Kamis, 31 Desember 2009

New Year's Eve Dinner

After an annoying delay at the airport (which was made tolerable only because my darling son decided to crawl around and befriend everyone rather than break down and cry), we finally made it home from our long holiday journeys. And it was delicious to be home. As the quiet of our baby sleeping descended on our house, my husband and I realized that we should probably plan a nice dinner for

Selasa, 22 Desember 2009

Six Great Gift Ideas for Foodies, Food Bloggers & Kitchen Goddesses

From practical to whimsical, here are six thoughtful gifts sure to please the kitchen maven in your life.Jessie Steele Retro Aprons are bringing sexy back to the kitchen. I'm drooling over them all, so I can't decide if I like the Retro Cherries, Classy Black and White, or the Brown Polka Dot Apron. She even makes a Children's Apron.Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks,

Jumat, 11 Desember 2009

7 Common Foods The Experts Avoid

You're food savvy. You've heard of the dirty dozen. You try to buy organic. Me too. The winter time is coming to most of us, so perhaps you've just cranked open a couple of cans of tomatoes, added some beef, and you have a pot of warm chili simmering on the stove. Maybe you are baking up some potatoes to go with it. While you wait you pop up some microwave popcorn and snuggle up to watch a movie.

Jumat, 13 November 2009

Wasabi Brisket: So good you'll want to slap yourself

This recipe is somewhat adapted from an award winning recipe originally published in the Chicago Tribune. In general I like to publish original recipes on this site, but the Wasabi Brisket is such a stunning example of some of the basic Skinny Gourmet principles, it had to be included. This tender meat is so unbelievably flavorful that a small serving is very satisfying. Better still, it makes

Kamis, 01 Oktober 2009

How to make baby food at home (fast, easy, cheap and organic!)

QUICK LINKS*The ugly truth about commercial baby food*When do I start solid foods?*How much food will my baby eat?*How many times a day should I feed my baby?*What time of day should I feed my baby?*What kind of equipment do I need to make baby food?*What texture should homemade baby food be?*How do I make and store homemade baby food?Taking control of your baby's own food allows you to be as

Rabu, 02 September 2009

The ugly truth about commercial baby food

If you've been to a couple of baby showers, chances are you have encountered the horrible game of "guess the baby food." Jars without labels are lined up in front of guests. Guests dip a spoon in, taste, cringe, and then try to fathom what alleged combination of foods produced that hideous bland unappetizing flavor. Whenever I have done this I always thought there was some mystical but highly

Kamis, 27 Agustus 2009

Arugula salad with goat cheese and summer fruits

I am profoundly sorry, but no picture on this one. I realize it is one of the grave sins of food blogging not to provide a mouthwatering photo. But I was starving for lunch, and those farmer's market peaches were just calling to me. And I've been on such an obsessive arugula kick lately that the salad began to take shape before I knew what was happening and then it just looked so mouthwateringly

Minggu, 16 Agustus 2009

Thai Chicken Larb Gai (Laap)

This is one of a handful of recipes in my repertoire that I would be lost without. It is so astonishingly full of flavor and nutrition that it makes most of my other recipes run and hide from shame. I could eat it once a week for the rest of my life and never get tired from it. In fact, sometimes we do come close to eating it once a week, because it is so hard to find a tastier, quicker dish that

Selasa, 28 Juli 2009

Foodie Mecca: Expectations and Experience of Achatz's Alinea

When you live in the same city as what is arguably among the world's ten best restaurants, it is hard to ignore the pull. It is impossible to be a foodie in Chicago and not hear the tales, almost too fantastical to believe, of Grant Achatz and his mystical Alinea. It has all the stuff of legend. A chef who lost his sense of taste to tongue cancer, and then gained it back and so experiences taste

Senin, 20 Juli 2009

Five Guys Opens in Rogers Park

I've posted earlier about my dirty little love of Five Guys burgers? Well you can imagine how gleeful I was when I drove by the Loyola el stop and saw the familiar white and red checked decor with a big "coming soon" announcement. Five Guys opened in Rogers Park last Monday. I know this because I tried (unsuccessfully) beating down their doors on Sunday only to be turned away by the sad sign

Kamis, 09 Juli 2009

An obrunyi's guide to eating, shopping and entertainment in Accra, Ghana

Are you looking for a guide or map to places to eat, shop, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment in Accra Ghana? You won't find many good resources elsewhere, but you've come to the right place! After living in Accra for three years, I've transferred my insider's knowledge of living as an expat or "obrunyi" in Accra into a google map, complete with my sometimes random side commentary. From

Sabtu, 20 Juni 2009

Ravinia Picnic Tables on Sale

This is the time of year when most foodies start thinking about the picnic season. And if you are anything like me, eagerly anticipating picnic season looks like a combination of daydreaming about food and gear. Most Chicagoan picnic fanatics will make at least one pilgrimage to Ravinia park to listen to classical music from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or enjoy any of the touring musical acts

Jumat, 12 Juni 2009

Chamomile Kumquat Tart

I am bashfully enamored of kumquats. They are like that popular girl in high school who is small, sassy and a little bit of a rebel. You couldn't necessarily hang out with them all the time, but in small doses they knock your socks off.I was munching (skin and all of course) these tart little darlings while contemplating what to make for a nice dinner I was cooking for friends. I had some

Selasa, 26 Mei 2009

Andreae's Vegetarian Moroccan Stew with No-knead Bread

This dish has that certain kind of tantalizing heat that makes it delightful year round, and I find it particularly perfect for these annoyingly chilly Chicago "spring" days. I first became acquainted with Andreae's Vegetarian Moroccan Stew when our friend Michelle volunteered to bring us dinner after we'd brought our newborn son home from the hospital. Michelle showed up at the door with a huge

Jumat, 15 Mei 2009

Three Berry Chicken Salad with Thyme, Tarragon and Toasted Pinenuts

I have a deep and abiding love of chicken salad. It wasn't always this way. I grew up a solid "lunch meats" kind of girl, because that's what you eat for lunch when you are from Wisconsin. Maybe mix a little PBJ in the rotation to keep things interesting. But then I married Terry. He was an avowed omnivore, but the more we were together the more I noticed that there were a few things he didn't

Senin, 04 Mei 2009

Eat Cookies, Help the World (A giveaway!)

If you have ever found your heart tugged by the idea of child soldiers, AIDS patients, or starving children in Africa then I beg you: SUPPORT ENTERPRISE ON THE CONTINENT. Because a lack of meaningful economic opportunity is at the root of all of those problems. And lucky for you, doing your part to solve the problem can be as easy as sitting back with a tasty box of cookies.I teach a politics

Kamis, 30 April 2009

Proposal for Food Blogger Code of Ethics

Have you, as a blogger, been guilty of plagiarism? I'm a professional academic teaching at a top American university, and I have a no-nonsense approach to plagiarism. After catching a few plagiarized papers, I took this issue to heart. In fact, I administer an academic integrity quiz as part of any course I teach so I can certify that my students know the ins and outs of how to appropriately use

Senin, 27 April 2009

A reader asks: Budget-Friendly meals that are nutritious and delicious?

If you turn on the television, listen to the radio, or read a magazine or newspaper, the economy is everywhere. It puts a spin on what would otherwise be considered separate domains of existence. So suddenly we are economizing everything from our entertainment habits to our wardrobe. But perhaps no domain has gotten as much ink (or pixels) as the rediscovery of what used to be called,

Senin, 13 April 2009

Look out Chicago: There's a new burger in town

Discussing burgers is always a delicate affair, because when it comes to burgers there are no undecided voters. Everyone seems already to have an allegiance. I believe this is because a burger is defined by our experience of it growing up. In time we may come to appreciate the finer qualities of a kobe burger rare with white truffle oil, but deep in our hearts we always long for a burgers as

Sabtu, 28 Maret 2009

Moroccan Spiced Bulgur & Chickpea Salad

The hard crunch of carrots and almonds, the chewy toothsomeness of chickpeas and cranberries, against a backdrop of whole grains, touched off with the bright hint of fresh mint, which seems incongruous and yet somehow perfectly ties it all together. Having been raised on casseroles, meat and potatoes, I'll admit to a certain Midwestern bias in me that tends to view with initial skepticism

Senin, 16 Maret 2009

Slow-Roasted Salmon With Mustard Parsley Glaze

Our son came home from the NICU on Sunday, and on Tuesday the first of our friends came through our door bearing the gift of home cooked food to help sustain two slightly frazzled sleep deprived new parents. And how we got spoiled by this first food delivery! Our friend Michaela is a foodie par excellence. Her dissertation examines controversies around foie gras in the US and France. She makes it

Jumat, 06 Maret 2009

Slowcooked Beef Bourguignon with Bulgur

Beef Bourguignon is a standard of French cuisine, and a wonderful example of simple, homestyle cooking that was elevated to status food. Traditionally in the northern regions of France, this dish begins by rendering bacon fat. Now I'm not embarassed to say that I actually have several tablespoons of rendered bacon fat chilling in my freezer even as we speak. I think it is handy to keep it there

Senin, 23 Februari 2009

Garlic Oregano Oven Fries with Pecorino Romano

I have a completely embarrassing addiction to french fries. Just the idea of warm, crisp potatoes fills me with a sense of euphoria and makes my little mouth salivate like a Pavlovian dog. And nothing calls to the fry addict quite so much as a home baked french fry, redolent in olive oil, Pecorino Romano cheese, garlic and oregano, still bearing the earthy potato peel, soft inside, crisp outside,

Kamis, 12 Februari 2009

Tortilla Espanola

Several years ago I took a trip to Spain with a childhood friend of mine. We wound our way through small towns, being enchanted by local honey, olives and cakes of fig sold on the roadside by wizened old men. But we spent most of our urban time taking in Sevilla and Madrid, which were nothing short of foodie fantasies. We stumbled on a hole in the wall restaurant in Madrid packed with locals

Kamis, 29 Januari 2009

Presto Pasta Nights #98 Roundup

First of all, I am quite sorry for deviating from the norm here. I know this is suposed to go out on Friday night so all of you looking for that perfect weekend dish can peruse, but hopefully you'll forgive me for being early because I have a good reason. I am pregnant and six weeks from my due date. When I signed up to host I naturally assumed the baby would come, you know, when he was due. But

Jumat, 23 Januari 2009

I'm hosting Presto Pasta Nights next week!

Greetings all. Just wanted to let you know that I will be guest hosting Presto Pasta Nights #98. I will receive entries from Jan 24th (my birthday!) until Jan 29th. The roundup will be posted right here on The Skinny Gourmet on Friday January 30th.Send your entries to skinnygourmet (AT) gmail (DOT) com and a cc to the originator, Ruth (AT) 4everykitchen (DOT) com.To share a recipe for a roundup:1

Rabu, 21 Januari 2009

Salmon Salad: A tasty way to get your Omega-3s

Suddenly it seems a nouveau bourgeoisie bohemian affect is fashionable everywhere, even on the table. The economy is hitting everyone hard. The "formerly wealthy" ethos is the hip new thing. So feel free to pepper your conversation with little gems such as "Oh is this what it looks like in economy seating, I had no idea" and "I miss my Lexus, but one just can't overlook the fuel efficiency of a

Kamis, 15 Januari 2009

Blueberry Clementine Scones with Pistachio Dust

These scones elevate the classic blueberry flavor with the fleeting taste of seasonal clementines paired with the taste and texture of pistachio. They are unspeakably good in the morning with a warm cup of white tea. This recipe is a great addition to any baking repertoire, perfect for treating your family or taking to a brunch to impress friends. And the two-bite size makes them much more

Minggu, 11 Januari 2009

Breakfast for Two: Tangerine Buttermilk Pancakes

Every kitchen goddess has an Achilles heel. As a still-aspiring kitchen goddess I have several. But nothing irks me so completely as my inability to make a fine pancake. I mean really...pancakes? This is like frontier American food. Toothless cowhands with iron skillets were whipping up these delights on the open range. Yet they defy me. So it is probably a good thing that my husband is

Jumat, 02 Januari 2009

The Best of 2008 and Ten Culinary Resolutions for the New Year

The end of a year is always a wonderful opportunity for making new resolutions about culinary accomplishments I hope to make in the upcoming year, but also for looking back and recapturing some of the best moments of the last year. So I'm taking a look back at my absolute favorite original recipes that I posted in 2008, as well as a few of my favorite essays. These favorites are based on my