Oh hey. It's Tuesday! And while I am certainly not limiting my taco consumption to just this one day-- it is pretty clear I have enough taco recipes to eat only my favorite non-emoji represented delicacy every day for a long time-- this blog isn't All Among Tacos, am I right?

I'm currently in the middle of making a batch of these for dinner to eat over some salad, but last time I made these bad boys was for an afternoon get together and sports-watching at our place. They were gone in minutes, and I couldn't blame anyone. These highly addictive little balls of spicy goodness are exactly what you want for a party spread.

Or a Thursday night dinner, apparently.

I'll keep this short as I have about five more minutes until my latest batch of meatballs should come out of the oven, and I'm getting pretty hungry looking at these photos!

Hello!

I'll spare you a long story about this chicken. You should just skip to the recipe and photos below and know you're going to behold some of this green glory sometime soon. If you're one of those people that think cilantro tastes like soap, this is probably not your kinda thing. However, I will say this would probably be good with basil or parsley instead.

But really? Cilantro is delicious.
The dress was gold and white.
There are some things that are just facts.

I've made this chicken a couple times, most recently when Matt's brother was in town for a visit. He kept eating it cold, right out of the fridge, with his bare hands for days to follow; mumbling "best chicken of my life," as he chewed. So, this is for Jimmy.

Don't you want to eat cold chicken with your fingers like Jimmy?
Or maybe these tacos.




You know you do.

We were in Boston last weekend.
My cousin's wedding was a great reason for a quick trip back east. The event itself was gorgeous, and seeing all our friends and family was a wonderful bonus. The only thing that wasn't wonderful, of course, was the weather.
While it didn't snow while we were in town, and even though I was all too aware of what we were in for, the amount of god damn snow on the ground was positively astounding.

Don't get me wrong. I miss you all terribly.
But I am so glad we moved.

In honor of our visit to the arctic northeast tundra, I wanted to pull out and publish a lost file, if you will. I made this, photographed it, tested it, and wrote a great recipe for it right before we left Boston for LA last year.

But then we moved. Then it was hot. And then I didn't write about anything, let alone seasonally inappropriate soup.

But while doing inventory on photos and posts and creating a calendar, I realized I didn't want to lose this guy. So I decided I wouldn't. I hope it's starting to finally get toward Spring, Boston. I'm sending you all the sunshine I can.

Can I say Super Bowl on here? Am I going to get sued by the NFL? I'm sure this blog is totally on their radar. If so-- I meant Superb Owl instead.

Anyway. We've already established I'm not totally into football (owls, however, are a different story), but this weekend I'll make an exception and "watch" the game-- mostly for the beer, snacks, and commercials. In that order.

In addition to the pork taquitos we talked about yesterday, these wings would make a great dish to lay out with your game day spread-- and so much more exciting than wings drenched in buffalo sauce. They're super simple and pretty hands off-- ideal for a day when you're probably trying to make multiple snacks for lots of people. These are also baked, not fried, yet still incredibly crispy and perhaps a touch more "healthy?" Maybe?

Whatever. Pretty sure Sunday isn't about eating right. Also, it's just about February, so you should have completely abandoned that whole "eat better" New Year's Resolution by now. If not-- do so on Sunday. Charge into that Super Bowl spread with complete reckless abandon. Also, get drunk.

It's the American way.

As per usual, I'm here today to bitch about the weather.

While I am somewhat excited by the concept of a white Christmas, it's still a touch too early into "winter" for this much snow to be dropping from the sky. This form of precipitation-- while lovely as it's happening-- requires shoveling, and fucks up my shoes and commute. After a few days, it's dirty and melted and my neighborhood looks bleak and sad.
I kind of hate snow.

But, at the same time, I must acknowledge there's something magical about snow illuminated by Christmas lights. And using a snowy evening as an excuse to eat a bowl of something hearty and hot is so enjoyable. This is what I'll be feasting on tonight-- apparently I had some brilliant foresight the other day that I wouldn't want to cook much this week. And that I'd be cold.

Which, right now-- I don't. And I am.
Way to go, me.

Well, folks. It's the end of March.
And while this month kind of came in like a lion and then turned into a bitter bitch and now is perhaps maybe exiting like a little lamb... I am starting to feel confident Spring is finally here.
I mean, it has to be. Right?
What's the worst that could happen after this?

Well. Just incase. Maybe fire up a batch of this to keep you warm.
It's worth every second of time and ounce of effort. I swear.

So.
I'm just going to say it.
Spring needs to hurry the fuck up already.

The blizzard that was so charmingly deemed Nemo by the Weather Channel's marketing department was fun for a bit; we got snowed in and we built a beer igloo and we got drunk and we ate snacks. But now, a week and a half later, as I still have to walk in the middle of the goddamn street on my way to the train in places where sidewalks haven't been shoveled, I have decided I am officially over it. Apparently more snow is coming this weekend, but I'll remain blissfully defiant until I am trapped in my house again.

The countdown to St Patrick's Day is on, the snow will melt, this too shall pass.

I act like I haven't spent the past twenty-eight years in the northeast and that this absolute contempt for the cold is warranted; but of course I know it is not. This happens annually (with the exception of last winter, it seems), and I find the best remedy for the winter blues is to (apparently) aggressively bitch about it on the internet, and make a lot of food.

These sliders were a slow cooked endeavor on a Sunday, while we hung around and cleaned and drank the other beers in the variety pack. The beer used in this recipe call be found in Magic Hat's Spring variety pack, which also features Pistil - their highly drinkable Spring seasonal- and their Rye IPA, which Fazekas adores. I am obviously a Magic Hat lover, so having eleven left over beers when I only "needed" one Saint Saltan to braise some chicken was just a "coincidence".

Total coincidence.

Well.
It's that time of year, again, friends.
When you can finally turn the oven on and not loathe every second in your kitchen.
When the thought of a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes sounds ideal.
When cooking becomes so enjoyable, you find yourself trying to reinvent the wheel with seasonal ingredients just for the hell of it.

That's what I did here-- I'd had chicken piccata a week or so prior while at one of my favorite restaurants (our neighborhood haunt, if you will), and was taken aback by just how good it was (224 nails it, also). There, served with mashed potatoes and some sautéed spinach, got me immediately thinking of variations I could try.

And since I put kale in just about everything (whaaat?!), that was the next logical leap. The giant spaghetti squash I'd bought in a fit of autumn produce purchasing the weekend before seemed like it would compliment things nicely (it did). And luckily, I had capers on hand (from that morning I simply had to have lox). This was easy, relatively quick, and absolutely delicious.

For once, I had dinner on the table before 8PM; and with the sun starting to set a little sooner, that made all the difference.

Back when I was still figuring out what the heck to do with this here blogspace, and before I was really "into" cooking, beer can chicken was something that I felt I could cook perfectly and instruct others on. So, for my first ever food post, this was what I focused on.

I just re-read that entry, back when I was living in Medford years ago. And though the pictures were taken with a shitty Blackberry (or perhaps even the LG Envy 2. Or the Palm Pre. I went through a lot of mediocre phones in the past few years) and the directions are nowhere near the specificity I would try to provide now; I still did a pretty good job of explaining probably the easiest chicken preparation out there.

So now, let's bring this back to present day with a prettier picture and some suggestions on execution. Truth be told, like that first entry, there isn't much of a recipe here. But there is a "right" way to combine a can of beer and a chicken. And here it is.

I am currently writing this entry poolside in Texas, as I am down here all week for the annual tech/music/film festival mecca known as South By Southwest. And while pulled pork nachos and other Texan culinary delights are abound down here, I still have some cooking endeavors I'd stored up to share. So rather than waste the afternoon playing Draw Something (newest app obsession!) I figure share, I must.

I made this soup a few weeks ago (and consequently brought it to work for lunch and ate it for days to follow), but even though soup is usually considered cold-weather fare, I think this light, bright and delicious number is perfect for spring time. And, after chatting with my friends back home and discovering it is currently seventy degrees out in Boston, it seems the warmer weather is certainly upon us.

Dill is one of my favorite herbs, despite it not being quite as versatile as some others. I had purchased a bunch for the Tzatziki-like-sauce I made with some Greek-inspired turkey meatballs, and didn't want to waste the rest. After reviewing the contents of my fridge and pantry, this soup was a no-brainer.

So we've noted in the past my aversion to ground beef.
But, the more into cooking I get, the less inclined I seem to be to murmur "ewww," in the grocery store whilst selecting ground sirloin.
Nonetheless, I still prefer ground turkey in some dishes. And while I certainly cannot boast the healthiest of lifestyles, I do tend to eat in a somewhat balanced fashion during the week (until Friday afternoon, usually, when I deem approximately fourteen beers between 3PM and midnight my "dinner"). These made for a delicious dinner, and a great light lunch stuffed in a pita with greens the following day.

I've always loved turkey meatballs, and I usually like to add some sort of crumbled cheese and veggies of some persuasion (chopped spinach is always a good call). These, I constructed from lean ground turkey and diced bell peppers, and stuffed with feta cheese in the center. Served with some dill-yogurt sauce and cous cous, they were met with rave reviews.