There's a few things I won't bother to make at home. Things that demand a lot of work or time but that you can buy premade versions of and it's just as good. Homemade puff pastry definitely comes to mind. (WHY is that a thing.) Somehow poutine has also fallen into this category. Maybe because there's a lovely gastropub nearby that makes a poutine so perfect we order it every time we're there. The fries are fresh and fried in duck fat(!), there's a crazy-good gravy with duck confit ... continue reading...
Potted Cheddar Curds with Dill & Garlic
Easy Fried Sweetbreads with Sticky Pomegranate Molasses
If you like fried oysters than you will like fried sweetbreads. I guarantee it. They are similar in their size and texture -- that ridiculously delicious marriage of crunchy fried floury shell and buttery soft insides. Their flavor is rich, their texture velvet, and they pair oh so well with big fun flavors like this sticky and sweet pomegranate sauce that is like a mega-tangy non-ketchupy version of general tsao's. What are sweetbreads? They're the thymus gland of a calf (or lamb), weigh ... continue reading...
Tequila & Salad Cocktail with Celery & Lime
We like to tell ourselves that we're "Juice People". You know -- the health-conscious, gym-going, dewy-eyed bunch who have so many saintly vegetables inside them at all times that their veins have taken on a glowing greenish tinge. These were the lofty dreams I envisioned when I bought the hulking contraption a year ago. Ha. If only. I'm lucky if I juice once a week...Okay every-other week. Okay like maybe even less than that. I've come to resent the beast. As a proclaimed kitchen minimalist ... continue reading...
Sweet & Spiced Tomato Jam
Tomato Jam is my jam! My desert island condiment of choice. What I reach for to add to sauces, dips, pastas, sandwiches. Cheese board goes without saying. It lives to be slathered on toasty grilled bread -- with mozzarella or creamy feta, bedecked with fresh basil, drizzled with peppery olive oil. Wherever tomatoes belong, tomato jam also fits. We are all truly obsessed -- rightfully so -- with tomatoes. They define summer in the most magical of ways with their plump fleshy bodies ... continue reading...
Pickled Grapes with Balsamic & Herbs
Pickled grapes say what now? I know -- sounds weird. Sounds strange. Sounds like they shouldn't exist, and definitely shouldn't be delicious. BUT. THEY. ARE. I've pickled a lot of things in my day. Hibiscus pickled eggs, cumin-pickled carrots, bourbon and peach pickle. I love them all. These grapes have now been added to the community of curious pickles. Not unlike adult-y healthy fruit gushers in terms of their sweet and sour flavor, they are THE perfect addition to a snazzy cheese ... continue reading...
Easy Sesame Flatbread with Tograshi Compound Butter
Sometimes we just need us some fried bread. Especially when it's sesame flatbread. Stuffed with toasty seeds and chives, housed in flaky layers, with an outer crust that shatters and melts in your mouth. Partnered in crime with a compound butter so jacked up on umami it would fail a steroid test or whatever you call it. (Tograshi btw is a fantastical fairy dust with chiles, seaweed and citrus and you will find yourself sprinkling it on your eggs and toast and everything else.) Flatbreads are ... continue reading...
Mango Kombucha Granita with Cardamom & Rum
For almost two years now I have been the proud mother of a SCOBY child. The acronym stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria & Yeast and it's the lil bobbing jellyfish that turns tea into kombucha with the powers of a squishy magic genie. If you're interested in growing your own SCOBY and making kombucha at home, this article from the Kitchn is quite useful. The best thing about homemade kombucha (besides how ridiculously cheap it is opposed to store-bought) is the endless combinations ... continue reading...
Easy Beer-Braised Lengua Tacos (Beef Tongue)
There is nothing to be afraid of. If you like short ribs, steak, brisket -- ANYTHING that was once attached to a four-legged beastie that mooed -- then you will like lengua, or beef tongue. It's just another muscle, another piece of meat. Perhaps so often overlooked because it's unusual and tangibly looks like an anatomical animal part -- unlike the neatly packaged and labeled steaks that we are so familiar with. Just because it is different does not mean it's not good. It was just a ... continue reading...
Lavender & Lillet Fizz
1% of the 12 people that read this will understand the reference but I laaahhhvv Miss Fisher. SO MUCH. An Australian series set in the 1920's that centers around a fearless wild lady detective. She runs around Melbourne in fancy outfits waving a pistol and solving crimes and it's absolutely as perfect as it sounds. Just...Just go watch it. And make yourself this snazzy flapper inspired summertime drink: a Lavender Lillet Fizz. Lillet (pronounced "lee-LAY") is an aperitif wine from ... continue reading...
Chicken & Rabbit Pastilla
Move over chicken pot pie. I still love you but your super hot and exotic Moroccan counterpart Pastilla just showed up and I need to introduce it to all my friends. This is the dinner party showstopper to end them all. Layers and layers (and layers) of buttery phyllo dough snuggle up and encase a savory filling that is oh so full of goodness. Cinnamon, garlic, red wine and cardamom mingle with a mix of rabbit and chicken until they are all in love with each other. And then it's all doused ... continue reading...
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