the tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped and cinnamon chip cookies are in the oven (i’ve eaten three batches this week already; i definitely need a post holiday diet).
our culinary pilgrimage
you know how every time you watch HGTV, the couple looking for the house says they want hardwood floors, open concept and a “chef’s kitchen”? well those people are idiots. a chef’s kitchen is not granite countertops and huge islands with all stainless steel everything. chef’s kitchens are messy. they’re raw. they’re overflowing with knives and appliances and pots and pans. they kind of look like this.
manager’s special
the girl found two 6 pound roasting chickens at SAMs club for $9. we’re total suckers for great deals.
welcome home, mochi!
our family is a little big bigger and a whole lot furrier!
this is totally NOT food related, but we just love him so much we have to show him off.
the hundred-foot journey
right now, chef meets girl is more like… just girl. the chef’s gone (for a month!) doing a rotation at a hospital out of town (like, way out of town!). he’ll be back by october, but i miss him like crazy. cooking just isn’t as fun without him.
before he left we went on a movie date and the flim was so good, i had to share!
my apologies…
so the chef and i got in a pretty big argument the other day. he asked me to drive him to the butcher shop, which i gladly did. but when he came out with FIFTEEN POUNDS of pork belly, i was not so happy. “i’m going to make pancetta,” he said. “and think of all the home-cured bacon!” i thought he’d lost his mind. fifteen pounds of pork belly means i had to lose the bottom two crisper drawers in my fridge… for three weeks. but it turned out to be a small price to pay.
so this is my formal, printed-on-the-internet apology for doubting the chef — and for being grouchy the drive home from the butcher shop. i mean, look at this dinner. what a jerk i was!
(almost) no carb almond + banana muffins
the chef and i have committed the cardinal foodie sin. we went on a diet.
we cut out carbs for two weeks (not all carbs, we’re eating a TON of fruits and veggies. just the big ones: bread, pasta, rice). it was kind of a test to see if we could do it / if we would loose any weight. it’s been two weeks and it turns out we can / did. but after like day three of bacon and eggs for breakfast i thought i was going to crack. until i made these little guys. and they’re good.
hey! thanks, guys!
we love it when people try our food! our good friends trevor and kierin tested the chef’s recipe for donuts and totally approved! their donuts look sooooo good. okay, now i’m hungry.
infused salts + a few kitchen gadgets
we’ve been seeing infused salts everywhere lately. we wanted to try them, but we didn’t want to pay the williams-sonoma / sur la table price. so, here ya go. a super easy way to make your own in whatever flavor you choose!
pan seared rack of lamb on the cheap
the idea of having lamb for dinner may seem like a culinary impossibility if you didn’t spent two years at CIA like my chef, but this was so simple he sat on the sofa and let me do the work!
chef meets girl 