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It was a sunny, beautiful Saturday about a month ago as my friend Jessica and I set up for Women’s Brew Day. Tents were already pitched outside of Southern Brewing in Seminole Heights… Read More →
Green, white, and purple. All of them stood there, wrapped in bunches and looking perky now that they’re in season. But which asparagus to choose? Green is the usual, and I’d just read… Read More →
Sunday called for a quick, light lunch. The breeze outside reminded me that it is spring and not yet summer, and so these pancakes with peas and spring onions (the onion of many… Read More →
Fennel, you’ve grown on me. The girl who avoided anything anise-flavored and with great disappointment tasted her way through several chocolates in Vienna before realizing that, yes, they’re nearly all filled with marzipan;… Read More →
The word ‘fat’ can be scary to people. ‘Duck fat’ may not be much better. But let’s try and repress those I can’t believe it’s not butter! years (because now I totally believe)… Read More →
I have to be careful what I email Danny. Sometimes I bookmark recipes I find online or I star them on Google Reader (not for much longer), but I email a lot of… Read More →
A light lace of spiderwebs hugged the rail, and yet, my balcony welcomed me back yesterday. I took a seat with a couple of cookbooks and a beer for company. It was breezy,… Read More →
Meet our pancake of the moment, making Saturdays better for a couple weeks now. They look a little different from what we’re used to. Buckwheat flour stains the edges purple and blue around… Read More →
Perhaps my favorite thing about this gianduja— besides it being a rustic, homemade Nutella — is discovering it hardens when drizzled over ice cream, just like Magic Shell. It is absolutely perfect over… Read More →
Most days, my high school art teacher would pull up a stool next to the slide projector, flip off the lights, and show us the world through art. Byzantine, Baroque, Post-expressionism – a… Read More →
On Christmas Day, I woke up and drove away from my parents’ house. We’d celebrated nochebuena the night before at home and spent the weekend together on our first family cruise. On Tuesday… Read More →
Do you have an Italian grandmother? Neither do I. My abuelita is Nicaraguan, and she makes fantastic arroz aguado and sopa de frijoles. Oh my goodness, the sopa de frijoles. I’ll tell you… Read More →
First, someone leads you in. There’s a clean table for you with a tealight candle glowing in the center. Drinks are ordered. An appetizer, or two if you’re hungry, comes next. Maybe the waiter snaps a… Read More →
Here’s another recipe from a cookbook we’ve been flipping through. It gave us the Adobo-Smothered Chicken Wings, and it’s called Salt Sugar Smoke: How to Preserve Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, and Fish by Diana Henry.… Read More →
Something happens when we’re apart. Danny goes out of town for a few days and… My appetite takes a dive, and the kitchen takes a break. I don’t remember what I had Wednesday… Read More →
It’s the weekend! Do you have any plans? I’ve got a little roadtrip this weekend. A surprise party tonight. Movie date with my sisters. And I need to paint my nails really quick… Read More →
This is probably the first thing we should’ve learned how to do. Everyone knows how to roast a basic chicken, right? Or they should. Now we do, and it’s one of the best… Read More →
We figured out what to do with the rest of that bottle of Campari. Forget the Negronis. We’re drinking Boulevardiers. Negronis didn’t go over too well with us. Danny kinda liked it it,… Read More →
The second best thing about this recipe is that every ingredient needed was already in my kitchen. And it was so quick and simple to make that I pulled it together one night… Read More →
The top left burner on our stove top has given up. It simply won’t heat up. The bottom right one stopped functioning some time ago, then it was fixed, but it was never… Read More →
For pretty much any food, you can add either cheese or chocolate. Think about it. Pasta. Toast. Muffins. Salad usually takes cheese. Ice cream usually gets chocolate. But what if chocolate and cheese… Read More →
For months, I’ve craved a routine. A set schedule. A possibility for an impromptu night out without asking for the time off. To know that I can make plans a month from now… Read More →
I was working late, answering inane questions from needy customers (including some who have never heard please, thank you, or excuse me) and staring at the clock. Time moved, just barely. With just… Read More →
Rum has never tasted better than in a Dark and Stormy. It’s a drink that reminds me of summer, Gasparilla, and generally makes me happy. It takes maybe a minute to put together.… Read More →
Our winter came in a series of two-day cold fronts, and it’s hard to tell if the spurts of cool air are over just yet. This weekend we turned on the heat for the… Read More →
Chicago was good to us. It rained and it snowed, but it never dipped too far below 30 degrees. We ate very well, and the people were so friendly. It’s the Midwest, yeah,… Read More →
I hope you all had a sweet day yesterday. We had a very good one over here. Those flowers are keeping me company on this gloomy morning. We’re looking forward… Read More →
The tall boots came off in exchange for flats. We shed a layer or two. The plane jerked around a bit until finally (finally!) the wheels hit the ground. Chicago was as far… Read More →
This apartment kitchen of ours is small. Bigger than our first, for sure, but space is still limited. We have to be smart about how we cook. So we clean as we go.… Read More →
Places mi amor and I have been together: Portland, Willamette Valley, San Francisco, Russian River Valley and around Sonoma, Iowa City, Miami. And now, we’re headed to Chicago. Danny has been there several… Read More →
In my vegetarian days, I ate a lot of mushrooms. Big portabella, crimini, shiitake, and oyster. They were hearty, almost meaty some of them, and absorbed so much flavor. But habits and diets… Read More →
I paced the aisle more than once, on more than one visit, debating whether I should get it. Buying just a little bit to try was not an option. There… Read More →
Yeast isn’t sexy. I get that. But it will work to give you a better batter. Yeast makes bread happen. It improves cinnamon rolls and at times, cake. This time, yeast is here… Read More →
I’m here to report that after more than two years together, Danny and I are still learning new things about each other. Thankfully. He had the best laugh of his week yesterday in,… Read More →
Just a simple breakfast muffin today because I’m grateful this morning and should be more conscious of my good fortune to wake up every day. To be here. The saying may be trite,… Read More →
How many blood oranges does a girl have to squeeze to get 1 1/2 cups of juice? Nine. I won’t forget it because I bought eight the day I’d braise this pork shoulder… Read More →
Happy Friday! My sisters are visiting this weekend, and I can’t wait for them to arrive. A cold front came in yesterday, which will probably make it feel like they’re even farther… Read More →
We eat roasted beets all the time around here, but it was nice to change it up with a more sophisticated vinaigrette than the usual olive oil-balsamic combo. The roasted shallots were delicious,… Read More →
There is cooking inspiration all over our house right now. Our cookbook collection has grown a lot this past year, and already some more in the first weeks of this year. Cookbooks live by the… Read More →
This blog is a year old today. A cake would’ve been appropriate for the occasion, but I’ve got something better. My first cookbook! My best friend surprised me this Christmas with one of… Read More →
My best friend’s dad excitedly yells “coincidence theory!” when it happens. Others know it as serendipity. It’s the little things that connect to something else. These moments strung together like events in a… Read More →
It’s the second week of January, and a lot of us are still in the holiday comedown. New Year’s Eve comes around and suddenly you’re waking up at noon on the first day… Read More →
We did our part. We helped the monks. The Westvleteren 12 — known as the best beer in the world — was available in Tampa Bay for just a few hours on December 12, but we… Read More →
I know I’m not alone in my love of fresh starts. A new notebook with clean, crisp pages. A new haircut (with bangs, in my case). A new daily planner. A new year.… Read More →
Happy New Year’s Eve! This part sneaks up so quickly after Christmas. I hope you treated yourself to a great last breakfast of 2012, and exciting NYE plans await you. Don’t forget… Read More →
When I was younger, my madrina would ask my sister and I what we wanted her Santa to bring us. I always liked that idea, that she had her own Santa on… Read More →
Did you enjoy your last dinner party? Did you linger over dessert and laugh at inappropriate jokes with friends? I hope so. The New York Times thinks it may be your last one… Read More →
It was my idea. Let’s make that bread. We spent barely a day in San Francisco before and after a wedding in Sonoma, but we made time to visit Tartine. Twice. And then… Read More →
Today’s post comes to you from Danny, my soup hero. There’s something incredibly attractive about a guy who can and does cook for you, and I don’t think I’m alone in thinking so.… Read More →
Happy Friday! It’ll be another busy weekend over here, but we’ll try and get some cooking done. For now, it’s this week’s Five Things. See you next week! (1) Who… Read More →
