wing stop fail

why does wing stop hate me??  i'm a loyal fan and i eat it often.  is it too much to ask that they don't serve me burned rolls or soggy fries?  also, why did you think it was alright to keep a batch of burned dinner rolls in the first place?

tortilla pizza

tortilla's, prosciutto, sauteed arugula, pear and goat cheese.

701 Pennsylvania Ave.

701 was the perfect send off and last meal to end my trip to DC.  surprisingly my favorite part of the meal was the cauliflower soup with golden raisins, capers and curry oil.  i'm gonna try to find some way to re-create this so i can enjoy it at home.

this steak was a little underdone for me but i did finish every bite so i guess i can't complain.

these desserts are nothing to write home about and if i'd known better i may have ordered another bowl of soup instead.

Bon Appétit!

took a quick tour of the american history museum in DC.  of course i had to stop off and pay respects to julia child and all her wonderful achievements.

my thanksgiving at katz's

you may have heard of katz's from the movie when harry met sally

here's a picture of my delectable thanksgiving lunch with brenda in NYC.  sadly i didn't care for the pickles much but to say i thoroughly enjoyed my pastrami sandwich would be an understatement.  hands down the best pastrami i've ever tasted.  the meat was tender, juicy and packed full of flavor.  also pictured is my bowl of split pea soup which was lacking a little pzazz.  i ordered the soup to warm me up and of course because i love split pea soup but it didn't quite hit the spot like i was hoping it would.  the soup did it's job of warming me up but the excitement quickly vanished as the flavor somehow missed the mark.  the texture and aroma were promising but in the end i'd grade the soup as just above average.  although while i'm writing this i can't help but think that the high standard set by the pastrami could have helped with my disappointment.  so maybe you shouldn't take my word on this dish as i may be judging too harshly.

max brenner

dinner in NYC at max brenner

prosciutto & apple wa ffle sandwich

prosciutto, gruyere cheese, sliced apples, lemon aioli with waffle fries dusted in chili and cocoa powder

chicken and goat cheese wa ffle salad

corn waffle topped with chicken, crispy bacon, grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, corn, goat cheese & balsamic vinaigrette

milk bar

milk bar

"i sold my soul for a pork salad'

yes, yes i did and i'd do it again.  this is hands down my most favorite salad in the entire universe!!  i dare someone to find me a better salad for under $10.  or even for more than $10 i don't think the higher price will make a difference.

 

mnf - niners vs. redskins

one of my bucket list goals is to watch a football game at every NFL stadium.  tonight i was able to check off the stadium number 4.  i realize i'm a little behind but i'm willing to put in the work to make my dream a reality.

i was so busy watching the game and freezing that i forgot to take a picture of my $6 hot chocolate.

ben's chili bowl

truth be told that i'd never heard of ben's chili bowl before visiting DC but when brenda mentioned it to me i thought absolutely i want to check it out.  there were a few people who mentioned to me that they weren't fans of ben's but i've gotta say that i'd go back.  i liked my hot dog and once i added some salt to my fries i was a satisfied customer.  i mean it's not a place to take a date to but it was better than some of the other places i've tried that serve this same type of food.  plus the workers were extremely nice considering i did walk in decked out in niners gear.  infact after the game i would've eaten here again if it wasn't so far out of the way.

cuppie

pie sisters was a fun and tasty stop during our day spent in georgetown. this adorable mini cupcake sized pie is such a fun and cute idea.  some may disagree but my favorite part of pie is the crust and this ensured every bite was filled with the right ratio of crust to coconut cream filling.  if you aren't feeling the crust as much as i did don't worry they sell regular pie slices as well.  however if the crust is your favorite part then these cuppies will be right up your alley.

olivia macaron

everyone raves about DC cupcakes but my recommendation would be to skip it and stop off at olivia's macaron instead.  it's just down the street and the line is much shorter and i'm willing to bet you'll be just as satisfied or possibly more so.

east coast brunch

ulah bistro

hunger games 2

oh thank heaven for 7-11!!

king size me cause this movie is a long one.

mcclure's pickles

this jar of McClure's pickles may or may not have cost me $10 bucks but they certainly are worth it!!  just call me a pickle snob.. i'm good with it.

football and man food

my roommates laughed at me when i made 10 quarts of chili but who's laughing now?  definitely not them or the guests i had over to watch the niners vs. saints game.

oops i forgot to take a picture of the actual chili, i barely snapped this photo before i washed the pot.

national oatmeal day

one of my roommates eats at least 4 bowls of oatmeal each and every day.  it's crazy to me that someone would love something so plain so much but she does.  today is the perfect day to surprise her with a large tub of oatmeal and hopefully brighten her day with this news of a national day  celebrating one of her most favorite things... it will be wonderful.

7 fun oatmeal facts & recipes

 

tri tip tacos

i found out yesterday afternoon that i'd be hosting dinner at my house today for 4 guests.  i decided to make a 3lb tri tip since it'd been staring at me in the fridge for the past few days.  i wasn't going to have time to come home and grill it between work and the arrival of our guests so was stumped on what to make with it.  when one of my roommates had the idea of cooking it in the crock pot.  at first i thought no way i'm not going to waste this gorgeous cut of beef.. i mean who cooks tri tip in a crock pot?  i couldn't pulled out some frozen chicken and done a more hands on type of dinner but i didn't really have the extra time to dedicate.  so i sent up a prayer to cro-po heaven and went with the set it and forget it motto.  i thoroughly trimmed the beef and rubbed it with a mixture of paprika, chili powder and cumin.  then i added a bottle of this marinade i bough awhile ago and had been meaning to try called lawry's tequila lime marinade (also it'd been a while since i purchased this so when i looked it up it shows it's discontinued) and about 1 cup of water.  i cooked it on low for the first 3 hours and on high for the next 3 hours.  when i opened the cro-po the beef was so tender that i only needed 2 forks to shred.. and oh man was it was delicious!!!

thai butternut squash soup

i found my recipe for thai butternut squash soup off the whole foods website.  they give you the main recipe and then offer a few different variations and i thought why not spice things up a bit.  it was a smashing success and i'll be making this again!

since i was making this soup for church i made a double batch.  my church starts at 9am so i prepared this the evening before and stored it overnight in the fridge.  once i arrived at church i dumped it all into the crock pot and heated it back up.  also here are a few changes i made:

Basic Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced (added 4 carrots in a double batch)    
• 1 celery stalk, diced (threw in the entire bunch of stalks for the double batch)    
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash, fresh or frozen (i used fresh butter nut squash and i used 10 cups total)    
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Method: 

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in butternut squash, thyme, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to purée soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully purée in batches in an upright blender. 
extra ingredients for the variation that i used:
Stir a tablespoon of red curry paste (i added an entire 4 oz jar) and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger into carrot, celery and onion mixture. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk ( i used the entire 13.66 fl oz can) with broth. Purée soup and garnish each serving with toasted coconut flakes and chopped fresh cilantro.

sorry for the terrible picture of the final product, to be honest i forgot to take a picture when it was finished.  this is a picture of the last of the soup from a double batch that once filled that entire crock pot.  the only picture i missed was a bowl of soup topped off with cilantro and toasted coconut.

all night long

dreams do come true and no i'm not talking about disney

i'm talking about lionel richie

you may think i'm crazy but i have had a love for lionel since i was a too young to remember.  my mother was a huge lionel fan before she passed and some of the few memories i have left of her involve us dancing to his music.  tonight brought in a flood of emotions for me both happy and sad.  it was one of the best nights i've had in a long long time and i owe it all to you lionel so thank you!  and just like that another check on my bucket list.

the rush before the touch

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tegan and Sara!

great show last week on sunday, September 8th.  it was my 2nd time seeing you live and i must admit that i'm now even a bigger fan after seeing you this time around.  great set!

beard papa's

beard papa's

rustic bakery

hands down the best ham and cheese croissant or i'd go as far as to say best croissant i've ever had.  please do yourself a favor and take a drive to one of the rustic bakery locations and pick up 4-6 of these incredible creations!

my wonderful friend was going to RB so i asked if he'd pick up a few extra treats for me.  when i arrived at the house to pick them up here is what my box of croissants looked like.

fun. x's 5

lay's chicken & waffles chips

I FINALLY FOUND THEM!!

unfortunately they are not as wonderful as i'd imagined.

not terrible but not worth all my search efforts

and not worth buying again.

oreo's and nudie magazine day

i love my brother and his girlfriend, they are so good to me!!

i was informed by my brothers gf that oreo's had come out with several new flavors.  ever since i've been looking for the watermelon ones but had been unable to track them down.  during the quest for the watermelon flavor is when i stumbled onto the coconuts gems.  however because of my many failed attempts i had given up hop until today when i opened up the best care package i'd ever seen let alone received.  i mean look at all the goodies shoved into that tiny box.  bacon flavored hot sauce, a 3 little pigs t-shirt, a package of the new yet mysterious oreo's and of course a nudie magazine.  ok ok calm down.  it's a copy of the espn body issue magazine with pics of my boyfriend colin in it.  you may be asking yourself if it's her boyfriend why did she have to see nude pics in a magazine.. well i don't have an answer for you.  sorry!

coconut delight

it's not surprise that i love coconut so when i saw this i flipped with delight.  i have never been a fan of the regular or even double stuffed oreo but they've won me over.  i'm not a big fan because of all the new flavors they've been adding and at the top of my oreo list would be these coconut delight fudge cremes.

voodoo doughnuts

finally made my way to portland and got to cross voodoo doughnut's off my to do list.  i've got to say that even at 1am the doughnuts tasted fresh and they still had a huge variety to choose from.

caribbean french toast

at 10am there was still a 35 minute wait to be seated but i'm telling you this breakfast is well worth the wait!!  they actually serve breakfast all day but this was one of those mornings that just seemed like it needed to happen so a few of us hit up the palo alto creamery at the stanford shopping center.  i've ordered this a few times and i can not get enough of it.. it's perfectly filling, flavorful and a fun change from standard french toast with coconut, caramelized bananas and maple syrup.

el farolito

who doesn't love hitting up taquerias late at night??  it's the perfect place to go cause not only are they open late but they are fast, cheap and delicious!

i split a chicken quesadilla and a carne asada burrito.  it was too much food but i can't believe how cheap it was considering i think i paid $11 bucks after tax for both i items and a coke.  WOW right?  most people walking by this corner spot would pass on by and pick to dine at one of the other 5 taquerias on the same block.  my recommendation would be to not let this hole in the wall distract you from the goodness they sever between these tortillas.