As promised, here are recipes for Shepherd’s Pie and baked apples. Enjoy!
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food
The end of Daylight Savings, and Shepherd's Pie.
Hello, faithful readers. I appear to be falling behind in my updating, since it’s nearly Thursday and I’m going to tell you about my weekend. As in last, not this. But I’ve just crossed a big school hurdle, so I hope to have a bit more time now (until the next one comes along).
Over the weekend, another finance exam was looming, and that always means stress cooking. Luckily, the exam is now behind me, so I hope we can avoid discussing the WACC, NPV or dividend policy if at all possible. I know that will be an inconvenience for you. This weekend was also our switch back from daylight savings, which afforded me a much needed extra hour of sleep. I hope you also used your hour wisely! From here on out our days will be shorter, we’ll leave work in the dark and the weather only gets colder. Soooo, I’m ready for April already.
There’s something about this time of year that makes me crave a certain meal — Shepherd’s Pie and Baked Apples. Keep reading »
Cooking Spree: Pimento Cheese
Growing up, I thought pimento cheese was disgusting. I guess it was because the only kind I ever ate was from a plastic tub in the grocery store that had been sitting there for who knows how long. It was pink and overly mayonnaise-y, had no distinctive taste (especially not of cheese) and was just grody all around.
One year, I went to a July 4th picnic and someone brought homemade pimento cheese — a revelation. You could see cheese in it, the pimiento wasn’t overpowering and it had a hint of garlic. That was the first time I realized there was another kind of pimento cheese.
I’m not sure why it’s a southern staple (or why we spell it wrong), but you’ll find pimento cheese on menus and in homes all over the South. The classic way to eat it is sandwiched between two slices of white bread, but you’ll also see it stuffed into celery sticks, in grilled cheese or melted atop a burger. Yum. I prefer to eat it with something crunchy for texture, so I serve mine with Triscuits. Something about the salty crunch with creamy cheese just works. Keep reading »
Cooking Spree: Brunswick Stew
Hello, world! It’s been busy days here at Constitution Lane, so I’m sorry I had to drop off for a bit. You’ll be glad to know that I followed through last weekend on a cooking spree and made Brunswick Stew. (Suffice it to say that I cook when I’m stressed.) The stew is pretty delicious, and it’s the perfect meal for chilly, early fall in the South.
I love a stew, since like soup you just throw a mess of ingredients in a pot, cook it for a couple of hours and, voila!, you have a thick, rich meal to warm up your insides. The other good thing about a stew is that it is entirely manipulatable – you can get creative or just throw every leftover in your kitchen into it, and it will be wonderful. Keep reading »
Recipe Roundup: Cookies, Shells and Stew
The latest issue of GOOP out this week highlights a top-10 list of favorite food bloggers. Thanks, Gwyneth! I’d already loaded my Google Reader with blogs of food writers and home cooks I found through word of mouth — they share their recipes, entertain me with their witticisms and give me inspiration for trying new foods or improving on my standards. After reading the GOOP list, I’ve tripled my blog reading list … which is going to reflect well on work productivity, I’m sure.
I’ve relied heavily on my regular food bloggers this week for ideas, so I need to highly recommend some new dishes to add to your repertoire. Keep reading »
Culinary Bucket List: Durian
I’m sure we all have a bucket list — whether on paper or just in our heads — and it contains a variety of important items. (Actually, I hate the term “bucket list” but I use it for lack of another. It’s the “things to do before you kick it” list.)
I have several lists … one for travel, books to read, general life accomplishments. But I also have one for culinary adventures. Things I have to eat before I go. Keep reading »
Cooking Spree: Blueberry Scones
I’m a big freezer.
(I mean, I freeze a lot of things. Not that I’m a large appliance.)
(But you probably knew that.)
As you saw earlier, I’m in the midst of a cooking spree. I noticed that I had some leftover frozen blueberries for some reason. Sometimes when I buy fresh blueberries, I pour them onto a sheet pan, freeze them and then store in a Ziploc bag to preserve them. I hate throwing away food, so I decided to seize this perfect opportunity to make scones. Keep reading »
Cooking Spree: Chocolate Banana Bread
I have a confession to make: I’ve been on kind of a cooking spree.
Well, a baking spree. It’s what happens when I don’t cook for awhile. It all builds up and comes out in a binge.
I was visiting a friend in D.C. a couple of years ago, and she served this amazing banana bread with chocolate chips. A winning combo. I don’t make banana bread often, maybe once a year, but I had some leftover bananas just about to turn and a hankering to bake something. Plus I live and breathe for chocolate. Any kind, anywhere, anyhow. Keep reading »
Enjoying nature’s bounty.
I’m sure some of you are surprised that I have yet to talk about cooking on this blog. It’s always been my refuge — I’m one of those strange people who finds total relaxation in chopping vegetables or baking bread. It’s also a creative exercise to put ingredients together, to experiment and to coordinate many dishes all at once. Like conducting an orchestra.
I don’t spend a lot of time in my house — or sit down much, for that matter — so I haven’t been cooking recently outside of what’s required for general daily sustenance. In the last week, though, it’s been little sweeties galore as they’ve ripened in the garden, so I’ve had to be decently creative.
South & Sundry 