#26: Belated birthday shenanigans
You could say I had too much fun locking in on life
Having a birthday at the end of April makes me a little cuckoo, wanting to check off any aspirations before I leave the year behind. I hosted the first of what I hope to be a series of coursed dinner parties this year. I saw stars eating the best banh mi of my life in a parking lot in Virginia. That same day, I ate nearly a pound of house made fried tofu - first crispy and hot, and then slightly soggy and cold from my fridge. This protein queen! I got my seasonal ramps fix through the beautiful vessel of pizza. And for my birthday party, I hosted a cookbook club with my sweet friends and tortured them with some homemade jell-o shots of diabolical proportions. Let’s get into it!
Spanish spring dinner party
Even though I’m often hosting, I’ve never done a coursed dinner party for my friends - until now! Growing up, I’d watch my parents organize multi-course meals in our crammed kitchen. There’s a lot of considerations with this style of cooking and hosting. How much time do you want to interact with guests between meals? What needs to be prepped ahead and what really needs to be made on the spot? How do you spread out groceries and what’s an appropriate serving size per person?
To confidently answer these questions at my first go, I picked a cuisine that is near and dear to my heart: Spanish food. Using familiar flavors and dishes to incorporating springtime elements was a mental exercise that had me craving Spanish sun.
Welcome drinks included the option for a classic gin & tonic or tinto de verano. “Tintos” are a perfect transitional bev for spring and summer. The citrus-forward red wine spritz can be prepared ahead of time by mixing together red wine, lemon lime simple syrup, and sweet vermouth. Once you’re ready to serve, you simply pour 4oz of the mix over ice, top with club soda, and garnish with a lemon wheel.
For apps, I wanted create a tapas board with classic snacks that required little active cooking. The most involved bites were my paprika radishes inspired by these cutie and seasonal herb butter radishes. Instead of the herb oil, I melted smoked paprika and butter to get the right consistency to dawn a pale orange coat over my bright pink radishes. They were a bit silly to eat but overall a fun ice breaker. The rest of the snacks were primarily focused on assembly: pan con tomate, cast iron skillet blistered shishitos, pintxos, jamon, and manchego. Setting this array of snacks by the couch kept guests comfy while I got my prep for the main course in order.
For mains, I thought about what ingredients could capture the essence of Spanish spring. The obvious answer led me straight to asparagus, but how to make it Spanish? Drown it in an aioli with rendered chorizo, of course. By sheer luck, Kenji Lopez-Alt shared this “cheat-y chorizo aioli” reel on Instagram two weeks before the dinner. Simply preparing oven-roasted asparagus as a canvas for the aioli made a gorgeous pair.
In my head, tortilla española fit within this “spring chicken” or “easter egg” motif. This might be a stretch and honestly a bit of a ploy to hide the fact that I wanted everyone to witness the drama of flipping the tortilla. Using Gabriela Camara’s Mexican version of tortilla española, I could have timed this one better. This was my only active cooking exercise, and I could have set myself up for more success. My hesitancy to flip resulted in a firmer tortilla than the Spanish would prefer but that is why you always have garlic aioli to smother it in.
Finally, I roasted three whole branzini and plated them in a pool of romesco sauce. Branzino is so versatile (and relatively cheap!). I wanted to make sure this sauce was bright, cutting through the starch of the tortilla and the creamy asparagus. Romesco brought a zippy, smoky, and nutty flavor profile elevating everything on the plate!
As someone who suffers from scarcity mentality, I feared that these mains wouldn’t be enough. Then I remembered I made a luxurious Basque cheesecake with an orange zest whipped cream for dessert. Thank god, the people wouldn’t riot. Basque cheesecake is ridiculously simple and yields such a high reward. I cannot recommend this recipe enough for your next dinner party, bakeoff, birthday, or indulgent Monday morning slice.
There’s a really special moment during a dinner party when you look around the table and realize just how lucky you are to have people who will show up for you. Feeding others during really crazy times makes me feel so full and is a feeling that I love to chase. I can’t wait to host more dinners this year and learn how to cater to larger groups!
Spring outings
April introduced me to some new spots in DC and Virginia. I ate a ridiculous amount of Mexican food as the weather turned favorable to patio season. Honorable mentions must go to Mariscos 1133 for my birthday dinner which may have included a forced sombrero (pictures will NOT be shared) and the tamale stand across the corner from the Mount Pleasant farmers market.
Banh mi bliss: As the weather warmed up, I spent more time eating and drinking outside. I love eating from a car hood. On a temperate Saturday we ventured to Banh Mi DC in Falls Church, VA, which my friends always seem to go to whenever I’m working on weekends (rude). Not this time! This is a serious family-run Vietnamese shop making homemade French baguettes and other Vietnamese treats like pâté pastries, pandan and mung bean layered cakes, and sesame balls. We ordered classic pork banh mi’s that have the perfect ratio of meat, pâté, mayo, and veg. There’s something so visually pleasing about the single strip of cucumber that runs throughout the entire sandwich. Pair this with a traditional Vietnamese iced coffee for a perfect lunch.
Thanh Son Tofu (Eden Center): With the help of my co-passenger we convinced Will to drive us to Eden Center, a giant Vietnamese shopping and food mall also in Falls Church. This place pops off on the weekends. Still relatively full from my banh mi, I had my stomach set on Thanh Son Tofu, a shop that churns out housemade tofu is various forms. It was the Saturday before Easter, so the shop was packed with lots of moms and grandmas who had a long shopping list to blow through. I ordered a 1/2 pound of each of their fried tofus: onion and mushroom, lemon pepper, and plain. Eating this in the parking lot picnic tables with some sips of Will’s coconut smoothie with boba was truly divine. I dream of the golden cubes of mushroom and onion fried tofu - crispy on the outside and wobbly on the inside. Texture girly approved.
Nido tasting to Martha Dear takeout pipeline: I highly encourage going to a wine tasting at Nido on Fridays. For $10, you get to taste 2-3 healthy pours of wine from whatever wine rep is hosting that night. A few weeks back, we tried three different Bulgarian wines (literally who knew?) out on their street patio. It’s a fun way to sip something new and grab dinner in the Mount Pleasant strip. Once we wrapped up the tasting we ordered takeout from Martha Dear, the Greek-Italian pizzeria in a basement unit. The ramp pie is served with a bright green ramp crema, sizzled ramps, and garlic breadcrumbs - a brat, springtime dream. We also got the ‘nduja and peppers for a spicy saucy bite. It’s not a trip to Martha Dear without their salacious caesar salad so that also made it into the grab bag. For good measure, we got a pint of mutabbaq ice cream from Mount Desert Island that perches above Martha Dear. The flavor is inspired by the Palestinian dessert. The honey ice cream is swirled with crispy phyllo, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, and cardamom, with a ripple of honey-lemon syrup. An at home meal fit for the couch gods that we are.
Amparo Fondita brunch: I’ve had this Mexican restaurant in DuPont on my radar for over a year. My parents came down for an early birthday brunch and the menu didn’t disappoint. Guacamole is never bad, but this version with fried herbs brings an unexpected, fresh dimension. A dollop of their spicy and sweet salsa macha on top of a heaping scoop of guacamole is perfect bite. We had a dozen very clean and briny oysters alongside a carefully composed shrimp aguachile. The ceviche was bursting with flavors of lime, sharp onion, and creamy avocado. Slightly hungover from a booze cruise the night before, I ordered some pozole hoping that the red soup would cure me. Unfortunately this was the only dish that fell a bit flat for me. On the bright side, it did come with a surprise side of chicharrones. Another special dish are the fish empanadas stuffed with a homemade fish chorizo.
Two Nine soft opening: On my actual birthday, I treated myself to an afternoon out in Georgetown. Two Nine is a new sushi restaurant tucked away in an alley off of 31st Street. The owners previously ran Ama Ami in the Grace Street food hall and have now expanded to a full omakase restaurant on the second floor, and simple takeout concept on the first floor. The takeout menu includes jewel-like chirashi bowls of expertly prepared fish and nigiri. I tried the futomaki (thick roll) studded with bluefin tuna, king salmon, japanese white fish, shiso, fresh scallions, tamago, pickles, shittake, kampyo, seasonal produce, and wasabi. The giant roll is a symphony of textures and flavors. I cannot emphasize how fresh and high quality the fish is. I’ll be saving all my pennies to go to their omakase someday.
Birthday cookbook club
I brought the cookbook club back this year for my birthday party. I chose Gabriela Camara’s My Mexico City cookbook and everyone killed it! I made mostly apps including pico de gallo, guacamole, ceviche with halibut from DC Fishwife. I also made lots of agua de jamaica, an agua fresca made from steeping hibiscus flowers and cinnamon and whole limeade to be used as mixers. Those drinks will definitely be on the summer beverage rotation!
My friends showed up with a GIANT spread: picadillo, asparagus and squash salad, papas con rajas y crema, tortilla and chicken casserole, tinga de pollo, camarones al ajillo and rice, savory corn pudding, cucumber mezcal cocktails, mezcal margs, piña orange basil and tequila cocktails, charred red salsa, shrimp tostadas, flourless chocolate cake, and rice pudding.
After dinner, I brought out some truly diabolical Jell-O shots inspired by this galentines recipe. A special shoutout to Will who juiced all the citrus and scooped out all of the fruit flesh for me the night before so I wouldn’t be making these until 2am (that’s real love <3). Let’s just say it’s best to leave mezcal out of Jell-O form. Thank goodness for back up ranch waters and blood orange vodka Jell-O shots.
If you ever want to figure out how to host your own cookbook club party please hit me up! I think it’s such a fun way to host without going crazy (for me) over prep like a typical dinner party. Also happy to share any recipes from the cookbook itself :)
Thanks for reading this one! I know this was a little on the late side. Life has been cuckoo loco as of late and I very much appreciate your patience. We will be very punctual for the May edition. Take care of yourselves!
a hosting queen!! happy belated!
happy belated!!! that asparagus looked divine as well as the rest of the spread!!