February 2012
9 posts
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The Perfect V-Day Dinner For Your Hunny
This post marks the beginning of a series called “Hotel/Motel/Residence Inn: Braisin’ on Business.” It’s a spinoff to inspire all of you who are trapped in hotel rooms in rural Missouri (just me?) for the next six months and can’t deal with nightly expensed dinners at Longhorn Steakhouse when I could be picking things out of the frying pan and eating them with my...
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alwaysyouandmebabe asked: Hi, I want to do a little dinner for my boyfriend at valentine's day, but I don't know what to do, any idea ? please.
Faux Pasta HQ Internal Memos
The real Wizard of Oz behind Faux Pasta is, of course, our mother. Like Julia Child, she refined her cooking abilities as a bubbly American woman navigating the choppy waters of uptight Parisian exclusivity, all while raising two children, taking tech writing classes, and spearheading jogging groups. We love you, Mama! You’re our first and only fan!
So when I received an email with the...
January 2012
5 posts
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December 2011
2 posts
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November 2011
10 posts
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“I think with Nellie in California… you two should do something with foie...”
– from: Uncannie
What a GOOD IDEA. Oh man, this is totally going to get animal rights activists up my goat, but I have dreamed of buying engorged duck livers and slowly cooking them or however you do it until you have delicious meat butter. I’m also really into this crispy cleaver idea....
morgangster asked: I don't know how you're going to choose the winner of those cookies, but it should be me. Obviously. Because I love cookies. Most of my blog is dedicated to what I call "food coma" and I think you can appreciate that. Anyways, I love the blog! Might i suggest making something mint-chocolatey for the holidays? I'd like that. :)
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October 2011
6 posts
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Local delicacies, part I
It’s time to break up this soliloquy of beautiful photos and poignant stories that my sister is throwing at you and show everyone a bunch of pictures of stuff I shovel in my gaping maw.
So this baby bird just flew the coop, ready to begin her adult life in New York City. Are you ready for some gratuitous shots of dinner parties with a myriad of friends from different backgrounds,...
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September 2011
6 posts
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Deep Dish - Little Star in Albany, CA
And here we were, thinking that good deep dish pizza didn’t exist in California. Had a great late lunch yesterday at Little Star in Albany. Surprisingly light cornmeal crust, substantial enough to hold up to a delicious but not overwhelming onslaught of sauce, sausage, olives, mushrooms, and peppers. Nowhere near the heart attack of Uno’s or Lou Malnati’s, but...
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Chickpea, Chicken & Cashew Curry
This is what Penzeys Spices says about Indian food on their website:
“Many people who eat curry for the first time in an Indian restaurant find it difficult to understand why curry is so popular. They are a bit overwhelmed by trying a dish that is new to them but spiced for a person who already knows and loves the flavor of Indian food.”
Clearly, they are...
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August 2011
5 posts
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Croatian Airport Delights and Salami for Days
On our last day in Croatia, Paulina and I didn’t think to plan our eats before we took the bus to the airport, three hours early. “Eh,” we thought. “We’ll just grab something there.” Never have more ominous words been spoken. Dramatic. Besides, what were we going to do? Grab another massive roll from the Konzum supermarket with some more cold cuts from the...
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Scallops with three peas and prosciutto, except...
From the Chicago Tribune, originally from a cookbook called “Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes” by Jeanne Kelley.
My mom and I made this on my last night in Chicago, before I flew back to San Francisco and all the baby birds left the coop for good. I suppose the most apropos dish would have been two tiny baby Cornish hens with a bunch of ducks in a row on opposite ends of the table, to...
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Lemon Custard Ginger Bars
Just to keep things fresh (not that Paris/Croatia/Berlin/Amsterdam food posts aren’t), I’ll be intermittently posting some recipes along the way at Faux Pasta. I made some really good lemon ginger bars last night, so I think I’ll share that one today. My boss’ friend makes these bars frequently, as they’re a family recipe passed down from her granny. Don’t the...
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June 2011
2 posts
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Pan-fried scallops with mexican corn salad
Have you ever had elote? It’s a holy trinity of corn, mayo, and cheese with chili powder and lime juice winning Best Supporting Actors in the action-packed biopic called “Myself, Eating.” It’s so good that even if you love butter as much as I love butter (by which I mean my favorite snack in high school was mixing butter and brown sugar together and putting it on a paper...
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Salsa Verde and Chorizo Nachos
I know you’re sitting there, thinking, “Girlfriend. I have got this nachos business locked down. Why are you telling me how to make nachos? You are preaching to the choir.”
Which is exactly why I’m sitting here, telling you, “Peoplefriends! I highly suggest you get the best chorizo out there and combine it with Trader Joe’s salsa verde, extra sharp cheddar...
May 2011
5 posts
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"Grits" with Fried Egg & Soft Goat Cheese
images best viewed in full @ Faux Pasta
The other half of Faux Pasta came to visit me in April and we cooked up a storm. A real storm. Unfortunately, over 75% of what we made was really disgusting. Like so gross we thought we had somehow lost our cooking mojo forever. The combined force of our wooden spoons inspired some sort of priori incantatem like Harry vs. Voldemort and around us a...
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Stir-Fried Chard and Mizuna with Tofu
Link to this post
Can a recipe be both penitent and delicious? Can the two ideas live together peacefully, cohabitating like the best of us? Can Nellie write her blog post like Carrie Bradshaw? Would you stop reading this blog if she were to continue writing in such a manner? You sure would, so let’s just talk about the recipe today: it’s healthy. I slathered it in Hoisin sauce,...
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Strawberry Tart
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Can you believe it that I’ve never made pastry cream? I know, right. I used to eat these little tarts in Paris topped with kiwis and blueberries and strawberries, and I would just marvel at the mysterious bed of cream laid underneath. “What is this delicious soft pudding-like custard?” I’d say, to anyone who would listen (it’s Paris,...
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A Story About Being Nice to People in Food Service
Last night, my roommate Allison and I met up with some of her friends and co-workers at the grand opening party of River Cafe’s new Wine & Beer Bar. We showed up and the partay was in full swing - music, kids running around, string lights, heat lamps. There was a pretty long line for food but we stocked up on libations (I stocked up on libations, actually - Allison was driving) and...
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Buttamilk dressin' and purple haze kale chips
This started when I bought buttermilk to make cornbread a couple of weeks ago and decided to mix up my standard balsamic vinaigrette routine. OH LORD NEVER GOING BACK. Every few days I make a batch of this dressing and refill the jar in my fridge so it takes on the last batch’s flavors and keeps getting better and better, thooooough I’m not sure if that’s an okay thing to do with...