Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 130

The Tables Have Turned

In this month's spooky banner (clear your cache to see it), I'm caught in a web of my own gluttony and about to pay the price. Thanks to Lindy Groening for her excellent work, as usual, and to Justin Dickinson for coding it in. Do you think if I spell "Charlotte" the spiders will take pity on me?

It Gets Better (Cooking for My Boyfriend & Our Families)

When I told my friend Alex that I was cooking a dinner for my parents and Craig's parents at the end of last week, Alex (who knew me in college) said to me: "Did you ever think, 10 years ago, that this would ever happen? That you'd cook a dinner one day for your parents and your boyfriend and his parents?" The answer to that question was most definitely: "No."

It's hard to get back into the headspace where that dinner would've seemed impossible. But in recent weeks, there've been so many tragic gay suicides--13 year-old Seth Walsh, 15 year-old Billy Lucas, 13 year-old Asher Brown and, perhaps the most publicized case, Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who jumped off a bridge after his roommate broadcast his sexual encounter with another man online--that getting back into that headspace seems important. And so, inspired by Dan Savage and his "It Gets Better" campaign (in which openly gay men and women tell their stories to encourage suicidal gay teens that it, indeed, gets better) I'd like to tell you how I got from that world of impossibility to the dinner I cooked on Friday night.

Click here to read the rest of this Amateur Gourmet post »

It Gets Better (Cooking for My Boyfriend & Our Families)

When I told my friend Alex that I was cooking a dinner for my parents and Craig's parents at the end of last week, Alex (who knew me in college) said to me: "Did you ever think, 10 years ago, that this would ever happen? That you'd cook a dinner one day for your parents and your boyfriend and his parents?" The answer to that question was most definitely: "No."

It's hard to get back into the headspace where that dinner would've seemed impossible. But in recent weeks, there've been so many tragic gay suicides--13 year-old Seth Walsh, 15 year-old Billy Lucas, 13 year-old Asher Brown and, perhaps the most publicized case, Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who jumped off a bridge after his roommate broadcast his sexual encounter with another man online--that getting back into that headspace seems important. And so, inspired by Dan Savage and his "It Gets Better" campaign (in which openly gay men and women tell their stories to encourage suicidal gay teens that it, indeed, gets better) I'd like to tell you how I got from that world of impossibility to the dinner I cooked on Friday night.

Click here to read the rest of this Amateur Gourmet post »

Salsa Verde

So the other day, when I was live-streaming my dinner preparations from my kitchen (making history! see here) I was surprised not only by how many people turned out (including impressive folks like Dan Saltzstein and Kelsey Nixon (who has her own show launching soon on Cooking Channel!)) but how useful it is to have 48 people watching you as you cook, offering their tips and suggestions. And one of those suggestions (and I apologize, I forget who it came from) was to make a salsa verde to go with the spatchcocked chicken I was making.

Click here to read the rest of this Amateur Gourmet post »

Salsa Verde

So the other day, when I was live-streaming my dinner preparations from my kitchen (making history! see here) I was surprised not only by how many people turned out (including impressive folks like Dan Saltzstein and Kelsey Nixon (who has her own show launching soon on Cooking Channel!)) but how useful it is to have 48 people watching you as you cook, offering their tips and suggestions. And one of those suggestions (and I apologize, I forget who it came from) was to make a salsa verde to go with the spatchcocked chicken I was making.

Click here to read the rest of this Amateur Gourmet post »

Skyline Chili & Graeter's Ice Cream

For as long as I've known my friend Lisa (and I've known her for over 10 years (see the Lisa A.G. archive)) she's been singing the praises of her hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio. There were many times where she tried to convince me to visit her and her family there, and there were many excuses why I couldn't go; but this past weekend, Lisa got married in the Natti and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Click here to read the rest of this Amateur Gourmet post »

Watch Me Cook Dinner LIVE (Tonight: 5 PM)

Hey readers, I'm cooking dinner for some friends tonight (an appetizer, an entree, a side dish and dessert) and I thought to myself: "Wouldn't it be cool if I live-streamed the cooking process, so people can see me pull it off in real time?" So that's exactly what I'm doing. Check back here at 5 PM EST (that's less than 2 hours away) to watch me cook live; or click this link and join the chat room where you can ask me questions as I go.

UPDATE: Yesterday's live cooking show went great...

Improvised Mac & Cheese

The Mac & Cheese you see above was created by yours truly without a recipe. I don't know if you find that impressive, but I'm certainly impressed with myself.

It all started when I made those roasted red peppers you saw in the previous post. The next night, I had those in the fridge and I also had our latest shipment of the Cheese of the Month Club from Murray's Cheese. That shipment contained both cheddar and Emmentaler, both of which I thought might work in a mac & cheese. Since I...

How To Roast Red Peppers

As autumn conquers summer, and I stroll through the Union Square Farmer's Market, I start to panic and worry about all the fruits and vegetables I didn't buy during those precious few warm-weather months. Which explains why, during one Saturday saunter, I came home with four giant red peppers.

I didn't really have a red pepper agenda, but after watching this red pepper video on Food52 I decided I wanted to roast them. Then marinate them. And who knew that from that simple act I'd get...

The Taste Test: Yogurt

Let's start the week out with some yogurt. I really like yogurt, and here I taste three: American style yogurt, Skyr (remember when I met Siggi of Siggi's Skyr?) and Greek yogurt. As a side note, yesterday I made a breakfast parfait of Greek yogurt mixed with honey and vanilla, layered with blueberries, nectarines and my favorite recipe for granola. Very enjoyable. What's your favorite kind of yogurt?

Previous Taste Tests: Honey, Water, Eggs, Chocolate, Chardonnay, Peanut Butter.

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