Valentine’s Day: Stay In? Go Out?

Some people can’t imagine Valentine’s Day without candy, flowers, jewelry and dinner at a swanky eatery. And while that’s all well and good, these are the exact types that restaurateurs go after with their overpriced prix-fixe meals, glasses of champagne and towering chocolate desserts.

I’m really not against Valentine’s dining. Hell, I’m a restaurant blogger – eating out is my favorite thing to do. I understand people love to plan special dates, and I respect that couples have favorite restaurants that they return to year after year. I just believe that restaurant owners go out of their way to make these diners pay for so-called romance.

Therefore, this post by food blogger Brooke Burton spoke to me. She explains the reasons why couples should think twice about dining out on (or in this case, around) this holiday. Among the rationale: high-stakes dining (with elevated expectations), inflated prices and rushed seating times.

For years, my now-husband and I would go to Chandler’s Restaurant at the Yankee Candle flagship store in South Deerfield, Mass. The dining room is candlelit and cozy, and outdoor lighting reflects off the snow. But on our last visit, two years ago, we were utterly unimpressed by the tiny prix-fixe menu and absurd pricing.

So last year, for a fraction of the price, we stayed home and cooked. We made a seafood casserole and homemade chocolate-dipped strawberries, and I picked up an $8.99 cava at our local liquor store. This year, we’re having tenderloin and I’m going to try to replicate the ridiculous fontina fondue we had at Bin 228 last month. To drink? A gift bottle of Veuve Clicquot we’ve been saving since our wedding. Maybe. I also have a $10 bottle of Mionetto prosecco. Try ordering a martini for under $10 at a restaurant this weekend.

The only problem – I’d really love some fresh raw oysters. and I don’t want to shuck them at home.

And do not even get me started on Valentine’s Day proposals…

February 10, 2010 | Leeanne Griffin | 4 Comments »

Food Is Sexy (And Here I Prove It)

Oysters...the ultimate aphrodisiac...

My story on young foodie couples is running on the cover of Thursday’s Hartford Courant Flavor section (and online now.) It’s a look at couples in their 20s and 30s who share a mutual interest in food, dining, cooking and wines.

The article concept was inspired by my friends Kat and Ben (pictured at left) who graciously agreed to be interviewed for this piece. In addition to cooking elaborate Sunday dinners, traveling the Connecticut Wine Trail and smoking their own meats, these two attended the Celebrity Chef Dinearound at last weekend’s Sun WineFest and finally met their chef idol, Bobby Flay. Color  me super-jealous.

This picture was taken in Ogunquit last July, when the four of us ordered a dozen oysters for an appetizer, and then six more oysters for dessert. That’s how we roll…

February 2, 2010 | Leeanne Griffin | 6 Comments »

UConn Culinary Olympics: What A Show

What would you do with these miscellaneous ingredients?

Alaskan king crab, tomatillos, fennel, horseradish root, blue cornmeal, mango chutney and Boursin cheese. GO.

What do these fairly incongruous ingredients have in common? They were the seven items chosen for the ‘Boiling Point’ competition held during the 2010 Culinary Olympics at the University of Connecticut Thursday.

The 16 three-person teams competing in the ‘Iron Chef’-like event had 90 minutes and just two small butane burners at their disposal to create three small ‘tapas’ plates that incorporated all seven ingredients, plus their choice of additional items from a nearby pantry.

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January 17, 2010 | Leeanne Griffin | 3 Comments »

I Love The 80s (And 90s): The Food Of My Youth

I was born in 1981, which means a.) that I’m entering the last year of my twenties and b.) that I was around when some seriously epic foods hit grocery shelves and fast-food restaurant menus. The 1980s and early 1990s brought forth a slew of sugary, salty, cheesy, highly processed candies, cereals, juices, snack foods and heat-and-serve meals. And if my brother and I didn’t try them all, we sure came damn close.

Today’s ‘organic’ parents would pass out if they saw some of the things we munched on in the ’80s. Needless to say, schools wouldn’t have dreamed of banning birthday cupcakes back then. And guess what? We never had weight issues. Why? Because we were ACTIVE.  We spent all of our time running around and playing outside. Yes, we had Nintendo and Game Boy. But if we saw our neighbors dragging out their five-person trampoline, screw Mario and Luigi. We were outdoors year-round. In winter, we were sledding down hills. In summer, it was the jungle gym, hide and seek and Slip n’ Slide.

Some of my childhood food favorites: MicroMagic microwaveable cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes; Fruit Roll-Ups; Five Alive fruit juice; Dairy Queen Mister Mistys (they were like Slush Puppies but WAY more delicious) and Burger King’s Burger Buddies. Man, did I love those little burgers. Burger King is  now selling “Burger Shots,” an updated version of the late-80s menu item. And in a weird circle-of-life twist, I saw them back at BK the day my husband and I got engaged in 2008. Life’s weird.

Looking for your own stroll down memory lane? Check out InThe80s.com, especially the Food section.  Remember Clearly Canadian? Boku fruit juice? Giggles cookies? Fruit By The Foot? OK Soda? Jello Pudding Pops? Handi-Snacks cheese and crackers? Ah, childhood…

January 13, 2010 | Leeanne Griffin | 8 Comments »

Spinach For Breakfast? Popeye Would Approve

Look, I drank half of it.

My friend and colleague Marie, along with her boyfriend, Todd, follow elements of the ‘raw’ diet to stay healthy. Never heard of it? It’s a diet and lifestyle based on unprocessed, uncooked plant foods. Heavy on fruits and vegetables, it also incorporates nuts, seeds and grains. Food is never heated above 116 degrees, as raw foodists believe it diminishes the ‘life value’ of the food’s nutrition.

At first it sounds crazy restrictive and not too much fun. But as we learned more about it – and three other Courant colleagues underwent a 30-days raw experiment in the spring of 2008 – we found that you can get really creative with raw-approved ingredients like nuts, agave nectar and sea salt. See Marie and Todd’s raw apple pie demonstration on YouTube, for example.

Even healthier – and easier – is the green smoothie, which I’m enjoying for breakfast today as part of this week’s healthy eating kick. It’s a blend of leafy greens, frozen fruit and water (I used frozen spinach, papaya, mango, pineapple and a splash of OJ for more flavor.) It’s a fantastic way to get in several servings’ worth of fruits and veggies.

Trust me when I say it’s not nearly as scary as it sounds. I grew up on MicroMagic cheeseburgers and at nearly 29, I’m still working on learning to love veggies. If I can do it, so can you.

Here are some of Marie’s favorite green-smoothie recipes…

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| Leeanne Griffin | 4 Comments »
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