4 holiday tips for food freak (new) parents

I am on maternity leave this holiday season so I have more free time than a typical parent. But I am also a new mom, so everything takes me 5x as long as more seasoned parents -- which probably balances things out. With weekly holiday events during the next 7 weeks, I need help to remain gracious (and engaged) with nearly-zero sleep and a newborn in tow. Four ideas that have helped me so far:

Exploring Union Market -- donuts from GBDLoad up locally: Instead of spreading gourmet gift purchases out over a number of stops, think ahead. If you include a food-focused retail destination on your errand list, grab several unique items. You'll be happy you had a few little things stocked up when Saturday (suddenly) rolls around and you have three parties to drop into and no time to grab wine or flowers. And support locations that are family-friendly -- I was amazed and excited by the amount of strollers and ErgoBaby carriers during my first trip to Union Market in D.C. I picked up a number of stocking stuffers and fun treats for around $10, including barrel-aged syrup, charcuterie and savory crackers laced with Old Bay. A stop at a neighborhood wine shop yielded (in about 5 minutes) pumpkin chevre and cranberry brie discoveries and a sparkling wine from Texas, and I was encouraged to set my car seat carrier on the bar and enjoy a glass of spicy cranberry sangria.

Cooking? Simplify: A few of my favorite appetizer contributions with five ingredients or less and ready in less than 30 minutes.

• Baked brie (use refrigerated pie crusts and your favorite jam)


• Hot mushroom-crab dip (stir in sherry for a kicky finish)


• Crisp artichoke cakes (you can sub out a number of vegetables)


• Baked coconut shrimp (shrimp is also an easy app on its own)


• Goat-cheese stuffed fresh figs if you can find them, dates if you cant (balsamic drizzle either way)

Pop-up exploring: Plenty of places around DC that spotlight unique food and wine gifts also welcome children. There are a growing number of wineries within a 45-minute drive of DC, many of which offer holiday discounts and treats from local artisan purveyors. Organizations across the region hold holiday bazaars and festivals in November and December, including the Swedish Christmas Bazaar at the House of Sweden and the National Harbor Holiday Festival. Work downtown? The Downtown Holiday Market, F Street between 7th and 8th Streets, opens Nov. 30 and this year features food from Luke's Lobster, Shake Shack and Ris, as well as fair-trade coffee, mini donuts and empanadas.

Delicious gifts for each other: Dates exploring restaurants -- including sitter arrangements -- make a great gift for any food freak and gives each of you something to look forward to throughout the year. Couple a gift card to a new eatery you want to explore with scheduling suggestions (once a month?) and don't forget child card arrangements. The more you plan, the more likely you are to actually go -- and enjoy it. And take the time to pick up the gift certificate if the restaurant tries to charge you to "ship" it -- or better yet, contact another spot that doesn't charge extra for gift card orders. Can't get out? Use the cards for take out, or gather specialty groceries to cook at home together.

Tips on Hosting a Vertical Tasting

Last night we went through a flight of Cabernet Sauvignon from Joseph Phelps (known for the steakhouse sweetheart Insignia) with a mix of wine wonks and neophytes at my first-ever home vertical tasting. Everyone had a great time because we had useful information that sparked good discussion and the star of the night -- the wine -- was well curated and cared for by our generous hosts.

A few tips on how to make a home vertical tasting a success:

• Keep it small: We had 6 people tasting four vintages. It was plenty of wine per person without requiring more than one bottle per growing year, and four wines spread out over 2+ hours of tasting and noshing allowed for tasters to differentiate between the vintages without muddying the flavors.
  
• Decanting & Serving: If you don't have enough decanters, consider using an aerator. Red wines should be opened in advance of the start of the night to 1) give them some time to open and 2) check to see if they are still good. Try to find proper stemware for the wine; we didnt have balloon glasses for all of the vintages, but the ones we did have were smartly saved for the oldest bottle.
• Order: We tasted an '01, '03, '04 & '05. Our hosts reached out to the vineyard in advance and their experts suggested we taste from youngest to oldest. My thoughts -- that way you don't get spoiled early, but it also allows tasters to see the progression of aging and its impact on the bottled product. 
• Notes: The four stages of wine tasting are Look, Smell, Taste, Finish. I add a fifth: Talk. Discuss what you are drinking and have paper and pens nearby to take notes. Your memory will get foggy and you'll want to have something to giggle about later when you try to decipher your scribbles about the fourth glass.
• Inform: Our hosts distributed tasting notes on each vintage a few days before the dinner. While tasting, we noted the flavor profiles and checked to see if our observations matched with the vintner's expertise.
• Snacks: My favorite part! Everyone contributed food, including traditional pairings like grilled steak and fresh chimichurri, tagliatelle with truffles and goat/cow/sheep cheeses -- I am officially in love with truffle salt, olive oil and goat cheese, for the record. Food gives everyone a chance to contribute to the fun and experiment with pairings (bacon-deviled eggs and sparkling wine -- try it!) and a potluck format takes some of the planning weight off of the hosts.

Special Menu Planning For a M/F Non-Cook But Let's Be Honest, M

I have a friend who contacts me twice a year about helping him plan a special (but not super expensive) meal for his lovely wife, also known as asking "Please Tell Me Exactly How to Do This So I Get Laid & Don't Burn the House Down."

First up, Valentine's Day -- a made-up holiday for which restaurants often develop exotic menus and then (usually) charge twice the price.

It's also a night when I avoid going out to eat. There are so many tasties to make at home, often with the one you love by your side, or at least pouring you wine. And it's that much easier to get naked in your own kitchen. 

Note: Do not try to get naked in a restaurant on Valentine's Day to prove me wrong. But if you do, tell me what happens.

This is the VTD menu I developed this year and actual e-mail I sent today, using simple recipes (he specifically requested steak) that I found online and adding my own notes for the home cook who needs a little direction  ... or a lot:

If having an appetizer and a side are too much, drop the appetizer. I have tips for each recipe, but the recipes themselves are easy to follow. Let me know if you have any questions and leave yourself a few hours to cook. The bruschetta topping can be made ahead, as can the potatoes & dessert if you want more time with the steak.

APPETIZER:
Bruschetta. Minimal cooking needed. You get to use balsamic in 2 recipes, which ties it all together. Spring for the hot house tomatoes, it's winter and they will have better flavor. Fresh herbs should be available at the grocery.

MAIN
Ribeye with arugula. A great combination because the greens cut the fat in the steak. Get good balsamic -- at least $10 bottle. It makes a huge difference. The only tweak I'd make to this recipe is you should get a bigger steak or 2 medium-sized steaks. Rib eyes have a decent amount of fat, so also ask that they be trimmed.

SIDE
Potatoes with carmelized onion and goat cheese. Note: Be careful not to burn the onions. If you do, just throw them out and have potatoes with goat cheese. It's excellent and easy.

DESSERT:
Chocolate-coffee cups.  This is basically a rich pudding. You will need small white baking cups called ramekins, and you should be able to find them in a cooking store, such as Crate and Barrel or Williams Sonoma, if you don't already have them. They are useful.  If you cannot find them, use the smallest bowls you have. This recipes makes enough for 4, so just double your pour! Get good chocolate such as Valrhona or Ghiradelhi, which you should be able to get at the grocery store with no problem.

WINE:
I wish I was there to give you some of mine! Cab Sauvignon is the go-to wine for ribeye, but it can be so expensive. This is what you should consider picking up, all relatively inexpensive:
Côtes du Rhone -- you can find a good one for around $15. Look for a Clos du Mont Olivet Montueil la Levade, Delas Saint-Esprit or Michel Gassier Cercius.
Syrah/Shiraz -- Look for Stump Jump, Smoking Loon, J. Lohr or Jacob's Creek Reserve. You should be able to get a bottle for under $15.