Now you too can make Gino's Famous Meatballs

Whilst we were in New York, our host, Garin, was kind enough to pass down a recipe to me he learned once upon a time from a large Long Island Italian man named Gino. There are a few things I really like about this recipe. The first is that it isn't written down anywhere and there are no precise measurements, so you'll have to use your instincts. The second is that it's resourceful and simple and though it tastes like it's from scratch, it doesn't have to be completely, which allows you to save time. Now, if you have a tomato sauce recipe that was passed down from your great grandma and you swear by it alone even though it takes you a week to brew it up, so be it. You can use that recipe with this ignoring the sauce part.

The first order of business: make the base of all the things. For this meal you'll be making sauce, meatballs, and garlic bread. There are a few key ingredients that go in all of these, so you can blend them all together at once in the very beginning. Into a food processor, throw a lot of peeled garlic cloves (AT LEAST one whole head), a torn-up bunch of italian parsley, and parmesan cheese.

Your mixture should look like this. Now it's time to get the sauce started. Take about a third of this mixture and throw it in the bottom of a large stockpot on medium heat with some butter, olive oil, and diced onions. Let that simmer until the onions begin to turn translucent, making sure not to let the garlic burn.

The visual how-to continues after the jump!

Crispy Fish Tacos: impress all your friends.

When I go to the grocery store for the week, I like to plan meals around what's on sale, namely what sort of meat is on sale as that can be the priciest piece of the puzzle. Lo and behold, Tilapia, which is maybe my favorite fish, was on a pretty fantastic deal last Monday. In the cart it went and out came the old smartphone.
I know. I'm becoming one of those people who stands in the middle of the produce section squinting at her iPhone oblivious to the milling patrons trying to squeeze past her parked cart. But let me tell you this: the epicurious app is phenomenal and totally worth it.
No, I'm not being paid to tout this app, I just love it. Let me gush for a moment: it lets you search for recipes on-the-go in a myriad of different ways. One can search by main ingredient, meal/course, dietary consideration, dish type, and season or occasion. For example, when I found the Tilapia, I pulled up the app to search for a meal.I searched by main ingredient (seafood) and cuisine (mexican) and it lead me to this sure-to-please recipe for fish tacos. Plus, once you find your recipes, it will make a shopping list for you to check off as you go through the store and it organizes it all according to produce, dairy, meat, and on and on so you can make one quick pass. AND if you have multiple recipes that call for the same ingredient, it adds up the total for you. Oh my. Pure bliss.

So, back to the fish taco platter.
There were a lot of firsts for me: I had never marinated fish (or really anything) in buttermilk, I had never pickled anything, and had no clue how to make salsa verde. Thankfully those days are behind me now. This fish is pretty straightforward, it's really making all the little accouterments that can be time consuming. The recipe calls for Halibut or Bass, but I think you could use any of the flaky white fishes and this would work. Here's the scoop from the recipe:
Read on for the recipe after the jump!

Tibetan Momos: New York Times recipe review

A few weeks ago the New York Times published an interesting food story about sha momos, the dumpling that traditionally accompanies the celebration of the Tibetan New Year. Momas are usually filled with Yak meat or beef and are perfumed with notes of ginger, cilantro and garlic. They are steamed dumplings known for their juiciness. In a nutshell, Tibetan comfort food at it's finest.
Fortunately, the article was followed by a recipe for said delicacy, which my sister Lindsey promptly concocted. I was lucky enough to be in the kitchen with her and watch this savory treat come to life. I recorded it for you here and reproduced the recipe as a visual how-to below. Enjoy! -hil

Necessity really IS the Mother of Invention: how our budget helped me find a new way to brew coffee

I am so excited for February first. More excited than any Ohioan ever should be for February to come. But you have to understand: January is a very long month, and we abide by the Dave Ramsey Envelope System so our budget recycles at the beginning of each month. For the last week we've been scraping the bottom of those envelopes with nothing but white staring back at us. But today, yes today, there will be green! Don't get me wrong, I love the system. It gives me peace of mind and is helping us toward financial goals, but sometimes when the days are dwindling down and I've made pasta for dinner three days straight I get impatient. And this month we had a coffee crisis: We ran out of beans with three whole days left in the month!
I shiver at the thought of three cold mornings with no warm coffee. But then, eureka. I found a bag of coffee a friend had given us a couple months back. The only problem? It was fine ground. The only sort of coffee maker we have in our home is a french press, which requires coarse ground beans to work. And then I remembered a gift my sister Lindsey had given Sean for Christmas. It was a single cup ceramic coffee dripper. Let me tell you, it made a pretty fine cup of coffee. I had never used one myself but had seen them used when we visited the Blue Bottle Coffee Co. in Brooklyn. In fact, these things are becoming pretty popular in more specialty coffee shops. It still uses the drip coffee method, only you heat the water yourself and pour it directly over the grounds and into the cup so there are no nasty heating mechanisms to scorch it. Blue bottle actually has a great tutorial for it on their site.

Blue Bottle in Brooklyn. Photo by Will Steacy for nycgo.com

So thanks, Linds, for saving me from many a cold, coffee-less morning. I'm sure we'll continue to use our beloved french press for sharing coffee, but the dripper is a nice little addition to the family, especially when you're craving that mid-day cup but don't want to brew a whole pot. It's simple, easy-to-use, and makes a tasty cup of joe. -hil
p.s.- Be sure to tune in tomorrow morning for a very special preview of the Etsy shop! See you then!

a good beer is hard to find

Joe Wilson

Since our return from Fort Collins, Sean and I have been experiencing Good Beer Withdrawal. Colorado is like the promised land, only instead of milk and honey it's flowing with Craft Beer. It's not that we don't have it in Ohio, just the selection is slim and it's at least double the $2 price tag it was out west. So the other night on the way home I stopped at one of our favorite little specialty beer shops and, lo and behold, they had 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat Ale. 21st Amendment is a brewery out of San Francisco aptly named to celebrate the repeal of prohibition. All their beers are sold in cans: a fresher and more sustainable packaging. The Fireside Chat Ale is a spiced winter ale that warms your frigid bones in these gloomy January days.

Joe Wilson

Almost as creative as it's brews are 21st Amendment's names and accompanying illustrations on the cans and packaging. Fireside Chat features a smiling and smoking FDR having a cheerful conversation with an elf by his hearth and, as with most of the brews that come out of 21st Amendment, it's named for something in American history. Back in Black, a (delicious!) black IPA boasts a drawing of Paul Revere, lantern held high, riding a motorcycle. The Brew Free or Die IPA shows a monolithic Abe Lincoln breaking free from Mount Rushmore. I found myself wondering who was behind these creative cans and these detailed illustrations. The answer is Joe Wilson, a UK based illustrator who is known for his meticulous pen and ink work. You can check out more of Joe's work at his site or a fuller portfolio here. As for the 21st Amendment, you can pick up a six pack at any liqueur or wine shop that carries specialty beer for $8.99. Enjoy! -hil

Joe Wilson

Culinary Seattle: a food guide

 Something I've noticed about the way Sean and I do tourism is that it always centers around food. Even if we were visiting the Nürnberg birthplace of Albrecht Dürer, eating those delightful little sausages across the square would be just as important. And so it was in Seattle, a city in which good food is happily plentiful and it's citizens take pride in it. I've prepared a short guide to the food we ate, including our favorite spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Enjoy!
Breakfast
I was delightfully surprised by a tiny breakfast spot we came upon in the university district. Nook is a cute little hole-in-the-wall that you might miss if you're not looking hard enough. The unassuming facade is just a front, I assure you. Once inside, you'll be enticed by the smell of Nook's specialty (and really, the only thing on the menu): biscuits. That's right, tray after tray of fresh, fluffy biscuits. Like many eateries in this city, Nook's focus is narrow, but what they do they do extremely well. The menu consists of either biscuit sandwiches or biscuits and gravy. And oh, the gravy! I had a chili cheese smothered biscuit with pickled jalapenos and Sean ordered the vegetarian Mushroom gravy with the most perfectly poached egg perched atop it. I read a lot of Yelp reviews before deciding on this place and I'm not the only one who these biscuits reduce to a childlike state. I think the only word I could remember for the next hour was, "yum!" Do note, however, that Nook's commitment to excellence means no frozen biscuits are ever to be served which means once they run out the doors close for the day, so get there early.

The food guide continues after the jump!

Recipe Review: Real Simple's Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

My sweet husband bought me a subscription to Real Simple Magazine this Christmas, a gift I'm excited to get all year round, and with all the time over the holidays I plowed through the January issue. They had a great segment of weeknight meal recipes called Takeout Fakeout, meant to mimmic the items you most love to order as takeout. Last night I tried the recipe for Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala. Though I am a regular user of Curry, Cumin, and Coconut milk, it's almost inevitably in Thai-style dishes. I realized I hadn't done too much Indian cooking at home, and Tikka Masala is one of my favorite things to order at an Indian restaurant, so I fired up the crock pot.


Read on for the rest of the review after the jump!

Gift Guide for the Chef

Todays gift guide is brought to you by guest blogger Lindsey Stevens. Lindsey lives in Cincinnati and is an avid cook. I know I am in for a treat every time I get the honor of eating her food because she is always up for a challenge and loves to experiment with new ingredients. She's earned a degree from Midwest Culinary Institute and has curated a list of goodies with which every chef should stock their kitchen. Thanks, Linds!

Read on for details and Lindsey's comments after the jump!

Mom's Turkey leftover remedy: Grießklößchen soup

Every year, once Thanksgiving has passed, there's still one thing to be looked forward to in my family, and that thing is Grießklößchen (grease-kloos-hen) suppe. My mom boils down the turkey bones into soup broth and then adds these wonderful little german potato dumplings. Unfortunately, if her sister hasn't shipped some over from the old country, these little gems are pretty hard to find. If there's a german grocer or international foods market near you, you may be able to find a mix for them, otherwise you're up the creek. But never fear, folks. There is an easy substitute. Head down to the kosher section of your local bodega and pick up some matzo ball mix and you're ready to go! Read on for how to make this delicious Thanksgiving hangover after the jump!

A last minute list for Thanksgiving day

Happy thanksgiving! I hope you're all cozily snuggled on your couches watching the big parade. But if you're anything like my family, you're probably busily making a schedule for oven use or being sent out to the grocery store with a last minute list in your hot little hand. So to help with these eleventh-hour errands, I've compiled a short list of items that never hurt to have around this capitol of all cooking days. You can view it after the jump. Hope it's helpful and have a great holiday! -hil

Thanksgiving for the Smaller Table

For the past ten years or so, I've gone to Florida with my family for Thanksgiving. We don't have much extended family, at least not any close by, so our holidays have always been a bit small. When my oldest sister got hitched and it was just my parents and Lindsey and I, we started inviting folks over on Thanksgiving, but even that felt pretty modest. That's why I'm very excited to spend the holiday with Sean's family this year. The extended family lives close by for the most part, and those who don't are driving in. I think Thanksgiving is a great time for a large group, a festive feast, and even if your family is small it's nice to attend a good party or go over to a friends house this time of year. However, if there's just a couple of you, cooking a huge turkey and all the fixings can be overwhelming and impractical for your personal Thanksgiving meal. Never fear: I'm here to help.

I think it's important to cook something special on the holidays. It helps to set the occasion apart, hence the traditional whole Turkey. But if fifteen pounds of poultry is a little over the top for you and just a couple other guests, consider this recipe I found for Roasted Cornish Hens with Apples and Onions. What's great about the cornish hen is they always feel really special to make and to eat, plus you get the satisfaction of serving the whole bird. They are a bit of a delicacy and certainly aren't the most practical, but they're so small that it makes them easy to work with. They don't dry out like other birds in the oven since it doesn't take as long for them to cook the whole way through. This particular recipe is festive and rich: perfect to serve alongside mashed potatoes and all the other Thanksgiving accouterments. Part of it even includes a delicious gravy! I like that it's a simple recipe that produces a complex flavor. You'll need a dutch oven for this one, as well as: 2 Cornish Hens, olive oil, an onion, 2 apples, dried thyme, a smidgen of brandy, and a splash of apple cider. If you have flour or cornstarch nearby, it might be handy to thicken the gravy. Follow the link above for the complete instructions and read on for a visual How To after the jump!

Second Family Thanksgiving

This past weekend Sean and I hosted a little gathering called Second Family Thanksgiving. We moved around our furniture and thanks to some kind friends who brought extra tables and chairs, we were able to turn our tiny home into what looked like a ramshackle but cozy restaurant for the evening. It was my first time doing a turkey solo, and one certainly feels the weight of getting it right when there's fifteen pounds of main course depending on you. I went with something fairly straightforward and also wrapped some bacon around the bird to give some extra flavor (a trick my sister Lindsey taught me). Success was mine, as was the whole night. We had folks bring a veritable cornucopia of dishes, from the traditional sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce to mashed parsnips and waldorf salad. It was delicious!

The vintage plates help add that homey feel

One of the best parts was seeing all the people from every corner of our lives crammed into the same room enjoying one another. Despite the fact that most were strangers to each other, it felt like a reunion of old friends. Having a celebration like this was such a phenomenal way to embrace this season. The founders of this occasion in Oxford, the Quays, were of course desperately missed, but it was lovely to see the legacy they'd left with us. Also, a few lovely ladies had collected vintage plates for me back in the spring to use for the wedding, but it ended up being a bust. Fortunately, we still had them stowed away and used them for the event. They added a great down home feel to the whole thing.

So, from Second Family Thanksgiving, I've included some family photos. My sincere apologies for neglecting to take pictures of the beautiful and expansive spread! In all the excitement, I just plum forgot.

Ashley and Mark with their award (a vintage plate, duh) for coming the farthest: all the way from Iowa!

Verily, Thanksgiving is almost upon us! Here's to a week of food, merriment and togetherness. You can view more pictures of our Second Family after the jump!

A Rustic Italian November Dinner

Last night my sister, Lindsey, and her beau came for dinner, which gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe I've been carrying around in my back pocket for awhile now. About a month and a half ago Design*Sponge posted a recipe by food editor and stylist Dani Fischer for orecchiette with orange-spiced lamb meatballs. I immediately knew this was one I'd like to try and bought a pound of lamb at the farmer's market that very weekend. It has been sitting in the freezer since, and last night I triumphantly sculpted it into these lovely meatballs.

The recipe itself is very rustic and earthy, and it felt fulfilling to make. I started the stock earlier in the day and followed the instructions to the T, boiling down a few potatoes, celery stalks with leaves, and I even found arugula to add into the mix. It smelled quite tantalizing as it simmered. The most actual labor came into play mixing and forming the meatballs and thinly slicing the eight celery hearts. I nearly always underestimate how much time cooking will take, and these two things definitely slowed my progress. Luckily, our dinner guests were also running late.
More on this culinary adventure after the jump!

Turkey Day or Bust

First of all, forgive me for being flaky last week posting-wise. It was birthday week! Can't a girl take it easy? And now that my birthday has indeed kicked off the holiday season, I can turn to face what is up next: Thanksgiving!
Yes, folks, it's that time of year when I have to be inordinately cautious not to drool on my keyboard. There are so many great holiday recipes online! Beware the obscene amount of foodie posts about to usurp this blog. I love food, and when it comes to the holidays I become obsessed with it.
This week Sean and I are hosting a tradition started a couple years ago by our friends the Quays, who recently relocated to Colorado. We live in a small college town, so when any sort of holiday or school sanctioned break rolls around, this place empties out like a frat party with a dry keg. That's why the weekend before this particular holiday we like to have what's called Second Family Thanksgiving: a time when we can celebrate Tday with all our friends in town. We provide the turkey and they provide all the side dishes. The only problem is I tend to get a bit carried away looking up recipes and want to make about a million things. Don't worry, I'll control myself. But I have rounded up a few of my favorite, most festive recipes to share with you. I've picked three each as far as turkey, side dishes, and desserts. Click the links below them to get the full recipes. Enjoy! -hil

turkeys

Left to Right: Cider-Brined Turkey with Star Anise and Cinnamon, Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast stuffed with Pear Hash, Pancetta-Sage Turkey

More festive recipes after the jump!

Brooks, beasts and birthday lunch...Oh My!

My new saddle with all it's packaging. 

This morning Sean gave me my birthday gift and it's...a Brooks saddle! If you don't realize how awesome this is, you don't realize how big a nerd I am about these saddles. These things are LEGIT. Brooks has been making saddles since 1866, back when John Boultbee Brooks' horse died and he had to start commuting to work on a bicycle. The discomfort of his saddle inspired him to find a solution. That said, these leather saddles are still crafted today in a tradition passed down over centuries. When I opened the box and saw it today, it was like receiving something out of a time machine. It doesn't feel like most things that are made today; it's sturdy and made with outstanding craftsmanship. It almost feels like something you'd buy in Diagon Alley were you heading back to Hogwarts. Even the packaging of the item speaks to the tradition of quality. It exudes a quite confidence that says, "this is the best saddle you could ever have for your bike." I'm so excited to get it up and running on my LHT.

After that I was lucky enough to be graced by the presence of my friend Annie. As I had spent the morning watching The Next Iron Chef on food network (go chef Samuelsson!), I was feeling ambitious in the way of the kitchen and made some mini pizza tortes.

that recipe and more after the jump!

power combo: roasted tomato soup and mexican torta

A couple of months ago I gave a recipe off of smitten kitchen a try. Let me tell you, it's hard for me to go on that blog because if I do I will spend all day in the kitchen cooking all her recipes. They wow me every time! And the best thing is they never feel like they are out of my reach to make. I can't speak more highly of this blog and it's wonderful, accessible recipes.
Anyhow. Tangent aside...

tomatoes, prepare to be roasted...

The recipe I tried was for roasted tomato soup with broiled cheddar and it was born from a desire to find a way to merge grilled cheese with tomato soup. It is absolutely delicious and is one of those easy-to-make yet impressive-to-eat dishes you know I love. We made it the first time when some out-of-town friends were staying with us for the weekend and it was just when the first tinge of fall was in the air. Alongside some monster quesadillas and a bottle of wine, it was a great autumn dinner. But I still wasn't convinced that quesadillas were the right pairing. This was my struggle: because of the awesome grilled cheese topping on the soup, it was hard to pair it with another item. It would look weird to plop a piece of meat on a plate next to it, and a salad would be good but might not feel like enough of a meal if it was being served for dinner. I tried the recipe again when Sean's parents came to visit a few weeks ago, and we served it with some chicken sandwiches. Also good, but I still wasn't satisfied. I felt confident it should be served along with some kind of sandwich, but what? And then, a couple weeks ago, I found it: the Mexican Torta.
Get the recipe after the jump!

Yes, you can cook this: Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

When it comes to cooking, I've always got a few recipes up my sleeve that are sure to impress; these are dishes that I know will be delicious and are hard to mess up, yet have certain one-of-a-kind details guaranteed to evoke that "ooooh" factor in dinner guests. This Sunday I added another to my repertoire.
While Sean was in upstate New York this weekend learning to be a master painter, (seriously, I'll have to post some of his work sometime. Just beautiful) I took the opportunity to go to my parent's. Usually the best thing about our home is that Sean is there, so there wasn't much point in sticking around the empty house. Plus it was nice to have some solid time with my family, and as an added bonus I got to eat some absolutely astounding meals, one of which I'll share with you today. I guess my sister Kristi made this recipe for my other sister, Lindsey, last week, and Linds wanted to share it with the rest of us. The recipe is called "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good" and believe me, it's no lie. The great thing about this recipe is there are countless variations on it. Once you've made one, I guarantee you'll have ten more ideas for how to make the next. It's just the nature of the beast. Even the author, Dorie Greenspan, admits this is more of an "outline" than a "recipe." She has some great remarks on the subject:

"Catherine sent me a charming outline of the recipe, and as soon as I'd baked my first pumpkin, I realized that an outline is about the best you can do with this dish. It's a hollowed-out pumpkin stuffed with bread, cheese, garlic, and cream, and since pumpkins come in unpredictable sizes, cheeses and breads differ, and baking times depend on how long it takes for the pumpkin to get soft enough to pierce with a knife, being precise is impossible.

As Catherine said when she turned this family favorite over to me, "I hope you will put the recipe to good use, knowing that it's destined to evolve . . . and maybe even be improved."

Well, I've certainly been putting it to good use, and it has evolved, although I'm not sure that it's been improved, since every time I make it, it's different, but still wonderful. My guess is that you'll have the same feeling once you start playing around with this 'outline'(Greenspan)."

The recipe you'll find on Epicurious is for more of a traditional bread stuffing inside the pumpkin. Lindsey stuffed ours with delicious risotto, spinach, parsnips, cheese, and chicken sausage. Fortunately I was in the kitchen with her as she concocted this magical delight and have step-by-step pictures of her process to share with you.

Read on for the visual How-To after the jump!

Appetizer Idea: sweet potato wontons

Sean and I went down to visit my family in Cincinnati last sunday and my sister Lindsey was mixing up one of my favorite of her always original finger foods: sweet potato wontons. This is a tasty asian-inspired appetizer for the fall. It's perfect especially if you have a few extra hands hanging around to help fold up the wontons during prep time. This was perfect since my other sister and I were sitting in the kitchen with Linds as she cooked. The wontons have to be sealed up nice and tight so the insides won't get burnt when you fry them in the hot oil. Other than the folding, this dish is pretty simple and sure to impress.

Read on for a visual how-to after the jump!

culinary brooklyn

I thought it fitting to finish out my tales of our New York trip with one of my favorite parts: the food! We had the privilege of dining on some absolutely scrumptious eats while we were there. All the restaurants in Brooklyn seem to be very proud of their fare, and they are into serving up free range, organic foods. This makes for some tasty meals, let me tell you. I probably had the most delicious chicken sandwich ever our first day there; it was finished with watercress, mint, cilantro, and pickled veggies.
I cataloged our food from two of the places we went:
A visual guide to our meals after the jump!

the new york cupcake

There is a phenomena in New York City that you just don't see so often in Ohio: cupcake shops. What's that, you say? A bakery devoted solely to the craft of tiny, frosted, baby-sized cakes? I'm here to tell you: they are REAL! They don't just exist on Sex And The City, and, though I have yet to authenticate exactly how long the wait outside Magnolia bakery really is, this new yorker may be able to set you straight. Now, the hype may exceed reality, but all the same I really wanted to stop at one of these shops. A few hours before our flight on Sunday we popped into Cupcakeland Bakery in Williamsburg. After soliciting an opinion, I took the advice of one of the co-owners and got a cookie cupcake. The best part by far was the extremely rich oreo cream cheese frosting. Yowza. It cured my sweet tooth for at least the next month, and it was a fun experience.

This got me thinking, though: just what makes these cupcakes seem so much more delectable than anything I see at the grocery store or for that matter make at home? And I've come to a conclusion: it's the way they do the frosting. That immaculate little swirl perched atop those perfectly baked cakes is a temptation to great to resist. And so it was decided: I had to try this for myself. All I had on my shelf was a box of plain vanilla cake mix, but I really wanted to make something more festive. I found a recipe online for pumpkin cupcakes and all I really had to do was add a can of pumpkin to the mix. I beat in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to some cream cheese frosting and put that in a zip loc bag. I carefully snipped one corner off the bag and used that as a piper and then sprinkled the top with more cinnamon. I think the end product looks almost just as enticing. Read on for a visual how-to after the jump! -hil