Gobble Gobble

Well to say the least, Thanksgiving was a success. From morning to night there was something amazing to nibble on, and the day started with these bites: bacon bark and spicy roasted chickpeas.

*I realize now that the bacon bark may seem a little scary if not explained. Basically it's bacon, pecans, and walnuts baked in the over with brown sugar, paprika, and maple syrup. Which equals salty, savory, sweet, crunchy nomness.


And it wouldn't be a day of my favorite type of eating without cheese. We had a variety of brie, cheese with cranberries in it, goat cheese, and here's a big block of gouda!


And the turkey. It was magnificent. Moist on the inside and golden on the outside - it was definitely some of my mom's best work.


The best part about Thanksgiving - sitting down at the dinner table with family. We had my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and best friends there. It was nice to be all around one table.


Lots o' pies. Because a normal pumpkin pie or apple pie isn't enough right? My mom knocked it out of the park with these and made a caramel crumble apple pie and a pumpkin pie with chiffon whip cream and chocolate shavings.

Noming (Sort of) Heals All

As I type this I know I'm going to sound like such a fat kid, but hear me out -- right now food means so much more to me than just eating. Right now, it's an experience, a thing I can do to be surrounded by people, something that will excite me if only temporarily, something to bring my family together, something to take my mind off of the totally awful break up I'm going through right now. Le sigh.

I can't help but roll my eyes at myself. I know this sounds like an alternative chapter to the eat portion of Eat, Pray, Love, but hey it's a personal food blog - personal and food are right there in the name.

Eating out has always been one of my favorite things to do. I love getting people together, getting them a few drinks, and seeing what sort of interesting conversations come up. I love looking at new menus and seeing how different ingredients are put together. Eating out is always one big puzzle with cool, crazy pieces that ultimately fit together to make a great shared experience.

It's also the perfect distraction.


Akasha

So when I got home, one of the first things I did was get my mom, brother, and a few friends to this place called Akasha in Culver City. Akasha is a typical LA restaurant - beautiful eclectic decor and feel good sustainable ingredients (even some of the alcohol was organic).

Since my stomach is still feeling the break up a bit more than I'd like, I decided to order a few small dishes. Best way to try more anyway. I started with a farm beet salad with manchego cheese, arugula, and pickled shallots, and then followed that up with artichoke frites with mint raita, tomato chutney, and a grilled lemon. And then I also had a few bites of skillet macaroni & cheese made with gruyere and cheddar, and then sprinkled with bread crumbs. Hey, what better time to eat comfort food? Needless to say, it was all amazing. So amazing, I forgot to take pictures. Oops.

The next day for lunch I decided to hit up one of the restaurants on my LA wish list from before - Gjelina. Of course, I did have to overlook the fact that this was one of my favorite restaurants to go to with my boyfriend. But hey, food comes first and I am not giving this place up.

Here is a look at the nomness I had there:


Cured meats with pickles and mustard


Escarole with sunchoke, smoked almond, lemon preserve & parmesesan and parsnips with salsa verde


Butterscotch pot de creme with salted caramel w/ creme fraiche

So what's the moral here? I'm not sure there is one. Break ups are hard, and as many times as you go through them, they really never get easier. But for me, focusing on the little things that make me happy like food and friends is what's going to get me through. Plus, foodies need to be far more creative than taking to a pint of ice cream ;)

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

Thanksgiving Brainstorming

If the picture above is any indication (turkey wrapped in bacon), then you know my family and I do Thanksgiving right. Every year the menu changes, there's no one cranberry sauce we do, or the same potatoes we all love. Each year is its own creation, with new recipes that we hunt for months leading up to the eating marathon. I still remember the cranberry sauce from a few years ago with walnuts and orange zest. And the brussels sprouts with bacon bits that were completely demolished last year. Bacon was clearly a theme....Determined to make sure this year is no less amazing than the ones before it, here are a few Petitt-style Thanksgiving recipes I found recently that should definitely make it on our dinner table. (I'm forwarding this blogpost to mom shortly. Hi mom.)



-- Well first thing's first - the cranberries. To me this is the most important part of the meal, it's the bit of sweet that goes perfectly with all the savory. My Thanksgiving menu this year includes red devil cranberries with minced chipotle chiles and a minced serrano chile pepper.



-- And how about side dishes? This is where creativity is most important because it's easy to create a generic Thanksgiving if the sides aren't up to par. First, I'm feeling some stuffed sweet potatoes with pecan and marshmallow streusel. The picture above pretty much speaks for itself. And of course, you've got to have some green. I'm thinking green beans with caramelized onions and almonds. And of course I've got to fill my cheese quota, for this I recommend a cheesy broccoli bake. Wow that sounds fantastic.



-- Then that leaves dessert. For this I like to stick to tradition -- you can't do better than a pumpkin pie. And since we've got some gluten-free eaters in my family, I've got my eye on this tipsy pumpkin butter pie, which is gluten and dairy free.

Well that's all I got for now, but I'm still continuing my search. And please let me know if you have any favorite recipes!

Los Anjealous

Okay, I'm about to get a little annoying and rep my city for a second, so bear with me.

I am DC's biggest fan - whenever someone says there is a lack of culture, good food, or fun places to go here I always put them right in their place. DC is great and I have found many restaurants in the city that I would put on par with amazing restaurants around the world. BUT let's face it, while this has been improving in the last couple of years, DC has never been known for its food. And with Thanksgiving right around the corner, my mouth is beginning to salivate thinking about the food waiting for me in LA.

A couple weeks ago I shared my wish list for restaurants I need to go to in the District. Well this week, I need to tell you a few of my favorite places in LA (just in case you're ever lucky enough to eat..I mean go there).

1. ANY AND ALL MEXICAN FOOD
Goodness, I can't stress this enough. If it's not greasy, cheesy, and burns my mouth off, I want none of it. I've looked all over DC and nothing comes close to the Mexican food in LA...which is understandable because of geographical advantages. In LA, a good rule of thumb for Mexican is the sketchier the place looks, all the better the food. Tacos Por Favor in Santa Monica certainly passes this test. Just look at it, you know it's got to be amazing.


2. Father's Office
I all for Bobby's Burger Palace and Good Stuff, but this is a burger so good the restaurant doesn't even let you alter it. Seriously, not even a little. There are even signs that tell you not to ask for ketchup. But just trust me on this one, you wouldn't want to mess with it. They won't share their recipe, but there's definitely caramelized onions, gorgonzola cheese (maybe?), arugula, and a whole lot of awesome.


3. Bay Cities.
Okay this place makes me want to be home right &(*^%% now. Best italian sandwiches I know. Fresh baked bread and ingredients. A straight forward sandwich that will never disappoint. I always order mine online, get it to go, and go take it to eat on the beach.


4. Gjelina
This is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. Beautiful decor and outdoor patio, great vibe, and fantastic food. It also totally embodies the funky feeling of Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice so it's always an experience too. I would love to pick a few things from the menu to share with you, but I can't I love it all. It's such a creative menu, using tons of different ingredients. Check it.


5. Yabu
One of my other favorite parts of LA is the vibrant Japanese community - Yabu totally reflects that. I go there for their Zaru, which is cold noodles (soba or udon) served with cold dipping sauce. I also totally miss the Japanese markets in LA like Mitsuwa and Nijiya. I will definitely go to one of these to stock up on umeboshi (pickled sour plum) before I come back to DC.



Considering I only have five days in LA, one day taken up for Thanksgiving, and another taken for recovery time from Thanksgiving eating, I'm going to stop there. Don't want to tempt myself with all the possibilities. But YUM. Cannot wait.

Oh, by the way

Here is my super DC-of-me pumpkin carving

Happy Halloween!

One of my fondest memories as a kid is sitting down on the floor, carving pumpkins with my mom and brother. And being at college has really made me miss our little tradition. But this year I've decided (since I'm a senior and all) that I've got to start making my own traditions. So...carving pumpkins solo it is! With a little narrated blog action thrown in there, of course.





Now if you know me, you know that there is usually a food motivation for the things I do, and pumpkin carving is no different. Every year I look forward to pulling out the seeds and toasting them in the over. October isn't october without some pumpkin seeds. Plus, they're totally easy to make. Just rinse the seeds in water, spread them out on an oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle some salt on the top. Bake at around 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes, making sure to stir them after about 10 minutes. And yum, easy enough, you have a nice muchy treat.

And in case you're feeling like you're up for a bit more of a challenge. Here's a recipe to another one of my favorite October foods, pumpkin pie.

Wish List

As a perfect compliment to last week, this week my boyfriend's parents are in town. Which means...YES, more fabulous food. We started today off right by going to BlackSalt, a place known for its extensive fish menu. Now, I would be more specific about the menu, but my ordering went a little something like this: "bring me anything on the menu that isn't that fishy." I realize now that they probably judged me a lot for coming there in the first place, but listen, it didn't matter - the food was fantastic. I had one of the specials of the night, something called a tile fish prepared with white sweet potato puree, greens with bacon, and roasted mushrooms. Twas perfection.

(Side note: If you've read previous blog posts, you know my first experience with oysters did not go as planned. BUT, I tried oysters for the second time. This time was a great success.)

But this got me thinking. I see myself as a person who has tried and knows a lot of restaurants in DC, but here was a place completely unknown that is now easily a new favorite. Which is why (after a little research) I have compiled a restaurant wish list, all the places I hope to go in the upcoming months as I venture out in the city (...and maybe put on a few winter pounds?)

2AMYS for fantastic pizza
Citronelle to pretend I'm fancy enough for french food Obama eats
Volt for Top Chef alum Brian Voltaggio chem project-like food creations
Graffiato...while we're on the Top Chef theme, I haven't heard rave reviews but I like Chef Mike Isabella so I want to give it a try
Minibar just to say I did
CityZen - don't know much about this place but a server I work with swears by it and I trust his judgement
El Centro in search of ONE (ONE PEOPLE) solid Mexican food place in DC. I get that we're not by the border but come onnnn.
KOMI well, because it's number one on everyone's best lists

That's all I've got for now. What about you guys? Any suggestions?