Special Saturday Dinner

Roast Chicken, Root Vegetables, Mustard Greens
Green Beans Sauteed with Olive Oil and Garlic

I basically followed this recipe from Bon Appetit, but without the yams.
And here's the recipe for the green beans, from Teri's Kitchen dot com.

Food Photo Tips?

There is some really high quality Food Photography happening on this blog...

I would like some tips! My photos always come out yellow, and the food doesn't look nearly as good as it does in person... advice?

Dinner With Friends

So, finally taking a breath from the chaos of school... now I have time to cook dinner for my friends! It's so nice to cook for people!


I discovered Lucca Ravioli Co. on a walk the other day.... my new home away from home, felt like being at Grandma's house... except I had to pay for everything...

... that's where the delicious bread and olives came from.

Spinach pasta, salted and tossed in olive oil

Topping: garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded (I swear by seeding tomatoes for sauces—it eliminates the water problem, and besides, tomatoes are a nightshade, like peppers, and the seeds leech calcium from your body—which is why they are often paired with cheese...), spinach, and chevre

To Friends (Sasha and Hillary), and Food, and the Time to enjoy them!

....And... I've decided to start eating Sardines!

(our cat is really happy about this development)

What pie?

Spring is really here when someone makes strawberry rhubarb pie!

This delish pie was made at Kelly & Amir's with their own home-grown strawberries and a neighbor's rhubarb.

Chicken Enchiladas con Pepper Jack Queso

A friend pointed me to a recipe for "easy enchilada sauce" courtesy of Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network. I also read somewhere online that the chili powder used in enchilada sauce was from pasilla chiles--true or not, I can't say. I've got chili powder, but it doesn't say what kind of chile it's from, so I bought a bag of dried pasillas, and made my own in the mini food processor. When finished, the tomato paste flavor seemed to dominate the sauce, but when mixed with all the other flavors in THE WHOLE ENCHILADA (hee, hee), it was muy bueno. I built the enchies following the usual procedure, filling the sauce coated corn tortillas with a mixture of shredded cooked chicken, sauteed onion, garlic and a couple chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, which imparted a slightly smoky flavor, as well as a little spicy heat. Using pepper jack cheese upped the heat un poquito tambien.

(Notice the St. Pauli Girl bubbling in the glass).

Housemate Collaboration

When my housemate Tony and I join forces in the kitchen we always end up with the greatest creations. With his Kale and my Beets... we are unstoppable!

Warm Savory Salad

steamed beats sauteed with kale, onions and miso
california 'backyard' oranges

goat cheese

and a bit of arugula for freshness

email update feature

For all you Cooking Carbone fans... we have just added a new feature: the email notification... yes, when someone updates the blog you will get an email! no more checking daily to see if there are new posts or, more likely, posting something and wondering for months if anyone ever looked at it. Now there is no excuse and we expect lots of comments.

(ps. if you hate this feature and want your email removed from the update list, just let Kelly know!)