I knew Hollywood East to serve dim sum on weekends, an experience in which many of us will soon take part. It was relatively quiet that Friday evening. Several large families were present, though, including some Chinese/Chinese-American ones (which I generally see as a good sign for a Chinese restaurant).

As there are more than a few shots taken from dinner that night, I’ve placed them behind a jump…

There was plenty of jasmine tea to go around.

LeahGeek had some of the crab wontons. I like how they look a little like folded origami… only out of fried wonton wrapper. A sweet and sour sauce would accompany the appetizer.

The crab wontons a little bit closer… Hot and crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.

I ordered the crab and shrimp balls; I was surprised how many there were! Admittedly I forgot to ask if they were steamed or fried.

They were piping hot… fresh out of the frier, and accompanied by the same sweet and sour sauce as the wontons. Here they are a little bit closer…

What’s a meal at a Chinese restaurant without some rice?

Our entrees came, and the portions were generous…enough for all of us to share and then some! LeahGeek had the Crispy Beef Strips… a veritable combination of sweet and crispy with a hint of spice. If I recall correctly, I heard the dish described as ‘meat candy.’

Moonshoes had the Kung Pao shrimp. It looked good, but I don’t remember having tried it unfortunately.

SPFfy had the Lemongrass Chicken…savory with a hint of sweet (unless my memory fails me, which is possible).

Kechara had the Orange Beef, but with the spice greatly reduced…more meat candy!

My dish was the Beef Chow Fun with Chinese Broccoli. I did not expect mushrooms to be there, but I like mushrooms, so they were an added plus. I loved the savoriness of the dish as well as the crunch of the Chinese Broccoli.

Ultimately, there was much fun had and lots of food to take home. The fun continued after dinner; I found a good pair of shoes, a headband, and a clutch that night with everyone’s help. Some of our merry band also found good accessories for the outfits they would be wearing at the wedding.

Note: Cross-posted to SnarkFood

I’m now a panelist on a group blog called SnarkFood. I will be passing along little Food Network/Celebrity Chef silliness I (or others) find on the internets. I will also blog on panelists’ common foodventures or visits to places that have been featured on various food/travel shows. Don’t be surprised if there’s some simulcasting going on (like in the next post)…

While I appreciate bacon or ham in my veggies as much as the next person who grew up in the Deep South, I wanted to try a green bean recipe somewhere in between green beans heavily laden in pork product and just simply bland-ish boiled green beans. To be fair –  pork fat does rule… just not in all of my veggies all the time. I love the simplicity of the green bean recipe we found on Southern Living, and the fats involved are mostly of the ‘good’ variety: olive oil with some butter. Yeah, eat your heart out, Paula Deen.

The final product is definitely crisper than some of the other green bean recipes out there : A bonus, I think. The recipe is essentially:  Prep green beans, mince or press garlic, blanch beans in salted water, dunk beans in ice water to stop cooking process, saute green beans with olive oil/butter mix, garlic, and spices…et voilà! You’re done.

Here’s the expanded recipe with (more or less) step by step shots…

Garlic Green Beans
from Southern Living Magazine through myrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs tiny green beans (haricots verts), trimmed
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions/Method Shots:

1) Cook green beans in boiling salted water to cover 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge green beans into ice water to stop the cooking process, and drain.

Here are the green beans ready to boil…

Almost to full boil….

…and in the ice-water bath.

The blanched beans were then put in our colander to drain.

2) Melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat; add green beans, garlic, salt, and pepper, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Here’s the olive oil and butter in the closest pan we have to a wok:

I put the pressed garlic in first, cooking it a little before I added the beans and seasoning…

I then sauteed everything for about 5 minutes (more or less) until everything was well distributed and well heated. The finished product is the first picture you see at the beginning of this post…

This recipe also worked with the wide-ish green beans we got through the local Sunday Farmer’s Market… Here are the beans cut up in one of our larger bowls:

…And here’s the finished product with the wider beans.

The thing I goofed on the first time I made this recipe was not adjusting the seasonings to the amount (weight) of beans I had. No, Silly Random Hapa, wider beans aren’t going to make a pound more than a pound. I made sure to make the right tweaks for two pounds of green beans the second time around (finished product shot at the beginning of the post).

Ah, pork tenderloin… one of the leanest meats around; I always grab one (or two) when the cut’s on sale. Last week, we baked the tenderloins and basted them in a sweet glaze made of honey, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and soy sauce.

Here is the recipe we used:

Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin
from http://allrecipes.com/

The below shots are sort of time-lapse shots from step 4. This shot was taken after the first baste….

…and after the second.

These were after the third.

It would be just about the right temperature…

We made sure to let the tenderloins rest before cutting into them.

The batch also turned out quite tender, though I wonder what would happen if I had brined the tenderloins first. The glaze only surrounded the outside of the pork, so unless you soaked the medallions in the leftover glaze, you wouldn’t have too sweet of a medallion. The recipe made for quite a few days’ worth of lunches and dinners.

Who knew how well Dogfish Head’s Raison D’Etre would go with leftover Beef Chow Fun (original with other dishes in a future post). I thought it was a heavenly pairing, anyway…

Yep… This librarian believes in serendipity whether in finding information or taking in the simple pleasures in life…

I see one of the Usual Suspects vehemently disagreeing with me in 3… 2… 1…

Anyhoo, recipe below the stove shot:

Yep… I’m making a mess already…

Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup
From Eating Well

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, thinly sliced (the fresh-ish ones found already sliced in the store are fine… Yep… those cartons)
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons paprika, preferably Hungarian
• 2 tablespoons dried dill
• 4 cups mushroom broth or reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups low-fat milk (best if you go for cow’s milk here)
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium and cook, making sure to stir frequently, until the mushrooms are very soft (about 3 minutes more). Add flour, paprika and dill and cook, stirring, for 15 seconds. Add broth, milk and potatoes, then cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and salt.

Can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days; reheat over low flame (It seemed to last fine for a little longer length of time in our fridge).

Here’s a shot of the finished soup closer up. You might find some graininess/white flecks in the soup pictured below, as I tried to use soy milk in this batch.

I will definitely make this recipe again, but later in the year.  Next time, I’ll go for low-fat cow’s milk, and have Dan drink the rest. I have some lactose intolerance, but it is nothing Lactaid tablets can’t handle. Also, I couldn’t find Hungarian paprika at the Giant Dan and I usually frequent; we went with smoked paprika instead. According to Cooking Well, the Hungarian paprika gave a fuller, richer flavor.  The smoked paprika I used gave a more smoky character to the soup (naturally).

We were greeted by a friendly lady with long hair; she helped us out most of the rest of the night. The restaurant was neither a drive in nor a dive (OK …one can probably call the motel behind it a dive); it had a intimate, homelike feel…more like a small diner when we expand “Triple D”,  just with food from a specific part of the world.

Dork, Kechara, and Byko had fried yucca as an appetizer. I saw the yucca presented two ways: On Dork’s: on a plate with two salsas….

Byko’s and Kechara’s came in a little basket… so cute! I had a little of Dork’s; The yucca was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Kechara also had the peanut soup with rice… it looked really creamy!

The Notorious ETC has to order early as he had to be somewhere by a certain time. He ordered the El Sabroso Sandwich, which had thin grilled chicken, fresh avocado, and gouda in its wheat berry crown roll. Both his and my sandwich were so large that it was served with a steak knife through the middle of it to stabilize the stack (not pictured).

I had the Diputado, with seasoned thin sirloin slices, sauteed onion, fried egg, and tomato between its bread…

I would not be wanting for protein that night… Here’s the Diputado from another angle.

Dork and Joppatownie had two of the Arepas, which are placed in between grilled or fried cornmeal bread. Popular in Colombia and Venezuela and La Caraqueña’s signature dish, Guy Fieri made one with a chicken-salad based filling on Triple D.

Dork’s fried cornmeal bread was filled with pulled beef and yellow cheese.

Joppatownie had her cornmeal bread grilled. It was filled with white cheese and black beans.

We didn’t skip dessert that night! Note: the images are a little yellowed and grainy due to use of low light settings on my point-and-shoot. I refuse to flash my food…

Unfortunately, they ran put of a dessert some of us wanted to try:  the Arroz con Leche, a Latin American-style rice pudding. Those of us indulging in dessert ended up getting one of two things instead: the Quesillo Borracho, a custard, or the Quatro Leches, a cake made with four different milks.

I got an order of the Quesillo Borracho;  in this picture, the custard looks rather spongy even with the dim light settings. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and was rather firm compared to the custards I’m more accustomed to (Crème Brûlée and Leche Flan). This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I definitely prefer a smoother texture overall.

The presentation in both desserts still shines through the off-kilter white balance. The friends that had the Quatro Leches said that they had enjoyed it;  it definitely looked delicious and moist.

Some complain that service and food at a given establishment gets worse after a celebrity (chef or otherwise) visits. I felt this wasn’t so for my visit… the Diputado was very flavorful and had enough in it to feed an army. Hey, did I mention how hungry I was? The lady who greeted us also served us. She was happy to explain unfamiliar parts of the menu and brought candles to the table and lit them as the night progressed. Ultimately one felt like they were at home — A home with small booths and tables, but at home.

Word to the wise: Most of the booths/tables hold 2-4 people. The restaurant had to join some of those together to accommodate us (Yep… It was definitely cozy!). Make sure to call ahead for sure if you have a large-ish party.  Heck… even if you don’t have a large-ish party, you may be turned away if you don’t make a reservation.

After a long day helping to run a leadership conference and academic tournament at George Mason University, we went out to dinner. At first we wanted to try a place Kechara had seen on Triple D: La Caraqueña. It turned out we needed a reservation (We had dinner there the next day, which will be in part 2). We walked about a block or two, and happened upon a gastropub, Mad Fox Brewing Company. Unfortunately for us, it was busy at the time; a long wait for our large-ish party was pretty much guaranteed (the quoted wait time was indeed long). Our merry band was hungry, so we moved on to another restaurant and pledged to reconvene at the brewery for dinner and dessert.

Across the plaza from Mad Fox, was a Japanese restaurant called Koi Koi. It wasn’t nearly as busy, and the food there was tasty.

For starters, I had the shrimp/vegetable tempura combo. The tempura crust was light and crispy…

I’m a sucker for udon noodles, so I ordered a big bowl of udon soup with beef. My soup was likely in a miso base and laced with seaweed, mushroom, and scallion. It was a little sweet, but I ate it all up (as you will see in a later shot).

Yep. I’m trying to maneuver my noodles…

…and I’m making sure to slurp them all up.

It really hit the spot.

Dan and one of our companions across from us (maybe both) had the barbecue combo, It looked yummy…

When we came back to Mad Fox for dessert and drinks, it was a lot less busy.

Did you save room? Dessert pictures after the jump.

Mad Fox offers a sampler of their beers; great if you want to try as many as you can without becoming irresponsible (four four-ounce samples in the flight). I went for (what I hoped) to be a more malty flight, pictured below:

(L-R) Altbier, Irish Stout, The Elixer, Wee Heavy.

The Wee Heavy, a Scotch Strong beer, was my favorite. It was full of malty goodness and sweet. The higher alcohol content was conducive to sipping; just what you want if you want to savor your dessert (beer)! As for (most of) the rest: The stout drank like coffee, while I felt the elixer was light and a little sweet.

Here’s a shot of SPFfy’s flight…

Kechara had some of the Virginia pork belly closer to the end of the night…

…And now, the more “traditional” desserts (Hey, beer and pork belly can be dessert!).

I and many of my companions had a bit of this dessert: a fruit streusel atop pizza dough…

I liked the fruit and streusel; Mad Fox’s commitment to fresh ingredients shone here. I wish it wasn’t on such a dense dough crust; I’d think phyllo dough or puff pastry would suit it better (maybe even thin crust?).

The Birra Misu was really cute! The ladyfingers were soaked in the Wee Heavy. The rest was comprised of standard tiramisu ingredients, save for the rolled chocolate garnish.

Two of us had the root beer float. I kept the shot of the one that had a chunk of ice cream floating mid-drink.

SPFfy and Kechara shared the Fried Nutella and Banana Cheesecake; it looked like a dessert egg roll. It was actually wrapped in a flour tortilla and dipped in a batter made of their Kölsch.

We were told by the (very friendly) waitress that the Chocolate and Caramel Tart was small, but really rich. I’d definitely believe her on that count. I would have gone for this if I wasn’t planning on sticking to just my beer sample flight.

A couple of parting shots:
Yep… I finished my flight. Even after trying four types of beer, I didn’t run afoul of AMA guidelines defining moderate drinking (heh).

We, like many patrons and staff of the gastropub that night, watched the CONCACAF Gold Cup finals (Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good shot of any of that).

I got a shot of these brew tanks as we were heading out. These greet you as you enter the gastropub; I would have been remiss if I didn’t get a shot of those shiny, gleaming tanks.

Pardon this mess. Trying to make the current photos larger, but I accidentally posted one of my draft posts. Actual new post coming within a few days (about time!).

~ARH~

Those aren’t hash browns you’re looking at either.They’re photos of latkes (sweet potato, more specifically) from a few years ago.

Traditionally made during Hanukkah (which started tonight), they can be smothered or covered in applesauce and/or sour cream…just not the Waffle House sense of smothering and covering.

So why are they traditionally made during this eight-night Jewish holiday? Foods cooked in oil are commonly prepared during Hanukkah, as such foods signify a miracle that purportedly happened during the 2nd century B.C. The temple of Jerusalem was down to a day’s worth of oil at the time of its rededication, but the lamps were lit nonetheless. To everyone’s surprise, the lamps burned for eight days; this miracle is also commemorated in the holiday’s eight day/night duration.

While I do not have a recipe for the latkes pictured here, Dan will be making more latkes on Friday. Will repost with a step-by-step recipe (hopefully) sometime after. In the meantime, a couple of close-up shots of the sweet potato batch from a few years ago:

To those who celebrate, have a wonderful Hanukkah! Don’t get too crazy these “eight crazy nights”, eh?

…Well, unless you’re Adam Sandler.

–
Disclaimer: No… I’m not Jewish. Plenty of friends and family (and soon-to-be family) are, though.