The best lunch in town is the double awesome at Mei Mei, and everyone knows it. I used to live in walking distance of their brick and mortar location and I went for lunch all the time. Now that I am a little further away, Last week when I was craving the flavors of the…
I’ve been taking Improv classes lately in an attempt and get better at public speaking / being on camera / cooking in front of people. The classes have helped for sure, but what I didn’t expect was how much I would love the improv community. The classes are so much fun, going to shows at…
Ever since the first time I went to Coppa, I have been mesmerized by Jamie Bissonnette’s cooking. Even though Toro is more well known and even has expanded to NYC, Coppa will always be my choice for favorite restaurant in Boston. I can still describe in detail each and every visit which is pretty rare for me when it comes to restaurant experiences. I remember the first time I was there I caught a glimpse of Jamie in the kitchen. At that time I didn’t know who he was, but all the servers were running over to him as he was passing out samples of what I am assuming was some delicious cured meat newly unearthed from its resting spot. As much as the meats and pastas stood out to me that night, I remember being really into the mostarda sauce that accompanied a few of my dishes. I wanted to try and make it at home, but I never really found a recipe that I thought was right.
So here we are many years later, and I have a recipe for that very same mostarda! Jamie’s cookbook came out last week and I am so excited to cook pretty much everything in it. It feels like this book was written for me and people just like me. I am very strong in the kitchen and I know what I am doing really well, but when it comes to charcuterie, I get a little lost and overwhelmed. I have always wanted to venture more into that relm, and even have on a few occasions, but when I do research, many recipes feel fussy or outdated. This book feels like now. The recipes speak to me and tell me how to do things in a very matter of fact way. They also feel casual and like I can riff off them and not be worried about messing everything up. They aren’t all these big curing projects that take months, they are approachable and doable in a much shorter amount of time!
To start with, even though the lemongrass and green curry sausages are right up my alley and looked crazy delicious, I wanted to go with the true spirit of the book and take myself a little outside of my comfort zone with a tasty rabbit and beer pate. The pictures made the dish look absolutely stunning (Nod to Ken Goodman, who also did the photos in my cookbook!) and I couldn’t wait to try it! I went out to source my rabbit and got to work.
As I mentioned earlier, My sisters and I threw a big party for my parents last weekend and it was a great success. For the main meal at the party, I did kind of a vaguely middle eastern/greek feast for everyone, the centerpiece being these marinated chicken drumsticks and pork tenderloins. The marinade might seem like a bit of work and a little pricy, but the fact is, it can transform cheaper cuts of meat into a luxurious treat fit for a king.
Bacon and brussel sprouts are a great twist on a classic carbonara. Â This yolk only recipe is super rich.
Both of my parents turn 60 this year, so my sisters and I planned a big surprise party for them. The party was this past weekend and it went better than I could have imagined! They were totally surprised and everyone seemed to have a great time. I made lots of tasty food, but the real showstopper was this crazy s’mores cake. Not only was it big and multi tiered, but I got to light it on fire at the party!
It’s officially the season for watching Football and eating tasty treats while doing it. Here in New England, the Patriots aren’t off to the best start, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some beer and good food while yelling at the TV! I recently partnered with Tabasco to create a New England game-time recipe and for my regional ingredient I was assigned Lobster. I LOVE lobster, but it’s a tough ingredient to use when you are talking about “homegating”, because football food tends to be bold, cheesy, and often fried, three things that don’t come to mind when talking lobster. After brainstorming for awhile, I came up with this awesome lobster popper recipe that felt like football food but still featured the lobster without overpowering it or losing it in the mix.
I had an ice cream at Ronnybrook Farm Dairy at Chelsea Market about a month ago that was “2 cookies and cream”. It was really clever and also really really delicious to mix chocolate chip cookies into the regular cookies and cream. Ice cream has been on the brain lately, and September is my favorite time of the year to eat ice cream, so I decided to top their flavor and double the cookie content! In addition to oreo and chocolate chip, I also mixed in peanut butter cookies, and finished it all off with a speculoos cookie spread as a swirl. This was hands down the best ice cream I have ever made! My only question is “who can top that shit, who can top that shit”?
There is always something great about making that first dish in your new kitchen. Learning the new space, finding out things that are great and not so great about it. Realizing things that you forgot to move or get at the store and making quick changes to the dish based on that. I made these bacon coconut noodles as the first dish at the place I moved into a few days ago and I am absolutely loving it. The kitchen and the noodles.
September is the time when I crave chili the most. I love a veggie packed chili, but this time of the year it is a shame to cook your veggies too long because they are so fresh and tasty! I decided to try and make this chili sort of backwards by letting the meat and spices simmer away in the crock pot all day and then adding the veggies at the last minute. The resulting dish was super tasty with a nice juxtaposition of deep slow cooked flavors and fresh light crunchy veggies.
Loaded potato flavors in these hearty cheesy spring rolls.
When I hang out with this one group of friends, we have a bit of a problem where everyone has specific diet restrictions. Someone is vegetarian, another is allergic to gluten, and the third is just generally pretty picky. We have found that one of the best dinners for us all to enjoy is a make your own summer roll party. We prepare tons of fillings, and then each person dips their rice paper into some water and rolls up their own delicious creation. Here are some photos from our most recent summer roll party!
