my fantasy has turned to madness…

although obsession, by animotion lends itself to the title of my post, i realize that it’s not totally applicable to my most recent obsession – pasta making. either way, it’s in the mental soundtrack as i sit here & type type type away.

———————————–

i’ve always wanted to make my own fresh noodles – when i was little i would make the requisite little flour mound & crack eggs into the pretty little well i created with my fingers & hoped that i would not mess up & add too much flour or too little. that was never really the most challenging part (although if you don’t know what texture is good texture for noodles, how would one just ever know this? and books seem to expect you to – “If the pasta is too dry, add more olive oil, egg, water, or milk… if too sticky, add more flour…” what is too dry? too sticky?), the most challenging part for me as a kid was rolling out the dough & getting it thin enough so that it wouldn’t overwhelm whatever sauce i was trying to serve it with. & well, i just don’t like super thick pasta – for example, i would choose a skinny noodle like soba over a fatter noodle like udon, any day… (this is changing with age, however… it seems the older i get the fatter i like ‘em!)

so, a couple of weeks ago i rewarded myself with the kitchen aid pasta roller & cutter set after a very very long (but gratifying) work week! all i can say is, “yay for pasta rollers! boo for still not quite understanding that perfect point when you cut off the moisture for making the perfect noodle.” truly, in my very early learning stages, it’s perplexing to me how unforgiving noodle dough can be! if it’s too dry it’ll crumble, not roll well creating holes & will not bind, too wet, the sticky mess frightens me enough to not even try – this starts the process of adding flour & the anxiousness that rises from my chest hoping i can stop at just that critical point… of course, it’s at this point when the wrat chooses to say, “i told you pasta making was hard!” &, of course, that just makes me want to punch him.

it wouldn’t be so bad if i knew what the perfect rolling texture would be…

my first shot at pasta making with my new rollers was actually not that bad (“beginner’s luck”, i’m told…). i pureed some fresh baby spinach into the eggs before adding them to the flour and found i could use the mixer itself to knead the dough. the product was beautifully bright green & actually a breeze to make. i think the resulting spinach noodles didn’t look so bad (for a novice)! topped with some ricotta salata, arugula & tomatoes, i found i had made a nice little weekend supper! (oh, i also served chicken parmesan on the side…)

this week for sunday dinner i made fresh thyme & cracked black peppercorn noodles. they smelled divine but i think the peppercorn should’ve probably been ground a little finer than i had it, because i was told that it was a bit overwhelming. also, my beginner’s luck had already dispersed to find other beginners around the world & i had a devil of a time getting these suckers to roll! not sure if the added peppercorn took more moisture out of the dough, or what, but i ended up adding at least an additional egg before i got it to any consistency that was pasta-roller-friendly. the wrat had the most luck & he ended up rolling pasta dough like a champ. he also hand cut them so they looked like beautiful artisan noodles (i like to think)…

i served these noodles with braised short ribs & i think they made good plate pals…

both of these noodle recipes were adapted from deborah madison’s, vegetarian cooking for everyone, cookbook. i think it was basically 2 cups of flour, 2 extra large eggs, a little bit of salt, 2 tsp (as needed) of olive oil or water until the noodle dough becomes just the right consistency (?! note my frustration above…). for the spinach pasta i didn’t add any additional liquid because i assumed the spinach would add a fair amount of moisture (so left out the olive oil &/or water)… for the thyme and black peppercorn noodles, i added 2 tbsp of freshly ground black peppercorn and maybe a tablespoon of fresh thyme from my herb garden. i ended up having to throw the worked dough back into the mixer and adding additional olive oil & maybe 1/2 an egg & i’m sure i should’ve added even more. i guess it’s not so surprising this dough was so hard to work with – nothing was quite ideal. eventually, i’ll get this texture thing down…

my goal for the next couple of months? to obtain world domination one noodle at a time… can’t help it – obsession is a strange mental addiction… & it makes me want to accomplish all kinds of strange things. so, if you’re in the mood for noodles, come over for a visit & i’ll be happy to roll something good out for you (or at least try)!

wdc restaurant week & silent overtures

i’ve been trying to get back into a groove.

i’m not really sure what that means. if anybody has any advice on how to find a groove, what it looks like, or if grooves vary, depending on what you’re looking for, please comment. also, is it a physical thing? or metaphysical? or simply pathological & psychological (the search, that is)? [how many more -icals can you think of?]

it’s restaurant week in wdc – luckily, i learned of it early enough this year that i made reservations at restaurants a month ago. clever of me, i know. this year i visited:

seasons – in the four seasons hotel on pennsylvania ave, nw. it was okay – i was mostly surprised by the quality of the food and the normally exorbitant price of it. honestly, the food was probably worth the $30.07 (for a 3-course meal), & some could argue that what we ate was a good deal, but it was really disappointing. i guess i see restaurant week as an opportunity to try a place that i haven’t been to yet, but have either wanted to try, or wouldn’t try otherwise. it’s an opportunity for a restaurant to bait me & make me their most frequent & beloved guest. either way, i wouldn’t pay full price for a meal there, although we did have a kick-ass bottle of wine, which really kind of sank the bill. speaking of wine, i thought it was interesting that a restaurant that normally charges around $20 for appetizers and ~$40 for an entree would have wait staff that didn’t really know anything about their wine list beyond what their customers seem to like.

teatro goldoni – i was supposed to go, but ended up canceling due to illness and a quickly depleting bank account (refer to kick ass wine above).

dish – this was an interesting little hotel restaurant located at the river inn in foggy bottom. i think the most intriguing thing about this place was the large split photograph that they have of a velvety looking beautiful chocolate laborador. yes, that’s right. a dog. great dog photo, but maybe a little odd as the center piece of a small 20 something table upscale restaurant? i don’t know. my dining companions found it entirely unacceptable, but when i prodded for more information to compel me to see their position, they stammered on the simple, “it’s weird.” i like dogs, & if you dine with my family, you might find a dog sitting in the chair next to you. hey… whatever makes people happy, right? oh, two dining mates ordered venison that came with sweet breads that i became the happy recipient of – the sweet breads were good, but a bit heavy on the garlicky side of life – which makes me personally happy.

vidalia – yummy. pleasing. the most options out of any other restaurant & high quality. i had the pecan tart for dessert & one of my dining companions conceded very quickly that “i won” the ordering game, at least for dessert.

i feel like my restaurant commentary is sounding a bit cantankerous. i just watched the latest netflix delivery, the last kiss.

i feel grumpy now. & oddly committed. but i’m on the treadmill these days – you shouldn’t believe anything i say.

anyhow, this post is dedicated to the single voice out there who complained about bloggers who start blogs but then abandon them (& used me & bgg as an example). the nice thing about blogs is this: as long as you can eventually remember the golden key (the password, in this case) you can blog today, tomorrow, or be silent until… now.

autumn leaves are falling…

i love the autumn. not unlike most people, the fall brings about those warm fuzzy feelings in me where i long for warm luxurious pjs, crisp bright mornings, and fragrantly warm tasty beverages that steam in the coolness of the morning air.

when autumn leaves begin to fall, & flutter in the wind, i sometimes feel like i’m in a little wonderland of my own where life is beautiful, colorful, & kind… set to a life soundtrack of nat king cole.  & then i crunch the leaves beneath my feet…

but, not only do i love the changing colors of the season, i also love the assortment of goodies that can be found at the neighborhood farmer’s market!

this weekend’s greatest find were chestnuts (although i didn’t buy any this time around)! you know what this means, don’t you? that it’s only a hop skip & jump away before we’re in my next favoritist season – winter! i am already thinking about cozy sweaters and warm knitted scarves.

but before snowman season is here (& carols that make me happy), i’m going to eat my way through the following pictures…

crabs!!!

i can’t think of any better way to spend the weekend than by sharing good food & drinks with great friends. the fact that it is crab season is just an added (delightful & delicious) bonus! so i knew when bgg said she was going to come & play with me for the weekend that crabs should definitely be in the mix & thus began my planning for the perfect weekend festivities.

instead of going to annapolis, as we had toyed with before, we decided to go to the wharf at 1100 maine ave sw & were absolutely ecstatic at what we found! the market place was filled with the largest red snapper you’ve ever seen, shrimp the size of lobster tails (& more variety of shrimp than i’ve ever seen in one place – note the picture), raw bars full of bivalves of every kind, & best of all CRABS. after surveying our options, we ended up buying our little guys from a place that didn’t market clearly any shop name, just “fresh cooked seafood & crabs”.
 
& boy did they have crabs!

after liberally assessing how hungry we were & how much we would possibly be able to devour, we decided on a dozen females - which actually seems quite reasonable, if you ask me. generously, troy (the man who was dutifully helping us) gave us a few extra, threw them in the steamer, & cooked them up for us as we anxiously awaited. & all of this goodness was only a whopping $10! sweet, eh?

the wharf is located in the southwest waterfront & was confusing at first for me to get to. i finally figured out that i had to drive through the parking lots of some of the restaurants along maine to get into the tucked away area they are located in. although the wharf may not be a hidden gem for most of those who live in wdc, it was certainly a gem for me to find. the seafood is fresh, beautiful, plentiful & cheap. cheap. cheap. if i have my druthers, i’ll be making this part of my weekend shopping routine.

& in case you’re wondering… yes, we had a feast at home & ate most of our finds. after snacking on some earlier eastern market buys of cheese, ciabatta bread, pears, figs, olives & prosecco (the figs & olives actually came from dean & deluca in georgetown) we still managed to eat most of our crabs, minus a few that are in my fridge waiting to become the main star of a pasta dish, coming soon to a plate near me! crabs – the gift that keeps on giving…

the silliest part of our dinner was including baby kale we found at the market. clearly, we are well-balanced eaters who love our veggies!

scenes from a marriage

lately, my netflix account & i have become the best of chums… always in some constant back & forth dialogue over queue priority. the biggest problem herein lies the fact that my crystal ball is broken (in fact, i’m certain it never really worked) & netflix is unforgiving, & my mood for genre x today, may not match my mood for genre y two days later. there’s a certain element of having to forecast the future here, & take a risk, that’s hard. & i have to tell you, it really sucks when you get the right movie, but are in the wrong mood, because sometimes the mood doesn’t rear it’s head for another 3 months & i’m stuck with a movie that i refuse to return simply because i failed to know myself (two days ahead) better. i’m sure you’ll be happy to know that i’ve given up this act of self-punishment (as of right now), because i realize how super silly it sounds… & how netflix makes out like a bandit on people like me. in the future, i will instead return the movie & rent it again when the mood strikes.

so, i’m compelled, these autumn days, for dvds that linger, & these usually come in the form of a series.

after watching season 1 of grey’s anatomy, i decided that i needed to take a break from the hospital dramatics of seattle grace & watch something that might ground me a little more. scenes from a marriage kept popping up on my recommendations list & so i finally decided to see what the shooting star was all about… & well, after a nice after-work dinner date with my couch, the smokey peaty one, & my dvd player, i thought to myself, “if i wanted something to ground me, i think i may have gotten more than i had asked for…” which is great. it’s comforting to me that some force out there is going above & beyond the call of duty & giving me exactly what i ask for… but from now on, i think i’ll use a bit more trepidation when wishing things for myself. my ass still hurts…

ingmar bergman produced quite the tv series with scenes from a marriage, a very poignant discussion on the fragility of emotions, relationships, and the complexity of love. it is the suggestion that love is so deeply tied to feelings of resentment that, over time, hardens into hatred, that i find especially appealing. it’s interesting how you can despise the very person you seek forgiveness from (or acceptance, love, etc). love is not a kind or gentle emotion, it seems.

i’ve only watched the first dvd (scenes 1-3) and am bracing myself for the next couch date with liv ullman & crew. next time, i’ll forget to put the rocks into my scotch before i hit <play>.

welcome to the new world

blogs are everywhere. i click here; i click there; i click everywhere. blogs.

…& here i am. iteration number XXXXX, kicking this next phase off with today:

a good day, by any measure. i enjoyed a leisurely morning/afternoon watching netflix deliveries, listened to the soundtrack for the day (johnny cash & the shins – i know, slightly odd mix), cleaned the home (aka basement dungeon), & prepared for the evening.

for the evening, i ate dinner with my step-brother, his girlfriend, & e at belga cafe. eating a pot full of mussels mariniere is always good, especially when there’s a side of pommes frites with some mayonnaise. why do pommes frites taste so damn good with mayonnaise? so much for the waist line i’m still trying to preserve… the belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream for dessert also probably doesn’t help the cause of “operation jelly roll”. but on that note, the belgian waffle was really good, but a tad too much vanilla was on the plate. i think they must add vanilla to the batter of the waffle and that, coupled with the ice cream, seemed a bit much. the little sauce bowl of hot fudge on the side, however, did create the balance that still made it a very fulfilling order.

after, we went to marty’s for drinks. kind of an odd place to go, after our fun little dinner, but it was convenient (right across the street) & it wasn’t crowded. the perfect place to just catch up with jb… i actually had a fascinating conversation with ae, his girlfriend. she fox hunts – i didn’t even know people still did that. so we talked about the culture of fox hunting which was really quite mind-blowing for me. the special outfits, the garb you buy for the horse, the pomp & circumstance… honestly, i felt like i was hearing about some sort of secret old aristocratic tradition that i shouldn’t know about.

anyhow, i seem obsessed with projects these days & most of the evening, admittedly, i spent thinking about what food to prepare tomorrow for dinner, that would also feed me for the following week; creative ideas to promote stswi; nso playing gershwin tunes; & what movies to update my netflix queue with.

this is the life…