Reviews
Recipes, kitchenware, cookbooks, foodie TV shows, you name it… we’ll test it for you.
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Obsessed with Mac and Cheese + Product Review
by Catie on August 09, 2011 in Featured, Photos, Reviews
Ever since I was little, I have loved mac and cheese. When I was around 6 or 7, I learned how to make the stuff in a box by myself (with supervision, of course). My parents tell me that I really loved Kraft, but the cheaper the better. The more neon orange the better, 6-year-old Catie must have thought. Now that I am older I have expanded my tastes to Annie’s Organic for the boxed deliciousness, as well as homemade (I can experiment with different cheeses!) and gourmet mac and cheese that costs $10 to $15 at the classy Boston restaurants. However I still have a soft spot in my heart for Kraft.
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Sesame Seeds
by Supal on July 07, 2011 in Condiments, Featured, Photos, Recipes, Reviews
Sesame seeds are small, flat oval-shaped seeds with a nutty flavor and light crunch. There are a variety of colors including white, yellow, back and red, but the most commonly used are black and white, especially in baking and Asian cooking.
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Black Bean-Polenta Pie
by Ben on July 01, 2011 in Baking, Boston, Entrees, Featured, Recipes, Reviews
Getting by as a vegetarian in a family full of avid meat-eaters can be quite the struggle. This past December, I decided to remove meat from my diet, and I haven’t looked back since. Given the plethora of meal options at Emerson College, this diet was comfortingly manageable, but now that I’m home for the summer, I oftentimes find myself scrounging for food come dinner time. While the rest of my family enjoys grilled chicken breast or steak, I’m stuck with the side dishes: potatoes and a green salad. I’m not complaining, but every once in awhile it would be nice to enjoy a nice, hearty, vegetarian meal as a family— one that we can all eat and enjoy.
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Herby Pizza Toppings
by Supal on June 29, 2011 in Condiments, Featured, Photos, Recipes, Reviews, Special Projects
At home we make homemade pizza once a week. It’s almost a given on Sunday evenings. We like to try different sauces, toppings, and of course seasonings/herbs. Instead of pre-made Italian seasonings that contain a decent amount of sodium at times, I like to make a huge bottle for my mom when I come to visit. It really is just a trail mix of ingredients.
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Ground versus Whole Spices
by Supal on June 15, 2011 in Featured, Photos, Reviews
I would show you a picture of my pantry… but not just yet. It’s FILLED to capacity, actually over capacity, with spices that I’ve gathered and collected from all over the world. Right now, it’s a bit embarrassing. Purchasing spices can be confusing and picking out the right kind can be even more complicated. The quality and flavor of spices are particularly important in a dish. My grandmother would always tell me that a curry is successfully made if you can taste the flavor of each spice, which can only be accomplished through choosing the right and best ingredients.
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Happy Friday!
by Catie on June 10, 2011 in Adventures, Featured, Reviews
Happy Friday everyone! At Eat With Me, we love chefs of all kinds. One chef has caught our eye recently, not for her great skill or beautiful presentation, but for her hilarious, drunken webisodes of My Drunk Kitchen. Hannah Harto brings late night sobering snacks (and brunch standards) to a new level that could be classified as stunt cooking. In any case, she’s hilarious, charming and only a little dangerous.
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Dried Chilies
by Supal on June 06, 2011 in Entrees, Featured, Photos, Recipes, Reviews
Drying chilies has been a practice for so long in Latin American, Asia, and Africa. With winters and monsoon seasons, people would dry chilies to preserve them. When added to soups and curries, the chili retains its original form and heat. To undermine the heat, split the chili open and remove the seeds and white rib in the middle. Dried red chilies are perfect for long term storage. When I visited India in 2002, I got to help one of my grandparents’ neighbor dry chilies on their rooftop.
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Pine Nuts Are a Cook’s Best Friend
by Supal on May 31, 2011 in Condiments, Featured, Photos, Recipes, Reviews
Yes, Yes, I know. Pine nuts are not a spice or herb as I promised in all of my posts, but they are something even more special (to me at least). I have chosen to write about pine nuts because they truly enhance the flavors of herbs and spices in your cooking (ie. pesto). It brings an extra level of texture as well as flavor with its nut-complex oils, which is why pine nuts are often cooked with herbs.
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Za’atar: Essence of the Middle East
by Supal on May 16, 2011 in Condiments, Featured, Photos, Recipes, Reviews
What made the Middle East so appealing to me was the history behind the cuisine. Not only are there traditions within regions and countries, but also within families. Middle Eastern food in general is slow cooked and light in flavors focusing primarily on meats interaction with herbs. In particular, a Middle Eastern herb mix that is always kept in abundance in every household in the Arabian Peninsula, Levant and Iraq, is known as za’atar.
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Black Peppercorn: Table Pepper Just Got Better
by Supal on May 10, 2011 in Featured, Photos, Reviews
If you’re not much of a cook, I know one spice you definitely have: black pepper. Don’t undermine the power of the little ball of fire— it used to be a delicacy in parts of Asia and Europe and was used as currency.
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