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,