2009 December | Leena Eats

Leena Eats: Lula Cafe with my food twin

Bobby, looking pissy his cocktail has yet to arrive, and me blissful with my hot cider.

When I first arrived home from Australia, I had one thing on my mind: brunch at my favorite restaurant in Chicago with my best pal and food twin, Bobby. You might remember it from this post. I recently moved from Chicago to California, and I knew I needed a repeat. Because when you are leaving a town that you grew up in on a quite permanent basis, one needs a great meal with a food twin. Enter Bobby (Bobert, Bobby Magoo, etc.) and Lula Cafe’s Monday night Farm House dinner. Hot damn, some bitches gonna be eating a storm up in HERE! Read the rest of this entry »

December 28th, 2009
Posted in Chicago, Leena Eats | 2 Comments »

Leena’s Holiday Recipe Roundup!!!

The holidays: a great excuse to bake a crap ton and the eat it all.

Happy holidays, everyone! I thought you might enjoy a listing of all my holiday-appropriate recipes, in case you are in need of a last minute kick-ass recipe or want to bring a dessert to a family function that would kick Grandma’s jello mold in the wiggly ass. Enjoy and happy holidays! Read the rest of this entry »

December 23rd, 2009
Posted in Holidays, Leena Cooks | Comments Off

Leena Cooks: Thai Shrimp Curry w/ CSA produce!

The remains of a most delicious Thai shrimp curry.

I know, I know. I am just as bummed about the death of Michael Jackson as all of you are. The media is already commenting on how much money he left, the custody of his children, but I believe there are more pressing matters at hand. Like wtf ever happened to Bubbles the Chimp?! Who gets custody of that little bundle of diaper-wearing, banana-eating joy? It is almost too much to take. So what better way to drown my celebrity death sorrows than a spicy curry dish? I really wish I would have taken a proper photo of this curry, because hot damn if it isn’t the best new dish I’ve made in my kitchen in a year. A gigantic, cruise-ship sized thank you goes out to my two gastro gal pals, Jackie (who created the recipe) and Cari (who posted about it on her blog so I could steal the recipe!). The ingredients require a bit of searching on your part, especially if you don’t live near a decent Asian store, but it is totally worth the trouble to create this spicy, sweet, sour dish of happiness. And no, this is not an Indian curry, but a Thai curry. Same general region of the world, different type of brown people, completely different dish. And if you wear a white glove while making it, MJ will be smiling down upon you. Be sure to ask him wtf he did with Bubbles. Read the rest of this entry »

December 22nd, 2009
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | 8 Comments »

Leena Cooks Holiday Sweets: Red Wine Caramel Apple Tarte Tatin

**Note-this is a repost from forever and a day ago, but I really feel like this is a great holiday recipe, especially the red wine caramel sauce. Enjoy!**** I have a problem…

…and it?s in the form of pastry goodness. Seriously, somebody needs to do an intervention or something, because I am stress bunny armed with a whisk and a silpat, and I CAN?T STOP…baking. This time, it was a red wine caramel apple tartan with thyme from sexy man Tyler Florence?s book, Real Kitchen. How fun is this?basically an upside down apple tart tatin Now I will admit, I have been cooking a lot from Tyler Florence. But I?m am living Australia with pretty much three cookbooks, two of which are Tyler?s. Plus, he rocks. Read the rest of this entry »

December 22nd, 2009
Posted in Leena Bakes, Pastries | Comments Off

Leena Cooks Holiday Sweets: Cook’s Illustrated’s Chocolate Chip Cookies Reinvented

Cook’s Illustrated chocolate chip cookies reinvented. I ate them. A lot.

***Note-This is a repost from earlier this year. I thought you might enjoy having a few of my favorite holiday sweet recipes. Enjoy!*** This has to be one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes for several reasons. 1. Using browned butter instead of creaming butter and sugar together makes this a quick recipe. Read the rest of this entry »

December 21st, 2009
Posted in Cookies, Leena Bakes | 4 Comments »

Leena Cooks Holiday Sweets: Salted Caramels

***NOTE-This is a repost so I can share with you some of my favorite holiday sweet recipes. Enjoy!***

Much like my language after a few beers, these caramels are a bit salty.

I love salty and sweet things. Cheese and caramel popcorn. Chocolate and pretzels. Me after a few drinks. And of course, caramel and salt, the latest food combination that is sweeping the nation. I tried making salted caramels before using this recipe from Ina Garten on Food Network, and I ended up with a caramel sauce, not a proper chewy candy. This is partly the recipe’s fault because the ratios were a bit off. Okay, so TECHNICALLY I don’t have a candy thermometer, and TECHNICALLY you need one to make candy like chewy caramels. But TECHNICALLY, you can kiss my ass because I know that (at least when it comes to caramels), you can use the cold water test and be just as successful with your candy making. And isn’t it to so very old school to do that? To cook by sight instead of by technology? I won’t always have a thermometer on me, but I will always have my brain…unless the cyborg aliens with cowboy hats take it. Then, I’m just plain old fashioned screwed. Read the rest of this entry »

December 21st, 2009
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | Comments Off

Gastro Friday Giveaway & Review: Fudgeluscious!!!

Gourmet fudge through the mail? Why the hell not?!

Happy Gastro Friday, everyone! I am really excited this week, because I had the pleasure of reviewing the company Fudgeluscious, and they were kind enough to sponsor a giveaway! Their kind owner, Lina (who also has a kick-ass name), sent me 6 squares of the deliciousness to try. Full disclosure: I did not pay for these–but if you know my food review policy, you know this is not an issue. Leena only rocks out REAL reviews. If you want to gift a loved one this season with a make your own fudge-stuffed oreo kit, check out the review and details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

December 21st, 2009
Posted in Gastro Fridays, The Gastronomical Leena | 152 Comments »

Leena Eats: JJC Culinary School

My alma mater, Joliet Junior College Culinary school.

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of dining in my old culinary school’s cafe with the head of the program, Chef Mike McGreal. My old culinary school is small, but thriving and I was stoked to get a chance to taste all the goods. First, and most important: the food.

Carrot and apple soup with dried apple slice @ JJC Culinary School Cafe.

Read the rest of this entry »

December 16th, 2009
Posted in Illinois, Leena Eats | 4 Comments »

Leena Cooks Holiday Sweets: Butternut Squash Oatmeal Scotchies

My butternut squash oatmeal butterscotch cookies. An all-around kick-ass cookie.

Note**This is a repost from last year. I thought you might enjoy checking out one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes!*** Oatmeal scotchies have to be my favorite cookies ever. The flavor of the plain oatmeal with the butterscotch chips turns out a buttery, rich cookie that is slightly soft and crisp around the edges. I wanted to come up with a cookie recipe that used a seasonal vegetable last year for my holiday cookie podcast with Claire, and this is what I came up with. Let me know what you think! OH, and this dough freezes well so you can eat it later! Read the rest of this entry »

December 15th, 2009
Posted in Cookies, Leena Bakes | 2 Comments »

Leena Cooks: A killer butternut squash soup w/ rye crumbs

Moving across the country was not as easy as moving across the world. When we moved to Australia a few years back, we moved out of our apartment and packed up our entire life in a day (and did it badly). We had a giant party with tons of food and drinking and friends, and there was a general feeling of happiness and excitement, perhaps because this move had a definite end date.

This time, there was the never-ending chore of packing, and considering I packed up my entire kitchen AND all of my knives first, clearly this is not something I excel at. My husband and I had graduated from playing binge drinking games to hosting dinner parties, so a giant going away party wasn’t on the agenda. We were overwhlemed at the amount of people we wanted to see before we moved and trying to fit it into our last few weeks. We realized how many good friends we were leaving, and sadly, parted ways with a few as well.

And the entire time, this bitch was craving some homecooking but had no kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »

December 11th, 2009
Posted in Leena Cooks, Soup/Salad | 2 Comments »

Leena Eats: Nightwood, Lula Cafe’s kick-ass little brother (Chicago)

Nightwood’s raclette with roasted vegetables. If melted cheese and homemade bread doesn’t get you excited, well, that just makes me cry. And eat your portion.

Being the gastronomic slut that I am, restaurants with unbelievably delicious food in a comfortable atmosphere are the peanut butter to my jelly, the Vegemite to my butter-schmeared toast. If you’ve had the pleasure to dine at Blackbird in Chicago’s West Loop or Lula Cafe in the Logan Square hood, you know what I mean. These restaurants are everything I never knew I needed and more. After eating there, you sort of want to spoon with the restaurant to thank it for such an awesome time. Yeah. THAT good. Read the rest of this entry »

December 10th, 2009
Posted in Chicago, Leena Eats | Comments Off

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad circa the 1970s. We called this his “hair era”, because, you know, he had hair.

I would like to wish a happy birthday to best father I know, my dad Devendra. To the only man I know that can make a mean cup of chai and run an entire city in the blink of an eye. He is a man who stands up for what he believes in, and truly a person I look up to. I love you, Dad! ~LTG!

December 9th, 2009
Posted in Family, Leena Lives Life | Comments Off

Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy