December in DC: Delicious Eats Part 1

Why am I eating healthier this month? It could be a result of all of the delicious food we ate during our recent trip down to Washington, DC.  I had a few restaurants in mind before the trip, but wanted to see what recommendations my twitter friends had for me.  I put out the call and before I knew it, the lovely Shulie (@foodwanderings) had relayed my message to her DC area friends.  A few hours later I had a great list of possibilities thanks to Olga (@MangoTomato), @I_Flip_For_Food, @WalkerMarkLA, and some Bostonians like @DietitianJanel and @DovesandFigs.

I researched the suggestions and sent an edited list to our fellow vacationers, Mara and Mark.  They sent back their list of places, which were mainly spots to try their favorite food - ice cream!  With lists in hand we boarded our plane in Boston and they boarded their plane in Kansas City and we headed for DC.

Our first meal was a special delivery from South Boston.  Mark is an Aussie and I know that they don't have authentic Aussie food in KC.  A few days before the trip I called Sam at KO Catering and Pies and placed an order for some frozen pies and sausage rolls.  With a little bubble wrap and a few ice packs, the food survived the trip in our checked luggage and made for an exciting surprise.  We had two types of pies - Irish beef stew and curry vegetable.  The report from the Aussie, "That's a damn good pie mate!"

After fueling up with pie we bundled up and headed out to walk the National Mall and see the monuments.  It was the perfect day for it as most people were home celebrating Christmas.  We started at the Archives, walked to the Washington Monument and then went to see the White House Christmas tree.  Next we trekked across the mall to the FDR memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Korean War memorial and finished up at the Lincoln Memorial. A little chilled and hungry, we proceeded to the Kennedy Center for their free Christmas All Star Jazz Jam.  It turns out that the Kennedy Center hosts a free concert every night at 6 p.m. on their Millennium Stage.

We called around to a few places on our list but they were all closed for the holiday. We decided to get on the Metro back toward where we were staying and figure it out once we got there.  When we came up from the Metro at Chinatown we saw lights, people, and an open restaurant! Without checking the menu, we headed in to Rosa Mexicano. We ordered a few drinks, table side guacamole and what turned about to be a lot of food.  It was also ice cream #1 of the trip.

The guys both ordered a tuna dish that came with what the server described as "kind of a fruit salad."  That statement prompted this photo:

I don't always drink beer and eat fruit salad.
But when I do, it's Dos Equis.

On our next day, we started our touring at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The museum is filled with a lot of interesting exhibits, but there was probably one thing each of us was really excited to have seen.  There's no picture of Josh's pick - the Star Spangled Banner - none allowed.  I was able to get a shot of everyone else's favorites.  They include the Muppets, the Fonz's jacket, the "Went with the Wind" dress from The Carol Burnett show, and Julia Child's kitchen!

Our second dinner in DC was one of Mark's picks. Before moving to Australia when he was 8, he grew up in Dublin. Doing research for the trip, he had read about The Dubliner, an authentic Irish Pub near Union Station.  It was mentioned in the travel book for its excellent pints of Guinness and live Irish music every night.  The man playing during our visit played all of Mark's favorites and told us that he'd been playing at the Dubliner for 25 years.  The Guinness was indeed good and the music was great. And Mark had ice cream #2 of the trip.

Following the Dubliner, we wandered by Pitango a new-ish gelato place in Penn Quarter. We were drawn in by the warm lighting and huge list of flavors. The shop was sparkling clean and inviting. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they used grass-fed milk for their gelato (although shouldn't it be milk from grass-fed cows?).  The flavors were inventive and included non-dairy sorbets and many fair trade ingredients.  The woman working that night (close to closing time) encouraged us to try as many flavors as we wanted. She pointed out popular flavors and suggested some combinations that worked well together.  The hubby opted for a combination of pear sorbet & quince sorbet (he always goes for pear!). I chose Chocolate Noir and Sicilian Almond.  The chocolate noir was rich and decadent. According to the website it is a combination of Venezuelan cocoa and Costa Rican couverture chocolate. Bonus? Also dairy-free and lower fat!  As we dug into our treats, the woman working offered us a sample of their Italian hot chocolate. Think thick, rich, smooth, and indulgent. It reminded us of the chocolate that you get with churros con chocolate. It was a great find and if you get to DC - make a special trip to find one of their shops. If you are keeping track, this is ice cream #3 of the trip (yes, still day 2).

I'm full just writing about our first two days. There will be two more posts to cover all that we ate in our four day trip!

Healthy Snack Wednesdays: White Bean Dip and Mac & Cheese+

Happy New Year! 'Tis the season for resolutions, diet overhauls, and lofty fitness goals.  After indulging over the holiday season, it's time to get back to healthy, nutritious, and of course delicious eating.  For my new healthy lifestyle plan I'm participating in a biggest loser style competition at work.  Our first weigh-in was this week and we'll keep tabs on our total percentage of body weight lost until February 28.  The biggest loser can take home a pretty good payout (and second place isn't bad either). The idea is to motivate each other to eat healthier and be more active during the work day.  We're planning lunchtime walks, afternoon stair climbs, and maybe even some pilates and a visit from a nutritionist.

Starting with this post, I'll be featuring healthy snack recipes every Wednesday.  Renee (Eat.Live.Blog) and I volunteered to help in the healthy recipes department.  One of the challenges of sitting at your desk all day is coming up with snacks for the 3:00 p.m. sugar low. We'll both be posting every Wednesday with a new idea.

A challenge for snack time is to have something nutritious, filling, and satisfying. It can't just be a few crackers or a piece of chocolate, you need something that will keep you going.  My first recipe is an old standby that is perfect for snack time, cocktail parties, game nights, or really anything.  White bean dip lends itself to endless variations.  You can change the herbs & spices, add different citrus juice, and make your own creation.  And you can dip veggies, crackers, pretzels, baked potato chips or spread it on a piece of toast.

In honor of the first healthy snack Wednesday, I also wanted to give you a quick and easy dinner recipe.  My husband loves Annie's shells & white cheddar.  By itself, a bowl isn't bad for you but there's not much to it.  To add some nutritional kick I mixed in winter squash puree and a handful of chopped spinach. The squash makes turns it the traditional orange mac n' cheese color and the spinach looks like confetti!  Now you probably couldn't trick any kids into eating this but it was pretty tasty.

One of my favorite things to do is to cook a few things on Sunday to have on hand for the week. This week I roasted a red kuri squash (winter squash) while we were hanging out and watching football. I pureed the squash and put it into the fridge for the week. By itself it is a perfect side dish, but it can also be mixed into sauce for pasta (like I did tonight) or even pancake batter for breakfast.

What do you bring to work for snack time? Do you have a favorite healthy dinner trick? I'd love to hear them!!

White Bean Dip
Enough for a few days of snacks
Serving size 1/4 cup

Dip Base
2 cans beans (cannellini beans, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, or great northern beans), drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix-ins and options - I usually pick one in each category
Herbs: Fresh parsley, basil, cilantro, chives, dill
Spices: Hot sauce, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt
Flavorings: Roasted garlic, chopped garlic, ginger, flavored mustard (dijon, horseradish, etc.), horseradish, wasabi
Citrus: Lemon juice, lime juice

Some of my favorite combinations:

• 2 cloves roasted garlic, 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil,and  lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, a sprinkle each of chili powder and cumin, and lime juice
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon fresh dill, 1-2 cloves of garlic

The easiest way to make this dip is in a food processor.

Add beans and any herbs and spices to the food processor
Pulse a few times to mix together
Add juice from 1/4 of a lemon and olive oil
Pulse until smooth and well-mixed
Taste and add extra citrus or oil if desired
Season with salt and pepper
Serve with crackers, pretzels, or chopped vegetables
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days

Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook/Mixing time: 5 minutes
Food processor, measuring cups, bowl, spoon


Not Your Usual Annie's Shells & Cheddar
Box serving size is equal to 2.5 servings. Pair with a salad for three total servings


1 purple box of Annie's Shells and white cheddar macaroni and cheese
1/2 cup squash puree (you could also use canned pumpkin or squash)
1/2 cup low-fat milk
Handful of chopped spinach leaves

Prepare pasta according to the box directions
In a small bowl whisk together the powdered cheese and milk
Add in squash puree and whisk until somewhat smooth
When pasta is done cooking, drain and return to the hot pot
Add spinach and toss
Add cheese sauce and mix well
Enjoy!

Summary: 
Prep time: 5 minutes (while pasta cooks)
Cook time: 8-10 minutes
Pasta pot, colander, slotted spoon, cutting board & knife, whisk, bowl, serving bowls


As an added bonus to our healthy snack series kickoff, today Renee and I got a visit from Jacqueline and the Pretzel Crisp Car (@pretzelcrisps). She had seen Renee's tweet about healthy snacks and offered to drop by with some crisps for us to sample. Jacqueline even threw in a few tubs of Tribe Origins hummus. Did you know Tribe is a local company? They are just south in Taunton!  Pretzel Crisps are low fat and come in a variety of flavors from buffalo to cinnamon toast. The buffalo had a good kick, but wasn't too spicy. I don't love blue cheese, but they did have a fun recipe on the bag for a buffalo crisp topped with crumbled blue cheese and a celery slice. Sounds much healthier than a basket of wings.  We haven't tried all of the flavors yet, but are looking forward to sampling them during our 3:00 p.m. snack breaks.

Full disclosure: We were not asked to write about the snacks and we were not compensated in any way other than each receiving a goody bag full of pretzel crisps to share with our coworkers. Any opinions about the crisps belong to me.

Happy snacking!

2010: Full of Family, Friends, Food, and Fun

Looking back, 2010 was kind of a blur! The hubby and I were busy all year, in a good way. And we both turned the big 3-0!  Every month was filled with visits and adventures with friends (new and old) and family.  We attended a total of 5 weddings (and celebrated one engagement).  Between the hubby and I we traveled to 10 states and to Spain.  Of course every adventure was accompanied by delicious meals - both home-cooked and restaurant cuisine.  We sampled local specialties and visited farmers markets in every place we could.

As Good Cook Doris celebrates 2 years of tasty posts, here's to a 2011 filled with even more delicious adventures!

Before the recap, here is the overdue announcement of our first Good Cook Doris giveaway winner! Congratulations to Joanna from The Hungry Crafter who said...

"I think what every man should know can be summed up in two words: "Yes, dear." One of the first things I taught my fiance. Now if I win this book, I can teach him something else ;)"

I hope your fiance enjoys this book and cooks you some delicious meals!

Good Cook Doris' 2010 Recap

January
The year started by celebrating Tim and MaryBeth's engagement and bundling up for the BU v. BC hockey game at Fenway Park.  Shortly after, our newest nephew came to visit from sunny LA (with parents of course).  Just look at how happy he was to be in the freezing Boston winter!  We celebrated the one year anniversary of Good Cook Doris and continued to create new dishes in the kitchen.  Winter Market season kicked off in the suburbs and we were able to buy local foods year round.

February and March

Always the longest short month of the year in New England, typically full of snow and gray days. My February was brightened with a 30th birthday surprise! While I was in on the party planning for my big birthday, I was not in on the special surprise. The hubby surprised me by arranging for my mom to come in for the party!  I thought that was all, but when he picked me up at work the next day my brother was in the car too.  We had a wonderful weekend together and they cooked a fantastic Spanish feast as a preview of our trip to Spain.

Our Spanish adventure was a combination celebration of our 30th birthdays and our 5th wedding anniversary. We started in Madrid with a day trip to Toledo. After eating our way through Madrid, we jumped on the train and headed south to the beautiful city of Seville. We enjoyed the architecture, people, food, and pretty much everything about the trip.  Thanks to recommendations from a friend we visited local favorites, saw lesser known museums, and explored different neighborhoods in each city.  One unexpected highlight was the Roman ruins outside of Seville in Italica. The amphitheater was the third largest in the Roman Empire! There were original tile floors, a bread oven, and outlines of most of the buildings in this ancient city.

Despite not eating jamon, we managed to eat a lot! From the Mercado de San Miguel with aceitunas and queso to the leg of lamb at Botin (oldest restaurant in the world, est. 1725) we enjoyed the local cuisine. Some places we even visited twice - like Chocolateria San Gines for churros con chocolate and the market for huge plates of pickles and olives.  

The month of March finished off with a trip to Kansas City to surprise my oldest friend Mara for her 30th birthday! Her husband asked me to fly in to surprise her, how could I say no? Our moms were sorority sisters in college and we were born exactly 3 weeks apart. She grew up in KC and I grew up in St. Louis, but there were a lot of trips back in forth. And there were often matching outfits.  In honor of our matching fashions during our elementary school years, I brought along outfits for us to wear for the birthday weekend.  During the trip I also got to spend time with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and their cute dog Sam.  

April

In April we took a quick trip to St. Louis to visit my grandmother and family.  The rest of the month was busy finishing up class work and projects around the house.  The hubby has been working at his job for over seven years, which meant an 8 week sabatical.  He used his time off for our trip, to paint the bedroom and bathroom and take a class to learn how to lay ceramic tiling. This summer I'm looking forward to a freshly tiled back porch.

May

May marked the start of summer farmers market season in Boston with the opening of the Copley Square Farmers Market and the SoWa Food & Produce Market. I started my weekly visits to Copley and was excited to get to know some new vendors this year.  Mara came to town for a visit and we explored the SoWa market on its first day of the season. Our friend Avi threw a gourmet dinner party and we dined in style and caught up with some of the hubby's old friends from college.

May also marked my return to running. After running the Disney Marathon in January 2008, it would be fair to say that I have not laced up my sneakers very regularly.  Thanks to my unexplainable ability to win contests on twitter, I "won" two entries into Boston's Run to Remember. I picked the 5-mile option and signed up my dining partner Renee to run with me.  We survived the race and celebrated with ice cream!

In addition to seeing all my old friends, I also got to meet some of my favorite bloggers in person at a wine tasting hosted by Michelle and Megan. It was the first of many delicious meetings over the summer and fall.

June

The celebrations continued in June! The hubby's parents bought him a cake that suggested "3" more than "30", but it was just as delicious.  We hosted a backyard party with lots of delicious meat and good friends. While the 80's trivia game proved too challenging for those of us born in 1980 we still had a blast.  

This year I am honored to be the president of my sorority's Boston Alumnae Chapter. I represented our chapter at the International Convention held in sunny Orlando.  It was an amazing experience with over 800 women, both alumnae and collegians gathering together for a week of fun.  Of course I had to take a quick detour to my favorite park - Epcot.  I flew straight from Florida to New York for wedding number #1 of the season. We met up with family from all over the country for a fabulous celebration.

July
No surprise - July was full of more fun! We hit the road and headed south to Westport, CT to see our LA family who was visiting for a wedding. All of the MA family headed down too. It was quite a party!  Our nephew Sammy was a perfect beach baby and we also toured the aquarium and downtown Westport.  On the way home the hubby and I stopped for my first trip to the drive-in (in Mendon, MA).  Later in the month I joined my mom and brother for wedding #2 of the season in St. Louis.

August
Tomatoes! My little tomato plants that I bought on the first day of market season grew into tall, healthy plants covered in little green zebra tomatoes.  But before I could harvest them all, some furry creature (or hungry neighbor) took them all. Not to worry, they eventually came back.

I met up with my Boston blogger friends for a wonderful restaurant week dinner at Sportello. A fun bonus? We got filmed for a promotion with Southwest Airlines!  A lovely foodie from Philly did a 'dish trip'  on Southwest - flying to Boston for one day to take in the cities best dining.  We were her dinner stop before she headed back home. While our dinner is just a quick toast on the video, you can see some of my new friends in the earlier parts of the video.

Local in Season hit the market scene in August at the Roslindale Market. I joined Jon and Michelle for the Tomato and Zucchini day at the market. It was a lot of fun chatting with farmers market shoppers about local food and sharing the Local in Season message.

September
September was jam packed! The LA family headed east again for Rosh Hashana and a beautiful wedding  of Josh's cousin (#3 of the season).  The wedding was on the pavilion at the Museum of Science looking out onto the Charles River.  The following weekend we packed up and flew south to Virginia for Tim and MaryBeth's big day (#4 of the season).  Their wedding was a blast - held at a winery in Virginia Wine Country.  The weather was spectacular and we had a wonderful time toasting the newlyweds.  As a bonus, we got to stop and see two other good friends on our way back to the airport.

October

One thing that is different about my gastronomy classes is the amount of reading!  I spent a lot of hours reading about the sociology, philosophy, and anthropology of food this fall.  It was fascinating and I'm looking forward to another class this upcoming semester.  When I wasn't reading, we were out enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  We started the month with wedding #5 of the season, one of the hubby's high school friends. Renee and I laced up our shoes and met up with our sorority sisters for our second race of the year, the Tufts 10K.

I spent a day in the glorious sunshine at the first annual Boston Local Food Festival with Local in Season. The crowd was huge and it was wonderful to meet so many readers and local food companies. That's where I met Joanna, the winner of the giveaway!

November
November marked the end of the 'summer' market season. I closed out my share at Atlas farms and started to get ready for a big Thanksgiving in St. Louis with my family.  This year almost everyone came into town and we stuffed ourselves with Turkey day favorites, White Castle, Frank and Helen's (best hamburger & onion pizza anywhere), and more.

December
We followed our family Thanksgiving trip with a visit to the hubby's parents in Columbus. We had a low-key weekend full of delicious eats.  I posted a recap of our dining adventures and couldn't figure out why my traffic was so high. Turns out the market we visited and a number of the vendors posted links to my post on their sites! What a wonderfully supportive food community!  Next time you're in Columbus, be sure to visit them all!

I spent a lot of hours working on my first research paper for the gastronomy program. I am working on a shorter version for the blog - while it was a fascinating topic I don't think that you all want to read my 17 page paper! I researched Boston area farmers markets and the increasing participation by female food entrepreneurs. Since I spent a lot of time at markets this season it was a fun topic to research. Thanks to the lovely food entrepreneurs who helped provide insights and information for the paper.

There could be no better way to end the year than with family and friends! We spent Christmas Eve with my sister- and brother-in-law and our three nephews. I will admit, it's hard to answer questions about why Santa doesn't go to Auntie Lara and Uncle Josh's house too.  I just hope we aren't the ones to blow Santa's cover.

Christmas Day we packed up half a dozen KO Catering and Pies frozen meat pies and a few sausage rolls and flew to DC to meet up with Mara and her Aussie husband Mark.  We spent four days touring the historical sites, eating at unique local eateries, and taking it all in.  Thanks to my twitter friends for all of the delicious food recommendations. There will be a separate post on our DC dining.

Here's to a fabulous 2011! Happy cooking to all!  Cheers!

A few fun blog facts for 2010, in honor of my second blog-a-versary!

How many visitors?
4,559 Unique Visitors
9,821 visits
16,283 pageviews

Where are they from?
80 Countries
52 States (thanks Google analytics)
The country with the longest average visit time: Switzerland

How did they find the blog?
14% Direct visitors
Top Referral Sites:
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Foodbuzz
4. Blogger
5. Hootsuite
6. Boston.com
7. Google
8. Refrigerator Soup
9. Foodie Blogroll
10. Local in Season

Top Keywords in Search Engines (excluding Good Cook Doris)
1. Slow braising roast beef
2. Comida de Espana
3. Quick Friday night dinners
4. In the kitchen where I'm cooking where its good for me -- this one is my personal favorite (it resulted in 30 page views!)

Top Content
1. Main page
2. About Us
3. Not Such a Simple Stew (Project Food Blog entry #2)
4. Reading List
5. Good Cook Doris' New Adventures (Project Food Blog entry #1)

Thanks for joining me on my adventure!