What's the dill?

I don't know about the rest of the country, but it was damn beautiful in College Park these past few days. The weather has been absurdly springy--crocuses popping up, blue skies, temps above 50 degrees, the whole deal.

When the weather gets really pretty like this it makes me want to eat similarly springy foods. Ones that are bright and citrusy and won't put you into a carb coma. For me, this means seafood. One of the great things about going to school on the East Coast is that I get way better fish out here than I possibly could in Chicago. It's just a matter of logistics. Thusly, my body composition is roughly 60 percent seafood for eight months out of the year. I don't hate it.

Salmon is probably my favorite fish to eat, partially because it's so versatile and partially because it's very difficult to screw up. Tommy is also a big fan and when I visited him last weekend for Valentine's Day/C.R.A.S.H-B's (a massive indoor rowing race held annually in Boston) I decided to make salmon for him.

Since it was our first Valentine's Day together, we wanted to make it special and go to a nice restaurant. Only thing was, when we tried to find a reservation in January, everything was booked until 10 pm and your only dining option was a $100-plus pre fixe menu. So we said to hell with that, and I offered to cook us a nice dinner.

Tommy went off to afternoon practice and I went to Whole Foods to get the salmon. I got a gorgeous piece and the fishmonger very kindly removed almost all of the pin bones for me. Upon returning to the apartment, I realized Tommy had forgotten to give me his keys. I sat outside his door with a pound of salmon and a bottle of champagne in my bag for about five minutes, trying to decide what to do. My only choice was to schlep all the way over to the boathouse, a 20-minute walk from the apartment.

But I had no choice. So I went to the boathouse and as I was getting the keys who should walk out of the locker room but one of the coaches, and he looked none too happy to see me. I got out of there pretty fast.

Luckily it was cold so the salmon didn't suffer any after sitting in my Longchamp for 40 minutes while getting smashed by bottle of champagne. And dinner turned out perfectly.

This recipe is super duper easy and only requires three ingredients besides salt, pepper and olive oil. It also looks really pretty which is an added bonus. It's a perfect dinner for this mild weather, until the second polar vortex hits anyway...

Ingredients
1 lb salmon (not steaks)
2-3 lemons
1/8 c. olive oil plus 1 tbs.
5-6 tbs. dill, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Oil the bottom of a baking dish with the 1 tbs. of olive oil. Line the bottom with the lemons, thinly sliced.

2. Mix together the dill, remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place the salmon, skin-side down, on the lemons. Spread the dill-oil mixture on top, covering the flesh evenly.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filet.

Bean there, done that

So happy to be eating my cooking again, obviously.

So my boyfriend Tommy was in College Park this weekend for the first time since our sophomore year of college. This unhappy statistic is due in part to the fact that he is a college athlete and therefore blinks/breathes when his coaches say so and also to that ridiculous snowstorm that the Northeast got last year around this time.

Naturally, I wanted to pull out all the stops when he came. So I brought him to the best place in College Park: R.J Bentley's Filling Station. This vomit-soaked bar is my Siren song and I am eternally doomed to every Friday dash myself against the rocks of their $2 rails. Tommy really dug it so obviously I picked a good one.

But when it comes to dining, CP is absurdly low on options. My grandmother, god bless her, suggested I make cornish game hen. I didn't have the heart to tell her that UMD is conveniently located in the ghetto when I got in so I think she believes it looks more like Georgetown. Anyway, the only game hens around here are few, far between and deep in hiding. So I asked Tommy what he'd like. He said jambalaya but I am not a huge fan so I nixed that in favor of my own wishes (girlfriend of the year right here folks) and decided to make chili.

I friggin LOVE chili. Oh my god. I know it's not the sexiest food and it kind of looks like barf but oh my god. OH MY GOD.

White, three bean, beef? With cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, green onions? Mild, medium, spicy, I just shit lava? Yes. All of them. Now. My mecca looks something like a chili cookoff without all the types of people that usually frequent those events. Maybe one attended by the casts of The Royal Tenenbaums and Crazy, Stupid Love. I would way rather see Ryan Gosling go to town on a pot of white chili with ham chunks than a fat dude with mustard stains on his George Strait t-shirt. Okay sorry that was mean but seriously, who would you pick?

Ryan. Duh.

Now you be laboring under the misconception that chili is very time consuming to make and involves a lot of stewing and simmering. Some kinds are like that, but many are not. The three-bean chili I like to make does not involve very much simmering. It actually has very few steps (but kind of a lot of ingredients--do your best). Of course you can leave it on the stove while you eat dinner on a very low heat to let the flavors deepen but it's not necessary.

This recipe also calls for ground turkey instead of beef because Tommy gets upset about the cow farts. It's so cute how much he loves the environment. Anyway, feel free to substitute ground beef and any other sorts of meat you may have laying around. If you have spicy Italian sausage, that's a surprisingly tasty addition. This also makes a good amount of leftovers and freezes exceptionally well so you'll have some hearty dinners on hand for the long stretch of winter we still have ahead of us.

Side note: I have started to wonder if I will ever feel my toes again. My mom sent this picture of our courtyard today:

Illinois: where we shovel snow to make room for more snow.

Three-Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can pink beans
1 can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs. oregano
1 tsp. crushed reds (or to taste if that's too spicy)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Shredded sharp cheddar and sour cream for serving (Pro tip: fat free greek yogurt tastes almost exactly the same and is way healthier. Tommy couldn't even tell the difference)

1. In a large stock pot, combine all of the beans, tomatoes and paste and spices over medium heat. Stir to combine.

2. While the beans are heating,
brown the turkey with the onion and garlic.

3. When the turkey is browned, add to the beans and stir again to combine. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream and cheddar.

Hello, gorgeous.

Stick It

So in honor of finals week, I'm doing a post on one of the most classic comfort foods of all time: the mozzarella stick.

There really are few things that compare to the crispy, gooey glory that is a deep-fried ball of cheese covered in Italian breadcrumbs and then dunked in marinara sauce. Jesus, I have a food boner just thinking about it.

In other news, you should totally follow @hipstermermaid on Twitter
because he frequently says hilarious stuff like this.

Now it's pretty hard to mess up a mozzarella stick. Even the most miserable of restaurants can get it right.

Actually, I take that back. Sophomore year of high school I went on an ill-fated date with a kid a couple years older than me from our high school. I had just become a vegetarian, so this moron takes me to Buffalo Wild Wings. Not only did I have to suffer through the most pathetic excuse for a salad I had ever encountered (not to mention this kid's company), the mozzarella sticks we ordered as an appetizer came frozen in the middle. Worst. Date. Ever. And in all my 22 years of living, the only time I've ever seen mozzarella sticks get messed up.

But I digress.

Although your life currently revolves around frantically cramming an entire semester's worth of knowledge into your heads and chugging Red Bull like it's water, you may actually get hungry when you come down from that addy binge.

And as I learned the hard way yesterday, delivery food is absurdly slow during finals week. Case in point: my friend and I ordered sushi from a restaurant literally 3 blocks away and it took two hours to get to us. TWO HOURS. And I know you're thinking, "You lazy pieces of shit why didn't you just walk?" To answer that very valid question, I submit the excuse that it was cold and rainy.

So getting to the point: make your own mozzarella sticks tonight. It takes literally 10 minutes max, and you have instant comfort food to distract you from the misery that is final exams. The only semi-tricky part is that the cheese sticks have to be frozen all the way through or they'll just melt into mush when you pan fry them. But they're so small it hardly takes more than a couple hours.

Anyway, as the bible says, man shall not live on Easy Mac alone but on delicious homemade comfort food.

 Ingredients (as an appetizer, for 3):

5 part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks, frozen solid
1/2 c. Italian flavored breadcrumbs (or if you only have plain, add 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning and a couple grinds of black pepper)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil
Marinara sauce for dipping


1. Cut the mozzarella sticks into bite size chunks







2. Dunk the mozzarella chunks first into the egg wash, then roll them in the bread crumbs, making sure the entire surface is evenly covered.



3. In a small sauteé pan, heat about half the oil over medium heat. You don't want the oil or the pan to be too hot or the breadcrumbs will just burn.

4. Working in batches, fry the mozzarella bites for just about 30-45 seconds on each side, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel before serving.

Rice, rice baby

God. Wasn't it just Monday like, 45 seconds ago? I swear, I was just here. Why am I here again? Monday is the worst. Ugh. Monday.

Time to eat my feelings.

I've been having a terrible craving for fried rice. The sort of greasy kind with cubed carrots and huge chunks of chicken that's so salty you can barely gulp down your Diet Coke fast enough that is so bad for you and yet so. damn. tasty.

Of course I can't digest that and also I'm poor so I decided to make my own. Also I had a lot of random stuff in my fridge/freezer/pantry I needed to use up. That's the great thing about fried rice, you can put almost anything in there.

I did the basic carrots, peas, onions, chicken and some egg but then also a handful of shrimp since I didn't have that much chicken left. Also, I used brown rice which was still good but tasted a tiny bit too healthy so if you have white rice, I encourage you to use that if you want a more authentic flavor. But be warned, white rice turns to sugar the second you digest it and is a lot less nutritious. Definitely yummier.

Also, sorry the pictures for this are shitty. I was using my iPhone because I was a genius and left my SD card for my nice camera in a computer at the journalism school. Don't remind me of how great my handle on life is.

This recipe is easy as pie but I highly recommend you have the rice cooked beforehand if you're using brown rice since it takes about 45 minutes. Also, this freezes extremely well so you can have dinner for plenty of nights. Also it soothes the Monday blues. With some frozen chicken potstickers from Trader Joe's, this is like the perfect faux-Asian comfort meal and you don't even have to feel guilty about going out and spending money you don't have because you wasted a ridiculous amount at the bar since it was homecoming weekend and you felt compelled to buy your alumni friends drinks. Or maybe that's just me. In any case, frugal is the name of the game until further notice.

Damn.

1 tbs. canola oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. chicken meat
1/3 c. soy sauce (or to taste)
2 large carrots, diced
3/4 c. frozen peas, thawed
6 c. cooked rice (white or brown)
2 eggs
Handful of shrimp
Green onions (for garnish, if desired)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion and garlic and sautee until chicken is almost cooked through, about 5 minutes, then add shrimp until they are no longer translucent and are light pink.

2. Stir in veggies and stir fry for another 5-6 minutes, then add rice and stir thoroughly.
















3. While the rice is busy frying, lightly grease a small pan. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and quickly scramble in the pan. Use a knife or a hard spatula to slice the eggs into little pieces and mix into the rice.

4. Add the soy sauce to the large pan, stir well and serve immediately, piping hot. Add some chopped up green onions for garnish if you want.

Kale Me Maybe

I'll be the first one to come right out and say I really don't like kale all that much. I think it ruins perfectly good salads by showing up and being totally tough and unlovable, sort of like Bill Rawls on The Wire. Plus it sort of tastes like dirt (which I haven't eaten since my early childhood but couldn't have changed that much, flavor-wise).

This is why I was surprised when I found myself buying a huge bunch of the stuff at the supermarket last week. The produce at Giant is typically wretched but the kale looked...kind of sexy actually. It was dark green and frilly and just said, "Hey. Eat me."

So I did.

But first I sauteed it with onion and garlic and some spicy sausage because there's such a thing as too healthy, and kale is it.

So ultimately I ended up with this delicious pasta creation which I made for the dinner where I reunited with my old friend and the most beautiful dancer at Maryland whose name is Katie and happens to be single, boys.

It's easy and quick and totally delicious and also very much open to interpretation. Feel free to add more kale or cut out the chickpeas or deglaze the pan with chicken stock instead of white wine. It doesn't reheat especially well though so just make as much as you'll eat in one night. As someone who doesn't know what a serving of pasta looks like (and doesn't want to know either), I leave that serving size up to you.

Fettuccine with sausage and kale

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb hot turkey or pork sausage, casings discarded and sausage crumbled
1/2 lb kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 lb dried egg fettuccine
2 cloves garlic
Half a medium onion, chopped
1 can of chickpeas
¼ c. white wine
Crushed reds to taste
Lemon wedges, for serving
1 oz finely grated Pecorino Romano (or parmesean) (1/2 cup) plus additional for serving

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook sausage, garlic and onion, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.


2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.



3. With five minutes to go until the pasta is cooked, add kale and chickpeas to sausage in skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet







4. Add pasta and stir in cheese. Serve immediately, with additional cheese on the side.



You put the lime in the coconut

So I spent all yesterday and a good portion of today thinking about what I wanted to post tonight. I thought about homemade fried rice (coming soon to a blog near you) or these bizarrely awesome vegan banana bites (the key is lots of dark chocolate). But in the end I settled on this recipe I happened upon in the dusty depths of my computer for coconut lime chicken. It sounded easy and pretty tasty and I thought it might photograph well.

Not to brag, but I outdid myself a little bit. This shit makes PF Chang's look like PF Chumps. Actually I don't really like that place to begin with, but I can't begin to tell you how delicious this chicken is.

Made correctly, and it's nearly impossible to screw up, it's these crispy golden brown tenderloins smothered in a spicy curry sauce with just a hint of sweetness and a lot of lime juice.

It's kind of like a high-class Thai prostitute of a dish. Because it's hot and easy.

It was also the perfect dinner for tonight for a few reasons.

The first is that it's spicy, and it cleared my beshitted sinuses up in a minute.

The second is that it tastes like tropical comfort food, and I had a sort of ass day.

And I don't really have a third but as I was walking into the store this woman was in labor in one of the lanes of cars. Poor kid, imagine taking your first breaths in the parking lot of a Prince George's county Giant supermarket. Certainly a cut above Shoppers, but still. Not exactly a great start.


The great thing about this is that you can double or triple it for a crowd and it will be just as easy. Also, if you don't have cumin (and I don't really expect many of you to) you can just add a little more curry powder. The flavor won't be quite as nuanced but it'll still be good. Serve this with some brown rice and snow peas.

Lime-Coconut Chicken
Serves two

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. curry powder
Zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tbsp. oil
1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers (or to taste, depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 c. parsley, roughly chopped
Lime wedges for serving.

1. Trim the fat from the breasts or tenderloins and pat dry.


2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients but the oil and parsley and whisk well to combine.








3. Marinate the chicken, covered, for up to two hours in the fridge.

4. Pour the marinade into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. Boil for two minutes.

5. While the marinade is boiling, heat the oil in a saucepan. Place the chicken in the pan (don't overcrowd it) and cook, without turning, for several minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until both sides are golden brown.









6. Drain the chicken briefly on a paper towel and serve sprinkled with the parsley and the sauce and lime wedges on the side.

Hello again to all my friends

So you should probably yell at me.

Go on.

I can take it.

I've been basically the world's worst blogger. Like ever. Of all time. I suck, a little bit, at this blogging thing.

And I don't even have that great of an excuse besides school and working at the lovely and perfect and wonderful Make It Better magazine this summer. I just got lazy. And I deserve to be yelled at for that. Laziness is unacceptable.

So to make up for that, I promise to be a far more faithful blogger and I now bestow upon you a recipe for homemade pumpkin spice lattes.

I had my first one of the season today and I promised myself I wouldn't Instagram or tweet it but I didn't say shit about blogging. Therefore, I will now share my most precious secret with you. This recipe will blow your mind not only with its ease but also because it tastes exactly the same as the Starbucks version. But it's way cheaper. And you can control the pumpkinness and cinnamon quotients and also you can pile on the whipped cream because sometimes they're chintzy and it's a Monday and you NEED a lot of whipped cream on your flavored latte when it's a Monday.

Or really any other day of the week for that matter. It's whipped cream. It's the shit.

You can also make extra of this and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for a day or two and heat it up as needed. Any longer than two days and it might start tasting funky.


Anyway, please accept this recipe as my formal apology for being such a bad blogger. I promise to do better in future. I've been collecting a lot of great recipes that are almost ready to go up on here so if you haven't given up on me yet, don't. And thanks. You guys are the best.

Also: note the Alicante mug, damn I miss that place.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Serves two (or one extremely large mug, which is preferable)

2 c. of milk
1/2-3/4 c. strong brewed coffee
2 tbs. canned pumpkin
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp. cinnamon + 1/4 tsp. nutmeg plus a little more for garnish
Whipped cream to taste

1. Combine all ingredients except the whipped cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Whisk well, until the pumpkin is incorporated throughout and the mixture is frothy.

3. Pour into a mug (or two) and garnish with whipped cream and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.