When the weather hints as turning, I try to eat outside as much as I can to soak in whatever’s left of picnic weather. I made this pasta salad with basil from my garden and garlic from a farm at … Continue reading
If there is one word that is rarely associated with the food I cook it would be vegan. As a lover of all things meat, cheese, and dairy, I struggle not to use butter in everything. That said, I’m trying … Continue reading
If you were to come into my kitchen right now you would find me on my tippy toes, bent over my sink, devouring a peach while valiantly trying to not get any of it’s deliciousness on me or my floor.It’s … Continue reading
Since I don’t really use air conditioning, I spend a lot of time figuring out meals that taste just as good, if not better, at room temp then they do warm. Being able to happily eat a dinner that doesn’t … Continue reading
Vegetable cream cheese and geology have a lot in common. That might sound strange, but hear me out. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of rock that are cemented together by finer sediment called the matrix. Sound … Continue reading
I’ve been on a butternut squash and browned butter kick lately. Perhaps it is because it’s a delicious combo, but it’s probably because it’s a really inexpensive delicious combo. Squash is a very versatile fall and winter veggie that I … Continue reading
After Thanksgiving I go into an undeniable turkey and carb coma. Between potatoes, biscuits, meat, and pie, it’s all a little overwhelming. Cauliflower puree is a great way to lighten up the leftovers. It goes great with all of the … Continue reading
Mignonette, the acidic sauce served beside or on top of oysters, helps to balance out oysters salty sweetness. You might not make one often, but having a mignonette in your cooking repertoire is a must. This is especially true as the weather heats up and summer barbecues fill our calendars. When you pick up your oysters, say no to the sickly sweet cocktail sauce and whip up your own quick mignonette. This recipe uses the milder and more nuanced white balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar and makes enough for one dozen oysters, scale up as needed and serve in a small dish.
Mignonette
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve.
Oh pasta, how I love you. Carbs are a good friend of mine as are bacon, eggs, and cheese, all key ingredients in the Italian classic carbonara. It’s a simple dish but also an easy dish to mess up. Add the pasta without tempering the eggs first and you might end up with an unappetizing scramble.
I topped my carbonara with a bunch of green beans because veggies are important and I like my veggies covered in silky sauce and bacon. Traditional carbonara is veggie-free and so I apologize to all you traditionalists, go authentic by going veggie-free. Using dried pasta is also important. Fresh pasta is amazing, but it actually doesn’t hold onto sauce as well as dried pasta. More important than carbonara’s veggie-less state or pasta is the black pepper. Go big or go home as freshly cracked black pepper gives carbonara the blast of flavor that it’s iconic for.
Spaghetti Carbonara (Serves 4)
Deglazing a pan with beer turned out, to my surprise, to be the best idea EVER. Last night I arrived home at 9pm, ridiculously heavy grocery bags in hand. I was so hungry and tired that I was tempted to pull out a Trader Joe’s frozen meal, pop it in the oven, and put my feet up. Somehow I held out and got to cooking. A little over 30 minutes later I had sautéed kale and chicken stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto on my plate with more in the fridge for future lunches. The best part? Halfway through cooking I decided to pop open a Brooklyn Brewery Lager. After cooking the chicken I realized that it would be smart to deglaze the pan before adding the kale so that the kale would be flavorful with minimal work. Without a red wine open I turned to the next best option, my recently opened lager. It did the trick!
Mozzarella & Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken with a Side of Kale (Serves 2)
