Friday Faves: This City

Since the bombings at the Boston Marathon, I have sat down in front of my keyboard quite a few times. I wanted to write something. Something eloquent and expressive that evoked just how I was feeling.

But it has proven pretty difficult to do.

That first post, the day after; I intended to elaborate. To express my overwhelming gratitude to the people who took action that day. Condolences to the victims and their families who are suffering from this absolutely senseless tragedy.

I wanted to articulate just how very thankful and humbled I am for this life.

But with every key stroke, the words became a bit more blurry and the story increasingly convoluted and I just...couldn't. I was a mess. So I thought, again, I would write something that Friday for my Faves column that I often do.

But then I awoke to find my city on lockdown that day, and making any commentary about this chaotic tale as it continued to unfurl seemed inappropriate.

And so now, two and a half weeks have gone by. I have cooked. I have photographed. I am typing this without salty tears gracing my lips. I have started to carry on.

But I still feel it so necessary to write about it. And not just about the tragedy, but the absolute, staggering love I have for this city. It has been said by so many in the past few weeks, but after a lifetime in Massachusetts and eleven years in the "Bean", it really couldn't ring more true: Boston, you're my home.

We're Okay

To everyone who checked in, called, and continues to think of us here in Boston, Thank You, from the bottom of my broken heart.

Saturday Snack: Bacon, Jalapeño and Corn Arancini (Gluten Free & Stuffed with Cheese!)

So, I'm currently writing this from a couch in Chicago. Matt and I are out here to see his family for his thirtieth birthday bash this evening, and right now it's a lovely afternoon of Nick Jr and Eggo waffles with his niece.

Every time we visit, I want to take over someone's kitchen and cook. Partially, it's a "thank-you, here-let-me-do-it" to our hosts; but it's also a selfish, must-cook-now feeling I get when I haven't made anything in a few days. And sometimes, I just want to try to show off whatever dish I'm currently obsessed with. Looking through photos of the past few weeks exploits, I came across these little guys that I made with risotto rice. This was somewhat labor intensive because it involved, you know, making risotto first and allowing it to cool. But a rif on this with leftover rice of any persuasion, or orzo, or even quinoa would, I'm willing to wager, be delicious.

Deviled Eggs & Don Draper

It's here!
The day us annoying fans everywhere have been waiting for; the return of the hit AMC series Mad Men is tonight. And I couldn't be more excited.

I love Mad Men for a lot of reasons; the sixties costumes and pop culture references. The peak into decades-past advertising practices.

The completely crazy (to me, now, anyway), very low glass ceiling over Peggy and every other female's heads. 

The chain smoking. The binge liquor drinking. The copy writing.

All of it. 

And so in honor of the return of my most favorite show, I wanted to share a few sixties snacks. However, this has been done time and time and time again, and much better than I could hope to do. So instead, I decided to stick to the one thing I know I actually like from the Mad Men era (sorry, but anything requiring a gelatin mold is not happening in this kitchen); deviled eggs. But of course, not exactly typical deviled eggs. Instead, I insisted upon emptying my fridge and coming up with five different variations on this classic snack. Here they are, in no particular order, along with my top five moments in Mad Men history. 

Hard boil some eggs, observe what you've got in your fridge, and whip up some of these bad boys before tonight!

Sunday Brunch: Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Hash

One of my favorite meals to make is breakfast.
For the most part, there is always a surplus of bacon in our fridge.
Usually some eggs.
If I'm lucky, a potato or two is laying around. Maybe some greens or veggies left over from weeknight cooking.
There's never a more gratifying way to clean out the fridge.




A few weeks back, I had picked up a whole giant stalk of Brussels sprouts at the grocery store. They had served as a great side with some grilled steaks earlier in the week, but when I woke up on Saturday, loads of time and champagne on my hands, I knew I had to use up the rest.

As luck would have it, we also had some bacon and a few potatoes lying around. I quickly grabbed my chalk board, got to work, and we eventually ate breakfast around 1PM; Jambox softly blaring the Macklemore, mimosas topped off, still a full day of fun ahead of us.

Happy Weekend, everyone.