Today is the last day of 2010! This past week has been absolutely exhausting. Maybe next year instead of traveling for Christmas I’ll stay home and eat a ham by myself with endless champagne and Bing Crosby on the iTunes. Sounds better than airports and flight delays, eh?
This has been one epic year, and with all the incredibleness that happened in 2010, I can only imagine what 2011 holds for me. Thanks for reading! See you next year.
Filed under Miscellaneous
Just wanted to share a fun picture (margarita!!!) from Rockin’ Baja in San Diego, California and wish you all a very merry Christmas! This has been such an amazing year for me and I would never have made it this far without loyal readers. Thanks for everything!
Filed under Uncategorized
Hi friends,
Just wanted to say a quick hello and share this amaaaazing picture with you that already makes my heart ache for California. It’s In ‘N Out. Oh the beauty. I’d like to tell you I only ate this meal once while I was in town but… I don’t like to lie.
I had a whirlwind trip to San Diego and am heading off again to Rochester today for the holidays with the family, sans computer. I will be back in full force on December 30 with TONS of posts, recipes, and the witty commentary you’ve come to know and love.
Merry Christmas, loves! See you next week.
Love always,
Lauren E.
Filed under Miscellaneous
A few days ago I left my apartment en route to The Boyfriend’s and the Christmas mood struck me mid trip. I stopped at a deli for hot chocolate, and when I arrived at the apartment, BF’s roommate said, “What kind is it?!” And when I answered Swiss Miss he made a face. “Oh. I thought you’d be drinking something fancy.” I was embarrassed.
So to maintain my reputation, here is my own recipe for hot chocolate, which I promise I do actually make for myself. All the time. And if you should ever stop my apartment and find an empty Swiss Miss packet on the counter next to a Twinkie wrapper… well, those aren’t mine.
On the menu:
Homemade hot chocolate
Serves 2 (in big mugs, which is how it should be)
Disclaimer: this hot chocolate is not for everyone. It is VERY cocoa-y because I use a little less sugar than most recipes call for. But I like it that way. So… there.
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pour the milk and cream in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let the milk simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cocoa, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add the vanilla and stir again. Bring the mixture up to a boil and let cook at the high temperature for around 5 minutes (careful not to let it overflow… or you might have to clean up a big, fat, chocolatey mess on your stovetop. Not that that has ever happened to me…). Reduce to a simmer and let cook for another 5 minutes.
At this point you can taste it to make sure it’s not too sweet (or bitter) and add sugar/cocoa/milk as you please. This is also the important time where you add a small truckload of marshmallows. And then you drink. And then you’re instantly happy. Like magic.
A toast from me to you, dear readers! Thanks a million.
Just a quick note to remind you that if you’re on Twitter then you should follow me! Not only will you be alerted the minute a new Food E. post is up and get links to various food related posts around the web, but you will be able to read all of my musings on sports, things that annoy me, my travails with the MTA, and other gloriously fascinating tidbits worthy of your time.
And as a small aside, thanks to the over 2,300 people who have visited Food E. in the past 2 days! Keep reading, kids. It’ll only get better.
Filed under Miscellaneous
I’m about to tell you a story, but in order to read it, you’re going to have to put your judgment face away and slap on an open minded grin.
Got it?
Okay, here goes. I ate pancakes 3 days in a row. I can’t explain it. I needed something comforting and warm and salty and sweet and when I got home last night it was beautiful and snowy and I thought, “What else do people eat when it’s cold and snowy and Christmastime but pancakes?” I couldn’t come up with anything. So I made these. And they have a secret.
HEY. Remember when I told you not to judge me? Pancakes with bacon sounded good, so I thought, I will combine these beauties into one easily consumed dish.
I started by crisping up the bacon real nice, setting it aside to drain, pouring the grease out of the pan, and then making the pancakes (using this recipe*, obviously) in that same beautiful pan all ready to go and coated with bacon grease. Once I poured the batter in the pan I laid the crispy strips in the center of the pancake and cooked as usual.
Then for the sauce: I cubed some apple and sauteed it in a small saucepan with 2 Tbsp of butter, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Once the apples are softened, you pour the mixture on top of the pancakes.
And then you eat your face off. Or you share. But… probably the former.
*I realized upon arriving home that I was out of baking powder. I said a few curse words, looked out at the snow, and then remembered I could make my own. 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 parts baking soda = baking powder. (For example: in this recipe you need 3 tsp of baking powder, so instead you’d use 2 tsp cream of tartar and 1 tsp baking soda) A handy trick for you in case you’re ever in the same predicament.
image c/o Zimbio.com
Welcome to the new week, folks! To start your Monday off right, here’s a link to a really amazing piece from chefs Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain on fast food from The Huffington Post. If you have a minute on your lunch break (or maybe during Monday’s morning meeting?) watch and be dazzled by the snark and sass of these two lovely men.
