We started our Great Minds Eat Alike series this fall in order to mix up the usual BGSK offerings with interviews and submissions by cooks and eaters whose mentality towards cooking and eating meshes with ours. Today we bring you a fabulous menu from Adelaide Mueller, our recipe tester for In the Small Kitchen. Adelaide is a fellow quarter-life cook and blogger who believes that solid recipes make for delicious food. Meals that are garnished and presented with out of the ordinary embellishments can inspire and…

TOP 5 FESTIVE HOLIDAY COCKTAILS: Big Kid Hot Chocolate ; Christmas Cranberry Punch; Jonestown Punch; Warm Spiked Cider; Elderflower Fizz

We’ve been enjoying a lot of elderflower liquor in 2010. For Cara’s birthday, Kate brought over the chic-est disposable cocktail glasses she could find, and made individual Parisians for her bistro-themed buffet. In return for hosting said event, Cara gave me a large bottle of St-Germain to say thank you.

Since I don’t usually splurge on fancy…

EVENT: Josh’s Birthday Dinner; New Year’s Eve At-Home Prix Fix Dinner
VENUE: Phoebe’s Apartment, Flatiron
PARTY SIZE: 2
TYPE: Elaborate 3-Course Celebratory Dinner
MENU: Oysters with Mignonette Sauce; Crispy Shrimp with Cilantro-Harissa Aioli; Grilled Chermoula Lamb Chops with Cumin Yogurt Sauce; Spinach Orzo

If you don’t have a party to go to, New Year’s can be one of the most dreaded holidays of the year. And regardless of the fact that you have 364 days to plan something awesome, it just doesn’t always happen, and you may find yourselves staring at overpriced five-course prix fixe…

Next year, as we’ve hinted at, we’re going to be relaunching Big Girls, Small Kitchen to be more user-friendly and comprehensive, adding new contributors in our Great Minds blog catergory, and a Guides section to house all our tips and tricks. We’ve been working for months, perfecting the site so that it will be a place that quarter-life cooks (and their friends!) can call home. There’s one corner of quarter-life, though, that feels just out of reach to us old fogeys-the college student. We were students…

Merry Christmas, and thank you to everyone who participated in our Holiday Giveaway courtesy of Le Creuset!

We chose a winner randomly from the list of commenters. Congrats to reader Caitbren who just got this amazing Cherry Red Braiser under her virtual tree!

Here’s what Caitbren had to say:

The best thing I ate in 2010 was sea bass with my boyfriend for my birthday dinner at Trezo Vino in Kansas City! yumm and he got sea scallops and I ate some of that too!

Thank you to all of you who…

MOROCCAN HOLIDAY MENU: Squash Latkes with Greek Yogurt and Cilantro; Chicken Tagine with Fennel, Preserved Lemons, and Green Olives; Ginger Pear Cake

In their January issue, looking back on all the food trends of the past year, Food and Wine Magazine pronounced 2010 the year of the chicken. It’s true that we’ve been cooking quite a bit of bird here too, as of late. But during the holidays, home cooks rarely think of chicken as a viable option for their table’s centerpiece, upgrading to…

OTHER CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST IDEAS: Hot Raisin Bread; Yogurt Pancakes with Pomegranate; Oversized Chocolate Chip Muffins; “City” Oatmeal with Blueberries and Dried Cherries; Red Flannel Hash; Smoked Salmon Scramble

Christmas morning calls for a little something extra. At the same time, I think for most people, it’s also not officially a part of the day’s celebratory eating. It’s merely something to tide you over during present opening until the real deal: lunch or dinner. (Would love to hear more about your Christmas breakfast traditions in the comments if I’m wrong…)…

EVENT: Holiday Dinner, Version 2010
VENUE: Cara’s Apartment, Prospect Heights
PARTY SIZE: 12
TYPE: Make-Ahead, Festive Sunday-Night Supper
MENU: Olive and Tomato Focaccia Squares; Chicken Marbella; Barb’s Corn Pudding; Baguette; Arugula Salad with Pomegranate, Dried Cherries, and Orange-Raspberry Vinaigrette; Chocolate-Pecan Tart; Chocolate Bark

Last night, in front of the first Christmas tree Cara has ever owned (and her one single ornament-a clove-studded apple handmade by her mom), we celebrated the holidays with Chicken Marbella and Corn Pudding, Focaccia Squares and Pecan-Chocolate Tart, red wine and a Yankee swap. We ate around…

This giveaway is now closed. -C & P, 12/25/10

We’re deep into holiday mode over here at BGSK. Cara and Alex just bought a Christmas tree, and Phoebe is scheming a gift, under $5, to go under it at their upcoming holiday party, complete with a grab bag, and plenty of sweets.

Thanks to our friends at LeCreuset, we’ll also be spending this holiday season cooking up some fabulous stews (recipes to come), braised short ribs, and baked chicken, and one lucky reader will receive this small kitchen luxury-a 5-quart, festive cherry…

EVENTS: Serious Eats Cookie Swap; Blogger Cookie Fest ’10

VENUES: Serious Eats Headquarters, Chelsea; Angus McIndoe, Midtown
PARTY SIZE: about 20 apiece
TYPE: Festive Holiday Gatherings…with Cookies
MENU: Milk Chocolate Cookies with Ginger and Toffee; Holiday Spiced Snickerdoodles

Recently, Phoebe and I had the opportunity to attend not one but two cookie swaps. I have to say, I’d never been to a cookie swap before, but the idea is pretty genius, and I caught right on. Basically, everyone in attendance makes enough cookies for everyone else in attendance to take one home. Participants put…