Fall for Stew

By Katie Barreira

Autumn is the perfect time of year for a savory, tummy-warming bowl of stew. As the weather grows colder and the days shorter, I find myself arriving home from work feeling hungrier and less inclined to cook. And thus, Sundays have become Stew Sundays. Thirty minutes of prep, a couple hours of “set it and forget it” cooking during football and I’ve got dinner covered for at least two nights of the coming week.

Can’t imagine eating the same thing a few nights in a row? No problem; stews are masters of disguise. On Sunday, it’s a steaming bowl, hot off the stove, with a hunk of crusty bread for mopping the rich broth. Monday, the cold meat is shredded and heated with some of the veggies and served on rolls with slaw, for a pulled pork sandwich. And by Wednesday, your thickened stew dresses up as ragu, ladled over soft, creamy polenta or tossed into pasta.

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Texas Toast with Italian Inspiration

By Katie Barreira

The other day I saw a commercial for Dunkin Donuts latest offering, the Big ‘N Toasty, a tower of fried eggs, bacon and cheese, sandwiched between slices of Texas Toast. “What’s Texas toast?” asked my mom, as the breakfast behemoth spun for the camera. Thick-cut bread was my best bet and hating to be at a loss in the face a culinary quandary, I went off in search of a more satisfactory answer.

As it turns out, Texas toast is, in large part, defined by the thickness of the slice. Manufacturer’s like Wonder Bread sell bags of the stuff in its unadorned state: honkin’ slabs of white loaf bread, cut about twice as thick as the standard sandwich variety.

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Crazy for Fried Foods from the State Fair

By Katie Barreira

If a year were a roller coaster, now would be that bit right before the big drop; a steady uphill chug and then, whoosh! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and before you know it, bam, the ride’s over and it’s a new year. But even though Macy’s has already hung some tinsel, I am staying squarely in the moment and celebrating the unofficial holiday of early fall, State Fair Season.

There’s so much to love about this nondenominational tradition. Sheep shearing demos, blue ribbon bake-offs, prize winning poultry, a full-scale Jersey cow carved entirely out of butter and, at the very top of the list, the unabashed consumption of fried food.

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In Love with Old School Mac and Cheese

By Katie Barreira

Every so often I get this crazy craving for one of my childhood favorites, macaroni and cheese. But not just any cheesy pasta will do. It must be that liquid-smooth and unnaturally tangy sauce, which can only come from dehydrated cheese. This admission has induced chest-clutching gasps of horror from my colleagues.

I, too, was indignant, refusing to believe that boxed macaroni and cheese, unlike so many of its processed pals, couldn’t be recreated, even improved, with wholesome ingredients and some culinary acumen. But as I tinkered with recipes and sampled grown-up versions of the stuff (from seemingly every chef in the city), I began to have my doubts.

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It’s not Just Icing on the Cake

By Katie Barreira

This week, my dearest friend asked if I would give her a cake-frosting tutorial. Fairly certain that the bride-to-be wasn’t planning a do-it-yourself, or worse, a do-it-together wedding cake, I consented readily.

Between my three-week culinary school foray into the pastry arts, a hand-modeling cameo appearance in a cake decorating spread and testing the magazine’s five, 5-year anniversary cakes, I’ve probably only frosted a whopping baker’s dozen. And yet, I faced the impending lesson with complete confidence. Why? Because I had an ace of a frosting recipe up my sleeve.

The first time I took this frosting for a test drive, it felt as if my offset spatula was a magic wand. But the power wasn’t in the stick, it was in the icing. This glossy, billowing, meringue-based whip glides onto cake with ease and precision. It’s perfect for cake-frosting newbies because you can hone your icing skills and produce impressive results on the first time out; very encouraging.

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