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Easter and lamb are synonymous. Thanks to the Tri-Lamb Group we have gotten to try a variety of lamb dishes. We have used butterflied leg of lamb, lamb shanks, ground lamb and lamb shoulder. The one cut we haven’t tried is lamb chops. Lamb chops can from variety of places on the lamb. Lamb loin [...] Read more...
Our last attempt out making meatballs didn’t work out too well. The meatballs stuck to the pan and started to fall apart. That is not to say that results weren’t tasty, but it ended up looking more like a meat sauce than meatballs. I used a similar recipe, it used panko breadcrumbs instead of bread, [...] Read more...
I can sometimes be a little aspirational when I shop. A great example is the supplies I got from King Arthur Flour a while back. I got special high-protein flour and malt powder so I could make bagels. Three years later, I finally got around to it. I really shouldn’t have waited that long. While [...] Read more...
Most people are drawn to farmer’s markets by the fresh produce and unique heirloom varieties. Not me. I go for the bruised, blemished, overripe and sometimes ugly fruits and vegetables that get sold as Seconds. There are a lot of recipes where you want the highest quality, best looking ingredients. We first eat with our eyes after [...] Read more...
I have always be jealous of the websites that have little thumbnails show up next to their recipes on Google. Turns out that you have to specially encode your recipes in order to do that. It is not too hard to do, you just need to provide extra context for Google about the different parts [...] Read more...
The Bitten Word guys came up with the most genius concept recently, cooking every recipe in the 6 of the most popular cooking magazines… and we are part of it! The nice thing about challenges is that they push you and get your outside of your comfort zone. This was true with the recipe we [...] Read more...
Even though souffles have made my cooking resolution list for a number of years, I have been successfully putting them off. That is until one appeared in Real Simple. I mean if the name of the magazine is Real Simple, how hard could it be? Luckily it delivered as promised. Mine didn’t rise as high as the ones in [...] Read more...
If you pay attention while you are walking around, you can find amazing things; in this case, a fig tree. I walk to Elena’s day care, and take a variety of routes. On one of these routes I noticed a large fig tree that overhangs an alley. Right now it is in full swing and [...] Read more...
I love getting cookbooks from the library. It makes it easy to try out new ones without having to worry about having an overflowing bookshelf. For our recent Mexican themed lamb dinner, I picked up Rick Bayless’s Fiesta at Rick’s. It is a great cookbook, with a nice focus on drinks and themed menus for [...] Read more...
We just heard back from the lamb folks… and unfortunately our most awesome Barbacoa Lamb didn’t win. The winning recipe for DC involves Indian spice and sounds pretty good. Thats ok, we still love lamb and had a blast. It was a seriously good recipe and you should try it. However, it wasn’t the only [...] Read more...
Sometimes good things don’t have to come to an end. Carolyn and I were quite happy to hear from the Tri-Lamb group that the Lamb Supper Club was going to continue and they were going to up the ante by adding a contest! This time, instead of providing us with a seasonal recipe, lamb and [...] Read more...
Aside from Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo, you don’t see much Japanese beer in the US. This is unfortunate, because Japan has a great craft beer culture. Every now and then, you can find Hitachino beer, but I have never been bold enough to fork over the $8 it cost for a bottle. Lucky for me, I came across a [...] Read more...
One of the interesting things I came across while at the Fancy Food Show, were a couple of interesting Japanese products that make cooking easier. I am fan of Japanese cooking, and since we have the awesome Hana Japanese Market around the corner I have no excuse for taking shortcuts. That said, it is better [...] Read more...
I have finally downloaded and digested the experience that is the Fancy Food Show. While the show is usually in NYC, for the past 2 years it was down here in DC. I covered and wrote about last years show. It was a totally overwhelming event. This year I arrived better prepared ( and wasn’t stuck in [...] Read more...
Good bread takes time. There are lots of techniques and tools that can help take the labor out of making bread, but I have yet to come across a method that lets you speed up making a crusty loaf of artisan style bread. That is because it takes a while for the bacteria and enzymes [...] Read more...
I am a big fan of seltzer and consume a fair amount of it in a week. Every where you go these days you see displays for SodaStream, so of course I was intrigued. For those of you who are not familiar, SodaStream is a gadget which lets you make seltzer at home. They also [...] Read more...
Share Our Strength is a great organization work to help child hunger. Between last weekend and this coming weekend there are going to be bakesales across the country as part of the Great American Bakesale. Check to see if there is one near you, hopefully you didn’t miss it! I am posting because I contributed [...]
Lamb is of course the focus of our Lamb Supper Clubs. However, the apps, sides, desserts and drinks have all been getting more and more elaborate each time. Our final one, where we served Braised Lamb Shanks, was no exception. This time we had two fabulous batches of bread, which were absolutely critical for sopping [...]
I suppose it is only appropriate that the Tri-Lamb Group arranged for 3 Lamb Suppers. I am said that we have reached the end though. Unlike the Godfather, the final chapter of this trilogy may have been the best. The Braised Lamb Shank is an excellent winter recipe. The dish is warming and hearty, and [...]
One of the perks of living in DC is the international flair. Every year or so, the different embassies hold open houses and let the public come in for tours. They also usually put out little treats. While the rums & cokes from were awesome, I really loved these choco-banana candies from the Serbian Embassy. [...]
The Bitten Words posted on this recipe and gave it high marks. Being a northerner, I am no BBQ expert. So, when these guys say this is the real deal, it counts for a lot. This recipe isn’t quick and there are some tedious bits, but the results are great. It calls for first brining [...]
Are you envious of our Lamb Awesomeness? Was your New Year’s Resolution to get more Lean Protein in your diet? Or do you just like looking at nice food photos? Well, you are in luck! The nice people at the Tri-Lamb Group who have been hooking us up with lamb, sent a bunch of extra [...]
While I am always happy getting Christmas presents, I am extra happy when I can eat or cook with them. Our fun little condo is starting to get a little cramped with all of the stuff for Elena, so we don’t have much room for new toys for us. One of the great things about [...]
One dish which I really enjoyed in Taipei was xiaolongbao. They dumplings, but very much unlike dumplings you would usually find in the States. The filling in the dumpling is made with an aspic, gelatinous soup, that turn into liquid when cooked. The end results is a dumpling that is magically filled with soup. Din [...]
Exciting news readers! Alexander Keith’s is available in DC. This is big! For those of you unaware, Keith’s is from Nova Scotia and is one the one of the oldest breweries in North America. According to wikipeida, they became distribution in the US back in April. While Keith’s may not be Nova Scotia’s best beer, [...]
I was in Taipei, Taiwan last week for a conference. I got to sneak away for a little to adventure and check out the food scene. While there are normal supermarkets and restaurant, it was more fun to check out the local Night Markets and Wet Markets. The night market near where I was staying, [...]
The nice folks on the Tri-Lamb Council recently sent us our next shipment of lamb. The seasonal recipe this time around was a lamb flatbread with arugula and goat cheese. It is ground lamb, which is a fun switch from the large roast we had last time. They sent the lamb, along with everything needed [...]
For the past month we have always come back from the farmer’s market with a nice bundle of Swiss Chard so we can make our new favorite pasta dish. We still love Putanesca, but this dish offer a nice alternative. It has the same pungency from the garlic and anchovies, but the substitution of breadcrumb [...]
I picked up this snack from my favorite grocery store in DC, Hana Japanese market. They have an amazingly good selection of Japanese products given the size of the store and staff is nice and helpful… and they are on Twitter! It is pretty easy to figure out what this snack is… it is very [...]
So here is a conundrum: “Do I not cook 7lbs of meat because I don’t host dinner for 10?” or “Do I not host dinner for 10 because I don’t cook 7lbs of meat?” Luckily, the Tri-Lamb Group helped me break out of this Catch-22 with an offer of a Lamb Dinner Kit for 10. [...]
While I was out in San Francisco last month, I was able to get brunch at Blue Bottle Coffee. They are very persnickety about brewing coffee and make a pretty mean brunch too. Since I was luckily on East Standard Baby time, I got there right as the started serving food and right before the [...]
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend a reception for the Fort Barnard Community Garden in Arlington Virginia. The garden works to contribute fresh produce to the Arlington Food Assistance Center, which helps needy families in the county. They have dedicate a plot to growing produce specifically for the center. Gardeners are also participating [...]
If people go and put fish on their pizza, it it usually anchovies. However, my favorite fishy pizza topping is Bottarga. It is cured fish roe, made by taking the roe pouch from tuna or grey mullet and preserved by curing it in salt for a couple of weeks. When cured, it forms a hard [...]
One of the best surprise at the Fancy Food Show was to find Derek Brown mixing drinks in the Mexico pavilion. Derek is genius behind the Columbia Room and one of the best bartenders in DC if not America. He was putting together cocktails to showcase Tequila and Mezcal, and of course doing a little [...]
One of the more interesting parts about the Fancy Food Show ( I swear I almost done with posts on it ), was getting to meet the people behind different brands. It is even more finding out that products you like have a genuine heritage instead of being some corporate creation. I was really excited [...]
If you haven’t guessed, we are big fan of cheese and one of the first cheese makers we visited in person was Grafton Village Cheese. They had traditionally produced aged cheddar cheese and their distribution had been constantly improving. It used to be that we could only find them when we went back home to [...]
I am a big fan of Taza Chocolate and was excited to see them locally at Peregrine Coffee… and even more excited to run into them at the Fancy Food Show in DC. They have just released a new chocolate bar, with 87% cocoa. The first batch came out of the molds last Wednesday and [...]
Yesterday I attended the Fancy Food Show, which was a completely overwhelming experience. The expo is put on by the National Association for the Speciality Food Trade. It is basically how buyers from the store you like to shop at get all of the cool items you like to buy. It is fascinating to see how huge [...]
My parents were in DC for the 4th of July and it was Elena’s half-birthday, so I decided to do something special for breakfast. Overnight pancakes are great when you are cooking for company. I cut down the amount of yeast to 1 tsp and skipped the cinnamon and instead went with a little grated [...]
Don’t let that blender there fool you. I still love it, but my new favorite kitchen tool is the iPad. These days most of recipes and cooking tips we use are from the Internet. When I am useful, I sometimes print them out at work. However, most of the time I end up running back [...]
I have been working on a bit of a side project. DC has great map data online and they also have all of their restaurant inspections online. Unfortunately, the two systems are not connected… so I decided to fix that. I used the excellent software from Development Seed, TileMill, to create a custom map and [...]
Clearly we are not the best about updating Cookography. Our water bottle giveaway has been over for weeks and we still haven’t announced a winner. Well we finally got off our duff and made a pick. Congratulations Shane Ede, out of the many entries yours amused us the most. It doesn’t hurt that you submitted [...]
In the days of yore, back when we were living in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC, one of the weekend highlights was getting a freshly made donut from Amernick bakery. The bakery was run by Ann Amernick, the pastry chef at Palena and a former White House pastry chef. Every Saturday around 11am, someone [...]
For the past couple of years we haven’t done much for Easter. Sure we exchanged some candy, but we never really cooked up a big meal. However, this year Carolyn’s parents came down to visit, giving us a perfect excuse to put together something a little fancier. Lamb is of course a traditional Easter meat, [...]
So every now and then we get offers from various people offering to let us try some of their awesomeness. Most of the time I am too lazy to follow-up and then go through the song and dance. However, when Camelbak emailed offering to let us try their new Groove water bottle, I jumped. It [...]
I was recently in Prauge for a conference. Light & Healthy is not really seem to be the focus of the food there. Instead, all the food either seems to be focused on things the are good to eat while drinking beer or things to eat after having drunk a lot of beer. After a [...]
Spring may have just begun, but it is still pretty cold here in DC. There are buds on the trees but it is still chilly in the morning. Since we are still in between season, we need an in between soup. Something that is hearty, but not a thick puree. This kale and white bean [...]
Every time someone visits Cookography, we get an itsy bitsy amount of money via the ads you see on the right hand side. Over time and if enough people stop by, it starts to add up. Better yet, if I use the money for Cookography related things I don’t have to pay taxes on it [...]
Eating lunch from a food truck in DC can be a little bit of an opportunistic venture. Unlike other cities like Portland where the carts pick a spot and stay, the food trucks in DC roam around the city, popping up at a new spot every day. While this can make it a little challenging [...]
