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

My homemade ricotta and my kick-ass roasted tomato, mozzarella and ricotta frittata.

I thought I was a genius when I first made pesto. Then I was CERTAIN I was a freaking genius after conquering an impossible marshmallow recipe. But I think I’ve outdone myself this time., cuz this time, I made CHEESE. FROM SCRATCH. And I barely had to do anything. Laziness + delicious gourmet cheese = the ultimate Leena recipe. But I’m no food genius. No, now, I know for sure: I am a food GOD. And modest to boot, bitches. Read the rest of this entry »

If this photo doesn’t make you salivate, something is wrong with you. And I don’t want to be your friend.

Not too long ago, I was reading an article on the least desirable cities to relocate to in the U.S., and my home town of Chicago was mentioned. It was listed in the section of the article that discussed how perception of a city could sometimes affect a person’s decision about relocating to it. After the article warned against making a decision based on a preconceived notion, it said, “Everybody thinks Chicago is Siberia when it comes to late fall and winter.” As if that was a preconceived, untrue notion. As if Chicago was in fact, a lovely place to visit in late fall and winter. As if the wind chill off of Lake Michigan that pelts against the face like icy daggers didn’t make people taking public transportation consider jumping in front of the bus or train at least twice a week. Read the rest of this entry »

Another year, another chili cook-off. It all started with a girl who had a dream…a dram to find a way she could enjoy chili, the same dish that repulsed her for years. And my, how it has grown. We’ve had as little as four entries and as many as 14, participants that are tried and true Americans, and people from other countries who thought kangaroo and Asian sausages would make a better chili ingredient. This year’s chili blog post won’t be quite as detailed as the previous year’s, but for good reason. I came down with a horrible flu two weeks before the party, and as close to an hour before chili time, I was still chugging the Dayquil and praying for enough strength to make it through the night. Thanks for a couple of bottles of Woodchuck cider and some strong ‘quil, I did survive. But the photos were clearly taken by someone under the influence of cold pills and alcohol(which may solve the mystery of why I thought my cat voted in the cook-off). But then again, I’ve never been one to care about silly things like warnings or drug overdoses. Blame the ‘quil. So here are the highlights: Evan was the first contestant to show up, but his chili got a little excited in the car about the big contest and had a small accident.

Pull-ups for chili pots, anyone?

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Warning: this may be the most adorable post that has ever graced this thing they call “the internets”. If you have an aversion to all things adorable or tend to spontaneously vomit at the sight of cuteness, go here, look at some food porn. And maybe buy me some chocolate. Picture a box crammed full of 6 week old kittens, fluffy puppies with bows, 7 baby chicks so fuzzy their feathers are almost translucent, photos of several adorable child stars including but not limited to Mary Kate Olson and Gary Coleman, and a few of those posters with the babies dressed as flowers…if you can handle that, then by all means, proceed. But you still might want to buy me some chocolate…maybe with bacon in it. I’m just saying. Are you ready for this?

Hunter, the cutest kid ever…and he likes to eat. Pretty much my dream man.

I warned you. Read the rest of this entry »

I?m a good home cook. Sometimes I?m a great home cook. But one thing always remains the same, no matter what I cook: I cook chunky. I?ve realized that since culinary school, all I do is cook what feels comforting to me. That usually includes some sort of Mexican or Italian food, with tons of cheese, and usually bacon fat. Any recipe can be improved upon with bacon fat. Too bad the same isn’t true about cholesterol. I need to cook healthier! all this cooking chunky is no good for me, and plus, I just found out that Australia does not have the same type of bacon that we eat, which really throws a kink in my recipe repertoire. And I?m sure my lovely ibs would appreciate a few healthy meals as well. I attempted to make a healthy meal last night. Cauliflower soup with parmesan and chives. Pretty good, actually, except for the stinkiness that cauliflower seems to get when you cook it. I?ve wanted to make more soups, and I?ve really wanted to play around with cauliflower, but the husband doesn’t like it so much. I served it with my special grilled cheese sandwich, which includes shredded chicken and a veggie-packed cream cheese. Yup, I took a healthy meal and made it chunky. I really need help. Last week I made herb and lemon marinated chicken breasts with smashed broccoli and garlic, and it was amazing! I?ve never really cooked with lemon in savory dishes before, but I am quickly becoming a huge fan. Thai food, with poultry, even Ethiopian is better with a little lemon. the broccoli was great too (thanks, Tyler Florence!), sort of mushy, with tons of garlic, and a little chicken stock and yoghurt, which makes me think it is not all that healthy but at least a step in the right direction. Oh yeah. And the recipe called for skin on, bone in breasts, but I did not have them, and you needed the extra fat from the skin to make the pan sauce. So I threw in a little bacon fat. Need I tell you how transcendent the sauce was? I could have made a gallon of the stuff and licked it off my arm for an entire month, THAT is how good it was. Sigh. I?ll miss you bacon fat. ~LTG

Chili as far as the eye can see.

I think my body is still set to Chicago weather, because despite the fact that it is a beautiful sunny 80 degrees (26 C) in Adelaide, I still feel like it should be snowing (which is funny, because I moved to Australia to get away from the snow). This is the first year of my entire life it has not snowed on my birthday or the Super Bowl, and while I love it, I find myself craving winter stews and a seat next to a roaring fire. What the hell is wrong with me? I have definitely been craving a nice big bowl of chili, American chili, and lots of it. So I did what any respectful food lover would do: I held a chili cook-off. I make one chili, I get nine other kinds of chili back?I like those odds. This actually took place in October, but thanks to my survey, got pushed back. But what better day to talk about chili than Super Bowl Sunday? Read the rest of this entry »