kebabs

Use lamb, steak, chicken, shrimp or even leave it all vegetarian. Cut everything into bite size pieces. Marinate or season them well, skewer them and throw'em on the grill, griddle or even in the broiler. If you're not positive when they'll be done, make one extra "test" kebab that you can gently remove pieces while cooking to check their progress. I always thought a perfect kebab had few contrasting yet complimentary flavors and textures. Like shrimp and pineapple, or steak and mushrooms, or even grilled peach, melon and tomato kebab for dessert! Experiment and enjoy.

Radius in Mount Pleasant

We took a walk over to Radius pizzeria in Mount Pleasant yesterday and I've decided to make the official switch to Radius for my #1 pizza delivery. With their pies only a dollar or two more than the industrialized delivery brands, the toppings are fresh, local and even taste healthy. There was ZERO oil leaching out through the slices, a testament to their quality ingredients and preparation. For that extra dollar, its worth ordering something you don't have to feel guilty about. For a sit down pizzeria experience though, I might have to stick with Redrocks (or 2 Amy's) for now. Generally I give a thumbs down to a restaurant who adds a surcharge to substitutions or the similar since I view that as poor customer service- but Radius more than makes up for theirs with the cozy friendly atmosphere, great happy hour specials ($5 for a slice and a pint) and great food. PS, they have 1/2 price pasta specials and their fried calamari was quite good- no heavy, overpowering batter here!

mr. chen's NOT SO organic

So every now and again, in a very ritualistic manner, I like to order a huge helping of General Tsao's chicken, fried rice, hot and sour soup, dumplings and an eggroll. Usually eaten on the floor with a bottle of cheap wine and a trashy movie. I've been dedicated to Mr. Chen's Organic ("*Organic vegetables are subject to availability and may be substituted.") for the last few years but boy oh boy have they been messing up. Not only do they serve you last nights tough reheated chicken if you make an 11:30 am order on a Saturday morning, I found a large, very long, thick black hair on the BOTTOM of my chicken the LAST time I ordered. This was AFTER I finished eating EVERYTHING else!... I then ran to the bathroom and literally puked out the entirety of my meal.

They are OFF my list. I heard North Sea is organic and Panda Express in my neighborhood is new, very clean, with an open kitchen. Yuck yuck and yuck, Mr. Chen.

granita di caffe

This is one of my mother's favorite summer treats. She makes a pot of espresso, let it cool a bit then pour it in a large glass or bowl and sticks it in the freezer. You can add a little sugar if you like but the bitter coffee is just so refreshing in the heat. My mother says that basically every time she remembers (every 15, 20, minutes or so) she takes out the espresso and stirs it with a fork. Continue to do this over the course of preparing brunch or dinner, and by the time youre ready for dessert you have a perfect granita di caffe (which sounds mush better than a coffee slushy). My cousin Toscia varies her method of preparation by pouring her espresso in a bottle and in the freezer and vigorously shakes that every 25 minutes or so. It's fun to garnish your granita with some vanilla or hazelnut gelato, or maybe even a chocolate covered coffee bean but any way you do it, this becomes a perfect dessert after a great meal.

grilled tequila lime calamari

If you like fried calamari you'll LOVE grilled calamari. If you're not used to the way squid looks, then you can buy them already chopped in rings, you can cut them yourself, or even open up the long head and make calamari steaks-- my family prefers them whole. My favorite marinade is the juice from a lemon or 2 limes, a few heavy shakes of paprika and cayanne pepper, a generous amount of crushed garlic, and at least half a cup of tequila (I've done this same recipe with whiskey instead and gotten a completely different but delicious result.. both are great and worth trying). Marinate the squid from 30 minutes to two hours, then after your grill is good and fired, place the squid over the heat. If you have lots of small pieces be sure to use a grill basket so you wont loose any in the fire and brimstone below. Cook them as charred as you like and serve with some more fresh lemon juice. This smoky aromatic treat is sure to impress anyone at your table.

fare la puttana

There's a couple different stories on how this puttanesca sauce got its name. Some are silly and most don't even make sense... since the main ingredients for the sauce (tomato paste, anchovies, olives dried hot pepper and capers) are all salted or preserved ingredients that act as staples in any Italian kitchen- I was told when you wanted to make this sauce, you could do it any time you wanted and "si va fare la puttana" or you go do like the prostitute and you go from here to there to there, taking a pinch of all the ingredients to make what you want. Its a fiery briny salty sauce that brings water to my mouth just thinking about it. At lunch or at midnight, whenever you crave this, in the time it take to boil pasta, in a shallow pan cook tomato paste (or diced fresh tomatoes), garlic, olives, capers, anchovies (you can leave them out if you insist), and lots of hot pepper. As always I like to loosely chop lots of fresh parsley over the top.

Tip: asparagus steamer for corn

I bought this asparagus steamer for $9.95 last year. It's PERFECT to steam (or boil) a couple ears of corn... and the best part is you can lift them out of the hot pot in the basket where they can cool till they're read to eat.

summer crabs!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE steamed Chesapeake blue crabs. The Giant right by my sells them already steamed on ice. I grab them a couple times a week. You can throw them on the grill to get them nice an toasty, broil them or even eat them cold. If you get them raw, steam them with water, beer, and old bay. Now that's a Washingtonian's dinner.

polpetone- a stuffed italian meatloaf

On of my FAVORITE meals my mom used to make when i was a kid. Basically its just one large stuffed meatball. Get some ground beef, pork or turkey ( I love mixin g1/2 pork and 1/2 beef) drop it in a bowl with some chopped garlic, breadcrumbs a little salt and pepper and an egg. If its to wet, add more breadcrumbs and you should be able to easily roll it into one big ball without having the meat stick to your hands or the counter top surface. Shape it into one large "log" and make a valley in the middle, then fill it with hardboiled eggs, chopped salami or prosciutto and parsley. You can change it up a bit buy adding cheese or roasted peppers- whatever you think would work well. Close up the meatloaf, put it in an oven safe pan with some olive oil on the bottom turn the oven to 375 or 400 and when the meats crispy and brown take it out and ENJOY!

gazpacho

Few things are as refreshing as a cold gazpacho on a hot summer day. This time I got a blender and threw in a couple tomatoes, raw garlic, celery, peeled cucumbers, cilantro, salt and pepper. it basically took 5 minutes start to finish and was able to prepare it in advance and leave it in the fridge to chill. Super healthy and left overs are even better for lunch the next day.