Jaleo my soul

Jaleo: one of 7 of chef José Andres' restaurants/hotels around the Washington DC environs. My God. Can this man cook. Each restaurant has a different theme. Oyamel: Mexican. Jaleo: Authentic Spanish tapas. And so on. Andres is the host of PBS' Made in Spain series featuring authentic Spanish cooking at Andres house in DC and showing the origin of the food in Spain. If you find yourself in front of the t.v. on a Saturday at 12:30pm I would highly suggest checking out his show. Andres is quite the character and so passionate about food! He has also served as a judge on Top Chef and Anthony Bourdain visited Andres' restaurant Cafe Atlantico on the Washington DC episode of this season's No Reservations.

I took a picture of the sugar packet below since it lists not only the famous restaurateur, but all of his restaurants as well.
Now let us begin the show! My boyfriend and I went to Jaleo with another couple who is equally the food enthusiast. Being a night out, we began with a white wine I had never heard of-- Xarmant txakoli. This is the best white wine I have ever had. Crisp with honey, citrus, and herbs. You know the wine is good when I don't touch my water. This Crystal City location of Jaleo (there are 3 total) has a wine shop on the second floor. We all loved our wine so much we checked out the shop afterward. Of course the restaurant sells it for $34 at the table, but it was a steal for $17 in the wine shop! I'll be saving this momento for a nice night in with a good seafood dinner. (Don't worry-- I'll post whenever this occurs!)
Let's get to the tapas.
Cebolla asada con queso picón: Roasted sweet onions, pine nuts and picón cheese. These onions were so sweet and delicious. The crazy thing is that they were ice cold! We expected them to be served warm. Oddly enough, after you get past the first cold bite, you find that they're just perfect! Cold, sweet onion paired with tart, creamy cheese. It was so different and a much needed change to everyday fare. Tortilla de patatas: traditional spanish omelette with potatoes and onions. Simple. Clean. Delicious. Traditional chicken croquetas. I fell in love with these when I was in Barcelona. I got them every night I was there! Gambas al ajillo. Shrimp sautéed with garlic and quindilla peppers. We soaked up the sauce with our bread but I assure you picking up and licking the bowl would NOT be inappropriate here. Citrusy, garlicky, amazing. Filete de buey a la parrilla con pimientos del piquillo confitados: Grilled beef sirloin with ‘piquillo’ pepper confit. Just look at that beef. I didn't taste the sirloin but my friend said it had a fantastic flavor, albeit a small entrée portion. Salmón con espinacas a la Catalana: Seared salmon with sauteéd spinach, pine nuts, raisins & apples. I didn't try this one either but my friend seemed to love it. Now for the pièce de résistance. Paella de pescado y marisco: Paella with Norwegian lobster, monkfish, fresh tuna, squid, shrimp, clams and mussels. I don't know how Andres did it but the seafood actually tasted like sea water. I almost expected to see the ocean outside of the window. You only get seafood like that at a seaside restaurant where your food and feet are inches from the sand. And the saffron! I could see beautiful red strands throughout the whole dish, beautifully intertwined with the rice. I must admit that I don't cook with saffron due to the prohibitive price, so it was quite the treat to be eating a dish so heavily flavored with the delicate and fragrant spice. It was served with a rich garlic aioli that added a creamy flavor to the rich paella. Can you tell I'm drooling again? I hope you can live vicariously through these pictures. And the paella mere moments later! The menu said it serves 2-4 but my boyfriend and I had no problem polishing it off ourselves! What can I say? I can't leave good food untouched. Pastel Vasco con helado de leche merengada: Basque cake with semolina cream, cinnamon-vanilla sauce & ice milk. Yum! I have two angles for your viewing pleasure!

Sunday Dinner

My parents came up for Sunday dinner at my place and the onus was on me to plan out a decent meal with one night's notice. Okay. To the freezer I went. Tons of chicken breasts. A bag of roasted pumpkin my mom and I had roasted around Halloween and I hadn't quite figured out how to use it. To the wine rack. A Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. So let's piece them all together.

Chicken in a Dijon White Wine Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dried parsley (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1. In a ziploc bag combine dijon mustard, garlic, white wine, chicken broth, onions, salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. (I didn't have time so I had a short 1 hour marinating time.)
   
2. The original recipe calls for removing the excess marinade and browning the chicken in a skillet before adding the excess marinade. I diverged from the recipe here and just put it directly in the oven after removing it from the marinade. Next time I'll definitely brown it first to add a lot more flavor.
3. After browning on both sides in a skillet, remove chicken and add marinade to the pan, scraping the bottom to remove brown bits.
   
4. Add chicken back to the pan and cover. Simmer for 25 minutes or until done.
5. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, keeping remaining marinade in the pan. Cook on high to thicken sauce. If it thickens too much, add chicken broth to loosen.
   
6. Pour marinade over cooked chicken.

Below: The simmering dijon white wine sauce.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

4 cups peeled cubed pumpkin
1 large yellow onion, minced
6 ounces chicken broth
1/2 bottle dry white wine*
1/5 cup to 1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon mace
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl toss pumpkin with olive oil and and salt and pepper. Cook for 45 minutes until soft, and set aside. (You can freeze the cubes like I did for later use. I just thawed them and removed the skin before adding to the soup. Keep in mind that frozen pumpkin holds water so it will add water to your soup. Adjust spices accordingly if it becomes watered down.)

2. In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot melt butter and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic, onion, thyme, bay leaf and spices and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Add 4 cups of the chicken stock. Simmer over low heat.

3. Place cooled pumpkin in food processor with reserved chicken stock (2 cups) and puree until smooth. Set aside in a separate bowl.

4. Puree contents of simmering pot (onion, garlic, spices, etc) in food processor.

5. Combine all pureed ingredients back in the stock pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.

6. 15 minutes before serving, add cream (or half and half).

Optional: Top with sour cream and chives when serving.
* The original recipe didn't call for white wine but I found the soup needed an acid to kick up the taste. The wine doesn't mask or cover up the earthy tones of the mace and thyme and just blends everything together beautifully.

Below: The pumpkin soup with the cream just added. My mom made a pretty pattern for the photo before stirring it in!

Above: The simmering pumpkin soup before the cream was added. Can you see the steam?!