I’m either setting myself up for solid support or hugely public failure. Fun!

Old habits die hard. Especially when they result in rewards like not having to do the dishes.

This blog has been rather silent recently, which happens to it from time to time. I apologize for that – I am not such a great blogger, it seems. Once, it was about the wedding. Sometimes, I just get distracted. This time, well…

This time it’s because we’ve gotten into a bit of a food funk. It doesn’t feature nearly as many frittatas or stir-fries as back when we started this blog, but it features almost as much eating out (or delivery). I think so, anyway.

To be totally forthright, this is not only frustrating and embarrassing due to how this blog came about, but it was particularly so in February.… Continue reading →

Quickie Post – 5 Things I Learned at Edible Institute 2012

I was speaking to Krysti yesterday via instant messanger, and was telling her how difficult I found writing up Edible Institute. It’s been tough. Last year, I took some notes and got a solid, single post out of it. This year, I found I took no notes, but probably have at least two posts to put up.

Of course, the Keynote Speaker, Nikki Henderson, gets a single post all by herself. That’s part of the issue.

That said, I didn’t want to leave you all (especially those of you not on Twitter) with the feeling that I just went to California and sat on the beach drinking beach cocktails all weekend. So I figured I do a quick (maybe) post on 5 random tidbits I learned while at Edible Institute.… Continue reading →

I’m going to Edible Institute again this year.

Last year, in late January, I attended the second Edible Institute conference. I posted that I would be going, and why, here.

Well, the organizers seem to have decided that hosting in late January is a misery, because it’s been moved to March. This upcoming weekend, in fact.

I appreciate this, as last year I got stuck for an extra day in California due to a huge January/February blizzard in Chicago.

Just as I was last year, I’m very excited to be going this year. I’m going to see a few friends I made last year. I’m very much looking forward hearing Mirra Fine and Daniel Klein of The Perennial Plate speak1. I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to meet them2.… Continue reading →

Experimenting in the kitchen

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

I’ll write this up fully later, but I just wanted to share a couple of photos with you. I’ve been in the kitchen more than my silence might indicate, but mostly doing simply things like hummus. Today’s my first experiment in awhile.

Well, I call it an experiment, but like the cautious cook I usually am, I took Marc Bittman’s recipe for “Braised Oxtail with Garlic and White Wine” and messed with it as I cooked. For one thing, I used beef neck instead of oxtail. It looks just as (if not more) tasty than the oxtails I’ve had, but was astoundingly cheaper. If this works out, I may never go back to oxtail.

His recipe also calls for 4 ounces of bacon. I didn’t remember that before I started quick thawing the beef neck.… Continue reading →