The Kitchen is on Vacation

Wednesday, August 2nd

Our kitchen has been breating a sigh of relief over the last few days as it got some time off. We were elsewhere for dinner everyday last weekend and its only been involved in one dinner this week. That was on Monday night, a wonderful roast pork with a creamy mushroom gravy. It was out of this world. My favorite method for roast pork is the easiest one, preheat the oven to 500 degrees, put in the roast and start checking it after about half an hour for a roast less than 1.5 lbs and 45 minutes for one larger than that. Before roasting I just rub the roast with salt, pepper, garlic pepper, and a little cayenne. Then there's the mushroom gravy, basically just a version of mushroom duxelles:

* Saute 1 large minced onion in combination of butter and olive oil for about 4 minutes.
* Add minced mushrooms (can use any kind you prefer, this week I used one package of portabellos) and stir to ensure that they are coated with oil; cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occassionally, until all of the moisture that the mushrooms will release has evaporated
* Remove from the heat and sprinkle with arrowroot (about 1 tbsp; you can also use flour - see note in next step if you do), add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream (I've also used half and half when that's all I have in the house), and return to heat
* Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens (if you use arrowroot the mixture will not need to come to a boil to thicken; if you use flour it will need to boil before it will thicken)
* Remove from heat and stir in seasonings to taste, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, fresh parsley, fresh chives, and lemon juice (if you have it, I didn't this week and it was fine without)
* Use as a gravy for roasts, you can also use as an appetizer when it's served over small pieces of toast, I have also used this to stuff pork roasts - it sort of leaks out a bit and then it gets a great flavor with the addition of the juice and fat from the pork

Alright, so that was Monday night's dinner. For the rundown on the rest of what and where we've been eating see below. We're off to Paris, VA and the Ashby Inn for the next couple of nights and I'm looking forward to a wine dinner in the restaurant there tonight!

Saturday, July 29th: Dinner at what may become our new favorite restaurant, Monroe's An American Trattoria, in Del Ray. It was an excellent meal, great prices, friendly service, relaxed atmosphere, exactly what we've been looking for in a neighborhood restaurant. We split an appetizer of shrimp wrapped in bacon, then I had a pizza topped with a spicy tomato sauce, applewood smoked bacon, onions, and green olives. Andrew had mushroom pasta, and our friend had pasta with crab meat. All the meals were excellent.

Sunday, July 30th: Potluck dinner at a friends house with some ex-coworkers of mine. We brought a pesto pasta salad, key lime pies, and a bottle of our favorite rose (1+1=3); recipes as follows:

Pesto Pasta Salad
* I used leftover pesto from what I had made a week or so ago for the pizzas - you need about a cup and a half or so
* Cook 1.5 lbs of pasta (i used rotini), and mix with pesto, 1 quart of grape tomatos (cut into quarters), fresh corn kernels from 3 ears of corn, 1/2 cup of chopped roasted peppers, 2 tsps anchovy paste, and salt and pepper to taste

Key Lime Pie
* Use your favorite crust (I'm preferential to graham cracker) and prebake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees
* In a bowl whisk 14oz sweetened condensed milk and four egg yolks, after it's fully incorporated whisk in 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of key lime juice (my favorite brand is Nellie and Joe's)
* Pour into crust and bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven and let cool completely; cover and chill for at least 8 hours before serving
* You can top however you choose; I typically just use some homemade whipped cream, but someone also suggested a raspberry sauce which also sounds great

Tuesday, August 1st: We made a trip into DC to run some errands this afternoon and got the chance to try a restaurant that we've been meaning to go to for almost a year (since it opened), Sonoma Restaurant on Capitol Hill. We were both happy with the choice; the food was very good - an heirloom tomato gazpacho that hit the spot on a 90+ degree day, foccacia with olive oil which was great bread, but would have been better if it were not grilled before serving (all we could taste was the charred flavor), excellent pizza with goat cheese and soprasetta, and a charred venison carparccio, another great dish for a hot night. Our only major complaint about the restaurant is that they claim to be a wine bar, but do not put a whole lot of effort into providing explanation or giving information about the wines on their list.