Quite a Columbus Christmas

Quite a lot went down over our Christmas break in Ohio - probably too much to fit into one post, but I shall attempt to cover it all anyhow as such is the nature of Squooshed.

After a 7-hour drive and several failed attempts to listen to books-on-CD (apparently they lull me into a deep, hypnotic sleep - who knew?), we were greeted by a lovely display of Christmas lights in front of the house.  There were candy canes and wreaths and, of course, what Christmas display would be complete without a Christmas pig?

"Some Pig"

Speaking of Christmas pig, Wilbur's friend joined us for dinner later on in the week.  But that's a different story entirely.

I think I just made myself cry a little bit.

Early on in the week, Patrick, Susan, and I made the requisite stop at a Westerville staple, Schneider's Bakery.

They did not have their signature "smiley face cookies," but we still managed to bring back a tasty supply of Christmas tree and bell shaped sugar cookies.

Not a bad compromise, as you can see.

Later we engaged in some quality family bonding time at Magic Mountain where we ate pizza, shot at each other multiple times in laser tag, and won some sweet prizes by turning these little bags of tokens...

...into tickets.

Patrick won me 500 tickets in one turn on this spin-n-win wheel.  The catch was that you had to stand there and actually collect the 500 tickets, which, in exchange, costs a hefty pocketful of patience.

At the end of the night, as a result of our mad Skee-ball skills (and perhaps some faulty machines), we walked away with an Adele CD, a whoopie-cushion, a rubber ducky, a lemon drop, and a tootsie roll.

On Christmas Eve, Patrick and I attempted to coordinate a group Skype session with my side of the family - Mikala and Kyle in Texas, Marcus and Brooke in Florida, and everyone else (including the parental units) in Nebraska.  The connections kept cutting out but there were a few seconds where we were all able to see each other, which made it all worth it.

Then came Christmas morning, which started out something like this:

I definitely scored big time and can't wait to try out recipes from my new cookbooks.

Meanwhile, all week Patrick had been hard at work plotting Dan's present - a giant remote-controlled shark that floats in the air.

The shark (who I later named Leslie) made a grand entrance from the landing upstairs...

And there may or may not have been a mishap later on where we had to retrieve Leslie from the corner...

In addition to the flying shark, our attention was captured by this little duckling throughout the week:

It was great getting to spend time with Claire, who is already 6 months!  Here she is hanging out with Uncle Patrick...

...although usually she was much more content when she had something to shove into her mouth, like Aunt Monica's hair...

Granny Sue's tablecloth,

her own fist,

Uncle Patrick's fist,

and this delightful spoon...

Not even poor Loo could compete with all that chomp action.

Speaking of Loo, she was kind enough to take Patrick and me out for a walk one fine afternoon.

On our last day in Columbus, we went to see Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol.  It's pretty much what you expect of any PG-13 spy action movie -- a generic plot, plenty of high-speed chases and stunts, a slew of product placement, a nuclear threat  -- but all done really well.  What I like about this movie is that it's pretty much 100% action with a healthy dose of suspense and comic relief spread throughout so there is really not a dull moment.  

Later that night, while waiting to be seated at dinner, we popped into The Book Loft in German Village.

This store is a book-lover's paradise.  It's set up like a maze with 32 "rooms" (more like little nooks) of books that you could easily get lost in... literally and figuratively.

I probably could have stayed in this (cookbook) corner for hours...

For dinner, we headed to Schmidt's Sausage Haus Und Restaurant, a historic registered site that has been passed down through five generations since 1886.

It began as a packing house and was converted into a restaurant in 1967.  Nowadays it serves traditional German/American dishes and was featured on Man vs Food and The Food Network's Best of Ohio.

We started with the pretzel nuggets, which came out hot and crispy, but were soft and doughy when you bit into them.

I ordered the signature "Bahama Mama" sausage, which is made with beef and pork and has a slight kick to it (I think in one of the videos they said jalapeño was one of the secret spices).  The sausage was very flavorful and had a nice, juicy snap when you cut into it.

It was served with hot sauerkraut, German-style potato salad, chunky applesauce, and a warm bun.

Patrick ordered the "Weiner Schnitzel und Gravy"-- also delicious with a mushroom burgundy gravy, potato cakes, and green beans.

And we couldn't leave without ordering their famous award-winning dessert - a half-pound jumbo cream puff which definitely lived up to its name and reputation.

For second dessert, we headed to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, which originated near Columbus and has been getting a lot of attention in the media these days.

I first heard of this place when it was featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Hot & Spicy episode for their Queen City Cayenne Chocolate ice cream.  Jeni also has a cookbook out that I seem to see everywhere.

The place is known for creating innovative flavors and recipes using all-natural ingredients.  Luckily they encourage you to try as many flavors as possible before deciding on which one to buy, so I took advantage of this and sampled a wide variety.  This included the Queen City Cayenne Chocolate which initially tasted like chocolate and then about three seconds later you were hit with the cayenne.  It was an unusual sensation of cold and spicy that I didn't necessarily like or dislike.

Other notable ones I sampled were the Goat Cheese with Cognac Figs, Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet, Brambleberry Crisp, Cherry Lambic Sorbet, and Whiskey and Pecans.  

A lot of the flavors were very in-your-face and were fun in sample-size but might have been overwhelming in large quantities.  Which is why I ultimately took the safe route and ordered a scoop of the black forest ice cream (on the bottom) and a scoop of the lemon frozen yogurt (on top).

Wow, if you made it this far into the post, you deserve a swift pat on the back.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

oo,

Meat, Potatoes, and Beyond

With Patrick just before graduation

I'm not by definition a "picky eater," but by virtue of my Midwestern American "meat and potatoes" upbringing, the only meat acceptable for consumption comes in the form of beef, poultry, or pork and of course it comes pre-cut and neatly wrapped in plastic at the supermarket.

So it's safe to say this past year studying at a French cooking school has been an adventure in both eating and cooking and has challenged my notions of what I eat and where it comes from.  A few of the more memorable dishes I've learned to prepare include frog legs, escargot, rabbit, duck, venison, lamb shanks, pate, mussels, monkfish (officially the ugliest fish on the planet and often sold headless for this reason), and skate.

Honorable mentions include beef tartare, veal cheeks (yes, the cheeks), calf's liver, aspic (think of it as beef flavored jello), bone marrow custard, and fish mousse.

We also prepared sweetbreads, which sounds delicious until you realize that sweetbreads are actually the thymus gland/pancreas of a calf... I'll spare you the visual but if you're curious, there's a particularly appetizing one here.  And on our last day of Phase II, we learned how to cook parts of the animal other than the muscle -- like the gizzards, the brain, the stomach, and the feet.

I may not be jumping at the chance to order calve's brain anytime in the near future, but I'm definitely more open-minded when it comes to ordering and preparing foods.  My new favorites are beef tartare, mussels, and veal cheeks. 

Posing with my parents 

(and my new certificate) following the ceremony

In addition to a newfound love for mussels, there is a lot more I will take away from my experience at culinary school - 

techniques like how to shuck an oyster or boil sugar to softball stage without a candy thermometer (which, believe it or not, involves sticking your hand into a pot of boiling sugar), 

principles like how proteins react when exposed to different temperatures, 

food safety and sanitation like how not to kill someone with your cooking, and even 

food history - did you know that before the 18th century, potatoes were believed to be poisonous?

With my parents at the luncheon buffet

that was held at the school after the ceremony

And at the same time, there is a lot I have yet to master - like sauces in general, which, despite my efforts, still manage to come out too strong, too weak, too thick, or too thin for my liking.  We were reminded at the commencement ceremony last week that the word "commencement" means beginning.  At LAC, I feel I have built a solid foundation but still need the building blocks of experience and hard work to take me to great heights.

That said, I will just have to turn to Ratatouille for inspiration, and remind myself of its motto Anyone can cook!

But more specifically, the critic Anton Ego's realization of the true meaning of this phrase after seeing that the cook behind the ratatouille dish he was ravishing came from none other than a rat:

In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.

Since I was born the year of the Rat, maybe this is a good sign.  :)

oo,

Christmas Prelude with the Parentals

Last December, my parents came to DC for a sweet carpet convention.  And luckily this December they had another excuse to visit - my graduation from L'Academie de Cuisine.  (But more on my graduation in a later post.)

The trip started out with a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which, to sum it up, went something like this:

Mom:  Ooh, what's this?
Me:  Oh, you know, a floating bobber thingie.

... which later revealed itself to be the capsule of an early hot air balloon model.

While I appreciate the grandeur and history of the displays, I apparently don't share the same enthusiasm for machinery as my familial companions.  I think I took a nice nap on a bench while my parents closely inspected the welding job on the inside of a space shuttle's rocket booster.  Luckily, Patrick showed up from his work's holiday party and had a lot more technical and historical insight to offer them.

From there, we braved the rain and headed towards the White House to see the National Christmas Tree display, which looks a lot bigger in this picture than it does in real life.

(I'm not going to talk about the fact that Patrick and I entered the lottery for the Tree Lighting Ceremony this year and got tickets in the mail but missed the event thinking that it was on the 8th of December only to realize later that it was actually on the 1st of December...)

Around the perimeter of the main tree were smaller trees representing each U.S. State/Territory.  Here is Ohio:

and Nebraska, looking a little measly, but still regal in its own way: 

Just behind the display was a nice view of La Casa Blanca.

And, thanks to my parents, we walked away with this year's White House Christmas ornament:

Now a word on Korean Fried Chicken.  My Dad watched a special on TV recently about Korean fried chicken and was curious to try it.  Some of you may recall this article from the New York Times a few years back.  Apparently the secret is cooking the skin first until the fat is rendered out, leaving a thin crisp layer.  Then it is double-fried and coated in a delicious sauce that clings to the chicken rather than drips all over the place.  And all the while the chicken remains insanely crispy with each bite, resulting in the most amazing chicken wing you've ever had.

That said, we couldn't resist the chance to take my parents to BonChon Chicken, Patrick and my favorite location for Korean fried chicken.  We ordered their soy garlic wings, which go spectacular with a cold beer:

My parents agreed - best wings they had ever tasted.

The following day, once the graduation events were over, we had what I like to call a little "Christmas prelude" in our apartment.  As usual, my parents went overboard and somehow managed to squeeze an insane amount of gifts in their suitcases... our little tree had never seen so much action before.

But check out this cute gingerbread house plate:

And my new belgian waffle maker:

Patrick got a wrench/socket set...

... which he and my dad put to good use right away, changing the spark plugs in our car.  Exciting stuff.

The following morning we wandered around Georgetown and stopped at Georgetown Cupcake before the line got too long.

Our cupcakes of choice were red velvet, chocolate^2, and chocolate birthday cake.

Naturally, after dessert we decided to eat lunch so we stopped at Chicago Uno for pizza, where we ordered the supreme.

Then we parted ways -- my mom and I went shopping while Patrick and my dad went on a 3-hour segway tour of the city.

Not surprisingly, Patrick chose the segway named "The Gipper."

We ended the night at Columbia Firehouse, the restaurant where I've been externing the past 6 months (and will continue to work for a few more).

We were seated in the atrium -- and though you can't see it well in the pictures, it's gorgeous, both at night and during the day.

In true Monica fashion, I dug into my meal before remembering to take pictures, but take my word that everything looked and tasted amazing.  It's such a different experience being seated in the dining room versus working in the kitchen.  Patrick and I split the prime rib which came with a horseradish potato gratin (yum!) and a side of green beans.  My mom ordered the catch of the day, which was Rockfish served over white bean cassoulet featuring our house made bacon.  And my dad ordered the scallops, seared and served on a bed of risotto-style Israeli couscous with an arugula pesto (photo taken the last time I visited with some friends).  

And at the end of the meal when we were absolutely stuffed, the chef was kind enough to send out an assortment of desserts for us to try, including a mint box mousse cake, a cookie plate, and chocolate creme brûlée with coffee ice cream.

Snickers bar, Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich, Hostess Cupcake, 

Cake Donut, Egg Nog Ice Cream, and a Pudding Pop

Chocolate Creme Brûlée with chocolate cookies and coffee ice cream

And so ends our Christmas prelude in DC.  Now we're looking forward to Christmas in Columbus!

oo,