Valentine's Cooking Class

For Valentines Day this year, Kevin made plans for us to go to a cooking class at one of our favorite restaurants in Baltimore: The Dogwood.  (See our other visits here and here.)

They "...cook with the seasons and feature the finest local and natural ingredients, sourcing from sustainable, artisanal, and organic producers whenever possible."  

The theme of this month's cooking class was New Orleans.  I actually took a trip to New Orleans in college for the Marketing club.  I joined the club and became the "Secretary" so that I could go on this trip with my friends, who were President and Treasurer.  There was a national conference being held, but we were more interested in checking out the local culture (Bourbon Street).  ;)

Kevin and I arrived early and were lucky enough to grab seats front and center.  We started with a Brandy Milk Punch that was strong!  Not really my type of drink but I enjoyed tasting something different.

The featured wine was Bonterra Rousanne and I had never heard of this type of wine, but loved it.  I also loved how they kept re-filling our glasses every 5 mins or so. 

The first course was a Shrimp Remoulade.  We learned how to poach shrimp and make a spicy remoulade.  Chef Galen was streaming the olive oil into the other ingredients just like on the food network!

Can you believe how much shrimp there was on each plate?  Served over a bed of lettuce, this was a refreshing and flavorful dish. 

The next course was a Duck and Andouille Gumbo.  When we first arrived, Chef Galen discussed multiple roux techniques and started a roux that cooked for 30-40 mins with different volunteers stirring.  While we were enjoying our shrimp, he walked around to let us check out the mahogany color that had developed. 

Next, we each received a huge portion of the gumbo served over rice.  The flavor was rich and spicy.  I would most certainly order this if it was on the menu.

Saving the best for last is an understatement here.  Bananas Foster.  Brown sugar, butter, rum, bananas, vanilla ice cream.  

It really cant get much better than that.

This was Dogwood's second Monthly Cooking Class and they have plans to do one a month that features a different location where Chef Galen and his wife Bridget have traveled.  There are some great menus planned and I felt that I learned so much hearing Chef Galen talk through each recipe and technique.  

I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves food.  It was the best valentines ever.  

In other news, Kevin and I visited another possible wedding venue and loved it.  

(photo source)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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Birthday Fun

This past weekend was packed. Thursday was my birthday and Friday we drove to Charlottesville, VA for my friend's wedding.


Backing up to the important stuff - my birthday - ha, j/k. Kevin came home from work and brought a delicious pizza from Dipasquales.He also brought me a sweet card and red roses. (check out the funny shadow on his forehead from the light above)
Did I mention that he also got me a print by my favorite local artist - Robert McClintock?Looks exactly like my favorite dog in the world and fits nicely on my "picture wall" that I have been working on filling up.
Now onto my birthday dinner at The Dogwood in Baltimore.
If you like red wine or are starting to - definitely try this Malbec. I am still a newbie with red wines, but I loved this one.
I started with the Carrot/Lemongrass Bisque that was topped with a drizzle of red chili oil. Extremely flavorful and a huge portion.
For my main meal, I ordered the Seared Halibut Fillet which came with potato gateau, roasted eggplant caviar, preserved tomato crema, and a panzanella crust. It was perfection on a plate.Some other great dishes at our table were the Roasted Mushroom Risotto with Local Asparagus which had black garlic, lemon zest, and parmigiano reggiano, topped with an organic pastured chicken egg.
Golden Baked Moussaka with Moroccan Spices which had roasted vegetables, plum tomato & chick peas, golden phyllo dough, lemony tabouleh with a rosemary-orange sauce.
Whew - now those are some creative dishes. I liked everything I tried. Everyone in my family likes to share and try bites of everything, so it is great.


We were stuffed with no room for dessert, but the waiter said that since it was my birthday - they wanted to give us a dessert on the house. How can we resist that?
We chose the Miniature Buttermilk Donuts which were served warm, dusted with sugar and Raz El Hanout, caramel ice cream, and apricot jam.The bite or two I had was delicious.
Had to get the standard couple shot. Kevin came from work, hence the tie. Dogwood doesn't require fancy attire - just nice casual. They were also great to create custom kids meals for my niece and nephew. The mac and cheese and grilled cheese they ordered were both incredible. Seriously - does this place have a bad dish?


Happy Hump Day!

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The Dogwood: Baltimore, MD (Hampden)

Friday night, Kevin and I wanted a healthy dinner out. Since my weekends are usually where I slip up eating-wise, I googled "Healthy Restaurants in Baltimore". A few cool places popped up, but we ended up choosing The Dogwood because of the way it was summarized on the website and I have heard a few good things about it.

The Dogwood: Neighborhood Gourmet.

The Dogwood offers you a neighborhood gourmet experience, down-to-earth elegance that welcomes and nourishes you from start to finish. Our menus, featuring what is freshest and most breathtaking in each season, invite you to celebrate the farmers, the fishing boats, our chefs’ working hands.

This restaurant is located in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore city, which is a cool, eclectic area with a ton of interesting shops and restaurants. The front of the restaurant is not visually appealing at all and I was a little worried.

But, as soon as we walked through the doors, it led us down a long downward walkway into a great space, so all was OK. Water glasses were promptly filled and I made sure to get a picture because I love different-looking water glasses. In the background, you can see my boyfriend's dimple-face which equals happiness.

The homemade Irish Brown Bread with Mango-chutney butter was quickly gobbled up. Very dense and moist bread.

To start, I ordered the Warm Fig - Goat Cheese Strudel baked in phyllo dough served over baby greens with a pumpkin seed - honey granola and madras spice oil.

I guess I am not as "figged out" as I had mentioned a few days ago because I ate every single bite.

Kevin ordered the Pan Seared Sea Scallops to start which came served with house-made chorizo, caramelized pineapple and spicy grits.

Perfectly cooked and it was topped with the fancy "foam stuff" that one guy from top chef used to do all the time. Marcel, right?

After much discussion, we both ordered the same entree. Yes, it sounded THAT good. Pan Seared Rockfish with a pumpkin seed crust, grilled polenta-root vegetable hash, tomato and pasilla pepper molasses.More "foam-stuff" that I will admit - weirds me out slightly since it closely resembles spit, but it sure was tasty spit. The fish was cooked perfectly - more perfectly than anything I can explain. And the polenta-vegetable hash with that sauce - I am running out of descriptive food words that do it justice.

No dessert since we were pretty stuffed, but the choices sounded great. I specifically remember seeing a Chocolate Pot de Creme that I would love to try next time.

While we decided to go the entree route this time, but next time I go, I would love to order a few of the small plates to be able to try more things. The great thing about this restaurant is that they had a ton of choices that would be great for a lighter meal. Lighter on the wallet and stomach.

Our waitress told us the chef is working on his spring menu, so we will definitely be going back to check that out!

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