Food

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The Boston Wine Expo is still months away, in the dreaded month of February , but last week a bunch of Boston bloggers got a sneak peek of what the Wine Expo has in store for us in 2013.

The preview event was held at Action Kitchen at the Seaport Hotel, an absolutely gorgeous cooking and event space used for private events.

Action Kitchen at the Seaport Hotel

I would LOVE to cook and entertain in this space.

Action Kitchen

Boston Wine Expo preview

The Wine Expo preview featured some of the wineries that will be pouring wine at the actual Expo, plus food from some of the vendors who will be sampling there.

wine list

Chabaso Bakery

salmon

 

Crab cakes

Since I was having an intense training week, I seriously chowed down on crab cakes and beef with a bright, beautiful, amazing chimichurri sauce.

beef

green sauce

In addition to eating, we were able to taste wines from several wineries. As I always do, I had my favorites.

Action Kitchen, Seaport Hotel

I spent quite a bit of time at the Hope Family Wines, seriously falling for Troublemaker by Austin Hope, a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Petite Sirah. This wine has smoky and chocolate-y flavors along with dark fruit, really luscious, full of body, just gorgeous.

Hope Family Wines

Another favorite table was a winery we have visited, Alexander Valley Vineyards. I have loved the time we’ve spent at the winery and have been hoping to return for their annual Cyrus dinner which takes place in the caves every March. Their Zinfandels were a fun choice for the event, and we tasted through Temptation, Sin Zin, and Redemption. . . are you sensing a theme? Being a lover of the Dry Creek Valley, my favorite was Redemption, but I really enjoyed them all.  I love Zinfandel, its big, bold fruit flavors, hints of spice, and roundness. It’s a go-to wine for me in the winter. Fingers crossed I will get to pay Alexander Valley Vineyards a visit soon. . .

Alexander Valley Zinfandel

In addition to enjoying lots of great food and wine, we learned about some of the new additions to the Boston Wine Expo including a blogger ambassador program, social media lounge, and some great seminars on buying wine, including one from The Urban Grape’s TJ Douglas. It seems like it’s going to be a great Wine Expo, and it gives us reason to look forward to one of the coldest months.

Happy Friday, everyone! I am looking forward to some down time, but I am most looking forward to the wedding of my dear friend Michelle!

Tags: blogger events, Boston, Boston Wine Expo, events, Food, media events, Seaport, wine

Yes, you read that correctly. I am embracing the flavors of the new season, and in an effort to make something cozy and delicious, whipped up Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pudding Cake last night.

I originally started finding pudding cake recipes when I was researching what to make for Megan’s Virtual Bridal Shower. I decided on the Apple Cider Cake then because I thought it would be more visually appealing. That is, of course, until it fell apart coming out of the Bundt pan.

But I digress. It turns out that slow cooker dessert recipes are perfect for me because they result in a gooey mess that you just have to love despite its looks.

pumpkin

Pumpkin is already flying off the shelves at our local store, so in lieu of Libby’s I settled for this banged up can of store brand. Get your pumpkin while you can find it!

The recipe itself is super simple. The first half consists of mixing all of the ingredients except for the warm water and 3/4 cup brown sugar, then putting it in the greased slow cooker.

pumpkin pudding cake

The second half consists of mixing the remaining brown sugar with water and pouring it in over the batter, being sure not to mix the two halves together. The result did not look very pretty, but I had some faith, set the slow cooker on high for two hours, and got started on dinner.

pumpkin pudding cake

Before we were ready to eat the pumpkin pudding cake, I made a spiced cream topping, a quick blend of Greek yogurt, sour cream, confectioners sugar, and cinnamon.

pumpkin pudding cake topping

I served the pumpkin pudding cake warm with the cinnamon cream topping. The cake itself was definitely a mix of pudding and cake. The edges got lightly browned while the middle was soft, turning the whole thing into a sort of spiced pumpkin caramel. The topping was just the icing on the cake, adding a cool creamy element and cutting the sweet a little bit. All in all, the perfect fall dessert.

pumpkin pudding cake

What is your favorite fall dessert?

 

Pumpkin Pudding Cake Recipe from BetterRecipes.com

1 cup Flour

1¼ cups Brown Sugar, divided

¼ cup Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 tsp Baking Powder

dash Salt

¾ cup Canned Pumpkin

1 tsp Vanilla

1¾ cups Hot Water

½ cup Chopped Pecans

Whipped Cream

Directions:

Spray a 4-quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt; stir to combine. Add pumpkin and vanilla; stir well. Pour into prepared crock pot. In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together remaining brown sugar and the hot water. Gradually pour over batter in crock pot, but do not stir. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Cover crock pot. Cook on high heat setting for 1 3/4 to 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with dollops of whipped cream.

Tags: autumn, dessert, fall, Food, pumpkin, recipe

Eggplant Lasagna

There’s food in our kitchen again! Summer definitely kicked my love of cooking out the door for awhile, but I have been slowly meal-planning again, looking forward to spending time in the kitchen chopping, combining flavors, and looking forward to something delicious.

I’ve also been trying to create meals that are both comforting and healthy. As I round the bend to the final stretch of NYC Marathon training, I am feeling exhausted, and I could just chow on fries for all meals. Add in some coffee and maybe a little cake, and I would be all set.

Thankfully, there are lots of great blogs to inspire me. I’ve been loving the Detoxinista, and recently I made an eggplant-based lasagna based on her eggplant and goat cheese lasagna.

The cheese filling in this lasagna, a goat cheese and cauliflower puree, is the creamy, delicious highlight, sneaking in nutrients and fiber without taking away any scrumptiousness.

image

I started by prepping my eggplant. I cut it into thin slices (they should have been thinner), and marinating them in balsamic vinegar.

image

Next up, I prepped my “meat”, chopped mushrooms sautéed with garlic and onions with a bit of pepper and salt.

image

Then came the goat cheese and steamed cauliflower, which I mixed with oregano, basil, and garlic. Then I had a big spoonful before adding two eggs to bind the mixture together. I think these would make a great pancake appetizer with the eggs or a great veggie side dish on their own.

image

When all of the pieces were ready, I started to layer, first some Bobby D.’s Angry Sauce (which was not at all spicy, sad), then eggplant, cauliflower cheese, mushrooms, sauce, repeat. I baked the whole dish at 425 degrees for about 50 minutes, keeping an eye on it until the sauce was bubbling nicely. The final layer of cheese on the top should be nicely browned; if not a few minutes under the broiler can help.

Bobby D's Sauce

A side note about the above sauce: after getting soaked on a bad run, freezing to death in the air-conditioned grocery store, and ruining my phone and a paycheck in the downpour, I was walking home with this sauce and it crashed through my grocery bag and hit the ground.

Thankfully it didn’t break; the bottom cracked and the lid was crushed. The worst part? The college kids walking behind me laughed at me! The day of this dinner didn’t start very well, but luckily it ended with a cozy dinner.

This lasagna is definitely something I will be making again. Even though it was noodle-free, the cheese and mushrooms really made it satisfying and filling.

How are you warming up your kitchen on these first days of Autumn?

Tags: dinner, eggplant, Food, healthy cooking, lasagna, Meatless Monday, Vegetarian, vegetarian recipe

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