Lady Camellia Tea Shop

As some of you know, I am on a quest to find the best  afternoon tea in the DMV.I compare them to our high tea at the Savoy in London last year (see previous post). Lady Camellia is my latest try with my lovely sister-in-law Karen.

First, getting a reservation was very difficult. To have a chance at a weekend reservation at a reasonable time, you need to call at least three weeks in advance and pay up front. We went on a Thursday afternoon and saw why it was so difficult. The tea shop only had 8 or 9 tables. It was smack in the middle of Georgetown off of Wisconsin Avenue and it is not well marked. It is on the first floor of one of the row houses so popular in the Georgetown section of DC. There is parking directly across the street for a fee of $16.


Once we were seated, the single server came over and explained the menu. The menu was mix and match.There were 6 choices of tea from a light tea at $19 to the full high tea for $38 per person.We chose the full tea at $32 per person because it included three types of tea sandwiches which made it closer to the Savoy tea.

The tea was absolutely delicious. Both Karen and I were amazed at the rich flavor. The sandwiches were egg salad, cucumber, brie and apple, and smoked salmon. Of the 4, the brie and apple was the only one that was fresh and tasty. The scones were ok, but the croissants were not very tasty. The pastries were also just ok.

Service was very slow, but we could not figure out why. There were two tables filled and we were one of them.

All in all, Lady Camellia did not deliver the kind of tea I was expecting. It does not compare well with the Savoy, or the Black Market Bistro, which is still my DMV favorite.

Chicken Cacciatore Ardente

I am always trying to take familiar recipes and add some spice to them. This is one of those. Ardente in Italian means fiery. See what you think.

Ingredients:

8 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded to 1/4 inch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper for chicken breasts 
2 tablespoons olive oil     
1 large onion chopped
1 large red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 28oz. can of petite diced tomatoes  
3/4 cup chicken stock
11/2 teaspoons dried oregano
11/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preparation:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on prepared boneless chicken breasts
Dredge chicken breasts in all purpose flour
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil on high temperature until heated but not smoking
Saute chicken breasts on both sides until golden brown
Remove chicken breasts from pan to oven safe platter
Keep chicken in oven at 300 degrees until sauce is complete
Add onion, red pepper, and garlic to pan and cook for about 5 minutes
Add tomatoes, stock, and oregano, and red pepper flakes to pan and cook on medium heat until sauce is reduced by 1/2
Taste sauce and correct with salt and pepper to taste
Remove chicken from oven and pour sauce over chicken
Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve

Serves 4


    

Foodie Heaven- Asheville North Carolina

From time to time, I like to write about trips we have taken, and the food and wine scene of the locale. Buzz and I just returned from Asheville, NC, and it is foodie heaven. Asheville sits at the base of the Great Smokey Mountains and has, in the past, been noted for the Vanderbilt Mansion; The Biltmore. But more and more people come to Asheville to experience the food and wine at one of its 139 restaurants. The reason that this number of eateries is amazing is that the total population of Asheville is only 89,000.

The population is dominated by young people. This may be because there are over 20 colleges and universities within a 50 mile radius of this small city. The atmosphere is vibrant and somewhat kinky. To illustrate this, after our food tour, we came across a champagne bar and decided to have a glass of the bubbly. It also is co-located with and old book store, and a resident busker.

The food tour itself was amazing. My favorite was Modesto. We had veal pate' with blackberry mustard sauce and a crisp Chablis. The farm to table movement means a lot at this restaurant. They have their own farm and bring its freshness to the table. We went to 5 other restaurants that had their own unique style and flavor; curry at Blue Dream Curry, shrimp tacos at the White Duck Taco shop, and Bhramari Craft beer. One of the other places we went to requires a special spot ,It is the Chocolate Fetish. Move over Godiva and all the other chocolate purveyors. The chocolate is fresh and rich and over the top. It was love at first taste. Next years Christmas baskets get goodies from this shop.

The final stop on our trip was the wine tasting at the Antler Hill winery. Wines were ok and we were all set to buy some when it occurs to us that we can't take them on the plane so we have to ship it. Well, in this hot weather, the winery folks said that they could not guarantee that it would be kept cool enough in shipment. UPS was set up to do the delivery, but if we were not home then it would be left on the porch or if we did USPS it would go back to an in to a hot warehouse or also hot back room of the post office.

Our last stop was Bee Charmer. They had a honey tasting, which was new to me. They had over 100 kind of honeys. We tasted only 5 or 6. Good stuff.Still no plane ride for these bottles. Ah,c'est la vie.

Rosy Red Potato Salad

Without a doubt, my mother made the best German Potato Salad in the world. Unfortunately it was a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and I have not been able to reproduce it. So I have struck out on my own and have come up with a recipe that is lower calorie and without too much mayonnaise. Try this at your next BBQ.

Ingredients:

Salad:
5 cups of baby red potatoes, boiled, cooled and cut into quarters
1/2 cup diced red pepper
3 diced green onions

Dressing:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 Teaspoons Dijon mustard
1Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoon Lite mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Once potatoes are done and cool, add the red pepper and the green onion
Mix dressing thoroughly until emulsified
Pour dressing over potato mixture and let sit for about an hour to let the flavors marinade

Feeds 4

Pork Chops avec Sauce Moutarde

Generally, I feel meat, like beef, pork, and poultry is best served with a sauce. Meat with just salt and pepper is pretty bland and unappetizing( I apologize to all my Texas friends, who tell me a good piece of beef grilled with salt and pepper is the epitome of good dining). I have found that good pork sauces are particularly hard to find. This recipe is easy to make and tastes yummy because it pairs Dijon mustard and a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream. Try this and you will get rave reviews.

Ingredients:

8 thin sliced boneless pork chops, trimmed of fat and pounded to 1/4 inch
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
chopped parsley for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Salt and pepper chops and then dredge in flour
Add olive oil to a large skillet, heat until oil is very hot, but not smoking
Brown chops 4 minutes per side
Remove chops to an oven proof plate and put into preheated oven
Pour off excess oil from pan and add the butter to the same pan
Cook shallots in butter for about 5 minutes
Add chicken stock and simmer for 2 minutes
Add mustard and cream and return sauce to a boil
Simmer for about 3 minutes
Add lemon juice and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened
Remove pork chops from oven and pour sauce over them
Garnish with chopped parsley
ENJOY

Serves 4

 

 

                   
                                                   

Parmesan Risotto

Yesterday was only the second time I have made risotto.It was so creamy and tasty that I wondered why. Then I remembered. It takes time and constant attention to turn out right.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter divided
1 small onion diced
2 cups Calrose rice
51/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan
At the same time, in another saucepan heat chicken stock and bring to a boil
Saute' onions in the melted butter until golden but not browned
Stir in rice and saute' for 2 minutes
Add 2 cups of the hot chicken stock to the rice and onions
Stir frequently (about every 3 to 5 minutes) until stock is absorbed
Add 3/4 of a cup of stock to rice mixture when the 2 cups are absorbed
Continue to stir rice until the 3/4 cup stock is absorbed
Continue to add 3/4 cup stock, and stir until all 51/2 cups of stock is absorbed.
The rice should be al dente at this time.
Add Parmesan cheese and 2 remaining tablespoons of butter stir and cook
until cheese and butter are melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Hacienda Guacamole

I always try to reproduce recipes that I fall in love with on our travels. The Hacienda pomegranate guacamole is one of them. In the recipe below, you will not see real pomegranate seeds. They are not readily available and when you find them, they are prohibitively expensive. You will also not see jicama. I think it may be available but I have not found any yet. What you will find is a molcajete granite (granite mortar and pestle) just like the one the Hacienda used. I have tried out the recipe using dried cranberries infused with pomegranate juice, and I have gotten rave reviews from my family guacamole experts.

Ingredients:
   2 ripe avocados
   1/4 cup minced green onions
   1 diced serrano chili
   1/4 cup dried cranberries infused with pomegranate juice
   1/4 cup peeled diced apple
   1/4 cup chopped pistachios
   1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
   2 Tablespoons lime juice
   1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
   Place ingredients into the molcajete and mash ingredients with pestle
   until a coarse paste is formed. Serve with warm tortilla chips.

Note: I serve it in the mortar and pestle. You can buy one for $13.95 on Amazon,but it is very heavy, so I recommend having an Amazon Prime account.

One of the top 10 Romantic Restaurants in America

As usual in our travels, I have researched the best Restaurants in the city and made reservations to try it . This time it was Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona and the name of the restaurant is Café Monarch. The chef, Christian Lewkowicz believes in local sourcing and changes the menu daily based on what is good and available from local growers and ranchers. It was definitely romantic, and the food was very good, but not excellent. The roasted cauliflower soup was excellent as it was served with a dash of truffle oil and herb buttered crostini. The winter salad had all the right ingredients, including heirloom tomatoes, poached pear and cabernet goat cheese, but their was so little vinaigrette on the salad that the mix of flavors tasted too raw. The third course of porcini crusted tenderloin was cooked medium rare and blended well with the parsnip puree. The fourth course was, however a disappointment. None of the fancy ingredients, like the Kabocha squash or Pinot Noir glaze could hide the fact that the chicken was dry and not flavorful. The flourless chocolate cake was also not good. It was also dry, and chalky. We had the wine tasting to go with each course, and they were unmemorable. All in all, a 3 star but you need to make reservations 2 weeks in advance. Maybe the romantic setting and great service make up for some of the misses in food preparation.