Passover 2011 and the Weekend of Feasts

How do you know it's Passover?  Well, I've literally used about 40 eggs in the past week.

Sidenote, eleven of those eggs were from Stewart's, which has the cutest sign: "Want fresher eggs?  Buy a chicken."  Maybe people will!

So it's not really a secret that I love hosting Passover.  In 2009 and 2010 you may or may not have been one of the 15-20 people crammed at my makeshift dining room table in the DC area.  You may or may not have your own little green smiling rubber frog "plague" that my mom gave you.

Last year my family decided that with the "real" seder nights on weekdays, we'd convene as a fam, original 4 + grandma + 2 husbands, on a weekend that falls during the holiday.  Last year in Boston, next year in Jerusalem Albany! 

A lot of the usual suspects reappeared--I admit this is somewhat lazy, but I have it on good authority from WaffleW that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." 

Duet of charoset, always--tradish with apples, wine, nuts (this year, pecans), some honey, and some ginger snow (I have Rachael Ray to thank for that tip, love 'er or not); second is Sephardic charoset like my grandma's, with wine, stewed dates, and orange zest.
Chicken soup with matzah balls--my dad makes the chicken soup with a whole chicken in the pressure cooker, then he picks off the meat for the soup and we add J's matzah balls.  If you're not feeling well, one bowl of this is sure to cure you. 
Salad (spinach, radishes, peppers, cucumber, nothing crazy)
Gefilte fish--not from a jar, but frozen then boiled or baked.  With lots of red horseradish
Roasted eggplant spread--I roast it with garlic for 45 minutes at 400, either whole and punctured or cut in half and face down, scoop the insides into a bowl, mash/stir with fork or pulse with an immersion blender, squeeze a lemon in it, and add salt & pepper.  Ta da!  My sister didn't like the way it looked, but I don't care because I like the way it tastes!
Brisket
Tzimmes Souffle--J enjoyed Saturday's version more than Monday (we brought it as guests) because there was less pineapple.  Other people only liked on Monday because it tasted like pineapple (and not carrot).  My grandma does not like "cooked carrots" (whatever), but she liked this.  It tastes more like carrot cake and cornbread had a baby, and I make it every year.
Roasted root vegetables--yum, great leftovers, and with the above made my table quite orange. Olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper did the trick.
Chocolate drop cookies--straight from the freezer, to die for as per yuzh.
Chocolate chip mandelbreit
Macaroons

Date charoset doesn't look like much (after all, it's basically brown), but it is amaaaaazing.  See also, most of a seder plate's components.  For a beautiful background on Passover, check out The Shiksa's explanations from last year.  Or you can Google it.  <--seriously, watch this video, it's uber cute and has some dayenu in the background.

Sister desperately clings to the hope that after this seemingly last bite, there will be another.


The next morning we somehow were hungry again.  I made two frittata-type situations--one matzah brei (eggs, crumbled matzah, cinnamon & sugar), and one with leftover root vegetables, cheese, and spinach.  Served with salad, whitefish salad, lox, charoset, matzah, and coffee, this was a brunch table to die for, and we put it together in no time at all.

Then, although it's not seasonally appropriate, we put a pumpkin baby hat on my dog niece.

Happy holidays, if you're celebrating, and if not, happy it-was-sunny-this-morning (always a reason to celebrate)!

Is It Strange To Finish A 4-Ounce Jar Of Yeast In 2 Months?

First:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVELY MOM (who does not read this blog)!!!!!!! 

So one of my loose definitely-not-a-resolution 2011 goals is to try at least one new recipe every week.  If I do 2 on one week, it does indeed count toward the next.  Just FYI.

This week was the beef tagine with butternut squash from 1/11 Cooking Light.  Mine was a bit too liquidy, so maybe next time I'd drain the tomatoes a little bit or use less broth.  It's still tasty though, and I'm looking forward to enjoying it for lunch this week.  For those wondering (as I was), tagine is a Moroccan dish and a dish.  As in, a meal named after the pot it's typically cooked in.  Last week I made up a black bean/red pepper soup with Israeli couscous that made us super happy. I'm looking forward to some Greek chicken burgers and stuffed cabbage (Jewish St. Patty's day?) in the next few weeks.

Ah yes, the title of this post.  Well, you all know I've been out of control with the crispy no-knead bread.  I recently went so far as to make J's lunch rolls out of the dough.  And every couple months I feel the need to knead with some homemade challah.  But my latest teaspoons doled out of the stuff went into Eat, Run, Read's overnight cinnamon rolls (adapted from Alton Brown).  Mollie makes a lot of cakes, and although I'm not really againstcakes, they aren't my favorite and also lack the practicality I crave.  I prefer cookies and muffins that can be made in small batches or large, and that don't lose their appeal once half of them are eaten--aka I can arrange them on a plate with some fruit and say yes, I did just make these for you guys! I totally didn't take them out of my freezer, where they have been for several weeks!  So the individual nature of the cinn rolls, the use of yeast, and my recent indulgence at MAD made these a no-brainer.

I had no time (ahem, patience) for the 30 minutes in the cold oven with the boiling water part.  Spin class-->outlet shopping and just a quick hour and a half in between to shower and eat.  I let the rolls sit out for an hour on the counter then stuck them in the cold oven before programming it to 350.  I put a small loaf pan with water underneath to provide some steam, and figured they could rise a little more while the oven warmed up.  About 38 minutes later I took them out, let them cool, and then smear/drizzled the frosting.  Eventually I stuck three in the freezer to surprise us at a later date.  Damn are these things good.  We used pecans in the filling.  I talked about adding small chopped apple and J asked me (in a very serious tone) why I always want to put fruit in everything.  Um, because it's delicious.

And although they don't involve yeast, you should make some hammies for Purim sometime soon.  It's this weekend.  Remember my tips that resulted from last year's trial and error, and you'll be golden.  Also, consider adding some grated fresh ginger to your dough.  Because like fruit, I think ginger makes everything better.

[Eat the messed up ones ASAP to spare yourself the embarrassment should any guests see them.]

Wherein I Round Up St. Patty's Recipes For You

When I read things like "Where to get Irish soda bread?" in newspapers and blogs, I can't help but think: MAKE IT YOURSELF.  After all, I've seen many recipes popping up in my Google Reader over the past week or two, as well as dozens in the past.  These are the ones I'm sharing with you; not the results from Googling "Irish soda bread recipe," although that would work too.  Try one or two, and you'll not only have the freshest loaf possible, but a pleasant smelling home to boot.

American Style Irish Soda Bread from Sweet Pea's Kitchen.

Cast Iron ISB from Endless Simmer.  Also, for dessert, Irish Brownie Bombs from Endless Simmer.

A feast from corned beef to cabbage to ISB from I Flip For Food.

ISB scones from Smitten Kitchen.

Guiness cupcakes from Modern Domestic.

Whole wheat brown soda bread from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Chocolate chip ISB from Inkpad Chocolate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

I'm in the process of moving a bunch of hours up the road.  I'll likely continue blogging my new food/farm/grocery/cooking adventures there, but first I'll need things like a) a permanent place to live, b) internet service, and c) time. 

I'm looking forward to hopefully making pumpkin challah and cakeballs between tonight and tomorrow afternoon.  It's ambitious, and my success will be traffic-dependent. 

I'm thankful for my family, my friends (including you), my health, and for the delicious Ray's Hellburger I ate last week--probably my last for a while.  Blackened, Heck sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cooked "recommended."  I forgot the grilled onions, but didn't notice at the time.

CSA Friday and What I've Been Sharing

We picked up more CSA items, this time together.  This week's bounty includes zucchini (for ERR zucchini bread, perhaps), peppers, apples, pears, Concord grapes, grape tomatoes, green beans...all things that want to be eaten muahahahh.  I am controlling myself around the squash because I know it'll keep coming week after week.  Spaghetti squash and butternut, I'm watching you!  You will be turned into a pasta substitute and a soup (M&T perhaps), respectively.  Mmm.   

What I've been sharing: My weekly recaps started in February when I had become stir-crazy and blog-crazy from the snow, and they ended right around the time Top Chef began.  Instead of confining myself to something weekly, I just want to round up some things I've shared via email, Google Reader, Twitter, and *gasp* face-to-face conversation recently.  Maybe you'll find something story-worthy in my yammering.

Pretty cranberry beans from Cara's Cravings.

I am dying to eat this goat cheese and tomato quiche from Corcoran Street Kitchen.  It's beautiful, mostly because like me, she's not shy with the parsley : )

Skirt steak salad! And also, a sock monkey. From Smitten Kitchen.

Sometimes eating makes us tired.  Puppies too.

This Crispy No-Knead bread from Evan the Carnivore looks awesome and crusty (in a good way).

Amsterdam Falafel is expanding, says Metrocurean.  I'd like to see one in Bethesda!

Quinoa got a prime nerd spot on the popular law blog Volokh Conspiracy. Then another.

What to do with all those apples (and apples, apples, and more apples )?  Pinch My Salt has a few ideas. Don't forget to pick them too!  It's nice to see that Stribling was popular this year!

I did a noodle kugel showdown between BGSK and the Shiksa by making half of each recipe for an official taste test (and by official I mean at a staff meeting).  The (legal) opinion of our team was for the Shiksa's recipe, but J liked BGSK better.  Both are delicious.  Shiksa's has a crumb topping (YUM), less butter, and adds cottage cheese to the mix.  J thinks it's too dessert-y because of the crumb topping (which could easily be left off).  Anyway, it was my first kugel ever, and I'm happy with the results.

W. Mark Felt (the fictional one, not the real one mayherestinpeace) hit up Volt's Table 21. Jealous!

Lunching in the DMV laid out the details for next week's Curbside Cookoff, maybe a chance for those of us working in outer Mongolia to try some trucks?

I recently ordered Girl Scout cookies from a coworker's daughter.  I finally took the 30 seconds to Google the answer to the age old question: why are they sometimes Samoas and sometimes Caramel deLites, but always the same and delicious?  Two bakeries, my friends.  Two bakeries that are the Official Girl Scout Cookie bakeries, and each council can pick which one they want to go with.  Certain cookie varieties and package sizes are required, and some are nearly identical due to popularity.  My favorites are Thin Mints from the freezer. Samoas/Caramel deLites are second favorite.

Other than that, recently I've eaten from Taylor Gourmet in Bethesda twice, BGR The Burger Joint once, and I haven't been to Pete's Apizza in almost 3 weeks, so obviously I'm going through withdrawal.  We're saving our appetites and pennies for a special dinner coming up.

Ah, the challah RECIPE you say??

For Evan, by request. 

I typically use my aunt's recipe that I've been enjoying for 20 some odd years.  And by my aunt's recipe, I mean, she is a person who eyeballs everything, uses a plastic cup to scoop flour out of an enormous barrel, and generally amazes me with the consistency of her food.  This recipe uses a whole 5 lb bag of flour, and I almost ALWAYS half it (using 2 eggs).  I will continue to half it until I have two ovens.  Dear That Day, when will you be here?

5 cups of warm water
1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 packets of yeast
Combine the above and let bubble (5-10 minutes).  If it doesn't bubble, your yeast is no good.

Add:
1/2 cup of oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of salt
~5 pounds of flour, added gradually.  I use my Kitchenaid with the dough hook attachment until it balls up, then I put it onto a floured surface and knead some more, adding flour until it's smooth and not super-sticky to the touch. 

Take that ball of baby challah flesh and put it in a large bowl (some lightly oil the bowl), cover it (with a damp towel or plastic wrap) and put it in a warm place.  I've let mine rise on the balcony, and also in the cabinet area above our oven--if anything else is cooking (like cookies!) it's toasty in there.  You want it to double in size, pretty much (see above).

Sometimes I let it rise for 1 hour.  Sometimes after an hour I punch it down and do another hour.  I've also just done 2 hours straight with no punching.  Do what you have time for and test it out!  Make sure your  bowl is big enough so the blob doesn't take over your kitchen.

Braid*, then egg wash (I use just egg, some use egg + water + salt) and bake--don't let it sit too long after it's been egg washed, it'll deflate and get weird.

Bake until golden on top at 350 degrees, watch the bottom so it doesn't burn.  When it's done, you will tap the bottom and it will sound hollow.  Also, if you bake challah somewhat frequently, you will burn your forearms.  It's a fact!

*Click here for some background on "taking" challah and the blessing over it. 

Rosh Hashanah Challah

So with Rosh Hashanah being next week and all (yes, next week), this post cropped up from The Shiksa: How To Braid Challah.  I marveled at her many methods to make a round challah, particularly the fill-a-square (with raisins, etc), roll it, and snail it version.  Which made me want to share with you how I braid round challah for Rosh Hashanah.  Everybody has a different recipe, rolls it out in their own special way, and the braiding comes in quite a few forms with different numbers of strands.  It's very personal.  Although I do a six-strand like this lady, I'm practically morally opposed to her method of rolling out the strands, tapering the ends (just rip off any weird/uneven ends, or tuck the ugly edge under!), pinching so gently that it doesn't actually do anything, etc.  Too complicated!

Now I bring you: round challah via the tic-tac-toe method, in my very ill-lit kitchen that has zero natural light.  These instructions were taught to me by a lovely, smart young lady, a family friend we've probably known since she was just a little ball of challah dough.

Start with four even(ish) strands.  I yank (small) fist-sized balls of challah out of the bowl onto a floured surface (not too flour-y unless it's very sticky--in which case, add flour) and apply pressure with both hands, rolling back and forth until I have a nice, smooth, even strand of dough.

Arrange two of them side by side.  Take a third and position it perpendicular, over one strand and under the other.

Take the fourth strand and position that one perpendicular to your original 2, weaving under/over opposite to Strand 3 from before (remember?  Right above here?).  Maybe inch them together closer like you are a little basketweaver.

OK, this is where it gets interesting.  You have 8 "legs" sticking out, some are "overs" and some are "unders."  Each of the four sides has one Under and one Over. Here, I took an Under (start wherever) and moved it to the right, over and Over, which is it's neighbor.   I feel like I'm explaining this badly.  Are you with me? 

Repeat three more times counter-clockwise (in this case it's counterclockwise because of the way I set up my tic-tac-toe, yours may not be--doesn't matter!).  Pick up the next Under (which will be right next to the strand you just put down, see above) and move it over to the right, on top of the Over next to it.  It'll look like this now:

So what now?  After you've got the above, you need to turn the boat around, and start going clockwise.  You can start anywhere, but it's the same idea--take that strand that's crossed Under and move it to the left, laying it on top of the Over strand.  Repeat another 3x.

Then turn the boat around AGAIN and go counter-clockwise.  Go go go!  When you run out of strands, feel free to tuck strange strand-ends under, even ripping off the too-much extra for another loaf or a small knot roll.

I also like to add cinnamon and sugar after an egg wash for some sweetness for a sweet new year.  J isn't a raisin fan, but if he were, I'd probably add some golden ones during the kneading process.

Bake.  Place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop in the oven at 325 or 350 (I forget and have done each) until it's getting golden on top and it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.  Sometimes the top browns better than other times--it's a work in progress, and it's not perfect.  But it's mine.

[I put them in the freezer to stay fresh for next week before taking the picture, then yanked it out and displayed it on my lovely birthday coasters for you all.  Hence a few frozey flakes mixed in with the cinnamon and sugar.  Below, some challahs of my past.]

Challah!  Yo.

First half of August Links

On your left is a size small gelato that wasn't $5, even though we were barely a block from the ocean.  Maybe it wasn't artisinally handmade that morning by royalty, but it hit the spot.  My link list for you all is getting out of control, so I need to put some out there.

In the news (if you can call it that):

Speaking of the price of gelato in DC, WSJ published an Ode to the Toasted Almond Bar.  Then everybody talked about the WSJ Ode to the Toasted Almond Bar while the Times compared fancy ice creams.  Also in WSJ, Honeycrisps are (were?) hot, but what's the next apple? (h/t J). 

Slideshow of 100 things Baltimore foodies must try, from the Baltimore Sun.

Red velvet fried chicken WHAAAAT?! (from Consumerist, h/t EmGusk.)

Ramadan began at the end of last week, and J and I were wondering in awe just how people observing get through long summer days (and evenings).  This article in WSJ (love the new NY section) is about food vendors and restaurant owners/employees who observe Ramadan. 

Apparently the carrot cake at the prison on Riker's Island is pretty awesome, but it's only meant for special occasions.  See the full recipe, which by the way makes twenty-five 9.5 lb loaves.  Speaking of dessert, how about a giant chocolate chip cookie made in a cast iron skillet (from Kitchn via Inkpad).  Is that insane or what?

And if you haven't heard yet, Foggy Bottom is getting a big ol' Whole Foods.  Between TJ and WF, folks in the Fog Bot/West End area can now cobble together a decent pantry and fridge.  But the Watergate Safeway will still suck.

Virginia peach salsa from Corcoran Street Kitchen looks divine.  So does this Pizza Bianca from Sweetsonian (which I added to my Google Reader from a #ff post of somebody...not sure who).  I totally bookmarked that bad boy for brunch.

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Passover 2010 Wrap-Up

Heeeeeeeey bread-loving friends!  Before we join you in fluffy yet crusty carbland, I'd like to recap this year's Passover.  We dined on the bread of affliction in several states and also enjoyed some of the delectable sides going along with it.  I even got to have awesome leftovers (of which I have no photos---I can't have all my friends hate me) at J&Js on a weeknight.

I'm apologizing in advance for my photos--at our seder I had my Entertaining Hat on and forgot about my other hats--Picture-taker (not quite photographer...) and Blogger.  

Last year was the first time we really cooked our own seder.  So this year we were old pros : )


The menu was as follows (links where I have 'em):
 
-  Charoset (2 kinds--Ashkenazi with apples and walnuts and a Sephardic version with dates and almonds)  and PS I made sooo much, WAY too much, it's not normal.  And I ate it for breakfast during the week, even though it's made with wine.  Sorry?
- Roasted eggplant spread (cut 'em in half, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle garlic and salt, roast 45 mins at 400. Scoop out the goodness inside and mix it up in a bowl)
- Giant crunchy chopped salad with craisins, green beans, asparagus, and a pomegranate vinaigrette (equal-ish parts POM + balsamic + slightly less olive oil, whisk and enjoy)
- Vegetable soup w/matzah balls
- Popovers
- Vegetarian stuffed cabbage
- Grilled asparagus
- Brisket (5 lbs)
- Salmon (3.5 lbs--this was gorgeous, but I took a crappy photo so check out the Post's)
- Raspberry squares
- Matzah candy (chocolate sugary goodness)
- Macaroons
- Chocolate drop cookies OF COURSE I am obsessed ok I'll stop now sorry.  
- Mixed berries (and of course the chocolate spread I intended to serve with it, but forgot.  Of course!)

The only thing I wanted to make but forgot to was the tzimmes soufflee from Kosher by Design.  It's sweet and fluffy but still a vegetable side, because it's carrot!!!  I needed a second oven to get it all done. 

Let me also say that I had TWO friends help me cook for hours on Sunday afternoon, and that our family and friends brought almost half the things on that menu---they are the greatest!  Having everyone bring something--whether it's a dessert, a bottle of wine, or some of their family's traditional charoset--makes hosting way easier AND more fun.

At my sister's house we made another brisket, a vegetable bake with zucchini, spinach, mushroom, and onion, and again ate tons of fruit and the yummy chocolate covered coconut  morsels.  Smaller crowd, but all immediate family, including grandma :)

Our fridge, the night before the seder--can you say FULL?!  iPhone shot, gotta love that quality ; )

Mmmm juicy brisket...

Yummy plate of brisket, veggie bake, and leftover horseradish.  I freakin' love horseradish.

Elijah, we are waiting for you but you are SO SLOW.

Did I mention that our second seder was in Boston?  What a lovely resevoir on a VERY pretty day!

I hope everyone had a healthy and happy Passover/Easter/Sunny Weekend (hey, that's it's very own nonreligious holiday, right?)!!!!

Friday Fulla Tourists

Yes, it's that time again.  You're stuffed into the Metro with your heels in your bag, balancing your newspaper while not touching anyone around you, and the group in matching t-shirts is holding everything up, throwing everyone off.  WELCOME, VISITORS.  THIS IS RUSH HOUR.  ISN'T IT GREAT?

We celebrated a birthday this week, and we had some awesome weather.  High fives all around.

I can't believe my seder is Monday--if you've never seen an Ikea table + 3 folding card tables lined up, you're missing out!

I'm planning on making these cool charoset balls, obv the chocolate drop cookies (put them in the freezer, you won't regret it), and I put out a call through Google reader for someone to make Modern Domestic's pretty chocolate/almond/orange/praline tart.  Bossiest hostess ever...

Awesome story about an Iranian seder, and the family that comes along with it. 

In other (non Kosher for Passover) news, my in-laws are super into tea, and I've got to bring them some of these Earl Gray Cookies.  If only Inkpad herself would whip them up...I'd pay!

Michel Richard is whipping up pie in the sky...or rather, airplane food (via We Love DC).

More reasons to go out for Ethiopian food--turns out the stuff injera is made of is the #1 superfood for runners (via Runners Kitchen).

And a simpler, still delicious pie, from Eat, Run, Read--the lovely D sent me the link to that blog a few weeks ago, and it talks about most of my favorite things.  And the cupcake in her header graphic is SO CUTE.  And to think I almost named this blog Eat, Jog At A Moderate Pace, Read Sometimes, But Mostly Listen To Podcasts.  Didn't really flow, though.

Lastly, can we talk for a second about the Italian Store and BGR being in the same shopping center?  For serious?  DANGEROUS!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Kite festival, cherry blossoms, or wherever else it takes you.  Hopefully to brunch!  I leave you with happy flowers...

Friday Fly-day

Or, almost.  I'm coming back from La La Land tomorrow night and hoping my chauffeur will pause for breakfast on the way home. 

See that photo?  That's my phone standing next to an ENORMOUS ICED COFFEE from Georgetown Bagelry in Bethesda with an incredible handsome shoulder peeking from behind.  A few firsts here: first time I've seen iced coffee in a paper Coke cup, and also first enormous IC I've had that's not from Dunkin Donuts. 

Via LB, Weezermonkey's post about The Bazaar by Jose Andres.  The place looks absolutely spectacular, and a few notes remind me of bites I enjoyed at Cafe Atlantico and Oyamel (in particular, jicama avocado ravioli from Cafe Atlantico and Greek yogurt panna cotta at Oyamel).  Next time I'm in Vegas I am definitely going to The Bazaar.  I discovered that I'm not the LV type, but dammmmn we still talk about our pasta tasting experience at B&B. 

Like it or not, Passover is coming, and Cara's Cravings and The Shiksa are both blogging recipes galore in preparation, including PIE!  I love pie, and it turns out that it's scientifically better than cake.  This is me, not surprised. 

Banner photo NSFW for this next linkm, so scroll down a few inches fast--The Passionfruits talk one of my favorite topics...ROAST CHICKEN.  You know I love a good roast chicken, particularly if I accessorize it with fried lemon slices. 

Mango & Tomato's Roasted Eggplant Dip with an Indian Twist.  I love scooping out a roasted eggplant with a fork; it's so simple, and you can add whatever you have around (garlic & salt alone!) to make it delicious.  This recipe shows how easily you can zazz it up for the benefit of your tastebuds or maybe some guests.  Now you just need an adorable copper serving bowl.

I'll leave you to your weekend with another photo:  Remember the papri chaat I was obsessed with at Indique Heights?  Turns out that when you get it takeout it's deconstructed.  That way it doesn't get too soggy.  We were a little confused, and J was disappointed that I didn't make beautiful swirls with the sauces.  Too bad so sad.

Holiday Cookie Recap: Purim

I'm a big fan of holiday cookies--all holidays, I don't discriminate.  The most recent holiday cookies baked and consumed were hamantaschen (great history from The Shiksa Blog).  These triangular tastebud tantalizers often look so...what's the word...symmetrical in stores, yet they continue to cause trouble when baked at home.  If you've made them, you know I'm talking about how these bad boys flower open and look like pancakes with a jam belly button. 

I'm not married to any particular recipe (no long-standing family tradition exists that I know of) so this year I tried Smitten Kitchen's from a post a few years ago.  The comments were all "You didn't fold them enough!" and "You overfilled them!" judgey mcjudgersons, so I decided I'd make several batches and try different folding methods to end up with some acceptable hammies. 

Above is the first batch, raw--almost all of them popped open during the baking process, even though I pinched them shut supertight (or so I thought).  They still tasted good, but I was bummed about the result.  So naturally I made them again the following night.

Take 2 was more successful.  Above were some fine examples of the results, where only ONE half-opened and the rest remained in good form!  Are they stunning?  No.  But are they distinctly triangular and delicious?  Yes.  Mordecai would be proud.

After Take 1 bummed me out I decided to try this pocket method described in the Post, the rolling from the Shiksa blog (roll the edges up to form a triangle instead of folding), and some suggestions in the comments from the Smitten recipe page.  Roll it out thinner!  Don't overfill!  It turned out that the folding didn't make a difference--almost all of them stayed in shape.  So that means it was the a) do not overfill and b) roll out thinner advice that made the difference.  After all, the cookie puffs up during cooking, and if the "walls" are too thick that puffing will cause it to give up its standing position.



BTW, the chocolatey-looking one above is the filling from the Shiksa Blog, and in the past I've made a filling with a brownie-type mixture.  If you just use chocolate chips it's too dry, and that's upsetting.  DO NOT USE CHOCOLATE SYRUP.  College mistake.  It exploded everywhere.  My favorite flavor is apricot, so use your favorite preserves.  Yummers.

Above you see T's grandma's hamantaschen, in a world where nothing is measured with tools that we have and everything is by sight and feel.  And I believe there's alcohol in the dough.  But I have the filling recipe for you!  It makes a LOT of filling (recipe called for nearly 2 lbs of flour) so divide it based on how many hams you're making.  If you have naked dough circles and you're out of nutty filler just take out your jam!

3 heaping tbs honey

1 tbs water

1 tbs sugar

A couple drops of lemon juice

About 1.5 cups (ish?) of chopped walnuts (mine were finely chopped by a hand mixer)

1 tsp vanilla

As for the cookies, the cream cheese in the dough makes it creamy and delicious, the ingredients are simple (I subbed lemon zest for orange zest because I always have lemons), and we all agree that the dough part of the cookie was better than other hamantaschen I've made in the past, especially super weird whole wheat ones I made in college.  I was raised by a fitness instructor, I can't help it!



What are your favorite holiday cookies? 

Fridays are Fahbulous, and So Are Sesame Street Cupcakes

So the people have spoken (the people = YOU), and 16/26 (about 62%) of you say you'd go into Crumbs (one of the 9274 locations coming soon) and eat Georgetown Cupcakes to their faces.   Interesting!  Just don't start with anyone, readers.  Fighting is unladylike (and also, ungentlemanlike).  And now the week's (most important) news:

Speaking of cupcakes, heeeeey these cupcakes look like Sesame Street characters!  Via EBG.

A few weeks ago I read this article in the Times about growlers, and then on Saturday I saw one!  Thanks Shel for having friends hipster-ish enough (as opposed to old-school beerlovers, the other sect that seems to have 'em) to have a growler.  I love when I learn about something (I didn't know what a growler was prior to reading the article) and then encounter it shortly after--knowledge is power.

Announced this week on Twitter by Dairy G itself (herself?), Dairy Godmother will be featured on Tastiest Places to Chowdown: Presidential Edition, airing March 7 at 10pm.  Set your DVR accordingly.

In honor of the holiday, The Shiksa Blog brings us "Hamantaschen and the Story of Purim."  These treats are delicious and those of you who follow me on Twitter know how hard it can be to keep these little triangles CLOSED.  Via LB.

Yearning for summer Restaurant Week? Restaurants Unleashed Week, March 1-7.  The deal that caught my eye first was at Tabaq, yummm.

Also, watching curling is like drinking merlot, apparently.  NICE!  I guess watching aerials is like drinking 5 Hour Energy.

Have a great weekend!  It's supposed to be nice out, so go out for brunch--what's your first pick these days?

Happy Chanukah to us. Love, Todd Gray

See, even the White House was getting into the Festival of Lights! And you should, too.

You still have a few days to get yourself over to Equinox for the Chanukah tasting menu.  Even though they spell it "Hanukkah," my personal favorite involves the CH that comes with the CHET of Chanukah.  

The amuse was a double shot of warm & smoky cauliflower soup, accompanied by a spoonful of potato/leek/mushroom.  Pretty AND tasty.  Very nice.

Next, cured salmon on top of two latkes and a shaved fennel salad.  Not bad, Equinox, but I made latkes last night and if I do say so myself, mine were pretty darn good.  The salad was fresh and crunchy, a great contrast to the warm potatoeyness of the other side of the plate.

The 24-hour brisket (beef--is there any other kind?) was actually served two ways--one in the traditional chunk of meat super soft falling apart w/red wine-y finger-lickign sauce, you know, the usual.  And then two little cubes of chicken-fried brisket, battered and crispy on all but one side.  The veggies underneath were soooo good, too--not an afterthought.  Turnips, teensy onions, potato, carrot...

Oh, dessert.  How I love thee!  The apple cider doughnuts were pretty good, but to me the star of dessert was the vanilla bean custard.  It packed so much flavor and was super creamy.  Not just cream-creamy, but vanilla-creamy.  I'd do that again in a heartbeat!

The wine pairing was lovely, and a fair deal if you ask me (by reading, you impliedly asked me).  My favorite was actually the first--a Napa Valley 2007 Provenance Sauvignon Blanc.  I've been sort of "off' whites for a while, but this was a delight.

Happy Chanukah, everyone.

Equinox
818 Connecticut Ave NW
Metro: Blue and Orange Lines to Farragut West