California Lovin'

Mobile food vendors have been around for decades, and yet in the past few years they have again captured the imagination of our nation. LA has been on the forefront of this movement with the many food trucks that are daily twittering their wares to a very hungry city. In a state that most people consider to be a culture of salad eaters and general health nuts, you are seeing people who want some haute street food with meat and spice. Not what one would usually consider "healthy".

DC is following suit with many food trucks now gathering a following, but since I am currently in LA it only made sense to try some of the originals. With my brother in law playing tour guide we made our mission, and that mission was tacos. With the help of http://www.ilovestreeteats.com/la we were able to check out all the different food trucks twitter feeds at once which made it super easy to find which truck we could get to quickly. The Flying Pig was heading to Downtown LA and with pork belly buns as a prospective edible delight we hopped in the car and headed to the freeway.

On a side note, can I just say how much I miss California driving. It just makes so much more sense to me then the craziness that is NoVA and DC. Driving around the district with friends can be quite stressful and I'm not even the one driving. Thank god I can walk and metro to everywhere that I need to go. But how I miss the buzz of driving with the windows down, warm sun coming down, and the landscape of mountains and ocean surrounding me.

Now back to the Flying Pig......

We found the truck around 12:30 and there already was a pretty decent line. We were all set to split a few things, but were a bit disappointed they were already out of the shrimp burrito. Oh well! We ended up order 2 pork belly buns, 2 duck tacos, and 2 spicy pork tacos.

As time passed we realized that this order seemed to be taking much longer than it should be. By the time 30 minutes had passed we began to wonder what was up. "Hanger" was beginning to creep in on both of us as well as all of the other customers. Trucks are supposed to quick lunch spots to grab in a few minutes and run back to the office. As another food truck passed promising delicious burger sliders, and the smell of beef wafted past, everyone seemed to surge forward on the truck with the intent of making these tacos appear.

An hour passed. You read that right. One Hour! Utterly ridiculous, I know. Why did we wait? Who really knows. We could have cancelled our order and moved just down the block to the next trick. But I was determined and kept thinking that we would soon have our food. It turns out that 2 very rude girls ordered enough tacos to feed about 20 people, which held up everything up for everyone. First of all, a mobile food truck is for quick eating not catering. Second, the people who run the Flying Pig should have a policy of what is an appropriate amount to order to keep their "kitchen" moving so as to benefit the lunchtime crowd. Needless to say, once we finally received our food we were a bit perturbed. I wanted to hate it, to have my anger justified but damn, it was so freakin good!

The pork belly bun was my favorite of the three things. Fatty pork belly with pickled cucumbers and onions in a soft pastry bun. The tacos were also delicious, though the spicy pork was my favorite. I do think that the wait was most likely an anomaly due to the those girls that ordered for an army, but I would hope that the Flying Pig would learn a lesson from this as well.

Here is the thing, I was still hungry and 2 small tacos and a pork belly bun were not going to fill me up. After an hour of waiting and smelling the burger truck down the way, it just seemed right to check it out. With only a few dollars left we headed down to the Pattywagon which sells organic grass fed beef mini sliders. We were able to order 2 mini sliders, a regular burger and another with sauteed onions and peppers. The meat was flavorful that we did not even to add any sauce or condiment. This was the ultimate burger and I would definitely love to check them out again and try some of their specialty burgers.

Can anyone please tell me why the paragraphs above were all underlined and how to remove said underline? I am too lazy to figure it out, so sorry for the inconsistency. But I will leave you with this, if you are in LA it is worth finding one of the many food trucks that drive around the county. Just remember to have some cash on hand and to have your twitter account. To close I must share the cutest little dog ever that should leave you with a smile. My aunt's dog Gigi who was saved from an animal shelter. She had some teeth problems and had to have a few of them removed, thus her tongue is always hanging out of her mouth. Awwwww! Have a wonderful week!

P is for Party......and Pate!

DC is full of wonderful farmers markets that dot every neighborhood in our four quadrants. And now that spring has sprung the markets have been booming with more vendors and people. Being a Capitol Hill resident I am an avid supporter of Eastern Market (the oldest and longest running market in DC) and love exploring the stalls every weekend, but I love to get off the hill and explore other venues. It was at the Dupont Farmer Market that I came upon a purveyor of all things meat who was selling pate made of pig jowl. Oh my....if you love to eat pork products than you would love this. Creamy, fatty with a bit of a spicy kick. That pate lasted about 3 days in my fridge as I was enjoying pate sandwiches way too much.

On this particular visit to the Dupont Farmers Market I was with my friends, who also enjoy spreadable meats as much as I do, and as we purchased our beautiful rounds of pig jowls it was discussed that we should have a pate party. I mean why not? We love pate. And any excuse for a party is fine by me. But this was not to be a party of pre-bought goods, because as we consider ourselves true foodies we decided we must try at our hand at making at our own pates. Crazy? Maybe. Delicious? Yes!

My assignment was to make Pistachio Pate, which includes chicken livers, onion, butter, pistachio, allspice, pepper, brandy, and salt. Really pate is a peasant food that was developed to make use of the undesirable meats that were left over as nothing could go to waste. And I thank the lord to whatever peasant figured it out since my life would be so incomplete without spreadable meat. And now a photo montage of my experience in mate making:

Browning chicken livers in butter.

Once you brown the livers and saute the onions, you blend them with the spices and brandy until smooth.

Once blended you refrigerate until it is set.

I added a little decor with some leftover pistachios and was pleased with the results. The entire pate party was a success. Every one's contributions were delicious and I am so excited for future opportunities to make more varieties of pate. Here is the website that we used to figure out what type of pate we wanted to make: http://basic-recipes.com/r/p/index.htm

Tarts and Vicars...minus the vicar

I spent most of afternoon and early evening making a tart on Saturday. I had bought a pan and had made a deal to myself signed in blood that I would achieve a tart recipe this weekend. And it was so worth the effort.....

Oh yeah! That is some good looking dough! I was a bit doubtful that it would come together, but look at me continually surprising myself. The entire process of making this dish was one of the most relaxing things that I will probably do this weekend. There is something innately comforting in getting your hands dirty with crust and having the rising smells of roasted cauliflower and caramelized onions enveloping you. With the addition of Lady Gaga in the background to provide some good cooking music, the evening just flew by.

This is a rich tart. The original recipe has you using mascarpone cheese for the custard, but I took Smitten Kitchen's suggestion of using ricotta as a replacement. Next time I would also use a low fat milk instead of heavy cream, which was another of her suggestions. I was worried with the use of skim ricotta that I would be lacking something, but hell this tart is still delicious. And I think you could definitely apply this same recipe to many different vegetable combinations. Once summer is in full bloom I would love to try it with summer squash and asparagus. Oh the possibilities.

But I think that it is important to remind you that this is me cooking. And when I cook something always goes slightly awry.

Mishap 1: When I checked my tart after 40 minutes the custard was set, but upon cutting I thought the crust still needed a little more time to crisp up some more. So with one piece missing I put her back in the oven for another 15 minutes to really finish off the bottom of the crust. Kinda ghetto? Yes! Did it work though? Yes!

Mishap 2: After finally sitting down to my dinner and taking my first bite I was ecstatic. And then I looked at my tart again and...oh crap. A hair, obviously one of mine, had somehow managed to insert itself into all of my hard work. You have to understand, I shed like a long haired kitten and am constantly battling the onslaught of stray hair encroaching on my life. Inside I battled with the fact that I had somehow managed to let a strand, albeit a small one, into my masterpiece and the fact that the only person eating this is me so who really cares. Can you guess which battle won? You better bet I just took that bad boy out and continued on. Are you disgusted by me? Well you can buy me a hair net for future recipes that will be shared, but since this tart is mine, all mine, I'm going to shake it off and move on.

The squash has been sitting on my counter way too long!

The theme of tonight's dinner was to use up the produce that has been languishing on the counter for almost 2 weeks now. Who knows, it could be longer. With influx of snow all the days began to mesh together and I lost track of everything. But now DC is almost back to functioning and I guess that is a sign that I should start doing so as well. Off to the kitchen I went with my main task to use my butternut squash and onion that needed to be given some attention.

I think what amazed me about myself is that I had no freaking clue what I was going to do but I just made it work. After digging through my cabinets and spice collection I decided to go with a Moroccan feeling meal. Butternut squash and onion sauteed with cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, and white wine. Once all of my ingredients began a happy little dance in the pan I added chickpeas, chicken sausage, cranberries, and Greek yogurt (to thicken all the juices up!). With some couscous to catch all the delicious sauce I had an easy dinner in front of me, and plenty of left-overs for a few lunches.

I also was just plain happy with how my pictures turned out. Living in a basement apartment I do not get much natural sun light which is one of the most important things when taking pictures of food. But playing with the angles and trying different locations on the counter I was able to snag some paparazzi worthy pics.

I'm Chillaxin with some Chili

Winter is wily woman that is for sure. One day I am freezing my ass off under grey, cloudy skies; and the next day it is sunny and beautiful and I not even wearing a jacket. I bet you can guess what happens next in the scenario...yep she decides to play with my emotions and drop the temp just for a good laugh. Oh Winter....I am beginning to understand your ways.

So what does a young lass do to kill some time and keep her warm through the winter nights? Bet you said make soup! HAHAHAHA! While a very good guess I decided to turn toward soup's brotha from another motha chili. Venison chili to be exact.

Back at the beginning of December I participated in a Venison cooking class at Zola Wine & Kitchen. It was a great class where we learned how to make pot pie, chili, and steak and eggs with venison. Being someone who loves game meat I was so excited to learn some simple recipes that can be used with venison. And as far as game meats go, venison is the most mild in terms of that "gami-ness" taste that you ever love or hate. As I am a lover of all games meats (buffalo, yes, elk, yes, kangaroo, yes, camel, yes) I am game, hahaha, to try it all!

Not only did I make the actual chili I also cooked the beans and roasted my peppers for the recipe. I will toot my own horn and say that I am the bomb and was pretty impressed with my skills!

The other cast of characters included onions, chili, chicken stock, chicken broth, garlic, diced tomatoes, and venison.

Honestly this was such a simple recipe to do:

1.Brown meat, remove and set aside

2. saute onions and once softened add chili powder and cook for a minute

3. then add broth, stock, peppers, garlic, tomato, and beans and heat through

4. Once everything has come to temp add the meat and continue to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

For realz people....that is it. And chili is one of those things that just gets better the next day as it is allowed to marinate in it's deliciousness. I actually cooked this late in the eve for the next day when my parents would be over for lunch so that the chili could do just that. And my effort was rewarded. Simple and hearty without being so heavy that you are put into a chili coma. I served with some garlic bread and would have put together a salad if I would have thought of it earlier. Oh well....guess I can't be perfect all the time! :)

It's 2010 bitches!

I have just come home from partying friends. I did not even go to a bar and yet somehow lost my purse and wallet in the process of getting home. Did I mention that I have flight tomorrow? And did I mention that the car that I left my purse in is my friends, God love her, who is constantly 5 hours late to everything. Not exactly the place you want to leave it when you have a flight to catch. Especially when a Nigerian would-be bomber causes such a ruckus that I need to get to the airport at least 2-3 hours early,

But before my drunken stupidity I was having a great NYE celebration with my friends. New Years Eve is one of those celebrations that is so hit or miss. If you plan too much it is going to blow, but if you plan too little you will end up at home sitting around and watching Lifetime Movie Network. There really is nothing better than just going to a friends house and just hanging out.. Forget the expensive bars and cover charges, just be with your people and call it a freakin day.

That is what I did and i had a great time. Of course any place where food and booze is involved I am a very happy girl. Can you say mini meatballs? Can you say candy sushi and cheese cream cupcakes? Can you also say fattie? I wish I could say I had will power but that would be just kidding ourselves. Do you remember that 50 Cent song where he states "I love you like a fat kid love cake", well I am that fat kid that loves cake. I currently have nothing to exert my love on so I just love cake and matter of fact I love all baked goods, anything involving bacon, if there is hummus involved I'm there, sour gummi worms...done, did you say cheese, well then I can't say no.

Can you sense my New Year's resolution?

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's and here's to an eventful 2010!

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.