Endless Simmer - A Food Blog

I’ve mentioned this before, but Sunday night is not THE big dinner night over at our place. I know big, cooking, homey Sunday Dinners maintain a long tradition in many cultures (especially my Italian friends growing up) but I’ve always considered Sunday to be order-in night. Ask DAD GANSIE, he’ll concur.

As such, this past Sunday, after a trip to see my sister play rugby in PA (yes, BS, Alex, 80P, SAG, Morgansm and I all tailgated for this monster event) and party at my cousin’s Bat Mitzvah, we ordered in Mr. Chen’s Organic Chinese Cuisine. Now, Chen’s has gotten some love from District residents, but I really don’t see it.

Last time I ordered there I got the Rice Noodles with vegetables. And I didn’t like it. But of course, I totally forgot when I ordered this past Sunday, and ordered it again. (Rice noodles are the kind you get with Pad See Eaw, a dish I do love.) I was craving thin, long noodles and what I got were those thick, wide noodles. I mean, who doesn’t love twirling noodles on a fork? Or fumbling with chopsticks?

After I finished eating, I marked a “NO” next to its name on the menu; but that still didn’t alleviate the immediate problem: leftovers.

• Continue reading or Comments (8)

It’s an urban legend among roommate disaster stories. Roommate #1 goes to neighborhood takeout joint. Orders smelliest thing on menu. Brings home, consumes half during Lost marathon, puts in fridge. Roommate #2 comes home, sniffs something rank, assumes rotten meat in fridge, throws out stinky leftovers. Passive aggressive notes ensue. Roommate tension escalates. Both move out. And it all started with a smelly dish.

DC has many choices of incredibly smelly, yet unbelievably tasty takeout. Everyone has come across this fare in some form. It’s the food with the stench that is embedded in your car during the five minute drive from the curry shop to your couch (car fresheners don’t come in Lamb Korma). The meal that when consumed at the desk causes coworkers’ eyes to water. The food that may smell better coming out than going in. But in the battle between taste buds and nose, taste triumphs. Meet the pungent posse of yummy DC takeout food.

Honorable Mention: O Jing A Bukom, Adam Express
This nondescript takeout place in Mt. Pleasant may look like any of the many forgettable Chinese joints that dot the DC landscape (sorry YUMS and Dannys). But one step inside this place and you are greeted with an extensive Korean menu, smiling owners, and the succulent stench of food. While everything in this tasty hole-in-the-wall has an aroma, only the daring need to order the stinkiest of all smelly foods: O Jing A Bukom. Broiled squid and vegetables sautéed in a spicy sauce with an odor more ferocious than the villain in Twenty Thousand Leagues. But man, is it good. The fresh chili spicy sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the perfectly grilled seafood. If the squid isn’t malodorous enough, Adam Express kindly includes a side of Kimchi (pickled cabbage) to raise the smelly stakes.
Adam Express, 3211 Mt Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC 20010, (202) 328-0010

4th Place: Garlic Knots, Valentino’s, Alexandria
New York pizza enthusiasts love Valentino’s for its authentic pies. But look beyond the main course for an appetizer that will surely singe the senses. This adored takeout joint takes pizza dough and bakes it with herbs, spices, olive oil, and Kilimanjaro-size mountain of garlic. Valentino’s creation heads a thousand knots into Garlic Land (Candyland’s much less profitable successor). The flavor is perfectly spiced, fragrant goodness, and the bread is warm and generously greasy, but the fumes give off a garlic sauna. Perfect for John Carpenter or Vampire Weekend fans, or for one of the Coreys in The Lost Boys. Not at all good for first dates.
Valentino’s, 4813 Beauregard St, Alexandria, VA 2232, (703) 354-8383

• Continue reading or Comments (9)

Takin over for 80P this week. And, this is a very special live blogging edition - we have guests over! Neighbors Edouble, Vi and Jerry will help with the commenting. And, of course, 80P. Although we might be like 5 minutes behind - waiting for Jerry to get here.

For the company, I obv had to make some snacks. With an almost bad eggplant I made baba ghanouj for the first time. And I followed this recipe, except for just one eggplant and I tripled the garlic and didn’t measure anything. I served it with whole wheat pita chips which I made by tossing pita (cut into triangles) with extra virgin, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. And then I spread them out on a baking sheet and popped it in the oven for like 15-20 minutes on 350.

— — —

Bring on the veggies. Quick Fire is pretty cool - show off knife skills and technique on vegetables. Like 80 said before, the Quick Fires are so much better. Not just corporate tie in. It’s actual cooking.

Love Daniel Boulud. His After Hours show is so cool. It’s like, get some random celebs (Charlotte’s gay friend from Sex and the City, Mario Cantone, and Danielle Gabrielle Reese) and eat in the kitchen at like 2am.

And although I don’t agree with Vegan - sign me up for the Vegan sashimi by Dale. Very well thought out.

Richard is a douche.

And Dale is the Winner!

— — —

OMG! Gemma! So sorry. Stay with me!

— — —

• Continue reading or Comments (44)

We here at ES headquarters are pretty obsessed with spices. Put any one of us in front of even an average supermarket dried spices aisle, and don’t expect to get out of there anytime soon. On one particularly productive workday, gansie compiled an excel spreadsheet listing every spice she owned. She forwarded me the document and asked me to review and advise in case she had missed anything. I think I remember the phrase “I only have four sea salts listed and I know I have more than that.”

My point is, we have problems. But my other point is, spices are frickin amazing. You just sprinkle this magic little dust on your food, and it is instantly spicy, savory, salty, sweet, or some beautiful combination of all of the above. It almost feels like cheating.

While searching for the perfect spice to redden up my dahl, I happened upon a quirky little package of ume-shiso sprinkle, described on the bag as how:

• Continue reading or Comments (7)

Yes, I’m obsessed with the WaPo chats. Okay, so here is an a-mazing excerpt from Kim OD’s chat. Surely this reader is also a fan of ES! (Or just observing the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Rat.)

Fairfax, Va.: Do you have any rat recipes?

Kim O’Donnel: I think this is a question better suited for the most intrepid eater on the planet, Mister Anthony Bourdain.

***

No Rat on the Menu!: Actually, the Chinese government passed a resolution or some such thing asking the people to respect and honor (or something like that) rats for the next year…..I don’t think that includes eating them!

washingtonpost.com: PETA to China: Respect Rats, Especially This Year ( AP)

Kim O’Donnel: Interesting. Thanks to Mister Rocs, my handy producer, for digging up this link.

Remember to cook up your favorite rodent and tell us all about it. Submissions due 03/04/08. Send to: contests@endlessssimmer.com

• Comments (0)

Editors Note: Okay, so I can be pretty judgmental. For example, when women either (a) don’t have their nails painted, (b) have chipped nail polish or (c) only paint their toe nails in the summer, I immediately think less of them. Now of course, some of my best friends are negligent polishers, but that doesn’t mean I forgive them for being an absentee nail painter. See my point? I’m ridiculous.

When I first met Maidelitala all I knew was that she was a vegetarian and didn’t eat cheese (but, the cheese is no fault of her own - she’s a self-IDed “lactard.”) With the no meat, no cheese thing I thought I would have nothing to talk to her about. But, as I very soon learned, she loves to cook and makes really amazing veggie, cheese-less food. So as a part of my own learning process - learning to accept non-carnivores—here is Maidelitala. Oh, and she’s also a very exciting dancer. But that’s another story.

Since I was a wee tyke, one of my very favorite things to eat in the world has been a perfectly cooked plate of fresh broccoli (not raw, not overcooked.) Thus you must imagine my abject horror at Bush the Senior’s shameful show of disdain for the cute little green trees and my chortles of delight when the Broccoli Farmers of America dumped a wheel barrel of the herbaceous crop on the White House lawn back in the day. Ahhh those were the days, when wheel barrel rolling terrorist farmers could get close enough to the White House to play practical jokes on the mouthy geezer who called himself Commander-in-Chief of this outfit…

Anyway, one of my very, very favorite ways to cook this veg-edible is Taiwanese style with sliced, slow cooked bean curd (a variation on a recipe taught to me by a not so dear roommate - not that she was bad… she was just a really, really loud talker and kept all sorts of pig products in every orifice of the fridge, which was super offensive to my veggie sensibilities. Regardless.)

Even if bean curd is something you really would rather avoid eating (it wasn’t so long ago that the word bean curd made me think of regurgitated legumes,) I promise this is a delicious, simple dish and the broccoli alone is worth making. Believe me, I’ve been a veg-head since I was 10 - I know what I’m talking about.

Read on for this special veggie edition of ES

• Continue reading or Comments (14)

Obviously you have to make sweet and sour sauce to go with it. Not only was my boss headed out of town for the week, but she was kind enough to leave me with her leftover pineapple. Needing to come up with a way to use a large quantity of soon-to-spoil fruity goodness, I turned to my wok for inspiration.

Recipe and more inspiring photos just a click away…

• Continue reading or Comments (5)

Always on the cutting edge, ES had traveled around the world (via the blogosphere) to bring you news of what we’ll all be drinking in the future:

- Japanese schoolgirls, who pretty much decide what’s cool in America one year in advance, have started drinking hot beer. That’s right. Beer - heated. [J-list, via SEats]

- For those of you who always wanted a little more Che in your brews, the answer is almost here: Yerba Mate Beer. ES prediction: Herbal-infused beers are the next big thing. [Slashfood]

- If you’re lookin’ for even more Latin flavor in your glass, here’s a crazy idea: try mixing your tequila with some spicy chocolate mole. One Chocomole coming up. But I wouldn’t recommend two, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. [Liquid Muse]

Photo: TFTS

• Comments (2)

BS and I totally act like we’re the messiah when it comes to cooking. Well, there’s one person that can top us every time.

So I don’t think we’ve really talked about it in this forum, but in the old neighborhood, back when BS was a District resident, we held Iron Chef-like contests. The rules changed a bit each time, but the basic scenario was 80P and my old house-mate Julie would pick three ingredients. They would then text them to the contestants at about 5:30 (post-work) and we’d have to use each ingredient at least once over two courses - no recipe/internet searches allowed. We’d then serve our creations, later that night, to the gathered neighbors, explaining dishes and methods. At the end of the delicious meal, the diners would vote.

BS and I both had our unfair share of wins, but Vio would always kick our ass in some sort of fashion. She’s a master: she bakes, fries, grills and experiments with crazy taste combinations. I hate her, of course, because everything she cooks is absolutely awesome and gorgeous. Her downside - we’ve yet to convince her to join the blog.

Last night during our weekly Project Runway dinner and watch parties, she grilled (yes, taking advantage of the warm January weather) an amazingly tasty swordfish. And since she won’t blog, I’ve stolen her makeshift recipe:

Coconut-Curry Swordfish

Marinate the swordfish in: lite coconut milk, red curry paste, minced garlic and ginger and just a pinch of salt. (The garlic and fresh ginger were pulverized in her new toy - the mini Cuisinart.)

Let it soak up the mixture for about 30 minutes on each side and then throw it on the grill, making sure you char on cross-hatches.

• Comments (1)