It was late spring when I visited Art and Chelsea's Chicago kitchen, and the vibe and tastes reflected that perfectly: Warm enough for an open balcony connecting from the kitchen and spring-y enough for fresh herbs seeming like a very new indulgence. The kitchen itself also reflected a newness and originality not always a given in loft conversions.
The 5 Uses for Leftover Rice post from yesterday was perfectly timed, as we were whipping up some of our own version of garlic fried (leftover) rice with eggs. Although we weren't camera ready (just hungry), the premise and our DIY recipe is easy:
Recently over on Apartment Therapy Chicago, we featured our new cork cabinet siding. It wasn't ever in our plan, but on a whim became a great, useful choice for figuring out a kitchen gone slightly awry...
This recipe is a tried and true favorite in our home. As someone who lives with a great cook of a husband, I tend to fear making just so-so meals. I'm working on both my skills and my fears, and this recipe is one that has helped me build confidence — it's always easy, impressive with guests, and totally satisfying. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe, so of course it's all those things and more.
We don't talk much about eating out here on The Kitchn, but our visit to Marfa, Texas, yielded a lunch spot with a specialty we've got to recreate at home.
This kitchen gets a lot of use, and we cook meat a couple times per week. After renovating last spring, and living without some of the final touches since then, our kitchen really, really needs an exhaust hood (we're open to either carbon filter or outdoor ventilation methods). After searching, here's what we know...
In our family, svestkove knedliky was served as a full dinner -- even though it seems more like a breakfast, lunch or side. We'd do it with plums, peaches, apricots, or cherries, and covered in lots of butter and sugar (a simultaneous eek! and yay!). It was THE dinner treat when staying with grandparents or on special occasions. I'm on a current mission to make this part of my dinner rotation at home...
One of the great things about sipping cocktails at expensive lounges is that if you pay close enough attention (or read the menu and take note, whichever pertains), you can re-create the libation for a lot less - and many times over - at home. This take on the traditional Manhattan had us swooning during a visit to Chicago's The Violet Hour last fall...
Last weekend my husband and I joined friends for a home cooked feast at their new apartment. Over incredible lamb shanks, parsnip puree and asparagus, we talked a lot about meat, where we buy it, how to use it, various recipes, and the fact that I am usually too worried about "messing dinner up" to have really learned yet how to handle and prepare the best meat dishes. At the time, I didn't realize how perfectly our evening would tie into my parting gift — an on-loan copy of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's The River Cottage Meat Book (2004).
Re-creating a Chicago style hot dog at home might seem to lack the ease and overall experience of grabbing one at a no-frills greasy stand. But once the weather warms and the grills come out, stick around home and relish the thought of turning your place into the neighborhood's favorite hot dog spot:
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