Brasserie Beck, DC

While riding the Metro one day, I asked a resident of DC her opinion of the best food in town. She recommended Brasserie Beck. We called ahead and obtained an early reservation. 

We ordered a salmon in a citrus reduction along with a glazed duck breast. We decided to try it as the chef recommended: medium rare. 

The side C selected was brussel sprouts. If you have never longed to eat brussel sprouts before, perhaps you will now. 

While there are some places where one would "share" off of another's plate, there are some that you would abide by proper etiquette. We asked for the entrees to be divided ahead of time, and just look at the beautiful presentation! 

We topped off our visit with a crème brulée, complete with a dark chocolate-raspberry swizzle stick and a hand-made berry swirl cookie.

 It was truly leaps and bounds over the crème brulée offered by the Tabard Inn Restaurant the night before, although the Tabard fruit crumble pastry was delightful. 

Cheese!!!

While in Seattle last month, we had the pleasure of tasting many wonderful cheeses. The International cheese plate at Ventana (above) certainly did not disappoint, and neither did the bison burger, but the winner that evening was the black truffle fries. They lured even this french fry snubbing food snob into finger-licking delight.

   One day for lunch we gathered a few scraps of loverly cheeses at a well-stocked deli and had the pleasure of meeting a white truffle cheese that made my hair curl in delight. 

No Woman Cheese, a Jamaican jerk-spiced cheese, is handmade locally by Beechers, and also became a favorite:

The loser at our lunch cheese-tasting (paired with Rainier cherries and crackers), was this creamy little non-delight. The terra cotta ramekin did last, but the cheese quickly found its way to the garbage can. 


Since returning home, I discovered my new favorite: a loverly English white Stilton with Lemon. I saved a morsel or two for the Cheese Connoisseur, who readily agreed. Sorry, we ate it too quickly, so no pic!

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Grilled

Truth is, I have been cooking, I just haven't been posting.
Lemon pepper on chicken breasts, pan 'grilled' in olive oil spray:

Oven roasted tomatoes and garden fresh crook-neck pan 'grilled' only in the residual olive oil on the roasted tomatoes:

Romaine-Feta-Valdosta-Strawberry salad with Litehouse Blueberry Pomegranate dressing:

Fruity Fish

This was one of my super easy meals, but it tasted AMAZING...Tilapia loins plus this loverly Fischer Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce.

I had a little Raspberry Chipotle left in a bottle, so I added that to two of them. Bake at 350* for 20-25 mins. 

They all tasted amazing just the same. Served with asparagus and watermelon.

Fresh Peach Cobbler From Scratch

I had a few peaches that were begging to be used.

When their skins get a tiny bit wrinkled, they peel off with little effort. 

In no time I had hand peeled all of them, and then cut them into slices

For the topping I mixed about 1 1/2-2 cups of quick oats, a handful of smashed pecans, 1/4-1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour, and some fat free parkay butter spray. 

As you may have noticed, I was totally winging this. Isn't that what scratch means? Okay, next I poured about 2 Tbsp of Bistro Blends Fig Balsalmic Vinegar (it's SWEET) with about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to keep the peaches from turning brown. Added 1 tsp each of brown sugar and whole wheat flour, and whisked.

Poured over the peaches, and then tossed until they were coated. This is the thickening for the cobbler.

Pour the topping on top of the peaches and bake for 20-25 mins at 350*

Enjoy!

Scarecrow Roast

I call this a scarecrow roast because it's a no brainer. Tender piece of meat or not, if you cook it right, it turns out tender, so I favor lean over tender. First, I almost NEVER cook a roast with potatoes. Those greedy starches just sucks the juice right out of that meat. I usually just rub the roast with salt and pepper and crockpot it 'til it's ready, but I found these cute little marble red potatoes and broke my rule.
To compensate, I tossed in the whole can {no MSG}:

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 until you can pull the meat off with a fork effortlessly. Keep cooking if it seems tough. It'll soften up in another 30-45 mins or so.
NOTE: I let this one cool and tossed in a gallon ziplock for quick meals while I finish my schoolwork this week, so no lovely plating.

Strawberry Cheesecake Shake

Two of the best dairy sources of protein I have found are plain Greek yogurt (I go fat free) and low fat cottage cheese. I have a depression era mentality when it comes to wasting food, so in an attempt to use up some strawberries and cottage cheese, I dreamed up this high protein breakfast shake:

1-1 1/2 cups strawberries

1/2-1 cup cottage cheese

1/2-1 cup vanilla soy milk

Splenda to taste

Blend and enjoy!

Spinach Stuffed Flank Steak

As many of you know, I rarely use recipes. The kitchen and grocery store are like laboratories where anything may happen. Today I stumbled upon a Flank steak. I have never purchased a flank steak, nary have I eaten one. I brought it home and stared at it. What might it become? It was just begging to be stuffed with some lovely filling, but with what? Black beans, corn, rice, and salsa? No. Perhaps some breadcrumb mixture? No, too cliché. This is the story of how Flank steak became a happy little dish, fresh from the sprouts of my own little mind.

Place on a sheet of foil.
Pound with a mallet
Cover in chopped garlic

Lightly sprinkle with balsalmic vinegar (it makes it tender, trust me)

Top with bruschetta and sprinkled with finely shredded cheese (I know, it looks like a pizza!)
...and torn baby spinach...
Carefully roll meat with the grain lengthwise.
Tuck ends and roll in foil.
Bake at 375* for an hour.
Remove and slice
I think I found a new favorite dish! Too good for words, and the meat was incredibly tender!