A common approach

We hunted, struggled, and even fiended (not a word but you get my point) for cupcakes at Fire Works in Leesburg. We tried making our own.....fail. We tried many producers and tasted a ton of delicious options from several producers over the span of several months but in the end there was only one that made the cut. Whisked Away Bake Shop was the take away winner. The bottom line reason was this; We approach our food the same way. The recipe goes through dozens of incarnations before even being presented to the consumer. This is done because we agree that there cannot be a more impressive finished product and second best means you don't exist. We both use as much local and organic product as possible without sacrificing quality. After all, I know I've been to the farmers market and seen the less that perfectly shaped apple, or tomato and thought, that's pretty for a local product. When it comes to the cupcakes, they have to be perfect, and happen to be local. Whole, locally produced buttermilk and butter go into these cakes and the flavors created are both inventive and classic. For instance right now we are rocking strawberry shortcake and key lime pie. Strawberries, local too. The key lime has a buttery graham cracker crust and lime custard in the center with fresh shaved lime zest on top of the meringue icing. Seriously. Just ......yum. Great job Cara, we're happy to be working together.

New Kids on the Block

lots of taste testings, pizza 'till you burst, yeah, that's how we get down 'round here. After exhausting hours of tasting pizzas, crusts, toppings, cheeses in infinite combinations, running specials for days and sometimes weeks, we have excitedly arrived at this point. 2 new pizzas and one returning star have landed on the menu! The Guadalajara is BACK! Seasoned ground beef, cheddar, pickled jalepenos, go in the oven, then after cooking we add fresh lettuce, pico de gallo, and a sour cream drizzle....yum! We went away from this pizza a couple of years ago. We didn't execute it well at all but this re-introduction seems to have gone much more smoothly and it looks like a keeper.

New to the scene is the Marisco (spanish for shellfish) with Shrimp, clams, fontina cheese, capers, red onions, fresh basil and a pinch of crushed red pepper for a kick. You can add an olive oil cured white anchovy for extra flavor. Now, many may not know the difference in their anchovies. Gone is the brown, somewhat furry looking anchovy that is the main flavor component of your caesar dressing. These little gems are white in color, and look almost like tiny little trout with a flavor much more like lemon zest and only about as briny as fresh oysters or garden fresh cucumbers......I think I'll have this one for lunch today.

Then we have the Tartufo. Cremini, Maitake, Shitake, Baby Bellas with fontina, truffle oil and oregano. Add Baker Farms smoke bacon for a little up charge to this one for the most earthy, smoky, savory tasty pizza ever! Ummm, maybe I'll do a half and half.

loggin' miles

12:05pm
Walking through, clean? Check. Staff in place? Check. Wine delivered and put away? Check. Beer list up to date? No, Evolution brewing Prier du Gold has been replaced by Green Flash Saison Diego. Ah, the list turns again. Sometimes I think I need someone who does nothing but change the beer list out. We have an awesome, ever rotating list. Nearly 1,500 beers were enjoyed this weekend alone.

2:45pm
Driving to our Fire Works in Clarendon, the idea strikes me as I log miles, how many miles are logged to produce some of the beers we carry. From grain to glass.

Barley grown in Germany becomes malt and is bagged and shipped and flown halfway across the world to become the base Vienna malt in Nelson county Virginia to become Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager, a gold medal winner nearly every year it's been submitted in Great American Beer Festival's competition.

Kent Goldings hops grown in England wind up in Foster's Lager in Australia. As we sit reflecting and sipping on a frosty cold refreshment over the coming summer, or sweating in the usual mid atlantic heat waves, we should remember that no matter how tired our feet, how worn out our clutch is from shifting gears 2 million times on I66, our beer has so often traveled even further to nourish our souls.

I think I have an idea for a book here................

Beer Class?

Yes. Beer Class. Tuskie's Beer Study Group to be exact. A room filled with beer geeks, geeking out about hops, malts, yeasts, water and all the variations of each today. The last two weeks we nerded the world with discussions of draft systems and how they work, fail to work, and are kept working. No true beer study group would be complete without tasting though and so we've enlisted our handy smart phones to download the Beer Judges Competition Panel (BJCP) Guidelines to lead us through our tasting. We've done everything from Bud Light to Nogne O Russian Imperial Stout. We've gone through all of the English, Scottish, German, Amber, and Pale Styles. We've studied Porters, Browns, and Stouts (all 6 types). We study these for a variety of reasons, least of all to enhance our own knowledge of the world of beers. Next time you're in Fire Works, Magnoia's or Tuskies, ask who attended the Tuskie's BSG this week. And quiz them!

Cantini Cipressi Falanghina, Terre degli osci. 2011
Beautiful pale straw color, aromas of fresh ripe citrus, casaba melons, cotton candy, rounding out to a nice medium body, moderately viscous on the palate and the finish lingers that citrus element. Falanghina is one of those wines that fits fire works perfectly yet is a tough sell as it's not as popular as pinot grigio.

Olinto Chianti Classico 2009
slight hint of cigar tobacco, unique to this chianti, along with tons of bright bing cherry and black peppercorn. Great texure, silky tannins, and oh so old world in style.

Baracchi O'lilo! 2011
beautiful deep plum in the glass. Smoked and Grilled beef comes through right from the jump. Cab, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah is the blend but with no oak to chill it out, that syrah is like the pissed off puppy in the box dying to be adopted. Lots and lots of ripe and rich fruit without being cloyingly sweet. Great entry level super tuscan from a small producer.......

So, should I pick any of these up for the list?

Curtis

Strange Place for Inspiration

So it's mid January, a full month into winter. Yet in Fire Works, the fire's always burning, July or January we keep it hot! I was looking for inspiration on the interweb this afternoon and was reading reviews of new restaurants in New York, L.A., San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. There are A LOT of new restaurants opening all over the place! I didn't realize that there are even multi-national firms who focus their investments solely in lower employment markets such as Oakland where they heavily (in the millions) fund start up restaurant groups. There's your TARP tax funds at work! But I digress. I read an amazing recipe for a salad using caramelized leeks, ricotta salata, and chick peas and thought to myself, tweak this a bit and it could be an awesome pizza. Soooooooo, next Monday and Tuesday we are going to test out a new special called "Sprung a Leek" using caramelized leeks, ricotta salata (no house blend) sun dried tomato pesto, lamb sausage and lemon peppercorn oil tossed baby arugala after the pizza comes out of the oven. This should be a pizza that even your new year's resolutions will praise you for.

Heavy Seas Warning

Kids, it got real yesterday. Real what? you may ask. Let's just say, it got real. Fire Works in Leesburg (4 revelers) and Magnolia's at the Mill (4 revelers) raided an RV and went to Heavy Seas Brewing Company in Baltimore. Our friends at our sister restaurant, Fire Works Arlington, well, they didn't make it.......sick I hear. We filled our own firkins of Loose Cannon IPA and dry hopped them uniquely for each restaurant. Magnolia's used a mother load of Zeus hops in theirs, naming it the "Zeus Cannon". Well played by Shana, Eric, and Stuart. Our own firkin for Fire Works Leesburg takes a more seasonally influenced turn using Cascade and Chinook whole flower hops along with toasted oak, cinnamon, cardamom, shaved orange peel, and grains of paradise aptly named "3 on 1". Lastly, and a secret blend it is, Jesse, Jeff, and Carlos put together something special for the fun folks in Arlington. Left with no better ideas, it was named "No Show". One things for certain, this beer won't be a no show for hoppy beer lovers. Make sure to check out our facebook page to see when these one of a kind firkins will roll out in our restaurants!

check the pic here for the crew!
the fearsome foursome fills a firkin