Do you remember that feeling of disconnect you would get whenever you ran into one of your teachers somewhere that wasn’t the classroom? When you realized that they too visited cafes, bought milk, and went to the movies? I had the grown up version of that moment of cognitive dissonance a few weeks ago when I answered my cell phone and spoke to Christopher Kimball and Bridget Lancaster from America’s Test Kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »
I have to preface this post by saying that custard is very much my culinary bête noir – everyone’s got one (or more), and nobody should be discouraged from making this ice cream based on how much I’m about to whine.
Or, let me put it another way, there’s a catch phrase in our house that nothing is serious until James Earl Jones says, ‘mother-of-god’*. When I tasted the ice cream base on Saturday afternoon I paused, stared down at the pot in awe, and did my very best James Earl Jones impression (which since I’m a 5’ nothing WASP is distinctly underwhelming, but the sentiment was heartfelt). This is seriously good ice cream, y’all. The Effort here is entirely commensurate with the payoff, my issues with custard notwithstanding. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the annual Farm-to-Table Dinner. Someone at Dinner foolishly asked if I could name all the farms that the produce came from, and not only can I tell you that, I can tell you when the corn was picked (5:30am the day I bought it – which, granted, I only know because that’s what the sign on the enormous pile of corn said, not because I actually asked).
If you’re curious, yes there was entirely too much food. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember when I said, “Hush, now – spoilers!”? This is the grand reveal.
Firstly, I have the world’s most awesome friends.
Secondly, in wildly non-revelatory news, when presented with too many choices I dither in an epic manner.
Thirdly, I inadvertently managed to carry on a family tradition by celebrating my half-birthday. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’ve been paying any kind of attention to the world of food news this week you’ll probably have seen the study from Stanford which suggests organic food isn’t any more nutritious or better for you than what you can buy at your average supermarket.
Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods, Stanford study finds
Reactions to this have ranged from shock, to horror, to disavowal, to quiet schadenfreude. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time for another set of food related pet peeves for no particular reason other than that I’ve spent quality time recently trying to work my way around the issues that they present (albeit none of them for this particular dinner).
1 – Restaurants that don’t have websites. Or, restaurants that only have place holder websites.
This is mostly because I like looking at menus, and even if the menu that you have up isn’t the menu that I’m going to be ordering from when I show up I like to have an idea of the prices and kinds of dishes that you serve. Read the rest of this entry »
As noted previously there was no Dinner last week because my roommate and I took ourselves up to Montreal for a vacation. I believe on Tuesday night we were tucking into plates of poutine (verdict: eh, I’d rather just have the cheese curds and gravy, I don’t really need the fries).
I really liked Montreal – I kept comparing it to other places I’d been (the outside, throw open the windows, sidewalk culture of San Diego – the French heritage of New Orleans – the quirky fierce independence of San Francisco – the sheer Canadian-ness of Toronto), but in the end I think that comparisons are a little unfair. It feels like itself, and itself is a quirky city with charming neighborhoods that embraces its French heritage and its Canadian identity. I’d cheerfully go back and spend more time exploring the Mont Royal neighborhood, going over to the Botanical Gardens which we didn’t have a chance to visit, peering in the windows of art galleries in the old port area, and gorging myself on excellent food and wine.
How is it that the week before you go on vacation brings out the crazy in everyone you work with? The tail end of summer is supposed to be a lazy, scoot out of work early, kind of a time. Instead my week was full out crazy-cakes nuts. However, there’s a bottle of wine in my fridge with my name on it, and next week I’m on vacation – Montreal + Stowe + a calendar stacked with (hopefully) good food – and with those two things kept firmly in mind I made it through.
No Dinner next week – I plan to be eating poutine, or possibly smoked meat, on Tuesday night. I’ll see you on the flip side, and shall regale everyone with tales of eating my way through Montreal and Vermont. Read the rest of this entry »
This will make more sense in about a month (I’m waiting for a full house for the reveal, which apparently won’t be until September what with my schedule + everyone else’s schedule).
If you live in a major urban center in the US, or if you’ve watched the Food Network recently, you’ll have witnessed the explosion of the food truck movement. Boston is not exempt from this, and if you work in the downtown area you can have your pick of Southern-style barbeque, Silk Road-style barbeque, bahn-mi, noodle bowls, grilled cheese, popsicles, cupcakes, and (most excitingly) pickles. The grand daddy of all the Boston food trucks, however, is the Clover Food Lab truck. It didn’t quite start the movement in Boston, but it’s probably one of the best known, and with six trucks scattered around the city (Park Street, South Station, Longwood Medical Area, Kendall Square, BU and the South End) and two store front locations (Harvard Square, Inman Square, and theoretically coming soon to Hynes Convention Center) it’s also one of the most easily available. Read the rest of this entry »
Monday Night Dinner 