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It has been one hell of a week here in Boston. Bombings set off on Monday, our noble Marathon violently marred, death and dismemberment brought home to children and other innocents, and terror injected into our Beantown lifeblood like intravenous drugs designed to heighten anxiety and stress. Last night and all of today has been all [...]
I get my inspiration from all sorts of places. Since the husbandman and I are on the cheap these days, I usually peruse the menus of Boston’s finer restaurants, looking for what they’re serving which I can replicate at home. But that’s my high-brow approach; sometimes, it’s better to be influenced by popular culture. For [...]
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a good Weeknight Wondermeal, which I characterize as having very few ingredients (less than $20 worth) and very little effort or time. Y’see, I work at Harvard with a slew of excellent undergrads, and as they go off into the real world clutching their diplomas and dreaming of [...]
There are a handful of pseudo-cliches I could start this posting with, like “you can take a girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of a girl”, and “once a redneck always a redneck,” and “roots run deep” – but I couldn’t possibly do that, could I? Instead, I’ll straight [...]
Besides being a full time college administrator and a part-time blogger, I also help teach writing intensive classes in English Literature at Harvard, and this semester we are studying Darwin’s theory of evolution (in terms of the impact On the Origin of Species had on the 19th century novel). Perhaps that fact, along with a small … Continue reading →
The reason why we omnivores like veal is because of how tender it is. Yes, the little critters are confined to a very small pen which keeps them from moving around a lot, which keeps their flesh meltingly soft by preventing the development of tougher muscles, which many people think is sad (or atrocious, depending … Continue reading →
Last week wasn’t a great one for Lolita. While Nemo buried us in two feet of snow, the tumultuous passage of a delightful kidney stone began its painful descent through my bowels, knocking me out for almost 4 days. Needless to say, I missed Valentine’s Day; it passed me by in a Percocet fueled haze. … Continue reading →
I have found myself in the uncanny position of having several blog postings in my queue, waiting to be written up to share with ya’ll. It’s testament to me being on a major roll lately. I’ve been cooking up some awesome dinners for me and the husbandman these days, each one better — one way … Continue reading →
Working in Harvard Square like I do means I get my pick of some pretty great restaurants for my daily lunch. But since I’m on a tight budget, I only make it to the fancy-schmanzy places when I’m eating on someone else’s dime. Luckily, I have generous bosses with great taste, so I get to … Continue reading →
Although it’s relatively warm here in Cambridge right now (anything above 20° F in New England in January is remarkable, and it’s been in the 40′s this week!), tonight still demanded a soothingly warm meal. I was poking around online the other day when I came across this listing of NYC’s 20 most iconic dishes … Continue reading →
Those of you wonderful people who follow my blog know I have a weakness for anything cooked in a cast-iron skillet. There is something so old-timey about cast iron, and I love how they serve today as both cooking equipment and serving platter – as they do in my house. Maybe it’s the weight of … Continue reading →
I have been obsessed with frying things ever since I read SeriousEats.com’s tutorial on Korean Fried Chicken. The technique they describe worked with chicken wings perfectly, so I wondered if I could do the same thing with other fryables. It worked very nicely with shrimp – creating something of a tempura-type crackling coating – but … Continue reading →
One of the best bits of Christmas (or the holidays, as your preference may be), is having family and friends around in leisure. I mean, nothing is open on Christmas Day, and the morning after Christmas is usually characterized by laziness and sleeping in. We don’t do breakfast often in Lolita’s house, but when we … Continue reading →
I get my inspiration for dinner in all sorts of random ways. Sometimes just a whiff of something wafting through the air will remind me of a ghost of flavors past. Sometimes a color engenders a need for the flesh of something similarly hued. But usually, I trawl food porn websites like Tastespotting or FoodGawker (neither … Continue reading →
After many helpings of leftover Thanksgiving turkey, it was high time for Lolita to feed her inner barbarian by diving into a steaming hot plate of RED MEAT. Steak, baby — that’s what I wanted. The husbandman suggested “beef tips and gravy over rice,” reminiscing as he was about similar meals made in his childhood … Continue reading →
If you are anything like me (read: made a Thanksgiving feast large enough to feed 8 lumberjacks when only feeding yourself and your No. 1), you still have LOTS of leftovers to work through. This I expect. But I don’t expect my readers to simply *hate* leftovers like I do. Let me be clear: I … Continue reading →
Even though “crab” is the first word in tonight’s plat du jour, the real star of any Benedict is EGG. If you are like me, you have only an 80% success rate cracking eggs without breaking the yolk; to whit, tonight I went through about a dozen eggs in the service of this meal – … Continue reading →
Clayton’s working tonight, so it’s all Lolita time. Although he’s a great consumer – as in he eats what I make without (much) complaining – there are dishes I prepare for myself that I don’t seem to ever make for him. I don’t know why; there’s no real reason or rhyme, frankly – it’s just … Continue reading →
Winter has officially descended upon New England, which means it’s time for soups and stews and chowders, oh my! There is nothing like filling your soul and stomach with something warm and oozy when it’s windy and wet and cold outside… especially when you know this is merely the early stages of a looooong season … Continue reading →
As much as I love it, and as often as I’ve made it, I am inconsistent when I make a traditional lasagna. It’s either too runny and wet, or the top layer of noodles is too browned, or it’s too slippery and slidey, and it falls apart when pulled out of the pan, and all … Continue reading →
There are times in this carnivorous woman’s life when she absolutely needs meat. Last night was one of those nights. If I looked back over my past posts, I’m sure I’ll see a few where I’ve opened with this sentiment before, and I’m quite sure I’ll do so again. (Check back in a month.) That doesn’t change … Continue reading →
Tonight’s dinner was mildly inspired by something Whole Foods did NOT have when I went for an early lunch the other day. It was barely 11:15am, and they were transitioning from breakfast to lunch on their hot bar; most of the soups were set up, but one tureen — the one labeled Cream of Mushroom … Continue reading →
Lobster roe is under-appreciated in our philistine American culture. Along with the greenish black tomalley, it’s what’s found inside the lobster meat – either under the carapace (tomalley) or running down the seam of the tail (roe). It is not lobster *****, as many people erroneously think – instead, it is the liver and eggs … Continue reading →
Oh my, but today was a wet, cold, gloomy, and miserable day. It wasn’t stormy or anything – no driving rain – no whipping winds — but those things at least make a rainy day exciting. Instead, it was just miserable. Not my mood, mind you, which was fine – but the grey chilly day … Continue reading →
Now that September is well underway, Clayton and I are deep into school (albeit him from the student perspective, and me from the administrator p.o.v.), the air is cooling, the leaves are rusting, and football is back on the Sunday tube. As I await the Pats/Ravens game, I reflect upon tonight’s repast: a juicy/tender pork … Continue reading →
When I get sick, I get sick with a vengeance. I mean, *everything* goes wrong at the same time. I catch the flu, develop an infection, do something to my back, can’t shake a cough, and suffer from everything short of a flesh-eating disease over the span of 2 or 3 successive weeks – and … Continue reading →
As I sit out on my deck this Sunday afternoon, I feel the coming autumn chill in the air. Clayton may be in a tank top sitting in a sliver of sun, but here in the shade I actually need a light sweater. Although I’m sad that my tan will soon fade (leaving me the … Continue reading →
This marks my second lobster recipe in a row, although I was surprised it wasn’t more, considering that it’s lobster-season and I’ve been practically swallowing them whole for a few weeks now. I could Benjamin Buford Blue you (lobster salad, lobster tacos, lobster lasagna, lobster risotto, lobster fritters, lobster cerviche, etc….), but suffice to say … Continue read
Lobster. I just can’t get enough of it. And, while it’s only $3.99 at Al’s Seafood in North Hampton, NH, I can get as much as I like! Heck – it’s cheaper than chicken breast right now. Of course, we’re talking new shell lobsters, which don’t pack as much meat as their less-freshly moulted brethren, but … Continue reading →
After a miserably hot summer, August has proven to be quite mild this year – the other day dropping to the low 60′s. Needless to say, I complained about the chill, which gave me a head cold and has laid me up with the sniffles and whines. But the cooler weather does mean I can … Continue reading →
Sometimes I fear that my tastes seem limited to meals enriched with butters and creams and cheeses and ingredients that, frankly, don’t run a very wide gamut. But then I remind myself (which I feel certain I’ve done “out loud” on several different occasions in several different posts on this here blog – IRONY!) that … Continue reading →
Those of you who follow my blog know that I am a total fish-head this time of year. If it swims in the ocean, bottom-feeds off the sea-floor, or otherwise spends its life in salt-water, I want it during the summer. Perhaps it’s because I’m a pretty poor swimmer; maybe if I eat more sea-creatures, … Continue reading →
This dinner is dedicated to some very special friends, for whom – to protect the innocent (and to avoid prosecution by FERPA) – I shall use a delightfully Victorian convention of referring to them by initials only (in no particular order – to avoid any implication of favoritism): AC, TP, KN, MS, CG, TD, CH, AL, SC, … Continue reading →
I called to check in with my mother the other day, just to see how things are kicking for her. That woman’s a wonder, I tell ya — she’s indefatigable. She’s truly enjoying her retirement, keeping busy with Sophie, my niece, and friends and family. When I called, she was putting the finishing touches on a … Continue reading →
It’s tiny fresh beet season, and I’m loving it. There is something about their unique texture, their jeweled tones, and their delicate delectability that I can’t get enough of, and I only just started eating beets a couple summers ago. My dear mother never made them, and neither did her mother before her; I don’t … Continue reading →
Just because Lolita hasn’t been posting doesn’t mean Lisa hasn’t been cooking — or, at least, feeding people — this past week. In point of fact, I’ve been responsible for almost 1000 covers in the last 8 days; in restaurant vernacular, that’s a pretty decent week. Apparently, I’m a good event planner, and after catering my first … Continue r
The vegetables from the farm are almost ready for my table, so right now I’ve been using up a lot of the canned goods I have in the pantry until the weather decides to stop vacillating between crappy and beautiful to stick with “warm enough to eat outside all the time”. I’ve also been super-busy, … Continue reading →
It’s SUMMER, baby! After a long, but relatively mild winter, a super-busy spring, a difficult month, a vexing week, and a hard hard morning for Clayton and I (those of you in the know, know to what I am alluding…), we can finally say we got our first real summer evening in Chez Fontaine. After … Continue reading →
There is this awesome moment in one of my favorite so-bad-it’s-good big-budget all-star-cast total-flop movies where LL Cool J waxes philosophic about the omelet. (Here’s a clip. In some language I really can’t identify. So it’s surreal for me to watch this, knowing it word for word without *really* understanding what words he’s saying… yet … Continue r
Weeknight Wondermeal: Roasted Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower with Breadcrumb Gremolata. Filed under: recipe
This is truly a Weeknight Wondermeal for the ages, like my Pasta con pepe e caciotta al tartufo or my Rhubarb Roasted Chicken. 4 purchased ingredients + 4 pantry items/ 1 pan @ 45 minutes = sublime perfection. Honest cooking. Simple flavors. Pure satisfaction. That, my friends, is what happiness is made of. And those … Continue reading →
My oh my. What to make for dinner? Sometimes, Lolita despairs. Sometimes she just can’t think of another thing to make, another tasty thing to eat, another new meal to satisfy her continuous cravings for something simultaneously simpatico and nuevo . She can’t even be bothered to order something, she’s so tired of being the only “feeder” … Continue reading &
I love white chicken chili. I’ve made it before on this blog, as a matter of fact — perhaps I should review that recipe to see if I’m just recreating it here. Nah – what’s wrong with eating something twice? And since I rarely use a recipe, per se, I venture to guess this one’s … Continue reading →
Sometimes, a pork chop dinner is just what a body needs. It might not be super fancy, and it certainly ain’t usually super-expensive, but it’s almost always super-fulfilling – and after a hearty bike ride and a good yoga session earlier in the day, a super-fulfilling meal was what I wanted. I’m trying to cut … Continue reading →
I’ve been in a slump. We’re in that weird New England season between winter and summer — I hear tell some call it “Spring” — where it’s too cold to eat outside, but too bright and blue outside to be happy eating inside. And I’m tired of my oven, and ready to break out Little … Continue reading →
Lolita has to admit to recent failures in the kitchen. A tough turkey breast; a failed carbonara (including a re-cook!); and although I can’t remember the specifics, I recall 3 temper tantrums in the kitchen since I last blogged, which means I screwed the pooch on something else, too. So tonight I decided to go … Continue reading →
Oh hai Spring! It’s March in New England but my windows have been open for days, and today I rode through Brighton in a tank-top, getting some much needed sun on my oh-so-pale shoulders. This false spring, as Hemingway called it, is so alluring that I fight against the voices that whisper “global warming” and … Continue reading →
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now: I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD. I guess I should specify it as “Mexican-inspired”, since I’ve never been to Mexico and can’t say with authority that any food identified as South of the Border I’ve ever eaten has been particularly authentic — but my homage still remains. … Continue reading →
My oh my but I’ve been busy — way too busy to blog lately, which I admit with regret. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been cooking, though! Quite the opposite, actually, since last week I catered a party for about 70-80 people, and I’ve been cranking out the home-cooking for the husband since … Continue reading →
This recipe is the result of several weeks of brain stewing. You know the kind — where one dreams up an idea, and then thinks about it constantly, shaping it and sculpting it, falling to sleep with it, all before finally making it so. Tea-smoking is something I’ve only done once before, and that time … Continue reading →
