• About Holly

    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

    Grillers Don’t Forget

    by Holly • August 13, 2010 • seafood, wine • 0 Comments

    Next time you grill don’t forget to put those citrus halves on the grill for extra flavorful juices! Also I saw a neat tip in a Food and Wine Magazine that i want to try out.  Next time you are grilling shrimp, fish, or any type of seafood, put some white wine in a spray [...]

    Read more →

    Wonders of a Tin Foil Pouch

    by Holly • August 9, 2010 • Jamaica Plain, salad, vegetarian • 1 Comment

    Last Thursday I unintentionally made dinner from items that were all purchased at the Brigham Circle Farmer’s Market or picked from my back porch.  Of course this would exclude olive oil salt and pepper, maybe some day I will be blessed with an olive grove, salina, and pepper vines (?), but for now those extras [...]

    Read more →

    Work Week Salad

    by Holly • August 4, 2010 • Cheese, grains/nuts/lentils, vegetarian • 0 Comments

    If I am blessed with some leisure time on Sunday, meaning that it’s not spent traveling back to the Bean, then I love to make some type of hearty salad to munch on during the work week.  Since I did not have ample time on Sunday, my work week prep took place on Monday and [...]

    Read more →

    Beer, Wine & Live Music

    by Holly • August 3, 2010 • restaurant review, wine • 1 Comment

    Usually, a Saturday night out in Portland Maine for me means closing the bars down in the Old Port then sneaking over to Sangillos to make their last call.  This past weekend I switched things up a bit and had a low key evening of sipping craft beer, tasty wine and munching on salty snacks [...]

    Read more →

    Back Porch Snackin

    by Holly • July 27, 2010 • Jamaica Plain, cocktails, vegetarian • 1 Comment

    Too much mint and jalapenos?  How about some lite summer snacking of homemade salsa and guac with an iced cold pitcher of mojitos to wash it all down.  That’s what VBar, Emily and I were up to a couple weeks ago.  I can’t believe I forgot how delicious and easy making your own salsa is! [...]

    Read more →

    A Real Simple Sandwich

    by Holly • July 19, 2010 • Cheese, Meat/Poultry • 1 Comment

    I love eating sandwiches on the beach.  When I’m in Maine I have to go for the Amatos Italian, but when I stick around the Boston area I need to come up with some sandwich alternatives.  Flipping through the most recent issue of Real Simple I laid my eyes on this beauty pictured above: Salami [...]

    Read more →

    Summer Meal by Land & Sea

    by Holly • July 15, 2010 • salad, seafood • 3 Comments

    It had been two years since my friend Summer’s last visit to Maine so I was excited to plan some activities for another real “Maine Experience”.  Since we are both lovers of seafood my main goal of this trip was to bring her musseling.  I doubt that’s the correct term but that’s how we refer [...]

    Read more →

    Grilled Chops

    by Holly • July 1, 2010 • Meat/Poultry • 2 Comments

    We have been slacking on our posts lately but I assure you that the crows have been whipping up some tasty treats over the past two weeks with Birthday celebrations, beach weather, and reunions with our traveling crow, Riane.  With the 4th of July right around the corner i’m not sure how many recipes we [...]

    Read more →

    Black Bean Burgers

    by Holly • June 14, 2010 • Cheese, vegetarian • 0 Comments

    I was feeling adventurous last week and decided to take another stab at making black bean burgers.  The first attempt wasn’t a major fail, the flavor was good but the consistency didn’t stand up to cooking so there was definitely room for improvement.  To deal with the burger’s crumbly nature i decided to employ the [...]

    Read more →