Content
I have lived almost my entire life in Lexington, and yet I've somehow managed to go all these years without a visit to The Colonial Inn in Concord. Maybe that has something to do with the long-standing feud between Lexington and Concord (because they can't accept the fact that the first shot of the American Revolution was fired in Lexington), or, more likely, why would I visit an Inn in the t
A big thank you to everyone who voted for my Green Goddess Lamb Kebabs in the 2013 Lamb Pro-Am! I am happy to announce that I have been paired up with Michael Scelfo from Russell House Tavern. I can't wait to see what he does with my recipe! The Lamb Pro-Am Finals will be held at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge on May 19th. Ticket info can be found here. Please come and stuff the box with v
I spent the morning watching the interfaith service for the Boston Marathon. I think it was what we all needed to hear right about now. And so life goes on. Voting for the Lamb Pro-Am has opened, and I would be thrilled to receive your vote and move on in the contest. The top 4 of the 7 Boston bloggers will move on to work with a local chef to reinterpret their recipes. The Lamb Pro-Am Final
There's not much to be said, but here I am anyway. I am a Bostonian, born and bred, even though I have never lived within the limits of the city. Being a Bostonian is more a weirdly puritanical mindset than it is an indication of where you were born (it may have something to do with being able to speak and understand the accent, however). I have proudly called myself a Bostonian (and occasion
I like a little challenge. That is exactly why I love Kitchen Play - the site often challenges me to think creatively about a particular ingredient. So when Kitchen Play hosted a progressive party (with different bloggers taking on each course) for Lindsay Olives, I wanted to join in. Five bloggers posted delicious recipes, and readers were invited to add their own course. Now, the post w
I had such a blast cooking in the inaugural Lamb Pro-Am last year, I jumped at the chance to participate again. Last year's recipe was so personal for me, and I was very proud that I got to the finals with that dish. Because American lamb has such a wonderful taste (never that game-y flavor that most people associate with lamb), I didn't want to make anything that would cover up the actual
As I've mentioned before, I am a HUGE fan of cookie cutters. But not just any cookie cutter will do; only the weirdest and geekiest will find a happy home in my kitchen. So when PAX East (the gaming convention held in Boston that I attend every year) rolled around and I started to think up cookie ideas for the Cookie Brigade (a group that gives away cookies to PAX attendees and ta
I've lived most of my life in the Boston suburb of Lexington, so I can say firmly that it is somewhat of a culinary wasteland. There's plenty of pizza and Asian (which only recently got any traction with Formosa Taipei - but then, that's another post). And besides one of my favorite bakeries, there wasn't anything in town that I've felt deserved much attention. Until now, at least. A few months
So my lamb post from a few days ago was not just a recipe - it was also an entry into a wonderful contest sponsored by the American Lamb Board! I'm one of just 10 bloggers across the US asked to come up with a lamb recipe fit for Valentine's Day, and a year's worth of lamb (!!) is at stake for the winner. Won't you help me win some more delicious lamb? If I do, there are bound to be even more l
What, you didn't believe me when I said I like to do cheesy heart-shaped everything for Valentine's Day?! Over the weekend, trapped in the house due to the blizzard, I figured soup would be a perfect way to stay cozy. I had seen this nifty heart-shaped carrot tutorial and knew I had to incorporate it. Once you get a hang of cutting the carrots, it really doesn't take too long to make. F
According to the American Lamb Board, February is Lamb Lover's Month. When they reached out to me to create a special Valentine's Day meal for two, there was no way I could say no. I'm a fan of the typical cheesy Valentine's Day stuff - heart-shaped everything, splashed in red and pink, surrounded by little baby cupids. My Valentine's Pinterest board has more links than my Chris
I had never had a king cake until a few years ago, when my friend Ann (who went to college in New Orleans) decided that we should try making one. It was a huge success (thanks mostly to Joanne Chang's brioche recipe from her Flour cookbook), but I didn't have much to compare it to. But when Sucre Bakery asked me to try their king cake, I jumped at the chance. A real king cake, str
The Negroni has been my drink for a while now. I like the play between bitter and sweet that it offers, plus I don't know anyone else who likes it, so I don't have to worry about running out of ingredients. Traditionally, a Negroni is one part gin, one part sweet red vermouth, and one part Campari, served with an orange peel garnish. I tend to think of Campari as a summer drink (probably
Photo from Crunchtables Fried. Pickles. In. The. Freezer. I have found the most perfect frozen food, and it is fried pickles with a crispy pretzel crust! While wandering around the supermarket, I found an endcap freezer filled with Crunchtables, a new product featuring a variety of vegetables dressed in crunchy exteriors to make them more appealing. I mean, I'll eat veggies any time, b
I feel like I've tried a million crab cake recipes, and while they always end up tasty enough, they're never easy enough or healthy enough or worth the time. Just prior to New Year's Eve, though, I was thumbing through a copy of Real Simple and found a crab cake recipe that sounded like it would be worth trying. For a simple but elegant New Year's Eve dinner, I made the crab cakes and p
Since I'm always looking for new holiday cookies and since my baking list is always ridiculously long, I like to find recipes that are simple or require very little time to make. When I came across this recipe for Lumps of Coal, I was in love - not only was it a quick no-bake recipe, but I could use Peppermint Joe-Joes from Trader Joe's to make them truly Christmas-y! (And sorry for no picture,
What would Christmas be without some strangely thematic food?!? This year, I became totally enamored with these veggie tray Christmas trees on Pinterest, and I knew I'd have to make one happen. I made my mother volunteer for the veggie tray for our family gathering, and my father and I spent the morning before the party having fun with toothpicks and fresh produce. I combined a nu
When I started my new job at the library, I was informed that during our quarterly Friends of the Library book sale, there was also a cupcake sale. I couldn't possibly not participate. I'm not usually a cupcake baker (cookies are really more my thing), but I was willing to join in. And thankfully, my Pinterest obsession came in handy once again! I had pinned these adorable north p
Christmas cookies are a BIG thing for me. I bake a ridiculous number of cookies this time of year, and I usually end up bringing 10 or so different kinds to family functions. I try to keep a good balance between the classics (gingerbread), the things I know my family loves (rosemary shortbread), and experiments. I also end up making a few presents as well, like black cake for my dad (althoug
Well, I did it. I wrote 30 blog posts in November (can't say it was truly daily, since I did back-date a few). Would I do it again? I think so. Much like NaNoWriMo, NaBloPoMo's focus is just to get you writing, not to write the BEST content for your blog. And considering it's been months since I posted ANYTHING, this is better than how it was before. I don't think I really learned anything about b
A few years ago, I got REALLY into canning. I made pickles and jams and butters and processed pretty much whatever I could get my hands on. Some of the stuff I made was really good, while others were just fine (thankfully, I had no horrible disasters). A lot of it, though, just wasn't worth the effort. That left me with tons of Ball jars laying around. I mean, I use them for all sorts o
A cookbook that's a graphic novel! A graphic novel that's a cookbook! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?! I'd heard of Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in New York City, before, but I'd never given it much thought. I'd heard that chef Amanda Cohen had a cookbook out, but what chef doesn't? But then I SAW the Dirt Candy cookbook and I was in love. Part graphic novel story ab
It's hard to review a book sequel without spoiling the first book, so I don't even try. But I stayed in bed all day reading, so that should tell you how good Days of Blood and Starlight is.
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian is utterly unlike any book I've read this year. If everyone in my family hadn't already read it, they'd be getting copies for Christmas.
I can't quite remember how I heard about Corn & Co a few months ago, but from the moment that I did, I was super excited. Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks, and flavored popcorn? Even better! And then I learned that they would be opening in the Burlington Mall, not too far from my house - what more could I ask for? I've chatted with the owners a few times online since then.
Have a favorite holiday book? Here are mine!
Somehow, knitting makes sense to me all of a sudden!
I am NOT an oatmeal kind of person. In fact, it usually grosses me out with it's disgusting texture. But somehow I found myself drawn to the hot cereal aisle, and the packaging of BetterOats lured me in. And considering they were only $1.50 for 5 servings (once I tried and loved them, I went back for more, only to find them on sale for $1!), I decided I wouldn't be breaking the bank to try the
There are many things I'm thankful for this year, only one of which is the fact that people are actually reading this thing! Enjoy your food coma!
I saw this recipe floating around the interwebs over the summer, and I was automatically intrigued. Pizza crust made out of cauliflower and cheese?! Is that even possible? Well, not entirely. Calling it pizza is a real stretch. Calling it a delicious cauliflower treat - sure, let's run with that instead. I can see this being a perfect way to get kids (or *cough* reluctant adults) to ea
How beautiful are these?! My Pinterest obsession is doing me well and giving me plenty of things to blog about. I was given the Thanksgiving assignment of dessert and opted for the caramel nut bars I first made last year. Only after this decision did I find these adorable acorns and decide that I HAD to make them. Luckily, these are easy to throw together and only takes a few ingredients
I love reading retellings of fairy tales. Read about how much I loved A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan over on The Reading Mouse.
Although I don't usually review (let alone even try) a restaurant the week that it opens, I'll make an exception for the newest pizza place in Waltham, Charcoal Guido's. After stopping in with some friends last night for dinner, I am happy to say that the restaurant is a happy addition to the Moody Street restaurant scene. We started with a couple of appetizers - arancini and lamb skewe
Like I said, I'm a little obsessed with Pinterest right now. I've already done a bunch of things from my boards, but just like NaBloPoMo is getting me back into blogging, I'm joining a challenge to start doing more of the things I've pinned. Between now and the end of December, I'm committing to completing 8 (or more) pins through Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge. While I'm betting th
How have I not written about Bantam yet?! (Oh, right, it was that whole not writing for months thing.) Anyway, I'm a HUGE hard cider fan, and although I don't drink beer, I can be happy that the whole craft beer movement has given rise to more and interesting ciders. Bantam, especially, is at the top of my list for great craft ciders. Bantam, created by two wonderful women in Cambridge, i
All fast food places make salads, but not many make salads that are worth eating. Even fewer make seasonal salads that rival much finer dining establishments. b.good, somehow, manages to do just that season after season. Enter this fall's offering at b.good - the Avocado and Orange salad. I'm not usually a big fan of oranges in my salad, but the other ingredients (including avocado, pis
We can agree that usually the book is better than the movie. But what if it's about even? That's how I felt about The Perks of Being a Wallflower - read about it on The Reading Mouse.
I made this embroidery for my mother over the summer. Check it out at Making Islands.
Cake? Meh. Pie? Tasty, but unnecessary. Cookies? Lifeblood. As evidenced by the multitude of cookie recipes on this site, I LOVE baking cookies of all kinds. Although I never find roll-out cookies the tastiest of the clan, I love what they're capable of in terms of decoration. I have bags of cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes, but my favorite are always the geeky cookie cutters.
Today was one of those days when I don't eat enough early enough, and by the time I actually get around to eating, I'm so hungry that I'll eat whatever's in sight, good or bad. I argued with myself for pretty much the entire drive home from work about stopping for take-out. I managed to make it home without picking up something, but I was SO hungry by then that I couldn't eve
Do you want to know about the most epic graphic novel ever, which just happens to start with the question chocolate or vanilla? Then read about Meanwhile by Jason Shiga over at The Reading Mouse.
I have recently cut all soda out of my life, and while I'm not missing the actual soda, I am missing the bubbles. And although I've been a big fan of seltzer for a while, I've really fallen back on it as of late. Polar Seltzer is by far my favorite seltzer, aided by the fact that they're local and they come up with awesome seasonal flavors. During this past summer, I guzzled their ging
I have been wanting to visit Voltage Coffee in Kendall Square since they opened. I simply can't say no to a well-made cup of coffee, and everything I've heard about Voltage told me that they make one damn good cup of coffee. So finally, finding myself near Kendall on a rainy morning, I finally stopped in for a leisurely breakfast and some time to read. The space was clean and brig
When Pinterest first popped up, I jumped on the bandwagon like everyone else. I enjoyed it for a while, but I wasn't using it in a way that I found helpful. I deleted my account and never looked back. Until, of course, the week before Halloween this year. I was informed that a friend who is planning her wedding had joined, and all of her bridesmaids were adding to her wedding board. I rej
What's more American than apple pie? For me, it's cherry pie :) Happy election day, everyone!
You've been to Bon Chon, right? No?? You've at least heard about the crazy-addictive fried chicken there, right? I HATE chicken wings, but I will happily eat them at Bon Chon. They are crispy and moist and delicious and everything fried chicken should be. But my favorite thing at Bon Chon is not the wings or the drumsticks, but the chicken strips. I know that people are pretty firmly divide
Do you rage read? I rage read, and I don't fully know why.
As promised, I'm writing on my other blogs as well, but I'll be cross-posting them here to keep all NaBloPoMo posts in one place. Wanna know about the muppet I made with my friends? Check out my post on Making Islands.
This post is far overdue, but again, thanks to NaBloPoMo, I have a reason to sit down and finally write this post! Just like last year, the Boston and Austin food bloggers staged a food swap, pairing up folks from each city. I sent Sarah from Land of Abe a box full of my favorite goodies (although after I packed it, I thought of twice as many things I had wanted to include). For full de
It's not March anymore, is it. I can give excuse after excuse why this blog hasn't been updated in months, but let's just chalk it up to procrastination and move on, shall we? In an effort to get back on the blogging bandwagon, I am joining NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Since I have two other (equally neglected) blogs as well, I will be writing on one each day, but will be po
