Wednesday, December 23, 2009

For Those Who Aren't Lucky Enough To Be Italian...

...check this out on scungilli (as a follow-up to my last post).

Raging Rudolph: Is Nothing Sacred?



Apparently not. This clip's a bit disturbing and maybe even sacrilegious to those of us who worship Yukon Cornelius and bow down before Sam the Snowman. (Thank God King Moonracer didn't make a cameo appearance.) No but seriously I actually think this is gut-bustingly hilarious. I'll never think of Rudolph the same way again. Cute and innocent my foot. Happy Holidays :)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Weeknight Dinners

I'm forever thinking about how to cook yummy yet healthy meals using fresh (not boxed, canned, or otherwise packaged or processed) food on weeknights. Every time I walk through the stalls at the farm market or the aisles at Whole Foods I think: What looks good? What am I in the mood for? What haven't I had in a while? That's how I pick out my main ingredients--usually proteins, but sometimes not. Then I decide on side dishes--frequently a greens salad gets into the mix, but on winter nights I like braised greens or steamed squash. But the entire time I'm also thinking: This has got to be fairly quick and easy.

Here's some of the dishes I plan on making in the coming week:

  • Cod or haddock poached in a bouillabaisse-type broth, meaning tomatoes (fresh if greenhouse-grown locally, canned if not), fennel, leeks, etc.
  • Ground lamb burgers topped with whipped-up-in-a-flash tzatziki
  • Vegetable soup--everything but the kitchen sink--eaten with crusty Portuguese rolls or a side of cheese, olives, and pickles
  • Braised rainbow chard, topped with a bit of butter, garlic, and lemon zest
  • Mashed root vegetables, mixed with the tiniest pinch of saffron and some fresh herbs
  • Spiced carrots, roasted or steamed and jazzed up with whatever spices move you that day--smoked paprika, Moroccan seasonings, or even Grains of Paradise (flowery and citrusy yet peppery, too)
  • Steamed-in-the-microwave acorn squash, scooped from its peel, then sauteed with brown butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, and lots of salt and pepper

Friday, December 4, 2009

A Cartoony Anthony Bourdain Coming Soon

This is gonna be good. The six-part animated web series arrives in 2010. And, no, this isn't jumping the shark--by a long shot.