign for Real Ale in the early 1970s fought to oust big brewery manufactured beers and bring back real ales. Now Britain's chefs are returning well-cooked, seasonal traditional British food to the menus of what have consequently become named Gastropubs. If you're traveling to London and want to stretch that food dollar, here's a list of some to eat at. read more...
Phyllis Richman - 8 May 2008
Phyllis Richman spent 23 years as the restaurant critic of the Washington Post, eating out on our behalf. Think how much money she saved us by guiding us away from restaurants or chefs that weren't meeting the mark, and how many good meals she encouraged us to seek out and enjoy.
So it's only right and proper that the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington is honoring her at the 26th Annual RAMMY Restaurant Awards Gala with the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. read more...
Chew on This: Chicken abuse - 8 May 2008
You need a strong stomach to watch this undercover video of the mistreatment of chickens released this week by Mercy for Animals, a Chicago-based animal rights group. It was taken with a camera hidden by one of the non-profit's investigators who worked at a major California egg-factory farm for two months. read more...
Quinoa - the risotto alternative - 8 May 2008
If you feel cooking risotto successfully is a daunting process, try quinoa instead. Not only is it one of the most nutritious grains around, it's also a breeze to turn into a dish to eat with meat or fish or cook up with vegetables for a vegetarian meal. read more...
Quinoa - 8 May 2008
Quinoa is a grain so ancient it's sometimes called the 'mother' of all grains. read more...
Balsamic vinegar - a sour note - 7 May 2008
If ever there was a food fad that didn't do the original product any good, it's balsamic vinegar. read more...
Lobster Ceviche - 7 May 2008
Graham Bartlett, chef of Zengo's recipe will stretch an expensive ingredient a long way, making a glamorous appetizer that's enough for 10 and doesn't involve any tricky cooking techniques. read more...
Cesare Lanfranconi - Chef of Ristorante Spezie - 5 May 2008
Cesare Lanfranconi, executive chef of Ristorante Spezie, was born near the mountains in Northern Italy, where his passion was skiing. He decided to cook instead of becoming a ski instructor like his mother as a means of seeing the world. read more...
Yasaman* - 29 Apr 2008
Depending on who's behind the counter, it can be a little daunting shopping at Yasaman. Most of the women who serve are distant and seldom smile. Get over it. You're there for the best walnut macaroons you've ever eaten. read more...
Chew on This: We drank more bottled water than beer last year - 29 Apr 2008
As environmentalists plea for a reduction in bottled water consumption, Beverage Digest recently announced that last year we drank more bottled water in the US than beer. At 8.82 billion gallons -- that's 22.5 gallons each -- it's worth $11.7 billion to the bottled water industry. It didn't quite beat out soft drinks, consumption leaders at 49.3 gallons a head. But it came in 0.3 percent higher than beer, an increase of 7.1 percent on 2006. Beer only went up by 1.4. percent. Coffee, in sixth place below milk, went down by 1.2 percent, at 16 gallons a head, with milk at 20.1 gallons. Milk's lead probably means a lot of those coffees are lattes and cappuccinos, not that we're chasing after an easy source of calcium. read more...
Americas and Caribbean food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Northern Europe food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Mediterranean food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Greek and Middle Eastern food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
French food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Far North food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Far East & Africa food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Britain & Ireland food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Asia to Australia food web sites - 29 Apr 2008
Co Co. Sala - Three-course chocolate - 29 Apr 2008
Washington is getting its own chocolate lounge. Personally, I've had my very own chocolate lounge for years. It's the sofa in front of the TV. But it'll be good to dress up to go out specifically for chocolate. Co Co. Sala opened May in Penn Quarter. read more...
Lobster bisque - 21 Apr 2008
Jamie Leeds' recipe for Lobster bisque is worth breaking the bank for. A celebration deserves a fine dish. You can easily feed eight and if you follow with a good salad and well-chosen cheese, it's all you'll need for a feast. read more...
Jamies Leeds - Owner-chef of Hank's Oyster Bar - 16 Apr 2008
Jamie Leeds is rare among chefs. First, she owns two Hank’s Oyster Bars, one in Dupont Circle and the other in Old Town, Alexandria, with CommonWealth, a gastropub set to open in summer 2008. Plus, she’s a woman. And then there’s the fact that she has no formal culinary training. read more...
Pork Potstickers in Black Vinegar Sauce - 14 Apr 2008
Scott Drewno, chef of The Source by Wolfgang Puck's recipe may look complicated. But it's just a long ingredients list. Once you have them assembled, the cooking is quick and the folding of the wrappers easy. Just turn on some music and invite the friends who'll be eating them to give you a hand. read more...
Scott Drewno - Chef of The Source by Wolfgang Puck - 14 Apr 2008
At the recent media reception to announce chef and restaurant finalists in this year's Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awards, journalists and members of the hospitality business were treated to little tastes of the finalists' cuisines. There was a scrum around the table of one of them, Scott Drewno of The Source by Wolfgang Puck. read more...
Shemali's* - 14 Apr 2008
Shemali's is a Lebanese delicatessen that has suffered, along with the Cleveland Park neighborhood around Wisconsin Ave, from the ditherings and delays in redevelopment of the Giant. It used to have a store in the parking lot of the supermarket, large enough to run a lunch counter that served the best bargain in sharwama and the best lentil soup in the District. But when Giant - around 5 years ago - closed down all the premises it leased out to increase its size, Shemali's disappeared to the medical building at 3301 New Mexico Ave NW. It's there you'll find all the Middle East goodies of its previous location. But no lunch counter. Don't despair, though. Gretta and Joseph Chemali (no, that's not a spelling mistake) can sell you a whole stuffed lamb... read more...
Pooja Spices, Pizza Plus & Hot Stuff Foods - 6 Apr 2008
Ranjan and Gita Chhibber are such an accommodating pair of shopkeepers that they keep adding services to support their customers. Hot Stuff Foods is the newest extra they're offering, hot foods to go or eat in. But they started Pooja's Spices, named for their daughter and for the Indian word for 'to pray', 21 years ago, to sell hard-to-find ingredients to the Washington area's growing Indian community. Ranjan had been working in New York selling Indian appliances. His travels brought him to the Washington area, "And I thought, I like this area better." read more...
Fish Mappas - 4 Apr 2008
The flavor of this Indian fish recipe from Nilesh Singhvi, chef of The Bombay Club, is layered with different spices but its heat level is mellowed by coconut milk. Reduce it even further, if you wish, by cutting back on the chilis. read more...
Nilesh Singhvi - Chef of The Bombay Club - 31 Mar 2008
Bombay Club executive chef Nilesh Singhvi has cooked for Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush and Bill Gates. But with its pale, saffron-colored walls, dark wood, palm fronds and Indian-style chandelier suspended from an ornate recessed ceiling, the Bombay Club it probably wouldn't come as much of a shock to spot the ghost of Rudyard Kipling or Graham Greene tucking into a curry in the corner. read more...
Maxim's Supermarket* - 31 Mar 2008
There's no shortage of Oriental and Asian markets in the area. But some of them offer a little extra. At Maxim's, it's the take-out food counter. It's packed with dishes some of which you need to be a little adventurous to try, like tripe, and various parts of the inner pig that look like Captain Davy Jones' face in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. But there's also a wonderful stewed pork picnic cut that's been marinated and slow-cooked until it's almost purple which wouldn't upset the most conservative eater. And there are noodles and vegetable dishes, along with fried fish and chicken dishes that would frighten no-one. $4.25 buys you your choice of three dishes for a take-out meal in a box. read more...
The Kielbasa Factory* - 27 Mar 2008
At last there's a replacement for the much missed Polonetz Gourmet - The Kielbasa Factory. And despite its name it sells good Polish doughnuts, a denser version of the ones we're familiar with. Krystyna Ahrens opened the deli just after Thanksgiving in 2007. Now the place is packed. read more...
Chicken Shish Taouk - 25 Mar 2008
Abdel Hashhoush, chef of Neyla's recipe for Neyla’s chicken kabobs tastes particularly good coming from the wood smoke of a barbecue but is just as delicious cooked under a really hot broiler. The marinades adapts to other meats and fish. read more...
Abdel Hashhoush - Chef of Neyla - 24 Mar 2008
Twice a week, before coming into his restaurant, Neyla chef Abdel Hashhoush squeezes in time for classes in English at the Washington Literary Council. read more...
Eden Center unscrambled - 22 Mar 2008
If you want a trip to Vietnam without leaving the area, head out to the Eden Center on Wilson Boulevard at Seven Corners, just before Route 50 and Route 7 intersect. You won't hear English spoken. The music blaring from the outdoor speakers comes from a local Vietnamese radio station. It's packed with Vietnamese tailors, jewelers, video stores, Chinese medicine practitioners and more. This is the list of food-related outlets, to eat at or to buy ingredients for your home-cooked Vietnamese feast. read more...
Lentil Soup with Loomi - 21 Mar 2008
Loomis are boiled and dried limes that are a key ingredient in many Middle East dishes. Find them at Middle East and Persian markets and use them in this deeply flavored slow-cooked soup. It should tide you over until Shemali's deli and lunch counter, famous for its lentil soup, gets back into the Giant complex on Wisconsin Ave - if they ever develop the site... read more...
Persian markets - 21 Mar 2008
There are a surprising number of Persian supermarkets in the area, selling Persian and other Middle Eastern foods. read more...
Amphora Bakery* - 21 Mar 2008
Amphora Bakery is the place to head for whimsically decorated cakes, cupcakes and cookies. And for delicious European patisseries, baked goods and breads of all sorts.
For 25 years the Bilidas and Cholakis families ran the Amphora Bakery next to their restaurant in Vienna. But in 2003, they realized the demand for their cakes, cookies and buns was so great, they needed to find a second location. It's in Herndon. Visit it for your patisserie and you can also spend time with a coffee and a Danish watching the bakers decorate the cakes through the massive windows at the back of a congenial space that feels like some grand artist's sitting room. read more...
Apsara Gourmet Oriental Food Market - 21 Mar 2008
Apsara Gourmet Oriental Food Market has been running for 21 years. Angela Doroteo is its latest owner. She took it over from her uncle when he retired, but aside from having to hump heavy boxes of fresh produce from the bag of her car herself, little has changed.There are fresh rice noodles in the cold cabinet and shelves and shelves of dried ones, along with a huge array of bottled sauces and curry gravies. The choice of fresh produce is small but useful. In the season for champagne mangoes (the very best for flavor without fiber) she keeps a large supply of crates of them. "If it is wrinkly at the fat end," she advises, "don't walk away. This is when they are at their sweetest." read more...
European Delight* - 21 Mar 2008
There's been a name change, along with a change in management, at European Bazaar, the source for Russian produce on the Rockville Pike. It's now called European Delight. Nothing else has changed - if anything, there's more. The choice of charcuterie in the meat counter is remarkable, from head cheese to a huge range of salamis, keilbasa, moskovskaya and other sausages. And the selection of smoked and dried fish is also good, with different smoked salmons, sturgeon, smelts, selyodka and whitefish prominent. read more...
Yekta* - 21 Mar 2008
When Yekta, a Persian market, began 28 years ago, "It was more of a beer and wine deli type," says Cathy Dadras, the daughter of the family that owns and runs it. "But it evolved." She can be found next door in the kitchen of Kabobi, the restaurant that serves delectable grilled meats over Persian fragrant rice. read more...
Smoked Haddock - 21 Mar 2008
British breakfasters miss their kedgeree, a staple of the groaning British Raj breakfast sideboard that these days makes a great lunch dish and their Omelette Arnold Bennett. But where to get the key ingredient, smoked haddock? Don't despair, there's a good internet source. read more...
Jumbo Jumbo Bubble Express* - 21 Mar 2008
Irene Yen cooks her tapioca bubbles for bubble tea fresh every day. They need a gentle simmer for an hour and a half. "They can't be overcooked or they will lose their chewiness," she says. Any that aren't used during that day's service she throws out. "They don't keep overnight." Her bubble tea in Rockville is so popular, she rarely needs to waste any of the tapioca beads that need a tube as wide as a plumber might use to suck them up. Who, you wonder, ever came up with such a weird and wonderful drink? read more...
Afghan eateries - 17 Mar 2008
There aren't too many places in the area to find an Afghan menu. But it's not as hard as you might imagine. read more...
Butternut Squash Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds and Tart Apple - 17 Mar 2008
Ethan McKee, chef at Rock Creek at Mazza's recipe makes less seem more in this rounded soup that is rich without losing anything of its nutrition values. It all goes to show you don't need creams and butters to add body and depth to a recipe. read more...
Ethan McKee - Chef of Rock Creek at Mazza - 17 Mar 2008
The notion of going out to dine nutritiously might seem like a contradiction in terms. But a meal at Rock Creek Mazza isn’t different from a meal in any other fine-dining restaurant — except that you can calculate the nutritional breakdown of your meal if you choose, with the help of a fact list on the back of the menu. read more...
Aji Ichiban* - 13 Mar 2008
Aji Ichiban calls itself 'Munchies Paradise'. It's one of over 200 of a Hong Kong based snack food franchise. Craving the weird and wonderful nibbles of Asia, Ping Sun opened this one in Rockville in 2003. read more...
Chestnut Soup - 13 Mar 2008
Rodney Scruggs, executive chef of The Occidental's recipe for Chestnut Soup produces an unctuous, elegant soup that is very little trouble to conjure up. What it does make is a stunning impression. read more...
Rodney Scruggs - Chef of The Occidental - 13 Mar 2008
Rodney Scruggs started as a line cook at the Occidental in 1980, when he was 17. He moved on to work with some of the area's top chefs. But now, after nearly two decades, he's back at the venerable restaurant, as executive chef. read more...
Korean markets, restaurants & bakeries - 13 Mar 2008
There is no shortage of Korean markets in the wider Washington area. Some are larger than others. Korean bakeries also proliferate close to the capital. In Virginia, there are enough Korean food options from the Landmark Mall in Alexandria to Annandale, that the area is known as Koreatown. A drive through will take you past endless restaurants and markets to satisfy your appetite for this spicy cuisine. read more...
Cornucopia* - 5 Mar 2008
Sicilian Ibraim ("Ibo") Selmy trained as a geologist. Luckily for us, his interest was more in people and food than in rocks. So in 2003, after 15 years in Washington, the Palermo-born Italian opened Cornucopia in Bethesda, a food store and cafe to sell the specialties of his native land. "It's about people, sharing time with them." read more...
Pasta e Fagioli - 5 Mar 2008
Cesare Lanfranconi, chef of Ristorante Spezie's recipe is one of Italy's classics. You can make it as a soup starter for a meal with other dishes or serve it with some warm crusty bread and a salad to produce a substantial meal on its own with a glass or two of wine and a rented old Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida movie on TV. read more...
Lobster Fritters with a Spicy Lemon Mascarpone - 1 Mar 2008
This batter for Chef Pelt's Lobster Fritters works equally well with chunks of a firm white fish, which are given a zesty uplift with the unusual dip. read more...
Paul Pelt - Chef of the Tabard Inn - 1 Mar 2008
Paul Pelt got his start in the business at a local pizza joint. He began cooking there when the chef failed to show one day, and he joined the Tabard Inn as a line cook in 1992. Today he is executive chef. read more...
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Fonduta - 27 Feb 2008
Although Stephen Scott serves this Fonduta as an appetizer, it makes a great Sunday supper for two served with a crisp green salad in front of a favorite TV movie or a lunch outside on a warm day. read more...
Stephen Scott - Chef of Zola - 26 Feb 2008
Stephen Scott is back in town as executive chef at Zola, the restaurant connected with the International Spy Museum. read more...
Roasted Cod with Sauteed and Braised Sunchokes - 13 Feb 2008
Christophe Marque, chef of Cafe du Parc's recipe doesn't have to be limited to the winter season when sunchokes are in the markets. Substitute young potatoes for these gnarled roots and the recipe extends through the year. read more...
Christophe Marque - Chef of Cafe du Parc - 13 Feb 2008
If the cost of the Euro is preventing you from traveling to France this summer, get your food fix at Café du Parc. Christophe Marque, whose crispy belly of pork was my favorite winter dish, is focusing on the cuisine of Provence from June 21 to the end of July. Traditional dishes include Salade niçoise, Pissaladière - a tart of caramelized onion, anchovy and olives, and roast lamb chops marinated in herbes de Provence.
When he came from Paris just over a year ago to head the Cafe du Parc, the first thing he had to do, between the lunch and dinner service, was learn English. Now he's fluent and concentrating on bringing France to Washington. read more...
Chew on This: Buttering up your tastebuds - 30 Jan 2008
It’s a tough time of year for cooks. Seasonal produce isn’t especially interesting. Once you’ve done everything possible to Chioggia beets, everything else is restricted in color to what Fifth Avenue calls “griege”. At least it means our food budgets will be lower without the cost of seasonal asparagus, strawberries and baby pattipans. So it’s a good opportunity to spend a little more, without too much pain. Buy some really decent butter. read more...
Chew on This: A dish on style and content - 25 Jan 2008
Does the shape of a dish deliberately distract from its contents? Are hot new restaurants so over-designed we no longer focus on what we're eating? In some spots, the whole dining experience can often seem to be more about style than taste. You need the will to survive the elegance of the chill woman in the severe Mao suit who leads you to your table, the demanding attention of a room designed to within an inch of its minimalist feng shui'd life, and cutlery sometimes so cutting edge in shape it's uncomfortable to hold and hard to balance on the side of the plate. read more...
Danny Wells & Scott Weinstein of BlackSalt - 23 Jan 2008
At BlackSalt, Chef Danny Wells and fishmonger Scott Weinstein work as a pair - one finds the fish and the other prepares it. read more...
Chew on This: Kids' cooking classes compulsory - 23 Jan 2008
Childhood obesity isn't just a real concern in the U.S. In China 10 percent of children are obese, a figure that's predicted to increase by 8 percent a year. In the UK, one in four 11 to 15 year-olds are overweight. But the Brits are doing something about that. The government has just announced that cookery lessons will be compulsory in Middle Schools. 11 to 14 year-olds will have to take one hour a week for one term and learn to cook and what's good in food and bad. Will the U.S. follow the Brits' lead? read more...
Caribbean markets - 20 Jan 2008
Caribbean markets seem to be concentrated mostly in the Maryland suburbs of the capital. But Filipino markets carry some Caribbean specialties. read more...
Chew on This: Eco farm 15 miles from DC - 16 Jan 2008
Eight miles as the crow flies from the Washington Monument, hidden behind the houses of a residential subdivision, lies the farm of Mike Pappas. Only 2 1/2 acres of Eco Farms' 16 acres are cultivated, but they are a potent spread of organic, bio-intensive produce. read more...
Chocolate tart - 14 Jan 2008
This Chocolate Tart, the recipe of Tom Power, owner-chef of Corduroy, is an elegant and deeply chocolate dessert that will pass you off as a master patissier. It's not hard to make, despite its apparent length. But Chef Power says it's important to read the recipe right through before you begin. read more...
Chew on This: 1. Too fancy to eat; 2. Too cheap to miss - 14 Jan 2008
Some restaurant food is getting silly. There's something wrong with a menu when waiters need to memorize a script each night. But Restaurant Week is far from silly: it's a great opportunity to eat really good food cheaply - $20.08 at lunch, $30.08 at dinner. Here's my meal, at Ristorante Spezie, on Monday, January 14... read more...
Tom Power - Owner-chef of Corduroy - 14 Jan 2008
Tom Power's restaurant Corduroy opens in a row house on 9th Street NW at the end of March. This interview took place while it was still located on 12th & K Streets NW in the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. The address changes, but his food philosophy remains the same. read more...
Chew on This: Hens relaxed, cans canned, ice cream for the radiator - 10 Jan 2008
Two new supermarket initiatives in Europe might spark discussion in the U.S.: comfort for egg-laying hens and eco-friendly food packaging. And so might ice cream containing anti-freeze... read more...
'Organic' abuse? - 7 Jan 2008
Perhaps Organic Batter Blaster is actually organic. But how horrendous. The idea that you can point a can of it at your griddle and cook up a pancake seems a long way from the principles of organic eating. Besides, how time consuming and difficult it is to make pancake batter from scratch? And what do we do to remain in 'organic' mode to dispose of the beastly container when it's empty? read more...
Tandoori Marinade - 7 Jan 2008
When Ricky Moore was the chef at IndeBleu, this was his recipe for Tandoori Marinade. It's a healthy way to add zip to fish, chicken, steak or chops without too many extra calories. read more...
Eastern Market - 4 Jan 2008
Eastern Market is recovering after the fire that devastated it last spring. For the fullest detail of the different food stall owners back operating there, click on this really informative link from Brendan Spiegel of the blog, endlesssimmer.com. read more...
Creamed Maitake Mushrooms with Edamame, Toasted Pistachios and Tarragon - 4 Jan 2008
Maitake, also known as Hen of the Woods, are one of Nature's most beautiful edible fungii. Haidar Karoum, co-owner and chef of Proof, uses them in this recipe which he serves as an appetizer. But increase the amounts and you have an elegant main course recipe for vegetarians that carnivores will envy. read more...
Haidar Karoum - Co-owner-chef of Proof - 4 Jan 2008
When Nora Pouillon, owner/chef of Restaurant Nora, sold the building that housed sister restaurant Asia Nora in late November, fans went into their second bout of mourning. The first came when Asia Nora’s chef, Haidar Karoum, left after seven years at the helm. Now they can celebrate finding him at Penn Quarter's Proof. read more...
Bad news for chocolate lovers - 3 Jan 2008
Bad news for people like me who used medical findings as an excuse to up their chocolate consumption. Remember last year how we were told its flavanols could protect our hearts?
An editorial this week in top medical journal The Lancet reveals that because of the bitter taste these plant chemicals can impart to chocolate, many manufacturers remove them. read more...
Baked Chocolate Sabayon - 3 Jan 2008
Tom Power has moved his restaurant Corduroy to 1122 9th Street NW. If you wonder why that's of interest, Corduroy is one of those restaurants chefs say they love to eat at. So if you can't get there, here's his recipe for Baked Chocolate Sabayon to cheer you up. read more...
U.S. no longer world's top fast food addict - 2 Jan 2008
A survey out January 2 finds the US overtaken by Britain as top of the world's list of "fast food addicts". It also reports that the people interviewed were "torn" between "food as fuel versus food as pleasure", and that people act in a conflicting manner when it comes to managing their weight. Wow! Who knew? Still, maybe this revelation might spur some of us on with sticking to any New Year's resolution to eat more wisely. read more...
About - 30 Dec 2007
Adobo Spiced Duck Breast - 28 Dec 2007
Howsoon Cham's chile spice rub is packed with a Mexican-Mayan punch. Here the owner-chef of Red Ginger and Café Tropé uses it on festive duck breast but you can try it just as successfully with chicken, meat or fish and left-overs will keep in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. read more...
Howsoon Cham - Owner-chef of Red Ginger and Cafe Tropé - 22 Dec 2007
December 28 saw the opening of Howsoon Cham's new venture, Café Tropé. When the Gambia native bought Red Ginger, it may have been the same drive that won him a soccer scholarship at Bethany College that contributed to his determination to turn it around in 30 hours without closing. read more...
A Christmas carp about salmon - 22 Dec 2007
When you're loading your festive brunch bagel with smoked salmon, consider this. Fish farming accounts for almost half the seafood consumed globally. But consumers increasingly concerned about the impact of conventional fish farming on the environment are putting pressure on supplies of fish farmed organically.
The difference between the two methods, though, seems tenuous. read more...
Peter Schaffrath - Chef of the Hay-Adams Lafayette Room - 16 Dec 2007
Peter Schaffrath celebrates on Christmas Eve so he can cook for guests at the Hay-Adams on Dec. 25. He hasn't spent Christmas Day at home with his family for the last five years. read more...
Gorgonzola Soufflé - 15 Dec 2007
Drew Trautmann, Chef of Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar's recipe - just what you need when you've had too much festive fare. read more...
Hisao Abe - Owner-chef of Kotobuki - 15 Dec 2007
Chef Hisao Abe, who owns Kotobuki on MacArthur Boulevard, learned the art of sushi-making after years of watching, sniffing, tasting. read more...
Roasted Pennsylvania Pheasant Breast, Braised Red Cabbage, Maple Syrup Sweet Potato Mousse and Huckleberry Sauce - 14 Dec 2007
Peter Schaffrath, chef of the Hay Adams' Lafayette Room's recipe is a soothing but elegant cold weather dish. Though there are four separate elements, each is simple to cook. read more...
Chestnuts - 12 Dec 2007
Whether you roast them at an open fire (remembering to stab them with the point of a knife so they don't burst) or include them in a turkey stuffing, chestnuts are a key winter solstice ingredient. read more...
Yannick Cam - Owner-Chef of Le Paradou - 12 Dec 2007
After 43 years in restaurants, Yannick Cam, owner and chef of Washington’s award-winning Le Paradou, hasn’t seen anyone come out of culinary school ready to function in the business. read more...
Roasted Peking Duck, Kohlrabi, Apples, and Chard - 29 Nov 2007
This makes an elegant fall and winter dish from Brendan Cox, chef of Circle Bistro. While the duck is roasting in the oven, you have plenty of time to tackle the vegetables and the rich sauce. read more...
Brendan Cox - Chef of Circle Bistro - 29 Nov 2007
Brendan Cox started cooking seriously while part of a college co-op. The school ran a Health Food Cooperative where, instead of living off the meal plan, students could make their own food. “I cooked for myself a lot and got that bug.” read more...
Bob Kiebler - Chef of Morton's - 28 Nov 2007
Bob Kiebler, chef at the downtown branch of the venerable Morton's of Chicago chain, learned his steak skills at the Morton's University - a fresh twist on the role of academe. read more...
Ginger - fresh - 28 Nov 2007
Don't worry if you've bought too large a piece of ginger root. Fresh ginger stores well. read more...
Greek specialties - 28 Nov 2007
Greek specialties are stocked by most Middle East markets. But if you want to shop as though you were in Greece, head for International Market & Bakery on a Saturday. read more...
Greengages - 28 Nov 2007
Greengages are a gloriously-scented golden plum, better to eat than candy. read more...
Guinness on tap - 28 Nov 2007
Ten years ago, you'd have been hard pressed to find Guinness on tap. Now you can get it at pretty much any downtown brewhouse. read more...
Ikura - 28 Nov 2007
The glowing bright orange 'caviar' beads used in sushi called ikura is the roe of the orange shum salmon. read more...
Jamaican burnt sugar - 28 Nov 2007
Jamaican burnt sugar adds a strong depth of flavor when added to sweeten desserts like a creme caramel instead of ordinary sugar. read more...
Japanese candies & snacks - 27 Nov 2007
Japanese candies are amazing - tiny, accurate renditions of a hot dog or a hamburger, in sweetened gelatin. They make the perfect treat to slip inside a party bag or Christmas stocking. read more...
Lychees - 27 Nov 2007
As with the mangosteen, eating a lychee is like eating a sweet scent. It's close to paradise in fruit terms. read more...
Mangoes - 27 Nov 2007
Some mangoes are more heavenly than others. The big fat ones, green and blushing red, tend to leave fibers in the teeth. read more...
Middle East cooking classes & eateries - 27 Nov 2007
Learn to cook - or eat - the way of the Middle East. read more...
Mochi - a Japanese dessert - 27 Nov 2007
Mochi, a Japanese ice cream covered in dough, has developed a broad fan base. read more...
Mozzarella with the mostest - 27 Nov 2007
There's mozzarella and mozzarella. (And then there's bufala mozzarella, made in the authentic fashion of Southern Italy from buffalo milk.) read more...
Mushrooms - fresh - 27 Nov 2007
If you are traveling to or through Pennsylvania, include Chester County in your tour. Kennett Square is the self-styled 'Mushroom Capital of the World'. read more...
Oriental cooking lessons - 27 Nov 2007
If you'd like to learn how to cook Oriental food, there are a number of options. read more...
Pears - eating & cooking - 27 Nov 2007
Pears aren't limited to the Conference and the Bosc. read more...
Pistachios - 27 Nov 2007
If you want to go a taste stage further than the nuts you can buy at the Giant and Safeway loose or in cellophane sacks, try the range of different flavored pistachios for sale at Middle Eastern markets. read more...
Pizza - 27 Nov 2007
It hardly seems necessary, with all the home-delivery possibilities available, to make suggestions for pizza sources, but if you want to ignore those stuffed-crust, soft dough or crunchy crust confections with exotic topping combinations and tuck into the simple open sandwich style of the original Napolitan snack, there are some good home-made versions around. read more...
