Another Cauliflower Risotto Post {It's Just Cooking, After All}

As a professional food writer, food blogger,  and sometime paid cook, I believe people generally expect me to be obsessed with cooking shows in general, and cooking competition shows specifically. And I used to be. Sort of.

My original interest in the genre began before I could fry an egg,  back when I was living in NYC and Bobby Flay had not yet sunk his ginger claws into the Iron Chef franchise. (He was instead busy grilling things and using ancho chiles in everything with Jackie Maloof on Food Network.)

A Holiday Lunch at Family Meal: Bryan Voltaggio's Retro Casual Eatery

My favorite thing about the holiday season is the way I let myself relax and slow down. I realize this goes against the conventional wisdom: for many, this is a frantic time of year. Too many parties to attend, last-minute gifts to buy, family obligations that must be met, and so on.

But I don't really go in for all of that mania. For the last week or so of each year, I unwind. I only make engagements that I want to keep. I take deep breaths. I cook what I want, when I want. I take long walks with my dog. I enjoy some alone time. And if I'm very lucky, I get to go out for a rare weekday lunch with Poppa Trix.

Wedding Anniversary Dinner, Two Ways ... The First Way: Dinner Out at Zaytinya in DC

 

Ah, the view from the top ...

Poppa Trix and I love surprises, especially food-related ones.  So what better way to celebrate our  2nd anniversary than by taking turns surprising one another?  And Poppa came up with the perfect one for me: He took me to Zaytinya in Washington, DC, where Mike Isabella from last season's Top Chef cooks up some seriously good food. The specialty here is inventive Greek, Turkish, and Lebanese small plates, with a particularly strong selection of seafood dishes.

For Top Chef Fans: My Late December Lunch at Volt

Happy belated New Year everyone! (Did you miss me?)

Welcome to my first post since the 12 Days of Feasting ended two weeks ago.  Honestly, I think it's taken me this long to recover from posting every day, not to mention cooking (and eating!) all those medieval meals. ...  Let's just say I still have a lot of bread pudding, slices of Ember Day tart, and egg nog to work off.

For those of you following along at home, in my last post I promised to share the deets of my  late December lunch at Volt.  Top Chef fans will recognize Volt as the restaurant of finalist and first runner-up Bryan Voltaggio,  brother of winner Michael Voltaggio. If you don't watch the show, there's a good chance you've never heard of the place, unless you happen to live in Frederick or the Baltimore/DC metro area. That's too bad: The vibe at Volt is definitely more urban than the Western Maryland location would lead you to expect, and I'd happily drive double the hour-plus it takes me to get there to enjoy both the (mostly) spot-on food and the impeccable, knowledgeable service.