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

Sometimes, even when you love food, the package is more important than the contents of the box. This is one such case.

Mrow! Happy V-day, everyone!

Needless to say, I love my husband. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! ~LTG!

Nothing says Happy New Years like homemade smoked pork product.

NYE 2009– I came. I ate. I conquered. I’m still trying to get the perfect balance at my dinner parties, you know, the one were I don’t work too hard while the guests are here so I enjoy myself, but I also don’t drink so much that I forget the lamb is incinerating in the oven? Yeah, that would be nice. But generally speaking, as long as people have a good time and rave about my food (no pressure), I’m happy gal. Happy freaking New Years, people! Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a lucky gal. I got some kick-ass food related xmas presents this year, and I got to eat two Christmas dinners. You see, every Christmas I go to my parents’ house for our family feast (which is very stereotypical middle class American but still delicious), and later that night, I head over to my Italian friend’s house to mooch off of his family leftovers. Two incredibly different dinners. Too many calories to bother thinking about. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team. So. The presents. A honking big Le Creuset 7 1/4 qt from my amazing parents. It weighs as much as Shetland pony, and is probably big enough to deep fry one.

My new pride and joy. I think I’ll call her Wanda.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is how we roll, holiday style.

For our first Christmas together as a married couple, my husband and I spent it in Australia alone, away from both of our families and friends. While we missed our family traditions, we were surprised at how much we enjoyed the stress-free holiday. I’m sure the 80 degree weather helped a bit too. We agreed to spend at least one night together during the holidays focusing on relaxing and eating delicious food, so we had our own celebration on Christmas Eve this year. According to my mom (whose house I usually sleep at on Christmas Eve), that is not allowed to happen until I have children. Clearly, she was not aware of the beautiful steaks I had. And the fact that I hate sharing. Read the rest of this entry »

Leena, Adam and Nugget hope your holiday season is full of presents and delicious food.

If Santa doesn’t swing by my apartment this year, it is probably because in the short time it took him to park his sleigh and get his Venti Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks, it was buried under several alternating layers of snow and ice, along with a few homeless people (hey, you can’t just leave presents around and NOT expect a few homeless people). Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Chrismahannakwanakuh! The holidays are one of the most kick ass times of year. Nothing beats a holiday where it is mandatory to get presents and over-indulge in heavy food. Sure, the food binges mess with my ibs (gastrointestinal issues be damned!), but I’m like Oprah in a donut shop. Interesting busy holiday this year…jet-setted down to Georgia to spend time with the husband’s fam before we leave the country. Good time, cute nieces, little sleep, food was so-so (although the sweet potato pie rocked my world a little). But then it was the exact opposite when we got back to Chicago Christmas night. Went to a friend’s house, ate a ton of homemade AMAZING Italian food and wine, and caught up with old friends. This spread is what I look forward to all year long! sure, the good company helps, but who could pass up freshly toasted garlic bread with bruschetta, spicy and plump Italian sausages served with potatoes and spinach that were covered in lovely sausage dripping nummies, prime rib, a giant pan of lasagna bursting with ricotta, and of course, a dish with extra gravy. That was only half of it, and then there was a dessert table…seriously, they should start charging admission…wait, no, bad idea. They should start charging people other than me admission. Then came Christmas with my family, a laid-back, present-filled affair. The best part was that my mom is finally taking cooking advice from me! She struggled at first…I had to be sneaky and add ingredients when she wasn’t looking. But she trusts me a little more now, and roasted a juicy whole chicken with thyme, rosemary, garlic and lemon. Nice and light after a weekend of heaviness! My brother gave me a copy of our favorite movie from childhood- Ewoks Battle for Endor. Oh, you know you’re jealous. The only reason I liked it as a kid? They make pies in it–tons of them. And there is this little thing, a creature of some sort that looks like half dog half monkey, and his name is Teek. He’d eat the pies and when asked if they were good, say “meh meh!” and he said it so enthusiastic and whole-heartedly, I would laugh my butt off. My brother also made a shirt of Teek for me that says, “Teek Likes It!” Laughed for hours at that one. Meh meh. Heh. Mmmm, pies… ~LTG

It’s quite simple, really. Australia: Winter USA: Summer After reading all those wonderful American food blogs, I started to get cravings for summer produce like berries. And look where that got me.

It?s just not fair. Australia is supposed to warm all year long…right? Sigh. ~LTG

And it took me thirty minutes to chop the damn thing up. It seriously had to weigh like, 4 pounds. Read the rest of this entry »

You may remember my friends Amy and Breyers from my last food porn blog. They are good people, and they love good food and me. In another attempt to woo me back home and cure some of my homesickness, they sent me the ultimate pictures of the infamous Southport burger. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of days ago, a fellow blogger Sam put up a post about what was in her fridge unedited, and asked others to do the same. So another blogger I like, MadEater, did the same. Here’s the thing about their two fridges…they all had good food in it. Good, gourmet, local food. Mine? Eh…well, they did ask for an UNEDITED version, and sadly, this is mine. Not a whole lot of food because I haven’t had much time to shop this week. There is a lovely apple rhubarb cobbler…that my friend made and kindly left with me. The leftover guacamole and enchiladas from Cinco de Mayo are a little exciting, along with the half used can of chipotle peppers my mom sent me for Easter (Australia does not do Mexican food). And then there are the four jars of mustard I bought in a desperate attempt to find one similar to good old American mustard…no luck. Oh, and my 24 oz bottle of Frank’s Red Hot I smuggled from the States on our way over here. And a bottle of Two Hands Moscato (it’s from a local winery) and about 6 jars of jam from Beerenberg in Hahndorf. And that’s it. It’s amazing how much a fridge could tell about a person. It really shows the small amount of time I devote to cooking these days, even though I do try to cook every night. My new job, the endless reading and writing for my masters in gastronomy…it’s sad. I have had to give up a lot to pursue my love of food writing and good cooking is one of those things. It also shows my struggle to merge my old food self with my new Australian one. But deep down, I just wish my fridge was filled with a crap ton of champagne and local food like Sam’s! Ah well, at least I have something to strive for… ~LTG

As my friend Amy said, prepare yourself. It?s about to get hot in here.

But by all means, please, keep your clothes on. (Anyone else get that Nelly reference? No? Seriously? Am I that dorky?) Read the rest of this entry »