Tag: dinner

the most complicated (and delicious) beef bourgignon you’ll ever make

the most complicated (and delicious) beef bourgignon you’ll ever make

I had my parents over for Christmas Eve dinner, and wanted to make something special for them.  Those of you who know me well, also know that I really love adding extra steps to recipes, to maximize depth of flavor.  My co-worker had been talking […]

FINALLY – dinner in less than an hour!

FINALLY – dinner in less than an hour!

those of you who have cooked with me, or had dinner with me on a friday night, know that i am generally incapable of making dinner in less than an hour. in fact, usually i choose whatever preparation is most involved. well, not “most involved” […]

no rest for the weary

no rest for the weary

sometime towards the end of last week, i got an email titled “corn is 4 for a dollar.” and right away i knew that this was an email i would like, because who doesn’t like emails about food? true, i was a little curious because after all, at the height of corn season (still continuing now!) it’s usually more like 12 for a dollar at star market. turns out mary had bought corn at whole foods because it looked and tasted that good, and so we made dinner.

that’s dinner cooking away on the stove. we met at star market in porter square, bought groceries, then walked back to mary’s. i had brought arborio rice with me, so we (ok, i) decided that we were going to have risotto with corn. i dunno, people, i was a little scattered because i’d just gotten back that afternoon, so i didn’t have any grand ideas. however, while we were at star we passed by the rotisserie chickens. c has been waxing poetic about rotisserie chickens that sit in the heating pans all day, touting their flavor and texture. so we bought 1.5 rotisserie chickens to go into the risotto. and as you can see in the photo, there is a pot o’ chicken stock behind the risotto that holds water, chicken better-than-bouillon, and rotisserie chicken bones, and a good hunk of thyme. as i have recently become a huge fan of warm risotto with a crunchy, raw-veg “relish,” we made one with tomatoes, corn, and cilantro, with a very light balsamic vinaigrette dressing, to go with the risotto. we also added some of the corn into the risotto to get cooked, along with a bunch of frozen peas. (more…)

it’s all about the table

it’s all about the table

do you ever find that when you’re having a dinner party, and you’re finally sitting down to eat, you…don’t actually feel like eating? it’s one part adrenaline from getting everything done, and one part nervousness about people liking what you’ve made – especially when you’re […]

the dinner party

the dinner party

what i have realized as i’ve gotten older is that i am, in fact, like my mother. every time she cooks for large groups of people (ie family), she spends almost the entire time in the kitchen. no level of exhortation gets her to stop […]