City House, Country House

I met up with Rebekah at City House, where she is the pastry chef extraordinaire. City House is an amazing restaurant in historic Germantown (which always makes me want to call it City Haus). The interior is a beautifully renovated house and former art studio of Alan LeQuire. The exposed brick walls, wooden beams and two rustic wood fired-ovens warm the modern clean lines and stainless-steel kitchen.































If you haven't had a meal there yet, you must do so immediately. Here's what's on the menu tomorrow (warning: it's a whole-lotta pig, they just got a whole one):

Sunday

January 24, 2010

Pork Snacks

Pork Rib Salad, Pickles, Onions, Celery, Buttermilk Dressing
Head Cheese, Cabbage, Horseradish
Crispy Pig Ears Milanese, Caper Lemon Butter
Bologna & Pimento Cheese Sandwich
Country Fried Pork Biscuits, White Gravy

Other Snacks:

Boiled Peanuts
Brussels Sprout Salad, Miracle Whip, Red Onion, Peanuts & Raisins
Aaron’s Wings
Smoked Sunburst Trout, Corn Cakes, Sour Cream
Rock Shrimp Cocktail, Saltines

Pizza

Kitchen Pie
Margherita Pizza, House Made Mozzarella
Sausage & Potato Mozzarella
Cannellini Bean, Ricotta, Grana, Garlic, Oregano
Chick Pea, Pecorino, Chilies, Back Fat
San Marzano Tomato, Anchovy, Radicchio, Parsley, Celery, Garum
Prosciutto Cotto, Ricotta, Lemon

Secondo

Pork Meatballs, Tomato Ragu, Grana Padano, Garlic Toast
Porchetta, Fennel, Red Onion, Parsley, Lemon
Delta Catfish, Cornmeal Crust, Cauliflower, Pesto, Green Olives

Hungry yet?

Oh, yeah, and dessert. That's a secret. You'll just have to go and see. Let's just say that there will be homemade gelato and there will be chocolate.

And then Rebekah and I had a crafty day at her country house in Springfield. We made things with ribbon and vintage fabrics. I got to look at many of her fiancee, Harry's paintings (I was a fan long before I knew him). Harry even braved the estrogen levels of a crafty meeting to hang with us and be our DJ. It was a lovely day.

crafty chicks gone wild

A few girls came over Saturday to make fascinators. Nobody was convinced that it would be easy, yet everyone left with a finished product. It was so fun, my only complaint is that we didn't have enough time. We also got scoop on Rebekah's wedding plans and Maggie's pregnancy (well, we know how that happened).

Give to Haiti, Not the Red Cross

The kind of poverty that Haitians live in is difficult for me to imagine. Struggling under the weight of so much suffering already, I feel helpless when looking at the damage and suffering of the recent earthquake.



Americans respond to these tragedies by giving, because we can give. It's a good thing. When these disasters occur, we are encouraged to give to the Red Cross, and many do. Sadly, the Red Cross is not the best choice to deliver more of your dollars to directly help individuals. Their administrative costs are disproportionately high and they don't commit the funds you send to direct aid of that disaster. Thinking about donating through Wyclef Jean's Charity, Yele? Think again. Last year they spent only 73% on programs and the rest on administrative costs.

The best choice for helping the people of Haiti are the groups who offer direct aid and have a demonstrated good stewardship of donated funds in the past, groups like Direct Relief International, that use 98% of their funds for direct aid programs. Or consider a local group like Haitian Health Foundation, which is already providing services in Haiti. There's a list of top-rated charities on Charity Navigator, which provides information about how charities are handling their finances and the kind of services they provide.

Give, but make an informed gift.