Getting Another Itch to Cook for Others

Well we’re almost two months into the year. Just the other day, I actually said that I can't believe we’re almost through March… I promise I’m not trying to rush anything. Especially because it feels like I’m long overdue for a dinner party with friends or baking weekend to share The Goods.

The itch for a good long cooking session does not come with any complaints considering the time has been spent full of travel and celebration. Scratching that itch might look like flipping a kitchen / apartment into a coffee shop or a wine bar. I wish I could factor having a space for ideas like this into my next apartment hunt, but it’s hard out here to find any good space in general. We’ll work with whatever’s ahead.

Had a very fun weekend spent with great friends. Feeling grateful and excited to get back into a routine with warmer weather this week. (The nice warmth is a good reminder that the Broad Street Run is 10 weeks away… Time to really get that routine in check.)

The weekend felt like it kicked off on Thursday when I got to be a tourist in my hometown, and it was all for work. Made me appreciate West Chester and Chester County more than I realize. Alright, that’s enough sappy words. Here’s a cool mousse mushroom from the creative food minds at 1906 at Longwood Gardens.

What’s Cookin’

Cavatappi alla Vodka

I felt like I was going through pasta withdrawal this past weekend. As soon as a friends mentioned they were getting pasta for dinner, my mind couldn’t go anywhere else without a plan of action. Thankfully it wasn’t an instant need (though I’ll happily have pasta at any time), so I knew it was a Sunday Dinner fix.

The homemade vodka sauce was the perfect bit of cooking for a Sunday recovering from the long weekend of fun. I’m always a fan of Serious Eats, so their vodka sauce recipe caught my eye, and paired with some cavatappi = craving satisfied (and more with lunch today.)

Rye Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies by Maddy DeVita / Hand Me The Fork

I’ve shared my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe before, so this was one that I’ve had on the brain for a bit with the difference of using Rye flour. Safe to say one of my favorite follows did not disappoint with this recipe. I prepped these during my lunch today, with the goal of letting them rest the fully suggested 4+ hours, which turned out to be the perfect time to pop them into the oven for tonight’s treat after dinner.

Only thing I’ll change for next time: use a semi-sweet or dark chocolate bar (as the recipe says, but I didn’t spot in the store somehow) and don’t cut up the pieces so small. I didn’t think I cut them up too fine but the size of the cookie said otherwise. Two things a younger me would be shocked by me saying: I’m a fan of chocolate puddles in cookies, and I’d rather use dark chocolate than the milk chocolate.

Feed the Feed

I’m always a sucker for a good cinnamon bun or roll. And for those that have followed along for a bit now, that’s no surprise since I said one of my favorite foods I made last year were Swedish Cinnamon Buns.

So these were two fun posts thanks to local reporting and the algorithm.

1. Hank’s Cinnamon Buns – The Philly Inquirer featured Hank showing off his famous morning treats that started as an idea during the pandemic and took off and have since been adapted by many around the area. His favorite part? Becoming a tradition for so many, whether that’s weekly or for holidays. Safe to say I will be getting my hands on these asap and would love to swap out my family’s traditions of Grands on holiday mornings.

2. Roll Boys Cinnamon Rolls – based in London, these guys showed off their 4:49 a.m. start time of the baking process. Commitment to the fresh baking, and, as I’ve said before, one of the only things that will get me out of bed that early.

All this chatter about sweets, meanwhile I snuck in a mention that I need to start training for a 10 mile race that’s in 10 weeks. Warm weather couldn’t have come at a better time I guess. And yes, I know we’re still in winter. The hometown trip just a few days ago reminded me of that with some snow.

Enjoy time outside this week 🤘