Let them eat...croquembouche?

G and I don't really like cake. But how can a vaguely Marie Antoinette themed wedding be without cake? We love little cake-like things like macarons (that I've talked about way too much already), but we want something different.


Croquembouche (translation: crunch in the mouth) is basically a cone-shaped pile of profiteroles. Wouldn't it be so lovely to eat this?

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We thought it over and went back and forth for about ten minutes, and decided the pile would be difficult to cut into and negotiate. We also realized secretly that we're not that cool or sophisticated (and more traditional than we thought). So we're going with cake. I found this one on theknot.com and the decoration just happens to look quite similar to the embroidery on my dress! I really like it (except for the monogram). The color is about right, too.

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Then I thought, maybe this Wedgwood-looking cake would better reflect the Laduree-inspired design that I have going on in my invitations (more on those later).

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And this weekend, when we went down to the Homestead for our menu tasting, I showed the chef the two cake images and let him decide. My only stipulations were that he choose the cake that he thinks is best, and that it should be close, not a parody or general approximation of the cake in the image. He said the Wedgwood cake looked too much like wood moulding and the negative space wasn't very nice. (Note to self: Chef doesn't like home-improvement elements on cakes.) So we're going with the aqua lace cake! Ironically, he told me to send him a paint chip so he can get the color exactly right. For the inside we chose two flavors: lemon (at the bottom for non-messy cutting)) and dark chocolate-raspberry (for the top two tiers).

That was easy.

If Laduree shipped internationally, I'd get about 17 dozen macarons

...six dozen of which would be favors at the wedding.

Is it cliche to love Paris--that city of baguettes, bicycles, and berets; that city of the most iconic of all radio towers...of gauzy dreams of strolls in le parc? Do people who make the pronouncement of lurving it remind you of that lonely middle-aged woman in the 14e arrondissement-story of Paris, Je T'aime? Maybe? Just a little?

Having said that (and at the risk of sounding totally banal) I secretly love certain Parisian experiences...shhhhh. Like the Laduree tea room tucked away in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Pres district. Those lovely little macarons (not to be confused with coconut macaroons) in the heavenliest of flavors--to include rose petal, salted butter caramel, and pistachio--along with the glorious empire decor give me goose bumps!

Even the confection-colored packaging is beautiful. I'd really love two things: a) Laduree macarons at the wedding and b) invitations inspired by this confectioner's palette. Oh the dreams.

(Source for pics here)

By the way...I just sent out the invitations:

Healthy Pantry Burrito

I'm at it again. I wanted to make something from scratch, but really haven't done much grocery shopping. I came home from the gym late tonight and wanted something quick. Eggs are quick.

Omelet? Boring. Need more substance.

We also had some whole wheat tortillas that have been sitting in the refrigerator for months. Yet oddly enough, they're still good. Burrrritto [rolls 'r' like Alex Tribec]!! What to add, what do we have...

-ham

-spinach

-can of pigeon peas

-onion and garlic

-adobo powder

-chili powder

-Worcestershire

-Cumin

So I scrambled the eggs,

Sauteed the ham onions, garlic, and spinach in a pat of butter



Added the pigeon peas, stirred a bit, added the Worcestershire, chili, adobo, and cumin.




Heated the tortilla and wrapped it around the egg and spinach mixture and added some Uncle Brutha's No 9 green sauce (a local favorite--they used to have a shop near Eastern Market, but not sure if they still do. Anyone know?). I think it took about 15 minutes to make.
G "plating" his burrito.

Yum! Not exactly fine dining, but pretty tasty as well as healthy (I'm being a little more conscious of it for the wedding)!!!

I celebrated Presidents day by eating in Leesburg

We went out to G's parents' today. We brought his mom some belated birthday flowers and then drove to Leesburg for lunch.

Me, selecting three bunches of tulips and reminding G that single-flower bouquets are better than mixed when you get them from the flower guy on the street.

We ate at Lightfoot, a casual but nice-ish restaurant in the historic downtown area. It's housed in a large and majestic old bank building. The cafe menu includes a daily grilled cheese special (which G's dad got--I forget the type of cheese but raisin bread was used) and little tweaks on American comfort food. G had a spicey meatloaf sandwich and his mother got the fish tacos, which were apparently good. I had this decent fish and chips. The fish was battered and deep fried, puffy and firm. Almost too firm. The chips were rounds of potatos, also deep fried. Not bad. We had a bottle of Grand Beck, a South African sparkling wine (good and reasonably priced--and we're serving it at our wedding bar).

We finished it off with a nice vanilla ice cream cone:





Also, I came home and re-arranged my Valentine's flowers:





Happy Presidents day! What did you do?

A tasteful potluck dinner

The cute table

I haven't been to a potluck in...well, ever. But we were invited to one for Valentine's. And it was pretty great, I must say. Four couples all food loving and wine lusting. Francoise, our hostess is French. She supplied the meats (beef roast and duck confit with the most delicious tomato and orange peel sauce) for our main course. Tim, her husband, is a wine connoisseur in every sense of the term, and has the cellar in his basement to prove it. He supplied us with three Burgundies (specifically Volnay-Santenot) from the same plot of land/grape grower, but the difference was the wine makers. And they (the differences) were fairly obvious. All very good.

Duck confit, beef roast, lentil salad and scalloped potatoes



Decanters previously full of Burgandies (sorry forgot to take a picture until after he poured).

John #1 and Allison made scalloped potatoes and a delicious lentil salad. John #2 and Kate made an amazing dark chocolate fleur de sel cake with creme anglaise sauce and brought a nice Framboise liqueur (all of which I forgot to take a picture, dammit). But we also had a nice cheese course and this Brandy that basically set my nose hairs on fire. It's a man's drink...kind of like a French version of Grappa.

And we contributed Champagne and this:

Salmon plate

They said "Bring finger food for the appetizer." We didn't know what the audience would be like, but we knew we wouldn't be bringing meatballs or anything with cream cheese. Because, well, who eats that? We don't. So we went to Whole Foods yesterday (as I mentioned in my last post) and picked up all the goodies for our salmon plate. Though not an exceptionally original idea, it's easy and everyone loved it. We served it with yogurt dill sauce. By the way, it's all in the plating. Shallots (instead of red onion), cornishons, capers, chopped boiled egg, dill sprigs, mini rye bread and lemon slices.

[If you dare use cream cheese with this plate, get out of here. I detest cream cheese as much as I detest grilled salmon and chicken. It's complicated.... I have a feeling this year is going to be a good one, since I'm returning with such a positive attitude.]

Everything at this potluck was extremely simple, but sooooo well conceived and it went surprisingly well. Great food, wine and conversation. How can you ask for more? Speaking of conversation, here's Tim and Francoise's parrot, Verdi:

Verdi, fixing to bite me.

Bye-bye.

Happy Valentines! I'm Back with Baguettes, Butter, and Blackberry jam

I've been on hiatus for a little while, working on my wedding blog (don't judge me). Anyway, I miss this place.

So, hi! Hope you are having a nice day full of good food if not hearts and bunnies.

Mine started very simply. Woke up to these sitting on a table in the bedroom:

Went to the gym.

Went to Whole Paycheck to get a large side of Gravlox and its acoutrements (dill, shallots, boiled egg, capers, yogurt dill sauce, cornishons, and mini rye bread)--our appetizer contribution for a potluck dinner we're going to tonight. We also picked up a mini baguette for breakfast.

Then came back home and cut up the loaf, spread on some butter and jam while G made coffee in his new press.

What Washington Eats Wednesday: Inauguration Day Lunch: Reflections on Lincoln (Special Tuesday Edition)

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The historic inauguration luncheon paid a nod to Lincoln and was based on the theme of "A New Birth of Freedom".

Newsday reports...

"[Today's inaugural luncheon, while honoring a historic event,], it has been designed to also pay hommage to the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, who was born Feb. 12, 1809.Design Cuisine, an Arlington, Va-based caterer, has delved into Lincoln's childhood in the frontier regions of Kentucky and Indiana as well as his apparently documented affection for stewed and scalloped oysters and desserts made from apples.

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The seafood stew will be followed by duck breast with cherry chutney, herb-roasted pheasant with wild-rice stuffing, molasses sweet potatoes and a melange of vegetables. Dessert will be an apple-cinnamon sponge cake.For the wines, the congressional committee headed west to California, which didn't become a state until Lincoln was 41 years old but which is the home of the committee's chairman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein.The seafood will be accompanied by Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, the fowl by Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir, and the apple cake by a sparkling "Special Inaugural Cuvée" from Korbel.The 200-odd guests will include the families of the new president and vice president along with cabinet designees, the Supreme Court and members of the congressional leadership."

...and if you're interested in replicating the magical lunch, here are some recipes.