Asparagus & Caramelized Ramp Hand Pies

Posted on May 15, 2012 by carey

So as some of you may know, I have but one sworn food enemy. That sweaty-tasting, eye-stinging, vile orb of slimy-yet-crunchy layers: The Onion.

My dislike of onions has existed for as long as I can remember. My mother swears I used to eat them when I was very young, but I have no recollection of this. On occasion, she would accidentally add a bunch of onions to something before separating out an untainted portion for me, then try to pass it off as onion-free in the hopes that I wouldn’t notice. That never worked. I could spot them in food from 10 feet away. I could smell them from even farther. I’d smush my dinner all around the plate, pick out every onion I could find, then still refuse to eat it, igniting a dinner table standoff: Carey: Hater of Onions vs. Parents: Lords of After-Dinner TV Privileges. Even today, finding them in my food ignites a childish, fussy frustration within me. If I order a dish sans onions at a restaurant and the waiter asks if I have an allergy, my go-to response is, “I’m mentally allergic to them.” This is usually met with a somewhat bemused look, but it keeps them out of my food.

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Posted in appetizers, cheese, pie, snacks, spring | 9 Comments

Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Basil Ice Cream

Posted on May 9, 2012 by carey

Few things make me happier than the arrival of rhubarb season. Once I see it making an appearance at farmers’ markets and on store shelves, I know that winter really, truly is over. But even more exciting than the symbolic significance those strange red stalks hold is their amazing flavor — a unique tartness that plays well with others, like strawberries, citrus, and ginger. It’s darn tasty, and so versatile. It’s the pumpkin of the spring! And while the pumpkin supply is practically endless during fall in the northeast, rhubarb season seems to vanish all too quickly. And that is why I’ve developed a method for making sure I get my fill of rhubarb each year: If I see it, I buy it. And I buy most of it. The first day it showed up at the store, I’d stuffed about half of the pile in a bag when I realized people were waiting for me to quit being such a hog and get out of the way. The next week, no one was around, so I took all but three puny stalks. Yeah, I’m that jerk.

Looking through my archives, you wouldn’t really pick up on my rhubarb obsession. That, I’m sorry to say, is due to the fact that everything gets eaten before I have a chance to photograph it. Pies, sodas, fruit leather — it’s all gone. We ate it all. But I saved you some ice cream! Wasn’t that nice of me?

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Posted in basil, berries, dessert, rhubarb, spring | 15 Comments

Kombucha Berry Oat Smoothie

Posted on May 3, 2012 by carey

Lately, I’ve been feeling very, very lucky that I don’t experience spring allergies. This season seems to be especially hard on everyone in the Northeast, thanks to the mild winter. The boyfriend spent the past week suffering through what I concluded was hay fever, the symptoms of which seemed invulnerable to various allergy med cocktails. (He isn’t quite so sure about my diagnosis, but it doesn’t seem possible that I wouldn’t have caught whatever he had unless it was allergy-related. So if he wants to find fault in my 5-minutes-of-googling-say-this theory, the only other possible conclusion I can reach is that I have a superhuman immune system, which totally rules.)

While I may not be dealing with allergies, I do find myself experiencing another springtime affliction: zombie hunger. Each day, I am suddenly stricken with an all-consuming need to feed (on things of the non-human flesh variety), and god help anyone or anything that gets in my way. I attribute this to a spike in my metabolism, thanks to the spring crazies, which actually leaves me with a bit of a dilemma. This metabolism boost causes my body to start shedding its winter . . . *ahem* . . . insulation. And this year I am high-fiving myself for keeping up my daily workouts through the winter, because emerging from beneath this insulation are abs. Honest to goodness abs!

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Posted in bachelorette food, berries, breakfast, drink, easy-peasy | 8 Comments

Anatomy of a Really Good Grilled Cheese

Posted on April 22, 2012 by carey

So unless you’ve been living under a rock as of late, you probably know that it’s grilled cheese month. And if you think I’d pass up an opportunity to get in on the cheesy madness, you’d better think again!

I have some pretty strong feelings about what a grilled cheese should be.  And, at the risk of getting a bit up-on-my-soapbox-y, I’d like to share them with you. First: Butter that bread. No oils, especially if they’re “spritzed” on (good grief). BUTTER all the way! Second: Use a light, mild-flavored bread. Because the bread is just a crispy vessel that contains and delivers the delicious, melty cheese. Which brings me to my last, but most strongly-held belief: The cheese is the one and only star. I like a hot sandwich with cheese and other tasty things as much as the next person. But if you ask me if I want a “grilled cheese” and I reply, “yes!” (which I always will), I don’t want any of that extra jazz. No stringy greens smacking me in the face. No tomato chunks falling into my lap. And no, not even any delicious (but overpowering and tough-to-bite-through) slices of bacon. Just buttery bread and ooey-gooey cheese, please.

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Posted in bachelorette food, basics, bread, butter, cheese, easy-peasy | 23 Comments

Chile Relleno Quinoa Bites

Posted on April 16, 2012 by carey

So I really wish I could start off this post by telling you about my love of finger foods. And then give some serious props to Laura and her Chile Rellenos Casserole, which — with its two astounding and delicious pounds of cheese — has plagued my thoughts for over a month now. But I can’t. Because before I do anything else, I need to whine. Like a big baby.

Here’s why: This Saturday, fueled by some serious can-do-will-do ambition, I decided it was time for garden prep work. This was especially exciting for me, because this year I have ALL of the garden space to myself, thanks to my new neighbors who happily told me to have at it (yay!). And as I was ripping out weeds and dried-up remnants of tomato plants, I began to notice all of the other things I could clean up. Mainly, the leaves, which were still leftover from the fall. I’m guessing that’s due to the fact that none of us own a rake, which is kind of essential. But I was determined, so I set about clearing a 3′ x 15′ patch from the front of our house. And when I finished, I felt super proud. Hurray me. Then I woke up the next day and tried to walk.

Apparently, clearing a semi-large patch of leaves by hand is the equivalent of doing squat thrusts for 45 minutes straight. It’s two days later, and I’m still in pain. And I can’t decide if I should be proud of my groundskeeping-related aches, or slightly ashamed that two hours of yard work has rendered me an insufferable baby with the mobility of an old arthritic dog. So instead, I’ll just focus on the fact that my lawn is clean, my seedlings are planted, and I got some serious exercise in the process. And now, I’m done whining (thank you for listening!). On to the bites!

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Posted in appetizers, cheese, jalapenos, snacks | 16 Comments

Blackberry, Lemon, & Thyme Soda

Posted on April 12, 2012 by carey

Spring, for me, brings craziness. Every year. Without fail. My attention span plummets to 5 minutes. I walk to the kitchen and then stand there trying to remember why I did. I drink lots more super coffee. (To make super coffee, simply pour hot water over coffee grounds in your french press or clever dripper, then forget about it for half an hour. When you finally remember that you were making coffee, sprint to the kitchen, pour a cup, and add excessive amounts of cream and sugar to counteract the taste.)

The craziness also makes me do very ambitious things. Like deciding to prepare two kinds of homemade soda along with a giant Easter dinner, despite waking up late and lazily milling around the house for far longer than I should have. I experienced a couple moments of doubt (accompanied by an impressive variety of curse words), but in the end everything turned out great, including my ambitious soda.

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Posted in berries, citrus, drink, herbs, party fun | 17 Comments

Irish Car Bomb Ice Cream Float

Posted on March 12, 2012 by carey

Uh, need I say more? It’s dessert. Made with booze. This thing pretty much sells itself.

If ever there was a testament to my obsessive need to bring food ideas to fruition, this is it. I was having a tough time coming up with a St. Paddy’s Day post after discovering that the Brown Eyed Baker already made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes last year. (I was totally stealing the idea from the head baker at Johnny’s café anyway, so I guess it serves me right!) Then on Thursday morning, I started thinking about ice cream floats. By 8:00 a.m., the KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment was headed my way via express shipping, and recipes for Baileys ice cream, whiskey caramel sauce, and whiskey whipped cream had been hunted down and bookmarked.

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Posted in dessert, drink, party fun | 22 Comments

Maple Cream

Posted on March 4, 2012 by carey

Hi, I’m maple cream. A.K.A. maple butter. A.K.A. spreadable maple sugar crack. A.K.A. the cause of at least one of Carey’s high school cavities.

Oh hello, maple cream. I’ve missed you!

For those of you that are unfamiliar with this substance, maple cream is simply maple syrup that is heated, cooled, then stirred until the consistency changes from a syrup to a thick cream. It’s awesome on toast, in frosting, off your fingers . . . in short: it rules. Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s get down to business!

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Posted in basics, breakfast, edible presents | 14 Comments

Homemade Tonic Water

Posted on February 19, 2012 by carey

Do you ever take a moment to ponder which of your possessions you would never, ever, ever want to live without? Say you’re starting from scratch (with basic necessities for day-to-day functioning already taken care of), what are the first three items on your MUST BUY ASAP list? I have a pretty good idea of what mine would be:

#1. Sewing machine. I dealt with sewing machine separation anxiety when I went off to college; it wasn’t pretty. Luckily, my mom quickly tired of the marathon sewing sessions that would happen every time I came home to visit, and thoughtfully suggested that my aunt buy me one for my birthday.

#2. Awesome knives. One serrated; one large Santoku. My days of maiming fruits and veggies with steak knives (that may or may not have been “procured” from crappy chain restaurants) are far behind me, and it’s going to stay that way.

#3. SodaStream. Part of me feels like this spot should go to a camera, or maybe a bike, but who am I kidding? I need those bubbles. Still water bores me, and I pretty much have to be on the verge of dehydration before I actually think to drink a glass. And not only does my SodaStream keep my hydrated, but it also takes care of one of my least favorite things: flat beverages.

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Champagne Cocktail . . . for Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by carey

Last week, I happened upon Sandee’s homemade sugar cubes. My first thought: “Whoa, adorable.” My second: “What would I do with them?” I don’t have people over for coffee or tea. I could put them in my friend’s beers, but that would get old fast. My excitement diminished, and out of my head they went (or so I thought).

For the past few days, I have been racking my brain trying to think up one last Valentine’s Day post. I was finding no inspiration as far as desserts go, and since I’ve already done breakfast and dinner, I decided to focus my attention on the cocktail. I was obsessing over something red or pink, but I’d already done grenadine, blood orange cocktails have been popping up all over the place, and I don’t know . . . I wanted something CUTER. Then yesterday, it hit me: The Champagne Cocktail. But instead of a regular ol’ sugar cube, an adorable sugar cube!

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Posted in drink, easy-peasy, party fun | 7 Comments