pickled onions

I make tacos for dinner way more often than I make anything else. They’re just easy and always delicious… I don’t care what you throw in there, if it’s in a tortilla, we’ll probably eat it. This weekend after I got some carnitas going in the crock pot, I decided it was time to jazz things up on the taco front (P.S. if you don’t have a crock pot yet, make that happen, you’ll never look back). That’s where these lovely pickled onions come in.

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Filed under read by kelly. February 22nd, 2012 . 1 Comments

happy hour: kumquat + ginger fizz

Hellloooo happy hour! I’ve been waiting for you all week! Thank goodness I have a long weekend to look forward to, because this week was a whopper. One thing I know, this little number is a perfect way to ease on into the weekend. Kumquats muddled with a little ginger liqueur, then paired with rum is the perfect way to to revive the spirit and jumpstart your weekend festivities. Whew!

Cheers! To then end of a long week, kumquats and long weekends!

kumquat + ginger fizz
makes 1 cocktail

4 kumquats, sliced and deseeded
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1 ounce ginger liqueur (Domaine de Canton)
1 1/2 ounce white rum
seltzer water

1
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquats with the simple syrup until you’ve muddled all the juice from the kumquats.

2
Fill the shaker with ice and add the rum and ginger liqueur. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Top it off with seltzer water, garnish with a kumquat slice and a straw. Enjoy!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. February 17th, 2012 . 1 Comments

bacon french toast

When I was a kid I hated french toast—even the smell would make me run and hide. I was also the kind of picky kid who loved waffles but hated pancakes. My poor mother. I’m happy to say that times have changed and I’ve embraced all breakfast foods, especially french toast.

Last weekend, after picking up some amazing smoked bacon and challah bread at the farmers’ market, I had a flash of brilliance. Why not combine two of my favorite breakfast foods, bacon and french toast? Especially since I already slather my bacon with syrup anyways, I mean, it almost seems like I’d be saving myself time. I’m happy to say I did it and there’s a possibility that even my 8-year old self would have loved this.

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Filed under breakfast and eat by kelly. February 16th, 2012 . 4 Comments

happy hour: love potion

Well, Valentine’s Day is upon us. Some of you may roll your eyes, some may jump for joy and most will probably be somewhere in the middle. I see it as a day to slow down, take a time out and just enjoy your favorite person. In the spirit of taking it easy, I whipped up this little number I’ve dubbed the love potion (I know, totally cheesy, I’m ok with that). This is possibly the easiest drink ever, just a step behind pouring a glass of wine. Blood orange juice paired with a little bubbly—not only is it tasty, but it’s red to boot! So go ahead and impress the one you love or just treat yourself.

Cheers! To slowing down, sipping tasty drinks and love!

love potion
makes 2 cocktails

3 ounces blood orange juice, divided
sparkling wine, such as prosecco
blood orange slice, to garnish

Pour 1 1/2 ounces into each champagne flute. Top with the prosecco, pouring slowly, stopping about an inch from the top of the glass. Enjoy!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. February 10th, 2012 . 7 Comments

roasted cauliflower with walnut pesto

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this may be the best thing I’ve had made this year; and that’s coming from someone who turned up her nose at cauliflower for the first 28 years of her life. Yeah—it’s good. I can’t claim responsibility for the idea though. Aaron and I had brunch at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Roman’s, and innocently ordered a cauliflower panzanella. It was lovely, with big chunky croutons, endive, roasted cauliflower and little smears of walnut pesto. One bite of the cauliflower paired with the walnut pesto and we were blown away. As far as I was concerned, the croutons and endive were lovely, but it was all about the caramelized and crispy cauliflower and that lick-the-plate-worthy walnut pesto. So you know what I did when I got home, right? I set about recreating that magic at home.

First off, roasted cauliflower, like most roasted vegetables, is so easy and the results are phenomenal. After a half hour or so in the oven, the little florets come out golden and crispy, with a caramelized flavor that is so far from anything I would have ever associated with cauliflower as a kid. Honestly, it kind of tastes like candy—rich, nutty and caramely.

But let’s get to the hero of the dish, the walnut pesto. Before we left the restaurant, I made sure to ask what was in the pesto, which seemed to go through different flavor phases—sweet, salty, nutty. We got word from the chef that it was simply walnuts, honey, pecorino cheese, and olive oil. Simple stuff that, when paired together, are a match made in heaven. I played with the proportions a little when I got home and landed on something that was pretty darn close to the original. My pesto turned out a little chunkier, so I ended up tossing little bits of the pesto in with the cauliflower, which I actually really like because it means you get little surprises.

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Filed under eat and sides by kelly. February 8th, 2012 . 7 Comments

winter citrus

How pretty is that?! Man, I’m loving the all the citrus available right now.  This week I went to the Manhattan Fruit Exchange and picked up sweet lemons, sweet limes and sour oranges, 3 varieties I’d never tried. You know what I found out? Sweet lemon and sweet lime don’t really taste like much. Bummer! They have a hint of flavor but really lack the acidity that makes their common counterparts so flavorful. Their rinds smell lovely though, so I’m hoping to use them in a sauce or maybe some muffins. The sour orange kind of tastes like a lemon with a hint of sweet orange. What’s your favorite citrus?

Clockwise from bright red: ruby red grapefruit, sour lime, sour lemon, pomello, blood orange, sour orange.

Filed under color and eat by kelly. February 6th, 2012 . 3 Comments

happy hour: orange manhattan

February is here! Can you believe it? I kind of can’t—this year is flying by already! But even though it’s whizzing by doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right? This is a drink I’ve been playing with for a while—it’s a bit of an experiment and it’s strong. 100% booze in fact, so beware. I can’t remember where I was, but I had an orange manhattan and it was so lovely, I had to come home and try to make my own. This is pretty close. It’s as boozy, delicious and relaxing as a regular manhattan, but with a hint of orange both in the flavor and scent. So if you like manhattan’s and you’re looking to mix it up a bit, try this out.

Oh, and in case you missed it, I was interviewed on the radio show The Food Seen earlier this week. You can listen to the whole 45-minute interview here.

Cheers! To February, the weekend and boozy drinks!

Orange Manhattan
makes one strong drink

1 1/2 ounces whiskey
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce orange liqueur like cointreau
dash of orange bitters
orange peel to garnish

1
Combine the whiskey, vermouth, orange liqueur and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and stir for about 30 seconds—you’re looking to melt a fair amount of ice.

2
Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with the orange peel, then strain the cocktail into the glass. Garnish with the orange peel. Cheers!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. February 3rd, 2012 . 0 Comments

happy hour: pomelo fizz (no. 2)

Well, helllooo happy hour! Today I found my first pomelo of the season and just had to use it in today’s happy hour. Last year I made a pomelo fizz, but I thought it was worth taking it up a notch by adding an egg white. Now, I’ve been avoiding egg whites in my cocktails because they kind of scared me—I mean, I’d hate to mess it up and have an eggy drink. But this year I’ve decided it’s time to take risks and try new things, so that lovely foam you see at the top of the cocktail, that’s courtesy of an egg white. It came out perfectly. So I urge you to go ahead and try it, it’s easy peasy. Plus, the cocktail is light and refreshing, with a hint of sweet and tart, it’s a perfect drink to usher in the weekend.

Cheers! To taking risks, surprises at the supermarket and the weekend!

pomelo fizz no. 2
makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce pomelo juice (about 1/4 of a pomelo)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 1/2 ounce gin
1 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce egg white
1-2 ounce soda water

1
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the pomelo and lemon juice, gin, simple syrup and egg white (yess!). Now, shake that puppy like you’ve never shook it before. We’re talking long, hard shakes for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

2
Strain the liquid into a collins glass—you may have to take the lid off in order to get all the foam, just make sure not to add the ice. Top it off with enough soda water to fill the glass and garnish with a pomelo slice.

Filed under happy hour by kelly. January 27th, 2012 . 4 Comments

blood orange cake

One of the things I love about food—and sharing recipes—is that there’s always something new to try. Always. It doesn’t have to be something crazy—it can be—but it can be something as simple as swapping out an lemon for a blood orange and taadaaa! You’ve got something new! There’s a level of anticipation involved (wherein I whisper to myself, “please be good, please be good”) and then there’s the simplicity of seeing raw ingredients become something totally new (wherein I whisper to myself “please don’t be ugly”). It’s just fun. Sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I get in a slump and feel like everything is boring. Luckily I always come around. Perhaps it’s because there are things like blood oranges that feel like little treasures just waiting to be discovered. I came up with the idea of this cake after spying lemon cake at my local coffee shop and thought, mmm, that sounds good… but I bet blood orange cake would be better. And so I present you with a simple, tasty blood orange cake.

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Filed under breakfast and eat and sweets by kelly. January 25th, 2012 . 3 Comments

meyer lemon curd

I’m going to do it again—winter citrus’ i heart you! This time I’m going to sing the praises of meyer lemons, the sweeter, more sophisticated cousin to the lemon. Meyer lemons have a smoother skin and are often slightly more orange than a common lemon. They bring depth to dishes like lemons do, but they just have a little less tartness. And since they’re not in the grocery store year round (at least in NYC), they feel like little treats. So this week, upon being invited to a brunch party at a friend’s house, I decided to make some meyer lemon curd. It’s a snap to make and tastes like heaven on everything from toast to waffles.

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Filed under condiments/sauces and eat by kelly. January 17th, 2012 . 9 Comments