Even more local than using the farmer's market foods, I've made two batches of spaghetti sauce using tomatoes and jalapenos from the gardens of family and friends as well as herbs from my herb garden. Thanks to Aunt Sue and Uncle Mike and Kelly and Joe.
Summer Garden Spaghetti Sauce
The strategy here is to be flexible with what you have. The jalapenos, for example, stand in for the more traditional crushed red pepper flakes. The recipe calls for 4 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped tomatoes only because that's what I had during the second batch.
4 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes (including seeds, not including juices)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (feel free to use more for a richer sauce and/or stir in some butter at the end)
7 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 small jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped (include seeds and veins for more heat)
15 fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Heat the oil to medium-low and add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for about five minutes. Do not burn.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for awhile (10, 20, 30 minutes - whatever you want), allowing the sauce to simmer uncovered and thicken slightly.
Puree in a food processor or blender (use caution when blending hot liquids).
As far as pasta, I'm a big fan of angel hair.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Brasserie Les Halles - Washington, D.C.
August 13, 2008
My wife and I took our four-year old daughter to check out dinosaur bones at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also used it as an excuse to eat at a nice restaurant in DC!
The original New York City location of Les Halles is best known for being the last restaurant where Anthony Bourdain was a chef before Kitchen Confidential made him a star. Les Halles is a French bistro with a focus on steaks ("American Beef - French Style") as well as some other classics of French food (cassoulet, mussels and frites, steak au poivre).
I started with an appetizer portion of steak tartare, my first time eating the dish. At Les Halles, steak tartare is prepared table side with the server stirring in a raw quail egg, Worcestershire sauce, and the amount of Tabasco to your liking. In addition, anchovies, capers, cornichons, raw onions, and flat-leaf parsley are offered to be stirred into the meat. I remembered once as a child tasting raw ground beef and it not having a lot of flavor so I ordered mine with medium spiciness and everything except the raw onions. I enjoyed the dish, but I believe I my choices led to an overseasoned tartare. This "appetizer" portion was probably about six ounces of ground beef. With the mixed-in ingredients, as well as a small salad and two pieces of toasted baguette, this appetizer portion could make for an affordable lunch ($8). I didn't finish mine, knowing that I had a (cooked) steak entree coming.
I ordered the hanger steak with shallot sauce with frites (it also came with a small salad). The fries were excellent: Hot and very crispy (twice fried?). The steak and sauce were both rich, well-seasoned, and nicely flavored. I thoroughly enjoyed my entree.
The downside of the meal was my daughter's chicken tenders. She enjoyed the crispy fries but the chicken tenders were terrible, an afterthought which probably came out of a box out of the freezer. What made this even more frustrating was the $9.50 price tag. (Kids' menu chicken tenders don't have to be poor: Dogfish Head Brewing in Gaithersburg has excellent tenders.)
This was my second meal at Les Halles and I enjoyed them both. The restaurant, however, gets no love from neither The Washington Post nor The Washingtonian. I've been following both publications' dining guides for two years now, and Brasserie Les Halles has been absent from both. In addition, when the Post reviewed hamburgers at sit-down restaurants within the last year or two, Les Halles' burger finished at or near the bottom (by the way, Central Michel Richard's was #1, Palena's was #2). It doesn't seem to matter - it was packed for lunch on this summer Wednesday.
My wife and I took our four-year old daughter to check out dinosaur bones at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also used it as an excuse to eat at a nice restaurant in DC!
The original New York City location of Les Halles is best known for being the last restaurant where Anthony Bourdain was a chef before Kitchen Confidential made him a star. Les Halles is a French bistro with a focus on steaks ("American Beef - French Style") as well as some other classics of French food (cassoulet, mussels and frites, steak au poivre).
I started with an appetizer portion of steak tartare, my first time eating the dish. At Les Halles, steak tartare is prepared table side with the server stirring in a raw quail egg, Worcestershire sauce, and the amount of Tabasco to your liking. In addition, anchovies, capers, cornichons, raw onions, and flat-leaf parsley are offered to be stirred into the meat. I remembered once as a child tasting raw ground beef and it not having a lot of flavor so I ordered mine with medium spiciness and everything except the raw onions. I enjoyed the dish, but I believe I my choices led to an overseasoned tartare. This "appetizer" portion was probably about six ounces of ground beef. With the mixed-in ingredients, as well as a small salad and two pieces of toasted baguette, this appetizer portion could make for an affordable lunch ($8). I didn't finish mine, knowing that I had a (cooked) steak entree coming.
I ordered the hanger steak with shallot sauce with frites (it also came with a small salad). The fries were excellent: Hot and very crispy (twice fried?). The steak and sauce were both rich, well-seasoned, and nicely flavored. I thoroughly enjoyed my entree.
The downside of the meal was my daughter's chicken tenders. She enjoyed the crispy fries but the chicken tenders were terrible, an afterthought which probably came out of a box out of the freezer. What made this even more frustrating was the $9.50 price tag. (Kids' menu chicken tenders don't have to be poor: Dogfish Head Brewing in Gaithersburg has excellent tenders.)
This was my second meal at Les Halles and I enjoyed them both. The restaurant, however, gets no love from neither The Washington Post nor The Washingtonian. I've been following both publications' dining guides for two years now, and Brasserie Les Halles has been absent from both. In addition, when the Post reviewed hamburgers at sit-down restaurants within the last year or two, Les Halles' burger finished at or near the bottom (by the way, Central Michel Richard's was #1, Palena's was #2). It doesn't seem to matter - it was packed for lunch on this summer Wednesday.
Ed's Country Bakery - Frederick, MD
I was first turned on to Ed's County Bakery at the Shab Row farmer's market on Thursday afternoons. I enjoyed the double chocolate cookies, chocolate cupcakes, and the citrus cooler (orange-lemon-limeade). For my son's first birthday, we ordered two 1/4 sheet cakes (one yellow, and one chocolate). They both tasted and looked great and the prices are affordable.
The bakery also is at the Walkersville farmer's market on Wednesdays.
Ed's Country Bakery
4309 Cap Stine Road
Frederick, MD 21703
301-788-5409 (phone)
301-663-0482 (fax)
www.edscountrybakery.com
edo@edscountrybakery.com
The bakery also is at the Walkersville farmer's market on Wednesdays.
Ed's Country Bakery
4309 Cap Stine Road
Frederick, MD 21703
301-788-5409 (phone)
301-663-0482 (fax)
www.edscountrybakery.com
edo@edscountrybakery.com
My Thai - Frederick, MD
July 31, 2008
I'm glad that I ordered another appetizer because this review would be pretty negative without it.
I ordered one of the lunch specials, which includes a spring roll. The roll (I ordered mine with chicken) was crispy and flavorful. The texture inside was creamy due to potato, which made the roll memorable as well as very good.
I also ordered the larb gai appetizer, which is "minced chicken tossed in cilantro, mint, red onion, and lime juice" served on a bed of greens. I'm intrigued by the combination of cilantro and mint, which is also used in Indian cuisine. The herbs are both strong and distinctive, yet they pair well together. The larb gai was delicious. When I told my server, she agreed and said that she sometimes eats it for lunch.
My entree was disappointing. I ordered phad prik sod with duck, which is "stir-fried with chili, snow peas, onion, scallions, and red bell pepper." The main problem was the overuse of soy sauce. With Asian dishes, I often use the plain white rice to soak up the sauce. I didn't do that with the phad prik sod.
For fans (or opponents) of chili heat, My Thai lets the diner know on the menu between "mildly spicy," "medium spicy," and "very spicy." They also are happy to season any dish to diner's tastes.
I plan on returning to My Thai, based on the strength of the larb gai and the spring roll but I'll be wary of salt when ordering my next entree.
I'm glad that I ordered another appetizer because this review would be pretty negative without it.
I ordered one of the lunch specials, which includes a spring roll. The roll (I ordered mine with chicken) was crispy and flavorful. The texture inside was creamy due to potato, which made the roll memorable as well as very good.
I also ordered the larb gai appetizer, which is "minced chicken tossed in cilantro, mint, red onion, and lime juice" served on a bed of greens. I'm intrigued by the combination of cilantro and mint, which is also used in Indian cuisine. The herbs are both strong and distinctive, yet they pair well together. The larb gai was delicious. When I told my server, she agreed and said that she sometimes eats it for lunch.
My entree was disappointing. I ordered phad prik sod with duck, which is "stir-fried with chili, snow peas, onion, scallions, and red bell pepper." The main problem was the overuse of soy sauce. With Asian dishes, I often use the plain white rice to soak up the sauce. I didn't do that with the phad prik sod.
For fans (or opponents) of chili heat, My Thai lets the diner know on the menu between "mildly spicy," "medium spicy," and "very spicy." They also are happy to season any dish to diner's tastes.
I plan on returning to My Thai, based on the strength of the larb gai and the spring roll but I'll be wary of salt when ordering my next entree.
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