Looking back to 2011, I can’t say I would necessarily do anything differently. Still, a new year brings the opportunity to make changes or improvements and start new routines. I’ve never been one to make drastic moves when it comes to resolutions, especially since mine never stick – you won’t ever hear me declare I’m starting a new fad diet. In fact, my plan for 2012 is to do the exact opposite.

Over the holidays I came to the realization that my life revolves around food; what I’m planning to make for dinner, where I’m spending my lunch break or which restaurant I choose for Sunday brunch, for example, are all decisions that I treat with great importance. Simply put, creating and eating great food makes me happy as a clam. In the New Year, my goal is to make the most of every meal whether it’s making an elaborate dinner for friends or eating my favorite dishes at some of Philadelphia’s best restaurants. Everything I make will be Clean Plate-worthy, and anything I eat this year will be worthwhile.

2012’s first dish in the East Berks kitchen was a filling kielbasa stew, thickened with white beans and laced with tomatoes and spinach. Every spoonful was purely perfect. Read More…

I may not be a James Beard Foundation award-winning chef, but I’m pretty confident I have conquered a good number of moderately challenging recipes. My risotto is on point, I can butterfly and truss pork tenderloin, and my holiday turkey recipe is out of this world. What’s exciting, though, is that there are many, many things I have yet to master.

Growing up, I was always willing to help in the kitchen but the one area I knew better than to mess with was burgers. It’s pretty common to come across a man of the house who considers himself “burger king”, is quick with a spatula, and can be found at the grill more than the stove. My dad is no different; he knows his grill as if it was his trade and his outdoor cooking area seems like a culinary sanctuary. Located on my parents’ deck, it’s nestled in a special corner with a few chairs overlooking their nicely landscaped garden. Surrounded by tiki torches to ward off any pesky insect intruders, my dad’s shiny, stainless steel grill is conveniently away from the back door and kitchen windows, making his cooking area more of a peaceful place than our busy family kitchen.

The serenity of my dad’s cooking space may have something to do with how great his grilled food is. Steaks and chicken are always delicious but his burgers are the best. Perfectly cooked, the meat is juicy and seasoned just enough. There’s nothing fancy about them, but that’s part of their appeal; they don’t need special sauces or secret spices to grant him the well-deserved “burger king” title in our household. I’m in no position to attempt to steal the crown, but I felt it was time to add burgers to my list of accomplishments. This recipe for breakfast burgers may be no match for my dad’s, but I can bet he would be proud. Read More…

Across the city, through several neighborhoods and past the large, fancy skyscrapers lies a magical spot like nothing else I’ve found in Philadelphia. Though University City is home to prestigious collegiate institutions and Ivy Leaguers from all over the globe, I’m less fascinated by the geniuses roaming the college campus as I am wide-eyed over the “kitchens on wheels”. Scattered throughout the blocks from 38^th to 33^rd and Spruce to Chestnut (arguably) are the cities best food trucks. Whatever you’re in search of will be found, as the trucks and carts in the area boast global cuisines, menus catered to anyone from the adventurous palate to the student coming off of an all-nighter, and even vegetarian fare or fruit salad stands for those in need of a lighter lunch.

Food trucks seem to be a somewhat recent trend in the culinary sector, but Philadelphia is extremely familiar with them; one might even say our city was on the forefront of the movement and may just have the best food trucks in the country. Not only are new ones popping up all over the area, the Food Network has dedicated and entire show to cooking from a vehicle and our very own Chef Jose Garces makes his rounds in the Guapos Tacos truck. Heather Shouse, a food writer and contributor to Food & Wine magazine, has one-upped the rest of the food channels and articles covering the fad by not only scouring the country in search of the best food trucks America has to offer, she has also included some of the best recipes she’s encountered in her travels so we can enjoy them in the comfort of our own kitchen.

Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels  is packed with almost 200 pages of coast to coast trucks making anything from juicy burgers, smoky barbecue and SPAM sandwiches to cookies, pudding and other sweet treats. Shouse also included the back story of the trucks, which are sometimes just as exciting as the food they tout. Many respectable, trained chefs choose to leave the limelight of 4-star restaurants in favor of cooking is a tiny kitchen on wheels. Even more inspiring are those with self-taught skills, talent for cooking, and a passion for food, who are simply following their dream of bringing delicious dishes to hungry people.

On 38^th Street, between Spruce and Walnut, the Yue Kee Chinese mobile kitchen dishes out traditional Chinese food from a somewhat beat-up, silver truck with a striped awning. The appearance of the vehicle is certainly no reflection of the food, but is a testament to the hours Yue Kee serves the University City community; the truck is open 7 days a week and provides a phone number for pick-up service. If you have trouble spotting it amongst the other food trucks on the either side of the block, just look for the long line of students, professors and locals alike. Read More…

We encounter a variety of fads every day, from the clothes we wear to work, the music we hear on our headphones, or the diet we stick to (Monday to Friday, of course). Like most trends, all of them have no strict permanence, but may be something we turn back to every now and then. This is my logic for holding onto so many things in my now overflowing closet.

Food fad categories are just like fashion. For instance, cupcakes (for some people) are considered “hot” but for others they are just like polyester and platforms: another trendy item that won’t be stylish for long. That group now identifies Macarons or Whoopee Pies as the dessert all the cool people will be eating. My opinion will always be rooted in my senses; how can something be a temporary fad if it tastes good all the time?

The most mind-boggling food fad is, by far, bacon. When was it an epiphany to a group of trendsetters that bacon was one of the most unbelievable meats available? Not only does it get an A+ for breakfast, but joined with lettuce and tomato you have a great lunch sandwich. For dinner, wrap it around asparagus or a pork loin and you’ve just created a fancy dish that will now taste one-hundred times better just because bacon is now in the picture. Analysts, chefs and culinary artists may tell you bacon is “so over”, but use your better judgment and your tastebuds on this one. To pay homage to my favorite pork product I spent a few hours cooking it down with other ingredients to make Bacon Jam. Believe me, I was as skeptical as you are but keep reading; I promise you, this is another recipe that highlights the staying power of bacon. Read More…

Just a quick ride on the el or a short drive to University City, lies the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. The Penn Museum is home to about 1 -million artifacts covering existence anywhere from Ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire, Native American tribes and everywhere in between. Though the most intriguing items are viewable to the public behind glass cases, Museum researchers and scholars are involved with research projects all over the globe that could, literally, dig up something new for the Penn Museum visitors.

In addition to the intriguing permanent collections, the museum regularly features special exhibits. Until March 28^th, the exclusive, and highly anticipated, Secrets of the Silk Road exhibit is open to the public. Through artifacts, relics, and even well-preserved mummies, the exhibit tells the story of life in the Tarim Basin desert, located in Central Asia. Spanning from Europe to Eastern China, the Silk Road is a network of trade routes connected through this region, responsible for modern trade, cross cultural exchanges and the growth of many items we still use today.

The Penn Museum has designed interactive components for visitors of all ages, further exploring the language and textiles of those who lived in the Tarim Basin region. Additionally, visitors can experience the Silk Road from the perspective of a princess, merchant, entertainer, or horseman of that time period by participating in an activity provided at the beginning of the exhibit; with a paper map in hand, participants discover more about their chosen character by unlocking answers with a decoder throughout the exhibit.

The interactive nature of the exhibit continues with lunch at The Pepper Mill Café, inside the museum. Until June, menus focus on a specific country along the Silk Road, rotating weekly. From China to Vietnam, to India and Greece, the catering staff spent two months researching and developing traditional foods of the region. The exhibit itself shows visitors what the people in the Tarim Basin ate; displays include an ancient, excavated wonton, spring roll and fried dough. Free recipes available inside the exhibit allow visitors to experience the Secrets of the Silk Road at home.  This recipe, for wontons filled with pork, probably tastes a little bit better than its thousands-of-years-old version in the exhibit. Read More…

Whether it’s a very plain but perfectly cooked piece of steak or a seasoned and sauced piece of barbecued chicken, sometimes there’s nothing better than a big hunk of juicy meat. Animal rights activists would cringe if they read this, but I enjoy life as a carnivore.

Several methods exist to insure the meat you’re cooking and eating will be moist and flavorful, but my all-time favorite is brining. This scientific process involves soaking the meat in a salt and liquid mixture for an extended period of time and allowing science to play a part in your meal. The soaking salts travel into the meat and trap moisture inside the meat, which remains there throughout the cooking process so your dish is tender and juicy. This recipe utilizes the brining method to produce a succulent, sweet and savory pork tenderloin. Read More…

It’s funny how our tastes change with age. As a kid, I expected Brussels sprouts to taste like fresh, crispy, Iceberg lettuce in miniature form, and was so disgusted when I discovered it to be false. Now, I’m dying to re-introduce myself to the teeny-tiny cabbage (and invite my faithful friend, bacon). My younger self would get away with not eating all of her vegetables and still get dessert, but as an adult I crave corn and steamed carrots. Any item from the ocean only ever crossed my lips if I were duped into eating eat when I was little, yet now I am to shrimp cocktail what Wing Bowl 2011 winner Jon “Super” Squib is to chicken wings.

There are certain dishes I would think were unimpressive (I was a very opinionated child) and could only find them edible with a condiment on the side. For example, pot roast never seemed like a “fun” dish and I’d only finish my dinner  plate with a side of ketchup. As an adult, the thought of braising a chunk of meat for hours in juices and stock and topping it with ketchup is heart-wrenching. Here is a for the comfort-food classic that requires nothing more to dress it up than what is listed below.  Read More…

Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood is speckled with sights, sounds and scents appealing to both tourists and locals. Between the hidden, underground grocery store on 13^th Street; Joseph “mayor of Chinatown” Poon’s informative walking tours, culinary skill, and friendly conversation; and the colorful, intricate architecture and artwork that adorns the window fronts of stores and the buildings themselves, this cultural area of our city is well worth exploring for a few hours. With Chinese New Year right around the corner, it’s an even more exciting time to visit.

Touring the streets on foot will create quite a hunger, but with restaurants that line the blocks it’s sometimes difficult to decide where to stop for a meal. Typically, I’m up for trying new things, but every now and then I “trust my gut” and go for what I know is good. The old stand-by, yet very Americanized Chinese dish of sesame chicken never fails, and most Chinatown restaurants offer some variation of it on their menu. Read More…

Whether it’s a few bucks for a few slices of pizza from my favorite shop, or Wawa runs when I forget my packed lunch, or even a North 3^rd visit for drinks that turned into dinner, it’s evident through my spending habits that I love food. If I sat down with my bank statement and a highlighter, I would end up with a fluorescently painted piece of paper noting the majority of my salary goes toward dining out. 2011 is the year in which I occasionally hold back from the temptation for take-out or dinner at my favorite restaurant.

Thankfully, I love to cook and am blessed with some sort of skill in the kitchen. Four-star meals at home will be a more common occurrence in my house (as will be circular searching and coupon clipping). My first fancy dinner of the year began with filet mignon stored in our freezer from a sale at Shop Rite, which would have been delicious simply seared and served with fresh veggies or a salad. However, I found a Giada De Laurentiis recipe that turned an at-home dinner into a restaurant quality meal. Read More…

Since the McRib came back to McDonald’s, I’ve secretly been dying to try it. The “golden arches” and I have an interesting relationship that dates back to my childhood. My pop-pop took me on lunch dates – so he could get his free coffee, and I could get my Happy Meal – frequently when I was a child. So much that I had a barrel full of toy souvenirs from our lunches by the time I was 12 (I definitely had some duplicates, but my favorites were the Fraggle Rock collection). Though I was always a McNugget kind of a girl, I do remember the McRib making its debut at Micky D’s when I was younger. The saucy sandwich looked delicious, but, since it didn’t come with a toy, my attraction to it was never strong enough to actually order it.

When I heard the buzz about the McRib making a temporary comeback, I felt it was my chance to finally sink my teeth into it. The banners that adorn the restaurant location in University City are so enticing, and  they stress, in not totally fine print, the sandwich will not be around forever. On top of that, the commercials are intense: shots of people, McRib in hand, chowing down, making sure to lick the leftover barbecue sauce from their fingers and faces. Before I made a run for the drive-thru, I decided to try my hand at making a homemade variation of the exclusive rib patty. Read More…