Audrey and Jon | Travel. Food. Life. Love.

Wild Mushroom Arancini

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 11:05 by Jon

From delicious magazine. Difficult to form, but tasty! Freeze (and reheat) leftovers for an easy weeknight meal.

2 tbsp butter
1 cup assorted wild or chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1.5 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
3 cups vegetable stock, hot (approx - make more if needed)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
4 oz buffalo mozzarella ball, cut into 12 pieces
4 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (2 votes)

Lebanese Tabbouleh

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:49 by Jon

From Epicurious

1/2 cup fine bulgur
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling-hot water
2 cups finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from 2 bunches)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cucumber, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Your rating: None Average: 3 (2 votes)

Brick Chicken

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:30 by Jon

2 large or 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-2 two-sided breasts)

2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Olive oil

Toast spices in a medium saucepan over low heat until fragrant.

Rub the blended spices all over the chicken. Marinate for up to 4 hours or overnight.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (or other heavy oven-proof pan) over medium heat.

When hot, add a 2-count of extra virgin olive oil and place the chicken in the pan.

Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)

August Beer: Czech Pilz

Posted Mon, 08/03/2009 - 09:12 by Jon

Bottled this weekend was the previously-mentioned Pilz. The West Coast Pale Ale was a resounding success; one of the cleaner, most balanced (sweet, light, hoppy) beers I've made in a while.

To be fair, I try to brew stuff that's not available in stores, like Pumpkin porter (a repeat favorite, coming in late October), and Coffee Bock (a new recipe for my annual Octoberfest bock).

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Califood week

Posted Sun, 08/02/2009 - 17:33 by Jon

This week we're doing Californian-ish food - sushi, fish tacos, bagels and lox, and a repeat of the brick chicken.

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Kinda-Healthy Southern Week

Posted Mon, 07/27/2009 - 15:45 by Jon

Crabmeat Remick with artichoke -- we used a combination of canned and fake crabmeat. It might've been better with fresh lump crabmeat, but not actually worth it.

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Non-stanard Italian Menu (week of July 13)

Posted Sat, 07/18/2009 - 08:32 by Jon

Crab Carbonara - yummy, but really would benefit from fresh peas

Wild mushroom and mozzarella risotto cakes - excellent but a bit hard to form and fry

Seared tuna salad

Asparagus and prosciuttio fritatta (we used green beans)

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DC Historical Myths - Exposed!

Posted Fri, 07/17/2009 - 09:21 by Jon

WeLoveDC dusts off widely held myths about DC and debunks them:

http://www.welovedc.com/2009/07/07/dc-mythbusting-built-on-a-swamp/

...was DC really built on a swamp? Not really– today it’d be called more of a tidal plain. When Pierre L’Enfant set out with a team to survey the city, there was a lot of variety in what he found: fields of tobacco and corn, small forests, and some waterside bluffs and wetlands.

More good reading at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/magazine/feat...

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Early Summer Beer

Posted Sat, 06/13/2009 - 13:17 by Jon

The first day of summer will also be the first day for drinkability of my West Coast style Pale Ale. I'd confused myself as to what I had brewing, so the Pilz has to wait for full-on summertime. I'll get a label done for this soon (ish)