‘MURICA. #dinner (Taken with Instagram)
When I left my folks’ house Sunday night, my dad was busy making this soup, adapted from one served at Beans & Barley, a restaurant on Milwaukee’s East Side. I’m making it tonight!
(via Macaroni and Cheese Done 8 Ways — Skillet-Baked Mac & Cheese)
We’re having our friends Karin and Evan over tonight for some carbo loading before heading to the Whistler for drinking and dancing too close. They’re vegetarian, so this seems like the perfect time to revisit one of our favorite Mark Bittman recipes ever — BAKED MAC N CHEESE. Mr. Madillac insists on frying up bacon on the side for crumblin’, and I haven’t the heart to stop him.
And because I still have some self respect, I’ll make a big salad to go with it, maybe with the really excellent Green Goddess dressing recipe I’ve been having at lunch all week.
I LOVE COOKING. AND FRIENDS. AND FRIDAYS.
(via Northward Bound | Modern Luxury)
Have to remember to try this place; the owners also run Honeypie and Comet Cafe in Milwaukee!
Which reminds me: I NEED TO VISIT HONEYPIE AGAIN.
I’m about to make some curried carrot ginger soup, motherfuckers.
(Source: agatepublishing.com)
IT’S A FOOD POST :: SALT LAKE CITY EDITION
In keeping with my goal of eating smoked salmon as often as possible, I got the Salmon Benedict at Guy Fieri-recommended Blue Plate Diner.
VERDICT: That fat fuckface sure knows what he’s talking about.
Day 2 was to be a day of action, and what better way to start than with a cranberry scone and gigantic cup of coffee from The Coffee Garden, located in the trendy 9th & 9th area.
VERDICT: Good bakery, great coffee and dogs, babies and white people as far as the eye can see.
As stalwart fans of local brews, we ordered the Hop Rising Double IPA out of local brewery Squatter’s at dinner Saturday night — and then bought a sixer later on, which proved to be OUR WORST DECISION EVER come Sunday. Actually, that was probably just a bad decision, because surely the worst was drinking four of these each (at 9.0% ABV) and then going back to Lofte’s at 12:30 a.m. with some newly met hotel friends to order two beers ominously and predictably called “Devastator Double Bock” (at 8.0% ABV), THEN closing the bar and going back to our room to finish the box of wine.
VERDICT: The last thing I thought I’d leave Salt Lake City with was a monstrous hangover.
On the recommendation of switface’s coworker, we ate at The Copper Onion Saturday Night. Dismayed to discover a 90-minute wait, we happily sat at the chef’s table and made eyes at the geniuses preparing our dinner. Ordered the duck poutine to start on the recommendation of our waitress, and then the crab pasta and meatloaf, the latter of which was me being adventurous, seeing as I usually order salmon and nothing but salmon.
VERDICT: Wish I could realistically say that from now on I won’t put it in my mouth if it’s not smothered in gravy and goat cheese, but that would likely ruin rather than enhance the salmon I love so dearly. Meatloaf was the best restaurant meatloaf I’ve ever had, meaning that it’s almost as good as my mother’s.
It was Dadillac’s birthday on Sunday, so the folks came down & we went out to dinner at Big Jones. I had the catfish with curry sauce, which was resplendent.
Slightly curried chickpeas with kale, peas and potatoes
I just came up with this tonight because I’d been wanting to make something saucy with chickpeas for awhile. It was incredibly cheap (I had most of the ingredients already, but had I bought them all tonight it still probably would’ve been less than $10), I had two bowls for dinner and am super full, and there’s enough left over to have for the next two days. It’s vegan and super healthy, which is just what my system needs after a weekend of beer and processed meats. The chickpeas are nutty and tender, the peas add a snap of sweetness and the bitterness of the kale is a nice contrast.
- 1 large can chickpeas, drained + rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 bag frozen peas
- 1 bunch fresh kale, rinsed + deveined
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- a few tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon curry paste
- approximately 1/2 - 1 cup vegetable stock
- 8 - 10 mini potatoes
Set a large pot of water to boil and add potatoes, so they cook while you’re doing the other stuff. Boil for 10 minutes and drain, then chop into bite-size chunks. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add onions. Simmer a few minutes until the onions are glossy and limp, but not brown. Add chickpeas and continue simmering an additional 5 minutes or so. After the chickpeas start smelling nutty, add the diced tomatoes, curry paste, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce thickens and add peas and kale, and vegetable stock if you need more liquid. Cook until kale is dark green and wilted, about 7 minutes. Add potatoes and mix well so that everything’s saucy.
