A Pretend Wedding Tasting with Bethany Pickard of Modern Kicks

I first heard Bethany Pickard in a voicemail. She worked at a college radio promotion company called Pirate and it was her job to send radio stations like mine music on behalf of artists and labels. This music industry part of my life is a whole other blog but for more, you can read my post on Medium.

We met in person at CMJ one year. We then saw each other every year in New York. Since leaving the music industry, we both got into catering. While I was juggling another job at The Tank, Bethany was taking photography classes. She eventually moved to Greenpoint and invited me over to have lunch. I was still very new to cooking with vegetarian people and she was trying to cook more! She taught me a few things about flavors and wrote about it on her Tumblr: The Bored Vegetarian.

Fast forward to 2013! Our photo shoot together was a mix of the dishes I learned from Roquette Catering and some of my own. This was my first styled shoot and we spent all afternoon figuring out how to best utilize the one source of natural light in my kitchen. I know Bethany was vegetarian but she was super understanding about photographing pulled pork! What I remember fondly is that I used no spritzers or tweezers, no food styling tools or napkins to perk up the scene. It was the food first and foremost:

Pictured above:

• Cheese platter
• Charcuterie and pate displays
• Fuji Apple salad
• Mushroom crostini
• Pulled pork slider

Now Bethany lives in Newburgh, NY and is running her own Hudson Valley event planning company Modern Kicks. Check it out!

Work with Bethany on your upcoming wedding! Need an introduction? Let me know.

You Need This Quick &Hearty Egg Noodle Dinner with Kale

As seen on FeedFeed!

A hearty meal in 30 minutes or less. You only dirty two pans and you can eat out of one of them (carefully, please). No need to spend the rest of your night doing dishes!

What you'll need
1/2 bag of egg noodles 1/2 bunch of kale, washed and trimmed 1/4 cup of peas 4 small cippolini onions, peeled 4-5 chive fronds, chopped	Consider Bardwell Rupert cheese (or any gratable variety) Optional: focaccia with brushed tomato sauce Salt to taste

Start by boiling a pot of water with a generous pinch of salt in it. Turn on your broiler. Grab an oven safe pan and quickly sauté the onions on medium heat in a little olive oil or butter. After 5 minutes, throw in the peas. Toss for a minute and turn off the burner. Put the kale on top of it to steam. 

Put the pasta in the boiling salt water, cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Taste for doneness. Should not be crunchy at all. Turn off the burner when it is done.

Place the oven safe pan in the broiler for two minutes and check for crispy edges of kale. Continue to broil until some (not all) of the kale is crisp. Might get a little burn-y. Transfer to the top rack and turn the oven off. Warm some bread with the residual heat. 

Drain the pasta and toss in with the vegetables. Shave Rupert cheese over it and finish with chives. Done!

If you try this, tag @Randwiches on Instagram. Let me know how long it took you to make.

How to Host a Killer Super Nacho Bowl Party

Need a quick game day plan? Make a vat of Serious Eats cheese sauce and tell your friends to bring chips and their favorite toppings. 

At my previous apartment, we had this long countertop where people lined all of their nacho toppings with various types of chips. Everyone grabbed a cardboard boat and went to town. The only requirement was that everyone had to take a photo of their nachos with our aerial camera rig on the dining room table.

The results were glorious! The mega GIF (above) is an aggregate of all the nachos but here are some of the highlights:

Filipino nachos with beef tapa, lime, black bean bagoong, sour cream and crushed chicharron.

Vegetarian beef nachos

Loaded nachos with pepper salami

Deviled egg nachos

Nacho bacon

Torched! 

Are you getting your nacho on today? Tag @Randwiches on Instagram, I want to see!

Modern Mezze with Photographer Riley Ziesig

Riley Ziesig is an analog and digital photographer, videographer and talented musician. I was lucky enough to be introduced to him by my friend Skye. He brought over a couple bottles of red wine, a macro lens and instant film; I put together a fun menu for all of us to enjoy that sunny winter afternoon.

It was fun to make these bountiful mezze platters and I even smashed a pumpkin from the top of a step ladder! Click through for the recipes and details on how I adapted each one.

The Menu & Photos

• Crudites with Candied Lemon Labneh
• Flakey Bread, Bon Appetit
• Crushed Cucumber Lime Pickle, Bon Appetit
• Smashed Roasted Pumpkin
• Lamb with Pistachio Tapanade, Smitten Kitchen
• Chocolate Bark with Dried Fruit, Martha Stewart

Selects

Work with Riley! Let me know if you need an introduction.

Modern Mezze Menu: Easy Chocolate Bark with Candied Lemon

Guided by Martha Stewart's Bark  | Shot by Riley Ziesig

Chocolate bark is the impressive dessert that pastry luddites like me can pull off. I get so flustered when I try to bake things and I don't have the time to experiment with it (because I'm busy making stuff like this, duh).

To fill a quarter sheet baking pan, you need two bags of any chip chocolate. Before you get started, prepare the pan with a quick swipe of a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil and then a layer of plastic wrap with extra hanging over the edges. 

If the bark will be one color, melt it all in a double boiler. If you're going for two tone like the one pictured above, melt the white chocolate first. Pour it into the pan and use a spatula to spread it flat. Make sure to tap the pan against the counter to make sure and get rid of any air bubbles. Place it in the fridge to set while you melt the second batch of chocolate.

Chop up your toppings. I used a mix of dried fruit and pink Himalayan salt. Pour your second batch of melted chocolate into your now cold pan and spread it flat quickly. While the chocolate is still hot, sprinkle the chopped toppings over it and place the bigger pieces like candied lemon firmly, making sure they don't stick up.

Refrigerate for an hour or until the whole pan is firm and not warm anymore.

This photo is a lie. We initially thought you could bash it with a meat tenderizer to make jaunty shapes but it was far too thick. We were better off cutting funky angles with a chef knife.

And look! Fancy looking dessert! Cut them as big or as small as you need to. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

What will you put on your bark? I wanna see! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram.

Modern Mezze Menu: Lamb Chops Smothered in Pistachio Tapanade

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted from Anne Burrell | Shot by Riley Ziesig

I always thought "lamb pops" were cute but a hassle for such little meat. I remember stumbling upon the recipe for these lamb chops with pistachio tapanade. I thought, "Wow, that must have been a huge lamb!" No, that wasn't the case. It was a simple butchering trick that gives your lamb chops a little more dino-DNA.

The trick is to eliminate two bones from an 8 rib rack and voila! Huge honkin' lamb chunks that rival your Thanksgiving drumstick.

The lamb is then salted to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before searing on high for two minutes. The recipe called for olive oil, but I like to brush butter on after a sear...because why not? That way, you don't let the milk fat burn during the high heat period.

Each chop gets a generous schmear of pistachio tapenade. It is so bright green on account of the Castelvetrano olives I picked up from Fairway. They are plump and firm if you get them with pits (don't eat the pits!). If you are on a low-salt diet or are new to olives, don't use so much of this tapenade. Try some on bread before you put it on the lamb.

The chops are finished in a 425F degree over for 4 to 5 minutes depending how done you like your meat. 

I couldn't wait for Riley to stop taking photos and kept asking, "Can I eat it yet?"

Try it! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram if you do.

Boiled Red Potatoes with Pickled Mustard Greens

As seen on FeedFeed!

I'm a fan of a fry. So much so that I need to watch out for my health. I also need to shake it up, you know? Boiled potatoes have this "old" stigma attached to them and I assure you, there are many a thing to do with boiled potatoes. Don't just leave them undressed! 

What you'll need
2 Small red potatoes Pickled mustard greens Dijon mustard	Chives and chive blossoms Salt Optional: Soft egg

It's ok if you didn't pickle your mustard greens 2 or 3 days ahead, boiling up a quick brine and letting the greens soak in it is pretty effective. You can also use any leftover pickle jar brine, I never throw mine away for this reason!

Wash and scrub the potatoes before you boil them in salted water for about 10 minutes or until they are fork tender. If they fall apart when you try to stab them, you've gone too far.

Place a potato in a bowl and two stalks of pickled mustard green over it. The hot potato should warm up the greens. Sprinkle on the chives and flowers, then squeeze a healthy amount of mustard on or near it. Salt to taste. 

Most dishes benefit from a gooey soft egg, this one even more. Imagine making a rough mashed potato with your bowl and it soaking up the silky yolk. Cozy and filling for any meal.

Tried it? Show me by tweeting to @Randwiches or tagging me on Instagram.

Fantasy Kitchen: Star Wars, The Snack Awakens!

One thing made me light up when I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters opening weekend. It was not what you'd expect. If you guessed Miles from LOST, you're close. It was a split second, you could almost miss it if you were glued to the characters' conversation. In Maz Kanata's tavern, Rey is eating an apple. Not just any apple, it's hollowed out like a cup and stuffed with romanesco broccoli! 

I want to high five whoever came up with that, because it's so cute and delicious. Romanesco is indeed a real vegetable you can buy and is typically available during the fall. Since the beginning of our Brooklyn winter was so warm, you might be lucky to find some still. Geek out and re-enact the scene with your own apple! Here's how.

What you'll need
1 Fuji apple 2 tablespoons Alon Shaya's whipped cheese (or substitute yogurt or mascarpone)	Variety of steamed vegetables (pictured are celeriac, Inca Gold potato and carrot) 2 florets of romanesco for every apple 1 lemon, juiced Pea shoot or any fresh green, washed

If you haven't steamed your vegetables, I suggest you do that for 10 minutes or less. I like my veg barely steamed, still kinda crunchy. You can also use fresh vegetables, if you like crunchy, have your crunchy.

There are probably better ways to manage the apple (and I'm happy to hear how you do it...) but I halved it horizontally and used the toothy part of my spiralizer to gouge a disc in to the core. It didn't work very well and the apple cup was shallow but it was enough depth to hold things! I threw that apple half into a tub of water with lemon juice so it didn't turn brown.

While the apples soaked, I whipped up the cheese mix. You can substitute any neutral creamy cheese, as long as it isn't too sweet.

Dry off the apples and assemble! Start each apple cup with a dollop of cheese and then layer on your vegetables. You can prep these up ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for a couple of hours. Check out my timelapse on Instagram. 

I love how fresh this tastes. Sweet apple, creamy cheese and clean market vegetables make for a great snack.

Don't worry, knowing about the apple isn't going to spoil it for you!

It's also way after the release date, so if you haven't seen the movie yet...the internet is a landmine.

Randwiches Guide to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite cooking holiday. Not going to lie, it's an awesome time to show off in the kitchen and I rarely get to cook large format meals. I pull out all the stops and I use every single leftover bit in a sandwich.

Instead of telling you what you should be cooking on turkey day, I thought it would be better to help you get through it. My cooking origin story goes like this: my mom asked me to help with Thanksgiving dinner when I turned 16. She told me to wake up at 6am and when I awoke, she was gone. She had to work at the hospital and I had to get the whole dinner on the table. The end of the story is that I did it and started watching Food Network as a result.

The point is: no one wants to panic on Thanksgiving morning. I put together these editable Google Drive templates for everyone to use and share with guests.

>> Click here to view the Thanksgiving worksheets<<
To save to your Google Drive: File > Make a Copy > Rename > Save	To save as a PDF: File > Download as > Select PDF > Save

Once you've got it filled out, print it out or display it on an iPad in the kitchen so you stay on track.

Page 1: Organize the guests

• Open the Google Document and share with your friends, have them sign up to bring a dish.
• Do you have enough platters and serving utensils to accommodate the whole dinner? If not, ask a friend who isn't bringing anything to bring or buy disposable.
• Note that there is a column for heat source. Make sure you can fit everything into the oven when they need to be or get creative with warming solutions, like...
  • In the microwave
  • Wrapped in a blanket or winter coat
  • Slow Cooker, rice cooker or steamer
• Short on fridge space? If it's cold outside, consider hosting your drinks in a cooler or (god forbid) in the snow. 
  • Any meats to be cooked can be out of the fridge for an hour to come to room temperature.
  • Cheese can be plated an hour ahead. Watch out for sheep or buffalo milk cheese, they will sweat. Prepare to blot them like a greasy pizza or plate them last.
  • Precut tubers like carrots or potatoes and store them with ice water if you can't fit them in the fridge.

Page 2: Lay out the schedule

• It really important to time your dishes. Figure out what can be made ahead.
• A good window of time to make gravy is while you rest the turkey, it will still be hot in 30 minutes!
• Think about the residual heat on the stove or in the oven, do any desserts need to be defrosted or held at a low temp?

Page 3: Plan your individual dishes

• Don't just read one recipe. Read many recipes and decide what steps you will take or if you're going to add a bit of flair.
• Document what you need to do and when.
• List all of the ingredients you have already.
• Manage shopping by grouping ingredients by store and department.

Finally, roll with it. People are going to bring different things if the store runs out. There might not be enough of one thing or another. A relative might have a strong opinion of how you're making your gravy. It's all ok, have a drink and I hope you treat yourself to a slice of pie!

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Love leftovers? Or better yet, leftover sandwiches? Join me for the Put A Egg On It issue 11 release party and Leftover Special event. Not only will you be the first to get a copy of the newest PAEOI, you can bring all of your Thanksgiving leftovers and compete in a sandwich making contest. Full details here.

[Upcoming] #BlogHerFood15 in Chicago, IL

I'm heading to Chicago this week for #BlogHerFood15. I'll be speaking on a day 1 panel about social media! I'll specifically be talking about Tumblr, Flipboard and GIFs for food bloggers.

Here are the details:

November 6, 2015 - 2:45pm - 4:00pm

Social Media Bootcamp: New School Tools

You may not need to use every new tool that is launched, but you should a) stake your claim in each one and b) make an informed decision before deciding one isn't for you. We'll review such newer platforms as Tumblr, Snapchat, Periscope, Flipboard, and understand the potential relevance of something in between a still shot and a video: The animated GIF!

Moderator:
MJ Tam, Chicagonista.com

Speakers:
Rachel Adams, Dinner was Delicious
Gaby Dalkin, What's Gaby Cooking
**Jenn de la Vega, Randwiches** << Woo!

Will you be at #BlogHerFood15? Tweet me @Randwiches & come say hi !