by Emily
Straight from Japan to Seattle: green tea flavored Kit Kat bars.
Very green, very sweet, very… herbal? And yes, they were delicious. Or as they’d say in Japan, oishii desu ne!
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Emily
by Emily
Lots of wine, lots of friends, lots of food… what can be better than a big dinner party? Being the convivial hostess that I am, I’m constantly gathering friends together for festive meals. I love experimenting with new dishes and ingredients, but sometimes I’m looking for a reliable go-to recipe — especially when I’ve gotten a bit ambitious with my guest count. In scenarios like this, I have an easy pasta recipe I’ve perfected over the years that guarantees dinner party success. Every time I make this I receive nothing but rave reviews. Not trying to brag, y’all, I’m just being honest.
If you’re having a load of guests over for the holiday season, give yourself a break and make a gigantic pot of this rigatoni with gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s simple and quick to put together, but the flavor is richly layered, and the vibrant colors of the tomatoes and basil lend a lively aesthetic to the dish.
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by Emily
Spokane is the second largest city in the state of Washington, yet feels worlds away from Seattle. It is much smaller and less cosmopolitan (and I mean that in the nicest way possible). While Spokane might not be teeming with trendy sushi restaurants and farm-to-table concepts, they do have some memorable food finds. For instance, let’s talk about Frank’s Diner. Located in an old traincar and founded in 1931, Frank’s has been churning out huge breakfasts for much longer than I’ve been eating my way through God’s green earth. I expected large portions and a down-home atmosphere, but what I did not expect was this:
MEATLOAF eggs benedict. Country biscuit topped with sage meatloaf, a large poached egg, and tons of rich brown gravy. Please note that this is a half order. I figured the full-size dish would kill me. Not only was this crazy enough that I had to order the dish, it was also delicious. The meatloaf was moist (ugh, I hate that word), fragrant and flavorful, very herby, and not greasy. As for the biscuit, it was the perfect combination of sturdy — it could hold its own against the heavy egg and abundance of gravy — but at the same time, light and crumbly.
The problem with many eggs benedicts, and poached eggs in general, is that restaurants overpoach their eggs! There is no worse travesty than hopefully cutting into a yolk, anticipation rising, only to find that it has been carelessly cooked through. Womp womp. So how did Frank’s fare?
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by Emily
Finally, for those of you sick of just drinking your cocktails (so cliché), I have discovered yet another way to shove booze into your bodies!
My friend Dayna and I were spending a leisurely Saturday afternoon perusing a giant liquor store (you know, just the normal weekend activities) when we stumbled upon something that simultaneously delighted and horrified us: Whipped Lightning, aka whipahol, aka whipped cream alcohol! To be clear, I’m not talking about whipped cream flavored vodka (although, full disclosure, I have treated myself to that before and it is more delicious than I would like to admit). No, this was honest-to-god whipped cream infused with booze. To be more specific, as the can informs us, infused with “grain neutral spirits with natural and artificial flavors and artificial colors.” Oh good, grain alcohol and artificial colors, the cornerstones of any healthy diet.
Why the delight and horror? Well, obviously alcoholic whipped cream is hilarious. But also, scary, because it could be a slippery slope. The world doesn’t really need to make it more convenient for us to slip some booze into our everyday activities. Regardless, we decided the good outweighed the bad, so we selected our flavor (a simple “spiced vanilla” seemed like the safest bet) and trotted on home to spend some time with our new friend.
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