Apartment Dining

My friends Angela and Sean hosted a small gathering Sunday afternoon to celebrate an a match made in culinary heaven: grilled sandwiches and beer. They gathered an impressive array of meats, cheeses, mustards, and more, and were ready with some fantastic combinations. More photos and combos after the jump » Read the rest of this entry «

I did some dumpling-related freelance writing recently and was left with an abundance of the pork and mushroom variety when I was done. After enjoying a dozen dipped in soy sauce, I decided to make a simple dumpling soup with shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, and scallions. This is a perfect meal to make if you have leftover dumplings that you’ve made yourself or that you have in the fridge from your most recent Chinese food delivery. The best part is that it only takes fifteen minutes to make. » Read the rest of this entry «

Remember the classic children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, about a town where food falls from the sky for each meal? I found out recently that they’re turning it into a computer animated movie. Although the creators of “Clone High” have written and directed it, I highly doubt it will satisfy a generation for whom the book carries such strong feelings of nostalgia. I don’t know about you, but for me the book inspired many crayon drawings of houses and trees covered in a variety of foodstuffs. (I also understand they’re aiming for the twelve and under set rather than the jaded twenty-somethings in my peer group. The studios are betting we’ll all just go see the film version of Where the Wild Things Are, drawn in by a Dave Eggers screenplay, Spike Jonze’s direction, and a trailer that includes an Arcade Fire song. They’re betting right in my case, but such is life [link probably NSFW].)

Looking up information on a movie about meatballs falling from the sky naturally led me making meatballs in my kitchen. I’ve made meatballs only once before and while they turned out okay, they were far from great. After seeing a number of recipes around the web that combined ground beef with a number of other meats, I decided to try mixing ground beef and pork to create a more flavorful meatball. An additional twist was my use of whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of the traditional Italian breadcrumbs, which I believe added a very subtle nutty and sweet flavor. The recipe and more photos after the jump. Warning to vegetarian/vegan readers: raw meat photos ahead. » Read the rest of this entry «

Polenta seemed to be everywhere I turned this week. Mark Bittman made a breakfast pizza with it, Anthony Bourdain came across it in one of his travels during a late-night marathon of No Reservations, and an unopened bag of cornmeal was sitting in my kitchen, originally intended for a cornbread that never happened. This creamy cornmeal dish, similar to grits, is a blank canvas for a wide range of flavors. I decided to go the simple route since it was my first time making it, choosing to flavor it with chicken stock and parmesan cheese. I then paired it with maple pork loin chops and collard greens for a plate of serious comfort food. » Read the rest of this entry «

When it comes to my routines at home, I am a creature of habit. Just as I like to go grocery shopping at the same time every week and enjoy my late night TV watching schedule (Stewart, Colbert, last half of Letterman, and most of Conan, if you were curious), I tend to cook meat in a similar fashion every week.

Pork is one of my worst offenders. I almost always create a marinade, bake for 45 minutes at 350º and serve. I decided to try something a little different this week and break out of the marinade rut by creating a recipe with a little Moroccan flair. » Read the rest of this entry «