Archive for February 2011

As quarter-lifers, when we don’t know much about things, we tend to reach into the farthest depths of our minds, extract a few minor details, and generalize, often inaccurately, from there. In some areas, such as school, this is looked down upon. In others, like our first full-time jobs, we found it often worked out okay. And in food, this practice comes in handy when we host and attend theme parties.

We love choosing themes for dinner parties and party parties—and we think the best theme parties actually embrace generalizations. Say “Siberian,” and hopefully vodka will flow all night;…

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Bringing your lunch-to work, when traveling, or on days when you’re too busy to sit down and eat-is one of the best ways to save money and stay healthy. These five packable favorites are perfect for lunch at your cube or lunch on the go. Don’t forget to add a napkin, water bottle, and disposable fork. If you prep just a little, you can eat home-cooked food anytime you’re on the go.

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When you’re feeling under the weather, there’s nothing like home-cooked food for rapid improvement. Garlic and Chicken Soup will easily nurse you back to health, and Rice Pudding Cereal will deliver you into the comfort of your mother’s kitchen-at least Cara’s mother’s. When you’re nearly back on your feet, invest twelve hours of couch time watching your no-knead bread rise, then eat it toasted with butter or butter and cinnamon sugar. Last but not least, to celebrate your return (or near return) to health, feast on nourishing, soul-feeding Mac and Cheese.

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It can sometimes seem daunting to host a whole meal for friends. Not only do you have to invite, shop, cook, and entertain, but you have to lay out a decent amount of money. They key to making it all unintimidating is to simplify.

Here we’ve collected our simplest, cheapest dinners to cook for your friends. All have short ingredient lists, making them really economical. Each needs only to be accompanied with a Bistro Salad or any simple variation thereof, though in a few cases we’ve noted a cheap accoutrement or two; these are totally optional. You…

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EVENT: Oscar Night!
VENUE: The Couch, In Front of the TV
PARTY SIZE: 10
TYPE: Best Picture-Themed Potluck Party
MENU: True Grits with Southwestern Shrimp; Fighter Black Eyed Peas; Blackened Swan; King’s Cake

I love watching the Oscars. And perhaps it is this love that has dissuaded me from ever hosting an Oscar party. You see, I love printing out fake ballots, placing bets on the predictions, and getting overly competitive about the winners. I also love judging celebrities as they walk down the red carpet, and complimenting Rachel Zoe for all her bananas choices…

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Deviled Eggs • Onion Dip • Tuna Noodle Casserole • Rich Chocolate Celebration Cake

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Fried Egg Sandwich • Sweet Potato Fries • Ketchup

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Our friends over at Pretty Young Professional posted our tips for how to host brunch. Check out their site (it’s pretty and young and professional), and tune in again for more BGSK on PYP coming soon.

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Growing up, wok-fried meals were on the menu fairly often. We made homemade Chinese food for dinner, and then we’d set out several dishes, serve our own portions, and pat ourselves on the back, oozing compliments for one another about how much better our homemade food was than take-out. It was.

It is easy to imbue stir-fries, whether meat, noodles, veggies, or rice, with lots of flavor, via the seasonings, the marinades, and the sauces. And it’s always nice to know that no matter how much oil you stir fry in, you’ll pretty much always be adding…

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Cara’s Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers were featured this week on Meatless Monday! For nutrition facts and the full recipe, click here.

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