Oh. My. Gosh.
If you have never eaten poutine, you are seriously missing out on one of the most amazing foods out there. There is really no way to argue with fries, gravy, and cheese curds, is there? [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking – French: An Interview with Clotide & Coq Au Vin
And now for one of the cuisines I have been looking forward to most – FRENCH. How can you not love French cooking? It’s butter, butter, bread, and butter! 😉 This month I had the pleasure of interviewing Clotide Dusoulier from Chocolate & Zucchini!
If you could start us off with telling everyone a little bit about yourself and your blog…
My name is Clotilde Dusoulier, I am a 34-year-old French food writer based in Paris, and I write a food blog called Chocolate & Zucchini, in which I share my cooking adventures, with a focus on simple, colorful, seasonal recipes.
When did you first start cooking?
I started to cook in my early twenties, when I moved to California to work for two years. I was blown away by the cultural differences between the French food I’d grown up with and the many ethnic and American dishes I was discovering, and exploring the world of food became my favorite thing to do with my free time. [Read more…]
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
It’s officially October and I am absolutely brimming with joy. 🙂
Not only because this month is full of birthdays (including mine!), Halloween is right around the corner, and I can officially start wearing sweaters and boots. I mean those are all amazing reasons, but even more amazing is that this is the start of a new season of flavors! [Read more…]
Parmesan & Gruyere Souffle
There’s so much cheesy goodness wrapped up in this little ramekin.
For some reason the idea to try making a souffle popped into my head a few weeks ago. I do love baking but souffles have always been that scary monster in the distance, kind of like making macarons from scratch. [Read more…]
Ladyfinger French Toast
Today is my hubby’s birthday and since he is such a breakfast person, I had to come up with something special for him.
We were watching Chopped a couple of weeks ago and in the dessert round there were ladyfingers. Now inevitably the dessert round brings bread pudding, ice cream, or some form of french toast. This round was no different as one contestant starting making french toast with the ladyfingers. Something clicked and my hubby and I just looked at each other and were like, “Hey! That’s how we should use up those ladyfingers in our pantry!!” [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking – Thai: Pad Thai
Well I’ll be honest with you, this one took me a few tries.
Of course I was not really familiar with Pad Thai before I made it, unlike my hubby who loves this dish more than any other food in the world. So I had to do some research and found a great place in Denver that makes wonderful Pad Thai, so wonderful my hubby actually liked it. I figured that was a good starting point before I go making my own Pad Thai! [Read more…]
Fried Grilled Cheese with Tangy Lemon Dipping Sauce
It’s all about cheesy comforting goodness today!
I have been sick this past week and all I have been able to eat is what my mom used to make me whenever I was sick. Grilled cheese was a big one for me growing up, particularly because it was the easiest thing for me to learn to make when I was young. [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking – Thai: Tom Kah Gai
For those of you who don’t know, I am usually not a big soup person.
Usually soup is only used as an accompaniment to a massive amount of bread, oyster crackers, or some other form of carbs. However, in the interest of trying new things I decided this whole Mastering Global Cooking series would be the perfect opportunity to try getting myself into soup (you know, other than chili and tomato soup with my grilled cheese… yes I know I am still a 5 year old). [Read more…]
Pear, Raspberry, and Mascarpone Crostini
This might be my new favorite thing EVER.
I have never been big on sweet crostini but dear sweet lord this is ridiculously good. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be perfectly happy saturating my body with these amazing sugars and carbs. [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking: Thai – Interview with Thai Foodie and Krapaw Gai
Another month means a new cuisine and a new interview! This month I decided to really go for something outside my comfort zone and try Thai cooking. I will admit at first I was nervous, but Sherri from Thai Foodie definitely made me feel a lot more confident. It was SO much fun talking to her and getting a great introduction to Thai food!!
So I am dying to know, what was it like living in Thailand?
It was amazing! I tell everyone the reason I moved to Thailand was because I fell in love with Thai food and wanted to eat it super cheap all the time, and it’s so true. I feel so blessed that I got to savor authentic Thai food on the street every day for a dollar per meal! And I adore the beautiful beaches, and laid-back culture! How I miss it!!
When you moved to Thailand did you know how to cook Thai food?
When I moved to Thailand I had no clue how to cook Thai food. That’s one reason why I think it all seemed so magical and amazing to me! —because I had no idea how they made it taste so good!
How did you end up learning how to cook Thai food?
When we came back from Thailand to America, my Thai hubby and I were going into Thai food withdrawal because we missed it so much, and couldn’t afford to eat it at overpriced Thai restaurants. So I’ve always enjoyed cooking, and decided to try out cooking Thai food. Dom knew the basics from watching his grandma in the kitchen when he was growing up, so I started trying to make some of the simple dishes we liked through his help. Also, he found authentic Thai cooking websites, but translated poorly into English, that I could look at. I also had a Thai friend I got tips from, and started to read Thai cooking books like It Rains Fishes by Kasma Loha-Unchit. But after cooking it for a few years, I now know the tastes and flavors that all go well together, so it’s so amazing to see how I’ve progressed since I first started cooking it.
Ok I saw that you have a Thai cooking class; what is the first thing you teach your new students?
Yeah! I love teaching Thai cooking! The first thing I teach them is about the main flavors in Thai cooking. In most Western cooking, you just have a savory or spicy flavor. But in Thai cooking, in one dish you could have sweet, spicy, savory, bitter or sour. So the main thing to keep in mind when cooking Thai is to keep the flavors balanced, however you enjoy most!
Are there any staple ingredients in Thai cooking that you always have in your pantry?
Yes! It’s essential to always have next to your stovetop when cooking Thai, sugar and fish sauce, and in the fridge I usually always have on hand lime, garlic and cilantro. Those are key players in a lot of dishes, but other things I can’t live without are oyster sauce, Thai chili paste, white pepper powder, ginger and shallots. And of course Thai chili peppers!
Are all Thai peppers pretty hot? Or is there a range?
Yes, all Thai peppers are quite hot, especially for farangs, (the Thai term for foreigners). When cooking with them, if you don’t want a dish as spicy, don’t pound the peppers as much, and the spiciest part is the part of the pepper that holds the seeds, so some people like to avoid that part or using the seeds. But I love spicy, but had to train myself to be able to eat Thai-spicy!
Individual Pavlovas
Pavlova was one of my favorite desserts growing up. Both my mom and grandma made it perfectly (I was very spoiled) and it was something I would look forward to in the summer.
The light, fluffy meringue is hard on the outside, soft and luscious on the inside. When you top it with fresh whipped cream, raspberry sauce, and fruit it all comes together in a light, cool, cream dessert that is SO much better than the traditional fruit tart you generally see at picnics. [Read more…]
Mozzarella Stick Popovers
Who doesn’t love a good mozzarella stick??
The gooey mozzarella cheese and crispy outer shell dunked in a huge bowl of marinara sauce – that’s my kind of party. However, as many of you know by now, I am a bit of a bread-obsessed individual so I can always use more bread. [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking – Italian: Tiramisu
Rounding out the Italian series, you all know I had to go for at least ONE dessert…
Of course I had to go for the ultimate Italian dessert. I couldn’t bust out of the gate with something completely crazy. And really, how to you do better than creamy espresso and chocolate goodness? [Read more…]
Mastering Global Cooking – Italian: Rustic Lasagna
Simply tracking down a recipe for this one was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do.
I have never made lasagna before – I know, shame on me…
Of course, my hubby’s favorite meal is lasagna. So the pressure was on. Especially since his dad’s lasagna is his hands down favorite lasagna of all time… Yea, I was up against pretty high expectations already.
Mastering Global Cooking – Italian: bell’alimento Interview & Spaghetti alla Carbonara
As you all know, I am in the constant pursuit for good food. While I may put out some crazy recipes on this site, I am the first to admit that there is a whole world of food that I still need to explore. Literally, a whole world.
After thinking about this whole world of food I am missing out on, I decided that I was going to start tackling it head on. You know what the best part is? I am taking ALL OF YOU with me!
That’s the inspiration for the new series I am starting called Mastering Global Cooking. Every month I am going to feature a different cuisine from around the globe that you can try to master at home! And with each new cuisine and each new recipe I try, I will be sharing the entire experience – both successes and failures. I am already unfiltered so why try to filter myself now right?
Spiked Caramelized Banana Milkshake
It’s really hard for me to show you how amazing this milkshake is in a picture.
This milkshake is just so so sooooo good.
Heirloom Tomato & Stracciatella Salad
This is totally inspired by Ted Allen and I don’t care who knows it.
I was reading an interview with him a few weeks ago and not only did he share some fun food tips, he described this party he hosted with fellow Chopped judges.
Of course I am dying of envy…. [Read more…]
Banana Bread with Maple Bourbon Glaze
Banana bread is undoubtedly my favorite breakfast food.
You know, aside from doughnuts and cinnamon rolls and Reese’s Puffs cereal… But I digress. [Read more…]
Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
I never thought I would actually be able to pull off this dish.
I used to work at a restaurant as a hostess in college and they had this one pan roasted chicken dish with potatoes and pan sauce that I was IN LOVE with. We all were. I remember my friend and I would get off work and would snag a booth in the back, just as the dinner crowd was dying down, and we would chow down on that chicken.
S’mores Gelato
I haven’t had a s’more yet this summer. So this had to happen.
This gelato is SO smooth. It just melts in your mouth with toasty marshmallow, graham cracker, fudgey goodness.
Beef Carpaccio
Crispy Fish Sliders with Spicy Mango Coleslaw
Ok I am finally back!
Apologies for the absence but this last week has been such a whirlwind, I just couldn’t keep up! I am working on a huge project for you all that I promise to share very soon. So while I make you wait in anticipation (it’s killing you, isn’t it?), I promise to reward your patience with some amazing summer-y food! [Read more…]
Red, White, & Blue Sangria
Next week is a pretty big day in the good ol’ U S of A!
Normally my celebrations don’t go further than firing up the grill and watching fireworks (from a distance of course, we all know I have a tendency to burn things so me playing with fireworks would be tempting fate just a bit…).
Peanut Butter Caramel Stuffed Brownies
Someone needs to come and pry these away from my mouth.
I’m not kidding. I cannot stop eating these.
A little piece here, a bigger piece there. It’s a never-ending cycle. [Read more…]
