Grillin'

For my parents last night in DC, we grilled out w/some friends. I found a grill on the street a few weeks back, and after a bit of a struggle w/ my landlord, ended up passing it over the locked fence in the back so I wouldn't have to bring it thru the house. Whatever, my landlord sucks, but I have a pretty decent grill now!

My parents and I made the majority of the food, and boy, oh boy, did we have a feast! My mom, per my request, made potato salad. It is quite the process and has a ton of ingredients, but it is amazing and I try to get her to make it for me once a summer. She also made her famous chicken, also from my childhood. Of course I haven't had it in abt 10 years, but I do remember it fondly. She marinates it w/ soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. I marinated veggies-- portabellos and zuchinni in balsamic vinegar and garlic and eggplant in olive oil, fresh herbs and garlic. This was my first foray into marinating and grilling vegetables other than portabellos, and if I do say so myself, this was a HUGE success. The veggies were awesome! I also made a 3 bean salad. This is the easiest salad in the world, but always a big hit. It is a great way to clean out the cabinet and fridge, and I bring it to almost every summer potluck/cook out I go to. I typically use black, kidney and garbanzo beans. I then add diced bell peppers (this time red and green) and red onion (or scallions). I also added corn this go round cuz I had some in the fridge. In the past, I think I've added diced olives. I use salsa as the main sauce, but kick it up w/ some dried spices (cayenne pepper, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, etc). This batch came out w/ a bit of a kick... We also did some corn on the cob.

For additions, Daphne brought this amazing walnut broccoli dip (cream cheese base), haloumi cheese that you grill in tin foil, squirt some lemon juice on and crack some pepper on (delish!), corn pudding and incredible white wine sangria. Mollie made an incredible trifle dessert. It was fresh strawberries and blueberries with cheesecake pudding, angel food cake and whipped topping. So incredible. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of it all. But it was great to utilize the grill, eat outside and have my parents meet my DC friends. Another successful dinner party!

Herb Garden and Uncooked Sauce

When my parents were in town, I bought a bunch of herbs and pots, to start a little herb garden on my porch. I now am attempting to grow mint, basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley and garlic chives. So far I haven't killed anything yet, and I am trying very hard not to... I haven't had much success in the past, but I like to blame that on living in a basement and not being a good waterer. Despite not having killed anything yet, I'm also hesitant to use my herbs in fear that they made not grow back, or that I over trim...

So after a week or so of keeping my plants alive, I decided to take the plunge and use some herbs! Also leftover from my parents trip, I had some lemons in the fridge that needed to be used up. A few years ago my mom made me a little cookbook of pasta recipes from my childhood. They're all super easy, and many are no-cook. I knew there had to be something in there utilizing lemon. There were two-- a butter lemon sauce, and a tomato lemon sauce. I opted to kinda combine the two...

I bought a pint of grape tomatoes, sliced them in half, added the zest of one lemon, and the juice of a quarter of it. I also put in 2 cloves of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and then added some chives, parsley and basil. All in all, I thought it came out great. So easy... but fresh and flavorful. Perfect for a hot summer night when you don't want to heat up the kitchen. I finished my dish w/ some fresh grated parmesan cheese.
In other news, summer is in full effect now. This week it has been constantly around 90% humidity. It has also been abt 90 degrees. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like this before. You feel like you're swimming thru air. I cannot believe people opt to spend time outside. I saw people eating outside, and I just wonder why. If I could somehow get to the metro w/o going outside, I would. It is awful. Walking in the shade barely helps. I actually walked thru Macy's to get from one end of the block to the other, just so I could be in the AC. But I am still amazed at how lucky I've been w/ this summer. It is mid August and it is only getting bad right now. That's amazing. I don't know what I'll do next summer...

Dinner Party

So I hosted a dinner party to thank my two good friends down here for all their help and support in helping me get set up down here in DC. Daphne lent me her awesome apt for a few weeks, where as Mollie has consistently lent me her husband, and I even managed to put his '94 Corsica in a coma for a bit. I'd been planning this dinner party in my head since the second I got the job (and even more so since I knew I would be living in a one bedroom apt!).

For starters we had 3 of the previous mentioned cheeses-- gouda (shout out to our times in Amsterdam), brie and bleu cheese. I also put out a mix of delicious olives I'd gotten at the market, some carrots and celery w/ homemade hummus.

For din, I made a pesto pea salad from Barefoot Contessa, altho I didn't really follow her pesto recipe and I did a mix of basil and mint, as well as a mix of baby spinach and mixed greens. I also made a summer squash dish that to me screams summer. As usual, I start by sauteeing garlic and onion, but then you add yellow squash and slow cook it over low heat for 20-30 minutes. The squash really cooks down and you can start to mash it. I then throw in some diced tomato because I think tomato (especially fresh) makes everything better. Plus summer squash for me can be a tough thing all on its own. I'm kinda weird w/ texture and I don't like things that make my teeth squeak. The primary example of this is mushrooms, but yellow squash have been known to do so as well. Somehow w/ yellow squash, I'm more willing to overlook it and this recipe is nice cuz the squash cooks down so much it doesn't seem to be "squeaky." Then you toss the squash w/ goat cheese and fresh basil. The end result is this amazingly creamy, but summery dish. Delish!

For dessert, I did another Food Network recipe from Semi-Homemade w/ Sandra Lee, Sangria Granita. I think we all know she is a lush, and to be honest my friends and I can be a bit of winos, so I decided to give it a whirl. You take a bottle of white, pour it into a pan, add 3 tbsp orange juice concentrate (I used orange mango), 1 tbsp limeade concentrate, 1 cup nectar (I used a Mango Naked Juice), 3 tbsp honey (I used wayyy less) and 1 tsp vanilla. Then you whisk it all together, throw it in the freezer and mix it every hour or so while it sets. It took abt 6-8 hours for mine to set. I served it with fresh peach on top. Sandra Lee says this makes 4 servings. There were 5 of us, and I still have half a pan of this in my freezer. She is a lush! Mollie brought over some chocolate dipped strawberries, which I thought went very nicely w/ my dessert because both were pretty light and fruity.

We ended the night by playing a riveting round of Apples to Apples. Mollie won, an attestment to her sense of humor. Tom was a close second meaning they truly are a good match! All in all, a great night-- good food, good friends, good times. Andddd, 5 bottles of the wine split between the 3 ladies. Oh yeah...

Ch-ch-changes

So I live in DC now. So far I'm loving every second of it. Sure I miss Boston, I miss my friends, I even miss my job, but DC is doing me right so far. I live in a great neighborhood, in a decent apt (I've had some interesting interactions w/ my landlord, but its a ton more space, not a ton more $$, and the neighbors are friendly), and the new job is good thus far. Its great to be near old friends, and rebuilding those relationships, while also making new friends. I feel pretty lucky.

I do want to get back into this blogging thing as I explore my new city and enjoy my new kitchen... I've made some decent meals in it, and have really been enjoying the extra space, the huge oven and readjusting to a gas stove.

Went to the market today and stocked up on veggies. Even got some yummy olives too. I love being so close to the market...

Yesterday I picked out a sofa that will be arriving later this week. Other than that, I'm in need of a coffee table and then my apt will FINALLY be complete. Hoping to get a bit more settled this weekend, to make room for the new sofa and chair and to be semi-organized in time for my first dinner party next weekend.

Now back to celebrating the nation's birthday in the nation's capital. And back to enjoying my Yuengling :)