Can I tell you something? I don’t want to like Tavernita, really. Tavernita requires that one weigh 30 lbs less than one does. And also, that the length of one’s skirt hem pass no further than one inch from one’s bottom. Also, cleavage. Tavernita seems to require a lot of cleavage. And maybe a divorce or three.

But no matter. I can shut out the world and all its problems when I’m snarfing down a plate-load of Tavernita’s Escalivada. This time, it was free thanks to a social media wine dinner with Darkhorse, a Gallo brand. (Gallo has a hand in more wine than you think it does.) I love hanging out with wine makers, and Darkhorse winemaker Beth Liston just made you want to be her best friend. The Chardonnay was a party-pleaser and can be found at Trader Joe’s for under $10 a bottle. It paired really well with our first few courses of hamachi crudo and then of course the swoon-worthy escalivada.

A little Google’ing has found me Tavernita’s recipe. Worth trying someday as a little snack (or a big snack) before dinner, specially if you possess a charcoal grill:

4 small eggplants
4 small onions, halved
4 red bell peppers
2 Roma tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the vegetables
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
Salt
1 small baguette, sliced, slices grilled
Zingerman’s Creamery Lincoln Log goat cheese (or other slightly aged goat cheese)

You can see the specific instructions regarding assembly, cooking, etc. over here on Time Out Chicago.

The Verdict: Go for it. And feel free to invite me over.

I was a guest of Darkhorse and Tavernita and did not pay for this meal.  I also received  one $20 Trader Joe’s giftcard and two bottles of Darkhorse wine — one Chardonnay and one Cabernet — in thanks for my attendance. I preferred the Chardonnay to the Cabernet, and would definitely consider picking up a bottle of Chard next time I’m in Trader Joe’s. (The cab was too jammy for me.) Darkhorse is being stocked exclusively by Trader Joe’s at the moment, only one of my favorite places in the entire world.

I’ve written about Tavernita before. Over here.

The post I Love Escalivada first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I don’t know how it happened. I was grocery shopping online and before I knew it, I had added six cups of this stuff to my virtual shopping cart. I think it had something to do with calories. These single serve puppies of “cheesy made easy” mac & cheese have only 220 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. That’s not so bad for someone on a diet.

They also include one packet of radioactive orange powder. TRIPLE CHEESE POWDER.

Just add water and microwave, so that’s nice. Easy. America, this is why you’re fat. Even at 220 calories.

Note instructions are very easy to follow. (Fill to this line!)

Once finished in the microwave, add the magical triple cheese orange powder. Stir.

Mmmm. Glommy nuclear waste!

The Verdict: Never again, although exceptions will be made when alcohol is involved.

Got a favorite mac & cheese recipe? Tell me!

The post How NOT to Make Mac & Cheese first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Long-time readers will know I don’t cook much, but I do like picking up easy things here and there that I can add to my (very) limited repertoire. The latest addition? Zucchini Carpaccio, which Roam & Home introduced me to. The recipe comes from Eat This by Tyler Florence, an American TV chef. The dish is light but oddly filling. (Especially if you, uh, eat half of it.) And it has lemon in it, which makes it a no-brainer for this particular lover of all things LEMON.

Here’s Tyler’s recipe, courtesy of the Food Network.

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 leek, white part only, sliced thinly
1/4 pound piece Parmesan
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

Directions
Using a mandolin or a very sharp knife, slice zucchini into very thin rounds. (Roam & Home does long length-wise pieces.) Overlap zucchini disks in one layer on a plate; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice and scatter with leeks. Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, shave very thin slices of Parmesan and place them over leeks. (Another switch-up by Roam & Home: ricotta or some other sort of fresh cheese is also a nice choice.) Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

The post Zucchini/Courgette Carpaccio first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I’ve always joked that I may not be able to cook, but I can roast a chicken. Roasting a chicken is not hard. It’s ridiculously easy. Open oven. Insert chicken. Wait 90 minutes. (If it’s a small chicken.) Done. Apparently, this is pretty advanced for my non-foodie friends, which I find fascinating because they all claim to be better cooks than me.

So when I randomly saw someone on Facebook raving about Jamie Oliver’s Chicken with Milk recipe, I knew this would a recipe I could easily accomplish.

Firstly, fry chicken in butter. Then put chicken in pot with milk, garlic, cinnamon stick, and zests of two lemons. (Zesting is the tiresome bit.) Throw in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes. (I had a moment of panic when I realized the pot I was originally using wasn’t oven-safe, so be careful.)  Done.

What I love about this recipe is how golden and crispy the skin on top comes out. This can be hard to get with a regular roast chicken. But not with this recipe!

The Verdict: Make it! Here’s the complete recipe. (And no, my chicken doesn’t have eight legs. I added some extra chicken legs for the kids.)

The post Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

So for the first time ever here on my London restaurant blog, I present you with–hold your breath–a RECIPE.

My dish definitely doesn't look as nice as Nigella's–I really should have crumbled the blue cheese a bit more and thank God for Photoshop and being able to clean my Corning Ware through the magic of computers–but here's the gist of how you pull it all together.

The Shopping List

• Firstly, don't buy 2 kilos of real butternut squash like I did. They will be a bitch to cut up and who has that much time? Instead, look for pre-cut bags of butternut squash. I found mine at Waitrose. (350g per bag, so you might want to buy like six of them.)
• Then, buy about 150 grams of blue cheese. I use Roquefort, as directed by Nigella.
• You're also going to need about 150 grams of pecans. I've tried making this with both the plain roasted and the salted roasted pecans, and I definitely prefer making this with the salted roasted. I also like a lot of pecans, so I throw in some extra.
• You also will need some thyme. As much as you'd like. (Nigella recommends four stalks, but I found this too paltry.)
• Oh, and don't forget the olive oil and maybe some more salt.

The Cooking Bit

• Get out a roasting pan. Throw butternut squash in.
• Add as much thyme as you'd like.
• Sprinkle with healthy dollop of olive oil.
• Roast for at least 30 minutes. If you leave it in longer, the squash will get a bit more golden and crispy, which I personally like. Let rest for a bit. (If you don't, the Roquefort will melt.)

Final Preparation
After the squash has rested, throw in the pecans and the blue cheese. Maybe add some more thyme and some more salt. You want to throw everything together, but if the mixture is too hot, you could wind up just mashing everything together, which you don't want. So go gently. Enjoy!

The post For the First Time Ever! A Recipe on Londonelicious… first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The post Not Completely Useless in the Kitchen… first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.