Baltimore Restaurant Week: Alchemy

Stuffed acorn squash

Nick and I almost missed Baltimore Restaurant Week! What were we thinking? Luckily we were able to make reservations, just in the nick in time, for a hip American eatery in Hampden called Alchemy. It was a beautiful day so we walked over. Alchemy lies right on 'The Avenue' (i.e. 36th Street).

Crab bisque and French onion au gratin

What we ate:
Appetizer/Soups-
French Onion au Gratin (caramelized onions, toasted croutons, and Gruyere)
Crab Bisque (seafood fumet, whipping cream, fresh thyme, lump crab meat, and sherry)

Main Dish-
Stuffed Acorn Squash (containing multiple grains, smoked almonds, and dried cherries with a salad on the side)

Dessert-
Tiramisu
Chocolate brownie with Bailey's Irish Cream liquor

Chocolate brownie with Irish Cream

The service was superb and the food simply excellent. Everything was fresh and the combination of flavors was definitely drool worthy. The crab bisque was so smooth and creamy and had a gigantic lump of crab meat in it. I didn't try it due to the onions (yuck!), but Nick said the French onion au gratin was wonderful. He said the gruyere gave the soup a pleasant creaminess and the broth was salty, but perfectly so. The acorn squash (which we both ordered) was roasted to just fork tender and the stuffing was wonderful. I don't know what they rehydrated the cherries with in the stuffing, but it really made the dish. The desserts were amazing. I can never turn down tiramisu and I wasn't disappointed. The brownie was very rich and the Irish Cream drizzled over the top just made it even more delicious.

Tiramisu

Such a good night for a date! I give you two thumbs up, Alchemy, on your fantastic food and service!

Peach Cake

It's finally not four thousand degrees anymore in my Baltimore apartment! Do you know what that means? It means it's baking time! Baking is by far my favorite form of food preparation. Peaches and nectarines are in season and Nick picked up a few of them recently for us.

Mixing batter for the interest of my super excited
(and nosy) 4 month old kittens, Oscar & Cinna

You can find the recipe I used here. This recipe is quick, easy, and very tasty. I did not have any sour cream, which the recipe calls for, so I substituted plain Greek yogurt instead. It's the perfect cake for just two people or a small family.

Peach cake complete (and cooling)!

Eating our way through Philly- Part 2 of 2

Continuing on with the remainder of Philly eats from my 4th of July weekend road trip...

Taste of Philadelphia food festival
Location: Penn’s Landing

We arrived to the Taste of Philadelphia festival a tad bit too early so we had to wait around until it officially opened up to the masses. Sadly, not all of the vendors were set up and ready when we were able to enter (and some hadn’t even arrived yet). On a happier note, the food we did acquire was pretty darn tasty and we witnessed a dead on performance from a Rod Stewart impersonator, so it wasn’t all bad. Word to the wise: if you are in Philly and come across the food truck Delicias, purchase and devour their black bean, cheese, and plantain arepa.

Vegetarian chili and cornbread from Feast Your Eyes Catering

Black bean, cheese, and plantain arepa from the Delicias food truck

Reading Terminal Market
Location: 51 N. 12^th Street

When I was a newborn, my family moved to Philly for about a year and my dad worked in an office across the street from the Reading Terminal Market. He often would eat lunch at the market and he highly recommended we eat there on this trip. We were not disappointed. With over 80 merchants, there is definitely not a lack of choices when it comes to good food to inhale.

Inside the Reading Terminal Market

Nick and I bought two different sandwiches from two different venders. My sandwich was from the Valley Shepherd Creamery, makers of fresh, artisan cheese products. I had mozzarella on a baguette with homemade roasted tomatoes and roasted garlic. It was wonderful. (Although, I’m still kicking myself for not adding on truffle oil.) Nick’s sandwich was of a similar idea, but it was mozzarella with artichokes, roasted red peppers, and herbs from the restaurant Mezze.

Sandwiches from the Valley Shepherd Creamery and Mezze

For dessert, we had ice cream from the one and only Bassett’s. Nick and I shared a cup with a scoop each of dark chocolate and green tea ice creams.

Green tea and dark chocolate ice cream (the latter not visible) from Bassett's Ice Cream

The Sidecar Bar & Grill
Location: 2201 Christian Street

Fried green tomatoes

The Sidecar Bar & Grill serves up American food in a dim (actually too dimly lit) bar atmosphere, but the food is anything but your average bar chow. I ordered fried green tomatoes and the mushroom dip sandwich which had a lot of mushroom flavor which can sometimes be lacking in mushroom dishes. Nick had a black bean burger with cheddar, salsa, and chipotle mayo (which was enormous). One of the main issues we had was service (other than the lighting). Three of the four of us were nearly finished with our main course before Katie even received her zucchini “pappardelle,” which, thankfully, was superb.

Mushroom dip sandwich (a truffle mushroom duxelle and
gruyere on a brioche with mushroom jus)

Eating our way through Philly- Part 1 of 2

For the 4^th of July weekend, my husband Nick and I, along with two of our friends Adam and Katie, took a road trip to Philadelphia. I had been to Philly several times before but the location was completely new to our friends from Columbus, Ohio. We did all of the normal touristy things: the Philadelphia Art Museum, Mutter Museum, the U.S. Mint, Independence Hall, fireworks, etc. Since Philadelphia is flat, the city is remarkably walker friendly- and we walked everywhere, even though it was very hot and humid.

Philadelphia is where it’s at when it comes to food. The cities eclectic cuisine comes from the variety of ethnicities that came into the area throughout its history. Like the cheesecake is to New York, one of Philly’s top food icons is the cheesesteak (to which Adam and Katie did partake), but the city also has a lot more to offer when it comes to food. Philadelphia is a great city for foodaholics whether they are vegetarian or not.

This will be a two post deal because we ate so much good food on our trip. So let the food pics commence!

Capogiro Gelato Artisans
Location: 119 S. 13^th Street

Capogiro’s flavors change frequently so you never know what you’re going to get. But I guarantee that it will be fantastic. With several locations around the city, you can get gelato and sorbetto awesomeness whenever you’d like.

A trio of flavors from Capogiro: Champagne mango, grapefruit with Campari, and rose sorbets

Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House
Location: 1022 Race Street (Chinatown)

I could probably eat in Chinatown for the rest of my life and be completely content. Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House was so darn tasty. Even though it was like a furnace outside, I had to get a steaming bowl of soup with the hand drawn noodles. Unlike my husband, I do eat seafood occasionally (occasionally being about 4-5 times a year or so). The soup broth was clear but flavorful and they give you a heaping amount of noodles. The portions, in general, were quite large. My ginormous bowl of soup could’ve easily fed 2-3 people.

Seafood noodle soup at Nan Zhou

Mixed vegetables with stir fried fresh noodles at Nan Zhou

Penang
Location: 117 N. 10^th Street (Chinatown)

Penang’s Malaysian cuisine was equally tasty and filling. I could barely walk back to our hotel afterwards. The achat (pickled vegetable appetizer) was wonderful- the flavors were sweet and spicy.



Curry mixed vegetables

 

Tea and a lychee drink (with lychees!)

 

Chow Kueh Teow

 

Achat (pickled veggies in turmeric & spices) and Katie's homemade roti canai
(a crispy pancake with potato & chicken dipping sauce)

 

 

Wedding Cake

Happily ever after- Jon & Karen

My friends Jon and Karen just got married! They met as grad students in the philosophy department at Johns Hopkins University, were married in the President's Garden on the school's campus, and had a simple potluck-style reception at the house where he had been living this past Friday.

Every wedding should be so simple- no fuss or mayhem, no months of planning- just everyone together for a big party with plenty of food and drink to celebrate the happy couple.

 

Because I wasn't sure if they had anyone lined up for it, I offered to make their wedding cake for the party. Mind you, I have never made a wedding cake before, but I thought it would be a fun. I asked them what they had in mind for a cake and they said chocolate with fruit. Challenge accepted!

I made a three layer chocolate cake with marshmallow cream cheese filling and chocolate buttercream frosting with mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries) on top. I also made matching cupcakes and a handmade cake topper which I made in the form of a banner.  The cake was rich, but soft and very chocolatey. The marshmallow filling added a unique contrast to all of the chocolate.

Marshmallow Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz. softened cream cheese
8 oz. marshmallow fluff/marshmallow crème
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until it is well blended and of spreading consistency. Spread the mixture between cake layers or pipe it into cupcakes. This recipe is easy to double. Remember that it must be refrigerated due to the cream cheese.

~~~~~~~~
 

I'm so happy to have been able to celebrate my friends wedding with them and to have been able to make their wedding cake. Alas, they will be moving out of the country soon! Our time was fun and who knows, maybe we'll visit them in Taiwan!

 

Vi auguro cent’anni di felicità insieme!

(I wish you a hundred years of happiness together!)



Restaurant Review: Tapas Teatro

Yesterday was my 3^rd wedding anniversary! Nick and I don’t do gifts for our anniversaries anymore (we’ve been together 13 years, have too many things in a small apartment, and don’t really need anything anyway). Our anniversary treats these days include going out to a restaurant, particularly one that we haven’t been to before, and just spending a lovely evening together. This time around, we decided to try out Tapas Teatro, located next to the Charles Theater. We don’t live far from the restaurant (we walked to/from dinner last night) so I couldn’t tell you why we have never dined there before. The weather was perfect so, naturally, all of the outdoor seating was taken so we ate indoors. The owners of Tapas Teatro also own several other restaurants in Baltimore City including The Helmand, a superb Afghani restaurant, and b A Bolton Hill Bistro, which serves up Mediterranean bistro fare (I haven’t tried this restaurant yet).



Espinacia y manzana and papas cambrey with sangria

What we ate:

Espinacia y Manzana (sautéed spinach with apples and maple)

Pisto Manchego (Spanish ratatouille)

Papas Cambrey (baby potatoes with sweet garlic aioli)

Berenjenas Asado (roasted eggplant with curried vegetables and minted yogurt)

Miticrema (sheep’s milk cheese with Pajarero figs and reduced sherry)

Grilled asparagus with Romesco sauce (can’t remember the name of this dish- sorry!)

&

served with a small bowl of olives and pickles, endless baskets of bread with garlic olive oil, for dipping, and a pitcher of red sangria



Miticrema and grilled asparagus with Romesco sauce

Tapas are small plates, or appetizers, which can be eaten, leisurely, with wine or drinks. Order several plates if you wish to make a full meal. Think of tapas as finger foods that you munch on while enjoying someone’s company and conversation. Tapa’s restaurants tend to be vegetarian friendly because you can order a wide variety of cheese, egg, or vegetable plates. Our overall impression of the restaurant’s fare was a positive one. The spinach and apple dish was perfect- the apples were juicy, the maple cinnamon sauce was not overwhelming, and the pine nuts really added a unique flavor to the dish. The berenjenas asado was quite flavorful, contained Indian spices, and even had a bit of a kick to it- this dish was not too dissimilar to dishes we've had at their sister restaurant, The Helmand. Nick really enjoyed the ratatouille, which had a lovely red sauce with zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomato, and toasted pine nuts while I loved the miticrema, which was creamy and sweet. The atmosphere was ambient and the food was beautifully presented. It was definitely a great a place to get tapas.

Tapas Teatro

Spring Picnics

Tulips and blooming trees at Sherwood Garden in Baltimore

Baltimore has an annoyingly short time frame where the weather is perfect for picnics (for example, today is supposed to be 88 degrees, humid, and rainy- and it's still May). These pictures were taken in April, at Sherwood Gardens, when the weather was breezy and comfortable. Spring-like days are in short supply here, so I try to live it up on weekends with picnics, a game of Frisbee, and relaxation in the park.

Sherwood Gardens is a 6 acre park in the fancy pants neighborhood of Guilford, in north Baltimore. It's open to the public, year round, but the best time to visit the park is late April to early May when the tulips are in full bloom (according their website, they have approximately 80,000 tulips).


Nick ready to eat

So on this particular weekend picnic day I made tabbouleh and what I call 'falafel muffuletta' sandwiches for us to munch on. A traditional Italian muffuletta is stuffed with various meats (mortadella, ham, salami) and cheeses with olive spread. My vegetarian falafel muffuletta consists of homemade falafel patties, cheese, avocado, sliced pepperoncini and Roma tomatoes, with a hearty drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and homemade olive spread (made of Kalamata olives, green olives, capers and a few other select ingredients and herbs) on ciabatta bread.

Let the eating commence!

The sandwiches are great for packed lunches because it does not have to be heated. Plus, like the traditional muffuletta, it tastes better the longer it sits!

Up close and personal with the falafel muffuletta