May 8 – Happy Birthday Kate <3

My beautiful sister/twinnie/wifey/lover and I both took her birthday off this past Wednesday and spent the day together. After I went to my morning dentist appointment I headed straight to Kate‘s with a delicious raspberry profiterole chocolate cake and some Moet pink bubbles!

After thinking about what to do for lunch before our “appointment” at Juli Moon… we ended up at Panera… always a yummy choice

Kate got her Bacon Turkey Bravo Smoked turkey breast, bacon, smoked Gouda, lettuce, tomatoes & signature dressing, on Tomato Basil bread.

Which she was craving… [as did her Hubby M]

And I tried the new Salad…

Spinach Power Salad Fresh baby spinach, roasted mushrooms and onion blend, diced eggs, applewood-smoked bacon, frizzled onions & smoky Vidalia onion vinaigrette

Turns out I’m not a fan of frizzled onions which remind me of just canned fried onions but 10x saltier…

I also had chicken added to it.. which was NOT on the menu, but funnily enough there was an “Add Salmon” so I go:

Me: Can I add Salmon to that?
Cashier: Of course you can…. but we don’t have it.
Me: Oh…..

So chicken it was….

And then off to Lynn, MA — my first time in that town… actually not as far away as I assumed it would be… lol

Us waiting. For once I’m not the most pale. Thank you Miami.

Is it time yet? Whatever O Clock

We are excited

Kate’s readdddyyyyyy to get down and dirty

I went first

“Curiousity often leads to trouble” and two dragonflies

And then this happened

Kate’s turn

Two dragonflies…. the little pink one is me… the bigger purple/orange pink one is her

Even M got in on the action!!!

Feettttsies

Thanks CS for our awesome bestie tatts

And then after going back to Kate and M’s house for a bit with CS we decided we wanted MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT.

Sooooo… Texas Roadhouse it was…

The most amazing bread with cinnamon butter… I think we kept asking for refills til they ran out…

PEANUTS.. which I DEVOURED

Kate is excited. The  menu is HUUUGE, what to get what to get?!?!?!?!?

CS and I both got Margaritas [mine is the LESS girly one] with an extra shot of Patron….

CHEERS!!! And good job on our feets

YUMMMYYYY

Fried Pickles!!!!! Since Kate LOOOOVES Pickles

Her first fried pickle!!!

My Salad…. with…

THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING!!! This is for YOU, KELLY LIN!!!!

Then we all got or food… except Mike, he doesnt get his food…

Kate’s Fried Chicken

Bday girl is super ready

CS’s ribs and steak and sides

Mike’s chicken and ribs…. and sides

And of COURSE I got the bone-in Ribeye…

Although sadly it wasn’t “medium rare on the rare side” like I wanted… but it was tasty nonetheless… I think I was the only one that finished my plate… [ok CS helped a bit]

Another one? I actually thought the tube shot was a fat straw at first…

CHEERS TO KATE THE MOST WONDERFUL LADY I KNOW AND LOVE!!!!

Sisters for life <3

The Spotted Pig

So ya’ll know about the book… WHICH IS AMAZING, I got it as soon as it got out. GET IT.

Now let’s talk about her food.. it was a beautiful Saturday so after walking all the way from the edge of FiDi…. all the way to almost Times Sq..

First by the waters… and then we decided to walk on the HighLine since I’ve never been…. We walked all the way to the end… and then went down to Gastro Market for a few beers. Ahhh beergardens.

I don’t remember what they were except they were in caskets and red ales.

We ended up walking to the The Spotted Pig RIGHT before the big dinner rush. Phew. Last two seats at the bar. Booyeah!

I was surprised at how little pork items were actually ON the menu. Come on.. Spotted Pig? We need a full on all out pigged out menu….

Pork Rillette with Pickles & Mustard

What could go wrong with pork topped off with lardo?!.. You don’t even need the grainy mustard on the side….. just a huge scoop of the lardo and pork from the rillette on top of the perfectly grilled crostini… toasty fresh… and you’re good.  The pickled gherkins and pearl onions were a nice touch…

Crispy Pig’s Ear Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing

This was the first thing I saw on the menu and I KNEW I had to get it.  I was surprised that it was a whole pig’s ear… unless it’s connected to the head still, I’m used to eating it cut into thin strips.  The pig’s ear was crispy, not greasy at all, and paired lovely with the refreshing salad of mixed greens, endive and italian parsley underneath.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Roasted Beets & Horseradish Cream

J shared this with me. AMAZING horseradish butter and simple braised beets and beet greens. Delicious. We weren’t asked how we wanted it to be cooked but it was cooked to a beautiful medium rare, on the rare side. YUM. Buttery meat.

Prosciutto & Ricotta Tart with Marjoram

This was an appetizer but I got it as my main to share with J.  A flakey crisp tart topped with prosciutto, risotto, greens and shavings of parm. DELICIOUS.

And of course, a very much needed – and always necessary side dish

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These literally melted in your mouth.  Most definitely NOT good for you but sooooo delicious.

I kinda wish we got the burger as well, it’s supposed to be awesome and I saw a TON of people order it.

Afterwards we ended up at Proletariat for beers….. and PRETZEL BREAD

The stout cheese dip was meh….. it was all about the curry mustard sauce!!!!

Met up with a few friends and ended up at Dive Bar Lucy’s..

Great times.

Miami Day 1 & 1500° Restaurant

J and I have been planning a getaway from everything since January.. we were planning on going to Ultra in March but the prices were sky high so we decided to wait a month.  So one drunken food coma night…. as J was passing out and I was still on a drunken high…. I bought us tickets to Miami for 3 nights 4 days. Somehow we got booted up to first class. OH YES. First class bitches!

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY. I’ve been SO excited to go back…. last year I went but wasn’t really able to enjoy much… didn’t leave the resort and had to play solo… but this timeeeeee… my partner in crime were ready to eat drink and RELAX. I think I deserve it considering my car accident, almost breaking my spine, almost slicing off my finger, 2 trips to the ER, etc all in the past 3 weeks.. yes I deserve a break… and J just works really hard and needs to REEELAX :]

On the way to LGA airport I said bye bye to my pale ass ghost legs.

BYE BYE BYE

We finally got to the airport… got REJECTED from the Admirals club cuz even though we’re first class it has to be international or we need a platinum Amex or a Black card uhhh… good thing we got there with only minutes to spare.

Yeah barely there makeup – was too excited and forgot to put much on.

Front Row, First Class Bitches…

And warm nuts <3 You’re gonna love my nuts!!!!

Altho there was a choice pre-flight online for a buffalo salad or beef wrap they only had beef wraps on this trip.  Not sure about the presentation but at least it was a pretty healthy/decent “snack” – Some Carrots and Cucumbers to dip [I actually didn't get any dip but J got some on his] and while the beef wrap was a bit small and soggy it was pretty decently tasty.  I also hadn’t eaten anything all day… sooooo…. big factor. I WANT MORE NUTS

And while  not the underbaked cookies I remember from previous AA flights…. these were warm and crispy.. and I got it all over myself. Yep. Completely covered in crumbs and chocolate.

Beautiful….

Our gorgeous Eden Roc Hotel Resort..

Unfortunately we were like this:

Since as soon as we got in the taxi from the airport it was raining like crazyyyyy…

OH so we get to the front desk and it’s “I’m sorry our standard rooms are fully booked, we have to upgrade you for free to an Ocean View Room in our new with with a Balcony and a Hot Tub.

Ohh shucks. Life sucks :]

Our hot tub <3

So since it was raining out, we decided to hot tub it inside… with some champagne of course. OF COURSE.

And then it was time to get ready to get pretty for dinner and play.  I had already, in advance, booked us resos at 1500°.. and than later finding out it’s quite a big big deal.

1500°.. Farm to Table eating with the famous Hell’s Kitchen competitor Paula DiSilva as exec chef.

Everything local.  And our waiter was kind enough to tell us where all our food was coming from :]

Add a FRIED DUCK EGG TO MY STEAK? Sold! Obviously I have to get it……

And of course we tried the Black Garlic Truffle Butter for our steak [on the side]

We got a lovely bottle of Rioja and some chamapgne… but I found a bucket of these waters next to us hahaha for other tables

Wine art? This belongs in MOMA or the Guggenheim…

We started off with a half dozen Kumomoto Oysters [hehe J usually leaves it up to me for food while he picks out the wines]

The famous Palmetto Creek Farms Pork Belly Tacos with Homemade Kimchi

These were good but not THAT impressive. The fried wonton shells and the kimchi [totally NOT kimchi] were more chinese food than anything.. like chinese takeout-ish… but the pork belly itself was delicious and melt-in-your-mouth

Grilled Octopus on a Zucchini puree, frisse, roasted tomatoes, sheep’s milk feta and kalamata olives

This was amazing. Me and J were tearing this APART – but I gave him the olives and he gave me the tomatoes.  Refreshing and the octopus was sooo tender with just amount of chew. Perfection. SOO tender and the smokiness from the char from the grill. AMAZE BALLS.

And then our “Sides”

Swank Farms Shishito Peppers with just simple Sea Salt and Lime

This was actually a sharing plate but we used it as a side dish. I LOVE Shishito peppers… these were so tasty.  We both thought the red ones were gonn be really spicy but they weren’t.  They were lighter and sweeter.. a few green ones had some kick to them tho. YUM.

Spicy Grilled Zellwood Florida Corn with Cotija

This was my MUST HAVE side dish. I LOVE Mexican Corn and Cotija. AHHH…reminds me of summer in Chicago. This was DELICIOUS!!!!!!  Slight heat to it but only to be cooled down by the light tang of the creamy cheese. YUMMMMM

And the main dish, the star of the show

….. we split a 14oz Florida Grass Fed Wagyu Ribeye…. Medium Rare of course…. with the Black Garlic Truffle Butter on the side. And smudge of… red stuff.. hahaha. I think it’s something sweet and tomato-y.

With a fried duck egg [of course] – this they couldn’t split for us since  it’s gooey so they just gave it to us in the middle in a skillet.

Best piece of meat I’ve ever had methinks.

This is one of the most amazing pieces of steak I have ever had.  Meat even.  Tender, melt in my mouth and the perfect size.  J and I were so glad we split the steak so we could still move and play after dinner instead of just dying and food coma-ing out.

I’ve had a LOT of meat in my life and a LOT of steak, a lot of good steaks… especially ribeyes, but this was just perfection.

Afterwards we walked around the resort and headed to  the Cabana Beach Club for a drink or two…..

Than to the Lobby Bar we picked up a Mojito and a Margarita, put on the hot tub again and enjoyed our amazing view.

O

OH Miami how I love you so.

A simple steak dinner tonight…

I’ve been in recovery… and been totally vegetarian and on a liquid diet…

but while I’m supposed to be in bed rest, I craved some meat…. beef… rare beef to be exact.  So simple steak dinner it is.

Filet Mignon [rare for me, medium for mama] sprinkled with salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne…

with a reduced red wine, butter, chicken broth, shallots, garlic, mushroom, shallot sauce from the pan drippings….

I steamed some green beans… and poured me some Merlot from bottle and voila!  A delicious dinner tonight for mama and me.

OKAY. More updates from Taiwan, Frisco…… and of course stuff that I’ve cooked and eaten at back in the States, ASAP!!!!

Finally eating at Mintwood…

Pictures now, descriptions later.

Pork Cracklins’

Sel de al Terre – WIne Dinner – Wines for the Harvest Table

I can never say no to a Wine Dinner when I’m in town……

Wines for the Harvest Table

Amuse Bouche
ASF Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The problem tonight was that they poured the first wine for the first course WAY before the amuse came out. Good thing I drank slowly and it paired well with the first course AND the amuse.  In fact it turned out to be my favorite wine of the night.

First Course
Young Greens, Cucumber, Almonds, Citrus Vinaigrette

This was a nice night salad. Delicious and licked it up.  No cheese, simple and amazing.  Crunch and texture from the almonds AND the greens were amazing.

Paired with 2006 Westport Rivers, “Cuve RJR: Brut, Westport, Massachusetts

Second Course
Pan Seared Atlantic Salon, ASF Braised Greens, Raspberry Butter Sauce

Aside from the raspberry butter sauce I loved this dish. The salmon was cooked to perfection.  The greens were cooked down t amazing-ness.  Microgreens fr some fresh crunch… but the sauce was too sweet and buttery.. too rich for my liking.  Raspberry Butter Sauce? Gag. It wasn’t my sort of thing…….. and hopefully not too many other ppls. Sorry SDLT. Not so good. The pairing was good though.. a nice light red.. I guess more of a rose.

Paired with 2010 Elio Perrone, Bigora Rosato, Castiglione, Italy

Side Dish of Sauteed ASF Tatsoi – basically 塌棵菜 a chinese Mustard Spinach

Great green…. not well cooked. SAD.

Main Course
Grilled Hanger Steak, ASF Turips, Carrots, Red Wine Demi-Glace
Paired with 2011 Peloverga, Comm. G.B. Burlotto, Verduno, Italy

I loved the fall vegetables but I actually wasn’t too into the steak… not that it wasn’t cooked well or anything, maybe I was just full.  I don’t think I finished the wine either.  The beef, though, almost tasted gamey. But remember I’ve been sick for awhile and things just taste weird to me lately.  All my medications make me less hungry and have different tastebuds.

Formage Course
Shelbourne Cheddar
Paired with 2006 Concha y Toro, Late Harvest, Sauvignon Blanc, Chile

DElICIIIIIOUS I ate it all. ALL

And I came home to a black cat in the house. GASP. Many years of Cute Luck.

A Delicious Night In….

W dubbed it “Romance Night” so….. he made the food and I got the wine.

It’s around 50$ and a beautiful Spanish wine… definitely needed to decanter for a bit… should’ve popped it before the food was getting cooked but delicious anyway.

Ribeye, Cooked medium-rare on the rare side.. just the way I like it.

Olive Oil Smashed Garlic Potatoes.
SO FREAKING GOOD.  You can get the recipe here on Cook Taste Eat.

A simple salad of romaine, carrots, tomato, and a nice simple vinaigrette. Refreshing, crisp, delish.

A nice tomato-parsley garlicky mixture.. not a pesto but delicious… and for the stea.

Beautiful

The beautiful foods plated up.  If you look carefully I already took a huge bite out of my yummy steak hahahaha…

WINE

Drunkenly we ran over to Safeway so I could bake W a cake.  I made a faux Black Forest cake.. super ghetto. Chocolate Fudge Cake mix that I added maraschino cherries to, some of the juice and chocolate chips.  I am a fabulous drunk baker!!!

Unfortunately after all that wine and me trying to watch Hop, that was the end of Romance night hahahaha…. SNORE… food/wine coma.

Seriously, we only came for a Burger…

Bourbon Steak is a go to in DC.. and a place W and I like to head to just cuz… especially when we’re craving a good burger.  But I don’t think we’ve ever gone for a burger and ONLY gotten a burger.  As soon as I was done with work I slipped on some clothes and we headed over for some food.

When I sat down I ordered a champagne cocktail.. but was quickly presented with a yummy special one from the head bartender, Dwayne. YUM!
[Note: this drink will reappear in a Baltimore post!!!!]

Look at him at work.

Like always we were soon after presented with the Trio of Duck Fries. YUM – Crisp, flavorful and yummy, piping hot, they NEVER disappoint.  And I love how they switch up flavors and dipping sauces all the time. WOOHOO.

Raw Oysters with a Kimchi Sauce…

Delicious and fresh.  Tasty.  The kimchi wasn’t chunky like I thought it would be.  And see those little white balls? They’re little rice balls.

An amazing Rockfish Crudo

Sooooo many elements but the taste came out sooo simple and fresh.  A mixture of sweet – from the melon – and salty, different textures of the raw fish to the crunch of the shallot and then the creamy sauce.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Mozzarella…

That hand is none other’s than Exec Chef Adam Sobel‘s…

I love anything with tomatoes and mozz. Maybe not the best season for tomatoes this year but I thought it was tasty anyways. I loved the little marshmallows of mozz! So cute and pillow-y. FLUFF.

Deconstructed Bahn Mi

This was SOOOO GOOD.  Everything about it was amazing. Creamy liver pate on a nice brioche… and then some meats on the side. AMAZING.

Calamari with Chorizo and Brioche Croutons

This was a HUUUUUUUGE bowl of squid. SO freaking much.  It was delicious but just SOOO much.  I could’ve had a little more chorizo as well :] Teehee.

Sheep Ricotta Agnolotti with Veal Cheeks and Bone Marrow

This was SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! Delicious!  The cheeks literally MELTED in my mouth as soon as it hit my tongue. BAM!  And the chunks of bone marrow, ahhhh meat butter. <3

And while we were gonna split a burger…. We realized we wanted our own.

I even got a nice salad on the side, NOM NOM I need my greens!!!

ALWAYS AMAZING.

I finished mine. WOOT. W didn’t *point and laugh*

BUT we always have room for desserts. Yes. PLURAL!

BSDC Red Velvet Cake
tainori chocolate cremeux, cocoa nib gelato, bulls blood

This was probably the best Red Velvet cake I’ve ever had. SO. FREAKING GOOD.

Chevre Cheesecake with Virginia Berries
strawberries, pistachio streusel, basil gelato

I wasn’t as into the cheesecake but I LOOOOVED the basil gelato.  It was beautifully plated though. I think it was a goat’s cheese – cheesecake or something.

BTW, here’s a sexy pic of Adam holding the A-5 Wagyu Beef straight from Japan.  Best of the best.

Orgasmic no?

Brunch at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

We had taco night with J the night before and decided to plan for movie and brunch the next day before J’s Madonna concert.  W and I slept in late so we decided to just go for brunch at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and after J and I went shopping, walking around DC – it was a beautiful sunny day.

First thing’s first. The food.

The place is hip and a purposely “run down” sort of look.  A bit dusty, as W pointed out, but cozy and muy swanky.  Very “yuppie” as J pointed out.

They had to check to make sure they could do a Bellini. weird.  Bellini with citrus twist for me and Bloody Mary for J.

A dozen oysters on the half shell with different saues and LOTS of horseradish for meeeeee :D HELLO it’s a freaking OYSTER PALACE!

Next we had the fresh made Ashley’s Doughnuts. Chocolate, Sugar and Dulce de Leche

W wanted to take one each but J and I were nicer and decided to split them all into threes, each getting a different belly button doughnut hole.  I thought the sugar was the best.

Next was, per J’s recomendation, Angels on Horseback
Grilled- Bacon Wrapped Oysters, Vin Blanc, Vinegar Reduction
I don’t usually like cooked warm oysters so it was a little weird, texture/warmth wise for me with the burst of salty oyster, BUT it’s rare I don’t think a bacon wrapped morsel is overrated. Job well done.  Not my cup of tea, but a good bacon wrapped food.

J’s Steak & Eggs with Texas Toast, BAAACCCCCCON and my eggs.. more on my dish later

W got the Fried Chicken Dinner- All Dark Meat
Salt Roasted Potatoes, Braised Organic Greens, Creamy Slaw 

They warned it was a lot and it was. Also, amazing potatoes.

SO MUCH BACON

Oh yeah my  Pontchartrain
Two Poached Farm Eggs, English Muffin, Blue Crab, Tasso, Crawfish, Cayenne Hollandaise

I always do need my eggs. CHUNKS of hearty rice seafood, large buttery gooey runny poached eggs and a delicious slightly spicy hollandaise atop fluffy muffins. YUM.

Tabasco and Black Pepper.. Egg Porn

JOYYYYYY… a few drinks later and shoving down most of the food and bacon… shoppppping sprreeee.. and then Top Chef Isabella’s book signing later that night… post coming up next :D

Scott Conant makes my tummy swoon: Scarpetta in Vegas

It was a lazy day of pool and grubbing.. and yes, more drinking… but we finally decided to get our deal together and realized that it’s hard to find a good place to eat on a Friday night.. trying to book a table when it’s already 7pm… in Vegas…OOPS.  After a few failed attempts with the concierge at Caesars…

…[we got ready anyways] and ended up deciding on Scarpetta

[Oh Scott Conant you so dreamy <3 swoon]

…with an old coworker of mine, who also happened to be in town.. we headed over to Cosmopolitan – GORGEOUS hotel.  Had a few drinks at the bar and then finally sat down before 10.

Bread and yummy stuff to dip it in… MMM BREAD!!!

George & I

Appetizers Round

Roasted Sea Scallops
truffled white asparagus, pink grapefruit & uni aoili

Super tender scallops… delicious white asparagus… MMMMMM….. To me, if someone can cook a scallop to perfection, they can cook. It’s hard to get it just right, especially since it’s so easily overcooked and turns rubbery like whoa.  These melted at the touch of my tongue. Light, decadent. Amazing. But hello. Two scallops and two asparagus for three people? Awkward!

Special: Steak Tartare

This was okay.  Probably shouldn’t have ordered it, wasn’t bad, wasn’t great.  Wish there was a bigger portion….

And the best dish of the night — and possibly of the whole time in Vegas:

Creamy Polenta
fricassee of truffled mushrooms

Here is the guy pouring the sauce with truffled wild mushrooms all over the creamy polenta…

SO good we got it twice – YES twice!!! We started smothering ALL of our food with this stuff.  Words can NOT describe how amazing it is… and as soon as we licked the bowl clean, we ordered another one.  I’ve never had creamier, buttery polenta in my life.  It was like melted ice cream of savory truffled goodness.  Delicious tender mushrooms.. OMFG.  Last dinner sort of food. I can die happy in a hot tub of this.

We all ordered our own dish but shared everything – not allowed to order the same thing hahaha….

Duck & Foie Ravioli
marsala reduction

This  was obviously mine.  It was the least tasty of the three, methinks, not that it wasn’t tasty.. the filling was good but a bit dry/mealy.  The texture was a little weird for me, but the flavors were spot on – and the pasta was a good al dente.

George picked the Special: Bone-In Prime Rib with a side of Potatoes

It was delicious. If you fuck up beef, than you can’t cook at all.  It was HUGE, Fred Flintstone style. I love a good piece of meat with a nice bone in it.

Kelly got the Special: Chicken & Sweet Corn Agnolotti

This was actually  in my running to be one of my choices.. it was really good and the only thing we all finished!!!! YUM – the corn was amazing and added such a great texture and sweetness to it. YUM

We opted out of dessert but our awesome server gave us some deliciousness anyways…

Butterscotch pots <3 YUM

We headed to XS afterwards…. but ended up waiting a million hours in line.  I ended up cutting a ton of people to get thru, get stamped, just to wait LONGER.  Got to see B for a brief moment and say hi at least…. at least tummy was happy – cuz feet were NOT.