Last week the JP Crows gathered to spend some much needed time in the kitchen and to celebrate our friend Robin’s Birthday. Robin brought forth an interesting ingredient to the dinner planning discussion: Black Beluga Lentils. None of us had cooked with them before so we scoured the internet and decided on this recipe:
Black Beluga Lentil Salad
By reading the ingredients and quantities you can tell that this salad is
PACKED full of flavor. Start with a smaller portion of feta and herbs and keep adding until you have reached your desired taste. Also keep in mind the longer it sits the more the flavors meld! The black lentils were fun to experiment with, they definitely hold their texture in cooking.
The next star in our Adventurous Dinner Menu was a soup that I have been wanting to make for some time, and now that i’m equipped with an immersion blender, the timing seemed perfect.
Sweet Potato, Chipotle and Apple Soup
Unfortunately I was missing one of the main ingredients (chipotle) but made up for it with some red pepper flakes and cayenne. To take the savory route I passed on the cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips and went for sliced baguette and shredded gruyere (apples and gruyere yum!)
We ended the evening with some Birthday cupcakes compliments of VBar, hot whiskey drinks and some games (crow favorites are rummy, rummikub and our newest addition- phase 10).
The Story of Holly
Told by Miz Emily
Holly first introduced me to the concept of "caw-ing" almost 3 years ago. My life has never been the same. By day this crow works the office life but by night you will certainly find Holly (Party Pants) Stevens in her Jamaica Plain kitchen cooking and dancing the night away in true crow fashion. Proudly hailing from Maine's Old Orchard Beach, this wild one has figured out how to combine her love for New England- its history, its food, & its boozy dance parties- with her love of classic elegance. Holly's food is fresh, locally produced, healthy, and full of flavor. A self-described salt hound, no taste bud goes untouched by a meal at Holly's nest. By combining simple salads with rich pastas, fish, and soups, no visitor will leave unsatisfied. Moreover, no hangover goes uncured when morning walks with Holly are kicked off with a hidden stash of irish coffee, and finished off by a nice warm plate of oven potatoes and frittata.
Glancing around her kitchen you will find a few staple items including a mini whisk (for perfect salad dressing), the classiest compost bucket I've ever seen, a kick-ass vegetable hutch, and most importantly a tasty beverage ready to meet your hand. Her home is cozy and warm, and her hospitality is outmatched by no one. On the bookshelves you will find recipes given to her by friends, and books like Omnivore's Dilemma and Salt: A World History, the later being one of the best book suggestion I've ever received, and the subject of her college thesis. Never missing the chance to make a dinner party a dance party, Holly is in constant motion, ready to motivate the group with classy tunes like Credence, Al Green, and GirlTalk. Unless, of course, Top Chef is on.
http://crowsinthekitchen.com
