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sweet stuff.

victoria — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:38 +0000

the winter issue of sweet paul magazine is out, so i suppose it’s official – the holidays are upon us! i can hardly believe that’s true, and that thanksgiving feasts will be prepared in a few weeks time, but this issue of sweet paul is here to guide you beautifully through the holidays. the photography is gorgeous, and the decorating ideas quite sublime. and the recipes? perhaps even better, if that’s possible. check it out online here.

friday food files with molly watson: champagne cocktails.

molly watson — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 13:00:57 +0000

No doubt, hands down, my favorite thing to toast the new year with is good champagne. Sometimes budget or inclination precludes the “good” part of that declaration, however, and I find myself turning to champagne-based cocktails instead. They’re delicious, festive, easy, and let you doctor up the cheap stuff to great effect. On a whim last week I mixed up this Anise Flavored Champagne Cocktail – with a bit of Pernod (or similar anise-flavored liqueur) and gin – and was quite simply thrilled with the results.

If you don’t like anise, perhaps this Lemon Drop Champagne Cocktail is more your style?

Check out New Years Eve Cocktails for more ideas. Need something to nibble? Find something at New Years Eve Appetizers.

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Each week, the Friday Food Files are deliciously brought to you by Molly Watson. Molly also writes The Dinner Files and posts tasty recipes at Local Foods. You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

*photos courtesy of Molly Watson.

friday food files with molly watson: walnut pie.

molly watson — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:00:27 +0000

Last week it was a cake, this week it is a pie. I am a little walnut crazy. I like them under normal circumstances – something about that bitter edge they have delights my taste buds and the fact that they really are quite good for you as well (can you say “essential fatty acid”?) is a lovely bonus prize – but some walnut growers sent me a giant box of walnuts and they are from this year’s harvest and fresh and fabulous and I just want to use them all up.

Would this walnut pie (essentially a pecan pie made with walnuts and maple syrup instead of pecans and corn syrup) have been good to know about before Thanksgiving? Sure. The thing is, I didn’t have a chance to make it this Thanksgiving – my plans were upended all at once right before the big day. While I spent the weekend with family and friends (more than had been planned, in fact), I was not the host and the pies on offer were pumpkin and apple. Both were tasty, the pumpkin was particularly good, but neither were caramel-filled nut pies. That gaping hole in my annual diet has been filled, and just in time for others to include it on a Christmas menu!

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Each week, the Friday Food Files are deliciously brought to you by Molly Watson. Molly also writes The Dinner Files and posts tasty recipes at Local Foods. You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

*photo courtesy of Molly Watson and simond_86.

friday food files with molly watson: grilled mussels.

molly watson — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:00:52 +0000

Do I date myself too much by confessing that mussels always make be think of Squeeze and the song “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)”? They do this despite being one of my big-time food memory foods, you know, those foods that food folks remember vividly form childhood, those eating moments on which we look back and realize that our lives in food were, perhaps, a bit set in stone before we even knew it.

Mussels are almost always – I’m going to say nine times out of ten? – steamed. Steaming is a great way to cook mussels, no doubt. Grilling mussels, however, is even easier, less messy, and about a thousand times more fun. Throw them on the grill, leave them on until they open and cook, then eat them. Seriously, grilling mussels is just that easy.

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Each week, the Friday Food Files are deliciously brought to you by Molly Watson. For more on Molly and her delicious recipes, you can visit her in one of many wonderful places:
Writer: mollywatsonwrites.com
Blogger: thedinnerfiles.com
Recipe Wizard: localfoods.about.com
Radio Girl: eatthatradio.wordpress.com
tweeter: twitter.com/mollywatson
teacher: mediabistro.com/courses/cache/instr404.as

[ Photos courtesy of Molly Watson. ]

friday food files with molly watson: Superbowl Snacks.

molly watson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:11 +0000

I will not be watching the Superbowl on Sunday. Not even for the ads. I’ll be out enjoying the relative calm and quiet of the wide variety of public entertainments that are empty because everyone is home eating snack treats and watching a screen and cheering.

The snacky treats and beer, however, do sound good. I’ve pulled together a list of beer-friendly homemade treats for the occasion. My own favorites include sticky glazed ribs, homemade potato chips (although beet chips and sweet potato chips are tempting, too), and spicy seeded peanuts.

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[ Photos courtesy of Molly Watson. ]

friday food files with molly watson: thanksgiving prep.

molly watson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:42 +0000

Have you ordered the turkey? Planned the menu? If you’re still looking for yummy things to serve, I’ve pulled together a bunch of my favorite fall produce-based appetizers that would be perfect to start things off next Thursday. Ditch the chips and salsa or plain veggies and dip and try making your own potato chips or, for more color, beet chips (that’s right, you can make beet chips – how f-in’ cool is that?).

I also gathered up some great fall salads that can stand to sit around for awhile while they wait to add a burst of color and crunch to the Thanksgiving feast.

Were you asked to bring a side dish? True, the vegetable sides have neither the glamor of the turkey nor the glory of a pie, but these autumnal side dishes can all be made ahead and reheated or simply served at a slightly warm room temperature, making it easy on you and the host when it comes to serving time.

Did I say pie? I think I did. Everything I know about pie is in this guide, from pictures of what the dough should look like to different ways to crimp the edge.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your turkey be moist and your pie be flaky, but most importantly may your fellow diners be charming.

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[ Photos courtesy of Molly Watson. ]

good reads: homemade goodness.

victoria — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:00:20 +0000

okay, so i know i’m a little late to the game, and i’ve had this book on my shelf for a while now, but i am simply loving molly wizenberg’s a homemade life! i’ve been reading all this rather deep and mysterious fiction lately, so to dive into molly’s book is like finding the dark clouds have lifted! i adore the personal, and candid way molly writes, her very forthcoming honesty and well, her contagious enthusiasm for food!

as you may already know molly writes the wonderful food blog, orangette, but it’s so much more than recipes. molly is an engaging story teller, the kind that make you want to become her best friend, and spend a day lingering at the farmer’s market, or just hanging out drinking gobs of coffee and baking her yummy recipe for banana bread (any chance you’re listening, molly?!). molly and her husband brandon (whom she met through the blog!) have just opened a new restaurant in seattle, too – delancy, which is already packed with diners clamouring to try out their wood-fired pizzas and vegetables from local farmers, seasonal salads, charcuterie, and rustic desserts — the kind molly writes about and they like to make at home. i highly recommend a homemade life, and checking in on orangette on a regular basis.

[ pizza dough & restaurant pic courtesy of orangette. top photo sfgirlbybay. ]

friday food files with molly watson: Cucumber Martini.

molly watson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:00:55 +0000

When summer gives me cucumbers I make a lot of tzaziki, that garlicky cucumber yogurt salad that is at its best with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and dill stirred in (at least in this humble girl’s opinion).

But at a certain point I get a bit tired of garlic-studded cucumber yogurt. Last night I was in the mood for a cocktail. No bottle of beer, no glass of wine. I wanted a big girl, grown-up cocktail. So I shook myself up a gin martini and threw a few slices of cucumber in it along with a grind of black pepper. I shook the life out of it, strained out the cucumber and added fresh garnish-quality slices. I kicked back to watch the sun set in many shades of pink and orange in the California sky as I sipped its icy coolness. Peace and calm were mine. I wish the same to you.

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[ Photos courtesy of smaku, and Molly Watson. ]

hot! and spicy!

victoria — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:00:12 +0000

i just stumbled upon this great etsy shop and can’t believe how genius this is! purpose design puts together these attractive, and really practical spice kits in sweet little magnetic tins, and ships them out to you in tubes! they will customize the spice kits based on your very own flavor palette, too. from yummy indian to moroccan, to savory salts, you can pick and choose how purpose design will put together your individual spice kit – each in its own kraft tube holding these stylish magnetic glass top containers, each measuring 2 inches (53 mm) in diameter. choose from spices like cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dill weed, fennel seeds, lemon pepper, minced garlic, oregano, hungarian paprika, to rosemary and basil. i just think this is such a great idea, and so well put together! bravo purpose design! it’s a brilliant housewarming gift, too!

Friday Food Files With Molly Watson: July 4 Salads.

molly watson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:00:02 +0000

Uh oh. Are you supposed to “bring something” to a party tomorrow? Worse, did someone ask you to bring a salad? Not a lot of glory to be had there, but I realized I have quite a nice collection of easy, summery, seasonal, delicious salads over at Local Foods that all transport bee-oo-ti-fully. They are so easy you could even super-star it and make two or three. Sure, that would be a bit of a show-off move, but July Fourth is all about showmanship and explosions and loud noises, right? Oh, wait, it’s actually about the founding of the country and independence and not being a colony and no taxation without representation.

p.s. Shout out to my peeps in The District of Columbia! Someday you, too, may have adequate representation. In the meantime, maybe one of these salads will cheer you up!

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*Photos courtesy of Molly Watson