My mom and I went to explore Eataly today and came home with quite a bundle of Italian delicacies. Fresh baked bread, hand-made pasta, 22-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, imported pesto and cold-pressed olive oil are just some of the food we bought.
Trader Joe’s sells a delicious Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla cake mix, which is what I used for this cake. I made my own buttercream frosting using confectionary sugar, butter, milk and vanilla extract. I also toasted some sliced almonds and sprinkled them on top. The cake looks a little messy…but it was delectable!
My “Besto Pesto”.
Christina and went to Pies N Thighs in Brooklyn for some good ol’ fashioned country cookin! We both got the Chicken Box with mac and cheese, which also came with a biscuit. It’s definitely worth the schlep.
This is one of my favorite culinary books. I hesitate to call it a cook book because it mostly has photos and information about the different regions and cuisines of Spain. There are, however, some recipes scattered throughout the book, making it easy to make these traditional Spanish dishes at home. The pictures are gorgeous and make me want to escape to Spain, if only to eat in each of the country’s diverse regions. If you’re interested in learning more about Spanish cheeses, wines, tapas, and other delicious culinary treats, I highly recommend this book.
Mmmm….cinnamon buns. I made these using store-bought puff pastry, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and butter. The chocolatey ones are made with Nutella.
What, exactly, are we eating?
It seems that everyone is talking about meat these days and what exactly our farmers are feeding their animals. Vogue published an article for their May 2010 issue titled “Prime Suspect” by Jancee Dunn, which talks about the antibiotics that animals are being fed, which we then eat. It’s incredible to think that we’re putting harmful hormones and antibiotics into our bodies every time we eat meat. To make matters worse, tonight’s Law & Order: SVU episode was partially about the disgusting conditions where our meat is cut. How can we expect to eat food coming from factories with roaches at rats? Of course this is a fictional show…but it’s based on real events. Have we gone back to a time that is so similar to the conditions of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair that you couldn’t tell the two apart?
Issues like these make me understand the importance of cooking and eating quality meat that has been treated ethically and in clean environments. Let’s start using USDA Certified Organic meats and vegetables in our cooking, its one way we can make sure we’re treating our bodies well.
I must be missing Spain today. José Andrés has a great show on PBS called Made in Spain where he prepares dishes from the many differing regions of Spain. This recipe caught my attention because it contains one of my favorite cheeses: Manchego. Its not soft, yet not too hard and has a flavor thats strong enough to have a presence without being an attention seeker. I also love the tomatoes, and of course olive oil. Spanish olive oil is truly exquisite. I find the Spanish and Greek olive oils to be the most flavorful and exciting, and go perfectly with Mediterranean style dishes like this one. Buen provecho!
