Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake (Secret Recipe Club)

It's May's Reveal Day for Secret Recipe Club and we've once again attempted to stray out of our comfort zone and bake something. A cake, no less. Neither of us can remember ever baking a cake together, and most of our combined experiences with making cakes have involved Betty Crocker. That said, now that things are starting to grow in the garden again, we've also been wanting to cook

On Judging the New England Regional Chili Cook Off

Last weekend, A Couple in the Kitchen got a first-hand glimpse into the culinary underbelly of the competitive chili world when we were offered the opportunity to be judges at the New England Regional Chili Cook Off. The setting was a field in Somers, Connecticut, and it was the perfect 70-degree sunny spring day. The NERCC is a fund-raiser for the Somer

Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert

For her birthday (and Valentine's Day, and perhaps, their anniversary), Chris gifted Amy with VIP tickets to see "Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert." A fitting date night for a couple of foodies, indeed, as the package included VIP laminates, fifth-row seats, an after-show reception including hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and a meet-and-greet with photo

A Little Taste of Our Exciting Weekend Ahead!

OMG we can't even take it. We have the Best. Weekend. Ever. coming up. After Amy survives Connecticut State Latin Day on Friday, we have VIP tickets to "Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain" (either of whom Amy would leave Chris for...). Just kidding. No, really.  So what is so VIP about it? Let's see...first we pick up our special access passes, then we ha

Asian Lettuce Wraps - April Foodie Penpals

Check out the great items our April Foodie Penpal Molly K. sent us -- all the (non-perishable) makings for Asian Lettuce Wraps, with tips and instructions on how to make them. It was so very thoughtful, and it made for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner for the two of us during a very hectic work week. We decided to make the wraps using ground pork along with the w

Happy Birthday, Amy!

Since last year was a big one (4-0, oh no!), this year we honored Amy's birthday with a little less fanfare. We had 15 pounds of live crawfish delivered up from Louisiana and had a crawfish boil for two Saturday afternoon. While we observed another year's passing with a feast reminiscent of the Big Easy, BFF Karen (who gets to live there) toasted Amy's birthday with a piece of lemon blueberry ma

Rooftop 120, Glastonbury, CT

Winter Greens Salad Thanks to a good deal from Living Social, we finally got the chance to check out Rooftop 120 in Glastonbury, CT for dinner. It turns out the hype is pretty well deserved, at least as far as the food goes, and for us, it's usually all about the food. It's a gorgeous space, with a dining room area as well as a (rather noisy) bar area which also has tables for dining. &

You Can Fondue, Too!

A few weeks ago, Amy had a girls' night out at The Melting Pot in swanky Darien, CT. Since then, she has taken on a slight obsession with fondue, vowing to re-create the restaurant's traditional Swiss fondue recipe over and over until she gets it just right. This is the tale of the first try. Inspired by that night at T.M.P. as well as the advice of Meg

OXO Omelets

For the past few weekends, Amy has been an omelet-making machine. People may not know this about her, but as a teenager, she waited tables and cooked at a breakfast joint in her hometown, so she's pretty good at making eggs of all kinds. And what's better, for breakfast, brunch, or dinner, than a light, fluffy omelet filled with all kinds of goodies? Not much, in our opinion!

Italian Lemon Shrimp (Secret Recipe Club)

It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day again! And we haven't posted anything since April 9th! Sorry about the unannounced hiatus, by the way. We have lots to catch up on, but first, you really need to check out the blog assigned to us this month for SRC - White Lights on Wednesday - where author Julie shares DIY projects, giveaways, cooking challenges, and PLENTY of fan

Yellow Curry Shrimp, and Musings on the Weather in New England

We know that sometimes it seems we make a big deal of the so-called "changing of the seasons." Our readers in, say, Florida or, perhaps, California, may wonder why we make such a big to-do about our "crocus forests" or the fact that it has finally, on April 8th, reached 70 degrees. We suppose it has to do with the wide range of weather that we experience in New England on any given yea

Spring Vegetable Farfalle for Meatless Monday

It is officially spring in Connecticut. It's 70 degrees out, the sun is high in the sky even at 5:00 p.m., and we have mini-forests of crocus all along our driveway. Oh look! Our spring onions and chives are coming in! At last, at last, it's spring at last! And it's Monday, so what better meal to make for this beautiful spring day than something for Meatless Monday? Th

We Do Fondue (Ladies' Night at The Melting Pot, Darien, CT)

Amy writes: Do you fondue? We do! Even less often used than the waffle iron, the fondue set Chris and I (registered for and) received as a wedding gift sits on a shelf in the basement. But that is all about to change! For after a night with girlfriends J, G and L, I am tempted to cut up every food I come across into cubes and dip it all in cheese, broth or chocolate. Yes, these

White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup

Amy's mom had us over for Easter and served one of the best hams the family's ever had. With a gorgeous fat cap, it was moist, tender and full of flavor. But that side of the family is pretty small, and with one picky first grader and her super-picky mom, we had plenty of leftovers. While the first thing that comes to mind for most New Englanders is the traditional split-pea soup, Am

March Foodie Penpals

We're not joking! We are revealing our March Foodie Penpals on April 1st, to give us the Easter holiday off and to post on a weekday, per request from our organizer Lindsay. Lindsay does an amazing job with Foodie Penpals and for that, we owe her our gratitude. Thanks, Lindsay!!!  This month we received a box of goodies from Natalie F. that had Amy's name all over it! Nut

Candy Popcorn for Easter (Taste and Create)

This month we were invited to join Taste and Create, a group of food bloggers who are partnered up to cook recipes from each other's blogs. We were partnered up with No Reason Needed. If you are looking for a great variety of interesting recipes, you should definitely check it out - you can see all of them listed on the bottom right of the homepage. At first we were going to bake - perha

Is Spring Springing at Last?

Portuguese Wine Dinner at O'Porto, Hartford

Last week we planned a special-but-for-no-particular-reason date night by making a reservation for O'Porto's Portuguese wine dinner. For a very reasonable $70, inclusive of tax and gratuity, we enjoyed an espumante toast followed by a six-course dinner with wine pairings. The wine maker, a certain Joao Silva E Sousa, was there and he explained the various wines and visited each table.

Weekday Wordless: Joanne's French Onion Soup

Meyer Lemon Bars (Secret Recipe Club)

It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day once again and we were assigned Life's Simple Pleasures, a beautiful blog that is completely overflowing with recipes for bars, breads, cakes, cookies, pies, tarts, and snacks, as well as a few savory dishes. We scrolled our way down the recipe list trying hard to decide what to make. It wasn't easy! Should we try to make challah bread? How about a

Guinness Glazed Chicken Wings for St. Patrick's Day

We are heading out to our neighbors' house for our annual St. Patty's Day corned beef and cabbage dinner. Our part of dinner consists of the appetizer and the dessert, so we have today's post as well as tomorrow's post all set and ready to go. Read on! Today, we bring you the appetizer: Guinness Glazed Chicken Wings. These little lovelies get their flavor fro

Today Was a Good Day for ACK

Today was a good day for A Couple in the Kitchen (aka ACK) and we wanted to share it with all of you. First, we received a very nice comment from Lillian of My Recipe Journey nominating us for the Liebster Award. Lillian has a post about the award on her website that you can check out. We also did a little research ourselves and found out that the Liebster Award has been circulating for a

Wordless Weekender: Daffy Duck Appetizer, Sakura Garden, South Windsor CT

Meyer Lemon Curd

Amy writes: So a couple of weeks ago we took a baking class called Baking for English Tea, and one of the recipes we learned to make was lemon curd. Then Chris went away for the weekend, off to a theoretical physics conference in Santa Barbara, California. Yeah, I don't really know what that is, either.  Anyway... I was feeling a little bo

Cooking Class: Baking for English Tea

A couple of weekends ago, we took another baking class at Manchester Community College (our local community college, well-known for its culinary program). This one was with the same instructor (Chris French) as the pizza and focaccia class. Obviously we were so pleased with the first class, we had to sign up for another, and obviously, our baking skills could use some work.

Seared Scallops with Blood Orange Gastrique (a stream of consciousness "recipe")

Are those blood oranges in your grocery store? They have been carrying a wider range of products lately. Ooh, what could you do with them? Doesn't matter. They're here. Buy a few and figure it out tomorrow. A couple of days have passed. Those blood oranges are just sitting there taunting you. But they sure are beautiful. They look like they're blushing. They're just embarrassed

Foodie Pen Pals February Edition

It's that time again. The end of another month and the day to tell you all about Foodie Pen Pals! Foodie Pen Pals is the brainchild of Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean, and if you go here, you can read all about it. The basics are that each participant is assigned a pen pal to send a fun foodie box to (maximum cost $15), and then receives a fun foodie box from a different part

Pork and Chipotle Pozole

We are so done with winter, with the snow and sleet and rain and the bitter cold that chills you through and through. But winter doesn't seem to be done with us. Craving warmth, we made this delicious one-pot stew that heated us right up (a little too much heat, actually, but we'll get to that). It's called pozole, and, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, it's a traditional Mexican d

We Got Oinked!

Special thanks today to Jorie over at Fat Pig in the Market who oinked us in today's post!  If you love food blogs, you have to check this one out. Wicked good stuff.

Potato, Leek and Celeriac Gratin

Ah, gratin. You demon of the side dish world. So full of cream and butter. So unapologetically decadent. So tantalizingly indulgent. We can't resist you. We call you "vegetables" but deep inside we know the ugly truth. We'd likely be better off eating a Big Mac. Still, there you are on our table, beside a rotisseried chicken. Welcome back. Be sure to visit again soon. 

Golden Cinnamon Buns (Secret Recipe Club)

As members of the Secret Recipe Club, we are assigned someone's food blog each month and we choose one of their recipes and make it our own. When we were assigned We Heart Vegan this month, we were a little nervous. Many of the vegan recipes on this beautiful blog, written by Brittany and Julie, include ingredients that frankly, we just aren't familiar with. However, when we spotted

Nemo Gras!!!

Chef C's amazing King Cake If we say so ourselves, our annual Mardi Gras Madness party has become somewhat of a legend. Last year was an excellent example of its reputation - read about it here. This year, we spent much of last week prepping for the epic-ness - buying, thawing, injecting (with secret marinade), and rubbing 6 turkeys; boiling 10 pounds of ham in cola; purchasing al

Super Bowl XLVII King Cupcakes

Super Bowl XLVII - The San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans. The football part, we're not really into. The New Orleans part, however, is another story since Amy used to live there. And this time of year, when Amy thinks of New Orleans, she thinks of King Cake. Particularly, King Cake stuffed with Creole Cream Cheese. Yummmy. And that is why, when neighbors D

Mmm(bibim)bap!!!!

It may be that you don't remember Hanson, of MMMBop fame. Without trying to insult anyone who loved that boy band from the late 90s, we would probably count them in the category of One Hit Wonders. Yet we just couldn't help ourselves in naming this post after their hit song. Corniness has its place in the world, doesn't it? Okay, all corniness aside, in case you're wondering what ex

January's Foodie Pen Pals

Here we are - the first month of the year already gone. Poof! And since it's the last day of said month, it's time for Foodie Pen Pals. Foodie Pen Pals is the brainchild of Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean, and if you go here, you can read all about it. The basics are that each participant is assigned a pen pal to send a fun foodie box to, and then receives a fun foodie box from a differen

Wordless Weekender: Toast Points with Salmon and Quail Eggs Topped with Summer Truffle

Shrimp with Cellophane Noodles (French Fridays with Dorie)

We somehow don't have the time to participate in French Fridays with Dorie as often as we would like. But this week's recipe, Shrimp with Cellophane Noodles (page 322), seemed pretty easy, and so we made it last night. Basically, it involved preparing Asian noodles (we used rice vermicelli), then cooking shrimp with onions and garlic and spices (cayenne, five spice, white pepper) in a wok, then

Chicken with Chicory

Gordon Ramsay. Some people love him. Some people hate him. Some people love to hate him. However you feel about him, you have to respect the guy. He's a successful celebrity chef and restauranteur with several Michelin stars. He's always on American television, but recently, we've been recording (from BBC) our favorite Gordon Ramsay project yet - Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Cour

Amy Tries Lean Cuisine

Amy writes: If you read our blog regularly, you know we are not much for low-fat, low-sugar, low-cal stuff. We use real butter and cream and all that yummy goodness, yes in moderation, but probably more than most people. But now we're in our 40s and the middle-aged metabolism just isn't what it used to be. While we probably won't change the way we cook at home, we can make one good-

Creamy Crab Pasta (Secret Recipe Club)

It's time for January's Secret Recipe Club! In the SRC as we all call it, we are assigned a blog from which we make a recipe and blog about it, while someone makes one of ours in turn. It's a secret until our assigned Reveal Day, which is today. This month, we were assigned the blog Mele Cotte, which is written by Chris, and which happens to already be on our blog roll. We have a lot

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bread Pudding

We created this amazing brunch concoction over Christmas break, when we had lots of time to rest, relax and enjoy time in the kitchen. Its inspiration, in fact, was a Christmas gift from Amy's bestie Karen - a piece of  "Temp-tations" cookware. Isn't it gorgeous? Not only is it non-stick, but it can go straight from the  fridge to the oven to the table. We especially love the p

Meatless Monday: White Pizza with Arugula

Tonight we used the last of the dough we made (we had frozen it) in a recent cooking class we took to make a pizza for Meatless Monday. We infused garlic and red pepper flakes into olive oil and brushed the dough with that, topped the pizza with a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and baked it in a super-hot oven. While it was cooking, we tossed arugula (we got a bagful at a local fa

Cooking Class: Pizza and Focaccia (with recipes for pizza dough and sauce)

Mid-December, the two of us took a one-day cooking class at our local community college. The class was titled "Pizza and Focaccia" and it was taught by the adjunct instructor of baking and pasty at the college, Chris French. Of course, the two of us have made pizza before, but we are ashamed to say that we usually buy the dough from our grocery store or local market and then simply grill or bake

Featured On: Simple Recipes

Simple Recipes is featuring our Sparkling Lemon and Blueberry Terrine on their blog today. If you have a sweet tooth but are trying to lighten things up after the holidays, give this berrylicious dessert a try! ?

Happy New Year! Happy Bloggaversary! We're celebrating with Brie-Stuffed French Toast!

Happy New Year! And it's our 5th Bloggaversary! Yes, we started this blog on New Year's Day 2008. Wow - tempus fugit indeed. We are winding down the season of gluttony and desperately trying to ignore that pinch around our waistlines where our pants are feeling a tad snug (thanks a lot, cookies, candy and deliciously evil homemade Chex mix!). We suppose we can ignore it for another day, si

Guest Post: Baked Chicken with Apricot Glaze, Sage and Lemon Zest

One thing 2012 seemed to be was the year everyone we knew read the  Fifty Shades trilogy. Amy and her BFF Karen read it at the same time and chatted about it on the phone, in texts, and finally, over their 40th birthday girls' weekend in Vermont, even going so far as to add a vanilla ice cream cone charm on their bestie charm bracelet! In honor of 2012, we've asked Karen to do a

Wordless Weekender: A Present from Our Nieces

The Most Amazing Italian Stuffed Peppers (thank you, ladies!)

Christmas Present(s)

Last week, we offered up some of our favorite holiday cookie and candy recipes from Christmases past. Admittedly, several of these are annual traditions, without which our Christmas Eve table and foodie gift packages to the neighbors would not be complete (especially our Buckeyes, Rosemary-Almond Butter Toffee, and Rum Balls). Of course, we did try a couple of new things we want to share with yo

Soups by Panera Bread

When Daily Buzz Food chose us to be Tastemakers for Panera Bread soups, we were quite excited. While we've been to our local Panera quite often, we haven't been in a long time and we were looking forward to see what new things they had to offer. Although we received a gift card in the mail to put toward our meal and to compensate us for our blog post, we want to note that all the opinion

The Posts of Christmases Past

You all know The Ghost of Christmas Past, the famous Dickens character from A Christmas Carol. Along those lines, here we offer you the (slightly less famous) Posts of Christmases Past - A Couple in the Kitchen's round-up of our favorite cookies and candies from past holiday seasons to inspire you while you finish up your baking and gifting. Happy holidays! Favorite Ho