cooking in my underwear

My sweetie is terrible at dropping hints, and I'm equally terrible at taking them.  So while his birthday was still months away, he clearly and repeatedly stated that his ideal birthday dinner would be Blue Ribbon Brooklyn's duck club sandwich.  The problem?  Blue Ribbon Brooklyn hasn't had that sandwich on their menu for years - he knew that, and I knew that, thus I considered the gauntlet well and truly thrown down! The good news : The entire recipe for that delicious sandwich is widely available The bad news : The entire recipe for that delicious sandwich is widely available Mayonnaise from scratch, yeah I can handle that.  Bread from scratch, are you kidding meeee???? Well, I can't remember the last time I followed a recipe to the letter, and I wasn't about to start now, so let's talk shortcuts and substitutions: I am not a baker, I don't enjoy baking, but I can yank a bag of bread off a market shelf like a pro! So I search...

Our usual M.O. for dinner preparations is to decide on the food first, and then pick a wine to match.  But once in a while, we like to mix things up and go the other way.   Vinho Verde is one of my very favorite wines, and we buy it quite frequently, but we often drink it with whatever  food we're having - because it goes with so many things.  As a result, we sometimes miss out on its full potential as a food wine. But tonight I decided to bring the food to the wine and prepare a hearty Portuguese-style fish stew.  I'm careful to say style  because people get all huffy when you suggest that your particular version of an ethnic dish hovers in the vicinity of what is truly authentic, whatever that is.  That said, here's my recipe.  I don't like to specify measurements because I rarely measure, so let your taste and judgement guide you. Sautee some minced garlic, diced red onion and diced fennel in olive oil. Add some fresh thyme, re...

This was super easy and very tasty!  I've seen many recipes similar to this, but they usually call for poached eggs, and there was no way I was going to attempt egg poaching in my exhausted state. Here are the basics for about 6 servings: Sautee a diced onion, some red pepper flakes and minced rosemary in olive oil.  When the onion has softened, add two cans of fire-roasted tomatoes with the juice, and 2 cans of white beans (drained and rinsed).  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve in bowls, topped with one or two fried eggs per serving, grated pecorino and shredded basil.  You might also want to have some crusty bread for soaking up the juices.   Not the prettiest picture... I had already taken a few bites before I remembered to get  a photo. I used low-sodium versions of the canned products, but feel free to use the salted versions, or add salt to taste.