brian boyer

Sun gold tomatoes ripening in my garden

Market inspiration

Kristen blogged about the fabulous meal we cooked up a few weeks back.  The early summer veg were perfect: candy-sweet sun gold tomatoes, delicate squash blossoms, cosmic purple carrots and dragon’s tongue beans!  Deelish!!

Salad of Petite Summer Tomatoes with Vine-Ripe Tomato Sorbet

A day of cooking from The French Laundry Cookbook

For 14 hours this weekend, Jesse and I channeled Thomas Keller — from an 8 a.m. trip to the Green City Market, to blueberry motherfucking soup after midnight. Hell yeah.

Check out my little photo documentary of our French Laundry madness.  For future reference, these recipes are spectacular, but completely ridiculous to make at home.  If you’ve got the time, go for it — but for most folks, this is a coffee table cookbook.

I’m pretty sure that I have one of the only food-smudged copies in existence 

boxes of raspberries by kthread

Green City Market

If you haven’t had the pleasure, the Green City Market is Chicago’s superfantastic local and sustainable farmers market.  It’s open Wednesday and Satuday mornings in Lincoln Park, near the zoo.

Be sure to get there early!  If you’re there at 7 or 8 a.m., you’ll beat the crowds and get your hands on the best fruits and veg.  Plus, you’ll get to see all the restaurant chefs browsing the bounty (and buying all the good stuff!).

 
cheese tamale by food_in_mouth

From In Search of the Tamale Guy, by Elizabeth Winkowski:

“Tamales! Tamales!” A quiet, persistent cry cuts through the din at the Rainbo Club early the next Saturday night. Behind the beer taps, a stage with ornate, white, polished-wood columns and a black velvet curtain suggest the bar’s former glory as a strip club — and favorite haunt of Nelson Algren.

I love Chicago.

Gladys Knight and Ron Winan’s Chicken & Waffles in Atlanta, Georgia.

Deeeelish.

London pics!

One of my pics from my travels in Michigan is on Slashfood today! Neat!

The plums are from Bargy’s Farm Market in Kewadin, Michigan.

The bowl was made by a good friend and excellent potter, Emily Murphy.

Click the pic for more food porn.

Thanks Marisa!

finally got around to posting my other nola pics.

so… chris turned a gorgeous, 205lb, berkshire piggy into pork chops, and i got to watch. not for the faint of heart, but deliciously educational.

something i whipped up last night… i find that necessity being the mother of invention is especially true in cooking…

apricot raspberry goat cheese spread:
one handful chopped up dried apricots (i used the tasty slab apricots from trader joe’s…)
one spoonful raspberry jam
goat cheese
freshly ground black pepper
good rye bread

-toast a few slices of rye bread, cut into points
-combine apricots, jam, and cheese in bowl. will probably have a rather dry texture, depending on the goat cheese.
-microwave cheese mixture until cheese gets soft. (around 30 seconds)
-stir cheese until smooth.
-add pepper to taste
-serve cheese with toast points.
-enjoy!