If you're looking to wow a hungry man with a messy, delicious meal, look no further than these Sloppy Joes. Packed with beef, slathered in BBQ sauce, and sandwiched between two fluffy onion brioche buns, this recipe is not to be missed.
Showing posts with label casual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label casual. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
I have to thank my friend Erica for inspiring me to make these delicious, light blondies. For those of you who don't know, blondies are a variation on the infamous brownie. Erica made some dreamy funfetti blondies for our friend Jamie's graduation BBQ last weekend, so dreamy that I helped myself to several bites. Sunday night I found myself recovering from a nonstop weekend of beer, burgers, Blonde Redhead at the Echoplex and a mini college reunion. The only cure? A glass (or two) of wine and some quality baking. Craving more of Erica's adorable treats, I set to work on a batch for myself.
Everything is better with peanut butter, and blondies are no exception. Some of my baking tins were still at Jamie's house, so I made my baked goodies in a pie tin. Not the most conducive to evenly cut squares, but delicious nonetheless.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The "Louis Doesn't Like Red Sauce" Pasta (with Meatballs)
If anyone can understand a kid's qualms about food, it would be me. Terrified of mushrooms and partial to creating a hot dog/Kraft macaroni and cheese mutant, I was a very picky eater. My little brother Louis, out-of-this-world trumpet player and sarcasm whiz, is obviously following in my footsteps. To save him from an all-day Jazz and Blues festival our dad goes to every year, we spent a Sunday lounging in his Playa del Rey apartment utilizing his flat screen, blu-ray player (him) and spacious kitchen (me).
Since Louis and I are twelve years apart (11, 23), I often find myself lamenting his lack of movie education. After suffering through The Diary of a Wimpy Kid II at his request and his required trumpet practice, I informed the snarky pre-teen that we were going to watch a classic from my childhood: The Fifth Element. As Louis marveled in the special effects ("How can this movie be fifteen years old?!") and sat entranced by the comic stylings of a young and trim Bruce Willis, I set to work on his dinner.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Food Trucks LA: Dogtown Dogs
Though the food truck race in Los Angeles has been picking up steam for a while, I have yet to venture out and try any. Somehow I never get it together in time to check out First Fridays, an event in the Venice district of Abbot Kinney, where merchants feature artists, music, drink specials and a wide variety of food trucks. (I will make it there someday.) Where food trucks were once known as "roach coaches", a cheap array of Mexican fare on wheels, the fad has exploded in the LA foodie scene. Partly due to our current economic decline, the mobile restaurants feature hip, gourmet street food.
Kogi Korean BBQ was the front-runner in the food truck craze, an army of five Korean-Mexican fusion trucks that feature options of spicy pork tacos or kimchi quesadillas. After winning several awards and the hearts and minds of Angelinos, Kogi's success spawned hundreds of on-the-go eateries, from The Grilled Cheese Truck (note to self: try the cheesy mac & rib melt as soon as humanly possible), the Border Grill truck, an addition to the renowned Santa Monica Spanish restaurant at the 3rd Street Promenade, and my first venture into the world of food trucks, Dogtown Dogs.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Healthy Eats: M Street Kitchen
Since I moved into my own apartment a few months ago, my mom and I try to see a movie or have dinner once a week to play catch up. It's been fun to explore Santa Monica for new restaurants to try, especially with so many Californian cuisine options. Westside locals are hot for anything organic, vegan or diet friendly, and M Street Kitchen is no exception.
At the edge of the oh-so-hip Main Street just minutes from my apartment, M Street Kitchen has heated outdoor seating and a cozy, layered indoor area. Our sinewy, dread-locked waiter had to have been a model and paid the utmost attention to us despite the place being packed. I had a glass of the riesling (my standby) and my mom found a jazzed-up version of her favorite drink, "Shakin' Lemonade": ketel one, lemonade, and rosemary served in a jar (how very LA).
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Healthy Eats: Breakfast For Dinner
Though most days I come home eager to try out some new culinary feat, occasionally a 50 hour work week, June gloom and a good ol' case of the doldrums can weaken my motivation. Last night I came home fully expecting to whip up something as equally uninspiring as my day. I considered my ultimate comfort food, caprese, but noticed my fridge has been rather neglected as of late. As I settled in to make scrambled eggs with some veggies, I had an epiphany. Why not make a frittata? My kitchen, however, is still vastly under-equipped since the big move, so I scoured the shelves for a suitable baking dish. Nestled in the back was my cupcake tin, sullenly neglected for months. I dashed into the living room to inform Quinn of my newest endeavor: mini frittatas!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Stuff That Sausage! Or, Mushroom Appreciation Day
When I was a little girl, there were several vegetables I would not under any circumstances allow in my food. My parents tried to sneak them in to sauces, chopping up onions, chives or mushrooms into tiny bits in an attempt to dissuade me from my oh-so-healthy diet of macaroni and cheese. No matter how small the diced veggies were, I could taste them a mile away. "This has onion in it!" I would cry angrily, and proceed to pout for the rest of the meal. (What a charmer.) Mostly I've come to realize that my disgust for onions and mushrooms came from the texture ("too crunchy, too rubbery, get it away from me," etc).
This might be why my parents are still shocked to the core whenever I eat onions or mushrooms (often). I will add grilled onions to almost any dish and ever since my adventures grilling with Quinn and Daniel I've been doing the same with mushrooms. I add sliced white mushrooms to my healthier version of Fettuccini Alfredo, recreate my goat cheese & shiitake omelet from John O'Groats, and sautee large portobello caps in the balsamic-dijon marinade Daniel came up with. The other night I took my mushroom obsession a step further. As I sipped on some girlie moscato white wine and danced around in my kitchen with Scream 2 on in the background, I made sinfully bites of sheer happiness: stuffed mushrooms.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sushi Kiyono Date
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Healthy Eats: Fettucini Alfredo with Spinach & Mushroom
There is still the little kid in me that craves those rich, fattening meals I adored as a skinny-minnie string bean. (No, really. My family nickname was "Noodle".) Unfortunately, I can't scarf down high-calorie pasta the way I used to. Last night Quinn requested Fettuccini Alfredo for dinner, and I set out to make a lighter version -- while still retaining that abundantly creamy flavor.
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Hearty Saturday Breakfast
Saturday morning Quinn and I woke up early to peruse the Virginia Park farmer's market a few blocks from my apartment. We sampled fresh strawberries to pick the boldest and sweetest, picked up blood oranges and just-baked chocolate chip muffins, then headed out to breakfast at John O'Groat's.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Sunday Morning Suggestion
Last weekend, though, the temperature spiked, possibility sparked, and I took the good ol' Amtrak Surfliner up to Santa Barbara. Without divulging all of my extra curricular activities, I did have one of the best days ever, and I'd like to suggest such a day for you: Mimosa Sundays.
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