We’ve been to several steakhouses in DC. From Bobby Van’s and Charlie Palmer’s to Ray’s The Steaks and Smith & Wollensky. In my opinion, there is little variance between these typical steakhouses: same type of menu and same egregious prices.

A few months ago, as we were walking around Reston Town Center (a great shopping and dining area close to where we live) trying to decide where to eat. We had been to most of the restaurants there, except for Mon Ami Gabi, or what we often referred to it: that French restaurant. I guess we never ventured into Mon Ami Gabi because we assumed it was just French food, something that my husband and I don’t particularly crave. But, after looking at the menu (and seeing steak on the menu) we decided to give it a try.

And, I am so thankful we did. I can, without a doubt, say that this is the best steak in DC and my new favorite restaurant. My standard order at any steakhouse is filet cooked medium. In my opinion, when ordering filet, there shouldn’t be an ounce of fat on that piece of meat. At several of the typical steakhouses (I won’t name any particular names!) not only did my filet have a ton of fat, but it was cold and more on the rare side. When paying upwards of $50, this is unacceptable. I guess you can give a restaurant a “one time pass”, but when it happens more than once, I unfortunately can’t give them the benefit of the doubt.

But, at Mon Ami Gabi, it’s different. The steak has come out cooked to the perfect temperature with no fat (knock on wood!) each time we’ve been there. The service is great, the sides are unbelievable and they have a seasonal menu so there is always something new to choose from. Oh, and the best part: it’s more than reasonably priced!

We went to Mon Ami Gabi this past weekend and had another excellent meal. It all starts when they bring hot out of the oven French bread in a baguette bag to your table. But, pace yourself. I can guarantee you that you will want to eat loaves upon loaves of this bread – it’s that good. Our usual appetizer of choice is the baked goat cheese. If you have read my other posts, you know about my love for goat cheese 🙂 This appetizer comes with toasted garlic bread, but I personally prefer to use the French table bread (yes, I’m obsessed with this French bread). The goat cheese is baked in a marinara sauce – that’s it! It is unbelievably simple but amazingly delicious.

Since they currently are featuring their fall menu, and my usual tomato salad is a summer dish, I settle for the Fall Mushroom Soup: served tableside directly from the pot with crème fraiche and chives. It is quite the presentation and beyond enjoyable. I would definitely say it’s a good fall alternative to my tomato salad.

Mon Ami Gabi, like many French restaurants, is known for their steak and frites. Your entrée arrives piled high with crispy frites that are completely addicting. As good as they are, they aren’t the healthiest item on the menu (I know, after consuming the baked goat cheese and creamy mushroom soup, why don’t I just continue the insanity with the frites??) so I substitute the frites for the pommes purée, the most wonderful and creamy mashed potatoes you have ever tasted. So, not only do you have these amazing potatoes but also the steak. As I mentioned before, it is hands down, the best steak. My favorite is the Filet Mignon Merlot. This juicy steak is topped with a merlot sauce that only enhances the flavor of the steak, without masking the tenderness of the filet.

I can truly say I love everything about Mon Ami Gabi, but I especially love their side of macaroni gratin aka the best macaroni and cheese you’ve ever had. It comes to your table in a little gratin dish with an awesome, cheesy crust. When you break into the gratin, the cheese on the inside begins to bubble and steam is oozing through the crust. It’s honestly unbelievable. In weak moments, I’ve thought about calling Mon Ami Gabi for carryout, ordering one mac and cheese gratin, and nothing else.

One of my biggest problems with the steakhouses in the DC area are the prices. Before trying Mon Ami Gabi, it was more expecting to pay $50 for a filet because that seemed like the going rate for steakhouses in this area. And same with sides: most sides at your traditional steakhouse cost between $10 and $15. But, when you get a much better steak at Mon Ami Gabi for $30 and incredible side dishes from $3 to $4, who in their right mind would go to the traditional steakhouse?! Not to mention, Mon Ami Gabi is less than 10 minutes from our house and we can avoid DC traffic, which is always a plus!

I made a commitment to try dessert. Each time we go to Mon Ami Gabi, we are either too full or have birthday cake waiting at home, so we pass on dessert. There are several items on the dessert menu that look great, but I couldn’t pass up the profiteroles. For those who are not familiar, profiteroles are little puff pastries cut in half and filled with vanilla ice cream and garnished with chocolate sauce. A fairly simple dessert, but too perfect for words. My mom used to make profiteroles at home when I was growing up, and since then, I’ve been hooked. And these profiteroles certainly fulfilled my craving. Although they weren’t as good as the ones my mom makes, they were still delightful and a perfect way to end a wonderful meal.

I would highly recommend Mon Ami Gabi for a wonderful (and filling!) meal. Although I can’t personally comment on the French side of the restaurant, I can say everything I have had on the menu is not only tasty, but also unique. I’m already excited for our next Mon Ami Gabi date night 🙂

I love trying different combinations of risotto. The possibilities are truly endless. Most of the time, I stick with my staple risotto: Lemon Asparagus Risotto. This is absolutely to die for, but it’s more of a spring/summer dish when the asparagus is at freshest. Since we are in the middle of December, I thought I would try something refreshing yet still in season. 

For this particular risotto, I used vegetable broth, which created a “dirty” risotto, similar to the color that would come from using red wine in your risotto. I normally use chicken stock when making risotto (especially the Lemon Asparagus Risotto) because it does not alter the color of the rice. I thought I would use vegetable stock this time to try something new, and I had it in my pantry 🙂 

Usually, risotto features freshly grated parmesan cheese, but I decided to change things up and use goat cheese. I would say goat cheese is probably my favorite kind of cheese; I love coming up with different (and unexpected!) ways to use it in recipes. It’s great in salads, on pizzas and even as a dip or spread for an appetizer. But for this recipe, I love the way the goat cheese combined with the spinach that was only slightly wilted and created a creamy and wonderful weekend meal!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

1 bag of fresh spinach

½ medium sized yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 ounces goat cheese

32 ounces vegetable stock

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by heating vegetable stock in pan over medium low heat. You want the vegetable broth to be warm when you begin to add it to the Arborio rice. Sauté the yellow onion in extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add minced garlic, season with salt and pepper; cook until onion and garlic become fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in Arborio rice to coat the rice in olive oil, onions and garlic. Continue to stir for 1 minute so rice does not stick to pan. Add vegetable broth to the rice, onion and garlic mixture 1-2 ladles at a time. Continue to stir rice until liquid evaporates. Repeat the 1-2 ladles step until the rice begins to look plump and you’ve reached your desired tenderness (it took about 10-15 minutes to become al dente and I used almost an entire package of vegetable stock). Take the mixture off the heat and add the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the goat cheese, stir until combined. Finally, add the butter and stir until combined and a creamy consistency is achieved.  

I love snow. I guess it was something you grew accustomed to growing up in Ohio. Since moving to DC, although it is only 5 hours south of where we grew up, the climate is significantly different. Much hotter (and more humid!) summers and much more mild winters. So, when the first flurries begin to fly, I’m beyond excited. We normally have to wait until January or February to see the first flakes, but this year, it came early – Sunday to be exact. I was THRILLED. This snow shortly changed to freezing rain, which is needless to say, less than exciting.

As much as I love to see snow in DC, I hate actually dealing with it. Very few people living in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area have a clue how to navigate through flurries, let alone accumulating snow. The best example is January 2011. At the time, I was living about 14 miles from my office. The timing of this storm as awful, it started right at nightly rush hour, and I was setting out for my 14-mile drive. The snow was coming down so heavy and traffic was at a standstill. In some respects, I’m thankful that I left at 5:30pm that night and not earlier. Only a few miles ahead of me, trees began to fall on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which led to closed roads and detours. To make a long story short, I ended up getting home at 1:30am. Yes, 8 hours after I had left work. Some people had it a lot worse, not returning home until 6am. It was an awful night, dodging not only the accumulating snow but cars that had been abandoned in the middle of the road. I’m so thankful I made it home safely, even if it did take 8 hours. Since this dreadful drive, I learned that snow in DC was a little different than snow in Ohio.

Fast-forward almost three years, and the forecast today was not sounding good. The local weather forecasters were actually referencing this infamous storm that I was stuck in, and I didn’t want any part of the snow today. The storm was scheduled to arrive around 6am, just in time for morning rush hour. Since moving, we are now about 30 miles from my office, which obviously doesn’t make my commuting situation any better. Thankfully, the Federal Government closed today and I didn’t have to face the long, snowy commute this morning.

Today’s SNOW DAY consisted of playing in the snow with Ella (she wore her pink coat so we could find her!), wrapping Christmas presents and cooking. Overall, a very relaxing day, and it was so nice being able to have dinner on the table before 8pm!

Tonight’s dinner was super-quick and delicious. It is always a challenge to make meals for two. I’m a pro at making meals for 4+ people, but 2 people is a challenge for me. This is the perfect “cooking for two” meal.

I will honestly say, I hate chicken. I really can’t tolerate it unless it’s COVERED in some kind of sauce. But, my husband loves chicken so every once in awhile, I will make a chicken dish, and hardly eat any of it. This was, much to my surprise, great! So my assumption is that a chicken-lover would be completely obsessed!

Chicken Caprese with Angel Hair

2 boneless chicken breasts

10 grape tomatoes, divided

5 basil leaves, julienned

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 package angel hair pasta

2 tablespoons butter, cold

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons rosemary

2 teaspoons oregano

Bring pot of water to boil to cook angel hair pasta to al dente or preferred tenderness. Pour 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil into skillet. Heat on medium heat until oil is hot. Season each side of chicken breasts with salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Depending on the thickness of chicken, cook in hot oil for 5 minutes on each side. (I had one thick chicken breast that I cooked for about 6-7 minutes on each side)

Once chicken is cooked, add tomatoes, basil and garlic. Stir for about 2 minutes to make sure all the ingredients are combined. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let chicken rest on cutting board. Slice chicken into strips. Turn tomato and basil mixture to low heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until combined. The extra virgin olive oil that was left in the skillet from cooking the chicken and the butter, along with the juice from the tomatoes, combines to create the sauce. Serve chicken and tomato, basil sauce over the angel hair pasta.

There are several substitutions you could make, as you see fit. You can change up the spices used on the chicken or use canned tomatoes if fresh tomatoes aren’t in season. You could even replace the basil with spinach! There are endless possibilities, just be creative!

This recipe is definitely a keeper. Not only was it a speedy weeknight meal, but quite yummy too! Although I can’t say that this meal made me love chicken, I do know that I still love snow (as long as I don’t have to drive) and spending a snow day at home with my husband and puppy 🙂

Only a few days stand between us and Thanksgiving, and our last weekend at home before traveling back to Ohio for the holiday was jammed packed. Although most weekends are busy for us, this one was particularly eventful. On the agenda: The Annapolis Running Classic 10k and having some friends over for dinner Saturday night.

Running has become my new obsession since graduating college in 2010. Although tennis will always be my first exercise love, it’s not as easy to find the time to play with a hectic commute and work schedule. Running is something that is not only a great exercise, but can be done by yourself, on your own time. This past March, I ran my first half marathon, The Rock ‘n’ Roll USA, in Washington, DC. The training started on Christmas Eve of 2012 and went through race day in the middle of March. I recently signed up for the half this coming March and I’m eager to run it again.

As part of my preparation, I signed up for the Annapolis Running Classic 10k race. (I have to be honest though, I was most interested in this race because there was a finisher’s medal…what can I say, my love for trophies and medals started in my early tennis days with tournaments – some things don’t change.) The start and finish line were at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The race took us through downtown Annapolis, down to the water, up to the Naval Academy and back to the stadium. Not only was it a beautiful race route, but it was an extremely well organized race. I can’t tell you how many races haven’t started on time, ran out of water on the race route or just created mass confusion among the participants. The Annapolis Running Classic was such a refreshing experience!

Overall, it was a great race. I finished the 10k in 1:02:36. Although I consistently average a pace of under 8:30/mile in my practice runs, I’ve always had a hard time translating that to the actual race. Whether it’s the lack of space on the course to move around other runners, or dodging the walkers that refuse to keep to the outside, it’s always been an obstacle for me, but I seem to be improving!

After the race, we headed back home to start preparing for our dinner guests. We were so excited to finally have a weekend free to have Kelly and Mike over! The weather was starting to turn and I came up with a meal that just seemed perfect for a cold evening.

When it comes to appetizers, I’m very opinionated. My suggestion: have two “snacky” appetizers. Especially with a big main course, you don’t want your guests filling up on appetizers! Both appetizers can be (should be?) made ahead of time, so that’s a great timesaver. Our appetizer menu: Roasted Almonds and Pepitas and Creamy Goat Cheese and Herb Spread. I absolutely love having nuts as one of the appetizers; it’s easy to eat and not too filling. And the cheese spread on toasted baguettes is also a great finger-food appetizer. Both appetizers turned out delicious and were relatively quick to make!

Roasted Almonds and Pepitas

Equal parts almonds and pepitas (I used about 4 oz of each)

2 tablespoons rosemary (dried or fresh)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons butter

Roast the almonds and pepitas for about 12 minutes in a 375 degree oven, stirring halfway through. Combine rosemary, brown sugar, salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add to the rosemary mixture. Once combined, drizzle over nut mixture and stir to cover. Serve warm or room temperature.

Creamy Goat Cheese and Herb Spread

6 oz. goat cheese

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

¼ cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used equal parts rosemary, oregano and thyme)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sliced baguettes

Crumble goat cheese with a fork in a small bowl, set aside. In a chilled medium size bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until thick. Add the goat cheese to the heavy whipping cream and stir well to combine. Incorporate the herbs into the goat cheese mixture until combined. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. For baguette slices: slice baguette into thin (1/2 inch) slices. Place on baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until desired crunchiness. Serve with creamy goat cheese and herb spread.

For our main course, I decided to go with one of my favorite, go to meals for a cold day: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna. This lasagna is super quick to put together and a little healthier than traditional lasagna. There is just something about a warm lasagna on a cold night that makes me oh so happy! I came up with this recipe a few years ago with just the items I had in my kitchen. It’s definitely a keeper!

Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed

1 medium yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

15 ounces ricotta cheese (I used part skim)

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Marinara sauce (or your favorite sauce)

Sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper. Once most of the liquid is gone, add spinach. Once cooked, remove spinach mixture from heat and add ricotta cheese. Mix until incorporated. After spraying with non-stick spray, cover bottom of casserole with marinara sauce. Place lasagna sheets on top, spread ricotta mixture on lasagna sheets. Sprinkle about 1/3 of mozzarella cheese over ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, ending with marinara and cheese on the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes.

It was such a fun (and exhausting!) Saturday, but so great to share a meal with friends and run a race! Look for the next post in a few days, all about Thanksgiving back in Ohio!

There is nothing more that I love then spending a Saturday night at home. There is just something about lounging in sweatpants and a sweatshirt while cooking a delicious dinner that is so appealing. (Don’t get me wrong, I love dressing up. But, after dressing up everyday for work, I’m ready for some cozy clothes!)

It’s safe to say I took a risk with this meal. Not only did it involve sweet potatoes (not my husband’s favorite vegetable) but also one of my only cooking blunders – homemade gnocchi. A few years ago, I had a complete cooking catastrophe with homemade gnocchi. I like to blame it on a faulty recipe, but I’m sure it was pure inexperience. It was just plain potato (undercooked!) gnocchi that was basically pure flour. Although my husband ate it and said it was delicious, I know it wasn’t my best dish. Since then, I have had a fear of homemade gnocchi – but yesterday, I decided I was ready to conquer my gnocchi phobia.

I love sweet potatoes all year round, but it seems only natural to eat them in the fall. And one of my favorite combinations is brown butter and sage. There is just something so warm and rich about that combination that screams fall. And since sweet potatoes are the perfect fall vegetable, it only seemed right to combine these luscious fall ingredients.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Sage

2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds) – washed, dried and pierced with a fork

Place washed sweet potatoes on a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes on each side, or until tender. Cut the sweet potatoes in half to cool (they will be really hot!). Scrape the insides of the sweet potato into a large bowl and mash. Once mashed, add ricotta cheese until combined. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of salt and nutmeg. Mash again to combine. Add flour ½ cup at a time until a soft dough forms (I used about 2 cups in all).

Place dough on floured surface in small batches. Roll long, rope-like pieces in between hands and on floured surface. Cut rope into about 1-inch pieces. Indent each piece with fork and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  (WARNING: this recipe made roughly 100 gnocchi! Depending on how many you are planning to feed, cutting the recipe in half could be a wise decision. I ended up freezing the leftovers for a quick, weeknight meal.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. In batches, add gnocchi under tender, about 6 minutes (The gnocchi will come to the top when they are done too!). Transfer the cooked gnocchi to a clean baking sheet and place in 250-degree oven to keep warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter per person in a saucepan until brown, swirling the pan occasionally, for 5 minutes. Take about half of the chopped sage and add to the brown butter (the mixture will start to bubble). Add a single portion of the cooked gnocchi and sauté in the brown butter mixture for about 5 minutes until the gnocchi is heated through. Repeat with remaining gnocchi, sage and butter for additional portions. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.

This Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Sage was incredible! The way the butter soaked into the sweet potato gnocchi made such a soft and rich pasta pillow and the sage was the perfect, aromatic herb to compliment the otherwise sweet dish. It was the ideal meal for a cool, fall evening. And, even my non-sweet potato-eating husband loved it – he actually ate what was left on my plate.

This is a wonderful weekend meal. It does take a little longer than just boiling regular spaghetti, but that extra time is absolutely appreciated in the quality of this meal. Not only was this a fabulous fall feast, I finally conquered my fear of homemade gnocchi.

It seems only right for my first blog post to be about Pittsburgh. It is, in fact, the place where I first had the opportunity to blog in my Web 2.0 class my senior year at Duquesne University. At the time, this elective to help fulfill the requirements of a minor in English seemed like just that. Little did I know that Web 2.0 would prove to be useful just three years later.  

After spending four years in Pittsburgh, I grew to love the city for more than just the Steelers. I came to appreciate the culture of Pittsburgh. Not just the shopping or the food (which are obviously two highlights of the city) but the people. There is definitely a different vibe in Pittsburgh: passion, may it be for the sports teams or just the city, Pittsburghers love being Pittsburghers. And that is something that as a non-Pittsburgher I not only appreciate but LOVE.

We don’t get back to Pittsburgh as much as we would like, typically once a year for a Steelers game. But, since September, we have been in Pittsburgh for four weekends. Between the three weddings and our annual Steeler game, we’ve put a lot of miles on our car this fall. A weekend is truly not enough time to enjoy the city and we find ourselves trying to pick the best places to go in our short time there. This obviously means eating way too much, but we couldn’t possibly skip Primanti Brothers, could we?

After waiting in line to check in at our hotel, along with at least 50 of our closest Pitt friends (unbeknownst to us, it was Pitt vs. Notre Dame weekend and it’s safe to say that Pitt fans were ready for a HUGE party) we decided to head over to Primanti Brothers on Market Square. It was packed with Pitt fans, but that didn’t stop us! And even though we had a dinner reservation in less than three hours, we just HAD to get a sandwich. Primanti Brothers is synonymous with Pittsburgh. My personal favorite is the Pitts-Burgher Cheese Steak. According to Primanti Brother’s menu, it’s the number two best seller, which begs the question, what could be number one?! The Pitts-Burgher Cheese Steak is nothing like you’ve ever had – a thin piece of meat with melted cheese topped with french fries, coleslaw and tomatoes on thick, soft bread. Although it sounds simple (and messy) it is the perfect combination and one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. Not only are the sandwiches scrumptious, but Primanti Brother’s really captures the essence of Pittsburgh in a sandwich: a simple classic that keeps you coming back for more.

After stuffing our faces with Primanti Brothers, we headed over to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, Lidia’s Pittsburgh. Opened by Lidia Bastianich, a renowned chef with a television show and a cook book, Lidia’s is located in the Strip District in an old warehouse. The entire menu is delightful, but the highlight of the restaurant, in my opinion, is the Pasta Trio – unlimited, table side service of three house made pastas. On Saturday, the Pasta Trio consisted of wild mushroom ravioli, fettuccine with rosemary infused tomato sauce and farfalle with cabbage and bacon. While all three were wonderful, my favorite was the fettuccine with rosemary infused tomato sauce. The rosemary infused tomato sauce was so fragrant and smooth; it soaked into the soft, homemade fettuccine and created the most divine pasta I’ve ever had. I legitimately could have had several servings of just that pasta.

               

It was Sunday and we were in Pittsburgh. That meant it was time for Steelers Football. Although the Steelers aren’t having a stellar year thus far (that’s an entire different story) we are lifelong fans and will always stand by our Steelers. Before the game, we decided to head back to the Strip District to eat at another notorious Pittsburgh establishment, Pamela’s. In the four years that I lived in Pittsburgh, I never had the opportunity (or time) to wait in line outside on a weekend morning. After seeing the amount of people outside the restaurant, I thought I would have to wait for another trip back to the city. My husband was very skeptical, but we decided to wait it out. And I’m sure glad we did. The ambiance of Pamela’s is your typical diner, colors and all. And the menu looks pretty much like any other diner across the country. But when you’re food comes out (super-fast too) there is something that sets Pamela’s apart from any other diner you’ve been to. I had the American French Toast, and even though it was just regular white bread, there was something different about that french toast! Even when asking the waiter what was “American French Toast” he responded with “just regular french toast” – it was far from regular. As the butter and syrup soaked into the bread, I couldn’t help but think there was some addictive drug in this “regular” french toast. It was that good.

             

Last but not least, as we were waiting outside in the windy, chilly Pittsburgh air, the smell of fresh donuts was hitting our noses. We decided we had to find where this was coming from. Around the corner from Pamela’s was a little donut shop: Peace Love & Little Donuts. Even though we were STUFFED from our diner breakfast, we just had to stop in (I’m sure by this point you are thinking I am extremely overweight or I have an amazing metabolism…I like to think it’s the latter). As we walk in, there is a man making fresh donuts right in front of us. The smell is irresistible. I ordered a donut with vanilla icing and sprinkles and my husband ordered a cinnamon sugar donut. My bite size, vanilla with sprinkles donut was decorated with the very appropriate, black and yellow sprinkles, and was hot at the first bite. This is a new favorite spot in Pittsburgh – such a refreshing and innovative concept, especially with the world being dominated by cupcake shops.   

             

Overall, it was a great weekend in Pittsburgh. It combined some of my favorite food with my favorite team in one of my favorite cities. And the Steelers even got a win. 3-6. 

Here we go Steelers, here we go.