Well, I jinxed myself. I was thinking last Sunday that I had gone through this whole winter without having been sick once. No flu. No cold. No sniffles, sneezing, coughing, or runny nose. I was feeling glorious… until Tuesday evening when my throat felt raw, the sneezing began, and that was the beginning of the end. But this unfortunate malady makes this week’s Friday cocktail all the more relevant. One tinted with the fond memories of childhood. Yes, I said it. We were given hot toddies as children when we were sick. So…
Today I had planned to make a Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup (based on the recipe available on the America’s Test Kitchen website). Well, sizing recipes down can be challenging and I hit one today. I ended up with what was more like a pilaf then a soup. So I figured if I have pilaf I better make something to go with it. I had a flatiron steak in the refrigerator I was planning on cooking sous vide with a healthy number of spices, so I made it a double experiment day. And guess…
Winter is still gripping the Pacific Northwest and this means perfect weather for using the oven for a lengthy roast like a beef roast. I am sure many of us remember growing up with the weekly beef roast dinner. Perhaps is was a beef chuck roast cooked in a liquid paired with potatoes and a green salad. It sounds very boring compared to the meals we enjoy now, but there is beauty in this simplicity. But let’s face it… the typical beef roast is way too much for one person. And given that…
Today I made something new. Something I found online that piqued my curiosity. Something based on a friend’s request for dishes with lentils. This recipe is all about happy coincidences. Recently, I received an update from Suzy’s The Mediterranean Dish blog which included her Koshari recipe. I was very intrigued by her description of this Egyptian street food dish and wanted to try it. I had the added incentive of helping my friend out with his request for dishes with lentils. So I dove in. Well, I will not lie, this dish…
Tonight’s cocktail is a variation of Jessica Torres‘ Twist of Fate at the blog OneMartini – a wonderful cocktail pairing blood orange and rye. My tweak was to start with a basic Manhattan (rye and sweet vermouth) and substitute some of the vermouth with Aperol and blood orange juice. The result is a dusky hued drink with spicy, sweet, citrus, and herbal flavors with a most pleasing fragrance. So let’s take advantage of blood orange season and make a cocktail or two with this delicious fruit. I think you will be…
Here we are, one month after good old Punxsutawney Phil poked his head out of his burrow and saw his shadow. And as superstition/tradition would have it, we have ‘enjoyed’ four more weeks of winter with two more to go. So I decided why not ‘enjoy’ a soup made with a forgotten and ignored root vegetable – the parsnip. I recently cooked with parsnips in the Bableves Kolbasszal recipe and I thought, why not make some other dishes with this reliable and flavorful vegetable. First up, a roasted parsnip soup. To…
Tonight I went old school… very old school. This throwback meal is from my childhood and I will readily admit it was not a favorite – until I was able to enjoy mine with rice instead of toast (shingles). I never was a fan of ‘wet bread’ (and still am not) so the proverbial S.O.S. was a stomach churner until rice entered the picture. Once I paired it with rice… well, the game changed and this dish became one I make on a moment’s notice when I can…