Easter in Belgium

Well, not really Belgium, but it sure did feel like it! After church on Sunday, Jeremy and I headed over to the Belga Café, located on Capitol Hill. Since it wasn't too far from the church that we've been visiting-- which holds its services in the downstairs of Ebenezer's Coffeehouse by the way, how cool is that--I thought it would be the perfect place for an Easter Brunch. I have always thought of the idea of Easter brunch as very quaint, if very American, so the night before when I was looking up restaurants on Open Table (my new fave website), I decided, "Easter in Belgium! It'll be perfect! Belgian waffles, mimosas, how very European!"

Belga Café is nicely perched at 541 8th St. SE. Cafés and cute shops line the surrounding streets, including a quaint-looking café with a piano bar we'll have to check out next time...Banana Café and Piano Bar.

When looking up directions to the restaurant, I was kind of thrown off by "Coming from Belgium, take United Airlines flight #951 from Brussels to Washington Dulles". I wasn't sure if this was legit, but if not, what wit!

I was very excited to find an authentic Belgian restaurant in Washington, DC. If I can't find authentic Filipino lumpia, then give me an authentic Belgian waffle at least! The website I'd perused the night before boasted of being "the original Belgian restaurant in Washington DC and a great place for authentic Belgian food and Belgian beers...a little bit of Brussels on the Hill, with an open kitchen and sidewalk café". Ok, so if I wasn't sold on traditional Belgian waffles and the best beer this side of Brussels, the sidewalk café totally was a bonus. I could write a whole separate post on sidewalk cafés. I love them. I couldn't wait to sit down, sip a mimosa and people watch the heck out of Capitol Hill.

So you can imagine my disappointment when we arrive to find this tiny café cluttered with droves of people in their summer clothes, inching every which way into the street and down the sidewalk. Oh no! It's a tourist trap! How could I have possibly? All for discovering a new gem and keeping it under wraps, I was slightly worried that this small taste of western Europe would be nothing but a quick bite for the cherry blossom festival crowd. But then I snapped out of it, reminding myself I have only lived in the DC metro area for 5 months; who am I to become all haughty at the thought of anybody but the locals eating here? How food snob of me. (Plus, I did find the restaurant on Open Table after all). So I swallowed my pride and stepped right up.

Thankfully I had even bothered to make reservations! The poor hostess, who couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall, was clutching her clipboard to her chest, addressing customers standing in lines everywhere, obviously upset that they had to wait so long. Thinking Jeremy and I could simply waltz right up and be ushered over to our specially reserved table, I put on my best sympathetic smile, gave her my name, and waited to be escorted. Think again. The restaurant had obviously been overbooked, and there were people in line that had been promised tables 30-45 minutes prior to when we arrived. So already, I was perturbed. Why even make reservations? The couple in front of us were livid. Apparently, they had booked reservations on Open Table the night before and had received a phone call confirmation, yet their name was nowhere to be found. I felt pity on them, as I dreamed of that big, fluffy, syrup-drenched stack of goodness. The poor dears.

You know it's bad when the chef himself shouts over the crowd to the hostess "How many, next?" (in his thick Belgian accent by the way, a nice little touch, despite the wait), then whips a table out of thin air, plops it down onto the brick sidewalk, and whisks us over to be seated in a flash.

I started out with a mimosa and Jeremy ordered a light Belgian beer. The server was having a grand ole time recommending beers to Jeremy, especially since they each had different tastes in beer. It was comical to see the server suggest one, then Jeremy would say "Uhh, sure, that sounds good..." then oop, the server suggests something else. This went on for a good 5 minutes.


For the appetizer Jeremy ordered for us the Tomaat Met Grijze Garnalen. In English, this is a tomato stuffed with Belgian baby gray shrimp on a bed of spicy salad. I liked the salad, drizzled with a yogurt dressing, but wasn't a fan of the baby shrimp stuffed into the tomato. (Jeremy called the dish "an explosion of baby shrimp", which I like...he should be the writer!) The focus of the dish was definitely the succulent baby shrimp, doused in dressing and housed in a hollowed-out large tomato. After enjoying the frisée salad, Jeremy pulled the top of the tomato off like a pumpkin and took a great big bite out of the tomato base. The combination of tomato, shrimp and frisée salad infused with the balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil concoction on the plate was delicious for him. The shrimp tasted soft and tender, and was a nice complement to the meaty flesh of the tomato. Maybe I didn't like it so much because when I think of shrimp, I imagine colossal shrimp dipped in cocktail sauce. However, this dish is a Belgian classic, so we were happy to try something not commonly eaten, or even heard of, in the U.S.

For the main course Jeremy had the Waterzooi Van Vis, a waterzooi of fish with winter vegetables in a light anise sauce. A waterzooi is a classic stew of Flanders, typically made with fish or chicken and leek, potato and carrot. "Zooien" is Dutch, meaning "to boil". As Jeremy said about the stew, "oh man, there is so much fish on this plate". There were at least four kinds of seafood: scallops, mussels, a white fish, and salmon, kind of piled up into a mountain shape, accompanied by a thin broth. I've never seen Jeremy so full at the end of a meal! Usually he will nibble at my leftovers, but this time I had to get a doggie bag (eco-friendly, recyclable takeout container) for my remaining portion.


I ordered 2 baguette sandwiches filled with piccolo prosciutto, arugula, and fresh parmesan. The sandwich was flavorful and satisfying, perfect for a light Spring day. The baguettes were fresh, the prosciutto sliced thin and tender. The arugula provided a spicy touch. Just the zest needed for an otherwise pretty tame sandwich. And that mimosa, made with fresh-squeezed orange juice and Champagne, was the perfect Spring cocktail.

We had no room for dessert, though next time we may just split the banana-chocolate dish. Or finally try one of those Belgian waffles!

Be Merry,
Shannon

for the love of lumpia

Lumpia is my favorite food in the universe, hands down. I first had it in 3rd grade, at Slater Elementary School in Mountain View, California. We were having a World Day, where we brought in different foods from countries all over the world. My mom made flan. (Not that we're Spanish or Mexican or Latino in any way but I think it was assigned. But she loves flan, so maybe it was her choice.) We went to the Philippines (not really, just the little stand) and an amazing individual had brought in lumpia (pronounced loom-pee-ah). Now I don't know who that amazing individual was, but she/he changed my life that day. No longer could I be satisfied with Chinese take-out, or even our favorite Mountain View restaurant, Tien Fu (so much more on this place in another entry). Because that first experience with lumpia has been my best food experience yet. "What IS this thing that looks like a spring roll but tastes like the spice islands?" I have yet to taste lumpia as crunchy and full of such flavor. My life got better just in one bite.

2 years later we moved to Okinawa, Japan. And Jason Pepperoni's mom brought in LUMPIA for his birthday, instead of cupcakes (his name wasn't really pepperoni but it sounded a lot like that...). I thought I died and went to heaven, for lack of a better expression. Nobody in the class wanted to try it because they were in 5th grade and were, well, stupid. Didn't want to try something new, that wasn't pizza or subs or Lunchables--ewww remember those? So Jason and I ate them. ALL. Dipping away into his mom's special sauce, the wrapper crunching off and sticking to our lips. Lunch time came, and I couldn't even eat my packed lunch.

Ok, so in case you're wondering and if you haven't Googled it yet, lumpia is the Filipino version of the Chinese spring roll. It's also popular in Indonesia- especially in Java, where I hear they have lumpia STANDS. Like hot dog stands here. Imagine that! They have a very thin wrapper, so they're not bulky and full of cellophane noodles and they don't collapse when you dip them into sauce. And you DON'T dip them into soy sauce. You see, lumpia has its own special sauce. You can find recipes for it online, but it's not the same as my first time (nothing really is, right?) tasting it. Ok, so it's a very thin, very crispy fried spring roll, tightly rolled with a stir fry of pork, asian spices, and select veggies, finely diced. They are rolled together tightly and placed in very hot oil, where they fry up and become nicely brown in color. Oh my mouth is watering!

I hadn't had lumpia in a very long time. Then about 3 weeks ago I told Jeremy that it was my favorite food, but it's so uncommon to find lumpia here in the U.S. that I guess I had just given up. I hadn't even tasted it in so long, when a few years ago my dad J came home from work with 2 Ziploc bags, and I'm talkin' FREEZER size Ziplocs, where dozens of lumpia were neatly arranged in rows, layer upon layer. Turns out he had befriended a couple cleaning ladies at his office, great friendly man that he is, and they were Filipino!!! They took such a liking to him that before their vacation they made sure to make him an extra batch of lumpia, since he had raved about it to them before, saying it was his daughter's favorite! So he brought them home and we fried them up, and they were wonderful. But that was like 2005...far too long ago. So I told Jeremy about lumpia, and I walked all over DC trying to find a place that sells it. I got nothin'. And was pretty disappointed. I talk a lot about food, and that's pretty much our whole relationship, since we both love great food. But he works with food for a living, and for me it's my biggest passion, but I don't work at it 12-14 hours a day like him. So I wasn't even sure if my lumpia talk was really sinking in.

But it was. Because when I went up to Pennsylvania to his parents' house for a visit 3 weeks ago, his mom surprised me with the idea of us making lumpia together! I was so excited I almost cried. Nobody in my life has offered to make lumpia with me, ever. And a lot of people know how much I love it. But I never thought to make it myself. It's so...ethnic. Exotic. Exciting. Not your average appetizer. But Jeremy's mom is the perfect person to make it with, I happily thought. Because she's always open to a new food experience. She's not one to shy away from something exotic. She was the one who introduced me to jicama! And the first radish I've ever had was at her house! In one of her salads! So I knew it was going to be a GREAT night. And it was. I don't have the recipe we used, but I did copy down a sauce recipe from a Filipino cookbook at Barnes and Noble. Sadly, they only had one Filipino cookbook. How are people going to find out about it? Not everyone can travel to the Philippines. And once they do, McDonald's would probably be one restaurant they hit up, sad to say..

There's always such a bonding experience that takes place when two women get together , up into their elbows in the kitchen and cook. The look on my face when Jeremy's mom whipped out spring roll wrappers and a lumpia recipe and said "Let's make lumpia!" must have been pretty darn excited. We prepared the lumpia filling together, chopping veggies and stir frying them with pork, then rolling the mixture into the wrappers like a mini burrito and frying them up. I glanced up while right in the midst of wrapping and she had a look of sheer glee on her face. It was a perfect snapshot in my mind that I will never forget. 3 sons, one husband, and now she is finally getting some girl time.She was meant for daughters! It was great to do something with her that we'll remember for years to come. And the lumpia was excellent!!! Crisp and crunchy, filled with pork, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, spring onion, freshly grated ginger, carrots, even purple cabbage! What gorgeous colors, too. And a kitchen full of Pampered Chef gadgets! She is a woman after my mom's own heart. It was a treasure to see her enjoying herself, and I thought back to all the thousands of memories I have with my mom, and how special the bond is between mothers and daughters. For a moment, I think Jeremy's mom might have felt that specialness. :)


Pictures are coming--just when I figure out how to upload them to a post...
Shannon

In the Kitchen...

I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. It's my favorite place to be, and most definitely the best room in the house!

I ventured into the kitchen right after Valentine's Day. And I haven't been to a restaurant since! This is rare for me and Jeremy. Usually we go out to a couple restaurants a week, on his days off. But there's something much more special about cooking a meal together, then sitting down and saying grace before sampling our creations.

It all started with Alice Waters. To be exact, the book written about Alice Waters, titled Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. It's a darling book. She's a darling person. I just love her. And I want to be more like her. Because although she's a dreamer and has her head in the clouds, she's a happy success. And I cannot wait until the day I get to eat at Chez Panisse. It's been a dream of mine for about 8 years now, since I started really delving into the world of really good food.

So I was reading Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, by Thomas McNamee, and got lost in the perfectly imperfect little world that is Alice. She started Chez Panisse at 27, and celebrated the 30th anniversary just a couple years ago. She never went to culinary school nor knew how to run a restaurant. She was inspired by the Marcel Pagnol film trilogy The Fanny Trilogy about a little French town and fell in love with the characters, naming her restaurant after one of them. In Berkeley, CA. In the 70s. People seeking employment just started gravitating toward her. Artists and painters and filmmakers and writers. No food experience, they just had "it". And that "it" is what has kept Chez Panisse so grand after all these years. And that "it" is what inspired me to explore the kitchen a little more...because I want "it", too.

Jeremy had a week off from his restaurant, and we had intended on a trip to Boston, but after some expenses that came up we realized our trip wasn't plausible just yet. I had been excited about visiting my grandma in Boston, but I'm still jobless. How would that look, to go on a vacation when I'm unemployed? Instead, we spent the week in and around DC. We actually didn't venture too far from home. Days were spent exploring local farmer's markets like the Eastern Market, where we picked up some fresh greens and produce like onions, carrots, celery and potatoes. Our mission was to make our own chicken stock, adding to some stock we had already made from Cornish game hens (the bones) the night before. Nights were spent cooking, drinking great red wine, and breaking bread together at our dinner table, something we rarely get to do because of Jeremy's long hours. It was wonderful. We made lots of chicken stock, homemade chicken soup, homemade pizzas, and pastas. Each night we prepared a great big salad with organic carrots and robust red radishes and fresh arugula, a spring mix including mesclun from a Dutch farmer's market over in Laurel, MD, tomatoes and celery and cucumbers and fresh basil leaves.



Homemade pizzas! Homemade pizza dough couldn't be easier. You mix some flour and water and yeast together and a little salt, then mound it into two balls, cover and let sit for about 10 min. Then you sprinkle flour over a flat surface (we used a clean kitchen counter-top), roll the dough out into about a 13 inch circle and place on a pizza pan. Don't let it rise. Bake for 10-12 minutes, checking every now and then. I think 350 degrees. I'm going from memory here so I will have to check back when I go downstairs and check the recipe. The pre-baked pizza dough will be a little browned, which is what you want. It's a little crispy which is what I love. Then, lather with pizza sauce. I use Delgrosso sauce from my hometown in Pennsylvania. I buy jars of it every time I go up there to visit family so I always have one on hand. Jeremy and I want to learn to make our own pizza sauce. It can't be too difficult. Remember that Dutch market I told you about? Well they sell all sorts of good stuff, among which is mozzarella cheese. Not the fresh mozzarella, although that would be amazing. We bought a couple bags and paid a little more but it was worth it. It's the best mozzarella I've had in a while that wasn't fresh mozzarella. It's grated, in little bags. We used one bag per pizza. Then came the best part. Toppings! I don't know what you like on your pizza but the more the merrier for me! Jeremy got to work sauteing onions in a cast-iron pan..we LOVE cast iron; it's the best. Once you go cast-iron you don't go back! Anyway, he was sauteing the onions with some olive oil and garlic in the seasoned cast iron saute pan and I got chopping away at tomatoes, hot sopressata (another find at the Dutch market), Margherita pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms. Jeremy had picked up some ground pork sausage at the Dutch market, and started that going. He seasoned it so well, you'd think we bought it already prepared. He truly has a gift. So after the chopping and sauteing and prepping, we were ready to top. And top we did. I've never seen a busier pizza, but all of the flavors melded perfectly. It was the best pizza ever, because (and I have to be cheesy I'm sorry) it was kneaded with love and great passion. Passion for fine cooking, the art of homemade pizza making, along with passion for each other. We took that passion to the dinner table and with some red wine and a salad, it was edible perfection.



I cannot express how lovely it was to have Jeremy with me at the dinner table each evening. We were able to pray together, holding hands across the bounty we had just prepared together. I cannot stop smiling just thinking back to that wonderful week. It's the simple things...

Valentine's Day

Jeremy and I went out for Valentine's Day, and had a magnificent time wining and dining ourselves at Petits Plats located in Woodley Park (by the zoo). It's a charming little French bistro tucked away in a townhouse across from the Woodley Park Metro station. Thoughts to describe bistro: charming, rustic, quaint, romantic, great place to people watch (especially on Valentine's Day:).

My favorite course on the prix-fixe Valentine's Day menu was the appetizer: Duo of Smoked Duck and Duck Rillette with Cornichon and Pesto sauce. I wasn't a fan of the smoked duck, but the duck rillette was something I'd never had before and it ended up being the perfect start. For those who don't know what a rillette is (I didn't), it is a preparation of meat similar to a pâté. The meat is cubed or chopped, heavily salted, and cooked slowly in fat until it is tender enough to be easily shredded, then cooled with enough of the fat to form a paste. Typically they are served as a spread for toasted bread. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

For the entrée Jeremy had the Duo of Lobster and Scallops Served with Creamy Mushroom Risotto and Saffron Sauce with Piment d'Espelette. He's a big fan of risotto and thought it was tasty but wasn't too into the lobster and scallops. For myself, the Rack of Lamb Crusted with Dijon Mustard Served with Three Purée (broccoli, carrot, potato) and Thyme-Tarragon sauce. Great purées, especially the carrot. It kind of felt like I was eating baby food, but it sure hit the spot. The lamb was tender and juicy, and a nice touch with the Dijon. I love Dijon. I dream of moving to Dijon, France and just cooking with mustards all the livelong day. Slathering Dijon over baguettes and brioche, spreading it over crostini and crackers. Oh my...
I digress...
for dessert, Assorted Mignardises, which came as a trio of chocolate mousse, fruit tart, and lemon tart. Our favorite was the chocolate mousse. Paired with coffee, it was just too good. Oh I almost forgot, before the apps we ordered the cocktail special. For him, Kir Royal (Champagne, Crème de Cassis) and for her, a Bellini! (Champagne, Crème de Pêche). I was very excited to see Bellini on the menu because I've always dreamed of ordering "a Bellini with caviar please"...until I realized I was thinking of blini with caviar ...oops. :) Still, a delicious little drink.

I was quite excited about Petits Plats because I booked our reservation on Open Table, as a surprise for Jeremy. If you are unfamiliar with Open Table, you need to go visit the website. www.opentable.com. You just type in the name of your city, and a list of restaurants pops up, listing descriptions of each, price range, attire, etc. Très helpful for someone who doesn't know of many Washington, DC restaurants. I even made 2 reservations just in case...then canceled one for a different restaurant earlier that day. They probably don't like you to cancel the day of, but I had to be sure we had legit reservations. Come on, it's Valentine's Day after all! Restaurants in DC were jam-packed.

I was very pleased with the experience. And Jeremy had raved about the Woodley Park metro escalator and how it was the longest escalator in the world! (Not factual, but in his mind it is the longest.)I had to try it out. It is LONG. If you ride it in the winter, be sure to wear a scarf. Brrrr with the wind chill.

After Petits Plats we were feeling pretty lovey and a little tipsy. I mentioned how I've always wanted to go on a date to a piano bar so Jeremy did some research with the help of his Dad's Google research and via text we were able to get directions. A hop, skip and a jump over to the McPherson Square area and we found the place: Tuscana West. An Italian restaurant with a great old-fashioned looking bar and a little old man tickling the ivories. With martinis (her) and red wine (him) we sat and chatted, deeply gazing into each other's eyes [ok i'll stop with the lovesick now] in a corner on a couch by the bar, then ambled over to the piano man. He was playing what I thought was Blue Rondo a la Turk by Dave Brubeck, but it ended up actually being Take Five. I had fun talking jazz with the piano man as he was playing--so talented! Then after a few songs and more couch-time Jeremy stood up, walked around the little glass table to me, and in his wonderfully gentlemanly way, asked if I would like to dance. Of course! We danced the night away...the piano man even played the music theme of The Godfather. How perfect.

After Tuscana West, to be honest I didn't want the night to be over. It was magical and lovely and I knew the perfect way to end the evening. Oysters. We both love oysters, and have explored each other's palates together oyster by oyster. (I like them doused in lemon, tabasco, vinegar, and pepper on a saltine cracker, whereas my purist boyfriend sprinkles a little sea salt and tosses them back). So off to Clyde's we went. Clyde's is a favorite hangout of ours, over in Gallery Place/Chinatown. Sometimes they have an oyster happy hour (!!) with half-price oysters off of the raw menu, but not that night bc it was a holiday. (Really? Valentine's Day?) We had crab, oysters, and I might have ordered a martini? I cannot remember, the oysters were too delicious to remember the drink!

What an evening!

How to Boil an Egg

I did make a discovery just yesterday. Inspired by the new film Julie and Julia (a blog post on these great ladies later), I realized I had never learned how to properly boil an egg.

How embarrassing!!!

How will I be able to poach an egg, and dip it into a homemade Hollandaise sauce (coming soon), if I cannot even boil one first? How can I call myself a "foodie", if I am so devoid of the understanding of how to properly prepare for myself a hard-boiled egg? Enough questions, Shannon! Time for answers. So I took two eggs, Googled "how to boil an egg", and here's what I found:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2047398_boil-perfect-hard-boiled-egg.html

All you do is:
1) Place the whole, uncooked, un-cracked, preferably fresh eggs into a saucepan.
2) Fill saucepan with cold water, completely covering eggs. Do not salt the water.
3) Place saucepan onto stove on high heat until water comes to a rolling boil.
4) Set timer for 3 minutes, allowing eggs to boil away. Do not cover.
5) When timer dings, remove saucepan from heat, cover with saucepan lid; re-set timer for 8 minutes.
6) After the 8 minutes is up, rinse eggs under cold running tap water for around 1 minute, then peel and eat.

It's that simple. And, as the e-how guide vows, you will never have green or gray yolks again. It's true. My egg yolks, which I usually discard because they're too hard or green or gray and generally nasty, were plump and soft and yellow and tasty. And the white part? Out of this world moist and easy to swallow. I'm not a big egg person but I even had two!

Happy egg boiling,
Shannon

Why Writing Is Tough For Me, or a glimpse into my zany brain

I am the biggest procrastinator in the universe. I'm worse than anyone I know, have ever met, or will ever meet. I will do everything in the house besides what I need, or even want, to do. I hate making beds, but I'll wash the sheets, wait for them to dry, make the bed, take the pillowcases off and put them back on again, (Ok so I'm OCD too) fluff the pillows, re-arrange the already obsessively-placed pillows into a more fitting color pattern, then decide I don't like the current down comforter...head to the hall closet in search of a better, warmer, prettier down duvet (comforters are SO early 2000s and we're in a new decade...need a new bedspread), and realize the closet is a mess! Time to reorganize! ADD, anyone? 2 hours (and 3 closets) later, the bed is made, but I still have to make my way down my to-do list...

I moved to Washington, DC on the first of November. I still need a new day job, new apartment, new family practice doctor, new ladies doctor, new psychiatrist, new therapist, new massage therapist, an acupuncturist recommended by my current 6 doctors, new trigger point therapist, new dermatologist, etc. Ok, I've never been to a dermatologist, nor a massage therapist, but now's as good a time as any, right?

Alright, I admit it. Along with OCD, ADD, SAD, and pretty much every other anxiety disorder you can think up, I'm a hypochondriac, too. My shoulder's been hurting for 3 years and I'm finally getting around to working toward solutions. Then 3 weeks ago my knee gives out. Like an 86 year old grandma. Not even joking. While I'm getting into a kneeling position to start the exercises my physical therapist gave me for my frozen shoulder, I simultaneously feel/hear 3 clicks of the knee then I'm on my face. O-M-Geeee. Did I mention I have zero pain tolerance?

So how am I ever to update my food blog when I'm on the floor, clearly so forgetful due to ADD that I sometimes forget to eat, not to mention the social anxiety disorder that keeps me indoors, out of the judgmental public's eye? How can I go to restaurants-- Out the door?? Onto the metro??? Into the city????

This a little taste of me. It may sound extreme, but I got issues. Doesn't everybody? I try to laugh about them. I laugh at myself. Oh I'm VERY good at being self-deprecating. I could do stand-up...if I wasn't so petrified of being in a large group of people. All staring at me. Waiting for me to make them laugh. I write, so I can see humor in just how much of a crack-up I am. It's my passive-aggressive way of throwing myself out there to the world. But the truth is, I'm alright. I'll be ok. I read many books, and this lifelong habit helps me to realize I'm not the only fruit loop out there.

Anne Lamott, for example, has all kinds of issues, and look how funny her books are. She is one of my heroes. If her life was perfect, I wouldn't want to read about her. Hello, can we say boring? The imperfections are what make her REAL and FUNNY and HUMAN, hence a better read. Besides, I think we all compare ourselves to others so we come out looking "normal"- even though I don't believe "normal" even exists. Anne Lamott is quirky, but knows who her friends are. She seems the type who can laugh as hard as she can cry-- who doesn't care about her past, as messed up as it may look on paper. In fact, writing those messes out turned her into the beloved writer and fantastic woman that she is today.

This is how I want to be. I want to be like Anne Lamott, who started out as a food writer by the way, and now is this hilarious role model writer lady. Based on her quirks and impurities, she's the funniest writer on the market. In my book, she couldn't be more lovable.

So about the food, as it is, after all, the reason for this blog...

please read next post, entitled "How to Boil an Egg"...

It's OK to be quirky,
Shannon

Facing those (writing) fears...

By popular vote (imploring of 2 friends), I have decided to keep the name. Whether I like it or not, it's me, and I still think it's catchy. But I have written a mission statement, which is different than the former mission statement of making this blog all about food and God. As much as my faith is important to me, trying to write about food and faith just isn't where I am anymore. Over the past two weeks, I've sat down so many times getting ready to write about what God's doing in my foodie life, and nothing came...so I promise to write in a way that is truly me, even if it means people don't agree, or don't like that I'm changing around the blog.

I don't see myself as selling out, just being true to myself...on that note, back to the reason for the blog, FOOD!

The past few weeks have provided SO many opportunities to write on a daily basis, and I'm sorry that I haven't. I don't know why I haven't...well if we're being honest here, yes I do...I worry that my food blog won't be good...."good" meaning entertaining, inspiring, encouraging, and above all, packed with foodstuff and stories that make people go "wow". I'm afraid that I'm not a good writer. I'm afraid I'm boring. I'm afraid people will read it and go, "Wow it's too bad she's not funnier/smarter/ (insert adjective here) in her writing". I'm afraid people will think because I'm an English major, I'm this awesome, intellectual, funny, witty writer. I'm afraid that it will be too much about my life and not as much about food. I'm afraid that my fears of what people think of me will take over, and I'll write with a certain person in mind (ie daily blogger who has the LIFE!) and I won't measure up...

So, I'm writing all those fears down, and publishing them on here, and putting them to rest. They're gone. Dead. Buried.

When I was at Palm Beach Atlantic University in FL (2005), before I transferred out, I took a great Creative Writing for Publication class. In the class we had to get serious about our writing, and actually send out submissions to literary reviews and magazines to try to get published. David Athey (phenomenal teacher) had us do this exercise where we took all of our rejection letters, passed them around the room, reading the responses as a group, then we all walked to the middle of the room and each threw a stack up into the air!!! It was so exhilirating and refreshing, and made us realize they didn't matter. What MATTERED, was that we get over the rejection and get writing again. Essentially, to let them fly out of our hands and out of our minds. And it worked. Soon, we were writing again and reading our words out loud, and sending out other batches of submissions. Some students were published; I'm still tossing up those rejection letters...

but it doesn't mean I'm going to quit writing. I love food, and I love writing. So I'm just going to stay true to myself and write about what I love. Eventually, I'll find my groove and my fears will disappear. They're still lingering, but the best way to get over those fears is to face them down.

Determined,
Shannon

New year, new name

Nope, I'm not getting married...I don't need a new name. I like mine just fine...but my BLOG does need a new name!

In 2007 I started http://www.andbemerry.blogspot.com/, based on my favorite Bible verse... eatdrinkandbemerry was already taken, so I settled on andbemerry. It was catchy. It was cute. But it's been 3 years. I'm not that cutesy person anymore. Last night one of my besties, Shirah, and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I had changed the name yet...noooo I say, ....hoping she would give me some inspired new foodie name, but she said "andbemerry is cute". Exactly. It's cute. But I don't wanna be cute. Cute isn't me. So my blog needs a new name.

After chewing on it for days and not coming up with anything "me", I took to my photo albums to glean some inspiration. I have a lot of pictures of drinks. I like taking pictures of cappucino. Just the look of a great big white mug of frothy cappucino sprinkled with freshly ground chocolate makes me smile (then go to Starbucks), so my blog should be named something that makes me and hopefully other people smile, right?

I like taking pictures of sweets, even though I wouldn't call myself a person with a sweet tooth. (I prefer salt) So over the years I have accrued quite a collection of bakery-item photographs.

I love cheese, of all kinds. Jarlesberg, Brie, Camembert, Saint Andre, Brillat-Savarin, and especially Port Salut...but do I want my blog to be all about cheese? Nah. Keep thinking, Shannon...

I love sitting in cafes, reading a good book like A Moveable Feast, and people watching. So my blog should also have that vibe. But still no ideas jumped out at me.

Then it hit me! My film collection! Surely I can find some inspiration there. Surely a title will just grab me by the cheeks. After casting aside Mystic Pizza and Big Night and Babette's Feast and Mostly Martha (all wonderful foodie films, by the way, and my favorites) ....VOILA!! It hit me, out of nowhere!!!

CANNOLI!!!!! It's one of my favorite foods to eat, photograph, and just admire. It's sweet, but satisfies my craving for cheese too. It's creamy and delicious, wrapped in a delicate pastry dough, and can be decked out with chocolate chips, nuts, you name it, for a unique flavor. I've always stopped to admire it in the bakery case of Italian bakeries before taste-testing then buying a 1/2 dozen to admire myself before eating whole. Licking your fingers after eating a cannoli may just be the greatest thing to do on earth. Yes, yes, yes, my blog must have the word "cannoli" in the title. Then WHAM!

Another revelation. The Godfather. Cannoli. You've Got Mail. Cannoli. A pattern is emerging. What is my favorite quote from The Godfather, so artistically injected into my favorite movie, You've Got Mail?

"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI".... or for blog purposes....TAKE THE CANNOLI.

YES!!!! I love it. takethecannoli.blogspot.com. It's fresh, artsy, inspired by a great film, an amazing cheesy sweet I've always adored, tied to a fascinating culture I am inspired by (Italian). I could barely type the words into blogspot fast enough. I have a new blog name! 2010 is off to a great start, with a catchy new blog that surely everyone will read, and they'll all comment on how I'm so witty and splendidly creative. Take the cannoli! Inspired!

...Until I realize that there is already a http://www.takethecannoli.blogspot.com/. Noooo! How can it be? So I click on it and...it's not even about food! And it hasn't been updated since 2002! Even I can update more than that! What's more, there is no talk about cannoli in the one post "Taylor" has written, about being in some theatre production. Noooo. How can someone take an ingenious line and make it their blog name, taking away my perfect start to 2010? How?

Well, this is not the end of my search. Oh no. I WILL get that blog name. Even if I have to hunt "Taylor" down and hack into his blogspot account myself! I have posted a picture of cannoli I took a few years ago from Cafe Graffiti in Boston in the hopes that my e-mail will be gratefully received, and "Taylor" will be happy to relinquish his little spot on the internet so I might become a famous food blogger. Or at least a food blogger with that perfect name!

Stay tuned,
Shannon

Pizzeria Paradiso, take two

So on Tuesday Jeremy surprised me with the great news that he had Wednesday off! Do you know what this means? A day to explore Washington, DC. I mean, I explore it on my own fairly often, but it's always more fun with a companion...so Wednesday morning we headed out, with the first stop being the national monument. I've always wanted to see DC from above, and Jeremy had already seen it a couple years ago. So we took the metro in, and it was COLD! But nevertheless, I got my view of the White House, Capitol building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, all the things I was excited about seeing...from like 550 feet above ground!!

After this, we were HUNGRY! Immediately, Dupont jumped into my head. I really like the area, and felt we had much more exploring to do. I really wasn't sure if I wanted pizza, but once we took the metro around for a while and finally got there (one stop farther than we wanted to go, oops) we were ravenous...and all Jeremy had to do was suggest Pizzeria Paradiso and bring back the fond memory of our first time there and I was sold. I had kind of wanted to check out some other places in the area, you know, try something new, but all I could think about was getting more serious about my food blog, and how you should really dine at a restaurant a couple times before writing about it...to get the full feel of the place. So with that in mind, and with Jeremy excited about some good pizza in his future, off we went. Again, we walked @ Dupont a couple times before we re-routed ourselves and realized we were walking in the opposite direction. We were on P Street, but headed toward the residential part, not where all the shops and restaurants were. So we turned around, walked through the little park and were on our way.

3:00 pm at Pizzeria Paradiso in mid-January was empty, except for a couple folks at the bar. Here are my notes:

Olives! Just as good as before, wish I could have more...they sure know how to get those taste buds all revved up for what's to come...

Drinks- for her, chianti classico 2003 that he ordered for me -great choice. dry, earthy, nice aftertaste
for him- delirium nocturnium beer, from belgium with hints of bananas and red wine! i took one sip but stuck with my wine

Wine still served in drinking glass, and beer served in a wine glass! huh? But I'm kind of liking drinking it this way. It's growing on me.

Appetizer- Crostino Formaggio di capra- which is: toasted homemade bread topped w/ goat cheese and prosciutto di parma for $6.95
Jeremy's reaction after one bite: "That's pretty serious." I think he likes....
Crunchy bread on outside but soft inside, great burst of basil and the prosciutto-goat cheese combo melts in your mouth.

Ambience: earth tones, firewood under hostess stand makes for a rustic feel.

Pizza special: The Little Italy- roasted broccoli rabe, tomato, hot sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes
Not a huge fan of the broccoli rabe (pronounced "rob", thanks Jeremy or I would have called it "raybe" all day), but mushrooms paired with hot sausage was tasty. Spicy aftertaste. Like Atomica better

We'll have to head back there again for more of the different pizza combinations. Honestly though, each time we visited I left not wanting more of the pizza, but more of the olives!

Eat your pizza! (I ate mine)
Shannon

Pizzeria Paradiso (take one...early December 2009)

Happy 2010! I have relocated! Foodie greetings from Washington, DC!

In an effort to refurbish this blog and get it up and running again, posting more than 2 entries a year, I need blogging advice! What would make for a better blog? If you are a blogger, help! I need your input, so this can become more easily accessible, and a more entertaining read!

Now for the review: Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P Street, NW and at http://www.eatyourpizza.com/

This Dupont Circle pizza establishment is the perfect lunch or dinner after a day out gallavanting the city. My boyfriend, Jeremy, is a line cook, climbing those kitchen ranks, so a day off is much desired, and we're always on the lookout for a great restaurant (that is within our tight budgets)...enter Pizzeria Paradiso.

The first time we dined here was a Monday evening last December. We had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums, and we were ready for some pizza! I had been carrying around a little DC travel guide since moving to the city, loaded with restaurants to explore, and had highlighted Pizzeria Paradiso namely because it is located in Dupont Circle, where I've always wanted to explore. So off we went. We took the metro from the Smithsonian/Mall area and easily found Dupont Circle, walked around the circle a couple times looking for the right direction of P Street, and found our place.

Straight out of my notes that early December evening:

Cute, quaint, and rustic. I love that they serve a mix of Greek olives in a little dish in place of bread, and I'm grooving on the eclectic crowd. The pizza place for DC hipsters? Roomy enough but not too large of a restaurant. Casual dress code. Bohemian-type servers (all sorts of piercings and tattoos ok here) with a slight air of arrogance...but it works.

Drinks-for her: Montepuciano red wine, for him: vodka martini, dirty

Wine served in a drinking glass!!!--ODD and I don't like it. Wish I could swirl it around and let it "breathe", as dad, J, always tells me to do. Umm, you definitely can't swirl wine in a drinking glass. It splashes and splooshes and it's just not the same. And turning it sideways...not happening. Not so sure about this...

Appetizer: Bruschetta--delicious, but not enough for $6.

Ordered the Atomica pizza (suggested from my little tour guide) which came with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and what tasted like kalamata olives (website says they are black olives), and hot pepper flakes. First pizza came out looking burnt so we sent it back. Manager comes to table and says, "That's the way it comes" but we insisted he bring us out another pie. He was very polite. Jeremy was very polite too. I was not as polite, quipping, "My boyfriend works in the culinary profession" just to prove we knew good food, and when a pizza looks burnt, it probably tastes that way too. In retrospect, I shouldn't have thrown in that comment (Why do I do those sorts of things?), but the 2nd pizza was great.

Note: I don't usually send food back because of all those horror stories and e-mail forwards about what cooks do to your food (can we say Domino's???) when you send it back, but from my vantage point in the seating area I could watch like a hawk the cooks preparing our pie. No monkey business.

We will return.

***/*****
(Like I'm foodie enough to give stars!)

Next read: Pizzeria Paradiso, take 2
Shannon