Food

Georgetowner • July 26, 2011

Grocery shopping when you forget your list is never fun, but at least you’ll always remember the five basics — bread, milk, eggs, orange juice and cereal. So this week for “Is the Price Right?” five area grocery stores — CVS, Giant, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods — went head to head as The Georgetowner team went back to the basics to explore the prices of the simplest grocery items.

Whole wheat bread can be found at a low price at Safeway with its name brand item for $1.49. It’s also fairly cheap at Giant for $1.99. Trader Joe’s charges $2.59 for a loaf of their name brand bread and CVS Nature’s Valley bread is $3.49. Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value brand is $2.99 a loaf.

Whether it’s to put in your cup of coffee or for the kid’s breakfast cereal, everyone needs a gallon of milk on hand in the morning. The cheapest place to find a gallon of 1 percent milk is your local Trader Joe’s for $3.29. Safeway, Giant and CVS are all relatively priced at $3.79, $3.99 and $3.89. Whole Foods is the most expensive for a gallon at $5.29.

Trader Joe’s and CVS have the best-priced eggs at one dozen for $1.99, while Giant sells eggs for $2.19. Safeway name brand eggs are $2.29 and Whole Foods’ eggs are $2.59.

Safeway advertises the lowest priced orange juice with their name brand 64-ounce container for $2.50. Giant and Trader Joe’s name brand juice costs $2.79 and $2.99 respectively. CVS Florida Orange Juice costs $2.89 and Whole Foods brand name orange juice is $3.99.

Corn flakes are an old favorite and Safeway’s 18-ounce box only costs $2.59 as opposed to products like CVS’ 12-ounce Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Trader Joe’s 12-ounce Oatmeal Flakes that cost over $4. Giant’s name brand 18-ounce corn flakes cost $2.59 while Whole Foods’ 18-ounce name brand cereal costs $2.59.

Visit our Web site at www.georgetowner.com for a complete breakdown of prices. Make sure to check back next issue for more great shopping deals!

Hayley Sanchez •

There might be no culinary tradition as richly and authentically American as pit barbecue. Like the blues, it is so irrevocably bound to Southern culture and Americana that it defies attempts at assimilation or fusion with the modern.

Predating the Civil War, a pig roast, or “pig-pickin’,” was a celebration in itself, bringing together poor Southern towns to partake in a communal feast. The community is alive today in Georgetown, shepherded by two men with opposite backgrounds, separate philosophies, divergent stories. Where they unite is in a love for the high art of the low and slow, the transformation of the raw to the refined. In the world of Richard Brooks and John Snedden, anyone who appreciates such heritage is welcome to the table. That it courses through the most historic neighborhood in Washington is no accident. It is instead a quiet reminder of what this city once was and who we once were.

More than a style of cooking, barbecue is a culture, and if you live below the Mason-Dixon Line, odds are you are a part of it. Washington, D.C. is an oft-forgotten wealth of Southern tradition, and while its barbecue scene may not have the clarion call of Memphis ribs or Carolina slaw, the craft is thriving. The Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival at the National Harbor is this weekend. Safeway’s National Capital Barbecue Battle, now in its 17th year, holds court the weekend of June 26. It’s time to sharpen your palette.

Richard Brooks of Old Glory

Outside Old Glory BBQ, the scent of smoked meats permeates the corner of Wisconsin and M Streets like the Carolina State Fair. On a given evening, it is almost impossible to walk through Georgetown without catching a whiff of sweet pork and baked beans. Executive Chef Richard Brooks has been crafting a melting pot of regional barbecue fare since he came aboard in 1995.

Raised in Farmville, VA, Brooks grew up smoking and curing his family’s farm-raised pigs with his father and grandfather. “I never went to culinary school,” he admits. “I learned from my parents.” Though raised in the Carolina tradition — sweet pulled pork with a vinegar-based sauce — he has become a national representative for all styles of American barbecue. If they do it in Texas or Tennessee, odds are Brooks does it in his kitchen.

Old Glory’s position as a true and authentic barbecue restaurant comes as a result of the combined inspirations from each corner of the country. And while all cuts of meat have their cooking variations, Brooks explains that the greater distinctions in barbecue styles come from the sauces. The rubs, marinades and sauces Brooks devises are pulled from the six major barbecue regions; Savannah, Lexington, East Carolina, Southwest Texas, Memphis and Kansas City are all represented on each table in rows of labeled bottles. Brooks, who talks about diverse flavors like common hearsay, is acutely aware of the variables. He mixes each sauce in house on a regular basis, perpetually tweaking the recipes. “Just did Kansas City not too long ago,” he says. “Changed it up a little bit.”

The Southwest Texas sauce, for instance, uses three different kinds of chili peppers, and the Savannah sauce (highly recommended) is defined by a healthy dose of mustard. The key to a good sauce, according to Brooks, is the perfect mixture of the base ingredients — a balance between sweet, spicy and sour.

But there is no true guideline for barbecuing, as Brooks knows, and a lot of the process relies on intuition and an intimacy with the process. As a result, no man’s barbecue will ever be quite like his neighbor’s, and the variations, however subtle, are indeed endless.

“My kitchen staff knows most of my recipes,” says Brooks. “But it don’t taste the same when they make it … And I always tell them — I say, ‘Hey, you gotta make love to the food, man! You gotta do it right!’”

His process is simple: low and slow and plenty of love. The meat, be it pork, beef or chicken, first marinates for 24 hours, which, according to Brooks, “helps draw the salt out … so it will be real moist when it cooks.” The cuts then get put in the smoker. The smoke from slow burning hickory wood is ventilated through the smoker into the accompanying “pit,” a moisture-containing box, for the meat to cook at a temperature of around 225 degrees for 12 hours. Then the meat comes out, gets slathered in sauce and plated.

Brooks has confidence in the quality and popularity of the D.C. barbecue scene. With the growing popularity of the National Capital Barbecue Battle and the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival, it is clear that many District residents are Southern at heart.

Still, he is aware of the growing health conscience of guests, and knows that his down-home offerings might not be too good for the waste line. Consequently, he is beginning to tweak the menu to better accommodate healthier crowds, fielding vegetarian options and some leaner meats. Still, there is more than a little irony to his voice when he says, “we’re putting some healthy stuff on there.”

But never worry. The slow cooked divinity of Old Glory will remain as fatty and delicious as any barbecue around. The brisket and accompanying brisket sauce will have you stuffing yourself well past the time your stomach fills up. The sticky chicken, Brooks’ personal favorite, is generously glazed with a pineapple bourbon sauce. The chopped beef with Memphis onions, sweet and juicy, is perhaps the most barbecue rich item on the menu. The ribs are a two-part harmony of smoky and sweet. And the pulled pork is no joke. It might as well be out of Lexington, NC.

However, the crowning essence of Brooks’ barbecue is not in any singular dish, but in its combination of all the national flavors. Brooks’ menu is something of a culinary democracy, representing a diverse array of barbecue from across the country.

John Snedden: Rocklands’ Barbecue Whiz

As a college student, John B. Snedden just liked to grill.

It’s not hard to imagine why, given that his alma mater, Washington and Lee University, used to sponsor campuswide pig roasts stocked with jungle juice and endless slabs of fresh pork shoulders — a tradition gone the way of the buffalo when oversized collegiate partying started making national headlines. At the time, Snedden, who grew up feeding on sausage and slow cooked pork in a family of six boys, wasted no time in joining the university’s official pig roast committee.

But what would fade to nostalgic — perhaps hazy — episodes of more intemperate days for his peers would become an obsession for the tall, winsome Philadelphia native. Snedden would go on to perfect his barbecue technique and establish Rocklands, the Wisconsin Avenue barbecue phenom that for two decades has sparked cult-like fanfare among locals and visitors alike, and has since expanded to three additional locations around metropolitan Washington. At the time, he may not have realized where his hobby would take him. In fact, after he graduated with degrees in chemistry, physics and biology, he very nearly traded in his grill tongs and tinderbox for a Petri dish and forceps.

“Part of the impetus,” says Snedden on his pursuit of barbecue, “was I was in [medical] school and just really not happy with what I was doing.” Halfway through med school, he was invited by chance to a barbecue competition in downtown D.C., organized by the Reagan administration. That day, he won first place for his ribs, and immediately began taking requests as a caterer. “I went home and told my parents that I had gotten this opportunity. I was very unhappy in school, and was going to take a change in path.”

It might be every parent’s worst nightmare about their child, up there with going to war or joining the circus: Mom, Dad, I’m going to swap out the M.D. for B.B.Q. To their credit, the elder Sneddens took it in stride, if a bit nervously.

“Uh, they were not real happy to hear that initially,” their son recalls. “[But] I had a decent relationship with my parents, so I think that they recognized that I was not real happy… I think they recognized you gotta do what you’re excited about.”

Fulfillment and prestige, it seems, don’t always go hand in hand, at least at first. The fledgling barbecue operation started small in 1990, mostly catering out of a basement suite in Glover Park. In the beginning, the company would often make what was asked of them, even entertaining exotic requests for ethnic dishes far removed from the down-home American scope. But barbecue was always the watchword, and Snedden was on a mission to solidify its creation into a singular, artful method.

“I think barbecue has been a bit bastardized in the industry,” he says, “because you can go somewhere and open up a can of tuna fish, put barbecue sauce on it, and they’ll call it tuna barbecue. It’s not, really, because they haven’t used the barbecue process … a process of cooking.”

Snedden is understandably mum about the nitty-gritty of his process, but calls it the “grease smoke method,” which he perfected on a grill of his own design. The concept is unorthodox: instead of funneling smoke from a side firebox into a cooking chamber, one slowly roasts the meat directly over a fire — fueled only by hickory and red oak wood — for up to 12 hours, being careful to keep the meat out of flame’s reach. He makes an eloquent case for the science behind it, rattling off the endothermic reactions and chemical formulas involved and somehow arranging it cogently for the layman.

Yet you sense there is something more to it, some unquantifiable element distilled from years of practice or perhaps just plain luck. Whatever it is, the proof is in the product, a smoky, dark-pink kaleidoscope of flavors that’s as tasty by itself as it is smothered in sauce, which, according to the Rocklands philosophy, is more of a distractive accessory of otherwise expertly cooked meat. Still, the house barbecue sauce, a slightly vinegary take on the Memphis tradition astew with onions and peppercorns, is awfully damn good. Armchair sauce connoisseurs will also enjoy the restaurant’s “Wall of Fire,” a sort of library of sauce bottles encouraging experimentation, mixture and fresh experience.

Twenty years after firing up the grill, Snedden’s creation remains consistent. Other than a few offbeat recipes — the Pearl and Dog Salad are perennial favorites with regulars — the Rocklands menu offers just the essentials: pulled pork and chicken, spare ribs, brisket, homemade slaw, baked beans. The company still holds a huge stake in catering (constituting 45 percent of its revenue), still donates food and time to school performances, charity fundraisers and community events, stills mans its four restaurants from a tiny freestanding bungalow in Glover Park, right next door to the original basement. Snedden brushes aside his accolades, instead crediting his staff and family, with whom he consults regularly, for his success. He hands off a good deal of autonomy to the managers at his satellite restaurants. When we tour the kitchen, he introduces the cooks by name. Inside, around noon, the smell of dry rub infects the air, smoke curls up to the ceiling, the customer line stretches out the door.

In the science world, you’d call that kind of experiment a breakthrough.
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Georgetowner •

We’ve scouted the town to bring you our picks for the best pizzas in D.C. Whether you’re after a traditional recipe or something with true pizzazz, Washington’s contributions to America’s favorite food stack up easily to the best efforts of New York or Chicago.

Best Margherita Pizza: RedRocks Firebrick Pizzeria
Columbia Heights (1036 Park Road)
www.firebrickpizza.com

Perhaps it would seem bizarre to discover that a converted brothel out of Columbia Heights has emerged as one of the area’s tastiest pizza destinations, but RedRocks makes no apologies — nor do they have reason to. While their base of operations is the corner house of a modest residential block, with an interior recalling a speakeasy, their traditional Neapolitan pies exemplify the culinary history of their Italian ancestry. RedRocks gets the Downtowner’s vote for best traditional margherita pizza in the city.

The selling point here is the crust. Their dough, prepared fresh daily, is a blend of imported “Caputo 00” Italian flour, the finest milled grain widely recognized as the world’s best pizza flour. Thin yet crisp, bubbly and slightly charred, the wood-fired crust has an extra pinch of salt to help the mozzarella and fresh tomato erupt with flavor, wholly fulfilling the aromatic anticipation. The liberal use of basil leaves, tossed whole onto the pie, adds an herbal flourish that cools and refreshes the palette.

The menu has a wide array of choice vegetarian options, notably the “Pizze Bianche,” with roasted eggplant, goat cheese and pesto. The umbrella-cluttered patio, almost as large as the interior seating area, makes for ideal summer dining. Their Monday night special, half price bottles of wine, is another draw. This one is not to be missed.

Pizza with a Kiss & a Kick: Moroni & Brother’s Restaurant
Petworth (4811 Georgia Ave.)
www.moroniandbrothers.com

In 1991, José and Reyna Velazquez were dishwashers at Pizzeria Paradiso, having just come to the US from El Salvador. They worked their way up to head chefs there, perfecting the craft of the wood-fired, brick oven pizza. Almost 20 years later, Moroni & Brother’s brings together their native and entrepreneurial influences, serving traditional Salvadoran cuisine by day and gourmet pizza by night.

Though the restaurant is only three years old, one might assume upon entering that Moroni & Brother’s has been in the neighborhood for decades. There is a local complacency to the dim atmosphere and unpretentious décor, the brick oven behind the small bar toward the back, unromantically wedged between towers of pizza boxes and aluminum shelving.

Their pizza, however, is as robust and tasty as they come. Although José maintains that his pizza is strictly and traditionally Italian, his Salvadoran roots betray him — much to the delight of pizza lovers. The crust is thick, soft and mellow, with a touch of sweetness that complements the fresh vegetables and frequently utilized spicier toppings. The Diavola, one of their best sellers, is lushly topped with spicy sausage, red onion, sweet peppers and jalepenos — not the most traditional Italian pie, but a damn good one. Other noteworthy additions include the Explosive, with spicy salami, black olives, and hot pepper flakes, and the Bianca, with oregano, parsely, red onion, pine nuts and parmesan. Moroni & Brothers is yet another reason to keep an epicurean eye on Petworth.

Best Lunch & By-the-Slice Spot: Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza
Columbia Heights (1400 Irving Street, Suite 103)
www.petesapizza.com

Pizza by the slice is difficult to find outside of New York City, but Pete’s New Haven has introduced it to the District with serious verve. Sitting on top of Columbia Heights Metro and selling a wide, creative variety of pizza by the slice at a great price (starting at $2.50), Pete’s is the ideal place to stop for a quick bite or a tasty lunch.

New Haven-style Apizza (pronounced “ah-Beets”) is a lesser-known, yet thoroughly distinct style of pizza. “The focus is on the crust,” says Dominic Palazzolo, assistant manager. It has a characteristically thin crust that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The pizzas are enormous — 18 inches in diameter — and the slices hold their shape when picked up, without folding over and spilling.

The toppings are just as noteworthy. Their best seller, “Edge of the Woods,” is heaped with ricotta cheese and spinach and blanketed with crispy fried eggplant. This pie is a signature, unique to most any pizza experience you are likely to have. Their “Staven,” a twist on the traditional pepperoni and sausage, comes with caramelized onions, red pepper flakes and whole roasted cloves of garlic.

The Sorbillo is another rare treat. The “birthplace of the pizza,” this rectangular crust is filled with salumi and mozzarella, and topped with a healthy dollop of ricotta.

Though perhaps most impressive of all is that Pete’s New Haven has gluten-free pizza on the menu. The dough is made with tapioca starch and chickpea flour. “It’s a great feeling for us,” says Palazzolo of the gluten-free pie, “to be able to provide pizza for people who haven’t had it for upwards of five to 10 years.”

As a family owned and operated restaurant, it is a mission of Pete’s New Haven to support other small, local businesses. Their soda fountain sports only Boylan Soda, a New Jersey-based organic soda company. Likewise, many of the ingredients and toppings are organic and locally grown. With a new location in Friendship Heights opening this week, there’s plenty to go around.

Best Dining Experience: Il Canale
Georgetown (1063 31st St)
www.ilcanaledc.com

Just off M Street in Georgetown, Il Canale has fashioned a reputation for serving up authentic Italian cuisine and thin crust gourmet pizza. It is in a comfortable location by the C&O Canal, far enough removed from the bustling traffic to feel secluded and intimate. Sitting in the small patio on the antiquated brick sidewalk, the atmosphere alludes to a small Florentine eatery. Inside the décor is chic and modern. The waiters are well informed of the restaurant’s mission, and delight in discussing the menu and culinary traditions with customers. It is a good place to enjoy good food.

This is not to detract from the food itself. Steeped in the richness of Italian tradition, there is a reliable consistency in the confidence with which each dish is prepared. Even the table bread comes with an excellent dip of olive oil, pepper flakes, marinated garlic cloves and rosemary.

Their Neapolitan pizzas have fluffy, substantial crusts, well browned on the outside. The tomato sauce is ripe, tangy and fragrant, and the buffalo mozzarella tastes farm fresh, absorbing the strong, fragrant basil. The resulting pizza is a perfectly balanced work of craft. Artisanal pizza at its finest.

Best Pizza after the Game: Matchbox
Chinatown (713 H Street), also Capitol Hill (521 Eighth St. S.E.) and Rockville, MD (Fall 2010)
www.matchboxdc.com

The four guys behind Chinatown’s Matchbox — New Yorkers Perry, Ty, Mark and Drew — make no bones about the wide ethnic influences on their menu, a sort of neo-Mediterranean-Southwest-American blur. Believe us, it’s no detriment. Delightfully labyrinthine floor plan, professional, friendly wait staff and wood-and-glass-intensive décor aside, the menu alone is enough reason why Matchbox has earned loving nods from foodies across the city since it opened in 2002.

While the uninitiated may come for the traditional entrees, spend your energy (and hard-earned cash) on their pizza, fired expertly in an 800-degree wood oven and served up as a 10- or 14-inch pie. We tried the veteran “spicy meatball” pizza, a regulars’ favorite from day one, featuring pureed garlic, bacon bits, crushed red pepper and halved meatballs over a layer of fresh mozzarella. Simply superb. The low, smoldering spice is enough to satisfy the discriminating three-alarmer, but won’t overpower those who prefer a milder flavor. Also delicious was the coppa and arugula pie, termed quasi-vegetarian (and truly so, if you forego the ham) and topped with decorous rounds of charcuterie, Roma tomatoes and a lush bundle of Mr. President’s favorite green. Expect a generous smoky carbon taste from the crust.

Matchbox is also known for their mini-burgers, minimal wine markups (a bottle of 2006 Duckhorn merlot will run you a very reasonable $76) and respectable selection of craft beers. If you’re not making a beeline here after a Caps or Wizards game, you’re just plain missing out.

Best Place for Pizza and a Brew: Pizzeria Paradiso
Dupont Circle (2003 P St.), Georgetown (3282 M St.)
www.eatyourpizza.com

If you’re a local, you’ve no doubt caught wind by now of Paradiso’s legendary pizza. If you’re especially plugged in, you may even have learned it goes better with one of their painstakingly selected craft beers, most from breweries so indie you’ve probably never heard of them (Yeah, we did just say that. Please forward outraged complaints to our editor). Add in a casual, community atmosphere with Hendrix and Johnny Cash blaring overhead, and you’ve got a recipe for a night (or lunch) out that can’t fail.

First, the pizza: The brainchild of virtuoso chef Ruth Gresser — who once held court at Dupont’s Obelisk — Paradiso’s spin on Neapolitan pizza (they call it “Tuscan”) flaunts a puffy, airy brown crust loaded with astonishingly fresh tomato chunks and Italian cheeses ranging from Parmesan to pecorino (and, of course, mozzarella). We recommend the “Atomica,” a moderately spicy spread of salami, briny black olives and pepper flakes. But let’s be honest: you can’t really steer yourself wrong here. Pies come in 8- or 12-inch sizes.

Then there’s the beer. When you finally navigate through the dissertation-length beer list, you’ll find yourself frothing at the mouth with questions (wild yeast ale or Flemish sour?). Or maybe it’s thirst. You may also be a bit overwhelmed, so if you’re still at a loss, ask one of the very knowledgeable servers to get you started. From there, start exploring. The two Paradiso restaurants boast nearly 30 taps and 300 bottle varieties between them with amazingly little overlap. They also rotate their brews every two weeks, so exercise patience with all your might; you’ll get to try them all in due time. Don’t miss a chance to stop by the downstairs bar on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. All drafts are half off, making for, arguably, the best happy hour in town.

Most Authentic Italian: Two Amys
Cleveland Park (3715 Macomb St.)
www.2amyspizza.com

The one trouble with Cleveland Park’s most famous pizzeria is just that — it’s famous. There’s a reason the atmosphere is packed and boisterous, and it likely has to do with the crowds thronging at the doorways on the weekend just to get a seat. But trust us, it’s worth it. On a Saturday night, a party of four should have just enough time for a quick stroll to the National Cathedral before their table’s ready. Once inside, sit down and take in the Spartan, quaint décor — rub your hands along the bare wood bench tables, dish out a little red pepper from the square jar and order yourself a stemless glass of montepulciano. If you’re with your sweetheart, head to the back for a half pint of Moretti beer at the woodplank bar, over which cured meats deliciously hang.

The menu at Two Amys is quick to point out that the restaurant abides by Neapolitan pizza standards outlined by the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), the Italian quality assurance standard (and you thought it was just for wine!). Sink your teeth into a bite of their signature Margherita Extra and you won’t be surprised it gets a stamp from the Italian brass. Lovingly floated on a chewy, slightly salty crust are impeccable chopped tomatoes, creamy, essential buffalo mozzarella and ripe cherry tomato halves for good measure. If you’re feeling adventurous, order a little arugula on top and tuck in. The pies are served unsliced, so have your knife and fork at the ready, and keep your “bellissimas” to a low volume.

Jordan Wright •

In the blistering heat of a summer’s day a battalion of gardeners in full purple T-shirted regalia toils beneath my window plying their weaponry against the unruly grass. They strive to conquer all they survey with baying mowers, droning blowers and edger wands with the ear-splitting sound of concrete on steel.

Adding to their fearsome cacophony are whining electric drills and triple-octave cicadas telegraphing for the perfect mate. The drills are the worst. Long after the landscapers have moved on and the bugs have cast off their brittle casings, homeowners, spurred by an overdose of do-it-yourself shows, will still be building, re-building, repairing, sanding, painting and patching up what seems like every wall and roof in the neighborhood. Did I mention the road crews?

Here in my cool cocoon, I have strategized my own military operation geared to thrash back the blistering temperatures with frosty ice cream treats and luscious fruit cobblers. I consider this an important mission.

A few summers ago Wheeler Del Toro, author of “The Vegan Scoop,” was serving up samples of his recipes at National Harbor’s Food and Wine Festival. Founder of the Boston-based Wheeler’s Frozen Dessert Company, Del Toro learned his craft at the posh Berthillon ice cream shop in Paris and turned his knowledge and skills into his own interpretation of the icy confection by using all-vegan ingredients.

Now I am most assuredly not vegan, but I do try to limit my consumption of dairy products when at all feasible. So this month I finally got around to trying out some recipes from the book. I started out with Del Toro’s cantaloupe, which was not rich enough. Then the strawberry, not luscious enough and the berries too chunky and hard. I was really excited about the red bean, hoping to replicate any one of the versions I enjoy in Japanese restaurants. Here I met with another failure when I inadvertently used a jar of a red bean paste called for in the recipe, but, alas, didn’t notice the second ingredient on the jar read salt! The whole horrid mess met the drain with a vengeance!

Feeling as though nothing worse could befall my amateur attempts, I hit upon my tour de force: quasi-vegan (since I used Nestle’s chocolate chips) coffee ice cream with bittersweet chocolate chunks and almonds. ‘Quasi’ … more convenient and economical and I didn’t want to have to jettison a cup of chopped Scharffen Berger if things didn’t go my way yet again.

I became convinced that substituting the arrowroot called for in the recipe for cornstarch was the clincher. The final product had a smoother mouth feel and more body. Just remember if you decide to try it my way the ratio is one part arrowroot to two parts cornstarch.

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream
From “The Vegan Scoop,” adapted by Jordan Wright

1 cup (235 ml) plain soymilk (not the light variety), divided
2 tablespoons (16 g)
arrowroot powder (or 4 tablespoons corn starch)
2 cups (plain) soy creamer
3/4 cup (175 ml) fresh strong coffee (I use decaf)
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract (I use half vanilla, half almond)
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 cup chopped skin-on whole almonds (raw or toasted)

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup soymilk with arrowroot. Set aside.

Mix soy creamer, remaining soymilk, coffee and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat. (This took me forever to heat up so I ratcheted it up to medium.) Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably. Add vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. In the last two minutes, while the ice cream is still soft, stir in the chocolate and almonds.

Note: Since this product results in a firmer freeze, it is best to leave the ice cream on the counter for about a half an hour before serving.

—
Fruit Cobbler — Tried and True and Stunningly Simple

On weekly forays to the farmers’ market I often find myself lured by the bounty of locally grown produce and come home laden with baskets chock-a-block with far more than I can use up in a day or two. My winter-starved senses crave redemption from anemic supermarket fruit and I cave at the glorious sight of towering tables of berries, peaches, plums and nectarines bursting with vibrant color and flavor and the sweetly floral scent of just-picked fruit.

Lately I have turned my over-buying into a successful solution. At least once a week we are invited to a party or picnic where we are asked to bring a dish to aid our over-burdened hosts in filling out the menu for a large gathering. For years such an invitation has put me into a tailspin as I mentally review my hundreds of go-to recipes to arrive at the perfect offering.

Here are my typical requirements for a summer’s dish: not too fancy, not too complex and assuredly fail-proof. Won’t melt, easy to whip up with a minimum of on-hand ingredients, cooks up while taking shower, needs no additional on-site preparation, poses no challenge to most food allergies and is able to withstand brutal temperatures without poisoning the guests.

Notice to gracious hosts entertaining in July and August: You need not alphabetize me to determine sweet or savory. The following dish handed down by my husband’s mother, an 87-year veteran of every church, garden and civic club potluck dinner in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is what you can expect.

Grandma Fredia’s Fruit Cobbler
Adapted by Jordan Wright

1 cup self-rising flour (unsifted)
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
1 quart skin-on and sliced peaches (about 6 large), nectarines (about 8),
blueberries or blackberries or a combination of the above
1 stick of butter

Set oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together sugar and flour. Add buttermilk and vanilla to make a batter. Don’t overmix. Put stick of butter in glass or enamel casserole dish and place in oven until it begins to bubble, about 5 minutes, but keep checking till you get the hang of it. Do not leave the kitchen at this point, even to hunt for the sunscreen. Remove dish and place fruits evenly over the melted butter. Pour batter to cover all fruit. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes till nicely browned on top. Remove and set on rack to cool. Now would be the time to wrap the hostess gift.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream or crème fraiche.

Jordan Wright •

Ooey, gooey, chewy cupcakes, creamy icing sliding off the tops, finger-licking, oh heck, paperliner-licking good, crumbs caught mid-air and time-warp flashbacks – a retro rewind to the innocent indulgence of old-fashioned cupcakes, where a kid’s eyeballs over-amp in megawatt lust and grown-ups get a tiny dessert sans guilt. Something for the whole family. Something to get us into the minivan and drive for miles only to stand in line…or maybe not.

In the midst of all the current cupcake hooplah Chef Matt Finarelli breaks away from the pack to say, “Let’s make sophisticated cupcakes and teach everyone how to bake them at home!”

Finarelli, who teaches several cooking classes a week at Open Kitchen in Falls Church, Virginia, in everything from tapas to tamales and pizza to pappardelle, demonstrates an astounding repertoire of international cookery coupled with a keen sense of humor and boyish charm. This month’s single session evening courses have included “Summer in St. Tropez”, featuring Julia Child’s salade niçoise, whole roasted branzino with lemon aioli (author’s weakness) and ratatouille. And for a light dessert, caramelized peaches with peach ice-cream and peach chocolate macaroons. How’s that for a foodcation to the South of France at home!

During an island-inspired night class called “Caribbean Dream,” participants learned how to prepare grilled lobster, seviche atop avocado, and flaming rummed-up bananas Foster with both pineapple and coconut. It’s no wonder his classes fill up quickly. You are both student and diner!

For his “Adult Cupcakes and Wine Pairing” Finarelli demoed and served six of his inspired recipes. Imagine, if you will, red velvet chocolate port cupcakes with vanilla port frosting paired with Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port from Amador County, CA and dark chocolate and chipotle cupcakes with candied orange peel paired with Banfi Rosa Regale from Strevi, Italy. A bride-to-be with friends in tow came for a bachelorette party and were enjoying a few extra purchased glasses of champagne and port. Yes, you can do that too. How civilized.

Andy Hoyle of Republic National Distributing described and poured for the class of 40 guests. “The cork pops here,” he quipped to an increasingly cheery group. Hoyle took a tricky menu-pairing complementing sweets with spirits. My favorite combination was a pretty prosecco and almond cupcake topped with rosewater and petite flowers. It was served with Kluge Estate Cru, a divine bubbly out of Charlottesville, VA. We heart our champers and this is a lovely one. Here’s your assignment while sipping:

Prosecco and Almond Cupcakes with Rosewater and Fresh Blossoms
Courtesy of Chef Matt Finarelli of Open Kitchen

Yield ~32 cupcakes

Ingredients:
4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 sticks butter – unsalted – softened
3 cups sugar
8 ea eggs
6 Tbsp milk
¼ cup Prosecco
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup slivered almonds – well chopped
1 recipe Rosewater Frosting
As needed Edible blossoms (e.g. pansies, marigolds, small roses, cone flowers, herb flowers, lilac, lavender – all pesticide free and well washed.)

Method:
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line cupcake pan with papers.
– Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
– Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
– Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
– With mixer on low speed beat in milk, Prosecco and vanilla until just combined.
– Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating until just combined after each addition.
– Fold in almonds gently.
– Bake until toothpick comes out clean – about 20 minutes. Cool and top with Rosewater Frosting and then edible blossoms.

Rosewater Frosting

Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
5 tsp rosewater

Method:
– Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
– Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated.
– Add lemon juice and rosewater and beat until smooth.

Open Kitchen wears many toques. It is a full-service caterer, a cooking school with hands-on and demo cooking classes, a flex-timeshare kitchen for local chefs to launch and grow their own business, and a bistro serving lunch Monday through Saturday, and dinner Thursday through Saturday.

To check class schedules, restaurant hours and timeshare availability visit: www.OpenKitchen-DCMetro.com or call 703-942-8148.

For questions or comments on this article contact jordan@whiskandquill.com. [gallery ids="99191,103315,103309,103312" nav="thumbs"]

Friends of Rose Park •

Now in its eighth year, the Georgetown Farmers Market in Rose Park, sponsored by the Friends of Rose Park in cooperation with the D.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, is open from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday (rain or shine) from mid-April until the last Wednesday in October at the corner of O and 26th Streets.

Each week the Friends of Rose Park suggest a recipe using ingredients in season and available at the farmer’s market. This week we are featuring a recipe for Peach Cobbler provided by Mary Carol Platt of the Friends of Rose Park whilst peaches are in season.

“This is an easy recipe to make – an old-fashioned recipe using simple ingredients and no fancy techniques. I have been using this recipe for two decades – every summer when the peaches are plentiful. The cobbler is delicious as is, just peaches, and even more wonderful with the addition of blackberries. Ice cream is optional but appreciated!”

Peach Cobbler
6 cups fresh peaches,
peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 10×7 baking dish. Place peaches on bottom of dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and extract. Sift together dry ingredients. Add egg and mix with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

(Note: To add more summer flavor, sprinkle a cup of blackberries over the peach slices before adding the crumbly topping.)

Friends of Rose Park •

This week, the Friends of Rose Park feature a recipe for corn chowder, provided by Mary Carol Platt of the Friends of Rose Park while peaches are in season.

“This is an easy recipe to make – an old-fashioned recipe using simple ingredients and no fancy techniques,” Mary says. “I have been using this recipe for two decades – every summer when the corn is plentiful.”

Corn Chowder
4 ears corn, husks and silk removed
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup water
4 ounces think-cut bacon, diced into half-inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream

?Remove the kernels from each ear of corn using a small, sharp knife. Cut only the kernels, not the cob. Reserve both the cobs and the kernels.

?Break each shaved cob in half and put in a medium pot with the chicken stock/broth and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer gently.

?While the broth simmers, in a large pot over medium heat, fry the bacon pieces until brown but not crisp, about 5 minutes. Leave the bacon in the pot and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Add the onions, celery and pepper to the bacon and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables soften and brown, 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle the bacon and vegetables with flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is completely incorporated, 1-2 minutes.

?Remove the cobs from the broth and discard. Measure the broth. If you have less than 3 cups, add water to measure 3 cups. Add the broth to the bacon and vegetables. Then add the corn kernels and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low so the soup barely boils. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream and set aside for 20 minutes. Taste again and adjust the seasoning.

Serves 6 (makes 7 1/2 – 8 cups)

Courtney Overcash •

Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist, said “It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato,” and considering all the well-loved recipes which include them, one would be hard pressed not to agree. Often cooks think of tomatoes as an item to be served on the side or as an ingredient in a more complex dish, but with such beautifully plump and juicy tomatoes in season, why not serve them up as the entrée?

“Tomatoes are something to celebrate right now because they are here,” says Chef Ris Lacoste. “We wait for tomatoes and they always come mid-July. Finally they’ve arrived at the farmers markets. In celebrating the tomatoes, this is the time to serve them.”
Though when we think of tomatoes our thoughts typically go to a round, red fruit, there are actually countless varieties to choose from.

And just like with apples, it may become difficult to decide which breed you need. Green varieties are acidic so we use them in treats like Fried Green Tomatoes. Green tomatoes should be picked when they are under-ripe but still firm in order to cook them, otherwise they will shrivel up. However, green tomatoes are not to be confused with Green Zebras, which are fully ripe and just happen to be green. Green
Zebras almost have the tartness of an apple and their acidity allows them to go well with seafood.

A small variety, the Cherry tomato, is wonderfully versatile because there are so many different colors and tastes within this category. Cherry tomatoes have a sweetness that blends well in salads, while yellow cherry tomatoes have a lower acidity, giving them a softer, blander flavor which pairs with other fresh veggies very well.

No matter what variety you care to try, Ris suggests looking for Heirloom tomatoes. In recent years, big companies have taken a large market share of the tomato production. Most tomatoes are now mass produced and the seeds have been engineered. Hormonally engineered tomatoes make for larger more beautiful tomatoes and are readily available at any chain grocer, however they aren’t as tasty.
Heirloom tomatoes are natural and have valued flavors and colors, and are grown specifically for those characteristics.

But how do you know which variety you want and which ones are heirlooms? Ask your local grower. If you ask a grower at your local farmers market for a recommendation, they can usually point out which breeds are sweeter, or will hold up during baking, or which will breakdown for sauces, etc.

“The farmers will know about their tomatoes. They’re their babies,” says Ris.

The farmers also understand tomatoes are one of Mother Nature’s greatest phenomenons. Tomatoes are very sensitive to the weather, much more so than other types of produce. During seasons with a lot of rain, tomatoes tend to be soft, while during dry seasons, the tomatoes tough-skinned to lock in moister.

Once you’ve made your perfect tomato selection and you have them in hand, you need some ideas about what to do with them. Chef Ris has shown herself to be a culinary master, and she understands that cooking is a learning process and you have to do your research.

“I love classic recipes and I don’t want to mess with them. So I’ll research as many versions as I can. I look in books and see how they relate and what the different versions are just to get a good understanding of a dish that’s been around for the ages,” says Ris. “Sometimes I give my own special twist and hope it will be a Picasso, but I try to really hold true to the classic dishes.”

While it’s fun to put your own spin on a recipe, like Chef says, don’t neglect the classics. There are many tomato-y summer dishes you just can’t go wrong with.

“BLTs in the summer. I want thick cut tomato, white toast, mayonnaise bacon and lettuce. That’s just heaven. Go make a BLT right now,” says Ris.

Everything you need for Ratatouille: eggplant, summer squash, onions and, of course, juicy tomatoes are fresh on the shelves now. Try this dish as an elegant side to your Sunday omelet. Throw some tomatoes in the blender for a fresh Bloody Mary, and garnish with summer green beans. Make your own Panzanean salad with thick tomato cuts, cucumber, and feta or mozzarella cheese. Try Ris’ own perfected gazpacho recipe. The possibilities are endless.

And if you’re not in the mood to prepare one of Chef Ris’ recipes tonight, save it for tomorrow, but go cut yourself a thick slice. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and enjoy it right now, because now is the time for tomatoes.

Blue Goat Cheese Panzanella Salad

3 stalks celery, sliced
½ head radicchio, cut into roughly 1” squares
2 cups baby spinach, cleaned and dried
½ head romaine, cut into roughly 1” squares
6 radishes, sliced
48 cherry tomatoes, cut in ½, any or mixed colors
1 small red onion, cut into julienne

1 loaf raisin walnut bread, cut into ½” cubes for croutons
9 oz blue goat cheese, cut into ½” cubes

For the dressing:
Makes 5 cups, much more than you need
2 shallots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of two oranges
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
2 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ cup Kalamata olive brine
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup walnut oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup peanut oil
salt
freshly cracked black pepper

For the port glaze:
16 oz port
8 oz balsamic vinegar

To make the glaze, combine the port and balsamic vinegar in a heavy based non reactive pan and reduce to a thick syrup. The 3 cups of liquid should reduce to about 4 ounces. Let cool and keep covered in the refrigerator for as long as a month.

To make the vinaigrette, combine all of the ingredients except the oils in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oils one at a time starting with the walnut oil followed by the olive oil and then the peanut oil. Vinegars and oils vary in strength and flavor. Each dressing is different. You may therefore not need to add all of the oil in this recipe.

Be sure to taste the vinaigrette before adding the last of the oil to check for desired level of acidity. Taste for seasoning and adjust. The vinaigrette can be made and kept covered in the refrigerator for up to a month. However, it is best served at room temperature.

Toss 1 ½ cups of the raisin walnut croutons in olive oil and toast in a 350 degree oven until golden.

To make the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, including the croutons but not the cheese. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Dress to your liking with the olive vinaigrette and divide the mix into 6 bowls. Stud each salad with about 1 ½ ounces of the blue goat cheese and drizzle with the port glaze. Delicious.

Georgetowner • July 19, 2011

Stepping up from the street into Book Hill Bistro, guests ascend from the bustle of Wisconsin Avenue to an intimate and cozy nook where low lighting and soft jazzy chords ensconce passersby wandering in for a look at Georgetown’s new restaurant. The walls are colored in dusky reds and deep browns which immediately put you at ease. Book Hill’s comfortable seating has guests sinking into their chairs as they begin the anticipation of sinking their teeth into the menu’s dishes.

Once settled into the snuggly surroundings, guests are likely to be greeted by Chef Frank Petrello, arguably the heart and soul of Book Hill. Petrello brings an upscale touch and a New York attitude to his family’s long tradition of food service.

“I’ve been around a long time,” he says with a laugh.

Petrello’s menu consists of a variety of adventurous entrees. The lunch menu has a good mix of favorites, all altered slightly for more creative tastes. One such creation is the Book Hill Portobello Wrap, which comes with perfectly smoky and tender portabellas and complimenting floral vegetables. One guest described it as “tangy, yet sweet.”

For dinner, the evening specialties like the Grilled Marinated Duck Breast are sure to be a treat. The duck arrives on six succulent skewers and is presented with Petrello’s recipe for braised cabbage and potatoes au gratin. The duck breast, best served up medium rare, is a comforting treat just like the rest of the bistro.

“That’s how we do it here. This is a neighborhood place. In this economy, twice a month is a great customer. Our philosophy is if you come back a second time you’re a regular customer,” Petrello says.
Book Hill is growing from its infancy, opening just a few months ago, to hit its stride as one of Georgetown’s soon-to-be-premier dinner locations. And with a wine selection consisting of over 50 varieties and beer on tap, Book Hill is also great for the evening’s libation.

Though it doesn’t feel like it, cooler weather is just around the corner. Soon Book Hill’s beautiful patio area, glowing with lights and sweetened by the scents coming from Chef Petrello’s herb garden, will also be open for guests to enjoy. You’ll want to come by and to experience this cozy corner of Georgetown for yourself.

Georgetowner • July 12, 2011

Germany-based Vapiano expects to have six restaurants in the metro area, with the recent opening of their newest store in Reston. This will be a corporate location, as are the ones in downtown D.C., Penn Quarter, Ballston, Dulles Town Center and Bethesda. With the openings of stores in Charlotte, Chicago and Miami, they will have 13 units in the U.S.A. by the end of the year. That does not include the international stores.

North Carolina-based Fuel Pizza will open at 600 F Street and 1606 K Street in the former Burger King space. The chain got its start in a space that was formerly a gas station, hence the name. Make no mistake, it’s New Yorkers (who know their pizza) that started Fuel Pizza.

A neighborhood pop-up taco stand called Del Rey is slated to open at 9 and U Streets, NW. Its beer garden and tacos theme is the creation of Ian and Eric Hilton, who also own Marvin and American Ice Company. They plan to open next spring.

Aman Ayoubi of Local 16 opened the Lost Society, a steakhouse, at 14 and U Streets, NW. He and his partners will offer sustainable seafood and local sourced beef from a local farm in the dining space, lounge and roof deck.

Teaism is slated to open a new location at the Moderno condo building at the corner of 12 and U Streets, NW. That gives Teaism its fourth location in D.C. They have stores in Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, and the downtown D.C. Lafayette Park area.

Tom Power, chef and owner of Corduroy, will open a second restaurant in the town house next door on 9 Street, NW. He’s chosen a new fabric to name it after – Velour. Décor will be minimalist, showcasing brick, concrete floors, wood and steel, with a menu price point of $20 or less per item. A spring 2012 opening is planned.

Turkish QSR: Mehmet Yasar Cicek, along with partners Hosam Ramadan, his college roommate and Arshad Khan, a New York-based restaurant industry veteran, has signed a master franchise agreement for Mr. Kumpir, a Turkey-based franchise with nearly 50 locations worldwide. This triumvirate plans to open its first U.S. stores. Kumpir is a loaded baked potato, so it is a familiar comfort food item. They hope to open up to 30 locations over the next five to six years, with New York next in line. They are looking for sites ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Mr. Kumpir will offer several varieties of the kumpir stuffed-potato dish as well as sandwiches, pasta salads and desserts.

Openings Update: Rabbit, the salad + protein concept from the folks who brought you TangySweet and Red Velvet Cupcakery, is expected to open this month in Clarendon. District Commons and Burger, Tap and Shake (from the folks who brought you D.C. Coast, Ceiba, Acadiana and the soon to shutter Ten Penh) slated to open in August. Ping Pong Dim Sum (now in Penn Quarter) slated to open its second location at end of August. Shaw’s Tavern to open this month on Florida Ave, NW. Redeye Grill from the Fireman Hospitality Group (Fiorella Pizzeria, Bond 45) slated to open at National Harbor by year’s end. Side note: If you have not seen Bacchus sitting atop the tortoise with floating mozzarella balls floating in the trough at Fiorella, that alone is worth the trip. Insurance issues abound for the restaurants at the flooded Washington Harbor on the Georgetown waterfront. Tony & Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grill have their patios open – and have the grill out and the outdoor bar open. Clyde Restaurant Group’s new 35,000 square foot restaurant and music venue where Borders Books used to be on 4 Street NW, is slated to open by year’s end.

Quick Hits: Rogue States to reopen at Black and Orange (Baltimore Orioles fan?) Reynold Mendizabal plans to renovate Rogue States with better venting so it appeases neighbor’s issues. Philadelphia superstar restaurateur Stephen Starr plans to open his first restaurant in the ever popular 14 Street corridor. Penny and
Mike Willimann will open Olio (olive oil in Italian), an olive oil tasting room, in Old Town Alexandria. It will offer 30 to 35 varieties of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars for sale in a tasting room setting similar to a wine shop. Next year may bring a much anticipated new location to an established steakhouse in the suburbs. Starfish Café on Barracks Row on 8 St in the southeast will reopen as Lavagna Italian Cuisine.

Chef & GM Update: Umer Naim is the new general manager at Ping Pong Dim Sum in Penn Quarter. Previously, he was with Starr (as in Stephen) Restaurant Organization in Philadelphia. Brenton Balika is the new pastry chef at Bourbon Steak at the Four Season hotel. Salim Nahhas is the new pastry chef at Alexandria Pastry Shop. The native of Jordan represented his country in the World Pastry Cup in Paris.