Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Review: barmini - Penn Quarter, DC

8:14 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post


You may remember reading about minibar here, but now meet minibar's little sister, barmini - referred to on their website as a "culinary cocktail lab".  I loved my experience at minibar, but this new concept is great - you still get to experience the whimsy of Jose Andres but in a far more accessible venue. (By the way,  he walked through the restaurant as we were there - I eat at his places several times a month and this is the first time I have seen him!!)  Granted, I still made my reservation a month or so in advance, but I tend to do that anyway for restaurants I really want to try.  The menu consists mainly of cocktails - there are over 100, organized by spirit.  We were told that nothing is overly sweet, or overpowering in any way - they strive for balance.  I tried only two this time around and would agree with their assessment thus far.  They use all antique glassware for the cocktails and I wanted all of it!  Very cool.  



Front and center is the French 75
My first drink was the French 75 - gin, lemon, sugar, brut champagne - simple and really delicious.  Light, fruity, sweet and tart.  Next up was something a little more unique, the Ñ - cucumber vodka, tomato water, lime and ginger syrup.  Honestly not my favorite as I'm not a huge fan of tomato juice, but it definitely was well-balanced - as soon as I started to get almost too much tomato flavor, the sweetness from the ginger syrup would kick in, finishing with a bit of tartness from the lime.  The cucumber kept it all fresh and clean.  I'm glad I tried it, but I'll opt for something new next time.


Rather than going through descriptions of the food (of which there is a limited selection), I'll let you just be enticed by the pictures.  And when you make it there yourself, don't forget to go to the side door and do the secret dance: hop on one foot, spin around 3 times and ring the doorbell 5 times...then voilà!  Someone appears to greet you.  Ok, so only the doorbell part is true, but it still feels kind of exclusive and cool.

"Bagels and Lox"

Grilled Cheese with Truffle

Thai Chicharrones w/ Yogurt Dip

Short Rib Banh Mi Burger - a-freaking-mazing!
Ice cream sandwich with Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream
And finally, even the delivery of the bill had Jose Andres' name all over it....






**Remember, you can click on any photo to see it full-sized.**

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Saturday, May 11, 2013

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies - Baking GALS Round 20

10:58 AM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post



Wow – these cookies pack a serious punch of flavor.  I know spice cookies are generally made more around the holidays, but when I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs (www.browneyedbaker.com) I knew they would be perfect for my troop shipment.  What is a more homey comforting thing than the aroma and taste of warm, sweet, earthy spices, particularly cinnamon?  When they were baking I definitely felt comforted, so hopefully as the guys are chowing down on them, they will too.   My suggestion, pop them in the microwave for just 10 seconds or so to get that smell wafting through the air….and a soft warm cookie ain’t bad either.

I’m thinking I might have to make these more summery as I definitely don’t think I can wait until next winter to make them again.  How so??  Make ‘em a little bigger and sandwich some homemade vanilla ice cream in between them – Y.U.M.

INGREDIENTS:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup dark brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup molasses
For Rolling:
½ cup granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper and salt; set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the egg yolk and vanilla, then increase the speed to medium and beat until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Again reduce the speed to medium-low and add the molasses, beating until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Use a rubber scraper to give it a final few mixes to ensure no flour remains.
Rolled and ready for the oven.
4. Place the sugar for rolling in a small bowl. Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll into a smooth ball, then toss in the sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are browned, still puffy and the edges have begun to set but the centers are still soft, about 11 minutes. Be sure not to over bake the cookies.  Otherwise - crunchy, not chewy - blah.
5. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Fresh baked!
*A couple notes:
These cookies flatten out quite a bit as they cool, I’m wondering if adding the full egg and some baking powder may make them puff up a little more - I tend to like a thick chewy cookie.  Even thin though, these are really great – I may just play around a little next time J
She says to use a small cookie scoop and that it will yield about 24 cookies – well we must have different definitions of small, because I used my small scoop and got a little over 40 cookies!  Just a heads up.

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

A Cabin, Friends and LOTS of Food

11:17 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post



Last weekend, some friends and I took a little road trip – peace out DC, hello Rileyville, VA!  Where the heck is that?!  Shockingly, it’s just two quick hours away near the edge of Shenandoah National Park.  Well, two hours without I-66 Friday afternoon traffic and a stop for essentials…beer, wine, liquor and that damn toothbrush that of course I forgot.  Oh I remembered my microplane to zest a lemon, but I forgot a toothbrush – go figure.

We went to the cabin to celebrate winning first place in the American University Eco-Comedy Film Competition for making this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpxEstCqUfY. 
It was a great way to spend the winnings – escape from the city, enjoy each other’s company, brainstorm for some new ideas (although it took all weekend to settle on one for the next competition – perhaps more on that later) and chow down on some good grub.  We even worked in some canoeing, late night ping pong and foosball, and a morning workout in our ginormo back yard.  Good times all around, but let’s get to the food:

Day 1 - Dinner:
Soba Noodle Stir Fry with Almond Butter Sauce (see post from 3/18/12)
Smores over our fire pit



Day 2:
Breakfast
Buttermilk Biscuits with various toppings - honey, lemon curd, raspberry jam, etc.
Bacon & Sausage
Scrambled eggs





Lunch
Snacks – chicken salad (1/9/13), cheese, hummus (7/8/10), etc.



Dinner
Fajita Night!  Chicken & Steak
Corn Salad – recipe coming soon!
Guacamole
Quinoa & Black Beans



Dessert
Strawberry-Blueberry Hand Pies + 1 Shaq-sized pie (7/9/12)





Day 3 – Breakfast:
French Toast from homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Bacon & Sausage
Fruit
Mimosas, obviously



Not bad, right?  It was so much fun to cook for a crowd, and even more fun to have some kitchen helpers!  Miss you Bear Bluff!



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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Brown Sugar Toffee Bars - Baking GALS Round 19

7:09 PM | Posted by Stephanie | Edit Post

Photo by www.sweetpeaskitchen.com

It was time to make something new – something without chocolate and something that wasn’t a variation on cake.  I had to be able to ship it also, so pie was out of the question….time for bars.  Since I am basically a 90 year old woman inside a 30-something body, my mind turned to Werther’s original (come on, those things are awesomely smooth and delicious), then caramel, and finally toffee.  I saw this recipe and was instantly sold, and I’m glad I was.  These were super easy and really good.  I actually whipped them up so quickly I completely forgot to take pictures in the process, but let’s face it, the picture above is far better than anything I could take in my poorly lit kitchen anyway.

Give these a try, preferably a little warm.  I didn’t have any ice cream when I made them, but I imagine a big scoop of good vanilla on the side would totally make your day.

Ingredients
Recipe adapted from www.sweetpeaskitchen.com

2 ½ cups AP Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 8oz. bag of toffee bits (Heath makes these), reserve ¼ cup for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Grease a 9x13 metal baking pan, or line it with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang slightly for easy removal.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  With the mixer on low, add in dry ingredients until just combined.  Do not over-mix. 

Fold in toffee bits and turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing in an even layer.  Sprinkle the reserved toffee bits over the top and bake until lightly golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Bake just until a toothpick comes out clean, even if they still look a little soft.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for a couple hours, then cut into squares and serve.

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