2010 Archives
Summer Appetizer: Smoky Chipotle Guacamole
If you’ve eaten at Barrio Tequila Bar lately (and if you haven’t, you should…), you’ll recognize this guacamole presentation, with sliced jalapeños and radishes. I copied it because I’m absolutely smitten with the extra crunch and heat of the raw vegetables – as if I needed yet another reason to love guacamole. Or anything at…
Summer Appetizer: Bite-Size Tomato Tarts on a Parmesan Crust
Here’s a new twist on an old favorite, turning this lovely 101 Cookbooks tomato tart into little tomato tart canapés. Don’t worry, I didn’t mess with that perfectly buttery, cheesy crust. Oh no. I just baked it in a flat rectangle instead of in a tart pan, then cut the still-warm crust into bite-size squares….
An Ode to Breadcrumbs
Bored with broccoli? Tired of tilapia? Sick of scrambled eggs? Add breadcrumbs! A spoonful of buttery, toasty crumbs can make the most ordinary dish sublime. Like the portabella mushroom, endive gratin, baked eggs, and fried chickpeas, above. What began as potentially bland fare – vegetables, an egg, canned beans…
Grilled Steaks with Herb Butter
May I suggest adding a pat of herb butter to your grilled steaks? The butter melts over the hot beef, of course, pooling with the steak’s juices to create an obscenely addictive sauce. It’s a classic bistro presentation, alongside pommes frites, and is so delicious that you’ll soon be adding pats to everything. Grilled fish,…
Sangriaah!
John and I love to sip sangria on a warm evening, despite the fact that it goes down like dangerously icy buttah. Beware the smooth deliciousness – there’s alcohol in that glass even if it doesn’t taste like it. John in particular is a fan of Masa’s sangrias, one sparkling, one white, and one red….
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
Suffering in this heat wave? I suggest a little cool, creamy heaven. Save the egg whites and make Schaum Torte a few days later. Ice cream and meringue, the yin and yang of desserts. You heard it here first. The sun’s hot, mosquitoes are biting, I’m sipping gin & tonics, and I’m craving ice cream—’round…
Ooh! Aah!
I cooked my brains out this weekend and loved every minute of it. See Saturday’s results – icy cold gazpacho, as well as poached eggs over potato pancakes – below. Both are new favorites, and why not? Crunchy, creamy, salty. Pretty much everything I crave. So where, you might wonder, are the pics of Sunday’s pork…
Summer Saturday Lunch: Gazpacho, and Poached Eggs Over Potato-Green Pepper Pancakes
Have I got a gazpacho recipe for you. This version is smooth and creamy (without cream), made crunchy with a garnish of minced cucumber, green pepper, tomato, and croutons. Serve it icy cold for summer in a bowl. Or cup – sip it while you fry a few potato…
Fresh Cherry Galette – Failed Yet Fabulous
I had high hopes for this quick little galette. What’s not to love about fresh cherries in a flaky, buttery crust? It looked so perfect when I slid it into the oven, plump and sweet and full of promise. But when the timer went off and I opened the…
Spaghetti Carbonara…Sort Of
As you might have noticed, I’ll eat eggs with pretty much anything. Polenta, potatoes, bread, bread crumbs, salad, tomatoes, soup, on and on. Take it from a former egg hater – eggs elevate all of these dishes from something ordinary to sublime. For pennies. For around 75 calories. So lovely. This dish is a sort-of…