Cooking at Home: Inspired by new cookbooks, & Mimi!

I've been cooking a lot lately. before Christmas, I went on a little cookbook shopping spree to bring my cooking skills up a notch. I picked up the following cookbooks:

Mad Hungry: Cooking for Men and Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn

Songs on Sapa: Stories and Recipes from Vietnam by Luke Nguyen

Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan

Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller

I combined the recipes for fried chicken from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc and Lucinda's Mad Hungry, cooked up some collard greens (using a slightly modified recipe off the Trader Joe's bag) and then mashed up some new potatoes (including a few purples), and then used the giblets from the chicken to make a gravy so good, it should be illegal.

The whole meal took about and hour and 45 minutes, but we savored each bite for days after the initial meal.

Growing up, I always knew my mom was a great cook. Her food was always made from scratch the way her mom had made it back on the farm in North Dakota. Boxes, packaged, processed foods never crossed our table. My mom had an arsenal of non-recipes that she used "Oh a pinch of this, and a handful of that," staple dishes that I crave at holidays and miss terribly when we are not together.

I remember being in college and wanting to make a special meal for someone. I called my mom who said, "Hmm, you had better call Mimi." Mimi walked me through the meal (my first real solo cooking effort) and it ended up being pretty darn delicious. I've known Mimi for as long as I can remember. She's one of the warmest people I know and creates food that not only curbs hunger, but feeds your soul and makes you feel extra loved. I recently found out that she has her own cooking blog that I have been highly inspired by. This one's for you Mimi! Thanks for always keeping me inspired to try new recipes!




Looking for gift ideas? I totally recommend these cookbooks:

Washington DC

Last month, the husband and I went to Washington DC. This heart graffiti was found on a metal patch that was nailed to a tree just outside the White House gates. There were so many monuments, and museums- just the HISTORY in DC!! Whew! I could post any number of recognizable icons, but I'm sharing this weathered heart, because while in DC, I felt more appreciative, healthy, happy, safe, and patriotic than I thought I would.