For the first time in a long time I won’t be watching the Super Bowl. Instead I’ll be aboard a transatlantic flight en route to Egypt - woohoo! Although I’m a bit bummed that I won’t be able to see the Steelers and Cardinals battle it out, I’m extremely excited to escape the ice and snow and head to someplace warm and totally fascinating.

I’m planning on entering a couple dispatches from the road and I’m looking forward to exploring and sharing the sites, scenes, culture, and, of course, food that I encounter - so please stay tuned!

In the meantime I thought I would compile some gameday favorites to help you plan your Super Bowl menu. [click to continue…]

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Even though I haven’t been there in years, I have to admit that T.G.I. Friday holds a warm place in my heart. This might sound surprising, especially from someone who advocates for whole, seasonal, and local foods diet (none of which are usually found at a giant chain). But when Friday’s first started out, the atmosphere was lively, the fast-casual food was a fun/new concept, and even the “flair” was a bit entertaining (remember this classic Office Space clip?)

So back in the day, my mom, sister, and I would to meet-up at Friday’s for a “girls’ night out” where we would get a little bit crazy and order a mess of appetizers for dinner (I like to think that we were early pioneers of the small plates craze). It was a lot of fun and we always shared a lot of laughs. While we weren’t regulars enough to always order the same thing, I do remember that their loaded potato skins usually ended up at our table. [click to continue…]

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Most of the recipes I highlight at feelgood eats are born out of inspiration. Sometimes I’ll have an incredible dish while I am out and about, other times I’ll read about a recipe in a cookbook or food blog, or stumble upon a killer ingredient that has me racing to the kitchen. But this recipe was different. This spinach and artichoke dip was born out of sheer envy.

It all started innocently enough at a mid-afternoon holiday gathering with students, professors, and alums of the graduate school I attended. My contribution was this goat cheese and olive spread, a unique and tasty little dish that I was quite happy with. That is, until I saw the spinach and artichoke dip emerge out of the wholesale club jar and get positioned directly next to my contribution. It was head-to-head, spread vs. spread action, and you can guess how things turned out. For the rest of the afternoon I watched as people went for seconds, thirds, fourths of the wholesale club spread - going on and on about how good it was. It really was no contest at all. [click to continue…]

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I am a bit picky about nachos. When I’m at the movie theater or ballpark concession stand, I’ll pass on the stale chips smothered in bright orange velveeta. Ditto for the pub or taqueria where they erratically pile on the ingredients so that the chips on top end up overloaded and soggy, while the chips on the bottom have nothing to offer. The best nachos, by far, are built and crafted at home.

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After one meal at Toro Bravo (Portland, OR) I was ready to pack my bags and book a flight to Spain. Unfortunately, with my big cross-country move looming in the near future, I won’t be brushing up on my Spanish anytime soon, but I do think that Spain may have overtaken Italy at the top of my must-visit list. In the meantime I am going to concentrate my energy on trying to re-create the dishes I shared at Toro Bravo, or as I termed it on my twitter post: tapas heaven.

I feel comfortable claiming Toro Bravo as tapas heaven because I am pretty sure I have been to tapas hell, which goes a little something like this: You hear about a new small plates restaurant and you gather a group of friends to go check it out. Usually it is a lounge-style setting, with seats that are low to the ground and some sort of techno/club music playing in the background. The cocktail list is full of mojitos and all sorts of ‘tinis.’ You order off a short menu that is uninspired and overpriced. The plates come out spontaneously or erratically (and some are forgotten). The bill is dropped, your eyes widen, and you walk out disgruntled and hungry.

Walking out of Toro Bravo this past weekend, I was anything but hungry. As a group of four we ordered about ten dishes, some small and others more substantial. [click to continue…]

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Ceviche screams summer. With its no-cook, no-fuss simplicity and it’s cooling, refreshing character, I think it is the perfect recipe for July. Unless, of course, you are in the Bay Area where it has been rather chilly as of late. Or if you live in the northeast where storms and rains have been raging. Geez, I sure hope it’s hot somewhere because this is a simple recipe that takes minutes to prepare and will impress your family and friends at the next potluck. [click to continue…]

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Peaches and nectarines are everywhere at the farmer’s market these days, a sure signal that summer is around the corner. To celebrate the warmer weather and longer nights I invited a few friends over last week for some outdoor, Italian-style grilling . My friend Meredith always comes up with neat salads and bites to share and for this party she brought over her peach bruschetta recipe, which was a hit with the crowd. So being the good friend that I am, I’m stealing Meredith’s recipe and taking all of the credit. [click to continue…]

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Dining out lately in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon I have spotted more and more offal dishes on restaurant menus and I hope this trend continues. Once prized by our ancestors as nutrient-dense sources of vitamins and minerals, offal has fallen out of favor in the current standard American diet (S.A.D.).

I think it’s a good idea to bring offal back into favor as it offers rich sources of vitamins A and D, essential fatty acids, and macro and trace minerals. Perhaps more difficult to quantify, but certainly no less important, is the ethical element of eating offal. In our current culture, which views animal products as a commodity, many animal parts are abused, neglected or simply thrown away. By consuming offal you are respecting an animal in a full and holistic way by leaving nothing to waste. [click to continue…]

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If you haven’t had a chance to check out Barabara Kingsolver’s new bestseller, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, it is worth a trip to the bookstore or getting on the library waiting list. Based on Kingsolver’s own life experience of a year of eating seasonally and locally, the text is both informative and inspiring and is a perfect read for early spring when the seasonal produce slowly begins to diversify, bringing a variety of fresh vegetables and new excitement into the kitchen.

The excitement in my kitchen the past couple of weeks has been the arrival of asparagus at the farmer’s market. Knowing that the local asparagus season is only going to last a little over a month, I have been emphasizing it in my dinner menus, which means it is on the table a few times a week. One of the challenges of eating seasonally is enjoying ingredients without falling into a food rut. [click to continue…]

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