August 2009 Archives

You may remember the Arepa failure I had a few months back. I have been wanting to have another go at them ever since that night. I am in New York this weekend and I had the opportunity to go to a great Arepa place and learn about my missteps firsthand. Besides the main error of not having the right flour, I also realized that I was making these things way too thick! Nick, who I am staying with in NYC, invited a few people over and I made some arepas for everyone.

I was looking up ideas for a grilled scallop dish when I saw a picture that had scallops on a skewer that looked like marshmallows. This got my mind rolling in a ton of different ways that involved scallops as a marshmallow replacement. The problem with this dish is that s'mores are pretty much the best thing on the earth. When you make one thing look like another, you need to be sure that the new thing is just as tasty as the old. These scallop s'mores were pretty incredible, but there is nothing that can contend with real s'mores in the flavor department. I am not even that big on sweets but I still think they are the best. I recommend having some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers ready to go for dessert after you make these scallop apps.

Since I have been all over the place lately, geographically AND mentally, I have been having trouble with food inspiration! One of the problems is that I have been eating REALLY well. I have my best flashes of brilliance when I am starving. (Really brilliance? Your a conceited snob Dan.) My Mom kept asking what we were eating for dinner this Monday. I had no idea! We agreed on a few points. Kinda Mexican, minimal oven/stove use, summery yet cooked hot and meaty. These requirements are specific and vague at the same time. This soup suddenly came to me and I am glad cause it was really tasty. I never feel like eating soup in the august heat, but the tang of the tomatillos and chayote made this hot soup feel refreshing and irresistible despite the weather.

Foodie Fights is special this week guys.  It is the 10th anniversary battle!  For this occasion, Macheesmo and I have decided to be the judges ourselves!  So just like that dumb college kid on The Price Is Right, I need some help from the audience!  Shout out your favorite and let me know who I should vote for!  Check out the entries here.

Last week, Steph decided to have a few people over for to play a new Wii game that just came out. Have you guys played Wii Sports Resort? It is a lot of fun! My job was to make some finger foods we could snack on that would not affect our playing. I made two little apps. I was supposed to make 3, but my friend who requested the third one stood us up!

I thought the thunder was supposed to cool things down today! Guess not. Here is some more food for this heat wave. This soup was easy to make and barely required any heat. Kim and I made some BLT's to go with it. We are continuing our Tour of New England Kitchens here on TFIMB. This is the 4th kitchen in 3 posts!

Gah. It's so hot out you guys! So hot. I have been treking around Boston sweating my face off. My actual face. Everywhere I go, people want to cook with me, but the very thought of turning on the stove makes people shudder. The air conditioning isnt even making a dent in this heat, cooking is not going to help matters. Visiting my sister in Salem recently, I realized that there were a lot of fish markets around. I came up with a variation on ceviche that I thought would be a neat no cook idea for some really fresh fish. We complemented the ceviche with lobster maki rolls. Buying cooked lobster from the fish market allowed us to skip another cooking task.

Top Chef is back and that means it's time for me to choose a favorite based ONLY on facial hair! The show is on tonight, but there are only three options for me to choose from. That's right, there aren't many people with crazy facial hair this year. Surprisingly, there isn't even anyone with a fowhawk! So who is going to win this year (beardwise)? Let's check them out.

This past weekend was Kim and Rich's (Design Team) birthdays. To celebrate, we all went to the south shore in MA and had a great beach day. Afterwards, everyone headed to a friends house for a BBQ. Kim specifically requested for me to bring my mother's potato salad, and I realized I had never posted it here! In fact, I have never posted a potato salad of any kind. This is because I kinda don't like potato salads. I think that they are mostly big chunks of bland potatoes smothered in mayo. This one that my mom makes is pretty great though, the potatoes are all mashed up so the flavor runs throughout the dish.

There are only a few things I am really into besides food. If you read this blog a lot, you probably know what they are. One is music, and the other is TV. Not flip through the channels reality NCIS type TV. Quality scripted comedys, dramas, and dramedies (yes, I love that word.) I am really pumped at the moment, because one of the best shows on TV right now is making a triumphant return this weekend. I am of course talking about Mad Men. I can't wait to check up on Don, Betty, Pegs, Pete, Rodger, and Joan. What have you guys been up to? Where have you been? It's been a whole year since I have last caught up with them! I almost couldn't remember what had happened last. Luckily, Steph and I got together last night to watch the last few episodes and reacquaint ourselves with the plot line. Of course we had to make a 1960s-esque meal to keep the theme going.

Back in the US, I am still learning about the best places to buy ingredients. My friend steph and I were planning on hitting up the farmers market last Tuesday and making a random meal based on what veggies looked good. We checked out the whole market and nothing really looked that great to either of us! This was possibly cause it went on all day but we didnt go till the last hour. Now we were faced with the problem of finding the ingredients somewhere else and still figureing out what to make. We went to the grocery store and they had these amazing fresh fava beans, some really great looking broccoli rabe, and super pungent small batch feta! I guess you never know where inspiration will strike!

My return was short lived, because I am not posting a normal post today.  Today is foodie fight day, so you guys know what to do.  Head on over there and do some voting!

Wow! Thanks to everyone for all of your support and comments on my last post!  It has really been making me feel good all week. I have been having a great time relaxing and hanging out with some old friends at my parents house this week. On Saturday morning, my friend John woke up saying that he was craving lobster, to which I replied "If you're buying, I will cook them." Lobster was never really a favorite of mine, but I have been wanting to cook them for awhile. Some friends and I even went lobster diving in Bermuda a few times with no luck! Honestly, this was the best lobster I have had in my life and I think everyone agreed!