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So this week my buddy Eric is getting married.  To honor this holy union I decided to make his favorite cocktail, Crown and Ginger Ale.  Back in Wisconsin we called these High and Dries.   Some may know them as the Whiskey Buck or the Crown Buck, well with the addition of a lime wedge.  Anyway you call it, it is delicious!  I am not a fan of ginger ale, but when you add a little whiskey to it, it is awesome!  Well whenever you add a little whiskey to anything it tastes awesome! 

The High and Dry

Even though this is a simple cocktail, it has strong flavors that pair perfectly.

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My parents came to visit this past weekend to barbecue and hang out.  One night my Mother wanted something sweet, so I opened up the Art and Soul of Baking and found a great chewy brownie recipe.  I made them and they were a hit.  The brownies are extremely rich and can fulfill anyones sweet tooth.

Fudgy Chewy Brownies

Nuts and chocolate chips round out these amazing brownies.

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This past weekend my parents came to visit me out in the Nation’s Capital.  I decided to barbecue and my Mom made the sides.  She made these amazing baked beans with bacon, onions and ground beef.  I had to get the recipe as they were delicious.

The bacon on the top made these baked beans

The crispy bacon and tender ground beef go amazing with baked beans.

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When I was a kid my parents would take me to Pizza Hut for the pizza and salad bar buffet.  It was the best time as it was all you can eat breadsticks and pizza.  Before diving knee deep into the pizza I always went to the salad bar for a quick healthy snack.  That is when I fell in love with the macaroni salad.  It wasn;t like most macaroni salads.  It was full of pimentos and relish.  I have been looking for a good recipe for this type of macaroni salad for a while.  Finally my Mom and I figured out a recipe.  It is basic, but it is really good.

Macaroni Salad

It is a little sweeter than most macaroni salads, that is probably why I loved it as a kid.

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I was craving steak the other day so I went to the store to see what was on sale.  Flank steaks were on sale so I picked one up.  When I see flank steak I think of one thing, Fajitas.  So I picked up some peppers and an onion and it was on.

Steak Fajitas

The marinated steak was awesome with the peppers and onions.  If you read the post on Thursday, I didn’t get to partake in the leftovers as Tucker ate them.  You can read about it here.

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Every Friday I pick the best culinary events in the DC area for my readers to enjoy. This weekend there are some great events to attend in and around the DC metro area from Octoberfest to a Buffalo Wing showdown in Georgetown.

Share Our Strength Great American Dine-out - Friday and Saturday (Sept. 25-26)

Share Our Strength grants the money raised during the Great American Dine Out to community programs across the country that provide help to children at risk of hunger in America.

Various Restaurants Throughout the City. Click the link below to find a participating restaurant.

http://www.strength.org/apps/dineout/index.php/Google/DisplayMap

Frederick County Fair – Friday to Sunday (Sept. 25-26)

I love fair food. Coming from the midwest you get to have pretty much anything that your heart desires on a stick. Bacon, hot dogs, mac n cheese and even cheesecake. I have never been to this fair but I am sure that they will have corn dogs and funnel cakes.

Admission: $7

Location: 797 East Patrick Street PO Box 604 Frederick, MD 21705

http://www.thegreatfrederickfair.com/

Barrack’s Row Oktoberfest – Saturday (Sept. 26)

 Historic Barracks Row’s 6th Annual Oktoberfest will roll out the barrels on Saturday, September 26, 2009 on bustling 8th Street SE, Capitol Hill. This year the event will feature hourly tours of the Home of the Commandants and a performance by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon! Opening our local football season, the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders will be cheering us to the Super Bowl!

The local restaurants will host beer gardens, German bands will play, a large petting zoo is free for kids and guys of all ages will have cars to admire – including a 1960’s Jaguar and Austin Healey. Plus, green-in-every-way Ecruzers (stretch electric carts – for quick trips to Nat’s stadium) will be on display! It all starts at 11am! Seventy five booths of all description – arts and crafts, spring bulbs, pretzels and strudel – will be there to tempt, inform or amuse you… and maybe even get you started on that Christmas list.

While Oktoberfest is underway, the Military chefs will be up the street stirring the pot. Once again the Military Culinary Competition pits Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air force and Coast Guard against each other for bragging rights as to who has the Top Chef – and maybe, by extension, the best chow.

Location – 8th Street, SE between G & Eye Streets

Hours of Operation - 11AM till 5PM

http://www.barracksrow.org/

Clarendon Day - Saturday (Sept. 26)

Clarendon Day Block Party.  The best cuisine in town from over a dozen restaurants. Live music on 2 stages will provide the soundtrack. Kid’s Carnival, Kinderhaus Kid’s Stage, and more. The outdoor market features retail booths, arts and crafts. The Clarendon Day 10k/5k and Fun Run starts at 9am.

Hours of Operation – 11AM to 7PM

Location – Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards between N. Garfield Street and Washington Boulevard

http://www.clarendonday.org/

Das Best Oktoberfest – Saturday (Sept. 26)

All The Show Features Are Under Cover- so Rain or Shine- you are totally wunderbar! As you enter the show, you’ll receive a souvenir tasting mug and 6 beer tokens. For those who like to drink more, you are welcome to purchase more tokens ($1 each), just drink responsibly. There is nothing worse than a professional person (dressed in a German outfit) slurring their words as they sing drinking songs!

There will be lots of the best International Beers and Wines and lots of Oompah bands to enjoy your favorite German drinking songs. You can also enjoy the sausages, potato cakes, sour beef, schnitzel and other great German classics! Is that a snitzengruben I smell?!?!?!?!?

Other great Festival foods will be there, as well. If the food and the drinks aren’t enough then go to the Main Stage and enjoy the great music. Or check out the Oompah Bands on the German Stage.

•For those of you who are “man” enough ……win big cash in the Biggest Beer Belly Competition

•For the ladies………the Miss Oktoberfest Competition

Hours – 2PM – 8PM

Location – National Harbor

http://www.dasbestoktoberfest.com/washington-dc/show-info

Buffalo Battle – Sunday (Sept. 27)

The Second Annual Buffalo Battle, a culinary competition and fundraiser,TO BENEFIT THE D.C. FIREFIGHTERS
BURN FOUNDATION.  The battle is between:

J.PAUL’S
CHEF TOM “THE BIG WING” CRENSHAW

VS

OLD GLORY
CHEF RICH “THE PIT MASTER” BROOKS
DEFENDING CHAMPION

Tickets – $30 AT THE DOOR
*TICKET INCLUDES ALL YOU CAN EAT WINGS & 2 BEVERAGE TICKETS

Time - 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location – IN THE PARKING LOT ON THE CORNER OF WISCONSIN AVE & M STREET, GEORGETOWN

http://www.buffalobattle.com/index.php

-Rex

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As a starter, I am writing this post spaced out on Percoset.  Now that is a good first line.  If this post seems to run on or go a little weird you know why.

Well we should start this out at the beginning.  Today I was going to post about some fabulous steak fajitas (the post will be on saturday), but yesterday I had an epic failure that was post perfect.  My day started normally, with Tucker licking my face at 7am sharp.  I fed him and went back upstairs to work.  After a couple of pots of coffee it was 1PM and time for lunch. 

I had some sweet steak fajita leftovers so I decided to heat them up.  I hate the microwave so I started with a hot fry pan.  I quickly seared the steak and then added the peppers to the pan.  I didn’t want to burn the steak, but I wanted it heated through so I wanted to finish it in the oven.  So I placed the pan in a 400 degree oven to finish heating the steak. After 9 minutes it was done.  As I removed the pan from the oven I recieved a phone call so I placed the pan on the stove.

The phone call took a minute and then I returned to my meal.  I plated a couple of tortillas and went to the stove to grab the meat.  I reached out and grabbed the pan picked it up and started to carry it to the table.  Suddenly it hit me.  The pan was frickin 400 degrees.  So I threw it back on the stove and looked down. 

My hand was blistered in a perfect match to the handle.  As I looked back up there were 3, yep 3 pot holders sitting next to the searing hot pan.  Failure of epic proportions, yep.  So I ran my hand under cold water thinking that the burn was not that bad.  Yeah, I was wrong, the pain almost brought me to my knees.  So I turned the stove off, wrapped my hand in a cool towel and was off to the emergency room.  2nd degree burns hurt. 

I was gone for 3 hours, getting my hand wrapped and receiving much needed pain killers.  When I returned Tucker was at the door ringing the bell to go outside.  I took him outside and he had massive diarreah.  What a great end to the day.  So I pop a couple percosets to stop the pain and lie down.  A couple of hours later I feel that I should get up to clean the kitchen as I left it a mess. 

When I enter the kitcken all of the pans are clean, except the counter was a little dirty.  Under a little closer examination, not only was it dirty, it had Tucker prints on it.  Tucker ate the whole steak and all of the peppers.  While I was in the emergency room, Tucker was up on the counter having a feast.  No wonder why he had massive diarreah.  He ate 1.5 pounds of steak.  On the other hand he licked the pans clean and there is absolutely no stuck on food. 

In the end, the lesson to learn is to use pot holders and to check pans for temperature before picking them up.  Oh, and if you have a big dog, put the steak away before leaving.  No matter how well your dog is trained a big juicy steak and no supervision will turn him into a thief. 

At least I will always have my pot holder on me at all times.

Have a great day and don’t get burned…

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I love mojitos.  The lime and mint coming together to mask the sharp bite of rum.  Yeah, I drink the cheap stuff.  Anyways Rum is good, but Rum with mint and lime is awesome!!!.  To take a line from Jim Brewer, Jackpot!!!  Hopefully he doesn’t get mad as that is his only line, but I gave him credit where credit was due. 

The Mojito - Sweet and minty, the perfect drink to mask your garlicy breath.

Garnished with a sprig of mint and a lime wedge, Mojitos are amazing!!

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