tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40728610110933019182012-02-16T09:15:14.756-05:00Stuff I'm interested in - Food and drink - Restaurants - Health and well-being - The Arts (some of them) - Paris - And miscellaneous other thingsBig Birdnoreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-69829028021581526062010-09-19T21:25:00.000-04:002010-09-19T21:25:17.965-04:00

The Cooking Channel launched recently.  It is largely what the Food Network was at its inception... actual cooking shows, not so much competitions and food entertainment programming so I enjoy several shows periodically when I have time to watch.  I was inspired by a simple and humble recipe I saw on French Food at Home: buckwheat crepes with creamed tomato.  A couple weeks after the show aired,

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-22744550069947870332007-10-26T17:31:00.000-04:002007-10-26T18:25:19.688-04:00

We saw Sinead O'Connor the other night at the Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. She came out of retirement and released an album (I'm aging myself I suppose by saying "album" instead of "CD") called Theology this year. I don't own it but I'm going to buy it. It's a 2-disc release. The first disc called "The Dublin Sessions" is acoustic and the other disc ("The London Sessions") containes a plugged

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-47382324762131278892007-10-23T14:06:00.001-04:002007-10-23T14:53:33.926-04:00

Searching for a job sort of sucks your will to live (mine, I mean), or at least to write. I can't tell you how tired I am of tweaking the resume, writing cover letter after cover letter. It takes so much time and effort and that's a big part of the reason I have not been blogging. It's not exactly writer's block, because I am writing something every day toward my job search. I'd rather be

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-89613084067773573632007-08-09T08:20:00.000-04:002007-08-09T09:06:34.933-04:00

It's not that I haven't cooked at all for the past two months, it's not that we haven't eaten out. I've been surprisingly short on time for a person who is unemployed. I expected that I would have time to write this blog every day once I didn't have to go to work. But somehow or another, the days fill up and before you know it, your eyes are drooping, your head is slumping forward, chin to

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-26214658428464154172007-05-31T13:18:00.001-04:002007-05-31T13:37:20.011-04:00

In a previous post, I mentioned the Central Market. It is actually called the Capital City Market, and more commonly known as the Florida Avenue Market. There has long been talk of "revitalization" here, which has encountered stiff opposition. The market's future seems once more in question with a development concept to build condos above a retail commercial space. (Oooh, that's a new concept,

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-34358118269564679952007-05-23T16:22:00.000-04:002007-05-23T17:01:10.942-04:00

We had friends for brunch on Saturday. Not in the Hannibal Lechter sense. They had a baby recently and they hadn't seen our house that we moved to in November. After trying for weeks to marry up our schedules and find a time that we could actually spend a couple hours together, we made a brunch date for Saturday. I planned a menu of potato frittata (which I prefer to call tortilla espanola),

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-31291041691049454492007-05-23T15:24:00.000-04:002007-05-23T16:12:10.025-04:00

For the past couple weeks I've been craving some seared tuna (raw in the middle) sliced thin over a crunchy, crispy salad. I like a salad with seared tuna in two main varieties: Asian or Southwestern. Last night was the night and Asian was the style.For the dressing I used a bit of yellow miso paste, a couple drops of lite soy sauce, fresh orange juice, a few drops of Chinese rice wine, a little

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-683850874445829152007-05-14T16:35:00.000-04:002007-05-14T16:58:11.274-04:00

You've probably seen this done many times and never done it yourself. It couldn't be easier or tastier or say "Summer!" any louder. We went to the Central Market this weekend near the intersection of Florida and New York Avenues in The District. It's a loud, industrial, dirty, primarily wholesalers market that covers about eight city blocks. We didn't see the entire thing -- it's just too big

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-9079843269229595792007-05-03T16:16:00.000-04:002007-05-04T16:48:57.225-04:00

The night I came home from Vegas we at out. The next two nights I ate salads for dinner at home. They were pretty good salads, if I do say so myself. The first night I had a grilled tuna medallion coated in yellow miso paste and grilled very rare sliced thin over an Asian themed salad. The second night I had a very rare grilled tuna medallion of Southwestern flavors (chili powder and cumin)

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-79411379145969901162007-05-03T13:33:00.000-04:002007-05-03T16:13:59.357-04:00

My last post was about what to cook for the family Sunday night. Had a lot of trouble deciding and so we went with three of the four starters that I had under consideration. We had rillettes and cornichons (see my earlier post about that), not your average spinach dip with crudite, and mushroom spread on baguette toasts (see earlier post about New Year's Eve snacks for those two). We served a

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-54368259200024791332007-04-27T14:27:00.000-04:002007-04-27T15:05:05.069-04:00

We are having the family over for dinner Sunday. What to cook? The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm, so it might be a good day to grill. On the other hand, I want something easy so that I don't have to 1) work hard all day and 2) can spend time with my guests instead of preparing dinner.Some options I'm considering.For starters, one of the following:- crudite and not your average

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-7269726736815131112007-04-23T21:40:00.000-04:002007-04-23T22:05:44.921-04:00

Just got back from 3 days in Las Vegas. Five of us were celebrating the 35th birthday of a very good friend. As the tv commerical will tell you, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." But I can tell you a few things:1) See "O" at the Bellagio. It will be worth every penny you spend for the tickets. It is a complete enchantment. This is a production of the Cirque du Soleil for which they

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-17259509786311698832007-04-13T14:59:00.000-04:002007-04-13T15:27:14.562-04:00

I last left off talking about Easter weekend and everything we had to eat and drink... well, not everything. I made dinner Sunday night. I don't know what to call it. It's was a baked rigatoni in bechamel with lots of vegetables.To start out, I had chopped, blanched and shocked a whole head of broccoli, including the stems (trimmed and peeled the woody parts off first) and a bunch of asparagus

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-75800029308973960512007-04-09T15:44:00.000-04:002007-04-09T16:35:09.574-04:00

I love my brother-in-law and his wife and I love it when they come up from Charlotte, NC to visit us, but thank goodness the visits are usually short! No offense to them but, my god, we eat and drink a lot whenever they visit and by Monday I just feel like I need to fast and detox. They got a late start on Friday and didn't get up here until late, so we didn't get a chance to go to dinner

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-2431807023339385732007-04-02T16:52:00.000-04:002007-04-03T17:08:36.360-04:00

If I were a certain television personality whose books are strategically located everywhere these days, I might say, "Yum-o!" but since I'm just me, I say, "Yum!"We are all often conscientious about what we eat, cautious of the pounds we're adding to those hips when we have a slice of bread or a sliver of cheese. I was kind of craving a taco salad the other day and pizza at the same time and

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-57208527505750028452007-03-26T16:48:00.000-04:002007-03-26T16:48:51.520-04:00

Not the food you take TO the movies, not even the food you buy AT the movies (can you call that food really?). No, I mean the food IN movies.In movies like Like Water for ChocolateChocolatFried Green TomatoesUnder the Tuscan Sunand plenty of others I don't recall right now, food features. Food may as well be one of the main characters, a protagonist of sorts. How did it come to be that food

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-41616871592654753542007-03-26T14:48:00.000-04:002007-03-26T17:13:59.243-04:00

Time flies, not only when you're having fun. Time just flies. Since I last posted, I went to Santa Monica on a business trip and managed to see the inside of LAX, the inside of a hotel, the inside of an office building, and that was about it. My hotel was about two or three blocks from the ocean and the pier and I never even saw the water. So I can't even say that I ate anything particularly

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-14639981178958588342007-03-01T12:29:00.000-05:002007-03-26T16:59:03.745-04:00

I've been wanting to tell you for a couple weeks now that I made some really good homemade pumpkin and spinach ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce with a dollop of fresh ricotta on top . The reason I haven't written about it yet is because I keep forgetting to write down for myself how I actually made it so I could edit and share on the blog. We've invited a couple to dinner this weekend, one

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-15756703705652391722007-02-22T09:39:00.000-05:002007-03-05T16:05:29.042-05:00

Rillettes - decadent, a once-a-year maybe kind of treat. The final result is pâté-like in texture but without any kind of organ meat flavor. It's a cold, salty, fatty paste spread onto slices of bread, toast or crackers. I realize this doesn't sound very appetizing but it's inexplicably simple and good. So what is rillettes and how do you make it at home? Rillettes may best be explained by how

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-89256604630880303052007-02-15T13:16:00.000-05:002007-03-05T16:06:00.611-05:00

Caldo verde is a Portuguese soup that makes a quick weeknight dinner when it's cold outside, which it has been here for the last few days with wind chill temps around zero farenheit and 3 inches of ice and snow. Anyhow, caldo verde (I probably am spelling that wrong) features linguiça, a specialty Portuguese sausage. If you can't find it, use a mild or spicy Italian sausage instead. Slices or

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-83830089884121614442007-02-01T16:18:00.000-05:002007-02-01T17:26:15.403-05:00

José Andrés' original tapas restaurant and bar, Jaléo, in Washington, DC is still a standout after many years. (See also my previous entry on Zaytinya, another José Andrés restaurant.) Being within a few short blocks from the Verizon Center arena and the DC theater district, it's bound to be full most evenings. The crowd makes for an atmosphere bustling and exciting with anticipation, not only

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-13076934561411870792007-01-31T13:10:00.000-05:002007-01-31T13:16:03.893-05:00

I know it's been a while, but don't leave me yet. I am working on a couple posts for you devotees, it's just been busy and I've been sick with a little cold and having the wintertime blues. In the next few entries I'll update you on my AeroGarden, talk about food in movies (I just saw the film "Fried Green Tomatoes" for the first time about two weeks ago which inspired me on the topic), and

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-29373521804964898032007-01-19T15:40:00.000-05:002007-01-19T22:31:23.092-05:00

...on two fronts! First of all, let me tell you that last night's soup supper (the Italian Escarole Soup, see yesterday's blog entry) was scrumptious. I don't usually like to have last night's leftovers for today's lunch, but in this case I really didn't mind one bit. When raw, eaten in salads or whatever, escarole tends to be bitter, like many leafy greens. But something happens when you

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-48003877925200786642007-01-18T15:53:00.000-05:002007-01-18T17:04:35.064-05:00

Ah (or Ew), it finally feels like January in DC, which means... Soup's on! Well, it will be tonight for dinner. On the menu, an Italian Escarole Soup with rosemary crackers. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, Escarole = Chicory, so look for one or the other label at your green grocer. This is what I think I will do to make a wonderful (hopefully) pot of steaming soup for a cold winter's night.I

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-16390263484421385552007-01-17T11:49:00.000-05:002007-01-17T12:39:00.341-05:00

The Lebanese Butcher is a real person and a real place and it's the place I'm going to talk about. The place is a restaurant which is attached to a little market, which as you might expect from the name of the place has a butcher in the back. The Lebanese Butcher (the person) also owns The Lebanese Slaughterhouse and butcher shop in Warrenton, VA where one can purchase whole goats, lamb, baby

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-68999996297876465732007-01-15T11:19:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:43:09.595-05:00

For Christmas, I received a science experiment, so to speak. Have you seen these AeroGarden things? The maker of this product refers to it as a "Kitchen Garden Appliance" and I think it's for people whose thumbs aren't green. My thumb isn't exactly GREEN but it's not the kiss of death either. I mean, I've grown tomatoes and lettuce in my yard before. I've had herbs in pots growing on the

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-57718497526695472212007-01-12T11:43:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:43:45.039-05:00

As you might tell from the dearth of posts, I've been uninspired. I made a beef stew in the slow cooker the other day and it was just gloppy -- too much flour, not enough juice. It had a hearty beefy and red wine flavor, and the meat was tender and the carrots and potatoes were creamy, but it was gluey. I just couldn't get past that. I overestimated the amount of moisture that would be

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-12710830133705848982007-01-04T10:12:00.000-05:002007-01-04T10:54:23.407-05:00

I didn't talk about the sparkling wine in yesterday's blog yet -- let me take a moment now. In my opinion, and I'm not a wine expert, a sparkling wine goes with nearly any savory food. Well, not all sparkling wines go with all things because as with any wine you have a great variety between sweet and dry, but you know, generally speaking...Anyhow, just before the holidays we went to a tasting

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-82145348333565296492007-01-03T13:42:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:44:19.409-05:00

Unlike most people I know, I don't like to go out on New Year's Eve. I prefer to make festive at home by watching bad television from Times Square, sipping on something bubbly, and munching on a few tasty bites through the night. This year's new year's eve menu went something like this (and something resembling some recipes follows):- won-jitas (aka Mexican wontons) with guacamole- baguette

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4072861011093301918.post-81221442239773665852006-12-27T15:01:00.000-05:002007-01-15T11:45:08.965-05:00

http://www.zaytinya.com/We ate here last night. Not the first time we've been there but it is rare that we go. A Mediterranean/mid-east version of tapas, the concept is small plates. The more people you have in your party, the more variety you can try. As a rule of thumb, about three meze per person is about the right quantity. Note that some of the plates come with exactly four pieces -

Big Birdnoreply@blogger.com2