Times, Responses, and Other Excuses to Change the Subject

To play off the Sherbs's previous post: yes, Ikea in Woodbridge, VA has at its restaurant a meal special which pairs fifteen Swedish meatballs in cream sauce with a healthy portion of macaroni and cheese for $5.49. There is also the small dollop of lingonberry sauce (I originally thought it was cranberry, but no - it has to be Swedish, and it has to look like salmon roe) that suffices as the concession to the existence of vegetables in the meal. The Swedish meatballs are in a gravy that Ikea calls "cream sauce." It is delicious. It is food that will kill you.

Today we went to Mai Thai in DC, as the Sherbs had to work late and I believe that eating at Mai Thai gives me a trifecta on credit card points and various other loyalty reward programs. We each had our own soups, which were tasty, but it seems that everything but the tom ka soup uses the tom yam soup base with extra stuff in it. If you love spicy lemongrass soup, you'll love these.

A parenthetical before I continue with the main dishes - the Sherbs and I had a conversation just now about the fact that it was nigh-impossible to find the Thai soups I am blogging about using the Food Network recipe extension for Firefox. Looking on Food Network's programming, there's basically no non-white ethnic food on the channel. Ever. And excessively Caucasian food hosts like Paula "smear it with lard" Deen and Sandra "You Can Make Angel Food Cake Hawaiian by Adding Runts Candy" Lee get tons of airtime. Make no bones about it, I watch a lot of Food Network - but are they racist?

Getting back to our Thai dinner, the Sherbs and I shared a salad and an entree. The salad was made of shredded mango and chopped red onion in a dressing that tasted like lime juice, cane juice, and cilantro. Little bits of toasted coconut were added for texture. Once we get the mandoline blade sharp enough, we are going to try to make it ourselves.

The entree was drunken noodles with tofu. I don't know how authentic the spicy candied version of drunken noodles is, but it's tasty - how could pan frying chow fun noodles not be? We ate every last molecule of it.

Awesome Restaurant in Excruciating Detail

QueenofPink77 and I do not agree about most things on the Food Network, but we do agree about Sandra Lee's general uselessness.

But enough about that, let me tell you about the fabulous dinner the Sherbs and I had last night. We went to Cucina Vivace, which we picked out of the three Italian restaurants on the street because it was cold and I needed to use the bathroom, so we didn't want to cross the street, and the Italian restaurant next to it was a pizza place, and we were looking for classy.

And boy, did we get classy. Let me describe the food I ate, in order:

1) Crostini with white beans and anchovies. The restaurant gave these to us for free because we were clearly not just confused and stopping in for a bowl of spaghetti, we were buying into their $50+/per person ethos. The Sherbs, as she will tell you, does not eat fish, so I ate both. They were delicious. The white beans were perfectly buttery, and with just a hint of anchovy and garlic.

2) Roast bulb of garlic, covered in olive oil. Dig out a caramelized, squishy clove and enjoy. It was simple, but tasty.

3) Gnocchi in cream sauce with pancetta. The Sherbs doesn't eat meat, either, so I ate her pancetta. It is hard to make bad gnocchi in cream sauce. Cucina Vivace did well; it wasn't too heavy.

4) Sweet potato ravioli. Served with plenty of pine nuts. The Sherbs and I shared, and I thought it was fantastic; I could have had it for a main course. The potato was creamy and delicious.

5) Roast pheasant in pepper and fig relish, served with fried triangles of polenta and pureed parsnip. A little too much pepper in the fig relish, and not enough going on with the polenta, but otherwise masterfully done, and at least a four for plating. The parsnip was very tasty.

6) Bread pudding with mixed berries and creme fraiche. Delightfully eggy and not too sweet. I had it with the only dessert wine they sold by the glass, which was a mistake; I should have taken my cue from the Sherbs and had it with amaretto, which matched the heaviness of the pudding better.

It was an excellent meal, and we'll totally go again when someone else is paying for it.

Sandra Lee Schadenfreude

Evidently some people on Google Groups find her even more annoying than I do.

Food Network to make you drink

First, another person vindicates my view of Sandra Lee. "Diner Girl" at the blog French Laundry at Home, while discussing the making of a beautiful vegetable tart, also disses Sandra Lee for her clear cultural cluelessness.

I must say, though, that Sandra Lee is infinitely better than Giada de Laurentis, who only acts dumb. On her travel show she pretended not to know how to shell a crab with a mallet, despite the fact that everyone else in the restaurant was visibly doing the same. I think that was her way of flirting with the waiter. It was both phony and creepy.

Which brings us to the next subject: new Dr. Pepper mixed drinks.

Someone recently posted a high-proof rum/amaretto/Dr. Pepper beverage called the "Howling Dingo" which has nothing to do with Australia but will probably eat your baby. My gosh, that's a lot of alcohol in a small package.

Then there is the charmingly simple "Dr. Jack #2": one shot of Jack Daniels into a can's worth of Dr. Pepper. Sadly, Dr. Jack is not the kind of creativity encouraged by Dr. Fad, although one wonders how long one can milk being the inventor of the wacky wall-walker.

A Post in Three Parts

Part the First: General Tso's "Chicken"

The Pedant and I stumbled out of the and I went to ChinaBlock this weekend and enjoyed some good food. We had a good veggie soup with tofu that was a clear broth (but surprisingly tasty), spring rolls, and the best part: General Tso's Chicken. The catch: The chicken wasn't real! And it was so well done, I made TP check it before I continued to eat it. We both really enjoyed it. Super tasty and super spicy. Also, don't get a "flaming volcano drink for 2" from a Chinese restaurant. I think we had half a bottle of rum in this drink, because it was not for 2, but rather for 5. Needless to say, TP and I stumbled out of the restaurant even without finishing the drink. We did get super long straws which made it worth it.

Part the Second: Sandra Lee's Drunkenness

Saturday night, TP and I watched an Iron Chef and then stayed for the "Sandra Lee Grilling Show" which was an excuse to make fun of Sandra Lee and her drunken revelry. Basically, she grilled some meat that was way too rare, was super perky and made an iced-tea beverage that was so alcoholic. It was a perfect way to poke fun at Sandra Lee. The potato salad looked good, but not enough jalapenos.

Part the Third: Crock Pot

TP a cookbook for and I received several gifts from my fantastic Aunt and Uncle, one of which is a crock pot. We are super excited to use it, and while perusing Barnes and Noble yesterday, we came across a cookbook: vegetarian crock pot recipes. Mostly because the non-veggie one all included trief or mostly meat, which neither of us cared about. Now we are excited for winter to come to cook crock pot meals! Yay!

Iron Chef with Dr. Pepper?

In two weeks, Iron Chef will have a competition pairing chefs with "mixologists," who make mixed drinks.

Despite the clear lack of Sandra Lee in the competition (and, honestly, good riddance), I am hoping the secret ingredient is Dr. Pepper.