Archive for June 2009

DISH: Lemony Tarragon Chicken Salad; Shrimp Salad with Basil and Chives
TYPE: Lazy afternoon lunch
MAIN INGREDIENT: chicken/shrimp, fresh herbs, mayonnaise

During my childhood, I’d always make sure to take a few weeks away from the summer’s main event—camp, community service adventures and, eventually, the all-important internship—to spend a few lazy weeks on Martha’s Vineyard with my parents and extended family. When the sun was shining, there were plenty of active ways to spend my time. But when the weather decided to offer up…

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Spinach Fettuccine with Mushroom Bolognese
Makes 4 servings

Read the original post here.

Ingredients
1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 ribs celery
3 cloves garlic
1 ½ tsp salt
2.5 pounds mixed mushrooms (portabella, cremini, button), finely chopped
1 cup tomato paste
½ tsp ground red pepper flakes
2 cups red wine
Water or Mushroom broth
2 bay leafs (fresh if available)
Small bunch of thyme (tied)
1 lb fresh spinach fettuccine

In a food processor, pulse the onion, carrots, celery…

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Parpadelle with Lamb Bolognese
Makes 4 servings (plus some leftover sauce)

Read the original post here.

Ingredients
1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 ribs celery
4-5 cloves garlic
1 ½ tsp salt
2.5 pounds ground lamb
2 cups tomato paste
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground red pepper flakes
3 cups red wine
Water (about 2-3 cups)
2 bay leafs (fresh if available)
Small bunch of thyme (tied)
…

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EVENT: Twin dishes for twins
VENUE: Phoebe ‘s Apartment, Flatiron
PARTY SIZE: 8
TYPE: Weekend experiment; executing the teachings of Chef Jennie
MENU: Jennie’s Tuscan Spaghetti Bolognese; Pappardelle with Lamb Bolognese; Spinach Fettuccine with Mushroom Bolognese; Shortbread Two Ways and Airy Chocolate Mousse (Cara)

Though we QLCs receive far more cries for help now than during the dark years (before the blog), we are always thrilled when the opportunity arises to get a little coaching ourselves. Some time back, Cara and I asked…

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I was going to Phoebe’s a couple Friday nights ago. She was making pastas and had invited a nice round group of 10 to eat before going out into the (rainy) evening. I, of course, volunteered to bring dessert.

Since the pastas would be rich and carb-loaded, I decided I would make something less heavy than ordinary. While not weightless, the chocolate pudding I had planned would leave us more likely to actually leave Phoebe’s apartment than after downing, say, a buttercream-iced cake or some such. When I decided…

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Brown Sugar Shortbread
Coconut Shortbread
Makes 16 cookies each

A really nice thing about shortbread is that you don’t have to cream the butter and sugar the way you do for a lot of the best desserts. There’s something a whole lot less fussy about it, and then there’s the added plus that if you don’t own any kind of mixer, you’ll save your forearms the arduous task of mixing. Because in shortbread, you use your fingers to wedge the flour particles into the butter, making for a tender, crumbly cookie. In fact, the ingredient…

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EVENT: Baby’s First Kitchen Flight
VENUE: Wendy’s Apartment, Financial District
PARTY SIZE: 2
TYPE: Market to Table
MENU: Mixed Greens with Baby Radishes and an Asparagus Drizzle; Cavatelli with Radish Leaf Almond Pesto

My friend Wendy has all the ingredients to warrant the title of hostess with the most-ess. She has an expertly decorated apartment, in which she entertained 30 hungry mouths at this year’s holiday party, an innate gift for organization and planning, and an appreciation for all things food-related. So it came as a surprise to me, as I searched aimlessly…

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Mixed Greens with Baby Radishes and an Asparagus Drizzle
Makes 4 servings

The first course of our tasting at Stone Barns included a delicate salad of mixed baby greens, tiny asparagus, crisp radishes, and but a drizzle of fresh asparagus puree. Save a hint of mint, salt, and lemon, there was nothing masking the freshness of each ingredient, and the aroma of the asparagus drizzle only intensified the flavor of the baby asparagus scattered throughout. Though our asparagus from the market were beautifully in season, the dish did not compete with the refined, melt-in-your-mouth quality of…

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DISH: Middle Eastern Pasta Salad
MAIN INGREDIENT: Whole Wheat Pasta

Between weekends away and long days at work, I hadn’t had time to food shop in a while. I had been eating lunches out, mainly, and dinners too, and when I was home, I reverted to good old stables of pasta, eggs, and toast. (Cereal, even, was out, since I was too lazy to buy milk.) I tried to get my veggies in at lunch, with salads, and that way I felt less guilty about not having anything terribly nutritious if I did

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EVENT: Better Biking

TYPE: Gratitude
GOODS BAKED: Oversized Chocolate Chip Muffins  
For a long time, I rode hybrid bikes.They’re very comfortable, have lots of gears for going up and down hills, and they’re intrinsically non-committal, being hybrids and sort of like road bikes and sort of like mountain bikes. However, they don’t go very fast, they’re annoyingly heavy to carry in and out of apartments, and, frankly, they’re not very cool. That’s why, when my friend from work, Junie, who woke up one morning last year an avid and knowledgeable cyclist, found a little Bianchi track bike

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