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This is my entry to the contest hosted by Tuscan Fields to win a conference registration to Eat Write Retreat. I had a fabulous time the last two years and would love to attend again in the new Philadelphia location. I hope that you enjoy my post and that I am able to attend EWR13 thanks to Tuscan Fields! Connection – that is my word. Last year at Eat Write Retreat, Monica Bhide c
Last weekend I had the opportunity to join the Boston Brunchers for a delicious late brunch at The Blue Room in Cambridge. The Blue Room is one of my favorite restaurants but I have never made it to brunch there. What I love about The Blue Room is their focus on high-quality, seasonal ingredients. The structure of the menu stays the same, but the specifics are dictated by the available ingredients
My cooking routine has definitely changed since adding a new little one to the household and going back to work full-time and graduate school part-time. Now that we have a little eater, meals have to be quick to prepare and appealing to both adults and kid! Pre-baby, we rarely ate out on weeknights. I cooked 3-4 nights a week, often trying out new recipes and techniques. Sometimes dinner wasn
Eating - it's complicated! Eat what you want? Watch what you eat? Processed or unprocessed? Organic or conventional? The decisions can be overwhelming. And that's just for deciding for yourself. For parents, there is the added responsibility for making food choices for your little (and progressively bigger) ones. For my class this semester, Experiencing Food Through the Senses, we read a fascinati
This is the first post in a series about my first experience with competition barbecue. This summer I helped my brother at a barbecue competition in Indianapolis, Indiana. While it is a little overdue, I will be posting about the experience over the next few weeks. While the weather is getting cool here in the northeast, things will get a little smoky here on the blog! My brother Marc i
This semester for my Masters in Liberal Arts, Gastronomy program at Boston University I am enrolled in a class entitled Food and the Senses. The course is an interdisciplinary look at the senses. We're looking at the senses physically - how do the senses work (like taste and smell receptors) as well as how do we perceive sensory experiences. We're also looking at food and the senses in a cultural
This week I was invited to check out the new Tempurpedic store at the Natick Mall along with my friend Renee from Eat Live Blog. The timing worked out great - an 8:00 am breakfast event is probably the best time I could think of these days. As a work outside the house-graduate student mom, free time is pretty non-existent. When I'm home, I like to be totally focused on enjoying time with my little
My mom is the the master of the "take whatever is in the fridge and make a fantastic meal". Her creations are always creative, unique, and of course delicious. She sent me this recipe last week for a flavorful summer soup that can be served hot or cold, depending on your mood. Enjoy! Last night I made asparagus soup. It was delicious hot and very refreshing as a chilled soup garnished wit
I am embarrassed that it has taken so long to write this review. As part of a Boston Brunchers event I received a complimentary copy of The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman. When I first got the book I thought it was not the book for me – it was for someone who didn’t know their way in the kitchen, couldn’t cook without a recipe or make an easy dinner. I set it aside and left it for a little wh
Last year I attended Eat Write Retreat and had a fabulous time making new connections, learning how to improve my writing and photography, and of course enjoying delicious meals. My plan for the summer was to put this new knowledge to work to improve Good Cook Doris, but a little something else distracted me from putting the plan in action. We had just found out that a new addition was going to
Let's face it, everyone wishes they had a few more hours in the day to get things accomplished. While a lot of cooking has been going on in the Good Cook Doris Kitchen not much of it has made it from the plate to the blog in the last month. I've been cooking through some new cookbooks, blogger recipes, along with old favorites. With a short window of cooking time on weeknights my cooking routine h
Staying sharp is essential to many things. Maintaining relationships, keeping the house clean, blogging, cooking, working, the list goes on. When the little guy arrived, sleep became a luxury and I found myself becoming less sharp. So as I adjusted to the new routine and new responsibilities I looked for new ways to keep myself sharp. I took out my NY Times crossword puzzle books, did the
As I look through my four years of food photos (too many to count!), I am amazed at the variety of foods I've cooked at home. From sushi and tempura to smoked meats to sinfully gooey Flour sticky buns. I"m practically clawing at the screen wishing it was scratch and sniff! I'd love to go back to Eat Write Retreat again this year to continue to expand my horizons. New photography skills, wri
This is my entry to the contest hosted by Lindsay Olives to win a conference registration to Eat Write Retreat. I had a fabulous time last year and would love to attend again. I hope that you enjoy my post and that I am able to attend EWR12 thanks to Lindsay Olives! Eating olives in Spain! I have never met an olive that I didn't like. From eating them off the tips of my
This is my entry to the contest hosted by Jarlsberg USA to win a conference registration to Eat Write Retreat. I had a fabulous time last year and would love to attend again! However with a new baby, a new kitchen, and lot of other things going on it just isn't in the budget to go this year. I hope that you enjoy my post and that I am able to attend EWR12 thanks to Jarlsberg! Last
I missed blogging regularly while I was pregnant. Between the exhaustion of the first trimester, preparations in the second, class, and just regular activities in the third I didn't get a chance to post as much as I would have liked. So excuse the off-season post today. I realized that I never delivered on my promise to share our summer vacation eats in more detail. Our first stop on vacat
With an extra day to play in the kitchen this month, why not try something new? The lovely folks over at Kitchen Play and Jarlsberg cheese asked me to be a part of a leap year celebration - "29 Ways to Leap into Jarlsberg Dip". I was introduced to Jarlsberg cheese at last year's Eat Write Retreat conference in Washington, D.C. (a fabulous event!) Jarlsberg was a sponsor and provided delicious s
Which will come first, the baby or the kitchen? That was the question I posed via twitter and facebook on Friday, December 9, 2011. At that point, the only thing cooking was the bun in the oven. Five days until the due date! The kitchen renovation was slowly approaching completion and the due date of December 14 was close. Well, the baby beat the kitchen! The little guy arrived two days earl
BU Hockey wins the 2009 National Championship Back when I was deciding where to go to college, I sent away an application to Boston University (along with about seven other schools). I wanted to go somewhere where I didn't know everyone and where I could have a new experience. When it came time to pick a place, I figured why not try something new? So I packed up a car full of stuff and headed
It was my second time going to a Boston Brunchers Brunch, so the deal I made with the wife was that to go, I had to write the post. As you can see, not only am I good at eating my wife's cooking, I am also good at procrastinating. Sometime last month, I joined my wife, Renee over at Eat.Live.Blog and about 17 others at The Cottage in Chestnut Hill for brunch. I was very interested in going be
Kitchen and bathroom renovation are in full swing! That means we have set up a temporary kitchen in our dining room. Combined with a busy schedule, cooking has been interesting. There has been a lot of toasting, microwave eggs, frozen soup from our freezer, and cereal. We have done really well with not ordering takeout during the week. By the time we get home we just want to eat, not wait for take
It's that time of year again - time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the next! Tonight brings the start of Rosh Hashana and as we move into the year 5772 there is a lot to celebrate. While things posts might not have been appearing as frequently on the blog, it's been a busy summer and fall at Good Cook Doris. After taking a few classes and then applying, I was officially accepted in
This week’s guest post is the writing debut of my brother Marc. While he has made cameos on the blog over the past three years, this marks his first official article! My brother is a fantastic cook, expert meat and fish smoker, and all around great guy. He shares the family love for food adventures and this post covers one of his annual traditions. With the Big E running in Massachusetts, I asked
My best friend Beth from Denver is back with another delicious vegetarian friendly dish. This is a great addition to the game night snack spread, or even for a quick appetizer before a dinner party. Some of our favorite Italian restaurants in St. Louis (where we grew up) offer fried zucchini sticks as an appetizer. While they are always tasty, this version is more appropriate for Healthy Snack Wed
My family loves food as much as a I do! When planning a vacation to celebrate my mom's birthday, we knew that we would do a lot of eating. We started our week-long vacation with a weekend in Burlington, Vermont. My mom, brother, the hubby and I packed up the car and headed north. After about a four hour drive we arrived at our hotel in Burlington. After a quick pit stop, our first dining de
I hope you are all having a wonderful week! The Good Cook Doris team is enjoying a food-filled vacation this week. Once we get back into our routine, we'll have some delicious posts about our treat-filled travels. In the meantime here is a look at our vacation so far. First stop: Burlington, Vermont for the Vermont Cheesemakers' Festival Next stop: Montreal for Schwartz Deli Smoked Meat
First, congrats to E1 (aka Erin) for being the winner of a full line-up of Want'ems chips and fusion dips! We pulled the winner using random.org. I'll be in touch to make sure you get your new snacks! There is something so fun about having a pizza party. It brings back memories of celebrations in elementary school, get togethers with friends on weekends, and just those lazy nights when all you
Every party has to start with appetizers! There is nothing worse than getting to a shindig and waiting and waiting and waiting for the food to be served. For a summer cookout there are a few things to consider when planning the menu. It is important to think about temperature, time, serving location, size of the main course and your guests. I knew that our appetizers would be set up inside, but wo
The smoke has cleared and I’m excited to share my latest cooking adventure! Over the last two summers I did a fair amount of smoking using my gas grill rigged up with a smoker box and water pans. This year, I tackled smoking in a dedicated smoker! Last November I was lucky enough to win a Masterbuilt electric smoker and I finally put it to work. I know it’s not a traditional smoker that you’d s
Anyone who has known me for a long time will attest to my love of samples. From the grocery store to fairs to markets to promotional giveaways; I love to try new things and ask questions. So one of the things I enjoy about blogging is the opportunity to try new things and find out about new products. And as a lifelong lover of marketing, I'm interested in how products are presented and distributed
After sitting out a few challenges, I’m excited to be back for the June Daring Cooks challenge! Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most crea
Here in Massachusetts, it's farmers market season all year long. But now that it's June you can visit wonderful markets every day of the week! From downtown to MetroWest to North and South shores there are markets to explore. Local farmers markets aren’t just for freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. Stop by any market and there will be a wide variety of vendors. There will be traditio
I just came back from a fantastic weekend in Washington DC at Eat Write Retreat filled with wonderful people, inspirational seminars, and plenty of food. This food blogger conference was full of practical, hands-on activities mixed with a good dose of expert panels and networking. I'm still trying to process all of the great information I took in, so a full recap will follow later. Not al
I love networking – in person or online. I love to meet new people, share stories, and often find out what a small world it is! Online networking and social media let you really see the connections like friends of friends, shared interests, and new opportunities. Over the past year, I’ve connected with many of my twitter and blog friends on LinkedIn. I noticed a few months ago that many of them s
Happy Healthy Snack Wednesday! When things get busy, I tend to rely on some of my favorite snacks to fuel me through the day. Today's post will feature a few of my favorite snacks and my newest go-to healthy breakfast. I hope you enjoy! Before we get to the snacking, first is the winner of last week's delicious giveaway from Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom. Congratulations to MaryBeth, who said "
Healthy Snack Wednesday is back! I had class on Wednesday nights this semester and that made it difficult to post a new healthy snack idea each week. I still had plenty of snacks, just no time to share them with you! Now that class is done for the semester, I’m excited to bring back Healthy Snack Wednesday (HSW)! For the return to HSW, I have a delicious new treat to share (plus a giveaway!). Take
For our second night Passover dinner, we enjoyed dinner with the hubby's sister, her husband, and our three nephews. I cooked up a mix of old and new recipes for us to enjoy. Everything we had for dinner is great for Passover, but would be wonderful any time of the year! I love to make roasted turkey breast. It is easy and it lends itself well to being creative with flavorings. Using some of th
