Home for the Hurricane

Mother nature is back from summer vacation and she has wasted no time wreaking havoc on the eastern seaboard. Us Bostonians survived relatively unscathed (and we have electricity too!) but there was no shortage of gloom and doom, read: rain, wind, fallen trees, and more rain. What a perfect excuse to stay kitchenside and whip up some comfort food with some good company. A Mad Men marathon and some classy cocktails made the perfect accompaniment.  First up, shepherd's pie, Indian style. I never expected to get so many potatoes from my CSA but there are no complaints here. I envisioned the richness of peas, 'taters, and spices of samosas, re-imagined as a main course. Incorporating curry powder into as many dishes as possible is my forté and what could be a more perfect vehicle? It's so simple, no recipe is really needed. Just saute the veggies, brown the beef, then pour all that goodness into a baking pan, seal with a generous layer of mashed potatoes and bake, bake, bake. I added the curry and a few heaping tablespoons of mint-cilantro chutney. Those aromatics blended with green chile, garlic and citrus make for a refreshing, spicy condiment that turns practically everything into gold. My chutney comes in a jar, acquired from the Indian supermarket in Waltham, but it can also be made from scratch, something I will have to try soon. 

Since one would not want dinner to be lonely, dessert was a necessity. I am proud to say that I made my first real chocolate chip cookies. Real, meaning that they contain quality chocolate chunks instead of the too-sweet chocolate chip alternative. I will never go back, especially since chopping chocolate bars is a breeze. Cookies contain so much sugar as it is, why not just focus on adding chocolately richness? The Flour cookbook, the darling of the media and food lovers alike, was my guide. 

Lastly, after much tinkering the guys successfully replicated a certain cocktail that we became quite attached to on a recent trip to this Brooklyn bar. Prosecco, crème de cassis, amaro, and two vermouths? I've never met a bubbly cocktail I did not adore. Here's to a staycation of a weekend.