Monday, August 12, 2013

Seared Scallops, Good Dog Bar and Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA


We've all seen would-be world-class chef's royally screw up the scallops on those competitive cooking shows. Whenever I see Scallops on the menu I can hear that combative scottish-brit voice shouting "RAW!!!!!" or "RUBBER!!!!!" - that said- it is easy to mess up scallops- mere seconds are the difference between raw, overcooked, and just right. It takes a deft hand to evade that mad Chef's wrath...

Maple Bacon Candy


Sometimes a picture tells you all you need to know. Melville's hand poured Maple Bacon Savory Lollipop was a tasty treat brought to me by a relative from parts unknown. The candy has a good, solid maple flavor, and is studded with actual bacon bits. There's just no way to go wrong with that.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms


My Sicilian grandmother always used to make a big deal about getting a hold of fresh squash blossoms (usually Zucchini), breading and frying them. Often they would be stuffed with something special such as cream cheese as well, but they were an interesting snack even without the stuffing. This story starts with the area of my yeard where I intended to put up a garden this season. Early on, a stray plant that looked vaguely squash-like sprouted out of nowhere, so I let it grow just to see what it would become. A few weeks later, my vegetable garden was out of the question- the mystery plant was a pumpkin plant, and it took over basically my entire proposed garden area. The good news is that the plant is now so big, I can pick the flowers at will without stopping the plant from producing plenty of pumpkins. I've never fried pumpkin blossoms before, but the idea works just as well for just about any squash or gourd flowers.