June 2012
30 posts
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recipe: simple summer salad
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Warm weather has me dying for some fresh veggies, simple dressings, and tons of green arugula!
yes, that is my most favorite salad green EVER.
Last Friday, I had the chance at a day away from work, and you better bet I took it! I was super lazy, worked a little bit on the blog design, and watched a lot of daytime TV. (which is rather bad, btw. I personally can’t wait to...
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wine tours: Sicily & Mt. Etna
Overview of Sicily and Mount Etna
When you think of Italian wine, many thoughts may pop into your head – a juicy and fruit-forward Chianti, a lush, rich Brunello di Montalcino, a powerful and structured Barolo. However, you probably don’t immediately think about Siciliy, the Italian island located in the central Mediterranean, which surprisingly is one of the biggest wine producing regions in...
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wine tours: Argentina
Welcome to Argentina!
If you’ve ever been to Argentina, you know that the natives are very serious about their wine. When I visited Buenos Aires in 2008, a local waiter remarked to me, “Redmeat and red wine – the two most important components of the Argentinian diet,” as he served me a gargantuan steak that could have served a family of four with a glass of malbec. Every restaurant I visited...
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inspiration: summer cocktails
the coquette
Despite the erratic North Eastern weather, Summer appears to be in full swing all over the US (especially in the South…I willing to bet you guys would PAY for the cold weather we’re having up here!).
So when Summer rears it’s pretty little head, I want light, fruity, fun, easy-to-drink cocktails. Today I present you with exactly that. Hopefully this post gives...
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diary: brooklyn flea, williamsburg
Not too long ago, I traveled over to Williamsburg (with my mother + Eric) to visit the infamous Brooklyn Flea. Not surprisingly, I was really only interested in the food! Although I wasn’t really all that hungry, I ended up eating a chorizo taco and helping my mom finish up her very sour lemonade.
Also, I think I may be VERY far behind the times, but I just discovered People’s Pops...
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diary: Great Googa Mooga
This past Saturday, Eric and I headed deep into Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for New York’s first “The Great Googa Mooga” food festival. Despite the heat, long travel times, and EXTREMELY long lines for food, we did have a great time eating the food we were able to score (and drinking the wine we were able to drink!)!
I’m sure you guys (if you’re the least bit interested) may have already...
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travels: napa valley, the view
Instead of writing a long winded email that details my love of the views/scenery in Napa, I’ve decided to let the pictures do the talking. Choosing the pictures for this post was VERY hard to do, so don’t worry…you can check out ALL of my favorite Napa view pictures over at Facebook!
I’ll leave you with this: I was more relaxed during my time in Napa than I’ve felt in months. Could you blame...
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travels: napa valley, the food
I now present to you Napa trip, part 2: the food.
The details: we ate, and ate, and then ate some more.
The result: I couldn’t breathe.
I wish I could show you pictures of all the great food we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner…but I must admit I was determined to stay focused and enjoy every moment of each dining experience. But here is what I can tell you:
The food at our hotel (Avia...
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travels: napa valley, the wine
two and a half days. 12 vineyards.
one very fun, extremely exhausting and challenging trip.
but would I do it all over again???
ABSOLUTELY!
Over President’s Day weekend, Eric (the bf) + myself + two other friends headed out to Napa Valley, CA to undergo what would be a fantastic weekend of wine tasting, site seeing and extreme eating. I had such a great time that I’ve almost started to...
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recipe: spicy turkey chili
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Weather.com, NBC’s local affiliate’s weather man AND Al Roker say NYC will see some snow tonight. Seeing as I grew up in the South, you should probably know that I really, REALLY love me some snow! I love the cold chill. I love looking out my window to watch the inches pile up hour after hour. I. Just. Love. It. All.
So, when I think cold weather, I immediately think warm soups. ...
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recipe: potato and leek soup
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“You like potato and I like potahto!” “You like tomato and I like tomahto!”
Everyone, sing with me now! (Unless, of course, you can’t sing…then you can just sit quietly in the corner and mouth the words to the song. Today’s recipe is definitely NOT about embarrassing people…)
“Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!” “Let’s call the whole thing off!”
Or let’s not….considering I...
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recipe: grilled butternut squash & lentil soup
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What do you do after four days of eating, wine tasting and traveling?
You cleanse, that’s what you do!
And since I’ve never really been one for all juice cleanses (I’m a girl who likes to eat, ok?!), I spent a few minutes looking up some healthy soup recipes this past Tuesday.
I knew I needed something with substance. Otherwise, I would totally cave and eat some candy or some...
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recipe: homemade ricotta
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Don’t be scared by the title. Keep reading. I promise it’s not too scary.
You can find plenty of recipes that are full of far fetched ingredients, multiple steps, and magnificent pictures. These are what I view as adventure recipes for a rainy day. Homemade ricotta is not one of these recipes. I know that sounds like a lie, but it’s not - just keep on reading.
Generally...
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recipe: applesauce
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Note from Megan: In my opinion, there is nothing more fun than cooking with friends and family. That’s why I’ve asked a few close friends to join my cooking/food blogging adventure. Today’s post is the first of what I hope to be many contributor posts here at Culinary Chops. First up is an old college friend, Rachel. She lives in Washington, D.C. and does really amazing...
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recipe: sauteed brussel sprouts with bacon
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Before moving to New York, not only would I have sprinted far, FAR away from brussel sprouts, you may have also heard squealing reminiscent of a two year old child refusing to try a new food. But now, dear readers, I FREAKING LOVE THEM. I eat brussel sprouts in pasta; I eat them in salads; I eat them on pizza; I eat them alone. You name the dish, and I promise that I won’t have ANY...
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recipe: anatomy of a pasta salad
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I have a very large set of friends who love to claim their lack of cooking is driven by 1) “I don’t have the time” and 2) “it’s too complicated.”
I’m hoping my newest (and hopefully recurring) post series helps to absolve any of you suffering from one or both excuses. “Anatomy of” is all about using ingredients you can easily find in your kitchen. My message is simple: you don’t...
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recipe: greek salad
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Introducing Single Girl Bites, a topic I plan to take in (hopefully) multiple directions. The concept is simple: now, more than ever, women and men too are living alone (or with a roommate). Cooking for one person is not only often boring, it’s also extremely hard to do! There is nothing worse than wasting money on good groceries, only to watch them waste away because you can’t...
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recipe: veggie flatbread pizza
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Some nights, all I want is pizza. Especially during a week when my work days have been rough. On these particular nights, I don’t necessarily crave the traditional cheese or peperoni pies; what I really crave is a healthy-but-cheesy, savory-but-not-over-the-top pizza. (you know????)
So if you’re like me (aka, REALLY needing you some pizza), but you don’t want to order/make an entire...
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recipe: sweet potato encrusted tilapia salad
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Hello there peeps!
To say I have been erratically blog posting over the last month is quite the understatement. I know I keep apologizing…and that’s basically because I somehow convinced myself (every week) that I was going to have way more free time to prepare posts that I actually ended up having.
Insert “womp, womp” sound, and downward cast eyes…
So no more apologies....
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recipe: spicy sloppy joe tacos
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This recipe has been ten years in the making. No lies.
The very first time I attempted something like this, I believe I was 15(ish) and was cooking dinner with my high school best friend Allie. We desperately wanted to cook dinner for our mothers, so off we set to make something “simple” yet different. The first recipe included ground beef, a taco seasoning packet, and a jar of...
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recipe: simple bolognese sauce
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Sometimes our food cravings are simple.
Sometimes, all we need is a good, hearty and simple dish.
And that is exactly what today’s recipe is: a Simple Bolognese Sauce.
I’m proud to say that I created this recipe entirely from scratch (maybe with a little help on Eric’s end…with him constantly telling me, “my mom does this. my mom does that!”). My plan began with a simple...
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recipe: prosciutto & brussels pizza
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Whether you are 50 or 5 years old (in which case I would be SUPER impressed that a five year old child was perusing my blog…), I think we can all safely agree how amazing a good slice of pizza is. In fact, I don’t discriminate one bit. I’ll buy a slice from the $2 guys on Bleecker Street just as fast as I’ll make a run to the grocery store to purchase a frozen DiGiorno. BUT! Nothing...
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recipe: garlic & feta stuffed chicken
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If I were to list out my top ten favorite cooking ingredients, you would very quickly notice that this recipe contains four. SO! If I were to say I “liked” this recipe, I would be lying…and I don’t want to begin this relationship by lying to you. So let’s just all be honest here:
I absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt (the way you’re supposed to love the guy you marry),...
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recipe: best meatloaf ever
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Today I introduce you to one of my most favorite recipes. Friends, meet the best meatloaf ever.
This is the entree you make when you want to impress people. This is the entree you make when you’ve had a long week, and you really just want a hearty, delicious dinner on your plate. This is the recipe you make when you’re trying to impress the new guy you’re dating. Trust me...
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recipe: no-bake chocolate & oatmeal drop cookies
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Remember how I said I stress bake? (no? you don’t? well, you can read it here!)
Well, these past few days have been stressful. And I’ve been baking.
I’ve also been working out like crazy, unable to eat, maybe/might have possibly cried a few times…stress is such a bad friend to have!
But what can I say. Life is stressful. And stress-baking is what I do.
Except you don’t...
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recipe: chocolate + cranberry + oatmeal cookie...
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I stress bake. I also may be a boredom baker??? I honestly don’t know, but here’s what happened: I baked these little guys last Friday after waking up to killer stomach pain that kept me home from work. It was going on 4pm, I was feeling better, and I just couldn’t lay in bed any longer. Eating them was completely out of the question, but I just wanted something to doooooooo, you...
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recipe: irish soda bread biscuits
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I must confess that I OBSESSIVELY stressed over what recipes to try for tomorrow’s Irish holiday. Hours were spent scouring the web, and I promise that I left no recipe archive unturned. My ambitions were high, but I comically found myself SO tired after all the hours spent searching for the perfect recipe.
But I rallied.
I spent a few hours last Saturday making my very first...
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recipe: bacon & egg open-faced breakfast sandwich
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1. I love breakfast.
2. I love cooking breakfast.
3. I didn’t have to go shopping to make this little gem.
4. In fact, most of these ingredients all store EXTREMELY well (so you can use them in other recipes over the span of a week).
5. Even though this recipe isn’t all that “special,” I HAVE to post it (due to the fact that it’s insanely yummy + I’ve become slightly obsessed with...
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recipe: mamacita's jicama salad
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Have you ever gone to a restaurant, ordered what you thought would be a typically delicious appetizer/entree, and then BAM! all you can think about is finding the recipe so that you can make the dish 1000 times in the future?
Well, then you should meet Mamacita’s Jicama Salad. This is the salad I spoke about a few week’s back here. It took my friend Serena about two seconds to find...
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recipe: gluten free rosemary sausage balls
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Before stumbling across this recipe, I have to admit that I was never really a huge fan of sausage balls. I found them dry and bland (even when made by the best chef), and I never had the urge to make them for those same reasons. Then, as per the usual when cooking for my friend Jess (she has a gluten allergy), I found this recipe during a search for a fun appetizer she could eat. ...
