by TT Jr. on May 14th, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
I love bagels. I just love them, specifically toasted. And with cream cheese. They are so delicious when they are still hot and the cream cheese starts to melt on them. My favorite flavor is salt bagels, and they are delicious with plain cream cheese, but sometimes that gets a little boring. So, I decided to make a vegetable cream cheese to see how it tasted with my mom's yummy salt bagels. It tasted like heaven on a hot bagel. The sweet crunchy carrots with the tangy, slightly spicy chives against the salty, hot, soft, crunchy bagel is incredible.
A
by TT on April 26th, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
In an attempt to broaden my 14 year old's seafood palate, I decided to cook tuna last week. Unfortunately, the fish counter that I visited had none available, so I went with her current favorite fish, salmon, and jumbo shrimp. Shrimp is a type of seafood that she doesn't like, but the rest of us do. I figured if I got her to try it again, it may start to be a seafood item that she likes. She adores coconut, so I thought some
coconut shrimp might do the trick.
Apparently, the lure of a coconut coating isn't enough
by TT on March 31st, 2010 | Appetizers, Recipes
As I mentioned in my previous recipe (uniquely titled
Pear & Cheese - Version 1), this past Sunday we had a big dinner planned for that evening but were hungry hours before mealtime. In order to curb our appetite, I created two different pear and cheese appetizers.
I found that there were many things to love about these two recipes. First, they were simple to make. Although I enjoy cooking, I knew that I would be cooking a decent amount for dinner. So, I didn't want to spend my entire afternoon attached to the stove. Second, they were amazingly delicious.
by TT on March 29th, 2010 | Appetizers, Recipes
I should first mention that my husband returned home from his 17 days of business travel on Friday night. Not only did he make it home, but he made it home early! Granted, it was only by 10 minutes, but it was nice nonetheless.
Although it could have seemed a reason for celebration, we had a weekend consisting of normalcy: a birthday party for our 5 year old nephew, lunch with good friends, shopping for furniture on Saturday night. On Sunday, it was a quiet day, with a my husband's birthday dinner planned for that evening. Knowing that we would be
by TT on March 24th, 2010 | Main Dishes, Recipes
March has been a long month. While it has been snow-free, which is a huge bonus in New England, we've had our fair share of cold and rainy days. So, there's a little bit of cabin fever here. Plus, having an insane month of business travel for my husband (away from home for 17 out of the last 21 days counts as insane, doesn't it?) makes the days and weeks even longer.
Thankfully, my 13 (almost 14, as he'd remind me) and 12 year old children have been very helpful. Every week each of them has chosen and cooked a dinner
by TT on March 22nd, 2010 | Chef News
Attending the kick-off for Restaurant Week Boston, I was able to meet several local chefs. One of the chefs was
Mike Pagliarini, executive chef at
Via Matta. Having enjoyed the Tuscan Ribs he served, I decided to learn more about this talented chef.
TT: How long have you been working in the restaurant industry? For how long have you been working as a chef?
MP: I’ve been cooking for about 10 years, in both Boston and Chicaco. My first sous-chef positions was at Radius in September of 2004, and I’ve been the executive chef at Via Matta since June of 2007.
TT: What
by TT on March 17th, 2010 | Restaurant Reviews
After a winter of planning weekend spent indoors with food simmering on the stove all day long, it is wonderful to have sunshine, warm weather, and snow-free roads. Although it is quite nice to spend a day at home, by early March, cabin fever is rampant. So, on a recent Saturday, my husband and I made plans to spend most of the day exploring antique and consignment shops. Of course, being foodies, dining is an important element to our day. After some online searching for a fun restaurant, we decided to start our day with an early lunch at
