How to: Clean & Slice Mushroom

Picture by Liz Oxhorn 

I have not always been a fan of mushrooms...I think it's because we usually ate the canned white mushrooms growing up. Those things still gross me out on pizzas....But when I discovered that there's a world of fresh mushrooms, I became addicted! I particularly love baby bella mushrooms because they have the meaty texture of portobello mushrooms but are far easier to cook/clean!

So how do you clean mushrooms?  Well first, you can't rinse them in the sink.  If you've ever done this, you know that the mushrooms go soggy and fall apart, which is not appetizing! So instead take a damp cloth and gently rub the dirt off of the mushroom. You can then snap off the woody stem and toss those away.

Picture by Liz Oxhorn

What you are left with are beautiful, clean mushrooms.

Picture by Liz Oxhorn

You can easily stop at this point, stuff the mushrooms with a nice filling, and roast them. Or....

Picture by Liz Oxhorn

Slice them! Since there is no stem to make the mushroom unstable, you can easily place the mushroom cap on your cutting board and slice in any direction/thickness you like.

Picture by Liz Oxhorn

Now you're ready to add the mushrooms to a soup, sauce or casserole...or you can saute them in a little olive oil, garlic, & rosemary as an easy side dish.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Before you skip this entry saying "Quinoa? What is that? That sounds weird....I'm not going to eat that." Let me tell about this awesome supergrain that I have become obsessed with. These little grains pack 4 times the amount of protein as rice (per serving) and have a great amount of fiber! Ok ok, who cares about the health benefits, right? Well, quinoa is great because it has a similar consistancy as short grain brown rice, cooks quickly, and absorbs the flavors of whatever you mix with it.  This flexibility makes it the perfect base for summer salads.

So when I started concocting this Mexican-inspired salad, I knew I wanted black beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, etc.  I was a little worried that all these individual components would add up and make the salad expensive. That's when I found that Trader Joe's makes a black bean & corn salsa! My love for this store continues to grow!

To bulk the salad up I added some steamed zucchini, but you can add anything you like! The last time I made this salad (no picture sadly) I also added steamed green beans and sliced avocado on top.  But feel free to add roasted chicken, an extra can of black beans, or whatever else you have in the house!

The greatest part about this salad is that it comes together in less than 15 minutes!

1. Cook Quinoa.  The directions may vary on the box, but with the Trader Joe's brand, you mix 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the water is gone.
2. Chop and Steam Veggies. Depending on what veggies you choose, simply slice them all to a consistent size. Then, I put them in a Ziplock Zip-n-Steam bag and follow the directions on the bag. 
3. Mix. In a medium bowl, add the following:
• One container of black bean salsa 
• the juice of half a lime 
• Cooked quinoa (1/2 cup dry quinoa to 1 cup water) 
• steamed veggies
• Add salt and pepper to taste

That's it! You can eat it hot or cold; as a side dish or a light lunch.

Vietnamese Cuisine in Toronto

Hello from beautiful Toronto, Canada!

I'm up here for my association's big annual meeting. That means lots of hotel food, stale coffee, and bad convention center vendors. So what do I do when I have an evening off? Grab some awesome local cuisine of course!

My hotel happens to be in the "old Chinatown" area, so around the corner is every type of Asian cuisine.  Yesterday I had some awesome Thai green curry (sorry, no pictures!) but tonight I had Vietnamese at Pho Orchid (124 Chestnut Street).

Now, I hate to say this, but I have not eaten a lot of Vietnamese food in my life.  From what I've tried, I know how light and refreshing the food can be. After receiving a glass of water with orange slices, I ordered the grilled beef & spring roll "bun" vermicelli bowl. Oh my, this was the perfect meal after all of the heavy food I have been eating. A warm, crunchy spring roll was served along side thinly sliced meat (that almost melted in my mouth), and placed atop a bed of vermicelli rice noodles, crisp lettuce, peanuts, and a small bowl of fish sauce. I loved that the meat actually tasted grilled and not like it was stir-fried in oil.  For a bit of extra flavor, fresh chopped mint was sprinkled on top which added a nice bright flavor to the dish.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was great too. Don't let the picture dissuade you (I happened to take the picture in between surges of customers) this place was both clean and classy. Usually with Asian restaurants you have to choose between clean/expensive or cheap/dirty, but how much was my awesome dinner with tax & tip? Ten dollars! Now granted, that's Canadian dollars, but the exchange rate isn't that big of a difference.

How to Roast Asparagus

I seriously LOVE asparagus! I know I say that with a lot of foods, but asparagus is one of those veggies I would eat pretty much every day if I could. One of my favorite ways to eat them is roasted with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. For those of you who say you don't like asparagus, it is probably because of 1 of 2 reasons: 1) It was overcooked and mushy or 2) it wasn't prepped properly and had chewy, woody ends.

Well it is time to forget the asparagus of the past and to learn to make it properly! To start out, cover a baking sheet with a little aluminum foil (makes clean-up super easy) and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pick up a few pieces of asparagus and grip the stalks at either end. 

Bend the asparagus gently in the middle. The asparagus will naturally break where the woody part ends and the delicious stalk begins. Yes, this may mean you have some really short stalks (especially in the early and late parts of the season), but you don't want to eat that chewy part anyway, right?

Once you've separated all of the woody ends from the delicious end pieces, arrange the stalks on the baking sheet, drizzle with 1-1.5 tablespoons of olive oil (just eyeball it), and sprinkle salt/pepper on top. Toss gently with your hands to cover all of the asparagus with the seasoning and pop them into the oven.

The time it takes for the asparagus to roast is anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on how crunchy you like your veggies. I like mine with a little give and a little crunch, so I roast mine for approximately 10 minutes. Ok, you know I'm not one for a timer, so lets be honest. I just fiddle with the asparagus at about the 8 minute mark, and if it bends slightly, I pretty much know it's finished.  Or you can always eat one to make sure it tastes good...or maybe just two...

See? Wasn't that simple?

Awesome Trader Joe's Products

So to start out, I'm not affiliated with Trader Joe's in any way....but with that said, wow I just found some awesome products in the store recently! I almost freaked out when I saw the smoked sea salt. I actually first heard of smoked sea salt a few month ago when I was in Seattle. They smoke the salt like you would meat, which gives it a nice...ahem, well, smokey flavor.  It's not like using liquid smoke (because that is actually a chemical), so if you're like me and don't have a backyard to grill on, you can shake on a little of this smoked salt on your food to get a nice flame-broiled flavor any time of year!

The second awesome product is Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar.  I love making my own vinaigrettes for my salads. I mean, why buy a bottled salad dressing when it takes 45 seconds to mix up yourself? Anyway, this vinegar has a nice citrus flavor with the zing of a vinegar. I think I'll be able to come up with a few awesome new recipes with this tart and and vinegar!

Graffiato

I think I may have just found my new favorite restaurant in Graffiato! This is Mike Isabella's (from Top Chef) new restaurant in DC, and I have been chomping at the bit to try it since it opened last month!  I just wish I had brought a better camera...oh well, you will have to join me in experiencing this awesome restaurant from my blackberry.

When you first walk in, the doorway is a bit crowded; however, my dining companion and I were quickly escorted upstairs to the main dining area. The tables are close together, but don't feel so close that you are invading anyone's private conversations. I love that you can see the kitchen from your table. You would think that it would make the dining area noisy, but really you could not even hear the kitchen!

After you order, you are brought these awesome spiced pistachios. I don't know what the mix is, but it's spicy, sweet, and salty all at the same time! I couldn't stop munching on these babies...that is, until my first course came.

Graffiato's menu is Italian small plates, so they suggest you order 2-3 plates per person.  The pizzas are bigger, so they amount to more like 2 plates total.

For our first course, we started with the best caesar salad I have ever had. What is so awesome about a caesar salad? Well, they used a lemon dressing instead of a heavy creamy dressing. Also, there were these amazing cream cheese croutons on top, which just made the dish. They were chunks of cream cheese that were lightly breaded, then fried just enough to be crispy on the outside, and cool and creamy in the middle.

The next course was the sweet corn agnolotti. These pillows of creamy corn goodness were sprinkled with chanterelle mushrooms and pine nuts, and finished with a light cream sauce.  After I tried my first bite, I wished that I had an entire bowl full of this awesome pasta....until the next course.

Our next course was the countryman pizza, which is toped with fontina cheese, a duck egg, and....wait for it....black truffles! I don't know if you know this by now, but I ADORE truffles in any form. My only complaint is that this pizza is not the prettiest to look at.  A sprinkling of parsley would have helped the visual presentation. However, what's not to love about a pizza with black truffles?!

Next was my favorite course...and not something I have ever ordered before so I was doubly pleased. I saw bone marrow on the menu and knew I needed to try it! The presentation was beautiful with a long bone slit in half and stuffed with the marrow, pistachios, cured lemon, bread crumbs, and bacon.  I was afraid that the texture would be squishy, but the marrow was creamy and rich while the nuts added texture and the lemon a great brightness in flavor.

Finally, we of course had to have dessert!  They have so many great options, but my dining companion and I were craving chocolate, so we had the chocolate tart with sea salt gelato. Now, the tart on its own was nothing really to be excited about. However, when you eat it with the sea salt gelato...oh my goodness the dish just goes to another level! Of course, I have a think for salty and sweet things, but who would have thought that sea salt gelato would be amazing?

Now, being a new restaurant, I went in weary that the service would be terrible. However, Mike's got this place running perfectly! My water glass was always full, cleaned plates were quickly cleared away, and the food came out perfectly timed. Actually, at one point Mike actually came out and I almost had a heart attack. Sadly, I'm not a sneaky picture taker, so I didn't get a shot. However, this star-struck blogger did enjoy seeing one of her favorite Top Chef stars!

All in all I spent around $40 (including tax & tip), but I didn't leave feeling like I wasted any money. With the excellent quality of not only the food, but also the service, I feel satisfied with the amount that I spent. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm going to be saving some money for the next few meals eating at home, but as an impact on my overall budget, I'd have to say Graffiato was well worth it and I cannot wait to go back!

2011 Restaurant Week: Fall Edition

It's that time again! My favorite time of year when I spend WAY too much money because it is just too good a deal to pass up.  (Speaking of, I should start saving now....) It's time for Restaurant Week: Fall Edition.

If you have not heard of Restaurant Week, you get to have a prix-fixe meal (usually 3-4 courses) from some of the best places in DC for only $20 for lunch and $35 for dinner!  Want some tips on how to get the most out of restaurant week? Check out my post from last spring.

Now to choose where to go....and who to go with...