Meatless Mondays: Herb Salad

This Meatless Monday, I decided to try a herb salad with feta, roasted red peppers, and toasted nuts recipe from this month's bon appetit.  I couldn't find the marinated feta, so I opted for marinated mozzarella instead; it was a suitable substitute, but I think the feta would have been better.  It was a quick and easy meal to make, but the salad dressing was strong, so in the future I will use it sparingly.

I also was inspired by my friend Debbie's success with a tasty looking Quinoa Greek Salad.  Can't wait to try it out!

Meatless Mondays: Spinach Littles

It's embarrassing to admit, but I have gotten addicted to Spinach Littles.

They're not just for kids.

Amused by the fun shapes and petite name, I thought these might be worth checking out.  I never expected them to actually be good.  They taste like spinach hash browns.  I happen to love spinach and any potato-based food, which explains why I can't stop eating these.  I never pass up a cupcake, but often forget all about veggies.  So my current spinach little obsession isn't all bad - at least I'm eating something green, even if it is star shaped.

Big Top Cupcake Saga

I spent most of last Saturday trying to make a Big Top Cupcake. The commercial says that it is faster and easier than making smaller cupcakes, but after at hours on Saturday I can honestly say that is not the case.  At least not for me.

It all started when my sister, the thoughtful and awesome person that she is, got me the As-Seen-On-TV silicon bakeware.  

Nothing screams "You have a serious cupcake obsession," like receiving a Big Top Cupcake maker.  The Big Top is 25 times bigger than a normal cupcake, which means it's about the size of a child's head. Anyone cupcake-crazed enough to purchase this product is too far gone to consider the practical realities of how to eat a massive cupcake.  (I'm pretty sure the only way to eat it is to grab huge chunks of it with your hands or fork - perfect for an addict.)

Given my love of cupcakes and recent daydreams of working in a cupcake shop, I believed I would be a natural with the Big Top Cupcake.  I even went so far as to take some liberties with the cake mix by adding in chocolate chips (I really know how to shake things up and get creative in the kitchen).  But the Big Top instructions for baking were vague, saying I should follow the cake mix instructions for timing and heat.  

The only easy part was putting the batter in the bakeware.

A half an hour later I had a crisp, dry outer Big Top with a gooey center.  After another 30 minutes minutes in the oven, the outside was as hard as a rock, but the center finally looked quasi-edible.  Still in denial and determined to make the Big Top a success, I made a bourbon butter cream icing in an attempt to redeem my jumbo cupcake.  Even though I waited until the cupcake cooled, it rejected the icing like a bad haircut.  

Will everyone's face light up when they see this king-sized cupcake??

Not only did the Big Top refuse to cooperate with my increasingly desperate attempts to make it at least attractive, if not edible, but it also called into question my future as a cupcake natural.  Exhausted from the hours and emotional energy I'd lost to the fruitless endeavor, I took the bourbon icing and left the kitchen shaken to the core.

Later, my roommate found me comatose, with a half-eaten bowl of bourbon icing.  It was not my finest moment.  I incoherently told her about the traumatic episode, and she suggested that I cook the Big Top longer at a lower temperature (maybe 300 degrees).  Brilliant.  This weekend, things will be different.  I just know it.

Meatless Mondays: Vegan Ice Cream?

Last week, I read an article about a public health campaign for Meatless Mondays on NPR. Let's be honest, meat is awesome (especially when it's bacon). But too much of a good thing can be bad. Eating it at every meal raises cholesterol and increases the likelihood of chronic heart problems. So why not go meatless for a day?

This campaign is a cool concept and I'm curious to see what new foods I'll discover by forgoing meat and focusing on veggies or even vegan food. (It would be too easy to observe a meat-free day by enjoying pasta or cheese-based dishes - so I'm mainly focusing on foods outside my comfort zone.) I'll document my Meatless Monday adventures here once a week, sharing new recipes, food products, or restaurants.

This week I tried vegan ice cream.

To be honest, as an ice cream lover, the whole concept of vegan ice cream is an oxymoron. But when I found out there is a dairy-free ice cream made of coconut milk, I was curious. I love coconut, and if anything could make vegan ice cream palatable, coconut milk would be it.

After trying a few bites, I knew this wasn't authentic ice cream. But it was still really good. It wasn't trying too hard to be something it was not (like soy ice cream or even some "diet" ice creams) - the coconut milk ice cream was confident in its own identity. (And why shouldn't it be? I can't think of one dish with coconut in it that isn't delicious.)

I was shocked to find myself genuinely enjoying a vegan food.

My Favorite Flavor

Really?

Recently, I was perusing the wine section of my local Harris Teeter and was horrified by what I saw.

Ed Hardy now makes wine.
Only one thing comes to mind: WHY?

Apparently tacky clothing was not enough - Ed Hardy just had to break into the wine market. I guess it's a natural step. I constantly find myself thinking, "If only I had a wine to match my outfit!"

About 30 seconds after I stumbled upon the wine, I could already see the Ed Hardy Lifestyle Channel in development and just knew there would be an awful reality tv show involving dysfunctional people living in an Ed Hardy house.

I was quickly nearing a full blown panic attack in the middle of the wine section. Thinking about how mortifying this would be only made me panic more, and I knew I had to act quickly before things got out of control. I searched for some free cheese samples, but there were none.

Then, I did what I always do when I'm at a loss - I picked up my iPhone. Luckily, my friend Emily had just sent me an article about the best New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc under $17. I picked up a bottle of Crossings and paired it with an award winning goat cheese my roommate picked up over the weekend.

Both were amazing and almost made me forget all about my traumatic wine shopping experience. Almost.

Alexandria Restaurant Week

In all of the excitement over DC Restaurant Week, don't miss Alexandria's Restaurant Week! From August 20 - 29, local restaurants will offer one of three deals: $35 Prix-Fixe three course dinner, $35 dinner for two or $3.50 sweet treats.

My favorite places offering deals include Columbia Firehouse, ACKC CoCoa Bar, and Dairy Godmother.

I'm looking forward to checking out Grape + Bean after hearing my friend Robin rave about it for ages. Not to mention, can you really go wrong with a place that specializes in wine and coffee?

Places to avoid: Chart House and Warehouse Bar and Grill (I went there once and the food was mediocre and overpriced).

Where I'm going for dinner next time I'm in New York

New York is a great city with a mind-boggling number of famous restaurants and eateries. But some of the best restaurants are the inviting places you stumble upon while walking through the city.

My cousin Jessica and I were wandering around the Village looking for the perfect place to get a drink. There were a million options, but none seemed quite right until we walked past Quartino Bottega Organica. I loved the space - it was small, quiet, modest, and relaxed. The music was good and suited the ambiance. (This may seem trivial, but if you've ever had a meal ruined by Kenny G., you understand how critical music selection is.)

After a busy day, it was exactly what we needed.

The bar was small, but the wine list was impressive. It featured organic wines, but included several good, non-organic wines as well. I was surprised to find the prices much lower than I expected. The people working at the bar were down-to-earth and friendly. From talking with them, I got the sense that this was a restaurant owned and operated by people who truly loved food. After looking at the menu, I knew that this would be my first stop next time I visit New York.

Ramen - no longer just for college kids and starving artists...

When I hear someone say ramen, two words immediately come to mind: college and desperation. I associate the noodles with 50 cent deals at Giant, not cutting edge cuisine.

But ramen done right can be gourmet, as I found out when I tried Ippudo. In 1985, Shigemi Kawahara, the Ramen King, opened the first Ippudo in Japan. Since then, it's made its way to New York, where it thrived in the notoriously competitive New York restaurant scene.

The night I went, the small restaurant was packed. Chefs prepared the food in an open kitchen. In spite of the calm, Zen-inspired decor, Ippudo bustled with excitement. The service was excellent. If the ramen was half as good as the Ippudo experience, I knew I would love it. I was not disappointed, the classic ramen was addictive. The broth was subtly spiced and I couldn't get enough. The pork melted in my mouth. This was not my college ramen.

New York Doughnuts

What makes a great doughnut? New York's Doughnut Planet would argue a great doughnut has homemade fillings in a variety of flavors.

I wanted to check out Doughnut Planet since I saw it featured on the Travel Channel. My cousin and I got four doughnuts: Lavender, Valrohna Chocolate, Coconut Glazed Coconut Creme (my favorite), and Strawberry Jam Filled. They disappeared too fast to take pictures and lived up to our high expectations. The fillings were delicious but not overwhelming. The doughnuts themselves were light and sweet.

Doughnut Planet is a worthy rival of Fractured Prune for best doughnut ever- but it's a tough call. While Fractured Prune's hot glazed doughnuts rolled in delicious toppings are phenomenal, there's something irresistible about the Doughnut Planet's perfectly proportioned delicious filling to doughnut ratio.

Carmine's Opens Tomorrow in Penn Quarter!

While blogging my New York food adventures, it seems fitting to pause and share Urban Daddy's announcement that the New York Italian Restaurant Carmine's is opening in Penn Quarter tomorrow. Can't wait to check it out soon!

New York's most famous deli

Remember that scene in the deli from When Harry Met Sally? Did you ever wonder, like I did, if their sandwiches were that good? Turns out that Katz's Deli is famous for making life-changing sandwiches and cheesecake.

So of course I had to check it out. As soon as I got into the city, I met up with my cousin and headed to Katz's.


We walked into a large, bustling dining room. The menu was overwhelming - everything sounded delicious. But after walking there in oppressive heat, I couldn't fathom something as heavy as the famed pastrami sandwich. I opted for a chicken salad sandwich instead, vowing to come back next time for an authentic sandwich experience. The chicken salad sandwich was one of the best I've ever had and perfect for a hot summer's night. Still, my New York sandwich guilt didn't dissipate with each delicious bite and I realized there was only one way to make things right - eat a piece of authentic New York cheesecake.


This was the best cheesecake of my life. The texture was smooth, and it was the perfect blend of sweet and cheesy. It literally melted in my mouth. The power of this cheesecake cannot be underestimated. At this very moment, I have Katz's mail order cheesecake page up and the only question is "how many?"