Food section: Metro Weekly magazine, Washington, DC newspaper

Thanksgiving, Easy as Pie

With a little planning and some help from your Friends, pulling off a grand dinner is within anyone's reach

Published on October 29, 2009, 12:00am

Few people hate Thanksgiving, but plenty see it as daunting. It's one thing to get a few days off from work and either go out to dinner or visit friends for the holiday. It's another to play host yourself, trying to juggle all the variables: menu planning, shopping, prepping animals, vegetables and even minerals if you'd like some sparkling water or salt on your banquet table. A simple dinner party may can be intimidating, let alone the pinnacle food holiday ...[more]

Hillwood Hospitality

Chef Patrick O'Connell offers advice on entertaining at ''Gay Day''

Published on September 24, 2009, 12:00am

Marjorie Merriweather Post never had the opportunity to enjoy Patrick O'Connell's Inn at Little Washington, which he founded with his former partner, Reinhardt Lynch, in 1978, just five years after Post's death. It's a fair guess that she would have sampled O'Connell's hospitality if given the chance. As a collector of some of the world's most gorgeous items (think Fabergé eggs and exquisite jewelry), Post certainly had taste. Those five diamonds from AAA for both the inn's accommodations and the ...[more]

Grass Is Greener

Local farmers tout nutrition and taste of grass-fed beef

Published on September 17, 2009, 12:00am

If you picked up the meat for tonight's dinner at a local restaurant or grocer, chances are you are going to be chomping down on a lot more than you bargained for. At least, that's the opinion of Devora Kimelman, owner and CEO of KOL Foods, an online grocer based out of Silver Spring, who says most, if not all, of the beef you will find at your local big-box grocer is probably ''feedlot beef,'' chock-full of antibiotics and hormones. ...[more]

Summertime Blues

Make your summer berry fine with this local, seasonal fruit

Published on July 9, 2009, 12:00am

When Maryland's Jake Nodar made his great, gay showing on the Discovery Channel's Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment, filmed in September 2008, blueberries were a life-saver. ''We would come across them sporadically,'' says the star of the survivalist show, who spent most of those days fighting off hunger. ''If we were lucky, if we found a good patch, we'd get a couple handfuls per person. Thirty days out, we really did survive off of blueberries.'' Back in civilization, ...[more]

Stovetop Solutions

Just a few pans can provide many culinary delights -- and save money, too

Published on May 14, 2009, 12:00am

Few things inspire envy like a well-appointed kitchen. From drawers brimming with specialized gadgets for every conceivable function, to gleaming stainless-steel appliances to a hanging pot rack laden with high-end cookware, for those who love to flex their culinary skills the temptation is always there to buy the latest and greatest tools available. That means every foodie has the potential to go nuts at Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table. But not everyone who loves to go gourmet with home cooking ...[more]

Local and Luscious

Farmers markets gear up for the growing season

Published on April 16, 2009, 12:00am

There is a story D.C.-native Patrick O'Connell, the openly gay proprietor and chef -- one of the world's very best -- of the Inn at Little Washington, shares in the introduction to his 2004 cookbook, Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine. He remembers being 4 or 5 years old, filled with excitement about planting his first seeds -- flowers and vegetables -- shortly after moving from a District apartment to the wilds of Clinton, Md. His mother found him still standing ...[more]

Piece of Cake

With a dash of creativity, nearly anyone can join the Scarlet's Bake Sale fun

Published on February 5, 2009, 12:00am

You won't find inanimate recreations of dungeon flogging scenes or the bucolic ribaldry of leatherfolk at the Olympia campsite on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museum downtown. It is, however, exactly the sort of fare on offer at the annual Scarlet's Bake Sale, marking its 37th year Feb. 7. And the bake sale takes the cake, in that flour, eggs and sugar come out tasting an awful lot better than wax. Among the stars of this charity event, with ...[more]

Recipe Repository

Get online to find fresh ideas for Thanksgiving dinner -- and beyond

Published on November 20, 2008, 12:00am

Thanksgiving can have a transformational effect on your kitchen, whether preparing traditional holiday favorites is your annual moment to shine or if you've decided that this is the year you'll take the plunge into preparing an 18-pound turkey for your friends and family. Being the American holiday most centered on the stomach and various ways to stuff it, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to try out new dishes and techniques. Thanksgiving turkey Or, as the case may be, to finally ...[more]

The Weekend Wake-Up

From blintzes to Bellinis, brunch is dish best served gay

Published on September 11, 2008, 12:00am

Ever since that infamous 2002 episode of The Simpsons parodied the GLBT community with a pride parade that included a float serving as homage to brunch, there's been no doubting that brunch is the gayest of meals. Not so fashionable in the dead of summer, the soon-to-cool temperatures will have the community back to bloody marys and benedicts, dishing tales of the night before. Choosing one's perfect brunch spot may be as difficult, however, as deciding whether to go with ...[more]

Good Taste

Wine tasting Mondays at Halo DC

Published on August 21, 2008, 12:00am

The Halo experience, always one of lounge-cool relaxation, has since mid June added to that ambience with a hint of sommelier sophistication. With the help of Molly Flannigan of Winebow, a leading wine importer and distributor, Halo DC is offering wine tasting on alternate Mondays. Targeting a different wine region at each gathering, wine enthusiasts enjoy three reds, three whites, accompanied by a selection of gourmet cheeses and fresh fruit. ''Molly gives you all the information,'' says Halo general manager ...[more]

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