Silver

Posted on November 17, 2015 by melsmosaic

So I actually went to see that movie about the guy who made all those computers that aren’t PCs. No, I don’t own one. It was interesting, though the end was a bit odd…could we not have brought us forward another decade+.

Ok, onto food…since the movie let out around 9:30, one must eat! There has been such a change in downtown Bethesda in the last several years and even more so in the past 6 months. So, new restaurants are popping up all over. My friend and I checked out Silver. I was unaware until that night that it is the posh version of Silver Diner.

We almost had to wait for a table at 9:30pm — it has to be good. The interior design of this place is quite nice. The chairs alone have some leather that we couldn’t quite identify. I almost felt under dressed! The drink menu is extensive and some of the shakes — I almost thought they could curdle with the contents coming against each other. Dang, sometimes I wish I could have one!

After way too much surveying of the menu (because I couldn’t decide) I opted for two appetizers, Crispy Brussels Sprouts that were cinnamon chipotle spiced, with apricots, cranberries, pecans, ranch (nixed that) and Wild Caught Scallops with lemon garlic sauce, wilted spinach, feta, cilantro.

This food was amazing. I had to finish every single Brussels sprout on the plate.

And all the flavors of coming together on the perfectly cooked scallops…just take me to heaven now.

This place will be worth checking out for other meals.

Not Your Average Joe’s

Posted on November 17, 2015 by melsmosaic

A Not Your Average Joe’s opened up in the past several months in (North) Bethesda. I have checked it out a couple times for happy hour (which has some decent specials) but haven’t ever eaten there. I am on their mailing list and got a birthday email worth $15 towards my next visit to the restaurant. Great. Maybe I’ll go and actually try their food.

Decided to go last Friday. It was very busy but was able to grab a spot at the bar. Let the bartender know I had a $15 b-day email I was going to use, he was cool with that. Made it towards the end of happy hour and snagged a margarita for a good price. Sipped that for a bit while I enjoyed their amazing warm bread that they serve with olive oil, garlic (and normally cheese, but I get it without). So addictive! There were some decent menu items to pick from, some a bit restrictive for lactards. I finally saw a seasonal item that the bartenders recommended — Cider Glazed Chicken Kabobs, which were grilled and glazed with zeigler’s apple cider, served over a warm farro golden raisin salad, roasted spaghetti squash and toasted pumpkin seeds. Put an order in for that and shouted for a glass of red right before HH was over to have ready for when the food came out.

Eventually (maybe 30 minutes later) my food arrived.

The chicken was warm and the squash was cold, not even room temp. I mentioned this to the bartender, he was very apologetic and the manager came and told me they would get me a new dish. About 15 minutes later a new plate came out with half the chicken and still at lukewarm temps. I picked at it a bit but was not really hungry. The manager came to apologize and was kind enough to take it off my bill.

I still had the margarita and wine on my bill. I presented them with the coupon I had from the email, which I had read VERY carefully prior to going to dinner about what it might or might not cover (aka alcohol). No where did it say anything. The ‘fine print’ read “P.S. As much as Joe loves birthdays, we’re obliged to include the usual disclaimers: This offer is nontransferable, not valid with other offers, only one per person and doesn’t apply to take-out.”

The bartender came back to me and told me that even though my coupon was for $15, I would have to pay for my $10 worth of drinks. The manager made him do that, couldn’t do it himself. Long story short, it was not pleasant, they eventually let me leave without paying, so I could fortunately leave the bartender a nice tip. Overall not pleased with the restaurant, except for their great bread.

Beets, Leeks and More

Posted on October 2, 2015 by melsmosaic

Was having some food-loving friends over so had to do some recipe digging since everybody was making a big contribution. I’d heard some great things about Yotam Ottalenghi and had flipped through a couple of his cookbooks. I remembered this one, Beet, Leek and Walnut Salad from his Jerusalem cookbook. I did have to google the recipe because I’d seen it when looking through the book at a friend’s place and wasn’t able to borrow it before making dinner. So, this might not completely match his.

Salad:
4 medium beets, trimmed (went for the pre-cooked ones at Trader Joe’s)
4 medium leeks, trimmed and cut into 4-inch pieces
1 cup arugula leaves (LOVE arugula)
1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped (used parsley because one person at dinner did not like cilantro — the nerve!)
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (optional — stuck with that, I didn’t grab these)

Dressing:
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp or paste (I didn’t even attempt this, because hard to find, so don’t know what it would have done to flavor)
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar or 1 teaspoon regular balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon walnut oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Begin by roasting the beets. Preheat an oven to 425°. Scrub the beets, wrap in foil, and roast for 45 to 60 minutes or until they are fork tender. Set aside to cool. (Was nice to skip this step) Once the beets are cool, peel and cut into bite-sized wedges. Transfer to a bowl.

To cook the leeks, place in a medium saucepan with enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the leeks are just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water, then cut into smaller pieces and transfer to another bowl.

Meanwhile, soak a tablespoon of tamarind pulp or paste in 1/4 cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. (hmmm, wonder what this might bring).

To make the dressing, combine the walnuts, garlic, chili flakes, vinegars, oils, 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved tamarind water, and salt and pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature to combine the flavors.

Gently toss the beets with half of the dressing and the leeks with the remaining dressing.

To serve, place some of the arugula onto serving plates, top with a few beets, followed by more arugula and some leeks, and then a few more beets and some more leeks. Scatter the fresh parsley or cilantro over top and garnish with pomegranate seeds for an extra special burst of fresh flavor (I totally did not get that fancy, it’s called tossed salad).

Makes 4 to 6 servings

It was a very tasty, tangy salad, though I did overdress it (but dressing was good, so it’s not like that was problem). Next time I might do roasted leeks because the boiled ones were a bit tasteless. Might actually seek out tamarind at some point. Was glad to make it and try a new flavor blend!

Crusted!

Posted on September 20, 2015 by melsmosaic

Tried another recipe from a recent issue of Bon Appetit — Wild Rice-Crusted Halibut. Sounded pretty unique so had to give it a try. Also relatively easy to make.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
½ cup wild rice
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
4 5–6-ounce skinless halibut, hake, or cod fillets (I went with the cod, much more affordable)
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add rice and cook, tossing occasionally, until grains have popped open like popcorn and are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and let cool. Pulse in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. Perfect in the mini-prep.

Preheat oven to 350°. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs and 1 Tbsp. water in another shallow bowl. Place wild rice powder in a baking dish. Season fish with salt and pepper. Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg mixture, turning to coat evenly. Coat with rice powder, pressing gently to adhere. -Was tough to get it to totally adhere, but still got a good amount on there

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high. Cook fish until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast fish until just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

The crunch you got from the rice was great! And I have now taken this concept and used it for just extra in ‘stuff’ — I toasted the wild rice the other day and pulsed/crushed it just not quite as fine and tossed it with some brown rice. Gave it great extra crunch. Going to see what else to do with it now.

Mushroom-Mania

Posted on September 12, 2015 by melsmosaic

Was in the Asian market recently and I felt like a kid in a candy store. Among many pieces of produce and amazing seafood at great prices, I found awesome mushrooms. I just had to pick them up! Shiitake, oyster and beech is what I stocked my cart with. I had not seen the beech ones before. I sauteed them with lemongrass, green onions and sesame oil. Ahhh…so good!

Mixed Beans with Peanuts, Ginger and Lime

Posted on September 12, 2015 by melsmosaic

Got together with friends to make a feast recently and found a tasty-sounding Bon Appetit recipe to try — Mixed Beans with Peanuts, Ginger and Lime.

Made a couple changes in the recipe because of nuts, lack of beans, and other stuff.

2 pounds mixed snap beans (such as green, wax, haricots verts, and/or Romano), trimmed — used straight frozen green beans from Trader’s Joe’s
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ large shallot, finely chopped
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layers removed, finely grated on a Microplane
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup salted, roasted peanuts — used cashews vs. peanuts
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped — I went to 4 stores, including international markets, and couldn’t get these. The guys at both the Mexican markets and Asian markets laughed at me. I thought that was comical myself that they didn’t carry them.
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup (packed) cilantro leaves with tender stems, plus more for serving

Preparation

Working in batches by type, cook beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 1–4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice water; let cool. Drain and pat dry.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a small skillet over medium and cook shallot, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and coriander and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high. Cook peanuts, tossing often, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; let cool, then coarsely chop. Set aside 1 Tbsp. peanuts for serving.

Whisk kaffir lime leaves, lime zest, lime juice, sugar, ½ tsp. salt, and remaining 3 Tbsp. oil into shallot mixture. Add beans, remaining peanuts, and ⅓ cup cilantro and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with more cilantro and reserved peanuts.

It was good, but nothing that exciting. Don’t know if the lime leaves are what would totally bring it in. Glad I made it, would not discount making it again, but not top of my list.

Plane Food

Posted on June 21, 2015 by melsmosaic

When traveling (internationally) and therefore actually getting fed on the plane I always kind of wonder what the food will be. Being lactose intolerant I always run the risk of not being able to eat what is served. Some airlines don’t offer the lactose-intolerant option. They have gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan. The first two have the cheese thrown in there. So, I opted for vegan recently to see what might come out because I know there would be no cheese coming into play. I will say, not too bad.

One meal had some Indian flair to it. I love that it came with fresh veggies and fruit!

For another meal I got a veggie sandwich (it was artichokes, avocado and tomato) on focaccia bread and I also got hummus. It was in heaven.

So if you’re looking for something new, request a different type of meal when booking your (international) flight.

Thomas Read, Dublin

Posted on June 4, 2015 by melsmosaic

While enjoying many local brews in Ireland I wanted to give something else a try. Stopped by a nice bar, Thomas Read, in Dublin one day and asked the bartender if he had any suggestions.

He asked he could whip up a concoction of his own. How could I turn that down?

It all started with some Jameson, some Ginger Syrup (similar to simple syrup but he doesn’t use heat to make it) and bitters.

Of course some rocks were added.

Stirred carefully.

And then he took so much time and care with the lemon rind I can not even begin to explain it! This drink was good.

Dax Farmer’s Market

Posted on June 4, 2015 by melsmosaic

I have been off the blogging scene recently because of an oh-so-rough trip to Ireland and France. I am now starting to recap said vacation…

One of the best parts of the trip was why I went — for a friend’s wedding in SW France, in a small town named Dax. It’s about a 90 minute drive from Bordeaux.

My friend’s fiance had told me about the must-do the morning of the wedding, the local farmer’s market. It ended up being about 2 blocks from the hotel. WOW. The place was making Pike Place look weak on some levels. Some 3+ hours later we returned to the hotel with lunch to enjoy outside. I grabbed Paella, as this town is close to Spain so they get some of their influence. Others grabbed cheese and sausage, bread, veggies, some had nice flatbread-like pizza. And, of course, wine!

Almost too good to be true.

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Use It Or Lose It

Posted on January 16, 2015 by melsmosaic

In the past week I’ve been making a bunch of great recipes that of course called for delicious fresh herbs. But, how much did I need to use? Oh, maybe 1-2 tablespoons. And how much did I have to buy? Oh, that entire huge packet at the store. So, these herbs are on their last legs and I have to use them somehow. So, what to do? Pesto! The main ingredients I needed to use were (flat leaf) parsley, chives and basil. Can you tell I shop at Trader Joe’s a lot based on the packaging?

Got those sort of off the stems the threw them in the mini prep then decided what all to put in there. Opted to use lemon olive oil, tons of garlic (of course!), a splash of lemon juice then opted for hazelnuts for a bit of a different taste. Oh, S&P, too of course. I can’t use the cheese because of the lactose intolerance thing, though if I had manchego on hand, I might have tried it.