February is transitioning into March and it is colder and snowier than it's been all winter. The best way to counteract this dreariness is with a little Spanish cuisine. Paella is a good choice because it is delicious, and prepping some of the required components will help keep the house warm and cozy and smelling delicious through the weekend.
Read MoreStroganoff Deconstructed
My counterpart made beef stroganoff last night, and in the process of planning this dish, he decided to go the Deconstructionist route. This is a bit of a Modernist approach, but don't worry - we're not encasing the sauce in little alginate spheres or anything too weird. And we did stop to consider at what point this approach would cross the line from cool to pretentious and feel we have stayed well on the cool side of that line.
Read MoreSpaghetti and Meatballs Done Right
I am a lover of sloppy joes but have long been a hater of bolognese. This has perplexed my counterpart for most of the 25 years he's known me. After all, they are both ground meat in a tomato-based sauce served over starch. So what's the big deal? To be honest., I'm not entirely sure. But, rather than belabor the whimsical nature of my palate, I'd like to share his favorite take on the classic Italian meat sauce - spaghetti and meatballs.
Read More2013: The Year in Review
2013 was another exciting year for us in the kitchen. We continued our exploration of cooking techniques, new and old, with delicious results. Here are our ten favorite posts from the last year.
Read MoreBœuf Bourguignon
My favorite fellow foodie from work was gracious enough to invite me to her annual holiday party again this year. The last time, I was in the throws of Last Minute Holiday Panic and ended up bringing a store-bought cake (ugh). This year, I wanted to make up for that by providing something extra special that she and her guests might not ever make for themselves. I solicited the support of my very chefy counterpart, and after some discussion, we agreed on that classic French holiday party favorite: Beef Bourguignon.
Read MoreWeekday Coq au Vin
What I love most about winter is my counterpart invariably pulls out Le Gastronomique for a little old school comfort food. This week, he tried his had at that old classic Coq au Vin. As the name implies, this is basically chicken in a wine sauce. And it is a very old recipe with some accounts tracing it back to Julius Caesar in Gaul. A variant of the dish first appeared in print in 1864. Then, about 100 years later, Julia Child brought it to the U.S. in her seminal cookbook and featured it often on her cooking show.
Read MoreAll About the Gravy
Thanksgiving is about 10 days away, so it's time to get serious about cooking again. The nice thing about Thanksgiving is that it is really all about the meal - that opulent turkey dinner that most of us only muster this one day of the year. And because that turkey is really the cornerstone of the day, you want to bring your A game.
Read MoreFirst Pumpkin of the Season in About 30 Minutes
We first started seeing fresh pumpkin for sale at the beginning of the month when we were in Wisconsin. At the time, we thought little of it - they have a different growing season than we do here in Maryland, and this seemed about the right time for the squash in that part of the country. But, when we were out procuring food items this weekend and saw them all over the place out here, we rejoiced, for pumpkin season has arrived in Maryland. We stopped by Hopkins Produce on Route 155 and picked up a couple of small but attractive pumpkins and created our first pumpkin meal of what will hopefully be a plentiful season.
Read MoreSummer Steak is a Beautiful Thing
Any day that starts with pancakes and ends with steak is a good day, regardless of what happens in between. And, while I was not conscious enough this morning to capture the pancakes, I did manage to get something of tonight's steak.
Read MorePerfect Pesto
We were both driving home from our separate jobs in our separate cars when we both heard the same story on NPR and both had the same thoughts about dinner tonight. With the abundance of fresh basil this time of year and the rising cost of pine nuts, on this evening's program they featured a recipe for Pistachio Pesto . It was presented by the author of an Italian cookbook, and even though we disagreed with her about basil (she says it's sweet when it's really a bitter) and olive oil (she says it's fruity when it's actually nutty), we trusted her on the whole pistachio as a substitute for pine nuts thing.
Read MoreSunday Chicken and Dumplings
Maybe it was the beautiful weather we've been having lately. Maybe it was the complete cleaning we did on the kitchen yesterday. Maybe it was because I got up early and made a pie. For whatever reason. tonight I was treated to a proper Sunday dinner of chicken and dumplings.
Read MoreShrimp with Beurre Blanc
While I was at work today, my counterpart whipped up a beurre blanc sauce. This is another one of those things that you can do yourself at home if you know a couple of things.
Read MoreWhat to Do When the Fishmonger Won't Fillet Your Fish, and How to Prepare Fava beans
There is nothing better than fresh food, especially fresh fish. This weekend we took the drive down to the HMart in Ellicott City with a good friend to visit their seafood counter for some fresh tilapia. The fish was beautiful, as usual - plump and clear-eyed and silver. And the really nice thing about the fish counter at the HMart is that they will clean it up for you and even offer several levels of cleaning. We usually go for gutted, scaled, and filleted and end up with pristine fish. At this week's visit, we were informed that the trained professionals do not fillet tilapia. They did do a fine job of the rest of the cleaning, though, and packed our fish in ice for us for the long drive back to Harford County.
Read MoreFreedom Pheasant
On my birthday, I usually get some variety of game, so it only makes sense that on our nation's birthday, this also holds true. And, since it is July, it's going to be grilled.
Read MoreDIY Ham
With Gareth telecommuting to Pittsburgh and the warm weather upon us, grilling season is in full swing. The remote work schedule allows him to perform some amazing feats of slow cooking over the course of the afternoon. Today, while I was toiling away int he office, he smoked up the grill and turned an average pork loin into a very tasty ham.
Read MoreMoroccan Chicken with Pomegranate Glazed Carrots
My counterpart returned from Pittsburgh, and things have more or less returned to normal. Except that he is now telecommuting to Pittsburgh from the den. Which means until the weather is consistently nice for grilling, dinner will usually be something quick, like hot dogs or mac and cheese. This provides me with an opportunity to continue cooking. So long as he is open to experimentation.
Read MoreMary Cooks: Shrimp Cakes with Wasabi Tartar Sauce
Last night's dinner included a potato rosti that yielded five servings. For tonight's dinner, I was looking for something that would pair well with that leftover potato. And where I come from, there are few things that go better with fried potato than fried fish. Earlier today over my morning coffee, I found a recipe for shrimp cakes on the Foodista blog and knew it was dinner.
Read MoreMary Cooks: Poussin with Pomegranate Sauce
Someone once said that a man's reach should exceed his grasp. This was me in the kitchen tonight. With my counterpart away on business for a second week, I thought about what it was I really wanted to eat for dinner tonight. As we still have a surplus of small game bird from D'Artagnan , I decided that one little poussin wouldn't go missing and rolled up my sleeves to actually cook something.
Read MoreMary Cooks: Fish Cakes and Lily Bulb
I love fish, and I especially love fish cakes. I found a very simple recipe on AllRecipes.com . It claims to be Thai, but is also easy to follow and does not contain any ingredients I do not already have on hand. I adjusted the recipe for the two fish fillets I set out to defrost this morning, but otherwise followed this fairly closely
Read MoreMary Cooks: Stuffed Peppers
Gareth is away in Pittsburgh this week, so I am on my own for dinner. And thus begins another "Mary Cooks" series.
I'm starting this series with what is sure to be a controversial dish: Stuffed Peppers. And if Gareth is reading this in his hotel room, I'm sure to hear about this when he gets home as I have long claimed to dislike stuffed peppers. Why? Because I dislike green bell peppers. My stuffed peppers (or, as I am cooking for one - pepper) will be the much sweeter red variety.
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