Now that I’ve written that out, it does sound a little stupid.  But I like to think that stranger things have happened.  Case in point: the platypus.  

My mother refers to aging as “ripening,” like we are some kind of fruit (and from the size of my hips, we must be pears), but I prefer to think of myself as a fine cheese, developing complex tastes and textures and best when paired with a nice wine and a pool of olive oil.

Ideally, if I were a cheese (you know, in this mythical universe where I could also theoretically age backwards), I’d be parmigiano-reggiano.  I’d have a long, lyrical name, but my friends could casually refer to me as “parm.”  Like, “Hey parm, how’s it going?  Why don’t we meet up later down by the alfredo pool?”  I’d have great taste, and like most geniuses, I’d be a little nutty.  There’d be a lot of imitators but I’d be the king, baby.

When I was a kid, we kept parmesan cheese in the house.  Not parmigiano.  Parmesan.  You know, the little shaker with the green top.  That stuff.  I’d sprinkle it on my Chef Boyardee, that I “made” myself on the stove top…or in the microwave, depending on the fluctuating levels of my laziness.

Yeah, I’ve come a long way since then.

The thing about your first sample of real parmigiano cheese is that afterwards, you can’t really go back to the way you were before, to the green top.  You’ve had real flavor now, and it was gritty and savory and nutty and maybe a bit salty and you could nibble on it for days.  And then you wonder how many other lies processed food has told you.  It’s a slippery slope, really, a gateway cheese to a vast, hidden world of delicious flavor.

You begin cooking with more authentic, fresh ingredients, even weird looking ones from half a world away.  You start sampling every cheese you can get your hands on: grana padano and manchego, gouda and soft goat cheeses and more, but you always watch that giant wheel of parmigiano out of the corner of your eye while you’re perusing the Whole Foods cheese “odds and ends” basket.  ’Some day,’ you think, ‘I will have an entire wheel of parmigiano to myself.’

Also, maybe I could age backwards.

Yes, these are the thoughts food bloggers have.  :)

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There are two words to describe this cocktail: freaking. delicious.

Not only is today Champagne Wednesday, but it’s also Paul’s birthday (happy birthday Paul!) so we got to include today’s cocktail in our celebrations.  I’m glad because it was really good.

It’s got everything you could possibly want in a glass: chambord, cointreau, vodka, champagne and a splash of juice for um…well, garnish, really.  :)

Full credit for this lovely libation goes to fellow Redditor and cocktail lover, Ohmec.  It’s sweet and full of delightful, full flavors and really pretty boozy so try not to drive any heavy machinery immediately after ingesting it, mmkay?

Enjoy!

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This little veggie hash is one of those things.  I didn’t think much of it when I threw it together the first time, but then it was gorgeous.  So gorgeous I had to make it again a few days later.  It not only takes very little time and looks gorgeous, but it’s easily customizable and full of veggies and it features one of my favorite sausages of all time: calabrese.  

Calabrese is a spicy dry Italian pork salami, similar to pepperoni (which I also love).  We actually buy a couple links of it every week and just slice pieces off for snacking on with some good sharp cheddar.  I also like to dice and fry it up as an alternative to “bacon bits” for salad.

In this case, it’s diced and fried in olive oil with cubed veggies, and topped with a couple poached eggs and a bit of crumbled ricotta salata.  It sounds fancy, but it takes like 10 minutes and is now one of my favorite comfort breakfasts/breakfast dinners.

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I’ve been on a marshmallow-making kick lately.  I’ve made vanilla bean, chocolate-Grand Marnier, amaretto dipped in almonds and chocolate, and chocolate covered strawberries.  Next I plan on lemon, stuffed marshmallows and vegan marshmallows.  Why, you ask?  Because happiness and marshmallows are pretty close to being the same thing.  Fluffy, pillowy, flavorful, fun to melt on a stick and smoosh in between pieces of chocolate and graham cracker.  There are a lot of similarities between the two.

Also, it’s surprisingly easy.

I’ve tried a few recipes, but my favorite is this one from Cooking Light.   It gives me consistently good results even when I vary the flavors.

For the vanilla bean marshmallows, I skipped the coconut and added in the seeds scraped from two vanilla bean pods.  You could also use a hefty tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.  They’re delicious and perfect for a cup of red velvet hot chocolate.

For the chocolate-Grand Marnier marshmallows, skip the coconut and vanilla.  Once you’re at the stage where you’ve basically created “marshmallow fluff” (just before you go to spread the batter out into a prepared pan), add in a tablespoon of Grand Marnier and half a cup of cocoa powder.  Don’t add too much of the alcohol and definitely don’t add it before the batter is super thick and fluffy, and essentially “done.”  Otherwise it won’t set up right.  Instead of powdered sugar, dust the marshmallows with a mixture of cocoa powder and cornstarch.

Same thing for the amaretto.  Skip the coconut; keep the vanilla.  Add a tablespoon of amaretto at the end of the mixing stage.  Then, after the marshmallows have set and been cut, dip them in melted chocolate (thinned with a bit of crisco if necessary) and chopped almonds.

And for the strawberry, skip the coconut and vanilla.  Near the end of the mixing time, add in a couple tablespoons of good strawberry extract (and taste the batter once it’s mixed in; see if you want to add more) and 12-15 drops of red food coloring (more for a darker color).  Mix until that is thoroughly incorporated.  If you’d like, after they’ve set and been cut, dip them in some dark chocolate.

Once your marshmallows are set, you can cut them however you like.  I usually get 16 pretty big marshmallows, or 25 reasonably sized ones.  They’re dense and chewy and have great texture, and they’ll make a fun homemade gift for friends and loved ones for Valentine’s day…or any day.  Enjoy!

Check out the original recipe from Cooking Light

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I love biscuits.  Pillowy, fluffy, savory biscuits, dripping with butter and all the promise of delicious flavor conveniently transported to my mouth in one hand-sized package.  My favorite, of course, is the buttermilk biscuit that I can now make in my sleep, practically.  But I’ve been working on other species, if you will, of biscuit.  

I came across these delightful little things on the Your Lighter Side blog.  They’re healthy, so that takes care of you lot who are still hanging in there with your New Years Resolutions; low carb, so you ketoers can be satisfied; and delicious, which takes care of everybody else, except all of you that I missed.

I wasn’t really sure how these would turn out but they were pretty good.  Super quick to pull together, attractive and tasty as heck.  I made them for dinner but I’m looking forward to making them again on the weekend and bookending them around some fried bacon and eggs.

I modified the original recipe slightly, by using garlic salt instead of garlic powder and salt, and adding in a quarter cup of grated parmigiano reggiano.   Highly recommend.

The original recipe from Your Lighter Side:

Makes 4 Biscuits (recipe can be doubled to make more)

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoons half & half or heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoons granulated splenda
• 3 Tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• extra salt, herbs, and garlic to sprinkle on top *optional*

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400F
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In medium sized bowl whisk together eggs, half & half, melted butter, splenda, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Mix in coconut flour, salt, and baking powder.
• Drop batter by spoonfuls onto your baking sheet(4).
• Sprinkle tops with a little extra salt, herbs, and garlic *optional*
• Bake at 400F for 14-16 minutes.

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It’s my first week back to work after Christmas vacation.  I know, I’m lucky I even get a Christmas vacation, but still, it’s hard to ease back into the regular day-to-day after a break.

So I figured I should make this mid-week pick me up extra special with something pretty and bubbly.

And then my awesome friend Jim requested a ginger-heavy Champagne Wednesday.  So I figured I’d satisfy both our needs and picked a pretty, sparkly, gingery concoction from Epicurious.  This one featured ginger syrup, star anise and Chinese five-spice powder.  It was sparkly and sweet and you should give it a shot.

You can find the full recipe here on Epicurious.

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This week’s cocktail is definitely my favorite thus far, and not just because I’m a huge fan of mojitos.  It was also one of those Wednesdays that really, really called for a drink.  I can’t wait til summer because this is going to be a perfect “sit outside on a sunny patio” kind of drink.

This fizzy mojito is a combination of the usual ingredients (lime juice, simple syrup, mint, rum), it also includes a dash of bitters and some sparkling wine.  Because I was lazy and/or out of some ingredients, I subbed just a sprinkling of sugar for the syrup, which worked, and did a mixture of dark and coconut rum, which really worked.

You can find the original recipe here on Martha Stewart.com.

Remember, life is better bubbly.  And happy new year!

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I know what you’re thinking: she’s kidding.  I am, of course, but only mostly; after all, we (and by we, I mean Josh) did melt the counter a little bit once while brewing beer.  But besides that, as I’ve been cleaning up in preparation for my pantry renovations, I’ve realized just how much crap I keep in my kitchen.  And not just normal cooking and baking supplies, but general stuff.  Paper-y stuff.  Letters and coupons and tear-outs from food magazines and receipts and bills and vet stuff for the dogs and packets of info from all of Josh’s commitments and blah blah blah.  It gets stacked on the counters or on the table, or stuffed in the third drawer by the doorway (lovingly dubbed the appliance manual drawer).

Going paperless is a big deal these days (just ask Evernote guru Jamie Rubin) but I often think of that in terms of my office, not my kitchen.  But there’s a lot to be said for being able to sort the mail that comes in and gets trapped, or finally organizing all those appliance manuals that you swear you’ll read every time you get a new gadget, or protecting Grandma’s beloved handwritten sour cream pound cake recipe from the inevitable splatters and food sprays of the kitchen.

So I’ve begun taking back my kitchen from extra clutter with one tiny device: a portable scanner.  I only have to sacrifice a tiny bit of counter space and in return, I get an organized life, cleaner drawers and tabletops and less fire hazards in my kitchen!

Don’t you feel more organized already?

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