lululu

Last week we ventured out into the city on a weeknight (!) for an event called “Porkapalooza.” Really, how could we resist? The hook was that you watched a butchering demonstration while you ate fingerfoods made from that very pig. (A couple of my friends misunderstood and thought for most of a week that we’d [...]

Okay, now I must tell you about this grilled chicken sandwich we made the other night. I mean, the season of recklessly dumping charcoal smoke into the air won’t last forever, right?

This post is dedicated to my mother, because I ripped this recipe out of her Martha Stewart Living on my way out of Dallas [...]

Things, they happen, and I don’t write about them. I did manage to post a round of pictures a week or so ago, so I’ll point you to those and highlight one recent event: a godless Easter dinner with old friends.

We spent the weekend working on seafood gumbo with a dark, dark roux:

And rum [...]

I’m breaking radio silence to inform you of an important new recipe in my redneck-party-snack repertoire: mini corn dogs. That’s right, you heard me. It’s a recipe that had been in my “try this” file for quite a spell, until a new candy thermometer (thanks, Cam) and a superbowl party (thanks, Clare) allowed me to [...]

Well, enough about world events! Let’s get back to the important stuff, namely fall-themed food. Bryan began his new job on Monday, so his boys came over the night before to feast in his honor.

This is (part of) what we ate. It’s a simple, delicious way to braise pork that positively reeks of fall.
Cider-Braised Pork [...]

I dreamed about the financial crisis the other day, and let’s not even talk about the election, so I thought I’d post the recipe for this raspberry-rosé sorbet I made for Debbie’s birthday in July. It’s tasty.

Raspberry-Rosé Sorbet
2 cups rosé wine (not too sweet)
2/3 cups sugar
3 cups raspberries
In a medium saucepan, bring the rosé and [...]

We had an excellent summery dinner tonight that I thought I’d post. It was the first time we’d made the bruschetta (but expect to see it in miniature form at a future party in our future backyard); the salad is on its way to old-favorite status.

Bruschetta with summer squash, bacon, and blue cheese
(from Cooks, where [...]

I’m in Brockton for the 5th time in 7 months, in order to force a few hundred kids to take half a dozen literacy tests so we can tell you if a certain reading intervention program does any good. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about making cheese.
Truth be [...]

Ever since the puppy came three weeks ago and wiped our minds clean, we’ve been gradually reclaiming little bits of our lives. Last week we started cooking again—a watershed. Tonight we’ll return to one of our nerdier culinary pursuits: testing recipes for Cooks Illustrated, the magazine we follow with near religious fervor. Honestly, I can’t [...]

I know I raved about the no-knead bread recipe in the NY Times last year, but leave it to Cook’s Illustrated to improve on absolutely anything. I tried their new and improved version about a month ago and haven’t bought bread from a bakery since. Honestly, there are two loaves of this stuff rising in [...]