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So Apparently I Grill Now

June 25, 2015
ribs gas grill cook

Is this photo creepy? I totally think it's creepy. And also cool.

(Please ignore my nails thanks.)

Alright, first: I made ribs. This is extremely exciting, because I've always been intimidated by the idea of making ribs (all that MEAT, you know?), and Google did me proud, because what I ended up with was all sorts of delicious. (If you're curious, I cooked it over indirect heat - we have a propane grill, so I just put the rack on the unlit side - for about an hour and a half, basting with a red wine vinegar/apple juice mixture and finishing with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.)

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All-American Berries

June 22, 2015

Oh, these are so cute. And so easy. And so festive I can hardly even stand it. Full disclosure: I don't love them with the vehemence that I love my Chocolate Salted Strawberries, but the adorableness factor compensates for the fact that they include milk chocolate's sad cousin, white chocolate.

We had a little pool party for some friends on Saturday, and I used it as an opportunity to play around with some summery recipe ideas I've been meaning to try, and let me tell you: these were quite the hit. More easy, party-friendly dishes coming up, so if you're planning a Fourth of July get-together stay tuned - totally got you covered. But you can go ahead and start with these, because they are Oh So American.

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Pea And Pesto Crostini

June 18, 2015
sandwich crostini pesto pea mozzarella

OK, confession: I LOVE Sandra Lee. I'm basing said love on the only two facts that I know about her, which are as follows:

1. Girlfriend does not cook without a glass of wine in hand;

2. Girlfriend also does not cook when cooking is not necessary.

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First BBQ (Sort Of)

June 8, 2015

For our first dinner in our new home, we thought we'd do a BBQ by the pool. Or, rather, in the pool, because those kids are ob. sessed. (As an aside, because the safety issues surrounding kids and pools clearly deserve mention - our approach this weekend was to have a serious talk with our son about pool safety, confirm that the gate around the pool was secure, and install a home security system that also chimes whenever the doors to the backyard open.)

The BBQ plan was slightly confounded by the fact that we don't actually own a grill yet (although we will as of 4PM today, when it gets delivered, so if you have any fun recipes pleeeeeease pass them on; I plan to cook outdoors every single night, all summer long and my grilling repertoire is pathetic), but I dug our old stovetop grill from our NYC apartment out of a box, and that did the job. Also I could totally have served my family old taco shells and they would have been perfectly happy, because: pool.

The Menu: Since first meals in new homes should be 1) simple to make (because most of our utensils are still MIA) and 2) WONDERFUL, I went with my all-time favorite summer menu; it's fast and easy and inexpensive and so, so (so) delicious.

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The Great Fried Onion Burger

May 29, 2015
fried onion burger sid's diner

Ever since we hit Route 66 (or at least parts of it) I've been following the recommendations of my road trip book very nearly to the letter. Why a for-real, paper-pages book as opposed to a series of apps and Yelp reviews and road-tripping sites? Because something about driving the old road makes me feel like you need a book to hold in your hands. You need to turn down pages and have somewhere to tuck receipts and pamphlets you find along the way into, you know?

Anyway, one of the places that my book declared unmissable was El Reno, a.k.a. "Hamburger City."

Obviously I am stopping at a place with the nickname "Hamburger City."

There were three diners that came highly recommended, but we ended up at Sid's Diner because apparently it was featured in an episode of Man Vs. Food and I was all curious about why.

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