Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

This past weekend, my parents had some friends over and they cooked a FEAST. I didn't do much, but I made some small contributions. Last year, I went through this phase where all I craved was soul food. Don't ask me why. In particular, I really wanted flaky and yummy buttermilk biscuits. After much searching on the net, I found a delicious recipe. For those who like buttermilk biscuits or are curious to try, here is a delicious recipe! (the original is from foodgawker.com) Ingredients (yields about 8 biscuits):  - 2 cups all purpose flour - 2 tsp baking powder - 1/2 tsp baking soda - 1/2 tsp coarse salt - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes - 3/4 cup buttermilk, chilled (plus additional for brushing) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking power, baking soda, and salt. 3. Mix in the butter and work it into the dry mixture so that you get a coars...

Perhaps mentally I am still on summer break, although classes have started, or perhaps I'm longing for my former life as a historian. I'm not quite sure why, but this week, I voraciously re-watched one of my favorite programs: The Supersizers Eat (Series 1) and the Supersizers Go (Series 2). I've watched these episodes dozens of times, yet still, I love them and never tire of them. You may be wondering, "what on earth is The Supersizers?" I'll tell you right now, I am NOT talking about the Morgan Spurlock film "Supersize Me." The Supersizers was a really clever and fascinating program hosted by Giles Coren and Sue Perkins. Giles Coren is a food critic and writer, whilst Sue Perkins is a TV presenter/comedian/writer/overall awesome person. Coren and Perkins selected 13 eras in history (predominately British), and then they spent the week living the life and eating the foods of that period. In the first series, Coren and Perkins traveled back to: t...

Hello all! After probably almost a month of being silent (except for that food poisoning entry), I am delighted to say that I am BACK and ready to eat and blog! The London entries are on their way, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share some recent food excursions. After seeing my internist last week, I learned that the type of food poisoning I had was a "campylobacter" bacterial infection. This is one of the most common forms of food poisoning (and I have suspects in mind). When I learned the news, I thought, "ok, great. Now let's get some antibiotics on board and I am good to go." It turns out this was much more serious that I originally thought! Much to my surprise, I was contacted by the NJ State Board of Health! It seems that labs are required to alert them when someone is positive for certain bacteria and campylobacter is one of those! After a rather pleasant 30 minutes conversation with a nurse, I gave them a full history of what I ate, what my ...

Last night, trying to be healthy and kind to my stomach, I decided to make a healthy family favorite: ratatouille. My mom always comments that ratatouille is a fantastic dish because not only is it tasty, but it's a great way to eat a lot of vegetables. How right she is! Now, I know that I usually take step by step photographs documenting my cooking, but I'm so sorry to tell you that I forgot! I had napped for several hours before cooking so I think I was still sort of half asleep. Sorry!!! Ingredients: - 2 beefsteak tomatoes, chopped - 1 zucchini, cut into bite size pieces - 1 squash, cut into bite size pieces - 1 eggplant, cut into bite size pieces - 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces - 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces - 1 red onion, diced - olive oil - 3 garlic cloves, minced - handful basil, chopped - salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, to taste - fusilli pasta (how much is up to you) - grated parmesan cheese 1. Prep y...

So, after being away from my apartment for nearly three weeks, Sunday afternoon, my parents returned me to the city. The voyage was incredibly quick and painless as there was no traffic what so ever! For us, especially dad, driving into the city is not a big deal and in fact, its become a Sunday tradition. This Sunday however, rather than simply drop me off at my apartment, my parents and I decided to make it a special trip, so we stayed in for a bit and dined at one of our all time favorite restaurants: Kyo Ya. Kyo Ya is truly a gem hidden in the East Village. At first, I was hesitant to tell you all about this place, selfish I know, but it's sort of like one of Manhattan's greatest kept secrets. Then I remembered that a few months ago, it received RAVE reviews from the NY Times, so then I figured, "well, the cat's out of the bag now." NY Times Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/dining/reviews/kyo-ya-nyc-restaurant-review.html?pagewanted=all Kyo Ya fi...

Hello all! Hope everyone is well! I am back from London and am in the midst of trying to return to a state of normalcy. I've been trying to collect my thoughts and share some of my adventures with you all, but to be honest, I've been quite ill and unable to do so. While in the UK, my family ventured out into the Peak District, which was gorgeo us and picturesque. We had some fantastic meals, visited some gorgeous manor houses, and explored the English countryside.  In our countryside travels, it seems that I may have picked up an unwanted visitor at a pub somewhere. On our return to London, I was feeling a bit poorly -- icky stomach, loss of appetite, etc... and that culminated with a bad case of the chills. I tend to always be warm, but I was shivering, layered, hiding under the bed covers, and had the thermostat up to 80F. It was NOT fun.  My last two days in London were ok. The shivers were gone, but my appetite was just not there. Bummer. The real problem started whe...

Hello All! Just wanted to let you know that I will be in London for two weeks, so I will be unable to blog. I'll be taking lots of pictures and will have lots of stories and foods to share when I return though! ;D Stay tuned!!!!!! Here are some old pics from my last visit to London. Think of it as a preview of posts to come! Afternoon tea, Borough Market, fine dining...can't wait to share with you all! Afternoon Tea at Brown's (2009) This is the BEST place to have afternoon tea in ALL OF LONDON Huge selection of pies at Borough Market (2009) Fresh game at Borough Market (2009) My favorite curry stall at Borough Market As you can see, I'm sort of obsessed with Borough Market. Probably one of my top favorite places in all of London. If you haven't been, GO! You'll love it! Especially if you love food.