New Jersey Surprise!

Had some Raagas Cousins give us a surprise visit from New Jersey. Here's some pics of us having lunch at Pho 98 in Chantilly.

Pho...a bowl of goodness.


Arl and Noah...

Not your ordinary salmon dish

(Courtesy of Arl's Blog lifeaccordingtosilenta.blogspot.com)




Salt and Pepper Salmon

1 salmon fillet (about 2 pounds), skin on, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions
Run your finger up and down the center of the salmon feeling for any pin bones. Remove any that you find with a needle-nosed pliers or tweezers. With a sharp knife cutting across the width of the salmon, divide it into 4 equal portions. Lightly salt the salmon and let sit a couple minutes; this will help you get crispy skin.
Heat a 2-count, about 2 tablespoons, of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is almost smoking. Season the salmon with pepper, and rub about 1 1/2 tablespoons butter on the skin side of each fillet. Add the salmon to the pan, skin-side down. To get super crispy skin, cook the salmon almost to completion, about 6 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook until flesh side is nicely seared, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the salmon to a platter and top with a dollop of dill creme fraiche. Serve with the Smashed Potatoes.

Dill Creme Fraiche

1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 bunch fresh dill, coarsely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon roughly chopped capers
4 cornichons, finely chopped

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined.


Smashed New Potatoes with Peas, Lemon, and Pearl Onions

1 1/2 to 2 pounds red bliss potatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (10-ounce) box frozen pearl onions, defrosted
Pinch sugar
Splash freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 slices lemon
2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen peas, defrosted
1 lemon, zested
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 heaping tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill
1 bunch watercress, stems trimmed just above the rubber band

Directions
Put the potatoes into a large pot, cover them with cold water, and add a large pinch of salt. If they're large, cut them in half. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain. Stick a fork into the potatoes, 1 at a time, lift them out of the colander and peel with a paring knife. Toss the potatoes into a bowl and roughly crush them. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil with the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the pearl onions, sugar, and lemon juice and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the lemon slices, peas, and lemon zest and continue cooking until the peas are hot. Season with salt and pepper. Dump the vegetables over the potatoes in the bowl, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil add the parsley and dill and taste for salt and pepper. Scatter the watercress over the top, fold it in just until it wilts and call it a day.

My thoughts: To quote my husband, "This is the best dish you have EVER made!" This was the first time I made this recipe and based on his reaction, I would say it was a success. The recipe is from Tyler Florence's Ultimate. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. When cooking the salmon, I melted the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and used a brush to generously spread evenly on the salmon skin. I substituted sour cream for creme fraiche. Although the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, I used an 8oz. container of sour cream cause I didn't want to waste anything and just added more dill and a drained 3 fl. oz. jar of capers. I couldn't find cornichons so I didn't use them. I plan on using the extra creme fraiche as a dip for pita slices. When I picked up all the ingredients for the potatoes at the grocery, I thought 2 lbs. weren't enough so I used a 3 lb. bag of red potatoes instead. Peeling the potatoes was a pain, literally. I thought I was going to burn my fingers off.
In the end, the salmon was just the right amount of crispy. The dill "creme fraiche" pulled everything together and was delicious. The potatoes were light and lemony and a definite step up from my usual go to betty crocker instant mashed potatoes. Hahaha.
The recipe was pretty easy. So easy I could probably make it on a week night too especially since the creme fraiche can be made ahead of time.

Friday Fish Day

Snapped a picture of my Sapporo beer at Naruto in Ashburn.

Asparagus, Prociutto and Linguine with a Sage Cream Sauce

Here's Monday's dinner...I modified this recipe from Food and Wine and came up with this.

2 Amy's Pizza

2 Amy's Pizza makes the best pizza in all of DC. Their pizza reminds me of the pizza Arlene and I had during our trip to Italy back in 2007. 2 Amy's Pizza even has D.O.C (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) status, which specifies the legally permitted ingredients and methods of preparation necessary to produce authentic Neapolitan Pizza.

Pizza isn't the only good thing here, they have a great wine bar and small dish menu which includes the likes of oven roasted olives, salt cured sardines and other Italian classics. Pizza is so good, Noah couldn't resist.

Day at the National Zoo

With the warm weather back, Arlene and I decide to take Noah to the Zoo. We finally had another opportunity to get out of the house after a long cold winter. We started with checking out the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market for some locally grown produce. Lots of good stuff was available for sale like fresh produce, organic meats, cheese and baked goods. We checked out the freebies, but Arlene only settled for a pumpkin cupcake (she's a sucker for pumpkin anything).

After the Farmer's Market, we drove up Connecticut Ave to check out the National Zoo . Being at the zoo as parents was defintely a different experience. The place was jammed packed with strollers including the one we had with Noah.

I gotta say I love the zoo -- it's very relaxing and it's an educational experience for the kids. Here are some pics of a couple of the animals we saw today.
Silverback Gorilla...

Lions...

After the zoo we walked up historic Macomb St. to grab lunch at 2 Amy's which I'll blog about very soon.

Orange Glazed Chicken and Spinach Mushroom Lasagna Rolls

Saturday night Arlene and I decided to tag team dinner. I smoked and chicken and made an Orange Dijon Honey Glaze and asparagus; and Arlene whipped up some Spinach Lasagna Rolls with a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce which she got from Rachel Ray.

Family Day in Brambleton

Finally Spring weather has arrived!!! Here are some pics of the family with Mae, Dennis and my niece and nephew enjoying the warm weather.

Jayden and Ella going down the slide...

Jayden chillin' in the Cylinder...

Noah doing his best Michael Jordan impression...

Two and Half Hour Monday Commute

My view for two and half hours during this morning's commute to work.

Cooking with Mom

Both Arlene and my parents were over this weekend to see Noah. We love when they visit cause they help out a lot with Noah, plus when my mom's in town she takes the kitchen over and whips up some Filipino dishes.

Shea waiting for scraps...

Mom working the stove

Finished product...Squid Adobo