You know what’s even better than working with people you like? Working with people you like who love to eat. On both fronts, I have won the co-worker lottery. Better, even, than colleagues that love to eat are colleagues that are significantly better than I am at hunting, gathering or growing food stuffs with their own two hands. One of those people is my buddy Gordon. To date, I have Gordon to thank for two Chinese fish dinners (fresh caught lingcod!); a hearty stir-fry made with winter melons plucked straight from the vine — and tonight’s soup: a mild, rustic … Read More
Recipe: SLO’s Firestone Grill tri-tip steak sandwich and grilled baby zucchini “fries”
Hello from snowy Lake Tahoe! Ok, not really, I’ve been back from Tahoe for a few hours now, but I had every intention of writing a post from the ski house, and then I ended up spending most of the weekend, umm, skiing. And eating. And snoozing. So. To begin again: hello from our slightly awkwardly rearranged-to-accommodate-le-Xmas-tree living room, from which I am not only writing this blog post but committing a majority of my attention span to yesterday’s Hulu’d Saturday Night Live episode. Martin Short and a sketch about the doctor that’s been selected to deliver the Royal heir? … Read More
Recipe: Bacon, bean & bells chili
Seems like it’s been a while since I posted something actually related to food, doesn’t it? Bacon bummer aside, that is. Must be my preoccupation with the ski house that we rented with some friends for the winter. I know, right? Ski house. We went up last weekend to get things settled, and I can already tell we’re going to have a heck of time both on and off the slope. Our group is awesome, the snow season looks far more promising than last — and I have a feeling we’re going to hit the jackpot when it comes to slow … Read More
Braised Pork Belly Tacos (my first Pigsgiving!)
First off, Happy Birthday to my Father-in-Law, John! I’m spoiled by having totally normal and highly lovable in-laws. They’re the best, and super supportive in everything we do. Love them. Second: Turkey. Schmurkey. That’s right, I said it. Every year, knowing that most everyone has a turkey dinner in their plans for Thanksgiving, my mom’s side of the family gets together for a decidedly Turkey-less holiday lunch. We’ve done a Chinese potluck with black bean spareribs and sticky rice. We’ve done an Italian feast with lasagne, piccata and fluffy desserts. We’ve even done an entirely Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving where we … Read More
Recipes: Cranberry muff stuffers n’ veggies (aka Friendsgiving)*
One of my more cynical friends and charmingly resistant readers suggested part of the title for this post after partaking in the cranberry stuffing muffins written up below. Because why refer to something as a stuffing muffin when you can instead turn to the prose that is muff stuffer? It’s really quite excellent in its inappropriateness. But then I suppose me referring to anyone else on this Earth as inappropriate would be the very definition of kettle-pot name-calling. I digress. On Monday, Chris and I had a few friends over to to celebrate a bit of an impromptu Friendsgiving complete … Read More