Archives 'Party Time
They do say not to drink on an empty stomach!
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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 11 March |
Now that you have my Italian version of huevos, here’s a recipe that’s mas o menos traditional. You can throw this together with leftovers from last night’s fish taco party with hardly any prep at all. Feel free to sub V8 for tomato sauce and add some cilantro or guac on there too! For the bean lovers, refried pintos might be another delicious side and are generally spread over the tortillas before topping with the eggs and sauce. This hearty breakfast is definitely cause to rise and shine!
| 9 March |
To all of the ladies who brunch, we offer up a collection of recipes sure to make your next soiree a hit–easy yet delicious, simple yet elegant, so you can spend time on the details that matter, such as picking out your perfect hostess dress. Enjoy!
| 9 March |
I found these recipes in the December issue Fine Cooking and decided to try them out at a recent brunch (note: vegetarian bacon can easily be substituted for vegetarians like myself.) For those who have never had baked eggs, I highly encourage you to try them. You’ll find yourself surprised and delighted at their light fluffiness. As for the bacon—two words: maple, bacon. Need I say more?
- Plate perfect and brunch ready!
| 8 March |
Ok, so I forgot to post these last year and then again last week, so here you have it before another year flies by:
Awards show round 2 was nearly overruled by a second and most unfortunate basketball game against our biggest rival Duke. Let’s be honest – nobody really likes Duke unless A – they went there or B – they went to Army. And in the latter of the two cases, I’m pretty sure that had our honorable soldiers had the opportunity to share a state with the Dookies for four years they would feel differently. Alas, we were able to do both and thanks to DVR were caught up with the Oscar’s by 11 aka bedtime…
| 3 March |
I actually made these while I was experimenting for the Master Chef casting call. They seemed a unique combination of sauces and flavors and they are! Alas, my taste test panel concluded that they are better warm so they didn’t make the cut. Speaking of making the cut, I’m pretty sure I, like the mushrooms, did not make the cut. While I haven’t gotten the “we didn’t choose you for Master Chef, but come try out for our new Biggest Loser Bride” rejection email I also haven’t received any positive feedback or inquiries into the cavernous depths of my past which is rumored to be part of the background check. Wasn’t a 12 page application enough?!
I’m going to chalk it up to just not meant to be, this year anyway. I at least got to try some good recipes and meet some interesting people! With the Academy Awards coming up this weekend, this recipe would make a great pre-show nibble and it’s just as fancy as all the glowing movie stars that will be in attendance. We don’t all end up on the big (or small) screen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy those who do. Life outside of the spotlight can be just as fabulous and that’s just how I intend mine to be!
| 18 February |
Now that the contest is over, I can finally post this delicious losing recipe for those of you that, like me, feel it’s really a winner. Every so often Katy and I like to try our hand at various contests. Thus far we’ve won a Maggiano’s gift card, martini glass set, and free ice cream from our endeavors. Woo hoo! Yes, it would have been nice to win a trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Festival, but in the end we don’t do it for the prize. Motivation is a funny thing. Sometimes it seems like I have it in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons, but I suppose every so often it really pulls through. Take this pizza, for example. Why was I so insistent upon concocting the perfect combination of ingredients, scouring multiple grocery stores, and gathering friends to chow it down? The process, from concept to cookery, took over a month! I don’t have any strong ties to PAMA, odds are we wouldn’t win, and it’s not like any of my guests had their hearts set on a pomegranate pizza, a strange sounding duo from the start. Were I to direct all that motivation towards cleaning my apartment, work, or even working out – oh the places I’d go! Alas, I am motivated to fill bellies and tell the tales of breakfasts, brunches, and lunches past.
It was a especially cold fall Friday night. The day was short with the extra hour of morning light when us lucky ones are still fast asleep. After battling the Atlanta traffic and my less than stellar sense of direction in my car filled with fennel, flatbread, and cheese, I made it to Vinings Village for a glass of wine with a friend and her visiting Mother. After lingering a little too long I jumped back in my car planning and plotting my To Do list all the while…………..
| 11 February |
Here is my final recipe suggestion for all you love birds out there. This recipe is a big undertaking, however, so if you’ve waited this long to make plans, you might have waited too long to mentally prepare for the challenge that is the Big Night Timpano! If you’re still reading, however, or if your boo bought one of those scalped reservations on the web…I bid you well and recommend you don one of those new skirts with the elastic waistbands that seem to have come back into style at JUST the right time.
I first discovered this recipe in a dark movie theatre at the Aspen Film Festival. In Stanley Tucci’s 1996 movie Big Night, the chef Primo slaves away at this towering pasta pie, among countles other dishes, in attempt to save his and his brother Secondo’s dying restaurant. While the guest of honor, charged with brining celebrity buzz to the small unknown trattoria, never shows, the night is anything but a loss. Actually, I suppose they do lose quite a bit of money, but they have a big extravagant evening filled with endless courses of food, wine, and dancing. Additionally, they learn the importance of being and being true to yourself and your talents, which may not be as loved and appreciated by others as you would expect, but are the only thing that will bring you true happiness.
| 8 February |
Ok boys, you decided that a 5 pound hunk of pork, while right up your alley, is not quite delicate enough for your sweet little buttercup. Here’s something that is. This salmon will sweep your sweetheart off her feet, just like it did me years ago when it became one of my all time favorites! Don’t get jealous, food is but a fleeting fling; this one particularly quick. It’s not Love, Actually, but once that last bite is swallowed down she’ll be yours again. Forever perhaps. Just make sure you really love her or at least print the recipe on the back of her Valentine.
| 3 February |
Just when I had come to terms with the fact that I was not getting a callback, there it came! A call from an unknown number in LA mid-wine tasting. On a side note, I would like to give kudos to the Tasting Room in Sandy Springs for hosting one of the best and most informative wine tastings I’ve ever attended. Back to the phone call. Not having yet realized the importance of the mysterious number in my call log, I thoughtlessly dialed voice mail while perusing the isles of the wine shop next door with my girl friends. Stop. Drop. Squeal! They called and are wondering if I’m still interested! Duh, of course I am. Roll camera!
It all started with leftover nuts. Hazelnuts, to be exact. I have quite an assortment of nuts lingering in my pantry from Christmas just begging to live up to their full potential. Who am I to deny a lonely hazelnut their proper fate? And so I thought, hazelnuts and…..orange….and….fish! Yes it sounds like a bizarre combination, but upon my required due diligence I found that many a chef has gone there before. And so I had my main course, orange scented hazelnut encrusted halibut or err…salmon. With sides still TBD, I kept thinking until I came up with a more complimentary rendition on a braised fennel I learned in a cooking class in Italy and, last but not least, the curious potato risotto from this month’s Bon Appétit!
| 2 February |
Hey guess what – January’s over! Time to focus on chocolate, fondue, and something delicious to make for that special someone so they’ll still be yours after Valentine’s Day. What’s more romantic than a dinner in? Let me rephrase, what’s more romantic than a dinner in when you’re used to dining out? I might, for once, prefer not to slave the day away, but I’ve no doubt put in more than my fair share of kitchen duty. So what to make for that special someone who will, for this one day at least, be your culinary inspiration? Well, if you’re a lady cooking for your mister, you cannot go wrong with this pork roast. It’s juicy and tender and doesn’t require constant attention so you can focus your first course elsewhere. If you’re a mister cooking for your miss, perhaps this is a selfish choice of meat, but she’ll never question your machismo.
Since I did first whip this up back in 2009 when I was stuffed from an indulgent December, I left the meal at meat and veggies. You surely have recuperated by now and are ready for some starch. Try a mashed parsnip or simple risotto. The gym lines are finally clearing, so you should have more than enough time to give this roast the extra hours of TLC it deserves. I promise you’ll be paid back one hundred kisses over.
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