Food
New York Compressed: A 6 Hr Food & Fashion Tour
Earlier this week, I had a whirlwind 6 hours in New York city. I took the train into Grand Central and then walked (ok, ran) a solid 5 miles amongst the sun, crowds, farmers’ markets and freshly pressed Autumn collections. I stopped for lunch in Korea town, browsed Mario Batali’s food wonderland at Eataly, tried on perfumes and necklaces at ABC carpet, bought some vegetables in Union Square, and then headed to Soho for my customary stops at the IF Boutique, Morgane le Fay, Loopy Mango, Isabel Marant, Rag & Bone, Barbara Bui and Shoe....
read moreKorean Flank Steak with Wakame Seaweed, Sake-Braised Mushrooms & Pickled Starfruit
This meal happened beautifully and simply. Late Sunday afternoon. I walked through the grocery store, empty head / full heart, grazing the vegetables, waving to random strangers in line at the meat counter and lingering on some warm pastries. The store was alive with list making and late weekend conversations. I wanted to take everything in. Somehow, mid-wandering, the colors for this meal found my eyes. Somehow, my fingers grabbed the items and my brain agreed with them. The flavors developed later—much later—like at the exact second...
read morePecan-Crusted Monkfish with Bourbon Corn & Roasted Tomatoes
The idea for this dish came out of “left field,” aka: that beautiful place from which all of my favorite experiences, people and creations wander forth (cue James Earl Jones’ voice over). I woke up last Friday morning with an unusual flavor tickling at my mouth: hints of toasty cumin, bright chilies and rustic vegetables. The idea sat with me curiously all morning. It built Pinocchio strings across my brain and pulled at them, wanting to become alive. Driving to a rock show late at night, I continued testing out ideas in my head. For...
read morePeach, Walnut & Beet Ravioli with Rhubarb Butter
My day started at the farmer’s market. Well, actually it started with a hangover, followed by the grouchy realization that I needed to bring my car to the shop for a pricey operation. But, after that, it started at the farmer’s market. Still quite fuzzy and unsteady from the aforementioned hangover, and at this point, uncaffeinated, I ran around the market, tasting various types of lettuces, homemade jams and about 800 calories worth of various cheeses on toothpicks. Standing in front of some root vegetables and feeling inspired by the...
read moreGoat Cheese Salad with Pancetta, Dried Cherry and Port Dressing
“Hi, my name is Bre, and I have a problem with lettuce.” Yes, it’s true. I’ve never really taken to the whole traditionally-defined salad category. I just never saw how iceberg or romaine lettuce could be interesting enough to warrant me choosing a salad over, oh, any far superior dish on the menu. I mean, don’t get me wrong— there are some rad salad dressings out there (Thai peanut, goddess, Chinese sesame)— but all these seem to do is disguise the lettuce as a makeshift entrée (like, “hey, let’s make a salad that tastes...
read moreRoasted Eggplant Soup with Feta & Basil Dumplings
In this soup, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and fennel are roasted together to create a beautiful, lightly creamy base. Then, a fried wonton-dumpling, stuffed with fresh basil and goat cheese, elevates the dish with its crispy texture and fresh flavor burst. This soup is easy to prepare, great for a fall dinner party and makes a spectacular presentation. As you can see in the pictures, I served this soup with 1 wonton per dish. However, I like the idea of serving this as a main entrée and using 2-3 wontons per bowl. Soup Ingredients: 6...
read moreSpinach and Wild Mushrooms
Anyone who has tried truffle mushrooms knows that they’re a holy substance, and priced accordingly. Truffle oil packs the flavor of truffle mushrooms into a small bottle that costs anywhere from $10-20 and can last for years (like saffron, a little bit goes a long way). I bought mine at Whole Foods, but sometimes you can score a good deal in the kitchen sections of TJ MAXX or Home Goods (I know, weird, right?) I made this dish to go with my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit: simple, delicious and an equally flavorful...
read moreRoasted Winter Squash and Parsnips with Maple Glaze and Spiced Almonds
The only thing cozier than watching and smelling gorgeous orange squash as it roast in the oven, is eating said squash. This dish allows you to do both. So, hooray! I used different types of squash to maximize the range of natural flavors; butternut squash is the least sugary of the three vegetables here; Kabocha (a Japanese winter squash) is a tad sweeter and parsnips, once caramelized, have an almost candy-like flavor profile. The effect of eating these together (especially when paired with spiced almonds) is that while eating the dish,...
read moreCoconut Corn Samosas
As someone who runs in horror from any recipe featuring the word “pastry,” I decided that the best way to confront this fear was simply to refer to anything with dough AND a filling as “a samosa.” (Apologies in advance, to anyone who knows enough about samosas and Indian cuisine to find the glaring flaws in this recipe / logic.) I decided to try these “samosas” out for Thanksgiving dinner, serving dozens of them with a few different fillings (curried cabbage, cumin-flavored carrots & peas, and a coconut-creamed corn). The...
read moreWatercress Dip
I’m not sure when mayonnaise and cream became the most popular accompaniments to beautiful, healthy vegetables, but it’s gotta stop. Seriously, people. It’s intervention time. There needs to be an alternative! “Wait, what? There IS an alternative? What is it?!” Well, Bre’s-inner-voice, funny you should ask. Here’s a dressing where watercress and fresh herbs come together to make a flavor-packed, crisp and creamy party dip! Disclaimer: there is a bit of fat, but it just serves to kinda keep things together, make this look...
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