My return to blogging has drawn me back down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest. And speaking of platforms that encourage hours of mindless scrolling, I must tell you: You haven’t lived until you’ve seen all 36,264 #grazingtable posts on Instagram. Srrrrsllly tho. Anyway, the point is, it’s been a long and intense search for inspiration to fuel my dive back into recipe creation, food styling and photography. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon AlphaFoodie’s breathtaking smoothie bowls. I did not know this was a thing, but I’m fairly certain it’s part of the #grazingtable / #avocadotoast / #ramen conspiracy designed to keep us all wide-eyed and drooling…
-
-
A bracket I can get behind
When it comes to sweet sixteen brackets, I don’t have the best of luck. For me, March Madness begins with as much naive excitement as the locker room of your favorite Cinderella team … and ends with crushed dreams and a $50 deficit in my bank account. Here’s to hoping that the Solo Foods Sweetest 16 recipe contest—the focus of this post—brings happier results. Fortunately (I think), my fate rests in the hands of you, my FANTASTIC readers … As one of 16 (duh) bloggers chosen to participate in the contest, I was tasked with creating a dessert with at least one Solo Foods ingredient. Armed with pie fillings galore, I set…
-
Chilaquiles
It’s been a while since I’ve had a good mexican breakfast. A local eatery that shall remain nameless was my go-to spot for out-of-this-world chilaquiles, but all of a sudden, the dish that arrived at my table wasn’t the same one I knew and loved. Convinced these new mediocre-at-best chilaquiles were a fluke, I persistently returned for a second, third and fourth taste test. No dice. Change in kitchen staff or management? Cracking down on ingredient costs? Who knows. All I know is that I no longer had my spicy, crispy, melty hangover cure. Time to attempt a home-kitchen recreation. The results were delicious. The only problem? I wasn’t being…
-
Chocolate babka … just like Nana used to make (or buy at Publix)
For some reason, lots of my childhood memories with my Nana revolve around food—the good, the bad and the Jewish. The good: delicious, sweet and savory meatballs. The bad: Rice Dream (sorry Nana, but that stuff is just awful). The Jewish: Chocolate babka. Mmmmmm, delicious babka. Come to find out, its origins are debatable (some say it’s Polish, some Eastern European, but from what I can tell it is largely a favorite of Jewish New Yorkers), but that doesn’t change the fact that it is AMAZING. I fondly remember this delectable treat (and chocolate rugelach … mmmm) as something enjoyed exclusively in our yearly visits to the Jewish retirement capital…
-
Fried Egg Perfection
Anything with the word “fried” in it is good in my book. Anything fried in freshly rendered bacon fat is even better. Our new weekend obsession is a heart blockage waiting to happen, but I’ll risk a triple bypass later in life for this baby. What makes this recipe special are the individual ingredients—so don’t skimp on quality. Fried Egg and Bacon Sandwich You’ll need: good, thick-sliced bread (I’ve used sourdough, ciabatta, and the best yet, freshly baked no-knead bread) cheese (I like cheddar or colby jack) thick-cut bacon fresh eggs salt and freshly ground pepper First, cook the bacon in a skillet and set aside on a paper towel.…
-
French Toast Boast Post
Dear readers, I would never steer you towards bad food. I will admit, however, that some of my recipes happen to be a little better than others. The difference between “great” and “fan-freakin-tastic!” if you will. This recipe is FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC. I had some leftover challah and I wanted to create a jazzed-up french toast recipe. After a little bit of thought, I decided to incorporate raspberries, strawberries, cinnamon, brown sugar, almond extract and corn flakes. Sound a little odd? Don’t worry—I have a very specific plan in mind. Stay with me people … Cinnamon-Sugar Crunch French Toast with Raspberry and Strawberry Syrup You’ll need: 3, 1-and-1/2-inch thick slices of old…
-
Southport Grocery and Cafe
This week, our Bad Economy Brunch (which now has it’s own official Facebook group, courtesy of Liz) was at Southport Grocery and Cafe, a place I’ve had on my list for a while now. It was everything I expected and more. Although my bottomless-diet-coke habit didn’t exactly fly there: I ordered the waiter-recommended, albeit odd-sounding, Brisket & Gravy—biscuits and gravy with tender smokey brisket and fried eggs. The brisket was house-smoked, the biscuit homemade and the eggs fried to perfection. Believe me, the photos do not do this dish justice. Melissa and Liz got the other recommendation—a breakfast-style bruschetta topped with scrambled eggs, smoked chicken sausage, queso fresco, tomatoes, onions…
-
This bread is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Sometimes we buy bananas to let them sit on top of the fridge over-ripening. Because then we get to make banana bread! I adapted this recipe from Elise’s banana bread recipe at Simply Recipes. Here are the poor over-ripe bananas. You know they’re ready when the entire stem breaks off when you pluck them from the fridge/fruit bowl/counter top: I decided to try something new with this batch: Spiced Banana Bread You’ll need: 4 medium-sized ripe bananas 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking soda dash of salt 1/3 cup melted butter 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon almond…