Boss Sauce

3/21/10 5:37 PM

Have you ever gotten such a craving for something that you just can't get enough of it? That's how I am with breakfast foods, and thankfully the possibilities are endless when it comes to eggs and bacon. But what I can't seem to get enough of lately is French toast. Maybe it's because of spring break: We all go home, wake up later than usual, and eat foods that might be more extravagant than our wallets are used to. My parents keep our fridge stocked with all the necessities and staples, so it was never difficult to whip up something really delicious whilst groggy. What was really amazing about having so many options was how many variations on the toast I could make, but my favorite, with a mixed berry syrup, stood above and beyond the rest. The key is having frozen...

Holy Fiesta Dip

3/1/10 11:11 PM

I was at Devon Market last week for some eatin's, and I noticed they had avocadoes for really cheap. Some were a bit hard, but most of them felt fine, so I picked up three small ones for a buck. That's weird, isn't it? Usually avocadoes are insanely expensive during the summer, so you'd think they would be twice as pricey when it's icy out (rhyme unintended). Well, whatever the cost, it was nice to pick up something green that wasn't a pepper or broccoli. The avocado is pretty crazy. Alton Brown tells us Spanish explorers called it "testicle" because they couldn't pronounce the Aztec word; and surprisingly, it is called "the apple of the winter" in some South American countries! That just goes to show you how important research... 1 comment

The Crepe Paper

2/21/10 3:26 AM

My mom came into town today to visit, and she took me out to eat at the Ethiopian Diamond. I first ate there the day before Valentine's, and I became obsessed. You know when you crave something so intensely everything pales in comparison? I couldn't get that sourdough-ish bread out of mind, but it's too costly to keep it in sight. It reminded me of something I remember Alton Brown saying, that every culture has a variation of the tortilla. I had never thought about it before, but it's true: There's the flour/corn tortilla, the pita, the spring rice roll, and the crepe. (Though, to be fair, I guess most of these things involve the same ingredients, and the need to pick up something messy without silverware is probably a universal concern.) My love affair with the crepe...

Life is Like a Batch of Brownies--At Least on Valentine's Day

2/13/10 4:33 PM

Love is in the air, my biscuits, and it smells like dessert. Valentine's Day is a weird holiday. In my family, it meant an order of Chinese food and an in-depth discussion of The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In other families where parents weren't obsessed with Al Capone, it probably included cupcakes and red hearts--and not the bleeding kind. Sure, it's a holiday invented by a bunch of greeting card executives, but it's still something everyone begrudgingly celebrates. Why? Perhaps because there is some foundation of importance even underneath all that cheese. It's nice to feel nice, and even if that means a box of chocolates or something else really cliche, then so be it. Segue: Speaking of chocolate, there isn't anything more comforting than eating something sweet and...

The Musical Fruit

2/6/10 12:19 AM

Is there anything more versatile and exciting than the bean? Answer: No. They can be baked, refried, shaped like kidneys, and incorporated into soups, burritoes, and salads; Weezer sang about them (sort of); and we even know their dietary and intestinal benefits through a children's chant (also sort of). The bean is probably the most perfect food in existence. What's also great about them is their cost: beans are cheap, man. Anyone on the Food Network will tell you that dumping them into your "tacos" will yield almost twice the amount of goods for a fraction of the price. It's easy too. I've been recently relying on these little tips because my February Fatigue has been settling in, and the last thing I want to think about is anything more complicated...