Dinner

my neighbors made me drunk on wine and brandy, causing me to accidently delete my damn post on gingerbread. so, instead-- here is a restaurant i went to last weekend in almost greenpoint/williamsburg that has not only great food (best pulled-pork sandwich ever, which jbecky will attest to) and PINBALL, but also the most remarkable vodka gimlet i've ever had. fresh lime. a tiny bit of sugar. 1/2 pint glass. 6 dolla . go there. enid's.

Tony's Thrifty Tip #1

Limes are expensive. At least they are at this time of year in this part of the country.

Solution? Taco shop.

Go to the nearest taco stand (provided you live where taco stands are common), order a taco to go. Mosey over to the condiment counter and stuff your to-go bag with lime wedges Store at home in a covered container in the fridge. If you like radishes, you can load up on radishes too.

I've never seen anyone eat a radish with his taco, but the damn taco shops always offer them for free.

Y'all make me happy & hungry...

In the spirit of Lori's last post, I'm going to toss out a soup recipe--yes, yes, it's almost too late for hot soup, you say... but maybe not... maybe it's almost springtime but still chilly.

I got this recipe from the ex's sister. It's ridiculously easy... You'll need:

1 shallot, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped (could probably use more, but i'm a bit of a spice wuss)
1 clove garlic (i use 3)
14 oz chix broth
14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
9 oz pkg refrigerated tortelloni (whatever flav you want works...i like the veggie & cheese)
1 Tbsp chopped basil
1 med tomato chopped

cook shallot, pepper, garlic, curry in oil until shallot is tendah. stir in chix broth. bring to boil then simmer for 5 mins. stir in milk, tortelloni, & basil. cook & stir 5 mins or until pasta is done. stir in tomato, cook & stir until all hot but don't boil. don't boil.

so yum.

Springtime, but still chilly out

Hi all,

So, two forces collided to make me come up with this recipe - the fact that I want fresh-tasting food because it's springtime, but it's still cold enough out that I want hot food with that comfort-food heaviness . . . and also, remembering a sensational thing from the Thai Cafe in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (everything they make there is out of this world good), chicken peanut curry with little kaffir lime leaves hanging out in the sauce and lots of summer squash, etc.

Here's a springtime version I made up with grocery store ingredients - you can soup it up a bit with better stuff from the Asian market near you, etc. This thing throws down in 20 minutes flat, chopping included, so that wins my heart.

Chicken Peanut Curry

1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp (mild) to 1 Tbsp Thai Kitchen red curry paste, or just same amount of sambal, or a little chili paste
Paste made of 3 cloves garlic and about a thumbnail-size square of fresh ginger
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 lb bits of boneless, skinless chicken (thighs are my favorite, breasts are good too)

1 packet of that peanut sauce mix from the grocery store that you just mix with coconut milk and heat, combined with said can of lite coconut milk and a splash of water. Or homemade peanut sauce just thick enough to coat a spoon well

Any combination of baby carrots, snow peas, green beans, summer squash, broccoli

Rice and cilantro bits for serving, a little lime wedge if you're feeling it

Heat a little oil in a wok or deep skillet and when really hot, start adding the ingredients in order and bandy them about. When the chicken is white on the outside, add the peanut sauce. If you're feeling like trying something out, add 2 kaffir lime leaves and simmer at this point for 10 minutes. When you get the peanut sauce up to a simmer, add the veggies until they're just ready to uncrisp. Serve over rice, garnish with the cilantro and lime.

Serves 4 people, but make it anyway, the leftovers are even better

Polish Sausage. Buns. The Beach

Cooking for 5 year Olds

I am in Denver at this time, not rural Pennsylvania. I am staying at my brothers house, he and his wife have two little boys, I am surprised to learn about kids food. They LOVE bland boring foods. Chicken fingers, mac and chesse, jello, ceral, pizza, french fries, fish sticks, chicken. Most of the things that they will eat are dull and bland, I cannot wait to get back to Rural PA and start cooking again for my wife. I want to make some spicy spicy hot hot food.

Hello, Y'all

I want to eat at Tabla.

*

Thanks, Betsy, for having me here. Tonight I ate a potato taco, a shredded beef taco, and drank a few cans of Hamms. Woo!

*

Coming soon: Clean Out The Fridge Gourmet. And other stuff--like a Nathan's hot dog with fig jam and parmigiano.

When you live in a very small town in central PA, like I do, there are three things you can do when it comes to food: eat pizza or sandwiches at the coffee shops, eat in one of only a handful of good restaurants, or cook for your damn self. I usually choose the latter. When a good friend of mine, Dean (who will hopefully be a regular poster here) came to visit for a few weeks this winter, we cooked for ourselves like we thought we were royalty. It was grand. Then he went back to Portland. I'm still cooking here, but it's nice to share discoveries, recipes, and even the disasters (exploding gingerbread pan story to come). Others will be posting too--Tony has volunteered to do a special "Clean Out the Fridge Gourmet" column. My friends Peter and Karla are master chefs (Peter made an INCREDIBLE indian meal a few weeks ago, which i have photos of and I hope he'll share that shrimp recipe). Dean is so good at putting together different flavors that sound weird but are delicious...and he's good with the spice. Adam T Cole is a total gourmet. Sean knows how to cook for a whole roomfull of people, serve everything on time, and have all the dishes already washed by dessert time. Amazing, all of you. And I'm sure more will join us. So, let's eat!

This photo was taken at my neighbor's house (poets-in-res Dick& Carol Frost) after a night of tapas and LOTS of wine at the new restaurant in town (thank god) Marco's Tapas. The wine is a Montecillo Rioja (Harold, our dept chair, is a real wine expert...this stuff is gooo-od and he picked it out), the cheese some sort of manchego, I believe. And some sliced dates and apricots, some walnuts. (Dean loves apricots. They remind me too much of earlobes.) I can't believe that we were able to eat anything after polishing off about 10 plates of tapas (is that redundant? plates of little plates?), but it was a great spread.

Maybe we should talk about wine... I'd been into the Malbecs for awhile, but I think that will subside with the coming of warmer weather. Now it's Riojas--maybe because of the tapas. Maybe because I want to go back to Spain? Lisa, what's the wine we drank in Spain all the time with the bubbly water? I want some...

test