Dinner With Cousin E. c/o Han Dynasty

A few years back I met up with a West Coast cousin, E., for dinner whilst he was on the coast for business. At some point in June he reached out to me to say he was going to be in town yet again. I inquired as to where he was staying and then determined that a good place to meet up for dinner might be Han Dynasty. This was threefold. One, it wasn't too far away from his hotel. Two, I had long been wanting to return after my first visit with the GS crew. And three, I had darts on that night and Han Dynasty was a nice mid-point between my home and the dart night location. And so a plan was created. It was one of the first of excessively hot days we've been having throughout the spring/summer. We were seated quickly and I suggested we share the spicy cucumber appetizer.

I then chose the chicken 'long hot pepper style.' Tasty stuff, though I think that my first visit's eggplant garlic style might have been more of a standout favorite.

The cousin had tofu, I forget which style. Their tofu is much different from that of so many takeout Chinese places: little strips, firm, with more the look of eggplant than tofu.

A good meal and lovely to catch up with a distant cousin. This was the second of three out of town visitor experiences of the week, which certainly made it different than many. Thanks to E. for dinner and for the avocado and beet treats!

Cocktails and Dinner c/o Han Dynasty

A few Fridays ago I rallied a little group of folks in an effort to cross two more things off of my resolution list. First, cocktails at Southwark. I had a Hemingway Daquiri, the ingredients of which, according to the website, were rum, maraschino liquor,lime, grapefruit. I don't really recall the maraschino element, but I enjoyed the overall drink very much. It was nice and tart, not too boozy....but actually quite boozy.
I'd long been hearing great things about Han Dynasty, and knew it was a good place to go in a group. And the great things were all true, and it does make sense to go in a group. LB arrived separately from those of us who had cocktails, and held down the table fort until we met up with her. I became a slight tyrant when it came to ordering. My camera also seemed like it was going to die at any second so I gook photographs quite quickly and with the flash for the most part. These were the spicy, crispy cucumbers. They were spicy, but also cool.
In this photograph you can see the Taiwanese sausage that Mr. Ass suggested we add to my tyrannical menu decisions. A good call.
Dumplings in chili oil.
Wontons in chili oil. I was totally remiss and forgot to order the Dan Dan noodles. Just a reason to go back.
I'm not sure what this was. Maybe the pork belly double cooked style?
This was the tofu long hot pepper style.
This was the LB and Mr. Ass Han Dynasty style.
This was string beans with minced pork.
Eggplant in garlic sauce.
Scallop dry pepper style.
We also ordered chicken, hot sauce style. I tried to order a range of dishes that covered Han's spectrum of spice (8-10 being VERY spicy and on down to 1 being wimpy). I did express that we weren't looking to completely lose our taste buds, so while everything had a little kick to it, nothing was quite as throat scorching as I might have expected. This, to me, is a good thing and I think a result of the server hearing my desire for moderate spice as well as full blast. I think my favorite was the scallops dry pepper style. Nice and crispy, but still succulent. And the pepper gave it some pizazz without overwhelming the actual taste of the scallops themselves. I think the eggplant was also particularly tasty. I prefered the dumplings to the wontons. And I loved the green beans. I felt like one moment, all the food was arriving and then seconds later I was stuffed, but probably 20 to 30 minutes went by. After dinner we went to Reserve for another round or two of drinks. I believe I ordered the Kentucky Lemonade.
And at least at one or two points in the evening, I looked like this.
I got punchy by the end of the evening and slightly embarrassed myself, but up until that point I thought the it was a good night. Great company. Great food. The whole package.

Another One

Lunch on the fourth. The valderon, the goat brie, and a raw sheep's milk cheese - the name of which escapes me at the moment - along with more radishes, juicy tomato, cucumbers and jalepeno pickles I bought at a farm stand. Plates like this really are happy-inducing for me. I keep missing the farmer's market in Philly because I'm always somewhere else, or about to be somewhere else, so it seems wrong to buy produce I won't have time to eat. But I'm missing the best eating of the year, and that's beginning to wear on me.

Hazy Shade of Summer, Plus Radishes and Tomatoes

On Sunday I went to the Hellertown Farmer's Market. I didn't take any photographs because it wasn't quite as extensive as I had been hoping it might be. And the main produce presence was Trauger's ... which I had visited the day before at their actual farm. It was a strange day in terms of weather. Hazy but warm. Threatening to rain but not actually raining. Or at least not for the majority of the day.
For lunch I made myself another lovely plate. This time with radishes, cucumbers, tomato, olives and goat brie. All was right with the world.

Glorious Respite, Complete with Swedish Meatballs and Puppies

When M. let me know that she and A. were going to be spending some time in Pennsylvania before returning to Seattle it was imperative that we meet up. So we decided that I'd come up to their neck of the woods for a weekend. Of course, M. ended up coming to the beach for a day, but that's neither here nor there. So, after work I got my life together (and by that I mean a huge amount of laundry, Catan and my bocci set) and headed about up to the Hellertown/Riegelsville area. I arrived to gluten free bread with blue cheese and onion.
And champagne (maybe prosecco?), because that is how everyone should be greeted for a weekend in the country. Maybe I should have sparkling wine on hand constantly, pouring it out for everyone from a weekend guest to the cable guy (I haven't seen a cable guy in my house in nearly two years).
A key difference between M. and myself (and when I say 'key' I really mean just a difference) is her interest in cookbooks and willingness to follow a recipe. I tend to read about a dish that I have never made, then read a lot of different recipes/approaches, and then come up with my own way. This is really besides the point and the actual facts contradict the earlier 'key difference' I mentioned. Point is that M. and A. have a Swedish cookbook and decided to make Swedish meatballs with ligonberry sauce....but the store didn't have lingonberries or one of the meats technically needed (I think they substituted the veal with lamb?). The result was good.
Extremely creamy potatoes and green beans were also served, along with sweet pickled cucumbers that A. came up with.
Followed, of course, with cake. Of course? No. Not of course. Sigh. I like M. and A. because of their commitment to a complete meal. I get lazy. I'll make a meat and maybe a half-hearted vegetable, but a multi-tiered from scratch cake? Nope. A. is also a devotee to the meat-veg-starch trifecta. These are good qualities: the desire to start a meal with a little snack and go all the way to dessert...and the desire to make sure that the meal really has a number of parts. There is something to learn in this model. Something to learn. I sometimes eat cheese and a peach for dinner. Hm.
A. and M. spent some time in/outside of Asheville, NC this summer and during that time they picked up a new member of their household: Ella the puppy. I don't mean to raise anyone's hackles (heh) but this puppy may be (on the whole) one of the bestest puppies ever. Sweet as a lady bug and not yappy or bitey, she was a pleasure. While they think she will become a more properly dog-sized dog, I think she has Pomeranian in her and will not grow any more than she already has. Only time will tell.