Vegetables

Okonomiyaki

In the last two days or so, I’ve become obsessed with a food blog called “Closet Cooking.” It was started by a guy who realized one day that he was eating the same things over and over again, and wanted to spice up his daily dining experiences. So he dove right into the world of cooking and went from making grilled cheese sandwiches to inventing caramelized pear and gorgonzola quiches. Meanwhile, I’m making 30-minute skillet chicken parmesan… One of the recipes on the blog that caught my eye was the one for Okonomiyaki. My experience with Japanese cuisine has been limited mainly to teriyaki and sushi, but I’m an avid watcher of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, and I knew about okonomiyaki from his visit to Osaka....

Yesterday was the second gathering of the Summer Supper Club, and it was Mexican night. After a long and painful week of bar studying, we needed the comfort of oozing cheese and guac and sour cream to help us unwind. So we blended up some mango margaritas, parked ourselves on my couch, and feasted on spinach & cheese quesadillas, enchiladas, 3-bean dip, homemade salsa, and apple-pie enchiladas (for dessert). The thing about quesadillas is that they’re delicious and easy to make. Dinner was set for 7:30, and I didn’t start cooking until nearly 7, but by the time everyone had arrived, I already had a huge pile of fresh quesadillas waiting on the table. Rachel Ray would be so proud! Not much to say about these quesadillas other than...

In lieu of the southern-themed dinner with the Summer Supper Club, I decided to make some fried pickles to snack on throughout the meal. I’ve only ever had fried pickles once before, but I found them to be absolutely delicious — crispy, salty, sour — and totally addictive. Like pistachios, they are impossible to stop eating once you taste one. The problem with making fried pickles is that I don’t have a fryer. I don’t even have a deep pot that I can substitute for a fryer. Plus, I’m trying to watch my girlish figure, so eating deep fried food probably isn’t a great idea anyway. Fortunately, baking is always an acceptable alternative, and Google presented me with bazillions of different oven-fried pickles recipes...

Dan (on the phone): “What are you up to?” Me: “I’m making eggs in a hole.” Dan: “…why are you in a hole?” Me: “No, I’m making eggs in a hole. Like…cooking eggs inside a piece of bread.” Dan: ”Weird.” Actually, eggs-in-a-hole aren’t weird at all! Super delicious, maybe, but not weird. And it’s really easy to make. Just take a small drinking glass, cut a hole in the middle of a slice of bread, crack an egg into the hole, and boom — instant delicious meal. I had a little bit of trouble with flipping today. Usually the egg cooks right into the bread and it’s easy to turn the whole thing over at once. But I had the pan on lower heat than...

Why is the weather in New England so crappy? I’ve been in Massachusetts for almost two days already, and I have yet to experience anything but ominous-looking clouds, wind, and rain. The only upside to this crappy weather is that it gives me an excuse to cook creamy, rich, hot comfort food that would be way too heavy on a warm day. Dan and I weren’t feeling up to dealing with raw meat today, and he hates grocery shopping with me (I get too excited by all the food possibilities, apparently), so we stuck to the produce aisle for dinner. Spinach and mushrooms are a timeless combo, and great in cream-based sauces. “Don’t crowd the mushrooms!” OK, Julia. I didn’t crowd the mushrooms —...

When my friend Jill graduated (early!) law school back in December, she treated herself to a trip to Thailand. In between relaxing and sightseeing, she squeezed in a few cooking lessons, and brought back tons of awesome new recipes to share. At our most recent girls’ night dinner, she showed me, Emily, and Leslie how to make pad thai. I was pretty excited for this dinner, not least because this was my first time hanging out with Jill in about 4 months. What really sweetened the pot, though, was the fact that Jill is currently house/dog-sitting for a girl that works at Williams-Sonoma and has access to a kitchen stocked with all kinds of sweet cooking equipment. Just looking at the huge selection of...

My good friend Charlene is engaged, and this past weekend a few of us threw her a bridal shower in NYC. We were all in charge of different parts of the shower, and my friend Michelle and I were responsible for food/drinks. What does one serve at a bridal shower? Dainty things! Like chocolate covered strawberries, for example. And cupcakes. Michelle and I couldn’t find red food coloring, so these are “brown velvet” cupcakes. Really, they’re just plain ol’ chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Cucumber sandwiches. These weren’t as dainty as the ones I envisioned — we used peasant bread, and that stuff is huge and hearty. We improvised the filling a little bit, but it turned out to be very tasty. These...

Grilled Sirloin, Roasted Potatoes and Tomato Mozzarella Salad

I have the best roommate in the world — she’s fun, she loves reality TV, she washes the dishes, and she has no problem being my culinary guinea pig. She also happened to give me a $100 gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma for Christmas, which I immediately used to buy an indoor electric grill. This little grill has opened up a whole new world of home cooking options for me. Good bye ugly, dry pan-seared meats. Helloooo grilled pork chops, hamburgers, and juicy charred steaks! Dan and I had big plans to make pasta from scratch, but then 5 o’clock rolled around and we were both feeling super lazy and under-motivated. So what could we make for dinner that’s fast and delicious? Steak! Potatoes! Salad!...

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I’m constantly looking for reasons to bake, and friends’ birthdays are the best excuse to do it. Yesterday was my good friend Smriti’s special day, and she put in a request for carrot cake cupcakes. I love carrot cake and have a great recipe for it, so I was more than happy to oblige. Note to self: when grating carrots for carrot cake, don’t use baby carrots — it takes forever to grate 2 cups’ worth, and when you’re in a time crunch like I was, it’s easy to get scraped fingers/knuckles. No nuts. No raisins. These two things have no place in carrot cake, and you’ll never get me to admit otherwise! The best kind of carrot cake is dense, moist, and is all about the...

I woke up this morning with the worst craving for eggs. Probably because it’s the weekend, and I’ve got brunch on the brain. Alas, going out for brunch was out of the question — I just got back from a spring break cruise and can’t afford to be spending any more $$$. Fortunately, eggs and spinach are cheap, so one short trip to Safeway later, I was ready for breakfast. This was my first time poaching an egg. I’ve scrambled, boiled, fried, deviled and omelette’d the suckers, but poaching always seemed beyond my culinary powers. When I finally worked up the courage to google “how to poach an egg,” I was surprised by how fast and simple it actually was. Technically Eggs Florentine =...

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Vegetables

Okonomiyaki

Spinach & 4-Cheese Quesadillas

Oven-Fried Pickles

Eggs-in-a-Hole

Spinach & Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo

Pad Thai

Bridal Shower!

Grilled Sirloin, Roasted Potatoes and Tomato Mozzarella Salad

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Eggs Florentine with Avocado

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