Pastrami, Amendments, and Spatchcocks, Oh My

Is it just me, or is anyone else having trouble believing that we're barreling into the holiday season and there's only two more days til I'm bus-bound for Long Island? Perhaps it's just been the busy nature of this fall (the previously alluded to hectic time at work, Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 elections), but it just doesn't feel like it's nearly Christmastime yet. I, for one, am still writing 'October' on everything and refusing to pull out my warm jacket. It won't be winter until I say so, damnit.

As much as I try to deny it, this weekend certainly had the feel of a busy holiday season. Friday night we took it easy and decided to try out the new Jewish-deli inspired restaurant in Dupont Circle. Since Jewish deli food is hard to come by in this area (and it's one of my favorite cuisines, naturally), I'd been eagerly awaiting this place for some time now.

 The verdict?

Latkes with Apple Preserve and Creme Fraiche

As my grandmother would say, "Eh, better than a sharp stick in the eye." However, it wasn't my favorite. The cocktails, pickles and latkes we ordered were all excellent. But the pastrami sandwiches we both ordered tasted more like ham than pastrami.

Yes. You read that right. Ham.

The pastrami wannabe

Yes, I know it wasn't actually ham. And I don't keep kosher and normally enjoy ham very much. But when I order a pastrami sandwich in a Jewish deli (albeit on delicious homemade rye bread with house-crafted mustard), it's a little disconcerting to be tasting what appears to be honey-baked and spiral cut. I'll go back to try their other offerings, but I'd advise them to re-think their pastrami brine recipe.

Saturday morning I ran errands, then joined some friends for another long-anticipated event:

This government major was highly impressed. My only quibble was that I wish I had read up on the 13th Amendment and the history surrounding it before going to the movie - I learned so much that I wish I had a little knowledge base going into the theater. That being said, that's my fault and not the movie's -- The makeup, acting, directing and writing were all spot-on. I'll definitely be going to see this one again.

After the movie I roasted some chicken for our dinner and tried out a new cooking technique that has very quickly become my new favorite word: SPATCHCOCK.

Sorry, this looks kind of gross. But I wanted you to see how to do it for yourself.

SPATCHCOCKING (I can't stop!) is when you cut out the backbone of the bird you intend to roast, allowing you to flatten it out on your roasting pan and get a greater ratio of crispy skin to roasted meat. (Plus, if you're into making your own chicken stock, you can save the backbone in your freezer until you're ready to make stock.) I roasted the chicken with some baby potatoes, asparagus and mushrooms, which let the veggies cook in the chicken juices.

Finished product

I served it alongside roasted carrots and parsnips, which I'd never tried before but which were surprisingly delicious. We invited our friends over at the last minute (they live on the floor below me, which makes last-minute dinner invitations possible), and served everything with a few generous helpings of red wine.

Perhaps too generous, since I woke up Sunday reminding myself that opening a third bottle of wine is never, ever a good idea. After a revitalizing breakfast sandwich and trip to the Dupont farmer's market, I met up with some friends for a manicure and a pre-Thanksgiving spin class.

Favorite coffee mug and my very first shellac manicure

Some of you may remember that I've written about my awful habit of picking off my manicure -- The solution, I've discovered, is a shellac manicure. I've never had one before, so I'm pretty amazed with it so far. Will not chip!

What have you been up to on your final weekend before the holiday season? Are you picky about your pastrami? Have you ever gotten a shellac manicure? Are you planning on spatchcocking any birds this week? Leave a comment and let me know!