What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Gerard Cabrol, Bistro Français
• January 16, 2015

In decades past, at a time when Washington had few full-service restaurants open past midnight, visiting superstars such as the Rolling Stones and Leonard Bernstein gathered an entourage after a performance and made their way to the always lively Bistro Français on M Street. And when the city’s top toques closed their own kitchens for the night, they too headed to this traditional brasserie for a plate of calf’s liver with caramelized onions or fresh Dover sole.

“We were the only ones open. Now there are so many all over town,” says chef and owner Gerard Cabrol, who next year celebrates 40 years in business. “They all came.” Including Jean-Louis Palladin, the culinary genius who dazzled diners at his Jean-Louis at the Watergate: “He was here five night a week.” What’s more, the Old World decor of pressed tin, stained glass, dark wood and decorative ironwork at Bistro Français continues to transport diners to a Parisian boulevard.

That’s precisely where Cabrol started his career, as a 22-year-old cook in the kitchen of the posh Plaza Athénée hotel, just off the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. For two years he worked hard and gained attention for his skills. “Then one day a man comes up to me, a hotel guest,” he recalls with a smile. “He gave me a contract on the spot to come to Washington and cook at his restaurant for four times my salary at that time.”

The “man” was restaurateur Blaise Gherardi, owner of Rive Gauche. A luxurious and expensive hot spot for socialites and statesman, Rive Gauche was located on the southwest corner of Wisconsin and M Streets (now occupied by Banana Republic).

But, from early on, Cabrol had plans of his own. “My idea was a rotisserie chicken restaurant,” he says, explaining that self-basted birds were then a rarity. In June of 1975, he signed leases for two adjoining buildings in the 3100 block of M Street. One was the former home of Baers, a drug and sundry shop, and the other a music club, the Silver Dollar. Nearly four decades later, his menu still offers juicy, herb-marinated, spit-roasted chicken.

Far fewer stars and chefs come these days for an after-hours meal. “Business is not what it used to be,” he says. But this 66-year-old avid runner is still cooking up customer favorites, such as his classic Chicken Cordon Bleu.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals who work in the Georgetown area. Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine and a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

4 6-ounce chicken breasts

4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

4 ounces sliced ham

2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons of water

1/2 cup sifted flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 cups fine white breadcrumbs

3 ounces olive oil

2 ounces butter

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper. Place on a work surface with the inner sides up. Using dinner plates, set up a breading station, with one plate for the seasoned flour, another for the beaten eggs and the last for the breadcrumbs. Divide the cheese and ham evenly among the four breasts and fold in half to form a flat package, making sure that all ingredients are enclosed. Carefully roll each breast in the flour, shaking off the excess, then in the egg wash and finally in the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or fry pan over moderately high heat. Cook the chicken packages for approximately four minutes on each side until golden brown, adding the butter at a reduced temperature and basting until the cheese melts and bubbles. Serve hot, sprinkled with the chopped parsley.

Bistro Français, 3124 M St., NW

202-338-3830

bistrofrancaisdc.com

What’s Cooking, Neighbor?
•

Delicious food on the table assumes a supporting role to great wine in the glass, when the entertaining curtain rises at Jackie Quillen’s contemporary townhouse in Burleith. And for good reason. Quillen’s cultivated senses have served her well as a wine expert , smelling and tasting her way through a celebrated career, which spans more than four decades. As the founder of auction house Christie’s New York Wine Department, where she appraised rare wine collections, she is known as “The Nose.”

“I like to say, keep the food simple and spend more time with your guests,” says Quillen, as she slowly stirs a saucepan of grits with one hand and flips simmering shrimp with the other. From start to finish, all cooking is completed in less than 20 minutes. We take our seats under a mature plum tree in the garden, near a small fountain. A chilled white wine is at the ready. Still, this oenophile is not ready for that initial taste.

“First, you must look at the color, smell deeply. It’s not about drinking,” she says, giving her glass a swirl. The terroir, or nuances of geography, geology and climate, come into play, into conversation. “That’s how you get into a wine.” Only then does she allow that opening sip.

What wines is Quillen serving guests this summer? Corks will fly from two favorites: a white and rose (both available at Potomac Wines & Spirits, 3100 M St., NW). “ I love Alsatian whites, low in alcohol, just very refreshing. And Schlumberger Pinot Blanc (2011, $17.99) is lovely,” she says. “Alsatians aren’t as popular as they should be. Perhaps, people are confused by the German-sounding names or expect them to be sweet. Few are.”

Whispering Angel (2012, $19.99), a rose from the Cotes de Provence, has a place at her table. “It’s an affordable approximation of Domaine Ott Cotes de Provence, the Holy Grail of all Roses. It’s crisp and delicate, but nicely rounded without a hint of heaviness. A lovely color in the glass.”

But her best summer buy isn’t really a summer wine, but a great value Bordeaux, a Chateau Rousset-Caillau (2010, $15.99).

Steve Feldman, owner of Potomac Wines & Spirits, calls this French varietal “The best Bordeaux, for the money, that we have stocked in 15 years.” Quillen plans to break into her case this fall and winter. “But perhaps one warm summer evening when you are grilling lamb you might serve this Chateau just very slightly chilled,” she says. “And sitting outside in the garden, it would be divine.”

Quillen’s current favorite restaurants: Bistrot Lepic and Wine Bar and Sea Catch, both in Georgetown.

Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients
16 medium raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup stone-ground grits
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Parsley, optional garnish

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil and slowly stir-in grits. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring frequently for 15 minutes. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Off heat, add cheese to grits and stir until combined.

Spoon grits onto a luncheon plate, arrange shrimp on top and add garnish.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals, who call the Georgetown area home.
Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine, a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section and an East Village resident.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Hollie Wong of Ching Ching Cha
• May 19, 2014

Sixteen years ago this month, former hair stylist and Hong Kong native Hollie Wong opened a serene tea house on Wisconsin Avenue, steps from the C&O Canal. She named it Ching Ching (her Chinese name) Cha (Chinese for tea). And little has changed in the fashion and feel of this distinctive sanctuary since I enjoyed Wong’s hospitality that very first week.

“The purpose is to relax. Don’t be in a rush, taste the tea,” says Wong, as she pours our first cup from a fist-sized red clay pot. “We keep it the same, slow, with no Wi-Fi or those bubble tea drinks.”

At the center of the polished rosewood table is a cast-iron kettle of simmering water, at the ready for refreshing the tea leaves. From the kitchen come plates of perfect thin-skinned chicken, vegetable pot stickers and bowls of lightly dressed chopped kale and snow peas.

On a raised platform along one wall are two frequently reserved tables, low and with lots of pillows, perfect for laid-back sipping. Even when all the tables are taken, there’s a reverent hush. Here, tea drinkers tend to linger.

I check out the selection of more than 70 different teas, as well as teapots and tea accessories, which Wong acquires on annual buying trips to China, Japan and Taiwan. This just in: the select top-bud spring crop of first-quality “Monkey King” green tea, her personal favorite, is now in stock. “The leaves are beautiful and the flavor is elegant,” she says. “This is the tea for a stressful Washingtonian.”

A woman comfortable with familiar food pleasures, Wong starts the day near her home in gated Hillandale with a stop at Patisserie Poupon for a classic buttery brioche roll. For a dinner out, her preferred destination is the sprawling 120-store Eden Center, a Vietnamese dining and shopping enclave in Falls Church. (At Eden, her choice for takeout is Thanh Son Tofu.)

And when a snack is in order, she reaches for a Chinese fast food have-to-have: a hard-cooked egg marinated in spices and soy sauce. “I never get tired of them,” she says.

Marbled Tea Eggs

Ingredients

12 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons peppercorns

6 pods star anise

2 tablespoons black tea leaves, such as Earl Grey

8 cups water

Directions

Place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water, one inch above their tops. Slowly bring the water to a boil. When boiling, cover the pan, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl and run cold water over them until cool. Gently tap each egg until the shell is thoroughly glazed with small cracks.

Place the cracked eggs in a saucepan with the 8 cups of water, salt and soy sauce. Tie the peppercorns, star anise and tea leaves in a square of cheesecloth and add to the saucepan. Bring the eggs and liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to very low and simmer for 1 hour. Turn off heat, cover and let the eggs stand in the liquid for 2 hours. Do not remove the cover while the eggs are steeping.

Remove the cracked shells and serve cold or at room temperature with a dipping sauce of soy sauce and a touch of toasted sesame oil.

Fabio Trabocchi’s Fiola Mare
• April 11, 2014

As a beach-loving kid growing up near the Adriatic Sea in the Le Marche region of central Italy, Fabio Trabocchi liked to stick his head under the water, taste the brine and spy the sea creatures in their natural habitat of rocks, sand and swaying seaweeds. That’s one source of his inspiration at Fiola Mare, the superstar chef’s new Italian seafood restaurant on Georgetown’s waterfront at Washington Harbour. For the 40-year-old Trabocchi, an all-natural approach is best.

“It’s always been my dream to cook seafood for all the creative opportunity, for the lightness,” says Trabocchi, “and it’s also healthier.” On a tour of Fiola Mare, which he opened in late February with his Spanish-born wife and business partner, Maria, Trabocchi continues: “When this opportunity came up, with the view of the water from all the large windows and the park right outside the door, it made sense that here you can experience eating by the sea as we do in Italy.” With market reports in hand and trusted fishmongers on speed dial, the critically acclaimed chef has created an ever-changing menu, reflecting his passion for the finest sustainable seafood available worldwide.

The Trabocchis like to stay busy. In 2011, the couple opened in Penn Quarter the elegant Fiola, with a menu inspired by modern Italian cuisine. Last year, near Mount Vernon Square, they welcomed diners to the more casual Casa Luca, named for their 10-year-old son, who has taken an early interest in cooking. Restaurant two is, in the chef’s words, “my family-driven Italian with dishes my father cooked.” (For our region, Fabio Trabocchi will always be hailed as the cutting-edge executive chef of Maestro at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, where he cooked for six years in the early 2000s.)

Fiola Mare is their most ambitious venture. At 7,500 square feet, with an additional 1,800 square feet of outdoor terraces, the contemporary 140-seat main dining room feels like a sleek salon on a mega-yacht. Soothing, subtle earth tones and curving banquettes create zones of intimacy in front of an open kitchen. Regular customers have laid claim to “their tables” on the Veranda, a glass-enclosed waterside dining room with a breezy nautical decor and sweeping views along the Potomac. For private dining, there is a 12-seat chef’s table and three other airy spaces, including one with its own bar and waterfront entrance.

But any table is the perfect spot for “Under the Sea,” one of the chef’s favorite presentations. Each component dazzles the taste buds. “You see the quinoa at the bottom? That’s the sand and the maitake mushrooms are moving seaweed,” says Trabocchi, who easily mixes playfulness with an intense drive for perfection. “Like when I snorkel, under my sea there are Scottish langoustines, red spot king prawns from Australia and sea urchins from waters off Catalina Island [California]. Then I add black truffle and foie gras, as there’s a lot of surf and turf where I come from. Together, the brightness is spectacular.”

At the “Market Counter,” diners choose seasonal whole fish, which chefs then grill to order and servers debone tableside. Not to be missed is brodetto, the classic Adriatic fish stew, as well as crudo (raw fish selections), marinated and preserved fish, risotto entrees and seafood-based pasta, the latter available in half-portions. Flagship Fiola fans will find on the menu Trabocchi’s signature ginger-laced lobster ravioli and rich baba al rhum with pear and vanilla cream. Adding to the vision, the gorgeous hand-molded, sea-inspired iridescent tableware is by Alison Evans Ceramics of Yarmouth, Me.

“The idea is a palacio in Venice, spacious yet cozy. Even if you are alone, there are lots of different ambiances,” says Maria Trabocchi, who delights in her front-of-the-house work, greeting and seating. “For me, I enjoy tremendously making customers’ memories.”

Fiola Mare

Washington Harbour, 3050 K St., NW

202-628-0065

[fiolamaredc.com](http://fiolamaredc.com/)

Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine and a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section.

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What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Teresa Velazquez
• February 27, 2014

No matter what the occasion – a birthday, staff gathering or family reunion – Teresa Velazquez dusts the kitchen counter top with flour and makes her have-to-have pizza from scratch. The main course is most often a pie topped with assorted vegetables and pepperoni. But first in the oven goes an “appetizer pizza” covered with caramelized onion and goat cheese, everyone’s party-starting preference.

“It’s very rich, and you don’t want to eat five slices of it,” says Velazquez, co-owner of the Georgetown coffee bar and bakery destination Baked & Wired, which she opened with her husband Tony in 2001. (She traces her love of pizza-making to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, where her German-Irish parents ran a weekend-only pie shop called “Teresa’s Pizza.”) Anticipating the all-pizza menu, guests gather at the couple’s wood frame farmhouse on lower Foxhall Road.

Velazquez is better known for the hand-crafted small batch fruit pies, cupcakes, brownies and cookies, available at Baked & Wired and shipped nationwide. Our favorite (and her choice as well) is the buttery, sweet and salty “Bee Sting” shortbread bar with a honey almond topping. Just as exceptional is the shop’s addictive golden crisp “Hippie Crack” granola, loaded with bits of tart dried cherries and Turkish apricots.

Over the last decade, the family business, tucked away on Thomas Jefferson Street, has grown significantly and now has more than 40 employees. Teresa directs baking quality control, while Tony oversees what she calls “our evolving direction of business.” Son Zak, 26, is in charge of the coffee program and daughter Tessa, 24, handles social media and marketing.
Their success has much to do with attention to detail, the high quality of the baked goods and the shop’s mellow atmosphere. “We are extremely neighborhood-focused and feel we are part of Georgetown,” she says. “That’s tremendously important to us.” More and more tourists are stopping in for a slice of quiche and a ice cream sandwich. Word has spread. In the August issue of Travel & Leisure magazine, B & W was named one of “America’s Best Bakeries.”

For home entertaining, chef Velazquez always presents the pizza pies on a classic John Boos & Company butcher block cutting board, sliced into 3-inch squares. Wedges don’t cut it. “It’s a regional thing,” says Velazquez. “That’s how we do it in Ohio.

CARAMELIZED ONION GOAT CHEESE PIZZA

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 3/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

1 envelope (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons mild olive oil, plus more for bowl, sheet pan and cooked pizza

4 cups bread flour, preferable King Arthur

2 teaspoons kosher salt

About 1 cup whole wheat flour, but depends on dough, you can use the bread flour but the whole wheat gives dough a hint of a nutty flavor)

For the topping:

3 large yellow onions about 1 1/2 pounds

5 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded fontina cheese

1 1/2 cups packaged shredded Italian mix cheese

4 ounces goat cheese

1/3 cup pine nuts

Baby arugula (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the dough: In a small bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for about 15 minutes until a layer of foam has accumulated on the surface. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour and salt. Slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour, stirring to combine. Once flour is incorporated, dust work surface with some of the whole wheat flour and transfer the dough mixture to the floured surface. Knead, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough comes together is a spongy ball that can hold its shape but is still is slightly sticky. Do not over knead.

Coat bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn the dough over to thoroughly coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until double in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Prepare the topping: Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sugar and salt and adjust the heat to medium. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the onions are soft and have turned a light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Assemble the pizza: Adjust the oven racks so one is in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Use 2 tablespoons of the oil to lightly grease a 12-by-16-inch rimmed silver baking sheet, or one of similar size, a dark sheet will cook the bottom of the pie too fast.

Dust the work surface with whole wheat flour as needed. Transfer the dough to the floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times to remove any air pockets. Let rest 5 minutes. Using your hands, spread the dough out in the pan, gently pushing it into place to form an even layer. If the dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes and try again. Let rest 15 minutes.

When the dough is ready, drizzle a thin coat of olive oil over the surface of the dough. Distribute the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes, sprinkle on fontina and Italian cheeses. Top with the caramelized onions. Place pieces of goat cheese on top and then sprinkle with the pine nuts.

Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes until the edges start to get golden and the crust is firm enough to be moved off the pan. Remove from the oven, loosen the pizza from pan with a large flat spatula and slide pizza directly back onto the oven rack. Bake for 10 minutes until crust is brown. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes. Lightly drizzle top with olive oil and, if desired, top with the baby arugula.Slide onto cutting board and cut into squares.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Gerard Pangaud
•

Gerard Pangaud and his wife Ann Casso would love to entertain more often in the garden of their Glover Park home, where they have lived for seven years. One problem. “We don’t have a lot of friends and we have found it’s hard to meet people. Everyone is always busy with no time to socialize,” says Pangaud, the executive chef at the Bethesda-based Marriott International headquarters. He oversees breakfast, lunch and catering, serving 1,500 employee meals a day.

The couple’s neighbors don’t know what they are missing. In his native France, just before his 28th birthday, Pangaud was the youngest chef to receive two stars from the Michelin Guide. In 1993 and for the following 13 years, he thrilled diners with his creative cooking at the critically acclaimed Gerard’s Place on McPherson Square downtown. Before joining Marriott, he was the executive chef at the Pentagon. This culinary genius turns groceries into greatness.

He will tell you that his recipe for sweet potato vichyssoise “started in my brain at Gerard’s Place.” Sweet potatoes are usually very starchy. “But when you put in anise, celery and ginger, it gives a pep.” And the finished dish: “It’s not only tasty, it’s elegant, a word we are losing in cooking.” To dress it up, “put a little crab meat on top.”

A key ingredient is good chicken stock, and the chef knows that many people don’t have time to prepare it properly. For his own pantry needs, he taste-tested 21 brands. With a laugh, he announces the winner. “You wouldn’t believe it. It was Swanson. There is structure, and it’s not too salty.”

His recipe calls for the addition of high-fat heavy cream for richness, but this avid golfer and power walker, who recently dropped 25 pounds, says a substitution of Greek yogurt works nicely. “Either way,” he says, “the soup is a beautiful summer orange.”

Never idle, Pangaud is also a menu consultant for the recently opened Malmaison, a Parisian- inspired coffee and pastry bar, restaurant, night club and event space under the Whitehurst Freeway at 3401 K Street NW, a new venture from the Popal family, owner of Napoleon Bistro in Adams Morgan and Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown.

Pangaud’s current favorite restaurants: Et Voila in the Palisades, Estadio in Logan Circle and Co Co Sala in downtown.

SWEET POTATO VICHYSSOISE WITH ANISE
(serves 4)

1 lb sweet potatoes
1 generous cup minced celery
1 cup chopped onions
4¼ cups chicken stock
4 star anise
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1½ tablespoons butter
1/3 cup heavy cream or plain Greek yogurt
fennel greens, optional garnish

Peel the potatoes and dice them in 1/3-inch cubes, sauté in butter with the onions until golden colored. Add the minced celery, ginger, star anise, and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow flavors to infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the star anise and put in a blender, puree until smooth; strain. Cool the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, whisk in the cream or yogurt before serving with a garnish of fennel greens.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals, who call the Georgetown area home. Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine, a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section.
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What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Najmieh Batmanglij
• January 17, 2014

There’s no time for small talk at the late morning start of Najmieh Batmanglij’s class in the art of Persian cuisine. On a recent Sunday morning, ten eager students surround the broad butcher-block island in the Iranian-American chef’s home kitchen, two short blocks from the main gate of Georgetown University. Over the next four and a half hours, the group will learn new knife skills, the how-to of grinding spices and help in the preparation of six dishes — from savory cardamom-scented beef pastries to sweet saffron-laced honey almond brittle. Let the chopping begin.

When the work is done, it will be time to take a seat in the chef’s art-filled dining room and pay due respects to a woman who has spent the past 30 years cooking, traveling and updating authentic recipes from her homeland. All in the group are owners of one or more of her seven cookbooks.

“Now, pick up a peeler . This eggplant will make your life easy,” instructs Batmanglij, as she waves a pale purple Asian variety of the fruit in the air. Unlike the more common broad glossy black cultivar, “It’s not bitter, has a delicate flavor and you don’t have to soak it in salt water.” Non-stop, experience and wisdom is shared. She will tell you that vinegar is her kitchen essential for rinsing vegetables, as well as cleaning counter tops. The stems of vegetables and herbs, such as parsley, have “the best food properties of the plant.” And, who knew that the addition of unripe grapes brings a unique tart accent to a chicken stew?

But this student could not help wandering off to the nearby rear French doors for a view of the lush garden with potted olive and orange trees as well as trellises dripping with thick assorted vines. A perfect oasis. Every interior wall holds treasures from her travels, from Middle Eastern relics to pressed glass pedestal serving pieces. The eyes need never stop.
I came away as a big fan of the chef’s recipe for doymaj — a terrific, healthy and easy-to-throw-together dip, perfect for summer entertaining, made with walnuts, goat cheese and handfuls of herbs. For scooping up the nutty/herbal goodness, serve with small Persian cucumbers (available at farmers markets and Whole Foods stores).

Batmanglij’s current favourite restaurants: Sushiko in Glover Park and Mintwood Place in Adams Morgan.

Doymaj: Cheese, Walnut, and Herb Dip

Ingredients:
1/2 pound goat feta cheese, rinsed and drained
2 cups walnuts, toasted
2 fresh spring onions, chopped
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh tarragon leaves
2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:
1. In a food processor, place all the ingredients and pulse until you have a grainy paste.
2. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl.
Serve with triangles of pita bread, Persian cucumbers sliced on the diagonal and a chilled French Rose.
Note: To toast the nuts: Preheat oven to 350?F (180?C), place nuts on a baking sheet, and bake—10 minutes [gallery ids="101396,154099" nav="thumbs"]

Nora Pouillon
•

On Sunday evenings, when Nora Pouillon’s family and friends gather at her 1930s modern home near the Georgetown Library, guests often find a simmering pot of spicy lemon grass broth scenting the kitchen. “This bare stock is so versatile as a poaching liquid,” says Austrian-born Pouillon, co-owner of Restaurant Nora, America’s first certified organic eatery, near Dupont Circle. “For an appetizer, I quickly bring the broth to a boil, add raw shrimp or scallops and let them cool in the pot. They cook perfectly.”

In minutes, the Thai-inspired shellfish are ready to serve with mayonnaise infused with ginger or cilantro mayonnaise. Simple and delicious. “It’s really nice with that first glass of wine,” says the widely known pioneering chef, an early proponent of farmers markets and sustainable organic farming practices.

For private parties at Restaurant Nora, which opened in 1979, the same fragrant broth is the base for a popular entree of seared wild salmon, shitake mushrooms, Chinese cabbage and rice noodles. “It’s so easy to adapt the broth to your taste,” she says. “Add more or less lemon juice for citrus flavor, adjust the heat,” by discarding or using the seeds of the jalapeno peppers.

With farmers markets in Glover Park, Dupont Circle and Rose Park brimming with seasonal bounty, early summer is prime time for Pouillon’s favorite salad of Boston lettuce, mixed with roughly chopped parsley, chives, green onion and even mint. “I like to add spinach, frisee, julienned kale, and often, thinly sliced Persian cucumbers.” The more greens, from mellow or bitter, the better.

Her go-to dressing is “my daughter Nadia’s way,” with the juice of a fresh lime replacing, which she combines with two to four tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. “It’s a very refreshing, flavorful salad with all the different herbs and the lime juice really brings out the flavors without contributing too much acid.”

Toned and glowing from a variety of daily workout routines, she is currently on the board of six environmental organizations and is working on a memoir. “It’s about what led me to become passionate about healthy food and lifestyle. I want people to take responsibility for their own health.”

Nora’s current favorite restaurants:
Estadio for contemporary Spanish
and Le Diplomate for French bistro fare, both are in Logan Circle.

SPICY LEMON GRASS STOCK
Ingredients:
5 lemon grass stalks, crushed and cut into 3-inch lengths
6-inch knob fresh ginger, sliced
1 bunch cilantro stems, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 jalapeno peppers, cut into half (with or without seeds to taste)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon coriander seed
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
3 lemons, cut in half and squeezed (set aside
the juice; use oranges as substitute)
3 quarts cold water
2 cups white wine

Directions:
Place all the ingredients except lemon juice, water, and wine in a bowl and toss so that the oil is evenly distributed. Heat up a large saucepan to medium heat and add the ingredients, sautéing (sweating) about 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent.

Add the liquids and bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes.
Pour the stock through a strainer, pressing as much liquid as possible out of the vegetables. Discard vegetables.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals, who call the Georgetown area home.
Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine, a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section and an East Village resident. [gallery ids="101373,153212,153209" nav="thumbs"]

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? Gus DiMillo
• September 25, 2013

On any given Sunday afternoon, Gus DiMillo prepares a simple pasta dish for himself in the small, sun-drenched kitchen of his stone-clad Victorian row house near Volta Park. “I like my pasta and it’s really the only time I have to cook at home” says DiMillo, a founder of the Passion Food Hospitality restaurant group.

In 1998, with partners David Wizenberg and Jeff Tunks, the trio opened their first restaurant, DC Coast, on K Street N.W., and over the past 15 years added Ceiba and Arcadiana (also in downtown Washington), PassionFish (Reston), District Commons and adjoining Burger, Tap & Shake (Foggy Bottom) and Fuego Cocina y Tequileria (Arlington). On most nights, he is at one property or another, maintaining the high quality of his establishments. Some evenings, he gives a new dining spot in town a go.

For this “quick and easy family recipe,” he uses the popular De Cecco brand pasta because “it’s made with the best flour from the Abruzzo region of Italy, where my family is from.” Only the asparagus tips make the cut. “They are tender and cook faster than the stalks.” DiMillo never grates Parmesan cheese on a seafood pasta dish, saying “It overwhelms the delicate flavor of the shrimp.”

Rounding out his dining-for-one meal is a small arugula salad, topped with shaved, sharp pecorino sheep’s milk cheese and seasonal fruit for dessert. “Then, as they do in Italy,” he says, “ it would be nice to take a nap.”

But times for rest are too few. DiMillo’s specialty is staff training and “reenergizing everyone,” a never ending duty in an industry, which is notoriously transient. He will tell you that “Hospitality is a dying art.” With that in mind, he encourages servers to always make customers feel welcome. “When guests feel they are being cared for they will overlook a small service mistake,” he says.

DiMillo and his partners have three projects in the works, opening over the next two years. His details are few. “It’s still too early yet.” But one he shares will be a second location for the always busy Burger, Tap & Shake. He enjoys a busy life.

Then Sunday rolls around again, and it’s time for a bit of solitude and a nice bowl of pasta.

DeMillo’s current favorite
restaurants: Marcel’s in the West End for the fried chicken special and B Too in Logan Circle for the mussels.

Pasta with asparagus and shrimp Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. penne or rigatoni pasta

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bunch of pencil-thin asparagus cut one inch down from tip

1 and 1/2 lbs. medium raw shrimp

1 and ½ pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup fresh sliced basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet, sauté the garlic for two minutes in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the asparagus tips, saute’ 2 minutes , add cherry tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh shrimp to mixture, sauté 2- 3 additional minutes .

Cook the pasta in 6 quarts boiling salted water. Drain and combine with the shrimp, asparagus and sliced basil.

What’s Cooking, Neighbor? visits with wine, food and entertaining professionals, who call the Georgetown area home. Georgetowner dining columnist Walter Nicholls is the food critic for Arlington Magazine, a former staff writer for The Washington Post Food section.

Choco-Oscar Buzz — With Brownies
• June 29, 2012

The ultimate dessert for your Oscar Night party, the same high-voltage chocolate square that the top names in Hollywood will be nibbling, is available in Georgetown. Silver Spring-based Naughty Bits Brownies was chosen for inclusion in the “Everybody Wins at the Oscars” nominee gift bag. This coveted swag of goodies is given to nominees who don’t win in the top five categories.

To celebrate, Leigh Lambert, owner and creator of Naughty Bits, created a limited edition Oscar flavor—The Starlet. (For several years, Lambert and I worked together at The Washington Post food section.) No “bit player” of a brownie, it’s topped with chocolate-covered Pop Rocks and dusted with edible gold. “It’s like eating chocolate champagne,” Lambert says. Starlet will join her other six flavors, which will be given to the celebrities.

Lambert’s brownie creations are worthy of the Tinseltown attention. Some of her flavor combinations, such as the Barista Bar, has chocolate-covered espresso beans sprinkled throughout, and Living in Sin enrobes miniature peanut butter cups and is topped with salted peanuts. Others in the line-up are more daring. Shiksa marries maple-smoked bacon and toffee bits – an unusually successful pairing. Geisha Girl is the “unexpected love child of East meets West,” as she describes on her website. You might not think of wasabi, ginger and sesame being at home with a brownie, but they all work in perfect harmony.

“I love to play with intriguing flavors,” Lambert says. “I never do anything simply as a gimmick. It has to really taste good.” And they do. All the flavors, from the traditional to the more exotic are an inch-thick, generously cut and have a chewy crumb, so hard to find in brownies.

And the award goes to: Naughty Bits.

Available at:

J. Chocolatier, 1039 33rd, St. NW, (202) 333-4111
Society Fair (Cathal Armstrong’s new food emporium), 277 South Washington St., Alexandria. (703) 683-3247

For mail order: www.naughtybitsbrownies.com .

Georgetown resident, Walter Nicholls, is a food critic for Arlington magazine and a frequent contributor to Flavor magazine.