Full disclosure (I don’t want to get sued by the FTC). This post is sponsored by the Slice Slab. You see, Dave has sort of stumbled into the cutting board business. That doesn’t sound at all odd, does it? Long story short, we got our hands on some excess Corian (think poor-man’s granite), a state-of-the-art machine designed for cutting countertops and the like out of huge slabs of wood, granite and plastic, and an ingenious design for a unique and fabulous carving board. See, not weird at all. A pretty neat design (thanks Roy) was made even better after we had the idea to put a graduated “spout” on the…
-
-
Nothing’s better than Effen on a rooftop
OK, so I stole my post title from the concept for Effen’s new cheeky ad campaign. I’m sure they won’t mind. Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying some “Liquid Luxury”—courtesy of Effen and the Effen awesome folks at Zocalo Group—while contemplating sustainable design, really cool succulent party favors and apple and bacon pizza. And let me tell you, the chefs and mixologist at ROOF at The Wit aren’t Effen around (OK, I’m done with the Effen jokes, promise). The food and drinks were fantastic. And the bottles of Effen (again, courtesy of Zocalo and Effen) we got beforehand weren’t so bad either. Who gets a bottle of vodka messengered to their office??…
-
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…
-
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking for cavemen
Geico commercials don’t give cavemen enough credit. Eating like one is, in fact, not so easy. That’s what I’ve learned cooking for Dave, who is on the Paleo diet, otherwise known as my worst nightmare: No carbs. No cheese. No butter. No salt. No diet coke. No alcohol. Sounds like a living hell, if you ask me. The concept is that the healthiest diet involves eating what early man ate during the Paleolithic era (and before the agricultural revolution). That means absolutely no grains (bread, rice, quinoa, pasta, etc.), no dairy and absolutely nothing processed or sugary. Basically you can only eat “healthy veggies” (corn, potatoes, yams, root veggies and legumes…
-
The lazy girl’s guide latkes and matzo ball soup and a giveaway
It’s Hanukkah and Dave’s been seriously cashing in on his first year celebrating the festival of lights. He still can’t get over the whole presents-for-eight-nights-in-a-row thing; he hustled me for 20 bucks in his first game of dreidel (beginner’s luck); and he enjoyed a couple of the best dishes Judaism has to offer: Latkes and matzo ball soup. It’s been a lazy couple of weeks for me and the thought of shredding four pounds of Russets gave me a headache. Lucky for me, I had this fabulous Progresso package from MyBlogSpark (Which one lucky commenter will also win, courtesy of Progresso via MyBlogSpark) … … and some frozen hash browns. Soooooo,…
-
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Giving gracias
I’m still recovering from the 48-hour cooking marathon, gluttonous spread and absolute debauchery that is our misfit-full, southwestern Thanksgiving celebration. Let me paint the scene: Colorful characters mingling over excessive amounts of tequila, criminal quantities of turkey (2, 15-pounders and a 20-pounder to be exact), all the trimmings with a southwestern flair, ridiculously perfect, sun-shiny, 75-degree weather, football broadcast on a backyard pool-side cabana bar TV… … and me slaving away in a hot kitchen. I kid, I kid. I have to admit I enjoy it. Besides, if I didn’t cook, we’d be eating pies from Costco (no offense Don) and canned cranberry sauce. OK, so we ate those things…
-
Channeling Sandra and Paula
These recipes are actually Paula’s own, but if Sandra Lee and Paula Deen had culinary love children, they’d look something like these. If this sounds appealing to you, read on. If the thought of Sandra and Paula joining forces makes you want to tear your hair out, don’t close that window just yet. Yes, I’ll admit it’s slightly shameful that two of my favorites Thanksgiving dishes involve canned cream corn, frozen hash browns, dehydrated potato flakes and french-fried onions. But I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll love these recipes too—even if you won’t admit it and have to sneak bites of leftovers by the light of the fridge while everyone…
-
Preparing for Thanksgiving
Preparing for Thanksgiving is like getting ready for a big game. You can’t successfully execute without a solid game plan. So huddle up! OK, enough with the bad sports analogies. Let’s get started. Week before Thanksgiving Order your turkey/s—figure about 1-1.5 pounds per person, but if you like leftovers as much as my family, you’ll buy an entire extra turkey Start thinking about your menu. Technically, you don’t have to commit until your grocery store trip, but it helps to have time to brainstorm and not feel rushed Give guests ideas for dishes they can bring Week of Thanksgiving Take inventory—make sure you have the items you need in your…
-
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.…
-
It’s all Greek to me
I’ve botched baklava before. It’s hard to pinpoint my mistake, as I was in fourth grade at the time, completing an assignment as part of a project on Greece. My mother and I got the recipe from the owner of a local greek restaurant (unfortunately, we didn’t have the advantage of Epicurious or AllRecipes back then) and I’m afraid something was lost in translation. The baklava was more phyllo brick than sticky, flaky pastry. This time around, I had my redemption. Sweet, sweet, sticky, flaky redemption. Baklava You’ll need: several sheets of phyllo dough (one package should do) 3 cups walnuts 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup…