"I love laughs!"

It’s time for another theme night! Kasia suggested one of her personal favorites, Marilyn Monroe. I wasn’t sure what kind of foods would relate to this theme, so we decided to go with a color—rosé. But if it’s pink or red or gives off a diamonds-are-a-girl’s-best-friend vibe… well, that’s okay too.

We’ve done salmon and scallops, so tonight I decided we needed something not only fitting the color theme, but also a little on the decadent side. Steak! I had a little radicchio left over from Easter to rosé-up our salad, and Kasia requested roasted bone marrow appetizer—since she still hadn’t tried it. Hey, when it comes to bone marrow, you don’t have to ask me twice… or once.

Now that I think about it, the movie is all about these women trying to snag themselves rich husbands by pretending to be rich. They just pawn their furniture, live off hotdogs and hang out in the mink department at Bergdorf-Goodman's. "Champagne taste on a beer budget"... that's our theme.

I started by marinating the steaks. I used garlic, s+p, Worcester sauce, and some raspberry balsamic glaze that I picked up at Cardullo’s a while back. Perfect for this theme, ay?

Kasia and I decided to make our own salad dressing again, this time using raspberries as a base. Kasia pushed them through a sieve to separate out the seeds. She saved half of it for our dessert, and to the other half we added oil and balsamic vinegar, a little sugar, a little lemon juice and some s+p.

It turned out pretty tasty...

and red!

We sipped on some wine (red, of course), while Adam did manly things, such as man-ning the steaks while wielding a sharp knife.

Not everything was red-red, but it definitely fit our "How to Marry a Millionaire" theme. In case you didn't know, bone marrow is dirt-cheap. I think that's because most people use them for stocks and stews, not as meat butter (their loss). Making your own dressing is cheap, but definitely fancier. The parsley salad is simple but elegant as well.

The main cost for me was the steak. But seeing as how I rarely buy/eat steak, I didn't feel guilty about this one indulgence. Besides, these were $15 for three, which at a restaurant would be much, much more.

I don't have a grill, so I referred to Pioneer Woman's cast iron skillet technique. It worked out nicely, especially with some caramelized onions on top.

Oh, by the way, the parsley salad is:

chopped parsley
thinly sliced shallot
olive oil
lemon juice
s+p
a little minced garlic

I didn't measure, I just eye-balled and whisked everything together. This parsley salad brings it to the next level. It's awesome. Now I'm wondering what else I can put it on...

After dinner, we quickly threw together the cakes, which I'm officially calling Kasia's specialty.

And Adam brushed up on his cat photography...

...and popped open the bubbly

heehee

well get you!

So that's that. Another successful theme-dinner. Kasia thoroughly enjoyed her first bone marrow, Adam was a trooper, sitting through a Marilyn movie without complaint, and I saved a bundle and had a blast cooking with friends. I'm not sure what the next theme night will be... any suggestions? I'm thinking Italian (and maybe Moonstruck?).

Have a great week!

m

Christos Anesti!

I'm not sure if I've told you this or not, but Easter is my favorite holiday. It has been for as long as I can remember, and I only love it more since I've started my own traditions as an adult. This year is a little bittersweet, though. It is our third and my last Easter brunch in Boston, so I wanted it to be extra special. Unfortunately, all of our carnivorous friends cancelled on us, so no lamb. Sanne and I decided to go vegetarian so that Jordan wouldn't feel bad about his lifestyle choices.

Even though this one felt slightly more thrown-together than our typical planned-months-in-advance holiday meals, I am pretty happy with how it came together in the end. And, as you know, I do enjoy a good challenge every now and then. So putting together a vegetarian Easter on a whim was great fun.

Sanne found a super cool recipe for tiny cakes baked inside of hollowed-out Easter eggs, and I finally decided on a salad. We also decided on white truffle green beans and a quiche. Jordan brought two different kinds of Matzo Kugel -a traditional Passover dish.

I started with the vinaigrette for my salad. I followed the recipe exactly, but found it to be a little dry, so I added a little more lemon juice and olive oil.

2 cups (packed) flat-leaf parsley (leaves and stems)

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon Champagne vinegar

1 garlic clove, crushed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meanwhile, Sanne got to work on the eggs, dyeing and draining them of their innards.

After draining them, she rinsed them really well and set them to dry overnight. 

I boiled some water for tea, and added some sugar and a half a bag of frozen strawberries. I put that in the refrigerator overnight.

This morning, I joined my mom for church while sautéing some spinach and shallots for quiche. You really can't go wrong with quiche, and there are so many possibilities.

To that, I added some chopped tomato, about 1/2 a medium chopped onion and 8 oz. of cheddar cheese. Also, 1c half and half (or 4 1/2t butter and a little milk).

For the salad, I sliced 2 stalks of celery on an extreme diagonal, and tore off the leaves of 1 medium radicchio head. Hehe, radicchio-head.

I tossed the radicchio with a few tablespoons of the dressing and laid it out on a platter.

Then, I did the same with 1 can of drained and rinsed cannelini beans and celery...

...put it on top of the radicchio, and topped it with 1 drained can of albacore tuna (in water, not oil). I drizzled a little of the vinaigrette on top of that.

Sanne mixed up a lemon-y sour cream cake and used a ziplock bag with a teeny hole snipped out of it to fill each egg shell about halfway with batter. Using aluminum foil, she propped them up in muffin tins and baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

We needed one more quick and easy side, so I sauteed some green beans and onion in a little olive oil and white truffle oil, seasoned with s+p and a little italian seasoning.

Jordan brought a sweet kugel with apples, and a savory one with mushrooms and onions, which had a little kick to it. Both were delicious!

Finally, it was time for dessert! The cake overflowed a little from the eggs, but situated just so, you can't even tell. They were adorable. And the cake turned out awesome-- light and fluffy with a great flavor.

me and my jew

so fun to eat! Definitely try these if you have kids!

I'm really glad we went meatless this year. Sometimes a great salad and a few thoughtful side dishes are all you need. I don't know if I could pick a favorite, but the salad was really tasty, especially the vinaigrette. And the cakes, of course, were heavenly. Also, mushroom kugel, I'm glad I kept some leftovers. Go team!

Speaking of eggs, look at Shamus's Easter-y self, lookin out the window...

How was your Passover/ Resurrection Sunday/ Easter? Cook anything good? Anyone celebrating again next weekend? It's Greek Easter! I might take that opportunity to try out that lamb! Plus, it means I would get to celebrate my favorite holiday two weeks in a row. Any more Easters I should know about?
m

good times, great oldies

This past weekend, I got to spend some quality time with a few of my wackiest oldest friends! 

Thursday night, we met up at Shannon & Russ's for a bottle of wine and some cheese from Cardullo's. Afterward, Jordan, Trinity and I headed out for dinner and ended up at Sacco's for bowling, pizza and beers. We ordered the special, which was a pear, arugula pizza with a white cheese sauce and a mushroom, goat cheese and peppers. They were so good...

...and a nice compliment to our beertinis (its a Boston thing... that we invented). Some other things happened after that, but I'll just leave you with a photo of the beertinis...

its just beer

On Saturday, I took Trinity, Jordan and Andrew to my favorite breakfast spot, Uncommon Grounds for some eggs benedict and a short stack.

 (clockwise, from top left: salmon, crab cake, spinach & feta)

It was a crazy fun, unexpected weekend, one that I desperately needed.

I spent most of my calories on lunch today, so for a light dinner, I made a tuna salad. Instead of preparing it the traditional way with globs of mayo, I opted for a few healthier add-ins. I mixed in some whole grain mustard, a little horseradish, s+p and chopped tomatoes. Then I scooped it onto a bed of arugula and drizzled a little oil and balsamic vinegar over it. Deee-licious.

I can't wait to eat the rest tomorrow on a sandwich.

Finally, I have some sad and happy news. The sad news is, after three years in Boston, I have decided it's time to move on. It's been an incredible three years, and I am so, so sad to go. But it's time. The good news is, I'm headed back to Florida. Back to my family and friends, back to non-rocky, warm-water beaches and back to teaching. I am so excited.

This should mean exciting things for FeDish! I've learned a lot about food and cooking over the past three experimental years, and it will be fun to apply my Boston-influence to the way we cook down south. I'm also really excited to cook for my Florida people.

So, needless to say, there is a lot of partying to be done between now and then. Sanne's birthday is tomorrow (and its restaurant week!), and this weekend, I'm getting my favorite Indians together for some cooking and dancing! Stay tuned!

m

undead inspiration

My friend Kasia and I somehow started talking about Interview with a Vampire last weekend, specifically, how badly Kasia wanted to watch the movie. I told her that I owned it and she declared that the following Saturday would be dinner and a movie at my house, research paper be damned!

I decided this movie night needed a theme, and tonight's dinner would revolve around the dessert. Here is Kasia making the ganache...

After that was finished, we put it in the refrigerator to set, and Elizabeth served us some wine with raspberries.

of course

The second course was a spinach and arugula salad with bleu cheese, pecans, and a blood orange vinaigrette. I whisked together some of the orange juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a little honey. I always forget about salads when I'm planning a meal. Making my own dressing is something that I want to do more of, though. This one turned out really good.

The next dish was supposed to be bone marrow, but I couldn't find any. :( So we went with scallops. We sauteed those in some butter and white wine. 

I wish this picture was scratch and sniff

I couldn't help but notice you admiring my new all-clad frying pans... nice, right?

When they finished cooking, I added a little more wine to the pan, scraped up the crusty bits and made a nice little sauce for the scallops.

So, that was dinner. Not exactly Vampire-y, more of a subtle nod. But delicious, nonetheless.

On to dessert...

With the ganache set, we started on the cake. Kasia heated a cup of butter and 8oz semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile, Elizabeth mixed 4 eggs, 4 egg whites, 1/2c flour, 1/2c sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract.

Once the chocolate mixture is room temperature, Kasia folded it into the egg mixture.

And poured it into 4 buttered and sugared ramekins.

THEN, we scooped out little ganache balls and carefully put them in the middle of the cake mixture. Do you see where this is going?

There was a little batter leftover, so we filled an extra ramekin, and baked them for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Next came the raspberry sauce, aka vampirizing the cakes. I smushed a little less then a pint of raspberries through a sieve.

To that, we added ~2T of sugar and 1 1/2T liquor.

Finally, the cakes came out of the oven. I topped them  with a little powdered sugar, a couple of raspberries and some blood vampire sauce raspberry liquor.

a proud moment

These molten chocolate cakes are probably the most delicious things I've ever tasted, let alone baked in my own kitchen. Kasia, Elizabeth and I decided that this should probably become a regular occurrence. 

What movie/food theme should we do next? Do you want to come? What has been your proudest cooking moment thus far?

m