tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52147736093854333032024-03-13T23:01:07.341-04:00dinner partyLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.comBlogger485125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-39729234029986289022013-08-19T09:00:00.000-04:002013-08-19T09:00:08.251-04:00easy does it
The other weekend, I somehow managed to make one of the best dinners
I've made in awhile. If I sound a little bewildered it's because I
didn't really do much at all. That's the brilliant thing about
late-summer cooking. All this wonderful stuff is right there for the
taking, all you have to do is bring it home (and uh, $hell out for it at
the farmer's market), dress it up a little bit and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-13198164694454169612013-07-08T21:36:00.000-04:002013-07-08T21:36:09.116-04:00summertooth
Summer is one of my favorite times of the year. The sun sets around 8:30, allowing the neighborhood to linger on their stoops and at sidewalk cafes. Gardens explode with flowers wild and cultivated. The good tomatoes start appearing at the farmers market. And friends come out of hiding, wanting to grab dinner, have a picnic, come over for brunch. As you probably know, I complain a lot about theLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-79317547778507978712013-05-13T09:00:00.000-04:002013-05-13T09:00:08.052-04:00something old, something new
So that backload of fun dinner parties (er, brunch parties) I was going on about the last time I posted? Well, it all came to a screeching halt pretty soon after my friends and I finished that bottle of prosecco.
Don't worry, nothing bad happened. I didn't burn down my new kitchen. I got a new job at Food Network Magazine, something that still feels like a crazy stroke of luck. And while Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-10494771936293470302013-03-11T09:00:00.000-04:002013-03-11T09:00:03.733-04:00a tale of two brunches
I go a few weeks without posting and suddenly I have a backlog of recipes to tell you about! Although not of the dinner variety. Our house has been brunch party central recently and it got me thinking about cooking in the morning for people. Things like individual omelets or pancakes are best left to diner professionals. Don't go down that path. You really only have two courses of action if youLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-85916043874944564512013-02-11T09:00:00.000-05:002013-02-11T09:38:41.428-05:00cold comforts
I'm back in the dinner party saddle and have a real winner to share.
I'm not the biggest fan of salmon, and Dan doesn't like potatoes (I know, right?), and yet, thumbing through the new (and very first) Epicurious cookbook, I paused at a recipe for salmon chowder. It was light pink with big flakes of fish throughout plus corn kernels, baby potatoes, crispy bacon and lots of chives on Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-90975762225826666232013-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:002013-01-28T09:00:09.241-05:00this and that
So far, this has been a dinner party-less January, but I've still been doing a lot of cooking for myself and Dan. And Mabel when things fall on the floor. Here is a look at what's been in heavy rotation.
Stir-frys
At the risk of sounding...I don't know, like a recent visitor from the 1980s, I am on a big-time stir-fry kick. I like dinners that can be made in one pan, that include all of the Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-36375428691773828042013-01-07T09:00:00.000-05:002013-01-07T09:00:04.805-05:00instant fancy
I wish you could stand in my apartment and inhale with me. It smells so good. And I'm not even cooking anything! Well, cooking anything edible.
I'm not a DIY kinda girl, but I recently pinned a recipe for a three-ingredient room fragrance that Williams-Sonoma supposedly uses in its store to entice people to buy, I don't know, stand mixers. I couldn't remember what Williams-Sonoma actually Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-9804434110861626032012-12-27T11:55:00.002-05:002012-12-27T11:55:37.238-05:00link-o-rama, new year's eve edition
Happy (almost) New Year!
Dan and I will be ringing in 2013 at home, dreaming of balmy New Year's Eves past spent with friends in Florida. There's nothing like cocktails and sparklers on the back patio in December. But then again, there's something nice about bundling up and heading out into the cold for dinner at a cozy restaurant that's bursting with happy, red-cheeked diners. Or eating a bigLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-27069131359701751312012-12-17T09:00:00.000-05:002012-12-17T09:00:10.253-05:00surviving the party-party
Not too long ago I was longing for a party-party -- a gathering more party than dinner party, where people outnumber chairs. And last weekend, I got my wish. Friends filed into our apartment after work, bearing wine and cheese and potted plants and suddenly the house was full. Mabel had so many laps to choose from, she didn't know what to do with herself.
Cooking for a real party-party can be Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-44236657686187559392012-12-03T09:00:00.000-05:002012-12-03T11:07:48.777-05:00the dinner party is dead. long live the dinner party.<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-41901809726479366332012-11-16T09:51:00.000-05:002012-11-16T09:51:20.453-05:00link-o-rama, and being thankful
Can you believe Thanksgiving is next WEEK? I have been living in a deep, dark hole called Thanksgiving at work, and even I can't believe the actual holiday is a few days away. Thank God I'm not cooking this year. Well, maybe a pie. Or two. And some appetizers. And cranberry sauce.
If you, like me, are still cobbling together this year's menu, I've got some helpful links for you to check out.
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-19116839103373951832012-10-31T09:00:00.000-04:002012-10-31T10:01:03.812-04:00what's for dinner, jenny park?
It's a cliche, I know, but it was love at first sight when I first visited the blog Spoon Fork Bacon. The gorgeous photos! The instantly appealing recipes! The crazy-awesome animated GIFs! It's no surprise that Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park, the women behind the site, landed a cookbook deal. And it's no surprise that Tiny Food Party is as wonderful as their site. Today, Jenny, the food stylistLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-26463193265668657602012-10-22T09:00:00.000-04:002012-10-22T09:00:02.949-04:00a party-party
In our house, five is the magic number for dinner parties. Part of this is out of necessity -- we can only squeeze five people around our dining table. It also makes menu planning easy. Most recipes feed six to eight people, so you're always covered food-wise. But I also think five is a good number for conversations. It's intimate but still lively enough that it feels like a party. You never goLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-25181047632127191352012-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:002012-10-17T09:43:48.922-04:00a note fromm mabel
Mabel heer.
Woh. Anunthr day, anuthr partee.
Evr sence we muved into the noo hous ther hav ben so manee partees. As the peeple lik to sey, Mabel is al parteed out.
It taks alot to be a good hostee. Wen I heer the buzz sownd thet meens peepl are heer I run to the dor to tel them with lowd barks to say Im heere, up Here. Becus maybee they dont kno wher to go.
And then yu hav to greet the Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-54440817969420441582012-10-14T17:29:00.000-04:002012-10-16T11:45:40.221-04:00fall favorites
Even though I haven't been blogging that much, I have been cooking a ton. If summer is about doing as little as possible to fresh ingredients, fall is about baking, and braising, and struggling to cut butternut squash. (Pro tip for the lazy: buy it pre-cut.)
Whether or not it feels like fall where you are, you can fake that wonderful chill-in-the-air feeling with food. Here's a roundup of someLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-68039575192541721692012-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:002012-10-04T12:36:59.384-04:00grilled cheese, please
I’m not a huge grilled cheese person. I like the sensory pleasure of crunching into dry, buttery toast and melty cheese, but it's not something I crave. I'd rather eat cheese on a pizza, or just straight up with some cured meat.
However, as a kid, it was often my standard order in restaurants, along with chicken fingers and Shirley Temples. Ah, to be a budding lush, oblivious to calories. I Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-3745992412897043652012-09-26T09:00:00.000-04:002012-09-26T10:54:49.394-04:00good things
So this happened last week.
Can you see the look of intense concentration on my face? I
am whisking a pot of béchamel, trying to make sure I am whisking at approximately the same speed as Martha, praying she will not scold me in a room full
of people, like she does to Marcus Samuelsson in that Macy’s commercial. I love that commercial, and I love Martha. But I really didn’t want a Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-33891889464763597592012-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:002012-09-04T09:14:17.322-04:00the first supper
Readers, we made it. Barely.
We arrived at our new apartment while it was still under construction. Surprise! A day and a half later -- and two gas leaks in the kitchen (surprise!) -- we started getting settled in. I forgot how utterly exhausting it is to move. Everyone knows moving's not fun, not something you want to do every year, or even every seven years, but the physicality of it! The Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-54083774286564262862012-08-20T09:00:00.000-04:002012-08-20T09:00:12.114-04:00goodbye, kitchen
Goodbye, kitchen.
Goodbye, countertops. You measure a little less than two feet
across but were just wide enough. (Okay, not quite.)
Goodbye, pitifully small Modern Chef gas oven that produced slanted cakes,
countless meals and on one occasion, stopped working right before a dinner
party. Modern Chef, I wish I knew how old you were. At what point in time were
you considered modern? How Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-35790794741719032342012-07-11T09:00:00.000-04:002012-07-11T09:00:10.106-04:00summer drinking
In the summertime, all around New York City, you'll see happy people drinking on sidewalk cafes, front stoops and in restaurants that have flung open their doors and windows. Just seeing a cold glass of rosé in someone's hands makes my mouth water. It's so Pavlovian, it's downright scary.
Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but it's also the social aspect of summer drinking Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-88150944426510155432012-07-02T09:00:00.000-04:002012-08-21T12:28:09.509-04:00deviled chicken drumsticks
Some foods are just made for summer. Like these deviled chicken drumsticks. They deserve a spot at your next picnic, barbecue or alfresco fire escape dinner, right next to the giant pitcher of mojitos.
The chicken is perfect fresh out of the oven, when the savory-spicy breadcrumb coating is hot and extra crispy. But it's also a winner eaten at room temperature or even the next day, if you're Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-19076647819949252902012-06-25T11:51:00.000-04:002012-06-30T14:04:42.387-04:00the no-cook dinner party
Now is the time of year when our oven goes into hibernation. As much as I love homemade pizza for dinner, I don’t like cranking the entire apartment up to 500 degrees.
And nothing’s worse than going to someone’s house for a dinner party and finding a sweaty, harried cook rushing around a hot kitchen. Don’t be that person. Keep a cold drink close by, wear something breezy that’s made of cotton Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-19070833662400050432012-06-11T09:00:00.000-04:002012-06-11T17:29:27.735-04:00the rules of salad
As soon as the weather turns warm, my mind turns to salads. (And cute sandals.)
You might not think a salad is special or substantial enough for a dinner party, but I want to change your mind about that. Look at this salad, it served four people generously and isn't it pretty? It made a beautiful centerpiece. Which was handy because I was lazy and didn't buy flowers at the bodega.
A big saladLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-2177457261551449182012-06-04T09:00:00.000-04:002012-06-04T09:00:00.942-04:00chocolate puddle cookies
We all have our strengths in the kitchen, and mine does not involve sugar, flour and butter. Sure, I can make a good batch of brownies and sweet, sturdy quick breads. And I have been known to brag about my Key lime pie (regular and frozen), which is awesome, but I think it's also my birthright as a Floridian. Beyond that, my desserts often fall into the "ugly but tasty" category. And Dan and I Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214773609385433303.post-64093058564876349472012-05-29T09:00:00.000-04:002012-05-31T12:05:22.023-04:00on laura
I don’t have a sister, but if I did, I would choose my
friend Laura. I love everything about Laura, her enthusiasm, her smarts, her
ability to make people feel at ease, her sense of humor and her lighthearted nature. If we were sisters, I’d get to see her over the holidays, and on family
trips and we’d call each other on the regular. Although there would also be the
typical in-fighting and Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505425216699416546noreply@blogger.com5