Pork and Leftover Sides

I just realized something: We eat a lot of pork. And leftovers. I'm sure you recognize the turnip mash and broccolini. They've seen better days. I had the unoriginal idea of marinating and grilling pork chops. The marinade is different each time I do it. This time it was mustard, Worcesteshire, dried basil and olive oil. Quick, boring, conservative, but pretty good.

Note: Mr. R gets credit for grilling the porkchops outside in 30-some degree weather. Because he's principled like that (and thinks men who complain about grilling in the cold are pushies).

A good idea

Recently, I had the following email exchange with Hi-Po about an entry I was working on about Dinner Confidential, the Food Network show:

Roganista: ...so yeah, i saw my friend joe on dinner confidential when i was flipping channels the other night...i should write something in the blog about that...

Hi-Po: You should sign up for that show.

Roganista: um....you should! and make turkey burgers.

Hi-Po: How do I sing up for that?

Roganista: sing up for that? how about sing a ballad about turkey burgers.

Hi-Po: I can do that! I(t) will go something like this.. Burgers are the best in town and no one is ever going to bring them down….Turkey is the best in town and no one is ever going to bring them down….Turkey Burgers are at the best in town and no is ever going to bring them down… Then repeat….Thrice times

Roganista: that's nice. how about we take some polaroids of you singing that into a tape recorder while wearing a diaper in the stall of a tastee freez bathroom?

Hi-Po: ...Also before I am on the show – I will need to prepare a bunch of platitudes (like its all in a days work) and (you get what you pay for) maybe something about (too many cooks in a kitchen) to say on the show. I should also come prepared to talk about my wife and how she has a lot of clothes.

Roganista: yes.

Hi-Po: This is really going to work….

Trout and Turnips

We had trout the night before last. Breaded. Pan-fried in butter. Trout. I boiled the one remaining turnip--that I peeled for Sunday's stew but didn't use--along with some potatoes in chix stock and made a mash. Yes, turnip mash. Micro'd some leftover broccoli rabe from the other night's mussels fun. And Done!

Moules Frites (Mussels and Sweet Potato Fries): Jetlag edition

As I mentioned in the last post, we went grocery shopping bright and early Sunday morning. We purchased a shizload of stuff with only a vague idea about what we'd do with the ingredients. I like vague. Vague=multiple degrees of freedom. So in the fridge I had mussels, the beer I mentioned last time, sweet potatoes and some herbs. I had shallots, but no garlic. No garlic? How could I forget garlic? I guess that's what happens when you find yourself shopping early Sunday morning jetlagged. Good thing my pantry is stocked with garlic powder (don't judge me).

Anyhoo, we had all the stuff of moules frites (and some broccoli rabe)!

Turnip & Beef Stew

I was really jonesing for some comfort food when we returned from Bejing Saturday night. So Sunday morning, still on Beijing time, we rose early and went grocery shopping. Since it was entirely too cold, rainy, and ugly out, I came home and started a beef stew at around 9am. I had purchased some turnips and beef cubes, had some red potatoes (along with some other vegez) in the crisper, and some bottles of black lager left from a party we had months ago. I put it all together and made a stew that I cooked in the crock pot for about eight hours while I laid around recovering from the bit of jetlag.
Served it over brown rice and enjoyed with a nice Foris pinot from Oregon.

Another Beijing Thanksgiving!

It's Monday night. We got back from our week-long Thanksgiving holiday in Beijing on Saturday. Surprisingly, I'm not too jetlagged. This year, our expat American hosts (who threw a great T-giving last year) were not in town. They did, however, let us have free reign of their swanky digs! So we relaxed, ate at various friends' homes and even had stir fried lamb and potatoes on Thanksgiving! But we also made a point of eating out at a lot of western restaurants this trip. Beijing is surprisingly sophisticated in terms of its food culture. It's not the kung pao chicken and noodles town that you think it is. We visited several great places. One is a new restaurant of contemporary American cuisine and the other is an old Belgian bistro favorite. Though English is spoken sparingly, the service in Beijing, and dare I say Asia, is outstanding. People are very eager to please and grant your every wish. (But don't be one of those abusive douchebags if you go--mainly because you probably fly coach and/or went to a third tier state school. So. Be cool.) If you're ever in this bruised-eye alley cat of a town, be sure to try, at the very least, Salt and Morel's...
SALT:
A new arrival is the fabulous and ultra contemporary spot called Salt. The chef is the EXTREMELY young and talented Venezuelan-American, Ana Esteves. We enjoyed a so-so sparkling wine from Washington state (wine is expensive there!) and a very nice lunch of perfectly al dente scallop risotto, some nice starters of a very substantial beef tartare with parmesan, garlic, and parsely, and a white fig salad. Dessert was also pretty fabulous: goat cheese panna cotta. YUM! The spare, clean, and stylish aesthetic of Salt is obvious in the plating as well as the decor. This place is great.

MOREL's:

We had a moderately priced, very casual and fatty Belgian meal at Morel's. Starters included a shrimp stuffed tomato (basically seafood salad next to a seeded tomato); scallops with that orange vein thing attached, and a Chateaubriand for two with pomme frites, ratatouille, and peas and carrots for the main! And for dessert: a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Yum. Also, we brought--all the way from the U.S. (again, wine is very, very pricey in China)--our own bottle of Bourdeaux. They are smart business people at Morel's--they understand the concept of corkage (100 yuan, which is approximately $15). The food was decent and the atmosphere almost Belgian/French with its cozy and relaxed faux painted walls, exposed wooden beams, and tiled floor. Here's what Frommer's had to say:

"Morel's reputation as the best Western restaurant in the city is a holdover from a less competitive era, but this is nevertheless a fine restaurant, with a rare, fanatic devotion to quality. Owned by Belgian Renaat Morel, one of China's most respected European chefs, and run with help from his wife, the restaurant has a casual and cozy feel, its yellow walls and green-and-white checked tablecloths reminiscent of someone's home. The food is simply presented, and side dishes are somewhat limp. However, main courses are supremely done, particularly the wonderful Flemish beef stew with tender chunks of meat, cooked over many hours in a mix of Rodenbach beer, bay leaf, onion, and thyme. Soups change daily and always sell out. The restaurant also has an astounding array of Belgian beers; they now have their own range of purpose-brewed ales. Best of all, however, is the signature Morel's dessert: a near-perfect waffle -- save room for it -- made in a real waffle iron hand-carried on a plane from Belgium."

I heart Beijing's food culture!

Organic and Local in VA: Harry's Tap Room?

Check it out:

Harry’s Tap Room  - Farm-to-table restaurant, newest location opens tomorrow at Pentagon City Mall.  Of note, the wine and beer list at both Pentagon City and Clarendon has gone All American (staying “local”) and within a few weeks, at Pentagon City – Harry’s In a Hurry will be opening.