Let’s take a break from cooking for just one day. I really want to tell you about what I did today, but I will forewarn you — I was invited to this event, a product launch. It’s not something that I generally talk about on this blog, but it was a great event at a great place so I just wanted to share a bit. And to be clear: I wasn’t asked to write about it, nor was I persuaded in any way to say something nice …

So, what was it? Starbucks has just launched Via, an instant coffee. Yea, I know. You are probably smacking your lips in disgust and shaking your head. I have some wonderful memories of traveling in Europe that are dotted with drinking way too much horrific NesCafe instant coffee … blech. It had this burnt, dirty taste that still makes me cringe.

The strange thing was that when I tried the Via, I actually liked it. It won’t replace the brewed coffee that my husband makes me every morning (thanks, honey!) and it won’t stop me from occasionally feeding my nonfat Caramel Macchiato habit. But it’s good and I wouldn’t hesitate to make it when Shawn forgets to brew me coffee once in a while.

Back to the event. It was held at Craftbar – one of Tom Colicchio’s New York spots. Sadly, I didn’t see Tom, but believe me, I looked. I have a huge chef-crush on that man. Seriously. That smile …

I digress.

The food, which came straight from the Craftbar menu, was out of this world. The mixed greens salad might have looked simple, but the shallot vinaigrette was extraordinary. I want that recipe (Tom, dear, would you send it over? If only it were that simple). I don’t even know that I can adequately describe the flavor — it was slightly sweet, full and salty, in a very good way. I could have stopped eating there and been a very happy woman … but I am glad I didn’t.

For my entree, I had Fried Organic Chicken, Collard Greens, Watermelon and Picholine Olive. If you read New York Magazine with any bit of regularity, you probably know that fried chicken is the “it” food of the moment in New York. Well, I can tell you that this chicken was to die for … Every crunch just screamed with flavor. If I was at home, I would have happily picked up the bones and sucked every bit of breading off. It was just so good.

And dessert … oh, dessert. Olive Oil Cake, Black Mission Fig, Rosemary Ice Cream, Pine Nuts … Swoon. First off, I have never had figs before. Heck, I have avoided them. When I think fig, I think Newton’s and they aren’t my fav. So, I just don’t do it … except today. When it arrived, I nervously took a bite. Then another. Then another. Turns out I happen to love figs. Who knew? As if that’s not enough, the rosemary ice cream tasted of fresh rosemary just plucked from the home garden — and I love that flavor. And the pine nuts? Salted and lovely. The cake was lovely too.

Remember recently when I told you about the fabulous Eggplant Parmesan that I made using Maris’ awesome (and healthier!) recipe. It was so good that I bought more eggplant at the farmers market. I also picked up some green tomatoes to try out an idea I have for a healthier fried green tomato recipe.

Unfortunately, it was an unbelievably busy week (I was working on a big project, which went live today) and before I knew it, my lovely green heirlooms were ripening. Yea, whoops. So I had to get creative. Using the method from my Slow-Roasted Plum Tomatoes, I drew out the sweetness in the tomatoes in the oven. Then I used the method for roasting the eggplant from Maris’ recipe to roast lovely eggplant.

Roasted veggies … yum. I could have easily tossed them with pasta and a spritz of lemon and called it a day. And that would have been absolutely delish. But no, I wanted bigger, better … I wanted pie.

Fortunately, I always keep frozen pie crusts around just in case (what, doesn’t everyone?). My fav is the Oronoque Deep Dish crust. It works equally well for sweet apple pies as it does for savory pies like this one.

So, back to the dish at hand … Into a deep pie crust went a thick layer of ricotta, followed by eggplant, tomato and mozzarella … and another layer of eggplant, tomatoes and cheese for posterity.

Seriously, how can you go wrong with that combination? The result was a satisfying dish that my kids loved — they scarfed down bite after bite. And as an added bonus, it reheats really well.

What would you have done with the eggplant and tomatoes?

Psst! Did you notice that live links are now showing up in pink? Hopefully that modification will make viewing and clicking a little easier here. Special thanks to Maddie from Better in Pink for making it happen.

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If Will had his way, we’d eat Blueberry and White Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes every single morning. Actually, scratch the ‘we’ – he’d eat the whole batch himself every day.

Not that I can blame him … they are delish.

But could we really eat pancakes daily? My schedule and waistline say no way, so I try to mix it up with easier options (yogurt, fruit and toast, scrambled eggs) and some alternative more-involved dishes (French toast, waffles, homemade muffins).

This quesadilla is heartier than your standard quesadilla and crammed with flavor. Yes, it’s more-involved, but it’s also a big family favorite. Serve it up plain or with a dollop of salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

What’s your family’s favorite breakfast? Read the rest of this entry…

Oh, dear roasted tomatoes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways …

I could wax poetic about these slow roasted plum tomatoes for hours on end. They are sweet and tender, soft and perfect. And, yes, I ate the whole batch myself. In a day. They were just that good.

Tomatoes are part and parcel with summer. They scream of cool salads on hot summer evenings and sweet bites to snack on. But this summer wasn’t prolific with the ‘natos here. Late blight robbed Connecticut of most of the tomato crop. It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that I finally spotted boxes of tomatoes. So, the first time I spotted plum tomatoes, I bought a bunch and rushed home to slow roast them.

Oh, were they fantastic. So fantastic that I bought more plum tomatoes in New Jersey and made them again.

You start with bright, brilliant, fresh tomatoes, sliced thinly and layered on a baking sheet. I let mine overlap slightly so I can fit the maximum amount on the tray.

Then they cook slowly, at a low temperature, shrinking as the juices evaporate. If you are lucky, some firm up like sun-dried tomatoes with really concentrated sweetness. Those ones I like to swipe from the tray before they can even get to the fridge. But once in the fridge, they get that little extra boost from the drizzle of balsamic vinegar … oh, it’s fab.

Here’s to hoping there are some sundried tomatoes at the farmers’ market this weekend …

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Ever wonder what two food loving gals who write about their favorite recipes every week would eat if they got together? Okay, maybe not, but seriously, it is an interesting thing. When food writers and bloggers get together, what do they eat? And when they aren’t blogging, how do they eat?

Last year, when I spoke at BlogHer Boston, I joined a group of food bloggers for a lovely dinner at Legal Seafood in Burlington, Mass. I had a lovely salad – Tortilla, Apple and Goat Cheese With Chopped Avocado and Shrimp. It was delicious. What was more interesting though, was seeing how everyone else ate. Sorry, I am not going to spill their eating habits though …

But me? I love desserts, particularly ones that involve moist cake and creamy frostings. I drink a lot of water, but have a serious Diet Coke addiction that I try to control. I love martinis and gin and tonics, but am more likely to order a glass of red wine — pinot noir or merlot, usually.

So what did Cate and I eat for dinner when I spent the weekend at her house? Pizza. But not just any pizza – a fab Pesto Shrimp Scampi Pizza. Cate devised the recipe on the fly — and it was amazing.

It started with some shrimp scampi. She whipped up the recipe so quick, using help from a Giada De Laurentiis cookbook, that I didn’t even have a second to ask her how to deshell shrimp (yes, it’s true — I have no clue how to do it). Read the rest of this entry…

Cate and I were planning the Cucina Bella invasion of Sweetnicks for weeks. We talked about all the things we were planning to do (and we did most of them!) and the food we’d eat. But then one day she hit me with something unexpected: a suggestion to get pasties.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that one. I mean, we’re friends and all. But aren’t pasties sort of a … private thing? And would that really be appropriate for the kids? And why exactly did we need to get them?

Well, as it turns out, while pasties (read:paste-ees) mean one thing to me, pasties (read: past-ees) mean something entirely else to her. Go figure. Must be a Jersey thing.

So, shortly after arriving, we headed off to Rocky’s Pasties in Wharton, NJ. The small take-out joint is situated in a block of row houses. There’s no room for sitting, so you go in, order and take your food and go. In and out in minutes, it’s a great place to stop if you want a hearty bite fast.

As for the past-ees? This is what they look like:

The pasties are sort of a cross between a souped-up Hot Pocket and a pot pie. Filled with a hearty portion of meat (chicken, sausage or beef) and veggies , these babies will fill you up. Really, I don’t know what was better: the flakey crust or the incredibly flavorful fillings.

They also reheat really well. We each bought several, and I’ve been eating mine over the last few days for lunches. Delish. If you happen to be in the area, give them a try. But then again, if you are a native you probably already have.

Loved it.

What do you think of when I say pasty?

The kids and I just returned from a great weekend in New Jersey at the Sweetnicks household. I’ll be sharing what we ate and some interesting Jersey finds this week. But in the meantime, here are a few pics to tide you over.

It’s hard to believe that summer vacation is past tense and summer, the season, is soon coming to a close. I had really high hopes for this summer. There were thoughts of visiting lesser known museums and parks around Connecticut, spending lots of time on the shoreline and a daytrip to Mystic (for Will to see the boats and me to eat lobster rolls). I wanted to create a summer to-do list of things to see, eat and do … but none of that happened.

Summer got off to a slow start though, with car troubles and job troubles. But we rebounded and made the most of the time we had. It was wonderful to go camping (Will’s favorite memory from that: Roasting marshmallows – me too!). While we didn’t spend as much time beaching it as I would have liked, we did have a few glorious beach days. Sometimes, quality is better than quantity. There were weekends dotted with berry picking and farmers markets. Afternoons on the swings and running around the yard. Gardening. It was a relaxing summer overall, and I am happy with all the great things we did. For the uber-do-it-all summer, there is always next year.

One thing that was languishing on the mental list though was eggplant parmesan. It’s been years – YEARS – since I last had it. In fact, I remember clearly the (pretty much only) two times I ate it. The second time, my mother tried to pass it off as chicken parm, but the eggplant had big, noticeable seeds. I was horrified and swore it off.

But I have become more open to retrying things in recent years. Last year, I gave eggplant another shot and found that I sort-of liked it. This year, I wanted to do better.

So, when I saw the recipe for eggplant parmesan on In Good Taste, a delicious food blog written by my friend Maris, I had to make it. The eggplant is baked instead of fried, but it still has a hearty layer of breadcrumbs (minus the egg and oil!). I was concerned that the cheese in the recipe wouldn’t be enough for me, but it was the perfect amount. In fact, Will and Paige both gobbled up big portions.

It does take a little while to make, but you could easily prep the eggplant ahead of time. Serve it up with a big green salad (I’d suggest my basil vinaigrette to dress it!) and some buttery garlic bread. It’s perfect comfort for the end of a cold day (and geesh, is today cold here in New England, or what??).

Click here to head over to In Good Taste for the recipe. You won’t be disappointed.

Ok, it’s not the prettiest dish ever. In fact, it might be in the running for one of the ugliest. I know - really. But sometimes, ugly things can be really delicious.

I implore you not to look past this because it’s … ugly. The flavor in this is amazing. Infused with bacony goodness, it’s rich and delicious. Perfect for warming up on a cold night.

Really, the proof is in the pudding. Try it.

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Say hello to my little friend …

Oh, yes, we finally have pumpkins. Quite a few in fact. So I am cautiously (after this season of rain, rain, rain, blight, heat, heat, heat, who wouldn’t be?) optimistic that we may actually get to harvest some pumpkins this season. Here’s to hoping.

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