cheap pinot grigio

I had originally only planned on writing up wines I really enjoyed, but since it is an early Monday night I may as well give my thoughts on a white I had this evening.

An argument for weekday drinking: I had this theory that I was having too much REM sleep (dream sleep) and that it was hindering my ability to focus during the day. Though REM has been implicated in processes such as memory consolidation, it is exhausting to wake up from a dream no matter when I am awoken. I did some research and apparently there is a correlation between depression/anxiety and hyper-REM sleep. The theory is that the worries you encounter during the day need an outlet and are dealt with by your brain at night, keeping you active mentally when you are supposed to be in slow wave sleep. You wake up exhausted from continuous mental activity and are unmotivated since you have exhausted your brain throughout the night. Therefore, I set out to suppress REM and see if it would lead to better sleep. The obvious choice: wine.


A shady way to pick a wine: I purchased this pinot grigio when I was actually looking for a pinot gris. I had had such a wonderful one at an Italian restaurant, a stunning recommendation from the waitress (so rare and so wonderful when it happens!) that I wanted to try some more myself. Unfortunately, I was too cheap to buy the cheapest pinot gris in the store and instead opted for this $7.99 bottle of the adjacently located pinot grigio.

This wine is a little harsh at first, hitting the upper part of your hard palate with the first few sips. As you continue drinking, it softens a bit and takes on a more sauvignon blanc flavor (acidic and ever so slightly reminiscent of what one would imagine cat urine to taste like). The flavor doesn't coat your entire mouth, but is a very, if faultingly so, bright white wine. I would probably try this again with a more savory but non-meaty dish, such as mushrooms, to see if the flavor of the food dampens the intensity of the wine. I myself tried it with a concoction of white cheddar slices floating around a hastily made guacamole. This dish will be featured on my future blog "Shit I Eat When I Am Lazy, But Actually Tastes A Lot Better Than It Sounds."

cumin lamb

My family's traditional "going out" cuisine is spicy spicy szechaun food, and this dish is an easy variation of a newly discovered favorite.

Per serving:
1. Slice 1 cup roast lamb and marinate briefly with 1/s tbsp cumin and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive or peanut oil and brown 4 cloves crushed, thinly sliced garlic and 4 chopped dry red chiles for 1 minute.
3. Thinly slice 1 small onion and saute until soft, adding a splash of sherry wine or other cooking wine along the way.
4. When the onions are done, add the lamb and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add more cumin as desired.
5. Serve with brown rice tossed with lemon juice and parsley. Eat!

mushroom spinach fettucine

Following my cathartic grocery shopping trip, I neglected to realize I had forgotten to purchase eggs or breakfast foods of any kind. Which brought me to my new, all cuisines for all meals lifestyle. This morning I made fettucine for breakfast (you're supposed to have your carbs in the morning anyway!) and it was a delicious and satisfying way to start the day.



Per serving:
1. Boil water and cook 4 oz pasta according to instructions. I used fresh spinach fettucine from a local pasta maker, which took only 2 minutes to cook!
2. Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in a pan and add 2 crushed, thinly sliced cloves of garlic.
3. Wash and drain 1 cup baby bella mushrooms and saute until soft.
4. Shred 2 tbsp parmesan over the mushrooms.
5. After the pasta is done, toss with the mushrooms (add more butter to taste) and top with fresh parmesan!

You know you have a problem with food when you decide to give up on ever fitting into your vintage DVF dress and use it instead as a backdrop for food photos.

messy chicken guac salad

The joys of rotisserie chicken part two! I whipped up the following salad before leaving for happy hour (my dollars will be better spent on alcohol) and ate it in such a frenzy that I forgot to take a palatable picture. Therefore, I give you a messy salad with chicken and guacamole. I like creative ways of using guac, as I am not a big fan of chips for their taste or nutrient properties. After mashing avocado with red onion in a bowl, I topped with baby leaves and chopped rotisserie chicken sauteed with garlic powder (I woefully removed the skin from the chicken bits as I glanced down at my ever expanding mid-section). Then, I mashed all of it together and ate it in several giant delicious bites! The guac and chicken mixture can also be served on endive leaves for a delightful appetizer.

Per serving:
1. Slice and mash 1/2 avocado and 1/4 cup diced red onion. Add a dash of salt and lemon juice (optional).
2. Chop 1/2 cup roast chicken and heat on a pan with a dash of garlic powder.
3. Top the guac with spring mix and the chicken, mix alltogether, and enjoy!

roast leg of lamb

No sooner did I denounce the inefficiencies and toils of cooking than I found myself at West Side Market, squealing with delight at the "We Do 1/2 Lamb Legs!" sign in a butcher's window. Over winter break, I roasted a 7 lb leg of lamb that crisped well on the outside but was quite rare on the inside. The butcher told me to treat the lamb like beef, that a little pink was ok.


Though I followed the butcher's roasting instructions, I still found pink lamb to be less palatable than pink beef. Options I would try include roasting for even 15 minutes longer, or searing the meat after slicing. Now I have lots of lamb meat to play with during busy weeks, so perhaps this time investment will end up saving me from cooking effort after all!


1. Pat down 1/2 or 1 leg of lamb with sea salt, fresh thyme leaves, and fresh rosemary. I minced the herbs to add more surface area for flavor.
2. Refrigerate for up to a day. Before roasting, bring the lamb leg out to room temperature (1-2 hours).
3. Roast at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Set for 15 minutes before carving, and serve with roast vegetables.

spinach sausage pasta

Easy but un-ordinary pasta dish for one or many!

Per 2 servings:
1. Boil 1/2 package linguine al dente (11 minutes).
2. Slice 2 sausages into 1/2 inch bits and saute in 1 tbsp olive oil. The slicing may be a bit awkward, but do your best and reshape the sausage into little meatball bits if you like
3. Melt 2 tbsp butter and saute 1/2 package frozen spinach (8 oz), 1/4 cup shredded parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon parsley.
4. Douse the pasta in cold water and drain. Combine all ingredients, saute for 1 minute to combine the flavors, and serve topped with shaved parmesan. I served it with baby arugula salad topped with goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, and a sprinkle of lemon juice. Delicious!

summer rolls

One of the greatest lessons that cooking imparts is that there are very few barriers between the individual and greatness. Where once we may have thought that greatness was reserved for a select, chosen few, mastering a sauce or crisping a meat to perfection teaches us that we, too, with planning and the willingness to try again, can make for ourselves the tastes that once only came from a mysterious closed kitchen. Vietnamese food is a cuisine that is light yet supremely flavorful and bright, and summer rolls are definitely central to my love of it. Though many scoffed that they were simple and cheap to make, I was intimidated by the hard, gelatinous-looking dried shells. But after fortuitously stumbling upon a step-by-step recipe, I too can now scoff at restaurants and decry the unreasonably inflated costs of these little rolls of joy. Here are the ingredients I used on my first night with summer rolls, feel free to add shrimp and any other meats and vegetables you could desire!


1. Boil water to immerse 1/3 package rice vermicelli for approximately five minutes.
2. Wash and cut bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro, thai basil, and mint. One thing you can do is peel and discard the outer layer of carrot, but then continue peeling the carrot into shreds for use in the rolls. I'm not sure if this is a technique that everyone has been using for centuries and I am slow to discover, but I felt like a rock star when I realized it could be done and will never awkwardly slice a carrot again.
3. Slice bbq roast pork into strips. I used the red kind from the asian markets, the most delicious meat ever.
4. When the vermicelli is soft, combine with 2 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp granulated sugar. You can adjust this ratio as you wish.
5. Keep the water you used to boil the vermicelli in, and immerse one by one spring roll wrappers until they are no longer stiff plasticy sheets but flexible wrappers of goodness. This will happen within seconds in near-boiling water and up to 30 seconds in lukewarm water.
6. Combine the sliced vegetables, vermicelli, and pork and roll the wrapper together. Fold one edge over the toppings, then take the two sides and fold them in, and finally roll the ingredients into the last edge.
7. Top with garlic chili sauce or peanut sauce, and enjoy immensely!!!


A note on purchasing spring roll wrappers: There are many roll wrappings to choose from in asian markets. Make sure these are round, plastic-looking clear wrappers and not opaque or square. That would bring us to an entirely different country's rolled foods entirely, and much as inter-ethnic babies may be a delight, I promise this culinary fusion would not be.

cranberry chicken salad

A few days ago, I threw up my hands in defiance against cooking. I had burned the lentils I was going to make into a lentil, celery, and bulgur dish, and the little charcoaled lentils looked up at me from the pot with such silent disappointment. Such pressure to be creative, to balance between nutrition, cost, and taste. It was getting to be a bit much. I decided to reject the exotic ingredients and obscure herbs of Diana Henry and the from scratch teachings of Alice Waters, and to instead seek easy, quick meals for the next couple of weeks. I then embarked on a journey to Heinen's grocery store instead of whole foods, and to my delight I bought mounds and mounds of real food for $90, instead of returning home with a few blocks of cheese and tea for the same price. I will share the humble products of my discoveries with you.

This first dish is one of many uses of rotisserie chickens. They're practically the same price as raw chickens and are so fragrant and satisfying to purchase. As soon as I took it home, I took it apart with my hands and a knife (mostly my hands) and filled a tupperware tub up with delicious white meat, dark meat, and skin. Chicken salad has always had a very boring, PTA mom connotation for me, but the idea is quite simple and delicious. Here is the 4-ingredient dish that can be made into sandwiches or salad toppings:

1. Dice 1 cup roast chicken (mix of white and dark is delicious!) and 1 stalk celery.
2. Combine with 1 tbsp mayonnaise and 1 tbsp dried cranberries (craisins, as the kids call them).
3. Adjust mayo and craisins to taste. Enjoy!

(this picture is post-refrigeration so its a little smeh, but i promise it is still delicious!)

soba soba

In our sophomore year of college, my bffl Ana and I developed certain food rituals. When we returned from Italy, it was Lavazza coffee with a prosciutto mozzarella panini for breakfast. Every. Single. Morning. When food stores were low and no one felt like walking up the windy hill to get groceries, it was random conglomerations of whatever we had (tomato soup mac and cheese). And after late nights of reading Plato's Symposium to each other in alternating accents (darth vader being the favorite), we would look at each other and with a knowing smile, start grabbing the ingredients to make soba noodles. We made it super simply, a little soy sauce, some garlic powder, and a dash of sesame oil. Now in my oh-so-grown-up life, I have discovered that soba is quite versatile and will gladly accommodate the ingredients you give it. Here is a basic soba recipe with some fun ways to accessorize. Enjoy!

Per serving:
1. Boil water and add one bundle dry soba noodles.
2. In a bowl, coarsely chop 1 clove garlic and add soy sauce, chinkiang vinegar, and sesame oil to taste.
3. The soba will take roughly five minutes. When it is done, douse it in cold water and drain.
4. Combine the soba with the ingredients in the bowl.
5. Addition options include adding toasted black sesame seeds, a fried egg, thai basil, and anything else you can think of!

asiago cheese bread

If I were offered one wish, I would wish for Trader Joe's Asiago Cheese Bread to be magically calorie-free. There is no getting sick of this bread. Since we met in the fall of 2009, what feels like so long ago, I have never had a bite that I didn't wish would last forever. As soon as you pick it up, the rich aroma of cheese hugs you and you find yourself dropping it into your basket against your more health-conscious conscience. When you get home, you find that the bread is has a delightful slight crispiness to the outside, and the inside is soft and interlaced with chunks of asiago. For the first months we were together, I made sandwiches filled with smoked salmon and whole basil leaves. Then, I expanded it into breakfast where I enjoyed it with a fried egg. From there, I would frequently top it with bruschetta, where the combination with a glass of my favorite merlot became the highlight of many wintery days. It can also be used in bread salads (chopped into crouton-sized pieces, fried in olive oil, and tossed with halved grape tomatoes, chopped basil, and balsamic vinegar) and for a wide variety of crostinis and sandwiches.

This morning, I made crispy pork crostinis from the bread. The recipe is simple, and any number of roasted meats can be substituted for the pork. After I write this post, I will probably go make some more of these. Hope you enjoy!

4 Servings
1. Slice 8 1 cm slices of Trader Joe's Asiago Cheese Batard and toast.
2. Mince 1 cup of roast pork and saute in 2 tbsp peanut oil until crisp.
3. Crack 2 eggs into the pork. Fold into the pork as it cooks.
4. Coursely chop 8 broad leaves of basil.
5. Assemble the crispy pork and egg onto the bread and top with basil!