Image Map
Showing posts with label savory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savory. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Vegetable Risotto


Growing up in Western New York, I got used to driving everywhere for everything.  My parents home is in the middle of no where (i.e. two miles from the grocery store and five miles from the mall).  I would have to ask for a ride to go anywhere, even school was a really long walk.  I took the walk only a few times, on the last day of school.  I love to walk, bike and occasionally rollerblade places.  (I was a much better rollerblader in my high school days).  Hometown, western New York is not a walkable place.

When I moved to New Haven last year, I was so excited that I could walk to work.  My apartment was right downtown and just under a mile from my lab, I could make the walk in just under twenty minutes.  It was rare that I would drive to work, I even walked in when there was a quarter-inch of ice on the ground.  I soon realized that it had been a few weeks since I had driven my car.

My beautiful, gold, Toyota Matrix.  It was the first car that I bought all on my own.  Granted I had just gotten it two years earlier, but it was a big deal (and an awesome car).  I was sad that I had been neglecting my pretty little Goldie, but you save so much money on gas when you don't drive your car!  When it came time to transfer my insurance over to Connecticut I decided it was time to give Goldie away/return her to the dealership.  On March 18th I dropped Goldie off with a nice man at Toyota, he said he would wash her (something I only ever did once) and find her a new family.

I'm now a commuter, or professional train rider, as I like to call myself.  I miss my little Goldie car, but now I can walk everywhere that I want to go.  And I'm saving major dollars a month, insurance in the Northeast is expensive!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Orange Vinaigrette Salad

So I've been meaning to tell you all about my new job.  Well, it has been a learning experience, to say the least.  I know, that might sound like a strange thing to say, especially as someone who just spent the last eleven years as a student.  Don't worry, this all can be explained.


While I was interviewing, I had to make the decision between working in process chemistry and medicinal chemistry.  There is one major difference between the two job, biology.  As a process chemist, you spend your day doing chemistry.  You're trying to make something in a faster, better, cheaper manner than it has been made before.  You need to know a lot about chemistry and how to be extremely efficient.  While I love chemistry, I thought that I would like to work in medicinal chemistry and keep learning.

As a medicinal chemist, you spend your day doing some chemistry, but also thinking a lot about biology.  Medicinal chemists are working very early in the drug discovery pipeline, trying to design the new drugs.  They have to look at proteins and amino acids, think about cell permeability and toxicity, and these are all things that are new to me. 

A synthetic chemist, right out of academia, doesn't know much about these things.  I took biochemistry in 2001 and haven't looked at an amino acid since then.  I was thrown in, head first, into the deep end of medicinal chemistry.  I've been reading tons of papers and books to try and acclimate myself to this new field.  Let me tell you, there are A LOT of acronyms!  I've got a lot to learn, but it's just what I wanted.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Turkey Burgers and Cucumber Salad

Sometimes, a friend is in your life for just a short time, but they leave a lasting impact.  Your day is brightened a little each day when you see them.  Their day is made when they see you.  You've been in their life for as long as they can remember and you are each others best friend.  You both go on long walks together and confide secrets to each other.  You go on vacation with each other and sit by campfires late at night.  You spend the hot summer weekends outside, digging in the dirt, hanging by the pool and tossing around the frisbee.  And sometimes, your best friend is red and furry.

In the winter of 2001, my parents and I went out on a road trip through Central New York searching for a puppy.  We spent the day playing with little fluffy balls of adorable.  Imagine sitting in a room full of golden retriever puppies, it's crazy cute.  When my mom picked up one particular golden fluff-ball, it cuddled right in.  We took her home and named her Zoe.


Zoe found her place in our home right away.  She stole cookies off of the coffee table.  She sprawled out on the couch and made it all furry.  She looked adorable all day long and we loved her from the minute she got home.  However, for the most part, she was my parents dog.


I was spending most of my time studying organic chemistry in the library and then I headed off to Wisconsin to grad school.  Zoe spent all her time with her mom and dad, she was their buddy, their little shadow.  When I came home to visit, she would be happy to see me, but would quickly lose interest if my parents were doing anything mildly interesting.


Zoe left our lives this Saturday, far too soon.  The house on the hill is a lot emptier now, it's missing its little bit of sunshine.  Zoe was a great dog and she brightened our lives for the ten years that she was with us.  I will miss her very much, but I know two people who will miss her even more.  I'm sending lots of love over to Buffalo, to Zoe's two favorite people, her mom and dad.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Honey-Basil Chicken

You may have noticed that I've been missing recently.  I'm three weeks into my first job and things are a little crazy.  I'm working on balancing my work, life, blogging schedule.  I've actually been cooking a lot, since I need to feed boyfriend and myself, I just haven't had the time to get the deliciousness from the camera to you! 

It's been a little tricky to feed both boyfriend and I.  We both eat very different types of food.  He's a HUGE fan of all things pasta, creamy and cheesey.  I like chicken in light sauces.  He doesn't eat seafood, I don't eat beef.  I like to pile my plates high with vegetables and he orders his sandwiches without lettuce or tomatoes. 

Luckily, we can agree on a number of things.  Chicken is a staple in our house, leaving me to find more and more delicious chicken recipes.  That is, until I can convince boyfriend to eat food my way.  I think I need Jessica Seinfelds cookbook...

Monday, July 18, 2011

Pizza Foccacia

Among all of the big changes that have been happening in the Wilde household, the change in living situations is probably one of the biggest.  For the past eight years, boyfriend and I have been a long distance couple.  It did help that we've known each other for the past fifteen years and also that we were both so very busy while we were apart.  Boyfriend was busy building his career and getting a great job, while I spent my time holed up in labs finishing my education.


Now that we are living in one household it's totally different.  Good different!  Not only are the living expenses cut in half (a great bonus), but sometimes I arrive home to discover the laundry I put in the dryer that morning has folded itself up and put itself away!  The dishwasher empties itself and even dinner arrives without me having to lift a finger!

Now, I realize that boyfriend might have a bit to do with the amazing feats of housework and food prep (ordering) because these things never happened when I was living alone!  Food covered dishes would just sit in the sink until I faced the music and put them in the dishwasher.  Laundry would remain in the dryer until I tried to run another load, so that's where those pants were all week...  Dinner would often be a bowl of lettuce that I would call a salad. 


Living with boyfriend definitely has is benefits, most of all being, I get to see him every day.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Asparagus and Tortellini Salad

Can you believe that I have been the proud owner of a pasta maker for five whole months and it's only now that I've actually used it?  I kept looking at it, thinking of all of the delicious pastas that I wanted to try out, yet there it sat.  It was just crying out to be used and I ignored it.


This year has been one of the busiest times of my life.  I've hardly had time to do my laundry, nonetheless hand make pasta.  With trying to complete two projects at work, visiting boyfriend every other weekend in NJ and searching for a job, almost every minute has been spoken for.  Buying storebought pasta just seemed like the easy thing to do.


Last week I decided to ignore the calls of the pasta maker no more!  I was going to make one of my favorite pasta dinners and I would make the tortellini!  With a DVR full of shows from the past two weeks, I set out on the journey of making my tortellinis.  It was fun!  It was easy!  It was not a short process.  First I made the pasta dough (same one I used in this recipe), then I stirred together the filling, then it was time to roll.


I secured the pasta maker to the countertop.  It's a heavy little guy, but you still need to clamp it to your countertop in order to roll out the dough.  So I rolled and rolled the dough, slowly closing the wheels to get a thinner and thinner dough.


I stamped out litle circles using my trusty 2-inch biscuit cutter.


I added a 1/2 tsp of filling to the circle...


Folded it over and went pinch pinch pinch to close...


Then pinched them in the center.  Not exactly what a tortellini is supposed to look like, but I thought they looked cute this way.  Then I set them on a baking sheet and into the fridge they went.  Overnight they sat and dried out.


The next day I had adorable little tortellinis. 


See, aren't they cute! 


Then I boiled them up with some asparagus and yellow peppers, tossed them in dressing and I had dinner!  Phew, quite the process, but totally worth it.  I'm looking forward to trying out other filling recipes, fresh pasta is just the best.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Indian Pizza


On our most recent trip to Europe, Boyfriend and I had some pretty amazing food. I would say it was some of the best food of my life. We started with authentic Indian food in London, a perfectly roasted chicken in Paris and amazing pizza in Italy. We ate schnitzel in the Alps, wieners at a castle and finished up our trip at a dimly lit restaurant, smiling over plates of curry. It was a crazy twelve days.

Yes, I said twelve days. We travelled through seven countries in seven days. We would have made it eight, but just couldn’t see how to get to Belgium and make our flight home. In honor of this crazy week and a half in Europe I decided to combine two great culinary palettes. Indian plus Italian equals delicious.


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Apple Ginger Chicken & Curried Rice

Living in a university town, you get used to the ebb and flow of population. You brace yourself for the influx of bright-eyed students in September. You get used to standing in line for your burrito at Chipotle. You drive your car cautiously to avoid running over the absentminded undergrads. And you wait for this time of year. You revel in this time of year.



Having lived in university towns for the past eight years I have gotten used to all of the intricacies of the situation. It was most prevalent when I lived in Madison. Being a graduate student is totally different from being an undergrad, especially those in the hard sciences. You live and breathe your degree. There are no spring breaks or summer vacations, it’s five years of working and you don’t want to wait in line to get your lunch.

Madison, Wisconsin has a population of two hundred thousand people. The University of Wisconsin has a student enrollment of forty thousand. The population of Madison jumps by 15-20% every September when the students move into their dorms and off-campus apartments. Now, I’m sure that when I was an undergrad I was really smart. I looked both ways before crossing the street. I didn’t ask crazy questions during o chem recitation. I didn’t wear Uggs and sweatpants to school (this is true, Uggs look like potatoes and sweatpants are for bedtime). And I’m sure that you all were/are wonderful undergrads as well.


When you are a grad student, beaten down by your classes and research, the energy and enthusiasm of an undergrad is wearing. You stand there, looking at your class, thinking “how many more classes until I’m finished?” Luckily I taught organic chemistry lab, so I’m pretty sure everyone sitting there was thinking the exact same thing.

Then, at last, that day rolls around. The last day of exams, followed by graduation and then… Move out day! And they’re gone! The graduate students can finally go outside and enjoy lunch once again. Free from the danger of falling in stride with a group of bubbly undergrads on their way to play Frisbee at noon on Tuesday. No more standing on the bus, waiting in line at Hawks or worrying about taking out a group of girls standing in the middle of the street. The terrace grill opens and those brats smell like freedom! Well, at least for those twenty minutes before you have to head back to the lab.


Oh, and if you live in Wisconsin and have to cross University Avenue… Please do not hit the crosswalk button. It won’t make the light change faster. It’s only for the blind people, hence the sign that says “Press button for audible walk.” Thanks!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Sunday night is Amazing Race night. In the ten years that it has been on the air, I have watched just about every season. In the early years I was obsessed. I watched religiously and planned my Wednesday nights around primetime. Boyfriend and I were still in college and he didn’t even have the title ‘boyfriend’ yet. We would watch the show while chatting on AIM and argue about who was the better team. After watching 17 seasons we’ve gotten pretty good about picking the winners. (I’ve actually picked the winning team for the past five seasons.)


Boyfriend and I have this grand idea that we would kick butt at the Amazing Race, as long as boyfriend doesn’t give directions. As I’ve discussed before, when presented with two options, boyfriend will inevitably choose the wrong direct 100% of the time. He does however have real world experience, or as he says “he knows the harsh realities of the world.” I apparently “have lived in a safety bubble.” (This is true) There are some things that would prevent us from doing well on the race. To give you a complete picture, let me walk you through our adventure of trying out for the Amazing Race.

Way back in 2006, boyfriend came to Madison for a visit. It just so happened that he came to town the same weekend there was an Amazing Race tryout. Tryouts were happening in Indiana at some beachside casino, three hours away from Madison, from 10-4. We figured if we left by nine am that we could be there by noon, perfect. Driving on the I-90, somewhere around Chicago, we hit massive traffic. Who knew that Chicago would be so busy on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?


Phew, made it through traffic, just thirty minutes behind schedule. But wait, is Indiana in the central time zone or the eastern time zone? Ummm, does it make a difference if it’s during daylight savings time? Oh boy, we might have one less hour! Speed boyfriend, speed!

When we finally made it to the casino we were confronted with a massive line of people. There were easily five hundred people waiting to have their turn in front of the camera. We got our number and stood in line, filling out our application as we waited. Hmmm, they need a photocopy of our passports? Uh oh, mine is in Wisconsin and boyfriends is in New York. Talk about being unprepared.


After thirty minutes of waiting in line and slowly inching forward, the head of the tryouts called numbers 450-500. Oh, we were number 498! The four hundred people in front of us had numbers in the thousands. Boyfriend and I considered our options. A. Wait in line for several more hours, abiding by proper line protocol. Or B. Do it Amazing Race style and cut everyone. We went with option B, what? We had the right number, they called us!

Needless to say we didn’t end up getting on the Amazing Race, I don’t know why, we’re pretty awesome. Boyfriend yells at people and I cry. We’d be good television.


Monday, April 4, 2011

Tortellini Soup

Spring is starting to creep into the Northeast, at last! I was able to bust out my spring coat this weekend, although I paired it with a scarf. Fifty degrees just isn’t warm enough for me yet. Although, I have known many people who would claim that fifty degrees is shorts weather.


Rainbow chard, it's so pretty!
Living in Wisconsin, I met lots of people from the Midwest. I found that the people of the Midwest are of heartier stock than I. The people of Michigan are particularly hearty. Once the mercury would inch up past freezing, my Midwestern friends would break out their shorts and t-shirts. There could still be snow on the ground, but the streets of Madison would be filled with students wearing shorts. Crazy people, all of them.


My rainbow chard looks alive!
I am a fan of pants. It needs to be at least eighty degrees for me to have the desire to put on shorts. For this reason, I own approximately one pair of shorts. Maybe two, I can’t remember. It’s been that long since I thought to put on a pair of shorts. The second problem with shorts is my work environment. Wearing shorts in the lab is just a bad idea, especially for a girl, they just don’t cover nearly enough leg! Plus, it’s always about two degrees in the lab, I’d freeze to death.


So, while I’m enjoying the warmer days, I will still bundle up until the temperature stays at seventy. My winter coat will stay out until May and my shorts will remain in the dresser until July. And I will eat soup all year long, especially this soup.


Stay tuned later this week for that foccacia recipe!


Friday, March 25, 2011

Balsamic BBQ Chicken


Sometimes you need a quick dinner and this week it was extremely important. Several thirteen hour workdays this week have lead to dinners of lettuce, a bagel and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (three different nights). I partially blame daylight savings time for my longer work days and I also blame my project deadline of April 7th.


Maybe you’ve been having the same issue as I have. I’ve gotten so used to the sun going down at 4 o’clock that I think it’s so much earlier than it actually is. It was six thirty before I realized how late it was, and then it was quarter to nine before I headed out the door. It’s been going on like this all week, I get distracted by the loads of work I have to do and all of the sudden it’s dark out. By the time I get home I’m all glassy-eyed and hungry, with no energy left.

Last night I decided, no more! I need some real food! Then twenty minutes later I had this sitting on my plate. I’m in love with these new Steamfresh pasta meals. In four minutes I had a side dish that worked well with my balsamic BBQ chicken, which was pretty delicious on it’s own. Try it out the next time you’ve got no time!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Ham & Cheese Risotto

All you have is ham? Go back two spaces. Get away scott free after breaking the gym lights. Go ahead three spaces. Dramatically break your ribs on the first day of your honeymoon. Go back one space. How many board games do you know of that contain these particular cards? How many games can only be played in the presence of one person?  Have you ever played a game that it doesn’t matter how well you do, you might never win?



These playing cards all tell stories; they are glimpses into my friends life. This past weekend was a walk down memory lane and it was one hilarious walk. Boyfriend and I journeyed to Buffalo, NY this weekend for a surprise birthday party. It was a long trip, six and a half hours in the car, and we spent barely more time in town than we did in the car. Thankfully, the party was all worth it.

We were there to celebrate the 30th birthday of a longtime friend, T-. Many of us had come from far away, travelling in from New Jersey, Ohio and Washington, DC. We had all gone to high school and college together and this is the year that we all turn 30. So, in a sense, it was a celebration for all of us! (Happy birthday class of 1999!)

The night was topped off with a present, the present to end all presents! A board game. This was not just any board game, it was the Game of T-! To celebrate T-'s birthday, several friends got together and created a board game of his life. Since we’ve all been friends for the past fifteen years, there are many, many stories we share. This game brought all the memories back and I have to give major props to the friends that brought this game to life. We were up into the late hours of the evening playing this game, laughing and reminiscing. Stories were retold for the benefit of those who came into our lives at later points and oh yes, did I mention the laughing?


To continue the celebration, I decided to make some ham and cheese risotto. An homage to D-, who was disappointed by what T-‘s fridge had to offer one late night. Perusing the fridge, D- professed “All you have is ham?” Then he decided to open a can of tuna.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Gorgonzola Risotto

You’ll notice a little something different about today’s post. No pictures of food! Now don’t worry, I am giving you a recipe (a very delicious recipe in fact!). However the pictures of the food weren’t nearly as pretty as my pictures from New York City last weekend! You might remember that I met my mom in New York last weekend to celebrate her birthday. We had three girls-only days in the big city.


I’ve been to New York a many number of times and know my way around pretty well. Of course, it’s pretty tough to get lost when you’re in Midtown, all the streets are numbered. Once I get to the East Village is when I start to get all turned around, especially after coming out of the subway. I think all I need is a compass, then I wouldn’t go the wrong direction nearly as often as I do. It’s too bad the compass on the iPhone doesn’t work in New York. The signal bounces off the buildings and your GPS thinks you are inside of a building three blocks away, not helpful.


So what did we do in our weekend in the city? We went shopping, we saw the sights and we watched a show. We also ate a lot of cupcakes. Seriously, we had cupcakes every single day that we were there. Rather than heading to just a single bakery, we decided to check out a couple of different ones. You know, we had to compare and contrast the product, right?


Personally I fell in love with my peanut butter cup cupcake from Crumbs, although I was covered in frosting when I finished eating it. I was licking it off of my elbow, I’m pretty sure there was frosting in my hair too. I was a little wired that night! Mom liked her vanilla cupcake from Eleni’s Bake shop, located inside of Chelsea Market. They also served up a mean raspberry cupcake, super delicious.


It was a great weekend, full of history, culture, shops and sugar!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Buffalo Mac’n’Cheese

I’m downright excited! You know why? This week is my mom’s birthday week (Happy Birthday Mom!!!) and for her birthday we are headed to New York City. A girls weekend to be filled with shopping, Mary Poppins and cupcakes! I’ve been to New York a many number of times, but this will only be Mom’s second trip to the big city. Second trip in the winter, maybe the third time we should shoot for the summer?


Say hello to delicious

There are many things that I love doing while in New York. In general I’ll be there with boyfriend and we love to wander the streets, popping into cute shops we find along the way. Every time we go, we find ourselves in someplace we’ve never been before. The first few times we visited the city (back in the summer of 2003) we were without our handy iPhones. We relied on guidebooks and maps to help us find our way through the streets. When it was time for a meal we would wander aimlessly, somehow missing all of the restaurants along the way. How? I have no idea.


These days we have GPS, Open Table and a better sense of direction. The last few trips to the city we went with more of a plan, places we wanted to visit and reservations. We’ve dined at Asian fusion joints, American bistros and English pubs, but my favorite place is just a hole in the wall. Located on 12th St near 1st Ave is S’mac. What do they serve? Macaroni and cheese. And it’s delicious.


Sadly S’mac is in New York and I am not. So, I decided that it was necessary to replicate my favorite dish, the Buffalo Mac’n’Cheese. And maybe to drag my mom to S’mac next weekend…

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Mustard-Glazed Chicken

Sometimes a girl gets a little busy. So busy that she hasn’t had a haircut since July. So busy that her car registration has been expired for a week and she hasn’t been able to go to the DMV and get new plates. So busy that she has to go to the dollar store and buy milk (yes, they sell milk! And boxed brownie mix…). Yes, life tends to pile up around here. Although I consider today a big win, because I put the dishes in the dishwasher, then I turned it on. Boo-yeah, clean dishes.



And even the haircut isn’t that bad. When I moved from Colorado to Connecticut, I spent two fabulous weeks visiting friends, family and boyfriend in Buffalo. I like going to Buffalo in the summer, it’s so nice out. I spent time in the garden with my mom, well, she gardened, I rolled around the lawn with the dog. I went for a long bike ride along the Niagara river with my dad, then we ate our weight in ice cream. I went to my brothers new house and saw all of the work that he’s put into it. Dude knows how to handle a table saw, I was very impressed. I know how to put together Ikea furniture.

The most hilarious time was going to the salon with my mom. When I first got home she mentioned that she had a hair appointment and perhaps I would like to get my hair done too? But why? You don’t like my hair? It’s so pretty. When was my last haircut? Ummm, right before my thesis defense… in August… of 2008. That’s right, two whole years since my last haircut! When I arrived at the salon the stylist asked what I wanted to do with it. I suggested that we cut off enough so that my mom didn’t think I looked like a homeless person anymore. Stylist laughed, but she thought I looked like a homeless person too. At least she complimented my jeans.


So I figure I have at least another year and a half before I really have to get another haircut. In the meantime I’ll try to head to the grocery store. This dinner, while delicious, was made out of necessity. I had a half bag of carrots in my fridge, leftover from making chili. I had some chicken quarters, purchased and frozen three weeks ago while on sale. Everything else you need to make this meal will most likely be located in your pantry. Feel free to use dried herbs, I know I did!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Pineapple Chutney and Chicken

Sometimes, simple can be beautiful. How many times do you find yourself staring at a bright blue sky? Free of clouds, birds and planes, a blue sky is something beautiful in its simplicity. Today I found myself standing at my lab window, staring out to the sky. Maybe this is because I was a little bored with what was going on inside of the lab, maybe.



So, simple things. You don’t have to get fancy to have something fantastic. The perfect chocolate chip cookie will bring anyone to the table. A steak, grilled to perfection, will be excellent without any sauces. And a grilled chicken breast will be amazing with addition of a three-ingredient chutney.


This is the kind of meal that comes together out of necessity. Two factors lead me to make this dinner. Number one – I was very hungry. Number two – I had almost no food in my house. I tend to buy things at the grocery store according to the recipes I want to make for the week. Sometimes I think that I have more time on my hands than I actually do. My original plan was to make a slow cooker recipe, unfortunately the recipe only called for 7 hours of cooking time. I generally work ten hours a day. This just wouldn’t work, and I was hungry! Now, if you’re hungry, read on.

Pineapple Chutney and Chicken

3 Chicken breasts (cut into ½-inch strips)
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 cup crushed pineapple
½ yellow onion (diced)
2 tbsp cilantro

Toss together pineapple, onion and cilantro. Allow chutney to sit for ten minutes so flavors mingle.

Toss chicken strips with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on a grill or grill pan until juices run clear, about 6 minutes per side. Plate three strips of chicken with ¼ cup of chutney.
Related Posts with Thumbnails