It’s Saturday and 80 and I are piling on layers of clothes to go play in the snow. (If you’re into counting: 2 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks, a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, a hoodie and a long, thick woolly sweater, plus a water-proof jacket, gloves and a dalmatian print fleece headband/ear warmer.)

Amidst the Christmas Story-style preparation, I get an email from Dad Gansie. It has an attachment. I assume it’s snow related, as South Jersey was also hit with almost two feet of snow.

I should have known better. The video featured a mysterious casserole dish that, according to my father is, “crispin’” and “cracklin.’” I have no effing idea what it is, but I do know I forgot to wish my MomMom (grandmother) a happy birthday.

Any guesses out there?

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(Photo: ~*Lauren*~)

Pasta is pretty much my favorite food group. Fettuccine, vermicelli, angel hair, rice noodles, udon, pasta-stuffed breadbowls — I love it all. I don’t write about it so much here because I usually just eat the pre-packaged dried stuff. Boring. But there’s nothing better than going out to a great Italian place and remembering how much more amazing the fresh stuff is.

For Christmas this year I got something I’ve been wishing for several years running now: a shiny new pasta machine. I tore out the directions that came with the box and whipped up some fresh raviolis. And by whipped up I mean spent three freaking hours cooking. Damn, this is time-consuming. Also, I just didn’t love ‘em. I mean, they were fine. But not a hundred times better than regular old, out-of-the-box pasta. Clearly, I’m not expecting the first attempt to be Batali quality, but I am a little bit at a loss as to where I go from here. That’s where you come in.

I know tons of you guys have homemade pasta tips, right? What recipes do you use? Do I need a special flour? A new unitasker? Kneeding advice? Ancient family secrets? Bring it all.

Feed me!

Snow! Snow! Snow!

That’s really all anyone can say around DC. And I’m sure the rest of the country is sick of hearing about our snow-blanketed city.

But I’ve been taking full advantage of our weather, particularly by ingesting it.

My friends Tim and Alice had people over to welcome the blizzard and during multiple email exchanges, Liza reply-ed all that we should make snow ice cream.

I thought she was kidding, akin to finding a (snow)man chilling on your neighbor’s yard and finally seeing (snow)angels in heaven. Then Alice provided a link. Holy crap! How do I not know about this!

Of course, we wouldn’t be satisfied with just snow ice cream for our snowpocalypse party – we had to incorporate booze.

Snow Cocktail

Place a clean bowl outside. Let it fill with snow. Add in milk, sugar, vanilla extract and a coffee liqueur, we like Kahlua or Starbucks brand.

Snow also works as an ice substitute, with drinks such as a Beam and Coke.

PS–Did I mention we’re getting another snow storm!

- Jenna is on the “respect vanilla” train:

Awhile ago I made vanilla ice cream with a Tahitian vanilla bean and it was A-mazing. Like, vanilla does get a bad rap; people call it “boring” or unimaginative. But when you have the real stuff you realize that it’s this incredibly complex, nuanced, subtle fascinating flavor. We should give vanilla more respect.

- The cottage cheese chronicles never end. Nicky:

Recently I saw a soup recipe with parsley dumplings made with cottage cheese and thought of your adventures with cottage cheese. I thought it might be something you would like to try – here’s the link – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mushroom-and-Leek-Soup-with-Parsley-Dumplings-357310
The technique sounds quite similar to your fried cottage cheese.

- And from bacon to vodka to CO2 tanks, we’re loving your contributions to the snow five. What’s in your snow five? Keep those answers coming…

(Photo: tomeppy)

Valentine’s Day is the time of the year when personal displays of affection are obligatory — a day to celebrate without any inhibitions.  For the gay community this can sometimes be a challenge as restaurants are not as universally tolerant of gay couples’ PDAs. We’ve all heard the horror stories where a gay couple has been asked to leave a restaurant when either the owner isn’t happy or other customers feel uncomfortable. Yes, the gay community has its own restaurants, but there are not enough seats to fill every gay person in the city, especially this city.

Here is my guide to some great restaurants in DC where I would be happy to go on V-Day, to recommend to my friends, or to you, the readers of ES.

The First Date: 1789

As deceptive as it is great. Daniel Giusti is one of the youngest Executive Chefs in one of the oldest and grandest of dining rooms in the District,  but you’d never guess by his youthful menu — my personal favourite dish is the Oyster Gratin. Actually, my experience at 1789 was somewhat overwhelming. The food really was exceptional but the surroundings and other clientele were not my usual setting. I think of 1789 as an older, more conservative restaurant, so I’m not sure that a gay couple would be comfortable showing some love. But I would recommend 1789 for a first date — first dates are not for touchy-feely situations but more for getting to know your newfound love, and 1789 can provide that conversational atmosphere. 1789 is offering a five-course tasting in addition to its a la carte menu. 1226 36th Street NW, (202) 965-1789

Impressing a Second Date: Tabard Inn

This classic standby is no stranger to gay clientele. Bordering Dupont and 17th Street, it’s a popular choice amongst my friends for weekend brunch and I suspect it will be no different come Valentine’s Day. The hotel is offering a 3-course prix fixe menu which includes Oysters, Seared Guinea Hen and a selection of desserts to choose, albeit on the pricier side at $65 per person. 1739 N Street NW, (202) 331-8528

Getting a Little Closer: Oya

With its dimly candle lit tables and white leather chairs, Oya provides no excuses other than your very best, so go ahead and hold hands or play footsie under the table. The cocktail list alone will provide excuse for you to do a little more — no one will be any the wiser as they too will be too busy doing the same. Don’t forget to order some food — the small plates are an ideal way to share your passion and fill your stomach at the same time. Oya is offering a four-course tasting menu on Valentine’s Day ($45); sushi will only be available at the bar. I’d have to say too that Oya has some of the prettiest servers in town, and I can think of a few of my friends who would enjoy looking at those as a V-Day treat — you know who you are! 777 9th St NW, (202) 684-8700

Getting Even Closer: Blue Duck Tavern

In the interest of full disclosure I have to tell you that I spent Valentine’s here last year — well, in the comfort of a room in the Park Hyatt, but we did order room service from Blue Duck. A relaxed setting with glass, mirrors and plenty of oak to consume yourself in, this is one of those restaurants that is as diverse as its clientele. Perhaps even opt for a double date in one of the glass cubes — very intimate and extremely private. Blue Duck has possibly one of the best dessert menus in the city, and what better way to end your date than with a Flourless Chocolate Cake (emphasis on the flourless, we are talking gays here). Blue Duck is offering an amorous sharing menu consisting of four courses, including Caviar and Dungeness Crab ($65 per person). 24 M Street Northwest, (202) 419-6755

Bringing the Whole Crew: Cafe Atlantico

I love José Andrés. He’s perfect. That’s all. OK, maybe not all. In addition to its GQ Chef of the Year, Cafe Atlantico is lauded for its cocktails. Yes, I always bring it back to alcohol but who can resist a Magic Mojito or Caipirinha? I know I can’t. For Atlantico, Valentine’s Day is not just a an excuse for a lovefest but it’s also the start of this year’s Carnaval season. In honor of this event Head Chef Terri Cutrino has prepared a special Carnaval-themed six-course menu ($45) which includes a Carnaval Love Potion and ‘Mocqueca’ of lobster — I have no idea either, but doesn’t sound like it could be bad. With Rio De  Janeiro as a top gay destination this will surely translate over to 8th Street. Expect a fun and sensual atmosphere. But please remember, you’re not in Brazil, you’re in DC, so leave the speedos at home — we don’t care what your six-pack looks like. 405 8th Street Northwest, (202) 393-0812

Of course you could forget all of the above and hit up your favourite go-to place. I asked some of my friends where they were going and their responses ranged from The Melting Pot, Lauriol Plaza and Coco Sala to Rosa Mexicana and Tabaq Bistro.

What about the rest of you DC-ers (gays and others)? Where have you had great/horrible Valentine’s Day Dinners?

(Photo: The Futuristics)

It’s funny in DC. People are freaking the fuck out about this snow. Granted, local weather makers claim this “snowmageddon” will be historic with accumulation reaching two feet. And in dorky DC fashion, there’s even the self-important, self-deprecating website: Snowpocalypse.

Well, to be fair, a plain clothes-ed cop whipped out his gun at a snow ball fight last time we found flakes falling from the sky.

Anyway, 80 and I were contemplating our needs for a possible (and historic for us!) second grocery store run of the week. I thought about what my cravings would be over a weekend of drinking and sledding. And that’s when I knew I could survive on 5 things.

Sure, I didn’t want to and 80 and I both ended up venturing to the store. He bought milk, bagels, beer and wine. I bought two sweet potatoes, two buttercup squashes, a pound of mixed, salted nuts and a crate of clementines. But all I really needed was…

The Snow Five

1) Eggs
2) Bagels
3) Cream Cheese
4) Potato Chips
5) Coke

What’s your Snow Five?

(Pic: Brittney Bush)

It was during a visit to Montreal some eight years ago that I first discovered the glory that is poutine. This French Canadian specialty is a heart-stopping, gut-busting treat that somehow manages to out-America American food, topping crispy French fries with mounds of fresh cheese curds and thick brown gravy. Delicious. Frightening. Genius.

The dish is so popular Up North that it’s even served at McDonald’s in Montreal. Now it’s quickly proliferating New York restaurant menus and appears set to become the next Bahn Mi/Fried Chicken/obsessive over-the-top comfort food trend. So I set out to explore every New York restaurant currently serving poutine. With a little (OK, a lot) of help from some friends, I’m delighted to share this exhaustive report, along with the news that my internal organs appear to still be intact…for now.

Drunken Poutine: T Poutine

The first NYC shop to make poutine the focus of their menu, this Lower East Side newcomer sees Canada’s challenge and raises it, offering artery-clogging options like the steakhouse poutine (topped with caramelized onions, blue cheese and thinly sliced steak) and the morning glory poutine (applewood smoked bacon and sunnyside up egg). The gravy (which also comes in a veggie version) is nothing to write home about, but this party-area spot, which is BYOB and open til 5am on weekends, is more about the alcohol-soaking extras. You can ramp your poutines up even further with add-ons like Essex pickles and panko fried cheese curds. 168 Ludlow Street, $7.25 – $9.50

Everything Poutine: Corner Burger

After returning from an eye-opening holiday trip to Montreal, the owners of this Park Slope burger and sandwich shop have updated their menu with an astounding 13 varieties of poutine. The Americanized takes—pepperoni, mozzarella and marinara make up the “pizza poutine”—are in our opinion unnecessary, but Corner Burger hits a home run with the hearty classic versions, such as “poutine galvaude,” a popular Quebecois take that adds shredded chicken and peas to the standard dish, which features a delicious housemade chicken gravy. 381 5th Avenue, Brooklyn. $6 – $7.50

Extra Cheese Poutine: Dive Bar

This long-standing Upper West Side establishment has been serving poutine for years, and there’s nothing fancy or inventive about their take. (The bartender found it hilarious/adorable that I wanted to take a photo.) The possibly canned gravy is mediocre, but as you can see that’s not really the emphasis here. Dive Bar wins the most-cheese-curds-for-your-dollar award by a long shot, and gets extra props for the fact that the extra-crispy fries hold up well under all that weight. 732 Amsterdam Avenue, $8.

Keep reading….it only gets crazier…

The Last Supper Poutine: Shopsin’s

This quirky lunch counter inside the Essex Street Market serves up the poutine to end all poutines — a giant bowl of super crisp French fries completely doused in the requisite dark gravy and cheese curds and then topped with not one, not two, but three runny poached eggs. The seemingly bottomless bowl is an amazing feast, but do exercise caution. Because Shopsin’s is only open ’til 3 p.m., when most of my “real job” friends are unavailable, I had to approach this monstrous meal on my own, and while I didn’t come anywhere close to finishing, suffice it to say my stomach was not on speaking terms — or more accurately, was on speaking terms — with me for the rest of the day. 120 Essex Street, $13

Poutine Lite: Sheep Station

We love that this Australian pub in Park Slope makes room on its menu for a great Canadian dish, and they start strong, with beautiful golden-brown fries — thick but not too thick. Unfortunately, they seem to be afraid of really embracing the whole poutine mentality, drizzling on just a few cheese curds and a woefully small amount of gravy, which tasted canned and was way too salty. Our tasting team recommends the fries on their own, but this isn’t the best stop for poutine, unless you’re unsure you’re ready to handle the real deal. 149 4th Avenue, Brooklyn. $6

Street Poutine – Pommes Frites

This late-night East Village standby gets plenty of props for their double-fried Belgian fries and wide array of dipping sauces, but they also deserve credit for their less frequently ordered poutine. Served just like it is at many Montreal establishments, in Styrofoam to-go cups, Pommes Frites’ version is designed to keep you warm on that winter walk home, and while neither the gravy or cheese curds were the best of what we tasted, the grease-soaked fries are great as always, and they do an excellent job on the ratios — ensuring that every bite has a well proportioned mix of all ingredients. Bonus points for being the cheapest poutine in NYC. 123 2nd Avenue, $5.

Elitist Poutine: Hotel Griffou

OK, fine — we didn’t actually visit ever NYC poutinerie. Our tasting team decided to skip this West Village hotspot, most well-known for Leo and Lindsey sightings but also home to some ridiculousness known as duck confit poutine (seriously!) The place sounds a little too scene-y for my tastes, plus the food gets not great reviews and Yelp-ers report they don’t allow photos anyway. But if anyone has tasted this dish, we’d love to hear your thoughts. 21 West 9th Street, $12 (Photo: The Jedi Foodie)

Best Poutine In Show: Mile End

This just-opened Brooklyn eatery, named for a hip Montreal neighborhood, aces poutine with a classic version that features a super-thick, housemade chicken-mushroom gravy (there’s also a just-mushroom version) and cheese curds from Silver Moon Creamery in Maine, by far the lightest and freshest we sampled on our poutine tour. But they top themselves by finishing the dish with bits of savory smoked beef brisket. In fact, with a laid-back atmosphere; friendly service (owner Noah Bernamoff gladly chatted with us about ingredient sourcing even while busily slicing his straight-out-of-the-oven brisket); and Stumptown coffee to boot, Mile End may be my favorite new NYC restaurant. Note: they’re struggling a bit to handle Brooklyn’s surprisingly feverent appetite for Canadian cuisine, and as of now are only serving from 8am ’til whenever they run out of meat (usually between 3 and 4 pm). 97A Hoyt Street, Brooklyn, $8 – $11

More: NYC’s Burgeoning Canadian Food Scene

DC has been pummeled with snow this season and it’s not stopping. In fact, we’re supposed to get hit this Friday and again on Tuesday. Like the good weather tracker that he is, 80 went to the store days before casual weather watchers panic for milk and bread and eggs.

Unlike me, he came home with hardly any fresh produce (although to his credit, they didn’t  have my requests: brussels sprouts and winter squash and he’s not known to go off script). When I got home from the DC Food Blogger Happy Hour (DC is so dorky!) he showed off his new items, especially his Ken’s Lite Caesar dressing. But I scanned for our pending dinner, particularly noting the four sticks of butter.

And even though I dined on noodles for lunch with Tim, I couldn’t resist the ease of a quick pasta dish for dinner.

Butter Parsley Pasta

Place just enough butter in a pan to sautee chopped garlic and a shallot. Add in cooked whole wheat angel hair pasta (I didn’t drain the pasta, instead scooping the noodles directly into the pan, with pasta water still clinging to the strands), mix in about half a stick of butter, fresh parsley, red pepper flakes, coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Grate parm cheese until your arm hurts. Mix. Plate with extra butter, cheese and salt.

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

- The Bleep Bloop crew takes on the Iron Chef video game.  The winner?  Apparently, companies that make cheap attachments for your Wiimote.

- I think we can safely say:  Food tattoos are rarely a good idea.  Yes, that is Eric Ripert.

After the jump…the Food Network Empire keeps growing and it’s getting HOT in here.

- The Food Network is headed to the Middle East.  I can’t wait for the new shawarma episode Throwdown with Bobby Flay!

- A list of the hottest women in food.  And Paula Deen.

- And one for the ladies….

(Photo: satanoid)