Apple and Celery Root Soup With Bacon And Chive Oil
See my recipe for this delicious starter for your Thanksgiving meal on DC Foodies. Check back there every Tuesday for my recipies and other musings about the food scene in the DC area.
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More “My Favorite Links”
So finally I’m getting around to sharing more fantastic DC area food blogs. The three blogs I’m adding today are:
Where in DC- A DC foodie with restaurant experience who loves food and cooking. She’s starting a weekly blogging event “Watcha Eating” where she wants to know what’s in your fridge. Sriracha? Leftovers? A doggy bag from a restaurant? Let her know whatcha got stashed in there. Tune in tommorow to see what’s in mine!
DC Food Blog- Two guys eating and cooking in and around DC
DC Gastronome- Two writers contributing to a fun and informative DC food blog
What are your favorite DC foodie sites? Where do you go to be “in the know” and get inspired about our food scene here?
Want To Talk Turkey?
Do you know how to pick a turkey and how to cook it? Do you want to know where to get a tasty gobbler in the D. C. area? See my post “Let’s Talk Turkey” on D.C. Foodies and start your preparation for a fantastic Thanksgiving feast.
Hound Picks - Hard Times Chili Mix For Chili Mac- Presto Pasta Night*
Hard Times Cafe is a casual and fun restaurant in Alexandria, VA and has over a dozen outposts throughout Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. It’s a chili parlor with other good food that’s bad for you, like burgers, ribs and wings. I first tried their chili 10 years ago when visiting friends in Alexandria. They told me to boil some spaghetti while they went out to pick up the chili. What?
You see, I had never heard of chili mac. Chili mac, for the unitiated out there among you, is chile over spaghetti. Now, forget about what constitutes “real” chili, whether beans should be banned or visible vegetables are verboten. This ain’t about what kind of chili you like or is from your “neck of the woods”. It’s about taking that favorite chili and piling it on top of spaghetti. Topping such as cheese and diced onion are good too. Whatever you like, you put it on. For me, it’s shredded cheese, sour cream and chives. I can do without the chives really, but the cheese and sour cream are a must. In fact, when I made this last Sunday, we had to make a stop at our closest market just to pick up some sour cream. It’s essential in the Houndstooth household.
One of the best things about chili mac is the tasty mess that it turns into as all the ingredients get mixed. It actually improves as you eat it!
If you are in the area, do take a hand from the Hard Times Cafe chili mix by stopping in and buying some mix. Or, order it from their store. You’ll be glad you did! I go for the Cinncinati style mix which has slight heat and permeates the meat with cinnamon. Plus, it’s so damn easy to make. No chopping, no cutting. I just brown the meat, open a couple cans of beans and a can of tomato puree. Then, it can simmer on the stove and fill the house with wonderful smells.
There is a recipe on the back but of course I ignore it and make it my way (for one, it calls for boiling the meat. Uh,no). Here’s what I do:
Ingredients:
2 lb. ground beef (I use 80/20 mix)
2 cans beans, such as kidney or pinto
1 large can tomato puree
1/2 cup water
1 box Hard Times Cafe chili mix
Directions:
Brown meat in heavy bottom pan. Drain grease if you want. Pour chili mix over meat and add water. Stir to evenly coat. Add beans and tomato puree. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, covered. Stir every 5 minutes. Serve over spaghetti and add your choice of toppings.
* Presto Pasta Night is a weekly blogging even held by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.
A La Minute Update: Jamieson Grille And Trademark Bar Open In The Westin Alexandria
The Jamieson Grille will offer classic American dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.Executive Chef Nadine Thomas will be leading the kitchen. There are inviting dishes throughout the day, from griddled Johnny apple cakes at breakfast, to Maryland crab bisque and shrimp panini at lunch, to a trio of soup and whiskey rubbed skirt steak for dinner.
The Trademark Bar, named for the proximity of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, will pour old and new world wines by the glass in addition to offering a bar menu. Sophisticated dishes such as a flight of macaroni and cheese and beef sliders with Jamieson whiskey ketchup on a brioche bun will be sure to satisfy.
The Jamieson Grille and Trademark Bar are located in the Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square Alexandria 22314.
