Tag Archives: Appetizer

March 14, 2013 · 12:02 pm

Garlicky Hummus

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Sorry it’s been a while.  A few days ago, I finally pulled it together and wrote a post about this amazing hummus that I made, well, a long time ago, and just as I finished writing it, I clicked save, and WordPress went ahead and ate my post.  I had flashbacks to late nights in college involving lots of coffee and last-minute papers.  I suppose it’s been too long since those days, because I forgot the cardinal rule of writing anything longer than will fit on a post-it note: SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.  So after crafting a nicely worded, polished post… I threw in the towel.  Nothing’s more depressing than trying to re-do something you just finished.  DSC_0035 Continue reading →

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June 23, 2012 · 4:39 pm

Homemade Ricotta

For those of you who are thinking that you would never make homemade ricotta, and that I’m just going overboard in the other direction after giving you this tube-dough abomination…. you may be right.  About the going in the other direction thing, not that you can’t make homemade ricotta.  The first time I made this, it was as kind of a fun experiment.  Then I realized how easy it was, and how unbelievably delicious the resulting ricotta was, and it became serious business.  Why does nobody talk about how easy it is to make your own cheese?!  I feel like I’ve been cheated, like I’ve wasted some of the best cheese-making years of my life! I’m practically a cheese-making spinster, if you will. Continue reading →

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June 16, 2011 · 8:02 pm

Arugula and Fava Bean Crostini

What is it about bright green foods that drives me absolutely crazy?  They are just so beautiful and, typically, the taste measures up.  So many good things turn a gorgeous, vibrant shade of green when cooked… peas, broccoli, fresh herbs… and apparently, fava beans.

Confessional time: I’ve never before prepared fava beans.  Truth be told, I’ve never even eaten a fava bean.  But as I was strolling around the produce section the other day, what did my wondering eyes behold, but fava beans- still in their pods.  They are sufficiently strange-looking and intriguing enough to make the cut for me, so I grabbed them.  Then I got home and realized I literally had NO clue what to do with them.  They look like giant pea pods, which initially made me giggle, but then proceeded to make me confused.  Continue reading →

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June 4, 2011 · 12:08 pm

Mango and Red Onion Chutney

Every time I try a recipe from the now-defunct Gourmet, I get a little sad.  It was such a lovely magazine, and I have so many all-time favorite recipes that came from it’s colorful, inspiring pages.  Sigh.  What is the world coming to when there isn’t enough room for both Bon Appetit and Gourmet in our hearts and newstands?  One of my only consolations on this issue is that epicurious.com still has all of the best Gourmet recipes online, so all is not lost.

That is exactly where I came across this recipe for chutney.  For those of you who are wondering, a chutney is a Indian/Pakistani concoction, basically a spread or paste, which is made (generally) with a combination of fruit, vegetables, spices, vinegar, etc.  Basically a spicy relish.  For the history of chutney (for those of you who care to know), check this out.  Now, I’m not pretending that this chutney is even in the slightest bit authentic.  For some reason, I have the feeling that in India, they don’t make their chutney with “curry powder” from McCormicks.  So while I doubt that they’re slathering crackers with Mango and Red Onion Chutney in New Delhi, that doesn’t make it any less delicious for me, in Chicago. Continue reading →

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May 22, 2011 · 10:50 am

Green Herb Dip

Summer is almost here. I can officially wear flip-flops without my toes turning to ice, and I barely need a jacket to sit outside in the evening. The trees and flowers are green and gorgeous and hopeful, and I swear the smell of cut grass through my car window almost brought tears of joy to my eyes yesterday. Summer. It’s not just the weather that gets me excited about summer every year, but the change in the pace of life that comes with it. Whereas in the winter, when the sun goes down around 4, I can barely stay up until 9 pm, in the summer, I never want to go to sleep- I just want to sit outside and soak in all of the warm breezes and late-evening neighborhood sounds. We’re not quite there yet; it’s still raining pretty much every other day around here, and there has been some sad back-sliding in the sunshine department… but we’re so close. Continue reading →

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