Icebox Cake with Strawberries and Goat Cheese

June 14, 2015 by effingdelicious 2 Comments

There’s a lot of stuff we hope you take away from reading this blog. Little things like making sure you eat (so you don’t turn into a cunt). Jokey stuff about not eating dairy on Valentine’s Day (which is actually very sound advice). Even bigger preachy shit about maaaybe giving yourself a break and NOT viewing weightloss as the pinnacle of being a successful human.

But the biggest thing we hope you remember after reading my dumb little words and looking at Lucy’s photos: food doesn’t have to be fancy to be delicious. Nothing tastes better than getting out of the way of tasty ingredients. And, right now, our ingredient of choice is strawberries.

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CHEESE PLATE

May 31, 2015 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

I know last week we were all sappy and sentimental about books being our first boyfriend but. tbh. That was a lie to make us sound smart. Our first bf was really cheese.

Cheese is the best thing that has ever or will ever happen to us. Better than boys, professional successes, our cats, or summer lake house weekends. And a cheese plate is the perfect low-effort, make in advance, impressive-but-accessible appetizer we all need to look like dinner party heros.

A lot of cheese plates come in threesomes– the classic trio is something runny, something firm, and something funky (like a blue)– but we think there’s magic in sticking with just one perfect piece of queso. It helps you manage your budget and gives you a chance to celebrate a single, perfect cheese. You get to know its nuances and can really customize a few thoughtful accessories (like crackers and spreads) to bring out its best qualities. But, being myopically-minded means you only get one shot for cheese perfection– and there’s no way to hide a lackluster selection. You have to put your best fromage forward, and that means flirting with your cheesemonger.

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Garlicky Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash with Greens and Hazelnuts

May 17, 2015 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

Spaghetti Squash does not need your baggage. It is not here to be your therapist, or surrogate lover now that you’ve ixnay’d all carb and grain. Spaghetti Squash is a strong, independent woman and can make it on her own.

Spaghetti Squash is not better than spaghetti, because Spaghetti Squash just… isn’t… spaghetti. It’s a vegetable. And it’s a delicious vegetable all by itself. You can drown it in tomato sauce, finagle it into pad thai, and it will predictably be damn fucking tasty– but why not let its own virtues shine. Spaghetti Squash is a study in contrasts. It’s sweet and savory, creamy and crunchy. It’s weird-but-good, straight out of its roasted skin.

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Cauliflower Gratin with Ham Breadcrumbs

April 26, 2015 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

Cauliflower is one of the most magical vegetables we know. It’s a work horse, standing up to whatever weird contortionist acts low-carbers, vegans, and paleos throw at it. One day it’s rice, the next it’s an analogue for buffalo chicken. We read a recipe the other day where someone used it to make fucking brownies. For all that hard work, cauliflower deserves a long, decidedly straightforward, culinary nap. Preferably one under velvety blanket of gruyere spiked bechamel.

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Breakfast Strata with Squash and Sausage and Greens and Cheese

November 9, 2014 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

As is my (Rachel’s) Capricornian wont, Thanksgiving’s menu and grocery lists have been finalized for like a month. The meticulous color-coded spreadsheet that cross references guest lists for allergies and dietary restrictions with conditional formatting and automatically generates a comprehensive grocery list with vlookups is one the most satisfying things I do all year. One of the spreadsheet tabs is a calendar that breaks down Thanksgiving day hour-by hour, and schedules everything that needs to get done. More than just “basics” like what time the oven should change to be the right temperature for the biscuits and when we should start plating the cranberry mostarda, it also schedules the most important task of the entire day: Breakfast.

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Strawberry Pretzel “Salad”

August 3, 2014 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

In the grand tradition of our favorite midwestern “salads,” Strawberry Pretzel Salad contains no lettuce. This one doesn’t even have vegetables.

Instead, a layer of vanilla-flecked cream is nestled between a thick slab of strawberry-studded gelatain and buttery, salty pretzels. Not too sweet, and not too salty, it has been served at every picnic in rural Illinois since the dawn of time. Unfortunately, the classic ingredient list is predictably dated. Whipped topping and neon-pink, artificially flavored gelatin “product” among them….

Blue Cheese Potato Salad with Scallions and Bacon

June 22, 2014 by effingdelicious 1 Comment

f summer had a patron saint, it would be potato salad. It’s the perfect carby, creamy complement to the season’s grilled meat (or some spicy fried chicken). No self-respecting BBQ is complete with out it.

Unfortunately, most potato salad recipes suck. Half are candy-sweet, and the rest taste like you’re freebasing a jar of French’s. While sugar-and-mustard-covered-potatoes seems to be the status quo: we think there’s gotta be a better way.

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Beet-za

February 16, 2014 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

We made this pizza for the pun, not even sure that it would work, and it ended up being one of our favorite recipes yet. The garlicky crust, stained magenta with earthy and sweet slices of beets, is the perfect foil to funky, salty Sheep’s milk cheese and bright, astringent beet greens.

Recipe behind the jump!

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Cheddar Cornbread Waffles, with Green Tomato – Sweet Corn Salad

October 13, 2013 by effingdelicious Leave a Comment

As fellow neurotic, over-achieving, Midwestern perfectionists, there is no character on TV closer to our hearts than Leslie Knope. She’s the plucky, hyper-organized basket case we someday hope to be, and she is our dream dinner party guest. When scheming to come up with a recipe inspired by her (and the rest of the cast at Parks and Rec) there was only one answer:

Waffles.

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Asparagus with Egg & Speck

June 9, 2013 by effingdelicious 2 Comments

It’s Asparagus Season. AKA: the best fucking month and a half of our lives.

Spring Asparagus is the best food on the planet. It’s sweet and tender and melts in your mouth; it is not the ropey bland garbage you suffer through in winter. Sure, it makes your pee smell like rotten eggs, battery acid and turpentine, but it tastes like goddamned magic and needs nothing more than a drizzle of Olive Oil and a sprinkle of salt.

… but we figured adding salty, pungent Speck and buttery poached eggs wouldn’t hurt single fucking thing….