Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

No Peace!

April 26, 2005 · Narrative

My head firmly ensconced under the bathroom sink faucet, hair completely wet, you’d think I’d be safe. I hear the dreaded noise of the stepstool being dragged over to the sink for a better look. “Mama.” “Mama.” “Mama, I talk to you!” “Mama, what are you doing?”

So Monday has come and gone and it was a doozy. Busy day at work, busy day after work. Hey, at least there’s consistency. Luckily, today, I started out one step ahead … I made tonight’s dinner last night, so I just had to throw together a salad and heat up the dinner. I made Roasted Balsamic Chicken. It’s flavorful, simple and heck, even healthy. You can’t ask for better than that.

Got Tivo? If you do, set it now for a new show on PBS, premiering on April 27. If you don’t set it now, and are anything like me, you’ll promptly forget as soon as you leave here. Cooking Under Fire is a brand new, completely unscripted, documentary-style show that will track 12 finalists competing for a chef position in one of Todd English’s NYC restaurants. How cool is that? The finalists were chosen from restaurants and culinary schools all across the country, and they’ll be given unique cooking challenges to find out if they can stand the heat. Gee, as if knowing who the judges are isn’t pressure enough! Todd English, Ming Tsai and Michael Ruhlman will be judging the competition. Tune in on Wednesday … I know I will be.

For Donna Hay fans, tomorrow, she is releasing her newest cookbook, Instant Cook. I have her 7 other cookbooks, as well as a subscription to her magazine, and the photography is worth the cost alone. Her recipes are all simple, yet stunning in presentation – perfect for entertaining.

Also on my list (good thing Mother’s Day is coming up!), is French chef Ludo Lefebvre’s first cookbook, Crave (See Touch Smell Hear Taste). All about food in its sensuality, he’s channeling Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver at their best. This one’s also coming out tomorrow. I gotta admit, the cover picture is a little, uh, powerful?, but I’m still intrigued about it.

Tune in tomorrow to find out what I’m making for my office lunch on Wednesday. I’ll tune in too since, so far, I have NO IDEA what to make. And hey, if you’ve made any of the recipes I’ve written about here over the past few months, drop me a line and let me know about it. Feedback … it’s a good thing.

Roasted Balsamic Chicken
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-pounds chicken thighs

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and arrange the chicken pieces on a large greased baking dish. Roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve.

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Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    April 26, 2005 at 4:07 am

    How funny! I just posted about the sexy chef, too…

    Reply
  2. JoAnna says

    April 26, 2005 at 6:36 am

    those eyes and pomegranate seeds? Uh huh, I’m in. Yum and YUM.

    Reply
  3. shoezoo says

    April 26, 2005 at 12:16 pm

    Which Donna Hay cookbook would you recommend for a first one? Snowing here this morning so the chicken sounds great.

    Reply
  4. Cate says

    April 26, 2005 at 12:21 pm

    For a first foray into the world of Donna Hay, I’d be Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry. You can find it here:
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0066214483/qid=1114517952/sr=8-7/ref=pd_csp_7/002-3923261-3571244?v=glance&s=books&n=507846. Just like the title says, it is using items that you probably already have, which is a perfect way to whet your appetite. That said, you really can’t go wrong with any of them. You can find her magazines at Barnes & Noble (new one just out), and they’re a little pricey (about $10), but so worth it. Hope this helps!

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    April 26, 2005 at 1:01 pm

    Hi-
    Wondering if you think the Balsamic Chicken Marinade would work for boneless breasts on the grill? Marinade sounds great!

    Sheila in MD

    Reply
  6. Cate says

    April 26, 2005 at 1:51 pm

    Yes, it will. I’ve tried it a number of different ways, with success all around. Hope you like it — thanks for dropping by. :)

    Reply

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Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨

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Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻

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