Birthday Eats!

It was my birthday on Friday and I've been celebrating all weekend!  It has been great.  I feel so lucky to have such great family and friends, thank you for making my birthday feel so special.  Here is a recap of my weekend - I had so much fun!  If you have been following me on my instagram or facebook page, you might see repeat foodie pictures, but doesn't it all look delicious? 

My work BFF planned lunch with my coworkers at Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) - http://www.buffalowildwings.com

I had the boneless wings with mild sauce, fries and blue cheese dressing.  I'm not a fan of anything super spicy so the mild sauce was perfect for me.  Also I am particular about my french fries and I was surprised at how good they were at BWW -  I love thin cut french fries so these were good!  I also got a free slice of chocolate cake for my birthday :)

  

Monuments by Moonlight Cruise in Georgetown by DC Cruises - http://www.dc-cruises.com/index.php

My BFF Cindy planned the night and we went on a fun cruise departing from the Georgetown waterfront and it was beautiful.  We missed out on the cherry blossoms since they were originally going to be at the peak during my birthday but was pushed back.  The DC weather has been crazy lately and March was cooler than usual this year.   We went at a great time thought and saw the sunset and the lighted monuments.  It was absolutely beautiful!

We had dinner at Sequoia - http://www.arkrestaurants.com/sequoia_dc.html

I got the Seafood Cioppino – scallops, mussels, shrimp, clams, fin fish & lobster, potato & corn on the cob, cassava, tomato, fennel & orange broth.  It was absolutely delicious! 

The waiter brought me a birthday dessert - chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream!  My second of the day haha!

On Saturday, my brother and sister-in-law took me to lunch at Al Dente - http://aldentedc.com

We are foodies as a family and we like to share, and wait till you check out everything we ordered!  Of course we shared everything, lucky me :)

Cold Antipasti - Imported Burrata Cheese with Prosciutto di Parma and Chestnut Honey.  This may have been one of my favorites!  It was delicious with the house bread they offered us.

Pappardelle with Braised Oxtail Ragu - this was my dish.  I am a fan of house made pasta at Italian restaurants and I will usually pick pappardelle or tagliatelle if available.

Squid Ink Fettuccine with Fresh Water Head-on Peeled Shrimp and Tomato Sauce - this was my sister-in-law's entree and the shrimp was so fresh!

Roasted Loin of Monkfish with Pancetta over Black Ink Farro and Braised Creamed Onions - this was my brother's pick and it was overall a great dish.  I really enjoyed the black ink farro too.

  

Pizza - Margherita D.O.C.  Sorry I didn't get a picture of this but it was really good - Al Dente has a beautiful wood burning pizza oven right in the middle of the restaurant.  I am regretting not taking a picture of the pizza and the oven :( 

Ready for the desserts?

Hemisphere Tiramisu Hot Chocolate Sauce and Caramelized Hazelnuts - you can't go wrong with tiramisu.

Salame di Cioccolato Thin Slices of Chocolate - Terrine Style, served with Cold Zabalione Sauce. This was the dessert recommended by our waiter and it was surprisingly good.  My brother actually thought we were going to get chocolate covered salami meat!  LOL  That was not the case because it was chocolate with cookie pieces.  The Zabalione sauce, an alcohol infused custard, was delicious!

House Made Gelati – Pistachio, it was very much pistachio flavored, not too sweet either.

Espresso (reminds me of Italy)

I had a birthday dinner with my mom at Muay Thai Sports Eatery (formerly known as Amina Thai).  This is a local favorite restaurant near my parents which recently changed names and the entire style of the restaurant became even more informal.  I don't know if I like the change, I prefer the old Amina Thai.  We started off with thai iced teas and got the following to share:

Pad Thai - chicken with thin rice noodles, stir fried with fresh bean sprouts, red bean curd, scallions, eggs, topped with crushed peanuts and fresh bean sprouts.  I used to always get the shrimp pad thai but they didn't offer it on the menu since the restaurant has changed.

Pad See Ew - chicken stir-fried with fresh wide rice noodles, eggs, and broccoli in Thai sweet soy sauce.

Fried Banana - banana wrapped in rice paper, deep-fried, topped with honey or chocolate syrup.   It reminds me of a spring roll but with bananas haha.  They served us this dessert on the house too :)

I went out to a birthday brunch on Sunday with my other BFF Sarah and her family and another friend.   We went to Chef Geoff’s - http://www.chefgeoff.com/menu/chef-geoffs

Eggs Chesapeake - three poached eggs, jumbo lump crabcakes, buttermilk biscuit, country ham hash, and hollandaise.  I have no complaints with this meal at all, absolutely delicious! 

I had my last belated birthday work lunch on Monday with my boss since she was out of the office on my actual birthday. 

 

We went to Restaurant Mez – http://www.allmenus.com/va/arlington/267512-restaurant-mez---marriott-crystal-gateway/menu/lunch/

Mediterranean Chicken Salad - organic grown vegetables, greens, whole wheat croutons, fresh mozzarella cheese, with red wine vinaigrette.  This is the only thing I've ever had at Restaurant Mez ever since a coworker recommended it.  My goal is to recreate this salad soon; I already wrote down everything I ate that was in the salad so look out for the recipe soon!  The waitress also brought out a 7-layer chocolate cake for dessert with a candle but I forgot to take a picture.

 

I can finally say my birthday is officially over until next year...back to healthy eating and no more desserts...for awhile haha!  Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life!

Healthy Black Bean Brownies

My coworker's birthday was on Tuesday and I made her these Healthy Black Bean Brownies.  It was a hit!  What I love about these brownies is how moist, fudgey and chocolatey they are - you barely know the brownie is made with beans.  My coworker has been demanding that I post the recipe for the brownies ASAP!  Your welcome :)  I am so glad she enjoyed the brownies and we had a great time celebrating her birthday by going to a Capitals hockey game - lets go Caps!  Unfortunately the Caps lost by 1, but it was still a fun game to watch.  I actually have made black bean brownies before but with a box mix if you are short on time.  But I recommend this recipe instead because its even healthier since you know the exact ingredients.  Enjoy these Healthy Black Bean Brownies!

Healthy Black Bean Brownies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup oats

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup agave

2 packets of Truvia natural sweetener (or 2 tablespoons sugar)

¼ cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   Spray a 9x9 inch (for thinner brownies) or 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

Place black beans, cocoa powder, oats, baking powder, salt, agave, Truvia, coconut oil and vanilla in a food processor.   Pulse until everything is combined and well blended.  

Stir in chocolate chips.  

Pour brownie mix into prepared baking pan.  

Top with a few extra chocolate chips.

Bake for 18 minutes.  Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before cutting.  

Serves 8 to 10.

Simple Sausage Gravy

This Simple Sausage Gravy is so easy to make.  I have never made this type of gravy before but I've always known it was a "diner" classic.  I used a hot pork sausage which gives a nice kick to the gravy.  If you aren't into spicy, then use a mild or maple sausage instead.  This gravy goes great with my whole wheat biscuits.  Go bake up some whole wheat biscuits and make this simple sausage gravy and you won't be sorry!  I promise!

Simple Sausage Gravy

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

16 ounce package of hot pork sausage

¼ cup flour (I used whole wheat flour.)

2 ½ cups milk (I used low fat milk.)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a dutch oven or large pan, over medium-high heat, cook sausage until browned and no longer pink.

Stir in flour.

Slowly stir in milk.  Continue to stir and cook until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over your favorite biscuits.  (I served them over my whole wheat biscuits.)

Whole Wheat Biscuits

I was feeling southern comfort food after watching an episode of Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.   Guy was eating some biscuits and gravy at one of the diners he was visiting and it looked so good!  I figured I could easily make them myself and voila I did!  I baked up some Whole Wheat Biscuits and while baking, I also made a Simple Sausage Gravy.  I'll try to post the gravy recipe soon, but this is my birthday week and I'm going to be super busy with a bunch of fun activities!  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Biscuits

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

In a stand mixer, combine flour mixture and shortening until crumbly.

Slowly stir in milk until dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Place dough onto a flour surface.  Roll out dough to 1 inch thick.  Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter or a glass dipped in flour.

Place biscuit onto ungreased baking pan.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  (Note:  I used my pampered chef large bar pan so it took me longer to bake about to 18 minutes.)

Everything Oatmeal Cookies

It was my baby brother's birthday this month and he initially wanted me to make cake pops.  So of course I asked my sister-in-law what type of cake I should make but she suggested I make him cookies instead.  Apparently he had liked the oatmeal cookies that I made for my sister-in-law post-baby last month and had asked her to make him cookies recently.  She has no time to bake cookies with a new baby and suggested I do it for him instead haha.  Since I am such a great big sister, I made these Everything Oatmeal Cookies because I figured he likes almost everything!  I added dried cranberries, chocolate chips and walnuts in these oatmeal cookies.  I even included plain greek yogurt just because I have been including it in all my baked goods lately.  Overall I think these Everything Oatmeal Cookies were awesome.  I think my brother and sister-in-law both scarfed up these cookies quickly too LOL!  

Buddy wanted some cookies too...but I told him they were for his Uncle.  He looks a little disappointed, but I told him to wait until his 11th birthday next month!  Hopefully he will be feeling better by then, lately he hasn't been doing well on his thyroid meds so currently he is on a short trial without the meds to see if there's a change and we'll go from there...sigh...I clearly love my dogs :)

 

Everything Oatmeal Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup or 1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1 ½ cup oats

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stand mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy.  

Next, beat in egg, vanilla and yogurt.  

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Slowly, stir flour mixture into butter mixture.

Next, stir in oats, dried cranberries, and walnuts.

Scoop cookies by teaspoon onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart.   (You can make them bigger but I preferred them to be bite-sized.)

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  

The cookies will be golden at the edges with a soft center.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.