Go make yourself a dang quesadilla!

Inspired by the TGIFriday's menu I looked at to write yesterday's column, I took that expensive, over-salted steak from the fancy Boston restaurant and made it into quesadillas. It was good, but don't go buying yourself an expensive, over-salted steak to recreate the results....

Maybe I should have had the Parmesan Encrusted Silician Quesdillas

One of the benefits of the urban life is the opportunity to go to really nice restaurants. I went last night with the man, to a place that shall remain nameless but is well known in Boston. Here's the summary:
Drinks: 10.
Apps: Clams Casino: 10
Entree: Steaks: 5 good steak, salt shaker must have fallen into pan in kitchen
Service: 2, but who's fault it is is unsure

The salads came with the apps. The entrees came when I was still eating salad. The entrees came out of the kitchen 10 min. previous to that and had been sitting at the wait station during that time and so were lukewarm. Wine glass cleared before empty.

This, in the scheme of things, is not a bad problem to have. I realize that. But if you're paying hard earn scratch (and a good amount of it) for dinner, is it too much to ask to have service considerably better than your local TGIFridays? Who, I would guess, sends those fried green beans out before the Alfredo-crusted-cajun-blue cheese steak tip with crab entree.

Any thoughts?

(want to know which restaurant?)

You can get a good look at a T-Bone...

I read "Julie and Julia" last year, and was thinking about undertaking a similar project. For those unfamiliar, the basic concept is taking a cookbook and making every single thing in it. I'm not ready for Julia Childs, but I was considering the book "Bones" by Jennifer McLagan. It's pretty fascinating if you grew up around hunters and are not afraid of some serious meat. Hard core stuff, like pigs feet and calves liver, but that's what made it an interesting challenge. I wasn't planning on cooking from it every day ( I don't need to get the Gout), but maybe once a week would work. I'm here to tell you though, one recipe and I'm not sure this is the book I want to use. I tried to make an Oxtail stew, and yes, oxtail is just what you think it is. I imagined a super rich, beefy broth for cheap that I could later serve to friends and have them swooning at the delicious dish. "What is it?" they'd say. "I must have the recipe! Oxtail? You don't say!"

What I got was 2 days of prep and cooking producing a 1/2 cup of fatty, stringy beef.

Maybe I went wrong somewhere, but I think I'll look for another cookbook to conquer. Any suggestions?

p.s: Our title comes from last night's viewing of "Tommy Boy"- if you don't recognize how it ties into the theme, get the full quote here.

Why leave the house?

Today we start a new feature. Based on the trend (for better or worse) or making your home so great you never want to go out for anything (video games, netflix, etc.), we introduce: MYO Mondays. "MYO" is a term our mother would throw out when she was sick of cooking (and probably sick of us). We would ask "what's for dinner?", we'd get "It's MYO night".

Make Your Own, in case you haven't caught on, is an exploration of trying to recreate at home something you usually just go out and buy. This is not only trendy, but Homespun Urban: when you lived in a place where you couldn't go out and buy it at the corner bodega, you had to MYO. Now that you're urban fabulous, you can still impress yourself and friends with your skills. (And if you've seen "I Am Legend", you know that you just might need these skills in the future. In case you're immune from the zombies. Never mind. Go see it.)

Our first project: Pancakes.

I know you probably don't go and buy pancakes by the pound at the deli, but be honest: how many of us have that mix box in the cupboard? Mark Bittman says it best in his How to Cook Everything: "Americans must have been seriously isolated from the kitchen to ever let pancake mix get a foothold in the market, for it's ridiculously easy to make." (He says something like that- I'm quoting from memory.) He's right though: I made it this weekend, and here's the effort it took me:
1. melt butter in microwave.
2. put flour in bowl.
3. add baking powder, salt and egg.
4. mix with milk.
5. make pancakes.

I didn't time it, but my estimate was about 2 min., start to finish. Were they better than Bisquick? Maybe, maybe not. Was it just as easy? Yes. And now if you keep staples in your kitchen, you'll never have to run out in a snowstorm for that familiar yellow box. Sorry, General Mills. And don't get me started on that "shake and pour" stuff.

2008- Homespun is the new Urban!

Well, we're back.


It's been a long time, but we have two good reasons, and here they are:


Emily's Reason:
Kate's Reason:


We'd like to welcome to the Homespun Urban family little Campbell, born to Kate on Nov. 10th, and little Master of Music degree, born to Emily at the end of December. Aren't they cute?

And now back to the Homespun Living. Our pledge for 2008: more blog! more blog! To our 6 readers (including our Mom), we know you'll be pleased.

Get Crafty-Or Just Buy It

Yes, crafting is (and has been) back to hip for some time. What if you've a) become so entranced that you have more extras of your creations than friends and family can handle or b) are entranced by the idea but too hapless and overscheduled to make something right now and you have several birthdays and the holidays looming? You can stop by Etsy, a place where you buy and sell cool handmade stuff. Bags, kids' stuff, clothes, trinkets, arty accessories, all updated all day long as people post their newest treasures. Some offer you the chance to customize the fabric or style, for a one-of-a-kind look that may prompt people to ask, "Did you make that?" "Well, I made it possible..."

Ja, Oktoberfest

Why not reach for a theme that's fun and easy and create your own Biergarten this month? A few kegs, some carb-heavy dishes, a bit of stein racing in the backyard, all set to the strains of peppy polka and, of course "The Chicken Dance." Lederhosen optional but very appreciated. Anyone out there throwing it down German-style this fall?

Ice cream season isn't over...

...at least, it won't be when you try this. I saw this at the very cool Star Provisions and finally tried it yesterday: vanilla soft-serve ice cream topped with olive oil (small drizzle) and sea salt (a sprinkle.)

Whoa. Buttery, salty-sweet goodness and the feeling of trying something that the less adventurous would dismiss with a "gross" and a grimace. Easy enough to replicate at home also...I'd bring home the soft serve and garnish since I lack the patience to fire up the ice cream maker when a craving strikes.

Polish pleasure

To piggy-back on the last post (or chicken-back, as the case may be),roast chicken is a wondrous thing. Not only cheap and tasty, but bones for stock and soup the next day. Plus, it's getting very close to that time of year (in the North) when you don't mind turning on the oven for an hour or so.
I read an article in Food and Wine about comfort foods by the Chicago wunder-chef Grant Achatz where he served Roast chicken with homemade pierogies (polish potato dumplings). I made them, and they are great. Plus it solves the "should we have potatoes or pasta?" dilemma. Try this link for the recipe: www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mustardy-potato-pierogies

Tasty Stories

I'll admit, my slender cookbook collection doesn't get nearly the use of the righteously food-spattered library that belongs to my sister. But I do like to read them...the ones that have really good stories instead of an overload of glossy pictures (those can get depressing.) I just heard about this one that has just become available in the US: a British hit called ROAST CHICKEN AND OTHER STORIES. Head Butler quoted the following passage, which made me drool a little even though I am sitting in Florida in the exact opposite of this kind of weather:

My mother makes really good potato cakes. They are sort of misshapen, soft, gooey, and floury. They are at their best eaten on a Sunday afternoon, melting in front of the fire in their pool of butter. It should be winter, about 5 PM, dark outside, and a Marx Brothers film has just finished on the television.

Maybe it's just that butter. What little nugget of a setting could you give your favorite recipe? Bring 'em on!