Roast Chicken

Since the crab post took precedence, I pushed the roast chicken post to tonight even though I made it yesterday. But it was a big chicken, and I actually had it today too!

I don't know if you have to, but I find that my poultry are always more successful when I brine them. I used a lot of salt. It's not like you're going to be eating much of it anyway. You cover the chicken in salt water and go watch some TV. Apple cider also works. I brined it for only 30 minutes and it made a big difference.

Before putting it in the oven, I covered the chicken in a mixture of mustard, honey, and shallots. I rubbed it all over, wiggled its legs, and smeared the extra rub on the inside. I really like doing a chicken dance with the dead bird. I think it loosens up the meat.

Taste >> presentation, so I baked it breast side down first. To prevent the wings and legs from overcooking, I covered them in foil. I baked this side for 20 minutes at 450.

Then in flipped it over and baked it breast side up for 30-40 minutes on 350... and it's golden and done!

Somewhere in the middle I threw some onions, potatoes, and carrots into the pan to roast in the chicken fat. I almost never stuff my chicken. I still haven't figured out the secret to good stuffing... one year I just made sticky rice with chicken stock and Chinese sausage and shoved it in the turkey after it was cooked while no one was looking.

I rested the chicken on the plate for 10 minutes breast side down again... I want the juice to collect where the bird is often the driest! Okay it's not the prettiest looking thing, but gosh darn it every bite was as moist and flavorful as the last.

Bidding for Maryland Blue Crabs

VICTORY
LOVES
PREPARATION.

I've been dreaming about bidding on fresh blue crabs, getting them steamed to order, and then chowing away like a savage in some wooden shelter by the dock with no seats.

But in order to do something like this, one has to do it right. I did a lot of research before going to the Maine Ave. Fish Market so that I could identify crab genders, life cycles, and meatiness.

First, I had to pick from a number of stands, but after reading every review that I could find on the internet, I decided on Captain White's Seafood City.

See those bushels? They were bringing in bushels of live crabs nonstop, and they were selling fast!! We showed up nice and early so there was no line, but by lunchtime, it turned into a mosh pit. People were mostly buying by the dozen or the bushel.

Male crabs have blue claws, and female crabs have red claws. Male crabs have more meat, but if you want to go egg hunting, get the females.

I also learned from the internets that it was market rate, which at this time of the year should be around $18 per dozen of large females and $22 per dozen of large males, but it was unfortunately Labor Day weekend, and crabs are a part of the tradition. I paid $16 for half a dozen large males and tipped the guy $2 for picking out relatively heavy ones and giving me an extra crab. They were feisty!

BTW heavy means that they're at the end of their molting cycle so that they're full of delicious meat instead of water.

They put the crabs on the steamer, threw on some Old Bay seasoning, and shoved them into these paper bags piping hot 30 minutes later.

Taking apart 7 crabs (they gave me an extra) is no small task, but luckily I had lots of practice.

I got tired from taking apart the claws, so we got a wooden mallet for $1. I was just posing. I hulk smashed the claws (didn't want to take a real picture because of the shrapnel), but NEVER EVER EVER hulk smash the body. You will send little shards through your meat and you'll probably rip your tongue apart and choke to death... or just have to visit the dentist.

Someone got tired of watching and got a pile of onion rings.

Success! So much super fresh crab meat. I left a pile in an empty shell for my giant onion-ring eating seagull.

It took me about 2 hours to get through all 7 crabs. I got rather tired, but it was all worth it. Some of the extra time was just from picking out nice big pieces for the seagull.

I bruised my left ring finger knuckle and cut my right middle finger right below the cuticle, but it was in the name of Victory. Also my shirt smelled like crab for the rest of the day, and I had to air it out for 24 hours. At least I didn't have to throw any clothes out, which I was almost prepared to do!

Jaleo (Washington D.C.)

Since Jose Andres treated us so well at Zaytinya, we decided to go to Jaleo for brunch the next day.

Really funky and fun decor around the bar area. There's a bull in the back if you look carefully. In front of us at the bar were pictures of people's dirty pants and shoes jumping. It was really disturbing, so I kept my attention to the hexagons before being served.

Stuffed peppers. Understuffed and overseasoned.

Patatas Bravas. Or as my bf called it... garlic potatoes with princess sauce. We make these potatoes at home all the time. And did two people collide with the mayo? This classic dish turned out to be a disaster.

Their signature shrimp dish. Very generous with the shrimp actually. You can't tell from this picture, but there were at least 8 pieces. There was too much oil... and the shrimp were slightly overcooked. The seasoning was good but nothing that special.

Quail. It was my favorite dish there, but even so, it wasn't that amazing. My mom makes better quail.

I was really upset at this place. This guy cooked at el Bulli? I can't even believe that it was the same chef from Zaytinya.

Instead of wasting your money, I'd just buy these!!!! They were so good. Okay we didn't eat them right after or on the same day, but after some long wanderings around the monuments, these ice cream bars (yes! Snickers ice cream!) got us pumped up. I have a much better memory of the CVS ice cream than the meal at Jaleo.

Zaytinya (Washington D.C.)

Jose Andres owns several restaurants in Washington D.C. Unlike many other chefs that do this sort of thing in the big city... Jose Andres cooks several different kinds of cuisine. Despite being an alumni of el Bulli, his highest ranked restaurant was Mediterranean: Zaytinya.

Overall this was a great restaurant. Probably the most coherent one that we went to in Washington D.C. But there were a lot of little problems...

We followed the sleepiest host in the world to this balcony in the back of the restaurant. It was an amazing open space. I loved that there were also tables on the wings like a theater.

We were served some hilariously puffy bread. They kept rotating new bread in as the previous basket cooled and collapsed! We had the bread with some nice delicious olive oil with a zigzag of vinegar on the bottom. Did they make a "Z" on purpose??

Zucchini and cheese pancakes. Now this restaurant does display prominently everywhere that it's mezze or like tapas, it's all small plates. But the pictures on yelp did not really put "small" into perspective. If you can't tell by the random items that I included in the picture... they were small. (but don't worry 3 of these plates per person's plenty of food!)

The pancakes themselves were excellent! I wish I could cut through them more easily, but the inside was soft and the outside had a nice crunch just the way I like them.

Octopus. Because the octopus that we had the day before was a little disappointing. The waiter told me that "the octopus is a little more tender than [I am] used to." Famous last words.

The octopus was indeed incredibly tender, and it was some of the most tender octopus that I've ever had. But unlike the many octopi that were just as tender, this octopus was distinctly missing the char on the outside. That was a problem for me. The char was half the fun! My bf pointed out that he preferred the gummy octopus we had the day before, but I wouldn't go that far.

Flat bread (pide) with sausage and 63 degree egg. The sausage was amazing. I haven't had such nice sausage since Spain (though I don't order sausage that often). The egg... if it was carefully cooked at 63 degrees, why would you scramble it? It was a travesty. I loved loved loved this dish, but the name of the dish with the "63 degree egg" made me want to cry.

At this juncture I would like to point out that we ordered some wine that was much stronger than we thought, and this meal ended up being very emotional at the beginning and fell apart into hysterics.

English peas. My bf didn't read all the ingredients. Turned out that he hates the yogurt sauce. They turned out to be very delicious in that puffy pita bread.

Their lamb special was a lamb beef wellington! It was good.

Lamb bahar seems to be one of their more popular dishes. The mint on the bottom was a great addition to the dish. The lamb itself could have been seasoned better before being grilled.

If you eat at Zaytinya, you must save room for the dessert.

Turkish coffee chocolate cake. It was a very dense and good cake, but the whipped cream is where the magic is. I believe it was the honey on top and the roasted sesame seeds that made the cream taste distinctly Mediterranean. It made the whole dish.

If you order one dish here, let it be the turkish delight ice cream. I don't know how they did it. But the ice cream tasted like the floury soft part of the famous dessert. Coupled with the cream, the gelee that tasted like a really sweet condensed turkish delight, the cracker, and caramelized pine nuts (which they were kind enough to serve on the side), the dish was *spot on*. It tasted just like a turkish delight but more wonderful; more full of different textures; and more deconstructed - as if you could taste different facets through different ingredients. It was culinary cubism.

We had our meal with this Peloponnesian wine, which tasted very light "with hints of almond and mint." but turned out to be rather... affecting. I blame this wine for the strange bird video that I posted on Facebook, my discombobulated memories of this dining experience, and my particularly aggressive response to the comment about the octopus.

Graffiato (Washington D.C.)

Graffiato is owned by Mike Isabella, who was on Top Chef... or something. He wasn't exactly one of my favorite contestants, but supposedly he makes a mean pizza.

The decor was very West Village. Exposed brick walls, tiny intimate tables, open ceilings... all the sorts of colors and prints that you'd find in some small funky scene-y restaurant in NYC.

They even had an open kitchen where you can watch them sautee things and put on finishing touches. Check out that oven on the left!

Hand cut spaghetti. They tried a little too hard. The spaghetti was extremely fresh, and as a result, it was too soft and not al dente. This is why some of the best chefs in the world recommend just using the dry spaghetti. The sauce was great though.

Once again, the sauce was great, but the star of the dish was cooked poorly. The octopus was way too tough. I have no idea what happened here. I was rather disappointed.

The sweet corn agnoletti was by far the best small dish. Everything was perfect... the freshly rolled pasta really did the dish justice. The sauce was creamy yet light. The chives gave the sauce just the right amount of kick. The mushroom and roasted pine nuts were a great addition in both flavor and texture. And oh, a certain someone might be allergic to pine nuts. That gave us something to think about for the rest of the meal.

Jersey Shore pizza with fried calamari. Seems a little low brow, but it's supposedly one of their signature dishes. It was great!! This would have been the best pizza I ever had if they had 1. added a little spice: chili flakes or jalapeño I don't care which. 2. calmed down on the orange mayo-based sauce. The fried calamari was already adding plenty of grease. 3. more red sauce please!

Turns out that we were supposed to order more red sauce on the side, but it was all very unclear at the time.

Overall, the pizza was what this place was known for, and that's what they do best. The dough was extremely good, and the pie rivaled some of the best thin crust pizza in New York. Was the balance and technique as great as the tried and true methods of Grimaldi's or Lombardi's? No. But the innovation was not to be ignored.

Pho 75 (Washington D.C.)

We woke up on Saturday morning not knowing if we'd starve because instead of waking up at 7am to go to the crab market, we woke up at 10am. We had wandered past some Pho the night before so we decided to try it out.

Our first impression was "Oooh pretty. This place is clean!" Our second impression was "Who the F pays $14 for pho?"

Let's just say.. this pho started at a 6/10. There's no way that pho can cost this much. But we were hungry bordering on paralyzed.

We got Pho #1 which was with all the good stuff - thinly sliced beef, meatballs, tripe, tendons. Bring it all on!! It came with hoisin sauce and Sriracha. So far it was still 6/10. I was expecting at least some gold flakes and foie gras.

Then came the realization that the bean sprouts were pretty nice. The meat was probably the freshest that I've ever had in a pho place... and the soup was really quite amazing and had no oil. Okay 7.5/10.

I couldn't finish even though I started off starving. i think they somehow packed in much more noodles than I'm used to. They also put in an insane amount of delicious beef.

My bf seconded this opinion. He finished and was full, which means that they gave us twice as much food as any other pho restaurant because he normally guzzles down two large bowls of noodles (much to the dismay of waiters). So in the end, he said that we technically got 2 great bowls of noodles and therefore he gave the place 9/10 or 10/10. I don't remember because I was so stuffed that I could not think for the next 30 minutes.

In the end, I'd say that this was the best pho I ever had... and it the most expensive. If you go, go hungry. Oh yes and I remember now. My bf gave them 10/10 because there was no MSG!

Rasika (Washington D.C.)

I hadn't been to Washington D.C. in a long time... It was full of surprises. Ragweed, random countdown clocks at every street corner, and bands of socioeconomic disparity... and a certain dish from Rasika.

We chose to eat at Rasika first because this Indian restaurant was near the top of just about every restaurant list that we checked.

Their decor was beautiful and immediately transported me to a country that I've never visited.

They even had this interesting piece in the back of the room. The host probably thought that I was a pervert, but I was actually examining the unusual length of the left arm.

But forget all the crazy paintings. We came here for the palak chaat, a crispy spinach salad. When I ate it, I had a WTF WOW moment. I don't get those very often anymore.

The spinach was unbelievably crispy yet moist. The brown stuff stuck on it had a certain umami taste, almost like the crust that you get when you pan fry meat, which was strange because I'm pretty sure that the dish was vegetarian. The salad bits with red onion, tomato, and some kind of a sweet salsa went perfectly with the light yogurt and added another layer of complexity to the dish. The serving size was generous and very well portioned. If I had eaten any more, I would have had a sensory overload, and if I had any less I would have been very sad indeed.

We had a halibut curry and a lamb masala. They were good, but nothing to call home about.

The naan was good. It was pretty.

We got this date and toffee pudding to split because our wine was rather sweet, and the other dessert choices were all *very* sweet. The pudding was delicious, but it was more like a moist ginger spice cake. I don't know what part of this was supposed to be a pudding.

All in all I was a little worried about this place being one of the best in Washington D.C. It did make me wonder about the prospects for the rest of the trip, but the spinach salad was absolutely out of this world. I hoped to find many more such treasures on my trip!