Slashfood

• Clean out the fridge foods
  

  Filed under: Dinner, On the Blogs

  I'm beginning to realize that I'm something of an excessive grocery shopper. I have a particularly hard time being restrained in my food purchases this time of year, when the farmers markets are in full bloom and everything is so perfect and appealing. I do manage to use just about everything I buy during weeks that are free of social engagements, but when I have planned dinners out with friends or a weekend away, I find that my gorgeous kale turns to slime in my produce drawer.
  
  I'm heading out of town on Friday afternoon for Labor Day Weekend...
  



• Sliders make for a fun dinner
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Beef

  
  Despite all the food reading and writing I do, I often find myself falling back on the same five or six dinners. When I get home from work, unless I've planned ahead to try something new, the combination of hunger and weariness drive me to make the things I know by heart. These include things like turkey burgers, omelets, big salads with grilled chicken or a can of tuna, quesadillas, beans and rice with salsa and quick pasta dishes.
  
  Tuesday night, it looked like it was going to be another one of those nights, with more of the same. On...
  



• Is it rude to bring a laptop to the dinner table?
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Trends

  
  With entertaining and often addictive websites, such as YouTube, it has become common to find computers at the dinner table. It seems that over the past few years, dinners with friends have involved gathering around and looking at videos online. The computer is clearly changing social dynamics around the dinner table. A few weekends ago, while eating at a friend's house, my friend commented that she would not mind if she never saw a computer at the dinner table again. I wondered: is it poor etiquette to bring a laptop to dinner?
  
  Is there something inherently wrong about a group...
  



• Broccoli and burgers
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Summer

  
  After a number of months of hemming and hawing, I finally bit the bullet and joined an organic home-delivery fruit and produce service. It's awesome, and completely worth it. However, it means that I have to keep on top of my cooking. With this week's box scheduled to arrive this afternoon, I needed to clear out the remaining pieces of last week's score. That meant finding a use for some broccoli.
  
  Seeing that I was also craving one of my super-delicious elk burgers, I decide to pair the two. I somehow knife-wrestled a patty from the frozen pile without losing a finger, and then grabbed the green...
  



• Easy dinner twists: Spaghetti broil
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Italy

  
  Yesterday, I set aside a few hours to make pasta, which was a bit of a mess when the eggs toppled over what I thought was a nicely built tube of flour. Once I got it all worked out and rolled out an assortment of pasta, I went about making a spaghetti dinner for myself. But even with a freshly made sauce and pasta, it sounded boring.
  
  So, I set out on an inspiration hunt. A quick peek in the fridge revealed some cheese that I was still meaning to eat. Then I spotted a freshly washed french onion soup bowl in the cupboard. And then...
  



• Dinner sandwiches and a bonus tip
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Eggs, Summer

  
  Last Thursday, I came home from work with absolutely no plan as to what to make for dinner. Most nights I have at least a semblance of a plan, whether it be 1). Eat leftovers from weekend cooking, 2). Turkey burgers and salad or 3). Gather the boyfriend and go out. There weren't any leftovers, nothing was defrosted and Scott was working late, which ruled out option three.
  
  Taking stock of the fridge, my eyes hit upon the teeny farmers market eggs I had picked up the previous weekend. Egg salad it would be, made with...
  



• Crusted chicken with ginger mushrooms, onions and collard greens
  

  Filed under: Dinner, Vegetables, Poultry, Summer

  
  The other night, I found myself at my favorite Creole place and had one heck of a tasty crusted catfish with collard greens. (It was Southern Accent -- go if you're ever in Toronto!!) Even though I had it less than a week ago, I'm still dying for more. So, last night I whipped up a quick chicken version which proved to be one heck of a tasty summer meal.
  
  It was also quite simple. First, I threw some sliced mushrooms in a pan with garlic, onions, and a bit of fresh-ground ginger....
  



• Why you should read 101 Wines
  

  Filed under: Tastings, Wine, Lunch, Dinner, Books, America, Celebrities

  If you're a Vayniac, you already know that Gary Vaynerchuk came out with a book called 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World. Marisa announced the book here at Slashfood about a month and a half ago, and I just got my hands on a copy a few weeks ago.
  
  I didn't put it down until I had at least looked at every single wine on the list. It's Gary first list of favorite and recommended wines, and it's...
  



• Summer leftovers: Endive stuffed with grilled chicken
  

  Filed under: Frugal Food, Dinner, Hors D'oeuvres, Vegetables, Poultry, Summer

  
  

  I realize that none of these ingredients are considered wild like the things I usually write about, but it keeps within my love of frugal foods. I love turning leftovers into something that makes people say you made this with what?

  Leftover grilled chicken is a great starting point. I use it on top of salads, or as a great starter for fajitas. Endive, along with its cousins frisee, radicchio, and escarole, is a relative of the plant chicory, which is seen along roadsides all over the country. Don't expect to pick...
  




• Ramp pesto recipe
  

  Filed under: Dinner, East Coast, Vegetables, America, Local Eating, Ingredient Spotlight, Guilty Pleasures

  
  
  For reasons I've yet to understand (perhaps in recompense for my obsessive heirloom veggie gardening), the food fates smiled upon me today. I reached into the crisper drawer for a bunch of scallions, and instead drew out (gasp!) ramps -- still viable, even though my last foraging adventure was several weeks ago, and ramp season is gone, daddy gone. They weren't 100% cook 'em up and eat 'em with nothing else fresh, though, so I hedged my bets and went with a fave of mine -- ramp pesto....