Warm Spaghetti Squash Salad

Dinner tonight was a doctored recipe from Food and Wine Magazine. Warm Spaghetti Squash salad begins with a whole spaghetti squash baked in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Face down!
Once baked, fork out all the squash. It looks like spaghetti. It tastes great.

Let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before you scoop the goods out.

Add crumbled feta, garlic, onion powder, olive oil, salt, and fresh cracked pepper.

Sprinkle with unsalted toasted pecan crumbles. If you so desire, add a few olives on the side. VIOLA! Dinner is done, son.

The diner from Seinfeld...

After seeing "Stella Man" we walked around Columbia for a spell. (I really really LOVE that neighborhood btw...It's awesome! Heather, if you moved here - you would love it near Columbia.) Anyways, we had about 12 people with us and half of them were hungry so we went to Tom's Restaurant...also known as the restaurant face used in Seinfeld. The food --ehh, sub par. But now I can at least say I've been here. Tom's Restaurant, check.

Thor

So Zoe Zoe and I went to Thor for brunch yesterday. The decor in this hotel makes up for the lack of service for sure. It's a very modern design yet open and elegant. It wasn't crowded at all when I got there. This is the the main entrance. I love how cave like it feels walking into this place.

Here is Zoe reading her cell phone messages and filling me in on all her adventures at SXSW. We both had Eggs Benedict and while it was cooked properly, I found myself missing something.

I kept thinking, what if there was some kind of freak accident and this fell on our heads? ...I'm so weird.

Fajita Night...

Nothing like having friends come over for dinner. Tonight, we made steak fajitas.

We started cuttin' up a little...

Me scaring Robin...

"It puts the lotion on it's skin!"

Curtis made a nose hole...I laughed so hard I cried. I think we all did.

Balsamic Potato and Green Bean Salad

Balsamic Potato and Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes
• Salt
• 10 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus whole sprigs for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, place the potatoes, 2 teaspoons salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and let stand.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk in the olive oil until combined.
3. Toss the potatoes and beans with the dressing to coat. Using a fork, mash several potatoes. Toss in the scallions and thyme. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and top with thyme sprigs. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Oleana

For Curtis' birthday dinner we went to Oleana in Cambridge. I thought I could add this to my Boston post, but I really can't. This meal was so BIG...it deserves it's own post. We were pleasantly surprised when we walked into this Bistro to meet Tracy for dinner. We walked in and saw Katie and Bonnie had secretly flown up to have dinner with us.

Wonderful surprise!

Now, if you ever get a chance to go to Boston...you MUST MUST MUST go here. Oleana = Amazing.

What we ate: (yeah...we ate ALL of this!!!)

PRET Á MANGER:

Warm Olives with Za’atar. Spicy Carrot Purée & Dukkah. Armenian Bean & Walnut Pâté with Homemade String Cheese. Deviled Eggs with Tuna & Black Olives. Warm Buttered Hummus with Basturma & Tomato. Whipped Feta with Sweet & Hot Peppers (my fave!)

APPETIZERS:

Moroccan Lamb Kefta & Egg Tagine with 19 Spices. (Curtis thought I was breaking the egg and ruining someone's dish --haha). Goat Cheese Fritter, Carrot Soup, Argan Oil & Cilantro Yogurt (so freaking good!) Spinach Falafel with Tahini, Yogurt, Beets & Mache Three Cheeses. Special: an all green salad with peas, mint, yogurt dill sauce and pita chips.

FISH:

Moroccan Fish Stew—Wild Striped Bass, Potato, Tomato & Spaghetti Squash with Crêpe Top.
Seared Tuna with Black Olive & Almond Crumb, Tomato Jam & Barley Couscous. Special: Scallops with Moroccan spices (Bonnie ate that and took some back to VB with her)

MEAT:

Flattened Lemon Chicken with Za’atar & Turkish Cheese Pancake. Special: Chicken crepe with asparagus. (I ate this...it was delish!)

DESSERTS:

Meyer Lemon Parfait & Pomegranate Sorbet with Rose Petal Jam & Pistachio Shortbread.Frozen Cocoa Bean Soufflé & Cocoa Hazelnut Tartlet with Cocoa Sherbet.Brown Butter Bread Pudding with Milk Jam & Mulberries.

What we drank:

I couldn't tell you this either, but it was all so good. If you can make out the label of this white, good for you.

The crew:

EXECUTIVE CHEF Ana Sortun
CHEF DE CUISINE Cassie Piuma
SOUS-CHEF Karen Akunowicz
EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF Maura Kilpatrick
PASTRY CHEF DE CUISINE Kate Henry

Moroccan Fish Stew.

Not sure - haha.

Duh. This is obviously tuna.

Chicken crepe special.

Not sure, again!

Pret a manger.

Curtis said it was his "best Birthday ever!"

Kinda blurry, but so were we at this point...

Gettin' crazy with the cheese wizz...

Last weeks dinner adventures (that I just happened to remember to take a photo of). Curtis cooked one night, I cooked the other. He made this yummy grilled chicken salad with onions and bacon. Yummy!

I got this one from Food and Wine Magazine...kinda. The purple cabbage and linguine was a total F and W recipe. The grilled sausage was that of the organic chicken variety stuffed also with apricot and rosemary. Delish!