Fogo de Chão Grand Opening Dinner + 10 Year Blogiversary

I just noticed that this past weekend marks 10 years since I started this little blog!  It's been a fun 10 years of a LOT of food and shopping, haha.

While not actually related, I was invited to check out the Fogo de Chão in Pike and Rose for a grand opening dinner before they officially open today, so it was a great way to "celebrate" with a delicious night of food!

The night started off with a lively cocktail hour with passed appetizers.  It was also a good chance for my friend L and I to walk around the space, especially to take in the huge Market Table's offerings.  After the ribbon cutting ceremony, we were seated for a full dinner experience.  While it was very tempting to try everything at the Market Table, I knew I had to save room for ALL the meat that would come around to our table at a seemingly never ending pace, haha.  Everything that we had was delicious, but I have to say that the featured Picanha steak and the lamb chops that came around were my favorites - so tender and flavorful!  But even if you're not a total meat lover, there's plenty at the Market Table to enjoy, and I want to try their lunch/brunch sometime soon so I can have more of their non-meat dishes.  Also, don't forget about dessert - The Tres Leches cake and Chocolate Mousse cake that we had were really good, and I would go to the restaurant just for drinks and that Tres Leches cake any day.  A big thank you and welcome to the neighborhood Fogo de Chão, and I look forward to trying out more of your dishes soon!

 

 

Sparkling wine before dinner

Some meat appetizers before the meat dinner, haha

 

Love this wine wall that separates the large dining areas

 

Just a small segment of the huge Market Table - lots of fresh and tasty dishes 

 

Something I wouldn't have really thought to try until a server recommended it - the Feijoada bar with a great bean stew, rice, and toppings

 

The bartenders were super busy all night with this crowd :)

 

I had some of this bacon during the reception - so good!

Side dishes were brought out first - Caramelized bananas, Polenta, Pão de Queijo (yuca flour and cheese rolls- SO good), and Garlic mashed potatoes

So many yummy cuts of meat! It was hard to keep track of what we were eating after a while because different options kept coming continuously and we didn't want to miss out on anything

Make sure you leave some room for dessert - especially the awesome Tres Leches cake! 

Note: I was invited to the grand opening dinner, but was not paid for this post.

Fogo de Chão - Pike & Rose

11600 Old Georgetown Road

North Bethesda, MD 20852

301.841.9200

Memorial Day Weekend - Waterford, VA

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  My friends C, L and I went on a quick road trip to Waterford, VA to stay at this really pretty restored farmhouse for one night, which was very fun experience for us!  

There's clearly a lot of work that went into the house and the property , with so many little details that were neat to check out during our stay.  We even became good friends with the goats and chickens that live on the property - I don't think I'll ever get a chance to be so close to these animals in such a relaxed environment, haha.  This was a great chance to spend some time away from our homes enjoying something totally unique for all three of us! 

 

 

 

Table For Two's Everything But the Eggroll Bowl

During the month of January, I joined Table For Two's cooking challenge, which consisted of making a few meals a week based on her meal plans.  It was a great way to try new recipes and cook at home more regularly! 

One of my early favorites was this Everything But the Eggroll Bowl- essentially the meat and vegetables of a delicious egg roll, but deconstructed as a dish on its own.  It's a really quick recipe, especially with the use of a cole slaw/broccoli slaw (in my case) from the grocery store as the bulk of the vegetables.  Also, it's a great recipe for adapting to any vegetables that you might have in your kitchen - just chop them up and throw them in.  This is the only recipe from the January challenge that I have made twice so far, and I definitely will be adding it to my regular rotation! 

Canopy by Hilton - Pike & Rose

Last Friday evening, a group of us were invited to the Canopy by Hilton hotel in Pike & Rose for an event that included a tour of the hotel and a chance to try out some of their food and drink selections that they offer.  I like that the hotel's focused on both the hotel guests and the local residents, and fits in really well with the rest of the neighborhood.  

We started with some mulled cider in the lobby area, which is actually on the third floor.  The street entrance opens up to a large, open staircase as well as elevators to the lobby.  The lobby flows right into the common area, which includes a bar and dining room alongside a lot of open seating.  I love this huge chandelier that is made up of copies of National Geographic magazine! 

 

We then were taken around for a tour of the hotel, including one of the one bedroom suites.  Light wood and grey is the majority of my condo interior, so naturally I really like the hotel rooms in here, haha.  The bathroom in the suite is very spacious with space for everything - I wish my bathroom looked like this!  I also love the socks that come in every room on the nightstands.  Because the rooms are concrete with rugs place around the rooms, it's a nice cozy touch for the guests!  There are also glass bottles and drinking glasses in every room, which can be filled with the filtered water dispensers found by the elevators on every floor.  I really like the little touches like this - I like having water when I stay in hotels but don't want to pay for overpriced water bottles every time. 

 

 

After the tour we were treated to dinner to get a taste of the food and drinks that the hotel offers - I loved the semi-private space we ate in, with plenty of seating and lots of windows to look down at the holiday lights on the streets below.  I'm a sucker for tiny cute foods, and they had a wide variety of little dishes for us to try in addition to the main menu items - which were beef tenderloin, garlic roasted potatoes, and butternut squash.  I especially liked the salmon Rillettes in the tiny dishes and the mini fish tacos.  Plenty of cocktails and macarons rounded out the meal - the macarons served as both dessert and decor along with the sparkly holiday decorations in the room.  

 

 

I'm very happy I got a chance to check out what the hotel offers, especially as someone that lives nearby.  It wouldn't have really crossed my mind to come here that often, since I live close and wouldn't be staying over.  It's a great space for drinks or dinner if you're in the area, and a perfect fit for the Pike & Rose neighborhood!


Canopy by Hilton Washington DC - Bethesda North
940 Rose Avenue
North Bethesda, MD 20852 


Note: I was invited to the Canopy Hilton for the event but was not paid for this post.

The Kitchn - Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I normally keep a few boxes of cake mix in my pantry, especially when they go on sale at the store.  They're good to have around for quick baked goods, and are very versatile for lots of recipes!  I saw this recipe for chocolate cake mix cookies from The Kitchn and thought it'd be a perfect base for cookies to bring to a work potluck. 

The recipe is super simple and very easy to make with what you have on hand!  Instead of the powdered sugar coating, I added Reese's peanut butter chips to the chocolate cake mix dough.  I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, so I'm hopeful that these will be a hit at the potluck as well. 

Brittany Viklund - Fall Bucket List

It's no secret that I love fall, and basically all the fun stuff in stores that come out for the season, haha.  I also love finding other ways to celebrate everything good about the fall, so I was very happy to see Brittany Viklund brought back her cute bucket list a few weeks ago!

Downloading the bucket list is free, and it's a fun way to make sure you're celebrating the season in big and little ways, which I love.  It's a nice reminder to do all the fun things before we get into the cold winter season!

9th Blogiversary + Georgetown Cupcake!

Today marks 9 years of blogging here, hooray!  It's been a great experience finding fun new items, especially foods to write about!  While I am not writing about anything groundbreaking, I enjoy having an outlet to "talk" online about delicious eats and random store finds. 

For this anniversary date, what better way to "celebrate" than with some June Georgetown Cupcake flavors!  Up top is the Caramel Cookies & Creme, which consists of a "Caramel cookies & crème cupcake topped with a caramel cookies & crème buttercream and topped with cookie crumble".  It's the perfect match up of caramel and cookies and creme mixed into one cupcake - I really enjoyed this one! There were big chunks of cookies mixed into the cake portion which is perfect for anyone that likes cookies and creme foods. 

On the bottom is the Peanut Butter Banana Marshmallow Fudge, which consists of a "Fresh banana cupcake cored and filled with marshmallow, topped with peanut butter frosting, a fudge star drizzle".  First, I have to say there's a LOT going on with this cupcake, haha.  It feels a little haphazard with four completely different tastes going into one cupcake.  That being said, I love Georgetown Cupcake's peanut butter frosting and that was definitely the highlight of this cupcake for me.  If you like variations on banana bread like chocolate chip or peanut butter, you'll love this one!

7th Blogiversary!

Today marks the 7th year of blogging here on Never Turn Down a Cupcake - wow! 7 years of Georgetown Cupcake and other assorted ramblings, haha.

I've really enjoyed keeping this little space of the internet filled with sweets and pop culture, and of course meeting lots of people through blogging over the years!  Thank you to anyone that has stopped by to read a review or to check out the other wonderful blog posts that I link to.  

I think these cards that I got from the Hallmark store recently really sum up my blog life, haha:

Pumpkin Nutella Muffins

I always keep Nutella and canned pumpkin on hand in my kitchen, so I when I felt like baking last week, I decided to try out this recipe for Pumpkin Nutella muffins from Simply Happenstance.  

The recipe is very easy to follow, and even if you add a little more Nutella than the recipe calls for, the muffins turn out great, haha.  As you can see mine are nowhere near as pretty as the ones on the blog, which is due to me spooning globs of Nutella into the muffin batter and not swirling them.  The pumpkin and Nutella flavors go really well together, and are a fantastic way to celebrate the cooler weather and fall season coming up!   

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod

I saw this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod last month, and knew I had to try these soft peanut butter cookies for myself! 

I did not roll my cookies in sugar before baking, but otherwise I used the same ingredients when I made them.  Another part in the process that I did change is that I used a cookie scoop and did not roll the dough before baking.  I'm not sure if that's the reason why, but my cookies turned out noticeably puffier than the ones on the blog, haha.  But clearly that had no effect on the taste - these were amazing! Bite after bite of delicious, pure peanut butter flavor - what more could you ask for?  These were a big hit at work and were snatched up pretty quickly.  I definitely would use this recipe again for a delicious peanut butter fix! 

6th Blogiversary & Georgetown Cupcake - Blond Chocolate Birthday Cupcake

Today marks 6 years since I started this blog- woohoo!  Thanks to those of you that come by and check out the posts here, I appreciate it!  And what better way to "celebrate" 6 years of blogging than a post about Georgetown Cupcake, haha.  

This Blond Chocolate Birthday cupcake is super cute to look at - I love the colorful round sprinkles that Georgetown Cupcake uses on their "birthday" cupcakes.  The chocolate cake is delicious as usual, but what really makes this cupcake stand out is the Blond Chocolate frosting.  It's not quite vanilla, not quite chocolate, but like a rich caramel-y frosting that is pretty awesome.  I love the combination of the Blond chocolate and the regular chocolate flavors, and I think just about anyone would love this one!   

Table for Two's Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Muffins

I realize that pumpkin foods are generally abundant in the fall, but in my mind there's never a bad time for them, haha.  Canned pumpkin is so versatile and I especially love baking with it.  

I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chunk Muffins from Table for Two's blog on my pumpkin Pinterest page, and thought it sounded like a good recipe to try out.  This recipe comes together very easily, and the pumpkin + chocolate in the oven smells amazing! The only modification I made was using a full bag of Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chunks - which sounds like a lot, but it was awesome having so many chocolate chunks throughout, haha.  I brought these in to work to share, and they were a great breakfast muffin/afternoon snack.  I would definitely make these again and it's a great recipe for any time of the year!  

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Oreo-cookies

I saw this recipe for peanut butter Oreo cookies on Kirbie's Cravings' blog, and I thought it would be extra delicious to make them using the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Oreos that I had purchased.  I love the idea of putting crushed Oreos in a cookie - it's like you're getting 2 cookies in 1, haha. 

The recipe is very easy and the cookies are delicious! You can definitely adjust the size of the Oreos that you put in - if you want bigger pieces, just don't crush them as much.  Or, if you want more of a blended Oreo flavor, you can even pop them into a food processor to get a fine crumb.  The peanut butter cup flavor was still very prominent in these cookies, and they were a big hit at work! 

City Sports - Rockville, MD

I was recently invited to check out the new City Sports location in Rockville, Maryland as part of their Bloggers' night, and I was excited to check out this new store with my friend A.  You might think this is a little random for my blog... it is, but I always like checking out new stores in my area, and I always like fun workout clothes haha.  This City Sports is located in the new Pike & Rose complex, which is still under construction but coming along very nicely.  There's a big parking garage in the space, and already a few new restaurants and shops that are open for business.

The store is spacious, and I noticed something that I'm not sure was on purpose.  As far as I could tell, the shelves and signage weren't tall enough to block the rest of the store behind it - which is great for someone that is really short, haha.  Even I could look around the store and see each section easily.  Everything is laid out clearly so it's easy to figure out which section you're looking for.  The staff was very friendly and eager to help out, so be sure to ask any questions you have - especially about running shoes!

For the event, there was a Brooks rep at a table with different products displayed, and their different shoe designs (and each one's benefits) on the display board.  A lot of the shoes looked familiar because I regularly see them on The Hungry Runner Girl's blog :o)

You might notice a theme in the items I was drawn to, haha. I love the combination of dark grey/black with the bright mint/turquoise! I feel like these bright pops of color would actually make me happy to work out, haha. 

I also kept coming back to this SUPER SOFT Nike running hoodie (pretty much the same as this one online, I believe).  It looked so comfortable, and I maaaaaaay be going back to the store to take another look at it.  

Thank you to City Sports for inviting me, the delicious Del Frisco's Grille appetizers, and the super fun gift bag as well. Welcome to the neighborhood, City Sports! 

*I was invited to a blogger's night at this City Sports location but not required to write a blog post, I just wanted to share my shopping experience!*

City Sports - Rockville

11600 Old Georgetown Road

North Bethesda, MD 20852

Salted Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum, peanut butter and chocolate is always a winning combination! 

I took this Table for Two recipe for salted chocolate chip cookies and added peanut butter chips to make these fantastic cookies you see above.  I never really measure chocolate chips in the baked goods I make, so there's always a chance that the dough won't come together as well due to too many "things" inside.  However this was not the case at all, there was a great balance of flavors between the chocolate and peanut butter chips.  The salt sprinkled on top of each cookie definitely adds some depth, and is a great little touch to make these cookies special.  I highly recommend this cookie recipe!

Oster Versa Blender

A huge "Thank you!" to Averie Cooks for hosting such great giveaways - I recently won this Oster Versa blender from one of her giveaways and I couldn't wait to try it out.

I had been using a basic blender that I got from my parents before they moved to the West Coast, but it had been on its last legs for some time now, and this blender came at the perfect time.  I quickly decided to try making peanut butter, as my old blender wouldn't have really had the power to be able to do this.

For this peanut butter, I used a 1lb bag of reduced salt roasted peanuts from Trader Joe's, and just dumped the whole bag in.  In just a few minutes, fresh peanut butter was ready!  Since I didn't add any sugar or other sweeteners to the peanuts, this is a very natural peanut taste.  I liked that I can add or change it if I wanted to depending on what I'm using it for - say, a sandwich spread versus a Thai peanut sauce.  I look forward to making lots of foods in my new blender! 

Hot Chocolate Cookies

I saw this recipe for hot chocolate cookies on Janae's blog a while back, and thought they were perfect wintertime cookies to bring in to work! 

I bought a bunch of Starbucks hot chocolate packets so this was the perfect recipe to get a different use out of them.  The mini marshmallows are such a cute touch, and as you can see they get very soft and spread a little as they bake.  These were a big hit at work and I think they're a cute treat for anyone that also loves hot chocolate!