A few months ago, M and I spent a week in Playa del Carmen for a proper vacation, and it was a pretty fantastic experience. While my experience with all-inclusive resorts is limited, I definitely found the Hilton PDC to be closer in quality to Xcaret down the road versus the Hard Rock we stayed…
Veracruz-style shrimp cocktail with a blood orange twist.
As tempted as I am to turn this space into an exclusively cocktails-and-pasta blog considering I’ve been deriving a lot of comfort and inspiration from both of those categories in the last few months, I can and do make other things! Back in late August, we spent a week in Playa del Carmen in what…
A tomato-tequila martini with a hint of lime.
Savory cocktails in general have been having a moment for the last few years, and I know Molly Baz made a gin-based tomato martini earlier this summer, but I’ve been making similar cocktails for more than a few years by now, thanks to people more clever than me. After spending a week recently in Playa…
The Marconi Wireless and a tribute to Jaguar Sun in downtown Miami.
Because I do a lot of research ahead of the various trips I take, my Google suggestions will sometimes be from all over the place, quite literally. I was scrolling on my phone as I do a few days ago when I saw an article for all of the recent restaurant closings in Miami, and…
Linguini with cherry tomato and roasted garlic sauce.
To paraphrase David Lynch, it’s the back half of August and if you can believe it, it’s tomato season once again! My local Whole Foods has had a great selection of heirloom and cherry tomatoes on sale for the last couple of weeks, so when I saw this video from Not Another Cooking Show in…
Herb and black garlic grilled chicken salad with honey-mustard dressing.
When I shared the tomato tartare recipe a few months ago, I waxed rhapsodic about my new love of Savora Dijon mustard with its mix of 11 different spices, and so I’m always looking for different ways to use it. While doing some meal planning recently, I had the thought to pair my normal Tuesday…
Lavender-lemon mule, inspired by La Factoría.
As I mentioned in my post about recreating an approximation of La Factoría’s guanabana punch a few months ago, my first cocktail experience was enjoying one of their signature lavender mules while we walked around Old San Juan and how damn refreshing I found it. Naturally, I put it on the running list in my…
Prosciutto and pistachio crema pizza inspired by All’Antico Vinaio.
Two years ago when we made a visit to New York in the springtime, I was really excited that our hotel was so close to All’Antico Vinaio, the famed Florence sandwich shop that had just opened up its first storefront in New York, and happened to be a few blocks away from our favorite hotel…
Linguini with cherry tomato confit, pancetta, and oregano.
When we were in Miami a few weeks ago, we started our trip in the Brickell neighborhood because there’s a Hampton Inn there that’s both reasonable and very nice, and it also happens to be a few blocks away from a great little Neapolitan-style pizza place called Stanzione 87. I first tried them back in…
Tomato tartare with chili mayo revisited via José Andrés’s Vegetables Unleashed, sort of.
As someone who enjoys diving into a nice tartare at a restaurant (as well as making them at home), I’ll basically try anything once, including tomato tartare. This version was from a recipe I came across online, and while it was nice, I have to be honest and admit that I really haven’t made it…
The Manhattan [food] Project 