A Day of Dairy

There's a little place about an hour or so away from where I live called the Moo Thru. They make ice cream and we've been wanting to go there for years and just haven't taken the time to make it out there. Well, due to budgets and savings, we decided to do a "stay-cation" this summer and do some things close to home. Going to the Moo Thru was at the top of our list.

Pablo is ready for some ice cream!

 The thing that makes Moo Thru so special, aside from their amazing ice cream, is that they use locally sourced milk to make their ice cream! They actually sometimes even sell the milk itself. They also have other offerings besides ice cream that use locally sourced products as well, such as butternut squash soup, cowboy chili, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

We decided to try their grilled cheese...ooey gooey melted gouda cheese with fresh tomatoes and crispy bacon! Yumma!!

And of course, we couldn't leave without having any ice cream! Superking got 3 scoops of cookie's n cream on a waffle cone!! And no, he was not able to finish the whole thing! But he shared a few pieces of his cone with me...sweet and crisp!

I had one scoop of blackberry and one scoop of cookie dough...both were good but the blackberry was my favorite! You could tell they used real blackberries, slightly tart, slightly sweet, and very creamy! It was all well-worth the drive!

Pablo made some friends!

Then we figured if we're going to drive out all this way, there must be something else to do besides eat ice cream! So we drove a little further into downtown historic Culpeper. It was quaint and reminded me a bit of old town Leesburg. The streets lined with old historic buildings that have been turned into cute little shops or restaurants.

One place that caught our eye was the Culpeper Cheese Company. I love anything cheese so we had to stop in. There were beautiful cheeses of all kinds everywhere you looked! They also sold things like charcuterie, craft beers, and wines. You could do cheese tastings, wine tastings, or just order a gourmet sandwich! We met this young girl working there, who was cute as a button. We couldn't believe she was only 17 years old and had such a wide knowledge of cheese. Her father owns the shop and she has aspirations of becoming a professional cheese monger by the age of 21.

Well after hearing her story and having her help me try several unique cheeses, I couldn't leave without buying some. Its called the Black Label Cambazola. Its a combination of camembert, which is like a brie (soft and sweet), and a gorgonzola which is a type of blue (tangy and sharp). The two flavors blend nicely together in a delicious cheesy balance! This would be a good one to try for those who are a little timid around the blue cheeses. It has enough of the blue to give it a bit of tang but without being overwhelming. Can't wait to go back for more ice cream and cheese!

Range

Some great friends of ours surprised my hubby and I to a day of fun recently. First we saw an amazing concert pianist and then we had dinner at a restaurant called Range, which features modern American cuisine by celebrity chef, Bryan Voltaggio.  Range is also known for its Chesapeake shellfish at the raw bar and their wood-fired hearth.

 The first course was a cheese plate, of course! The four cheeses were cabot (a hard cheddar with a nutty flavor), hazen blue (nice mild blue tanginess), kunik (soft and creamy, similar to a brie), and grayson (kinda stinky, but reminiscent of a swiss). It was served with raisin toasts and a pear compote. I love cheese! I haven't met too many cheeses I haven't liked (and I've even tried limburger), and these were no exception.

Left to right: kunik, grayson, hazen blue, cabot

We also had a ham tasting...a country ham and a surryano ham, both from Virginia, served with a creamy, spicy mustard that had a bit of a punch. But it was a nice compliment to the salty sweet hams.

Being a Southern girl at heart, I love biscuits and I love pepper jelly. So when I saw an appetizer for cheddar jalepeno biscuits with pepper jelly, I knew I had to get them. So yumma yumma! The biscuit was warm and flaky and the pepper jelly was the perfect combo of sweet and spicy!

Next came the bone marrow. If you've never had bone marrow, you need to. Its so delicious and unctuous. We first had bone marrow at the Blue Duck in DC which was amazing. The bone marrow dish at Range, cannot compare to the Blue Duck, however, it was pretty tasty on its own merit. This dish was served with shallots, pinenuts, and raisins, which added an unexpected sweet element.

All the above dishes were small plates, which we all shared between the four of us. Next came entrees...Superking chose the hangar steak, cooked medium rare, served with bacon grits, swiss chard, and a chimichurri sauce. Bacon grits...need I say more?

I had the lamb neck with coconut curry sauce and flatbread, which was accompanied by roasted cauliflower with a za'atar seasoning and tzatziki sauce. The lamb was so tender it was practically falling off the bone and melted in my mouth. I love all those mediterranean flavors and aromas!

One of our friends with us was gracious enough to let me take a picture of her dish as well. Her dish was pork belly with a smoked apple, vanilla, and fennel salad. Bright, sweet, salty, delicious!

For dessert they had this adorable "candy cart" that they could wheel around the restaurant to your table. Very non-traditional dessert offerings of chocolate covered rice krispie treats on a stick, variety of truffles, and caramel corn. I chose bacon caramel corn. It was gone in no time flat. While my friend went for a cute little custard of orange and cream with some sort of crumble on top, served in a little jar.

Overall, the food was delicious and unique, as was the atmosphere. The service was just "ok" though. It took a long time for the each course to come out, and all the dishes came out at different times, which was a little odd. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was because its a fairly new restaurant to the area and they are still working out the kinks? Nevertheless, it was a night of great fun, great food, and great friends!

Morrison House Grill

In the weeks leading up to Christmas there are always lots of fun and exciting parties and performances and various holiday events. One such event I always look forward to is my husbands company Christmas dinner. Superking works for a very small home-based business in the IT field.  When I say small, I mean really small...6 employees. And all the employees/employers are either close friends or family...the boss, the boss's wife, their daughter-in-law, my husband, my brother-in-law, and my brother-in-law's wife, and then there's me. I'm the only one not an employee but thankfully I get to tag along for a good meal.  For our Christmas dinner we always go to a nice upscale restaurant nearby.

This year's choice was The Grille at the Morrison House.  The Morrison House is an old Federalist-style mansion located in old town Alexandria that is now an inn. The Grille, the restaurant located in the mansion, serves a contemporary French American cuisine. Each room is filled with beautiful antiques, several fireplaces, and even a piano bar. Our meal that evening was accompanied by a talented pianist playing Christmas carols in the style of Vince Guaraldi (see A Charlie Brown Christmas).  

Our meal began with a fancy cheese platter for the whole table to share. Five glorious cheeses...Ameribella (cow cheese from Indiana), Brabander (a Holland goat cheese), Umber (New York cow), Moses Sleeper (Vermont cow), Cashel Blue (Irish cow).  I don't really remember which was which, all I know is that they were all delicious. I haven't met too many cheeses I didn't like. This was a nice variety of mild, sharp, tangy, and creamy.

One of my favorite French dishes is the classic escargot. Yep, snails. If you are a little put off about trying escargot, I always tell people if you like shrimp in garlic butter, you will like escargot.  The escargot itself doesn't really have much flavor on its own, it has a similar texture to shrimp, and its soaked in garlic butter.  Everything tastes yummy if its drenched in garlic butter.  And they are served hot with a nice piece of crusty bread!

Superking also had the Country Pate. It was served with pickled onions, cornichons (tiny pickles), a few greens, grainy mustard, and a crusty baguette. A mixture of salty meat and tangy sharp mustard.

He also had the seared filet mignon served with Yorkshire pudding, sauteed mushrooms, and a bordelaise sauce. I was a little disappointed to discover that Yorkshire pudding is really just a popover.  Not that it wasn't tasty, I just thought a Yorskhire pudding should have something in it for the "pudding" part! Oh well! The way I understand it, it is a light fluffy bread thats made with drippings from the meat and thats what makes it special.  The sauteed mushrooms were deliciously earthy! The bordelaise sauce is made with a dry red wine, bone marrow, butter, and shallots.

The pan seared Rock Fish, while the skin was a little too salty for my liking it was crispy and the fish light and flaky. It was served over a mushroom risotto and wilted kale. It could've done with a little less kale (which would've been better if it was crispy) but the risotto was delightfully creamy.

A couple people in our party ordered the dark bavarian chocolate cake which seemed to be quite delectable. But I had to go for the Chevre Cheesecake. When we ordered it, the waiter asked us, "you know thats goat cheese; do you still want to order that?" We chuckled and replied, "of course we know thats goat cheese; thats WHY we are ordering it!"

The cheesecake itself was superbly creamy and tangy and it was topped with a shortbread crumble and huckleberry jam, which was a nice balance of sweet and tart as well.  Next to the cake were several meringues made with rosemary.

All in all it was a tasty meal and a great time with friends and family!

Cheestique

Most people who know me, know that I am a cheese fanatic. My three favorite foods in the entire world are chocolate, peanut butter, and cheese. I don't think I could ever live without these things.  A little obsessed? Maybe. Whatever, we all have our vices.

A few weeks ago, we had a food-fun day in Alexandria and DC where we had ice cream, cupcakes, and cheese. This cheese shop we went to is called Cheesetique.  An adorable little market that even has a little cafe in the back where you can order cheesy filled sandwiches, mac 'n cheese, soups, salads, flatbreads, and even brunch on Sundays! Unfortunately for us, we had already had lunch when we got there, so we were just there to ogle the cheese.

The shop really wasn't that big but I don't know if I've ever seen so many unique cheeses in one place before. So many flavors and types...soft, hard, goat, cow, sheep, blue, cheddar, gouda, and so many more I can't even begin to name or remember. 

There was one whole section of just blue cheeses.  Blue cheese is one of those you either love or hate. I LOVE blues! The bluer the better! I love that strong pungent tanginess, especially when you can pair it with something sweet.  I bought a very intense blue called Black & Blue. Super delish!! Tangy and sharp, only to be enjoyed sparingly, just the way I like it!

We also bought a Garlic Brie. I love plain brie, epsecially when its served warm so its slightly melty and gooey. This brie was definitely very garlicky.  If you like garlic (which we do), its very good. But again, it is a stronger flavored cheese, so enjoy sparingly. 

The shop also offers a variety of cured meats, salamis and hams and such to accompany your cheeses, as well as crackers, nuts, jams, and even wines to create a perfectly paired cheese plate.

And the smell...Superking always laughs at me when we walk through the gourmet cheese section of the grocery store. He says it smells like feet. I however love the smell. It reminds me of a quote from Andrew Zimmern where he refers to the smell of cheese being like God's feet.  Feet smell or not, I love the smell of cheese. The smells, the tastes and flavors, the textures, all the amazing things you can pair with it that enhance both the flavor of the cheese and the thing thats being paired with it. Cheese is a wonderful thing!

Uncle Julios Frog Legs

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  We had just left church, all our family had made other plans without us, and we were hungry.  What to do? We drove to Reston Town Center to have lunch at Uncle Julios.  I had a craving for nachos. Or at least some good melty nacho cheese.

Of course yummy crisp tortilla chips were served with some spicy salsa and a side of queso! Yumm! As we peruse through the menu, Superking noticed they have frog legs listed. Of course he had to get them!

They were pretty delicious! As they say, they did taste a lot like chicken but there were some differences too. They had a smokey grilled flavor and were smaller than chicken legs but very juicy. They were served with rice and beans, salsa fresca, and warm tortillas.

I , on the other hand went for something a little more pedestrian but just as yummy.  Camarones Brochette. Thats grilled shrimp wrapped in bacon and stuffed with melted Monterey Jack cheese and jalapenos. They were also very juicy and smokey.  A little spicy; though I picked most of the jalapenos out there was still a little jalapeno juice in there. The rice and beans were really good too. The beans are called frijoles a la charra.  They were a little spicy and more soupy than regular refried beans.

It was a unique and delicious lunch!