Tuesday, March 29, 2011

DC: Social & Food


After the race on Saturday, I went back to my cousins and rested before meeting up with Becky to head to Clarendon, VA for a little blogger meet-up at Northside Social, a coffee-wine bar.
Tons of bloggers showed up.  It was quite bumpin'. I hung out with Becky, Theo, Tasmin, Bekah, Ali, Ashley and Emily the most.  It's so fun meeting bloggers!  Especially ones you feel like you already know since you read their blogs all the time.  Emily is hysterical and such a good time, but you probably already knew that if you read her blog.  Ashley is so much fun (and really tall).  She is as warm and friendly in person as she is on her blog.  Dont you agree y'all?  Haha, love the Southern sayings! And Ali is a superstar!  She only wanted to break 2 hours and ended up running 1:44.  I'm so impressed!
Tasmin, Theodora (LosingWeightInTheCity) and Becky
Beck On the Run, Run Track Mind (Bekah) and Me!
Emily (Daily Garnish), Ashley (Healthy Happier), Ali (Ali On the Run), Theodora, Emily (Sweat Once a Day),
Me and Becky!
After the social, Ashley, Theo, Tasmin, Becky and me grabbed some bar food grub.  It hit the spot.  I continued drinking with drink #3 (had a couple glasses of champagne at the wine bar).  So that means, I was definitely feeling it.  My high school friends say if I smell alcohol I'm drunk. After dinner, we headed over to meet my husband and friends at Iron Horse in Chinatown and Becky and I stayed out until 12:30am.  Pretty impressive if you ask me!  Especially since I woke up at 4:30ish and Becky ran 26.2!

I slept like a rock Saturday night and was in desperate need of BACON Sunday morning. 


Sunday was really all about food.  We had a lot of people to see so we spent the morning with my friend Ori over brunch, the afternoon with my friend Doug for lunch and the evening with my cousins for a homemade meal.


My friend Ori picked me up and we headed to EatonvilleClassic southern-style food, located north of 14th and U Streets. I immediately ordered the Sweet Tea and it was delicious : )
We also shared some lovely biscuits and jam.  There was four of us so we got two orders (because otherwise someone would be left out- we couldn't have that!)
For my order, I got the Hash and Eggs and of course added the creole hollandaise.  There were three eggs and I barely got through one.  This was a RICH dish.  I think I missed the part in the description where it said it was fried.  The eggs were perfectly poached and the bacon hash hit the spot.  I just wish it wasn't fried.  I don't think the dish needed that element. But other than that, it was delish!
Eatonville was a fun Southern vibe in an up-and-coming area of DC.  I enjoyed trying some new foods that I don't normally go for!  And of course it was a blast hanging out with Ori!

After brunch, we met up with my friend Doug for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House.
I ordered the Clam Chowder (with more bacon) and the mushroom flatbread.  Finished the soup, could barely eat the pizza.  Too much food in a short period of time! The restaurant was really fun and the company was even better.
After lunch, we headed out to do some touristy stuff.  You know, like check out the White House, the Washington Monument and those pretty Cherry Blossoms.
And then we went back to my cousins to hang out with this adorable baby.
I also watched Michele as she cooked Paella.  I was going to help, but I blogged my recap instead : )
Michele diced the veggies and the meat and prepped the paella.  Then it was time to put in the oven.
The end result was amazingly delicious.  And I think a Paella pan is on my MUST GET list. (and that chef jacket- are you listening mom?)
The paella was pretty simple to make and I cannot wait to make it again.  Here's the recipe:
Quick Chicken and Chorizo Paella
Ingredients:1 tablespoon vegetable oil
14 ounces chorizo, cut into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pimenton or paprika
2 cups short- or medium-grain rice (we used arborio)
1 pinch saffron threads
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 pounds roast chicken (meat from 3-pound chicken skinned, deboned, and torn into chunks)
1/2 cup frozen peas

Instructions:
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large casserole or paella pan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.Add rice (medium or short grain rice), pimenton, saffron, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add roast chicken, frozen peas and stir to combine.
Transfer skillet to oven. Cook uncovered until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.
Yum! 
Monday morning, we woke up at 4:30am to catch our 6am flight.  One good thing about early flights... beautiful sunrises : )
It was a full weekend and I'm so glad I was able to hang out with old and new friends!

18 comments:

  1. Looks like so much fun!!! I've been to the Old Ebbitt Grill before, their brunch is UNBELIEVABLE, I think I had some sort of french toast/bacon twist thing. Love the sunrise, so gorgeous! See you Thursday :)

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  2. I rushed out for bacon on Sunday morning, too! Saturday night was such a good time. I'm glad we got the chance to celebrate together!

    And I love the boob shot. Maybe next time I'll go with the black undergarments.

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  3. Sounds like a great weekend. I actually went to the old ebbitt grill after my wedding in my wedding gown!

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  4. All of the food looks awesome - trying new food places in new cities is so much fun! You ladies look gorgeousss in those pictures!! I wish I could have met all of those awesome people too :)

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  5. What a great weekend, and so much yummy food! I honestly can't imagine an egg that's been poached AND fried! Btw, you know I went to hebrew school with Ori, right?

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  6. Wow so many bloggers!! What a cool meet up! I'm so jealous! I would love to visit DC some day :)

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  7. How much fun!! Thankfully, I'm cooking dinner as I read your post--you always make me hungry Lizzy aka amazing awesome chef!!

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  8. It was so great meeting you & chatting with you at the social. Can't wait to see you in NYC!!! Yay for new running/blogging/awesome friends!

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  9. mmm, paella! There's a restaurant here on the UWS that has the most amazing paella, but I've never attempted to make it myself. Glad you had such a great weekend!

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  10. So much good food in this post. The meetup looks like it was a lot fun!

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  11. i am a grumpy bumpkins because i missed the blogger meetup. bah. see you in a few weeks!

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  12. What a fun weekend!! I haven't been to DC in ages...like possibly since 8th grade haha! All the food looks wonderful, especially that paella! Brian and I both love paella but I dont even think I've thought about making it! Doesnt sound too hard though!

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  13. Great job with the half marathon and PR! I thought the course was great. Hope you are doing well, I've still been keeping up with your blog and your Achilles! Glad it's been behaving for the most part, mine has too!

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  14. thats one serious weekend in DC. I don't even know where to begin because everything looks like so much fun and all the food looks so good!!!

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  15. SO MUCH FUN. can't wait to hang out more in BOSTON!!! im quite seriously counting down the days.

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  16. It was so wonderful meeting you in person and spending time together. I can't wait to see you in NYC!!

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  17. I'm behind on blog reading so just seeing your post on DC and the social now! It was SO GREAT meeting you! Glad you had a great race and a good time in DC :)

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  18. Oh wow, eastonville looks like this country boy kind of place

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