Vegetarians, Vegans, PETA people, and general lovers of Charlotte's Web will want to turn away now! It's time to talk pig!

I receive a ton of emails on a daily basis letting me know what is going on in DC: boutique sales, gallery openings, new restaurants and bars, etc.  It was one of these emails that I found out about Poste Roast. (Check out Daily Candy or Thrillist if you would also like to hear about up and coming events going on in your town!)

Poste is a restaurant located in Penn Quarter in the Hotel Monaco; and though I had never been there to eat I was absolutely intrigued by this event. To participate you have to have a group of 6-12 people and make a reservation at least a week in advance.  Then you choose a protein that will be spit roasted and served family style to the group, along with various sides that are picked by the chef to compliment your pick. There are some intriguing options: salmon, squab, goat, lamb, brisket, pig, and more.  Our group decided, though, that it was go big or go home, so we chose something that you can't easily cook in our own kitchens.  Pig. I mean why not? There is something sexy and provocative about a pig roasting over the fire, being turned slowly, skin crisping, fats and juices rendering.  Oooohhhh boy!  I do have swine on the mind...still! 

We were supposed to sit in the Chef's Garden, but unfortunately it was raining and as their is no cover outside we were sat at the Chef's private dining table.  The bar was crowded for happy hour, which on another note has some really great deals, and we were causing a bit of a stir with the revelers as they tried to figure out what was going on in our room and why there were so many waiters coming in and out. 

Did you meet Wilbur?  Yes, we as a group have a sick sense of humor and named our soon to be feast after a beloved children's book character.  But you know what, I don't feel bad about it because we were having a good time and we worshipped, loved, and devoured that pig and respected the life that it gave to us.  When our waiter brought him in all the happy hour patrons parted like the red sea, some ran away (they were probably vegetarians), as they tried to make sense of what was happening.  Wilbur was brought to the table as you see above, and then was taken to be broken down into glorious porky portions that would be a little more manageable. As we awaited his encore appearance sides were brought out: macaroni and cheese made with 4 different types of cheese, saurkraut, roasted plums and peaches that were sprinkled with rosemary, rolls of bread with salty crispy tops.  Okay...my mouth is watering and I am not even doing it justice.  Just check out some of the pics.

In the picture above you see the main body of the pig, skin and all, broken down.  And to the right is the head that has been split so that you can try some cerebellum on brioche.  Oh hell!  It was brain and it was delicious!  I am shouting it from the rooftops:  I ate brain and loved it! And if you are grossed out...well you are just a pussy and need to give your taste buds a culinary adventure.  They are begging for it and you are just being cruel denying them.  The brain is creamy, rich, with a very subtle pork taste to it and if you like Pâté or liverwurst then you would enjoy this delicacy as well.  We also dove into the cheek and tongue, and if there had been an eyeball we would have given it a go. I think the following pic speaks volumes of our experience.

That's right, we devoured it.  We were in sweat from the effort, and it was worth it.  Delicious, gorgeous, a party in my mouth. I cannot think of the right adjective to do it justice.  So I'll just let this last picture be my conclusion.

 

Conquering the grill....I hope!

Today is Sunday and it was a gorgeous day in DC. It was a grillin day and I had some big plans for it. I had been planning on trying my hand at making some bison burgers. I did the research and had a recipe that looked promising, but on Friday the Teet was out of bison meat and then I completely forgot to get some at Eastern Market. As it is sold frozen there was no chance I could buy it today and have it thawed in time, so I went ahead with some ground turkey meat and proceeded with the recipe as planned. As turkey and bison are both lean meats I figured no harm no foul.

The trick with any type of lean burger meat is that you need ingredients that will add some moisture (i.e. minced onion or apple) and not take away (i.e. breadcrumbs). For my burgers I sauteed minced onions and mushrooms, brought to room temperature, and mixed with my ground meat, some red wine, and Worcestershire sauce. My mom gave me this fun toy that I finally got to try out. It is a neat little contraption that allows you to pick the pound or ounce size of your patty and then you just plop the meat inside, level it off, and drop a perfect patty down.

Another trick that I learned when the actual grilling process came about is that you need to just let these bad boys sit. Hey, even a little turkey meat likes a day to roast in some heat, but please do not feel the need to give them sunscreen! Bad joke...I know. On to the topic at hand. Let the burgers sit there for a good 3-5 minutes before you try to flip them. You want them to really have some color. I am no food scientist, but it seemed to firm up the patty so that it was easier to flip. But when you do flip, do it carefully, as these are a little more delicate than your standard burger.

I finished off our grilling extravaganza with some potatoes wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill and brusselsprouts I roasted in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper. And let me tell you that those brusselsprouts were the bomb and I will not have them any other way.

The meal was a great success. I would say that my ground meat could have used a little more salt and pepper, but with a little ketchup and mustard it was all good. And the icing on the cake is that everything was healthy and fresh and you could have a sizable portion without undoing the "being good" mentality. Until next time friends, have a great work week!

Anthony Bourdain + Me = Match made in heaven! Now if someone can relay this message to him that would be great!

I love me some Anthony Bourdain! Not only have I read most of his books, watch his show, am a fan on Facebook, and read his blogs/interviews, but I have put him on my list of allowable people that I could cheat on my significant other with. (Though the BF is a mean boy and will not let me put a stipulation that an Anthony & Eric Ripert sandwich would also be acceptable if the occasion happened! Anthony would obviously win; but 2 silver foxes for the price of one, well I think I will sir!)

Some people are just dumbfounded by my complete attraction to him, but I think it's the simple case of a good girl liking a bad boy. Tony (Yes, we are on a first name basis so shut it!) does not sugar coat the bullsh**, is an ex-druggie and smoker, loves to drink, knows how to handle a knife, likes to eat copious amounts of meat, and cusses like a sailor. What....I think my mom would love him! Her only concern might be the 25 year age difference, but then again my mom is of the school of thought that if you are happy and being treated well than all that other stuff is superfluous.

The only thing that would make me tell my pheromones to get a hold of themselves is the fact that he is married and has a 2 year old daughter. But if he puts me on his list of allowable people to cheat on his significant other with then we would be in the clear. How I will achieve this is beyond me, but I am willing to take suggestions!

But let's face it. If I actually met him I would probably just go dumb. My mind would go blank, I would freeze in a stance that could look like I am either a complete idiot or am suffering from a distressed bladder, and the only words that would come out would be something like "OMG! I love you!" or "Uuummmm......I.....hi.....", which would only garner the Tony snicker and smart ass comment that we all love him for. And I somehow doubt he would be impressed with a Wayne & Garth-esque "I'm not worthy" show of devotion if I could somehow manage to put two words together.

So far now I will be an admirer from afar. But not a scary one with an altar in the corner and cut outs of his face plastered on the walls. Just a genuine admirer of his work, writing, and success in bringing new ideas about culture and food to his loyal viewers.

Hello! My name is Veronica and I will be your tour guide for this crazy blog!

This has been a long time coming. The idea has been in my head but it took a few good pushes to actually commit to this. It seemed cocky and self-indulgent to assume that I may have thoughts, ideas, or stories that others may want to hear about. I’m not saying there won’t be disappointments, I can’t be on point all the time, but I am going to try to make this enjoyable. I figure if I have a bit of a giggle or have an “aha” moment that maybe you might feel the same way.

I will give a short synopsis, my first monologue (yeah!), to explain a bit about myself. I am a born and bred SoCal girl who has somehow found herself residing in DC. It was a bit of a circuitous route here, and it was not political dreams that brought me. I spent some prime years after college being a vagabond of sorts. I worked for Club Med resorts, in the States so nothing too exciting, and backpacked a bit around Europe and lived in Australia for a few months. The parental units decided to transplant themselves to Northern VA before I returned from Australia and it was either sink or swim in Cali or have free rent. (I mean which would you choose?!) So now I am here living on Capitol Hill and enjoying life in the District. It was not an easy road. DC is a city that has to grow on you, much like fungus or mold on a good cheese, but in a non-gross way.

Despite my desperation to get a decent job and often being mocked for my after-college decisions, I have never once regretted the path I took. Yes, I would probably be making more money or have some swanky job with a corner office out in LA (kinda doubt it actually), but you know those things you read about, the places you talk about going to, I’ve been there. Travelling has made me a better person. That’s it, plain and simple, and for that reason I am thankful that I did it. It also opened my eyes to possibilities in other cultures, food, music, fashion, etc. And food in general has become a bit of an obsession.

I talk about food almost all of the time. It is interesting and tasty, and I love learning about food, reading about restaurants/chefs, watching food related shows and seeing what new trends are happening. Let me say this though, I have no aspirations to be a chef. I am not cut out for it, as my minor blow ups in the privacy of my home have shown me. Yet food is intriguing because it is a bit like magic: you never know what a chef can create from simple ingredients. Also, the cultural and social aspects that come with the joy of eating are varied across the world, but it is still a common thread that every person can relate to each other with. Maybe I am a geek, but that crap is fascinating to me.

While this blog will definitely be an outlet for my food related inquiries, write ups on places I dine and travel, and my attempts at cooking and trying to learn moderation and to be healthy, I have been know to digress and will definitely diverge off course and speak to my other interests, observations, stories, etc. In a nutshell, this will be about me and if you don’t like it, well you can’t win them all, and you are welcome to find somebody else that will amuse you. So to all the people out there, I hope I can bring something even miniscule to your day of procrastinating from work, finding nothing on TV, avoiding the gym, etc. Bon Apetit!


Veronica

p.s. this is a work in progress so please excuse the mess while I figure out what I am doing.