The following originally appeared on 5/30/08 at Exit 51.
Good Karma Risotto
Ok, so maybe this risotto recipe won’t bring you good karma, but I think sharing it with you can’t be bad for mine. Besides, every time I have served it, it’s been a big hit. Huge.
The final dish is creamy with a tender grain and comes without the aggravation of having to stand over a steaming pot stirring and stirring. Cooking doesn’t have to be hard work you know? Continue reading “Flashback Friday – Good Karma Risotto”→
I am bad with numbers. Really, my SAT Math scores were dismal. For example, my math skills are so bad that when a cake recipe calls for 8 inch or 10 inch pans (and I only have 9 inch pans) I will either decide not to make the recipe or forget about pan size altogether and make cupcakes. My brain does not calculate volume. That’s how The Mistah and I started out with a recipe for Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake but ended up with cupcakes instead. Continue reading “Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes”→
On the 4th of July while many Americans were grilling and chilling, I was peeling and chopping and sweating and braising. Even if our grill were ready for action, it was too freaking hot to stand out in the blistering sun flipping burgers and dogs. I’m not complaining about pulling kitchen duty on a holiday though because without meaning to, I found my ultimate pot roast/beef stew hybrid. Continue reading “Pot Roast Carbonnade”→
365 days. 229 published posts (and counting). 1,720 comments. 24,172+ page views. Bon Appetit Hon has had a busy year. Since this is my party, I thought I’d celebrate by looking back at a year in the life of BAH. Here is a sampling of some of my favorite posts from the year that was. Continue reading “Happy Birthday BAH”→
I’ve decided to pretend that I’m Parisian for the month of August and go on a holiday. In that Perfect World of mine, it would be an actual holiday. In my Real World, it’s just a mental holiday. My body will still be at work but my mind will be hither and yon. Although I will be visiting Seattle for the IFBC Conference and stopping off for a few days in Vegas on my way home, so the vacation won’t be completely in my mind. While I’m away, I’m leaving the pantry stocked with posts from Exit 51 that would have been part of the Flashback Friday series. And there’s also a Food Memory that forced me to open two bags of flaked coconut, a can of condensed milk, a pound of powdered sugar, a stick of butter, and two bags of chocolate morsels. Good stuff.
I’ll be back to regular posting after the Labor Day holiday. But thanks to that super smart phone of mine, I can keep the comments conversation going even while I’m on my imaginary and actual vacations. So comment away.
I don’t eat out a whole lot. And when I do eat out, I try and avoid the fast food trap. But sometimes, every so often, I indulge. As a creature of habit, my fast food weaknesses usually take the form of either a Whopper Jr. with Cheese from BK or the Carnitas Burrito Bowl from Chipotle. I can’t defend either of these choices. They are just what calls to me from the menu board. They are the sirens that I cannot ignore.
Like secret lovers, we meet randomly. I get my fix and then try to forget how good it is. I will go weeks, months, without a taste of rice perfumed with cilantro and lime or flamed broiled goodness. But I always end up going back for more.
Is there any hope for me or am I destined to live a life of fast food loving shame? Should I don a scarlet letter to denote my flaw? Or can I somehow be forgiven for these weaknesses? When y’all have decided my fate, let me know. But don’t be surprised if you have to track me down at Chipotle to tell me. I’m a sucker for those burrito bowls like you wouldn’t believe.
BAH Note: My first impression of this rice is that it’s nice but not exactly as good as what the folks at Chipotle serve up. Somehow, their rice is drier and not as sticky as mine was. But in a pinch, when I can’t sneak out to secretly rendezvous with my beloved Chipotle’s, this will get me through.
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice and stir. Return to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
While the rice cooks, place the cilantro, 2 tablespoons water, lime juice, olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth and set aside
Once the rice has cooked, add the cilantro lime mixture and butter to the rice and stir to combine.
I have a problem buying fish. Actually, I don’t have a problem buying fish. I have a problem buying fish that I like. Most times I buy any old fish, am not happy with it, then forget what kind of fish it was and I end up making the same mistake over and over again. I think I’ve bought cod three or four times and still can’t make myself remember that I don’t like it. Or maybe that was haddock. See what I mean? Continue reading “Grilled Cilantro Fish in Coconut Broth”→
I occasionally get contacted by Marketing/PR folks who are trying to promote some person, place, or thing. When I get those emails, I usually respond by hitting delete on the message because typically the person, place, or thing I’m being asked to promote has no real relevance to me or Bon Appetit Hon. But when I got the email from Share Our Strength informing me that the Great American Bake Sale was coming to the Inner Harbor and that it was being hosted by employees of Domino Sugar, it was a no brainer that I would post it. Here’s why:
1. I realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to know where his or her next meal is coming from.
2. I support efforts on a local and national level to combat hunger.
3. I adore baked goods.
4. Domino’s is about as Baltimore as it gets hon.
Here’s the skinny:
Employees of the Domino Sugar Baltimore plant will host a bake sale on Wednesday, July 21st at the Inner Harbor from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., as part of Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.
The event will be held on the corner of Light St. and E. Pratt St. on McKeldin Square, where Domino Sugar employees will offer a variety of donated baked goods to raise funds.
As a major sponsor of Share Our Strength, Domino Sugar has agreed to match contributions raised at the Baltimore bake sale dollar for dollar. Success of this event will be measured not only by the dollar amount of funds raised, but also by the number of people who become aware of the seriousness of our nation’s hunger epidemic among children.
So if you are in the Inner Harbor area tomorrow between 10 and 6, please take a moment to stop by the Bake Sale. That muffin, cupcake, or cookie will not only taste good but it will allow Share Our Strength to further their mission of ending childhood hunger. And if you can’t make it to the Bake Sale, maybe you’ll click that link up there and make a donation to Share Our Strength.
According to Cooking Light, this SHOULD have been a super quick dish. However, in my kitchen, nothing is what it SHOULD be. In my kitchen, as in my life, it just is what it is. Which is usually me making things harder than they really have to be just because I’m stubborn like that. And what this is, is a pretty easy chicken in wine sauce. It won’t necessarily knock your socks off. But it won’t require you to spend hours preparing it either. It’s a trade off I can live with. Continue reading “Quick Coq au Vin”→
Bon Appetit Hon 