Posts Tagged ‘Amy Loeffler’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, August 27th, 2009
If summer’s last gasp has you fretting for ways to entertain your lil’ darlins until the sweet toll of the school bell beckons them back to class, get thee to Sully Plantation tomorrow for their Dairy Days event.
During the event young gastronauts learn how to make ice cream the old-fashioned way using nothing more than rock salt and their own elbow grease, as well as turn whipping cream into butter. Afterwards kids can enjoy games and a tour of the plantation itself.
“We do have a rule. If you want to eat you have to help crank,” says Tammy, a representative of the plantation.
Sure, the school year may not start until September 8th, but it’s never too early to squeeze in a life lesson or two about enjoying the fruits of your own labor. Especially if there’s ice cream involved.
–Amy Loeffler
Cajun Cowboys to Host U.S.O. Benefit This Saturday
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
When you think of cowboy cuisine it is most probably a Fred Flintstone-sized steak with a side of roasted potatoes served by a chef named “Cookie” wielding a rusty ladle.
But if the cowboys in question are Zac and Matt Culbertson of Arlington’s Cowboy Café, they’re more likely to be wrangling crawfish than steer.
On Saturday, Aug. 29, the brothers will host a crawfish boil at the Cowboy Café to benefit the Metropolitan Washington U.S.O. The cost is $25 and includes all the crawfish you care to wrastle with, sides of corn and sausage, as well as drink specials such as $2 Yeunglings. The benefit begins at 5:00 p.m.
Though they are self-described military brats who have logged their share of miles overseas, the signature plates cultivated by the brothers Culbertson are as much homage to American comfort food as they are to family gatherings in New Orleans where Cajun cooking was the mainstay of childhood memories.
“We’ve been doing crawfish boils my whole life,” says Zac who spent many a summer with family in the Big Easy. “The last crawfish boil we did [the memories] all just came flying back. It’s a lot of fun when you’re a kid. And the crawfish are delicious.”
Being a military family as well as having roots in New Orleans means the strong relationship the Culbertsons have with the U.S.O. is as natural as their relationship to Cajun cooking. According to Zac, the crawfish boil was a natural fit as a theme for the benefit of the Metropolitan Washington chapter of the organization, and he expects many veterans to attend the event.
In addition to growing up in a military family, both Zac and Matt had stints in the armed forces (their younger brother Joseph is also currently serving in Afghanistan) and had positive first-hand experiences with the U.S.O. In referring to the many projects taken on by the U.S.O. to lift troop spirits Zac says, “You’re deprived of all things Americana in a ware zone, and something as simple as a comedian getting on a stage can make all the difference for someone in that situation.”
According to press information for the event, the brothers are flying in 200 lbs. of craw-dads for the festivities on Saturday.
Zac explains, “basically it’s a communal dining experience,” with a long line of tables set up where the crawfish and sides are dumped when they’re finished cooking, and people eat shoulder-to-shoulder.
Don’t count yourself as a bona fide crawfish connoisseur if you stop at the sweet tail meat, he cautions. The real way to eat a crawfish is to suck the juice out of the head. “Hopefully I can talk some people into doing that.”
–Amy Loeffler
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, August 20th, 2009
If you’re looking to round out your weekend dining plans, Gut Check recommends a stop at Rustico in Alexandria. Word on the street is Chef Steve Mannino is debuting two new menu items: a decadent duck prosciutto with summer melon, and a swordfish club with bacon, chili mayo and lemon parsley chips. Sounds like summer in a sandwich to me.
And speaking of summer, for those of us left to endure the fluvial humidity of the season, let’s not forget the frosty suds list at Rustico tips the scales at 330 plus, and their wood-fired pies run the gamut from traditional pepperoni to duck confit and cracklins.
Pizza and beer night will never be the same.
–Amy Loeffler
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Aye, the Scottish Games and Festivals are nigh, and if you’re attending the celebration of the Thistle Nation September 5th and 6th in The Plains, there will certainly be a haggis to be had. And wherever there is haggis, there is controversy.
Because haggis is more than a national dish, it’s a polarizing subject for Scots and nonScots alike. Either you love it and find it an endearing icon of nationhood à la Robert Burns’ “Address to a Haggis,” or you hate it and think it might be better suited as an item on the lunch menu at Hogwart’s. (Haggis is of course a variety of organ meats which include lamb liver, heart and lung chopped up with oats and sewn up in a sheep’s stomach.)
A haggis virgin myself, while visiting the mist-filled crags of Scotland this summer I found out how passionate people are about their organ meats when I posted “avoiding haggis” in my Facebook status. Little did I know it would spark a debate of epic proportions.
Ok, so maybe it wasn’t epic, but I found out that more than healthcare reform, you don’t mess with haggis. Seriously, that one status update caused more upheaval in my own personal cyberspace than updates about an interstate move and life-changing career plans. Comments ran the gamut from haggis virgins and nonvirgins alike: My sister taunted me as simply a “coward” while one of my friends deemed my anti-haggis stance “intelligent.” Then another friend from high school chimed in about he had enjoyed a haggis with some single malt whiskey several years ago in the Highlands and was adamant that it was tasty.
Frank Donovan of Donovan’s Celtic Foods is no haggis virgin. He and his wife Diane will be selling bridies and shortbread along with the oft-commented haggis for the 36th year in a row at the games. His haggis recipe comes from a Canadian Scotsman and doesn’t include lung. About the only controversy surrounding his haggis are the secret seasonings on which he refused to give up the goods. For all of the impassioned debate and controversy about haggis, “most people who taste it, buy it,” says Donovan.
Let the games begin!
–Amy Loeffler
Sweely Estate Winery Announces Barrel Sponsorship Program
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Do you long to troll through a wine cellar and taste from your very own French oak barrel but don’t have access to a vineyard, a barrel or long-lost estate-owning European relatives to bum rush? Well, now you’re in luck. Even if the oeno-royalty in your family tree is seriously lacking, you can still experience the sacred ritual of quaffing straight from the cask. The folks at Sweely Estate Winery are giving their patrons an opportunity to get a behind-the-curtain look at the winemaking process through a barrel sponsorship program. The cost is $1, 200 per barrel and gets you the following:
-An etched plaque with your name attached to the barrel
-A picture with your barrel
-Two barrel tastings per year (spring & fall)
-Tastings for two during the four years your barrel is in use
-An annual invitation to see the bottling process in operation
-A mixed case of wine annually for four years (approximate value: $200 per case)
-The barrel to keep at end of the fourth year
-Invitation for two to the Barrel Owner Social each year
-First right of refusal for 2010 barrel program
(Snooty accent not included)
–Amy Loeffler