4-day Cabin Plan

Audrey — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:23:13 +0000

Jon and I have found a great rental "cabin" about 1.5 hours outside of DC (not giving our secret away!). We go there about once or twice a year to unplug and relax. We invariably have a great time.

Each time we go, we plan a menu and bring everything we need to execute it. To help with future planning, here's the menu and basic shopping list we used this time.

Lunch D1 (optional): Stop at Ashby Inn

Dinner D1: Grilled fish with grilled sides and salad

A Tasty Breakfast

Jon — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:28:18 +0000

We came to the realization that if we want to preserve treats from this summer for the winter, then we need space to do that. We've done pretty well on our house-canned goods, but lacking a Freezer of Unusual Size (I don't think they exist), this meant we had to find uses for some items stored away in there currently.

Menu for the week of June 26

Jon — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:20:44 +0000

Sun: grilled whole rainbow trout, stuffed with lemon and rosemary, brushed with garlic scape pesto, with quinoa, grilled squash, and side salad of purslane and seabeans.

Mon : artesenal pizza w/salad on top
Tues: Gnocci in a brown butter sauce and side veg
Wed : Composed Salad w/ tuna
Thus: H St. / Art Walk
Fri : Baguette slices with heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, cured meats, cheese, olives, pickled mushrooms...

Spring Menu: Week of May 21

Jon — Fri, 27 May 2011 18:22:33 +0000

Sunday night: grass-fed steak from Canales meats in Eastern Market

Monday: Fiddlehead fern salad with baked potato

Italian Week: Menu for the week of May 15

Jon — Sun, 15 May 2011 18:27:18 +0000

Sunday: Pizza with red sauce, fresh mushrooms and mozarella

Monday: Salad night

Tuesday: Spaghetti with lamb-sausage meatballs

Wednesday: Italian-style tapas featuring virginia cured ham prosciutto and pistacho pesto

Thus: Salad and Leftovers night

Menu: Is it spring yet?

Jon — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 02:28:28 +0000

OK, this winter thing is getting a bit old. This was eat-down-the-freezer week, 'cuz once fresh food is available again, it won't be a high priority.

Saturday: We team-cooked with Joe and Erin on a quest for a tasty, fancy pescetarian mean. We ended up with Jose Andres' Tuna Stew with an olive oil and egg yolk foam.

Monday: Shrimp and grits with turnips

Menu: Winter Desperation Week

Jon — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:24:54 +0000

In which we bring out the big guns to defeat the last few months of winter vegetables.

Sunday: guiness cottage pie

Monday (prepared on Sunday): Mike's Potato Soup

Menu: Asian week

Jon — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

We started the week with some oysters from BlackSalt, and then dived in to a full asian-inspired week.

Sunday was roll-your-own sushi, and we got playful with some fried wonton wrappers and seaweed salads from BlackSalt

Monday was steam buns using some leftover ham from the previous week, and steam buns frozen after making waaay more than we could eat in this recipe

Menu: Southern Week

Jon — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:54:28 +0000

Sunday was glazed ham, using an overly complex glazing recipe which I'd not revisit. The addition of cardamom and other spices was intriguing, but over the top in the end.

Monday was gourmet mac-and-cheese, abusing the "cheese ends" bin from the grocery to great effect.

Tuesday was audrey's shrimp louis salad

We had various combinations of leftovers and winter veggies (brussel sprouts, kale, etc.) the rest of the week.

We're really tired of winter veggies.

Menu: Mediterranean

Jon — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday started us off with Braised Lamb Shank

Monday got us making all our various Mediterranean dips, and so Monday was dip night - tzatziki, drinker's choice, and hummus

Wednesday was shrimp saganaki

Thus we had brick chicken with salad and dips and grapeleaves.

Friday we went out the the Columbia Room and Coco Sala.

Menu: Mexico Week (January)

Jon — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:26:56 +0000

After getting back from a fantastic, super-long weekend away for the wedding of some close friends in Mexico, we wanted to keep the ball rolling with a week of Mexican-inspired dishes.

We spent the weekend gathering ingredients (thanks mostly to the mega mart at University and Piney Branch)

Lacquered Chicken in Classic Red Mole inspired by Rick Bayless, using this Mole recipe

The first fall menu

Jon — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:13:55 +0000

This past week was undeniably a fall week, and the best food options at the market reflected that.

Mon - Butternut Squash and ginger soup with a sage foam, alongside kale wilted with pancetta, dried cranberries and pecorino cheese
Tues - homemade butternut ravioli with a brown butter sauce and broccoli
Wed - More soup!
Thus - baked sweet potatoes and salad

Spanish food week: July 18

Jon — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:19:18 +0000

Audrey got me a Jose' Andres cookbook for Channukkah, and we've barely cracked it. So most of these recipes are coming from there to put together a Spanish week:

Sunday: Seafood paella

Monday: Ajo blanco (a cold almond and garlic soup)

Tuesday: Chickpeas and Chorizo (via Tex-Mix

Menu for the week of July 5

Jon — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:06:06 +0000

This week was dedicated to staying cool.

Monday - Grilled Tuna Steak (in a variety of ways)

Tuesday - Salad night

Wednesday - We caved and went to Seventh Hill. what can we say, if their chalk menu says "duck prosciutto", we go.

Thursday - Gazpacho

Friday - Ceviche with a mango salsa and popcorn

Menu for Week of March 1st

Audrey — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:55:18 +0000

Last week was New Orleans week ... not my favorite week. The food is growing on me (and last week's gumbo was pretty delicious), but its still more of a "Jon-week." So this week was an "Audrey-week." I'll call it "California ethnic." I focused on four of my favorite California ethnic cuisines - Iranian, Jewish (...sort of a cuisine), Asian (broadly), and Mexican (also broadly).

Saturday - Homemade Sushi

Sunday - Tah Chin (Persian Rice Casserole)