Update on The General Store

Good news, folks - The General Store in Silver Spring is now a sit-down in addition to a carry-out restaurant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will now be available in the dining room it took Chef Gillian Clark and partner Robin Smith over two years to build. And they promise that wine and beer are on the way. (Check out WP's recent write up on the place here).

Culinary Epiphanies 101

So I'm taking this cooking class - well, cooking course to be more accurate, seeing as it's every Thursday night for the next 6 months. And come every Thursday, I'm tired, crabby, and don't really feel like hauling myself out to Gaithersburg for 3+ hours of social interaction after a long day at work. But I still go, begrudging my decision and my husband's support of me having an "activity."

And you know what? As soon as I get there, I remember why I decided I needed this activity to begin with. It's not your average sit-and-watch-the-chef-cook demo, or even one of those themed classes with three courses and a bunch of wine (though the wine would be nice). Instead, each week is focused on the techniques around approaching a particular type of food (i.e., stocks, soups, vegetables, grains, poultry). No detailed recipes are shared, and we only get mere tastes of each dish the chef demos before we have a go at them ourselves, but that's the whole point - to try in class, then to go really internalize these techniques by practicing on our own back at home. And the stuff we learn is amazing! Hey, it may not be the sexiest cooking class around, but having weekly culinary epiphanies is pretty darn cool.

Take last week for example: I always wondered why mushrooms at good restaurants always have such a firm, delicious, mushroomy flavor and texture, and why the mushrooms I cook never measure up. And now I know!


1. Clean off your mushrooms with a damp towel to remove any dirt.
2. Chop your mushrooms to the desired size.
3. Heat a saute pan over high heat - DO NOT ADD FAT.
4. When the pan is hot, add your mushrooms; sear for about 5 minutes, until they take on color.
5. Add a few tablespoons of water or wine to the pan - this will help soak up all the browned bits that have stuck to the bottom (called deglazing). You can also just add a few pinches of salt to the mushrooms - the salt leeches out the water in the mushrooms and they deglaze the pan all by themselves.
6. Ta-da! Gorgeous, firm, mushroomy mushrooms.

So, tired and crabby though I am, I'll go tonight, donning my little chef jacket and the knife set they made me buy, looking every bit the Top Chef wannabe I am, and looking forward to more little epiphanies to share.

Brabo Opens Tomorrow

Attention Brasserie Beck lovers - Brabo, the newest restaurant from Chef Robert Wiedmaier (pictured in foreground) is set to launch in Old Town tomorrow. Located at 1600 King Street, the Belgian-inflected breakfast, lunch and dinner menus will highlight Virginia products and eco-friendly farmers.

Next door is the Brabo Tasting Room - a bit of a misnomer, as this is the more casual outpost of the two - which will feature a wood burning oven churning out charred goodies like tarts stuffed with smoked duck and braised pork belly. Guests can also share charcuterie and cheese platters with housemade marmalades, breads, and, of course, those addictive frites and mussels Beck is known for.

Photo: Washington Post

My Fishy Valentine

If, like me, come V Day you avoid fancypants restaurants with overpriced menus in favor of a relaxing meal at home with your spouse/sig other/bff/dog, I have a simple menu suggestion - try serving a whole fish. It's impressive looking, relatively cheap, and, if you can get past the whole head-on, googley eyes thing, it's actually quite romantic to be sharing a meal in the truest sense of the word. Throw some pork and potatoes in there, and what's not to love?

Whole Snapper with Sausage, Potatoes and Olives
Inspired by this month's Saveur magazine
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and chopped large
2 spicy, pre-cooked sausage links, sliced on the diagonal (I used red pepper/garlic chicken sausage, but chorizo or andouille would also be great)
1 whole cleaned snapper, about 2-3 lbs
1 lemon, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
Several sprigs both fresh parsley and thyme
Salt and pepper
2 handfuls pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup dry white wine
Zest of an orange/clementine, optional

Preheat oven to 450. Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water, just enough to cover, and simmer covered until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add a dash of olive oil to a large skillet over high heat and add the sausage; saute until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Place a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil on a large baking sheet. Pat the fish dry and make three shallow slits on each side; stuff each with a slice of lemon. Place remaining lemon slices and the herbs in the cavity of the fish. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Lay the fish on the baking sheet and surround with potatoes, sausage and olives. Drizzle the olive oil over the fish and then pour the wine around it. Place another layer of heavy duty foil over the fish and crimp up the edges to form a packet (this will allow the wine to help steam the fish). Roast for 30-35 minutes.

To serve, slice open the foil, remove fillets and place each skin side down on a plate, topped with potatoes/sausage/olives and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

A Little Sunshine

The avocado - definitely on my top ten list of Favorite Foods Ever - and definitely not locally grown. So when Rory's old roommate Oliver came to visit us from San Diego, I did quite the happy dance when, like a buff surfer Santa, out of his suitcase he pulled the best housewarming present ever - a sackful of beautiful avocados, grown on his FAMILY'S LAND, from trees he planted HIMSELF. That's about as local as it gets, right?

Aaand, if that wasn't enough, he made us his world famous guacamole (super secret recipe below). We ate it every way we could think of - on eggs, stuffed in burritos, smeared on chips, licked off our fingers. Thanks to O, we got a much needed dose of gold and green sunshine, right in the middle of a very dreary winter.

Big O's Guac
Flesh of 4 ripe avocados, mashed
1/2 red onion, diced small
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 ripe roma tomato, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Few dashes of hot sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and serve.

PS - According to Oliver, if you leave the seeds of the avocados in the guacamole, it keeps it from getting brown. I don't know if it was the seeds or all that lime juice, but either way our guac stayed beautifully green for two whole days.

The Locavore's Dilemma

I’m all for trying to be a locavore – you know, shopping at my neighborhood farmers markets, not eating strawberries in January, that sort of thing. If you asked me why, it’s probably equal parts feeling it’s the ‘responsible consumer’ thing to do, and also believing that local, season-specific food just plain tastes better.

While I subscribe to this food philosophy, my husband doesn’t really care so much where or when he gets his food, so long as it tastes good – although, seeing as I do 98% of the cooking in our house, he kind of ends up on the locavore bandwagon by default. So you can imagine my dilemma when my dear husband arrives home from the grocery store with…bananas. Bananas! The forbidden fruit, that abhorred, anti-poster child of the local food eatin’, Barbara Kingsolver lovin’ tribe. (It has something to do with each bunch requiring a small country’s annual supply of gas to reach us Americans, I think).

So what to do? I can either: 1) go all preachy on his ass and tell him such evil is not welcome in MY kitchen, or 2) accept that we may have different views when it comes to our food choices – and that's ok. Seeing as we’re only about 4 months into our union, I figured I’d hold off on the banana diatribe and save the preaching for a more worthy cause – like who should take the trash out (him), or the merits of still watching Grey’s Anatomy (it's getting good again, really!) And, if I'm being honest, that forbidden fruit does make a wicked batch of muffins. I mean, the real sin is letting a perfectly overripe banana go to waste after it came all that way. I think even Barbara would agree with that.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
1 ½ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 very overripe bananas, mashed
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces (or ¾ cup chocolate chips)
Turbinado sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 12 (1/3 cup) muffins cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the sour cream, egg and vanilla, then fold in the mashed bananas and the chocolate. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just mixed – it will be very thick. Divide the batter into each muffin tin (a small ice cream scoop works very well for this). If you like that sugary crunch on top of your muffins, sprinkle each with a tablespoon or two of the raw sugar. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

More Potatoes

After our potato-induced frenzy the other day, I decided I needed to make another scalloped potato dish - partly so you get to see the final shot of a delicious potato casserole, and partly because it was so darn good we needed a repeat performance.

As you can see from comparing these two dishes, the recipe is just meant to be a guide. You can add or forgo the ham, switch in any cheese you want, double up on the root vegetables...there are lots of yummy possibilities here.

And by the way, if you're wondering what the different between au gratin and scalloped is, apparently, the answer is not much. Some say au gratin is simply French for "with cheese" - though it's usually based in a cream sauce - whereas a scalloped dish is an American term for any casserole with a creamy sauce, cheese or not. If anyone knows the final word on the great au gratin vs. scalloped debate, please do share.

Scalloped Potatoes and Carrots

4 large red skinned potatoes, sliced 1/8 inch thick*

1/2 onion, sliced thin

4 carrots, halved and sliced into 1 inch chunks

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Leaves from 5 sprigs of thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

Preheat the oven to 400. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk constantly for a minute or two to incorporate. Add the milk, salt, pepper and thyme. Raise the heat to medium high and continue cooking, stirring often until the mixture just begins to boil and is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the shredded cheese and stir to combine. Set aside.

Butter the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish. Arrange half the potato slices, onions and carrots on the bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, sprinkling again with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the vegetables, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

*If you slice the potatoes ahead of time, you can keep them covered in cold water so they don't turn brown. Just be sure to dry them thoroughly before using.

The General Store Opens Saturday

It's official - two years in the making, Chef Gillian Clark of Colorado Kitchen fame is set to finally open The General Store this Saturday at 1:30. One of several new restaurants in the works for the popular DC Chef, The General store is located in Silver Spring (at the corner of Forest Glen and Capital View) and will be serving "American road food." Just one catch - until a pesky parking issue is resolved, dining will only be of the take out variety. Clark promises dine in serve is soon to follow, though.

Still Tingling

Happy day-after-Inauguration-Day, everyone! Is it just me, or is the city still tingling a bit in the afterglow of all that hope and happiness?

Speaking of tingling...I have this problem. I'm not really big on super spicy food, but every time I try to make a spicy dish at home, something in my brain goes haywire. Instead of thinking, "Hey, this chili garlic sauce I bought is made from the hottest chilis on earth. I better use just a teaspoonful," I think, "Hey, I'm making a spicy dish - I better use half a cup of this chili sauce." And every time, lo and behold, I end up ruining an otherwise delicious dish. Like tonight for example. As enticing as that bowl o' noodles, shrimp, and broccoli may appear, the truth is it was a suicide mission for our taste buds. So no recipe today, just an offer to learn from my oft repeated mistake: reach for the tablespoon and not the measuring cup when it comes to chili sauce. (Unless you enjoy culinary suicide missions - and singed lips).

Mmmm, Pork

This is one of my go-to fall/winter dishes. It's so easy to make, pairs perfectly with all the seasonal produce that's available right now (think Brussels sprouts, potatoes, parsnips), and comes out great each time - which makes it a great choice for entertaining, btw. This pork is also delicious when cooked on the grill, but since our condo association frowns upon open flames in the living room, I content myself with the oven-made version.

So any other favorite pork recipes out there? Please share!

Balsamic and Honey Mustard Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1 lb, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup honey

3 large tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 large cloves of garlic, crushed

Place all ingredients in a large plastic baggie, squish around to mix everything together, and marinate overnight. (If you only have a few hours, that's fine, too, but the longer the better).

Preheat the oven to 400. Remove the pork loin from the baggie and let the excess marinade drip off. In a large nonstick skillet over high heat, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork loin and sear until nicely browned, about 2 minutes. (Do not move the pork during these two minutes - this will keep it from getting a nice crust). Repeat on each side.

Leave the pork in the skillet and place in the oven. Cook for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Love Dish: Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

I meant to show you a picture of these beautiful scalloped potatoes we had recently, all hot/bubbly/cheesy out of the oven and unbelievably comforting. Honestly I did. But we, um, ate them all before I remembered to take a 'final' shot. So instead, I leave you with this semi-artsy pic I took pre potato-high, and recommend you simply make them and see the hot bubbly goodness for yourself. Enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 lbs potatoes,* sliced thin (about 1/8 inch)

1/2 onion, diced

1 lb diced ham

Preheat oven to 375.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour to the butter (creating a roux), and whisk to dissolve the flour and cook it through. After a few minutes of whisking, add the milk, thyme, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium high and cook, whisking often, until the mixture just begins to boil and the sauce gets thick. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese.

In a large and shallow sprayed/buttered casserole dish, spread a few spoonfuls of the sauce. Layer a third of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle them with a third of the ham and the onions, then a third of the sauce. Repeat two more times - potatoes, ham/onions, and sauce, then cover and bake for an hour, or until the potatoes are tender.

*I've used just about every kind of potato for this (red potatoes, Idaho potatoes, fingerlings, new, peeled, not peeled) and they've all worked great, so just use whatever you've got.

Note: make sure you use a shallow dish; otherwise your potatoes will take hours to cook through.

Quick Dish: Sweet and Sour Sauce

Never before have such seemingly incongruous ingredients come together so quickly to make such a delicious quick dish. It's no wonder the recipe for this ridiculously easy, perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce comes from my dad's mother, who, other than her fabulous brisket, always believed there were more important things to do in life than waste one's time in the kitchen.

My mom, though tending to agree with her mother-in-law's view of kitchen duty after a long day at work, is still one heck of a cook. Way back when, she tried adding her family's Italian meatballs (recipe here) to my Jewish grandma's sauce, and voila! - the perfect blending of my heritages was born.

Of course, you can add this sauce to just about anything that needs a sweet and source kick - spooned over baked chicken for example, or as a dipping sauce for egg rolls or satay - but I'll always be partial to the classic pairing my mom so greatly improved upon.


Sweet and Sour Sauce
2 cans whole cranberry sauce
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup ketchup
½ cup water

Heat all ingredients together on stove. If making sweet and sour meatballs, add meatballs to sauce and simmer on medium low until the meatballs are cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Buttercrunch Toffee

The original name for this post was "Buttercrunch Toffee Ice Cream." However, I got in a bit of a fight with my new ice cream maker, and the ice cream maker won. So rather than treating my friends to buttercrunch toffee soup, I decided to just serve the candy on its own. And you know what? None of us missed the ice cream one bit.

All you need is a candy thermometer - I got mine at the grocery store for $5 - and you're all set to make the best, most chocolately, buttery, crunchy candy you've ever tasted. As for the ice cream...Ben and Jerry's makes a lovely vanilla.

Buttercrunch Toffee

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Makes 2 cups

1 cup almonds, toasted and finely chopped

1 tablespoon water

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup bitter or semisweet chocolate chips

Using half the chopped almonds, form an 8-inch circle in an even layer on an ungreased baking sheet.

Fit a small, heavy-duty saucepan with a candy thermometer, then add the water, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, mixing them together. Have the baking soda and vanilla measured and ready. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring as little as possible. When the mixture reaches 300 degrees, remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Mix just until combined; don't overstir.

Right away, pour the hot toffee mixture over the circle of almonds, covering completely. Scatter the chocolate pieces over the toffee and wait 2 minutes to allow them to melt. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer, then scatter the remaining chopped almonds on top, pressing them into the chocolate. Cool completely, until the chocolate is firm. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you may need to cool it in the refrigerator. Remove it once the chocolate has hardened.

Note: Toffee can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks in the freezer or at room temperature.

A Tale of Two (Potato) Pancakes

Some people wait all year for sweet spring asparagus. Some for the fruits of summer. I wait for potato pancakes.

Now granted, I am aware the potatoes are available much longer than a few precious weeks - heck, you can buy a 20 pound bag of them at the grocery store anytime you want. But growing up in a healthy home where 'frying' was pretty much a dirty word, the holiday season was always our small, indulgent window for such decadent preparations.

Being lucky enough to grow up Jewish and Italian, that means I have not one, but two different potato pancakes to look forward to each winter. Of course, there are those deliciously light and crispy latkes, the requisite shredded potato pancakes doused in sour cream and applesauce that grace our table come candle lighting time (though being a good red-blooded Midwesterner, I always preferred mine with ketchup). But in addition to this jewel of the Jewish culinary landscape, my mother also continues her family's post-Thanksgiving tradition, Italian potato pancakes (pictured above). Packed densley with leftover mashed potatoes and lots of parmesan and parsley, these cheesy, emerald-specked beauties couldn't be more different than my father's version. And yet, I love them every bit as much. What a nice little metaphor.

The holiday season may be over, but that's no reason that potato pancake season should be. I hope you try both. Ketchup is permitted. Just don't pick sides.

Italian Potato Pancakes
Leftover mashed potatoes (about 6 cups worth)

2 eggs

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dried basil leaves

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2-4 tbsp flour, depending on how firm your mashed potatoes are

Flour, for dredging

Olive oil, for frying

Mix all ingredients by hand in a large bowl, adding less flour if your potatoes are stiff, more if they're creamier. (FYI, this dish is best with stiffer mashers, ones made with starchy potatoes and less milk). Form poatoes into patties, about 4 inches in diameter. Fill a large saute pan or an electric skillet with olive oil, at least 1 inch deep. Heat oil over medium high heat, 375 degrees for the electric fryer. As the oil is getting hot, dredge the pancakes in flour to coat; dust off excess. (It is best to do this right before frying, because if they sit too long the flour soaks into the potatoes). When the oil is hot, add the pancakes in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry until golden brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes, then flip and repeat. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Potato Latkes
6 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 tbsp matzoh meal or breadcrumbs
½ tsp baking powder

Wash, peel and grate potatoes, then squeeze dry with paper or regular towels. Grate and add onion to potato, then add salt and egg and mix well. Mix in remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil that is deep enough to almost cover the latkes. Brown on both sides, drain and serve with applesauce and sour cream (or ketchup).

Love Dish: Citrus-Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing, food-filled vacation. I spent the majority of my holiday sitting around my parents' kitchen making some of our favorite family recipes (and taking meticulous notes), and I'm excited to share them all with you soon. In the meantime, though, here's a simple dish that I made last night. After all the feasting of Christmas was behind us, we wanted a dinner that required very little effort. A few chickens in the freezer, some oranges in the fridge, and the hardy rosemary bush in the backyard were all we needed.

Citrus-Rosemary Roasted Chicken
2 5-lb roasting chickens
2 oranges
6 rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degree.

Remove the giblets from the chickens and either save for another use or discard. Wash the chickens inside and out and pat dry. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper. Cut each orange in half; squeeze the juice of both halves over the skin of one chicken and stuff the cavity with the rinds. Repeat with the other chicken. Place one rosemary sprig in each cavity. Pull the leaves off the remaining sprigs and chop finely. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Spread evenly over both chickens, rubbing with your hands to coat evenly.

Place both chickens in a large roaster and place in oven. Immediately lower the heat to 350 and roast for 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer placed in the thickest part of one of the chicken's thighs reaches 175. Remove from oven; tent with foil and let rest for ten minutes. Carve and serve.