grits and fried eggs

I’m not sure exactly when I tried grits for the first time, but I know I liked them from the start. I love their creamy, and often cheesy, texture and the way they can so easily become the vehicle for everything on your plate. Well, I saw a recipe for cheesy grits in April’s Gourmet and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try making them.

I used quick-cooking grits and they lived up to their name. In addition to being quick they’re also rich and full of flavor. The trick to the fullness is using a combination of water and whole milk, along with some butter and a little salt and pepper. Once that comes to a simmer, just whisk in the grits and keep an eye on them, with a stir here and there. Continue reading »

Filed under breakfast and eat by kelly. June 8th, 2009 . 8 Comments

happy hour: frothy mint lemonade

My aunt and uncle came to visit me a few weeks ago and treated me to a lovely lunch at The Cupping Room right around the corner from my office. As soon as I sat down I looked to see what my aunt was drinking and it was big glass of frothy mint lemonade, which sounded just perfect, so I ordered my own. When it arrived I took sip and was blown away by its awesomeness. I’d had mint lemonade before and it’s always good, but this was something different. The mint was there in flavor but almost pulverized in the actual beverage. The thing that really made it different though was that it had a frothy head on it, much like a beer has head. Well I couldn’t just let that go and not try to recreate it. Continue reading »

Filed under happy hour by kelly. June 5th, 2009 . 7 Comments

port-braised cipollini onions

I’m in love with cipollini onions. They’re sweet and oniony and oh so delicious. Sure they still make tears come pouring from my eyes, but man are those tears worth it, especially this recipe. This is another one from a cookbook I’ve come to love, Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool. The recipe is inspired by a dish by the chef at Union Square Cafe, a place I’ve yet to visit, but after tasting these amazing onions I might just run there. They are rock-your-world good. Continue reading »

Filed under eat and sides by kelly. June 4th, 2009 . 5 Comments

tomatoes + peppers (+ rosemary too): week 14

The plants are still alive and you may have noticed they are now at home outside. I have to tell you, I did not thoroughly think this project through. Did you know that tomatoes require a large space to grow? Yup, they do. Did you know that I have a tiny fire escape in which I planned to grow 50 tomato and pepper seedlings? Thank goodness only 6 survived. Another fun fact, “large spaces” means big old pots that need lots of soil in them. I live on the 4th floor of a walk-up building, so guess who hauled 80 pounds of soil up all those stairs (aaron was out of town). That would be me. Well that felt good, letting out some of that pent-up aggression towards my garden.

I’ve been very good at watering them since they’ve been outside. I’m still a nervous nellie that I’m going to kill them, actually even more so now because of all the work I’ve put into them. I don’t feel like they’ve made that much progress since they’ve been outside, but maybe I just need to be more patient. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but also coming up with a back up plan in case they bite the dust.

Filed under gardening by kelly. June 3rd, 2009 . 10 Comments

lychee + cilantro granita

After working just blocks away from New York City’s Chinatown for three years I’ve finally started exploring it. Oh what treasures it holds! Last week as I was wandering through the streets I found some fresh lychees and couldn’t resist buying them. Every other time I’d had lychees they’ve been canned and come in simple syrup, so I started to think about pairing my fresh lychees with a homemade infused simple syrup. My friend allison suggested a basil infusion which sounded super tasty, but then when I went to the market I found come fresh cilantro and thought it might just do the trick. I decided that granitas would be the perfect vehicle to carry my little flavor experimentation. Continue reading »

Filed under eat and sweets by kelly. June 2nd, 2009 . 4 Comments

follow me on twitter

I’ve been tweeting for a while now but I just figured out how to add the updates to the site. Take a peek to the right or follow me on twitter to join me as I explore different restaurants, shops and events in nyc and beyond.

Filed under read by kelly. June 2nd, 2009 . 1 Comments

spring pesto

Pesto is one of those things that is so easy to make, can be tinkered with again and again and almost always tastes fantastic. I love traditional basil pesto but I get angry when I have to pay $4 for a tiny plastic container of it at the supermarket and then I think back to when it’s in season at the greenmarket and they sell armloads of it for $2. Needless to say I looked for inspiration elsewhere and found some green garlic and chives that both looked and smelled wonderful. I brought my green treasures home and quickly whipped up a delicious spring pesto.

More after the jump…

Continue reading »

Filed under dinner and eat by kelly. June 1st, 2009 . 9 Comments