It's a Dog Eat [Hot] Dog World

I love hot dogs. I have probably grown to love them more in recent years after I heard how unhealthy they are, because they're now forbidden fruit. This past weekend during a family dinner, the hot dogs made their inaugural 2014 appearance. Mid-April might seem too early to jump feet-first into BBQ season, but I did anyway. Sort of.

The "sort of" stems from a mid-February decision my parents made to get a puppy. Bentley has definitely helped fill the void left behind by our nearly 15-year-old dog Sebastian who left us on Halloween. Born on Thanksgiving, a day that I dare say is probably the pinnacle of pinnacles in the life of a foodie, Bentley already had a place in my heart. Now nearly 5 months old, he's still a monster, but less disorderly than he was at 10 weeks. Because he will eat anything deemed remotely edible (and even things inedible like his metal food bowl) we knew we would have to watch him carefully once grilling season started.

Sebastian used to lurk innocently around the yard until the grilling process ended so he could feast...on the charcoal ash. We usually remembered to keep him at bay, but the times we didn't, he'd eappear at the back door with a sooty muzzle, ready for a nap after a full sweep of the scraped-off grill bits and charcoal ash.

Since Bentley has been far more adventurous than Sebastian, we knew we would have to be mindful about preventing him from ingesting grill toxins, especially at such a young age. Most of his outdoor time involves eating every flower petal, piece of mulch, or blade of grass he can find. You'd think we were starving him. Here he is eating my parents' new azalea bush.


So with these hot dogs on Sunday, I was faced with a choice:  Grill them outside or cook them inside. Considering the Bentley hassle of grilling outside, I opted to try broiling them inside. I've had pretty good luck with toasting chicken hot dogs right on the toaster oven rack, but these were beef hot dogs with a higher fat content. In case you haven't toasted fattier hot dogs, the extra fat drips onto the toaster coils creating the makings for a good ole grease fire.

Instead, I put them on a small tray and broiled them in the oven, turning them every few minutes until they were swollen and crispy. I then added my favorite topping, baked beans mixed with grated Parmesan, as well as some coleslaw, ketchup and whole grain mustard.

It was salty, crispy, crunchy, cold, hot, sweet, soft--it was my everything. I can't wait to have another one, but I want the next one to be grilled. And, I certainly hope Bentley's foraging habits don't drive a wedge between me and that dream.

Maybe the perfect solution is to grill him a hot dog, too, so we can enjoy them together. Dog + hot dog = happy. Me + hot dog = happy. Everyone's happy! It's a dog eat dog world out there, but if it was a dog eat hot dog world, then maybe we'd all be in a better place.

Adventures into Southeast Asia

As many of you know, I am headed to Southeast Asia later this year to visit good friends of mine who will soon move there for a couple of years. It has always been a dream of mine to visit SE Asia, but lack of substantial vacation time, life timing and lack of cash flow were always barriers. Well, as sad as I am to see two fun people leave the states for greener pastures in Malaysia, that means I get to go visit them!

Joining me on my trip--which will involve visits to Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand--are a close college friend and her coworker. In preparation for what will be my first-ever adult trip (adult as in, longer than 3-4 days and involving a passport), I have been researching accommodations, activities, food, flights--everything. I love handling the logistical aspects of vacation and can easily get mired in the weeds of details, details, details. In my downtime from planning, I have been sure to eat my fair share of Asian cuisine to prepare myself for 15 days of culinary bliss.

My latest exploits were at newly-opened Zensai Sushi in downtown Silver Spring, MD. While I would've normally gravitated towards pad thai, sushi, lo mein and a variety of curries, I decided to try something different off the noodle menu.

Called Chiang Mai Noodles, this dish featured a duo of crispy and soft egg noodles with chicken, onion, scallion, sour cabbage and bean sprout in spicy yellow Thai herb with turmeric and coconut milk. It was as good as it sounds! The chicken was tender and noticeably marinated with a memorable flavor. I hope noodle dishes like this are what await me in Chiang Mai. If so, it will be very hard to leave and head back to the states when the time comes. Maybe I should just buy a one-way ticket?

What I do find curious is whether these dishes I eat in the states will taste any different than food from the motherland. I recall my last international trip back in 2000 to Italy where I was initially disappointed by the cuisine since my palate was tainted by American Italian food. I really hope that I don't wish I was back in downtown Silver Spring eating this food (as wonderful as it is) when I am in Thailand. I remain hopeful that I will not be disappointed by the food--but maybe I should lower my expectations just in case?

Chasing the Elusive G

After many a failed attempt to taste one of Mike Isabella's sandwiches from his new-ish restaurant G, I had found success...twice.

The sad part of the story began in December. A couple foodie friends (doubling as running buds) and I headed over there after a Friday evening run only to feel the sting of rejection. G by day is a sandwich shop and by night, which unbeknownst to us started at the stroke of 6pm, is run as a tasting-menu restaurant. That early start meant that it stopped selling sandwiches on that day of the week at 5pm. We had planned our route to end at G as a handsome reward for our hard work. When we opened the door and trotted in, the music stopped. Our hearts sank. Were we in the right place? A well-dressed hostess and well-dressed patrons all looked up to suggest that we most certainly were not. Nothing screams "class" like sweaty running clothes.

We left, dejected but still determined to try again another time during normal sandwich hours.

---begin happy chapter---

Weeks later, I returned on a weekend afternoon, well in advance of the switchover time and found five minutes of happiness in the form of G's Italian Hero. Yes, I ate it that quickly. Made my insides sing.

The buffalo mozzarella was velvety and sweet. The cured Italian meats were spicy, seasoned and sassy. The bread...well, just look at it!

Since I don't live or work anywhere near G, it takes a dedicated plan to pay the shop a visit. This past Friday was one of those days. Since it's Lent, I observe the "no-meat" Fridays and was considering NOT going because I thought it would be too hard to abstain. Friend Laura was the best friend a friend can be and coaxed me to power through and try G's Roasted Cauliflower sandwich. She said it was a noteworthy one that had been written about in reviews as their signature item. Who knew...cauliflower? Delicious cauliflower sandwich? Never thought I would find those three words thrown together.

Laura suggested we just split that one sandwich since she wanted to try it and I couldn't share any meat sandwich she got anyways. A good friend, I tell you! And here is what we saw after tearing open the paper.

Toasted bread soaked with unbelievably flavorful Romesco sauce. Lightly charred cauliflower florets, tender and basking in Romesco. I wanted to bask in Romesco. The pickled veggies offered a nice twang that sent this sandwich deep beyond the friend zone with me. I think I found my soul-mate.

If only G were closer (or would open a spot in Bethesda...hint hint) then I could relive this amazing meet cute over and over again. Until next time, G. I'll be thinking of you.

Magical Joe

This past Sunday was my brother Jame's birthday and I offered to take care of the cake situation for the family celebration. His request? Ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate cake, and chocolate cupcakes. The boy loves him some chocolate, OK?! Last year, I attempted to make cupcakes and cake from scratch to only achieve miserable results. I am not well-skilled in the baked goods department outside of cobbler and cookies.

This year, instead of wasting money on a litany of ingredients to make a less-than-average cake, I decided to go with the box mix. But to add my own creative element, I heeded the advice of my wiser baker friends and substituted the water allotment for coffee. Coffee acts like a magician when paired with chocolate. It intensifies the chocolate flavor and brings new dimensions of taste to an otherwise ordinary chocolate dessert. I've found that lemon juice and zest and some herbs also have that same effect when paired with certain dishes.

In any event, I went across the street to my local Caribou coffee (I am  not a coffee drinker. I love the smell, hate the product. Strangely enough, I do love coffee flavored items such as ice cream and yogurt) to get my special ingredient. When it was my turn to order, I approached the barista and asked for one cup of coffee, never having ordered it before. She asked, light or dark roast. I said, what's the difference? She said, one's uh lighter and less bold than the darker one. I decided to go with the light.

I made my way back to my apartment and prepared the batter, fearing 1.25 cups of coffee would more than overpower the other ingredients. My apartment soon was swollen with the intoxicating aroma of warm chocolate goodness.

Once they cooled, I iced them with an icing bag and voila. I was done.

I transported the cupcakes over to my brother a day early and tried one just before leaving. Pretty good! I could definitely taste the coffee, but it wasn't overpowering. It was the perfect complement to the rich chocolate. I am now a believer in the power of coffee to wake up any chocolate recipe.

Nothing's fishy in here

I've started eating healthier during work night evenings, but have yet to see the results. One of my go-to items has been seared salmon and a salad. I had been in my Safeway the other week when the fish man was hollering at me to be sure to eat seafood at least twice a week. I heeded his message and have been doing so for a few of weeks now.

I used to avoid cooking fish in the past because of the overwhelming stank that would soon permeate every fiber of my apartment when the cooking process had finished. Later in the fall, I tried a series of fans, open doors and closed doors to minimize the fish order with better luck, but it still wasn't good enough. A faint smell would last at least a couple of days. But, now, I have perfected the art of eliminating odor!

I sear the fish on both sides at a very high heat in a skillet for about 2 minutes each side, then I spread a light glaze of chutney on top before popping it into my toaster oven pre-heated at 350 degrees. Cook that for 5-8 minutes and voila! Perfectly tender salmon, no fans, no open doors and zero odor.

The salad above has also become a favorite of mine. Pear, walnut, spinach/arugula, Gorgonzola crumbles and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. When I shared my cooking successes with my mom over the weekend showing her this picture, she was shocked at my portion size. I usually buy a 3/4 lb piece of salmon at the store and eat the entire thing for dinner. I feel content afterwards, not stuffed. But, apparently, I am eating for two! I didn't realize that 4oz of fish was considered one helping. Gah. Oh well.

Another "skinny" recipe "huskified"

I remember back in my earlier years accompanying my mother and brothers to nearby department store Woodies, which soon became a Macy's before being replaced by Bloomingdales. I remember the pants section of the store and distinctly recall the range of sizes and fits categorized with humorous labels such as "husky" or "loose and tall." The women's department wouldn't dare categorize the women's clothes as such. But, maybe it would've been a better way to direct me to the right rack of clothes and proper pant sizes.

In order to stop increasing my pant size, I've slowly made more of an effort to find and cook healthier recipes. But, so far, I haven't seen the results. I think it's because I continue to find myself inflating the ingredient amounts. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of cheese, I use the entire bag since the smallest size bag they sell is usually 2 cups. One cup of cheese does not go a long way!

Well on Sunday night, I decided to give a recipe from blog Skinnyms.com a try: Skinny lasagna rolls. I have never been a huge fan of lasagna because it usually tastes dry and bland to me. I find that the ricotta filling, even with lots of garlic added, just doesn't excite my taste buds whatsoever. I assumed that this recipe, which called for freshly chopped then sauteed spinach with garlic, might change my mind. Oh and I decided to add a flavorful meat sauce on top of it instead of plain marinara would seal the deal. The recipe was fun to make...and visually appealing with the bits of bright green spinach peeking out through each lasagna noodle rolled in a hay-bale-esque fashion.

Well, it wasn't as zippy as I had hoped and dreamed it would be. And no way near as healthy as it should have been. A pound and a quarter of ground beef, an extra cup of cheese, plus whole-milk ricotta must've upped the per-serving calorie count by a couple hundred. It was good, but still, it lacked zing. I think I need to mix the filling with very sharp cheese next time...maybe Pecorino Romano. Or maybe it's time to give up on any recipe related to lasagna or ricotta filling. I do recall loving a sausage and spinach (I think) lasagna that friend Julie made once during a ski trip. Maybe sausage is the key. I don't know. All that's left now is a baleful of questions and no answers. And me...husky and bothered.

Fiesta!

On Friday evening, to counteract the frigid temps and light snowfall, I decided to prepare a tex-mex feast reminiscent of summer for James and I. The other weekend we had indulged in some margaritas which made us long for the warm months yet to come filled with grilling out, summer drinks and relaxation.

This time, I took a slight departure from our regular margarita concoction (equal parts frozen limeade, corona, silver tequila and sprite) and bought some grapefruit soda to replace the sprite and limeade. For apps, I modified a refritos recipe from Emeril to make a heavenly spicy, refried bean dip. I also prepared some fresh salsa (gotta have something healthy in there!). Then for the main course, I adapted a Cooking Light recipe for Tortilla Chip Casserole. And by adapted I mean adding more cheese, more chicken and more cream sauce. Cooking Heavy. Yes.

Sadly, I wasn't as excited with the results. I thought the recipe lacked zing. It came off too blandly. I think what could help it satisfy my palate next time would be to add a spicy and spunky red salsa to the top layer before the cheese. The recipe had called for green enchilada sauce, but the one I had lacked depth of flavor. At least the grapefruit margaritas made me forget I hated it in the first place. Win.

The treachery of peanut butter

Earlier this week, friend Nick ribbed me for never updating my blog. He expressed his concern for my eating habits and worried that maybe I wasn't. Well, have you seen me lately?! Even so, he felt compelled to start a blog that begs the question, has Hilary eaten today? While I doubt DidHilaryEat.blogspot.com will gain much traction, stranger things have happened.

As it were, I am forging ahead in my lifetime battle against gluttony. My eating disorder has intensified with recent stresses at work, which always leads me down that dangerous path to the peanut butter jar.

As I am now a coupon-clipping queen in an effort to cut back on reckless spending, I recently came into the fortune of Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter. I have long been an ally of Skippy and still believe it is a better product than Jif, but that particular week, no coupon was to be found for the Skippy. I restrained myself and only purchased two. Upon getting home, I opened it and gave it a taste. Wow, it was very extra crunchy! So very crunchy in fact. And so very delicious when paired with some left over dark chocolate Hershey kisses. I had a moment there in the solitude of my kitchen where I knew I should stop, but didn't know if I could.

My new-found dessert. The process of letting the dark chocolate kiss melt in my mouth for a quick bit before introducing it to a spoonful of extra crunchy peanut butter was euphoric. I eventually stopped and then brought the jar to work as a snack item. It has since been decimated, even eaten with a fork in more desperate times when spoons were not to be found. One very busy day, I considered using my fingers rather than walk the 10 steps to the office kitchen to retrieve the proper utensil. Semi-neanderthal of me, but my pride disappeared years ago.

Thus, I am on board with Jif. I understand why choosy Moms choose Jif. Forget wasting money on toys and babysitters, all you gotta do is give your kid a jar of the stuff and they'll be occupied for a lifetime. Or in my case, two business days.

Gingerbread

I haven't blogged in a few months now, which is mainly due to the fact that I don't have internet at home. I thought about getting it in 2013, but as we all know, the world ends on Friday, so, no point. But I figured I should post one last time.

Last night I wandered my way back into baking from scratch. I love everything about cooking, especially the eating part. But baking? It's been more of a miss than a hit for me over the years. Box mixes tend to be my best friend. I don't have a fancy stand mixer and always find myself over mixing something resulting in dense, cardboard-esque baked goods. I do tend to be OK with pies and cobblers, though. And, ovens usually treat me well otherwise when it comes to savory items.

So, despite my failures in that arena, I took a gamble this year. I decided that I wanted to bake a variety of cookies for my coworkers for the holiday season. As the last week of the work year (and world) fast approached, my interest started to wane. I scanned hundreds of cookie recipes on the interwebs, but nothing stood out enough. Then the thought of making dough, chilling it and then dealing with the mess of rolling out, shaping, baking, cooling, icing and packaging tipped the scale to "forget this." Lazy, yes. But these cookies might not even turn out well, so why go to all that trouble. Instead, I decided to bake something that would take far less time and effort: Gingerbread blondies.

I love gingerbread. It's my favorite holiday season cookie, aroma and flavor. I stumbled across many a recipe on pinterest and elsewhere for gingerbread bars. I judged all of the recipes based on the pictures. Some had cream cheese frosting, some had orange frosting, some just powered sugar. But, many of them were flat or very cake-like. I wanted gooey. Ooey gooey. And thus I chose a recipe from a British blogger, who was kind enough to note the gram/cup conversions in her ingredients list.

The recipe was pretty straight forward, but I stumbled a few times along the way. I doubled it, so had to remeasure the flower at one point since I had lost track of how much had been added. Then, I decided 45-55 minutes was far too long of a cooking time. Brownies usually bake in 30ish minutes, so I figured these would as well. And my overriding fear of producing a dry, cake-like blondie prompted me to put 30 minutes on the kitchen timer.

Fifteen minutes in, they looked almost done. They had risen substantially and were a great gingerbready-brown color. At 20 minutes, I took them out of the oven and did the toothpick test. Clean! All done. Except for that 10 minutes later, they had deflated and were noticeably raw inside. Bugger. How did the toothpick fool me? Don't they look done in the photo? I turned the oven back on and threw them in. Another 10 minutes went by and I checked, thought they were done and was fooled AGAIN. Bloody hell. Three times is the charm, right?

Crikey Moses, they were done. I cooled them, dusted them and my knickers with powdered sugar and then packaged them up for work. Some were cakey, some were gooey, so not bad overall. 

Lessons learned from this baking experience? Don't bake again.

Key Lime Sigh

I love Key Lime Pie. It has all the elements of a fantastic dessert:  Sweet, tangy and tart; creamy and velvety; crunchy and buttery. And now, and even more fantastic iteration of this dessert is back on the market. Ben & Jerry's has re-released it's Limited Edition Key Lime Pie ice cream. Friend Christine introduced me to my latest temptress in the world of food and I licked the carton clean last night after a rigorous boxing workout. Way to negate my calorie-burn. But, I went to bed with a Key-Lime-Pie-eating grin on my face last night :-D

Fare Thee Well

My all-time favorite meatball creator will soon be gone. Yes, Potenza is closing on August 18. I work nearby, so am used to frequenting their bakery for lunch and indulging in either their spectacular eggplant parmesan or their meatballs. Oh, the meatballs. I've never tasted something so good: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, full of herbs, cheese, garlic and love. The handcut spaghetti and succulent homemade sauce are the perfect duo to make this dish my heartthrob.

Since learning of the Potenza owner's intent to shutter for good when it was announced in July, I have eaten there four times. Twice in the bakery (meatball sub, eggplant parm special) and twice in the restaurant. During my most recent visit (last night), I asked our waiter whether he'd be amenable to giving me the meatball recipe, since they will never be made ever again. He said he would look into it. And at the end of the meal said he had taken a picture of it on his phone and would email it to me. The dream. Said email still hasn't arrived, but I will wait patiently. If it doesn't arrive in the next week, I'll just have to go back one more time, or go to therapy to deal with my separation anxiety.

Supplanting my garden with a carden

It's nearly June, which means my garden of herbs that I planted in early April should be flourishing by now. Or not. After a rollercoaster of fickle weather, my poor plants aren't sure what season it is. My basil is a pale green color and keep seeding as if its easing into Fall. The thyme is growing, but yellowing here and there. And the cilantro, well, that's another story. Since it was planted, the cilantro had been growing at an explosive rate. So much so that I could snip some for use in some Cinco de Mayo recipes. Well, upon checking on the plants a few days afterwards, I noticed someone or something had mowed my cilantro down to stems. Mere stems!

I have seen a rabbit slinking around behind the bushes in my courtyard. Was it him? Or was it the drifter who lives in the stairwell near the courtyard? Or maybe it was one of my fellow residents in a tacky display of neighborly charm?

Or maybe I will have better luck sustaining my patio garden on my car. Yes...my car garden, er "carden" is looking good, folks. My 13-year old car, that is slowly starting its transformation into a full-blown beater. It's missing a signal headlight, has tape on another main headlight that has now burned out, has a back fender sticking out slightly, has a busted grill from an accident, hasn't been washed in a couple years and now, has plants growing out of the trunk.

What do you think these will grow to be? I think one of them resembles a maple tree. That's not gonna work out well!

Cobbling

I was cobbling last night. I had intended to cobble a strawberry rhubarb delight on Sunday for Easter dessert, but the timing got the best of me. I haven't made a cobbler in over a year, and before then had a bit of an OCD issue with making them every weekend in the summer months. But it all came back to me with ease. This is only the second time I've made a strawberry rhubarb cobbler and I think this time, it came out better than the first time.

Not unlike my first time making it, I had to go to several grocery stores before finding rhubarb. But, unlike last time where the rhubarb I found was thin and scraggly, this crop was luscious and abundant.

I was sure to slice up the rhubarb very thinly this go around and was glad that I had enough to have even parts rhubarb to strawberries. The first go around, there wasn't enough rhubarb, so the finished product was a bit too watery.

Voila!

Spring has sprung

I can't get enough of the lovely view outside of my patio. I wish spring would last forever. Up next is the bloom of the azalea bushes at the base of this blossomtastic cherry tree!

Chicken cookies

On Sunday, I attended my coworker Cody's annual chicken cookie party at a lavish row house in Georgetown. Yes, chicken cookies. Packed with protein (in the form of butter), these delicacies are legendary. In fact, my coworker could easily start a dessert company based on her baking prowess alone. For her party, held every year on Palm Sunday, she bakes ~200 of these butter cookies, prepares yellow and red icing for decorating and offers several tasty finger foods and beverages. The guests then mingle over vats of the icing and decorate cookies to bring home. Cody even prepares a bin full of "giblets," which are the scraps of dough left.

My first icing attempt wasn't legendary. For one, I used too much icing, struggled to put the chicken's red gobbler on and totally ruined the eye. The rest were improvements. Cody told me that I can now say I have iced a chicken. I will report that none of the chickens survived to meet a new day.

Still here, still eating

I don't know WHAT is up with me in 2012. My creative side has fallen victim to other distractions, I suppose. But luckily, my food intake hasn't suffered one bit. In fact, I'm still *shockingly* fighting the never ending battle of controlling my impulses to eat myself to death and exercise with regularity. But, in the meantime, I wanted to let you know that I've planted a crop of herbs on my patio to help jump start my trip to incorporating more raw fruits and vegetables into my diet.

I love herbs. I love how they smell. I love how easily they grow. I love how they punch up my cooking. And I love how they look. I can't wait till mid-summer when they will have exploded with growth and I can make a salad of just herbs.

Here we go, from left: Garlic (I simply planted three cloves that had started sprouting in my kitchen), cilantro, thyme, basil and rosemary. C'monnnn summer!

Crackpotting

It's 2012 and I haven't blogged once. I've been too busy eating and using my crockpot like it's going out of style. My crockpot is my crack. Correction: I have three crockpots; my crockpots are my crack. They're all so cute when you line them up next to each other as they are all different sizes. While I would like to share some of my favorite crockpot recipes attempted thus far, instead I will share with you my latest obsession.

My "Crack of the Week," and possibly (hopefully) longer than that is a certain kind of Triscuit. Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil. I cannot get enough. I am this close to finishing an entire box I purchased this morning. If it weren't for the fear of total calories consumed by this feat, they would've been gone by lunch time. They're peppery, but not overly...and just the right amount of spice and bite to each cracker. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the hottest drug on my market.

Day 3: Rain, Mountains and Sunshine

We started off Day 3 of our Napa trip with a quick breakfast at the house of yogurt (goldfish for me) before heading to Pride Mountain for the sole tour of the trip. It was a cold, grey and drizzly day and winding in circles up the mountain did nothing to stave the woozy in my stomach. I have mild motion sickness that usually appears on metro train rides, on boats or with lots of stopping and starting in traffic when I'm sitting in the back seat of the car. So this particular morning, I was miserable.

But upon reaching the top of this mountain, the views helped level out my upset stomach. We headed indoors quickly, as I was also severely under dressed. We began the tour sipping Pride Mountain's current release Viognier. It was pretty good, but it wasn't as memorable for me due to my current state. Our tour guide learned us on soil types, explained how the grapes on the top of the mountain are smaller due to the fact the rain water runs down the mountain into the valley and how this means the juice flavor is much more concentrated as a result. After that, we headed over to the caves where they stored their wine barrels.

This is where we did some barrel tasting and learned more about the wine-making process. We learned that the Obama's order Pride Wines for all of their state dinners. We also learned that if the wine tastes bitter, our palates are not as refined yet. Friend Christine was already annoyed with our tour guide at this point and this comment sent her on a rampage through the rest of the cave tour. Luckily, she and our pompous tour guide made nice at the end of the tour and we left the place without taking any bad juju with us.

After more picture taking, we set off for some much needed grub. I didn't buy any wine at Pride since it was pricier and my palate didn't particularly take well to it. Our next food stop was a match made in heaven for my palate.

We pulled over at Gott's Roadside for some comfort food. I ordered the "Wisconsin Sourdough" burger that had griddled mushrooms, bacon, cheddar, mayo and bbq sauce on toasted sourdough bread. Wow. Christine and Susan ordered juicy chicken sandwiches and Sheri ordered a classic burger. Then Christine and I washed our meals down with a pumpkin milkshake. WOWWOW!

Happy again, we piled back into the car and headed to Chateau Montelena. Famous for it's blind taste test years win years ago against storied French wines, Chateau Montelena was a sight to see. Despite the continued cold temps and dreary rain, we still managed to keep good spirits.

The wine tasting was fine, but nothing struck my fancy. Somewhere between the parking lot and the tasting room we had lost our spark for exploring the compound and snapping a million pictures. Instead, we headed back to the car and pondered our next move. Our last winery of the day was to be Cakebread, but our tasting appointment wasn't for another couple hours.

So we drove to the famous Napa sign and took more pictures.

We then headed to Cakebread for our tasting, which to our surprise was comped! Victory. While I didn't take any pictures at this visit, it was the one winery whose wines I loved the most. After a day full of rain, frigid temps, motion sickness and overall blah, the Cakebread visit was the sunshine we had all so desired. The tour and tasting dude was great. The winery was also unique since they had bookmark-size cards for each of their wines describing the wine and on the back pairing it with a recipe. Fun, great idea. I particularly loved the vintage Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and of course, the Pinot Noir.

After sweating out my decision, I came away with a bottle of the Zinfandel. After this purchase, I only had one more spot left in my 6-pack wine carrier to be checked as baggage on the flight home. Sunday was surely going to be a gamble. Of the three wineries to visit, when do I buy my last bottle? At the first stop? Or wait to see if the last two are better? Stressful.

But before the day ended, we browsed through Dean and Deluca and a Napa soap shop before heading back to our house to change for dinner at Mustard's Grill. Bad decisions about, we indulged in hummus, cheese, crackers and more before heading out the door again. I was angry with myself at this point, because I was full heading to dinner. I still managed to shovel food down the gullet, but know I would've appreciated it more had I come with an empty stomach.

My meal? Baby back ribs, apple and golden raisin slaw, cornbread sticks and butter.

Sheri and Susan ordered their roast chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted artichokes and this special sauce.

Christine ordered yet another chicken sandwich, but her side was my pick for the winning item of the meal. Roasted and grilled sweet potatoes (yellow, not orange) with an avocado tomatillo sauce topped with creme fraiche. The combination there was unbelievable. I hope to attempt to duplicate it sometime soon.

Sadly, no one had room for dessert, so we paid the bill and trolled home for some rest before another big day.

Ad Hoc!

Time to wrap 2011 up before 2012 makes its appearance! And that means finishing my recap of the Napa trip. I left off at the end of day two in Sonoma County with our dinner at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant in ritzy, yet quaint, Yountville. Knowing the popularity of this place, we called to make a reservations exactly two months in advance. The intrigue of this restaurant centered not only around the famously amazing chef behind its menu, but also the fact that the pre fix menu changed daily. I had subscribed to Ad Hoc's daily email of its menu and had been drooling over the offerings the past two months.

Anyways, enough filler, let's get to the important things. First up on the menu was an autum salad with frissee, Belgian endive, roasted pistachios, bing cherries, olives, roasted squash and a vinaigrette of sorts. The combination of everything was spectacular.

The main course was a roasted pork rack tenderloin with plums, brussell sprouts, cipolini onions, romesco sauce and polenta. The pork was SO tender and fraught with flavor. Perhaps they had brined it? I don't know, but whatever they did was on point.

Next up was a fantastic cheese course! We dove head first into some Truffle Tremor goat cheese, quince jam and breadsticks. Perfect way to prepare for dessert.

Last up to bat was a chocolate cake of sorts, coffee ice cream and candied hazelnuts. While I found the hazelnuts to be over powering, the rest of the dish was the perfect balance of creamy and rich. With that, we waddled back to the car and somehow found our way home before the coma set in. Perfect way to end a long productive day of wine tasting in Sonoma County.

Pastitsio

Patricio? No. Pastitsio. While I still plan to finish up reporting on the trip to Napa before the year ends, I figured I'd report on something similar in caliber. Pastitsio is commonly referred to the Greek version of lasagna. I made it for my work potluck today and it turned out deliciously. Here's the tried and true recipe of Ina Garten's that I used. I suggest you try it out sometime.

The recipe calls for ground lamb and ground beef that you cook with onion, garlic, red wine, cinnamon, thyme, oregano and cayenne pepper. The meat sauce is simmered for almost an hour before adding it to some baby shells. Then the best part? The bechamel topping made with oodles of freshly grated parmesan cheese. It's then baked with more fresh cheese on top. Definitely not waistline friendly, but it's definitely a mood lifter.