Back to basics

For my birthday dinner, I decided to go to Potenza in D.C. with la familia. Weeks earlier, I had been waffling between Brasserie Beck and Potenza. I had dined at Potenza's cafe bakery several times and eaten lunch there, so knew it was a solid win. And after going out to BB's sister restaurant Mussel Bar the week before, I decided to go with Potenza for my dinner. And it sure didn't disappoint!

My brother and mother split the pan-seared Bronzino with ravioli. It looked tasty, but I zeroed in on more classic italian food.

My younger brother tried out the pizza with spicy sopresatta. I stole a couple pieces of the sopresatta and thoroughly enjoyed.

 

And for moi? Spaghetti and meatballs! I can say without a doubt in my mind that Potenza's meatballs are the best I've ever had at a restaurant. Ever. I've had the meatballs in a meatball sub once for lunch and loved them. But what made them so good was how delicate they were. There was a good amount of meat (pork, veal, beef) in them, but they were packed so lightly that they just fell apart with a fork. The sauce was a perfect complement and the spaghetti was also probably the best spaghetti I've ever eaten at a restaurant.

At the fancier Italian joints, they use handmade, fresh pasta. For some reason, I've never been a fan of the fresh pasta due to its consistency. More commercial Italian restaurants, such as Maggiano's and Carmine's have decent pasta, but it's clearly the straight-out-of-the-box kind. If I wanted that, I'd make it myself. So whatever Potenza did with their spaghetti is the perfect medium. They deserve a high five and a fist pump for their efforts. And if you haven't already been to Potenza, I strongly encourage you to check it out!

They day the calendar died

 

Today is my 30th birthday. Today is also the day I will stop counting how old I am. I'm going to be one of those people who not only forgets how old they are, but forgets when their birthday is. At least this is how I'm feeling about all of this now.

This is the cake I made for my birthday before it was iced. I decided to get a little more creative this year. I knew I wanted to make circular cakes that I could cut out into a "30," but then also experimented with some upside-down magic. I sliced a quart of strawberries super duper thinly and tossed them with dark brown sugar. They quickly got nice and juicy upon mingling with the sugar. Then I lined the bottom of my cake pans with them before pouring french vanilla cake mix on top. For the icing, I made cream cheese frosting (cream cheese, butter, confectioners and vanilla) and mixed in four minced strawberries. I thought it turned out well! Next time, I might put more strawberries in the cake pans and less in the icing as the icing wasn't as firm with more liquid in it.

Maybe this will be my next cooking experiment--to see how many different combinations of upside-down cake I can make. Stay tuned!

Napa Valley in DC

Testing my patience, I ventured over to Bobby Flay's new burger joint in DC earlier today. Having only opened a couple weeks earlier, I knew that wait time would likely still be an issue. And it was. Along with my brother James and friend Phill, we waited...waited...and waited. And watched as one lone cashier took orders from a dozens of people. One cashier?! Frustrated, Incorporated.

After being in line for an HOUR, we finally arrived at decision time. What was it going to be? The Dallas burger with its slaw, jack cheese, bbq sauce and pickles? Or would it be the Napa Valley burger with it's goat cheese, watercress and honey mustard vinaigrette?

I went with the Napa Valley! The picture says it all. Juicy, gooey, greatness.

James got the Dallas burger and it looked just as good as the Napa one!

We then shared some sweet potato fries paired with a tangy honey mustard horseradish sauce.

And then I washed it all down with a creamy vanilla bean milkshake! If you have the patience, and the time, I highly recommend giving Bobby's burgers a try. As I prepare to descend on Napa Valley in two months with some of my best girlfriends, I can only hope that the trip is as good as my burger was.

Reality bites

This is the beauty I get to stare at on my desk all day. They're for my friend Teddy's birthday. When I bought them this afternoon, a guy next to me in line was shocked I was getting a dozen. I was like, "look dude, they're not my lunch." But maybe he sensed deep down that they COULD  be my lunch. I wouldn't put it past me either.

Soon after I got back to the office with these beautiful bites, I had to head into one of my dreaded team meetings. I've said this before, but I do love my job. But even so, the reality of working in an office can be draining. My office can be comical at times, depressing on occasion and most often routinely crazy.

Of all the placs I have worked in my "career," the one in which i currently reside certainly contains the most vibrant and diverse cast of characters. I have never enjoyed coming to work on the regular as I do here. But there aren't enough pages to include all of the odd sayings, sound bytes, strange happenings and wild surprises that each week brings.

Now, normally my weekly team meetings are fraught with tension and include a visit from the Awkward Fairy. If you haven't met AF yet, he is well known for delivering uncomfortable silences, poorly placed comments, tasteless remarks and the like. These meetings are also my time to try out a new twist on my typical meeting look: the solemn face. I've got it all down now...like Blue Steel. But this week's gathering was, by far, the most odd.

There were random mentions of Grover; meeting Elmo and Bobby Flay on the same night; and the unfortunate lives of military children. There was heavy breathing. There was also a member of the IT team crawling on the floor under the table making all the females wearing skirts uncomfortable. I knew I should've worn pants today. Then the three long tables we sat at were rearranged by the IT staff. Anyone with ADD would never survive our meetings. I certainly can't recall the details of what was discussed. I was too busy thinking of the cupcakes back at my desk and worrying over the peep show I was giving under the table.

If only we had a reality show. Then we could capture all of the goodness that makes each day a memorable one. Or maybe I should write a book. Or only wear pants from this day forward. Life. Decisions.

Feeding the foodies

I happen to be one of the luckiest people when it comes to my job. I love what I do and enjoy coming to work each day with respectful, fun and intelligent coworkers. The best thing about my coworkers is the mutual love and appreciation for eating. We often hunt down coveted food trucks nearby or talk about new eating places coming soon to our area. We also spend many lunch hours eating together in front of the TV which is always tuned to the Food Network.

We've spent many months chiding Paula Deen's shameless attempts to market mayonnaise as a vehicle for fried food, her distaste for anything green or of value to the human body and her slick motives to crown butter as a main dish item. We've also had many a debate over why Ina Garten only wears popped collar dark dress shirts, what the deal is with her husband Jeffrey and if her voice has ever gotten angry before in her life. And there have been many a choice comment on a certain Food Network "personality" whose elaborate table-scapes and quick fix meals don't cut it for this crowd.

Most recently, we decided it was time to put our cooking skills on display. And yesterday, the day finally came where six of us brought in some summer dishes to share. The spread was the perfect balance of sweet, savory and guilty pleasures.

We prepared and devoured the following items:

• deviled eggs
• pigs in a blanket
• orzo pasta salad with feta and zucchini
• BBQ spare ribs
• bulgar salad with mint, jicama and peaches
• chocolate cream tart
• white and yellow peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream

YUM. So much for getting back on the healthy eating train. 

Just call me "Gerry"

Gerry the geriatric. Geraldine if you choose to be more formal.

Upon discharge from my cast-removal appointment at Georgetown Hospital, I was prescribed with several items that essentially suggest I'm an 85 year old woman trapped in the body of an almost 30 year old. Not only did my orthopedist ask me to start taking Glucosamine to help prevent arthritis in my ankle, he also wrote me a prescription for a compression stocking. Upon telling my coworker about Glucosamine, he said he had heard of it before after watching commercials on the golf channel, which is widely viewed by the elder crowd. Between Depends and Cialis, Glucosamine fits right in.

Yes, I'm officially hot and desirable. If you see me walking at .00001 miles an hour down the mean streets of DC with my crutches as canes, sporting my black air cast and a flattering flesh-colored knee-length compression stocking, give me a holler. Cat calls are welcome, too.

More to come on my new ankle, but until then I am happy to be walking and happy that by the time I do turn 85, I'll know what to expect.

Decode THIS

I've run out of steam lately as I am winding down to under two weeks left in this ridiculous cast. I'm just over it. I'm tired of inconveniencing everyone to do even the smallest of activities. I'm tired of the logistical nightmare it is to get around. I'm tired of uncomfortable sleeping. And, I'm tired of my strange dreams. I'm not on any narcotic pain killers or other mind-altering potions, but yet, my dreams as of late have been stranger than strange.

Take last night, for example. I was in a house with some friends and all of a sudden, two grizzly bears appeared. They got up on their hind legs, roared and bared their claws and teeth. Fright and panic set in. We rushed to lock the doors (since these grizzlies had the ability to open and close doors) to keep ourselves safe. The details beyond this get a bit fuzzy. But, I do recall someone finding a rifle and shooting one of the grizzlies. Then the other came back and tried to re-open the door that had come unlocked. BAM. I beat him to it and re-locked it. I think I sprayed Raid on the bear through the window because then it fell down and was writhing below the window.

I kept coming back to see if the bear had died yet, but no luck. Then, oddly enough, the bear started to look more human. It was in pain, but scary still. The house transformed into a sky scraper building, and the bear that was once writhing below the window sill was now writhing on a thin lip of the building. The bear was fully human looking at this point. I then realized I recognized the bear. It was Washington Capitals young buck defenseman John Carlson. I went away hoping this bear-man-Carlson would soon die so we could leave the house without fear of being attacked.

At this point, I started feeling badly for how terribly he was suffering. I hoped he would die soon for his own sake. I checked back and saw him writhe falling off the lip only to grab onto it with one hand and eventually pull himself back up. Damn it, I thought. I snuck out a back door and went in search of the rifle owner to ask him to shoot the bear-man-Carlson to put him out of his misery.

Well, by the time I had gotten  back, Carlson had fallen from the lip onto the pavement, but was still alive. So, I called 9-1-1 and was frantically saying how one of the Washington Capital's stars was seriously hurt and needed help fast. They came, revived him and I felt like a hero for saving John Carlson's life.

OK. Someone explain that to me before I check myself into the mental ward. I think it's related to the fact that I've been using a lot of Raid lately to kill winged ants that flood my room when the sun sets. I also saw another mouse running down the basement stairs last night. Oh, and I heard some man screaming on our street around midnight, so I sat up in bed alert for a while thinking he would break in to the house. OK...seems that's the basis for the dream plot, but the cast of characters?! Come on!

Look at this ferocious grizzly. Straight outta my dreams!

Does John Carlson resemble a grizzly bear? No. More like a teddy bear.

 

Ahh, yes, this is more like it!